Sherbet Mayhem: Hey and howdy y'all! IT'S 11:46 pm and I two days ago I
would have just got back from the Evanescence concert in the Manchester
Apollo! OH MY GOSH it was AWESOME! Rocky Gray (who used to be in a band
called Living Sacrifice, if anyone's interested - which you're probably
not) and John Le Compt signed my poster, but I had to leave before Amy Lee
came out. However, I was right at the front of the big crowd of people. I
got squashed - but AMY LEE SMILED AT ME!!! Because I knew the song that she
was singing and like the majority didn't! YAY! Oh it was so amazing, I
can't believe it! Scarlet diamonds, you'll LOVE IT! ! ! If ya queue a bit
earlier (i.e. we queued at five o clock but it didn't open till seven o
clock) then ya can get to the front of the arena and skank and just
generally enjoy it! the two supporting bands were "Apartment 26" and then
"Finger eleven". Look out for the guitarist with the frizzy hair in
Apartment 26 - he kept waving at me and Sara coz we waved at him! Hee! Give
finger eleven a big cheer because at our concert, some people booed them,
which was really mean, and the lead singer went off early coz he was
ashamed. But HE WAS AWESOME and it was rubbish the way that turned out. So
cheer em on! And wear comfy shoes - your feet will be killing!
As for everybody else who ISN'T going to see Evanescence anytime soon - find out when they're coming near you and GO, GO, GO! It was amazing!
Sorry about the even later than usual update - I've been in London recently and unfortunately I am not a walking typewriter and couldn't write more. Sorry. Je suis desole. I also have a lot of work on . . . I mean I just finished writing yet another Othello essay and I have Graphics work to do. Design a bloomin' perfume bottle with faeries on it. Pfuh. Plus I have homework for 'Wuthering Heights' in my other English lesson to do but I can't even be bothered - and I'm sure there might be some History lying around. And Theatre Studies . . . don't even get me started! See what I mean? I really am apologising on behalf of my college, and me, because my college just doesn't seem to appreciate (no matter how often I try to get let off my homework) the important of fanfiction.net! Lol! *yawns* damned Othello . . .
Ahem . . . on with the disclaimer.
Special thanks go to the following people who left wonderful reviews. Cookies for all of you. Merci buckets to: Becca, Misao, Lunis, KeenaSky, Mizuumi Hakuya, Saphie, Otherworlder, Scarlet Diamonds, Honest Abe, Sobbing Phsyco, Jessica, Cherry Rain, Mistress-of-eternal-darkness, Angel- Sporty_chick, and last but not least, Drifting Soul. Thankies for the nice reviewies and I'll give you all a proper shout out at the end of this damned story.
Anime Writer 88 - (who reviewed BBR which I helped Oil Pastel with a little bit). On behalf of Oil Pastel, I'd like to say that you smell really bad, because you said BBR was 'stupid' and it's obviously a work of comic genius (lol)! SHUT YER GOB ya gobby retard! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Oh, and Oil Pastel, here's your shout out. Fingerless gloves and really bad eggs. Lol. You smell, but at least I smell worse. Happy now? READ HER FICS! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! They're awesome. Another special shout out goes to the smelly (but less smelly than me) Lindsay, who left me a lovely shout out at the beginning of her awesome (and I mean awesome) new fic called "Under the ice". Everybody go read it coz it kicks ass! And don't do what most people do and read this and then completely ignore the shout out. GO READ IT! ! ! Now! Even if that means to ignore my fic completely! Lol, you can always read this later. It's written by Scarlet Diamonds. Seriously, it's awesome. I LOVE IT! And so will you!
Erm . . . I own everything from previous chapters and . . . er . . . a pair of stripy fingerless gloves, bought shopping today. Lol.
Oh, and italics in speech are thoughts, just so ya know. (
Blumin' 'eck that was long . . .
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Chapter Eleven: Thought like flames.
"Gra . . . grandfather?"
"What's . . . going on?"
A sudden prick, and a strange, flowing, pressurised sensation in the arm. Unexpected freedom - feeling in the body again. Movement.
"Hold your tongue."
"But---"
"HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"
He could hear his own voice; weak, trembling. It confused him - the floor beneath him was so hard and unforgiving that it was difficult to think straight. He ached all over, his body shivering painfully as his muscles contracted and relaxed without his permission. The sound of a whip slicing through the cruel, iced air was agonizingly clear and echoed between his throbbing ears. And there was nothing to hold on to any more.
" . . . Stop . . . please. I can't . . . I can't take this . . . please . . ."
The whip echoed once again.
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"Right, I suggest we go . . . this way!"
Jenny sighed. Yes, Tyson was in the lead, with Max in the middle as they crawled along the narrow corridor. It was practically another ventilation shaft, but Jenny didn't like to think of them now. Not after what had happened earlier . . .
"Tyson, I said 'left'! Why don't ye' jus' listen t' me?!?"
From between them both, Max growled to himself. He was being forced along this stupid corridor to save somebody he didn't even see the point in saving! He decided to try and dissuade his 'captors'.
"You know, they're probably both dead by now," he said, smiling to himself very slightly. Tyson tutted with a click of his tongue, his face never betraying what his thoughts were screaming.
I hear you,
But I can't recognize even a sentence as truth.
Who lit that black flame into your heart? And I'm near you, But my words land far from your heart. You turn your back, and I don't know where to start.
"Max, don't be so pessimistic! Kai doesn't give up so easily, and Dave . . . well, he'll be okay."
Max rolled his eyes as he continued to crawl behind Tyson. "I doubt it. Did you see the state Kai was in? Looked like he was tripping! And Dave . . . well, come on, he was dead anyway! Why don't we just turn around and go ba-- -"
His plans were thwarted sharply when Jenny poked him in the calf of his leg. "Enough, Max. Shurrup."
Max wrinkled his nose sharply. He hated that girl so much. She was so bossy, so domineering, and her views on life so far extracted from his own! He kept silent and continued to follow Tyson, until they came to a widened out area, and finally a door, metal, shining in a glaring overhead bulb.
"Do we go through?" asked Tyson, looking at the handle cautiously. Jenny nodded encouragingly, and Tyson, ignoring a sigh of impatience from Max, pressed down the handle and opened the door. It swung open before them with an eerie creak, and they peered forwards cautiously, Tyson just poking his head slightly into the room.
It was silent.
A large, almost perfectly square room faced them. It had no windows at all, and was almost pitch black but for a small, swinging lamp in the far left corner of the ceiling. It flickered creepily and sent shivers racing up Tyson's spine as moths, fluttering their desperate wings upon his body. Breathing in deeply through his nose and wondering what the strange smell was that gently tinted the air, he manoeuvred himself out of the shaft and on to the floor. He turned to watch Max slide out, followed by Jenny, who pulled the shaft shut.
"It's so dark . . ." muttered Tyson as he regained his balance thoughtfully. He squinted about through the almost impenetrable darkness, his heart pounding, faced with the unexpected. There are certain situations in life when the human body, faced suddenly with the unknown, can prepare itself as best it can. Worst possible situations flash through the brain as the body prepares for a flight or fight stand off, adrenaline pumping and heart rate rising. But now . . . Tyson couldn't even tense his muscles he was so weary. This situation was so detached yet so familiar that he just didn't know how to respond. He merely continued to look around, wondering if his eyes would settle and become accustomed to this darkness that they seemed forever emerged in.
To his left, a dark figure moved past him, and Tyson realised Jenny had moved forwards. He could hear her soft, controlled breathing in the darkness, crumbling through the wall of silence that surrounded them.
"Wait . . . "she whispered in a hushed tone, " . . . Listen . . . "
Tyson held his breath as he leaned forwards a little. His eyes flitted yet focused on nothing as he strained his ears. Then, almost inaudible, came feathering a faint, rasping sound, so very quiet that Tyson could hardly believe it was there. He whipped around to 'face' Jenny.
"Jen, d'you think there are any other lights in here?"
Jenny frowned, although Tyson make that out. A sigh from Max was heard behind the both of them, followed by a dull 'click'.
The room was flooded with bright, synthetic light that searched out through ever corner and burned the eyes with a fierce irony. Strange that such a painful thing should be so necessary.
Tyson slit open his eyes through the flash of blinding light, feeling his pupils decreasing in size rapidly to avoid an overload of light entering. He forced them open further still, groaning a little and looking around the room. His eyes finally fell upon what he had feared, expected, and hoped for lying in the close right hand corner.
His Captain.
His Captain who lay on his side, facing away from them, one arm crumpled above his head and the other pulled further away from him, the latter being attached to a metal cuff, linking him to a hook in the wall by a thick metal chain that glinted copper in the sudden rush of superficial radiance. He wore only his khaki trousers - shoes, socks, shirt and jacket had been removed and taken. The traditional scarf he usually wore was nowhere to be seen. The white folds of smooth material would usually hide his neck, where now lay a cruel red mark, burning the skin nastily. All along the torso were ugly red weal marks, swelling welts; long and thin, criss-crossing across his back and chest. Several wounds had been inflicted; some small, some larger, and crimson blood had bled out of the breaks and trailed down the clammy, pale skin in a gravitational trickle that too shone in the light of the room. The shape of his ribs could plainly be seen now through times of toil and their silhouette moved very gently as each breath was dragged in desperately, weakly.
Tyson's feet carried him forward before he even told them to do so. He flew over to his friend and knelt by him when he arrived.
"Kai? Can you hear me?"
Tyson's grey eyes scanned along his friend's body. It shivered very gently, as though to shiver properly was too much. At each light breath, Tyson felt more and more pressed to hurry, as though time were against them. When Kai gave no reply, Tyson leaned over and looked at his face. That too was pale, with a gash above the left eye seeping and oozing blood slowly. Kai's eyes were firmly closed.
