knowlee- Well, here's the second chapter to The Future Isn't So Bright. I hope you all enjoy! Please read and review...especially review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade nor it's characters or any elements of Jak II that appears in this story.

Chapter 2

Reunited

Hilary couldn't believe her eyes. Here, standing right in front of her was none other than Kai Hiwatari, one of the GRevolutions and one of her friends. Her heart was bursting with joy and she wanted to scream out his name and go up to him and hug him, hoping that he wouldn't leave her again, but she knew that she couldn't, because this was a different time. Maybe five years ago she could have done that, but now she couldn't take the risk of anyone finding them.

"K...Kai..., what are you doing here?" Hilary asked him, her voice filled with shock.

The two-toned haired young man chuckled then replied, "I couldn't let you die, could I?"

"No, I guess not." answered Hilary as she looked at him strangely.

Kai's clothes were tattered and torn and his hair was disheveled, but yet throughout his appearance, his eyes still held the burning desire for battle. Hilary couldn't believe that even after all that he had been through, that he still had it.

Kai noticed her staring. He knew that it would take her a long time to get used to seeing them after being gone for five long years, but right now they didn't have that kind of time. He looked at the officers that he had knocked out with his beyblade and knew that sooner or later one of them would wake up or else the glorious dictator would send some more officers to see what happened to the others. And Kai knew that he didn't want to end up being in the middle of that.

"Hey Hil!" he called to her.

"Huh, what?" asked Hilary, breaking out of her trance.

"I don't think that we should stick around here anymore. C'mon, let's go!" ordered Kai as he turned around and began walking towards a dead-end alley.

Confusion came across Hilary's face, but when she heard the voices of officers heading towards their direction, she realized why Kai had wanted for them to get out of here. She walked over to where Kai was and she saw him push in a stone that was in the wall.

Then slowly a door opened up in the wall. Hilary gasped in amazement. Kai looked at her and then, in the corner of his eye, he saw the officers begin to round the corner.

"Get in now!" he whispered to her.

Once again a confused look came onto her face until once more she heard the officers' voices. She quickly ran into the door in the wall and soon after Kai followed. Then the door was once again covered by a stone slab.

Relief swept through each of their bodies as Hilary removed the hood that was covering her head. She looked around the place that they were standing in.

The walls were bare except for a few maps that were posted up. There was a blazing fire over in one corner of the room and a huge table was sitting right in the middle. Then over on the right side of the room was another doorway, but this one was open.

Kai began to walk towards the table and as soon as he reached it, Hilary asked, "So this is where you've been living all this time?"

After a few seconds he replied, "Yeah, but I'm not the only one who's here."

Hilary's heart leaped with joy. Wait a minute! Could he mean that the other GRevolutions were here also? Her heart ached at the thought of being able to see her friends again.

Then she heard a familiar voice call out to Kai.

"Hey Kai, is that you? Please tell me that you've brought us back some eats because I'm starving!"

Hilary turned her head over towards the open doorway. Then her eyes gazed in shock when she saw Tyson walk through the doorway. She could tell by the looks of it that he hadn't changed a bit, except for the fact that his clothes were torn up like Kai's.

Kai looked over at Tyson and replied, "Sorry Tyson, but I'm afraid that I didn't pick up any food while I was out there."

Tyson, obviously famished and ticked, looked at Kai with sadness and anger mixed together in his eyes.

"Aw man! That just stinks, and I was looking forward to.....to....." Tyson trailed off.

His mouth hung open as he just noticed Hilary standing there, looking at them both. He couldn't belive it, after all this time, she was still alive.

As he was standing there, mouth agape, the other GRevolutions walked into the room. Hilary mentally gasped as she saw them all.

Each of them had torn up clothes. They had dirt all over them and some of them even had a few cuts and scratches here and there. She couldn't believe that these guys where her friends five years ago. She could tell that they had gone through a lot since she last saw them.

