Title: Innocence

Author: PandaPjays

Chapter Title: My Friend in Mascara

Rating: T

Warnings: See Chapter One

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Author Note: Would you believe I broke my record for words yet again? Yes, it is true. Not only have I escaped the wrath of animeobsession's socks but I have also written over 4000 words for one chapter. Hooray for me! Thanks to both Lainyisme and animeobsession for reading and editing.

Words that are like -this- are the other end of the telephone.

Oh God, I think my arm is about to fall off. How long have I been holding this thing above my head? It looks like a curtain rod. Doesn't feel like it though. What sort of strength training is this anyway? Wouldn't doing this kill off any muscle I happened to have because not enough blood got to it? That would be, of course if any muscle was left.

I think the people at Biovolt are trying to kill me.

Maybe not intentionally but they're definitely on the right track. I don't think I've ever trained this much since… Actually I don't think I've ever trained this much.

I have absolutely no idea how long I've been in this Godforsaken place. I've found out that all of the training facilities, etc, are built underneath the premises of Biovolt Enterprises so I haven't been able to see the sun or moon for however long I've been in here. For all I know it could be 2am or some other horrible hour.

But none of that matters at the moment. What does matter is the fact that I can't feel my arm. I have to keep on looking up to see if it's attached. The midget-devil told me to hold it above my head until he came back. That was a while ago now. I just hope he comes back soon. I doubt it though. I have a feeling that that mirror over there is only one way and he's waiting for me to give up. Yep, I can just imagine him sitting behind there with a smug little smirk on his face just waiting for me to let my arm fall.

Or maybe I've had far too much time to contemplate this room and I'm slowly becoming paranoid and insane.

Ever since I woke up from my midget-man-induced sleep I've become his buttmonkey. Any task at all that pops into his evil mind is somehow brought to reality. Hence, me standing here holding a curtain rod.

Could it be? Is that the sound of the door slowly opening? I turned towards the door; my arm bending till the rod was only just above my head. Come on! I wish whoever was behind that door would open it faster. Or just slip through. Honestly, do you have to open it the entire way just to step through?

Dammit! It's not Lieutenant whatever-his-name is. I've completely forgotten who he is. I've only heard his name once from Tahlia and I've only ever had to call him 'Sir'.

The woman who had opened the door blinked at me in surprise. "This room's meant to be empty. What are you doing here?"

Holding a curtain rod above my head, what does it look like? Thankfully, I managed to control myself before that answer came out of my mouth. I had learned that it wasn't a good idea to annoy anyone here. You never knew how they would get their revenge.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to tell me why you're here?" She scowled at me.

Ok, I need to remember midget's name. I know he's a Lieutenant but what's his name? It started with V… Something in me wants to say Vladimir but that's a fist name and doesn't suit Tiny at all… Vladoshk? No… Vladovisk? Close… Vladovinsk! That's it! Oops, she's looking impatient. I better answer her.

"Lieutenant Vladovinsk set me the task of holding this rod above my head until he came back, Ma'am." I told her in the most neutral voice I could muster.

It didn't do to let anyone here know that you felt any emotion. If it wasn't for Tahlia I think I would have turned into a robot by now. I've seen people like that walking around in the corridors. It's scary. You try to look into their eyes and see nothing. They're like zombies but in real life so it's that much scarier.

"Lieutenant Vladovinsk? He left here about an hour ago."

What? I've been standing here for this long and he had absolutely no intention of coming back here? That saying 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' is completely wrong! Any power corrupts absolutely! At least it does when you happen to be a vertically challenged, sadistic, insane, evil, midget-man.

"Well, I'm not going to let his pointless exercises get in my way. You are dismissed."

I nodded in thanks, "Thank-you, Ma'am", and made my way out of the room, not before I let my arm drop. God that felt good!

As soon as I was outside the door to the room I was just in slammed shut. I guess she was glad to be rid of me. Not surprising, really, I think that the only person who is ever happy to see me is Tahlia. And she can only ever show her emotions when we're alone. And that's hardly ever because Tiny-Tim keeps me so busy.

