Responds to reviews for chapter four:

Bs3ssi0n:

Anim3-anj3l: Sorry but the cliffie, but it was my first one in this sequel right? And don't worry, I'm not pushing myself at all. I love writing!

Sleepy-zzz: That's a good question... She's always quick to review... I guess we've to give her credit for that :)

She Devil 2004: Yeah, I've noticed that you've been offline very much. But I'll try to catch you soon :D Why can't you continue Past Choices? By the way, who's Adam?

Peachgirl1608: Wow, thanks!

Suicide-greeting: Thanks! I'll continue this no matter what, so don't you worry :)

Surfergurl16: Who's the other flamer? I agree brothers are the most annoying creatures alive… And dead… I'll update a.s.a.p

YamikaiemiBlackAngelMaritamai: Thanks! I'm glad it's getting better. That's at least the right direction. Wow, I'm having some major problems with typing your name. I always have to past it. ;;

Aggs: Hi again! I've been wondering where you did go! Glad you're back! Oh, I forgot you were from Australia! But, yes, I do have a purpose, and if I need help with the country, is it okay if I ask you?

Emeraldeyes90: Ems? I've never heard that before, but I like it! I'll update a.s.a.p!

Chikaitou-411: Huh? And I thought I hadn't written so many cliffies recently?

Strawberrylover: Yeah, they were gonna battle. But I'm not sure if they did, cause I was too lazy for writing it… --;;

Sacred Phoenix: My problems? Huh? With the fic?

Lil Tanuki: No! It's broken? I hope the computer is fixed now! My summer has been all good this far, but I'm sorry to hear yours isn't… Why is it boring?

Myrtle-moon: Thanks! I'm sorry for the long update…

Mystique Rain: Actually, I'm starting to enjoy writing the Mariah/Ray parts so I guess it'll be more about them :) A confrontation is good, but I'm not sure if the time is right to do it now. Things will speed up a little in this chapter, and I guess it's gonna be a little twist too. At least for one person…

CrimsonShadows(Pyro-Inu): Is matchmaker really something Tala would play? Hm, I'm not sure if he would do such a good job :D By the way, you were my 100th reviewer! For whatever it might be worth?

Responds to reviews for chapter five:

Sleepy-zzz: The questions will be answered soon!

Tai-writer: I like Ruin too! And I admire her creator, Zadien!

Anim3-anj3l: That will be answered in chapter seven!

Suicide-greeting: You will like her. Promise!

Emeraldeyes90: Thanks! I'll update asap!

Surfergurl16: Yup, she's like that. But I think she's interesting, not being like any other OC…

Chikaitou-911: Sorry, but I thought it was a great place to end it there…

Strawberrylover: Yeah, Ruin's definitely gonna turn someone's life upside down…

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Beyblade or any of its characters. I also DO NOT own Toni Hikari LaVelle and her bitbeast, who belongs to Bed 'N' Breakfast and Morrigan (Ruin) Mulryan and her bitbeast, who belongs to Zadien. I DO own Laynie and her bitbeast, and Josephine Potter.

Chapter Six: Breaking The Habit

- "Hang on a second, I'm not really the 'drama-type.'" Laynie said and shook her head violently. Mariah had read their scheme for the next day and when she had gotten to the part where their Drama-class played an important part, Laynie's head had snapped up from the comfortable position on her pillow.

Mariah gave her an odd look. "Looks like you have to be one then. Drama is obligatory."

- "No way."

- "Come on Laynie, how bad can it be?" Emily turned her head from the computer screen and looked at Laynie. Laynie looked back and crossed her arms.

- "Bad?" She said and tilted her head in a very defiant way. Emily sighed and returned to the program she was working on. Laynie slumped back onto her bed.

[I'm not doing it.] She thought. [They can't force me.]

She rolled onto her belly instead and put her chin in her hand. She had a lot on her mind and she didn't want to have to deal with some pointless drama. She missed Kai more than ever, and she was close to a breakdown. Emotionally at least. Physically she was strong and maybe drama would her thing? After all, she hid her emotions everyday and the mask of happiness she wore all the time seemed to be convincing.

