A/N: Woo hoo! another one out! That wasnt too long of a wait, right?! Hehe. Hope you guys can see the end now, it's on the horizon! :D God-willing the last few chapters will be out soon! Hope you're as excited as I am! In the mean time, as always, lemme know what what ya think; thoughts, face parts? In any case, enjoy!

Quick note, I feel obligated to profusely thank a special reader who has been inspiring me and cheering me up lately, so here it is; thank you so much "Momokomon"! You're reviews always make me smile and they're so very appreciated. I dedicate this one to you my friend! :D lol

Well, without further adieu; on with the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. I do own this story and the (majority of) contents therein.


It had been a few weeks since Demetra's accident, and by now it was approaching time for the Beyblade World Championships. As per usual as of late, Demetra was on her own in the training room, practicing relentlessly with her beyblade. This had become a regular occurrence for her, because ever since her latest nasty encounter with Tala, one that had cut her deeper then any of their combined encounters ever had, she hadn't really seen much of him - mainly because he seemed to be avoiding her as vehemently as she was avoiding him. In fact, she hadn't really felt inclined to interact much with either of the Blitzkrieg Boys since. Her days the past few weeks had mostly consisted of waking up, going to class, doing homework, training, then bed. Rinse and repeat.

A part of her missed hanging out with the boys, but the other part of her forbade any contact with them. While she did sometimes consider approaching three of the five, she knew perfectly well they all came as a set; being around one, meant being around them all, and she felt in no way inclined to so much as look at the resident redhead or blunette.

So, Demetra had, and continued to, spend her days mostly alone. Admittedly, she was beginning to feel a little lonely.

Okay, to be perfectly honest, she'd been feeling lonely ever since parting ways with the Russians, but right then, her heart was far too hesitant and weary of being cut again to allow her to do much of anything about it.

She'd been chatting with her girls near every night, of course, but although it helped, when she hung up from talking to them, she was always left feeling empty inside. In fact, she'd begun to miss them so much, she started seeing evidences of them throughout her days; a flash of familiar purple or green here, the ring of a familiar laugh there. It was beginning to make her totally heart and home sick in ways she'd never known.

Demetra's brows furrowed deeply as one such instance began to materialize before her. As she stared at her beyblade spinning top speed before her, she watched a familiar black and white bey suddenly appear beside it.

Seeing this, a heavy sigh escaped her. It was the third time that week she'd seen Kage's beyblade appear before her. Unsurprisingly, almost immediately after, the two were joined by a green bey, which was quickly flanked by a purple one. Just like they had in all her previous visions, the three beloved beys spun and danced along with hers in a painfully familiar way, as they had so often before. Feeling that heart sickness knot painfully in her gut, Demetra's face screwed up with the effort to keep the heady feelings at bay.

However, unlike the visions she'd been seeing all week, instead of disappearing when the familiar dance was over, Demetra's brows furrowed further when the three suddenly surrounded her bey as one, and before she knew what was happening, all three pulled back before rushing her and simultaneously striking her bey full force.

Her jaw unhinging, Demetra's hand reflexively shot up to catch her bey, but her eyes remained locked on the three still spinning innocently in place now at her feet. This was new; since when did visions cause physical effects in the real world?

"Heh. I'd say we rock, but I guess three against one isn't really much to brag about, huh?"

"I think we could take her! I don't know about you girls, but after kicking major Euro-sexy-pean butt for months, I got me some mad skills!"

Her eyes lifting towards the training room doors, Demetra stared in stunned disbelief at the two grinning faces, plus one cool smile, aimed at her. She watched the figures lift their hands, close their fists around their beys when they jumped up into place.

"Well?! Ain't ya gonna say you're thrilled to see us, sourpuss?!" The mouthy brunette teased cheekily.

"Come on Tori, talk about expecting the impossible!" The petite redhead teased along. The silent member of the group merely crossed her arms, while her lips lifted a little further in amusement.

Her jaw hanging loose now, eyes a little wide and unblinking afraid the images would disappear if she blinked for one second, Demetra's arms rose from her side of their own accord. Receiving the invitation they'd been waiting for, the two former girls laughed and rushed their Captain, while the third uncrossed her arms and civilly approached calmly.

"Demi!" Keisha yelled excitedly as her and Victoria threw themselves into Demetra's waiting arms. "We missed you!"

"Well, I kinda missed you anyway." Victoria teased, hugging the elder brunette tightly.

It took a moment for Demetra's body to kickstart, but eventually she wrapped her arms tightly around them. Moments later, Kage reached the little group hug, and Demetra's arms opened again to include her. Chuckling silently, the final addition stepped up to her sisters and wrapped her arms around them all. Demetra closed the circle back up, and her heart swelled to bursting in her chest at the very real feel of them. Closing her eyes, she gave the three a squeeze.

"I missed you too..." She heard herself whisper softly.

After a good long, well needed embrace, Demetra finally pulled back from the girls enough to look down and round at them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked softly, afraid to speak too loudly for fear of shattering the illusion.

"We wanted to come see Russia before we all went back home." Keisha said with a bright smile.

"Since the training room's all fixed up, we wanted to see the place that our grouchy Captain fell in love with." Victoria teased.

"And the girls and I thought it would be nice to go home together." Kage finished with a warm smile.

Demetra's brows furrowed.

"The training room's finished...?" She said, latching on to that piece of information.

The girls exchanged a glance.

"Yea.." Keisha said slowly, her brows furrowing a little as well. "Didn't you know that...?'

"No..." Demetra replied softly.

"I'm sure Breal just hasn't gotten around to mentioning it." Kage said encouragingly, trying to divert the tension. Picking up her thread, Keisha perked up, though an angry pout came to her face.

"Speaking of Breal!" She stated angrily. "I'm super mad at him! I cant believe he didn't let us come see you after your accident!"

"He actually forbade us from coming!" Victoria exclaimed, scandalized. "He even froze our bank accounts!"

Oddly enough, Demetra felt a warmth of affection at those words. She knew how badly her sisters had wanted to come see her, and the thought alone had been enough for her. But she also knew why her brother had done what he had. There would have been little the girls could have done had them come, and knowing their tender hearts, being there, seeing their normally brick wall of a captain in such a broken, crumbled, and venerable state, would have been far too painful for them. She knew Breal had, as always, been willing to make himself out as the bad guy to spare them.

'Come on, girls. Don't do that... you know why he did it." Kage said with a gentle expression.

Demetra gave the silent blader a tender look. Leave it to Kage to pick up on the faintest detail of a person's intentions. Nothing ever seemed to escape her keen observation, and Demetra figured she should have known the ravenette would have seen through Breal's motives.

The two younger girls sighed at that.

"Yea, we get it." They grumbled in unison.

Watching and listening to three of the four most important people in her life, Demetra could feel the holes in her heart finally beginning to close up. She'd thought the wounds had mostly sealed themselves, and everything was starting to feel right in the world once more, until about that moment, something happened to rip a big one open again.

"How sweet, the royal family reunited at last. What a sickeningly precious moment."

Demetra felt a growl rumbling low in her throat as she finally released her sisters and looked towards the doors again, this time to see an unwelcome familiar face.

"Well it was until your irritating lilt blew it to hell." She growled angrily. The intruder merely scoffed at that.

Demetra's team turned to look towards the door, Keisha and Victoria still with an arm around her while Kage had pulled back. There they noted Tala standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a smirk but an unidentifiable look in his eyes. Turning back to their Captain they frowned.

"Seriously, Demi?" Keisha said softly so only the four could hear. "Don't tell me you guys are still at each other's throats?"

"Yea, I thought for sure you guys would have confessed your mad, undeniable attraction to each other by now." Victoria added in the same hushed tone. "Especially after what Kai told you he said after your accident. Right, Kay?"

Kage looked into her Captain's eyes and nodded. Demetra's jaw clenched tightly.

"That is not going to happen." She growled angrily.

"Hey, never say never." Keisha sang teasingly. Demetra gave her a pointed look.

"Ever." She stated with her clenched teeth.

The girls exchanged a look at that while their Captain stepped past them to address the redhead.

"Was there something you wanted?" She seethed at him. "Or does it really bother you that much to see me content for even a second?"

Before Tala could reply, another group of familiar faces came through the doors.

"Hey, look who it is!" Bryan said with a smirk. "Looks like the pretty little Finnish fillies decided to grace us with their presence."

"Nice ta see ya girls." Ian greeted cheerily. "Does you guys being here mean we'll be gettin' to see more of your Captain, or less? Cause we haven't see much of her lately, that's for sure."

The girls glanced at said Captain at that but Demetra didn't comment, instead she simply stared at them all with her usual cold, unreadable expression.

"Is that so?" Victoria asked, narrowing her gaze accusingly on the other brunette.

The three turned back towards the boys at the door.

"Definitely more!" Keisha said cheerfully.

"In fact..." The petite redhead drawled, drawing out the word. "Why don't we start right now? I was thinking..."

She exchanged a look with Victoria, and both girls grinned like fools before turning back to the boys with excited expressions.

"A water war!" The two exclaimed together at once, their fists clenched tightly before them.

The Blitzkrieg Boys balked at them.

"Eh?!" Bryan exclaimed in stunned disbelief. "It's seventeen degrees outside!"

"Yea." Ian seconded, looking at the two like they'd completely lost their minds. "It might be June, but it's not summer yet! And we're still in the mountains you know!"

"Oh. It's cool, we totally get it." Victoria replied casually, placing a hand on her hip and waving her free one dismissively. "Clearly you're intimidated by us. I mean, obviously the thought of getting your rugged rears handed to you by a bunch of Finnish fillies is just too much to bare."

"Yea it's alright if you're too chicken." Keisha added, innocently rubbing in the salt. "I mean, not like there's anyone around to witness your cowardice, so not like you gotta keep up appearances, right?"

Kage smiled and shook her head while the boys sputtered across the way, but when the girls glanced at her suggestively, she sighed in amusement before lifting her hands to join in.

"And what's she sayin'?" Bryan asked, a tick forming in his head.

"Something tells me she's not on our side." Spencer said wearily, sweatdropping.

When Kage stopped talking and crossed her arms again, the girls giggled before chuckling.

"She said; she was sure she'd heard the Blitzkrieg Boys were the toughest S-O-B's out there, but clearly it was just misinformation." Keisha said with a huge grin. "And also, that clearly you can never believe what you hear."

"What?!" Ian and Bryan exclaimed, ticks forming in both their heads as they clenched their fists before them. Spencer sweatdropped again with a weary sigh.

"They're good..." He said wearily. Beside him, Kai merely stood silent with crossed arms, just as he had from the start.

"Alright you little pipsqueaks!" Bryan exclaimed, aiming a finger at the girls. "You're on!"

"Yea, and don't go cryin' ta mama when we drown ya!" Ian added with vigour.

"You can count me out." Demetra said bluntly.

"Yea. And me." Tala seconded decisively.

"What?" Several in attendance exclaimed in protest.

"Looks like we know who the real chickens are around here." Bryan added with a sly grin, sound effects included.

"You know reverse psychology doesn't work on me." The two in question stated bluntly in unison. Noting the fact, they both glanced at each other with moody expressions. The rest of the group exchanged amused ones.

Before any further comment could be made though, another new voice cut thorough the playful banter.

"Then you can both come with me."

All eyes turned to see Breal standing close by with crossed arms and an unreadable expression.

Seeing as it was clearly a demand and not a suggestion, no one made any protest this time. Instead, they all exchanged another look, then turned back towards their Captains, watched them give each other a dirty look, then turn to obediently follow after the blunette who merely turned on his heel and led them out of the room.

-;-

The long walk to Breal knew where seemed to last eons; probably because the tense silence in the hall was stifling. During the entire journey, neither of the blunette's charges so much as glanced at each other, and both were stiff as boards, their expressions matching. Though the blunette was separating them, albeit being a few steps ahead, it was still the closest proximity they'd been to each other since their last unpleasant encounter.

Finally, to the teens' relief, they at last reached their destination; which turned out to be the conference room. Leading them inside, Breal turned to shut the door behind them before gesturing to the long table therein.

"Take a seat." He told the two briskly.

Doing as they were told, the two moved towards the table and the many chairs there round. Demetra took a seat at the right side of the head of the table, and Tala reflexively moved to join her. However, one harsh word from Breal was enough to halt him in his tracks.

"No." He said shortly, a cold edge to his tone. "You sit over there."

Taken aback, Tala blinked at the blunette for a moment before eventually making a face and moving to the gestured opposite of the table. Plopping down in the seat across from Demetra, Tala crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a sour expression.

Once the other two were seated, Breal finally moved to sit beside his sister. Wordlessly, he reached for the keyboard of the laptop sitting atop the table and pressed a key. When he did, the massive screen on the wall came to life, and on it was displayed an assortment of faces; some familiar, some not.

"Ah! Tala, Demetra! So pleased you could both join us!"

Tala opened his eyes and turned his head towards the screen upon noting the familiar jolly voice of Mr. Dickinson.

Surrounding the elderly man's profile was an array of colourful squares; all Captains of other Beyblading teams from around the world, most of whom the redhead knew personally.

"Well, now that everyone seems to be here, looks like we can get started!"

As it turned out, the meeting was, of course, to talk about the upcoming World Beyblading Championships. Since the incident with BEGA had caused such a fuss, Stanley Dickinson and his associates had decided this year, they wanted to do things a little differently. As such, he'd gathered together all the more skilled teams in order to gauge their thoughts, comments and opinions on how they thought the event could be pulled off at its highest success.

Somewhere in the middle of the discussion, just when Robert of the Majestics had offered up some input, Tala spoke up to voice his own opinion, though it wasn't an opinion strictly associated with the competition itself.

"Hn. I don't understand why you've invited an amateur team like Vilikosto to be part of this discussion." He said moodily, a bitter edge to his voice. "If you ask me, this meeting should be strictly between ranking teams. I mean, they've never even competed, what kind of valuable input could they possibly give on the topic of World Championships?"

Across the table, Demetra's jaw and fists clenched tightly as she glared a hole through the redhead, though the look completely glanced off him.

"Vilikosto has more than proven ourselves as viable rivals and competition for the ranking teams." She seethed venomously. "And just because we've never competed on the world stage, doesn't mean were amateurs! Sounds to me like you're afraid to be dethroned by fresh blood, Ivanov."

Tala snorted indignantly.

"Dream on, your highness!" He spat back. "The Blitzkrieg Boys unseated by a bunch of pampered little girls? That'll be the day!"

On screen, multiple people observed the back and forth with a mixture of expressions; mainly weariness and awkwardness.

"Ahem. Yes well, unranked or not.." Mr. Dickinson began, attempting to diffuse the toxic situation before it escalated. "Vilikosto are, as Ms. Nakamura pointed out, more than qualified to offer an opinion on the matter. That aside, you may have noted, Tala, that her team is also not the only unranked team I've invited into the discussion. Take Ozuma of the St. Shields for example. Or Kane of the Roaming Renegades, Brayden of the Mounted Calvary. And I'm sure there are a few other faces here some of you don't recognize. I didn't ask anyone here because they've competed world wide, I asked you all here because I respect and admire your team's skills, and I believe you're all, in your own right, a collection of the best there is in the world of beyblade."

