Warning: Scenes of violence and minor coarse language.

Chapter 19 - Day 19

"Johnny's gone and I'm not standing to the side this time." - Tala

Tala sighed heavily, sinking down into the chair and stared down at his hands. They shook ever so slightly and he hastily shoved them into his pants pockets. His head pounded loudly and he closed his eyes in a futile attempt to be rid of the memories.

"There is one way you can pay us back for our hospitality, Yuriy. Kai's our son, but so is Jay. Protect them to the best of your ability, that will be payment enough." Her smile was shining, beautiful and understanding. He would never forget her kindness.

"We have to get him back! We just have to! Johnny doesn't deserve this, it's not his fault we're the way we are!" A small boy with large crimson eyes that were filled with desperate tears, yet clouded with anger.

"What can we do?" A young man with dark grey eyes, sad and lonely. "These are the lives we have been given, we cannot change that... not by ourselves."

"Let us help! If there is one thing our money can do, it can help you start over! All of you, we do not blame you nor do we feel pity. You're their leader Tala, you must decide what is best for them. Just remember that no matter what, our offer still stands." An angry blond, trusting and naive.

He took in a shaky breath, forcing himself to calm down as his mind whirred. There was no time for this, he had to finish this. Tala pulled out his phone, scrolled through the contacts and gazed at one in particular before he hit send and pressed it to his ear.

"What?" A voice asked gruffly.

"I need your help." Tala said simply. There was silence on the other end and he continued. "Johnny's gone and I'm not standing to the side this time." He snapped the phone closed and tossed it into a nearby bush, vanishing down the streets.

His head pounded as he woke, eyes opening to darkness. Blinking slowly, he groaned softly when he heard the sound of the engine and realised he was in the trunk of a car.

"Johnny? You 'wake?" A small voice asked from behind him and he carefully turned, feeling nauseous with every move.

"Ray?" His voice was hoarse and he grimaced as it hurt his throat.

"Uh huh." Ray replied, scooting closer and laying a hand on Johnny's arm.

"What are you doing here? Did they catch you too?" The redhead asked.

"No. I saw them take you and decided to come with you." Ray explained.

Abruptly, the car came to a stop and both boys slammed into the wall of the car. Johnny grimaced in pain and Ray hissed.

"Ray, I need you to go to the very back and hide as best you can." Johnny whispered as he heard doors open and close. "They don't know you're here and we can use that to our advantage." Johnny explained, knowing Ray would have protested otherwise.

"All right." Ray agreed quietly, moving away from the redhead and into a corner, curling up to make himself smaller.

The trunk opened and Johnny was immediately grabbed and roughly yanked out, dropped unceremoniously onto the hard concrete. As the Scottish teen started to get his feet under him, a swift booted kick caught him in the side and he face planted back onto the pavement, groaning in pain and sickness. There was laughter above him and he scowled, making to move before there was an abrupt pain in his hand and he shouted.

Someone had stepped onto his hand; as soon as the foot was removed, Johnny pulled his aching hand to his chest protectively and glared up at the men standing above him. One stepped forward and he swallowed thickly as Boris Balkov knelt in front of him.

"Well hello again, Mr. McGregor." Balkov greeted with a sick grin. "It is so good of you to join us but we have business to attend to." With that said, he reached forward and grabbed a fistful of the boy's hair as he stood, forcefully yanking Johnny up with him.

Johnny hissed in pain as he used his good hand in an attempt to lessen the pull on his hair. Balkov chuckled and released him before turning to his men.

"Tie him up. We can't have him pulling off another escape, now can we?"His men nodded and two of them grabbed Johnny, one twisting his arms behind his back painfully while the other bound his wrists tightly together with the rope he had pulled from the trunk. Once finished, the man stepped next to him and placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"We'll be seeing you inside then, McGregor." Balkov said with a smirk. "Feel free to rough him up a little if he causes you trouble." His men chuckled and Johnny felt the hand on his shoulder tighten.

'Shit, I am screwed.' Johnny thought as Balkov climbed back into the vehicle and he was yanked in the direction of an old warehouse. One of the men slammed the trunk's lid closed and the car drove off. 'Ray...'

