Windstar: Thank you to all the kind reviewers, truly I've been very blessed to have such nice people like this fanfiction. There is one though in particular I'd like to thank. Takerufallenhope-angel has been with me since my digimon days, and I really have to say that when I recognized the name I was so thrilled. Thanks so much for sticking with me! I've been having some computer problems lately. My laptop is in the pits, and my PC is starting to die slowly yet surely so I'm hoping to get updates up as soon as possible, and as for my other WIP I'm trying to get back to it but I doubt I'll be able to update it for a while since all the chapters have vanished into nothingness and need to be rewritten. I'm working on it though and I'll complete it as soon as I can!

Thanks again, and please review!

Disclaimer: See chapter one!

Chapter Three:

They were asleep when it happened. They'd come back from their nightly ritual of playing in the Abbey, when the guards appeared. That night hadn't gone so well. They had been playing around, doing what they always did, when they heard the crack that was their warning that someone was coming.

Terrified, but knowing from experience they'd never make it to the door in time, the five boys zoomed to predetermined hiding spots and they ducked into them, silent and quiet as little mice. It was only after Tala had ducked into his hiding spot that it became abundantly clear he'd left something behind. His necklace for instant.

The one that he had been given by Santa years before, was laying haphazardly in the center of the room. A little roughhousing earlier on had broken the clasp and it had been set aside next to his sweatshirt to be fixed later. In their rush to hide, Tala'd grabbed the sweatshirt but not the necklace. That was laying for all the world to see right next to the training dish.

The door opened just as he was getting ready to go out and grab it. His heart pounded heavily in his chest, he looked like he was about to start to cry, and it took everything Kai had to calmly tell him that he needed to wait. They stayed hidden, watching through the cracks of their hiding spot as the guards gave the room an overview, and as everyone knew they would. They spotted the chain.

One guard stepped forward, picking it up and looking it over for a moment before glancing around once more. With a shrug, he put it in his pocket and moved on. Kai practically slapped his hand over Tala's mouth to keep him from calling out when the necklace vanished into the man's pocket. Horror didn't even cover the feelings of loss that were crossed over the redhead's face, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. They couldn't very well steal it back; the only thing they could do was wait until they could speak to Voltaire again and see if he could get it back for them.

That concluded their fun though for the night. The group quietly moved back to their cells and slipped inside, Bryan moved a loose bar to the right to let Spencer slip in. Ian easily managed on his own.

Tala though, looked heartbroken; and as he lay down to go to sleep, Kai hugged him gently and told him everything was going to be alright. It didn't do much convincing, but it was the thought that counted. The two passed out, and it was after they both were completely silent and snoozing away, the guards came.

The slammed the bars to the side, opening the passageway into their cell. Both boys jumped, startled as they woke up, looking around in confusion. One of the guards, the same one who had grabbed Tala's necklace earlier, roughly pulled the redhead up to his feat and started to drag him towards the hall. Kai screamed, successfully waking up the last three Demolition Boys who were panicking as they tried to figure out what was going on.

Terrified to say the least, Tala was being dragged down the hall and out the door. His wide eyes glancing back just in time to see the other guard lock Kai in his cell and follow them. Kai looked ready to slip through and follow, but Tala screamed for him to stop, and he did as he was told. After all…it would do nobody any good if he just got punished for slipping out after dark and resisting the guards.

Tala was dragged through the halls and through doors that had always been locked before. They were bringing him places he'd never been, and he looked panicked at the thought of being taken away from Kai and the others. He was shoved roughly into a laboratory, and as he stumbled in he was caught by Boris. The man smiled wickedly at him and held up the necklace that was left behind in the training center.

Shaking slightly, and not quite understanding what was happening, Tala stuttered over his thank you over the man practically handing it to him. He looked at the man in front of him, and all the doctors that surrounded him, awkwardly. He didn't like this man in the slightest.

"There, there…now that I've done something for you…its only right that you do something for me too isn't that right boy?" He asked as he pet Tala's hair in a way that made the redhead want to shrink back. The boy nodded though, blearily, he nodded because he didn't know what else to do. The man grinned triumphantly and pulled the boy with him, shoving him into the center of the room where there was a raised platform. "Take off your shirt boy. You can have your precious necklace back when we're done." The child shivered in the cold but did so anyway. He knew better then to argue with the director.

