Chapter 19

MyHeartBleeds: There's no such thing as a happy ending. Why would I write one? Besides, it's more fun to make everything go to hell with no means of return. :p

Yaoi Tiger: So glad you liked it, and I'm hanging out for the review. :D

Castles in the Sky: Actually, I prefer polishing things over gardening. And you though it came to life? It wasn't that good. [[blushes]

HimekoSukie: Tala will now be having some serious emotional issues right about now, methinks.

Chaco and Lily: I'm liking Ian for punching Aizik too. And I think Bryan's expecting Tala to lose faith. After all, everything is hopeless.

Mizuyah: Bryan had a heart attack in Chapter 17, but was revived by Boris. And I'm glad you think it cute.

Werewolf of Fire: Yeap. Lots of lovin' between the cousins. And you think there was some Spencer/Ian there, did you? :p

Ramen II: I agree with Spencer/Ian being creepy, but I've actually seen it pulled off a couple of times. And it is true that when someone you are close to dies you can sense it. I'm playing on that with Tala. You could say the reason he's so upset is that he may also know Bryan is in pain. [[hugs Tala]]

Jay Kamiya: Ya know, I'm starting to feel for Boris...

eyriess: Your password will come back to you. Really late at night or at some inappropriate moment, but it will come back. ;)

Bloody Mary: Who says they're going to get out. [[insert huge evil grin]]

Reiven: I wish I could see these pics of Blue Eyes. Is your album open to the public? And what's the link?

Cat in the web: What I'm doing with Spencer/Ian will be revealed, but not yet. And I feel for Tala.

DranzerGirl: All the chapters are grown and pruned. Just need to be put forward for viewing, that's all. :p

kairi: I'm Australian, so we have nothing yet. We always get everything last. It sucks, really. The world hates us... :( [[looks at Olympic medal tally]] And they hate us a lot. :D

KuronekoHikage: [[glomps the chibis]] Thanks for that. I needed a chibi. Hope I can tear you away for another chapter. :p

Ashla: [[waggles finger]] You should be doing your schoolwork. Heh. I've only got two weeks until Uni breaks for the mid-semester break. Homework catch-up time.

lilmatchgirl007: lol. Mutant Flytrap... :D And yes, I noticed the hint. I'm going to ignore it though. :p

Some nice Ray/Tala/Kai moments, and some more history lessons. I hope I don't bore you too much.

Disclaimer: See first page

Kai… Kai… Kai… "Kai… Kai. Kai!"

"Mm?" Kai's crimson eyes blinked open as he rolled onto his side, looking up and finding Ray standing over him. Frowning, he looked around. "What time is it?"

"Early." Ray smiled faintly. "How is he?"

Kai looked to the side, spotting the redhead where he was curled up against Kai's chest, sound asleep. "Won't know until he wakes up, but at least he's resting." Kai glanced back. "I must have fallen asleep."

"I guessed that when you didn't come to bed."

"Sorry."

"Understandable." Ray watched as Kai gently eased himself out from under Tala, helping Kai pull a blanket up over Tala before he stepped into Kai's arms. "Couldn't bear to leave him, hm?"

"He was upset. I didn't want to leave him unsupervised. Many things in this room could be used to harm oneself quite severely."

"That bad, eh?"

"You have no idea." Kai closed his eyes, trailing his fingers down Ray's spine as he breathed in his scent. "So how'd you cope sleeping alone?"

"Well, I got lonely so I went to Mariah's room and-"

"Ray."

Ray chuckled, looking up at him. "Just foolin' with you. I'd never be that desperate."

"Good." Kai caught Ray's lips in a quick kiss, nibbling gently on his lower lip. "Everyone else up?"

"Mostly. I think Tyson's still asleep, but that's no surprise." Ray frowned. "Mr Dickenson said something about wanting to see you and Tala first thing this morning, right after breakfast."

"Any idea why?"

"Not a clue."

"I see." Kai looked down toward the bed, spotting a faint twitch. "He's waking."

Ray glanced down. "How can you be sure?"

"Call it intuition." Kai took a step toward the bed, sitting down on the edge and reaching out to smooth Tala's hair, smiling faintly. "Wakey, wakey, Wolfie. Time to get your lazy butt out of bed."

"Mmm. Piss off, Kai."

Ray had to smile. "Take it you used to do that a lot."

"He tortures me." Tala's sapphire blue eyes cracked open, glancing up toward the neko-jin, regarding him. "Phoenix always gets up with the sun. Me, I rather a nice long sleep in whenever possible."

"If you spent more time sleeping of a night you wouldn't need to sleep in the day." Kai said, prodding him playfully.

Tala brushed him off. "What do you expect? I'm a wolf. I'm nocturnal."

Ray had to laugh, nodding. "Well you better get up anyway. Mr D wants to see you as soon as you finish breakfast, so you had better get moving. And I have no idea why, so don't try asking."

Tala glanced up at him as he sat, brushing his hair back into place. "How do you know if I was going to ask or not? Maybe I was going to say you look like you really need to wash your hair cause there's some sort of crap in it."

"Sorry, Kev already tried that one this morning." Ray tossed him a wink, moving toward the doorway. "See you two when you come down."

