Dark: 11th chap. 2 weeks & counting.
Summary/Disclaimer: check the prologue, I don't repeat myself.
"..." speaking
'Italics' thoughts
: … : bit beast talking
Chapter 10... Revenge: Part I
Half an hour after she had woken up, Iris had just finished packing, and Kai had gone away on a small walk around the city, even if it was only 4.30am, or so he had said on the note he left there. Iris smirked slightly to herself in the darkness of the room, 'Don't want to explain to anyone why we were here alone for so long, eh Kai?' Though by Ray's grin sent her way, she had a feeling he knew. But the Tiger knew how to keep his mouth shut and for that, she was thankful. They were leaving in just a few minutes.
Pulling out a syringe from of her bag, she grimaced as it punctured her skin, right on the tender spot of her left elbow, the clear liquid entering her system, making her feel a bit sick and dizzy on the first seconds. 'It would be just great that I got pregnant now…'
She then picked up her soft black, long sleeved turtle neck, which allowed her to move quickly and with no problems. A pair of bluish black jeans and her boots and she was ready to go.
A soft knock at the door sounded then.
"Rin? You decent?" She smiled. Tala.
"Come right in, Yuriy."
The black haired girl turned to look at him, the smile still in place, but it soon faded, as she glanced into the redhead's eyes. Not turquoise. They were of a lighter blue shade. The normal mischievous sparkle gone. She even forgot to put on her gloves as she saw them. Something was definitely wrong. "Wolf, what happened?"
The boy simply shook his head, sitting in front of her on the floor like they used to do when they were younger. Sighing, she ran her hands through his hair gently, patiently waiting for him to start speaking, knowing that he would. "Do you… remember Ten?" his voice had lowered to a soft whisper.
The girl above him paused her gentle stroking on his scalp, obviously tensing up. Her voice got quieter as well, "Of course. She was one of the few female beybladers at the Abbey… You could almost say we were best friends, practically."
He nodded absently, silence falling over them once more. His eyes seemed to glaze over as his features took in a thoughtful look.
Iris reached over, twirling one of his bangs tightly in one finger and pulling it short and harshly, snapping him back to reality. After a few more moments, he spoke up again, in the same whispering tone. "As time grows nearer, I can't help but think if she's alright… if she's even alive…" he added the last few words somewhat bitterly, "And because of that…" She let her fingers resume the light threading through his hair again, letting him know she was listening even if he had paused for a brief while, "Because of that, I… let her go…"
Dark eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't speaking about the same person anymore, "Her? You mean Rose? Rosemary?" Tala gave a short nod, almost in a forlorn way. She bit her lip, 'It isn't like him to behave like this…' "Would you like to talk about it?"
"I don't know…" his eyes closed tightly, an out of place confusion settling in his features. It certainly didn't belong there. He rarely had any doubts about his actions; he did them and that was it. She could count by the fingers of one hand the times he was ever confused about taking a decision. A perk of being a cyborg, she supposed, most of his emotions, such as regret, suppressed from his mind, allowing him to think more clearly and take the right decision.
"Yuriy, please. Tell me…" she placed a hand on his shoulder. Seeing him recoil from her like that was worse than being sliced on the back by a knife. "Don't you trust me anymore?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then tell me what happened." Iris placed her chin on his other shoulder, "Please. I might be able to help you."
He shook his head gently, "You can't, Rin. It's just… She doesn't want us to go. She told me that again. And… That's probably the reason why she acted the way she did in the first place back then too. I don't really blame her. I know it's my fault."
"How so?"
"She told me… that I shouldn't go, I would just get killed.. All that because she… she… she then said that- you know…" He trailed off, not able to continue for multiple reasons, or simply not wanting to, not wanting to hear the truth from his own lips, but Iris already knew what he meant.
She sighed softly, "I'm sorry."
At that, the redhead opened his eyes, light confusion written in them. He turned his head to look at her as she lifted her head slightly, "For what?"
"Her attitude. Sorry to be the one telling you this, but if she did care that much, as she says she does, she would understand. You and your reasons." Her voice was emotionless. Not the usual tone the boy was used to hear from her in his presence. Then again, she wasn't an expert when it came to relationships. Quite the contrary, it was odd to hear her talk about feelings and what one should do like that. She usually kept that to herself.
Therefore, he opted for a short pause, before replying, unconsciously defending the other redhead, not that he intended to, at first, "Maybe, but she doesn't know about what we've been through. Our reasons, our need for revenge. So much, we're willing to risk ourselves like this. If we were in her place… We would probably do and think the same."
Mumbling something in Portuguese under her breath that suspiciously sounded like she was cursing, the girl stood up, "I don't really know her that well, I could be wrong. So, don't take my words seriously." She looked back, her light eyes locking with his bright ones, "But I won't take them back." She turned her head to the window, her features suddenly losing their spark they held when speaking and making her point across. She looked tired, as did her next few words, "Come on… We leave in half an hour for the airport."
