Chapter Twenty-Nine – Trust and Faith
Kai, Max, Kenny, and Tyson left Ray and Zarine to go back to the stadium.
"The second battle will be between Kai from the Bladebreakers against Wilson the Dark Force!" Jazzman's cut through the audience's excited babble. "Let's hear some cheers for these two skilled bladers!"
The crowd cheered and screamed loudly. From the spectators, girl worshippers of Kai chanted, "I love Kai! I love Kai!" over and over again. They were holding signs that were filled with pink, and red hears and wrote his name all over themselves. (I feel sorry for him.)
Kai shut his eyes in annoyance, his eye muscle twitching dangerously.
Brad sounded amused, "Looks like there is a Kai fan club here, A.J. Any ideas on the outcome of this match?"
"Well, if Kai doesn't win this, then it's bye bye to the Bladebreakers," A.J. remarked. As if people didn't know already.
"You're going to lose Kai," Wilson taunted.
Kai raised his eyebrow, "Really? I wouldn't be so sure. I recall tying our last battle."
Wilson's face contorted in anger. He had been trying to forget about that. To him, a draw is worse than a loss. Talk about weird!
"Ready to settle this once and for all?" Wilson asked.
"Let's get on with it!" Kai answered impatiently.
Jazzman had barely opened his mouth for the countdown before both bladers had launched their blades.
"It looks like Kai and Wilson are both eager to get this party started!" Brad said, surprised.
"Yeah, and it will be one wild ride," A.J. remarked.
"Why are you so desperate to have Zarine?" Kai demanded suddenly in the middle of the match.
Wilson replied, "Because she is the only one who can control Xeora. It was originally planned that Jordan will control Shadow, while Zarine controls Xeora, to make an invincible team. They say...well, never mind about that. It's really none of your concern. You should be more worried about your match!" He sent a fierce attack at Dranzer.
Kai stood his ground and counter attacked. "Then why did Will use Shadow against Zarine?"
Wilson smirked at that question. "It takes a great power of will to defeat Shadow and get out of that dimension. We knew that Zarine wouldn't fight her own brother...her willpower was weak...so that's why she lost."
"You...how could you?" Kai spat out in anger. Even Boris wouldn't have done that. (Or would he??)
The boys were all business after that little conversation. The intense battle raged and finally, after half an hour, Kai emerged victorious.
"The winner is Kai!" Jazzman shouted. Over his loud voice, an audible chanting of "I love Kai," was heard once more. Kai's face was stony as he walked out of the stadium
"Dare you to take one of those girls out, Kai," Tyson said, catching up to his team captain.
"Shut up!" Kai snapped, really irritated. He sent Tyson a death glare.
Max and Kenny had to stifle their own laughter in case Kai got mad at them too. They had seen a girl with Kai's name on every inch of her body, in blue, in her hair, on her clothes, bare arms...she even had a white scarf around her neck, just like Kai's. The only difference was that Kai's name was on it.
They turned serious when they entered the room where Ray and Zarine were.
"Any changes?" Kenny asked.
Ray shook his head sadly. "What kind of brother would do that to his sister?" Tyson said, seething with anger. "Let me deal with Jordan in the next round!"
"No!" Ray said hotly. His teammates all turned their attention to him. "He's mine. I'm going to do this. You hear? I am!"
Tyson was taken aback. "All right! You can fight him!"
"Good," Ray said before stalking out of the room.
"Yeesh! (My word) He didn't have to get so excited," Tyson said, staring at the door where Ray had just left.
"He does have a reason to want to battle against Jordan," Max reasoned, glancing at the girl lying on the couch.
"Yeah, I know," Tyson sighed. "We all know. I just hope he has some kind of plan."
Max chuckled. "Fancy hearing it from you, Tyson. Don't worry, Ray probably has a plan of some kind."
