22: Strength Comes From Within

Jay Kamiya: Great to hear, and welcome!

TigerRain: A neko-jin ability to be exact, and one few possess. I will be taking it one step further in my upcoming fic Honesty II, but that's pretty much it for this fic in terms of explanation.

Ms Hobgoblin: Thanks. I'm so glad that you are liking it. ^_^

Imari: I doubt even Kai knows why. Maybe it was brought on due to his thoughts leading up to that point...

the tigris: So many theories, so little explanation... ^_~

Sarcasmcat: Phenomenal? No ones called my stuff that before. #^_^#

Quick Note: I recently won two more fan fic awards for my Star Wars fan fiction (as voted by the readers). Yet another reason to keep on writing. Keep on reviewing, my friends. I truly get a buzz from them.

Don't you hate it when you write so much of a story, know how its going to end, but get to the point in between where you have no idea what to do? I tell you, sometimes I just feel like smashing my head into a brick wall. Problem is, I might damage the wall…

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them

Night was once again approaching, they could feel it on the air. While the cavern was always cold, it took on a bite as soon as the sun went down outside. Oh how they longed for sunlight, but all they were able to get was the artificial light of the spotlights burning down from above. They had been fed again, the same as the day before: breadcrumbs, water and honey, the portions no bigger, though they had been unable to wake Kevin for his.

The young neko-jins health continued to deteriorate. His skin had taken on an almost greyish-yellow hue, and, to Mariah, he felt as if he were becoming lighter. She cradled him against her chest, his hair falling free down over his face. He looked older, as if his youth ebbed away with each passing hour.

She had stopped crying long ago, her eyes dry, all her tears gone. The others left her alone, Gary having joined the others as they sat in a circle, talking quietly amongst themselves. It came as no surprise that the conversations seemed to mainly focus around beyblading. Gary and Tyson chose to stay off the conversation of food, and the others complied, not wanting to cause any trouble.

It left Mariah to her thoughts, her mind a whirlwind as it tried to keep up with all that had gone on over the last couple of months. So much had happened; so much had changed. Ray was no longer an enemy, but once again a dear friend. And in the process of surviving the hostage situation, the White Tigers had made some new friends in the form of the Blade Breakers.

It didn't take much to see that Kevin and Max enjoyed competing against each other, mainly on the playstation, and that Tyson and Gary shared interests in food. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Mariah knew that Lee was rather fond of Kai, and she herself could see a small similarity between the two, could almost sense something that drew them together. And Ray got along with them all, delighted that all his friends could be together in one place.

But where did that leave Mariah? She kept mainly to herself, trying to maintain the order of the White Tigers just as Kenny maintained the order of the Blade Breakers. She and the nerd had had some rather interesting discussions about the two teams and their social habits, teaching each other new tricks to keep the guys in line. And, as she knew, when it came to keeping the guys in line, you needed every trick you could get.

She remembered fondly the episode involving the three elder boys spying on the women by the pool. She had been angry with them then, but looking back, she found it amusing. She remembered Ray's look of panic as he realised it was her, Kai's tone of annoyance when he was forced to explain himself, and Lee's look of betrayal in having been left out. Her smile widened as she remembered Tyson's eagerness to take a peek, the look on Kevin's face showing he also wished to go but wisely chose to remain silent so not to be caught in the wrath of his pink-haired teammate…

Mariah looked down at Kevin, running her fingers through his hair. He seemed devoid of life, something that was purely unnatural for the cheeky little monkey. She sighed, a feeling of guilt washing over her. It was her fault, what had happened to Kevin. If she hadn't forgotten her purse, she would have never had to go back to the training room, never been cornered by those men, only to have Kevin come to her rescue…

"Mariah."

Mariah snapped back to reality, blinking and bring her gaze downward. "Kevin?"

His eyes were open, violet orbs duller then she had ever seen them, bringing fresh tears to her eyes. He looked up at her, and it was easy to see that he was having trouble focusing. "I don't feel so good."

"I know, Kevin." She ran her hand through his hair, drawing a deep breath, trying to be strong. "Kevin… I… I never thanked you."

"For what?"

"Saving me. The other day." She closed her eyes against the tears. "Its… its all my fault. If I hadn't been so careless, none of this would have happened, and-"

She cut herself off at the soft touch. Opening her eyes, she found Kevin watching her, gaze intent as he gently wiped the tears from her face.

"It's not your fault, Mariah. Don't tell yourself that." He blinked, pausing as he composed himself. "They would have done it anyway. You know it. Besides, it was my fault for being out in the open like that." He laughed softly. "I guess I'll never learn."

She smiled, reaching out to lay her hand on his, which was still pressed against her cheek. "I didn't want you to get hurt, Kevin. Ray, Lee, Gary… I can see them all getting hurt, but not you. It… tears at me… to see you like this."

"Then you know how I feel when I see you cry." Kevin drew a careful breath, face becoming serious. "Don't cry for me, Mariah. I'm not worth."

"That's not true." She felt a sense of hopelessness wash over her as she closed her fingers around his, noting the strength in his grip was weaker then she ever remembered it. "Don't put yourself down like that, Kevin. So you might be a misfit, but so am I. I care about you, Kevin. I really do. You mean so much to me… I-I don't want to lose you."

"You can't control destiny." He looked up, noting her distressed look. "I'm not leaving you, Mariah. We're going to get out of here. Lee will come. You wait."

She smiled, nodding. "Yes, he will come. And then we can all escape, and get you to a hospital. And when you're all better, we can all go back to the way things were." Her smile widened. "I'll even help you play a prank on Tyson."

"Now you're moving into fantasy land." He saw her face fall. "I always prank Kenny before I get Tyson."

She relaxed. "That's what I want to hear."

He watched her, sighing as he took in her face, her expression, his gaze moving down toward their entwined fingers. "I care about you too, Mariah. That's why I did what I did, and if I could go back in time, I would do it all over again. I couldn't stand to see them doing that to you… I couldn't let anybody do that to you."

"I know." The trademark cocky infliction to his voice was gone, making her realise exactly how bad he must be feeling. "I just wish there was some way I could take away your pain…"

"I'm not in pain." His eyelids were drooping again, but he fought the darkness. "I'm just tired. Weak."

"But your wound-"

"It burns…. every so often. It's numb. I can't feel it, just… so tired."

Mariah raised his hand to her lips, kissing his fingers. "I'm so scared you won't wake up."

Kevin swallowed, meeting her gaze with his own. "So am I."

Not looking good for Kevin…