Sherbet mayhem: *looks at people facing computer screen* Huh? You guys are still here? Wow. Well, I just got home from college. We had some stupid awards ceremony where we got all our results for our exams. It was so humiliating – do teachers honestly think we enjoy going up on stage to receive things? Duh! Obviously not!
Again with the: Thankies to all the readers (even those who don't review . . . ahem) because it's great that people are enjoying things. Ah well. I'm gonna keep this disclaimer short – ya know, if ya look at the very first chapter you can see how much my disclaimers have grown! Lol!
So yeah . . . hello and thank you for reading both hidden Adversary and War to Othela, who left me some lovely reviews! YAY! Merci buckets to you – and anyone else who's read more of my stuff, including Zesha and Scarlet Diamonds ('there's no place like home, there's no place like home . . .' lol) and just thanks in general to those who have reviewed. Enjoy twelve. Also thank you to Frostt coz your reviews made me smile and feel good about myself for a change. Merci. If I missed anybody then I do honestly sincerely apologise!
Everybody check out Zesha's Yu-Gi-Oh story, by the way. Zesha is a good friend of mine and I happen to know that she is an AWESOME writer! Check it out, please! Even if you don't like Yu-Gi-Oh check it out, because it's such a good read! Would I lie? I know when I'm reading good stuff and hers is DAMN good! And hey, would I recommend crap stuff to you guys? Not a chance. *looks around for Oil Pastel*, oh and read Oil pastel! (lol, we're best mates. Don't' worry, she's not that crap *winks*)
Wait a minute . . . TWELVE? It's twelve chapters? Oh man, I need to get a hobby!
Oil Pastel: Yep
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Chapter twelve: Hope
Jenny prised open her eyes, the hazel green glinting in the dull, chill light. Pellets of rain splattered against the thick lenses of her wonky glasses and she blinked, confused and unable to see much through the fast merging water droplets on her spectacles. Hadn't she fallen? Was she on the floor? She didn't feel like she was moving. Not at all. She felt quite steady, although there was this strange feeling that there was more space around her than there should normally be. Thoughts milling in her quick mind, she raised an arm, so she could wipe the rain off her glasses with her already wet fingertips.
"Don't . . . don't move . . .. "
Jenny paused quickly at the quiet, strained voice, freezing her hand just before she unclasped it from whatever she was grasping on to. She shook her head, and to her relief some of the water pellets smearing across her vision flickered off into the air and she could see a little better.
She half wished that she had kept her eyes closed completely. She realised with a gravitational surge of fear that she was hanging at least fifty metres above the snowy Russian floor. Well, she wasn't hanging. She was clinging desperately, tightly, to the dangling form of Kai, who had one arm wrapped about her as protectively as he could manage. The other was stretched upwards, tensed and pulled to its full extent if not farther, the muscles taut and tight; strained and unnatural. The chain shackle still held fast about his bluing wrist, rubbing tight against the skin and cutting off the circulation in his hand. The chain itself was still attached to the wall of the room they had fallen out of, on a fringe that Dranzer had not managed to blow up with its devastating attacks. They were dangling by a chance, an extreme; a moment.
Kai's fingers were stiffly gripped about the chain, attempting to release some of the pressure upon his hand, his body, but it wasn't working too well. Jenny winced when she saw how taut his arm and shoulder was. She looked up at him from where she clung tight about his waist.
"Crap! What' d'we do now?"
She got no response. Kai was keeping his teeth firmly grit, his hair blowing into his eyes in the wild wind, which howled about the building as a pack of angry dogs, biting and gnawing at the exterior with a rabid force and strength. When the wind blew, the two frozen figures swayed violently with it, taunted and twisted in malicious spite and perverse humour by the onslaught of air and it was all Jenny could do to maintain her grip about the boy as the wind laughed about them. The dogs, snapping and biting gusts of whipping air, were hungry.
