Thanks for the reviews!
Devlinn Reiko-sama - I'll try to update as soon as possible! Aside from the other fan fictions that remain unfinished.
Sarcasmcat - Aww, thanks! ; Hopefully I can keep up this quality of writing for this fan fiction compared to my other ones...
Tala1 - Kinda scary? Nah... it's all fun and evil! Can't forget evil, now can we?
Rabel-blah-blah-blah – I'm glad you like the story! It's fun making characters seem really dangerous! Insert cackle … Ahem.
Espina Oscura – Creepy? Damned straight! This actually might be one of my only decent works…
nekogurlcat – Don't send him after Kai? Well… there aren't any promises… but maybe there is… who knows.
Platinum Rei – Thank you ;
Animegirl8 – Evil? I wonder if there's a more vicious word…looks it up
The Otherworlder – Nothing makes sense in my world! … That's why there's mystery
random – Why thank you!
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade!
Chapter II – Misunderstanding
Tyson started taking a few steps back as Ray started advancing towards him slowly. Kai's face showed a scowl as he tried to figure out why the humanoid cat had suddenly changed so quickly during practice.
"H-hey, buddy." Tyson stuttered. "S-something wrong?"
Ray seemed to utter a low growl in his throat as he stepped through the broken pieces of the beystadium towards his target. His eyes remained cat-like and dangerous as his fangs were looking more dangerous to Tyson by the moment.
"Kenny, I'm still picking up something from Driger." Dizzi spoke out. "Even though the practice match is over, that weird feeling is still there. I'm a bit beast and I know these things and this can't be good."
Ray hunched down among the shattered pieces of the beystadium and took a lunge at the dark blue-haired boy, catching him off-guard. He managed to pin Tyson to the ground with a vice-like grip on his upper arms and he bared his teeth, almost sheer animalistic snarling from his jaws.
The dragon has been caught…Finish it off…Slay the dragon…
"Get him off of me!" Tyson's voice sounded frightened as he squirmed, trying to get away from the heavier weight on him.
"I will finish it off…" Ray growled, glaring down at his captive.
Ray's fangs flashed dangerously and he was almost successful of puncturing one of the major veins on Tyson's neck when a sharp pain started raking up his back again. Ray pulled his head back, glaring over his shoulder as more backing of his shirt was ripped open… this time by Kai's beyblade. Kai's steely gaze watched Ray with the uttermost caution as he held his beyblade launcher in its finishing position.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Ray?" Kai asked frigidly, hearing his beyblade spinning on the walkway.
Ray's blazing eyes narrowed and he leapt off of Tyson, with his newly acquired mysterious strength and agility, and pulled himself over the wall that surrounded the property's perimeter.
"Ray, where are you going?" Shouted Max as he stayed back but was very concerned. "Guys, we can't just let him run off! He just tried to attack Tyson!"
"Hmph…" Kai took off after Ray, snatching his beyblade on the way by. "You three get moving…"
Tyson sat up, his heart pounding against his ribcage a mile a second as his brain attempted to understand what had just happened and what could have happened.
"Tyson! Are you okay, dude?" Max slightly got over his fear and ran over to his friend. "Are you hurt?"
"N-no… b-but that was too… too…" Tyson stuttered, not being able to find the right word to explain how he felt.
"Was it just me or d-did he try to b-bite you?" Max's anxiety increased as he could not believe it either.
"I think… he tried to kill Tyson…" Kenny nervously pushed his glasses back up with a shaky hand. "He went straight for his neck… the easiest target…"
"… For an animal…" Tyson gulped, still feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Are you three going to stand there like you've seen a pack of ghosts or are you going to help Kai out so he doesn't have to do this by himself?" Dizzi's computerized voice broke through the thick air of unease. "This won't fix itself."
"Y-yeah… I'll move in a sec…" Tyson put a hand to his throat, shuddering from the feeling of almost being bitten by his own teammate.
"I-I can't go after him!" Max looked at the wall that Ray had escaped over. "I mean, I know it's Ray in there but… but… I just can't!"
"To tell you guys the truth, I still can't shake off this really eerie feeling… I can't even get myself to move, it was so creepy…" Kenny admitted, hanging his head down.
