RTC: Well, this fic seems to want to write itself! Considering my muses are most annoyed with me for posting this, they've been doing a good job keeping me inspired. Hmm, does this mean the idea is starting to grow on you?
Max: Nope, we just want you to finish writing this fic.
RTC: But I'm only on chapter 3.
Ray: Yeah, three down and how many more to go?
RTC: Okay, I think we're boring the readers, so on with the disclaimer! Kari, Hilary, want to do it this time?
Hilary: If you promise not to torture me.
RTC: Fine.
Hilary: Ray-Tiger-Cat does not own Beyblade.
Kari: She also does not own Boulevard of broken dreams, it belongs to Green Day. (Yes, she did a song fic chapter! Enjoy!)
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Split
"Fasten your seatbelts, we are about to take off..."
Tala stared at the flight attendant as if she were speaking another language. It seemed the G Revolutions were separating for good and he couldn't see a happy reunion any time soon. If they were to gather, it would only remind them of the hole that remained where Kai used to be. Kai... where are you now? What do you think of us for being so weak?
"Sir, please fasten your seatbelt," the flight attendant repeated, sounding slightly annoyed. Tala did as he was told and then realized that the only person that had used that commanding tone of voice with him was Kai. He shook his head, focus on the present, Kai was from the past now, he told himself. Back to Kai's team mates... well, they were going to be losing each other too, right now, but I'll be okay. I've always been alone.
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know were it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
Were the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone
I walk alone I walk alone
I walk alone and I walk a-
Well, at least I got a change of scenery, Kari thought as she walked out of an airport in San Francisco. Yeah, and what a wonderful one it is too, a dark parking lot, yay, her reasoning told her, and now it's two am, you're in a strange city, you don't know anyone, you have no place to stay and you still haven't gotten any sleep. Kari, in her rush to leave, had not really planned out her trip too well and now she just felt like crying. Remember the promise, no more crying. At Kai's funeral, Kari had promised herself that she would be strong and not shed any more tears and had been doing a good job of keeping them bottled away.
"Are you okay? You look like you're lost, dear," a woman said, approaching Kari. Kari's eyes quickly fixed on what she was holding: her children, a set of twins. Come on, girl, get it together before she starts thinking you're insane.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and said," Um, yeah, do you know of a hotel nearby? It's my first time here, and I guess I didn't plan too well." Kari made a feeble attempt at a smile.
"Oh, that explained why you looked so confused!" the woman smiled too and gave Kari directions to a nice hotel nearby. Thankfully for Kari, the woman didn't ask her why she was traveling alone and so unprepared, because that might have made her lose it. Well, just me, Drazelia, Dranzer (the team had decided she should keep the bit beast), now, Kari thought. And the shadows of my past, the voice of reason added.
My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Till then I'll walk alone
Ray watched his baby sister run through their living room. She seemed to be the only one unaffected by Kai death. You're one to talk, you keep acting as though nothing's happened, his logic told him. I'm fine, Ray responded to that little voice. You're arguing with yourself. Logic always seemed to have the upper hand. Ray wanted to shout 'but Kai's death had been anything but logical!', but he kept quiet. That last thing everyone needed was to have to deal with him when he was upset.
"The world keeps turning, Ray," his mom had told him several hours ago, on the flight home, and it was still the centre of his thoughts right now. We all have to move on. So no more emotions and tears or anything else Ray told himself. I'm fine.
Ah..ah..
I'm walking down the line
Where exactly is that line between sanity and insanity? Because I think I've finally crossed over to the insane side, Lizzie thought. I've seen some of my friends die and I had known them for longer than I knew Kai, so why is his death affecting me this way? Lizzie grabbed a pillow and hugged it tight. He was always a good person to talk to, whether he knew it or not. How the heck did he manage to get so close?! It's not like either of us goes around looking for friends! I don't think he even realized we were becoming friends. But then, neither did I until after he died. A fleeting image of Kai resurfaced in Lizzie's head. We could read each other like a book sometimes... Man, I miss him so much...
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line of the edge
And where I walk alone
Read between the lines
What's fucked up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive
And I walk alone
I walk alone I walk alone
I walk alone and I walk a-
"Little Dude, if you break one more thing or smash anything else in this house, you're grounded!" Tyson's grandpa could be heard screaming for miles away. "I know you're upset about your home boy, but demolishing my tea set isn't gonna bring him back, ya get what I'm laying down?!"
"Yes, Grandpa," Tyson replied, already rushing out the door.
"What is my little homie up to?" Grandpa Granger wondered.
Well, Tyson had rushed to the bridge in the park, the one where he had first met Kai.
