16. Mind Games

Tok, tok, tok...

Tala's fast-paced footsteps echoed through the deserted corridors as he ran towards the north tower. He panted heavily as he tried to dash at top speed. Once he reached the entrance to the north tower staircase, he took a short rest. He laid his hand against the wall and leant over, panting like an over-exercised dog. After a minute or two, he lifted his head to glance up the staircase, seeing that it spiralled upwards. He swallowed and took his hand away, then commenced climbing the stairs.

He charged headlong up them, nearly crashing into a couple of them on the way up. He lost his balance a couple of times and nearly tumbled back down a few times in his haste, but managed to regain his balance each time.

He passed through abandoned and empty rooms, devoid of people and/or equipment. Once he reached the tenth and top level, he came to the end of the staircase and a wooden door. He stepped off the staircase and onto the landing, then advanced across the landing to the door. He placed the slender digits of his hand on the metal door handle and twisted his wrist. The handle turned and clicked without any resistance. The door swung open as he let go of the handle. What he saw made him gasp.

"Ugh! What's with you?!" Kai yelled as he regressed away. He held his upper arm where the bullet had grazed it. He backed into a wall to find himself cornered by Sarah.

Sarah stepped closer and pressed her black gun to his chest. She brought her face close to his, their noses barely a hair's breadth away from each other. Kai lowered his head slightly and gulped ominously.

"Ooh! An interesting situation...What should she do? Kiss or kill...Decisions, decisions!" Spica said to herself, covering the microphone with her hand.

"Kill."

Spica whirled around in her swivel chair to see Tala standing behind her in the doorway. Her eyes widened. "How in the name of Goadbwa did you get in here?"

Tala began to advance on her. He moved closer to Spica and the large screen that was in front of her. The entire room was dark except for the light that emanated from the screen and the tube with wiring beside it. Spica sat in a swivel chair with a communication apparatus on her. There was also other wiring on her; they were connected to her fingers, legs and forehead. Some were also embedded in her scalp. She was wearing a black, tight tank top and dark blue bell-bottom pants, held up by a black belt with silver buckle. She had black boots with red lacing and white soles. She had a white bandanna around her neck.

Tala glanced at the tube to his left. He saw that all the wires that were on Spica and the equipment in front of her were connected to one sole object within the tube. It was small and lay on a red velvet cushion on the bottom. There was no glass around the tube, and so he could have easily reached in, but decided against it. He turned back to Spica who was still glaring at him.

"Kill yourself, that is. Why are you doing this?"

Spica narrowed her eyes and whipped back to the monitor. "Simple. Gilepse's orders."

"Sarah? Are you okay?" Kai asked, shifting slightly and uneasily while still at the gunpoint of Sarah, who wasn't moving at all.

Kai took his hand away from his wound and reached for the gun. He slowly pushed the gun downwards, so that it was not pointing at his chest anymore. He placed his hands on Sarah's shoulders and attempted to push her away.

Spica leant forward, paying no attention to Tala anymore. "Oh no, you don't! Come on, Sarah! Say it with me..."

"Kai, let me go."

"What?" Kai asked, taking his hands away.

Sarah lifted the gun once more and aimed. Kai took off down the hall, dodging the bullets that flew past his head. He took a turn down the corridor on his right, towards the testing facilities room where Anya and Samson were.

On turning the corner, heading down that hallway and coming to the four way junction, he collided with someone. He fell to the ground, and after recovering then looking up, he saw a girl standing there. Rhea gazed nonchalantly down at him. She could see the fear and worry on his face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I-"

Rhea glanced up to the hall that Kai had come from. Her eyes widened slightly and her wanful expression became one of surprise. Out of personality, she took direct charge of the situation. She extended her arm to bar the way for her group and Kai.

Sarah turned and stood at the end of the corridor, staring blankly at Rhea. She raised the gun torpidly, as all her moves had been before.

Rhea gasped. "She's possessed. Max, help your captain. All of you, head for the testing facility where the others are."

Max bent down to help Kai and began to take him off in the direction that Elvin, Ian, Enrique and Kevin were going.

Rhea waited for them to enter the room behind her before approaching the armed girl before her. Rhea was a metre away from her when Sarah fired.

"Give it to me!"

"Gimme, gimme, never get, don't you know your manners yet?"

"Yes I do, but not today, so gimme or I'll shoot you anyway!" Tala cried as he struggled with Spica over the panel controls.

"Not if I get you first!" Spica countered, pulling a handgun out from under the seat of the chair. She pointed at Tala, who froze and stared back. He began to slowly back away, hands in the air.

Rhea opened her eyes with great struggle, after having heard the gunshot. She observed the strange behaviour that was now being exhibited by Sarah. Rhea glanced around and saw the dark mark on the wall where the bullet had ricocheted off. Rhea had missed the bullet. She turned back to Sarah, who was holding the gun out in front of her and circling around with steady steps as if she was trying to corner an invisible target. Rhea stepped forward to her and grabbed her shoulders. Sarah struggled to move in her grasp, though not as if to get free. She just kept moving as if to advance on her victim.

Spica glanced at the monitor to see Sarah doing the same as she was doing. She left Tala and hurried over to the computer. "Now look what you've made me do, you great lummox!" She screeched at Tala.

"Excuse me? I didn't do anything!" Tala took advantage of the opportunity and tackled Spica to the ground.

Sarah fell to the ground and started to thrash and flail about. Rhea bent down but then retreated back as Sarah stuffed her gun away and pulled out her dagger. Sarah leapt up off the floor and chased after Rhea, who hastened down the hall towards the testing room.

Rhea entered through the doorway and whirled around as she heard something drop to the floor in a heap. She saw Kai pinning her to the ground, Sarah resisting violently.

Spica ran to the keyboard again once out of Tala's grasp. "Come on, you fool! Get the up!"

