The Advent of Team Lambda
Chapter 3 The Incident and Benten's Dragoon
Rei woke up at dawn, as usual. It took him a few moments to realize why he was naked in bed with Kai. Then he gasped.
//You are awake.// Drigar stated. //Sleep well?//
Rei looked over to the left and saw that Driger had taken a translucent physical form. His head was resting between Dranzer's shoulder blades and Dranzer was covering him with one wing. All in all, the two bit beasts looked kind of smug.
"Don't tell me you enjoyed that." Rei told the bit beast in an annoyed whisper.
//When two become one, we love together.// Drigar said cryptically. Then the tiger tensed, growling softly.
"What is it?" Rei asked.
//The Dark One.// Driger growled. Rei looked in the direction that his bitbeast was and gasped.
Dark Dranzer was curled up in the opposite corner of the room, eyes glowing malevolently red. It crooned menacingly.
/Uht-oh/ Rei thought. "Um... Drigar, can you get rid of Dark Dranzer before Kai wakes up? If he sees him here Kai'll throw a major hissy at the very least."
Drigar rumbled softly and moved between the bed and Dark Dranzer. Dranzer stirred and creeled in a manner that Rei identified instantly as distress.
It was this distress that caused Kai to wake up.
~meanwhile~
"Hey Oliver." Hillary sauntered into the kitchen the next morning. "Did you and Enrique have fun waking us up last night?"
Oliver blushed deeply and continued stirring pancake batter. "Is that any of your business?" He asked. "We were just having sex!"
Fera threw her head back and laughed. That was when Robert came into the room, yawning widely. "Hey Robert." Hillary flounced over to him. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, I suppose." Robert followed her out.
"Do bit beasts ever talk?" Hillary asked. "Because there was a dragon on Tyson's family's coat of arms and it talked to me but Fera couldn't hear it!" This all tumbled out at once.
Robert blinked, surprised. "Um... well it might have been a bit beast. Tyson got Dragoon from his Grandfather's sword, and I got Griffolyon from my family shield. But..." He thought for a moment. "Well there's little doubt that it's a bit beast, but they don't usually talk to anybody but their chosen blader. Hang on..." Robert pulled his beyblade out of his pocket and clenched it in his fist. It glowed softly. Robert's expression became blank for a moment, before his eyes fluttered closed. "Griffolyon says that it's a bit beast alright, and that it appears to have chosen you as its keeper."
Hillary's eyes widened. The expression on Robert's face a few seconds ago had been freaky. She remembered Team Psykick and also what happened to Wyatt. She didn't think that she wanted a bit-beast if they were all like that. It was scary what had happened in that tower. "but I don't want a bit beast!" She protested.
Robert looked incredulous. "You don't want a bit beast??" He demanded. "There isn't a blader alive who doesn't want one! I know lots of people who would give their right arm to have a bit beast!"
"Yeah well, there's one blader alive who doesn't want one, ME! I mean, what if I end up like Team Psykick? Tyson kept beating the crap out of Kane and he didn't get anywhere for over two hours!" Hillary exclaimed, clearly freaked. "And you didn't see what Cyber Dranzer did to Wyatt! He almost went insane because of it!" Hillary was throwing a major hissy fit. She flounced off.
"Say what about Wyatt?" Zeo asked, passing them on his way to the kitchen.
"Never mind, Zeo, could you please get Tyson for me?" Robert asked.
"Sure." Zeo turned around and set off at a dogtrot.
Tyson came by a few minutes later on his way to the kitchen. He looked very pleased with himself. Max came after him at a trot. From the tone they used when they spoke to each other, and the arm that Tyson wrapped around Max's waist, Robert guessed that they had only recently become lovers. Oh well, there was usually a happy couple in every team. Their hair was still wet from the shower. Zeo followed them. "I brought them Robert."
"So what's so important?" Tyson asked.
Robert explained what had happened. "And now Hillary doesn't want a bit beast at all." Robert explained with a sigh.
Tyson whistled appreciatively. "Wow. She's worried she'll end up like Wyatt? That's definitely not going to happen. She's too strong willed. No bit beast is EVER going to conquer Hillary."
"The problem is getting her to see it. Remember what happened when Rei lost his self-esteem? Or when Tala was turned into a cyborg? Things like that make a person vulnerable, no matter what..." Max didn't get to finish.
From their quarters Kai screamed.
