Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: Do not own Beyblade, Beyblade V-force, Beyblade G-Revolution, or any merchandise.
Six days after Ray's disappearance, the remainder of the Bladebreakers were slouched in the living room of the hotel that Mr Dickinson had found for them. Even Kai (now recovered from his concussion) was sitting with one leg slung carelessly over the arm of his chair. Tyson was lying flat on his stomach on the sofa, occupying all the available space by spread-eagling his arms and legs. Max and Kenny were sharing the remaining armchair, politely making room for each other. With the uncertain air of someone who is beginning to doubt the wisdom of what he is doing, Kai eyed the clock, then picked up the television remote and turned on the TV. Bringing up the English subtitles for the benefits of the others, he dropped the remote back onto the floor. Every muscle in the room was clenched with tension as the daily news began. The atmosphere was similar to that of a balloon with a hole the size of a pinprick in it. Slowly, as the news progressed, the tension leaked out of the four boys, leaving them varyingly limp and depressed. Suddenly, the hole seemed to reverse its job, sucking the tension back into the darkened room, illuminated only by the twin glows of Dizzi's screen and the TV.
"Six days ago," the newsreader announced calmly. "a teenage boy was rescued from the tundra, after somehow surviving a blizzard wearing next to no protective clothes."
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my go-"
"Shut the hell up, Tyson!" Kai snapped, his gaze glued to the TV screen.
"His identity and medical condition are yet to be released, but he is believed to be a member of one of the beyblade teams soon to be competing for the prestigious title of World Champion. He is assumed to be suffering from both severe hypothermia and exposure, and could remain unconscious for some length of time. At any length, one team will clearly have to compensate for his loss in the eagerly awaited matches.
"Next, the stock market in Moscow has rise by over forty percent in the past-" The TV switched off with an audible thud, leaving a stunned, shell-shocked silence in its place. Max was the first to break the silence.
"Ray…" he whispered, joy filling his countenance. He turned to face the others, blue eyes sparkling with heady delight. "Guys, he's all right! Ray's alive!" Hush prevailed for a few seconds more, while three bewildered minds slowly processed the information.
"Ray's alive…" Tyson repeated slowly. Suddenly, his face lit up like a light bulb. "Ray's alive!" he yelled, springing up from the sofa and tackling Max and Kenny to the floor in a spurt of pure elation. The three boys lay on the floor, alternately laughing and crying with relief at the news that they had almost stopped hoping for. Kai stood up, a faint smile on his face. Surveying the ball of arms and legs with vague amusement, he went out of the room to phone Mr Dickinson, who would then alert the White Tigers. Suddenly, he stopped in the doorway.
"Guys, are we going to fight, then?" he asked quietly. The younger boys exchanged glances, then shrugged.
"Yeah!"
"Yes."
"Okay…" Kai walked over and stared down at Max.
"Are you sure, Max? Because we won't if you don't want to." Max bit his lip, then shook his head slowly.
"No, it's okay. I'll do my best." Tyson let out an enthusiastic whoop and flung himself on top of his best friend, pummelling him unmercifully. Kai raised an eyebrow and left hurriedly.
"That's a boy! We'll thrash 'em, Maxie!" Tyson yelled excitedly.
"Yes, Tyson, you bet we will." Max mumbled indistinctly. "Can you let go of me now?"
"Oh, sorry."
"What about me?" came a tiny, muffled voice from underneath Tyson. Max burst into giddy laughter as Tyson clambered off the squashed form of Kenny. "Ouch…" the eleven year-old complained, rubbing his head.
"Well, you shouldn't've got underneath me, then!" Tyson proclaimed loudly. Kenny laughed, joining Max in fits of hysterical, grateful laughter. Within seconds, the room was full of noise, a stark contrast to the past six days, tears flooding down all the boys' faces as their extinguished hope was rekindled brighter than ever.
Ray stirred weakly. He felt icy cold and terrifying feeble, as if somebody had sucked all his energy up through a straw. Somebody said something in a low voice. He tried to open his eyes as a hand rested on his forehead, but couldn't even begin to summon up the energy.
"You should go back to sleep, Master Adrian." a voice told him in slightlyaccented English. A warning light clicked on in Ray's dazed, sluggish thoughts. I'm…I'm not Adrian…at least, I don't think so… I'm Ray. "Everyone has been very worried about you, Master Adrian." There was a hint of reproach in the disembodied voice now. "Out in a blizzard with no warm clothing… What on earth were you thinking? If the search party hadn't found you when they did, we would have lost you for good. That would a been a great pity, to see our most promising student wiped out by the snow. Miss Jasmine would have been most disappointed." This doesn't make sense…what are they talking about? Who are they talking about? Why do they think I'm some guy called Adrian? Summoning up every scrap of strength he possessed, he forced himself to speak.
