Here is the next chapter as promised, thankyou so much to my reviewers! Hugs to you all!

Autumnaki: I'm glad to see you're still reading, though it'll probably be a while till you read this chapter XD Thankyou!
Ariotlatio and X Shadow Wolf X2: Thankyou for consistantly reviewing, it really makes my day! Although, it seems like I'm the only one who thinks Boris could have a heart! He'll probably only get nicer as the story progresses, so you'll have to try harder to imagine it! XD
Midnight Insanity: I didn't even know that grammar rule, thanks for pointing it out though (and of course for reviewing)! I hope I didn't make any mistakes with the 'its' in this chappie. As for the Boris thing... I'm glad I'm the odd one out! ;D
sora1truelove: Yay, a new reviewer! Welcome to the story, and I hope you like the rest of it!
Tama: Aww, thanks for the rhyming review! Like I've said, I really love your long reviews, they're always really sweet!
Mrs. Sumpter, x-hikari and midtow: Thankyou so much for reviewing, I appreciate it so much! And don't lose hope yet, there's still a chance of happiness for Tala and Albina.

This is another long chapter, but I think it's worth the read; I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 11 - The Finals

After a night of nightmares, Albina opened her eyes to bright lights and an empty bed beside her. Thinking in a panic that they must've left for the finals already, she shot out of bed and pulled on her boots, which is when she remembered her leg. The bandages were too thick to fit her thigh-high boots over and she struggled for a bit before ripping them off and tugging her boot over the top. Her leg was far from healed but at least it wasn't leaking red anymore. More scars, she thought absentmindedly, bolting out of the door whilst she pulled on her gloves. The bump on her head ached and her leg hurt but they weren't important to her compared to missing the teams final battle- Tala's. Irritatingly, she'd already missed Bryan's battle whilst she'd been in a coma- which brought up the question of how and why she'd woken up at such a crucial moment. Was it because her brother had come to see her? Then she began to wonder, how did Kai get into the Abbey anyway?

So many unanswered questions muddled in her mind as she ran to the Abbey foyer, where to her relief, the team was standing. Tala glanced over at her, uninterested, whilst Bryan and Spencer were gawping at her, surprised to see her body moving again. They stood in silence for a while, Albina wishing that Tala would say something to her. She swore to herself that if he ever begged her not to do something again, she'd listen. But she doubted he'd ever care for her again. If only she'd chosen love instead of lust. To everyone's surprise, the silence was broken by Spencer.

"When did you awake?"
"Last night..." She looked at Tala for any sign of acknowledgement- nothing.
"You missed my battle," Bryan rumbled. "I lost, but I totally shredded that wimp Rei!" He laughed unexpectedly and made both Spencer and Albina jump.
"Uh... what do you mean by, shredded?" Albina remembered back to Rei's sweet face peering round her training room's door, asking her where Kai was, and felt a pang of anxiety.
"Let's just say, he's now in hospital." Bryan laughed again, whilst Spencer faked a smirk. Albina was aghast as she realized all the pain that Biovolt had already caused purposefully. She felt so angry with Bryan...
"You didn't need to do that."
"Yeah, but it was fun!" More laughter.
"Hurting people shouldn't be fun! Sure, we're used to it, but others aren't. You could have killed him, then think what would have happened to you!" Bryan stopped laughing and stared at her like she'd gone crazy. It was then that Albina realized with a shock how much Tala's words and Black Dranzer had changed her- she now seemed to care about people. Tala had been like this all along- until Biovolt put a stop to it. Perhaps they'd do the same to her... At that moment Boris arrived and the team fell silent, Bryan and Spencer looking curiously at the purple bruise under his eye, and they all got onto the bus. Albina was amazed when Boris didn't yell at her, tell her she couldn't come or send her away for punishment, but instead sat in the seat across from her on the bus. Then came something even more surprising:

"How's your leg?"
"It's... fine."
"It can't have healed properly yet. I should have stopped you from coming, but I know how much this battle means to you." Albina looked at Boris, totally stupefied. Why was he... everyone... being nice to her?
"I can handle it."
"I know." Boris said, before alarmingly turning his head and sneaking a small smile at her. Albina shrunk away, repulsed and horrified, which only made Boris smile wider.