"Jen, come over here!"
He heard Jenny hurrying over behind him, and she knelt, looking more at the coppery, slightly rusty chain leading from Kai to the wall. It looked strong despite its rust.
"Can you open it?"
Jenny gave Tyson one of the most sceptical looks he had ever received. "Tyson, I'm not a walkin' bloomin' toolbox! Wha', did ye' expect me te' jus' pull out a flippin' drill from me flamin' pocket? Come on!"
Tyson gave her half a smile. "Okay, dumb question."
He looked over to Max, who still stood near the light switch he had callously flipped a moment earlier.
"Hey Max, could you give us a hand?"
Another sceptical glance shut Tyson up. He frowned for a second before looking back up to Jenny, his grey eyes glinting in the lighting.
"Hey, what about Max's knife? Jen, could we use it on those chains?"
He passed it to the girl, who turned it over in her hands. It was only small, and the blade had worn almost blunt.
"I'll try," she responded curtly and lifted Kai's arm gently, drawing the chain towards herself and stretching it out on her knees. She then began to attack it with the knife, the flurried movements of her hands and the quick, tense strikes suggesting that she cared slightly more about this situation than she was letting on. Her index finger glowed red and white with the pressure she put along the safe edge of the blade.
Tyson watched, fascinated, as tiny pieces of copper began to chip off at Jenny's handiwork. She was certainly no craftsperson, but she wasn't doing a bad job. Tyson turned back to Max.
"Hey, Max, we're doing it! We'll have Kai out in no ti . . ."
Tyson's words trailed off depressingly as he caught sight of two newer figures at the other end of the room. Max apparently had not noticed them yet, and, as Tyson's face fell and whitened beneath the layer of dirt that they were all buried within, the two figures smiled.
"I wouldn't bother trying to release him, Jennifer."
Jenny stopped, half indignant at being called her full name and half fearful at the familiar tone of voice she recognised. For everybody knew the famous voice of Boris Balkov, the inspirational political genius who was, in part, responsible for the creation of BIOVOLT. She turned and indeed her eyes fell upon that same man, his purple hair greased back in that same slick manner, and next to him stood just as fearful a figure.
Voltaire.
Mr Hiwatari, the one and only. She'd only ever seen pictures of this man. He was a very powerful enemy to have made, and looking upon him now she almost regretted having even bothered. He was old, with a hawk like glare and something in his face that reminded her of Kai. But no, this face had felt no real emotion for years. It was like stone. Cold, lifeless.
"That little knife of yours," continued Boris, his mouth twisted in a malicious smirk as usual, "is no good. And what will you do if you do release him? Carry him all the way home? You ought to be grateful to us that the boy is even alive."
Tyson frowned, a little nervous but more powerfully angry than he had been in a long time.
"What? You did this to Kai! How can you even say that?"
Voltaire stepped forwards, his hands behind his back clasped together in an old man type fashion. His voice was strong and commanding, very much like his grandson's, but Kai had a much softer, mellower tone to his voice. Not so harsh or disrespectful.
"He nearly died! His body went into anaphylactic shock! He was hallucinating, imagining things, dying! We gave him treatment about half an hour ago. Be grateful he is not yet dead! Insolent children."
"WHAT?!?" cried Jenny, standing up and keeping tight hold of her weapon, "Ye' poisoned 'im! Ye' woz th' cause o' th' shock! I can see that coz o' th' mark on 'is neck! You've gave 'im somefin! 'Ow can ye' try an make yerselves look good 'cause of this? An' look!"
She pointed to Kai's trembling body, her eyes flashing furiously.
"Look! Yuz only kept 'im alive te' torture 'im a bit longer! Whip marks, puncture wounds . . . yer sadistic, th' both o' ye'!"
Voltaire laughed out loud at Jenny's burst of anger.
"My, my. All little friends, are we? Touching, my dear. I would never have guessed that you were a mole, of all things. I trusted you as any other employee. But you betrayed my trust, dear girl. You should feel proud that you escaped my notice."
Jenny scowled at him. "Lucky me. Want me te' play yer a violin or three?"
Tyson stood up beside Jenny, Voltaire's words and Jenny's revelations sparking a flame within.
"Yeah, Voltaire. Surely you don't expect pity from us after all you've done. How did you even get in here, anyway?"
Voltaire opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted.
"They came in through the door in the far left corner, Tyson. You can't see it because of the way the light falls on it. I only noticed when they came through."
Max had spoken again, his voice quiet and controlled, toneless and cool. Tyson blinked, as did Voltaire.
"Well," spoke Boris, smiling benevolently at the infuriated Tyson, "You certainly have caused us a lot of bother. Look at the damage you've done to our HQ!"
He spoke patronisingly, and Tyson growled, gritting his teeth and forming little balls with his fists. How he hated this man! Through so many incidents of pain and suffering, Tyson had formed an immense dislike of Boris. He was too evil a creation to be saved.
As if to echo Boris' words, there was a strange rumbling noise, and suddenly, the floor of the room moved slightly beneath them. A loud bang was heard from far off, and a few tiny pieces of rock from the stone ceiling fell through the air, floating and twirling in the dust like dancers upon ice.
"See?" hissed Boris, "The second floor is flooded! We can't get down via the main building! You've succeeded in bringing down the systems here, that's for sure. Now the staircase is flooding, and pretty soon the water level will reach here!"
He paused, rather dramatically, and his tone softened. His eyes glinted with that memorable cruel spark Tyson had witnessed previously and he tensed.
"But how many have you lost along the way, mighty Sui Generis?" said Boris, in almost a tuneful manner. "First Mark. How funny it was to watch his head fly! How we laughed!"
Tyson saw Jenny's face contort in disgust. "You're sick."
"Then Rei!" continued Boris, laughing in an adult manner, as though he were criticising the acting in some sort of witty play, "Oh, that was fun."
He paused again, watching each face in the room change. Tyson's pale face visibly darkened as his eyes glared straight at Boris' own.
"Did you see?" murmured Boris mercilessly, his face contorting with some sort of weird delight, some savage desire, "Did you see him squirm? Choking and begging and twisting and jerking? And then Dave! Oh, he put up a fight, that one. Thought he'd never pop it. So we held his face under water about an hour ago. Ah, it was good to be rid of that one. What pests you all were! Worthless vermin!"
That was about all Tyson could possibly stand, and Jenny next to him could stand no more either. They both simply flew forwards, forgetting everything, forgetting the power these men wielded, forgetting their situations - just suddenly bursting out in an immense surge of riled emotion, uncontrollable passion, and insane loyalty.
Voltaire and Boris had not expected such a move, and so were taken aback at the ferocity of the attack. Jenny leaped at Voltaire while Tyson flung himself with a cry at the cruel Boris, his body strong with fury and emotion. He wrapped his hands about Boris' neck and they both fell to the floor.
Max watched on silently from his stance near the shaft they had entered through. He watched, his eyes the only visibly moving part of his body. He cared not for this. He cared not for them. His ice blue gaze was dull, his facial expression lack lustre. He just wanted to leave.
"These things mean nothing to me," he thought as he sighed and shifted position. His gaze averted slightly to the still form of his 'captain', and he sneered. "Pathetic. It's not like he's useful. Couldn't even keep a team of seven soldiers together."
Max rolled his eyes and turned back to the battle. It was actually quite interesting. His friends stood no chance, yet they continued to fight viciously, brawling with all their strength.
"Look at her, hitting Voltaire with her computer!" thought Max meanly, "It's pitiable!"
His gaze fell upon Tyson, who was really going for it against Boris. His face was gripped in an expression of utter madness, and Max watched, intrigued, as Boris struggled to his feet, holding the struggling boy, and threw him across the room.
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Max blinked as Tyson came into contact with the wall and fell to the ground, clutching his right arm in agony and his face a twisted morph of pain. He could hear Boris laughing, exerting his power over the young lad.
And something stirred within Max.
He blinked again, not sure what was going on. A strange feeling, almost forgotten. What was it?
"What's this?" a voice in his mind spoke softly, "You remember?"
Max frowned, pondering quickly, suddenly feeling that he should go to help his friend. It was as if reality disappeared for a strange moment and suddenly all Max could see was that image, of Tyson slamming into the cold stone wall, the crack of the arm, and expression of pain on his young face.
"T . . . Tyson?" stuttered Max, completely unsure of this feeling all of a sudden. What was this? Did he actually care about his friend's well being? There it was again, that image, flashing, tormenting yet releasing, restoring and reviving, just a little but enough.
"TYSON!" came his voice, and Max ran forwards, unexpectedly full of that emotion he had just moments ago watch take over his friends. He had scorned at it, but now he was empowered by it.
Still, not all that is broken can always be fixed. Max did not run to Tyson's side - oh no. He ran to Boris. He ran to Boris with his fists raised and his eyes flashing something almost completely forgotten within himself.
"Lose yourself, Max. Be free again . . ."
Max smiled as he rammed his fist into Boris' jaw line, and they both flew on to the hard floor. Max recovered first, propping himself to his hands and glancing over at the man. He was winded, and couldn't move just yet - and Max spotted the glint of a gun at Boris' waist. He smiled defiantly, knowing he could easily have the upper hand in this battle - and rolled over to Boris, grabbing the slim line pistol and crawling atop of Boris.
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It felt smooth, soft, in his hands, and Max ran his finger over the black metal of the firearm. Just a small pistol, not too powerful; yet powerful enough to destroy Boris once and for all. The simple feel of the weapon surged power through Max's corrupt body, and he grinned down at Boris, coking the trigger and pointing the nozzle at Boris' forehead.
