Disclaimer: I own nothing but a nice rack...
So this week...this week I've done a lot of driving, got into a fight with someone who thought she could boss me around, and I haven't written a single chapter of Borderline in like 3 weeks...thank god I write so far ahead!
A special thank-you to beygirl1234, CorynofHoole, Tyka's Flower, Violet Hiwatari, Little A Granger and kyuubi for reviewing and keeping my faith in this story alive!
Thank-you to Demons of the arch angel for being such a phenomenal beta-reader!
WARNINGS: This chapter is going to be a hard one to read. Grab a kitten to cuddle.
"Max!"
Strong arms.
"Oh god! Max!"
Pain.
"MOVE!"
Then light. Nothing but light and warmth.
He opened his eyes and blinked. Where was he? What had happened?
"You're awake!"
The injured boy turned his head to the side to see his former teammate, Rick and a million questions spilled out from his dry lips. "What are you doing here? Where am I? What happened?" His blue eyes widened. "Where's Draciel?"
The African-American grimaced before pulling out the blade, or what was left of it. Both attack and defense rings had been completely shattered during the battle, along with the weight disk. All that was left of the green blade was the base, core and the bit piece. "What happened?" He asked once more.
"Alceed's last attack knocked you off the platform and there was a huge hole in your chest. Seconds later, William defeated Ray. His bitbeast's attack set his body on fire. There was no time- The large man bowed his head and scrunched his eyes, "Kai and Tyson saved you both. Tyson was so angry, he summoned Dragoon and challenged both of them to a battle- right then and there! Kai ordered us to take you and Ray to the corridor and used his powers to heal you both. Shortly after Kai passed out, Dranzer disappeared. Tyson was able to destroy both of his opponents but he was badly injured in the battle and we had to take him to hospital. We brought Kai back here to rest."
It took a few minutes for the gravity of the situation to fully sink in. "How bad are Tyson's injuries? How much time has passed?"
"Only about 8 hours, and they're pretty bad. He collapsed right after the battle."
"And what's Mr. Dickenson doing about it?" asked a new voice.
Max turned to the person who spoke and his face lit up. "Ray!"
Ray entered the room, his hair free from his wrap, and in a tangled mess. It was obvious he had just awoken as well and his clothes were charred.
"There's nothing he can do. They've been over the tapes a hundred times. Both bladers each got warnings but all of this is being classified as a freak accident." explained Rick.
"What?!"
"That's bull!"
"That's what the judges ruled it as. All of the fans are ticked off. Both of you got strikes as well."
"Well that's no surprise. They didn't cut anyone else a break." muttered Ray.
There was the sound of running footsteps and Mariah appeared in the doorway. "Have any of you seen Kai?"
"He should still be in his bed." answered Rick.
"He's not there!" she said in panic.
"AHHHHH!"
The four teens rushed into the dojo where Grandpa Kinomiya was staring at the empty alter. "It's gone! The Sword of Dragoon is gone!"
"He wouldn't..." said Max, glancing at Ray.
Ray folded his arms and bowed his head, "If he's doing what I think he's doing, he probably is."
They looked back to the old man, who was giving them a confused look. "Would you two home dawgs please explain?"
Before either of them could form the words, Kenny appeared in the doorway. "I think I know what's going on."
"Well I'm all ears."
"After Kai healed Max and Ray, Dranzer probably went inside the sword to replenish her energy again. When Kai heard that Tyson was in hospital, he probably took the sword to see if there was a way to heal Tyson using the sword and Dranzer's power.
"Yeah, but why didn't he wait so that we could all go together?" questioned Max.
"It's Kai. I'm sure he has his reasons." said the Chinese male. "And if he's on his way to bust Tyson out of the hospital, then we should stay here and train." he looked at his demolished Drigger blade. "Chief, think you could help us out?"
"Yeah." The beyblade mechanic opened up his laptop and got straight to work.
Meanwhile Kai was running through the streets of Bey City, determined to get to his beloved. The Holy Sword was wrapped neatly in a random blanket he had grabbed from the house. 8 hours. Boris had 8 hours to get to Tyson. He had 8 hours to do something unspeakable to Tyson's helpless body. He could only pray that Tyson was still in the hospital and not in a dungeon somewhere, at the mercy of the evil abbey priest.
He ran through the hospital doors and rushed up to front desk. "Tell me which room Tyson Kinomiya is in."
The woman typed a few keys into her keyboard. "I'm sorry sir. We have no one by that name here."
Kai's heart stopped. He was too late. Boris had Tyson.
"Oh Alexander! Nice to see you again!"
Kai turned, surprised to see the nurse who had helped him the last time he was here.
"Oh Mary, don't worry. I'll take him to his friend."
His heart started beating again. Could she possibly mean Tyson?
"Right this way, Mr. Takahashi." He followed the green-eyed nurse down the long corridors until finally they came outside a room with the words "Takao Granger" on the outside. He entered and Misa took a quick glance up and down the hallway before softly shutting the door.
