Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Hybrid Theory ❯ Chapter 4

JC: We're extremely sorry about this.

Kathrine: We tried to find a way to compact the day and get to Kai sooner.

JC: After spending a week and a half on nothing else but this…we came up with what we have.

Kathrine: We do hope that you like it.

JC: Yeah, especially after how long we made you guys wait for it.

Disclaimer: We do not own Beyblade. But we do own a Rei figurine from Burger King!

Warnings: Angst, Yaoi/Shounen ai, and dark themes. Not much here though.

Hybrid Theory

By Kathrine and JC

Chapter 4

An alarm went off and he was up immediately, his instincts sending him into confusion. He looked about, his mind not fully comprehending where he was at once. But he quickly caught on with the bed and stone walls and the barred windows with nothing behind them. He was still at the Abbey. The alarm was still going off, but was quieting slowly. Golden eyes lost their wildness as they calmed down and their owner sat back down on the bed from where he had rolled off in his shocked awakening.

His door was then opened, a shadowed figure standing in the dim light coming in from the hall. " Good you're awake," Tala stated. " Get showered, get dressed. Today you train. You have an hour." He then shut the door behind himself without another word.

" Wait!" Rei called out, but he received no answer. He let out a deep sigh before getting up to make his bed. I hope I will get to see Kai today, he thought. Who knows what they did to him? He just better be all right. He walked over to the bureau where he had set the three packages from the night before and opened the first. It was a coat. It was black, that much he could tell in the dim light of the room. At least it looks warm, he thought before moving onto the next parcel.

It was an outfit, white-colored pants with black, jagged stripes horizontally on the sides. The long-sleeved, zip-up shirt was identical, down to the peculiar pattern of black stripes on the sides and back, except the fact that the pants were somewhat baggy while the shirt was obviously tight, form-fitting. He lifted the shirt and something fell to the floor. Bending down to retrieve it, the neko-jin realized that it was a hair-wrap of the same thin, yet tough material and pattern as his outfit.

They're mocking me, he realized. They're trying to make fun of me being a cat person, tiger person specifically. The final bundle was opened and he found it to be another outfit, identical to the other only with short sleeves and the opposite coloring of white stripes and black background. Why would they want me to wear something like this? This was something that he just couldn't understand. But he knew he didn't have the time to dwell on it. He needed a shower, his hair was a rat's nest, and Tala had only given him an hour. I just hope someone figures out what's going on and pulls the plug on this soon.

After trying to stay awake and make sure Kai was all right, Rei had finally lost the battle with his fatigue. He didn't know what time it had been when he had fallen asleep, but he knew it to be morning now and inferred from how rejuvenated he felt that he had slept for a good nine hours at the least. He wasn't surprised seeing as the entire time he had been waiting for Kai he could do nothing more than simply lay on the bed. He knew it was probably a delayed reaction to the repeated dosage of the sedative he had been given. But now he truly regretted not getting into the shower first. It would only take longer to work through the horrid knots that had become his hair. Great, he frowned, his thoughts sarcastic. This is really going to be a joy. I hope they at least put a comb or something in the bathroom or else this will take a lot longer than an hour.

*****

He waited outside of the new recruit's door an hour later, timing the limit to the exact second. As soon as the quiet alarm on his watch went off, Tala pounded twice on the door. It was opened then and a figure very familiar yet extremely different walked out. God, he thought. Rei looked as if he had walked out of a biker bar in the middle of a jungle. His clothing was white, yet nothing like the normal traditional outfits that Tala recalled seeing him in before. The stripes fit to the younger teen, making him appear more feline than he already did.

He still wore the yin-yang white headband to keep his bangs out of his eyes, but his hair was pulled back using a wrap mirroring the rest of his ensemble. His shirt was skin-tight, sticking to his body like tape to a sheet of paper, and his hands were wrapped with white cloth, most likely to protect them during training. For some reason the clothes made the boy seem less reserved, more feral and untamed. The way that his hair swished was similar to the wag of an agitated animal's tail and his golden, cat-like eyes were cut in distaste. He was unsure about whether the glare was due to the clothing, or being forced to participate as a puppet for BioVolt.

" Let's just get this over with," he growled out.

Tala only smirked. " Kitty's got a temper," he replied. " I'd advise you to keep it reigned in on a tight leash or Boris will do it for you."

