I'm Ky, a Kairu Champion. I race around the world to find a powerful energy known as Kairu. Not long ago, Lokar unleashed a power called Shadow Kairu. After going on a journey, I found Prism Kairu, a force I thought had the power to change Shadow Kairu back into normal Kairu. After using it, instead of turning all the Shadow Kairu back, it only worked on Kairu that had already been found. The rest of it transformed into something not Shadow or Pure Kairu. This new Gray Kairu changes from good to bad depending on who has it. Lokar also has a new team of E-Teens that have a type of move called a Violet Move, which increases their Kairu strength during a battle. With the odds stacked against us, we have to press on to fight Lokar and save the world from him and his Dark Teams. My quest is to save the world from Lokar by conquering all types of Kairu, and to one day ascend to the level of

REDAKAI!

Ky looked out of a window in the cockpit of the X-Scaper, looking out at the gray sky, threatening to rain.

"Perfect. The weather responds to my mood now." Maya came out, yawning.

"Ky, what are you doing up so early? The sun hasn't even gotten past the horizon yet." He shook his head.

"The sun's up. It's just gray outside." Maya gave him a concerned look.

"I know that today's a tough day for you, but you can't let yourself get in this, this, this funk every year! You've been like this for a few days, and if it goes on for too long, then it'll only get worse! You'll be stuck in a funk that you can't get yourself out of!" He used every single bit of restraint that he had not to lash out at her with hurtful words.

"I'm not trying to get in a funk. I'm just a bit depressed, but if that's your definition of a funk, then I guess that's what I'm in. If I'm stuck in it, then I'm stuck." She sat down next to him and put her arm on his shoulders.

"Look, I know it still hurts, but you've gotta admit, it doesn't hurt anywhere near as much as it did when it first happened, right?" He sighed.

"Yeah, I mean, I guess so, but that doesn't mean the pain isn't there." Maya smiled.

"I know Boomer's usually the one to do this, but you need a hug right now." Before he could say anything against it, Maya wrapped him up in a hug. "Trust me, getting sad about things you can't control will only make them hurt more. I would know. Instead of being sad about what's already happened, be happy about what could happen now." He pushed her away.

"Thanks. I'll try and think about that." He stood up and went back to his room. Maya had a sad expression on her face as she sighed.

"It's only this time of year that he gets this sad." She looked out a window. "It's been fourteen and thirteen years today. I wish I could help him, but he pushes away any help I can give him. Why does he always push me away though? Every time we get too close, he just pushes and pushes." She didn't dwell on the thought. The Kairu alert went off. She went to go see what it said. "A Kairu deposit in Africa, huh?" She smiled as she hit her hand with her fist. "Maybe that'll help get him out of his funk. He's always up for a quest! Plus, kicking some E-Teen butt should help him relieve his stress!" Boomer came out.

"What's up with Ky? I woke up because the Kairu alarm was going off, and Ky was coming back into our room. When I asked him where we were heading, he said 'I don't really care' and went straight into the bathroom! He's been pretty weird the last couple of days." Maya sighed.

"Boomer, today's the anniversary, remember? It's been fourteen years today since the first, and thirteen years since the second. You can't expect him to be happy. On this day, nothing can get him out of his funk." Boomer thought about it.

"That's today, isn't it? I'd honestly forgotten about it, what, with everything that's happened lately." Maya nodded.

"It can't help that Team Femmicore kicked our butts and got the Kairu yesterday. It's hard enough as it is with what today is, but also having that happen yesterday, it just makes it harder." Boomer thought about that as he got in the pilot's seat and made the X-Scaper take off.

"You're right. No wonder he's so depressed. We've faced the Femmicore six times, seven if you count the time when it was just Rueth and Mae, and haven't beaten them even once! That can definitely damper a guy's mood." Maya sat down and poured herself some cereal in a bowl.

"I just wish he wouldn't push me away. He'll barely even look at me today, just like it's been this day every year since I've met him." She threw her arms up in the air slightly. "I don't even know why! He refuses to even give me an explanation, even going so far as to saying he's not pushing me away!" Boomer looked a bit shocked.

