A Splash of Pranks
The inside of Kia's house was gigantic, like a church cathedral. Kadaj stumbled to a stop and looked around him, astonished. He hadn't known that a house could be so huge. Doors and entryways led off to different rooms, while at the far end of the great room two staircases rose up to meet the second floor landing. A large, double door could be seen from between the stairs on the lower floor. Kadaj winced as the front door slammed behind him and Kia raced in. She sped across the hall and leapt up the stairs, taking them two at a time. From behind Kadaj came Meg and Kerra, on either side of him. They took off after their friend, taking to the stairs and turning right once they'd reached the top. Together, the two friends disappeared down an unseen hallway.
Shuffling his feet a little, Kadaj looked around, unsure of what to do. Uh... ok, so say I followed them up the stairs and I couldn't find them from there, I would be so lost… He was just almost halfway across the hall when suddenly a blast of music made him jump. From up above him, speakers that were built into the ceiling started to play an unfamiliar song. There were no words, just music…
"Axel! Give me that game!" Kadaj looked up to see a giant Doberman leap down the stairs, a small, slim box clamped tightly between his teeth; Kia, Kerra, and Meg were racing close behind. Drawing his kantana, Kadaj ran towards the beast, aiming for his throat.
"Uh, STOP! That's my do-"
Axel leaped with a single bound around Kadaj and raced off through an open archway, into another room. The music that had been playing earlier now had words.
(When Two Are One – Atreyu)
BANG!
Explosions in my head that just won't quit,
A train has crashed into the wall around my heart and left the old me dead,
Obliterated.
STOP!
My breathing in the night when you're not there,
The silence ringing through my ears and all I want to do is hear your voice,
But you're not there.
"Come on guys! That game's my brothers, and if Ax even ruins the case... we're so dead!" Kia took off after her dog, flying with surprising speed into the room where he'd disappeared; Kerra and Meg were hot on her tail. "Whatta you mean we?" Kadaj heard Kerra grumble as the three streaked past him. Kadaj had to admit, Kia was hot when she was upset. He took off after the three friends, trailing behind them as they weaved quickly around the many pieces of furniture.
Drawn Together,
Pain is rushed through,
Sleight of hand,
We, we won't go up in smoke,
Fates colliding,
Love undying.
"What exactly does this dog have again?" he shouted ahead to where Kia and her friends were rapidly dogging objects. They'd passed through two rooms already; one looking like it was just a sitting room, the other resembling a billiard room. "My brother's Final Fantasy game, it's his favorite. He let me borrow it and if I don't get it back to him exactly how it was- Look! He went that way!"
Like the rising tide,
Beating hearts grow but never die,
To simplify,
I'll stand by your side,
Close my eyes,
Hope will never die.
Like the rising tide,
Beating hearts grow but never die,
To simplify,
I'll stand by your side,
Close my eyes,
Hope will never die.
Kadaj whirled around to see Axel racing through another door, game held tightly in his mouth. With a single jump Kadaj landed in front of the dog and made to grab it… but was knocked to the side by Kia, who hadn't been watching where she was going. Together the two of them fell, Kadaj hitting the ground first, Kia falling on top of him.
GO!
And take away the pain of being me,
Soothe my soul caress my heart and,
end my fear all my bad memories,
Eradicated.
The two stared at each other, the music distant to both of them as their thoughts swirled.
'He's kinda really cute.'
'She's… even prettier up close.'
'His eyes… hm…'
'Shit, am I blushing?'
'Shit, am I blushing?'
PAIN!
Like gunshots heard against a silent night,
My love is louder than these words,
They're stronger than the rest, unstoppable,
Unstoppable.
They barely noticed the yells of Meg and Kerra as the two raced past, outside now, the dog a few feet in front of them. Instead, Kia blushed hard and rolled off of Kadaj's chest. Kadaj sat up a little, afraid of her seeing his red face, and almost jumped when a hand was produced in front of him. He looked up to see Kia, still a little red, yet her hair hid it well, holding her slender hand out to him. Kadaj let her help him up.
Drawn together,
Pain is rushed through,
Slight of hand,
We, we won't go up in smoke (up in smoke),
Fates colliding,
Love undying.
"Come on, he's headed to the poolhouse!"