"No…" The word floated away, inaudible, a waste of energy.
"What is the matter, Master Adrian? You seem agitated. Perhaps the cold has temporarily numbed your brain. In that case, do not worry. I and others will be more than happy to fill in the gaps when you are better and feel more able to cope." Maybe there is something in that idea…I definitely want to know what they think they're doing…who they think I am… "I will just give you a small injection which shall help you to sleep, and also help you heal. You should not feel anything, however I apologise in advance in case I am wrong. It is rare, but possible. Goodnight, Master Adrian. Sweet dreams." True to the voice's word, Ray didn't feel the needle slide into him. He felt only the numbness that crept up on him like a ghost and reclaimed him to unconsciousness.
"How is the boy?"
"Responding well to the initial stages, sir. Physically, it will take a little while longer before he is ready for you to take over."
"Time scale?"
"Circumstances permitting, we are perfectly on schedule, sir."
"Very good. Off you go, then."
"Yes, sir."
Tyson watched idly as Dragoon bounced off Draciel's defences. He shook his head and gave Max an apologetic grin.
"Sorry, Maxie, I just can't concentrate." He held out a hand and caught Dragoon, then threw the beyblade to Kenny. "You keep this for the minute. I'll probably end up trying to use it as a toothpick, or a knife or something like that." Surprised, Kenny caught the white beyblade clumsily and, shrugging, started to dismantle it.
"You can never have too many adjustments, hey Chief?" Dizzi asked. Kenny nodded in agreement and started typing at full speed. Dizzi fell silent as she applied all her resources to the commands Kenny was keying in. Max looked worriedly after Tyson, who was walking slowly out of the room with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Tyson wandered aimlessly around the hotel. Suddenly, he walked straight into somebody.
"Sorry…" he mumbled without looking up, moving aside to let the man pass.
"Tyson, my boy! What's the matter?" Mr Dickinson looked concernedly at Tyson.
"Nothing." Tyson muttered listlessly. He looked up when Mr Dickinson rested a hand on his shoulder and began steering him to the escalator.
"Come with me, Tyson." he said firmly.
Tyson stayed standing as Mr Dickinson sat down in an armchair.
"Now then, Tyson, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he inquired kindly. Tyson shrugged.
"It just doesn't feel right, blading without Ray." he said softly. "It's like, I can't seem to get motivated about it anymore." He heaved a sigh. Mr Dickinson frowned.
"Tyson, are you saying that you don't like beyblading anymore?" Tyson's eyes flashed.
"No!" he said vehemently. "I still like it! I just…need to get used to Ray not being here, that's all."
"He won't be there in the World Championships, Tyson. Although, on the other hand, I'm sure he'll be able to come and watch…" Mr Dickinson trailed off, remembering a certain phone call that he received earlier that day.
"Yeah, I know." Tyson answered miserably. Mr Dickinson hesitated for a second, then took the plunge.
"Tyson, would it make you feel better if I told you that I received a phone call this morning, telling me that Ray was well on the road to recovery?" A small smile of relief crept over Tyson's previously sombre face.
"A bit." he replied. Watching the transformation, Mr Dickinson couldn't help but smile back. He vowed silently never to tellthe boythat the phone call had been anonymous and just containing the words "Ray is well on the road to recovery". Tyson started to walk out of Mr Dickinson's hotel suite, when a thought struck him. "Mr D?" he asked, turning around.
"Yes, Tyson?"
"Where's Kai? He's been disappearing around this time pretty much every day since we heard about Ray being rescued - no, before that even. So, d'you know where he is?" He looked expectantly at the BBA chairman. His eyes narrowed as the old man sat there, frozen. "Sir?" There was an edge to his voice now, an edge that said: You're hiding something from me. Mr Dickinson shifted uneasily in his seat.
"Yes, Tyson, I do know. But-"
"He doesn't want us to know right?" The old man nodded, somewhat unhappily. "Yeah, well, stuff him. I won't tell anyone."
"It's not that easy, Tyson. I'm one of the few people that Kai trusts. In fact, I can't think of another one off the top of my head. I don't want to betray his faith in me." Tyson scowled and kicked moodily at the carpet.
"Man, this sucks." he muttered. You said it, Mr Dickinson thought gloomily. Suddenly, there came the sound of quickly moving footsteps. The door was flung open, and Kai marched in and flung himself into the remaining armchair.
