Suzanne: This is the last chapter I'm afraid. I did try to make it two, but that didn't work so I just shoved it all in to one long finale. Anyway, thank you for your review and for all your support you've given my stories, it is greatly appreciated and welcome! I do hope you enjoy this last chapter!

Brette: Thanks so much for your review! I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope you like this one! You're actually encouraging me to kill off Tala, my my, lol! I will just say that Ray doesn't harm one hair on Tala's head...actually, that might be a bit of a lie, never mind, read this last chapter and you'll find out, lol! I'm so happy you like the story and I hope the ending does it justice.

And so I present the very last chapter of Bones Reborn, well my goodness I didn't think we'd ever get there. Still, here we are anyway!

As I may have said I was going to make it two more chapters, but in the end I couldn't think of anything to put in so I just pushed all my ideas in to one chapter and left it at that which I'm not entirely sure I regret. Though I enjoyed writing this story it feels good to FINALLY have it complete and over with. That sense of satisfaction that I've completed a story is just so thrilling...until I remember I have another EIGHT to finish T.T

So, for the last time I give you disclaimer and warnings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, nor any of its characters. Any unknown characters most likely belong to me.

WARNINGS: Character death. Bad language. Possible mistakes.

Noteling: As it was rightly pointed out to me it is perfectly possible for a bitbeast to live on without its master, meaning that in theory that even if Tala did die then Wolborg could still live on. Of course this completely wrecks my whole story line, haha, but seeing as I'm WAY too lazy to change the story at this stage I figured I could just make this AUish, after all there aren't actually any ghosts in the beyblade series...unless you count those vampire, werewolf weirdos in the first season (I can't remember their names, something like Dark Bladers) who were just bizzare. Were they actually ghosts, or just freaks that the Majestics beat? I can't really remember now.

Anyway, without further ado or comment I give you CHAPTER TEN!

May you enjoy!

BONES REBORN

CHAPTER TEN: ALL FOR HIM

~Ray's POV~

I stare at him utterly speechless; Egan starts to berate his brother for putting them both in danger, claiming that now I know the whole truth their time in this life is now limited. Tala laughs at this as if it's the best joke he's heard in a while; he seems light, as if he didn't have a ghost for a brother but a rather normal yet stupid sibling that needs to be locked up every now and then. As if his life wasn't in danger; it's odd, you'd think he'd feel some resentment towards Egan for putting him in this situation.

It is what it is, huh, Tala. I never realised he could be so content with sacrifice; I never even knew he had any inkling to what sacrifice might be.

Don't judge a book by its cover, I suppose.

"So…all I would have to do…is kill you and all this would be over?" I ask slowly, finding my voice as the laughter from the wolf dies down and Egan pouts his lips looking sulky.

"Got it in one" Tala holds out his hand "do you want the knife now, or time to decide what you'll do with my body afterwards?"

I look from the knife in his hand to his face and back again "what are you doing?" I whisper.

"Helping you out of course" Tala's smile is dark "you've never done this before I expect, it really isn't as difficult as the world would have you believe. The human body is after all a very delicate thing, weak some might say"

"Put that knife away," I say in a stronger voice "we all know I wouldn't hurt you, that's why Bryan wanted me to know the truth right?"

"Yes" Tala's smirk softens a little "he knew hell would rise from the ground before you would resort to that method. Never say Bryan doesn't know his enemies"

"But you didn't want to tell me"

"I was against it, I'm no coward" Tala affirms "but either way I had no choice, I made a deal with Kai after all"

"A deal?"

"He didn't want you to know the truth, he knew you would leave if you did. You'd return to China in an attempt to solve the whole issue"

I think about this. Returning to China would have been the notion I would have come up with; it would be running away and in retrospect it probably wouldn't work in the end, Egan ultimately wants me dead…moving to another country wouldn't solve that. But, at the time of consideration, returning to the White Tiger Mountains would resolve everything.

"I don't understand why Kai wouldn't want that" I reply "if I went back to China then all this would have been solved weeks ago" there's a snort of dissatisfaction from Egan but Tala ignores him.

"Simple" Tala sneers almost laughing again "the phoenix was actually being selfish for once, he didn't want you to go, even if it did put you in more danger"

Kai wanted me to…stay?

I gasp, my eyes wide–

Then it hits me.

Kai would rather I died than moved to another country?

Some boyfriend I landed myself with.

Maybe he needs to reorganise his priorities somewhat.

And while he's at it, he could buy a filing cabinet for his office.

"So you promised to keep it all secret?"

"Yes"

"Bryan too?"

"Yes, after a fight" admits Tala "it seems I didn't manage to get through to him, however, not that it matters now. You know too much, I don't mind the fact that you know how to destroy Egan or Wolborg, we all know you wouldn't kill me…but I draw the line at the body"

That takes me by surprise.

"What? Why? I haven't told anyone"

"For now" Tala agrees "but I don't believe you'll keep your silence for long, and that I cannot allow. That body must stay hidden, or too many questions will be asked" he glares "you weren't supposed to know about that body"

"Really?" I lift my eyebrows "it was the first thing Bryan showed me"

"Hmm, had I known that we would have dealt with this sooner"

"What if I promised not to tell?" I ask, it seems worth a try "would you let me live then?"

"Ha, NO!" Egan laughs out loud "like I would ever let that happen!"

