Thanks for the reviews! ^-~
I don't own Beyblade.
^^^^^
Twisted Fate
Chapter 4: Darkness
"Tyson!" Kenny cried as Max and Tyson approached. "What's up? How are you? Where did you go? Why did you go? When are you going to apologise--" Kenny stopped after receiving a sharp glare from Max. He saw Tyson's face fall, and knew immediately Tyson was sorry.
"I." Tyson stuttered. He hung his head.
"It's okay, Tyson. Okay, maybe it's not, but what's done is done," Max said sensibly.
Tyson let out an audible sigh. He opened his mouth to speak, but saw Rei coming from the distance. "Rei!" Tyson shouted.
"Hey, Tyson. What's up?" Rei asked in his usual, calm way.
"Uh." Tyson didn't answer. "How's Kai?"
Rei lost his cheery smile. The others noticed, and immediately knew everything wasn't perfect. "He. wanted to be left alone. He told Hilary the same. He's still out there, alone."
Tyson was shocked. Kai went into deep thoughts alone when he was upset. Dranzer had been taken away from him last time, but this time? Tyson didn't know, but he knew one thing. 'It's my fault,' he said to himself.
"Tyson! There you are! I've been looking for you!" Hilary was now running over to them. "Kai--"
"He knows, Hilary," Rei interrupted, knowing Tyson was better off not reminded yet again.
"I. I'm really sorry." Tyson said, looking down.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Hilary said brightly. She saw the puzzled look on his face. "Go tell that to Kai!" she explained.
There was a long pause, all waiting for Tyson to speak. He looked up after a few seconds, and had a determined look upon his face. "I'll do it."
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'Kai, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry Kai, about everything I said. Hey, Kai, you know I didn't mean anything I said. Kai, please come back, I didn't know what I was saying. Sorry, Kai, I was being a real jerk back there.' Tyson wondered what to say to Kai when he did find him. He would think of what to say while walking; he would think of something. but he hadn't yet.
As he was thinking about what to say, he could make out Kai's figure in the distance. 'Oh, great,' he thought to himself. 'There he is, and I haven't a clue what to say.' Yet Tyson continued on; he was very confident and sure of himself, he would find something to say.
"Hey," Tyson said quietly. Kai didn't tell him to get lost. He didn't say anything; he didn't look at him. He made no effort to acknowledge his existence, however Tyson knew he had heard him.
"I- I was thinking about what I said back there. I was wrong, Kai. I didn't mean it at all," he continued. 'Man, this is harder than I thought!' Tyson said in his head. 'It's like talking to a brick wall. except brick walls don't hear you. It's harder than talking to a brick wall.'
"What I mean is, we're all friends. You're are friend, and we're yours, and you know it." Tyson paused a little, to think of what to say next. "Friends fight sometimes, but you know what? It only makes the bonds between them stronger. So, here I am, admitting I'm wrong. That's not something you see everyday, maybe never again. But I am now because I realise myself that I was wrong, and I want to fix things. That's what friendship is all about," he added with a smile.
Kai turned to face Tyson. It was very unusual for Tyson to give in, to admit he was wrong. He had no reason for apologising, no motive. Maybe he really did care. Maybe they really were friends all along; maybe Tyson was being honest. Tyson was always honest. maybe this time was no exception.
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"What do you MEAN he didn't come back?!" Kenny cried after Tyson had returned without success.
"He just turned and walked away. he completely ignored my speech! Which, by the way, I thought was pretty good myself," he added with a slight smile.
"Did you by any chance prepare your speech?" Max asked.
"Uh. was I supposed to?" The others groaned and sweat-dropped. "Heheh. oops," he laughed comically with his hand on the back of his neck.
"Way to go, Tyson!" Hilary exclaimed sarcastically.
"Hey, calm down. We've got enough problems as it is," Rei said before they could start a fight.
"Yeah. It's really dark out. it's past midnight," Max added. "Let's get some sleep," he added with a yawn.
"Good idea," Rei said. 'Well that was a productive day,' he thought sarcastically to himself.
^^^^^
Tyson couldn't sleep. The others were deep into their own dream world. Kenny was sleeping fretfully, his face serious and full of frustration. 'Trying to fix Dizzi in his sleep, even,' he thought to himself.
Max was sleeping happily. He was always happy. He always had a cheery outlook on life, always something positive to say. He shifted gently in his sleep and his mouth whispered something Tyson couldn't make out. Suddenly, a large grin appeared on Max's sleeping face. 'Freaky,' he thought to himself and quickly looked away.
Rei was sleeping peacefully. His face showed signs of happiness and longing. 'Longing for what?' Tyson wondered. 'Probably the White Tigers, or something. Mariah,' he concluded with a slight grin.
Hilary looked so quiet and timid when she was sleeping. 'She looks sorta cute and innocent,' he thought. She seemed to be deep into her slumber. 'Like Kai,' he thought to himself.