The boy got up, too quickly to be called calmly. His eyes narrowed, "Thanks for nothing. You left me in the same conclusion I was before I came in…"
"Wolf, I told you not to take me seriously; it's not that-" he had exited the room before she could finish the sentence, "-you shouldn't believe her…"
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Two hours and a half later, the BladeBreakers and the Demolition Boys were found in the plane that would take them to Moscow. Everyone was silent; no one dared to speak about what had just happened and what was yet to come.
Kai sat quietly on his seat as usual, eyes closed. Iris was resting her head on his shoulder, as his own was on top of hers. The only sign of their relationship was the small armrest between them both, in which rested one of his hands and one of hers, on top of his, though it could be considered as a casual move and not on purpose. Tyson and Hilary weren't bickering for once and Max and Chief, in the seats behind the former two, were also quiet. No whining for food, no 'Shut up, Tyson!', no happy shouts, no typing. Ray and Bryan were beside them, along with Spencer and Ian, who weren't planning on doing anything to their captain for once. The reason was quite obvious.
The last encounter between Tala and Rosemary was still too fresh on everyone's minds.
««Flashback»»
Both teams were heading for the gate that would lead them to their plane, when a feminine voice sounded, loud and clear, echoing through the big airport, partially empty at that time and making the echo even louder.
"Ye'r nuthin' but a coward, Tala Ivanov!" Rosemary rounded the corner, walking towards them in brisk strides, fire in her eyes. Still glaring daggers at Tala, she added, "Ah re'lly t'ought ya would say good bye at least. Guess Ah was wrong. But's ok, jus' one mo' re'son tah join t'e others, showin' ya re'lly don' care at all, ne." Turning to the others, she spoke in a more controlled voice, but just as cold, "Good luck, even if Ah doubt it'll be enoug'. Nice tah meet y'all." Nodding to each of them, she started to walk away.
"For everything we've been through, we need to do something about this situation. They need to suffer as much as we suffered." The red-head's equally, if not colder voice swept over them all. Most of them shivered. His face and eyes didn't betray any emotion, but his deadly calm voice was a bad sign.
The Scottish girl's sudden start was replaced by anger as she turned around again, pulled her hand back and tried to smack him. His reflexes were quicker though, as his arm shot up and blocked her own. His cold fingers wrapped around her wrist in a fluid motion, pulling her towards him with too much force, making her chest mould to his hard one not so gently. Her narrowed eyes never looked away from his as she whispered scathingly only for him to hear, "You know nothin' about my own sufferin'. It's not fair."
"Who ever told you life is fair? It never was, is or will ever be. Your mind is too innocent if you think like that. If you don't understand my reasons, then everything we ever had was completely useless." He replied just as quietly, releasing her, pushing her away from him and almost making her lose her balance. Not only from his harshness, but from his words.
She barely even felt Johnny's comforting hand on her shoulder. Feeling tears swell in her eyes again, she turned away and ran. 'Ah've shed too many tears ove' him. It's time tah stop. He doesn't care, so why should Ah?'
Tala resumed their former walk, not caring about the farewells of the rest of the Majestic's. Other than that, he walked away from the group, towards the gates.
««End Flashback»»
No one wanted to speak about it for fear that it could be the last straw for the Wolborg Holder, but everyone wanted to know what had really happened, especially since the majority didn't knew that there was something between him and Rosemary.
"Tala, do-"
"Shut the fuck up, Ian. I don't want to hear it."
But the blue eyed captain was having none of it. Those were practically the only words that were exchanged on that flight. Almost three hours later, the cold Russian air greeted them all. It was getting closer to midnight, since their flight was at 6pm, Portugal's timing.
"It's strange to be back after all that happened." Iris whispered into the soft, but freezing breeze. She wrapped her black scarf, which had only been dangling from her neck, tightly around herself, "I almost forgot how cold it could get."
"Well, now you remembered." Tala crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't wearing a coat, so used to this weather as he was. Or at least, so he made everyone think, "Are we going to the Abbey now, or should we call it a day and find a place to stay the night?"
The Portuguese ignored his sarcastic tone towards her, "The security is tighter at night. We should have a good night's sleep and we'll decide how to act in the morning. We'll be clear headed then. Everyone agrees?"
"Hey, hey, hey, slow down! We can't go inside the Abbey just like that! We'll get caught!" Tyson intervened.
"And who said you were coming?"
"Yeah, and who said I was- WHAT!" the naïve boy pouted, "Aww, but why can't I go?"
"Tyson…" Kai rolled his eyes, "We already told you why."
"No, you didn't!"
