Tala was woken by something. It sounded like a beybattle...yes, the unmistakable sound of beyblades clashing together. He opened his eyes and saw he was laying in Red Square. The sky was dark, no stars or moon, just an empty black sky. Glowing snow drifted softly from the blackness, illuminating Red Square. He slowly pulled himself from the cold ground and looked around. It was completely abandoned. He stood alone amidst the snow. The beybattle sounded a little distant, but not too far. Even so, he couldn't pin down which direction the sound was coming from. The last thing he remembered was being in the abbey, and now he was here with...glowing snow.

Tala held his hand out to collect the glowing snow drifts, but they disappeared before ever touching his hand. The redhead sighed and plopped to the ground, his knees bent and his arms resting on them.

"Another dream…" he muttered to himself.

He sat there quietly, just staring at his hands before looking ahead.

"Wolborg…? If you're trying to tell me something...vague visions aren't the way to do it…"

There was no response. He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his head. It was just a dream. He'd wake up soon. He heard footsteps approaching him. Light, airy steps, almost inaudible were drawing near. Suddenly, he felt a bone-chilling cold that sent a shudder up his spine. His head lifted, and he saw a massive white wolf in a spectral form sitting in front of him. Tala gazed at it before sitting with his legs crisscrossed. He preferred this dream to the blizzard, even if it was still incredibly cold.

"Wolborg...I don't know what to do. I don't even know if it's actually you communicating with me through dreams or its just my subconscious trying to make me feel better…" His eyes drifted to the ground.

Wolborg sat in front of him, not responding, just watching its master.

"My mom left, my dad is dead... Neither one of them tried to find me. I thought Boris cared when he took me off the streets, but even that was bullshit. I was just some pawn in his plan. I have nothing...no home, no family-"

Wolborg let out a growling bark, causing Tala to flinch and look up in surprise. Wolborg snarled at him before standing. The beast towered over him, if it wanted to, it could swallow him up. Tala instinctively leaned back, getting to his feet.

"I have you. I lost you on the island, but you came back to me...and... you're trying to help me? By doing whatever this is," Tala motioned around, "You could have left and gone anywhere. Why did you come back?"

Wolborg stepped forward and nudged Tala with its nose. To Tala's surprise, the spectral form was solid when it touched him, he felt the cold on his chest, yet it was somehow comforting.

"I'm so mad at my mom for leaving but...I left too." He sighed and put his hand on Wolborg's snout before he continued.

"I left my father behind and went to the abbey, I didn't try to find him and I never even thought about it. I'm...mad at him for dying, and I'm mad at Boris for all that he did to me and others. I have no idea how to help Kai...I…"

Tala thought of his last interaction with Bryan and cringed. He did have a home, and he did have a family. He knew that he loved them all and would do anything for them, even Kai who tested his patience like no tomorrow. That's when he realized...Kai had left too. Kai left the Bladebreakers to join the Demolition Boys, then he rejoined the Bladebreakers only to leave again and become a Blitzkrieg. Kai had abandoned and shoved aside so many people, and still, he had friends who stood by him through everything. Tala closed his eyes and leaned forward, his forehead against Wolborg.

"I have to make things right with my team... I've been horrible to them and yet they're still there. After the abbey closed down, they all stuck with me. Bryan, Ian, and Spencer...they stayed."

Tala winced as he thought about punching Bryan. He had been so cruel to him, and for what? A dead father who loved alcohol more than his own son? A mother who was perfectly happy without him in her life? And even though the redhead acted in such a way, Bryan still worried about him and tried to bring him home. The guilt washed over him as he remembered the day's events. He would not wreck his friendships over a mother who abandoned him. The Blitzkrieg Boys were his family, even Kai, but Tala would never admit it. Wherever his teammates were, that was his home.

Tala looked up at Wolborg with a strained smile. It still hurt...his father's death, seeing his mother with a new family, he'd be lying if he said it didn't bother him, but he felt a little more at peace. He realized something else, it was just a hunch, but it was something. The bit-beasts had their own bodies while the bladers had been taken over by some madness, something that let them use their bit-beasts abilities. Voltaire and Boris wanted to take over the world with the bit-beasts power, and the island wasn't a mere experiment...this wasn't the first time they had done something like this. Tala furrowed his brow and looked down at the ground as he thought.

"What happened on the island, Wolborg? What happened to me while you had your body?" Tala's attention snapped towards his wolf, "Not just to me, to Kai, to Brooklyn, what made us become like that? Why is it broken now?!"

Wolborg let out a low growl, deep, but not malicious in response to Tala's question.

"Do you know what happened to Wyatt? How to help Kai?!"

