Hello everyone, D.F.D. here! Turns out I've decided to give this fic one more chance. I kind of feel obligated to finish what sprang from the original idea of my very first fic. Hopefully I haven't lost my touch or connections with the characters. SO please forgive me if anyone comes off as Out Of Character (OOC).
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade; characters, original plots, and any of the branch series (i.e., Beyblade Metal Fusion, Metal Fury and BeyWheels, which I don't really know anything about anyways). All rights go to their respectful creators.
Now without further delay, welcoming back the story that once was; Healing Broken Faith
Chapter 1: It Begins; Healing Broken Faith
Vera knew if she escaped, not only would there be no turning back, but Boris would chase after her. He would chase her to the far corners of the world to either simply drag her back, or kill her. After all, the secrets of the Abbey must never be released to the outside world! Not that she would want to tell anyone about her experiences within the walls of the horrid place; they were a nightmare simply to be living in.
Vera also knew if she escaped, it would have to be done strategically. She cannot simple tie the blanket to the iron framed bed and climb out the window. It wasn't just because she would be easily caught, but there was also a fifty foot drop from her bedroom to the snow covered ground below. Vera also knew she couldn't escape alone and that there wasn't a single person in the Abbey brave enough to help her.
As far as she knew, she was the only girl stuck inside these walls, so she couldn't play on girls needing to stick together and look out for each other. No, all she saw every single day she was taken out of her locked room was brawny boys either too caught up in pleasing Boris for their own safety, or weak beaten boys on the verge of death, with bruises and scars littering their bodies.
Having been a victim of the regular beatings resulting from failure or less than adequate results, Vera could somewhat understand why none of those boys wanted to help her and themselves get out; if they got caught trying to escape, they would receive harsher punishments than they've ever known, or worse yet, killed on the spot. But Vera also had to wonder, wasn't that incentive enough to want to escape at any cost? The only fate one has here is death anyways, especially if you're among the weak.
With a sigh, Vera sat on her bed and watched the sun with her foggy emerald eyes as it slowly began to climb into the sky. She played with her short, matted brown hair. She remembered the very first day she had been brought to the Abbey; that was six years ago, making her eleven now. So easily her five year old self had been fooled; tricked in getting into a car with a complete stranger regardless if he had promised to take her to the police. There were days were she cursed her own stupidity.
Loud banging and shouting suddenly interrupted her thoughts from the hallway, and quickly she moved herself to the centre of the room. The Abbey guards would come into her room eventually, might as well be ready to be dragged off. But it wasn't any of the guards who marched in, but Boris himself, flanked by two of the afore mentioned guards. He was wearing his usual attire, something which made Vera's stomach churn just looking at it. Black mask with red eyes, a horrid olive coloured wool sweater, dark brown pants and an awful green jacket which clashed terribly with his purple hair.
"Good morning Vera." He said in a sickly sweet voice. He was grinning. Vera didn't like Boris' grin, it usually implied he was thinking of something that would make his day far more interesting, and that usually involved a lot of pain. For Vera that is.
"What do I owe the pleasure of having you here?" Vera asked dryly, casting a heavy glare up to the round-bellied man.
"I've simply come to tell you that I've changed your training location. You'll be going to the furthest basement, as well as taking up residence down there." Vera could feel the blood drain from her face as it went cold like ice. She could only stare fearfully at Boris' masked face and watch him gesture for one of the men flanking him to move forward and grab her.
"No!" Vera screamed once her mind processed that the man was reaching for her. She quickly backed away and moved to run across the room, but the man had managed to capture her arms and restrain her in a tight grasp. "No, I don't want to go down there!" She screamed more with all her might, her screams only hurting her throat. "No, let me go! Please, don't bring me down there!" The two men escorted her out of the room where other children, young boys, watched as Vera kicked and screamed her way down the hall. "Stop, please stop! I don't want to go there!" Boris watched with a smug grin on his face, and the other children could only stare helplessly after the girl.
"Let this be a warning to all of you. If you're found to be even planning any attempt at escape, you shall suffer the same fate." The children coward away from Boris as much as they could, each muttering some sort of understanding before returning to their rooms. Boris in the mean time walked down the hallway to return to his study and resort his files. With the adjustments just made, other improvements would have to follow.
The iron doors were opened and Vera was roughly thrown into the room, her body hitting the ground with a thud followed by a loud slap as her skin made contact with the cold, concrete floor. The guardsmen said nothing; they simply closed and locked the iron doors behind them, not even checking to see if Vera was alright. Vera lay on the floor, completely motionless, not even registering that there were other people in the basement room, slowly beginning to crowd around her.
"Are you alright?" Asked a soft feminine voice, confusing Vera as she slowly pulled herself from the floor and into a sitting position. Having only seeing boys in the Abbey, Vera was unprepared to see a fellow girl standing in front of her with genuine concern engraved onto her expression. "Are you hurt?" The girl asked again, this time leaning forward, creating a curtain of thick black unkempt hair around her face.
"I-," Vera hesitated for a moment only to steel herself in confidence. "I'm fine." She answered and finally pulled herself to her feet to look around the dark and damp basement. Various other people were standing in the corners, behind the few pillars or slowly emerging from the shadows which concealed them. "What is this?" The black haired girl made a short hum sound before answering Vera.
