Two
"Kai what's going on?" Mariah asked, the fear that she felt obvious in her voice. "Who is that man? What does he want with us?"
"I couldn't say…" Kai lied. It was only a small lie, but a lie all the same. Kai could just as easily tell them what Lewis' plans were, but he didn't want to set them into panic mode. He'd have to tell them eventually, or else the only way they'd escape this place would be in black body bags. "I have to ask you: who else is here? Is it just you?"
"Oh no," Lee replied. "The All Stars and the Demolition Boys are here too."
"The teams that were in Moscow about five years ago…all of them are here…" Kai thought out loud, earning confused gazes from all in the cell with him.
"Kai what do you know?" Lee asked finally. "What you said earlier, claiming you knew nothing, that was a load of shit wasn't it?" Kai fell silent, his usual impassive expression holding its place on his features.
"I know enough," he replied after a silence. Lee's face creased into a frown and he strode forward, grabbing the neck of Kai's shirt in his hands.
"What do you know?! Tell us now!" Lee growled, annoyed at being kept in the dark concerning a predicament that they were all now involved in. for a while Kai said nothing, and Lee eventually gave up with him and sat back down. That was when Kai decided to speak.
"His name is Lewis Balkov. I knew him when I was a child, he's Boris' younger brother. He's obviously broken out of the nut house he was sent to all those years ago, because I doubt there's any way he was let loose," Kai looked down to the awestruck faces of his audience.
"So…there's more than one Boris in this world, hmm?" Lee mused.
"Lewis is worse. A lot worse. His original plan for Biovolt was to threaten young Beybladers with death to try and strike fear into all who dared oppose him. My grandfather favoured a more strategic approach as opposed to all-out brute force, so Lewis' plan didn't go down with him. Eventually Boris turned his back on his own brother, and this drove Lewis mad. He tried to burn The Abbey to the ground in a revenge bid, but that didn't work out, and Lewis was admitted to the state institute."
"The nut house."
"To put it plainly." Kai folded his arms and looked over to the pale faces of the White Tigers. "I'm still not sure how he got out, but I've got a good idea why he's decided to gather the top teams from the last tournament."
"Why is that?" Mariah asked, settling herself onto the floor and bringing her knees up to her chest.
"All the teams that are present here are important to the majority of the population. They're role models for young beybladers, and figures that everyone recognises. In taking them hostage, Lewis hopes to gain the attention of the people, and to insure he's serious, he plans to kill us."
"K-k-kill us?!" Mariah stuttered, her knees dropping to the floor, a wide-eyed gaze of terror on her cat-like features. "B-b-but why?!"
"What better way to prove you're serious is your bid than to kill someone the public cares so deeply about?" Kai focused on Mariah, not an inch of fear in his crimson eyes. He felt surprisingly calm and prepared. "If we don't figure out what to do from here, we'll all be leaving in body bags or in pieces."
"This is awful," Mr Dickenson finally spoke after sitting in silence for some time. "All of this just for some vendetta against the BBA."
"It's not just the BBA he's against," Kai turned to the elderly man. "It's Biovolt too. My guess is Lewis wants to show his brother and my grandfather that if they had listened to him, Biovolt would have never been disbanded by the BBA."
"Tell me, Kai," Lee began. "The Bladebreakers are the world rank number one team on the Beyblade circuit. Why are we here instead of them? And what's the deal with you? Why didn't they go after Tyson?"
"I betrayed Biovolt," Kai replied, smirking slightly. "Then again Lewis and I never really got on, and he's been looking for a reason to kill me for some time. As for the reason why the rest of the team aren't here…I don't know…" Kai paused, closing his eyes in thought. "I have no idea what plan he has for them." Kai wasn't used to talking this much, and it was agitating him that his cellmates were so inquisitive, and also knowing that he was the only one to offer any answers. A thick air of dread seemed to hang over their heads, all of them now knowing that some of them wouldn't make it out alive. Kai bit down on his lip lightly, wondering if he should have kept this to himself after all. It was too late to wonder now. He sat down on the cold stone floor, and began the process of bandaging his wounds with his already bloodied and torn scarf.
The police had swarmed on the Granger residence within minutes of Tyson making the call. It was mainly officers from the CSI division that had arrived, brandishing cameras, plastic bags, white gloves and other evidence gathering materials. Journalists had also arrived on the scene, not needing an excuse to pounce on the World Champion's home. Tyson was sat on one of the outer walkways of the dojo, his legs dangling over the side and his feet dragging along the ground slightly. Max and Ray were pacing about nervously behind him while Kenny and Hilary sat either side of Tyson, Kenny with his laptop already open and tapping in data of some amends.
"We won't know if it's Kai's blood until a DNA test comes back, Tyson," Hilary tried to reassure the bluenette. "Who knows, it could be someone else! You know how Kai is for wandering off! He'll probably show up tomorrow…" though she was trying to convince Tyson of Kai's safety, she felt it wasn't working, as she wasn't really convincing herself with her speech either. One of the CSI officers made their way over to the group, removing his gloves and placing them in his pocket. He stopped in front of Tyson, causing the teen to look up at him.
"We've collected some evidence from the scene," the officer said, a tone of kindness in his voice. "As soon as we attain any sort of result concerning the identity of the person who shed all this blood, you'll be the first to know, we promise."
