Title : Broken

Summary : Which hurts more; a broken promise, a broken heart or a broken mind? Set near the end of the first series.

Pairing : BryanMariah, some KaiRay, plus one sided MariahRay at beginning.

Author : D. C. Zed

Disclaimer : Beyblade and the characters aren't mine.

Please review.

Thanks to : Yazzy, she-devil-16, Echo in the Dark, Risen From the Ashes, Jashomara, Ramen II and SOMEONE2003 for their reviews!

Lying in bed with a cold flannel on her forehead seemed to be Mariah's plan for the day, whether she liked it or not. Since fetching the water from the well with Lee, a sudden fever had overcome her…

Flashback

Mariah and Lee finished pulling the bucket back up from the well, being careful not to spill the water as they detached the bucket from the ropes, ready to take it back. Since leaving their home, the pink haired blader kept feeling the irrational urge to stroke her new feather necklace, but as soon as her fingers raised up to touch it, a pang of pain shot through her head. She continually shook away the confusion, just labelling this reaction as strange coincidence, though by the time the pair had begun their trek back to the temple of their Grandfather, Mariah had started to feel extremely sick.

"Lee? Can we slow down? I'm not feeling so good." She asked reasonably, clutching her stomach in absentminded proof. Setting the bucket on the floor, Lee regarded his sister with concerned eyes. She didn't look so good either, tired eyes and – was she pale?

"What kind of 'not good'?" He questioned, trying to decide whether she had paled in colour or whether that was just the effect of the moonlight on her skin. Mariah shrugged in return, noticing that even this simple action made her ache all over. Something was wrong, she had never felt like this before, her sickness was not normal sickness. It was the kind of sickness one felt when dreading something…

"I… I don't know. I feel sick." She replied, ignoring her ever-growing headache. "Let's get home, maybe I just need some food." She reasoned, beginning to walk again. Lee followed with the water, watching the girl for any sign of bad health. He noted that she was walking awkwardly, almost limping. Had she injured herself on the way? He didn't think so. He saw that she was also bent forward a little, as if the pain in her stomach was agonising. She was paler than before, there was no doubting that fact. Something was wrong here, very wrong.

Upon reaching the house, both teens headed straight for the kitchen, Lee so that he could put the water away and Mariah so that she could find herself some food to see if it helped stop the sickness. Once in the light of the oil lamps, the elder sibling could see just how pale his sister was. She was almost white, and the usual happy glint in her eye had disappeared. Her eyes looked a dim ochre now rather than her usually gleaming gold. Lee was about to ask her how she felt again, when the girl suddenly grabbed her chest, hugging herself. She let out a pained moan before screaming loudly.

"Mariah!" Lee shouted, running over to her as she began to cry, coughing uncontrollably. "Mariah, breathe!" He urged while she just coughed violently, her pained eyes wide with terror, her salted tears flooding her pale cheeks.

Mariah fell to her hands and knees, shaking. She coughed again and screamed once more as she saw the blood that landed on the floor amongst her saliva. "Lee! Help me!" She cried, fear taking over her mind. Her breathing began to race. The pounding in her head was too much for her to cope with, she closed her eyes and wished it away. "Somebody please help me…" She whispered, unable to speak any louder as she began to lack in oxygen.

"Mariah, NO!" She heard Lee's panicked shout and felt his arm beneath her to break her fall as she let go of the world around her, sliding into a panic-induced sleep.

End flashback

And so that was it, since then she had been in bed with flushed cheeks and a cold flannel resting on her brow, two young women who were healers-in-training sat beside her. Lee had only left her side because he had responsibilities within the village, otherwise he would have stayed as well. Two of Mariah's childhood friends, Kevin and Gary, had paid a short visit, bringing with them an enormous bunch of flowers from Gary's mother (though it was small compared to Gary) and a wish for Mariah to get well soon. In the village, news travelled fast and the news that the chief's granddaughter was sick turned a lot of heads. Her attack had unnerved the rest.

