Cat's Cradle Chapter 31, a beyblade fanfic

Oooooo this is a long one, I apologize for that but at the same time I was trying to get everything in and STILL didn't manage to do it like I wanted so we'll have another chapter after this and then HOPEFULLY the epilogue and ending.

Won't keep ya long but wanted to thank everyone for their reviews last chapter, really brightened my day after being in bed sick for so long.

Anywho, enjoy and see ya when I see ya. Take care and till next time!

Everyone was close to hysterics with the news they'd just received once Nikita forced Kain back to the inner Village, making him tell their parents what was going on and what the voice in his head had told him.

Ray hadn't wanted to believe it at first, even with Brooklyn already giving him fair warning before, but there was no way he could deny that there was a part of Black living inside his son just like it was Kai and even more so since Kain's DNA was made up of Black's own DNA.

There hadn't been much time to get into it with him at the moment, Lee taking over in starting the process of moving their people and getting ready for the war that they were supposed to have days to still prepare for as he barked out everyone's orders and then disappeared out of the room first.

For once the Elders had no words of protest as they were quickly ushered out of the room by Mariah, Brooklyn quickly sweeping out with them in order to prepare the portal that would link the Village to the Silver Backs closer to the hospital for those who needed it first.

While more and more of their friends left the room; Tyson rushing off to gather Hilary and their son in order to get them out of the Village, and Max going with Bryan and Kenny to the armory for their weapons they'd need, everything already seemed to be in chaos with how quick things were moving along.

It felt like Kain had only just blinked when the room was still full and crowded, where he had to go and openly admit to what he'd been hearing the past few weeks inside his head to everyone there and then they were gone in one direction or another till the only ones left in the room were him and his family.

With the room being emptied, Tala began his approach to where Kain was frozen to the spot at the front of the room where Ray had been standing during the meeting prior. Before he could get close enough an alarm went off overhead, jolting the four of them all inside the room as the shrill scream pierced right through their heightened hearing.

Nikita clapped her hands over her ears, face scrunched as the sound was barely dulled out by the cover of her hands.

"What is that?!"

"Lee probably sounded the alarm to let the whole Village know what's going on!" Ray had to shout back to her just so she could hear him over the noise, quickly turning to Tala who looked just as pained as they did given his heightened sense thanks to Wolborg.

"We should head home, get what we need and then meet the other's!"

"You take them home, I'll go meet up with Bryan and Spencer at the armory!" Tala shouted back instead.

Ray nodded to him, looking to his still frozen son and Nikita with her hands pushing tighter over her ears to block out the alarms deafening screech.

"C'mon!" He hollered, motioning for them to come with him.

Nikita moved quickly, hands not moving from the side of her head as she rushed out of the room and down the hall ahead of them.

Kain wasn't as quick to move from his spot, his chest heaving on him as his heart slammed in his chest.

Was there a way he could have prevented this from happening? He'd been hearing that voice for weeks now, surely he could have said something sooner but then what? He had doubted that anyone would have believed him to start with, and even then he didn't fully know who it was that had even been talking to him.

Now that he knew who it was this whole time, realizing that he had a deeper connection with the being that was making its way towards them at the moment, he felt like he really couldn't do anything at all but just stand there.

Was this how Anette knew where the Village was, because of his connection to Black?

It was the only thing that made sense given how they'd been in hiding for months with no reason to believe she had a clue on where to find them. It was only until after Brooklyn returned, aged him and his sister up where they came into their powers quicker, and in turned awakened that link to Black Dranzer till Brooklyn had the vision of Anette's arrival.

But what was the point in worrying about how she found them now? It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things but it put another weight on Kain's shoulders that he couldn't carry.

"Kain!" Ray called, trying to snap him out of his thoughts that had a tight hold on him since he'd been calling for him for some time that even Tala had finally made it out of the room on his own after Nikita.

Kain blinked, his father's voice barely making it through the alarms blaring tone and his own louder and crushing thoughts.

"I'm sorry…" He let out in a whisper but meant it.

"Let's go." Ray repeated, putting a hand to Kain's back and gently pushing to him to move.

His feet moved without him making them, the gentle push on his back guiding him out of the room where the sounds of the alarms weren't as harsh as they had been but had left a ringing sensation in his eardrums none the less.

Ray kept his hand on Kain's back, leading him down the long hallway and to the main doors that had been left open in everyone else's haste to get to where they needed to be. Once outside the alarms were still going but not as loud as they had been inside the small condensed room, though the scene out in the open wasn't any easier to bear as people were scattering and running towards the hospital in droves.

Some of the Village's guards were there, trying to keep the crowds calm and orderly as they fashioned lines and barricades to keep people from causing more of a problem for them. The guns that were issued to them for the final fight strapped to their chests and snug in the holsters on their hips, their bodies decked in their armor that Emily and Judy had worked tirelessly on day and night for the past several weeks.

It was too crowded and unsafe to try and drive back home, leaving the Jeep there parked in front of the building they'd just come from where Nikita had been standing beside it waiting for them, her hands now resting at her sides and eyes wide watching the chaos unfold around them as the sun began to set and the color of the sky grew dim.

"Nikita, you need to get to the house, put your armor on like we talked about. Do you understand me?" Ray instructed when he reached her, putting a hand on her shoulder and gaining her attention from the crowd of people.

"Y-yes."

"Good, take the back roads home, they shouldn't be too crowded right now for you to be able to get there faster. Wait for me there."

Nikita gave a nod, Ray releasing her shoulder from his light grasp and in a blink she was gone in a light-blue blur of light with a cloud of dust being left in her wake.

Turning to Kain, Ray put both hands on his shoulders to make him look away from the crowd like Nikita had been doing.

"I need you to do the same. You hear me?" Ray asked sternly.

Kain hadn't torn his eyes away from the people, listening to their scared voices instead as they filed through the makeshift lines and barricades not even twelve feet away from them.

Through the crowd he could make out the familiar faces of his neighbors, saw the terror reflecting in their eyes and the way they were packed with no more than what they could carry on their backs, leaving whatever other possessions the owned behind.

Confused children were crying, parents trying to keep them calm as best they could while they themselves were just as terrified as their children were. Those more elderly were being helped through the dense lines so they weren't accidentally trampled or pushed over.

He could see the ones that were having to stay behind further back, hugging their loved ones goodbye with tears in their eyes and streaking down their faces. He could see the way Hilary clung around Tyson's neck like it'd be the last time she'd ever see him, their son squished between them and not looking like he understood any better than any of the other children did as to what was going on in all the chaos.

A little further down there was Gary, having to say goodbye to his husband and their four children just the same. Salima was stood there with both her children either side of her in line waiting to be allowed through, Johnny and Oliver waiting their turn not far from them.

It was all just as heartbreaking as it was terrifying that those leaving behind their loved ones may not ever see them again.

"It will all burn to the ground."

"Kain, c'mon I need you to focus for me." Ray's voice filtered through, snapping Kain back to reality for a second time as his head snapped towards Ray stood there in front of him.

"He won't stop…" Kain's voice shook out of him as tears budded in his eyes, "I hear Him, louder now. Clearer now…"

"Ignore Him, you listen to me." Ray instructed, ignoring the way his own heart sunk into his gut with a hard and fast plummet.

"I need you to get home, get on your armor and wait for me and Tala to get there. Can you do that?"

"Y-yeah."

"Take the back roads, don't stop till you get there."

"Okay."

"Go then, now." Ray said, letting Kain go and stepping back from him.

Kain hesitated for a second, eyes locked on Ray's as a thicker film of tears clouded his vision.

"You can't save them."

Tearing his eyes away from Ray, he took off in a red flash of light, the wind kicking up from where he'd been standing and tossing Ray's hair and clothes about as he watched him take off.

Once he knew Kain was doing as he asked, Ray took himself in the opposite direction towards the hospital where Brooklyn would be posted holding the portal for his people.

Being let through the barricades, eyes sweeping through the crowd of people who were slowly being let through, he found Brooklyn just outside the doors of the hospital where a large moving black mass was formed just beside Brooklyn that people were walking into and then disappearing inside of.

"How long can you hold this?" Ray asked once he came to stand to the other side of Brooklyn, eyeing the portal warily.

"As long as I need to." Brooklyn answered, his right arm up and palm open where more of the moving black mass streamed from it, feeding into the portal he'd made to keep it from closing.