Ray crammed himself as best as he could into the depths of the empty space as the contraption came to a stop and he could hear a panel opening and closing. The child lay quietly in the darkness, his sharp ears listening to the sounds about him. The people's voices were drifting away by now and the only other sound was that of the howling wind that echoed through the area.

He took in a deep breath and pushed back against the wall behind him as he tried to think of what to do. A yelp escaped him when the wall suddenly collapsed in and he fell backwards, tumbling out over an enlarged seat of the machinery and fell into an opening between the bench looking seat and a padded one in front of him. He blinked and stared blankly at the opening he had fallen through. Ray shook his head, bangs flying as he did so.

Ray looked around him, frowning at the connecting metal; there was no way out. There was a quiet chuckle from the back of his mind and he frowned, tilting his head unconsciously to the side.

/ Who-wis th-where? / He questioned; a feeling of warmth encompassed him.

/ Drigger. / Was the simple reply.

/ Oh. Well, d'you know how ta ge' out of he-wer? / Ray carefully peaked through the glass, spotting the empty room outside of the contraption.

/Yes. Pull the handle sticking out of one of the walls. / Drigger directed gruffly and Ray did as he was told, pulling back on the stick. It clicked. / Now, hold that in place and push forward. /

Ray did and gasped as he fell once again, this time falling face first into the hard and cold floor. He grimaced and sat up, rubbing at his aching face. Drigger seemed to laugh quietly and the boy glowered at nothing in particular. Ray carefully pushed the wall back into place and crept over to a door that was cracked open. He peaked through and saw no opposition so he slipped past and wandered down the hall, golden eyes reflecting the light entering from an opposite window.

"Where am I?" He pondered quietly, frowning. "I need to find Johnny." He knew, by the sounds of things, that the men would not be treating the redhead very well and that he had to find him soon.

Julia huffed slightly, fiddling with the meal laid in front of her but not eating. 'I thought I was so close to getting Tala to open up, but now...' She sighed and took a small bite of the cooling food.

She looked up, however, when she heard a plate hit the other side of the table. Enrique grinned at her, already diving into his food as Oliver politely sat next to him and smiled at her.

"Julia," he greeted warmly, "how are you?"

"Fine," Julia replied, almost bitterly and the green-haired Frenchman looked concerned. "I don't know what's going on anymore..." Oliver sent her a sympathetic look, nudging Enrique harshly in the side.

The Italian grumbled and rubbed his side. "Right." He sighed, "Julia, we all know you like Tala." Enrique said bluntly earning him a glare each from his companions and protests from the girl. "However, there are many things that you - and almost everyone else- don't know about. Not that I'll be telling you most of those but that's not the point. The point is that Tala's dangerous if you piss him off and that he has a... connection to Johnny but don't ask me what that is 'cause I happen to like my life."

Julia frowned at him, leaning forward. "Why is Balkov after Johnny?" She asked finally. Enrique hesitated before he shook his head and shrugged.

"You ever see that first world tournament Tyson was in?" Julia nodded slowly. "Right, well, the BBA had set up the Bladebreakers to take down Biovolt and the Abbey. But, just the team winning the tournament wouldn't be enough to take them down so Don -Johnny's father- and Johnny himself, gathered as much information as they could and sent it anonymously to the BBA" Enrique explained.

"Does Mr. Dickinson know that it was the McGregor family?" Julia questioned. When Enrique shook his head, she continued. "Why did they do that?"

"The McGregor clan is very secretive, only they themselves know what they're doing and why they're doing it most of the time. And, well... let's just say that they had incentive to do so." The blond shrugged and leaned back in his seat. He checked his watch suddenly and stood.

"We have to go so we'll probably talk more later." Enrique said as Oliver stood up. "Oh, and keep an eye out for Johnny, all right? Balkov has him again." With that, the two boys cleaned up their trays, put them away and left the room.

Julia blinked, "Johnny's been kidnapped? But I thought Bryan was watching him!"

Kai blinked awake, wincing at the screeching that was echoing about in his mind. "Wah... Drah-wanzer?" He mumbled, sitting up. He searched the room, frowning in disappointment when he found Tala missing.