I really should start calling him by his real name… Nah! It's so much more fun to think of different names to call him. It's one of the few things that keep me occupied and he is really short. I mean I'm no great shakes when it comes to height but the guy is half my size.

Haha! Feeling is returning to my hand! I think I might be able to move one of my fingers… or not- but it was worth a try. As soon as I can actually stop holding this curtain rod I'm going to have to think of some ingenious way to get revenge on it. Personally, I'm thinking of dropkicking it on to a bonfire but, unfortunately, I haven't seen any bonfires around here lately. I wonder if there are any bonfires in here? I doubt it. Maybe Tahlia would know.

I wonder where she is anyway? It's weird. She doesn't seem to have anything to do all day other than keep me company when I'm not being slave-driven by midget. She has to have some sort of usefulness to Biovolt or they would've thrown her out of here or worse by now. But what does she do here?

As far as I know the only thing that she does that Biovolt could be interested in is Beyblade. But I've never seen her blade so I don't know if she's any good. From the way that she talks about it, it's only a hobby for her.

Hey! I think I can move my hand! I slowly pried all of my fingers off the rod and glared at it before dropkicking it down the hallway. It landed with a very satisfying thump. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

I made my way back to my room. Or at least I think you could call it a room. It was barely big enough to fit the bed, which was the only piece of furniture in it. Add to that the scary hospital like feel of the entire place and you have the most un-roomlike room possible.

I sighed as I collapsed on to the bed. I was exhausted and my arm still hadn't regained full feeling. It was in the pins and needles stage, meaning that I couldn't touch anything with it unless I wanted to feel like my arm was in a metal vice that had big sharp pokey bits on it.

"Oh, come on. You aren't tired yet are you?"

I groaned. Expect Tahlia to show up just when I was about to fall into blissful oblivion.

"I'm going to take that as a 'I'm tired beyond belief Tahlia, my buddy my pal, but I will stave off my exhaustion for some time in your company', ok?"

I groaned again. Why? What have I done to deserve this punishment?

"Ok, then. Glad to have your co-operation. And may I just say how articulate you are today- it's truly stunning!"

I pushed myself into a sitting position and glared at my redheaded friend. Yes, her company was much more preferable than the rest of the population of Biovolt but did she have to be so… irritating? Or maybe that's just the fatigue talking. I know I wouldn't have survived this long here without her so I should be grateful. I'll be grateful after I've had some sleep.

"How's the Lieutenant treating you?" She asked as she sat herself down on my bed.

I growled beneath my breath at the mention of the tiny one. "He left me standing in the middle of a room holding a curtain rod above my head."

"Then why are you here? Haven't you learned to avoid punishment at all costs? Punishment only leads to badness and doctors. Speaking of doctors, I was down in the medical wing today and the people down there are having a field day with your blood!"

"So glad to be of service." I grumbled as I tried to keep my eyes open.

"You, my friend, need coffee." She told me matter-of-factly before taking my arm and dragging me away from the soft, comfortable, warmness formerly known as my bed. "And after you are a decent human being again we are going to talk about your appearance. Zombie-monster-from-the-black-lagoon is not your look."

I mentally groaned. Couldn't she just let me sleep? I can't remember the last time I slept. Every time I'm about to fall asleep, no matter where I am, Tahlia manages to show up and give me enough caffeine to survive for a while longer. I think if she had the option she'd feed me caffeine intravenously she's so intent on keeping me awake.

"And here's some coffee for you" She handed me a large steaming cup and stared at me until I took a sip. I felt the caffeine boost almost immediately. I wasn't falling asleep anytime soon. Sometimes I think that Tahlia must be in league with Shortie- why else would she keep me awake to go into another one of his 'training' sessions.

"How are you feeling, anyway?" she asked me smiling sympathetically.

And there's my proof that she can't possibly be in league with the miniscule spawn of Satan. She genuinely cares about how I'm feeling, that's something that's impossible to act. GAH! Why am I thinking that she's in league with midget anyway? I really am becoming paranoid. Either that or Biovolt is getting to me. I can almost smell the distrust in this place.

