Disclaimer: Beyblade doesn't belong to me.
A/N: I couldn't think of a better title, so it's stuck with that. Be warned that this is a sad chapter for Ray. Sorry, Ray fans, especially my friend. Please review after reading. It's very much appreciated. All types of reviews are welcomed.
Chapter 3: Drowning in Pain
Deep within the heart of a pyramid, a dark spirit resided. "Servants of the Dark, come forth," the dark spirit commanded. On cue, four cloaked figures materialized out of nowhere, and were now kneeling before a black phoenix with red highlights. It was indeed Black Dranzer, the bit-beast Kai once possessed and thought to have been destroyed over four years ago. It was the same monster that almost claimed the life of Laurianne Wong.
The four cloaked monsters lowered their heads at the presence of the large firebird. "Master," all of them uttered monotonously in unison.
"What are your commands, Master?" one of the four creatures queried blandly.
"Laurianne Wong, the granddaughter of Stanley Dickenson, will be arriving in China soon to participate in the World Beyblading Tournaments. When she does, you will bring her here blindfolded."
"You want us to kidnap her?!"
"We'll do no such thing. We will not hurt lives."
"If any one of you wants your humanity back, you will bring her before me. She is essential in my plans. Once you've succeeded to carry out all my tasks, you will lose your monstrous features and become a real human being again. Is that clear?" the fiery spirit manipulated. "Do the four of you need a moment to consider your options?" All four disguised figures glanced at each other.
"We've got no choice," one of the four monsters stated despairingly.
"He's the only one who knows how to reclaim our humanity," another one reminded. The other two sighed, defeated. Reluctantly, they shook their heads.
"The Dark Bladers will help you. But we refuse to harm anyone," the leader claimed as he stepped out from among his team members.
"Marvelous. In that case then, as a bonus, you will bring Kai here also at all costs. Blindfolded of course," the large black bird demanded.
"Err!" the Dark Bladers growled.
***
Stepping out of the private airplane with their luggage at the international airport of China in the middle of the night were the Bladebreakers. "It's getting late," Lauri said with a yawn as they headed to the airport centre to handle some paperwork. Once the paperwork was taken care of, Ray guided them to the hotel where Mr. Dickenson had booked a large suite of rooms: a kitchen, two bathrooms, four bedrooms and a small living room, for all of them during their stay in China. It was nine in the evening when they finally arrived there.
Once arriving, Lauri quickly unpacked a few things and got into the bathroom for a relaxing bubble bath before dressing into her nightgown. Meanwhile slouching on the sofa in front of the switched-on television was the cheerful Max. Ray was occupying the other bathroom, taking a quick shower and washing his hair. Leaning against the wall in the corner of the living room meditatively was the stoical Kai while stuffing food down his throat in the kitchen was the irrational Tyson. Kenny was seated next to Max with his laptop opened. "So, Dizzi, how do you suppose we should share the rooms?" the Chief asked when Tyson, Lauri and Ray joined them. Ray's hair was already blow-dried and combed neatly while Lauri was already dressed in her sleeping clothes: a white buttoned shirt and pants with patterns of ocean blue bubbles of various sizes. Nevertheless, a starry scarf wrapped around her neck.
"I get my own room," Lauri spoke demandingly as she stood next to Ray and Tyson tying her turquoise hair up messily with a long white ribbon.
"I get the kitchen then," Tyson said possessively with a mischievous laughter.
"No way, Tyson! You wish!" Max protested abruptly as he turned off the television.
"Yeah. You'll eat all the food and leave us starving," Ray added, agreeing with the blader of defense.
"Tyson and Max can share the bedroom," Dizzi recommended, "since he's the only one who can sleep through Tyson's snoring."
"I'm insulted!"
"Calm down, Tyson. She meant that in a good way," Max tried to explain positively.
"Dizzi and I will be up researching and working on everyone's blades at night so we'll need a room to ourselves. You and Kai will share a room," Kenny added, glancing at Ray and Kai for their approval.
"Sure," Ray answered before taking a look at Kai.
"Whatever," Kai managed to utter as he folded his arms.
Once that was settled, they promptly unpacked their belongings and readied themselves for some shut-eye. "Night, Guys," Ray muttered to all of them as they headed into their rooms. Lauri said nothing to her teammates, not even a good night.
Lauri merely locked herself inside her chamber. Her back braced against the door. She was breathing relief that she was alone again, that she won't have to face these bladers all day and night. In her head, the scenes of that dreadful night were being made into a motion picture. Sadly, against her will, she was watching it over and over ever since the event took place, and tonight was no different. The pain, anger and hatred suppressed within her surfaced again. Her back slid down against the door until her head was under the doorknob as she recalled different points in her life. Her love of bit-beasts, bladers, and the whole game of Beyblade was constantly clashing with the hatred that built up within her throughout the months. On her brother's grave, she declared that the whole game and everything associated with it despicable and a total waste of time. And that was the turning point of her life. Since the funeral, Lauri moved out and lived with her grandpa. She continued to pursue her dreams of becoming a journalist and a photographer, but now, she merely trying to shut the world of Beyblade out of her life. But, how can she? Her boss had just assigned her to cover the World Beyblade Tournament with exclusive interviews with the competing bladers of various teams, including the last tournament winners: the Bladebreakers. Moreover, her grandpa sent her along with them to participate in the tournament of blading, a game that she was trying to escape.
