The Tale of Trust

by Bonnie-San

In this new world, the bond between an Attacker and his Weapon means everything. But when the past finally shows it's true self, the things you are looking for might be closer than you think.

7. Chapter 6

Title: The Tale of Trust

Author: Bonnie-San

Word count: 9654 words

Disclaimer: Let's just say that if I owned Beyblade then I would officially state the Kai would be totally 100% Russian. 'Cause we all know that Kai is so much hotter and cooler as a Russian than a Japanese. No offence to Japanese people, They're cool too, but in another way… And Kai's not that way…

A/N: Yeah… Better late than never, I guess. Just want to let you know that I'm doing my best to get this out as fast and in as high quality as possible. And know that I will never quit writing this one fanfic until it is completely finished. =)

And a HUGE thank you to Sparkleshadowcat for pushing me and helping me along the way. I really need it (and I should probably write you up as a BETA-reader soon too, don't you think?). Loads of hugses to you! And lots of hugses to GatewaysDiary too! I loved your review! Even if it took time for the new chapter to come out, your review did help me a lot on the way of finding the inspiration and motivation to continue for the moment.

Anyway, enough author's note rambling. Here is the new chapter. See it as an early Christmas present from me to you ^.^

Enjoy!

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-*-.-*-Chapter 6-*-.-*-

Tyson was startled out of his deep sleep and sat up quickly to catch his breath. Next to him he could hear Max laugh out loud in the otherwise quiet room. The blonde was laughing so hard that his knees hardly could hold up his own weight. He massaged his own stomach to relieve part of the cramp and somehow try to fill his lungs with air again. Tyson calmed his nerves and when he heard his blue eyed friend taking a deep breath he sent a scolding glare at him. "Okay, it's not that funny." He pouted and suppressed a yawn. Then he clumsily climbed out of the bed and started to change clothes.

Having to take another deep, shuddering breath to calm down those blue eyes sparkled with left over amusement. "I can't believe that whispering stuff in your ear actually woke you up! It's almost as if the thing that you least expect to wake you up does the trick."

"Yeah yeah. Whatever." This time the yawn escaped before Tyson could attempt to stop it and he put a hand over his mouth. "At what god-like hour did you wake me up this time? I'm guessing seven. It sure feels like seven."

"Nah, it's more like half past nine." As Tyson had exchanged his last piece of clothing, his dull yellow t-shirt, Max jumped at him and put him in a big, tight headlock. "And you know what? The pain is finally gone and it feels like we finally have accomplished something with our training. Almost like I could do like… I don't know… anything! Today let's show Kai what we're made off."

"You got that part right, alright. But the real reason we haven't won yet is because I haven't been allowed to use my sword. I'm a swordsman not a fricking martial artist, and I still don't get why we have to learn… Wait, did you say half past nine? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Tyson threw himself out of the hug and began running around the room, packing their daily bag. "We're late! We're late! We're late!" But Max's giggle made him stop in his track and he glanced at the other. "What are you laughing about? Man, we totally need to go, now!"

That made Max burst out laughing again, but Tyson's pissed off face helped him quiet it down a bit. "Aah, sorry Tyson. I'm just so very content today. It's like we're actually getting somewhere here."

Tyson turned away from Max and continued to pack the bag. "But that's not an excuse to be late. Not in Kai's eyes. We really need to hurry!"

Max took a hold of his Attacker's shoulder and spun him around again. He grinned widely at the blunette. "Chill man, we got the morning off. Kai said he had something to take care of."

The words seemed to work like magic for the Attacker to stop and register their meaning. Then he slumped down on the floor. "…What? Does that mean I could have slept until Lunch? Did you really have to wake me up so early then?"

Max just nodded. "Yup, I was bored. There's nothing fun on the TV and all my other stuff is-" He involuntarily faltered in his speech and he pushed himself to quickly recover and continue. "…it's all back at my home." He smiled softly. He wouldn't let that little slip up pull his general mood down. "Come on Tyson! Let's go downstairs. I'm starving."

Seeing the other leave his room, Tyson hurriedly put on the red and blue cap he was holding and followed out through the door. He went down the staircase and saw Max standing in the door opening to the kitchen. Putting a hand on his shoulder Tyson was about to ask what was up when he followed Max's line of sight and felt both rejoice and anxiousness over what he saw. There by the dinner table was Rei sitting on a chair and resting his head on the table while his arms hung straight down. His head was turned away from them but they could hear a soft snoring sounding throughout the room, betraying the Weapon by telling the pair that he was in fact asleep. Tyson quietly sneaked past the stunned blonde and began setting the table with their breakfast around the sleeper trying not to be too noisy. The blue eyes followed his Attacker in wondering what to do before he decided to follow suit. When they were done and sitting down eating Rei met Max's eyes with one open bloodshot one only to shift in place, close the eye again and sigh heavily. Max smiled brightly upon him.

"Good morning Rei. We didn't mean to wake you up."

Rei shrugged lazily in his place. "I wasn't asleep. Just resting my eyes." The raspy, tired voice didn't surprise either Tyson or Max.

Tyson snorted. "Like hell you weren't. We heard you snoring." He took a bite from his sandwich and grinned at him with a mouth full of food.

Ignoring it Rei sat up straight in a try to become more alert and blinked several time to get the sleepiness away from his eyes. Max noted that the redness somehow enhanced his pure golden irises creating this rich colour mix. But as he mused about it Rei seemed to change his mind about trying to wake up and sunk down low in his chair, leaning his head on the top of the back support and hung his uninjured arm over his eyes. "Damn I'm tired. It totally feels like I've been running for days straight. What time is it anyway?"

