Chapter 2: Enemies Are Everywhere

Chaotic G.: Hey people . Thank you for wonderful reviews. Um… I don't own Beyblade?

Chap summary: Kai has a disturbing dream, Vega receives a gift from an unnamed giver, and Tala takes up stalking.

Kai sat up quickly in bed, breathing hard, hands gripping the sheets next to him.

What a nightmare

The first he had had in a long time.

Flashes of the Abbey he knew from the past; the long, dark hallways of cold air and the silent screams of tortured souls, the labs, and the cells.

Then the image of Vega with empty, soulless eyes, laughing darkly as the silhouette of someone familiar but unrecognizable behind her, a hand upon her shoulder, as Kaosu floated in the background, bright, scarlet eyes matching those of the unknown figure.

The dragon's and the girl's images faded, as did the shadow's, but the red eyes of the figure remained.

Black-Dranzer sat on his bedside table glowing softly but it went unnoticed by the boy, who was trying to sort his dream out.

Perhaps his paranoia had triggered it. Charly's mentioning of a bad feeling she was having replayed over in his head.

"I just don't like it, Kai… it's like there's this feeling in my gut telling me that something's going to happen… maybe I shouldn't have let her go."

"Is there something wrong? I heard you struggling in your sleep and decided to check on you"

Kai looked up to the tall, spindly figure of the butler, Bartholomew, standing in the doorway and then shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Would you like some water perhaps?"

"Sure."

"Very well, sir."

The Abbey.

Vega's 'dark-side'.

Those eyes.

What'd it all mean?

"Good morning, Kai!" Mai, the cook, greeted the boy happily as he stepped into the kitchen, running a hand back through his hair.

"It's about time you woke up, sleepyhead, it's almost eleven," Charly said as she placed two large plates of waffles on the table; Tyson and Max, who had already arrived there, practically jumped on the plates before Hikaru or Lilly could get to them.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you were sick or something, man, I mean, you not up before dawn? It's unheard of," Tyson teased through a mouthful of breakfast.

"I had a rough night," Kai muttered.

The nightmare had prevented him from sleeping soundly. The images kept coming back; sometimes just Vega, sometimes just the Abbey, sometimes just that shadowy 'somebody' in the background with those eyes glowing creepily out from the darkness that shrouded their owner.

"Insomnia?" Max asked.

"Something like that," he muttered, sitting down at the table.

Charly smiled as she sat down across from him. "Well, Vega called a little while ago saying that she landed, but they had a hold up on her luggage and she sounded sort of irked."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want to be the airport attendant who has to deal with her," Hikaru said, stealing a waffle off of Tyson's plate and smirking triumphantly at him.

"Hey, that was mine!" he whined.

"So were the other four!" she shot back.

Kai watched them bicker as Max and Lilly stayed off on the sidelines, shaking their heads, and then picked up his glass of orange juice and headed out into the sunroom, which was only separated from the kitchen by another hall and door.

"You should eat something," Charly said from behind him, sitting a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast on the small coffee table beside his chair. "Preferably before the eggs get cold."

He glanced over at the food. The eggs looked slightly undercooked, the toast was a little singed, and the bacon was 'extra-crispy'. He smiled. Charly had definitely been responsible for cooking it. "Thanks."

The girl smiled but frowned a little at his troubled tone. "What's wrong, Kai?"

"I didn't get any sleep, I already told you that," he snapped and then realizing that he was being unnecessarily harsh he sighed and looked up at her. "I'm sorry."

Charly placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. So… are you going to tell me what's really bothering you?"

Kai debated his choices. Should he tell her?

If he did then she'd possibly worry, even more than what she was, and no one would be happy until Vega got back whenever.

"It's nothing, just some stuff I got to figure out."

The Amazon queen nodded slowly, as if unsure as to whether or not accept that as an answer, and turned for the door. "If you feel like talking about it I'm here, alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem, Kai."

Vega sighed as she emptied her bag on her bed and then threw it on the floor. All the time she'd spent with the D-boys didn't teach her a word of Russian that was appropriate to use unless you really wanted to piss someone off so she was stuck with an interpreter provided by Mr. Deamen, who was one of the executive's interns was sort of like a personal assistant really. He would follow her everywhere, do whatever she asked (which hopefully included 'leaving' on command), and would keep track of the hotel billings, expenses, etc.

