18Hiro: Hey Author, Are you alive?
Author: Don't you dare go killing me off. Just cause I had been a bit busy with life and couldn't update and what the hell are you doing in this story?
Hiro muttered: There she goes showing off about having a boyfriend Oh There's no way I can leave you alone... 8 months! what the hell have you been doing.
Author *sweatdrops*: Who would have thought I'll get scolded by this moron. I am sorry okay but see I got it done at last. Now you know the drill
Hiro: Beyblade and its characters don't belong to Rubies and Amethyst except the OC's like Crystal Kon.
At the Airport:
Unaware of all the commotion happening at Dojo, Crystal and Hiro were waiting for their old friend Daniel Barnes (Mr. B) at the airport and boy was he taking his sweet time to get out of that door.
"Why is he taking so long?" complained the annoyed Hiro.
"Don't know. His flight was on time and all. It looks like after all these years I still remain the only one on the crew with a sense of punctuality." said Crystal with the air of confidence.
"Yeah, keep it up with the delusions Miss I'll-come -late-so-as-to-make-a-grand-appearance" said Hiro with the fake thumps up referring to her late entry at his trial.
"Yap all you want but you can't deny that if I had not saved your sorry a** you'd be rotting in jail right now." came a snarky reply from Crystal.
"Sounds better than my current condition." said Hiro while giving Crystal a side-eye.
As they continued their petty brawl a voice drew their attention.
"Ah... CK and Hiro ready to kill each other off, looks like everything is just like it used to be when we were kids."
"DANNY!" exclaimed Crystal and Hiro in unison as a dark, handsome and tall man approached them with a grin on his face.
Hiro and Danny hi-fived each other and Danny pulled Hiro into a hug "You got me worried there with that little BEGA stunt of yours' man." said Danny to which Hiro sweat-dropped and replied while scratching his head "Well someone had to do something."
Crystal cleared her throat to get their attention "Glad you accepted my request to join our research Mr. Daniel Barnes or should I say Mr. B?" said Crystal formally as she extended her hand toward Mr. B as even though they were friends this visit of his was for business.
"Act formal all you want Crystie but you know there's no way I would ever deny my favorite Bey-girl." as he grabbed her hand to pull her into a big hug and then patted her head as if she were a little girl.
"I'm not a kid you know." whined a tomato-faced annoyed Crystal while Hiro and Danny tried to control their laugh as they looked at her face.
And then they left the airport to get Danny to Dojo (No way Hiro was in favor that his childhood best friend would stay in a hotel or you could say that Grandpa would kill him) unaware of the tornado waiting for them at the Dojo.
Meanwhile at Granger Dojo:
"WHAT!?"
Everyone was left awestrucked as soon as the name Crystal Kon was announced as all of them were told that Crystal Kon couldn't beyblade and here she was named as the 'Blazing Queen Of The Arena' world's first and only 'Female World Champion'.
"HIRO GRANGER AND CRYSTAL KON WERE THE MOST FORMIDABLE BLADERS OF THEIR ERA AND TWO TIMES WORLD CHAMPIONS! CRYSTAL KON WAS THE ONLY FEMALE MEMBER TEAM REVOLUTIONARIES AND MECHANIC WITH HER BITBEAST J. RAVEN, SHE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO SUCCESSFULLY COUNTER THE REALM TECHNIQUE CREATED BY FORMER CHAMPION CHEN-XHENG BY CREATING HER OWN REALM." everyone had their eyes locked to the TV as DJ Jazzman showed the viewers Crystal's beyblade matches.
Seeing that raised many emotions in Ray's mind most prominent ones among them being pride and anger as why would his sister hide this fact and why would she lie that she can't Beyblade , did he even knew the person who claimed to be his sister but yeah it made him proud. Mariah was now worried about how Ray would react if he found out that she had known about this and had kept it a secret on the order of elders of course.
Kai knew that CK held back more cards than she led on and some non-blader to have that much understanding of beyblades and bitbeast was a bit suspicious but yeah, he was shocked to a certain degree as this was huge.
On the other hand, Tyson and Daichi wanted to challenge Crystal to a beybattle as you know one champ to another. While Hilary, Kenny and Max were on full fanboy/fangirl mode admiring the glory of Blazing Queen Of The Arena.
