Standard disclaimer applies.

OMG! Is it? Yes, it is! It's a shockingly surprising and totally unplanned or expected update! I even shock myself sometimes, you know.

As the Fire Burns
Part 16: Meeting Up is Hard to Do

Through the thick snow the bus ventured; the tyre tracks left in the snow were quickly covered back up by the snowflakes that rained down, leaving no trace that anyone had disturbed the tranquility. The wind had picked up sometime during the trip; the white fluffy mass blowing against the windscreen reduced the visibility level down to nearly zero and yet the vehicle did not stop.

The atmosphere aboard the vehicle was tense and the uncomfortable silence gripping. The occupants, all equally ensnared in the web of confusion could do nothing more than share questioning looks among one another. The only two people, whose loss in the current events that unfolded was equal to the rest but were doing a much better job at hiding it were Rei and Bryan.

Sitting, in a turn of event that would have shocked everyone on any other day, side by side and caught up in what seemed to be an intense conversation under their breath, both would shoot unreadable looks at the back of Kai's head from time to time. Though it seemed that Rei was the one who seemed to be doing the most talking while Bryan listened in; the usual look of indifference occupying his face but he seemed to be intently listening to whatever Rei was saying.

"Am I the only one who finds Rei and Bryan conversing civilly to be completely whacked?" said Tyson bemused.

"You prefer them to be trying to murder each other then?" Ian countered cynically.

"No...it's just...well, whacked. Like watching an episode of Discovery Channel and seeing the crocodile playing pin the tail on the wildebeest instead of eating it."

"Likening Bryan to the crocodile or the wildebeest, pray tell?"

"Which do you think? He'd a rabid, inhumane, ferocious, cold-blooded, albino be-acon!" Tyson, so entranced in his thoughts, failed to notice said rabid, inhumane, ferocious, cold-blooded, albino bacon come up behind him until his warm breath blew across the base of his exposed neck.

"Bacon, Granger? I have to say, I've been called a lot of things in my life, but never bacon...and to say that I don't appreciate it would be an understatement, especially coming from a porker like you."

"P-Porker?" Tyson spluttered indignantly. He knew that everyone frequently made cracks regarding his weight, but no one had ever downright called him a porker. Sure, Kenny had on more than one occasion, in his own opinion, subtly suggested Tyson go on a diet. Rei and Max had been a bit more direct, but Kai on the other hand...Tyson didn't fail to notice the times when the waiter had brought his order with the side of vegetables when he'd specifically told them not to. He'd also not failed to notice that the times the waiters did that was when they'd had an encounter with Kai. But seeing as it was still food and was still occupying his plate, Tyson reluctantly lapped it up anyway.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" eyeing Tyson intently, Bryan dared his to make another comment.

Tyson pouted and immediately quieted down, a sudden memory seemingly leaping into his mind.

Hearing an exasperated sigh, the boys turned their attention to Rei who came up quietly from behind Bryan. "To think I expected fruits of labour by sending you down here with our theory. What was I thinking?" he rolled his eyes at Bryan's smirk.

"It's in my nature to be a sadistic and insulting bastard. I was traumatized at a young age. Cut me some slack why don't you?"

"Yeah, sure," deciding not to go along with Bryan's goading, Rei turned to the expectant stares of the rest. "So Bryan and I were talking-"

"Oooh, so that was what you two were doing," interrupted Ian snidely.

"-and we're come up with a small theory that I think might be of interest," Rei continued as if there hadn't been any interruptions. "So, you guys should already have suspected that Kai and Tala have some sort of connection between them, right?"

Everyone nodded, except Tyson.

"And from what Bryan's told me, Boris has something to do with it."

Everyone looked on at Rei, their faces displaying an expression that can clearly be described as 'duh' at the rather obvious assumption.

"Mr. Dickinson, you remember the conversation we had sometime before the championships, about the matching scar Tala and Kai have on the back of their necks?" Rei directed his attention to the elderly man, who nodded in affirmative.

"There was a couple of times, during training or just sometimes when I walked past Boris' office, then I heard him saying something about a couple of microchips," Bryan chipped in. "Without going out on a limb here, I dare that said scars house the aforementioned chips."

