"Talking"

'Writing'

'Thinking'

"Person on other side of phone"

/Bitbeast talk/

/Bladers talking to bitbeasts/

"Russian"

"Italian"

Kimmy belongs to kimmyHiwatari.

Chapter 15 - Day 15

"Tala lied to you." - Ian

Tala silently closed the door, smiling softly. He looked at the young woman that had accompanied him. "They're both asleep." He said quietly, holding up a camera when she opened her mouth to protest. Julia took it and looked at the image on the screen, she laughed quietly.

"They are so cute together. We should give this picture to Ming- Ming and Mariah." Tala quirked an eyebrow.

"Has Bryan still not noticed the looks he and Johnny have been getting? The pictures that everyone tries to hide when they approach?" Julia shrugged. "I guess, considering Mariah and Ming- Ming said he hasn't come to talk to them yet." Tala slowly shook his head.

"I guess Bryan's been so set on Johnny that he hasn't noticed." There was an underlying tone to his voice that made Julia frown.

"What?" She asked and Tala sighed, slipping his hands into his pants pockets.

"You know Johnny's been sick, right?" She nodded. "Well, he hasn't gotten any better, in fact he seems to have gotten worse. The complete opposite of what that missing doctor said." Julia crossed her arms over her chest.

"Do you think it may be because Johnny's not supposed to be five years old?" Tala shrugged again.

"Could be," He said. "But we have no evidence telling us what to do. I've sent Spencer and Ian to see if they can snoop around and get some more information, but so far, nothing we haven't already figured out."

"Oh, that's too bad." She did look a little annoyed but her expression changed quickly, as if she had just remembered something important. "I almost forgot, I have something I've been meaning to ask you to look over."

Tala's eyebrows rose and she rolled her eyes, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper. Julia handed it to the Russian and he unfolded it. If possible, his eyebrows rose further.

"A Russian article?" Julia nodded slowly, motioning for him to look closer.

"Yeah, I believe that this may have something about the history between Biovolt and the McGregor's." Tala nodded to her, eyes briefly scanning the article he held. His eyes flickered slightly before he looked up at her, a frown marring his features.

"Where did you get this?"

"The internet can be very useful. Why?" Tala shook his head.

"Nothing, I was just curious. Anyway, this article doesn't say much. Just that the McGregor's seemed to protest all ideas coming from Biovolt. That's about it."

"What about that picture of the burning building?" Julia asked.

"Oh... that's apparently one of the buildings that got caught in the crossfire of one of their 'arguments'." Tala explained, handing the article back to her. She frowned but took it anyway, tucking it away safely. There was a short moment of silence.

"What about Kimmy?" Tala scowled slightly.

"I got a call about two hours ago, saying he had met up with Kimmy and that she was fine but I should get her somewhere safe and keep her there for the time being." Julia straightened up slightly.

"Do you know who called you?" Tala nodded.

"Someone I met before I went to the Abbey." He said vaguely. The redhead took the camera from Julia and began to head down the hall. Julia stood there for a moment before she hurried to catch up to him.

"You're not going to tell me who he is, are you?" Tala turned to her.

"Let's just say he goes by Javier." Tala replied and Julia continued to pester him with questions.

"So, do you plan on going to get Kimmy?" Tala shook his head. "Why not? Would Kai not be mad at you if he found out that you left his sister in danger?"

Tala gave out a small chuckle and turned the corner. "Javier promised to take care of it!" He called out. Julia stopped and looked after him.

'Just what is Tala hiding?'


Ray fidgeted. He tried not to, really he did, but he was bored. Did these grown ups really expect him to sit still and nothing while they talked? 'It's more like a oral novel! Are they anywhere near done?'

Next to him, Kai sighed which was for about the ten millionth time. 'Actually, only 23 times. I counted myself.'He thought to himself proudly.

"Hey, Ray?" Kai asked, though it came out more as a whine. Ray turned to look at him, his long hair following like a tail.