Wolborg backed away from Tala, reared its head back, and let out a massive howl. The noise seemed to come from inside Tala, he cried out and covered his ears, collapsing to the ground. The howl echoed loudly. Once it stopped Tala cautiously looked around, he was in the abbey, in the room where he saw many try and fail to harness Black Dranzer's power. His memories replayed in front of him, he saw the bladers succumb to the power and become corrupted, losing their sanity in the process. Only someone with a strong mind and strong will could harness its power…

"I don't understand…" Tala shook his head.

The redhead looked over to the spectral wolf, "Black Dranzer? It doesn't have to do with it specifically but...the power?"

Wolborg lowered its head. The scene began to fade into darkness, snow falling around them once more, and the spectral wolf began to fade. Tala's eyes widened in panic.

"No! Wolborg! I don't understand what you're trying to tell me!"

He reached out to Wolborg, but everything went black.

Tala's eyes shot open as he sat outright, "Wolborg!" he yelled.

It was still dark, but the light of dawn was beginning to seep into the room. It took him a little while to remember where he was, but it only took him a moment to notice the pain. The sharp pain took his breath away, making him fall back to the floor. Everything hurt. His legs were sore, his head was throbbing, his back ached, eyes burned, but the worst pain was searing in his right hand and arm. The blood had dried and appeared black in the dim lighting. He sucked in air as he attempted to close his hand into a fist, but the pain was overwhelming. Tala grimaced as he forced himself to stand. It hurt.

"Ahg...okay... you're okay…"

He probably wasn't okay. Standing up was a challenge as he realized he had more injuries than he realized. Bruises and cuts covered his body. The redhead looked around and realized he was in Boris' destroyed office. The dream lingered in his mind, but first and foremost, he thought of Bryan. Dawn was breaking, he had been gone for almost a full 24 hours...everyone must've been worried about him. Grunting in pain, he limped over towards the doorway when a sound caught his attention. His cell phone.

In the corner, his cell phone stood against the wall, the flashlight turned off with a periodic beep to remind him the battery was low. With great effort, he bent down and picked it up, opening his messages. Tala winced when he saw the abundance of missed calls and unanswered texts. 24 missed calls and 52 texts. The guilt washed over him. With his left hand, he tried to send out a text before his phone ultimately died.

Tala: I'm coming ho-

His phone died.

"Damn it…" he shoved the phone in his pocket and began to limp out of the office. As he struggled to leave the abbey, he saw the destruction he had caused. It surprised him. The wrath and despair he was overwhelmed with hours ago had been replaced with numbness, interrupted by the occasional wave of guilt.

I did this…?

Finally, he had looped around to where he had entered. Carefully he climbed through the window, gritting his teeth and wincing as he made it to the other side. Already he was out of breath and took the time to steady himself before continuing. The hard part was getting over the fence. He did his best to, crying out in pain and falling over to the other side.

"Ahhg! Are you kidding me! I just want to go home!"

The emotions overwhelmed him again. Home. The first image that came to mind was not his parents or his childhood home, but the house he lived in with his team.

I want to go home…

He forced himself to his feet and began to limp down the street, towards home. It all hurt so much, too much, his body began to shake. His blue eyes pointed at the ground, just watching his steps; he didn't want to look forward and see how far he had left to walk.

A car pulled up beside him, and a voice called out to him, "Tala Valkov?"

Tala heard a door close and footsteps approaching him, dazed, he looked over and saw a police officer. He couldn't really make out what he was saying, he only caught a few words. Missing person, hospital, and something else...assault? He thought he had heard "assault." It was a blur, he was in the police car now.

"I'll take you to the hospital. You're pretty banged up…" the officer said, "did someone attack you?"

Tala was still tucking his right arm into his body, it all hurts so much. Even after all these years, the abbey could still hurt him-both emotionally and physically. Tala leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes. As he drifted to sleep, his team's faces flashed through his mind. When Kai appeared, once again, he thought: How can I help?

Bryan, Spencer, and Ian had been waiting in the hospital ever since they got the call that Tala was there. It was about 3 pm when Tala got released. Bryan hopped up and met him at the door, taken back by the blood on his jacket.

"Tala what the hell happened?!" Bryan demanded.

"You guys filed a missing person's report?"

"Are you going to be mad about that too? Damn it, we were worried!"

Tala shook his head, "I'm not angry…"

The last few hours were a blur. He remembered the pain, and the police car, he was in and out while being cared for at the hospital. When he woke, he was told he had suffered some blood loss and dehydration. Thankfully, his hand wasn't broken, and the wounds were cleaned, stitched, and bandaged. He was dehydrated when he was found, and his body was still sore and bruised. After he had woken up and ate something the police questioned him, wondering if he had been attacked, it took a great deal of lying to weasel his way out. Finally, he was being released.

"Sorry guys…" Tala sighed.

Spencer pointed to the blood on Tala's jacket, "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later...I'm tired, I want to go home."

The 3 boys exchanged looks as Tala walked out the door.

