Hey, sorry for the wait. I've gotten a lot of inspiration for the plot of this, so I should be updating fairly frequently now. Anyways, I hope that you like this next chapter.

Chapter Eight — Scars of the Mind

Tala sighed and finally got up. He couldn't delay this any more. He took a quick shower and got dressed.

Takao had made a request. Usually he would have just ignored it if he wanted to, but Mr. Dickinson had made the same one a little while later. He couldn't avoid it forever, he knew that, but he'd wanted to stall for longer than that.

He had to bring the rest of the Demolition Boys with him on this latest bey-team excursion.

/This whole thing is really stupid. What on earth is the point of gathering all of the best teams up again for a one year reunion?/ Tala shook his head as he finished getting ready. Then he noticed something odd about the room he was in.

He was the only one in it.

"Damn, guess I must have forgotten to tell him," Tala muttered. "By the looks of it he's long gone too. Guess they'll just have to settle for three of us."

/Or four if you count Kai./ Tala hissed.

Kai.

Gods how he hated hearing about him. Every time he heard or thought about Kai a wave of loathing would rise up and consume him.

/I wish I could just get past it, but I can't. He's always there in my thoughts, ever since .../ Tala slammed a frustrated fist down onto a desk. A drop of liquid fell onto the hand and Tala stared at it for a long time before he realised it was a tear, shed by him. This made him even angrier.

"Traitor," he spat and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

***

Tala glanced around at the gathering with wariness.

And good reason.

No one here trusted him. /And why should they? I was once part of an organisation bent on taking over the world. Not to mention I helped steal most of their bit-beasts./ Tala smirked at some of the nasty glares sent his way by the others and looked around.

He spotted two familiar figures approaching the group and he went over to meet them.

"Ian, Spencer. You're late."

"Well you didn't give us much warning," Ian grumbled glaring at Tala. "I had to do some major explaining to my parents. They're still afraid that I'll run off again and join another evil organisation."

"Like you really had a choice about joining the first," Spencer snorted, grinning at him.

"True. Still, they're fairly paranoid." Ian looked back at Tala. "So how has the party been so far?"

"Boring and hostile." Tala grinned. "I get the feeling they don't like me very much."

Ian studied him carefully. "I don't see that myself. Personally, I don't like you much either, but that has nothing to do with who you are. I'm sure you've a very nice person deep down." He paused. "Very deep down that is."

Tala laughed and shook his head. "I feel the same way about you shrimp. Come on, we should get moving. Everyone was waiting on you." Tala looked around. "And Takao. I don't think that guy's ever been on time for anything in his life." The three Russian Bladers made their way over to the large group, who all tensed up as they stood nearby.

"Ah! I'm glad you boys made it." Mr. Dickinson smiled cheerily at them, ignoring the dark looks he received from the All-Stars and the White Tigers. "But there seems to be one missing."

"Bryan couldn't make it," Tala informed him. "He had something else to do today." /How could I have forgotten about that? He goes every morning without fail./ "He might be able to catch up with us later." Tala ignored Spencer and Ian's curious looks and spoke directly to Mr. Dickinson, who smiled at the explanation.

"I guess it can't be helped then. So now we're only waiting on ..."

"Wait!" Everyone turned as they heard Takao yelling their way. He was running down the street with his arms flailing wildly. "Hang on, I'm here!"

"Oh Takao," Max shook his head and a few of the others laughed at the boy.

Takao reached them and leaned down on his knees, panting for breath. "Sorry, I slept in."

"That's a new one," Kenny muttered sarcastically. "Can we get going now?"

"Of course. Kai?" The blue-haired blader looked up and Tala suppressed his urge to knock the boy out. "Could you lead the way?"

"Sure. Where to?"

Mr. Dickinson smiled, but Tala caught a glint of *something* behind that calm gaze. The old man was up to something. "To the west side of town if you would."