"Be quiet!" Tala orders sharply "no one wants your opinion!" he turns back to me "you can promise all you like, until the cows come home if you want" he answers "you know too much, and you have too strong a sense of right to keep quiet. I don't trust you on this matter"

"But is killing me really the only way?"

"You bet it is!" says Egan vehemently "I won't rest until your blood is on my hands!"

"I told you to shut up!" Tala repeats shortly "if you keep lifting your voice someone will hear you!" he glances at me, knowing what it is I'm trying to do.

"You realise I'm not going to just stand idly by while I let you kill me, right?"

"You don't have much of a choice" Tala replies "either you die quietly and quickly, or you put up a fight and die slower. Whatever your method, the outcome is the same"

He takes a step forward again, seemingly tired of my vague attempts to stall; still I don't know what his plan is, and the idea of escape that I had hoped would appear in my thoughts is still as elusive as Tyson's table manners.

"I don't understand why you plan to kill me with a knife" I say for the simple excuse of speaking "when you could so easily destroy with Wolborg's powers"

"That's what I've been saying!" Egan agrees.

My gods, we actually agree on something.

Egan pulls at his brother's arm "let me finish him!" he urges, "it'll be over in seconds!"

This I can't deny and, when I think about it, fighting against Tala with a knife is so more likely to rule in my favour rather than Tala with Bitbeast connected with murderous ghostly brother.

"I keep telling you no!" Tala growls irritably "I will not risk it!"

"That's an odd tern of phrase" I comment "I didn't think there was anything you wouldn't risk in order to keep me quiet. Why so reluctant to use the power, Tala?"

"None of your business!" Tala snaps, "stop talking and die quietly!"

I wonder if he actually expects me to obey that latest command.

I doubt it, he knows the Bladebreakers better than that.

"You could kill me in an instant with Wolborg's help" I point out again "why won't you? I'm completely unprotected here"

"Oh?" Tala lifts a dark red eyebrow "you mean you haven't got your beyblade sitting in your pocket?"

I stop as the truth dawns on me; of course I have Drigger in my pocket, I'm a champion blader after all. And like all the other retired champion bladers, I feel strangely naked without my blade even though I no longer use it.

So that's what's bothering him, is it?

"Yeah, you're right" I answer "I do have Drigger with me, and that's the problem, isn't it? Because I'm not unprotected at all"

"Pfft! Like that matters!" Egan jeers.

"But it does" I persist looking back at Tala "because in all our combined years of touring round the world blading, we never actually once fought each other, did we, Tala?"

"Clever little Raymond-"

I hate to be called Raymond.

"-Figuring it all out" Tala chuckles "I suppose I can give the Bladebreakers enough credit to know that in the end, eventually, they do figure it all out"

"We never fought before…" I repeat thinking aloud "I've never really thought about it, but in a match between us I wonder who would win…" I look back at Tala; I've got him now "you don't know, do you?"

"In match between us?" Tala shrugs "I would naturally, it would be tough I'll admit, but in the end I would win"

"…Would you?" I confront him "I did beat Bryan after all…"

"Nearly killing yourself in the process" Tala points out in hard voice.

"Nevertheless, I won" I remind him "sure, it was almost the end of me, but none of that actually matters because it was my victory, I reckon that makes me a pretty strong opponent"

"Not so strong that you could beat Kai"

I smile; that was a last resort move, Tala knows full well that I couldn't beat Kai, but he also knows he couldn't either "there aren't many who could" I agree "but that means, that us in a battle would be pretty fairly matched, that's something you can't risk, is it?"

"I already told you I would win" Tala grits his teeth.

"Know that for certain, do you?" I ask, but I don't need the answer.

No, Tala isn't sure he would win against me, he thinks he can but thinking and knowing are two separate things; he doesn't want to take the chance that Digger might beat Wolborg.

When it comes right down to it, Tala doesn't want to die.

"You're all connected" I look between the three of them "one dies, you all die, that's quite a risk, I can understand why you don't wish to-"

"Risk my ass!" Egan shouts "I could rip you to pieces with my bare hands if-"

"Except you're not going to do that" the wolf cuts him off "we're going to do it MY way!"

"It's not fair!" Egan snarls at him "what's the point of having this power if I don't use it!"

"It's to keep you alive, isn't it?" I look to Tala "that's the only reason you gave it to Egan, right?"

Tala says nothing.

Egan however looks furiously from him to me and back again "is that true!" he demands, "what about that line you gave about it being MY power to use on whoever I wanted!"

"That was to stop you from possessing some poor stranger no doubt, Tala was thinking on his feet at the time" I supply earning myself a glare from Tala, which proves I am both right and dead the moment Tala gets his hands on me.

"Shut up!" Egan turns his growing anger on me "I don't want to hear it from you!"

"Why? Because I speak the truth…"

An idea starts to form in my head; a crazy idea, better than Tyson's notion that all his fans, female and over seventeen of course, should stand in a line around the world and strip naked for him. He was stupid enough to say this in a live interview broadcasted to half the world; we're still getting threats from angered boyfriends even now. At least my idea has a little sense to it; if I can push Egan far enough to snap, there's no way Tala will have any hold of him.

He's barely keeping control of his brother as it is.

