O Sister, Where Art Thou?
Author's Note: Hey, guys! Silvan Arrow is finally back! And now I would like to present the much-anticipated sequel to When the Ice Melts! I must admit, I wasn't planning on writing a sequel, but you wonderful reviewers gave me some great ideas! So this story is dedicated to all of you! And school is STILL trying to rule my life. Ugh…senior thesis. But I have Monday off thanks to President's Day, so I should get a lot done in the way of school this weekend. This first chapter picks up right after the segment of GRev where Tala, Bryan, and Spencer challenge Boris' Bega recruits and then get stomped by Garland. Poor Tala…
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. However, I wish I owned Wolborg right now so I could use him to cover my whole town with snow and ice! MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA! Alas, that is but a dream…
Chapter 1: How Did It Come to This?
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Bit beast mind-chatting with its master
How did it come to this?
That was all Eri could think about as she sat beside Tala's bedside, holding his cold hand, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed through a respirator. This was how Eri had spent the past week. After battling so hard to try and bring down BEGA, Garland had still defeated Tala so easily. The rest of the team had rushed Tala to the hospital after the battle, and he had remained in a coma ever since. Eri gave a start when she felt a hand on her shoulder but relaxed when she saw that it was Bryan. Spencer stood behind him.
"Eri, you really should get some rest," Bryan said gently. "You haven't left the hospital at all for the past two days."
Eri shook her head. "I can't just leave him. It's my fault he got hurt so bad in the first place," she replied. "You guys go on ahead. I'll be fine." With that, she turned back around and continued watching Tala.
Bryan and Spencer glanced at each other sadly. They knew it was useless to try and change her mind. Spencer sighed in defeat and said, "We're going back to the hotel, but call us if you need anything." Eri nodded absently, and her teammates turned and left without another word.
Eri had traveled around the world with her teammates for the past three years. Right after leaving the Abbey, they had changed their team name from Demolition Boys to Blitzkrieg Boys. It had been their final act of separation from their past. Since then, they had traveled around the world, battling in tournaments and improving their standings in the beyblade world. When theTag Team World Championships had come up, Kai had joined their team as Tala's partner. Ian had taken the opportunity to visit some long-lost relatives, but heplanned on rejoining the team soon.All of the team members had matured during the last three years. Eri had grown taller, and her face had replaced its childish appearance with that of a young woman. She was fifteen, almost sixteen, no longer the frightened youngbrunette who hadgrown up in the Abbey, barely trying to survive.
Pyrix once again tried to reason with her master. Eri, you know as well as I do that this was not your fault. We all decided as a team to challenge BEGA, and Tala made his choice during that battle with Garland. So please don't torture yourself like this.
I know, Eri replied. But I don't want Tala to be alone and confused when he wakes up. If staying here will help him come around, so be it. But another thought haunted the back of Eri's mind and refused to give her mind a moment's reprieve. She had thought that she was finally free of him after all these years, but after all this time, he still haunted her footsteps…
Boris was back…
Flashback…
"Boris…" Tala hissed as he tore the newspaper in half and threw it to the ground in disgust. He was completely oblivious to the other people walking through the park without a care in the world.
Bryan picked up one half of the newspaper and asked in disbelief, "How could this happen? I thought Boris was in jail! Mr. Dickinson personally secured his arrest warrant three years ago!"
"Boris must have friends in high places if he escaped so soon," Spencer mused.
"So what do we do now?" Eri asked, turning to her captain.
Tala met Eri's eyes with a fierce gaze. "That's easy. We go straight to the BEGA headquarters and shut him down."
End flashback…
It had been such a deceptively simple plan at first. At least that's how Bryan and Spencer had stated it, but deep down they probably knew that four beybladers couldn't possibly hope to shut down a global organization like BEGA. And then there was Boris. Anything bearing his signature meant trouble, despite his claims to be a changed man. No one who had previously made his living by torturing beybladers and brainwashing them into mindless soldiers could possibly change so quickly. At first their plan looked like it would succeed. But their troubles were only beginning…
Flashback…
Bryan and Spencer looked down at their beyblades in shock. Garland had defeated them both in one fell swoop of his Radiant Thunder attack. Seaborg lay motionless in the water, while Falborg had stopped spinning on top of a rock. The force of the attack had even melted part of Falborg's attack ring. Garland looked cockily across the dish at Tala. "It looks like it's just you and me now, Tala." Tala growled. "But why don't we make this a little more interesting? I'll take you and the girl on at once," he added, pointing to Eri. "You two shouldn't be much more challenging than your pathetic teammates."
"Take that back!" Eri exclaimed vehemently. "And I do have a name!"
"Save your breath, Eri," Tala said. She looked at him in disbelief. "There's no point in reasoning with him. If he wants to settle this in the dish, so be it." He attached Wolborg to his launcher. "Let's do this, Garland!"
"Don't be in such a rush," Garland said. "People have paid good money to see this match." As if on cue, people flooded the stands and filled the seats to capacity in a matter of minutes. Even DJ Jazzman rushed in to call the match. A new beydish rose up out of the ground with a fountain in the middle. Garland took his place at one end of the dish, and Tala and Eri positioned themselves across from him.
"Are you all ready to beyblade?" DJ Jazzman called out to the crowd. All the spectators cheered. "Then let's get it on! 3…2…1…Let it Rip!" The three competitors launched their beyblades simultaneously. The battle was on.
