Thank you reviewers (Blue Fire Phoenix, xvegas-on-acidx, rebelmewphoenix, unknown dark preistess, wolf-shadow666 and see-no-evil-san) and readers! In a note of recommendation, thought I'd say xvegas-on-acidx's story Behind Silver Screens is fab and worth reading. Check it out if you fancy another KaiOC XP. I don't own Beyblade song 'Never Gonna Take Me Down.'
Dance Like No One's Watching
Chapter 29- The Winner, Determination and Plan B
The Bladebreakers stared for a moment longer, the two shaken up figures pulling out of their daze and picked up their blades, both glancing down at theirs curiously. They could see Fern's beaten up face, watching Werex in wonder; while Sam's face was slightly flushed, obviously annoyed his 'flawless' blade had just drew with an ammeter. Or so he thought.
"Wow, what a result! In this case it makes the final even more exciting than ever- the final match will decide who is the overall winner thanks to the draw, which, in my opinion, is the fairest of them all!" DJ Jazzman laughed slightly.
"Werex... you're wonderful.." Fern felt a smile of happiness dance over her dry lips. She never expected to win, even though it was her intention. A draw was good enough for her, and she knew the reason. She had thought about Ray every second throughout the battle, and that made her final last push of energy erupt like a volcano at the end. And even now, she was still thinking of him. She looked up at Sam and smirked. "So, not so powerful now are you?"
Sam kept his eyes on his blade for a moment. Slowly, he began to look up at her, though what shocked her was the eerie smirk on his ripped, small lips. "To win wasn't everything. We don't want Werex." Fern's green eyes narrowed in confusion. "Although I am surprised my Black Pegasus didn't beat you- you truly have showed us something worth noting today."
Fern scowled. "What do you mean?"
Sam tapped the edge of his nose with his long, bony finger as though to say 'don't be nosey.' He turned around and walked quickly back to his team, and she saw the grins on their faces. What were they up to?
"Hey Fern!" The excited call from Tyson brought her back out of her thoughts and she spun around and smiled madly, running up to them. Max held his hand high and she slapped it in a high five, along with Tyson and Kenny.
"You were great! Don't worry about the draw because I'll make sure we win this last one.. and crown us the winners!" Tyson laughed triumphantly.
"You rock!" Agreed Max, and Kenny nodded shyly, busying himself back on Dizzi, trying to fix up Tyson's beyblade. Fern's green eyes wandered onto Kai. She had felt him looking at her through his powerful, crimson eyes, and when she finally looked at him, the beauty of those eyes struck her and almost caught her off guard. She shook her head to herself and raised her hand, grinning wildly.
"I did it for Ray! And thank you Kai for the encouragement earlier... high five?" She asked, her hand held in mid air. He simply stared at her for a moment and she felt her hand aching. 'God dammit, hurry up... it's hurting like mad.' To her surprise, he reached out and slapped her hand lightly, catching a small half-smile on his face. That was good enough for her.
"See, at times, Kai has a soft side to him," Max grinned and Kai scowled at him, looking away. "So Fern, when did you learnt that new cool attack? And what was it? It was so weird! You suddenly went SO pale. I thought you were gunna collapse."
"I learnt it with Werex one night. I could have never done it without you guys and all the training you've put me through- I don't know how to thank you..." She flushed a little.
Tyson smiled. "There's one thing you could do... be with us forever?"
Fern felt her smile wanting to fall, but somehow, she managed to keep it steady. She really did want to stay with them forever, but the guilt kept bouncing back to her, getting to her.
Before she could answer, the voice of DJ Jazzman spoke. "Alright folks, I think this is the moment ALL of you have been waiting for... this final match will proclaim the winner of the American Tournament and the winning team will proceed to the World Championships!" He grinned. "How about that? So let's make this a final to remember- please welcome from the Bladebreakers..."
The crowd roared crazily, and Tyson began to step up to the dish before his name was even called, enthusiasm bursting from his face. "TYSON!" Again a demented cry of fangirls and fanboys corrupted the stadium. "Anddd, over at the Blade Warriors we have finalist ALEX!" Another ride of yelling lasted for a few seconds before the two met at either side of the dish.