Bringing the thought of Kai up, he forced himself to walk away. He walked to the frozen ice they had been practising on, and launched his blade. It spun out of control just like it had before. He stood there, frustrated, watching the blade go against his will.
"Concentrate," Tyson heard a cool, deep voice. Maybe it was his imagination.
"I said to focus," Kai's voice was heard again, snapping Tyson out of his state. A blue beyblade suddenly knocked Dragoon back towards Tyson, causing his master to quickly catch the grey blade.
"Kai?" he asked, still in shock.
"Try again," Kai commanded. Tyson stood there for a few seconds, then nodded with a determined smile and gripped his launcher.
"Let it rip!" Tyson shouted. This time his beyblade smoothly zigzagged across the ice completely in control. Tyson was surprised, but quickly focused again on Dragoon. Kai gave Tyson a nod, and smiled.
^^^^^
"Aachoo!" Kenny sneezed.
"Good job, Kai. Now you've got us all sick," Rei remarked.
"Sorry," Kai shrugged sarcastically.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, although it hadn't melted the snow. Soft, delicate flakes fell from the clear blue sky. It was mid-afternoon, and the Bladebreakers had been walking for a few hours.
"Coulda had something to do with being stranded out in the snow for days wearing summer clothes," Hilary said with a shiver.
"Hey, what are the chances of us getting some chicken soup or something from that mysterious gift-giver?" Tyson joked. "What?" he asked, after getting some odd looks.
"Let's go find out," Rei said, spotting a package in the distance.
"Yeah!" Max ran ahead and opened it. "Uh." There was a remote control in the package.
"Just press the button," Kenny told him. "I wonder what it does."
As Max pressed the button, a screen came out of nowhere. "Greetings, bladebreakers," a slender shadow said from the screen.
"Oh, come on," Tyson muttered. "This is getting old."
"You've successfully completed the first test. Congratulations," his icy voice said calmly.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Tyson asked.
Another shadow appeared on the screen. It was short and wide. "I'm terribly sorry," it said. The voice was that of an old man's. They all recognised the voice.
"Stay out of this, Dickenson," the first shadow shouted, and continued to speak to the Bladebreakers. "Now, go through this portal. Believe me, it is the only way. No more provisions will be sent through after the quest is completed. Good luck, Bladebreakers." And with that the connection was lost and the screen disappeared.
"What's going on?" Max wondered aloud.
"Yeah. and what does Mr. Dickenson have to do with this?" Rei asked, although he knew the others didn't know.
"Uh. guess we have to get through that portal," Kenny said. After a few seconds, Kenny started to shriek.
"What's up, Kenny?" Rei asked curiously.
"Dizzi. is gone!" The laptop had disappeared from his very hands. Hilary almost laughed as Tyson, Max and Rei hastily checked their pockets for their beyblades. Kai remained cool and composed. Hilary smiled; did he ever panic?
"Thank goodness!" Max sighed, relieved.
"Yeah, none were taken. Don't worry, Kenny," Rei tried to comfort his friend. "I'm sure Dizzi's safe and sound."
"Yeah," Max added. "And besides, panicking won't help anything; will it."
"I guess you're right." Kenny admitted, sadly. "Let's get to that portal."
"That's the way, chief!" Tyson exclaimed, and the Bladebreakers started to run towards the strange portal.
"Whoa, this is super hi-tech!" Max said in awe.
"I believe they've discovered some means of teleportation!" Kenny said, excitement in his voice once again.
"Only one way to find out," Rei said. As soon as the last person, who happened to be Kenny, was in, they were off.
(Rei's POV)
It was like some kind of crazy roller coaster. I couldn't see a thing, but I could feel my heart leap, like in elevators, except a billion times worse. The feeling of excitement and horror that you get on thrill rides. not that I had really been on many thrill rides myself, but you get the idea.
It also felt like I would fall over if I took a step. Which, of course, I couldn't, but supposing. It was a horrifyingly dizzy experience; I would have collapsed if it hadn't all been in my mind.
A feeling that I was about to be sick overcame me. Well, I was already sick. but you know what I mean. And what we saw. was nothing. Total darkness, it made me feel afraid. We heard nothing, we saw nothing. there was nothing.
Amazing how you can feel all of that in less than a second.
^^^^^
Kai slowly got up from the ground. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shake off the feeling of complete helplessness and disorientation. Everything was blurry, and came into focus after a while. Everyone else was in a worse state than he was.
Kenny was literally green in the face. Kai remembered that Kenny got seasick, so it wasn't unusual. He saw Kenny stagger a few steps then caught him as he almost fell to the ground. "Thanks Kai," Kenny had managed to say weakly.
Tyson looked a little nauseous, but not nearly as bad as Kenny. Max looked completely disorientated and was walking as if he was drunk. Both Rei and Hilary looked extremely pale. Rei was breathing slightly heavily, and Hilary looked scared to death.