Egan's desperate to use his powers; the only thing stopping him is Tala's word and soon that won't be enough. Which gives me a chance, if I can get Egan to use Wolborg it'll cast Tala's attention on to Egan rather than me, giving me the chance of escape. It's not much of a plan, but it beats standing neatly toes pointed straight while Tala slits my throat.

Part of me wants to fight, and I could put up quite a battle with Drigger at my side; but then the issues surrounding this delicate balance would be undone. Tala doesn't know if he could beat me with Wolborg, but then again I don't know if I could beat him with Drigger. And in all honesty I don't want to beat him; it's not like I want to kill him after all, Egan's a different matter but what with the way he's attached to Tala now I can't touch him.

I don't want to hurt Tala.

Though I have NO idea when I got so fond of the guy…

"Tala was never going to let you use your new powers, Egan" I say out loud "he wouldn't take the risk, he doesn't trust you enough"

"You're lying!" Egan breathes fierily "you're only saying that for your own ends!"

Yes I am, but you'll fall for the trick anyway.

"How can I be lying?" I ask in return "has Tala let you use them before now? Has he told you he trusts you with Wolborg's power? Has he told you he trusts you at all?"

"I-" for a moment Egan looks unsure while Tala snarls at me knife back in his grasp tighter than ever.

I dodge out the way as he lunges at me; he's faster than I gave him credit for I realise as the blade barely misses my flesh, things are falling apart for Tala which is bad for me, but whether they're worse for me is something I've yet to discover.

"Is that right?" Egan throws at his brother "don't you trust me!"

"Not like he trusts Bryan" I slip in, I look back just as Tala makes a grab for me, catches me by my clothes and slams me in to the nearest tree; I grapple with him lashing out to keep the knife at bay.

He's stronger than I expected too; like all his muscle has been hardened in to rock, there has to be another way to unsettle him.

"Look at where this has all got you, Tala!" the knife flashes passed the side of my face, less than an inch from my eye, I turn my head and fight back still unable to release myself from his grip "you should have listened to Bryan it seems! The falcon was right, if you'd told me everything I would have just left!"

"Who cares about that?" Tala sneers, "that wouldn't have been enough for Egan"

"I'm not talking about Egan, I'm talking about you!" I gasp savagely as we continue to wrestle; he gets in a punch, knocking the wind from me and I buckle. Sliding down the trunk of the tree proves dangerous as Tala towers over me knife ready; quicker with my neko-jin traits, I dodge left, effectively out the way of the blade but not so much I escape Tala "he didn't want this for you, he didn't want you to be in this danger! That's why he came to me in the first place!"

"Stop talking about Bryan!" the wolf snaps, "I have no interest in that traitor!"

"Traitor is a strong word" I reply in surprise "I wouldn't have thought you cared about Bryan that much for it to really bother you"

"Of course it bothers me! He disobeyed an order!"

"Is that all that bothers you!" I answer back with a little anger, is there no getting through to this guy. Why won't he just stop? "Bryan disobeyed an order, that's all you care about?"

"He's never done that before!" Tala snarls "I don't take kindly to disobedient fools like him!"

"He only did that to protect you!"

Wait a minute…am I defending Bryan here?

Oh Lord, what has befallen me?

"He did it to stop you from putting yourself in danger!"

I catch Tala round the face swinging my claws in to his cheek for all I'm worth.

Apparently, I'm worth quite a lot; Tala falls back with surprise from the blow, I pull free of his grasp and quicker than the wolf realises I swipe the knife from his loosened hand.

"All he was doing was trying to save you, because he wants you to stay alive" I pant looking down at the fallen wolf who lays on his back eyes closed also breathing hard "amazingly, by some freak chance, he actually gives a damn about you"

"Really?" Tala opens his eyes and icy blue gaze up coldly in to my golden "well I never asked him to"

There's a silence between us as something clicks inside me; all this time the whole world has known of Bryan's obsession with Tala, even in the Abbey from the little bits of information I've gleaned from Kai. Bryan has always followed Tala around like the soldier born to serve; practically everything he does is for Tala, the papers have had a few field days with it.

But no one ever thought…the possibility never even crossed their minds that…

…Tala felt the same?

Could it be true?

Can Tala even care for someone like that?

He was trained not to, like Bryan was; except all this time the wolf has seemed so more in tuned to what Boris drilled in to them, more than any of the other members of his team were.

But his face now. That glare is defensive, sulky even – trying to hide something.

"Feelings are strange, aren't they?" I say quietly searching for reaction, almost hoping for the possibility that I might be right "no matter how you fight them, they just grow stronger"

Tala says nothing; instead he closes his eyes again, the glare on his face fading away.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Tala" I urge him "Bryan doesn't want it, I don't want it, and I don't think you want it either. Do you really want to be linked to Egan for the rest of your life? Wouldn't you rather just be? All this could end, here and now if you wanted"

Tala doesn't move; for one awful moment I get the stupid idea that my last attack actually killed him and now he's lying dead at my feet. But then his chest rises "ya khochu poprobovatʹ yego gnev" he mumbles under his breath. His hand clamps down over his face and he licks his dry lips.

"Tala?"

With a grunt he reopens his eyes and looks up at me with an icy look on his face; we stare at each other for a moment, and I realise, by some freak chance, that I've won. I'm not even sure I know how…maybe the truth about Bryan wanting to stop him really hit home.

Could they really want each other that much?

But what do I know?