"You can't go, because you would just slow us down." Iris rubbed her temples, feeling a head-ache forming. Too much had happened today. "Chief, Max, you, Hilary… You will all stay. Ray will stay watching the monitors, if he agrees to come, of course, once we get inside the control room. He knows how to walk unnoticed and he's smart enough." The neko-jin grinned at that, nodding, "From then on, each of us will separate, to save the potential students, show them a way out and destroy everything else BIOVOLT has. And I think that about sums it up."
"WHAT!"
"But… that's suicide!"
"You still have time to go back to catch a plane to Japan. The airport is just some miles away." Tala started to walk away, ignoring everyone else.
'He has every right to be angry. At me, for that conversation and then, at Rosemary. Whatever she told him, it wasn't anything good.' Iris followed him next, head low, the others slowly doing the same. 'I have to find a way to help him out. He deserves as much for everything he's done to me.'
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Kai didn't know about the others, but as for himself, he didn't have as much as a minute of sleep. Getting a hotel wasn't difficult and deciding who would stay with who in the bedrooms was quick as well. But he just couldn't fall asleep. His night flew past him as he stared into Dranzer's bit, running the pad of his thumb over the edges of the dark blue beyblade. He could already feel the adrenaline flowing through his veins and it wasn't even near to start the plan. Or the day.
A frustrated sigh caught his attention. His cinnamon eyes glanced over to the door of the room. A definitely feminine figure passed by it. Hilary was in the other room, so that meant it was Iris. 'She must be worried too.' But he didn't get up. 'She needs some time alone.'
And, as usual, he was right.
Iris made her way to the balcony after picking up the first scarf she found. Which, by the way, wasn't hers, but Kai's. She wrapped it tightly around her neck, not bothering to fasten it, the ends tangled in her wrists, keeping her hands warm. Another vision had appeared. The cold sweat that it created was cooling down her skin. It didn't feel all that bad really.
Her eyes followed the sigh that came out of her mouth, the white puff of air slowly disappearing. It was cold, but the breeze wasn't too harsh, as the days became slightly warmer.
The vision wasn't anything special like the last one, just pieces here and there. Which was why she couldn't make that much sense out of them.
In one part, she saw herself falling, wonder where. In another, they were beyblading, all together, but she couldn't see their enemy. Then, Dranzer and Black Dranzer appeared out of no where. And on and on. Bits of scenes that she couldn't understand. Too sudden, too confused, too disorganized.
She turned her head down, looking at her watch. 3.45am and she wasn't anywhere near to falling asleep. 'Damn it all to hell, I'm not someone to stand here and do nothing! I hate feeling powerless like this!' She returned inside and unwrapped the snowy white scarf off her neck, throwing it to the table where it had rested with more force that what was needed, making it fall with the softest whoosh to the floor. She felt tears prickling her eyes as she looked at it. 'Tomorrow will decide everything. Some of us may not even be here by then, who knows? And this may be the last time I see them. Am I leading them to their own deaths?'
: They only followed you, because they wanted to, Mistress. Do not feel guilty. :
A small, sad smile curved her lips, 'Thank you, Lugiohan…' She reached down, picking the item carefully, as if her mere touch was going to break it. She lifted the scarf close to her nose and smelled the soft scent of Kai's cologne. And the one definitely male scent that was just labelled 'Kai', the scent she could never forget. She placed the bundle of whiteness down, beside her own scarf.
Heading to her trunk, Iris took out everything she would need for a long shower. 'Better do something useful…'
The warm water hit her bare skin, making her place both hands over the wall and let it run over her aching shoulders, over the dip of her spine, down her long legs. As the soft sponge ran gently over her skin, she could not help a shiver as, for a moment, the water ran cold. At that point, her eyes snapped open, a memory appearing in her mind's eye, no matter how hard she tried to suppress it.
««Flashback»»
Her wet, black and red hair fell in waves around her, covering part of her equally wet face as it was forced again and again into the polished tiles of the tub, the now cold water hitting her, barely noticeable.
Another grunt from the man above her sounded as the pain between her legs almost doubled in intensity. Her dull, silvery eyes shut tight. As if her position wasn't uncomfortable enough, he was doing everything in his reach to make sure she got hurt as much as possible.
Her back kept being shoved into the ground with more force than her face as her still developing hips were roughly held by calloused hands. One of her legs was bended and her other went over the edge of the tub in a very uncomfortable way, making her feel as violated as possible while lying there, not managing to move. As for her wrists, they were tightly bound to the tap of the tub, giving her no chance to get away, to cover herself, to scratch her way out of there.
One of those feared, rough hands rose to her chest, rubbing and kneading painfully, before two fingers were shoved into her mouth, the last few thrusts being the most painful ones. But Boris finally got up, moving away from her. Weakly, the leg that was carelessly placed over the edge moved, as she rested it against the other, closing them both, hiding herself from prying, merciless eyes.
