Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of the Past ❯ It's Too Late to Turn Back ( Chapter 1 )

AN: I'll hopefully have chapter 2 up by next weekend. In the meantime, please review.

 

Warnings: Language

 

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

 

Internal Dialogue

 

Chapter 1

 

“Tala, are you coming?” Ian asked his captain once the Bladebreakers had left the area.

 

“I have something to take care of,” was the short reply. The indigo-haired teen shot a worried glance in his direction before leaving the Wolborg master alone. Once sure that his younger teammate was gone, Tala set off in the same direction as the Bladebreakers. He's my brother! How could I forget that?! How could I not remember what happened… that Boris killed my… our mother? He only hoped that the black-haired teen had understood the look he had given him. He needed to talk Rei; though it seemed odd to even know his name, it was very familiar to him. Somehow, he knew that the other had seen the same scene in his mind, as well. A silhouette came into view as the red head exited through the front gate. The shadowed figure stepped into the light of the moon, revealing the dark-haired neko-jin.

 

“You saw it, too,” Rei stated quietly as they took each other in. Nothing else was spoken for several minutes as the two confused teens stood within an arm's reach of one another. “If I had known… I never remembered before tonight…” the golden eyed youth eventually said. “You didn't know either, did you?”

 

“No, I couldn't remember, either,” anguish shone from blue orbs. “We've lost so much time, and ever since the match ended, I can't seem to recall anything else.”

 

“Neither can I. It's all so confusing.” There was a short pause before the raven-haired teen took a small, hesitant step forward. “But if we both remember it, then it has to be true, right? You're my twin.” In response, Tala simply stepped forward and nodded. They remained that way for several moments as their eyes reflected unshed tears. Suddenly, as if some barrier that had been holding them back vanished, their arms wrapped around in each other in a tight embrace; the brothers were finally reunited after twelve years.

 

“What are we going to do?” Tala whispered. “Things are so complicated right now. Everything is all screwed up.” Rei's head turned slightly to give the red head a questioning look.

 

“I don't understand what's going on,” he replied quietly. “But it's obvious that something isn't right with BioVolt, and it doesn't matter. You're my brother, someone I haven't remembered, let alone seen since we were five. We'll figure something out, but you'll have to tell me what's going on. And…” he paused as the hug ended. “And I need to know if Kai is really okay.” The last part was said in such a low whisper that Tala would not have caught were he not a neko-jin, as well.

 

“We can't talk here,” the holder of Wolborg finally replied. “It's too dangerous. If you were caught here…” Even though he trailed off before finishing, his twin understood the message, but he still needed to know about his captain.

 

“What about Kai, though?” he asked almost desperately. “I have to know what's happened to him.” Tala was puzzled as to why this is so important, but he answered nonetheless.

 

“He's fine. Kai needs to be involved in the things I can't explain right now, but why is it so important to you? The rest of your team didn't show half this much concern.” The blue-eyed teen was genuinely curious, and being a neko-jin, he naturally wanted to know the answer. Rei ducked his head to hide a small blush, but Tala had already seen it.

 

“He's… um… Well, you see…” How do you tell your brother whom you haven't seen in years, whom you barely remember, that you're gay? “Kai's my boyfriend,” he finally answered, keeping his head down, afraid of his brother's reaction. The soft sound of laughter caused him to raise his eyes to his red haired twin. “What…?”

 

“It must run in the family or something,” Tala said between chuckles, “because I've been with Bryan, my teammate, for the last year and a half.” Rei's eyes widened in understanding before he, too, saw the humor of the situation and also laughed. Their amusement quickly died down as their thoughts drifted back to the main issue.

 

“I've been gone for too long,” the blue-eyed teen said quietly. “Promise me something before I go, Rei. When I can finally tell you what's going on, promise me that you won't get involved.” The raven haired youth did not look pleased at what he was being asked.

 

“I can't do that, Tala,” he replied. “Two people that are important to me are involved, and I refuse to turn a blind eye when they could be in trouble. No, I won't make that promise.”

 

“You can't be involved with this,” he was vehement. “There's too much at…” The sound of footsteps caused him to tense and close his mouth. Rei was likewise alert, but they had been so preoccupied with their conversation that they had missed their chance to escape and had already been seen. “I'm sorry, Rei, now there won't be a choice.” This was said so that only his twin could hear. Fuck, was the only thought Tala could form as he slipped into his BioVolt persona; Boris crossed through the gate's threshold.