"I guess we're done talking…" Ian muttered.

Spencer drove them home. It was a silent and awkward ride. Bryan and Ian sat in the back seat while Tala sat up front with Spencer.

Once home, Tala made his way up the stairs, took a bath, changed into a white long sleeved v-neck shirt and some sweatpants, then collapsed on his bed. He pulled out his phone and texted Bryan to come to his room.

Tala: I want to talk. Come to my room.

There was some hesitation, but Bryan entered Tala's room finally.

"What is it?" Bryan closed the door.

Tala pulled himself up, sitting on his bed, he looked up at Bryan.

"I owe you an apology."

Bryan shook his head and crossed his arms, "It's...fine."

"No, it isn't'. You were trying to help, and I shut you out. I took my anger out on you, and you didn't do anything to deserve it. All you've done is give me your friendship, and I treated you like crap." Tala looked Bryan in the eyes, "Bryan, I'm sorry."

Bryan looked down at the floor before he sighed in defeat. He walked over and plopped down next to Tala on the bed.

"How'd you get hurt?"

Tala looked at his bandaged hand and arm carefully opening and closing his fist repeatedly. It didn't hurt as much, but that was probably the painkillers.

"I went to the abbey…" Tala admitted, "I didn't mean to go there I was just walking. I went inside and just went berserk. I smashed it up pretty bad, but I didn't notice I was pretty smashed up too."

"Oh...I wasn't expecting you to actually tell me…" Bryan blinked.

Tala looked at him and held up his injured hand, "What I get for punching you. Sorry..."

Bryan pulled his eyebrows together and watched as Tala laid back down, his injured hand resting on his stomach, and one leg bent.

"I forgive you," Bryan said honestly.

The duvet and Bryan's clothes rustled as he laid down next to Tala, settling in comfortably.

"I'm sorry about your dad... I'm not good at this kind of talk, but I'm here."

"I know…"

Tala closed his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He felt better now that he apologized. Still, he thought Bryan let him off a little too easy. He had been gone for a full 24 hours, and his team filed a missing person's report. They had searched for him, they had alerted the authorities to expand the search, Bryan, Spencer, and Ian were worried sick about him. At the hospital, they waited for hours for him to be released and take him home. His own parents didn't even do that after years. His mother walked out on him, never tried to find him, and after he joined the abbey...did his father search for him? No, he most likely yelled out into the darkness for Tala to bring him more vodka.

"Bryan...I don't know what to do…" The redhead opened his eyes and turned on his side to face Bryan, who did the same, they laid there looking at each other.

"About Kai?"

"Not just that...About my mom. She has a new family, and that family includes Kai and a new daughter. I wouldn't fit into it even if I wanted to. I feel weird about it..like I lost something."

Bryan propped his head upon his arm as he listened. Tala continued,

"That dream I had on the island with my parents, my family, it's never coming back. I never thought it would I just-"

"You still hoped." Bryan nodded.

"I don't know if hope is the right word but...yeah it was like that. Even though I knew it never would, I guess seeing her again-and after that dream on the island, just brought back memories."

Tala remembered Susumu's words. No wonder your mother left you. His body tensed as the anger filled him again.

"Tala?"

He was brought back to the present and looked into Bryan's worried face.

"I just remembered something. I have no interest in being part of her new family. She left me a long time ago... she's not getting me back."

Bryan nodded, "She doesn't deserve you anyway. Besides, we're always here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

Tala smiled at that, "I know. You proved that over and over again."

Bryan smiled too. He hoped things would be okay between them now, that Tala really meant his apology and realized how much he meant to his team. When he was gone, Bryan searched frantically before getting home. The boys stayed up most of the night waiting for Tala, researching bit-beasts, and Bryan managed to read some of the books Tala had dropped in Red Square, but he didn't bring it up. Tala needed to rest, and since he hadn't mentioned anything regarding the bit-beasts and Kai, Bryan wasn't going to bring it up. His leader just got out of the hospital after being gone all night and was pretty beaten and bruised, and recovering emotionally from the shock of his father's death, it was too soon to bring up the other problem he was trying to solve: Kai and Wyatt.

He'd tell him later. For now, he just laid there with him until Tala fell asleep. Bryan smiled and closed his eyes, resting there with Tala quietly. Eventually, Bryan fell asleep too.

Risa stared into the bathroom mirror, analyzing her reflection. She had red hair like him, like their mother. Tala's words buzzed in her mind. Their mother was the reason he couldn't accept her, their mother was why he was so mean. All Risa wanted was to be a beyblader like Tala and Kai. The Blitzkrieg Boys were her favorite team, and she had a resemblance to Tala; when she found out, Tala and Kai were her family she was ecstatic.

"He hates me...he actually hates me…"

She could hear her parents arguing in the other room, they had been at it all day. What Tala had said really got to Susumu, and he had confronted Natasha about it. A tear slid down her cheek as she listened to the voices in the other room.