"Isn't it a bit obvious?" She shook her head.

"No, but if you can explain, please do." He looked straight at the skies, trying not to look back at Maya.

"You remind him of her. When he's described her, he's pretty much describing you. Because of that, he pushes you away. And how did you not figure that out?" She was a bit shocked.

"I, I remind Ky of her?" Boomer nodded.

"Yeah." She looked down at her cereal.

"But, she was one of the greatest Kairu Warriors to ever live! She's legendary, and every girl who ever trains in Kairu strives to be as good or better than her." Boomer nodded.

"Yeah, she is. And don't forget, she was a member of the same team Ky's dad was on. Seriously, you're supposed to be the smart one! How could you not figure this out?" She shook her head.

"I'm not sure, but you really think I remind Ky of her?"

Lokar smiled to himself.

"Ah, a simply dreadful day for Ky Stax. And it just so happens to coincide with a new Kairu deposit, oh, and Gray Kairu at that. RADIKOR!" Team Radikor appeared before him. Zane bowed in respect.

"Yes Master?"

"I've detected a Kairu deposit in Africa. And Zane, I think you know what today is." Zane nodded, smiling evilly.

"Oh yeah, I remember what today is. Ky's not gonna be in much of any state to fight, but I'm sure I can change that." Lokar nodded.

"Then go, and bring me back the Kairu!" They nodded and disappeared. Lokar smiled.

"With Ky too depressed to fight well, Maya and Boomer will have to cover for him, and on their own, they surely won't be enough for Team Radikor." He laughed evilly.

Maya closed her eyes as they stood in a desert.

"The Kairu is close. It's Gray Kairu though." Boomer looked pretty pumped.

"So what? Gray, Shadow, or Pure, it doesn't matter as long as we get it!" Ky looked pretty depressed still.

"Whatever. Let's just get the Gray Kairu and go home." He just stared down at his X-Reader, following the signal to wherever the Kairu was. Maya and Boomer looked at each other. Deciding not to say anything to keep the situation from getting worse, they remained silent as they got closer to the Kairu. Maya was it quickly.

"There it is!" She ran over to it. "It's an old ivory carving!" Boomer ran towards it and looked pumped.

"Alright! And we didn't have to deal with any E-Teens!" Ky sighed.

"Let's just get the Kairu and go home." They got out their X-Readers, but then a harsh voice spoke up.

"I wouldn't go around calling that Kairu yours when you've still got us to deal with." Maya and Boomer turned around to glare at them.

"Team Radikor!" Zane laughed a little.

"So, still think that Kairu's yours?" He looked at Ky, who's eyes seemed pretty depressed. "My, my, what do we have here? It seems as if Ky's flame's been put out. It's about time too. But seriously dude, what's up with you?" Ky glared at him.

"None of your business Zane!" He looked up to the sky, as if pretending to remember.

"Um, I think it starts with an 'm'." He snapped his fingers, as if he had just remembered. "Oh, that's right, today's the day you lost your mommy, isn't that right?" Ky glared at him.

"Leave my mom out of this Zane!" Zane laughed.

"Why should I? Then again, she's not even worth mentioning in the first place. She was a pretty pathetic and weak Kairu Warrior to begin with. There's a reason why she died from having a baby!" Ky looked ready to destroy something.

"She was sick when she was pregnant with Rue and you know it!" Zane nodded.

"Yeah, and if she had gotten the treatment, then she would've been just fine, but she couldn't risk her poor wittle unborn baby. Too bad she did that though. The baby ended up dying anyway, and Rue died on the same day as the first anniversary of your mom's death! How stupid and pathetic!" He started laughing. Ky nearly lunged at Zane's throat, but Boomer and Maya grabbed his arms.

"Let me go! I'm gonna show him who's pathetic!" Maya looked in his eyes, filled with rage as he kept shouting about how he was going to teach Zane a lesson.

"Ky, you can't just attack him like that! It's against the Kairu Code! I'm not gonna let you throw away this team just because Zane managed to get under your skin." Zair laughed.

"Zane? Get under Ky's skin? Please! All he did was say the truth! His mom was so stupid!" Maya glared at her.