 

“I knew the moment I saw the footage of tonight's earlier encounter that you had each remembered the other,” the man stated with no little glee. “It was very enterprising of you to stall your brother so that we could capture him.” At least he didn't hear any of our conversation, the ice-wolf master thought in defeat. Rei, on the other hand, was standing stiffly, barely able to contain his rage, at facing his mother's murderer.

 

“Thank you, sir,” Tala responded in the manner expected of him.

 

“Well, then,” Boris started. “Let's not keep our new recruit waiting.” The man roughly grabbed the Driger master's arm and began leading him back towards the Abbey, Tala falling into step behind them. Kai's going to kill me, they both thought as the situation suddenly became that much worse, Rei's lack of knowledge not withstanding; he would know soon enough.

 

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“Rei's been gone a long time,” Max stated from the couch in their hotel suite. “You don't think anything's wrong, do you?”

 

“He probably just got caught up with his old team,” the navy haired youth replied dismissingly as he flipped through the channels on the TV. The blonde wasn't so sure, especially since the circumstances surrounding Kai's absence were suspicious. “Don't look so worried, Max. You'll see; Rei'll show up to the first round tomorrow with the White Tigers. It's not like he can be late or anything since we don't battle until the second round, so he can have a night out with his friends.”

 

“I don't know, Takao,” the blue-eyed youth wasn't convinced. “What if he went back to the Abbey to make sure Kai's really okay?”

 

“Why would he do that?” Questioning brown eyes looked over to his friend. “He knows he wouldn't be able to get in. Besides, he said he was going to go talk to Lee. Rei wouldn't lie to us.” Well, thought Max. He obviously doesn't know about their relationship if he doesn't think Rei wouldn't go back for Kai, but he does have a point about him not lying to us. Momentarily appeased, the holder of Draciel stood to go in search of Kenny; in light of tonight's bey-battle, the blonde was sure that his blade would need some serious upgrades… after Takao's was repaired.

 

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Boris is a fool if he thinks that Black Dranzer can control me. I destroyed the Abbey on purpose eight years ago; I haven't forgotten anything of the past. Kai was sitting on his bed in the Demolition Boys shared room, waiting for Tala to show up so they could go over their plans; Bryan was already present, and the other two didn't know what they were going to do as it was thought to be too dangerous if more people were involved. Where the hell is he?

 

“Tala's been gone too long,” the lilac haired `blader obviously shared his concern. “You don't think Boris is…” He didn't get to finish as the door opened. The two teens schooled their features; they couldn't be too careful as you never knew who it could be. Only years of practice kept their jaws from hitting the floor as one Kon Rei was none-too-gently shoved into the room and onto the floor by Boris. Tala entered the room, face impassive as ever, though both Kai and Bryan could read him like an open book; he was clearly distressed by the situation.

 

“Welcome your new teammate,” the repulsive man said as Rei pushed himself from the floor. “Have him ready to train at sunrise.” Boris shut the door behind him as he left the four teens in an uncomfortable and tense silence. Kai was the first one to find his voice.

 

“Explain,” he demanded of Tala, who only lowered his eyes to the floor in response. “Tala…”

 

“Kai, stop,” Rei's quiet voice cut him off. “It's not his fault I'm here.” The crimson gaze clearly said he didn't believe that for one minute. “I'm serious, Kai. I was the one who decided to come back…” he turned to look at his twin and received a nod of assent to the unasked question. “While Takao was having a battle, I… well we,” he waved his hand to include Tala. “We kind of both remembered some things when we saw each other.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Bryan interjected. “What could you possibly have to remember that has anything to do with Tala?” Rei remained silent for a moment before answering.

 

“He's my brother,” This time their jaws did drop in surprise, but the raven haired neko-jin continued, ignoring their reactions. “We had both forgotten; it's been twelve years…” his voice cracked slightly at that, he couldn't continue and suddenly found two strong arms wrapped around him; recognizing Kai's embrace, he relaxed ever so slightly.

 

“Boris recognized hi…” Kai didn't allow Tala to finish as his sharp mind picked up on something.

