What you can't see
Can't hurt you
Chapter 21. Hello
The Russian sighed as he walked into his small kitchen. The redhead had been staying with him for almost a month now, and it was starting to get on his nerves. He didn't know why he couldn't go back to the apartment he shared with Kai, but whatever the reason, it had better be good. He searched the half empty fridge, looking for some sort of alcohol. Another thing that bugged him, the damned redhead only ate and drank. He didn't work; he just sat on the couch and complained that they were running out of stock. Grabbing the last can in the six pack, he shut the door as hard as he could and made his way to the living room.
"Here. It's the last one." Bryan said, chucking the cold item at the other. He got a mumbled thank you before he heard the sound of the can being opened.
"Buy more," He heard in the dead voice. Shaking his head, he sat down on the seat next to Tala. "We can't go without it."
"You mean you won'tgo without it. Why don't you go, it'll do you good to get out."
"No money," The lilac haired man groaned and reached to his back pocket, getting his wallet. The redhead took it from him and opened it. "Thanks." Bryan nodded and watched as the can was quickly emptied and crushed. He didn't know how long his friend planned on staying like this, but he didn't want to find out.
"Why don't you get a job? Get your own money to wait instead of mine." Tala shrugged and stood, swaying slightly. The sober male didn't have his bike or car with him, Bryan guessed they were still at the hotel, seeing as he'd walked to Bryan's house when he decided to move in.
Tala pocketed the wallet and picked some keys up off the table. He moved towards the door, feet scuffling. "Maybe I will get a job," He said as he opened the apartment door. "I heard that there was street fighting for money somewhere on this side of town." He didn't wait for a reaction, but only just shut the door. He needed to get a life. Ever since Zeo disappeared, he'd accepted defeat and decided to wallow about till they unlocked the thing and brought on whatever it was that would happen. He solemnly walked down an ally; Bryan wouldn't miss him if he was out long. He didn't look up as two teens blocked his path, he simply stopped.
"Hey, old man!" Old to kids these days was over twenty. "What you doing down here?" He looked blankly at the one who spoke. Sadistic grins decorated their faces, along with a black eye for the loudmouth. Tala nodded and walked a bit further. They were dressed like gangsters. Fake no doubt.
"I'm only looking for some spare change, wouldn't happen to know where I can get some, huh?" The grins grew wider and the one who took the leader role answered.
"Yea, we know! What is it to you? Can you fight?" Tala nodded. "Come this way then!" He said, and started walking to the end of the ally. They exited onto an empty street and raised a stick. All the fighters seemed to have them these days. "We got a newbie!" He bellowed. Children, teens and a few adults emerged from the side streets and allies, interested in what the fuss was about. They crowded round the three of them and the two teens sunk back into the crowd. A boy with a megaphone and put it to his lips.
"Raw, fresh meat on the shelf! Anyone for the taking?" the sound was almost deafening to Tala, but as the swarm roared, he had to clean his ears out to make sure nothing had broken. A dark haired man with a tan stepped out the mass of bodies as Tala flicked some wax of his little finger. The man had a dark look on his face and sneered crudely.
"A wise ass I'm taking? Might as well put him in his place." He wore a ponytail for his long sleek hair and sunglasses hid his eyes. Dark leather covered his legs and torso, him biker jacket zipped up tightly. Tala's expression remained blank.
"I'm not the one wearing protective gear while bluffing about how good I am, though I wouldn't need to bluff," The man grinned in a similar fashion to the teens. He ripped off the jacket and tossed it to the side, revealing tattooed covered arms and a white muscle shirt. Tala eyed him and raised a brow. "What's with the tattoos? If you don't mind me asking…though I'm not all that sure I want to know."
"If you must know, I like the pain of them, it's pleasurable." Tala couldn't help but smirk at that comment. The man frowned.
"Get your tongue or eyebrow pierced then, you might find it fun," The man growled and took a knife out his back pocket, throwing it on the ground. "A kitchen knife? What happened to a woman's place being the kitchen?" The man almost road with anger.
"How much do you wager?" Came the load megaphone. Tala couldn't help but groan at the loudness.
"Everything I've won so far! Bring it in boys!" A cart full of random junk was brought in by two older teens. Tala picked and poked through the pile and nodded at some stuff. He could do with some of this stuff, and he might be able to donate the rest. "What about you small fry?" Tala looked up.
"Me? Well, I have my friend's wallet, a few bikes back at the hotel; this jacket is worth quite a bit I guess," He shredded the thick white and orange sheath and tossed it. He didn't have any tattoos, nor did he have a shirt of any kind, just his unnaturally pale skin. "It's kind of dirty though." The man nodded as it was added to the pile.