I shook my head, clearing my head of those thoughts. All that mattered was the here and now. And here and now my only friend was asking me a question and waiting for an answer.

"I'm better now that I'm high on caffeine," I told her honestly.

She laughed and grabbed my arm before starting to lead me back in the direction we had come from. "Now, like I said before, we need to work on that appearance of yours. How long has it been since you had a shower anyway?"

"Uh… I don't know." I answered her. The only time that I had a shower here was before the nightmare of this never-ending day had started. When I woke up from my first meeting with the ever-charming Lieutenant I had a shower and changed into the clothes that Biovolt gave me. Since then I've been alternately training and being fed caffeine so I can go train again.

Tahlia looked back at me and wrinkled her nose. "That's kinda gross. Ok, before we work on your appearance we work on your hygiene. Showers are good- go have one." She shoved me into a room we were passing and shut the door in my face.

"When you're finished call 975565 on the phone by the door. I'll come back with clean clothes."

I sighed as I surveyed the room I was in. A shower nozzle was on the wall opposite the door. How on Earth did Tahlia know that this room had a shower? The door had no distinguishing features. Or none that I could see anyway.

I mentally shrugged. Who cared? As long as I could have a shower. I began to pull off my clothes humming happily. This was going to be heaven.

------

Tahlia shut the door and leaned against it before telling the occupant of the room, "When you're finished call 975565 on the phone by the door. I'll come back with clean clothes."

She sighed and pushed herself off the door. It would be a good half hour if not longer until she was called on to be Rei's friend again. Until then she had other things she needed to do.

The redhead walked down the hall until she found a phone. She punched in a number that she had memorised long ago and listened to the phone ring twice before it was picked up.

-Boris speaking-

"This is Tahlia."

-Tahlia! I've been waiting to hear from you. How is Rei getting along? -

"He's having a shower at the moment but I think he trusts me."

-Good, good. How are the memory suppressants doing? -

"I haven't had the chance to ask him, but he no longer speaks about his life before Biovolt."

-That's excellent! Be sure to ask him about that. He should be able to remember basically what his life used to be like but not be able to recall any details like names or feelings-

"Ok. Slipping the drug into his coffee was an ingenious idea, if it's not to bold to say."

-Nothing is to bold to say for you, my dear, and of course it was ingenious. I am a genius after all. Now remember your task. Biovolt is honing his body into the perfect instrument. You have to hone his mind. I don't want another emotionless blader. In the past that approach has failed us, take the Demolition Boys as an example. It's your task to make sure that Rei keeps his feelings. Ensure that he has feelings, but is completely loyal to you and Biovolt. You are the only one I trust with this task. Don't fail me-

"Yes Sir."

Tahlia hung up the phone before Boris could tell her anything else that she already knew. He had made it clear from the moment that Rei had walked into her life what her priority was.

She sighed and glared at the phone. She was quite happy to do as Boris asked; she just didn't like him repeating himself to her as if she couldn't remember what he wanted. It got… annoying.

Oh well, I guess you have to take the good with the bad she thought as she began to walk down the corridor, in search of some clothes for Rei's new look.

------

I turned off the shower with a sigh. What was that number again? Oh crap. Don't tell me I forgot the number.

I forgot the number.

OK, don't panic. It'll all be fine. I'm sure it'll come to me in a flash of inspiration.

That flash will happen any second now. It's just charging up so it'll be an extra brilliant flash. An extra brilliant flash that'll happen right about now!

"Did you forget the number, Rei?" A voice came from outside.

Or, of course, Tahlia could come to the rescue. "Uh… Maybe." I called back to her.

"You're hopeless. Did you know that?"

"Yes, I know. Can I have my clothes?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a handle beside the door. Open it up and your clothes are in there."

"Thanks" I called to her before I pulled on the handle she was talking about. It must have been like a porthole thing that led to the outside. Needless to say, inside was a whole heap of clothes.

I pulled on the clothes quickly and began to search for a binding that I could use for my hair. I couldn't find it in the porthole-thing. I began to panic and started looking for it on the ground. I had to be here somewhere.

"No, Rei, I didn't give you anything for your hair."