Kai waited a few minutes for everyone to recover. He looked around them. 'We're in a forest,' he discovered. "Is everyone okay?" he asked in his emotionless tone.
"I think so," they replied, still recovering from their frightening experience.
"Looks like we're in a forest," he told them, hearing them groan.
"I'm actually starting to miss school," Tyson mumbled.
"Oh?" Hilary was surprised. 'I'm actually enjoying this. adventure.' she thought to herself with a smirk.
"Starting to?" Kenny asked. He sounded hurt.
"Uh. what I meant was. I. I'm. aah I don't know," he couldn't think of an excuse.
"Hey, this shouldn't be so bad," Rei said cheerily. "Sorta like camping in the wilderness."
"Yeah!" Max sounded brighter. "It'll be fun!"
"Let's go," Kai commanded, as they set off deep into the woods.
^^^^^
The Bladebreakers had wandered deeper and deeper into the forest. There was hardly any light; the branches of the trees blocked out the sun. The trees were tall and beautiful, yet powerful and dangerous. They had been walking for hours, yet the forest hadn't seemed to end. It had just become thicker and darker.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Kenny said. He was so scared of the forest his voice was shaking.
"Kenny, you just went five minutes ago," Hilary stated.
Kai gave an audible sigh. It had gone on like this for hours. Constant complaints, frequent breaks, dark and depressing thoughts.
"I'm hungry," Tyson complained, reinforcing Kai's thoughts.
"Me too. And I'm sick," Max added. "We all are."
"We're all hungry, sick and exhausted," Rei stated.
"We're hungry, sick, exhausted and lost in some freak experiment!" Hilary cried out.
"We're hungry, sick, exhausted, lost and I have to go to the bathroom!" Kenny whined. Everyone glared and sweat-dropped.
"Let's keep moving," Kai said coldly.
^^^^^
"Yeesh, what's with him?" Tyson complained to Max and Rei. They were walking once again, Kai in the lead. "It's like he doesn't have emotions or something."
"Hey, Ty. You know that's not true," Max replied. "He just doesn't whine and complain about everything."
"Whatever," Tyson said moodily.
(Rei's POV)
They were agitated and angry. The smallest things would tick them off. I knew why. It was the lack of sun. The darkness was slowly draining away all their hope and happiness. It had affected Tyson a lot; he was sulking and angry. Max had lost his cheerfulness and his voice had lost its joy. Kenny was thoroughly frustrated with everything; he was extremely suspicious and snappy. Hilary just seemed quiet and depressed. just how I felt.
I felt so helpless and sad, like I couldn't find happiness no matter how hard I tried. The others affected me, too. It was like some kind of disease. it was contagious. The only one that didn't seem to be affected was Kai.
It was strange, really; he seemed perfectly normal, and we were at extremes of anger and depression. It was as if he had adapted; as if he was used to it. and I had a suspicion that he probably was.
It was a sad thought; I didn't want to think about it. I shook off the suspicion and focused on the landscape. It was so dark, so gloomy. I needed the sun. I craved light.
(Hilary's POV)
I was so sad. I didn't know why, but I felt depressed. Tears welled up inside my eyes, and I started to cry. I shivered and sobbed, not knowing why I felt the way I did.
I had abandoned all hope; nothing was left inside me. What was the point of going on? It was so dark it scared me. Not a soft darkness, like when you're lying in bed. It was a harsh, cruel feeling of emptiness, one that tore the soul from me.
I felt someone trying to comfort me. Gripping my hand tightly, telling me it was okay. I opened my tear-filled eyes to see Rei. He looked as if he felt the same way. I didn't know why, but I felt better. Someone understood. when I didn't myself.
(Kenny's POV)
I was majorly stressing out. Over what I don't know. maybe I was fretting over Dizzi. Maybe the fact I was sick, along with everyone else? Maybe because I was exhausted but was forced to go on.
"Chief, are you okay?" I heard Rei call from ahead. He was walking with Hilary.
"Why do you ask? Don't talk to me!" I found myself shouting. I felt near tears. He looked a little taken aback, but otherwise unshaken. I quickly mumbled a "sorry" to Rei, but he seemed to understand.
(Tyson's POV)
"So how are you doing, Tyson?" Rei called.
"What do you mean? I'm tired; I'm hungry and sick," I snapped. "We're stranded because of some stupid experiment and are completely lost. I'm exhausted but Kai (I practically spat his name) won't give us a break."
Rei smiled. That bothered me. He had predicted what I would say. It shouldn't bother me, but it did. He whispered something to Hilary, and heard her say "Thanks, Rei," and gave him a small smile. And then. a hug.
I felt a wave of jealousy wash over me. I was furious, although I didn't know why. I knew Rei was just being a good friend. She had been crying, and he had gone and comforted her.
I normally wouldn't feel that way. Not at all. I found myself angered at every little thing. My temper and feelings of hatred had risen since we had come to this horrible forest. Since this forest, shadows had filled my thoughts.
