In the summer they moved out of the cellar into the forest just outside the town and made a temporary summer home under a tall oak tree. It was nice for them to get out of the dismal town and into the free, open air. They made a lean-to out of branches which kept out the rain. No tree in the whole forest provided more shelter then the one Kai found. There was much more room out here so Kenny let even more kids into his school and they had lessons outside in the warm, sunny weather. They even made a beyblade battle dish out of an old tree stump! Of coarse now they didnt have any tools or spare parts to work on their blades so they had to be careful when they practised. None of them knew why the practised beyblading, their tournament days were over. It might have been because they always had a glimmer of hope deep in their hearts, but they never really knew.

Life out here was much was much better then in the town. They felt healthier and could run around, climb trees and have fun. Max even became his old hyperactive self again from drinking the tree sap! (I suggest you dont try this).

So they spent the long summer days with Kenny sitting against the tree trunk teaching his class, Max sitting in the highest branch of the tree to find inspiration for his guitar playing and Kai and Ray going to a town about 10 miles away for 'business'.

This business was selling things to other Japanese war victims, which Voltaire had declared against the law. They had come into contact with some people who wanted to supply war victims, like themselves, with food without Voltaire or any of his cronies knowing. Ray and Kai went into the town with the food hidden under their cloths or in a cart, get it safely past Voltaire's guards, sell it to the merchants and get back to the others. They were allowed to keep as much food as they liked as they were helping so they never went hungry. They knew what they were doing was dangerous and illegal but they were doing it to help others like themselves.

The next winter they moved back into the cellar. It was a cold, cold winter but they worked together and managed to pull through it OK. The following summer they went back to the forest and they went back to the smuggling scheme.

But Voltaire heard about this little scheme and had extra guards to patrol the main road and the town. Ray and Kai travelled across country instead and took extra precautions when they got to the town. But it wasnt enough....

One day Kai came back to the forest panting and out of breath. He looked like he had run all the way back. Ray wasnt with him.

Kenny: "Kai, whats up with you? Wheres Ray?"

Kai " They.... They got... Him."

Kenny: "What, who?"

Kai: "Voltaire's guards.... They took him away"

Max: "No, they couldnt have!"

Kai: "They have, and its all my fault. I could have stopped them!" He beat his fist against the ground in anger.

Kenny: "Tell us what happened Kai."

Kai: "OK. We had scooped out the insides of a load of logs and put the food and stuff in them then glued them back together. We thought it was the perfect way of sneaking it into town. But the cart tipped over and the logs broke in half. The guards saw what we were up to. We ran for our lives but they caught Ray. I tried to get them off him but he yelled at me to get away, to get back to you guys. I cant believe it. I could have stopped them!"

Kenny: "Stop beating yourself up Kai, it wasnt your fault. At least you weren't captured too, Ray made sure you weren't."

Max: "Do you know where they took him?"

Kai: "Ive no idea. Theyve probably taken him to be a slave. Or worse...."

Nothing was quite the same for them after that. They all felt a sadness in their hearts. They had depended on Ray for so much and now he was gone. They had lost Tyson and now they had lost Ray, they didnt know if they could go on much longer if they kept losing their friends.

They moved back into the cellar again in the winter, their hearts still heavy from the incredible sadness. They tried to carry on as normal, just as they had done when Tyson was taken away, but it was so hard. Luckily a miracle was just around the corner...

It was early November but still a rather nice day. It was cold but dry. Kenny was sitting alone in the cellar with Dizzi. His schoolchildren were outside playing in the ruins. Max appeared at the entrance to the cellar.

Max: "Hey Kenny, youd better get out here. We could use your help."

Kenny: "What is it Max?"

Max: "Theres a girl out here whos fainted. You wont believe who it is!"

He followed Max out of the cellar towards where a crowd of kids had gathered round something. Kai was leaning over the girl who had fainted.

Kai: "Everyone step back, give her some air!"

Kenny made his way through the crowd to see the casualty. He gasped when he saw who it was... It was their old friend Mariah!!!! (Bet youd forgotten about her?)

Kenny: "Mariah! What is she doing here?"

Kai: "She seems pretty sick. Help me carry her inside."

They carried the sick girl down to the cellar and laid her on one of the mattresses.

Kenny: "This is incredible! I never thought wed see Mariah ever again!"

Kai: "Quite, shes waking up."

Mariah slowly opened her eyes.

Mariah: "Galux, wheres Galux?"

Kenny: "Galux?"

Max: "Her bit beast?"

Mariah: "I want Galux!"

Orphaned kid: "Maybe she means that cat."

Kai: "What cat?"

Orphaned kid: "When we found her there was a cat with her that was hissing and spitting and it wouldnt let us near her. So we chased it off."

Kai: "Go find it and bring it back here."

