Author's Note:Well, I wasn't completely satisfied with this chapter when I submitted it, so I went back recently and added more to the fluff scenes. They don't affect theplot, but they should give you guysmore warm fuzzies inside.Well, I'll shut up and get on with the story now. Be prepared for major fluff scenes ahead! Don't worry, I don't write lemons, so get your minds out of the gutter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. I just own my OCs.


Chapter 11: Forgiveness and Conflict

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Bit beast mind-chatting with master

Bryan drove out to hospital early the next morning to pick up Tala. When he arrived, the receptionist went to go find the doctor. The doctor came out to the waiting room a few minutes later with Tala. "He still needs plenty of bed rest," the doctor reminded him. "And the bandages need to be changed once a day." He handed Bryan a bottle of pills. "If he starts to experience any discomfort, have him take one of these pills twice a day. Also, if his wounds reopen, call the hospital immediately." Bryan and Tala both agreed to the instructions and were soon on their way back to the hotel.

Tala sat in the passenger seat quietly until he couldn't stand not knowing anymore. "How's Eri doing?" he asked.

"I tried talking to her, but she held up in her room and wouldn't respond. I said what I could to try and convince her to give you another chance, but maybe she'll take it better if you talk to her," Bryan replied. "Sorry I couldn't do more."

"It's okay, Bry. I appreciate what you've done," Tala said reassuringly. He placed his hand in his pocket, fingering his beyblade for a moment. Looks like the rest is up to me.

Don't worry, Tala. I'll be with you the whole time, Wolborg said to try and calm his master.

Eri, Bryan has just returned with Tala, Pyrix informed her.

…So? Eri asked, trying to sound uninterested. She was in no mood to talk right now. She had not slept well at all last night. She had laid awake most of the night thinking about Tala, and her restless mind denied her exhausted body any rest.

You're a lousy liar, Eri. I know you're still worried about him, Pyrix teased lightly. Eri didn't respond. Fine, I'll leave you alone. Just remember what I said: he still loves you and never meant to hurt you. With those final words, Pyrix cut the conversation.

"Oh great, things can't possibly get any worse!" Ian complained loudly as he stomped down to the lounge area where Spencer was watching TV and waiting for Bryan to come back.

"What is it this time?" Spencer asked, slightly annoyed.

"Tammy's just up and disappeared! I haven't seen her since she went to look for Tala yesterday!" Ian grumbled.

"Ugh…girls…" Spencer groaned. He then saw Bryan pull up to the hotel with Tala. "Wait until we can talk to Bryan alone to tell him this. Tala doesn't need anything else to worry about right now." Ian nodded in agreement. Just then Bryan and Tala walked through the door. "Welcome back, Tala," Spencer greeted.

"So the doctors finally decided that you weren't gonna die?" Ian teased.

Bryan shut Ian up with a death glare and asked, "Are you hungry, Tala? I imagine hospital food isn't that great."

"Nah, I'm not that hungry. I think I'll go take a nap." Tala headed for the elevator, leaving his teammates alone.

"Bryan, Tammy's disappeared," Spencer stated when he was certain Tala was out of earshot.

"What? When did this happen?" Bryan demanded to know.

"Yesterday," Ian replied. "She left to go find Tala, and we haven't seen her since. She's not in her room or anything."

"Oh great, just what we need," Bryan muttered. "Two problem girls…"

With Tala…

Tala stood in front of the door, pondering over whether to knock or just leave its occupant undisturbed. He raised his fist hesitantly, but some invisible force held it frozen in the air, unable to knock. Tala sighed sadly. She probably doesn't want to have anything to do with me.

You'll never know until you try, Wolborg reminded him.

Yeah, maybe. Tala took a deep breath, raised his fist again, and softly rapped on the door. When no reply came, he hesitantly called out, "…Eri? It's me, Tala."

Eri sat upright in surprise. 'Tala? What's he doing here? I didn't think he even wanted to speak to me.'

She listened carefully to his next words. "Listen, I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. Really sorry. I know I hurt you badly, and I haven't let go of that guilt yet. I guess Tammy just caught me off guard when she kissed me, and I didn't know what to do. I know that's no excuse, but it's all I can offer." Eri gripped her beyblade tightly as she fought back the tears that slowly began to well up in her eyes. How could she have been so cruel to him? Here Tala was, pouring his heart out to her when he hadn't done anything wrong. If anyone needed to be giving the long "I'm sorry" speech, it was her. Tala continued, "I just want you to know that I still love you with all of my heart, and I would do anything to ease your pain. I know I have no right to ask this, but I just want to be forgiven and maybe have another chance to make you happy. In case, though, you don't want to talk anymore, I'll give you back your room key." She looked down at the floor as he slid the room key under the door. "That's all I wanted to say, but know that you can always come talk to me." Then he went silent.