"That's all you're worth for." His fake soothing voice sounded in her ears as she tried to unbind her wrists, trying in vain not to hear him, "You're worthless. Your family was better off without you. Your sister died when trying to save you. I still wonder what for. You serve for nothing. Yizkov (1), little phoenix, this is all you are. A bitch and nothing more. You'll never be anything else. You can't change that."
««End Flashback»»
She shuddered, her legs closing tightly in reflection, his words still echoing in her mind. Shakily, she started washing her hair, placing the tap in the hottest water she could bear.
Over an hour later, she came out of the bathroom, being as silent as possible and walked into the sitting room, drying the tips of her hair with the towel absently. Much to her surprise, Tala was there, looking listlessly at the window outside, sprawled on the couch. He suddenly turned and locked eyes with her. As soon as he did, the contact was gone once more. The red-head got up.
"Yuriy."
The boy paused on his way towards the exit, but didn't turn around to acknowledge her. That confirmed her suspicions that he was trying to avoid her.
"Yuriy, I-"
"I don't need your pity for what happened nor do I want a 'told you so' speech."
"It's not that-"
"Then what is it!"
She hesitated. He rarely ever snapped at her, unless he was trying to hide something. In these situations, there was only one logical thing to do. Reply quietly. "Are you just going to mourn over everything that goes wrong on your life and not do anything to solve that?" This time he stayed quiet as well, so she took it as a good sign and continued, "I'm sorry for what I told you yesterday. You came to me for help and I pushed you away when you most needed me. I didn't have the right to do that. And this is not pity. It's me admitting I acted wrong."
Silence.
Once more, Iris hesitated, but she decided to take her chance. Walking towards him, she hugged him from behind, burying her head on his back. "You've been through enough. I didn't need to hurt you further."
At first, she felt his muscles tense up; she knew he didn't like being as close to anyone as she was to him. And yet, slowly he let himself relax slightly, his hands covering her own over his stomach. He whispered softly, "I guess I overreacted a bit myself."
She smiled softly, "You're not angry at me anymore?"
"I only needed to lash out at someone. Sorry it had to be you. But you also know I can't be angry at you for long."
A chuckle escaped her, "Hu huh… Yeah, I have that gift."
"Full of yourself, aren't you?" she could almost see his smirk.
"I had a good teacher." They both grinned conspiratorially.
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They all stood in front of the gothic-like building. The four younger members of the gang had stayed behind, according to plan, but they were ready to intervene if their presence was needed. The remaining seven teens were anxious to enter, but each of them knew that if they stepped one inch out of the planned, the alarm would go on. And here is where a brilliant mind can make wonders.
"The white one."
"You sure?"
"Yes, as the red one is connecting to-"
"Alright, Spencer, I get the picture." Iris disconnected the white wire from the electronic device of the gates. She was the one with smaller hands and Spencer knew of electronics. A perfect team for this kind of job. With a hiss, the gates opened automatically.
Ian stopped his pacing, "Wow, Spencer, I take back everything bad I ever said about you…"
"What did you say?"
"Err, nothing, nothing!"
"Spence! We still need to deactivate the alarm on the fields."
"Right…" the blonde boy crouched beside her again, looking into the circuits. "Take off that little blue square thingy. It's what will turn on the sound alarms." She did so. "Now, we need to rip off two wires. Hn, two… If it was the white before, now it's… the yellow and the light blue one- no, wait! Yellow and… dark blue. Yeah, that's right."
"If I come out electrocuted from short-circuit, you'll pay my funeral, big guy…" she muttered to herself as she wrapped her fingers around the two wires and yanked them quickly and hastily, the little sparks that would mean her death dancing in the air. Every head turned to the Abbey's grounds. The red light that signalized the outside alarm shut off. "I think it's safe now."
They made their way slowly through the thick snow, making as little noise as they could. Stopping to let a group of five 'monks' walk away, they slipped inside before the door could close. Everyone plastered themselves against the wall as Tala launched Wolborg to cut the video camera's wires with a small dagger.
"C'mon, if we go through this door, it will lead us to the dormitories immediately. The rest of the kids here must be getting ready to start today's training session." Bryan opened a door to their left, holding it as they got inside. After some minutes of walking in the dark, they finally saw light. They entered a narrow corridor, with doors everywhere, which would lead them to the private bedrooms. As they walked through it, Iris stopped at one door. She shuddered, 'So many memories… So much pain… How can I ever forget?' A hand rested on her shoulder. She opened her eyes. 'Wait… I stayed behind. Everyone's in front of me. Then, who's..?' She turned around sharply, hands quickly grabbing for Lugiohan and her launcher, a snarl on her lips as she turned around sharply and let it rip.