"Furthermore." Breal began coldly, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. "It is beyond pathetic and unbecoming for a so-called ranking professional, to speak so unprofessionally."

Fixing Tala with a cold look, his eyes pierced into the redhead across him as he continued.

"To openly display such disdain for another team, especially in the face of a collection of respected colleagues, no matter your personal opinion of them, is truly amateur." The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees when Breal's sapphire eyes narrowed ever-so slightly on the redhead. "With such a loose cannon heading their team, it's a wonder The Blitzkrieg Boys managed to obtain the rank they have at all. Perhaps having such an unsuitable Captain is the reason they've never actually earned a significant title to accompany their high opinions of themselves."

A heavy blanket of tension covered the room, and several people on screen shifted uncomfortably. Beside her brother, Demetra's jaw came slightly unhinged as she gawked at him in stunned shock. It wasn't the first time he'd spoken up to defend her or the girls from someone, in fact he was always quick to do that. But it had been the first time she'd ever heard him use so many words to do so; normally Breal was a man of precious few words, and it was more than a little shocking to hear him voice so many now; almost as if he wanted to make sure they hit their mark with as much force and destruction as possible.

Across the way, Tala's fists clenched on the arms still across his chest, and his jaw set tightly while his face reddened. However, he made no further comment, knowing he didn't stand much of a chance in a war of words against the sharp-tongued Finnish Coach.

"Right... Well then..." Mr. Dickinson said, clearing his throat awkwardly with a troubled expression. "Let's move on shall we..?"

The discussion continued, and went on for another hour or so. Once everyone seemed to have sufficiently given their input, seemingly to the satisfaction of all in attendance, the Chairman clapped his hands together with a bright smile.

"Excellent! Well done everyone! We'll take all your input into careful consideration. Thank you all for your time, we hope to see you all soon!"

With that, Breal reached out and pressed a key on the laptop, instantly disconnecting the call. Following the previously noisy chatter of the conference call, the room was suddenly eerily quiet, and instantly another blanket of tension dropped over the room.

Releasing a heavy, irritated sigh, Breal closed his eyes and reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, a tic having formed in his head.

"That'll be all for now." He said tersely. "Both of you, go find something useful to do with your time."

Wordlessly, the two teens glared at each other as they got to their feet, turned away from each other and made for the door. Demetra had just gone through, Tala holding back to give her a wide berth for departure, before moving to follow. However, before he had a chance to step over the threshold, the sound of Breal's voice calling his name gave him pause. Turning to look, Tala saw the blunette approaching him with an emotionless expression and felt a shiver of cold dread run down his spine.

Curiously, Demetra looked over her shoulder too in wonder, but seeing her brother gesture her forwards with a flick of his chin, she frowned before turning forward again and exiting the room.

Once his sister was well out of earshot, Breal turned back to Tala and fixed him with a frigid glare that froze the redheads blood.

"You're an absolute disgrace to the concept of competition and camaraderie." He said coldly. "And the most sorry excuse for a leader I've ever had the misfortune to converse with."

Lifting his chin, he gave Tala a look of utmost disgust and disdain as he looked down at him.

"I detest having to repeat myself, but clearly my warning has gone stale in your gut, so allow me refresh it for you..." Tala felt another cold tremor vibrate down his spine when Breal took a step closer to him, his voice lowering to a threatening whisper. "Don't ever disrespect her like that again. I assure you, I am the last enemy you will ever make."

Swallowing hard, Tala simply stared forward while Breal breezed past him, certain the blunette robbed him of whatever warmth left in the redhead on the way past.


As usual, it wasn't easy to ignore The Blitzkrieg Boys' Captain, but Demetra did her damndest nonetheless as she trudged town the hallways, heading for the main lobby with the intention to exit the building in search of he team. Despite her insistent determination to ignore him though, Tala refused to be deterred - mainly to piss off her elder brother, because God knew, his pride was sick to death of cowering from the admittedly terrifying man.

"You ever gonna fight your own battles Princess, or you gonna let dear old big brother fight them for you forever?"

"Just ignore him." Demetra told herself with clenched teeth. "He's a witless moron who doesn't deserve the satisfaction or an acknowledgement!"

"It's pointless to pretend you can't hear me, I know you can your highness. And I know you're just dying to fight back."

Still, although it was indeed killing her, Demetra held her own as she finally reached the front doors and blew them open. Unfortunately, Tala was hot on her heels. Doing her best to tune the redhead out, her eyes scanned the front of the building. Her gaze immediately landing on the group she was looking for, she made a beeline for them.

An irritated tic throbbing in her forehead, Demetra stopped some feet from the massive water war being waged before her, then narrowed her eyes on her team.

"Villikosto!" She shouted with a growl. "Training room! Fifteen minutes. "Don't be late!"

As she whirled on her heel and made to trudge back towards The Facility, Tala was still trying stubbornly to get a rise out of her, though to her credit, she'd finally gotten into a good enough mindset to be able to sufficiently ignore his irritating taunts.

She'd almost made it to the front doors, and Tala was feeling exceedingly frustrated over his failure to get her attention. A sour look coming to his face, as a last ditch effort, he leaned down and picked up a water balloon from the huge tub at his feet, drew back his arm, and whipped it at the retreating form of the Finnish Captain.

To his great pleasure, the balloon struck Demetra full-on in the back, succeeding in stopping her in her tracks. While a collective gasp rang out from the two teams behind him, Tala's face split with a triumphant smirk.

Everyone watched, some with bated breaths, while Demetra casually pulled her shirt round to her front and rang it out. Then, deliberately slowly, she turned back around, her face expressionless, and proceeded to approach the redheaded culprit. The members of Villikosto exchanged concerned glances while the boys seemed thoroughly amused.

"Heh. This oughta be good." Bryan said with a huge grin.

The urge to back away was overwhelming, but Tala's pride got in the way as usual, and instead he remained rooted while he eyed the approaching brunette wearily. When she was close enough, though her expression didn't change for a second, Tala watched Demetra's leg lift and sweep around for a powerful roundhouse kick.

Fortunately, he'd seen it coming, and Tala ducked in time to avoid losing his head, impressed at the power behind the motion as he noted the air whistle past his ears, ruffling his hair. With a cocky smirk, he straightened and turned to give the brunette a smug look, but as soon as he'd set eyes on her again, he felt the force of a boot to his chest with enough strength behind it to knock him on his backside.

While his so called friends all laughed their butts off at his expense behind him, Tala, momentarily stunned, looked up at the brunette, whom was now glaring down her nose at him with a very readable expression - a totally P-O'ed expression. He tried his damndest to make the anger he forced onto his face genuine, but truth be told, he was a little impressed and a whole lot hot under the collar.

"There's seriously something messed up in my head..." He thought of himself wearily. "No way it's normal to get so turned on by letting a chick rough you up..."

Glaring at the redhead at her feet another few moments, Demetra eventually whirled around and made her way back towards her original destination.

"Fifteen minutes!" She called angrily over her shoulder.

Releasing heavy sighs, the girls handed their water weapons off to their opponents with apologies, then reluctantly made their way after their Captain.

-;-

"I swear, if I have to go looking for them..."

Muttering angrily to herself, Demetra checked her watch for the umpteenth time in the past several minutes. So far, she'd been waiting for the girls in the training room for over half an hour and as of that point, her temper was reaching an explosive limit.

Finally, Demetra heard the heavy metal doors open and turned to give her very late charges a piece of her mind. Unfortunately, the person who walked through the door wasn't one of the ones she'd been waiting for.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Demetra exclaimed in exasperation. "For the love of God, take a hint!"

Tala lifted an eyebrow at her as he stopped, letting the heavy doors swing shut behind him with a loud clang.

"Trust me, this is the last place I want to be right now either." He said moodily. "But your little pop cut-out told me you wanted to talk to me."

Assuming by his ridiculous dub that he was talking about Victoria, Demetra made a face at the redhead.

"I can assure you I don't." She replied coldly. "Now that you know that, you can disappear the way you came. And if you happen to see my slacking off teammates, you can tell them their little attempt at distraction cost them an extra hour of drills."

Snorting indignantly, Tala indeed turned back towards the door.

"What do I look like, your delivery boy?" He replied moodily. "Go tell them yourself your highness."

Having reached the exit again, Tala reached up to push the door open. However when he attempted, nothing happened.

"What the-..." He muttered under his breath. Trying again, fiddling with the handle and pushing harder was fruitless as well. "It won't budge..."

"What do you mean it won't budge?" Demetra asked irritably, approaching the door.

Stepping aside to accommodate her once she'd reached him, Tala stood with crossed arms as Demetra proceeded with her own attempt to make the door open - to no avail. When she stoped and turned a look on him, the redhead cocked an eyebrow at her with a smug smirk and an I-told-you-so expression.

Glowering at the Russian irritant, Demetra whirled around and strode across the massive room to the smaller door on the far side. She tried that one next, but it also didn't budge an inch. Thoroughly irritated now, she turned back to Tala and gave him a glare.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" She asked testily. "Or are you really that desperate to talk to me?"

Tala scoffed at her.

"Don't be stupid." He replied bluntly. "Who the hell would want to be stuck in a room with you?"

Before the words were out of his mouth, there was a faint electrical crackling sound, and the next moment, a familiar voice echoed through the room.

"Hey there you two unwilling lovers!" Victoria's voice sang perkily. "It's everyone's favourite matchmaker here!"

Demetra groaned aloud and lifted a hand to her head, already dreading whatever the brunette was about to say.

"So here's the deal, we're all sick to death of you two beating back your obviously extreme steamy chemistry for each other, and pretending you hate each other's guts."

"Here, here!" Came a playful chorus from the background. The two in question recognized multiple voices from both their teams.

"As such, we've - that is, the majority of both our teams - decided it's high time you both kiss and make up!"

"Not gonna happen!" Both Demetra and Tala insisted in unison. Exchanging a mutual look of disgust, they both turned their attention back to the voice in the air when it sounded again.

"We'll see about that." Victoria sang mischievously. "You're both hereby sentenced to confinement in that room until you clear up whatever the heck went wrong between you, and at least learn to get along."

Just then, the lights in the training room went out all at once, causing the two occupants to look around wildly as the emergency lights burst to life. Paired with the red glow of the exit signs, it was the only light now left in the otherwise darkened room.

"This is to help set the mood!" Victoria informed them cheerfully, making the two sweatdrop.

"Yea, a sinister mood..." Demetra muttered irritably.

"I love you, Demi!" Keisha's voice said teasingly. "Please don't kill us! You know we totally have you guys' best interest at heart!"

"Well some of us do." Bryan said then, a laugh in his tone. "Some of us can't think of better entertain- OW!"

There was a series of muffled grumbling before another voice came over the air.

"Just so you guys know," Ian said, clearly amused as well. "you won't be able to contact the outside, or get out, until you do what you're told."

"You can't expect us to sit here and just pour our guts out to each other just cause you told us to!" Tala grumbled angrily.

"Why not? You didn't have any trouble doing that when Demetra was lights out in the hospital." Kai shot back instantly, the hint of a mean sneer in his voice. "Why don't you just pretend she's unconscious, Tala? It worked so well for you last time."

Tala's face instantly flared red hot, and when Demetra turned to look at him with a mixture of emotions in her expression, he turned away from her with crossed arms and an indignant snort - mostly to hide his paramount embarrassment and mild panic.

Turning away from the redhead again, a deep frown creased Demetra's face.

"For once, I have to agree with him.." She muttered irritably. "You can't expect us to just spend a few hours locked in a room together and come out best friends... or anything else."

The two shifted uncomfortably at that, both avoiding each others gazes. But despite this, the voices came back quick as a lick.

"Well then, I guess it's gonna be a long night." Victoria replied airily. "Or weekend... or longer... who knows? It's all up to you guys."

"Hey, just think of it this way;" Spencer said, tossing in his two cents. "if you guys finally make up, just think what a great pair you'd make."

"Yea, and Kage says no need to keep it PG, have fun you crazy kids!"

"Tori!" Keisha scolded, appalled.

"Heh. Okay, she didn't say that." Victoria came back with a laugh. "But seriously, we're just the voices in your head, no eyes in the sky, promise!"

There was a loud sigh before Keisha came back for the final time.

"Anyway..." She drawled wearily. "But seriously, you guys really need to air this out, it's gotten pretty ridiculous... So just grow up already, kick your stupid prides to the curb, and talk this out right now! We love you guys, good luck and goodbye!"

With that, there was a faint click, followed by a deathly silence.

After a good long while of soundless awkwardness, Tala heaved a heavy sigh.

"As much as this seriously pisses me off..." He grumbled irritably. "I gotta admit... they covered all their bases... Can't help being a little impressed."

Demetra sighed too and reached up to rub the bridge of her nose.

"This doesn't surprise me in the least." She said bluntly. "It's been a long time since those three have surprised me with one of their ludicrous ideas... They're maddeningly resourceful when the get something in their heads. And I'm sure they conned Breal into helping as usual."

Tala scoffed at that.

"That's doubtful." He muttered under his breath, recalling the blunette's threats to him as of late. Louder he said; "It's more likely the guys got them some help from the tech bros."

Demetra considered this.

"I suppose it's possible." She agreed. "They're all obviously in on it."


...::: Approximately one hour ago :::...


"Okay, so everybody down with the plan?"

There was a chorus of agreement at Victoria's question, and one irritated snort, from the group all huddled around in the main lobby of The Facility.

"Count me out." Kai said darkly. The brunette rolled her eyes.

"Yea, okay, except for the dark cloud over there. Everybody else know what you gotta do?"

"Got it!" Everyone - save a moody blunette - chimed as one.

"Great!" Victoria cheered, making a face a moment later. "Cause I'm sure we're not the only ones sick to death of those two's stupid go-around!"

"Seriously!" Keisha seconded in exasperation, sighing wearily. "It's clear they're both totally into each other! I mean, how much more obvious can you get?"

"It has gotten a bit wearisome..." Kage agreed reluctantly. "And worrisome."

"Yea, it was kinda funny at first..." Ian said, sighing wearily as well. "But man.. enough is enough."

"Those two are so hot for each other it's sickening." Bryan agreed, only half joking.

"I know they're both gonna be totally pissed over this." Spencer said bluntly. "But I think you guys are right, enough is enough."

"Well, since we're all in agreement, let's get this ball rolling shall we?" Victoria said with a huge grin. "Operation kiss-and-make-up is officially underway! Go get 'em team!"

"Yes ma'am!" The remaining group exclaimed playfully.

The Blitzkrieg Boys turned and lit off towards the exit - again, except Kai, who merely followed behind at his leisure, all in direction of the village to seek the aid of a particular pair of genius brothers. Before the girls could move though, a familiar voice made them turn towards the central staircase.