"Come on!" Tyson shouted, leading Robert, Hillary, Zeo and Max to Kai and Rei's room at a run. There it took two seconds for him to assess the scene.
Kai was shivering in fear and empathic pain. Dranzer had collapsed beside the bed. Rei held him in his arms, trying to comfort him. Driger, fully solid now and about twice the size of a normal tiger was looking up at the wardrobe and growling at a fully formed Dark Dranzer. As Tyson watched, the evil bit beast stuck its tongue out at Driger. Driger growled and jumped, but he only went through the wardrobe, like some bizarre kind of hologram. Shaking its head back and forth in confusion, Driger backed out of the wardrobe.
"What's going on?" Tyson asked.
"Kai woke up, he saw Dark Dranzer and he collapsed!" Rei said frantically.
Kai shivered. "He's trying to get me again! He's trying to take me again!" Kai shivered, his voice cracking.
"Dark Dranzer?" Hillary asked. Her eyes unfocused, and she saw what had happened. "You mean that bit beast on the wardrobe?" She asked. Then she heard the voice, soft and insidious.
//I am hungry girl, I see you have a beyblade. You can satiate me. Join with me. I can give you power, fame, money, all that you could ever want and more. You can have everything. It would be yours. Join with me.//
Hillary found herself in a trance. The creature's malevolent red eyes met her own, and she couldn't look away. Hillary's eyes became blank. She stood very still. //Satiate you?//
//I hunger for misery. I hunger for blood. Feed me Hillary, and I will give you glory.// The voice whispered. //All you need to do is accept me into your heart and soul.//
Hillary felt herself spiraling down and down. The world around her was black. //And what will happen to Kai?//
//When I am unsealed, the weakling Master of the South will die... he cannot feed me like you do. He is weak. You are strong, and I will bring you glory, power beyond your wildest imagination.//
Faintly, Hillary heard, as though it were struggling through quicksand, and sinking ever deeper, near dispair and ready to give up... //Help me... Dark Dranzer... can't win.... Help me Rei! Dying...//
//Don't you care, he's your blader?//
She heard another voice, straining to be heard above the whisper, who by now held her spellbound with its insidious voice of corruption. //Nonononononono, Hillary! Don't listen to him! Don't listen please! Oh help me!//
//Why should I care for a weakling?// Dark Dranzer asked. //I am hungry, and hunger comes first.//
Hillary felt frozen. It was incredible how empty her heart had become so fast, but what should she do?
///FIGHT IT!!!/// Warm voice and presence filled her head. ///Hillary, you are better than that!! Do you care for glory at the expense of others? At the expense of lives?///
//No.// Hillary said. She couldn't see the owner of the voice, but for some reason she trusted it.
///Then fight him! He has your soul!///
//My soul?// The voice was warm, like a summer breeze, she felt strength flowing into her heart. //How do I fight him?//
The voice hissed softly, like bubbling poison. //Don't listen to her! She will rob you of your chances at glory! The powers of the cosmos could be yours!//
///Listen to me! Listen to us! Feel the light in your heart and don't let go!/// The voice answered.
//The light in my heart?// Hillary asked.
///Yes!/// said a deeper voice. ///You belong on the right side. Your courage gives you strength. Fight him!/// Warmth continued to fill Hillary's limbs. The voice was rich, it seemed to echo through her entire being.
In her mind, heart and soul, she heard voices chanting. //fight him off!//
//Be strong!// Said a rich alto voice.
//Focus on your heart!// Came the tenor growl.
//Remember what you believe in!// Creeled a soprano voiced bit beast.
//If you give in! Kai dies!// The deep, rich alto voice reminded her. //YOU ARE STRONG! DON'T GIVE IN!//
Hillary willed the insidious poison of Dark Dranzer out of her heart with one last, almighty, telepathic shove. At the same time she shouted. ///"I AM STRONG!!"//
She sat up with a shriek.
~meanwhile~
Dark Dranzer hissed from the wardrobe. His eyes met Hillary's. Hillary's eyes went blank, as though they had lost their sparkle, then she collapsed.
"Oh no! Not her too!" Tyson exclaimed as he caught Hillary. //Dragoon! What's happening to her?//
//He is trying to take over her heart! But if he does that then Kai will die!// Dragoon exclaimed in fear. //And so will Dranzer!//
//Then what do we do??// Tyson demanded.
//There is nothing that YOU can do. LET US FIGHT!// The air became awhirl with lights and winds and smells. The different beyblades present began to glow, including one held loosely in the hand of...