Max noticed that Tyson was too busy stuffing himself and drinking his chocolate milk to answer so he himself turned around in his chair to look at the clock on the wall behind him. "It's almost twenty to ten in the morning." He answered and turned back to his breakfast.

There was a short pause that hung in the air, Rei staying completely still. "…And what day?" They could both hear in the raven haired boy's voice that he didn't really want an answer to the question but as he asked Max answered anyway.

"Tuesday."

Rei lifted his arm to look expectantly at the blonde. He then let his arm fall behind his head, supporting it, and sighed as heavily as before. "Man, no wonder I'm dead tired." It was then that Rei registered the dark purple mixed with yellow black eye that nicely marked Max' otherwise pretty face. His eyes widened. "Wow, that's a beauty Maxie. What happened to your eye?"

Max got bewildered. "What are you…?" His eyes met Tyson questioningly and Tyson pointed him in the right direction. The blonde raised a hand and touched the wrong eye. Then he looked up through his bangs before he lowered the hand again and laughed at himself. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. This one I got during the first training session with Kai." The younger Weapon raised his shirt showing off a big, very nasty looking, bruise on his opposite side of the eye which also had a yellow hue. "I got this one too that day. It's been real tough training with him but it was totally worth it. I've had a blast!"

Tyson pointed his fourth sandwich to Max' side. "Dude, I so remember when you got that bruise. It looked like it hurt real bad. And Kai that bastard didn't even stop to help you."

The blonde laughed at the memory. "Aah, fun times. Thanks again for helping me." He took the last bite of his own sandwich and dusted off his fingers.

"Anytime pal. But you did very well for training with him for the first time, no matter what Kai said." Tyson added quickly. "Don't ever believe otherwise Maxie."

"I know. You've already told me that. Several times even. But Kai is the boss here. His word goes without question, right?"

"Yeah, he wishes."

Beside them Rei was stumped. Kai's training? First day? Max had only been here for a few days and he didn't remember Kai training them. He would know if they trained with his partner. His gaze shifted between them both as they had continued their conversation. "… How long was I gone?"

The pair simultaneously turned their attention to the third person, the blunette grinned widely while the blonde smiled softly. The former being the one to answer. "A week."

Rei sat up straight, suddenly very alert. "A what…?"

"A week Rei." Max concluded. "And you had us all worried. Are you okay?"

The older Attacker slumped down again. "I'm fine. There's no way Bryan can defeat me. Though by the looks of it, it was a close call."

Also finishing his breakfast Tyson stood up and began to clear the table. Max had followed his partner a short while with his gaze and decided to change the subject, addressing to his fellow Weapon. "Have you spoken to Kai yet today?"

Rei wanted to lift up his arms to have his hands entwine behind his head but the pain that surfaced in his injured shoulder changed his mind. Instead he crossed both his arms and his legs and heavy curious eyes landed on Max. "Kai? No. Why?"

"I was just wondering if you knew why Kai cancelled our training, that's all. By the way, if you don't have anything to do today." The blue eyes shone with a resolve that Rei didn't quite hear in his voice. "Won't you come with us to watch us train? It could be fun."

Tyson, who was standing by the sink washing dishes turned around with a wet plate still in his hands, but it was Rei that voiced their same thought. "Sure that's such a bright idea Max?"

"Yeah, Rei doesn't look like he should be up and running Max" The Attacker put in his voice of opinion.

The blonde nodded. "Yes. But I believe it's better than to leave you here at home alone."

The sapphire eyes by the sink shone up and he put down the wet plate. "Oh yes, you're coming with us Rei. There is this awesome move I need to show you. It even got a hit on Mr. I-can't-be-punched-right."

The raven haired raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, you win. I'll come along." His unharmed hand fell behind his head again and he smiled. "It's been a while since we've trained together Tyson. Let's see if you really have improved as you say."

"Oh you better believe it. When you're well again Rei, let's have rematch and you will see that I gotten better."

Rei met the challenge straight on. "It's a deal."

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Down at the BBA centre, in one of the assigned training areas, the three of them hung about and were waiting for the fourth person to arrive. Rei sat and leaned against the wall while watching as the others were warming up. Their scheduled time to meet up had already past some time ago and they had yet to see even the smallest glimpse of Kai. The Attacker was seldom late, at least not without reason, and it was noticeable by the tension in his posture that it troubled the older Weapon.

"This is just perfect. The one time I'm actually in time and he's late." Tyson complained out loud as he made some squats.

"Don't worry. He probably has his reasons." Rei put in and unconsciously took a quick glance at the door once more. Max stopped in his stretching. He couldn't help get the feeling that the raven haired man had said that more as a reassurance to himself than anything.

"Who said I worried?" Tyson scoffed at him, somehow confirming Max's feeling.

"But even if he's late, he could come in here any minute." The blonde tried in a positive tone in order to cheer the atmosphere up.

Rei crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "In the meantime, tell me what you guys have been doing during these training sessions so far. Maybe I can help."

The Attacker stopped in his warm up. "We've only tried to hit Kai. And since he's not here, that's not possible."

"And you're in no condition to spar against us." Max put in.

Rei's eyes widened in shock. "You haven't been able to land a single hit on him?" He knew that Kai was good but so was Tyson. He definitely knew that Tyson could land a hit. Rei had seen it happen many times.

"We succeeded alright." The blunette said with irritation dripping in his voice. "But Kai didn't think we were 'cooperating' enough to pass us to the next stage."

At that moment Rei understood what Kai's goal was. And he almost laughed out loud at the irony of it all. "Then while we wait for my late partner to get here I suggest that you two fight against each other. By doing so you will learn how the other fights and therefore can later on more easily predict your partner's movements when fighting side by side."

