Chapter 13 The Hunt Begins

Flashback Sequence

[Dream Sequence]

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Luhansk Industrial District, Ukraine

It was early in the morning when a large cargo train carrying many colorful containers came to a screeching halt at a train station in the industrial district of Luhansk, a city located near the eastern border of Ukraine. The loud noises of machinery operating and workers yelling over the noise of said machinery made the perfect cover as a group of four discreetly exited their container and quickly darted out of sight. They had been hitching a ride for the past two days and now they had reached their destination.

The group came to a stop in the outskirts of the industrial district on the edge of a small forest. Three of the four members sat down in various locations and positions catching their breath as their leader produced a map of the city. They had been on the road for the past few days, slowly making their way eastward.

Mariam sat at the foot of a tree leaning against the trunk watching her captain trying to figure out their next move. Ever since the end of the qualifying tournaments and the seriousness of the situation became clear to them, they had been hunting. Ozuma had contacted the Blitzkrieg Boys and Tala had provided information on Biovolt safe houses scattered throughout eastern Europe. It was no guarantee that they would find what they were looking for there, but they had to start somewhere.

"What exactly are we going to do when we find them?" Joseph broke the silence voicing the question that they never seemed to have an exact answer for. Ozuma never looked up from his reading but answered him without any hesitation.

"We are going to make sure they can't compete in the world championships this year and it does not matter how we do it" Joseph nodded and remained silent. He was still not satisfied with the answer but did not feel like pushing it further. He would find out exactly what his captain meant eventually.

"Were exactly are we headed?" Mariam spoke up. Ozuma finally put the map away and looked at his team "We are headed for a city called Kharkiv. When I spoke with Tala, he told me about a massive warehouse in the outskirts of that city. It is a former storage unit that Biovolt used to hide some shady contraband. It's pretty far from here and we will be hitting a few smaller locations on the way" Dunga who had been silent up until this point stood up. Gathering his stuff, he spoke up "well? What the hell are we waiting for?" Ozuma nodded and gathered his stuff as well "let's move out"

With the plan laid out the Saint Shields continued on their way. Around noon they had managed to find a ride out of the city and was currently in the back of some farmers pickup truck traveling in the direction of the first location.

The first hour of ride was fairly quiet. Everyone was deep in thought making up scenarios of how the confrontation would go. Would they even stand a chance? Would it turn out to be a walk in the park and what exactly would they have to do in order to stop them from competing? There were certain lines that the team did not feel like crossing. They would never sink as low as the once they were hunting.

After about twenty more minutes of driving, they passed a sign that said Bakhmut. This was one the cities in which a safe house was located. Ozuma looked up and recognized area they were entering. He took out the map in order to confirm and nodded to himself and called out to the driver.

"hey buddy?" You can let us off in a about two kilometers!" The driver gave thumbs up and Ozuma sat back down again. Mariam was jolted awake by her captains yelling and looked over at him. Slightly annoyed.

"Are we there already?" She asked and let out a yawn. "yeah, almost" he answered and looked ahead. She nodded to herself and sat backdown. A few more minutes and they reached the area where road T0504 connected with their road. "Here is good!" Ozuma yelled out waking Mariam again. "you yell a lot" she muttered as the truck came to a stop. Ozuma rolled his eyes and jumped off. Mariam sighed and stood up jumping off as well, Joseph and Dunga following close behind.

The truck took off down road. Ozuma stood for a minute looking out over the landscape and then took out his map and started reading. Mariam stood and stared at her captain for a few minutes in annoyance, she was cold, and they were in the middle of nowhere. "Ozuma? Can you even read?" her question earned her a "shut up" from her captain who did not even bother looking up.

Dunga had been standing silent trying to warm his numb hands in the pockets of his jacket. He was usually the second most patient person on the team these days (Mariam being even more impatient than her little brother) but even he felt compelled to ask what the hell they were doing standing by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Before he got his chance Ozuma put away his map and pointed down the road that connected to the bigger one they had been traveling on.

"Down this road a few hundred meters and then a sharp left following a small river until we see it" he finished and started walking in said direction. His team quickly scrambled after him. The sun was beginning to set as they closed in on their first location.