" Whatever," the raven-haired boy retorted, but it was obvious he took caution with his words, his frustration less noticeable.

" You're to report to Lab 1 for a physical and then to Arena 3 for skill evaluation," Tala told him. " Lab 1 is just two floors above us while Arena 3 is on the one below that. You'd do well to learn that." He then turned and motioned the neko-jin to follow him down the hall. Rei sighed in resignation before complying. He wouldn't fight now, not when he didn't know whether or not Kai was all right or if he would be harmed for his rebellion.

Tala understood the sound when he heard it. It was the sound of a person giving…for the time being. After how the Chinese boy had fought and persevered in his battle with Bryan all those months ago, he knew better than to believe him to be the submissive type. The younger boy was a fighter, not one to let himself be pushed around easily. But he's not stupid either, he thought. He knows that putting up a fight will only make it worse for both him and Kai.

His eyes fell on the Phoenix's door as they past it. Kai had never returned last night. He would have known. He always knew whenever something was going on with the blue-haired blader. It had been that way between them ever since they were young children trapped in a dark cell together. And now his instincts were telling that something had happened, and that something wasn't good.

Why do I even give a damn? He wondered. Kai abandoned me all those years ago; he left me behind. Something we promised each other we would never do. And when he returned…he couldn't even give me a reason why.

Ignoring the hurt in his thoughts, Tala led Rei to an elevator that had two guards standing there, waiting for them it seemed. "He's all yours," Tala replied. One guard nodded and grabbed Rei by the arm, the other pushed the button for the door of the elevator to open. "I'll be waiting for you in Arena 3 in two hours, a guard will bring you there," Tala explained.

Rei was shoved not-so-gently into the elevator and the guards followed him. He turned around and stared back at Tala, looking deep into his crystal blue eyes. They were so cold, yet so mysterious. It was obvious that something about the boy was different since he remembered from the World Championships. The stoic yet calculating gleam was gone from his eyes.

It was like there was simply a mask in its place, playing out the way the red-haired boy was supposed to think and act. It was a somewhat disturbing notion, but Rei had always known he was good at reading people. The only person he had never been able to figure out was Kai. Even so, he continued to stare, his golden eyes never leaving the older boy's until the doors shut and the elevator began its trek.

Tala wanted to sigh as soon as he was alone. It was becoming harder every day to keep going, especially without Bryan there to go through everything with him. Kon is a lot like him, he thought. Would Bryan have turned out like him if he had never come to the Abbey? Would he have still been that rebellious, that strict in his beliefs, and so proud? What would all of us have been like if we had simply grown up normal lives?

" Tala!" a voice behind him called out his name. " We're wanted in Training Room 1 for the Newbies that were brought in two days ago."

" I'm coming Ian," he replied, turning to face the much shorter boy. " Just making sure a certain new recruit got to where he was supposed to go."

" Boris won't like it if we're late," Ian stated. " Spencer is already there waiting for us."

" All right," he nodded and the two took off down an adjacent corridor, remaining quite so as to not attract too much attention from the cameras following after them.

" Tala…" Ian started in a low tone, not really sure how to start. " There's been rumors…"

"About what?" he inquired, his voice equally low. They could hear each other perfectly due to their enhanced senses.

" About Falcon," he replied. Tala knew that he meant Bryan, for 'Falcon' had been the nickname the lavender-haired boy had given him after he had saved the life of the same type bird when they were younger. It had been shot when a few of the guards had taken to firing their guns into the air one morning. Bryan had caught the bird after it fell and helped to heal its injured wing, which had only been grazed and singed by a rogue bullet.

Boris had caught the white-haired boy releasing the bird back into the wild after he'd hidden it in his room for three months. It had been terrible. The bird had refused to leave him and in the end Boris had the bird shot down, barely alive, and the extracted its spirit to create a bitbeast, Falborg. Bryan had then been beaten, and sentenced to solitary confinement in the cells for a month. After that was when the experiments started. Boris had thought Bryan far too compassionate for his own good and sought to rid him of it.

" What rumors about him?" Tala kept the anxiousness from his voice. Ian knew that he was worried about their missing partner without him having to accidentally let it be known out loud.

" Some of the other guards are talking about the arrival of a certain 'recruit' having to do with why he's missing," he answered. " They say that all of it is connected."