Tyson stared into Alex's cold, blue eyes, the obvious no mercy routine glittering from their beautiful but heartless shine. For a moment Tyson felt he had to stare him out to show him there was no time to relax, that he was a worthy competitor no matter what his ignorant mind thought. Alex's tall, almost perfect figure seemed to be teasing him, the obvious difference in size amusing for the viewers.
Keeping his eyes firmly on Alex, Tyson slid his beyblade onto his ripcord and shoved it into his launcher, as Alex did the same. DJ Jazzman began to speak, his voice not once breaking their eye contact. "This sure is intense! Just look at those eyes!" He yelled, and on that note the plain dish suddenly flipped around and revealed the final obstacle. It was a large circular building that looked almost like the stadium they stood in, mini seats piled around the sides and little people sat in them.
There was a race track around the outside and a huge grassy field in the middle, looking like an Olympic stadium. "This is called 'Berlin', a reconstruction model of the 1939 Olympics where USA star Jesse Owens won multiple gold medals. As a tribute to him and the legend of sports, let's here a loud round of applause!" Following was a stream of over-the-top rowdy claps and screams. "Alright, now we can begin... Bladers ready..."
Tyson and Alex both pointed their launchers at the dish, Tyson mentally noting Alex was being unusually quiet unlike the rest of them who had taunted his team mates first.
"To name the champion... 3... 2... 1...!"
'This is for you Ray...' And with that, a loud 'LET IT RIP' erupted from his throat, and he bluntly heard Alex mumble something along those lines as well. This was it. The final. And he knew that no matter what, he had to win. Max had lost his bitbeast and so had Ray- they had to be retrieved.
I've been fighting every night and day
Gotta do my best to put you away
Better psych yourself, get ready to play
If you ever wanna make it
You think you're gonna run me up against the wall
Then let it rip, get ready to fall-
White and yellow blades zipped around each other, the powers commuting from their cores already, clashing thought out the air, orange sparks flying as they collided then parted, collided then parted. The fans were cheering though some were silent, already deadly tranced into the match.
"Dilong, attack!" Alex ordered smoothly, brushing back his pointy blue hair. Tyson scowled knowingly, watching helplessly as Alex's yellow blade zipped past Tyson's in a flash, crashing into his again before he could move.
'Damn he's fast...' Tyson began to think hard, his head almost hurting. He needed to get the upper hand fast otherwise he had no chance. 'Come onnn, think, THINK!'
You're never gonna take me down
Better watch your back, I'm the best in town
Forever I'll be spinning 'round
You'll never stop me
I've got one foot off the ground
With my Beyblade, my Beyblade beatin'
You'll never take me down
You're never gonna take me down
Tyson's head snapped up and he stared at Alex, a sudden powerful fury burning up over his face. He could actually feel his blood bubbling, a crazy feeling that made Tyson tighten his fists. "So, come on then.. was it you who put Ray in that hospital bed?" Alex appeared slightly taken aback, though once over it he began to talk slowly and confidently.
"Believe what you like, you'll find out the truth soon enough."
Tyson's eyes flickered curiously. "Find out what? I hope this isn't some sort of game you're playing... do you know how serious this is? You could be charged with attempted murder! Do you have Driger or not?" He saw Alex raise his eyebrows, suggesting he was shocked but he didn't fool Tyson- they were probably good liars, after all, their history was reason enough to believe they were capable. Dirty dealings, stealing beyblades.. all that crap Tyson had grown to despise.
"Not yet we don't."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Tyson almost yelled, his face flushed with anger. "So you know who did it?"
Alex shook his head. "Shall we just get on with this?" His smooth, lanky hand wept again through his hair. As well as vain, he was a complete jerk too.
"I still think it was you," Tyson glared at him, keeping Dragoon spinning endlessly. "Kai had a deal with Rio- if we win this tournament, we can have Draciel back. Same goes for Driger too, right?"
Finally, Alex cracked a smile. It was dark and somewhat different to the others, a sort of independence radiating off him. "You just don't listen do you. Sure, whatever Rio said to Kai goes- but how can we give you back Driger if we don't have it?" Tyson sighed, shaking his head. Suddenly he heard Alex's voice blaze loudly, bringing him back into reality. "Dilong, now!"
