Thanks for all your awesome reviews! They really keep me going. ^_^ I'm having so much fun with this! I don't know exactly how long this fic is going to be… I'm roughly estimating nineteen chapters, give or take a few. Probably take a few. ^^;;
JadesRose: I upload these as web pages because then I don't have to worry about it being all squished together. ;D The spacing doesn't disappear.
Enjoy.
Chapter Fourteen
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Tyson drove like a maniac towards Rei's house. He was forced to slam on his brakes a dozen times, and he was almost positive that he had grazed another car, but he would stop for nothing. His mind was racing with what could be in that letter. He was sure it was nothing helpful, since Tala was the one who wrote it. He frowned at the thought of the redhead. Everything was so confusing. He knew that Tala and Kai had grown up together, but what did they make of each other, now?
He drove gracelessly into Rei's driveway, and jumped out. Taking the steps two at a time, he banged on Rei's door. He heard Rei's voice yelling at someone to open the door, and was greeted by a smiling Caleb. Tyson paused momentarily, remembering the scene he witnessed earlier between Rei and Caleb. Caleb looked happy enough at the moment, but his deep, blue eyes held something beyond sorrow, like a scar that would never fade.
"Hi, Tyson," Caleb said. He stepped aside to let him through, and Tyson bounded inside.
"I'm here! Where's the letter?" Tyson yelled. Rei appeared in the doorway with a spatula in his hand.
"Caleb, why didn't you let Kenny get the door?" he asked, his hands resting on his slim waist. A look of annoyance crossed his features as he glanced at Kenny sitting at the table with Dizzi in front of him. Caleb shrugged and closed the door.
"I'm okay, Rei, really." He gave him a brave grin, and Rei's face softened. Tyson felt like screaming.
"I need to see the letter! Where is it?!"
"Calm down, Tyson, it's over here." Kenny gestured to an open sheet of paper on the table beside him. Tyson zipped across the room and snatched it up.
Tyson,
Hey. Long time no see, huh? I know you're wondering why the fuck I'm writing to you, of all people. Well, Kai told me about his relationship with you, and I just wanted to let you in on a few things. Let's get started, shall we?
Kai's here, at Biovolt. So is Wyatt. Problem is, I can't tell you exactly where "here" is. I've got someone delivering my letters, and even though she's one hot chick, she's not on my side. She reads through all of them, and if there's any information that could give away anything, she doesn't deliver. It's as simple as that. So, if you want to boil up a rescue plan, you're on your own.
Now, you're wondering just why Boris kidnapped Kai and Wyatt. Wyatt's nothing but a hostage; there's no real danger in that, unless he decides to do something really stupid. You see, Kai's got one major weakness: his friends. So, he's in a bit of a tight spot. If he doesn't do exactly what Boris says, Wyatt gets hurt, and we all know that Kai's too much of a righteous jackass to put Wyatt's life in danger. So, what Boris says, goes.
I should probably tell you exactly what Boris wants, in the first place. Over these past years, Boris has gone completely off his rocker. He's fucking insane. He really hates Kai, but Kai's the only one who can control Cyber-Dranzer (yeah, we're back to the whole cyber-bit-beast thing). He knows that Kai's not going to cooperate with him, so he's decided he can play God, and make copies of people. Kind of like cloning, except it's a literal copy, not starting with a baby and going from there. The treatment is a bit harsh, though. The main thing is, the body absorbs a lot of radiation, and that can kill. All my teammates are dead, by the way. Bryan killed himself, but the other two were killed by the radiation. It's not the kind that makes your hair fall out, or anything like that, it just slowly starts destroying you from the inside. Very painful. Needless to say, it's not pretty. I'll keep writing to you with how Kai's doing.
So, are you worried about Kai and if he can handle the radiation? I am too.
-Tala.
Tyson stared at the letter for a moment before slamming it down on the table. "What the HELL was that?"
Kenny jumped. "Tyson!"
The longhaired blader wasn't even listening. "Am I worried about Kai and the radiation? His life is in fucking danger, and Tala has the nerve to ask me if I'm worried? Take a good look at my face! Does it LOOK like I'm worried?! The one person that I love more than anything in the entire world has been kidnapped and is being forced to—"
"Tyson, would you get a grip?" Rei asked, once again appearing in the doorway, this time spatula-less.
Tyson turned around and glared at him. "What did you just say?" he asked in a dangerously low voice.
"Get. A. Grip."
Kenny gulped, and Caleb's fine brows knitted together in worry. Tyson was trying very hard to restrain himself from jumping on Rei and knocking his head against the wall a few times.
"You're telling me to get a grip?"
"Someone has to."
Tyson growled. "Rei Kon, you have some nerve."
