Disclaimer: Anime does not own anything Beyblade-related except for some merchandise. The plot and OCs do belong to her.
Anime: It's New Year's, you guys! Who is excited for 2016? I know I am! So, I am pleased to announce the first update for MIAB in 2016!
Tyson: In this chapter, we see some of the Elders in their first appearance in MIAB.
Rin: Thank you KinomiyaHiwatari and Rapid Puzzleshipper Saiko for the reviews of the last chapter. This chapter is dedicated to you for taking time of your schedules to review.
Tyson: Hopefully, this chapter owns up to the rest of the story. After all, it focuses on so many people.
Anime: Without further ado, to the story!
~~~MIAB~~~
"Speaking": Ann/the Forsaken Fallen
'Speaking': Dizzi
"Speaking": Most of the characters
"Speaking": Night
'Speaking': Mind-communication
~~~MIAB~~~
"Different denotes neither bad nor good, but it certainly means 'not the same'."
Cheshire Cat (Alice: Madness Returns)
~~~MIAB~~~
12: With You
Unknown area, unknown time
"Why are you holding council now, First Elder?" The voice of a worried female asked the woman standing in the middle of a room surrounded by seventeen seats. Inside the room, there were only three people, all of them women. The other occupant was sitting on a throne-like chair, staring at both of the females with worry.
The First Elder was an eighteen year old Hispanic girl with shoulder length wavy brown hair and light brown eyes wearing a black dress that covered most of her body. She was stoic, staring at a bubble that held the image of Chaos abandoning the broken body of Boris Balkov.
"Third Elder, did you agree with the creation of the holy spirits?" The First Elder asked, her voice cool and devoid of emotion.
The Third Elder appeared like a twenty-three year old with extremely pale skin. She had long black hair and enchanting light green eyes. She was dressed in a dark blue dress that she didn't seem to be comfortable in but made her look regal. Next to her floated an orb where she had been observing Night – who was inside the body of a human named Max – the way First had been observing Chaos.
"You know I did." She replied. Unlike the cold First Elder, the Third Elder was brimming with emotion and her eyes burned with conviction. She stared at the ceiling where they could all see the branches of Yggdrasil reaching out and touching stars and planets alike, "We all believed that they were going to do some good to the world we helped to create."
"I should've known better than to allow Seventeen to raise Chaos and the others to have emotions." First said, looking at the last seat with something that seemed to be regret. She sighed, shaking her head, "Foolish of me to have allowed it. She was the one prone to act based on her emotions."
"You regret that?" The sitting girl finally stood, standing next to Third who turned to look at her, "First Elder, with all due respect, you should not judge Seventeenth's actions because she felt that all of our creations should be given basic emotions. We all need them, after all! Just because you-." She covered her mouth, eyes wide when she saw the glare the First Elder had given her.
"Silence, Second Elder. Know your place."
The Second Elder looked down sadly, making the Third Elder pity her. Despite her actual age, the Second Elder did look like a normal fifteen year old teenager. With her long dark brown hair covering her light brown eyes in shame, she looked like a teen that had been scolded by a parent. Considering the First Elder was older than her, that analogy might prove to be true.
"How can you be so cruel to us?" Third Elder asked, eyes narrowed as she placed a hand on Second's shoulder to comfort her, "You've hurt Chaos and we couldn't even do anything-."
"By 'we', you mean Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth."
"-except watch. You and the others decided that the holy beasts were nothing but tools but what about us? We know that Seventeenth's actions were correct and we don't approve that you practically banished her from our world." She scoffed, looking at First with disapproval, "Don't you care about your younger sister? You two are the only true siblings among us yet you're so cruel to her. Why is that?"
First didn't respond and faced the orb where she could see Chaos was crouched down in the middle of an alley, throwing up. She knew that the human's body couldn't the power Chaos held. If Chaos did not allow the body to rest every time he used a lot of his power, the human will die. She shook her head in disappointment. Chaos was a creature ruled by emotion, just like Seventeen.
"I can't let emotions cloud my judgment." She replied, "Seventeen, Erebus and Chaos show us the mistakes that we can make if our decisions are based purely on emotions."
