Since I'm off school I decided to try and update this! I sort of like the way this chapter came out and when I look over it, I realise that it may seem things are happening fast, but that's the way I want to them happen. Now I've started a fic in a new category, I've got a better motivation to carry on writing this, though it's end is coming soon.

Thanks to Souleaterned for reviewing who I couldn't reply to personally!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

The Escape

"Touch her again and I will shoot," Kai said calmly and cocked the gun for emphasis.

Boris took a few steps back and put his arms up in surrender and I went to Kai's side. He side stepped in front of me for protection and I felt a shiver of glee, despite our dangerous situation. I don't know how Kai learned to fire a gun – I doubted very much that it would have been Biovault since they didn't really have any guarantee that their trainees wouldn't turn the gun in their direction – but I was grateful that he did. Or maybe he didn't know and was just bluffing. Either way, Boris was treading on the ice carefully. He must have realised that with me around, Kai more desperate than every and desperate people could be very unpredictable.

But when I looked like Boris he was smiling like an indulgent adult who was humouring the child. "And just what are you going to do now? Take me as a hostage? My life is expendable for the sake of Biovault, surely you know that. If you even try to use me to get away they'll kill me first and then you second."

Kai scoffed. "I know Voltaire would have you dead in a heartbeat. But that's not my plan. I intend to end this right now. I'm not leaving here while you live." He turned to me with the softest eyes I'd ever seen on his harsh exterior and when he spoke his voice was even softer. "Hilary, I think you should turn around. You don't want to see this."

Now, I don't know about most people, but if some one was threatening to kill me and it was a cert that that person was going to go through with their plan, I'd be crapping myself. I'd be begging for my life or something, pleading every asset I had to live, although maybe I'd try and keep my dignity even a bit. Still, I've be pretty damn scared. What I would not do would be to laugh in my would-be killer's face. I don't know, I just think that's a little bit suicidal. But Boris must have a death wish for that was exactly what he did.

"Come on Kai, you don't seriously think you can pull that trigger? End it, as you said?" Kai raised the gun higher and cocked an eyebrow as if to say 'try me'. The worst part was that that was Boris' intention. "Go on then. If you think you're man enough shoot. Kill me. End it. That's what you want, isn't it. A life free from Biovault? Tell me, will you go for your grandfather next? That would be the most logical option. After all, I'm only a pawn in this little game of war. I'll be replaced just as easily as I was hired."

"I'm mad, not insane. Anyway, it's not about that. This is about revenge. Everything you ever put me through, all the torture, the misery, the nightmares I get even now and the fear that at any moment I might get taken back to you, that's what I want to end. There's no other way but to kill you." Kai laughed slightly hysterically and I backed away from him slightly. Like I said: unpredictable.

Boris shrugged. "Very well then. If that's how its got to be that's how its got to be. Pull the trigger then, Kai. I'm prepared."

There was something in his voice, Boris', I mean, that I didn't like. Why would he invite Kai like that? I would have thought he'd have been trying to beg for his life but instead he was giving it away like it was a prize at a raffle. There had to be some hidden motive; something that Boris knew about but was too clever to tell. He hated Kai just as much as Kai hated him, didn't he? So why then would he give Kai the satisfaction of being the one to kill him? Then I understood. It was the ultimate revenge.

"Don't kill him, Kai," I said suddenly and Kai looked at me as if I was the crazy one threatening to shoot people. "Don't do it. If you kill him it'll never end. The nightmares, the torture, everything. You'll remember killing him and you'll regret it until it drives you insane. You're a good person, Kai. You might not think it but you are. You'll feel guilt about it forever."

"Bullshit," Boris said, smiling at me and then Kai. "You're a hardened fighter, Kai. Biovault has made you into one. I've made you into one. No emotion, no compassion and no guilt. You pull that trigger by next week you'll forget about it and can carry on with your life. Do it Kai."