A similar black blade clashed harshly against hers, both tops going back to spinning in front of their respective owner's feet.
"Almost six months without seeing each other and this is the kind of greeting I get?"
Iris visibly relaxed, blinking in surprise and cracking a small smile. "Ten… Long time no see."
Said Russian girl chuckled softly, violet eyes glinting, "Hu huh… What are you guys doing here? I thought you had run away."
"We did. But we decided to pay a visit and help you guys out." Bryan smirked slightly, as they all came back at hearing the clashing of metal, "Do you know where the main team is? The Shadowed Blades?"
Ten's once warm hues hardened, "Top floor. You're safe here, for now at least. But your sister-"
"Is safe."
Her interest perked up upon hearing Tala's voice, "Yuriy? That you?"
The mentioned boy came to view, turning the corner. He nodded at her, his own turquoise orbs softening ever so lightly. Ten smiled widely, walking up to him. They both hugged for a small moment as Bryan smirked knowingly. The latter leaned in to whisper at Iris's ear, "Did you know those two had a crush on each other when they were younger? I dunno about Tala, but Ten seems no different."
Iris gave him a look as she whispered back, "Who didn't notice? Probably only themselves." Again, that same problem came up. Tala had a problem to solve with Rosemary. Not that she was denying a chance at happiness at her long time female friend, but Tala already had too many problems of his own at the moment. And this only complicated everything. 'Who ever said love triangles were cute?...'
They continued walking in silence, reaching the end of the hall. Not wanting to take any chances, they took the stairs instead of the elevator, disabling all cameras they spotted. Ten was quickly informed of the plan.
"Ok, time to separate. Ray, you'll stay at the control's room, once we get there. Spencer, Ian, you'll be responsible of getting everyone out of the buildings…" Iris started.
"Me and Tala will go and destroy the Investigations and Development Wing. We know that zone better than anyone else here." Ten placed a comforting hand on Tala's arm. She could easily feel the tension under the skin. He had passed through too much in that area, while she had just been lucky. Boris was thinking of doing the same thing to her, but right then, the project 'Experience Double - Black Dranzer' appeared, taking all of the man's attention away from her.
Tala looked away when she touched his arm, suppressing a shiver. 'I thought I had gotten over this...' He nodded to confirm the girl was right, but his mind was elsewhere. It wasn't on the times he passed in torture, but on the girl right beside him.
"You and Bryan can go look for Black Dranzer and I'll take care of Voltaire." Kai lifted a hand as Iris opened her mouth in protest, "And that's that."
"Kai, Boris is probably with him. You alone won't stand a chance. Besides... You know..." Iris stepped forward, resting her hand on his pocket, over Dranzer. She leaned over to whisper at his ear, but he beat her to it, doing that himself.
"I know Dranzer can be stronger, if he fuses with Black Dranzer, returning to his most ancient and powerful form. Before the 'Experience Double' ever existed. Before Boris managed to get his hands on him in the first place."
Iris took a step back, blinking in surprise, "How did you find out?"
"I have my ways, as you have yours." He took out something from his pocket, putting it on her own. His lips descended on hers, but he stopped just at the last second. "I want you to promise me that, no matter what, you'll get away from here as soon as you get Black Dranzer."
"Kai, no-"
"Time's running out."
Short pause, "Fine. I promise. But-"
"Go."
"But Kai-"
"Just go!" he pushed her away a bit too harshly, but Bryan quickly balanced her, grasping her arm and taking her away from the rest of them.
"Bry, wait up! We have to stop him! What he'll do is suicide and you know it!"
"There's no time. The faster we find Black Dranzer, the faster we can help him out, remember? Let's go." That shut her up.
They quickly came to a stop as they saw two tall mahogany doors. This was the part where the students couldn't get in, only Boris or Voltaire. Or someone they called there. Which always meant something was bound to happen. Something bad.
"It's locked. And we can't do much racket." Bryan threaded his fingers through his hair agitatedly, "Any ideas?"
A small smirk curved her lips, "Bry, don't you know me at all?" kneeling on the floor, she took out a pin from her messy ponytail, and turning it a few times in the right direction, the door opened with a quick 'click'.
Shaking his head, the Russian boy entered, followed by the quietly giggling female. But once inside, their faces became horrified.
Dried blood on the walls, pieces of beyblade's scattered all around... The room screamed 'Death' and they both knew it.
"That's simply disgusting..." Iris whispered softly, not daring to raise her voice. The other boy just nodded, starting to see through the display-windows that were on the walls. At seeing one of them, he took a step back, eyes wide, looking from it, to Iris and back again.
The girl noticed as she walked up to him, "Found it?"
"No, don't!" Bryan tried to take her away from it, but she had already begun reading.