"Uh huh?" He asked in return and Kai finally turned to look at him. Ray immediately caught the glimmer of mischief in his eyes. He felt a grin form across his lips.

"I'm bored. Wanna pway?" A dark, almost evil grin found it's way to Kai's little face and Ray's face lit up.

"What do ya have in mind?"

"So, what are you saying?" Many voices filtered through the room at once and Dickinson sighed, rubbing his forehead. They all fell silent.

"I am postponing the tournament until further notice." Yells and complaints overcame the room once again and Stanley forced his voice higher.

"So far, I have had three bladers attacked, I can not risk more. Therefore, the tournament will start after this mess has been sorted out. I am sorry." Amidst the protests and arguments Raul turned to Max.

"Do you really think we should have left Ray and Kai alone?" Max shrugged.

"They've calmed down lately, I guess what's happened with Johnny and what they overheard, they've decided to take things more seriously." Raul nodded, wincing. Everyone had been shocked when they had heard about what Balkov had planned. 'Well that and angry.'

"Don't worry," Kenny was quick to assure. "They'll stay out of trouble." Raul hesitated but then nodded.

Mistake number one.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri-.

"Hey, you've got Enrique."

"Should you really be answering your phone like that, Enri?" Enrique blinked in surprise, straightening up.

"Kaz? What're you calling me for? It's not time is it?" Quickly he glanced around as if afraid someone had overheard him. He heard a slow laugh from the other line.

"I just got here and already I've found some interesting stuff." His eyebrows raised.

"And that would be?"

"Apparently you let Johnny wander out into the hall alone and he got himself turned into a kid by Balkov of all people. Oh, and that your little bro's been kidnaped." Enrique winced slightly at the accusatory tone.

"Kaz, I'm sorry all right? But, look, don't worry, everything's gonna turn out fine." He assured quietly.

"It better." Kaz grumbled out and the blonde cringed slightly. "I know I don't have to remind you but you promised us that you'd look out for that damn Scot. Do you realise that his father's gone too? And Drake as well?"

"What? When was this? Why haven't I heard about this? How did you here about it?"

"I have my sources. Anyway, apparently Drake came for a little 'ole visit to the Amphibious Castle and found the guy's office a mess. Someone, and I'm sure you can guess who, trashed it. Then, the police give Drake a letter from the room and poof! Gone is the slick." Enrique rolled his eyes at the last comment.

"Well thanks for letting me know Kaz, I'll get right on it. Oh, and by the way, I think you mean 'Gone is the man'."

"What? Oh... I still think I got it right!" There was a brief pause. "Yeah, I'll talk to you later. I'm gonna sneak 'round a bit more. Later." There was a click and Enrique rolled his eyes again and closed his phone, sliding it into his pocket.

"Who were you talking to?" Enrique turned at the voice to see Robert standing in the threshold with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown marring his features. The Italian shrugged.

"Just an old friend." He said vaguely, but he brushed past Robert before the German could comment.

Robert narrowed his eyes as he watched the blonde walk away. He shook his head and left.

"I can't weach it!"

"Weally? Maybe we shoulda wasked somewon biggerer to help us..."

"No! We can do this by 'selves." Kai said stubbornly.

"Otay..." Ray said doubtfully. Kai sent him a frustrated glance before turning to their 'best prank'. Ray looked up, and up, and up, and yet still up. He winced and rubbed his neck as his eyes blurred.

His friend stood on a chair they had painstakingly pushed over, on his tip-toes with a large stapler in his small sound. Kai made a sound of frustration as he slammed said stapler into the threshold and climbed down from his 'ladder', only to look up with an air of satisfaction surrounding him.

The two looked at each other, smiles quickly filling up their faces as they both pulled the chair back to its original place and hurried down the hall and out of sight.

"... presumably non-lethal when either digested or injected. We do not have a significant portion of a sample to gather enough data unless we..."