"You're going to deplete yourself before they get here. We need to figure out something else for the barrier."

"Don't worry, I'll be able to make one when they get here."

"Are you sure?" Ray pressed, unable to help the feeling that Brooklyn was lying.

Their entire plan rested on the barrier Brooklyn was able to produce, if it fell at any point because Brooklyn had already weakened himself then their plans were going to fall through completely. If the Savages had free roam of the Village there'd be nothing left of it for anyone to return to, they could spread out further past the Village to the other ones closest to them and cause more death and bloodshed. If Anette and Black weren't contained then that just spelled more disaster for them all and the rest of the world.

It wasn't like their plans weren't already starting to crumble between their fingers though either. Anette wasn't supposed to be coming before they were to evacuate the Village, Brooklyn was supposed to have the time he'd need to regain his strength after opening the portal in order to have enough of it to make the barrier to hold for as long as he could during the fighting. That had been the plan and while good on paper in the here and now it wasn't going to work.

"I am, you don't need to worry." Brooklyn reassured.

"The hospital has been cleared already, the Elders have made it through, I'll make sure everyone here gets out. You have my word. You need to get ready, make sure the kids are ready and I'll meet you once this is done."

"Okay…" Ray sighed, doing what Brooklyn said and leaving him there while more people were filed through and evacuated through the portal.

Before taking himself home like he said he would, he made more stops along the way, making sure and double checking that everyone who was staying back were preparing like they had just planned to do.

They only had less than four hours to get things ready and already an hour had passed since Kain informed them of what he'd been told, the Village people were still being ushered through the portal, the guards were still being fitted with weapons and armor while those he needed to stay back still had to get their units ready and where they needed to be.

Taking a quick detour before he made it home, most of the streets clearer now that the majority of the Village had made it to the inner square towards the hospital, Ray headed to the armory where Tala had said he was going.

There was still a line of guards stood at the front of the building awaiting to retrieve their weapons and last second orders, Ray walking past them to the front.

They had reserve upon reserve of serum filled bullets to the point Ray was surprised Kenny was still standing and among the living after having worked himself nearly to death perfecting and mass producing what they needed, but like everyone else around him he was eternally grateful that Kenny had managed it and still lived and breathed with them.

"Hey, you need to get yourself ready." Ray said the second he saw Tala handing out ammunition and weapons alongside Bryan, Max, and Spencer.

While Spencer was the only one adorning the new armor Judy and Emily had made, Tala and the other two were not.

"Bry, you go ahead and get set up." Tala instructed without missing a beat and passed off another gun to an awaiting guard who took it and filed out of the line to where they needed to be posted.

"No, you need to come too." Ray interjected, "We don't know how soon they'll be here."

"Mariah's already getting my stuff from the house. Let me do this." Tala nearly bit back at him, only stopping a short second in what he was doing to send Ray a warning glance before going back to passing off the weapons.

Ray held in the sigh, but what more could be said or done about it if Tala wasn't going to listen?

"Okay, once you're done we're going to meet up at the rendezvous point." He settled on saying instead.

"Got it. Go get yourself ready." Tala said, getting back into what he was doing to keep the line moving and hands fitted with weapons.

"Here, before you go." Spencer jumped in, stopping Ray from leaving as he held out an earpiece for him like he'd been doing for the others who had come in through the line that were designated to have one.

"Frequency six." He said, dropping the little black piece into the palm of Ray's opened hand.

"Right, does Mariah have one already?" Ray asked as he fitted the piece into his ear.

"She does, should be back here in a few minutes."

"Make sure Tyson gets one when he comes by, he was still with Hilary by the hospital. Gary as well. I want whatever weapons we have left over with Judy and the others in her unit, make sure they stay outside the barrier in case we need them. The streets are clearer now so we can use the trucks to transport." Ray instructed before he went to take his leave.

"Kit!" Tala called just as Ray went to turn and walk away, effectively halting Ray's steps.

"Here." Tala held out the two guns to him, one that would strap to Ray's back and one to have around his hips with two extra magazines for both.

Ray took them, strapping the larger gun to his back first before fitting the holster around his hips and holding the magazines at his sides.

"I'll see you soon, kay?" Tala assured, seeing right through the front Ray was and had been putting on for the sake of everyone else around him.

Ray nodded back to him, damning the way his eyes wanted water on him and quickly tore himself away from Tala to make his way to his last destination.

Tala watched his retreating back, the street lamps flickering on as the sky got darker with the setting sun and another hour had passed them by.

Keeping his feet moving in a fast pace along the empty streets, Ray pressed his finger into the earpiece that was snug inside it.

"Communications check, I need names and statuses now."

Mariah was the first to answer back, giving him her location and all that she'd been doing since the alarms had been sounded. Judy was next, letting him know that her unit was already ready and stationed where they needed to be.

The list continued, others coming in through the earpiece till he had a good count of who was prepared and who wasn't just yet while he prayed for more time.

"The weapons are fixing to be moved to the medical unit, if you're not fitted with one yet and can't make it to the armory head to where the medical unit is to pick up your weapon." Ray instructed to those who needed it, picking up his pace once he got onto his street.

"Mariah, I need you to find Brooklyn to get him an earpiece and make sure he's fitted with his weapons and armor."

"He's still holding the portal at the hospital, there's less than forty people still waiting to go through." Lee informed through the earpiece.

"I'll get to him." Mariah confirmed after.

"Lee, how's he looking?" Ray questioned as he stopped just outside the front door of his house.

"He says he's good." Lee answered after a second of silence as if he'd doubled checked with Brooklyn before he responded.

"Right…. Once the last of our people are through let me-" Ray got cut off as the ground beneath his feet rattled violently, the windows to the house shaking as the door he grabbed onto shook on its hinges without warning.

It was like an earthquake had hit, the ground still vibrating as he tried to steady himself more against the door while just behind it he could hear Nikita and Kain yell in their own shocked panic at what was suddenly happening around them.

As the tremors slowed there was a loud explosion to the west of him, his ears perking at the sound and making his head turn to where it came from in time to see a large cloud of black smoke rising off in the distance near the outskirts of the Village, the darkening sky lighting up and being illuminated by the flames that followed as more smoke filled the air.

With his heart in his throat he yanked the front door open, nearly pulling it off its hinges as he rushed inside to check on his kids who were slowly standing back up from the floor like they'd been knocked off their feet during the tremors.

"What was that?!" Nikita yelled as she got to her feet.

"I don't know. Are you two okay?" Ray asked as he rushed up to check on her, turning to Kain quickly only to watch him fall back down to his knees the second he stood up, hunched over and holding the sides of his head as if he was in pain.

"Kain!" They both dropped to their own knees around him as his fingers clenched at his hair tighter and a gut wrenching scream came out of him.

"Get out of my head!"

Ray didn't know what to do but put his hand on Kain's back, Nikita looking between her brother and father worriedly with no idea on what to do or even if she could do anything while the frantic voices in Ray's earpiece were all trying to talk at once and over one another about what had just happened.

Yanking the damn thing out of his ear and throwing it on the floor to hear and focus better on Kain, Ray turned back to him as more screams ripped through his throat.

"Kain, listen to me, you're going to be okay. You have to fight Him."

As he went to rub at Kain's back in a means of comfort, Kain's heat spiked and burnt him, forcing his hand away quickly. Nikita jumped in, both hands reaching out as frost covered the palms and fingers of her hands as she reached them out, placing them over the back of Kain's neck under his hair line in a bid to stop the heat from spreading beyond his control.

At the connection steam rose, the frost melting instantly that she was forced to create more and more each time, the white soft powdery substance growing along her wrists to her elbows to compensate for how much of it was melting against Kain's skin and evaporating before it even had time to touch his burning skin.

"Control it." Ray instructed harshly, holding his burnt hand with his uninjured one and trying to ignore the pain that coursed through it to his arm.

"I can't!" Kain cried back, his body shivering as the cold from his sister's powers seeped into his heated skin as more of his own powers slipped out of him without him wanting them to.

"You have to!"

Kain's eyes scrunched, his claws embedding into the sides of his head where he'd been gripping so tightly to his hair that he'd started pulling it from the roots. Thin lines of blood began to run down the sides of his head from where his claws had pierced into his own skin, while his body heaved with every deep breath he took in order to try and control his heat before it went out of control.

