Byakko roared at them as Kai was struggling to hold him back.
Nah!! I ain't gonna do that just yet. HI EVERYONE!! I bet you want to get into the story sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo badly, huh? Well… What if I were to say no? What if, this was the only thing you got for this chapter of their lives, huh? What then? Huh? HUH? … Okay, you win.. Be that way…
Byakko roared at them as Kai was struggling to hold him back. Kai was using all of his weight to keep Byakko where they were. Kai understood what Byakko was feeling. They were there when things happened to Rei and Kai knew that they knew what was going on. If Byakko had seen them before, then he probably wants to kill them.
Max was surprised that Byakko was now a raged animal, willing to kill anything in its path, and yet, he still is able to be tamed by Kai. Even though Kai probably couldn't see it right now, Byakko wasn't overwhelming and wasn't trying all that hard to break away from Kai. Was that the real power of love in this situation?
"What are you doing here?" Tyson asked since Kai was busy.
"We're here to win, obviously." Tala answered.
"And we want to challenge Rei." Brian said, pointing to the raging tiger.
The whole team was in shock. Didn't they see that this was obviously not Rei? Kai had his grip loosen and Byakko broke free. Kai launched himself at Byakko, pinning him down underneath his own weight.
"I see, he's scared of us." Ian said with a laugh.
"Rei would never be afraid of you freaks!" Tyson said. Kai noticed that Byakko was getting even angrier.
Max looked into their molecules to see what was going on. He noticed that they had a Bakumon in them, by the amount of the element was present. "Why do you want to challenge Rei first?" He wondered if their minds were affected by this impure placement. He wondered if Kai's was the correct way to exist in this world. Did this world element needed to be mixed into the structure so that it wouldn't make the mind or minds go crazy? He wished that he had learned all the chemistry that Ed did through all the books that Max bought for him. He might then understand a way to see what this world really was doing to their minds. Though, he would probably need to know something about the brain and nerves systems, which was only now being looked into.
"Then why is he cowering before us?" Spencer asked with a superior look on his face.
"Don't ever call Rei a coward." Kai looked at them with fierceness in his own eyes. "You wouldn't know what hit you if you fought for real with Rei."
"Please, don't make him a superhero." Brian said as if it should be a joke. "We know that he's just a weak, defenseless and broken tool inside."
"Rei is not a tool!" Kenny defended.
Max started to notice that the earth was moving again. He looked back at Kai and Byakko, wondering if it was Byakko that was doing it. "Kai, calm him down." Max didn't know how it was possible that someone that didn't know Alchemy could move the earth, but at the moment, it didn't matter. Byakko was dangerous enough.
"Byakko," Kai whispered to him softly, "this isn't how we deal with our enemies. You can't fight them with your fist. If you kill them, you can't bring them back. You'll have a bitter taste in your mouth." Nothing seemed to be calming him down, since the earth was now shaking more. "Byakko, please, we'll get revenge for what they did to Rei, but this isn't what he would want. He wouldn't want to kill them, no matter what they did to him. Please, Byakko, I know you're angry, but please calm down." Kai was wondering if the love that Byakko had was less than the hatred he apparently had for those that did something to Rei. Kai didn't understand his own feelings for his own actions. It was like Byakko was now more of an animal than an animal with a human understanding. Kai hugged Byakko tighter, not understanding why he didn't want to kill them. They were part of Biovolt. They do deserve to be killed for what they did, but at the same time, they were probably ordered to do so. What if they had another chance to prove themselves to be something different from what they learned from Biovolt, from Boris, from his Grandfather? "Byakko, don't do this. Don't make everyone think you're not able to be a person as well."
The ground stopped shaking. Everyone was looking confused, though Max looked less confused. Byakko looked like he had given into Kai's words, whatever they were. Kai also looked like he was suffering, something that rarely appears on their leader's face. It was showing more and more that Byakko was more important to him than anyone else before. Max wondered if Kai had been able to develop such a relationship with only Byakko.
Max walked over to them, kneeling down near them, "Byakko, we all want to get back at them for what they did, but we can't kill them." He petted his head, "None of us want Rei to suffer."
Byakko didn't move or make any attempt to do something. Tyson came over as well, with Kenny and Ed. Kai got off Byakko, though sitting near him. Byakko was now shaking himself as Max continued to pet him. They were all close enough to hear him crying, though it was obvious that he didn't want anyone to see. Max smiled a bit, remembering that Ed said that Rei had run off to cry by himself. Maybe Byakko wanted to appear to be that strong in front of them.