I like to win, and it ain't no crime
To always hold your head up high
When you lose to me, don't whine and cry
Cos you know you played the best
Come on if you really wanna break the chain
Cos I can play you, again and again-
Tyson scowled and called out for Dragoon. "Dragoon! Attack!" The blades danced around each other almost playfully, before colliding deep and heavy, sending a thrash of power between them that rocked the stadium heavily. "Darn it!" Tyson could only watch in dreaded hope as the yellow blade caught Tyson's against the rim of the dish, the dangerous, spiky attack ring crushing it to a possible end. The dragon squeezed his eyes shut, a tear falling absently. His concentration was breaking and the whole concept of what was going on was getting to him- there was obviously something fishy going on, even he knew. But every time he tried to figure it out, memories of Ray flashed through him.
It was too painful. He needed to do this for him, for Ray only. The hope he held wasn't enough, watching Alex's blade devour into Dragoon. He just couldn't seem to work out Alex's methods, and it didn't help that his opponent was as dry as Kai- but the phoenix wasn't as scary of course. Still, he felt his balance slowly slipping away... draining like how Ray's face looked. He guessed the simple shock of a team mate falling for no reason had haunted him- that look on Ray's face- he didn't look like he was with them any more.
'Why now, at this time.. does it have to affect me so much... ugh...' Tyson cursed his head's timing, trying to absently pull Dragoon away before it was shredded.
'Master...' Tyson's head perked up. He felt his worthy old dragon make a sharp appearance in his head. 'I am behind you and I'll win this for you.' Tyson blinked, not totally understanding. The blue dragon grunted in his head. 'I refuse to believe you have forgotten what you vowed before this battle. To do this... for your team. For one of your team mates. You told me yourself. It's the sort of determination that you hold that wins you the victory- you're not alone, most of it's down to you- your hope makes me stronger, and unless you want to disappoint everyone, I suggest you start taking the little hope you have far more seriously. We can beat him- we've encountered harder than this.'
Tyson nodded immediately, wiping away his tear that was left dripping on the edge of his chin. 'You're right Dragoon! I- I can't do this alone and I'm letting what happened to Ray get to me- I'm just afraid it might happen to me too...'
You're never gonna take me down
You'd better watch your back, I'm the best in town
Forever I'll be spinning 'round
Oh, You'll never stop me
I've got one foot off the ground
With my Beyblade, my Beyblade beatin'
You'll never take me down
You're never gonna take me down
"Dragoon! ATTACK!!" Surpassing his undoubted hope onto his bitbeast, suddenly a dashing light cruised from Tyson's beyblade, sending Alex's knocking backwards and he let out a groan of annoyance, watching as the light formed into a beautiful blue dragon, letting rip a happy roar.
Alex scoffed. "Two can play at that game," And with that, he raised his hand in the air. "Dilong!" Tyson and everyone else blocked their eyes as a huge windy light soaked the stadium dry, emitting from Alex's yellow blade and slowly dancing into the air, twirling and forming into a shape. A monstrous cry of confidence hollowed and a beautiful Chinese dragon came into sight, it's long and golden body twisting as it went face to face with Dragoon.
Tyson felt his heart thumping, but his hope didn't once slip- and he smirked, Dragoon screaming in happiness. "You know what to do Dra-goon!" He called out in emphasis and his faithful Dragon dived forward, stroking it's claws into Dilong. Abruptly Alex told Dilong to pull back for the moment, before smiling.
"Dilong... show this idiot what we're made of. HEAVEN AND EARTH ATTACK!" Alex swung back his arm and Dilong suddenly raised high into the air, sharp fangs glimmering.
Fern watched uncomfortably, her legs jiggling all over the place. Her hands were held together and cupped against her chest. 'Come on Tyson, you can do this, you can...' She thought in her head, knowing whatever she thought was useless- he had to hear it.
The floor began to shake ferociously and Dragoon began to knock about, unable to keep balance even while in the air. Tyson fell to his feet as the ground cracked beneath him, and soon, the whole stadium was shaking and people began to scream. "Dammit..." Tyson managed to get to his feet. "There's something not right about this.. who the hell are these guys exactly!? They're so mysterious... what do we really know about them? They're so careful they don't give anything away..."
Take me down
Rargh. Tyson glanced up, the roar of his bitbeast sounding different somehow- and his face dropped. Dragoon was crying out in pain, the heavy shaking crushing his bitbeast against the air, too powerful for him to defend himself. "What is this?" Tyson looked at Alex, shock in his eyes. "What sort of cruel attack is this!?"