"And what are we up to?" The familiar deep voice drawled cooly. Victoria beamed at her approaching coach.

"Breal! What timing!" The brunette exclaimed excitedly. "You could totally help us!"

Breal stopped before the three and lifted an eyebrow.

"Help with what?" He asked tonelessly.

"With operation kiss-and-make-up!" Keisha supplied with an equally huge grin.

A dull expression crossed the blunette's face.

"Do I want to know?" He asked wearily.

"Totally!" Victoria insisted, her grin practically glowing. "I'm sure you're sick of Demi and Tala constantly pretending they aren't totally mad for each other! We've come up with a plan to finally get them to admit their steamy attraction for each other and get together already!"

With the excitement of a kid on their birthday, the girls proceeded to fill their coach in on their glorious plan.

Fully expecting the blunette to either go along with the idea or be completely uninterested, neither of the girls were prepared when his face instead warped into a completely uncharacteristic, truly terrifying expression.

"Absolutely not!" Breal roared savagely, making the two younger girls jump out of their skin, and all three sets of eyes widen on him. "I forbid it! Those two are not to be left alone together! In fact I do not want that unstable loose cannon anywhere near her, do you understand?!"

Realizing what a fright he'd given the girls, Breal took a moment to take a long, deep and ragged breath, though the look on his face didn't soften; if anything his gaze hardened as he fixed the three with a pointed stare.

"I have to step out for a few days." He said in a clipped tone. "I expect you three to handle yourselves appropriately while I'm gone. And I mean it, I absolutely forbid this plan of yours!"

He turned his head then and fixed Victoria with a cold stare.

"Do not go against me on this Victoria." He warned threateningly, knowing she was the one most likely to rebel against him. The brunette gulped as she eyed him with still wide eyes.

With one last, lingering look, Breal strode past the three and left the building behind.

There was silence for a long time as the three starred after the blunette long after he was gone.

"What the heck was that..?" Keisha asked with a slight tremble to her voice. "I've never seen Breal react like that before... He's never even raised his voice towards us before..."

Victoria didn't say anything, she was staring towards the door with a pale expression. Eventually, after an extended silence, the three clearly shaken, Kage turned towards the brunette.

"What do you want to do, Tori?" She asked with a straight face once she'd gotten the brunette's attention.

Swallowing hard, Victoria blinked herself out of her stupor and straightened bravely.

"Well, it'll probably mean our deaths..." She began, only half playfully. "But I say we go through with our plan! Besides, we all gotta die sometime, and what better cause to die for then the pursuit of love and happiness!"

"Agreed!" Keisha cheered. Kage smiled at the two.

"It's decided then. In the name of love and happiness!" She said, putting her hand out in front of her once she'd finished speaking.

Keisha grinned and dropped her hand on top of Kage's. Both turned towards their brunette sister, and after only a slight hesitation, the latter reached out to clap her hand over theirs with a grin - albeit a somewhat nervous one. Though their stomachs were collectively tying themselves up in knots over their coach's dire warning, they threw their hands up in unified rebellion nonetheless, ready to share the blame and punishment for their cause.

"For love and happiness!"


...:: Present :::...


For some time, not much conversation happened as both the training room prisoners did their own thing. Tala was wiling away his time training with a speed bag, while a ways away, Demetra was busily jumping rope. Neither looked at each other, and neither spoke.

Finally after a lengthy silence, Tala spoke up to break it.

"So how'd you get Trea?" He asked casually, though his hands didn't pause what they were doing, and he didn't look at his companion.

Demetra released an indignant snort and made no attempt to answer him, nor did she pause in her skipping.

"Come on, we're supposed to be kissing and making up." Tala teased sarcastically. "Since dinner and a movie isn't an option, we gotta start somewhere."

"If you're asking, does that mean you're willing to share as well?" Demetra asked bluntly, figuring she knew the answer. As expected, Tala's reply was quick, but his response surprised her.

"Depends on if I think you're telling the truth or not." He said bluntly.

Demetra was quiet for a second, but eventually she continued.

"It's probably a waste of time." She told him a little wearily. "It's a fairly unlikely story, I doubt you'd believe me."

Tala released a snort of amusement at that, gave the bag one last punch, before finally stopping and turning to look at the brunette at last.

"I've seen some pretty crazy shit." He told her pointedly. "Try me."

Following her companion's suit, Demetra too stopped skipping, hesitated a moment, then sighed. Tala watched her fold her rope and drape it over her shoulders, bend to pick up the water bottle at her feet, take the time to take a long drink, then finally capped it again and chewed her cheek. He watched her silently thinking for a minute, her hand still on the cap as she stared off, until finally she sighed and replaced the bottle at her feet.

"What the hell." She said bluntly. To Tala's delight she began her story.

"There's an old story that's been passed down on my mother's side for generations. Once there was a man, and the man had a sister. They were both all the other had. One day a war broke out across the land, and every able bodied male of age was ordered to go fight. Obviously, the man had to go too, leaving his beloved sister behind. Before he left, he promised her he'd never leave her alone, that he'd always come back to protect her.

Of course, he was killed in battle and didn't come home. But legend says he was allowed to keep his promise; that he came back in spirit form as a midnight black wolf; he'd chosen that form because he'd once carved his sister a wolf from a block of wood, and she'd always carried it with her ever since.

He returned to his sister and, as promised protected her and kept her safe until the day she died. When she was gone, he was granted the request to continue on serving the daughters of our family until the family died out; and for generations, he allied himself with the firstborn female of every generation - provided she was of good heart and spirit."

Demetra paused in her story to glance to the side at her beyblade, which she'd laid safely atop her sweater. There her gaze lingered for a while as she stared at the image of the midnight black wolf atop her blade. Eventually she continued her story.

"Apparently my mother was the first one he'd sworn himself to in a while... until me." She paused again for a another minute, then a fond expression crossed her face before turning away and continuing once again.

"When Breal first took us home, he led us each to a different room, all four packed to overflowing with an assortment of objects and possessions. I now know it had been a test, but back then, he told us we could have anything we wanted from the rooms. The catch was, we only had twelve hours to move what we wanted to our bedrooms, we had to do it alone, then the doors would be locked, they'd be emptied, and the things inside would be gone forever."

A small smile came to Demetra's face then as she recalled the memory.

"I know he expected something different from me." She said quietly, an amused expression on her face. "But the truth was, there was very little in the room that interested me. I'd grown up without many possessions, and I'd gotten used to it. Honestly, I'd already gotten more then I'd ever wanted, and I was afraid to get too greedy.

Anyway, though I obviously didn't realize it at the time, the only things I ended up choosing were my mother's possessions. When I'd returned later to my own room, and was looking through my new treasures, my eyes were drawn to my mother's bow, which was apparently her most prized possession. I'd just picked it up, fingered the strange metal emblem set into it, when suddenly it popped out onto my hand.

I'd immediately panicked, afraid my new brother would be furious for breaking an old family heirloom. But as I stared at the piece in my hand, it began to glow like an ember, getting hotter and hotter until it was too hot to hold anymore and I dropped it.

As soon as it hit the ground, a fire sprang up from it. I jumped back in fright, but as I stared into the flames, I saw a beautiful black wolf standing in the centre of them. I didn't really mean to, but I saw myself reaching out to touch the flames, and to my shock, they weren't hot.

That's when Trea spoke to me, told me the story. When he was finished, the flames disappeared, and so did he. But when I looked down, instead of the metal emblem that had fallen from my mother's bow, I saw the bit I now carry in my bey... He's been by my side ever since."

Finally having finished her tale, Demetra stared off to the side unwilling to look at Tala and anticipating his reaction. It seemed to take ages, but in fact, didn't take long for the redhead to respond once he was sure she was finished.

"You're probably expecting a different reaction, but your story's actually not that unbelievable." He teased. He was silent for a few moments, but his voice was soft when he spoke again. "I appreciate you trusting me enough to share it."

When Demetra looked at him, it was with a look of surprise, but Tala didn't give her the chance to say anything.

"So why do you go by Nakamura instead of your father's name? Were your parents not married?"

Demetra made a face at that.

"That's an extremely long and complicated story." She said with a deep frown. "And it would take much longer than a single night to explain everything... But in short, yes, my parents were married. Breal decided to take our mother's name long before I was in the picture, mostly to piss off the S-O-B we're forced to call grandfather."

A look of disgust coming to her face then, she hesitated a moment before finishing.

"My father's family name is Heikkien, by the way." She mumbled softly.

"Heikkien." Tala repeated, weighing the word. "Sounds fancy. Do you know what it means?"

Once again Demetra hesitated, giving the redhead a look, and when she spoke he knew why.

"Yes..." She replied wearily, obviously reluctant to answer. Though eventually she did. "It basically means ruler of the estate, or home-ruler..."

An amused grin split the redhead's face at that.

"Of course it does." He replied in amusement, eager to meet her expectation of a joke. "How very appropriate, Princess."

Watching her roll her eyes, Tala chuckled before continuing.

"So this grandfather you're such a big fan of; is he the one who's got your family all tied up in Japan's mafia?"

This time Demetra didn't answer his question, didn't need to, because when she looked away from him off to the side, Tala had all the confirmation he needed. That mystery - partially - solved, he decided to move on and see what else he could get away with before she got fed up.

"Pretty obvious you think a lot over your mom." He said quietly, weighing his words a little more carefully now. "You ever get to meet her?"

"No." Demetra answered softly, thankfully a quick answer this time. "At least, not as a fully functioning human being. She... died... when I was just a baby."

Tala watched her swallow hard this time, saw a pained expression take hold of her face, so painful looking in fact that he almost regretted asking again. Yet still, she continued to offer up information to him, and her willingness to share with him made his chest helplessly swell with affection and appreciation.

"She was still alive though for the first few years of Breal's life... he's kept as much video and photographic memory of her as he can... I've got all those just about worn out..."

Sensing a deeply painful topic in their current one, Tala decided to move on.

"Why the bows and arrows?" He asked conversationally, afraid to drop the ball in case she decided not to pick it up again. "Was your mom a warrior or a merc or something?"

This seemed to be the tipping point, and although she didn't seem angry by his question, it was obviously the end of her willing sharing for now.

"What is this an interrogation?" Demetra asked irritably, finally looking back at the redhead now with a matching expression. "What about you? I was honest about everything you've asked me, I think that should earn me at least one or two of your deep, dark secrets Captain Mysterious! Cough it up!"

She fully expected him to argue, but to Demetra's surprise, Tala was quickly and willingly forthcoming in his give back.

"The Blitzkrieg Boys' Borg beasts are all the spirits of some super strong-willed animals Boris and his losers tortured the life out of in their heinous experiments. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to capture the spirits and put them in bits. They tried to control them, but everyone who tried either got injured or killed.

This one day, Boris decided to organize a game for us all; only it wasn't a game, it was a glorified all out war. He decided that the top four winners of this war game would be strong enough to control the Borg beasts, so he offered the Borgs up as prizes as an incentive to put us at each other's throats... Needless to say, it worked. Of course, with that promise came a pretty big risk too; even if we did finish first and claim a Borg, there was still the possibility that it would turn on us like it had every other person before it."

A dark look clouded Tala's face then, and Demetra watched with morbid fascination as he crossed his arms, his jaw working as he seemed to look back into the extremely unpleasant memory. Finally, although he seemed to have to force himself to do so, he continued.

"Nobody had it easy in that hellhole. But for most of us, we didn't have anywhere else to go... So we chose to stay. And to stay meant to fight. Every day."

A grimace contorted Tala's features and he had to force a hard swallow to push back the bile that suddenly rose in his throat.

"Anyway..." He continued, his voice cracking. "In a place like that, any advantage you could get could mean all the difference, and with an advantage like the Borg Beasts, it was too good a temptation to pass up.

So, like usual, it was every man for himself, every single one of us was determined to get to the top... Me included. But unlike everyone else, I didn't give a damn about controlling a powerful bitbeast. I had other reasons for wanting to finish first."

Demetra's brow lifted at that, thoroughly intrigued by the redhead's tale. Reaching for her bottle again, her eyes didn't leave her companion as she listened to him talk. Though he seemed completely unable to look at her.

"At that point in my life, things hadn't exactly been sunshine and roses, and I'm not proud to admit it, but I'd pretty much had about all I could take... I broke more noses and limbs that day then I care to admit or remember... I was going to finish first and there wasn't a damn person who was going to get in my way... And I did."

Right then, the haunted look on Tala's face yanked hard on Demetra's heartstrings. Never in her life had she desired so badly to comfort someone. But aside from being completely at a loss of how to do so, she also had a feeling that it wouldn't quite be a welcomed gesture just then anyway. So, feeling her heart ache for the redhead, she instead watched helplessly as Tala struggled with the demons of his past all on his own.


...::: A Decade Ago :::...


Panting laboriously and tripping all over himself, Tala stumbled and clawed his way up the muddy incline until he fell at his knees before a stone pedestal. His entire being crying out in relief, without a second thought, his little hand shot out and wrapped his fingers around the seemingly harmless piece of metal sitting atop it.

Instantly on contact, a bitter wave of frigid air blasted out over him, knocking the redhead on his backside. Looking up in stunned shock, Tala's once bright, dulled polar blue eyes stared wide at the massive figure looming over him, only deftly noting they'd somehow been encased in a massive ball of ice.

"Who do you think you are you vile little human upstart?!" A threatening voice echoed in his ear. "What makes you think you have the right, the ability to command my power?! Don't you know what happened to every last fool before you who tried to control me?!"

Snapping to his senses, Tala's eyes instantly flooded before scrambling to kneel before the giant white wolf.

"I don't want your power!" He screeched through a bitter sob, his voice broken and raw. "And I know what you did to all the others, that's why I had to get to you first!"

Eyes narrowing on the little creature before it, the wolf gazed at him suspiciously.

"Explain yourself, boy." It growled threateningly. Tala lifted his head to look into the glowing amber gems glaring at him.

"I'm here to beg you to kill me!"

Clearly caught off guard, the snarl faded from the wolf's face.

"I don't understand..." It said coldly. "Why would you fight so hard only to ask this of me..?"

"Because I can't take this anymore!" Tala cried out, thick tears streaking down his bloodied, muddied face. "I ran away from a father who loved nothing better than making me bleed, only to end up running straight into the arms of an even bigger monster!"

His head hanging, the thick drops splattered on the ground now between the little fists clenched atop it.

"I can't do this anymore..." He sobbed brokenly. "I'm so sick of being lonely and in pain all the time! I'm sick of hurting like this! Please, please I'm just begging you to make it stop! Please just kill me!"

The wolf stared at the tortured little creature before it for a long time, observing, contemplating, until finally it closed its eyes.

"I won't do that." It said decisively.

Tala's head shot up to give the white figure a crazed, panicked look.

"What?!" He screeched in disbelief, his eyes wild. "Why not?! You're the only one who can make this all go away!"

Amber eyes opened again and fixed themselves on polar blue.

