Fighting the Fears

Sacred Phoenix

SP: Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed… you are all really really appreciated. And secondly, again, I'm really sorry for the long wait. I have just been so busy and I'm only allowed to write in the weekends.

Cori: Sacred Phoenix doesn't own Beyblades, she only owns her OCs.

SP: Thanks Cori. And on with the fic!

- Thinking

"" – Talking

Chapter 6: Dreaded Shopping

Cori tossed and turned under her covers. A dream was on its way and she could feel its presence, slowly forming around her.

Dream

Cori and Ally followed Boris inside the huge platinum dome. They entered three security doors, each one lifting up for them to enter and slamming down barely after they had walked through. Cori could not get used to it. She jumped and yelped every time a door slammed down, scared that it would smash on top of her. She was finally starting to grasp the meaning of all this. Cori finally realised that this was not the home that Ally and her had dreamed of, that this place was bad, even evil.

Ally felt the finality of the situation as the first door slammed down. She stared hard at the cold, hard metal that blocked their only escape, as if hoping to penetrate it with her eyes. Boris had told them that the door can only be opened by himself, Voltaire or… one of the privileged bladers. Even then, one of the privileged bladers needed to hold the door open for another blader of the same rank so only one of them can pass. Ally knew that this was worse than the orphanage, worse than anything they had ever encountered, that this was the end. Ally knew that she would have to be stronger than she had ever been before, for both of them.

Boris stopped suddenly in his tracks and turned on his heel to face them. Ally gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to punch him.

Just look at that stupid, ugly, arrogant face. If only I could punch him… I could get a right hook… NO! I would get both of us in deeper trouble than we already are. Ally reasoned with herself.

"Himana! Pay attention!" Shouted Boris, spraying Ally with spit. Ally blinked and wiped away the disgusting fluid with the edge of her sleeve calmly, but inside she was close to breaking point, just one more degrading action and she would erupt.

"As I was saying, Tala Ivanov will show you all the places you need to know. He will also tell you our strict timetable etcetera. I expect you to have memorised everything that he has told you by the end of the day. If you disobey orders you will be punished accordingly. Have I made myself clear?" Asked Boris, his voice rising dangerously.

"Inescapably, Sir," taunted Ally sarcastically. Boris had had enough, he swung at Ally but she was ready this time and dodged the blow. He tried again, with the same result. Boris threw himself at Ally, only to body slam the floor, knocking himself out.

"So anyway," said Ally, as though nothing had happened, "who is Ivanov?"

All the spectators just gaped at the six year old who had just openly defied Boris… and won!

"I believe that's me," answered a voice, with a hint of amusement. Ally and Cori spun round to the direction of the voice and found themselves face to face with a red haired boy, dressed in Biovolt uniform. Ice blue and violet orbs met and locked, finally ending with Tala breaking the eye contact. He beckoned to them and they followed suspiciously.

"That wasn't too bad, youngling," he chuckled, as soon as they were out of earshot [AN: Heard of cameras, Tala?], surveying the fiery raven haired girl and her timid blonde companion, "pretty impressive actually. Best entertainment I've had for years."

"You can't be more than two years older than me so 'youngling' isn't appropriate. And if you think that's entertainment then you are as bad as... what's his name… Boris?"

Tala cocked one red eyebrow and tilted his head to glance mockingly at the violet-eyed girl, "oh forgive me, dear… comrade?I forget my place, as I am indeed only one whole year older than you."

"You're forgiven," answered Ally shortly, not buying his charm.

Tala became serious, "you've got guts kid, guts, but not much sense. That rat bag deserved a thorough beating but you weren't the one to give it. You'll be on his To Kill List now."

Cori looked mortified, "but… how… what do we do… Tala?"

"I don't care," declared Ally defiantly, "cowards die a thousand deaths, the valiant never tastes death but once. I won't go and kiss the ground at his feet!"

"Oh yes, after everything you said I'm really going to suggest you go and kiss his feet," answered Tala with a voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I said kiss the ground at his feet, not his feet… though that would be worse," retorted Ally.

"Kid," started Tala.

"I'm not a –"Ally began.

"OK, Comrade," amended Tala, "you are hopeless, you know that? In fact, I think you might even manage to beat the record for punishments, which may I remind you is set by myself, Tala the Great, though… Hiwatari has recently beaten that…" He added grudgingly.

"I'll keep that in mind, oh Tala the Great," replied Ally, "and isn't Hiwatari the leader of this rat hole?"

Tala looked surprised, "your memory isn't bad ki – comrade, most kids don't remember the first thing Boris says to them."

"I have a very good memory… he told us around 10 minutes ago," commented Ally dryly.