"WHEREAS HIRO GRANGER WITH HIS BITBEAST METAL DRIGGER WAS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL TEAM CAPTAIN OF THE ERA! NO ONE COULD TELL WHAT WAS GOING ON THAT INCREDIBLE MIND OF HIS! THE MASTER MIND BEHIND TEAM REVOLUTIONARIES! HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO BEAT CRYSTAL KON ON THEIR VERY FIRST MATCH DURING JAPANESE PRELIMS BUT THE SCORE WAS SETTLED THE VERY NEXT YEAR AFTER CRYSTAL BEAT HIM AND THEIR THIRD AND LAST MATCH ENDED AS A TIE AND TILL DATE IT REMAINS A QUESTION THAT WHICH ONE IS STRONGER!." Tyson rubbed his nose with pride on seeing chibi version of his brother kicking you-know-what.
"WELL, UNFORTUNATELY AFTER THEIR 3RD CHAMPIONSHIP WAS CANCELLED RIGHT BEFORE THE FINALS DUE TO SOME TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES, CRYSTAL KON WENT MISSING AND THEN DIED... WELL, ACCORDING TO BBA FILES. WE WISH HER PEACE WHEREVER SHE IS RIGHT NOW AND WE HOPE THAT IF YOU'RE STILL OUT THERE, THIS REACHES YOU AND PLEASE TRY TO REACH OUT TO US AGAIN... YOU ARE MISSED BY THE WHOLE BEYBLADE COMMUNITY"
Now that made everything worse...
After showing some of their matches the program came to an end and the TV was turned off.
Now everyone had noticed the change in Ray's aura, well everyone except our favorite world champ.
"Woah Ray, your sister looks like a powerful blader but why would you two say that she can't blade? I've never seen a female blader more powerful than Dr. C.K. and why didn't you guys asked her to train your team during World Championships I bet you people..." before he could do anymore further damage Hilary shut him down with a knocking down his head.
"Hn" Kai sighed he does not get paid enough for all this.
The room was filled with awkward silence after Kenny and Tyson came back from outside where Kenny took Tyson to explain to him the situation.
"Now that has to be a mistake Ray we have all met Crystal and she's not missing and especially not dead. Or maybe they are different people." Kenny tried to neutralize the situation.
"Kenny, I remember how my sister looked when we were kids and that girl on TV was definitely her."
"Maybe they just said that to gain viewers, we know they do such things for the sake of TRP." suggested Hilary as she tried to make sense of everything.
"Would you people stop defending her?! She has told nothing but lies all this time you know. Now I am even questioning if we really are blood related or not or what if as they said my real sister's dead and she's some imposter."
"Ray it's not like that I'm sure there's some better explaination to it you know what why don't you confront her as soon as she comes back." Mariah tried to console him nervously. Her nervousness was only noticed by Kai Hnn... What is she hiding now?
"We are home." came Hiro's voice as they entered the dojo.
"You know what Mariah you're right this thing needs to be solved right now."
"Looks like all the kids are home that's unusual..." said Crystal.
"I can't wait to meet 'em" said an excited Danny he knew Tyson since he was a kid and had met Ray once and these kids were no small deal.
"Tyson you won't believe who's here to meet you..." Hiro opened the door to reveal Danny who was greeted with confused? faces of Bladebreakers.
"Huh?"
"Tyson remember me Danny I used to come here to play with you and Hiro."
And that turned on the bulb in Tyson's head and he jumped to hug Danny forgetting everything else that happened few minutes ago. Danny introduced himself to everyone and told how he's there for work.
Then Danny went to freshen up after which Tyson started to catch Danny up on everything that's happened before he came back while Crystal and Hiro started preparing the dinner. While Daichi challenged Danny for a Beybattle to which Hilary fist bumped his head and stated that he should be aware that Mr. B must be tired and made him apologize.
Everyone was contemplating how to broach the topic as this was a heck of a coincidence that just when three members of Team Revolutionaries were under the same roof after years, their past had been broadcasted in front of the whole wide world.
Kai went back to his book 'Ravenwood: The Forgotten Clan'. The book was very interesting but he had no idea why his headache would come back each time he started to read this book.
Hilary saw this and went to sit beside him on the patio at the back of dojo. "Here, Kai it's time for your medicine. "
"Hn"
Kai looked at her while he took his medicine their fingers accidentally brushed each other sending a spark of electricity in both their bodies making them both look away immediately. Hilary was red like a tomato while Kai immediately took his medicine and water hoping that it would calm down what was going under his nonchalant appearance.
After a long silent moment Kai said "Hn, thanks...Hilary."
"W-welcome Kai no worries it's my duty as a friend and also as team manager, they call me a co-coach too right..." she held her face in her hands as she realised that she was rambling and then apologized for it.
