Mariah giggled as Lee wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close and looking over her shoulder as she cooked breakfast. Nibbling on her ear only made it worse since she laughed and tried to push him off, but he only held tighter. "You can't get away from me now..there is no escape" he teased until Mariah finally smacked him in the middle of the forehead with her spatula. Turning back to her cooking, she pretended to not care that Lee had fallen to the floor and was currently twitching.
"Ow...Mariah.." Lee groaned from the ground behind her feet. Mariah just smirked.
"Nah, you deserved a good smack, now get over it." she told him, stepping over his body with a couple plates of food and setting them on the table. Lee had just gotten up and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close once more as she did not protest when there was a knock at the door. The person, however, didn't wait for their answer or welcome, but barged right in.
It was Robert.
Lee raised an eyebrow and let go of Mariah before turning to face the german boy who was looking around frantically. "Good morning, may we help you?"
"Where's Kai?" Robert asked, snappishly. Mariah was about to motion to the back rooms when Kai walked out of the hallway into the room, towelling his hair.
"I'm right here, Robert." he announced, boredly, before tossing the towel aside and onto the back of a chair. "What can I do for you?"
"Well," Robert says as a matter of factly "you can come with me so I can ask you a couple questions."
"I think I'll stay here." Kai replied. "After all, what you can say to me you can say to these two."
Robert shrugs in response. "Yes, I could...all right then. Everybody must follow me." he ordered. Lee looked at Kai who just shrugged nonchalantly and followed Robert out the door, soon to be trailed by Lee and Mariah.
Robert led them through the village at a quick pace, seemingly calm, but Kai's sharp eyes noticed anticipation and worry. Very strange...
Soon they were halted in front of the Majestic's private helicopter. Oliver sat in the door of the helicopter with a laptop and was typing away vigorously at it, reminding everybody too much of Kenny! Enrique and Johnny, however, were bickering as usual just a couple feet away and Lee and Mariah marvelled at how Oliver could work with them just beside him. Suddenly, Robert spun about and glared at Kai, his face inches from the others. "How much do you love her?" he asked sharply.
Kai just glared back. "I love Rei with everything I have...I'd die for her." he hissed back. Obvious tension flew through the air as the two stared each other down.
"Show-down!" Enrique's voice ran through the air, making Johnny, Mariah and Lee sweatdrop and Robert and Kai glare...Oliver was still tapping away.
Finally, Robert smirked and stood with grace that befitted the royalty he truly was. "Fine then, that's all I needed to hear. Oliver!" he called...Oliver was still tapping away. He turned, annoyed. "OLIVER!!"
With a blink, Oliver looked up from his computer and saw Robert glaring at him. He pulled out his earplugs. "What did you say, Robert?"
Everybody but Robert and Kai anime fell. "I called you...what do you have so far on Rei's position?"
Kai smirked. "How could you know Rei's position? None of us know, neither do I, so how could YOU possibly.." at that moment, Oliver was with them and had turned the laptop to show many little windows with information, but the main one was in the top right hand corner and was a blue screen with little lines, showing the outlines of a city and a blinking red dot near the top labelled 'Rei.' Kai blinked "Ok then...how are you doing that?" he asked, not quite happy because he was wrong.
Oliver smiled. "The ring I gave her has a built in tracking device!" he chirped and everybody just stared at him and Robert.
"Why didn't you think of this earlier?" Lee had finally found his voice and asked. Robert and Oliver looked at each other and shrugged.
"We forgot." they chorused and EVERYBODY anime fell. By the time the group had gotten to their feet, the Majestics except Robert were in the helicopter with the german aristocrate just climbing in.
"We'll bring her back, don't worry." Robert assured everybody, then looked to see Kai beside him. Both shared a nod before Kai had to back up and watch the helicopter start up, making a billowing wind blow his white scarf like a cape behind him, then take off.
"Be careful." he whispered, watching as the helicopter became a dot, then a speck in the sky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in his room, sitting on his bed, Kai sighed as he stared at an envelope that had been sent to him from somebody he didn't know. He had no idea who it was from or how anybody could have gotten his address. Nobody knew where he was and Mr. Dickenson was to make sure of that. The Bladebreakers had dropped from the Earth to everybody but this one person, it seemed.
