Comrades
Chapter 3: Plan In Action
From Leaks & Plans…
"Now… why does this seem so bloody familiar?" Tala questioned, his voice loaded with sarcasm as he drew out his launcher and blade.
"Hmm… could it be that we've faced this array since time begun?" Kai quipped, sarcasm dripping from his words. He held Dranzer and his launcher steady in his hands.
"I suppose… All right. I guess its show time," Tala replied with narrowed eyes as the machinery in front of them started to whir. "Three…"
Clink!
"Two…"
Chink!
"One…"
Whirrrrrr!
"LET IT RIP!"
Besides Wolborg and Dranzer, a few dozens of other blades shot out from the barrels in front of Kai and Tala.
"Man, I feel like I'm back in the damned Abbey," Tala commented to Kai as he dodged another Beyblade that was aiming for his head. He spun around, grabbed Wolborg and re-launched his blade before adding, "And I don't want to be reminded of that dingy place."
Kai skidded under a few more lethally aimed Beyblades before replying gruffly, "Feeling's mutual. How bout' we destroy those shooters? I have no wish to succumb to a pile of scrap metal."
"Or soon to be scrap metal," Tala intoned as he smirked. With Wolborg back in his hands, he snapped the metal Beyblade onto his launcher and aimed for the shooters instead of the blades that were still flying out at them. "All right, Wolborg, make mince meat out of those metallic boxes! NOVAE ROG!"
At precisely the same moment, Kai commanded to Dranzer, "BLAZING GIGUS TEMPEST!"
The combination of ice and fire effectively put all the launched Beyblades out of commission and made quick work out of the shooters. They were now, in Kai's words, nothing more but a pile of scrap metal. Well, barely a pile considering that the boys did a very good job in destroying the shooters, which no doubt cost a pile.
No pun intended.
When Tala and Kai were sure that nothing would leap at them from the heap of junk, they both let out breaths, which they barely realized they were holding. Neither had forgotten their Abbey trainings, which was a great help in this situation, but looking at the destruction they had caused brought their suspicion levels to a new high. This was all obviously a set-up. A ploy to lure them here… for whatever reason. It would've been wise to leave straight away, but the notion proved futile for they soon noticed that the main doors were now tightly shut and locked with no way to break through. Since backing out wasn't an option, going forwards and facing whatever that was going to be thrown at them was the only way they would have a reasonable chance at getting out. Eerily, everything here reminded them of how Boris worked. Someone they didn't want to be reminded of.
"Well, I guess we've got only one way out of this," Tala said, his voice calm and neutral.
Kai agreed, "Yeah. Busting our way through."
"Kinda reminds me of an obstacle course from the old days."
"Just a hell lot more dangerous."
"Right. Let's go."
With that, the two boys moved off quickly into the welcoming darkness. They sprinted through a poorly lit corridor before rounding a corner to face a bunch of laser guns. Very Abbey-like. And very unpleasant too. But with a practiced ease and grace, both Tala and Kai dodged them, never realizing that they weren't actual laser guns. Just some things to look like them.
After a few more corridors with the 'laser guns', the two youths came up against a long corridor with gun-shaped shooters sticking out from the metallic walls. It was styled in the same way as the examination corridors in the old Balkov Abbey, which no doubt brought back some unpleasant memories and a whole new bout of suspicion. Drawing out their launchers and blades, the duo prepared to take on a whole new barrage of Beyblades.
Pretty soon, many Beyblades were flying around the two boys who were busy dodging and counter-attacking using their own blades. But a few minutes into the battle, the nature of the opposing blades changed and Beyblades with fire surrounding them appeared out of the launchers.
Tala didn't like the sight of the fiery Beyblades. The resemblance of this building's 'security system' was far too alike to the Abbey's for his own comfort. It brought back a distinct creepiness. But he shook it aside, knowing that Boris was still locked up in jail. And would be for a very long time. Which meant this was some sick joke that a soon-to-be very sorry someone was playing. He made no effort to sound this out to Kai. He was sure the slate-haired youth would've picked it up already.