"Any photos, stuff like that, jewellery." Tala's pockets were searched until a photo was found. A turquoise boy was in the photo, smiling widely next to Tala; it was taken one evening when Kaede was testing a friend's camera before taking pictures of the victims. Tala wasn't fond of the photo, but it helped him sleep better. He glared viciously at the teen, who backed away with the photo in his hand. The large man cackled cruelly and had the photo brought to him. Tala's scornful glare followed.
"Give that back." He spat. The man just cawed again and held it in the palm of his hand, inspecting it.
"What's this? A girlfriend or something, she looks very boyish," Tala growled viciously. Another hoot and the large palm started to slowly close. "What would happen if it got crushed in the fight?" he barley had time to make another snide remark as Tala seemed to disappear and reappear right in front of him.
"This." The man coughed up a pool of dark-red liquid as a ferocious punch was thrust into his gut. The crowd seemed to still with awe and trepidation as their fighter was winded. Tala's glare twisted into a malicious leer, which darkened with each moment. The precarious slippery paper drifted to the ground slowly, in a similar fashion to a feather and landed as neatly as it could. Tala bent his front leg and straightened the stiff back one, lowering the oversized man as he did. The rigid leg bent and swung round in a round house kick, straight into the man's lower regions. A painful, low squeak emitted from the hard mouth of the Russian's opponent. He struggled to stand before looking dead into the dilated, icy blue eyes. He roared with anger and threw an upper-cut punch into the pale jaw. His right fist flew swiftly round into the knife-like eyes that bore threw his skull.
He continuously charged and threw punch after punch into Tala, hitting as many places as he could, causing blood to stream out of the busted lip. With one last bawl he brought a hammer fist onto, what should've been, the redhead, until a single pasty palm clutched it tightly. The sharp fingers seemed to constrict round his bulky fist. "What-what are you doing?" He croaked. The dark sneer returned and he lent forward slightly.
"Showing you what would've happened to my photo," the fingers suddenly compressed the branch of flesh, bone and muscle, crippling it. A wail of pain echoed threw with thick air and the well-built, older man fell to his knees. "Oh, and he's my boyfriend, not my girlfriend. Get it right next time." The man looked up as his glassed cluttered to the floor. Small, grey eyes looked up at Tala. The wolf stalked to the cart and retrieved his jacket, not bothering to fasten it, and then he made his way to the photo, bending slowly and repossessing it, stuffing it into its original place. He sauntered to his new possessions and wielded the relatively large cart out of the street.
"And the Wolf is the winner!" Boomed the megaphone, much to Tala's distaste, though the cheering after wasn't too bad. The Wolf was well suited to him as far as he was concerned. He walked through the streets, which were far too crowded for his liking. The walk back to Bryan's apartment was longer than he remembered, and when he got there, he didn't expect to see Miriam waiting outside the white door. She looked up at him as he got closer, even if he didn't want to admit it the guy he fought gave more damage then he wanted. If he stopped, he'd surely collapse.
"Tala? What happened to you?" Miriam asked, not ranting or concerned, but in complete shock. He didn't know what she was talking about, he didn't think the fight made him look too much different, maybe a bruise or two and a swollen lip, but that's all.
"Umm…nothing really, why?" She started examining him as he got to the porch. "Err, Miriam? What's wrong?" He asked nervously.
"You look so much paler! And look at your eyes; you look like you haven't had a good night sleep in a long time! Of my! Look at you! You haven't been fighting again, have you?" Tala was happy to see his friend open the door, distracting Miriam from him for a while. When Bryan got a proper look at him, he sighed and motioned for them to go in. Luckily for Tala, Bryan's place was on the ground floor, so he didn't have much trouble getting his cart there, but getting it through the narrow door was different. After a while, they managed to get it into the house, leaving it in the doorway.
Bryan and Miriam were talking as he re-entered from having a shower. Miriam was the first to speak, as always. "I guess you're wondering why I'm here, huh?" She asked, Tala nodded and sat down at the large kitchen table. "Well, we wanted to know how you were doing, and we've spotted some movement in-"
"Oh give it a rest Miriam," Tala complained, tired and bothered. "I've told you, I've given up!" Miriam shook her head.
"I know you haven't, 'cause when you don't give up, especially when someone you care about is involved." She argued. Tala wanted to hit her so hard.
"What do you know? I am how I am! I got told that if you loved something, you would let it go!" He defended pathetically. Bryan stood, deciding it was between the two of them.
"It's 'if you love something, you'll fight for it' Tala, you know that." He said before he calmly exited. Tala spat something in Russian after him, though he never got a reply. Green and blue eyes locked together, trying to break the other, though Miriam had the obvious advantage as she hadn't been moping around and drinking non-stop. Tala finally stood, and walked out to the hall where Bryan was getting his things out the cart so it could be moved. Miriam soon joined them.
"Well, will you just come and see before you start giving up? That's all I'm asking, if you really don't want to stay, you can come back here. Bryan could come to." The Russian unloading the cart looked up at her as if she had three heads.