Tala's mind told his feet to move, but something kept him rooted to that spot in front of her door for several long moments after he finished speaking. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his heart desperately hoped that the door would fling open and Eri would rush into his waiting arms, telling him that she wanted him back. However, that didn't happen. 'Well, I've done all I can. I guess it wasn't enough.' Tala turned to leave, his heart heavy with grief, when the door slowly creaked open. He turned back around to see Eri standing at the doorway, her gaze directed at the ground. "…Eri?" he called softly.

"I'm…sorry," she whispered. "I never should have yelled at you." Eri's hair shielded her face, but Tala could see her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "I guess I was so worked up by other things that I just…snapped."

"What kind of things?" Tala prodded gently.

Eri turned and walked a few steps into her room so that her back faced Tala. "It's just…every time I saw you together with Tammy, I guess I got jealous. I was afraid that maybe I wasn't good enough for you." She sighed sadly. "I was so selfish. You deserve someone better than me, someone who will stick by you instead of getting jealous all the time."

Just then Eri felt a pair of strong arms sneak around her waist and pull her back to rest against a muscular chest as Tala rested his chin on her shoulder. She felt his warm breath in her ear as he whispered, "You are the only one for me, Eri. Don't ever think that you aren't good enough. I love you for who you are."

Eri couldn't hold in her tears any longer. She turned in Tala's embrace and buried her face in his shoulder, crying her eyes out. He held her tightly and rubbed circles on her back as her arms latched around his neck. He felt her hot tears soak through his shirt and onto his skin, but he didn't care. He would hold her like this for all eternity if only it would ease her pain. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," she choked between sobs. "Can you ever forgive me? Can we just start over?"

Tala smiled as he leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes. "Only if you'll forgive me too," he whispered. He felt her nod against his shoulder and waited until her tears had run dry. "Do you feel any better?" he asked. Eri looked up to meet his kind gaze and managed a weak smile. Tala leaned in slowly, and Eri leaned in as well until their lips met in a slow, passionate kiss. Neither lover wanted to break apart, but they finally had to part for air.

"Tala…someone will see," Eri whispered between breaths.

"Not a problem." He walked over and shut the door. "Now where were we?" he asked playfully as he took her into his arms again. He noticed that Eri looked slightly alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"You're not gonna…" Eri began, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"Oh, goodness no. Just tell me if I go too far, okay? I don't want to hurt you again," Tala murmured, taking the hint. He brought her into another kiss, this one becoming more heated and passionate than the last. They both closed their eyes and relished the sensation of being in each other's arms, occasionally moaning with pleasure. He nibbled on her bottom lip, begging for an entrance, which she granted. Finally Eri's knees buckled, and she fell back. Tala caught her and eased her down onto the bed, his lips never leaving hers as he leaned over her. She could feel the slight pressure of his weight. He finally broke the kiss to let Eri catch her breath but didn't move from his position. He planted a trail of soft kisses down her neck and collarbone, and Eri reached up and laced her fingers through his hair. She gasped lightly as he nipped a sensitive spot in the hollow of her neck and arched her back slightly. She slipped her other hand under his shirt and gently touched the bandages that circled his torso.

"You're hurt," she whispered.

"It's okay. I'll be fine," Tala replied softly as his lips captured hers once again, his fingers gently caressing her cheek and neck. He pulled away slightly and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you, Eri," he whispered.

Eri smiled and whispered back, "I love you too, Tala." They reversed positions on the bed so that Eri was on top and straddled his hips. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she asked with a smirk.

"Just making up for lost time," he replied playfully as he pulled her back down and kissed her again. Well, whatever had gotten into him, Eri was certainly enjoying it.


Tala lay back on top of the bed and watched as Eri slept peacefully. Her head rested on his chest, and her arm was wrapped around his waist. He held her against his side and gently ran his fingers through her soft hair. A familiar presence entered his mind. She hasn't been sleeping well lately. It's good to finally see her resting.

Pyrix?

Yes, it's me. I'm glad you and she are back together. You are the only one who has ever made her truly happy, and for that I thank you.

Just then Tala felt Eri stir, and she opened her eyes sleepily and yawned. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did. Thanks," Eri replied. She reached up and kissed him softly on the lips. She was about to pull away, but Tala rolled onto his side and pulled her against him and deepened the kiss until they had to part for air. She slipped out of his arms and sat up. "You wanna go downstairs and see what the others are up to? I'm sure they'll be glad to know that we made up."

"Sure." Tala sat up as well, and the reunited couple made its way downstairs hand-in-hand to the lounge where Bryan, Spencer, and Ian were chilling.

"I can see that you two made up," Spencer remarked.

"Well, that's at least one problem solved," Ian added. He smirked and said suggestively, "You two sure were gone a long time."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Ian. Nothing like that happened," Tala retorted sternly, sending the younger blader a death glare. "And what do you mean by one problem? You mean we have other problems?" Tala asked. Noting Ian's guilty expression, he pressed, "What are you hiding from me?"