There was a knock on the door and the intern/interpreter walked in carrying a single red rose.

"Hey, Tom," she said. "What's that?"
"Don't know. The clerk told me it was delivered and that I might as well bring it up, it had this with it."

He handed her the rose and a small white card. She opened the card and read to herself:

"No matter where you go,

However far away,

A part of me will be with you

And a part of you, with me, will stay.

The stolen kisses are always sweetest."

For a second she stared and then closed it. "Tom… could you um… go order lunch or something?"

"Yeah, sure, what do you want?" he asked.

Vega shook her head so her hair fell down around her face and he couldn't see her eyes, which were burning with tears. "Doesn't matter, surprise me."

He nodded and left obediently.

The girl stared at the card and wiped at her eyes as she glanced at the rose, which was forgotten on the bed beside her. One, deep red rose.

"Oh, God," she whispered, biting her lip. Thank you.

She wiped at her tears as she started to laugh.

Tom returned about twenty minutes later pushing a cart of covered dishes. "I wasn't sure what you'd want so I ordered a little of everything so you can try what you want, Miss. Vega."

The girl sat up and smiled at him brightly. "Thank you, Tom; that was very sweet of you."

The intern beamed and she helped him uncover the entrees and took what she wanted of them.

Vega's cell phone rang from across the room and she made a dash for it, lifting it up off the vestibule and flipping it open after checking the small LCD screen. "Hello, Cleo," she said knowingly.

"Close," Brian's voice rumbled on the other end and she laughed.

"Oh, so big bad Bry's working a phone now, see you are becoming civilized! I'm so impressed," Vega teased, sitting down on a cushioned chair near the window.

"Aren't we in a good mood," he replied, hitting the speaker phone and sitting back, Ian nearby to listen. "So… any progress on your Tala-hunt."

"Why, you got a bone to pick with him too?" the girl asked.

"I think I'd like to pay him back just a bit, yeah," Brian said, nodding.

Vega grinned and chuckled a little. "Hey Ian," she said, knowing the slight echo on the other end all too well.

"Hey," the shorter boy mumbled just loud enough for the speaker to pick it up.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to allow that, Bry, sorry," she cooed. "I've seen what you do to guys that you're 'paying back'. But as a consolation I will call your cell especially just to let you know first that I've found him."

"I'm touched, Vega, you're so sweet," he replied dryly, rolling his eyes, causing Ian to snicker.

"Mmm, I know, I try. So, is Cleo there?"

"No, she's out… I'll give you a guess as to where she is," Brian said.

"Hmm… would she be out shopping?"

"Indeed she would be, with Spencer."

Vega laughed quietly at the slight growl in his tone. "Spencer's a good guy, Bry, you should be happy that she likes him so much and not someone else who you'd have no control over."

"You forget, I can have control over anyone I want to," the lavender-haired man replied smugly.

She feigned a gasp of surprise. "How dare I so soon forget!" she chided herself playfully. "I should get going. Give my regards to Cleo and Spencer, tell her I'll call tomorrow again to check in, alright?"

"Yeah."

"Bye you two, behave!"

"See you, Vega," Ian said.

"Be safe," Brian commanded.

"Always, Bry. Give my regards to Cleo and Spencer and tell her that I'll call tomorrow to check in, alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Bye."

"Bye."

"Who was that?" Tom asked.

Vega closed the phone and smiled at him. "Some friends."

"And the rose? Where'd that come from?"

She glanced over at the flower, which was on the dresser in a vase now. "A very dear friend."

Tala watched from behind his newspaper as Vega made her way across the lobby of the hotel and he raised it to cover his face when she passed by and disappeared onto the street, the young man he'd watched bring her up the rose in tow.

The Russian rose quickly to his feet, folded the paper, and left it on the chair as he followed them.

Vega wasn't hard to follow. Being much shorter than most of the people around her she stuck out but was then swallowed by the crowd because of this; Tala had to remain close enough to follow but far enough away so she wouldn't see him.

Tala ignored the want to just reveal himself to the girl and instead followed her around the whole day while she went sightseeing.

She was a lot different then she was the last time they'd seen each other but he liked this Vega much more. She smiled and laughed a lot and looked perpetually happy.

"Even if she did come to find me," he murmured to himself, "would she be happy to see me?"

His jaw clenched as he watched that annoying intern return with coffee from some nearby shop.

