Eleven
I often wonder why I carry all this guilt
When it's you that helped me put up
All these walls I've built
Shadows stir at night
Through a crack in the door
Echoes of a broken child
Screaming please no more
Daddy don't you understand
The damage you have done
For you it's just a memory
But for me it still lives on
Ray felt uneasy, to say the least. There Kai was, or who he thought was Kai, standing behind him fully armed with a hand rifle. And in the corner, the bag Max had dropped on his hasty exit, where even more dangerous weaponry resided. Ray wanted out. He wanted to run.
"I'm sorry Ray," Kai sighed, dropping the gun on the bed. "You don't have to worry about the gun. It's full of blanks."
"What about all those other guns? Are they loaded?" Ray asked nervously.
"No, they're all blanks," Kai reassured Ray, a slight smile on his face. " I just brought them along to scare Tyson."
"Well, you did more than just scare Tyson," Ray replied, his voice was shaky from the fright still. Kai advanced towards Ray, and looked into Ray's deep amber eyes thoughtfully. "Er…you wanted to talk…?" Ray said, nervously and yet with an edge of haste. He hated this situation, and wanted to be out of it.
"Oh yeah," Kai said, turning and taking a few steps before whipping back round to face Ray. "I'm not out to hurt anyone Ray, especially not you."
"Why me?"
"There's something about you that I like…I can't explain it really."
"What do you mean?" Ray felt himself start to get flustered. What was Kai implying?
"I said, I can't explain it. It's just…the way you act…and the way you treat your friends…it just feels wonderful. I've never felt needed by anyone before."
"What are you getting at Kai?" Ray asked, as Kai advanced towards him. They stood in front of each other for a few moments. Ray was unable to shake off the uneasy feeling he got whenever he looked into Kai's eyes. There was something…wrong with them. They didn't feel like Kai's eyes. Kai put a hand on Ray's shoulder. Though it wasn't exactly close physical contact, Ray was still disturbed by this. This just couldn't be the Kai they all knew as a cold sour puss. No way.
"You intrigue me Ray," Kai said after a short while, turning his head gently onto one side, and letting a small smile creep onto his lips. "You treat me like a person, instead of a tool like my grandfather did. Thank you." and with that Kai lifted his hand from Ray's shoulder and walked off into the bathroom.
Ray paused to gather himself. Could this really be Kai? No, it couldn't be. This couldn't possibly be the Kai he called his friend. He was too friendly for his own good. Something was amiss, and Ray had to find out what. Looking over at the bag, he grabbed a larger rifle and put it in the back of his belt. He had a feeling he'd have to shoot whoever this impostor was to get any answers. Because he knew for a fact there were no blanks in these guns…
~~***~~
Kai hadn't slept in a long time. His mind was sick with worry, and his body was wracked with pain. No matter how undoubtedly agitating the Bladebreakers were, he didn't want them to get hurt. They'd shown him compassion and friendship out on Lake Baikal, and they saved his life. He had to at least repay his debt to them before he'd feel any better.
His hands were so numb with the agony that he's lost track of everything. Almost all of his senses were shut down because of the pain. He was barely able to see because even that pained him. He felt his muscles start to tremble, and he looked over at the dried blood all over his arms and hands. The steel pins no longer shone the way they had before they were implanted. They were tainted with the stains of blood, and it made them look rusty, as if they'd been in there for a long time. Kai willed himself to just give up and die, but his heart refused to give up on his friends. That was it. They were it. They were his driving force in life. He had to stay alive for them now, if only to coach them. He _had_ to get out of here and save them, before it was too late. But how?
The all-too-familiar sound of metal footsteps reached Kai's ears. He'd been able to distinguish between the types of footsteps, to determine if he was to be visited by his father or Boris. Today it was his father.
"Oh joy, a visitor," Kai said, the sarcasm in his voice barely noticeable due to its hoarseness. Hideaki smiled, and started to laugh.
"You're still alive, I am impressed," he replied, his arms folded loosely across his chest. "I thought you would have died by now, but here you are, still breathing."
"Much to your dismay, I'm sure."
"Oh contraire my Kai. I'd hoped you'd stick this out."
"And why may I ask is that?"
"Without you, who will power my device?"
"Oh you're so thoughtful."
"I'm your father Kai. What did you expect?"
"I don't know what to expect from you anymore. You're as unpredictable as you are stupid."
"Watch your tongue there boy."
"Ooh I'm scared."
"Someone didn't get much sleep last night."
"I couldn't. how could I when I have my clone out there killing my friends?!"
"So they _are_ your friends?!"
"I…" Kai stopped. He'd called them his friends. Did he mean it? Or was he just trying to protect _himself_? Was he only referring to them as 'friends' so that Hideaki would maybe consider showing them mercy and just forgetting them? Like that would happen. Kai didn't want them involved in this. If they got involved, more of his weaknesses would be exposed for them to pick apart. No. he didn't want them involved. Then why was he calling them his friends? Did he actually _care_ about this circus troupe of a team?
'Of course you do Kai. You're sticking up for them. You owe them that much at least,' Kai's thoughts replied for him. 'Look at all they've done for you. They stayed by your side when you were a jerk towards them, they rescued you from what would have been your icy grave, they stuck by you when you cried your heart out about your mom…cut them some slack, they're a nice bunch of people really. But…I suppose you can't risk their involvement. I think you're going to have to play for this idiot. You'll have to pretend, so that you can do what a team captain should: look out for the team. A foreign concept, yeah, but it saves you the trouble of trying to explain this to Tyson later.' Kai came to his conclusion.
