Absolute tears of happiness for finally finishing this chapter!
Sorry it took a while to update, I honestly wanted to get it done a whole lot sooner.
It took me atleast nine drafts but we finally got through with it and now here we are \o/ *does a little victory dance*
Shout out to all the new comments and DM's I had received, it really warms my heart and makes me want to continue the story in the best way possibly for people to enjoy.
I think I've been making quite some progress in writing compared to the first few chapters but if you have any tips or feedback I'd gladly hear it 3
Much love to the people taking their time to read it and I hope you will enjoy.
Steadily he lowered himself onto the bed, between then and here Spencer had taken the liberty to patch him up for whatever it was still worth. His head hung low as he arms rested lazily over his knees, in his mind he went over the event, analyzing it again and again hoping to find some clue as to why it began to manifest itself around Moscow suddenly. Then he remembered how Spencer had been trying to tell him something, but yet again he waved off the blonde just to prevent a confrontation. Seriously why is that guy even still putting up with all this. Chuckling at his own thoughts he dropped on his back, he could easily blank out the numbing pain from his arm but the noise in his head turned to be a constant presence now, it was manageable still, but highly agitating.
His meeting with Boris still haunted his mind, the man knew far more than he was showing. All he knew for sure was that something was spreading around like a disease and now that it has been affecting him, it could very well happen to others, or Julia…It has only been a few hours since they last seen each other but he already felt something was missing. The thought of possibly seeing her again made him feel a little awkward, excited even.
He slapped his hand onto his head in an attempt to get rid of the thought. Idiot, why would you even think something like that. There is absolutely not a single possible scenario where you could remotely think of living a normal live. His own thirst for power led him into a situation that he could no longer escape, but was it really all worth it just for the sake of revenge?
As his eyes slowly began to close he felt a sudden jolt of electricity run through his arm causing him to sit up. Running a hand through his hair he let out a groan of irritation as he recalled that Thunder Pegasus was still with him. "Seriously… you're a pain in the ass, just like your owner." He growled at her only to get another static pinch in reply.
He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine, fine I will teach her as promised, and then please just stay out of my way, both of you." Again, Thunder Pegasus was not satisfied with his answer and took it up a notch making sure he would really feel it this time.
Tala held the knife in his hand as if he were about to strangle it. "Listen you flying donkey, I have enough problems as it is, adding you two to the equation will only increase that by a factor thousand."
He knew better than anyone not to pick a fight with a bitbeast directly, slowly he started to loosen his grip on the hilt, not out of remorse of what he said but the damn powerlessness he felt over the whole situation. Without Wolborg by his side he felt like a soldier rushing into combat unarmed and unprotected, it was a losing battle, but he did not want to accept it.
"Look…" He felt like a fool for talking into thin air like this, then again he was alone at the moment. "Don't get me wrong, you're a formidable bitbeast and it's irritating to see her not bring it to full potential, that is all."
But it wasn't all, not even in the slightest. He genuinely cared for her and deep down he had this strong urge of wanting to connect, but he just couldn't. The past few years he had been struggling so hard with his own feelings, the ones he knew and the ones he didn't. It created a mess in his mind and whilst he was trying so hard to keep the past at bay it would always find its way back to him not matter how hard he fought, it was a frustrating and unending battle and even thinking about it angered him.
Thunder Pegasus backed down as she felt the internal conflict rise combined with questionable thoughts. She had no real way of communicating with him, but she was able to sense and feel. Taking a few breathers he regained his composure only to be back to feeling dishearten. He glanced out of the window besides him and noticed how the sun had already begun to rise, normally he would not care where or when he'd sleep but nowadays he was already happy to sleep at all.
Throwing his legs out of the bed he got up to face yet another day, he send out a very brief text at Julia on where to meet him and took off quietly without alerting the others.
At the other side of the town Julia was murmuring some unhearable words under her breath, she slowly fluttered her eyes open and could see the light of the first sunrays peek through the curtains. In the distance she swore somebody calling her name, her imagination made it sound as if it was a soft voice with the Russian accent. Julia…
"JULIA!" Raul banged the door.
With a jolt she sat up straight in her bed. "WHAT!" She shouted back at him.
