While it seemed that Branzer Genesis and her search for Drayea, aka Branzer Renavatio, were pretty much the only activity for the nighttime shifts, another was awake and on a much more severe mission. There were more than 2 Projects out there; in fact, the Branzer Project Line had 6. She was 18935 DELTA, Branzer Leviathan, the oldest and most powerful of all the Branzer Projects. Her bit beast was the 3rd strongest in the group, but she had much higher attack stats (which made up for her defense and endurance), off the scale in fact, and her profile looked something like this:

Branzer Project I

Project Code: 18935 DELTA

Project Name: Branzer Leviathan

DNA Fusion: Branzer

Gender: Female

Age: 19

Hair: Brown/Auburn

Eyes: Silver

Height: 5'8"

Name: Seya Kay Ruvloff

Occupation: Beyblader, Undercover worker, Hacker, Hunter

Bit Beast: Dryzalaia

Blade: Dryzalaia X

Species: Dark Panther

Element: Dark/Wind

Attack: 7 stars (off the scale)

Defense: 3 stars

Endurance: 2 stars

Attacks:

Talisman of Shadows (Offense, Dark)

Gale Force Shadow (Offense, Dark/Wind)

Night Shade Forcefield (Defense, Dark)

Dark Side of the Moon (Final Attack, Dark)

It would be more specific later on, but until then, her current target was Branzer Turnabout. Seya continued typing, mind racing furiously as more data appeared onscreen.

Branzer Project III

Project Code: 45896 DELTA

Project Name: Branzer Turnabout

DNA Fusion: Black Dranzer

Gender: Female

Age: 16 ½

Hair: Navy

Eyes: Brown

Height: 5'4"

Occupation: Beyblader

Bit Beast: Faeryxea

Blade: Faeryxea GS

Species: Sea Serpent

Element: Water

Attack: 3 stars

Defense: 3 stars

Endurance: 3 stars

Attacks:

Poseidon's Javelin (Offense, Water)

Neptune's Trident (Offense, Water)

Typhoon Wall of Water (Defense, Water)

Tsunami Ultimate (Final Attack, Water)

There was no picture for any of the Branzers except for Renavatio and Leviathan, and since Boris had someone else hunting the elusive Renavatio, she had to take out the others. She smirked at the thought.

I could use a warm up.

Meanwhile, Anya was working like crazy in the gym, beating the defenseless punching bag to a pulp. Outside, one could hear "HAH! HIYA!" through the door. Obviously, Anya was in another one of her seriously-pissed-off moods and the others knew better than to incur her temper. Unfortunately for everyone else, the punching bag wasn't enough to satisfy her rapidly burning temper, and she gave up on it and headed outside. The others blamed Tala for her getting upset- whatever he did, Tala wasn't talking.

Probably another argument.

Kai had gotten used to TJ following him around and Anya swore he was starting to like the pup. Back to reality... Whatever had gotten her pissed off, the others knew better than to ask. She was (literally) steaming thanks to Rycarraea's abilities, and the air around her seemed to heat up when she was within 20 feet of you. Getting frustrated, Anya went outside with TJ at her heels. As cold as it was outside, Anya couldn't feel a thing.

While Anya was back home fuming, Faye smirked triumphantly. The bit beast she was looking for had been seen belonged to someone on the Russian Team, the Blitzkrieg Boys. And where she found that bit beast, she would find Drayea. The BEGA Team had already finished their training for the day, so she grabbed a black box containing the necessaries and her black parka. She practically sprinted down the stairs down to the ground floor and dashed out the door as she pulled on her jacket and took to the skies on Apocalyptica.

Today's the day.

Still walking around outside in the forest, Anya felt TJ tug on her pants leg. She looked down at the pup to see him pulling on her clothing as if trying to get her to turn back.

"Let go TJ." She growled sternly.