"She...won't...get up...for you," Tala managed to say from his crouching position on the floor. His face was screwed up in an extremely pained expression, and he was almost doubling over in agony, holding his groin area.

Spica whipped around to face him and gave him a death glare. "Do you want me to do that again?"

Tala narrowed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Right, then. Shut up!"

"Argh!" Kai yelled as Sarah threw him off of her. Everyone else stared in horror or apathy at the two rolling around on the floor.

Sarah sat up and brought the knife down where Kai was. He leapt out of the way just in time and headed for the wall. Sarah heaved her knife from the floor and got up. She raised the knife above her shoulder and advanced on Kai.

Tala surveyed the room through eyes blurred with tears of pain. His gaze landed on the tube that held Fovular. Seeing that Spica was preoccupied with manipulating Sarah, he inched closer to the tube by crawling along the floor.

Crouching in front of the tube, he reached up and unhooked the first wire. Then he unhooked another, and then another, until the Bit Beast had been relieved of all the wires. Despite that, Spica still had full control over her.

But then, Tala made a fatal mistake. He fumbled with the Bit Piece as he took it from the cushion. It fell to the stone floor. Spica heard and whirled around.

"Rhea. Do you copy?"

Rhea concentrated on listening to Lutka's voice coming from the transmitter. "Yes, Lutka, I copy."

"We've found out what will return Sarah back to normal."

"Yes?"

"Memories! You need to make her remember something special. That will break the control that Spica has over her, if she can remember who she is- and not a lackey for Spica."

"Affirmative, ma'am." Rhea called out to Kai, who was now pinned against the wall. "Kai- make her remember."

Kai looked over Sarah's shoulder and at Rhea. "Make her remember?"

"Yes. What pleasant memories does she have?"

Kai cast his gaze back to Sarah's pupiless eyes. He gulped and then began to speak. "Sarah! Listen to me! Maybe she'll recognize a language..."

"It's worth a try!" Samson encouraged.

"But what languages does she know?" Kai questioned no one in particular, now more edgy as Sarah was poised to strike with the knife.

"Well, English isn't working, is it?" Tyson voiced.

Elvin stepped forward. "Try French!"

"But I don't know French," Kai protested.

Elvin gaited towards the wall. He stood a good metre away from her warily. "I do." With that, he commenced speaking in the foreign tongue. "Sarah! Ecoute a moi! Kai est ton ami! Nous sommes n'essayer pas faire mal a toi!"

Kai glanced at him anxiously, sweat dripping down his cheek. Sarah hadn't moved, as if listening to what Elvin had to say, though she didn't lower her hand. "What did you say?" Kai demanded.

"He said 'Listen to me. Kai is your friend. We're not trying to hurt you'," Eva translated.

Robert turned to Oliver. "Don't you know French?"

Oliver glanced up at him. "I can understand a little of what the Celestial Myriad might say, but not all. They know Canadian French while I know standard." He turned back to Kai and Sarah. "They're two different languages."

"What about Japanese?" Ray suggested. "She lived in Japan for a couple of years, didn't she?"

"Yeah!" Kai concurred. He glared into her green eyes. "Sarah! Kikimasu e watashi! Anata Spica o shoyu shiteiru! Sarah-san! Watashi no namae Kai! Omoidasu watashi ka?"

"It's not working..." Anya clarified, her voice growing in an irritated tone. "Though what did you say?"

"I said 'Listen to me. You are in Spica's possession. Sarah. My name is Kai. Remember me.'"

"What other languages does she know?" Michael asked rhetorically.

Philemon turned to the rest of the Myriad. "Doesn't she know a bit of Spanish?"

Eva frowned. "I don't see why you would want to count to 14 for her."

"That's all she knows?!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"I thought she knew Filipino?" Elvin vociferated.

Eva gave him the same annoyed look. "She knows less Filipino than she does Spanish."

"She can only count to 5?" Philemon mused.

"How about Russian?"

They all turned to the door to see Tala standing in the doorway. Kai cast his gaze at Sarah and then back at Tala. "Of course! I forgot all about that! Would you like to do the honours?"

Tala folded his arms and leaned against the doorway's frame. "Why me? It's you that's pinned there."

"Tala! Don't be so inconsiderate!" Anya scolded.

Tala glowered at her and then pushed himself away from the wall. He strode over to where Elvin had stood. "Sarah!"

For once, Sarah made a response. She turned her head to look at him, though held the knife there.

"Vas eemyehyootsyah nyeh odyehrzheemyy. Prosypatsya!" Tala commanded authoritatively.

"She's not possessed anymore? Then why is she acting like this? I don't think she'll wake up that easily," Kai countered.

Tala took a step closer to Sarah, who still hadn't been phased by his new words. "Pomnet? Pomnet nash potsehelooy?"

The other eight in the room (besides Tala and Sarah) that understood Russian made a large gasp. Their faces clearly showed surprise and shock, even Rhea's and Bryan's.

The ones that didn't understand quickly whirled to the one that was closest to them and demanded for translation. Mariah nudged at Anya's elbow. "What did he say, Anya? What did Tala say? Tell us!"

Anya seemingly ignored her. "Tala! I...I...can't be-believe that...you!"

Tala and Kai watched as Sarah's expression changed, her mouth opening slightly and eyes widening. Tala continued to speak. "Yah lyoobov vas. Kai ee yah lyoobov vas."

(A/N: You don't know how hard it was to translate the Russian! All the phrasebooks and dictionaries I found were in Russian, so besides looking for the words, I had to convert the Cyrillic to the English alphabet! Oh, yeah-and if I made any spelling errors or the sentences don't make any grammatical sense, it's not my fault. I couldn't find anything on Russian grammar and verb conjugation.)

"Tala! What would Boris say if he heard you?!" Ian exclaimed.