"Geez, where have you been hanging out all night." His voice sounded both worried and angered.
Slowly she began to realize what had happened and bit by bit her mind was recalling the events from last night. Also she found out she was still wearing the suit. She heard Raul pushing down on the door handle and she quickly wrapped her blanket around her to prevent him from seeing her clothing.
"H-hey, what a lovely morning." She smiled nervously at him.
"Lovely?!" He exclaimed while flailing his arms in the air. "Why didn't you call me or Romero, you could have been… I don't know stuck in the cold or kidnapped even!"
"Raul… kidnapping really? I can handle myself just fine, you should feel bad for the kidnappers, you know this." She was trying her hardest to keep him from getting suspicious, also she had no time to deal with him, that and explaining what happened last night, there was no way he was going to believe her.
Raul's nerves began to settle, he had to admit, his sister would indeed bite of the heads of anyone who would touch her without her consent, then again she was still his sister. "Alright, but please.. next time call me, let me know you are safe."
She bit down on her lip, the last thing she wanted was lying to her brother but how else was she going to tell him all this. One thing at a time. Mentally slapping herself she had to focus on beating Tala as his own game today. "How about I will freshen up and we grab some breakfast together?" It would help her give some time to wiggle out of the suit that was simply too hot.
Giving his sister a genuine smile Raul nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan." He got out of her room and shut the door behind him. Julia let out a sigh of relief and lowered the covers.
The only reason his sister would probaly be so secretive is that she had met somebody interesting. With a swing the door flew open again and she pulled the covers back up again. "So… what is his name?
"RAUL!" She shouted at him tossing a pillow at his direction.
"Fine, fine." That was all the confirmation he needed.
She waited a little longer for any suspicious sound, but it was better to be safe than sorry so she waddled to the bathroom still keeping the blanket wrapped around her. Checking the lock twice she was sure that she could get dressed in private. At last she tossed off the suit and turned on the water at her usual preferred temperature. Casually she walked in but as the water hit her skin she let out a small whine. "Ouch that is hot." Immediately she lowered the heat and leaned her back against the wall sliding herself down to sit on the floor while the water rained over her. She pulled her knees up to her chest. Her hands rubbed down her lower legs, they were slightly bruised but not too bad. Her head rested against the wall now and the water drops fell down to her face. It felt remarkable soothing and she began to wonder since when cold water had become a better substitute. In her mind she played out the events from last night in an attempt to clear her thoughts, she began at the theater, the dancing, the new things she learned and the people she had met there. Then there was their meeting with Mr. Dickenson. As they continued their journey she recalled hoping for the evening to just be a little bit longer, well she got a lot more than she had bargained for that was for sure.
A shiver went up her spine as she pictured that entity again and him fighting. His movements where so natural, as if he had done it a hundred times over. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged herself. Her gut told her that this was not going to be the last of it. Maybe when this is all over, we can go to Spain together, that would be nice. A small smile appeared on her face at that thought, he had shown her Moscow, she would love to show him around some of the small towns along the coastline, perhaps even Madrid or Barcelona.
Her bogged mind had been cleared once again and she was ready to face the day, she jumped back on her feet, got out of the shower and dressed herself more suitable for the ever changing weather. Taking a quick look at the phone she opened the message he had send her. "Hmm a… scrapyard?" Sounded like an off place to train in but then again this was Tala and she should know better by now than not to question his oddities.
Feeling a rush she hastened herself downstairs to the breakfast hall. She stocked up her plate to the brim with all sorts of food, from waffles, to fruits and other delicious breads. Raul looked at her with a slight disgust as he quietly sipped on his coffee watching his sister wolf down her breakfast. Even bystanders where watching her in awe.
Looking up from her plate she gave Raul a sassy look. "What… I am a woman in my prime, got to eat enough."
Raul shook his head and let her be as she devoured her prey 'the waffle'. The bladebreakers had walked in the room as well and claimed the table next to Julia and Raul. They nodded each other good mornings and Hilary took a seat next to Julia.
"Soo…." Hilary began in a low voice. "Last night?"