[oooooooooooooooooooo]

"Ah, there you boys are." Mr Dickenson gestured for them to take a seat at the table, several other bladers already present. "There is something that I have to show you that I had hoped I would not have too."

Tala, Kai and Ray dropped into seats, watching as Mr Dickenson moved toward the hidden vault and keyed in a combination, reaching in and removing an object wrapped in cloth. He moved back toward them, setting the object down on the table before the Russian cousins. Mr Dickenson pulled off the cloth, Kai and Tala swearing as they threw themselves backward and out of their chairs, putting as much distance between them and the table as they could.

Judy looked toward Mr Dickenson. "It would appear that they remember."

"Where the hell did that come from!" Kai said, eyes wide.

"That thing was destroyed," Tala hissed, glaring down at the threat upon the table. "It was lost when Black Dranzer destroyed half the Abbey. Bryan told Boris that…" His eyes wide. "He didn't. Don't tell me Bryan…"

"Bryan gave this into BBA possession the day before he surrendered himself to Biovolt." Mr Dickenson patted the silver box's lid. "He overheard Director Tate and I discussing Mr Balkov's demands and came to us following breakfast. He explained the situation, though I can assure you at that point he had no intention of giving himself up."

"He probably didn't think of that until Aizik," Ian said softly, leaning forward. "What is that thing. Tala?"

"The Ultimates," Tala said softly, shooting a look at Kai. "The original Biovolt team. We were disbanded when Kai…"

"When I lost my memory," Kai said, meeting his eye. "Seeing that thing it… it brings it all back. I wish I hadn't remembered."

"Me too." Tala shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "I chose to block it out. The Ultimates were the greatest thing that ever happened to Biovolt. Just be thankful that everything fell apart when it did."

"Bryan said something similar." Mr Dickenson sat down, watching the two teens. "Sit down, boys. I'm sure this box isn't going to bite. And I can assure you that there are no booby traps. Bryan revealed its contents to us when he gave it to us to put away."

Kai and Tala reluctantly returned to their seats, eyes never leaving the silver box set upon the table as the others watched them curiously.

Ian cocked his head to the side. "What's so freaky about a box?"

"Its more the memories than the box," Tala said softly, looking toward him. "You know how hard Boris trained us? All the tests we had to go through?" Spencer and Ian nodded. "Well imagine it ten times worse. Imagine running the obstacle courses knowing that if you stumble they would shoot you. Imagine learning to launch your blade knowing that one wrong move and they would send an electrical current straight through you, and that it would happen each and every time until you got it right."

"The lasers on the dodge course weren't set for stun," Kai continued. "They were set for kill. There were days when you couldn't afford to sleep because if you closed your eyes you would get hurt."

"And if you didn't get hurt, your teammate would." Tala's eyes widened as he straightened, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Of course! It all makes sense now."

Kai nodded, the same thought playing through his mind. "Bryan's over-protectiveness."

Spencer frowned. "What about it?"

"In the Ultimates we were taught to work as one, as a team," Kai answered, crimson eyes narrowing. "If one failed then everyone failed, and all would be punished. That is, up until the point where the Ultimates captain learnt that if he stepped forward to take the punishment, then the others wouldn't get hurt."

Tala nodded. "Not to mention that it was up to the captain to devise the strategies. It was also his task to make sure that the team was always ready. And nine times out of ten the captain would take watch and let the rest of us sleep."

Tyson frowned. "Hang on, are you saying that Bryan was the captain of the Ultimates?"

"That's exactly what we're saying," Kai said, frowning. "While Tala and I were created to be the best bladers in the Abbey, Bryan was always one step ahead. Though we were all small children, we were able to function at the same level as those twice our age."

"We're created," Tala said, shaking his head as his mind buzzed. "Genetic creations. Kai and I are pure creations, while Bryan was modified in his mother's womb. We're scientific experiments. We were created to be the ultimate bey warriors, hence the name: 'Ultimates'."

A silence hung over the group before Emily frowned. "So let me understand this, there was a team called the Ultimates that were pure genetic creations that comprised of Kai, Tala and Bryan, of which Bryan was the captain?"

"This is freaky," Ian muttered, shaking his head. "And sick."

Tala shuddered. "Now I remember why I made myself forget."

Max blinked. "How come Bryan didn't forget?"

"Knowing Bryan, he would have made sure he remembered," Kai said, glancing toward Tala. "He would have used it to fuel his hatred for Boris."

Ian raised an eyebrow, meeting Spencer's eye. "That sounds like Bryan all right."

"It all makes sense, why Bryan gave himself up." Tala looked up toward Mr Dickenson. "Boris's demands. He was asking for the Ultimate project, wasn't he?"

Mr Dickenson nodded. "Indeed he was. The core in fact."

"And Bryan is the core." Tala sighed, closing his eyes. "He did it so save us, Kai. He sacrificed himself not just for the boys at the Abbey, but for us. He was protecting us."

Kai reached out, drawing the box toward him and opening the hidden catches, reaching in and plucking up the central blade, gazing down at the interwoven colours. "I guess, in many ways, Bryan still sees himself as the captain of the Ultimates. He felt it was his duty to step forward and take our fall so we can go unpunished. Some things don't change."

Like? Hate? Think I could have done more with it? Think the whole 'Ultimate' thing sucks? Let me know.