"Poolhouse- You have a pool?"
Like the rising tide,
Beating hearts grow but never die,
To simplify,
I'll stand by your side,
Close my eyes,
Hope will never die.(never die)
Kadaj let Kai drag him through the house, concentrating only on not tripping and the fact that she was holding his hand. Together the two burst out of a side door and across the vast lawn, making for a building that was half hidden amongst the trees. The song continued outside, speakers set up at various locations in the many trees assured that.
Like the rising tide,
Beating hearts grow but never die,
To simplify,
I'll stand by your side,
Close my eyes,
Hope will never die.(never die)
Kia looked back at him and smiled before letting go of his hand and dogging into the trees.
Will never die (never die)
Kadaj kept pace with her, jumping easily through the woods. A large, brick building loomed up ahead, the door already flung open. Spotting Kia, he slowed down so that she ran in a little bit ahead of him. She actually held my hand- well that was a first! Wow, that's sad... Too bad the youngest is the first with the ladies; wait till I tell Loz and Yazoo about this! Entering the poolhouse, Kadaj stopped to take in the scene around him. Kerra and Meg were on either side of the pool, shouting at Axel, who was climbing the sloping stairs to a complex diving structure. Kia raced after her dog, nearly catching him on the stairway. The dog made for the only thing it saw: a diving board. Padding quickly out onto it, he turned around to face Kia.
"Of course he'd go for the highest one." Meg muttered; Kadaj couldn't help snickering.
"Whoa, boy, that's a long way down, and you don't like water." Kia held her hands up, as if showing she was hiding nothing, and started to edge slowly out onto the board.
DIE
Drawn together,
Pain is rushed through,
Slight of hand,
We, we won't go up in smoke,
Fates colliding,
Love undying.
The music was in the poolhouse as well. It's everywhere; you can't get away from it! Kadaj ran up to Meg, who was staring at Axel annoyedly. "Will he really jump? That's a long way to the pool."
"I don't think s- YES!"
Suddenly Axel slipped, lost his balance, and fell off the diving board, wailing as he went. Kerra gasped loudly as the Doberman began to fall towards the water. He hit it with a smack that made even Kadaj cringe. He looked up and waved for Kia to come down, and she disappeared from view. Suddenly, she raced across the diving board, took a bounding leap, and jumped.
Like the Rising tide,
Beating hearts grow but never die,(never die)
To Simplify,
I'll stand by your side,
Close my eyes,
Hope will never die.
She flipped three times in the air and then dove straight down, zipping through the surface within the blink of an eye. Resurfacing, Kia swam rapidly over to her dog, who still held the game in his mouth and was floundering helplessly, and grabbed his collar. Immediately the Doberman snapped out of his perilous state and swam to the shallow end, where he got out and shook himself thoroughly, then dropped the game on the ground and trotted off.
Like the Rising tide,
Beating hearts grow but never die,
To Simplify,
I'll stand by your side,
Close my eyes,
Hope will never die.(never die)
We'll never die(never die)
DIE
Kadaj blinked a few times, had he really just seen her do that dive? He'd seen a few girls in the past move like that, but they'd all been skilled fighters… Looking around for Meg and Kerra, he spotted them on a lower platform. Together they counted to three and jumped at the same time, flipping backwards twice before diving into the pool. The two camp up laughing hysterically and splashing each other. Kadaj walked over to meet them at the pool steps.
….
Kia pushed the hair out of her eyes and looked herself up and down; her clothes were soaked! Behind her, she heard Kerra and Meg splashing up to the steps. "Whew, well that was fun."
"Yeah, so much for all that training your dad wasted on Axel."
Kia frowned. "Hey! It wasn't a waste, it was-"
"-A WASTE!"
Kadaj came up behind Kerra and Meg, staring intently at Kia, his head cocked to the side. "So how'd you three learn how to do that?"
"WeeOW!" Meg jumped back- Kadaj having surprised her- and accidentally knocked Kerra into Kadaj. Grabbing Kerra's hand, Meg steadied her friend.
Splash
"Whoops…"
Kadaj resurfaced and shook his hair out of his face, glaring at Meg. Behind her, Kia was trying desperately to smother her laughter.
"Uh… sorry?"
