5 reviews for my last chapter. I feel really popular '
Anyhow, so on to my reviewers.
Jen-beyblade- fan – It's great to have a new reviewer. Hope that you keep reading! .'
LunaRavenCroft – Great to have you as a new reviewer. Hope you enjoy this chapter! .'StarAngel Caelum SunSoar – O.O Does someone have an aversion to Voltaire or what! Glad you liked the chapter. Keep writing your self!
Ramen II – As always, I loved your lengthy review. Glad to hear that you like the hug, as well as Kaie's red triangles. Yea, I kina stole that. -.-. I know that you want Kai to win, but...well you will find out in this chapter!!! I hope that you like it. And next chapter Kaie is battling, I hope that you enjoy that. Thanx for reviewing.
AngelDranger – It is always great to hear that someone is enjoying my work. I hope you like this chapter. .
Enjoy.
Please R&R
Day 7Max woke up that morning still reeling of the events that had taken place the night before. Kaie and Kai were twins? He could see that now, but before it had seemed impossible.
For one, he had noticed that neither of them were big talkers and neither liked to talk about the Abby at all. The mere mention of it made Kaie shiver. It was a subtle thing, but Max had noticed it none the less.
Kaie also looked like Kai when she slept, as she often had a little smile on her face, and she always looked peaceful. As well she would curl up, much like a cat, a trait that Rei and Kai shared, as well, probably, as some of the White Tigers.
As well Max had noticed that Kaie had a hard time accepting or giving any show of friendship, or companionship. If Max hugged her she would tense, if he looked at her she would either stare right back or look away quickly. He often sensed that Kaie would study people; she would just watch them for a while, trying to discover what made them tick, much like Kai.
When Max made it to the cafeteria he was not surprised to see Kaie eating a muffin thoughtfully. Last night was really crazy and Max was wondering how she was taking it all. Max could see that she was wearing the red necklace, and that she was not really paying any attention to what she was eating.
Max sat down next to her, hoping to bring her back from whatever land she was in. Kaie snapped back to reality when Max moved himself so that his face was right in front of hers. Kaie jumped about a foot in the air then recovered herself.
"How are you?" Max said
Kaie just sighed. "Okay, I guess. For some reason I'm not all that surprised, I am just afraid I guess."
"Afraid? Of what?"
"Afraid for Kai, I guess. He is blading Rage today." Kaie looked at Max, and he was surprised to see that her eyes showed that she was afraid, as her eyes were usually blank, hiding all emotion.
"Kai knows that he is going to loose. I just don't want to loose my brother when we have spent so little time together; I barely know him."Max nodded and put his arm around her. Kaie felt his arm, but didn't try to remove it.
A part of her that was trained in survival told her not to let her guard down, but she had listened to that military voice too long. A quite whispering voice was telling her to trust Max. A voice that spoke from deep within.
Just as Max opened his mouth to say something the PA system blared loudly. "Will all of the bladers taking part today in the tournament please report to the stadium, and will Victory, Ben, Rage and Kai, as well as their teams please report to the standby room. Thank you. The tournament will commence in thirty minutes."
Kaie looked at her lap. "I need to talk to Kai." She said.
Max nodded and took his arm off of her. She spun off of her seat and left the hall, her long blue hair flowing behind her. Max looked at his cereal, but he wasn't hungry.
Oh Kai. How did it come to this? You are still my captain, the strong one. How can it be your turn? How can it be?
Max, too, left the cafeteria and headed to the grandstand.
It was a close match between Victory and Ben, and only the endurance of the blades is what separated the looser and the winner. One blade stopped first, and that was that.
Ben was the winner. He went into the dish and retrieved his blade as well as Victory's and then walked over to Victory. He placed Victory's blade into his hand and then with a little bow to him he left the stadium. Rage ignored Victory completely as did Might.
Kai was up next.
He walked out with the air of someone attending a fancy party, very regally, making everyone regard him importantly. He fit his rip chord into his launcher, and then snapped on his blade.
"3...2...1...LET IT RIP!"
The battle began, the most intense battle that had been bladed, both Kai and Rage nearly winning, and nearly loosing.
But sooner or later someone had to win. It was after ten terrifying, and exhilarating moments that the winner was declared.
