Twenty
Heaven calls me
Its so haunting, melodic
It makes me feel safe
I'm closer to her
But further from you
How far away
Is eternal sleep
And how long is an eternity?
"Come on Kai! Don't let this be your end! You deserve better than this ending so open your eyes and stay with us a little while longer!!" Ray pleaded, clutching Kai's cold lifeless hand in desperation. Doctors pushed the Bladebreakers aside and ushered them out of the room. If Kai didn't want to live now, he wouldn't make any effort to survive. The Bladebreakers had been sent to the waiting room of the hospital, which was deserted save for themselves. Tyson paced around endlessly, praying for Kai. Kai's grandparents were also with them, but they were in mourning, for Ray thought that deep inside themselves they knew Kai wasn't going to pull through.
"Kai…is gonna make it, right?" Max asked tentatively, to break the icy silence that had fallen over them.
"I don't know Max. I really don't know," Kenny replied, trying to calm himself by sorting out work with Dizzi. The doors into the waiting room were opened, and the Demolition Boys approached the apprehensive Bladebreakers. Following close behind were the cautious White Tigers and the Majestics.
"What's happened?" Tala asked in a confused manner, noting the frightened looks on the Bladebreakers' faces.
"We saw Hideaki being carted off by the police not too long ago. We thought something had gone down," Enrique said.
"Something went down all right," Tyson replied in a pained fashion. "Kai's just been suffocated. Hideaki strangled him. They're trying to resuscitate him now." there was a long, thoughtful silence.
"It's about time that man was put away," Lee said after careful consideration. "He's done enough. He deserves whatever is dealt to him."
"Word has already leaked out to the press that Hideaki has been captured," Robert said, looking over to the television, which was switched on to a news channel.
"The infamous Hideaki, the oldest son of Voltaire, has finally been apprehended and arrested by Russian authorities," the reporter began. The Bladebreakers, the White Tigers, the Majestics and the Demolition Boys gave the news report their full attention. "Hideaki is being charged with the murder of Russian politician Aoi Hiwatari and for the mutilation and attempted murder of the couple's only son Kai Hiwatari."
"Oldest son?" Tala mused. "So…Hideaki isn't an only child?"
"It would seem that way," Oliver replied. "I wonder what Hideaki's siblings think of their brother's behaviour?"
"If I were any of them, I would have distanced myself from those two years ago," Mariah said, taking a seat and reaffixing her attention to the news report.
"Hideaki was arrested at Moscow Hospital earlier this afternoon, whilst he was seen to be paying his dying son a final visit. Our reporter on the streets of Moscow has more on this shock story," the studio reporter then averted the story over to a reporter out on the streets.
"Newsreaders are so boring," Tyson groaned loudly.
"Tyson shut up!" Max hissed.
"It was here, inside Moscow Hospital, where this violent criminal was captured and arrested by Russian Police," the male reporter began.
"Hey! We're in there!" Tyson pointed out almost excitedly.
"TYSON! SHUT UP!" Max and Ray yelled together.
"Geez…sorry," Tyson huffed.
"In an operation conducted by the friends of Hideaki's son Kai, held in conjunction with the police, this murderer has finally been caught and will finally be brought to justice," the reporter resumed. "Also caught earlier this morning was Boris, an old operative of Voltaire, but had been continuing his services to Biovolt under Voltaire's oldest son. Russia has already lost its finest politician to Hideaki, and now it seems that one of the World Champion Beybladers is also in a critical condition within this hospital."
"Can we switch this crap off yet?" Tyson whined. "We _know_ all of this! We don't need some jock in a suit telling us what we already know!"
"Here with me I have Dorothy, the younger sister of Hideaki," the reporter said suddenly, the camera pulling back to reveal a young woman, bearing a striking resemblance to Hideaki. "Tell me Dorothy, what do you think of your brother's actions and his recklessness as both a husband and a father?"
"I think it's a disgrace," Dorothy replied monotonously. "My brother and I had never seen eye to eye, and I was always fond of his wife and son. It has already broken me to hear that he was her killer, and it will crush me further if he is also responsible for the death of my nephew."
"So…that's Hideaki's sister, hmm?" Johnny sat down opposite Mariah. "She must have heard about her brother from someone and come all the way here to see his trial."
"To watch him crash and burn," Lee added.
"Yeah this is all great and good and all, but why the hell are we sitting here watching something on the TV that's going on all around us?!" Tyson yelled out at last. "We _should_ be going to check up on Kai. Last I checked he was on the shadowed side of dead. In case you guys had forgotten about the whole Hideaki strangling scenario."
"We know Tyson we know," Ray smiled, trying to calm down his restless companion. "But it's not like we can barge in guns blazing while the doctors are trying to save Kai's life. We'll probably give Kai a heart failure."
"Kai always did say we'd be the death of him," Max noted. "He never said it too loudly, but I always heard him."
"You guys will be the death of him if you go in there like that! Let the doctors finish their work. All we can do now is wait," Robert replied, as all who were standing took a seat. This was going to be a long wait.