"I didn't remember," piped in Cori. Ally gave her a who's-side-are-you-on look and turned back to Tala, "don't avoid my question, Ivanov, I don't get sidetracked easily."

"As I can see," sighed Tala, "you're very sharp for a six-year-old."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, and in return, you're very thick for a seven-year-old. You should have learnt by now not to avoid my questions," replied Ally, putting on a bored face.

"OK! And I wasn't flattering you," said Tala, ignoring the disbelieving snort from Ally, "Hiwatari is the leader of this place, but I was talking about his grandson. A stuck-up bluenette who doesn't know what's good for him if you ask me. Stay away from him and your life will be good. Well, as good as it can get in this hell."

Ally raised an eyebrow, "you mean even more stuck up than you?"

"No, I mean he's stuck up, I'm just… confident in myself," answered Tala.

"Ahh… I see," answered Ally, "but Tala, you have so much confidence in yourself, you've got such a big ego I'm surprised you haven't walked around with a big sign saying: I am God. Worship me," [AN: That was for you DV!]

"Don't think I haven't tried," Tala replied sarcastically. Cori burst out laughing. It was really amusing watching her friend and this tall, red-head argue, kind of like watching a debate. Ally and Tala both looked at her, surprised, then both of them joined in the laughter. Surprisingly, Cori was the first to recover.

Suddenly she looked at Tala and asked, "Tala? Why are we here? What is this place? What do we do here? Why is everyone so mean?"

Tala blinked and finally started talking, "Ok, before I start, I did not tell you any of this, because I don't know any of this, because I haven't been eavesdropping." Ally and Cori nodded solemnly, waiting for him to continue.

"On the outside, this is just like any other abbey in the country, but that's just a cover up. This is a secret Beybladers training facility with students handpicked by Voltaire and Boris. But training here is very hard, in fact, when you two start, you'll probably not even make it past the first hour." Tala told them. Cori gulped but Ally looked more determined than ever to prove Tala wrong.

"But you aren't allowed to stop," continued Tala, "you'll train till you drop and then they'll wake you up with a bucket of ice cold water and make you start training again. If they don't think you've worked hard enough, even if you know you have, or disobeyed orders, or simply because Boris wants to pick on you, you'll be punished, tortured, in any way possible." Tala took a deep breath and continued,

It's a survival of the fittest here. You have to work for a standing among all the other bladers. You have to make it known that you are the strongest, you have to show Boris and Voltaire that you are worth their training. It's kill or be killed here and you'd better accept that," Tala finished.

Ally and Cori were both speechless at this information overload. Ally opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish several times before finally speaking, "Tala, what are the punishments?"

Tala looked uncomfortable and did not meet Ally's eyes, "I… uh… don't know about girls' punishments… but I know they are different… and… worse."

Ally caught the hint and as realisation swept through her, her violet eyes burned.

How dare they?! How dare they take away something so precious? They will pay! I will make them! She thought passionately.

"Tala, why are we here?" Asked a very scared Cori.

Tala sighed, "you both are, so I've heard, very talented bladers. Voltaire and Boris 'collect' good bladers and submit them to their command," he lowered his voice so that it was barely a whisper, "it's rumoured that they're going to try to take over the world!"

"I am NOT an object that they collect! I will NOT submit to their command!" Ally announced angrily, "they're just going to have to take over the world with me blading against them."

"Dawn! That is senseless!" Persuaded Tala, "you will strike, Cori will strike, we will all strike, but not now. We have to wait for the opportune moment. Right now you are powerless against them. Sure, you knocked out Boris, or rather, made him knock himself out, but you don't have the potential to cause real damage. Instead, you'll only bring trouble onto yourself. And we will lose one more valuable ally. You have to learn to wait, to bide your time. Make them think that you're on their side, because that's how we can attack on their blind side, attack right where it hurts! Gain their trust so they raise your rank, gaining privileges, and train as though there's no tomorrow, because only with our blading skills, can we win!"

Ally nodded, knowing what Tala said made perfect sense, "I'll listen to you Tala, I will train, I will gain their trust and I will bide my time, then I will strike."

Tala grinned, he had never met a girl like Ally before. She was brave, defiant… but smart and reasonable. She would succeed.

By nightfall, Tala had showed Cori and Ally around Biovolt and they arrived at their cells.

"I have to lock you in," said Tala apologetically, "gain their trust and you won't have cells, like me!"

"I will," replied Ally and Cori nodded fervently. Tala turned to go.

"Tala!" Said Ally quietly.

"Yeah, kid?" Answered Tala without turning around.

"Thank you."

End of Dream

Cori slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the light that came streaming through the curtains. The room slowly came into focus. She looked around her, Ally and Sharon were still dozing but Leila's bed was empty. Suddenly a thud and colourful cursing came from the kitchen. Cori smiled and stepped out of bed, getting ready to help Leila make breakfast.