The only thing that kept her going now was Tala. He was the only one she couldn't hide something from. Seeing him again made her think a little less about Kai and maybe she could move on now. But she wasn't sure she really wanted to…

Sometimes, mostly during night, she could find herself daydreaming about the times when she and Kai had been together. And it made her happier than anything. Was she really ready to give that up even without even trying?

Laynie closed her eyes and immediately got Kai's handsome features on her mind. His mahogany eyes, deep enough to drown into. Soft, flawless skin, so soft to touch. And he wasn't hers anymore.

A part of her just wanted to run away to him, begging for him to take her back. But another, and the bigger of the parts, snorted at her in disgust for showing such a weakness as being dependent at someone else.

- "Hey, Laynie, are you alright?"

Laynie opened her eyes again when she heard her name being mentioned. Mariah's worried eyes locked with hers and she repeated her question.

- "Are you alright?"

- "Me? Of course I am!" Laynie said quickly and shot a smile at them. "I'm just a little tired, I was up early you know."

Mariah nodded. "Yeah, Tala woke you up. Sorry I forgot that." She smiled and stretched her arms into the air in a catlike way. "Wow, I'm getting sleepy too. I think I better be off to Ray before I fall asleep. Someone going with me?"

- "I don't think I would get any space in Ray's arms if you are resting there…" Emily teased Mariah, who's cheeks quickly turned pink.

- "I don't only see Ray to snuggle up to him." Mariah said.

- "Nah, you are making out too." Laynie mumbled and gave Mariah a wink.

Mariah winked back and flipped a pink strand of hair behind her shoulder. "Exactly." She said and jumped down from her bed. "Asking again, is anyone coming with me?"

- "You can dump me when we get to the deck, ok? I need some air." Laynie grabbed a black sweater and pulled her shoes on.

- "Sure."

---------------

So soft.

Kai's fingers slowly caressed her soft skin. God, how he had missed this. He was just about to lock his lips with hers when he suddenly realized that she was crying. He pulled away in confusedness and tried to make her look into his eyes.

- "What's wrong?" He kept asking.

- "Why did you leave, Kai?"

Kai winced as he was reminded of his terrible misunderstanding. "What does it matter? I'm here now, you are here now, so why bother? Just… just be here."

She slowly shook her head. "You were too late Kai. I'm already with someone else…"

- "No. No, you can't be." Kai didn't want to hear what she was saying. He didn't want to know that his stupid pride had messed everything up.

- "She's telling the truth, Kai. Let her go. She's with me now."

Kai turned his head to the speaker.

Tala!?

- "What the hell is this supposed to mean?!"

- "Nothing, really. Nothing except the fact Laynie's no longer belonging to you. She's mine now." Tala smirked and suddenly, Laynie was no longer in Kai's arms. Instead, she was so close to Tala that air wouldn't even get through between them. It almost pained Kai's eyes.

Kai awoke with a start. His breathing was heavy and his heart was top picking. It was only a dream… But it had felt so real… He doubted Tala would ever steal Laynie from him, but he wasn't sure if other guys knew the brunette belonged to him…

[I must tell her tonight.] Kai panicked. He rushed up to his feet and noticed how Ray gave him an odd look.

- "Are you okay?" He asked suspicious and frowned. Kai ran a hand through his messy hair and nodded.

- "Yeah, I'm fine." He replied. "I'm going out for a walk."

- "Okay, I might be out when you get back. Mari's coming over." Ray gave Kai a quick smile. Kai didn't return it though, he just nodded and one second later the door slammed shut and he was gone.

Ray sighed. [I hope Laynie and he's getting back soon… Living with Mr. Touchy any longer will drive me insane…]

-----------------

- "Attention, please. This is Mr. Dickenson speaking. We will reach Sydney within two hours. No one, I repeat no one, will be able to leave the ship until we have said you are allowed to."

