The Gathering Storm

Rin was frozen for a few seconds, unable to process what was happening. When his mind finally caught up to his situation he bit the man's hand and sprinted out of his grip. However, he was not fast enough as the man who had been standing in front of him grabbed onto him. Rin gave out another shout before his mouth was once again clamped shut.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that kid." The first one to grab him, Steve, said while looking very intimidating.

Rin did his best to glare at the man in front of him, but it was of little use. It was not like he could hurt the man by staring at him (as much as Rin wished it was possible). The other one brought up his hand with a cloth in it and expertly switched hands without giving Rin any room to free himself and forcing the boy to breathe through the cloth. His vision swam, warping Steve's figure, and although he tried to fight it, the darkness of unconsciousness soon took over. As the buzzing in his ears finally took over he thought he heard a loud roar before nothing more.

Tala let out a chuckle, "Just like the good old days, huh Boris?"

Boris was looking down at him, just like he used to, a thin line forming the mouth showing his displeasure. "I never trusted you boys from the start. The King in all his mercy granted you a chance and you proved your worth... until now that is. I have to admit I thought all four of you were behind our little breach in security, but Brian has proven his worth to his masters."

Tala rolled his eyes. "I'd rather be a chained wolf than a dog for your ambitions. Do you think the Government or the King will step out of this unscathed?"

Boris clenched his fist in anger briefly before regaining control. The same smirk that Kai had worn when he and Tala were younger was reflected on Boris' face, chilling Tala greatly. He stepped back, but never turned his face (or eyes) from the young man chained in front of him as if he was expecting Tala to suddenly break free.

"Any rebels that are still alive and willing to challenge the King and all his might will be killed soon enough. We have sent messages everywhere that appear to be secret and that the senders don't know where the rebels hide, but in reality we know exactly who has taken up the call to arms and every group will be swiftly eliminated regardless of whether they attack us or not."

"Aren't you worried about revealing too much to me? You know the story, the bad guy reveals his master plan and the hero figures out a way to stop it just in time."

A chilling laugh escaped from Boris' lips, "No one is coming for you Tala. Any rebels will be too busy trying to save themselves once they realise it's a trap. Even if some of them do happen to realise, it will be impossible to find the King – the true mastermind – and assassinate him. It is impossible!"

"Tyson and his friends have achieved the impossible before!" Tala defiantly shouted.

"This time, Tala, I have not left the Rebellion Force, or Grevolution as you seem to like to refer to them as, any opportunity to win. They are not fighting one on one with people of their own skill level, they are facing an army of the elite. You are well aware of how strong our best are and we will send most of them to crush the spirits of the remaining rebels."

Tyson ran along the streets, following Seiryu's pull and barely registering Kai running behind him trying to keep up with his former team mate. Tyson turned the corner just in time to see Steve and Eddy holding the young boy he had met earlier.

"Hey!" Tyson shouted to get their attention before drawing his sword and calling upon Seiryu's power.

Kai caught up just in time to see Steve and Eddy running in the opposite direction. He raised an eyebrow at Tyson, who only shrugged in reply. It was then that he noticed the young boy tucked under Tyson's arm.

"Who's he?"

Tyson looked down at the unconscious youth. "I think he needs a place to stay."

"Considering we probably won't exist very soon I do not think it's a very good idea to keep him with us."

"Do you want me to leave him here then?" Tyson countered.

"Fine, but he better not cause any trouble." Kai relented before turning around and stalking off.

Tyson followed behind, carrying the child on his back and leaned his head against his rescuer's shoulder.

"So who is he?" Daichi asked, poking the sleeping child in front of them.

Hilary slapped his hand, "Don't do that! Where did you find him?" She asked, turning her attention to Tyson.

"He was being held by Steve and Eddy. He looks in pretty rough shape and I couldn't just leave him there." Tyson explained.

"You could have. For all we know that was a trap set up for us to take this kid in, so that when we have our backs turned he'll turn us in." Kai countered.

"Way to keep the positive thinking sourpuss."

Kenny sighed, "Kai has a point though." At Tyson's glare he held up his hands in defence. "Having said that… as long as one of us keeps an eye on him we should be ok. I mean, it's not like he can do anything while we're watching."

Kai crossed his arms and muttered, "Unless they're tracking him."