Something similar to fear flashed through Boris' eyes, and something raced inside Max. He was enjoying this. This would make him famous! This would make him a hero! He would be the person who had finally killed the infamous Boris Balkov!
"But at what price, Max?"
Max's smirk disappeared, and he frowned, the gun still pointed at Boris but his hand not clenched so tightly around the weapon now. Max moved his gaze, looking at nothing in particular, as a debate ensued within his mind.
"Don't do it!"
He blinked. "Why not?"
"You'll lose your heart!"
Max ran a hand through his hair. "What?"
"Where did the old Max go, that kid we all loved? What happened to him? All you care about is blood lust! If you do this you'll never be able to get back to who you were! Think of your friends! Think how you loved them! And now? And now they're nothing to you! Is that how you want it to be? Do you want be so cold that no one can touch you? When's the last time you smiled, Max? Smiled because you were happy?"
Max breathed out quietly. This was immense. Who was this voice, speaking to him from inside? Why was it so loud, so overpowering all of a sudden? The voice was strangely familiar, yet he could not quite place it. But that did not matter, because, unexpectedly, Max felt a lot warmer. Strangely warmer, as though some sort of wall of wind had been swept away in itself and all that was left was the flame of a crackling fire.
"I've been on a killing spree!" he muttered quietly, "I've forgotten what it's all about! But . . . there's still time . . . I can go back, I know it . . . "
Words so secure screaming like an alarm - Are you trying to wake me up?
I do believe you're trying to wake me up.
He looked down at Boris once more, his ocean blue gaze distant yet focused, and, still not quite sure why he was doing this, Max dropped the gun to the side. He turned to his right and glanced over to where Tyson was still gripping his arm but standing up again. Tyson smiled in greeting, and Max began to raise his arm in a thumbs up. It felt so good just to do that again! He was free once more - free and young and innocent and---
Max gasped suddenly, and looked down slowly at his stomach, where his khaki top had ripped and hung in shreds about a leaking wound, the blood oozing out in clots and globules and molesting his skin. He breathed in and out quietly, wondering what had happened, and then he caught the flash of black metal. As his body went limp, Boris rolled over and threw him to the ground as though he were a lifeless doll.
"Well I guess there's the problem with having a conscience," drawled Boris, slipping the gun back into his belt, "Ah well. No worries."
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Tyson, his arm throbbing and lacing painfully, smiled as Max raised his hand. He certainly hadn't expected it. Was that real? A thumbs up?
"He's back!" thought Tyson, not sure why, "That's Max!"
He grinned, despite the pulsation in his arm, and his eyes twinkled at his friend. Then suddenly there was a loud noise, which he could barely recognise, and Max jerked backwards, his body rigid. For a moment Tyson couldn't move. He simply watched as Boris got to his feet and threw the blond boy off carelessly. But his head kicked in and he ran over to his friend, not sure if he was crying out or not.
He knelt next to Max, who lay on his back, facing the ceiling, his sky blue eyes misted but still focusing.
"Max?" Tyson forced himself to speak, slipping an arm under Max's blond hair and supporting his head. The cerulean eyes glanced into his grey ones, and Max spoke with some difficulty.
"Tyson . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to . . . I mean . . . "
Tyson shook his head, attempting to avoid another welling up of tears. He couldn't just burst into tears again. He had to hold out.
"You don't need to apologise, Maxi."
Max looked up at him, breathing very heavily, and Tyson tried not to look down at the burgundy liquid seeping from the bullet wound in Max's stomach.
"Tyson?"
"Yeah, Max?"
Max took another deep breath. "I'm . . . I'm free. And I wanna go home."
Touched and pleasantly moved, Tyson smiled, aware that Boris was watching them with a scowl but not really caring.
"You'll go home, Max. I promise."
"I don't wanna be here, Tys. I wanna see my mom again. I don't wanna have to shoot anybody else.or." he broke off, his voice trembling at his ragged, heavy breaths. Tyson nodded.
"Go on."
Max coughed and continued, his voice becoming more and more of a terrible whisper at every word he spoke. "Maybe when we get home, we can . . . reform the Blade-Breakers. You, and me, and Kenny, and Rei, and Kai. What do you say?"
Tyson nodded vigorously, crystal tears spilling over his face. He couldn't believe how unfair this was. Max had finally repented and returned to himself, and his life was pouring out through an awful, unjust tear in his stomach.
"Yeah, Max, we'll . . . we'll reform."
Max nodded faintly, his gaze becoming mistier much to Tyson's horror. "That'd be nice. No . . . more . . . no more war . . . just . . . "
Max's voice trailed off, but he smiled.
Tyson's heart wrenched painfully, and he ignored the flashing pain in his arm as his friend - his real friend - passed away in his grasp. Those blue eyes - not ice blue anymore, but a warm, oceanic blue - flickered and went out, and more tears rolled down Tyson's cheeks. His hands shaking with exhaustion, despair, misery, and cold, Tyson laid Max's limp form upon the stone ground and said a quick goodbye.
"Run free, Maxi."
He used his good arm to grab his friend's lifeless hand and he held it for a moment, remembering all of those times when he had laughed and joked with Max. All those times before the war. And he looked down at his hands - and noticed something he had not expected.
Upon the floor, next to Max's broken body, lay two Bit chips.
One was crushed, and tiny pieces of green and lilac lay scattered upon the stone. But the other glinted powerful red in the synthetic light of the room, and Tyson squinted at it.
The Dranzer.
Tyson picked it up subtly, realising that Boris was watching Jenny and Voltaire, who were still struggling, and saw his chance. This was it! This was how they could escape, and pull this off! But . . . but could he control the Dranzer? After all, it was Kai's Bit-Beast. Would it obey him?
"I gotta try . . . " he thought with determination, and he reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out the small red chip that he always carried with him, even though he would probably never use it again on his own beast. He slipped the circular Dranzer Bit into the matching red plastic chip. The machine bleeped almost inaudibly, and Tyson pressed the buttons on the chip in the correct order - the code they had all memorised to activate the chip correctly.
He watched the tiny chip in his hands intently, still crouching on the floor, his hair hanging into his eyes and his breathing quickening with excitement. He looked up to see Boris looking back at him, and Tyson smiled as a strange sort of heat encompassed his hands.
Tyson placed the chip on the floor and watched as the red bit began to glow succinctly. It was almost as though there was a tiny flame burning within the plastic prison. And suddenly, there came a roar from nowhere that echoed all around them, and the Bit glowed brighter and fiercer. Tyson stood up and stepped back.
"This is it."
The room was pierced with a blazing red light, so natural in contrast to the synthetic glare of the lamp shade. And then it seemed to all the inhabitants of the room that the walls, the ceiling, the floor were on fire, and even the shadows danced along the walls as fiery imps, skipping and dancing in the glowering flames of the light. The temperature of the room rose slightly, although not too hot as to burn anybody, and everyone in the room was forced to cover their eyes and squint as the light exploded into a bright white flash. A resounding screech pierced the air, and Tyson pried open his eyes just enough to see the glorious shape of the phoenix rising from the Bit.
It was an awe-inspiring sight. The eyes of the Dranzer phoenix glimmered and glinted black, and the magnificent beast, wreathed in scarlet flame that trailed off into the air in anger, continued to grow as it emerged from its confinement. As it emerged it stretched out its flaming crimson wings to their full span and screeched once more as if to emphasise its power. Three tails emerged from the Bit, one longer than the other two, with dazzling yellow patterns creeping along the edges and manifesting at the tips in a flame shaped arrow. Golden chest plates shimmered in the radiance of its flames as the beast rose through the air, its fire spiralling off and evaporating into the air around it.
Finally the phoenix was fully emerged and the room stood still. Even Jenny had stopped moving, her computer raised above her head ready to whack Voltaire with. She simply stared through her thick spectacles at the royalty before her.
Tyson stepped forwards, feeling very nervous. Dranzer was not as friendly as Dragoon in his opinion and demanded a lot more respect. He stood with his head down, but spoke clearly and loudly to attract the ten metre high creature. The heat threatened to burn him but he stood against it.
"Dranzer!" he called, "It's me . . . Tyson. It's just that . . . well . . . um . . . "
He remembered how badly Dranzer had been treated in the past due to Boris and Voltaire, and thought it was best to let the actions speak for themselves.
"Look!" he yelled, glancing up into the glowering ember eyes of Dranzer and pointing. "It's Boris and Voltaire!"
He spun around to face the other end of the room, his heart thudding in his chest, and pointed to the still form of Kai, who lay with his back to them. It seemed as though his flesh were suddenly alight and alive with flame because of the light radiating from the Dranzer.
"And look! They did that to Kai!"
He pointed to Max, on a roll. "They killed Max! And Rei, and Kenny! And we can't defeat them alone! We need your help!"
More pieces of ceiling crumbled now, slightly larger, and tiny shafts of light began to creep through the miniscule holes in the stone ceiling. The heat from Dranzer was crushing the room. Dranzer gazed down at the lifeless body of Max, and then back to Tyson. And then it screeched again, powerfully, and turned to face Boris and Voltaire. The two men simply watched the phoenix, their bodies rigid and taut in fear. Voltaire opened his mouth to speak.
"Dranzer, listen. You know me. Would I harm my grandson?"
Voltaire spoke no more, and Boris didn't even get a chance to open his mouth. Jenny dived out of the way with a squeal as Dranzer leaned forwards and opened its mouth, only to emit a raging, spilling inferno of molten liquid. Red hot magma cascaded from its mouth, mixed with bright orange flames that shone as red leaves in the autumn sunlight, and coiled towards the two evil men. Tyson didn't manage to see Voltaire's last expression, but he hoped it was one of fear. Voltaire had caused so much pain to so many others, that he deserved no pity. And the same went for Boris.
