Thanks very much to my favorite reviewers:

Ice Archer Girl: Thank you for the compliment-you're very observant! I look for those qualities too.

Fire Fox: Only one review? I'm sorry! I'll review your next chapter! Thanks for the Emily/Mariah compliment!

Starwave: I was really worried that the Emily/Mariah thing might not flow so well. Thanks so much for your warm fuzzy compliments!

Miekkie: Tala! I definitely love Tala more. Johnny's not that bad, I guess. I just think there are better characters.

Naoka-chan (previously known as Tenshi no Hikari): I like your new name! Doesn't the suspense just kill you? (laughs maniacally) I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you thought you might.

angelrita: You put me on your favorite author's list! Cool! Thanks a bunch for reviewing!

My Observing Days are Over. Now I dig COOL Quotes:

"You don't have a thing for Ray, do you?"

Kevin to Mariah in Bye Bye Bit-Beast. Oooooh, Me Likey!

My Naïve Corner: Are Emily and Michael related to each other: sister/brother? I just noticed a lot of people putting them together like that.

Authors Note: Sorry about the delay-my computer wouldn't let me get on FF.net for a while. A lot of people really seemed to like Emily/Mariah making up. I'm glad because I want them to be friends anyway. I've already started working on a new story called

*Angels in China*

Summary: It's been four years since any of the bladers have seen each other and almost all of them have grown up, though beyblading is still what they're best at. Mariah and Ray meet each other in their old Chinese Village where Mariah finally confesses to Ray that she loves him. But Ray becomes an innocent victim in a freak accident and he never had the chance to say "I Love You" back until he is given a second chance…as Mariah's Guardian Angel.

So, what do you think? If you like it, I'll start posting as soon as I can. If not, I'll just wait till this story's done before I begin. Tell me your preferences.

Disclaimer: Any misspellings, confused references or mixed up teammates are purely accidental and are a result of the author's new innocent fascination with the world of beyblading. Kira Ocelet, Mobekai Tart, Danika Woods, Colby Peterson and Trish ?? belong to me.

I really have no idea whether there's such a thing as the Aix-en-Provence Express Train Station. And I made up Lee's grandfather's name, Miyaki, but if anyone has the real name, I can always change it. Wei, translated American into Elizabeth, is the actual Chinese name of my friend. Maniji is a game I made up.

Italics are thoughts.

Bold Letters are songs.

I'm attempting a flashback in this one, kay? There'll be more, but just a little heads up if it doesn't make sense.

*Tyson*: BRAAAAWWWWPPPPP!

*Tyson*: (looking around) Anyone here?

*Silence*

*Tyson*: HELLO?! CAN ANYBODY HEAR MY VOICE?

*Tyson*: I guess I'm the only one that's gonna get seconds on desserts. Suckers. Hehe…

*Kenny*: Tyson!

*Tyson*: Aaahh! It wasn't me, chief, I swear!

*Kenny*: What are you talking about?

*Mariah*: Where the heck is the rest of my Chocolate Fudge Brownie?

*Tyson*: I think I better be going now…

*Mariah*: TYSON!

WATCH THIS!

Chapter 6: First Memory

Mariah bounded from rooftop to rooftop in great strides, not even bothering to call for a taxi. She figured it was faster this way, but she didn't dare stop to look at her watch.

She was traveling north for the Aix-en-Provence Express. The wind cut her face like icicles and her feet began to hurt after a while. She began to get tired after fifteen minutes but her determination to make the train kept her on her feet.

She was moving farther from the heart of town so the leaps began to take a lot more effort. The glowing street lamps, stop signs, and lively buzz of people below made it easier for her to see, even in the thick of the night.

"Just a little…oh!"

Her words died with the icy wind as she realized too late that she had jumped too high and would not cut the distance needed to reach the next building. She shrieked and stretched out quickly for anything stable in sight.

Fortunately for her, her foot snagged a clothesline and she fell forward in midair. Her foot dangled dangerously as she stared at the abyss waiting to swallow her below.

Mariah shut her eyes and prayed for a miracle.

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"Monsieurs, we will have to give your seats up. The mademoiselle insists!"

"Tell her to shove it-" Kevin began angrily.

"Kevin!" Gary admonished.

"You can't give us five more minutes?" Lee asked desperately.

"Not unless you would like to give up your seats in exchange for a later train."

"When will it leave?"

"The estimated departure time is 10:16. We should arrive at 12:41 in Bern."

"For four tickets?" Lee asked.

