Author Note: Dedications this chapter to Okami1001, i. miss. beyblade and XxMidnightRedxX. thanks for the reviews.
Disclaimer: Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki
Cold Competition
Chapter 25
"No! No stop it!" the young boy begged as he was manhandled down a dark corridor. His screams echoed off the cold stone walls, falling only on deaf ears, "Papa! Papa, help!" The man standing to the side said nothing and closed his eyes refusing to look at the boy. "Papa?" the youngster whimpered, not understanding what was going on.
A door up ahead opened with a creak revealing three more people standing in a small room. There were two men, wearing black clothing different from the usual uniform and a woman wearing a thin grey dress. Her long slate hair was tied back loosely at the back of her head and her arms were covered in bruises from where she'd been dragged along, much like the boy was being now.
"Mama!" the child cried pulling free from the vice grips on his arms and running to the woman who knelt down and wrapped her arms around him as soon as he was in reach. The boy instantly burst into tears.
"Shh, hush now. I need you to listen to me, sweetheart." She pushed the boy back slightly so she could look him in the eyes. "You have to be brave for me, alright? It's going to be hard, but you must."
The boy blinked, confused. "Mama, why are you crying?"
The woman smiled sadly, running a hand gently through the boy's soft two toned hair. "I need you to turn round and go back with those men. It's not what I want but it's all I can do for you now."
"No," the boy whimpered. "I'll never leave you, mama. I'm staying."
"Son, we don't have any other choice. We must say goodbye." More tears fell from the woman's eyes as she stood up and pushed the boy away. This only made the boy cry more, as he tried and failed to get back into her arms.
"No! Please, mama!"
"Kai!" she said sharply, shocking him into stopping. "Go, now." Feeling like he'd just lost everything, the child turned away sadly after one last glance at his mother and started back towards the door. The woman's tears dripped on the cold floor beneath her bare feet. "Son," she whispered. "I love you."
The boy paused and almost turned back to her, but stopped himself, "Me too, mama."
There was a gentle click from somewhere behind that caught the boy's attention, followed by a whimper from his mother and a sudden bang. The harsh noise echoed off the walls and the boy jumped round in fright, only to see his mother crumpling to the floor, her long hair free from the broken tie that had held it back. Hot blood splattered everywhere covering the child's face and clothes. The rest of the world just ceased to exist in that moment as the body came to a stop on the floor and waves of blood quickly pooled around it.
"MAMA!"
000
Kai leapt awake with a hair-whitening scream and jumped off the end of the bed, crashing against the wall and sliding down it to sit on the floor. Having swapped places with Mariah Ray was sound asleep but awoke instantly, with a start, at the scream. "Kai!" he gasped, rushing to the older teen's side. "Kai, what is it?"
"Stay back!" Kai yelled hysterically, feeling trapped in the corner when Mariah also came over to try and help. Red eyes glanced around frantically, before landing on the door. Taking a breath, Kai pushed his way past both Ray and Mariah and bolted for it.
"Grab him!" Mariah shouted, not wanting Kai to disappear when his fever was still so high.
"Kai!" Ray called as he caught the Russian's arm and held fast, "Kai, stop! You're not well. You need to rest!"
Unbeknownst to Ray, grabbing Kai by the arm was the worst thing he could have done, as it did nothing but remind Kai of the men in his dream who had grabbed him. Spinning round, Kai used his free hand to hit the inside of Ray's elbow, forcing Ray to let go and then using the chance to rush outside.
Undeterred, Ray promptly rushed after Kai again, overtaking him this time and moving to grab his shoulders from in front. "Kai! Listen to me! You're in White Tiger Hills! In China! Remember? You're running a fever and you need to rest. Calm down. Please!" Ray begged.
Kai was tempted to run again, but stayed where he was and kept his blurry gaze on the ground. "Let go..." he whispered trying to hide the tears in his eyes.
"Kai, please come back. You're not well. Let us help you," Ray insisted quietly. A single tear escaped and landed on the ground between them as Kai opened his mouth and found his voice to be gone. "Kai?" Ray asked cautiously as he slackened his hold so that he was no longer restraining the other teen.
Sniffing, Kai seemed to calm down enough to wipe briefly at his eyes. "Nightmare..." he whispered.
"You're safe now," Ray told Kai gently hoping to comfort him, unsure if he should ask what the nightmare had been about for it to put Kai in such a state. Either way he couldn't ask out here. It was too public. What's more, Kai still had a fever. "Come back to the house, Kai. You should be resting."
"Mm," Kai agreed quietly keeping his gaze low. Ray moved to Kai's side with an arm around his shoulder to help guide him as well as offer some support and led Kai back. He continued to speak softly, worried that Kai might freak out again. The sky was pale and morning was creeping up on them but for how little sleep they were getting it may as well have still been the middle of the night.
Mariah was relieved to see the pair of them come back inside, but stayed in quiet. Kai seemed to be concentrating on what Ray was saying to him and Mariah didn't want to risk undoing the work Ray had just done in getting Kai back.
"Mariah, could you do me a favour and light the fire please?" Ray asked looking up briefly. "Then we can boil some water and have a cup of tea." He turned his attention back to Kai. "You'll probably feel a bit better in a few hours when the sun's up. And the fire might help too," he mused, hoping that the distraction would at least help Kai not think too much about the nightmare. He could remember a time when Kai would have just grunted and looked away rather than admitting to having a nightmare.
Kai nodded, sitting down heavily on the bed. "I'm tired," he mumbled as Mariah set about getting the fire going. When she succeeded a short minute later, Kai stared into the flames tiredly.
"Just take it easy and if you feel ready to, you can go to sleep," Ray told Kai gently. Whenever he had a nightmare himself sometimes he just needed to stay awake for a while, to reassure himself that it was over, before trying to go back to sleep. Sometimes a little chat with someone, if there was anyone available, helped. Kai nodded and continued to watch the flames. By the time Mariah had some tea made, he was almost asleep again. "Do you want some tea?" Ray asked Kai, being sure not to disturb him if he was asleep.
Kai shook his head and lay down. "No thanks... Not right now..." His eyes felt heavy and his body was begging for sleep. He didn't feel as uncomfortable as before, which was a big relief.
"Alright. Get some sleep. I'm right here if you need anything," Ray replied fully intending to just not bother going back to sleep. "If you want to go back to sleep, Mariah, go ahead. I'm going to stay up. There are only a few hours until sunrise anyway."
"You sure, Ray?" Mariah asked quietly. "Don't you wanna grab a few more hours while you can?"
"Nah, I'll just be staring at the ceiling bored if I try."
"Okay then, if you're sure," Mariah mused and moved to check on Kai. The Russian was already asleep again and Mariah carefully pulled the blanket over his and checked his temperature. "Oh good. His fever has broken."
Ray watched silently, wondering what it was Kai had dreamt about. There was any number of things that Kai had mentioned that could incite such a reaction. But it could have been something else entirely. There was no way to know, except to ask Kai. But Ray wasn't sure he should. For one thing, it wasn't really his business and for another, he didn't really want to see Kai that distressed again. He wished he could do more for his friend.
Mariah seemed to read Ray's mind, "You wondering what his nightmare was about?"