"Oh for God's sake!" I cried in anger and Kai turned to me in surprise. "Use your brain, Kai. Why do you really think he's so desperate for you to kill him? Huh? Isn't it obvious? He knows how you'll feel about it. He knows it'll eat at you inside until it drives you insane. Don't let it. Just walk away and let the authorities deal with it. That's the best way. No, that's the only way. You and I, we can escape now and within the next hour the whole of Biovault will be shut down."

Both Kai and Boris turned to me and demanded, "What?!"

"That little dream I had Boris? Not about my dad." I smiled sweetly. "Let's just say Tala's decided to take a stand and he's got the support to put you down. I'm thinking S.W.A.T, FBI, L.A.P.D, to name a few. His, along with some other Biovault escapee statements, have given them the evidence that they've been after for years. Did you honestly think that no one who mattered knew about Biovault? Or did you just think you'd paid off enough people to not have to care anymore? Well you were naïve to think so. Sure, they may have kept to their word, but there were people who had suspicions but not the evidence to prove it. Now, they have a handful of individual teenagers who are all willing to testify against you and all of them saying pretty much the same thing. Two names in particular have been mentioned. Voltaire Hiwatari's...and yours."

The anger in Boris' face twisted and contorted it into a hideous snake's. "You lying little bitch. They'll never bring us down. Incase you've not noticed we have an army-"

"Of school kids who I can tell are just itching for the chance of a mutiny." His clear outrage was intensified by the sounded of a siren throughout the compound. "And here's the cavalry coming now."

Boris howled and dove towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut as a gun shot sounded. There was an unnatural animalistic yell of pain and I opened my eyes to see Boris lying on the ground holding a bloodied ankle and using every swear word in his vocabulary to curse Kai's name.

"You know," Kai said, lowering the gun with a smirk, "for something you told me I'd regret forever, I feel really satisfied."

I hit him softly on the shoulder. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."

He chuckled and put his arms around my waist. I felt slightly nervous that the gun was therefore aiming at my butt, but I didn't want to spoil the moment. "I was so worried about you," he said as his mouth got closer to mine. There was a screaming man on the floor whose ankle bone had just been shattered by a single bullet but neither of us cared. Our lips met in a soft kiss and when our tongues met, I swear a jolt of electricity ran through my body and wakened me back up to reality. I broke away and took his hand.

"We can do that later! This whole place is about to become a warzone and I, for one, don't want to made into Swiss cheese just when we're about to be free again. Do you know the way out?"

Kai licked his lips. "I'm pretty sure. I'd dreamed about it so much when I was a kid."

"And can you make it out okay?"

"I'm still a bit sore but I'm pretty sure I'll be alright." There was the start of gunfire and we knew it had begun. Kai's demeanour changed and the proud leader was was returned. "This is going to be one hell of a dangerous escape. I'm going to go first. Stay behind me and keep low."

With a deep breath, Kai opened the door to the training room and were down the corridor we'd first travelled on our way to see Voltiare. I don't know where the fighting was going on for Kai didn't give me a chance to look. He pulled me with him as he sprinted out of the immediate dangerzone and I forced myself to keep up. His past was within my limits but hearing the sound of gunfire to close to me made my legs turn to jelly and I found Kai was have pulling, have carrying me out. This sort of thing I'd only ever seen on T.V or Hollywood blockbusters and now that it was going on behind me, I felt more afraid than I had in here. One stray bullet in the cross fire could mean the end of me or Kai and it scared me more than anything. As brave as I had been, I didn't want to die. I'd come this far and now escape was so close I could almost taste the fresh air and smell my father's aftershave when he'd hug me as I came home to him. He would be out of his mind worrying about me, thinking the worst when, in reality, my stay in Biovault hadn't been all that bad. I mean, I think I might actually have learned some of the basics in being able to control my dreams in the hours I'd worked with Boris.

Kai turned a corner and stopped. There were a further two corridors to choose from and from the look on Kai's face it may as well have been twenty. He closed his eyes and took a few steps forward.

"What are you doing?" I asked, getting antsy about still being in a building where people where probably being killed and knowing if I wasn't careful I could be one of those people.

