A/N: Hello, people! How have you been holding? Sorry for the long update. It's not easy writing three stories at once. So please be patient and I'll try to deliver my best to you! Anyways! On to the story…after I thank my reviewers!
Thanks to… Brezzybrez, Amanda, dark angel, SapphireSword, DreamerQueen, you make me wanna lala, Moi, faith, chibi Setsuna-chan, Phoenix from the Flames-2, crimsonskye06, anim3gurl, Merffles, Shitza and people who read but don't review (you know who you are….)
Chapter 44
"Jade."
She squeezed her eyes shut, tight against the blazing heat that beat down upon her and let out a soft groan, expecting to feel pain as her chest heaved to draw in air but to her surprise there was none. Where there should be excruciating pain, a result from pushing her body to its limits and over, there was nothing. The slash across her throat does not hurt and she felt…whole.
"Jade."
The voice, a woman's voice, called to her, drawing her away from her drug-induced state. The scent of nature engulfed her nostrils. The ground beneath her prone body felt soft. Her eyes snapped open and she cringed from the sudden bright light of the sun. Her hand came up to shield the sunlight from her eyes.
Wait a minute… The sun? What the-?
Grunting softly, Jade forced herself up to her feet carefully and squinting her eyes, looked around. All she could see was an endless space of green grass and clear blue sky above her head. To add to her annoyance, she wore a white dress that reached up to her knees.
I must have died and gone to heaven, she thought ironically.
"Jade."
On the alert, body tensing up, Jade spun swiftly and stopped, inhaling sharply. It can't be…It can't…
"Mom."
The heart monitor detected a skipped heartbeat from the girl as she laid on the operating table, unconscious. As ordered by Boris, the guards had taken her half an hour ago and strapped her down to the table by her wrists and ankles in case she somehow managed to trick them again. But Boris was confident that will not be the case this time. The drug they had injected into her was much stronger and was part of the requirement for the experiment the Biovolt scientists were running on her now. An oxygen mask was placed over her mouth and nose, transferring precious air to her as IV tubes and other tubes that pierced her skin kept the steady flow of drugs into her body.
Jade's body was bruised, battered and wounded in several places but the beating was necessary. Dry blood already stained the white lab dress on her. A bruise formed on her left cheek above a split lip. But it was alright. It kept her physical form weak while they worked their experiments on her mind. As Boris watched from the room overlooking the laboratory, scientists around him worked briskly; well-aware this could be the experiment to succeed.
If –no, when– the experiment succeeds, Biovolt will be in control of one of the most powerful bladers in the world. Alexis was a failure and the reason to that, although Boris pained to admit it, was due to his own impatience. He realized that now and this time he knew failure was not an option. He'll not make the same mistake of fusing a Bitbeast into a human with a will of their own as he had done with Alexis.
"The subject's heartbeat rate has increased." a scientist monitoring a computer reported.
The door to the observation deck slided open and close as Voltaire entered, moving as though he owned everything and everyone in the high-tech room. In a way he did since it was his cooperation that funded the experiment. He had rushed back to the building when he had heard of the unexpected escape attempt and was infuriated when he heard that Tala had gotten out.
"Ah, Lord Voltaire." Boris greeted with a wide grin.
"Save your sweet talk and excuses." the older man said snappishly. "I heard about Tala's escape."
Boris seemed unfazed neither by the accusation nor by Voltaire's tone. "Do not fear, my lord. I have already sent out an elimination team after the boy. He won't get far."
"And the girl? What of her?" Voltaire asked.
"See for yourself, my lord." Boris extended an arm to where Jade laid on the table down in the laboratory.
Eyes narrowed with curiosity, Voltaire stepped forward and peered through the glass window. What he saw satisfied him for he nodded his approval. "It has begun then." he muttered.
"Yes, my lord." Boris said. "It was hard but our scientists had figured out what is needed to keep this one under our control."
"And tell me what is it that will keep Jade under our control? As I recall, the previous experiment wasn't…quite successful…" Voltaire wanted to know.
He meant Alexis of course and Boris was aware of that as well as the hidden warning beneath his words. "The secret lies in the drugs we are administrating into her body."
