A/N: All work and no fanfic makes life dull. Wouldn't you agree?

Thanks to:MidgetCake, moi, Krytos, fireph03n1x, storm-of-insanity, faith, SapphireSword, crazyberry, FenixPhoenix, chibi Setsuna-chan, Madison y., Calli Maxwell, princessmoi, Phoenix from the Flames-2, Beyblade-gal, CrimsonSkye06, Shitza and the people who read this story but don't review.


Chapter 42

The ambulance siren screamed through the early morning air as they rushed the injured and the dying to the hospital. Doctors and nurses hurried about, wheeling beds filled with patients into operating rooms and wards. Life support and heart monitoring machines beeped regularly.

Yet despite all that went around him, Kai felt strangely detached from it all. It was as though his body was there but his mind wasn't. His conscience, his soul had gone into a block-out state, unable to deal with the fact that he has lost the one he cared for. A mere spectator of the things happening after they had left the abbey to rush Alexis and the many injured and found children to the hospital. The Demolition Boys had been among those. Sadly, Tala wasn't.

He just stood there in the waiting room with the rest of his team, listening to what the police had to say to Mr. Dickenson about their shocking discovery of the abbey. Upon the old man's insistence, the teens were allowed to listen in.

"There are quite a number of children we found, mostly orphans. However their injuries are nearly not as bad as Russian team. The doctors are taking care of them now. They'll be fine." the officer said. "Alexis suffered from blood loss and mostly fatigue but she's stable."

"That's good news." Mr. Dickenson muttered distractedly. "For once…"

"How can that be good news!" Tyson demanded suddenly, his voice loud. "Our friend is gone and all you can think about is the team that created this mess in the first place!"

"Tyson." Ray warned.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Tyson insisted. "We have to find Jade! Check the abbey again!"

"We have. We searched the entire place and there's no sight of Jade." the officer said.

"What about Tala?" surprisingly the question came from Max. Everyone looked at him, surprised to have a question like this coming from him. Yet he was not discouraged. He asked again. "What about the Demolition Boys' captain? Did you find Tala?"

The man coughed nervously. "Well, no. We figured Boris must have taken Jade and Tala somewhere else. We're trying our best to track down his chopper but so far no luck."

When will this ever end, Kai wondered numbly.

The officer reached into his coat and pulled out something, dangling it up in his hand. "However we did find this. Does it mean anything to any of you?"

Its fine chain shimmering softly in the bright lights of the hospital, the pendent that Kai had given Jade seemed strange and lost without its owner. All eyes went to Kai as he stepped forward and took it in his hand, holding it carefully, tenderly as though he was afraid it would break. His bangs covered his eyes, shielding his emotions from the world and his teammates.

"That belonged to Jade." Ray answered when it was obvious the phoenix wasn't going to say anything.

"I see." the officer nodded. He turned to Kai, meaning to ask some questions but Kai wasn't listening.

He just stared at the pendent, watching the light reflect off its smooth surface. Then without warning, before anyone could stop him, he bolted from the room. Tyson and Max called after him but he ignored them, shutting out their voices. The door slammed behind him.

Tyson started after their captain but Ray stopped him. "Tyson, wait. Leave him be. Kai needs his space."

"Oh." Tyson nodded.

Max stared at the closed door. "I've never seen Kai act like this before."

There's a lot we don't know about Kai despite all we've been through as a team…, Ray thought grimly.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Kenny asked, looking at the Chinese blader.

Ray realized in that moment with Kai not present, he was in-charge and he wasn't sure if he was ready. But the team needed someone to assure them and he could do at least that. Putting on a brave smile, he nodded. "He'll be fine. He's Kai. He'll pull himself together. He just needs room to think." And hopefully, he's not thinking of going after Boris alone the way Jade did…


The door to the hospital roof opened and Kai walked out into the open, breathing the morning air. It was freezing with the Russian climate but he couldn't care less. The necklace he still held in his hand. Motionlessly, he leaned on the metal railings, ignoring the biting cold that ran up his bare flesh. Slowly he closed his eyes. His grip on the pendent tightened, anchoring him to reality as his mind wandered. He pictured her with his mind eye.