The pup looked up at her and whimpered. Anya just kept on walking until she got to that same area she had saved Tala from whoever had that Dryzalaia bit beast. TJ ran off in the direction of home. The reason she knew that bit beast so well was because she had battled the mystery blader many a time before. They seemed to follow her everywhere- Anya's thoughts were cut off when something whizzed by her head. Thanks to her lightning-fast reflexes, she whirled around and launched the Phoenix Strata at the streak, hitting it head-on. Her blade bounced right back into her waiting hand as the other went careening in another direction.

"Not bad, not bad at all." A dark voice said behind her.

Tala and the others were still hanging around the house when Tala heard scratching at the door. He opened the front door, TJ jumping inside and barking at him.

"Shut up, mutt." He growled.

TJ snarled at him and took hold of his shoelace, trying to pull him outside.

"Knock it off!"

Just then, an explosion rocked the forest where Anya had gone earlier.

"Oh shit..."

"C'mon, I know you're better than that!"

Anya was breathing heavily in the snow. The girl behind her smirked a very dark smirk. Forcing herself to her feet, Anya ignored the pain in her leg where she'd been hit by a bolt of black energy. Whoever the girl was, she too could merge with her bit beast, according to her a dragon named Apocalyptica. She had been dodging and diving out of the way of the blasts she was throwing, but now she was getting seriously ticked off.

"RYCARRAEA!" She yelled.

A sensation of extreme heat filled her as the Fire phoenix's wings unfurled from her back, same as the mystery girl's. Her eyes glowed red and her loose hair blew out in the wind surrounding the area.

"Who are you!" She demanded.

"If you must know, I am Genesis. I won't bore you with the details."

Genesis charged, throwing a massive blast of dark energy at Anya. She countered with a wall of fire, but to her utter surprise, the blast shattered the shield and slammed into her, nearly knocking her out of the air.

"You don't know who you are, do you?" Genesis sneered.

Running at a frantic pace through the forest, Tala was starting to panic. As bizarrely strong as Anya was, that kind of explosion could have done some real damage.

You'd better be alright, Anya.

"Uff!" Anya grunted as she hit the ground again.

"Switch!" She murmured as Rycarraea's wings were replaced by Kaexalea's and she too took to the skies, eyes glowing ice blue. Genesis smirked, slightly narrowing her glowing black eyes.

"Everest Blizzard!" Anya yelled as she unleashed the Ice phoenix's massive blizzard attack.

"Phantom Barrier!" Genesis put her hands up as a forcefield of black energy appeared, making the blizzard ricochet right off of it.

"Gale Force Shadow!"

"Kamikaze Torrent!"

As Tala ran into the clearing that TJ led him to, he gasped when he saw a girl that bore an uncomfortably close likeness to Anya launch a massive wave of Dark energy at her, throwing Anya hard into the snow.

"So, now what was it that I was going to tell you before I was interrupted...?" The girl mused to herself.

Anya, still on the ground with a battered pair of wings and body, slowly got up onto her hands and knees, panting and bleeding.

"Now I remember." The girl said with a smirk as she touched down on solid ground.

She walked over to Anya and crouched down in front of her.

"You know what you really are..."

She leaned in and whispered something into the fallen phoenix's ear, then pulled back with an evil smirk.

"Liar..." Anya breathed.

Not satisfied with her reply, the girl kicked Anya hard in the stomach.

"Leave her alone!"

Both Anya and Genesis turned to see Tala standing there, blade and launcher ready, looking absolutely furious. Genesis shot Tala a sinister smirk and advanced.

"How cute, your little boyfriend has come to your rescue. Too bad he's seen too much."

Tala, starting to get a bit freaked out, launched Wolborg at Genesis' face, but she easily caught it in her hand and crushed it. Tala stared wide-eyed as Genesis advanced.

Still badly weakened by the blow, Anya forced herself to her feet.

Ry... Kae... Help me please...

My mistress, they are not strong enough to help. Release me...

Not going to happen Black.

Turning to look over her shoulder, Anya saw that Genesis had Tala by the throat about ready to kill.

Release me...