"I'll take that as your word," Tyson said, his voice cracking. Even if it wasn't Kai's blood, someone had been hurt severely and had perhaps stumbled upon the dojo in search of aid. But all of the signs pointed to Kai.
"That scrap of fabric you found is going for analysis as well," the man's voice softened further. "There may be fingerprints present. There's a slim chance of finding any, but we'll look regardless." he held his hand out to Tyson, and Tyson shook it. "We'll be in touch as soon as we can." the group watched on as the police and the CSI officers slowly left, but the press remained.
"Made you little dudes some tea," Tyson's grandpa came up behind them, resting a hand on Tyson's shoulder. "You have to chill now. If that blood is your man Kai's, then we'll do whatever it takes to find him."
"Thanks grandpa," Tyson let a small smile etch its way onto his face as he placed his own hand over the old man's. They then all followed him to get some tea and gather their thoughts. A news broadcast made turned everything back upside down.
"Word has reached us here that three of the top teams in the world, the White Tigers, the All Stars and the Demolition Boys, are now missing. None of these teams have been seen for some time. This also coincides with the unusual disappearance of the head of the BBA, Stanley Dickenson, and the apparent disappearance of Bladebreakers captain Kai Hiwatari. We will keep you up-to-date on the situation as it unfolds," the newscaster read. Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing.
"White Tigers?" Ray said slowly, unable to take in that his old team were also gone.
"The All Stars…all of them…gone…" Max swallowed hard, praying that his mother wasn't among the missing.
"And the Demolition Boys," Kenny looked at the television then back at his laptop. "It's strange that some of the top figures in Beyblading have vanished."
"But Chief," Tyson turned to the shorter teen. "We're the top team in the world! Why didn't this happen to all of us? Why just Kai?"
"I don't know Tyson," Kenny replied, closing up his laptop and sliding it off of the table, resting his elbows on the shiny wooden surface. In the middle of the weather forecast, the picture started to faze out, and gave way to the image of a man in a barely lit room.
"Who the…?" Tyson began, but he was hushed by Hilary as the man began to speak, a familiar evil glint in his eye.
"Greetings Bladebreakers. I stand here before you as a man with a dream: a dream of an ideal world. But we are far from reaching this idealistic vision I hold within my heart. If we all work together, however, I'm sure this vision can be achieved," the man began.
"That look…" Tyson focused on the man intently. "It's so…familiar…the way he speaks…it's all so familiar to me…but from where?!"
"Tyson be quiet!" Hilary hissed.
"I will accomplish something that so many have failed to do: I will control the population of this planet andthe peoplewill all conduct my will accordingly."
"Another world dominator wannabe," Ray sighed.
"And just in case you're nottaking me seriously," the man sneered suddenly, reaching out into the darkness around him for something. "Here's a little persuasion." he held before them a teenage boy with two-tone hair. The face paint that once adorned him was smeared and faded, replaced with the red of blood, his crimson eyes seemed diminished. The man had the teen grasped by the neck, pulling out a switchblade from his pocket and running it gently across the pale flesh of his throat.
"Kai!" Tyson cried, jumping to his feet and knocking the tea flying in every direction.
"He is not the only beyblader in my custody, as I have collected many over this past week," the man's smile was dark and sinister, as he began to run the blade across Kai's face. "Here, I make a demand to you, the Bladebreakers, the only team I have not yet acquired, for I know that youare watching for news ofyour precious captain." he started to run the blade in deeper. Kai winced slightly but remained soundless. He didn't want to give Lewis the pleasure of hearing him scream in pain. "I'm giving you 24 hours, no more, no less. In that time,you must use the power that I am awareyou all have withinyou to make the people follow my cause. If, by the time 24 hours has expired, I have the world's population at my feet, I will release my captives. But, if by then there has been no improvement in my situation, all of them will die. 24 hours boys." and with this, his communiqué came to an end, and the weather report returned, as if the announcement had never happened.
"24 hours…" Tyson looked around at the faces of his team mates. "It isn't long…but it's all the time we have. We can't bend to his will like that, so we'll just have to track him down and stop him. He seems smart, whoever he is, so chances are he's jammed all ability of tracking him through his broadcast transmission."
"OK, Kenny, I think this has effected Tyson," Hilary whispered to the bespectacled youth beside her. "He sounds like he knows what he's saying! I had no idea Tyson had a brain under his hat!"
"Heard that," Tyson scowled at the girl. "Hilary, this is no game. I can be smart when I try, you know. This is Kai's life and the lives of three other teams that are on the line, and no doubt Mr Dickenson's life too. We have to think rationally here and try to get them before that freak does."
"Tyson's right," Max nodded. "We're wasting time sitting here. Let's get started!"
SN: cowers behind a pillow Yeah I know this update is totally late and I'm sorry for anyone who has been waiting on an update for this! It's not just laziness! My muses have been messing me around, plus I've had schoolwork to do not to mention all the catch-up I had to do when I was sick. Two weeks man! Stopped eating and sleeping altogether! Nasty I tell ya! Keep your eyes peeled for the first victim of Lewis next chapter, and thank you to everyone who reviewed! tears well up in eyes I feel so loved!