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The Fire Burns Strong
by Igatona
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After five long years at the top, we have finally been defeated. The tale of what happened to the Demolition Boys after the World Championship is well documented. Eventually, BioVolt was exposed as the criminal organization it was, and us beybladers were given the benefit of the doubt. However, without corporate backing, we no longer had the means to travel all over the world to participate in tournaments. Without fresh competition, the sport eventually became boring and our team eventually split, each of us going their separate ways.
Yuri disappeared, and I have not heard from him since. The same goes for Boris. These two participated in BioVolt's experiments, so I would not be surprised that the governement offered them a job to keep an eye on them. The last time I heard anything about Boris, he was locked in an psychological asylum due to his inability to live in society.
I keep in close contact with Ivan; he sends me letters often. He tells me of the urban life he now leads with his new parents deep in Saint Petersburg, and how he is studying in middle school. His parents knew who they were adopting, but they did not take him for his fame. They took him because they truly wanted him to be their son. I am grateful to God that Ivan found a good family. He was the only one of us that came from a foster home. Yuri was donated to BioVolt by an adult that did not have enough money to pay his debts, and Boris is a lab baby.
Me? I thought you would never ask!
I live on a farm, with Mama and Papa. I originally come from Georgia, the same as Jozef Djugashvili. Oh, wait, you know him as Stalin, never you mind. We work hard on the farm; my strong muscles are needed and I do not have the time to go to school. That is why I am happy that Ivan is studying. He will go far. He was an intelligent friend and he always liked to learn about new things.
Today is the day where we reap the fields. I cannot wait until that moment, it is always a special time for me. For the last two years since I left my mama and papa, the harvest was good, so they told me. Even though it seemed like we were not able to communicate to the outside, certain people - like Ivan and I - were able to maintain contact with the outside world since we were not being experimented on. In fact, only those who were part of an experiment were forbidden outside contacts. My mama and papa sent me letters every week, and I always took the time to write them back. It was the least I could have done; I love the both of them so much.
"Ho! Sergei! Come help!"
"Coming, Papa!"
I finally take back the role I had years ago. I help my papa by hauling bales of grain and wheat back in the silos.
"Sergei, you've become one good chunk of a man! You're fourteen now, and just as tall as I am!"
"Thank you, Papa."
I take this compliment humbly, I know he would not lie to me as my papa never lied to anyone. However, I do not want it to go to my head. I might have been one of the most intimidating beybladers on the World Circuit once, but now, I am a simple farmer's son, who lives off the soil and eats frugally, and that is the life I lead now. Tomorrow will bring another sunny day, where I can live simply with my mama and my papa.
* * *
Ivan has written me again. He tells me he was contacted by the Beyblade Battle Association about an exhibition match between the Demolition Boys and the American team, their All-Stars. I cannot believe this. A chance to show the world that the Demolition Boys still live. When I heard about this, I almost cried of joy. What is best is that, seeing as it is winter, there is not much we can do around the place except hearing my papa talk about his youth, and play music on my fiddle. I love playing the fiddle, and I like to hear my papa's stories, but the thrill of beyblading is something I will never, ever forget. Ivan also told me there was a group that was bullying him. That I did not like to hear. I know that Ivan can defend himself to an extent, but against a whole group he is powerless. There are times where I wish I was back with the team - more specifically, with Ivan - and I could help them out.
With the letter, he sent me a copy of the invitation. It said : "To all former Demolition Boys. You are cordially invited to an exhibition match against the All-Stars, all expenses paid. We hope you will give it your all, and you will give a good show to the people in America. Signed, the BBA."
An occasion to beyblade again, alongside my old comrades...Seaborg is excited, I can feel him wake up from his slumber, the grandfather whale, wrapped away with my shotgun launcher, in a thick cloth under my bed. I did not expect to pull it out so soon, but an occasion to see everyone again, and to finally get our revenge against the Americans (say what you will, even if we did win against them, it was because of the power of Black Dranzer.) I do hope that Yuri and Boris will be able to come. Although they were not much for conversation, I do miss having them around. It would not feel right without them. We are a team! We are the Demolition Boys! There can be no Demolition Boys without my comrades, Yuri, Boris and Ivan. I know that Ivan will go, he has told me so in his letter.
As for me, I must tell my parents. I know they will be saddened that I have to go again, and even if I am happy here tending the fields with papa, and helping mama do the chores, I must go. Beyblading is who I am, and the further I walk away from it, the more I deny my own self. It has been a while since I trained, but there is still time for me. There is still the matter of seeing everyone again.