"So judging from how Kai's been acting, saying that he knows where Tala is and how he is, we're willing to be our life on the probability that these chips are the connecting point between them. It must be the tip of the mother-of-all-plans iceberg that Boris has cooked up. Who knows what kind of evilness resides within that twisted cranium of his."

"Or perverted. I swear, he has pictures of Tala pinned up in his closet. No doubt so that he can jerk off to them, the sick asshole."

"We also have reasons to believe that Kai and Tala's bit-beast have some big part to play in all this as well, we just don't know what to make of it."

Silence grabbed the fifth row of the Explorer tour bus. Glances were exchanged as everyone tried to make out what they're just heard.

"Wow," Tyson muttered.

"Exactly how I'd originally summed it up," said Rei.

"Dude, now you're even finishing each other's sentences!" Tyson squealed as if Rei had never spoken. "If that isn't the freakiest freak show ever, then I'm a monkey's uncle!"

Everyone decided to just ignore Tyson at that moment.

"You both have made a remarkable deduction. I personally can see no reason to argue. It all makes so much sense, and yet at the same time, does not," leaning back in his chair, Mr. Dickinson took a deep breath. Everything was suddenly becoming too overwhelmingly complicated. He would bet his hat that the Mr. Monopoly chap he was so frequently confused for, had it so much easier, and for once since he'd first heard that name, he wished that he was Mr. Monopoly.

"Are you sure we're going to the right way, because it seems obviously obvious that we're lost," Sacha whined for the umpteenth time since their escape.

Though Tala ignored his words and wore a surprisingly good mask of indifference, in truth, he was getting a more than a little peeved off at the constant stream of repetitive questions.

"Maybe we should stop somewhere and ask directions."

Had it not been for his self control, Tala probably would have strangled the shorter boy with his two hands, especially given their inviting situation; trekking through the snow covered woods (no witnesses). The crunching of accumulated snow beneath their boots was the only sound that joined the frequent howls that echoed through the deserted woods. They had safely managed to escape the compounds of Boris' house shockingly unharmed.

They had crept out through the small window that was the only source of light in the maze of passages that made up Boris' basement. Tala had crept through first and finally pulled Sacha before the both of them made a break towards freedom. There had been no guards roaming the halls, no blinking red lights that signaled cameras nor were there any signs of another living, breathing soul in a hundred meter radius of their area. As their crawled their way through the metal fence (that hadn't even been wired with electricity! Sacha had a right mind to be mildly disappointed) the younger boy had dared to throw a glance back to the place where he'd been kept.

The sight that met his eyes was astounding. A large, black palace stood in the place of his imagined shack. The walls painted with rows of towering windows. It was like something out an old age painting. It loomed in the background like a sinister presence, even against the white, almost serene background of snow. Just the sight of the place alone renewed Sacha's spirit that maybe; just maybe, everything wasn't quite so disappointing after all.

He'd spoken to soon, it seemed, as the slow and tiresome trek though the woods seemed uneventful, boring even. He'd at least expected some resistance, maybe a hound dog or two. The way he saw it, neither of their escape even tweaked irritation in Boris (if he knew that they'd escaped, of course).

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Boris has something up his sleeve, letting us go just like this. The whole situation just reeks 'evil plan'," he air quoted with his fingers.

"You talk too much," Tala said in a low and threatening tone, but Sacha didn't seem to notice.

"I mean, you'd think he'd unleash a few of his hell hounds to track us down, or at the very least put out a full search through the woods. Wikipedia always mentions just what a meticulous person he is, but he isn't showing any signs of that, seriously. I'd even say-" the sudden, stinging burn in his left cheek and the force that caused it sent Sacha flying to the ground. Big, shocked eyes turned up to look into Tala's cold, emotionless ones.

"I didn't ask you to say anything," Tala growled menacingly.

Sacha could only watch on agape at his idol, his uncharacteristic reaction and the rage burning in his eyes. None of the pictures Sacha had googled up of his idol, no matter during blading or just pictures of his as he was, ever showed such ferocity. All the fanlistings and the livejournal communities he'd joined described Tala and a calm and collected person; Sacha even knew that from personal experience, but this Tala standing before him. His face, his hair and posture all belonged to Tala. He was standing so close to was Sacha sat, but it seemed like he was untouchable...a million miles out of reach.

