Shattered Past

By Kitty-Kris

Chapter Four: I finally found them...

Melody was dragged along a long street until she finally found herself in front of what looked like a dojowith an old man sweeping the floor in the entrance.

"Hey GRANDPAAA!"

The old man looked up to see his grandson jumping around like a loony with his friend and two new people he had never seen. One was a girl, the other one was... er, he couldn't make it out. "Heya shorty! Who's your new girlfriend? I don't remember seeing her around... Hello! I'm Tyson's grandfather, Mr. Granger, but you can call me Grandpa!" he grinned "So, where did you came from?"

"Huh, hi..." she said blushing a bit.

"Grandpa! Meet Melody! She's really nice and since she has nowhere to go, I was wondering if she could stay with us! How does that sound? Please!" Tyson grinned hopefully.

Mr. Granger took a look at the girl in front of him and then moved his gaze to the robot beside her "Huh? Who's that? Your younger sister? Aw… she looks so cute in that robot suit!"

Deenix glared daggers at the old man, but Melody quickly answered to avoid violence "It IS a robot sir... her name is Deenix and she's with me."

"Hum... nice... So you say you have nowhere to go?"

"Er, no, but I don't want to cause any trouble, so if you don't want me to stay I don't mind... I'm pretty used to sleeping on the outdoors, so don't worry." She smiled softly and bowed a bit.

"Hn! No way, little girl! You're a friend of my grandson, right? New friend, but a friend nonetheless! So you stay here! A friend of Tyson's will always be welcome here! Besides, the house is pretty large, so you'll be no problem! Just something..."

"Hum, yes?"

"Do you mind sleeping in the main training room with the boys? Because the rooms we have are all kinda dusty, and it wouldn't be good for you to sleep in them until I-"

"Oh, it's ok! I'm used to being around boys all the time, and don't bother cleaning them because of me, I can simply stay in the gym. Thank you so much!" she said bowing a little

The old man grinned and signaled her to follow him inside. They were soon followed by the two boys and the robot to inside a big wooden room where two piles of blankets laid in a corner. Mr. Granger opened one of the closets and took another pile of blankets which he gave to the girl "Here, deary! I hope you don't mind sleeping on the ground..."

"Oh no, not at all! Thanks!"

Melody placed the pile next to the other two and asked Mr. Granger if he wanted help with the lunch.

"No dear, that's ok... you just stay here with the boys and do something you like. I'll call you all when lunch is ready ok?" And with that, he left to the kitchen, leaving the youngsters alone.

"Hum so, what do you wanna do?" asked the girl feeling slightly awkward all of the sudden.

"Hum, we could practice a bit... What do you say Kai?"

"Hn..."

"Great! Do you beybattle?"

Melody giggled "Who doesn't nowadays?"

"Hum, good point! But I warn you! I have a bitbeast! And a powerful one!"

"Don't worry, I have my own too..." she grinned evilly

"Really? Where is it?" Tyson asked with a bemused look on his face.

Melody smirked "You've already met her..."

"You don't mean...?"

The girl grinned and turned to her robot "Dee! We got a battle to fight, so get over here!"

The robot hurriedly approached her mistress and smirked at Tyson "You might as well consider yourself a loser already, Ty-Chan."

Melody took a bit-chip from the robot's back, and after placing the inactive robot on her pile of blankets, she motioned outside "You coming?"

Tyson was in shock "Loser? LOSER? Who does that robot thing think she's talking to? I'm gonna win!" he ran after the girl while Kai just shrugged and walked outside as well with a wide smirk on his face 'Don't know why, but I get a feeling she's right...'

Tyson got himself on one side of the beydish and smirked at his opponent "So girly, ready to lose?"

Melody didn't reply, simply taking her black and red Beyblade from her pocket and setting it on her launcher, which was shaped like a gun.

Tyson was staring at the launcher bemused 'Where have I seen something like that before?' he thought

Melody noticed his confused look "Something wrong?"

"Huh... no, I was just wondering where you got that launcher, that's all... 'cause I have a feeling I've seen it before..."

"Hum, a friend gave it to me on my birthday!" she grinned sheepishly "Wasn't he sweet?"

He sweatdropped "Huh, yeah, if you think it's sweet to give a girl a gun for her birthday... Well, on with the battle! Get ready!"

The two opponents got ready for launching while Kai leaned against a tree thinking the same thing as Tyson: Where had he seen that before?

"3, 2, 1... LET IT...RIP!" yelled Tyson

As soon as he yelled the command, the two Beyblades were launched into the arena and started spinning around it, chasing each other. Suddenly, Melody decided she was tired of playing cat and mouse and decided to stop and go against Tyson's top, colliding with it harshly.