"What's this?" Tala asked, "We challenge you to a Beybattle and this is how you respond? Are you all cowards as well?"
Kai got up, "I'll fight Brian instead of Rei." His team looked at him. Kai figured that Byakko shouldn't fight. He didn't know if Byakko knew how to handle a Beyblade or if Driger would listen to Byakko. Rei never mentioned if they had gotten along or not. All that and more would be tested if Byakko fought right now, and Kai didn't want to test anything concerning Byakko.
Tala smiled wickedly, "Your time to fight will come. We want to fight against Rei first."
"They are being controlled." Max informed quietly.
"They're acting differently than the others." Ed pointed out, looking at them, "Have any idea on why they would want to challenge Rei more than you guys?" Ed looked back at the BladeBreakers.
"Kai?" Tyson looked at him, knowing that he would have more experiences to base it off of.
"… It could be that information about his fighting skills was passed around and now they need to make sure that they know what they're facing when dealing with Rei."
"That doesn't make much sense, since you would think that they would question Byakko's behavior, but they acted like it didn't exist."
"Could it be that they're controlled?" Kenny asked.
"I kinda looked for that, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the molecules and such." Max said.
"What if it's more like what you had to do with the Beyblades?"
Max thought about it for a moment, knowing that that might be true. After all, it wasn't Alchemy that helped him find it. It was Draciel. "That is a possibility, but I would need to look while a fight is going on, since I'm sure more controlling would be needed if a battle would occur."
"You're going to fight someone that's not Rei." Kai informed the Demolition Boys.
"That wouldn't do, little Phoenix." Everyone was confused when Tala said that. That wouldn't be something that Tala would say, ever.
"After all, he still needs to be a usable tool for us." Brian said.
Before anyone could counter or comment, Byakko got himself up. Kai wondered why Byakko looked really calm right now. "You're not going to fight." Kai said, looking at Byakko.
Max got up as Byakko looked at Kai, wondering why Byakko was begging to go, but with serious eyes. "Rei." Byakko said in his unique combination of Rei and some sweeter voice.
"We all want the same thing, Byakko. I don't want anything to happen to you, though. I don't want you going out there to fight." Kai looked serious as well.
Byakko places his hands on the sides of Kai's face, his eyes smiling and begging. Kai knew that Byakko wanted to take revenge by himself, but what if something happened to him? Kai didn't want to lose him as well. When Byakko pulled Kai's face closer to his, Ed covered Max's eyes. Max just stood there, knowing what was occurring and getting mad that it did. He was grateful that Ed was covering up that Byakko was kissing Kai and probably that Kai wasn't rejecting him in any way. The one thing he didn't see was that Kai was just too shock to move. Byakko pulled back quickly before running over to where the battlefield would be.
"Bya…" Kai was about to run after him before Tyson stopped him, "What…"
"Let him do this, Kai." Tyson said, firmly, "I bet he feels like he couldn't help Rei when you were in Russia. Maybe this is the only way that Byakko can help Rei."
"What do you know?" Kai yelled, with Tyson, and everyone else, surprised to see Kai's worrisome expression. "What if something happens to Byakko when they're fighting?"
"You still have to let him do this." Max said, now able to see. He looked at Byakko, who was getting the launcher ready as Brian was walking over. "If Rei was conscious, do you really think he would allow Byakko the chance to get his piece of the revenge? This might be Byakko's only chance to avenge Rei. At the very least," Max looked at Kai, "allow him the chance to heal from what happened."
Kai knew all of that. He really did since he could read Byakko a lot better than they could. He looked at Byakko, hating that he was getting a feeling that something would go horribly wrong. It was a feeling too strong for him to suppress and say that everything would be okay. Rei had never allowed Byakko merged with himself when using Driger. Kai didn't want to know what the end result would be.
"Three, two, one, Let it Rip!" Ian yelled and the battle begun. Byakko was present for when Rei had battled in those rings. Byakko was the one that held all of Rei's special tricks. Byakko knew what Brian meant by 'tool' and Byakko wasn't about to let anyone use Rei as a tool. No one would hurt Rei again, Byakko promised the day that the chip was placed upon his head.
Everyone on the BladeBreakers' side was astonished that Byakko was great. It was like he had mastered everything that Rei knew and improved on it. Brian even looked worried, if that accounted for anything.
"Should I… scan?" Max asked, too surprised to do it immediately. After all, there were moves that were near the level that Krypton wanted them to be at in order for them to use what they learned on that mountain. He wasn't able to figure out a reason as to why Byakko was able to use them when Rei couldn't. It was even weird with Byakko's position. He wasn't moving as Driger was, like with Jade and Krypton.