(Max's POV)
I tried to smile, wink, anything as Rei came up beside me. But no, I only managed to say "hi," in an anything but excited tone.
"What's up, Max?" Rei asked.
"I. don't know," I confessed. I felt sad. Lonely, even though my friends were right beside me. I wanted to smile. I couldn't. Rei managed to smile for me.
"How are you feeling?" he had read my very thoughts. I knew it. I didn't answer.
"It's okay, Max," he said softly. He put a hand on my shoulder for reassurance. I managed the weakest smile. "That's the way," he said, and walked ahead.
(Kai's POV)
The darkness was haunting. I wasn't scared of the dark itself, but more of the memories it contained. The dark memories of my painful past which were mine alone.
I was used to the dark. The empty feeling it gave me was one that I had endured for years. It was this very darkness that I had grown up in; I had known no other feelings.
I had grown up without sunlight. I was constantly in the dark, trained never to have emotions. I did, though; feelings of fear and hatred had filled my soul during those dark years. Pain and suffering; I got that from my grandfather instead of love.
I didn't even know the meaning of love or friendship. Even kindness and honesty was new to me. I had been deprived for over 10 years.
I never did feel sadness, though, during the times before the Bladebreakers. I wish I had. In order for one to feel sad, they must have felt happiness before. When that happiness is lost, they are sad. If they have never had happiness they cannot lose it, so they can never truly feel sad.
"Hey, Kai," Rei's voice broke the silence. I could sense his feelings of loneliness and depression in his voice that he tried to hide with his usual confidence. I doubt any of the others would detect it.
I swiftly turned to look at him. He had something to say.
"Maybe we should take a break," he suggested.
"No," I answered. He stared at me with a puzzled look; he didn't understand why. He didn't ask, though, so I decided to continue. "The longer we are in the darkness, the more helpless we will become, until we are so lost in depression we will never escape."
He stared at me blankly, and after a few seconds I saw in his face that he understood. "You're right," he answered.
The others were affected in different ways. While the darkness brought fearful memories to me, I knew this wasn't the case for the others. I knew some of them were already so overwhelmed by the sheer darkness that they could barely go on.
As I glanced over at my friends, I saw tears flowing freely down Hilary's face. Max looked like he had lost his spirit, his face emotionless. Tyson kept his head down, lost in feelings of anger and loneliness. Kenny looked as if he would completely break down if approached. Rei appeared to be fighting the overwhelming depression. He was struggling but would eventually lose grip.
I, myself, was not affected so much by the dark, but more the memories contained. As they came flooding back to me, I tried to snap myself out of it, but without success. Deep down, I knew they wouldn't stop. They would haunt me for as long as I was in the darkness.
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Hilary had collapsed. After walking for a few hours more, she couldn't take it. Wandering through the nightmare of trees; they had no light whatsoever. There wasn't a glimpse of sun; everything had died. Including herself, she felt.
She stopped and started to sob uncontrollably. Rei had gently embraced her, trying to comfort her. Rei alone understood what she was going through.
She was crying into his shoulder, unaware of everything going on around her. She just knew she felt safer now; somebody cared and understood. Rei's presence was comforting. She had thrown her arms around him, afraid of losing his friendship.
Tyson looked at Rei embracing Hilary. He felt jealousy again. but not because Hilary could allow herself to cry in his arms. Tyson felt as if he wanted that comfort. He felt lonely and lost; he wanted the warm feeling of friendship, just as Rei had offered Hilary.
Max looked around with dull eyes. His eyes had lost their sparkle, his face lifeless. Nobody had moved to comfort Hilary, besides Rei. Not that he see, but he knew it. On any normal circumstance he would have been there to encourage them and help them see the brighter side of things. Not today.
^^^^^
The Bladebreakers had decided to go to sleep. Even though it was only 6:00 PM, they had been walking since morning. They felt exhausted and weary.
Kai could faintly make out the shadows of the sleeping Bladebreakers. He couldn't sleep. He had decided to launch Dranzer. The flames of his bit- beast would comfort him.
He launched his beyblade swiftly; and summoned Dranzer. Dranzer's radiant flames shed light upon the forest. He smiled, as the loyal bit-beast shone in the sky.
"It's beautiful," Hilary whispered. Kai sharply turned to see that Hilary was awake. Freshly fallen tears lingered on her delicate face, which was now visible due to the beautiful light that emitted from Kai's beyblade. Her eyes shone in the fire; Kai could see the darkness lift.
"Thank you, Kai," she whispered softly. She suddenly felt her courage return; she had the strength to go on. She gazed at the brilliant phoenix, absorbing the rays emitted from the bit-beast. Rays of light; rays of hope.
^^^^^
End of chappie! Okay, the last chapter turned out a lot longer and more angst-y than I suspected. R+R please!!
~ Penguin Pop ^-~
I don't own Beyblade.