"Yeah, I guess," Ray confirmed. "As well as wishing there was more I could do for him."
Mariah looked down. "He was mumbling in his sleep before you woke up," she told Ray. "He kept saying mama."
"Ah," was all Ray could manage as he remembered what Kai had told him about his mother. To Ray, it explained everything. But he couldn't tell Mariah. He'd told Kai he wouldn't breathe a word.
That one word from Ray told Mariah all she needed to know. "I'm sure he'll talk to you when he's ready," she said quietly. "I can tell that he trusts you. More than your other teammates, I would say."
"You think so?" Ray asked softly. Kai did seem to tell him a lot more than he told Tyson, Max or Kenny.
Mariah nodded. "I can tell just by watching the pair of you. He always seems more relaxed around you and I think he finds you the easiest to talk to about things."
"I guess I must be helping in some way then, huh?" Ray commented as he thought about what she'd said. "You know, I think I feel the same way. I'm able to trust Kai and talk to him. He knows when there's something bothering me, I don't even have to tell him, he just knows. If I'm trying to hide it he sees right through that. And he's usually got the solution too, whether it's a sparring match, a battle, advice or just someone to listen. Maybe it's because the others just don't notice the way Kai does, or maybe I'm just closer to him. I don't really know, but it's Kai who I'm able to turn to the most out of the Bladebreakers."
"It's good to have that in a team," Mariah smiled. "But I think, in Kai's case, you were the easiest for him to bond with because you don't jump to conclusions like the others are guilty of."
"Well they are good at that," Ray admitted with a grin.
"We were all a bit guilty of that to begin with. Calling Kai things like sourpuss and wet blanket." Mariah smiled. "But the night I spoke to him, when you'd been captured by The Avalanchers, I saw Kai in a different light. He was so determined to get you back and he kept that promise."
"Kai's really opened up since we met him."
Mariah nodded in agreement. "You guys were just what he needed."
"I think Tyson probably did the most to pull Kai out of that shell," Ray commented with a laugh.
"You think so?" Mariah asked.
"Yeah, he's always the first one to jump in and the rest of us follow."
Mariah giggled. "Yeah, that sounds like Tyson. He's generally the ringleader of all the trouble you guys get into."
"Uh, yeah," Ray agreed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he remembered how well their last little adventure had gone, "Can't really blame Kai for getting angry about that."
"I wonder if he ever sees himself as a big brother to you all," Mariah mused thoughtfully. "I mean, the Blitzkrieg Boys consider themselves as brothers, don't they?"
"Yeah, they do. They said they're the closest thing Kai has to a family, which is funny 'cause they say that your friends are the family you choose for yourself."
Mariah giggled. "Hilary told me some funny stories about those guys when she was in Russia with them. Apparently they're as mad as a box of frogs at home."
"Really?" Ray asked. "You mean like Kai chasing Bryan with the wood axe for slipping him sleeping pills?"
"Yeah," Mariah nodded, "And Bryan nearly setting the whole place on fire trying to make them breakfast, or dinner or, something. Apparently they're all disasters in the kitchen, except for Spencer really."
"I guess cooking isn't top priority for a soldier," Ray mused. "On the first night here Kai commented to me that it must be handy being able to cook."
"Maybe you could teach him?" Mariah suggested brightly. "It'll be good for the both of you to focus on something other than beyblading for a while."
"Good idea, Mariah," Ray replied. He already had beyblading and martial arts in common with Kai. It would fun to share another interest. And it would be really cool to teach Kai something that could help him for the rest of his life. Kai liked his independence after all and knowing how to cook for himself would allow him some more.
"Thanks," Mariah chirped.
"You're welcome," Ray replied with a smile. "But it's me who should be thanking you for the idea."
"You can thank me with a picnic," Mariah said with a wink.
Ray laughed. "Sure," he agreed.
000
Over the next few weeks Kai endured intensive training with Tao through the days, helped Ray with cooking in the evenings while Ray gave him cooking lessons and crashed out completely at night from the training. Ray continued to train with the White Tigers and teach the children during the day. With all the training he'd been doing Kai had learned to control his power and so the time came for him to return to Japan with Ray. With control of his power, Kai was entrusted with Ray's safety and the White Tigers stayed behind to continue their own training. Before Kai and Ray left the elders told Kai that he would always be welcome in White Tiger Hills and that they were proud of the progress he'd made with his training. Kathleen opted to stay behind in White Tiger Hills with the clan deciding it would be the best place for her to learn to bond with Yemzen. She and the White Tigers did accompany Kai and Ray to the airport in Hong Kong, however, to see them off.
The flight back to Japan didn't take long, but it gave Kai plenty of time to think about everything he'd learned. The training had been hard, but well worth it and getting to see Ray's home town and meet the people had been a great experience. The fact that he was welcome to go back again was nice too. Even so it would be good to get back to Japan. They hadn't told the others they were coming back choosing instead to surprise them. Only Mr Dickenson knew as he had arranged the flights for them through the BBA. Kai wondered how Hilary was doing and if she'd received all his letters. He'd kept all of hers.
"I wonder how they're all getting on," Ray commented as he and Kai headed for Tyson's house. "I hope Tyson didn't get under Tala and Bryan's feet too much."
Kai smirked. "Hilary said in her letters that things are pretty much normal. So whether that means things are okay or not, we'll just have to wait and see."
"I guess it all depends on what normal entails," Ray mused as he considered how normal it was for them to get into trouble. Kai nodded already starting to hear voices as they neared the house. It sounded like Tyson and Max were training and that pleased Kai. "How about we totally sneak up and ambush them?"
"Sounds like a plan," Kai agreed with a nod. Ray moved to the wall in silence and listened for Max and Tyson to pinpoint their exact position. He looked back at Kai and held up his beyblade and launcher, intending to surprise them the same way the Blitzkrieg Boys had first turned up after the gang had come back from Hokkaido. Kai smirked and readied Dranzer, then nodded for Ray to take the lead. Ray jumped up onto the wall in an area sheltered from their teammates' view by the trees and moved into position, ready to launch Driger at Draciel, leaving Tyson and Dragoon to Kai. He waited for Kai to move into position, not wanting to blow their cover too soon. Kai backed up a few steps from the wall and raised his launcher, already having a plan in mind and waited for Ray to launch. Ray nodded to Kai then launched Driger without a word, straight at Draciel who was battling Dragoon in a dish. At the same time, Kai launched Dranzer straight up into the air, where he momentarily disappeared in the sunlight. Kai then made his own move.
"I've got you now, Tyson," Max declared as they battled, only to have his beyblade suddenly knocked back to him, "Hey?"
"What the-?" Tyson gasped, before taking a step back as another beyblade appeared from above and slammed Dragoon.
Ray hopped down from the wall, into the grounds, and caught Driger as his blade flew back to him before what had just happened could truly sink in for the group. "Let your guard down, dude," he commented, grinning.
Tyson caught his blade and looked round. "Ray?" he asked, before a shadow appeared above him. Looking up, he saw Kai standing on the roof of the house.
"Surprise," Ray responded in clear amusement.