"Cold like snow, First Elder." Third replied and motioned Second to follow her. As both of the two Elders left, First opened her mouth as if to say something to stop them but closed her mouth, refusing to say it. She couldn't show emotion because they made her weak. She sat down on her chair, staring at the last seat and sighed wistfully.
It was hard playing the good guy when no one else could see her effort to keep the balance secure.
~~~MIAB~~~
Bey City, Japan
"Fuyu was a woman that took care of you guys during your captivity?" Hilary asked as she, Nami, the twins and Hiro walked back to the dojo. They had left Hilary's grandmother alone after the older woman had fallen asleep. Hikaru was glad to be gone from the crazy woman that had hit Shun with a cross.
"Uh-huh!" Nami said happily, smiling briefly, "She was a very kind woman. She gave us more food rations and treated our wounds. Of course, she'd be beaten for it but she never cared. She always made us feel happy. In the end, it was Fuyu-san who helped us escape. However, she was killed because of it." The last part was said in a sad tone, her eyes soft.
"She sacrificed her own life for a bunch of kids that she didn't even know." Hiro replied, staring up at the sky, "She was a mother and older sister to all of us. Whenever I felt that it was getting to be too much trying to act like a good older brother, she allowed me to vent out my fears and anxieties."
"I see." Hilary didn't know what to make of this. Her aunt that she had no idea she had had died ten years ago saving kids from the Forsaken Fallen. It would explain why she saw Fuyu – Hoshiko – in her dreams. Anything was possible, wasn't it? She decided to stop questioning the weird things that happened in her life.
"If Fuyu-san really is Hoshiko Hirano, does that mean that she also owned a bit-beast?" Shun asked, causing all of them to think about his words. Hiro analyzed Shun's words carefully. Fuyu had a bit-beast that was obviously not an ally to the Forsaken Fallen. If that was the case, where was the spirit? Since they were family, could the bit-beast that belonged to Fuyu be passed down to Hilary?
The song Resonance by T.M. Revolution started playing loudly, much to their surprise. Hikaru looked away from his brother's incredulous look and dug into his pocket, retrieving his cell phone that had the image of Aya in it. He answered, "Hey, Aya. Did you guys find anything?"
They saw Hikaru go pale as he listened to Aya. He stopped walking, his eyes wide in shock and fear. He cleared his throat, holding the cell phone tightly, "Aya, what do you mean Rin's been taken?"
Shun, Nami and Hiro shared a glance while Hilary gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Hikaru shook his head, "Aya, slow down. Where are you two? Uh huh . . . Yeah, got it. We're on our way." He hung up, staring at them with a morbid look, "Kai and Aya are kind of stranded in an overpass. Let's go get them."
~~~MIAB~~~
Ray and Riku were both calmly waiting for the others to return to the dojo and were also waiting for the arrival of the other bladers. From what he had heard, Tala and the rest of his team had been in Japan so he knew the Russians were going to arrive soon. Riku wouldn't stop fidgeting, hiding his hands within his sleeves, mumbling that something was wrong.
When the others showed up with a weak looking Aya and a battered Kai, Ray knew that Riku had been right that something was wrong.
"Where's Rin-nii?" Riku mumbled, eyes darting everywhere until they eventually settled on Hilary. The brunette looked at Riku with sad eyes, not knowing what to say to him. Riku adored Rin as much as Aya did so telling him that he had been taken by the Forsaken Fallen would hurt Riku. Considering that she had grown fond of the slightly insane male, Hilary didn't want to cause him more pain.
"He's been taken." Aya replied, holding her head where Ray could see she had been bleeding. She sighed, "Chaos, Hecate, Nemesis and the other members of the Forsaken Fallen cornered us."
Riku lowered his gaze, his eyes filled with emotion that Hilary hadn't seen when she had first met the teenager. He then smiled – a weak smile that looked to be forced – and helped Aya get inside the dojo. Why was he trying so hard to be happy? It should come easy for some people, shouldn't it? Then why did it seem as if Riku needed help trying to find out how happiness worked?
After a few minutes of being in the living room, they all noticed that the dojo was quieter with the absence of the young tycoon.
"You guys!" They all turned to see Kenny had appeared, grinning happily. He motioned them to follow him, "We're done! Max, Kenny and I have reached the next level!"
