…

So…

About the whole disappearing-and-not-updating-for-an-eon-or-two thing… Sorry? I have a lot of work for school. Granted, not hard work, but long work… Like, it takes up half my freaking life. So, sorry to everyone who has been waiting for a few decades for me to update. I'll be more frequent with the next chapter, because it's probably the last or second to last chapter of the story. Oh and… REVIEW. You've been waiting a long time for this, give me something more than 'OMG rly gud plz updat mmkay?!?/1/!'

Seriously.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"So, as you can all see, the easiest route to take in order to get to the stadium would be this red line here, though there is construction scheduled for the fifth. The tournament would have to be after that, I suppose, or else there would be traffic and the BBA would get complaints..."

The man at the front of the room drawled on, while the bladers around him avoided eye contact. Even the slightest hint that they were interested would excite the man speaking in a monotone, and he would try to drag the meeting on ever longer. As painful as the gathering was, most of the bladers at the table knew that it was slightly important. Still, it wasn't enough to keep their attention. All of this was taken into account in a single glance, as a woman watched from behind a bookshelf.

She gazed between the books, studying the people in the room with a smile on her face. Out of the two teams, the only ones that weren't half asleep were the two of the eldest, from the White Tiger team. Rei and Lee were their names. The woman had been studying their files for a month or so now, learning all there was to know about them.

Hidden behind Gary, a smaller boy sat with his head resting on his arms, probably asleep. He was leaning over the table, out of view from the speaker. Mariah, who sat next to the youngest on the white tiger team, gave him a look that was a mix of both jealousy and annoyance, but did nothing to wake him. At this note, the women smiled to herself.

Oh, you poor little boy. Enjoy your rest, because you have no idea what pain you will be experiencing in only a matter on moments.

The woman continued to take in the room. The table, high quality with a soot-colored glass top and steel legs, was at least the length of a small U-haul truck. On the left side, from where the woman was standing, the White Tiger team sat, and on the right, the Bladebreakers. Suddenly, a frown played across the woman's face. Three of the Bladebreakers were... absent? Yes, it appeared that Kenny, Hilary, and Kai had skipped the meeting.

Well... At the least, it will make this interesting.

"And that concludes today's meeting. Thank you." The man, who had spoken for at least two hours and covered a total of twenty-six topics in depth, left the room in a hurry carrying his pointer stick and briefcase full of notes. The group left in the room lingered behind as they slowly began to wake up. Most stood and stretched before leaving the room slowly, but some remained. After about ten minutes of shuffling around, the only bladers to stay in the room included Lee Yin, Rei Kon, Tyson Granger, Max Tate, Mariah Yin, and most importantly, Kevin Ki. It seemed as though he had taken the bait, and was looking for his iPod. Now all that was left was for the others to leave…

Slade smiled to herself. It hadn't been that difficult to separate the hand held musical device from the largest blader on the White Tiger team. She had seen her opportunity do so half way through the meeting and took it. Thankfully, her assumption was correct; the kid wouldn't leave without his iPod.

She watched as the teenagers joked around, the female storming out after getting too fed up with their childish behavior. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they left, heading out the door and down the hallway. All who remained was Rei Kon and Kevin Ki, and from the looks of it, Rei was going to be out of the room before Kevin. Perfect. Slade couldn't have asked for a better circumstance. In only a matter of seconds, the door to the room was closed, and her target was left alone – or so he thought. Just as he was reaching for the handle, Slade made her move, swinging out from her hiding place and lifting her gun towards the boy.

"Not a lethal shot, but I want him to be crippled by it. Understand?" Her boss, the man calling for this action to be taken, had told her. She lowered the tip of the gun and smiled.

"What's the rush, Kevin?"

No hesitation. No second thoughts. Slade pulled the trigger and leapt forward and locked the door before finally turning to watch as the neko-jin yelled and writhed in pain on the floor. She had been waiting for this sight for a good long while, and it made her smile.

-x-x-x-

Victoria snapped out of her daze. She remembered that day like it was yesterday. Granted, it wasn't too far off in the past, but for all he excitement and ciaos she certainly did a good job of remembering the small details. Slowly, she looked up and across the room to the door they were about to exit through. After collaborating with 'his girls', Dickenson had decided on a plan for dealing with the current situation.

