Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.

Chapter 37: Prelude to a Storm

Kai found himself in a blizzard. The scenery, or what little of it he could see, looked familiar. He took a cautious step forward and found that he was not standing on snow, but on ice. Looking around once again, he realised he was back at the same lake where he attacked the Bladebreakers in Russia. The last place he battled with the dark phoenix.

"I see you noticed."

Kai whipped around to find himself face to face with none other than Black Dranzer's human form.

"What do you want?" Kai snarled, taking a defensive stance.

Black Dranzer chuckled, eyes shining with amusement.

"You won't be able to fight me, Kai," the phoenix said. "And the Trickster won't be able to help you right now."

Kai growled in frustration.

"This is a dream," he said.

"True," Black Dranzer said. "But, you saw what Phantom Driger did to your friend. So I wouldn't underestimate the power of dreams, if I were you."

Kai took a hesitant step back, causing Black Dranzer to smirk.

"What do you want?" Kai demanded.

"You know," Black Dranzer said offhandedly, "I quite enjoyed myself in your body. You took good care of it." The Dark Bitbeast smirked. "I want another go."

Kai's eyes widened and he took another step back. He heard a strange sound. He couldn't figure out what it was, until he realised the origins of the sound. A gasp escaped his mouth as the ice cracked and he was plunged into the water beneath. He managed to reach the surface, but before he could pull himself out, the water solidified and became part of the ice, effectively trapping him. He glared over to Black Dranzer, who had a victorious smirk on his face.

"What do you hope to accomplish?" Kai asked. "Kitsune hid the medallion. Only she knows where the medallion is, and she won't give it to you."

"I realise that," Black Dranzer said. "But there are other artefacts. Like the one that your little cat friend is wearing. The only thing keeping Phantom Driger from totally overtaking him."

Kai's eyes widened in horror.

"Ray," he whispered.

"Correct," Black Dranzer said.

"Wouldn't Kitsune be able to stop you?" Kai demanded.

"She can't do anything if there is too much going on. After all, not even she can be in too many places at once. Besides, she's going to have her hands full with Lucia and her friends."

Kai's eyes widened. This did not sound good.

"I'll see you later, Kai," Black Dranzer said as he faded away. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of your friends."

…..

Kitsune was walking through the halls. She didn't know why, but something didn't sit right. She smelled the scent of Dark Bitbeasts, but she had no idea where the scent was coming from. It seemed to surround her on all sides, but she could sense nothing. It didn't seem right.

"Having trouble?" a voice sneered.

Kitsune's eyes widened. It was not a voice that she recognised, and the scent was not human.

She turned around. The owner of the voice was a boy of around fifteen. He had brown hair and sandy brown eyes. He was extremely skinny, making the black shirt that he wore seem too large for him. The black slacks that he wore also seemed too large, and the only thing that seemed normal were the black sneakers. He wore a medallion around his neck with a depiction of a humanoid figure with tattered wings and bony arms.

Kitsune widened her eyes when she saw the medallion. She took a tentative step back.

"The Medallion of Beelzebub," she whispered.

"That's right," the boy said, taking a step forward. "You seem to be on edge, Trickster."

Kitsune growled in warning.

"You are not going to get the Medallion of Lucifer," she snarled. "Or the boy."

He chuckled in amusement.

"I don't need to," he said. "You already know what is happening to him. Do you think that Lucifer wants to stay away from him now? You cannot keep them separated. Soon enough, Lucifer will have what he wants. And you won't be able to stop it, Bitbeast."

Kitsune growled low in her throat. The last thing she wanted was for something like that to happen. And she knew that she won't be able to stop it. After all, she was only a Bitbeast, and this goes beyond her power.

"Stay away from him," Kitsune snarled.

"That's not up to me. After all, Lucifer will get what he wants, and when that happens," he smirked, "then it's not an issue about what we want anyway. We will win, no matter what."

He disappeared, and Kitsune was met with an onslaught of Dark Bitbeast scents. It was as though it was meant to overwhelm her.

Only she knew where the Medallion of Lucifer is hidden, and she would not betray its location. She may not be able to die, but there are far worse things that could happen to her. And something told her that it would happen soon.

…..

