A/N: Hey there minna! I know it's been a while, so you may want to skim the last chapter before moving on to this one. This chapter is a little more serious, but I'm trying my best to keep Kai in character. I think I may have gone a little bit overboard with Stanley, Tala, and Boris, however, we must remember the situation that they're all in. In any case, please let me know what you think, as I was a little wary about their attitudes.

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

…

"The man is impossible!" Mr. Dickenson shouted, slamming the phone down on his fourth attempt to reconnect the line.

Kenny wasn't too sure what to say. They both knew that Boris wasn't going to cooperate any more than he had to and technically he could argue that he'd done everything in his power to help them; if you can ever possibly imagine Boris helping someone that is.

For a long time, the head administrator of the BBA marched around his desk, obviously trying to think of an alternative way of getting to Tala. It did, after all, seem like he was the only one who could get to the bottom of this entire mess.

The Chief looked down at his hands, helpless. What happened to them? Kai and Tala were obviously friends at some point. Very good friends in fact. So what could have possibly happened between then and now that was able to shake such a seemingly unbreakable bond?

He couldn't even imagine…

"Kenny?" Snapping out of his thoughts, the petit brunette quickly looked up to show he was listening.

Mr. Dickenson leaned across his desk, the seriousness in his eyes so unlike his usual personality that it made the Chief nervous.

"You are sure there is no other option?" he asked slowly.

"Yes sir, I'm positive. Kai's memories lie with Tala…we need him to get to the bottom of this."

With a sigh that seemed to personify the weight of the world, the old man sat back down in his chair, and pressed the intercom.

"Marie, I'm going to need you to schedule a flight to Russia for me, as soon as possible."

"Of course sir. Where will you be landing?"

"Moscow. And please inform the Russian BBA of my arrival."

…

Kenny watched his feet as he made his way down the sidewalk. Time seemed to slow the world around him as he walked home. He wasn't even sure if he was awake anymore or not. What if all of this was an awful nightmare?

If only he could wake up.

"Kenny, I will be gone for a few days I suppose, perhaps longer," Mr. Dickenson informed him as they walked out of the building. "You can reach me through Marie if you need anything."

The Chief nodded, stopping with his benefactor at the edge of the sidewalk. A limo pulled up next to them just as they did so.

"What are you going to do then, if you don't mind me asking?" Kenny looked up timidly.

"I am going to do everything that I can, my dear boy, everything that I can." With that, he stepped into the limo as the chauffer opened the door. "Until I get back however," he added before the door was closed. "Don't tell Kai about all of this. If you have to say anything, we couldn't get a hold of Tala, and we'll try again later."

"What about Rei, Max and Tyson?"

"I am sure they'll want to hear all about it," he smiled, although it seemed pained. "Take care."

"You too…" he answered softly as the long, black car pulled away.

The whole situation was absolutely ridiculous. Tala was never going to cooperate, and even if he wanted to then Boris would have to give the okay, and it wasn't like that maniac was going to spare thirty seconds to see Mr. Dickenson. So what were they going to do?

Holding Dizzy up to his nose he shook her in frustration. "HOW DO WE GET OURSELVES INTO MESSES LIKE THESE!"

"WHOA CHIEF COOL IT! YOU'RE FRYING MY CIRCUTS!"

Calming down, Kenny sighed. "I'm sorry Dizzy."

"Just…warn me next time would you?" she quipped, though not unkindly. The brunette smiled.

"Sure thing."

"As for the answer to your question? I have absolutely no idea Chief…logically speaking, this kind of thing isn't even physically possible."

"Then how did it happen?" he wondered out loud. "One minute Kai is fast asleep, the next minute he's eight years old again, determined to be reunited with his supposed best friend now turned enemy Tala Ivanov...champion of the Russian Beyblading team."

"You might not want to advertise that Chief. We've already lost one blader…"

"That isn't funny Dizzy," he muttered, his eyebrow twitching violently. "I'm aware of the absurdness of this situation you know."

"Ah yes, but are you aware of the looks you're getting?" Stiffening, Kenny glanced around quickly, his face erupting with red heat when he realized that everyone on the sidewalk was staring at him.

"I'll…talk to you later Dizzy," he whispered, shutting the laptop. Coughing loudly, he jogged across the road to the park and out of sight before letting out a deep breath in relief.

Looking around once more to make sure he wasn't attracting anymore attention, he was happy to note that he wasn't.

"Alright," he told himself quietly. "You are going to go home, and wait for the others before you get us all into more than we can handle right now…"

Nodding with determination, he began making his way across the park. As he passed the playground, something caught his eye.