The three sat in silence, not being able to get themselves to help the Russian beyblader. "Sorry, Kai…"
Kai ran down a street, seeing Ray up ahead of him and he scowled. 'What the hell is wrong with him… This is definitely not like Ray to just… attack someone like that… especially one of our own teammates… That's just not the way he is…'
His eyes narrowed as he noted that Ray darted off into an alleyway and to the river, following him at a safe distance; keeping himself hidden. Fortunately, there was no one near by as dusk started rolling in. Ray slid to a stop just before the river's edge and leaped onto a few rocks that stuck through the water's surface. Kai lay flat on the grass at the against one of the concrete supports of the bridge and watched Ray warily as the Chinese beyblader stayed on the rocks near the middle of the river.
"What do I do now…" Ray said to himself but loud enough for the other boy to hear him.
The dragon's heart beats full with life but also with fear…
"I was distracted…" Again he spoke, making the other blader more suspicious of him.
Strike when least anticipated…Surprise gives power to the White Tiger…Always had, always will…It can also be thy foe…
"I… understand…"
Kai almost jumped from the ground as the same blood-freezing scream pierced the evening air and went straight to his eardrums, causing him to wince. 'Damn, he's loud…'
Ray's hands clutched his head tightly as he shook his head frantically, as if trying to wake up from a dark perilous nightmare. The claw markings on his partially exposed back seemed to darken and look fiercer as that new pain registered in his mind. Kai noticed the other go strangely quiet and seemed to lose his footing on the rocks, falling straight into the water. Kai bolted from his position and ran into the water, making a grab for Ray to pull his head above the surface. He managed to grab the still intact collar of Ray's outfit and pull his upper-body out of the water.
"Kai…?" Ray seemed to say weakly, not being able to focus his eyes on the Russian's face. "What are you…"
Kai didn't know what to make of it. Just earlier, Ray was going through practice matches then he suddenly snapped into something more vicious, something more… 'Cat-like…'
He wasn't sure if Ray was calm or not but his suspicions slipped away with Ray's consciousness as he felt the other's full weight on him. 'This makes things easier…'
He hoisted the unconscious beyblader onto his back and climbed out of the water, starting to walk back towards the Dojo while carrying the injured party. After quite some time of traveling, he finally came up to the familiar walls of the property and walked through the gate, moving his steely gaze to the surrounding area. Empty.
"I know at least one of you guys is around here somewhere…" Kai added a mumbled comment. "Like the weaklings you are…"
The Dojo door slid open and Tyson was standing there, wide-eyed as he saw Kai push past him and bring the dripping wet Ray into the room.
"You could have least taken your shoes off." Tyson mumbled, running off into his house to get some towels.
Kai stood silently as he continued to hold the unconscious Ray on his back while Kenny and Max were exchanging worried glances.
"Why don't you bring your dogs in here, little dude?" Tyson's grandfather asked in his usual… odd attitude.
"Grandpa, you don't understand. This is serious-"
"Ah, it's cool with me. They can hang out at our pad for a bit and chill."
Tyson sighed. "Fine… Don't say I didn't warn you." The other three heard Tyson pad back towards the Dojo and slid the door open. "My grandpa insists that you guys come on… Bring him to my room, Kai. He can stay in there until we figure out what we're going to do."
Kai nodded solemnly, following Tyson as Max and Kenny nervously kept their distance in case Ray wasn't exactly sleeping. After several moments, the conscious members of the Blade Breakers team was sitting by the doorway of Tyson's room while Ray remained comatose and quiet as a few towels were wrapped around him to soak up the river's water.
"What happened, Kai?" Tyson asked, taking a glance at Ray.
"As much as I would hate to admit it, I don't have a clue on what's going on…" Kai scowled, leaning on a wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed calmly over his chest. "I caught up to him by the river… He was acting strange again and seemed to be talking to himself… or something… And then he screamed in a lot of pain and fell into the water. I had to get him before he drowned himself and that's about it."
"… This is far too creepy." Max said quietly, keeping as much distance from Ray and making sure he had a clear path to the door.
"Get over it… This is very serious. Until Ray pulls himself together, we can't enter any tournaments or competitions until we're absolutely sure on what's going on…" Kai spat out bitterly, turning his head away.
