The Way Things Were

Greetings, my kind readers! Well, here we are . . .the very last chappie of 'The Battle With Myself'. I'd personally like to extend a very very very VERY big thank you to everyone who took the time to send in your kind reviews. They were OH so appreciated! And I'd also like to apologise for the two spelling mistakes I made in the last chapter. If you find any spelling mistakes in this one, I'm sorry in advance. I type rather quickly, and God forbid that this computer will catch any of my errors (it was made in 1987 . . .a new computer would be really nice!) Well, not much more to say. On with the last chapter!

Disclaimer: I no own Beyblade, but I do own this new Kai plushie I made! *Huggles*

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"How the hell am I going to get out of this damn place?" Kai yelled, a few drips of his deep crimson blood landing on the ground with a small splash. He was weaker then ever, yet even more determined to get out of that place before things started getting ugly.

"You can't leave . . .I won't let you . . ." his clone stated, beginning to walk closer to him yet again.

Kai threw a quick punch, but it came nowhere close to hitting its target. And then just to get back, his double also threw a jab, but the aim was dead on. Our wounded phoenix came crashing to the ground, his now stained scarf fluttering and landing some five feet away. Blood was once again gushing from the corner of his mouth, which only ran down his swollen cheek and onto the dark coloured floor. He winced slightly from the pain, but allowed it to slowly consume his beaten body. Kai had to face it; he was defeated. Vanquished by nothing more then a mere reflection of himself.

His duplicate stood above him, an evil look of triumph on his twisted face. "How does it feel to finally lose a battle? To feel the pain you kept inside of yourself all these years . . .for it to finally come back and destroy you . . ." But remarkably, Kai just let out a muffled laugh. He pushed his hands forcefully to the ground, and slowly but surely managed to steady himself to his feet.

"You haven't destroyed me yet," he said, wiping away some of the crimson blood and spitting out the rest. No, he wasn't beaten yet. He wouldn't and couldn't allow himself to be under the mercy of his own self. "And besides," he muttered, forming his hand into a fist behind his back. "No one's allowed to be arrogant but ME!" And with that note, his fist went flying. Well, not only his fist, but also when it made contact with his unsuspected clone's chest, he went soaring back as well. He smashed into the ground with a rather loud thud, but this time he actually shouted out in pain. Kai finally caught him off guard. "If this place IS a reflection of my inner self, then I should be able to make the rules." Kai turned heel on foot, then began walking away in the opposite direction of his double. First he went and picked up his awaiting scarf, trying it securely around his slightly bloodied neck. Then he bent down and grasped the jagged piece of glass; the one his counterpart used on him. With a slight crazed look on his face, Kai began making his way to his opponent. His first few steps were small equally paced, but soon anticipation got the better of him, and his steps became long and quickened.

"Go ahead . . ." his clone stated, lifting himself into a sitting position; not struggling to run away. "Kill me. You'll only be killing yourself . . .again."

"Shut up!" Kai yelled, grabbing his 'reflection' by the throat and pushing him to the ground. The original slate-haired teen fell to his knees; the stained piece of glass aimed at his opponent's neck. Our phoenix's mind had managed to get caught up in the moment, for he wanted nothing more then to see his own self dead. To see his lifeless body lying in a puddle of endless flowing blood, away from the harshness of pain and cold reality. He hated it. He hated it all. But for some bizarre and obscure reason, he couldn't do it. He couldn't force himself to murder the pathetic excuse for a human being in front of him. Instead, he tightly grasped his double's scarf; and practically choking him, forced him up and brought him near his own face.

"No . . .I'm not going to sink to your level, even if you are what you claim to be . . .me. Some people say that life is more of a torture then death itself is. I would be ending your life, which would probably mean taking my own. Trust me, if I wanted to commit suicide, I would have done it a long time ago." He brought his clone's face even closer; so close as to their noses were nearly touching. "But you don't see me dead . . .do you?"

Kai shoved his clone to the ground once again, releasing the sharp glass and throwing it as far as he possibly could. It smashed into the ground nearly fifty feet away. Then he turned to look back as his clone. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed his double wasn't there. He had vanished.

Thinking that he hadn't got too far off, Kai's crimson eyes began scanning the dark area, trying to make out anything moving. But soon his vision started getting misty. Everything was beginning to fog, just like it had done before. Within a moment, Kai was back in unconsciousness . . .

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"Hey guys, I think he's waking . . ." a distant yet blurry voice said. Everything to Kai was still covered in darkness, but gradually he was making his way back to reality.

Finally, crimson orbs flashed open, adjusting themselves to the dimmed light. Three people were crowded around, each one poking their head into his gaze. Their figures soon came into focus, and they were no other but his friends; Rei, Max, and yes, even loudmouth Tyson.

"Welcome back Kai," Rei smirked, placing his hand on his friend's back for support. Kai lifted himself up into a sitting position, trying to place everything back to normal again.

"What happened?" Tyson asked, bringing his face close to Kai's and blinking curiously.

"Tyson, give him some space," Kenny chimed in, his voice echoing off the foreboding walls. The slate-haired teen turned his gaze to Kenny, who was standing a small distance away, looking onward. "He's obviously been through a lot and doesn't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, let's help get him out of here," Rei said, placing his hands around his friend's arm and assisting him with standing up. "He probably doesn't want to stay . . ."

"No. The sooner we leave, the better." Kai stated, quickly walking to the door and turning back to the team of stunned teens. They all raised a curious brow, but shrugged and walking through the exit, obeying their captain.

Once they were all out, he smirked. He turned his deep crimson eyes to the light-switch, which he almost instantly flicked off.

"Thanks Kai . . .have a good sleep now . . ." He stating, watching as all but one light turned off. The remaining light reflected off the glass of a slightly hidden tank. The red liquid inside illuminated the dirty floor below as a Kai, our phoenix, was waving his hands, desperate for someone . . .anyone to notice him. But obviously, it was too late for him. They had 'rescued' the clone, the fake.

With one last mischievous laugh, the double closed the door behind him, making the room completely black except for the one dim light above the tank. Kai tried to yell out in fury, but he only ended up taking in a gulp of the liquid. And within a few moments, our phoenix was back asleep . . .

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Done! Finished! The end! *Cries* I liked writing this story! I don't want it to end! But well, everything has to end somewhere. So, did you guys like? You're probably wondering how that last part was possible. You see, if you go back to the part where Kai was waking up, you'll see that the voice he was hearing was distant. That's not because he's deep in unconsciousness, which's because the voice IS far away! Then, from when it states 'Kai' opened his eyes; I never used the words 'OUR phoenix' or the 'ORIGINAL Kai' like I've tended to use. I simply used 'Kai'. That was a small hint, in which you probably had to take note of. Anyway, it all made sense to me. . and if you're confused, I apologise. Again, a big thanks to all reviewers. You can do it one last time, ne? Please, don't flame me! I'm happy with all the kind reviews this far, don't be mean and stop me from writing anymore stories! Well, I'm off to dream of Kai in far away places. Until my next story, my faithful readers! Sayonara!