"Shut up! We're trying to keep him from severely injuring you, and you're just pressing his buttons!" Boomer nodded.

"I bet he can't even hear us right now because he's so mad! You guys really want a butt kicking, don't you?" Techris smiled.

"You can try, but Ky's not in any state to deliver right now, but in case he wants to try, Kairu Challenge!" Maya shook her head.

"There's no way we're gonna accept! Ky's not in a state to fight you guys! He's still shouting about how he's gonna beat you!" Zane smirked.

"If you don't accept, then we'll just take all of the Kairu." Boomer looked at Maya.

"We have to accept. We can't let even the smallest amount of Gray Kairu end up in Lokar's hands." Maya nodded.

"We have no choice." She turned to Team Radikor. "We can't show it properly right now, but Challenge Accepted!" The sky changed. Zane grabbed his X-Reader.

"BRUTICON! ANTI-MATTER BEAM!"

"CYONIS! LIGHTNING STRIKE!"

"SILVERBAXX! EARTH SLAM!" All of Team Radikor was stacked up. Maya looked at Boomer.

"We can't stack up while we're holding onto Ky!" Boomer sighed.

"We're in a Challenge now. Technically, we can let him go now. If he severely injures Zane, then it's not our fault, and it's not breaking the Kairu Code." She nodded.

"I guess we have no choice." They both let go of Ky, who instantly charged at Zane.

"You're gonna regret saying those things about my mom!" Maya looked at Boomer.

"We've gotta stack up, and quick!" She pulled out her X-Reader. "INFINITA! FIRE TORNADO!"

"FROZTOK! BLIZZARD AXES!" Zane was dodging Ky's punches. He hadn't even bothered to stack up after Maya and Boomer had released him.

"This is gonna be a lot of fun! ANTI-MATTER BEAM!" The attack instantly hit Ky because they were in Point Blank range. He was thrown backwards into Maya, who grabbed him by his shoulders to keep him from knocking her over.

"Ky, are you okay?" He tried to charge at Zane again.

"Let me go! I'm gonna teach him not to make fun of my mom!" She looked regretful.

"I'm so sorry Ky. I really, really don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice!" She let go of him. He started racing towards Zane, but she stopped him with a Kairu Attack. "PARALYSIS SPRAY!" As the attack hit, he froze in place with ice covering him. Maya stood over him "I'm sorry Ky, but I can't release you until after the battle is over." She turned towards Team Radikor. "But you're still gonna pay for those comments you made about Ky's mom! FIRE TORNADO! CYCLONE SNARE! FIRE SNARE!" The two attacks combined into a giant cyclone of fire that surrounded the Radikor. None of them could dodge it as the attack surrounded them. Once it disappeared, they were all frozen in place. The sky turned back to normal. Boomer smiled.

"Alright! That didn't even take long!" Maya shook her head.

"The only reason why it didn't take long is because they were too focused on getting under Ky's skin that they pretty much ignored us. On any other day, that wouldn't have worked. Now, we've gotta get the Kairu." Boomer nodded. They both held out their X-Readers, but then boomer thought of something.

"Wait a minute, shouldn't you let Ky go?" She shook her head.

"Not until we're back on the ship where he can't try to maim Zane. We'll share the Kairu with him afterward. Now, let's just get the Kairu and go." Boomer nodded. They both held out their X-Readers as the Kairu went in. Boomer smiled.

"Awesome! I got a Red Attack, Elephant Run!" Maya looked shocked as she looked at her new X-Drive. Boomer looked at her. "What'd you get My?" She quickly put her X-Reader away.

"Nothing special. It's not much of an X-Drive. Just a low level Blue Attack." Boomer looked confused.

"Well, what is it?" She quickly went to start dragging Ky.

"That doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting Ky back to the X-Scaper and back to the monastery, where he won't hurt someone." Boomer nodded. He grabbed Ky and lifted him over his shoulders, carrying him to the X-Scaper.

Maya ceased the attack she had used on Ky. Instantly he started shouting.

