Sorry for being a little quick with that chapter, Xaphien. I really got stuck on that chapter and wanted to update yesterday before Reis#1gurl mauled me for not updating oO; Thanks for the tip I'll try to remember that for these later chapters.

Thanks for the reviews: Devilinn Reiko-sama, Sarcasmcat and Xaphien

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, damn it.

Chapter IV - Too Real

Kai grit his teeth more as he could feel the sharp claws dig into the flesh on the back of his hands. He couldn't risk letting Ray get loose, especially with the others more vulnerable. He tightened his grip in the mercy fight and started bending Ray's wrists backwards, relieving some of the pressure that was affecting his hold. He could feel his own blood oozing from the puncture marks and sliding down his hands and arms.

"Ray, stop this right now!" Kai ordered, feeling Ray bending his wrists again.

"The dragon!" Ray snarled again. "Let me have the dragon!"

Kai growled and pushed back at Ray with quite a bit of force, causing him to lean back slightly and it gave Kai the change to sweep the crazed boy's feet from under him with one smooth kick to the back of his ankles. Ray fell back but not without dragging the Russian with him, using all the newly acquired strength in his arms, Ray managed to yank the other right off of his feet and over him just before his own back slammed onto the ground. The sudden impact stunned both boys as Ray's grasp loosened considerably from the wind being knocked out of him.

Kai blinked a few times, trying to clear his head from hitting the ground so suddenly then he yanked his bleeding hands away. He seethed, standing up to see how much damage had been done and then looked up, finding Ray not there.

"Damn it!" Kai took about two steps forward before an arm lashed out behind him and wrapped around his neck.

He brought his hands up immediately, grabbing Ray's arm to pull it away from his throat as he gagged slightly. He had to admit, Ray had gotten a lot quicker in no time flat and stronger from whatever was driving him mad. More pain shot through his hands and wrists as the claw wounds started to take their toll on him.

"No!" Kai hissed through his teeth, desperately trying to pry Ray's arm away before he suffocated.

He definitely needed help this time. Kai couldn't get his bleeding and injured hands to cooperate properly. He didn't see anyone around because it was so early in the morning and it started to anger him more. He really wished that Tyson wasn't a heavy sleeper or even deaf when someone tried to wake him. Never in his life did Kai feel cornered with almost nothing he could do as he was attacked. He did the only thing he could do as he pushed Ray's head back to prevent the boy from biting him.

"Somebody help me!" Kai yelled out, hoping the rest of the Blade Breakers would hear them before he was cut off.

Kai's shout was cut short as Ray tightened his grasp around the other's neck. Again, Kai made a stifled choking sound as he tried to get Ray to let go. He was thinking of kicking the other but the message from his brain wouldn't go through.

"Kai! Oh no! Tyson! Max! Hurry up!" Kenny stared in shock from around the corner of the Dojo.

Ray's attention was brought up to the computer and beyblade genius as a low threatening growl erupted from his throat. He saw Max run out from the Dojo and jolt to an immediate stop, watching Kai and Ray with wide frightened eyes. Kai brought his arm down from pushing Ray's head back and jabbed his elbow into the other's stomach, causing him to let go slightly. Kai felt extremely light-headed and his knees threatened to give out from the lack of oxygen.

"I think he's gonna pass out! Someone help him!" Kenny yelled again as Tyson and Max ran over to help the Russian teenager.

Kai jabbed his elbow into Ray's stomach again, finding it easier to breathe without being choked as much but he didn't take that time celebrate the minor victory; it wasn't his style. He in took a sharp breath and grabbed Ray's forearms as tightly as his wounds would allow him then ducked down, pulling the off-guard Chinese blader off his feet and over Kai; slamming his back into the ground as Ray had done earlier. Even though it put quite a bit of strain on his back, Kai brought an elbow up and jabbed Ray in the top part of his gut. Ray sat up slightly from the blow, the last remaining breaths came out in a wheeze and then his head hit the ground again, unconscious.

"Kai!" The remained three called out as they ran over to the Russian blader.

Kai slowly pulled his arm back to his side and breathed heavily, the dizziness not subsiding at all. He sat back up on his knees, rubbing the side of his neck painfully as the blood started flowing back up to his brain but it felt too rushed, causing him to almost fall onto his side.

"Are you alright!? What the hell was going on out here!?" Tyson asked as Kai held himself up with one arm.

"What does it look like..." Kai spat out bitterly, shaking his head for the faintness to go away.

"Your hands!" Kenny said as he looked closer at the wounds. "Oh man, Kai, you really took a beating!"

"You think?!" Kai snapped as Kenny ran back into Tyson's home to get the first aid kit. "While you guys were dead to the world, Ray went ballistic again and had the full potential to kill!"

"Kai, take it easy!" Max cautioned.

"No one is going to take it easy because we have a problem... A very big problem and we have to solve it fast..." Kai hissed through his teeth as Kenny tried to wrap the wounds up when he returned. "I'll do it myself..."