"I won't take your life." It said firmly. "But I will honour your request."

Tala's expression was one of pained confusion.

"I don't get it..." He choked, voice breaking.

"I will offer you my allegiance." The wolf said firmly. "From this day forward little warrior, I will do everything in my power to see your torture does end. So long as you draw breath, you will never again spend another day in this wretched world alone."

His eyes wide and jaw slack, Tala watched in a frozen stupor of disbelief as the ice around them crumbled away, and the noise of the outside world once again greeted him.

"Finally! Tala, what the hell happened?! Have you taken control of the bitbeast's power?!"

Still shellshocked, Tala was unable to answer Boris' demand, even after several yelled attempts. Finally, loosing his patience, Boris stomped up to the small figure on his knees and reached out to grab the bit in Tala's hand. However, as soon as he made contact, a wicked, icy bolt struck him, causing him to snatch his numb limb back with a loud yelp.

Shaking his fist, Boris' teeth clenched in a nasty growl before reaching out once again, this time to grasp Tala's shoulder. Once again, a jolt shot through him from the bit in Tala's hand, this time powerful enough to knock the man on his rear.

"Well, well..." Boris drawled with a mean sneer. "Looks like you were able to gain control of it after all."

This seemed to snap Tala out of his trance, and looking up at Boris, a dark look came over his face. Getting to his feet, now brilliant eyes shone with newfound life as they glared at the man who'd for so long been the boogeyman incarnate for him.

"No, I didn't control it." He growled informatively. "We just joined forces against the same enemy."

Boris lifted a brow at that, but he didn't seem overly upset. If anything, there was a gleeful glint in his sinister smile.

"Is that so?" He drawled in amusement. "If that's the case, then well done m'boy... I expect great things from you."

Narrowing his eyes at the man as he hauled himself off the ground, Tala watched him turn and walk away. Once the hateful being was out of sight, Tala glanced down at the bit in his hand, his expression softening as his thumb brushed the image atop affectionately.


...::: Present :::...


Once Tala had finished his story, there was silence between the two for a long time; Demetra unable to decide what to say, and Tala unable to say anything more. Finally, a smirk appeared on Demetra's face, though it was half-hearted and forced.

"Well hell Tala." She said in a teasing attempt, attempting to lighten the mood. "You just can't resist showing me up every chance you get can you?"

To her relief a smirk quirked up the redhead's lips too, but it was a hallow one.

"What can I say, I'm a dramatic guy." He replied, then his brows furrowed deeply. "One thing that's been bugging me though... I don't get how you were able to take Wolborg from me. No one's ever been able to do that."

"Maybe it likes me better." Demetra shot back teasingly.

When she received a dubious look for that, she released an amused snort before looking away from him. Her face reddened then and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Before you think it betrayed you... You should know it did actually attack me at first." She quietly reluctantly admitted. "I had to convince it I came in peace."

There was another silence for a bit, Tala considering her confession, before he eventually replied.

"I never thanked you for what you did by the way." He said quietly, not looking at her. "And your gesture wasn't lost on me... it meant a lot actually... thanks."

"Don't mention it..." Demetra mumbled, thoroughly embarrassed and unable to look at him.

Suddenly another smirk quirked the redhead's lips, this time genuine.

"So how exactly did you convince my Bitbeast you came in peace?"

To Tala's delight, Demetra flushed scarlet at that.

"That's more information then you've earned." She replied half-playfully in embarrassment. "And on that note, I think story time is over for the time being."

Tala lifted a brow as he watched her get to her feet.

"Oh?" He questioned curiously. "So what time is it then?"

"For me, time for a shower." She said bluntly.

His eyes following her, Tala watched wordlessly as Demetra walked over to grab her gym bag, then made for the shower room.

-;-

The potent smell of Demetra's shampoo wafted through the shower room as Demetra lathered up her hair. It had been her intention to grab herself a change of clothes for when training was finished, mainly because she knew her team would have dawdled in joining her in the gym - though she could never have guessed that dawdling would translate into not showing up at all. Of course, she'd completely forgotten to do so, though luckily she'd unintentionally left a fresh outfit there the last time she'd trained. Unfortunately, no thanks to the soaking she'd received from Tala before getting there she'd had to change into the only shirt and bra she'd had upon arrival, so she'd have to make do with the zip up hoodie that remained. That still left her with the rest of her undergarments, as well as a comfy pair of leggings, so she figured that would have to do.

As she cleaned up, Demetra's thoughts drifted with the scent of her shampoo, floating in and out of her consciousness as she recalled the last few weeks, days, hours. She thought of everything Tala had shared with her since becoming trapped together. A part of her was supremely annoyed by their situation, but not so deep down, she couldn't help being grateful towards their friends, because she knew that had they not done this, the chance that herself and Tala would have ended up sharing so much with each other would have been infinitely slimmer.

While her thoughts floated around aimlessly, one scarcely finished before another one began, one thought came to her mind and stuck there, much less willing to drift away like the others. In fact, this thought seemed to be determined to stick around, looming closer and more defined in her ears until it eventually became impossible to ignore.

"I was wrong about you, your highness. You're no princess. You're just a common floozy."

Her hands pausing in her hair as she stared at the wall, those words echoed around in her head like a basketball in an empty metal shipping container.

"Why the hell did he say that...?" She asked herself with a troubled expression, her heart aching at the memory.

Though she raked her brain, try as she might, Demetra could not for the life of her discern what she may have said or done to deserve such a harsh remark. Sure, she'd said and done a lot of things to deserve backlash from the redhead, but in her mind, nothing she could recall could have warranted something like that. Likewise, Tala had said and done a lot of nasty things to her, but not once had he ever implied something quite that hurtful and, in her opinion, completely unjust.

Eventually deciding she wasn't going to work it out on her own, Demetra determined there was nothing else for it then to ask Tala about it as soon as she got out.

-;-

It was lucky Tala had a tendency to leave a change of clothes in a locker in the training room, and he was very grateful of the fact now, bonus that it happened to be one of his comfiest long-sleeved white shirts and a favourite pair of jeans. Of course, there was always a selection of single-use soaps and shampoos on a shelf there in (The Facility staff kept every little minuscule convince item in the place well stocked). So, seeing as Demetra had taken the time out for a quick refresh, Tala figured it wouldn't hurt him to freshen up a little too.

Running a towel through his wet hair, Tala stared off blankly while his mind ran away with him. He tried to convince himself he was supremely annoyed by what his so-called friends had not just allowed to happen, but had gleefully taken part in, but truth be told, it was more accurate to admit he was actually supremely relieved. Though he was loathe to admit it, this sort of situation was exactly what he'd needed, exactly the sort of outcome he'd been hoping for without actually having expected it. He knew that had it been left up to him, he probably would have stubbornly gone to his grave pinning after a moment he was too proud to seize himself without a good hard shove.

And if he was really honest with himself, he'd be forced to admit that he was also over the moon that things between him and Demetra had been going so swimmingly well. In the time they'd been together that night, he'd learned nearly as much about her as he'd learned in the many months since she'd arrived in Russia. For that alone he knew he was forever in the others' debts.

Just then a pleasant scent invaded Tala's senses, and instantly Tala recognized it. It was Demetra's shampoo. Something inside him squirmed uncomfortably with the mental admission of this; it was embarrassing to think he was able to pinpoint the scent as her shampoo, not her soap or some other girly scent, specifically her shampoo.

And how was he so certain of the fact? It was of course, due to all the times he'd found himself in such close proximity with her, all the times he'd found himself somehow pressed against her, or she against him - whether intentionally or otherwise. He thought of the select few instances when he'd been able to burry his nose in her silky locks, subtly breathe her in, and pretend for just one blissful moment that it might actually be possible for her to one day be totally and completely his.

Every time she was close to him, no matter how desperately he tried to ignore it, Tala always found that scent invading his senses. He'd never smelled that scent before having met her, which in his mind, made it uniquely hers alone - probably some rich kid brand he'd never even heard of. To him, it always signified when she was around, or when she'd been around, because the scent nearly always preceded her, as well as lingered behind long after she was gone. It was an extremely pleasing scent, something he couldn't quite place; not flowery, not perfumed, but distinctly girly all the same. And it was a scent that nearly always got his blood pumping, just as it was doing now.

"God, how is it every damn thing about this girl drives me so completely insane?!" Tala thought in distress.

He hung his head and draped the towel over the back of his neck, hoping to stop some of it from reaching him, but it was no use. Heaving a heavy sigh, Tala lifted his head again, letting the towel drop around his shoulders as he turned his head towards the shower bay, where he could still hear Demetra's shower running.

Realistically, Tala himself had finished his own shower, so he should already be making his way out of the room. But deep down he knew what kept him rooted, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to force himself to leave so long as her shower was still running and that heart-stopping scent still wafted through the thick steam.

A small chuckle bubbled unexpectedly from Tala's throat as a thought came to him. The girl was tougher then most men he knew; tough as nails, solid steel constitution, a fierce personality that could make a seasoned sailor pass out from fright. But for all her ass kicking, all her grit and hardened persona, she was still inarguably a girl underneath it all - a fierce, terrifying, maddeningly alluring girl.

Yes, that was one fact Tala was oh so painfully aware of. Demetra might not the the typical girl; in fact she was without a doubt the most atypical, unladylike, girl he'd ever met. But every time she touched him - for whatever reason - every time she spoke, especially his name, and every damn time he caught one of her maddeningly alluring scents, Tala was reminded that yes indeed, this person whom had so thoroughly invaded not just one but every single one, of his sense, was very much a woman. And she was a woman he was undoubtably painfully attracted to.

This time the sigh that escaped him was a self-depreciating one. Closing his eyes and reaching up to run a hand through his still damp locks, Tala released a self-depreciating snort to match his sigh. He figured he must really like this one girl an awful lot, because it wasn't so long ago that if there had been something he'd wanted this much, especially someone, he wouldn't be standing all the way across a steamy room pinning after them. In fact, only a few months ago, if there had been a girl he'd wanted so damn desperately it made him ache on a regular basis, if she had been this close to him, in such a very inviting situation, there wouldn't have been much that would have kept him from crossing that room, and offering her an invite he'd make sure she couldn't refuse.

But this time, for once, it was different. This time, no matter how loudly the thirsty beast inside him roared demandingly, no matter powerfully his instincts tried to drive him towards the source of that steam, Tala's heart and mind kept him rooted in place. For once, the desire not to obliterate the foundation he'd already so painstakingly built with her, not to push this one girl away again, to screw up and destroy any chances he had left of making her stay, far overpowered his animalistic desires.

As his consciousness warred inside him, a specific memory came back to Tala, a memory of the tempting beauty in question; the memory of seeing her mouthwatering figure stencilled out so clearly and vividly against the curtain she'd put up for herself in the cabin on their first sledding trip. That image, forever burned into his mind, overlapped now onto the one currently in his mind no thanks to his current dangerous situation. It was at that point Tala knew he was trading dangerous waters, and it was time to make a decision.

That's when he finally admitted; if he didn't want the foul state he'd allowed his unsavoury thoughts to work him into to get him into trouble, if he was going to make it out of there and force himself to cool off before it was too late, then it was indefinitely time to go.

Stealing one last glance towards the shower bay, ignoring the irritating ranging beast inside him, Tala turned around at last and forced his very unwilling feet to guide him towards the exit door, instead of the one he so desperately wanted to go to instead.

-;-

Hearing the creak of a swinging door, Tala absently looked towards the shower room, noting as expected Demetra exiting the area in question. He'd been poking around the exits, looking for something they might have missed, but it was mostly for the excuse to keep himself busy - mainly to get his mind off his previously less than wholesome thoughts before his companion rejoined him. Tala figured he'd pretty much gotten his embarrassingly worked up libido in check, but when Demetra approached him, still flushed and glowing from her shower, and she was close enough for him to be able to make her out in fine detail under the low lighting, his heart went up into his throat while a wicked heat instantly surged through him.

"Oh hell, she's not wearing anything underneath that..." He thought, with a cross between dismay and something he'd only just managed to wrangle under control.

It wasn't like he normally made a habit to be so vulgar, but it was reflexive for Tala's currently overactive imagination to draw his eyes to the brunette's very attractive bosom. And once there, it was all too painfully obvious for his wandering eyes to note that, although she'd pulled the zipper up quite far, Demetra wasn't wearing anything under her zip-up sweater. He knew perfectly well she wasn't trying to seduce him or give him the wrong impression in any way; likely she hadn't had anything else to wear, but knowing the innocence in that fact only made it that much worse.

"Miss me?" Demetra said almost absently once she'd stopped in front of him.

"More then I will ever admit to you..." Tala thought ruefully. Forcing a smirk on his face, he denied the fact aloud.

"Like a toothache."

Obviously used to such responses from him, Demetra completely ignored him with nothing more than a somewhat amused snort. Pulling out her cell, she glanced at the time, and noting the late hour, gave a hefty sigh.

"I think it's safe to say we're going to be here all night." She said with an irritated expression. "We should probably think about where we're going to sleep."

Forcing himself to focus and steer his mind back out of unwholesome territory, Tala cleared his throat, hoping to make her believe it was due to the dry air, and not the humiliating truth.

"I already thought about that actually." Tala said, gesturing towards one of the supply rooms with his chin. "The gym mats are in there. They should work alright as mattresses for the night. I'll go drag a few out if you wanna go grab some grub."

He made to leave, heading in direction of the room, when suddenly he stopped and looked back over his shoulder at his companion.

"Unless you've got a problem with that, Princess." He said with a mischievous look. "Wouldn't want you thinking I'm assigning you to food detail because you're a girl."

Immediately getting the joke he was getting at, Demetra recalled a certain memory, in a certain safe house, at a time that seemed like a lifetime ago; a memory that reminded her how childishly she'd reacted to a very similar situation.

"No, I suppose I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time." She replied with a smirk. Tala chuckled before turning forward and continuing on his way again.

Her smirk softening to a small smile behind his back, Demetra turned then as well and made for the snack bar at the back of the gym.

Once Tala had dragged out two large gym mats, and Demetra had raided the snack bar, they both reconciled again in the centre of the gym. As Tala straightened from hauling the thickest mat into place, Demetra handed him a bottle of juice, a snack wrap and package of pretzels.

"Only one mat?" She questioned him, noting that he seemed to have used the second thinner one as a pillow, which he'd rolled up and placed atop the bigger one.

Tala lifted a brow as he accepted the lunch from the brunette.

"What are you, twelve?" He asked with a teasing note, though Demetra noted a somewhat stung look in his eyes. "Don't worry Princess, I'm not going to take advantage of your poor innocent soul in the dark. But if you're really that scared of me, then no, there are more mats back there. Help yourself."

Forcing a theatrical eye roll, Demetra made to sit on the mat. She made a show of placing her things down, of leaning back against the makeshift pillow, getting comfortable, before opening her bag of pretzels and looking Tala in the eye, showily popping one into her mouth and chomping on it with a loud crunch.

To her pleasure, her little show worked.