 

“What do you mean `recognized' him?” He asked with narrowed eyes. “Rei never stepped a foot into this place before this morning's tour.”

 

“That's not how he knows me,” the golden-eyed teen sighed as he reluctantly stepped back from Kai. “When we were five, BioVolt came for us, and Boris was the one in charge. He got Tala, and I somehow managed to escape… I can't remember how.” The frustration was evident in his voice, as was the fact that he was leaving something out.

 

“What aren't you saying?” The phoenix wielder asked gently. Rei doesn't usually avoid saying something unless it's too painful for him to mention. Rei could only shake his head, unable to speak at the moment. It seemed as though Tala was doing no better as he didn't answer once the question was directed at him. Eventually, though, Rei found his voice and described all of what he could remember, occasionally choking on the words as tears ran down his face. Once finished, Kai coaxed Rei to sit on the closest bed, while Bryan did the same for the red head, who was also silently crying. Bryan got a thoughtful look on his face as he replayed the entire conversation.

 

“You're twins, aren't you?” he stated. “Rei said `when we were five'.” He explained at the curious glances. Neither neko-jin had thought to mention that fact as it didn't seem relevant. Another moment passed before anything else was said.

 

“That's why Boris wants you both here,” Kai's voice reflected the anger he was feeling towards the man. “It's always been thought that twins have some sort of psychic connection; he plans to exploit that trait, assuming it's even true.” There wasn't anything anyone could say to that; the reason didn't really matter anyway as they could do nothing about it for the time being. Bryan was opening his mouth to say something when the door began to open for the second time that night. Unfamiliar with the workings of the Abbey, Rei was the only one to not slip on a mask of cold indifference. Fortunately, it was only Spencer and Ian to enter the room. The two newcomers couldn't hide their surprise at finding the slate-haired teen's teammate in the room.

 

“Not now,” Kai hissed from next to Rei as Ian opened his mouth. Knowing when to keep quiet, the short youth complied. The blonde, however, didn't care that Kai would kick his ass; he wanted to know what was going on.

 

“Why is he here?”

 

“Did you not just hear Kai?” Bryan growled from the bed he was sharing with Tala. “He's here, and if they want to tell you why, then they will.”

 

“They?” Ian asked before thinking. Taking in the multiple glares for an answer, he raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry,” he muttered in apology. “We just weren't expecting to find him here.”

 

“My name is Rei,” his voice sounded slightly angry. “I would appreciate it if you would stop referring to me as if I couldn't hear you. Tonight's been nothing but one fuck up after another save one thing,” he threw a quick glance to his twin before continuing. “And I don't want to deal with anymore of this shit right now.” Kai smiled inwardly at his boyfriend's little speech; Rei never let anyone any one push him around, even indirectly.

 

“Well, you'll certainly have no problems fitting in here.” A pillow to the face was all the response Spencer received, though silently everyone agreed with the assessment; it was exactly that kind of strength of character that allowed one to survive BioVolt.

 

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“How the hell am I supposed to train without Driger?” a low voice growled. Rei was most definitely not a morning person, especially when it was still dark outside. He was over the shock of what had happened the previous night, and was now giving everyone a glimpse at his true personality; the raven haired neko-jin had only ever shown this side to Kai, not even his friends from China had seen him like this. The Demolition Boys made sure to wake him early enough so that they could inform him of how he would be expected to behave; they needn't have worried so much as the teen was nearly as good as the rest of them at hiding his emotions.

 

“It's not that kind of training,” Bryan explained. “You probably won't see your blade until tomorrow, anyway. Boris has most likely sent it to the techs for upgrades, and that will take time; either that or he's had it sent to the lab.” Golden eyes narrowed at hearing that.

 

“Why,” he hissed, “would Driger be sent to the labs?” Kai and Tala both pulled their blades out as he asked the question.

 

“This is why,” Tala responded as two blades were handed to the Chinese teen. He almost jumped at the power he could feel thrumming through each blade, and the bit beasts weren't even active. After a moment the team captain continued. “They enhance our bits thinking that the power can be used to control us. What they don't know is that in spite of everything they do to them, they still maintain their loyalty to us.” Rei turned to Kai.

 

“This isn't Dranzer, though,” he held up the black blade.

