I was amazed at the response to the last chapter, thank you so much for all the reviews! Again I haven't much time, so thank you to the following people: sasuke-chidori93, x-hikari, Midnight Insanity, Metmaorphosis56, Mrs. Sumpter, Fire Spirit, XxStarxX, X Shadow Wolf X2, iceball132 and sea-tiger170.

Oh, and I'm really glad that I've persuaded some people to like Boris, and that people seem to like the idea of a sequel!

Enjoy the chapter, there's only one more after this!

Chapter 14 - Final Goodbye

The next morning, Albina had a noisy awakening and lifted her eyelids to see all the boys awake and staring at her.
"What's she doing here?!?" Tyson was yelling, "You could have at least told us Kai, before letting your sister share a room with us!"
"I'm saving her life, got a problem with that?" Kai thundered, silencing the whole room.
"But... what?" Max uttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Voltaire wants me killed." Albina said suddenly, sitting up to look at Max with cold eyes.
"Isn't he your grandfather? Why would he want to do that?" This time it was Rei's soft voice; she turned and saw him also sitting up, his unclothed chest bent over, his face full of concern. She couldn't be annoyed with him like she was at Tyson and Max, so she told them the whole story, about Tala being experimented on - "Didn't that slice your leg up?" coming from Tyson, prompting her to draw gasps from them when she slid her legs out from under the covers - about losing the tournament, and finally about Boris sparing her life.

"You must be really exhausted." Max said when she'd finished.
"I'm not."
"Well, at least let us take you to breakfast." She couldn't really argue against that, because she was rather hungry. So once they'd all got dressed, they lead her down to the hotel restaurant. As they descended through the hotel, Albina's eyes were constantly held wide open with wonder- she'd never seen such richness in her whole life! The floors were all lined with soft, thick carpets, the walls papered gold and adorned with polished lights. The dining room was huge, with neat clothed tables and sparkling china plates- she was speechless with amazement, yet the boys walked through laughing and joking as if they were used to it. The food was even more amazing- in just a simple cooked breakfast (Tyson said she should have it), there were so many new and luxurious tastes like she'd never experienced before- all her life she'd either strived to live on stolen loaves and fruit or forcefully swallowed down rank soup and dry rye bread. She was full after one small helping, and gawped in disbelief as she watched Tyson gobble down four plates full. Despite their incessant babbling and irritating habits, she got more used to her companions after a while and began to talk to them a bit more. But even as she laughed with Rei at Tyson tripping up the stairs back to their room, she still couldn't get the horrid dreams out of her mind- so when she saw a mysterious letter addressed to her lying on the floor of the Blade Breaker's room, she pounced on it. The boys crowded around her as she opened the tattered paper carefully and begin to read it:

Dearest Albina,

Voltaire has shut down Biovolt, and closed the Abbey. Some children have escaped, but some have stayed because they don't have anywhere to go. I have alerted the police as you said I should, and they are coming to the Abbey later today so hopefully they'll take care of the children who remain. I have told the team to remain there also, in waiting for your return. I have been forced to go into hiding to escape imprisonment, or worse, death by Voltaire once he finds out you still live. I'm sad it has come to this. If we had won the tournament, perhaps things would have been different. Believe it or not, I was considering adopting you as my daughter, but now that is no longer possible.

I wish to meet you later today, around 11am down the alley on Gostinichnaya street (it is the same street as I believe your hotel is on), it is very important. We shall talk more then- come ALONE.