"He didn't come back, after all..." He murmured sadly, pouting down at the sheets on the bed. Dranzer screeched even louder in his head and he grabbed at it.

/Kai! You must go! Tala's in danger! You all are!/ Her symphonious voice became softer as she calmed down.

"What?" Kai scrambled out of the bed and hurriedly changed, "whe-awre's Tal-wa?"

/I will show you/ Dranzer murmured softly, her 'blade glowing so her little human could find it. Kai snatched it up and ran out the door, panic almost overwhelming him as he skittered around corners, following his bitbeasts directions.

Raul, a little dazed and still shocked by Tala's actions, stood in the place he had been left in, his mind running through the memory once again. 'What's going on? Why was Tala acting so... weird?'

He didn't get a chance to dwell on it further when a small blue blur barreled into him, knocking them both over. Raul hit the floor hard, the blur landing on top of him. He groaned and sat up, causing the blur to tumble into his lap. The redhead blinked, tilting his head to the side at the boy that now resided on his lap. "Kai?"

Kai looked up to see Raul and he grinned. "Ra-wul!" He greeted cheerfully, "have you seen Tal-wa?" The teen slowly nodded.

"Yeah, he went that way after he overheard these two men."Raul said, pointing around the corner to the two men lying slumped over on the floor. Kai blinked.

"Oh," he said quietly, thinking. Then, he turned to look up at Raul with large, sad and watery eyes, "will wou help me fuh-wind Tal-wa?"

"S-sure." Raul stuttered, Kai grinned cheerfully and climbed off of his lap, standing up. Raul followed suit, standing and brushing dust off of his clothing.

"Let's go!"Kai said, grinning as he headed down the hall; Raul rushed to follow the exuberant child.

Kai swept down the halls, almost stumbling over his own feet as he went. Clasped in his small hand but in a surprisingly tight grip, was Raul's wrist as the older boy was awkwardly bent over as he struggled to keep up with the small boy. A determined look overwhelmed his small face, crimson eyes narrowed in concentration as he both listened to the voice in his head and followed the directions given.

Sharply, he turned another corner but halted in front of a door so abruptly that Raul had to lurch to the side and crash into the wall to stop himself from crashing into the six-yea-old. Kai winced in sympathy and rushed over as the redhead sat up, rubbing his head with one hand and unknowingly making his hair messier. Kai stopped in front of him with his head tilted to one side as he waited expectantly.

Raul quickly stood, stretching lightly and followed the younger boy into a room but froze shortly after entering. The entire room was dark, only the light from outside filtering in and shadowing the bed and dresser. He quickly realised that he was probably standing in the room Tala and Kai had been sharing and promptly cringed. He had no time to dwell further, however, as Kai grew impatient, grabbed his hand and all but dragged him over to the bed with abnormal strength for a child. He sat down and watched Kai mutter to himself as he searched through drawers, grinning triumphantly as he pulled out a small, delicate looking glass bottle filled with a murky liquid.

"Kai," Raul interrupted as the boy was unscrewing the cap, "what is that?" Kai shrugged and paused long enough to look at him with calm eyes.

"It'll make me better." Kai explained, pulling the cap off and taking a swig of the liquid before Raul could ask more pointless questions. For a few moments nothing happened, then Raul's eyes widened and he shot off the bed when Kai lost his balance and stumbled into the dresser. The redhead knelt down, carefully took the bottle and replaced the cap before guiding the boy to the bed. He fidgeted nervously, unsure of what to do as Kai curled into a tight ball, his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth pressed into a thin line. A small whimper escaped and Raul rushed forward.

"Kai!" He yelped, eyes wide as he watched, utterly helpless. He settled on the edge of the bed and gently brushed Kai's bangs away from his face and soothingly rubbed his back. Kai hiccuped softly and leaned into Raul's touch as he fought off an invisible pain. Raul's eyes softened as he watched, worry cascading throughout.

'Kai...' Raul thought with a frown, 'he better not have done something completely stupid.' He hated the thought of watching his own idol in pain, even if he didn't remember him and acted a little differently. 'Though he still impulsively protects people...'