"Sure." Kai looked a bit apprehensive, and with good reason. The Abbey was located in the west side of town, along with a few other nasty haunts owned by Biovolt and Voltaire. Tala went on alert as soon as he heard this, as did his two teammates. A few people noticed, like Rei and Kenny, but everyone else seemed oblivious to the tension.

Kai took the lead with Rei close by him and Mr. Dickinson joined them. "So where are we going?" Tala heard Kai ask.

"There's quite a nice place on the west side that I would like you all to see, but I can't say more than that or I'll ruin the secret." Mr. Dickinson smiled mysteriously at the two of them and struck up a conversation with Max's mother, seeing as she was the only other adult there.

Tala and his companions trailed a bit behind the group, out of earshot.

"So why are we here again?" Ian asked darkly. I have better things to do with my time than hang out with this boring bunch of losers, who just happen to hate my guts."

"We're here because we were invited to come along," Tala told him quietly. "Don't ask me why, because I don't know. I suspect it's a way to promote unity among the teams and to try and get us more involved in the beyblade world again."

"Why bother?" Ian snorted. "It's just a waste of their time. It'll be years before Russia is stable enough to form another beyblade team like ours, and even more years to find someone to sponsor it."

"Maybe Mr. Dickinson has something else up his sleeve," Spencer suggested.

"Maybe." Tala murmured quietly. /That old man's up to something. I wish I knew what though. I hate being left in the dark./ Tala didn't say another word to either of his companions for the rest of the walk. He just gazed ahead, wrapped in his thoughts, his eyes coming to rest unconsciously onto the back of Kai's head.

/Kai again. Why does he torment me so?/ Tala's expression didn't change, he was too well trained to let his emotions slip so easily, but inside he was seething with rage and confusion. /The thing is, I don't even know why I hate him so much. It's almost as if, I've lost some of my memories./ Tala's eyes narrowed. /Or had them taken away./ Tala's hand strayed up to his left ear and he tentatively brushed the scar he knew was there.

~~

"No! Please!"

He was in the grey room again. That chair with the tight straps that dug into your skin so deep that your wrists bled and stained red was there and so was the table, filled with sharp and painful instruments. He could almost hear the echoes of anguished sobs and blood-curdling screams filling the room. It was so cold and dark and empty. It drained him.

Tears were coursing unrestricted down his cheeks. He looked up at his guards pleadingly. "Please, let me go. I don't want to do this! Please! Let me go! I can't do this again!"

In the end his struggles were always futile. He was tied down so tight that his hands started turning blue and his breathing was restricted. However he always managed to pant in fear and soon after scream in pain as the masked man moved in with his tray of instruments.

~~

Tala closed his eyes to rid himself of the horrid memory and shook his head slightly. When he looked up again, his eyes held only the merest hint of pain, only those close to him could see he was troubled. Those who were smart would leave him alone to deal with it himself.

Which is what Ian and Spencer did, despite their concern for their leader.

Realising they had arrived wherever the were supposed to go, Tala sent one last glare in Kai's direction before he entered the large brick building with Ian and Spencer following.

***

It was a training facility.

Everything anyone would ever want to play, every sport, every form of exercise, even saunas and spas — it had it all. Not even the All-Stars had a training facility like this, or the Majestics with all their wealth.

"Woah," Takao gasped, staring around in awe. "Mr. D, how on earth did you manage to get this place?"

"I called in a few favours. Not to mention I had funds from the BBA, Judy's company and the Majestics. This training facility is a private one, only registered teams deemed acceptable by the BBA are allowed access to this place. So far, only four teams have been put on the list. Your teams."

"Ours?" Takao wasn't the only one looking at Mr. Dickinson in amazement. He chuckled merrily.

"Well, you are the top four teams in the world at the moment. There are some perks to being so successful."

"I'll say." Takao grinned. "Hey, Maxie, let's go check out the sauna!" Takao grabbed his blond friends' hand, not taking any noticed of the boy's blush, and dragged him from the room. Everyone else had the same ideas. Emily and Mariah headed for the spa, declaring it off limits to all boys for a while. Michael, Kenny and Lee decided to follow Max and Takao to the sauna. Eddy, Steve, Kevin and Gary decided to check out the swimming pool and aqua gym.