Boris

"It's a trap." Kai uttered, before anyone else had finished reading. "I've never read anything so obviously deceptive."
"It's not! He... he said he was going to adopt me..." Albina felt shocked and devastated, but at the same time, relieved and happy. If only the boys wouldn't keep interrupting her over-flowing thoughts-
"I agree with Kai. It sounds very dodgy to me, meeting him in an alley and everything." Rei said, looking worried.
"Yeah, he might try to kill you! Why else would it say come alone?" Tyson piped up.
"Shut up! He saved my life, he's not going to kill me now!" She screamed in an irritated rage.
"But, Boris is so evil- he's proved that when he instructed Bryan to almost kill me." Rei went on, bravely.
"That- that's not- He has to, because Voltaire tells him to. He's not really evil, I know it!" Albina replied, angered at her inability to come up with good excuses.
"Maybe she's right, guys- she knows him better than we do-" Max backed her up, hesitantly. "Nobody is completely evil."
"Maxie you're too trusting! It's obvious what Boris is planning-"
"I'm going and you can't stop me!" Albina screamed over their voices, suddenly feeling angry and rebellious again. She looked at her watch and pushed Kenny out of the way to get to her bag, which she safely put the note into. Only Kai dared to speak.

"I'm going with you."
"No, you're not." She retorted whilst fastening her boots, so aggravated that she almost opened one of her scars in her haste.
"I'm going and you can't stop me." Kai replied smartly, mocking her defiant tone, Unable to find a reply, Albina said, "Do svidaniya" and marched towards the door. Kai followed her, shutting the door behind him.
"Uh, bye?" Tyson said a moment afterwards, his words hitting the closed door. "She's weird, no wonder she's related to Kai."
"I like her." Rei said, smiling. "She's...different. Interesting. And she can be nice, when she's not angry."
"Unpredictable." Max quipped.
"Scary." Kenny said, pulling himself up. "I hope she didn't damage Dizzi..."

Outside, it was raining and the clouds overshadowed the street, making it seem almost like night. Albina weaved in and out of cars and buildings, trying to lose her persistent brother, but to no avail. Eventually she came to the alley that she thought Boris had meant- she was right. A tall, dark figure stood in the shadows, his face shrouded by a wet hood.
"Boris?" Albina questioned, looking into the dark hood.
"I thought I said to come alone." He replied gruffly, looking at Kai.
"I wanted to, but I couldn't stop him from coming." She said, glaring at her brother.
"So whatever you're gonna do, you'll have to do it in front of me, Boris!" Kai threatened. Boris decided he'd just have to speak quietly- he didn't want Albina to hate him for killing her brother. He knelt down so that he was on eye-level with her and began:

"Albina, you might not ever see me again after this- I don't know what's going to happen to me. But I wanted to tell you before I go, how much I care about you. You may not have realised, but over the years I've trained you, I've come to think of you as a daughter. I admire you so much- you're fiery and powerful, yet you're not afraid to show your emotions, unlike me. So because you don't have any real parents, or anywhere to go, I want to do what a Father would do, and give you this," With that, he pulled a heavy envelope out of his cloak and handed it to her. Albina couldn't find the words to say, so he continued: "It's two keys. One will allow you to get into the abbey, and the other opens a safe in my office- there is a lot of money in there, which I'm hoping will be enough to last you and the team a few years. I thought that maybe you, Bryan, Tala and Spencer could continue living there, training, whilst everyone else thinks it's been closed down. The building still belongs to me. Just imagine it, you could have the whole building to yourself- there will be no-one else there, and you can live in the worker's quarters if you'd like, because they have proper beds there-" She couldn't believe it- it was such a great idea, and so perfect! Suddenly, to both Boris and Kai's shock, she sprang forward and hugged the large man, wrapping her arms around his damp cloak gratefully.

"Thank you. I'll never forget you... Father..." She whispered in his ear, finally letting go.
"And thank you, for freeing me, Albina. Maybe we'll meet again some day, but until then, take care of yourself." He said, standing up. "And never let anyone push you around."
"I won't!" She assured him, smiling into his softened, hooded eyes. He nodded in farewell, then disappeared off into the puddled shadows, water running down his withered face.


Awww...I'm sorry if it wasn't all that believable. I hope you'll all still read the last chapter, it's not the end yet! Well please review, I'll try to update when I have enough time... but 93 reviews may persuade me to do it sooner! In the meantime, I'll get thinking of more ideas for the sequel. :D