Alex's mouth slid sideways. "Hm. If you think I'm good, you should see Flint."
Tyson growled. "Urgh! I did see him! He took Max's bitbeast!"
"Haha. That's not even a quarter of what Flint can do." Tyson's eyes widened. Who the hell were they? Suddenly something inside him snapped. The look on Dragoon's face was heartbreaking- the pain could be felt right through him, the connection; how dare he do this. Ray. Everything. It all piled on top of him and literally, he could feel the thick, hot blood in his veins grow hotter and hotter, until finally he couldn't keep it all inside any more.
OH YEAH!
"We have one thing you don't Alex!" He shouted in such anger, a vein popped out of his skin. Alex stared at him smugly. "We work together as a team. We respect each other and we HAVE the determination to win this- you just hold the power."
"Power is stronger than determination! Tell that to one of your.. friends," Alex spoke coldly, mildly smiling. Fern felt her blood boil. She knew he was talking about her- yet he was wrong. Something Tyson was saying made sense to her- she'd seen the Bladebreakers battle before against stronger opponents- but it was their determination that pulled them through. And she, had been making the biggest mistake of her life. She finally figured it out- she was capable of beating the power of Black Pele, because she had the determination; she'd just found it through her team mates.
You're never gonna take me down,
Oh, you'll never take me down
Forever I'll be spinning 'round
You'll never stop me
I've got one foot off the ground
With my Beyblade, my Beyblade beatin'
You'll never take me down
Alex watched in confusion, seeing Dragoon rise up through the air, beating his most powerful attack- his blue eyes weren't comprehending and he snapped his teeth together, hard. "What!? How can you do that!?"
Tyson smirked. "Because he's my inspiration and we share the same hope! DRAGOON GALAXY STORM!" All of a sudden a giant hurricane appeared from no where, rising out of the very beyblade that spun rapidly, faster and faster and the storm grew in size, bigger than anything anyone had ever seen before. The simple power of its spins corrupted sparks to fly around the arena, causing people to have to block their eyes. It was so incredibly strong, spinning like an out of control beyblade.
Tyson fell back slightly, struggling to keep his mind together by his own attack. The pieces of plastic that had been ripped from the ground by Alex's attack scurried up into the tornado and slowly, one began to descend down into the beyblade dish- and through the windy smoke, a clang was heard and it was clear to everyone's ears a beyblade had been struck-
And a yellow beyblade appeared from the mist, rocking gently to a stop on the floor outside the dish.
NO WAY!
You're never gonna take me down!
"Folks, we have a winner!" DJ Jazzman's voice brought Tyson into a bigger hyper, taking back his blade and celebrating wildly, running to meet his team mates half way and leapt into a huge group hug, minus Kai, who stayed well away but there was even a smirk on his face. "THE BLADEBREAKERS- THANKS TO TYSON GRANGER THEY WIN THE AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS! WHAT A SHOW!" Confetti began to fall into the stadium, surrounding Tyson and his team.
The celebrations didn't stop, and at the other end of the dish was Alex, his eyes wide and disbelieving- stood with his shoulders hung low, he couldn't break out of his shocked pose. At the back of his mind, he heard the Blade Warriors calling for him to return to them.
Confusing and bewildered, he picked up his yellow blade, looking at the shockingly angry faces of his team- as well as himself, they couldn't believe it. He had trained for months and months for this moment and it had just been stolen away from him. Suddenly the shock decreasing, anger burned within him and he squeezed his blade hurtfully, beginning to stomp back over to his team.
Tyson and the Bladebreakers were madly cheering, waving at the excited and upbeat crowd manically. "Tyson, I knew you would do it! I knew it!" Kenny cried happily, leaping again onto Tyson's back and he almost toppled over, deep laughter echoing from his mouth.
Tyson stopped and smiled at his team. "I only won because Dragoon pulled me out of my shell. I didn't know what to do, I just froze, but then he made me realize I was doing this for Ray and for us! Determination over power, right?" Fern stepped forward and smiled.
"You are absolutely right! You've taught be a valuable lesson..." Before Fern could say anything else, Max's raised voice earned him glances.