"… No… Don't do it with him fighting." Kai said, not wanting Byakko to get uncomfortable. If he could win quickly, without summoning Driger, then everything would be alright. That's what he was telling himself now, anyway. He was also surprised that Brian wasn't using his dirty tricks to win. He never stopped while Kai was at the abbey, so why do this cleanly? Could it be that the controlled him couldn't because the person controlling him didn't know what Brain could do?
Tyson was wondering if Byakko was able to tap into Rei's abilities. Like, Byakko was able to move Driger because Rei's body was able to do it. It didn't make much sense, since it wasn't really Rei's body that controlled Driger's movements. But, Tyson couldn't think of anything else. The way that Driger moved was very Rei like and it was even sharper than before. There wasn't any wasted movements or any moment of hesitation.
Kenny was glad that he was able to get this great fight on his laptop. It wasn't really like Rei fighting against the creatures, by any means, but it was great. It was showing how good Byakko was himself. The look in his eyes was telling everyone that he was the one in control.
But then Brian smiled for some reason, as if he was winning. "You think that you've won?" Byakko wondered what he meant. Other than Byakko wasn't finishing him off quickly, Byakko was still controlling and dominating the fight. "Falborg!"
A huge gust of wind appeared and Byakko made sure that everyone behind him was safe. He had made small shields for himself with the dust that was within the area. That was one thing that Byakko wished he could do. He wished that he could be as awesome as Rei with the techniques from that show. Byakko was only able to do the ones that related to the earth. Rei could do them all. Byakko looked behind him, seeing that everyone was okay before going back to facing Brian.
A falcon had appeared in the sky, glowing, but now in more color. Byakko knew that this wasn't right, since that's not how he appears when fused with Driger. Falborg roared at Byakko before launching at him.
Kai felt helpless as he watched Byakko fight against Falborg. He didn't want Byakko fighting at all, but Brian was giving him no choice. Max noticed how Byakko's movements were even better than Rei's. Kai did say that Byakko was gained when Rei went missing all those months ago. Could Byakko hold secret moves that Rei had learned while away? It would make sense why Byakko was a lot better than Rei right now, even though this would be his first time fighting a Beybattle, according to Kai. Max looked at Kai, wondering if he knew something that they didn't. He was so against Byakko fighting, as if knowing that something would go wrong. Was letting him fight the right decision? Did Kai only give in because he was now hoping for the best? Max looked back at the fight, wondering what would happen now.
Kenny could see that he was now collecting data on the improved Rei. It probably wasn't the correct term to use to refer to what was happening before his eyes, but it was the only way he could think of it right now. Kai wasn't kidding when he said that Byakko was a lot stronger and faster than him. Kenny had been taping Rei's physically fights with Tyson, and could tell that this was a lot better than that. It was a lot better than what he was doing against Ed when they came here. It was even a lot better than the fights Rei had partaken in even more recently.
But, he also knew that Byakko couldn't simply be a better version of Rei. He shouldn't be able to tap into the skills that Rei had. Rei had once told him that the skills he had are a result of years and years of training and no one would be able to handle what he was able to do now. But Byakko was using them and looked like he had even mastered them. There wasn't any hesitation, like in his Beyblading skills. Was there something that Byakko was produced to do? A reason to his life he needs to fulfill rather than just existing? That made Byakko sound like a tool more than a life form.
By the way that Kai had explained and showed, Byakko wasn't viewed that way by either one of them. They saw Byakko as a life and someone that can think on his own and lives a happy life. Kenny noticed that now Byakko sounds more like a pet, since they exist as a placement for stuff, but the people they live with care about them as if they were a person. He wondered if there was an expiration date on how long Byakko was allowed to exist as a separate entity from Rei.
"Go for the win, Byakko!" Tyson cheered, very excited about this match. He could tell that everyone else would probably be wondering about Byakko's abilities, but he could also see that Byakko was enjoying it on some small level. Maybe all Byakko wanted to do was fight against strong opponents, even if this was a personal battle for him. That fighting spirit was something that Kai shouldn't be able to argue with, Tyson figured. He could also be guessing totally wrong, but it was an awesome fight nonetheless. He hoped that Byakko was enjoying himself to a point out there.