"And spend more time than needed with Mystel; I think I'll stay here. Tala, you should go though, while you're out I'll restock the fridge…and everything else that should be holding food." He said, hauling the cart out the door. Miriam grabbed Tala's wrist and started for the door, dragging the week and beaten male with her.
"Come on, Kaede's waiting in the car, let's go." He should've seen that coming, Kaede was often pulled along with Miriam, though she didn't put up much of a fight. Kaede was like that though, she often couldn't be bothered. He climbed into the car and nodded to the albino girl, who in turn, smiled as much as she could.
"Hey, how've you been?" She asked with a slight hint of a cold. Typical, she always does get the colds.
"As good as it gets I guess." He replied, not bothering to ask for her own health. He'd stopped asking about those kinds of things a while ago. He stopped doing a lot of things though; he really was pathetic.
"I'm well, so are the others," Kaede said; replying an unasked question. "It's been a while, I'm sure they'll be glad to see you!" Tala nodded and smiled sadly. Why would they be glad to see him, he deserted them didn't he?
"Come on Kaede! Drive!" Miriam barked; Kaede immediately started up to go and drove. You could tell who wore the pants in that relationship. Not long after they'd started, they seemed to be there. The atmosphere was so thick you could slice it with a knife. Tala stepped out, glad to be out of the awkward car, into a more open space. Though it was probably just as awkward. A group of people where standing in smaller groups, talking among themselves. Tala was guessing this was a selection of the people who could come at the moment in time, or most of the hawks.
"Now what?" He asked sharply; he didn't want to be here. They were on the edge of the cliff before the forest, the turn where Zeo had gotten himself involved in this mess. Miriam turned to him, ready to shout at him or something, before Kaede decided that was the last thing they needed.
"Now, we show you what we've been noticing, these people could tell you, or Miriam can take you into the forest." Tala looked sceptically at the girl, eyes narrowing slightly. Miriam took that as a yes, he wanted to go in, and headed in the direction of the woods. Tala scuffled his feet along the floor, before picking them up and following her normally. Kaede looked after them, not wanting to be left alone. Ozuma came out from the small crowd of people and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok. They'll be back before you know it!" noticing the look in her eyes, he stepped in front of her vision to the path their friends had taken with a classic grin on his face. "It's fine Kaede! Let them go! Come on, I think you need something to drink; I'll take you down to the shops! Sounds good, no?" He said while rushing her off.
Tala grunted as he was pushed into a tree for the umpteenth time. This was annoying. People were everywhere! How was he suppose to do anything, he wasn't a hawk! He growled as he was dragged along a nest of trees, and then looked up as Miriam made her way up the tree standing right in front of them. She was good at climbing trees that was one thing. He followed after her, with little grace, and sat on a branch as she heaved herself onto the one above. Her arm stretched out to point at the opening, where you could barely see the ruins of the old temple, and a few people gathered in white coats. He could remember those coats clearly; he still had one in his room to remind him of what was right and what was not. Tala growled lowly.
"Tala! Hush!" Miriam said in the quietest whisper she could muster. The coats weren't particularly long, and they had a few buckles on them, along with a few stripes of a certain colour, the colour for the strip showed your status. The ranking order went something along the lines of blue, green, orange, red, purple. He had an orange one, Kai had a green one. Miriam dropped to his branch, holding her weight on the upper one so they wouldn't snap. "You know what the colours are, right?" Tala nodded in response. "I know this is rich, but we want to borrow yours, I think it might come in use."
"I don't think so. Most of the orange coated people are well known. If I were you, I'd take the blue stripes as an insult, they obviously don't think very highly of us," the girl shrugged and smiled slightly.
"What you going to do, huh? Come, let's go back," she climbed down the tree after Tala and led the way back to the cliff side, only to find no one was there. "Seems like they left. Those blue coated people must've come to check."
"Probably," Miriam looked at the redhead, who seemed to be lost in thought; she let out a sly smirk and took this opportunity for her own.
"So then, how about we go back to the hotel? I think they'll be moving soon, I've seen a few green coats about." Tala nodded to her question and followed her to the bikes.
"Wait. I'm meant to be going back to Bryans…hey!" She cackled and ran down the road. She guessed Kaede had moved the car so it wouldn't get noticed. "Miriam! Get back! I don't want to go back to the hotel, remember?" The bluenette completely ignored him and continued running, stopping abruptly as she saw someone at the end of the path. Tala slowed down and looked at her curiously, before looking in the direction of the person. "A…a red coat?"
"Tala…Tala, why is there a red coat, I bet it's just coincidence right?" Miriam spluttered, as if her words had turned into liquid. Tala's heart pounded. "Tala? Tala why are they here? Tala!" In a desperate rush, he grabbed her wrist and tugged her under the railings and into a bush, gripping tightly to the cliff in case they fell. It wasn't steep enough for them to suddenly fall, but it was steep. He clamped a hand over her mouth, only to have her clammy ones wrapped round it. Her eyes were wide and her breathing rushed.
