Messengertalk (Tala & Rei, occasional Bryan)

"Why should I?" He glared Rei, noticing the blade in his hand. "He's a weakling. He cried out even from the lightest slap or bite... The cut isn't even deep one."

Rei took a tight grip of his blade and looked down on the ground.

-"So, that's it then?... You don't love Tala anymore?"

"No. I don't have feelings. Tala of all people should know that. But no. He changed..." The cold look in the lilac eyes was just as malicious as when Rei had battled Bryan in the World Championships in Russia years ago.

-"Ok, just leave and be a royal asshole. Forget about everything what you did with Tala, all the memories... And even though I don't know you or anyone of the other Blitzboys that well, I would still say that Tala's not weak and you... Well, you're just like Kai."

"I didn't betray my teams! Never! Don't you dare to compare me to Kai!" Wind around him picked up, lifting fresh fallen snow up.

-"No, no you didn't... but you betrayed your lover. Just like Kai did to me."

"THAT DOES IT!" Bryan had had enough of this. He took his launcher and attached Falborg to it.

-"You wanna battle with me again? Did you forget to prove something to yourself?"

"What? You ended up in hospital and I got whipped and beated for my loss? Just spit it out, Kon."

-"Show me what you got. Light up the fire you're feeling inside. Show me how much you care..."

Bryan growled and yanked the rip cord, sending Falborg towards the neko-jin.

"Get him, Falborg!"

Rei smiled, but didn't do a thing to fight back. He just stood there and let Falborg rip his shirt apart and crash on his chest.

The blade dropped down on the ground and Rei was still standing there, blood coming out of his chest. He dropped Driger on the snow and just fell down beside it.

*This is what you did to Tala, Bryan. You say that you don't have any feelings for him, but I know that you do...*

Bryan just stared at Rei. He had done nothing to stop Falborg. Suddenly the falcon bit beast came out of his blade, disappearing with a shriek.

"What... the..." he slowly walked towards Rei, who was lying on the snow, bleeding. He knelt beside him, taking his Falborg blade off the ground. The bit chip was empty. He just put it back to his pocket, not saying or showing anything. He turned his gaze back to Rei and to the wound. He pressed his hand against it, trying to stop the bleeding.

"If you die now I'll never know what you're planning..." he muttered and took off his jacket. Folding it he pressed it against the wound.

He froze when something warm blew his neck and he heard snarling.

'Oh shit...'

Back inside, Ian was afraid they all had miscalculated Tala's wound. It kept bleeding and Tala had an absent look on his face.

"Spencer? I think it's deeper than we all thought. And he has been cutting himself too..."

"I'm getting worried. Did you hear Falborg's shriek? I think Bryan really did something drastic. I better go out there. Try to stop the bleeding and call an ambulance if it doesn't, alright?"

Spencer headed to the porch and outside. He stopped on his tracks when he got outside.

"What the fuck?"

Rei looked at the front door when Spencer came out of the house.

-"Is...Is Tala ok..?" Rei coughed and blood came out of his mouth.

*I'm probably going to die... well... it doesn't matter.....*

Spencer blinked.

"No. He's not ok. The cut was deeper what it looked. Bryan, you better go inside and tell Ian to come here. And try not to finish Tala off. Otherwise I'll torture you worse than Boris did."

The big blond watched Bryan to scurry back inside before he ran to Rei.

"I don't want to know what happened, but let's get you treated. We might need that ambulance after all..." He lifted Rei off the ground, heading back to the door jsut as Ian came down the stairs. "Ian! Bryan's been busy..."

Together they managed to make the bleeding stop, but Rei kept coughing up blood.

"It's internal... I call the ambulance..."

Bryan stood in Tala's room, watching the red-head draw shaky breaths, red stain on the bandages growing after every breath. The truth sank in. He had hurt Tala too much.

"I know even if I apologized you wouldn't forgive me... I think it's safer for you to be without me..."

Tala just watched Bryan, who suddenly paled. Bryan's next words made him think. Did he want to be with Bryan? He loved the bastard, yes. But constant name-callings, slaps, rough handling was too much for him to take.

"I loved you..."

Bryan wrung his hands, guilt was gnawing him, Tala could see it clearly.

"You hurt Rei, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Go to hell... You've done enough..."

It was over.

Bryan's heart sank. He felt all the feelings he didn't remember he had, rush back. He couldn't help the tears that started to fall. He saw Tala take the knife from his nightstand, hissing when the wound twisted.

"Tala..."

The Wolf didn't hear him, just raised the knife, planning to slit something else than his wrists. Bryan lunged forward to grab away the knife, but he was a second too late. The blade sank to the tender flesh of Tala's throat.

"NO!!!!"

He heard hurried steps from the hallway, he heard the door behind him open and the paramedics rush in. He just stared Tala's eyes, which were full of hurt, saw blood trickle down the side of his mouth, the same red liquid gush through the gaping wound on his throat.

"Why he..." One of the paramedics pulled Bryan away, giving the other two room to work. He couldn't hear the calming words the young woman said to him, he cried and yelled for Tala. Only when Spencer came and took a hold of him, he broke down.

"I didn't... He did it..."

"Calm down, Bryan. He's being taken care of. Rei will be alright too. Calm down."

"I'm worse than Boris... Why Driger didn't kill me when he had the chance?"

"Because Wolborg wanted you to apologize..." Spencer answered, he had seen the Wolf appear when Driger was about to grab a hold of Bryan's neck. Wolf's howl split through the still air. The howl was full of agony.

