Chapter 3
Chaotic G: Hey I already got a new chapter up! COOL!
Summary: Interesting events occur and as the cliché goes: "the plot thickens".
I need opinions though:
Who likes 'Dark Vega' over Normal Vega? And preferably why. This is for my own personal reference, no explanation of why I ask will be further disclosed…
"So?"
Misha looked up from the computer he was tapping furiously at to a young man standing in the doorway. His visitor was quite a bit taller than him, with silver-gray eyes and white hair, which was cropped to an inch in length and stood up like spines. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt under a dark brown trench coat, which brushed his knees, with a pair of heavy black boots and fingerless gloves. "He's not after Tala."
"I could've told you that."
The smaller boy looked disapprovingly at his comrade. "What do you mean, Kato?"
"Why would he want Tala when he knows that there are stronger bladers out there? And you're supposed to be the genius… seems like you're all tactics and no common sense to me," Kato replied, shaking his head. "So who is it?"
Misha looked annoyed. "Do you remember all of those world tournaments he made us review?"
"Yeah, so?"
The boy stood up and strode across the lab to a TV standing in the corner. He grabbed up the remote, took a few steps back, and hit play.
A few frames were played and then the video was paused. A good half of the screen was taken up by a large, black dragon and the other was a committed to a still-frame of a teenage girl with long, black hair, white bangs, and dark, soulless eyes. The tails of her trench coat were being blown wildly back and her mouth was opened as if yelling a command. "Her."
Kato frowned a little bit. "Interesting choice."
"She seems pretty average to me."
"You're just saying that because you don't want to admit that she's stronger than you."
"She is not!" Misha protested, crossing his arms.
His friend smirked at him. "Does she intimidate you?"
"I could beat her if I wanted to."
Kato shook his head and stood up, snatching the remote from his comrade and pushing play.
The screen suddenly fuzzed as if the camera filming it was interfered with and there was an explosion of light that last a few seconds before fading. The picture soon recovered from the white-out and the aftermath was phenomenal. The entire dish was stripped down to that last layer of metal beneath it, the girl's partner, who they both knew to be Tala, and their opponents looked shocked.
"You could beat that?" Kato asked.
"He can't build a win solely on that attack. It drains her and the dragon too much, she could barely make it back to the bench," Misha argued, evading the question successfully.
The other boy lifted a hand to his chin and looked thoughtful. "Yeah, this is true… we should just see what's in store then shouldn't we?" He shrugged, tossed down the remote, and left the room, looking completely cool and unperturbed.
"Easy for you to say," the smaller boy grumbled, crossing his arms.
Vega had woken up to the sound of her cell phone ringing and she groaned as she reached over to the nightstand and checked the outside LCD screen.
She sighed and buried her face in the pillow as she flipped it open. "Charly, do you know what time it is here?"
"Six-thirty," Charly replied on the other end, mug of coffee held in her hands, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder.
Vega picked up her alarm clock with one hand and eyed it. "Well at least one of us knew, my clock stopped," she said, yawning and sitting up. "What's up?"
"Nothing much, just thought I'd call to check in."
"You know you can't lie to me, Charly… what's really up? Even people I hate know that I don't get up before ten. You had to have called for a reason."
Charly laughed. "I can fool everyone but you."
"The sad side-effect of spending about three-fourths of my young life so far with you, my dear friend; so, spill, what's got you calling me at the ungodly hour of six-thirty?"
"Kai."
"Oh, yeah, he's a good reason," Vega muttered sarcastically. "So, what's buggin' Wonder Boy that's buggin' you and now, inevitably, buggin' me?'
"He's been acting weird the last few days."
"And which part of that is supposed to surprise me, Charly? Weird and Kai might as well be side-by-side in the dictionary, screw alphabetization," the dark-haired girl replied, pulling herself out of bed and rifling through her clothes, which were now hanging in the closet.
"Weird for even Kai I mean. He's been edgy and hasn't been sleeping since you left."
"I'm touched, he must really miss me," Vega said and grinned when her friend snorted doubtfully on the other end. "Charly, what do you want me to tell you?"
"Why he's doing this! It's creeping me out. He hasn't even been yelling at Tyson."
That made the Dragoness pause temporarily. "Yeah… that's weird even for Kai. The yelling thing is a daily ritual it'd seem. Well… has he said anything out of the ordinary? Like 'I wuv woo'?"
"Vega, I'm amazed, you actually sounded serious for like two seconds there. You're not helping!"
Vega laughed and flopped back on her bed. "Look, sister, Kai is Kai is Kai is Kai is Kai. There is no figuring that man out, which makes worrying about him pointless."
"I think he's worried about something."
"Such as?"
"I don't know. Oh well… I guess you're right, there is no point in worrying… how are things on your end?"
Vega shrugged. "Fair I suppose. Brian called yesterday wondering if I had any luck with my Tala-hunting."
"And have you?"
"No… but there are two very distinct possibilities that have come to my attention. He's either very near or someone's trying to get some laughs."
Charly grinned a bit. "What makes you say that?"
"I received a rose yesterday from with an unsigned card attached… it's a repeat scenario of last time."