^^^^^
Twisted Fate
Chapter 4: Darkness
"Tyson!" Kenny cried as Max and Tyson approached. "What's up? How are you? Where did you go? Why did you go? When are you going to apologise--" Kenny stopped after receiving a sharp glare from Max. He saw Tyson's face fall, and knew immediately Tyson was sorry.
"I." Tyson stuttered. He hung his head.
"It's okay, Tyson. Okay, maybe it's not, but what's done is done," Max said sensibly.
Tyson let out an audible sigh. He opened his mouth to speak, but saw Rei coming from the distance. "Rei!" Tyson shouted.
"Hey, Tyson. What's up?" Rei asked in his usual, calm way.
"Uh." Tyson didn't answer. "How's Kai?"
Rei lost his cheery smile. The others noticed, and immediately knew everything wasn't perfect. "He. wanted to be left alone. He told Hilary the same. He's still out there, alone."
Tyson was shocked. Kai went into deep thoughts alone when he was upset. Dranzer had been taken away from him last time, but this time? Tyson didn't know, but he knew one thing. 'It's my fault,' he said to himself.
"Tyson! There you are! I've been looking for you!" Hilary was now running over to them. "Kai--"
"He knows, Hilary," Rei interrupted, knowing Tyson was better off not reminded yet again.
"I. I'm really sorry." Tyson said, looking down.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Hilary said brightly. She saw the puzzled look on his face. "Go tell that to Kai!" she explained.
There was a long pause, all waiting for Tyson to speak. He looked up after a few seconds, and had a determined look upon his face. "I'll do it."
^^^^^
'Kai, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry Kai, about everything I said. Hey, Kai, you know I didn't mean anything I said. Kai, please come back, I didn't know what I was saying. Sorry, Kai, I was being a real jerk back there.' Tyson wondered what to say to Kai when he did find him. He would think of what to say while walking; he would think of something. but he hadn't yet.
As he was thinking about what to say, he could make out Kai's figure in the distance. 'Oh, great,' he thought to himself. 'There he is, and I haven't a clue what to say.' Yet Tyson continued on; he was very confident and sure of himself, he would find something to say.
"Hey," Tyson said quietly. Kai didn't tell him to get lost. He didn't say anything; he didn't look at him. He made no effort to acknowledge his existence, however Tyson knew he had heard him.
"I- I was thinking about what I said back there. I was wrong, Kai. I didn't mean it at all," he continued. 'Man, this is harder than I thought!' Tyson said in his head. 'It's like talking to a brick wall. except brick walls don't hear you. It's harder than talking to a brick wall.'
"What I mean is, we're all friends. You're are friend, and we're yours, and you know it." Tyson paused a little, to think of what to say next. "Friends fight sometimes, but you know what? It only makes the bonds between them stronger. So, here I am, admitting I'm wrong. That's not something you see everyday, maybe never again. But I am now because I realise myself that I was wrong, and I want to fix things. That's what friendship is all about," he added with a smile.
Kai turned to face Tyson. It was very unusual for Tyson to give in, to admit he was wrong. He had no reason for apologising, no motive. Maybe he really did care. Maybe they really were friends all along; maybe Tyson was being honest. Tyson was always honest. maybe this time was no exception.
^^^^^
"What do you MEAN he didn't come back?!" Kenny cried after Tyson had returned without success.
"He just turned and walked away. he completely ignored my speech! Which, by the way, I thought was pretty good myself," he added with a slight smile.
"Did you by any chance prepare your speech?" Max asked.
"Uh. was I supposed to?" The others groaned and sweat-dropped. "Heheh. oops," he laughed comically with his hand on the back of his neck.
"Way to go, Tyson!" Hilary exclaimed sarcastically.
"Hey, calm down. We've got enough problems as it is," Rei said before they could start a fight.
"Yeah. It's really dark out. it's past midnight," Max added. "Let's get some sleep," he added with a yawn.
"Good idea," Rei said. 'Well that was a productive day,' he thought sarcastically to himself.
^^^^^
Tyson couldn't sleep. The others were deep into their own dream world. Kenny was sleeping fretfully, his face serious and full of frustration. 'Trying to fix Dizzi in his sleep, even,' he thought to himself.
Max was sleeping happily. He was always happy. He always had a cheery outlook on life, always something positive to say. He shifted gently in his sleep and his mouth whispered something Tyson couldn't make out. Suddenly, a large grin appeared on Max's sleeping face. 'Freaky,' he thought to himself and quickly looked away.
Rei was sleeping peacefully. His face showed signs of happiness and longing. 'Longing for what?' Tyson wondered. 'Probably the White Tigers, or something. Mariah,' he concluded with a slight grin.
Hilary looked so quiet and timid when she was sleeping. 'She looks sorta cute and innocent,' he thought. She seemed to be deep into her slumber. 'Like Kai,' he thought to himself.