Jade…

…seeing her…

Her smile...

Her luscious hair, dark as a raven's down…

Her green eyes that sparkled her joy, her sadness, her love…

…hearing her…

Her laughter…

Her sigh…

Her voice…

…touching her…

The warm softness of her skin against his…

The ripple of her liquid-like muscles under her skin…

The taste of her lips on his….

…loving her…

Where he expected to feel something, he felt nothing. There was no tug of his heart, no conscious to follow, nothing. Just an empty void within him. As well as the sense of total complete helplessness that slowly filled that hollow space in him. Without thinking his hand on the railing became a vice grip.

"Damn you, grandfather…" he muttered through clenched teeth.


"Jade…"

Something wet touched her face. Jade automatically swatted it away with an annoyed hiss.

"Lemme alone."

"Jade, wake up."

Tala?

She didn't want to wake up, didn't want to open her eyes but with a lot of effort, she did slowly. To see Tala kneeling in front of her with a dripping wet cloth. "Tala? What are you…? Where are we?"

"Boris ordered me to attend to you. My guess is they are have a bit of problems with the staffs seeing as you took out one third of them last night. Whoa." He quickly helped her up carefully when she tried to sit up. "Easy. You're hurt."

"Tell me about it." she mumbled. Her experienced fingers prodded her ribcage, testing for broken bones. She winced from the bruising she found there. "Man, Alexis sure does pack a kick."

"She wasn't herself." Tala said defensively. "It was-."

"Rashka." she cut in. "I know. She should be okay now." Hopefully Kai got her help in time…and didn't turn back for me…

Tala leaned in and gently dabbed the side of her lips. She grimaced when she saw the red stain on the cloth. Washing the cloth in a basin of water, the red-haired blader squeezed the water out and reached up again.

"Ow." she muttered when he touched her bruising cheekbone. The purple black mark on her skin was visible but the swell was reducing. Looking up, she scrutinized their surrounding. The prison cell was small with three ten foot walls. The two high windows in the walls barely allowed light to spill into the dark musty prison cell. The door of the cell was made of dark grey bars. Her eyes rested on the locks of the door, studying it.

Tala's eyes followed her gaze and he said. "Don't bother. They can only be operated from the outside. There are two guards guarding this cell."

"Where are we?" she asked.

"One of Biovolt's many headquarters." Tala answered with sarcasm. "This must be probably where Voltaire and Boris have been rebuilding Biovolt since the Russian Tournament four years ago."

She rested her hand on the wall, testing and feeling it. "Typical. Guess people like them always need a backup plan. Seeing as their 'ingenious' plan always fails…"

Tala smiled wearily at her, still seeing her as the young girl whom he had helped years ago. "You'll never change, will you?

"Nope. Never will and don't want to." she quipped even as her eyes searched the cell door for a weakness.

Tala stood up, carefully taking the basin and blood-stained cloth with him. "You should rest. Regain your strength." in a softer more regretful tone, he added, "You'll need it."

"Tala."

He paused at the door and looked back at her. Ignoring her aching body's protests as she stood, Jade tilted her head and smiled gently. "Thanks."

He nodded his acknowledgement. A guard moved to unlock the door. Then Jade's words cut in again. "He'll come for us. You know that right?"

He didn't have to ask to know who she meant. Who else would she mean? Only he knew after all that has happen, Kai would only be coming for Jade, not him. Not after all he has done to him and the Bladebreakers. But he didn't tell her that, knowing how stubborn she could be. Closing his eyes for a second, Tala let out a sigh. "I know."

The door opened and he stepped out, looking at her before the guards locked her cell after him and led him back to his own cell. Yet despite the bruises all over her body and the deep cut on her lip, she looked stronger than ever. There was a glimmer in her eyes. A look of determination and hope.