"You did?" Nami asked before they all made their way to the room where Night had been instructing the teens. Daichi and Max were laying down, staring up at the ceiling, while their blades were on their hands. They were all amazed that Daichi's eyes were pure gold and Max's eyes were green, meaning that they really were connected with their beasts.
"Where's Night?" Kai asked.
"Here."
They all turned to see a male who looked to be around sixteen years old floating in the corner of the room. He had long black hair and white eyes and was dressed in white robes with golden trimmings. He smiled, "I had to create an astral projection of myself so Draciel and Max could practice. Daichi, Max and Kenny worked wonderfully with Strata Dragoon, Draciel and Dizzi. Ray, Driger, I believe you two are the last ones that need to achieve the next level."
"What about Kai and Dranzer?" Aya questioned.
Night stared at Kai with a knowing glance, making the Russian wonder if he had seen the exchange he and Dranzer had moments ago. He couldn't have been aware of it, right?
'Weeeeell. . .' Dranzer's voice popped into Kai's head. If he had been someone else, Kai would've flinched at the sudden voice of his bit-beast. However, he was aware that Dranzer was inside his head so hearing him speaking wasn't so surprising. He heard Dranzer laugh, 'Night might be able to sense those kinds of things, Kai. He is the second bit-beast to have been created so he does hold a certain degree of powers that we don't have access to.'
'That explains some things.'
"Kai." Night's voice interrupted what Dranzer had been about to say to him. He met the pale gaze of the patient bit-beast, who bowed his head at him, "You and Dranzer will have to fight against Rin and Dark Dranzer if Rin falls. Are you prepared for that possibility?"
"Are you prepared to fight with us to defeat Chaos, Night?" Kai replied, feeling uncomfortable by the question. He didn't know what he'd do if Rin did fall prey to Dark Dranzer. He couldn't imagine having to fight him, especially when Rin had made him promise-.
'You promised to kill him if Dark Dranzer took possession of his body.' Dranzer replied, making Kai stay silent. It had been a promise that Rin had insisted to make. He had said that he would rather die than to kill Kai or to lose control of himself. Kai had no choice but to make the promise. Still, he wondered if he'd be able to keep it.
After Wyatt's death, Kai didn't want anyone near him dying.
Rin and Tyson had not yet fallen, he was sure of that. Even so, he was afraid of losing his rival – his best friend? – and his best friend – his brother? – to the Forsaken Fallen. He would never confess that to anyone, however. The only one that he allowed to know about his fears and doubts was Dranzer. No one else could understand.
'I'm flattered by that, Kai.' Dranzer said and Kai swore that he heard his giddiness over being Kai's close confidant.
"I am prepared." Night smiled at all of them, "Believe me, I want all this senseless violence to stop as much as you do. I do not want this world to be destroyed. This beautiful world, with all of its wonderful occupants, does not deserve to be destroyed."
Max smiled as he and Daichi sat up, their eyes back to normal, "You speak like a poet, Night. You shouldn't talk so formal, you know?"
Night chuckled, amusement dancing in his eyes, "A poet, Max? My, you are filled with odd notions. Now, Ray, Driger, it is time for you two to ascend. I hope you and Riku have finished talking because you'll be here for some time."
"Got it." Ray nodded.
"As you do that," Max winked at the others, smiling genuinely and causing them to feel better, "I think we all need to catch up a little, don't you think?
~~~MIAB~~~
Bey City, Japan
"Chaos, are you happy to be alive?"
Chaos was hunched over, leaning on the brick wall when he felt someone stand behind him. He frowned, trying to sense who was behind him. The person's presence was very familiar but he wasn't sure if it was true or not. He turned around and narrowed his eyes, "Well, well, if it isn't the First Elder in the flesh."
She looked just like he remembered, except she was now wearing clothes a typical teenager would wear rather than wearing her dress. He rolled his eyes in annoyance, "What do you want? I don't have time to deal with you. I'll overthrow you and the rest when I destroy the humans."
As he started walking away, he heard her speak – how much he hated her cold voice that betrayed no emotion – and he turned, surprised, "What did you say?!" There had to be a mistake. She hadn't said-.
"I don't like repeating myself, Chaos." She said, staring at him with those eyes that he hated because they made him feel inferior. She tossed her hair back, not looking at him, "I said that Seventeenth has been detained and will be held in trial."