Poor little boy… He was to be taken back to one of Dickenson's estates and dealt with there. Odds of him living for more then a week were far too slim for Slade's comfort, but what was she to do? He was rightfully hers; she did all the work to get him here. But if she protested? She's be killed instantly. Still, the thought of being executed for betrayal didn't stop her from wondering who's life was more important.

"Well than, ladies, it is time. You know how I want this to play out. Get on with it."

-x-x-x-

Ah, the bliss and ignorance of deep sleep. A gift that so many people enjoy night after night, where worries and anxiety disappear with the sun, and peaceful, abstract thoughts rise with the moon. Unfortunately, ever faithful reader, this is not the case for Kevin Ki. He is asleep, do not be misled, but… he is far from enjoying it. Struck down by a fever and a useless leg, Kevin could only lie on the plush sofa and doze restlessly. And despite the fresh bandages constricting his limbs, he could feel nothing. He wasn't even fully aware of where he was anymore, just that he was having an unnecessarily horrifying dream.

The dream itself wasn't that daunting. It was the fact that Kevin was having it with a fever that made it so unbearable. What would normally be a regular temperature for the setting of said dream became a sweltering hot environment. Kevin was standing, alone, with a swirling snow white mist up to his stomach. Above him, thousands of stars glistened in a black sky, and around him, blood; splattering, splashing, dripping, blood. The humidity of the huge abyss was not the only thing that was connected with Kevin's physical being. It seemed that a large rat, about the size of a watermelon to be precise, had found interest in Kevin's flesh. Good for the rat, which must have had a difficult time finding food in such an empty place, but bad for the poor neko-jin who as hard as he tried, could not fend the rodent off.

Never once did Kevin consider making noise to scare off the creature. The blood that floated around between the mist and the night sky above began to float towards Kevin, moving faster and faster before it made contact with his scratched, bitten body. It clung to his skin, hair, clothes, and even the words that finally began to tumble out of his throat. They appeared before him in large black letters in a long forgotten language as Kevin flailed his arms around in a useless attempt to free himself from the ciaos.

"Get up, you little shit."

Kevin's eyes cracked open. No blood, no words, no rat. Safe. Alas, it was only a moment later that he remembered where he was and what was going on around him. Granted, the young boy was far to fatigued to pay much heed to the man beckoning him off the sofa, but it didn't stop him from rolling his head to the side and trying to make out the room around him.

If there was one thing Kevin Ki knew how to do, it was read facial expressions. He had learned how by watching and imitating adults at a young age, and now even the slightest twitch of an eyebrow could tell the boy what mood a person was in. It came in handy when dealing with his friends, so that he did not push to far past any boundaries. As he squinted across the room, the shape of a lumbering giant loomed towards him, arms flexing and muscles rippling. The face of the man was twisted; both a sneer of conceit and glare of loathing mutilated his face. As he grew ever closer, Kevin began to feel his heart rate pick up.

When would this end? This constant fear, anxiety, and dread that pumped through his soar, tired body, when would it all cease to be? Sleep was uncomfortable, moving was painful, thinking straight was difficult, and each time he recognized the sound of someone moving about the room, his chest would grow tight and his stomach would drop. The thought of being killed at any given moment was unbearable in the least. As the man's large fists closed around the color of Kevin's shirt and lifted him off the couch, the captive suddenly recalled a Buddhist philosophy. His grandmother had told it too him long ago. 'Only when you accept death, can you truly live.'

Kevin tried to focus on it while he was pulled across the room. Surely, by accepting the fact that he could die at any moment, he wouldn't be able to go about the last few dreaded hours of his life cheerily. Not in the condition he was in. Perhaps the stress would go away? But… Kevin did not want to die. He wanted to live, to travel, to listen to music one last time, to beat Mario Cart, to be a teenager. He couldn't just accept death.

The man stopped walking, and stood solidly behind Kevin with both hands planted firmly on the boy's shoulders. Footsteps, a door opening, and the clack of heals grew louder as two women and a much older man approached. Then, before Kevin could adjust his watering eyes, Stanley Dickenson was standing before it. His face was focused, but otherwise blank as he stared heavily down at Kevin.

