BEYBLADE

CHAPTER TWELVE: AWAKENINGS

Kai's eyes widened very slightly: he was firstly surprised at the fact that he could hear anything above the roaring blizzard. This man... he had the same voice as the man in his dreams, only... who did it belong to? And what did he want? That didn't matter now considering the man had walked off. But how did he know Kai's name? The leader defiantly got to his feet and glanced around.

"So much ice.. and snow. I can't see a thing."

He caught a glimpse of a black hole in the ground not too far from where he stood. A cave maybe? A little odd for a cave to be in the ground instead of.. in the side of a mountain. Kai didn't care. He stepped slowly toward it, knowing that if he could find himself shelter, it would keep him alive and out of the freezing blizzard. Kai stopped beside it and kneeled carefully, peering down into the hole. He dropped his arm and dipped a hand into the inky blackness, feeling and searching for a step or some sort of ladder... he found a step.

Kai crawled down the first step and slouched over as he descended the others. Wherever this steep staircase made of dirt lead to, it was somewhere warm and.... golden.

***************

Max was the first breaker down the staircase and into the lobby. He skipped the last three steps, landed silently upon the marble floor and dashed for the door, only to be stopped by a large dark-skinned guard with a torch whom he, evidently had crashed into. Max reeled backwards and would have lost his footing had it not been for Rei's swift reflexes and quick-thinking. He caught Max at the backfall and helped the blonde blader to stand upright.

Max cocked a brow and tilted his head, arms loosely by his sides. " What's uh..up?" He asked.

The security guard stared down at Max and straightened his posture, towering over the Blade-breakers. " I'm sorry, kids. The hotel is closed."

Tyson sprung forward. " Closed? What dya mean it's closed!?" He protested.

" Exactly that, Kid." The security guard replied. " The hotel has been closed because of the blizzard."

" That's not a good thing." Rei murmured as he stood behind Max who stood behind Tyson.

Max scratched his head and walked over to the door, which was locked, and placed both hands against the freezing cold glass.

" But.." He began. " Our friend is out there." (A.N::: Our friend is oat there. XD.. ehm. sorry. Read on, please. =) )

" Yeah, and we need to go look for'm." Rei added.

" Yeah!" Tyson shouted energetically.

" Hm. I truly am sorry kids, but my orders are not to let anyone out of this hotel. Now why don't you return to your room and I'll come and get you personally, when the storm is over."

Tyson glanced at Rei and Max, soon after casting a glance at the slowly approaching Kenny as the orange-haired boy stepped down onto the marble floor.

" This bites, you guys." Tyson murmured through the side of his mouth. " What if... Kai freezes?"

" I'm sure he's found shelter wherever he is, Tyson." Kenny stated.

" Yeah." Rei interjected. " Kai may be moody but he's not stupid."

" You're... You're right, guys. But, what if he hasn't? Then he will freeze."

The security guard gazed down at the four teens and watched them silently, curiously and with the slightest feeling of sadness. Maybe he should've let the kids go out, but then again if he did, he'd be fired for sure. His orders were after all from the owner of the hotel.

" Kids, return to your room. The storm won't last long." He said.

Tyson looked up at the guard and hesitantly nodded before turning for the staircase, the others following closely behind him.

*********

Although his vision was blurry, he could make out a dark-grey cement ceiling as his stinging eyes opened. Where was he? He could barely move his entire body. The slightest twitch of a single digit would send a wave of protesting shivers through his tortured form. He lay still and quiet, his vision moving around the room until his eyes could see no further without the aid or tilt of his head. He didn't feel so bad considering the things he'd recently been through. A calm serenity had washed over his form.

" Where... on earth am I?"

A square hand gripped his right arm, bony fingers digging relentless nails into the the breaks in his skin (cuts) as it yanked Kai into an upright position. Kai slouched over, unable to hold himself upright just yet. His body was still incredibly weak, most likely the result of his short journey through the blizzard, which hissed and twisted outside: it's hum crashed against the cement walls, creating a high-pitched howling sound.

Kai should have declined the beyblade match and acted less cocky, then maybe he wouldn't be in this rather odd situation. But he never backed down from a challenge, especially a beyblade match. He didn't want to be perceived as just another pasty-faced weakling with a crumy beyblade. He didn't want to be weak and naturally, he wasn't. But everyone has their bad days, don't they? Even the strongest do.

What had happened? Where the heck was he and more importantly, how did he get there?

" That's right." He thought. " I found a... hole, a hole in the ground. Hnf... Dranzer."

Kai managed to drop a hand to his pocket and dipped it in. To the slate-haired boy's relief, a small round object filled the width of his palm. Dranzer was still with him.

Kai lifted his blurry vision to the locks of crimson. A young boy was sitting before him, yet the slate-haired teen couldn't quiet make out whom it was. The face grinned, almost in a kind manner. How odd. The breaker's form sat there slouched over for a silent moment as if he'd been pondering whether or not to stand.

"Okay. This isn't so bad. I've been in worse situations than this."

Kai's body had been thawed and he was warm. A fireplace stood open to his left and created an amber glow upon the same side of his visage. He was thankful for it. As his sorrel orbs focused, the realization and understanding of who was sitting before him, on a rather large, greyish rock covered with a brown woolen blanket, became all too annoyingly clear. Tala.

"Hnf. Maybe not."

************

Two hours later and still Kai hadn't returned. Where did he go and what could possibly have caused him... to jump out of the window, if that was the case? Rei sat on his bed still harboring the thought that Tomoshu had something to do with his leader's disappearance and possibly had the aid of the Demolition Boys. Tyson sat beside Rei on his own bed. His legs were folded beneath him, elbows rested on his bent knees and chin was resting in his cupped palms.

Kenny sat beside Max at a desk that stood next to the newly fixed window. The hotel manager had ordered a clean-up crew and the room was set in order within the first hour of waiting. Dizzi stood open before Kenny on the desk, liquid-crystal display screen as motionless and frozen as ever. The Chief even had to tap the bit-beast on the side of her black body to make sure she hadn't crashed.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy and all the Blade-breakers felt it, baring down on their shoulders like relentless slabs of cement.

" Hey, chief..." Tyson perked up slightly.

" Yes, Tyson?" Kenny replied.

" ... Isn't there a ... tournament soon? Maybe if we train for that, we can keep our minds off Kai until he gets back."

" A tournament? ..." Kenny jumped to his feet and yanked frantic fingers at his orange bangs. " Ahhh! The tournament's tomorrow!"

Tyson raised a brow and leaned forward. " Tomorrow? Are you serious!?"

" Yes, Tyson. Tomorrow morning, it start's at eight-thirty!"

Max got to his feet and watched as Kenny ran in circles. " Kenny, why are you so hysterical?" He asked.

" Because, without a captain, we're doomed! And besides, we don't know where our captain is. He could be dying for all we do know! Ntaohhhh, this is terrible!"

(( A.N.::: Relatively short chapter, but eh. The other long ones make up for it. =) ))