A/N: First of all, thanks for all your votes and reviews!
And indeed, the votes of yours have made a difference! There is no more a tie, but a close-call, so one vote can still change everything.
ReKa fans, this will most likely please you. The Tiger has been catching up fast! Few more votes, and he will challenge the current leader.
Okay, okay, on with the story.
Hiding in a creepy, dusty room, three boys held their breaths as the door-handle twitched a little, and the door opened soundlessly, torturously slowly. As the door opened, they saw Boris Balkov stood in the doorway, glowing in the moonlight. The gun in his hand seemed to be shining.
" I'm going to count to three, boys", the man announced. " The sooner you choose to show up, the less this is going to hurt".
None of the three moved, and after Boris had slowly done the counting, his eyes flashed dangerously and he pulled up the gun.
" As you wish", the man said, starting to walk around the room. " But I did warn you".
Boris' gaze suddenly detected another drop of blood before a huge, antique casket, and a cruel smirk revealed his teeth. With a look of a predator in his eyes, he soundlessly begun to approach it.
From his own hiding-place, Tala could see where Boris was going and felt his heart skip a beat. Tyson was hiding behind the casket!
I've gotta do something!Taking a deep breath, he stepped up, revealing himself to Boris. The man turned his head, and his eyes glowed evilly as he locked his gaze to Tala's resolute blue orbs. The red-head showed no fear.
" Do you have a death-wish, Tala?" Boris inquired, approaching him.
Tala's eyes flashed.
" It's 'bout time to show you that there's at least one person still kicking in this world, who wont bow down to you", he hissed through clenched teeth.
Boris was at that moment right before him, and to reward his bravery the man stroke his fist painfully right in the middle of his face. Giving a small, enraged moan, the Russian flew to the floor.
" You've been very brave, but you're also a filthy traitor". Boris looked at him, eyes dark. " Do you know what the Abbey-rules say about traitors, Tala?".
Eyes burning, the Russian looked straight into his trainer's sinister eyes.
" Yes".
" Good". Boris raised his gun, pointing it straight to Tala's forehead. " Remember Tala, you chose this way".
" As if you had ever given them much of a choice", a new, female voice suddenly hissed from behind Boris.
Surprised and outraged, Boris turned his head to see the intruder. He never got a chance to see her, however, before a huge vase was smashed against his head. After wavering for a while, the man finally fell down, unconscious.
Lifting his head from Boris's unmoving form, Tala looked in disbelief at the girl before him. She had long, fire-red hair that fell for a long way down her back. She had red pants and an orange-red top. Her eyes, that held the same colour as her hair, seemed to be burning.
Tala knew immediately who the girl was, and gave a gasp of shock.
" How?" he whispered.
Slowly leaving their hiding-places, Tyson and Ray both became stunned as they saw the girl. As she turned her head to look at them, Ray found himself shaking as a ridiculous thought struck him.
" You…", he whispered. " Dranzer?".
The girl nodded solemnly.
" Yes. My Master send me to help you".
Tyson blinked his eyes, unable to understand what was going on.
" But… How?". He blinked again. " How did Kai…?".
Dranzer shook her head to interrupt him.
" There's no time for explanations". Her eyes showed deep concern. " 'Til today, I've managed to keep Kai alive with my powers, but now that I'm no longer with him…".
" He's running out of time", Ray filled, eyes widening. " We've gotta go, NOW!".
" Wait!". They looked at Tala. " What are we going to do with Boris? He'll wake up any minute now!".
They didn't have to wait for the answer for too long. Running steps were heard from the stairs, and after a while a group of polices rushed into the room, their guns prepared. Seeing that there was nothing going on, the leader of the group put out his gun and frowned.
" Neighbours reported us that shots were heard from here". Just then he saw Boris laying on the floor. " What the heck happened!".
" Hey Stan, isn't that Boris Balkov, the one we've been searching for a month?" one of the policemen suddenly asked before the teens had a chance to talk.
The leader of the group gasped as he looked at the man on the floor again.
" Yeah, he is". He looked at the teens. " Look, I'll have to ask you some questions…".
" Can't that wait 'til later!" Tyson cut in, sounding like was on the verge of tears (which was probably the case). " Look, we've gotta get to the hospital, it's a matter of life and death!".
The leader of the group, Stan as they now knew him, sighed.
" I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to let you leave before everything's sorted out", he replied.
" Just put one of your men with us!". Ray was really close to loosing his temper completely, and he had to tighten his fists not to hurt someone. " We're running out of time here!".
Seeing the anxiety in the four teens' eyes, Stan sighed again and looked at one of his men.
" Rex, would you go with them? Don't let them out of your sight".
