"Talking"
'Writing'
'Thinking'
"Person on other side of phone"
/Bitbeast talk/
/'Blader to bitbeast talk/
"Russian"
"Italian"

Kaz, Mikhail, Josh and Don belong to me (Winter-Skye-Phoenix)

So, I must admit I'm a little disappointed, I only got one review and one favorite for the last chapter in which something big was revealed - if you don't know what that is, then why are you here? Oh well, the story's almost over anyway so I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Also, descriptions of violence but nothing too bad.

Chapter 21 – Day 21

"then I'm here to save you!" - Tyson

Ray and Kaz both stalked quietly down the hall, Ray silently pondering his newest accomplice. 'He's a friend of Johnny and Enrique? Then, how come I've never heard of him before? Not that I'm particularly close to them though, so maybe they wouldn't have mentioned him…'

"Hey, Kon. You going to pay attention or what? I can practically hear you thinking over here." A voice interrupted his musings and his head shot up to meet eye-to-eye with the other boy. Kaz raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side in a bizarrely puppy-type fashion.

"Is everything all right?" The short haired boy asked and Ray immediately nodded.

"Yeah… everything's fine." He was quick to assure. Kaz merely raised an eyebrow at him before continuing down the hall. Ray flushed, he had not even realized he had stopped. 'Really something I should be doing in a place like this…' He thought dryly, following the other boy.

Finally they reached a door that Kaz paused in front of. Ray came up next to him and frowned as he made no move to open the door. Kaz took in a deep breath, brushing a hand through his black hair.

"Listen Kon, I know you'll probably have trouble dealing in there too, but I…" He faltered, "If Voltaire is in there, I don't think I'll be able to resist killing him."

Ray blinked in surprise, "resist killing him?" he parroted slowly. "Just what has happened to Johnny then?" Kaz didn't answer his question, merely stepping forward and sliding the bolt to the side and opening the door. He stepped in without any hesitation and Ray quickly followed.

As he entered, Ray noted that the room was small, there were no windows and only one light in the ceiling. In the middle of the room, a chair was bolted to the floor, facing away from the door. Someone was obviously sitting in it as he could see the arms bound at the back, blood dripping from several cuts and around where the ropes dug deeply into the wrists.

Ray swallowed thickly and stepped around the chair to see the front. His breath caught in his throat.

Johnny was seated on the chair, ankles bound to the legs, arms behind the chair and he was slumped against the back of the chair, his head lolling to the side. There were distinctive bruises along his throat, several cuts, bruises and burn marks marring the boy's arms, chest and legs that he could see through the rips in the boy's clothing. Blood was soaking through his shirt and jeans, though it looked to be drying and the side of his face was bruised. His eyes were closed and his breathing was raspy while a gag was securely tied in place.

A snarl escaped his throat and he shut his eyes, forcing down the anger and the irrational –maybe not so irrational- need to hunt down those who had done this and exact proper revenge. Out of the corner of his eye -when he opened his eyes-, he could see Kaz's face darkening and the boy's fists clenching and knew he was in the same position.

"We'll deal with them later," Ray said calmly and Kaz's head turned to stare him in the eyes. Ray met his gaze. "We get Johnny out of here, to safety and then we make them pay." He explained, a dark feral smile gracing his features. Kaz slowly nodded and Ray watched him pull out a pocket knife.

"I'll cut him loose, you catch him." Kaz said quietly, all ready working on the ankles. Ray nodded and moved to stand in front of Johnny when Kaz finished and moved behind the chair. The Chinese teen caught the redhead as he slumped forward, his arms free. Kaz moved over to help him ease Johnny to the ground and remove the gag.

The redhead made no movement aside from the continuous fall and rise of his chest. Kaz began patting him down.

"Doesn't seem like anything's broken." Kaz said, "though I think there's some damage to his right knee." Satisfied, he pulled back and looked at his companion.

"If you'll carry Johnny, I'll keep an eye out for trouble." Kaz suggested. Ray hesitated, glancing in between Kaz and Johnny. 'Of course, he could be on our side, but if he isn't… If Kaz's deceiving me, he can attack while I'm defenseless carrying Johnny. On the other hand, if he's bad news and carrying Johnny, it could be much worse.'

"All right," he agreed, "but if anything happens to us- to Johnny- I'm blaming you." His face was dark and so unlike the calm, peaceful Ray shown on television that Kaz cringed slightly and nodded.

"Understood." With that out of the way, Kaz helped lift Johnny onto Ray's back, letting his arms dangling over the Chinese boy's shoulders. Ray frowned as he stood, tightening his grip on the redhead's legs.

"He's too light." He commented and Kaz shrugged.

"According to Enrique, almost the entire time he was a kid like yourself, he was sick and refusing to eat." Kaz explained, "but Johnny's always been a little on the small side. He tries to cover it up though, by training hard, building up body mass and eating right, and wearing baggier clothes, not to mention his too long, spiky hair. It works for the most part but now he's like a stick with muscle."