Deciding he might as well read it, Kai ripped open the envelope and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. Reading the hand-printed words on the sheet, Kai's eyes went wide at what the words said.
He sighed and glared at the paper before standing and grabbing a pen from Rei's desk and handwriting his reply. Re-reading what he had written, Kai just shook his head and crumpled the letter up and tossing it in the garbage basket. He didn't need to deal with that...and how the person had come to know that he was here really wasn't such a mystery after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
His cloak swept after him as he strode quickly down the hallway, his footsteps resonating through the halls of the mansion. Finally, when he reached the double doors he was searching for, he pushed both of them open and strode into the room. Everybody in the large control room stood at attention, but he just waved them back to work and headed right for a man staring at a control panel and giving instructions.
"Boris." The man snapped. "When will the final battle be and did he receive it?"
Boris stood straight right away and nodded. "The final battle date has been chosen by the elders but they refuse to say when it shall be until that day occurs, Voltaire."
"And?"
"And we believe that yes, bye now he has receive the letter, though we don't believe he will respond."
Voltaire just smirked. "Of course he wouldn't."
Suddenly, one of the doors that had swung shut after Voltaire entered was opened again and a very angry Blake strode into the room. "BORIS!" he exclaimed, practically jogging over to where the two men stood. "You were trying to get to my slave again, weren't you!" he accused, glaring at the older man.
Boris chuckled. "Is it a crime to want to admire such beauty? You shouldn't hog it all for yourself, Blake, it's very unbecoming of you. You should share."
Blake growled. "One. I have somebody whom I am planning on marrying already so there is no point in me molesting my own slave!"
"Well, you know the rules Boris." Voltaire didn't even look up as he flipped through a report. "He gets to take her, then anybody can have her for a price." As Blake was about to smirk triuphantly at Boris, Voltaire continued. "But he is right as well. Blake, I give you two days to take the girl, no ifs, ands, or buts!"
Blake growled once again, then bowed deeply and left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rei stared out of the stables' barred window, longingly staring at the sky and feeling alone once more. Her right upper arm was bandaged as well as the deep gash in her leg. As she stared at her beyblade, she couldn't help but wonder where everybody was, what they were doing, and how they were.
A bird fluttered onto her window ledge, between the bars, and gently sang it's beautiful and soft melody. A smile tugged at Rei's lips as she watched the bird, singing along quietly with it. The doors to the barn opened loudly, scaring the bird away. Rei jumped up and stood at the window, watching it fly away sadly, the only colour in the grey world of Fanelia.
Hearing mens harsh voices, she limped down from the bed, careful not to strew Cheryl and Tanya's straw beds on the floor, and gripped the metal bars. Turning, she recognised one of them as the doctor who looked after the entire stable and had, so Tanya says, wrapped her wounds when she was brought in unconscious. The doctor went to Michael's cell and was greeted with a sigh and a 'Not you again' from the boy.
Michael had woken up about a day ago, and Tanya told her that morning, when she had just woken up that he was yelling at the guards last night, trying to get them to take him instead but leave her. Rei sighed but watched from the floor and through the bars as the doctor looked at and took care of Michael's wounds, then got up and left.
Once gone, Michael moved across to the wall that separated the two of them and leaned against it. Rei smiled.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, settling in the corner for a nice long chat. Michael smirked and did the same.
"Been better, the food they give you here could be better though."
For the rest of the day the two talked about anything and everything. Rei wasn't called off for duty once because of how tired she was and her injuries. But this was her only day of. Beginning tomorrow, anything could happen to her. Anything at all.
(Blue: YES! Now that the boring stuff is over and done with...the rest of the chapter I have been planning for months now. Please tell me what you think of it! Honest opinions needed)
~~~~~~~~~That night~~~~~~~~~
A breeze blew gently through Fanelia, blowing dust and small papers left of the ground around in the silent night. The glorious moon shines brightly down upon the land, the velvety sky behind her speckled with tiny stars in wondrous formations. Everything overlooked the landscape of Fanelia...all unaware of the events about to take place.
The moonlight shone through Rei's window, shining onto her sleeping form and making her light up in the dark room.