Kaie watched, not seeing, through hot tears. Max sat beside her, his fingers white from clutching the arms of the chair. Then, as if in slow motion Kai's blade flew out of the dish, grazing his head as it passed. Then it hit the wall and Kai stood still, not believing it, and yet knowing it was unavoidable. He looked one last time at the hooded figure, and then fell to his knees.
Thoughts rushed through Kai's mind, and Kaie felt the words that were throbbing in Kai's head as he went down.
Time.
We never realise how much it means to us until it is gone.
Time.
How much do I have left?
Time.
Kaie, I leave you here in this world, all alone. I can give you nothing. I have no...
Time.
My twin sister, surely you know how I feel. My spirit is leaving this body, and you too can feel it.
Time.
Is of the essence.
Time.
Is the essence, it is your life, your soul.
Time.
My time has come. Farewell...
My sister...
My twin...
My time has come.
And then Kai was on the ground.
Kai was down for good.
Kaie felt his message through a connection that felt as though it had not been used for a long time. It was as if a key had finally been replaced in its spot on the wall.
Kai was her twin. He had bladed so hard, only to come up a little short.
Rage put out his hand and his blade went spinning into it, then he walked away, never looking back.
Kaie felt she could have killed him right then. Rage inspired Rage, he dealt Rage, yet he showed none.
Paramedics brought in the stretcher and placed Kai on it as gently as possible, his arms folded on his chest, his blue markings greatly contrasting his ashen face, and then they carried Kai off to the hospital wing.
Kaie felt like going to her room and just sitting there until numbness overcame her, and then she looked at Max. He was the same colour as Kai had been.
Both of them were silent. Max was the one who broke the silence.
"He was my captain, my friend. And then...just like that" he snapped his fingers, "He is gone. What now Kaie? What now?"
Kaie looked at him, then looked at the vacant dish, then back at Max. Her eyes were filled with something that has no human words to explain it. Every emotion poured into her eyes, turning them a brilliant green.
"Now Max," she said, "we make a stand.
Now we fight."
There were three more battles that day, and all were finished by lunchtime. The first battle, of those three, was between Might and Lee.
The battle was a fair length, but Kaie could tell that Lee was spooked from Kai's defeat. Lee lost it and then Might took that and turned it against him.
Needless to say, Lee lost to the almighty Might.
The second of the three was between Serika, from the Rashua Fighters and Tyson, from the Raiders. Tyson and Serika were both well prepared for the battle, but it was obvious that Tyson was the favourite. Serika was strong, but he lost after a four-minute battle. Tyson, like Max, had had a hard time adjusting to this style of blading, but he still fought with honour.
After the battle Tyson took his blade as well as Serika's out of the dish and after pocketing his, he gave Serika his blade, into his limp hands.
The final battle of the three started at eleven and ended at five after eleven. The battle was fought between Rei, from the White tigers, and Kyle from the Jail Breakers.
Rei was the second on his team, as was Kyle, but the styles and ways of crating the blades were clearly different and spanned the great distance between the United States, and India.
The battle looked even until Kyle's blade, made of plastic began to splinter under Rei's Tiger Claw Attack. It only took ten seconds for the blade to be reduced to a pile of plastic, with a metal weight disk.
Rei slid into the dish without looking at Kyle and picked up his blade as well as the plastic pile that had been Kyle's blade. Then Rei climbed out of the dish and pocket his blade.
The little plastic pile Rei then took over to Kyle and then placed it in his blade pouch. Rei said something to Kyle in quiet tones, then stood up, and strode offstage, Mariah following.
Then everyone piled out of the hall in search of lunch. There was some talk, but not much. Everyone was quietly reflecting.
Kaie stayed in her room all afternoon. She just sat there looking at the ceiling. She had no idea how six hours had passed when Max knocked on her door, telling her that it was time for dinner and that Judy wanted them in the entrance hall in fifteen minutes, looking presentable, in casual wear, and not like they were bladers.
Max was answered by a quite, "OK."
Max stood with his hand just resting on the door, listening to see if she would actually get up. Max heard a mattress creek, then footsteps shuffling inside. Max looked at the ground, then turned and went to change himself.
They met in the entrance dressed as an average teen would. Max wore long silver and blue shorts, with a blue T-shirt that had flames across the bottom.
Kaie had her hair in a high ponytail, with the exception of two strands of loose hair that framed her face. She wore her red necklace and a red shirt. Kaie's jeans were neither tight nor baggy, just there.
