Disclaimer: Still don't own it...
A/N: Well, a little reprieve from the darkness until next chappie... Enjoy!
Oh, and dorogaya means dear in Russian.
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Craving Freedom
Chapter 5: Waking to a Dream (part 1)
An odd sensation nipped at Kai. Birds were chirruping outside the window. The songs of the birds brought a smile to Kai's lips. It was a morning just like any other but Kai felt happier than he ever had been in his life. He didn't know why the peace of the new day made him feel this way, but he never wanted it to end. He pulled his sheets closer to his body. Their softness just made him smile more. He was thankful for everything around him.
"Kai, are you up yet?" a soft woman's voice asked from outside his door. Kai opened his eyes. It was like a voice of an angel coming to greet him. His heart fluttered.
"Yes mother," he responded. Satisfied with his answer, she left and returned downstairs. Kai lifted his body from the mattress and dangled his legs from his bed, slipping into his slippers. Getting up, Kai looked outside his window at the cloudless day. The sun that shone in was hot; the day was beautiful. He dragged himself to the washroom to get ready for the day.
After he was dressed, Kai grabbed his schoolbooks and went downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. His mother was there serving the hot breakfasts and fixing Larissa's collar, Kai's younger sister. "Good morning," he said cheerfully. His family looked up.
"Hurry up, Kai," his mother smiled, "you don't want to be late." Kai grabbed a piece of bread and kissed his mother on her cheek. "You're not going to eat anything else?" she inquired.
"No, I have to go. I promised I'd meet up with Tanya," Kai explained. His mother just smiled and bid him a good day. Kai left.
Minutes later, Kai was at the porch of another house in the neighbourhood. He rang the bell and Tanya opened the door. Tanya was a beautiful brunette with luscious lips and sparkling eyes. It was her brown eyes that were always her first feature to attract Kai. Her hair was soft and wavy and flowed down her back. Today, apart from her school uniform, she wore the pearl earrings that Kai had bought her for her birthday. Kai kissed her in greeting. "How are you, dorogaya?" he asked.
"Wonderful," she answered looking up at him. Kai wrapped his left arm around her shoulder and they walked together towards the inner city. Tanya was Kai's girlfriend of two years. He had met her after school one evening when walking home and had an instant bond with her. Her school was just across the street from his and so they were able to walk together in the mornings and afternoons. Kai stopped outside the gates of her school and told her he'd see her later. Then, he left.
At school, Kai met up with Nikola, his best friend since childhood. They walked together to class. "So, anything happen between you two yet?" Nikola asked. He nodded back to the street. He had obviously seen Kai with Tanya. "You said you'd ask her soon."
Kai smirked. "Well, I figured that I should wait until the weekend," Kai said.
"So then, do you have the ring?" asked Nikola.
Kai reached into his breast pocket. He had put the ring there after buying it, waiting for the right moment to ask for Tanya's hand in marriage. He loved her so much. He couldn't imagine spending his life with anyone else. To him, she was perfect. He loved her personality, he loved her body, he even loved her flaws. And he planned to propose to her with the sleek gold ring he had bought.
Nikola looked at the ring with awe. "Oh, you actually like this girl!" he said sarcastically.
"Ha hah," Kai replied in a dull tone. Nikola always had that dry sense of humour. Kai placed the ring back in his pocket. At last, they had arrived at their class and the conversation broke off. Another long day would be in store for Kai.
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The bell rang and Kai got up from his seat. "Kai, want to come over to my house tonight? We can work together on our homework," Nikola offered.
"Nah, I'm planning on seeing Tanya tonight." Nikola gave him a look but didn't say anything. He just left shaking his head. Kai smirked but remained silent as well.
When Kai exited his school, he was surprised by a pair of arms wrapping themselves around him. It was Tanya. She had a large smile on her face. "I missed you." She kissed him. "Let's get out of here." They walked away from the school.
That night, Kai and Tanya lay by the river in each other's arms, keeping the other warm from the cool of the Russian night. Kai knew that that was where he wanted to stay. And he felt a call from his breast pocket. When he asked, Tanya ecstatically said yes. Yet in the back of Kai's mind, he felt a sense of wonder. He had never felt so happy, in fact, he couldn't remember feeling happy before at all. But the feeling passed as Kai believed it only to be because that moment could never have been matched before.
The two lovers watched the river's calming flow. It ran towards the horizon, towards the future, and that future seemed to have no limit. Kai hugged Tanya tightly before turning to go. It was awfully late and he was well past his curfew time. They also still had school in the morning and needed to turn in for the night. Kai walked Tanya to her block corner and said goodbye. He watched her retreating back as it headed for her house.
Early in the morning, Kai returned home. He snuck into the dark house and made a break for his room only to be stopped after three steps. "You're late," a singsong voice said from the blackness. Kai turned. In front of him, his youngest sister, Kiska, stood smiling mischievously at him.
"Oh, it's you," Kai sighed. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Where've you been? Out with Tanya?" she said slyly.
"That," Kai retorted, "is none of your business." Kai crossed his arms.
He looked over at her again. She had her usual fake innocent look with pleading eyes. Kai shifted his gaze again to the floor. Still feeling those eyes on him, he glanced back. She was pouting sweetly. Kai sighed again and then smirked. "Ah, come here." He caught her in his arms and began to tickle her on her belly just as he used to when they were younger. Both of them fell to the floor, laughing loudly.
A minute later, the hall light came on and his mother appeared at the top of the stairs. The two siblings on the floor could only grin sheepishly up at her. Sonia, Kai's mother, held her forehead in her hand and smiled. The scenario brought back old memories of when her children were younger and she couldn't help but love them for it, even if they were waking up the entire household in the process.
