On with the story…

There it was. Red, gooey liquid coming out of her stomach. There wasn't any excessive bleeding but the cit was long and deep.

"Who did this?" I asked as I bent down to look under my bed. I had snuck in a first aid kit in my room sometime ago.

She kept quiet as I got up and tended to her wounds. The blood wasn't prominent on the black cape. I could see come blood on Shadow's white coat.

A tear escaped her eye as she looked at me after I had tended to her wounds. She looked down again, and then started sobbing heavily. It was the first time that I had seen her crying. She was always so emotionless, but it was as if she was a totally different person now.

"I want to know that truth Anastasia. Who does these things to you?" I asked her seriously.

"Why do you think I come here everyday?" She said, looking up at me with angry eyes. I moved back and looked away.

"Someone abuses you…" I said in a whisper.

She looked away from me. "You don't know. Everyday they come home, and if something wrong happens at their work, they take it out on me. I never did know why." She said slowly, half in sobs.

I looked at her again. "Who?"

"My guardians. My parents died when I was 1 years old, and then they took me in from an orphanage and took me to their godforsaken home." She said.

I stayed quiet, letting her cry it all out. When she finally stopped, I began, "Why do you even go back?"

"I have to. I have no other place to go." She replied sadly.

I had never felt this worried before. It was something about her plain black eyes which made everyone who looked at her sad.

I don't know what came over me, but I moved forward and embraced her lightly. I could imagine the surprise in her eyes. But soon after she accepted it and wrapped her arms around me.

After that moment, me and Ania became really close. She would tell me everything. Like how she had telekinesis, invisibility and she could walk through solids. And she said it was all connected to the black locket around her neck. Boris, Sergei and I started calling her Ania because Anastasia was too long. We 4 became really good friends. We were the only ones for Ania. She used to say that she would have given up on life if it wasn't for us.

And soon we discovered her hair and man were they long. They reached till her knees. And they were pure black. She stopped teaching me beyblading because she said that I didn't need guidance anymore. And then there came that faithful day.

Age: Yuri/Ania: 12 Sergei: 14 Boris: 13

"Tomorrow you will get the surprise of your life." Ania said and then left.

I looked at her and thought about it. 'What could it be?' I thought in wonder.

'You'll see…' She said in my mind. And did I tell you that we talked in our mind. But she only did that with me.

In the morning, I got up and freshened up. The same routine, another boy going in 'the' room and then he disappeared like all the others. I could hear it again. The talk of the so called 'Black Dranzer' which was known to be very powerful.

"Ivanov, Borcloff is expecting you in his office." One of the goons in the purple cape said.

I nodded my heart pounding. What if he had figured about Ania?

I walked down the steps, looking out on the lab which was underneath me.

I knocked on the gigantic door in front of me.

"COME IN!" A voice roared.

I turned the handle and pushed it open.

"Come in Yuri." Borcloff said.

"You know you have been pleasing me a lot since you have come here. You are getting stronger and it is time I give you what you deserve." He said, smiling.

I looked at him unemotionally.

"I expected more enthusiasm…" He said as he opened a drawer of his desk and pulled out something.

"Is that what I think that is?" I said in amazement. I was more excited than anything. Was this what Ania was talking about? I though to myself.

"This now belongs with you…" Borcloff said calmly.

I reached my hand out and looked at it. It was a bit. And it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

"This is Wolborg. You will use this as you power now…" He said.

I stared at him and then said, "I am truly thankful. May I be excused?" I asked him.

He nodded and I left the stuffy room.

'ANIA! I got it! Finally!' I thought to Ania.

There wasn't any reply. I let it go and ran back to my room. I opened the door and Ania was standing in front of me. I looked at her and grinned. It had been a long time since I had grinned.

"I got my own bit-beast!" I screamed in delight.

She smiled at me sincerely but there was the same sadness in her eyes as I had seen the time before she wasn't friends with us. But because I was too indulged in the happiness of my bit-beast, I didn't notice that.

Shadow stood next to her with her head in a bow.

"Aren't you happy?" I asked in excitement.

She nodded with a larger smile. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not hide the mourning in her eyes.

My expression slowly changed and I looked at her in worry.

"What's wrong?" I asked her in concern.

Her smile slowly disappeared and she looked at me.

"I am beyond doubt happy for you. I really am!" She said aloud. It was as if she was proving something to me.

Something was wrong, that much I knew. I walked to her and held her arms tightly and shook her, "Tell me what's wrong!"

She looked away and squelched her eyes, trying not to cry.

I looked at her with my eyes wide open in anger. Why wasn't she telling me what was wrong?

She violently freed herself and fazed out of my room and ran away.

At the same moment, I ran out of my room and started towards the Abbey's main door.

Some of the caped people tried to stop me but I forced my way out. I could see a figure running away with her head towards the ground. I looked at it and then stated running after it. And of course I ran faster than her because of all that exercise. I finally caught up to her and viciously gripped her arm and pulled her back. She turned around and looked at me.

For the first time, I felt really hurt to see someone cry. I always admired her personality. Her modesty towards other people and her strong character. She was different from all the other people I knew. She was so beautiful in so many ways. I didn't admit it at first, but it was true that she resembled a lot to my mother and my mother was very beautiful.

"Why are you running away?" I asked her in rage.

She wiped her tears and said, "Come with me…"