Thinking quickly, he scooped the young boy into his arms and ran from the room, his footsteps echoing down the hall.

Bryan stared down at his cleaned and rebuilt beyblade with a frown on his face. 'Why did I treat Johnny that way? Am I afraid that I'll... get too close to him?'

/ Yes. / A voice in his head chuckled softly.

/Shut up, Falborg. That's not true, I only liked Johnny as a child, nothing else!/ Bryan argued.

/You sure about that, young one?/ Falborg asked but Bryan didn't respond, lost deep in thought. He was interrupted however, by a frantic knocking frenzy on his door.

"Bryan! Bryan, open up! This is an emergency!" It was Raul's voice but what was the younger twin doing here?

Bryan stood and walked to the door, opening it. "Raul, if you're looking for your sister, I don't know where she... is." He blinked at the sight before him. Raul was panting, face flushed and looking panicked and in his arms was a young Kai whose face was scrunched in pain. The Russian immediately pulled the redhead inside.

"What happened?" He snarled and Raul flinched but he didn't notice as he took Kai into his own arms.

"I.. I don't know." Raul stuttered, then shakily held up a bottle containing a dark blue almost black liquid. "He drank some of this and said that it would make him better."

Bryan cursed, laying the young Hiwatari on his bed and glared at Raul. "And you let him drink it?"

"I didn't know that's what he was going to do! All he said he wanted to do was find Tala!" Raul explained quickly, nervously backing towards the door. Bryan froze.

"What do you mean, find Tala? Where is he?" Bryan asked slowly and Raul shrugged.

"We encountered these two men in the hall, they... they were speaking in Russian I think, so I couldn't understand them but Tala... he didn't react very well. He, uh... beat them up, handed me a bitchip and left." Raul concluded, fidgeting.

"A bitchip?" Bryan repeated and Raul handed it to him. The Russian stared at it as horror rose up. "This is... this is Salamulyon!" He blurted as he stared at the cracked frame and fading picture. The redhead bit his lip.

"Yeah, but I don't know where Johnny is. I checked his room before I found Kai, he's not there. I thought he might have been here with you..." Raul trailed off when he saw Bryan turn pale and curse loudly.

"Johnny returned back to normal this morning and I kicked him out." Bryan said shortly. "He was still feeling sick but I... and now he... Dammit!" He turned back to stare Raul right in the eyes. "He's been taken by Balkov!"

Kai awoke to warmth and comfort. His head was resting on a pillow and there was a blanket thrown over him. He opened his eyes and was immediately presented with the young Spanish teen he had dragged with him, sitting slumped over in a chair fast asleep.

'He looks even younger in sleep.' Kai thought dryly before he sat up and got off the bed, looking down at himself and scowled. He walked to the dresser and rummaged through the clothing, pulling some out and changing quickly. Then, he wandered over to Raul and shook his shoulder.

"Raul, wake up. Raul!" He commanded sharply and Raul's eyes shot open, widening at the sight of the teenage Kai that stood before him. A startled yelp escaped him as he stared, falling off the chair in his panic. Kai stared at him with a raised eyebrow and he blushed furiously.

"K-Kai, hi. You're uh... back to normal." Raul stuttered out, still blushing.

"Yeah," Kai said simply before pointing to the door. "We need to go."

"Go? Go where?" Raul questioned but stood up anyway. "And how are you... well, you again?"

"I'll explain later, now are you going to help me find Tala or not?" Kai snapped and Raul flinched slightly.

"Neither of you are going anywhere until you explain, Hiwatari." Bryan said as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. He raised an eyebrow at Kai's choice in clothing but did not comment.

"We don't have time for this, Kuznetsov." Kai snapped.

"Then we make time! We need answers Kai, not more questions!" Bryan retorted.

"Make time? Make time? Johnny's been kidnapped again and you want to make time! Do you know what Voltaire and Balkov will do to him? We need to find him right now!" Kai snarled. Raul took a step back from the two Russians and picked up the bitchip that had ended up on the bed. Salamulyon was still fading and he bit his lip, glancing at the two arguing teens.