"Mama? Papa?"
"Yes, son, what is it?" my father asked, unexpecting of the news I have to bear.
"I must go - again." I reveal to them. Mama is shocked. She runs up to me to hug me, and then releases me.
"But you've only just arrived! Sergei, we missed you so much, why must you go again?"
I put my hands on her shoulders, and looked down before giving her an answer, it was hard to tell them that I had to leave them alone again. I had no idea how long I would be gone, or even if I would come back here.
"Even if we no longer have any funding, we are being challenged, and so we must answer. The team needs me once again."
My father looked pensive - he knew that I had been able to travel all over the world due to this hobby, and he always wished for me to see more of the world. He rose up, and set his right hand on my shoulder. I could feel he felt heavy about this; after all, didn't I come back only about six months ago? He took a deep breath, thinking about what he would say to me.
"Son, follow your destiny, just don't forget about us back home. If you do, where will you go back to after everything is said and done?"
I had never thought of this. After this challenge, what would happen? Would we all go back to where we are now and continue to live the life we have now? How could I forget my Mama, sweet, gentle Mama, and Papa, strong, sturdy, friendly, accepting...everything a man should be. However, now is not the time to think of them, I have to focus on my objective, as my papa told me he accepted the fact that I had to go away again.
"I would never do that, Papa. Even if beyblading is my calling, I still need you and Mama."
"That's good to hear." he sighed, relieved.
I then took my leave to pack up my things, and go to the nearest village, where, as Ivan told me in his letter, I would be brought to St. Petersburg to meet up with any members of the team they had managed to find. I did not need a lot of things, really. My headband, my green coat, my launcher and my beyblade. That was it. I slowly looked at my beyblade, and was ecstatic that I would finally get to use it again. I took it in my hand, just to get that feeling us beybladers get, when our blades are loaded, ready to tear up the stadium in hopes of them being the last blade standing. Much different from being a farmer, where the elements control your actions. When you have this power in your hands, you control the elements, you have the power to fight against nature itself. It almost feels like holding this is a rebellion against God...
Such a rush.
It was high time I went, though. Everything I owned was packed, my launcher was ready, my will was iron. The first step is always the toughest.
That first step was the step towards my new destiny...that lies at the end of this road.
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The Fire Burns Strong
by Igatona
----------
After five long years at the top, we have finally been defeated. The tale of what happened to the Demolition Boys after the World Championship is well documented. Eventually, BioVolt was exposed as the criminal organization it was, and us beybladers were given the benefit of the doubt. However, without corporate backing, we no longer had the means to travel all over the world to participate in tournaments. Without fresh competition, the sport eventually became boring and our team eventually split, each of us going their separate ways.
Yuri disappeared, and I have not heard from him since. The same goes for Boris. These two participated in BioVolt's experiments, so I would not be surprised that the governement offered them a job to keep an eye on them. The last time I heard anything about Boris, he was locked in an psychological asylum due to his inability to live in society.
I keep in close contact with Ivan; he sends me letters often. He tells me of the urban life he now leads with his new parents deep in Saint Petersburg, and how he is studying in middle school. His parents knew who they were adopting, but they did not take him for his fame. They took him because they truly wanted him to be their son. I am grateful to God that Ivan found a good family. He was the only one of us that came from a foster home. Yuri was donated to BioVolt by an adult that did not have enough money to pay his debts, and Boris is a lab baby.
Me? I thought you would never ask!
I live on a farm, with Mama and Papa. I originally come from Georgia, the same as Jozef Djugashvili. Oh, wait, you know him as Stalin, never you mind. We work hard on the farm; my strong muscles are needed and I do not have the time to go to school. That is why I am happy that Ivan is studying. He will go far. He was an intelligent friend and he always liked to learn about new things.
Today is the day where we reap the fields. I cannot wait until that moment, it is always a special time for me. For the last two years since I left my mama and papa, the harvest was good, so they told me. Even though it seemed like we were not able to communicate to the outside, certain people - like Ivan and I - were able to maintain contact with the outside world since we were not being experimented on. In fact, only those who were part of an experiment were forbidden outside contacts. My mama and papa sent me letters every week, and I always took the time to write them back. It was the least I could have done; I love the both of them so much.
"Ho! Sergei! Come help!"
"Coming, Papa!"
I finally take back the role I had years ago. I help my papa by hauling bales of grain and wheat back in the silos.
"Sergei, you've become one good chunk of a man! You're fourteen now, and just as tall as I am!"
"Thank you, Papa."