Vega couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her. It had started just outside of the hotel and continued to this point.

Kaosu wasn't hissing her warnings though, but that was because he had gone into a prolonged state of what he called 'hibernation'. He was still aware of everything but was asleep so he couldn't speak to her mentally. It was his way of giving her a break for a little while from him, which she was thankful of.

"Is there something wrong, Miss. Vega?" Tom asked, looking at the girl as she turned around and scanned over the people who were walking around and passed them

The girl sighed as she spotted no one. "No, I guess not," she murmured. She smiled at his worried look and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm just being paranoid again. Everything's fine. How long have we been out?"

He checked his watch. "Four hours."

She laughed. She hadn't even realized that they had been out that long walking around. "Let's get back to the hotel, alright?"

"Sure."

Vega slid out of the cab as Tom paid the driver and pulled her coat closer to herself.

She glanced across the street and she caught a glimpse of fiery red hair and she grinned a little to herself. "Tom, why don't you go in and order us dinner or something, I'll be right back."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" he asked watching as she jogged quickly across the street, waving to him over her shoulder.

Vega wove in and out of the crowd and turned a corner to find that whatever glimpse of red hair she had caught was now gone and she frowned a little to herself, walking a few more paces, and then stopping at the mouth of an alley.

"Quit deluding yourself, Vega," she whispered. "Why would he hang around?"

Tala watched from where he crouched above her head on the fire escape and sighed as she turned and walked away. "Because I can't get you out of my head… that's why I'd hang around."

He made sure that she was far away before descending from the fire escape and stepping back out onto the street.

His eyes met momentarily with a young man's across the street and his eyes narrowed a bit as the stranger smirked and walked off. He was thin and wiry, wearing a long, dusty brown coat over a pair of worn-out jeans, a black tee shirt, and another jacket of an olive green color. His black hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck and his long bangs hung in front of his yellow-orange eyes.

He disappeared into the crowd and a feeling of foreboding crept up on Tala.

"Enemies lurk everywhere," Boris had said once in a blurry memory, the details of which were hard for the young man to grasp hold of at the moment, "don't let them get the jump on you. Trust nothing and no one… all threats must be eliminated before you can assume yourself safe."

"We both know that I've never been one for feelings," Tala whispered to himself, "but I got a bad one about this… just take care of yourself, Vega."

The young man Tala had spotted across the street chuckled as he walked, turned a corner, and made his way down into the bowls of a parking garage.

Farthest from the entrance was a black vehicle sitting idle and the boy, shedding his coat, slid into the back.

"You weren't seen," the man beside him said, before barking something to the driver in Russian.

"No."

"Which one of them saw you, Misha?"

The boy cringed inwardly but knew that there was no point in holding up his rouse. "Tala, but only for a second."

The man grinned a little to himself. "He knew you were there the entire time."

"That's not possible," Misha said, shaking is head, watching as they pulled out onto the street.

"Oh but it is… Tala's a very unique person. He knew that you were following him just like he was following the girl, but he didn't want to confront you in fear of blowing his own cover. Besides, in his perspective you were nothing but an annoying pest, he might've been curious as to why you were following him but brushed it off because his focus was consumed entirely with the girl."

"Who is she anyways?"

"Our target."

Misha blinked once and whipped his head around to look at the man beside him directly. "Her? I thought you wanted Tala! Isn't that why you had me follow him?"

"I had you follow him because I knew that the girl would be nearby," the man replied, pulling a file from a bag at his side and throwing it at the boy.

Misha flipped open the folder and inspected the contents.

There was an information sheet with the girl's picture stapled to it as well as several other sheets going into details about battles she had been in, weaknesses, strengths, and various other, often trivial, factors.

"Her name's Vega McLeod, one of the heavy-hitters in the world tournament three years ago… I showed you video of that, didn't I?"

The boy's mind reeled as he searched for the information.

He remembered her suddenly and his mind pieced things together in an instant. "You're after the dragon… her bit beast, aren't you?"

"I knew you were as smart as I trained you to be," the man replied, sparing a twisted smile and then redirecting his focus out the window in a somewhat bored fashion. "That dragon is the ultimate weapon… she and it just don't know that yet."

"Why don't we just steal the chip then?"

"We need the girl to control it. She's the sole person alive who can, he'll respond to no other master."

"What's Tala go anything to do with this then?"

"To you that's unimportant. I have my own reasons."