"Don't be so sure of that," Kenny said, a frown creasing his forehead. (Just pretend that you can see it!) "Ray hates Jordan so much, he might forget the whole thing and just attack him blindly. He being angry doesn't help."
Tyson agreed, "Yeah, that's why I offered to battle instead."
"Tyson, I doubt that you even had any kind of strategy when you offered," Kai commented dryly.
Realizing his mistake, Tyson grinned sheepishly. "I guess not..." Kai wasn't surprised, but Max and Kenny both sweat dropped.
Out in the hall, Ray punched the wall. He felt so angry with himself. [How could I let this happen] he thought. [If only I had gotten there sooner, I would have been able to help Zarine!]
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a jeering voice reached Ray's ears.
Ray looked at the speaker. His features darkened considerably when his gaze landed on Jordan. The Dark Force team captain had a smug smile on his face. Ray clenched his hands into fists. It took all his willpower to restrain himself from strangling Jordan.
"What do you want with her?" he demanded.
"I just wanted to have her," Jordan replied. He paused before adding, "And do her, of course."
Ray's blood boiled at that reply. He took Jordan by his collar and slammed him into the wall. He hissed, "Damn you! She's only fourteen!"
"And three-quarters," Jordan corrected calmly. "Why does it matter? I'm seventeen. Girls in the Middle Ages were probably pregnant at her age."
"I don't care! Lay one finger on her and I swear I will personally kill you," Ray warned before letting Jordan go.
Jordan smirked and said mockingly, "Always a pleasure talking to you, Ray," before walking away.
"I think one of us should stay here with her," Max said. "The Dark Force might try to kidnap Zarine again if someone's not here."
Tyson snorted, "We know how desperate they are. They stop at nothing to get her!"
"Hey, we'll stay with her," a voice from the door said.
Kai, Max, Tyson and Kenny turned to look at the door. It was the Saint Shields. "Don't worry, we got it covered," Joseph said. "No one will be able to get past us."
"Thanks!" Kenny said gratefully.
"I'm going to go find Ray. He doesn't have all the facts yet. From the little that I managed to pry out of Wilson, I know that it is going to be the toughest battle he's ever fought," Kai said, his scarf flying behind him as he left the room.
Kai found Ray in the brightly lit hallway just outside the washrooms. He was sitting down and had his face in his hands. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn't even looked up when he heard the approaching footsteps.
"Ray, when you battle Jordan, you have to be careful. I think he's going to use Shadow," Kai said anxiously.
Ray looked at the blue haired teen sharply. "I thought that was Will's bit- beast!"
"I don't know, but Wilson let it slip that they originally planned on having Jordan use Shadow and Zarine use Xeora to make an invincible team. He also said that it takes a great deal of willpower to get out of there," Kai told Ray, who was now looking at a potted plant thoughtfully.
Ray heard his name being called by D.J. Jazzman. It was finally time for him to wipe the smirk off of his enemies' faces. "Thanks," he said to Kai quietly. Determined, he made his way to the battle arena.
"It all comes down to this. The two teams each have one win and one loss. Who will prevail in the end? Will it be Jordan, team captain of the Dark Force? Or will it be Ray from the Bladebreakers?" A.J.'s question hung in the air. The winner of this round will be anyone's guess.
Ray and Jordan matched each other hit for hit. However, Jordan was a stronger blader than Ray was. The tide slowly turned against the Chinese blader. Ray was not going to go down that easily. He hung on tight and waited for the right opportunity to strike back.
Jordan yawned. "This is getting boring. Time to end this! Come out, Shadow, my great and terrible bit-beast!"
Ray summoned his own bit-beast. "Driger!"
Once again, the darkness that covered the stadium during the first battle threatened to consume the light. The darkness soon enveloped the stadium. Ray was confused. Why didn't Driger fight Shadow like Xeora did?
'Because I'm not of the light,' Driger told him. 'Only a spirit of the light can fight Shadow lie that. Only the light can conquer the dark.'