"HILLARY!" Kenny exclaimed as he and Fera almost ran Tyson over, "Tyson! What's happening?" He demanded. Then he saw Dark Dranzer, its eyes closed and its body pulsating with a malevolent red light. "Dizzi what's happening!?" He demanded of his laptop.
"This doesn't look good. Dark Dranzer is trying to posses Hillary, but in order for him to leave Kai, he'd have to kill him! Kai's vital signs are fading fast!" Dizzi said, near panic.
Robert and Max had their eyes closed, focusing with all their strength on protecting Hillary. Rei held Kai close to him, willing all his energy into keeping Kai alive. Tears streamed down his face. "Please Kai, fight him! You can't let him win!
/If Dark Dranzer wins we'll lose two people with one stone./ Fera thought. She strained her ears and could have sworn that she heard...
//I hunger for misery. I hunger for blood. Feed me Hillary, and I will give you glory. All you need to do is accept me into your heart and soul.//
//And what will happen to Kai?//
//When I am unsealed, the weakling Master of the South will die... he cannot feed me like you do. He is weak. You are strong, and I will bring you glory, power beyond your wildest imagination.//
Then Fera heard another voice, faint and weak. //Help me... Dark Dranzer... can't win.... Help me Rei! Dying...// KAI!
//Don't you care, he's your blader?//
And another faint telepathic voice, struggling to be heard above Dark Dranzer's demanding roar. //Nonononononono, Hillary! Don't listen to him! Don't listen please! Oh help me!//
//Why should I care for a weakling? I am hungry, and hunger comes first.//
//Can I speak to her?// Fera asked Dritsu. She had the faintest telepathic impression of the Itsumade nodding her head. Then Fera said to Hillary. ///FIGHT IT!!!/// She cried, drowning out Dark Dranzer's continued demands. ///Hillary, you are better than that!! Do you care for glory at the expense of others? At the expense of lives?/// Fera had always been able to be heard when she had to be. This was one of those times when she hoped that she could be.
And she was... //No.// Hillary answered. Her telepathic voice was blank, no tone, no inflection. It frightened Fera. Back home, she had always had the impression of an indomitable, feisty brunette and know it all, who was surprised only by the antics of the Beybladers that she met.
///Then fight him! He has your soul!/// Simple language, that was what could get through to her best at this point.
//My soul? How do I fight him?// Fera could feel the emptiness, the numbness that, on some occasions, caused her pain as well. She could only combat it with warmth. /Fight Hillary./ she thought to herself. Fera willed all her warmth and strength into Hillary.
Almost instantly she felt herself blocked off. //Don't listen to her! She will rob you of your chances at glory! The powers of the cosmos could be yours!//
But like the waters of the summer floods that filled the stream near her house in the summer time, the other bit beasts filled her soul with warmth and light, and using these Fera pushed past the block. ///Listen to me! Listen to us! Feel the light in your heart and don't let go!/// Many voices spoke with her this time. They were going to win. She knew it. Dark Dranzer would be sent back into the Hellhole of Kai's nightmares.
//The light in my heart?// Blessed girl.
///Yes!/// said a deeper voice. ///You belong on the right side. Your courage gives you strength. Fight him!///
//Fight him off!// In the back of her mind, Fera heard the bitbeasts join in the chant.
//Be strong!// Cried Griffolyon
//Focus on your heart!// Added Drigar.
//Remember what you believe in!// Cried Dranzer.
//If you give in! Kai dies!// Draciel told Hillary through Fera.
//YOU ARE STRONG! DON'T GIVE IN!// Draciel and Dragoon chorused.
///"I AM STRONG!!"/// Hillary cried, sitting up straight from where Tyson had cushioned her head with one of the extra pillows that had fallen that night.
"AH!" Fera sighed; she fell to her knees, panting. Only then did she realize that she was dripping sweat.
"Fera are you alright?" Zeo asked gently.
"Blessed child." Fera panted. "She's got a stronger will than she thinks... But it was close..."
Robert and Max also fell to their knees. Max was panting so hard that he couldn't talk. Robert wiped the sweat from his forehead. He rolled onto his back and lay there, panting like he'd run a marathon. "Kai has just earned... my total respect..." He panted. "I had no idea that it was this strong."
"What's going on?" Zeo asked.
Kenny explained about the Dark Dranzer incident. "It's the strongest bit beast we've ever seen."
