Review Replies
CoolPerson: Thanks so much for your review! There's an ENTIRE story on how Bryan and Kai fell in love that I wrote, it's called Chronicles Of Fate: Bryan And Kai, it's the prequel to this story and you can find it on my profile, near the bottom I think. The writing needs a little cleaning, but it's readable. And for the record, Dean's my fav too, I love Sam but he can get very intense sometimes. Thanks again!

Suzanne: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the reviews you leave for my story, you're always so upbeat about my stories which makes me really happy :D I hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest of the story.

Anonymous: Thanks for the review! I'm so happy you like the story and even happier that you're a TalaxRay fan! I love those two together though they never actually interact. And yes, Tony is stupid, I wanted him to be crazy and insane and obsessed and the stupidity just kinda slid in there, I'm kinda pleased with it, it sorta just fits him somehow. As for Matthew I didn't like him, so I just got rid of him ;), he's my own character so I feel no guilt. Thanks for the review!

And so me ish back! Chapter twenty-six! The story is almost done, couple of chapters away.

WARNINGS: Swearing. Violence. A Chapter title that makes no sense. Possible mistakes.

Disclaimer: Beyblade does not belong to me, nor any of the characters. Any unknown characters most likely belong to me.

You know, I don't think I actually like any of my OCs that I create for my fanfictions. I have my own stories (twenty of 'em) stuffed with my own OCs and I like them, but I don't like the OCs for my fanfictions...I wonder why. Not that it's actually very important when all things considered, but it is curious.

Anway, enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Apparent Truths

"You don't have to do this" Ray protested as Tala turned to the Abbey building that sat as a huge lump upon the snowy earth "don't you see that it won't work? Boris doesn't trust you, Tala"

"And I have you to thank for that" the wolf replied "it makes sense that you should aid me in regaining Boris's trust"

"I didn't ask you to come after me," Ray reminded him grabbing Tala's arm only to be flung away nastily "you're the one who decided to come after me, when you found out Boris planned to have me shot"

"Hm, I don't know what came over me" Tala mused almost absently "you must have tricked my mind or something"

Ray gaped in disbelief "you can't be serious! I did nothing and you know it"

"You kissed me"

"I don't remember forcing you in to sleeping with me" the neko-jin replied resolutely "if I recall correctly you took control of the whole situation"

Tala glared at him "you came on to me!" he snapped.

"Yeah, and you got all excited about it" Ray retorted challengingly.

"That means nothing"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure" Tala gave him a cold emotionlessly sneer "just because we screwed doesn't mean I'll given any life vows to protect you. You're a tool, that's all, deal with it"

"No, you deal with it!" Ray growled fiercely "I am not going to let you hand me over to Boris just so you can run away from your own feelings!"

"So you're not going to come with me willingly?"

"Are you crazy? Damn right I'm not coming with you willingly!"

"Don't make this difficult on yourself, I'm stronger than you" Tala took a step forward menacingly "I could beat you in any fight"

Ray lifted his eyebrows "who said anything about fighting?" they were barely a foot away from each other; he reached forward, grabbing Tala by his jacket and pulling the wolf towards his face. They met and Ray clamped his mouth on Tala's using his lips to tease Tala, pulling the wolf's bottom lip with his teeth; it lasted for barely three seconds but Tala was on the point of replying when-

When he pulled away aggressively, the string of saliva dragging free between them as Tala lurched back out of Ray's reach and wiped his mouth "don't even fucking try it!" he snarled "you are not messing with my head"

"You're messing with your own head, Tala, you don't need any help from me" Ray gasped, his chest heaved in a deep sigh and he locked eyes with Tala breathlessly "come on, admit it"

"I have nothing to admit"

"Liar" Ray took a step towards him but now Tala stepped back keeping the distance between them, this didn't stop the neko-jin however "you know giving me to Boris is wrong, you know you don't want to do it"

"Of course I want to do it"

"Boris will torture me!" Ray's voice rose a little in volume as he tried to make Tala understand "he'll strap me down and study me, experiment on me. He wants to know how I beat Bryan, we both know that, and he'll do whatever it takes to find out. He-" Ray stopped and now his voice softened as he took another tentative pace towards the redhead who this time didn't move away.

Tala rolled his eyes "what do you want of me?" he asked with an impatient sigh "I'm going to give you to Boris, that's all I need you for"

"I don't want you to do that" the neko-jin whispered.

