Hey there anime fans, looks like another beautiful day out there in the world of beyblade! Thanks for all the reviews everyone, old or new, you are valued and wanted and needed! It was mentioned that the last chapter was short, I tell ya, it was a lot of description and words rather then talking, so it just seemed that way, the paragraphs were bigger then normal. It took me ages to write! And I am not running out of ideas, there's a few yet to come! Anyway, I digress, here is the next chappie! Oh, and shall Kai keep his new lip ring, or should he get rid of it when he can?
The metal cabin seemed to ring in silence. No noise came from anybody in the room, and each ear strained to hear anything. The silence continued.
Three pairs of eyes were centred on the tube across the room. It stood from ceiling to floor and appeared to be made of a silvery material. Closer inspection would show that the tube was actually a transparent glass, and that the sliver came from something lining the inside of the tube. Some of it had condensed on the glass, and now ran down in rivulets that left greyish streaks; giving the appearance that someone had cried tears of mercury. It wasn't the tube that held the attention of the people in the room; it was what was hidden inside.
Time ticked away slowly, grains of sand trickling away into infinity, their existence blinked out in mere moments.
Something moved inside the tube, a faint shadow and a five streaked smear on the glass showed that the something inside had awoken.
Leon snapped out of his staring and focused on the control panel beneath his hands. His hands trembled with anticipation as he keyed in the right sequence, then pulled the control device from its slot, he would need it.
The doors opened, grey gas leaking from the widening gap. A form stumbled out, its shadowed hand grasping the side of the container for support. It stood, folded over slightly, lungs heaving for breath. Then it turned to face them. It straightened and walked out of the grey mist that had settled around the tube. Kai stood before them, and the fusion had been complete.
A pair of huge wings was folded against Kai's back, the feathers black fading into a deep red, the last tipped in crimson. His hair now a trio of black, red and blue, each colour seemed to be fighting to become dominant. Staring at his hair made the three pairs of eyes queasy, the colours seemed to shift as Kai moved his head. Kai flexed his hands, and the eyes were drawn to the claws that tipped each finger. From underneath his tattered top, downy feathers seemed to have sprung from his skin. It lined his shoulders and worked down to the end of his ribs, fading into skin gradually. The colour seemed a deep, dark red, but it appeared to go lighter as it faded.
His eyes now seemed to be live fire, flames seemed to glow and flicker, one minute red, the next tinged yellow and then blue. Something stirred in those eyes, something shadowed and set deep. Kai no longer had shoes on his feet; the shredded remains of those were still on the floor of the tube. Now his feet took on the appearance of a bird of preys. Red scales lined his legs as they came from the underneath of his trousers, rust coloured feathers peeked from the bottom of the torn trousers. His feet seemed to be human, but then seen in a different angle, they looked like birds feet, ending in hooked claws, sharp hooked claws. They made a clattering noise as he walked across the metal floor.
His head also had that strange, dual image effect. One minute they were looking at the pale, tattooed face of Kai, his pierced lips drawn tight against each other, the next they were looking onto a phoenix's beaked face. The phoenix's face seemed to shimmer between black and red, never seeming to stop. If only they knew the war waging inside the head, they would understand all the shifting.
Kai's lip curved into a growling sneer as he faced them, he started towards them fast, and Leon suddenly remembered the device in his hands. He commanded Kai to stop. The fused boy paused in his tracks; the strain of trying to move was evident as he seemed to struggle without actually moving.
Voltaire took the opportunity to have a good look at his creation. He walked slowly round his grandson, seeing him as if for the first time, the boy had finally done something right!
"Amazing" he uttered to himself.
He walked all the way round Kai, turning to face him once he had circuited once. He peered into Kai's face, ignoring the flickering image of the two phoenixes.
"Excellent. Now we have the weapon we require! The world shall be mine; this new pet will ensure that, he will obliterate my enemies!"
Only Leon noticed the twitch as Kai moved his clawed fingers. He reached forward to tell Voltaire, only to have his hand smacked away.
"Not now boy!" was the reply he got.
Leon put it down to nothing, hoping it was just a small glitch in the programming, maybe something to do with the fusion. That thought fled as fast as it had come as he saw Kai flex all his fingers on that hand. Kai began to glow softly, just around the edges. Voltaire remained oblivious as he continued to mutter to himself about greatness.
"Sir! Sir!" Leon gave a frustrated sigh, this wasn't working, "Voltaire!"
This caught Voltaire's attention, only Boris called him by his name, everyone else used proper respect. Only this wasn't Boris saying his name, it was that annoying, if sometimes useful, experiment that had attached himself to his side. He whirled round to face the anxious look Leon now sported.
"What?" he asked peevishly, how dare this whelp distract him from this great moment.
He only had to follow a shaking finger to know what was wrong; he turned, and then wished he had ran.