"Tch. For a second I thought you were actually smart." Tala teased with a smirk, moving to sit beside her and get comfortable himself. "I thought you learned your lesson about trusting wild dogs.'

"I thought I told you all wild dogs could be tamed." She shot back smartly, popping another pretzel into her mouth. Then she turned a look on him, mischievous in her own right. "Besides, I'm not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf."

A shiver ran down Tala's spine at that, and in its wake a warm heat took its place. He recalled the first time he'd heard her call him that; it had nearly ripped his heart out. However this time, there was a much more tender note to the teasing dub. That or he was only picking it up this time whereas last time he hadn't. Swallowing hard, he stared into the brunette's beautiful face for a minute, then finally turned away from her and forced a teasing smirk.

"Heh. Then I guess you're not as smart as I thought after all.'

For a few minutes, there was silence between the two as they both ate, until eventually they both realized it was getting considerably warmer. In her peripherals, Demetra noted Tala pushing back the sleeves of his long-sleeved white shirt - a shirt that looked oh-so-sexy on him and fit him all too criminally well - and something not so deep down stirred inside her. She'd never been one to normally notice anyone else's physical attributes, but it was so easy to notice Tala's. Or rather, it was so very hard not to. As she unintentionally stared, Demetra found herself thinking how exceedingly attractive Tala's toned arms were - how exceedingly attractive the whole damn package that was Tala Ivanov was.

Then she found herself thinking of the times she'd felt first hand the strength in those so very attractive arms; a night some time ago, when he'd effortlessly hoisted her into the treetops during their paintball game and held her so protectively close to him for example. A night not so long ago when he'd hoisted her up on a wall to save her from a renegade firecracker. And then there was the time when he'd carried her back to her room after having fallen asleep in his presence; though she hadn't technically been conscious for that one, so she supposed that one didn't count - even if it had very much happened.

Suddenly the feel of her accelerated pulse made a molten hot wave crash over her, and Demetra tore her eyes away from Tala's shockingly heart-throbbing profile. It didn't help at all that the low mood lighting made him look that much more drool-worthy, as a certain pair would say.

"What the hell is wrong with me?!" Demetra thought, mortified at herself for her thoughts.

Feeling the heat in her rise that much further, she too reached to push up her sleeves, then to pluck at the front of her sweater to flutter it, attempting desperately to cool herself down. Just then she was extremely grateful for the near darkness.

"You notice that too?" Tala stated more then asked.

Demetra startled a little, and looked at Tala with an uneasy expression, looking like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Notice what?" She asked, her voice raising an octave. Tala lifted an eyebrow, staring at her in wonder over her puzzling reaction.

"The heat." He said bluntly, giving her a look that seemed to say 'duh, what else did you think I was talking about?'. "It's gotten pretty hot in the last while."

"Oh." Demetra replied simply, feeling a sense of relief at realizing she hadn't been caught after all. "Yea. It's hot."

Tala looked at her like she was the strangest thing he'd ever seen, completely bewildered by her sudden reactions.

Demetra had noticed the heat, and she was pretty sure she knew the cause of it, and their less than wholesome thoughts and intentions behind it. However, she couldn't be bothered to care about that just then, because at that moment, the wicked heat inside her had nothing to do with the no doubt cranked up temperature.

Reaching out to pluck at the front of her sweater again, Demetra pointedly avoided Tala's gaze, which was still pinned on her. Thankfully, this action gave her the out she'd been looking for, because Tala's entrancing polar blues were suddenly drawn to the wrist lifted before her.

"Nice bracelet.' He said cheekily, a smirk coming to his face.

Demetra stoped her fidgeting and looked down at the wrist in question, which happened to be the one still wearing the bracelet he'd made her the night of the festival. A small smirk creased her face then as well.

"Thanks. Some irritating guy I know made it for me." She replied teasingly. "Word is he's completely obsessed with me."

The smirk on Tala's face widened then to an amused grin.

"Is that so?" He drawled in amusement. "You know what they say about rumours. Question is, is there any truth to it, or is it just wishful thinking? Maybe you just want it to be true, huh Princess? I mean, you are wearing it, so..."

Ignoring his cheek, Demetra gave the redhead a teasing look.

"Well, what can I say, it seems a waste to discard such fine craftsmanship, even if its craftsman's character leaves something to be desired."

She then lifted her chin and gave him a challenging look.

"And what about you, Mr. Wolf?" She asked suggestively. "Any handmade trinkets for you, or are you too cool for such silly tokens?"

"Oh I'm definitely too cool for them." Tala shot back cockily.

Yet still he lifted the arm holding his juice, and Demetra noted with shocked pleasure that the bracelet she'd made him was still there too. She hadn't noticed it before when she was looking at his arms, and she tried to tell herself it was because the bottle was in the way, but not so deep down she knew better.

"Hm.." She hummed playfully with a serious look on her face. "Nice. You obviously have some very talented acquaintances."

"Yea, I know a lot of talented people." Tala replied, surprising her, and causing a tug of affection to pluck her heartstrings. "But this one was made by some chick with no idea what she was doing. She sucked so bad she even needed instructions to be able to make it."

Demetra's jaw came unhinged a bit at that, and she felt two sensations bubbling inside her at once; the sensation to smack him and the sensation to laugh.

"I mean, it's not nearly as cool as yours." Tala continued seriously without so much as cracking a smile. "This one sucks compared to that one. But it's alright, I guess."

Finally both sensations bubbled over and Demetra helplessly released a snort of laughter, while simultaneously reaching out to punch Tala's shoulder; which made the redhead crack a laugh too.

"Idiot." Demetra said, trying to bite back the smile fighting to split her face.

Tala chuckled as he lifted his bottle to his lips for a drink, and it was then Demetra noticed something else peeking out from under the bracelet on his wrist.

"Is that my hair tie?" She asked in surprise.

Lowering the bottle and tipping his wrist to look, Demetra was surprised again to see a dark stain appear across the shadows of Tala's face.

"Uh... yea." He replied, coughing awkwardly. "Forgot I had that..."

Demetra lifted a brow, not quite able to place why, but completely unable to believe that.

"Uh huh." She replied bluntly.

"You want it back?" Tala muttered, still sounding awkward.

That tickled the brunette's funny bone. Like most long haired girls who often wore their hair up, hair ties and bobby pins were a fairly common household item.

"No, that's alright." She replied in amusement, once again fighting back a grin. "I've got a million of them. I'm just surprised you still have it."

"Like I said, forgot it was there..." Tala muttered again, the dark stain on his cheeks deepening then.

Despite his claim, Demetra noted he made no move to remove the tie, and in fact, she watched his thumb begin to absently twirl it around his wrist as he stared into the darkness; and something told her it wasn't the first time he'd done that. Something sickly warm and fluttery moved inside her, as she wondered if the ridiculously simple and common item of hers, had become a sort of comfort item for the redhead.

Belatedly realizing what he was doing, Tala abruptly stopped his fidgeting and let his had drop into his lap, while the other lifted to drink greedily this time from his bottle.

Feeling the smile she'd been fighting finally break across her face, Demetra turned away from Tala and instead stared down at the bracelet on her own arm. Reaching up her free hand, she fingered it affectionately for a bit before eventually breaking the tense silence.

"In all seriousness, it really is an exceptionally made bracelet." She complimented offhandedly. "Extremely impressive, especially for a guy. How did you get so good at making them?"

"What, just cause I'm a guy, I can't make a bracelet?" Tala replied cheekily. "Wow, I know some people who'd have a field day with you."

Demetra lifted her head and gave the redhead a look.

"Nice try." She said bluntly. "Don't avoid the question."

A half cocked smile creased Tala's face then, and Demetra noted there was a hint of sadness and something else in it.

"I'm not avoiding it, I just don't want to answer." He replied, obviously attempting to sound playful, but the sadness in his smile infected his tone as well. "Sorry Princess, you'll need more than one naughty night together to earn that one."

Ignoring his bait, Demetra couldn't help being intrigued; it must be an interesting story if something seemingly so simple warranted such reluctance to share. But sensing a sore topic, she decided to let him have it for now.

"Fine." She said simply, lifting her chin and staring into his eyes. "Then how about you tell me about your pouch of treasures? I recall you telling me in the bar you planned to share that anyway? Or has that offer expired? Do I need to earn that one too?"

To Demetra's surprise, she watched Tala wordlessly reach for the cord always around his neck, pull it free from his shirt, before moving to open the drawstring pouch attached. Reaching inside, he carefully extracted a few tiny items, then turned to her and held out his hand.

Completely stunned, Demetra wordlessly lifted her hand, watching as Tala gently deposited the items into her waiting palm, then stared down at them.

"I've already shown you the watch." Tala said softly, his tone somewhat thin. "And my beyblade is a given. But those two aside, this pouch and those things are the most precious things I own..."

Sitting in her palm were two small photographs, and a pair of rings.

"Those were my parent's wedding rings..." Tala supplied her questioning look. "I took them with me when I left home..."

"You mean you stole them?" Demetra questioned gently, not accusatory, just curious. Tala snorted moodily.

"No." He said bluntly. "Trust me, nobody missed those rings... In fact if I hadn't taken them, they probably would have eventually been hawked for a bottle of booze."

Demetra sensed another sore topic there, so she decided to leave that one for later too. Instead, she reached into her pocket and extracted her cell. Turning on the light, she hovered it over the photos so she could see them better. Her expression softened when she noted a handsome young soldier, and a beautiful young woman, holding each other with beaming smiles and somewhat flushed faces.

"She's beautiful...' Demetra said softly. "Is that your mother?"

Eying the picture for a moment, her thumb moved to gently push the picture aside so she could look at the one underneath. That one was again of the previous pair, but this time there was an adorable, beaming little redhead between them. Instantly Demetra knew she had her answer, that she was looking at an old Ivanov family picture.

Still, even though her question was obviously answered, Tala spoke up to confirm what she now already knew anyway.

"Yea..." He replied softly, his voice cracking. "That was a long time ago... obviously. Back when things were really different... when the people in those pictures could actually call themselves a family..."

"I see..." Demetra said softly, staring down at the pictures.

Probably more out of the need to keep talking in order to fend off the obviously painful memories, Tala continued his explanation.

"The pouch means so much to me, because my old man gave it to me back when he was still sober enough to do anything useful..." There was an obvious bitterness to that statement, and once again Demetra decided not to pry. "He had one like it... made them both... When he gave it to me, he told me everything a man should value most in the world should fit in this pouch... I didn't get that at the time, but..."

Demetra looked up at the redhead and noted a storm of emotions on his face, the sight of which broke her heart. Biting her cheek, she looked back down at the objects in her hand, staring at the pictures another moment, before finally switching off her light, replacing her cell in her pocket and holding her hand out to return the treasures.

When Tala lifted his hand to receive the items back, Demetra placed them in his waiting palm. But before he could draw his hand back, Demetra's fingers wrapped around his, halting his retreat. Looking up into her face questioningly, Tala's gaze locked on the one staring intensely back at him.

She hadn't really meant to do that, but now that she'd obviously captivated him, Demetra figured she'd better make use of the moment.

"Why did you run away...?" She heard herself whisper, hoping with everything she had she didn't rip open another wound.

A wounded expression did indeed flicker across Tala's face, and Demetra instantly regretted asking, but to her surprise, he actually answered the obviously painful question.

"My father was a great man once..." Tala told her quietly. "He was a soldier. A proud one, good at what he did. Well respected, well loved... especially by his family. A good man all around."

He flinched then, as if something had physically pricked him.

"But that changed when all of a sudden, one day, the world no longer needed him to wear a uniform..." Tala's expression darkened. "It didn't matter that his family still needed him... all he cared about was that he wasn't a soldier anymore..."

Tala grimaced, looked away from her, though he made no movement to remove his hand from the one still holding it.

"He became angry and mean. Drank himself stupid... Probably could have learned to put up with that, except when he drank he was the typical violent type.." Tala's teeth clenched angrily. "Stupid jerk was like a big old damn walking cliche!"

He swallowed hard, and Demetra frowned, her heart clenching painfully for him as she listened quietly.

"It wasn't so bad at first... but eventually he turned his violence on us. It was pretty bad for me... but it was way worse for my mother. Sometimes he'd hit her so hard he'd knock her out... I got sick of seeing her passed out from his beatings, while he passed out from the booze! I guess eventually she did too..."

Demetra's chest was tight, and her face was pinched with secondhand grief. She tried to will it away, afraid the redhead would see it, but fortunately he seemed unable to look at her anyway. And, as if needing to get it all out now once he'd started, Tala trudged painfully on.

"She walked out eventually. Can't say I blame her for that, but..." This time when his jaw clenched, it looked extremely painful. "But when she left... she left me with him... and his hands didn't get any softer when she was gone... if anything, without her there to draw his violence away... all his rage ended up coming down on me..."

Demetra felt like she was going to be sick. So many thoughts and emotions were going through her head. She knew she should feel for Tala's mother, knew she should pity the woman, or at least have some sort of sympathy towards a situation she didn't, or couldn't, really understand. But right then all she could feel was rage towards the unknown woman, for leaving behind the boy she should have loved and protected with her life.

"Did you-" Demetra bit her lip, cutting off the end of her sentence as she decided too little too late not to ask. But despite her take back, Tala seemed to know what she was afraid to ask and filled her in anyway.

"Yea..." He said softly. "I saw her again... from the shadows once while I watched her walking down the street, walking and laughing with her new husband and precious bundle of joy."

Demetra's eyes widened and she felt a stab at her heart. Suddenly she was reminded of her answer during the competition they'd ran together, when they'd been asked if their partner had any siblings. As a reflex, she'd answered that he'd had none, and although it was obviously the correct answer at the time, the one Tala himself had supplied, she now knew it wasn't quite true. She also recalled another moment that night; a moment on the dance floor of the bar.

"Is your mother-"

"I don't want to talk about her. Especially not with you..."

A sharp stab pierced Demetra's heart at the memory. At the time, she'd thought it because he didn't trust her, or because Demetra wasn't really someone worthy of sharing something so personal about a loved one with, since she herself was nothing to him. Never could she have guessed that it was because memories of the woman in question, caused him more distress then the disinclination to share a piece of himself with a nobody.

"Tala... I-"

"Don't apologize." Tala cut her off, a rough edge to his voice. "I don't need your pity."

Demetra bit her lip and looked down. After a hesitation, she decided to finish what she'd started.

"What about your father?"

"I never saw him again after I ran away." Tala said quietly. "And a few years back, I found out he'd drank himself into the grave... so I guess I never will."

Finally it seemed like Tala was finished, and for a long time there was silence, neither was there any movement as both seemed to be completely lost in their own thoughts. But eventually, Demetra felt something against her hand and looked down, only now realizing she was still holding Tala's when she felt him finally pulling it back.

Tightening her hold a little to prevent him pulling away, Demetra looked into Tala's eyes when he looked up at her with a questioning look. Noting the expression on her face, to her relief his dark look cleared for the most part, and she watched his expression soften just a little.

