Ayamari: Notes:

1) If you read the first version you may want to start rereading the chapters starting with this one as something important has changed!

2) I do not own Beyblade.

Chapter 10: Lost and Found

"MAX! ANYONE!" Mariam, Gary and Michael yelled as they slowly made their way inland. They'd been slowly walking inland for five days searching for the missing blond or any of their teammates. After a week of searching the area around the cave the group had decided to head inland.

Michael had blamed himself as soon as the group left the cave at dawn the night after Draciel arrived. The only sign of Max was a small patch of grass stained red with blood. It had taken nearly three hours to calm Mariam. Gary had cried silently as the goup had huddled next to the red stain. Michael, had then suggested they at least look for him. It may have been unlikely but they still held a littel hope that their blond companion had survived. After their failure to find Max around the cave Michael was a wreck. He kept his face as impassive as possible while around others, but the heavy weight of failure and loss was always there.

"It's no use…that turtle ate him! Max, oh poor Max." Mariam wailed as she sank to the ground. Softly she whispered, "Do you think more are dead? Maybe everyone else….our teammates, and friends…."

"It's going to be alright. I'm sure the others are alright!" Michael said as he knelt beside Mariam. Mariam latched onto Michael and valiantly tried not to cry. Gary joined the group on the ground with a small bunch of berries. The small trio sat on the ground in a hopeless heap for an hour before they managed to pull themselves together and continue walking once again.

Michael led the group while Maraim leaned into Gary as they walked along. Michael occasionally wondered away from the group to search out berries and look for any signs of the other children. As dusk settled around the small unhappy group Michael started to look for a cave or clearing to sleep in. He pushed through a large bush and gawked at what he found on the other side; a large group of people, all of their friends had managed to arrive at the same place. The group was camped beside a large stream with several fires burning brightly. Michael took a hesitant step forward as he spotted one of his teammates, Emily. Mariam and Gary pushed through the brush, drew Emily's attention, and whistled low in awe. Emily shouted happily and raced over the small despondent group, tackling Michael to the ground as she shouted, "You're alright! Thank heavens."

"Most of us….we lost Max." Michael said in despair as he pushed Emily off and stood. Emily stood as Mariam raced over to her brother and enveloped him in a massive hug while Gary walked to Lee's side. Michael slowly walked over to Kai, Rei and Kenny followed shortly by Mariam and Gary. Mariam quickly hugged Rei while Gary shifted uncomfortably. Michael suddenly said, "I'm sorry. Max….. Our first day here we were attacked by Draciel…. Max…."

"He's gone. He's dead!" Mariam wailed into Rei's shoulder. Rei instantly paled as Mariam continued, "Max saw Draciel and went towards him but Draciel batted him aside. He hit a tree, hard…. He just sort of slumped to the ground so we backed farther into the cave. If Michael hadn't been there…I would have gone out too and have joined Max in the afterlife! I'm so sorry Rei! Oh Max., we couldn't get to him, he's gone…we tried to find him but…."

"Max? No…. Max," Rei moaned desperately as he sank to the floor. Ozuma gently pried Maraim off of Rei as Kai knelt next to Rei, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Rei," Kai said gently. He watched Rei's blank face for a few moments before he looked around. Kenny stared at Michael in complete shock, unable to believe what he'd just heard. The rest of the group had their heads bowed silently in mourning.

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"One child presumed dead….four missing bitbeasts…… one incredibly stubborn bitbeast who refuses to leave his bitpiece." Emily muttered as she watched the monitors. "The three of the four groups had met at the heart of the island on their third day. The fourth joined nearly two weeks later, hmmm."

"Well, our problem is not those kids, it's Dragoon. So tell me, any new ideas?" Mitch asked his boss. Emily turned angry eyes on Mitch before she looked back to the monitor.

"Tell me Mitch, are we better than those children?" Emily asked a thoughtful look on her face.

"Yes, we are superior in knowledge and strength." Mitch answered automatically.

"Then why is it four bitbeast left….just vanished into thin air shortly after one child was injured? What possible reason could there be for such action?" Emily asked in a vague whisper.

"Merely coincidence, we'll find the four beasts." Mitch said confidently. He watched Emily process his answer and then dismiss it again in a matter of seconds and sighed heavily. He resigned his afternoon to a lost cause knowing Emily had a random notion she'd have to follow through.

"Coincidence? Then how come they haven't been attacked again? Not once in over two weeks. They should be dead," Emily said as she turned her attention to Mitch. Mitch started with surprise, Emily had a point. It wasn't unfathomable that they'd survive this long, but the lack of confrontations had everyone on base worried.

