Xio panicked. The twins were worried and flustering over Kai. So she was obviously going to be worried. She let her arms drop away from his head and instead slide down his arms to gently take his hands. “K-Kai?” She asked softly, biting her lip at the sight of his freezing body. “What’s going on?” Xio refused to let his hands go even as he pushed away from her. She felt sad at the absence of his warmth and breath. That emotion was quickly taken over by fear. Fear of losing the one male she thought she could actually date.
"Xio, I need you to help me get Kai up, please," Levi said, wrapping an arm around his brother and lifting up up off the couch, "I'll explain everything once he's safe, I promise but you need to stay calm. Everything will be okay in a couple hours."
Xiomara nodded, taking in a few deep breaths. Her anxiety would take hold of her eventually, but right now she could push it back. She had to help Kai. “Ok… ok I can help…” she moved to wrap an arm around Kai, staring at his face with a look of defeat and worry. His powers were terrifyingly powerful.
Kai offered Xio a strained smile, "Don't worry… everything will be fine." He muttered, giving her a small kiss on the cheek as Levi led them to that metal door not too far down the hall. Giselle and Denzel were already there, the older woman unlocking the door with a set of keys. Ice looked like it was seeping out from under the metal but none of them seemed to care.
Once the door was open, Kai removed himself from Levi and Xio, and stumbled inside, Giselle locking the door behind him, "This way." She said, leading them into a room next door. The room was very much like a viewing chamber. There were seats, a desk and a huge glass window so they could see inside the one Kai was in.
Kai's room, was pure white. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything. The only other colour, was the blue from the ice that protruded from every surface that wasn't the window. It hung from the ceiling and the walls in sharp spikes and they almost seemed to grow slowly.
The door gave her chills. She didn’t like it one bit. She liked it even less when Kai willingly stepped into it. As she followed the twins and Gazelle, she felt uneasy and sick to her stomach. How did they deal with this every Time? Even the viewing room was hard to look st. And yet she drunk it all in, missing the feeling of Kai’s arms around her. What was going on with his ice? Would he be alright?
“How often do you do this…?” She asked softly, shaking from head to toe.
Levi pulled Xio into a hug, hoping to calm her just a bit into Kai recovered and was safe to come out, "It's not often. Generally it happens on his birthday, and the winter solstice but… it's becoming more frequent and we don't know why."
"His powers just… become out of control," Denzel explained softly, "Kai can't control it. It's like a little explosion, hence this room. It controls it. His doctor and some scientists… they found some medication to suppress the attacks, but we don't think it's working anymore."
The poor girl was shook to her core. She bit her lip, barely managing to hug Levi back. “It’s not working anymore?” She didn’t know what to do. He had mentioned how bad his powers got around the solstice but he had never told her how often he had attacks. “There’s got to be something that can help him!”
Levi gave Xio a small squeeze, “We know. We’re trying to find something. There’s people we trust working round the clock. Darius said they were close to finding a cure to stop the attacks completely, it shouldn’t be too long a wait now.”
Then, there was a muffled sound that emerged from the room. It sounded like glass breaking but in reality was all the ice spikes. Kai was in the middle, panting as the ice removed then broke, the process repeating a few times before the spikes grew into they were poking Kai from all directions.
Xio shut her eyes tight. She only listened to the sounds of ice shattering and breaking. It hurt her internally and yet she wasn’t sure why. She just didn’t want to see him in pain or hurting.
Denzel cursed under his breath and started to pace, “Tanz has to come up for something. He’s the smartest person in America…”
“He will, Denzel,” Giselle piped up from where she was standing by the glass window, watching as her third son shattered, reformed, and shattered ice over and over, “Darius Tanz is a good man, he’s smart and his team is smart, too. They’ll come up with something, have faith,” She sighed, “Xio, would you like some tea? It’ll help the shock.”
Xio nodded softly, rubbing her face. “Yes please… some tea would be nice. “Her eyes opened and a soft sigh left her lips. “So this Darius man is a good scientist? How close are they to helping Kai?” She asked softly, looking to the brothers for answers. “Is there anything I can to help?”
“Darius Tanz is an extraordinary man, Xio. A multibillionaire with amazing tech and skills and he has quite a lot of influence over the government too,” Denzel slipped his hands into his pockets, “His scientists and his protege, Liam, are working on a cure right now. They’re fairly close to a cure, but we don’t know how long it’ll be until they complete it.”
Levi nodded, “Just… be there for Kai. These attacks take a lot out of him, mentally and physically. He’ll need all the help he can get.”
“We’re planning on visiting his company tomorrow, would you like to come with us? It’ll just be Kai, Levi, Denzel and you if you want to come.”
She looked between the two brothers. She could stay by his side. That was easy. But this whole thing was terrifying to her. What would she do if she lost Kai to his powers? She didn’t have an answer to that.
“Could I really come?” She asked slowly. Was it her place to go? She wanted to so badly. Maybe there was something she could do for Kai. “I want to.”
Levi nodded, offering Xio a gratefull smile, “I’m sure Kai will be happy, and we don’t mind that you tag along. It also lets you see inside the great Daris Tanz industries.” He winked.
Giselle came back in then with four cups of steaming hot peppermint tea, biskets and marshmallows for them all, “Here you are.”