Jenny closed her eyes for a second, her computer hanging about her neck and providing excess weight. She loosed her clasp around Kai and attempted to shake the computer, which hung by an elasticated black cord – from herself and to let it drop. She only succeeded in causing them to swing from side to side bumpily.
" . . .damn it . . . stupid computer . . . "
Kai glanced down at her with effort. It was death to move. Still he smiled, and she grinned wonkily back at him. She amused him. It was nice to see something not so serious and dangerous for once in a while – okay, so they were dangling by a literal thread above a fifty-foot drop to their dooms. But her smile reminded him that they were still there, still alive. They could still get out of this, somehow. If someone could smile, even in a situation so precarious as that one, so dangerous, so draining – then what could stop them from going further than a smile? What could stop them from – say, finding a way out? Surviving? Putting it all behind them?
Kai attempted to clear his throat a little and then spoke, his voice annoyingly rasping. He hated that – it looked so broken and defeated. However, still feeling rather lucky that he could move and talk again after his previous half hour's experiences, he continued as clearly as he could.
"Jen . . . can you . . . can you climb up over me?"
Jenny squinted, looking a little confused. "Wha'?"
" . . . Can you?"
She nodded, knowing she had been an agile climber at school and was perfectly capable of climbing up over the boy. But she worried. Would she be too heavy? Could he stand it? Would she hurt him further? Would the movement break the chain's flimsy hold on the wall? Would-
"Jen, do it!"
She jumped a little, and realised that although she had many reasonable, logical doubts, she would have to override them all for an order from her Captain. With a nervous nod, she unclasped her hands, shaking violently with nerves, cold, or something she didn't quite recognise, and reached upwards. She grabbed onto his good shoulder, knowing the other one, stretched up towards their life line, would be particularly painful right now, and pulled herself up, not sure what she was doing with her legs but making sure she didn't hurt Kai in the process. All the while the chain was creaking in a very off-putting manner.
"Knew I should'a gone on a diet!" she thought to herself, as she wrapped her left hand about the chain and pulled herself upwards some more. The chain itself was freezing cold and it chilled her fingers to close around its metal ringlets. After apologising to Kai for her computer, which was dangling in his face, she hauled herself even further and began to climb the chain. It wasn't a particularly long chain – in fact it was very short – but it seemed to take her forever to grab the remnants of the floor of the room with her chilled, numbing hands.
As she began to pull herself up into the room, still unable to see what was going on inside, she glanced at the dangling chain.
"Is that moving?" she thought, peering through her glinting, rain soaked glasses thoughtfully. As she confirmed that as a doubtless 'yes' within her own mind, the chain slipped even further with another vicious jolt. Jenny spun her head around to look below her and almost lost her grip on the floor of the demolished room above her.
Suddenly, Kai felt a strange slip in pressure about his wrist, his arm, and he looked up to see a crack, making its way up the wall mockingly, creeping along as it wound its way to where the chain was laced into the inner wall where Dranzer and Tyson currently dwelled. He barely had time to register the implications of this before there was a jolt and he slipped down a couple of inches with a nasty jerk as the chain became unattached to the wall and slipped a good way down the brick. Jenny, tightening her grasping fingers upon her safety, her haven, somehow felt a shock wave run through Kai's beaten body as the impact of the jolt, the halting of the fall, ricocheted throughout and his shoulder dislocated itself with a wicked twist. His fingers loosed their grip and they were hanging from his wrist. The instant the chain stopped, a cry escaped from Kai's mouth, the first Jenny had ever heard, of agony. He had taken enough, and he couldn't take any more. It was so strange for her to hear him finally express some of his true feelings – to at last see at least a fraction of this breakdown that undoubtedly proved that he was indeed human. The cry echoed for a second, and was followed by an odd silence, as if something of great importance or recognition had just occurred. The cry replayed upon the wind for a few seconds before the dogs attacked it with vicious thirst and it became no more than a morsel of food for them to salivate upon.
"Kai!"