Tala frowned slightly, barely noticeable. " We better start listening a little more closely," he decided. " Most rumors around here have some truth to them."

" Will do," Ian agreed before falling completely silent. Boris wouldn't like to hear them conversing.

That day they were supposed to begin the training of the new children that had been brought to the Abbey's underground headquarters a few days earlier. After the initial raid by the BBA months earlier everything had been moved underground. The Association hadn't known about the lower levels of the Abbey, the ones that only a few knew how to get to. Those people being the ones no one could find.

They had attempted to take custody of Boris, Voltaire, and the Demolition Boys right after the Award Ceremonies two days after the end of the World Championships, but they had failed to show up. Instead they had taken the time to take everything inside the actually Abbey and remove/destroy it. The Abbey was practically a condemned building now, boarded up and not supposed to be used until after the BBA and government's investigations were through. But that sure as hell didn't stop BioVolt.

Those people are so blind, Tala thought. They only checked the above levels, not the ones beneath the second underground floor. And they never thought to do a second check after the government locked down the Abbey Estate. They automatically assumed that they could get their evidence somewhere else and that Boris had fled the country. Boris would never do something so obvious. And because of their stupidity, people are getting pulled into this that don't belong. Like Rei…like Kai… He pushed the concerns from his mind, he couldn't think about any of this now. He had a job to fulfill.

*****

He growled at the feeling of the electrodes against his skin. As soon as he entered Lab 1, he had been forced to take off his shirt and strapped down to a gurney. Next the scientists/doctors (or whatever they were considered) started to stick needles and wires to his body. They were hovering over him as it was, checking his eyes with small, yet bright flashlights, sizing his canines for some strange reason, and pulling on his hair as if it was a piece of rope. He had already tried to bite one of them, despite his resolution to behave. His hair was sensitive!

" His vitals are perfect," a female doctor spoke to another beside her. " Enhanced healing has already taken into effect and most bruising from retrieval had faded. Bones and muscle system have high percentile for agility and endurance. He seems it top condition." Rei was barely paying attention; he was busy trying to ignore the slight jolts of electricity being sent through his body and had been for the past twenty or so minutes.

" Good," the male doctor replied. " Now we need to check his reflexes and reaction time to pressurized situations." He then walked from the behind the computer-console and removed the needles sending the electricity from the raven-haired boy's body, then uncuffed his hands from their confinements. " Stand and back away from the center of the room."

Rei did as he was told, standing back away from the center of the room. Two guards removed the gurney and equipment from the area, taking it out a separate door. Suddenly, his ears were assaulted by the sound of gears turning and the groans of machinery in need of a good oiling. He winced at the loud echoing noise, the high pitch all the more unbearable for his sensitive, keen ears. That's when the center of the room spun, then opened as another floor raised up. His eyes were wide at the extensive equipment he saw. Weights, treadmills, stairs, an empty glass tank the size of a six-foot cube, and bars that descended from the ceiling.

How could they hide of all that so easily? Rei wondered. How far underground are we? How much space is there between the floors? How much money did it take to do this? Most of his initials questions he didn't care much for the answers to. But what he did wish to know was what all of this would lead. Why is BioVolt going through all of this trouble? Is it really all about Kai and keeping him in line? Or is it something else? Are they planning on going after all of the Bladebreakers? How can I warn them? Or is it too late? Before anymore roaming inquiries could come to mind, the doctors were ready to continue and Rei was sure he would be tired by the end of it.

*****

And indeed Rei was tired about an hour and a half later. His hair was still pretty much soaked from being stuck in the tank and performing underwater tests. He felt like his stomach was knotted from the running, chin-ups, and weightlifting he'd done in so short a time, not to mention the shock pulses they reintroduced to his body at the end so the scientists could compare the results to the originals.

They had told him to go to the elevator where the guards would be waiting for him. He was surprised that he didn't have guards following his every move because of him being an escape risk…or maybe they didn't think of him as one. He still thought of it as an easy task and set out to do it…but ten minutes later he finally admitted to himself that he was lost in the bland and unadorned corridors. What do they expect when everything looks the same as the stuff before it? He wondered. I don't even know how to get back to the lab to ask for directions! And I know I'm late for meeting with Tala…I just hope Kai doesn't get in trouble because of it.

