MISTY – by: dark_oBsessiOn

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Hey there, everyone! It's nice to see ya all reading my next chappy! ^_^ But before anything else, I'd like to greet and respond to the following reviewers first...

SulliMike23 – Yaysers! Another new reviewer! (dances like a lunatic) Okay, enough of that...^^; Lolz, I'm honored to hear that this story keeps you clingin' to your seat! (evil grin) But you ain't seen nothing yet; the best parts are about to be revealed soon! My earliest apologies if your favorite team gets harmed in here...but it's just me – I'm EVIL! Muwahahahaha! *BOINK!* ~ow...

Reon: *swings giant mallet onto her shoulder* Quit laughing, you're scaring the reader even more...

Killjoy...but oh well. Thanks for reviewing! ^_^

pika318 – Pika-san! Nice to see ya again! ^_^ Well, I won't keep ya waiting for too long, here's the next chappy; part 2 of Mariah's sorrow! Hope y'all like it! Thanks for reviewing!

Avian Lee – Hey there, nice to see ya again! I'm glad you liked that one...and rest assured about the Kai-stalking thingy and stuff...I'm saving a pretty nice treat for him...(evil grin, then does a double take and makes sure that shark boy's not around.) Whew. Good. ^_^;

Samantha: (pushes dark to one side and faces Avian) R.I.P, huh! (eyebrow twitches)I'll get you for that, mortal!

(-.-); She's copying Yami Bakura's style too much...that's right Sam; keep it up and pretty soon Kazuki-sama will sue me for everything I've got! (yells)

Reon: Speaking of which yurei-san (points to TV), Yugioh's about to start!

Samantha: O.O! Oh damn! (leans closer) I'll deal with you later! (rushes to TV at the speed of lightning) Bakura-sama! (goes starry-eyed over the show)

Everyone: (-.-);;;;

Never mind her, I'll make sure that she'll stay away from you! ^_^ Anyways, I hope you'll like this chappy! Thanks for reviewing! ^_^

treachery89 – Wowzers! Hisashiburi ne, treachery-san! (glomps her). Don't worry, I understand...I'm a student too, you know...school really sucks...ick...

Devlon: (dumps dark's desk with tons of papers) And before I forgot oh dear great authoress (gags), you still have to finish these projects before the end of the month...

Kai: ...and you still have homework to do...

Ray: ...and quizzes to take tomorrow!

(LARGE sweatdrop) See what I mean? Hehe...but I can't stop writing! ^^ Thanks for reviewin', treachery-san! And enjoy this next chappy!

So, with that finished, I present to you the next chappy. I won't repeat the disclaimer now, since by now I know you all know what I'm about to say, ne? Itadakimasu!

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Chapter 12: Mariah's Sorrow (Part 2)

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Ray's breathing was ragged as he scanned the bookshelves carefully in hope that he will find something that might help in his mission. So far, he got nothing, besides the dust and the smoke that clouded his way for some of the documents inside were in there for decades..

"Dang," he thought. "What could possibly make Mariah act like that? I don't see anything unusua - ow!"

He tripped over a binder that was lying on the floor, with its pages wide open...even in the dark, he could recognize the file that was inside. "Samantha Hale's files!" he exclaimed, as the memory of that big painting in the main hall came back to his mind. "She's the blader on the painting...maybe Mariah stumbled into this too..." Without second thoughts he picked it up and read it...

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

"Hey, has anyone of you seen Ray?" Kai asked his teammates, who were resting in the comfort of their beds. Kenny immediately paled upon hearing his voice.

"Oh, and please don't tell Kai...he'll go ballistic if he knows about this..."

"No, we haven't." Max answered, tossing his Draciel up and down. "Why?"

"It's none of your business. That's all I need to know." He then left the room, grumbling. The others just shrugged and resumed what they were doing earlier...

"I need to talk to that boy regarding his issues with his former teammates," Kai thought, while walking down the stairs to the main hall. "Where could he possibly be?"

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Ray closed the binder and sighed. The information he got was surprising, to say the least...but not that helpful. He still needs to know why Mariah got freaked out after coming in here! He placed the file back onto its proper place in the bookshelf and started to exit the room, when he heard someone else in the room, shuffling through the files in the other side of the room. Anxiety quickly rushed into his system, and his adrenalin was incresed to a hundredfold. Dear God, who could that be?

Slowly, he crept towards the place, and peeked very carefully...

...only to bump his head on one of the loose books, causing a mass distraction in the process.

The person turned his head towards the direction of the noise and slipped the book he was reading back to its proper spot. "Who goes there?"

"Oww..." Was all the neko-jin could say. When he sat back up, he was greeted by a tall man with brown hair and brown eyes staring hard down at him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he heard him ask.

"I should ask you the same question myself." Ray stood up and brushed his pants. The stranger raised an eyebrow in recognition of the boy before him.

"You're the Bladebreakers' very own Ray Kon."

"Yeah...how did you know?"

"I've heard a lot about you. You're that blader with the white tiger bitbeast. Why are you in here in the first place?"

He tossed his long ponytail behind his back. "I'm looking for something, and it's regarding my close friend who got into trouble after she came out of here."

"Ah, yes. Mariah of the White Tigers, am I correct?"

Now he was getting more and more spooked. Ray narrowed his eyes. "How-"

"And before you ask me how do I know again, it's because I stay in this place as well, and I know everything that's going on here. According to my sources, she went hysterical and isolated herself after an encounter with something inside this room. That's why I'm here to check it out."

"Uh-huh, you know about it all right." He turned his back and started to leave, when he remembered something. "Wait...I don't know you name yet."

"Just call me Tani, Ray. It was nice to meet you." He then shook his hand and left the room. "Hope to see you around."