He looked up slightly, trying to see them, before pressing his head against the dirt. He counted the footsteps he heard. One…no, three people…two people…wait. He tightened his grip on Miriam they've stopped.
"He says there's someone here." Tala panicked. They knew, but the only way they could know is if the key had told them. His jaw clenched as the thought ran through his mind. Zeo had ratted them out, to red coats no less. "No? What? False alarm. How did he manage a false alarm?"
"Probably a blue coat, they're all over," so there was more than one red coat. Tala relaxed slightly as the patting of feet got further and further away. Even as he couldn't hear them anymore, he just sat there, letting his brain process what he'd heard. Zeo had ratted on them…he was working with the people Ana had kept him from? It was too much, especially when he took his word back. Did he know it was Miriam and he, or did he just think it was a blue coat?
"Tala!" He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the girl in his lap, who had settled down, but had a strong look on her face. "Did you hear what they were saying?" He nodded, too afraid to speak. "Come on. We have to move, there isn't much time left," she said while pulling them both up the cliff. They ran down the road, looking for a taxi or some form of transport as they got onto the busier roads.
"They're going to come to our room," Tala stated as they got onto a bus. Miriam looked at him incredulously. "We've got that dammed stone, remember? They'll want it," he added, she bit her lip on got out her pink phone. Tala grimaced at the colour.
"Hello? Hiro, it's Miriam, is anyone with you?" Tala looked at the girl, while cursing at the slowness of the bus. "Good, tell Mystel not to let the stone, in Kai's room, out of his sight." Tala turned his full attention to her as she folded the phone up and plopped it into her bag.
"So?" He asked, looking at her expectantly.
"So? You heard me right?" Tala nodded causing Miriam to shrug in question. Sighing he turned to the window and watched as trees and builds would go by. It wouldn't be too long until they reached the hotel. "Hey, Tala?"
"Yea, what is it?"
"Do you think…do you think they've already got the stone?" he looked at her dazed and debated on the possibility.
"Umm…no. I don't. Why?" She looked the other way and shook her head. Frowning, he looked back to the window and almost ran off the bus when they stopped. They walked back to the Liandi in a slow and awkward silence, yet neither of them wanted to break it no matter how uncomfortable they were. In a way, they were glad for it, as they hadn't seen each other in so long. It was weird to be walking by each other as if they where back to before everything, after fighting over something stupid like the amount of coffee they needed. Tala chuckled at the thought causing Miriam to look up at him with a questioning look, before starting to laugh herself. The awkwardness was quickly dissolved by the dominant laughter.
"It's like ages ago!" Tala exclaimed, trying to clam down, still laughing slightly. Miriam giggled away nodding and remembering the times they'd shared.
"It's weird to think, that was so long ago I guess. Time flies by, no?" Tala nodded in agreement, his red hair moving slightly with some sharp wind. He looked behind them, seeing a fleeting figure. "Hey, did you see that?" Miriam looked in the direction.
"No, but I felt it, do you think…" The shared a quick glance before nodding and breaking into a run. "We have to get there."
"Zeo's at steak."
"And he's now our responsibility."
Zzz
Blue eyes looked up at the top of the ruins. This was where the future he'd dreamed of would become reality, this was where he'd sacrifice everything to say hello to the thing behind the walls. He smiled slightly and crouched to touch the ground beneath his feet. His white jacket had bright red stripes along the arms, noticeable for someone far away. He stood as he heard someone approach him from behind, and a graceful smile crossed his lips as a boy in a white and purple jacket advanced to him.
"Brook, how long till we start? I'm getting excited!" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Don't worry, soon. One piece of the tablet wasn't found, Takao says it's with your friends though?" he explained. The boy made a sound of annoyance. Ever since he'd had a shadow enter him, he'd become slightly bratty.
"What takes so long? What colour what after them? You know not to underestimate them!" he complained.
"A few orange jackets. Is there a problem?" Brooklyn was generally surprised at the look of disgust on the shorter one's face.
"Yes! Why can't I go! You know a few amateurs can't get it!" Brooklyn laughed at this one.
"Do you want me and some other reds to go? You need to stay here." Zeo giggled and nodded.
"I'd LOVE it! Thank you so Brook! You're always so good to me!"
"One thing…who was on the cliff earlier, it wasn't one of the others was it now?" Zeo looked down and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well…promise you won't tell!" he waited for the redhead to nod. "I think it was Miriam and Tala. I'm not too sure, but it felt like them." Brooklyn's smile faltered slightly. Such an offence could get him locked up for weeks.
