Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade, all I own is my oc's and the plot line.
By Their Saving Grace
Chapter Six: Corporate Control
x x x
Angel flitted past Tala at an incredible speed. Practically running. She went to her office and shut the door, closing her eyes in the process. With considerable haste, her hands went to her head, and she scrambled into the bathroom joined to the professional-styled office of mahogany. In less than a minute, she reached her hands up to her head and pulled her hair back behind her, as to not let it get in the way.
The contents of her stomach, mostly water and the stub of bread she had forced herself to eat in the presence of the others found its way into the toliet bowl. She pressed the towel to her lips, wiped them and went directly to the sink to rinse the acidic taste out of her mouth. She looked up at the mirror at her paling skin and luminiscent eyes. They were still haunting, and the paler her skin became the better it looked.
Please, she begged, let it end.
Brian knocked on the door and she shuddered, hearing him call to her in that ruthless tone of his.
"Hang on," She called, closing her eyes and counting to ten, taking her time. She looked down and realized that she had a slight problem, so she undid her belt and tightened it up a notch. She hadn't remembered doing that in a long time. Usually her pants were tight enough to sustain themselves.
She sighed. Brian had interrupted her train of thought, knocking on the door again. "Open up, Ang."
"Coming, coming," She called tiredly. She unlocked the door and maneuvered her way back to her chair. He entered and she braved a smile. "So, what's up?" She asked, her eyes narrowing slightly, one leg crossed over the other, shielding most of herself from view.
"There's something you should see." She allowed him to lead her by the hand, though she pulled away at his cold touch after a few seconds.
She followed him out to the corridor overlooking the training grounds. Tala had been facing off against Riku, however, both beyblades were strewn immobile in the dish. "Congratulations," She said, turning to Riku. "You're doing a hell of a lot better than before. Nice work."
Riku nodded, a smirk of victory clad upon his features. "That's not it though," Tala said. "Robert, tell us what you found."
"There's a problem," The Majestic's captain said carefully. "We've been monitoring the Biovolt website, and it's changing. Some pages are no longer accessable. Someone's changing things."
"Really, I had no idea," Angel said, boredom apparent. "I've known that things would change the second that I made my grand entrance into the grand minion's life, er... Kai's. So what? We'll figure it out when the time comes."
Tala shook his head, and the plasma screen used to display movies and flickered to life, displaying images from a computer. "Ang, you've got the password," Tala said. "Unlock it."
"So do you."
"They changed it."
"Okay, and when the B.B.A. caves in upon itself, which I assure you will be in the near future, I will be sure to give two shits. Get back to practice. I'll watch the news." With a quick spin, she returned to her room. Tala and Brian looked at each other, before Riku rolled his eyes and cursed in astonishment.
"What the hell is her problem these days? She seems rather bitchy, don't you think?"
Tala shrugged. "Whatever. That's not your place to say, as true as it may be."
x x x
Meanwhile, in Japan, training and otherwise had commenced under the watchful eye of Kai, who was much more vicious and strict than ever before. Tyson, to his well concealed shock, had said nothing, instead fueling his frustration into his battling technique in perfect incraments, thus improving himself wonderfully. Kai's steely gaze gave them a hell of a lot of intimidation, but they shrugged it off, glad to have the captain's icy stature back. It seemed now, more than ever, that Kai held a key component in keeping them all together. Unbeknownest to him, he was indeed their security blanket.
"Again," he said indifferently, if any emotion shown itself, it was indeed shock. Max nodded, not bothering to look Kai's direction. They had been training since three this afternoon, and it was now almost seven. He sighed, withdrawing Draciel from the dish and locked his blade back into place on the launcher. From across the way, Ray smirked at him. Both had streaks of sweat down their faces, and were breathing just a little bit heavily.
Ray looked over to Kai, who held Dranzer firmly. Since he had begun beybattling again a week ago, he had been untouchable, actually, he had defeated Tyson. Something had stirred an untamable power in the Phoenix Prince, who until recently had been a huge wreck. Kenny stood near the edge of the dish, taking his cue from Kai to begin the countdown.
"Three-"
The three tightened their grips on their beyblades.
"Two-"
Max looked to Ray who looked at Kai, and the two nodded to each other, hoping not to have caught their captain's attention.
"One-"
Kai looked up, gripped his ripcord for dear life, and looked to Tyson, who nodded encouragingly.
"Let it rip!" They yelled together. Kai's voice and tone was inspiring. They noted it's elegance, it's nobility. It was something that they had noticed just a bit during his second battle with Brooklyn. Voltaire was an image of savage insanity and horrific intentions, however his grandson, well, he was sometimes so untouchable, they didn't realize how vulnerable he was. Still, Kai was a prince, and he deserved respect. Actually, he demanded it when it was due him, however now, they need not have him act as such. He received respect willingly from them. It was unspoken, and they weren't sure if he knew it, but part of them believed it so.
Max and Ray took hold of the battle quickly, combining their efforts upon launch to take out the slate-haired captain. He smirked back at the duo, seeming to have them figured out. However, unlike the last time, they did not back down. Instead, they continued with their attack, as Kai had moved between them, right where he was wanted to be.