Raul looked around worriedly, nervously running his hands through his hair and fidgeting. Emily shot him an annoyed look but did not comment, which he was glad for. In front of them, Judy stood next to a projector screen, pointing out various facts that littered the screen as Kenny filtered through the pre-set pages.

"...appears Kai and Ray digested the drug, while it has been reported that Jonathan had it injected directly into his blood stream. We are now attempting to extract key chemicals and markers from the syringe that had been left behind..."

He couldn't help but look down, biting his lip lightly in worry. Kai and Ray had been gone for awhile now, but no one seemed to be worried. Wasn't it just yesterday that they had told them that Balkov planned to get the three kids and Ray was the easiest one at the moment? Raul lifted his head up, trying to pay attention to what Max's mom was explaining to the teenagers in the room.

"... should be able to recreate the drug and return Kai, Ray and Jonathan to their original age, with no side effects, however..."

But he couldn't seem to concentrate fully on what was being said, his mind wandering to the trouble Kai and Ray could be in and what they could get into.

"... Majestics have agreed to fund the project, they should be arriving back here shortly after some family problems are dealt with..."

Why was he worrying though? They weren't even his responsibility. If anything, Tala and Julia should be the ones worried. 'But they're a little busy at the moment aren't they?' He thought sardonically. 'Julia's spending more and more time with Tala than she ever spends with me, her own brother!'

".... reactions to the drug is causing some worry. We are now questioning whether it was intentional that they were turned into themselves from several years ago..."

'I shouldn't be upset though. Julia's found someone she likes, and I think Tala's a nice guy. It shouldn't matter if I feel ignored. Maybe I should talk to her about this...'

"... follow the trace pattern, we should be able to find the original experiments and the location of the Biovolt base..."

'... but then she might just get mad at me again. I hate it when she's mad at me...'

"... consider possible outcomes and future exploration of this new drug. It could possibly contain certain chemicals that could help with viral infections..."

'If Julia and Tala are too busy, maybe I should go look for them. I mean, if they are in trouble I can at least... who am I kidding? I still need my sister's help to provide a challenge to most of the bladers in this building!'

".... re-locating to Russia. They have the necessary equipment and resources that we seem to be lacking..."

'But I can call for help if I find them in trouble... at least do something useful!'

"... have to wait until the last tests are completed..."

'All right, after this lecture I'll go look...'

"... may be a couple days, or weeks from now, but we thought we should give you a warning..."

'What? I really should have paid more attention...'

"You can all go now, thank you for listening to all that. Now think it through and come to one of us if you have any questions."

Raul stood up, and almost dazedly, left the room.

Mistake number two.

He looked up weakly from his bed, glaring half-heartedly at the IV attached to his arm. Everything was a blur without his glasses and he sighed, letting his head flop back down onto his pillow.

As he shifted, he was aware of the of the heavy weight on his wrists and ankles, and the sound the rattling chains made as they were moved. Everything was hazy, his eyes began to close and he felt himself start to drift off, when the door opened.

His eyes snapped open, immediately locking onto the older man that had just entered the room. The older man slowly closed the door and looked at him closely.

"You're awake." He commented, moving closer to the side of the bed.

The man on the bed rolled his eyes, but winced soon after as it made his head spin. He heard a chuckle and felt a hand run through his hair, he quickly jerked as far away as he could.

"You should be happy to know that your son has evaded capture, again. But not to worry, we have captured him before, and we will do it again."

He laughed softly, mentally groaning at the aches it caused. "... had him 'lone l'st ti'e. Now... 'e has fri'nds 'nd fam'ly to... pr'tect 'im... 'nd r'ly 'n 'im.... S'rely, 'ou've learned how 'eople 're stronger and... mo' stu'born 'en they wan' 'o pr'tect... f'm'ly... Shoulda... 'earn'd by 'ow... 'ather..." He slurred drowsily, then he slumped unconscious.

Voltaire Hiwatari stood there for several moments before he turned sharply on his heel and marched out the door. He turned to the man that stood guard beside it.