Tyson laughed. "It's good to see you guys. But have you never heard of calling ahead?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Kai asked, catching Dranzer and jumping down from the roof.
"Yeah," Ray agreed with Kai. "How's that supposed to surprise you guys?"
"Good point," Tyson nodded. "But we could have planned a welcome back party or something for you if we'd known."
"So how did things go back home, Ray?" Max asked.
"Um," Ray began, thinking about all that had happened. Kai's training, the bonding, Ray's father, his uncle Stan, the Gargoyles and things he'd never tell anyone. All in all, it had been quite eventful. "It was a bit of a rollercoaster actually, huh, Kai?"
"You could say that," Kai agreed. "But we survived."
"Well we wanna hear all about it," Tyson told them both. "Nothing much has happened here while you've been gone."
"Well, Kai managed his training despite having the, um, ahem, most awkward teacher available. I met my father for the first time since I was little and he wanted me to move away with him, so Kai took care of that, which was pure genius by the way. Some Gargoyles attacked the village, but Kai dealt with them too. P.S. Do NOT make him angry. Oh and Mariah wants you guys to see this," Ray commented as he pulled out an envelope and held it out to them.
Max and Tyson blinked, trying to take this all in at once. Tyson then accepted the envelope and opened it. Inside was a photo of Kevin hanging upside down in a tree by his ankle. Tyson immediately started giggling. "Nice one."
"Lee was going to batter the absolute living daylights out of him and I persuaded him not to. I didn't know he was going to do that instead," Ray explained. Tyson nodded, while Max looked at the photo and Kai glanced around for any sign of the others. "Where are the others?" Ray asked. "And how's Tala's arm doing?"
"Kai?" Hilary's voice asked from the closest doorway. "KAI!" she cried delightedly when she realised it really was him and rushed forward to glomp him.
"Huh?" Kai turned round. "Hila-oof!" he grunted as the girl caught him off balance and sent them both to the ground. Lying there, Kai opened his eyes and looked at her. "It's good to see you too," he greeted with a small smirk.
"You should have told me you were coming," Hilary told him giggling. "I missed you. I kept all of your letters."
"Hn," Kai smiled. "Like Ray was just saying, it was a surprise." He blushed slightly. "I kept your letters too," he added more quietly. Hilary beamed at Kai, gave him a squeeze then shifted to let him up again, still giggling. Kai got back onto his feet and dusted himself down a bit. "So, how have things been here?" he asked Hilary, "Tala try to murder anyone while I was away?"
Hilary looked over at Tyson pointedly. "A few times," she answered.
Kai smirked as he glanced at the world champ, "Oh dear. I'll no doubt be hearing about that later. Though I must say, it was good to see you guys training when Ray and I arrived."
"Hey, before you even go there about Tala, it was his fault. He smashed the phone to pieces!" Tyson protested.
"He replaced it after," Max pointed out.
Kai blinked. "Why?"
"I dunno," Tyson shrugged. "Ian phoned and wanted to speak to Tala, so I gave Tala the phone. Next thing I know he's totally lost it."
Kai let out a snort in amusement. "I think I know what happened," he commented. He looked to Hilary. "A certain comment from Ian, d'you think?"
"Yup," Hilary nodded. "I know because I actually spoke to him about it. I feel kinda bad about the whole thing because Ian got it off of me."
"I wouldn't worry," Kai mused. "Ian's good at using his size to his advantage. So if Tala goes after him, I'm sure he'll be able to escape."
"Yeah, but I gave him the fuel. Poor Tala. He's never going to hear the end of it. Oh and what happened after Tala smashed the phone, he told Mr Granger he'd replace it and he was fine with that and then Tyson came in and just went nuts. Tala was already in a bad mood with his arm and Ian and he just didn't have the patience for Tyson. So some things were said and then he just snapped. Bryan had to pull him away before he hurt himself, what with his arm. Apparently a cast makes a good club, you know?"
Kai sweat-dropped. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he mused. "Well, I'm back now. So I'll keep him under control."
"So where are the others?" Hilary asked looking around, "Mariah, Lee, Gary, Kevin and Kathleen? Why aren't they here?"
"They stayed back in White Tiger hills," Kai explained. "It's now my responsibility to protect Ray. The elders have entrusted his safety to me."
"They sent a whole team with him last time," Hilary commented, impressed. "You looked after him before that anyway."
"Well, hopefully I can do the same again," Kai replied. "Things are a lot easier now for me, after receiving my training. But there's still plenty to learn."
"You have to give me the details you couldn't put in letters. I'm dying to know," Hilary told him.
Kai nodded. "I will, I promise."
000
While Hilary and Kai spoke together, Ray led Tyson and Max inside for a chat, to give the couple some time to themselves, figuring it would be good for them after being apart for so long. "So how come you hadn't seen your dad since you were little?" Tyson asked once they reached the living-room where Tala, Bryan and Kenny were sitting. Kenny was completely absorbed in the data he was entering, Bryan was fiddling with his beyblade and Tala was reading.
"He left," Ray answered with a shrug, "Couldn't wait to be rid of me. He's not my dad by the way, he's my father. There's a difference. You guys have dads I've got an uncle who took my father's role." Ray turned to the others in the room. "Hi guys. We decided to come back without an announcement to surprise you all for a laugh. But give Kai and Hil some time to themselves just now."
"Welcome back," Bryan greeted with a nod.
"How are things now?" Tala asked, getting straight to the point.
"Thanks, Bryan," Ray responded then turned to Tala. "Kai's training went well. The elders are satisfied in his abilities for him to continue on his own. He's really strong. He drove back a large number of demons who attacked the village. How's the arm?"
Tala blinked. "My arm is fine. What? Demons attacked you?"
"Mm," Ray nodded looking a little sheepish. "They were after me. Gargoyles. They um, didn't like the fact that I'd lived when so many of them had died."
The two Blitzkrieg Boys exchanged glances. "The machine?" Bryan guessed.
Ray nodded again. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Kai tried telling them he'd dealt with it, but the thing is they took my survival as an insult and wouldn't listen. So Kai ended up unleashing a huge amount of power and they were pretty terrified of him by the time they left."
"Was he alright?" Tala asked, concerned.
"He was fine to begin with, but he developed a bit of a fever so Mariah and I looked after him through the night," Ray answered, opting not to mention the nightmare. Tala nodded glad that that seemed to be the only issue. "He's really learned a lot of control on his power since then," Ray commented.
"That's a relief," Bryan commented. "Kai will feel better about himself too."
Ray nodded. "So, what did we miss here then?" he asked brightly.
"Besides Tala trashing the phone," Bryan said with a smirk while Tala promptly looked away, "Well, Max and Tyson have been busy training and Kenny's been pretty much stuck in his laptop the whole time."
"Here, maybe this'll cheer you up, Tal," Ray stated, holding the photo of Kevin out to him.
Tala took it and smirked darkly. "Looks like whoever did that was very restrained. But I like it."
"I asked Lee to go easy on him. Mariah took the picture. And Kai let him down, I'm told Kevin landed on his head," Ray informed Tala.
Bryan winced at the thought. "Ouch."
"Well it's still a lot less than what Lee was going to do to him," Ray informed him.