"Don't think you'll beat me on your own, it won't happen."
The white tiger nodded accordingly, as the two quickly moved toward Kai, who instantly moved, causing the two to nearly collide head on, however, they had obviously anticipated this, instead following his split second motions, cornering him. They called out their bit beasts and finished the job, surprised that Kai hadn't called out his own bit beast.
When they looked up to Kai, they noticed a glint in his eye. They looked at each other for a moment. Was that- no, they must be reading him wrong. Again. "Good," He said after a moment of easy silence. He turned on his heel, beyblade and launcher in tow, and left.
They looked back at each other. Perhaps Kai was proud of them.
x x x
Kai sometimes wondered just what they thought of him. Most of the time, he didn't really care, but sometimes, he wanted to know if they understood just where he was coming from. Perhaps it was for this reason he and Tyson had become such good friends. Tyson was willing to divulge anything in return for anything, and sometimes even nothing. He had no intentions of taking advantage of the younger champion, but Kai knew that benevolence, though Tyson didn't understand it, was a word that he was definitely created for.
"You do know," Tyson said from behind him, leaning back against the counter, "That our team mates are anything but stupid, right?"
"Did you count yourself in this?"
Tyson shook his head. "We already know I'm a fool."
Kai nodded, not bothering to disagree with his friend. "Why are you telling me this?"
"You have to give us a game plan, brilliant. Either we fight against them, stay neutral, or we join them. We'll side with you, though I don't think joining them is something I'd prefer to do."
"Usually," The captain said hollowly, "When I switch sides, I do it alone."
"We'll do whatever you do," Hilary said, slipping into the room's doorway, past Tyson.
The slate haired captain thought for a moment. "Do you think fighting them will do anything?" Tyson and Hilary noted the strategically placed 'them,' and answered again in the third person.
"I think they're mad," Hilary said gently. "And in a way, what Boris did-" She cut herself off for a moment to check on Kai's reaction, "was horrible and seemingly unforgiveable, but Mr. Dickenson trusts him, and Dickenson hasn't steered us wrong yet, so I'd take my chances."
"Didn't I say something like that?" Tyson and Hilary nodded.
"It sounds like something you'd say."
Tyson looked thoughtful for a moment, which was shock enough to the other two in the room. "I don't want to bring up bad stuff," He said carefully, "But don't you guys think that the website thing is wierd?"
Eye rolling ensued. "We knew that, Tyson."
"No, no," He said, blinking a few times and shaking his head. "I mean that Mina's stats were under Angel's name, she didn't have cancer, someone else did, and we don't know who."
"There were few girls at the abbey," Kai said quietly. "Ten or so out of the one hundred and fifty of us. They stuck together, and in the end, the last one- well, you saw those results."
Figuring immediately that it was Angel, they shut their mouths and waited for him to continue.
"I fought her, and that was a bloody mistake on both our parts, literally. Anyway, she was kicked out when I defeated her, and after the original ten girls, they took no other females in, that I'm aware of. Said they were the weaker sex."
"That's a lie," Hilary said angrily.
Kai nodded. "I have a feeling you might be right about that." Pausing he added, "And I don't mean physically. None of those ten girls ever lost touch with themselves, something the guys typically did."
Hilary looked up at Kai, feigning a saddened smile. "Girls are emotional, but also very good at facades. We keep all the bases covered but still get hurt."
The captain noted that Tyson had moved closer to Hilary during this conversation, so he smirked and took a step back. "So you say that the rest of the group isn't stupid, right?"
"Yeah," Tyson said, unsure of where he was going with this.
"Then I wonder what the rest of them would say about the two of you."
With that, Kai slipped out of the room, leaving two blushing teens in his wake.
x x x
"Well, how many have you managed to buy?"
There was a devious smile. "Enough for our plan," the response came.
"And when will this begin?"
"Whenever it is of your liking."
"Commence the plan immediately. Begin from the inside, and when you are done, I will have some physilities back for my master plan."
"Good plans don't die, do they?"
"No, so get to work. I'd like to be out there within the week."
"Yes, sir."
The line went dead.
x x x
"Do you really think this is what we need to do?" Riku asked her. Enrique elbowed him and Robert stood at her side. Angel's eyes were closed, fingers massaging her temples. Tala, who was to her right, placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?"
"Headache," she said gently. "Let's go." She stood up and looked to Riku. "Yes, this is something we need to do. We've been doing this for a while now."
Once everyone who was going had left, Angel followed the well-disguised group of bladers through London streets. Robert stayed with her, and she concealed her heritage with a seemingly genuine accent. A policeman who stood on the corner stopped her.
"What are you doing out this late at night?" He asked her. "You're rather young," He continued.
"This is my big brother, and boyfriend," she said, referring to Robert and Enrique, respectively. The man nodded, and Enrique drew an arm around Angel.
"I was just walking them home from my house," he said, in an accent that also seemed genuine. "They live in the city."
The man nodded again. "Alright, just don't cause any trouble."