"Yes, of course."

"He looked at Gary and Kevin, who shrugged.

"Just as long as we get there before tomorrow." Kevin said.

"All right, we'll take them."

The engineer handed them four new tickets and signaled his buddy with his whistle.

Lee looked at the clock above the ticket booth and sighed,

"We have a long night ahead of us."

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Mariah dangled perilously 10 ft. above the ground. She figured it would be a waste of breath to yell as no one would hear her and if they did, they would not be able to help her.

Instead, she estimated that the distance to the building was about two body lengths away. That meant that if she could somehow use the clothesline to reach the side of the building, she could climb to the roof.

She wrapped her other leg carefully around the wire and curled her body upwards. Her foot began to slide as she grasped the rope before her legs fell beneath her body.

Now, the only thing suspending her in midair were the delicate arms holding the thin clothesline.

She thought back to the days when Ray was still with the White Tigers. They would complete their chores together in the morning and Beyblade together in the park that afternoon. Mariah remembered feeling the strain in her arms on the monkey bars at the playground as she cheered Ray on. But that had been a long time ago and she was no longer on that playground. But she had to pretend she was still hanging with everyone on those monkey bars at that playground. She remembered the encouraging words and support Ray and Lee had given her whenever she had to face her fears and calmly repeated them over in her mind.

Moving one arm forward at a time, she slowly made her way across the line till she could kiss the wall in front of her. She grabbed the adjacent windowsill and began to climb upward-she was more skilled at climbing steep walls like this one so she was able to reach the top without running into trouble. She sat down against the roof wall and rubbed the stress out of her hands and legs.

Time was very much against her at this point, so it was not long before she stood up and continued her journey across the rooftops.

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"My stomach hurts," Tyson moaned, clutching the bag of 10,000 francs at his side.

"Eating 31 hot dogs can have that effect on someone." Max explained.

They'd finally found the park where Kai and Kenny were checking out bladers. Ray noticed that none of them had bit-beasts. Kenny was also quite disappointed,

"They all stink so there's no point watching them play."

Kai was abysmally quiet this evening, more so than usual. Ray had been expecting him to make some smart remark about where Tyson had gotten the load of money. But he didn't.

As they left the park and began to head for the train station on foot, Ray only half-listened to Kenny's detail of some of the greatest places in Aix-en-Provence.

Instead, he let his mind wander. He thought about the most recent thing he'd seen: the children beyblading in the park. It wasn't particularly fascinating that they didn't have bit-beasts. In fact, Ray hadn't had a bit-beast at that age, but he'd been particularly good and proud of what he could do. When he'd gotten Driger, he'd just progressed a little more.

He'd always felt like Driger belonged to him. When the Village Chief, Lee's grandfather, had given him the White Tiger, Ray remembered feeling a surge of happiness and loyalty to the animal, as if he'd held Driger in his palm before. Of course, that was a silly feeling, because he'd always thought Driger rightfully belonged to Lee.

And, of course, he remembered first seeing Lee and Mariah. In fact, it was his earliest memory of life in the Village:

*Flashback*

"Ray! Don't touch that!" His mother smacked his arm as he reached for a very large china plate that had a picture of a cheetah on it.

He turned and crossed his arms angrily. His mother returned to talking to an old man right outside their hut and talking in hushed tones. Ray scoffed. She thought he couldn't hear them. He crept under the low table and came to a rest at the mat's edge, so he could get a clear view of his mom's back and the old man's face. He knew the old man, of course. He was related to them somehow or his face wouldn't look so familiar. He could see him talking quietly,

"Are you sure this is all right for you? I could take him somewhere else if it's more convenient."

"No! No, I want him to stay here with me." He could hear his mother reply even more quietly.

"There'll be a Village gathering tonight. I'll introduce you at that point. I'm sorry, Wei; it's safer here and I can keep a closer watch on him."

"I understand. How long do you think you can keep it from him?"

"I'll give it to him when the right time comes. I don't believe he even remembers."

His mother said something else really quietly but Ray couldn't hear. He tried pushing himself forward, but when he arched his back and flipped the table over, she stopped talking and spun around,

"Ray! I've told you over and over again you cannot get under this table. You're getting too big to do that anymore." She clutched his arm and stood him up before flipping the table back onto it's legs. He stood a little more nervously in the doorway.

They didn't fool him for a second. He'd heard every word in that conversation. Even though he didn't have the faintest idea what they were talking about. It certainly wasn't about the good luck the Dragon year was bringing.

