I actually managed to get this chapter out on time/ I'm surprised! Only two chapters left, I think! I can't believe how soon that is. Anyway, thanks everyone who left reviews! As usual nothing spurs me on more than a supporting review!

Oh, and I hope you like the next twist:D

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Chapter 18

Hilary tried not to wince as the corset was fitted around her already small waist and the strings were pulled as tightly as they would go. She flicked the dress maker a look of annoyance and only let her irritation lessen when she was allowed a few millimeters of girth so she was actually able to breath slightly. Maybe that was also part of Brooklyn's plot: death by corset suffocation. The ways things were going she wouldn't be surprised.

White material was forced over her head and pulled down until it clung to her ever curve. Any flaw in her figure was easily noticed. However now wasn't the time for her to worry about her weight. In fact she could weigh as much as an elephant for all she cared. Nothing mattered anymore, not to her. Everything was over. She had less than twenty four hours before she would be Hilary Kingston and as soon as she said 'I do' everything was finished. The worst thing was that Brooklyn would have won. Not her Brooklyn but the monster that the Resistance knew as Kingston. She would never go that far. She had too much faith in his soul that her would return to her. He had to, didn't he? People just don't lose parts of themselves, did they? Maybe they went away for a while but surely they came back? After all the man that had reduced Kai to the state he was in when she'd been in the torture room had no humanity left in him. The man who had forced her to agree to this rushed wedding by attempting to take Kai's life just wasn't the same man she had developed feelings for. Still, if all her hope was gone there would be nothing left in her life so she had cling on to it, no matter how frail or faint it was. Yes, she still had hope that Brooklyn would come back.

A sharp pin prick shook her from her thoughts and she cried out in surprise. The dressmaker looked at her apologetically but uttered no words in the way of an apology. Figures, Hilary thought. Brooklyn probably paid her more to inflict as much pain as possible, if that was physically possible after what he had already made her go through. Both her bones and heart were aching. Brooklyn had ensured as much by his own actions. She had to believed it would get better, a little better in time. It had to. She truly believed it. He could take everything from her: her love, her freedom, her sanity but he would never take her spirit, faith and hope. She knew now that she wasn't weak. She maybe made weak decisions but she wasn't weak. She was stronger than anyone would ever know. She'd just...made mistakes.

She wasn't perfect. Not for one second was she trying to pretend that she was. Many things about her were flawed – her decisions, her actions and her feelings. Yes, she would be the first one to admit that her feelings were perhaps her biggest flaw. Her inability to fight them had caused both her and Kai's situation at present. Why was something that felt so good so wrong? It shouldn't be that way. Nothing as true as love should be.

But why mourn for something that could never be? She and Kai had both known that it was a fated love; doomed from the very start. It was futile to pretend otherwise. They may not be together anymore but she could at least hold on to her memories. The memory of his touch, his kiss, his voice, all of the things that made him dear to her were etched onto her mind like an imprint on her heart and more over it was real. What they had had was real. They could kill him, imprison him, Brooklyn could use her in whatever way he wanted but no matter what nothing would ever take away from them the real love they'd shared.

"You'd do well to wipe that smile from you face," the dressmaker warned in all her decrepit wiseness. "There's an air in this place that tells me happiness is an emotion disapproved within these walls." She leaned into her ear. "Especially if you're smiling the smile that I think you are. I used to be young once too, you know. Young and in love."

Hilary turned to look at her and felt ashamed to think that she was surprised by that statement. The woman was clearly an old hand at the art of sewing and alterations and from the look of her she was easily approaching seventy. Her skills were obviously employed because she was one of the few who could adapt a dress in such a short space of time. As old as she looked, Hilary could see that her fingers were as nimble as one a third her age and her eyes even younger.

The smile abruptly left her face. "That's better," the crone cackled. "If you're going to smile save it for when no one else is around. I've worked in households like this before. I know the secrets of a young woman's heart and I know how dangerous they can be."

"What if her secrets have already been told?"

The woman stopped. "Then I'm afraid you have to be one of the most unluckiest people in the world. Did you see seven and then one magpies?"

Confused, Hilary's face contorted. "What?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. Clearly you're not superstitious."

"Clearly," Hilary replied irritably.

The woman met her eye for a second and then undid her corset. "That's you measured up. You can get dressed and return to you room now."