A tiny sound cut through the night, but the guards on duty were asleep and not caring by the doors. On the ceiling, one of the skylights shifted and was pulled out of it's place easily. Ropes were dropped through the new hole as one of the guards stirred. He opened an eye lazily, then saw the ropes and closed his eyes again. They snapped open when he realized what was going on but was unable to make a sound as he and his companion were jumped on, tackled to the ground and knocked out cold.
One of the figures smirked and nodded to the other, their faces unseen in the darkness of the barn. The one who nodded moved swiftly to Rei's cell and smiled at what he saw.
"The light in the dark.." he whispered, his face being lit up slightly from the moonlight. "Johnny!" he hissed as the Austrian came up beside him. At the same time, they both went over to the hinges of the cell door and began to pull the nails in them out. Soon, they lifted the heavy door free and carefully set it down a few feet away with a small clang. Both winced and looked around to see if anybody had heard.
Three pairs of eyes opened at nearly the same time, all curious as to the sound near where they had been sleeping. Golden eyes scanned the dark and her jaw dropped. "Robert? Johnny?" she whispered excitedly and worriedly. "What are you doing here?" she asked as the two stepped into the cell, nodding to the two girls on the floor.
"Saving your butt, that's what." Johnny replied, non-too nicely either. Robert glared at him then held out his hand.
"Let's go, Rei, we can make it out of here in no time." Robert explained as she took his hand and pulled her to her feet.
Rei looked at the other two in the cell with her. "Are you two coming? You can be free." she pleaded. She didn't want to see these girls working like this all of their lives.
Both shook their heads no. "Sorry, Lindsay, but when everything is all set and done it's us who are going to survive this war once all of you are finished killing each other off." Tanya explained.
Cheryl, however, raised an eyebrow. "Did he call you Rei?" she asked. Rei glared at Robert who blinked an 'I-didn't-know-don't-hurt-me' look.
"No, he didn't...it's late, you guys sleep. And thank you for everything." she said, and all were about to leave when Cheryl spoke up.
"Lindsay, you nearly forgot this." They all turned to see Tanya holding up the p-leather jacket Blake had bought her on the day of the rock-slide. Rei smiled and took the jacket, slipping it on so that it hung around her knees. The doctor had to cut her jeans short enough to get to the wound, and Rei had cut the other leg so that they matched, so it looked like there was nothing underneath. However, there was and a special surprise Rei had made sure to keep there.
With a parting hug to the two, Rei was dragged gently out of the cell and to Michaels'. After opening the door, Johnny threw the tired Michael over his back (Though Michael protested with quiet swears) and soon the four were at the barn door.
Cracking it open, Rei peeked out and motioned for the others to follow. The night's breeze caught her hair and knee length jacket, making them sway in the breeze.
"Were meeting the others by the back exit." Robert whispered silently to Rei as they hid around the corner of another barn, always watching their surroundings. "It's that way." he pointed in front of them to the wall.
Rei squinted, then nodded. "Let's go." Helping Johnny with the now piggy-backing Michael quickly across the open space between them and the wall. Once there, it seemed to be safe so Robert stepped forwards and pushed a section of the wall...it gave and turned into a swinging door. Rei smiled. "And how exactly did you come across that?
Johnny smirked. "Our mapping system is state of the art. We know were everything is in this city...sort of. That mansion still eludes us, but we don't need to worry about it now. Were just here to get you and Mr. Annoying outta here!"
Michael glared at the boy carrying him. "I am NOT annoying."
"Are too."
Rei and Robert rolled their eyes as Johnny ducked down a little to get through the small door in the wall. Then, just as Johnny was halfway through, Rei reached forwards and pushed them through the rest of the way so they fell out on the other side.
A swooshing sound interrupted the two on the ground as they turned to yell at Rei and an alarm went off...there was an iron gate now in the entrance. The four stared at it...
"Get to the chopper!" Robert yelled and grabbed Rei's wrist. "We'll get out of here...don't worry!"
"See you two later!" Johnny called back at the two retreating figures. He turned back to Michael and motioned for the boy to jump on.
Michael was in shock. "We can't just leave them! The place is swarming with BIOVOLT freaks, they'll never get outta here!" he protested. Johnny just rolled his eyes and pulled Michael on his back.
"There's nothing we can do except pray." he explained as he carried Michael off into the night.