Driger leapt forward to attack Shadow, but the black griffon pushed Driger away easily. The white tiger slid a few feet back, but managed to stay on his feet.
'Quickly, Ray!' Driger said urgently. 'Become one with me!'
'How?'
'Relax and open yourself to my presence. Feel my life through your veins.'
As Shadow attacked Driger fiercely, Ray opened himself like his bit-beast had told him to. It felt so good, to feel another's energy pulsing through him.
The tiger tackled the griffon, sending his opponent back. 'Very good, Ray!' Driger complimented.
"Driger, hold Shadow off while I go find Zarine!" Ray said. He knew she had to be here somewhere.
"Don't be foolish!" Jordan laughed. "I can make it impossible for you to find her. Don't you see? I control everything here, in this dimension."
"You mean, we're in a different place now?" Ray asked, somewhat feeling incredulous.
"God, you are dense. We're only in here spiritually, but like it make much of a difference. If you get trapped in here, you'll never wake up again in the real world."
"What was the point of trapping Zarine in here then, huh? She'll be no use to you if she'll be unconscious forever," Ray said.
"That's where you are wrong. I can release her mind."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you, seeing that you aren't going to get out of here...I can control her against her will if I leave a piece of her mind here. How do you think I was able to control her brother? He was my puppet all along, and Zarine really believed that her brother had turned against her," Jordan laughed mirthlessly.
Ray clenched his teeth together. He was even angrier now. He threw himself at Jordan, who had managed to dodge him.
Driger thought, 'Oh dear, it looked like the blood had rushed to his head.' He said to Ray sternly, 'Don't do anything foolish!'
'What am I suppose to do then?' he asked hopelessly.
'Trust in me. Have faith in Zarine and her bit-beast,' Driger answered gently. 'They might be trapped here, but they're still strong as long as they're together.'
Another chapter finished! There's only about four or five more to go, then I'm officially done and I can move on to my next story (you'll know more about it after my final chappie!)
Kai, Max, Kenny, and Tyson left Ray and Zarine to go back to the stadium.
"The second battle will be between Kai from the Bladebreakers against Wilson the Dark Force!" Jazzman's cut through the audience's excited babble. "Let's hear some cheers for these two skilled bladers!"
The crowd cheered and screamed loudly. From the spectators, girl worshippers of Kai chanted, "I love Kai! I love Kai!" over and over again. They were holding signs that were filled with pink, and red hears and wrote his name all over themselves. (I feel sorry for him.)
Kai shut his eyes in annoyance, his eye muscle twitching dangerously.
Brad sounded amused, "Looks like there is a Kai fan club here, A.J. Any ideas on the outcome of this match?"
"Well, if Kai doesn't win this, then it's bye bye to the Bladebreakers," A.J. remarked. As if people didn't know already.
"You're going to lose Kai," Wilson taunted.
Kai raised his eyebrow, "Really? I wouldn't be so sure. I recall tying our last battle."
Wilson's face contorted in anger. He had been trying to forget about that. To him, a draw is worse than a loss. Talk about weird!
"Ready to settle this once and for all?" Wilson asked.
"Let's get on with it!" Kai answered impatiently.
Jazzman had barely opened his mouth for the countdown before both bladers had launched their blades.
"It looks like Kai and Wilson are both eager to get this party started!" Brad said, surprised.
"Yeah, and it will be one wild ride," A.J. remarked.
"Why are you so desperate to have Zarine?" Kai demanded suddenly in the middle of the match.
Wilson replied, "Because she is the only one who can control Xeora. It was originally planned that Jordan will control Shadow, while Zarine controls Xeora, to make an invincible team. They say...well, never mind about that. It's really none of your concern. You should be more worried about your match!" He sent a fierce attack at Dranzer.
Kai stood his ground and counter attacked. "Then why did Will use Shadow against Zarine?"