"Ok. I'm going to go get them, and I don't want anyone to find out. The last thing we need is people doubting the key!" Brook instructed firmly getting a sharp nod of his companion. "Good. I'll be back as soon as I can." Zeo watched as he gathered a group of other people in red and white jackets, before disappearing. He turned back to the ruins. Most of the tiles had been put back in place, and there was now a nicely formed magic circle. The tablet with the spell on had one piece missing, and then it would be ready. He was nervous he couldn't deny that, but after hearing all about what the situation was, his curiosity was bubbling. He watched after Brooklyn and motioned to the others where the hidden hawks were.
Brooklyn looked behind him at Zeo was he started pointing and nodding to trees. Hawks probably, who knows how long they'd been there, but with the key trained they could easily be ridden of. He looked to his side as they walked, seeing the four reds that he'd brought with him. He smiled that same graceful smile he normally wore once they'd got into the sunlight. Turning to those beside him he clapped his hands and got ready to speak.
"Right then, we'll need to be quick! It's already noon, and I was hoping to do the ceremony before it gets dark!" those around him nodded in understanding. "Off we go then! Does anyone have a car?"
"I do, it's parked just round the corner," one of them said, motioning to the cliff. Brooklyn smiled and nodded to his comrade. The man's name was Kane, he had messy light blue hair and was very reliable. The five of them walked to the big black car and climbed in, Brooklyn sitting in the passengers seat at he was the leader of their group.
"Right Kane, we want to be going to the Liandi, you know where that is right?" Kane started the car and let out a broad grin to match Takao's. "Let's go," The redhead declared fastening his seatbelt. The car started, and with it's speed it wasn't long until they were on a busy round in the town. He looked out the window and ginned slyly as they past two people.
We'll be there first…Right Master? He heard the familiar voice of Katy ask.
'We will indeed! But no doubt there's some people there looking after the tablet. I don't think they're that stupid…' his thoughts trailed off to the thought of who could be waiting for him. The thought of the crimson eyed man made him think back to what he'd heard before drinking that potion.
Master…do you want to know? He nodded his head, oblivious to the four in the car I think you'll remember when we see him again…or I could show you now. He blinked at his faint reflection in the window. I don't mind if I get in trouble, this whole thing has gone too far! A screech went through his mind as the words flashed before him in a jumble.
"Hey! Brooklyn! Are you ok?" Kane asked loudly, snapping Brooklyn and Katy out of their mind link. Brooklyn smiled weekly and nodded, before quickly going back to the window. Kane wasn't sure, but turned to the road anyway, seeing the hotel in view. "Here." He stated. Brooklyn quickly got out as it came to a stop and rushed to the hotel, remembering the room number, the others close behind him. He had to find Kai now. He barged into the room, forgetting the need to knock and looked around wildly at the occupants in the room. One had jumped off his seat, and was now standing in an attacking position, and Hiro was on the chair, looking for a stick he could substitute for his sword.
"Kai! Where's Kai?" Brooklyn demanded, voice cracking. He was obviously loud enough, as the Russian in question almost immediately came out the main bedroom, red eyes glowing with adrenaline. Brooklyn red up to the bluenette and tackled him to the ground. "Kai!" He shouted out while hugging the man.
"Brooklyn? Brook, what's wrong?" He asked, sitting them both up as four men barged into the room, each in a red and white jacket. "Reds…" He looked down at the redhead in his arms to see the same jacket. "Brooklyn what's going on?"
"Kai! Stop them! Stop it Kai please!"
"Stop it Tala! Please!"
Kai stood, shoving Brooklyn out of the way and advanced onto the four at the door. He didn't know how he'd manage though, against four reds being a simple green. He stepped back a bit as three more orange coated people joined them. He looked round desperately. Mystel didn't look to keen either, and Hiro probably fought with a weapon. One of the men stepped forward confidently, his blue hair spiked and his eyes glistening.
"Brooklyn! I hope you're not betraying the mission! Go get it now!" Brooklyn shook his head furiously. "You know what will happen if you don't! Now go!" Kai growled at the look on Brooklyn's face and the way he was being treated. The man's features where screwed up in fear and confusion, and his arms were held up protectively. Within an instant he had made his way into Kai's room. Kai turned to Mystel, who nodded and stepped forward as Kai ran after the intruder.
"I don't know who you guys are, and frankly I don't care, but you can't get away with this!" Mystel shouted, trying to act as confidently as you could when confronted with seven people who would probably be willing to kill you. He took on an attacking stance and pulled his fist back. The people in front of him did a similar thing, all in different styles. He glanced to his side, but Hiro was no longer in view. He ducked as the blue haired man came at him and swung his fit forward and up in an upper cut punch. Hiro was then by his left, a kendo stick in his hands.
"I found it in Kaede's room; she is my student after all," he explained. Mystel nodded and faced the people in front of him, slightly more confident. He lifted his head to see over the people as he heard some commotion in the hall.