"As you might have imagined," he finally began after a long silence, "you are the only one who knows of my participation in this… crime, shall we say? You're a smart boy, what do you think that means for your future?"

Kevin inhaled shakily and glanced to his left and right. All of the women where watching him, some smiling wickedly, some gazing on without much expression to read, but one… Victoria Slade, to be precise… she looked worried for him.

"You're going to kill me." Kevin mumbled, finally letting his gaze settle on the head of the BBA. Dickenson allowed himself a half smile.

"Well, my dear boy, I'm afraid I'm not that generous. You will be accompanying me and Ms. Slade to my home in Peru where we will further debate your future. I advise you do not get your hopes up, it's bound to be something bleak and painful."

And that was all he said before turning and leaving the room. The man holding Kevin laughed and stepped away from the boy, before his thick leathery boot connected hard with Kevin's lower back, hurtling the small child forward toward the door leading into the hallway. Slade followed, biting her lower lip as she watched the neko-jin limp along. Kevin had suddenly been reminded of his bum leg, and the dozens of small cuts he had received from one of the women certainly didn't make moving any more enjoyable. By the time Kevin was out in the hallway, hot tears were rolling down his reddened cheeks.

It was an imploring moan that brought Slade to his side, her fine hands catching hold of his aching shoulders and keeping him on his feet. Dickenson turned and narrowed his eyes, cane shooting out from his side and thudding into Kevin's hip.

"Get on with it, you little sod, or I'll smash your teeth in." Dickenson growled, finally giving up on the cheerful-old-man façade he had been keeping up for so long. Kevin just shook his head and closed his eyes, stumbling once before stopping and trying to pull away from Slade. He was in no condition to be standing, let alone walking, but Dickenson didn't care.

"Carry him if you have too, Lloyd, and I'll throw in an extra ten thousand to your paycheck." Stanley growled, continuing on down the hallway.

-x-x-x-

Rei Kon bit his lip. It was only three more steps, and the push of a door that was separating him from getting to Kevin and saving his younger teammate, but it felt like miles. Thick hesitation surrounded him, slowing his movements and clouding his thoughts. He wanted Kevin out of there so badly, but… it was really dangerous. Just by showing up he could be putting everyone's lives in danger. Did he want that? He could be shot again, Kai could be killed, hell, Kevin could already be dead. How was he supposed to waltz in there with the image of Kevin lying dead on the floor in his mind? How could he do anything with an ounce of sanity with that mental picture riding on his mind?

Kai on the other hand couldn't care less what Rei was thinking. If the kid was dead, than they could at least stop the bastards who keep doing this. Kai swore then and there that this would be the last hostage situation he would find himself in.

If I have to put up with this shit one more time, I'm going to be the one threatening people with a gun. He thought bitterly. It was Rei who nudged him, having finally decided it was time.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Kai asked, recognizing the look up unease in Rei's eyes. The neko-jin nodded, but the Russian wasn't any more convinced.

"I'm sure he's okay, Rei."

"Whatever." Rei said quickly. So that was the case, eh? Rei was worried about his friend. Emotions getting in the way would only slow things down, but… Perhaps it was one of those things that would be impossible to avoid. Kai just rolled his eyes.

"Okay then. Three, two…" Kai counted down, hoping to help Rei brace himself. "… One."

In a single burst, the two young men darted up the remaining steps and into the hallway, instantly diving to the side up against the walls and peering down the corridor. Empty.

A long pause followed. "… Maybe their up another flo-" Rei began, only to be cut off by a distant yet distinctly familiar voice.

"Get on with it, you little sod, or I'll smash your teeth in."

Both Kai and Rei stiffened, eyes wide. Rei's mouth dropped open. They knew that voice… It was… No way…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

xChewy; Oh-ho. After that long wait, you get a CLIFF-HANGER. Oh. Take that.

Kevin; Why should they suffer just because you're lazy?

xChewy; … Slade!

Slade; Hm?

xChewy; Shoot the kid, he's making more sense than me.

Kevin; What?!

Slade; Yay!

xChewy; -ignoring the yelling and gunfire in the background- Review!

Kevin; -running by while being chased by Slade- You BITCH!