"So run, try to escape me, you won't get far"

Ray looked down the empty street; no cars had passed, no one was walking down the sidewalk, there was no one to help him "no, I'm not going to do that" he muttered, he looked back at the Russian "running away only makes it easier for you. And you're right, I wouldn't get far…but I won't come with you"

"So what are you going to do?" asked Tala in almost amused tones "it doesn't seem to me you're giving yourself any options"

"I'm going to ask you not to do it" Ray replied in the same soft careful voice. He took another slow step to Tala and the wolf felt warm breath touch his face "please, Tala, I don't want you to do this, Boris will torture me and experiment on me. It scares me; I don't want to be Boris's study object. He'll search and search for his answer and he won't stop until he finds it" the neko-jin's face had fallen, his eyes had dropped "but the problem is that there is no answer as to why I beat Bryan, no answer that will satisfy Boris. Please, Tala, don't give me to Boris"

For a moment Tala didn't say anything, he only looked at the tiger's lowered features, then he snorted "you're weak" he accused "to show your fear is stupid, you never show your fear to anyone"

"You know he'll make you help him, don't you?" Ray's head shot back up "I'm the reason he no longer trusts you, so in order to regain his trust you'll have help him in his research…I don't want you to hurt me, Tala, just to regain Boris's trust so you can kill him? It's not fair. Why can't you just kill him now?"

He looked at Tala searching those empty blue eyes that for the first time looked away when Ray looked in to them; and Ray realised the answer, it was so simple and obvious he wondered why he hadn't realised it before. There was only one reason why Tala was going through all this bother, only one reason why he hadn't killed Boris years ago.

"You can't do it, can you?" Ray whispered, "you can't kill him"

Tala didn't reply.

"After all he did to you, to Kai and Bryan? To Spencer? Ian? After all that and you still can't kill him?" Ray moved so he was looking back in to Tala's face studying him closely "I'm right, aren't I? You can't actually bring yourself to kill him"

The wolf's face was stony and his eyes met Ray's in an icy stare.

"Boris was your master, he brought you up and reared you, and, despite the fact he put you through hell, you can't forget that" Ray reached out a hand and his fingers brushed the lapel of the redhead's jacket before Tala jerked away "so what are you hoping for, Tala? That Boris will do something to make you snap? That's it, isn't it? That's why you never stopped working for Boris, why you betrayed Kai and your team, because you're living in hope that one day Boris will do something and suddenly all your childhood won't matter anymore"

Tala sneered "look at the smart little neko-jin, just working it all out" his eyes flashed and almost manic insane smile marred his face, he grabbed the neko-jin by his coat and dragged him forward towards him "not that any of it matters, I'm going to hand you over to Boris no matter what game you try and pull"

"Do you think you could do it?" asked the tiger looking up in the redhead's face "if Boris asked you to cut open my arm, would you do it?"

"Without hesitation"

The neko-jin's eyes fell again; he relaxed though Tala's hold did not loosen, the wolf had him in a vice grip and now he dragged Ray toward the main gates of the Abbey, leaving the bike behind them abandoned. Ray did not fight or struggle; Tala was right, he could never beat the wolf in a fight.

And there was still that small hope flickering like a small flame in the back of his mind.

Tala pulled him hard and the neko-jin stumbled; he fell in to Tala who caught him roughly without looking his way, Ray's lips were by the redhead's left ear and turning his mouth he whispered "I won't give up on you, Tala, I refuse to"

"Shut up" Tala ordered shortly shoving the neko-jin in front of him.

The neko-jin staggered under the force but remained upright; he held out to the pillar of the gate to support himself as he stopped abruptly with a gasp. The old Abbey building was dark and empty; it looked untouched and shadowed as haunted by all the pain and blood that had stained its walls. The courtyard in front was layered with a sprinkling of snow which drifted gently in the cool breeze.

Standing tall and patiently in the middle, in front of the huge double doors, Boris stood watching and waiting calmly as Tala approached.

"I'm going to kill you, Kai" Tony sang in a high voice "I'm going to cut you, and stab you until you're nothing but a bloody pile of flesh" he danced around gleefully in the snow and kicked the snow up in an arch "then I'm going to take Black Dranzer, and he will be mine! At last!"

"You realise you won't be able to control Black Dranzer" Kai replied in a monotone voice "he was designed for me, and me alone"

"Boris will teach me the basics" Tony shrugged nonchalantly "but I won't beyblade with him, I only want him by my side FOREVER!"

"You think Black Dranzer will be happy with such a dull life?" Kai lifted an eyebrow "he'll take over you, control you, use you and then kill you"

"Black Dranzer won't control me!" Tony laughed loudly "I am too strong for him! It is I who shall control him"

"You're a fool if you really believe that" said the phoenix "surely you're smarter, save yourself while you still can, otherwise your life won't be worth living"

Tony laughed again; he threw back his head and laughed so loud it echoed around them, bouncing off the snow and raised white landscape. So far he hadn't noticed Black Dranzer lying on the ground, he was too busy in his quest to kill Kai to notice the Bitbeast just yet. Which is why Kai had been given the opportunity to place his foot calmly over the dark phoenix.