Laynie had jerked her head up when Mr. Dickenson's voice had beamed out of the speaker boxes. Now, she let her head fall back on her arms where she was leaning onto the high railing that surrounded the whole deck. The time was around eight pm, but it had already started to darken.

Alone out there, Laynie slowly started to relax. Her tense shoulders started to sink lower and the odd feeling she always carried nowadays started to fade. She took a deep breath. The air was refreshing and she could almost taste the salt from the ocean. She closed her eyes.

And immediately, he was there. Teasing her, tempting all of her sins. Laynie sighed. Why was it so damn hard to move on? Was it because she didn't want to?

- "God, I miss him."

Suddenly, the words were out on the same second she had thought them. So easy, and so true.

- "Laynie?"

Someone called her name. Someone called her name with a very hesitating and almost shy tone. She opened her eyes and turned her eyes.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw who it was. It was almost like she had been thinking of this person so intense he had been materialized in front of her.

- "Kai?" She said and she noticed how her voice almost trembled. He stepped forward and suddenly, he was so close Laynie could feel his body heat next to her. It almost made her dizzy, and a wave of recognition swept through her body.

He just stood there. His arms resting onto the railing just as hers. He gazed out over the glittering water without saying anything. And Laynie wasn't the one to complain. Just being this close to him again was enough for her. But she also wanted to find out why he had come…

- "Kai, what did I do wrong?"

The question Laynie had been thinking of since they broke up was out and she hated the way she sounded. She sounded disappointed, childish, hurt and weak.

Kai couldn't believe what he heard. Did Laynie really think it was her fault?!

- "Why do you think it was your fault?" He said and his tone was so surprised Laynie turned her head to look at him. Her eyes widened.

- "What else would it be?" Laynie bit her bottom lip. "I mean, we were all fine and the next second…"

Kai took a deep breath. "Listen here Laynie, nothing was your fault. I was being an idiot and imagined things that were so far away from true anything can be."

Laynie frowned. "So… What does all this really mean Kai?"

- "The time after our breakup was a living nightmare, Laynie." Kai avoided Laynie's question. "And I'm tired of living like I'm only a half person… I… I think I need you."

- "Hang on a second, you have wanted to say this all the time or what?" Laynie said and looked at him. This was a little too extreme… Could Kai really had felt the same all the time and the only reason for them not getting back sooner was that none of them had been able to get over their pride?

- "Yeah."

The relief was so intense Laynie almost started to laugh. "So we are back together now?"

- "I guess so. If you want to of course…"

- "Of course I want to, idiot. Do you really have to ask?" Laynie replied and smirked.

Kai smiled back and snaked his arms around Laynie's waist, pulling her close. He lowered his head and rested his brow against Laynie's. She laid her arms around his neck.

- "Why did you wait so long?" She whispered.

--------------

Meanwhile the sun started set outside the ship, Tyson, Toni, Max and Kevin spent yet another hour in front of the Playstation in Tyson's room. Playing Tekken had become a habit and it was something they did more often and often. This time, Emily was there too.

- "Looks like you're going down, Tyson." Toni stated and watched Tyson's character Lee being tossed into the floor.

- "Shut up, Toni! I'm not!" Tyson shouted back through gritted teeth.

- "Go Kevin!" Max cheered and changed position. "Hey, Emily, what are you doing?"

Emily sat in front of her laptop and was apparently reading something. Her brow was slightly frowned and it looked like she was concentrating. When she heard Max's question, she turned her head to him.

- "Bad news, guys. It seems like some weird things are going on in Russia. And you know what that means…" She scowled and returned to the screen.

- "How do you know that? Shouldn't we have heard it on the news?" Toni said without taking her gaze from the fighting characters on the TV-screen.

- "Kenny." Emily muttered back. "He sent an email. You can read it if you want to…"

She rolled away to let Max read the letter.