"I better go," the old man nodded. He spoke more loudly this time, as if Ray were deaf. He rolled his eyes in frustration. Why couldn't they treat him like he was 5 instead of 2? He wasn't dumb.

"Bye Ray," the man nodded, "I'll be seeing more of you later."

"Yeah, bye," Ray waved briefly.

He frowned a bit before disappearing in the silty morning mist. His mother turned instantly, hands on her hips.

"What?" Ray asked.

"That was rude and you know it. I'm going to have to start teaching you proper manners seeing as you think you're old enough to know them. Besides, the people here are a little different. They expect boys to grow up into strong, proud gentleman."

"Whatever," Ray sat down on the bean mat and traced his hand curiously over the weavings. She placed her hands over his own and stuck them in his lap.

"First thing is that you can drop the 'yeahs' and 'whatevers'. Whenever you are asked a question, you always respond with a 'yes', 'no' or a nod or shake of your head if it's all you can manage."

"Well, then, I hate it here already," Ray moaned bitterly, "I liked being able to respond normally."

"That isn't normal Ray and it's not polite. I think you'll come to like being in this Village. They're going to welcome us tonight at the gathering and you'll maybe meet a friend or two. I expect you to act polite and impress the elders."

"Why did we have to move from the other Village…Mother?" He hoped she had noticed that-it was him being polite.

"Very good, Ray," she beamed, "We moved for personal reasons, but you don't need to know and you shouldn't ask such embarrassing questions."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, though it took a bit of effort to feel remorse for being curious.

"Why don't you go finish unpacking the rest of your stuff, sweetie? It'll give you something to do if you're so bored."

"Yes, mother." Ray walked obediently to his room and opened his very light suitcase. It was going to take a while for him to get used to being a 'polite villager'.

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"Remember to stand up straight and speak clearly, do you understand? Ray? Ray you must listen when I speak to you!"

Ray threw a rather large book down,

"It's not here! Why can't I find anything?"

She frowned,

"What can't you find?

"The attack! I can't find the right attack for my blade!"

His eyes began to water, but he used his knuckles to wipe them away quickly. He had to act grown-up!

His mother watched him quietly,

"Your beyblade? You want to know how to attack with your blade?"

"Yes!" Ray gripped his blade possessively, "I want it to grow stronger!"

His mother suddenly snatched the silver blade out of his hands and slipped it into a very beautiful dish on the wooden shelf Ray couldn't reach.

"What are you doing-?"

"Don't ask questions!" His mother scolded, "Don't speak unless you are spoken to, Kon Ray! You've got to remember that tonight!"

"But you just-"

"And don't complain, either. Grouches and complainers have very unhappy lives. Smile!" She commanded. Ray had been watching his blade covetously, but at his mother's command, he slowly lifted his face and forced a polite smile.

"Good! Remember to be polite and kind to everyone, including the children as well!"

She fixed his yin-yang headband furiously before pushing him out the door into the warm night.

Ray could see hear the people laughing and shouting before he could see them. In the middle of the village, very near the playground, a large fire had been started. Looking through dark doorways, he could see that most of the surrounding huts were already empty.

When they reached the clearing, men, women and children alike were eating everywhere. That old man came up to them immediately,

"Wei! You made it, good! As soon as the meals have been finished, I'll introduce you and Ray properly. Why don't you come over here? I want you to meet--"

"Miyaki! I need to speak to you about you-know-who. He was doing it this afternoon."

The old man stopped and looked down immediately at Ray who watched them interestedly. The old man turned with his back slightly to Ray and dropped his voice,

"What did he want to know?"

Ray frowned. He could see quite clearly that his mother and the old man didn't want him around, so he began to walk around the area, not really reeling hungry. There was a lot of children over by the playground, so he decided to head that way. The older women, if they weren't talking or eating, were working on quilts and weavings. Almost all the men were talking. Ray could only see a dozen or so men not talking and that was because they were eating or listening.

All the children were clustered around a group of sticks and marbles. They were playing some sort of game. Ray moved around the group and climbed the monkey bars to the top of the playground so he could get a better view.

"This is our area! Go find your own!"

Ray saw a group of four conversing on the platform right beside the slide. They watched him half-curiously and almost half-annoyed. Three of them, the boys, were his age. Two had black hair-one had a bigger nose and the other one was more well rounded. And the last boy had green hair. There was also a younger girl with them-she had bright pink hair and stood out quite clearly,

"Sorry," he half-apologized, "I didn't know there were certain areas you could visit on a playground."