Tysons Dojo, Bakutan City, Japan

In the garden that separated the dojo and the outer wall Tyson and Daichi were locked in a heated battle. Dragoon and Strata clashing with neither giving an inch. Kenny was off to the side recording data for improvements. Hilary was all over the place coaching, fetching refreshments and whatever else was needed. Ever since they had spoken with Mr. Dickenson in his office after the qualifiers, Tyson had been pushing his younger teammate like never before. Beyblade battles were a constant now. Hiro had left the night they came back from the tournament. He had been rambling about something that would take the BBA Revolution to the next level. No one knew what he had meant but didn't question his departure.

In addition to his beyblading Tyson had also been active in his grandpa's training. He wanted to cover all the bases, to be as prepared as possible. His entire attitude towards training had changed much to Hilary and Kenny's joy. The world championships are less than three months away now and the BBA Revolution are making the most out of the time they have left.

"GO DRAGOON! EVOLUTION STORM!" Tyson called out and with a mighty roar the blue dragon heeded its masters call. Tysons signature attack took form and the massive tornado came crashing down on Daichi forcing him to retaliate or be knocked out.

GO STRATA! GREAT CUTTER!" With a mighty swing of his axe/launcher, a beam of light materialized and clashed with the tornado. The powerful winds and bright light forced Kenny and Hilary to find shelter inside until the match was over. Tyson gritted his teeth as Daichi's attack started pushing him back. "Daichi has gotten really strong" he thought feeling a lot of pride in his younger teammate. With one last push he overpowered Daichi and Dragoon's powerful winds launched Daichi and his beyblade away from the dish.

Tyson caught his beyblade and walked over to were Daichi had landed. The redhead was rubbing his sore back with Strata lying on the ground beside him.

"you alright?" Tyson extended his hand.

"Just peachy…" Daichi answered and accepted his teammates hand. Climbing to his feet, he checked strata and frowned. Scrapes, cuts and dents were among the damage his beyblade had suffered during the match. This intense training was really taking toll on his beyblade. Each match was more intense then the last.

"I think Kenny went inside during our match" Tyson said as he sat down on the steps of dojo. Daichi nodded at his teammate who seemed to have read his mind. He slid open the dojo doors and went inside. He found Kenny and Hilary in the living room. He sat down next to Kenny and handed him Strata.

"Tough match?" Kenny asked as he powered up Dizzy and began tinkering with the purple beyblade.

"Yeah… you could say that…" Daichi sighed and leaned back into the couch. His entire body was sore, and he felt like he could fall asleep at any second.

"Is Tyson still outside?" Hilary asked and looked over at the redhead who looked to be in deep sleep. She got no answer from him and Kenny was buys typing on his laptop. She sighed and stood up. Leaving the dojo, she found her team captain just outside, sitting on the steps. He seemed to be lost in thought staring at Dragoon.

She sat quietly sat down next to him, careful not to disturb his train of thought. He looked up at her and acknowledged her presence with a smile. The two sat there for a few minutes in comfortable silence. Eventually Hilary found herself fighting to keep her eyes open. She must have been more tired than she realized, probably the teams new training regime and an unusual lack of sleep finally catching up with her. She subconsciously leaned against the closest object to her which happened to be Tyson. The world champions eyes widened, and his face went beet red. He looked down at one of his best friends and team coach who was currently using him as make-shift pillow. He felt compelled to put his arm around her and eventually did. A loud snore gave away that she had in fact fallen asleep.

Even though he felt awkward at the situation he could not fight off the smile that had taken full control of his red face. He just hoped Daichi would stay the hell away from the backyard until she woke up or he would be hearing this forever.

The loud bang of a car door and a loud knocking at the front door that followed seconds after, jolted the brunette awake and she sat up not realizing the situation. She looked over at Tyson who caught her gaze. His face was red as a tomato, but she did didn't seem to notice.

"Someone is at the door" she said quickly and got up. "Yeah…" Tyson answered and followed her thankful that the situation had not gotten even more awkward than it already was. When they reached the living room, they found Hiro standing there. Kenny and Daichi sitting on the couch waiting for them.

"Sit down please. We have something to discuss" He gestured for them to sit down and when they were seated, he continued.

"listen up everyone. I have spoken with Mr. Dickenson about the situation we have before us" Hiro began knowing that they knew what he was referring to.

