Konnichiwa, fanfictioners! Okie, I know I have fics I have to finish…but really, I got the idea for this fic, and I was not about to let it turn into a failed pile of words like countless other works of mine. So, I have dedicatedly worked on this fic for…uh…two/three weeks. And I finished today! (Yesterday, actually, as it is 1:30 in the morning….) Anyway, this fic has five chapters. Expect updates every couple of weeks. And, in flashbacks, since I had to give the D Boys families…there will be OCs. Now, I'll quit rambling so all y'all can get reading!
Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade; it belongs to Aoki Takao. But I do own Tala's parents, Alexei and Nameless Lady.
Start Chapter One:
Human Today, Cyborg Tomorrow
General POV: Flashback
White cigarette smoke lingered in the air, causing a foul stench that overruled that of the garbage piled in a trash bin inside a tiny apartment. A man of about six feet tall was sprawled comfortably in a chair, cigarette limply dangling from between his lips. His sharp blue eyes were deadened, sorrowful, as he stared out a miniscule window, watching snowflakes drift to the ground.
A small red-haired boy, no older than five years, sat against the wall perpendicular to the one with the window. A stuffed brown bear, bedraggled and filthy, was clutched in his little hands.
"Papa?" he called tentatively.
The man turned his gaze to the little boy, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth. "Whadda ya want, Tala?"
Tala blinked his eyes that matched his father's, and snuggled the bear closer to his torso, remaining silent. What he wanted was a hug, some love, some attention…but how was he to say this?
"Well?" growled the man, taking a drag on his cigarette.
Blinking again, Tala inquired, "Can…can I watch the snow with you?"
Silence came from his father's lips as the man stared blankly at his child.
"I suppose…," he muttered finally.
Excited, Tala sprang up. He abandoned the stuffed bear and scurried over to his father, thrusting his hands eagerly toward the man in symbolism that he wanted up.
Without a word, the brunette adult scooped Tala up, and sat the little boy down on his lap. Smiling for the first time in a while, Tala gazed out the window.
"That's pretty," he remarked, fascinated with the way the snowflakes all zigzagged and flowed toward the same destination.
"Alexei!" came a shrill yell from a different room.
Tala's father set his boy down on the floor—not as tenderly as he could have—and stalked off to a different area of the apartment, cigarette back in his mouth, ignoring his boy as rapidly as he had paid him mind.
"Papa?"
No response.
Little Tala sighed disappointedly, crestfallen again. He wandered back over to his forsaken plaything, and grabbed it up.
"Why doesn't Papa like me?" Tala asked of his bear sadly. He examined the stuffed animal's body carefully as he plopped down where he was seated before. "Your arm…."
The bear's left arm was attached only by a few threads and would most likely fall off any minute.
"Maybe Mama can sow it back on, okay?" offered Tala to his bear, quickly hurrying into the room his parents were in.
The five-year-old came into their kitchen, which was filled with the smell of cigarette smoke, like the rest of their apartment. A woman, with dark green eyes and dirty-blonde hair, sat at the kitchen's table, cradling her head. Alexei was smoking still as he leaned against the table, back to Tala.
"Let's just get rid of him, then," the man was saying, fishing in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes.
"We can't just get rid of him, where will he go?" asked the woman, shaking her head.
The man shrugged, preoccupied with lighting a new cigarette.
She sighed exasperatedly. "We don't have enough money to keep him though! And it's not like we need him anyway, he's really just proving to be worthless."
Alexei shrugged again.
'What are they talking about?' Tala wondered. 'Are…are they talking about me?'
Confused, the little redhead decided to focus on why he entered the kitchen to begin with. "Mama?"
Startled, the woman looked up, meeting her son's gaze. She disregarded the fact he had spoken, and said to her husband, "And I still don't understand where he got that red hair. He's got your eyes, and my nose, but that hair?"
"Mama, can you fix my bear?" interjected the confused child, holding his stuffed toy up.
She stood, and took the bear from his hands, accidentally tearing the left arm off.
Tala made a noise close to a gasp.
"What do you want me to do?" asked his mother, either oblivious or not caring that she had ripped the boy's only toy.
"Fix his arm," pleaded Tala a bit desperately.
"How? By sowing it? Because I don't have anything to do that with." The woman stared at Tala expressionlessly.
"Oh…."
