A/N: Hey, guess what? I got my first flamer! Actually, I don't really care, just thought I might tell the whole world for fun about people who can't grasps the concept of 'fanfiction'. Whatever. Now that I've spent five precious minutes typing that, let's move onto the story. I'm in a bit of a rush now so I can't respond to your reviews now. Next chapter, promise!
Thanks to: fallen phoenix of darkness, c-tesshin, Leaha, Shitza, Krys-Jez, SapphireSword, SandraZaniteZanitiy, Roni, Hikari Strife, FenixPhoenix, dark angel, Moi, faith, Sarah M.G, kidishcaresh, Beyblade-gal, kakashi87, Mystic Black Phoenix, krage, MyOwnWorld and princessmoi.
Chapter 40
11:59 p.m.
The numbers of digital clock the table by the bed glowed bright red in the darkness, revealing the time. All was silent, the occupants asleep after an exhausting day. Outside, the storm had passed but the smell of rain still lingered along with the light breeze that fluttered the curtains of the open windows. No one sensed the dark figure moving silently across the room, pulling on her duster. She stopped by the table where Dranzer's blade rested and pulled out her own blade from her pouch. The Bit was glowing, the sacred spirit within desperate to get out. It pleaded in her mind for her to stop her suicide mission or to at least not to leave it behind.
I have to, Draizer…if Boris gets his hands on you…
She tuned out its worried pleads, knowing well she couldn't bring it with her. True, her Beyblade would be an asset if she brought it along but she didn't want to risk it. She had to leave it here where it was safe. Gently, she laid it next to Dranzer. The phoenix Bit started to glow as well, sensing the wolf's distress.
Ignoring both, she glided silently to the door and paused, glancing back at the sleeping youth, looking so peaceful. Her gaze softened with love for him. Her hand went to the phoenix pendent Kai had given her. A movement caught her eye and she looked at the clock.
12.00 p.m.
Time to go.
Casting him one last fond gaze, she left the room swiftly. The door clicked softly after her. Kai stirred but only slightly.
Moving silently like a shadow, Jade made her way to the training room to retrieve the weapons she intended to use. With both sais securely tucked in the sleeves of her duster, she slipped away into the night.
Darkness surrounded Jade like a comforting cloak, concealing her movements and allowing her to slip from the hotel grounds, undetected. Even though the hotel was heavily guarded to prevent raving fans from breaking in, she made sure no one saw her. She was certain no one saw her. Once in the open, she started making her way across the city, taking an old path that hasn't been used in years. It was even possible the last person who used it was she herself as a child running away from the place that ripped away her childhood. Moving through the dark was little like trusting your instincts to guide you through a time tunnel.
Fire flicked through her cell window, lighting up the darken cell and casting distorted shadows across the hallways. Guards were shouting something about Black Dranzer. The smell of smoke was overwhelming, choking her. She had to get out!
Removing the safety pin from its hiding place in her boot, she started working on the lock. During one of her training sessions, she had snuck it into her pocket, intending to use it to escape one day when she was ready. Now was the best time as any. A moment of satisfaction filled her when the lock finally gave away and the door swung open. She stepped cautiously into the hallway, making sure they were no guards. There was none. It seemed that everyone was busy rushing over to the main building where the fire had started and was spreading fast. Using her photogenic memory of the abbey carefully stored away in her brain, she hurried through the maze-like hallways, ducking whenever a guard ran pass.
An explosion echoed across the night as she slipped outside, keeping to the shadows. She glanced up, watching the flames rise higher and higher as if it were reaching to the night sky. From within the flames, an ear-piercing shriek and the sound of beating wings over-powered the distressed shouts of the guards and scientists.
Black Dranzer…Kai…
She knew instantly what happened but she couldn't bring herself to dwell on it. This was her only chance to escape, probably the only chance she will ever get. In her palm, she clutched her Beyblade close to her, praying to God to protect her. Draizer's Bit glowed, a faint light in comparison to the raging furnace that destroyed the main building of the abbey. It was urging her to follow its guidance. She did and it led her to an underground basement of the abbey. There was a trapdoor in a corner of the abandoned room. Knowing it was too heavy for her small frame to pull open; she used a long stick and wedged it between the gaps. With a lot of effort, she managed to force it open and below, darkness welcomed her. Yet she hesitated, looking back.