Rei arched an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Yes, it's so! Kai's very life is in danger, and you don't want to do a damn thing about it! What the hell is your problem, anyway? Still bitter about past love affairs? If I remember correctly, it was you who broke up with Kai, not the other way around."
Rei's eyebrow twitched. "Tyson, you're walking on thin ice," he warned. "My life is none of your business."
"The moment it involved my boyfriend, it became my business," Tyson spat. "Do you want Kai to die?"
"What kind of harebrained question is that? Or course I don't want him to die!" Rei snapped.
"You sure are acting like it. Well, let me tell you something. I'm not content just to sit on the sidelines and watch. I'm going to do something about this."
Rei shook his head. "It's not that easy, Tyson."
Tyson gritted his teeth. "There you go, again! You don't want me to help Kai."
"That's not true! You just don't get it!" Rei yelled. "This is serious; you can't just go waltzing in there expecting your love for Kai to overcome anything! These people are not below killing to cover things up. This is your life at stake, and Kai's and Wyatt's as well. You're seeing things in black and white, right or wrong. Well, that's not how the world works! It's in shades of gray!"
"I think you're the one with the problem, Rei! There's a little something called self-sacrificing love. I don't care what happens to me, as long as Kai's okay. My life doesn't matter."
"That is the most selfish thing I have ever heard in my life!"
"How so?!"
"You're not thinking about Kai at all! Saying that is the easy way out. You get to die, and he gets to suffer in a world without you. Yeah, I'm sure he'll be real happy when he finds out about your little self-sacrificing love." Rei snorted. Tyson felt stung at Rei's words, but hid it well.
Caleb rubbed his eyes and sighed. Their voices were so loud…
Tyson shook his head. "It would be impossible to try and explain my love for Kai to you," he said. He was more than a little surprised when he saw Rei flinch.
The Chinese blader turned his head away so his eyes couldn't meet with Tyson's. "And what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I don't know the meaning of love?"
Tyson stammered a bit, seeing as he had really hurt Rei. "I don't know what I meant…"
Caleb shivered, and grasped his head in his slender hands. A tiny groan escaped his mouth, and it seemed as though the ground were coming up to meet him very suddenly. Rei's ears perked up, and in a flash, he was by the younger blonde boy's side. He caught Caleb's slim figure just as his knees gave out.
"Caleb!" He gently lowered him to the ground with the care of handling a porcelain doll. "Caleb, what's wrong? Talk to me!"
"Uhn… Rei, stop yelling," he whispered. Rei immediately lowered his voice as he stroked Caleb's fine hair, worry eminent in his amber eyes.
"I'm sorry, love," Rei said quietly, bringing his face down close to Caleb's. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Caleb groaned softly. "I don't know, I just felt so weak all of a sudden…"
"You should be in bed, and you know it." Rei gently gathered him in his arms and lifted his light frame up, proceeding to make his way to the bedroom. Tyson moved out of the way wordlessly, watching with wide eyes. The couple disappeared into the hallway. Tyson and Kenny were both quiet for a moment.
"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Tyson asked in a hushed voice. Kenny shrugged slowly.
"The most obvious explanation would be that he's ill, I guess. Or maybe he's going through some emotional trauma. I don't know."
Tyson pulled up a chair beside Kenny and sat. "He's sick? He sure looks the part. He looks so… fragile."
"That's not for sure. We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions. If Rei wants to tell us what's going on, then he can. But we're not going to go prying in his personal life. Maybe Caleb doesn't want anyone else to know… whatever he's hiding."
Tyson sighed, and Kenny glanced at him. "I couldn't help noticing the, ah, tension, between you and Rei."
"I don't know what's wrong with him, but it seems so much like he doesn't want to help Kai," Tyson said frustratingly. "But forget that for now. This letter." Tyson tapped the paper in front of him. "What can we get from it?"
"Well, unless Tala's lying, we know that Kai's alive and semi-well."
"He's in a shit-load of trouble! He could die, for Pete's sake! We have to do something about it."
"If you ask me, I think we should wait a bit and see if more letters arrive. They could be a big help."
Tyson blew out his breath and turned around in his chair, away from Kenny. "I know I've been acting like a total jerk lately… and I'm sorry if I hurt anyone. But this is the hardest thing I've ever faced in my life. I love Kai, I really do. I didn't know it was real, true love until I kissed him for the first time, but now I do know. I just want him back with us, safe. Why does all this crap have to happen now, just when I've found something great with him? Life is such a bitch… it's not fair at all. Kai shouldn't have to go through all this, and Rei shouldn't have to go through whatever's going on with Caleb. I shouldn't have to worry so much, and neither should you, or Max, or anyone else." Tyson reached up and wiped his eyes. "I knew that life was no picnic… but I didn't know it was this hard."