Dammit! How the hell does she know what I'm thinking? That is more than intuition. It's like ESP. Maybe it is ESP. You can never be sure with Biovolt.

"Why not?" I asked her. Ok, maybe it was more of a whine. I hated having my hair down. It's far too long to have out.

"It's part of that appearance thing I was telling you about."

"You are not cutting my hair."

"I wasn't going too!"

"Then why do you want it out?"

"So I can experiment with it!"

"Have I ever told you how much I don't like the word experiment?"

"Ok, so I can play with it."

I scowled. How did I just know that I wasn't going to enjoy this? I was happy with my look. Did I even have a look? Does it even matter? After Tahlia's done with me I will have one.

I sighed and pulled open the door. Tahlia was standing outside smirking. "So, are you ready to become a whole new you?" She asked me as she reached for my arm. Without waiting for an answer she began to drag me down the hallway.

"Why are you so determined to give me a new look anyway?" I asked her as I began to trot to keep up with her.

"Two reasons, really." She told me over her shoulder. "The first one is that you really need it. Like I said before creature from the black lagoon is not your look. The second one is that I'm bored and you have free time."

Why did I have a feeling it was going to be something like that? I just hope that she doesn't do anything too drastic.

Tahlia pulled me into a room and sat me down on a very uncomfortable chair. She stood back and eyed me critically. I almost expected her to start clicking her tongue at me.

"I wish I could change that uniform. It doesn't have enough colour in it."

I stared down at the clothes I was wearing. What was wrong with them? They looked identical to the clothes I had been wearing before I had that shower. Dark grey pants and a matching shirt. Considering that Tahlia had picked the clothes I don't see why she's complaining.

She clicked her fingers and pointed at me as inspiration struck her. "I know! Just wait there! I have to make a call." She turned and left the room abruptly.

Well that was queer. I wonder what she's doing now?

Tahlia entered the room again. "Well until that gets here we really don't have that much to do."

I looked at her quizzically. "Why not?"

The redhead looked at me as if I was insane. "Because, until that gets here I can't co-ordinate the rest of you with your clothes."

I stared at her. Was that really important? I could think of a hundred things I would rather be doing than sitting here waiting for my doom to come through that door in the shape of clothing.

"What's that look of horror for? This is completely necessary. I heard that since my brother's team is out of action that Biovolt is looking for new people to be in the team. There's going to be trials soon for a position. And you, my friend, will be going into them and the way you were looking you were going to be turned away before you even got near the door."

That's a comforting thought. Not only are Biovolt obsessed with doing their evil thing, they also care about appearance. Hey… wait up.

"But what about you? You're wearing the exact same thing as me."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Whoever said I'd be trying out?"

Just then, a boy appeared in the doorway carrying a pile of material. He handed Tahlia his load and swiftly walked away again without having uttered a word. That's another thing that freaked me out about this place. Small talk was obsolete. I hadn't even heard a 'how are you?'

"Ok, here's your new shirt… thing." Tahlia told me as she shook it out. It was a tabard just like the kind that I used to wear before I came here. The only difference was that it was dark grey. Dark grey seems to be the uniform colour around here. I wonder what's with that? I can think of a heap of more interesting colours. But, then again, maybe the fact that grey is uninteresting is the reason that it's the uniform. The Biovolt logo was on the back of the material instead of the yin and yang symbol that I used to have. Tahlia threw the garment at me.

"Here, try this on while I go and find something. Check inside that thing before you put it on, the sash and a headband and binding for your hair is in there." With that, Tahlia left the room yet again.

I wonder what her something is? Whatever it is it should be interesting. I mentally shrugged and peered inside the bundle I was holding. A deep red sash and headband were in there but where was the binding? I stuck my hand in and felt around until I found it. It was the exact same shade of grey as the tabard itself.

I sighed and pulled off my shirt before setting myself the task of pulling on the tabard. After doing that I tied the sash and the headband before starting to wrap my hair. It was difficult, considering that I only had my fingers to comb it with, but I eventually finished doing it.

Tahlia still hadn't come back.