"Hn, don't worry."
They stayed their in a comforting silence as for them the company of each other was enough. People might not understand it but occasional glances when the other isn't looking, stargazing or just staring at the sun setting in the horizon were their moments which sometimes felt more precious than exchanging words. They talk to each other but mostly it's Kai lending her an ear, but she knows how to make him talk like she did when he wanted to quit the captaincy of Bladebreakers.
After some time, Hilary decided to break the silence to ask him the question that is plaguing her mind.
"Kai what do you think of Ray's sister." asked Hilary, as although she was really impressed by her skills it still rubbed her wrong that she would lie to her brother and there's also the fact that they said she's dead.
Kai looks at her and then back to the koi pond in front of him.
"Hn... She's been hiding too many things from Ray all these years so I don't know if we can trust her but the fact that all her secrets are being revealed now of all times make me question that 'why now?' just when she met us not earlier or later."
"You're right Kai it's too big of a coincidence and well what do you think would be the reason to keep this all hidden and that thing about her being dead is rubbing me in a wrong way."
"Hn, don't know." but she somehow feels familiar thought Kai.
"Well, maybe she did have reason.." Ray's voice gathered their attention.
"Sorry, I wasn't eavesdropping I just happened to catch it as I came to see Kai." Ray said as he scratched the back of his neck.
"It's fine Ray and we should say sorry, we were the ones talking about your sister. What were you saying by the way." asked Hilary.
"I gave it a thought and I kinda know for the fact that she's my sister and not an imposter."
"How?" asked Kai.
"Call it an intuition but I know it by the way she hugged me I don't remember much of my parents she's all I have for my family and she treated me as if I wasn't her brother but her own child -well if we keep not meeting me for few years aside- so she practically raised me and then there's one more thing but guess you already noticed that too Kai."
That bit left Hilary in question "Huh?! what are you talking about."
"Hn, it's the fact that Hiro knew Dr. CK since a long time and he would have noticed if she was an imposter."
"Oh, yeah you guys are right they used to be in same team." and research partners but she left it unsaid as she had to talk with Dr. CK before telling anyone that she and Kenny are trying to find a way to bring back Dranzer.
"So, I am gonna ask her calmly during the dinner. Kai would you keep an eye on both her and Hiro to see if they are lying."
"Hn" nodded Kai.
Crystal Kon was a master of multitasking, an art honed over years of balancing her secret past with her present life. As she moved around the kitchen, preparing dinner with practiced ease, she couldn't help but reflect on the monumental decision she was about to make. Telling her younger brother, Ray, about her past as a Beyblader was not something she had taken lightly.
As she diced vegetables, Hiro walked into the kitchen, leaning casually against the counter. "Need any help, Dr. CK?" he asked, his usual smirk in place.
Crystal glanced up at him and said "You can set the table, Mr. Granger. Dinner will be ready soon."
"Okay." answered Hiro and was about to go but Crystal called him again.
"Hir...I mean Mr Granger..."
"Yeah...Dr. C.K."
"I think... I'll tell Ray about my beyblading past tonight... I don't want to hide it from him now..."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Hiro as before his insistence she had planned to take that secret to her grave.
"Yeah, I guess it would be better if we tell them about somethings first and you were right Ray... is not a child anymore. And when we reach the critical part of our mission they will have to go through that training."
"You think they are ready?" asked Hiro with a firm expression.
"Maybe not everyone... but Kai is and you know...And considering his current situation he has to be and you know that too." said Crystal as she looked down while her eyes furrowed as she thought of the things that were gonna happen.
"Hmm...We are gonna have that conversation again you can't decide those things by yourself but... are you gonna tell them about that too?" Hiro then asked her with his eyes closed and hands folded as he leaned against the walls.
"No never I ca..can't... I wanna hide that secret as long as I can... it's better that way... everyone (small number of people who know it) worked really hard to keep it from world even you... so I better keep it like my life depends on it. " Crystal's voice was shaking a bit as she thought about how much everyone had
Hiro nodded "Alright then." and began to gather plates and cutlery. As they worked, Crystal's mind drifted to the conversation she needed to have with Ray. It was time he knew the truth. She took a deep breath and decided to bring it up over dinner. While Hiro had a feeling that something was off he decided not to stop her today as he
The aroma of the meal soon filled the room, drawing Danny, Tyson, and Ray to the table. As they settled in, Crystal took her seat beside Ray, her resolve hardening.