She heard the cry from below her, echoing in the vast haunts of the wind, which kissed the face of every passer by with its lusty senses. Jenny was hardly in a position to think about such a thing, but she found her mind wandering towards the dismaying thoughts that the boy below her, his own life now hanging in the balance, might be giving up more and more with each and every slip of the chain. What did this chain represent? Freedom? Imprisonment? Did it represent life, power, optimism? Hope?
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Hope.
The one thing that was keeping this party going. And as Tyson leapt out of the way of a blistering bud of passionate flame, he couldn't help but distinctly feel that his hope was wearing thin. As was his luck. As was his tolerance. As was his strength.
How long could he keep this up? It wasn't so bad before, when he had others to lean on when he needed support. And not only could he lean on them; when they were around he had motivation – he had this sort of reason to keep himself strong and passionate and fiery. Now the only thing fiery was the air about him, and it was getting a little too hot for his tastes.
He slipped into the giant pool of gathering, sloshing water around him and almost lost his balance as he narrowly avoided a roasting.
"That's one passionate bird!" he thought dryly as the wet of the water soaked his trousers. As the giant, incredible Dranzer, its black eyes shimmering with pent up rage and pain, Tyson grit his teeth, ready for another attack. Sweat poured in eggs down his face as he prepared, tensing his body for another spring away from the bird's wonderful, evil flames.
Dranzer, terrified and yet completely focused upon the weary Tyson, brought its head back as it prepared another blast of heat for the boy. But then, just as it was about to spit out a barrel of energy, emotional flame aimed straight at the offender before the mighty phoenix, the distant echo of a chord – something familiar to both Tyson and Dranzer, spliced the air.
Tyson glanced towards the huge hole in the wall (where Kai and Jenny had previously fallen) now that Dranzer was distracted and too looking around. And Tyson spotted something he had not expected. A hand.
A human hand, reassuringly. A little farfetched and incredible, yes, but Tyson was never sure what to expect. After what all he'd seen in the past twenty-four hours he wouldn't be surprised if he were flying smoothly through the chilly Russian air in a few minutes!
Tyson squinted. The room was very hot and the air, although not forming the distinctive patterns and waves of heat radiation just yet, was beginning to waver a little and concentration on a farsighted object was not easy. Still, eventually his eyes focused and he made out the skin of the hand, ridden with scars and marks from the far past.
"Jenny . . ." thought Tyson with a grin. He knew it was she by the scarred hands. Something returned to him in that moment – he wasn't so alone anymore and he knew it.
"How did she . . ." he mused to himself, aware that Dranzer was also watching the hand very scrupulously. His own grey blue eyes wandered a little and he found himself staring at something, which glittered in the metallic light of the Dranzer.
The chain.
"Of course!" exclaimed Tyson, widening his eyes. And then realisation hit him – they were dangling from that chain. Kai and Jenny. They were both alive. But . . . if Jenny's hands were up here, then that meant that Kai was dangling below her? And were those cracks in the wall that Tyson's keen eyesight could make out? Had that cry he had heard been Kai?
"Oh man . . .I hope they're all right . . ." he thought as his eyes flitted back to the glorious Dranzer. Its body was suddenly rigid, tense – searching. It was scanning the hand with its ebony pupils, breathing softly, its plume feathers in their scarlet rage rising gently; up, and down, up, and down, with the pallid movements of the flames wreathing from the centre of its very being. And there was that word again: 'hope'. He kept on coming back to it. Why?
Suddenly, the Dranzer's body moved with a jerk, away from Tyson. It seemed to have forgotten all about him – rather, it had not forgotten him, but had been reminded of something else. It flew in the little space available to where the hand clung to the floor just as the chain finally snapped from the hook on the wall and slipped out of the room.
Tyson gasped.
"No!" he yelled, scrambling forwards, using his hands to propel himself from the floor. He couldn't seem to stand straight yet still made for the window where his friend had fallen – yet again. What was going on?