The stone village was filled to the brim with guards in tight formations running through the streets, their boots making eerie sounds of military men and sent chills up Rei's spine. Then again, they could have been from the breeze blowing through the small alley her and Robert were hiding in.
After the fourth large group of troops had passed by, she sighed in frustration and turned the boy beside her. "Well? Any ideas? I've got none." she hissed. Clearly, she was really frustrated.
Robert seemed to snap out of deep thought, his forehead furrowed in concentration. "Ok...we have to get out of here."
Rei sweatdropped. "Thank you Mr. Obvious."
Shaking his head, Robert sighed. "Nearing that time of month?"
"Oh yeah."
"Thought so. Anyways, what better way to leave a village full of evil bad guys than through the front door?" he motioned down the street.
Her jaw dropped as she looked through the dim light of the flashing spotlights and street lamps. "Are you nuts...or completely brilliant?" she breathed as she thought the entire idea over.
Robert smirked as they both crouched, ready to dart out at any given second. "It's amazing how often those two traits coincide, isn't it?"
Another troop passed quickly, voices shouting orders that echoed through the night. After they had gone, Robert and Rei shared a parting hug before jumping out of their hiding spot and hurdled through the main street. More shouts and orders were given as the city lit up from spotlights around them. Panting, the two smiled at the sight of the drawbridge door and the fact that it was lowered. Problem was, they were running through the dirt courtyard in front of the village, there was plenty of running room but nowhere to hide!
Suddenly, their faces turned from those of joyful to panicking as the drawbridge began to lift. Beyblades hit the earth all around them, fired from guards along the wall, and kicked up dirt as they tried to take the two down by force.
Robert gritted his teeth before he sprinted to the nearly completely up drawbridge and ran smack into the wood. Looking up at their closed exit, he pounded on the door. "No!"
Rei slowed to a stop a few feet behind him, staring at the door. Her once glittering with life eyes were now dull with the hard truth; they couldn't escape. The sound of something metal clicking above them in the arch of the drawbridge made her look up and her face pale. "Robert! Look out!" she shouted, but her call was in vain. Another metal gate fell swiftly from the arch, trapping Robert tightly against the wooden drawbridge with only enough room to turn around and, painfully, see everything that is going on yet do nothing.
Eyes wide with worry, Rei ran forward to the grate and gripped the metal bars. "No..." she whispered, searching for a way to get him out quickly.
"Rei," Robert spoke seriously while sliding his arm through the grate and stroking her cheek, wiping away a tear of frustration that had fallen down her tanned face. "Save yourself. You need to get back to your village." he said softly. Rei opened her mouth to say something several times, but finally hung her head.
A cold laugh broke through their moment. Rei spun around to see the entire courtyard full of the trainees she had seen over the last few days and the Demolition Boys in the very front row. At the head of them all, standing tall with a smirk, was one of the men who had ruined her and her lovers life. He stepped forwards, but her glare never lessened, only hardened. "Boris." she growled, her hands in fists at her sides. A familiar voice shouted out an order to some of the rowdier troops..Blake was here too. Great.
Boris stopped a little in front of Rei, an evil grin on his ugly mug. "Trying to escape, are we? Well, you should know by now Lindsay, that nobody has ever escaped nor will they. No matter what you try, we will stop you, Little Mouse."
Rei's eyes had never held more hate towards anyone other than the man in front of her at this very moment. They raised to look at him and anger flashed through her golden orbs as her hair and long jacket blew with the gently wind. "You. Won't. Stop. Me" she spoke clearly so they could all hear her words.
Before anybody could react, Rei had whipped out her beyblade and turned swiftly. Grabbing the rope that held the drawbridge in place, she slammed her blade into the fibers, cutting them easily with her sharp attack ring, and she was jerked upwards onto the wall
Robert turned around and blinked as the drawbridge fell loudly and whistled in admiration. "Mental note- never mess with Rei when she's PMSing." he muttered before darting across the bridge, unaware of Rei watching him run off, her golden eyes filled with relief.
A tiny rush of wind blew by Rei's face and moved only a little of her hair, but it was enough to make her turn back and notice her current predicament. Boris, Spencer and Ian were shouting orders and a few guards were running along the wall, converging on her. She looked around for Blake and Tala but couldn't find them...they had disappeared somehow.
But she turned back to the guards. Those two were not something she needed to deal with at the moment, however the big brutes coming at her quickly were!