"Why? Is it because she favored us over you?" He snarled, the air around him turning dangerous. The First Elder didn't seem to be affected by the aura and didn't seem to hold a trace of emotion in her face, even as she stated that her younger sister had been arrested and was going to stand trial.
"No. It seems like we've ignored the fact that she's the main reason why you've all gone berserk. When we were creating you holy beasts, you were all supposed to be nothing but emotionless tools. However, Seventeen decided against it by giving you emotions that weren't necessary. Through her actions, the humans have suffered. She must atone for her actions."
"You bitch." Chaos's tendrils wrapped themselves around the First Elders but they didn't squeeze her neck, much to Chaos's disappointment. He hissed, "She's your damn sister! Why would you something so cruel to her when all she wanted was to allow us to feel?!"
"Erebus was your brother but you killed him." Chaos flinched as if he had been hit, staring at her in horror.
"Like you, I think about the good of the world before anything else. Seventeen deserves to be punished and I won't spare her just because she is my sister, as everyone likes to remind me of. I know my duty, after all."
Chaos scoffed, looking away from her in disgust, "We may have both been the first of our kind, First Elder, but even I'm aware that I am more considerate to the rest of my kind than you are. You don't care anymore, do you? You were alone for twenty centuries, weren't you?"
He looked at her face just in time to see the anger in her eyes. He smirked, "So, the emotionless Elder finally shows emotion. Does it hurt you to think about those lonely days where it was only you living in the roots of Yggdrasil? Is that why I was confined in that tower for twenty centuries? So I could experience the same loneliness you did?"
Loneliness. I cursed the dark and my loneliness in the cursed tower I called home. I hated it. I hated everything. I hated the Sixteen Elders. I hated the darkness. I hated my emotions of sadness. I hated my tears. I hated my cries. I hated myself. Above all, I hated the loneliness and silence.
"Shut up."
"Unfortunately for you, Seventeen visited me often so I wasn't always alone in my confinement the way you planned. Besides, Night would sometimes sneak in and talk to me whenever you didn't allow Seventeen to visit me. In other words, you failed. I never felt truly alone the way you did. I bet that hurts. No one can say they lived for two thousand years alone, not even me."
I loved the kind words Seventeen said about me. I loved Night and the way he visited me even though he'd be in trouble if he was caught. I loved the light. I loved my emotions of happiness. I loved their smiles. I loved laughter. I loved the company and the noise that followed it.
Chaos was slapped, the First Elder glaring at him with hatred he had never seen her display. He took a small step back in genuine surprise. "How dare you think you know my pain." She replied and then smirked, mirroring Chaos's, "Don't forget that you are exactly like me, Chaos. It was my essence along with Seventeenth's that brought you to life. You are me, Chaos."
"Maybe I am." He replied, holding his abused cheek and giving her a smirk, "But I refuse to think that I have anything in common with you of all people. I hope you remember my promise. I will overthrow you and the rest of the Elders."
"I look forward to it, Chaos. It'll be a fun challenge." She replied before she vanished, leaving Chaos to think about Seventeenth's fate on his own.
He punched the wall, ignoring the blood that ran down his fist. He knew exactly where Seventeen was being held as she waited for her trial. Why was she suffering for their actions? There was no way that he was going to allow her to die. He had already lost Erebus and Sasha; he wasn't going to lose Lizbeth.
"Yes, I am very happy to be alive, Seventeen."
~~~MIAB~~~
Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Unknown Area
Tyson had no idea what was going on when he woke up to hear Rin chanting numbers, as if in a trance. He didn't know whether to interrupt him or not, considering how serious he looked. He then smacked his forehead, "Did I tell Akasuki to give it to him or not? Why can't I remember?"
"What's up?" Tyson asked, blinking in surprise at Rin's odd antics. Rin paused and then sat down next to Tyson, blushing at having been caught acting so strangely. Tyson grinned, poking him, "Come on, tell me what you were going on about."
"Today is still August 1, I believe." He stated, ignoring Tyson's confused look. As far as Tyson had known, it was probably still July, "If so, I hope that my maid Akasuki delivered the package to Kai."
