Hi guys! (Looks around to see if anyone familiar is still around):{

Well, like they say, third times a charm. I have gone to upload this chapter two other times and each time my computer has crashed and 'pff'! no more chapter.

So sorry for the inexcusably late update.

Thanks to Rapunzelle, CleverPhoenix, Smiffyizdabest, vlissan, ari dark princess, , Dragon Reverb, Ana Caterina, Lhune, phoenix80, d1bontemp, sasukechica, jin-sparks, betweenlife, FallenHope-Angel, Mashy-Gaara4life, Phoenixfyre101, and PWN3D. I love getting reviews from you guys, and I am indebted to your support.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters.

"…" talking

("…") Russian

'…' thoughts

Bold Italics Bitbeasts talking

Chapter 25: Holding On

("Wait! What are you doing! You can't just take him! Let me come!")

("Sir, please keep away. We will do all we can.")

("No! Wait!") Tala lunged forward, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist. Within a flash he shoved Bruce away but by then the doctors and nurses were gone through the door. Kai was gone through the door.

He turned on Bruce.

"How dare you stop me! What's your problem! I need to be in there with him!" Tala's voice boomed through the ER waiting room. Currently only Bruce, Spencer, and him were in there, but he was making enough noise to draw a few glares from the receptionist.

"Calm down, Tala. There's nothing you could do in there anyway. We got Kai here, and that's all that matters." Bruce tried to calm the boy. His behavior was irrational. The entire trip he had acted with an even head, but as soon as they reached the hospital-the safest place they had been in the last few days-he had started shouting in Russian and seemingly lost it.

"No it's not all that matters! You say this is the best place for him, but I'll tell you something I've learned from experience. The body may carry the scars, but it's the mind where you need to worry about healing them." He sighed and then whispered to himself, "I should've never agreed to this."

Spencer placed a hand on Tala's shoulder, but his hand was swatted away as the younger teen walked over to a chair and fell into it.

Sighing, Spencer looked at the ceiling. "I'm going for a walk."

With that the teen went out the door, leaving Bruce, Tala, and the receptionist alone.

For the first time in the last week, Bruce studied the teen that sat before him closely.

The boy's face was blank, but there were slight signs of fatigue in the way the boy moved. Slight, being the key word.

'This boy can cover up his feelings just as much as Kai can,' thought Bruce with slight irritation.

The boy's white clothes were visibly dirty, and his hair was drooping from its usual height. He sat motionless, legs crossed, leaning back in the chair. Bruce wondered exactly who was more of a mystery: Tala or Kai.

The flight from Biovolt had been short. Much shorter than the flight from Japan had taken. And to Bruce's utter amazement, the two boys had managed to land everyone safely-at Voltaire's mansion in Moscow nonetheless. The billionaire owned a private plane himself, with a landing strip that served as a perfect welcoming mat.

Immediately upon landing, the major concern was getting Kai to a hospital; however, surprisingly enough Tala had been the one reluctant to get him to one. Bruce didn't understand the boy. Why would someone go to so much trouble trying to save someone, only to go and not give them help when it's available?

Anyways, because of the direness of the situation, Tala, Spencer, and him had gone along ahead with Kai, while the Bladebreakers and the others agreed to come as soon as they could catch up. A small car with only three people goes a lot faster than a bus with a dozen.

Walking over, Bruce took a seat next to Tala, ignoring how the other seemed to shift away slightly, and the two sat in silence until the Bladebreakers arrived. Which, surprisingly enough, was not a long wait.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" shouted Tyson, sprinting through the doors and nearly falling on his face on the sleek tile that was currently adorning a 'wet floor' sign. "How is he? Is Kai ok? What's happening?" His voice was anxious with worry.

Looking over his son's shoulder, he could see that the others weren't far behind. Judy watched over Max and Michael, while Mr. Dickinson walked in step beside Ray. For the first time, Bruce realized that they had done it. They were all here and safe again. Except for…

"It's too early to know anything. They just took him in a few moments ago," Bruce informed. "But we need to get you all checked out as well, so don't get too comfortable around here."

"But dad, why? We're fine." Tyson's voice dropped, "Thanks to Kai that is."

