Chaos: Aah nothing like the satisfaction of finishing a new chapter!

Tala: Yes folks, she actually spent a lot of time on this one.

Chris: Neglecting her other stories as well. *sigh*

Chaos: Well since this story is a little more important than the others. *rolls eyes*

Tonya: Oh of course! Ignore those others stories! *nervous laugh*

Spencer: What's gotten into you?

Tonya: You idiots! You forget she has power over us in the story!

Bryan: Crap I forgot. Well Chaos doesn't own beyblade or its characters. Just her OC's and temporarily Chris.

Kai: Enjoy while you can. Before Chaos decides to start writing us into ridiculous situations.

Chaos: Actually that's not a bad idea! *starts typing*

All: Kai! *glares at Kai who just shrinks away*

~*Overcoming Pain*~

"I need to get out of here! Let me go!" Chris hollered as she threw everything she could get her hands on at the nurses.

The two ran out of the room covering their heads, leaving a fuming girl alone in her room. Chris just pouted as she sat in bed. Not being let out of the hospital was one thing, but they wouldn't even let her get up to move around or visit her friends. It'd been about two weeks since the battle with Aio. After radioing for help someone from the BBA had come to get them and had taken them to get medical attention right away.

Chris had gotten off easy. A few cuts and bruises along with a couple of really deep gashes. Since she'd used up too much energy in her fight, her body was taking longer to heal. Of course she knew the boys were worse off. Spencer's arm and elbow was shattered in a few places, along with one of his shoulder blades. Bryan had several broken ribs, thankfully none puncturing any major organs. Tala's ankle had been snapped clean in half with a few tendons tearing as well. And Kai's arm and shoulder had been snapped horribly. Chris could still see the blood, the bone jutting out, and hear Kai's screams as he writhed in pain.

"Stupid fucking nurses and doctors. The least they could do is tell me how my friends are." She growled as she lied back against her bed.

'You can't blame them for looking out for your best interests Christine.' Daikairi sounded in her head. 'Besides, we both know why you're truly upset…'

At his words, the memory of Tonya throwing herself over the cliff replayed in her mind. She could hear the awful ripping off the skin as a knife was driven through her friend in order to save her. The weakness that had been in Tonya's voice as her strength slowly left her. The final smile…before she'd thrown herself over the edge taking Aio with her. To finally end the nightmare.

"You stupid bitch!" Chris hollered as she flung her pillow against the wall, scattering feathers everywhere. "Why? Why did you have to do it?"

Chris didn't stop the tears that came. More memories came back as she remembered all the good times with her friends, her sister. She hid her face as she cried silent tears. She kept expecting to hear Tonya's voice. To hear another sarcastic remark and for it all to be better. But as much as she wanted to believe, she knew that she had to face the truth. Even Daikairi hadn't been able to sense Shadow after the fall. Which had only meant one thing.

"Miss Christine?" A small timid voice called from behind the door.

"What the hell do you want?" Chris snapped as she glared at the door.

"Y-You have a guest." The timid nurse said as the door opened. Garbed in a nightgown like her pulling an IV behind him was Bryan.

"Hey." He said weakly as Chris wiped her eyes. It surprised her that Bryan was up a moving about.

"How are you feeling?" Chris asked as Bryan sat down in one of the chairs.

"Better now that I'm off morphine. That's why there's nothing to report on the others. They still have some of it running through their systems. I checked up on them before coming here." Bryan yawned as he was careful not to agitate his ribs.

"I see." Chris fell silent as the two just sat there.

"You were thinking about her weren't you?" Bryan asked as he saw the far off look in her eyes. All Chris could do was nod. "I didn't know her like you, or even like Kai and Tala. But I could tell that she was a good person. That's why me and Spencer did so much for you two. Because for the first time in a long time, we had some other than ourselves to care about."

"I just can't believe she's actually gone." Chris sniffled as Bryan slowly rose and moved to the bed.

"Just try to remember her as she was. From what I do know, no person ever wants someone they care about crying over them." Bryan awkwardly put an arm around Chris as the two sat there, enjoying the silence.

Days passed as recovery was slow. Slowly each one of them was taken off the pain killers and was brought back to the real world. Each remembering the horrific events that had led up to now. Each of them trying to fight off the temptation of the drugs, to go numb, to take the pain away, and to allow them to forget even if it was only temporarily. But they knew that they'd have to face reality sooner or later. And it was always best to get things over with.

Eventually they were released from the hospital. All stayed together, not quite ready to be on their own yet. Chris went with the boys back to Russia and stayed in Kai's mansion. There were many nights where she woke up screaming her lungs out. Nightmares always plagued her. And Kai had always been there to calm her down. She would cry into his chest until her eyes ran dry and would eventually fall into a dreamless sleep. And the cycle would repeat all over the next night. The boys were patient with her. She'd just lost the most important person in her life. They could only imagine what it was like to feel the pain she felt.

It was almost as if Chris had become a zombie. She would barely speak to them, barely react to anything, and hardly showed interest in anything. Many times they would find her in her room staring out the window with the same dazed look upon her face. Daikairi had done his best to help his master, but he could only help her so much since she wasn't even willing to help herself.