"Burn it."

Ray had to step back the moment he could feel sweat rolling down his face, letting his burnt hand go to his side as another pained scream ripped out of Kain's mouth. He didn't know what to do to help him or even Nikita as more of the frost she'd created had engulfed her up to her shoulders, crystals of ice starting to form on her neck and her lips were turning blue due to her own powers fighting against her.

"Nikita, that's enough."

She glanced up at him, wanting to protest but her teeth clacked and she'd already lost all feeling in her fingers that she couldn't hold it for much longer anyways and pulled her hands away.

The heat around Kain expanded out quicker without his sister trying to tame it, it melting the rest of the frost covering her arms instantly and bringing back some feeling to her fingers. Leaving her sitting around in a puddle of melted frost and ice on the floor beside him, the water steaming due to the heat so close by as the air started to quiver around them.

Like Ray, she jumped away before she was burnt by the heat alone, giving a questioning look to Ray who missed it as he was too focused on looking down at Kain trying to think of what to do for him.

Before either of them could come up with anything themselves, Mariah and Lee both appeared in their own flashes of lights, standing there in the living room beside Ray and taking a small step back away from the immense heat that had filled the small house.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked, eyes glancing to Kain worriedly.

"It's Black…" Ray breathed back, unable to tear his eyes away from his son and feeling more helpless than he'd ever felt in his life.

"They're here, we couldn't get a hold of you." Lee informed, turning to Ray.

"You need to get ready, we'll figure out what to do with him."

"Don't-touch-me!" Kain growled up at him as the color of his eyes flickered to black rapidly.

"The explosion, that was them?" Ray questioned.

Lee and Mariah nodded, "They're only a few kilometers out of where we set up, but they're coming in fast and we need you." Lee said, having to take another step back from where Kain was hunched over on the floor as the heat singed him.

"Mariah, take Nikita to Brooklyn." Ray instructed quickly.

"Baba no, what about Kain?"

"We'll figure something out, you need to get to where you need to be so you're safe." Ray argued, looking to Mariah pleadingly that she'd just grab Nikita and run.

Mariah saw the look, her heart sinking to her stomach though did what she was asked of and stepped around Kain towards Nikita.

For every step Mariah took towards her, Nikita took one step back till she was backed into the wall and had nowhere else to run to.

"I can't leave him!" She cried as Mariah grabbed onto her upper arm.

"You have to!" Ray yelled, "He'll be alright, I promise." He voiced less harshly.

"It's going to be okay." Mariah tried to soothe but had no actual way of promising that to her.

"And what about you?" Nikita argued against Ray.

"I'll be fine, you need to find your father."

Every part of her told her to stay, that there had to be something she could do to help her brother as more screams tore through his throat and more of his blood trickled down his face. The heat his body had been expelling now filled the house to the point the air had gone stale, it burning their lungs every time they breathed and opened their mouths to talk.

There really wasn't much they could do. He had to control it, pull it back in and fight Black's influence over him.

Hesitantly she pulled her back from the wall she'd backed into, letting Mariah pull her the rest of the way yet couldn't tear her eyes away from her brother on the floor as they walked around him to the door that had been left open since Ray had barreled through it earlier.

"Keep her safe, please." Ray stopped them before they made it out the door.

"She'll be alright." Mariah reassured with a soft smile before the two of them were gone in a mixed blur of blue and pink lights.

"You, go get ready." Lee ordered Ray once the girls were gone.

Ray nodded, rushing to his bedroom where he and Tala had stashed their armor some days ago in the closet.

Crouching down to Kain's level, Lee just looked at him as the poor boy argued with himself under his breath, taking note of how he was shaking and trembling and the way the color of his eyes kept flickering to black more rapidly.

"You're stronger than Him. You can fight it."

Kain shook his head, barely hearing Lee's own voice right there by his head over Black's voice inside it.

"You can! You have to if you're going to survive this! You worried about hurting the people you care about and if you don't stop Him then they're going to get hurt regardless. Is that what you want?!"

"NO!"

"Then fight it!" Lee shouted louder.

Taking in a deeper breath through his mouth, Kain tried, tried like he'd been doing as he willed his heat to come back to him. The thought of him hurting his family and friends stinging his chest just as it always did, knowing that if he couldn't fight Black's influence then it would be their blood on his hands and he couldn't live with himself if it came to that.

Slowly, the heat that had filled the house began to shrink back into him, burning his own skin in the process and making him scream again as the pain hit instantly and turned red like he'd touched an open flame. Pieces of his flesh split open due to the heat, his regenerative powers trying to heal him over as more of his skin split open in different spots down his arms.

"C'mon, you can do it." Lee continued to encourage beside him, knowing how much pain Kain was putting himself through just to recall his heat.

The temperature in the house began to drop as more of the heat came back to Kain, his fangs biting into his lower lip and drawing more blood as he tried to bite back the screams of pain as more of his skin ripped apart and healed.

He wouldn't let his family get hurt because of him. He couldn't let them get hurt because of him. He had to protect them, at all costs.

As more of the heat returned, Ray finally came out of the room, having dressed as quickly as he could in the light weight armor they'd been issued and rushed back to Kain's side.

Carefully he touched his back, the palm of his hand being singed slightly but kept it there.

"Baba…"

"I'm here, you're doing great."

"I'm so… Tired…"

"I know."

With the rest of the heat coming back to him, his wounds closing fully over now without his skin splitting open again, Kain's body swayed as he pulled to sit himself up from the crouch he'd been in. His eyes fluttered as he tried to keep them open but they fell closed despite his best efforts, body following and almost hitting the ground if it wasn't for Ray catching him before he face planted the floor.

"My poor baby…" Ray whispered as he held Kain in his arms, brushing back his soaked bangs from his pale sleeping and exhausted face.

"What do we do about him?" Lee asked in a hard breath.

"I can't leave him here by himself. But I'm afraid that if we take him closer to where Black is he's going to lose complete control."

"We can put him somewhere away from the fighting." Lee suggested, "Lock him in the armory or something."

"I can't…" Ray shook his head, gripping onto Kain's limp body tighter like Lee was fixing to snatch him away any moment.

"Then bring him. It's a risk but we don't have time to deal with this." Lee huffed irritably, rising to his feet.

"If that means we're putting our numbers in more danger than so be it, but we can't waste more time here."

Ray nodded, knowing Lee was right but that fear he had was gripping tight to his chest, feeling like someone had their hands around his throat and suffocating him to the point it was too hard to breathe.

Kain hadn't even been able to get changed into his armor since he was in the same clothes he'd picked out that morning, but with him knocked out cold Ray had no choice but to pick him up into his arms as he stood and take Kain with him as he was.

As they made it out of the house the ground began to tremble under their feet again, shaking more violently than the first time as another loud explosion went off and off in the distance they could faintly hear the inhuman screeching of Anette's Savages echo through the air from where the explosion had come from.

The bright lights of what he assumed to be a fire in the distance were getting closer now as well, the night sky more lit up than what it should have been given the time of night.

"We have to go." Was all Lee said before he disappeared in his own black flash of light and was gone.

Ray stood there outside the front of his house, holding Kain in his arms tighter as he turned and glanced over to where he was sure Anette and her army were approaching from and could barely make out the darker forms that littered the sky by the thousands, blocking out the few stars that had started to appear overhead and heading their way.

He swallowed the bile that began to rise into his throat, his grip on Kain getting tighter as his eyes swelled with tears.

"Kai…"

The burnt and dead grass crunched under their feet as they marched onward, more patches of it dying beneath their feet with every step while the air quivered from the heat the two of them emitted together.

The outskirts of the Village finally came into view just over the horizon of the small hill they'd climbed to the top of after making their way through a large clearing.

Behind them the fires they'd started raged on, burning down the forests in their wake and lighting up the night sky where it casted shadows over their backs. Dark clouds of smoke billowed and swept around with the hot wind around them, rising higher and higher into the sky where her children hovered in the air awaiting her orders while those that weren't gifted with the power of flight surrounded around her person as they stopped on the top of the hill with her.

Taking a moment to pause, Anette took in the view from the hill she had come to stand on, breathing in the heavy and stale air and letting it out slowly in a grand gesture of contentment.

