Disclaimer: … [[Pokes]] …
Just saw episode forty-five of G-Rev, subbed. They all are so fine, even Tyson and Max. Didn't even matter that I didn't understand crud about what they were saying. I want to see episode thirty-six (Tala) and forty-eight (Kai).
This is my favourite chapter, by far =D
As the Ice Breaks.
Part 19: Day Before 2.
Mr. Dickinson sat quietly in the taxi, lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Kai calling his name.
"Mr. Dickinson?"
"Ah – Huh?" he eyes shone with realization, "Oh, Kai. Forgive me, I dozed off for a moment there." He laughed, but his heart wasn't really into it, Kai sensed it.
"What's the matter?" Kai looked at him interestedly.
"Nothing …" he shook his head, then suddenly looked up at Kai, "Kai, what do you know about Tala?"
"What?" he looked confused at Mr. Dickinson, but at the serious look on his face, he took a deep breath and thought for a moment, "not much. Why?"
"Has he told you anything about his parents?"
"I –" Kai looked hesitant to answer that question.
"Don't worry, I won't reveal this information to anyone else."
Kai nodded. "I've only heard him talk about his mom. He saw her being murdered when he was young, before he was taken to the Abbey."
"What about his father?"
"I don't know. He never mentioned his father. I don't think he even knows himself."
Mr. Dickinson nodded his head.
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing." Mr. Dickinson laughed it off, but Kai wasn't content.
"You're lying." Kai narrowed his eyes and looked intently at Mr. Dickinson.
He just looked at Kai. He sighed and turned his gaze to the scenery flashing by. "There is reason to believe that Tala Ivanov, captain of the Russian team, the Demolition Boys' birth name is …" he took a deep breath, "Tala Balkov."
Kai just sat there, staring at Mr. Dickinson, mouth slightly agape. Disbelief shone brightly in his blood-red eyes. "You lie!" he said quietly.
"Kai …" Mr. Dickinson reached over to place a hand on his shoulder but Kai just slapped it away, inching back so he was as far away from the manager as the space of the taxi would allow.
"No … you're lying!" Kai shook his head slowly, refusing to accept what the team's manager had said to him.
"Kai –"
"Shut up!" Kai raised his voice to him, the first time he had ever done that.
Mr. Dickinson looked a little taken a back. He just nodded his head sadly and looked away.
Kai also did the same. He just stared out the window next to him, looking, but not really seeing the trees and people that they passed by on their way back.
Tala … he must be lying …he has to be.
==
Mr. Dickinson and Kai had reached the bungalow in silence. The only words spoken between them were just directions given to Kai as to the location of his room.
As the taxi they had been riding, pass by the gates; three figures came sneaking out of the forest. Two were carrying a fourth person and the last one seemed to be towing a bundle of blankets, a few cups of noodles and a steaming kettle.
"Hurry up."
Johnny and Enrique carried Kenny, who was still out cold, back to his room. Kevin, who was trailing behind, took a different route and abandoned them to get to his own room.
They two, not noticing Kevin's departure just yet, put Kenny down on the floor of his room.
Enrique wiped his brow with the back of his hand, "I didn't know you could sweat in such a cold weather."
"Phew!" Johnny pinched his nose shut, "you smell terrible."
Enrique sniffed his armpits and smirked. "Manly smell. The girls go wild for it."
"Wild? I think you mean rabid, as in rabies, the virus!" he huffed and looked around, "hey, where's the green shrimp go to?"
Enrique shrugged his shoulder and turned his attention back to Kenny. "What do we do about him?"
"Just leave him. He'll think it's just a dream anyway," Johnny crossed his arms over his chest and walked out, his blond counter-part following suit soon after, "idiot. He'd never know what hit him."
–Ten Minutes Later –
Kenny was aroused from his slumber by a knock at the door. He stood up groggily and went to open the door. "Emily?"
Emily looked around and when satisfied, pushed past him and walked into the room, locking the door behind her. "So, how did it go?"
"Huh?" he shook his head, "oh … that. Exactly as planned." He grinned.
"Good," Emily smirked, "those guys think they're so smart. If they think it's that easy to get information out of us, then they have something coming to them," she smirked, "good thing I ran into you before you got there."