Voltaire was intrigued. "The drugs? What do they do?"
"It induces the subject's mind into a coma-like state. Once within that state, it is almost impossible for the subject to regain conscious. It's even most likely she wouldn't want to." Boris explained, all the while without taking his eyes of the prone girl.
"And why is that, Boris?" the older Hiwatari sounded pleased.
The smile on Boris was positively chilling and only one such as himself would understand. "Let's just say our dear Jade is about to have a visit from the past."
"Mom."
Jade stared at the woman standing in front of her, daring herself to believe it was really the one person whom she loved as a child. Her mother died when Jade was very young, a child barely five. Stabbed to death right in front of Jade's eyes. The killer escaped and was never caught. Jade remembered her younger self standing over her mother's open coffin at her burial funeral, looking down on the woman's still form. She looked as though she was asleep but Jade knew that her mother will never open her eyes again. Yet she did not cry. She had wept her tears when the ambulance pulled away with her mother's body in it, its sirens silent as death. So young and she had already experienced the pain of loosing a love one.
And she had lived it with for so long until now.
Here she stood now dressed in a white flowing dress that caressed her figure, a motherly smile at her pink lips. Her dark mane, the same raven color Jade had inherited from her, flowed down past her slim shoulders in graceful waves. Her eyes were dark lazuli blue and Jade remembered them for the tender kindness and love her mother often showered upon her. It was really her, right down to the lilac scent that was her mother's favorite.
"Mom." she whispered again.
Her mother laughed, it sounded like her too. "What's the matter, dear? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"But aren't you one?" the question came out before she could stop herself. She paused. "Does this mean I'm dead too?"
Amusement twinkled in her eyes, as she chuckled. "Oh no, my child. You're not dead. Here. Take my hand." She held out a hand to her and when Jade hesitated, she offered a warm smile. "I won't bite. Promise."
Jade stared at the hand for a long moment then she took it. Warm solid flesh. Startled, she looked at her mother. "But you died. I- I was there."
Her mother looked at her softly. "You remember?"
Numbly she nodded. "I was only a kid then. Yet I remember it like it was only yesterday."
"You still think of me even when I'm gone?" her mother smiled, touched. "What else do you remember of me?"
"We used to watch the sunrise and set together." Jade continued, choking back a sob.
"And you were so young then…" her mother stroked her left cheek tenderly. "You were only a child then…so young…so innocent. I still remember a time when you were still a baby. You followed me everywhere as though you were a part of me I could not live without. All those time that we had as mother and daughter…I died too soon…"
Jade frowned slightly from her use of words and the almost wistful tone of her mother's sigh. In the back of her head, alarm bells went off, warning her, telling her…something wasn't right.
But what could be wrong? Her mother was here, holding her, speaking to her of happier times.
"Of course…" her mother added casually. "That was before I knew what a joy being dead could be."
"What?" Jade looked as though she had just been slapped.
"Being dead is really not as bad as you think, sweetie." her mother continued, smiling. "It's actually quite…releasing…freeing."
Jade stared at her mother, hurt. "Mom…? What are you saying?"
"It's like a bird." her mother explained, tilting her head slightly to the side. "When I was alive… I was a trapped little birdie, bounded by that of the mortal coil. You know…I never did realize how vulnerable we truly are. One bullet to the proper spot and we're dead. One wrong footstep and we're history…a twist of the neck, a slit of the wrist and we're history. Or rather in my case, three stabs to my tummy, lung and heart."
She touched each spot as she spoke and as Jade watched in horror, blood began to blossom through her dress from those three places. The blood rose like a virus growing from within her mother's body, staining the dress crimson red.
"I can still remember the cold steel of the knife…" her mother went on wistfully as if…as if nothing was wrong. As if she wasn't bleeding from inside and pouring her blood out from each puncture wound that killed her so many years ago. As if her dress wasn't slowly turning into shreds and the skin beneath wasn't decaying and rotting.
Jade backed away, shaking her head in terror. "No, no…" This can't be happening…no...