He stopped his walking, the slight echo of his footsteps halted, sending the hall into complete silence. The raven-haired teen could see the two halls leading off of the corridor at the end, but didn't know which one to take. That's when he thought he heard the distant sound of people talking, steadily getting closer to him. I could ask them, he thought. But I could get in trouble for walking around this place.

So he backed away, going towards one of the many indented doorways in the corridor, though still not too far away that he would by unable hear.

"…because he wants him ready by tonight," he heard a male voice state, as if replying to a question. " And you know that he HATES to have his plans set back."

" Well his will be ready quite soon actually," another voice said. " His physical rejuvenation capabilities is astounding, and the solution seems to speed it up even more."

" Good," he nodded. " They'll be coming to check on him within the next half hour, possibly sooner."

" Well if all of the subjects react to the new solution the way they do the other…" the voices trailed off and the footsteps faded away down the hall. Rei let out a quiet sigh in relief at not being discovered. He truly didn't want to get into any more trouble than he was already in, being as he was trapped within a secret BioVolt training base. Who knew what they would do to him…or Kai?

But he couldn't deny that his curiosity was raised. Who had those two doctors/scientists (he still didn't know) been talking about? Who had to be ready? Did he really want to find out? But that someone could be hurt, he told himself. They said he was healing? What could have happened? Not really meaning to, Rei began to sneak towards the corridor that the adults had come from. He took a peek around the corners and saw that no one was coming from either way, giving him the perfect opportunity.

He took off down the left hall, his eyes alert for anyone else as he looked about. He didn't even know what he was looking for. Maybe if I saw an open door or something, but almost every one of these takes a special key like a room at a hotel. He looked at the different doors and sighed. I should have just tried to find my way back to Lab 1. That's when he caught sight of a glass wall, or more like a window that took up quite a large space of the wall.

What does that lead to? He quickened his steps and pushed himself against the wall. Slowly, he leaned over, leaned over to look into the room. It was a laboratory of some sort, he thought. There were consoles and machinery everywhere, far more than in the lab he had just left. He also noticed that the lights in the room were dimmed and glass 'tubes' seemed to be set up in two neat rows against the left and right walls.

What is this place? He looked at the large tubes. They were large enough to fit people into, at least young teens and children anyway. But what drew his attention was the dim glowing tube at the far right of the room. It was emanating a deep red color and appeared to be filled with something. Oh Gods, is that a PERSON?! Taking a closer look, he saw the very familiar features, the wild hair flowing around a blank face that was covering by a mask, baggy pants and a tight dark tank top.

" Oh my Gods…" Golden eyes were beyond wide and shock controlled his thoughts. He couldn't do anything but stare in disbelief. " Kai…"

" What are you doing here?"

He didn't even notice the presence at his back until now. Spinning, he found himself pressed forcefully against the glass, shoulders in a harsh grip. Eyes covered by a darkened visor glared at him with a stone cold expression. " I ask you again…" his voice was hard and his grasp tightened. " What are you doing here?"

" There's no need to frighten the child so, Balcov," another familiar voice pointed out. Rei looked to the side and saw the person that he knew to be the cause of everything that had been going on. Voltaire.

He then felt Boris' hands loosen, lowering his body back down to the floor from where had been suspended inches into the air. " Yes sir," he replied.

" But that doesn't mean your inquiry is unfounded," Voltaire set his gaze on Rei. " How did you come to get here, when you should be in one of the arenas…with Tala."

Rei knew he was in for it, so he might as well just tell the most truth. It wasn't like he had gotten lost purposely. " I couldn't find the elevator," he replied, keeping his voice as level as possible. " I got lost and couldn't get back to the lab that I left from. I heard voices and down here, but they had turned somewhere else. I thought…I thought I could find the way out…"

" If that is true then the cameras will surely show it," Boris still hadn't taken his eyes off of him.

Rei hadn't even thought about the cameras! How much trouble would he get into if they found out he had actually HID from the scientist/doctor/people? Oh well…

" Quite 'odd' that you would somehow find your way here," Voltaire stated, "…to Kai." The elderly man looked up then, gazing through the glass to the suspension cell that housed his unconscious grandson. " He is merely resting, regaining his strength. They are called the suspension cells, perfected science that accelerates healing proteins and cells in the body. You, yourself will most likely use them."