"No one besides me is to go in that room. You understand? No one is to get near my son, not even the doctors." The guard nodded, sending a quick, furtive glance into the room before the door was completely closed. He caught sight of the unconscious man chained to the bed.

"Yes, sir."

The box hit the floor, scattering its contents across the smooth floor.

"Oops." Ray muttered, leaning over to try and scrabble them back into the box. He felt Kai move behind him, peaking over his shoulder.

"Did wou dwop 'em?" He asked and Ray nodded.

"Oh, well leave 'em thewe." Ray paused and he quickly turned around.

"What? But they could huwt somewody!" Kai shrugged.

"Shoulda watched where they goin'."

As Ray was about to protest, Kai grabbed him and pulled him sharply around the corner, kicking to box into the shadows. The two stood there with baited breath as the footsteps they had heard came closer.

They looked at the floor and saw the shadow of a man standing there, as if waiting for something, before they heard a huff of breath and the shadow vanished, disappearing into the shadows of the wall.

Kai and Ray quickly let out the breaths they were holding and quietly slipped away.

Julia walked quickly, looking around until she spotted the ones she was looking for.

"Spencer! Ian!" She waved as the two Russians looked up. They didn't greet her back, but she hadn't been expecting any. She stopped at their table.

"Hey, um, Tala told me he had you guys looking for information. Have you found any yet?" The two boys exchanged glances, and, as if they had, had an entire conversation, turned to her. 'Do all Russians do that? Or is it just them?'

"We haven't gotten anything so far, that we hadn't already figured out." Ian said, shrugging and leaning back in his seat. Julia hesitated and Spencer looked her in the eye.

"But that's not what you came here for, is it?" Julia sighed and shook her head. Ian motioned to the empty seat across from them and Julia sat down heavily. She pulled out the same article she had shown Tala and dropped on the table in front of them. The blonde picked it up and unfolded it.

"I asked Tala to translate that for me but his translation didn't sound right to me." She said and Ian leaned over, taking a peak of the article.

"What did Tala say it said?" Julia brushed a bang away from her face.

"That the McGregor's protested all ideas made by Biovolt. Oh, and that the building is what got caught in the crossfire." Once again the two Russians exchanged looks.

"What?!" Julia exclaimed in frustration.

"Do you two know something?" They sighed heavily.

"Tala lied to you."

Oliver poked his head around the door jam, peaking into the room.

"Enri? Are you all right?" He asked quietly, stepping into the room and crossing it in a few seconds. The blonde's head shot up and he glared at the French boy. Oliver winced slightly but he sat down anyway.

"All right? All right?!" Enrique spat out bitterly. "One of my best friends was attacked and now everyone else is questioning if he was somehow involved with it all, my little brother, who I'm supposed to protect, has been kidnaped, I came back here and left Johnny, who needed the help, behind! Hell, Ari and James are supposed to be getting married soon, but now they've had to put it off. I dragged my two other friends all the way to Italy and... and..." His shoulders shook and he leaned his head forward, finger tangling themselves in his hair.

Oliver looked at him sadly. "Oh, Enri..." He sighed, reaching out to touch him on the shoulder. He noticed the Italian's eyes were squeezed shut.

"It'll turn out okay." He assured. Enrique looked up at him. Sadness, pain and... guilt? in his eyes.

"But that's the thing... I don't know if it will..."

Raul shoved his hands into his pockets as he wandered down the hall. He was looking for Kai and Ray, but had yet found any sign of them. He sighed, his shoulders drooping. 'I can't even find them!'

Just then, he heard a sound and he quickly turned around. Nothing. He glanced awound nervously and decided to call out.

"H-Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?"

Mistake number three.

Hey, I am so sorry for the long wait. First there was the fact that I was too busy - school, what else?- and then wouldn't let me even log in! So... yeah, those are my excuses. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I certainly tried not to jump around too much, so tell me if I did all right.

Read and Review, please!

Later,
W.S. Phoenix