Years of careful planning had brought her here, finally what she sought for and fought for was right there laying somewhere behind those walls waiting for her.

She took a moment more to admire the view, revel in her victory that was now closer to her than it ever had been.

Turning to the pale face beside her once she was done with admiring how far she'd come to make her dream a reality, her lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Bring me my baby, kill the rest."

There wasn't a nod of the head or even a glance in her direction before He started to walk forward through the sea of Savages, the beings parting for Him to take the lead as more of the grass died and wilted under His feet as He walked down the other side of the hill.

Anette's smile didn't fade as she watched the way her children began to follow behind Him, staying back as the blackened and tarred bodies obediently followed His lead.

Once He got further away from her His wings stretched out, feathers ruffling for a moment before they swooped Him into the sky with the other Savages who had been waiting for their orders.

By the sight of all the darkened bodies moving it looked like the night sky had come alive as the swarm followed, their skeletal wings flapping back and kicking them through the air effortlessly behind Him while those on the ground continued to march onward, picking up their pace to keep up until the entire swarm was in a dead run towards the Village's border.

Taking her time, Anette leisurely strolled along behind them, her blood-red wings folded at her backside as she made her way down the side of the hilltop behind her army and creating a new path of dead grass under her feet.

From upon his perch of the tallest building they were needing to sacrifice, Brooklyn's eyes widened as he watched the sky moving towards them, gaining speed as more and more of the stars in the sky disappeared behind the Savage's bodies as more seemed to appear from nowhere.

He pressed a finger into the earpiece he had placed inside it, trying to keep his voice calm for the sake of Nikita standing there beside him while Kain lay on the top of the roof unconscious still.

"They're approaching now."

"How far out?" Lee questioned.

"Four kilometers out." Brooklyn informed.

"Brooklyn…" Nikita's voice shook out of her as fear seized her body, eyes on the moving black mass that was approaching them from the sky.

"You're safe with me." He assured as he turned to look at her over his shoulder briefly, turning back to try and get a number that Lee had just asked for.

"I don't know…" He answered, pressing the earpiece again. "There's some on the ground approaching too, but I can't make out just how many because of how dark it is."

"Dammit." Lee hissed, tearing his hand away from his own earpiece and glanced around at the men that were entrusted into his care.

"Take your places!" He barked out, making the people around him scatter into position.

"Brooklyn, get the barrier going so we can keep them contained." Lee ordered into the earpiece.

"On it."

Nikita's eyes widened as Brooklyn's arms slowly rose from his sides, a black foggy mist coming from his body and encasing around him. The black feathers of his wings rustled as a breeze swept by them, the pupils of his eyes slitting down into more of a point than what hers did while around the perimeter they'd set up a translucent-like substance began to encase them all, creating a dome shape as it rose into the sky higher above them from all sides trapping them and the buildings they were needing to use, separating them from the rest of the Village and the Medical Unit stationed just outside the designated perimeter.

More of the barrier spread out, creating a wall that would block the Savages from going around it and infiltrating the Village a different way, giving them only one entrance into their trap.

Brooklyn's arms shook, the strain of having to create such a large barrier and needing to hold it taking it's toll quickly due to him having to hold the portal for those leaving the Village open for as long as he did weakening him.

He had barely a few hours of recovery time and while he swore to Ray that he would be able to do this for them, for Ray, he wasn't so sure just how long he'd be able to keep the barrier up now.

The black mass in the sky was coming closer, getting close enough that those stationed on the tops of the buildings scattered throughout their perimeter could make out the skeletal wings and tarred bodies as more followed in behind them at increasing speeds.

There at the front of the masses was Black, coal colored wings beating back harder and faster, gliding His body through the air as His blackened eyes scanned the surrounding scene that was coming into view.

The connection He'd had with Kain was severed, even if only so slightly, eyes scanning and looking for him like He'd been instructed to do that He ended up taking the Savages right through the opening of Brooklyn's barrier without realizing there had been a trap set and waiting for them.

"I see him." Tala announced through the earpiece, crouching down lower from his position on the rooftop he'd come to stand on and shifted the heavy gun on his shoulder as he went to take his shot.

"Not yet Tala!" Ray yelled at him, having too taken notice of Kai coming through from his own rooftop further away from where Tala was stationed, watching the swarm of Savages following after Him in the sky and those coming in through the opening of the barrier on foot.

"We need to make sure they all get through. If you fire now it could scatter them."

Tala huffed a breath, keeping his scope trained on Kai and his finger close to the trigger in order to take the shot when he got permission to do so.

"Have we got a visual on Anette?" Lee questioned.

"Not yet." Tyson answered from his position on the closest building to where the perimeter of the barrier had been set up, being positioned there due to his armored skin and being their first line of air defense.

He ducked back down for cover as more Savages flew in overhead unaware of his presence at the moment thanks to the cover of night as they followed behind Kai further into the Village.

Outside the perimeter, Anette finally approached the border of the Village and eyed the translucent substance that had surrounded it as she came to stand in front of the barrier, putting her hand to it to test it's strength.

Neither her heat or flames broke through it, the barrier fighting back and shoving her hand away from it harshly, making her fire burn herself in the process as it threw it back at her.

"Seems Kon didn't kill you after all, feathers." She mused aloud to herself, finding the opening of the barrier and taking her time in walking through.

In the sky, Black came to a stop and hovered, blackened out eyes scanning the rooftops and buildings that looked empty yet could sense the presence of everyone there even if He couldn't see them in the dark.

As He came to a stop so did the Savages that had been following after Him, the streets now littered in black masses and the top of the barrier blocked out by the bodies hanging in the air.

"Anette's through." Tyson quickly informed the moment he saw her step through.

"CLOSE IT!" Both Lee and Ray yelled to Brooklyn over the earpieces.

Brooklyn's trembling arms came together, hands clasping in front of him and with it the translucent walls he'd created to make the blockade to the rest of the Village quickly closed in around the entrance to the barrier like it was alive, closing Anette and her Savages within their walls with no escape.

"It's done…" He panted out, arms falling limp at his sides and ignoring the sweat trickling down his face as he focused on taking as much air into his lungs as he could.

"Take the shot." Lee ordered.

Tala pulled away from the wall he'd been hiding behind, the butt of the gun pressing into his shoulder tighter as he lined the barrel of it to where Kai was still just there hovering in the air.

A breath, one so small he barely heard it himself, was expelled from his lips as his finger pulled the trigger. The gun recoiled, pushing into his shoulder and making him stumble slightly given he didn't have his cane with him and a loud bang echoed around as the bullet flew out of the barrel, hurling towards it's intended target.

Turning to where the bang of the gun had come from, Black's body turned mid-air where the bullet careened towards Him only to melt from the immense heat He'd been emitting. That heat that been entrapping Him expanding quickly as He hovered in the air searching for whoever it was that had fired at Him.

As the bang alerted the Savages their mouths opened and those inhuman screams of theirs rippled through the air, tarred bodies scattering like ants on the ground while the ones in the sky took flight towards the top of the dome only to hit the barrier and were thrown back to the ground like flies being smacked out of the air.

"OPEN FIRE!" Lee screamed and more gun shots rang and ricocheted around inside the barrier at a deafening level as his men came out from hiding and the flood lights were kicked on, lighting the battle field up brightly and momentarily blinding some of them.

Anette smirked as her children screamed and the gunshots were going off, making her way through the sudden chaos that had kicked up around her like it didn't bother her any.

Tala could only gape as his eyes locked onto Black's now that the inside of the barrier had been lit up, the two staring one another down with Tala questioning why the bullet hadn't hit Him and ignoring the chaos that was going on.

He raised the gun that was strapped to his chest again, aiming directly at Kai's forehead this time instead of his back like he'd done before, pulling the trigger a second time where the gun recoiled into his shoulder, making him falter again.

Black dodged the second bullet quickly, it melting in the air regardless, and narrowed His body as His wings beat back against the stale air, dive-bombing down to where Tala was standing at a frightening speed.

Tala's right arm came up in a fast sweeping motion, a wall of ice shooting up from the ground to separate the two of them quickly as Kai landed on the rooftop before he even had time to really blink. Behind the wall of ice he could feel the heat coming from Kai's body, the ice already slowly melting as his ears twitched with every heavy step Kai took closer to the wall that separated them.