Julia nearly spit out her breakfast at Hilary's prying words, her action drew the attention of the rest except for Kai who was calmly drinking his cup of tea. Padding her mouth clean with a napkin she gave Hilary an elbow to the side holding a smirk on her face.
Hilary took the hint from Julia and decided not to give the guys more reason to start guessing, she was glad for her friend but at the same time it worried her too. The evening before she and Kai had run in a disagreement, at first Kai had decided it would be a good route to take but now the possibility of Julia being involved in something far more dangerous was taking it a step too far. However Hilary herself did not want to separate them from what little thing they already had going on, she hadn't seen Julia this excited in a very long time and if somebody could tame that Russian it would be her for sure. But Kai had a change of heart and decided for another course of action, one he did not shared with Hilary but she had her ways of finding things out and she wasn't from yesterday either.
"Anyways.." Julia coughed as she got up. "I better get going.. because I am….. going to train, somewhere." Instantly Raul gave her this look, it's not like they never trained separately but the past few days she had been behaving odd. He felt a little intrusive to spy on his sister but he was going to start keeping a closer eye on her.
"Alright then, text me if you are going to be late again." He said to her with a genuine smile. Julia gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she took off.
"Don't forget tonight! White Tigers vs us!" Hilary called out at her.
"Oh right… the evening where we will find out if Rei is sleeping on the sofa or not." Julia said jokingly.
Rei lowered himself in his seat sulking. "I am already…" He said with a soft whimper. Max patted him gently on his back in support as he felt pain for his fallen brother. Slowly Julia backed away from the conversation and dashed out of the hotel towards her destination.
She passed through the gateway of the yard that seemingly had already been opened, as she continues she could already see his silhouette, picking up the pace she closed in on him and with a devious smile on her face she took a leap towards him from behind throwing her arms around his neck.
With senses like his and the amount of noise she could produce he could pretty much hear her already from the other side of Moscow yet he remained put in his place and just let it all happen. With the event from earlier this morning still fresh in his mind he felt the conflict rise once again and he had to fight against every ounce of his body not to return the same physical touch. He dug his nails deep in the palm of his hand to remain composed and calm.
"Good morning!" She chimed next to his ear.
"You sure you want to be wasting this much energy already?" He said in a dull tone.
Julia pouted at his cold remark but quickly brushed it away. "Don't worry, I will give it my best today."
Her enthusiasm was contagious and he would be lying if he wasn't slightly curious on how far she was going to get in just one day. "Very well then." He turned away and walked towards the center of the yard, Julia happily followed behind him being her chattery self.
He suddenly halted and Julia's gaze went up the enormous construction before her. He can't be serious, right? In front of her stood an old rusted tower crane at nearly 300 feet and she started to get a feeling that this was going to be the challenge he had in mind.
"We're climbing it." He stated in a dull down.
"Right…" Now heights where usually not an issue to her, in her circus days she had jumped off various platforms, trapezes and conquered many feet. But compared to this, those heights where child's play.
"If you manage to beat me to the top, you win, simple as that." The way he spoke made her feel a little uneasy, surely what had happened last night should have affected him in some way. Maybe he's just tired. She couldn't help but worry, while the one she really should be worrying about now was herself.
She took out a small rubber band and tied her hair in a tight ponytail. "What are we waiting for then." Under no circumstance she wanted to show him her own fear, the first feet would be no problem but never had she been this high before, not to mention the lack of a safety net. Additionally the staircase had been taken out too so the only way up was by climbing the outer structure. It was a little reassuring to know that he would be with her all the way to the top but that wasn't going to make it easier in the slightest.
They lowered themselves into a starting stance and Tala began to count down.
"Three.."
"Two…"
"One…"
And in unison they shouted out. "Go!"
Together they dashed off towards the tower crane, Tala had done it before so he had a good sense on where to place his footing but as he looked down he was surprised to see Julia not far behind him. Surely she was struggling to get a proper rhythm but once she had gotten the hang of it was just simply doing the same motion over and over again… for 300 feet that is all.
The first 100 feet where easy and Julia had found that sweet spot in moving upwards, her agility came in handy and she was easily covering ground. For now she was able to keep up with Tala although it did cost her some effort.