Standing there topless before the whole room of people made him uncomfortable. Doctors moved forward, placing suction cup looking devices on his chest and head, he frowned in confusion, and wiggled free of some of them before an iron grip on his neck squeezed enough to tell him to settle down. He did so instantly. He didn't dare move.

Another doctor came over and put a breathing mask on his face. By now, the boy was shaking terribly. He looked back at Boris who still clutched his Christmas present in his hand. Then the doctors stepped back, and Boris released his neck. A glass wall came down around the boy and as though everything fit perfectly in place, Tala gasped in horror at what was happening. He reached forward and knocked on the glass, screaming as he did so.

His hand slid into his pocket searching for his beyblade…somewhere along the way though it'd been removed. He had nothing to help him. Gas hit him in the face from the mask he wore and he breathed it in unconsciously. Even as he did so, fluid was pouring in around him. He gagged and tried to tear the mask from his face, but he couldn't do it. His body grew weaker with each passing second, and as he passed out, the fluid surrounded him even more, bringing him to a floating position as he was completely immersed in the water, and only then – did the doctors set to work.

The screen faded. Three days had passed since Tala's removal from his cell. Kai was staring blankly at the food that he was eating in the dining hall. The other Demolition Boys were sitting across and next to him. No one was talking though. There was nothing to talk about. Except for how long it had been since Tala had disappeared from their lives.

From the lack of circles under their eyes that had been a constant while they were up and about all night long, it was clear they hadn't been sneaking out lately. In fact, they appeared to be decidedly lethargic as they poked at their food. There was none of that excitable energy that was a constant with them for all the past clips.

They looked completely and totally spent, and there was nothing anyone could do to make them feel any better. Dropping his fork, Kai leaned forward and let his chin rest on his hand. He looked the worst out of them all. Pale faced, and drawn, he looked as though he'd done nothing but fret and worry the entire three days.

There wasn't even the faint resemblance of smile lines on the boy's cheeks. He looked like he'd just frowned for a year, and the sight was depressing. Apparently, the others thought so too, because Bryan dropped his fork in agitation with a loud clank! The three others looked at him, startled by the outburst.

"Well I say we go find him. They can't have taken him far, and I bet he's still somewhere in this Abbey." He said simply as he leaned closer to his companions.

"And where do you suggest we start looking, genius? We know of every place that's not been locked out, and if we start breaking into things we're going to be in even worse trouble then we already are in." Spencer shot back, scoffing slightly at the idea.

They all fell silent. Nobody dared say a word after that, and it appeared as though they'd decided to wait it out. A few hours later (or so said the clock on the right hand corner of the screen with the date) they were in their cells again. Night time. Kai was pacing back and forth in his room, and it was clear he wasn't getting any sleep. Frustrated though, he slipped through the bars with that practiced ease, and he trotted down the hall.

He ignored his three friends that were still dozing away, and he made it out the door. Slowly yet surely he started to move through the Abbey. His steps were low and practiced. He made sure that each one was silent, and he kept his eyes trained (ever watchful for any signs of a guard or someone moving up and about after dark).

Bryan had been right. He couldn't just sit there and not find out where his friend was. If he searched the entire Abbey, it wouldn't be too hard to find out where his friend was. After all, people didn't just vanish into thin air.

He walked swiftly through the dark, carefully moving towards a door that had always been locked. He approached it, pressing his ear to it and listening. There was a silence that was deafening, and he slowly pulled his beyblade from his pocket. Slipping the attack ring off the blade, he pushed it into the crack of the door and with some finagling, began to move the lock over.

It didn't take that long, and when he succeeded, he placed the blade back in his pocket and opened the door. Looking inside, he made sure no one could see him, and he stepped in. He watched the floors and the walls and everything else for a trap. He caught several of them, and he avoided them.

He wouldn't be caught this deep in the Abbey without permission- that would be suicide. He tiptoed through the rooms, each locked door becoming unlocked with the flick of a wrist. He moved through them with ease, and his eyes adjusted to the dark like a cat in the night. It was simple and it was practiced.

He was used to becoming invisible if he had to. He was used to sneaking up on the dark, and he had no problem using those skills to move through this maze. Taking a deep breath he started to make his way towards another door, when he saw light coming out from under it. He pressed his ear to it, and heard voices. There were people on the other side. Cursing he stepped back and looked around. That was the last door he hadn't searched yet.