"Yeah." Kenny rubbed his head, still looking a little woozy.
"Are you alright, Kenny?"
"Yeah … just bumped my head against a tree, that's all. Those guys scared the bejesus out of me."
"Right. So what did you tell them?"
"What you told me to tell."
"And the thing that happened between that and the end?"
"Of course I didn't."
"That's good." Emily smiled at him. He blushed and looked away, as did she after awhile. "Well … I'll see you around."
Kenny just nodded; his head still turned away from her and stuttered out. "See you around."
==
"You boys ready for tomorrow?" Mr. Dickinson walked into the living room where the boys were currently lounging around.
"YEAH!!" Tyson pumped up his non-existent muscles. He lay next to Max on the floor near the fireplace.
Rei was curled up on the sofa with Mariah with Lee sitting in deep concentration at the edge of the long sofa. Gary was out of sight, so everyone assumed he was having his nightly snack. Kevin, Enrique and Johnny were in a heated discussion in the far corner over, what looked like a few steaming cups of noodles. Robert sat and the dining table, elegantly sipping his cup of tea while having a conversation with Oliver and Michael. Steve and Eddie were both asleep of the other sofa that sat vertically from where Rei and Mariah were. Emily was probably experimenting in the lab with Judy, Bruce, Mr. Tate and – it seemed – Kenny.
Kai was seated on the windowsill, away from the others. He one leg stretched out as for as it could before reaching the ledge and the other pulled up, his elbow resting on top of it while his left hand sat on his lap. He leaned his head against the window and seemed to be in deep concentration, about Tala no doubt. His face was so close to the glass that it clouded the clear window every time he exhaled.
"Boys," Everyone's attention, sans Kai and obviously Steve's and Eddie's, turned to the voice of Judy, "Tyson, Max and Rei." She smiled and motioned for them to come to her. As the three of them got closer, Emily passed her a black velvet box and grinned at her.
Mr. Tate also walked in. "Boys, the experiment was a success. They are … alive!!" he cackled.
"Come now." Judy looked at him disapprovingly. She opened the box slowly, and a bright light rushed out and filled the entire room, even Kai turned his attention at the sudden appearance of the light. As the light disappeared, they saw that the box held three, scientifically enhanced Beyblades.
"Whoa!" Tyson gaped at the new blades.
"Wicked blades, mom." Max's eyes widened at the sight.
"Totally awesome." Rei also looked at them in awe.
"What you are looking at, boys, could quite possibly be, the strongest Beyblades ever created by man-power. Thanks to your dad." Mr. Tate looked proudly at his work.
"Yeah," Emily jumped in, "goodbye common, ordinary Beyblades and hello Super-Beyblades."
The three of them looked awed at their newly upgraded Blades.
"We are so ready for tomorrow." Tyson turned a grinning face to Max and Rei.
"With these rad new Blades, we are going to rip those cheating Demolition Boys back to the Stone Age." Rei also grinned.
"Yeah … do you know the roster for tomorrow, Mr. D?" Tyson turned a curious eye to the team manager.
"I'm afraid that Boris has yet to announce his teams choice for the tournament, but one thing you can be sure of is Tala is going to be in the last match." At the mention of Tala, Mr. Dickinson looked over to Kai and managed to catch his eye before Kai broke the contact and turned his attention back to the window.
"I believe it to be a good choice if Tyson goes last." Robert stood up from his seat and walked over to them.
"But what about Rei?" they turned to Oliver. "I mean, didn't Mr. Dickinson say that the doctor had asked him to not exceed the limits of his power?"
"Oli is right," Michael nodded his head from his lunging position on the chair, "you can be sure that those Demolition dudes aren't just going to roll over and hand you the win on a silver platter."
"I have to agree with Michael, and one more thing, it's Oliver, not Oli." He glared at the flamboyant captain of the All-Starz.
"Fine, fine … geez! You and Robbie sure have that pole shoved too high up your –"
"Well … this is quite a predicament we're facing here." Judy interrupted him and held her chin in contemplation.
"How bout this?" Max raised his hand. "I'll go in for the first match, Tyson the second. And if we win, Rei can just forfeit the third match."