She handed the bear and its arm back to Tala.
"Sorry, honey. Now run along, Mama and Papa have to talk."
She gave a Tala a little shove to usher him out the door.
"But—" He attempted to protest, but the door was already closed in his face.
Tala's POV: End flashback
"What's with the bear, Tala?"
The memory was instantly shattered as Ian's question broke into my thoughts.
I was holding that bear, studying it…the only toy I ever remember owning. I understand the reason for that: my family was poor.
"Well?"
I looked up from the bear, which was in awful condition, to see Ian standing with his back to the door of our dormitory.
I had been spared any extra training because BioVolt felt I was prepared for the match against Tyson, and I needed plenty of rest. Therefore, I was sent to the Demolition Boys' dormitory before my teammates.
Apparently, Ian had completed his training.
Discounting his questions, I asked of my small companion, "Where are Bryan and Spencer?"
"Spencer's training still, I suppose," Ian replied calmly, unfazed by the fact that I didn't answer his inquiries. "And Bryan…."
Who knew where Bryan was? Boris was furious at the fact that Bryan had lost to that Ray kid, especially taking into account that Ray was seriously injured when he stole the victory. Spencer, Ian, and I were taken to train, while Bryan was taken off somewhere with Boris.
Losing was the ultimate humiliation, worth punishment…. I wondered what sort of punishment Bryan would receive. Nothing light of extra training where he was whipped for each mistake, no doubt.
"Why, do you suppose, Spencer has to train?"
Ian once again penetrated my thoughts.
He had moved to his bed and was currently undressing to change into his night clothes.
"What do you mean?" I interrogated, tucking the old bear (now without both arms) away with my clothes.
"Well, he won his match against Kai"—here, Ian gave a triumphant little smirk—"and you're guaranteed a victory tomorrow, meaning we'll all be the world's top 'bladers. So why are they making him train?"
I shrugged; how should I know what went through Boris's head? Sometimes, our mentor of many years was truly unfathomable...
Ian shrugged as well, and flopped down on his bed, dressed in his night clothing. He watched me then, probably trying to figure out why in the world I would have a stuffed animal. But he said no more.
Someone knocked on our door, and it swung open.
"Valkov," a black-clad guard muttered gruffly, beckoning for me to follow him.
Without sparing Ian another glance, I trailed the guard out of our dormitory and down many stone corridors.
xXx
"Ah, Tala," my mentor greeted me, smirking.
The guard left me in a laboratory, filled with tubes, machines, and people. I stood at attention, wondering what Boris needed me for this evening.
"It's time to implement one of the final stages of our plan, which will ensure your victory tomorrow against that little brat," Boris continued. "Not that there is much likelihood that you will lose anyway…and put shame to your training like Bryan has." A look of disgust plastered his face.
"What do you need me to do, sir?"
The smirk reappeared as Boris motioned to a large, glass tube in the center of the room. "The process is complicated, but your part in it is simple. All I need you to do is take off your clothes."
Intrigued and startled by this request, I obeyed, attempting to not hesitate and not show outward signs of my reaction.
Once I was down to my boxer shorts, Boris took my clothing from me and shoved it at a nearby scientist. I scowled at her, not wanting her to stare at my body the way that she was. Hadn't she ever seen good muscle structure before? Or physical fitness? I knew it was a bit odd for a boy my age to have muscles like I did, but must she have stared?
Intimidated by my look, she hurried off to set my clothes down.
"Now Tala," Boris drew my attention to him, "I'll explain to you what is going to happen here today."
My mentor went on to explain to me the changes my body and mind were going to undergo. How I was going to be genetically enhanced, similar to the way my bitbeast was programmed. How I was going to transform into the perfect warrior, with great mental and physical capabilities.
I was to become…a cyborg.
I was basically numb while he was talking…but when Boris had concluded, my mind instantaneously started racing.
For one thing, was this what would have become of Kai had he not betrayed us? After all, he was always told how he was a 'genetically perfect' child. Would he have been changed the way I am to be? Or were they trying to make me something better than he?
And another thing…I was filled with confusion. Why must such great heights be reached? To 'ensure my victory', I know…. But still…. Would this change who I am?
Not…that I know who I am….
The confusion brought back that memory that had consumed me earlier…and it caused me to think of that day my parents discovered the Abbey.