"Chris, Chris? Please mistress respond." Daikairi begged as he slowly rose out of his new blade.

He sat on the bed as Chris leaned against the window, just staring out at the snow. He looked to see the tray of food that someone had brought up for her still untouched. So was the water that sat on her nightstand. This would be the third day she'd refused to eat as she drew deeper into the darkness of her mind.

"She's gone…she's really gone…" Chris whispered as Daikairi looked on at the pitiful state his master had fallen into.

"You have to snap out of it Chris. Please, if not for your sake than for the others around you. Can't you see that your self-destruction is hurting others around you?" Daikairi pleaded as he ruffled his feathers.

"What's the point to anything anymore?" Chris slowly turned towards her beast. The look of hopelessness filled her eyes. That was the breaking point.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Daikairi boomed as he squawked at her. It had been enough to snap her out of her daze. "What would Tonya saw if she saw you like this? Do you honestly think this is how you should honor her memory? You think her spirit is happy seeing you in this sorry state?" Daikairi asked as Chris slowly began thinking about his questions.

"I just can't forgive myself for what happened. It should've been me at the end of that blade, not her. I should've been the one to go over the edge. Tonya should still be alive." Chris hissed as she dug her nails into her arms, drawing blood. That night, she once again had to contend with another dream.

Immediately Chris realized this dream was different from all the others. Her usual nightmares consisted of her watching her friend die over and over again. This time she found herself inside her room, staring out the same window she always did. But she made no effort to stop it. Feeling that it might resume its normal course once everything got started.

"Hey! Mind telling me what the hell you're doing?"

Chris slowly turned to see her fallen friend standing before her. But she didn't let excitement build inside her. Because even though Tonya stood before her, she still had a gaping hole in her chest with blood surrounding it. Chris slowly turned to stare back out the window as her pain and grief began to take hold. But something surprised her. A firm hand gripped on to her shoulder and forced her to turn around and face the other way. Before Chris could protect herself the hand had connected firmly with her face and sent her flying. Chris rolled a few times before stopping a few feet away.

"What the fuck was that for?" Chris hollered as she held her face, glaring up at Tonya who still had her hand out.

"For being such a dumbass." Tonya smirked as she finally lowered her hand. "Now I'll ask again. Mind telling me why you've been such a mopey little bitch lately?"

"You of all people should know why." Chris mumbled as she let her face go.

"I'm sorry, what was that? Care to speak up?" Tonya held a hand to her ear, poking fun at her. Chris felt her anger explode as she stood up to face her.

"Jeez even when you're dead you're still a fucking bitch!" Chris hollered, not even realizing what she said. She quickly covered her mouth as Tonya busted out laughing at her friend. "Mind explaining what's so funny?" Chris asked as she turned a slight shade of red.

"You! See that's the Christine I knew. Not this whiney little bitch who dwells on the past." Tonya smiled as Chris averted her gaze.

"How can you joke about this? You're dead. This isn't a time to be laughing." Chris said softly as she curled her hands into fists.

"I don't see why not. Even death has its lighter sides. Like for one you don't have to worry about appearances anymore." The brunette motioned to the hole in her chest as Chris felt her anger rise again.

"See there you go again! How can you be so chipper when you're the one who's dead? When it should've been me!" Chris screamed at the top of her lungs as she closed her eyes.

"So you're back to blaming yourself huh?" Tonya sighed as she shook her head. "You really are a dumbass Christine. Blaming yourself won't change anything and you know it."

"What am I supposed to do? Tell me! Because we both know I'm right!" Chris snapped as she looked at Tonya who just grinned.

"No you're wrong. What we both know is that what happened was my own fault. I threw my life away. To save you and the others. Think about it, if you'd taken the blade you would've died for sure. All of us would've been too shocked to do anything and Aio would've picked us off one by one. Course I didn't know this till now, because all I thought of at the moment was that I refused to let him hurt you. Besides I was already mortally injured. So why let two die when only one had to?" Tonya shrugged as Chris slowly began to accept that she was right.

"I know why you sacrificed yourself. But it doesn't help the pain any." Chris whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"All you can do is try." Tonya whispered just as softly as she wrapped her arms around her friend. "The pain will never go away. But it will lessen. You have to be strong, for yourself, for our friends, and for Daikairi. All of them need you just as much as you need yourself. Just remember me for who I was. That's all I can ask."

As the dream slowly faded away, Chris snapped awake. She looked around the dark room frantically. Searching for any signs that her friend might still be there. But it was only a dream, meaning that Tonya had faded when she had awoken. Chris reached up to her face where Tonya had slapped her. Wondering how much of it had been real and how much she'd supplied on her own.

"Just remember me for who I was…" the words rang in Chris's head as a soft smile graced her lips.

"Chris? Is everything alright? Your mind seems a bit confused." Daikairi asked as he materialized before his master. She turned to him as she remembered the conversation with Tonya. Suddenly realizing how much she'd done wrong by Daikairi and the others.