Fera smiled bitterly. "Shiara and I had an argument once. Who was stronger, Cyber Dranzer or Dark Dranzer? I told her that if I had to target one or the other, that Dark Dranzer would have been the bigger threat. I wonder if she'd believe me now." She said with a rueful grin. Fera crawled over and wiped the sweat of Hillary's forehead. She saw two tears slip from her eyes. Fera brushed the brunette's hair away from her eyes.
Zeo just shook his head, too stunned to do much else.
Hillary's eyelids fluttered open. "What... what happened?"
"Dark Dranzer almost killed you and Kai." Fera said gently. "The Bit Beasts saved you."
"Oh!" Hillary tried to get up, but fell back, too weak to get up. "I could hear them..." She sobbed. "It was horrible..." Fera pulled Hillary into her arms.
"Blessed girl. Hillary you fought them. Not even Kai was able to do as much when he entered the abbey, and he's been blading since he could pick up a bit." Fera said tenderly, stroking Hillary's hair in comfort. "Just cry Hillary, just cry."
Kai's eyes fluttered open... "Huh?" Then. "Rei! She was there! I heard her! She fought Dark Dranzer!" Then he looked around. "You were all there!"
"Hey Kai..." Zeo asked innocently. "What were you and Rei doing naked?"
Everybody except Hillary facefaulted.
"That's... a gooood question." Tyson said, with a dread look on his face. "Um... Rei, got the answer?"
"Ummm.... I don't know, do you Robert?"
"DON'T BRING ME INTO THIS!" Robert protested.
"Okay Zeo! Time to go!" Kenny said cheerfully, dragging Zeo out the door.
"You people are so evasive about a simple question." Dizzi said, in an annoying tone.
"Um... Dizzi, be a GOOD computer and shut up before I shut you down!" Tyson said miming the smashing of laptops with a hammer.
"Temper, temper, you know you'd regret that!" Dizzi said as Kenny carried the laptop out the door.
Fera rolled her eyes. "Yaoi-jin." She turned courteously to Hillary. "Do you need help to get back to the bedroom."
"Yeah..." Hillary said weakly. "Thanks..." She leaned on Taiko as they left.
"Have fu-un." Tyson teased as he wrapped his arm around Max's waist.
Rei blinked. Tyson and Max, who would have known?
Kai snuggled against Rei's chest. "I'm so glad he's gone." Kai said softly. "I hate Dark Dranzer! I hate it for what it did to me!" Tears of frustration and relief rolled down Kai's cheeks. Rei thumbed them away tenderly.
"Shhhh..." He said , kissing Kai lovingly on the lips. "It's over now."
Kai sobbed softly into Rei's chest.
~meanwhile~
"Oliver." Tyson said when he came into the kitchen. "Kai's feeling a bit ill. Do you think that you could bring him breakfast in bed?"
"One breakfast in bed coming up."
In the girls' room, Hillary leaned into Fera's chest, sobbing numbly. "I can't believe it. Something so horrible. Now I know how Wyatt must have felt." Then she paused, and looked at the beyblade still in her hand. She gasped.
Written on the edges of the blade, in neat lettering, was...
"Bengoon." The bit depicted a White Dragoon with solid green eyes. Hillary's eyes widened. "It's the dragon from Tyson's Family Crest!"
Yes, ready or not, Benten's Dragoon had been unleashed upon an unsuspecting world of Beyblading. And Fera had unwittingly made friendship number two....
~A/N~
(sooooooooooobbbbbbbbbbbbb!!!!!!!)
Dark Dranzer vs. Cyber Dranzer. When you review it, tell me who YOU think would win. I'm rooting for Dark Dranzer. Two reasons why...
1)Every single time a beyblading team has tried to use high technology to defeat the Blade Breakers, they've lost. I take into account the All Starz (whose Bitbeasts are artificial), the Demolition Boys, (whose will power, (always a deciding factor where the Breakers are concerned) was compromised by their Cyborg enhancements, and Team Psykick, (whose artificial bit beasts put up a good fight, but lost anyway.) Therefore it is safe to conclude that in the world of Beyblading, philosophically speaking, the supernatural almost always beats the scientific.
2) Dark Dranzer is cooler anyway, so he gets the prize, due to outright coolness.
Wyatt: (puppy eyes) How come I don't get my action scene? Aren't I cute enough?
AWWWW (patpat) Sorry Wyatt, but Kai knows Rei better than he knows you, so I figured that... welll....