He could feel Black Dranzer rustle angrily at this, the power surged up him in a heat wave before freezing over his skin; but Kai ignored this, and his crimson coloured eyes never left Tony who danced and pranced around laughing to himself between making plans on how exactly to kill Kai. He pulled out a gun and looked at it thoughtfully before studying Kai as if he were a painting hanging in a gallery.

Mockingly Tony pointed the gun at the phoenix who remained still "should I shoot you, do you think? … One bullet and it's all over? … Nah! Too quick!"

"You have been under Boris's care all this time?" Kai asked, his plan was to distract Tony. This may have seemed rather obvious and translucent thing to do, but Tony was too delirious, unconcerned and stupid to care.

"On and off" Tony replied tossing the gun away listlessly and reached back in to his long thick coat "he wanted me to wait before I killed you, he wanted me to wait until after he'd accomplished whatever it is he's trying to achieve, but I couldn't. The excitement was too much!"

Now he withdrew a long slim knife from inside his coat; he looked at Kai as the blade flashed in the light and he grinned.

"This is more like it, I can stab you again and again, make you feel pain, hurt you, torture you, punish you. After all, this is all your fault"

"I thought it was" the phoenix replied shoving his hands in to his pockets to maintain a relaxed approach "but it was not my choice that you saved me, not my choice that you should risk your life for me"

Suddenly, in a flash faster than light, Tony was angry; he bared his teeth and roared at Kai, brandishing the knife though the phoenix was a good few feet away "NOT YOUR FAULT!" he shouted "of course it's your fault! You and your stupid little childish mind that couldn't keep away from a power that you didn't know how to handle! You think it's not your fault, YOU'RE WRONG!"

"It is not my responsibility that you succumbed to Black Dranzer's power and madness" Kai said devoid of any emotion "you knew the risk, it was your choice to intervene. You could have let me die"

"And been punished by Voltaire!" now Tony laughed again, it was an angry laugh without humour but he had at least lowered the knife "madness or punishment, what a choice!"

"I admit it wasn't a good choice, either way you would lose" Kai accepted "but my grandfather sees his family as useful models, he would have had my Mother have another child and he would have tried again with the newer model"

"That may be, but he would have still killed me!" Tony pointed out loudly.

"He would not have done" the phoenix disagreed "the only reason you were at the Abbey in the first place was because he thought you were strong, he would still have had a use for you and therefore not have killed you" he looked at Tony without feeling or even interest "you made the wrong choice, Tony, you chose madness over punishment and that was the worse choice to make out of the two"

"Oh? So it's my fault?" Tony pointed at himself in mock understanding "I see, it's all my fault. I suppose I should have seen that before"

"You were just there at the wrong time, you made the wrong choice and because of that you suffered" Kai replied "it's no one's fault, I was stupid to believe I could control Black Dranzer back then and you were stupid to make the wrong choice"

"Yeah, well that's what you think!" Tony sneered nastily, his heavy sarcastic voice had been replaced by a cynical tone instead "and what does Bryan think of all this?"

Bryan had been standing frozen to the spot since Tony had appeared; he hadn't looked at Tony, not once. But he had listened to the whole conversation as it had bounced back and forth between the phoenix and his old comrade; he had looked out over the snow filled land about them as in the corner of his vision Tony had danced around. Now, however, he turned abruptly aware that Kai's gaze was fixed on him also; Tony was standing there the knife held loosely in his hand.

He was taller than Bryan remembered and he realised that Tony too had only been young back then; it was strange to think that this scraggy, thin, callous man had once been a healthy strong wiry youngster whom Bryan had grudgingly obeyed. Tony's eyes were gaunt and dark; the circles beneath them were deep and sunk in to his face, he looked almost like a ghost. Like the ghost of a man who had once existed.

Madness had not been kind to Tony.

"You've changed" Tony said looking Bryan up and down "much stronger than you were, and meaner. But I never thought I'd see you standing next to the phoenix"

Bryan said nothing, he merely watched Tony who waved the knife around languidly.

"Boris told me about the little dalliance you two had going, I'd call it cute if it wasn't for the fact you two were fucking crazy" Tony sniggered "you know it won't last, it can't last. You two are nothing but opposites and Bryan's too violent to keep his anger under control"

Bryan's jaw tightened and his fists clenched, but it was Kai who answered, "if you're here to kill me then I doubt anything plans to last very long"

"Quite" Tony nodded and his face grew dark "I am here to kill you"

"Boris told you to wait" the phoenix reminded him.

"Ah, I cannot wait!" Tony growled savagely "I shall not wait!" he tightened his hand on the knife and held it out front of him "in fact, I SHALL NOT WAIT ANOTHER MOMENT!"

