. My first Beyblade piece. Heh, I know it's a kids anime. It's the only kids anime I like, cut me some slack!!!!
Kai: No it isn't.
Me: YES IT IS!
Kai: Sailor Moon?
Me: SHUTTUP!
Kai: Touchy. Anyway, she does not own Beyblade…
Me: But I do own your n00bish souls…
Kai: Ignore her. She's insane.
Me: CALLETE, Pigeon!
Kai: Huh? And Dranzer is not a pigeon!
Tala: It means shut up. And yes it is.
Me: TALA! (hugs Tala) (Ignores muttering Kai.)
Tala: Here it goes.
Spencer: Warnings: Angst and blood, and violence, and abuse… As usual.
Wolborg spun a single, tired revolution on the chipped floor. The smoke and debris from the battle rising through the air created the effect of something not quite real. A sudden clatter and the silver blade fell onto it's side, with a low ring which reverberated like a death knell in the ears of it's blader. It was, Tala thought with a degree of detached interest. For him anyway, and for Bryan also. This was the end and it was all his fault. He frowned. Letting his team down was something he never intended to do. But now… He glanced down at his battered blade and stooped to lift it gently. The bit was still icy cold.
"I'm sorry, Wolborg." He whispered, clenching the blade so tightly that the edges bit into his hand and a small trickle of blood fell. "I let everyone down." He turned his defeated blue eyes in the direction of Tyson. The Japanese boy was grinning wildly and jumping up and down with glee. He noticed Tala looking at him and stopped bouncing for a moment. He looked at his former opponent. The wolf blader stared back without emotion. Tyson grinned and did something that the red-head never expected. He stuck out his hand.
"Put 'er here." He smiled. Tala hesitated. What does he want? He thought. He wouldn't want to get near me. Why would he? I'm the enemy. I wanted to destroy him. What does he want from me? Tyson nodded again.
"C'mon." He said. Tala blinked.
"Really?" He breathed, intense eyes full of distrust. "I'm the enemy." Tyson shook his head with enthusiasm.
"Nah," He grinned. "And great match!" Tala looked down. A slight cynical smile found it's way to his lips.
"C'mon." Tyson urged. "It's not going to get you dirty or anything." Tala exhaled sharply.
"The opposite." He muttered.
"Wha?"
"Nothing." Relaxing almost imperceptibly, he shyly reached out his hand to meet the winner of the match. Tyson shook it enthusiastically.
"Sweet!" He shouted, releasing Tala's hand, "I won!!!" A flood of people like a wave poured out onto the floor, Kai, Max, and Kenny in the front. They were followed by the White Tigers, the All Starz and the Majestics all congratulating the new champion. Tala stepped back, eyes darkening slightly. His hand tightened even more and more drops of crimson blood ran down his hand.
A shadow fell across him.
"Bry?" The falcon nodded.
"Yeah." The shorter blader grimaced.
"I'm sorry." Bryan shrugged.
"Not your fault." His face remained virtually emotionless. "It would have happened to me anyway."
"We're in for it now aren't we?" Tala's mouth twisted up into a bitter smile. "Boris will murder us."
"Yeah." Bryan nodded. He paused and started talking in German, a language he knew almost none of the other knew. "Probably. Think we can keep him off of Spence and Ian?" Tala shrugged.
"We've got to try." Tala responded in the same language. His hard gaze scanned over the happy crowd. "Don't you ever wish we could be like that, Bry?" He asked with a note of regret evident in his tone.
Falborg's supposedly heartless wielder nodded ruefully. "Yeah. To be able to congratulate someone without knowing that someone else will die for losing. Not to know that the person is you. Knowing that no one is going to hurt you for messing up. Not being afraid of torture. Not having to be constantly on the alert incase they try to come after your teammates." He scoffed. "They don't know what they have."
"I know." He sighed. "No one knows better than we do." His eyes met those of the young Neko-Jin, Mao, from the White Tigers. She curled her lip at him. He lowered his head. Strands of his fiery hair fell over his eyes.
"They hate us." Bryan stated flatly. "They think they know us so well. We're just spoiled brats to them." He snorted. "They know nothing."
Mao kept looking at the two bladers standing side by side. The captain, Tala Ivanov, kept staring at the floor where blood was pooling from a cut on his hand. His eyes were blank and emotionless and his hair covered a lot of his face. The other, Bryan Kutznetsov, met her eye, as if daring her to get near them.