"Sounds like a plan." Max turned to Tyson so that they were standing face to face. His partner nodded once and bowed accordingly to the blonde who quickly followed his example.

"Are you ready Blondie?" The blunette grinned and lowered his stance into that which he always started with; at least he had during this week that Max had been training with him.

Max matched his partner's grin and raised fists defensively. "Ready when you are."

With determination glowing in his eyes the Attacker's grin disappeared and while taking a step he quickly made a movement as if pulling out a sword from its sheath. Having seen this move several times the last week Max was ready and stepped back at the same pace that of Tyson's. His grin was still in place and he was just about to comment on the Attacker's lack of success when Tyson stepped inside his personal space and elbowed him right in the chest. The attack hit the air out of Max's lungs and sent him down to the floor. In victory Tyson turned to Rei with a big smile filled with pride. "Now that that is finished, what else do you want us to do?"

One of the raven's canine teeth showed as he grinned knowingly. "Rule number 1."

Tyson's eyes widened and he was just about to put up his guard again and turn around when he got a hard punch in the face. The force of that punch made him stumble sideways but he quickly regained his balance. "Oh, good one Maxie! Ouch, that hurt."

"Don't count me out yet Tyson." Max said as he massaged his knuckles. Then he formed his hands into a T sign. "Hold on a sec, time out. What rule was it this time?"

Eagerly the blunette answered his confused Weapon. "Rule number 1: Never turn your back towards the enemy." The voice Tyson had used sounded just as if he had heard it so many times that he even took up the tone he'd been taught by.

"How many rules do you have anyway?"

"Only six so far. And it's good that it's not more than that, it makes it much easier to remember."

Suddenly they got interrupted by Rei's hands clapping loudly, the noise echoing in the big room. "Come on guys, time out's over. Get back to training. And if you both do good today I will treat you to my beef and bamboo tonight." He saw Tyson shining up at the thought and saw that he turned to Max to get started. "And this time I want more sparring. More team work. The point isn't to beat your opponent but to get to test each other and to get to know each other." When he got signs of their acknowledges the raven haired decided that he could leave things alone for a while and lay down to rest while the others had their fun.

They continued to train for several hours and as it grew closer to dinner time both Max and Tyson had grown nicely moist and both physically and mentally exhausted. Rei had been lying next to them, giving advises when he could and helped when it was needed, still there was no sign of Kai all day. They decided to call it a day and packed their thing to leave. Tyson and Max showered and changed and they met Rei outside of the locker room. They slowly began to move out of the centre, Rei fast on picking up the front, and when they did reach the entrance Tyson stopped abruptly. He grabbed a hold of Max's sleeve, halting him in the process.

"Wait guys! I have an idea." He exclaimed and turned around on his heels to walk steadfastly in the other direction. As Tyson was still holding Max's sleeve the Weapon had no choice but to tag along, yet he managed to send Rei a surprised glance before the force of his partner made him spin the other way. The raven haired lifted an eyebrow and soon followed the duo. Being lead around the headquarters Max got lost in the maze of seemingly countless corridors. Marvelling over the modern colourful style of the place Max still thought that it had a certain sterile cling to it. Suddenly Tyson stopped right in front of a door and Max barely managed to stop himself from walking straight into the Attacker. They were standing in front of a door that looked just like every other door in this facility.

"Why are we stopping here?" Max heard Rei ask apprehensively from behind him.

The blunette simply smirked. "Just watch and you'll see for yourself." He threw open the door and marched inside the dark room like he owned the place. "Hi Chief! Guess who's here!" The two Weapons entered the room after him.

"What's up Kenny?"

Max trailed his gaze at Rei who wore a content, though tired, smile. Kenny. He seemed important and he knew he had heard that name somewhere. Wasn't Kenny the person Tyson wanted him to meet? The only thing he could see out of this said 'Kenny' was the light contours visible from the blazing screens that hung on the completely black wall behind him.

"You shouldn't keep it this dark in here, Chief. It will totally destroy your eyes… well, more than they already are that is." The raven haired said and flipped the light switch to illuminate the room. Max gasped as he saw the interior. The small room wasn't as small as he first thought, and all the machines! He had never seen such big computer. The blonde felt his eyes grow bigger and his vision wandered aimlessly. "Wow…" He said astonishingly. "This is amazing."

Tyson's laugh at his expressing didn't escape him one bit. "Don't lose your chin Maxie!"

"Maxie? Oh, so this is your Weapon." Max flinched at the imagined undertone of a voice he hadn't heard before. It still hurt to be associated with a weapon even if he got that a 'Weapon' wasn't anything bad. Putting the feeling aside he examined the person this unknown voice belonged to. This 'Kenny' standing right next to his partner. What he saw wasn't what he had expected from a friend of Tyson's, though he should have known better than to judge people.

Kenny was short. That was the first thing he noted. Then the thick glasses that was placed on his poofy brown hair. Clothes weren't anything special, just a button-up shirt tied up tight by a green tie and a pair of blue-purple shorts. It made Max giggle and he blurted out what was on his mind before he could stop it. "Man, you look like such a dork."

Kenny looked like he had walked straight into a wall of surprise. "…Excuse me?"

"In a good way." The American assured giving a thumb-up and a smile to support the statement. "You look like you totally know everything."

Instead a tint a pink discreetly surfaced on Kenny's cheeks at the compliment. "Not really.. everything." The brunette started to fiddle with his index fingers and sought out Tyson's gaze. The blunette grinned at him in return.

"But you knew I was Tyson's partner. And that is something we haven't been broadcasting."