He peered through the crack, and gasped. He could just make out red hair. Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle, and slowly pushed the door open. The room was becoming more visible, and very few people actually noticed that the door had even opened. Yet that didn't bother him.

What bothered him was the sight of the boy he considered to be his brother, floating in the same type of tank that had held the wolf before him. He floated in the water, eyes half open, his mind sedated as dozens of people in white lab coats rushed about taking notes and jotting down data.

They were shouting about discoveries and the like, and they kept pressing buttons that would make the body in the tank twitch or wince. They sent electric currents through the fluid, and watched the effects on the boy. All the while he was floating in some daze that didn't even appear to be anywhere near conscious. In fact, he was most likely knocked out and his eyes had just floated open at some point.

Either way, Kai hated every second of it. His hand slammed Dranzer into her launcher and with a scream he pulled the ripcord back and let the blade fly. It shot over their heads and crashed straight into the tank, cutting it in two and shattering the glass completely.

Kai ran forward, willing Dranzer to break everything that even looked like it was harming his friend and brother. The wires that were connected to the boy were snapped and the mask was torn off. Through it all the doctors ran screaming and trying to salvage their work the best they could. They weren't getting anywhere though, because the beyblade and her bit were out giving Kai the revenge that he so desperately needed.

Kai's rage though, did nothing for Tala. His body teetered as the fluid about him drained, and he fell. His right arm catching on the jagged pieces of glass that had once been the bottom of the tank, and continuing downwards until he was shredded terribly. His body had freefalled until it landed on the remainder of the glass, cutting it and stabbing it. Blood seeped out from his arm which had been torn so badly that there was more blood visible then skin.

Boris had arrived at long last, his eyes taking in the temper tantrum and the redhead who was slumped on the ground motionless. He stormed forward anger in his steps and he roughly punched the slate haired child in the jaw. He sailed to the floor, Dranzer flying in to protect him, but the man hardly cared, he kicked the blade aside without even thinking about it.

"You fool! Do you know what you've done!?" Boris kicked the boy where he lay and then ordered the guards to take him to a secluded room – without bars – and lock him there, then he sent for someone to fix Tala's arm. Blood continued to stain everything, including the boots that Boris walked in.

The screen faded, reappearing with Kai in a stone room with a wooden door in front of him. He was crying terribly, sniffling louder and louder as he clearly was remembering his brother's broken appearance only two hours before. He was completely and utterly inconsolable.

The door opened up, and Boris stormed in, followed by two other men. Kai looked at the director and was immediately struck heavily across the face. That only got more choking tears from the boy. It didn't seem to matter to the purple haired leader of the Abbey. He grabbed Kai by the scruff of his neck and he threw him down facing the wall. A pole was lying horizontally above the ground, three inches up; it was easily grabbed onto by the child. It was nailed down and Boris told him to hold onto it. Not that the child needed to. The men moved forward and strapped his hands to it.

Then Boris ordered the shirt off, and the child's back was bare before him. Frightened tears poured form Kai's crimson eyes he was shaking his head, coughing through the tears, but that made no difference to the man who simply raised a whip up and brought it down as hard as he possibly could onto the boy's back. The child screamed loudly, crying out with each lash that he was given, but Boris gave no quarter. Instead he chanted words and ideologies to the child.

"You never show your emotions. Emotions are for the weak. Things like love and compassion only get you killed. Think only of yourself boy. There is no love. There is no joy. There is nothing. Emotions destroyed your little friend! You blindly run out and open fire, and there are consequences. You must be strong! You must be powerful. You must never show what you feel! NEVER again disobey me. NEVER break what is not yours to break." He whipped the boy harder and harder until blood poured from his back. The child's choking sobs had somehow though slowed down. They weren't the loud bawls they had once been. Instead, his eyes locked set in determination. His jaw clenched, and though tears still fell from his face, he never once said anything in return. With one last strike, Boris gripped the bound boy roughly by his hair and pulled him back. "And yes Kai…you are my mine to break." A rabbit punch to the boy's temple and he was knocked out; completely and totally senseless to the world.