"Daikairi…I've been such a damn fool…" Chris felt tears welling up once more as she threw herself at her partner who wrapped his wings around her as he cried into his feathers. It had been the breakthrough she'd need.

As the saying goes, time heals all wounds. And time slowly began its repair on Chris. She slowly began to deal with the pain, and was managing to keep it in control. The nightmares only occurred every once in a while now. She was able to think about her fallen friend without bursting into tears now. It still hurt and she knew it always would, but at least she was healing.

Things slowly returned to as normal as they could be. She kept herself busy taking care of the guys since they were still healing. Chris did whatever she could to help make things easier on them. After all, they'd been there for her when she'd needed help healing. Now it was her turn. Slowly a strong bond formed between all of them. Strange how it had to be created out of the death of a friend. But whenever the pain began to grow again, she would remember what Tonya had said to her and she would persevere.

_._._

"How's your ankle?" Chris asked as she handed Tala something to drink. It'd been about a month and a half since they'd gotten out of the hospital.

"Better. Though it'll still be some time before I'll be able to walk again." He took a sip of the warm tea as he rested his foot on the couch.

"You really don't have to play nurse all the time you know?" Spencer chuckled as he took the tea from Chris with his good arm. He was out of a sling and in a brace now.

"It's no trouble really you guys. You've already done plenty for me. So this is my way of thanking you." She said as she handed Bryan his tea. He was the first one healed out of the boys.

"Does anyone else hear that?" Kai asked as he rose to peek out the curtains, being careful of his still injured arm.

All but Tala went to look out the window to see what was going on. A sleek black car had just pulled into the driveway. All of them went to sit back down, figuring it was another detective coming to question them about all that had happened. Once they'd healed enough, they'd contacted the BBA to explain all that had gone on. Many of the BBA's higher ups, along with the police, had been making visits to them quite often. They just figured it was someone to conduct a follow up on their injuries and to see how they were getting along. Kai let the curtain fall as he moved to return back to his seat. That is….until he heard a familiar voice.

"Come on Fang you sissy. You're a wolf you should like the cold." A female voice rang out as Kai pulled the curtains back with force, almost ripping them off.

The others were too far back and hadn't heard what he had. They watched as shock crossed his face as he stared out the windows. He kept staring as the others all wondered what was getting him so worked up.

"It…It can't be." Kai whispered as he kept staring.

"Whenever you feel like sharing the secret with the rest of us." Tala asked, annoyed that Kai was acting so stupidly.

"Wow, I guess the snow is a little too deep for you." All of them froze, this time hearing the voice as a familiar laugh rang out.

Chris was the first one to react. She'd placed the tray down and ran to the door, flinging it open. At first she couldn't believe her eyes. Standing before her, bent over laughing at a wolf pup, was her fallen friend. Or so she'd thought. Tonya slowly turned around to see Chris staring at her, mouth agape. She smiled at her as Chris slowly started walking towards her, eventually breaking into a run.

"Tonya!" the albino melted in her friends arms as the hugged each other tightly.

"You don't know how much I missed you guys." Tonya said through tears as she squeezed her sister tightly before releasing her.

"Unbelievable…" Tala whispered as the others all raced into the snow to greet Tonya.

"Hey everyone." She laughed as they all surrounded her, asking her a million questions at once.

But they all fell silent when they heard the sound of crutches struggling through the snow. All of them looked up to see Tala trying to make his way towards them. But the snow was too thick for him to maneuver in. He lost his balance and began to tumble forward. Reacting quickly Tonya ducked under him and caught him before he could fall.

"We really gotta stop doing this." Tala grinned, referring to when she'd caught him once before under less merrier circumstances.

"Glad to see you missed me red." Tonya smiled as she straightened them up.

"Um…who's this little guy?" Bryan asked, squatting down near the wolf pup who just growled at him slightly.

"He's the reason I'm here now. Fang it's ok. They're all friends." She smiled as the wolf relaxed around the others and began sniffing them all.

"Why don't we get out of the cold?" Kai suggested as he led the way back in, Tonya and Tala bringing up the rear.

Once inside Tonya slowly started telling her story, starting from her fall from the cliff. She quickly gave them a rundown of how Shadow had saved her, slowly trying to force her body to work again, befriending Fang, and finally making her way back to civilization. It had been a long and slow journey, but she'd made it. Against all odds she was still alive and had managed to find her way back to them.

After sharing their own story with Tonya, they all decided to head to bed. It'd been a long day for them all. Bryan helped Tala up the stairs as Tonya went to find herself a room. After finding one that had a clear sight of the moon, Fang had made up her mind for her. From the way he ran around the room, jumped on the bed, and then the window seat to paw at the window to see the moon, she decided they would stay there. She kicked off her boots and combed out her hair before heading to bed. She crawled under the covers, Fang soon joining her on the bed.

"Well boy, we did it. We're finally home." She kissed the little wolf pup as he yawned. It wasn't long before the two were sound asleep safe, and warm, once again.

She's back with the group! Couldn't decide if I should talk about Tonya's journey or how the others were doing. So I started with both combined and eventually just stuck with this idea. Well that's all for now. Review folks!