"I'll bet," Bryan sniggered. "So, what's next? Now that you're back?"
"More training," Ray answered brightly. "There's a tournament coming up in Russia. Mr Dickenson told us about it when he organised our flight back."
Tala and Bryan looked at each other in surprise. "In Russia?" Tala repeated.
"When did that come about?" Bryan asked.
"Just this week. They're still finalising the plans for the venue," Ray answered. "I'm pretty stoked about this tournament. The battles will be really interesting. See, you enter the competition in teams of two and each battle starts off as a one-on-one match, but can increase to a two-on-one or two-on-two battle depending on the decisions of the captains. If both players are in the dish and one loses then they both lose, so it can be a huge risk to increase your number. That'll test the trust in teams which could also influence performance."
"That is interesting," Tala mused. "So, who are you planning on tag teaming with? Or have you not made that decision yet?"
"Kai and I are gonna tag-team. We had a tournament before with a form of tag-teaming and Kenny went over all the statistics to find the best matches. Plus there's the time Kai spent at my place with me, so we know each other. We totally surprised these guys without a word said between us," Ray answered, gesturing to Tyson and Max. He then looked at them. "You guys will need to decide which of you will be captain and you need to work on co-ordinating your attacks together." Ray then turned back to the Russians. "So what about you guys?"
"We'll need to discuss it," Tala replied. "I can't compete. So if we're going to put a team forward, we'll need to decide who would be best suited for it."
"Anyone you definitely don't want to take part?" Ray asked.
"I'd rather Ian didn't," Tala replied. "He has a habit of not following instructions."
"That could lead to a lot of problems, I can understand your feelings on that," Ray commented.
000
Hilary rang the doorbell of Cassie's house and waited for an answer. While Kai had been away in China, Hilary had spent a lot of time with her friend, taking the letters she received from Kai over to read together. And now that Kai was back, Hilary couldn't wait to tell Cassie. She also had a question for the other girl. The door opened as her friend answered it, "Hilary, hi! Another letter from your boyfriend?" she asked playfully.
Hilary grinned, "Even better. He's back."
"When did he get back? Why didn't he say anything?" Cassie asked.
"Just today," Hilary replied. "He wanted it to be a surprise."
"That's sneaky and sweet at the same time," Cassie commented. "But I would have thought you'd be spending as much time as possible with him since he's back. I know how much you've missed him."
"I know, I'm just heading back," Hilary nodded. "This is just a bit of a flying visit, because I wanted to ask you something and couldn't wait until I see you at school."
"Okay, got time to come in or is it that quick a flying visit?"
"That quick. See, I need to speak to Mr Dickenson about something tomorrow, so I was hoping you might have an answer by then." Hilary took a breath and crossed her fingers. "Thing is, the guys and I are going back to Russia in a few weeks for a tournament and I was wondering if you'd like to come with us? Mr Dickenson is going to organise tickets tomorrow afternoon. I know it's really short notice, but it'll be during the school break anyway, so you won't miss anything."
"Just a sec, I'll ask my parents," Cassie responded, sounding keen and disappeared inside for a moment. After a few minutes, there was an excited squeal and Cassie rushed back to the door. "They said yes!"
"Really? Yes!" Hilary had to stop herself from bouncing happily where she stood. It would be great to have another girl to travel with. "In that case, I'll fill you in on more details later. But now I can let Mr Dickenson know in the morning that he'll need to get another ticket."
"I'd been planning to take a trip with some old friends before the move, but we never got the chance. So my parents said this would make up for it," Cassie explained, then lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm glad though, 'cause that trip was just gonna be a camping trip to the next town, nothing as exciting as going to another country."
Hilary giggled. "Well Russia will certainly be exciting," she chirped. "I would know. Anyway, I'd better get going, Cas. I'll see you tomorrow and we can talk about it more then."
"Okay, Hilary, thank you," Cassie responded, giving her friend a hug. Hilary returned the hug and then said goodnight, leaving with a quick wave and heading back to Tyson's.
000
Kai wandered along the riverbank as the sun started to set fiddling with something in his pocket. Hilary had gone out to see Cassie for a bit and Kai was hoping to catch her on the way back. There was something he'd meant to do when he'd first seen her after arriving back, but with the others being around he hadn't had the chance. Hopefully he would be able to make up for it once he found Hilary.
Hilary hummed to herself cheerfully as she made her way to Tyson's. She was looking forward to going back to Russia and hoped she'd be able to see Czar, Ziva and the puppies. She wondered how they were doing and hoped that they were well.
Hearing approaching footsteps, Kai glanced up from the river and saw Hilary heading in his direction. He smiled. "Hey," he called, "Fancy meeting you here."
"Yeah, I was on my way back," Hilary replied, smiling at the sight of him.
Kai walked up and met her half way, stopping in front of her. "I, uh," he began, fishing around in his pocket. "I brought you something." He pulled a small gift box decorated with tiny petals and birds from his pocket and held it out for Hilary to take, "Meant to give it to you earlier."
Hilary blinked as she accepted the gift box. "You got me a present? Thank you. I was only kidding when I said to bring me back something. I told you that," she commented. "You didn't have to." Hilary opened the box and peered in at the pendant it held gasping when she saw it. "Oh, it's beautiful," she whispered in awe.
The pendant was silver, covered by a lining of mother of pearl. In the centre were two Chinese characters which looked to be made from some kind of precious stone, a ruby going by the colour of it. Kai shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked away, blushing faintly. "It says Phoenix," he told her. "I didn't know what to get you, so I had it made for you. It's something a bit different."
Hilary threw her arms around Kai, hugging him tightly. "I love it! Thank you so much."
Kai smiled as he held her. "I'm glad you like it."
Hilary smiled and moved back. "Could you help me put it on, please?" she asked.
"Sure," Kai replied, taking the necklace out of its box and stepped round behind Hilary. Lifting his arms over her head, he hung the necklace round her neck and did up the clasp.
"Thanks." Hilary adjusted her hair and turned to face Kai, looking down at the pendant. "How does it look?" she asked, meeting Kai's gaze with a smile.
The Russian smiled again. "It suits you," he told her honestly. "Not a bad choice, if I do say so myself." Thanking Kai again, Hilary was happy to spend some time with him in privacy before heading back and along the way she informed him about inviting Cassie and Cassie's answer. They walked along the river hand in hand until it got dark and when they arrived back at Tyson's, the house was surprisingly peaceful. No arguing. No fighting. No sounds of breaking vases or ornaments. The house was actually welcoming to return to. Kai was glad that Hilary had invited her friend Cassie along. It would be good for her to have another girl to talk to. Kai knew that it was hard for Hilary sometimes, being the only girl on the team.
000
A couple of weeks later Kai, Tala, Bryan, Ray, Tyson, Max, Kenny, Hilary and Cassie were gathered at the airport ready for their flight.
During those two weeks, the Bladebreakers had trained for the tournament, though there were a couple of times when Tyson asked to swap partners with Ray whenever an accident occurred. Whether he'd been serious or not was unknown but it had been pointed out to him by Kenny that they'd already settled the matter and were statistically in the best arrangement for them as it was.
