One last update for the holidays! As a gift, this one will be EXTRA LONG! I hope you all read and review, because this chapter is important and stuff. Yeah.
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Winter is a time of miracles. It is a time of sorrow, and it is a time of togetherness. When all is lost, and the snow covers every surface turning a once colorful world white, it can be interpreted two ways. One can view it as a beautiful world of peace and silence, and one can view it as drained freezing world of departed joy. Those opinions are what make the human race dominant over that of something without free will.
But Kevin didn't feel happy, and he didn't feel sad. He could barely feel his own leg, let alone emotions. He stared numbly across the room, with a dull expression on his face. He couldn't focus on what was happening around him, so he didn't. He thought instead about his family. His mom, who was always there for him. His brother, who had taken a vow of silence for no apparent reason, and yet always seemed to know everything. And his father. The man that had died shortly after Kevin was even born. Kevin thought mostly about his father, who he never knew.
Would he have really been that different if his father had been there for him? Or would he still be the same screw up that he was? Would his father care when he heard that his son was shot? Did his brother care? His mom would. If she wasn't already on a plane out to America, she would be. She must be in hysterics, Kevin thought.
Mariah looked down at Kevin and sighed. That same distant look in his eyes… He wouldn't last much longer. The woman seemed to be growing terribly impatient, because she was constantly checking her phone and re-loading her gun. Kevin's iPod was quietly playing Animal I have become and as Mariah listened, she had a passing thought that Kevin's mental health might have been slightly less stable then Mariah had thought.
"Kev… What was that movie you went to see? With the grandfather and the little girl?" There was a pause as Kevin tried to bring himself back to reality.
"L-little miss… Sunshine." He said with some effort. Mariah was silent for a moment, letting the silence take over again. She sighed and wrapped her arm around Kevin, kissing his forehead. Without shifting from the position, she collected her thoughts and continued talking.
"Yes, that one. I was thinking about it the other day. What made you like it so much?" Another long pause, as Kevin thought about it. He narrowed his eyes slightly and coughed twice.
"I guess… I liked how their lives all sucked… But then they were still a family at the end."
That was all he said, and Mariah didn't reply. What could she say to that? Was he implying something? Mariah sat there and glanced towards the door.
"I love you, Kevin."
A pause.
"I love you too, Mar."
Mariah hugged Kevin with both arms, and fresh tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, streaming down her cheeks. Why did this have to happen? They had been friends forever. From when they met, to when they discovered beyblading, to when Rei left, and when he came back… And until now. Was she really about to loose Kevin? Forever?
"Please don't go…" She sobbed into Kevin's cheek as she kissed him again. The woman had apparently found interest in the little emotional drama sat down atop the table above the two and smiled. "How cute." She mused with a slight hint of laughter.
Mariah felt the gun against her cheek, but didn't let go of Kevin. "You have two minutes, until I kill one of you-"
She was cut off by the ringing of her phone. Before she answered, she smiled and mouthed 'lucky you'.
"What, Dickenson? Oh, that's wonderful. Send it up like I told you too. Don't worry, I'll let them know. Oh, of course I will. No, you can't catch me." She flipped the phone closed and smiled warmly down at her two hostages, before reaching out and ruffling Kevin's hair.
"I'm going to miss you, sweetie." Then she lifted her phone back to her ear, and without looking dialed a number.
"I've got it. No, I won't be able to do that. Yes sir." She flipped it closed, and then opened his back up again only to do the same thing.
"Lee? Oh yes, wonderful. Here's the deal."
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"That's the door, right there." Kenny said cautiously, pointing towards a service entrance from their hiding spot in an alleyway. The group behind him peeked out and looked at it curiously.
"So dats where we gotta go?" Snakelock asked cautiously.
He received a steady whack upside the head. "No, dumbass, we're goin trew da front!" Ripple said in a low threatening voice, sarcasm dripping from his words. The two glared at each other but left it at that. Kenny ran over the plan another time, and just before they put it into action, Kai stood to say something.
"Listen; our friends are in danger. The woman responsible has a gun, and we don't. We need to not only do this quickly, but smoothly. So be careful." He said evenly. The others all nodded slowly and with that being said, started towards the building quickly and quietly. They had waited until the last three minutes of the door being unlocked before attempting to enter. First was Kai, who slipped through the darkness with great skill and silence, avoiding being seen at all times. Kenny and Hilary followed after his footsteps and the three of them were quickly at the door.
As the first three slipped inside, Ripple, Snakelock, and Stripback followed after, but in a clumsier manner. Clumsy enough, and least to bring the attention of a night guard. "Hey, you!"
The man's shouting brought the teens to a much faster speed, and in moments they were at the door. Mohan had just enough time to slip in, letting the door close behind him and lock. Inside, the seven remaining members of the group were panting and sweating, not because of their narrow escape from authority, but because now there was no going back. Kai straightened up and looked down the long dark corridor.
"Well," He started bravely, "This is it. Now or never."