Grasping her hand on another beam she stopped suddenly. Feeling an odd sensation in her body she began to question if it was her breathing that made her feel so erratic or if it was something else. Taking a look at her surroundings she suddenly realized the cause. It's… moving. At nearly 150 feet she could feel it swaying sideways in the wind, it was a first for her so it spooked her in a sense. Swallowing down the lump in her throat she looked up to see Tala had gotten quite the advantage on her now. She bit down hard on her lip and continued to press on trying hard to ignore the growing feeling of anxiety in her stomach.
Come on girl.. you got this, you've faced far worse things than this. What took her no effort at all suddenly became a whole lot harder. Tala looked downwards and noticed her struggling, he paused for a moment watching her climb up slowly, at the current pace she was going he was easily going to outrun her but that was not the purpose of today.
Humans have a natural fear for falling, anyone can climb a staircase with the feeling of safety around them and not bat an eye, but it's right at the point where you need to overcome your instincts yelling at you to stop, that takes gut. Surely there are multiple ways of teaching that, but exposure like this was one of the quickest ways to do so, it was also the hardest one at the same time.
Her arms where trembling now from both the strain and the nervous feeling in her stomach. "Keep yourself together Julia…" She panted as she moved herself up one more section. The cold beams where hard to grasp and the wind was not making things easier, as she slowly crawled up another one her feet slipped and in an instant she clenched herself around one of the bars shutting her eyes tightly.
He let out a sigh and slid down a few feet till he was almost on the same height was she was. If it was anyone else he would have probaly abandoned them and just simply claim the win, but when it was Julia he could just not be an asshole. He did not want that irritating habit of jumping on him, or that squealing sound she would make when she was exited to stop, it only left him wanting more. All she needed was a little push, Tala wasn't probaly the best coach around but they could make it work, somehow, or so he was hoping.
"Are you going to enjoy the view all day or actually start doing something?" He threw out bluntly.
Julia blinked at his words, her first reaction would be to snap at him with a comeback but at the same time it broke her out of the panic attack too. "And yet I see you looking at me, liking what you see?" The amount of confidence in that comment even surprised herself and she tore her eyes away from Tala who was absolutely dumbstruck by what she said.
He was unsure whether to be flattered, surprised or both, but it sure as hell was adorable to see her bite back considering the position she was in. "If you have the energy to talk you may as well use it to climb." It was tiring almost the amount of times he had to keep his cool near her, it was mostly self-preservation too.
At 200 feet Julia slowly felt her mind ease but her body was aching from the strain, she had to fight against the cold and the distance between the beams was a little further to be able to comfortably grasp, she was constantly pulling herself up. Her lungs were on fire and she was finding it harder to breath too, they had to cover at least another 90 feet now but she kept going. She groaned as she reached for another beam with all her strength. Tala sensed Thunder Pegasus protesting but he ignored her completely. She was close towards her goal now all she had to do was call on her bit beast, but that was something for her to figure out
With every push she felt her muscles trembled harder and harder and the motion of the tower was not helping in the matter either. Looking up she saw that Tala was ahead of her but if she could only push that little bit further she would be able to out run him. "Move Julia… MOVE!" She shouted at herself pushing beyond the pain in her body. I have to…. For thunder Pegasus.
Her fingers touched the next beam and she swore she felt a small sparking sensation run through her tips. At first she was a little surprised but her time was limited, she had to overtake him now or never. Please, lend me your strength. She pleaded at her bitbeast, whether she was hearing her or not it was already giving her a small boost and every bit was welcome.
With every push she began to break her barriers, both physical and mental, her movements became steady and although her body was screaming at her now, her lungs were about to explode and her heart was racing from her chest she kept on going and going. Deep down she felt renewed energy build up and soon static was covering her whole body, with a strong push in her legs she increased her pace quickly. With 50 feet left to go she was moving at the same speed as Tala who now himself was struggling to stay ahead of her.
With the final 20 feet in sight she broke out of her shell and lightning followed wherever she went, like a bullet fired from a gun she sped past Tala at an incredible rate. With one final movement she grabbed the railing of the walkway, kicked her legs up in the air and landed down on the platform falling down on her knees. The sweat was running from her head, her body trembled heavily but never had she ever felt so alive. With her head now facing towards the skies she let out a victory roar making the heavens thunder above.