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Kai felt the chain snap immediately. It was just as Jenny looked around to face him, which was strange. As it broke, tiny shards of metal flew into the air, and seemed to spiral and glitter in the haunting wind as ballet dancers, trapped in time in their spinning motions of beauty. He watched them, suddenly fascinated, until reality hit again with the sharp whoosh of the wind slamming into his skin, splicing his pores to the core.
He couldn't stop himself from thinking the unfortunate.
"I give up."
This was it. Jenny's smile had encouraged him that something may be able to be done, something may happen to turn their twisted fates around and bless their fortunes with something more than what they had already received. But no, there was no way he could get out of this. He was about to slam into the floor fifty feet below himself and, from what he had gathered, it would just go black. Of course it would hurt like hell, but he was used to that by now. Everything hurt. There was no relief. Everything was a struggle of torture. There was no war. Life was war.
"And so is death." He thought as he spiralled towards the ground at an uncontrollable rate. It was taking longer than he had imagined – but what did he care now? He had given up. He didn't care if he lived or died anymore. Nothing mattered. The war was over. He had failed. His team were gone, his leadership broken, his mission abandoned – and his Dranzer lost. Turned against him in the natural fear it could not help – and he could not help it either. He hadn't even been strong enough to offer a few words of comfort to the terrified creature. He wasn't surprised it had turned against him. He didn't deserve Dranzer – and it certainly didn't deserve to be chained down to something like him.
He felt the dogs of wind ripping at his back now as he fell, and he closed his eyes, even the strong, resilient, tough Kai Hiwatari not able to watch that floor approaching to snap the life out of his battered body like it was worth nothing at all. He couldn't anymore.
I can't run anymore,
I fall down before you,
Here I am,
I have nothing left.
And then he opened his eyes. Something inside him swelled, from deep within his gut and travelling throughout his body, warming, invading yet inviting. And he realised he had just done what he had thought was impossible. No – wait. The impossible was happening all around him.
He was suspended in midair.
Suspended and surrounded by a thousand – maybe more – glimmering, fantastic flames, bright and scarlet and beautiful. He gasped quietly, as the air burned with the vibrating haze of the swelling blossoms, which opened their petals to him and breathed him in. The heat did not burn – it comforted, it reassured and relaxed. And as he looked about himself, Kai realised that he had not been simply suspended in midair in these strange, fervent flames, but was being cradled in the glowering feathers of Dranzer, its embers sparking in incense about his body. Relief spread throughout his veins and Kai closed his eyes for a second, somehow feeling that everything would be okay if he could just lean into his Dranzer once again as he had done so long ago. And then sleep, that inviting, blossoming flower of twisting, flickering flames and alluring warmth and heat, coaxed him in, the cold, cruel jaws of the dogs replaced by the soft ruffle of ember feathers, and he lost consciousness once again.
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Jenny hailed herself up with a great effort, unsure of what was happening below her. She had heard the chain snap and seen it whiz past her head, but had forced herself to climb to a safer position. A strong grasp about her hand had given her any assistance she needed, and she found herself being pulled up by a dirty, messy and weary looking Tyson. The room was collapsing about them – slabs of the ceiling were crumbling down with even more force than earlier.
"Tys, what's ---"
"Kai!"
Jenny frowned and watched as Tyson ran to the edge of the room, looking out frantically. She spun around, feeling his panic, his exhilaration, and peered over, into the Russian wind and the dark skies outside and the drop.
And saw the bird of fire, glowing so brightly in that world of darkness below them, the flames on its back fragmenting in the air surrounding and evaporating into the night. The phoenix was alive.
Tyson sighed in sheer reprieve. He could see the still form of Kai, wrapped protectively in that of the Dranzer, and, without moving its wings, the majestic animal began to rise through the air, its feathery wings still closed tightly about the boy.