"What, you couldn't have saved me instead?"
"Ah, well, no. You see… she's my homedog, and you… well, you're not even home or a dog yet, so…"
Meg blinked confusedly at the silence that followed this. Kerra and Kia caught each other's eyes and raised their eyebrows. Kadaj pulled himself out of the water, dripping. "But she was already wet!"
"And now you are too! So we didn't have to push you in after all! Er…"
"MEG!"
Kadaj turned to glare at Kia and Kerra, who were casting Meg evil glares. "You were going to what?"
Kia began to make her way to the exit, her feet squishing against the ground; her friends followed her. "Oh nothing, nothing; sheesh, she's just kidding…" Suddenly all three of the girls whirled around and pushed Kadaj, who flew back into the pool with a giant splash. This time Kia couldn't contain her giggles, and cracked up, pointing at Kadaj and he resurfaced. "Now that was funny!"
"I'll give you guys ten seconds to run. Ten… Nine… Eight…"
"Er we're girls…"
"Seven… Six…"
Kerra slipped up next to her friend, her eyes nervously watching Kadaj. "Uh Kia? I think we should run now."
"What a great idea!"
"Five… Four…Thre-"
"GO!"
Kerra and Kia sprang forward, speeding as fast as their slippery shoes would allow them out of the poolhouse. Suddenly, Meg cut through them, racing like a cheetah back to the house. "Hell, you better BOOK it!"
"Wha-?"
Suddenly Kadaj jumped in front of Kerra and Kia. The two gasped and slowed, at the last second diving opposite directions into the brush. Kia went left, landing in a tangle of dead branches, which all snapped under her weight. "Well great!"
Kia rolled over and sat up, her wet clothes sticking to her unpleasantly. She didn't notice the figure hiding in wait behind a tree. Kia got onto her feet and stared around her; the woods were still. She'd once read that when the forest is absolutely silent and still, there is danger around. She began to walk slowly, looking around herself in every direction, unsure where Kadaj was. Suddenly, as she passed a giant oak tree, something shot out and grabbed her by the back collar of her soaked shirt, pulling her down closer to the ground. A cold sword was drawn across her throat, making Kia catch her breath. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she was trying desperately not to erupt into full panic mode. She looked up to find Kadaj standing over her.
"Haha, got you!" Releasing Kia's shirt, Kadaj wrapped his arm around Kia's waist and pulled her up into a standing position, sheathing his kantana. Kia steadied her shaking self against a nearby tree and looked at him uncertainly; angrily. "What the hell?"
"What?"
Kia rolled her eyes, annoyedly jerking her shirt back into place. "What do you mean what? You scared the hell outta me!"
"Really? I don't see anything hellish around here." Kia growled and took a step forward, dead leaves crunching under her foot. Kadaj's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Come on Kia, you three pushed me in the pool, so it's only fair that I scared you back!"
"I'm gonna bitchslap you so hard-"
"Uh… mercy?"
Kia stopped and glared at Kadaj playfully. "What are your terms?"
"You don't hurt me… and I'll help you play the best prank you've ever pulled on Kerra and Meg."
"I'm listening."
"Are you sure? You might wanna turn your hearing aid up a bit for this one."
Kia growled again and raised her hand menacingly.
"Okay, sorry! No sense of humor, jeez! So, what you need to do is…"
….
"Kia? KIA?" Kerra was panicking. She had lost her friend back when they'd been running from Kadaj, and hadn't seen her since then. She looked out of the living room window nervously, searching for any sign of movement. A little flash of grey caught her eye almost immediately; Kerra could have sworn she'd seen a bit of blond hair.
"Meg! Come here!"
Meg popped her head in the room, her black hair hanging down to her waist. "What? Did you find her?"
"No, but… I think I just saw her outside."
Meg walked into the room and came to stand next to her friend, peering out the window as she spoke. "This is bad, Kerra. I know he's you guys's favorite character, but you don't know him that well, even if you did watch… er…"
"Advent Children."
"…right, Advent Children, didn't you watch that like twenty times?"
"Twenty one."