Lifting His own hand out towards the wall of ice, His heat making the air quiver more around them, the ice melted away quickly, leaving Him staring down the barrel of the gun as Tala had brought it back up at point blank range.

The metal of the gun burned through the gloves of his trembling hands yet he held onto it tighter, eyes staring into the soulless ones staring back at him, making his heart break at the same time.

In his head he knew that wasn't Kai, hadn't been him for some time, but having to look him in the face he couldn't stop the way his body shook and his bad leg threatened to buckle under him at any second.

Never in his life had he ever thought they'd be on opposite sides like this, having more than enough time to come to terms with it, yet when it came to pulling the trigger a third time he hesitate despite knowing the bullet wouldn't kill him.

All in all he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Black saw his hesitation while something in the back of His mind tried to tell Him something about this one.

He took a step forward, making the barrel of the gun press more firmly into His forehead as if in challenge for the other to shoot again, His eyes locked onto Tala's and not straying any. Knowing this one wasn't a threat to Him.

More and more sweat rolled down Tala's pale skin as he stood there trapped inside Black's heat, the metal of the gun searing his skin through his gloves as his trigger finger couldn't quite grip it right.

In the distance, but sounding like it had come from right beside him due to his heightened hearing, another gun shot rang through the air and somehow sounding louder than all the other ones already going off around them.

Black sensed it too as the bullet came right for the back of His head, quickly turning his head away from Tala to look over His shoulder only to have the bullet melt like all the ones before it once it hit the heated air around Him.

His eyes locked onto the person standing on top of another building further away, their gun still drawn up and ready to fire another shot at Him. His feathers ruffled in agitation before His wings spread out from His back, kicking back from the rooftop He was currently standing on, leaving Tala behind like he wasn't even worth His time now.

Tala couldn't keep his weight up anymore, his bad leg screaming in pain that he couldn't even stop himself from crumbling to his knees as he watched Kai take off towards the building Ray was stood on, the gun swinging on it's strap over his chest as he fell to the ground feeling helpless now.

He had the shot, could have taken it but he couldn't do it and he hated himself for it.

"Are you okay?" Ray's voice shook him some from his daze.

"No… I couldn't do it." Tala answered in a weak voice back to him, "The bullets are melting before they reach Him… Be careful."

Being given the news of how useless their ammunition was against Black just in time as He landed on the rooftop with him, Ray let the gun strapped around his chest go, it swinging around him and out of his way.

Black's eyes bore into Ray's, that same feeling that He had when being face-to-face with Tala coming back as something in the back of His head tried to tell Him something again.

He ignored it, not wasting time with this one as He could tell that Ray was a threat to Him and blue flames quickly spread out from the palms of His hands to His elbows.

Ray's pupils slit instantly, his skin pricking and already working up a sweat just from the heat that had followed Black over with Him.

Steadying and planting himself more firmly on the rooftop, thin lime-green bolts of lightning sparked along his shoulders and down his arms like they were alive and lighting struck overhead, shaking the foundation of the building they were standing on as the thunder roared around them.

In the sky above them more and more of the Savages were spreading out, taking it upon themselves to sweep through the opposing forces as the bullets ripped through their tarred bodies, stopping them from reaching their targets in time and dropping to the ground and rooftops quickly.

Those that were shot began to convulse violently, the tar-like substance that coated their bodies reacting like it was alive, stretching and pulling away from the Savage's human forms that lay underneath, their mouths gaping open and letting out blood curdling screams that shook everyone who witnessed the transformation down to their cores.

Bright pink flashes zipped between buildings and through the streets, Lee's own black lights following, interweaving between fallen bodies and those still reverting back as they tried to pick out ones that had fully returned to them amongst the chaos.

While they'd managed to take several Reverted back through the exit point of the portal they still had yet to make a real dent in Anette's army, doing their best to avoid getting in their people's way of the fighting and whatever else that crossed their paths.

Max's arms were already strained despite his superhuman strength, having to carry so many bodies to the trucks that would transport the Reverted back to the hospital for holding but he persisted even against his mother's wishes for him to take a break.

Spencer had been lost somewhere in the fray, being swamped by Savages that had been on the ground and made it somewhere near where Crusher and Steve's units were stationed, aiding them in shooting more of the Savages down with the Reversal serum.

They had losses as well though, bodies of their fallen men littering the ground as not all of them had been quick and fast enough to pull their triggers as the Savages had descended down upon them.

Their number was staggering in comparison to Anette's and she had still yet to be seen in the fray, Tyson having lost sight of her once he too became preoccupied in taking down the Savages in the sky, quickly getting overwhelmed as more of them rained down on top of him as they tried to tear and bite through his armored skin.

With a start, Kain had woken up some time ago when the first few gunshots had rung out around them, finding himself on a rooftop with Nikita and Brooklyn standing there watching the carnage unfold.

He'd been slow to come-to, his head pounding something awful and could feel the way his heat was trying to expand out on its own again.

Nikita was the first to notice him awake, helping him to his feet when he felt he was ready to stand, not letting his arm go once he was stood beside her as they both tried to look past the fighting and scattered bodies of Savages and their people to find their parents with worried eyes as they stood near the ledge of the building they were ordered to stay on.

While some of the Savages had clocked onto them they weren't able to penetrate the smaller barrier Brooklyn had put up around just the three of them, their bodies ricocheting off of the barrier and sending them back to the ground.

Though the longer he had to hold it and the larger one he could feel his own strength depleting quicker and quicker as the fighting continued to drag on.

There were too many Savages and he himself had yet been able to see where it was Anette had gone to as he'd lost her amongst the fighting below him.

"Where are they?" Kain asked, unable to find either Tala or Ray only to jump at the sound of thunder clapping loudly overhead.

Four or five blocks away they could see Ray on top of the building he was stationed upon, his body disappearing in flashes of lime-green lights while Black was stood there blocking and dodging every blow thrown at Him, blue fires spitting up from the ground from nowhere in a bid to attack back that in turn had Ray dodging more frantically lest he get caught up in the fire that had sprung up.

Bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, kicking up pieces of the building the two were on and filling the air with dust and debris as they hit around where Ray and Black were stood, blocking out the other's views of them till the wind swept it away, the thunder roaring louder and louder with each strike.

"You need to let me over there!" Kain spat in a panic at Brooklyn, quickly jumping back from the ledge of the barrier when four Savages tried to attack it, getting thrown back like all the others before them.

"You're staying here!" Brooklyn bit back, wiping at the sweat from his hairline before it got in his eyes.

Already his shirt was soaked under the light weight armor he'd been forced to wear, the hair at the back of his neck was sticking to his skin and he wasn't sure just how much longer he could keep the smaller barrier up around him and the kids.

"He needs our help!" Kain pleaded, his voice cracking as his eyes went back to where his fathers were fighting each other.

As good as his sight was it wasn't good enough to see that far away to get an idea of who was winning or losing just yet, but given what they knew about Black Dranzer and how often Ray was prone to expending himself to the point of exhaustion, he had a sinking feeling Ray wasn't going to win this one.

"And you have orders to stay here!" Brooklyn roared at him, knees almost buckling on him with having to focus on Kain now while holding the barriers as more Savages tried to ram their bodies into it in front of them.

A frustrated growl tore through Kain's chest, his fists clenching at his sides and couldn't help the way his heat started to fill the space around them.

"I'm not sorry."

Kain's right arm jut out, gripping Brooklyn around the back of his neck and all the heat that had been coming from him collected into the palm of his hand, burning the back of Brooklyn's neck and making him crumble to his knees quickly as the heat spread through the back of his neck and through his entire body.

Brooklyn let out a cry of pain as he was burned, his skin bubbling and splitting as the heat ate away at his skin. Nikita jumped and gasped as Kain pushed Brooklyn down further to the ground onto his knees, not knowing what to do to stop her brother.

Between fighting to get back up to stop Kain and holding the barriers, Brooklyn's strength was nearly at empty, having no choice but to pull the smaller one around them down to give Kain what he wanted.

Seeing the translucent film go down, Kain released Brooklyn's neck and stepped back from him, calling his heat back to him.

"C'mon, we have to get over there." He said quickly, grabbing Nikita's arm and pulling her towards the door to the stairs that would get them off the rooftop.

"Kain!" Brooklyn called out to him in a pained and strangled cry.