Stating it as a matter-of-fact the Shorty straightened his back. "Yeah. Mr. Dickenson told me that Tyson had met his Weapon and I then simply connected the obvious dots."

The Attacker patted Kenny's shoulder. "My pal here knows everything that this organization knows."

"Tyson! That's just absurd. I don't know everything."

"Okay then, what you don't know is inside that big computer which you monitor."

"You see Max, Chief has a brilliant mind. Doesn't forget anything he learns, which is why he got this position." The Chinese said to intervene with his input. Finding himself surprised at the unexpected voice Max realized that he had momentarily forgotten Rei's presence upon meeting Kenny. Now he noted that he was standing by the screen searching for something.

The blush deepened on Kenny's face and Max deemed it totally adorable. He pulled the genius into a hug. "That's impressive Kenny. I wish I had that ability."

Kenny opened his mouth to say something but Tyson beat him to it. "Yup, that's my buddy alright." He gloated all too proudly.

Feeling very pressured by the attention and the unforeseen scenario Kenny looked like he would blow his top at any second. His eyes shifted between Tyson and Max. "But… but… We don't know each other! How can you have this close proximity?" The blonde tapped his nose tip teasingly and got a suppressed scream in return. Max let go of Kenny to relieve some of the pressure the brunette obviously felt.

"Chill out Chief." The blonde apologized and in his surprise Tyson took his place next to the genius. And the Attacker's face brightened up the atmosphere.

"It's so nice to see you get along just fine."

Despite the tense stature Kenny was portraying he was actually glad to have finally met Max as Tyson's Weapon and even if a little too forward for his taste Max seemed like such a nice kid. He wouldn't have asked for a better partner for his childhood friend. He bowed to Max 'forcing' Tyson to let go of his shoulders. "It's a real honour and privilege to meet you Max."

Not wanting to be rude Max hurried to give Kenny his own quick bow in return. "No, no. the pleasure is all mine."

Rei cleared his throat and got the trio's attention. "Tyson, this meeting is very nice and all but did you bring us here for a reason? We need to go home." The tone Rei used was strained and a little forceful.

"Oh yeah! Kenny? Would you fetch Mr. Dickenson for an old friend?"

The genius eyed his friend sceptically. "Why would you want to talk with the Boss?"

"I'll tell you when you get him, now go. Fetch!" Tyson urged and pushed Kenny out of the room.

"But I-" Was the only thing they could hear from the four-eyes before Tyson shut the door.

Rei gazed after the short teen. "You know he's not going to let you hear the end of it when he gets back." Seeing the glint in his eyes and Tyson's mischievous grin he snickered lightly. "Fine, I get it. So why did you send after Mr. Dickenson anyway? You could just as well have called him on the phone."

Max tuned out the conversation and started scanning the inside of the place Kenny worked more thoroughly. What intrigued him the most was the big machine. And as big as that machine was, it didn't even make a sound. Its complexity, it was stunning. Out of nowhere Tyson's grinning face appeared in his line of sight and the Max skipped a heart beat at the unexpected intrusion. The blunette's laughed at the jump but he quickly calmed down in order to address Max's curiosity. "It's awesome, isn't it?"

"It's huge." Tyson laughed again at the simplicity in the statement and he couldn't do anything else but to agree. Max looked amused. "Man, I wonder how Kenny can work in here."

"Kenny is a computer geek. It's his dream work." Tyson stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he smirked and waved Max to follow. "Come here Maxie. I'm gonna show you something really awesome." They stepped up in front of the screens and Max sent a questioning glance at Rei just as he checked what it was that Tyson were going to show him.

"Tyson, you sure you know what you are doing? This is Chief's computer after all." Rei put in on the side line and Tyson discardingly brushed the comment away.

"Yes Rei, I know what to do. Kenny showed me how to do it." The Attacker rolled the mouse wheel to awake the screen and there it said that it wanted a password. Tyson quickly inserted the letters and waited for the machine to register them. A window surfaced with the words 'incorrect password' written on it and the blunette scoffed and tried again to type in the correct password. The same thing happened and in frustration Tyson hit the keyboard. "Damn it Dizzy, let me in already." Trying yet again Tyson typed in the letters and waited those awful few seconds before he was granted access. Doing a victory sign to himself Tyson then eagerly began to press a number of combinations on the keyboard, a little too fast for Max to follow. Several windows popped up and then suddenly the screen stood still even as Tyson continued to press buttons. Max nudged him insecurely.

"Is it supposed to do that?"

Tyson looked up at Max questioning and then turned to the screen. The blunette's eyes widened. "Eeh… yepp, yepp! It's totally supposed to do that. I just need to…eh..." He rambled and hit the screen to kick start it again. They watched it flicker before it drew green and light purple lines over the image. Tyson pressed more buttons and the window turned the screen yellow and green instead. He looked horrified and Max felt the emotion dread hit him hard inside. What had his partner just done?

Rei was ready to scold Tyson when the door opened and Tyson hurried to turn off the screen and managed just in time as an old man with a horrible green suit plus a fitting bowler hat, small glasses and a white moustache ventured inside, Kenny following shortly after. Tyson leaned discreetly against the working desk by the weird screen.

"Hello my boys!" The old man said with a big smile and he lifted his hat up.

"Hi Mr. Dickenson. Long time no see." Rei returned the warming smile and bowed.

The old man patted his head and lifted his chin up. "It's good to see you up on your legs again. You need to take better care of yourself. This old coot can only do so much."

Before Rei could think of coming up with an answer Tyson took a hold of Mr. Dickenson's arm, catching his attention. "Mr. Dickenson! There's someone I want you to meet!" He dragged the old man away from Rei and directed him with a swing of his arm. "This is my awesome Weapon."