Tala ignored Ian's comment and looked to the stunned Kai. "Try calling her name."

Kai scowled at him. "We tried that already!"

"I mean her real name."

Kai pondered for a moment, repeating what Tala had just said to him in a mumble. Then, it dawned on him. "Of course! Celeste! Listen to me! Wake up! Celeste!"

Sarah's eyes widened to full extent on hearing her original name. She glared at Kai for a moment before lowering the dagger. "Kai? Tala?"

Kai's face loosened up. He had a smile of relief and watery eyes. "Yes?"

Sarah wore a drowsy expression for a second or two before it became anger and fury once more. Tala saw a quick flash of silver appear from Sarah's side at which time seemed to stand still. "No!" he yelled as he reached out his hand to shield Kai.

He observed in horror as Kai's brown eyes froze, staring straight ahead and wide open. His body tensened as if in rigomortez. Tala noticed that his eyes weren't blinking and his chest wasn't moving, nor was he breathing. Sarah held the dagger where it was for a moment before a pained expression came to her features and her knees buckled. She fell forward and onto Kai's stationery chest, then flopped to the ground at his feet.

Tala let out a huge sigh of relief as Kai's petrified eyes moved slowly downwards. He eased away from the wall and knelt down to help her up. Tala glanced at the dagger that lay embedded in the stone wall. It had missed Kai.

Kai coiled his arms around her back and pulled her up, supporting her head as if she were a young baby. Her green eyes flickered open to gaze into brown, sedate ones. "Are you okay?" she heard the familiar, yet distant voice say.

She sat up by herself, but Kai still kept his arms in a firm grip on her. "Yeah...I think so..."

"Since she's okay, we'd better get back to Biovolt. I've got Fovular, and I'm sure Boris won't mind the fact that we don't have Gilepse." Tala mentioned.

Kieran nodded his head in agreement. "He didn't say anything about it. He seemed more concerned with us just teaching Goadbwa a lesson they won't forget."

Tala folded his arms and shifted his weight to one foot with a smug look on his face. "Spica won't be forgetting hers any time soon."

"As the head of the Biovolt guards, and a cunning friend or guardian to us all. May your memory live on in our hearts and to anyone else that knew you. You served everyone around you well, and we shan't forget you, Vladimir Ivanovitch Sadalmelik," Boris concluded. He signalled for Bryan and Ian to place the flowers on the tombstone.

Some of the Biovolt staff had tears in their eyes. Lutka dabbed her cheek with her handkerchief daintily. Boris felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned his head to see Leon standing there. Leon's eyes were watery and overflowing with tears. "Should we begin the executive meeting?"

Boris glanced at the sky. It was cloudy and red, as it had been a few days before. He looked back down at Leon. "Yes. Start without me. I'll be there in a little while. Let Irina or Voltaire head the meeting. And get everyone else inside. It's starting to rain."

Leon flashed a quizzical look but then heard the plop, plop, of rainwater against the pond. He nodded and ushered the Biovolt deploys inside. When Sarah refused to go, Tala and Kai did, too. The rain was becoming stronger.

Sarah stood behind Boris and stared up at him innocently. His face seemed devoid of emotion as he scrutinized the tombstone and freshly dug earth that lay on top of the grave. Sarah couldn't see any tears trickle out from under his glasses, yet she couldn't help feeling that he actually was crying. She moved forward to stand at his side. She observed the grave for several moments before looking up at the solemn Boris.

"What's she doing?" Tala whispered to Kai.

"He's her uncle. She has good reason to feel sympathy for him, despite what we want to feel," Kai replied in the same whisper.

"You don't feel that way for your Grandfather."

Kai turned his head to glower at him, since he had been watching the scene in front of him before. The look silenced Tala.

Boris sighed, took off his glasses and looked toward the pond, as if oblivious to the Hilanovs' presence. He whipped back around as he felt something enclose around his hand. He instinctively pulled his gloved hand away and gazed downward to see Sarah standing, glaring up at him with innocence. He lowered his eyes as if he was about to cry. He turned away again.

Tala could see the empathetic expression on her face. He strode over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her jump slightly in his grip. She looked at him. He brought his head closer to hers, over her shoulder so that their heads almost touched. This made Kai eye them more closely, remembering what Tala had said back at Galsky Castle.

"He'll be okay," Tala whispered into her ear. "All we're going to do is get soaked waiting for him. Let's go inside."

Tala let go as Sarah turned to face him. She saw that Tala and Kai's hair was beginning to go limp from the rainwater. Their hairstyles were sagging and Kai was starting to shiver, for he was only wearing a tank top. She took one last wistful glance at her uncle before turning back to Tala. She nodded and allowed him to lead her back inside.

Kai pursued the two, eyeing Tala, green with envy and jealousy. He glowered at Tala's white, slender back, as if hoping to burn a hole through it with his infuriated, brown eyes. When he found he couldn't do that, he raised his gaze and traced with his eyes along Tala's arm that wound around Sarah's shoulders, drawing her body closer to his. Kai observed that Sarah's hips moved almost rhythmically with Tala's. Their steps were accordant, and Tala kept putting his head closer to Sarah, whispering something in her ear and then pulling away. Sarah wasn't resisting it at all.

At one moment, Kai wasn't exactly sure whether they had sped up or he had slowed down, seeing as they were moving farther away and he was to captivated to notice his speed. He saw Sarah rest her head on Tala's shoulder. Kai could almost see the look on Tala's face. It was pleasured and content, like a well-pampered cat. He had seemingly won the war, and he was going to flaunt it all he could. He had finally defeated Kai at something and he wasn't going to let Kai forget it. It was then that Kai realized the bond there was between them. He stopped dead in his tracks and watched as the two disappeared into the darkness of the corridor. He realized that they were meant for each other.