Judy hustled them out to a waiting taxi, then told the driver to go to 'Château de vie.'
They were silent the entire ride, but during which Max got a good look at Kaie. Her eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying, and her hair which was usually without a wispy piece, was frazzled, as if she had been lying on her bed for hours. Both of which Max knew was quite right.
Kaie looked out the window, her mind blank, her body numb. Hours had just slipped away. Kaie herself was battling the next day against Cortez, and her mind was blank. Not a word or thought in it.
Numb.
They ate dinner with Luke, who had flown from New York, for dinner, making small talk the entire time. Although Max was slightly numb, he still had the sense to finish eating slightly after Luke; Kaie had to be reminded though.
As Max looked at the said girl sitting across from him at the table, worry swelled up inside him. How would she be able to blade tomorrow is she was still like this? Max knew that if she lost she would look back on this date and know that she could have beaten him, but she hadn't because she had been missing her brother.
Max decided that he would talk to her that night.
The taxi ride back was quiet, everyone was tired. As they got out, Judy said to Max, "I need to speak with you for a moment." Kaie kept on walking, up to her room presumably, while Max spoke with his mom.
"Max I just want you to know that your father and I we really love you, and if anything happened to you we would be very upset. We think that maybe you should forfeit this battle..."
"No way mom." said Max fiercely. Judy looked at her son and saw fire in his eyes.
"I am not going to forfeit no matter what. That would be giving up, and I could never do that, not after what has happened to Chief, and Kai, and all the rest of my team. There is no way that I would abandon Kaie here all by herself. Never! I am going to fight this one out mom."
Max's eyes softened and then he said in a more controlled tone, "I love you too mom, and I love dad, but this is a battle that I am going to have to weather out.
I can see where you are coming from, but I just can't... I can't give up. There is so much at stake, and it could mean the difference between everyone getting back here safe, or not. Draciel and I are doing this one together mom. For everyone."
Judy looked at her son. Since when had he become so stubborn? But she knew that look in his eye, and nothing could change that. Judy nodded, then hugged her son, and Max did the same.
"Good night Max."
"Night Mom." And with that Max was off.
Max knocked quietly on Kaie's door. There was a garbled reply, but it sounded friendly. He opened the door to see Kaie lying on her bed staring at the ceiling.
"Hey." Max said.
Kaie said nothing.
"Kaie, I know that you can hear me."
"Hello Max."
"Much better. Now listen, you are blading tomorrow against not a very formidable opponent, Cortez. I know that you can beat him; you know that you can beat him normally, so snap out of it. I am not trying to be mean, but you are going to regret it if you don't."
Kaie rolled over and looked at him. She could feel something coming through the numbness.
Max took a breath then said, "Come on, I want to show you something."
Max opened the door and stepped out. Kaie slipped out of bed quietly, and followed. Max, seeing that she had no coat grabbed hers and gave it to her.
"We are going outside Kaie."
They walk along the road to the park in silence. Max walked into the middle of the open field and sat down. Kaie followed suit.
"Look at the sky. Isn't it pretty?"
Kaie looked up, but said nothing.
"You know, everyone is up there, somewhere. All of our team, Chief, and everyone else too. Even Kai"
Inside Kaie the fuzz melted.
She could feel Kai as if he was next to her.
Kaie, don't give up, his whispering voice said. You and Max must blade with power. I know you can do it Kaie. Don't give up.
Kaie looked at Max, and Max was happy to see that her eyes were the proper green colour.
"Kai..."
"Did he speak to you?"
Kaie nodded.
"He is your twin. It only makes sense. You and I have a similar connection too, except that it is one way. You know how I feel."
Again, Kaie nodded.
"Are you ready to blade?" Max asked
Kaie nodded, her eyes determined, "Are you?"
Max nodded.
Max took one last look at the stars then stood up, as did Kaie.
The walk back left them both with their own thoughts. They got to their rooms and said good night.
"And Max, thank you."
Max smiled, "No problem."
Kaie nodded, then disappeared into her room.
Max looked at the door for a moment, then he too went into his room.
Both were quickly asleep.
O.O
9 pages. I was really on a roll!
So Questions of the chapter.
In your opinion what do you think of Max?
What about Kaie & Max?
After the tournament is done, should I just write the epilogue, or should I write a few chapters, or should I write a sequel?
Please Review!!!
Smoke Angel