The room heated up as a furnace as the flames continued to pour; Dranzer's wings flapping and wreathing as it hovered slightly above the floor. The magma scalded the air as it blistered about the forms of the two men, and Tyson, his arm over his face to shield it from the immense heat, caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Jenny sprinting over to where Kai lay and pulling out her knife again. She set to work quickly, well aware that the heat from the flames would be melting the metal that imprisoned him.
"Come on . . . " she murmured as she continued to hack at the rusty coppery metal, watching as the chips flew off and sparkled in the light of Dranzer's attack. Her own face was lit up, and her glasses were sparking like crazy. It was all she could do to see through them.
"Almos' there . . . " she said to herself through gritted teeth, and she paused for a moment to wipe the sweat off her brow. It certainly was hot in there. She turned and looked back at the incredible Dranzer, not quite sure what was going on but knowing she had to hurry, and then she turned back to Kai.
"Oh!"
She gasped and smiled, for it seemed that Kai had awoken! His fist clenched and he pulled it to himself as he opened his eyes with a slight groan, the heavy metal chain dragging along his upper body. Jenny lifted it up to stop it from catching on any of his wounds of whip marks.
"Y'alrigh' there, Kai?" she said softly. Kai's eyes fully opened now, and he rolled over onto his back so he wasn't facing away from her. He lay still for a brief moment before glancing over at the Dranzer, his own beast, and his eyes widened.
". . . Dran . . . "
Jenny nodded. "Yep, it's Dranzer. Who has just toasted Boris and your grandfather."
Kai's eyes flashed. " . . . Water . . ."
Jenny frowned, puzzled. "D'ye' wanna drink?"
Kai shook his head faintly. "Water!"
Jenny turned to where he was looking, and saw that he was gazing at the vent they had crawled in through. The opening to it was blocked, as she had shut it earlier, but water from the earlier levels had flooded the shaft and was starting to seep in through the shaft. She doubted the flimsy door would hold it out, and already the floor was beginning to puddle.
"It's okay, Kai. Don't you worry abou' a fing."
Kai glanced up at her, still too weak to move. His head was actually reeling - although he had been given the antidote to whatever drug Boris and Voltaire had injected him with, the effects were still only slowly wearing off. Still fresh in his mind were the haunting images of his hallucinations, and he was still a little confused. He was also met by these new pains, stinging ones, across his back and chest, and he could feel himself shivering despite the immense heat in the room.
Seeing the Dranzer once more lifted his spirits a little. Though he could not remember much of how he gotten into this situation, he could remember Dranzer, his loyal companion, and seeing it was a relief. Some sort of familiarity in this situation was almost like a relaxant. Even watching Dranzer toast a living relative of his didn't really bother him - he didn't treat Voltaire as a relative any more and he was just so calmed by the sight of his beast in all its power. Throwing his blade at the wall earlier had been a moment of insanity - and he could plainly see now that he would have been lost without his Dranzer. Still, it was here now, and so he smiled, relaxing a little, despite the confining chain wrapped tightly about his wrist and the chilled floor beneath him.
Tyson watched as the Dranzer extinguished the inferno. The heat in the room dropped slightly and Tyson smiled as he saw that absolutely nothing remained of the two evil miscreants who had caused so much torture through the years for so many.
"That was awesome, Dranzer! Thanks!" he called up, feeling it was polite to say a thank you. Dranzer turned back to him, its eyes still glinting powerfully, and Tyson was pretty sure it was about to return to its bit when he felt the lap of water about his feet.
"Huh?"
He glanced at the floor all around them, and saw it was covered in a thin layer of transparent water, in which Dranzer's flames quivered passionately in the reflection. He smiled.
"Cool."
Above him, Dranzer too had spotted the water, and could see the frightened look growing in its own eyes. Water. The only element that could defeat the prodigious flames. The only substance that could quell its passions and extinguish its light forever. Water - the only thing that the phoenix feared.
Dranzer let out a screech, and Tyson glanced up at it.
"It's okay, Dranzer, it's only water!"
The mighty bird seemed to calm at Tyson's words. After all, if a human could manage to not be scared by a simple element, then why shouldn't a mighty phoenix?
The door to the ventilation shaft broke, and water flowed in as one massive body, sloshing in and creating tiny waves across the room.
Dranzer let out a screech in terror as the water touched the tips of its tails. It was in sheer panic, and Tyson's eyes widened in horror. He knew he couldn't control a raging Bit-Beast - who could? All he could do was back away as the phoenix screeched wildly and flapped its wings in a complete frenzy as the transparent water continued to pour in. Dranzer's head came into rough contact with the ceiling and more pieces of rubble - larger now, more dangerous - came crashing down and splashed into the water that was gathering.
Jenny gasped, her own eyes flashing fear. The animal was out of control and was at large to do whatever it wanted. Plus, the room was filling with sloshing water and it reminded her of a previous situation. Her heart pounding as unwanted images flashed into her head cruelly, she turned back to Kai and grabbed him around the torso gently.
"I'm jus' liftin' yer up, Kai. Get ye' outta this water."
She managed to sit Kai against the wall, although she could feel some of his strength returning already as he had tried to help her as much as he could. She then returned to hacking at Kai's chain with her knife, annoyed at the flailing pieces of chipped metal that flipped into the water and surrounded her. It was only shallow - about two or three inches deep - but was enough to annoy.
A loud screech, nearer her vicinity, caught her attention, and she stopped trying to free Kai for a moment and turned around.
"ARGHHH!"
She squealed again, covering her head as she was faced with a long, flashing tail, glinting in reds, oranges and yellows as it swiped past her through the air and slammed into the wall about half a metre away from her. It crashed straight through with awesome power, and the wall crumbled, leaving only a tattered, rocky casing at the edges of where it had stood - like a broken window leaves shards of glass hanging about the frame. Rocks, grey as winter, tumbled about both she and Kai and they covered themselves as best they could. They escaped unharmed, strangely enough, and they shut their eyes as chilled rainwater suddenly barrelled in from the outside world. It was teaming with cold, heavy pellets of rain in Russia.
The rain didn't help situations. The wind from outside blew at the Dranzer's flames, and the rain pounded into it from all over, causing it great suffering and torment. Kai watched, unable to say anything but feeling immensely for his beast. He understood what massive pain Dranzer would be in at that moment. And he unfortunately knew just what was coming.
Dranzer lost complete control. Tyson, nearest to the beast, was forced to dive for cover behind a nearby pile of rocks that had fallen from the swiftly collapsing ceiling as a spiral of sweltering, blossoming flames headed his way. He avoided being scorched, and watched on from behind his miniature fort as Dranzer turned to face Kai and Jenny. Kai propped himself up on the wall and stumbled to his feet weakly, only able to stand by leaning on the remnants of the wall.
All recognition was gone from the ebony eyes as they glimmered with pain and terror, and the prodigious phoenix took a deep breath, not understanding that it was about to burn its master and his friend. Jenny had the sense to scream "No!" as a burst of flames erupted from the bright yellow beak of the bird, and she covered her eyes as she felt the air beside her heat up.
She suddenly felt a pair of arms around her waist, and then, instead of the burning sensation she had expected, she found she had something to cling to. She held fast, her eyes rigidly closed tightly as she was dragged along, and then she felt the strangest sensation, almost this sense of falling, and the cold air ripped at her face, and the rain pelted her skin, and she could only bury her face in whoever she was clinging to as they jerked and stopped falling.
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Tyson, watching on from behind his rock, jumped up as he saw Dranzer take a breath.
"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to release Dranzer . . ." he thought as the Dranzer took aim at Jenny and Kai.
"No, Dranzer, don't!" he yelled, jumping out from behind the rock as the spiral of flames erupted from the phoenix's beak. He could still see them - Jenny yelling something bravely before hiding her face from the immense head hurtling towards her - and then Kai, of all people, who hadn't an ounce of strength left in the world, wrapping his arms around her middle, still glaring defiantly into the face of the phoenix and the flames. Tyson watched as Jenny turned into Kai for support and wrapped her own arms around him, and then Kai just seemed to collapse, his knees buckling beneath him, and he fell backwards, holding the young girl in his arms, out of the hole in the wall created by the ferocious Dranzer in its peril and disappearing out of Tyson's sight.
Then there was just nothing. An empty hole in the wall. His friends - the last two - were suddenly gone, just like that.
"NO! ! !" yelled Tyson, leaping forward, his hand outstretched. But it was too late. And now, Tyson simply found himself staring into the ember beads of the phoenix's eyes as it faced him, and it took a breath, and Tyson could only close his eyes as he prepared for the imminent cremation he was about to face.
One day, this world will see me at the horizon.
One day; from a distant light.
And just before I stand to face my love,
I'll turn around,
And with a smile, I'll say my goodbyes.
Just one last goodbye -
Goodbye.
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Sherbet Mayhem: And . . . that should just about . . . do it. Yep, another day, another chapter. Hee, hee. Told you so. Don't try to figure me out! I've still got a few surprises in store. And that's all I'll say . . . except that all three sets of lyrics I used were from Blindside songs. They are so amazing, indeed. Check em out if ya get a chance! Erm . . . the first lyrics were from "Thought like Flames" (yes, well done, I called the chapter by the same name! Ooo, you get a cookie if you noticed!). The second set of lyrics was from "Sleepwalking" and the last lyrics, at the end of the chapter, were from "Sleepwalking" too. Awesome stuff. Yes, indeed.