Wilson smirked at that question. "It takes a great power of will to defeat Shadow and get out of that dimension. We knew that Zarine wouldn't fight her own brother...her willpower was weak...so that's why she lost."
"You...how could you?" Kai spat out in anger. Even Boris wouldn't have done that. (Or would he??)
The boys were all business after that little conversation. The intense battle raged and finally, after half an hour, Kai emerged victorious.
"The winner is Kai!" Jazzman shouted. Over his loud voice, an audible chanting of "I love Kai," was heard once more. Kai's face was stony as he walked out of the stadium
"Dare you to take one of those girls out, Kai," Tyson said, catching up to his team captain.
"Shut up!" Kai snapped, really irritated. He sent Tyson a death glare.
Max and Kenny had to stifle their own laughter in case Kai got mad at them too. They had seen a girl with Kai's name on every inch of her body, in blue, in her hair, on her clothes, bare arms...she even had a white scarf around her neck, just like Kai's. The only difference was that Kai's name was on it.
They turned serious when they entered the room where Ray and Zarine were.
"Any changes?" Kenny asked.
Ray shook his head sadly. "What kind of brother would do that to his sister?" Tyson said, seething with anger. "Let me deal with Jordan in the next round!"
"No!" Ray said hotly. His teammates all turned their attention to him. "He's mine. I'm going to do this. You hear? I am!"
Tyson was taken aback. "All right! You can fight him!"
"Good," Ray said before stalking out of the room.
"Yeesh! (My word) He didn't have to get so excited," Tyson said, staring at the door where Ray had just left.
"He does have a reason to want to battle against Jordan," Max reasoned, glancing at the girl lying on the couch.
"Yeah, I know," Tyson sighed. "We all know. I just hope he has some kind of plan."
Max chuckled. "Fancy hearing it from you, Tyson. Don't worry, Ray probably has a plan of some kind."
"Don't be so sure of that," Kenny said, a frown creasing his forehead. (Just pretend that you can see it!) "Ray hates Jordan so much, he might forget the whole thing and just attack him blindly. He being angry doesn't help."
Tyson agreed, "Yeah, that's why I offered to battle instead."
"Tyson, I doubt that you even had any kind of strategy when you offered," Kai commented dryly.
Realizing his mistake, Tyson grinned sheepishly. "I guess not..." Kai wasn't surprised, but Max and Kenny both sweat dropped.
Out in the hall, Ray punched the wall. He felt so angry with himself. [How could I let this happen] he thought. [If only I had gotten there sooner, I would have been able to help Zarine!]
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a jeering voice reached Ray's ears.
Ray looked at the speaker. His features darkened considerably when his gaze landed on Jordan. The Dark Force team captain had a smug smile on his face. Ray clenched his hands into fists. It took all his willpower to restrain himself from strangling Jordan.
"What do you want with her?" he demanded.
"I just wanted to have her," Jordan replied. He paused before adding, "And do her, of course."
Ray's blood boiled at that reply. He took Jordan by his collar and slammed him into the wall. He hissed, "Damn you! She's only fourteen!"
"And three-quarters," Jordan corrected calmly. "Why does it matter? I'm seventeen. Girls in the Middle Ages were probably pregnant at her age."
"I don't care! Lay one finger on her and I swear I will personally kill you," Ray warned before letting Jordan go.
Jordan smirked and said mockingly, "Always a pleasure talking to you, Ray," before walking away.
"I think one of us should stay here with her," Max said. "The Dark Force might try to kidnap Zarine again if someone's not here."
Tyson snorted, "We know how desperate they are. They stop at nothing to get her!"
"Hey, we'll stay with her," a voice from the door said.
Kai, Max, Tyson and Kenny turned to look at the door. It was the Saint Shields. "Don't worry, we got it covered," Joseph said. "No one will be able to get past us."
"Thanks!" Kenny said gratefully.