"We have decided that the BBA Revolution are in the need of some serious training. When we get to the world championships you are going up against not only your old friends who undoubtedly have gotten much stronger, but you are also going up against a team with some serious skill and power who do not care about your safety in battle"

Tyson felt his anger flare up and Hiro took notice. "I know you are angry Tyson. I am pissed too and so is Mr. Dickenson. He wants you to do whatever you can in order to eliminate them as early as possible… within rules of the tournament of course"

"We understand" Kenny said and looked at his team who nodded. Daichi who had been sitting quiet felt his restlessness reaching a critical point.

"Alright! What training or we going to do and where are we going to do it?" he yelled and jumped off the couch. Hilary shook her head and Tyson smiled at his teammates fighting spirit.

"That is a good question and the answer is even better" Hiro said sat down on the couch as well continuing "The BBA Revolution and the Justice 5 are going to be spending the next three weeks in the forest where we trained for the championships last time" Hiro paused to make sure they were following and not falling asleep. He cleared his throat and continued.

I have at Mr. Dickenson's request agreed to coach both teams until the championships. We are leaving tomorrow. I will be here at 11 am to pick you up… oh and Hilary?" Hiro looked at the brunette "Make sure Tyson is ready by then" He finished and stood up.

She gave a salute and Tyson rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh of annoyance. When Hiro had left discussion about next day and the next three weeks began. "This is so cool!" Tyson exclaimed loudly. "Three weeks of constant battling and I will even get a chance to fight Brooklyn and Garland again" he was almost shaking with excitement.

"Yeah we are going to show those guys how a world champion team does it!" Daichi joined his captain in the excitement.

"Just be sure not to burn yourself out before the tournament. We need both of your top form" Kenny advised.

"Burn myself out? That is ridiculous" Tyson waved of Kenny's advice and Hilary smacked upside his head. "Why don't you listen to Kenny and deflate that ego of yours Tyson?!" Hilary glared at the champion.

"You are right Kenny, I'm sorry" Tyson bowed to the chief who smiled and continued typing on his laptop "No worries Tyson" He reassured his oldest friend.

The rest of night went by quickly. With today's training finished they resorted to watching a movie and chatting until they called it at 11pm. At midnight it was dead quiet, everyone fast asleep anxious to get going the next day.

White Tiger Hills, China's Mountain Region

It was just after midnight and white tiger hills was quiet. Almost every house in the village was dark expect for one. Located at the edge of the village near the river stood medium sized house, the most modern out of all them. It even had electricity and a phone line. Despite being so secluded and shut off from the outside world, modern technology was slowly taking a hold on the old village. The lonely house by the river was the only one were the occupants were not all asleep at this hour. In the living room of this house sat Ray Kon, the captain of the famous White Tiger X. He was currently reading a book with his teammate and girlfriend Mariah sleeping, curled up in his lap and looking very much like a real cat.

Ray had to bite his tongue not yell out as Mariah in her sleep, dug her nails into his back holding him in an iron grip. Despite the pain he still smiled as she held onto him like a mountain lion held onto its fallen prey. He put his book down not realizing until now how tired he really was. The sound of tapping on the roof and outside the window told him that the ground outside his house would be one massive puddle of mud in the morning.

"That is just great" he whispered to himself. He leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes for a minute and almost fell asleep when a low rumble and the loud bang of a lightning bolt striking somewhere close brought him back to consciousness fast along with his confused girlfriend who was now sitting upright still holding onto him, looking around confused. "Ray? What happened" she whispered, "Did I fall asleep?" He smiled and nodded "I did too almost" he yawned and got up. He offered her his hand "lets go to bed" A flirtatious grin spread across her tired face at his words which he noticed. He chuckled and shook his head "Lets go to bed and sleep" he emphasized "sleep" and she took his hand, feigning irritation. Ray shook his head trying to contain another chuckle "Honestly Mariah, you are unbelievable sometimes"

"Can you blame me?" She asked as she followed him to the bedroom.

"I guess not" he conceded and laid down on his side. She followed suit and crawled up next to him once again grabbing hold of him like piece of meat. He reached up and shut the lights off. He felt the tiredness from before taking him completely this time and soon they were both out like candle lights.

Shielding his eyes from the sharp sunlight shining through the open bedroom window Ray looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand. It read 9am. He looked down at the mass of pink hair on his shoulder and smiled. He carefully left the bed making sure not to wake her. After a quick shower and some clothes, he returned to find her still asleep. He hung his towel on the bathroom door to dry and made his way into the kitchen.

After a quick breakfast he grabbed his gear and made his way outside to start his daily training. The rest of his team were already awake and going at it when he found them by the training area. Ray took seat next to Lee who was overseeing the current match between Kevin and Gary.