"Kai, I think there's something else you should know…" Kenny said timidly, not liking that he also was in the same room as Ray. "Earlier, Dizzi noticed that Driger's power increased dramatically and the source is unknown. It was right about the time when Ray started freaking out. The real power jump was when that strange… aura was noticeable just before Tyson's blade was blasted out of the ring… There has to be a connection somehow…"
"Hrm…" Kai let his mind try to sort out the information that he was given, trying to come up with some sort of logical answer. "Until Ray is at least back to his normal self, I'm keeping watch since you three are obviously still shaken up from earlier… If he gets out, I'll tell you so you have enough time to hide…"
Tyson wanted to shout back at Kai for his comment but he decided to bite his tongue, and he only nodded in response. Max didn't know if he wanted to stay or not. He still felt very nervous out Ray in case the humanoid cat decided to lash out again and he didn't want to be the first one caught.
"I'll stay if you guys are up to it…" Max sighed.
"… We're in this together and I'm sure Dizzi can be a big help on trying to figure this all out…" Kenny said nervously.
"Alright then. So we're all pretty much okay with what's going on. We'll decide in the morning of what we're going to do and how we're going to deal with this." Tyson said, leaving the room to tell his grandfather that his friends were staying over for the night.
Hours later, when the Blade Breakers had settled in, Kai sat in the doorway of Tyson's room, resting the back of his head on the doorframe as he slept lightly. Tyson, Max and Kenny had decided to sleep elsewhere since it seemed safer for them. Everything was quite for a few moments longer until Ray started shivering. Kai cracked his eyes open halfway, side-glancing at Ray as he turned onto his side. Ray curled up a bit, hugging the blankets closer to him as he shivered slightly from falling into the cold water or even from something else. Kai swore that he heard a few whimpers from the Chinese beyblader as he slept.
The dragon…
"I… I don't know what you're talking about…" Ray muttered slightly, tugging on the blankets more.
'Oh great, he talks in his sleep now…' Kai rolled his eyes.
Underneath the surface, the dragon is thy foe…
"Under what… what do you mean…" Ray pulled the covers up to his chin.
The White Tiger is its own…It is not thy enemy…Embrace it…
Ray whimpered things for a few more minutes until he was sleeping peacefully again, still shivering slightly. Kai closed his eyes again, exhaling slowly as he listened for a while more to make sure that Ray was truly sleeping. When Kai awoke at dawn, he noticed Ray sitting up, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"So you're awake then…" Kai stated flatly, watching him.
"Huh…?" Ray continued to rub one eye as he sleepily looked at Kai. "What time is it…"
"If you haven't noticed from the window, it is the crack of dawn… You have quite a bit of explaining to do…" Kai pressed on. "Yesterday, you attacked Tyson and by the looks of things… You haven't changed much."
"Attacked Tyson? Changed?" Ray blinked a few times at Kai, not taking notice of his longer fangs. "We were beybattling yesterday and I lost to you… Then I went against Tyson and I don't remember who won… I didn't attack Tyson except during the match with Driger and Dragoon…"
Kai's eyebrows rose slightly. "You won the match, Ray…"
"I did?" Ray blinked again, still feeling confused. "But…"
"You beat him, alright. Knocked his beyblade right out of the bowl and through the wall of the Dojo…" The Russian beyblader said, keeping his eyes on Ray. "You spaced out and went nuts…"
"No I didn't… after the match, Tyson invited us all to sleep over." Ray said, sounding more confused.
"…" Kai narrowed his eyes slightly at Ray who was obviously wanting to go back to sleep. "Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah…" Ray yawned, scratching his head sleepily as his altered fangs were still unnoticed to him. "If you don't believe me, then ask Tyson or Max or Kenny…"
Kai heaved a heavy sigh and got up, walking over to the bed. "You may as well get up… You…" He paused for a moment, thinking of a cover-up until he could get the answers from the confused boy. "Fell in the river when Tyson and Max were joking around… Come on, move it."
Ray blinked sleepily and climbed out of bed, feeling that some of his hair was still wet and he had the dreaded feeling that his tied back hair was still soaked. "Yeah, I remember… I better get him back for that…"
'Tch… lucky guess..' Kai thought as he dumped the pile of towels into a corner.
Ray had made his way to the bathroom and he was feeling along the wall for the light. His fingers finally brushed across it and he flicked the switch on, blinking groggily as he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was a bit matted and he obviously looked half-asleep still. He yawned again, this time noticing something.
Everyone within the household who was still sleeping was jolted awake by Ray's yell.
There we go! Chapter two! Hope you enjoyed it!