"Hn. Borisl though lacking in the creativity department, does know the meaning of originality," Kai half snorted in reply as Tala smirked at hearing it.
"I can't wait to get my hands on the sorry fellow who decided we needed this," Tala added, a sadistic gleam in his eyes as he cleared another dozen of fire Beyblades with a well placed ice attack from Wolborg. If not for the Beyblades that were keeping his attention, Tala would've been gladly planning the demise of the person, or persons, behind this. And it would a slow and extremely painful demise as well.
"I'm sure I wouldn't like a homicidal madman as a friend," Kai said pointedly, apparently noticing the change in Tala's expression. Then with his own smirk, he added, "And I'd like some part of the action myself."
Tala chuckled in reply. Well, thoughts could remain as thoughts. They needn't always be materialized into concrete reality. Then a few moments later, the fire Beyblades were all duly down and out for good. Cheers, Tala thought sarcastically.
"Man, they're doing good," a female voice whispered in awe.
"Very good," a few more voices, all female, chorused. They seemed very near to the stage of drooling. "They're totally awesome."
In front of them were several video screens, each showing different locations of the building. The current one that was the most interesting was a screen showing the two Blitzkrieg Boys battling dozens of electric Beyblades. And so far, the electricity surrounding the blades had jolted neither boy. It was a remarkable sight seeing Tala and Kai twist, jump and do about any conceivable (and even some inconceivable) movements to dodge the blades and launch their own Beyblades simultaneously.
The others in the control room, males no doubt, were also stunned by this acrobatics they were seeing. They were just about a millimeter away from wanting to bury themselves in the ground for witnessing these almost unearthly but excellent skills Tala and Kai truly possessed.
But of course, none of the two said young men had a clue that they were being watched. And admired, no less.
"Electric Beyblades? Now that's a new one," Tala muttered to himself as he brushed off some dust from his clothes. Then to Kai, he asked, "What do you reckon we'll be up against next?"
"Just look in front of us."
Tala raised an eyebrow but looked all the same. His azure eyes widened slightly.
In front of them lay an open door. And through the door, they could see what seemed like a large Bey Stadium. And standing on one side of the Bey Stadium were two figures that seemed suspiciously like…
"Brooklyn and Garland," Kai finished, as if he had read Tala's line of thought.
"Well, let's not forget our manners and go say hello." Tala's voice was casual, slightly mocking, but the tightness around his lips and tense posture all but screamed that he was wary of the situation.
Both him and Kai had some bad blood with Garland and Brooklyn. And it had not been entirely resolved as of yet. To see those two, coupled with their experiences down the corridors, set their minds whirring away, trying to find a logical explanation that didn't fall into the revenge category of reasoning. But unfortunately, no amount of analytical reasoning helped in providing a different answer. Any other answers sounded much too illogical to be true.
The duo entered the stadium slowly, their movements seemingly languid and at ease. It was all but an act. They would not let anyone see them afraid. Not that they were in any case. The sounds of footsteps made the duo already inside the stadium turn around.
Rich cobalt faced off against icy azure.
Composed teal clashed with hardened amethyst.
There was a tense silence for a few moments as each pair tried to out stare each other. It was finally broken when Brooklyn slowly smiled in his usual serene and rather mysterious way. Then the orange-haired youth spoke in measured tones, "So, how has it been? Kai? Tala?"
"Unbelievably fine," Tala snapped back in response, slightly irked by the calmness that Brooklyn was exuding. He would never understand how the orange-haired teenager could be so serene at all times. "We'd really love another appointment with hazardous Beyblades flying around, trying to slice us apart."
"But since we don't think there's enough working equipment left, you can call us back next time," Kai added, following Tala's line of sarcasm. He started to turn back towards the entrance of the stadium.
"Not so fast," Garland called. "You weren't brought here by accident."
"Oh really?" Tala questioned, folding his arms across his chest and raising a blood-red eyebrow. "We guessed as much, you know."