"And how are we supposed to find him and protect him if we don't know what's going on?" Bryan shot back.

Kai was about to reply but was cut off by Raul.

"Shut up! The both of you! Arguing will get you nowhere. Now, Bryan we all know that you feel guilty 'cause you failed to protect Johnny and Kai, you feel bad because it's your grandfather that took him. I understand your need to get him back, we all feel that but right now, if we are to work together, we need to know." Raul finished off quietly.

There was silence in the room and Raul's face slowly started to burn. 'I just yelled at Kai and Bryan. Kai and Bryan, two of the most feared 'bladers in the world.' Horror was filling him.

"S-sorry," he stuttered out, blushing. "It's just, we need to work together and you... and I thought... sorry..."

Kai and Bryan chuckled, Kai clapping a hand on Raul's shoulder. "Don't worry, it was a good thing you did, we just didn't know you had it in you." They smirked when Raul's face turned even redder.

"All right," Bryan started, "let's work this out."

Johnny awoke to a pounding headache and that nauseated feeling he'd had since he'd fallen sick. He squirmed slightly, only to find his limbs incapable of moving from their current positions.

The redhead's eyes shot open, squinting in the light. When his eyes adjusted, he found himself to be seated in a chair, both ankles bound to the front legs of the chair and his arms pulled tightly behind him and the chair, tied equally tight at his wrists. There was a cloth tied around his mouth, effectively gagging him, muffling any sound he could try to make.

"Ah, you're awake." Johnny turned his head slightly, seeing nothing but an empty wall as the chair's back was too tall for him to see over. He was in a small room, facing an empty, white coloured wall. He realised that the chair was bolted to the floor and turned away from the only door in the room. Then, the one who had spoken stepped around the chair and stood in front of him. His eyes widened and he pulled sharply at his restraints, ignoring the pain that followed.

Voltaire Hiwatari laughed coolly, a dark smirk spreading across his face. He walked closer and roughly grabbed the boy's chin, forcefully angling his head back so that he was staring into Johnny's face. Said redhead tried to jerk out of his grip but failed, only able to glare up at the man.

"Stubborn as always, aren't you McGregor?" Voltaire asked rhetorically. "This is the second time I have been able to kidnap you and yet you still fight as if you think you can get away." He shook his head mock sadly. "You poor boy. There is no escape, in fact, you will be my guest for quite sometime."

Johnny tried to say something but it was muffled by the gag. Voltaire chuckled again, releasing the boy's chin and standing back to watch him squirm. "You know, right now your father is breaking into one of my warehouses along with Drake, and that doctor you visited." Johnny's eyes widened and he stiffened. "That's right, I know, they were quite obvious about it actually. I assume they're attempting to rescue my son or some other foolish scheme."

Voltaire reached forward and began untying the gag. "Your father made his choice, Jonathan. Now, why don't we discuss why you are here." The gag was removed and Johnny coughed lightly, grimacing.

"Why I'm here?" Johnny repeated, his voice rough. "Well, you kidnapped me, that's why, you b-" The redhead was cut off as he was backhanded across the face. His head turned to the side and he winced at the pain, knowing a bruise was going to appear on his cheek.

"You listen to me, Jonathan. There will be no smart mouthing me, you will behave or face the consequences. I'm sure you have seen the aftermath of some of the Demolition Boys' punishment." Voltaire said coldly and Johnny, who had been about to say something, snapped his mouth shut.

"Good," Voltaire nodded, pleased. "You are here because... well, you should surely know by now. However, you will also be providing answers for me." He said bluntly and Johnny glared at him.

"No," he said coldly. "There is no way I'm telling you anything." Once again, he was backhanded across the face, this time harder. Johnny winced again and tasted blood in his mouth.

"How childish of you, Jonathan. Perhaps it would be better if I allowed Boris in here to... loosen your tongue and teach you your manners." Without waiting for Johnny's reply, the man stood, walked past the chair and out of the boy's sight. He could hear a door open and close and he swallowed thickly, banging his head lightly on the back of the chair. There was no way out.