Tala heaved himself up on the platform, though he had done it countless times before he was still a little worn down. But it was nothing compared to the sight before him, the raw power that he had witnessed, only she could remain this beautiful while looking like absolute thrash. It strangely excited him even.
Tears of ecstasy flown down her cheeks, she was so happy and overwhelmed by all the feelings she was experiencing. She crossed her arms and ran her hands over her skin, it felt like electricity sparked from all over her body and it was amazing. For the first time she felt at complete sync with her bit beast, as if Thunder Pegasus was now living within her and not just in a chip.
Slowly she staggered back onto her feet and moved next to Tala who was leaning over the railing of the walkway. Her mouth dropped at the breathtaking view, the sky was colored in a picturesque orange and from one side she could see Moscow and all her historical buildings whilst on the other side she saw the country side stretching all the way to the horizon.
"It's beautiful." She whispered.
For a while they stood there in silence, the view was breathtaking and she practically burned the imagine into her brain, never wanting to forget. From the corner of her eyes she quietly observed him, from what she could tell he was completely lost in thoughts. The past few days she had learned many new sides of him and he was far more than the cruel and ruthless blader that people always say. It just saddened her that he wasn't showing it more often, things would could have been so much easier.
He turned his head to face her and she realized that his whole time she had been staring, for a moment she swore she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes but it quickly disappeared again. She raised up her hand to touch his cheek and noticed how he didn't flinch or pull away from her touch. Slowly he was more accepting of her invasive habits which led her to have some hope for the future, their future.
"Thank you." Her voice was soft. "What you did, what you showed me today it truly made my grow a beyblader, but as a person as well. And I know you went out of your way for me, so.." She paused for a moment to find the correct words to say. "I truly hope that one day you can show me your real face, so just know that if you ever need a friend, I'll be here for you."
For a split second his eyes widened at her words, such warm words where completely unknown to him. He was still conflicted about his own feelings but each time she did this, certain emotions began to grow stronger and stronger. To her surprise he rose his own hand to touch hers, he wasn't quite sure why he was doing but it simply felt right in the moment, for years he had been wandering in the dark now, and the only thing he did was fighting for the wrong causes, but now he had gained a position in where he could pick his own battles and that reason was standing in front of him now. He didn't want to lose her, he needed her, the moment she was there his mind was quiet and he had been making excuses to himself just to simply be with her. It has been so obvious but he didn't want to face it, or rather he feared it.
And bit by bit another piece of the wall was breaking down and she was keen enough to pick up the smallest change in his demeanor. "So what do you say… race me down?"
He scoffed at her challenge, it seemed that sitting still in one place wasn't her best quality, he himself didn't do too well either at staying put. "Actually, there is another way that is a whole lot easier, but by all means climb down if you want to." She looked a bit puzzled as he turned away from her and moved towards a panel on the side, he gave it a few punches, press some buttons and an old engine was whirring to life. Opening the door to the cabin he got in an motioned at her. "Are you still coming?"
It took a moment for her to realize that this thing had an elevator in it, she felt slightly betrayed suddenly. "You couldn't have said that sooner!" She flailed her arms as she followed him in.
"Now where would be the fun in that." He said jokingly at her.
Julia rolled her eyes at his remark, he was right, taking the easy route would not have gotten her to this point and the enormous growth she achieved today was something that would last her for years to come now. "Alright smartass, let's go get a drink then."
With a smirk he tapped her forehead but he deliberately chose not to reply to her. Once they got back on the ground she had energy for a thousand and by the time they had made it to the exit Julia had covered the same distance three times already. "Come on… let's goo." She sounded almost like a whining child now, at this point he was just teasing her, or rather she did most of it to herself which he found even more amusing.
Continuing through the streets they approached the center of the city. For a regular evening it wasn't too crowded, most people where probaly attending the match in the arena that was about to begin. Various posters decorated the stone walls and windows with the competing teams. They passed a poster from team BEGA and if he hadn't dragged her to come along she would have taken the time and effort the draw a mustache on Ming-Mings picture.