The Weapon put one hand on his hip and made a victory sign with the other. "Max Tate, at your service."

Mr. Dickenson blinked for short moment and gathered his wits He took a good hold of Max's hand and shook it firmly. "Oh, where are my manners? Stanley Dickenson. I assume that the boys have taken well care of you."

"Yes, they have been very nice to me."

That was when Mr. Dickenson saw the healing black eye that was colouring Max's face. "Maybe I assumed too much. That eye looks terrible."

Tyson folded his arms and bristled bitterly. "That's Kai's doing. And he didn't even apologize."

"Oh well. That kid can get a bit reckless. At least it is healing alright." The old man said and patted Max's shoulder. The American felt the support the man gave them with that simple motion. He could tell that this was a nice and humble old man, someone people looked up to.

Rei intervened wearing a serious face. "Sorry to have to put this nice meet-up to a close but Tyson, state your business here. We need to go home."

Looking confused it took the Japanese a while to remember the reason they had visit here. But when he did remember he shone up. "Oh yeah! Mr. Dickenson? Think you can do me a favour?" He put his hands together over his head as if in a prayer.

Mr. Dickenson was amused by the thought of how this proud boy could beg him so. How could he not comply with his wishes if he acted like that? But first… "That depends on what you're asking of me Tyson." The old man said with a big smile. It made Max almost think that it looked a tad too glad, almost as if it was a fake.

Tyson looked Max over before he answered. "You think you could bring us to America? It will go on my tab. Max has to visit his family."

Max staggered, being stunned by his partners words. So that was the reason they went here. It almost sent tears to his eyes at Tyson's selfless act. He himself had completely forgotten to ask about it, mostly because he thought that it wasn't possible but also because he had had so much to do since he got here. That didn't excuse him for not asking though.

"And where in America do you want to go? America is a large country."

Tyson sent his partner a questioning glance and Max took the implication. "I'm sure you haven't heard of the place. It's a small island right outside the San Francisco coast line. You can't get there without a boat."

Mr. Dickenson lifted a finger wiggling it from side to side. "Don't underestimate my connections my boy. Let's look through the database to see if we have anything close by. Kenny? Will you do us the honour?"

Kenny nodded in affirmation and made to move to the computer but Tyson hurried to get in the way and casually leaned against the keyboard desk. "No! I'm mean, Chief, Mr. D. That's not necessary. You can take the money out of my next salary." Max hit his forehead at Tyson's oh so indiscreet glancing towards the corrupted screen behind him.

Rei instead snickered. He was so enjoying this. "Chief, why don't you start-"

"Please!" Tyson cut Rei off and he glared at the Chinese who looked away in an innocent display, unmoved by the death sentences Tyson sent his way.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you travel there without a mission." The old man put his hands on his hips in a half scolding manner. "You are very much needed here." He then lifted his index finger up and winked. "Tell you what. There seems to be something wrong with the magical core of that area outside of San Francisco. I was going to give that assignment to someone else but since you asked so nicely…"

The attacker shone up brightly and ran over to his Weapon. "Hear that Maxie? Man, this is so awesome! Just you and I buddy. Thanks Mr. D!"

Mr. Dickenson chuckled and smoothed out his white moustache. "…of course, since this is your first mission together and on a new place, you will have to have some company with you. Someone who's experienced enough on these travels. I believe Kai and Rei will do just fine."

That made Rei react where he leaned against the wall and he looked sharply at his boss. "Kai won't be happy with that sir. As you know he recently found Tala and Bryan lingering in the neighbourhood."

"Then I'll give you a week. That should be enough time to finish this. We'll just have to write it into the database and the assignment is all yours."

Tyson quickly hurried over to take a firm hold of one of both Max and Rei's arms. "Yes you do that. But we'll leave for now. We need to go home. Bye Chief! Bye Mr. Dickenson! You're the best!" The Japanese ran out of the door dragging his friends along not giving them a chance to say their own goodbyes. Kenny frowned and shook his head.

"Seems like he was in a hurry, probably his stomach speaking for him. That guy should learn to control his urges. Man, that was just rude."

Mr. Dickenson chuckled again making his moustache move at the rhythm of the laugh. "That kid always has a surprise up his sleeve, we'll just have to trust him that he knows what he is doing."

Kenny got the feeling that Stanley didn't speak about what had transpired moments ago but about something much bigger. He went over to his computer and sat down on the chair. At least he finally got to meet Tyson's partner. That was definitely a highlight of the day. He knew Tyson had waited for this to happen for so long. Longer than he could probably remember. Speaking of Tyson's Weapon… "Mr. Dickenson? Wasn't Tate the surname of Judy?" When he saw the old man nod he gasped. "But that means…"

"Indeed it does Kenny."

Chief could help to smile. "I knew it! I knew I recognized him from somewhere."

"I see nothing gets past your sharp mind Kenny." Mr. Dickenson glanced at the door were Max and the gang had exit through moments ago. "Sadly she cannot be here to see what this boy can do. Destiny was what brought him here, not she, and I truly hope for the sake of those boys that destiny is on their side. They are fine men and they deserve nothing but the best. Let's aid them in any way we can."

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They stepped out of the bus and walked along the street to their home. Rei walking a few steps ahead lazily listening to the conversation the two had behind him. The blue sky was starting to turn a darker tone and the wind seemed to get cooler but not cold enough to give people more than a slight chill. Having walked these roads now for little more than a week Max was beginning to recognize his surroundings and started to relax as they got closer to home. Yes, he was really coming to see this place as his new home. Without a warning Rei stopped in front of them and the duo halted their pace as well. Tyson grabbed roughly at his shoulder and pulled him back a step. Rei winced out loud.