I can't even begin to imagine the crap they've been through together, always stuck together through their terrible childhood and then beyond. It makes sense really: why would Tala want to be linked to Egan for the remainder of his life when he already had Bryan's loyalty?

I can never know how much they mean to each other, but if Tala's feelings for Bryan were anything like mine for Kai then nothing in this world would keep them apart, especially not a creep like Egan. Because Tala doesn't want Egan, he knows that over time his younger brother would break them, just like he's destroyed Kai and me, eventually Egan would push Bryan out of Tala's life and then where would the world be?

Bryan's world would be lost in destruction that's for sure.

I kneel down beside Tala and hold out my hand "is it over, Tala? Will you let me live now? All you have to do is tell Wolborg to release Egan. Will you let Bryan win this time?"

Tala snorts with derision and knocks my hand away – well, I wasn't expecting anything else – he sits up roughly "Bryan's never won against me in his life" he states sourly.

"Maybe this time is different" I reply "after all, neither of you are willing to let you die…that won't happen if you just let me return to Japan"

"You'd return? Just like that?" the wolf's red eyebrow lifts in disbelief.

"Of course" I answer trying to keep the thoughts of Kai from my mind "I had already decided to anyway" I tilt my head as he closes his eyes again as if trying to rid himself of a headache "so?"

"So what!" Tala snaps.

"Am I free?"

Tala opens his mouth – probably to reply with some scathing yet affirmative comment granting me freedom to my own life. What a nice guy. But he never gets the chance to speak. A wind picks up, stronger than any storm could manage, and the air grows suddenly cold and icy. A young tree, proud of its straight stance, suddenly blows sideways, bending almost in half until the wood can no longer stand it.

It splinters.

With the sudden force I'm thrust forwards, my claws digging in to the ground to keep my balance; Tala seems less effected by the powerful airstreams, though his red hair is swept sideways as he looks towards the centre of it all, of course he would be less at risk by the power of his own Bitbeast.

Following his gaze I look over my shoulder, my hair whipping in my way as my eyes narrow against the blast.

Wind sweeping about him, leaves tearing from their trees in flurries, Egan stands in the heart of this new madness totally calm and still; the winds don't touch him, the air rushes by him as if repelled by his very presence. Not even his hair moves.

But his face…

Wrinkled with rage and hate, his eyes large with the forces of his own newfound power, he lifts his arm, raises his hand…

…And points at me.

"YOU WON'T LIVE!" he screams, "I WON'T LET YOU LIVE! RUNNING ACROSS THE WORLD ISN'T ENOUGH FOR ME! YOU HAVE TO DIE!"

Light blazes up from the ground, the air and the trees all seemingly under control of Egan; this is the power of the Bitbeast, what it could do if it were ever to possess a human. Egan was a ghost, now he's a monster. And he wants me. I raise my hand to protect my eyes as the air grows colder still; small speckles of snow start to rise from the space around Egan's lifted hand and ice forms on the path before his feet.

The ice grows up from the path, shaping itself as he stands there keeping me at bay with the wind; if I were a beyblade, a lump of metal, this wouldn't effect me. But I'm human, a neko-jin, and the wind shoots through my bones like I wasn't there at all. The cold has me frozen to the spot; I can't even move my head to look away.

Watch I must as huge shards of ice, big enough to slay an elephant, hover in front of Egan their pointed edges facing me. He sweeps his hand to the side, almost as if he's been practicing this when no one was looking; the ice starts forward, speeding through the air as there's no wind at all, launching towards me and I have no chance of escape-

Light bursts from my pocket, a new light; one that protects me and keeps me from the wind, warming my bones in seconds so I can stand. I leap out the way as the huge ice shards propel themselves in to the trunk of a tree directly behind me.

My hair stops wailing about my face, the snow melts before the edge of the light around me; there's a grumble, the growling moan of an animal that fills my head rather than reaches my ears. Egan laughs out loud at the sight, but Tala curses as everything spirals out of control; Egan attacks again, but the light around me blocks the attack as if it were nothing.

"Drigger…"

~Max's POV~

"Max, what are you doing here? Egan is far more powerful than a beyblade, this wind is too much for you"

"It's ok!" I shout, "I'm an American!"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Absolutely nothing at all!" I yell back "but I'm a Bladebreaker, Kai, we never make any sense!"

I stride passed him as Kai stands watching me; there are times in Kai's life when he is proud to call himself the Captain of the Bladebreakers, times when he can see passed the stupidity and the nonsense. I'd like to say that this was one of those times; I'd like to say that Kai sees the bravery and determination I've summoned to save Ray.

Unfortunately, judging by the complete lack of respect on his features, this is not the case.

Mind you, I have just crashed straight in to a lamppost.

I dare not take in Bryan's face, even over the wind I can hear him laughing at me; sighing heavily Kai starts forward fighting against the gusts of wind that burst forwards against us as if pushing us back. Somewhere to my left a small dog floats passed yapping excitedly; I hope that isn't Butchie, Tyson will never forgive me if I simply let the dog fly away – though I think everyone else would probably pat me on the back.

"HEY KAI!" I bellow at the top of my voice over the howling wind "WHAT'S WITH ALL THIS WIND! IT REMINDS ME OF WOLBORG BUT- that can't be right!" I finish lamely as the wind dies so suddenly I almost fall over.