Kenny shook his head as the bandages were taken from him. "But Kai, your hands could be badly damaged!"

Kai pulled a strip of the cloth bandages out with his teeth and started wrapping one of his hands up and scowled menacingly when Kenny stopped him. "I can handle it already!"

"Better let someone else do it. By the looks of it, you won't be able to do much and I stress that you be really, really careful!" Kenny said as he took the bandages in his own hands and started tending to Kai's wounds. "Now tell us what happened."

Kai sighed irritably, glad that the lightheadedness had finally gone away. "He's getting worse. A lot worse and I'm not meaning it lightly. I know what he wants for starters."

"What?" Tyson blinked.

Kai flinched when a set of bandages was tightened around one of his bleeding hands. "Sorry, Kai..."

The Russian blader looked at Tyson, his eyes slightly narrowed. "He's after you, Tyson. At first I didn't get it... He kept saying he needed to get the dragon... You're the target."

"Me?!" Tyson pointed to himself. "Why me?!"

"How the hell should I know?! Just look at him!" Kai snapped, nodding his head over to the unconscious Ray. "He's changing pretty damned fast. Yesterday didn't even come CLOSE to how he was acting today. He was acting like a wild animal looking for blood. Your blood, Tyson."

"Hang on a sec! Ray's trying to kill me!?" Tyson crawled back a few feet.

Kai wanted to slap his forehead in frustration or even clench his hands into fists but Kenny and the injuries to the back of his hands prevented him in doing so. "Listen..." He seethed. "Something is making Ray act like this and I talked to him a while earlier before he started choking me... Something or someone is telling him to do this and he can't control it. He told me it just started yesterday and it has definitely gotten worse so you guys are not to tell ANYONE! Not even the old man, Tyson. It will just make things more complicated as they already are..."

"No problem, there..." Tyson grumbled.

"Ray has gotten very quick and strong. Max, move Ray over onto his side." Kai ordered, moving his steely gaze to the nervous blond.

"Kai, what if-"

"Just do it already!" Kai snapped.

Max gulped nervously and kneeled down by the Chinese beyblader, moving him cautiously in case he tried to wake up. "Oh my god... what is that?!"

"That..." Kai once again moved his gaze, but this time to the darkened claw markings on Ray's back. "Has something to do with it... When Driger sent Dragoon away, Ray had those markings and it was like an invisible set of claws scratched him. I didn't find any sort of bleeding or cut and it is almost like a birthmark of some sort."

"Dizzi was analyzing his beyblade last night and she didn't really find anything out of the ordinary with the actual parts but she said there was something really weird about Driger. An extra boost of power, so to speak." Kenny explained. "This is really peculiar... Either way, Kai, you're hands are basically useless. I tied them up with a layer or two of bandages and you shouldn't do anything."

"Tch..." Kai crossed his arms, resting his hands lightly on his elbows. "I doubt any of you have an idea of what the hell we're going to do about this... I know for a fact that none of you could stand a chance if he got his hands around your neck..."

"And you think you're better?!" Tyson snapped, leaning forward as he glared at Kai.

"I'm not picking a fight, you moron." Kai spat out. "You're cocky and that's a faster way to get you killed. You're Ray's target, not anyone else yet. He attacked me because I was preventing him from getting to any of you guys."

"Just because you're the team captain doesn't mean that you can start putting us down!" Tyson huffed.

"If you continue to be the overconfident smart ass as you are now, there's no hope for you, Tyson. Ray is turning into some sort of a creature and he wants his kill!" Kai snapped, raising his voice. "He's not going to play around with it like a house cat would. He wants to kill it right away to satisfy his thirst for blood! If you don't want your head bitten clean right off of your neck you do as I say! I'm the team captain no matter what and this is an issue to be reckoned with! If you are going to ignore that then I may as well not bother saving your asses again!"

"Kai... you don't really mean that, do you...?" Max asked quietly, looking hurt.

Kai heaved a heavy and exasperated sigh. "Just do what I say and no one else is going to get hurt... That includes Ray..."

"You had me worried for a sec there... Come on, Tyson. Just don't be too stubborn... We really have to help Ray..." Kenny said as he adjusted his glasses.

Tyson sighed as well. "You're right... I'm sorry, Kai..."

"Hn..." Kai closed his eyes, saying nothing more.

"Maybe I should e-mail Mister Dickenson about this... I'm sure he would want to know." Kenny said and opened his laptop.

Kenny started typing away at the portable computer while Max and Tyson sat by Ray uneasily. Kai's eyes snapped open when he heard a groan from Ray and watched him turn onto his stomach, causing Tyson and Max to move backwards a little quickly.

"Hn... don't worry about it, he's out like a light..." Kai said as he watched the said person cautiously. "He won't be up for a while, he was hit pretty hard..."

Once again, I end another chapter at a weird spot. Don't expect updates this fast because I actually felt like writing pretty quickly instead of doing chores...cough... I should get to that now...Oh, any spelling errors are probably missed by me again and I hope that this chapter wasn't too fast like the other ones