"You slept longer than usual this morning" Lee commented never taking his eyes of the match.

"Yeah. I was up late reading last night"

"Reading huh? Is that all you were doing last night? I see Mariah is not here yet…" His tone was serious, but his expression had a strong hint of sarcasm "You shouldn't tire her out like that when have training in the morning"

Ray looked at Lee with a mortified expression on his face. Lee just chuckled and gave his best friend a pat on the back.

"I'm just joking with you Ray"

"Still pretty disturbing coming from you" Ray mumbled avoiding eye contact.

The match continued for a few more minutes and ended when Gary had enough and knocked Kevin out the dish. Gary collected Galzzly and sat down on the bench taking a well earned snack break.

"Alright Kevin!" Ray called out to youngest member of the team "A loss means three laps around the village" he gestured down to the mass of houses "Get going"

The green haired boy groaned as he picked up Galman. He pocketed his beyblade and took of down towards the village. He passed Mariah on the way who had finally woken and made it to training.

"Hey boys" She greeted them when she arrived "Did Kevin lose again?" she chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm starting to think he enjoys running laps" Lee answered and looked down towards the village where he could see the Kevin running for all he was worth.

"Alright!" Ray stood up taking out Driger "Who's next?"

Lee and Mariah stood up at the same time and then glared at each other. "Its my turn Lee!" Mariah yelled gripping Galux. "No way! You went first last time" Lee shot back.

"You know what" Ray chimed in defusing the situation "I will take you both on at the same time"

Lee and Mariah continued to glare at each other for a few seconds before giving in. "That's fine with me. How about you?" Mariah glared at her brother whose glare was replaced with a smirk "Let's do this!"

When Kevin finally made it back from his running, the three way match was already underway. Lee and Mariah made for a deadly brother sister duo. The lion and the lynx moved together in a rhythmic dance as they closed in on the white tiger. Ray and Driger took them both on at the same time. He was matching Lee's strength and Mariah's speed while dodging and attacking at the same time.

"You two are getting better and better" Ray complemented while holding them at bay. "But at the end of this match you will be running laps too" He smirked and gestured to Driger calling out his signature move.

"GATLING CLAW MAXIMUM!" Driger was enveloped in an aura of green energy and its speed increased to the point where it looked like a green laser beam bouncing around in the dish. Lee and Mariah managed to keep their blades out of Driger path long enough to call out their own moves.

DARK LIGHTING! BLACK THUNDER! ATTACK! Lee called out and Galeon came rushing out of his beyblade with a mighty roar. Galeons appearance was followed by the sound of another feline. A large Lynx appeared as well when Mariah called her attack.

Galeon and Galux pounced on the white tiger and the three beyblades clashed in a flurry of green, black and pink energy which resulted in a shockwave that picked up a whole lot of dust. When the area cleared all three beyblades laid motionless in the dish.

"A tie?" Lee asked nobody in particular and stared at the dish in disbelief.

"At least we didn't lose" Mariah said feeling quite satisfied with the outcome. With the match over the three of them did their respective laps and returned later to the training area. A few hours of training later Ray called it for the day, and it was time for dinner. The team gathered at Ray and Mariah's house half an hour later

"So, do you guys feel ready for the world champion ships?" Ray asked when everyone was seated.

"We couldn't be more ready captain" Lee answered for the rest of the team who nodded in agreement.

"Good. We need to be at the top of our game this year. Not only have our friends gotten stronger but we have a mission this time"

The rest of the team shared knowing looks. They knew what Ray meant. They had not been invited to the meeting that Ray went to, but he had told them about it when he returned.

Mariah felt sick to her stomach at the thought of someone hurting his/her opponent during a match and killing someone was unthinkable, but it had happened and right under the nose of the BBA. Ray noticed his girlfriend's expression and felt bad about bringing it up again. Her reaction had been bad enough the first time.

"I know its horrible Mariah" Ray placed his hand over hers "We will make sure they won't be able to do anything like it ever again"

"Ray is right" Lee added "Nobody drags our beloved sport trough the dirt with such an act and gets with it" the rest of the team nodded in silent agreement.