During the afternoon, after she had slept for a while, the 'Wise Healer' of the village had come to see Mariah and had fed her parts of what the village saw as a special plant that was supposed to cure the sick, though Mariah didn't feel much better. She ached. She felt bruised though there wasn't a single blemish on her body. The only thing that was different than when she had set out that morning was her feverish temperature and the colour of her skin, which was now almost grey but with pink gracing her cheeks. That, and the fact that the feather on her necklace was freezing to the touch of her hand…

Evening was drawing in and Mariah was sat in her bed, feeling a great deal better than she had that morning. Then again, she had slept through most of the day and then was given her favourite meal of chicken breast and gravy, and that was enough to make any neko-jin feel better. Though she was mentally exhausted, she couldn't help but wonder at the feather. Why was it cold to touch? It didn't feel cold against her chest where it lay but if she stroked it between her fingers it sent some sort of shock through her hand, it was freezing! What was it about this feather? Had fate really brought it to her? If so, what did it mean? So many questions ran through Mariah's head and she wanted answers, but the biggest question of all was 'Where do I find my answers?'

Later that evening, just as the sun was setting behind the mountains, Mariah found herself staring out across the landscape, wondering whether the rest of her life would be the same. She'd stay in the village, grow up, be married off to someone that she barely knew since arranged marriages were the way of life where she came from, she'd be expected to start a family with this man and raise their children into the same drab lifestyle to which she had become accustomed. Village life was fine when she was a young child, exploring the forests with her friends and playing with the mules that led the carts to the fields for work every morning… And beyblading with Ray. Although she would never admit it to him, Mariah envied Ray in a way. Yes, she was still angry with him for leaving her and for breaking her heart when he had promised so many things and seemingly forgotten to keep them, but still she wished that she could be like him and leave the village for somewhere new and learn new things like he had. Of course, she'd tell her friends and family first – Hell, she'd even invite them to go with her!

"Maybe…" She gazed further out right to the edge of the horizon and sighed, shaking her head. "But Lee would never go."

"Lee would never go where?" Mariah jumped at the sound of her brother's cynical voice. She hadn't realised that he had come into her room, she must have been so far away with her thoughts. She gave him an apologetic look and shook her head at him, her pink ponytail swinging as she did so.

"It doesn't matter." She told him, seating herself at her desk as Lee placed a dish of turkey stew and rice on it and handed her a spoon. She began to sip at the food, enjoying the taste with a soft smile on her lips. Lee couldn't cook many things, but he could make one fantastic turkey stew.

Instead of leaving his sister to eat in peace as he usually did, Lee wandered over to her window and stared out over the horizon, just as she had been doing before he had interrupted her. After watching the sun finish setting, he lit a second oil lamp and stood it the other side of the room to the first one, brightening the space up a little more. He leant against the wall next to the window behind Mariah and observed her for a couple of silent minutes while she finished her food, then he spoke.

"What's on your mind, Mariah?" He questioned, orange eyes fixated upon her, giving him a calm, questioning look. Turning her head toward him, Mariah sighed slightly. How would she be able to tell such an opinionated person like Lee that she wanted to leave the village and broaden her knowledge? He would surely throw the idea back in her face, unless…

"Lee, I want to go to the World Championships." She told him strongly, taking him completely aback.

"It's too late to enter Mariah. Our team is no match for the European teams, we don't know enough." He explained, obviously hating to admit this fact, though it made his sister smile inwardly – Her idea was going perfectly to plan.

"No," she argued, "I don't want to enter." She smiled at him a little before adding, "But like you say, we don't know enough and we could learn more if we left the village for a while to watch." Mariah explained, taking note that Lee seemed to be giving this some thought. "Plus," she absentmindedly twiddled with her hair. "I want to be there when the Bladebreakers lose."

Lee stared at her, not knowing what to make of this last statement. Had his sister actually gone mad? He blinked. Perhaps she was just joking. "… Why?" He asked suspiciously, this wasn't like Mariah! She usually told him off if he ever said anything like that, and now here she was, suggesting it herself! The pink haired girl let a knowing smile appear on her face, she had won.

"Because if they lose, Ray will see that the biggest mistake he ever made was leaving the White Tigers…" Her eyes darkened a little. "Leaving me." She sighed. "But that isn't the point Lee, we can always learn more. I want to learn more. Think of all the possibilities! Ray left to broaden his horizons and look where he is now, he's about to battle in the World Championships!" She paused, only really taking in that fact herself. Stars appeared in her eyes and she felt the feather burn against her breast. She laughed. "Think of that, Lee! If we could learn everything that Ray has, and if he comes back to us, we will be the strongest team out there, no doubt about it! Please Lee, you have to see this the way I do. Someday, we really could be where Ray is now." She let herself pause for effect, before staring right into her brother's eyes. "This would be the best thing for our team Lee, and you know it."