Orphaned kid: "Are you kidding? It nearly scratched me to death!"

Kai: "Just go and find it."

The kid came back a few minutes later holding Galux, who was no longer a kitten but a full grown cat. He put it down next to Mariah.

Mariah: "Galux." She stroked the cat which started purring.

Kai: "How are you felling, Mariah?"

She suddenly became aware of the crowd of kids gathered round her.

Mariah: "I remember you, youre the bladebreakers!"

Kenny: "Yep."

Max: "Did ya miss us?"

Mariah: "Isnt Ray with you guys? Where is he?"

Kai: "Um.... This may be hard for you to take but.... Ray was captured by Voltaire's army."

Mariah seemed deeply shocked by this. She buried her face in her cats fur.

Orphaned kid (Lets call him Riley): "So whats she got on her?"

Kai: "She hasnt got anything on her."

Riley: "She does, I can see something sticking out of her pocket!"

Kai: "No one is to steal from her. Understood?"

Riley: "Screw you, Kai!" He made a dive for Mariahs pocket. Galux hissed menacingly and leapt on the young boy, scratching and biting him. He dropped something on the floor, the thing he had seized from Mariahs pocket.

Max stared at the object, it seemed strangely familiar. He bent down and picked it up. His eyes opened wide and he gasped in shock. It was Dragoon, his best friends bit beast! He collapsed to the floor and burst into tears.

*****************************************************************************

Mariah explained everything to them that evening. They sent all the other kids home. Max stared at Tysons blade the whole time.

Kai: "So all this time Tysons been waiting for us in Switzerland?"

Mariah nodded.

Max: "So, lets go and find him!"

Mariah: "But what about Ray! Im not going without Ray!"

Max: "Youre right. But how on earth are we gonna find him? He could be anywhere."

Kenny: "You know, I think I might have just found him."

The others stared at him in disbelieve. He had been silent for most of the evening just typing on his laptop.

Kenny: "Ive just hacked into Biovolts computer network. It has records of all the prisoners that have been captured."

Mariah: "And you found Rays record?"

Kenny: "Yes! Apparently hes being held at the abbey in Moscow."

Kai: "We can get him out of there easily. I escaped when I was just a little kid."

Max: "And Moscows on the way to Switzerland, isnt it?"

Kenny: "Thats right Max. Take a look at this." He turned round his laptop so everyone could see. On the screen was a map of Russia.

Kenny: "This is where we are now. And heres Moscow."

Mariah: "Way on the other side of the country."

Kenny: "Unfortunately, yes. But I figured we could take this route to Moscow. Then..." He clicked the mouse and another map showed up. This time of Europe, "....once weve found Ray we take a train to Berlin, then walk the rest of the way to Switzerland. Once were there we can find all the others easily!"

Kai: "Itll be a pretty long journey."

Max: "Who cares? Id walk to Mongolia and back to find my friends and family again!"

Kenny: "Actually were quite close to Mongolia, Max."

Max: "Oh, in that case Brazil!"

Mariah: "Me too! We can do it!"

Galux: "Meow!"

Kenny: "Then that settles it, were getting out of here and on to Switzerland!"

All: "YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!"

*****************************************************************************

The next day they were all ready to set off. All they took with them was Kennys laptop, Kais rifle, Maxs guitar, their beyblades (obviously), Galux, a bundle of blankets and a days supply of food. Max was carrying Dragoon. Everything else Kenny had left to his schoolchildren.

After saying their goodbyes they headed up the main road out of town, the last they would ever see of it. The rubble soon turned to open countryside. The roads in Russia were still fairly intact, probably because it was Voltaire's home country, so it would be easy to get to Moscow. But once they got to the rest of Europe there would be less roads. But theyd cross that bridge when they came to it. The road was occupied with several other travelling families, probably trying to find new ground like they were. They were very rarely passed by a vechael (please excuse my spelling).

Kenny: "Guys, my feet hurt!"

Max: "But weve only been walking for 3 hours."

Mariah: "Galux doesnt like being carried, but she cant keep up when I let her walk!"

Max: "Were not really gonna walk all the way to Moscow are we?"

Kenny: "I hope not, itll take way too long."

A truck passed by them.

Kai: "Then lets get a lift. Follow me!"

He ran out into the road with the others close behind him. He ran and jumped into the back of the truck then helped the others up with him.

Kai: "There, you see? Well hitchhike whenever possible."

They ate the food in their pockets and spent the rest of the day talking until the truck stopped for the night. They then got out and spent their first night sleeping under the stars.

They found they could travel about 20 miles a day walking and about 500 miles a day hitchhiking. So they got a lift whenever possible, they didnt care who from. It was a hard, gruelling job. But they kept on going with the thought of who was waiting for them at the end of their journey.