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"Just hand it to her." Lee repeated for the umpteenth time. Why couldn't Emily just understand? The elevator was growing closer, and if she didn't shape up they would never get out of the building alive. Finally, recognition dawned on her face. She swallowed bravely and nodded, before turning towards the elevator.
Within the time it takes for an elevator to gain seven floors, Emily would be taking a suite case with eighty million dollars in it and handing it to the woman who had done all this. Then where would she go? Up? That wouldn't do her any good.
Ding!
Emily stiffened. This was it, and she knew something was about to put her life on the line for the people that she loved. The people that had taught her blading skills, caught her when she fell, and were always such good friends – no matter what team they were on. Slowly, Emily walked towards the elevator door, which slowly opened. No one was inside, but a suitcase was lying idle on the floor. Emily picked it up and looked down at it for a moment. Then she turned with the case held firmly in both hands, and started towards the door that she had stared at for the past seven of so hours.
Emily stopped outside the door. A long pause followed while she got up the courage, and then knocked. It was a dull, thumping noise, that struck fear through her heart. When Michael's ball bounced up against the wall, she almost shot Kevin again. Even though the woman had told her to knock, Emily couldn't help but regret doing it.
A clicking sound snapped her back to reality. The door unlocked and pushed open a foot, and doing just as Mariah had, Emily pushed her back up against the wall. Hugging the case to her chest, Emily slid through. What she saw made her falter.
On the far end of the room, Mariah sat with her ankles tied together, arms wrapped around a half conscious Kevin, whose leg looked awful. The carpet around them was stained in blood, which made the American freeze up completely. That was all Kevin's blood? How was he still alive?
The case was yanked from her hands instantly, but she still couldn't look away from the two hostages. The thought that she was about to become one was growing on her.
"I suppose we won't be having the little chat I hoped we would." A velvety voice stated from next to her. Emily turned slowly and gaped at the beauty of the woman who had shot Kevin twice. Velvet hair flicked behind her as she turned to face Mariah and Kevin.
"Take good care of my little sweetheart, alright?" She said directly to Mariah, who clenched her teeth and glared across at the woman. The homicidal female lifted the gun upwards towards them, and Emily let out a startled cry, which was only drowned out by the firing of a third bullet. Mariah screamed, and Kevin fell limp in her arms, a fresh wound cutting across the top of his right shoulder and seeping out fresh blood.
The woman wasted no time after that. She took the gun firmly in one hand and the suitcase in the other, and raced out the doorway towards the stair well. The bladers out if the hallway were too busy racing towards the room to chase after her. Rei in Lee mad it in first, and were at their teammates sides instantly. Lee cut Mariah's ankles loose, and Rei just stared at Kevin's leg. It was ripped up and blood drenched, and the breathing rate of his younger friend was horribly unstable and painfully quick.
Rei got Kevin onto his back and Lee lifted a sobbing Mariah up and supported her by letting her drape an arm over his shoulder and having her lean into him. The ropes had cut off the circulation to her feet, and it was hard to walk. Mariah looked up to see Rei and Kevin ahead of her, just leaving the room. The Bladebreakers, along with the Majestics and Allstars all seemed shocked at the sight of the victim, but wasted no time in heading for the elevator. The woman was only just unlocking the door to the stairwell, but instead of disappearing when she opened it, she stumbled backwards.
Out of the darkness darted Kai along with Kenny, Hilary, and three other unknown teenagers, who all raced at the woman and barricaded her exit. This didn't seem to bother her, thought, because she only lifted the gun to face Kai.
"Get out of the way, honey." She said evenly, a slight giggle to her voice. Kai narrowed his eyes and steadied his stance. He would have composed and entire speech if he thought it would have done him any good, but he could tell that the woman wasn't going to give in.
"Don't make me do it again. Get out of the way." She said again, more forcefully this time. Still, Kai didn't move.
"Listen, little boy." The woman started. "I'm obviously not afraid to shoot you. Look at your little friend over there. He'll die if you don't get out of the way."
"Little boy?" Kai almost smirked. "You listen, lady. I'm not letting you pass. And I know you won't shoot me. You're not that stupid."
A pause, as the woman considered this. Then, as if she had come to a decision, lowered the gun ever so slightly. "Your right, I can't shoot you." Whatever happened next was a blur. The woman lifted the gun again in a swift movement, but this time it didn't face Kai, but Rei. She didn't hesitate before pulling the trigger, and in another instant, Rei was falling forwards, eyes wide with shock. Kai's eyes also grew wide, as did everyone else's. As Rei hit the floor, Kevin rolled off of him onto the floor, facing the ceiling. The woman was gone within seconds, passed Kai and through the wall of people that blocked her way, and was up the flights of stairs like a lightning bolt.
Everything moved in slow motion. Rei hitting the floor, then curling up into somewhat of a ball, his arms wrapped around his waist in pain. Kevin must have been conscious, and oddly enough, the current situation dawned on him first.
"REI!" He yelled, rolling onto his side and biting back in pain. His cry brought everyone else crashing into reality, and racing to both of their sides, crying in shock and disbelief.
Kai just stood there as the others rushed passed them. What was he doing? He should be helping Rei, it was his fault that he had been shot! But something in the back of his head told him to follow the woman responsible, and for once, Kai listened to that voice.