" I won't", the one introduced as Rex promised, looking at the teens. " Lets go then".
The group didn't have to be told twice. Running faster than ever in their lives, they rushed downstairs and towards Rex's patrol-car, praying that they weren't too late.
Hilary struggled desperately and felt tears run down her face as he witnessed the doctor and two nurses' desperate attempts to make Kai's heart beat again. She wanted to scream, wanted to so badly, but the crushing grip Voltaire still had on her prevented her.
" I think this is getting rather boring. Lets go", Voltaire announced.
Powerless to stop the man, Hilary let him drag her along, looking at Kai with tears in her eyes.
Fight, please! Don't leave me! KAI!
Inside the room, Dr. Nichols had strands of sweat running down his face as he once again tried to make the boy fight for his life.
" 3… 2… 1… CLEAR!".
Another jolt made Kai twitch, but he still refused to breath, refused to come back.
" C'mon, boy, fight!" he muttered, tough he knew that Kai couldn't hear him.
Suddenly he remembered something and turned his head to see the two deeply shocked, crying boys still standing behind him and watching. He then looked at another one of the nurses.
" Stella, would you guide the boys away?" he asked in a weary voice, deeply exhausted.
With a nod, the nurse did as ordered and gently escorted the shaken boys out of the room. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for another attempt.
" 3… 2… 1… CLEAR!".
Meanwhile, Hilary was dragged from a small door into a corridor, towards stairs that lead downstairs. She wanted to fight Voltaire and get to Kai, but she wasn't strong enough and the hands around her made it hard to breath.
" Where… are you… taking me?" she managed to ask, tough talking was almost impossible.
" I'm going to leave this rotten place, and for that, I need a shield". He pulled her even closer, and her breath was cached into her throat. " And when I'm safe, you'll follow my pathetic grandson".
" If anyone is pathetic, it's you", Mr. Dickinson's voice suddenly hissed. Turning around, they saw the man standing not too far away, with five polices behind him. " You're going nowhere but jail".
Hilary gave a small, wheezing gasp as the knife on her throat squeezed closer.
" Do you wish me to kill this girl, Stanley?".
" Make another move, and these men are more than pleased to shoot you", Mr. D growled, his usually gentle face filled with hatred and disgust. " Don't push it, Voltaire".
Slowly, so slowly that Hilary thought it wasn't for real, the hands around her released and the knife fell to the floor. As the police roughly graphed Voltaire and handcuffed him, Mr Dickinson gently took her into his arms. She was surprised to notice the tears running down her cheeks.
For how long have I been crying?, she wondered.
The thought, however, was soon pushed aside as the image of Kai rushed back into her mind. She looked at Mr. D, widened eyes filled with panic and anguish.
" Kai…", she whispered in a voice that clearly gave out everything she was feeling.
Looking more solemn than ever before, Mr. D nodded, and without saying a word they started to run towards Kai's room, praying that they weren't too late.
A short while later, a patrol-car pulled up to the hospital's parking-lot, and without waiting another second the four teens begun to dart towards the building, hardly noticing Rex who desperately tried to keep up with them.
None of them could count the stairs they'd run as the familiar hallway was finally ahead of them.
" Kai's room… should be… somewhere… there…", Ray panted heavily.
" Thank… God!" Tyson gasped, barely able to breath.
The exhaustion was soon pushed aside as they came to the hallway and the sight greeted them. They all stopped dead on their tracks. Hilary was crying harder than they'd ever seen her cry before in Mr. Dickinson's arms, and the man couldn't hold back his tears either. Max had fallen to a seat, seeming paralysed, and they could all see tears running down his pale cheeks. Kenny was sitting near Max, his brown hair covering his eyes, they could clearly see that he was shivering. In front of the group stood Dr. Nichols, looking sad and exhausted, saying something they couldn't make out.
Giving each other worried looks, they walked up to the group.
" Thank goodness you're alright!" Max sobbed when seeing Tyson.
The navy-hared teen barely noticed his friend. His focus was on Dr. Nichols.
" What's going on?" he demanded. The man didn't reply, and he had to tighten his fists not to do anything he'd regret later on. " Look, I need see Kai! It's vital!".
" I… I'm sorry, but… I afraid it's too late". The man gulped, almost in tears. " He died ten minutes ago".
TBC.
A/N: Oh Gods, you are gonna kill me now, aren't you? But, hold down your axes and knives 'til the next chapter, please! This story wont be going anywhere if you murder me now…
So… Will the Phoenix rise from the ashes once more – or will Voltaire win? Next chapter will tell…
And yes, keep reviewing and voting! The saying 'one vote can make a difference' might sound lame, but it's true!