"Tala…"
With unshed tears in her eyes, she let herself drop into the hole. She landed in a sewer. Even in the darkness of the tunnel, Draizer was leading her. After what seemed like hours of walking through the foul-smelling tunnel, she came upon a ladder. Climbing up it, she pushed open the trapdoor it led to and lifted herself from the hole. Her body was trembling from fatigue as she slumped onto the floor.
So tired…just need to rest…
She didn't even realize the moment she passed out. When she came to, it was still dark. Faint star sparkled outside the dusty single window of whatever room she was in. Body aching, she pushed herself up and gazed about the room. It was too small almost like a box and dusty. Frowning, she found the door and pushed it open. It opened with a creak, making her wince. In awe, she stepped forward and realized she was in a church. She had just stepped out of a confession room. The tunnels had led her to a church.
She smiled slightly. The irony.
As her gaze wandered over the magnificent building, judging by the dust that had gathered and the broken windows, she knew the place was abandoned. No one was coming here any sooner. Yet the statue of Jesus crucified on the cross still remained in one piece before the altar where she stood. She mouthed a thank you to the statue and quickly left the building.
Outside, she could see in a distance the faint glow of red and orange against the Russian night sky. The siren of fire engines screamed through the night. She wept silently for those left back at the abbey she had just escaped from. Even now, she can never truly be free.
He'll come after her. That was a fact she knew and accepted.
As her small frame slipped past the church gates, she turned and looked back at the once- glorious building. It had in some ironic way saved her life. Without really knowing why, she closed the gates and secure the chains that hung there with an old rusty lock.
Then without looking back, not even once, she walked away.
And here she stood once again. Before the closed gates that would led her to the church she had came upon so many years ago. She had learnt not long after her escape from the abbey, that the church was abandoned during the Russian Revolution in 1917 and used to store weapons for the war. The trapdoor was used for escaping and transporting weapons. After the war ended, it remained abandoned and unused. It wasn't until years later did Biovolt Corporation bought the land the church was on to keep away unwanted neighbors and had left it unattended since then.
Jade stared up at the building, feeling as though she could relate to it. Once filled with a holy purpose, now stripped away to an old building that has seen better days. Like her. Once a happy innocent child, all that was taken away with the death of her mother and her being taken away to the abbey.
I wasn't ready four years ago…I am now.
The last time she was here, she had padlocked the gates shut; that same old lock was there and still holding but as years have caught up with it, it was rusty and it gave away easily beneath the blade of one sai. The gates swung open with a protesting creak. Jade followed the inner driveway to the building that still stood. The doors gave away to her gentle push and she strolled into the church, making her way down the aisle to the altar. Her gaze wandered the church from the roof, down the wall, and across the floor, examining the delicate artwork that was once the pride of the Russian empire. Finally her eyes rested on the center of the altar. For a long moment, she gazed up at the statue of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross.
Father in Heaven, please grant me your guidance and your protection. Protect those I seek and do not let any harm befall them, she prayed silently. Especially Tala and Alexis…
Mom, I hope you're watching over me…
"Amen."
The word was whisper but it echoed back at her through the empty sanctuary. She lifted her head and sighed.
Time to get down to business.
All-business-like now, she headed to the confession room, hoping the door hinges has not rusted away. Thankfully, it hasn't and she opened it and stepped in. Her keen eyesight found the trapdoor she had emerged through years ago. Coats of dust had covered it, making it invisible to the naked eye. But not her. Years of experience had taught her to see the unseen. With a strength she did not possessed as a child, she lifted the trapdoor and stared down at the tunnel below. The smell of dry sewer made her nose wrinkled. She dropped down into the hole and started making her away through the darkness.
Time to go back to where it all started.
It started as an echo, a distant cry of a phoenix and a lonesome howl of a wolf. It echoed in the back of his conscious like a mere distant dream. Soon it drew. Louder and louder.
The phoenix's cry grew into a loud demand of attention while the howl turned to into a snarl of frustration. They rang in his head causing the youth to wake up with a start.
Crimson orbs flew open as he sat up, alert for immediate danger. His senses took in his surroundings, trying to detect an intruder. There was none. Frowning, he grew aware of the lack of warmth next to him and he swore under his breath when he realize it wasn't about who was in the room with him. It was about who wasn't.
Jade wasn't in bed.
A glow caught his eye and he glanced over at the blades on the table across the bed. Both blades were glowing with a rare urgency as if they were trying to tell him something. Something important.