As they waited for their flight Hilary spoke to Cassie about how long the flight itself would be and what she'd done the first time round. "Hey, I hope we don't get lost again," Tyson commented. "Hey, what hotel are we staying at anyway? Mr D didn't say."
"You guys are staying with us," Bryan informed them. "We'll be at the base for a few days before moving to a new place we just got that's actually in Moscow. Spencer and Ian have been working to get it ready, but they need a little more time."
"Really?" Tyson asked. "That's awesome! Man, I'm so ready for this tournament! This is gonna be sweet! We're gonna blow the competition out of the water, right, Maxie?"
"You bet, Tyson," Max giggled. "It's gonna be so cool to compete in Moscow again."
"Just don't get overconfident, alright guys," Kenny warned them lightly. "Remember, beyblading is taken very seriously in Russia."
"Aw, Kenny, don't be such a worrywart," Tyson piped up. "We won the last time we were here, we'll do it again! No sweat! It'll be a breeze! You watch."
"Yun toe ju nou," Ray muttered.
"What's that, Ray?" Tyson asked looking round at him.
Ray straightened up immediately and hurriedly waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "N-nothing, Tyson, just um, thinking out loud, don't mind me." Tyson shrugged and turned back to his conversation with Kenny, ensuring him how easy they were going to win the tournament. Ray edged over to Kai, Tala and Bryan. "It means "human head pig brain", pretty much an idiot," he informed them quietly behind his hand. The three Russians sniggered, but said nothing. Kenny's lecture was cut short at the announcement for their flight and the group set off still talking amongst themselves. Ray paused and looked back, searching the faces of the people in the airport before turning and following after the others.
000
The cold blast of air that hit the group when they stepped out of the airport in Moscow was a welcome relief to the three Russians who seemed to be glad to be home. To the others who weren't prepared for it, like Tyson, it was more of a shock. Despite what had happened the first time, the world champ still hadn't dressed warmly enough for the cool Russian weather. Tala and Bryan both sniggered as the boy sneezed. "Déjà vu, anyone?" Ray muttered to Max's amusement.
"Tyson, you're a total embarrassment," Hilary commented as Cassie giggled. "You knew it would be cold! Why weren't you prepared? It's like dealing with a five-year-old!"
"I didn't think it would be as cold as last time," Tyson whined with a sniff. "Besides, look at Kai. He's wearing short sleeves."
"Yes, but I'm used to the cold, Tyson," he reminded the boy.
"Nah. You're just showing off."
"Hn." Kai looked away, which only made Tyson more frustrated.
"Yun toe ju nou," Ray commented again.
"What does that even mean?" Max asked.
"I might tell you later," Ray replied with a grin.
"Aaahhhh!" Tyson yelled, pulling at his hair. "Can someone lend me a jacket?"
"You can have mine if you'll admit, loudly, that you're a complete, scatter-brained idiot," Ray told him trying not to laugh.
"Wha? No way!" Tyson retorted, and folded his arms. "I'll just stay cold."
"You'll need something warmer where you're going," a familiar voice commented. It was Ian, who had just appeared from round the corner.
"Hi, Ian. How's it going?" Max greeted him. "We're just messing with Tyson because he forgot his coat. Again."
"Ah, thought so," Ian replied, before looking at Kai. "It seems you were right. We've got an extra coat in the truck."
Kai nodded. "I told you."
"Tyson, you're losing your touch. You're becoming predictable," Ray commented with a laugh.
"Ian, this is Cassie, she's my friend and with us. Cassie, this is Ian," Hilary introduced them, having told Cassie all about the time she'd spent in Russia.
"Hi," Ian greeted the new girl, before digging out his wallet and pulling some money from it.
Kai stepped forward and held out his hand. "We agreed on double that, Ian," he told the smaller boy. Ian muttered something in Russian and pulled more money from his wallet and handed it to Kai, who smirked and pocketed it.
"You were even betting on it?" Max asked as he and Ray started laughing and Tyson grumbled before sneezing again, which only served to amuse the pair further.
"It was the perfect opportunity to make some easy cash," Kai replied with a shrug, as Ian led them round to the car park where Spencer was waiting with a black mini bus. He greeted everyone when he saw them. Hilary introduced Cassie and then asked how the puppies were doing.
"They're doing fine," Spencer told her. "Wait until you see them."
"I'm looking forward to it. How about Czar and Ziva?" Hilary asked looking forward to seeing Czar again in particular. She was really fond of him and still amused that he'd taken to her so well despite his reputation.
"Ziva is fine too" Spencer replied. "We had a bit of an incident with Czar and had to take him to a vet, but he's going to be fine."
"Oh no, what happened?" Hilary asked.
"He took on a wolf that wandered onto our land," Spencer explained. "It did a number on him, but he came off best." Hilary was glad to know Czar would be fine and Max asked Kai about the puppies commenting that Kai never said he had any pets.
Kai grunted with a small smile and pointed out to Max that he had never asked before and therefore not given Kai a reason to tell him. "That's true," Max agreed, "So how many?"
Kai smirked and closed his eyes, folding his arms as they all set off in the mini bus. "Eighteen."
"Eighteen dogs?" Max gasped. "That's a lot!"
"Yeah and then some," Tyson agreed, his mouth hanging open.
"And then there's the half a dozen or so cats that come and go as they please," Ian added.
"Wow, and you can remember all their names?" Max asked.
"Of course," Kai nodded. "Each one has their own personality."
"Any favourites?" Max asked, "And if so, why?"
"Probably Czar," Kai admitted, "Because he terrorises Bryan."
"Hey, that is not funny!" Bryan spoke up. "Sometimes I think that damn dog is plotting against me!"
"Probably because he is," Kai snorted in amusement.
"I think it's funny," Ray commented as Max and Tyson laughed.
"Yeah. Well you're all even more twisted than I am then," Bryan retorted and proceeded to sulk. As they headed out of Moscow, a heavy blizzard started.
"Don't take offence, Bryan," Ray commented. "I just think it's funny 'cause I find it hard to picture you being scared of anything. And you should know by now that the three of us will laugh at just about anything. It's just that easy to amuse us. You know what they say, little things please little minds," he added to level the playing field a little so Bryan had something to laugh at about them too. He turned his attention out the window, watching the snow falling and frowned a little as he was reminded of Hokkaido and The Avalanchers. They'd received training in Russia, so would they turn up?
000
It took just over an hour to get to the base and the group all hurried inside out of the weather. "Wow! This place is amazing!" Tyson exclaimed as he looked around. "Do we get a tour?"
"I'll show you around," Kai said. "We've got plenty of space for everyone." At that moment, a large dog appeared from one if the doorways. It was Czar, with a bandage around one of his front legs and various new, partly healed gashes dotted around the rest of his body. He limped over to the group slowly, having a sniff at the newcomers.
"Hello, Czar," Hilary gushed, crouching down to greet him. "Oh, look at you. You've really been in the wars, haven't you, boy?" The large dog sat down in front of her and wagged his tail slightly, letting out a quiet grumble in greeting. Hilary petted him and made a fuss, praising him for bravery and protecting his pack.
"Can I pat him?" Max asked Kai.