"I'm gonna get you for that Zane!" Then, he realized he was tied up. His arms were tied up behind him, and his legs were tied to the chair legs. "What is this?!"

"This is what we've gotta do when you go berserk dude." He looked up and saw Maya and Boomer standing in front of him. Maya looked really worried.

"Ky, that wasn't you out there. I've seen you get mad when people make fun of your dad, but you there, you, you turned into a monster filled with rage and hate, something completely not you." He glared at Maya.

"I'm fine!" boomer folded his arms over his chest.

"Are you really okay Ky, cause you look really mad at us for doing what was best for you. And, news flash, we got the Kairu!" He showed Ky his new X-Drive. "We wouldn't have if Maya hadn't used Paralysis Spray on you to keep you from hurting yourself!" Maya leaned down to be at Ky's level.

"Ky, you've gotta realize we're only doing this because we care about you. We're worried. The way you acted, you could've gotten seriously hurt! You took a Kairu Attack directly to the chest at Point Blank because you let your anger get the better of you! You're lucky you didn't get yourself killed from that! Letting anger take control isn't a way to deal with your problems, okay?" He glared at her.

"He called my mom weak, pathetic, and stupid! How am I supposed to be okay with that?!" Boomer sighed.

"You're not, but you're also supposed to act responsibly! You're our leader Ky. You can't let something make you go crazy." Maya nodded.

"And what if I hadn't done that? Even if we still won, with all that negative energy you had, you would've turned the Gray Kairu into Shadow Kairu! How would that react with Platinum Metanoid?! For all we know, it could've made your X-Reader blow up!" She took in a deep breath and sighed, trying to calm herself down. "If you're still upset, try counting down from ten and think calm thoughts, okay? If you're still really mad, then we'll turn around and let you lose on Zane." Ky nodded and started counting down from ten. He calmed down, and thought about how stupid is actions were.

"You guys are right. I'm sorry. I can't believe I let Zane get under my skin like that. Now, could you please untie me?" Maya stood up straight and folded her arms over her chest.

"That depends, are you gonna go berserk again?" He shook his head.

"No way. I can't believe I acted like that. Next time I do, I give you full permission to do what you just did." Maya and Boomer looked at each other.

"Well, what do you think Boom?"

"I think he's learned his lesson." Maya smiled and went to untie his hands, while Boomer untied his legs. "And I don't think he's gonna go bonkers on us again." Ky stood up and rubbed his wrists.

"Thanks for doing that guys, but I'm really tired. I'm gonna take a nap the rest of the way to the monastery. Don't wake me until we get there." Maya and Boomer were both a bit surprised with that. Maya looked at Boomer.

"What was that? He didn't even ask for any Kairu. Why didn't he?" Boomer shrugged.

"I don't know, but we'd better take off. We're not even in the air yet." Boomer went to the pilots seat to take off. Maya looked out the window, wondering what could possibly be going on in his teammate's head.

Ky pounded his fist again the wall, one of the ones facing away from the front, so Maya and Boomer didn't hear it.

"I can't believe it! How could I have been so stupid as to fall for Zane's tricks! Now that I've calmed down, I can see his plan clearly. He wanted me too mad so that Maya and Boomer would have to take me out of play! I can't believe I fell for something so simple and stupid!"

"It's not your fault." He turned around.

"Dad?" Yes, Connor was standing behind him, although in Astral Projection form. "Since when can you do that?" Connor smiled.

"One of the perks of being a Redakai is being able to do this. Master Boaddai told me he sensed saw you act insane during a battle. He didn't give me the details, and said that it'd be better if you explained. Now sit down and tell your old man what happened." Ky sighed as he sat down and told his dad what had happened.

"And then Maya ceased her Paralysis Spray and I was tied to a chair to keep from hurting myself. It took a while, but they managed to calm me down. Once I was calm, I realized that Zane had planned that, maybe not the losing, but he definitely planned on taking me out of the battle. I just can't believe I fell for it." He punched the ground next to him.

"Take it easy Ky! You're gonna put a hole in the X-Scaper if you don't keep your emotions in check." He gave his dad a look that showed worry and remorse.