"Well, there are. I don't think I've seen you around so you must be new." The black-haired boy with the big nose spoke.

"I am."

"Well, there are a few things you need to know about how this playground works and how Maniji works."

What was up with these guys? Ray wondered.

"Actually, I could care less for whatever Maniji is or what your precious playground rules are."

"Who do you think you are?" the green-haired boy asked angrily.

"The new kid. But, of course, I don't know anything," Ray snapped. Be Polite! He remembered his mother's warning and added, "Unless you would like to tell me without being rude."

"Maniji is the sport they're playing there and the playground is where we like to hang out. We all do chores in the morning and the first one done gets this area-the top. I don't recall seeing you at chores," the black-haired boy explained.

"Well, my sport is beyblade and I'll be doing chores tomorrow with the rest." Ray explained.

"We beyblade too," the other black-haired boy explained, "We're the best at it."

"Really?" This caught Ray's attention, "When do you play?"

"Whenever we feel like it. There are lots of beybladers here," the long nosed boy explained.

"I'm pretty good at it myself. I love it." Ray grinned.

The long nosed boy grinned back,

"Well, then, I guess we'll get to see what you can do. My grandpa is the head elder and chief of this village."

"You mean that old man? He keeps coming by to talk to my mom. So, what's your name?"

"Lee. And this is Gary and Kevin. And that's my little sister, Mariah. But she doesn't know how to beyblade."

"Why not?" Ray thought they all knew how to beyblade.

"I'm too young," she answered quickly, and a little bitterly.

"No you're not. I learned when I was three."

"Really?" Gary asked curiously, "I only learned last year."

"KON RAY!"

Ray turned and saw his mother waving at him furiously,

"I've got to go then, but I guess I'll see you later."

"Bye!" Lee waved.

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"And after the Lioness tribe tore apart the Cre-"

"It just doesn't make sense. Why would they make it legal for everyone to live wherever? To discard tribe descendants and loyalty?"

"Excuse me!" Lee's grandfather stood up, "Among the other things we must discuss, I need to introduce the newest family to our village. This is Wei Kon and her son Ray. They'll be living in the hut next to my daughter. As for the new decree, it would only make sense for-"

Ray looked up and saw his mother beam when several women instantly surrounded and began to ask her questions. He rolled his eyes and turned away. Lee, Kevin, Gary, and Mariah came up to him, smiling. He frowned,

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Kevin shook his head gleefully, "We like you Ray, so you can hang with us anytime you want."

Ray grinned,

"Thanks. So, tell me, how are chores assigned and what do you have to do?"

*END FLASHBACK*

He'd eventually show Mariah how to beyblade himself because Lee would refuse to do it. And he would make a name for himself in the village because he could beyblade far better than any of them, including Lee, Kevin, and Gary.

He'd also eventually get those manners right, but ever since he'd met Tyson…well, he was pretty proud of being raised the way he had.

"RAY!"

Ray looked up immediately at Chief.

"So, what do you think?"

Ray blinked and looked around at the others,

"Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying much attention to the conversation."

"Never mind then," Kenny grumbled.

"Sorry," Ray repeated. He began to kick rocks on the ground as well, but every so often, he spared another thought of the village.

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"Mariah!" Lee jumped up, "Where have you been?"

"What are you doing here?!" Mariah looked just as shocked, "It's 8:15. You should be on your way to Switzerland right now! You didn't give up the tickets, did you?"

"Traded them in-we're on the late train now," Gary explained.

"I'm sorry," Mariah humbly replied, "I really tried, I swear. I'd lost track of time." She lowered her voice as if it would make her look more sincere, "I'm really sorry, Lee."

He shrugged, his face a little screwed up,

"It's all right really. We just won't get as much sleep as I'd planned. Better kick back, then and get as much as we can here. I couldn't get sleeping bunks."

Mariah set her bag down. Kevin looked miserable, catching her eye as she lay down on the platform while several dozen people walked around them. Gary smiled at her and she smiled back. She couldn't close her eyes with all the people around, also looking curiously at them.

"What time are we leaving?" she asked aloud.

"Eleven. We were supposed to leave at 10:16, but the train's late. We won't get there till two in the morning then."

"That means we have three more hours," she realized bitterly.

"Get some sleep," Lee advised. He sounded almost like he was trying hard to avoid a confrontation.

"In the middle of a train station?" She asked, "You've got to be kidding."

"What else do you plan on doing for the next three hours?" he asked.