Kai nodded. "Sure. Just let him sniff you first and move slowly." Kai looked up at Spencer. "Where are the puppies?"
"In the kitchen," the big Russian replied and Kai nodded. Max did as instructed as he tried to make friends with the husky and Tyson would have done the same, but Kenny spoke up and told him to wait rather than crowding the dog. He had been hurt in his fight so it was only fair to give him some space. He also pointed out that there was plenty of time and it might be an idea if they put away their things first.
Kai watched as Czar slowly accepted Max and sat quietly to enjoy the attention. "What happened to the wolf?" he asked Spencer. "You said it came off worse."
Spencer nodded, "A lot worse. Czar killed it. We burned the body so it wouldn't attract any more."
"Okay," Kai nodded, as Czar finally seemed to have had enough attention and limped away to lie down. "Come on guys. I'll show you around and you can get unpacked."
"Great," Tyson commented as the group agreed. Some of them were feeling a bit tired from the flight, but Tyson was too excited to the see the rest of the place to notice their quietness. Kai showed everyone to the rooms that had been set up and gave them all the option of getting some rest and leaving the tour for later. Kai himself was feeling tired and wouldn't mind having an hour's kip in his room. During his training, Tao had told him that rest was just as important as any other aspect and with being the Phoenix, it was important to conserve energy whenever he could. With the number of people opting to rest first Tyson agreed to the tour being postponed. With everyone shown to their rooms, Kai left the group to their own devices and went to his own to lie down for a while.
000
After a few hours Max and Tyson were recovered and, unfortunately, were bored. It was unfortunate because they, or Tyson more specifically, made sure the others knew about it downstairs. "What do you guys do for fun around here? Or are you all like Kai and it's all work and no play? Hey! I got an idea! Why don't we go have a snowball fight? Come on, it'll be a laugh. Kai's good at snowball fights, what about the rest of you?" Tyson asked the Blitzkrieg Boys, firing the next question before getting an answer.
"In six foot drifts?" Ian asked. He laughed. "Good luck moving around in it."
"Surely it isn't that deep?" Kenny asked incredulously. "It wasn't when we got here."
"You'd be surprised how quickly the snow falls here," Ian replied. "But it won't all be that deep. Just where it's been drifting."
"Hey guys," Ray greeted as he joined them after his nap. "Did I miss anything?"
"Hardly," Tyson replied. "Nothing's going on. I'm bored."
"Trust me, Tyson," Bryan spoke up. "You wouldn't want to face us in a snowball fight. You wouldn't stand a chance."
"You didn't challenge them to..." Ray began, almost incredulously, but trailed off. This was Tyson. Of course he would challenge them to a snowball fight. "Oh, let him learn the hard way," he commented after thinking about it. "It'll give us all a laugh. Except maybe Tyson."
"YEAH!" Tyson agreed. "Wait, what?"
"Did you forget Hokkaido?" Ray asked pointedly. "That was just Kai. If you take them all on you'll end up looking like a snowman. And I will laugh."
"You guys should join in too, to even it up," Tyson commented.
"I'll pass, thanks," Ray replied. "I have a whole list of reasons not to go outside."
"Like what?"
"I'll get snow in my slippers, my feet will get wet, they'll be cold, my toes will turn blue, it's cosy in here and I'm not challenging Russians to a snowball fight," Ray listed on his fingers.
"Aww, Ray, don't be a fraidy cat," Tyson responded.
"Tyson, if you start a snowball fight with them I'll take their side," Ray told him bluntly.
Bryan smirked, "Yeah. Back down while you've still got the chance, Tyson," he taunted.
"Aw, you don't scare me, bring it on," Tyson responded. "Know what I think? I think you're all scared and that's why you're trying to talk me out of it."
"Oh really?" There was a chuckle from the top of the stairs and everyone looked up to see Kai standing there with a smirk on his face. "Challenge accepted."
"Alright!" Tyson cheered.
"Tyson's gonna get buried," Ray chanted brightly.
"No I'm not," Tyson told him.
"And I'm going to laugh," Ray stated as though Tyson hadn't spoken.
"Ray, I'm not going to get buried. Max, you're in right?" Tyson asked.
"You bet!" Max nodded.
"Hear that, Ray? Maxie's in. Come on. It'll be fun," Tyson tried to persuade him.
"I'm staying in here where it's warm and I'm going to laugh at you from the window," Ray told him. "I like being able to feel my toes."
"You're just scared. Well, me and Max can handle this anyway," Tyson shrugged.
I'm sneaking out as soon as your back is turned and shoving snow down your top, Ray thought as he looked at Tyson. "Sure. Petrified. Have fun losing."
"I'm not gonna lose," Tyson replied resolutely.
"Alright then," Ian announced. "Let's get this party started. This isn't just a battle. It's all-out war!" He turned and headed for the door as Kai came down the stairs and joined the group. Tyson cheered, pleased that he'd be doing something fun and rushed out. Max laughed and followed.
Ray headed over to a window and looked out at the snow. "I'll follow in a bit," he commented to the remaining Russians quietly so Tyson and Max wouldn't hear him. "Gonna give Tyson a sneak attack."
"Just watch you don't get caught in the crossfire," Bryan warned him as the Blitzkrieg Boys all headed out.
Outside, Tyson and Max were arming themselves with snowballs already. "This is perfect!" Tyson declared. "It's payback time for Hokkaido! Kai! You're going down!"
"Let's see you try, Tyson," Kai retorted, as Bryan and Spencer quickly built up a snow barrier to shield themselves from attack. There was soon snow flying in both directions, but Max and Tyson were getting hit a lot more than the Russians, especially Tyson. To try and even the odds the pair split up and ran to either side of the snow barrier to try cut off the Russians' shelter from their attacks.
Tyson was completely focussed on trying to hit Kai, but let out a strangled shout as someone grabbed him from behind and shoved a handful of snow down his back, whilst using him as a shield from the snowballs heading their way. Tyson promptly started jumping about trying to get the snow out of his clothes and looked up to see Ray, a few feet from him, doubled over and pointing at him as he laughed. "Thought you weren't coming out?" Tyson stated as he grabbed some snow to pay Ray back.
"I told you... I'd join them!" Ray stated between his laughter.
A massive snowball collided with Tyson from the side, knocking him completely off his feet before he could get to Ray. "Run for it, Ray!" Kai called, having been the one responsible.
"HEY!" Tyson protested. "You guys are tag-teaming!"
"Consider it practice at teamwork for the tournament," Ray called as he took Kai's advice and headed back to safety. "Yours needs work!" he added then ducked back inside as Tyson threw a snowball at him.
"I'll get you back for that, Ray! As soon as I've finished with Kai!" Tyson shouted, only to get nailed again, this time by Ian.
"Yeah, because you're doing such a good job of it already!" Ray called sarcastically.
"Easy target!" Ian shouted, launching another snowball at Tyson before he could recover.
"Tyson!" Max shouted, managing to hit Ian with a snowball. "Don't worry, buddy, I'm coming!"
"And going!" Kai smirked, throwing another large snowball, this time at Max.
"Wah!" Max cried out as he was knocked off his feet, but sat up laughing which showed he was okay.