"Hey man, why did you stop?" Tyson asked unintentionally rudely not noticing Rei's squirming.

"Tyson.." The voice was painted with pain and Rei tried to bend the hand holding him away without hurting himself. "Let go."

Max who was standing on the other side of Rei watched Tyson jerk away and apologize repeatedly. It took a moment of insight for him to remember the Chinese's injured shoulder and he decided to walk ahead of the others. He would have no problem find his way from here. It was just at the end of this street. But as soon as he looked up and ahead he realized why Rei had stopped in the first place. Between them and the sanctum of their home stood a horrifying, blue-white, hairy creature, and it was facing their way. The blonde felt a shiver crawl along his spine and the hair at the back of his neck rose. He wasn't sure if it was the razor sharp teeth or the unnaturally sharp claws that caused those shivers but it didn't matter. Hearing a gasp next to him he figured that Tyson had just spotted the creature as well. There was a quiet moment with none of them moving for the fear of alarming it before the creature began too slowly creep its way closer, obviously aiming for them. It took a step, and two, as it started to leap into a sprint closing in on them rapidly. Out of reflex Rei shoved the pair away in different directions, Tyson flipping over a fence and disappearing behind some bushes in a neighbour's garden and Max falling roughly to the street and scraping his elbows when landing. Not having time to guard his own skin Rei took the full hit of the charging monster. It tackled the raven haired straight into a lone close by tree and he slid down slowly. He made as to stand up but could hardly rise from the ground and instead slumped down in a sitting position against the tree trunk, unconscious. The monster closed in on its motionless prey, drool dripping from its mouth.

"Rei!" Both Tyson and Max screamed in unison and the noise seemed to distract the fiend long enough for it to gather its senses and realize that there were others around as well. What could be interpreted as a growl was resonating from the hairy beast's throat and the pair was soon up on their legs again, readying for a battle they had little hopes in winning. But god be damned if they weren't going to try. Tyson advanced forward to the beast and in an old habit he reached for his sword only to realize that he didn't have it with him. In a split second he then changed his mind and pulled a right hook to its big torso. The monster looked down incredulously at the pathetic attempt and then with a roar it slashed Tyson with its claws creating four long gashes along his chest. Instantly the hairy monster back handed the Attacker sending him flying across the pavement.

Having become paralyzed by the real threat from the monster the blonde had felt a sudden déjà vu at his own helplessness. But as he saw his partner flying he was fast on his feet and ran to the blunette's aid. "Tyson? Are you alright?"

The Attacker rose to his elbows groaning at the pain in his chest. "-Yeah… I'm fine. -Packs one hell of a punch." Getting help from the Weapon to sit up Tyson looked down on his now sliced and bloody shirt. "Aw man, not another shirt destroyed."

The blonde chuckled at the whining. If he could complain then he was alright. As they both shifted their attention to their fiend they noticed all too late that it was standing above them with a lifted huge arm ready to swing down the punch. Sitting down already Tyson managed to duck the strike but Max wasn't fortunate enough, though he managed to raise his arms so that his head didn't take the full blow. Because of the great force the blonde lifted from the ground and landed a bit further away. Swiftly Tyson flipped up from the ground again and put all the power he could into a well grounded kick. There was no way he was giving up yet. The monster stumbled a few steps back and roared a loud battle cry out over the normally silent street. The furry monster closed in on Tyson and again sent him flying with a crude blow to the torso. As Tyson landed he gasped for air as it was forced out of his lungs. But something wasn't quite alright. Pulling himself up on his elbow he pressed a hand to his chest and the world seemed to shrink. Something was waking up inside him. He could feel that something trying to find a way to blow his mind out of order but what was he supposed to do with it? What purpose did it have?

"Tyson! Look out!" The cry ripped Tyson out of his inner battle and all too late he saw the powered-up fist coming his way. Out of reflex the blunette scrunched his eyelids shut and shielded himself with his arms. To his surprise the expected pain didn't come. Instead he heard a sound that comes from liquid being sent flying. He opened his eyes only to find his Weapon hunched over him, protecting him from the impact. Though that wasn't what surprised him the most. Around both him and his partner was a huge shield made out of water. The monster cried a roar of frustration over having been deprived from hitting its target and slashed madly at the water shield located between him and his prey. Slashing away the water the shield quickly repaired itself, filling the gap with new water, making the beast even more furious. The pair stared shockingly at the unexpected life savour, hardly believing to be happening. Max thoughts mixed together so much that he had a difficult time sorting them out. He heard Tyson from a distance call out to him, apparently having recovered first.

"-x! Maxie! I need you to go and get Rei for me? And then run for the house. Think you can do that?" Absentmindedly the Weapon nodded. Why would Tyson want him to run to the house with a monster chasing him? Deciding to trust his partner he tried to assess the task given to him. Discouragingly he noticed that Rei was on the other side of the great hairy beast. "Good. You need to get him to the house as fast as possible. Don't worry about the Wendigo. I'll take care of him." Max nodded again, this time with more determination. As if on cue the water shield around them seemed to have run out of whatever it was that held it up and let the gravity work its magic. It splashed on the ground and the beast took the chance to rip his claws in their general direction. Both Max and Tyson jumped up in different directions and Tyson waved at the hairy beast making sure to get the monster to follow him. "Come on you big smelly ogre! Come and get me!"

Not wasting the opportunity his partner gave him Max sprinted away around the beast and over to Rei's side. He noted that the raven haired was still unconscious and let out a quick breath. Then he clumsily fixed the Chinese on to his back and rushed for the house.