"It is Wolborg" Kai replies, "I thought Tala had control of Egan, but it looks like Egan's snapped"

"Looks like your precious little plan didn't work!" Bryan snarls, "I knew this would happen! So did you!"
Kai pauses on the path for a moment; unlike before everything is silent, now that the wind has stopped it's almost like the world doesn't dare move should it provoke another gale. I stand beside Kai looking around, trying to find another living soul in this seemingly dead park; all the walkers have hurried away, scared of a hurricane or some other natural force will be the end of them. And there's nothing else, not even a bird; the only movement is the clouded breath rising from my lips as I breathe.

"Kai, what's going on here?" I ask "why is it so cold?"

Bryan however prevents the phoenix from answering, "don't you dare!" he barks, "I won't let you!"

Kai ignores him "it seems I have no choice" he says to no one in particular "this has to end now"

"This is your fault!" Bryan sneers marching towards Kai and grabbing him by the collar "if you'd sent that fucking neko-jin packing when Tala told you to then this wouldn't be happening!"

"That is true" Kai admits slowly as he prises himself from Bryan's grip "that's why I will end it"

"No you won't!" Bryan's eyes widen in something that looks like anger, but beneath that there's something else, a certain look about him that fills me with dread or worry.

"Kai, what's happening?" I ask again, this time with more urgency "where's Ray!"

"Ray will be fine" says the phoenix.

"No he won't!" hisses the falcon in response "I'll kill him myself!"

Now it's Kai's turn to glare, there's a look of warning in his face "I made my decision, a long time ago"

"You think I'm just gonna stand around while you clean up the mess you made!" Bryan shouts.

The fury in him is burning, he looks ready for murder; he lunges at Kai, I dodge to the side just in time with a yelp, Kai slips passed him also but not before the falcon reaches out to grab him. He latches on to the phoenix, holding on to him fast; but there's something in Kai that's unstoppable and with a snarl he hefts his comrade off him once more, slamming Bryan in to a tree. But the falcon isn't beaten yet.

"I'LL KILL YOU NOW!" he roars leaping forwards "THEN I'LL RIP THAT TIGER APART!"

What happens next is so fast it's over in the blink of an eye; one instant Bryan is flying towards Kai, the next he's knocking the pair of them down. Kai falls back Bryan on top of him; the falcon is shouting, cursing in Russian his hands flaying Kai with everything he has-

Kai grunts, his arm jerks up hard and Bryan coughs; he stops moving with a shudder, he coughs again and it sounds wet. I run forward trying to see what happened; Kai mutters under his breath at the falcon, before pushing him off and sitting up. Bryan rolls, stumbling to regain balance; he lurches forward but he can't seem to struggle to his feet, he scrambles his way over to the base of the tree rolling over on to his back and slouching against the wood clutching his stomach.

I gasp.

The blood leaks through his top, staining the fabric in a dark wobbly circle around his hand that spreads further. I reach towards him horrified as he gurgles wiping the spit from his mouth.

I look back over my shoulder "Kai…"

"I don't have time to battle with him" the phoenix replies, though he seems to have a little guilt nagging at him because he adds "the wound isn't deep, he'll be fine"

Then he turns and walks away; I look back at Bryan feeling I should stay, but Bryan growls at me with a glare and I have to help Ray. Not knowing what to say I wonder about an ambulance but even as I pause Bryan is battling to his feet.

"Fuck off!" Bryan snaps "no one wants you here!"

I frown at him "I'm a Bladebreaker, and Ray is in trouble. I'm staying whether you like it or not"

And I turn to catch the phoenix up.

Catching the phoenix up when he's on a mission is always a little tricky; I remember when we were in New York Tyson sold Dranzer on the black market for seven hundred and forty eight thousand dollars, I have never seen Kai move so fast.

I've never seen Tyson move so fast either.

I'm not sure what Kai was planning to do once he got Tyson in his grasp but either way it doesn't matter because he never got the chance; Tyson was so scared of the phoenix that he ran out in to the road skipped passed three lorries, five different taxis, twelve civilian cars, four white vans, six motor bikes and bam!

He was run over by a four-year-old kid's bicycle on the other side of the road.

Needless to say Kai wasn't really interested to the damage Tyson endured that day.

"Kai! What the hell is happening!" I gasp as I catch my Captain up.

"It's nothing to concern yourself with, you should go home, Max"

"To hell with that! You just stabbed Bryan!"

Kai makes no sign of actual regret, but he does pause at my words "I'm aware of that" he answers "my plan was to stay his attack, not kill him. He'll be on his feet soon"

We turn off the path on to another smaller path; I don't know how but Kai seems to be conscious of where he's headed. Maybe it's the steadily cooling air around us, or the patches of ice beginning to form on the ground and up the trees; the clouds are rolling in, they were spread out wide before but thanks to the wind rushing about, they've closed in together.

I rub my arms to bring life to them; Japan was warmer not so long ago, all I'm wearing are the blue and pink trousers that aren't exactly built for winter weather and a blue t-shirt with a teddy bear on the front. In its hands the teddy is holding a large notice board saying: I love hospitals.

The hospital was really low on spare clothes.

The ice is growing thicker as we walk; once I slip and cling on to Kai's arm for support, which is thus answered by a narrowing of the eyes. Sheesh, some people are just cold. We walk on down the path just as the trees around us start to spread out and loosen from the thicket we were previously walking through.