In the night's still of the Abbey, Tala lay awake in bed. The sheets on his bed were ruffled and hanging loosely over the edge from all the tossing and turning he had been doing while trying to get over his insomnia. He lay on his back, both hands on the pillow behind his head. He stared at the stone ceiling and listened to Kai and Sarah's breathing.

He turned his head in the direction of the window to see Kai sleeping peacefully in his own bed, facing away from Tala. Kai had one arm over the covers and the other behind his head. Tala examined the sky that lay outside the window. It was pure black, starless, but illuminated by a lustrous moon that also enlightened the dark dormitory room.

He turned his head in the other direction, to Sarah and the wall. Unlike Kai, Sarah was faced towards Tala. She had the covers pulled all the way up to just the bottom of her head. Tala could see why. She still had not accustomed to the subzero Russian climate. Tala simpered the way a proud father would as he watched her sleep. He scrutinized the long brown hair that trailed across her face, covering her cheek, mouth and nose.

He took a deep breath in and then sighed as he turned his head back to the ceiling. He moved his hands from behind his head and to under the pillow. He turned on his side to face Sarah's direction. He adjusted the blankets and lay flat on his stomach, turning his head towards Sarah. He stared, smiling at her for a moment, before closing his eyes with content thoughts.

Kai was standing in an abandoned playground. He saw no children around- laughing, playing... He was wearing the black Demolition Boys' jacket with the yellow zipper lining as he surveyed the sad scene.

He glanced at the sky to see it dark and foreboding. It was filled with clouds-rainclouds-that threatened to pour the rain right down on him. He turned back to park, to now see a multitude of ghostly young children swinging on the swings, twirling on the roundabout, sliding down the slides, climbing on the monkey bars, playing on the playset, and bouncing on the teeter-totter. There was a shadowy forest of trees surrounding the playground. He could see where this clearing re-entered the path through the woods across from where he stood.

The children looked familiar. On examining one more closely, he found that the young dark-blue haired one resembled Tyson when he was around five years old. He gazed around at the others, seeing Max, Emily, Kevin, Oliver, Spencer, Elvin, and all the others. There was no Vitality Extortion or Blade Sovereign, though, and he didn't see Tala or Sarah.

He watched as Mariah tripped and fell to the ground as she chased after Emily. The pink-haired girl began to cry uncontrollably as she sat on the ground dumbly. Ray hurried over to help her up. "It's okay. You'we not huwt, awe you? Yet's go find an adult," He consoled her. With that, he led her away from the playground.

The two disappeared into thin air as soon as they stepped off the playground sandy threshold, but Kai was distracted by a commotion on the other side of the park to gawk in wonder.

"Tyson! Eva! Bwyan! Wake up! What's wong?!" came Max's frantic, squeaky voice.

Kai looked at the ground to where the crowd of ghostly children were gathered in a circle. He saw through their translucent bodies the cadavers of Tyson, Bryan, and Eva. The three lay on the ground, not moving and seemingly lifeless. Kai couldn't tear his eyes from the scene, enraptured by wonder and fear. He looked around the circle, seeing some of the young ones crying and some of them merely staring in horror, as he was.

"Dewe's Bowis! He'll help dem!" Oliver exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a figure that was looming out of the thick foggy mist that now encircled Kai and the playground.

Boris was of the same apparition-like form as the rest of them, but he was at his present age, unlike them. He was wearing his green trenchcoat and black garments along with his black red-eyed glasses. He wore an evil smile on his face, the same smug-looking one he always wore when he had advantage over the trainees.

Kai saw him kneel down, take Eva's arm in his hand, examine it, and then stand back up.

"What is it, Bowis? What is it?" Philemon exclaimed, jumping up and down.

The smile had disappeared from Boris' face as he did the examination, but it now returned as he turned to the young black-haired boy. "They're dead."

A gasp ran through the throng. Some burst into uncontrollable tears while others threw themselves down beside them and jerked them as if trying to wake them up, despite Boris' words. Boris was now laughing evilly, a cackle so sinister that it sent shivers running through Kai. He had heard Boris chuckle vaguely like this before, but never exactly like this. The heinous pleasure on Boris' face reminded Kai of only Gilepse or his grandfather, Voltaire.

Soon, after hearing Boris' voice rattle around his head, another laugh overpowered his. It gradually got louder as the playground group slowly faded into the fog. Their cries and Boris' laughs echoed before coming to an abrupt stop. The other laughing still rang out.

Kai glanced around him, seeing no one. The laugh sounded like the hysterical laughter of that of a young girl, one of the same age as the teams were. Kai finally whipped right around. Standing just in front of the shrubbery before the forest was, sure enough-a young girl.

She seemed to be hovering just above the grassy ground below her. She held a parasol in her right hand while her other hand lay at her side. She was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and had her head down so that her eyes were hidden among the shadows. Straight brown hair trailed out from under the hair and draped across her small shoulders. She wore a frilly dress, sprinkled with flowers all over. There was a lace lining that came up over her shoulders and met with a horizontal line that ran just below her undeveloped chest. The dress had full-length sleeves and went down to just above her ankles, where Kai could see a petticoat show itself from underneath. She had brown, laced, heeled boots with black soles, like those of an ancient day. All her clothes had that characteristic.

Kai found her laugh familiar and stared at her in trepidation a moment before gathering his courage to take a step closer. "W-who are you?" he stammered.

The girl raised his head slightly, though her eyes were still in shadow. "I should ask...Who are you?"

"What do you mean?" Kai questioned, taking a step backward and regretting the preliminary step he had made in the first place.

"Who are you to be killing those poor children? So innocent...so devoid of opportunities, now."

Kai's eyes widened at her words. "Kill them? W-why would I do that? I didn't kill them..."

"Don't lie. You killed them. You killed them, Kai Hiwatari."

"I...I didn't...Who are you to be telling me that, anyway?"