"What package? And why are you giving something to Kai?" Tyson asked and Rin turned to him, surprise evident in his face when he saw that Tyson was still confused. He internally huffed, his body radiating disappointment. Trust Kai not to tell Tyson about something so important. They had known each other for years and he had never told Tyson his birthday? Rin was going to lecture Kai about that next time he saw him.
"The package is Kai's present. August 2 is his birthday."
"It is?!" Tyson asked, shocked, "I've known Kai for almost three years and he never told me!" He felt insulted that Rin knew Kai's birthday but the Russian had never told him. Then again, Rin had known Kai longer. That didn't change the fact that Kai never bothered to tell them about his birthday.
"Trust me, I'm surprised he didn't." Rin smiled when he saw Tyson pout angrily before sighing, amused at how peeved Tyson looked, "December 2."
"Huh?"
"My birthday. It's on December 2." He remembered how much Kai used to tease him because he was four months younger than him. Rin chuckled at the memory of him running away from Kai, ignoring the taunts the slightly older boy had given him. He ruffled Tyson's hair, "If I recall, your birthday is on November, right?"
"November 23. How did you know?"
Rin grinned, "You told me when you were a kid. You wouldn't remember but I made sure to remember everyone's birthday just in case." He remembered how excited Tyson had been as he told Rin his birthday and how he celebrated them. He had been so excited that he hadn't even remembered the pain of his broken arm until Hiro had been able to reset it.
"That's an incredible memory you got there, Rin."
Rin shrugged, "A blessing and a curse, really. It's a shame that the Forsaken Fallen returned. I wanted to give Kai a proper birthday." At Tyson's questioning glance, Rn elaborated, "Since Susumu-san disappeared when he was ten, I heard from Voltaire that Kai stopped celebrating his birthday."
"How come you didn't go and celebrate his birthday?" Tyson muttered.
Rin looked down, "I was a coward, that's why. After I escaped from the Forsaken Fallen, I cut all ties with Kai and we didn't see each other for almost six years. We saw each other again when we were twelve, when Voltaire finally allowed me to run Mizushima Enterprises. I threw a ball and, of course, Kai was invited so that's how we met once again." Tyson listened carefully to what Rin was saying. He didn't know much about Kai's past so it was interesting learning about it.
"When did you two meet?"
Rin thought about it for a moment before replying, "When we were four. Our parents were good friends but I hadn't met Kai before because I was so sickly. I can't even count how many times I got sick with a contagious illness that my parents were scared Kai would catch."
Tyson scratched the back of his head, "Your parents sound like they were overprotective."
"You have no idea. The reason they were like that was because I was their first child and they were so young when they had me. My mother was eighteen and my father was nineteen when I was born." Rin stared at Tyson, who was still paying attention and grinned, realizing a perfect way to punish Kai for not telling his teammate about his birthday, "I bet you want to hear me talk about embarrassing things that Kai did when he was a kid."
Tyson grinned, a mischievous spark in his eyes, "You know I do."
Rin smirked, "Then let me tell you embarrassing stories about our infancy. Trust me, there are a lot of them." And a lot of embarrassing pictures of those times existed, including the fake wedding they had. He wasn't telling that story to Tyson, though. That was something he was taking to the grave.
"Hurry up and give me the blackmail material." Tyson chuckled.
After all, it was better to dwell on those days where Rin and Kai were best friends, innocent and naïve than on the present, where they were both standing in opposite sides of the coin, their innocence and naivety gone and replaced by cold masks to protect themselves.
It was better to remember the beautiful infancy they had shared rather than remember the dark promise that bound them together. A promise that would probably be the cause of Rin's demise.
~~~MIAB~~~
Anime: How was that? Leave a review and have a very happy new year!
~~~MIAB~~~
Notes for this chapter:
*The Seventeen Elders are based on actual people.
*Resonance by T.M. Revolution: opening of Soul Eater
*Important dates in this fic:
February 16 – the day they were kidnapped 10 years ago
July 16 - the day Kaori, Tyson and Brooklyn were kidnapped (current time)
July 17 – the day they all escaped from the Forsaken Fallen 10 years ago
~~~MIAB~~~
Next Chapter: Sanctuary
Song: Sanctuary by Hikaru Utada