I take this compliment humbly, I know he would not lie to me as my papa never lied to anyone. However, I do not want it to go to my head. I might have been one of the most intimidating beybladers on the World Circuit once, but now, I am a simple farmer's son, who lives off the soil and eats frugally, and that is the life I lead now. Tomorrow will bring another sunny day, where I can live simply with my mama and my papa.
* * *
Ivan has written me again. He tells me he was contacted by the Beyblade Battle Association about an exhibition match between the Demolition Boys and the American team, their All-Stars. I cannot believe this. A chance to show the world that the Demolition Boys still live. When I heard about this, I almost cried of joy. What is best is that, seeing as it is winter, there is not much we can do around the place except hearing my papa talk about his youth, and play music on my fiddle. I love playing the fiddle, and I like to hear my papa's stories, but the thrill of beyblading is something I will never, ever forget. Ivan also told me there was a group that was bullying him. That I did not like to hear. I know that Ivan can defend himself to an extent, but against a whole group he is powerless. There are times where I wish I was back with the team - more specifically, with Ivan - and I could help them out.
With the letter, he sent me a copy of the invitation. It said : "To all former Demolition Boys. You are cordially invited to an exhibition match against the All-Stars, all expenses paid. We hope you will give it your all, and you will give a good show to the people in America. Signed, the BBA."
An occasion to beyblade again, alongside my old comrades...Seaborg is excited, I can feel him wake up from his slumber, the grandfather whale, wrapped away with my shotgun launcher, in a thick cloth under my bed. I did not expect to pull it out so soon, but an occasion to see everyone again, and to finally get our revenge against the Americans (say what you will, even if we did win against them, it was because of the power of Black Dranzer.) I do hope that Yuri and Boris will be able to come. Although they were not much for conversation, I do miss having them around. It would not feel right without them. We are a team! We are the Demolition Boys! There can be no Demolition Boys without my comrades, Yuri, Boris and Ivan. I know that Ivan will go, he has told me so in his letter.
As for me, I must tell my parents. I know they will be saddened that I have to go again, and even if I am happy here tending the fields with papa, and helping mama do the chores, I must go. Beyblading is who I am, and the further I walk away from it, the more I deny my own self. It has been a while since I trained, but there is still time for me. There is still the matter of seeing everyone again.
"Mama? Papa?"
"Yes, son, what is it?" my father asked, unexpecting of the news I have to bear.
"I must go - again." I reveal to them. Mama is shocked. She runs up to me to hug me, and then releases me.
"But you've only just arrived! Sergei, we missed you so much, why must you go again?"
I put my hands on her shoulders, and looked down before giving her an answer, it was hard to tell them that I had to leave them alone again. I had no idea how long I would be gone, or even if I would come back here.
"Even if we no longer have any funding, we are being challenged, and so we must answer. The team needs me once again."
My father looked pensive - he knew that I had been able to travel all over the world due to this hobby, and he always wished for me to see more of the world. He rose up, and set his right hand on my shoulder. I could feel he felt heavy about this; after all, didn't I come back only about six months ago? He took a deep breath, thinking about what he would say to me.
"Son, follow your destiny, just don't forget about us back home. If you do, where will you go back to after everything is said and done?"
I had never thought of this. After this challenge, what would happen? Would we all go back to where we are now and continue to live the life we have now? How could I forget my Mama, sweet, gentle Mama, and Papa, strong, sturdy, friendly, accepting...everything a man should be. However, now is not the time to think of them, I have to focus on my objective, as my papa told me he accepted the fact that I had to go away again.
"I would never do that, Papa. Even if beyblading is my calling, I still need you and Mama."
"That's good to hear." he sighed, relieved.
I then took my leave to pack up my things, and go to the nearest village, where, as Ivan told me in his letter, I would be brought to St. Petersburg to meet up with any members of the team they had managed to find. I did not need a lot of things, really. My headband, my green coat, my launcher and my beyblade. That was it. I slowly looked at my beyblade, and was ecstatic that I would finally get to use it again. I took it in my hand, just to get that feeling us beybladers get, when our blades are loaded, ready to tear up the stadium in hopes of them being the last blade standing. Much different from being a farmer, where the elements control your actions. When you have this power in your hands, you control the elements, you have the power to fight against nature itself. It almost feels like holding this is a rebellion against God...
Such a rush.
It was high time I went, though. Everything I owned was packed, my launcher was ready, my will was iron. The first step is always the toughest.
That first step was the step towards my new destiny...that lies at the end of this road.
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