Kai didn't open his eyes but put a finger on his lips to silence me. "I'm using instinct. Don't break my concentration of we're going to have to rely on luck."

I huffed impatiently and watched him as he took a few steps down each corridor. It was a painstakingly slow process but then, without warning his eyes snapped open and he grabbed my hand, practically yanking my arm out of my socket, and we were off again. This time, I was able to match his speed. The break from our flee had given me a chance to calm my nerves and I felt the control I now had over my body. My powerfully muscled legs pounded down on the floor, eating up distance like it was nothing. Instinct had completely taken over Kai and I trusted it completely. His skills had been honed for years, after all. If he couldn't get us out of here then I'd eat something really unpleasant.

"We're almost there," he told me over ragged breaths. I didn't ask how he knew but I just knew he was right. He was going to get me out and we were going to be free.

But my dreams were dashed as we approached what I knew in my heart was the way out and saw that two armed Biovault soldiers were blocking it. They raised their guns at us. "Drop your weapon and raise you hands above your heads." Kai slowly put the gun on the ground and kicked it over to were the guards stood. The female stood forward while her male colleague kicked it behind him.

It was not going to end there. I wasn't going to let it end there. "How good an actor are you, Kai?"

He gave me a baffled look. "Let's put it to the test."

I let myself collapse onto the floor and closed my eyes. "What's wrong with her?" The male demanded, with a slight panic in his voice. They were obviously briefed that I was precious cargo.

"I...I think she's dreaming," Kai replied and knelt beside me. "What are you planning?" He hissed quietly.

"Improvise!" I hissed back.

"Uhh," Kai said, "Help me prop her against the wall. If she takes one of her fits she could seriously hurt herself if she's lying on the floor."

I felt like kicking him. The dummy! Lying on the floor's the best thing for a person when they have a fit. Well, the two guards must have not been educated on this or on hearing I could get hurt didn't hear the rest for they both rushed over to help Kai. Their let down of their guard was all Kai needed. While he took the gun got the holster of one guard, I took the gun from the other and the tables had turned. We kept them raised and slowly backed towards what looked like an elevator. Kai took mine from my hands and I felt relieved. The power the piece of metal gave me was foreign and I didn't like it. Having it out of my hands felt like there was a weight lifted. Well, at least I knew I would never be able to shoot some one.

While Kai kept the guards under control, I opened the elevator doors and we got in. I pressed the 'up' button and it creaked as the rustic device started up. It juddered as I pulled the door closed and, feeling like collapsing with relief, the elevator rose. Kai put his arms around me to keep me up and my feet completely gave way. He went down with me as I broke down into tears. I don't know what brought them on, but it felt great, like I could cry away the whole experience.

Kai didn't seem to understand for though he held me and gave me the support I needed, he was frowning. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know," I said, wiping my eyes and smiling, "I think I'm just happy. For me and you."

He looked at me like I was insane. "Yeah, I'm happy too but I'm not going to cry about it."

Dawn was breaking as we surfaced and I took in a deep breath of air. It tasted sweet compared to the staleness of having been underground for two days. I couldn't believe that. Two days we'd been at Biovault. It had seemed like so much longer, but it hadn't. These entire events had taken place under a week. It was surreal and I coudln't quite believe it. I mean, in the space of like seven days I'd gotten my first kiss, went away with my friends for a trip – albeit we were running from scary people but it still counts -, been kidnapped, learned how to use my Gift and held a gun. Oh, and I might have fallen in love.

"Tala!" Kai cried out as we stepped off the elevator and found Tala and several unhappy kids standing around impatiently.

Seeing his friend, Tala's face brightened up and he looked genuinely glad to see Kai. I was touched by the happiness the two of them had to see each other. I even thought they were going to hug; I could tell they both wanted to but to keep up their macho exteriors they nodded at each other, but that didn't stop them both from smiling.

"I'm glad you're okay man," Tala said, clearing his throat. "And you too, Hilary. It's ending tonight. Everything. We don't need to be scared of it anymore. And it was so easy too, only I wish I'd been allowed to go in but we were made to stay here."