The only warning I get is a sudden pause in Kai's step before we round a small knot of trees blocking the path in front of us; moving round that, a scene hit our eyes. Ice is everywhere, clinging to the paths and the freezing the trees; but even as we stand there a tree frozen to a block of ice smashes apart in to pieces when light hits it faster than anything I've seen before. The shards of ice fly, and then they take form floating above the ground twisting until they're one long towering pillar of ice particles.

They seem to be flowing, closing around something that reveals itself to be a light, pale green, which is trapped in the middle of this tornado of ice.

"Ray!" I shout and start forwards.

"No" Kai grabs me and pulls me back as if I'm made of paper "this doesn't involve you"

I glare at him "yes it does" I say resolutely "if it involves Ray, then it involves me"

We stare at each other, and then Kai lets go.

"In that case, stay at his side" he replies "and don't try to tempt Egan"

He walks on down the path seemingly unfazed by the ice; Egan, standing on the other side of the ice tornado sees him for the first time and laugh manically. If he's trying to get under the phoenix's skin then he's failed; Kai walks on regardless of the new ice that starts to form around him, at first neither Egan or I can work out how he walks on without slipping. But under his feet steam starts to rise and it all becomes clear; just as Drigger is protecting Ray, Dranzer is guarding Kai.

Probably a good thing really, we don't want Kai slipping up on the ice and looking like an idiot.

Though it would be fun to post up on Facebook.

"Stop this" says Kai clearly as he passes Ray who tries to catch his eye but fails.

I meanwhile join the tiger, hesitating at the green glow before Ray smiles at me looking rather pleased to see me "I probably shouldn't say this" he mutters "but I'm glad you're here"

"Course I am" I grin "after all, Kai wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for me and his grandmother's skull"

Ray blinks "his grandmother's skull?"

"Or his father's, the actual identity is a little unclear"

"I see" is all Ray can think of in response to this.

"So nice to see you again, Kai" Egan smiles "though you should have waited until tonight" he winks.

Beside me Ray lifts his eyebrow.

"The game is over, Egan" Kai says calmly "this is the end"

"Oh no, Kai, he's not dead yet" Egan is still grinning "but don't worry, I'm winning"

"Ray isn't going to die today" the phoenix answers.

Egan is silent for a moment; his smile fades as he and Kai regard each other calmly, the ice is still creeping about but the shards of ice that had towered above us ominously now begin melting away. Egan's face is darkening, all humour is gone from his eyes and the threat of a snarl appears around his mouth. Kai stays where he is, quiet, his gaze never leaves Egan though he must become aware of Tala who appears from under the shadow of a tree.

"Stay out of this, Tala"

"I can't simply stand by and let you destroy him" the wolf says coldly "I may have decided not to kill Ray myself, but I can't deprive Egan of trying…especially in light of what Ray now knows" he gives the phoenix a studied look "you lied to me, you already knew that Ray knew about the dead man, didn't you?"

Kai's eyes narrow, he doesn't reply directly "this is your last chance, Tala"

The redhead laughs "what? Are you going to let Ray kill me? We both know he hasn't got it in him, our deal was as long as Ray didn't find out he would be left alone but he knows all now, we have no choice" he smiles over at the neko-jin who is looking rather sad about it all "maybe I won't kill Ray myself, but, though using Wolborg was against my wishes, I can't simply prevent Egan from trying"

"I mean it" is the only reply Kai has "this is my last warning" he returns his attention back to Egan "for both of you"

Egan growls loudly "so you show your true colours at last! I thought you might have remembered what we meant to each other, but it seems I was wrong" he curls his lip "I should have known when you wouldn't let me have Ray's body! I had to possess animals thanks to you! I came back to Tala crawling in some manky cat after it tried to eat the bird I'd trap myself in to, thanks to you!"

He stops, waiting for Kai's reply and when there's none, he glares harder.

"WELL I WON'T LET YOU WIN!" his eyes blaze and he lifts his arm again "I WON'T LET YOU HAVE HIM, KAI! IF I CAN'T HAVE HIS BODY THEN NEITHER CAN HE! I'LL KILL HIM FIRST!"

The wind starts again, howling outwards from his outstretched hand twisting and turning in to something cold and sharp; around us the pale green light flows brighter preparing itself for defence. In his pocket, Ray's hand tightens on his blade, seeking comfort in it and reminding me of my own blade that suddenly feels so heavy in my pocket.

"I'LL KILL HIM, KAI!" Egan roars as the wind lifts high in to the air and I'm almost swept away it "THEN YOU'LL BE FREE OF HIS SPELL! YOU JUST WAIT!"

"Egan" Kai's face hardens as he fights to stand against the blast.

The ice forms on the trees, the air grows colder than before; our breath is snatched away and it's hard to breathe. But somehow Kai is still standing there, even as Ray and I are knocked backwards; even Tala struggles under the power of his own Bitbeast, he tries to move out of range but a stronger gust of wind as him moving forwards in to Kai rather than back.

And then it happens.

Despite the wind, the noise, the ice and the cold stinging our eyes, we all see it.

"NO!" Ray cries out loud as the knife sinks straight in to Tala's stomach.

His shout is lost in the winds, but Egan doesn't need the sound as his brother stumble against the phoenix his entire weight falling in to Kai's grasp. The winds start dying even as we stand there; Ray runs forward trying to reach Kai to stop him.