Kain ignored him, jerking the door open to the stairwell with his free arm and dragging Nikita through it with him in his own red flash of light.

Brooklyn wasn't given much choice in going after the two of them now that the smaller barrier was down as the Savages that had been trying to break through it swarmed down on top of him instantly.

"Kain! What're you doing?!" Nikita screamed as they made it outside of the building, out of breath just like her brother was with how fast he'd dragged them out and needing to keep up with him.

"They need us, Niki, I did what I had to!" Kain argued, "You go find Papa, okay?"

"But-" "JUST GO!" Kain yelled over the top of her, making her flinch back from him as she noticed the way the color of his eyes flickered.

"Okay…" She sighed, scanning the area quickly for an opening and taking off before he could yell at her again.

Kain watched her go till the blue light she'd left behind faded around the corner of a building, taking off himself but unable to use his heightened speed after depleting himself in order to get away from Brooklyn.

His eyes were up as he ran, following the sounds of the roaring thunder in order to find the building his parents were on as he tried to scan the tops of each one he passed by just so he wouldn't run past it.

Taking the back streets to keep out of the fighting, knowing that if he was caught by someone else he'd be sent back to stand with Brooklyn-or worse-be sent away.

Running as fast as he could, the thunder getting louder, he tried to run faster, his body emitting a dull flash of red light but couldn't get his power of speed to fully commit and realized it was just going to drain himself before he got where he needed to.

As he rounded the corner of a building on his left his feet skidded to a stop against the dirt path he'd been following, crimson eyes clashing with crimson as the woman stood there in his way seemingly waiting for him.

Kain's chest heaved from being out of breath and overexerting himself, fists quickly clenching at his sides as he called his heat back to him.

Anette's eyes drank him up, forcing a smile to appear on her face.

"Look at how much you've grown." She cooed and took a step closer to him only to have Kain take a step back from her.

"You're Anette." He stated rather than questioned, eyes on her every move.

"What a smart little boy you are." She smiled, continuing her advance towards him.

"And my, you look just like your daddy when he was your age."

"Out of my way." Kain growled through clenched teeth, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end the closer she got to him.

"I must admit, I'm not very fond of what they've done to you." Anette ignored him, stepping closer and Kain matching her steps by going back again.

"You weren't nearly ready enough to grow up, not like this, and certainly not for their own personal gain."

"Like you don't want me for your own personal reasons." He bit back in a hiss, pupils slitting and his heat surrounding him.

Anette tutted at him with a wag of her finger, "That's not true. It was for our benefit. You come from a very long and proud line, it's simply our right to do what we were born to do."

"You mean kill people?"

Anette shrugged her shoulders, "If that's all you see of what I've been trying to do then you're just as blind as the rest of them. Some people aren't so easily ready to bend the knee to their superiors, if they choose to die then that is their choice."

"Like you've given anyone a choice in the matter!" Kain bit back with a snarl, showing his fangs off at her.

"Did my dad have a choice when you took him? Forcing him to do your bidding?!"

"What He does now is of His own choice." Anette simply replied, "I just helped Him realize that it was what He wanted."

"You bitch." Kain growled, taking a step forward this time as fire danced in the palm of his hand only to jump back when a body dropped from the sky and black wings spread out to keep him separated from Anette.

"Oh look, it's the martyr." Anette grinned as Brooklyn faced her, keeping her from Kain now that he stood between them.

"Are you hurt?" Brooklyn asked Kain behind him, keeping his wings outstretched to keep Anette at bay and for Kain as well.

"What're you doing here?"

"Doing my job." Brooklyn groaned back as his body could hardly keep up with him and all that he'd already put himself through.

His armor was busted, claw marks scratched all through it and blood had pooled inside the high collar around the back of his neck. More of his blood seeped from cuts on his face and his hair was disheveled more so than what it usually looked like, and Kain could see he was favoring his left leg.

"If you're going to go save your fathers then you need to go."

Kain hesitated, not sure if he could summon enough of his own strength to get away from Anette faster.

"You really think saving his child is going to make him love you?" Anette jabbed bitterly.

Kain's eyes widened at the back of Brooklyn's head, mouth slowly gaping open while plenty of questions he didn't have time for filled his head. But now it made sense why Brooklyn was adamant about keeping him and Nikita safe for Ray as he was sure Anette didn't mean Tala or Kai.

He knew of Brooklyn's betrayal, his reasons for keeping Anette's identity and plans a secret for so long because he wanted to see Kai fail as punishment from all those years ago when they were just teenagers themselves, but Kain had never learned why Brooklyn had switched sides last minute but now it made sense if he was doing it for Ray.

It also made sense as to why he was so harsh towards him during their training time together. Anette had already claimed he looked just like his father, and Brooklyn had even said so himself. Brooklyn was jealous of Kai, always had been, and in turn was harsh to him because of it because every time Brooklyn looked at him all he could see was the person who had defeated him in battle long before Kain was even a twinkle in his daddy's eyes.

"No, but it'll bring me immense pleasure when I kill you." Brooklyn smirked back, bringing Kain out of his train of thought and sending a hot jolt down his spine.

A deep, dark cackle came out of Anette's throat at the less than impressive threat.

"I'll remind you, I don't die."

"First time for everything." Brooklyn said before he lunged at her, wings spreading out wider as he soared through the air at her.

As the two collided together in a flurry of feathers and fire Kain took off without hesitation that time, his body being overtaken by the red flash of light as his power of speed worked for him.

His ears perked at the sounds of the two scuffling together behind him, winding his way back through the back streets in order to find a new path to take in order to get to his fathers.

It sounded like one of them had been thrown through a window just before he made it far enough he couldn't hear them any longer, not looking back as he picked up speed and had to take the main roads where the dead bodies of Lee's guardsmen were still strewn about the ground that shook under his feet with another clap of thunder coming from overhead.

He paused briefly to stop and take a look at all the bodies that were left behind, the gunshots still echoing throughout the barrier in rapid succession along with the screams from human and Savages alike.

The war was still waging on and he'd done nothing to help any of his people.

Sending a silent prayer to those departed he took off again, looking for the building the thunder and lighting kept striking down on top of until it finally came into view.

"KAIN?!" He heard Lee yell for him as they passed by one another in their own streaks of light yet he ignored him now that the building he was searching for was within reach.

Seeing the boy not stopping, having a feeling of knowing where he was going and what he was planning to do, Lee quickly pressed a finger to the earpiece wedged in there.

"Tala, Kain's on his way to where Ray and Black are."

"I know, we're waiting for him." Tala responded, having to drop his hand from his earpiece and lift his gun back up as more Savages were making their way towards him and Nikita stood at the bottom of the building.

"On your left!" Tala called out as his bullets ripped through the Savage's bodies.

Nikita threw her arms up, a wall of ice shooting out of the ground and forming a blockade to their left from the Savages that were surrounding them.

Tala jumped around it once the ones in front of him went down, bodies reverting as the tar-like substance that covered their bodies spasmed and came alive like it was trying to peel itself off their human forms, firing his gun at the next hoard that had stepped up.

"Need a cleanup on aisle four." He let Mariah and Lee know once the second wave went down, stepping back into the wall of the building behind to support his weight.

"Papa, you need to rest." Nikita fussed at him as she saw him needing the support of the wall, knowing his leg was giving him problems.

Tala weakly waved her words away from him, not wanting to hear it after he'd already failed once before.

Once Nikita had come and found him, relaying what Kain had done to Brooklyn in order to come help Ray, they made their way to where he was fighting and decided to make sure no other Savages could interfere with what was going on up top.

He'd definitely gone and depleted his own strength yet refused to give his handgun to his daughter since she had never been trained on how to properly use one, he didn't need to lose his own powers if she were to shoot him in the back by accident.

"You've… You've done a good job." He panted out in praise, laying his head back against the wall he was using to support himself so he wouldn't hit the ground.

"And you need to rest, please." She begged even more, "Have Lee or Mariah take you out of here."

Tala shook his head at her, trying to keep his eyes open long enough as they fought to close.

"I can't leave you here on your own."

"I'll be fine." She choked around the lump in her throat.

The corner of Tala's mouth pulled like he was trying to smile but didn't even have the strength to fully do it, letting his legs give way under him as he slid against the wall to the ground.

"Papa!" Nikita dropped down beside him, tears running down her face.