How did you like it? Hee, hee, you don't know what to think, do you? I don't. Anyhow, I'd probably better go to bed now. It is . . . 02:05 in the morning. Far too late! COLLEGE TOMORROW!
Anyhow, I'd better run. I'll try and update by like next Tuesday but if not then you can't say I broke a promise because I made no such promise. I said I'll try and update. That's no definite. But I will try.
Hope you enjoyed it, and please review! You've all been so wonderful with your reviews so far, so keep up the good . . . er . . . reviewing! Lol, and Saphie, what grade are you on when playing the flute? Are you really good? Do you even have grades where you live? Lol!
God bless everybody, and good night!
Big kisses x x x x x x x x x
Sherbet Mayhem.
As for everybody else who ISN'T going to see Evanescence anytime soon - find out when they're coming near you and GO, GO, GO! It was amazing!
Sorry about the even later than usual update - I've been in London recently and unfortunately I am not a walking typewriter and couldn't write more. Sorry. Je suis desole. I also have a lot of work on . . . I mean I just finished writing yet another Othello essay and I have Graphics work to do. Design a bloomin' perfume bottle with faeries on it. Pfuh. Plus I have homework for 'Wuthering Heights' in my other English lesson to do but I can't even be bothered - and I'm sure there might be some History lying around. And Theatre Studies . . . don't even get me started! See what I mean? I really am apologising on behalf of my college, and me, because my college just doesn't seem to appreciate (no matter how often I try to get let off my homework) the important of fanfiction.net! Lol! *yawns* damned Othello . . .
Ahem . . . on with the disclaimer.
Special thanks go to the following people who left wonderful reviews. Cookies for all of you. Merci buckets to: Becca, Misao, Lunis, KeenaSky, Mizuumi Hakuya, Saphie, Otherworlder, Scarlet Diamonds, Honest Abe, Sobbing Phsyco, Jessica, Cherry Rain, Mistress-of-eternal-darkness, Angel- Sporty_chick, and last but not least, Drifting Soul. Thankies for the nice reviewies and I'll give you all a proper shout out at the end of this damned story.
Anime Writer 88 - (who reviewed BBR which I helped Oil Pastel with a little bit). On behalf of Oil Pastel, I'd like to say that you smell really bad, because you said BBR was 'stupid' and it's obviously a work of comic genius (lol)! SHUT YER GOB ya gobby retard! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Oh, and Oil Pastel, here's your shout out. Fingerless gloves and really bad eggs. Lol. You smell, but at least I smell worse. Happy now? READ HER FICS! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! They're awesome. Another special shout out goes to the smelly (but less smelly than me) Lindsay, who left me a lovely shout out at the beginning of her awesome (and I mean awesome) new fic called "Under the ice". Everybody go read it coz it kicks ass! And don't do what most people do and read this and then completely ignore the shout out. GO READ IT! ! ! Now! Even if that means to ignore my fic completely! Lol, you can always read this later. It's written by Scarlet Diamonds. Seriously, it's awesome. I LOVE IT! And so will you!
Erm . . . I own everything from previous chapters and . . . er . . . a pair of stripy fingerless gloves, bought shopping today. Lol.
Oh, and italics in speech are thoughts, just so ya know. (
Blumin' 'eck that was long . . .
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Chapter Eleven: Thought like flames.
"Gra . . . grandfather?"
"What's . . . going on?"
A sudden prick, and a strange, flowing, pressurised sensation in the arm. Unexpected freedom - feeling in the body again. Movement.
"Hold your tongue."
"But---"
"HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"
He could hear his own voice; weak, trembling. It confused him - the floor beneath him was so hard and unforgiving that it was difficult to think straight. He ached all over, his body shivering painfully as his muscles contracted and relaxed without his permission. The sound of a whip slicing through the cruel, iced air was agonizingly clear and echoed between his throbbing ears. And there was nothing to hold on to any more.
" . . . Stop . . . please. I can't . . . I can't take this . . . please . . ."
The whip echoed once again.
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"Right, I suggest we go . . . this way!"
Jenny sighed. Yes, Tyson was in the lead, with Max in the middle as they crawled along the narrow corridor. It was practically another ventilation shaft, but Jenny didn't like to think of them now. Not after what had happened earlier . . .
"Tyson, I said 'left'! Why don't ye' jus' listen t' me?!?"
From between them both, Max growled to himself. He was being forced along this stupid corridor to save somebody he didn't even see the point in saving! He decided to try and dissuade his 'captors'.
"You know, they're probably both dead by now," he said, smiling to himself very slightly. Tyson tutted with a click of his tongue, his face never betraying what his thoughts were screaming.
I hear you,
But I can't recognize even a sentence as truth.
Who lit that black flame into your heart? And I'm near you, But my words land far from your heart. You turn your back, and I don't know where to start.
"Max, don't be so pessimistic! Kai doesn't give up so easily, and Dave . . . well, he'll be okay."
Max rolled his eyes as he continued to crawl behind Tyson. "I doubt it. Did you see the state Kai was in? Looked like he was tripping! And Dave . . . well, come on, he was dead anyway! Why don't we just turn around and go ba-- -"
His plans were thwarted sharply when Jenny poked him in the calf of his leg. "Enough, Max. Shurrup."
Max wrinkled his nose sharply. He hated that girl so much. She was so bossy, so domineering, and her views on life so far extracted from his own! He kept silent and continued to follow Tyson, until they came to a widened out area, and finally a door, metal, shining in a glaring overhead bulb.
"Do we go through?" asked Tyson, looking at the handle cautiously. Jenny nodded encouragingly, and Tyson, ignoring a sigh of impatience from Max, pressed down the handle and opened the door. It swung open before them with an eerie creak, and they peered forwards cautiously, Tyson just poking his head slightly into the room.
It was silent.
A large, almost perfectly square room faced them. It had no windows at all, and was almost pitch black but for a small, swinging lamp in the far left corner of the ceiling. It flickered creepily and sent shivers racing up Tyson's spine as moths, fluttering their desperate wings upon his body. Breathing in deeply through his nose and wondering what the strange smell was that gently tinted the air, he manoeuvred himself out of the shaft and on to the floor. He turned to watch Max slide out, followed by Jenny, who pulled the shaft shut.
"It's so dark . . ." muttered Tyson as he regained his balance thoughtfully. He squinted about through the almost impenetrable darkness, his heart pounding, faced with the unexpected. There are certain situations in life when the human body, faced suddenly with the unknown, can prepare itself as best it can. Worst possible situations flash through the brain as the body prepares for a flight or fight stand off, adrenaline pumping and heart rate rising. But now . . . Tyson couldn't even tense his muscles he was so weary. This situation was so detached yet so familiar that he just didn't know how to respond. He merely continued to look around, wondering if his eyes would settle and become accustomed to this darkness that they seemed forever emerged in.
To his left, a dark figure moved past him, and Tyson realised Jenny had moved forwards. He could hear her soft, controlled breathing in the darkness, crumbling through the wall of silence that surrounded them.
"Wait . . . "she whispered in a hushed tone, " . . . Listen . . . "
Tyson held his breath as he leaned forwards a little. His eyes flitted yet focused on nothing as he strained his ears. Then, almost inaudible, came feathering a faint, rasping sound, so very quiet that Tyson could hardly believe it was there. He whipped around to 'face' Jenny.
"Jen, d'you think there are any other lights in here?"
Jenny frowned, although Tyson make that out. A sigh from Max was heard behind the both of them, followed by a dull 'click'.
The room was flooded with bright, synthetic light that searched out through ever corner and burned the eyes with a fierce irony. Strange that such a painful thing should be so necessary.
Tyson slit open his eyes through the flash of blinding light, feeling his pupils decreasing in size rapidly to avoid an overload of light entering. He forced them open further still, groaning a little and looking around the room. His eyes finally fell upon what he had feared, expected, and hoped for lying in the close right hand corner.
His Captain.
His Captain who lay on his side, facing away from them, one arm crumpled above his head and the other pulled further away from him, the latter being attached to a metal cuff, linking him to a hook in the wall by a thick metal chain that glinted copper in the sudden rush of superficial radiance. He wore only his khaki trousers - shoes, socks, shirt and jacket had been removed and taken. The traditional scarf he usually wore was nowhere to be seen. The white folds of smooth material would usually hide his neck, where now lay a cruel red mark, burning the skin nastily. All along the torso were ugly red weal marks, swelling welts; long and thin, criss-crossing across his back and chest. Several wounds had been inflicted; some small, some larger, and crimson blood had bled out of the breaks and trailed down the clammy, pale skin in a gravitational trickle that too shone in the light of the room. The shape of his ribs could plainly be seen now through times of toil and their silhouette moved very gently as each breath was dragged in desperately, weakly.
Tyson's feet carried him forward before he even told them to do so. He flew over to his friend and knelt by him when he arrived.
"Kai? Can you hear me?"
Tyson's grey eyes scanned along his friend's body. It shivered very gently, as though to shiver properly was too much. At each light breath, Tyson felt more and more pressed to hurry, as though time were against them. When Kai gave no reply, Tyson leaned over and looked at his face. That too was pale, with a gash above the left eye seeping and oozing blood slowly. Kai's eyes were firmly closed.
"Jen, come over here!"
He heard Jenny hurrying over behind him, and she knelt, looking more at the coppery, slightly rusty chain leading from Kai to the wall. It looked strong despite its rust.
"Can you open it?"
Jenny gave Tyson one of the most sceptical looks he had ever received. "Tyson, I'm not a walkin' bloomin' toolbox! Wha', did ye' expect me te' jus' pull out a flippin' drill from me flamin' pocket? Come on!"
Tyson gave her half a smile. "Okay, dumb question."