The heartbeat monitor was racing off the scale. Jade's body started to twitch, spasming. The machine used to scan the girl's brain activity started increasing, beeping franticly. Her breathing accelerated, chest rising and falling fast.
"What's happening?" Voltaire demanded alarmed. "Is she waking up?"
"No, sir. Heartbeat increasing. Brain activity rising." the man said, his eyes flying all over the screen to gather information from the unsteady lines on the graphs. "She's unstable, sir."
"Well then, what are you waiting for?" the leader of Biovolt snapped. "Stabilize her now! She cannot die!"
"Calm down, my lord." Boris said calmly. "It's expected to happen. Part of the experiment."
"What's happening?" Voltaire asked again. "You said the drugs only placed her in a coma-like state!"
"She's not waking up if that is what worries you. She's not dying either." the director assured him. "She's merely going into a more…deeper comatose stage."
Voltaire was stunned by how far his head scientist had gone. "An actual coma?"
"To put it simply." Boris nodded. He still watched as the girl's body trashing wildly.
"You're putting her in a coma?" the Hiwatari's eyes narrowed. "What good will she be to us if she's taking a nap?"
The head director smiled. "Plenty. The drugs we have administrated into her body not only induces her into a coma but it also forces her already-fragile mind to face her darkest fears, her worst nightmares. It'll take her to hell…"
The thing that portrayed her mother was now nothing but a half-rotted corpse. Her dress was tattered, grey and dirty with soils of the earth. Her hair, once silky black now hung in a mass of tangles.
"It was bliss." it said. "The moments after my soul left my mortal shell. I was at first confused and lost. Then I understood the gift that I have received. "
"Mom, no…" Jade whimpered as she walked backwards away from the rotting body.
"I was free at last. Free of everything, of my worries, my fears…of my all burdens…with one blue eye and one milky white eye, it looked at her. "Free of you."
Its words stuck Jade to her core like a physical push causing her to stumble over her own foot and land hard on the soft grass. Yet she continued to crawl away from the approaching corpse. "No, mom. No, please, no."
It sneered at her. "Did you actually think I wanted to keep you, that I loved you?"
She shook her head. "No, you don't mean that. You were my mother. You took care of me, raised me up…"
"And not a very good job I might add." it injected. "I wanted to abort you, would have if I knew how much trouble you were going to be. But I thought maybe if I kept you, your father will come back someday. That useless fool. I should have known better."
"Please…don't do this…" Jade pleaded. Her heartbeat with resonance of her fear, horror and guilt…
The walking corpse moved in on her, playing with her emotions, of the past she fought so hard to bury. "From the moment you squirmed out of me, I should have ended your life. That would have saved us both a load of trouble, wouldn't it? Hm? What do you say, precious? It's not too late."
"What?" Jade gasped, not understanding what it meant at first.
"Death isn't really that bad." it said with a cheery tone that made Jade want to throw up for the voice it carried was still her mother's, right down to her laugh. "Jade, you must understand that life…is only a temporary condition. While death…death is forever."
She crawled backward until the ground beneath her hand disappeared and with a startled gasp, Jade glanced over her shoulder. Behind her, a never-ending blackness yawned over the edge of the cliff she was trapped on. Cornered with no where to run to.
"You see, I died because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you know why I was at the wrong place at the wrong time?" it didn't wait for her to answer the question. "Because you placed me there."
Jade blinked, sputtering. "What? No. I-I…didn't…I didn't place you. It just happened!"
"Is that was you keep telling yourself, child?" the creature shook his head in mocking sympathy. "So foolish. You see, fate has a way of taking one's life. It's only a matter of being there at that exact place at that exact moment death strikes. I was there at that moment. Do you know what I was there? Because you put me there. You killed me. Now it's only proper that I repay you for your 'kindness'."
"No! It wasn't my fault!" Jade cried. "I didn't do anything."
"Exactly. But don't fret, my princess. It's only natural that those you love and care about will always get hurt because of you. Let's put it this way." it pretended to ponder for a while. "You're like a leper, a walking plague. Those who tried reaching out to you out of the goodness of their heart will be swept away in the disease that you carry. It can't be helped. That's how it works. The cold simple truth. For so long after my death, you had the right idea. Stay away from human contact, wall up all those pesky emotions that you humans are so fond of…then you met them. What changed? You decided it wouldn't hurt to open up. Just once to that…boy."