Hilary debated on whether or not to thank the woman or not but decided giving the circumstances a showing gratitude would be pointless for she had nothing to be thankful for. Had the dress been made for the wedding to another person or in another situation then sure, she'd happily say thank you. It wasn't, though, was it? It wasn't to another person. It wasn't another situation. This was for the rest of her life. The rest of her life by Brooklyn's side, doing as Brooklyn told her, having children with Brooklyn's genes and traits. So, no. She wouldn't thank the woman.

Wordlessly, Hilary left the room and was immediately met by two guards. She rolled her eyes. Where did they think she was honestly going to go? To Africa? The pointlessness of the whole set up baffled her. Why would she even want to walk anywhere else? There was a chance she would bump into some one she didn't want to see. But, in all honesty, who apart from Kai didn't actually fall into that category?

'You'll be the one giving her away.'

The words echoed again and again in his mind. Why was Kingston doing this to them both? How could anyone be so cruel? It was clever, though. He couldn't deny that. The ultimate punishment. Having to walk your love down the aisle for her to marry another man...It was brilliantly sadistic and even Kai couldn't deny that. He was disgustingly impressed. Some one had to give Hilary away and, she having no father, no one would be better than him. At least he could still hope to see her one last time so there was some good coming from this. But under such circumstances? To think that he was going to be the one who walked Hilary to a life of pain and anguish; to be Brooklyn's partner in crime, so to speak. After all, the world will remember the brutal king but also his queen. She'll go down in history as a tyrant too even though she couldn't be farther from the thing. The Resistance too would be down in history as the enemy. After all, its the winners who write the past. History truly is a biased thing.

The Resistance...

Maybe all wasn't lost, not yet anyway. The Resistance still lived on. He knew they would carry on without him. He had the upmost faith in Tala and he knew he would do a good job. A better one than him, in many aspects. After all, Tala wasn't going to fall in love with Hilary. Essentially that had both been the greatest thing that had ever happened to him but also the key to his downfall. It goes round in circles. By his downfall may be the Resistance's rise. They would rise, that is, if only Tala would rise too – to the challenge.

All this rising and falling...The world truly was a parallel place. What goes up must come down and everything else. The question remained was who would go up and who would go down? And would he even be alive at the end of it to know?

He didn't think so. He was sure that if the Resistance were to strike again Kingston would kill him off instantly. He wasn't going to risk him staying alive and coming out victorious. The funny thing was even if Kai was to die, so long as the Resistance won the war it wouldn't matter if the battle was over. Kai would still consider himself the winner. Couldn't Kingston see that or was he just too blind to his own ego? Or maybe he just didn't want Kai to live long enough to bask in the glory of his win. Not that it mattered either way to him. So long as Kingston was overthrown he didn't care for anything else. Then not only would the country be free but Hilary also.

For the first time in her life Hilary would be free to do whatever she wanted. Of course she would automatically claim the throne without Kingston to hinder her and Kai had no doubts that her reign as queen would be second to none. She'd proven herself more than worthy through the sacrifices she'd been willing to make. Anyone who knew her could see that. Anyone who really knew her could see that and believed in her. Mariah had. He had and he wasn't one for biased opinions.

Would she be given her chance, though? There was only one day left until all was over. How could the Resistance attack when they didn't know time had run so short? There was no one to tell them either and he doubted Kingston would make it public until the wedding had actually gone through successfully. He was too cautious now. This was his last lap. He wouldn't throw it away recklessly like he might have done in the past. No, he'd come too far now and to do anything else would just be a foolish risk.

Kai let his head hit against the stone wall hard. Could he do anything? No, he thought not. Any attempt he made could put Hilary's life in jeopardy. That was a risk he wasn't willing to take. Maybe if his friends interrupted he could take a chance but he wasn't counting on it. He was clutching at straws that weren't even there and very likely weren't going to appear or if they did it would be too late. Things weren't looking at their best. Not at all.

He stood up and took a short walk around his cell. He was alone and there were no security cameras in this part of the building. Kai wasn't surprised. What need did they have for them? There was no chance for escape. He'd surveyed his potential chances long before now and hadn't been surprised to see that he couldn't count them on one hand and all of them resulted in some one unlocking the door for him and the unlocker being handicapped in some way. He hadn't been disappointed as he hadn't been expecting much.