"I don't know …" Rei looked a little uncertain about the decision.
"Rei," Mr. Dickinson said exasperatedly, "the doctor clearly said –"
"I know what the doctor said, Mr. D. Doesn't mean I have to like it." He looked disappointed. Mariah came over and put her hands around his waist.
"I think this is the best plan we have so far. What do you think … Kai?" at Mr. Dickinson's question, all eyed turned to the figure of Kai who was still caught up in his own world.
His eyes slowly gazed towards them; they were completely blank, not betraying any emotions, which he could have been feeling at the moment. "I don't know." He said slowly.
"What do you mean by 'I don't know'?" Tyson blurted out.
Kai just shrugged his shoulders without even looking at him.
"You're the team Captain, Kai. The least you could do is give us some pointers before what could possibly be the biggest matches of our lives." Tyson was beginning to get peeved off by Kai's non-caring attitude.
"Calm down, Tyson." Rei put and hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah. Chill, Tyson." Max went to stand beside him.
"I won't," he huffed, "he (he pointed to Kai) is the Captain. Just because we're going against his ex-team, which, he had betrayed us for, doesn't give him the right to ignore us like we don't matter."
Kai just stayed in the same position he was in, not hearing, or just simply not caring about what Tyson was saying. Then, his attention perked up when he heard the name Tala mentioned.
"– For all we know, he's shagging that bit of red-headed crumpet –"
"SHUT UP!!" Kai roared, silencing Tyson immediately. He stood up abruptly and glared at Tyson. "You're right, it's not that I don't know, the truth is … I. Don't. Care." He glared menacingly at Tyson one last time, before storming out and slamming the door behind him.
"Tyson," Mr. Dickinson shook his head in dismay, "that wasn't a nice thing to say."
"He's right, Tyson." Rei looked at him.
"What? You're taking his side?" Tyson said hysterically.
"We're not taking anyone's side. You're being paranoid." Rei sighed. The other people in the room stayed silent, watching the scene unfolding in front of them. Kai's shout had awaken Steve and Eddie, and they were also listening intently.
"Am I? Sure, he's the almighty Captain and all, but he's also an ex-member of the Demolition Boys. Who knows which side he'll be on once –" he imitated Kai's voice, " – Tala gazes into his eyes."
"That's low, Tyson, and you know it." Rei was the only one speaking. Max and Kenny had decided that this wasn't a good time for them to interfere, no matter that they were part of the team as well.
"What's low, is abandoning your team in the middle of the most important tournament."
"You said it yourself that he was forgiven for that."
"Yeah …" Tyson seemed at a loss of words, "well … Kai's a jerk! And I have better things to do then stand here arguing about him!" he turned his heel and stomped off.
Max just looked at Tyson, then back at Rei. He shook his head and followed Tyson.
The other people also left the room before long, in the end, only Rei and Mr. Dickinson was left.
Mr. Dickinson sighed. "Don't blame, Kai. He has many things on his mind."
"I'm not." said Rei as-a-matter-of-factly and took a seat on the chair.
"I'm not implying anything, Rei. But I won't deny my curiosity as to why you're not mad at Kai." He took a seat opposite Rei.
Rei thought for a moment, before answering that question. "Well … I don't know. It's just … I understand more about Kai than he expects me too. I know he's had a bad past, that's why he's so distant from us. And … whatever he says, mean or not, I'm sure he has a reason for saying it." Rei looked fixatedly at the floor.
Mr. Dickinson looked shocked, and yet … impressed at Rei almost precise judgment of Kai. He was almost lost in his thoughts about the boy in question, when a voice interrupted him.
"What about you, Mr. Dickinson?"
"Pardon?"
"About Kai," Rei looked at him with wide, golden eyes, "you seem worried about him. Is there something wrong?"
Mr. Dickinson raised his eyebrows. Rei was truly the most observant young person he had ever met. He smiled sadly. "Its just … new discoveries have come up, and I don't know what to make of them."
"What do you mean?"
Mr. Dickinson contemplated whether to tell Rei about the unexpected findings he had uncovered about Tala, but decided against it. "Yesterday, I was having a conversation with Kai, and … at the back of his neck –"
"There was a scar." Rei finished the sentence for him.