Stopping momentarily to get a better look, The Chief recognized Chibikai, standing alone at the edge of the playground, watching the other children play. The look on his face was confusing and he was holding his hand up to his heart as if it pained him to see, and still he went on staring. He looked so fragile just then.

Weighing his options, Kenny slowly made his way over to his team captain, careful not to surprise him. Kai dropped his hand as he approached. It was then that the small teen realized that the blunette had been holding Dranzer against his chest, a fact he was trying to hide. Kenny pretended not to notice.

"Hey Kai," he started, trying to be pleasant. "Where are the others?"

The smaller boy shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't remember where I left them." The Chief tried not to fall over at the answer.

"Well, why don't we head back to the house? We'll wait for them there."

"I want to stay here," he answered firmly. Throughout the entire conversation he'd never once looked at Kenny. The Chief sighed, switching Dizzy to one hand and running the other through his hair. He needed to get Kai back to the house.

"I'm sure they're all worried though, we should get back so that they don't have to go looking for us."

Kai thought about this. Worry leads to frustration, which in turn leads to anger…. Reluctantly, he nodded, waiting for Kenny to lead. They both walked back to the house in silence, each lost in their own scattered thoughts.

…

Rei, Max, and Tyson flew down the sidewalks, their heads whipping in every direction as they passed street after street.

"Tyson you were supposed to be watching him!" Rei hollered over his shoulder.

"I was watching him," he insisted. "The little brat just disappeared!"

"That isn't possible," Max countered. "Even if he was moving fast, he had to have been close by!"

Suddenly, Rei and Max turned to look at each other. No, they shouldn't expect that much out of Tyson.

"Never mind buddy," the petit blonde added after a moment. "Let's just find him."

After they hit the park, the three of them stopped to rest. Bending over with his hands on his knees, Tyson panted heavily next to his other friends who were breathing just as hard.

"Do…do you guys actually think…that, he ran…?" he huffed, glancing at them out of the corner of his eye. "I mean…Kai maybe…a jerk…a lot…but…he's never really…broken a promise. And he did promise us he'd stay with us."

"But he didn't stay with us Ty!" Maxie countered. "He isn't here now!"

"Yeah I know," the blunette agreed, straightening. "But we have to think of this like Kai would."

Rei's eyes lit up in realization. "Wow Tyson! You may just have something there!"

"What?" the American teen pouted. Tyson through a reassuring arm over his friend's shoulders.

"Kai is still with us Maxie…he's living at the house with us…get it?"

His large blue eyes widened hopefully. "You're right Tyson!" Glancing at the other two quickly, he jogged ahead. "Well? What are we waiting for?"

All three of them began their jog back to the house Mr. Dickenson had rented for them.

"Jeez…" the blunette complained as they continued. "Even as a freakin' eight year-old brat, he's got us training just like before!"

"Then be grateful Tyson," Rei laughed. "We've still got a tournament ahead of us to win."

They rounded the corner a little too quickly, nearly knocking into a woman and her groceries. Fortunately for them, Rei's superior reflexes saved them all from certain disaster. They decided to walk from there.

"So," Max mused. "What happens if he isn't there?"

"Then we kick ourselves for not putting him on a leash and promptly fix the problem."

"TYSON!" Max yelled, aiming to smack his friend upside the head. "If you keep talking like that we'll never gain his trust."

Rei agreed solemnly. "He's right. Until Mr. Dickenson can get a hold of Tala, we have to do everything we can to get Kai to open up to us."

"Especially since Mr. D may not even be able to get a hold of him. We all know Boris after all." Maxie added unenthusiastically.

"Oh come off it," Tyson replied, folding his hands behind his head as they walked the last few feet to their house. "The kid isn't even around."

He was acting tough, but both Rei and Max knew Tyson was worried. No one looked out for their captain more than he did.

Heading up the front steps, the three of them took a deep breath and crossed their fingers as the entered. The truth is, if Kai wasn't there, then there was no way that they'd be able to find him on their own.

Closing the door behind them, Rei called up the stairs.

"Kai? Are you here?"

To there surprise it was Kenny who answered from the kitchen. "We're up here you three!"

Filled with relief they slipped out of their shoes and made their way up the stairs and into the kitchen. What they found was so shocking, neither of them could speak for quite some time.