His legs were heavy as they tried to support his weight after hours of being unused. He shook them off to try and wake them up. He didn't want his physical health to deteriorate any further by idleness. Aside from that it also gave him something else to do besides sitting lost in his thoughts. Walking wasn't as painful as he thought it was going to be anyway. After his ordeal earlier he figured he would be in agony but his wounds had been cleaned in order to help heal them for the wedding. Kai was baffled by that. Kingston had known all along that he was planning to marry Hilary the next day and he was sure that the plan for having him involved had also been decided. Why then had he chosen to inflict so much damage on him? It didn't make sense but then what about the man did? Perhaps he hadn't meant to let himself go so far and had gotten carried away? That sounded more like Kingston. No awareness for restraint. It had made him a dangerous enemy and for Hilary an even more dangerous lover.

His shoulders cracked as he circled them to get the blood flowing through them again. It felt good to be active again, like he was still alive. In a place like here, where a simple thing like human conversation was taken from you, it was easy to wonder if you weren't in some kind of purgatory or, in his case, hell. Small pleasures like the pre-exercise warm ups gave out that 'living' feeling again. However it did nothing to stop his thoughts from flowing. He supposed he should be grateful that he was still in a state where organised thought was still coming to him. Some men would already be screaming at the top of their voices from the solitude. For him, though, it was peaceful. He welcomed the quiet and the peace, two things he was sure he would never get after the wedding. His hell had only begun. If he was lucky, he would just die and it would be finished. Life had proven thus far that he wasn't a lucky man, though.

He cried out as his leg buckled painfully and he fell to the floor. He thought that would happen after the endurance it had had to take to try and take the pain away from his shoulders. It was better to break it back in now than have it cramping up while he walked Hilary to the rest of her nightmare. She'd have enough to worry about without his health bothering her even further. It may hurt now but it was better in the long run for both of them. The more he kept in top of his injuries the more he would be able to cope. He had to stay alive as long as possible no matter the pain he had to bear. So long as he lived Hilary wasn't completely alone, even if they never saw each other. As long as the other half of them was still alive their worlds would never seem too lonely. He felt that way, anyway. Hilary would have to feel the same. After all, their hearts were.

Satisfied by his brief exercise, he sat back down on the cold floor and turned to his front. He rested his head on his hands and shut his eyes. It didn't take him long to sleep but it wasn't a very restful one.

Mystel paced up and down his room with his head in his hands like that would ease the ongoing battle inside of it. He couldn't believe things were happening so fast and he didn't know what to do about them. Even though Brooklyn and he had made their wary apologies he didn't trust him and he was sure the feeling was mutual. This whole situation still wasn't settling right on his shoulders but neither did staying on Brooklyn's bad side for the sake of his life. That was still the ongoing question, wasn't it? His soul or his life. What one was more important to him was the bigger issue and he still wasn't sure on the matter and hadn't been for some time. It wasn't loyalty to Brooklyn anymore. He was a madman. That was simple enough. It was for his own life. Brooklyn wouldn't hesitate in killing him next time he crossed him. There wouldn't even be a glint of sorrow in his eyes for what once was. Brooklyn had gone. There was nothing of him left now but this monster known as Kingston. His memories too seemed to either have been forgotten or just pushed so far back into his mind that they were lost.

That begged the question did Brooklyn even know who he was anymore? Or was he just a soldier now, a very good one who'd managed to move up the ranks? He felt frustrated. Didn't Garland see what was happening or did he just not care? Maybe he was as power hungry as Brooklyn only not as ambitious. Being the number two would sit just fine by Garland because when push came to shove it wouldn't be he who was held responsible for Brooklyn's sins though he did condone them and in parts encouraged them.

Once again he was at odds. Any mistake he'd made about being at peace back at Brooklyn's side had quickly been rectified. It was even worse now. He knew what was happening to Hilary and Kai and yet he was doing nothing to stop it. Did he honestly think that giving Mariah a suicide pill was forgiveness enough for what was going to become during the next reign of terror? The only means of atonement would be to-

No! No, he wouldn't even consider that line of action. It would surely be suicide. Worse still the more Mystel thought about it the more that seemed the only way to receive atonement for his crimes. If he gave up his life to put an end to Brooklyn would that be penance enough? There wasn't a higher price that could be paid..

His reflection in the mirror caught his eye and he stopped pacing long enough to study his face. He was still so young but yet older than Kai and Hilary who had already laid their lives on the line for the sake of freedom, as had Mariah. Hiro too who was only a year or two his senior. All those people were willing to die and two of them had. How much courage did some one have to have to be able to make such a sacrifice? Much more than he had, anyway. He'd had so many chances to finish Brooklyn if he had wanted but his fear of death had been too strong. Even when death wasn't certain his fear had reduced to a gibbering fool who would have been willing to beg for mercy if it would have prolonged his life. How did they do it? How did they get over their fear?