Bringing the thought of Kai up, he forced himself to walk away. He walked to the frozen ice they had been practising on, and launched his blade. It spun out of control just like it had before. He stood there, frustrated, watching the blade go against his will.
"Concentrate," Tyson heard a cool, deep voice. Maybe it was his imagination.
"I said to focus," Kai's voice was heard again, snapping Tyson out of his state. A blue beyblade suddenly knocked Dragoon back towards Tyson, causing his master to quickly catch the grey blade.
"Kai?" he asked, still in shock.
"Try again," Kai commanded. Tyson stood there for a few seconds, then nodded with a determined smile and gripped his launcher.
"Let it rip!" Tyson shouted. This time his beyblade smoothly zigzagged across the ice completely in control. Tyson was surprised, but quickly focused again on Dragoon. Kai gave Tyson a nod, and smiled.
^^^^^
"Aachoo!" Kenny sneezed.
"Good job, Kai. Now you've got us all sick," Rei remarked.
"Sorry," Kai shrugged sarcastically.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, although it hadn't melted the snow. Soft, delicate flakes fell from the clear blue sky. It was mid-afternoon, and the Bladebreakers had been walking for a few hours.
"Coulda had something to do with being stranded out in the snow for days wearing summer clothes," Hilary said with a shiver.
"Hey, what are the chances of us getting some chicken soup or something from that mysterious gift-giver?" Tyson joked. "What?" he asked, after getting some odd looks.
"Let's go find out," Rei said, spotting a package in the distance.
"Yeah!" Max ran ahead and opened it. "Uh." There was a remote control in the package.
"Just press the button," Kenny told him. "I wonder what it does."
As Max pressed the button, a screen came out of nowhere. "Greetings, bladebreakers," a slender shadow said from the screen.
"Oh, come on," Tyson muttered. "This is getting old."
"You've successfully completed the first test. Congratulations," his icy voice said calmly.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Tyson asked.
Another shadow appeared on the screen. It was short and wide. "I'm terribly sorry," it said. The voice was that of an old man's. They all recognised the voice.
"Stay out of this, Dickenson," the first shadow shouted, and continued to speak to the Bladebreakers. "Now, go through this portal. Believe me, it is the only way. No more provisions will be sent through after the quest is completed. Good luck, Bladebreakers." And with that the connection was lost and the screen disappeared.
"What's going on?" Max wondered aloud.
"Yeah. and what does Mr. Dickenson have to do with this?" Rei asked, although he knew the others didn't know.
"Uh. guess we have to get through that portal," Kenny said. After a few seconds, Kenny started to shriek.
"What's up, Kenny?" Rei asked curiously.
"Dizzi. is gone!" The laptop had disappeared from his very hands. Hilary almost laughed as Tyson, Max and Rei hastily checked their pockets for their beyblades. Kai remained cool and composed. Hilary smiled; did he ever panic?
"Thank goodness!" Max sighed, relieved.
"Yeah, none were taken. Don't worry, Kenny," Rei tried to comfort his friend. "I'm sure Dizzi's safe and sound."
"Yeah," Max added. "And besides, panicking won't help anything; will it."
"I guess you're right." Kenny admitted, sadly. "Let's get to that portal."
"That's the way, chief!" Tyson exclaimed, and the Bladebreakers started to run towards the strange portal.
"Whoa, this is super hi-tech!" Max said in awe.
"I believe they've discovered some means of teleportation!" Kenny said, excitement in his voice once again.
"Only one way to find out," Rei said. As soon as the last person, who happened to be Kenny, was in, they were off.
(Rei's POV)
It was like some kind of crazy roller coaster. I couldn't see a thing, but I could feel my heart leap, like in elevators, except a billion times worse. The feeling of excitement and horror that you get on thrill rides. not that I had really been on many thrill rides myself, but you get the idea.
It also felt like I would fall over if I took a step. Which, of course, I couldn't, but supposing. It was a horrifyingly dizzy experience; I would have collapsed if it hadn't all been in my mind.
A feeling that I was about to be sick overcame me. Well, I was already sick. but you know what I mean. And what we saw. was nothing. Total darkness, it made me feel afraid. We heard nothing, we saw nothing. there was nothing.
Amazing how you can feel all of that in less than a second.
^^^^^
Kai slowly got up from the ground. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shake off the feeling of complete helplessness and disorientation. Everything was blurry, and came into focus after a while. Everyone else was in a worse state than he was.
Kenny was literally green in the face. Kai remembered that Kenny got seasick, so it wasn't unusual. He saw Kenny stagger a few steps then caught him as he almost fell to the ground. "Thanks Kai," Kenny had managed to say weakly.
Tyson looked a little nauseous, but not nearly as bad as Kenny. Max looked completely disorientated and was walking as if he was drunk. Both Rei and Hilary looked extremely pale. Rei was breathing slightly heavily, and Hilary looked scared to death.