"Your Grandfather's going to kill me when he hears what happened last night. He'll kill me again when he finds out I still brought you along to watch the match." Albina was at a total loss of what to say- she'd had way too many surprises in the last few days, and felt exhausted just from trying to figure out how to respond to them all.
"Boris... what does Voltaire want to use me for?" After what he'd requested done to Tala, it sickened her to think that they were related and so always called him by his first name.
"At first, I think he just wanted to see how you'd develop, growing up here. Now that he's seen how powerful you are, I think he wishes to use you as one of his beyblade warriors, to help him in his quest to rule the world." What a cliché. When you heard it in real life, it sounded ridiculous, but the scary thing was that she could actually imagine a world ruled by Biovolt in her head.
"But I'm... I'm not powerful. I couldn't even control Black Dranzer."
"Correction, Albina. You handled Black Dranzer better than anyone save Kai has ever been able to. But I think once it tasted the power held inside you, its hunger was too strong, leading it to feast upon your power in order to absorb Dranzer. Perhaps when you're older, you would have been able to control it completely, but the risk was just too much and we had to destroy it."
"It's been destroyed?" She felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. Now she'd never be able to prove to Kai that she's just as strong as he is- but at least she'd never be food for a bit beast again.
"Yes. The boys destroyed the blade and took the stolen bit beasts inside for use in their own blades. Tala will be using them all today, in order to empower Wolborg."
"What will happen if he loses?"
"He won't lose. If the cybernetic implants work correctly, there is a 100% chance of victory."

She fell silent as she contemplated the possibility of his implants not working due to her meddling, and what would happen when they lost. It would all be her fault, and she couldn't imagine a punishment any less than death waiting for her once Voltaire found out. She looked out of the window, and Boris out of his. Something inside him was urging him to say more to her, to apologise for all he'd done under Voltaire's control, to express his guilt over breaking her heart. Unfortunately, his predominant, evil side was yelling at the smaller voice for becoming a pathetic, caring excuse for an evil instructor and telling him that he should have killed Albina for what she'd done, last night whilst she was vulnerable.

Half an hour later, Albina was sat on the bench with her teammates, watching Tala as he stepped up to the dish to face Tyson. When Albina remembered how cocky Tyson had been when meeting her, she wished even harder that Tala would win. She, like the others, sat calmly, as if there was nothing wrong and they were simply bathing in their own overconfidence; but inside her an emotional battle was taking place. If Tala won, she wouldn't get punished, nobody would ever know what she'd done, her team would be victorious and she'd go on to help her grandfather take over the world. But if he lost, it would show that the upgrades had failed, and there may still be a chance that he'd return to normal and... and she had no idea what would happen then. She knew nothing of love except how it felt- she didn't know where it would lead her and Tala, neither did she know what would happen to them and the rest of the team if they lost the tournament. Who knows whether his feelings would ever return, or whether they'd be revealed before it was too late? She didn't want to imagine the 'too late' part.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and she looked upwards to see that it had been Tyson. He looked weak, but still determinedly fighting. Tala, on the other hand, was still as solidly threatening as he'd been at the start- he really was like a cyborg.

Suddenly, Tala laughed coldly, and as quick as a flash, the beydish was encased in ice.

Albina stood up from the bench in alarm- but surely this was Wolborg's doing... How the hell had Tala done that? She turned to Bryan and Spencer in search for an explanation and was greeted by faces just as surprised as hers. Voltaire, his old, evil face glowering down on them all from his balcony, looked smug- a wide smile of satisfaction spreading across his face, wrinkling the tough skin. Everything was going according to plan.

And then, the ice began to melt.

Everyone sat with bated breath, awaiting the result...
Surely Tyson wouldn't have been able to survive that, whereas Tala would be used to it?

The ice melted down to their heads- both of them were still standing, so it was unclear who had won. Eventually, the ice melted down to the floor, and everyone's eyes went to the beydish. Albina felt a strange, plummeting feeling- Tala's Wolborg was lying on its side, and Tyson's blade was still spinning. The stadium was bathed in a multicoloured glow as all the captured bit beasts, returned to their rightful owners and all Biovolt's work was ruined.

As Jazzman announced the Blade Breakers the winners, Albina looked from Tala to Boris; Tala was standing completely still, with wide eyes and mouth aghast; Boris's face had gone as white as hers, every feature spelling out horror. It was as if the whole team had become frozen, her included, the commentary and cheers washing over her ominously. She didn't dare look up at Voltaire, to see what expression was on his face- or who he was directing it at. Eventually, Tala began to stagger back towards the team- as he got closer, Albina saw that his eyes were wet, then before she could do anything he'd collapsed onto the bench next to her; his whole body shuddering forcefully, his arms shaking violently, his back heaving.

"Boris, what's happening?" Albina cried, scared.
"I- ...I think he's malfunctioning."


Eep! Another cliffhanger, I'm sorry! What's going to happen to poor Tala now? Not to mention what will happen to Boris, Albina, Bryan and Spencer... and you'll have to review if you want to find out what happens next! XD Also, please tell me whether you like how I lay out my paragraphs- I've realized that my text looks rather blocky in comparison to other stories on here. Like always, grammar/spelling corrections are welcome too. Remember, the more reviews I get, the faster I update, so please do! :3