Rei looked up at Voltaire as Boris finally released him, not understanding the strange tone in his voice. His eyes were somewhat glazed in a way, but his intent was strictly to the boy within the room floating in the red liquid. For some reason his stare made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and a chill go down his spine. He didn't like it when the man stared like that. He definitely didn't like it when he stared like that at Kai.

" Lord Voltaire, Master Boris."

Oh no… Rei knew he was in for it now.

" Oh Tala," Voltaire gave a small smile. "I see you've finally come to collect you missing 'student'."

The redhead bowed, but his eyes were on Rei. The raven-haired boy could tell that he wasn't happy with him. " I apologize Lord Voltaire," Tala spoke. " I expected the guards to escort him to Arena 3, but I should have done so myself."

A hand touched his arm, a hand he didn't want there. " Make sure to keep and eye on this one," Voltaire ordered him. " He's an inquisitive kitten." The hand rubbed slightly, stopping Rei's blood cold. All he wanted to do was get as far away from him and Boris. He wanted to return to his room, return to his village where he knew that the White Tigers were ready to shave him bald and skewer him for giving them such a scare…again. But unfortunately he was in a situation that he was trapped in a some secret headquarters with two psychos and a bunch of people who really didn't give a care.

" Yes sir," Tala bowed again before reaching out to grab Rei by the arm. The hand was gone and he was relieved, not even protesting when the Demolition Boy dragged him down the hall.

" I will be calling for him Thursday afternoon," Voltaire told them. " Bring him to my study at 1800."

" Yes sir," Tala nodded and pulled Rei farther down the hall and around the corner. When they were far enough away he shoved the neko-jin up against the wall. " You idiot! What did you think you were doing?!"

"I-I got lost trying to find the elevator," he explained quickly. " I couldn't find it. And then I found Kai…"

" Next try standing still!" Tala growled. " Someone is bound to find you!"

" Okay!" Rei said, trying to get the older boy to back off. " I didn't mean to get lost!"

Tala seemed to calm down instantly, though it was obvious he was simmering. " You're to return to your room. You will confined there for the next twenty-four hours. You will be brought meals."

" What?!" Rei's eyes widened and then cut in anger. A heavy hand grabbed the front of his shirt, shoving harshly against the cold wall.

Tala's blue eyes were dark, darker than they should have been. He growled slightly and slight fangs were bared. " Don't…push…you…luck," he warned him. " You will do as your told. No questions asked."

Rei's own fangs hand been bared by then. He wanted to punch this guy in the face. Remember Kai, he told himself. What if he's the one that gets the brunt of this? The thought calmed him down. He didn't want to cause trouble if it would only turn around and hurt his friend instead. " Fine, I won't fight," he gave in, something he hated to do.

" Good," Tala released him. " Now I will take you to the elevator where the guards WILL return you to your room. Forget what you've seen for now. You can't do anything about it." With that he started off down the corridor.

The redhead was on edge. What would have happened if he hadn't gotten there when he had? Would his being there had meant anything? And why was Voltaire acting so 'pleased' lately. It was like a kid about to get a bowl of ice cream with syrup and candy on the side. And the way he had been touching Rei…

What is going on around here? He wondered. This isn't going to end well, no matter what. He didn't glance back at the boy he was leading, but he couldn't help that he felt a strange sense of concern. Something was going to happen, something big. Too many things were adding up to it. The new young recruits brought it, Rei's arrival, how accommodating Voltaire had been as of late. Tala could smell gunpowder waiting for ignition. I just don't want to see the aftermath of this when it all blows up.

Kathrine: Lots of stuff, but no action.

JC: Rei just keeps getting pushed around doesn't he?

Kathrine: Are there any good artists that are willing to draw a picture of Rei in either of his new outfits? We have pictures in our mind, but we would like to know what you guys are seeing.

JC: I think they would look good on him. But that's only because he's Rei.

Kathrine: So was this not up to par? Mistakes are due to wanting to get this out as quick as possible.

JC: Please review and tell us what you think. Writer's Block on this was horrible. Maybe your comments can help prevent it from happening again.

Kathrine: Next chapter Kai wakes up. We'll see how the mission begins.

JC: Maybe it doesn't go as well as it should? Give us some ideas. (Looks hopeful)