Ian shrugged in Tala's direction and went with Spencer to check out the gymnasium and it's equipment. Tala watched as Kai and Rei also exited, heading for the beyblade dishes. Tala decided to go with his friends but stopped as he found a small work out room full of boxing and martial arts equipment. He grinned and decided to give himself a thorough work out instead.

/This should keep my mind occupied for a while. I've been wanting to let off some steam./

***

Tala didn't know how long he'd worked out for before he decided to take a break and cool down.

No one had come to find him, so he assumed that everyone was still here and occupied by whatever they could find. He grabbed a towel from a shelf where quite a few had been conveniently stacked and wiped away some of the sweat. Then he headed out in search of the pool.

It was deserted when he arrived. The four boys must have found something else to keep them occupied. Tala didn't mind. He preferred solitude anyway. He stripped off to his boxers and placed his clothes out of the water's reach then dove in, reveling in the feel of the cool water washing over his hot sweaty skin, despite how it was winter outside. The entire place was kept to a moderate temperature so that everyone wouldn't freeze. A distinct advantage, Tala saw, as he swam a few slow laps in the Olympic sized pool.

After he felt he had cooled down sufficiently, Tala made his way over to the side and started to pull himself up out of the pool, not realising there was someone standing before him.

When he did notice, his eyes opened wide in surprise and he overbalanced and fell back into the water. He came up spluttering and glared at the proffered hand.

Kai looked down at him curiously. "Do you want to get out or not?"

Tala glared at him. "Get lost Kai."

Kai arched an eyebrow at him. "Do you want my help or not?"

"When have I ever needed your help?" Tala spat out, pulling himself out over the edge with ease and standing up to stare at Kai face-to-face.

"Why are you acting like this?" Kai asked irritably. "All I'm doing is trying to be nice."

"Nice?" Tala laughed. "Kai, the time when you are actually being nice to me and caring about my welfare will probably be a herald for the end of the world." Tala walked past him, moving his wet body slightly so he didn't touch Kai's clothes. He was above that kind of pettiness.

Kai was getting fed up. He grabbed Tala by the shoulder and turned him around. "What the hell did I ever do to you?"

Tala's ice-blue eyes blazed with fury. "What did you ever do to me? You bastard, how dare you even ask that!"

Kai was about to retort scathingly when he noticed something behind Tala's ear that he hadn't noticed before. His eyes widened slightly. Tala didn't have any idea what was going on. His eyes narrowed as Kai brought his hand up and gently brushed his fingers against the jagged scar. Tala gasped and his eyes opened wide as he suddenly remembered something.

~~

Tala was crying, being held in Kai's arms. They were still quite young. Kai only had two triangle tattooed onto his face, the two smaller ones on either side. He was looking down at his distraught friend with worry evident in his eyes.

"Tala, don't worry, you're safe now."

"I'm not, I'm never safe." Tala sobbed and leaned into Kai, who tightened his grip on the other boy.

"You'll always be safe while I'm here. You don't have too worry, I'll never leave you, I'll always be here for you."

Tala raised his red rimmed eyes to stare at his friend. "You will?"

Kai nodded and smiled gently. "Of course. I would never leave you to bear this alone."

~~

Kai took a step back as Tala recoiled from his touch. They stared at one another intently, not realising they had an audience.

Rei looked down, fighting back tears, as he saw the gentle way Kai touched Tala. He turned his back on the two of them as they jumped away and ran out of the pool area, not caring that he'd left Kai behind even after searching for him.

This went unnoticed by both boys as they stared at each other in wide-eyed shock, trying to figure out what just happened.

"Tala," Kai began, taking a small step towards the redhead.

That was a mistake. Tala's eyes narrowed at the movement and he swung at Kai, hitting him on the lip.

"Bastard," he spat and walked out of the poolroom, grabbing his clothes, leaving Kai standing by the water's edge looking stunned, his lip leaking a small trickle of blood.