Green Eyes…Her green eyes… filled with spirit and fire…I pray Boris will never take that from you…


He was tired. So exhausted until it was a wonder how he still found strength to wander the hospital corridors aimlessly. Nurse rushed all around him, carting trays of syringes and medicine through and forth. Doctors with stereoscopes around their necks walked briskly from room to room, checking on their patients.

"Doctor, you're needed in room 1003."

"Prepare him for operation. We may need to go in."

"The patient is crashing, doctor!"

No one paid any heed to the young teen walking down the corridors with a daze tired look on his face. Young intern nurses glanced at him, not out of concern but in admiration. Voices flowed through his mind but his brain refused to work because at that moment, nothing else mattered to him. Not when one of the most dangerous men in Russia was on the loose and the two people he cared most for was in that man's grasp and he was helpless to do anything.

"Members of the Demolition Boys? I don't believe you."

Kai's head jerked up, turning to look at the young blonde woman, a nurse who was talking to a brunette. Both women were chatting excitedly, not noticing the teen standing nearby, listening in on their conversation.

"Believe it. Dr. Ross treated them himself. The boys are in the private wards on the second floor." the brunette said.

The blonde frowned. "Wasn't there a girl in the team too?"

"Oh, she's still in operation. I heard she was in a pretty bad shape when they brought her in earlier today." Her friend answered.

"What happened?"

"A fire they said…"

Kai heard no more, turning away before the women or anyone else would notice him. He made his way to the second floor and with ease, found the private wards. He came to a room and stopped. He stared at the door, hesitating.

Would Bryan, Ian and Spencer be glad to see him?

He doubted it. They probably hated him for all that had happened to them and he didn't blame them. He had abandoned them when they needed him to the most, leaving them in the clutches of his own grandfather, a mad man.

Yet still, he needed to see how they were, whether they were in safe caring hands as promised by Mr. Dickenson. Grabbing the doorknob, he pushed open the door and stepped in, closing it behind him. And froze where he stood, staring at the sleeping boy on the bed.

That can't be Bryan…can it?

Bryan, the most feared on the team for his ruthlessness in battle, his lack of regard for the rules…his recklessness.

This…can't be him...

His eyes studied the lilac-haired blader. A clean bandage was wrapped around his forehead and another across his shoulder. The heart monitor machine beeped regularly, steadily. An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth and nose, providing him the much needed air while he slept under the influence of drugs. That's why he didn't wake up when Kai entered the room. Bryan had always been a light-sleeper…They all had. Him, Bryan, Ian, Spencer…Tala.

With a start, he realized why this scene seemed familiar. In his mind now, he saw not Bryan but Tala lying on the bed. Bandages had wrapped his well-toned body, his forehead, over an eye, covering the battle injuries the wolf had sustained in the fight against Garland. Tala had done every thing he could to stop Boris, risking his very life in the process. While he, Kai had stood and watched, doing nothing to aid his friend back then.

If I had done something that day…helped Tala…fought by him…Boris would have been stopped. None of this wouldn't have happened.

He thought of Alexis, remembering how she had passed out on the way to the hospital. She was so weak due to a lack of proper nourishment and mostly to the unknown drugs Biovolt had inserted into her system. Her mind had sunk into an oblivious state, untouched by reality. He wished he could do the same. Just curl up into a ball and forget his responsibilities, his fears…but he can't and he won't.

This was Boris's doing…

Boris and Voltaire…

My own grandfather…my flesh and blood…

His hands clenched into fists by his sides. I have to stop this. I have to find Tala and Jade and end this.

Kai lifted his eyes from the shadows of his bangs, looking once more on Bryan. Where moments ago his eyes were daze and dull, they were now focus with resolution and a fire that matched his Bitbeast's own. With a controlled voice that rose as barely a whisper, he made a vow. A vow he intended to keep no matter what.