"Guys! Look!" He was pointing towards the Blade Warriors' stand. "They're gone! Where did they go!?" He cried frantically, having trouble shouting over the rowdy fans and DJ Jazzman's voice.
Kai stepped forward. "Dammit- they promised Draciel if we won."
Max looked up at Kai, his huge puppy dog eyes filling with water. "Please, we have to go after them!" For a moment Kai looked down at him. Then he nodded and smiled.
"Right, then let's go."
Everyone nodded and rushed off, not really noticing the bemused crowd- if the Blade Warriors got away with Draciel then it wouldn't be a win for them at all, it wouldn't be complete. They couldn't celebrate without him. Tyson, Max and Kenny zipped past DJ Jazzman, almost knocking him over. "Hey, where you going!?"
Kenny stopped in his tracks as the others ran on. "Can't stop now gotta go we'll be back," He spoke quickly, and with that, sprinted to catch up with his friends. DJ Jazzman stared after them, scratching his head. He didn't even have time to tell them there was a huge dinner with Mr. Dickenson waiting for them...
They came to the giant corridor, too many ways to search if they stuck together. Kai nodded. "Right, now we split up. I'll check this end," he said, pointing.
Fern spoke up. "I'll go towards the other end, you three should stick together."
Tyson looked reluctant. "On your own?"
"Yes yes, I'll be fine, I have to prove myself I can be a useful part of this team," And with that, she ran in the opposite direction quite speedily just in case they protested any more. For a moment they stared after her, blinking.
Max shook his head. "Alright, let's go!"
Fern had ran a few more corners and when she was satisfied they couldn't catch up, she slowed to a jog. Her face was serious and she watched her back carefully, her mind fixed on one thing only. 'I should have done this ages ago. I'll find them, tell them where to shove Black Pele, tell the team the truth, then.. wherever that leads me...' Before, giving up Black Pele seemed impossible, but Tyson's battle really had taught her something worth learning. With her strong determination, she could do anything, no matter how powerful.
"Hey," The cold, deep voice from behind her caused her to quickly spin around. In front of her stood the four very people she was looking for- each set with dark eyes, obviously still fuming over the last match. They looked even more surprised when Fern smirked slightly.
"I was just looking for you," she said in a confident tone.
Flint stepped forward and then she found herself surrounded by them, back to front from side to side. It was nerve wrecking, but she knew she could do it. She had to... "Seems like you owe us Dranzer and Dragoon. Get them for us, now. After that you'll come and meet us in our room and hand over Black Pele, then come with us."
Fern was confused inside, but she hid it well. "Uh- why should I go with you?" She saw their baffled expressions wash their faces dry of ignorance, and she smirked.
"You will come with us, whether you like it or not," Alex spoke this time, his voice cold and intimidating. Fern felt herself flinch, but kept her smile firmly noticeable.
A sudden scowl ripped across her eyes and they watched curiously as she dived into her pocket and brought out Black Pele, their noses twitching strangely at the sight of it. Their expressions told her they certainly hadn't expected this- and she held out Black Pele to Flint, her green eyes flickering strongly.
"Here- I don't want it. Just tell me how to get Driger out of the blade and I'll be going. I want Draciel back, too," She smiled. For a moment her head suddenly thumped, drums playing viciously inside her cranium. She let out a small groan and saw smiles play across their faces, that's until she looked up fully- and to their complete shock, she wasn't possessed. Her eyes were sane, her whole mind was. "NO!" She let out a loud refusal, and their eyes grew the more wider. "I won't! I won't do anything for you!" She took a huge breath as though those few words were the hardest she had ever had to say, but the fact was, she had said it, and she meant it.
Flint narrowed his eyes. "Fine." He suddenly turned away from her and walked forward a few steps, the others still crowded around her. He placed his hand on his ear as though he was about to talk through an ear piece. His voice decreased to a whisper. "Master..." He gulped slightly. "Something's wrong. She- She won't do it.. she refuses. She should be under the total control of Black Pele by now, I-I don't understand it-"
A croaky, low voice yelped back to him, seeming angry. "Then, move to plan B. I'm disappointed in you all for losing. Let's see if you can do this right..." Flint nodded but before he could reply, his master had cut him off. He sighed, turning back around to face Fern whose face was glaring.