"I...am..." There was a long pause until the young girl finally raised her left hand. In it lay a dagger. "I am the angel of your death. You don't deserve to be living anymore. Relieve yourself of your responsibilities."

Kai reached for the knife after taking his wary steps closer. He took it with a quavering hand and stared at it for a moment, holding it so that it pointed at his chest.

"Go ahead." Kai looked down at the girl who had now lowered her parasol-laden hand. "You don't need Tala or me in your life, now. I'm Tala's."

Kai's eyes enlarged to full extent. "Th-then that would mean...y- you're..."

"That's right." All of a sudden, the girl lunged forward and right into Kai's face. The shadow disappeared from her eye area and her saw the verdant eyes of his beloved. "It's me,..."

"ANYA!"

"Yargh!" Kai yelled in surprise as he fell backwards and to the ground. He shook his head and reached for it, feeling his right hand gripping something. He looked at it, and saw the exact same knife. He glanced upward to see Anya looming over him, and angered look on her face. She was wearing her night garments of a long, pale red nightgown. Her hair was slightly messy, and the ribbons weren't in it.

Behind her he saw the fridge with an ajar door. He helped himself up off the floor, but fell back down again. Anya extended her arm and Kai caught a hold of it as she heaved him up onto his feet. "Sorry to wake you like that, Kai...But you're a sound sleeper. I was trying to wake you up quietly, and then I began screaming at you-I'm sure the whole Abbey heard. You were sleepwalking and talking."

Kai gazed at the ground with an embarrassed expression. "Uh...thanks..."

Anya moved over to the fridge and placed her hand on the door. "So. What were you down here for?"

Kai looked back up at her, beginning to blush. "Um...I was going to get a drink..."

Anya glared at him in annoyance. "You were going to drink a knife?"

Kai examined the knife and then stashed it behind his back. He shook his head gingerly. "What are you down here for?"

Anya took a milk carton from the fridge and grabbed the glass that was on the counter. She and Kai watched carefully as the blanched liquid flowed into the confines of the glass. "Same thing as you. I was parched. Want some?"

"Sure..."

Anya reached for another glass in the cupboard and poured the milk into it. She handed it to Kai and slammed the fridge door shut. She stepped over to the table and leant against it. Kai crossed his knife-wielding arm across his chest carefully so that he wouldn't accidentally puncture himself as he tipped the glass and let the cool liquid rush past his lips into his awaiting mouth.

Anya had finished hers in quite a rush, and hurried to the sink, washed out her glass, then set it on the side to dry. She turned to Kai. "Well, it's off to bed with me. You keep yourself out of those suicidal dreams, 'kay?"

Kai nodded while still swallowing the drink and holding the glass to his mouth.

Anya cocked her head to one side. "Why are you still holding the knife?"

Kai lowered his head slightly, but kept the glass to his mouth. He glanced at the knife in his hand that he had removed from his bare chest, for he wore only the tight bottoms that Biovolt had provided for him as pyjamas. He looked back up at Anya and shrugged his shoulders, not putting it down or faltering with his drink.

Anya straightened her head and left the room with a small departing wave. Once she had left to go up the staircase that led straight to the dormitories, Kai gulped down the drink and slammed the glass down on the counter. He took off out through the kitchen entrance that led to the mess hall. He swerved through the assortment of tables in the hall and to the staircase to the ground level, since the mess hall and kitchen were on the basement level.

Once he reached the ground level, he headed for the second level staircase that led back to the dormitories. He finally reached his dormitory, and opened the door slightly just so that he could squeeze through. He closed the door with caution and his left hand, seeing as he held the knife in his right. He scurried past the beds of Tala and Sarah, careful not to wake them. He placed the knife on his bedside table before taking one last glance at his two comrades and diving under the covers.

The wind gyrated and battered at Kai's long, white scarf as he stepped through the woods slowly. He could hear the branches and leaves bend and crack under his feet. He no longer wore the black jacket and was freezing because of it.

He came to a clearing where four large trees were positioned in a square around it. Each had a hole in it.

He stopped to look around for the young girl through the shadowy woods of the night. He saw nothing through the foliage and nothing on the opposing footpath of the clearing-there were two of them that led from the clearing. The glowing moon cast long shadows around the forest, enveloping Kai in an eerie darkness.

Kai moved forward into the clearing to head through the other footpath but then halted and whipped around as he heard voices. He turned to see the large tree on his right with visions in the large knothole. He stepped closer right over to the hole, sticking his face right in front of it. He heard car brakes screech, screams, and then a collision.

Through the hole he saw an explosion from the hitting of two cars. He saw a view of what the two passengers in one of the cars. The victims were a man and woman-both of them resembling someone familiar though he didn't know them. One-the lady-had long, light blue hair and greyish-purple eyes. She was wearing an ultramarine blue skirted business suit that was half buttoned at the front. Kai could see a white shirt under it. She had black high-heeled shoes. Her hair trailed down to her lower back, and her bangs were like Sarah's.

The man had long, dark blue hair that was tied back in a white elastic low on the back of his head. It went halfway down his back and was rather shaggy and uncombed. He had the nonchalant eyes and smile of Kieran until he had been involved in the crash, that is. He wore a light blue collared shirt that was unbuttoned a little at the top, but was held together by a loose black tie. He wore a dark brown belt with silver buckle and matching dark brown pants. He had brown dress shoes. His chin and jawline had unshaven beard stubs, and pretty much everything about him seemed laid back and slightly unhygienic.

The two, supposedly a married couple, lay sprawled over the front seats of the car and the airbags. They had bloody faces from nosebleeds the impacts had caused. He heard sirens and saw ambulances enter the scene.

An ambulance with the Biovolt logo came and took the couple from their car. The two men dressed in Biovolt uniforms loaded them into the ambulance and then drove away quickly without taking any analysis of the sort.