~~***~~
"Doctor, we have a weak pulse."
"Excellent. How's his blood pressure?"
"75 over 53."
"Too low. We _have_ to raise it somehow."
"Breathing is slow."
"Put him on the respirator. Is the life support monitor still in operation?"
"Yes doctor."
"Doctor, I fear that the abnormal levels of intoxicants in his system may affect the outcome of this procedure."
"We'll have to keep our eyes open for that."
"Blood pressure dropping! 61 over 50! His pulse is erratic! He's going into arrest!"
"Prepare defibrillators! We can't let this one slip!"
"What?" through the haze that had descended over his face, Kai could hear voices. Two women and a man were stood around him. A beeping sound to Kai's left grew louder and louder and faster and faster. A sharp pain shot through his entire body before everything, sound and consciousness, started to fade away from reach…
~~***~~
Kai was stood alone, surrounded by the dark that had threatened to engulf him since he was a child.
"I'm…dead?" Kai asked to no one in particular. There was no one really for him to ask. Not a living thing stood in the vicinity, and it didn't surprise Kai in the slightest. He couldn't understand how anything could live here.
"Your not dead. Not yet," a voice replied to his question. The voice belonged to a woman.
"Who's there?" Kai asked into the blackness.
"Someone who knows you," came the reply.
"I'm…not dead then? So if I'm alive, where am I?"
"You're in between being alive and being dead. Here is where you decide whether to give up and accept that your father has won, or you fight on and watch him go down."
"I know I'm strong, but I don't know if I have the strength to live anymore."
"listen to me. Walk forwards: to see the scenario that would unfold if you were to give up." Kai hesitantly did as the voice commanded and walked a few steps forward. Sure enough, a small white light began to twinkle out amidst the shadows. Feeling a compelling urge to be away from this nightmare, Kai broke out into a run, running towards the light until it enveloped his whole body.
"Where am I now?" Kai asked.
"Just look," the voice replied. An image began to form before Kai's eyes. Before him was his own dead body, pale and lifeless. Surrounding him were the remaining Bladebreakers, the White Tigers, the Majestics and the Demolition Boys. While the three latter teams, save Mariah, had their heads bowed in a mournful solemn respect, the remainder were in tears.
"What the hell…?" Kai asked.
"Why did you quit Kai?" Tyson sobbed. "Why did you surrender to him?! He's done what he set out to do now! He's taken your soul! He's won!"
"So…I gave up then. I know when I should back down."
"Kai you always told us not to give up and we'd always win! OK maybe not in those words, but we can read between the lines!" Max cried, wiping his red eyes with a tissue. Kai looked towards the door and saw an elderly couple, sobbing in each others' arms.
"Are they…?"
"Yes Kai. They are your grandparents," the voice replied. Kai's garnet eyes grew distressed. He couldn't believe they were there, and they'd seen him die. He had never wanted them to see him die, as he had always planned on being at their funeral, not them being at his. "Do you see it yet? Now is not the time to be giving up on life. Life is beautiful Kai. You've forgotten that."
"Life isn't so beautiful when you've lost your reason for living."
"And these loyal friends of yours are not worth the fight?" Kai looked over to them again. He frowned deeply. He'd made up his mind. And that was that.
~~***~~
The four Beyblade teams sat anxiously in the hospital waiting room, praying with all their hearts that Kai wouldn't give up on them now. Kai's grandparents were torn. They couldn't bear the thought of losing their only grandchild. A doctor finally entered the room.
"Doctor!!" Tyson leapt to his feet and ran to the doctor. "Is Kai…"
"I'm…I'm so sorry. He went into arrest, his blood pressure dropped too low. We were unable to resuscitate him. He's…he's gone now," the doctor replied grimly, his head bowed. Once he was finished talking he walked away. Kai's grandparents got to their feet and walked down to where Kai was. The four teams followed them. Sure enough, Kai was lying in the hospital bed, cold and lifeless. He seemed peaceful. The life support machine still registered the long line that confirmed what everyone had feared: Kai was dead.
"No…Kai!!!" Tyson screamed, breaking into tears. "You quit on us!! Why did you quit?! Why did you quit Kai?! Why did you surrender to him?! He's done what he set out to do now! He's taken your soul! He's won!" the Majestics, the White Tigers and the Demolition Boys were having a hard time taking the news in. all of them save Mariah, whom was joined in the Bladebreakers' tears, hung their heads in a mournful, solemn respect.
"Kai you always told us not to give up and we'd always win! OK maybe not in those words, but we can read between the lines!" Max cried, wiping his red eyes with a tissue. Things were playing out in the way that Kai had seen them. But it still left one question unanswered: why did Kai surrender after seeing all he had seen? After sobbing for ten minutes, the Bladebreakers finally thought it best to leave. This was all too much for them. For all of them.