"WHOA!" yelled Tyson as some little pieces of his top flew everywhere "Watch it! You almost destroyed my Beyblade!"

Melody glared at him "This is a battlefield, you can't expect mercy from your opponent! So quit whining and battle properly!" she moved her attention back to the battle, willing to finish it soon.

Kai's eyes narrowed at her attitude 'Hum... dejá vu...' he thought

"Ok, you wanna play it that way, do ya? Fine by me! Dragoon! Phantom Hurricane!"

Melody kept her expression calm as she ordered her own bit-beast "Deenix, standby... don't move..."

Kai's eyes narrowed more as the top obeyed and stood spinning in the middle of the arena 'What is she planning?' he thought. Kai looked over at Tyson's Beyblade, which had started spinning around it's opponent causing a tornado "HA! Who's the loser now?" Tyson yelled.

"Most definitely not me... Deenix! Fire storm!" she ordered

The Beyblade started glowing and a huge yellow-to-reddish phoenix appeared, creating huge flames around it, which caused the tornado Dragoon had created to catch fire. "Good Deenix! Now take control of the tornado and finish this!"

In a second, to Kai and mostly Tyson's surprise, you could see Tyson's Beyblade and Tyson himself be thrown against a wall, leaving Melody as the winner.

The red and black top stopped glowing and flew back to Melody's hand, who had a triumph smirk on her face "Guess you are the loser afterall... no offence... it was a great battle, but you should train more 'cause you're too slow and your top needs more balance and speed. And I think a little exercise would be good for you too..."

Tyson stood up rubbing his back "Man, that's gonna hurt in the morning..." he turned to the girl with a frown "What are you talking about? Me and Dragoon are just fine! Besides, you're not my trainer or anyone's', as a matter of fact, so there!"

"Whatever, you do need training and improvement you know, and I have experience in training other bladers, so I can help you with that if you want me to."

Kai frowned "Experience? Who did you train? And how the hell were you able to control that tornado just like that?"

"Oh, that was easy. Tyson's in a bad shape so turning his attack against him was piece of cake. And yes, I do have experience in training other bladers. I've developed several training programs and 'till now they've all worked out pretty well... If you want me to, I can make you guys one to each of you."

Tyson made a dumb face "One to each of us? Why can't we both have the same training program?"

"Because the Beybladers are all different from each other, which means each must have their own training program to suit their capabilities and improve their performance at maximum."

'Hum, maybe she does have some experience in this field... but still...' Kai thought "Fine, you can train Tyson. And if I see results I'll believe in you being experienced."

"But Kai! I don't need special training! I'm fine!"

"In case you haven't noticed, you just lost to an amateur, which means you DO need training! Now stop whining and do as I say!"

Melody glared at him "Hey! I'm no amateur!"

"Whatever..."

Tyson pouted "No fair! Don't I have a say in this?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

Melody rolled her eyes and decided to go inside to see if Mr. Granger needed help in the kitchen, passing by the gym first to get Deenix.

"Hum, Mr. Granger?"

"Melly? Come in dear! Wanna see what I'm making for lunch?"

"Hum, actually, I was wondering if me and Deenix could lend you a hand... can we?"

"Huh, sure! If you want to! Could you please make some rice while I take care of the fish?"

The girl nodded and after removing her long fingerless gloves, she got ready to start making the rice "Deenix, would you make some hot sauce please?"

"Yes Melly-Chan!"

"Wait a minute there! Aren't you a little young for being in a kitchen, full of knives and stuff?"

The robot turned completely red in anger "GRR! For YOUR information I'm older than you! Actually, I'm older than you'll ever be! So pipe down and let me do my job!"

Mr. Granger was a bit startled by the small robot's outburst, and turned to Melody with a shocked look on his face. The girl couldn't hold back a giggle as she explained "I'm sorry, but she gets really sensitive about being mistaken for a little girl... I'm sorry... She'll be fine in a sec, you'll see!"

Mr. Granger nodded confused and got back to his fish.

(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)

"BOYS! LUNCH TIME!"

The two boys (who had been arguing and training in the garden) quickly showed up and sat down at the table.

"Oh boy! What's the food?"

"Quit drooling on your plate Tyson..."

Melody placed the last dish on the table, which contained fried noodles and chicken, and sat down too.

"Hey, you cooked this? Cool! Er, Doesn't Deenix eat?"

"No, she just needs to be recharged sometimes."

Everyone ate their lunch in silence, except for Tyson's constant eating noises and comments such as "This is great!" and "You have to stay here! I love your cooking! Yum!" and when everyone was done, Melody started removing the plates and headed for the sink.

"Wait a minute there darling, I'll do that, you two go and introduce her to Kenny, ok? I'm sure you two will get along nicely!"