"Hey!," cried Daichi as he crossed his arms and gave a death glare look at Kai, "What do you mean that you didn't get any food?"

Kai looked over at Daichi and replied, "I was getting you guys some food, but I ended up bringing something else home instead."

"And what was that?" asked Daichi as he once again gave him a death glare.

Tyson, still with his mouth hanging open, slowly said, "Guys?"

"What?" asked Daichi and all the others.

Suddenly they all gasped as they all turned to look at Hilary. None of them could believe it! Hilary, after all this time was still alive! They had all thought that the dictator had eliminated her a long time ago, but they could see that they were wrong. Hilary was standing in front of them, alive and well.

"Hilary," spoke Max, his voice stammering a little bit, "is that really you?"

Hilary chuckled at the blonde-haired boy's question, "Yes, it's really me, Max."

Slowly a smile came to each of their faces. They found it surprising that they could even remember how to smile. None of them could remember the last time that they ever smiled. In these dark times, a smile was rarely ever found. The people here in this town had lost their hope a long time ago.

Ever since the dictator rose to power, a darkness had covered the town, plunging everyone and everything into despair and fear. The ones who weilded beyblades or who possessed the ability to talk to bit beasts were forced into hiding. Some of them, including some of their friends, were killed or were locked away in the dictator's dungeon that was located within his palace that stood looming in the sky. But apparently he had failed to get one of their friends; Hilary.

Then, overcome with joy and happiness that they thought they had lost, filled them. They ran over to their long-lost friend and gave her a giant hug.

Kai looked on as the others ran over to Hilary. Dare he say it, but he had never been so happy before in his entire life. Sure he had missed her and was worried about where she was, but that didn't mean that he liked her. Or did it? Kai pushed away the thought as he looked back over at his teammates and friends and he smirked.

Some time after reaquainting themselves and exchanging a few laughs during these dark times, it had gotten dark outside and the moon stood in the middle of the night sky, shining faint rays of moonlight onto the miserable town.

No longer able to hold the dreariness of sleep, all of them, except for Kai, gave out a long yawn.

"Man, am I bushed! Well, it looks like it's time to get some shut-eye. Goodnight!" called Tyson as he walked over to his room that layed beyond the open doorway.

"Yeah, me too!" agreed Max and Ray simutaneously.

"Hey guys, wait for us!" called out Kenny and Daichi as they ran after their sleepy compainions.

Then only Kai and Hilary were left in the room. Hilary was glad to be finally reunited with her friends, but suddenly it dawned on here: where was she going to sleep?

As if reading her mind, Kai got up and began to walk towards the open doorway, but before he got there, he stopped and said to Hilary, "Looks like we're gonna have to find you a place to sleep. C'mon."

Obeyingly, Hilary got up and followed him through the doorway and into the back chambers of their hideaway.

When they passed one of the rooms, Hilary could hear a loud snoring noise. Yeap, that diffinately had to be Tyson's room. Even though he looked like he had changed on the outside, he still had that annoying snoring habit.

Finally, they had reached the room that they were searching for, or at least Kai was. Kai opened up the doorway and inside was a small bed with a small window on one of the walls and a pallet that was sitting in one of the corners.

Once they both had gotten inside, Kai closed the door and pointed to the small bed.

"You can sleep here; I'll sleep on the pallet." he said.

Hilary watched as Kai walked over to the pallet and layed down on it with his hands beneath his head. She didn't want him to sleep on the hard floor while she got the comfy place to sleep.

"Are you sure?" Hilary asked as she took off her cloak and layed it on the floor.

"Hn." Kai replied as he closed his eyes.

Hilary decided to take that as a 'yes'. She pulled back the blankets on the bed and got in. Then she layed her head down on the pillow and pulled the blankets up to her chin. It had been such a long time since she had been able to lay down in a nice, soft bed. Time on the streets can certainly do something to a person.

Soon the dreariness of sleep came to her and slowly she began to enter the world of dreams.