"Plan B," He spoke to his team. Fern's eyes narrowed in confusion, and suddenly, her heart thumped in panic when a hand clasped over her mouth, her whole body being taken away.
---
Kai searched down the long winding corridor, checking a couple of doors before sighing, standing against the wall. He'd looked everywhere he said he'd check out, and yet there was no sign of them. He only hoped Tyson, Max and Kenny or Fern had found them, or any clues where they could have gone to...
He could still faintly hear the overexcited fans. It seemed they were going dry without the dose of their Bladebreakers. He wanted to smirk at his own thought but couldn't bring himself to, instead changing his thoughts onto Max. He had seen his face when he lost Draciel- felt his pain. How could they do this? They were never going to get away with running off with a bitbeast, never.
His mind skipped frequently onto Fern, on and off. It was beginning to get on his nerves, knowing she wasn't the concern right now. Yet he felt a little guilty, he had yelled at her pretty hard last night- but for some reason he couldn't stop himself. He was kidding himself that he could have a relationship with her, it was truly out of this world. He never wanted to lead her on.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he glanced up and realized suddenly he wasn't far from the room Ray was resting in. He decided to give him a visit, hoping he was awake.
Kai made it to the medic room, looking through the glass before opening the door. Still lying in the same position, Ray looked somewhat peaceful on the bed. He was definitely recovering, his cheeks were almost bursting with redness now, and he didn't look so lifeless any more. At least one good thing was happening.
He unfolded his arms and walked to the chair beside the bed, sitting himself down. His head was rumbling with thoughts, almost millions of them. 'How.. did you get like this Ray?' Kai asked himself, staring at his friend. As much as he wanted to know, they would all have to wait until he woke to find out.
As stupid as he knew he was going to sound, he began to talk out loud. "Ray.. you gave us all a scare. Guess what buddy? We won the tournament. It was all down to Tyson, really... but we only won because you were in our thoughts..." Kai bit his bottom lip. He felt so stupid. Ray didn't even flinch, it didn't even look like he could hear, yet he carried on. "Who did this to you? I-I need to know. The question in my mind right now is why anyone would want to do this to you- I have to ask them."
Kai gasped loudly, the sudden flinch from Ray's arm making his heart speed up. His crimson eyes stared in bemusement. The Neko began to move, but only slightly, his chest beginning to slowly rise and fall heavily, his now steamy-looking face grimacing against something- as though he was dreaming.
"Ray?" Kai asked, standing up. "Can you hear me, Ray?-" Before Kai could say anything else, to his surprise, Ray began to speak, his eyes still closed though were wincing repeatedly.
"Ah.." Ray's body squirmed as though being tortured, a bad nightmare perhaps playing in his oblivious mind. "Fern- No!"
Kai's whole body froze.
"Fern, are you mad? Why are..." He stopped for a moment, as though trying to cope with a strong pain. "..you doing this? You... did this to me. It was... Fern." As though Ray had heard Kai's question, his words slipped through Kai's ears, hitting his core so hard he couldn't bring himself to move. "What's the blade called, Fern? Where did you get the beyblade from? Driger... Why did..." Kai continued to stare in horror. "...Why did... the beyblade..."
Suddenly Ray's body stopped moving, his face seemingly settling down again and he returned to gentle breathing, his chest rising and falling so serenely, it was like it never happened and the dream had drifted away.
Kai used a hand to rub his still wide, disbelieving eyes. No. It couldn't be. Why would she...? He closed his eyes, a deep, deep nerve rattling somewhere. Sickness overwhelmed him.
Meanwhile, Tyson, Max and Kenny were running frantically back the way they came from the Blade Warrior's room, puffing and panting. Tyson stopped to catch his breath, and Max zipped passed him, tugging on his shirt, gesturing him to get a move on. Kenny sighed and stopped too, abruptly causing Max to look at them with dread in his eyes.
"Guys, we can't stop now!" He exclaimed, his blue, fearful eyes watering again.
Kenny spoke between breaths, his paws clipping Dizzi hard under his arm. "Max.. they're obviously not down here... maybe Kai.. or Fern... has... found them."
Tyson was leant against the wall when suddenly he let go and stood up straight, attention riding onto him. "Yeah, maybe. There is one place we haven't checked yet. Our room!"
Kenny didn't look too sure. "Why would they be there?"