Kai…
"That's all it took. Just once and look where it got you. Look where being open got your friends. Alexis's in the hospital, probably dead by now. Tala's in no state to escape a team of highly trained killers. You merely sent him to his death, honey."
Jade closed her eyes, wishing it all to go away. To leave her alone. Its words…rang with truth. She didn't want to listen but she couldn't help herself. It spoke the truth and she couldn't deny it.
For so long…she had hid herself from the world and now it struck her why she had done it. Because everything the corpse of her dead mother said was true. All because of her. Things would probably be better if she…
"Yes, honey. Now you see the truth."
"But my friends, they'll…"she gazed up at the corpse pleadingly.
"They'll what?" it leered. "Rescue you? Don't even hope. It has been, what, two, three days days? Not much of a rescue effort they made, huh?"
Jade did not sink away from the pale half rotted hand that reached out to her. She had no where to go. Trapped she was. Physically. Emotional.
Exhausted. Just so…tired.
"Time to stop running." the voice continued. "And end it."
In absolute surrender, she closed her eyes. A single tear slipped past her closed eyelids. A perfect representative to signify the soul that once raged with fire, a passion for life…now…a lost soul.
A toothless smile lifted the torn cheek muscles of the corpse as it said with motherly approval. "Good girl."
"…and leave her there."
As Boris and Voltaire watched, the girl's body no longer moved and her vital signs returned to normal. The worst had passed but whether they had made it unscathed was another story. The scientists fiddled with the machines, gathering data on the patient's condition. Both men waited anxiously for the outcome. It could go either way. Either they had succeeded in placing Jade under their control or…they had failed and placed her in a coma.
Finally a scientist came over to them and there was an undercurrent tone of relief and excitement in his voice of a profession.
"Sir, we've…done it." he said. "The subject's under our control."
"Good work." Boris grinned. He turned to his benefactor, wanting to see his reaction. "Well, milord. What do you think?"
Voltaire stepped forward, still unable to believe they had done it. His mind so used to failures was trying to process the new fact that for once since the World Championships four years ago something was finally going their way. Things were looking up for them. We could start the process on Kai once we have him. With the power of Black Dranzer still in his hands, Biovolt will be unstoppable.
Then a faint sparkle caught his eye, making him stop in his musings of the future and he looked back at the seemly-lifeless figure of Jade. Then he noticed it. The lone tear that escaped and slidded down her unbruised cheek, leaving a thin wet trail along the smooth surface of her skin.
A tear, Voltaire thought, frowning deeply. Thoughts of the consequences of Boris's action then occurred to him. What they had just stepped into was untried grounds. No one knew the real results of what they had done. Only the current outcome. Jade was under their control now but for how long? What was going on in her mind right now? In what kind of hell prison was her mind trapped in? He started to turn to Boris to voice his concerns when suddenly the lights went out throwing the room into a red glow emitting from the backup lights.
"What the--?" he shouted. "Boris! What's going on!"
"It's a power glitch, sir!" a scientist reported as his hands flew all over the computer keyboard. "A bug somehow got into the system and it's killed the power. It has corrupted all files, data, information…we are loosing everything!"
"Well, get the power back up and running!" Boris roared, enraged. "How on earth did a bug get into the system! Wait." his stare went back to the girl where she still laid, unaware of the chaos she had caused. "Jade." when she escaped, she must have planted a virus into the system. "Very clever."
"How long will it take it get the system up and running as normal?" Voltaire demanded.
"An hour, maybe two." the scientist said. "We're working as fast as possible, sir."
Without warning, an alarm went off, blinking red and wailing its ear deafening scream. Boris was speaking harshly into a walkie-talkie, his face a picture of annoyance and anger. He snapped the electronic device off and turned to the man who had answered Voltaire.
"Well then, looks like you'll have to work faster now." he hissed barely calm.
"Boris, what's going on now?" Voltaire asked as Boris marched from the room. He followed.