"Tala slow down!" A girl shouted from the end of the hall, quickly followed by someone knocking an enemy at the back down to the floor. The redhead was soon see able as he made his way through the people, easily beating the lower ranks. Miriam then came to view and joined Tala at the back. Finding confidence, Mystel let out a shout and ran forward, fist high behind him and charged forward. Hiro was already using his skills to jab and block his offender. Forgotten on the floor, Kane struggled to his feet and ran to where Brooklyn and Kai were, unnoticed on the most part.
"Mystel! That one's going after Kai!" Hiro shouted between attacks. Kane was one step ahead however, and grabbed the vase on the cabinet next to the door and threw it at the blond, who howled in pain. He dashed into the large bedroom to see Kai, knocked out on the floor, and Brooklyn pressed against the wall, looking at the Russian. His eyes darted up to Kane and clutched a white jacket with green stripes on tightly in his left hand, and a stone tablet in the other.
"Brooklyn let's go!" The redhead pressed himself against the wall harder, almost passing through it. Kane crouched by him and embraced him. "Brooklyn please, calm down, it's ok…it'll be alright," the soft words poured out his mouth automatically, and calmed down the stressed comrade. On of their team members came into the room and took the tablet, before running back out and shouted to a few others. Brooklyn grabbed Kane's shirt and bashed their heads together, making the world go dark.
Zzz
Zeo opened his eyes and turned to a purple haired man, nodding his head. A young black haired man was beside him. The elder had a black trench coat, which had a few purple stripes in the fashion of the white jacket. The younger man had a white jacket with red stripes adorning it. The oldest man smirked and laughed slightly.
"Brilliant…are there any wounded?" he asked Zeo making the boy nod again.
"Sir, Brooklyn and Kane, it seems Brooklyn has joined up with the others however, and probably won't be coming back," was the reply. The man nodded and headed to the path, leaving the two on the ruins. Zeo turned to his friend and smiled slightly.
"It's going well then?" he asked causing Zeo to nod.
"Luckily it is! You know, it's nice to see you again Rei, I didn't think I'd get to." Rei grinned and nodded.
"Yea! It's nice. I don't know where Takao and Max went I'm afraid, though they're of lower rank than me so I wouldn't know." Zeo shook his head and looked back to top of the ruins. He was standing in the centre of the circle, Rei next to him looking in the same direction. He felt strongest here, as weird as it was, and soon he'd know why.
"Hey Rei…how long do you think it'll be?" the other man looked up to the sky.
"I'd say it's around five right now, judging from the sun's position, I think we want to start be sunset." Zeo raised an eyebrow and looked at his companion.
"Sunset? Why sunset?"
"Not sure but I've heard that Boris has this thing with making things dramatic." Rei laughed slightly and rubbed his neck. Zeo rolled his eyes and looked at the circle on the floor.
"He's a strange man…still, if he's the one we have to listen to, not too much point in complaining." Zeo reasoned with himself. Rei smiled, no matter how you looked at it, he was still just an innocent child despite his age. "Hey Rei? Did you hear me?" The golden eyed man blinked.
"What is it Zeo?" The boy was smiling sourly.
"I've lost the connection. Brooklyn's not on our side anymore and Kane's not in the building." Rei blinked again before registering what was said.
"I shouldn't worry! Brooklyn didn't seem very convinced from the beginning, so don't doubt! If you were convinced by him when he wasn't convinced, you know that we're not lying to you or anything, right?"
"What about Kane? What happened to him?" Rei clamped his hands onto the boy's shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. Zeo's gaze went slightly fuzz, followed by his balance dropping, and lastly he seemed ten times heavier as he fell forward into Rei's chest.
"I'm sorry, Zeo, but some things can't be helped." Rei picked him up into a cradle carry, and started to walk to a shaded grassy area. He looked up as someone approached him from behind. He smiled at the person and followed them out of the area, leaving Zeo with some others who were in the grassy areas around the ruins. A greenish blue eye cracked open to look above, to see a person hovering over him in the tree, he lifted a hand to reach him, but couldn't as his tanned arm flopped down beside him and his world fell into sleep.
The man in the tree frowned slightly before going back to the cliff to mean with Kaede. He was thinking over what the two had talked about as he reached her and nodded.
"So, Ozuma what did you see?" she asked excitedly. He shook his head and pulled her to the car.
"We have to hurry, I think the others are in trouble."
Zzz
"Sorry…we didn't make it in time."
"No, it's fine, I don't think we'd have been able to do much, even with you two. They over powered us." Kaede looked down, even with her teacher's words, she didn't feel that mach better. She clenched her fists, pressing her nails against her skin and bit her lip.
"We could've done something though, right?" she argued, throwing her fists out for effect. Miriam looked at her partner as she cleaned Mystel's wound. The blonde Egyptian winced slightly and grinned making Miriam smile slightly.