"Max!" Tyson shouted, getting to his feet and running at Kai with some snow, planning to grab him and give him a face-wash. Kai laughed as he dodged and jumped up onto the roof of the dog shed, grabbing a handful of snow to throw at Tyson from above. "Ack! That's cheating! You're cheating going up there!" Tyson shouted, trying to throw snowballs back up at Kai but getting pelted from behind by Ian, Spencer and Bryan.
Kai sniggered then gasped as he felt the snow under his feet move. His weight had supplied enough pressure to cause it to lose grip on the roof and seconds later it was rushing off like an avalanche. Uh-oh, Kai thought, before yelling as the snow took him along for the ride and he fell off the roof, ending up getting buried along with Tyson in the resulting pile.
Tyson grumbled as he pulled himself free about Ray saying he was going to get buried and jinxing it then practically screamed as he had another handful of snow shoved down his back. "RAY!" he yelled.
"That one wasn't me!" Ray called from the door.
"That's what you get for throwing snowballs at me in Hokkaido, you jerk," Hilary stated nearby and stuck out her tongue at Tyson.
"You go girl," Cassie cheered from the side-lines, where she was watching with Kenny, who was recording the group's antics. It was a nice change to be filming something other than beyblading and this footage would be nice to look back on a couple of months down the line.
"You guys can't just come over here and shove snow down my back and then run away!" Tyson complained.
"But, Tyson, Ian said it was war," Ray commented innocently.
"Yeah," Hilary agreed with her hands on her hips. "All's fair in love and war."
"We're like sleeper agents," Ray continued. "You never know when we're gonna strike!"
"Even we don't know," Hilary agreed with a wicked chuckle.
"You're either in or out!" Tyson protested. "No back and forth."
More snow hit the back of Tyson's head. "Don't turn your back, Tyson," Kai warned him.
"Well tell them to make up their mind!" Tyson responded before throwing a snowball back at Kai. As Kai got hit in the shoulder, the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys retaliated with an onslaught of snowballs and the fight escalated again into madness. Good, fun, honest madness. Hilary was quick to join in and Tyson was soon covered in snow. "Is it too late to organize even teams?" Tyson shouted.
"Yes!" the group chorused.
"Alright! Alright!" Tyson shouted after a few moments of shielding himself and not having time to pick up any more snow. "Uncle! Uncle!"
"It's about time," Bryan smirked as Ian called a ceasefire.
"Tyson!" Ray called. "You look like a snowman. Hate to say I told you so, ah what am I saying? I love to say I told you so. AND you got buried. Again, I told you so!"
"Hey, just 'cause I gave up doesn't mean I'm not planning on getting you back still!" Tyson called back as he brushed the snow off his clothes.
"Oh! And I also said you were gonna lose!" Ray pointed out, taking no heed.
Cassie giggled as she watched the boys then looked at Hilary. "I'd say some hot chocolate is in order now. What about you?"
Hilary giggled and nodded, "Yeah. Sounds good," she agreed.
Cassie cheered, "Yay! Alright then guys, how does hot chocolate sound?"
"Sounds great," Ray answered brightly as Max rushed over with a cheer of clear agreement. Tyson soon followed, stooping to collect some snow when Ray's back was turned to return the favour from earlier.
"How original," Kai commented quietly for only Tyson to hear, as the group started to make their way indoors.
"Hey it's payback," Tyson responded and moved in for the strike, only to find himself flat on his back after Ray spun round with a sweeping kick to his legs. "Hey!" Tyson protested. "How did you know?"
"Number one, I heard you," Ray told him. "Number two." Ray pointed at the window. "Glass is a reflective surface, Tyson."
Kai sniggered quietly, "Owned."
"Aw, man," Tyson groaned. "Well I'm still gonna get you back."
"Yeah, you do that," Ray replied. "But you should know that I got you with that snow as my own payback. So if you try anything, I'm gonna have my own revenge." Ray turned away again and headed inside.
"Well I already know not to eat anything you make again!" Tyson called after Ray as he got up again.
"Do yourself a favour and heed his warning, Tyson," Kai suggested. "Otherwise it'll just end up becoming a vicious cycle."
"No it won't. Ray will quit first," Tyson replied as he brushed himself down again. "What was he even getting revenge for anyway?"
Kai shook his head. "I've lost track of how much payback he owes you. Don't ask me."
Tyson froze and looked at Kai. "Wait, there's more?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, plenty," Kai replied with a smirk. "Just wait and see."
"Yeah, but... he'll let it go. Right? I mean, this is Ray we're talking about," Tyson replied, concerned about what he was to expect from Ray. He hadn't forgotten the prank with the dinner. Ray had even gone to lengths such as hiding the milk and sabotaging Tyson's glass. And with the snow, Ray was promptly backed up and covered by Kai. If Ray was going to get him, he was going to succeed because he planned it out. What would happen next? Perhaps it would be an idea to keep his guard up. And maybe leave Ray alone for a while, so he could forget about it.
"Only Ray knows the answer to that," Kai answered.
000
It was a welcome relief to get inside and into the warmth. "Glad you could join us, Tyson," Max commented with a laugh. "You know we're going to be soaked after that? That was good fun, but you can't deny we were totally out of our league."
"And Dizzi and I got it all on film," Kenny giggled.
"Great," Tyson mumbled while Max laughed again. The group all calmed down again once they were back inside and after changing into some dry clothes, they sat down to enjoy some hot chocolate together. The rest of the evening passed by peacefully and soon everyone turned in for the night.
000
Kai let out a sleepy groan as he found himself staring at his digital clock in the darkness, clueless as to why he was suddenly awake. He'd been peaceful enough, despite being a light sleeper, and there hadn't been any noise that had woken him. The base was silent, save for the gentle whistle of the wind as it passed over the domes on the roof and the occasional grumble of a dog downstairs.
It was only two in the morning. Since when did his brain think that this was a reasonable time to wake up? Rolling over, Kai readjusted his pillow and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would take him again without any trouble. Unfortunately it didn't and the young Russian soon found himself growing irritable. Was a full night's sleep really so much to ask for?
Finally reaching the end of his patience, which wasn't very long, Kai threw back his blankets with a snarl and stormed silently out of his room. Moving down the stairs he passed the fire which was still glowing dimly and entered the kitchen. His destination was the fridge. Opening it he pulled out a bottle of water and leaned back against the counter, letting the fridge light illuminate the room.
Staring tiredly at his reflection in the window he uncapped the bottle and sighed. But before it could even make it to his lips Kai froze. Something was wrong. Dumping the bottle on the worktop Kai moved closer to the window and peered out. It was pitch-black outside, making it impossible for him to see anything. Still, a strange feeling was slowly making itself known to him and Kai couldn't shake it.
Glancing down at the floor, he became even more alarmed. Earlier, when everyone had come inside after the snowball fight they'd left all of their shoes together to dry off. But now there was one pair missing. "Shit!" Kai cursed, moving quickly to shove his own shoes on and then throwing the door open. It swung back with a bang from the wind but Kai didn't notice as he took off into the blizzard.