Ray laughed; he could see the arrogant, prideful Scot attempting to bulk up. The two walked carefully down the hall, Kaz's eyes darting all over the place, trying to see any signs of attack.

"It's strange, you know? We haven't run into any trouble, and it's quiet. Do you think they ran into some sort of trouble?" Kaz wondered, looking around.

"I don't know. I only had to hide from about five men before I ran into you. But I think Johnny's been left alone for a bit, the blood's already almost dried up." Ray said, absently glancing down at the redhead's arms and biting his lip until he drew blood. If Kaz noticed, he didn't say anything.

A loud explosion boomed through the air, knocking people off their feet and shaking the building they were in. Tyson stumbled and fumbled to catch himself against the wall. 'Why did I agree to this? Oh, gramps and Hiro are going to kill me for getting into this mess!'

He coughed harshly as dust and debris filled the air, his eyes watering.

"Tyson!" The blue haired boy looked up at the call and locked onto Don and Josh – as they like to be called. Don managed to stop beside him but Josh held back, watching out for falling bits of the building and the angry people after them.

"Look, this is too dangerous!" Don shouted above the noise around them. People were screaming, alarms were ringing and more explosions were occurring. "I want you to see if you can get over to the north side of the building, it should be safe and that's where we think Kai's dad is!" Tyson froze but then nodded following another explosion.

Don clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a gentle shove before he and Josh turned and left. Tyson looked around him thoughtfully.

/Hey Dragoon? Which ways north?/

/To your right./ The dragon responded, sounding amused and resigned at the same time.

/Hey…/ Tyson whined, but obediently climbed over rubble, heading to the right. He yelped as he tripped over a loose stone and struggled to retain his balance, his arms wind milling wildly. His hat flew off with a sudden gust of wind and he gasped, trying to grab it. He cried out as his hat hit the floor and was soon covered by a collapsed wall.

/That was my favorite hat!/ He complained in his head.

/You can get a new one later, Tyson. Move it!/ Dragoon said in return. Tyson hurriedly scrambled over the remaining rubble and made it into a still undisturbed hallway. He ran down the empty hall, feeling the building continue to shake around him. The boy opened a door, barged into the room and slammed the door behind him.

He gasped, panting heavily as he leaned over, his hands pressed to his knees. He looked up and stared at the man on the bed. "You wouldn't happen to be Kai's dad, would you?"

The man blinked lethargically, shifting so the chains attached to his wrists and ankles rattled. "Yeah." He whispered airily.

"Great!" Tyson said gleefully, "then I'm here to save you!" The man merely blinked dazedly at him and Tyson's smile faded somewhat. "So… do you know where the keys are?" He asked, motioning to the restraints.

Kai's dad looked at him blankly before shifting his eyesight to look behind him, over his shoulder. Tyson slowly followed his gaze, expecting someone to be standing there. Instead, he saw a ring of keys hanging on the wall from one nail in the wood.

"Oh, would you look at that." Tyson laughed, nervously scratching at the back of his neck. He walked over and picked up the keys before walking back over to the bed. He fumbled through the keys until he found the one to unlock the cuffs. Once the man was free, Tyson backed off a bit and watched him struggle to sit up. Only when it took too long did Tyson move forward to help him stand up and let him put some of his weight on Tyson's shoulder.

"Thanks." The man breathed heavily and Tyson could feel the man's arms shake with fatigue.

"You're welcome. I mean, you are Kai's dad after all. Let's get out of here before some scary man comes back and sees us or something." The teenager said, eliciting a laugh out of the man. Tyson determinedly guided them out of the room and down the hall, though Kai's dad's steps were slow and clumsy.

"Tyson!" An accented voice called and Tyson awkwardly turned them both around to look at the caller. Don and Josh were running up to them and came to a halt with wide grins on their faces.

"Jase! You're alive!" Josh blurted while Don stepped forward and enveloped the other, weaker man into a gentle hug.

"Hey Jason." He said quietly as the man's arms came around him to return the hug.

"Hey Don, I s'pose the kid's with you then?" Jason asked, pulling away but still leaning his weight on the Scotsman.

"Yup. Jason, meet Tyson Granger, he's Kai's teammate." Don said, motioning to the blue haired teen whom grinned at them.

"Kai's teammate, huh? Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. I'm Jason, Kai's dad." Jason chuckled, nodding at Tyson before turning back to Don. "Now that introductions are out of the way, can we get out of here?"

Josh laughed heartily and slapped Jason lightly on the shoulder. "Yeah, let's go."

"Wait!" Tyson called out, freezing them. "Where's the doctor?" Jason looked questioningly at the other two men who exchanged glances.

"We'll explain later." Josh said to Jason quietly, Jason nodded in return.