He turned on his heal rather quickly and raced up the stairwell away from the people he had been so desperate to save.
-x-x-x-
The door to the roof flew opened, and the light of the stairwell poured out onto the freshly fallen snow. A beautiful young woman raced out with a suitcase and gun in hand. Off in the distance, the chopping of a helicopter was growing louder as her escape grew closer. It had been a long eight hours, but she still had the taste of success on her lips. The beating of the blades grew louder, and as she moved towards the middle of the roof area, she couldn't help smiling. What a thrill ride that had been.
"You probably don't want me any angrier then I already am, so I'd suggest you stop that laughing." She whirled around. Standing just behind her was the very boy she had decided not to shoot. She smiled.
"How's your friend?" But the boy didn't reply. In a flash, he kicked the gun out of her hand and leapt forwards at it. Once he had it in his grip, he twisted around and aimed, just as a large black helicopter appeared above them, blowing snow spray up into his eyes and causing him to pull back. The woman jumped up into the platform and, assuming that she would be glaring back at him with defeat, turned around. In his hand was the gun, which was pointing at her. In a second, the sound of a loud bang filled the air and was about as loud as the helicopter itself. The woman staggered backwards slightly, and fell back into the helicopter, blood rushing over her hands which were holding her stomach in shock and pain.
-x-x-x-
Kai returned to the hallway, and found it swamped with police, who immediately took him down the elevator to the lobby, which was of course, also swarming with authority. Medics had already carried Kevin, Rei, and Mariah off to the hospital, where as the remainder of the teams were just about to be taken there. Kai joined up with Tyson and Max, who were overjoyed to see him.
"Oh, Kai, that was horrible! You have no idea, seven hours in the hallway and the whole time I thought for sure that someone was going to die!" Tyson yelled, waving his arms around to express his current state. Hilary threw her arms around Kai's neck with joy, while Ripple, Stripback, and Snakelock were all being smothered with police. Kai made his way over to them and convinced the cops that they were on his side and had helped him, and the law enforcement lightened up and left them alone.
In what felt like only a few moments, they were in the hospital. A full medical procedure was run on each person, and even when they were excused, no one wanted to leave. So it was agreed that they would stay in the hospital for the rest of the day. Most of them just ate and then immediately fell asleep. Rei was out of surgery around five thirty in the morning, and much to Mariah's relief, he had only received a minor wound that wouldn't keep him in the hospital for long. The doctors were able to save Kevin's leg, but when they came out of surgery around six, they insured that Kevin wouldn't be walking without crutches or a limp for a good nine months.
Mariah seemed to just be thankful that no one had died, but the longer the news of the woman's whereabouts was prolonged, the more worried everyone became.
"Where is Mr. D. anyways?" Tyson finally asked. The three teams were all in one large room, each just enjoying each other's company, and waiting for Rei and Kevin to show up. Eddie sighed. "Probably dealing with all the law suits." He mused, putting a finger to his chin.
"Yeah, seeing as everyone wants to sue the crap out of the BBA." Enrique pointed out bluntly. Lee winced slightly. "I guess that means we won't be having a big tournament any time soon."
He pointed out, almost sadly. From the other side of the room, a familiar voice sounded out.
"Thank God." Everyone turned to see Kevin and Rei, both smiling. Kevin was supporting himself with two crutches, while Rei was only using one. Both seemed to simply be happy they were alive. Mariah jumped up and raced towards then, throwing her arms around Kevin who swayed slightly and laughed. Mariah carefully hugged Rei, and helped the two of them towards the middle of the group where they both sat down, laying their crutches beside them.
The talking continued after that happily, until finally Tyson couldn't take it.
"So?! How many stitches do you have?" He leaned forwards until his was right between Rei and Kevin. The two neko-jin exchanged a glance.
"I have fourteen." Rei said with an awkward smile. Kevin rolled his eyes.
"Oh please. That's nothing compared to the forty-two total stitches I have." Both Rei and Tyson's jaw's dropped. "Forty-two?!" Tyson cried, shocked. Kevin laughed.
From the other side of the room, Kai listened to the laughing and cringed. The woman he had shot must have been working for someone, or else she would have had more help in the matter of keeping three beyblading teems hostage at once. So she might have died. But the person behind it was still out there. Kai sighed. He wasn't going to ruin the afternoon by telling everyone that. But none the less…
This was far from over.
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xChewy; Oh. Oh, right there. That was nice.
Kai; So… Who won our little bet?
xChewy; Eh… I have no idea. But I'm broke anyways, so I suppose I won.
Kai; -.-; Whatever.
xChewy; I'm going to bed. It's 1:37am on Christmas eve.
Kai; Eh… Happy holidays?
xChewy; Yup! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!
NOTE; This fanfic is NOT OVER. There are going to be more chapters, okay? Hopefully a lot more. But I needed to make this only long and sum up that part of the fic so that I could move on. It's also my gift to you. ; So enjoy! I'll be back after the holidays.
Tah! -xChewy