Kai was seated across the kitchen table from Kenny, eating a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich from what they could tell. The Chief was making modifications to their blades. But whenever he was finished with a certain model, he would turn the screen to Kai, who would look up from his sandwich to check over the work. As they watched, the tiny Russian leaned closer, brows furrowed in concentration. He took a bite of his sandwich when suddenly something caught his eye. Leaving the sandwich in his mouth, he reached over the table to the keypad, and with a few alterations, he turned the laptop back around before taking the sandwich back out of his mouth.

"Try that," he advised after swallowing. Kenny nodded while the rest of them stared, jaws dropping even further at the sight of the latest Draciel model.

"That's awesome Kai!" Max praised. "The defense stats are better than ever!" Crimson eyes widened for a moment, before softening.

"I'm sure they could be higher," he shrugged, finishing off his sandwich. "But I couldn't make an accurate decision based on your status data alone. I have to see you work with this one first."

Rei grinned at the tinge of pink that appeared on Kai's cheeks when Max praised him again anyway.

"How long have you two been here?" Tyson asked suddenly, eyeing Kai as he took his plate back to the sink and began to wash it.

"Probably only a half an hour," Kenny answered, pulling up Dragoon on his screen now that Max's blade was finished. In the background, the blonde was all but bouncing with excitement.

"I found Kai at the park, and suggested we wait for you here. When we came home, there was nothing to do, so I offered Kai to help me with upgrades for the tournament."

"You actually wanted help?" Tyson hissed. "You never want help!"

"That's because none of you know what you're doing when it comes to computers." The Chief responded indignantly. Lowering his voice he added, "besides, Kai needed something to do…I didn't want him to run off again."

"I told you I would stay," he shot over his shoulder, slamming the tap down to shut the water off. Everyone jumped.

"How do you do that?" Tyson cried, unable to hide his curiosity any longer.

"Do what exactly?" Kai asked, folding his arms over his chest defiantly.

"Hear what people are saying even though they are whispering all the way across a room! You even had the water running! That's what!"

For a moment, Kai seemed to falter. When he did answer, he was leaving the room as he did so.

"I am required to."

…

Mr. Dickenson pulled his coat tighter around him as he exited the plane. As quickly as he could, he made his way to the car that was waiting for him opposite the plane. When he was seated comfortably in the backseat, his driver informed him that his luggage would be transferred to the BBA Embassy.

"Thank you," he answered with a nod. "Now, take me to the Abbey. I must speak with Boris immediately."

The driver seemed reluctant. "Let me at least call for escorts Sir."

"Will it take long? I am aware of the risks, unfortunately for Boris however, he cannot touch me without raising suspicion."

"Only a moment Sir."

"Very well then," the elder man replied.

As he waited, his resolve grew steadily stronger. Kai needed all of the help that he could get, and right now, he was the only one with the power to give it to him. HE looked up expectantly when the chauffer put his radio down, and after a few more moments, two official BBA squad cars pulled up next to them.

"Thank you," Mr. Dickenson told the man somewhat impatiently. "Now…if you please?" The driver nodded, pulling out into the roads, the two escorts flanking them.

As they drove into the heart of Moscow, the head administrator of the BBA couldn't help but admire the snow glistening on the grounds around them as they continued on. How could such a beautiful place hold so many dark memories?

The ride to the Abbey was uneventful, merely flooded with all of the thoughts fluttering in and out of Mr. Dickenson's mind. He felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders as they pulled up the long drive to the front gates. Leaning out of the window, the driver pressed the intercom.

"Mr. Dickenson of the BBA requests permission to enter." A deep voice booming with a hard Russian accent barked at them from the speaker box.

"I am afraid that is impossible. Boris is training his pupils, and will not be disturbed."

"We regret any inconvenience but, I am afraid that this is a matter of the highest priority."

"Boris was not aware of this meeting, and is unable to accommodate you."

"If you do not open these gates I will be forced to get the entire Beyblade Battle Association involved; this is your last warning!" Mr. Dickenson bellowed from the back seat, taking the driver by surprise. Apparently so was the man on the other side of the intercom, because he didn't answer for a few moments.

"An official will meet you at the entrance. You will wait for Boris with him."

"Thank you," the driver answered back as the gates opened.

Relaxing as they continued up to the main entrance, Mr. Dickenson pondered his conversation with Boris and Tala earlier that day, wondering if he could possibly pull off what he was about to attempt. His grip on his cane tightened. Failure wasn't an option. He needed to return Kai back to his self again, no matter what the cost.

When his driver opened the door for him, stepped out, leading his escorts to the large doors of the Abbey fortress. There was a Russian standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for them.

"Follow me." He told them curtly before turning on his heel and nodding to the guards to open the enormous doors.