"I'm going to go find Ray. He doesn't have all the facts yet. From the little that I managed to pry out of Wilson, I know that it is going to be the toughest battle he's ever fought," Kai said, his scarf flying behind him as he left the room.
Kai found Ray in the brightly lit hallway just outside the washrooms. He was sitting down and had his face in his hands. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn't even looked up when he heard the approaching footsteps.
"Ray, when you battle Jordan, you have to be careful. I think he's going to use Shadow," Kai said anxiously.
Ray looked at the blue haired teen sharply. "I thought that was Will's bit- beast!"
"I don't know, but Wilson let it slip that they originally planned on having Jordan use Shadow and Zarine use Xeora to make an invincible team. He also said that it takes a great deal of willpower to get out of there," Kai told Ray, who was now looking at a potted plant thoughtfully.
Ray heard his name being called by D.J. Jazzman. It was finally time for him to wipe the smirk off of his enemies' faces. "Thanks," he said to Kai quietly. Determined, he made his way to the battle arena.
"It all comes down to this. The two teams each have one win and one loss. Who will prevail in the end? Will it be Jordan, team captain of the Dark Force? Or will it be Ray from the Bladebreakers?" A.J.'s question hung in the air. The winner of this round will be anyone's guess.
Ray and Jordan matched each other hit for hit. However, Jordan was a stronger blader than Ray was. The tide slowly turned against the Chinese blader. Ray was not going to go down that easily. He hung on tight and waited for the right opportunity to strike back.
Jordan yawned. "This is getting boring. Time to end this! Come out, Shadow, my great and terrible bit-beast!"
Ray summoned his own bit-beast. "Driger!"
Once again, the darkness that covered the stadium during the first battle threatened to consume the light. The darkness soon enveloped the stadium. Ray was confused. Why didn't Driger fight Shadow like Xeora did?
'Because I'm not of the light,' Driger told him. 'Only a spirit of the light can fight Shadow lie that. Only the light can conquer the dark.'
Driger leapt forward to attack Shadow, but the black griffon pushed Driger away easily. The white tiger slid a few feet back, but managed to stay on his feet.
'Quickly, Ray!' Driger said urgently. 'Become one with me!'
'How?'
'Relax and open yourself to my presence. Feel my life through your veins.'
As Shadow attacked Driger fiercely, Ray opened himself like his bit-beast had told him to. It felt so good, to feel another's energy pulsing through him.
The tiger tackled the griffon, sending his opponent back. 'Very good, Ray!' Driger complimented.
"Driger, hold Shadow off while I go find Zarine!" Ray said. He knew she had to be here somewhere.
"Don't be foolish!" Jordan laughed. "I can make it impossible for you to find her. Don't you see? I control everything here, in this dimension."
"You mean, we're in a different place now?" Ray asked, somewhat feeling incredulous.
"God, you are dense. We're only in here spiritually, but like it make much of a difference. If you get trapped in here, you'll never wake up again in the real world."
"What was the point of trapping Zarine in here then, huh? She'll be no use to you if she'll be unconscious forever," Ray said.
"That's where you are wrong. I can release her mind."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you, seeing that you aren't going to get out of here...I can control her against her will if I leave a piece of her mind here. How do you think I was able to control her brother? He was my puppet all along, and Zarine really believed that her brother had turned against her," Jordan laughed mirthlessly.
Ray clenched his teeth together. He was even angrier now. He threw himself at Jordan, who had managed to dodge him.
Driger thought, 'Oh dear, it looked like the blood had rushed to his head.' He said to Ray sternly, 'Don't do anything foolish!'
'What am I suppose to do then?' he asked hopelessly.
'Trust in me. Have faith in Zarine and her bit-beast,' Driger answered gently. 'They might be trapped here, but they're still strong as long as they're together.'
Another chapter finished! There's only about four or five more to go, then I'm officially done and I can move on to my next story (you'll know more about it after my final chappie!)