With a smirk, Rei started running along the wall as well, and straight to the group of guards coming at her, the wind blowing her hair and coat violently. "Hello boys." she said simply before using a few swift and hard kicks and a punch to knock the four grown men from the wall. She looked over it and down to where they had landed and shuddered when she saw they weren't moving. Setting that problem aside for the moment, she called out to Boris. "I'm a tiger. AND, thanks to you sir, I'm stronger than yesterday!"
A shout and the sounds of beyblades hitting the brick around her alerted her to the fact that she couldn't take on an entire army of super-soldiers on her own; that was Kai's profession. With a quick dart of her eyes to the surrounding area, she climbed onto the wall and jumped off of it.
Grabbing onto the flag fluttering from the flagpole between the wall and the village, she clung to the fabric for dear life as she swung forwards, beyblades whizzing around her, one hitting her wounded leg.
The shooters' beyblade returned to his hand. He noted the blood dotting it as he stared at the sharp piece of metal in his hand. "Very smooth, Bryan" and ice cold voice sprung from the chaos behind him.
The Russian blader just smirked and chuckled evilly as he spun around."If injuring her is the only way to bring her down, Tala," Bryan said spitefully, "then so be it. Better her over me any day."
Tala growled and grabbed the front of Bryan's shirt. "She is not to be harmed, remember? Or is your memory so short you can not even remember an order given and received minutes ago?" Dropping Bryan with a push to top it off, Tala glared icily at his team mate before turning and barking orders to the troops.
Bryan growled and stared at his blade. He had killed and injured many people before, but why did this girls' blood seem familiar? He had only just seen her for the first time last night. Shaking his head, he too went off to give commands. Maybe even beat a rookie for no reason. That always made him feel better.
Meanwhile, when Rei landed on the closest rooftop hard from the flag ripping, she hissed and stumbled. Panting, she looked down to her leg and nearly started having a panic attack; the wound was deeper than before and would need immediate attention if she didn't want an infection.
'Not that I'm going to get any when I'm recaptured.' she told herself before pushing herself to her feet and darting across the rooftop, then jumping to another. The sounds of guards clambering through houses to get to her were easy to hear as she jumped from roof to roof easily. 'Ok, I will never complain about being neko-jin ever again.'
In seconds she was exactly opposite from where she had started and made one final leap to the wall...unfortunately she didn't judge the distance correctly in her haste and it was obvious she was not going to land on the wall, but just in front of it. A determined look on her face, she reached out and grabbed the edge of the wall. Her arms felt like they were being jerked out of their sockets as she hung there and pulled herself up onto and rolled into the middle of it, panting heavily.
With a groan, she sat up and pushed herself to her feet, the burning sensation in her leg forcing her to grit her teeth. Turning to face the chaos she had created, the only sounds in her ears was the sound of her own heavy breathing.
Suddenly, a large wind kicked up, blowing everything around violently. From behind Rei, a blinding white light rose up and the thundering sounds of helicopter wings beating was heard. She gasped and raised her own hands to block the light. The chopper turned slowly, beyblades hitting it's side and ricocheting off, hitting other people that they weren't ment to hit and making Rei dodge a couple. The side door slid open to reveal a familiar happy face who smiled at Rei and held out his hand, yelling "Need a lift?"
Rei laughed and nodded, taking the boys' hand and shouting back "Yes please!" The arm gently pulled her inside and closed the door. Leaning on the boy for support, Rei smiled then panicked. "Enrique, where's Robert?"
As if on cue, Robert turned from the co-pilot seat at the front of the chopper and winked. Rei sighed in relief once again and practically collapsed into Enrique's arms. "You rest now, Rei." she heard Johnny's voice float through her head. "We'll be home soon."
Rei smiled dreamily and nodded. Pulling her coat closer to her body as she was set in a chair, she looked out the window and stared at the grey land passing by swiftly. "Home..."
'Kai...'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blue: DONE!
Kai: about time
Blue: *bonks Kai with Wet Fish of Doom* Sorry about the delay, writers block. Meh! Anywho, I want to thank all of you reviewers for getting me closer and closer to my 350 reviews mark. You all ROCK!! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have even started this ficcie, so great job you guys and see ya'll next chapter!