"Hey BR, I suggest you surrender before I turn your boyfriend here into ash." Genesis growled.

"Stop it..." Anya snarled softly.

"What's that?"

Release me...

"I said stop it."

RELEASE ME!

Anya fell to her knees, clutching her head in pain and yelling.

Genesis, getting edgy, dropped Tala as two black and gold wings unfurled from Anya's back. Her hands went from her head to the ground in front of her, she panting.

"What the-"

Anya whirled around, eyes glowing black.

"I said STOP IT!"

In one lightning-fast movement, she leapt up to her feet, whirling around mid leap and throwing a blast of Shadow energy at Genesis.

"So Genesis, you thought you could defeat us." Anya's voice had taken on a tone so menacing it wasn't even hers. It was Black Dranzer.

Watching from the sidelines, Tala's attention was so occupied with watching in shock as Black Dranzer/Anya beat the shit out of the one she called Genesis in an intense aerial battle. Finally, she let up and landed, totally exhausted. Genesis shot her a dark glare.

"I will come back for you, Branzer Renavatio!" She yelled before flying away.

Anya stood there for a split second, then her wings disappeared as she collapsed into the snow. Tala ran over to his wounded teammate and took her in his arms.

"Anya! Anya wake up!" He yelled, shaking her.

Anya groaned, and her eyes opened a bit.

"What happened?"

"Black Dranzer took control of you."

Anya tried to sit up, but winced and fell back again into his waiting arms.

"Dammit..." She swore under her breath.

"Try not to move... Genesis beat you up pretty good."

Anya gave him an uncertain look.

"I know that name somewhere..." She pondered.

The charred battlefield that she lay in was starting to smolder, but the wind was making it much colder outside. Tala placed one hand under Anya's knees and kept the other behind her back, lifting her up off the ground bridal style, making her blush a bit. He felt even stronger when he was really carrying her.

Snap out of it. She scolded herself. You are not falling for Tala, do I hear me? I am NOT falling for Tala! GOD I hate grammar.

Tala carried Anya all the way back to the house without a word from either of them. TJ made no noise whatsoever, as if he sensed something wasn't totally right. The only person more uneasy than Anya was Tala.

What the hell is wrong with me?

You have feelings for her, master.

Since when did it become ok to interrupt my thoughts?

Well, obviously I can't knock.

Har, har. Very funny. I am not getting feelings for her.

Pfft. Liar. I've seen you stare at her and I see what goes on in your head. You're falling for her!

GET. OUT. OF. MY. THOUGHTS.

Suit yourself.

Wolborg faded away, leaving Tala to his thoughts. It took a few minutes more of walking before they reached the front door.

"Pretend to be unconscious." He muttered.

"What?"

"You can't just walk in, so just do it." He hissed in a whisper tone.

Anya did so without further question, and she looked pretty convincing. Tala managed to open the door with her in his arms.

"What the- what happened?" Spencer gawked.

"She can tell you when she wakes up."

"So you don't know." Ian grumbled.

"No shit Sherlock."

Without another word, he carried Anya up to her room and shut the door behind him. Anya opened her eyes at the sound of the door shutting.

"Feeling any better?"

Anya rubbed her head.

"Aside from the fact that I have to wait for Ry and Kae to regain their strength before they can heal me, I'm just dandy." She said with sarcastic emphasis on the last word.

Tala set her down gently on her bed. She immediately took her pendant out of her jacket and held it in one hand. A soft red light overcame the red parts of the pendant, making the room heat up as Rycarraea's heat gave off some sort of healing vibes, managing to hold out long enough to give Anya the strength to stand up. Tala took off his jacket from the heat.

"How do you stand that?" He asked as she stood up from the bed.

"I dunno, I justcan I guess."

Anya put back her pendant and switched on the ceiling fan. There was a short pause.

"What did that girl mean when she called you... what was it... Branzer Renavatio?" Tala asked leaning against her desk.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe she had me mistaken for someone else."

Tala gave her a trademark raised eyebrow I-don't-believe-you look.