Kai beamed. Life could not be better.
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"Is it all clear?" a voice uttered from a tangle of bodies.
"Yeah, I think so," came a small squeak. Kenny could barely lift his head high enough to see out of the trunk. Slowly and cautiously, the four boys and one girl climbed out of the car. They looked around.
They had stopped in a small, underground parking lot. The walls around them were partially covered with metal and partially with cement plaster. All the cars parked there were similar in colour and in style. Looking around, they saw an elevator on the far wall. It must have been where the man who brought them there had gone; there was no where else he could have gone.
Running up to the elevator doors, the Bladebreakers saw the story numbers illuminate and fade as the elevator rose in the building. Finally, it stopped at floor L1. Ray took note of the numbers. There was a number P which he believed was where they were now: Parking level 1. Then there were numbers L1 through to 3. 'L' could stand for a number of things but in this case, it seemed to make the most sense as Lower floors 1 to 3. There were two other floors he couldn't figure out, however. The floors R1 and 2 escaped his comprehension completely. Lastly, there were the floors H1 to 3. These also remained a mystery to Ray.
Ray continued to look around. He noticed the amount of security it would take to even operate the elevator. Beside the button to call it, a touch pad, video screen and card swiping machine were attached to the wall, awaiting use. "Guys, I don't know what we've gotten ourselves into. How are we going to do this?" Ray voiced his concern. They were evidently in a high-security complex in which would be almost incapable to move around, let alone find someone.
"Come on, we've wandered through tighter security buildings than this. We can do it," Tyson said optimistically. Nothing would stop him from finding Kai. Tyson quickly studied the walls and soon found what he needed. About three meters up the wall to the left was an air duct that would lead them into the building past all the security. This way, they would be able to travel much faster. Tyson pointed to it and everyone understood. Ray, being the tallest, hoisted the others, one by one, up on his hands to climb into the passageway.
Crawling along, the Bladebreakers managed to climb up three flights to stop on the same floor as the goon from the apartment had. Tyson poked his head out of the vent to make sure that nobody would see them. Dragging himself out, Tyson got to his feet. They were in another metal-lined hall, cold and emotionless; it added a sense of fright to where they were. If they were caught, consequences could be beyond terrible. Right now, all that mattered was finding Kai undetected.
Wandering the halls, they found no one. No guards or workers. It was beneficial but left them with a sense of worry. What if they had already been found? What if Voltaire was waiting for them to fall right into his trap? They wouldn't see it before it was too late.
As the group continued onward, they came to a vast area, a research area three stories high, lined in brick walls. They were on the balcony of the third floor. In the centre of the room, many people in white lab coats were crouched over an operating table. Ray then realized the truth of the L levels. 'L' didn't stand for Lower levels but for Lab levels. These were the laboratories.
"How is it?" a familiar voice asked from below. Voltaire had just wandered up to the table where the scientists worked.
"It is working well," the one in charge of the operation stepped forward toward Voltaire. "Sir, we have just received it and it should be installed within the hour."
"Very good," Voltaire smiled. It was an evil grin. He was evidently very pleased. "Do not forget to install the chip as well. I don't want him thinking for himself."
"Yes sir," the head scientist bowed.
"Well, I'll be back in three hours. I expect him up and ready by then." Voltaire turned to leave.
The head of the leader shot up so quickly it was in danger of being snapped. "But sir," she said suddenly. Voltaire looked back seemingly very bothered. The scientist seemed to look flustered and appeared to want to take back her words.
"What is it?" barked Voltaire.
"Sir," she bowed, "it would be impossible for him to be up by that time. He will need at least a week at the very minimum."
Voltaire looked beyond reason. He glared at her murderously. "He will be up and ready for battle in three hours. No more!" Voltaire turned and left, his cape-like coat flew behind him. The scientist was anxious. She turned back to her team. "Alright, let's get this done as quickly as possible," she sighed.
They continued their work as the Bladebreakers continued to look on. The scientists took sharp utensils and replaced them on the table covered in blood. At last, the operation was over and the scientists stepped away to clean themselves. On the table the Bladebreakers saw a familiar face. Kai lay on the table restrained and bloody.
"Kai!" Tyson yelled suddenly. Max, Ray, Kenny and Hilary looked up at him, shaken. "Kai, wake up!" he yelled again.
"Tyson!" Hilary whispered.
"Get down here," Kenny murmured.
They both grabbed Tyson by the shirt and pulled him down. It was far too late however. Guards were already on their way to where the group was. Within seconds, the Bladebreakers were surrounded and being dragged off. Tyson glanced back to the lab table where his best friend lay motionless.
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Awww.... The good ol' workings of Kai's mind. What will he dream up next? You'll have to wait to find out. winks Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed that last little bit of light 'cause in the next chapter we'll be taking a plunge into darkness. Well, stick around and please review!
CrystallineWolf: Thanks for reviewing! Answers to your questions will be coming up soon. smiles
Light Of The Blue Rose: Glad you like the story. I'll try not to hurt Kai TOO much... heh though no promises.
MasterFranny: I got to see Tala finally beat someone on Friday (Happy now). Anyways, okay... the Wyatt thing. For my fic, it is as if the school they (Kai and Wyatt) attended in V-Force was in Russia. When Kai returned to Japan to the Bladebreakers, Wyatt followed asking Kai if he could teach him some new moves (let's say during a school break). After the unfortunate incident with Wyatt, he returned to Russia and is now in a mental institute there. I hope that cleared up some things... If not just ask again and I'll try and answer. Smiles
Well, next chapter will be Waking to a Dream (part 2) who'da guessed? heh 'Till then!
They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. -Tom Bodett
- Fey Phantom