I walked down the stairs still dripping a bit from my clothes since I didn't have a change of clothes obviously. I'd taken off my trainers because they squelched whenever I walked and you can't really wring a trainer dry.
Talon and Blaze had finished before me so they were already downstairs talking to Geode. Zero was with them but he wasn't participating with the conversation. Walking up to them I noted that they were talking about the beybattle between Geode and me.
"You should have seen your face!" Talon started laughing, "It was hilarious!" she continued.
"C'mon you guys! It couldn't have been that funny!"
"Yeah well, it's good to see you knocked off your high horse for once." Blaze replied with a small smile looking straight at him. That was when her eyes travelled up to where I was, standing behind him. When she saw it was me, she gave a little jump. Talon saw where she was staring and when she looked up and noticed me standing there, she gave a little start.
"What's up?" concerned about what was freaking them out Geode looked over his shoulder and nearly fell over from his sitting position. "What the? Where the heck did you come from?" when I didn't answer he muttered, "Well his name definitely fits him."
Just then, Zero yawned which made everyone realize how tired he or she actually was. Everyone started to yawn along with him and began to rub their eyes suddenly feeling their energy levels drop from some unknown reason as they realized how late it actually was.
"Since we're all agreed, let's go upstairs to get some sleep then." Geode said, half sarcastic and half sleepy.
We followed Geode up the stairs to collapse onto the mattresses and fall asleep straight away.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Doctor reached into his pocket and when he pulled his hand out again it came up with some sort of black remote control. He then pushed the only button on the shiny surface.
Suddenly I was on my knees going out of my mind with pain. My chest contracted with the torture, making it harder to breathe. My back arched and my hands clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms. My eyes swam as the sweat dripped into my eyes. Grey spots appeared in front of me since the lack of oxygen started to affect my brain. I opened my mouth to try and get as much oxygen into my body. But it was a waste of my energy because when I tried to take a breath my eyes widened in agony as my world exploded when I struggled to widen my constricted chest. And then…
I slowly loaded my 'blade with as much force I could muster. There was a hollow clang and sparks shot up as it hit the dish. The change from my earlier launch became apparent straight away. It was faster, more stable and somehow easier to control. 'So they fiddled with my 'blade as well. Is there anythin' o' mine which they haven' changed? I then noticed that the blade was in a defensive position in the middle of the beydish. 'That's weird, it's like i' goes wi'' wha' Ah'm feelin'.' On a whim, I thought that I wanted it to go faster. The second I finished my thought…
We ended up in a large room with only Doctor and only one other person in it. She had a black suit on and black hair tied up in a ponytail.
Adam abruptly turned around and left the room and I had an urge to follow him but I was being motioned towards the chair by Doctor to sit in the chair opposite the desk the lady was sitting at. When I sat down and instantly looked at my hands.
"Doctor has informed me about your development. Would you care to show me?" her voice was clipped and the way she said it belied that she was actually interested.
"On you?"
"Well who else can you see?"
My eyes flickered to Doctor. "Yes, on me." She said, sighing.
Unsure on what to do I started to stare at her forehead. Then as if I had done this before in a past life and suddenly remembered how to, I closed my eyes and imagined there was a line of light connecting our foreheads together. In a flash I was…
"There is something here I think you will quite enjoy." Doctor said, answering my which I hadn't asked him. It wasn't because I was shy, it was because usually if I did question anything, I would have had a little "lesson" in asking questions or talking back to my elders. I nodded as I continued to walk behind him. He was taking me in the building where I had never been before. As far as I could tell, I was on the fourth level on the opposite side of the building from the beydishes. Since there wasn't a map of the whole building I couldn't be too sure. He took me up some stairs and through a door that said clearly on the front of it: STAFF ONLY. 'Staff only? Ah thought everyone worked here? Ah suppose that's another reason why Ah haven't been in there then. If it's staff only, Ah defiantly shouldn't be there.' When we walked through it was exactly like the rest of the building; immaculately clean with white walls that didn't have a speck of dirt on them, varnished floors. The only difference that I could see straight away was that there was more light in here than the rest of the building since there was a sort of sky light in the corridor. Again, he took me through another door on my right. This room had the wall right in front of me as one large window cut into smaller sections. Inside the room was what looked like a podium, covering the wall behind it was a huge computer and in front of the podium was a small beydish. I looked up to Doctor who nodded. I walked up to the podium and looked at what was resting on the top of it.