"Please open your eyes!"

Kain's heart stopped as he made it to them, stunned to a silence as he watched his sister cry over their father who looked like he'd gone to sleep.

"What happened?!"

"He's exhausted!" Nikita cried back at him.

"Get him out of here, now." Kain ordered quickly and involuntarily ducked when a bright flash of lightning struck overhead, the ground rumbling under them and the windows to the building they were stood by rattled from the force.

"You can't get up there, Baba locked all the doors!"

"Dammit…" Kain growled, craning his neck to look up and caught glimpses of the two still up there as Black was backed close to the ledge only to watch as His coal colored wings spread out from His back and then He was gone again from view.

"Get me up there."

Nikita stared at him, "How?"

"Throw ice against the walls, give me something to climb to get up there."

"Kain… I don't know if I can do that." Nikita admitted, pulling her gloves off and revealing her blackened fingertips.

"Niki…" He breathed as he looked at them, dropping to his knees in front of her and clasping his hands around hers to warm them up.

"It's no use, I've lost all feeling in them." She told him yet that didn't stop him from calling his heat to his hands and blowing warm air onto her fingers.

"Kain, just stop…" She begged as he kept blowing onto her fingers, unable to feel them anymore or even the warm air.

He met her eyes as his were full of remorse for not being there beside her, "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head at him, "It's not your fault. But we need to get you up there somehow."

"I can do it." Tala mumbled between the two, eyes fluttering open just enough as he came-to.

"You sure?" Kain asked, yet Tala was already pushing himself to stand again.

The two of them stood, helping him up by holding him under his arms.

"Just need a staircase, right?" Tala asked as he lifted his right arm, leaning into his children's sides to keep himself steady.

"Something like that, yeah."

Tala huffed a laugh as his hand was covered in ice and began to crystalize, out from the palm of his hand a large icicle shot out of it, embedding into the wall of the building like a spear had been thrusted through it, chipping away the brick wall.

Under their feet fresh snow accumulated around them, it crawling it's way up Tala's legs as another icicle came out of his hand, the snow building up behind him and coming over the three of them like a wave where more and more larger icicles shot out of it and along the wall a bit higher than the last one that had stuck through, making a staircase that Kain could use to get up there until the entire side of the building had icicles sticking out of it.

"Hurry, before it melts." Tala panted, letting his arm drop back to his side and turned to Nikita on his right.

"Go with him."

"But Papa…"

"JUST GO!"

The two looked at one another past Tala's head briefly, slowly letting their hold on him go and pulling away just as slow to make sure he wouldn't fall back to the ground without them holding onto him.

Once they knew he was good they made their way up to the first icicle and started their climb up them, having to jump to the next one above their heads.

Tala watched them climb higher and higher, legs swaying under him and giving up on standing that he let himself hit the ground again.

He pressed his finger into the earpiece, "How 'bout that cleanup on aisle four now?"

Ray's mouth gaped as he tried to collect air into his lungs, his entire body shaking and weak as he tried to stand his ground. There were burn marks hidden under the armor he wore, somehow the heat having reached through the thick material, it singing him every time Black was able to get close enough to grab onto him.

He was so tired that he was surprised at himself for lasting as long as he'd managed to do, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep going while Black looked no different than when He first showed up.

With his knees bent and feet too weak to move much more, Black made His slow approach towards him now that the other had ran out of steam.

A bolt of lightning struck down between them, Black stopping as it came hurling out of the sky where it broke more of the rooftop they'd been on like all the other times where the entirety of the buildings roof was broken into nothing but chunks and pieces of rubble, the dust that had been kicked up quickly blowing away with the breeze.

Once the way was clear He started forward again, blue flames coming back and engulfing His arms up to His shoulders as Ray's knees finally gave out and he fell down onto them in front of Him.

He couldn't even gather enough strength to call another attack, the lightning bolts that had been dancing along his own arms and shoulders no longer there as they'd dispersed a long time ago only to have some smaller ones spark up between his fingers that he couldn't make into something more the closer Black got to him.

"Kai…" He panted, eyes locked and having to look up into them.

Over His pale face a frown set in hard at the name, His fists clenching at His sides and the blue flames growing in size around His shoulders that they looked like a second pair of wings.

His engulfed fist rose, ready to deal the final blow the old fashioned way. There was something about this one that made Him want to hit him till all life in him left, but even He couldn't understand why one person out of all the other's He'd ever come across irritated Him as much as this one did.

As His fist shot out towards Ray's face he closed his eyes as the heat that followed the flames surrounded him, almost welcoming the heat that burned his skin and the final verdict being given to him only to realize it never came, eyes opening to find a block of ice shot up between him and Black, the wall of ice quickly melting the second Black's fist had gone right through it.

No.

Ray's eyes went wide as he watched Kain lunging towards Black, his own fire dancing around his clenched fist and reaching up to his elbow in flames.

No..

Black was quick to turn, catching the hand that had been coming for His face where the two of them stared hard at one another in the face for what seemed an eternity.

Being so close to Him, the color of Kain's eyes flickered more rapidly than they ever had before, pushing in harder as the flames along his arms grew in size as he tried to overpower Black who was pushing back just as hard.

There was something that felt like He'd been shocked through the skull, it sending a sharp shooting pain through one temple and out the other and in a last ditch effort to get the boy away from Him he shoved Kain's hand away from His face, making the boy stumbled and hit the ground roughly.

Grabbing at the side of His head, Black had to ignore the other's around Him as the pain in His head died away enough for Him to focus on what was going on around Him.

Kain was quick to get back up, the skin on his elbows having torn only to be healed over quickly. A feral growl rolled out of his chest as he charged a second time, his other hand becoming engulfed in flames just like the other one as he attacked again.

No…

Black's eyes narrowed as He dodged and deflected the fiery fists being thrown at Him blow for blow, His feathers rustling in His agitation as their heats clashed and mixed between the two of them, slowly expanding out around them further and further out.

Nikita rushed to Ray's side though Ray couldn't tear his eyes away from the other two as they danced in circles around one another, balls of blue and red fire being thrown at one another and geysers of blue flames shooting up around Kain's feet to knock him down.

"NO!" He screamed in a yell as Kain was tripped up by his own two feet, falling down onto his back where Black came to stand over the top of him and those blue flames surged in size once more.

At the shrill yell, Black's head turned back to where He'd left the other one and noticed the second one there beside Ray. His eyes hardened, the frown that He wore deepened and before Kain could get back up Black's right arm swept out, the blue flames that had been along His arm following as the fire shot out towards where Ray and Nikita were sat.

Nikita's arms came up in an X over her face, another wall of ice shooting up and deflecting the fire in time, it melting under the heat as more of the blue flames spread out either side of her small blockade and licked at her skin from around it and through the multiple holes the flames had created as it burst through the wall of ice.

She let out a scream as it seared her skin through the armor, arms dropping and quickly grabbing onto the burning welt where her armor had been singed away and her flesh steamed, trying to bring forth some frost to the palm of her hand to cool it.

Ray's heart was split in two at hearing and seeing her in pain, his teeth clenching as he forced his legs to work and made himself stand despite how weak his body still felt.

A smirk came to Black's face as He watched Ray stand up again, the urge to finish him off coming in stronger now that he decided to try and go against Him again.

Out from under Black's feet blue flames appeared, crawling up His legs to his knees while the others around Him choked on the hot and stale air that came from it.

Between where Kain was laid on his back, having hit the back of his head against the cracked and broken up pieces of the rooftop, he struggled to stand back up but couldn't in time when a blue wall of flames shot up to block him off from where Ray and Black stood. The wall of flames circled around the two of them, trapping Ray inside it and giving Black what He wanted now that the other two weren't able to get near Him again.

"Baba!" Nikita screamed as the flames blocked her from getting closer, throwing out snow and ice at the wall of fire where it all turned to slush and water before it even reached the flames.

The coal colored wings at His back spread out to their full length, feet coming off the ground as He lunged at Ray and grabbed him around the waist. His wings beat back, carrying them up into the air as the fire and heat burned Ray's skin, melting the armor and causing him to choke on the air around them as it shot down his throat from being carried up into the sky.

Black spun with him in His arms, making Ray go dizzy on top of everything else as they climbed higher and higher into the air while all Kain and Nikita could do was watch in horror the further away they got until Black was stopped by the top of the barrier.