Ray found himself in the clearing once again. Only, instead of the corpses of his parents, he was looking at the empty shells of his friends. The Bladebreakers, White Tigers, Demolition Boys, Majestics and the All Starz. The only one missing appeared to be Oliver.

'It's tragic, isn't it?' the voice asked sarcastically. 'Your friends all dead, because of you.'

"No," Ray whispered. "I didn't. This is your fault."

'No, it's not. This is all your doing. You killed them.'

Ray was trembling now. He silently pleaded with himself to wake up, but with little success. Phantom Driger chuckled.

"Where's Oliver?"

He had to ask. The subject made his blood run cold, but he had to know.

'Look behind you.'

Ray swallowed, not liking this one bit. He turned around and froze.

It was Oliver, lying on the ground. He was barely breathing, but he was alive. His wrists and ankles were bound by chains, and he appeared to be unconscious.

"What did you do to him?" Ray asked. He tried to step forward, but found that he could not move. He looked down and saw that he was bound by chains as well. "What's going on?"

'You're my little pet, Ray. I won't let anyone come close to you. Anyone that dares will share the fate of your friends. As for little Oliver. He has his own demons to face.'

A man suddenly appeared. He had long black hair and red eyes. He ignored Ray and went to stand over Oliver.

A woman appeared as well. She had long, pale blond hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a white tunic. Her attention was also fixed on Oliver.

'Pegolyon and Lucia,' Phantom Driger whispered. 'Pegolyon, trapped inside Oliver's mind, and Lucia, his sister who would love to free her brother and get revenge on the Polanski family. It's only a matter of time before one of them gets to your little friend. And the Trickster will be too busy to help.'

"NO!" Ray screamed, his voice cracking.

As everything faded to black, the last thing he saw was Oliver's eyes slowly opening, a blank look in his eyes.

…..

"Ray, wake up!" Bryan called, shaking said boy's shoulder.

Many of them were woken by Ray's screaming, and knew that the Black Tiger was responsible for that. None of them had ever seen him look so scared before. He was pale, and he was drenched in sweat.

His eyes snapped open just as someone turned on the light. His expression was foggy, but as it started to focus, tears started to stream down his face.

"Are you okay?" Lee asked, moving over to embrace Ray.

"Oliver," Ray choked out. "Where's…?"

His eyes landed on a sleeping Oliver. He would have breathed a sigh of relief, were it not for the subtle twitches, the scrunched up face or the barely audible moans. Oliver was also having a nightmare.

"Where's Kitsune?" Ray whispered.

"Huh?" Bryan asked.

"No idea," Mariah said. "Why do you need to see her?"

"I think something's going to happen to Oliver," Ray said, eyes narrowing slightly.

…..

"No," Oliver said. "Not again."

All around him, only ashes could be seen. It was just like the time Hecate was torturing him. He was back in his own version of hell.

"Ring around the rosie, pockets full of posie. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down."

Oliver swallowed nervously. He knew that voice. To hear him singing a children's song was downright creepy.

"Ring around the rosie. What do you suppose we can do to fight the darkness in which we drown? Ring around the rosie. This evil thing it knows me," with that, Oliver felt a hand touch his shoulder. The wind started to blow, sending the ashes everywhere. "Lost souls surround me." A pair of red eyes came into view. "I can't fall down."

Oliver yelped and took a step back, but Pegolyon had a firm grip on his shoulder, preventing him from going anywhere.

"Where do you think you're going, little boy?" Pegolyon asked, smirking viciously. "As I said, I'm going to reclaim what is mine."

"And what would that be?" Oliver demanded, hating how his voice sounded.

"You," he said.

Oliver's eyes widened, and he was sure his face was whiter than snow.

"Let me tell you about what happened that day," Pegolyon said, his grip on Oliver's shoulder tightening.

Before Oliver knew it, he blacked out, with the Dark Bitbeast's laugh being the last thing he heard.

That extended version of Ring-around-the-rosie is from a creepypasta tribute of Jeff the Killer. And I think it managed to fit in nicely. The video is called 'Jeff's Lullaby', so check it out.

Also, I'm stuck at my flat without internet, and my campus is 2 km's away. And I am losing my mind!