"How did you know?" the manager was flabbergasted, to say the least.
"I saw it a couple of times. You know … sometimes I'd go to get a glass of water, and Kai wasn't wearing his scarf, I noticed it. I asked him about it once, he just waved off the question, so I didn't ask again."
"Why didn't you mention it before?"
"I wanted to, but sometimes I'd forget, and when I do remember … I just thought that it was Kai's business, and I had no right to butt in."
"That's very decent of you, Rei. It makes me proud." He smiled at the raven-haired teen before him.
Rei just nodded his head. "And you know the strangest thing about it?"
"No …"
He looked towards the window. "The other day … at the Abbey. I could have sworn that I saw the exact same scar on Tala's neck."
==
"Tomorrow, the world will bow before the unconstrained power of Biovolt Corporation." Boris stood on a podium, facing the three members of the Demolition Boys. Their redheaded Captain was noticeably absent. "Tomorrow, you will show the world the true form of power. Tomorrow, you will strike fear into the hearts of the people. They will forever remember and cower in fright of the name … Demolition Boys."
"Yes, Sir!" The three of them stood straight, right arm tight by their sides and the right stretched straight in front.
"Very good. You may continue on with your training."
"Thank you, sir." Boris nodded and turned his head away as the left.
"Ceh! Undecided fool." Bryan whispered under his breath as they walked out, much to the amusement of the other two.
"Bring him." Boris ordered as the three of them disappeared behind the gigantic door.
A few minutes later, two guards emerged, a figure following obediently behind them.
"Yes …" he folded his hands, "Young Tala … how are you feeling?"
"Fine, sir." He said in a clear voice. His icy-blue orbs seemed to be missing their usual glow, and his face stern.
"Excellent," Boris nodded and walked towards him, "are you ready for the tournament?"
"Yes, sir." Tala answered in a monotone voice. His attention stayed straight ahead, not looking at Boris, but on an invisible spot near the wall.
"What is your purpose in this tournament?" Boris circled him like a vulture.
"To win, sir!"
"And who is Kai?"
"My enemy, sir."
"Very good indeed," Boris smirked and nodded his head in approval, "and what will you do when faced with those meddling kids?"
"Destroy them, sir." Tala's eyes burned with determination, and for a second, a flash of light, almost like a fire, passed through them.
Boris motioned for one of the two guards, who was holding a black box to come forwards. He took the box from the guard and presented it to Tala. "Here, a reward for your efforts."
Tala opened the box carefully, and took the midnight black blade from the inside.
"Now, you and you new blade will be unstoppable. You will destroy those who stand in the way of your win, and your cause … Biovolts' cause."
Tala smirked maliciously. "They will tremble in fear of me and the power of my bit-beast … Black Wolborg!"
End Part 19.
Guess what? … It's tournament time!! =D
Heh! I just made Boris into a Hitler character.
Thanks to:
MasterFranny: I dislike Kenny too, but … lets just say its filler. Yes, poor Tala, but I have a reason for making him Boris' son … it's not by freewill, that much you should know T.T
Syaoran-Lover: I don't like Kenny and Emily much either, but that part … lets just say it's Kenny's last chance in the limelight. In the future, the kitchen refrigerator will have a bigger role than him. And Tala … what part of Tala isn't interesting? Thanks for mistake picking. My keyboards tends to get stuck at the random-est time XD
Jirachi: Glad you liked it. And about Tala's mom … yes … she's dead. I wrote a little part of it in the beginning of chapter twelve, Demolishing Friendship 2. Hmm … lets just see how fate puts it, ne, about your birthday thing.
x-Shadow-x: Thanks for the A. Flaming Eyeball came from the LoTR, and I thought it fit Johnny's fiery hair. Monkey-Bone, the movie, a hyper monkey, just like Kevin and … Enrique … Don Juan, the ladies man. Seems that Kenny got more to his name here, ne? I heard Tala's Japanese voice … even dreamier!!
Moon Comix: A Change of Heart is on Temporary Hiatus. I'll update it as soon as I can. Thanks for reading it.
Fallen Phoenix: I don't know about the dream-communicating thing yet, but everything's a possibility, right?
And to all … Thank You! [[Glomps]]