The girl sighed and nodded, following the boys out of the house with Deenix hot on her heels.

"Huh, guys? Who is this Kenny?"

"Oh, a friend of ours, and the one that normally designs our blades and strategies! He's the brains of the team!"

"Team? You three are a Beyblade team?"

"Yeah! The tree of us and other two boys who are coming tomorrow! We're the Bladebreakers! Ever heard of us?"

Melody's eyes widened as she stopped her track.

Flashback

A man paced back and forth in front of two boys who were supporting a girl that was breathing hard and appeared to be very ill, since she could barely stand alone, had her cheeks pretty red and eyes that were too shiny. The man turned to the muscular lavender haired boy "Let's see now, Bryan, you will be punished for not fulfilling with my expectations... I think a week without food and getting whipped fifty times per day will teach you!"

The boy jerked his head down, his eyes firmly shut, probably thinking about the punishment that awaited him. The man turned then to the red head next to the girl "And you... You're lucky I don't kill you, you know? Have you any idea of how much we spent in improving you?"

The boy looked up at him for a second, and was roughly smacked on his face by the man "I do not tolerate misbehaviors Tala! I'll make sure you get whipped until all your skin falls out! And I assure you that no one will heal you for as long as I think it's necessary!" he spat on the boy and finally turned to the girl, who had kneeled down next to Tala, since she couldn't stand alone and wanted to know if he was alright. "Now, as for YOU, my dear Melody... What should I do with you?"

The girl glared at him "Why are you doing this to them? If they lost it's all your fault! I told you that the methods you were using to train them were wrong! You've turned them into monsters!"

"QUIET! How dare you question me? If you hadn't gotten sick, none of this would have happened! If you hadn't stayed up until late outside to train, you would have never gotten that pneumonia! It's your fault that they're going to be punished! Yours alone!"

Tala sent him a hateful look and stood between her and Boris "What are you talking about? You're the one who's always telling us to train as hard as possible! No matter how harsh the conditions! Why don't you leave her alone! It's not her fault!"

The man clutched Tala's throat and lifted him up "You shut up... This as nothing to do with you!" the boy gasped as he felt his throat get extremely tight. The lack of air was making his face go blue, and Melody couldn't take it anymore.

"STOP BORIS! Just stop it!"

The man looked at the girl in front of him, who was barely standing "Leave them alone! You're right, it's my fault and I take full responsibility... So if you want to punish anyone, punish me. But leave them alone!"

Boris let go of the choking boy, who rubbed his throat breathing hard "Melly... n- no...don't... do this..."

The girl ignored him and looked at Boris in the eyes, trying not to blink "Well?"

The man laughed as hard as he could "You actually think I'm coping with whatever you say? You are so wrong... DEAD wrong I'd say... Ralf!"

A cloaked "monk" entered the room and bowed "Yes sir?"

"I want you to take these to the torture room. And be generous on the whipping. I don't want you to stop until I say so, no matter how much they beg you to do so. You can use any means you want to punish them."

Tala stood up "Boris please! At least leave her out of this, she's still very sick! You might kill her you know?"

"Yes, I am fully aware of that actually... hehehe... this will teach you all never to lose a battle again against amateurs such as the Bladebreakers... Never again!"

And with that, he turned away and left the room.

Bryan approached Melody and picked her up "Come on Melly, let's just hope you don't get as much "punishment" as us..."

Her eyes were getting heavy, it was so cold and she was so tired... "I don't care... Bladebreakers... Who are those?" she asked weakly

"The ones we lost to at the World Championship... now shut up and save your strength, you'll be needing it..."

The girl breathed hard, her eyes almost closing "I'll get them sometime... I swear I'll make them pay for what happened to you guys... This is all their fault..." she muttered before passing out.

End of Flashback

"Melody? Hey Melody? You there?"

The girl jerked her head up as she snapped back to reality "You guys... are the Bladebreakers? The team who won the last World Championships?"

"Yup! That's us! I'm the world champ! And Kai here, is our captain!"

Melody sent him a hateful look, which surprised everyone, including herself "You? The world champion? I defeated you without even breaking a sweat! How did you defeat the other team being the weakling you are?" she screamed

Tyson was confused "Is something wrong?"

The girl looked at him as if she felt like kicking his ass but contained herself. That wouldn't be enough for her "NO! Let's just go and see that Kenny guy!" she passed both boys and kept walking, still holding a hateful look on her face.

"What did I say?"

Deenix approached them "So you are the Bladebreakers... I have to tell you something... don't mention the World's in front of Melly-Chan... she has very bad memories of that time... I'm sorry but I can't tell you anymore... please forgive her... believe me, she has reasons for being angry... I'm sorry..." the robot bowed and turned to Kai "Now, on to other matters, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you stronger than him? I mean, I never really saw you battle but I've heard of your potential and you do look pretty strong..."