"Ray, there's something I need to tell you" She began, her voice steady.
"Yeah, Crysie."
"The thing is... ah you know how I always said that I could never spin a beyblade properly... Th...That was a lie actually... I know that lying is bad and I am sorry for it ...but I used to Beyblade and that too for Team Revolutionaries ...it used to represent BBA back in the day and Satoru Danny and Mr. Granger were my...teammates."
Ray's chopsticks paused mid-air, and he looked at her with a mix of surprise and confusion. "I already know that Crystal, in fact we all do now but don't you think it's a bit late to admit it after what happened today." he said while the others agreed.
Now the old gen bladers were shell-shocked as there was no way these would have known about Crystal as any information about her was destroyed personally by them. Hiro being first to recover asked "You knew? and what do you mean by it's a bit late and what happened today".
Ray nodded. "Yeah, there was a show today about the bladers who held top ten rankings in beyblading including the bladers from both current and previous generation and during that they broadcasted about your old matches. We saw it earlier today."
Hiro and Danny exchanged shocked glances and then looked at Crystal as she looked frozen in the place she just wasn't listening anymore but then Hiro secretly held her hand under the table a gave it a squeeze strong enough to bring her back. "There's no way," Hiro said, his tone incredulous. "After everything we did to erase Crystal Kon's existence..."
Ray leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "If you don't believe me, we have a recording. You can watch it."
Crystal's mind raced. This was not how she had planned to reveal her past. "Ray, what did you see?" she asked, her voice softer now.
Ray's expression grew serious. "The broadcast mentioned you were a great blader and I am proud of that but, the reason I wanted to confront you was what the hell was that about you being dead to the world cuz I know that's not true..."
Crystal sighed, her gaze distant. "During our time as Team Revolutionaries, the BBA was run by Mr. David Dickenson, the elder brother of the current chairman, Mr. Stanley Dickenson. Mr. Dickenson was killed right before the finals of our third world championship which resulted in cancellation of world championships. Grandpa Leo had already decided before I started beyblading that if Mr. Dickenson and our coach weren't around to protect me, we would erase my existence from the world of Beyblading. My life was already in danger due to my time with Grandpa on his expeditions before he died and because my Bit Beast J. Raven...I had to protect it too."
Ray nodded, processing her words "Hn... that concludes the problem with the world knowing but what about Ray." asked Kai.
She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Part of the reason I didn't tell Ray was because the elders of our village were against me Beyblading for Japan. I tried to join the Chinese team as a mechanic, but Cheng Xheng humiliated me for being a girl, saying there was no way he'd let a girl touch his Beyblade. That made me quite angry and I wanted to strip him off of his title of 'Undefeated World Champion' no matter what, so since Grandpa knew Mr. Dickenson (old one) and he trusted him and our coach enough he took me to participate in Japanese prelims to be able participate and be a part of Team Revolutionaries there I made it to the team and after I defeated him in the finals and shattered his Beyblade into pieces we started respecting each other" Crystal's eyes met Ray's. " But the elders didn't want you, the master of Fang Tribe's protector Driger, to be 'badly' influenced by me. They couldn't stop me from Beyblading because my Bit Beast camre from Mom's side of family, but they didn't like me because I wasn't a Neko-jin like you. I took after Mom, who was human. The elders, except for Mariah's family, were never welcoming to her or me."
Ray's expression softened with understanding. "I get it now. But why didn't you tell me when I left the village and joined the Bladebreakers?"
Crystal hesitated, then spoke. "Sorry. After you joined the Bladebreakers, they were going to confiscate Driger from you and declare you a traitor. Driger, being a god to the Fang Tribe, had promised to protect them until the end of time. They thought I helped you flee and provoked you to join the Japanese team. They said I couldn't meet you for at least two years and threatened to cast you out if I did."
Ray's face tightened with anger, both at himself and the village elders. "Because of my decisions, you had to stay away from me. I blamed you and made you apologize."
She shook her head. "You don't need to apologize, Ray. You made your own decisions, and I'm proud of you. Besides, our mother always told me not to harbor anger towards our village or the elders."
Danny, trying to lighten the mood, grinned. "The Blazing Queen of the arena has gone soft."
Crystal shot him a death glare that quickly silenced him. She turned back to everyone. "Please, keep this a secret. People still don't know that CK and Crystal Kon are the same person, and it's better that way."
mischievous grin. "Can I ask you something, and you answer honestly?"
Crystal nodded reluctantly. "If it's something I can answer, then fine.