The screen faded once more, but it came back much faster then usual, this time accompanied with a rather irate screaming that was echoing through the whole Abbey. Even for the watchers, the hotel room seemed to be filled with the screaming of the rather angry woman that was soon visible storming through the hallways of the demented school.

"Where is my son!?" Aya Hiwatari Ivanov was not a happy person. In fact, from the flashing and angry eyes, it was clear that she was probably the most stressed and furious women on the planet at that particular moment. She was seen storming through the various cell blocks until she got to the one where Kai and Tala usually were in, and finding it decidedly empty, she spun on her heel and she stormed back through the building. She was about to leave when a hand reached out and caught her by the wrist. Turning, she came face to face with Bryan.

"You're Kai's mama aren't you?" He was standing in the hall after slipping through the bars, and she looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, he and Luka's."

"Luka disappeared days ago…and Kai went after him. We haven't seen either of them since." Her eyes widened drastically and she knelt before the boy, lowering herself to eye level.

"What happened? Where'd they go?" She was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, and it looked like she was slowly growing more and more horrified then ever before.

"Boris sent a few guards for Luka and they took him from his room, like a week ago? I don't know about Kai. I just saw him leaving in the middle of the night and probably went after him. I'm not sure where."

A sound at the end of the hall sent Bryan back into his cell, squeezing between the bars and just managing to make it in time before a few guards appeared at the end of the hall. With them, was young Kai. The boy's eyes were hard, and from the distant look on his face it was clear that Boris had managed to get what he wanted after all. Kai looked completely and totally emotionless; his eyes seeing without reacting, and his body stiff. He looked to be a shell of his former self.

There was a distinct amount of bruising on his face, and when the woman caught sight of it she screamed in horror and rushed to the boy's side. She held him to her chest, but he didn't return the hug, not really. He laid his head on the woman's shoulder, but that was it. There was no real response out of him, and if anything it made the woman more scared.

"Sacha? Sacha? Honey, it's Mama." She held him back to look at him, but Kai barely even was reacting to her presence where in the past he'd throw himself to her chest and call out her name (title really). "Sacha…Sacha…what's wrong? Are you okay?" Of course he wasn't, the bruises on his face showed that clearly enough.

"I…broke Luka" He mumbled softly, his eyes staring her straight in the face. Her muscles tensed and her fists clenched hard as she glared at the guards that were Kai's bystanders. Standing up roughly, she pulled the boy to her, and picked him up. Holding him to her chest she had a power that seemed to bring the room to an icy cold. The two men exchanged glances, intimidated by this woman who was throwing her energy like a trained assassin. She was a mother protecting her young, and she was furious.

"Bring. Me. To. Luka. Now." She commanded. They faltered, and when they appeared like they weren't going to do as she said, she took a threatening step forward. "If you don't. I will watch you burn." Not willing to disobey their president's daughter, the two scurried off, leading the two through a complicated series of halls until they made it to the medical facility. The boy in her arms glanced inside as they walked in, and despite his efforts at locking away all his feelings, when he caught sight of the redhead lying on the bed he gasped ever so slightly.

The boy was pale as a ghost, his skin practically as white as the sheets that he lay on. His arm was bandaged tightly, and similar bandages encompassed his torso and parts of his legs. A large pad was on the side of his face and his fingers were cut and bruised badly.

He was a mess to put it simply, and the woman moved to his side in horror. Her hand reached out to touch his face, even as she slowly placed Kai down on the bed. The boy kneeled beside his brother, taking his appearance and feeling as though his heart were breaking. He clenched his fists and looked down.

Fingers though were moving. Twitching ever so slightly and the boy couldn't help himself from touching them, holding his brother's hand. With that comforting gesture, blue eyes slowly started to open and he came face to face with his adoptive mother. The woman cried out with joy and hugged him close to her, but at his gasp of protest, she released him.

"I'm bringing you home, alright Luka? You'll never have to come back here for as long as I live. You and Sacha…we're going home." One of the guards started to protest, telling her she had no authority to do so, but she turned and quickly put him in her place. Hell fire pouring from her seething gaze, she tenderly slipped her arms under Tala's legs and pulled the boy to her chest. He was heavy, but right now she didn't care as long as she could bring him with her.