He flew at Kai, diving for the phoenix with such speed that Kai realised too late he'd under estimated him; he slipped out the way, but Tony had been trained by Boris as Kai had and he was ready for it. His arm reached out and pulled Kai back; Kai fought back, but Tony knew it all, and he had Kai in a lock. With a strength that seemed almost inhuman Tony pulled Kai's head back revealing the pale neck.

He raised the knife to Kai's throat, his ragged breath on Kai's face "and now you DIE!"

"Let go of him"

Tony looked up in surprise as if he'd forgotten they weren't alone; Bryan was standing in front of him, in his hand was the gun Tony had discarded earlier. Kai cursed under his breath; in hindsight he'd realised it was good to be captured by Tony, in preparation to turn the knife on him. It was the only way Kai could kill Tony before Tony killed him, but the phoenix hadn't wanted Bryan to get involved.

Tony stared at him, and then he laughed, "oh put the gun down, Bryan, you would never hurt me!"

"Tala, I have been waiting" Boris said he watched the wolf pull the reluctant neko-jin closer "you're later than you said you would be"

"That doesn't matter, I have brought him as you asked" Tala replied gesturing to Ray whom he still had close to him.

Boris smiled at Ray who looked back with a snarl and a hiss "I must say I was surprised" he told the redhead "when you directly disobeyed my orders I thought it was because you had gone to save Ray's life, and yet here you are bringing him to me"

"I know how much you want to study him" the redhead answered calmly "it seemed such a waste to simply let him die without at least a little research"

"Indeed" Boris agreed "I cannot say how disappointed I was when I had to kill him off, I'm so pleased that you brought him to me"

"And I am pleased to have given you something you wanted"

"It gladdens me to hear that, Tala" Boris spoke in soft tones, he looked from Tala to Ray and back again "it has put my faith back in you, for a moment I was worried you had betrayed me"

Tala fixed Boris with his azure eyes "I would never do that"

"Are you sure? You have behaved erratically just recently, I was beginning to think you were confused as to where your loyalties lie"

"I am not confused" the wolf assured him in the same slow calm voice "in fact, I have never doubted for a moment where my loyalties stand"

A look passed between them, monster and solider; Ray's eyes flickered from Tala's incomprehensible expression to the tight long callous hand that gripped his arm in a vice. A few times he'd struggled against Tala's hold, but each time the wolf's hand only tightened harder and so Ray had been forced to stop. His heart was thumping in his chest and his mouth was dry.

The air around them was cold, but it was nothing compared to the look in Tala's eyes. Had Ray been so wrong about him? Had his senses really let him down this badly? His instincts had never been wrong before, and he'd been so sure that he was right about Tala. But then again, not so long ago he'd been sure there was no good in Tala at all. Not so long ago he had hated Tala, and everything about him.

And now look where he was. He'd submitted to Tala. Relied on him. Trusted him. Gone against Kai's judgement because he'd been so sure he was right. And he'd been wrong. Badly wrong. That mistake would get him killed; this time there was no escape, no one to help him, no one to trust. It was funny how one mistake could take away his very breath.

Sometimes life just wasn't fair.

"So, where do I take him?" Tala asked "down in to the cellars, or in to one of the cells"

"I think I'll have him in my laboratory" Boris answered digging in to his coat and pulling out a clump of rope which he then flung at Tala "tie his wrists, I know how resourceful this neko-jin can be"

Without releasing Ray Tala leant down for the rope; straightening he pulled Ray round to face him taking both his wrists and lashing the rope tightly around.

"Tala, you don't have to do this!" Ray whispered quickly in one last desperate attempt to reach a part of Tala that was human "you don't, you don't have to obey him, you can turn away!"

"I didn't say you could speak" was Tala's only reply as he knotted the rope and re-knotted it again.

"Please, Tala, I'm asking you not to do this! What do I have to do to make you stop?" Ray persisted "do I have to beg?"

"Nothing will stop me" the wolf said in a hard voice, he almost glared at Ray "I'm going to get what I want, and that means I'm going to give you to Boris"

"But Boris torture me, experiment on me, he'll dissect me, and he'll make you help just to prove a point!"

"I'm afraid Tala won't be living long enough to help me in my research"

Boris's cool voice floated over to them so gently it was almost like the soft touch of a summer breeze, but it was hard, embittered and mean. As one Tala and Ray froze, the golden eyes fixed on blue as slowly Tala looked from Ray's tied wrists to the man he'd served for so long.

Boris was standing a few feet closer than he had been, in his hand there was a gun and it pointed straight at Tala, Boris gave him a simpering chuckle and asked in a menacing voice "did you really think I was that stupid?"

The climax approaches! Death will happen, and I'm torn...torn between a decision that I can't make yet. All will become clear but I don't know whether I'm going to let him live or die. Hmmm.

Anyway, that's the next chapter, and this chapter is over.

So, I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review.

Thanks for reading!

Kiki

Kisses!