Iris Catherine Blanchett
Experience 'The Seer'
- Able to communicate with any bit-beasts and control them;
- Able to use their energy;
- (Possibility) Able to foresee the future with the help of the Sacred Bit-beasts.
Priorities:
- Train and/or submit her;
- Enable her of her powers by means of removal and/or usage;
- Not let her know of her full powers;
- Observe her;
- Eliminate every member of true family.
Programmed with:
Experience Double – Black Dranzer
"I'm sorry."
Her shocked eyes turned to his guilty ones, "You mean you knew? You all knew? And you never told me anything?"
"Kai knows nothing about this-"
"He doesn't count, for crying out loud! He only knows me when I showed up at Tyson's a couple of months ago! He doesn't know my past! But you guys... I-I trusted you, Ian, Spencer..." her voice cracked at knowing her best friend kept something like this from her knowledge, "...Tala... You all knew and you kept silent! Don't I have the right of knowing about my true nature!"
"Look, Boris didn't make you; he only wants your powers. Which were born in you. No one put them there." He continued searching for the Dark Phoenix, putting some distance between them and avoiding her eyes, "We didn't want you to get hurt, if you knew. You'd snap at Boris and he'll… you know…"
"But how could you? It's not fair; this is my problem and mine alone! Why do you have to go and try to protect me?"
"You didn't need to know at the time! You were safer that way." The lavender-eyed boy turned to look at her finally, "You'd just try to find out more about the experience and do something about it. It would only get worse."
As much as she still thought she was the one being right, she subsided. Once more, she started looking for the bit-chip too.
Bryan let out an inaudible sigh, 'It's best if she doesn't know anything else about it. And Boris isn't the only one interested... Others will come. Very soon.'
"Found it." Cracking her knuckles, Iris pulled her fist back, delivering a punch to the 'unbreakable glass' that protected Black Dranzer's display window, effectively breaking it.
"You could be quieter, you know..."
"Who cares." taking out the small chip, she ignored the presence that tried to enter her mind, blocking it. She put it on her pocket, expression emotionless. "Ready to go?"
The boy nodded, taking a disk from one of the few computers, "Yeah."
"And what's that supposed to be?"
"Something that can help us out if we feel the need to. Let's go." they ran out of the room quickly.
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Tala stopped in front of the black door. Written in Russian, there it was. The 'Investigations and Development Wing'. Ten stopped beside him shortly after.
"You didn't need to come running."
"You didn't have to follow me like you did."
Rolling her eyes, the girl opened the door. Perhaps a bit too hard, as it slammed with the wall beside it. They both jumped at that.
"Have you ever heard of discretion?"
"Shut it, Ivanov."
The two teens entered slowly and soundlessly, but a sarcastic laugh made the hairs on their necks stand up. That could only mean one thing. Better saying, one person. If you call that a person, that is. Tala stepped in front of Ten, an arm stretched out in front of her.
"Ah, isn't that sweet? Young love…" Boris appeared from behind the numerous machines and inventions, "Such… a weakness." They didn't reply, but their frowns deepened, "What were you thinking? To destroy this place and run away?" a low, cold chuckle escaped him, "Aren't you two so naïve…"
"Yeah, we planned on destroying this. Ya know, in the 'KABUM'-style sort of thing… But you'll have to count with the other six of us, of course." A smirk curved Ten's lips as she saw the mocking smile slowly falter from the adult's face.
"Yes, I know you aren't as stupid as to come here alone. Unfortunately. You'd spare me the work though." He snapped his fingers.
One of the various monitors in the room blinked to life, just in time to show them Ray being thrown out.
Ten bit her lip. 'Not in the plans… So not in the plans…' slowly, her hand moved, reaching for her blade and launcher at her hip.
"Still, as much as you two annoy me…" The purple haired man took a step back, his hand resting on a wall, "You, Tala, are still of some use. Therefore, I can't really just kill you. As for you, my dear…" his lips curved into a not so pleasant smirk as cold dark eyes rested on Ten. Out of instinct, she took a step closer to the boy in front of her, "You'd follow the same path.. If that other friend of yours hadn't came along. So, we simply finished with him." He gave a nod towards the red head. "But I fear my presence is required somewhere else. So, I'll leave you two. Maybe you'll have enough time to repair your bonds, or maybe not." A clicking kind of sound was absently heard, almost passing by unnoticed due to the light humming of the machines around. Nevertheless, a slightly louder buzz than that one started to be heard. Boris left the room almost lazily, since he was nearer to the door, smirking as both bladers ran forward towards it as well, only for said door close just as their fists reached it, locking itself automatically afterwards.
Growling quietly in frustration, the boy turned his head sideways to face her, "Do you know what that click was for?"