Hilary rolled her eyes and hit him lightly on the arm before turning to address the others. "Why don't Kai and I take first watch? If he wakes up then we'll let you guys know. After all, shouldn't we be thinking of ways to attack, considering the planned strike is only a day away?"

Tyson nodded and the three others made their way towards the door.

"Alright, but get one of us when you guys get tired." He suddenly grinned, "And don't forget there's a kid in the room."

Hilary turned bright red and Kai's look darkened considerably and Tyson had to dodge the sharp medical knife that was suddenly thrown his way.

Hilary was breathing heavily, secretly pleased with her aim, before giving a frustrated shout, "Men!"

Tyson grinned as he ran out of the room and caught up with Kenny and Daichi. Both looked quite scared, but entertained at the same time.

"Sheesh, who'd have thought they'd get so tetchy about it." He commented, folding his arms behind his head as he walked past.

The blush was still spread across Hilary's cheeks and she kept her head turned away from Kai just in case he decided to make fun of her for it. However she need not have worried, because Kai was keeping a sharp eye on the boy in front of him.

Hilary had fallen asleep on one of the spare beds in the room while Kai continued to keep watch. The boy's breathing had changed in the past few minutes and Kai was just waiting for him to wake up. Slowly the boy's eyes opened only slightly and looked around groggily, not really seeing anything.

"Don't you get tired of being right?"

Kai bent over and gripped the end of the bed. What had that been? The voice felt familiar and yet he could not remember hearing it. Could it have been a memory? The chances were slim, as Kenny had pointed out however long ago it was now.

A bit of sweat trickled down his forehead and shakily Kai let go of the bed and looked over at the boy, who finally seemed to be focusing.

"Where am I and who are you?"

Kai raised an eyebrow. This kid was certainly to the point, though he was secretly glad for that considering how little time there was.

"My name's Kai and it would probably be better if you didn't know where you were."

The boy's eyes widened and a smile flashed onto his face.

"You mean Kai, who was once friends with Tala?"

"Tala?" Kai asked, not recognising the name as a friend.

"Yes he is."

Both boys turned to look at Hilary, who had woken up when their conversation started. She smiled at the two and hopped off the bed.

"What's your name?" She asked the young boy in front of her.

"Rin. I've got a message for Kai, but only he can hear it." He looked from Kai to Hilary before adding an apologetic "sorry" at the end.

Hilary sighed, knowing there was no use arguing, "I'll go and get the others."

"Alright, what is it?" Kai asked once he heard Hilary's footsteps leave.

"You can't win."

Kai shut his eyes and took a deep breath before answering, "I know."

"Then why even bother? Why not just cut your losses and live a peaceful life?"

"Because the people here have done so much to fight the Government that it would be impossible for the King to forgive them or ignore them. This is the end one way or another."

Rin sighed, "Tala said there is a way," he paused before continuing, making sure to carefully use the same words Tala had said to him, "but it would involve assassinating the King. If that happened then a civil war would break out to find a successor and independence might be possible."

Kai sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Big words for such a little kid."

"Tala made me learn it off by heart."

Kai nodded before speaking, "He's right though. Because we're relying on two big factors: the King's assassination going right and then the consequent battle to get to power would also have to be won." Kai snorted, "I can't believe we're doing this."

Rin hesitated before speaking again, "There's one more thing..."

Kai looked down at the boy wearily.

"Squad one in position and ready to go." Tyson spoke over the radio.

Kai rolled his eyes, "It would be easier to use names. No one's going to remember who is in each squad."

Tyson switched off the speaker, "Just watch and learn, Kai. We've been doing this for years."

"Which is the reason why I can't understand why you don't make things easier for yourselves. No wonder you're losing."

Tyson made a face at his partner, "Always the critic."

Brian made his way through the halls and stopped at a regal looking door flanked by two guards. Despite him being only a step away from the door the guards seemed to ignore him, preferring to stare straight ahead. Mentally Brian shrugged, he could care less what they thought of him.

He continued to stand until the door opened to reveal a small, mousey looking man. He looked nervously at the guards, probably checking if they were still alive in case Brian had decided to suddenly attack the King. Brian fought the urge to roll his eyes at the pathetic man in front of him.

"The King will see you now." The mousey man stated, looking less than pleased at the guest.

Brian nodded and pushed past into the room and had to stop himself from looking shocked, opting to hide this behind his more overwhelming feeling of suspicion. His eyes narrowed at the lavish decorations and priceless artefacts lining the walls and making a path to the large oak desk at the end of the room.

