Chapter 17

phoenix the 1st: Maybe not, but Bryan was still there. ^_^

russle: You like Aizik? O_o;;

Castles in the Sky: I have an 'Iceheart' in all my fan fics, and Bryan happened to be the pick of Beyblade. It refers to the character with no emotions, and therefore a heart of ice.

eyriess: Happy computer always good. Mine just got an upgrade. Mine happy too. ^_^

Jay Kamiya: Mm-hm. I needed someone other than Ian who was annoying. :p

phoenix of order: No, but you got the infection right.

Ashla: That okay. Hope you were able to catch up on all your reading. :p

Curtis Zidane Ziraa: A newsagency is a place where you can buy your newspaper, magazines, comics, stationary, cards, lollies and chocolates, cigarettes, and various other small items. Not to be confused with a general store or the corner shop, and most newsagencies are within main shopping centres (though not always). Hope that helps.

Bloody Mary: Aizik was created to be annoying. ^_^ And apparently I'm cruel too, but mainly to Bryan, Ray and the members of the White Tigers.

KuronekoHikage: Heh heh. You're just as bad as I am. And I'm afraid that's saying something... #-_-#;;

Reiven: Well, Panas is hot. :p

Sorry for the delay. First I was violently ill, then my internet played up, then I had my computer in for repairs. Anyway, back to the story:

.So, Aizik has left them some medicine. Will it work?

Disclaimer: See first page

He awoke to almost complete darkness, lavender eyes cracking open as he felt the weight on his chest. Looking down, he spotted the red hair of his longtime friend as the other curled against his chest, sleeping softly. The moment Bryan moved though, Tala was wide-awake.

"I've been waiting for you to wake." Tala sat up, kissing Bryan gently on the forehead and sliding from the bed, padding almost silently to the table. "Aizik came while you were sleeping and left us something to help us regain our strength." Tala listed off everything Aizik had said, coming back with a teaspoon of the formula. "It doesn't taste too good, but we should know by tomorrow whether it works or not."

Bryan remained silent, swallowing the formula and trying not to pull a face at the taste, Tala none-the-less spotting it and chuckling. "I warned you that it didn't taste too good."

Setting the things aside, Tala slid back onto the bed, running his fingers through Bryan's lavender strands. "Spencer and Ian are worried about you. So's Panas. So much for saying they don't care about you."

Bryan looked at him. "They don't. They're acting."

Tala sighed heavily. "Bryan, what is it going to take to convince you otherwise? Boris has raised you to believe yourself unwanted and unloved, but that just isn't the case. You're the strongest member of the group, and not only that, nearly all of the boys look up to you like an older brother, a role model they would give anything to be like."

"They don't know the truth."

"Bryan…" Tala's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "You're a stubborn prick, you know that? Who cares what they do and don't know, all that matters is that they care about you. I may be the captain of the Demolition Boys, but to them you're the fearless leader. And I doubt I would have gotten this far if it were not for you. I follow your lead, Bryan. Hell, you lost, I lost, how much more could I follow?"

The corners of Bryan's lips turned up slightly, just enough for Tala to catch.

Tala leant down, kissing his forehead. "I love you, Bryan, and I mean that. Perhaps, if you allowed the barriers down a little, you'd realise just how much. Now, you get some sleep. Give that stuff some time to work through your system. Ian and Spence are going to find us some meat in the morning, as cake and fruit just aren't doing anything for us."

Tala settled back into the bed, reaching out and pulling Bryan to him, Bryan allowing the younger teen to draw him into his arms. Closing his eyes, it wasn't long before Bryan was asleep, Tala smiling faintly, stroking his cheek before kissing the top of Bryan's head, closing his own eyes and allowing sleep to take him.

~~~~*~~~~

"The boys are talking."

Ian and Spencer looked up, spotting Panas as he slid into the small room. Spencer frowned. "About what?"

Panas's lips were thin, eyes tight. "About Bryan. Words out that Iceheart is sick, and they're starting to freak out. I spent most of last night trying to convince my team that he wasn't going to die."

Ian scowled. "Aizik told them."

Panas shook his head. "Not Aizik directly. Lets just say we were overheard."

Spencer and Ian exchanged a sharp look. "Overheard?"

Panas nodded. "Thankfully it was one of the boys. Had it of been one of the guards, me, you two and Aizik would all be in deep shit right about now."

Ian shifted. "We're getting careless. Tala's gonna have a fit when he finds out."

Spencer nodded his agreement.

"Well anyway, I managed to round up some meat." Panas sat the package onto the table and pushed it toward them. "Bacon. I'm not sure if they like it, but that's what was on the menu. I had Rhyce sneak into the kitchen and grab it while the cooks were having their smoko."

Ian looked at him. "Won't the cooks notice it missing?"

"Probably not. The guards pinch food all the time, or so I've noticed." Panas glanced at the clock, then behind him at the shout from the main room. "Looks like I'm not heading down today. There was a rumour we had to train, and it looks like it's become fact."

Spencer frowned. "You guys have been training a lot recently."

"Yeah, I know." Panas frowned. "I think Boris plans to retire you guys,"

"What!?" Ian and Spencer shot to their feet.

Panas waved them down. "I'm not certain on that. All I know is that our training is coming from orders directly from Boris. Our training has intensified, while you guys haven't been training at all. At least not by orders."

Spencer looked at Ian. "He's right."

"But why?" Ian frowned. "We're the best this Abbey has got. We didn't lose. The team lost yes, but Spence and I won. Or at least Spence did, I didn't battle in the finals, but I won all my other matches as easy as all hell."

Spencer looked at him. "Bryan and Tala lost, and we were trained to work with them."

"Guess Boris figures that without them he can't use you." Panas shook his head, frowning. "What I want to know is why Boris would destroy those two after all the work he put into them."

"Tala thinks its because Boris sees them as failures," Ian replied, looking up as the shout came again. "And you'd better split."

Panas nodded his agreement, standing and disappearing through the doorway. When he was gone, the other two exchanged a look.

"That settles it," Ian said. "We're leaving."

Interesting. Bryan considers himself unwanted, the boys were overheard talking and word got around, and now it appears Boris has plans of replacing Ian and Spencer with the reserves team of which Panas is the leader. Talk about some major developments in one hit.