"We need to get you back to your chopper, sir." Boris said quickly. "The authorities are on their way here." There was a pause before he added solemnly. "And Kai's with them."
Who knew Grandpa Granger could drive like a maniac when he felt inclined to. The old man weaved the car in an out of traffic as if he had done this many times before tonight. But tonight no one complained about his reckless tactics in risking their own lives. No, at the moment, it wasn't their lives that were immediate danger. Their teammate and friend's life however was. And time was running out.
They had called Mr. Dickenson and he had told them to go over to the BBA office. When they did, the chief of police were there and the man kept asking questions like who was their source and where did they hear such things. He obviously didn't believe them when they claimed they found Boris's hideout using only a laptop while the rest of the police force had been doing so for two days and failed. After all to him, they were just a bunch of hysterical teenagers who just won a competition made of spinning tops. They eventually gave up trying to persuade him and were told to stay where they were while the chief police consulted Mr. Dickenson and his bosses. Fed up of waiting and wasting precious time, Kai decided to go after Boris and this time the whole team had agreed to the notion. To their surprise and utter gratefulness, Grandpa Granger who had overheard their entire argument with the officer volunteered to drive them there.
The car entered the industrial area, speeding past closed and abandoned buildings and factories shouldered by darkness. Most of the buildings looked closed for the day but Kai knew better. He knew the dealings that went about within these walls and inside one of these buildings, Biovolt had two of the people he cared most about. By his sides, his hands balled up into fists, one wrapping about Jade's blade.
"Where next, homies?" Tyson's grandfather hollered up front.
"This is it!" Kenny cried out suddenly.
The brakes were slammed on and the vehicle screeched to a halt. Grandpa Granger glanced skeptically through the window of the car up at the boarded up building in front of them.
"This it?" he asked.
"Yes." Kenny said, his voice breathless with triumphant and fear. "This is it."
"Judging from my readings, what you're looking for is underground." Dizzi reported.
"They had an underground lab?" Max sounded shock.
Kai wasn't fazed by the news. He threw open the door and jumped out, Ray closed at his heel. They stared up at the building, at the dusty broken windows and the chipped paint off the walls of the building. A frown ceased on Kai's face. This was it. Biovolt's secret headquarters. Where Jade and Tala were, under Boris's hold.
"How are we going to get in?" Max asked indicating the heavily padlocked doors.
Tyson stepped up, Dragoon already loaded in his launcher, ready to rip. "I'll take care of that." he said, moving into a launching stance.
"You better hurry 'cause something is going in there!" Dizzi cried. "The power source of this building just went dead!"
Kai knew why but it was Kenny voiced out his thoughts. "The virus is finally taking affect."
This means the security cameras are dead as well. Kai mused silently. It should take them an hour to get them fixed. I don't have much time…
"How are we going to get in?" Tyson asked aloud. "Unless they are going to open those doors for us somehow and welcome us with no guns and all, I don't think there's a way in."
"There is one way." a different but familiar voice said.
Everyone jerked, looking up as a lithe figure limped from the shadows casted by the side of the building. The moonlight caught a glimpse of flamed red hair and a pale sweat-and-blood stained face. For all his life, Tala had been trained not to reveal human emotion but right now he threw away all of Biovolt's teachings. Kai saw the exhaustion in his blue eyes as he took in his appearance. Tala's pants were stained with dirt as was his shirt. There was tear on his upper right sleeve where a bullet had just barely gazed his arm causing a flesh wound.
"Tala." Kai said, his voice couldn't help but reveal his relief. "How did you get out? What happened?"
"Jade." Tala answered simply.
"She escaped?" Max asked hopefully.
"No. Boris caught her before we could..." his words drifted off and Kai understood as clear blue eyes fixed on crimson ones. "I was about to go back for her."
"What happened to your arm?" Ray asked indicating the wound on the redheaded Russian's arm.
Tala shrugged it off but not without a pained wince. "Boris sent out an elimination team after me. Don't worry. I took care of them." he looked back at his once opponent and bestfriend. "Kai, we don't have much time. Right now Biovolt is pretty much defenseless without their security. If there was any better time to break into it, that time would be now."