It was a bit piece.
My eyes widened in surprise and shock. They were giving me a bit beast? I turned around to look at Doctor again. He was standing at the doorframe with his arms crossed. When I looked at his eyes, they didn't hold the usual coldness that I was so used to seeing in his unemotional face. What I did see was curiosity to see what I would do. I didn't try to use my power of mind reading because he always seemed to know when I was about to use it on him somehow.
Turning back around, I slowly picked up the bit piece and was pleasantly surprised when I didn't get any flashes or anything like I had been getting whenever I touched something recently.
I turned the bit piece over and studied the picture on it. It was a Velociraptor but that was only recognisable by the wickedly curved gold claw it had on its feet. It had three heads that took up most of the picture, the heads had some sort of helmet on and each helmet had a different colour on it. The left most mask was a lush green, the middle mask was a deep ocean blue and the mask on the far right was a deep almost blood red. On top of each skull were three spikes. The centre head was extended with its fangs bared, and it seemed to be staring right at me. Beside the picture, it said Trilox.
I took my beyblade out of my pocket and placed the bit piece on the top of it. It fitted like my beyblade was made for the bit piece or vice-versa.
I yanked at the ripcord and a silver light filled the room…
I yanked at the ripcord and a silver light filled the room. Trilox was starting to get anxious and annoyed because of the amount of the times they had told me to launch him.
'Why do they keep on tellin' us to do this?'
'Ah don' know.' I refrained from actually shaking my head. Any sudden movements were seen as rebellious. Especially a shake of my head. That to them meant I wasn't going to do anymore. And that meant swift action against my 'disobedience'. I couldn't really do much apart from launch Trilox since I had electrodes attached onto my body in various places. 'Maybe they want to make sure that their data has pin-point accuracy.'
'I guess. But I want to get a challenge! All they want me to do is go around in circles.' As if hearing Trilox's silent dare, suddenly two beyblades were launched into the dish that I was using. I looked up sharply, not to the people who had just launched their beyblades but to the one-way mirror on my left. I narrowed my eyes as I now knew at least one person behind it. The lady in black who I met those long months ago. Whenever she came here, she did something to try and unbalance me, to test Trilox and me to our limits.
'Well ma'e, you go' your challenge. Le's show 'em we're no pushovers!" Trilox raced towards them at my encouragement and…
I looked at the trees down the road that would have only taken two minutes to reach. It my as well have been two centuries the way Doctor kept a leash on me. He didn't like me going out into the enclosure at the back so what would he be like if I went out by myself out of a controlled environment? A breeze ruffled the leaves of the treetops, tempting and teasing me.
'Charlie? What's wrong?' I didn't say anything and I could feel his unease growing. 'Are you feeling Okay?' I stayed silent. 'Charlie? Is this about before?' I heard someone walk up to me and then walk away again, completely ignoring me. 'If it is, I'm sorry.' I continued to stare at the outside world, lost in my own. I closed my eyes to lock out what I could not have and I felt a small wetness in the corners of my eyes as I thought of what had happened…
Gravel crunched underfoot as someone walked towards the spot I was standing in mere seconds ago. A wrinkled hand picked up the bracelet and turned it over slowly.
"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. You shouldn't have done that; you know what will happen when you get back. And you will be coming back. And when you do…I'll make sure you won't leave again. If you tell anyone about this, they will no longer exist in this world." The persons voice echoed around him, holding its deadly promise.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
I bolted upright from my lying position. I took in deep breaths as I tried to steady my rapidly beating heart. I ran my hand through my hair as I tried to collect my thoughts and remember what I had seen in my dream…or nightmare.
"It was only a dream. It was only…a…dream." I muttered. I was looking down at my feet when I noticed my feet when I noticed the floor wasn't white like it normally was. The floor was now floorboards and not covered by carpet. Looking around, I saw I wasn't in the room I was accustomed to. It was like a warehouse. That's when I noticed that I wasn't alone either. When I saw them, I remembered everything that had happened the night before. I looked closely at the sleeping people beside me, I saw that they were still asleep and I hadn't woken them up.