"No, Kai! Don't do it!" he reaches the phoenix, but Kai pushes him off.

"I will protect you"

He wrenches the knife out just as Egan reaches him; they fall to the ground as Tala is caught by Ray to stop the wolf hitting the path. I run to Ray who cradles Tala's head in his arms; blood is spattered around the redhead's mouth, he's clutching his stomach but as his rasping breaths pass his grip weakens. The wind is fading, dying away as if it was never there and all at once the air is too thick.

"Get away" Tala coughs "I will…not die in your…arms!"

More blood.

Ray winces and presses his hand to the wound "just wait, alright. You'll be fine!"

The hint of a smile touches Tala's lips "you really…think Kai misses his…targets?" he laughs, only to cough a second later and choke on his own blood.

"Dammit, Tala!" Ray almost snarls at him "why didn't you listen to me? I thought I got through to you!"

Again Tala tries to laugh, but it hurts too much and blood bubbles from his wound as I pressed my own hand down hard "since…when did I…listen to anything a Bladebreaker…says" blood is staining his teeth, he just won't stop leaking blood.

There's too much.

"Tala! Stay with me!" Ray's voice lifts as Tala's eyes glaze.

"Never thought he'd actually…do it…" he mutters his lips slipping on blood "Kai…really is mysterious…"

"Tala! Just hang on!" Ray looks over at me "call an ambulance!"

I'm already fumbling for my phone-

"TALA!"

But before I can hit the buttons I'm wrenched away from Tala as if I was grass, Ray too is yanked away as a large form drags us away; Bryan rises up from behind us and shoves us away again snarling, blood is clinging to his clothes but he ignores his wound as he grabs Tala's limp body in to his arms.

"There you are" Tala coughs again, he blinks slowly up at the falcon who holds on tighter to him, he tries to stop the bleeding with his hand but Tala winces in pain and Bryan stops "I was…waiting for you" he coughs again.

Blood is seeping in to Bryan's clothes, his hands are covered but all he stares at is the darkening glaze in Tala's face; once the wolf tries to speak, blood chokes him and he coughs instead. Bryan leans in with a quick question in Russian and Tala shakes his head.

He tries to talk again, and the words trip in mouth; gritting his teeth he sucks in the cold air and reaches up to Bryan's collar dragging him down to speak in his face.

"Die…So mnoĭ"

There's a pause, Bryan glares down at him for a moment.

And then nods.

"Ray"

I turn to look over my shoulder; Kai stands there covered in blood, breathing deeply and holding on to his chest where a deep scratch runs from one side to the other. I quickly look around "where's Egan?"

"Egan is dead" the phoenix says softly "it's over"

"Are you alright!" I rush to his side "you're hurt!"

"Nothing that won't heal, Egan wouldn't go down without a last fight"

"We should get you to a hospital, Tala too" I lift my phone up again, only to find it frozen over with ice and dead.

"Tala is dead" Kai answers.

"No, he isn't" I assure him "he's right-" I look back over my shoulder to point.

Tala's lifeless body in held angrily in Bryan's hold; he's leaning over the bloody corpse and refuses to let go even as Ray reaches out a hand "fuck off!"

"Ray" says Kai again "it's time to leave"

Ray stands there frozen in shock, staring at the body and its mourner; then he turns sharply on his heel and walks away, sweeping passed Kai without a second glance at him. I run after him down the path but Ray's walking so fast it's impossible to catch up; he's round the trees and out of sight of the scene before I grab his arm.

"Ray!"

He turns around the hint of a tear welling in one eye as he glares angrily at Kai who follows on behind us; they don't speak as Kai stops in front of him and stares back, I stand by Ray my hand on his shoulder. Something is wrong; Ray's angry…

No, he's furious.

"What did he say?" the tiger asks savagely "what did Tala say to Bryan?"

Kai pauses, then "he told Bryan to die with him"

Ray nods taking this in, but his anger doesn't dissipate as he yanks his shoulder from me and strides over to Kai bringing his hand down on Kai's face.

"Ray!" I shout in alarm "now isn't the time!" I rush to Kai's side and block Ray's next attack.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ray demands, "this didn't have to happen, Kai! Why didn't you tell me everything!"

"Because you would have left" the phoenix blinks calmly, seemingly unaffected by Ray's hit.

"But this didn't have to happen, Kai! Tala shouldn't be dead!" Ray shouts, he takes a deep breath and adds, "you know something! I was wrong about Bryan, once again I was wrong! He wasn't warning me to stay clear of Tala, he was warning me about you!"

"It was always my plan to kill Tala" Kai admits, "it was only a matter of time" he lowers his eyes "but I did attempt to keep Egan alive, I owed them that much"

"They could both be alive if you'd just told me what was going on!" Ray snarls, "instead you just walked away, like you always do! This is your fault! It's your fault Tala is dead!"

"I was prepared of the price I had to pay"

"And why! All so I would stay in Japan?"

"Yes"

Ray turns away, not knowing what to say; the tear is still threatening but it never comes as he looks up at the skies above, the air is warmer now and the ice melting away. Almost as if nothing every happened "then this is all my fault" the neko-jin mutters "just because I fell in love with you" he swallows and lifts his hand to his mouth "I should have stayed away, married Mariah like Lee told me to" his eyes close "now look at us" he whispers.

He looks over at me.

"I don't know what to do" his golden eyes snap back over at Kai "it was selfish, you realise that right?"