"You never told me you had another family! I only found out you had a son recently, what else haven't you told me!?"

"I was afraid! My husband was a drunk who used to beat me. All I wanted to do was run away, he'd have killed me if I stayed!"

Susumu pinched the bridge of his nose, "what about Tala?"

Natasha went silent.

Risa had inched closer and listened while out of sight.

Susumu spoke up again, this time his voice was calmer, "you feared for your life...why did you leave your son behind? Did you worry about his life too?"

Natasha turned away and fiddled with her wedding ring. She felt ashamed again. It was true, she had left Tala with that man. She had left and hadn't looked back...not once.

"I love my son. I love my son...I tried to take him with me, but he wanted to stay...he wanted me to stay. I'm sorry, Susumu. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth when we met, but I was so scared. If I told you I had a son, would you have even given me a chance?"

"Of course, I would."

Tears filled her eyes, and she tried so hard to keep them from spilling over.

"I thought no one would love me. He made me feel so ugly...and small. You were a dream. You put up with me, showed me your love, gave me a daughter. I never wanted to look back, I didn't want to remember. Poor Tala...I left him all alone in this cold, harsh world. He has every right to be angry at me."

Susumu frowned and walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"He doesn't have any right to treat Risa the way he does."

"It's my fault. It's all my fault. If I had found him earlier, maybe he wouldn't…"

"Did you know your former husband had died?"

"I...I didn't... I'm sorry."

"Natasha...I could handle you having a son, but you were still married when we-"

"I know! I know. If I could go back, I would have told you...I would have been completely honest…"

Risa was frowning as she listened. What Tala had said was true. She was beginning to understand Tala's anger a little better. He felt betrayed by their mother. Risa had grown up with two loving parents, but it sounded like Tala had a very different life.

Risa stepped back into the bathroom and called out, "Daaaad?"

Susumu's head snapped in the direction of the voice. He whispered to Natasha, "We'll talk more about this later…"

Natasha nodded.

"Yes, sweetie?" he called back.

Risa appeared with her hands behind her back, "Is Ice Dranzer fixed yet? I want to practice more…"

It was night...Kai writhed on the bed.

"Wyatt...I'm sorry…" he muttered in his sleep.

He saw Wyatt standing before him, his face sad, wondering why his hero had rejected him. Wyatt's face then contorted, his smile stretching to his ears, much farther than it should. The manic laughter followed, echoing, growing louder until Kai darted upright.

"Wyatt!" He yelled.

He was drenched in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, eyes wide and darting around the room. He was alone. Wyatt wasn't there, it was quiet, the warm orange light from the night light in the corner softened the shadows in the room and put him at ease. The darkness was the worst...that's when he saw Wyatt the most. He ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a sigh of relief as his breathing slowed.

Tala hadn't come to visit him in days. He wondered what had become of him...he was told that Tala was the one who discovered the last hospital wasn't safe, and Voltaire had been caught because of it. But, where was Tala now?

Bryan opened his eyes and yawned. Tala was on his back now with his face pointed away from Bryan. He was still fast asleep.

"Tala…? You awake?" Bryan asked, but he received no answer, "good…"

Bryan slid off the bed and stretched. The nap was nice, and having Tala home and sound asleep was even nicer. He exited the room, closing the door behind him softly, and headed downstairs. He had only been asleep for an hour, and it was getting close to dinner time. No one had made anything so it seemed they'd be ordering out.

"I vote for pizza," Ian chimed.

"How about you, Bryan?" Spencer asked.

Bryan stepped off the last stair, "fine with me."

"What about Tala?"

"He's asleep, but I think he'll take anything that isn't cafeteria food."

Ian was sitting on the couch reading one of the books in Tala's pile, while Spencer was sitting in an armchair with another book about bit-beasts. Bryan looked between them, neither looking up from their books.

"Uh, hello?" Bryan waved his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, pizza," Ian dismissed.

Bryan slowly blinked at Ian while he stared at him. Spencer bookmarked his page and shut the book, rubbing his tired eyes. He had read so much he couldn't concentrate anymore. The information was a jumble in his head, and he had trouble recalling it. He pulled himself up and walked into the kitchen, stating he'd order the usual.

"How's Tala doing?" Ian asked, not looking up from his book.

"Better. He'll be more up to talking after some rest, he seems sorry for making us worry like that."

"Good, he better. We've been slaving away looking for him and slogging through all this stuff for him."

"Find anything?" Bryan leaned over and looked at the page Ian was on, only for Ian to elbow him in the side.

"There's this chapter about the bit-beasts-er, sacred spirits being worshipped and claiming human sacrifices. Spencer was reading something about people being possessed."

Bryan's eyes widened. Possessed?

They were on to something.