"Aw, yes, now tha's wha' I call a valet!" smiled Jenny, sharing that same sense of relief that had washed over Tyson. She couldn't help but feel that things were coming to an end. As the Dranzer's quivering flames approached, she and Tyson braced themselves, certain that there were no more attacks coming but still a little hesitant to trust the animal.
Dranzer stopped at the opening to the room, and gently released Kai onto the shining, dripping floor, which was flooded with about three or four inches of murky water. Tyson and Jenny instinctively grabbed hold of him, wondering what the beast was thinking of. Surely it didn't want them to stay there? Did it?
Dranzer spun in the air, now using its wings to propel itself against the strong winds, and positioned itself so that its back was flat and just below the rim of the room. Tyson got the point, and, nodding at Jenny, reassuring her that Dranzer was indeed safe now, moved Kai onto its back, and then followed himself, the heat pleasantly warm against the elements of chilly Russia. Jenny stepped on, shaking her feet off kindly before setting a single foot on the bird, knowing it hated water. And with another violent gust of wind at its back, the phoenix spread its wings to their full, impressive span, and soared off into the night, a comet tail of glittering, eager flames trailing behind it in its glory. Tyson and Jenny leaned against each other in exhaustion, their unconscious Captain held tightly in both of their arms, and watched as the sinful, wicked building grew smaller and less impressive with every breath they took.
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About fifteen minutes later, Tyson felt sleep threatening at the edges of his mind, and so moved to wake himself up a little. The thrill of riding on the back of the glorious animal was amazing. The air swept at his face and refreshed his whole body. He felt cleaner, fresher – new. As though the breezing gussets of air could wash away all that had happened and start him anew, making memories unable to haunt him so.
He moved gently, so as not to disturb his two companions. Jenny had fallen asleep, her glasses wonky and her dark hair curling about her face because they had gotten wet. Kai hadn't woken yet, but Tyson couldn't bring himself to worry. He hadn't realised that ending this thing would bring him so much sadness.
He slipped away from Kai and Jenny and walked slowly cross the back of the bird, feeling the wind running its fingers through his hair, which was dirty and messy. The bird below him seemed to be at peace, enjoying the feeling of soaring freely through the air. A small smile curved the frame of Tyson's lips, and he ran his own hand through his hair, wondering what had just happened. Everything had just ended, just whizzed by in a flash of time, and now here he was standing, on a safe ride to freedom, literally 'riding through the Russian air' as he had scoffed earlier. Everything was so unrealistic and blurred to him. Was it over?
"Did we do it?" he mused aloud, his thoughts too loud to stay in his mind. Realisation hit him with as much force as the sweeping gusts of wind, and his eyes widened, glinting in the grey night.
They'd completed their mission. Sui Generis had succeeded.
"You're kidding me!" Tyson spoke, his face brightening. He couldn't quite believe this. Had they really done it? Had they finally brought down BIOVOLT?
"Of course, the war isn't over . . ." thought Tyson, feeling a strange feeling of relaxation running through his muscles. He sat down again.
"But we did it."
He smiled and nodded to himself. BIOVOLT would be at a disadvantage now! A group of seven had brought down one of the most massive threats to the world ever imagined, and had destroyed two of the world's most dangerous men in the process!
But how many had they lost?
"Mark, Dave, Rei, Max . . .." he thought, his eyes filling up. Now he was out of that place, now the situation of war was finally away from him and he was at peace with himself, the shock of losing his friends was beginning to gnaw at his innards. They were gone – his team just broken apart, just like that. He wondered had Robert managed to escape, along with the Irish soldier Dougie. Had the building collapsed? And what was going on back home? Japan? Had it fallen completely? Had the Chinese forces been destroyed? Had the English arrived to help yet? Would BIOVOLT be able to continue now?
His mind was a throng of tumultuous questions, and he shook them away as well as his tears. He didn't have time for that now. The sky was still darkening, and they had to get to the pick up point. It had been arranged before Sui Generis had even set off – a cabin about twenty-five miles east of Lake Bikau. There waiting for them would be some form of transport to get them back to Japan, where the Chinese forces would be eagerly awaiting their return.