Ray's eyes rolled around inside his head once they came to a stop, Black keeping the two of them up in the air above everything else below them. As the dizziness faded he summoned up what little strength he still had within him, sparks of lightning forming along his shoulders where they danced down his arms and zapping at Black's arms wrapped around him before a larger bolt of lime-green lighting struck down through the barrier and shattered it, the bolt of lightning hitting both of them dead center.

Black's arms released around Ray's body as they were struck by the lightning, both of them letting out cries of pain and His wings beat around frantically to keep Him in the air while Ray's began it's free-fall back to the ground.

"RAY!" Tala screamed as he watched from the ground just outside of where the barrier had been, the rest of it slowly dissolving now that it had been broken through by the lightning.

Ray looked no more like a dot in the sky as his body continued to free fall back to the top of the building with how far back Tala had been taken by Lee after the kids had made their way up the side of the building to help.

He hadn't been able to get a good enough visual on any of what had been going on with how far back he was, only seeing the blue and red flames appear every now and then atop the building.

When he saw Black shoot up into the air only a moment ago he hadn't expected Ray to be in His clutches but there wasn't a way for him to get over there in time.

Max's attention was drawn to what Tala was seeing, his mouth and eyes wide the faster Ray's body fell through the air and feeling a helplessness in him he hadn't felt in a long time wash through him.

He stabbed the earpiece inside his ear, "SOMEBODY GET HIM!"

"I can't get to him fast enough!" Mariah yelled back as she too was stuck watching Ray fall.

"Niki do something!" Kain screamed as they both watched Ray coming down faster with no way to catch himself.

If he hit the top of the roof then he'd be killed.

Nikita scrambled to her feet, throwing out as much snow as she could from her hands, piling it up as fast as she could to make a cushion along the rooftop. Flinching as the cold bit at her already burning skin, the black that had coated her fingertips spread down to the palms of her hands as more snow shot out of them.

Kain's arms came around himself as the temperature dropped quickly, teeth clicking together as Nikita piled the snow higher and higher, throwing some out around the pile she'd made as snowflakes formed and softly fell around them.

As the pain and numbness started to crawl up from her wrists to her arms, Nikita had to pull her hands away, crumbling down to her knees in the powdery snow she'd created as her own body shook and trembled, holding her hands to her chest as they went completely black from frostbite.

Kain got up, going to rush to her side and jumped as Ray's body hit the pile of snow right beside them as he made it over to her. Snow was kicked up as his body fell into it, sinking through it and close to the bottom of the pile.

"Baba!" Kain gasped, forgetting his sister and jumping into the pile of snow after him, clawing through it to uncover Ray's body as quickly as he could as the cold harshly bit at his skin.

"Is… Is he alive?" Nikita asked through a trembling voice and chattering teeth.

"Baba! Baba!" Kain cried as he dug through more of the snow, some it starting to melt as his heat flared up the faster he dug through it.

Before he even fully reached him they were sitting around in a pile of slush and water, the thicker portions only just starting to melt away and drip water. At the sight of snow covered dark hair, Kain almost cried out in joy, arms going nuts in order to uncover Ray's body faster before grabbing him around the chest and heaving Ray's body out from inside the crater he had made inside the snow when he landed.

Dragging Ray's body out of the snow and along the water that formed under them, Kain pushed his ear into Ray's chest as he held his breath. The soft, dull, beat of Ray's heart thudded against the side of his face and echoed in his ear.

"He's alive!" Kain cried out to his sister with a wobbly smile on his face that she returned with a broken sob of her own.

"Oh thank God."

Their joy wasn't long lived as Black floated back down to the rooftop, the heat surrounding him melting the rest of the snow and flooding the top of the building with water.

Kain's eyes turned feral as his head snapped towards Black, the only indicator that He'd even been struck by the lightning Ray had managed to conjure up last minute were the streaks of blood on His face and chest, whatever wounds He had already closed and healed over into more scars.

"You…" Kain hissed, rising to his feet in challenge as his own heat spiked up to match Black's, his pupils slitting and the color of them flickering as he lowered his gaze in a hardened glare.

A slate brow rose up as Black's pale lips twisted up into a smirk, raising a hand and motioning for Kain to come at Him.

"Kain, no!"

"Kain, yes!" He shouted back in a snarl at Nikita before his feet left the ground, body disappearing in a mixed flash of red and black light as the water under his feet parted with how fast he took off.

Nikita grabbed Ray under the arms, dragging his upper body and head out of the water to where she laid his head down onto her lap, putting her hands over his chest to time his breaths and heartbeat while the water from his hair dripped down the armor on her legs.

Fire flew in all directions as the other two clashed together again, blue and red mixing and blending as frustrated cries tore through Kain's throat with every blow he managed to land on Black in his blind fury.

With every hit that landed Black was forced to stumble backwards, edging closer to the ledge of the rooftop as His arms and fists came out to throw back at Kain for every blow He received.

Tears streamed down Kain's face only to evaporate off his heated skin, claws out and his right eye gone completely black to where his pupil had disappeared inside the color.

Damn the failsafe, damn the Reversal serum, damn the fact that Kai was his father. All he cared about was winning, striking Black down and then going after Anette himself once he was done leaving Black in a pile of His own blood and feathers.

As Black's heel touched the ledge of the roof His wings spread out in order to catch Himself in case He was pushed over the side, throwing an arm up to block the fist Kain had thrown at Him only to have the other blindside Him. His head was thrown to the side with the impact and force of the punch, feeling His skin tear away as Kain's claws swiped across His cheek and jaw.

A sound rumbled out of His chest as the sting set in, His skin healing over the fresh wounds just as the blood began to pool out of the claw marks on His face.

Straightening Himself back up after the blow, their eyes locked and that same shock of pain ran through His skull, giving Kain another opening to hit Him, throwing His head in the opposite direction and more cuts to appear along His face from the other's claws.

Before Kain could throw another punch at Him, His hand flew out, it covered in blue flames up to His shoulder and neck and gripped around Kain's own tightly where He lifted the boy from off his feet.

Kain's eyes bulged as he was lifted, hands scrambling to the arm in front of him where his claws tore through more of Black's flesh in a bid to make Him release the grip He had around his neck as his legs kicked air frantically. What little air he did have in his lungs quickly depleted as his mouth gaped like a fish out of water, unable to get anything down him as Black's grip tightened.

He could feel the burning start to set in, Black's heat overpowering his own despite it spiking and then feeling an annoying itch that had started around his shoulders blades as he flailed harder for release.

Holding Kain by the neck, Black turned and dangled the boy over the side of the building where the hard ground lay 217 feet below him.

Nikita let out a scream so loud it shocked Ray awake, eyes slow to crack open as his whole body was washed over in pain, knowing that one of his legs was broken along with his right shoulder being dislocated from it's socket as the pain pulsed in waves throughout his back and down his spine.

Through the painful daze he tried to find the source of his daughters distress, clocking the back of Black's head and His wings as He was turned and facing the side of the building. The coal colored wings blocking Ray's view from seeing Kain past them.

Kain's feet kicked harder, his claws piercing and latching through Black's arms as he could see the ground appear below him as he was swept around and held over the side of the building. His heart leapt into his throat, it beating so hard he was sure it'd give out on him before he even hit the ground while that persistent itch continued to irritate him at the same time.

Black barely flinched as Kain's claws went right through Him, eyes hard on the struggling face of the boy He held yet couldn't get His hand to let go.

The shocks of pain were raging through His skull again, the arm He held out starting to tremble like He didn't want to throw the boy off the side of the building suddenly the longer they looked into one another's eyes.

There, somewhere deep in His mind something was trying to tell Him something again, it screaming out at Him in frantic cries that He ignored.

He'd had enough of the trouble this one caused Him and with a shove His fingers released their hold around Kain's neck, throwing the boy outward and watched with a smirk curling up his lips as the boy fell but not without doing more damaged to His arm as Kain's claws were forced to rip and tear through His skin with the way Kain was forcefully thrown off the side of the building.

As Ray saw Kain's body plummet through the small window between the ledge of the rooftop and the tips of Black's wings, his heart stopped beating and he couldn't do a damn thing to get up and save him while Nikita let out a gut wrenching scream over the top of him that made his ears ring and split his soul in two.

"KAINNNNN!"