Oh maybe next time!
Chapter 3 The Incident and Benten's Dragoon
Rei woke up at dawn, as usual. It took him a few moments to realize why he was naked in bed with Kai. Then he gasped.
//You are awake.// Drigar stated. //Sleep well?//
Rei looked over to the left and saw that Driger had taken a translucent physical form. His head was resting between Dranzer's shoulder blades and Dranzer was covering him with one wing. All in all, the two bit beasts looked kind of smug.
"Don't tell me you enjoyed that." Rei told the bit beast in an annoyed whisper.
//When two become one, we love together.// Drigar said cryptically. Then the tiger tensed, growling softly.
"What is it?" Rei asked.
//The Dark One.// Driger growled. Rei looked in the direction that his bitbeast was and gasped.
Dark Dranzer was curled up in the opposite corner of the room, eyes glowing malevolently red. It crooned menacingly.
/Uht-oh/ Rei thought. "Um... Drigar, can you get rid of Dark Dranzer before Kai wakes up? If he sees him here Kai'll throw a major hissy at the very least."
Drigar rumbled softly and moved between the bed and Dark Dranzer. Dranzer stirred and creeled in a manner that Rei identified instantly as distress.
It was this distress that caused Kai to wake up.
~meanwhile~
"Hey Oliver." Hillary sauntered into the kitchen the next morning. "Did you and Enrique have fun waking us up last night?"
Oliver blushed deeply and continued stirring pancake batter. "Is that any of your business?" He asked. "We were just having sex!"
Fera threw her head back and laughed. That was when Robert came into the room, yawning widely. "Hey Robert." Hillary flounced over to him. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, I suppose." Robert followed her out.
"Do bit beasts ever talk?" Hillary asked. "Because there was a dragon on Tyson's family's coat of arms and it talked to me but Fera couldn't hear it!" This all tumbled out at once.
Robert blinked, surprised. "Um... well it might have been a bit beast. Tyson got Dragoon from his Grandfather's sword, and I got Griffolyon from my family shield. But..." He thought for a moment. "Well there's little doubt that it's a bit beast, but they don't usually talk to anybody but their chosen blader. Hang on..." Robert pulled his beyblade out of his pocket and clenched it in his fist. It glowed softly. Robert's expression became blank for a moment, before his eyes fluttered closed. "Griffolyon says that it's a bit beast alright, and that it appears to have chosen you as its keeper."
Hillary's eyes widened. The expression on Robert's face a few seconds ago had been freaky. She remembered Team Psykick and also what happened to Wyatt. She didn't think that she wanted a bit-beast if they were all like that. It was scary what had happened in that tower. "but I don't want a bit beast!" She protested.
Robert looked incredulous. "You don't want a bit beast??" He demanded. "There isn't a blader alive who doesn't want one! I know lots of people who would give their right arm to have a bit beast!"
"Yeah well, there's one blader alive who doesn't want one, ME! I mean, what if I end up like Team Psykick? Tyson kept beating the crap out of Kane and he didn't get anywhere for over two hours!" Hillary exclaimed, clearly freaked. "And you didn't see what Cyber Dranzer did to Wyatt! He almost went insane because of it!" Hillary was throwing a major hissy fit. She flounced off.
"Say what about Wyatt?" Zeo asked, passing them on his way to the kitchen.
"Never mind, Zeo, could you please get Tyson for me?" Robert asked.
"Sure." Zeo turned around and set off at a dogtrot.
Tyson came by a few minutes later on his way to the kitchen. He looked very pleased with himself. Max came after him at a trot. From the tone they used when they spoke to each other, and the arm that Tyson wrapped around Max's waist, Robert guessed that they had only recently become lovers. Oh well, there was usually a happy couple in every team. Their hair was still wet from the shower. Zeo followed them. "I brought them Robert."
"So what's so important?" Tyson asked.
Robert explained what had happened. "And now Hillary doesn't want a bit beast at all." Robert explained with a sigh.
Tyson whistled appreciatively. "Wow. She's worried she'll end up like Wyatt? That's definitely not going to happen. She's too strong willed. No bit beast is EVER going to conquer Hillary."
"The problem is getting her to see it. Remember what happened when Rei lost his self-esteem? Or when Tala was turned into a cyborg? Things like that make a person vulnerable, no matter what..." Max didn't get to finish.
From their quarters Kai screamed.