"You did great."
Tyson started, and looked around. Someone had spoken to him. Who? The voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it. Not quite. Convincing himself that it was just his imagination, Tyson stared back out towards the night.
"Be proud. I know I am."
He was sure he heard that one. Who was it? It was a male voice, smooth and mellow, graceful as a cat stalking through the gloom of the night, its black shadow flitting, amber eyes glinting. It echoed in the chambers of his mind, and Tyson frowned, very confused.
"You've done China and Japan proud!"
Tyson stood, looking about himself in bewilderment, as the voice changed, and became younger, lighter. More innocent. Ocean blue. What was going on? Who was that in his head? Or who were they?
"Calm down, Tys. We gotta go.
Shaking his head, a little frightened and wondering whether he'd lost his mind, Tyson spoke aloud. "Who . .. ."
"Don't worry about it!" said the first voice. The second voice followed, light and friendly. "We'll see you again soon."
Then, suddenly, as quickly as they had come, the voices were gone. And Tyson was left, not alone, but feeling it. He sighed, and rubbed his arms, sitting down again. The wind was causing the hairs on his arms to prick up despite the fact that the heat from beneath was keeping him warm. He turned back to his friends and found that Jenny was awake and looking at him.
"'Iya, Tys."
Tyson smiled. "Hey, Jen."
She smiled back, and stretched her arms. "I tell ye' wha'. We've got some good stories te' tell th' kids."
Tyson laughed gently. "Yeah."
They were silent for a moment, both pondering about what had actually happened. Memories, strange, inexplicable ones, flashed across their minds, each following a different flashback, and then they looked at each other and grinned.
"We won." Jenny said with a smirk. To her, she had played her part. The war for her was won. And Tyson couldn't help but feel the same. He knew that back home the fighting was still raging, still vicious, but to him they had won. Their enemy had been defeated.
The wind ran its fingers through Jenny's hair, brushing across her face and causing her cheeks to blush with cold. "Are we goin' te' th' pick up point?"
Tyson nodded, and looked down at the feathers he sat upon. They were tilted upwards, still shiny in the dark. And Tyson got the distinct feeling that they were heading downwards.
"Are we there already?" he thought to himself, his senses, his war instincts, still ripe and questioning. He felt the gravitational surge of the drop and then they were grounded, and the wind ceased to blow as smoothly through Tyson's hair. He spoke aloud, feeling confident enough to question the Dranzer.
"Hey Dranzer, how come you stopped?"
He hopped off the back of the bird, and moved to its face. And that was when it struck him that the creature looked fatigued beyond expression. Its ebony eyes were dull and tired, and its head hung forwards in exhaustion.
"Gosh, Dranzer, you should have said something!"
Jenny slipped off the back of the creature and moved to where Tyson stood. The phoenix moved its gaze to them, the black eyes still piercing no matter how dull and lacklustre they were. Jenny smiled.
"Thanks."
Tyson nodded in acquiescence. "Yeah, Dranzer. We couldn't have done this without you."
The fire bird, the creature of the sun, was finally defeated by the imposing darkness and violent winds about them, and it gave a cry and disappeared into a thousand shards of glimmering scarlet and cherry. With a final effort, Dranzer lowered its master gently to the ground, the pieces wrapping about him in the air before letting go of him onto the floor and flooding towards Tyson. The fragments, glittering and beautiful, swarmed as one long, spiralling chain of flame, and plunged into Tyson's pocket, where the Bit-Chip lay after he had picked it up in the BIOVOLT HQ. Tyson felt his pocket get very warm as the Dranzer re-imprisoned itself in its chamber, and then the pocket was still again as the phoenix slept once again.
Tyson glanced over at Jenny, who smiled and turned on her computer, which was still working after all it had taken. She clicked a few keys and squinted at the screen.