"I'll live, Princess..." Tala said softly, obviously attempting to tease. But his voice was a good deal more tender then he intended. "I've survived this long, one more night won't kill me... But thanks."

Her expression flickering for a moment, Demetra squeezed his hand one more time, hoping something would come to her. But unfortunately, nothing did, and eventually she was forced to finally let him go.

As if afraid of the silence, Tala looked away from her, but almost immediately spoke again.

"How's that for deep, dark, secrets...?" He said with a self depreciating grin. "Hope some of it makes up for not exactly being a ray of sunshine... and why I'm not usually chomping at the bit to share all the gory details about myself."

That comment struck deep with Demetra. This time, something else he said came back to her.

"Maybe I'll let you in on some of those deep, dark secrets sometime... if you're around long enough."

It had seemed so off handed at the time; she'd merely taken it to be in reference to her short-term stay in Russia. But, now with a new light shed on the situation, she realized it was much deeper then that. Tala was so used to people walking out on him, to people betraying him, that it must be virtually impossible for him to open himself up to anyone, certainly not easily. Now all of a sudden, it was all too easy to see what had made him the way he was.

"Well, I can't expect anyone to give me something I don't offer myself..." Demetra thought, biting the side of her cheek. After a brief internal debate, she eventually took a long, deep breath before forcing herself to open her mouth and reciprocate.

"Growing up in Linnoitus, I used to always fantasize about fanciful imaginings of a lovely family reunion, of

fairy tale endings where these spectacularly wonderful people would show up claiming to be my parents, claiming I was the long lost treasure they never meant to part with... they'd sweep into my life in a blaze of glory, all magical and surreally perfect. Then I'd introduce them to my soul sisters, they'd fall in love with them, adopt them too, they'd take us away from that lonesome place, and we'd all live blissfully happily ever after..."

A complicated smile crept up Demetra's face as she recalled the memories in question.

"The day this skinny little runt of a fifteen year old showed up, claiming to be my long lost brother coming to take me home, I was furious... at least on the outside. On the inside I was devastated; it was nothing like what I'd imagined, what I'd dreamt of... I refused to go with him.

He kept coming back, kept begging me, attempting to bribe me with the temptation of a big old, magical mansion, a stupid amount of space to run around and take over, more money then I'd ever dreamed of... but it wasn't what I'd wanted, and I stubbornly refused him time and time again.

Months went by and I could tell he was getting desperate, that I was breaking his heart... but I didn't care. In fact, I'd begun to hate this stupid jerk who was trying to take me away; away from my sisters, and away from any chance I ever had of my real family ever coming to get me.

Finally, at his wits end, one day he just dropped to his knees and begged me to tell him what I wanted, he'd do anything, give me anything, if I'd just come home. I didn't really understand just how desperate he really was, or why. So, on a whim, I told him I'd go with him if he took my sisters too...

I never imagined he'd agree, I just wanted him to go away... but to my complete shock, he immediately said yes. Right away. As if it was the most natural thing in the world..."

A light laugh escaped Demetra now as she remembered fondly.

"I hadn't even considered asking him to take them too, I'd just automatically assumed he just wanted me. I was so stunned I couldn't help but agree."

"Bet you were pretty happy when you finally did go home huh?" Tala asked teasingly, obviously having paid close attention. "All the things little girls dream of; big houses, riches, spoiled rotten with not a care in the world? Must have finally been a dream come true after all."

Demetra smiled at the ground.

"Like my lanky, young teenage brother at the time, you'd loose that bet."

"Really?" Tala stated more then asked, lifting a brow.

"Really." Demetra replied bluntly. "Don't get me wrong, at first it was alright; the girls were over the moon with the arrangement, for their own reasons, so that made me happy for the most part for a while... but something didn't feel right.

My so called brother seemed distant and weird, especially for someone who'd wanted so bad for his dear little, long lost sister to come home. The way he talked and acted was so strange, like he was decades older than he was, like he was a grown up in a kid's body. He was all forced smiles and robotic feelings. Never laughed, never played or seemed to have any kind of fun at all... I didn't know what was wrong with him but I knew he was hiding something."

Demetra's eyes unfocused now as she sank back into a memory she hadn't thought about in years.


...::: A Decade Ago :::...


("This place gives me the creeps..." A tiny mouth muttered moodily to herself.

Seven year old Demetra Nakamura was skulking her way down the hallways of her so called new home. To her it felt more like a big old haunted mansion, and she in no way felt safe or secure there. Nothing about this new place was comfortable or felt like home. In the orphanage, she'd shared a room with her sisters and several other girls. Here they had their own rooms. While the girls were tickled pink over the idea, she herself didn't like it one bit. Altogether, each of their rooms were easily bigger on their own than two of the orphanage bedrooms combined, and each one of those had housed twelve girls.

"And Breal is so weird. I mean, what's with him anyway..." Making a face, she peered around the corner to make sure the coast was clear of any staff members, then darted across the hall into the shadows there before continuing her hunt. "I know he's up to something, I just know it... maybe he's planning to sell us to man eating witches like in that story. Or maybe he wants to marry us off to gross rich old farts to get our inheritance, maybe that's how he got so rich..."

A hundred and one conclusions ran through her head, reasons this blue haired weirdo would want a bunch of little girls living with him instead of having the place to himself, and none of it was any good. As far as she was concerned, this guy simply couldn't be trusted, and if she wanted to protect her sisters, she had to get to the bottom of it.

Finally Demetra reached the door she'd been heading for. She knew her brother had meant it to be a secret, knew he had tried very hard to keep it hidden from them, and had she been most anyone else, he might have succeeded. But Demetra was a very resourceful and observant little girl, and as such, one night, she'd stalked after her so-called big brother when he'd retired for the evening and bid the girls goodnight. He'd very nearly caught her several times, but ultimately, the blunette had lead her through a maze of countless halls, corridors and hidden passages, to the door she now stood before.

Holding her breath in aa thrilling mix of fear and exhilaration, Demetra crept up to the door, placed her hand on the knob, and slowly turned it painfully slowly before gently pushing it open just a crack to peer inside. Sure enough, there was the guy in question, surrounded by massive screens, gadgets and technological wonders of all kinds. From her vantage point, Demetra could see him facing one such massive screen with a complicated expression, but she wasn't able to see what was on the screen from her position.

"Of course they don't know. And if I have it my way, they'll never know. Ever."

Demetra swallowed a gasp at that statement.

"I knew he was hiding something!" She thought triumphantly. Leaning in a little, she cocked her ear towards the sound of a new voice coming from the big screen her brother was facing.

"Breal... you can't keep something like this from them forever... especially not from Demetra. Don't you think she deserves to know?... Besides, it's super unhealthy to keep this all to yourself, you know... You can't keep going it alone forever..."

Demetra's brows furrowed at the sound of a young girl's voice talking to the blunette.

"I'm not going it alone..." Breal said, looking at the screen out the corner of his eye. Though it was obviously a very hard thing to say, if the pink flush that stained his cheeks, and his awkwardness about it, were any indication. "I've got you, don't I?"

There was a brief silence, and eventually Demetra heard an awkward cough.

"I- That's-... You know what I mean you sly boy! Don't change the subject"

Breal heaved a sigh then, heavier than anything a kid his age should have been capable of, his small face suddenly looking bone-weary.

"Yea, yea, I know what you mean... but I don't want to burden them with this... I don't want them to be a part of this crap, to have anything to do with it... I wish I didn't have to be part of it..."

"But you are part of it." The voice continued gently. "And like it or not so are they... They were raised to be fighters, Breal, even if they don't realize it. That's why they were brought to Linnoitus... Maybe they won't want anything to do with any of this anyway, but it's only fair to at least let them decide that for themselves."

"What if I don't want to?" Breal almost pouted. "What if I just want to let them grow up like spoiled rotten little princesses...? I can be their secret knight, protecting them from things they can't see and don't know about... from the shadows that'll come after them..."

He gave the screen a sly look then.

"Don't you think I'd make a good knight in shining armour?"

The voice on the screen released a pretty little laugh that, from the look on his face, tugged at the blunette's heart.

"You're already my secret genius Prince." It teased him playfully. Then the voice softened to a tender caress. "But seriously Bre... Your grandfather's-"

"Don't call him that." Breal interrupted bitterly, a cold expression on his face.

"Sorry..." The voice apologized gently before continuing. "I mean Masaru-"

"Don't say his name!" Breal interrupted moodily again. The voice huffed in annoyance.

"Breal!" It scolded in annoyance.

"Sorry." The blunette mumbled, looking away with a pinched expression. The voice sighed heavily.

"As I was saying... He's not going to suddenly get bored and just decide to stop coming after you all... You know I'll always be here to help you whenever I can, but there's only so much I can do... there's only so much you'll let me do... You know it'll be easier if the girls can protect themselves... or at least know that there's actually something they need protection from. Especially when that something is as dangerous as it is."

Breal worked his jaw for a minute before eventually sighing heavily again and reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose. Demetra leaned in a little closer, hoping to hear the two better. But she didn't get a chance to hear Breal's reply.

"Hey sourpuss, watcha doin?"

Demetra jumped out of her skin and whirled around to see her three sisters staring back at her, two with mischievous grins, one of the two looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Growling lowly under her breath, Demetra shot a look back towards the door, saw her brother seemed unaware of their presence as he continued to converse with the girl on screen, then turned a dirty look back on her sisters.

"I'm doing reconnaissance!" She snapped importantly. "What are you three doing here?"

"We were bored." Victoria said bluntly with a shrug.

"Yea, and we couldn't find you so we came looking." Keisha said absently, trying to peer around the elder brunette.

"What kind of reconnaissance are you doing?" Kage asked, lifting an eyebrow at Demetra. "And where are we?"

"This is Breal's secret hideout." Demetra informed them irritably. "And I'm spying on him! I told you he was up to something and I was right!"

Victoria rolled her eyes while Keisha looked weary. Kage narrowed her eyes on her sister studiously.

"Seriously, Demi?" Victoria drawled in exasperation. "Give it a rest already! Why can't you just admit he's just a little strange and leave it at that."

"Yea, can't you see how much he obviously cares about you?" Keisha asked, feeling sorry for the boy in question. "He's trying really hard, you know, but you're not making it easy on him..."

"What did you hear?" Kage asked, making the other three blink at her, one in satisfaction.

"Hn. Well..." Demetra replied smugly, straightening proudly. "Actually..."

She quickly filled her girls in, and when she was finished, the redhead and brunette both had wide eyes, while Kage looked like her mind was going a mile a minute.

"Woooooah!" Victoria cooed in awe. "What do you think all that means?!"

"Well obviously it means-"

The girls didn't get to find out what Demetra thought, because an accidental brush of the door with an elbow, made it move inwards with a decisively loud creak. Freezing, all four girls turned towards the door with wide eyes as it slowly swung open.

Inside the room, Breal's head shot towards the entryway, and his face instantly paled at the sight of the four girls gawking at him. Almost reflexively, his hand shot out with impressive speed to quickly disconnect the video call, right as his confidant was in the middle of saying something.

"How did you- How did I-" With a wild look on his face, he looked back and forth between several screens, rapidly clicked several keys and buttons. After several moments of this, he turned back to face the four again with wide eyes. "How long were you there?!"

Sobering up, the girls straightened, all forcing themselves to look more confident then they felt. Demetra crossed her arms and lifted her chin in defiance.

"Long enough to know I was right about you hiding something from us!" She shot back accusingly. "Now the jig is up, so spill it, brother!"

A wildly tortured and conflicted look clouded Breal's fair features, and for some time, he seemed to struggle with some sort of internal battle. But eventually, he heaved a bone-weary sigh before plopping down in the chair behind him. Resting his arms on his knees, he lifted his hands to burry his face in them, and for a few minutes, there was no movement. But eventually he released a loud groan, rubbed his hands roughly down over his face, and finally lifted his head to look back at the girls. The pained expression was still there, and he the storm in his eyes made a guilty tug pull at the girls' hearts, but despite the fact, he still opened his mouth to give his waiting charges what they wanted.

"Fine." He said in a clipped tone. "I suppose there's no way I can keep it from you now..."

It took some time, but reluctantly, the blunette told the girls of the wicked and terrible man who'd fathered his and Demetra's mother. He told them of the man's heartless cruelty, of the pitiless way he, as head of the organization, ran his terrifyingly successful Japanese crime syndicate, how he treated nearly every single person he came across as nothing more than flea bitten street mongrels, how he had absolutely zero regard for another human life. Not even that of his daughter.

"So... he had my mother- I mean... our mother-..." Demetra couldn't bring herself to finish the horrible thought.

"He had her killed, yes." Breal confirmed bluntly with a cold and bitter tone, his expression darker than any youngster his age should be able to produce. "Because she refused to- follow his orders."

Demetra made a face at the blunette.

"You're hiding something again!" She accused him angrily. "What did she refuse to do?! Tell me what-"

"You don't need to know!" Breal barked in interruption, making the four girls jump. Forcing a deep, calm breath, his frown was so deep when he spoke again it threatened to crack his face. "Look, I've already told you far more then I should have, more than I swore I would ever tell you... I know it's hard for you to believe, but I am on your side, Demetra... all of you."

He gave her another tortured look then.

"Please..." He pleaded with a broken voice. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you, I swear to you all, I'll never lie to you, or keep anything from you that you ask of me. And if there's something you ask of me, and I don't have an answer, I promise you I will get one for you...But if I keep something from you, it's because I do it to protect you... so please believe me when I say... this is something you don't want to know, Demetra. Please believe me..."

Searching her brother's agonized expression, the pain in his eyes, Demetra studied him until she was satisfied, and eventually she looked away from him with a complex expression of her own.

"Fine..." She muttered reluctantly. "Then tell me... what are you doing in here? What have you been doing?"

She expected the blunette to skirt around the question, to tell her it was something else she wasn't quite grown up enough to handle. But to her surprise, to all the girls' surprises, Breal was immediate and genuine with his response.

"I'm going to take him down." Breal stated bluntly and boldly, as if it were the most natural thing he could have said.

Demetra's gaze snapped back to him, and behind her the three girls' eyes widened.

"You're what?" She hissed in disbelief, unsure if she'd heard him right.

"Not just him. All of them. Every last crime leader and organization across this corrupted globe!" Breal stated matter-of-factly, a cold, determined look in his gaze. "I've dedicated every second of the last few years doing whatever the hell I can to see that demon dethroned, and when I do, he won't be going to hell in chains, I'll be sending him straight back to the devil in pieces!"

The look on the girls faces were a combination of shocked horror, disbelief and awe - except for Demetra. When her brother's words had finally sunk in, her own face pinched into a very similar look of dark determination as well.

"I want in." She stated decisively. Breal's expression screwed up at the suggestion.

"Not on your li-"

"It wasn't a suggestion." Demetra cut him off sharply. "You told me our family was a family of brave and strong warriors. You told me you came to get me because we were the only family the other had anymore, that we had to stick together no matter what!"