Bruce watched as his son stared at the ground, and for a selfish second Bruce hated Kai for putting his son through this. However, that barely lasted because he didn't know the whole story yet, and he knew he couldn't blame the teen…yet that is. He was going to have to have a talk with Tyson later.

"Still, it is probably best just to make sure." He ruffled his son's hair, glad to have him back with him.

As Bruce was talking with Tyson, Ian made his way into the waiting room unnoticed. Spotting Tala, he went over to his captain who sat staring into space.

("Tala?") Ian watched the red-head blink, but his position didn't move.

("Did you get everything taken care of?") Tala's voice was tired. It was barely noticeable, but Ian had spent enough time with the teen to know how he was feeling. It wasn't physical exhaustion either.

("Yeah. I made the call tipping the authorities off about where Voltaire and Boris were. The guy didn't believe me at first, but Bryan was able to do some pretty good convincing. I'd say they'll probably be back behind bars by mid-day tomorrow.")

In all honesty, Ian believed they should've just taken Boris and Voltaire with them back to Moscow. He had no doubt that they would still be there by the time the authorities got there, Tala was no slacker when it came to securing people, but still, it would've been a lot more satisfying for them to have been the ones to drop the two off at the slammer. But although he wanted it that way, Ian understood why it couldn't be.

First of all, as actively involved as the Blitzkrieg Boys were with trying to bust Biovolt, they didn't want that information going public. Mess with Biovolt, you mess with the allies of Biovolt, meaning you enter of mixing pot of trouble you just don't want to get into. Crime bosses, political ordeals, illegal drug trafficking, etc. They didn't mind dealing with that kind of trouble, they just wanted it to be on their terms. They search for it, instead of it searching for them.

The other reason the two did not come along for the plane ride, was because Ian was sure Tala wouldn't have been able to make it the whole way keeping the two alive. Ian, being the youngest and the one who had spent the least amount of time in the abbey, didn't fully understand it, but Boris had something over Tala that turned him into a completely different person.

("Bryan is staying with the kids from the abbey. He's giving them the whole 'you're free now' speech. Ask me and I say it's a bad idea leaving him in charge. He'll start a cult with them. You saw him on the plane ride! They practically worshipped him!") Ian tried lightening the mood a little.

("Okay. Make sure he starts setting up some files on them. Names, birthdays, hometowns. I want you to get in contact with any relation they may have. For now, just give them each a room in the mansion. Make sure to secure the restricted areas though.") Tala's voice was blank. Simple commands, with no thought really behind them.
Ian stared at his boots. ("He'll be okay, Tal. Kai's survived worse than this.")

("I should be in there with him. I promised him I'd be there for him, and I just let them take him.") Ian cringed at the sadness in Tala's voice. The teen was beating himself up right in front of him, and he couldn't do a thing about it. He knew that Tala knew he couldn't have done anything differently, but that didn't matter. Kai and Tala shared a special bond that was almost masochistic. If one was harmed, the other suffered just as much. They were truly brothers in everything but blood. The Blitzkrieg Boys were all family, but those two definitely shared something closer. They had spent more that half their lives together, and they would sacrifice anything for the other.

("You did what's right, Tala. He'll be fine.") Standing up, Ian stretched his back. ("Coffee run. Want some?") Tala nodded, and the diminutive blader was out the door.

Time taunted him. Each tick of the second-hand on the clock felt like a bite that kept sinking deeper into Tala. It had been hours since Kai had been taken. A visit from Ian, a reappearance of Spencer, coffee from Ian, a phone call from Bryan, and still absolutely nothing! No news, no Kai, nothing except for that irritating clock!

Besides the Blitzkrieg Boys, no one had talked to him since Kai was taken. The Brat Pack had all been examined by some doctors, but aside from a few scrapes they were deemed fine.

'They were always fine,' thought Tala sourly.

Mr. Dickinson had suggested the Blitzkrieg Boys be checked out as well, but they had all refused. Considering the circumstances, he didn't push them.

Thankfully enough, the Brat Pack had been silent since they had all settled down. Tyson and Michael were sprawled across chairs asleep, and Max and Ray were less active than if they had been asleep. Judy had gone back to the mansion to help Ian set up some rooms, and Mr. Dickinson and Bruce had gone for a walk around the building a while ago. So that left Spencer and him.

Alone.

With that stupid clock!