"I guess I would call it Hell in a handbag." The seriousness in the girls tone almost terrified Vera, however she knew Hell, and that was the building's main floors. They were in the basement; surely there was something much worse than Hell? "But to answer for real, I guess you could say it's Boris' new project. From what I've pieced together over the last couple days, he's been sending people down here who are either weak, have or were planning on escape or, in our cases, a girl." Vera frowned, not missing the fact that the girl had been down here for more than one or two days.
"Truth be told, no one was actually aware there were girls in the abbey, let alone four of them." Another voice came from the shadows; a girl with knotted and dirtied blonde hair walk towards Vera and the black haired girl. "I'm Alina, everyone heard the smack when you hit the floor, are you sure you're okay?" Vera nodded.
"Vera," She introduced quickly. "I'm fine; I've been though worse after all." She continued with a grim face. "So you're saying, including the three of us, there's another girl here?" The black haired girl nodded.
"Yeah Cassie; she's in pretty rough shape though. With her condition and the condition of this basement, we're not even sure if she's going to live or not." The girl paused and looked over to the shadows where still maybe people stayed hidden. "I'm Koneko by the way." Vera nodded while clenching her fist and glared into the darkness.
"What's wrong with her?" The two girls seemed to be taken by surprise upon seeing the anger in the girl's eyes.
"Fever, infected wounds, aches, you name it." Alina answered.
"It's sad; from the looks of it she's only a year or two younger than us." Koneko continued with words that lit a fire of fury within Vera.
"Let me see her." The two didn't question the new comer; she wasn't the first to ask after all, though all the others seemed to regret it afterwards. The guided her through the darkness; their eye having been adjusted to the lack of light better than Vera's, when they reached the bed ridden girl with flowing red hair, they stopped.
"This is her, but don't blame us if you regret seeing her." Alina spoke dryly, but Vera ignored her and kneeled down to speak with the girl.
"Hey your name is Cassie, right?" The red head stirred slightly before rolling over revealing a puss-filled scar going down the right side of her face. Vera also noticed other small scratches and bruises but paid them no mind; if she did her fury would only grow stronger. "Hey listen to me, if you get better, I'll take you to a hospital. They'll fix up your injuries, and they'll probably even be able to get rid of the scar." Vera looked into the red head's hazel eyes and through her own eyes she could recognize the hope inside them as she spoke. Similarly Cassie starred into Vera's green orbs with awe. The confidence and determination reflecting back at her almost gave her strength as she listened to Vera's speech. "You'll have to get yourself better though. I know it's going to be hard, but if we're going to escape, you're going to need every ounce of strength you can muster up, got it?" Cassie nodded weakly.
"Got it, captain." Cassie grinned at the surprised expression on not just Vera's face, but Alina and Koneko's as well. Vera returned the grin with a smile. She wasn't too sure about suddenly being given the title or position of captain, but if the authoritative role helped the girl gain strength than she'd use it to advantage. "What about the rest of you?" She called while getting to her feet once more, recalling Koneko saying that she wasn't the only here who had attempted escape. "I have no idea how long it will take to bust out, but when it does happen, I know I can't do it alone, and I'm sure none of you want to rot and die down here, right?" She turned her gaze onto Alina and Koneko next, determined to get their help whatever the cost. "Don't you want to see your families again?" Alina could feel a lump forming in her throat just as she attacked Vera with a hug and tears cascading from her eyes.
"You…" She started, but couldn't make it past a hiccup. "Are you sure we can really go home?" Vera loosened her shocked expression and formed a warm smile on her features as she pet the blonde's hair.
"Don't worry; I've had loads of time on top of many attempts to make an escape plan." Vera explained with a soft laugh.
"Then, I also vote you as our captain." Alina let go of Vera's torso and stood tall on her feet, barely an inch shorter than Vera.
"What are you talking about?" The brunette frowned.
"Isn't it obvious? We're making you our leader. You're probably the only person to come down here who actually has an escape plan." Koneko explained. "Plus Boris came right out and said we would need at least one captain to be chosen amongst the group."
"I see," Vera muttered. She didn't know anything about being a captain; before the abbey she had only just been introduced to the sport of Beyblade. "But to tell you the truth, my plan isn't fool-proof yet. I hadn't ever counted on being sent down here, so I'll need to be touched up a bit."
"That's fine, we can help. We may not look it, but we're smart in our own right!" Alina grinned happily.
"As nice as that is, I think I'd rather keep the plan to myself as long as possible. I don't want anyone to get hurt just because Boris wants to find out what my plan is." Vera explained.
"Hey, we're your friends now. You don't have to work alone." Koneko said. "Besides, didn't you say you'd need help?" Vera was about to reargue her point, but decided against it.
"Until the right time comes then; we're not escaping right away after all, we still have to wait for Cassie's health to get better. No use giving away a plan that could just go to waste by tomorrow."
"Cassie's health? You realize she may not even be alive tomorrow?" Alina whispered, but Vera just shook her head and grinned.
"Are you kidding me? She's going to be fine." Vera then walked away to find her own little corner to sleep in. "Just look in her eyes, she'll live. Just like we all will."
Ah, it feels good to be writing and old story again. But to be honest, I'm 100% sure this isn't how I originally planned to rewrite it. I got about half way through this chapter before I continued with it, so needless to say I forgot what I wanted to write. I DIDN'T FORGET THE MAJORITY OF THE ESCAPE PLAN THOUGH! No worries about that. =)
D.F.D.
