Regaining Freedom

By: Black Dranzer

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

Note: This story has no ties with my other story, Emptiness whatsoever; please do not connect this story to Emptiness in any aspect.

Full Summary:

A chance of renewal..how will it be treated? The Demolition Boys have been given the opportunity to start anew at a private school, all expenses paid for. Will they be able to leave behind their past torments? How will new discrimination take their toll on them? And what will happen if someone offers them the chance to become the holders of an unimaginable power? Will they accept? If they don't, how will they handle the consequences? No pairings.

Chapter One

Snowy scenery flashed by the window of the train, reflecting off the bright rays of the sun. Once in a while, a little clump of trees could be seen, casting a gray shadow on the white substance. It was a beautiful day, with white clouds and a pale blue sky that matched the pair of eyes watching it.

With a bored sigh, Tala turned his attention away from the window and looked at his travel companions, whom he had just boarded the train with a few hours ago.

Bryan was beside him, just as uninterested as he was, drinking a cup of water in slow sips. There was a frown on his face and Tala could almost feel the wince every time he drank.

"He is probably afraid it is poisoned," Tala thought quietly, thinking back to the times Boris would 'accidentally' place a drop of poison into their drinks, just to test their senses; coincidentally, Bryan was 'tested' the most often – no wonder he never ate much.

Not encouraged by Bryan's monotonous actions of sipping the water, Tala switched his attention to Spencer, who was keeping to himself as he sat in the seat opposite him. The older boy seemed not to mind the others on the train as he scanned through the newspaper he was holding in his hands. It made sense to Tala as Spencer was the one out of the four who accompanied Boris on his trips outside the abbey; he may have been on trains like this many times.

A sudden movement captured Tala's attention as he looked over at Ian. The youngest Demolition Boy sat stiffly beside Spencer. Tala could see he was not used to being relaxed by the nervous looks he kept shooting around at anyone who moved. For a moment, Ian looked at Tala and the two kept eye contact for a few moments before Tala looked away.

It seemed that he wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable with their new surroundings. Balkov Abbey isn't what you'd call the liveliest place on earth and Boris would most likely take first prize in any ruthlessness contest. He bitterly thought back to the many harsh and painful events he had to endure.

The first was the frustration he felt when Kai joined them and took all of Boris' attention. He knew his jealousy made no sense, but after all of the hard work and training he had completed, why should he be second to that of a newcomer? He had spent his whole life trying to become the best, even if he only received a "Good work Tala," in return, it would be enough.

Then came the cyberization. It was true that he wanted to become strong, but he had wanted to achieve it of his own accord. Becoming a cyborg may have given him the advantage, but it also gave him a sense of dissatisfaction.

The last, and most recent, could be somewhat of a bittersweet recollection. It was his battle with Tyson. He had to admit he had wanted more than anything to take Tyson's bit beast, but secretly inside, he wished for defeat. With Tyson's victory, he thought he could be free from all of the battling and manipulation. He hurt to see Wolborg mutated to such a state, and to see his own greed for power.

Shaking his head, Tala tried to clear his thoughts of bad memories.

"It's time to change," he thought, remembering the conversation he had had with the head of the BBA after Voltaire and Boris were sent to prison.

The kind old gentleman understood the boys' need to escape from the haunting abbey and had provided them with financial support, as well as a chance at a new life. He had enrolled the four in a private institution located a bit south of Moscow - where they are heading now - and, knowing that the four boys were for the most part orphans, Mr. Dickenson had also given them official certificates with their very own last name. It had been slightly unsettling for Tala to have his own last name, but more so to see it shared with his three companions; meaning that, now, the Demolition Boys have become the 'Ivanov' brothers. He had chosen the last name himself, from a book he had found in one of Boris' bookselves.

Though he tried his best to decline Mr. Dickenson's kind acts, he knew that, in truth, the patron's help is exactly what he and his 'brothers' needed. Add onto that, the kind sponsor had supplied them with the necessities required in their new institution, including the costly uniforms. The phrase 'thank you' had come very awkward to him at first, but he knew he had to somehow show his gratitude.

"Maybe we could start anew," he said quietly, alerting the boy opposite him. He caught Ian's jittery look and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have to be so uptight," he said quietly.