"We're abou' a mile from pick up."
Tyson's eyes widened and he groaned. "A mile? We have to walk a mile?"
Jenny nodded as she pulled a face. "But at least we have my trusty laptop to guide us!"
Tyson shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. What way do we go?"
Jenny looked down at the screen, and her own eyes widened. "Nah, nah! Ye' can't do this! Nah!"
Tyson jumped, and his heart began to pound again. The thrill and adrenaline of his earlier experiences had not left him and his felt himself jerk awake. "What, what is it?"
Jenny frowned at the computer screen. "Th' battery ran out."
Tyson felt his jaw drop open. He couldn't believe it!
"You scared the hell out of me, Jen! Is that all?"
Jenny nodded and flailed her hands, letting her computer hand on its cord about her neck. "Honestly. Technology. It's crap dese days, in'it?"
Tyson rolled his eyes. Talk about light relief. He couldn't resist a smile at the angry girl, who looked as though she could quite easily throw the faithful laptop onto the scrap heap.
"Jen, we'll be fine without."
She stopped growling and flailing her hands and looked at him.
"Yer, I s'pose ye' right. I mean, I saw tha' we need te' go left, but that's abou' it."
"Well, we'll go left," Tyson reassured, hoping that he was calming the irate girl, "and we'll see where it takes us!"
With a sigh, Jenny nodded. That was the best plan. It was only a mile anyway. They'd be fine. She moved over to where Kai still lay still. Ever since falling through the air, Kai had been out cold. Jenny supposed that things had just gotten too much for him – which was understandable. It would be unfair to say that he hadn't taken more of a punishment than anybody else. Jenny felt a sudden wash of admiration for her Captain. He had done a fantastic job and he probably didn't even realise it. That was typical Kai. All he'd do, she was guessing, was mull over who had been lost during this war and not give himself any credit for successfully commanding one of the most dangerous missions in military history.
"Don't fink anyone else could' of got us through sumfin like this." She thought generously as she knelt down by the boy. Although battered and bruised, with unsteady breathing and blood trickling from numerous places, Kai looked as though he were at peace. And Jenny was at peace too, because she knew that they would be home soon. Kai would be able to get some help and she . .. . well, she could get a bacon sandwich with heapings of brown sauce all over. And a nice long sleep. And she could recharge her laptop!
"Kai," she said gingerly, as she shook his shoulder, "Kai?"
A groan crossed his features, but Kai opened his eyes wearily, the enigmatic brown of them glittering in a frighteningly similar way to those of the Dranzer minutes before. Dull, drained – yet sharp, shrewd, and passionate.
"We've got abou' a mile te' walk, Kai. Soz."
Tyson knelt beside Jenny and smiled at Kai.
"You okay, buddy?"
Kai gave a weak nod, his messy grey bangs falling into his gaze. Tyson looked at Jenny.
"I can't see him making that walk."
Jenny shrugged. "I don't fink we could carry 'im a mile! We're tired too, Tys, if yer 'adn't noticed!"
Tyson nodded, unfortunately agreeing. He knew he couldn't carry Kai all that way, not even sharing the load with another. But he sincerely doubted that his Captain could walk all that way. It was too big a challenge, even for him.
"I . . . I can walk . . . " Kai said very quietly, more to himself than anybody else, and he began to raise himself on his shaky arms. Blood trickled down the pale skin and Tyson winced.
"No, Kai, stop. We'll figure something out. You can't walk like that."
Kai completely ignored him and continued to force himself up. He could feel the presence of his Dranzer, although it was dormant within its chamber now, and felt much comforted and slightly invigorated by it. He got to his knees and then stood up fully, his legs dizzy beneath him and unsteady. He swayed on his feet for a moment, and then that determined Captain he had almost forgotten returned, and he straightened up.
"Which . . . which way?"
Tyson and Jenny watched through cautious eyes. "Um . . . west."