"You couldn't have done anything Kaede! Hiro was better off with your kendo stick, and then what would you have had? We both know you'd just end up panicking and getting in everyone's way! Even if you could've fought, they were much more powerful than us all! Don't be so stupid and forget about it!" Kaede's lip burst at Tala's harsh words. It's true, she did rely on her sword skills to get her out of these situations, but his words sliced through her like a knife. The very atmosphere of the room had changed since Tala had come back as his crabby, moody and harsh self. Being the youngest was hard, and she didn't like it. Running from the room, she locked her bedroom door and fell to her bed. Miriam stood and growled at Tala, clear distaste on her face.
"Why do you always have to make the situation worse?" she snapped. "I don't know about her not being able to help, but you don't seem very capable of it either! Why don't you just go to your room? We'll call you when we know what we're doing." He stood, storming off just like Kaede had, and slammed his door powerfully. Miriam turned back to Mystel and grinned pitifully.
"Now, let me see those wounds again!" she said as brightly as she could. Mystel nodded and lifted his arm up. Hiro sighed and turned to where Brooklyn and Kai were talking by the window; Kai noticed this and called him over.
"Hey Brook, do you feel any better?" Hiro asked his old friend. Brooklyn looked up and smiled weakly. Kai had offered to look after him, as when they'd gotten rid of Kane he looked shaken up. Brooklyn didn't talk at all anymore, and seemed very tired, though he couldn't sleep.
"Doesn't sound like were getting very far, does it?" Kai joked. Hiro sighed and rubbed his temples.
"It's like being in a TV drama or something. If we go any slower we'll start going backwards." Kai laughed slightly.
"That's one way of looking at it, still," He looked out the window. "They'll be starting about now." Hiro nodded at this and clapped his hands. Kai looked at him curiously, as did Miriam and Mystel; Brooklyn gave him a confused, yet slightly blank look.
"Right! Let's get the two sulking children and make a start at going forward!"
Zzz
Zeo woke with a start. Frowning slightly he looked around at his surroundings. There was a lot more people then earlier, and it was getting slightly dark. He looked up as Rei came running put to him, black hair bound back and swishing behind him.
"Rei, is something wrong?" he asked, the boy had a slight smile on his face.
"We're ready to go! Give us the word!" He said, ginning. Zeo stood and nodded, but didn't look at the boy in the eyes.
"I'm ready then! Hopefully, we won't have any interruptions so we won't need to be very high on who's protecting the area, I'm sure everyone wants to be watching." Rei nodded and saluted before heading off into the buzzing crowd. Zeo turned round as a large hand was placed on his shoulder. Boris was standing behind him, smirking slightly.
"You're ready I hear?" Zeo nodded and let the man steer him to the circle. "Brilliant! Let us get started then! I don't want to delay this any further!" he said excitedly. Zeo looked around him to see the people standing around hidden in the forest's shadows. The warmth of the sun beat down against his back giving the dramatic effect that Boris had been wanting.
"People! The time has come! I know some of you here know how to read the scripture of the tablet, if you'd please." He motioned to the points on the edge of the circle, and turned Zeo so his back was parallel to the wall.
"I'll do my best sir," Zeo said, eyes solid and stance bold, even though his mind was having a war. Part of him really wanted to do this, but the other part wanted to go back to before this whole thing when Ana was…
Boris exited the stage after patting the young adult on the back and snapping him out his thoughts. Zeo looked at the five people facing him, four with a book in hand, and the original text in the hands of the one opposite him. He shut his eyes as they started, the chanting like music against the silence of the forest. As weird as it was, he prayed for Tala to come. He was scared. He didn't want to do this anymore. The war in his mind had been won by the doubtful part, though now he was afraid that it was too late. Tears welled in his eyes, streaming down his face as his heart throbbed. He wanted his friends. He wanted Tala to come back. He wanted to go back to before Ana died. Why did people have to die? Why was he doing this for the people who had killed her? Sure, at the time it had seemed like the right thing, in a way, he had wanted to go against the friend who was almost always right. But now he knew why she seemed almost always right; because she was.
"Ana," he started hopelessly, biting his lip as the chanting got louder. "I'm so sorry." He couldn't even open his eyes as some sort of commotion started in the crowed, making the chanting hesitant. He heard the clear snapping of Boris's voice, ordering the chanting to continue no matter what the situation. He bit his lip harder as the chanting continued, getting louder and rigid
"I'm sorry everyone." Thoughts of his friends he'd made during this time flashed through his mind. Images of his friends and days before this whole thing went through his mind. The louder the chanting became, the less music-like it seemed, and the more his heart hurt. "Tala…"
"Zeo!" His eyes snapped open as he heard the voice. Aqua met blue. Everything went quiet. His world seemed to freeze as he remembered the words he'd said when he left about a month ago. "Zeo! You promised me you'd wait!" fresh tears spilled out his puffy eyes. "I've caught up with you! You don't need to wait anymore Zeo I'm here!" The last sentence of the chanting brought him back to earth as his breath seemed to rush out of him.