"I'll find them. No matter what it takes. I promise."


"And police are doing their best to look for the Bladebreakers' missing member, Jade Raven who has been abducted early this morning." the young newscaster on the television said, looking directly on the camera with a grim expression. She paused to ruffle her stack of notes on the desk. "Words just came in that Tala Valkov, captain of the Demolition Boys has also been reported missing. Authorities are investigating whether he too has been abducted or has simply disappeared. As a result, the BBA has officially postponed the prize-giving ceremony which was supposed to be held today in Moscow."

Max stared at the television of their hotel room, listening carefully to the news. When it was obvious the woman wasn't going to say anything remotely useful to them, he turned it off.

"Come on, Chief. Do your magic." Tyson mumbled as he paced the floor restlessly.

Max twirled the two ends of his fingers in front of him, a nervous habit as he watched Kenny type away. "Anything yet, Chief?"

Kenny paused long enough to shake his head. "No. Police radars haven't been able to track down Boris's get-away chopper and by now, I'm guessing Boris would have landed somewhere within Russia."

"So can you find them?" Tyson asked.

"Hey, don't push me." Dizzi complained. "I'm only a laptop, not a super computer. I'm already trying my best."

"Then try harder." Dragoon's master snapped.

"May I remind you Russia is very big? Boris could be anywhere by now." the trapped Bitbeast said.

Ray felt it was time for him to break the tension a little. "Well, he couldn't possibly have left the country yet. Until then we still have a chance to find Jade and Tala."

"Do you think Kai's alright?" Max asked, looking up at Ray.

Honestly, I have no idea. He hasn't return for over three hours since we left him at the hospital. Crap. Maybe leaving him there to 'gather his thoughts' wasn't such a good idea after all.

But Ray said none of that. Instead, he said carefully. "I'm worried about him too but I'm sure he's fine."

"He won't be so fine when I get my hands on him." Tyson muttered under his breath. "He should be here, helping us in looking for his girlfriend and Tala! He knows Russia better than any of us. He knows Boris better than any of us! But where is he? Probably hiding in one corner, licking his wounds!"

"Tyson, calm down." the neko-jin said gently. "Getting angry isn't going to help."

"Like hell it won't!"

On cue, the door open and closed. Kai walked in with suppose in his strides. Tyson moved forward to intercept him although Ray would greatly advise him against that. There was a glint in the blue-haired teen's eyes. Something Ray has seen rarely in Kai over the last several years he has known the phoenix. Those times, mostly during battle, the look worried Ray but now, he felt relief wash over him.

Kai was back and ready.

Tyson however didn't realize that. Planting himself firmly in front of Kai's path, he propped his hands on his hips and demanded, "And where have you been, Kai?"

Kai barely spared him a glance as he brushed past him in his usual cold demure. "Out." he said shortly.

Max noticed something else. "What happened to your hand?"

Ray looked at Kai's right hand, noting for the first time the dry blood that crusted his knuckles. A feeling in his head told him that wasn't Kai's blood.

"I got some information. It might be of some use to us." Kai announced in answer, ignoring the American's question. "Word in the vineyard has it that some rich businessman bought loads of lab equipments from the black market."

Ray caught on quickly. "And you think it is Boris."

"I know it's him." Kai corrected.

Tyson was skeptic. "You beat up some guy for that kind of information? Did he say where?"

"If he did, Tyson, I would be on my way there now, wouldn't I?" Kai said coldly.

"Point taken." Tyson said. "But if that's all you got, it really isn't much of help on locating where Boris could be."

Kenny groaned. "For goodness sakes, Tyson. For once, would it hurt to use your brain?" he asked. "Think. If he would need tons of electrical appliances, lab equipments, machines…it could mean Boris is planning to do a replicate of the experiment he did on Alexis"

"So?"

"Tons of stuff like that would need tons of electricity." Max filled in, catching on fast. He wasn't the son of a world renowned scientist for nothing. When he bladed for his mom's team the previous year, he had learn a lot of scientific things and one of them is that lab equipments for big experiments require a lot electricity.