What on Earth could she be doing? I started to look around the room trying to find something to alleviate my boredom. There was nothing, absolutely nothing to look at. Apart from the chair I was sitting on the room was bare.

There was nothing to do at all. Nothing, Nothing, Nothing. I could see nothing of interest. I could hear nothing of interest. I could smell nothing of inter-

"Did you miss me?"

GAH! You'd think she'd give people warning before she did that!

"So what did you get?" I asked her after I had gotten over my shock.

Tahlia grinned and held up a small container. I looked at it, puzzled, before I realised what it was.

"No." I told her. There was no way she was putting that stuff anyway near me. It just wasn't going to happen. Hell would freeze over and become a popular ski resort before she did that to me.

"Come on. Once I put this on you your makeover will be complete. I don't see why you won't just let me put it on."

"No." I told her again. I don't think she got the message, though, because her face broke into a calculating smile. Never ever trust anyone with that sort of smile.

"Are you afraid of this?" She asked me waving the offending cylinder in my face and laughing when I flinched. "It's only a bit of mascara"

I shuddered at the voicing of the word written on the container. This was what she went to find? There was no way she was going to get me to wear that.

Tahlia pouted. "Why are you so afraid of it? Bad experiences?"

I frowned. I knew there was a reason. I just couldn't put my finger on it. It had something to do with the colour pink though…

I mentally shrugged. It didn't matter if I couldn't remember the reason. The fact was Tahlia wanted me to wear that… stuff and it wasn't happening. Ever.

Tahlia sighed. "I guess if you aren't going to wear it you aren't going to wear it. Oh well. You know what? You really should be training anyway. I better go and call the Lieutenant…" She began to turn around but was stopped by my arm.

"You wouldn't."

The redhead grinned evilly at me. "I would. Unless, of course, if you let me finish by putting this on you." She said, shaking the container in front of me.

Oo. That's harsh. Midget or Makeup… Makeup.

I sighed and let her go. "Fine. Mascara away."

Tahlia grinned. "I thought you might come around to my way of thinking."

(-)

I sighed as I prepared to launch Driger yet again. After Tahlia had finished changing my 'look' she gave me another dosage of caffeine. By that time Shortie had come back from wherever he had been and was ready for yet another training session.

It seemed that Tahlia hadn't been the only one to hear about Biovolt preparing to pick another team. Midget had decided that I could actually start practicing with my blade.

He had enlisted a few scientist-looking people to watch me train. Every now and again one of them slightly changed the exercise I was doing but mostly they hung around the sides of the room whispering amongst themselves.

Eventually, after doing at least a billion different exercises. Ok, maybe not that many but it felt like it. They gave me a visor and instructed me to put it on. I complied and found myself in a sort of virtual reality.

I looked around and saw that I was standing in front of a beydish. On the other side stood a semi-familiar boy with a cap. I knew that I should know who he was.

Who was he? I know his face but I can't think of where I've seen him before.

"Defeat this opponent. You have been training to defeat this blader. There will be no second chances." Came the disembodied voice of Midget.

I sighed and lifted Driger's launcher up. I'll try and figure out who this kid is later. Right now I have to beat him. I didn't even want to think of what would happen if I didn't.

I watched as the boy in front of me prepared to launch his blade. I could see where he was aiming in the dish. I wonder…

I adjusted my stance and waited for the cue to launch.

"3…2…1… Let It Rip!"

I launched Driger and watched as he flew straight toward the blade of my opponent. They connected midair sending the other boy's blade flying out of the ring while Driger landed exactly in the middle of it.

I smirked as I called Driger back to my hand. That was easy.

Hands pulled off the visor I was wearing and I blinked in the real light. The first person I saw was Midget. He was scowling at something behind me. I spun around to see what it was and saw Boris smirking at me from the doorway.

"Congratulations. You passed the first test. Very impressively, might I add. If you keep this up you'll definitely be in the team."

I scowled at the purple haired man but he ignored me and turned to the scientist nearest to him.

"Start training him to beat Kai." He told him before leaving the room.

Who's Kai? I wondered as I prepared to start another long stint of training.

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