Hi Emily,

Some strange things are going on in Russia. Last Monday, a newly built DNA machine was stolen from a lab in Moscow. The lab was one of the best guarded in the world and it was supposed to be impossible to get in there, without granted access. And listen to this; the responsible guard claimed four bladers with three bitbeast are the guilty ones. Doesn't that sound a little TOO much like the Black Cats? It can't be a coincidence. Laynie's brother's bitbeast disappeared during their battle in the European Championships.

I'm having a bad feeling about this, so keep your eyes and ears open. I'm having a theory about the DNA machine, but it's not worth to tell yet. I will get in touch with you soon again.

Kenny

- "Things are starting to take a nasty turn all of a sudden, huh?" Max said with quiet voice and all Emily could do was nod.

--------------

Kai pulled away from Laynie, who reluctantly broke the kiss. She gave him a half smile.

- "Kai, what will happen next? When will they make their first strike? All this waiting is starting to drive me insane!"

- "Wow, talk about switching the subject." Kai gave her gaze.

It was funny how easily they had started over again. It was almost like they never had broken up… But they had, and somewhere deep down Kai knew it would always follow them. He wouldn't forget his mistake in the first turn.

- "But now when you are bringing the subject up, me and Tala have formed a group of ten bladers to be ready for Biovolt."

- "I better be a part of that group, Kai…" Laynie said and her voice was low, but Kai could hear how serious she was.

But Kai was so happy right now, that he couldn't help but tease her a little. "You know Laynie…" He started. "This is going to be very tough, and the bladers have to be in top class…"

Here, Laynie cut him short. Her face expression was pure astonishment mixed with disbelief. "Kai Hiwatari! Are you telling me I'm a weak blader!?"

- "I must have a hell of a poker face!" Kai chuckled and ducked when Laynie tried to punch him. "You should have seen yourself!"

- "That was NOT funny!" Laynie said and tried to stay serious, but laughter bubbled up from her stomach like butterflies. She burst out in laugh. "Damnit Kai, I thought you were serious!"

Kai smiled and seemed to be very content with himself. Laynie stuck out her tongue at him and winked at him.

- "So, who else more than the two of us are in?"

- "Tala is in, of course. Then we have Robert Jagen, Ray, Mariah, Lee, Emily and Michael."

Laynie frowned for a second, while summering the number of bladers. "Hand on a second, that's only nine."

Kai nodded. "I know. But there's going to come two new teams when we reach Sydney. And after what I have heard, the leader of one of the teams is damned skilled."

---------------

In the marina of Sydney, Ruin Mulryan folded her arms over the chest. Her look was stern as she gazed out over the water where the "S.S Atlantica" now could be seen. Her team stood behind her, talking to each other.

Her she was now, sixteen years old and the leader of No Fear. She had made a name of herself around the streetbladers in Russia, and that had eventually lead to her gathering the four strongest bladers and forming a team. Now, she had left Russia behind after an interesting letter from the chairman of the BBA, Mr. Dickenson.

He told about the Biovolt's return and that they could use some talented and skilled beybladers. Ruin had accepted, but not without considering it first. Ruin didn't take easy on her position as the leader and she always tried to make the decision, which was best for the team.

Even if meant seeing Tala Valkov again.

--------------

Taa dam! Laynie and Kai are back together! It didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to be, but I needed them to get back together… Things were developing a little TOO slow…

As I said in a review respond, I will describe Ruin better in next chapter. I really like writing her

By the way, being the lazy ass I am, if someone wants to have their OC in my fic, I do have four empty spaces right now to fill. If, even though I doubt, there's too many people who wants to have their OC in the fic, I will have to choose. Anyway, interested? Please, fill this little "OC-info" thing and send it to me at emlan22hotmail.com

Please, send it before the 10th of July!

Lol, I'm such a bad writer. Can't even think up more OC's… --

Please, leave a review and look out for the new chapter! It might take a while to get it up, it depends on if I'm getting any answers on my "please-let-me-borrow-a-OC-wish".

Hugs, Emma aka dragon-eyes22