"Aww, that's sweet."
"Charly, stay with me, ok?"
The Amazon queen laughed and sat back in front of the bay window in the kitchen, overlooking the front drive. "Fine."
"I better not dwell on it or I'll get hopeful. How are you anyways?"
"Worried… worried about Kai, worried about you, worried about Celeste. She's been giving off some pretty bad vibes lately and I'm wondering if Dranzer has been too and that's what's been bugging Kai… normally they're pretty in-tune with one another."
"Well if Kaosu was awake to consult I'd ask him if he's felt anything up but since he decided to take a 'nap' for a while I won't. It's nice having my head to myself for once… though it's kind of lonely after all these years."
"I should let you go then so you can enjoy some more 'alone' time in your head."
Vega chuckled. "Alright, I'll call you again later, Charly, tell everyone I said 'hi'."
"Will do, bye."
"Yeah, see you."
"Miss!"
Vega, who had decided to go sight seeing a bit on her own without Tom, turned to an approaching clerk, who was holding a small card in his hand.
The clerk handed her the card wordlessly and she nodded to him and he left. On the card there was an address scribbled down and she grinned a little to herself as she realized that she knew that handwriting as she read the note.
"So you want to meet, you little rat," she whispered, scanning the address scribbled there, and then tucking the card into her pocket. "Yeah I didn't feel like playing cat and mouse much longer either."
"Are you sure she's going to come?" Misha asked, eyeing the much smaller boy in front of him, who was connecting some wires in a fuse box.
The other boy was quite a bit shorter than Misha, with narrow, neon green eyes, platinum blond hair, which was trimmed close to his head with long bangs hanging down spike-like in front of his eyes. He wore a black, hooded thermal sweater beneath a brown vest with olive green cargo pants.
"Of course-" he said.
"Now shut up, Misha-" a second boy put in, identical to the one in front of Misha, with the same platinum blond hair and green eyes, wearing a white thermal sweater under a black vest with white cargos.
"And quit worrying," the first boy, completely unfazed by his twin's sudden appearance, finished.
Misha looked between the two and shook his head. "I wish you two wouldn't do that."
"Do-"
"What?"
"Finishing each other's sentences."
The twins, who had both gathered around the same fuse box now, grinned and identical, Cheshire cat smirk and resumed working in perfect unison.
The black-haired boy turned to the doorway and, spotting Kato standing there, approached. "Why do they have to be on this team?"
Kato laughed. "Jax and Zax? Because they're good… why not?"
"They creep even me out," Misha replied.
His friend grinned. "Me too… but they're perfectly harmless, you know that. So is everything set up?"
"As soon as they get the lights upstairs to work right we should be on track."
"Good."
Vega's first step into the large warehouse echoed and she frowned a little as she looked around, seeing no one.
It was Tala's style but why would he want her this far away from civilization?
"Yo, Tala!" she shouted, stopping near the center of the empty building and crossing her arms. "You here?"
The floor creaked under her boots and the walls were cement, covered with dust, lined with windows along the top half of the building, which were so dirty they let in very little light and the large fluorescent bulbs above were quite necessary.
"Tala couldn't make it."
The girl looked up sharply and watched as a young man came in through a door near the back. Her eyes narrowed. "He wouldn't set a meeting he couldn't make."
"His plans changed," he replied.
Vega slid a foot back a little bit, preparing herself to turn and run. "I don't believe you."
The boy smirked. "Smart."
Her eyes narrowed and she turned immediately, heading for the doorway, but she found that it was being slid closed by an accomplice, a tall, white-haired boy and when she glanced back to the other boy he was suddenly accompanied by a pair of twins, who were looking smug.
Kaosu's presence flared through her suddenly and even though she could tell that he wasn't awake he was perfectly aware of what was going on and entirely unable to help her.
She threw herself to the right and sprinted for the door there.
Heavy footsteps followed her and just as she broke through the door into the alley a hand grabbed her roughly by the arm and another hand covered her mouth, pressing a cloth over her nose and lips.
Vega did her best to hold her breath but the fumes alone were noxious and she felt her body go limp and her vision tunneled.
The last thing she saw was a pair of cold, gray eyes and then black.
"Good job, Kato," Misha said as he watched his comrade lift the girl up into his arms. "Our ride's waiting out back, we have to go now."
Kato nodded and followed Misha, the twins in tow, down the alley and out the back.
Unbeknownst to the four a pair of icy blue eyes was watching them from around the corner and they narrowed, darkening dangerously.
Son of a bitch, Tala thought, lunging as if to follow them but the fighter's cautiousness that was trained into him gripped and he drew in the details around him. All four of them had launchers tucked away under their belts, which meant that they all had blades. He realized that even if with Wolborg there was no way he could help Vega out. Four to one was not fair odds and he doubted that they were amateurs. They probably all had bit-beasts and no one without enough power to back up their plan would go after someone high profile like Vega.
So, he watched them disappear, hating himself every second he stood there inactive.
Whoever they are and whatever reason they have for going after you, Vega, I will make them regret their choice.
"That's the third time she hasn't answered," Charly said, staring at the phone in her hand in annoyance.