 

“Dranzer is safe,” the crimson eyed teen replied as he reclaimed the black phoenix. “That's Black Dranzer; she's an artificially created bit beast, made from a small part of Dranzer. Eventually, I'll reunite the two and Dranzer will be whole again. Until then, I have to use Black Dranzer since Boris thinks she has a hold on me.”

 

“Boris is coming,” Spencer suddenly warned from his position at the door. At the announcement, everyone switched into their non-personality mode, Rei included. Shortly after, the vindictive man entered the room and gave an appraising look around.

 

“Excellent,” the purple-haired man stated, his gaze lingering on the newest addition for a moment. “I see you've already begun training our new recruit. He's already beginning to look like a soldier. We'll see how well that holds up when he starts his real training.” Kai and Tala were inwardly cringing; that didn't bode well for Rei. They only hoped that Boris would be too preoccupied with the tournament to give him the complete regimen. “Tala, Bryan, Kai, Spencer,” Four sets of eyes focused at their names. “You will be leaving with me in one hour for the stadium. Ian, as you do not have a match today, you will remain here and oversee Rei's training, which begins immediately.” His orders given, Boris turned on his heel and walked through the door, fully expecting that Ian and Rei would be behind him. After seeing both Kai and Tala nod, the two quickly followed the sadistic man.

 

“At least Ian will be here,” Spencer offered. “He's always been pretty good at making sure that certain things don't happen.”

 

“Yeah,” Bryan added. “And Boris will be busy with the Championships, so…” he trailed off, shrugging; they all knew what he meant. The next hour was spent in contemplation before they finally left for BioVolt Stadium.

 

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“Hey, Max!” a female voice screeched causing the blonde to inwardly groan. He was hoping to check out some of the teams in the first round with the Chief while Takao was off eating somewhere, and a conversation with Mariah could possibly hold him up all day; she could drone on and on for hours. “Where's Rei?” Pink. That's the nicest thing I can think about her… Wait did she ask where Rei is?

 

“What are you talking about, Mariah?” he asked, exchanging a worried look with Kenny. “Rei went to see you guys last night; we thought he stayed over since he never came back.”

 

“No…” Amber eyes looked thoughtful. “Unless he was with Lee and Kevin. They disappeared last night, leaving a note saying that they would meet us here this morning.”

 

“I see Lee and the others over there,” the Chief pointed out the location. “Why don't we go ask him?” The other two nodded and made their way through the massive crowd where they were greeted by the rest of the White Tigers team.

 

“Did you see Rei last night?” Mariah demanded of her captain.

 

“No,” he replied. “I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon. Why, is something wrong?” His orange eyes displayed a hint of worry for his best friend.

 

“I don't know,” Max sighed. “He told us he was going to see you guys last night and never came back. I think he may have gone to…” I had really hoped Takao was right, that he didn't go back for Kai.

 

“Where?” Kevin asked. He didn't like the subdued tone of the blonde's voice.

 

“Well, it's a long story,” Kenny answered for Max. “But Kai disappeared yesterday, and we tracked him to Balcov Abbey. They wouldn't let us see him or anything, so we had to leave. A few minutes after we left, Rei said he was going to your hotel and ran off. It looks like he may have gone back for Kai.”

 

“Why would he do that?” The pink haired teen asked in distaste at the mention of Kai. “I'm sure he knows Kai can take care of himself.”

 

“Are you a complete moron?” the green haired youth asked incredulously. “Why wouldn't Rei go after Kai? They've been dating since the Chinese tournament. I know if my boyfriend disappeared, I would go hunt him down.” The short teen's eyes widened as he realized what he just said and clapped a hand over his mouth. I am such an idiot. Lee's right, I never think before I speak.

 

“Kevin,” Lee sighed while looking at the gaping figure that was Mariah. “Don't worry about it. She had to find out sometime.” It was as he said this that the female neko-jin finally caught up with reality.

 

“You can't be serious!” she cried. “There's no way he's gay; I would know. Besides, you're talking about Kai, Rei would never be with someone so emotionally deficient.” Amber eyes focused on Kevin. “And you? I don't believe it. You don't go anywhere unless it's with…” Something inside her brain clicked and she turned wide eyes to her captain. “You're his boyfriend. What, is everybody gay?” A collective `yes' was heard from everyone in the group except Gary, who really hadn't ever thought about it one way or the other.