He looked over to Max, who still stood near the light switch he had callously flipped a moment earlier.
"Hey Max, could you give us a hand?"
Another sceptical glance shut Tyson up. He frowned for a second before looking back up to Jenny, his grey eyes glinting in the lighting.
"Hey, what about Max's knife? Jen, could we use it on those chains?"
He passed it to the girl, who turned it over in her hands. It was only small, and the blade had worn almost blunt.
"I'll try," she responded curtly and lifted Kai's arm gently, drawing the chain towards herself and stretching it out on her knees. She then began to attack it with the knife, the flurried movements of her hands and the quick, tense strikes suggesting that she cared slightly more about this situation than she was letting on. Her index finger glowed red and white with the pressure she put along the safe edge of the blade.
Tyson watched, fascinated, as tiny pieces of copper began to chip off at Jenny's handiwork. She was certainly no craftsperson, but she wasn't doing a bad job. Tyson turned back to Max.
"Hey, Max, we're doing it! We'll have Kai out in no ti . . ."
Tyson's words trailed off depressingly as he caught sight of two newer figures at the other end of the room. Max apparently had not noticed them yet, and, as Tyson's face fell and whitened beneath the layer of dirt that they were all buried within, the two figures smiled.
"I wouldn't bother trying to release him, Jennifer."
Jenny stopped, half indignant at being called her full name and half fearful at the familiar tone of voice she recognised. For everybody knew the famous voice of Boris Balkov, the inspirational political genius who was, in part, responsible for the creation of BIOVOLT. She turned and indeed her eyes fell upon that same man, his purple hair greased back in that same slick manner, and next to him stood just as fearful a figure.
Voltaire.
Mr Hiwatari, the one and only. She'd only ever seen pictures of this man. He was a very powerful enemy to have made, and looking upon him now she almost regretted having even bothered. He was old, with a hawk like glare and something in his face that reminded her of Kai. But no, this face had felt no real emotion for years. It was like stone. Cold, lifeless.
"That little knife of yours," continued Boris, his mouth twisted in a malicious smirk as usual, "is no good. And what will you do if you do release him? Carry him all the way home? You ought to be grateful to us that the boy is even alive."
Tyson frowned, a little nervous but more powerfully angry than he had been in a long time.
"What? You did this to Kai! How can you even say that?"
Voltaire stepped forwards, his hands behind his back clasped together in an old man type fashion. His voice was strong and commanding, very much like his grandson's, but Kai had a much softer, mellower tone to his voice. Not so harsh or disrespectful.
"He nearly died! His body went into anaphylactic shock! He was hallucinating, imagining things, dying! We gave him treatment about half an hour ago. Be grateful he is not yet dead! Insolent children."
"WHAT?!?" cried Jenny, standing up and keeping tight hold of her weapon, "Ye' poisoned 'im! Ye' woz th' cause o' th' shock! I can see that coz o' th' mark on 'is neck! You've gave 'im somefin! 'Ow can ye' try an make yerselves look good 'cause of this? An' look!"
She pointed to Kai's trembling body, her eyes flashing furiously.
"Look! Yuz only kept 'im alive te' torture 'im a bit longer! Whip marks, puncture wounds . . . yer sadistic, th' both o' ye'!"
Voltaire laughed out loud at Jenny's burst of anger.
"My, my. All little friends, are we? Touching, my dear. I would never have guessed that you were a mole, of all things. I trusted you as any other employee. But you betrayed my trust, dear girl. You should feel proud that you escaped my notice."
Jenny scowled at him. "Lucky me. Want me te' play yer a violin or three?"
Tyson stood up beside Jenny, Voltaire's words and Jenny's revelations sparking a flame within.
"Yeah, Voltaire. Surely you don't expect pity from us after all you've done. How did you even get in here, anyway?"
Voltaire opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted.
"They came in through the door in the far left corner, Tyson. You can't see it because of the way the light falls on it. I only noticed when they came through."
Max had spoken again, his voice quiet and controlled, toneless and cool. Tyson blinked, as did Voltaire.
"Well," spoke Boris, smiling benevolently at the infuriated Tyson, "You certainly have caused us a lot of bother. Look at the damage you've done to our HQ!"
He spoke patronisingly, and Tyson growled, gritting his teeth and forming little balls with his fists. How he hated this man! Through so many incidents of pain and suffering, Tyson had formed an immense dislike of Boris. He was too evil a creation to be saved.
As if to echo Boris' words, there was a strange rumbling noise, and suddenly, the floor of the room moved slightly beneath them. A loud bang was heard from far off, and a few tiny pieces of rock from the stone ceiling fell through the air, floating and twirling in the dust like dancers upon ice.
"See?" hissed Boris, "The second floor is flooded! We can't get down via the main building! You've succeeded in bringing down the systems here, that's for sure. Now the staircase is flooding, and pretty soon the water level will reach here!"
He paused, rather dramatically, and his tone softened. His eyes glinted with that memorable cruel spark Tyson had witnessed previously and he tensed.
"But how many have you lost along the way, mighty Sui Generis?" said Boris, in almost a tuneful manner. "First Mark. How funny it was to watch his head fly! How we laughed!"
Tyson saw Jenny's face contort in disgust. "You're sick."
"Then Rei!" continued Boris, laughing in an adult manner, as though he were criticising the acting in some sort of witty play, "Oh, that was fun."
He paused again, watching each face in the room change. Tyson's pale face visibly darkened as his eyes glared straight at Boris' own.
"Did you see?" murmured Boris mercilessly, his face contorting with some sort of weird delight, some savage desire, "Did you see him squirm? Choking and begging and twisting and jerking? And then Dave! Oh, he put up a fight, that one. Thought he'd never pop it. So we held his face under water about an hour ago. Ah, it was good to be rid of that one. What pests you all were! Worthless vermin!"
That was about all Tyson could possibly stand, and Jenny next to him could stand no more either. They both simply flew forwards, forgetting everything, forgetting the power these men wielded, forgetting their situations - just suddenly bursting out in an immense surge of riled emotion, uncontrollable passion, and insane loyalty.
Voltaire and Boris had not expected such a move, and so were taken aback at the ferocity of the attack. Jenny leaped at Voltaire while Tyson flung himself with a cry at the cruel Boris, his body strong with fury and emotion. He wrapped his hands about Boris' neck and they both fell to the floor.
Max watched on silently from his stance near the shaft they had entered through. He watched, his eyes the only visibly moving part of his body. He cared not for this. He cared not for them. His ice blue gaze was dull, his facial expression lack lustre. He just wanted to leave.
"These things mean nothing to me," he thought as he sighed and shifted position. His gaze averted slightly to the still form of his 'captain', and he sneered. "Pathetic. It's not like he's useful. Couldn't even keep a team of seven soldiers together."
Max rolled his eyes and turned back to the battle. It was actually quite interesting. His friends stood no chance, yet they continued to fight viciously, brawling with all their strength.
"Look at her, hitting Voltaire with her computer!" thought Max meanly, "It's pitiable!"
His gaze fell upon Tyson, who was really going for it against Boris. His face was gripped in an expression of utter madness, and Max watched, intrigued, as Boris struggled to his feet, holding the struggling boy, and threw him across the room.
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Max blinked as Tyson came into contact with the wall and fell to the ground, clutching his right arm in agony and his face a twisted morph of pain. He could hear Boris laughing, exerting his power over the young lad.
And something stirred within Max.
He blinked again, not sure what was going on. A strange feeling, almost forgotten. What was it?
"What's this?" a voice in his mind spoke softly, "You remember?"
Max frowned, pondering quickly, suddenly feeling that he should go to help his friend. It was as if reality disappeared for a strange moment and suddenly all Max could see was that image, of Tyson slamming into the cold stone wall, the crack of the arm, and expression of pain on his young face.
"T . . . Tyson?" stuttered Max, completely unsure of this feeling all of a sudden. What was this? Did he actually care about his friend's well being? There it was again, that image, flashing, tormenting yet releasing, restoring and reviving, just a little but enough.
"TYSON!" came his voice, and Max ran forwards, unexpectedly full of that emotion he had just moments ago watch take over his friends. He had scorned at it, but now he was empowered by it.
Still, not all that is broken can always be fixed. Max did not run to Tyson's side - oh no. He ran to Boris. He ran to Boris with his fists raised and his eyes flashing something almost completely forgotten within himself.
"Lose yourself, Max. Be free again . . ."
Max smiled as he rammed his fist into Boris' jaw line, and they both flew on to the hard floor. Max recovered first, propping himself to his hands and glancing over at the man. He was winded, and couldn't move just yet - and Max spotted the glint of a gun at Boris' waist. He smiled defiantly, knowing he could easily have the upper hand in this battle - and rolled over to Boris, grabbing the slim line pistol and crawling atop of Boris.
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It felt smooth, soft, in his hands, and Max ran his finger over the black metal of the firearm. Just a small pistol, not too powerful; yet powerful enough to destroy Boris once and for all. The simple feel of the weapon surged power through Max's corrupt body, and he grinned down at Boris, coking the trigger and pointing the nozzle at Boris' forehead.
Something similar to fear flashed through Boris' eyes, and something raced inside Max. He was enjoying this. This would make him famous! This would make him a hero! He would be the person who had finally killed the infamous Boris Balkov!
"But at what price, Max?"
Max's smirk disappeared, and he frowned, the gun still pointed at Boris but his hand not clenched so tightly around the weapon now. Max moved his gaze, looking at nothing in particular, as a debate ensued within his mind.
"Don't do it!"
He blinked. "Why not?"
"You'll lose your heart!"
Max ran a hand through his hair. "What?"