Tyson stared at Kai, trying to figure out from his appearance where he had been.
"Take a picture, Tyson, it'll last longer." the older boy snapped. Tyson physically started. He had heard the unthinkable. A slight shake in Kai's voice. Kai's voice. What the heck had he been doing?
"Kai, where've you been?" he asked abruptly. Kai flicked him a cursory glance, then glared at Mr Dickinson. "Oh, Mr D refused to tell me. I asked. So, where've you been?" Tyson repeated, annoyed.
"What's it to you?" Mr Dickinson eyed the two boys apprehensively. They were both upset and edgy, with a long history of arguments and one fight that had left Tyson with a black eye and concussion. He should probably be taking cover right about now… Oh well. Common sense never had been one of his strong points.
"It's a lot to me!" Tyson said heatedly. "You could have been anywhere for all we know! You could have been out getting Black Dranzer back!" Kai laughed humourlessly.
"Yeah, right."
"Kai…" Tyson took a step closer. "I know you don't really trust us, but please, just tell me this one little thing?" Kai sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes.
"It's nothing exciting. Why do you even want to know?"
"Because you're a part of the Bladebreakers too, Kai. And we deserve to know why you haven't been here for ninety percent of the practices." Kai flinched as if Tyson had struck him. "So? Where do you go?" Kai sighed.
"I go and get my memories back." he said cryptically. Tyson blinked.
"You what?" he asked in confusion. Kai looked at him coolly.
"You got what you asked for. I don't like talking about it."
"Well, can Mr D tell me about it?" Tyson asked eagerly. Kai shrugged.
"Whatever." he muttered. Tyson turned to Mr Dickinson, who noticed the ironic lightening in Tyson's mood.
"Kai first used Black Dranzer when he was only nine. When Boris and his grandfather found out, they wiped his memories and replaced them with other ones. Kai's been going to somebody who's trying to help him work out what his life was actually like aged nine and younger." Tyson pulled a face, confused. Kai groaned in disgust.
"Tyson, how clear does he have to make it?" he growled. Tyson blinked at him. "Fine! You want it straight? I've been seeing a psychiatrist! There! You happy now?" Taken aback by Kai's sudden ferocity, Tyson took a step back, away from Kai's sudden wild-eyed intensity.
"Happy? Why would I be happy?" he asked, eyeing Kai warily. "Sit down, would ya? You're freaking me out." Muttering darkly, Kai slumped back into his chair, his face flushed. "Why would I care if you were seeing a shrink? I saw one for three years after my mum left." Surprise flashed across Kai's face for a moment. "Now, you gonna come to practice or you gonna sit around here feeling sorry for yourself?"
"Oh yes, you're a fine one to talk!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"At least I'm not wandering round the hotel with a face like a wet sack!" Kai stood up, smoothing his ruffled composure over. "I'll come to practice if you battle me." Tyson fidgeted. He didn't want to lose, but on the other hand, he didn't want Kai to miss yet another practice…
"Okay." he said finally, his face uncharacteristically serious.
Tyson looked in bewilderment as Kai went over and spoke quietly to Kenny and Max, who nodded in agreement.
"Tyson? Kai says I can battle as well." Max called.
"What, you mean like a…three-way battle?" Everyone sighed.
"Yes, Tyson." Kenny said finally. Tyson's face cleared.
"Oh, okay then." He caught Dragoon effortlessly as Kenny threw him it. Without a word, the three boys took up launching positions over the dish in the middle of the room. Kenny, acting as referee, took up his position in the one clear space.
"Ready, guys? And three…two…one…"
"Let it rip!" four voices yelled in unison. Three beyblades thudded into the dish. Dragoon started circling instantly, while Draciel and Dranzer stayed in the middle of the dish, occasionally nudging each other for the exact middle spot.
"What are you doing, Kai?" Tyson asked, more confused than ever. Kai looked deadpan at him.
"I thought I'd let you start things off."he said tonelessly.Tyson growled in annoyance, his temper finally snapping after over a week of brewing.
"Stop confusing me!" he retorted forcefully, sending Dragoon slamming into Dranzer. Dranzer held its ground and, with a quick shove, sent Dragoon skidding backwards.
"Weak attack, Tyson." Kai said flatly. "What did Robert tell you about using your anger?"
"Like I'm supposed to remember? I'm stupid, remember?" Tyson yelled angrily.