"Yes sir," she said, leaning into Enrique for a moment, noting his warmth, and staying there for a just a second longer than necessary.
"I didn't know you felt like that," Enrique said, smirking deviously at her. She slapped his arm.
"It's amazing what kind of a show a girl can put on," she said and winked.
"You know, when someone holds you, I bet they feel like they're holding the winter. You're so cold."
"I am, aren't I?" She commented to the Italian. "But that's okay, because I could encase you in so much ice, we could send you to the sun and you'd still have a hell of a time getting thawed out."
"So," Robert said, interrupting the two, "Is this the place?" He pointed to a large, seemingly abandoned building.
"Yes." Angel sprinted up to Tala, leaving Enrique and Robert to follow along behind. "Tala!"
He turned around, along with Mina, who stood at his side, holding one of his hands in her own. "Hey," Mina said, embracing Angel. Angel smiled and returned the hug to the bright eyed girl and walked up to the entrance, breaking out a beyblade launcher and launching her blade toward the locked gate.
"Taiydra," Angel called pensively. The beast's blade clashed with the lock and melted it where it stood.
From behind her, Alexander looked to Riku. "Oh no," he commented, "Taiydra's not in the slightest bit angry, is she?"
Angel recalled her beyblade and turned to the two younger boys. "If you'd like to discuss this with her personally, I can arrange that." They gulped. "Otherwise, zip your lip."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good." She smirked at their silence and opened the gate. "You know the drill. Survivors and data. Beyblades, too. We need them for anybody who makes it out alive."
There was a timed nod, murmurs of agreement and obedience, and the whole group split back up, searching the place from top to bottom, bringing out kids who had made it and kids with stories of those who didn't. Angel carried children who couldn't lift themselves up, some who looked barely old enough to crawl. They were all beautiful, talented, and strong, some were willful, some were broken, others were precious, like glass that you were afraid you'd break.
"Come on," Angel said, picking up a young girl, whose eyes were a soft pink color. Angel stared at her. "Honey, are there other girls?"
The young child nodded. "There were ten of us. Right now, there are five."
"Alright. What's your name?"
"Sarah."
"I'm-"
"You're Angel. I know who you are. We've been waiting for you ever since we heard the news." A smile emerged on the teen's face.
"Yeah. You're all going back to your parents or staying with us, okay?"
"Yeah, that's awesome!" She paused. "A lot of us don't have parents, but there's a record cabinet upstairs with all of the information they have about who they got us from."
"Okay."
"Brett is our leader. He's the blonde-" she pointed to the streetlight and the boy leaning against it, "Over there. He's kinda mean but he's always looking out for us when we need him."
"Okay."
Angel sighed. The complex had been abandoned by everyone, but locked up tight so no one could get out. They had broken a great deal of chains and too many bridges had been burned behind him. She smirked. She figured that there were a hell of a lot more places that needed their help if London still had a center set up by Biovolt.
x x x
She shut her eyes, throwing her head back and slapping her hand- and its contents- over and into her mouth. She downed a full glass of water, fighting the urge to curse or throw up what she had just put into her system. Nearby, she laid sight on another bottle, one that remained unopened. She'd prefer to keep it that way.
The pain that radiated through her was great. However, there was no literal radiation, and she had specifically requested it so. She had said that she was done with that until it was a life or death situation. And even then, she'd have to think about it greatly.
Tala knocked on the door to the office, and she shoved the pill bottles back into the top drawer of her desk. "Get in here," she said calmly. He did as told. "So, how are they doing?"
"We've gotten most of the kids back to their families. Some of them don't have families to go home to thanks to the idiot."
"Of course, what good is an arch-nemesis if he doesn't kill little kids' parents? I mean come on, this is the new century." She smirked at him though the statement was not funny in the slightest.
He looked at her strangely. "You okay, Angel? You haven't seemed yourself lately."
"I'm fine," she growled. "Don't worry about me so much. I'm not good with that, remember?"
He blushed, knowing that his 'mother hen' act toward her had malignant results the last time he had tried it three years ago. She smiled at him, a genuine smile. "If something is wrong, you'd know. I'd tell you."
"I'd hope so." He looked up at her, blinking once, and suddenly, his thoughts seemed to become clearer. "Oh shit! I'm supposed to tell you. We have some problems."
She grew deadly and serious in a total of five seconds. "What?" she asked, her dark lips deadly against pale skin and black hair.
He paused, biting his lip for a moment. "It's happened."
"So soon?" A deadly smile traced her lips, the pain going through her forgotten as a cruel laugh came out of her. "I suppose we should bail out their asses, shouldn't we?" She sloshed around a wine glass filled with water. "Someone has to, because God knows they can't do it themselves."
Tala shook his head. "You're too much."
"They're such assholes. They have no idea what the hell they just got us into. Hell, we have no idea. That's bad."
"Really bad."
She smiled at him. "This will be fun."
x x x
The next few chapters will be rather interesting. I'll try to update again at least once before x-mas!
Please, please, please, for me, for the holidays, for that warm feeling I get when you do, REVIEW!!!
Thanks for reading!!!