"Where did the old Max go, that kid we all loved? What happened to him? All you care about is blood lust! If you do this you'll never be able to get back to who you were! Think of your friends! Think how you loved them! And now? And now they're nothing to you! Is that how you want it to be? Do you want be so cold that no one can touch you? When's the last time you smiled, Max? Smiled because you were happy?"
Max breathed out quietly. This was immense. Who was this voice, speaking to him from inside? Why was it so loud, so overpowering all of a sudden? The voice was strangely familiar, yet he could not quite place it. But that did not matter, because, unexpectedly, Max felt a lot warmer. Strangely warmer, as though some sort of wall of wind had been swept away in itself and all that was left was the flame of a crackling fire.
"I've been on a killing spree!" he muttered quietly, "I've forgotten what it's all about! But . . . there's still time . . . I can go back, I know it . . . "
Words so secure screaming like an alarm - Are you trying to wake me up?
I do believe you're trying to wake me up.
He looked down at Boris once more, his ocean blue gaze distant yet focused, and, still not quite sure why he was doing this, Max dropped the gun to the side. He turned to his right and glanced over to where Tyson was still gripping his arm but standing up again. Tyson smiled in greeting, and Max began to raise his arm in a thumbs up. It felt so good just to do that again! He was free once more - free and young and innocent and---
Max gasped suddenly, and looked down slowly at his stomach, where his khaki top had ripped and hung in shreds about a leaking wound, the blood oozing out in clots and globules and molesting his skin. He breathed in and out quietly, wondering what had happened, and then he caught the flash of black metal. As his body went limp, Boris rolled over and threw him to the ground as though he were a lifeless doll.
"Well I guess there's the problem with having a conscience," drawled Boris, slipping the gun back into his belt, "Ah well. No worries."
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Tyson, his arm throbbing and lacing painfully, smiled as Max raised his hand. He certainly hadn't expected it. Was that real? A thumbs up?
"He's back!" thought Tyson, not sure why, "That's Max!"
He grinned, despite the pulsation in his arm, and his eyes twinkled at his friend. Then suddenly there was a loud noise, which he could barely recognise, and Max jerked backwards, his body rigid. For a moment Tyson couldn't move. He simply watched as Boris got to his feet and threw the blond boy off carelessly. But his head kicked in and he ran over to his friend, not sure if he was crying out or not.
He knelt next to Max, who lay on his back, facing the ceiling, his sky blue eyes misted but still focusing.
"Max?" Tyson forced himself to speak, slipping an arm under Max's blond hair and supporting his head. The cerulean eyes glanced into his grey ones, and Max spoke with some difficulty.
"Tyson . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to . . . I mean . . . "
Tyson shook his head, attempting to avoid another welling up of tears. He couldn't just burst into tears again. He had to hold out.
"You don't need to apologise, Maxi."
Max looked up at him, breathing very heavily, and Tyson tried not to look down at the burgundy liquid seeping from the bullet wound in Max's stomach.
"Tyson?"
"Yeah, Max?"
Max took another deep breath. "I'm . . . I'm free. And I wanna go home."
Touched and pleasantly moved, Tyson smiled, aware that Boris was watching them with a scowl but not really caring.
"You'll go home, Max. I promise."
"I don't wanna be here, Tys. I wanna see my mom again. I don't wanna have to shoot anybody else.or." he broke off, his voice trembling at his ragged, heavy breaths. Tyson nodded.
"Go on."
Max coughed and continued, his voice becoming more and more of a terrible whisper at every word he spoke. "Maybe when we get home, we can . . . reform the Blade-Breakers. You, and me, and Kenny, and Rei, and Kai. What do you say?"
Tyson nodded vigorously, crystal tears spilling over his face. He couldn't believe how unfair this was. Max had finally repented and returned to himself, and his life was pouring out through an awful, unjust tear in his stomach.
"Yeah, Max, we'll . . . we'll reform."
Max nodded faintly, his gaze becoming mistier much to Tyson's horror. "That'd be nice. No . . . more . . . no more war . . . just . . . "
Max's voice trailed off, but he smiled.
Tyson's heart wrenched painfully, and he ignored the flashing pain in his arm as his friend - his real friend - passed away in his grasp. Those blue eyes - not ice blue anymore, but a warm, oceanic blue - flickered and went out, and more tears rolled down Tyson's cheeks. His hands shaking with exhaustion, despair, misery, and cold, Tyson laid Max's limp form upon the stone ground and said a quick goodbye.
"Run free, Maxi."
He used his good arm to grab his friend's lifeless hand and he held it for a moment, remembering all of those times when he had laughed and joked with Max. All those times before the war. And he looked down at his hands - and noticed something he had not expected.
Upon the floor, next to Max's broken body, lay two Bit chips.
One was crushed, and tiny pieces of green and lilac lay scattered upon the stone. But the other glinted powerful red in the synthetic light of the room, and Tyson squinted at it.
The Dranzer.
Tyson picked it up subtly, realising that Boris was watching Jenny and Voltaire, who were still struggling, and saw his chance. This was it! This was how they could escape, and pull this off! But . . . but could he control the Dranzer? After all, it was Kai's Bit-Beast. Would it obey him?
"I gotta try . . . " he thought with determination, and he reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out the small red chip that he always carried with him, even though he would probably never use it again on his own beast. He slipped the circular Dranzer Bit into the matching red plastic chip. The machine bleeped almost inaudibly, and Tyson pressed the buttons on the chip in the correct order - the code they had all memorised to activate the chip correctly.
He watched the tiny chip in his hands intently, still crouching on the floor, his hair hanging into his eyes and his breathing quickening with excitement. He looked up to see Boris looking back at him, and Tyson smiled as a strange sort of heat encompassed his hands.
Tyson placed the chip on the floor and watched as the red bit began to glow succinctly. It was almost as though there was a tiny flame burning within the plastic prison. And suddenly, there came a roar from nowhere that echoed all around them, and the Bit glowed brighter and fiercer. Tyson stood up and stepped back.
"This is it."
The room was pierced with a blazing red light, so natural in contrast to the synthetic glare of the lamp shade. And then it seemed to all the inhabitants of the room that the walls, the ceiling, the floor were on fire, and even the shadows danced along the walls as fiery imps, skipping and dancing in the glowering flames of the light. The temperature of the room rose slightly, although not too hot as to burn anybody, and everyone in the room was forced to cover their eyes and squint as the light exploded into a bright white flash. A resounding screech pierced the air, and Tyson pried open his eyes just enough to see the glorious shape of the phoenix rising from the Bit.
It was an awe-inspiring sight. The eyes of the Dranzer phoenix glimmered and glinted black, and the magnificent beast, wreathed in scarlet flame that trailed off into the air in anger, continued to grow as it emerged from its confinement. As it emerged it stretched out its flaming crimson wings to their full span and screeched once more as if to emphasise its power. Three tails emerged from the Bit, one longer than the other two, with dazzling yellow patterns creeping along the edges and manifesting at the tips in a flame shaped arrow. Golden chest plates shimmered in the radiance of its flames as the beast rose through the air, its fire spiralling off and evaporating into the air around it.
Finally the phoenix was fully emerged and the room stood still. Even Jenny had stopped moving, her computer raised above her head ready to whack Voltaire with. She simply stared through her thick spectacles at the royalty before her.
Tyson stepped forwards, feeling very nervous. Dranzer was not as friendly as Dragoon in his opinion and demanded a lot more respect. He stood with his head down, but spoke clearly and loudly to attract the ten metre high creature. The heat threatened to burn him but he stood against it.
"Dranzer!" he called, "It's me . . . Tyson. It's just that . . . well . . . um . . . "
He remembered how badly Dranzer had been treated in the past due to Boris and Voltaire, and thought it was best to let the actions speak for themselves.
"Look!" he yelled, glancing up into the glowering ember eyes of Dranzer and pointing. "It's Boris and Voltaire!"
He spun around to face the other end of the room, his heart thudding in his chest, and pointed to the still form of Kai, who lay with his back to them. It seemed as though his flesh were suddenly alight and alive with flame because of the light radiating from the Dranzer.
"And look! They did that to Kai!"
He pointed to Max, on a roll. "They killed Max! And Rei, and Kenny! And we can't defeat them alone! We need your help!"
More pieces of ceiling crumbled now, slightly larger, and tiny shafts of light began to creep through the miniscule holes in the stone ceiling. The heat from Dranzer was crushing the room. Dranzer gazed down at the lifeless body of Max, and then back to Tyson. And then it screeched again, powerfully, and turned to face Boris and Voltaire. The two men simply watched the phoenix, their bodies rigid and taut in fear. Voltaire opened his mouth to speak.
"Dranzer, listen. You know me. Would I harm my grandson?"
Voltaire spoke no more, and Boris didn't even get a chance to open his mouth. Jenny dived out of the way with a squeal as Dranzer leaned forwards and opened its mouth, only to emit a raging, spilling inferno of molten liquid. Red hot magma cascaded from its mouth, mixed with bright orange flames that shone as red leaves in the autumn sunlight, and coiled towards the two evil men. Tyson didn't manage to see Voltaire's last expression, but he hoped it was one of fear. Voltaire had caused so much pain to so many others, that he deserved no pity. And the same went for Boris.
The room heated up as a furnace as the flames continued to pour; Dranzer's wings flapping and wreathing as it hovered slightly above the floor. The magma scalded the air as it blistered about the forms of the two men, and Tyson, his arm over his face to shield it from the immense heat, caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Jenny sprinting over to where Kai lay and pulling out her knife again. She set to work quickly, well aware that the heat from the flames would be melting the metal that imprisoned him.