General POV: Flashback
"Wow, that's pretty cheap! How do you keep up your training facility if that's all you charge?"
"Well, Mr. Valkov, my corporation, BioVolt, isn't that poor, you know."
"If that's all the money it takes to get Tala in, we'll gladly accept."
Little Tala, only six years of age, stood next to his mother, hugging his ramshackle bear, listening to his father and this new man, Boris, talk about him.
"Your son did excellently with our required test—he has some skill in beyblading, and it would be my pleasure to hone that skill."
"Is he really that good at beyblading?" Tala's mother piped up, directing her question at Boris as she stared down at her son.
"Oh yes," Boris replied, nodding, "he is quite proficient. He easily defeated the other boy, and his display was rather remarkable." The purple-haired man smiled in an unusually kind way. "So, would you like to enroll him here?"
"Certainly," Alexei, continuing his chain-smoking, answered immediately. "It will give us all the money we need to survive well if we have one less mouth to feed."
"And it seems a good opportunity for him," added Tala's mother, feeling some caring for her young son and his future.
"I understand. Come, there are papers that must be signed."
Boris led Tala's parents away from the testing room and down another hallway, a bewildered little Tala following suit.
'Do they really want to get rid of me?'
Tala's POV: End flashback
"Get ready to go inside," Boris ordered, pointing to the tube, disallowing me to think anymore about my feelings…not that my mentor gave a care about them anyway, as he had gladly expressed before. I wasn't supposed to let anyone know what I was feeling anyway: I was to keep it inside, ignore it all.
Boris must never have tried this himself, because even after all these years, I still can't manage to block or bottle every emotion.
Scientists attached monitoring devices to me on multiple parts of my body, then ushered me inside the tube. I narrowed my eyes as the glass door swung closed behind me.
"This will be painless, Tala," Boris's muffled voice came, and I picked up no concern in his tone—only excitement.
From the top of the tube, a strange, green, sparkly gaseous substance was emitted. It wafted downward, closer to me.
I heard the voice of a scientist say something about my heart rate, and Boris commanded me to calm down and breathe it in.
Forcing myself to relax, telling myself this gas wouldn't harm me because Boris wouldn't do that to me, I inhaled. For a brief moment, my lungs burned, and I thought I was going to suffocate. But in the next instant, I felt as though I were breathing air.
The green gas consumed me, and I felt myself slip into a peaceful calm. Coolness against my feet startled me a bit, though all I did was look down. My eyes met with liquid the same color as the gas, rising steadily up my legs. Not that I cared: I was feeling too serene right now.
The gas had me unconscious before the liquid ever reached above my waist.
xXx
"—Cyber-Tala!"
Boris's voice rang in my ears, resonated in my soul, when I awoke.
My body felt cool, wet…but that liquid wasn't there anymore. I could hear a faint hissing sound and a beeping in the distance, along with a pleased chuckle from Boris.
'Cyber-Tala…. Have I changed? I don't feel any different….'
Ever-so-slowly, I opened my eyes. For an instant, everything was blurry, and I truly believed that I saw my parents for a split second. Once I blinked, my vision came into focus.
Suddenly, my brain began some sort of analysis. It was unintentional, involuntary, but it happened and it felt as though it needed to happen. My mind began processing everything, everyone. It flipped through mental files of information on every person in the room (including Voltaire and Boris) reabsorbing any scraps of data I had of them. At the same time, my body considered every change that had been made to it.
And yet, somehow, I felt no mental exhaustion when this process was complete…which was only a minute or less, strangely enough.
Voltaire and Boris had been speaking to each other, and I endeavored to listen then:
Boris called me the 'ultimate bey-warrior'. He said I was unstoppable, especially with a 'techno-advanced beyblade at my side'. My mentor then tossed me a gray beyblade, which I caught accurately.
"Now, my Cyber-Tala," Boris commanded, and I stood at attention, ready and willing to live up to his standards, "destroy the BladeBreakers!"
I held up my new beyblade in the air, remaining silent, feeling a rejuvenated desire to carry out my orders.
Perhaps, I had changed…but all I knew was that I had to defeat Tyson the following day.
:End Chapter One
Ooh…this turned out much better than I planned! I don't know where this chapter came from even, but I'm proud of it…. It's my personal fave of the five chaps. How'd you all like it? Please review!
have a nice day
CyborgRockStar