 

“I don't believe this,” Mariah muttered dejectedly. It wasn't that she cared about their sexual orientation. It was that she was disappointed that no one had told her even though they all knew she had a crush on Rei. And to find out he's with Kai, of all people, she raged internally.

 

“Look,” Max started. “That's really not important right now. We're missing two teammates, and it's somehow connected to the Abbey.” Everyone immediately sobered at the reminder.

 

“The red head we saw last night said Kai would be here today,” Kenny stated helpfully. “So if Rei is with Kai, it would stand to reason that they'll both be here.”

 

“And if you're wrong?” Lee questioned. The Chief just shrugged; if he was wrong, then they would just have to think of something else. Until then, they would have to wait and see.

 

“Why don't we go find Takao and watch some of the battles,” Max suggested. “We still need to see the competition we'll be facing. And,” he added while gesturing to the White Tigers. “You guys have that exhibition match with the home team this afternoon, so you probably need to get ready.” Several heads nodded in agreement and they went their separate ways.

 

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“Too bad Rei isn't here to see his old team play,” Takao commented idly from his position at the railing. He, Max and Kenny were all standing directly above where the White Tigers would enter the stadium. The blonde had informed him of what was said during the earlier conversation, and he hadn't known what to say except that the Chief was probably right. He hadn't even given the news of his teammates dating status a second thought as it wasn't really any of his business. The three Bladebreakers watched as the White Tigers were introduced and entered the arena. The Russian team, the Demolition Boys, stayed hidden in the shadows of their area as they were announced so no one could see what they looked like. They watched as a tall, blonde teen named Spencer trounced Gary; the same thing happened when the red head, now known as Tala, from the previous night faced Mariah. What they saw next, though, had them frozen in shock.

 

“That's… that's Kai!” Kenny finally blurted out. “He switched teams.” Takao wasn't paying attention, though, as he was busy yelling at their now former-captain.

 

“Calm down, Takao,” Max tried. “We'll find out after… Shit, what is he doing?” At a glance back at the bey-stadium, the blonde noticed Kai facing all the members of the White Tigers simultaneously; what was even more shocking was that he was cutting through them like butter. Unfortunately for their already fried brains, the two-toned haired teen wasn't finished. The whole stadium was wrapped in an eerie silence as the black blade absorbed all the bit beasts from the White Tigers, who could only watch on in horror.

 

“Kai,” Max whispered. “What have you done?”

 

“Come on,” the capped teen commanded in a deadly serious tone. “We're going to go have a talk with our dear captain.” Kenny and Max followed along wordlessly through the corridors until they came to a stop in front of the Demolition Boys' locker room.

 

“Kai!” Takao yelled as he barged into the room. “What the hell is going on here? You had no right to steal them.” Four sets of eyes looked at him with nothing but indifference.

 

“You have five minutes to take care of this, Kai. We have to get back the Abbey.” the red haired neko-jin stated. Kai could see the carefully disguised panic in blue eyes. Rei…

 

“Hn. I won't need that long.” At his reply, Bryan, Tala and Spencer walked out.

 

“Ok, they're gone now, Kai,” Takao's voice had softened somewhat. “Now you can tell us what's going on.”

 

“It's none of your concern,” the statement was accompanied by a burning glare.

 

“The hell it isn't!” the navy haired teen raised his voice. “You can't just go around taking people's bit beasts!” He wasn't even given a response this time as Kai stalked towards the exit.

 

“Rei's missing,” Max informed him quietly in hopes that the news of his boyfriend would catch his attention. It worked; Kai froze momentarily, though what they heard was not at all what they expected.

 

“And I should care because…” was the reply, though inside the phoenix wielder was falling apart. Before the others could close their gaping mouths, he walked away.

 

“Bastard!” he could hear Takao's voice echo through the hallway, though the teen had made no attempt to follow. “He's your boyfriend and you don't even care?!” Of course I care, Kai thought as barely managed to hold onto his façade. That's why I'm walking away from you now. If Tala's bad feeling is any indication, then Rei's going to need us as soon as we can get there. I wish I could tell you what's going on, but it would only make things worse. The teen climbed into the waiting car next to Bryan and across from Tala and Spencer. The ride back was filled with noises of false praise from Boris; they didn't hear a single word of it as their thoughts were elsewhere.

 

 

TBC