He watched as the receptionist got up and left her post. Click. Click. Click. Each step of her heels echoed the 'tick' of the clock.

"Hey Ray?" The first voice in at least an hour finally droned out two clicks of the clock.

"Hmm? What is it Tyson?" Tala heard the said boy shift, and out of the corner of his eye he saw him get up to sit across from Ray and Max. Michael remained prostrate on the chair.

"Umm…What are we going to tell Dad and Mr. D? I mean about Kai. They are going to eventually ask about what happened while we were gone, so…" he trailed off. His voice was hesitant, not holding that usual confidence that resounded with each word.

'That's what the abbey does to you,' thought Tala cynically.

"I don't know, Ty. I want to tell then so they can help him, but there must've been a reason he kept us from knowing," reasoned Max.

"This is Kai we're talking about though! He doesn't need a reason to keep things from us, he just does!" Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Tyson, it's Kai's business and not ours to tell. We have to respect that," said Ray. Tick. Tick. Tick.

"If we don't confront him though, then he's just going to go back to shutting us out again." Tick.

"No. We won't let that happen. We'll talk to him about it, we just have to wait until he's feeling better."

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tala had had enough!

Quicker than lightening he launched Wolborg, shattering the time device. Springs and knobs fell to the floor, and if possible the room got even more silent. The Bladebreakers looked up in surprise at Tala, and even Michael stirred from his nap.

Summoning Wolborg back, Tala caught his blade, never once getting up from his chair.

With an amused look on his face, Spencer raised an eyebrow at his captain.

"Some things just don't know when to keep quiet," was Tala's simple response, loud enough for the Bladebreakers to hear.

Looking nervously at one another, the four bladers sent each other a look, questioning exactly what they should do.

When the doctor finally came into the waiting room, everyone held their breath. Mr. Dickinson and Bruce had come back from their walk and now everyone was on the edge of their seat awaiting some sort of news.

"Are you all here for Mr. Hiwatari?" asked the doctor in broken English.

Mr. Dickinson stepped forward cautiously. "Yes. How is he?" The doctor looked around at the group as if questioning whether he should inform the entire room about the boy's condition.

"We're going to have to tell them everything anyway, might as well tell us all now so we don't have to re-explain everything," said Bruce, catching on to the doctor's hesitancy. Nodding, the doctor glanced down at his clipboard.

"Well, I'm not going to sugar-coat it. Mr. Hiwatari is pretty bad condition. The most critical damage was some damage to the lungs. It was rather unusual actually. The tissue was slightly damaged, but we couldn't locate the cause of it."

'Thanks to Dranzer and Black Dranzer you won't find the cause of it either,' thought Tala.

The doctor continued on. "He has lacerations covering his back and shoulders. His back was in the worst condition. It was cut up, and in the worst sort of way too. It looks as if someone had intentionally spent time carving out designs and names on his back. One of the gashes was infected, so he's running a fever now, but we have some IVs in him so it should not be too much of a problem. He has deep gashes across his stomach that required some stitches and he lost an awful lot of blood from that area, so he's also hooked up to some blood IVs, as well a drip for nutrients. We found him to be considerably underweight."

"His right wrist has third degree burns, and there was some sort of silver band on it that we were able to remove. From what we've been able to decipher, the band sends out an electrical shock when activated, causing the burns. His left hand is completely broken, and his whole body is badly bruised." The doctor took a deep breath and allowed his words to sink in. Then, as if feeling obligated to do so, he tried offering some advice.

"This boy seems like he went through hell and back. He's going to need support while his body heals. The good news is that he isn't in any life-threatening danger, and he should recover."

'Yeah,' thought Tala spitefully, 'That makes everything better.' His hand was balled into a fist.

The Bladebreakers had stood up when the doctor had entered the room, but now Tyson and Max fell into their chairs dejectedly.

They had all seen what happened to Kai, and they knew it was not good. Still, to have everything listed off like that…just one thing wrong after another, they could hardly comprehend that. To know that someone so strong was that broken…but they didn't dare think of it.

"Do you know when we would be able to see him?" asked Bruce, being the first to be able to say anything.

"He's in relatively stable condition now, but I'm afraid I can only allow family members in," said the doctor.