The occupant of the chair surprised Brian the most as he knew that this was the King himself and not just a puppet, which was usually what he was greeted with. A wicked smile was spread across his face and he looked like a hunter watching his prey.

"Tell me, Brian. How is our plan coming along?"

A smirk covered up all of Brian's insecurities about the situation. He had not expected the King to be here in person.

"My spy has successfully infiltrated the main enemy base and has been keeping me informed their plan. At the last minute the main Japan base has opted to go alone in attacking us while the other groups across the globe wait for three days. If the invasion is successful they will attack, if not..."

"Then they will run away like cowards." The King hissed.

"Yes sir."

"And what of your spy? How do I know if he is on our side or not? It is not as if I have met him."

Brian was quick to reply, "Actually he was with us for a certain amount of time. During his stay here his loyalties were to us, yet the Rebellion still thinks of him as a loyal friend, so that when he went back to them they welcomed him without any suspicion."

The King smiled, "Very well done Brian. You also did an excellent job of flushing out the traitor Tala."

Brian bowed in gratitude for the praise, "I started to become suspicious of Tala when he did not seem as loyal as the rest of us. My suspicions were confirmed when I led a raid on his home."

The King smiled, "I believe this deserves a promotion. You will take over Tala's role and the order will be effective immediately. If your source is correct we need to be ready to drive out those coming to stop us as soon as possible."

Ming Ming crouched low with Daichi at her side. The two were already in position and waiting for the others to catch up. Ming Ming was doing alright, at least until Daichi started complaining.

"Grr I hate just sitting here! Can't we charge in already? This is so boring!"

Ming Ming sighed and rolled her eyes, "If you're so impatient then be my guest. We can just rush out there and alert the guards to our presence, and everyone else's I might add. Besides I wanna prolong getting dirty as much as I can."

This time it was Daichi who rolled his eyes.

Brian walked down the hall towards Tala's cell. His shoulders were back and his steps were in perfect rhythm. A gun was strapped to his back and is tapped against him as he marched down the dark hall.

This place reminded him of the Abbey. However, everywhere he looked he saw blood and death, something not seen so much at the Abbey. At the Abbey kids would just suddenly disappear without an explanation – and they would never ask for one. Slowly he approached Tala's cell.

"The rebels have arrived and are probably going to attack soon." Brain looked towards the dark shadow barely visible from the back of the room. "Did you know that the King's so confident he will win that he is actually in this building?" Brian snorted, "I bet now you wish you hadn't been caught, traitor."

As he turned and walked away no one was able to see the smile appear on Tala's face.

Ray's eyes narrowed at the guarded entrance in front of him as Max, Rick and Kenny settled down beside him.

Ray looked at Max and Rick, "You two ready for this?"

Max grinned, reminding Ray of when they were younger, "Ray, I was born ready!"

Kenny lifted the microphone of his communications device to his lips. "Alright everyone is in position." He then added in a softer voice, "Good luck."

Max and Rick gave the thumbs up before charging in, their bitbeasts in their weapons.

Ray watched in both excitement and worry, "And so it begins."

Hilary watched the sun cast its rays over the sea in front of her. It was so beautiful; just the opposite of how she wanted this day to feel. Her friends were fighting and all she could do to help was stay at the base. Once again she felt useless.

Despite feeling left out she stared up at the sky with hope. If anyone could defeat the Government it was the Bladebreakers. She suddenly heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Michael standing a few paces away from her.

"I hope I didn't startle you." A slight smirk appeared on Michael's face as he looked down at her.

Hilary suddenly felt uncomfortable, "No, though I'm a bit surprised to see you out here. I just came to get some fresh air."

Michael nodded, "It's dangerous, though. I'm sure Kai would feel better if you were safe back at the base. I'll walk you back."

Hilary smiled to hide her nervousness before accepting the offer. Michael held out a hand which she accepted.

As they began to walk back towards the base Hilary failed to notice the dark clouds forming on the horizon behind her.

Thank you for all of your reviews and I'm sorry this chapter has been so long in the making. I did not mean for this chapter to be posted after such a long time. To be truthful I had finished it a while back, but wanted to get close to finishing the next chapter before I did that. Unfortunately I haven't had time for writing and it's been a while since I've watched any Beyblade, so I've got little inspiration. I'm not abandoning this though and it will get done!

Please review! I'm interested to know how many people are still reading this.