"That's the problem! I wasn't able to during the battle, and I nearly made my team lose the Challenge." He looked down as the floor. Connor sighed.

"Ky, you didn't make your team nearly lose the Challenge. They managed to get the Kairu, and from what master Boaddai told me, Maya beat them with one move. The only thing you lost was control of yourself. I miss your mother just as much as you do, if not that, then more, and that both of us are much more on edge today than any other day, but I'd never act like that. You know why?" Ky looked up.

"Why?" Connor smiled.

"Because I know how she would hate to see me act so recklessly over her. She always hated it when I was upset, and so I try to not let myself get upset, because I know that if she was here to see my behavior, than it'd only make her worry. Not to mention, her main priority was making sure I was being reasonable when we were both on Team Vertou. If I ever acted like that, she wouldn't hesitate in dealing out some sort of punishment. Your mother was quite strong, and nearly beat me several times in multiple Kairu Tournaments. I tried as much as possible not to make her mad, which included not acting stupidly." Ky laughed.

"I remember her saying to me I'd never be too old to be spanked." Connor laughed.

"She did say that, didn't she?" Ky nodded.

"And she always meant it." Connor laughed.

"Yes, I remember that. Those good memories are what gets me through today." Ky gave his dad a confused look.

"Huh?" Connor sighed.

"When this day comes around, I try not to think about the years I missed with Rachel and Rue. Instead, I think about the good times. Those two weeks we were together as a full family were the best times of my life. I had both my children, and my wife, and I'm thankful that I had even that much. Be thankful, not regretful, okay Ky?" He nodded.

"I promise." Connor smiled and nodded. The Kairu Alarm went off again.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, you've got some Kairu to find. Oh, and quit pushing Maya away. You've been doing that the past few days just because she's a lot like your mother. I don't think she appreciates that."

"What?" Before Ky could say anything else, his dad disappeared. He thought about that. "Maya like Mom?" He blushed and shook his head. "No way."

Boomer looked at the scanner.

"Looks like we're heading to another part of Africa, but much farther south." Maya looked back toward where the bedrooms would be, then looked up towards Boomer.

"Should we get Ky? He did want to be left alone, and he did say he was tired, but if we face the Radikor again, then this time we'll need him to help us even the odds. They won't fall for the same trick twice."

"Then I guess it's good that I'm out of my funk." Maya smiled as she looked back.

"Ky!" He smirked as he came up towards them.

"So, where are we going buddy?" Boomer beamed at Ky, happy that his best friend was back to normal.

"South Africa, and this time, we'll be packing way more heat." Ky nodded.

"Radikor, Battacor, or Femmicore, I'm ready to face them all." Maya smiled as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's good to know that you're back to normal." He nodded and smiled at her.

"Trust me, I'm never going to that place again. It's dark, and scary, and creepier than silence in the dark. It's never gonna happen again." Maya smiled.

"Well, I'm glad. But what made you change your mind?" He thought about the earlier conversation.

"My dad talked some sense into me, more or less. He reminded me that she'd really hate to see me act like that, and that she'd never tolerate it. He also told me that it's better to remember what I didhave, and not what I never got." Maya smiled.

"Well, dads are usually right, or at least your dad is. I don't really have much experience with those. But, now's not the time to deal with that. Right now, we need to get the Kairu and quite possibly kick E-Teen butt." Ky nodded.

"That's right." Boomer smiled.

"Full speed ahead!"

I let petty comments from Zane get the best of me. In a Kairu Challenge, you've always got to make sure that you stay calm and focused, even if your opponent is making rude comments about you or your family. Even when that happens, you've just gotta ignore them, or quite possibly, use a Blue Attack to get them to stop. Those attack can mess with people's concentration, making it so they can't focus enough to make a decent insult.

Next Time on Redakai: The Dark Team

While Ky's out of commission due to an injury, Team Stax encounters a man wearing a hood during a Kairu quest. He seems to be very familiar to Boomer. Why does he feel so familiar to Boomer? Why isn't Boaddai surprised by the appearance of this man? Who is he? Will his face be discovered? Find out in the next episode of Redakai: The Dark Team Episode 7 The Hooded Helper!