Lee closed his eyes, sighing. Mariah was right, he did know that leaving the village would be best for the team. He just… Never wanted to admit that Ray had done the right thing for himself in leaving the team and betraying his friends. They had all grown up together, and it was difficult to watch him leave… They had been best friends, it was a lot to let go of. It had been hard for Lee without having Ray around for so long, he would never, ever say that aloud to anybody but Ray himself and he wasn't particularly keen on doing that, but it had been very hard without his best friend there to guide him. The loss of Ray hadn't only affected Mariah, though she was heart broken by his leave. Ray had been like a candle to them, he was always warm and welcoming and helped them get through tough times… When he left and his flame had burned out in the village, the White Tiger team went cold.

Reopening his eyes, Lee gazed at the floor for a while, tracing the pattern in the wooden slates with his eyes. He really hoped that he wouldn't regret what he was about to do. He lifted his head, bringing his deep orange eyes level with the bright youthful golden ones of his sister and nodded. "You're right Mariah." He told her, surprised at the satisfaction he felt for making his sister smile so happily like that. He smiled back, sometimes Mariah could annoy the hell out of him, but sometimes she was a perfect substitute for a best friend. "We'll have to leave early tomorrow though, otherwise we won't get there on time."

Mariah nodded happily. "That's fine. I'll pack a few things up tonight." She told him, still beaming brighter than her oil lamps. Lee gave her a polite nod as he left, and even though he was just closing the door, he still managed to hear the sweet "Thank you Lee" from his younger sister. As he walked down the hall toward the front doors to go and tell his grandfather, Kevin and Gary of the news, he found himself smiling.

Mariah giggled quietly with excitement, they were actually going to leave! She danced and twirled girlishly around her bedroom for a couple of minutes, brushing her hair and humming to herself. Think of all the new things they would discover! While she was gliding about her bedroom, she could feel her feather tickling at her chest, soft and light. She looked at it in the mirror, loving it's prettiness, though also noticing that her skin was back to it's normal colour and that the feverish pink from her cheeks had gone. She had forgotten about her fever during the excitement, though probably knew subconsciously that it was gone and that she looked better since Lee would never have let her leave the village in the morning if she was ill.

She finished brushing her hair and left it loose as she lowered herself onto her elbows and knees before sliding out onto her flat stomach, searching underneath her low bed for her favourite pink duffel bag that she had bought in the city of Hong Kong once. It wasn't all that big, but she thought it would be big enough to fit a week's worth of clothes in, plus the essentials like a bit of makeup and her toiletries. That was all she really needed in the bag as she liked to keep her Galux blade on her at all times, she'd put that in her small rucksack and make sure it never went out of her sight.

She sighed happily, flicking her hair back as she once again gazed out the window, whispering gleefully "Russia, here I come!"

Sometimes, even things that you've had to put up with for your whole life can scare you. The Demolition Boys knew this, they had always known this, and as Bryan regarded his team captain who, a few minutes ago, was laid in a crumpled heap against the wall, bleeding and broken, he prayed to some higher power that things would get better for them. Years had past since the first time this had happened, nearly a whole decade had passed, but still there they lived and there they suffered. Things would never get better, not until they broke free of his clutches… But who knew when that would be?

The door was opened with such force that it swung 180 degrees and slammed against the wall, cracking and splintering. Bryan couldn't help but swallow the lump of fear that had formed in his throat as he regarded the broad figure in the doorway, watching as a sickeningly spine-chilling grin spread across the man's face.

"Good evening, my boys."

As soon as Bryan had heard the tone of voice his coach and director was speaking with, he knew it was that time again. Time to face the one thing that had haunted his childhood dreams before the scientists had trained him to be a simple shell of a person, no emotions and no feelings. That was their aim, but they had failed. Much as they hated it, Bryan would always look out for his team mates and being older, taller and stronger made that job a lot easier for him. He'd never had to endure so much as the younger two, Tala and Ian. Spencer could hold his own quite easily, though the Seaborg blader wasn't feared by the others like Bryan was. These days Bryan's strength was put to the ultimate test, as Tala's bleeding skull rested in the lilac haired blader's lap, his breathing staggered and his face painted with blood and bruises, the Falborg blader knew that things would never get better while they were still in Balcov Abbey.