"Do you not remember that little discussion concerning me not remembering the first 15 years of my past?"

"How could I forget," He murmured with one hand over the cheek she'd smacked, "That hurt you know."

"That was sort of the point." She retorted stubbornly.

"That's the thanks I get for carrying you all the way back here?"

"That was payback for me freaking whatshername out and getting her to let go of you."

Damn. She's got me.

Tala just folded his arms.

"Why did you even follow me there anyway? You probably noticed that I'm strong enough to take care of myself."

"Oh yeah, you did such a great job getting your ass kicked." He said rolling his eyes.

"Shut up."

"What? Is it a crime to be concerned?"

"Pfft. Like you could ever be concerned about a bitch like me."

"Well I'll have you know that I was in fact concerned."

Anya gave him a disbelieving look and leaned against the wall beside the desk.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight."

Getting frustrated, Tala resumed his standing up position.

"Yeah, that's right." He growled more sternly.

Anya shot him a glare that said very clearly "Bullshit."

"Don't give me that look." He growled.

"Who died and made you dictator?" She snapped back sarcastically.

Then, to both their surprise, Tala slapped her across the face.

"Goddammit Anya you had me worried sick when I didn't know what was happening to you! I'm responsible for this team, and that includes you!"

Anya was just looking at him with a mix of shock and hurt, completely and utterly speechless. She snapped out of it after a moment.

"Hmph." Without another word, she walked over to the window and leaned against the pane, arms folded and staring out at the forest 2 stories below. Tala sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry I blew up at you but after all the shit I've put up with I can't afford to be careless."

Anya hugged her arms around herself tighter.

"It was what that girl said, wasn't it..."

Anya cringed.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, I'm not leaving until you tell me."

"I'm patient."

A few moments passed, wearing Tala's patience thin.

"Dammit, why are you so fucking stubborn!"

Anya didn't even look back, she simply leaned her head against the windowpane and sighed.

"Anya, I swear, you're even worse than-"

"SHUT. UP." She growled ominously.

Tala walked up to her and looked out the window in the direction she was staring. Nothing. He looked at her face, which was set in a stern, focused expression that showed she was deep in thought, making her radiant cerulean-sapphire eyes glimmer furiously.

"Anya?" He waved a hand in front of her face.

Tala got no response. The shoulder that her phoenix tattoo was on was glowing dimly. Anya winced slightly, but her gaze didn't break. She didn't blink, not even once. Tala stared her directly in the eye to see that they were clouding with black. Black Dranzer was doing something.

You pathetic weakling! How could you let her get away!

I couldn't push any further Goddammit!

Liar!

Stop it.

You're weak! You always have been weak! Now I'm stuck with you!

I'm warning you, Branzer.

You can't threaten me, I'm the most powerful bit beast on the entire planet! You don't make the rules!

Anya kept staring out the window, trapped in a jumble of mixed words belonging to her, Black Dranzer, and Rycarraea and Kaexalea who had just jumped in to her defense. A searing pain suddenly shot through the shoulder that bore the phoenix tattoo. The sudden, unexpected pain made her hand fly to her shoulder as she yelled out in pain.

Anya suddenly clutched her left shoulder and yelled out in pain.

"Anya!"

She sank to one knee, removing her hand which now had a dark coating of blood on her palm and fingers. Underneath her hand was a blood-soaked shoulder, and it looked like some unseen force was clawing at it furiously. Tala knelt beside his teammate, whose face was contorted into a look of severe pain. Whatever the invisible force was, it suddenly stopped.

"Anya, god are you alright?"

"Black Dranzer..." She murmured, clearly still in pain.

Tala helped her up to her feet and gently laid her facedown on her bed.

"Don't move. I'll be right back."

He left the room a moment, then came back with a first aid kit in his hand. Without a word, he gently pulled her torn parka off her still battered frame. He started to roll up her sleeve, but Anya's hand lashed out and caught his wrist.

"Don't." She growled.