Struggling to bottle up her past, she reached into her shirt's right pocket and held onto the sky-blue blade. She took a deep breath before glancing at her opened laptop resting on the table across her. 'I have to finish typing all the info from the Bladerbreakers' interviews before midnight, Blitz.' Lauri sighed as ambled towards her chair and table. She sat down, and as fast as she could, she typed. 'Well, at least, I'm three quarters done.'
***
The nearby tower clock blared thrice; twilight hour was upon the sleeping Bladebreakers. Alone in her bedroom, Lauri was in a light sleep, dreaming. Within her dream, a fallen angel with black wings was about to take flight among the stars. Her face was foreign and yet familiar to Lauri. She had pitch black eyes, and a glint of light gleamed in them. Her lips curved to form a sinister smirk. Ribbons of white cloth hugged her snuggly from her neck to her ankles like bandages. Her fingers and feet however, remained bare. She wore a black cotton mini-skirt with two zipped pockets around her waist. As soon as the angel lifted her feet from the roof of a building, Lauri got out of her bed, her eyelids still closed. She stood beside her bed for a minute before she sneaked out of the suite in her sleep. One of the guest saw her from behind, but he quickly dismissed what he had seen, unaware of her unusual sleeping behaviour.
Meanwhile, in the bed chamber Kai and Ray was sharing, the holder of the great phoenix was having a nightmare about Black Dranzer. In Kai's bad dream, he saw the dark phoenix resurrecting from his ashes and battling his Dranzer. The two fire birds just kept on fighting and fighting. Whenever one of them died, he would just resurrect himself from his own ashes, and then battle again. Before Kai could witness the end of the war between the phoenixes, if there had been an end, Kai woke up, panting for oxygen. 'Morning, already?' Kai mused when he spotted the time the digital clock on the nearby table was projecting. Skeptical, Kai got out of his bed and walked over by the window above Ray's bed. He pulled a string which in turn pulled the blinds up. Indeed, it was morning. It was the crack of dawn. The sun was just rising from the horizon line.
Suddenly, Kai was craving for the fresh morning air. Responsibly, he wrote down a few words addressed to his friends so they won't be worried sick when they found him missing from his bed. He left the note by Ray's pillow before taking off on his own. It wasn't very Kai-like of him, but he felt that it was necessary, ever since the others pulled him out of icy waters.
As Kai walked pass Lauri's bedroom, her door was unlocked and empty. The occupant was gone, probably off strolling. At least, that's what the young man of few words thought. Oh well, why should he worry about her? That was his last thought before he walked out of the hotel.
Different noises surrounded Kai as he dawdled in the busy streets, even at this time of the day. Meanwhile, back at the hotel where all of them were staying, Max, Ray, Kenny and Dizzi were paying attention to the morning breaking news while Tyson was still in bed, sleeping.
"Since the arrival of the new year, there had been many claims about beyblades vanishing overnight globally. Many of the blades stolen contain bit-beasts. There have been several rumoured sightings of a mummified angel sneaking out of windows of several homes during the night. Strangely, the same bladers that reported about their missing blades are residents of these homes. The police now suspects that this angel-like creature is connected with the missing beyblades. About ten beyblades containing bit-beasts were reported missing early this morning," the television reporter announced.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing. Who is doing all this?" Kenny asked worriedly as Max muted the volume of the television set.
"My bet is on the mummified angel," Dizzi guessed.
"We should let Kai know about this," Ray told.
"Where is he by the way?" Max asked curiously.
"He left me a note saying that he's taking a morning stroll and he won't be back until lunch," Ray answered, recalling Kai's written message.
"Maybe one of you should wake Tyson up," Kenny suggested.
"No way, Chief. I'm sure he'll wake up when he's hungry," Ray argued, shaking his head.
"I agree," the blonde boy added, and Kenny sighed.
"Where's that new member? Maybe you can bribe her to wake Tyson," Dizzi plotted.
"She's not here. She probably left early also," Ray replied.
"Oh well," Max commented with a bright smile and a shrug.
"I'm going out to challenge some bladers. Wanna come, Max? Chief?"
"No thanks, Ray. I'll do that after lunch. This morning, I'm expecting a phone call from my mom," Max replied enthusiastically.
"Me neither. Dizzi and I have a lot of work to do with mending Tyson's and Max's blades, not to mention tons of researching about the current global issue," Kenny answered thoroughly.
"Okay then. I'll be back later," Ray stated before exiting.
***
Ray roamed around the streets of China until he ended up at the entrance of a forest in the farthest point of a park. The smell and tranquility of the woods were alluring. Gingerly, he entered the woods for some solitude and training instead of combating other bladers.
At the same time, deep in the same woods in a small clearing, a battle was about to storm between the Dark Bladers and another mystical creature slightly hovering above solid ground. It was the same strange being that lurked within Lauri's dream: the black-winged angel mainly clothed by strips of white ribbons.