"Wake up sleepyheads! We go shopping today!" Exclaimed Leila excitedly.

"Precisely why I stayed in bed," grumbled Ally sleepily.

"Ditto," said Sharon, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"We even made you breakfast in bed!" Bribed Cori.

"Ok, I'm going then," beamed Ally, "bring on the breakfast!"

Somehow, Leila and Cori managed to drag Ally and Sharon out of bed and towards town, there they entered every single shop where Leila tried every single article of clothing on, though Ally had to grudgingly admit, she looked really cute in all of them. Finally the rest of the Shadow Rangers managed to remind Leila that they were shopping for that wretched formal dance, not everyday clothing.

Naturally, Leila was the first to find her 'perfect' dress though Ally failed to see how she could tell which was 'perfect' as they all looked perfectly fine. It was an emerald green gown made from shimmering fabric that was on its way to becoming informal. It had a strapless gathered bodice that showed her entire back. The gown reached just under her knee and strings of lighter green sequins hung down from the bottom hem. There was also a sequined belt that hung down from her petit waist. A pair of matching gloves that reached just above her wrists were also in order. The colour of the gown was the exact same green as that of Leila's eyes, so it really brought out those mischievous jewels to life.

But Leila wasn't nearly finished, she had to help everyone else as well; and Cori was her first victim.

"Aw… this one's so nice."

"But this one's pretty too."

"This'll bring out the colour of your eyes."

"But you'll look so sweet in this!"

And it went on and on… she made everyone stay and wait so she could pick their dresses too. Finally, after making Cori try on several hundred dresses, Leila made her decision.

Cori's gown was a pink silk one, so pale that it was almost white. It had a shirred bodice with a dramatic drape front. Thin spaghetti straps formed a v-shape behind her collarbone and tied neatly behind her slender neck. This pink gown had a shimmering translucent pale pink drape and a flyaway front. White beads sewed in dazzling patterns grace the front of her bodice and the hem of the gown just touched the ground. A pair of snow white gloves that reached just above her elbows finished the outfit. Leila had chosen well, Cori looked so sweet and light that she might as well have grown wings and flown away.

After seeing what Leila made Cori go through, Sharon could not be easily persuaded. No matter how much Leila reasoned, pleaded and bribed, she could not get Sharon to try on all the dresses in the store. So finally, she gave up and simply followed Sharon around, wincing as she chose the most boyish ones she could find. In less than fifteen minutes, Sharon had already bought her gown and felt reasonably content about it.

Her choice was a plain, midnight blue skirt made from the softest cotton, and embroidered at the bottom with sky blue thread. The top half was a matching, tight singlet, with a translucent sky blue, satin 'jacket'. This outfit reached just above her ankles so she could move around without tripping over the hem every time she took a step.

Then, it was Ally's turn. Following Sharon's example, she chose for herself, although she took Leila's recommendations, suggestions and comments. Ally thankfully, did not take long either. Her chosen gown was a black satin one, with spaghetti straps. It fell gracefully onto the ground. There were side laces that could lace up the side panels, which revealed a white under-gown. The front of the gown, from the centre of the bodice to centre bottom of the gown had patterns of silver beads and sequins sewed on. A white shawl that was entwined round Ally's arms finished the outfit.

"Finally!" Exclaimed Sharon, grinning like a Cheshire cat, "we can go back to the hotel now!"

Leila looked at her, horrified, "what?! We've still got the shoes and jewellery to go! Not to mention our hair!"

The smile that had crept on Sharon's face faded and she slumped back down in her seat, looking thoroughly dejected. "No way. You've got to be kidding me," she groaned.

"Nope!" Replied Leila cheerfully, as she started to drag the rest of her team towards a shoe shop, blabbering on about how pretty these shoes were and how comfortable those shoes were.

At least the shoes didn't take long. They all bought the same type of shoes with different colours, even Sharon agreed, however grudgingly. The heel was transparent and there was a single strap to hold the shoe in place. There were gems that embroidering the strap that sparkled merrily under the light. Each girl purchased a pair of shoes matching their gown.

Last of all was the jewellery. Ally had to admit, she and Sharon would have gotten nowhere without Leila and Cori's help. At last, all the dreaded shopping was done and the Shadow Rangers returned to their hotel, preparing themselves for a very eventful night.

SP: Ok… done! And yeah, I hurried the last bit. If you want description on clothes, go read CD's fics. Clothes etc are not my thing.

Kai: Ivanov was seven. He wasn't that smart.

Tala: And you were?

Kai: No shit Sherlock.

SP: Ok, argue backstage please. Review!!!