Kai just growled and kept walking. "Er, he means yes, yeah! He he... I have to admit I haven't been working out much lately, unlike him... Is your friend mad at me or something?" Tyson grinned sheepishly.

The robot nodded no and ran to catch up with Kai and Melody, who were almost at Kenny's house.

(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)

"Er, hi! Hehe... I'm Kenny, but you can call me Chief! And you are?"

Melody took a look at the short boy in front of her and replied dryly "Melody".

Kenny giggled nervously "Hehe, come in! Er, you too guys! Tyson? Would you come with me to get, er... something to eat? Oh! And you come too!" he said to Deenix.

Tyson nodded and flew all the way to the kitchen followed by Deenix

"You two go up to my room, We'll be going soon!" said the Chief while he ran after Tyson, afraid he'd eat everything he had.

"Hn..." was the double answer he got, since both Melody and Kai were in a bad mood. "Come on, follow me." he said while he motioned upstairs. He noticed she wasn't following, so he turned back "What are you doing? Come on!"

She glared at him "I don't take orders from YOU."

"Why all this sudden hatred towards me? What ever did I do to you?"

"I-" she looked away, fidgeting a bit before snapping at him "NOTHING!" was her exasperated answer as she went up the stairs.

As soon as they got to Kenny's room, Kai locked them in and turned to her as she sat down on a chair

"Ok now, explain." he said as he took a seat in front of her

"I have nothing to explain." she spat back

"Oh, don't you? Why did you snap at us like that when Tyson told you who we were?"

She stood up and approached him until her face was mere inches from his "I have my reasons and you have absolutely nothing to do with them. Got it?"

"You're really pushing it... tell me NOW!" Kai sneered.

"Why are you so interested anyways?"

"Well, if I did something wrong to you, at least I want to know what it was."

Melody glared daggers at him "I'd tell you... but you wouldn't understand, so I won't even bother. But since you're so deeply hurt because of me, fine! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you guys... it's my own problem and you don't have to deal with it..."

Kai was going to reply when they got interrupted by Kenny knocking on the door "Kai! Open the door! Kai!" he stood up grumbling and did so.

"Why did you lock yourselves in anyways?"

"I needed to talk with this girl here. But everything is sorted out now. Right?"

Melody frowned at him "Right... I'm sorry for snapping at you like that Tyson..."

"No prob... Oh, and I'm sorry for bragging... I ain't that good... Kai's better than me actually... as much as I hate to admit it..."

Melody just shrugged "Never mind that..."

"So er, Melody, right? How does your robot work? It's amazing!"

"Hum... she simply does. I really don't feel like describing how I made her right now so please don't bug me about it, k?"

"Ok, sorry" Kenny blushed a bit in embarrassment

The girl giggled "Don't worry, I'll explain you some day, ok?"

Kai was surprised with her 'How can someone change her mood just like that?' he asked himself 'A while ago she looked as if she wanted to kill someone, and now she's being nice again... weird girl...'

"Really? Thanks!" Kenny was exploding with joy

Melody smiled as Kenny jumped around the room in joy.

(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)

After leaving Kenny's house, Tyson suggested they'd go out to dinner and then go to bed when they got home, since they had to go pick up Ray and Max at the airport the next morning "You'll see Melly, you'll really like them!"

The girl laughed. It seemed as if everything that had happened that afternoon had been forgotten and everything was fine, and that was making Tyson very happy.

After dinner, the two boys, the girl and her robot went home and went to bed after putting on their pj's as soon as they got there.

'I hope things work out between us and Melody... she seems so nice! But why did she snap at us like that when I told her we were the Bladebreakers? I don't get it... Oh well, she's nice again, so I guess everything's fine!' Tyson yawned and fell asleep almost instantly.

Kai was still curious about the girl's mood swings, but he fell asleep too in no time. Sometime later, Deenix nudged Melody a bit as she realized the boys were asleep "Argh, what is it Deenix?" was the muffled answer she got from Melody.

"Ssh! I just wanted to ask you something Melly-Chan!"

"Hum... it better be good..." Melody sat up yawning

"Why did you forgive them so easily?"

"What do you mean" she blinked in surprise

"I remember you saying that you'd get your revenge on the Bladebreakers as soon as you could, so why are you acting so nice to them after finding out who they are? Did you forgive them?"

Melody grinned evilly "Who ever said I did? Now that I finally found them, do you actually think I'm letting them go?"

"What are you planning?"

Her grin got wider "You'll see..."

R&R PLEASE! n-n