One of the Dark Bladers launched their blades onto the grass. His bit-beast emerged from the confinement of the spinning top. The fallen angel glared at her opponents with scorn. The mummy type bit-beast unrolled some bandages from his hands and lashed both straps at the winged creature's waist. She grunted angrily, her eyes ablaze with hatred. A direct capture and the bit-beast began pulling her in as a mysterious fog appeared. Hysterically, her wings fluttered and her body soared into the air with lightning speed that the mummy's bandages tore apart, releasing her. Once free, without hesitation, she hovered over all of them and small dust-like particles shot out from her black wings and were dispersed over them. Instantly, the four Dark Bladers collapsed onto the grass and the mummy bit-beast retreated into the blade. Seeing that her sleeping dust worked effectively upon the strangers, she wore a triumphant smirk across her face before she flew away.
As the black-winged angel flew out of the forest, she caught the attention of the raven-haired teen that was hidden in the forest also. Bewildered and curious by her appearance and her presence, Ray ran after her as fast as he could in full pursuit, his eyes set on the fallen angel, as he hoped that he wasn't imagining things. Suddenly, after two minutes of sprinting in the woods, he stumbled and fell flat onto the ground. Whimpering at the pain of his injured body, he slowly sprang back on his feet. His eyes scanned the morning sky, but nowhere was the mythical creature could be seen. Ray growled, frustrated that he lost sight of her. Then again, it was probably his wild imagination. Maybe his trip brought him back to reality. At least, that's what Ray told himself as he began walking back in the direction in which he ran from. 'It's time to head back and check on the others.'
Some time later, Ray was almost out of the forest when loud shrill noises echoed, causing birds to flee out of the trees. Alarmed, Ray raced in the direction where the sounds came from. His velocity decelerated to a stop at the spotting of a thick fog. Warily, he took small steps as he cut through the fog with the waves of his hands. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I've never seen fog this thick before. Actually, I've never heard of fog clouding in this forest be—' he mulled over just as he took a wrong step. Unforeseen, he was sent plummeting down a steep hill, screaming. It appeared to him that today wasn't his lucky day when he slid down into the centre of a large ice rink.
'What the heck is going on here? Why is there ice—' Ray mused when the he heard crackling noises coming from below him. Before he could give escaping a thought, the area of ice just below him broke. His body fell into the icy waters. Instinctively, Ray swam back up for air. He struggled to pull himself out of the cold water. It was futile though. The force he exerted upon the ice caused it to break apart, making the puddle of icy waters encircling him even larger. Breathing heavily, Ray cleared his mind, concentrating on not panicking. His hand dug into his pocket for his beyblade. Perhaps, somehow he could launch his blade onto the ice gently enough so more of the ice won't shatter. Perhaps, despite how far-fetched it may seem, he could be able to hold onto Driger so his bit-beast could hoist him out of trouble. It was worth a try.
At last, Ray got out his beyblade and ripcord. As best as he could, he tried to stay afloat as he steadied his hands so he could release his beyblade. However, the frigidness of the waters was getting to him. Ray felt his lower body being frozen. Numbness was beginning to take effect. Sensing it was now or never, he launched his blade, but as he was about to, a cold shiver ran down his spine, causing him to make a little slip up. The blade was sent spinning at an exceedingly rapid speed, that it spun itself right off of the ice rink. The spinning top went off balance as it change medium, the grassy ground.
Ray sighed despairingly as he looked at his immobile beyblade from afar. "Well as least Driger is safe," Ray said, trying very much to remain optimistic before he fell unconscious. Alas, the extremity of the cold was unbearable, causing him to sink deeper into the water.
Mysteriously, the same black-winged angel descended from the sky, and landed near Ray's beyblade. Without hesitation, she seized the blade and examined it closely. 'A bit-beast,' the angel thought, smiling proudly, before she placed it into her skirt's pocket. She zipped the pocket shut so it won't fall out by any chance. After collecting her prize, she soared into the air again, only to discover that there was a large pool of icy water enclosed by the ice. A dreadful thought stirred her mind. The blader must have fallen in. Another realization struck her. 'Driger?' She wiped the satisfied smile off of her face as she dove into the freezing waters in search for the blader.
A moment later, the angel shot out from the icy waters with Ray in her hands. Rigorously, she landed and placed Ray onto the grass floor. She checked his pulse and breathing. His heart was still beating, but faintly. Unfortunately, Ray had stopped breathing. Reluctantly, her hands opened his mouth and she performed rescue-breathing on the unconscious teen.
A few seconds later, he was breathing on his own again. Yet, he was still asleep and cold. Suddenly, the black-winged angel heard the ruptures of brittle twigs coming from behind her. Fearing that someone was heading her direction, she got back on her feet, readied her wings and took flight.
Indeed, she was correct in her assumption, for a minute after her departure, a figure emerged from the trees in the opposite direction of where Ray stumbled down from.
"Ray?" a hoarse voice mumbled as a blue-haired teen caught sight of the lifeless Bladebreaker and White Tiger.
***
To be continuted….