Grimly, Kai nodded. "Alright." he turned to his team. "Ray, Max, Tyson, Kenny. I need you guys to stay here."
As he expected, they protested, Tyson being the loudest. "What? No way! You're not going in there without us. It's suicide!"
"We are going with you." Ray insisted.
"No." their captain said firmly. "We'll able to move faster if it's just Tala and me. You guys, I need you to stay here and wait for Mr. Dickenson and the police."
"But what about you?" Kenny asked in concern. "What if you get caught?"
"Yeah." Max joined in.
"Kai, I really don't think this is such a good idea." Ray said.
"Ray, I don't have time for this." Kai said impatiently. "Jade's life's in danger. I need to know I can depend on you to keep them safe while I'm gone."
The tiger stared at Kai for a moment, pondering. Tala was silent despite the need to hurry. This was a matter to be settled by those within the team only. But in the distance, he could pick up the faint wails of the police sirens and knew it was only a matter of minutes before the police arrived and the situation might get out of hand.
Finally Ray nodded heavily. "Alright. But becareful."
"Ray!" Tyson protested.
Satisfied, Kai nodded. He turned to Tala. "Let's go."
Together, both teens, both captains, once bestfriends now focused on one sole mission, hurried along the side of the building to an alley where there was a manhole. The cover, meant to prevent some poor unsuspecting fool from falling in, was pushed aside. Tala went in first. Kai followed without hesitation and he joined Tala in the dark smelly sewers below. Immediately his nose wrinkled on reflexes in response to the foul stench. But Tala seemed immune to the smell for the other boy kept moving, heading in a specific direction. Kai fell into step behind Tala, keeping his senses alert for guards. All the while he struggled with words, uncertain of what to say to Tala.
It was Tala who broke the awkward silence between them. "These sewers will lead us into the building. From there we should be able to find the labs. That's if we knew which lab Boris took Jade to."
His words made Kai tense up further. "He started the experiment on her already?"
"From what I heard." Tala nodded grimly. That was not good news to either teen. After a moment of silence, he added so softly that Kai almost did not catch his words. "I'm sorry."
Kai was confused and surprised not only by the suddenness of those three words but also by the change in his comrade's voice. Tala's voice was filled with regret and anger. Anger at himself.
Staring at the ground in front of him, Tala continued in the same tone. "I couldn't protect her."
"Oh." Kai bit his lip. "Tala, it wasn't your fault. You did the right thing, getting yourself out of there. One way or another, Boris would have recaptured her again. He has too much to lose if he fails this time."
"Based on what I heard, he's planning to conduct a similar experiment like what he did to Alexis on her. Something tells me he may actually succeed this time."
"He won't." Kai said tersely.
The ice broken between them, Tala retorted sarcastically, sounding very much like the young boy Kai knew a long time ago. "And I suppose you have an idea how you are gonna track them down."
An idea did occur to Kai then. He stopped, reached into his pocket and pulled out something with his hand wrapped firmly around it. Tala stopped and looked at him in curiosity.
"What is it, Kai?"
He opened his hand and seated on his palm glowing brightly in the darkness was Jade's blade. Kai couldn't explain it, the connection he held with the fire wolf. It told him where to go and he only knew to follow, knowing it will not lead him wrong. It was like a real animal, used to find its owner by scent or perhaps in the case of a Bitbeast, something that ran deeper between sacred spirit and master.
"I know where she is." he said, moving ahead and taking lead now. "Follow me."
Tala did and as they preceded deeper and deeper underground, he realized they were moving at an increasing steady pace, their confidence growing with every step closer.
The alarm was starting to annoy the Biovolt director, giving him a mild headache that was only growing with each passing second. It had served its purpose; to warn them. He had snarled at someone to turn it off earlier but no one seemed to heed his order. Everybody was too absorbed in their own frantic world, grabbing and packing whatever data and information they can. A watchman reported the cops were five minutes away and drawing closer. Already there was a car waiting outside the building. Voltaire had already taken off in his escape chopper and hopefully the police did not have one of their own to give pursue.
How did they find us? Boris wandered as he strided purposefully back into the observatory deck. How on earth did they manage pin-point this building?