"I didn't figure that would stop you."

Tala smirked. "We were actually about to go in before you guys came out. So what's it like in there. I'll bet Boris is hiding out in his office."

"Actually," I said, "Kai shot him in the ankle."

To my surprise, Tala's face lit up even more. "Nice. Did he scream?"

"Like a girl."

"What about Voltaire?"

"What about him?" Kai asked sourly.

"What happened to him?"

Kai shrugged and I knew I could help out here. "I could find out if you want." Both Kai and Tala looked at me like I was just a little girl who was trying to join in on the conversation. "No, seriously, I can. That's how I found our you were coming to get me Kai and how I knew there was going to be an attack on Biovault. Boris taught me how to do it. If you want me too, I see what's happening to Voltaire. I think I've got the hang of it. At least I can try."

For whatever reason, Kai was hesitant. I thought he would be happy to know what his deranged grandfather was planning, but instead he didn't seem to want to know. Tala, however, was eager to find out. With his red-haired friend's coaxing, Kai eventually agreed with a slight nod that was hard to make out with only the dawning light to go by.

"Catch me," I said with a wink and as I concentrated hard on Voltaire, I knew it had already worked.

Voltaire sat behind the desk of his office calmly. Things were all falling apart and very soon they would find him, arrest him and he would have to go through the public humiliation of a trial and most likely life imprisonment. There was the chance that he could make a getaway to another country, such as Mexico where American jurisdiction meant nothing but spit and jeers. However, to escape he would have to rely on some very powerful allies and since they hadn't been able to stop this invasion there was very little hope they could smuggle past maximum security policemen. If he were a rueful man, he would question why this was happening to him but he didn't. He knew why and he had no regrets. Not one. His arrogance had been his downfall. Funny how his grandson had always told him so yet he had never believed him. Voltaire knew he had lived like he was an immortal man, unstoppable in his wake. All this was correct yet in some crevice of his mind he had always been aware that things were too good to be true and it was foolish to think he was untouchable because he had money to pay off whoever needed it. He had failed to pay off Tala – money would have meant nothing to him anyway since it was a different kind of retribution the boy desired.

He sighed as he listened at the battle waging outside his fortress of luxurious carpets and expensive furniture. It was evident it had to happen someday, though perhaps if they'd found Hilary sooner they could have at least stood a chance of resisting. They could have seen this coming and prepared for it.

Looking down on the golden pistol lying on the red velvet material he knew that mentally he already had. He picked it up and with one blast it was all over for him.

I gasped as I woke up in Kai's arms. He looked at me almost regretfully and said, "He didn't see it through, did he?" I shook my head sadly. "I didn't think he would, the coward that he is."

I put my hands on his shoulders. "He did it because he knew he wasn't going to win. It was the end and he knew it was. Don't you see? This is a good thing. So maybe he's not going to go to prison or anything, but his name will go down for being a tyrant anyway in the greatest suicides or whatever. And, what's more, you're all free. You, Tala, everyone else. You're all free from Biovault forever. You don't need to hide and you don't need to run."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought this news would make him want to scream for joy or something. But oh no. Not Kai. He nodded and walked away. I guess he needed to be alone for a while. Voltaire was really the only person who connected him to his mother and father. Sure there was Mariah's parents but to Kai they probably wouldn't count. Weren't they related on his mother's side anyway? When all was said and done, Voltaire was still Kai's family and Kai had a right to grieve for him even if I couldn't understand why. Perhaps there had been happy moments; good qualities to be missed. Or maybe he was overwhelmed by what this actually meant for him. He could go back home. Well, he could go back to his house seeing as it really wasn't much of a home. More importantly – and this was incredibly selfish – we could be together.

I was going to go over to him but Tala took my arm and shook his head. "He needs some time."

Sighing, I looked at him as he sat with his arms folded round his knees and his head resting on them. The field we'd escaped to was the perfect place for him to think. I just sort of hoped he wasn't thinking for too long. Why couldn't guys understand it was always better to voice their problems than keep them hidden inside?

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