The Bladebreakers looked to Mr. Dickinson not knowing what to do. No one really had custody over Kai. Mr. Dickinson had had release over him for the tournaments, but those documents hardly applied now. Technically, Kai had just been drifting along with the Bladebreakers for the past few months. No one had really taken the time to work out custody affairs.

As far as family went, the only family of Kai's they knew about was the man who had put him in the hospital in the first place. Irony was the toy of life.

"We're his family." The heads of everyone in the room shot over to Tala, who stood up from his chair along with Spencer. "We're his brothers."

The doctor looked at Bruce and Mr. Dickinson as if to verify this. Although Bruce was ready to prove the boys wrong, a nod of the head from Mr. Dickinson silenced him.

"Yes, they should go. In fact, we are all his family. The only one he has."

The doctor looked at the man. He didn't understand the situation of this boy. He would normally need some sort of documentation to prove relation, but he figured the boy would need people to look after him. These people had been here since he was brought in, and he wasn't going to bring anymore distress to what they were probably already feeling.

"Very well then, but I can only admit three at a time." Tala and Spencer immediately began walking forward, and Bruce nodded to Mr. Dickinson, signaling the man to go ahead.

Following behind the doctor, the three took an elevator up a few floors and made it to a bleak looking hallway.
"Here you are, room 314. I'll give you some time." And with that, the doctor left the trio to themselves.

Mr. Dickinson was hesitant about entering the room, afraid of what he'd find. However, Tala had been impatient since the moment they took Kai away, and he didn't waste a second pushing open the door.

The sight that greeted the three was heart-rending, but only one of them visibly flinched.

Kai lay motionless on the hospital bed. So motionless, that if it was not for his heavy breathing the teen could have been mistaken for dead.

Bandages covered the side of his face and both of his arms. Most likely the wrappings covered his whole torso, but a hospital gown hid them from view. A cast encased his left hand, and a series of drips were attached to his right hand.

The teen was deathly pale, and with all the white around him, his markings and hair stood out blatantly.

Tala immediately went over to his friend's side, with Spencer faithfully behind. Mr. Dickinson stood in the doorway, frozen to the spot.

"Kai," Tala spoke softly, trying to get a response out of the teen. "Kai you're going to be okay. I'm here now. Spencer is too. We are here to help." Being extremely careful, Tala brushed the top of Kai's hand, resting it on top of the cast.

He heard the door to the room open and shut, and when he looked back, Mr. Dickinson was gone.

Once Tala, Spencer, and Mr. Dickinson had left the room, Bruce had immediately turned to Tyson and the others. It was the first time he got to talk to them without a Blitzkrieg Boy in the room. Not that it made a difference, but what he wanted to talk about probably wasn't the best to mention in front of the Russians.

"So," he said sitting down next to his son. "Do you guys want to fill me in on what happened?" The three boys looked down at the ground, reluctant to say anything.

"You guys were gone almost a week. What did Boris and Voltaire do to you?" Still there was no response.

"Listen, guys, I know it's probably difficult, but its best to talk about it. We need to know what happened exactly. Then we can get through this together." When he saw that no one was going to volunteer anything, Bruce changed his approach.

"Alright, so what happened with Kai then? What was that whole thing that went on with Black Dranzer?" Glancing at Ray for approval, Tyson decided to let his dad in on that bit of information.

"It's…It was the same thing that happened in the Russian World Championship. At least that's what we were able to guess. Black Dranzer manipulated Kai, and was able to control him…but he was able to break free." Bruce nodded, glad to have gotten some answer out of them. Although, he wasn't exactly sure their assumption was right. Either that, or they were not telling him something.

After studying bit-beasts for years, Bruce understood them better than most people. And he had seen the Russian World Championship too. There was something different this time than before. Last time, Kai had wanted to cooperate with the power of Black Dranzer, but this time the boy was completely reluctant. So what had made him use the blade in the first place?

Moseying over to the group, Michael came over munching on a candy bar he got from a vending machine.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing, just trying to get some answers about Biovolt. Maybe you could help," replied Bruce. "So where did they keep you guys the whole time you were there? Did they feed you?"

This time it was Ray who answered.

"Those cells we found the boys in, we were kept in one of them." Then with uncertainty he added. "Yeah… they fed us."