"Come on!" Tyson shouted, leading Robert, Hillary, Zeo and Max to Kai and Rei's room at a run. There it took two seconds for him to assess the scene.
Kai was shivering in fear and empathic pain. Dranzer had collapsed beside the bed. Rei held him in his arms, trying to comfort him. Driger, fully solid now and about twice the size of a normal tiger was looking up at the wardrobe and growling at a fully formed Dark Dranzer. As Tyson watched, the evil bit beast stuck its tongue out at Driger. Driger growled and jumped, but he only went through the wardrobe, like some bizarre kind of hologram. Shaking its head back and forth in confusion, Driger backed out of the wardrobe.
"What's going on?" Tyson asked.
"Kai woke up, he saw Dark Dranzer and he collapsed!" Rei said frantically.
Kai shivered. "He's trying to get me again! He's trying to take me again!" Kai shivered, his voice cracking.
"Dark Dranzer?" Hillary asked. Her eyes unfocused, and she saw what had happened. "You mean that bit beast on the wardrobe?" She asked. Then she heard the voice, soft and insidious.
//I am hungry girl, I see you have a beyblade. You can satiate me. Join with me. I can give you power, fame, money, all that you could ever want and more. You can have everything. It would be yours. Join with me.//
Hillary found herself in a trance. The creature's malevolent red eyes met her own, and she couldn't look away. Hillary's eyes became blank. She stood very still. //Satiate you?//
//I hunger for misery. I hunger for blood. Feed me Hillary, and I will give you glory.// The voice whispered. //All you need to do is accept me into your heart and soul.//
Hillary felt herself spiraling down and down. The world around her was black. //And what will happen to Kai?//
//When I am unsealed, the weakling Master of the South will die... he cannot feed me like you do. He is weak. You are strong, and I will bring you glory, power beyond your wildest imagination.//
Faintly, Hillary heard, as though it were struggling through quicksand, and sinking ever deeper, near dispair and ready to give up... //Help me... Dark Dranzer... can't win.... Help me Rei! Dying...//
//Don't you care, he's your blader?//
She heard another voice, straining to be heard above the whisper, who by now held her spellbound with its insidious voice of corruption. //Nonononononono, Hillary! Don't listen to him! Don't listen please! Oh help me!//
//Why should I care for a weakling?// Dark Dranzer asked. //I am hungry, and hunger comes first.//
Hillary felt frozen. It was incredible how empty her heart had become so fast, but what should she do?
///FIGHT IT!!!/// Warm voice and presence filled her head. ///Hillary, you are better than that!! Do you care for glory at the expense of others? At the expense of lives?///
//No.// Hillary said. She couldn't see the owner of the voice, but for some reason she trusted it.
///Then fight him! He has your soul!///
//My soul?// The voice was warm, like a summer breeze, she felt strength flowing into her heart. //How do I fight him?//
The voice hissed softly, like bubbling poison. //Don't listen to her! She will rob you of your chances at glory! The powers of the cosmos could be yours!//
///Listen to me! Listen to us! Feel the light in your heart and don't let go!/// The voice answered.
//The light in my heart?// Hillary asked.
///Yes!/// said a deeper voice. ///You belong on the right side. Your courage gives you strength. Fight him!/// Warmth continued to fill Hillary's limbs. The voice was rich, it seemed to echo through her entire being.
In her mind, heart and soul, she heard voices chanting. //fight him off!//
//Be strong!// Said a rich alto voice.
//Focus on your heart!// Came the tenor growl.
//Remember what you believe in!// Creeled a soprano voiced bit beast.
//If you give in! Kai dies!// The deep, rich alto voice reminded her. //YOU ARE STRONG! DON'T GIVE IN!//
Hillary willed the insidious poison of Dark Dranzer out of her heart with one last, almighty, telepathic shove. At the same time she shouted. ///"I AM STRONG!!"//
She sat up with a shriek.
~meanwhile~
Dark Dranzer hissed from the wardrobe. His eyes met Hillary's. Hillary's eyes went blank, as though they had lost their sparkle, then she collapsed.
"Oh no! Not her too!" Tyson exclaimed as he caught Hillary. //Dragoon! What's happening to her?//
//He is trying to take over her heart! But if he does that then Kai will die!// Dragoon exclaimed in fear. //And so will Dranzer!//
//Then what do we do??// Tyson demanded.
//There is nothing that YOU can do. LET US FIGHT!// The air became awhirl with lights and winds and smells. The different beyblades present began to glow, including one held loosely in the hand of...
