Thank you all for the great reviews last chapter!

Anyway...the action kicks up in this chapter, but since I'm not liking the pace I've set, I'm going to slow it down a bit after the next chapter.

I'm not sure if this is going to be confusing to anyone...I'm trying to keep it simple.

So...here's the next chapter!

Enjoy if you can!

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Chapter 5 - Fallen Phoenix

Tyson and Kenny wondered around the city after Hilary, who appeared to know where she was going.

"This way!" She pointed down an alleyway and hurried down it.

The two boys followed, Tyson on the verge of collapsing.

"What makes you so sure he went this way?" The navy haired teen shouted as he regained his breath.

"I'm not sure...it's like I can feel him." Hilary replied, pretending that Tyson hadn't yelled.

"Ah!" Kenny seemed impressed. "I bet it's because of that bond between you two! I wonder if he can feel where you are as well!"

"Chief...you think too much!" Tyson sighed, rubbing his knuckles on top of the small boy's head.

Suddenly, a loud, unearthly growl erupted in the distance, followed by a huge puff of smoke, quickly climbing high into the sky.

The three teens ran over a block to see what had happened.

People that had been on the sidewalks were now crowded around a gaping hole in the middle of the street.

"What happened? Did someone fall?"

Tyson, Hilary and Kenny pushed their way through the commotion and to the edge of the hole.

"Are we being attacked?"

Suddenly, the smoke was pushed up into the sky as a dark purple aura shot out.

The crowd gasped and retreated back to the sidewalks as a figure emerged from inside the crater.

"Kai?" Tyson asked out loud.

"That's not Kai!" Hilary seemed frightened. She had fallen to her knees as she stared at the figure, black wings spreading out on each side.

An evil laugh bounced off the crowded buildings, giving it the effect that it was coming from all sides.

The wings flapped twice as they drew the being down to the asphalt.

Murmurs went through the crowd as everyone shot each other confused looks.

"Where's Kai?" Hilary asked herself, looking around. She couldn't find him. Had this creature been the one he ran off to find?

The figured walked out of the smoke and into the clear light, staring hard at everyone around him.

He was wearing a dark purple suit, hidden beneath a black trench coat. He had thinning purple hair to match, with long, thick sideburns inching their way toward the corners of his mouth.

What Hilary found most frightening was the red lensed goggles covering his eyes. They seemed to pierce into the very soul of a person, and sent strong chills down her spine.

"He's...pure evil!" The brunette gasped.

Everyone watched as his black wings folded behind him as he began to approach the crowd.

"Come on Hilary...let's get out of here!" Tyson tried to pull the brunette to her feet, but she was anchored to the spot!

"Kai!" The black phoenix called out, surprising the three teens. "Show yourself you coward!"

With that, he extended his arm in the same manner Kai had done before and shot out a dark purplish blast into the crowd, scattering them up and down the street.

He continued to scatter fire until most of the people had run to safety.

Tyson, Kenny and Hilary were forced off to the side of a building.

Hilary felt a slight twinge of panic rush through her as the man's eyes came to rest on her, an evil smirk crawling on his face.

"Excellent..." He snickered, walking slowly toward the group.

"Come on Hilary! Get up already!" Tyson heaved her to her feet and tried to get her to move, but her feet still were glued to the pavement.

The black phoenix was now only a few feet away from them.

"Stay back!" Tyson shouted bravely, standing in front of his friends.

"Foolish human!" With a flick of his wrist, Tyson was sent flying down the street into a crowd of people.

Kenny ran off after him after Hilary had whispered for him to run.

"What brave friends you have...little girl." His smile broadened on one side.

"What do you want?" Hilary demanded, her eyes narrowing. She wanted to run, but she felt that some strange magic was holding her down.

The man eyed her, taking in every inch of her body. "So you are the one that opened the tomb. You've stolen something valuable to me, and I want him back!" His voice hissed in anger as his red lensed goggles flared.

Hilary gasped. This was the man that sealed Kai away...this...was Boris!

"So you're Boris..." The brunette glowered at him. "You don't deserve Kai's power! You just exploited him and locked him away like some old play thing!"

"Ah...how quick you are to defend him...I've never seen a human loyal to the servant before...but just as well...if you are done away with, Kai will once again be free, and I will renew my bond with him!"

"And how do you plan to accomplish that!" Hilary shouted. "He'll never join up with you again!"

"He will if he has the right motives..." With that, Boris wrapped his gloved hand around Hilary's mouth.

She struggled to get away, clawing at his sleeve with all her might. Suddenly, she felt a cold aura coming from his palm, and she instantly knew that this was the end.

"Get your hands off her!" A loud growl echoed through the sky, thunder rumbling down after it.

The cold glow stopped as Boris looked around the sky.

Suddenly, in a crimson blur, Boris was tackled to the street and pinned down by a column of fire.

Hilary was instantly free to move, and stumbled backward dazed.

She felt herself falling, but before she felt the ground, she felt a warm body against her.

"Are you alright?" Kai's worried voice asked.

Hilary stared up into his eyes as he placed his hand over her heart, and a warm glowed quickly revived her.

"What...what happened?"

