Six

Keep me at arm's length

I'm too dangerous for you now

Given half the chance

I know I'd kill you

But I don't mean any of this

It's as if my mind is no longer my own

Breaking free isn't an option

I'm in over my head

Kai was breathing heavily. He felt as if his feet weighed a ton, and they were just dragging. His mind felt so blurred, it was as if he wasn't in his own world anymore; he'd been taken somewhere else, somewhere strange.

And yet here he was, on the streets of Moscow, retracing his steps back to the hotel. It was still beyond Kai's comprehension as to the reason for his father and Boris just suddenly deciding to let him go. They seemed to be having such a good time making Kai suffer, he didn't quite understand why they stopped so suddenly. He knew there had to be an underlying reason, but his mind was wracked with the pain his body was feeling, so this thought was shoved to the back of his mind.

He found the hotel, and sighed with relief. For the first time, he actually wanted Tyson, Max, Ray and Kenny to be there when he got back. He'd rather put up with Tyson's endless barrage of questions than endure another night at The Abbey, and that really was saying something. He slumped into the lobby and made his way across to the lift, not noticing that the White Tigers were waiting for the Majestics in the lobby, and they'd seen him.

"Kai!" Mariah called out, but Kai ignored her. None of his senses seemed to be registering. The only thing he felt was pain, and that overwhelmed everything else. Lee, Mariah, Gary and Kevin all made their way over to Kai.

"Kai are you alright? Tyson and the others have been really worried about you. You've been missing all night! What's going on?" Lee asked. Kai stared at them, but the glare he gave them was a lot worse than his usual death stares. It chilled Lee's blood to see Kai look at him in that way. He looked so…out of it.

"Leave me alone," Kai replied, but he sounded so drained and weakened that the White Tigers couldn't comply.

"Listen Kai, they think you were kidnapped! Were you?" Mariah asked. Kai turned his gaze away from her and continued to walk to the lift.

"It's none of your business," Kai replied icily, and he disappeared behind the lift doors. Lee sighed.

"Well…that sounds like the Kai we all know and remember. At least being kidnapped didn't affect his attitude," he said, folding his arms loosely across his chest. The doors into the hotel opened, and in walked the Majestics, followed closely by the Bladebreakers. The Bladebreakers looked exhausted, as they'd been looking for Kai for hours.

"This is hopeless!" Tyson sighed. "He sure knows how to disappear!"

"Ah, don't sweat it Tyson," Oliver said encouragingly. "You'll find Kai. He's probably around somewhere."

"He just went upstairs, if you're still looking," Lee said. Everyone averted their attention to the White Tiger team, whose faces seemed to be filled with worry. "But be warned, he's not in the best of moods. He looks like he hasn't slept for a while, and he's probably endured a lot to come out with all the scars and bruises he had."

"Kai's hurt?!" Ray exclaimed. He started for the lift, followed by the rest of his team. "Thanks for the info Lee! Have fun in Europe!" and with that the Bladebreakers vanished into the lift and made their way up to their floor. The doors opened painfully slowly, and Ray almost threw himself out of the lift in his desperation. The team all darted down the hall and scrambled into their room. The door to Ray and Kai's room swung open, and when they looked inside, they saw Kai sitting at the window, just watching the world go by. The team erupted into happy laughter, which made Kai look over at them.

"Kai!! You're here!!" Max cried, flinging his arms around the older teen, much to his great surprise. "We were so scared you were dead or something after we found Dranzer on the street covered in blood!"

"Dranzer?" Kai said slowly, suddenly realising that his Beyblade was indeed no longer with him. Tyson held it out to him, and dropped it into his open hand.

"You look real beat Kai," Tyson noted. "Do you want us to get you a doctor or something?"

"No," Kai replied. "I'll be OK." Ray frowned doubtfully. He had a feeling Kai wasn't alright. There was an anguished look in Kai's normally impassive garnet eyes, and that told Ray that all wasn't well here. Knowing that they couldn't force Kai to see a doctor, Tyson, Max and Kenny smiled simply, patted Kai on the shoulder and left. They didn't know that the shoulder they touched was in seething pain, but how could they if Kai refused to tell them.

"Kai, you're a bad liar," Ray said once everyone had left. Kai glared over at him coldly.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, sounding a little angry.

"You're in pain, and a lot of it. I can see it in your eyes. What in the world are you so afraid of? Going to a doctor will help you!"

"Oh, like you know what will help me."