Boris was in general just a harsh coach who would glare and shout and train his Demolition Boys for long hours every day, treating them like regimented animals rather than people, and he would laugh when one of them got hurt during battle and tell them they were weak… That was, until he got angry. When the Director was angry, whoever it was that had made him tick would suffer the consequences, and this time it had been Tala's loss to Kai in training earlier that day. Against Black Dranzer, Wolborg was lost and now Tala would take the blame.

Flashback

Boris stalked into the room, slamming the door behind him and plunging the room into an uneasy darkness. Bryan felt his breath hitch a little and could feel the beads of sweat forming on his palms as he readied his mind for what was about to happen. Boris was getting closer, he could tell, no doubt heading for Tala's bed.

"Tala." Coach Balcov breathed eerily, sending shivers down the spines of all four boys. Tala could be heard gulping and he removed the sheets from over his head and stared up at his trainer, trying not to let the fear show on his face just in case Boris could see him even in the pitch blackness.

"Yes Sir?" He asked, knowing that he was about to seal his fate. Bryan heard a match being struck and soon enough there was a flickering flame being held over a candle that Boris was holding. He lit the candle and tossed the lit match at the redheaded team captain, taking satisfaction in the fact that, although it went out, the hot charred end still burned Tala's lightly quivering hand.

"You lost to Kai." The bulky man stated darkly. Tala nodded.

"Yes Sir. I'm sorry." He replied shortly. "It won't happen again." Boris smirked at this.

"No Tala. It won't." The coach chuckled sadistically. He made a sudden grab at Tala, catching him by his hair, pulling him out of bed. "But there are consequences for your idiocy!" He shouted in rage, bringing the captain's face right up close to his. "And 'sorry' isn't good enough."

As his director grabbed Tala by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall, Bryan gripped the sides of his head, blocking out any sound and closed his eyes just in time as the redhead was served a vicious backhander across his face. He restrained himself from making any noise, even though a whimper of pain was trying to escape his throat, although it was difficult, they all knew that it was best to just stay quiet and let things happen as the more noise they made, the longer the ordeal would continue.

Bryan gritted his teeth and refrained from growling in rage at Boris, even through his blockades, the thuds of a fist meeting his team captain's face were still audible, as were the consistent knocks of Tala's head cracking against the wall behind him with every punch he endured.

Tala's 'lesson' continued for another couple of minutes before Boris gripped the redhead's chin roughly, digging his thumb and fingers into the teen's flesh. He turned Tala's head to face his own and glared, though a manic smile was edging it's way onto the director's face as he spoke.

"I trust that Kai will not beat you again. I do not tolerate failures." Tala nodded weakly, swallowing a mouthful of blood. Bryan dropped his blockades now that his captain had been finished with, and fixated his coach with a deathly glare, noticing that Spencer and Ian were doing the same, though theirs weren't half so frightening as the Falborg blader's.

"Yes Sir." Tala groaned, cringing at the taste of iron in his mouth and throat. Boris smirked and placed a hand on the redhead's chest, giving him an effortless shove that somehow sent him slamming against the wall which knocked him out on impact, a stomach churning cracking noise coming with it.

Boris glanced around the room, laughing at the expressions on his team's faces before setting them all with a glare. "You will win tomorrow." He told them forcefully, striding toward the door. He yanked it open, letting a stream of light flow across the stone floor and blew out the candle. "Understood?" He half shouted, leaving the room and once again slamming the door behind him, plunging the Demolition Boys into darkness. Once the footsteps had faded, the three teenagers leapt out of bed to tend to their unconscious team captain. Bryan sighed as he grabbed the pillow from the nearest bed and sat down, setting the pillow on his lap. Spencer helped to position Tala so that he would be comfortable when he came round, then the three of them just sat on the floor, angry and annoyed with Boris and Kai, and irritated at not being able to do anything about the cuts and bruises on their friend and leader.

Bryan glared at nothing across the room as the minutes ticked away, thinking and gently stroking the red hair nestled in his lap while Spencer and Ian also seemed to be deep in thought. Maybe they were thinking about better days too. Bryan growled out a sigh. They had to win the Championships tomorrow, they had to… Otherwise they would suffer the consequences.

To be continued…

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