After Kai's screams had been cut off, he had seemed to float in the silver that now lined everything, from the tube walls, to his own lungs. He seemed to feel nothing, think nothing. Everything seemed empty. Then he came back to Earth with a bump. But it wasn't just him anymore, now he was three. His wings felt cramped in the confines of the tube, and a newly clawed hand reached out to touch the cool glass. The doors then slid open, and Kai stumbled out. The silver stuff seemed to slide of him without leaving a mark, his skin dry where it had been. It came from his lungs in a vapour, and he could bet none would remain.
He walked out of the now grey mist into the gaze of the three people Kai hated most. He walked toward them, the urge to rip them apart growing strong in the tiniest amount of time. Then, infuriatingly, Leon stopped him with that damn chip. He could feel it throb in his neck as it made his body stop in its tracks.
As he stood there, he had nothing to concentrate on, his prey had stopped him and his focus was gone. Now the real war began. Three different minds battled it out in one skull for supremacy. Black Dranzer was strong, and the dark phoenix's desire for destruction and pain was almost too much for the other two to handle. Dranzer battled to protect Kai, the red phoenix reasoned he could get Kai out of here, by its own wings if necessary, if only Kai would let it be that way. Kai wanted control again, he wanted neither of the phoenix's to be involved in this, Black Dranzer because he would then lose control with no guarantee he would regain it, and he didn't want Dranzer to get hurt, or be taken away. Most of all, he didn't want to be used by Voltaire, and with either phoenix in control, that would happen.
Kai became aware of Voltaire looking at him, a cow at the market, before watching his face intently. He seemed fascinated by the whole thing. If only he could have known how painful the fusion was, he wouldn't be so happy if he'd had to go through that thought Kai bitterly.
Listening to Voltaire murmured rants about weapons and world domination, Kai struggled to think rationally, his temper was rising, and he felt a finger twitch. If he could have shown surprise he would have. He focused his anger again, Dranzer and Black Dranzer helping when they realised it meant freedom to move. His whole hand moved this time, and he felt the chips pulsing grow erratic. Leon distracted Voltaire, and as he turned, Kai broke free. A stabbing pain in his neck told him the chip had malfunctioned, and also gave Black Dranzer the opportunity the dark phoenix needed to take control.
In an instant black dominated Kai's feathers and hair. Everything became black, from the downy feathers lining his shoulders, to the scales on his lower legs. Only his eyes held some of the other two, overpowered and struggling, but still there. Silent black flames erupted around Kai, a rush of air flowed towards Kai as the flames sucked up oxygen.
Voltaire turned to look, and seemed horrified by the sight as Kai moved his arms in stretching motions. Then Kai gave the three of them a sinister side look, and grinned. Voltaire turned back to Leon and grabbed the device, in desperation pushing all the buttons. Pain flared up Kai's neck, and in response he pushed his head to the side till it cracked in a very satisfying manner. Then he advanced.
Inside Black Dranzer's façade, Kai felt helpless.
At the sight of Kai advancing, with no control, the three people fled round him to get to the door. Kai whipped round and cracked his wings open before using them to race his prey to the door. He banged it shut, gripping the metal with his claws, he faced downwards, limbs splayed for support. Their faces were perfect, true terror. Black Dranzer was drinking every drop of this as possible. It felt good to feed.
Inside, Kai raged against the barrier Black Dranzer had made, and it hardly made a dent, hardly. One thought struck him, where was Tori?
Black Dranzer spread his dark wings and leaped at Boris. He landed on the man and they hit the floor hard. Kai used his prey's body to take the impact. Digging in his back claws, he held on tightly as the man struggled. He held on with his hands, the claws raking the clothes and skin beneath them, drawing delicious crimson blood. Black Dranzer liked having hands. He then peered into Boris's eyes, wallowing in the terror and pain, remembering distantly the pain the man had given him.......A part of him......it seemed so distant.
Then his prey blacked out. Kai growled, it wasn't worth it when they didn't fight. There was no point. He looked around and spotted the grey haired man, his eyes narrowed. That one brought up memories begging for tasty revenge. Clutching a leg of his current prey with a back claw. He roared and leaped up, flames exploding outwards. The room was small, and Kai's wings brushed the ceiling, but he landed on his target.
The man fell to the floor heavily, with a satisfying crunch. The Kai hybrid could smell the metallic tang of metal melting, and the acrid stench of tarnished wood burning. The man beneath his hold writhed and screamed in a manner Black Dranzer approved of very much. He leaned forward.
"Is this what you wanted? Am I what you wanted?" he asked the cowering man in a voice not completely his.
The man looked at him, eyes wide, "Kai!" he whispered, "no."
Outwardly Kai grinned, inside; Kai bashed his soul against the solid barriers, there was a crack, he just had to find it.
Then the Kai hybrid looked up. Framed by licking flames, Leon had opened the door, and was now making a break for it. Leaving the prey he already caught, adding a slash to the old mans ankle to immobilise him, he swooped after the runaway. He liked it when they ran, made it sport. Black Dranzer's blood lust heightened, and Kai almost lost himself.
Not far away, two cars hurtled towards a sleepy harbour town. The occupants of the cars just hoped they weren't too late, the hopes wished as strong as prayers.