"Our issue is supposed to be Dragoon, not the other bitbeasts or those children." Mitch answered slowly. He knew Emily had tuned him out, but he had to try and convince her to return to their task.

"Perhaps the answer to our questions lies in our missing youth. Or perhaps we killed the only being strong enough to control a monster like Dragoon. We cannot control the beasts as Dr. Wilst wants. Dranzer left before we could bind him to Wilst. The four beasts shouldn't have been able to leave, but they left. How can we claim to have bound them to Dr. Wilst and then watch them leave?" Emily asked vaguely.

"It's possible that the beasts were never really bound, merely released," Mitch said as he turned to look at the monitors. He could feel Emily's eyes studying him as she thought over his statement. He didn't like watching her calculate all the answers before he could think over the questions. Her mind was often ten steps ahead of him, but she had difficulty staying on task, thus he had been partnered with her. Mitch surpressed a groan knowing that his lack of complaining had landed him a difficult position most were thankfully avoiding.

"We underestimated the beasts. We were so caught up in pulling out Dragoon we forgot to consider the truth of the matter. By the time we had a chance to grab Dragoon we'd already ruined ourselves." Emily said, her sharp eyes returned to the screens for a moment as she thought over all the possible ways they could have made a mistake in their calculations.

"I've a theory," Mitch said softly. He rose and slowly closed the door and turned back to Emily, "Perhaps we have something backwards. Let's say the beasts aren't bound to the humans, but the other way around. If that's the case, let's also assume that they can tell if their charge is in trouble. That would mean that for every bruise and cut on that boy Dragoon felt it. That would mean that the more resilient the boy was the more determined Dragoon became to stay as close to him as humanly possible."

"That would make sense. We didn't hurt any of the other children and the bitbeasts left without too much of a fight. Then when the boy was hurt his bitbeast fled the island, possibly taking him away as well. The other three?" Emily said as questions danced in her eyes as she tried to tie the last piece of the puzzle into their blossoming theory.

"Perhaps, the boy getting injured triggered something in Draciel and he recognized his Chosen. Then, having regained his sense of self, Draciel sought out the other bitbeasts to ensure they didn't make the same error. Then the three, knowing they'd frightened their Chosen, fled the island." Mitch said. He was grasping at straws and he knew it, but a part of him hoped they were finally making progress.

"They might have informed the other beasts to leave the Chosen children alone. Our own insistence to keep them here; to keep our project a secret, is about to be our undoing. So what now?" Emily asked as she eyed Dragoon. "If the theory is right there is no way to release Dragoon without Tyson."

"Is it even possible that Tyson lived through that?" Mitch asked as he turned his attention to the monitors.

"I… I don't know, but…. If he had died, then Dragoon has to find another to bind his strength to. He would have chosen someone vary like Tyson. I'm going to look." Emily whispered as she started to gather a few of her personal belongings. "I'll see what I can find. Mitch, tell Dr. Wilst our theory."

Emily grinned happily and raced from the room as Mitch dropped into his chair. He turned his attention to the large encampment the children had built and frowned thinking, 'If our theory is right what did the machine do to the freed bitbeasts to bring out their natural desire for destruction? What have we started?'

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Rei POV

He's gone, my Max. All that energy I dedicated to keeping him from others and I failed him. I should have BEEN there, protected him. It's not fair, not fair at all! Why does our team have to suffer so much, first we lose Tyson, then we lose Max…. I want to be next, to be with my Max.

Kai's watching me I think he's afraid I'll wander off. I tried to the first night after hearing the news about Max. I wanted to go looking for him, for Max, but Kai caught me. He was right… I knew it then, and I still believe it! Getting myself killed won't bring back Max and I owe it to him to survive if at all possible. He would hate me if I quit, so I promise Kai that night that I wouldn't give in. I guess he doesn't believe me, or maybe he sees a shadow of himself and he's afraid.

&$&

Kai POV

Rei's depressed, I can see how much he misses Max. I trust him, but I'm still worried. He's lost something truly important to him, his heart. I can understand that, I didn't think I'd ever give away my heart, but Tyson seems to have stolen it. I keep dreaming about him and the dreams are definitely getting worse.

We've been in this clearing, all of us but Max, for nearly a week. Most everyone has given up on escape; no one wants to try anymore! Kenny and Emily spend hours debating the best course of action, everyone ignores them. It's all talk, no action. We'll find a way off this island; somehow, I can feel it. There's change coming and we're leaving.