"We'd like a rematch. A tag-team rematch," Brooklyn replied slowly, almost drawling.
"Right here. Right now," Garland emphasized.
Kai and Tala shared a look. In the one look, a few messages were conveyed, which led them to agree to take on the challenge. Their opposition was great Beybladers and besides, there still were some scores to settle amongst them. Why not now? And they had taken the liberty to 'invite' them here. Though not without some not-too-pleasant surprises installed beforehand. And without a red carpet. The duo mounted the steps and onto the raised platform that protruded over the large Bey Dish. Whipping out their launchers and Beyblades, the foursome prepared for battle.
"Three…" Garland started.
"Two…" the other three joined in the countdown.
"One…"
"LET IT RIP!" There were the sounds of ripping cords as four Beyblades detached from their launchers and flew violently towards each other, ricocheting away as they collided in mid-air.
Once the four Beyblades' tips touched the metal surface of the dish, the battle was properly underway. Mainly attack-styled, the blades charged at each other. It was a clash of the titans. And this time, both sides were determined that there would only be one winner.
Black locked with cobalt.
Golden and silver went head-to-head.
The blades spun, attack rings scraping at each other as attack after attack was delivered. Tala, playing true to his style of endurance, gladly took in hit after hit of Garland's strong attacks. It was the first time Wolborg had been pitted in a real battle (other than that day against Kai) and Tala was beginning to see the full power this new design had. Appollon's attacks were being absorbed without affecting much of Wolborg's spinning velocity. Having enough of just soaking in the attacks, Tala commanded Wolborg to counterattack and his blade gladly responded. Tala thought he heard Wolborg give a bark of eagerness through their mental link. Still, both parties were evenly matched.
With Kai and Brooklyn, both blades were furiously grinding at each other, locked stalwartly in the middle, whereas Wolborg and Appollon were doing a complicated dance on the slopes. Having battled Brooklyn twice, and nearly losing his life in the process, Kai was warier now. Though he was convinced that Brooklyn was no longer his psychotic self, the darkness that Zeus controlled was still very powerful. Like Black Dranzer – just that Zeus was no artificial bit-beast. Kai had no wish to lose this battle at any rate.
Suddenly, Zeus and Appollon backed away. Then in a flash, the two blades disappeared before reappearing next to their opposing blades, having switched opponents now. Which meant Brooklyn was against Tala and Garland was taking on Kai. This meant that all four Beybladers had to keep their wits about as they had never bladed against each other before. The battle progressed with close shaves for both sides. It was a tightly fought battle, yet neither side found the need to bring out their bit-beasts yet.
That is until Brooklyn and Garland put out their new trick.
The BEGA duo turned their attention solely on Wolborg and both Zeus and Appollon charged towards the gray Beyblade. Dranzer tried to intercept, however Appollon broke away and attacked Dranzer. Brooklyn smiled serenely again, his teal eyes much like a calm pool you could relax in. However, that was a very dangerous expression that Brooklyn could have during battle. One that Kai recognized immediately. Only this time, the impending doom was aimed for Tala. Kai opened his mouth, having in mind to warn Tala. But Garland was having nothing of that and made an attack on Dranzer, which nearly flipped the cobalt Beyblade out. Kai had no choice but to concentrate on his side of the battle – and pray that Tala could avoid the King of Darkness.
Tala, on the other hand, saw nothing unusual in Brooklyn's expression. He just thought that the orange-haired young man was trying to irritate him with his calmness. But that was soon dispelled when he felt a strange, but foreboding, prickling feeling up his back and saw a black whirlpool beneath him and Brooklyn. Brooklyn appeared to be floating a few feet above his whirlpool, while Tala had the distinct feeling he was sinking. It was confirmed to be true when he looked down at his feet.
"W-What's happening?" Tala asked to no one in particular.
"Don't worry… this is just a preparation of my special attack," Brooklyn replied, the smile ever present on his face. Just that it seemed rather smug to Tala.