Kai waited a few minutes for everyone to recover. He looked around them. 'We're in a forest,' he discovered. "Is everyone okay?" he asked in his emotionless tone.
"I think so," they replied, still recovering from their frightening experience.
"Looks like we're in a forest," he told them, hearing them groan.
"I'm actually starting to miss school," Tyson mumbled.
"Oh?" Hilary was surprised. 'I'm actually enjoying this. adventure.' she thought to herself with a smirk.
"Starting to?" Kenny asked. He sounded hurt.
"Uh. what I meant was. I. I'm. aah I don't know," he couldn't think of an excuse.
"Hey, this shouldn't be so bad," Rei said cheerily. "Sorta like camping in the wilderness."
"Yeah!" Max sounded brighter. "It'll be fun!"
"Let's go," Kai commanded, as they set off deep into the woods.
^^^^^
The Bladebreakers had wandered deeper and deeper into the forest. There was hardly any light; the branches of the trees blocked out the sun. The trees were tall and beautiful, yet powerful and dangerous. They had been walking for hours, yet the forest hadn't seemed to end. It had just become thicker and darker.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Kenny said. He was so scared of the forest his voice was shaking.
"Kenny, you just went five minutes ago," Hilary stated.
Kai gave an audible sigh. It had gone on like this for hours. Constant complaints, frequent breaks, dark and depressing thoughts.
"I'm hungry," Tyson complained, reinforcing Kai's thoughts.
"Me too. And I'm sick," Max added. "We all are."
"We're all hungry, sick and exhausted," Rei stated.
"We're hungry, sick, exhausted and lost in some freak experiment!" Hilary cried out.
"We're hungry, sick, exhausted, lost and I have to go to the bathroom!" Kenny whined. Everyone glared and sweat-dropped.
"Let's keep moving," Kai said coldly.
^^^^^
"Yeesh, what's with him?" Tyson complained to Max and Rei. They were walking once again, Kai in the lead. "It's like he doesn't have emotions or something."
"Hey, Ty. You know that's not true," Max replied. "He just doesn't whine and complain about everything."
"Whatever," Tyson said moodily.
(Rei's POV)
They were agitated and angry. The smallest things would tick them off. I knew why. It was the lack of sun. The darkness was slowly draining away all their hope and happiness. It had affected Tyson a lot; he was sulking and angry. Max had lost his cheerfulness and his voice had lost its joy. Kenny was thoroughly frustrated with everything; he was extremely suspicious and snappy. Hilary just seemed quiet and depressed. just how I felt.
I felt so helpless and sad, like I couldn't find happiness no matter how hard I tried. The others affected me, too. It was like some kind of disease. it was contagious. The only one that didn't seem to be affected was Kai.
It was strange, really; he seemed perfectly normal, and we were at extremes of anger and depression. It was as if he had adapted; as if he was used to it. and I had a suspicion that he probably was.
It was a sad thought; I didn't want to think about it. I shook off the suspicion and focused on the landscape. It was so dark, so gloomy. I needed the sun. I craved light.
(Hilary's POV)
I was so sad. I didn't know why, but I felt depressed. Tears welled up inside my eyes, and I started to cry. I shivered and sobbed, not knowing why I felt the way I did.
I had abandoned all hope; nothing was left inside me. What was the point of going on? It was so dark it scared me. Not a soft darkness, like when you're lying in bed. It was a harsh, cruel feeling of emptiness, one that tore the soul from me.
I felt someone trying to comfort me. Gripping my hand tightly, telling me it was okay. I opened my tear-filled eyes to see Rei. He looked as if he felt the same way. I didn't know why, but I felt better. Someone understood. when I didn't myself.
(Kenny's POV)
I was majorly stressing out. Over what I don't know. maybe I was fretting over Dizzi. Maybe the fact I was sick, along with everyone else? Maybe because I was exhausted but was forced to go on.
"Chief, are you okay?" I heard Rei call from ahead. He was walking with Hilary.
"Why do you ask? Don't talk to me!" I found myself shouting. I felt near tears. He looked a little taken aback, but otherwise unshaken. I quickly mumbled a "sorry" to Rei, but he seemed to understand.
(Tyson's POV)
"So how are you doing, Tyson?" Rei called.
"What do you mean? I'm tired; I'm hungry and sick," I snapped. "We're stranded because of some stupid experiment and are completely lost. I'm exhausted but Kai (I practically spat his name) won't give us a break."
Rei smiled. That bothered me. He had predicted what I would say. It shouldn't bother me, but it did. He whispered something to Hilary, and heard her say "Thanks, Rei," and gave him a small smile. And then. a hug.
I felt a wave of jealousy wash over me. I was furious, although I didn't know why. I knew Rei was just being a good friend. She had been crying, and he had gone and comforted her.
I normally wouldn't feel that way. Not at all. I found myself angered at every little thing. My temper and feelings of hatred had risen since we had come to this horrible forest. Since this forest, shadows had filled my thoughts.