"3, 2, 1, let it rip!" he screamed, as he launched his blade as hard as possible. I'd like to see you beat me, Kai! I'm the World Champion for a reason, you know! And what are you, a deranged lunatic who breaks up teams and friendships! "I'll always be better than you Kai!" Tyson shouted at the sky, as if expecting Kai's voice to answer him with his usual sarcasm.
But of course, there was no response. Tyson's mind flashed back to all the times he and Kai had fought, both in and out of the bey-stadium. "Why didn't you fight it, Kai? You were always such a fighter, what happened?" Kai will never get better, he'll never beat me, Tyson thought sadly, because he's dead. All that's left are memories.
My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Till then I'll walk alone
Shadow. That's what this team has become, a mere shadow of who they were. And I don't like it one bit! Hilary was pacing up and down in her room, pent up frustrations being taken out on random pillows and stuffed animals that were unfortunate enough to get in her way. How dare they all fall apart?! She had realized trying to talk to any of the guys would be impossible; they were as thick sulked as always and had issues with talking about their feelings. And Kari had taken off to goodness-knows-where; she hadn't even come back to Japan to collect her and Kai's things. Instead, she'd asked them to please pack them up and that she'd get in contact with them soon. Hilary was grateful that Mr. D. was at least setting up a messaging service for anyone that had taken part in a BBA tournament and she hoped that would be enough to pull the team back together, even if it was just a correspondence. They shouldn't be alone.
They had left her very alone too. When they decided they wanted to be alone, she'd had no say in it and she wanted to be with her friends! How come they can't ever stay together?! If they're not splitting up for one reason, it's for another! Argh! How's a girl supposed to get any support around here? Just come back, please come back, Kai. You've always been able to get them in order, even when it was your fault they were splitting. If your spirit or what ever is watching us, please bring everyone back, Hilary thought, please Kai.
Ah..ah..
I walk alone and I walk a-
Well, we got off of school for the past little while, and I think it'll be difficult to return to class after months of correspondence school. I know Tyson and Hilary won't be back for another week, they were too distraught to be in class for the moment. Kenny started checking that he had everything for the umpteenth time that day.
"Chief, if I had hands, I'd have snatched that book bag away from you by now!" Dizzi said, sighing in exasperation. "It's getting late; why don't you go to sleep now?"
"I can't sleep, I'm scared," Kenny mumbled.
"Relax, would you, the kids there know you. and you know them. What's there to be afraid of?"
"That's the problem, they know that I know I mean knew Kai and it's been all over the news that he died."
"Oh." His comment had finally shut the wise cracking bitbeast up. "Can't help you there..."
"No one can help us now," Kenny muttered. All the optimism he had-which wasn't much-was as dead as Kai.
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
Were the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a-
"So, Max, happy to be home?" Judy asked as they walked into their apartment.
"I guess," Max replied and shrugged his shoulders. It felt surreal to be back in New York City. It was so much louder, brighter and more distracting than Japan. And Max needed a distraction. It was hard to face the fact that a friend, especially one as tough as Kai was gone. If it could happen to Kai, why couldn't it happen to his other friends? They could all die. Stop it, you're being paranoid, part him said, but the rest of him was not listening. Come on now, Max, you're supposed to be the cheerful one... Keep grinning and hope the world doesn't recognize your pain. "Excuse me, Mom, I think I need to get reacquainted with my old room." They both knew that was not the reason, but they went along with the lies anyway.
Max flung himself on his bed and cried. He cried for himself, his team, Kai, of course and the mess that their lives had turned into. Someday things will be okay. It would all be okay.
My shadows the only one that walks beside me
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Till then I'll walk alone
Well, this certainly isn't a whole lot of fun, Daichi thought. He had left Tokyo because even though he was not at all close to Kai, he could not deal with the memories there and the empty shells that had once been his active, happy, easy going team mates. Currently, Daichi had returned to his hometown and was trying to explain the whole story to his parents; Voltaire, BEGA, not being able to beat Tyson, his other team mates and Kai's death. It seemed a bad way to end the story, I mean, there's no happily ever after, is there? No, happily ever after belonged in fairytales, they don't exist in real life.
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RTC: That was my first attempt at a song fic, I hope you guys liked it and if it sucked, can we please tell me that in a nice way? I hope the song choice was good, too. Now I just need to get it out of my head!
Ray: The horror! We're in her head too and now we're stuck with the song!
Kai: Get it out, get it out!
Max: Save us!
Tyson: NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
RTC: Oh quit your whining, I'll find a way to get rid of it, probably with a different song that will get stuck there. (Muses run away, scared senseless.) Anyhow, if any of you have a way to get rid of the song in my head, please tell me. (Hopefully a better way than mine!) And please review, they really make my day! See ya!