"I'm not going to back down." She muttered. She stepped forward in their direction. Tala's head snapped up. Mao raised an eyebrow. The tallest member of the Russian team, Spencer, stood and walked with quick steps to the two. Ian, the youngest, scurried over on his heals. The four exchanged a guarded look.
Mao stepped up to the spot in between Ian and Tala who looked back down, carefully staying away from Bryan. She was still petrified of Falborg's blader who had deliberately hurt Rei in their fight.
"Sore about losing, Ivanov?" She taunted. Slowly, the captain of the Demolition Boys raised his head. His blue eyes met hers. A dark flame seemed to burn in them. Whoah, scary, she thought to herself, shivering.
"Not. At. All." He ground out. Bryan put a hand to his shoulder in an unexpected gesture of comfort. Tala nodded to him.
Mao couldn't resist needling them a little more. She was still sore about her brief loss of Gallux, her beloved Bit Beast.
"Frightened that your boss will be angry?" Ian glared angrily at her. Spencer flinched. The corner of Tala's mouth twitched bitterly. Bryan laughed softly. Mao shivered again. There was something about the laugh coming from the normally emotionless person. The laughter was dark and low and harsh. The laughter did not reach his pale eyes which remained as icy-cold as the Russian Tundra and as completely empty.
"You know nothing, Cat." Ian hissed.
"Really?" She hissed back. Tala reached out a hand and silenced Ian.
"It's ok, Ian." He said. Ian nodded but kept looking murderous.
Bryan laughed a little more of the demented laughter. "Better go back to the room." He said quietly.
"Joy." Tala muttered. "Goodbye, Cat." He turned sharply on his heel, Bryan beside him and gestured to Spencer and Ian. Both nodded. Ian shot a nasty glance at Mao before following the other two.
"What's with them?" She thought aloud.
"I'm worried, you know." A voice said. She turned.
"Kai!" The beyblader nodded to her. "Why are you worried? And about what?" Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Tala and Brian round a corner with the other two still following close behind them.
"Boris." Kai spat out the name like a curse. "I don't trust him, and anyway, I got memories of the Abbey. They're in trouble, a lot of it." Mao cocked her head.
"Huh?" Kai sighed.
"I'm Russian. I'm from the Abbey, same as them. I lost my memories when I tried to steal Black Dranzer. It's a long story so don't ask."
"I see?" She said. She twirled a single strand of her pink bangs around her finger. "Why should they be in trouble? They're really good bladers, even that creep Boris wouldn't do anything to them," Kai shook his head slowly. "Would he?" She asked, a sudden chill running down her spine. Images of blood, pouring from broken bodies swirled through her mind. She shook her head to clear them but the images remained.
"Yes." Kai stated simply. "They're all on edge and that's why." Mao glanced around the room. Lee was helping Rei over to Tyson. She smiled and then frowned.
"So then why do they act like that?" She pointed to the injured Rei, covered in bandages and unable to walk.
"They don't have a choice." It was flat and monotone. "If they do anything different, they get punished. They're actually nice guys underneath it. The scientists think that they got Bryan to only channel anger but he actually is really supportive and friendly, Tala's always been pretty obedient and Spence and Ian, well, Spence is pretty funny a lot of the time. And Ian likes to read. No one actually knows who they really are except for what they have to show to save their own lives. And anyway, Tala and Bryan especially, don't miss opportunities to remind everyone else that the world isn't a good place. They're bitter, really bitter and hurting a lot inside. They went through a lot and it destroyed them." Mao grimaced.
"I was kind of rude to them, especially Tala." Kai frowned at her.
"What did you say?" Mao bit her lip.
"Asked him if he was sore about losing and if he was scared his boss would be angry." Kai
shook his head.
"You brought up Boris and reminded them?" He asked in incredulity. She nodded in shame, hanging her head.
"Yeah…"
"What did they do?"
"Ian glared, Spencer flinched, Tala made this kind of cynical smile and Bryan started laughing. It was kind of scary."
"Bryan has that effect with his laughter. He doesn't laugh much. Doesn't have anything to laugh about back at the Abbey. It scares everyone except Tala." He answered her unasked question, "He was laughing because he knew that what you said was a huge understatement. He and Tala are the more cynical two. Ian gets defensive about the others 'cuz he can't protect them physically. Tala and Bryan protect him and Spence. And Spence is two years younger then Bryan and three years younger then Tala."