"Come on . . . " she murmured as she continued to hack at the rusty coppery metal, watching as the chips flew off and sparkled in the light of Dranzer's attack. Her own face was lit up, and her glasses were sparking like crazy. It was all she could do to see through them.
"Almos' there . . . " she said to herself through gritted teeth, and she paused for a moment to wipe the sweat off her brow. It certainly was hot in there. She turned and looked back at the incredible Dranzer, not quite sure what was going on but knowing she had to hurry, and then she turned back to Kai.
"Oh!"
She gasped and smiled, for it seemed that Kai had awoken! His fist clenched and he pulled it to himself as he opened his eyes with a slight groan, the heavy metal chain dragging along his upper body. Jenny lifted it up to stop it from catching on any of his wounds of whip marks.
"Y'alrigh' there, Kai?" she said softly. Kai's eyes fully opened now, and he rolled over onto his back so he wasn't facing away from her. He lay still for a brief moment before glancing over at the Dranzer, his own beast, and his eyes widened.
". . . Dran . . . "
Jenny nodded. "Yep, it's Dranzer. Who has just toasted Boris and your grandfather."
Kai's eyes flashed. " . . . Water . . ."
Jenny frowned, puzzled. "D'ye' wanna drink?"
Kai shook his head faintly. "Water!"
Jenny turned to where he was looking, and saw that he was gazing at the vent they had crawled in through. The opening to it was blocked, as she had shut it earlier, but water from the earlier levels had flooded the shaft and was starting to seep in through the shaft. She doubted the flimsy door would hold it out, and already the floor was beginning to puddle.
"It's okay, Kai. Don't you worry abou' a fing."
Kai glanced up at her, still too weak to move. His head was actually reeling - although he had been given the antidote to whatever drug Boris and Voltaire had injected him with, the effects were still only slowly wearing off. Still fresh in his mind were the haunting images of his hallucinations, and he was still a little confused. He was also met by these new pains, stinging ones, across his back and chest, and he could feel himself shivering despite the immense heat in the room.
Seeing the Dranzer once more lifted his spirits a little. Though he could not remember much of how he gotten into this situation, he could remember Dranzer, his loyal companion, and seeing it was a relief. Some sort of familiarity in this situation was almost like a relaxant. Even watching Dranzer toast a living relative of his didn't really bother him - he didn't treat Voltaire as a relative any more and he was just so calmed by the sight of his beast in all its power. Throwing his blade at the wall earlier had been a moment of insanity - and he could plainly see now that he would have been lost without his Dranzer. Still, it was here now, and so he smiled, relaxing a little, despite the confining chain wrapped tightly about his wrist and the chilled floor beneath him.
Tyson watched as the Dranzer extinguished the inferno. The heat in the room dropped slightly and Tyson smiled as he saw that absolutely nothing remained of the two evil miscreants who had caused so much torture through the years for so many.
"That was awesome, Dranzer! Thanks!" he called up, feeling it was polite to say a thank you. Dranzer turned back to him, its eyes still glinting powerfully, and Tyson was pretty sure it was about to return to its bit when he felt the lap of water about his feet.
"Huh?"
He glanced at the floor all around them, and saw it was covered in a thin layer of transparent water, in which Dranzer's flames quivered passionately in the reflection. He smiled.
"Cool."
Above him, Dranzer too had spotted the water, and could see the frightened look growing in its own eyes. Water. The only element that could defeat the prodigious flames. The only substance that could quell its passions and extinguish its light forever. Water - the only thing that the phoenix feared.
Dranzer let out a screech, and Tyson glanced up at it.
"It's okay, Dranzer, it's only water!"
The mighty bird seemed to calm at Tyson's words. After all, if a human could manage to not be scared by a simple element, then why shouldn't a mighty phoenix?
The door to the ventilation shaft broke, and water flowed in as one massive body, sloshing in and creating tiny waves across the room.
Dranzer let out a screech in terror as the water touched the tips of its tails. It was in sheer panic, and Tyson's eyes widened in horror. He knew he couldn't control a raging Bit-Beast - who could? All he could do was back away as the phoenix screeched wildly and flapped its wings in a complete frenzy as the transparent water continued to pour in. Dranzer's head came into rough contact with the ceiling and more pieces of rubble - larger now, more dangerous - came crashing down and splashed into the water that was gathering.
Jenny gasped, her own eyes flashing fear. The animal was out of control and was at large to do whatever it wanted. Plus, the room was filling with sloshing water and it reminded her of a previous situation. Her heart pounding as unwanted images flashed into her head cruelly, she turned back to Kai and grabbed him around the torso gently.
"I'm jus' liftin' yer up, Kai. Get ye' outta this water."
She managed to sit Kai against the wall, although she could feel some of his strength returning already as he had tried to help her as much as he could. She then returned to hacking at Kai's chain with her knife, annoyed at the flailing pieces of chipped metal that flipped into the water and surrounded her. It was only shallow - about two or three inches deep - but was enough to annoy.
A loud screech, nearer her vicinity, caught her attention, and she stopped trying to free Kai for a moment and turned around.
"ARGHHH!"
She squealed again, covering her head as she was faced with a long, flashing tail, glinting in reds, oranges and yellows as it swiped past her through the air and slammed into the wall about half a metre away from her. It crashed straight through with awesome power, and the wall crumbled, leaving only a tattered, rocky casing at the edges of where it had stood - like a broken window leaves shards of glass hanging about the frame. Rocks, grey as winter, tumbled about both she and Kai and they covered themselves as best they could. They escaped unharmed, strangely enough, and they shut their eyes as chilled rainwater suddenly barrelled in from the outside world. It was teaming with cold, heavy pellets of rain in Russia.
The rain didn't help situations. The wind from outside blew at the Dranzer's flames, and the rain pounded into it from all over, causing it great suffering and torment. Kai watched, unable to say anything but feeling immensely for his beast. He understood what massive pain Dranzer would be in at that moment. And he unfortunately knew just what was coming.
Dranzer lost complete control. Tyson, nearest to the beast, was forced to dive for cover behind a nearby pile of rocks that had fallen from the swiftly collapsing ceiling as a spiral of sweltering, blossoming flames headed his way. He avoided being scorched, and watched on from behind his miniature fort as Dranzer turned to face Kai and Jenny. Kai propped himself up on the wall and stumbled to his feet weakly, only able to stand by leaning on the remnants of the wall.
All recognition was gone from the ebony eyes as they glimmered with pain and terror, and the prodigious phoenix took a deep breath, not understanding that it was about to burn its master and his friend. Jenny had the sense to scream "No!" as a burst of flames erupted from the bright yellow beak of the bird, and she covered her eyes as she felt the air beside her heat up.
She suddenly felt a pair of arms around her waist, and then, instead of the burning sensation she had expected, she found she had something to cling to. She held fast, her eyes rigidly closed tightly as she was dragged along, and then she felt the strangest sensation, almost this sense of falling, and the cold air ripped at her face, and the rain pelted her skin, and she could only bury her face in whoever she was clinging to as they jerked and stopped falling.
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Tyson, watching on from behind his rock, jumped up as he saw Dranzer take a breath.
"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to release Dranzer . . ." he thought as the Dranzer took aim at Jenny and Kai.
"No, Dranzer, don't!" he yelled, jumping out from behind the rock as the spiral of flames erupted from the phoenix's beak. He could still see them - Jenny yelling something bravely before hiding her face from the immense head hurtling towards her - and then Kai, of all people, who hadn't an ounce of strength left in the world, wrapping his arms around her middle, still glaring defiantly into the face of the phoenix and the flames. Tyson watched as Jenny turned into Kai for support and wrapped her own arms around him, and then Kai just seemed to collapse, his knees buckling beneath him, and he fell backwards, holding the young girl in his arms, out of the hole in the wall created by the ferocious Dranzer in its peril and disappearing out of Tyson's sight.
Then there was just nothing. An empty hole in the wall. His friends - the last two - were suddenly gone, just like that.
"NO! ! !" yelled Tyson, leaping forward, his hand outstretched. But it was too late. And now, Tyson simply found himself staring into the ember beads of the phoenix's eyes as it faced him, and it took a breath, and Tyson could only close his eyes as he prepared for the imminent cremation he was about to face.
One day, this world will see me at the horizon.
One day; from a distant light.
And just before I stand to face my love,
I'll turn around,
And with a smile, I'll say my goodbyes.
Just one last goodbye -
Goodbye.
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Sherbet Mayhem: And . . . that should just about . . . do it. Yep, another day, another chapter. Hee, hee. Told you so. Don't try to figure me out! I've still got a few surprises in store. And that's all I'll say . . . except that all three sets of lyrics I used were from Blindside songs. They are so amazing, indeed. Check em out if ya get a chance! Erm . . . the first lyrics were from "Thought like Flames" (yes, well done, I called the chapter by the same name! Ooo, you get a cookie if you noticed!). The second set of lyrics was from "Sleepwalking" and the last lyrics, at the end of the chapter, were from "Sleepwalking" too. Awesome stuff. Yes, indeed.
How did you like it? Hee, hee, you don't know what to think, do you? I don't. Anyhow, I'd probably better go to bed now. It is . . . 02:05 in the morning. Far too late! COLLEGE TOMORROW!
Anyhow, I'd better run. I'll try and update by like next Tuesday but if not then you can't say I broke a promise because I made no such promise. I said I'll try and update. That's no definite. But I will try.
Hope you enjoyed it, and please review! You've all been so wonderful with your reviews so far, so keep up the good . . . er . . . reviewing! Lol, and Saphie, what grade are you on when playing the flute? Are you really good? Do you even have grades where you live? Lol!
God bless everybody, and good night!
Big kisses x x x x x x x x x
Sherbet Mayhem.