Kai nodded and steadied himself once again. He did not protest when Tyson slipped Kai's own arm around his own more steady shoulder and gave him support. To be truthful, he was grateful. Kai knew he wouldn't be able to manage such a walk alone. Tyson smiled at him.
"You're doin' great, Kai."
Kai didn't bother responding. He needed all the energy he could get for this next challenge. He hoped desperately that he was up for this.
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Lee sat in comfort, a cosy fire crackling not too far away. His army uniform was surprisingly comfortable, and Lieutenant Hing had allowed him to unlace his boots and relax for an hour. So lee had taken up a book he had been reading and sat, with his feet up on the table, his white socks getting gradually warmer in the glow of the flames nearby. The hut he was in consisted of one room. It was about six metres in length and width, and he had to share it with Hing.
Fun.
Hing sat opposite Lee, his back straight, watching the door resolutely, on the look out for both an attack and the return of Sui Generis.
"Wonder how Rei's doin'?" Lee said aloud, breaking the rather uncomfortable silence in the room. Hing didn't answer. He was sore that Rei had been chosen for the mission and not he. Still, he didn't hate the lad for it. Just loathed him a little bit is all.
Hing shifted, stretching his muscles. He had been watching that door for two hours that night. It was dark outside. He couldn't see a thing. Why was he bothering?
He leaped up at a pounding on the door. Lee dropped his book and jumped out of his seat. Hing, quick to panic, hissed at Lee.
"What if it's BIOVOLT?"
Lee frowned, and his amber eyes flitted from side to side as he thought quickly.
"I'll open the door," he said in a loud whisper, "and we'll wait and see who it is. That's all I can think of!"
Hing nodded. It seemed the only sensible thing to do. He found himself heartily wishing they'd devised a password for Sui Generis earlier. He moved to the door, along with Lee, and the two stood either side of it, both gazes intent on the light wooden framework.
"Ready?" hissed Hing. Lee nodded, and reached for the doorknob. He pulled open the door, as it was the type that swung inwards, not outwards, and braced himself.
There were three people at the door, and Lee gasped as they fell into the room, all three of them freezing cold, their faces pale yet cheeks cruelly flushed in the cold temperature, their eyes barely open. Lee caught Jenny (after all, he was a gentleman) before she hit the floor, but Hing didn't move to catch Tyson and Kai and they hit the deck, their eyes closed. Lee looked down at Jenny, who grinned up at him dizzily.
"S'quite nippy out there, mate . . ." she said, her voice trembling and weak, before she passed out in his arms. Lee looked from her dirty, pale face to the two shivering forms on the floor, and ran his eyes along Tyson's dirty, slightly burnt clothing, and then along Kai's broken form, the blood along his skin dried in the wind and blackening with each passing moment.
He glanced at Hing, who kicked the door shut.
"Is that it?"
Catch me as I fall.
Say you're here and it's all over now.
Speaking to the atmosphere;
No one's here and I fall into myself.
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Sherbet Mayhem: DON'T WORRY! There's still one more chapter left. How did you guys like that one? Again, I'm not sure about it! I need you guys to tell me what's going on. BUT PITY ME! It's 01:59 am AND I have a really sore throat – possible because I just got back from a concert and didn't stop screaming all night . . . but still, PITY ME! ! ! Lol.
Hope you lovely readers liked that chapter. The lyrics at the end were "Whisper" by Evanescence *waves flag in crazy fan-girlish love of Evanescence*Tell me of any improvements you'd make and stuff. But right now I really have to go to bed. Part of me is sooooooo glad that this story is almost finished because it's hard work, but the other part is really sad because I do love writing this story. Of course, there are more planned for the future. I also think I'll stick to the violence – I seem to be best at that. Romance ain't really my thang, baby, yeah. Lol.
C ya soon, guys, and review! PLEASE! Thanks again for reading, and I'll see ya in about two weeks time with the next – and final – chapter!
God bless x x x
Sherby o_0