He was put into immense pain from the sudden rush of power. He gasped, taking a breath of filthy wind into his lungs. This wasn't what he wanted, this terrific hollowness that was engulfing every part of him. A flamboyant crash of thunder sounded in the distance, the screams of the people in the ruins emanating out to him, the hollow echo of their feet as they ran, the sounds penetrating deep into his brain... He was shaking violently, his bones felt as though they were about to break. He could hear familiar voices crying out to him, but he could not see their faces, his eyesight blurred by the flow of red liquid. He screamed out as his flesh seemed to burn and his blood boiled under his skin. He felt like he was on fire.
Tala cried out through the commotion to Zeo as he screamed. Miriam ran up behind him, eyes dangerously wide as she looked at the scene before her. Neither of them could say anything. Kaede was soon next to Miriam, shaking with fear, and clutched the girl's hand tightly. Kai ran up on the other side of Tala, Brooklyn and Hiro with him. They all stared silently at Zeo.
"He looks like he's…burning." Kai stuttered. The others nodded with him. They stood back a bit as Zeo screamed again, a blast of wind rushing round. Tala held his hands in front of his face, as Miriam took Kaede into her arms, and Brooklyn embraced Kai tightly. Hiro took a similar position to Tala, and looked at the redhead as he took a step forward. He didn't have enough time to register what the man was doing, as he leaped and pushed Brooklyn and Kai down as a large branch swiftly skimmed their heads.
"Tala! What are you doing?" Hiro bawled out to his acquaintance. Tala obviously didn't hear him though, as he struggled forward again, resisting against the wind to get to Zeo. He started to pick up pace slightly as he got closer. The circle seemed to light up as Tala took his first few steps onto it, and the wind seemed to cackle wickedly.
"Tala?" Zeo whispered through the pain before he threw his head back and screamed again. The light seemed to intensify and almost surround the two.
"Zeo!" Tala yelled, bounding forward and hitting Zeo out of the circle. The light slowly dimmed and the wind eased. "Zeo? Zeo!" Tala cried, trying to shake the boy awake. "Wake up Zeo!"
"Tala?" He stuttered, frowning and opening his eyes slightly. Tala's heart clenched at the emptiness. Zeo smiled weakly. "It's a shame…I can't see you," He coughed; Tala lifted him slightly and patted his back, making the other to empty a crimson liquid onto the floor. Tala held him tightly. "But, it's nice to know…you're here." Tears poured down Tala's face heavily, and his face was twisted unpleasantly.
"It's gone…it's all finished…you can wake up now, and we'll take you to Emily and she can heal you…it'll be ok." Tala said hopelessly. Zeo ran a hand along Tala's cheek and his smile widened.
"Tala…can you do something for me?" The Russian nodded, even though he knew the other couldn't see. "Can you kiss me again…but, instead of it being on the spur of the moment…can you mean it?" Tala nodded and descended his head, bringing the weak fragile boy up. The met somewhere near the middle. They eventually parted, though only slightly, lips still brushing. "You're wet."
"You needn't talk titch." Zeo laughed slightly and closed the gap for a moment again.
"Even in the most awkward situations; you flirt," he said before shutting his eyes. "I want to sleep now…I'm tired."
"No…stay awake…don't leave me Zeo," Tala pleaded desperately, pushing their heads together.
"Love you…"
"I love you too." Zeo smiled fully, despite his condition, and shut his glazed eyes. Tala cried again as the body he held went completely limp. "I love you so much…it hurts."
Not many things end
With a perfect ending
And not everything
Will go the way we planned
But if we keep trying
Then we'll get there
And we'll be able to fly
With an Angels Lullaby
Zzz
Kitty: …oh my GOSH! I actually finished
I'm sorry if you didn't want Zeo to die, if so, imagine that after this, they take him to a hospital and he becomes better … even though he died ..'
ANYWAY
Please, I would love comments from those of you who actually stuck with me and managed to be bothered to wait and read the last chapter, I'm eternally grateful, and I couldn't have done it without you guys!
And, before someone sues me;
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, or it's characters … I own the plot and Kaede though! And a few other random Characters!
If you can be bothered, please answer these questions:
Which Chapter did you like most?
Who do you think was best portrayed?
How do you think I could've made it better?
Did it keep you suspended, and do you think it was worth the wait and pain of reading?
Did you cry at any part?
Last two are random, cause I thought it was painfully slow to write and post, but I didn't actually have a plan, so I would … --'
Anyway, thanks for reading!
I've now got an extra page of me talking, so I'm logging off, and going to bed, my back hurts!
Ciao .
Kitty-cat