000
"This was too easy," Senga commented to Bernard, Nathan and Wade. "I can't believe he came out here without any fuss and is just standing there." A few feet from them, downwind, stood Ray, in the shorts and T-shirt he'd been sleeping in. He neither moved nor uttered a sound as he faced them in the snow, his eyes were dull and his stance was completely relaxed. "We could have done with knowing this trick a long time ago. And the others don't even realize he's absent. You know, we could kill him right now and they would have no idea."
"Stick to the plan. We have our orders," Bernard told her. "It's too soon. They can still find a replacement."
"That's it," Nathan commented, "Now what? Do we leave him here or what?"
A sudden blast of hot air rushed past the Avalanchers, melting the falling snow and knocking them all off their feet. Kai came rushing up the hill and stopped between Ray and the enemy. "You lot again!" he snarled angrily.
"What the hell is he doing out here?" Senga snarled as she and the others clambered to their feet. She gasped and looked around. "Where is it?" she demanded.
"Here," Wade answered, holding up what looked like a metal box.
"Is it damaged?" Senga asked while Bernard and Nathan stepped in front of her and Wade to keep Kai back.
"No, it's fine," Wade answered.
"Well turn it up and give that brat something else to worry about," Senga snapped. Wade nodded and fiddled with a dial on the box. After a brief moment Ray moved, heading towards them slowly.
Kai gasped and reached out, grabbing Ray's wrist and holding on firmly to stop him. "Ray, snap out of it." Kai looked back at the Avalanchers. "Get out of here, now."
Ray blinked and looked around in confusion. "What am I...?" He frowned when he noticed The Avalanchers, then looked down at his wrist and then at the teen next to him. "Kai? Wha-?"
Bernard looked over his shoulder. "He's out of it now. We'll have to go to plan B," he told Senga and Wade. They both nodded and moved to either side of him and Nathan, all four facing Kai and Ray.
A glowing red pair of eyes suddenly appeared through the blizzard. "I wouldn't if I were you," Kai warned in a low growl.
"What the-" Senga gasped. "What's going on?"
Ray looked back and forth between Kai and The Avalanchers. He was aware of an odd pull and recognized the sensation from before. Kai had intervened that time too. It was the same as the machine that almost killed him. But if he felt that now, around The Avalanchers, did that mean they'd been responsible for the last time too? Were they the ones who'd murdered demons to create the 'ultimate bit beast'? What did they want now? How did they even know about it working on Ray? Had they been spying and found out about his heritage when he'd told Tala, Bryan and the Bladebreakers? Or had they been near the machine? And what about Zeo's warning and Kai's take on it? Was that it? Were they here to finish Kai and Ray once and for all? Ray was disturbed from these alarming thoughts by the sound of dogs barking in the distance.
Kai let go of Ray with an abrupt order to stay put and started to walk towards the Avalanchers. Blood red eyes glared at them all, before turning their attention on Senga. An almost demented sneer appeared on Kai's lips as what sounded like thunder started up in the distance. The sneer then faded. "You're the one responsible for that warning," Kai stated, his gaze never leaving the girl. "You took Wyatt's beyblade from his grave to use as a message. Well guess what. You've got my attention. So, now what are you going to do about it?"
"Clever boy," Senga sneered with more bravery than she felt. Kai had been problematic when he was injured and in hospital. He wasn't injured now and she didn't like the idea of facing Black Dranzer again. She also knew, thanks to the footage they'd been shown, that Kai's teammate was demon, or at the very least part demon and from the change in Kai himself she was starting to wonder if Ray was the only one. It would explain why Kai had also come outside, since the device was designed to lure demons. But then there was the fact that it hadn't affected Kai like it had affected Ray, so she could be wrong. Senga decided to put up a brave front. "Are you looking forward to joining little Wyatt?"
The next growl that came from Kai's throat wasn't human. It was much deeper and sounded almost feral. The air around them suddenly felt thick and heavy. "You have no right to mention his name. Go anywhere near his grave again and I will kill you."
Senga stumbled back a step, "Your voice? What's going on? It sounds like there are two..."
"Senga, get back here," Bernard snarled at her.
The dark chuckle that Kai let out was enough to send shivers down the spine. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. Because now there is nothing you can do to stop me." The rumbling in the distance was growing steadily louder, changing slightly as it drew near. "Let it be known that I will stop at NOTHING to keep my friends safe. You have no idea what you're up against." The familiar energies of Dranzer and Black Dranzer flared up suddenly behind Kai and Ray and the two phoenixes stared down murderously at the Avalanchers. The rumbling grew even louder.
"Then you should know that we'll deal with you in the tournament," Bernard told Kai.
"Kai? What is that?" Ray asked worriedly, looking around for the source of the sound.
"I look forward to seeing you try," Kai sneered. As he spoke, Dranzer crooned quietly to Ray and one of his long tail feathers moved to turn him in the direction of higher ground. Meanwhile, Black Dranzer hissed at Bernard.
"Oh, we'll do more than try. You, your little demon friend there, yeah we know, and the rest of your team," Bernard told Kai. "And you know what? We're not stopping at the bit beasts. So your little mechanic is toast too." Bernard pointed at Ray, "But I'm going to make it particularly painful for him because I have a couple of bones to pick with him about wrecking my things." Kai narrowed his eyes and a flame suddenly burst up out of nowhere, right in front of Bernard, catching him up one side of his face. Not only did it burn his skin but it also singed off an eyebrow and burnt some of his hair. Bernard cried out, cursed and covered his face immediately while the other three were somewhat alarmed.
"Um, Kai?" Ray asked quietly as the rumbling grew even closer.
"Get up that hill," Kai told Ray, nodding to the side while the Avalanchers were distracted. He looked back at Bernard. "Threaten my team like that again and I'll blind you, permanently."
"What about you?" Ray asked hesitantly while Bernard bit out every insult under the sun and his three teammates looked at each other, uncertain as to what they should do.
There was a crash from the hill above as a wave of water and ice suddenly swept over the crest, heading straight for the group. "Run!" Kai shouted at Ray, heading for the hill at the side. Dranzer and Black Dranzer stood their ground to protect the pair and make sure they got to safety in time. The Avalanchers however were right in the path of the flash flood.
Ray followed Kai immediately while The Avalanchers shouted out as they were caught in the spate and swept away. "Did you do that?" Ray asked once they'd stopped at a safe distance.
Kai was silent as he watched the enemy literally being washed away, before turning his back on them with a shrug. "Maybe," he answered.
Ray looked down. "Kai, I'm sorry."
The Russian looked back at him. "It's not your fault," he said. "You couldn't help it." Dranzer and Black Dranzer both returned to their blades in Kai's pocket. "Let's head back."
Ray nodded. "It... didn't affect you?" he asked Kai as he started walking.
"Not the way it affected you," Kai replied. "I felt something, but it wasn't strong enough so I still had a clear head."
"I don't even remember waking up," Ray commented. "It was stronger than the one before, but it was the same pull."
"We'll need to be extra careful then," Kai mused. "If I have to lock you in your room at night to keep you from risk then I will."
"Your dogs are really worked up," Ray observed.
Kai nodded. He could hear the howling clearly over the sound of the wind. "They probably sensed that something was wrong. Everyone must be wondering what's going on."
"Yeah..." Ray agreed feeling guilty.