She didn't respond, knowing there was nothing else for them to do. They weren't close enough to go sightseeing and the closest thing within reach was already closed for the night. She shut her eyes and instead thought about what they would see in Bern.

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"Chief must have you and Tyson in the lineup for the Tall Boys because Kai and I have already dueled," Max told Ray as they waited for Kenny to return with their boarding passes.

"You might be dueling again if we can't pull off a win in the first two matches," Kai contradicted from the side.

"Not if we win the first two matches," Ray frowned defensively.

"Chief might want you in though, Kai…" Max replied.

"I played against the Bladehunters, Max. Don't push me." Kai responded icily.

"Tough luck guys," Kenny and Tyson returned at that time. Kenny held the tickets up,

"The train doesn't leave for another 50 minutes."

"You're kidding," Max straightened.

"What are we gonna do till then?" Ray gaped as well.

"We could do what they're doing." Kai suddenly pointed out a small group lounging about near one of the barriers.

"That's the White Tigers!" Tyson turned, "I thought they were supposed to leave on the earlier train."

"They're one short," Max frowned, "Where's Mariah?"

"There. Renegotiating seats probably." Ray pointed to the girl arguing with the usher.

"50 minutes," Kenny repeated, wiping his brow, "This is going to take forever. I should have just booked us a hotel like the All Stars. Sorry guys."

"Ah, we'll get to see Switzerland before them," Tyson compromised, "Let's go see if we can find an empty bench."

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"Lee! Lee, wake up! The trains getting ready to leave!"

Lee awoke on the hard ground. Kevin and Gary were nearby with their bags already shouldered and Mariah was clipping her bag on. He felt strangely hot and dizzy, but he ignored it.

"Here's your bag. I got us some sleeping bunks." Mariah pushed Lee toward the end train compartment.

Lee turned,

"But you couldn't have! The engineer said there were no-"

"Three hours and nothing to do but sleep?! I argued my way into one."

"She wouldn't leave him alone. And every time she goes near him now, he starts getting snappy with everyone," Kevin rubbed his hands together, "It could come in handy if we ever need to blackmail anyone."

"Kevin!" Mariah glared shamefully.

"You must have been pretty tired-you slept the entire time." Gary explained.

"Well, I'm okay for now," Lee replied confidently, "Let's just get out of here. I'm sick of France."

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Ray walked through the full compartments an hour after the train had left Aix-en-Provence. The air outside the window was pretty foggy and the compartments were completely dark except for the occasional candle lighting overhead. He could barely see his shadow, but he'd slept pretty lightly and had decided to just forego staying in the bunk. He hoped that maybe they had a few snacks available for some light midnight snacking, but if not, at least he was doing something productive.

In the sleeping bunks, it was pretty common to hear the occasional snort or low gargle from one of the closed bedrooms.

As he was passing by the last sleeping compartment though, the door suddenly jerked open and a skinny man, probably a little taller than himself brushed quickly past him.

Ray raised an eyebrow and turned to confront the man, but the skinny gentleman had turned already to blurt an apology,

"Sorry about that-"

He stopped in mid-sentence and stared at Ray's headband.

After a few minutes of silence in which the man stared at him, Ray finally replied, a little shakily,

"Actually, I really don't care one way or the other. Goodnight to you, sir."

He turned, feeling much like a circus sideshow, and had almost disappeared into the shadows when he heard the man reply.

"Yes…goodnight Ray."

Ray suddenly broke into a run, curiously wondering whether the man read too much into the passengers or had just seen him Beyblade.

Whatever the case, every time the man had spoken, a chill had shot up his spine.

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Gary couldn't sleep at all in the wooden bunks because the train kept jerking him forward. He sat up and fingered his bit-beast Galzzy. It wasn't nearly as good as Mariah's lynx or Lee's lion, but he had a special bond with his bear and felt very lucky to be a member of the White Tigers.

An announcement ran through the train,

"Attention, all passengers, we should be arriving in Bern in 25 minutes. Staff, please secure luggage and check passports."

Gary felt Lee twist beneath him suddenly.

"Lee?" He asked quietly.

From above, he watched the boy get up and start running for the bathroom. The train gave another violent swerve forward. Gary could suddenly hear noisy lurches and smell a foul stench coming from the bathroom.

"KEVIN! MARIAH!" Gary got down from the bunk immediately, "WAKE UP! Lee's sick!"

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Final Note: My chapters seem to be getting longer, huh? Thanks for being so patient and tell me how you think I did!