'Charlie? What's wrong?"
'Did Ah wake you up?'
'No. Ah'm a ligh' sleeper, so don't worry. Did you have a nightmare?'
'Ah guess it was. But it was half and half. In one bi', it would be pretty nice and then it would suddenly flow into something horrible…like the time I first met you.' I could feel Trilox begin to worry again.
'You haven't had nightmares in a long time. The only time you get nightmares is if something…traumatic happens to you.'
'Trilox, its alright. Ah don' blame you for what happened, you didn't know what would have happened. Anyway, dreams is just the brains way of sorting them what had happened, although, Ah don't remember experience the last bit of my dream.' I thought with a slight frown.
'Oh? What happened?'
'Doctor was in it. It was night. And he picked something up in the enclosure. Something…shiny. Something…gold.' I thought, trying to remember what had happened. 'Wait, something gold? Ah remember it was circular.' I realized what I was describing. 'Tha…tha's impossible! There's no way tha' Ah coulda dreamed that! Right!?'
'It's improbable, not impossible. You could have picked up his thoughts un-subconsciously.' Trilox reasoned.
'Ah guess… Ah'm goin' back to sleep. Talk to ya later.'
'Okay.'
Talking about it helped, actually, talking to Trilox helps with anything. I laid back and stared at the ceiling before sleep took over me once more.
* * *
Geode's P.o.V
I listened to Shadow's breathing waiting until it became more rhythmic showing he had fallen asleep. I then opened my eyes and sat up from the chair I was sitting on, contemplating what had just happened.
I had woken up about five or ten minutes before Shadow did and I had heard him thrashing about on the mattress and muttering several things incoherently. A couple of minutes he woke up and practically bolted upright in two seconds after he did. I tilted my head up so I could still watch him through the slits of my eyelids while I looked like I was asleep. I saw him run his hand through his hair as his short breaths became more even.
"It was only a dream. It was only…a…dream." I heard him mutter. ^What could have happened in that dream? It seems pretty bad.^ Normally I would have comforted whoever had the nightmare but I wasn't too sure what to do with him. He was too new in the group for us to be friends. Heck, he had only joined what? Five hours ago? He could have taken it the wrong way but then, the way he was looking at me this morning…
Shadow looked around in confusion as if he didn't remember where he was. Soon the confusion cleared up and he then started looking at everyone to see if he woken anyone up, I guess. That was when his eyes changed colour again. Well, not completely. It was like his eyes started glowing with a rich purple tint. I remembered the last couple of times his eyes had done that and I think I know why his eyes do that. I think that it happens when there's a rush of emotion, which would explain why his eyes went like that when he was looking at me before and after our beybattle. He doesn't know why or how it happens, that's what Talon said anyway.
For some reason Shadow frowned suddenly. I guess that was about the dream again. Shadow's face went through dramatic changes from pain, to thinking about something, to surprise, changing to peace. After that, he lied back onto the mattress, stared at the ceiling for a few minutes and then fell asleep again.
I stared at him and thought of all the emotions that had flashed through his face in those few minutes was more than I had seen in the whole night. I looked over the people of my gang as they slept and since there didn't seem to be anything wrong I moved about to get comfortable, crossed my arms to retain some of my body heat and fell asleep along with everyone else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is it me, or is this going a bit slow? But my chapters are getting longer! Anyway, it was a fast update! So now to my reviewers!
Dudems; Lol. It was okay about the 'Dude' thing, I thought it was funny! I'm happy that I made you laugh with the Geode and Shadow bit. You can call him either way, or the shortening of Shadow; Shad. It might come up later in the fic. I'm not telling you what changes his eye colour and you have to decide whether or not Geode is right.
Aeria: Lady of Angels; Thanks for reviewing! ^__^ * Munches on brownie * Mphmm. Mmmm. Nice, anyways, thanks for saying that.
And saying that, I've now finished with this so please, those of you who are reading this and are NOT reviewing, please review!
Dark Ice Dragon