"How old is Tala?" Kai nodded.
"He's seventeen. Bryan is sixteen, Spence is fourteen and Ian is only 12" Mao nodded also.
"I'm fifteen now." Kai nodded.
"Rei told me." Mao smiled broadly at the mention of Rei. Then the smile slipped as the image of blood, covering the red hair of the team captain, soaking through the lighter hair of the two taller boys, covering the tanner face of the youngest, entered her mind once more.
"Well, what kinds of things happen to them as punishment?" Kai winced.
"A lot. Really bad stuff, starvation, being locked up for days on end, experiments on them and their bit-beasts, beatings…" He trailed off. Mao flinched.
"Why? Since when?"
"Since Tala and Bryan were born and since Ian and Spence were kids. Boris is just evil, pure evil. He likes to hurt people and since the Demolition Boys are all orphans, no one complains about it or says anything when they show up hiding bruises and cuts." He sighed. "He used to treat me like that before Voltaire put a stop to it." He pulled down his scarf and showed Mao a scar on his neck. "This is from him, when I was eight."
Mao's eyes widened. "We have to help them." She breathed.
"We can't." Kai whispered, eyes bright with sorrow. "There's nothing we can do."
"Can anyone do anything to help them?" She asked urgently.
Kai shook his head. "No. No one can help them. Partly because Boris has a lot of power and partly because no one gives a shit." He frowned. "It sounds vulgar and I'm sorry for the profanity but it's true. No one cares about the Demolition Boys and no one will help them. They're trapped." His blood-red eyes stared into the distance. "Caged, with no way out." He paused. "Other than death." Mao took a deep breath.
"Would any of them take that option?" She asked, dreading the answer.
"Ian and Spence wouldn't. Life hasn't gotten intolerable to them yet. Bryan would if Tala, Ian and Spence died."
"And Tala?"
"He would." Mao frowned.
"Why? Why Tala?"
"Because he has nothing to live for besides his team. He has to protect the others. And he has a lot more pressure on him then Bryan, as the oldest and as captain." He frowned again. "He almost did once."
"What?" Mao gasped. "He tried to kill himself?"
"He was sixteen, according to Bryan. Last year. Bryan told me when I asked Tala what the marks on his wrists were from. Boris had just beaten all of them for not being as good as he wanted. Tala and Bryan tried to protect the other two but Bryan got knocked out and Tala got beaten to unconsciousness. Again." He paused. "If your eyes get any wider, they'll fall out of your head." He told Mao.
"Go on." She said, ignoring the comment.
"When Tala woke up, he was in his and Bryan's room with Spence and Ian bending over him. Bryan was laying, still knocked out, on his bed. Tala was covered in bandages and was bleeding a lot. Ian and Spence had some wounds but nothing serious but Tala still freaked out. He told them he had to go to the bathroom and tried to cut his wrists. Luckily, Ian needed something and went into the bathroom to find Tala bleeding. They patched him up again but he kept repeating "All my fault" again and again." Mao frowned.
"We can't just leave him there. One day either Boris will kill him or Tala will do it himself. They need help." Kai nodded fervently.
"Oh, I know." He grabbed Mao's arm. "Come on. We'll go see them."
"But what about everyone else?" She asked, looking at the still grinning Tyson, the ever enthusiastic Max, the injured but still happy, Rei, and her own teammates, Kevin, Lee and Gary who were all congratulating Tyson. What would I do if one of them was getting hurt? She wondered. Would I have enough strength to take the blows meant for them? Could I be as strong as Tala and Bryan are?
"They won't know." Kai stepped forward a little more. "Lets go." He slipped through the crowd with Mao on his heels in the direction of the Demolition Boys' locker room. The crowd thinned as they started to get near the locker of the damned bladers.
A small whimpering cry reached Mao's sensitive ears.
"Stop." She whispered to Kai. "I hear someone crying." There was a short, pained scream cut off half way. Kai broke into a run.
"Shit!" He cursed. "Boris." He ran, legs pounding down the corridor, Mao behind him. He reached for the door handle, knowing that behind this piece of wood, his former teammates and friends were getting tortured. "This is where it ends." He hissed.
Mao caught his wrist.
"We can't." She whispered. "He'll kill them." The soft crying and yelps of pain continued. Kai turned to her, his eyes streaming tears.