"Well?!" Hideaki asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
"No," Kai mumbled in response.
"Pardon?"
"No. The least thing those idiots are to me are my friends. Yeah, we bladed on the same team for a while, yeah we won the World Tournament together. That doesn't make them my friends. It was a mistake for me to call them that." Kai paused, looking at the floor to try and focus himself. He didn't feel all that good at all. "Leave them alone. They haven't done anything to you."
"I know…but it's all to hurt you Kai. I know they're your friends, no matter how much you deny it, hence why I have to hurt them. It's all a vicious circle."
"Just get down to it. Why are you here ruining my life?"
"Your 24 hours are over. Time to come down."
"Ooh yay, and maybe this time I'll get stapled to the wall!! Sounds like an idea!!"
"Keep your little remarks to yourself, boy." Cold steel met with bare flesh as Hideaki started to hit Kai with a metal rod. He smashed the rod into Kai's torso, his arms and his legs, but the numbness from his hanging torment kept him from feeling any further pain, all he heard were a couple of loud cracks, emanating from his left arm. That was going to hurt. As soon as he could feel his arm again, that was.
"Are you done?" Kai asked weakly. Hideaki nodded, and called in two bodyguards, who wrenched Kai down rather painfully. Blood collided with the floor and the walls loudly, and the spatter of fresh blood falling from Kai's torn hands could be heard from down the hall.
"I'm done," Hideaki replied, motioning for the two guards to lift Kai to his feet. "Here's the fun part. You'll be coming with me to the lab now, and I intend on placing you into the control of my machine. Have a nice life, do let your mother know I miss her when you see her." and with that Kai was dragged off down the hall, with Hideaki in tow.
~~***~~
"This isn't right," Tala said, pacing up and down Tyson, Max and Kenny's room. It had been very quiet in Ray and Kai's room, and everyone was starting to get concerned. "They've been in there for too long. Something is wrong."
"I'm real scared for Ray, Tyson," Max said, looking up at the slightly hysterical teen, who looked as if he was about ready to keel over.
"So am I Maxie," Tyson replied. What was Kai thinking?! Was Ray going to be OK? Maybe Ray was already dead. They had no idea.
"Hideaki must have done something terrible to Kai to make him this way," Bryan said eventually, before the tension could grow too thick.
"I have to agree," Ian replied, nodding. "Sure, Kai isn't the most social person you're ever going to meet, but he's not exactly the type to wield around a host of blades and guns! That's not his style!"
"I dare not even think what's running through Kai's mind right now," Kenny said, his voice shaky.
"Well, if Max had actually brought that weapons bag _out_ with him, maybe we wouldn't all be so on edge!" Dizzi complained from her laptop confinement.
"Hey! He had a gun in his hand!" Max cried in his defence. "What was I supposed to do in between being rushed out in fear of my life!"
"You _could_ have kept hold of the bag," Dizzi replied. Max sighed, defeated. Beaten by a laptop, how humiliating. Dizzi was right though. If Max had kept hold of the bag then maybe they _wouldn't_ be so worried.
"It's nobody's fault," Tala turned to face the defeated Max. "Kai has a lot on his mind right now, and whatever happened when he was taken back to The Abbey must have instigated him to do this."
"This is frustrating!!" Spencer yelled, pacing continuously up and down the room, anger embedded into every thunderous step he took.
"We know Spencer, just keep your cool big guy," Ian said in response. Spencer shot Ian a glare, then sighed, realising that getting mad wasn't helping Ray. Tyson could hear soft voices in the next room, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He pressed his ear against the door.
"Tyson quit that!" Kenny yelled over to him. "If Kai finds out you were eavesdropping then we could all be in trouble!!"
"Relax Chief!" Tyson said, smiling, pulling himself away from the door and walking over to Kenny. "I can't hear a thing anyway. They're talking really quietly." a loud shot was heard from the next room. It was gun fire. It was heard two more times and then silence. Their breath was caught in their throats. Their first intuition told them that this wasn't good. Max swallowed down hard. No one dared to move. Then they realised that Ray could be hurt, or worse, dead.
"Ray!!" Max cried, jumping to his feet and running into the next room. "Ray!!!!"
Is this all it takes
To call life to an end
Its like a delicate flower
Blowing on the wind
Once caught and crushed
It can never grow back
Is that the fate
I was destined to follow?
Is this all there is?
Was I born to suffer?
SN: Eleven!! ^__^ Woo hoo!!! 100 reviews!!!!! *hands out great gifts to all reviewers who made this possible* You all rock! I am the happiest person in the world!!
The opening paragraph is from the song I'm OK by Christina Aguilera. You see the gig, you get inspired. Must remember to credit Tiger Terror once again for the awesome idea of the whole cloning Kai thing. You may have missed it the first time I said it TT, so I humbly thank you again. ^_^
My dear little angels, Maire and Fionnuala, implore you with all their chibi angelic power to review!! They may only be pin badges, but they're sparkly ones!!!
Hugs to all regular reviewers: TigerTerror, Lissom-howler, treachery89, DragonBlade, Elcy Name and Maeris. If I've missed anyone out, hugs anyway!! You all gave me over 100 reviews, which is one of the most awesome Christmas presents you can get. This chapter is a bit late because of more problems with my utterly confusing mental state.
Review anyway, cos you're just wonderful!!! Do it!!!