"Sir, we only managed to get the backup power source up and running in certain areas. Even then it won't be enough to move onto the next stage of the experiment." a scientist said anxiously.
Boris's mind raced, going into overload. There was too much chaos. There were other things to be prioritized. The data, information, their research, their work. His work. The life-long achievement he had fought so hard to reach. All about to be destroyed if he did not save them.
"Boris sir." the man said. "What do we do about the girl?"
He looked down at where Jade remained unconscioused. No, he had gone too far to throw it all away now. "Keep her under--"
"Sir!" a security guard rushed in, interrupting his order. "The police are here. We must leave immediately. I have received word that the ship is ready for departure."
"Fine." Boris snapped at him frustrated. He turned to the scientist that still awaited his orders. "Give her another dose of drug then load her into the transportation vehicle along with everything else. Now!"
Then the guard's walkie-talkie crackled to life as the man on the other end said urgently. "Sir, we have intruders on the premises!"
Everything seemed to be in a havoc. The hallways they ran through were near empty and it was almost difficult to see in the dark. Draizer's light guided them as it guided Kai. Judging by the lack of security guards around to guard the hallways, he was guessing the police have arrived. He and Tala had taken care of two remaining guards who tried to stop them from entering the hallway that would lead them to Jade.
A heavily secured door at the end of the hallway was the only thing that stood in their way now. Without breaking a stride, they yanked out their Beyblades and launched them at the control panel and scanner next to the door. The controls erupted in smokes and the door slidded open. Retrieving their blades in mid-motion, both teens emerged into the laboratory.
"Kai!" Tala said sharply indicating an operating table where a still figure was held down by metal straps.
"Jade." Kai muttered her name in horror even as he started running towards her. "Tala, find the controls!"
Tala obliged at once, finding a set of computers lined up against the wall nearby. He knew enough to release the straps. Glancing up, he saw Kai placing his hand over her neck for a pulse. The relieved look on Kai's face was he needed to assure him that the girl was alive. Carefully Kai removed the oxygen mask from her face and pulled out the IV tubes from her flesh. Then he lifted her in his arms. She did not stir even the slightest but he would have to worry about that later.
"Let's get out of here." Kai said turning around.
They started for the door. But before they could draw closer, men armed with electric prods and guns spilled from the door, trapping them. Guns were aimed and fired at the teens. On reflexes, Kai and Tala dove for cover behind the operating table. Tala pushed it onto its side so that it served as a protection barrier for them.
"Any ideas?" the red-haired youth yelled over the sounds of bullets bouncing off the table. It won't hold and they knew it.
Unfortunately, Kai was fresh out of ideas. "No. You?"
Tala shook his head and took the risk of peering over the table side to check on the progress of their pursuers. A hail of bullets sent him ducking his head again. "They're moving in on us. We're trapped."
"You don't say." Kai said through gritted teeth.
Then they heard a snarl. A familiar one though. In his hand, Kai felt heat. It burned his skin but not really consuming him. Without warning Draizer leapt from its blade and attacked the men. Spirit became flesh and blood as it pounced on the amazed men, drawing blood with its razor claws and fangs. Blue flames spewed from its jaws and engulfed the entire room in flames. Computers and medical machines caught fire, erupting into small explosions. Guards fled the laboratory, some not so lucky as their clothes caught fire from Draizer's attack. Kai saw their chance.
"Tala, come on!" he shouted as he dashed to the door with Jade in his arms, avoiding surging flames.
The other boy was motionless in the middle of the room as he stared at something ahead. Kai followed his gaze to observatory deck above them. That something was Boris. The man stood alone in the room, staring back down at them. Shadows casted by the roaring fire danced over his tight features. As they watched, he flipped them a small salute, turned and left the deck in a hurry.
There was nothing more in the world Tala wanted to do that moment than to go after the evil man. But as another explosion, a bigger one, broke his thoughts, Kai's shouts and Draizer's growl told him of the immediate danger they were in now. He sprinted after his friend and Draizer followed close at their heel, a protective guardian as they weaved their way back to the surface.