Tala had no time to retort before he was completely under the blackish liquid. He felt himself falling, yet still able to see Brooklyn's calm face. Had Tala not known better, he would have called Brooklyn a smiling Devil right then. Tala felt a wave of negative thoughts starting to push into his mind. He fought them back. He needed to concentrate on the battle. Then:
"Sayonara, Tala… KING OF DARKNESS," Brooklyn stated, ever the calm soul.
That was when the pain swept in along with the negative thoughts and painful memories of his childhood. Tala gasped underwater, though no sound came out from his mouth. His mouth was open in a silent scream. He could see nothing in this dark watery dungeon, or whatever it was. All he could feel was pain, physically, mentally and emotionally. He was reliving some memories he wished had never existed. Then when those ended, his own negative thoughts set in.
Why can't I see anything? Why can't he escape this? Am I so weak? I am… I am weak, aren't I?
Where is Wolborg? I need him here. Has Wolborg abandoned me? No… Don't…Kai watched, rather horrified, as Tala collapsed to the ground, ice blue eyes unseeing, almost lifeless. Kai didn't know how someone looked like after being hit by the King of Darkness attack, but he knew that Tala was definitely experiencing the effects of it. This wasn't good. In fact, Kai realized that he could somehow feel what Tala was going through, what the redhead was thinking about… just to a lesser degree. And he didn't like what he was sensing.
"Well, well, it seems like defeating you two is easy once we've got one of you down," Garland said with a smirk from his side of the dish. "I really thought friends would help each other out. Zeus is thrashing Wolborg into oblivion!" Brooklyn turned his calm smile to Kai at that last comment.
Kai gritted his teeth, almost grinding them to stop himself from lashing out at Garland. The smirk and smile was infuriating enough, but the words from the silver-haired ninja stung. However, they were true. Wolborg was taking a beating and was only spinning by some sheer miracle, or perhaps Tala's preference for the endurance style of play was really paying off. As for the friends bit to Garland's statement… Kai didn't quite know how to react. He wanted to help Tala, but it would take the redhead's own will to pull himself out of the depressing depths. Unless…
"Appollon! RADIENT THUNDER!"
Kai quickly snapped his attention back to the battle and called, "Dranzer! BLAZING GIGUS TEMPEST!"
Flames burst out from Kai's blue Beyblade as Dranzer appeared in a form of a mass of fire, shaped like a phoenix. Then the majestic phoenix could be seen clearly as she let out a fierce war cry. A red force field surrounded Appollon's yellow blade as Apollo made his appearance, growling at the opposing bit-beast. The two bit-beasts flew at each other, as did the Beyblades. Fire streaked out from behind Dranzer, while a crack followed the trail of Appollon. An explosion resulted from the forceful and power-charged collision between the contrasting Beyblades.
As the smoke from the blast cleared, the two blades that had collided were revealed to be still spinning. The other two blades were still in battling too. However, Garland wasn't going to take any chances and ordered a counterattack, which Dranzer dodged. But that was the plan. As soon as Dranzer was out of Appollon's range, Zeus swept in to engage in battle. And Brooklyn wasted no time to call out his King of Darkness attack. It was a direct hit and Kai found himself in the same kind of abyss as he was in before.
Well, maybe not totally the same. Kai found himself being able to sense Tala's presence although he couldn't see the redhead. It appeared that they were in the same mind-meld. Though how it happened to be so, Kai had no idea. Could Zeus choose what to do with his attacks? However, that was the last neutral thought Kai had in his mind. Soon enough, the effects of the attack came into play.
But as if that wasn't bad enough, Garland and Brooklyn started taunting the duo. And about the topic they were the most sensitive about – friendship.
"I remember a speech about how Beyblading and friendship go hand in hand," Garland said, his voice sounding very smug to Tala and Kai. "At first, I didn't fully believe it. But now, I see what Tyson means. Don't you, Brooklyn?"
"I was wrong to put down its power then. Now, this is why we work so well together in battle."
"Unfortunately, they don't seem to get it. They've been teammates since the World Championships and yet they aren't even on good terms with each other!"