"No, you're not!" Tyson looked down in surprise as Draciel crashed against Dragoon, sending it a few centimetres into the air before he recovered. Max stared at him, exasperation and irritation clear in his eyes. "You know you're not, Tyson, we know you're not, so stop wallowing in that dumb argument!" Draciel connected solidly with Dragoon again. Tyson stared at Max, his mouth slightly open in shock. "Fight me, damn you!" Max shouted. "I haven't even got a bit-beast anymore, Tyson, and I'm still beating you! Ooh, I can't wait until the World Championships!" The bond boy's tone was scathing, sarcastic, unlike anything that Tyson had ever heard from cheerful, good-tempered Max before. A sudden surge of fury welled up inside him.
"Shut up!" he bawled. Dragoon's bit-chip began to glow blue. "Just shut up! You don't know anything!" The white beyblade raced round the dish, crashing ineffectively into both Draciel and Dranzer.
"You're wasting your energy, Tyson." Kai said coldly.
"Like hell I am! Dragoon!" Max let out a gasp as Dragoon smashed viciously into Draciel, stumbling backwards. "I'm fighting now, Max! Happy?"
"Tyson! Be careful!" Kenny shrieked frantically. "Max doesn't have Draciel to protect him anymore! You could really hurt him!"
"Back off, Chief!" Tyson yelled, making no move to curtail Dragoon's destructive rampage. "He asked for it!" Max cried out again. A deep cut appeared on his cheek. Dragoon drew back for another onslaught, only to be halted by Dranzer, who had slid noiselessly into place. The two beyblade locked in a dead heat. Max quietly recalled Draciel, knowing that he couldn't handle the battle that was about to take place.
"Stop it!" Tyson stopped mid-bellow, shocked into silence by the fierceness in Kai's normally emotionless voice. "Look at yourself! You're lashing out at a team mate, Tyson! You could have seriously injured Max! And why? Because he said what everyone's been thinking since Ray went off in a temper nine days ago!" Tyson let out a wordless roar that was echoed by Dragoon as the magnificent bit-beast emerged. Kai looked at the towering dragon, a strange light dancing in his eyes.
"Shut the hell up, Kai!" Tyson bellowed. "You've got no idea! Not a clue how I feel!"
"Oh, haven't I?" Kai snarled suddenly. Dranzer smashed into Dragoon violently, knocking both beyblade and bit-beast back to the edge of the dish. "You're unbelievable! You really think that you're the only one who cares about Ray! I do, for one thing! He's the only one out of you bunch of idiots I could ever talk to!"
"Wow, sourpuss has a heart! I'd never've guessed!" Dranzer started to crash into Dragoon again, who was weakening as Tyson became more and more distracted.
"You - are - so - selfish!" Kai hissed between clenched teeth. "Tyson, we all miss Ray! We all feel that there's something missing, but you can't keep on doing this! We're all hurting inside Tyson, we're all trying to think of ways that we could he prevented this, but there's nothing we can do except pull ourselves together and get on with what we were told to do. Now, if you don't pull yourself together and start fighting properly, I swear I'll pull us out of the tournament!"
"You've got no right…" Tyson muttered, his anger slowly draining away, being replaced by guilt and familiar battle lust.
"I'm the team leader, I have every right, and I will exercise that right if I have to!" Dranzer drew away, leaving Dragoon to regroup and gather its defences. "Now, fight me, Tyson!"
"You're on." Tyson muttered, a slight smile playing about his lips. "Thanks, Kai." Kai nodded curtly.
"Now, are you going to talk or battle?" he demanded.
"I'll let Dragoon do the talking!" Tyson retorted. "Go, Dragoon!" Kai raised a hand slowly.
"Come on, Dranzer!" he shouted. "Let's show this pathetic excuse for a beyblader how to fight!" The two bit-beasts rushed towards each other.
"Phantom Hurricane!"
"Flame Sabre!" Wind met fire in an explosive connection. Instinctively, Tyson ducked, protecting himself from the burning wind that whistled overhead. Dragoon landed at his feet.
"You okay, guys?" he called.
"Never been better." Kai sounded almost content. "Well done, Tyson." Tyson blinked and straightened up.
"Why?" Kai jerked his head towards the wall behind him, where Dranzer was nestled in a hole at least two metres in diameter. "Wow. I did that?" Kai nodded. His skin was flushed and cut with the heat and ferocity that Tyson had dodged.
"You did that, Tyson." he confirmed. His eyes narrowed. "Now, don't you have an apology to make?" With a feeling of horror, Tyson stared at the blood dribbling down Max's face.
"Max…I'm so, so sorry…" he said haltingly. Max shrugged, his eyes sparkling with pleasure.
"It's okay. We've got our Tyson back now."
A slightly sappy ending there, huh? Ooh, what's going to happen to Ray? You got to keep reading to find out!