The police had arrived minutes after Kai and Tala went in. The SWAT team was called in and they stormed the building not giving the Biovolt guards inside to react to the intrusion. Several shots were released from both sides but that was all. Quickly, the authorities had gain access of the upper levels of the underground facility. Then they moved out to hunt down Boris. In certain parts of the building, smoke was beginning to escape.
Ray had no idea what propelled them to come after all but he suspected Max's mother had something to do with that. Judy had arrived with Mr. Dickenson in the chief officer's car and although she was not pleased with the way the Russian authorities had allowed a group of children to venture off on their own, she even more so with the team.
"You could have been hurt." she chastised.
"Mom, not now please." Max pleaded, worry clear in his voice and eyes.
Judy pursed her lips but she did not lecture them. Instead, she wrapped an arm around her son's shoulder. "They'll be fine, Maxie." she said gently. "Kai and Tala are strong. You just have to believe in them. They'll find her."
"I hope so." Max muttered.
Tyson was bouncing on his feet, a sign of anxiety and a way to keep warm. "Come on, Kai. Where are you…?" while Kenny was sitting in the car, monitoring Dizzi for anything that might help them. Ray couldn't think what else could help them now. It was all up to Kai and Tala now and hopefully things wouldn't turn out like the last time they allowed Kai to penetrate a Biovolt facility to rescue Jade. There were differences now. He was not alone. Tala was with him.
Come on, guys…
"Any sights of them?" Grandpa Granger asked coming up to Ray.
Ray shook his head briefly. "No."
"Sure is tough." the old man said. "But they'll be okay. The K-man isn't gonna take things like that lying down. And that Tala kid, he's got some serious blading skill. He's fighter. Both of them are. He and Kai'll find her, ya hear me."
"Yeah." despite the situation, Ray smiled slightly. He wondered if Tyson realized how lucky he actually was to have this old geezer as a grandfather. Sure beats having one that would use his own grandson for world domination.
"Hey, I see something!" Tyson announced suddenly, squinting through the rising smoke.
His shout made everyone else look up as two figures stumbled from the doors of the building. Kai's arms were wrapped protectively around Jade's still form and both boys were covered in soot and dirt. Their clothes were torn in various parts and the skin beneath was not spared. Other than that, they were alright.
And the sight alone was relieving for the team and adults.
"Kai!" Tyson and Max yelled joyfully.
Judy called for the paramedic team to attend to them at once. "We need medic now!"
"He's got her. He's got her." Kenny murmured to himself, a mantra of relief.
Ray shared their release of worries as he started forward to help them. Then he saw something bringing up the rear from behind Tala. His golden eyes narrowed, he frowned as he stared at the creature.
Wolborg?
No, it didn't look like Tala's Bitbeast. It did look like a wolf, a real animal. Surrounded in an allure of blue.
"Draizer?"
The wolf cocked its head as it stared up at Kai and Tala. At its mistress. Its yellow eyes reflected its concern for her. Then the paramedics rushed up to them and took Jade from Kai's embrace. Ray wondered whether they could see the wolf at all. He guessed not, for the adults lowered the raven-haired girl onto a stretcher and loaded her into the ambulance, all without noticing the wolf that was just standing behind the other two boys. Exhausted, Kai allowed the adults to fuss over him and Tala for fatal injuries. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Jade's Bitbeast still watching over them and he gave it the barest of nods.
Thank you, Draizer…
In acknowledgement, the wolf nodded in return and with a wag of its crescent tail, it turned on its heels and ran off into the night like a ghost, a spirit of unnatural grace. Faraway, Kai thought he could hear nature's call, howls belonging to a pack of wolves calling out. Calling its lost member. As he watched, Draizer disappeared into the mist that had appeared suddenly to welcome it. When it cleared, the wolf was gone. Distractedly, he looked down in his hand, at Jade's blue blade. Where once resided an ancient spirit within the Bit, it was now empty.
A/N: There ya go! Another chappie up! Once again sorry for the long update! So to encourage me for more frequent updates, Read and REVIEW!
Ja ne!
Ps: This Christmas day there'll be a surprise for ya all! So keep checking in for the surprise!