Perhaps he was looking at the wrong end of the microscope and was only seeing what was before him. Maybe he needed to look beyond the surface. Just because they had been willing to die didn't mean they weren't afraid to do so. It could just have been that their will was stronger than their fear when it came to the crunch. He doubted his would be. He was just to weak. He had succumbed time and time again for his own protection. None of the Resistance had ever done that and he didn't doubt that none of them would. After all, they wouldn't have joined up if they weren't willing to die for their cause. That was probably one of the first things Kai asked them when joining up. Even now that there were less than ten of them and death was the most likely outcome Mystel didn't doubt for a second that if it was that or lying down they would choose the former.

He admired them, he truly did. He wished he'd have had the strength to join with them when Kai had been taken into custody. It was too late now, wasn't it? Was there really still time to prove to the world that he wasn't evil? Yes, he believed there was. There would always be time until those eternal words were uttered at the wedding ceremony. Did he have the courage to help? Time would only tell and it was running short. Only one more question remained and it had one he'd been refusing to even think about. Was he willing to fatally betray Brooklyn? That answer had been clear from the moment Brooklyn had held a gun to his head. For the sake of his friend's soul, yes he was.

He went into his chest of drawers and took out a mobile phone from the false bottom. Unbeknown to anyone he'd done some snooping of his own when Mariah bad been arrested and had discovered this as the only incriminating evidence on her property. Just like the photograph of Hilary and Kai he didn't really understand why he had been hiding it from Brooklyn. Maybe fate was playing a bigger part than he'd first thought. Maybe deep down in his darkest though he knew that this time was going to come. Whatever the reason the path he had to walk looked clearer than every as did the end point it was leading to. Every action he made from now to the end was just a step further up the stairs to the hangman's noose. He figured he was already about midway.

The sound of a mobile phone ringing made everyone of them jump in surprise at the unexpected interruption to what had been the deepest silence any of them had ever been in. Each of them turned their attention to Ray whose face had gone an even paler shade of white as he looked at the caller ID. He blinked several times to try and clear his fuzzy vision but it didn't sharpen any. There was no denying the name being displayed on the screen.

"It Mariah's cell."

Max looked uneasily over his shoulder. "It has to be Kingston. He must have found her phone. If you answer they could track the signal to us."

"Only if you're on for longer than thirty seconds," Kenny assured them. "I know pretty much everything about their security don't forget. So long as you keep it short you should be fine."

Gently, Tala took it from Ray's hands and flipped it up. "Who is this?"

"Don't hang up but its Mystel."

"Mystel?!" Tala barked. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end this call right now."

"I have information that you'll want. Please, you have to listen to me. I was there the night Kai was arrested. I knew where he was because Mariah told me. It was my fault that Brooklyn found them because they followed me. I thought if I got to Kai and Hilary first then I would be able to stop them both being found out. Don't get me wrong, I didn't do it for Kai. I only did it for Hilary. She'd done something to Brooklyn, made him different. I'm sure you saw it too. The corruption had gone, the evil too. Hilary did that to him and I wanted to protect her for it. Unfortunately it all went wrong and now Brooklyn's worse than ever. He's...He's gone insane."

Tala snorted. "How long did it take you to rehearse that little speech?"

"It's not an act Goddamn it! I'm trying to help you! Brooklyn's pushed the wedding forward to tomorrow! If you don't do something now it'll be too late!"

"If you're so against Brooklyn why don't you stop it from happening?"

There was silence on the other end. "Because I fear death and you guys don't. The wedding's taking place at the palace. That's all the information I can give you because that's all I know. The choice to do something with it is up to you. I've done my part."

The receiver went dead and Tala looked at it, noticing he had been gripping it so hard his knuckles had cramped. It slipped from his hand onto the floor, echoing through the eerie silence.

"Mystel said that the wedding is being held at the palace tomorrow."

"What?" Garnet gasped. "But Hilary's not seventeen yet? How is that possible!"

Tala shrugged. "I don't know. He must have found a way around it. That's if we can trust Mystel, of course. For all we know it could be a trap."