The rest of the meal continued in relative silence. The previous topic had kind of killed the mood a little, but it needed be addressed. After dinner Ray and Mariah retreated to the living room and waved goodbye to the rest of team who went home for the night. At 6pm they found themselves in almost the same position as the night before. Ray sat in silence tinkering with Driger deep in thought while Mariah laid on her back with her head in Rays lap messaging on her phone.

After a few minutes Mariah put down her phone and sat up. She looked over at Ray who hadn't noticed her change in position.

"Ray? Are you afraid?" She asked carefully.

"Afraid? He looked up at her confused.

"When we face them in the tournament…" she trailed of and her voice became a whisper. Ray pulled her into a hug as she looked to be at the brink of tears.

"Yes, I am afraid" He revealed "I have been afraid ever since I learned about them" He pulled away and looked at her "But I won't let fear hold me back. I'm going face them, I am going to win, and I am going to send them packing"

Mariah nodded and wiped her tears "We will be by your side and we will take them down together"

"I know you will" Ray smiled and felt his beyblade heat up in his pocket. "Seems like Driger is eager for some action too." he thought.

Downtown Bakhmut, Ukraine

After the first location turning out to be a fail, the Saint Shields traveled together to closest city and found themselves a hotel they could stay at for the night. After checking in and getting their room keys they gathered in the hotel bar and had their dinner. It had been a long day, and everyone was happy to get some food and rest because tomorrow the hunt continued.

"How many of these locations do we have to check out" Mariam propped her legs up on their table and looked over at her captain who was still enjoying his dinner. Ozuma put his burger down and glared at Mariam's for her lack manners.

"Alright first of all, take your feet of the table" Mariam rolled her eyes put did as her captain said. Ozuma took out his map once again laid it out flat on the table for everyone to see. The team moved closer and Ozuma began explaining the plan in more detail. He pointed at a location outside Bakhmut.

"This is where we just were, and it turned out to be nothing at all" He moved his finger to where road M03 continued out of the city. "We will continue on this road tomorrow and we have four more safe houses before the big one in Kharkiv he finished pointing out the various locations on the map marked with a circle and an X

The rest of the team sat back pondering the plan while Ozuma resumed his dinner. The silence settled again for a few minutes and was broken when Joseph asked out loud a very relevant question.

"Do you think they have bit beasts?" Joseph looked around the table for an answer.

"wouldn't surprise me if they do" Mariam said and Dunga nodded in agreement.

"I am positive they all have bit beasts" Ozuma said after finishing his food "A better question is, what are their bit beasts?"

"We will find out when we meet them" Dunga said with a shrug "No need to worry about that know"

"Whatever they throw at us, we will withstand it and we will finish the mission… whatever it takes…" Ozuma said and got up from the table.

"We leave at early tomorrow so don't stay up to late" his gaze fell on Mariam as he finished his sentence. He took notice of her offended glare but ignored it and continued. "I am going to go and make call. I will see you all back at the room"

After Ozuma had left, the rest of them cleared the table and took the elevator up their rooms. Mariam stopped as she reached her door. Joseph and Dunga continued further down the corridor chatting loudly. She opened the door and stepped in. Her room was large and pretty luxurious, at least by her standard. She laid down on her twin bed and let out a content sigh.

"Sometimes its so great to be the only female on this team"

A loud ding from her phone caught her attention. She sat up and fished it out of her pocket. Her cheeks heated up as she realized what it was. A text from a certain blond All Star asking what she was doing. A large goofy smile spread across her face as she replied. When she was done, she put her phone on the nightstand by bed with the alarm turned on. She placed Sharkrash next to it and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower before bed.

Ozuma returned to the hotel lobby at 8pm. He took the elevator up to his floor and made his way down the hall. He found his room and unlocked it. Inside it was pitch black. Joseph and Dunga was already asleep. He closed the door and made his way over to his bed. He placed his beyblade on his bag and set the alarm on his phone for half an hour earlier then their usual wake up time.

The loud snoring of Dunga was the only thing that could be heard in the silent hotel room as the Saint Shields leader laid in his bed finding it hard to fall asleep. His body was tired, but his mind was rampaging with thoughts. He imagined the first confrontation and replayed it in his head over and over. One thing that bothered him more than anything… in those made up scenarios he did not always see him and his team winning.

And there we go! This chapter marks the start of phase 2 and this were things will start to heat up. Just a reminder that I have rated this story M for mature and that is because it will eventually become pretty dark. This story will go places the anime never would have gone.

Regardless! reviews are amazing, and I will see you next time!