Kai fell into stride behind her, stopping only when he saw Wolborg lying on the doctor's desk. He snatched it up and followed after her, keeping his brother's blade safe while he followed her outside. Tala was in and out of consciousness, barely able to keep focus the world around him, and when the screen faded and reappeared into the Ivanov household, it was clear that not much had changed.

He was placed in the car shaped bed he'd had when he'd first arrived, and Kai sat down near him, waiting and watching, wondering when he was going to wake up, and if he was going to be alright when he did.

Aya was in the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea as she tried to shake away the nerves. There was a doctor there now though, and her husband too. She had to have called them after her trip to the Abbey. She was looking at the man as he spoke sternly to them both.

"From what I've been able to tell, someone whipped Sacha quite soundly…and the psychological stress associated with it. I'm quite certain that's the cause of his sudden displays of muteness and lack of clear emotive qualities. Time around the family and surrounded by love, should hopefully bring him back to you…He's not beyond hope I don't believe. Luka I'm more concerned with. His injuries look rather extensive. He has quite a large amount of stitches all over his body, the most being focused on his right arm. I have no real way of knowing when they were put in, but if we say a couple of days to a week ago then I can assume when would be the best time to remove them. His right arm might not even be able to move to its full capacity again…whatever cause the damage seems to have cut into some of the muscles. If that's the case, it will be a long hard rode for him to start being able to function properly…and we can't know much else until he wakes up fully."

The parents nodded slowly, exchanging worried looks between themselves. They had known the moment they took the bandages off that Tala was hurt horrendously, but when Kai's shirt had been removed, they'd been even more horrified. Both boys had been cruelly put through excruciating pain. It was difficult to imagine how they had come by those injuries, but Kai insisted that Luka had been hurt because of him, and that it had been all his fault. He had even gone so far as to say that he had deserved the beating because of what he'd done to his brother.

Voltaire was a force to be reckoned with as well. As soon as he'd heard about the boys he stormed into the Abbey and he roughly pulled Boris up by the collar. Angry and hurt the man shouted profanities and even went so far as to punch the man so hard in the eye that blood squirted from the wound.

Never had the old man felt so violated and tarnished. His very being had felt like it'd been molested when he'd heard about the monstrosities that had occurred on his grandchildren. Some things were going to change, and they were changing now. New rules and regulations were being set forth.

First and foremost: There would be no more prison like cells for rooms. Actual beds and actual flooring would be put down; preferably on the upper levels of the Abbey so there could actually be some sunlight on the children who were already growing far paler that was normal for Russians. The prison like feel to their rooming situation was disastrous and it was doing nothing for the self esteem and emotions of the students. Hoping to be a powerful blader or not, they weren't mushrooms, some sunlight wouldn't kill them.

Secondly: There would be absolutely no abuse tolerated. The atrocious whipping that had occurred on the man's eight year old grand child had been enough to shell shock the boy into barely speaking and barely reacting to the world around him. He was a child, and he should be treated like one. A whipping was hardly required when someone did something they weren't supposed to. That was just idiocy, and that would have to stop. NOW.

Thirdly: No experiments were to be run on terrified adolescents who had no idea what was going on. Everything was to be explained to a willing and mature enough student who could actually understand what was happening to them, and it would not be done in a cloak and dagger style that terrified all the people that saw the kidnapping occur. That was simply inexcusable let alone unnecessary.

Fourthly: There will be a scheduled block of time where the children of the Abbey could actually be just that. A block of time that was not from ten in the evening to two in the morning. If children were sneaking out of bed to play then they weren't getting the rest they needed for their training the next day. Give them the time off and they could use it how they wanted too.

And finally: children with families or friends were allowed to leave to visit them if they wished to.

Boris had been furious. He had been irate even. Yet he nodded simply, agreed, and did what his boss commanded him to do. It was all he could do, or he'd risk his funding and he would have to start elsewhere. Still though, with the two most promising students promised to never return to the Abbey, things would run slower then normal, especially with breaks and lack of experiments being implemented. All in all, things were starting to go south and the man hated it.

Tala woke up fully after about another three days. He blearily moved about for a while after that, seemingly in a half daze. Kai was a constant at his side, and though the younger boy didn't show it, it was clear that he was immensely worried for his friend. The seven orphans that lived in the Ivanov household played with each other mostly, not really getting too involved with the still dazed Tala and the silent Kai. It suited the slated haired boy just fine, he didn't want to get too involved with them either.