Bryan smacked Ian on the head and replied, "Tala, Tammy's gone missing. We haven't seen her since yesterday."

Tala muttered curses in Russian under his breath. This was not the kind of news he needed to hear right now. "Well, I guess we're gonna have to go and look for her."

Suddenly Pyrix shouted in everyone's minds, Watch out! A nearby window exploded into thousands of glass shards as an all-too-familiar black beyblade broke through. Pyrix's warning had given the Blitzkrieg Boys just enough time to drop to the ground for cover; Tala had shoved Eri down and shielded her with his body. The beyblade whizzed through the air, run up the far wall of the lounge, ricocheted off the ceiling, and returned to a waiting hand. A familiar cloaked figure stood at the door of the hotel to retrieve her beyblade and then took off running.

"After her!" Tala shouted. The team took off after this girl who hadn't stopped hounding them since they had arrived. The chase took them all over the city and down multiple dark alleys until they arrived in the same place where Tala had battled all three girls and nearly died in the process. "Where are you? Show yourself!" Tala demanded.

An icy feminine voice laughed cruelly. "We're right here." Eri and the guys looked up and saw the same three cloaked girls standing on top of burnt-out light posts. "You guys are way too easy to provoke."

"It's time you explained yourselves. Who are you, and what do you want with our team?" Bryan asked angrily.

"Oh, but you already know who we are," the same girl replied. She reached up and pulled down her hood, and everyone but her two teammates gasped in shock and horror at who they saw.

"…Tammy?" Bryan whispered. He had never admitted this out loud, but he had harbored feelings for the energetic redhead girl ever since that night at the dance club. "You were behind this all along?"

"But she wasn't alone," the tall girl on her left interjected. She removed her hood as well, leaving Spencer rooted to the ground in horror.

"Clara…" He couldn't bring himself to say anything else but instead looked down at the ground, unable to believe that the same girl who had comforted him yesterday had been deceiving him all along.

"And I believe Ian will recognize me," the short girl on Tammy's right said pointedly. She pulled down her hood to reveal none other than Amy.

"Not you too, Amy!" Ian exclaimed in anger.

"All right, why have you three been stalking and attacking us for all this time?" Eri asked. "We never did anything to you!"

"But you did do something to me."

'No…it can't be…' Eri thought as an icy dread gripped her heart like an iron first. A fourth figure stepped out of the shadows and faced the Blitzkrieg Boys. Tala clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. How could he ever forget that mask? Or that purple hair? It was all he could do to keep from unleashing Wolborg in a fit of rage as he looked upon the one man who had stolen so much from his life. Boris.

"My, but it has been a while since I saw you last, Tala," Boris stated in his mocking, oily voice. Tala fought back a wave of nausea. "I must say that this is a pleasure, though unexpected. I was certain that you would be dead by now."

"So you really were behind this whole plot," Eri stated. "But why?"

"Because this…abomination…single-handedly brought about the destruction of my beautiful BEGA league!" Boris shouted in a fit of rage, pointing his finger at Tala. "If he hadn't led your pitiful team to try and bring down BEGA, that world chump Tyson never would have stood against me! In fact, I would have him under my control by now! So…after my BEGA league collapsed, I retreated to a branch of Biovolt stationed in the United States. That's where I discovered Tammy, Clara, and Amy. They had been training in the U.S. Abbey for most of their lives, and, unlike Tala, they responded perfectly well to the genetic alterations to their minds. They are the perfect bey soldiers, totally obedient to me."

"That's sick…" Bryan muttered in disgust.

"Of course, you never would have had to know this if you hadn't interfered in my business," Boris stated. "I tried to dispose of you the easy way, using deception and trickery, but now I will just have to destroy you in public. Now listen up and listen well: In three days there will be a beyblade tournament right here in this city for the entertainment of the tourists. Tammy's team has already entered, and you all will sign up as well. That's where we will settle our differences once and for all."

"And what makes you think that we'll play your game, creep?" Tala asked belligerently.

"Because if you don't, one or more of you will pay dearly…very dearly," Boris warned. "I expect to see your team registered for the tournament in two hours, or one of you won't be waking up tomorrow…or ever." With those final, threatening words, he stepped back into the shadows, and Tammy's team retreated as well.

Eri, Bryan, Spencer, and Ian turned to their captain. "What do we do now, Tala?" Ian asked.

"We've got no choice. We have to play his game," Tala replied numbly.

End chapter 11


Author's Note: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So the secret's finally out! Well, one of the secrets, anyway. Boris has once again shown his ugly face. I really liked how this chapter turned out, and I hope all of you enjoyed it as well. Please review and tell me what you think! I really want to get 10 reviews for this chapter before I move on to the next one, so will you readers step up to the challenge?