Her voice rose steadily higher and sharper as her emotions began to take over, but she refused to back down.

"You told me family was the most important thing in the world! You told me you'd never keep anything from us... and you told me the man who was supposed to love and cherish us killed my mother!"

There was a dark and dangerous look in her eyes as she stared at her brother with a set jaw and a dark fire in her eyes.

"Now I'm telling you I want in!" She hissed coldly. "And I won't be taking no for an answer!"

"That makes four!" The spunky brunette behind Demetra piped up, the first time she'd spoken since the conversation began.

"Yea! We're in this from now on too!" Keisha seconded.

Kage stepped up beside Demetra and placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder, making the elder girl look at her, and offer her a grateful expression as she lifted her hand to place over the one offered.

Turning back towards the blunette, the four girls gave him determined expressions.

"If you want us to be a family, then you're going to have to treat us like one!" Demetra demanded fiercely. "Whatever you know, we want to know, and whatever you learn, you're going to teach us!"

"We'll work hard! We promise!" Keisha exclaimed, clenching her tiny fist in front of her.

"Yea. Because we're already a family!" Victoria insisted bravely, stepping up along side her sisters. "And we already understand that families have to stick together!"

"And also... we owe you for taking the rest of us in when you didn't have to..." Kage said humbly, looking Breal in the eye. "Let us show you how grateful we are..."

"I don't think you understand what you're asking for..." Breal said softly, his voice hoarse and expression complicated. "You won't have a normal life... you won't get to experience most normal things people take for granted...You'll spend your life being hunted, always having to look over your shoulder, always having to be weary of every single person you meet. Your life will consist of constant gruelling training exercises, fighting, mind-numbing studies..."

His expression was once again tortured as he tried to dissuade the four, thought in his heart he knew it was in vain.

"If you choose to take this path... there'll be no going back."

"It's already chosen." Demetra informed the blunette stubbornly. "So you can stop acting so weird, and trying to force yourself to seem like you're normal and happy all the time... Just be real from now on..."

"Wow, this is exciting!" Victoria cheered excitedly. "It's like we're a bunch of secret agents or super spies!"

"Who've got a super cool, handsome prince for a big brother, protecting us from the sidelines!" Keisha tacked on gleefully.

The comment obviously flustered the blunette a great deal, because he instantly flushed scarlet and lifted his fist to his lips for an awkward cough.

"Come on girls, this is serious!" Demetra chided with a straight face.

While the three playfully bickered back and forth, Kage simply observing them with a both weary and amused expression, Breal observed the four. He did so for a long time, and to their credit, once they realized they were being studied, they all stared back at him confidently, until eventually, a small humourless, defeated smile quirked up the blunette's lips.

"I guess there's nothing else for it then, you all really are part of this sick, twisted family now..." His expression softened ever-so-slightly as he looked them over again before adding one last sentiment. "In that case... welcome home."


...:::Present :::...


Outside of her memories, once Demetra had eventually filled the redhead in, it took Tala a while to process everything. When finally he seemed to have taken it all in, Demetra was surprised to see a teasing smirk cross his face.

"Guess that explains why you're so much better at kicking ass and picking fights then making friends and flirting." He said with a small laugh. "Not to mention why you're also the most unladylike girl I've ever met, especially for one who came from money."

"Glad you recognize my man talents." Demetra sarcastically replied good-naturedly.

There was yet another long silence after this while the two processed everything the other had told them. Eventually, seeing as her companion didn't seem to have anything immediate he wanted to say, and seeing as they were both in such an openly sharing mood at the moment, Demetra decided now was as good a time as any to ask him what she'd planned to ask him about earlier.

"What did you mean that day I interrupted yours and Kai's fight?" She asked quietly, forcing herself to just out and say it before she chickened out. Unable to look at him, she chose to stare at the mat in front of her instead. "Why did you say that?"

Knowing full well what she was talking about, Tala's features twisted in a mix of pain and regret.

"I'm sorry about that..." He muttered softly, barely audible.

Looking out the corner of her eye at him, Demetra watched him for a minute before replying.

"Thanks." She said bluntly. "But that's not what I asked for."

Tala groaned and reached up to rub his hands down over his face. When he took them away, he released a heavy sigh before finally answering her.

"You just... walked in at the worst damn time..."

When he didn't seem to intend to elaborate, Demetra turned her face towards him.

"I'm going to need more than that." She said pointedly.

There was a hesitation before Tala's face screwed up, and he did answer her, though he seemed more than reluctant to do so. Lifting his legs, he let his arms rest on his bent knees as he too stared at the mat in front of him.

"I was just sore over a little bomb Kai'd just dropped on me..."

Demetra gave him a break for a minute as she considered everything; everything that had happened lately, everything that she knew about the trio's situation so far, until eventually something clicked in her head and she knew without a doubt it was what Tala was referring to.

"You mean about him being my first kiss?" She asked bluntly. She tried to make it sound casual and unimportant, but in truth, she felt her gut twist as she forced the words out.

A deep frown creased Tala's face, and a dark look clouded his features to match.

"Yea." He replied tersely, his fists clenching tightly on his knees.

Demetra snorted humourlessly.

"Well that was a pretty harsh statement for something like that..." She said with a deep frown. Tala's own frown deepened.

"Yea. I know." He replied tersely again. "Like I said.. I'm sorry about that..."

Ignoring his apology this time, Demetra continued.

"It's not like I exactly gave it to him..."

This time Tala's head snapped towards her.

"What?" He asked, unsure if he'd heard her right. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Demetra felt beyond awkward right then; it was the last thing in the world she ever expected to be discussing with anyone, least of all Tala.

"I mean... Not like he knew or anything, it was just... one of those moments, but... He kind of stole it..." She said, feeling awkward and foolish about it. Honestly, she felt like a child for even talking about it, let alone like it was the biggest crime in the world. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't kiss him back..."

She finally turned to give him a pointed look then.

"He must have told you this...?"

Tala's teeth clenched, though her words did make him feel better, a whole lot better.

"No." Tala seethed. "He conveniently left those little tidbits out..."

Another silence ensued then, this one the most awkward one of the night, until eventually Demetra spoke up to relieve it.

"Besides..." She whispered, attempting to be playful, but she couldn't keep the bitterness out of her tone. "You've got no business being sore over that... it could have been you..."

Hearing the edge she hadn't meant to put in her tone, Demetra tried again, once again attempting playfulness instead of the stung feeling she felt inside.

"I did try to give you the glorious honour...But in case you've forgotten, you walked away and left me alone in the cold. If you wanted it that badly, you should have listened to me that night and ignored the damn phone call... or at least stayed afterwards."

Another pained grimace twisted Tala's features at that.

"Yea, I know..." He replied in a gravelly whisper. "I've been thinking about that a lot lately... and trust me, Princess... I've regretted it long before I knew just what the hell I was passing up..."

Demetra looked at him with a shocked expression.

"What?" She asked, stunned. "Have you..?"

Tala released a forceful frustrated sound and reached up to thread a hand through his hair.

"Of course I have!" He exclaimed in frustration. "How could I not?!"

Swallowing hard, Demetra forced a playful half smile, though it was half hearted as well.

"You seem pretty eaten up over it..." She teased quietly. "You must have really wanted it."

Making her gasp lightly, Tala rounded on her with an intense expression and a gaze that bore straight through her.

"Are you forgetting who it was that asked for that kiss..?" He asked with a strange tone to his voice.

Utterly speechless, all Demetra could do was stare back at him with slightly wide eyes.

Turning away from her, Tala frowned as he stared at the mat for a minute before getting to his feet.

"It's late. We should get some sleep."

Wordlessly, Demetra's gaze followed him as he disappeared into one of the side rooms, appearing a few minutes later and handing her one of the thin fire blankets in his hand. She accepted it from him without a word, watching now as Tala sat back down, avoiding her gaze as he settled himself in against the rolled up mat pillow behind them.

"Night." He said eventually, his eyes closing and placing his hands behind his head.

Demetra watched the redhead for another moment or two before finally looking away and staring into the blackness. After considering everything for a while, she eventually sighed softly and moved down to lean back against the mat too.

"Night..." She muttered, closing her eyes. Though she had no idea how the hell she'd actually be expected to sleep.


"Demetra!"

The sound of Tala's voice carried on the wind, and although he was screaming at the top of his lungs, he couldn't help but wonder if it was reaching ears other than his own at all.

Also carried on the wind were blinding sheets of snow, so thick and heavy it was not only hard to see through, it was hindering Tala's movement considerably. But still he trudged on in determination.

"Demetra!" Tala called again, so loud this time his voice strained from the effort.

His heart had just begun to sink, and he was beginning to convince himself it was useless, he'd never find her in this. But as if on cue, he heard another voice carrying on the wind, and its familiarity lifted his heavy heart hopefully.

"Tala! Where are you?!"

Moments later, Tala saw a very familiar silhouette materializing out of the blinding snow, and a tangible relief instantly flooded through him. When they were close enough to make each other out, Tala noted the relief he felt mirrored on her face as well.

"There you are..." Demetra said quietly, the soft caress of her voice carrying to him as she lifted an arm to reach out. "I thought I'd lost you.."

Noting the tears lining her long lashes, Tala felt a tug at his heart as he reached out to take her outstretched hand.

"I'm here..." He mumbled, staring into those big beautiful silver dollars. "I'm not going anywhere, Princess..."

Their fingers brushed, but before Tala could follow through with his intent to grip her tightly and pull her to him, he watched in horror as she was suddenly yanked forcefully backwards, causing a bitter scream to rip from her lips.

"Demetra!" Tala screamed, stretching after her.

Suddenly another familiar sound cut through the storm, but it wasn't a welcome one. A shiver ran down Tala's spine, one nothing to do with the cold, as a vile and sinister laugh echoed around him. Instantly the storm cleared and Tala was able to set eyes on Demetra again, though the sight of her didn't give him nearly as much pleasure as the last sighting had.

"Tala my boy, how nice of you to join us."

Normally beautiful polar blues hardened at the sight of the man holding Demetra tight to him with her arms pinned behind her back.

"Let her go Boris!" Tala seethed threateningly. The man released another vile laugh that again made Tala's skin crawl.

"Oh come now, Tala! Don't you know sharing is caring?" Tala watched him reach to grab Demetra's chin and jerk it up to look at her over her shoulder. "I can certainly see why you're so obsessed with this one. Fine specimen isn't she?"

A low growl formed in Tala's throat as his eyes glared at the monster before him.

"Get your filthy hands off her..." He glowered threateningly.

"Well why should I?" Boris taunted, giving the redhead a mock pout. "You don't want her, remember? You wanted her dead."

Tala watched Demetra jerk her chin out of Boris's grip and turn a tortured look on him, her eyes pooled to the threat of overflowing.

"You wanted me to die out there...?" She asked in a pitiful whisper. Tala felt the knife in his heart twist painfully.

"Of course not..." He choked in a hoarse voice.

"Don't bother denying it." Boris continued to goad. "Don't you remember? She's a psychotic lunatic, right? Crazy people don't deserve your love. She doesn't deserve to be trusted. Why don't you just push her away before she leaves you like everyone else? Just push her off on some other sob and let her be their pain in the ass."

Before Tala could respond this time, he heard yet another familiar voice, this one nearly as unwelcome as the last.

"I can help ya out with that Tala old pal." The new voice sneered mockingly. "After all, what are friends for, right?"

His eyes flickering to the side now, Tala's blood ran hot to see Kai now standing several feet away, the brunette of topic now nestled very inappropriately against him. Much the same as Boris had, Kai took Demetra's chin in his hand and lifted her face to capture her in a predatory gaze.

"Besides..." Kai said with a wicked grin, not looking at Tala as Demetra stared at the blunette completely captivated. "You've already proven time and again that you can't handle a woman like her anyway..."

That said, Kai's face darted forward like a viper striking its prey, and sealed the brunette's lips in a searing kiss.

His stomach lurching with the threat of emptying itself, Tala's features contorted in a fit of rage before flying at the blunette. When he reached the two, reaching to rip Demetra from the blunette's grip, Kai jerked back from her and instead thrust her behind him before lifting his fists towards the redhead.

"Come on, Tala!" He taunted with a wicked smirk, twitching a come get me hand at him. "Where's that bloodbath you promised me?"

Next moment, to Tala's shock, the blunette up and slapped him.


The harsh, bitter winds held no mercy for a weary soul, as Demetra trudged through the waist deep frozen wasteland. She was chilled to the bone, but it would have been a welcome comfort if it was all she felt. Unfortunately, like so often as of late, a voice she'd almost come to know the sound of better than her own, rang out over and over in her head, its words cutting her deeper every time they made contact.

"Psychotic lunatic... I can't stand her!"

The words created in her a deep, aching loneliness the likes of which she'd never known existed in her, and the weight of it was enough to take her breath away.

Without even realizing they'd snuck up on her, Demetra suddenly felt crocodile tears spilling down her face like thick rivers. A miserable sob burst from her lips then, and as if a mighty dam had broken open inside her, she suddenly broke down in a fit of wretched sobs and salty wetness.

Halting in her walk, Demetra's hands lifted to bury her face in them as she continued to bitterly sob her broken heart out to no one but the whistling winds.

"There you are."

Lifting her head from her hands, Demetra blinked a few times through the onslaught, until she could make out the face of the person whose words haunted her so tortuously. Said face was painted with a deep sense of worry.

"Why are you crying..?" Tala asked gently, his brows furrowed deeply to match his frown. "Who hurt you...?"

Hands whipping back down to her sides to clench into tight fists, Demetra glared at the hateful redhead before her with as much false loathing as her broken heart could muster.

"You did!" She yelled fiercely at him. "You always do! Better I had died on that ice, isn't that right, Tala?! How unlucky for you that the psychotic lunatic came back!"

As if she'd physically struck him, Tala's face clouded with a tormented pain, and to Demetra's shock, his eyes flooded.

"I didn't mean it , Demetra..." He said in a choked whisper. "You know I didn't..."

Instantly, Demetra's anger fizzled out, her expression softened up again, and her heart melted; just like it always did whenever he said her name.

Slowly approaching her, Demetra stared at Tala unblinkingly as he reached up and cupped her face between his hands, tenderly brushed the criminal wetness from her cheeks with a lover's caress.

"Don't cry, Princess..." He whispered, so very softly.

Completely captivated by the surreally tender look he was giving her, Demetra felt her legs go weak, sure the only thing keeping her upright was the beautiful touch on her face. Without meaning to, her lips parted of their own accord.

"Kiss me..." She begged in her own whisper. Tala's face creased with a deep frown.

"You already gave away the best one..." He argued sadly. Demetra felt a stab at her heart.

"Then you can have the last..." She whispered painfully.

Something flickered in Tala's eyes at that, and a single pair of tears streaked down his face. But instead of saying anything more, to Demetra's pleasure, her heart leapt hopefully when his eyes lidded heavily before leaning down.

Demetra closed her eyes in anxious anticipation, but the sensation she felt was not Tala's silken lips against hers.