Entering the Abbey, the four of them marched their way down the halls, coming to a room not far from the training wing, as they noticed the sounds of blades crashing against one another, and children calling out orders in the darkness ahead of them. The man left them there with a warning to stay put. Boris would be with them momentarily.

While he was waiting, Mr. Dickenson marveled at the sheer size of everything around him. Was this building's only purpose to be daunting?

True to his word, the coach of the Demolition Boys entered not ten minutes after they themselves had been shown in, and he was just as fake as ever. His smile wasn't fooling any of them.

"Stanley, what a pleasant surprise. I take it this has something to do with your phone call earlier this morning?"

"It does Boris. I have a pressing matter that needs to be dealt with. Unfortunately, I need your help to do so." The younger man scowled at the statement, but sat down across from him just the same.

"Really?" he replied flatly. "And what exactly is the problem?" For a moment, Mr. Dickenson hesitated.

"I am afraid that is none of your concern."

"And how exactly do you expect me to help you then?" the oily man answered, obviously growing annoyed with the lack of information.

"All I am asking of you is permission to accompany young Tala back to Japan for a week."

"Oh is that all?" he answered sarcastically, standing from his chair. "I am afraid that is out of the question."

"You're schedule will not be affected. The tournament has been postponed until further notice." The other man looked suspicious.

"Why wasn't I informed of this change?"

"It was only a recent decision."

Boris seemed to contemplate this. Mr. Dickenson watched him closely, counting on him to take the bait. The only way that the man would allow Tala to go back to Japan with him would be if he believed that he could benefit from it. After the silence stretched on longer than necessary, Mr. Dickenson spoke up, laying his trump card on the table.

"Of course Tala will explain everything when he returns, and whether he was successful or not."

Boris was not a stupid man. He understood exactly what Mr. Dickenson was doing, and understood it well. That didn't mean that the old man didn't have a point though. He may never have another opportunity do gain viable information again.

Another legal opportunity that is.

Smiling a crooked smile, Boris agreed. "If you would be so kind as to give me one night to prepare Tala for this arrangement?"

Mr. Dickenson nodded, standing with his escorts. "Of course. I will be staying at the Embassy."

"Then he will meet you there tomorrow morning. However, in one week's time I expect him to return to me…. We will keep in touch Stanley." With that, he whipped around, his black cloak billowing out behind him like an ominous cloud.

…

"Excuse me?" Tala snapped as his trainer paced the floor of his study, obviously formulating plans in his wicked mind.

"Don't give me lip boy," the older man warned.

"You're asking me to travel with Mr. Dickenson? To stay with him for a week?" he spat. "You give me too much credit Boris."

"And you are giving me far too much attitude. Do not push me Tala; this is the perfect opportunity to collect information on the Blade Breakers."

"We don't need information to beat them." He grunted as he was slammed up against the stone wall.

"Enough. You can spend the next week in Japan or in a cell. Do I make myself clear?" Tala growled. Boris narrowed his eyes. "I asked you a question boy, and I will not repeat it."

"Then don't."

Tala's head whipped violently to the side, his cheek smashing against the stone wall behind him when Boris punched him directly in the jaw. His lip split open for the second time in two days.

"Always this futile attempt to defy me." Boris actually laughed. "Have I not explained this enough?" The redhead regained his posture, resisting the urge to bring his hand to his burning cheek. The hit wasn't hard enough to bruise…not for Tala anyway. But it would be swollen for the next couple of hours.

"Get out of my sight," his trainer yelled suddenly. "You will be ready by seven forty-five sharp. I will debrief you before you leave. If you fail to cooperate the consequences will have no bounds. You will be exempt from the tournament as well."

"What!" the teen cried out angrily. "You can't afford to cut me from the competition!"

"Careful boy," Boris whispered with a suddenly, eerily calm tone. "I created you, and I can just as easily replace you."

Tala fumed over his words, and his violent promises hidden in them. He felt his nails biting into his palms as he squeezed his fists tighter and tighter until the skin on his knuckles started to tear. The bastard always had him. He was always locked in that goddamned iron grip of his. Being replaced was to be thrown to the lions. A fate worse than death awaited any blader who was no longer of any use to The Abbey.

And Boris knew that Tala would stick it out, if only to find a way to kill him in the end. Bowing out, Tala left without a word, Boris's victorious grin seared into his scarred memory.

…

A/N: One of my favorite chapters ever written, despite the possible flaws in character. Just let me in on improvements if you see fit to point any out, and until next time minna, thanks again for all of your support!