She shook her head, feeling hopeless herself, eyes looking everywhere to try and pinpoint the source of the buzz still sounding, "No idea. I don't even know where he pressed, so I can't really say anything." her hand reached up, resting over his arm, not because of her will, more like it felt safer that way, "Yuriy… Something's not right…"
"I know." His eyes looked over at her hand absently, as he resisted the urge to rest his own over it, "I know. But we'll-" he stopped mid-sentence, looking up and nostrils flaring once. He frowned, 'Is that what I think it is?' He took a deep breath and felt dizziness overcame him almost immediately, causing him to choke slightly while trying to identify the scent he just picked up and not gag on it.
"Wolf, what-" Ten silenced herself as well, seemingly noticing it too.
They both hissed at the same time, while covering their mouths and noses with their sleeves, "Chloroform."
"We won't last for long. We need to get out, now." Tala reached out with his free hand, getting a hold of her upper arm as she swayed slightly on her feet. For the simple reason she was smaller and had less body mass than him, the gas would get to her system faster, "Any ideas?"
"Only one, really." As he glanced back to see what she was going to do, she had raised the collar of her shirt, breathing through it, whilst taking out her beyblade and launcher.
"Ten, don't!" Too late.
"Let it RIP!"
The boy barely had time to get out of the way before the blade crashed onto the door, and reflected back again just as quickly, missing him for less than an inch and making a cut on his shirt just under his arm. He gave her a look, "Thanks a lot…"
Her response was a sheepish grin (or so he thought, since her mouth and nose were covered) and an apologetic look, "Prosti (2)… Thought it would work."
"I told you not to do that for some reason, didn't I?" he knocked on the door for emphasis, "This metal is made of a light alloy of iron, nickel and titanium. Due to the explosions that can be caused here and whatever else. It's practically unbreakable and hurts as hell if you try to tear it down." he raised his hand, the one he had knocked the door with. The contact area was turning reddish. Spilled blood. "I know what I'm talking about."
Her eyes looked away from his as she nodded quietly. "Then, what can we do? The walls should be made of some kind of alloy as well."
Tala reached into his pocket, taking out Wolborg. Placing it against the wall so that the attack ring made contact, he let it slide over the surface, making a superficial gash on the paint and the metallic material below it, if the loud screeching sound was of any indication. But there was a gash on the wall nevertheless. His eyes glinted in what she supposed to be the effects of a smirk, "Yes. But not indestructible." He took out his launcher, being forced to breathe the contaminated air for a few seconds to place his blade in position. Though instead of such, a slender hand reached up before that. Violet locked with turquoise for an instant as he leaned forward to breathe through her sleeve while adjusting Wolborg.
She looked away while that, feeling his skin against hers, cold, thin lips against the sensitive area of her wrist, even through her shirt. Shaking her head, she went into position as he did the same.
They did their best not to breathe in the chloroform, though more then once, they wobbled on their feet while releasing their beyblade's again and again. The crack on the wall was getting bigger, even if slowly.
"Finally!" Ten quickly stepped outside as soon as the hole was big enough, taking in big gulps of fresh, cold air.
"Don't." his hand rested on her shoulder, making her pause. "The gas is still in your system. If you move too much, it'll spread. Try not to breathe that deeply for now; it will only help your blood flow faster and the gas reach your cells faster as well." He turned back to the room. "We need to trash the place. Make sure it's not used again."
In reply, she nodded. "So that they can't rebuild it or torture anyone else."
The beyblade's were released at the same time, destroying everything that happened to be on their way. After some minutes, no one would ever recognize the once perfectly organized room as a scientific area, since all that was left were odd coloured liquids on the floor eating away at reports and plans, machines completely wrecked and broken shards of glasses a bit all over the place.
The teens put their blades back in their pockets once more. As soon as that was done, they broke into a run almost at the same time, absently knowing at the backs of their minds that due to the collapsing of the wall and damage to the rest of the remaining ones, the rest of that part of the Abbey would fall on top of them at any moment, along with the rest of the building afterwards. Though a few hundreds of feet away, Ten's vision faltered, as did her balance. Tala's arms were around her petite frame in a heart beat. Luckily, she had fallen over practically in front of him. If she had lost her balance and fallen to the other side, he wouldn't have the time to catch her.
"Ten?"
She opened her eyes gingerly, looking up at him, a slightly foggy look in them. She kept silent though, lips parted, but no sound coming from her throat. In the moment Tala was going to speak again, her hand reached up, resting over his cheek softly. His eyes turned away from hers, focusing on the necklace around her slender neck. The necklace he had given her for one of her birthdays and had suffered for that fact further on after Boris found out. "Yuriy.." he regretfully glanced into her eyes once more, "Did… Did you ever miss me... after you left?" He slowly nodded, still not sure of where she wanted to get with such a question and as to how he should react to it anyway. And the more he looked into her eyes, the closer they seemed to get, until she finally closed them softly.