"Sleep well Kai. I hope you find your peace now," Ray smiled, placing a hand on Kai's icy forehead. "No matter what, we'll always have you with us in spirit. I understand that you must have fought on to live, but in the end your body couldn't cope. I'll see you on the other side some day Kai. Hopefully when I'm an old man." and with that Ray walked out, joined by his team and the other three. Kai's grandparents stayed for a few minutes longer before taking their leave also.
The streets of Moscow seemed intolerably bright as the morning's sun shone in all of their faces. The hospital was so dark and dank that this sudden blast of pure light stunned the four Beyblading teams for a few minutes.
"Ray?" Max finally asked.
"Yeah Max?" Ray replied.
"How are we going to cope without Kai?"
"I don't really know Max. I don't know."
"He kept us all in line, he was our captain, our leader," Kenny noted.
"Our friend," Tyson added. "Above all Kai was our friend. I know I'm gonna miss him like mad, but Kai wouldn't want us to cry for him for long. He's back with his mother now, and though that's not here with us, we have to accept that as Kai's decision. Dranzer is still with him, and I think we should bury Dranzer with him. Dranzer won't want another master."
"That was a nice speech Tyson," Tala said approvingly. "Very appropriate. We should always remember that this was Kai's decision in the end. He decided that now was a good time to leave us, but he's left us something to work with. We can blade on fuelled by his spirit."
"Well, at least that rules out 4am wake up calls…" Tyson mused, his hands behind his head. "But then again, I'd gladly take the early mornings to have Kai be alright again. Well Kai, wherever you are up in heaven, we miss you."
~~***~~
A spike peaked on the life support machine and a loud bleep followed. This was added to by a succession of five extra bleeps. A pair of garnet eyes slowly fluttered open and slowly examined the surroundings in which they were in. the bleeps were now in a regular rhythmic motion, as the once lifeless body sat up and began to carefully remove all of the tubes and needles that penetrated his skin. He walked over to the table and changed out of the hospital issued garments and into his won, torn, blood-tainted clothing. He firmly secured his red arm guards over his arms and went over to the small bedside table and picked up the launcher and the blue Beyblade. The Bit started to glow a furious scarlet colour, as if the beast laying within was happy.
The two tone haired teenager stood in the doorway to his hospital room. He looked behind him at the blood which painted the once white bed sheets. He smiled.
"You're right," he said, looking up to the heavens. "To quit now would be admitting defeat, and admitting my father has won. I'm not about to let that happen. Thank you….mother." and with that he turned and left, his white scarf billowing out behind him and he did so.
~~***~~
Smoke began to puff out of the chimney that sat atop a small cottage in the outskirts of Moscow. An elderly couple were resident there, still in mourning at the loss of their grandson. It had been a week since he had died, and to add insult to injury, it was now apparent that his body had been stolen, for it was now no longer in the possession of the doctors or the staff at the mortuary. The old woman was at the stove, removing some fresh cakes and placing them on the window ledge to cool. Her husband was preparing a fire to boil water for tea.
"Katherine, we must find a use for our mourning, we cannot mourn for him forever," the old man said finally to break the silence between them.
"Oh, Dmitri, we barely were able to mourn our own daughter! Let me mourn my only grandchild!" the old woman replied, the sorrow still webbed into her words. It was obvious to him now that the scars were never going to heal. A knock came upon the wooden front door. " I shall see to it. It is most likely someone trying to sell us double glazing again." the old woman sighed, dropping down her tea cloth and walking over to the front door. The old man was on his feet and had followed her to the door. The old couple got the surprise of their lives when they saw who was stood before them. The familiar sight of the two tone haired teenager, with his soft familiar garnet eyes, brought them to tears of joy.
"Hi. I'm home," the teen said, a small pleased smile on his face. The couple threw their arms around him, sobbing in joy. The phoenix had found his way out of darkness and back to the light. The phoenix had risen from the ashes. He was reborn.
And though
I know
The world of real emotion has surrounded me
I won't give in to it
Now
I know
That forward is the only way my heart can go
I hear your voice calling out to me
"You'll never be alone"
SN: That is it! Finished! Kaputt! Finito! All done! So those who called for death sorta got what they asked for as did those who asked for life. Thanks is to be given to all, and I can't just put out a list cos there are so many of you!! ^__^. I love you all!!! Thank you for getting me to over the 200 mark, its more than I ever dreamed of, and to all those reviewers who got in touch with me via e-mail like Lissom-Howler, Elcy Name and Maeris, and those who inspired me to write, like TigerTerror, treachery89 and Cold Heritage, I love you and thank you!!! And obviously you readers deserve the biggest round of applause. *claps* I am just an artist. You guys are what make my stuff great. *tear*. I'm getting all choked. This is really over…
Last paragraph was from Real Emotion by Jade From Sweetbox, better heard on the Final Fantasy X-2 game. I like the song, it seems to glue with me. It's either that or Hilary Duff. Tough…haha.
Could I have done more to this ending? Could I add to this story? Could I make a sequel?! (Haha perish the thought XD) You tell me. Go forth, review, and thankies!!!