"S-Sorry," he managed to stutter out, getting to his feet and dusting the snow off his pants.

Tala spared him a long gaze in silence before turning on his heels and continuing on the journey. Sacha only rejoined him after a moments hesitation, this time, instead of the excited chatter while walking before the tall Tala, he opted to walk a step behind and stayed in silence, all while wondering what had happened to his idol.

The winds had changed direction, Max noticed absentmindedly as his gaze remained on the passing landscape. The branches of the leafless trees swayed towards North, following the path they were on. At least, Max thought it to be North. He was never good with directions; he didn't know how to give them or how to take them. In that sense, he was just like his father. Both were absolutely horrible with locations and the act for locating where it was. Now was no exception.

The trees that lined the road all looked the same. The snow blanketed any sort of markings that might be a clue, even the winds refused to cooperate. He could have said that they'd gone in the direction the wind was blowing, but that idea had been, well, blown away with the wind. After the little pow-wow they had a few minutes ago, everyone had returned to their seats in an awkward silence.

Max suspected that Kai knew and heard every single detail of what was being said, but the fact that he did nothing to intervene rebuked his suspicion, but that didn't deter Max from keeping his full and undivided attention on his captain. At least, that was until Tyson unceremoniously plopped himself down in the empty seat beside Max.

"I got a couple at the vending machine before we left," he whispered closely to Max's ear, brandishing a couple of candy bars.

Thus, Kai was no longer the keeper of Max's full and undivided attention.

"You're a life saver, Tyson!" Max chirped happily, snatching the candy bar clean out of Tyson's grasp with the speed of a striking cobra.

"Yeah, we sure need one of those now, don't we?" he said in a moment of uncharacteristic solemn.

Max paused inches from taking a bite. "You know, Tyson," he said quietly. "There have been times when I just wished none of this every happened. Like...it isn't that I regret it or anything, but sometimes I think that things would have been easier if we hadn't joined the Regional tournament in the first place. We wouldn't have met Kai or Rei or went to compete in the championships. Things would have turned out just so much simpler, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah..." replied Tyson absentminded. "But then again, we wouldn't have met Kai or Rei or went on to complete in the championships," he repeated, flashing Max and small smile.

"And we wouldn't have become world champs."

"Now that's a scary thought!"

Both laughed at Tyson's comment.

"You're right. I suppose we'll just have to get thought this one way or another. After all, Bladebreakers are supposed to stick together."

"You said it, buddy."

"Stop the bus!"

The moment of peace and calm resignation was brought to a screeching halt along with the skidding bus. All attention snapped to the front where Kai was on his feet, eyes focused yet attention looking out into the endless white horizon.

The sun was beginning to set, casting an eerie orange glow over the frosty landscape. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary beyond that, and yet Kai had a look on his face as if a portal to hell had just opened up right in front of his eyes.

"Open the door," he commanded, his boots thumping on the metal floors as he walked to the doors, waiting for the fearful driver to pull the lever to open it.

All eyes trailed on him as he made his descent, venturing into the blistering cold with nothing but one layer of clothing and a jacket he'd taken from one of the previous passengers. Rei and Bryan shared a look before following close behind.

"Kai?" Rei asked, eyes looking around at the surrounding to spot anything out of the ordinary. His gaze made contact with Bryan who just shrugged.

By this time, nearly everyone had left the warm comforts of the bus, cautiously looking around and trying to find an answer to the confusion plaguing them.

"Kai."

Someone called out, looking at the slate haired teen who was standing just beyond the outline of the white forest.

"What is it, my boy?"

"There's something," Kai said, nose upturned as if sniffing the air. His shoulders were squared and tense, as if he were prepared ready to lunge if the situation called for it. "It's close."

The crunching of snow beneath boots sent Kai twirling on his heels; his hair flicking in the wind. But what caught his gaze made his eyes widen and his jaw drop.

"Tala."

I will finish this story soon. I will finish this story soon. I will finish this story soon It's a promise!

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