"I've done things I'm ashamed of" Kai says still emotionlessly "but if the outcome is what I desire then it doesn't matter"

"And what is that outcome?" asks Ray resentfully "that I stay in Japan, I suppose"

"Yes"

"Are you, Ray?" I ask breathlessly "after all that's happening, are you going to stay?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know!" he whirls around looking from one to the other "how can I stay here!" he points down the path "how can I stay knowing that all this is because of me!" he looks back at Kai searching for an answer, but the phoenix says nothing "then again…" Ray's voice lowers "how can I leave…when all of this was for me?"

He grits his teeth and slams his fist in to Kai's chest regardless of the wound, but he doesn't leave Kai, doesn't back away again; they stay like that Kai's eyes never leaving Ray's. Slowly Ray reaches up his hand to wipe away a smear of blood from Kai's face.

"Dammit" he whispers again "why do I still love you?" he pushes the hair from the phoenix's face "it was all for me?" he asks "just so I would stay a while longer?"

Kai nods.

"But everything Bryan did was for Tala" the tiger continues, "how can I simply ignore that sacrifice he made?"

"Because it was his sacrifice to make," the phoenix answers "his choice alone"

"And Egan? What about him?"

"Trying to keep him alive all this time was a mistake"

"So why did you? You, Bryan and Tala, why did you try so hard to keep him in this world?"

"A notion of obligation"

"And now?"

"I see differently"

"So where is he now?"

Kai shakes his head "that's not for me to know. Egan faded away, that's all that matters"

"And you?" Ray looks at him closely "you've lost them all, Kai, are you going to fade away too?"

Kai breaks their gaze and watches a bird returning to its previous tree "I'm the Captain of the Bladebreakers"

"I see" Ray's eyes drop to the wound marring Kai's chest "what about me?"

"That's for you to decide alone, it's your choice"

Ray nods slowly "you killed Tala…" he murmurs "…for me"

For a moment, he looks so ashamed.

This is too much; I leap on them both wrapping my arms around the pair "come on" I say trying to sound cheerful "this isn't the place, not with what's round that corner. We should go"

Ray looks at me "where?"

"To the hospital of course" I wag my head at Kai who doesn't appreciate my arms around his neck "unless you want him to bleed out"

Ray blinks and looks back at the injury; he nods slowly but seems still undecided "what about Tala? Bryan?"

"I don't think they'd really appreciate your sympathy" I say delicately "but we can think about that later" I clap Ray on the shoulder and try to clap Kai on the shoulder to give symmetry.

He glares at me.

"It takes time" I continue, "this isn't going to get fixed in a day"

"But-" Ray tries.

I shake my head "no, Ray, this needs to be healed with time, not words. That's why you can't leave Japan now, that's just running away and you'd never forgive yourself. That's why you're staying in Japan, that's why Kai's staying too. So we can help each other, be with each other, become a team again and then you two can start again…you see?"

Bravely, I take a look at Kai's expression.

Who died and made you God, is basically what it says.

"You're right" Ray mutters slowly still looking back at the scene we left "time…"

As one we turn away from the hidden horror, there's nothing else we can do; the only thing left is to move away and lick our wounds, that's what I learnt when my grandmother died. We can't begin to even contemplate what happened, I realise, stealing a glance at Kai and Ray as they walk along with Kai leaning slightly on Ray; the neko-jin's hand pressing down on the wound.

They're silent.

But even so there's still that passion in Ray's eyes as he clings to the phoenix.

As for Kai, he's not going anywhere the tiger isn't.

"Oh, by the way" I suddenly think aloud "what happened to Butchie?"

Ray pauses, his eyes widen slightly "…um"

So much for going home and putting my feet up.

Tyson will have us scouring the whole of Japan to find that damn dog.

The End

You know, I think in the end, it was Bryan I really felt sorry for. Poor guy. Didn't really like Egan, as a character he didn't really have much to him, but I created him a few years ago so his characterization is a little less developed than some of my OCs now.

Yeah, so be warned that these translations come from Google and not from any knowledge of the Russian language. I make no claims to know any Russian so an Internet translation is all I've got to go on. It may seem a little stupid to use a language I know nothing about, but I personally think Tala would say stuff like that in his mother tongue BECAUSE no one knows what he's saying…am I sad that I've put so much thought in to this.

YA khochu poprobovatʹ yego gnev – I want to taste his anger. I figured Tala's not one to profess love or any actual words of fondness like 'I love you' or even anything more physical like 'I think you're hot'. So this was the best I could come up with.

Die So mnoĭ - Die with me

It's over. Wow.

I wasn't sure what I felt about the ending when I first wrote it out, I had to reread it like three times before I was anything close to satisfied. I wanted to put in another chapter, but in all honesty I want this story to be put to bed and I couldn't think of another ending for it.

Just so you, there was a time when I was going to let Tala somehow live, but in the end I realise that, by my own damn ruling, he was going to have to die. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with Bryan though, leaving him with Tala seemed best.

At some point I want to go back to the beginning and rewrite the first couple of chapters, but don't hold your breath.

Anyway, this one of my oldest stories finally finished.

If you would like to read more Kai x Ray stories then check out Breathless (which is basically a much better version of this one) and Virtue Of Life.

Thank you all for reading!

Please leave a review.

Kiki

Kizzes!