An ear piercing scream ripped from her as the surface beneath her feet suddenly gave way. Looking up, Demetra's heart stopped as she was sucked beneath the ice and dragged downwards into the inky blackness below.

With a terrified face, Tala was on his knees, the echoes of him screaming her name as he reached into the water after her barely reaching her, and growing fainter the further she sunk, until eventually, both his voice and profile had faded into the darkness.

Devastated, Demetra felt her eyes stinging again, her tears swallowed up by the water around her this time as she felt herself give in and give up.

Curling up into a ball, she buried her head in her knees, resolved to her fate. Moments later, there was a roaring sound in her ears, and Demetra lifted her head to look upwards. Her heart soared to see Tala's face materializing out of the darkness, swimming towards her with a determined expression.

Reaching up, Demetra stretched her hand out to him, overjoyed when he gripped it tightly and immediately tugged her against him. Sighing in utter contend and joy, Demetra closed her eyes and nuzzled into the redhead's chest as he clutched her tightly. Together they floated peacefully back upwards.

When they broke the surface, Demetra lifted her face just enough to look up into Tala's. His eyes pooled again, he was looking back at her with a slew of emotions dancing across his features. Removing an arm from around her to touch her face again, so delicately as if she might break, he bit his lip as his face dipped down, his nose brushing hers affectionately.

"Demetra..." He said in a choked whisper.

Demetra closed her eyes again, savouring the sound.

"Demetra..."

"Yes..?" She replied softly, awaiting at last what she so desperately craved.

"Demetra..."

Her face screwed up in frustration.

"What?" She said irritably.


Demetra's eyes slowly blinked open, the grogginess of sleep clinging to her and making it an effort to shake herself free of its grip. Finally though, she managed to come back to her senses and made a face.

"What the hell was that...?" She mumbled irritably, feeling her face warm as she recalled the dream she'd just woken from.

"Demetra..."

"What?" She muttered absently, still shaken over her dream. But there was no answer. A moment later, she heard her name again.

"Demetra..."

"What?" She asked again, irritably this time.

Then it clicked that it was Tala who was saying her name, and Demetra felt a warmth flood her, like in her dream, like it always did on the rare occasion he actually called her by name. She then also realized that it must have been the sound of his voice that had woken her from her sleep. Swallowing hard, she looked to the side to see Tala laying against the rolled mat with his head bowed and arms crossed.

"Demetra..."

"What?!" She demanded, thoroughly annoyed now. "Say something damn it!"

Lifting her arm, she elbowed Tala roughly, expecting to get a sensible response from him. But to her shock, the movement made him tilt sideways and drop awkwardly against her side instead. Instantly freezing, Demetra looked down at her companion in a stunned stupor, but the redhead didn't move. After several tense seconds, she eventually felt another rush of warmth. Squirming uncomfortably, Demetra reached out and adjusted the redhead against her into what she thought was a more comfortable position. But as soon as he was nestled safely against her side now, Demetra heard an angry growl rumble from the redhead's throat.

"Let go..!" He growled at her.

Flushing hotly now, having believed he was asleep, Demetra whipped the hand she still had on his shoulder away.

"I was just trying to help you idiot!" She snapped at him in embarrassment.

To her surprise there was no response, and no attempt to move.

"Tala?" Demetra said, her brows furrowing in confusion. Reaching out, she gave his shoulder a shake. "Hey... are you awake?"

"Don't touch...!"

Demetra's jaw clenched and this time it was her turn to release a growl.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She demanded in a mix of embarrassment and anger. "If you're not comfortable then move!"

"Demetra..."

"What?!" Demetra hissed, her patience finally snapping.

"... didn't mean it..." Tala muttered. "Let her go... Your filthy hands..."

Her face screwing up in bewilderment, Demetra blinked at him.

"What the..."

Craning her neck downward, Demetra tipped her face to look past the shadows covering Tala's, only to finally realize that he was in fact asleep, and he was talking out of his dreams again.

A mixture of emotions swirled inside her as she listened to his nonsensical mutterings for a few minutes. Obviously he was dreaming of her, but by all accounts, it didn't seem to be a very good dream; she wasn't sure how to feel about that. Finally, she eventually reached up to give him a good shake.

"Tala..." She said firmly but there was no response so she tried again. "Tala."

Still there was no response. Chewing her cheek for a second, she gave the redhead a guilty expression.

"I apologize in advance for this.."

Reaching up again, she this time slapped him hard across the cheek.

Instantly coming to his taps, Tala jolted with a start as his eyes shot open. It seemed to take him a few moments to focus, but he soon realized he was awake, then belatedly, the position he was in.

Even in the near darkness, Demetra could see a dark flush stain the redhead's face as he quickly pulled back from her and straightened.

"Sorry..." He muttered, clearly extremely embarrassed.

"It's alright..." Demetra mumbled in reply, looking away from him in mild embarrassment of her own. "I'm sorry for slapping you."

Tala made a face but didn't look at her. Instead he reached up to thread a hand through his hair, likely to help cover his discomfort.

"That's what that was.." He muttered, sounding a little annoyed. "You could have just pushed me off.."

"That wasn't the problem..." Demetra mumbled again, feeling her own face flush hotter. "You were talking in your sleep again and I couldn't wake you up... Didn't seem like a very good dream. I felt sorry for you."

Tala snorted humourlessly, reaching up to rub his hands down over his face.

"Wasn't one off my better fantasies..." He admitted reluctantly behind his hands.

"So what were you dreaming about?" Demetra asked quietly.

"Nothin' important..." Tala mumbled. He lowered his hands from his face and let them drop to rest atop his raised knees.

"Oh come on." Demetra egged on. "I think I deserve to know what I'd guest starred in."

Snapping his head to the side, Tala gave her a sharp look.

"Who says you were in it?" He asked, tensing.

"Don't bother lying." Demetra immediately countered bluntly. "I heard you calling my name... a lot. Pretty sure it's what woke me up."

She'd thought to tease him on the fact, knew she normally would have. But it was obvious he was already considerably shaken by the dream, and for once she didn't feel like rubbing salt in his wounds.

Tala sighed heavily and turned away from her again, staring at the mat with a deep frown.

"Just more of the usual..." He mumbled darkly. "Same kinda crap I've been having for years."

"What kinda crap...?" Demetra nudged gently, looking studiously into his face. Tala's frown deepened, he heisted, but eventually answered her.

"I've been having nightmares for years..." Tala confided, his expression screwing up painfully at the admission. "Usually about Boris and the years of fun-filled memories he gave us..."

Demetra chewed her cheek a minute, weighing her words carefully before pressing a little more.

"And I was in this one this time?" She asked, watching him carefully. She forced a small teasing smile for his benefit, though it was half-hearted, and didn't really matter much seeing as he refused to look at her anyway. "So what made it a nightmare? Was I the bad guy this time? Accomplice perhaps?"

She'd meant it to be teasing, but the dark look that clouded Tala's features again made her frown.

"Not exactly..." Tala mumbled again.

Demetra studied her companion for a bit, considered the words he'd been muttering in his sleep, tried her best to piece everything together. But without more information, all she could do was make haphazard guesses at best.

Finally, Demetra took a deep breath, slowly and silently released it, then replaced the teasing smirk.

"Well, whatever it was, no matter how much it sucked, it was just a dream. Good news is, I'm not trying to kill you." Her tone softened then. "And I'm obviously just fine, so... why don't you give that sleep thing one more try..? Maybe it'll be a better dream next time round."

Tala scoffed humourlessly, then reached up to rub his hands down over his face again.

"Yea, maybe." He said behind his hands, though it was blunt and he obviously didn't sound convinced. Pulling his hands away, he sighed heavily again. "Look, I'm sorry I woke you, but I'll be fine. Like I said, I'm no stranger to these stupid dreams. So just go back to sleep... and if I end up on top of you again, do me a favour, just give my ass a shove instead of scaring the hell outta me..."

Demetra cracked a smile of amusement at that.

"Fine. Take all the fun out of it why don't you."

Tala snorted again but said nothing more. Instead, as if to make sure he didn't end up falling over on her again, he scooted down low on the mat so only his head rested on the makeshift pillow. He then crossed his arms again, closed his eyes.

The smile on Demetra's face dropped away, replaced by a worried look as she stared down at the redhead. But, at a loss for how to further help him, she instead shimmied down at little too, got as comfortable as she could, and made her own attempt at the sleep thing one more time.


"Tala!"

Tala jolted awake with a start, eyes wide. When he'd finally focused, he turned towards the direction of the petrified scream, and instantly his expression darkened. Some ways away, he saw Demetra, her big beautiful eyes streaming as she stretched towards him, reaching for him. With a big meaty arm wrapped around her neck from behind, Boris was sneering at him with a vile expression.

His teeth clenching tightly, Tala made to lunge at the man, but his feet remained stuck in place. Looking down, his jaw tightened to see his feet encased in ice. A loud growl rumbling in his throat, Tala's face jerked back up to glare at the hateful figure before him.

"Let her go Boris!" He demanded furiously. "Right now!"

The wicked grin that crept up the man's face then sent a shiver of dread down Tala's spine.

"Are you sure?" He drawled, positively glowing with amusement.

"Right now!" Tala demanded, his expression darkening. "Let her go or I swear, I'll cash in all my debts to you here and now!"

Boris' evil grin widened to a sinister expression that made Tala's blood run cold.

"Okaaay." He sang childishly. "Since you asked so very nicely."

To Tala's horror, he watched the man turn and thrust Demetra away from him, causing her to release an ear-piercing scream as she plunged backwards into an inky blackness behind them.

"DEMETRA!" Tala screamed violently, his throat searing from the abuse.

Thrusting himself forwards, Tala's feet came free, and a second later he'd plunged into the water after her.

With everything he had, Tala kicked and paddled, thrusting himself closer to the form reaching for him, his own arm stretching towards her, until finally, their fingers brushed, his hand locked tightly around hers, and gripped firmly.

A tsunami of relief crashing over him, Tala yanked the brunette forward and cradled her against him. Reaching up his free hand to burry in the silken locks at the back of her head, Tala leaned down to bury his nose in her shoulder.

"Thank God..." He muttered hoarsely, his face screwing up painfully as his voice broke.

Feeling the body pressed tightly to his relax in his arms, Demetra's own arms slid around his back, hugged him tightly, her face nuzzling his neck.

Suddenly they weren't in the water, instead they were floating through thin air, gently downwards as if on a cloud. Demetra touched down first, and when she did, she pulled back from Tala, guided him down to her, positioning him so he was laying with his head in her lap. Looking up at her in mild shock, Tala stared transfixed as a warm and tender smile softened her expression. Leaning down to him until their faces nearly brushed, she whispered to him in a soft tone like a lover's sweet caress.

"I'm safe now... you saved me, Big Bad Wolf."

Feeling his face scrunch up at that, Tala looked up at her with a dissatisfied expression.

"The princess never falls for the Big Bad Wolf..." He argued pointedly, almost a pout.

To his utter delight, a beautiful, amused laugh echoed from her deliciously kissable lips.

"This one did..." She whispered tenderly.

Then she leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his forehead. Tala's eyes slid closed at the surreal feeling and once again he felt like he was floating away.


A groggy groan escaped Demetra's lips as she was once again awoken from her sleep. Once she'd blinked away the fatigue, yawned wide, she glanced down at her companion, noting he was still sleeping away; though not peacefully.

For a few minutes Demetra observed Tala, listened to him muttering away once again, and her heart ached for him as she realized he must be having another unpleasant dream. It didn't seem like he was having an outright nightmare this time, but from the look on his face and the distressed mutterings, she could tell it was still upsetting him.

Remembering her own dream earlier, and the happenings there in; particularly of a certain valiant 'rescue' by dream Tala, a small, warm smile came to her lips. Just then a thought came to her; she tried her damndest to ignore it, to push it out, but it refused to leave, until eventually she was forced to give it its due. Sighing heavily, Demetra observed the redhead with a mixed expression.

Figuring she'd come up with an excuse when she needed it, she decided to go ahead with her ridiculous gesture and suffer the repercussions later.

Moving a little to the side, Demetra turned back to her companion, hesitated in consideration for another moment, then finally reached out to take Tala's shoulders, gently shifting him until his head was laying in her lap.

Once again recalling her own dream, Demetra flushed hotly, a small tender smile coming to her face, before bending forward just a little to whisper to the sleeping form in her lap.

"I'm safe now... you saved me, Big Bad Wolf."

Demetra watched curiously as a deep frown creased the redhead's face, before, to her complete shock, he actually responded to her.

"The princess never falls for the Big Bad Wolf..." He muttered, almost a pout.

A snort of amusement erupted from her lips, and Demetra's hand shot up to press the back of it to her mouth, afraid she'd wake him with her helpless reaction. However, to her relief, the redhead continued to snooze, the uncharacteristic look of dissatisfaction pinching his features.

Lowering her hand again, there was a fond expression on Demetra's face as she stared down into the fair face in her lap now. Biting her lip, she leaned down again, this time to place her lips beside Tala's ear.

"This one did..." She whispered softly. As an afterthought, she moved her face to press a lingering, tender kiss to his forehead.

A shiver trembling through the redhead made a tug of affection pull at Demetra's heartstrings, a second one when she saw and felt Tala relax against her. Though, when he shifted, slid his arms up her legs to encircle them around her waist, nuzzled his face into her thigh and pressed a lazy kiss there, Demetra thought she would faint.

Her heart working itself into an attack, goosebumps risen across the entirety of her body, Demetra forced a hard swallow against the pounding of her pulse in her throat. With slightly trembling hands, she reached up to place one between Tala's shoulder blades, the other she threaded through his silky hair. Pressing gently but firmly, Demetra let the hand between his shoulders massage and kneed comfortingly, while the one in his hair combed slowly, fluidly through, brushing and grazing across his scalp in slow, lazy patterns.

This time Demetra felt herself completely melt, when she heard the figure in her lap murmur the most uncharacteristically adorable sound of utter content and satisfaction. This was followed up by the most heart-stopping reaction, when Tala tightened his hold around her waist, snuggled closer, nuzzled his face into her stomach.

Biting her lip as she gazed affectionately down at the redhead, Demetra heard a small matching sigh seep past her lips. Consequences be damned, whatever Tala's reaction when he awoke again, this one precious moment would be well worth it.


A/N: Just a couple quick notes; first off, yes I know Kane's team isnt called "Roaming Renegades", I totally made that up. But in my defense, it didnt seem right to call them Team Psychic either, seeing as they was only when they had been Mmm.. "Under the influence", lets call it. Also, the other team was obviously made up too, so theres that haha.

Also; some readers may already be aware of this, but some of Tala's past written in here is legit; the bit about his parents, and him running away from home, where he eventually ran into Bryan and eventually ended up in Boris' clutches. It was a dark piece that was originally supposed to be included in the manga, but was deemed too dark for the story, so it was omitted. Instead you can find it if you look, shouldn't be too hard.