"If we track down the area that is using the most electricity, we should be able to find them." Ding! One point goes to the airhead of the team.

Ray glanced at Kenny. "Do you think you can do that, Chief?"

Kenny was already at work, typing away furiously. He talked as he worked. "It maybe tricky but I think Dizzi here can pull it off."

"You bet I can." Dizzi said confidently.

"But…"began Max uncertainly. "If Boris's planning to do the same experiment he performed on Alexis, then doesn't that mean he's going to try it on Jade?"

Kai nodded grimly. "We don't have much time."


The sound of footsteps drew Jade awake form her light slumber. Pulling herself in a sitting position, she grimaced from the pain of her bruised ribs. Healing would take sometime…

"Ah, it's nice to see you up. I hope you are well rested and that young Tala has taken care of your injuries." Boris said, his gaze wandering over her slender form.

Her body stiffened at the mention of his name. She bit on her lower lip to prevent herself from saying anything that could place Tala's life in danger. Her eyes narrowed on the men standing outside her cell. "Didn't know you cared, Boris." she said with a sneer.

"Of course I worry of the well-being of my own student." the man said smoothly. "You're like my own children."

"Which is probably why you never reproduced." she returned.

"Cheeky as usual, I see." another voice broke in.

Boris stepped aside as a broad-shouldered man moved into her view, facing her with cold grey eyes. Instantly her 'cheeky' attitude fell away replaced by an ice cold demure that rivaled the man's own.

"Well, this is certainly a change in view." Voltaire said. He smiled slightly. "Fancy seeing you being bars."

"Take a picture." Jade muttered under her breath. "It'll last longer."

Voltaire moved forward closer to the cell. His gaze on her was scrutinizing and harsh. "I don't understand what that grandson of mine sees in you. All I see is a traitor and a foolish child who dares think she could oppose a world-renowned cooperation such as Biovolt."

"And all I see is a grandfather who doesn't known how to love his grandson the way a grandfather should." she retorted.

"I know what's best for Kai and you're not one of them." he said, his lip curling with disgust. "You poisoned his mind, turned him against his only family."

She let out a disbelief laugh. "I poisoned him? Speak for yourself, Mr. Big-shot-who-wants-to-dominate-the-world. You took away his childhood. You destroyed his life. Don't you feel any guilt or remorse for doing that to Kai?"

A muscle worked at Voltaire's jaw. Jade wondered whether her words had gotten through his thick skull.

"Kai's meant to be warrior for Biovolt and he will be so in due time." the older Hiwatari said finally in a tight voice. "And you shall play a vital role in accomplishing that."

A shiver ran down her spine. Jade stood up. "What does that mean?" she demanded.

Voltaire returned to Boris. "See to it that the experiment doesn't fail this time. Or I shall personally have your hide if it does."

The director nodded humbly to the tycoon and casting one final glance in Jade's direction, Voltaire walked away briskly. Boris watched him until the door closed behind him before he turned back to Jade. The girl looked at him expectantly with wary green eyes.

"Don't be alarm, my dear. The procedure will be painless." he said to her in parental tone.

"Somehow I doubt that." she said darkly. "And I'm not your 'dear'."

He laughed. "I always thought you were a unique child, Jade. Well, we'll see how special you truly are once we're done with you."

"What are you talking about, Boris?" she snapped. She gripped the bars of her cell.

He did not answer her and he and his flank of guards left her alone in the cell. A cold realization seeped into her as she lowered her head and closed her eyes tightly. She knew what he meant. And it could cost her life and freedom if she allowed him to do such a thing to her.

Her vice grip on the bars tightened until her knuckles were white.

I have to get out of here as soon as possible before there is no time…


A/N: A rather short chapter.But the next one will be longer, I promise! Actually to be honest this chappie is not one of my best work...but what can I do? I'm a work in progress! R&R!