"Kai, I didn't ask for your sarcasm. I'm just concerned. I'm your friend Kai. We're all your friends, and how many times do I have to reiterate the point that friends can talk to each other!"

"What can I seriously talk to you circus freaks about?"

"What you're feeling. That would be a good start. And maybe you could ditch that attitude of yours as well, that wouldn't hurt."

"Don't tell me how to live Ray. I get enough of that from my father."

"So…that's Biovolt's new head man is it? Your father took over after his father got thrown in the big house, is that it? Is he hurting you?"

"It's none of your business Ray! Now, just stay the hell out of my life before I start to really get pissed off."

"You can threaten me all you like Kai, but that's all they are: empty threats with no backing or meaning to them. I doubt you'd hurt me Kai, because you know I'm here to help you." Ray's eyes widened as Kai started to laugh. But this wasn't the kind of laugh you hear when someone finds something funny: this laugh was sick, twisted and demented. What had Boris done to Kai to make him like this? Kai got up from his seat at the window and stood in front of Ray. He smiled darkly and threw a punch into Ray's stomach.

"Wouldn't hit you, hm?" Kai sneered. "You don't know me at all, do you Ray? You just think you do. Well dream on buster, you'll never know anything about who I am."

"I _do_ know you Kai," Ray gasped, the wind knocked out of him. "You're a Bladebreaker. You're our friend." Upon hearing this, Kai punched Ray again. Ray fell to the floor.

"If I was your friend, Ray, I doubt I'd try to hurt you," Kai replied, kicking Ray viciously while he was down. Blood started to seep out of the corners of Ray's mouth. He lifted his head to meet Kai's gaze. Kai's pupils were constricted, and it made him look all the more frightening. His breathing seemed shallow, and he looked sweaty. Ray suddenly realised what was going on.

"That bastard!" Ray cursed out loud. "Boris pumped you with heroin didn't he?! You're high!!" Kai kicked Ray in the face, causing Ray's nose to start bleeding. Kai felt a wave of nausea sweep over him. He felt tired and very ill. He walked into the bathroom quickly, and proceeded in throwing up quite violently down the toilet. This gave Ray time to get to his feet again. Kai emerged from the bathroom, looking pale, sweaty and sick. His gaze fell on Ray.

"Get out of my life Ray," Kai said, weakness breaking through in his voice again. Blood was still trailing down Ray's face, but he was switched off to it. His focus was on Kai. He kept his amber eyes fixed on Kai's distressed garnet ones. Kai didn't like this at all, and walked over to Ray, holding him against the wall by his throat. "Leave me alone!! Get the hell out of my life!!" Kai screamed. He was hysterical, and Ray knew why. He was surprised the others hadn't heard this, but knowing it they'd drifted off to sleep, and it took a small miracle to wake them up when they were really tired.

"Kai…" Ray managed to say as he struggled for air. He was barely able to breathe, as Kai's grip on his was quite tight. Kai was in a hysterical fit. He didn't know what to do. It was like Kai was lost in his own mind; his thoughts and feelings being drowned out by the drugs that still coursed through him. He'd lost it. He'd lost control over his mind, and he was being dictated by a drug. This wasn't the normal Kai. Kai would never let anyone control him. And yet he allowed this drug to possess him and do with him what it wished. Kai felt so low, so pathetic: so weak. He heard a noise in the next room and quickly let go of Ray. His eyes were wide with fear, and he made a run for the door, once again leaving Ray alone.

Tyson, Max and Kenny had been woken up by the noise, and they walked into Ray and Kai's room to see what all the fuss was about.

"Ray! What's all the --" but Tyson was cut short in his question when he saw what a terrible state Ray was in. They rushed to his side and helped him onto one of the beds. "Ray!! What happened?! Where's Kai?!"

"He's…lost it guys…" Ray said finally. "He's lost control of his mind…he could end up hurting himself, or someone else if we don't find him."

"He ran out again?" Max said in dismay.

"He's under the influence of drugs again. Boris has been flooding him with it…I think…I think we came too late to save him…"

"But Ray! It _can't_ be over yet! We have to go out and find him! Like you said!"

"That's easier said than done Max. He's illusive, and he can't be found when he doesn't want to be found."

"But you yourself said he was going to get hurt! We can't just leave him out there to kill himself!" Ray looked at the floor, and climbed to his feet, wiping the blood from around his mouth.