"Hardly!" said Michael. "They poisoned half of it! If it wasn't for Hiwatari, two of us might of bit the dust. And those cells, I felt like I was in some sort of sixteenth century dungeon." Ray gave a pointed look at Michael, but the boy was too busy eating to notice.

"Poisoned? So they tried to kill you?!" Bruce's voice rose with anger. "What else did they do to you!"

"I told you, Dad, thanks to Kai they didn't lay a finger on us. We're fine." Tyson looked at his Dad, silently begging him not to push any farther.

"When you say 'thanks to Kai', what do you mean? What did he do?"

"Let's just say Hiwatari and his grandfather need some serious family counseling. Either that or some anger management classes," supplied Michael. Then seeing the questioning look from Bruce, he decided to elaborate.

"Oh come on, you've been studying bit-beasts for what, like the last ten years." His voice then turned solemn. "You can't honestly believe Hiwatari got all his injuries from that beybattle with Tala. The only thing he got from that were probably those gashes on his stomach. Those two creeps did the rest of it." Then, losing his appetite he tossed his food into a bin behind him.

Bruce looked at the American-blader in partial shock. He couldn't believe what Michael was saying, yet it was like he had known it all along. Everything else Voltaire did was corrupt, why should this surprise him?

He knew why, because the thought of a punk-kid like Kai being subjected to something like that…it just didn't fit.

"Bruce," started Ray, "This isn't ours to tell. Please don't push it. This is Kai's business, and we don't want to betray the trust we just finished building up."

Bruce looked at the neko-jin and saw how much he was torn by this.

"By telling me, it will help me to help him. You're not betraying him, that kid needs people to be involved in his life," reasoned Bruce.

"Maybe, but I will wait until he's ready to share it." With that, Ray stood up, and walked away. Turning into a hallway, he ran almost smack-dab into Mr. Dickinson.

"Well, how is he?" asked Ray, not really wanting to know the truth.

"Umm…Well Ray," the man's voice shook slightly. "Why don't you go up and see Kai yourself. If you're ready that is."

Without a second thought Ray nodded, got Kai's room number, and then hurried down the hall, the way Mr. Dickinson had just came.

When Mr. Dickinson entered the ER lobby again, the boys immediately jumped up from what looked like a conversation they had been having with Bruce. They asked the same thing Ray did, but Mr. Dickinson ignored them.

"Bruce, can I speak with you?" The younger man nodded and got up, leaving the three others to wait anxiously for some news.

The two men made their way through the hospital, and ended up at the cafeteria. Finding a seat, they both sat down.

"I couldn't do it…" started Mr. Dickinson with remorse. "I couldn't look at that strong boy, while he lay there like that. Especially when I could've done something to prevent it."
Bruce stared at the man. Not wanting the BBA chairman to wallow in his thoughts, he tried to change the subject.

"Mr. Dickinson, is there someone we can call for Kai? The boy must have some relation other than Voltaire?" Before he was even done speaking though, Mr. Dickinson had started shaking his head.

"No. The boy has no one. I've known the Hiwataris for years now, almost decades. The only two left are Voltaire and Kai. Voltaire…did have a son, Kai's father, but him and his wife died in a house fire when Kai was little."

Bruce, who had been playing with a sugar packet, looked up at this piece of information.

"His parents died?" he asked in disbelief. "But he never¾"

"Said anything?" finished Mr. Dickinson. "Yes I know. As you may have noticed the boy doesn't like talking much about his private life. Most people assume that with all of the time and responsibility it takes to run Hiwatari Enterprises, his parents are just always busy. Unfortunately that's just not the case. Voltaire is the only family he has left."

" I've been wanting to look into some custody papers for a while now, but after this past world championship work started piling up and I never got around to it. After seeing how Voltaire put Kai at risk like that and endangered so many people…It's best that we take custody completely away from the man." The man looked up at Bruce to see what he thought, but the other was still fiddling with the packet.\

"Mr. Dickinson, do you know what Michael told me? He said that most of Kai's injuries weren't due to the beybattle, but in fact were inflicted by…Voltaire himself."

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed reading! I know it wasn't the best chapter, but I needed a filler chapter to catch everything up to speed.

I promise Kai will make a conscious reappearance next chapter (mostly because I miss writing about him).

Thanks for reading, please review!

~FlamingIce94