Spencer had a tight hold of Bryan's wrist, preventing him from escaping and doing something drastic. He himself felt responsible of this all. He hadn't tried hard enough to get Bryan to treatment. He was too violent for normal life, but he still could work. He confided his anger during the day, but the night, he took it all out and Tala was the one who felt his rage. How many times he had heard Tala's pain-filled screams, seen him limping or seen nasty bruises and sprained wrists and ankles.

Bryan never knew what he had done. Until now. Rei had opened his eyes. They both were in critical condition now. Still, they both were in a surgery. The doctors assured that Rei had 55% chances of survival, Tala's below 10%.

After six hours and three coffees later, Ian was asleep and so was exhausted and distraught Bryan. Spencer felt lonely and he could sense Wolborg and Driger's distress too, as he had both blades in his pocket.

"Mr. Petrov? Mr. Kon is out of surgery and doing fine. He's asleep for now. Is there any relatives or friends?"

"Us, mostly Tala anyway, but they are all either in Japan or in China... How is Tala?"

"I haven't heard anything, I shall ask."

"Thank you."

~~~~~~~

Tala was in darkness. Darkness that burned. He tried to let go of the last string of light, but every time, it kept coming back and he was getting frustrated. Suddenly, he felt himself jerk and he could see himself below.

He saw the doctors working to repair his damaged throat, saw the stitches on his own chest. Ghost of a tear trailed down his cheek as he turned to leave the room. He didn't hear the long beep of the heart monitor behind him.

He saw Bryan awake, empty, haunted look in his eyes, Spencer and Ian, also worried and nervous, try to calm him down. He visited Rei, who was resting peacefully. Pale and frail, but peaceful.

"Thank you, Rei... Of everything you did..."

He returned to the corridor and saw Wolborg on the balcony with Driger. They saw him and Wolborg looked beyond sad.

"I'm sorry, my friend..."

*All this time you were pretending... So much for my happy ending...*

Rei heard music in his head while sleeping there on his hospitalbed. Then suddenly he felt the deep cut on his chest and woke up quickly.

Then he lay down again, because the cut was still sore, making him almost scream for help. Rei touched the spot. It had been operated, he felt it.

*So I didn't die after all. Call me lucky if you want, you won again...* Rei shut his eyes again and fell asleep.

*Hopefully Tala's ok..?*

Bryan walked into the cool room, trying not to feel sick when the metallic smell of blood reached his nose. The nurse stepped away, eyeing the large wolf with crystal wings behind Bryan. The nurse patted his shoulder and even dared to scratch the wolf behind its ear. Spencer and Ian walked behind them.

Tala was laying on the bed, throat bandaged, pale. And cold. Wolborg walked past Bryan, reaching the bedside first. It poked Tala's cheek gently with its muzzle, giving the sickly white skin a tiny lick and whine. It lay its head next to Tala's shoulder as Bryan reached the beast.

He smoothed Tala's hair, arranging the bangs better before pressing a kiss on his lover's forehead.

"I'm sorry, Tala... I'm so sorry..."

The eerie silence in the room was deafening and it broke Bryan down.

Tala was dead.

~~~~~~

An hour later Bryan had somewhat collected himself and was sitting by the window in Rei's room. Waiting the neko-jin wake, he held Wolborg blade in his hand, wallowing in his guilt.

'Tala's dead because of me... Because I can't control myself...'

The doctor who had tried to save Tala had offered to arrange therapy for Bryan, who had accepted the offer. That wouldn't save Tala, but it would be best for all of them. He watched Driger sleep in the room, Wolborg next to him but the crystals were falling off, piece by piece. The powerful arctic wolf was dying too now as his avatar was gone. But Bryan knew, the wolf would die only during full moon. And that was half a month away...

He turned when he heard something and saw Rei opening his eyes. He cautiosly approached the bed, sitting on the chair beside it.

"Rei... I- I'm sorry. I was blind... I uh... I'm going to get some therapy for this... Unless you wanna sue me and get me in jail or something. For hurting you. We haven't told the truth to the police yet, though they believed the blading accident story..."

It took Bryan five minutes to say all this. He never averted his gaze and kept looking Rei in the eyes, wanting the other to see how serious he was. That he was speaking the truth.

Rei looked at Bryan, listening every word the Falcon said to him, knowing he meant it seriously.

When Bryan had finished, Rei blinked his eyes once, rose his right hand up and put it on Bryan's hands.

-"...I won't sue you... You have suffered enough already. Besides, I let Falborg attack me so it's my own fault that I didn't get protected by Driger's help. I'm sorry about this too... I shouldn't have come here in the first place....."

*Why didn't I die..? I wanted to help Bryan to understand how much he had hurt Tala and I succeeded at that, but... I lost my oportunity to give up living my own life, I really wanted to die there, on the cold, crystal white snow.... But... I didn't. Why God, why? Why are you torturing me like this?!*

Rei's eyes started to run, tears kept running down, making rivers on his cheeks.

-"I'm so sorry Bryan... Without me, Tala would still be alive..."

Bryan watched Rei cry.

"No. It wouldn't have changed anything... I heard from Spencer, that Tala was... Giving up anyway. He was at death's doorstep already... I just pushed him in. Ian wanted to know, do you want to go back to China? He'll arrange you a flight to your friends... That pink girl and her brother... After... you know."

He turned away, his eyes landing on Wolborg. The white fur wasn't glowing anymore. It was dull white, slowly getting a greyish tone.

Rei looked at Wolborg too. The arctic wolf was going to die soon.

-"No. I don't want to see them, not now... not never."