"He's not coming back with us." Don declared to Tyson, ushering the boy down the hall as Josh took hold of Jason and helped him walk. They managed to get out of the building without too much trouble – Tyson's Dragoon easily took care of any Biovolt employees that got in their way- and climbed into a car parked down the street. Don made sure they were all in the vehicle and securely fastened before driving off, tires squealing.

Clouded lavender eyes opened slowly, blinking uncomprehendingly at the area around him. Dimly, he realized that he was being carried by someone and whomever that was, was being gentle and moving carefully so as not to hurt him. Then, he saw the pointy ear in front of his face.

"R-Ray?" He rasped, coughing lightly. Ray stopped abruptly.

"Johnny!" He sounded relieved, "how are you feeling?"

"'m fine." Johnny mumbled, not even attempting to lift his head from Ray's back. A snort was his response and he frowned because that most certainly was not from Ray.

"You're about as 'fine' as you were after the last time you were kidnapped." Another young male said, appearing in his line of vision.

"Kaz?" Johnny questioned in surprise, wincing when he tried to straighten up.

"Yeah, Jay, it's me." Kaz said with a small smile. "Now, just relax, we're going to get you out of here, all right?"

"'kay. I trust ya two." Johnny mumbled, his eyes drooping tiredly. A hand found its way into his hair and he tensed, but the hand merely ruffled his hair before retreating. "You're messin' up mah do." He dozed off before the present company could respond.

"Like it could get any messier." Kaz grumbled, looking at the redhead in amusement.

Ray stared at the boy he was carrying bemusedly. "Did he have an accent?" He wondered, now more trusting of Kaz since Johnny had recognized him.

Kaz laughed, "well, he is Scottish. He's always been good at hiding it though, probably why he didn't speak with one when he was a kid with you and Kai. 'Cept when he's tired, hurt or upset, then the brogue gets really thick and he's hard to understand."

"Well, isn't this interesting? Ray and Kazimir, together helping the McGregor boy escape?" A voice behind them drawled. The two boys spun around and stared as Voltaire Hiwatari, Boris Balkov and Mikhail Stanaslov walked towards them.

Ray stared at them. Voltaire's hand was wrapped in a bandage, Mikhail had a deep gash above his left eye and Balkov had no visible injuries. His brows furrowed.

"Aren't you the doctor that helped Johnny?" He questioned. At the man's inclining nod, he continued. "Then why are you with the ones who attacked him in the first place?" Mikhail shrugged.

"Why don't we get to the point?" Boris cut in. "Put the brat back in his cell and we'll discuss what we should do with you."

Beside him, Kaz snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. Ray glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Not on your life, Balkov, am I lettin' ya anywhere near Jay." Kaz said, a slight smirk adorning his face. "And I doubt Ray'll do it either." Ray shook his head and tightened his grasp on the redhead, whom groaned softly.

Voltaire chuckled and pulled a gun out of his pocket, pointing it towards Ray. Kaz stiffened next to him and, uncrossing his arms, shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out a small object on a chain.

"Try it, Hiwatari." He snarled, "I dare ya." To Ray's –and Mikhail's- surprise, both Boris and Voltaire actually looked hesitant, the older man lowering his weapon slightly. Kaz did not move, his eyes mere slits and his lips pulled back in a fierce, animalistic sneer.

"Well?" Kaz taunted, "what's it gonna be?"

Ray was now beyond confused. First, Johnny's doctor was apparently with Kai's evil grandfather and sidekick. Second, Johnny had already met Kai's said evil grandfather and sidekick. Third, Johnny has a really weird friend whom also knew Kai's evil grandfather and sidekick. And fourth, Johnny's said weird friend could threaten Kai's evil grandfather and sidekick with a necklace.

'Now all we need is Kai to complete this bizarre chain of events.' Ray thought dryly, shifting his grip on Johnny when he felt the boy move.

'Although,' He contemplated, 'these are the ones who hurt Johnny and I did say I was going to make them pay. Perhaps Kaz and I could finish this before anyone else comes.' He could smell Johnny's blood on each of the older men and Tyson's scent on Mikhail's – what was that doing there? Ray looked over at Kaz and raised an eyebrow, eyes darting from the men and back.

Kaz gave an almost imperceptible shrug before tilting his head slightly in the direction they had come. Ray immediately knew what he wanted: to get Johnny out of harm's way. He nodded in affirmation and glanced back at their company, they seemed to not have noticed the silent exchange.

Kaz twirled the chain he was holding, the small pendent attached to it glimmering in the hall's lighting. Boris and Voltaire flinched. The pendent began to glow an ominous purple and the men stepped back. Ray watched as the glow brightened until little could be seen and an echoing roar bounced through the hall.

Ray's mouth dropped open as a large creature's shadow shone on the wall, it's bird-like features ruffling as it neared the Russians. Voltaire and Boris promptly backed into the other wall in a near panic and Ray took his chance, darting back down the hall and around the corner.

He panted slightly in shock. 'What was that? It almost looked like… Black Dranzer.'