In the darkness of their minds, Kai and Tala were jolted out of their depressing thoughts by that statement. How dare Garland comment on such a thing when he knew nothing about them? It was starting to anger both youths despite the fact that the darkness created by Zeus' attack was supposed to make them feel nothing but their insecurities. But that wasn't the last of the taunts they heard in a seemingly conversational chat Garland had with Brooklyn.
"I remember that Kai was watching my battle against Tala and he didn't do anything to stop the battle. Even when Tala was taking a beating. He practically didn't care about his team captain."
"Certainly not what one would do for a friend."
"And I'm sure he knew what Boris was up to even before he joined BEGA. Thinking back, I thought Kai should have intervened and not join up with us. He seems to put the past behind and forget the good and bad so easily."
WHAT! Kai thought as Garland's words sunk in. He did not forget his past. He did not forget the evils Boris committed. He did not forget that Boris would never change. He never forgot. He just, just chose to foolishly ignore them… Which he now knew, led to big mistakes… Mistakes he didn't know if he could ever fully correct… fully undo…
"Shut your mental trap, Kai! You've undone those mistakes already!"
Kai blinked. It sounded like… Wasn't that…?
"Yes, you idiot. It's me, Tala!"
"I am not an idiot, Tala."
"Oh? We'll see about that next time. Now, we've got to get out of this mess and throw their words back at them."
The taunts continued from mainly Garland. Brooklyn, given his nature, was not one who easily taunted people; he merely agreed with Garland's statements. As the insults grew in intensity, though all hitting the right spots strangely enough, the anger flared up in both Kai and Tala. Garland had no right to say all those things. He had no idea what they had been through since young. He didn't understand anything about them. Most importantly, Garland and Brooklyn would never understand the way their friendship worked.
Kai growled low in his throat as the insults hurled at him and Tala increased. He could feel Tala's immense distaste and anger strongly through their link. They were friends. Damn it. Just that they didn't show it outwardly didn't mean that they were enemies! Hearing Kai's thoughts through the same mental link, Tala agreed wholeheartedly with the slate-haired youth. He felt like pummeling Garland to the ground… the silver-haired young man deserved it. Both boys felt each others anger flare until eruption point. And at that moment, they simultaneously agreed that they would be friends until the very end. There would be no more hiding from themselves and each other. Then…
"Hey Kai? Is that you over there?"
Kai turned his head, half-surprised he could actually move so freely. The previous times he had been in here, he couldn't even move so easily. The darkness was like quicksand, dragging him downwards. His amethyst eyes widened fractionally as he saw Tala floating a few meters away from him, azure eyes fixated on his own.
"It's me all right. And we've got to get out of here."
"No shit, Sherlock. We'll have to do it together… friend."
Kai nodded as a sudden light appeared before them both…
In the real world, Garland and Brooklyn were prepared to deal the finishing blow at any moment as it seemed obvious that their opponents were in no shape to continue. Then, suddenly, they saw the two collapsed figures stir. Garland and Brooklyn blinked twice in disbelief. Then slowly, painstakingly, Tala and Kai pushed themselves up from the ground and staggered to an upright position, fists clenched tightly. They were bruised from the previous attacks and were panting slightly, but other than that, both boys seemed to have suffered no damage mentally.
"You will not take us down so easily," Tala declared, his ice blue eyes now focused with such intensity it could've burned a perfect circle in the ground like a laser beam.
"You will not insult us and get away with it," Kai added, his eyes burning into Brooklyn and Garland's. The fire in him was once again lit up.
"You will pay for dismissing our friendship."
"We are friends. Believe it or not."
"We've denied it for too long. But now we know otherwise."
"And you will feel our strength!" the Blitzkrieg Boy duo chorused determinedly. At their last word, their blades reacted strongly to their masters' surging emotions. Both blades increased their spinning velocity and glowed in their respective colors of stunning red and brilliant blue.