'Wait...' thought Kai. 'Weren't my parents killed in a car crash?' He paused to ponder a moment before turning as he heard voices coming from the tree to the left. He took one last glance at the tree with his parents' deaths before hurrying over to the next tree.

"You are going to jump!"

"No."

"Look-why don't you make it easy for the both of us and just fling yourself over? No questions asked."

There came no reply from the blue-haired brown-eyed girl that was Kai's sister, Rhea. She was quarrelling with the ghostly figure of a girl of the same age as Rhea. The girl had long dark blue hair and piercing green eyes.

The two girls were standing on a cliff. They were rather close to the edge, and Kai feared that Rhea would fall off at any minute. The area at the bottom of the rocky cliff was all water and sharp rocks. The black water formed waves and crashed, coming in from the stormy seas. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, bringing in gusts from the sea to batter at Rhea and the girl.

"Jump, now, you fool!"

Rhea continued to glare at the girl with her wanful expression.

"I really don't want to make you do this..."

"Why not? It's what you've been doing for the past eleven years now, Crucis."

"That's it! You're going over!" With that, Kai saw Crucis enter Rhea's body through her chest.

Rhea's eyes widened and she made a slight jerk. Then her eyes began to glow a bright blood red and a strong wind started to blow. The wind formed a funnel that blew in a counter-clockwise direction around her.

Kai's eyes then widened in horror as he saw two bulges appear on the back of her shirt, each just below the shoulder blade. They enlarged themselves like overgrown poles before the shirt's fabric could take the pressure no longer and tore. The long, narrow bulges appeared white as they grew straight out of Rhea's back. Once they had reached a considerable length, they paused in their expansion and unfolded to form a pair of graceful, white wings. Rhea stood frozen in that position for a while; standing erectly with a raised head and wings poised to go into flight.

As Kai had expected her to leap into the air, she didn't. Instead, the wings closed in around her, enveloping and protecting her whole body from the wind. Brilliant white light began to emanate from the gaps between the wings, and then the wings unfolded again. Who now stood there was no longer Rhea - not perfectly, that was.

The being that now stood poised to fly was a culmination of Rhea and Crucis. The right half of the girl was Rhea while the left was Crucis. It made for an eerie for Kai to see the two different shades of blue hair on one head; both of different lengths and styles. Two different bodies, slotted together, though they seemed to fit perfectly. Then, the two female halves leapt into the air and with one flap of her powerful new wings, flew above the water so that she was thirty metres above it.

She hovered over the dark crashing waters before giving one last and final flap of her wings. Crucis and Rhea remained motionless over the water, suspended in mid-air as the wind continued to blow and the sea splashed them with spray. After a prolonged silence with high tension, the girl started to drop like a stone to the savage waves below.

On the way down, something distracted Kai coming from the third tree to his left. Not wanting to see his sister's death, he turned away and hastened to the next tree where he saw his grandfather, Voltaire.

He saw his grandfather's orange soul leave the elderly man's body with a flash of bright red light that had passed through him. Kai watched as the red light took Voltaire's soul into the dark grey storm clouds of the sky. After a moment or two, the red light returned to its owner, who stood in front of Voltaire. By now, Voltaire had fallen unconscious to the grassy ground and the shadowed Beyblader had moved closer.

The two figures were in a huge deserted field. There was a grassy area about fifty metres in diameter that formed a circle before meeting the foots of rocky mountains and boulders. There were three entrances around the field. One was near the pond that stood to the northeast. The second was between a footpath in the mountains to the southeast. The last one was to the west, and like the second, was in between two of the mountains.

Kai saw the shadowed unknown figure advance on his grandfather. The figure leant down over Voltaire and raised his arm into the air slowly. In the blue lightning flash, he saw the flash of silver in his hand and smile on the boy's face. The boy's hand lowered in one swift movement, sinking the dagger into the chest of Kai's grandfather.

The shadowed boy stood up and placed his hands akimbo as he glared down at Voltaire with a self-satisfied smirk. Lighting flashed again, and Kai could finally see the darkened features of his grandfather's murderer. It was he. Kai saw himself standing in the dark field glowering down at his dead grandfather.

Kai stepped warily away from the tree, a horrified look on his face. He hated his grandfather, but not enough to kill him. Kai was happy to hear the sounds from the fourth and final tree beckoning to him so that he wouldn't have to contemplate the deaths of his only known relatives. He prayed silently to himself that this vision would be more comfortable than the rest.

As he reached the tree and gazed inside the knothole, he felt bliss and comfort instead of trepidation and forbiddance. He felt like someone was holding him with congenial arms, an embrace to chase away the gut feelings about the deaths of his relatives. He finally opened his eyes once the warmth had stopped and looked straight ahead to see Sarah standing there, a contented look on her face.

He saw her move closer to him until she rested her head on his left shoulder. Kai lay his right hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked up into his intense brown eyes.

"It's okay, Kai...Just because your family isn't here anymore doesn't mean you can't be..." she consoled.

"It's just...that...I know those visions will haunt my dreams. They'll be with me 'till the day I die, and...I know you think it strange for me to say this, but...I'm scared," he replied softly.

Sarah grabbed his hand in hers and threw her arms around his neck once more. "Don't worry. I'll be here to help you through it. I'll be with you..."

In a sudden offensive move, she pushed forward violently, knocking Kai off balance and to the ground. He lay flat on his back, almost stunned that she was able to pull something like that off while she straddled him, hands on his chest and pinning him down.

A smirk appeared on her features as she leaned down over him so that their mouths almost touched. "Which won't be very long..."

Kai gasped. "Huh? What do you mean?"

He began to feel nervous as he felt her right hand's pressure ease off his chest. He noticed her reach behind her and pull out something black that she held neatly in her hand. "What are you doing? Sarah! Answer me!"