"And he isn't already?" He asked desperately, "These are my friends. They saved my life. They made me leave and go back to the Blade-Breakers so that I wouldn't have to deal with this. Tala and Bryan knew that Boris would beat them to death for it but they still saved me." He turned to the door. "I'm going to help them." Another tear ran down his cheek like those of the person crying within.
"Let me try this." The Chinese girl whispered. "Hide here with me." She half-pulled, half-pushed Kai into a crevice.
"What?" He asked, eyes locked on the door.
"Shhh." She hushed him softly. She raised her voice. "CALLING ALL MANAGERS!" She called in an imperious tone. "ALL MANAGERS REPORT TO THE ARENA NOW!"
"I hope it'll work." Kai murmured as Mao hid beside him. "It's got to."
Another short scream echoed within as Boris's harsh voice rang out.
"I'll deal with you later," He snarled. The doorknob moved. Kai and Mao shrank back into the shadows still further, barely daring to breathe. He walked out, wiping blood from his hands with a handkerchief. His goggles gleamed sinisterly.
He stepped out of sight down the hall.
Kai and Mao pulled themselves from the gap and threw themselves at the door. Kai's fumbling hands threw it open to reveal a bloodbath. Four sets of reddened eyes met the two pairs at the door.
Tala, bleeding from all over his body, pushed himself forward. His blue eyes, though reddened, still held defiance.
"Easy, Tala." Kai said gently. "We're here to help." The teen scoffed bitterly.
"No one cares, Kai." His eyes met Mao's squarely. "And why is she here? The White Tigers hate us, like everyone else."
"We're here to help." Mao whispered. "No one deserves this." Bryan laughed.
"Naïve." He snarled. "You think you can save us?" She nodded.
"I'm sure of it. The Blade-Breakers can help you. White Tigers too."
"Then take them." He gestured to Ian and Spencer.
"Bryan!"
"No!" The two in question protested loudly. "We won't."
"Do it." Tala ordered calmly. "If they can get you out, we'll make sure you take that chance. Go with Kai. The Blade-Breakers will take you in. Tell them that we forced you into it. Tell them that it was our fault. They'll believe you. Your souls aren't bloody. They'll find somewhere where you can be safe." His face was serene.
"Do it." Bryan agreed. "You two are young. You've got lives. Don't waste them." He pulled himself upright beside Tala. They stood, bloody and unbroken side by side. Tala stared at Kai firmly.
"Take care of them." He said. "We'll cover for them." He smiled a sad, slow smile. "We'll miss you two."
"Dammit, Tala. We're not leaving you." Kai half-yelled. "I don't care what you say. We're bringing all four of you."
Bryan laughed again before coughing harshly. He stumbled, slipping in a pool of his own blood. Tala caught him.
"Blood again, Bry." He muttered.
"Again?" Bryan shook his head. "Great."
Mao stared at the floor where Bryan was standing.
"Kai." She hissed.
"What?" He asked sharply.
"Bryan is coughing up blood." Kai's eyes widened.
"Blood?" Bryan raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah."
"We're used to it." Tala said simply.
"You shouldn't be!" Mao snapped. "No one should be."
"We won't abandon you." Spencer murmured. "After all you two did for us."
Tala laughed. "No choice. You've got better chances alone."
"We don't care." Ian cried, "We aren't leaving you two. If you won't go then neither will we. Right, Spence?"
The tall blonde nodded. "Of course."
"If it's the only way." Bryan muttered, giving in. "But the first sign of danger and we'll give up and let you go on."
"Deal?" Tala asked. Kai and Mao glanced at each other.
"We aren't going to let you go back to the Abbey to die, Tala." Kai said, his voice firm. "Or you, Bryan."
"You're all going to the hospital." Mao added.
Ian shook his head. "Spence and I aren't hurt." He said. "Only Bry and Tala."
"Why do you have to be so self-sacrificing?" Kai muttered. "C'mon. Lets go." He stepped to the door. Ian and Spencer followed him softly.
"Come on." Mao said. Bryan glanced at Tala.
"Lets go." The captain said, and took a step after Mao with Bryan beside him. Tala carefully shut the door behind him. "Its another end." Mao shook her head.
"It's another beginning."
This is only chapter 1. This should have about 3-6 chapters. I would like reviews, you know…