With a ping, Dranzer collided forcefully with Zeus, sending the black Beyblade flipping into the air. At the same moment, Wolborg pushed Appollon to the edge of the dish before flipping it too. Simultaneously, a long howl and a piercing cry echoed around the stadium as the phoenix and wolf appeared in all their glory. Fire blazed and icy mist clouded the air. Both elements clashing yet harmonizing at one fine line, where the flames licked tenderly at the caress of the mist. The border between two conflicting elements. A boundary that two friends agreed on. Fire and Ice would never mix well, but working together was of little difficulty now.
"You think we don't know the meaning of working together? The meaning of having a close bond with another?" Tala hissed as his anger fueled his speech, "Well, you're dead wrong."
"We've been through trials and tribulations together since our childhood in the Abbey. We know each other better than anyone else!" Kai added, eyes glittering menacingly.
"We've faced down countless horrors in what? Sixteen years of life! We've saved and supported each other for more times you can imagine!"
"Your petty attack won't do anything to break our friendship, our trust in each other!"
Garland and Brooklyn were pretty much stunned into silence at the sudden comeback and somewhat by the words too. The battle could still go either way, but it seemed the two before them had a much higher chance of winning than before.
"Dranzer! Attack!"
"Wolborg! Smash 'em!"
"Go Appollon!"
"Zeus!"
The four Beyblades met at the central point of the dish, each grinding away at the opposition. It was like a reverse tug-o-war match, each side trying to push the other down. Slowly, but surely, the blue and gray Beyblades began to gain the upper hand, pushing the yellow and black blades backwards.
Kai and Tala shared a look. This was it. It was the time to destroy their opposition and leave them ruing about ever insulting them. Or even luring them to this spot in the first place. Mist began to rise from around Wolborg once more as flames ignited around Dranzer.
"Any last words?" Tala taunted, folding his arms in front of his chest with a smirk.
Garland and Brooklyn chose not to reply.
"Very well then," Tala said. Then with a feral, wolfish grin, he commanded in what sounded like malicious delight, "Wolborg, attack! NOVAE ROG!"
In a rush of wind, snow and hail, the mythical winged-wolf appeared with a long howl. Swirling snow and hail blurred the surroundings as ice started to form on the surface of the dish. As a blast of freezing air swept past Garland and Brooklyn's Beyblades, both blades were then encased in a thick layer of clear ice. The wolf then swept in for the kill, smashing the ice around the Beyblades like they were brittle glass.
Ice shards flew everywhere, but directed mainly towards Garland and Brooklyn. Wolborg's special attack destabilized the spinning momentum of both victimized blades, which gave an advantage to Kai and Tala. No time was wasted as Dranzer sprung into action quickly following after Wolborg's attack. The cobalt Beyblade glowed a vibrant reddish-gold as flames ignited around it in preparation of the final attack.
"BLAZING GIGUS TEMPEST!"
Having already been rather battered by the ice attack, Zeus and Appollon could barely withhold against the sudden change into a strong fire attack. As a piercing cry was heard in the air, flames consumed the two blades as a blue one smashed into them.
Everything then seemed to play out in slow motion. The flames slowly faded as two blades flew into the air – smoking – spinning upwards and outwards. Then they landed with a metallic clatter on the platform where Garland and Brooklyn stood. The battle was officially over.
At the other end, Tala and Kai both smirked. They'd done a great upset, all right. It looked like their opposition would be winning. But with them blading together, united, the results would be very different. Like now. Like in the past. And very possibly in the future too. It was then they noticed that Garland and Brooklyn didn't seem very unhappy about the result. In fact, both teenagers were… smiling? WHAT?
"All right now. You guys can all come out," Garland announced to the seemingly empty stadium with a satisfied smile on his lips. 'Seemingly' being the key word.
More lights snapped on, revealing a group of Beybladers spread out over the stadium. All of them wore impressed looks, and a few of the females looked to be on the verge of tears.