"Oh…"
Kerra slowly unlocked the backdoor and inched herself out, nervously looking around her. Meg followed her shoulders tense. Together the two of them walked a few steps out onto the patio and stopped. The surrounding woods were quite, deathly quite. Kadaj… he could be anywhere. Kerra swallowed and shivered as a cold breeze whipped past them. Suddenly, she spotted a mass of blonde hair from behind a large bush. "Meg! Over there!"
Reaching the bush, Kerra abruptly pushed the branches aside; Meg held back timidly.
"Oh my… MEG!"
Coming forward, Meg gasped and fell to her knees. Before them was Kia, blood running from her throat. The ground around her was red with blood. Kia's arm stuck out a strange angle. Kerra stood up, rage boiling within her, and looked around them. "Kerra…"
"Meg, she's dead, he killed her. HE KILLED HER."
Kerra took a step back and began to pace, her anger and disbelieve growing. "Well now I'm gonna kill him… SHOW YOURSELF!" Her scream echoed through the woods. Far above, a blackbird broke loose from the trees and rose into the sky, cawing. All was silent, all was still.
"I-I can't be-lieve she's de-de…" Meg wiped a tear from her eye and turned away from her friend, glancing up at Kerra, who was facing her. She screamed. From behind Kerra, Kadaj had leapt down from a tree branch, his sword unsheathed. He poked Kerra lightly in the back with it, causing her to whirl around.
"Hey Kerra!"
"You… You just killed my best friend, and now your greeting me, WITH A FRIENDLY TONE?"
"Uh, yup!"
"Wha- I'll kill you, I'll KILL you!"
Kerra ran at Kadaj, not even thinking about his sword. She raised her arm and swung a punch at him… but he was already gone.
"Ahem, behind you?"
Whirling around, Kerra growled and ran again at him, this time aiming with a kick… he was gone again.
"Missed."
She ran at him again.
"Missed."
She ran at him again.
"Still missed!"
She ran at him again.
"This is getting boring!"
She ran at him again,
"Do I need to repeat myself? YOU. MISSED."
Kerra didn't care, she'd run until she finally caught him. Turning to face Kadaj again, she ran, cocked her fist back, and smashed it into his stomach. I actually hit him- DAMN THAT HURT!Kerra stumbled back, shaking her hand out. Kadaj staggered back and step and straightened up, smiling.
"That felt great!"
Kerra gasped in astonishment. It didn't even hurt him! A leaf, still hanging on even though all the others were far below on the ground, dead, suddenly broke off of the tree to which it clung to and floated down. It landed softly on Kadaj's shoulder before sliding down to come to a rest on the ground.
"Agh!" Clutching his shoulder where the leaf had hit, Kadaj stumbled forward and collapsed on the ground.
"Um…"
Kerra walked forward a pace and tapped her shoe against him. He didn't budge. Had a leaf really just killed Kadaj? Meg looked up, her face full of tears, and gasped. "You killed him?"
"Haven't you been watching? A leaf killed him!"
"A… what?"
"A leaf… I think…"
From behind Meg, unnoticed to both of them, Kia had soundlessly stood up and was leaning over her friend.
"BOOGABOOGABOO!"
"AAAAAAH!"
"SHIT!"
Meg, without even glancing over her shoulder, did a tuck-and-roll away from where Kia stood. Kerra stood, openmouthed, unable to move. Suddenly, A finger tapped against her left shoulder, but when she turned around, there was no one there. Kerra jumped high into the air when she turned back around to find Kadaj on her right. He was grinning, so was Kia.
"Wha- what the hel- HUH?"
"Haha! We got you two so good!"
"Yeah, that was totally sad."
Kerra looked from Kia, whose neck was still covered in blood, to Kadaj, who had a few leaves caught in his silver hair.
"But-but he killed you! Look, blood!" She pointed stupidly to Kia's neck, then to the ground where the blood was the thickest. Kia snorted. "Uh, it's called fake, hun. We did that stupid corn syrup and food dye thing… and we added cocoa. Look, its edible!" Kia scooped a bit of the fake blood off of her neck with her finger and popped it into her mouth. Kadaj started to laugh, causing Kerra to turn on him.
"That wasn't funny!"
"Uh, yeah, it really was! I mean, dying from a leaf? Come on!"
Kerra's eyes narrowed and she rolled up her still wet sleeves. "Oh, I'm comin' alright! You two better run like hell, 'cause-!"