Sarah took her head away from his and sat back up, still straddling him, though. Slowly, she brought her right hand around and lay the end of the black object to his throat. Her smirk grew even wider as she narrowed her eyes and stared at the area on Kai's throat that the gun was aimed at. "Hold still, Kai, and this won't take long..."

Kai gulped as she moved the head of the gun in small circles around his Adam's Apple. "Y-you yourself said that I can still live..."

"That was then, this is now." She leant over him once more and touched her lips to his. Kai closed his eyes and tilted his head backwards, away from her. She followed the movement and intensified it.

Kai could now feel that she had finally stopped circling around his throat. She took her mouth away a moment to whisper something quickly. "Goodbye, Kai. It's been a pleasure knowing you, it really has...but I fear your time has come. The curse of the Hiwataris has finally reached you, and besides- I'm Tala's. We all know that."

With that, she cocked the trigger of the black gun. With a click, the bullet left the barrel and hurtled straight for Kai's throat...

Kai drew back from the tree in a panic. In his haste, he tripped and fell to the ground. He glared in dread around at the images of the fates of the Hiwatari family. His eyes started to water in pure petrifaction. "No...No! Th-this c-can't be...We're destined for more than this...NOOO!" he yelled as he threw his hands to his ears and lowered his head.

But the images continued to play and re-play in his mind. He saw his parents, Kaji and Xenia lying motionless on the Biovolt hospital beds. He saw his sister, Rhea swallowed up by the pounding waves. He saw his grandfather, Voltaire lying on the red grass with bloodstained garments. He saw himself, Kai lying dead on the ground and being straddled and osculated by the one who he loved, blood covering the two of them. His yell continued to echo around the abandoned forest.

"Kai!" a familiar voice called.

Kai looked up warily to see a shadowed figure approaching him from the footpath opposite the one he had entered through. As the figure stepped into the moonlight of the clearing, Kai could make them out clearly. There stood the leader of the Demolition Boys, Tala, who was wearing the Demolition Boys' black jacket to protect him from the cold night air.

"Tala!" Kai exclaimed as he leapt up from his position on the leafy ground. He stood erect and stared straight ahead at the red-haired boy who stood silent and motionless before him. Kai took a cautious step closer. "Tala? Tell me...What does all of this mean?"

Tala didn't reply nor move.

"Tala! Answer me! You're not dead, are you?"

The blue-eyed boy stood stiff as a board.

Kai took the remaining steps quickly and reached out to grab him violently when Tala spoke. "Kai...You're scared, aren't you?"

Kai withdrew slightly and stared at him with a bewildered look. "Yes. Of course I am."

Tala reached inside his coat pocket t retrieve something from it. "Well, of course, you know that we're all going to die some day. Why not today?"

"B-because...I-I have too much to do...I can't die...not today...not tonight..."

"You're clearly terrified of death. They say that the best way to overcome your fear is to face it. And you don't want to look at the death of your family, do you?"

Kai shook his head.

"Then there is one answer to conquering your fear and not watching your family's fates take place, isn't there?"

"I-I guess..." Kai stammered. "There would have to be a logical way, wouldn't there?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, there is, Kai," Tala said as his hand became visible, having left the depths of the pocket. Kai could see that in his right hand, he brandished a knife. Tala eyed the weapon as he held it at his side a moment and narrowed his eyes. "Yes...A formidable weapon, indeed. Just like the one you would have used to kill your grandfather, Tyson, Bryan, and Eva."

"I didn't kill Tyson, Bryan, and Eva!" Kai protested, getting impatient.

Tala ignored his denial and continued to speak. "Yes, Kai...this knife would suit as your trademark weapon. Look at it..." said Tala as he lifted the knife slowly so that it dangled in front of both their faces. "A perfectly crafted stainless steel blade that fits flawlessly into the black leather-bound handle. Would make for a quick death. Why, you're practically the grim reaper yourself with a beauty such as this. I'd be rather happy to be impaled with this..." Tala lowered the knife to his side and glared straight ahead at Kai's determined brown eyes. "Wouldn't you?"

Kai hesitated. "No."

Tala turned his gaze to the knife once more. "Well, of course, that's just my opinion." He raised the knife again, this time holding it flat in the palm of his outstretched hand. "Come on, Kai. You and I both know you deserve this. Why not let it be this way? With this instrument?"

Kai stared at Tala's saturnine blue eyes for a moment before casting his gaze to the knife in his hand.

Tala smirked. "You can end it all right now, Kai. It's as simple as this."

Kai continued to stare at the knife, eyeing every small detail.

"You're family's dead. You might as well be."

The silver of the sharp blade reflected in Kai's mahogany eyes.

"Heh, we'll all miss you a while, but we'll get over it."

Kai blinked. He was severely thinking. This could very well be the decision that would alter his life forever. He didn't want to make the wrong one. The wind stung his cheek, as if scolding for him to hurry with his choice.

"You've got no more family to grieve for you. Besides, I get over my sadness quickly and Sarah won't lose much. She's got me now."

That did it. Tala had just stepped on precarious territory. Kai immediately raised his head to meet Tala's smug smirk and cocky blue eyes. Tala tilted his head to one side slightly and pushed his hand further towards Kai. "Well...? Kai...? What do you say?"

Kai snatched the knife from Tala's hand. "What do you take me for? You're such a cocky gloat, but don't let me plague your life any longer, Tala. I'll just step aside, why don't I? I'll give you a break-you've always been trying to compete with me, to no avail, no surprise. Admit it, Tala. You've always been jealous than me because I've always been more appreciated and stronger than you."

Normally, Tala would have broken out into a frustrated argument, but he just shook it off this time. He shrugged his shoulders and looked back up at Kai. "Oh well. Yeah, I admit it...or I would have admitted it-until the day I won more than you."

"What?"

"I'm talking about...her..."