20 minutes later…
The battle continued to rage on, but Tala and Eri were slowly losing ground. As Garland lashed out with a myriad of martial art moves, Apollon mimicked his moves and slammed Wolborg and Pyrix ruthlessly. None of their attacks had any effect on Garland. Tala had used Novae Rog twice, and Eri had used Ethereal Flames and Oblivion Inferno; however, Apollon still showed no signs of slowing down, and Tala and Eri were running out of tricks. Tala and Eri's breath came in shallow gasps as they continued to fight through the sheer strength of their will. Eri felt like she was punched in the gut as Apollon slammed Pyrix into the air, only to have her beyblade bounce off the iron fence barrier and land back in the dish. This is brutal, Eri thought. Hang in there, Pyrix.
I can't take much more of this, Pyrix replied weakly. We have to try and end this quickly.
Eri glanced at Tala, who nodded by wordless consent. They called up their last reserves of strength for one last stand. "Let's go, Wolborg!" Tala shouted.
"Give it your best one last time, Pyrix!" Eri encouraged. Both beyblades picked up torque and charged for Apollon.
Tala and Eri called in unison, "Howling Tempest!" Pyrix and Wolborg emerged in a swirling tornado of fire and ice and collided with Apollon in a massive explosion that blinded the audience for several long moments.
When the smoke cleared, Tala and Eri gasped in horror. "No way…" Tala muttered. Apollon was still spinning.
Garland had sustained a few minor cuts on his arms and was breathing more heavily. "I'm impressed," Garland stated condescendingly. "You actually did some damage, but it's time to end this." Apollon knocked Wolborg and Pyrix into the air, leaving them completely defenseless. A red aura surrounded his body as he prepared to unleash his ultimate attack. "Radiant Thunder!"
Tala turned to Eri and muttered, "Forgive me." Before she could say anything, he shoved her away from the battlefield as Wolborg used the last of his energy to knock Pyrix out of the dish and onto the floor where Tyson and his friends were standing. Eri landed in a heap on the floor and could only watch as Tala and Wolborg took the full force of Apollon's attack. The light generated by Garland's beyblade hid the bladers and the dish from view for several agonizing moments. The next thing she knew, Tala was knocked away from the dish and landed on his back several yards away from the dish. When the light finally dissipated, Wolborg had stopped spinning.
Tyson, Max, Daichi, and Kenny rushed to Tala's side while Hilary helped Eri to her feet. "Are you okay, Eri?" Hilary asked worriedly as she supported Eri's weight.
"I'm fine," Eri replied, bending over to retrieve her beyblade. "What about Tala?" Hilary helped Eri over to where Tyson was supporting Tala. Tala was telling him someone about Boris and Barthez, but Eri only caught the last bit of their conversation. She let go of Hilary and fell to her knees next to Tala. "Tala…why?" Eri asked as tears pooled in her eyes. "Why did you sacrifice yourself?"
"Eri…you're okay?" Tala asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Eri nodded as he weakly reached up a hand and placed the palm against her cheek. "Good…" His hand dropped to his side, and everything went black…
End flashback…
"I'm never going to forgive Boris for what he did to you," Eri said. "But I guess we're gonna have to rely on Tyson again. After you passed out, he challenged Boris to a five-on-five battle. Typical. He never thinks before he acts. Anyway, the Justice Five Match is in 3 weeks. He's doing it to get revenge for what Boris did to you." She didn't know why she was talking to Tala. He probably couldn't hear her anyway. Still, she thought that there might be the smallest chance that he could hear her, and right now she was willing to try anything. "But then there's Kai. He showed up after the match and dropped the bombshell on Tyson by joining BEGA. I guess he's willing to put up with Boris as long as it lets him fight Tyson again. After all, that's the whole reason he joined us for the Tag Team World Championships."
She turned abruptly in her seat when she heard the door creak open. Her eyes widened as Mr. Dickinson walked in. "How is Tala doing?" Mr. Dickinson asked.
"He still won't wake up."
"I'm so sorry to hear that. I can't help but feel responsible for this. This wouldn't have happened if the BBA were still around," Mr. Dickinson said sadly. He paused to look at Eri. "But you don't seem to be in good condition either. It looks like you haven't gotten a decent night's sleep in days."
"I know, but I can't leave Tala alone. What if he wakes up and someone's not here?"
"Then let me keep watch tonight," Mr. Dickinson said. Eri started to protest, but he cut her off. "I mean it. You'll put yourself at risk if you don't get some rest tonight."
Eri sighed in defeat. "All right, you win. I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning, though." She stood up to leave, letting Mr. Dickinson take her seat by Tala's bedside. "Thanks…for everything." With that, she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
As Eri walked along the sidewalk back to the hotel, the fresh air managed to lift her spirits slightly. I wonder when the Chief's gonna be finished repairing Wolborg, she mused.
I'm not sure, Pyrix replied. He was able to fix my beyblade easily enough with the few spare parts he had, but Wolborg was badly damaged. Without access to new parts, it may be a long time.
Just another part of Boris' plan to take over the sport of beyblading, Eri thought viciously. Just then Eri's legs started to give out, but a set of strong arms caught her before she hit the ground. She looked up to see Bryan supporting her, with Spencer close behind. "Bryan? Spencer? What are you guys doing here?"
"Just lending a hand," Bryan smirked, keeping a hold on Eri until she regained her footing. "Pyrix thought you would like some company." Eri couldn't help but smile. She felt lucky to have such good friends. She let them lead her back to the hotel and gratefully entered her room. She hadn't realized just how tired she was. She flopped face-first onto her bed and instantly let her exhausted body fall into a deep sleep.
End chapter 1
Author's Note: Well, how did you like it? I hope I haven't confused anyone by starting in the middle of GRev. The next chapter or two will cover the last bit of the season to set up for the main plot. Remember that the last episode of GRev doesn't really reveal what happened to Boris. He just kinda runs away. Besides, I've wanted to write this particular segment for a really long time, and I finally figured out how I could incorporate it into the story. I am still open for ideas for this story and for members to join my C2. Please review!