Instinctively, he knew something was wrong.
Old memories lurked in every corner of the abbey. Jade suppressed a shiver once she was within the abbey. She emerged from the same basement she had used before. To her relief, by the looks of it, it was now used as a storage room. Crates used to transport sciences equipments were stacked in piles in corners of the room. Judging by the amount of dust, no one hasn't been here in a long time. Good. No one was going to noticesomething at missed then.
As she stepped out into the hallway, she allowed her senses to expand. She couldn't hear any footsteps but there was a buzzing sound she was all-too familiar with. Following the sound, she found the labs. It amazed her every time how the authorities never found the laboratories underground. Then she reminded herself, even the authorities can't be trusted. There were people working in those labs despite the late hour. That didn't surprise her. She knew the scientists here were paid to meet the director's demands by achieving the results he wanted. It didn't surprise her to find those scientists working on children younger than her.
It just sickened her to her core.
But she can't stop to help them, provided they wanted her help in the first place. These children were taught into believing that Biovolt was here to help them, to make them stronger. They were brainwashed into believing the world would be a better place under Biovolt's control. Since most were orphans, a world under Biovolt was better than a world where no one acknowledges their presence. Only few saw the truth and the lie that was this place.
Jade moved on.
The deeper she descended into the heart of the abbey, the more memories resurfaced. Bad memories that still haunted her sleep. But she had to admit, not all her memories were bad. She particularly remember taking pleasure in annoying Boris by disobeying his orders, fighting against him with attitude sometimes purposefully in front of Kai and the Demolition Boys just for laughs. Tala once said she had a twisted sense of humor. She had to find humor whenever she could. There was so little reason to laugh about then. Of course, she was punished for her rebellious attitude but to her, it was worth it.
Old habits die hard.
The thought prompted a smile on her face but it faded quickly. She couldn't afford to dwell on the past now. The whole underground section of the abbey was dark but she knew her way around more or less. Months of planning and memorizing the abbey layout as a child in order to escape reemerged, guiding the way for her. She had to hurry.
Lives counted on her.
If she succeeded, there was a big possibility she'll bring down Boris and Voltaire for good. Probably forever. No more living in fear. No more looking over her shoulder as an act of caution. No more running.
And if she failed…
Not going to happen, she told herself.
She moved faster now, instincts and memories taking over. So far her luck held up and she has not come across any guards. She knew her luck wouldn't last forever but when it did run out, she was ready.
She just needed to find the prison cells where she knew the Demolition Boys were being held. The hallways seemed endless. At times like this, she wished they had signs to point out the direction. On your right are the training rooms and on your left are the laboratories where gruesome experiments are conducted…
As if.
"Come on." she muttered as she sprinted down a dark hallway. "Where are those damn cells?"
She turned at a corner and that was when her luck ran out on her. Two guards were positioned at a door and when they saw her, they shouted and started to reach for their firearms. Without breaking a stride, she reached for her weapons at her belt and threw them with acute aiming. They only managed to take aim at her before two ninja stars struck their guns, jamming the triggers.
Startled to find their guns not working, the guards barely had time to react before Jade took the first one out with a spinning kick. She dodged the second guard's left hook and lifted over him in a somersault. A quick reverse kick to his jaw sent him sprawling into the ground and his head connected with the hard concrete, knocking him out. Both guards were left unconscious as she stepped over their bodies and kept moving, deciding now that this was the right way.
It was the guards' alarmed shouts that drew Ian awake from his light slumber. Alert the moment he woke up as he had been trained all his life, Ian got up from the thin mattress that served as a bed and peered through his prison bars. With a sickening pang, Ian noticed that the cell next to his was empty. Dark brown stains marred the grey mattress but it has not been touched since they last saw their captain. He glanced at his other teammates and was relieved to see them. Across him, in their own cells, Spencer and Bryan were doing the same. Confusion and curiosity was clear all over their faces as they wondered what was going on. All the shouting and gunfire wasn't giving them a clue what was happening.
"Get her! She's just one girl!"
"Don't let her reach the cells - Ugh!"
It didn't make any sense. Unless…
The metal door that led to their cells burst open without warning and a girl dashed in, not giving the two guards within the room time to response to her intrusion. A swift chop of her hand to the guard's neck and he was knocked out immediately. Still in motion, she grabbed the other guard's hand as he was reaching for his gun and twisted it so that he'd drop the gun. Her other hand fished into his pocket and retrieved the card key needed to open the cells with a stealth and smoothness a thief would envy. Kicking his legs out from under him, she planted her foot on the back of his neck and twisted. He fell limp.