Max looked brighter. "Maybe they're waiting for us! Right, Tyson!?" The blonde looked at him, hope in his face. Tyson smiled and nodded.
"Yeah... maybe. Only one way to find out!" Tyson grinned and gave Max the thumbs up, trying to increase his friend's spirits. Max smiled back at together they began to jog again back to their room, Kenny tagging behind. He suddenly noted to himself after all this was over, he was going to work out.
Tyson slammed open the door, his eyes searching around frantically, casting on every corner of the room. Max leapt in after him, keen to see even though he knew by Tyson's silence there was no one; And looking around, he felt his heart drop again. It was empty.
Kenny squeezed in having finally caught up to them. "Jeez... where could they be?"
Max shook his head. "Kai or Fern must have found them by now."
"Maybe we shouldn't have rushed off so quickly. If we'd have told Mr. Dickenson first, maybe we could have had a more thorough search carried out by the BBA staff.."
Max turned to Kenny, eyes burning in anger and Kenny looked shocked, his mousey face shivering. "Are you serious?! If we had waited a second longer they might be as far as China!" Kenny looked down, his apologetic face suddenly calming the blonde down. "Aw, I'm sorry. It's just- well.." He felt a hand clasp on his shoulder.
"I know. We will find them, I promise," Tyson smiled at Max, his gentle expression soothing. Max smiled and nodded back.
"What's this..." Tyson and Max turned to see Kenny by the sofa, pulling off a yellow sticky note, along with a small map.
Curious, they both crowded around him. "What's it say?" Asked Tyson.
Hello Bladebreakers, Your friends, the Blade Warriors
You may notice that we're not, how should I put it, present at the stadium any more.
We have Fern. I could call it a ransom, but call it whatever you want.
Follow the instructions on the attached map and go to a place called Lake Placid. Go to the mountains near there and to the old warehouse.
DO NOT alert anyone, not the BBA, not Mr Stanley Dickenson, no one, unless you want to see the girl alive again.
Oh. One more thing. Bring your beyblades.
Everyone felt their blood run cold. Stunned, they stood in silence for a few moments, all reading the letter over again and again, making sure they hadn't got it wrong.
Finally, Tyson began to speak, his voice almost a whisper. "What the heck is going on?" Footsteps from behind brought them all to look around, still shaken up. When they saw it was Kai, their faces didn't alter and they stared at him, their eyes wide and humourless. They didn't much notice, but Kai's was, too.
"What's going on, Kai?" Max asked, holding up the letter for Kai to read. "This says Fern's been kidnapped! Look!" He literally pushed it in Kai's face and held it as Kai scanned the sheet quickly, his face not bursting into any disbelief.
Tyson curled his fists, a new sort of anger he hadn't ever felt before tearing at his heart. "Those.. Blade Warriors. What is their game? Is it because they want our bitbeasts? This is..."
Kenny snarled, fury whithering on his face, too. "They're cowards! It just shows how 'big' they are, using an innocent girl for their dirty deeds... so basically it's our bitbeasts for her?" Kenny trailed off, suddenly feeling smaller than he already was. He stared down at his closed laptop, cursing himself. "We should have never let her go off on her own!"
"No, chief!" Tyson yelled. "It's not our fault. There's only four people to blame, and that's those..." his voice settled to a sharp whisper. "Blade Warriors." He looked up at Kai. "Captain? What do we do?" Everyone looked at Kai thoughtfully. Nothing in return came. A blank expression radiated from his face, his crimson gaze causing them to wonder. "Kai?"
"...If you want to save a traitor, be my guest!" Kai suddenly spun, leaving them gagging in shock, and walked out, his arms swinging beside him casually.
"KAI!... KAI!" Tyson yelled after him, but it was no use. He was already gone. "Dammit, what does he mean? What the hell is going on!?" The blue dragon shared a fearful glance with Max and Kenny, the quiet yet obvious realization that they were evidently going to have to go.
Kenny sighed, looking across at both of them. "We have no choice." Tyson and Max nodded briefly, their faces grim. Kenny grabbed the map but left the sticky note on the sofa. "Just in case Kai changes his mind, he should find it." And with that, the three set off, confused and suddenly feeling so alone.
Well... :) There we go. Only 5 chapters left... amazingly... hope you liked it, and if you did, a review would be very much welcomed XP.