"HILLARY!" Kenny exclaimed as he and Fera almost ran Tyson over, "Tyson! What's happening?" He demanded. Then he saw Dark Dranzer, its eyes closed and its body pulsating with a malevolent red light. "Dizzi what's happening!?" He demanded of his laptop.
"This doesn't look good. Dark Dranzer is trying to posses Hillary, but in order for him to leave Kai, he'd have to kill him! Kai's vital signs are fading fast!" Dizzi said, near panic.
Robert and Max had their eyes closed, focusing with all their strength on protecting Hillary. Rei held Kai close to him, willing all his energy into keeping Kai alive. Tears streamed down his face. "Please Kai, fight him! You can't let him win!
/If Dark Dranzer wins we'll lose two people with one stone./ Fera thought. She strained her ears and could have sworn that she heard...
//I hunger for misery. I hunger for blood. Feed me Hillary, and I will give you glory. All you need to do is accept me into your heart and soul.//
//And what will happen to Kai?//
//When I am unsealed, the weakling Master of the South will die... he cannot feed me like you do. He is weak. You are strong, and I will bring you glory, power beyond your wildest imagination.//
Then Fera heard another voice, faint and weak. //Help me... Dark Dranzer... can't win.... Help me Rei! Dying...// KAI!
//Don't you care, he's your blader?//
And another faint telepathic voice, struggling to be heard above Dark Dranzer's demanding roar. //Nonononononono, Hillary! Don't listen to him! Don't listen please! Oh help me!//
//Why should I care for a weakling? I am hungry, and hunger comes first.//
//Can I speak to her?// Fera asked Dritsu. She had the faintest telepathic impression of the Itsumade nodding her head. Then Fera said to Hillary. ///FIGHT IT!!!/// She cried, drowning out Dark Dranzer's continued demands. ///Hillary, you are better than that!! Do you care for glory at the expense of others? At the expense of lives?/// Fera had always been able to be heard when she had to be. This was one of those times when she hoped that she could be.
And she was... //No.// Hillary answered. Her telepathic voice was blank, no tone, no inflection. It frightened Fera. Back home, she had always had the impression of an indomitable, feisty brunette and know it all, who was surprised only by the antics of the Beybladers that she met.
///Then fight him! He has your soul!/// Simple language, that was what could get through to her best at this point.
//My soul? How do I fight him?// Fera could feel the emptiness, the numbness that, on some occasions, caused her pain as well. She could only combat it with warmth. /Fight Hillary./ she thought to herself. Fera willed all her warmth and strength into Hillary.
Almost instantly she felt herself blocked off. //Don't listen to her! She will rob you of your chances at glory! The powers of the cosmos could be yours!//
But like the waters of the summer floods that filled the stream near her house in the summer time, the other bit beasts filled her soul with warmth and light, and using these Fera pushed past the block. ///Listen to me! Listen to us! Feel the light in your heart and don't let go!/// Many voices spoke with her this time. They were going to win. She knew it. Dark Dranzer would be sent back into the Hellhole of Kai's nightmares.
//The light in my heart?// Blessed girl.
///Yes!/// said a deeper voice. ///You belong on the right side. Your courage gives you strength. Fight him!///
//Fight him off!// In the back of her mind, Fera heard the bitbeasts join in the chant.
//Be strong!// Cried Griffolyon
//Focus on your heart!// Added Drigar.
//Remember what you believe in!// Cried Dranzer.
//If you give in! Kai dies!// Draciel told Hillary through Fera.
//YOU ARE STRONG! DON'T GIVE IN!// Draciel and Dragoon chorused.
///"I AM STRONG!!"/// Hillary cried, sitting up straight from where Tyson had cushioned her head with one of the extra pillows that had fallen that night.
"AH!" Fera sighed; she fell to her knees, panting. Only then did she realize that she was dripping sweat.
"Fera are you alright?" Zeo asked gently.
"Blessed child." Fera panted. "She's got a stronger will than she thinks... But it was close..."
Robert and Max also fell to their knees. Max was panting so hard that he couldn't talk. Robert wiped the sweat from his forehead. He rolled onto his back and lay there, panting like he'd run a marathon. "Kai has just earned... my total respect..." He panted. "I had no idea that it was this strong."
"What's going on?" Zeo asked.
Kenny explained about the Dark Dranzer incident. "It's the strongest bit beast we've ever seen."