"Jade!" Ian gasped in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"What does it look like, shorty?" she shot back as she flashed the card through the reader. The locks of Ian's cell retracted. "I'm getting you out of here."
Ian pushed open the door and stepped out, unconsciously pulling himself up to his full height which wasn't much. "Don't call me that!" he said defensively.
"I speak the truth and nothing but the truth." she quoted. The smirk on her face when she heard Ian's annoyed growl was visible as she proceeded to unlocking Bryan and Spencer's cells. Within seconds, they were all standing around Jade. She handed them the guns she had retrieved from the guards she had taken out, knowing that they knew how to use the weapons. "Get the others out. Head to the old wing basement. There's a trapdoor there. Take it. It'll get you out of here." she paused, her gaze flicking over the three boys. "Where's Tala and Alexis?"
Ian cringed but it was Bryan who answered. "The guards came for him five hours ago. We haven't seen him since then."
"And Alexis? Where is Boris holding her?"
"No idea." Spencer said. He checked his artillery, noting with satisfaction and a bit surprise to find it was still fully loaded. "We haven't seen her at all."
Jade nodded once, mind working fast as she took in this information. She started moving towards the door at the other end of the room. A hand reached out swiftly and grabbed her upper arm, stopping her at her tracks. She glanced back sharply, eyes narrowed to see who dare stop her. Not surprisingly, it was Bryan.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
She shook off his hand. "To get Tala and Alexis." she answered shortly and started moving again.
Bryan's eyes narrowed. "Jade-"
"You guys just get out of here!" she called back before she fired a kick that broke the door and was gone.
The three Demolition Boys exchanged wary glances, tore between going after her and saving others who needed help. Jade was a big girl and a dangerous one at that as seen and proven. She could take care of herself.
It was Spencer who spoke up. "Well, you heard the lady. Let's go."
Kai glanced up at the clock on the wall of the living room, feeling a twinge of annoyance, frustration and worry when he saw that it has been an hour since he had woken up and discovered that Jade was missing. Earlier he had assumed she had gone for a walk. Now he was beginning to get worried. It wasn't the first time she had gone off without telling him but it certainly was the longest. He kept telling himself that she probably couldn't sleep because she was too worried about Tala and the others and that she had gone out for some fresh air. He of course had no idea how partly correct he was.
To calm his nerves, Kai had prepared himself a cup of coffee and sat down to wait for her. The drink remained untouched as he just sat there, nursing the cup between his hands. It was barely past two when he heard one of the bedroom doors open quietly and close in that same manner. Quiet footsteps padded into the living room and came to a stop.
"Kai?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ray looking at him in surprise and didn't bother to reply.
"What's up, Kai?" Ray asked in his concern good-nature way. "Can't sleep?"
"Hn."
Ray sighed and strolled over to where the coffee pot sat, still hot. He helped himself with some coffee and sat down across Kai. He sipped his drink, relinquishing the bitter sweet taste. His amber eyes darted to the closed door that led to Kai and Jade's bedroom and an amusing thought came to mind.
"Did you and Jade have a fight? Did she kick you out? Is that why you're out here?"
Kai shot him a glare that could melt ice. "She's not here." he said bluntly.
A perplexed look crossed Ray's face and he blinked. "What do you mean?"
"She was gone when I woke up and hasn't return since." Kai said.
"Maybe she went for a walk." the tiger suggested.
"For an hour?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Oh." Ray frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe she went to train."
"If she did, she didn't take Draizer with her." the words drifted from his mouth as the blue-haired teen's eyes narrowed. Abruptly, he stood and headed back into his room.
Confused by his captain's sudden reaction, Ray abandoned his drink and hurried into the room as well to find Kai standing over the table. He was staring at his blade in his hand. Dranzer was glowing fiercely now, similar to the light Jade's Draizer was casting in the dark room. It was unusual to see both Bitbeasts acting this way.
"Kai, what's it?" Ray asked, getting worried when he saw the troubled look on Kai's face. It didn't help when he felt Driger's anxiety in the corner of his mind as well.