Time passed, the days ticking by, and showing the eventual progress and healing of the redhead's arm. With it, came Kai's voice. Aya and Niko suggested martial arts lessons, and the boys took to them like a fish to water. Surprisingly enough though, the moment that they stepped foot into the dojo, they fought like seasoned professionals.

It was a sad truth about their abilities and experiences that caused the parents to stare at their children in shock. They were set to work on simple forms and moves, and yet the first time they were shown how to do something they did it like they'd done it for years. Their punches were fast and perfect, they threw their weight just where it needed to be, and quickly they were moving far passed their standard age bracket.

One clip showed the boys fighting each other (since no one else was even allowed to fight them). Kai and Tala exchanged blows in an almost lethargic and bored fashion, their faces neutral even as their bodies moved with a lightening speed. Their hands were already calloused beyond what was normal, and so when they punched they felt no resistance on their knuckles. It only ended when their Sensei told them to stop, and even then there was never any true winner. No blows were ever landed.

Beyblading was almost prohibited in their household, at least for those two. Rarely did the two ever launch their blades to battle, instead they would watch the others in a mute and almost lonely silence, not really participating, but not really sitting out either. Their own blades never left their sides. They constantly held them with them as though they were life lines.

Voltaire managed to get the necklace back for Luka, and the redhead hugged the man happily and told him "Thank you Santa" when he received it. The man just smiled, it was hard to fool a boy that saw everything. Even in disguise. The man pet his hair fondly and just let him rabbit off to be with Kai, the two talking in silence once more.

The days seemed to drag on, and as the weeks passed, there were changes in the slate haired boy's persona. He laughed every so often. He smiled (mostly to Luka) and he was starting to show signs of emotion. Never though did he show any anger. He steadfastly kept away from those feelings vehemently. Whenever he started to get frustrated, he walked away, Tala in tow.

As Kai slowly allowed others in, and the months started passing, the boys were closer then ever. Beyblading started but it was a more spinning of the blade while talking then an actual battle. There was no fevered rush of energy to try to best each other. There was no strangled battle cry. There was only the simple meditation that the spinning blade provided, and the two allowed it.

Back in the Abbey, things changed slowly yet surely. Bryan, Spencer, and Ian were allowed to visit the boys at their home, and they brought with them stories about how they now had plush carpets and beds with dressers. They could play in the snow and make snowmen, and they had time where they were just allowed to relax. The Abbey started sounding more like a normal school, and the three wondered faintly if their two friends would come back with them, but it looked like their answer would be no. The two barely touched their blades as it was.

Kai went back to being known as Sacha by everyone, though whenever Voltaire came around his name instantly reverted back to the man's preferred. Luka himself was even granted a nickname by the man, and who could have guessed it…it was Tala. The two were the apples of the old man's eyes and it was clear that he treated them with all the love in his heart.

Their parents watched over as they laughed and talked with the man as though he were on par with them, and they even allowed them both to go with Voltaire into the city and look at the Hiwatari Enterprises headquarters. Life was starting to seem fortunate for the first time, but to the watchers it was obvious that things would take a turn for the worst.

After all… Sacha and Luka were both orphans, and Voltaire eventually plotted to take over the world. Things like that did not just happen too people who were living such attempted ordinary lives. The next clip seemed out of place, but if one cared to notice it was with Boris.

The man was talking to a boy, one of the orphans that lived at the Ivanov home. Few words were exchanged, but an envelope was passed to the child, and he nodded before scurrying back to where everyone was playing on the field. No one else seemed to notice the exchange and everything seemed to flow as it normally did. The parents weren't home though.

The boy, they called him Mikhail, took up a ball, and pegged Tala in the head with it. The blue eyed child hadn't been paying attention -he'd been speaking with Kai about something. The ball bounced off, and the boy raised a hand to his head in annoyance.

"What the hell Mikhail?" He muttered as he rubbed where the ball bounced off.

"What?" The boy asked, chucking another ball. The redhead flinched, but didn't truly do anything to stop it. He simply sighed and stood up, starting to walk away. Kai followed instantly. "You're such a pansy Red! Your just chicken shit that's all, no wonder you got all those cuts on you, I bet you just stood there and let it happen huh? Let some freak just cut you open huh?" Both boys froze at that, Tala's blue eyes glancing back at Kai.

