Hi everyone, long time no see. I'm back! Not that you really care, lol. I want to clear one thing up before you read the rest of my story. I KNOW that Kai's fins aren't natural in the show. I changed that to benefit my story. I am a huge Beyblade fan, and Kai IS my favorite character. Sorry if I confused anyone. Oh, and this part of the story is not where the last chapter ended. It will be another point of view a few moments before.

Chapter nine: The Kidnapping

Mariah's POV

Mariah watched as Ray and Kai went into their room and the others turned around to go on down the hall. Elizabeth hadn't said what she should do, so she stood there puzzled for a moment. Elizabeth didn't seem like the person to forget, so Mariah figured it would be alright to go on in the room. She reached for the door, but it was stiff, giving her the impression that it was locked. She took a step back, trying to decide what to do.

"Kay, it is Mariah. Everyone else has gone now. I need to get in the room…" Her voice was soft and soothing, as though she were talking to a frightened child. After all, she decided, Kay wasn't one you win over with demands.

The door flew open, making Mariah think she might have done the wrong thing. Kay, however, had a passive face on, and moved gracefully to the side, to allow her entrance. Mariah flashed a soft smile as she entered the room. She went over to the bed and lay down on one side. Kay seemed her usual self, so she decided to see what she could find out.

She glanced over at the young, blue haired girl, trying to decide where to start. Kay was sitting at her desk, as usual. She never got in the bed until Mariah had already gone to sleep, if she did at all. She had been out of the room when Mariah had woken so far. Maybe she's just one of those people that don't like contact with other humans. Maybe start things out simple.

"So, the glass figurines, you said they are Russian. Did you get them when you were training there, under Boris?" She attempted to keep the spite from her voice as she spoke the name of the hated Russian. After all, she wanted to sound mildly curious, not harshly skeptical.

"Yes and no." Mariah waited for a moment, hoping she would elaborate. However the girl didn't appear to have the least bit of interest in giving out information for free. Looks like she was going to have to work for it.

"What do you mean? I never was very good at finding the hidden meaning behind a persons answer." She tried to put on her best smile when Kay turned around to face her. She was only rewarded with an indifferent, slightly cold look. That was enough to make her think twice about pushing her for anymore answers.

Kay looked her face over skeptically. She seemed to be weighing her options slowly. Mariah felt herself gulp reflexively, as though she were having a staring contest with the Ice Prince himself. Then Kay's face softened, and a soft sigh escaped her pale blue lips. "Maybe because there never really is a hidden meaning. People tend to mean what they want you to think they mean. Yes, I got them during my training in Russia. No, because I assume you are trying to find out what my relationship with Boris was like. I assure you it was the same as that of Kai and Tala. It was my grandmother, not Boris that gave them to me. She was not only a talented singer, but an excellent glass sculptor as well. She made them all for me."

"So you're saying that you were very close to your grandmother? I'm going to guess this is Ronald's wife."

"You're right, she was Ronald's wife. No, I wasn't close to her. I guess unlike Ronald, I might have loved her. It wasn't a close love, like what I'm sure you have with your grandparents. Mine was more of a political view. What is expected of a grandmother? She didn't really understand. She thought she could buy her way into my favor with expensive gifts. There was only one time she really showed me that she loved me…"

Mariah sat up at this. Maybe they were getting somewhere with this after all. She seemed to be opening up more than she had been. "When was that?"

"That was the day she died."

Mariah felt her heart freeze over. What in the world is going on? Did she kill her grandmother? Her look of instant horror must have been written all over her face. For that Mariah truly was sorry. Just the thought of something so malicious made her sick to her stomach.

"It's not what you're thinking. One day, when I was around eight, I broke the rules. This was after Kai had been sent out, and I had turned rebellious, as Boris would say. He had had enough, but I knew too much to just let me walk away. So he decided to just shoot me, and bury me in an unmarked grave. I was ready to go. I lost all reason to live after…"

She trailed off in what seemed to be deep thought. Mariah felt herself breath out a soft, "You poor baby."

"Anyway, my grandmother stumbled in on us. She saw what he was doing just as he was about to shoot. Jumped in front of the bullet, and saved my worthless life. The bullet missed her heart by a hair, which allowed her to live a few seconds. She made me swear two things. To live, to protect Sarah with my life, and to find Kai. I've completed two in a half of my missions. Of course he told me if I ever told anyone what happened, he would kill Sarah. That's why I had to leave. Before I left, he told the entire station that I had killed my grandmother because of reckless abandonment in the training room. I never told anyone outside the family otherwise until now."

Mariah's heart felt like an ice cube. She had known Boris was a madman, but this was beyond cruel. The sight of a tiny eight year old Kay, beautiful blue eyes staring blindly back at cruel violate ones. Her lifeless eyes staring at the dying form of the woman she called her grandmother. Promising huge responsibility to the old woman on her death bed. Sitting there, taking the blame for a murder she never committed. Mariah reached a hand up to her cheeks to find then wet with her own tears. Tears she was crying for a girl she had only just met. Tears that she knew the eight year old had never let fall.

"You said you had completed two in a half out of the three. How do you figure that?"

"I have protected Sarah, and found Kai. The thing is, I'm only half alive…"

As she trailed off, a strange force overtook Mariah. She knew she was gambling with her life at that moment. She got up from the bed in slow motion, and wrapped Kay in a tight hug. She felt the girl in her grasp stiffen to the point she made petrified wood look flexible. Then her body relaxed, and her arms slowly returned the embrace. She seemed afraid, as though the contact was new. After few moments of silence, they both sat on the bed, looking at nothing.

"You know kid; this could be the start of a lasting friendship. Believe me, when I make allies, they can always count on me."

Mariah smiled at her slowly, "The same goes for me." With that the two clasped hands in a gesture of friendship and understanding. Mariah knew, even though they had just met, she could count on the female next to her.

Suddenly, Kay jumped up. She looked alert and worried. There was something in her eyes that made Mariah feel the need to be on watch. She felt as though something was terribly wrong. Kay stood completely still, only her eyes moving in all directions. They were the eyes of a haunted person: someone expecting a ghost to jump out and drag her to the dark underworld. They flicked from side to side so fast, she had trouble following the pupils.

Finally, Mariah got up the nerve to stutter out: "K-kay, iss there, uh, som-something wrong?"

"Sarah!" The words tore from the mouth as Kay raced form the room. Mariah followed her to the child's room. She made it in time to see Kay fling the door open with a bang. She winced, and then looked over the taller girls shoulder. The bed was in a mess, as though there had been a struggle. On the pillow, tied with a tiny purple bow, was a paper note, and a lock of dark blue hair. The tiny parcel of humanity looked bleak and pail against the white of the not. Before she knew what was happening, Kay hit the ground on her knees.

The shriek that tore from her mouth was inhuman. The sound was loud enough to wake the dead, and mournful enough to make them cry. It broke Mariah's heart just to hear the sound from her new friend. She heard more shouts, though none as bad as Kay's. Doors were flung open down the halls, and feet could be heard rushing for them. For Mariah, time was frozen around Kay and herself as the realization began to dawn. Kai's sister had been kidnapped!

Grr… will I ever have time to right a long chapter?! Maybe as the time progresses. This wasn't really meant to fill you in on Kay's past. It was more to show how evil Boris will be in my story! Bwahahaha. What's gonna happen to Sarah? Will Kay finally live? What was Kai and Kay's relationship before? So many questions. You have to read to get the answers!!! R&R Flames are welcome! It's gonna be a cold winter. They'll go straight into me fireplace, hahahaXD