And he felt her lips press into his.
From the moment her hand rested over his cheek, from the moment he started kissing her, he knew he should have pulled back. But he didn't. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, his hands securing her to him and pulling her in an upright position. Their heads tilted to the side, lips slightly parted as they were pressed more urgently into one another's. Even if it was short-lived, the kiss was intense. They broke it at the same time, the look of pleasant surprise and hope in her eyes, longing and uncertainty in his.
Before any of them could even utter a word, her body suddenly went limp in his arms, her chin falling to his chest, long dark lashes slowly falling to cover bright violet hues.
"Ten?" at her lack of response, some unknown feeling made his chest seem tight, as two fingers were placed quickly over her neck. 'Her pulse is normal. Must've been the effects of the gas.' His eyes narrowed as he placed an arm around her back, the other under her knees, picking her up properly, 'He'll pay. I promise you that.'
He didn't notice a pair of large pale lavender hues following his every move, every step. "Ah nevah should've come..." tears of betrayal stung her eyes, "An' 'ere Ah thought Ah shou'd apologize to him…" she ran away on the opposite direction quickly.
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Iris Catherine Blanchett
Experience 'The Seer'
- Able to communicate with any bit-beasts and control them;
- Able to use their energy;
- (Possibility) Able to foresee the future with the help of the Sacred Bit-beasts.
Priorities:
- Train and/or submit her;
- Enable her of her powers by means of removal and/or usage;
- Not let her know of her full powers;
- Observe her;
- Eliminate every member of true family.
Programmed with:
Experience Double – Black Dranzer
His dark eyes turned away from the message, disgust clearly written in them. Kai looked around the office where he had first thought his grandfather was, after leaving Ray on the control room and knocking out a few security guards. Everything was deadly quiet now. 'Which means something's up... I can feel it.'
The pressure on the air descended suddenly. That meant that something on the room was open.
"And what does a foolish boy think he can do, standing all alone in such a dangerous place and position?" a cold, calm, silky voice made his blood run cold as soon as he heard it.
"Grandfather." The slate-haired teen slowly turned around, eyebrows set in a deep frown.
Voltaire looked unconcerned at the sight of having his grandson searching through his office, "For what I see, you don't seem very surprised with the news." He made a general gesture towards his desk, where Iris's file was opened.
"I was already expecting something along these lines. It just needs to come out from you and your stupid organization for me to know something is not quite right." he took a step back, "What else did you do to her?"
"I see you're as sharp as my dear son was... Once." A smirk curved his lips, "Oh, not much, don't worry. She managed to run away before we were finished with her. With the help of those four others, I suspect." He frowned absent-mindedly, meaning the rest of the Demolition Boys, probably. "We needed to properly break her spirit. Only then, in total submission, would we succeed in removing her powers. Or, in the very least, mould her attitude in a more pleasant one, so that she obeyed."
"You're not telling me everything, or else, you wouldn't be that calm." His voice cut the small chit chat. He took another step back. 'Something's definitely off…'
"Fiery and to the point, as usual..." the small smirk on his lips didn't quiver, "Still, you are right. That was just a small part of my plans. But the other's not all about Miss Blanchett. Besides, there is no need for me to worry about that one anymore."
The door opened suddenly, making him stand straighter and on guard. And the most shocking sight greeted him, the last one he was expecting to see at that moment. 'That can't be...'
Iris stood before him, eyes cold and not offering any resistance when Boris placed one hand on her shoulder, leading her inside. Guards entered, surrounding the surprised boy and holding his arms down. His shocked gaze didn't leave her indifferent one.
Her now grey listless eyes looked over at Voltaire, with something akin to respect. And it was right then that he knew...
...TBC...
(1) "Yizkov" means "remember" in Russian. Read it in a book entitled "Natasha", about the Holocaust. Just thought I'd put it there.
(2) "Prosti" means "sorry", also in Russian. Dunno where I read that, but it does. At least, I'm almost sure it does. Doesn't matter much, anyway.
Thanks to:
IcePhoenixLove: Ah, dun worry about her not going. If she did, wat gud wud it b 4 the sequel? There wudn't b a need 4 it 2 exist. The part w/ Ray was just a little humorous thing I felt like writing xD He was just passing by their room while the couple was rather occupied, that was all. Nevertheless, I hope u enjoyed this chap & thank u 4 reviewing ;)
Tenebrae Rosa: Yeah, I kno, I had the same prob. Cudn't go on w/ reading the fics I am currently reading last night… Anyways, glad u liked & I redid the last scene 4 u, so b happy 4 it! & wat confusion were u talking about?
Dark: Ok, so I was hoping 4 more reviews on the last chap… meh… but never mind that. This cliffy makes up 4 it.