"Let it go." He whispered, but the boy wasn't listening. For the first time it looked like he was actually going to do something about it. "Sacha…" It was a warning…and it didn't look like it was going to be headed.

"Come on Red…or are you to scared to actually fight back?" Kai reached down, ignoring the final warning from his companion. He picked up the ball, spun about, and with perfect accuracy he chucked the ball straight at Mikhail, knocking him to the ground in an instant.

"And so the fight begins." Tala sighed and raise a hand to knock the bangs from his eyes. "Just don't kill him. Mama won't like that." With that last bit of permission that he truly didn't need, Kai snapped forward and punched out just as the older boy started to stand up.

Mikhail just managed to roll out of the way, and soon an all out fist fight was occurring. It was obvious that Kai had the upper hand, all of his strikes landed perfectly and his defense was unbreakable. No matter how fast or how strong Mikhail went at him, he blocked each strike perfectly. There was clearly no concern for his friend's safety written on Tala's face. He looked rather bored with the whole scenario.

Then though, just when Mikhail was about to be knocked clear off his feet, the older boy flew forward and shoved Kai as hard as he could. Startled, Sacha tried to catch himself, but stumbled out into the road instead and landed on his backside. Sitting up slowly, he shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts.

"Sacha- car!" He sensed rather then heard Tala's terrified scream. His attention was solely on the blue sedan that was flying straight towards him. The light reflected off of it beautifully, the sky reflected off its hood.

On the inside of the car was a man and a woman, they probably had been out shopping, or maybe a date? The car glistened in the daylight, as though it had been there all along and had owned the road it drove on. It sailed in perfect harmony, the trees surrounding it seemed to dance as it drove, they bounced off the shiny blue and reflected back for all to see.

The tires were black and muddles, they looked brand new. The rims were shiny and silver. The engine made a beautiful noise, a truly well trimmed car. It was kept in a garage, there weren't even bugs in the window, it was a convertible, it was flying towards him, it was sleek, the people in the car screamed, he didn't have time to move, the wheel turned, he ducked his head, raising his arm up as though he could possibly defend himself.

Then there was silence. There wasn't a crash. No that would be obvious. There was silence. There wasn't even a thud when the body was ejected from the car. That would have made time act normal. Everything had stopped. There was the car driving in his mind, and then nothing. There was absolutely nothing. Until the aftermath. He didn't register the swerve. He didn't even notice the actually crash. It was just the aftermath.

A woman, his mother, was lying on the ground, her head crushed to thousands of pieces, blood pooled around her. Her body was bent in the wrong way and broken. Her arm had been torn off by the pavement and it lay somewhere to her right. Her eyes stared at her son as though asking him why he was there. Her eyes bore into his soul as though trying to read what he was thinking and what he was saying.

He couldn't even see his father, just the blood that stained the windshield and door. He was obscured by the tree that he'd crashed into, the car wrapped around it like a pretzel. There was glass everywhere, but Kai was fine. He hadn't even been touched. Not one piece of glass or debris had touched him. Nothing.

There weren't tire marks on the road. There wasn't the roar of the engine. There was nothing except for the complete and total silence that filled his shell shocked brain. Those, and the words that Boris had told him as he'd beaten him half to death.

"You never show your emotions. Emotions are for the weak. Things like love and compassion only get you killed. Think only of yourself boy. There is no love. There is no joy. There is nothing. Emotions destroyed your little friend! You blindly run out and open fire, and there are consequences. You must be strong! You must be powerful. You must never show what you feel! NEVER again disobey me. NEVER break what is not yours to break…and yes Kai…you are my mine to break."

It was his parents' love for him that had made them swerve that car. It had been his anger at Mikhail that had started the fist fight that had landed him in the street. It had been his love for Tala that made him stand up for the redhead. Emotions had destroyed his parents. Emotions had caused him to run out blindly and open fire on the other boy, and the consequences were his parents' lives. He wasn't strong. He wasn't powerful. He showed what he'd felt and he'd left the Abbey. His final act of defiance wasn't even that.

Boris had broken him back there in that building, but right now…Kai had broken himself.

Windstar: Next update: Sunday