"That's very likely," Tyson snarled. "It was him who disarmed my brother the night he was murdered. I don't trust him."

"He said that Mariah told him about Kai and Hilary. He admitted that it was his fault Kai was arrested because he was followed when he went to warn Hilary. From his voice it seemed like the two of them had some kind of a bond. I think he's doing this more for Hilary than anyone else. And his own soul."

Ray frowned. "If he said that Mariah told him and that turns out to be true then I trust Mariah's judgment."

"If it's any help, the call only lasted twenty seconds," Kenny said, using his laptop to prove it to them.

"I trust him," Tala said. "It's a gut feeling that I have but I just don't think he's making it up. His voice seemed desperate. I think he wants a way out and the only way for him to get one is for Kingston to die. We're his last resort. He wouldn't be able to take him out himself, especially since I don't think Kingston trusts him."

"I agree with you there," Max admitted. "I could sense as much at the ball. Kingston barely looked his way twice."

"If that is the case then obviously Kingston wouldn't let Mystel have a chance to kill him, more so the case if Kingston suspects Mystel wants to. That's why he's contacted us. Let's face it, if they have Mariah's cell phone as evidence then with their technology they could no doubt find some way to track us down. Since they haven't I'm willing to take this risk. What else have we got to go on anyway?"

"It's your call," Garnet said. "You're our leader. Tell us what to do we'll follow your orders."

Tala looked around them all, surveying them. They all looked nervous, afraid. Even he felt a little pang of fear every time he thought about it. He just didn't think they would be successful. In short, they were going to walk into their deaths. Mystel might even let them down when it all came down to it. He said he was scared to die. Would that mean he would betray them to stay alive? Maybe not. After all, he was wrong. He thought they weren't scared of death. The truth was that they were. However there were just more important things that spurred them all.

"I once asked you if you were afraid to die," he said. "I'm sorry. That wasn't a fair question. Only some one who isn't human doesn't fear death. I'll rephrase it. Are you willing to die for this even if we fail?"

"I am," Ray murmured.

Nodding, Garnet answered, "me too."

He went round them individually and they nodded. He did too. "I see. I thought you all would. We've come this far. To give up would just be a waste of all our efforts. We need to avenge Hiro, Mariah and even Kai. I don't know if he'll make it out alive but he's not our top priority. Killing Kingston is. As such, I'm going assign only one of you to carry out a search and rescue. The palace will be relatively safe for such a task considering the commotion that will be going on at the wedding." There was a tense moment as Tala paused, trying to pick the right person. He hoped his judgment wouldn't prove him wrong. "Tyson, I'm going to ask you to do this."

"Me?" Tyson asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes, you. Don't be mad but I don't think you should face Kingston. I don't know how things would go down and I don't want to get us into a situation like that. Please understand."

Tyson nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do. I'm not happy about it but I do understand. I..." He frowned. "Would you guys excuse me for a while?"

Tala smiled sympathetically. "Of course. Take as long as you need."

Slowly, Tyson retreated to his own bedroom and shut the door firmly behind him. Then the smile that he had been fighting to hide turned into a grin that spread from ear to ear. He began to chuckle, trying his best to keep his laughter as quiet as possible so no one would overhear or suspect him. He couldn't have planned it any more perfectly if he'd tried. He could avenge Hiro and no one would be around to stop him. They were fools to think that killing Kingston would make up for Hiro's death. He didn't blame Kingston. He blamed Kai.

The laughter made every inch of his body shake. He was so happy. So incredibly happy. It was just so perfect! Kai would be utterly defenseless and since they already thought he was going to die anyway they wouldn't suspect a thing. It was justice served on a silver platter for him. He would be the one to kill Kai Hiwatari and put his brother to rest. It was his right to do so. He just couldn't believe his luck that he was actually getting the chance.

How would he do it? There were so many possibilities but he had to choose one that would bring as little attention to him as possible. He also couldn't risk one on one combat just in case he was defeated. He wasn't an idiot. There were things he could beat Kai at but a face to face battle wasn't one of them. It was a chance he didn't want to take because not only would he probably lose but his deceit would also be told to his friends. They would never forgive him. So a fight was out. That also meant anything close range such as strangulation which he would have utterly adored. He guessed there was only one thing for it. He would just have to shoot him. A single head shot ought to finish the job and, really, what was more fitting. That had been the way Hiro had been killed.

He went into his bureau and removed his gun, loading a single shot into it. That bullet was for Kai.

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