"Same here." After Tani left, he made his way towards the shelf that he was searching earlier. And as he was looking at the files in there, a blue book fell on his feet. Ray picked it up and what caught his attention is the intriguing cover. "'Misty'...wait, this is the book that he was looking at earlier..."

He flipped the pages and came across the same blue ribbon that was inserted between its pages decades ago. "But why would he be so interested in this?"

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Back in his room, Tani whipped out his cellphone and called his superiors from the media company that he was working for. "Hello sir, this is Tani speaking...I just want to ask for an extension regarding my article 'The Forgotten Legend'?...yes, that one...no..." His free hand was clenched tightly. "I'm not goofing off, sir. Rest assured that my article will be a major one by the time I get back there. I swear I won't disappoint you with this!" Minutes later, he smiled and nodded. "Thank you." And with the press of the "End" button, his conversation was drawn to a close.

"I'm glad those idiots reconsidered," he said to himself, taking out a cigarette from his breast pocket. He lighted the cigar and allowed his gaze to be fixed at the white wisps of smoke coming from its tip. "It won't be long until that ghoul strikes...poor Mariah."

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

And speaking of Mariah, the teen was in the training room all by herself, staring at her spinning Galux in the center. She was feeling alright now, after the incident the other day. But still...why is she feeling so nervous, like something's going to happen yet?

"Remember that if there's something wrong, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?"

She recalled Ray's reminder, when the latter visited her to see if she was doing alright. She shook the thought off and said, "It must only be my imagination that's giving me the creeps. I have no reason to feel like this at all!" Determined, she called back her beyblade and launched it one more time. "Let's go, Galux!"

When out of nowhere, a beyblade flew into the scene, colliding with her pink blade head-on. As the two machines duked it out fiercely in the dish, the White Tiger beyblader snapped at whoever disturbed her daily training. "Why, it's you Devlon!"

The black-haired girl waved back at her. "Hello! I was wondering if you wound't mind sparring with me?" She twirled a strand of her hair around her right index finger. "It's always good to practice blading with someone stronger than your own."

Mariah blushed. "Oh,come on you're flattering me too much! Sure, I don't mind. Let's do it!" Her golden eyes glinted with desire to defeat her adversary. "But be warned that I don't have any intention of going easy on you!"

Devlon smirked. "That's what I was about to ask you...show me everything you've got!"

"Go, Galux!"

"I won't lose!"

The sound of the two beyblades clashing filled the room. Both players were sweating but neither one wanted to surrender. Finally, Mariah called upon her bitbeast, and Devlon stared at it with awe. It was when that she felt a sudden surge of energy, almost like a lightning bolt, hit her. When she closed her eyes, she came face-to-face with Samantha.

"What the-? Samantha! What do you want?"

She only smiled wickedly. "It's time that I handle the situation from here." She extended her right hand, and in a split second, Devlon's soul fell down. Samantha looked down on her, satisfied and delighted. It was so long ago ever since she fought a beybattle..."Now...let the fun begin.."

[ ] [ ] Back to Reality [ ] [ ]

"Devlon! Stop sleeping on me and open your eyes!" That was the first thing "Devlon" heard upon snapping back to reality. Mariah was shocked to see her eyes, almost emotionless and stoic. The girl gazed down at the dish, where her beyblade's on the verge of breaking into bits by Galux' continuous attacks.

"Stop stalling and give me a worthy battle! Fight back Devlon Jean!" she yelled.

So, Mariah thinks that I'm still that brat, Devlon...Samantha laughed inwardly before focusing all of her energy on the almost trashed beyblade. "I'll show her that I'm stronger! Arise, my beyblade! Fight back!"

Mariah gasped as the beyblade regained stability and countered her attacks. She beamed with joy. "There! Finally I'm getting what I'm asking from you! But it's too late to make any fancy moves now; your attack ring's going to give way soon! Final attack Galux! CAT SCRATCH ATTACK!"

Galux cried its signature mountain cat cry, and jumped up, ready to strike. "Devlon" looked up slowly, looking calm than usual. When the tip of her bey's almost an inch close...

"Dodge it."

And it did.

"What?"

The raven-haired girl smiled with pride. "Attack."

Clash! Smash! Crash! Mariah was helpless against her continuous attacks. "This is one quick recovery!" she cried. "How did you-!"

"It's time that you learn a bit from your opponents now, right?" Samantha said in her usual creepy voice. In an instant, her senses remembered that same feeling...

"YOU!"

"Yes me...now, I guess it's time that you should take a rest now..." With one motion of her hand, (A/N: Imagine the way Yami from Yugioh does his "Mind Crush" attack. That's exactly how Sam did it.) Mariah's consciousness was hit and she fell to the ground, eyes lifeless. Back at the battle, Devlon's beyblade took one mighty dash and slammed Galux out of the dish. It landed beside Mariah's limp body, as the opposing blade charged its way back to its master's hand. She glanced at it with satisfaction. "Good work..."

Samantha soon called the body's true owner back, and the real Devlon was back to reality again. "What the-?"

"Mariah has been defeated, my dear partner..."

"You...did?"

"Yes, I did. Now, it's time for the real thrill to begin." Samantha floated her way towards the defeated beyblader, and stepped inside her body. Minutes later, Mariah stood up, but when Devlon looked closely, she wasn't the real thing at all...

"So...how do you like my new weapon of destruction, Jean?"

She smiled. "Absolutely...perfect."

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Waii! Cliffhanger! Yep, you guessed right; there's going to be a part 3 yet! And just like Samantha said, the fun part is yet to come! So, I hope that you'll all be there to witness the next thrilling chappy! Who will she strike first? And what is Tani planning for her? Will Mariah be alright? Find out soon! Until then, please be so kind and post your reviews! Thousand domos, minnasan! Ja ne! ^_^