What in the world is going on? Tala thought as he eyed the group. Then his eyes widened as he noticed Bryan and Spencer amongst them. Now this is getting weird…
Kai looked around him before glancing at Tala. Their eyes met at the same time, both looking somewhat confused. They didn't have time to continue pondering as a couple of bodies crashed into them and they found themselves enveloped in bone-crushing hugs by six girls. And all six had tears streaming down their faces.
Tala and Kai tensed slightly, unused to such close contact – with girls no less. The tears from the females were wetting their shirts but for some reason, they couldn't seem to be able to pry them off. It could be due to the fact that there were six of them or it could be because they were in shock. Either way, they were feeling rather awkward standing there, and listening to things like…
"That was (sniff) so (sob) sweet!" Ming-Ming.
"It's (sob) you two are (sniff)… It's… so (sob) touching." Matilda.
"You two seemed so cold… so (sniff) emotionless (sniff). But… oh (sob)…" Mariah.
"I (sob) that was… so (sniff) touching!" Julia.
"In all my life, (sniff) I never thought (sob) you'd be friends." Emily.
"You've been through (sob) so much (sniff)! I can't believe (sniff) why we didn't… didn't see it sooner!" Hilary.
Finally regaining the use of their limbs, Tala and Kai started to shift, hoping to be able to get the girls off them. At the same moment, they finally realized that all they had gone through, including their rematch against Brooklyn and Garland, was a big set up… for them to become friends. Still, it was immensely difficult to even move, having six pairs of arms around you in equally tight embraces. Both boys shared a semi-exasperated look and then noticed that the other Beybladers – all males – seemed to be quite amused at their situation. Especially Bryan and Spencer, who both knew full well that their teammates disliked such close contact. Tala shot a death glare at his chuckling teammates, which only served to increase their soft laughter.
"Um… we'd really appreciate it if you could get off us," Tala said as he fidgeted to prove his point.
"And we don't want angry boyfriends or overprotective brothers after our hides," Kai deadpanned.
With breathless giggles that were punctuated with sniffles and sobs, the girls pulled away from the two Blitzkrieg Boys. Then Emily stated the most obvious thing that had changed in both youths' statements: "When did you start using 'us' and 'we' in reference to the two of you?"
"Well, it must mean that it was a job well done!" an older voice chortled from a corner of the stadium. Mr. Dickinson had entered the building with a big smile on his round face. The plan had gone well, but Mr. Dickinson had a feeling that the plan didn't just serve to make Kai and Tala become friends. It served to make the two stoic teens bring their friendship out into the open and tighten their bonds. If he remembered a certain silent but significant exchange correctly…
The duo looked at each other again. Their deductions were correct. It was a set up. A plan that would only work by luck that they would respond in the 'correct' way. Which was to fight back instead of sinking into the depths of depression at the King of Darkness attack. They had probably counted on Kai and Tala's nature of never letting people live with hurling insults at them and never backing down from a challenge for everything to work. It was a rather risky plan. And since that they had pretty much announced to everyone about their friendship, there was no point in denying it again.
With a genuine smile on his face, Kai held out a hand and lifted an eyebrow at Tala. This prompted the redhead to chuckle slightly before smiling and clasping his hand with Kai's. At that moment, the stadium broke out in a resounding cheer that echoed and bounced of the walls of the building.
"Whoohoo! The plan worked! We did it!" Tyson's voice could be heard clearly over the din. It was obvious the navy-haired teenager was ecstatic that everything had gone so well without either Blitzkrieg Boy finding anything very suspicious before they ended up in the stadium too.
Everyone present was glad that the duo had made up and was now friends. All the guys were clapping and a couple were hooting and cheering. The girls, on the other hand, were mainly just clapping although an occasional cheer would arise from them. Tears were still trickling down their cheeks.
Operation Friendship was indeed a success.
Yay! Another chapter done! I hope the plan and the way it was executedseemed logical... or at least believeable. I was laughing to myself when I decided to let the girls pounce on Kai and Tala. Heehee. The next chapter is the Epilogue. It's a short story.
Thank you to all reviewers! Love ya loads!
-- carzla --