"Come along now, the poster is not going to bite you." He said while tugging at her sleeve.
Struggling against his idiotic strength she let out a small huff in protest. "That stupid skank and her attitude, it pisses me off."
She continued her rant about all the teams she disliked, which was mostly BEGA, but in all fairness in terms of popularity the old Neoborg team didn't got high up in that list either. Not that he blamed them really. As they proceeded through the streets he got this odd sensation as if somebody was trailing them, he decided to make a turn for an area that had lots of windows and mirrors, while Julia was too busy looking at the clothes in the shop windows he could check the reflection for anything out of the ordinary.
A group of three sparked his interest, they were clad in dark clothes, a little too uniform for his taste. Their stride was steady and they clearly where not here to browse stores either. None of them where unfamiliar when it came to dealing with shady figures, some old henchman of Biovolt still roamed the world in freedom, some denied their involvement with the organization while a handful was still very much willing to serve Boris his ideals. Taking them out was not a problem, it was having Julia find out that bothered him most.
He wanted to move on quickly but on the other side of the street loud shouting and banging was heard from the inside of a bar, it was clear that somebody was fighting. Tala instantly recognized one of the voices and tried to gently nudge her far away from the crowd that had been drawn to the ruckus. However her curiosity made her want to check it out only more now.
"I want to see!" She said to him.
"No.. trust me you do not want to see this." Tala replied in a dull tone.
A little sulking she complied and moved away from the crowd. At that same moment the door swung open and two men came flying to the other end of the street. Tala let out a deep sigh and stepped aside as a silver haired man dashed out of the bar, some shards of glass still hung on his arms and a small trail of blood ran down his face, but it didn't bother him at all. The other two seemed to be in a far worse shape and Julia had a feeling that the silver haired man was behind it all.
It was Brian who had been in a fight again, or lured out a fight, either could be the case. "Absolutely nothing to see here, let's move." He sped up giving Julia a nudge in the back.
"HOLD IT!" A voice shouted from behind.
"So close.." He groaned. Brian had two switches, it was either on or off and there was nothing in between. It made him a formidable fighter but also a walking time bomb, that and he always tried to win from Tala.
Julia turned to see who was calling out at him, the man seemed pretty familiar but she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before. Brian rapidly moved towards Tala, judging by the way he was moving she was unsure if they knew each other or the man just felt like randomly hitting strangers now. The last few meters he picked up the pace ready to throw a first at the redheads direction. With inhuman speed he grabbed hold of his wrist with his left arm and hooked his right arm underneath, he turned his body and kicked one foot from the ground throwing him face flat on the pavement while holding his arm in a twist.
Admitting defeat Brian frantically tapped the ground with his hand. "Alright, alright! You got me."
Tala let go of the arm and helped him back on his feet, from the bar another two men came shouting towards Brian's direction. Tala scoffed, it was obvious that he had been pissing off some people and the Russian underworld was not something he wanted to add to his long list of enemies. "Get your ass up Brian." There was a certain command tone that would make his brothers obliged no matter what, he didn't use it often but in cases like these it was a handy trait.
Brian jumped to his feet and followed Tala who was easily maneuvering now through the crowd, he saw how a lady was walking with their leader, at the moment he wasn't questioning it though and revoked to their old habits by keeping her between both of them. Julia kept her eyes closely on Tala, she noticed how he was different now, his usual uninterested posture changed dramatically. He acted how he was trained to do and in a way she was quite attracted to the soldier vibe he gave her now.
They made a turn to a more quieter alleyway and Brian turned his head to look behind them, there he spotted the three man that had been following Tala and Julia earlier. "You brought some friends with you?." Brian retorted.
He shot a glance in Brian's direction who nodded in reply. "Stay with Brian." Tala said to Julia as he stopped walking. Julia wanted to protest but Brian had already dragged her along.
"We can't leave him." She hissed at him.
"Oh trust me princess, we can and we should." Brian replied.