(Max's POV)
I tried to smile, wink, anything as Rei came up beside me. But no, I only managed to say "hi," in an anything but excited tone.
"What's up, Max?" Rei asked.
"I. don't know," I confessed. I felt sad. Lonely, even though my friends were right beside me. I wanted to smile. I couldn't. Rei managed to smile for me.
"How are you feeling?" he had read my very thoughts. I knew it. I didn't answer.
"It's okay, Max," he said softly. He put a hand on my shoulder for reassurance. I managed the weakest smile. "That's the way," he said, and walked ahead.
(Kai's POV)
The darkness was haunting. I wasn't scared of the dark itself, but more of the memories it contained. The dark memories of my painful past which were mine alone.
I was used to the dark. The empty feeling it gave me was one that I had endured for years. It was this very darkness that I had grown up in; I had known no other feelings.
I had grown up without sunlight. I was constantly in the dark, trained never to have emotions. I did, though; feelings of fear and hatred had filled my soul during those dark years. Pain and suffering; I got that from my grandfather instead of love.
I didn't even know the meaning of love or friendship. Even kindness and honesty was new to me. I had been deprived for over 10 years.
I never did feel sadness, though, during the times before the Bladebreakers. I wish I had. In order for one to feel sad, they must have felt happiness before. When that happiness is lost, they are sad. If they have never had happiness they cannot lose it, so they can never truly feel sad.
"Hey, Kai," Rei's voice broke the silence. I could sense his feelings of loneliness and depression in his voice that he tried to hide with his usual confidence. I doubt any of the others would detect it.
I swiftly turned to look at him. He had something to say.
"Maybe we should take a break," he suggested.
"No," I answered. He stared at me with a puzzled look; he didn't understand why. He didn't ask, though, so I decided to continue. "The longer we are in the darkness, the more helpless we will become, until we are so lost in depression we will never escape."
He stared at me blankly, and after a few seconds I saw in his face that he understood. "You're right," he answered.
The others were affected in different ways. While the darkness brought fearful memories to me, I knew this wasn't the case for the others. I knew some of them were already so overwhelmed by the sheer darkness that they could barely go on.
As I glanced over at my friends, I saw tears flowing freely down Hilary's face. Max looked like he had lost his spirit, his face emotionless. Tyson kept his head down, lost in feelings of anger and loneliness. Kenny looked as if he would completely break down if approached. Rei appeared to be fighting the overwhelming depression. He was struggling but would eventually lose grip.
I, myself, was not affected so much by the dark, but more the memories contained. As they came flooding back to me, I tried to snap myself out of it, but without success. Deep down, I knew they wouldn't stop. They would haunt me for as long as I was in the darkness.
^^^^^
Hilary had collapsed. After walking for a few hours more, she couldn't take it. Wandering through the nightmare of trees; they had no light whatsoever. There wasn't a glimpse of sun; everything had died. Including herself, she felt.
She stopped and started to sob uncontrollably. Rei had gently embraced her, trying to comfort her. Rei alone understood what she was going through.
She was crying into his shoulder, unaware of everything going on around her. She just knew she felt safer now; somebody cared and understood. Rei's presence was comforting. She had thrown her arms around him, afraid of losing his friendship.
Tyson looked at Rei embracing Hilary. He felt jealousy again. but not because Hilary could allow herself to cry in his arms. Tyson felt as if he wanted that comfort. He felt lonely and lost; he wanted the warm feeling of friendship, just as Rei had offered Hilary.
Max looked around with dull eyes. His eyes had lost their sparkle, his face lifeless. Nobody had moved to comfort Hilary, besides Rei. Not that he see, but he knew it. On any normal circumstance he would have been there to encourage them and help them see the brighter side of things. Not today.
^^^^^
The Bladebreakers had decided to go to sleep. Even though it was only 6:00 PM, they had been walking since morning. They felt exhausted and weary.
Kai could faintly make out the shadows of the sleeping Bladebreakers. He couldn't sleep. He had decided to launch Dranzer. The flames of his bit- beast would comfort him.
He launched his beyblade swiftly; and summoned Dranzer. Dranzer's radiant flames shed light upon the forest. He smiled, as the loyal bit-beast shone in the sky.
"It's beautiful," Hilary whispered. Kai sharply turned to see that Hilary was awake. Freshly fallen tears lingered on her delicate face, which was now visible due to the beautiful light that emitted from Kai's beyblade. Her eyes shone in the fire; Kai could see the darkness lift.
"Thank you, Kai," she whispered softly. She suddenly felt her courage return; she had the strength to go on. She gazed at the brilliant phoenix, absorbing the rays emitted from the bit-beast. Rays of light; rays of hope.
^^^^^
End of chappie! Okay, the last chapter turned out a lot longer and more angst-y than I suspected. R+R please!!
~ Penguin Pop ^-~