The creature had soon after being lured to the blunette realized that he had been tricked. He turned to the blonde to see him running with his first unmoving prey and quickly ran after them. Max almost stopped when he noticed that the beast changed its direction for them but wouldn't allow it to slow him down. He ran as fast as he could with that extra weight on his back.

"Max! Hurry!" The blonde eagerly followed the voice. Feeling the adrenaline boosting his speed he sprinted off and ran past the small wooden gate leading to their front yard. As soon as he stepped in to the yard Max stumbled and fell to the ground, the weight of his hitchhiker adding to the impact. Tyson, who had managed to get inside, grinned wickedly and the American rolled around in time to see the monster run into an invisible wall. Not getting inside it hit the 'wall' angrily.

"What the hell is that?" The blonde exclaimed before he could stop the question. The monster outside the 'wall' stopped to beat at it and started circling around in impatience. Tyson directed his grin to Max.

"You mean the Wendigo or the seal?"

"Both!"

"Like we would ever live here unprotected. This seal is Kai's doing…. with added help from us of course." The voice the blunette used was full of pride. "That creature there is a Wendigo. Lives on the flesh of humans or humanoid beings. That big hairy buffoon must have found a way to mask its odor or we would have noticed it a long time ago. It reeks of death and decay."

Where he lie Max suddenly begun to laugh. And laughed hard he did. Of course it was a human-eating monster. What else could it have been? It appeared as though the laugh was contagious however as it didn't take long before Tyson joined his laughter. Together they picked the still unconscious Weapon up and carried him inside the house. They carefully lowered the Chinese down on the three seat sofa when a loud grumble echoed in the room and Max was startled as Tyson took a hold of his arm and dragged him into the kitchen. "Food, now!" Max smiled and tagged along.

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Rei awoke with a startle and sat up in a rush, breathing heavily. His wide golden eyes skimmed the area and he took in the sight of their living room. Sighing in relief he collapsed down again and moaned as a sharp pain soared through his head. Laying there in the silence and waiting for the pain to fade his mind drifted to the other two that had been there when he blacked out. Out of pure stubbornness he ignored the headache and as fast as possible forced himself out of the sofa to search for the others. They had to be okay. Some noise from the kitchen got his attention and he went to check it out. As he passed the staircase he heard Tyson whining about something upstairs. He let some relief rise inside him, even though the whining wasn't nice to his head, at least it confirmed that his friend was fine.

As he entered the kitchen he found Max standing by the sink, dishwashing and lulling a nice tune. Finally Rei let his worry subside. Walking up to Max's side Rei reached to the cupboard next to the blonde and took out a glass.

Next to him Max skipped a heartbeat and jumped to the side, alarmed by the sudden company. When he saw that it was Rei both joy and concern hit him at the same time. "Rei! You're awake! How do you feel?"

"Sorry, I though you heard me." The older Weapon said before he answered and took over the tap to fill his glass with water. "I'm alright."

Max let out a breath and relaxed. "Good to hear." He watched as his mentor figure gulped down the whole glass in one go before he continued. "Tyson and I ate a while ago, I hope you don't mind."

Rei lowered his now empty glass on the counter. He didn't mind at all. His appetite was zero at the moment. He was just tired and felt he would probably need an additional couple of hours, or days, of sleep before he would be back to normal.

"We saved some for you if you want?" Max said, obviously not a mind reader. He noticed though that the raven seemed to pull himself out from a sluggish state of mind and met his eyes.

"No, I'm fine, but thanks."

As he was going to clean his glass of Max quickly reached for it. "Let me. I take care of it."

"It's fine… I can do…"

"Ah ah, no arguing with me. I'm soon finished anyway." He said with a light laugh at the confused yet tired expression of the Chinese. "You go back to the living room and rest some more. I will join you shortly." Glad that it worked Max presented him with a reassuring smile. Rei smiled back in appreciation and nodded tiredly before retreating back to the living room without further complaints. When Rei was out of sight Max began heating some water and quickly finished with the last of his dishes. Then with a nice clean kitchen and a cup tea in hand he decided to join Rei. He found the Chinese sitting in the armchair with his arms resting in his crossed legs, his posture looking very relaxed. In fact, it looked like he was asleep again while sitting up. The closed eyes and calm breathing only further stated that he was resting. Wondering if he would disturb him or not, Max decided to just sneak in and put the cup beside him in case he would wake up soon. But he only had time to take a few steps when Rei's voice startled him yet again.

"You are not hurt in any way, are you? You and Tyson I mean."

Max somehow managed to save the tea that was almost tipping over the edge of the cup and he sighed in relief when he realized that he didn't get the hot drink over his hand. "Except that my elbows are scratched and Tyson's chest has four gashes, we are perfectly fine!" He replied in a happy tone. "It actually went surprisingly well. Here you go."

"That's good to hear." Rei opened his eyes and accepted the cup of tea with a thank you. "What is he doing up there anyway, I can hear him all the way here." He asked and sipped a bit of the drink as Max sat down on the three-seat sofa next to him.

The blonde grinned big. "He is talking with Kenny on the phone. Or more likely he is being scolded by Kenny over the phone because of the Dizzy-incident." Then he laughed a little. "I really wouldn't want to be in his shoes at the moment. He has really been taking the burn for a while now."

Rei just shook his head with a sigh. "What would he expect? He never learns." Rei glanced back at the blonde who snickered. "Now that you've met him, what do you think about Kenny?" He asked causally to keep the conversation going and he sipped on the tea some more as Max thought about the question and how to reply.

"He really is such a dork! But the dude seems like a good kid. Even though they are fighting now, I can see that he and Tyson are really good friends." He looked at the Rei who had closed his eyes and he took the chance to ask something that had been on his mind since they left the centre. "So, what is he anyway?"