Tala turned to face the gang that was moving in quickly, the three men halted before him keeping a safe distance. One of the men lashed out an old chain from underneath his coat and the other two took out a pair of brass knuckles. He let out a small sigh of annoyance but it was also a reminder why he should be keeping Julia at some sort of distance, so in a way he was lucky to have run into Brian. He just wasn't too keen in keeping the two of them out of his sight for too long.
All of his senses where sharper than knives now and the world around him was moving in slow-motion, he could almost hear their heartbeats. The main with the chain came in charging first, he tried to lash his weapon around him like a whip but Tala grabbed the metal and twisted his wrist around it a few times. With a strong tug on the chain he pulled the man out his balance and gave a direct hit on his stomach causing the man to lose all the air in his lungs. He shook off the chain and dropped it to the ground, the remaining two where slightly disturbed by how quick their mate was taken out.
"Chyort.." One of them whispered.
Not a first time I've heard that. Slowly he walked towards the two men who were not so confident anymore, his guess was that the man with the chain was their captain of some sort and they were just simple foot soldiers. In response one of them took a long swing at Tala which he stopped with his hand. He gripped strongly around the man's fingers, building up the pressure he saw the man wriggle in pain and fear. He could feel the bones splinter as he dug his fingers in deeper in the hand, the man fell down to his knees begging for him to let go.
His companion tried to attack Tala on the side in an attempt to release him from his grip. All he had to do was take a step back and the man landed a full on blow to the head of the other. Now with both hands free he grabbed the last man by the collar and looked him deeply in the eyes. Although he tried to hide it his body was betraying him entirely as a wide spread grin formed on his face. The man was desperately trying to release from Tala's grip but the inhumane strength he had was simply too much to overcome.
"You're lucky to be catching me on a good day, so just tell me who send you and you can be on your way again." Tala mused at the man.
"Tch, our employer had told us you would be a handful but he never told us we'd be dealing with none other than Boris his old executioner. Just out luck heh." The man spat at his face.
Tala's anger spiked and he pushed the man hard against a brick wall causing the masonry to break. "Who send you." His voice was low and threatening.
Groaning against the pressure on his whole body and neck the man began to laugh. "I swear, the two of you could have been brothers, that same temper, that same look in your eyes. You beybladers really are something I must say, I believe he was even on the same team at some point." Tala had heard enough from the man's mouth and with a powerful swing he threw the man against the wall knocking him down together with the rest of his team.
He took out his phone and send a location marker to Kai's phone and walked away from the scene. It was clear that he had taken a side, it didn't surprise Tala really and the combat skills of those men was dramatically low so his guess they were only there to gather intel. He dusted off the dirt from his clothing and tucked his hands in his pockets. Evening began to fall and a slow fluttering of snow came down on his forehead, taking a deep breath in of the cold crisp air and raised his head to the sky. He was no longer going to wait for Boris to catch up on him, he wasn't going to wait on Kai to backstab him once more, or the reason BEGA has returned, neither was he going to wait on the BBA who were running their own agenda on the side. The only thing he wanted was a future to look forward to one that involved Julia and to make that happen he needed to reclaim his power, shut down the rupture and pull down the curtains of the abbey.
Now walking steadily in one direction he felt his heart tugging at him for leaving her behind but the knowledge that she was under the protection of the Neoborgs now reassured him. He ran a hand through his fiery red hair pushing it back, his signature strands of hair bouncing in front of his face, his stride was steady. The closer he got towards his destination the more static he heard in his head, after all these years he had known it but he just didn't want to admit it to himself. He stopped in front of a large rusty gate, on each side a thick and high brick wall separated the ground from the rest of the world. He pressed his hand against the framework and felt a sensation on his fingertips, he took a small step back and saw how the bars flashed up with a bright blue light. Once it dimmed down he heard a mechanism fall in place and the door slowly opened up.
Clenching his fist together he bravely passed over the threshold and into the Abbey grounds, the air was pressing and an eerie feeling crawled over his skin. It took him quite the effort to ignore his surroundings, out of habit his senses where extremely sensitive right now and then there was the feeling that was twisting his stomach, he knew damn well it was just one small hurdle of many to come but he couldn't turn around now, he had to continue.
Spencer, Brian and Ian where spread over the city but the three immediately knew. Their captain had entered the abbey once again.