Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade. All I own is my original characters and this plot line.
Author's Note: This is a repost of the original ninth chapter, and some of the OOC-ness, especially Kai's is gone, hopefully. You might want to reread this one, as things may change just a little from what you remember.
Gone
Chapter Nine
Distant Storm
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Zoe's heart pounded in her head. She knew that she was just about dead where she was right now, listening to Hiro talk to Boris Balkov. She was able to change the options on her phone to a blinking green light on the side of the phone when she received a message, so she could check it easier without him knowing.
"Hey, Zoe," Hiro said, gently, "Wake up, we're going to be there in about five minutes."
Time to turn on the act, she said, sadistically. "Huh? Wha?" She sat up straight after a moment, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She raised a perfect eyebrow up, looking at the side. Seeing the green light made her feel like she wouldn't be totally screwed. "Oh," she said with a yawn, "I got a text."
"Who's it from?"
"Why are you so nosey? What are you hiding?" He eyed her, slightly paranoid. "Dude," she said gently. "I'm just kidding." He seemed to loosen up a bit, and she realized that this was quickly becoming real. Hopefully, he knew who he was messing with.
"Just curious," he muttered.
"I know," she chided gently, flipping open her phone, and scanning the screen. "So, who's going to be waiting for us at the airport?"
"Just the girls."
"Really? That's not what I heard." She looked at her phone again. I'll be right there. Be Safe. "Who were you talking to before?"
"You- you weren't asleep."
"You weren't planning to tell me, we just weren't going to go to the meeting place. At least not the one I decided on. Where is Boris hiding, Hiro?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I think you do." She squinted at him, her mouth contorting a bit, as she got out of her seat, placed on the aisle, and ran toward the front of the plane. Hiro followed her, at a sprint.
"You don't want me to have to hurt you Zoe," he warned. She turned toward him, running out of the airport.
"Put your beyblade where your mouth is," she threatened, her beyblade and launcher extended to his lips.
"Uh, uh, uh, " Hiro said. He moved a hand inside his jacket, and she saw a flash of silver.
"Zoe!" Both turned, to see a very distressed Kai standing before them.
"Don't move," Hiro said to Kai, throwing an arm around Zoe's waist. She saw Kai's eyes widen as pressure as added to her right temple.
"You wouldn't shoot me," Zoe said darkly. "They want me alive."
Hiro laughed maniacally. "You're right, I wouldn't," he said, moving the gun from her temple.
"Kai! Get out of here!" She pleaded with such an intensity that even Kai had never seen before. Tala came racing up to them, from behind Kai.
"Wow," The oldest boy said. "It's quite a party." He looked over at Zoe, who gasped. "You think I'm going to shoot them?" He asked, talking quietly.
"Not if I go quietly."
"Exactly. I'll tell you what, if you go and get in that Helecopter over there," he pointed with his gun, "real quick and don't make a fuss, I won't have to shoot Tala or Kai."
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You aren't supposed to be the evil guy, Hiro. You're doing this so Boris and Voltaire won't threaten Tyson." She no longer sobbed, she merely talked slowly and with a deliberate voice that contemplated everything. "It sickens me, and it should sicken you too that they will eventually target Tyson. If you get out now, you won't be brainwashed by them. They make good people go real bad," she said, only to get slapped in the mouth with a gun. Her mouth bled, and she looked at him in hatered. "I'm so sorry that your brother is watching," she said, no longer focusing on Hiro, but on the boy who stood behind him, coming out from behind a bush.
Tyson stood there, watching with Hilary, who had an arm around him. Tears fell freely down his cheeks, and Hilary's as well. "G Rev won't stand for this," Tyson said. "And when I say that, I mean the entire G Rev. That includes Zoe's team as well. And Tala's crew. You won't win, even if you are my brother. I'd tear you limb for limb, but Kai said he's going to kill you, so I'll leave it to him."
"Bro, you don't understand." Hiro looked at his little brother, who also looked infavorably upon Hiro. "You don't know what real power is."
"I do," Zoe said from next to him. Wiping off the blood with a black sleeve. "The freedom to choose who you are. To make the decisions that determine who you will be. That is power."
Hiro pushed her foreward, resting the tip of the barrel on her back. "I'll blow you to pieces if you don't shut it. We have an appointment and we can't be late." Zoe looked at Kai and Tala, both of whom looked almost without hope.
She gave them a final glance, defiance fiercely illuminated in her eyes. "They don't own me. They never will. Be strong guys," she called, and within a moment, the helecopter had swallowed them and they were gone.
Kai, Tala, Tyson, and Hilary stood there watching the exact spot where the helecopter disappeared. Kai reached into his pockets, trying to warm up his chilled hands, when suddenly, his right hand met something that felt like a warm coal in his pocket.
"Dranzer." Kai grasped it tightly, feeling the beast's warmth pusling through him, trying to be of comfort. Dranzer was trying to tell him. Tell him that she would watch over Zoe."
Tyson put a hand on his best friend's shoulders. "She wouldn't put us in danger," The champ said, growing a bit frustrated. "We gotta find her. And danger means nothing to me."
"Yeah," Kai said, turning on his heel, and drawing out his cell phone. After a moment, he growled angrily, "I want a plan, Dickenson. She got us out of there, now we've got to get her."
"Dude, calm down."
"Leave him be," came a chorus of voices. Max, Ray, Kenny, Daichi, Mariah, Meriam, and Emily approached from the road. "We're going to get her back. That's a promise."
Tala looked once more at Kai. Maybe it was just the glare from the sun, but there was a trail that started at Kai's eye and ran down to his chin. He shook his head. What the hell had these kids done to deserve all this?
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please review
x3 Distant Storm
Edited: 10/28/06
