27: Help From Above
Gothic-Wolf: Banned not fun. Had that happen. Hope you can get back soon.
the tigris: Cute? Yeah. Just take a look at that picture Melanie drew. They're adorable together. *^_^*
Imari: Love triangle is certainly the main way of putting it.
Ms Hobgoblin: I like playing with peoples minds, and I imagined that that's exactly what would be going through Kai's mind. And it's not a threesome... yet. ^_~
TigerRain: What about Ray? Heh heh. You're going to love this chapter. :p
Jay Kamiya: ^_^
Hmm. I have no idea what to say at the moment. Just enjoy the chapter, I guess. And thank you for all the reviews, and putting up with this story.
Disclaimer: I don't know why I can't simply say "I don't own them", but then, call it a running thing from Eclipse.
The three cautiously made their way up the small rise, careful to keep their heads low. They had set their packs down beside a rock behind them, removing the extra weight and allowing them to move freely should they need to move fast. Their torches were off, left in the packs as they no longer needed the light in order to see. They gained enough light from those in the cavern below.
Poising themselves on the edge, they gazed below, counting the number of enemy moving around. Several doors led out of the cavern, one of which seemed to be some sort of security lab overlooking the large room, and in particular, a single cage that sat back against the wall on the far side from the three's current position. This must be where their teammates were being held.
The ledge on which they were perched was bathed in darkness, the spotlights hanging below and leaving the upper level of the cavern in a shroud of black.
"Ventilation," Kai whispered. "That is what this shaft is for."
Ray leant forward, frowning. "So how are we supposed to get down there without being spotted?"
"Along that side wall," Kai answered, gesturing. "See. There is a spot there where the beams of the spotlights seem to miss. From here there looks to be some small crevices we can use as handholds."
"Works for me," Lee agreed. "Now all we have to do is work out exactly how to go about-"
He broke off at the sound of the footstep, spinning around only to be hit hard across the face, sending him sliding backwards down the rise. Rolling, he brought himself back to his feet, wiping the blood from his lip with the back of his hand as he glared at the man who had struck him.
"Well what do we have here." The man said, eyes sparkling as the other members of his group joined him. "If it isn't the team captains. We've been expecting you. If you'll cooperate and come with us, we'll take you down to your friends."
"Sorry," Kai said, pushing himself up, eyes hard. "But I've never really understood the concept of cooperating."
Lee chuckled, a smirk sliding onto his lips. "You and me both."
With that the two boys lunged, knocking down the foremost of the group. Kai sent a closed fist into the nearest enemy, throwing himself to his feet and winding the next. One tried to grab him from behind but went flying as Ray's feet caught him dead in the chest as Ray performed Kevin's signature fighting move, landing easily on his feet and joining the fray just as alarms began to blare.
As Lee dropped his foe, he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and spotted the man that had first spoken reaching into his pocket, pulling free a gun. Lee snapped a leg up, kicking the weapon away and over the edge of the ledge. Now defenceless, the man threw himself at the neko-jin, Lee easily dodging the blow and blocking the next, sending a closed fist into the man's sternum, winding him.
Despite being unable to draw a breath, the man fought on, lashing out at Lee, who back stepped, catching him in the jaw and sending the man stumbling back. As he fell, the man realised that he was at the edge of the ledge and flayed, Lee unable to step back in time as the man caught hold of his vest, dragging them both over the edge…
~~~~*~~~~
Mariah looked up as the alarms began to blare, the others alert in an instant as their captors started to race around in a panic, those of higher rank barking orders as they went, the sound of a scuffle echoing from above. A clatter brought the heads of the beybladers around toward the far side of a cavern, the metal object bouncing once before sliding to a stop: a gun.
A scream tore its way through the enclosed space. Mariah's eyes widened as she spotted the two figures plunging toward the ground, the one that was screaming hitting it with a bone shattering thunk. The other twisted in the air gracefully, landing easily on his feet in a way that Mariah knew very few could do. He was a neko-jin. He was-
"Lee!" Mariah pushed herself up on her knees as she caught sight of the man out of the corner of her eye. "Look out!"
Lee spun around and threw himself to the side, the bullet tearing across his chest when it would have caught him in the heart moments before. He hit the ground hard, gasping at the burning pain as he gritted his teeth, all his strength leaving him as shock took hold.
Mariah watched helplessly as more weapons were drawn, levelled on her childhood friend and courageous leader. She choked back a sob at the sound of the first gunshot, only to gap as she saw one of their captors fall. He was soon followed by another as the bullets rained down from above with deadly accuracy Mariah had last seen during the hostage situation: Kai.
One of the enemy pointed. "There!"
A shot rang out followed by a mass of falling pebbles, a figure tumbling down behind them to land heavily on the cavern floor, gun clattering in front of him. He let out a string of words that Mariah was certain she should be glad she was too far away to hear as he gripped his left thigh, blood already starting to soak his pants where the bullet had caught him.
Tyson lowered himself to the ground as their captors moved forward, laughing victoriously. "We're screwed."
Mariah ignored him, instead frowning as she saw Lee reach behind his back, tossing something into the shadows while the enemy were focused on the fallen Kai. She was quickly distracted as one of the more senior members of Zika's organisation moved forward, bringing his own gun to bare
"I will take great pleasure in revenging the death of my colleagues," he hissed, raising the weapon toward Kai. "Say goodbye, Hiwatari."
Mariah jumped at the sound of the gunshot, squeezing her eyes closed, not wanting to see Kai's lifeless body. No, this was wrong. This couldn't be happening. After all they had been through, all they had survived, it couldn't end like this.
Hearing the others gasp, she forced her eyes open to find the man on the ground, gun now settled in his lifeless hand. Kai's eyebrows were at attention as he looked at him, before a knowing smirk slowly crossed his face.
"The only revenge," a voice said from the darkness, "will be mine."
All eyes turned sharply to find the figure stepping from the shadows, gun held steady in sure grip as his eyes burned. The remaining enemy turned and fled as Kai scooped up his gun, bringing down a couple more before they managed to scramble to the safety of the doorways.
But Mariah no longer cared about them, her attention instead on the figure as he lowered the gun, glaring after their foes as they vanished. She blinked, not believing what she saw, but unable to find the voice to ask the question. She heard a scuffing on the rock as Tyson moved forward, leaning against the bars, staring.
"Ray?"
chanting Ray's got a gun. Ray's got a gun. *^_^*