Inside, a pale Tyson was hooked up to various machines, a breathing tube was shoved down his throat and his entire left side was covered in bandages, including his face. "He sustained several broken ribs in the beybattle, with one of them puncturing his lung. We re-inflated it, but he was unable to breathe on his own. His entire left side has second and third degree burns, which were most likely caused by a bitbeast. There is also several puncture wounds on his legs and arms, that fortunately didn't hit anything vital.
Right after surgery, knowing your situation, I talked to the Chief of Staff. We changed his name and moved him here, so only myself and the Chief know his real identity."
"Thank-you." Misa looked at the young man with sympathy. This was a far-cry from the headstrong boy who had been wheeled into her ER. He just looked so broken. It was easy to see how much he truly cared for this boy.
"I'll give you a few minutes." She left the room and checked on her other patients.
As soon as the door closed, Kai pulled up a chair next to the bed and gingerly picked up his beloved's hand and held it. He became undone. His cold exterior shattered as the tears fell one by one down his painted cheeks as he recalled what had happened earlier that day.
Max fell first. Rick was able to catch him before the blonde hit the stadium floor. Blood gushing out the hole in his chest.
Then came the heart-wrenching scream as a ball of flame fell from the other platform. Tyson's winds quickly blew the flames out, but the damage was done. Many parts of Ray's skin were melted and fused together. His hair was gone. The White Tigers gently picked him up.
Angered, Tyson had rushed forward, "You take care of our friends Kai, I'm going to teach these guys a lesson." He held up his Dragoon blade.
"Kinomiya! You're outnumbered! Stand down and fight another day!" he had pleaded.
"Not this time Kai. Let me do this!"
Kai knew there was no arguing when he got that gleam in his eye, and he re-directed his attention to the others.
Even now, as he looked down on Tyson's broken body, he didn't regret that decision. Max and Ray would have died otherwise.
The Russian scrunched up his face in frustration. No matter how many times he tried fighting it; by retiring beyblading, hiding Dranzer, keeping his distance...they would always be soldiers. Why the gods ever decided to bestow such a heavy burden upon mere children was far beyond his understanding, especially seeing the person he cared for most in such a dire state, but he would be damned if he didn't try his hardest to protect his comrades. As much as he hated to admit it, as much as he wanted to protect his friends from a distance, they were strongest as a team. And Tyson was the heart and soul of that team. They needed him to come back. He needed him. He slowly unravelled the sword and placed it on the sleeping Dragon Master's chest.
Closing his eyes, he connected his soul to Dranzer's and the sword began to glow purple and slowly started to hover over the Dragoon Wielder's body. Recalling his lessons in ancient studies, he spoke, "Ancient Holy Sword who now protects the Red Phoenix Dranzer, I, Kai Hiwatari beseech thee! Allow me to use her powers to heal Tyson Kinomiya partner to Dragoon!"
The blade began to glow brighter in response and slowly the sword rose and a wild power illuminated the room and a booming voice spoke, "Tell me Kai Hiwatari, are you willing to do anything to revive him?"
Cerise eyes glanced to the boy who was laying lifelessly in the white bed. "Yes. Anything."
"Then take this blade and plunge it through Tyson's heart."
Kai froze. "He'll die if I do that!"
"Then I'm sorry. I cannot grant your request."
His heart pounding in his chest, Kai gulped. Tyson could easily spend weeks or months here. "Why can't you release Dranzer to me? I'll use her power then."
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU HAVE DRAINED HER?!" The voice roared, shattering the windows. "Since the last time I used my power to revive her, you have used Dranzer's powers to heal four other people, including yourself in the last week!"
"I still refuse to kill him!" shouted the Fire Master.
"You have experienced rebirth yourself, and yet you still doubt my power?" Baited The Sword.
"Forget it, it's not worth the risk." he turned to leave.
"This is about so much more than you realize Kai Hiwatari."
The Russian paused. "What isn't there to get?! You want me to kill my friend!"
"If you don't, the world ends."
Now that caught Kai's attention. "Explain."
"I can't. You just have to trust me."
Kai looked to Tyson's blade that was shining brightly beside the patient's head. "Dragoon, what do you have to say about all of this?" Slowly, the ancient blue dragon arose out of the top. "What would Tyson want?"
"Do what the sword says Kai."
Kai looked at the Dragon with wide eyes, wishing he had misheard. "WHAT?!"
"That sword has been around for a mellennia and protects the Kinomiya Family."
"Then find yourself another person, because I'm not going to do it." He turned to leave once again, but Dragoon's mighty tail prevented him from leaving.
"It has to be you. Only yours and Dranzer's combined powers can heal him."
Kai's eyes fell upon the unconscious boy. Tyson trusted Dragoon more than anything or anyone else. "Fine." He walked back to the bed and grasped the sword and it turned a bright scarlet. He could feel Dranzer's gentle reassurance. Raising the blade, he held it up over Tyson's broken body and forced it down with all his might. A sickening crack resounded through the room as the blade pierced through the ribcage and right through the beating heart.
**Cries** Please leave a review to find out what happens in the next chapter!