Grabbing the other blade, Kai brushed past Ray in a hurry. His crimson eyes were dark with fury as well as something. Something Ray couldn't find a word to describe. It was worry and a sense of foreboding rolled into one. Kai's mind was racing, wondering how he could not have seen this coming. Her words…
'Promise me you won't do anything stupid like go after Boris'
His jaw tightened. Dammit…
"Call Mr. Dickenson and tell him that Jade's gone. Then wake up the others." Kai barked. "I'm going ahead."
"What?" Ray grabbed Kai's shoulder as he headed to the door. "Going ahead where? Kai, what's going on?"
"I know where she is." Kai said darkly. "And I'm going after her."
The haunted look on his friend's face was enough to answer the next question that occurred in Ray's mind. Frozen at his tracks, he realized as Kai had just figured out, where their missing team member could be.
"The abbey!"
At first when the alarms sent off, it angered Boris greatly to know that someone has broken into the high-tech, highly-guarded abbey, breached the Demolition Boys' cells and interrupted his sleep. He had left his chambers and rushed to the security room. When he saw who is was that had infiltrated the abbey and was now running down the laser-armed hallways, his anger immediately dissipated.
"Well, well, well." he mused, a grin stretching across his face as he watched the intruder sprint through the hallways, regardless of the lasers firing at her. "It's about time."
"Sir, she's descending down to level-5." a guard monitoring the screen said. "If she reaches the labs-!"
"I'm well aware of what will happen if she did." Boris snapped impatiently. "That's why we must make sure she doesn't. Let's put Jade through her paces, shall we?"
Eyes fixed on the screen with anticipation, his leering grin can only grow wider as he watched his ex-apprentice.
Her heart was hammering against her ribcage, pumping adrenaline through her body as she kept up her sprinting pace. No ordinary human would have been able to keep up with her stamina and speed especially when they are running down a hallway that is shooting laser beams at them. Her muscles moved like fluid, despite not received a workout like this in a long time. It has been a long time since she moved like this. A long time since every move she made counted with her life as well as others on the line.
Dammit! Where are they?, she wondered as she dodged laser beams, rolling and leaping to her feet smoothly. She turned at a sharp corner and stopped to catch her breath and gather her bearings, unaware that years ago Kai had done the same thing. Footsteps caught her attention and just as she looked up to acknowledge the sound, a troop of guards rounded the end of the hallway she was in.
"There she is!" one of them yelled.
Instead of running in the opposite direction as expected by her pursuers, she ran straight at them. Sais slided into her hands easily, flashing with deadly earnest. They expected her to be easy picking, having underestimated her as a female but she was hardly any of that. Within mere minutes, she had them all on the ground. Yet she did not stop there. Jade kept running down the hallway the guards had emerged from. Behind her, she could hear more guards coming for her. As much as the warrior part of her wants to stay and fight, she knew she would not be able to take on them all without jeopardizing the mission. At the moment, her choices were limited.
I'm not leaving without Alexis and Tala!
Guards appeared behind her, determined to capture her. Just ahead of her, down the hallway, a door was beginning to slided close, probably triggered on Boris's command. He should know by now she was here. A hallway of laser guns led to that door.
Option A or option B?
No competition.
She moved. Years of training kicked into gear as she pushed herself to the limit to avoid the bullets flying at her. She bounded past the laser beams and launched her body into a leap for the closing gap in front of her. Pain seared her shoulder causing her to loose her balance. Her leap became a dive. She tucked into a roll and came up neatly just as the door snapped shut behind her. Wincing from the throbbing pain of her shoulder where a bullet, she guessed, had gazed cloth and flesh, she pressed a hand to her shoulder and looked around.
She was in a dark room, empty as far as she could tell. Jade stepped forward carefully, depending now more on her hearing than sight. She heard a low growl from the darkness around her and tensed, realizing she wasn't alone.
A switch was thrown and on cue the lights came to life above her. The sudden brightness made her flinch and throw a hand up to shield her eyes. It only took a moment for her eyes to grow accustomed to the light and when they did, they focused once more on the figure that stepped out of the shadows of the room.
Momentarily, her breath was trapped in her throat as she stared. Then she let out a soft gasp. "Alexis…"
A/N: Cliffy! Hehehe...my Beyblade x Naruto crossover should be out soon so look out for it when it does. I just need to get my facts straight...make sure you R&R it when it comes out as you'll do now for this story! Do I need to repeat myself? Yes?
R&R!