"Kenny, call up an ambulance. We'll need to get Kai to a hospital as soon as we find him," Ray ordered. Kenny nodded and went for the telephone in the next room. "Tyson, Max, you two come with me. We have to find Kai and we have to find him quickly. He's in a bad state, so we'd better be careful." Tyson and Max agreed, grabbing their Beyblades and following Ray out of the room and down the hall.

~~***~~

"This is pathetic!" Bryan growled, pacing up and down the hotel room in which the Demolition Boys were now staying. "Biovolt just turned him loose?! Why would they do that?!"

"Because he's a threat to himself and to anyone near him," Tala replied coldly, rising from his seat.

"We've waited here long enough Tala!" Spencer said, getting to his feet also. "It's time we stepped in!"

"I agree Spencer, but I don't think it's a good idea that we move in to intercept Kai. We may get better luck raiding The Abbey," Tala replied, walking over to the window. "If we raid The Abbey we may get a better insight as to what Hideaki's intent really is. Going after Kai right now is a worthless pursuit. He wouldn't accept what we'd have to say, not in the state he's in. We'll wait for him to recover more fully, then we'll confront him and the rest of his team."

"Are you sure it's wise to wait this long Tala? We've already wasted a lot of valuable time," Ian asked. "Kai could have been long gone from Russia by now if we'd gone in when I first suggested."

"Ian, we can't interfere just yet," Tala replied, looking over at his shorter team mate. "I want to know more about Biovolt's intent with Kai, to see how severe this situation really is. I know it's all pretty bad right now, but it could get worse, and when it does, that's when we make our move."

~~***~~

"Hey Kai!!" Tyson called out, getting puzzled looks from Russian civilians. "Kai! Where are you?!"

"Kai! Oh Kai!!" Max called, looking around everywhere. No sign of Kai.

"Kai!! Kai come on out!!" Ray yelled, looking down every alleyway and in every shop he passed. Still nothing. The three reconvened in the park.

"I've got nothing," Tyson sighed, sitting himself down on an empty bench. "We've looked all over Moscow! Kai's nowhere!"

"We didn't look over there," Max pointed over to where they saw a two-tone haired teenager with agonised garnet eyes. It was Kai.

"Kai!" Ray called with relief as they ran over to their captain. He was sitting in the grass by the river, and he wasn't paying them much attention. "Kai! We were worried sick about you! Where have you been?!" Kai's attention suddenly snapped on them, but he looked angry and afraid to see them. He got to his feet and started to back away.

"Kai…" Tyson began, holding his hand out to the older teen, but he continued to move backwards, away from them.

"Stay away from me," Kai muttered, but it was barely audible. "Please, just stay away." Despite his voice being so quiet, Tyson could tell that there was fear in his words. But he didn't understand why Kai would fear them.

"Kai, it's me, Tyson," he said softly. "We're here to help you, buddy. We won't hurt you I promise."

"You'll take me back to them…" Kai said, his voice growing louder, and he was still moving backwards. "I won't let you take me back to Biovolt!! I won't go back to that!!"

"Kai it's us! Your team mates!" Max called to him, extending his hand out also. Kai picked up his speed slightly, the fear showing more evidently in his face. This wasn't Kai. He had never been like this before.

"Kai…" Ray said, trying to move closer.

"No!! You stay away from me!! I know who you are!! You work for Biovolt and you're going to take me back to Boris and my father!!! I won't let you!!" Kai screamed, turning and breaking into a run. But he didn't get very far. The energy was completely drained from him, and before he knew it, he was down on the floor, completely unconscious. Max, Tyson and Ray ran to his side, to make sure he was OK.

"He's out cold," Tyson said after examining his face. They could hear sirens in the background, growing louder. Soon small red lights were flashing all around them. Kenny had managed to find them and get the ambulance to them just in time. Tyson looked down at Kai. "Hold out just a little longer buddy. This will all be over real soon."

I see the faces

Of masked strangers

Yet I get the feeling

I know these people

I've seen you before

But was it a dream?

Who are you? Are you real?

Speak to me

SN: That's part six! Yay! My sugar high is dying down now, so I may just get back to sane writing. If that is ever going to be possible! ^_^

Please oh please review!!! I'm putting a lot of effort into this and it'll make it all the more worth it if you leave a review. Please and thank you.

And TigerTerror you gave me the most awesome idea for a future chapter in your last review!! Thank you!! And treachery89, what was your last review about? Was it something I said? *puts on sad face* I'm lost.

This chapter is for Lissom-howler: cos she makes me smile.