"Uh, guys? Where's Meg?"
Kerra glanced around to look at where she'd last seen Meg."She's right over there- oh."
Meg had collapsed into a heap on the ground, her head covered by her arms. Kia walked over cautiously and tapped her friend.
"I think she might have fainted, guys."
"Oh… oops."
Kerra snorted and nudged Kadaj. "She's gonna flip shit when she wakes up! You two really scared her, and you know how she gets when she's trying to regain her dignity…"
"Uh, no, I don't."
Kerra nodded matter-o-factly. "And you don't want to."
"Can we please focus on getting her into the house?"
Kerra nodded and took a step closer to Kia and Meg. "Uh, we're not gonna be able to lift her, are we?"
Kia shook her head, "Not really well… Hey Kaaadaj?"
"Yeah?"
"We need your assistance."
"Pwease!"
"Uh sure, what do you need?"
"Can you carry her for us?"
Kadaj smirked. "Oh, a little weak, are we?"
"No! … Yes! … Just carry her!"
"Ha, kay."
….
"So, where's he gonna stay?" Kerra whispered into Kia's ear, the two of them sitting on Kia's bed. Meg was layed on the other side of the king bed while Kadaj gazed at Kia's many pictures and trinkets that lay around her room.
"I don't know, I guess here?"
"Yeah, but where here? You're parents-
"-Are both away in Russia, so we'll be fine!"
"But what about your brother?"
Kia rolled her eyes.
"Arri? What's he gonna do? Mom and dad aren't coming back from their tour for another two weeks, or unless something bad happens."
"Well what if he claims something bad has happened!"
"He wouldn't, he's not that stupid. I'm the clever one, remember?"
"Oh, do I!"
Kadaj turned around, a picture in his hands. "Your brother... was he that guy who dropped Meg off?"
"Who else?"
"How old is he?"
"Almost eighteen. He's a videogame dork, likes to spend most of his time downstairs on the PS3."
"And a PS3 is a…?"
"Uh, well it's a… kind of like… Here, I'll show you."
Kia leapt off the bed and grabbed Kadaj's hand, leading him out of her room and off down the hall, to the left. Kerra sighed and glanced at Meg, unsure if she should leave her…
"Bye."
Hopping off the bed, she hurried to catch up with her friends.
….
Yay, I'm done *Does a dance and eats a cookie*! This chapter took me two weeks, with basketball and everything going on, it ws really hectic! I guess it was a good thing that it snowed all day yesterday, 'cause now I'm trapped in the house for the whole day with nothing to do but write, hehe XD. I hope you guys liked this one, I was giggling several times while writing it. The part in the beginning when they're all trying to get Axel and the game while the music is playing came to me while I was listening to that song (go figure!). It helps if you actually know the song, though; it's pretty cool. But anywho, hope you guys enjoyed it, feel free to comment or msg me with suggestions, I love em' all! Kay, peace!
~MarXno =p
Kia - Idiot! You forgot to add the thing!
Me - What thing?
Kia - The thing- Kadaj!
Kadaj - Ahem, she doesn't own me, that's Kadaj, or Loz or Yazoo. Er... uh... And all that other stuff I can't remember!
Kia - *Sigh* We did rehearse it...
Me - *Bangs head on table* Retard...
Kadaj - Uh, Kia? Can I have a cookie now?
Kia - Whatever. That was such a fail.
Kadaj: *Grabs cookie and goes to eat it*
Cloud - Kadaj, look! A squiirel!
Kadaj - Where?
Cloud - *Runs up and swips cookie*
Kadaj - What the hell? There's no squirell... *Spots Cloud with his cookie*. Hey Emoboy, gimme back my cookie! I worked hard for that!
Kia - No you didn't!
Cloud - Loser.
*Cloud and Kadaj draw swords. Epic battle follows*
Me - Ya think we should tell them there's a whole plate full of cookies here?
Kia - Nah.
*Both munch cookies and watch battle*
Me - These are good! OOh... that HAD to hurt!
Kia - Need a bandage Kadaj?
Kadaj - Not yet!
Cloud - Arggh!
Me - *Looks at first aid kit in Kia's lap* Keep that handy.
Kia - Yeah...