"Maybe she turned it off?" Hikaru suggested from where she sat on the kitchen counter beside Lily, sharing a bowl of popcorn.
"When does Vega ever turn off her cell?" the Amazon leader asked, cocking an eyebrow at her teammate.
"Heh, guess you're right," the girl replied sheepishly, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth and then saying through it, "then I ain't got nothin'."
Lily laughed as she gave her friend a slightly disgusted look before turning back to Charly. "Could you get hold of Tom?"
The phone suddenly rang in Charly's hand and the girl frowned as she looked at it.
"Tom!" she mouthed.
Hikaru scooted away from Lily, giving her an odd look. "That's just scary," she said.
The blonde girl laughed but both were brought back to reality when Charly's tone toward Tom sounded grim and very worried.
"So, you haven't seen her at all this morning?"
"The desk clerk told me that she left early this morning and that was the last anyone that worked downstairs on any shift heard of her," Tom replied. "She left a note on her bed but it's already passed five and I'm starting to wonder."
"Alright… well, if she does show up then call me… if not, then would you call tomorrow sometime?"
"Sure thing," the intern said.
Charly hung up and bit her lip. "Tom said that the clerks haven't seen Vega since this morning when she first left."
Hikaru yawned. "She probably found some club or somewhere to go, Charly. We're all probably worrying for nothing. Now it's two in the morning, could we please end this Worrier-Anonymous meeting, shut off the damn phone, and go to bed?!"
"Just, one more call?" the Amazon leader asked childishly.
Her friend sighed and pushed herself off the counter. "One more, but then get your ass in bed."
Lily yawned as Hikaru walked out of the room and lowered herself to the tile floors of the Deamen's kitchen. "I'm going up too; don't be too long, alright?"
"Sure, Lil," Charly replied, dialing Cleo's number and lifting the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ian, could you get Cleo? I really need to talk to her about something," Charly replied.
"Yo, Cleo, phone," Ian said from the doorway of the living room.
Cleo was in the middle of fighting Brian for the remote, which the lavender-haired boy was holding above his head and clear out of her reach.
The girl sighed in defeat, whacked her brother upside the head in annoyance, and got up from the couch to retrieve the phone from the shortest Demolition Boy.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Cleo."
"Oh, Charly, hey! Wait… what are you doing up so late?" Cleo said, grinning a little as she watched Spencer walk up behind Brian, snatch the remote from his teammate's hand, and flop down in one of the nearby armchairs.
A wrestling match soon ensued between the two, which was one-sided in Spencer's favor from the beginning.
"I called Vega's cell three times today and she hasn't answered, which is weird because she knew I'd be calling again and she never turns her phone off. I was just wondering if you had heard from her at all."
Cleo frowned a little. "No, she hasn't called-" she pulled the phone away from her ear-"Vega hasn't called right?"
"Nope," Brian grunted as Spencer held him in a headlock, "but she said she would yesterday."
"You didn't tell me she called yesterday!" Cleo shouted, looking peeved.
"Oops," he replied, but it didn't sound sincere.
The blonde girl grumbled in annoyance as she returned to Charly. "Are you sure she hasn't just gone off somewhere and forgot to bring her phone?"
Charly sighed. "That's probably it but I worry. Celeste's been uneasy lately… and I think Dranzer and Black-Dranzer have been too because Kai's been acting odd lately."
"Strange… well… I'll-" her cell phone ringing in the other kitchen cut her off and she scowled a little-"Ian would you get that?! Sorry, Charly, could you hold for a second?"
"Yeah."
"Damn phones always ringing," Ian grumbled, slamming the fridge shut and picking up the small, silver device. "What?"
"Ian, where's Cleo?"
The shortest D-boy just about dropped the phone. "TALA?!"
Cleo's eyes widened as she heard the yelp and she tore off for the kitchen. None of the others knew that she had contact with Tala, especially not Brian or Spencer, who were on her heels.
She slid across the tiled floor in her socks, stole the phone from Ian and then barricaded herself on the other side of the kitchen table from the three, of whom Brian looked most eager to get hold of the phone.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call my cell? I'll call you!" she shouted.
"Shut up, Cleo… I'm not in the mood for lectures."
"What are you talking about?" the girl asked, looking worried, holding Brian off with one hand on his chest.
"Someone's kidnapped, Vega… I followed them as far as I could but I lost them."
"What?!"
"Let me talk to Brian, he's liable to be rational about this… I'd appreciate it, though, if you'd call Charly and let her know… I don't have her number."
Cleo deftly handed the phone over to Brian, who was more than eager to take it, and returned to Charly. "I have a feeling that you're not going to like the latest news."
Chaotic G: Ahh… the plot thickens… shifty eyes. Who is the mastermind behind Vega's kidnapping and why? Who are Misha inc. and what do they have to do with this? Find out next chapter of DER! If you hang around that long and don't get sick of this…
I know that some people don't read the AN's so I posted this again down here… you cannot escape!!
Who likes 'Dark Vega' over Normal Vega? And preferably why. This is for my own personal reference, no explanation of why I ask will be further disclosed