"Boris stole some life out of you, but I managed to break his concentration." Kai replied, helping her to her feet. "Why are you still here! I thought you would have left!"

"Well, when you take off like that, it leaves everyone worried so we had no choice but to look for you!" Hilary shouted, a little more loudly than she intended.

"Get out of here...now! I'll take care of him."

Boris broke the column of fire and charged over to Kai.

The blue haired phoenix had only just managed to push Hilary out of the way before the black phoenix tackled him to the ground, pinning him with his own weight.

Hilary found her friends, Tyson had recovered from being thrown.

"Hilary! Are you alright?" Kenny asked immediately.

"Yeah, I'm fine...you guys got to get out of here!"

"What about you!" Tyson demanded, not wanting to leave a fight.

"Kai will be fighting Boris...and he wants us all to get away...I'm going to stay, in case Kai needs me. I'll me you back at the dojo...okay?"

Reluctantly, Tyson agreed, and rushed down the street with Kenny and a sea of other people.

Hilary found a hiding place behind a dumpster in an alley and watched the fight with frightened eyes.

Kai continued to struggled under the bigger man's dead weight.

"Heh heh heh...long time no see eh, Kai?" Boris snickered, his grip burning into Kai's skin. "You look well my young Kai...I suppose your human has been treating you like one of her own!"

The younger phoenix cried out in pain as he felt his life force start to leave him. "Get...OFF!"

A large fire erupted from Kai's body, sending his enemy in the air.

Scrambling to his feet, Kai took off after his opponent, sending fireballs at him.

Boris managed to block some, sending fire crashing onto the streets below.

The two suddenly flew for each other, colliding in mid air.

Kai brought his wings around and jabbed them out in front of him, breaking the black wings off Boris' body.

He came crashing down to the asphalt in pain, moaning as he clutched his shoulders.

Kai landed gracefully in front of him a few feet away, glaring down at his enemy. "I don't know how you became a phoenix...but leave and never return!"

Boris let out another sick laugh as if those were the most hysterical lines he'd ever heard. "You still belong to me my young Kai...and I won't stop until I get what I came here for..."

"Your bond has been broken! I no longer answer to you, and never will again!" Kai roared, his crimson wings burning in fire.

"Heh heh heh..." Came another chuckle. "We'll see about that, once your master is dead!"

Weakly, he extended another arm out behind Kai, charging up a dark purple energy ball.

The blue haired phoenix glanced over his shoulder and saw Hilary's head, poking out behind a wall. He gasped, and bounded over to her.

Boris released the attack, and it flew straight for Hilary.

The girl covered her head with her arms, expecting the attack to hit her, but found herself being picked up by something warm and lifted high into the sky.

The dumpster had explode, sending garbage and debris flying all over the street.

"Kai!" She gasped, opening her eyes.

Looking around, she saw that she was at least fifty feet from the ground, and flying at a great speed through the air. She clutched at Kai's torn shirt for life, not wanting to plummet to her doom if Kai lost his grip on her.

"You...you saved me!'

"I told you to run! Why didn't you listen!" Kai stared down at her, his expression full on anger and rage.

Hilary let out a faint sound of surprise and sunk further down into his arms. "I...I thought you might need my help..."

"What could you do against another phoenix! We have powers you will never understand!"

"I...I'm sorry..." Her voice was reduced to a whisper. She felt horrible inside.

Kai sighed sadly, bringing his head down to nuzzle her hair. "I didn't mean to upset you...I just don't want to see you get hurt..." His voice was suddenly soft, and full of concern.

Hilary opened her mouth to reply, but was suddenly stopped as something hit Kai in the back, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Kai! Kai!" The brunette shook him slightly as she felt them dropping to the ground.

The phoenix seemed to snap out of it, and flapped his wings furiously before they hit the street. His breathing came in short, raspy gasps and his wings began to shake under the current of wind.

Hilary glanced over his shoulder to see that Boris had apparently fired another attack, but this time it hit its mark. Kai's whole back was scared in burns, and steam sizzled out of his skin. Even the beautiful crimson color of his wings had turned black where they came out of his shoulders, and she could feel the warmth of Kai's body quickly disappearing.

"Hold on Kai! You can make it!" Hilary egged him on, seeing that Tyson's dojo wasn't far now.

They were losing altitude fast, and Hilary feared that they would fall right out of the sky.

The phoenix was now directly over Tyson's back yard, and let out a long, exasperated sigh before plummeting down into the grass.

Hilary screamed as they descended, but Kai managed to flap his wings one more time to break their fall before he collapsed, dropping Hilary beside him.

The brunette crawled over to the fallen phoenix, shaking him slightly. "Kai!"

Tyson and Kenny tore through the dojo, seeing them fall into the backyard.

"What the heck happened!"

"He's hurt bad! Let's get him inside!" Kenny exclaimed, examining the burning wound on the phoenix's back.
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Yeah...this is going much faster than I had hoped. Sorry about that.

Anyway...as I said earlier, I'm going to take a couple of chapters to slow down and add some stuff I wanted in before. This chapter was actually going to be longer, but it was supposed to be much later in the story.

Oh well...I'm trying to make this work out...so be patient.

Also, please review!