"You don't have to apologize, Tyson. If I were in your shoes, I would be doing a lot worse."
Tyson forced a grin. "Thanks, Chief. Really, thanks. If it weren't for you guys, I don't know what I would do."
Kenny shrugged. "What are friends for? Anyway, the only thing to do now is wait. If we get more letters, then maybe we can figure out… something. At least we know Kai's not going to give up, and neither are we."
Tyson nodded. "Yeah, Kai would never go down without a fight."
* * * * *
"Ugh, I give up! Get out of my room, Tala!" Kai sat up and snatched a glass off his nightstand, throwing it at the redhead. Tala ducked and the glass shattered against the wall.
"What the fuck is your problem? I'm trying to help you!" Tala protested.
"I didn't ask for your help!" Another glass came flying at him.
It had been seven days since Kai and Wyatt had arrived at Biovolt, and each day, Kai felt he was being pushed closer and closer to edge of his sanity. The only time he got to see Wyatt at all was when he was in the lab, and Wyatt was with Dan, serving his duty as a good hostage. The treatment stayed the same, and Kai felt fatigued and unsettled after every one of them, as if something very wrong was going on inside of him. On top of all that, Tala had been fussing over him constantly, as if he was going to die any minute. Solitude was hard to find, and even when he was alone, he was unhappy with his thoughts. He thought about Tyson at every waking moment.
A full night's sleep was even scarcer, and he would lay awake at night for hours, his dreams always ending in tears. Since he wasn't sleeping properly, he was ill tempered and cranky throughout the day, and always tired. His body ached constantly, and he knew Tala would have a cow if he found out that he'd been having trouble stomaching what little he ate in the first place. The vomiting had become more frequent, and he was becoming to distinguish traces of blood in it.
"Kai, stop it," Tala said, cutting across the room. Kai had been throwing fits and going through major mood swings lately, and, sooner or later, Tala knew Kai would stop missing purposely and catch him in the face with either another glass, or his fist.
"Get out! Leave me the hell alone! God, is it too much to ask for a little peace—"
"Would you get a hold of yourself?" Tala reached his bed, where Kai had been sprawled upon before he started chucking objects at him.
"I will as soon as you leave!"
"I'm not going anywhere." Tala snorted. "I'd have to be crazy to leave you alone while you're acting like this."
Kai growled in frustration and was about to throw a book at him when Tala climbed on the bed and grabbed his wrist, forcing him to drop the heavy novel. He pinned Kai's wrists down and straddled him, bringing his face down close to the other boy's. Kai struggled in his grasp, throwing him a look of extreme dislike.
"If you don't stop throwing things at me, I'm going to hurt you," Tala threatened. Kai continued to fidget.
"Like… you… could!" Kai broke one wrist free and pushed him off of him. Tala tumbled onto the bed beside him. Kai was about to stand, but Tala yanked him back and pinned him down once more.
"Calm. The hell. Down." Tala glared at Kai. There was a silence in the room before Kai finally relented with a deep sigh. He turned his face away and Tala loosened his hold cautiously. Kai took advantage of his move and shoved the boy aside, standing quickly. Tala groaned.
"Kai Hiwatari… you don't play fair," he complained, making no move to get up. Kai left the room in a huff, slamming the bathroom door behind him. Tala lay still on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "So this is what you stare at all night," he muttered, looking in distaste at the blank plaster. He glanced over at the nightstand, and saw Kai's keys thrown absently to the side. He didn't have any use for them here.
Tala sighed and moved his fingers over the soft fabric on the bed, his mind elsewhere. He had continued writing to Tyson, but since he couldn't give anything away about Biovolt, he had no way of knowing whether he was even getting the letters. And Jazzlyn was starting to get annoyed with him.
He heard a groan come from the bathroom, and Tala sat up. He was still for a moment, and he heard nothing more. He slid off the bed tentatively and went to the bathroom door.
"Kai?" he called, knocking. "Are you all right?" There was no answer, and after a moment, a pained moan came floating back. Tala felt his heart skip a beat.
"Answer me!" Still no response, but Tala knew something was wrong. He tried the doorknob and found it locked. With a growl, he turned and scanned the room for something he could pick the lock with, to no avail.
"Kai, are you okay? Open the door!" Tala tried the knob again. He backed away from the door and surveyed it. The door was nothing but flimsy wood. A child could easily make a dent in it.
"Damn you, you stubborn jackass," Tala muttered. "I'm going to get in trouble for this."
The door to Kai's room suddenly opened, and Sam stuck his head in. "Tala, do you have to yell so much?"