"Anya," He said stubbornly, "I can't help you if you won't let me."

Anya pondered a second, then sighed and released her death grip on his wrist. Tala rolled up her sleeve, uncovering countless scars and two strange metal rings about the size of a beyblade attached to her upper arm, they looked like some kind of plug for atube or something. He carefully pinned her shirt sleeve back so that it didn't touch the wound and set to cleaning it. It looked like something a set of talons did, apparently the work of Black Dranzer.

"This will sting..." He muttered before placing a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol on her wounded shoulder.

Anya cringed at the burning sensation, one hand clutching the pillow her head lay on. The other was clenched into a fist. Tala took the cloth away, which was now soaked in blood. The tattoo on her shoulder remained intact minus the slashes. Being as gentle as he could, Tala started to bandage up his teammate's shoulder. She pulled out her pendant using her right hand and kept it in her hand. It started to glow red very softly, healing her scrapes and a few cuts, but ran out of power rather fast.

"Dammit." She cursed.

Tala finished bandaging up her shoulder, but the entire time, his curiosity had been irked and he was starting to wonder if she had more scars.

"Thanks." She muttered softly, but earnestly.

"Just how many of those scars do you have?"

Anya tensed.

"..."

Timidly, he moved the bottom of her ripped shirt up just a little more than an inch. She didn't do or say anything, but out of the corner of his eye, Tala could see her gazing intently at him. He moved her shirt hem up a little more with less shyness, and when she didn't react again, he slowly moved it up her back, uncovering many more scars. They were far too deep to be whip marks, but not deep enough to be knife cuts.

"Anya... who did this to you... and why are you letting me see this?"

Anya gave him a very serious look.

"Because I trust you."

Tala was slightly taken aback by what she had said.

"W-what?"

"I trust you." She repeated seriously but sincerely.

"Why me?"

"Because of all the people I've ever met, even if you are a pain sometimes, you're the only person who has ever showed me compassion."

Tala lightly traced one of the longest scars with one finger.

"Even I haven't ever had anything this deep."

"They've been there as long as I can remember... they hurt, and they won't stop hurting."

Tala immediately stopped tracing her scars on her back.

"You don't have to stop... They don't hurt when you do that..."

Timidly, he started again. Anya sighed, but it was a relieved sigh rather than the kind she made when she was irritated.

"What kind of person does this to a child?" He thought aloud.

"A sick mind." Anya growled.

"Whoever they are... man this ticks me off. That's just so wrong. Even worse than my case." He murmured, glowering at the floor.

"I'm not surprised if I killed them and don't remember it... being the monster I am."

"You're not a monster. You just sort of lost it with your Gift is all." Tala chuckled to himself. "Here you are, calling yourself a monster. How ironic that I used to do that."

Anya gave him a questioning look.

"What makes you say that?"

"When I was back at the Abbey... I was used in an experiment to create the perfect unbeatable blader. Long story short, I'm half Cyborg." He sounded very upset, admitting what he did, like he still hadn't gotten over it.

The look she gave him was so sympathetic it almost hurt.

"I'm sorry..." She said softly, but she seemed to get an idea. She rolled over and sat up.

"Do you think we could help each other through this?"

Tala gave her a questioning look.

"I know this sounds kind of crazy, but we can help each other get over this." She said pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"Deal?" She stuck one hand out.

There was a short pause.

"Deal." He shook her hand, and for once, Anya's face cracked into a smile, a truly sincere smile, the kind that could light up the world.

She looks so beautiful when she smiles.

Without thinking, he leaned in a bit. Anya subconsciously let her legs go and hang over the edge of the bed. Before either of them realized it, the gap between them closed as their lips met. Anya's mind was in inner turmoil.

What the hell am I doing?

Several flashes of the fan man rapist played in her mind.

No.

Tala's kiss was soft, gentle and loving, he wasn't someone to be worried about. The two carried on for a moment or two, savoring the minute, and at one point, Anya could have sworn she felt Tala's hand on hers.