The raven weapon halted his cup on its way up to his lips and opened his golden eyes to glance at him with sudden suspicion. Max thought back on how the question had sounded and he scratched the back of his head and laughed out. "I'm sorry; it came out a little wrong, didn't it?"

Rei lowered the cup completely. "That depends. What do you mean?"

Max plunged down in his seat to a more comfortable position, "Well, ever since I joined up with you guys I have met such different kind of people. And every one of them was something too, right? Like you and me are Weapons, Kai and Tyson are Attackers, that monster from before was apparently a Wendigo. And Mr. Dickenson I found out only moments ago that he is a Magician. So I was just wondering, what is Kenny?"

Rei relaxed again and couldn't help but to chuckle at Max's curious side. He seemed to have developed a big interest for them all. And Rei was so glad that the American was doing so well after only a week. "Kenny is in fact just an ordinary human." The raven haired stopped in his train of thoughts and thought again. "Well, maybe not so ordinary after all, since he is like the only human inside that organization."

"Ah, I see!" Max said intrigued by the information.

Suddenly Tyson came stomping into the room. Looking very grumpy and he didn't waste any time to speak his heart. "Man, Kenny was pissed this time. I have been listening to how irresponsible I am for more than an hour now! Seriously I don't think he even repeated himself, he could tell me on so many different ways!"

Max laughed at his roommate and Rei joined his fellow Weapon's laughter. "Of course he tells you that you are irresponsible, if he is not careful then you will really trash something important for him someday."

Tyson sat down on the edge of the sofa next to Max and glared at the older Weapon. The blunette smirked suddenly full of himself. "Oh yeah? If I'm so irresponsible then how come Max and I trashed that Wendigo before."

"How are those two situations even linked together?" Rei asked with a raised eyebrow but the sword-wielder didn't listen.

"You should have seen us Rei, too bad you were out cold; Max and I really whooped that monster's ass! I'm telling you, we hit him with raw power and perfect teamwork! Right buddy?" He turned to Max who nodded with equal enthusiasm. "Yeah, especially that water shield, it was totally awesome!"

Rei looked at them as they high-fived each other. Internally he drew some conclusions on his own. "A water shield? That's impressive. You would have a huge advantage in battle and if you can learn to control that power you would be a huge help to us."

"And that's a big if." A deep tone resonated through the room and they all turned in surprise to the open doorway to see Kai standing there leaning casually against the wall. Nobody had heard him come in nor did they know how long he had been standing there. Max dared a quick glance in Rei's direction and noted how the Chinese now looked like a heavy weight suddenly had been lifted from his shoulders. He shifted back to the Russian and found him sending an unreadable glare in Rei's direction. It hit him; Kai hadn't known that Rei was up yet.

As there was no reaction fitting to his mood Tyson took it in his own hands and quickly jumped over the back support of the sofa to angrily dash forward and seized the Attacker's collar. "Kai! Where the hell have you been, huh? You've been gone all day!"

"Hn." Brushing him off Kai walked past him and took a seat in the two-seat sofa, folding his arms and crossing his legs.

"Hey! Don't give me that!" Tyson yelled at him and skipped over the back support again to sit down next to Max. "We have been having a rough day. At least you owe us an explanation!"

"It must have been something important. You have been gone a really long time." Max agreed.

Kai was about to tell them that it was none of their business when felt Rei's warning feelings drill through him and he made the mistake of following that feeling to gaze at its owner. He sighed and braced himself. "I was at the library again looking for clues. When I left the building I ran into Spencer and Ian. And we fought." Kai let the silence hang for a moment when he aimed a meaning look at his partner. "They told me that their residence is at the Abbey."

Max suddenly felt how the air in the room grew heavier and he sneaked a glance at how the other's handled it, not really knowing how to react at all. Both Rei and Tyson wore a shocked face; Rei's almost leaned more towards total disbelief. "Are you completely sure Kai? We've been searching through that facility several times already." Rei said with a cautious tone. "And every single time it was empty."

"Yeah, what's up with that Kai?" Tyson added.

"Let go there and check it out again, one last time." Max put in when Kai didn't attempt to give his partner's question an answer and successfully got the attention of the others. He shrugged casually, though he couldn't deny that one of the reasons he suggested it was because he wanted to see this dreaded 'abbey' for himself and learn more about the others. "It can't hurt."

Turning his head away Kai snorted. "We'll see."

Hearing those discussion ending two words the general mood in the room calmed down and Tyson saw that as a chance to tell Kai some big news. "Well, it seems like you have been having very fun day and all that, but Max and I had an awesome adventure today! We have found our power."

"Good, then you can start working on it." Kai said like it was nothing grand. To him it had just been a matter of time before the duo would find the connection between them. In his opinion it was more like a responsibility than anything. But he should have known, he and Tyson never agreed on anything, especially not when it came to things like this.

"I'm telling you man, it's a big deal. You should have seen us out there today. We totally kicked that…"

Kai closed his eyes and let Tyson's voice fade a little, he didn't feel like listening to the over the top explanation that was probably not completely true anyway.

"Apparently they can form some kind of water shield." Rei filled in on the side line when he noticed that Kai didn't even bother to listen to Tyson's rambling. The line made Kai open his eyes in realization. Meeting his companion's knowing smirk Kai knew that Rei and he had been thinking the same thing. He couldn't help but to grin himself. That kind of power would definitely be a great advantage against two certain Russian acquaintances of his.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have Max here in the family after all.

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A/N: That's it for this time folks. Another long chapter to you and I really hope you liked it. Have a great Christmas holiday and make sure to spend it with people you love and cherish.

So until next time.

Many greetings

/Bonnie