Kai narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. He cast his glance to the knife, thinking deeply about it, even though he had already given his consent to Tala. He looked back at Tala, who stood with a smirk, hands in his pockets, as if waiting for a pathetic excuse for a performance to begin.

"Kai..."

Sarah opened her eyes and sat up in bed at the flash of lightning and crash of thunder from outside. She glanced towards the window to see a figure standing there. There came another flash of lightning that illuminated it. "Tala!" she gasped.

Kai slowly raised the knife so that it was at arm's length from his chest. He stared at the tip of the silver blade but then at Tala as the redhead spoke.

"Come on, Kai. Four homicides for one suicide. It's a fair deal, don't you concur?"

Kai narrowed his eyes at Tala. "Just zip it, will you?"

"Tala! Tala! Wake up!" Sarah cried hysterically as she shook him vigorously.

"It's the middle of the night..." Tala replied in a groggy slur as he moved along with Sarah's arm against his bare shoulder.

Sarah took her arms away from his pale skin and placed them akimbo. "Fine, then. It's not my fault if he's dead in the morning! Kai has a knife!" she yelled.

"That's nice..."

Kai took a deep breath. He would do it, no turning back. He closed his eyes and gulped ominously as Tala folded his arms.

"Tala! Get up now, or I'll use the knife to kill myself, too!"

That galvanized him into action. His eyes opened and his blurred vision came into focus. He sat up to see Sarah staring down at him with an intense scowl. Tala turned his head to the window where sure enough, was Kai with a knife. He threw the covers off himself and hastened over to the blue-haired boy.

Kai took another deep breath in. Here he was. Now, Goadbwa would take down the two remaining Hilanovs easily, and they would steal the souls of the world to utilise them as Bit Beasts. Thirteen years of his only life...and for what? Nothing. He had been hardened by tragic events throughout his past, hardening him into this shell of a person now that forbid him from realizing all that life had to offer.

He didn't want Tala to tell him what to think, because he didn't care this time. He didn't want Sarah to tell him what to believe because she wouldn't be there to catch him when he fell to the ground. He didn't want Boris to tell him how life was, because he didn't really want to know. He didn't want Rhea to tell him how this game ended-he wanted to experience it himself. He knew that everyone would need him the most when he was gone, and despite what Tala had said, everyone would miss him.

Most of all, he wanted someone he loved to hold onto him. He knew he couldn't stay long, but he wanted to tell them that he loved them and that he wasn't afraid. But would they be able to hear him? Could they feel him in their arms. Here he was, holding his last breath, safe inside himself. Were all his thoughts and dreams sweet raptured light? They'd end here tonight. He'd found the white forest and his fate hiding in a hollow tree.

It started with one thing, though he didn't know why. It didn't even matter how hard he tried. He kept everything inside and even though he tried, it all fell apart. What it meant to him would eventually be a memory of a time when he tried so hard and got so far. But in the end, it didn't even matter. He had to fall to lose it all, but in the end, it didn't even matter. He put his trust in Tala and Sarah, had pushed as far as he could go. And for all this, he felt that there was one thing they should know; he loved them (A/N: Tala in a brotherly way, not yaoi).

With that, he gulped once more and let his hand thrust the blade forward.

"Kai!" Tala yelled as he lunged at Kai.

The blade was barely a hair's breadth away from Kai's chest when he felt someone tackle him from the side. He then felt something hard and bony grind against his chest before being thrown off balance to the ground.

Kai lifted his head slowly to scrutinize the dark room, having woken up. He saw Sarah standing to the side with a stunned look, Tala crouched in a tight ball, and the knife he had taken from the kitchen, now blood- coated.

"What happened?" Kai asked with a flustered expression.

Sarah looked him in the eye as if surprised and then displayed hurt innocence. She walked around the end of his bed and knelt down beside him. "You were trying to stab yourself, Kai. With that knife. You weren't aware of that? And where did you get it from, anyway?"

Kai turned to her and looked at her in confusion. "I-I'm not dead...No, I wasn't aware of that...not really, anyway...though I was trying to do it in my dream...I got it from the kitchen."

Sarah paused to think a moment, still watching him worriedly. "You know, dreams can tell you about your future."

"Let's hope that's not the future he faces," Tala managed to say as he rocked back and forth, cradling his arm in his chest.

Kai crawled over to Tala's side. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Tala continued to rock back and forth. Slowly, he took his right hand away from his chest and forced his wrist into Kai's face over his shoulder. "Heh...Is that your favourite phrase, now?" he chuckled.

Kai gasped on seeing the gaping wound on Tala's wrist. The reddish- purple liquid trailed down Tala's arm in small rivulets, the moon's light causing it to glisten. One of the veins in his wrist had been severed as he had tried to protect Kai. Kai looked at his chest-bloodless. He hadn't been hit, though Tala had. He looked back up at Tala. "You didn't have to do that."

Tala didn't turn around to face him, though Kai felt that he was wearing a smile that was trying to conceal the pain. He pulled his hand back into his chest. "Of course I did. How would we defeat Goadbwa without you? I had to save a fellow prophesied one. Besides, even though we're not of the same blood, you're my brother. My equal. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Kai simpered. "Thank you, Tala."

"You should thank Sarah, too. If she hadn't woken me up so violently, you probably wouldn't be with us now."

Kai turned to Sarah behind him, who had a relieved smile on her face. "Don't mention it. It was a team effort, you know? Come on, we'd better get Tala to either Boris or the infirmary."

'Team...' The word echoed in Kai's head. That was the key. The key to defeating Goadbwa was teamwork. The Hilanovs' friendship alone would have the power to defeat Goadbwa and bring the world salvation. This generation of Hilanovs was not going to go down in flames.

"But one more thing-" Sarah interrupted his reverie.

The two boys looked up at her.

"You're an awful complicated sleepwalker, Kai."