"Ray's grin widened. "Are you and Hiro dating?"
Hiro, caught off guard, choked on his food.
Crystal exclaimed, "NO!"
Danny added, "Not now at least," earning glares from both Crystal and Hiro.
"What?!" Danny shrugged innocently.
Crystal sighed. "Well, we dated during college for a very small, insignificant period."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, five years is a small, insignificant period," he said sarcastically, making a vein pop on Crystal's forehead.
Hiro interjected. "But we broke up, and there's nothing between us now."
Danny, still not letting go, added, "Which happened out of nowhere."
Hiro, exasperated, exclaimed, "Danny, seriously, what's your problem?"
The tension eased as the others laughed. Crystal and Hiro quickly added, "We'd really appreciate it if this wasn't brought up again."
Tyson and Ray exchanged knowing glances. They had seen the aftermath of the breakup. Ray remembered the tears in his sister's eyes when she told him about it, and Tyson recalled Grandpa mentioning how sad Hiro had sounded.
Ray, sensing the need to lighten the mood, grinned at Crystal. "You can tell me about your kids," he teased.
Hiro, in the middle of drinking water, choked and sprayed it out.
Crystal's eyes widened in shock. "What kids?!"
Ray kept a straight face. "You don't have to hide them anymore."
Hiro, visibly shocked, turned to Crystal. "What is he talking about?"
Danny joined in. "Come on, Kon, you had kids and never told me?" He feigned hurt, making Crystal roll her eyes.
"I don't know what he's talking about! I don't have any kids! And who the hell told you that, Raymond Kon?" she demanded.
Ray scratched the back of his head, a sheepish smile playing on his lips. "I was just checking. How else am I supposed to know if actually were the case and you hid my niece or nephew from me"
Laughter erupted around the table, with everyone except Hiro and Crystal joining in. Crystal reached over and pulled Ray's ear gently. "Don't say such things, Ray," she chided.
As the laughter died down, the atmosphere grew more relaxed.
"I can't believe a Female World Champion actually exists and you are as strong as Hiro." said excited Hilary.
The conversation flowed naturally, the earlier tension forgotten. And after dinner they all called it a day and went to their assigned sleeping place.
Kai, however, lay awake later that night, unable to shake the feeling that the resurfacing of Crystal Kon's identity was more than just a coincidence. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something's wrong and also how couldn't pinpoint the sense of familiarity he was sensing from Crystal.
After everyone fell asleep, Hiro, Crystal, and Danny gathered quietly to discuss the recent developments. The old gen bladers watched the recording to see what the hell happened and discussed the discrepancies in information
"We erased all the files and videos of her matches, I for myself refuse to believe it as coincidence. Whoever it is wants to know about Crystal Kon." Hiro said, frustration evident in his voice. "Who could have betrayed us?"
Crystal's face was etched with worry. "We need to find out. Mr. Granger is right it was in no way a honest mistake or a coincidence. 'Tragic incident' that's how the described the death of Mr. Dickenson (David Dickenson) and they said nothing about Satoru while the way they described my absence was like the wanted people to remember and track me down like who the hell does a countdown and announces no.3 at last."
Danny added " And it was a clever move there's no way we can go and ask the production house about how they got their sources without raising suspicion."
She picked up her phone and called Stanley Dickenson, one of the few people who knew CK's true identity. As the phone rang, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
When Stanley answered, his tone was grim. "I've got no clue as to how this happened under our noses and that too at a time like this but I would ask you to stay alert and Hiro and Danny you have to protect Dr. C.K. no matter what. Cuz I think we are in for a long game."
As they ended the call, the gravity of the situation settled in.
The past they had tried so hard to bury was resurfacing.
"I knew since the start that She was alive. She made a mistake by appearing that day."
"You are right master and after this she has nowhere to hide."
"What are your next orders Master?"
"This time we crush them and without The Great Pheonix of Fire even the Guardian won't be able to keep Kai away from me"
Apologies! Apologies! Apologies!
I know it is way too late but life happens...
Thank you do much to Sakhi2009 for pointing out the typing mistake and I am so glad to have you as my regular reader.
Now from the next chapters we'll be seeing things in action like Crystal and Hiro's mission, Bit beast research at large and how Hilary joins them and what do the villains want... And yes, the past still holds many keys, and I have hidden a main link in this chapter if anyone is able to spot it then tell me in comments.
Well now, I've performed my duty as author and now it's your turn to provide me feedback in return no matter positive or negative or no matter how big or small.
Regards,
Rubies and Amethyst