"Seems like they want you apart of the team." Brian said. Byakko was only able to hear him since he was focusing on Falborg. He did a hard punch, sending Falborg behind them and into the trees. Byakko looked at Brian, seeing him smiling. "Or do you prefer to be the lone tiger?" Falborg started to stand up again. Byakko was ticked off. A beast should know when it was defeated. "Maybe I should test to see if you have more will to your spirit."
Byakko looked at Driger, wondering why he was coming out. Byakko wasn't calling him out, and it seemed like Driger was resisting. Byakko looked at his opponent, wondering if he had some magic to him that allowed him to do this. Byakko launched at his human opponent, wanting him to stop. Byakko was going to be the only tiger at this battle.
Kai was horrified by what Byakko was about to do to Brian, but even more so when Driger came out. As soon as Driger came out of the Beyblade, Byakko suddenly disappeared. A flash of light burst from where Driger was. And because of the light, Kai had to shield his eyes. As soon as the light disappeared, he looked back at the field, first seeing that Byakko didn't return. He looked at where Driger should be and was even more worried.
In Driger's place was Byakko, or rather Rei's body, more like Rei's form. Instead of clothes, there was fur covering his body. He had longer ears, though still very cat like in their structure. The tail was a lot thicker and had more obvious paws instead of feet and hands. There were thick whiskers and the human hair was also striped with white, but the hair was still bond. What Kai didn't like the most was its eyes. It was completely white and beams were coming out of them.
Brian whistled, "Wonder if I should be scared. Falborg!" He looked at his beast before it flew over to Byakko. Before Kai could think to do something to help, Byakko launched at Falborg, making Kai realize that this was somehow a combination of Rei and Driger. The way that it launched was much like Rei's, but the way that it's attacking Falborg was like Driger, with a few moves being Rei's. Kai didn't care that this occurred, but was worried that he couldn't see Byakko in there.
"Where's Byakko?" He looked at Max, hoping more than ever that he had an answer.
"I would have to scan to know that." Max said, seeing the fear slightly in Kai's eyes. Max hated the fact that he was being sensitive since this is the only time that Kai had ever shown these expressions or emotions to them. He was the one that was taking Rei away from him, so why should Max be of any help to Kai? Max looked at the fight, seeing that this creature was more animal than human, "From what I can see, Byakko was probably used as a catalyst for the two to be one. The moves are more animal than human, so it has to think of itself as an animal, with the knowledge that it has some human movements in its mechanics."
"But where is he? I can't see him in there." That didn't answer anything for Kai, Max noticed.
He tried not to look ticked off, since he did answer his question. He sighed, wondering what kind of answer was Kai looking for. It was probably to know that Byakko didn't vanish from this mixture, "If this is a mixture of Byakko and Driger, then that would have to mean that Byakko isn't lost because Rei isn't conscious. If it was a mixture where the human side was more dominate, I'm sure that we would be seeing more human like moves, with the knowledge that it can use some animal movements as well. Byakko is the part that knows that it can use some movements that are human, so Byakko isn't lost. Driger probably has more control."
"But how can this come about?" Tyson decided to ask, since what Max said was sensible and Kai was put at ease with his answer.
"What makes you think I know?" Max looked at Tyson.
"Well, that answer seemed to work." Tyson wanted to say that even if it was wrong, it still sounded right, but knew better to say that since Kai looked at eased with what Max came up with. Having Kai semi-normal was better than him not being normal.
"Is Byakko allowed to go into Driger, like how he can use Rei's body?" Max looked at Kai.
"Yeah… I'm not sure why, but there have been times when Byakko was within Driger." Kai could tell since Driger always acted like Byakko whenever they do merge and are not fighting. He figured that Byakko was something that was allowed to go into both, but only now knows that Byakko probably was the spirit that hid the training that Rei and Driger did while they went missing.
"Okay, so if we think of this as two substances that need to be mix, they would need something to react with otherwise they can't mix at all." Max was thinking about it, since they seemed a bit confused, "Okay, like oxygen and hydrogen don't instantly turn into water when near each other when found in air since they would already be attached to something else to make it stable. So, they need something to break them away from that something so they can attach to each other, thus making water molecules. So, think of Driger as oxygen and Rei's body as hydrogen. Byakko would then be the event that allows them to separate from their stable state and be able to combine when both are present since they have the strongest attraction to each other and they only need each other to be complete." Max decided that it was best not to mention anything about byproducts, since most reactions have such things. If this really was like an equation, Max couldn't think of any byproducts since he didn't know what made up the two individual parts. All he really knew was what one of the products was and catalyst. Since it was obvious that no one else knew anything about chemistry, he decided not to include that part. Ed looked worried, since he would know about the chances of there being another product from this mixture.