Tala ran over to him and dragged him inside. "Sam, you have to open the door! Kai's inside, and I think he's sick."
Sam walked over and tried the knob. He reached in his pocket and took out a screwdriver.
"Kai? I'm going to open the door. If you're naked, uh… say something."
Tala snatched the tool out of Sam's hand and pushed him aside. "Who gives a fuck, he could die in there! I'll do it myself." Tala unscrewed the lock, and dropped it to the floor before pushing the door open. Sam didn't go in.
Kai was kneeling on the ground with a hand over his stomach. Tala stopped short when he saw bright red blood streaked across the toilet bowl. Kai's mouth was bloody, and his eyes were closed.
"My God!" Tala dropped to his knees beside Kai and put a hand on his shoulder. Kai shuddered and opened his eyes, wincing in pain. Tala gently moved Kai's face toward his.
"Were you throwing up blood?" Tala asked. Kai moaned and suddenly collapsed in Tala's arms. Tala panicked.
"Kai! Oh, fuck, say something!"
Sam came in at that point and knelt beside Tala. His face was grim, and he didn't say anything about the blood. Tala had his arms around Kai's slender frame with a very worried look on his face.
"Tala, go lie him down on the bed," Sam said with a frown. Tala looked up at him and shook his head.
"I'm taking him to the infirmary," Tala declared. A tremor ran down Kai's spine, and he moaned.
"No…"
Tala looked down, tightening his grip around Kai. "Why not?"
Kai opened his eyes. His forehead was against Tala's shoulder, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with longing to be in Tyson's arms once more. He closed his eyes again, and he couldn't stop the tears from coming. Tala fell silent when he heard him crying. Kai succumbed to the despair that had been raging in his soul for what seemed like an eternity. His hands gripped Tala's shoulders as he wept, and after a moment, he felt Tala's arms slip around him and hold him closely. Kai fell into his embrace and let go of Tala's shoulders, burying his face in his hands. His body shook from the force of his sobs.
"I hate this," Kai managed to say. "It hurts all the time…"
Tala couldn't tell if Kai was talking about emotionally, or physically. He decided it could apply to both, and leaned back slightly, giving Kai some room. Kai wiped his eyes.
"Kai," Tala said softly, needing confirmation. "Were you throwing up blood?"
Kai hesitated before nodding. Tala closed his eyes briefly, feeling fear stabbing at his heart. He shifted his position and put his arm around Kai's shoulders, helping him stand. Sam came around and, without warning, slid his arms under Kai's knees and lifted him up, bridal-style, and carried him out of the bathroom. Tala followed and watched as Sam laid him on the bed gently. Sam then went back to the bathroom, probably to clean up the blood. Tala knelt beside the bed.
Kai had his eyes closed, and his breathing was shallow. Tala bit his lip.
"Hey… I need to know a couple things. You think you're up to it?" Tala asked. Kai opened his eyes.
"Uh huh…"
Tala swallowed. It was like reliving a nightmare. "Does your stomach hurt?"
"Yeah…"
"And you already said you were throwing up blood. Was this the first time?"
Kai paused before shaking his head slightly. Tala's stomach lurched.
"When did it start?"
Kai's voice was barely audible. "About… three days ago."
Tala closed his eyes. "Fuck, Kai, why didn't you say anything?"
His gray eyes were trained unseeingly to the ceiling. "I don't know."
Tala shook his head and sighed heavily. He felt as if someone was ripping him apart. He didn't like Kai… Kai was a traitor, and when he had come back, he had received all the glory and completely stolen the show. Then he left again, leaving Tala and the other Demolition Boys with Boris. Now he was back, but it was against his will. But for some reason, Tala did not want to see Kai die, much less in any pain. It didn't give him any satisfaction seeing Kai suffer like this. Maybe it was because he had completely given up any hope after all his friends had died. But then Kai showed up… and a tiny flame had flickered inside of him. As much as he had disliked him, Kai was the only person who was above equal to him. Together they could have been able to do something… they could have changed the circumstances in their favor.
Tala's light blue eyes gazed hopelessly into space. If there was anyone who could overcome even the toughest of obstacles, it was Kai. But he had this unshakable feeling in his gut.
Kai would die, too. Just like the rest of them.
* * *
TBC
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Foreshadowing? Only I know! Muhuahua! :D
Anyway… please review and tell me what you think. Oh, and I'm just curious… do you ALL hate Caleb? Does anyone feel the least bit of sympathy for him? I've grown quite fond of the lad. ^^;; But everyone hates him. Well, tell me what you think! Oh yes, and have a happy new year! ^_^ Don't ya'll get too plastered this time around.