Ian folded his arms and replied, "I'm not uptight,"

Bryan and Spencer looked up from their seats and watched on silently.

All of a sudden, a waitress arrived with a trolley "Would you four like something to eat?" she asked sincerely. Ian almost jumped, but caught himself at the last minute. The waitress gave Ian a questioning look, and Tala smirked at the boy in defeat. Ian just slumped back in his seat with a scowl.

"Would you like something to eat?" the waitress asked again patiently.

Bryan ignored the lady and continued to drink while Spencer shook his head and turned back to the paper. Tala, noticing that he was hungry, asked for a bag of breadsticks. The lady smiled and gave him the bag while he returned her smile briefly and handed her a few coins from his wallet, somewhat slowly; he didn't handle money very often. The waitress then moved on to the next row of seats with her slightly emptier trolley of food.

Tala then put his wallet back into his coat pocket and turned his attention to the bag. Taking out a breadstick, he bit off the tip of it and started to chew. He didn't know what to expect, as he didn't eat fresh food that often, but the crispy bread brought a warm, satisfying taste to his mouth. He finished the breadstick slowly, savoring every bite.

A tiny muffled grumble caught his sensitive ears and he opened is eyes a slight crack. He could see Ian looking hungrily at the breadsticks in the bag and smirked to see the boy's stubborn frown. But he knew how hard it was to change how they lived; he had only started to adapt himself. He placed a breadstick in front of Ian's face.

"I don't need one," Ian grumbled, though he didn't push Tala's hand away.

Tala, with a frown, said quietly, but firmly, "Take it,"

Ian shrugged and grabbed the breadstick, finishing it in two gulps, surprising the other three with his hasty actions.

A light chuckle escaped from Tala's lips. Ian looked at him in surprise, never seeing Tala laugh before.

"You don't need to stare," Tala said, "it isn't against the law to enjoy yourself anymore," The 'anymore' was said somewhat quietly, but the others caught on and a silence reigned over them.

Tala looked out the window and apologized softly, "It just slipped out, I don't mean much by it,"

"The past is behind us, we need not be bound by its leash any longer." Bryan said, the first to speak up. Tala noticed that the tense tone of the boy's voice still hadn't vanished, but it was slightly softer.

"That is true," added Spencer, putting down his newspaper, "our fears are now locked up behind bars." The deep tone of Spencer's voice showed the deep confidence of his words; back up by a strong belief.

Even Ian decided to reply, "Add onto that, we don't have to eat dried and moldy bread anymore,"

This time, even Bryan cracked a slight smile as Ian grabbed Tala's bag of breadsticks and managed to steal three before Spencer got a hold of it. Leaving three behind, he handed it over to Bryan.

Tala and Ian watched as Bryan looked uneasily at the bag. After a moment of thinking, he finally took it and sat it on his lap. Reaching inside, he pulled out a breadstick and brought it up to his mouth. After a light nibble, he started to take bigger bites.

Not long afterwards, they returned to what they were doing before; Bryan sipping slowly at his water bottle, Spencer quietly examining the newspaper, but Ian had stopped fidgeting and was now relaxing against his seat, the lulling rhythm of the train's journey providing comfort.

Outside, the sun continued to shine, casting upon the white snow glittering rays of light, giving the landscape a dazzling brilliance.

"We are free now," Tala thought, before closing his eyes and drifting into his own light slumber.

---To be continued

Footnotes:

'Ivanov' is Tala's official Japanese/Russian last name; his full Japanese/Russian name is Yuri (or Yuriy) Ivanov. The last name is NOT copyright by me, just making that clear.

Author's Note: This chapter may be slightly boring, but it does introduce the main characters I'm going to use, though others may arrive later on. I may also accept OC submissions when the main plot starts to unfold, though expect it to be mostly for male characters. If there are any more questions/suggestions/comments, go ahead and review if you haven't thought of it already.

I'm not going to include any OC pairings or anything, I think it is less confusing with pairings, but there will be a lot of OCs. There will be a change of character (personality) for each of the Demolition Boys for sure, as evident in this chapter, but if you don't mind it, then review to show that you support this story, thanks.

-Black Dranzer