Max also knew that when doing Alchemy that both products are present, but only the one that you want comes visible, really. He knew that when he was getting those spears out from the ground, he had broken down the molecules and rearranged them to form those spears. The elements that weren't needed for the spears were then left to combine with the surrounding elements or left floating within the ground. Max right now wished he knew what the other product was going to be, since he could prepare for it before it came up.
The Tiger, as Kai decided to call it, was also able to control the Beyblade as well. There was still that battle going on as well, so that had to mean that the Tiger was able to control it as well as fight a Bit Beast. He wondered if that was possible. He also wondered if Byakko had called Driger out or if Driger came out on his own.
As the fight went on, the Tiger was using more and more human moves in its fight. Kai thought it was kinda funny that it only now thought that maybe martial arts was the advantage route to take within this fight. He looked at Brian, seeing him unfazed by this turn of events, the same as the others on his team. He wondered if the other groups, minus the White Tigers since they had that one creature with them, would've been the same.
Kenny looked at the time on his laptop, noticing that this was going on longer than any other fight that he had watched before. Well, minus when they were fighting each other. He also noticed that Brian wasn't moving at all, which would fit the possess form.
Tyson wondered if fighting a Bit Beast was a lot tougher than he had originally thought. He knew that it wasn't an easy victory, since all their fights with other Bit Beast were challenging, but this one was taking a long time for the creature to defeat. If it was able to tap into what Rei could do, wouldn't it be able to defeat Falborg quickly? Rei was an awesome fighter, and he seemed to be doing okay against Galeon. Plus, this time Driger was added to the mix, so that should boost the power that the creature had. "Does Byakko like to fight?" Tyson looked at Kai, thinking that's why this fight was taken so long.
"He likes to play." Kai looked at him, "Why?"
"I was just wondering why this fight was taken so long. I would think that having Rei, who is an awesome fighter, and Driger, who is a Bit Beast, together in one body would be an advantage in a fight like this. I know that fighting Bit Beast can't be all that easy, but I would think with Rei's skill, it would be over in minutes."
"Being a hybrid isn't always an advantage." Ed said. Max looked at him, seeing that he was remembering something from his past. It was probably all the chimeras that he had seen over the course of his life. Max hid his own worry about them being able to separate. What if they could never get Rei's body back or something happens to his soul or mind because of this?
"What do you mean by that?" Kai asked, not liking the prolong silence afterwards. Max seemed to understand something from his silence, which probably was understandable since he should know him best.
"It all depends on how the two are mixed. This isn't simple chemistry." Max could tell that Ed didn't want to worry them, but Max was already worried. He was telling them that the other product could damage Rei's body if it wasn't a correct mixture from the start. He also realized that there were three souls in one body. Did they become one soul or did each fought for its rights to rule? What kind of toll would that put on the body? Could a body handle that many spirits within? Max hated the fact that this is the only way to let him know the answer. So far, they were all working together.
"So you're saying that something might happen when this is all over?" Kenny asked, knowing that he was stepping on a landmine with Kai.
Before Ed had a chance to answer, Falborg was placed back into Beyblade, which simply fell down to the ground. As the Tiger was starting to do the same, another flash of light occurred and something was thrown over in the direction of the BladeBreakers. Everyone looked behind them to see Rei's beaten body next to a tree.
"Byakko!" Kai called, running over to him quickly as the others followed. The body had steam coming off of it and he looked hurt. Kai fell next him, "Byakko?" He touched Byakko's shoulder, worrying about the fact that Byakko wasn't looking at him. His body was hot as Kai was about to turn to him over before Byakko curled up and screamed this horrific scream of Rei's voice and of that innocent voice.
"Don't move him!" Max said, "You might make it worst."
"We have to do something!" Kai looked at Max, not liking that reason.
Max closed his eyes and checked the temperature. It wasn't too bad for him to be a circle so he brought out Draciel and made him spin in his palm before releasing to a fall. Before Draciel hit the snow, Wyborg knocked into it, sending it flying for a bit before it landed.
Everyone looked behind them to see that they had moved closer and Ian was ready for a battle, "You launched so you get to fight next." He said with a wicked smile.
And that's where I'm leaving you for today. I wonder what will happen to Byakko and if Kai would let the others know that the new form that was just witnessed is called Tiger. I wonder if the creature would approve of such a name. I mean, it isn't really a Tiger, since it's able to get some human thought in its fighting style… Well, maybe that will be cleared up later, since all they were doing was guess, at best, right?