“I want to make him happy.” She paused. Oh heck she fell for him. She fell hard for him. “Inside huh?” She murmured mindlessly.
Xio took her tea gratefully. “Thank you so much.” She murmured, smiling st the mother. She wished Giselle could be her mother.
Giselle smiled back, placing the tray on a little table by the window. She checked her watch, mumbling something to herself before picking up her own tea, going back to watching Kai worriedly. She knew he might loose her son to this, and the thought made her sick.
Denzel took his tea and sat down on a little brown, two seat couch in the corner, sipping at the tea quickly to distract himself. Levi sighed, taking his own and standing next to Xio, "He'll get through this, we all will. Kai will get better." He said quietly.
Xio stood in a slight stupor. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. She didn’t want to even think about it. “W-Will this attack end today?” She asked softly, holding the warm tea and staring into its liquid.
She looked over at Levi as he spoke, nodding slowly. Would he? Yes he had to. He had to get better so they could go on that date and fall for each other. So that she could show how much she cared for him. “I know we will. I know he will.”
(Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm taking a break for a couple days to deal with school work and a broken heart. I'll be back after the weekend is over and I might drop in once or twice but I can't promise anything. I'll be back, though.)
Levi nodded, rubbing at his chin a little, feeling the slight stubble that grew there, "Yeah, the attack will end soon, don't worry. I'm sorry, and I'm sure Kai is sorry that this happened while you were over. He can never tell when they'll occur and it sucks they're so sudden… I'm sorry on his behalf."
He looked towards the window and his brother, where Kai was now sitting against the back wall, his jacket dis-guarded on the floor. There were fresh and old cuts and scars on his arms, either from the spikes - likely as they were very sharp and small drops of blood were on the ice - or himself a while ago. He looked exhausted, having to keep shattering ice so it didn't hurt him anymore was draining to him. He wanted peace. He wanted quiet, and more importantly, he wanted Xio in his arms…
((Ok Thank you for letting me know. Hope you get feeling better! Listen to a lot of Adele and eat a ton of ice cream ;) jk jk.))
“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault or his this happens.” She mumbled softly, moving to lean against the wall so she could watch Kai catefully. She felt so bad for him. She felt terrified. “He’s strong… he can beat this.” She said afterwords, smiling at Denzel.
(I’m back! And feelin’ a lot better!)
Denzel smiled a little back, though it was slightly strained and he sipped his tea afterwards. Levi looked up at the ceiling then back to his mother with a worried look. He knew how much it stressed her out when Kai went through these attacks, and each time they got worse, so did Giselle, “I agree, he can,” The older male said, giving Xio a small pat on her back, “Luckily this attack doesn’t seem too bad, maybe having you here helped him calm down enough to prevent serious ice eruption.”
(Good! I’m so glad you’re feeling better!)
“This isn’t as bad as it gets?” She asked with a frown. She didn’t like that. “I’m glad it’s not worse but I’m afraid for him.” She admitted, watching Kai carefully.
“We all are,” Denzel spoke up, frowning down at his cup. The urge to throw it across the room was strong and it only grew as throusands of shards of ice erupted inside the room, coming from Kai himself, “I swear to god if Tanz can’t do anything I’m going to knock his head in until he has an idea that works.”
She stared at him, a soft nod following. “Can I help you bash his head in?” She asked softly, closing her eyes. She almost plugged her ears, but she couldn’t ignore this problem. No she needed to be there with Kai for as long as she could.
“How long are his attacks?” She asked weakly, slumping her shoulders. “I want to give him a hug when it’s over.”
“Of course.” Denzel replied, letting his own eyes fall shut as he rested his head back against the couch.
“A few more minutes,” Giselle muttered, checking her watch at the same time, “It’s nearly over.” She sighed in defeat, shaking her head slightly, “It depends, the attacks can be anywhere from ten minutes to an hour.”
She blinked her eyes open, looking over st Giselle with a saddened expression. “I’m sorry he goes through this… it has to be hard for a mother to watch her son struggle.” She murmured, walking over to give Giselle a soft and quick hug.
Giselle hugged her back, a soft smile working it’s way onto her features, “No need to be sorry, dear. It’s hard but we’re hopeful he’ll get better, and he will, we know it.”
“I’m glad I met him. He’s amazing. More so than I think he knows.” She said softly, running a nervous hand through her hair once she pulled away from Giselle. “I’m glad I was able to meet all of you.”
Giselle’s smile grew a little, her eyes regaining a little of their shine, “I’m glad he met you too, Xiomara. I don’t think he’s been this happy in all his life.”
She smiled, awkwardly laughing. “He’s such a dork when he’s so happy. It’s fun hanging around him.” She was trying to lighten the mood, trying to help the mother feel less stressed.
"You guys seem perfect for each other, and I hope you see that." Giselle gave Xio a small pat on the back before turning back to the window.
There was a layer of snow settling on he floor, but there were no more spikes protruding from any part of the room. Kai looked exhausted. He was slumped against the wall, his breathing somewhat uneven and he looked ready to fall asleep, "You can go see him now, Xio." Levi said, grabbing the keys and going to unlock the door. Once he did, he held it open.