Fera smiled bitterly. "Shiara and I had an argument once. Who was stronger, Cyber Dranzer or Dark Dranzer? I told her that if I had to target one or the other, that Dark Dranzer would have been the bigger threat. I wonder if she'd believe me now." She said with a rueful grin. Fera crawled over and wiped the sweat of Hillary's forehead. She saw two tears slip from her eyes. Fera brushed the brunette's hair away from her eyes.
Zeo just shook his head, too stunned to do much else.
Hillary's eyelids fluttered open. "What... what happened?"
"Dark Dranzer almost killed you and Kai." Fera said gently. "The Bit Beasts saved you."
"Oh!" Hillary tried to get up, but fell back, too weak to get up. "I could hear them..." She sobbed. "It was horrible..." Fera pulled Hillary into her arms.
"Blessed girl. Hillary you fought them. Not even Kai was able to do as much when he entered the abbey, and he's been blading since he could pick up a bit." Fera said tenderly, stroking Hillary's hair in comfort. "Just cry Hillary, just cry."
Kai's eyes fluttered open... "Huh?" Then. "Rei! She was there! I heard her! She fought Dark Dranzer!" Then he looked around. "You were all there!"
"Hey Kai..." Zeo asked innocently. "What were you and Rei doing naked?"
Everybody except Hillary facefaulted.
"That's... a gooood question." Tyson said, with a dread look on his face. "Um... Rei, got the answer?"
"Ummm.... I don't know, do you Robert?"
"DON'T BRING ME INTO THIS!" Robert protested.
"Okay Zeo! Time to go!" Kenny said cheerfully, dragging Zeo out the door.
"You people are so evasive about a simple question." Dizzi said, in an annoying tone.
"Um... Dizzi, be a GOOD computer and shut up before I shut you down!" Tyson said miming the smashing of laptops with a hammer.
"Temper, temper, you know you'd regret that!" Dizzi said as Kenny carried the laptop out the door.
Fera rolled her eyes. "Yaoi-jin." She turned courteously to Hillary. "Do you need help to get back to the bedroom."
"Yeah..." Hillary said weakly. "Thanks..." She leaned on Taiko as they left.
"Have fu-un." Tyson teased as he wrapped his arm around Max's waist.
Rei blinked. Tyson and Max, who would have known?
Kai snuggled against Rei's chest. "I'm so glad he's gone." Kai said softly. "I hate Dark Dranzer! I hate it for what it did to me!" Tears of frustration and relief rolled down Kai's cheeks. Rei thumbed them away tenderly.
"Shhhh..." He said , kissing Kai lovingly on the lips. "It's over now."
Kai sobbed softly into Rei's chest.
~meanwhile~
"Oliver." Tyson said when he came into the kitchen. "Kai's feeling a bit ill. Do you think that you could bring him breakfast in bed?"
"One breakfast in bed coming up."
In the girls' room, Hillary leaned into Fera's chest, sobbing numbly. "I can't believe it. Something so horrible. Now I know how Wyatt must have felt." Then she paused, and looked at the beyblade still in her hand. She gasped.
Written on the edges of the blade, in neat lettering, was...
"Bengoon." The bit depicted a White Dragoon with solid green eyes. Hillary's eyes widened. "It's the dragon from Tyson's Family Crest!"
Yes, ready or not, Benten's Dragoon had been unleashed upon an unsuspecting world of Beyblading. And Fera had unwittingly made friendship number two....
~A/N~
(sooooooooooobbbbbbbbbbbbb!!!!!!!)
Dark Dranzer vs. Cyber Dranzer. When you review it, tell me who YOU think would win. I'm rooting for Dark Dranzer. Two reasons why...
1)Every single time a beyblading team has tried to use high technology to defeat the Blade Breakers, they've lost. I take into account the All Starz (whose Bitbeasts are artificial), the Demolition Boys, (whose will power, (always a deciding factor where the Breakers are concerned) was compromised by their Cyborg enhancements, and Team Psykick, (whose artificial bit beasts put up a good fight, but lost anyway.) Therefore it is safe to conclude that in the world of Beyblading, philosophically speaking, the supernatural almost always beats the scientific.
2) Dark Dranzer is cooler anyway, so he gets the prize, due to outright coolness.
Wyatt: (puppy eyes) How come I don't get my action scene? Aren't I cute enough?
AWWWW (patpat) Sorry Wyatt, but Kai knows Rei better than he knows you, so I figured that... welll....
Oh maybe next time!