Author's Note: Well, it's finally time for the last chapter of O Sister, Where Art Thou! I've had so much fun writing this story, and I hope everyone has thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Like I said, I'm still planning a romance/humor sequel. Depending on the feedback I get, I may make it into just a one-shot. It probably won't be nearly as long as the other two stories in this series even if it isn't a one-shot. I would appreciate any ideas for how you guys want the story to go. Remember that the whole point is to hook up Bryan and Tammy. Well, I've given you all enough food for thought, so here's the final chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. I just own my OCs.
Chapter 15: New Hopes and New Beginnings
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Bit beast mind-chatting with master
"…Tala? Can you hear me?"
"…Look! He's waking up!"
"Quick! Someone go get a doctor!"
Tala wanted to tell the annoying voices in his head to pipe down and let him sleep. He was completely exhausted, and every square inch of his body ached. Then it hit him: 'I…I'm alive! I didn't die after that battle.' He still didn't want to open his eyes for fear that this was all a cruel, sick joke and that maybe he was in the afterlife.
Tala, you're not dead. He had to suppress a chuckle. If Wolborg were still nagging him, then he must really be alive. Tala slowly opened his eyes to see Eri sitting by his bedside, holding onto his hand. A quick glance at his surroundings told him that he was in a hospital room. The rest of his team stood behind Eri, looking just as worried as she was. The Bladebreakers were standing in a corner of the room so as not to crowd Tala's team.
"…Eri?" Tala managed to croak out. His throat felt dry.
"Tala, I'm so glad you're awake! I was worried sick!" Eri exclaimed with a sigh of relief, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Tala couldn't help but smile. She had stayed with him again.
The joyful reunion was interrupted when a doctor entered the room, closely followed by Mr. Dickinson. "Tala, you gave us a quite a scare," Mr. Dickinson remarked. "It's good to see that you're well on your way to recovery."
All the memories of that last battle came rushing back to Tala. "The battle? What happened after I passed out?" Tala pressed.
"You can discuss that later. Right now I need to make sure your wounds are recovering properly," the doctor interjected. Fifteen minutes later, he was satisfied with his patient's progress and left the two teams and Mr. Dickinson alone so they could fill Tala in on what had happened.
Mr. Dickinson began: "Goodness, where should I start? There is so much that needs to be explained."
"How about starting with Boris? What happened after the battle?" Tala insisted.
"Well, after you defeated Tammy, Boris stormed into the stands in a fit of rage and tried to reach the beydish so he could finish you off personally with a gun," Mr. Dickinson replied grimly. "Fortunately the Bladebreakers stopped him long enough for the police to take care of the rest. We managed to catch Voltaire as well before he escaped. He and Boris are both in jail where they belong."
"Wait a minute, you mean Voltaire was in on this too?" Tala asked in disbelief.
"My grandfather was the one who busted Boris out of jail to begin with," Kai stated from his position leaning against the wall. "He was also the mastermind behind the American wing of Biovolt."
"Apparently Voltaire had set up another Abbey in the United States right around the time the one in Russia was built," Michelle added. "That's where Boris fled after he got out of jail and where he trained Tammy's team."
"Tammy…" Tala looked down at his hands, a sorrowful expression on his face. "She said something during our battle, after Pyrix appeared. She said she was…my sister."
"Twin sister, to be exact," Mr. Dickinson corrected. Tala looked at him in disbelief. "You were probably too young to remember, Tala, but you did have a twin sister. Right after you were taken to the Abbey, your parents sent Tammy to the United States to protect her from Boris. Unfortunately, Voltaire tracked her down after you had already made remarkable progress in your training. She's lived and trained there ever since she was six."
"That's…horrible," Bryan stated in a mix of anger and horror.
"Umbra was the key to Boris' hold on her mind," Eri picked up. "He altered Umbra genetically like he did with Wolborg and the other bit beaststo amplify his power, but he also used him to maintain a constant hold on Tammy, Clara, and Amy's minds. When you defeated Umbra, that link was broken. They're no longer under his control, and Umbra is back to normal."
Tala was almost afraid to ask his next question: "Where is Tammy now?"
Ian replied, "She, Clara, and Amy are in the waiting room. Tammy wants to see you, if you'll let her." Tala nodded in affirmation, and Spencer walked out of the room without another word. He returned a few moments later followed by a very timid looking Tammy. She kept her gaze focused downward so she wouldn't have to meet the critical stares of the two teams who had banded together to stop her. Eri stood up and shared a knowing glance with Michelle. As if by wordless consent, everyone filed out of the room, leaving Tala alone with his sister. Tammy felt Eri give her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. At least one person didn't hate her guts.
When Tammy didn't move after several long, awkward moments, Tala said, "Tammy, you wanted to see me?"
Tammy nodded hesitantly and stepped forward to stand beside Tala's bed. "I…wanted to see how you were doing…after the battle and all."
Wow, she's like a completely different person now. It's like she's afraid of me, Tala remarked to Wolborg.
Just talk to her. She needs to know how you feel. Before Tala could ask Wolborg what he meant, he went silent.
Tala forced himself into a sitting position, ignoring the screams of protest from his aching back, and said, "I'll be fine after some rest." Another awkward silence. He just didn't know how to talk to someone who had tried to kill him, murder Eri, split them up, and help Boris fulfill his evil plans. "I…had forgotten that I had a sister."
"I remembered." Tala turned his head to look at Tammy. Her red bangs shielded her eyes from view. "When Voltaire kidnapped me, I believed that you would come find me. But then…when I was older, the scientists used their technology to erase my memories of you. They made me into just another mindless soldier." She nervously fingered her beyblade in her pocket. "I knew nothing else except fighting and dominating my opponents. And then during that last battle, my memory came back, and I couldn't handle all of those emotions at once." Tala could see a single tear trickle down her cheek. "I know I have no right to say this, but I'm so sorry for everything I did to you and your team. I can never begin to atone for all the terrible things I've done."
Tala hesitantly reached up and cupped her cheek with one hand. "When I first met you in the hospital and even on the street, the first thing that I noticed was your eyes. They were so much like my own, and I couldn't figure out why it affected me. Now I know." Tammy finally met Tala's gaze, and, instead of being full of ice and malice, her eyes were pools of sorrow. He could see the unshed tears waiting to fall. "What happened wasn't your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's Boris." Tala smiled warmly at her. "I forgive you, Tammy, so will you give me a chance to be your brother again?"
Tammy grinned from ear to ear and flung her arms around Tala's neck, never wanting to let go. Her unshed tears finally spilled over as Tala wrapped her in his firm embrace and pulled her closer. "Thank you, Tala," she croaked as she cried onto his shoulder. "You don't know how much that means to me." Tala felt a tear of his own make its way down his cheek as he leaned his head against Tammy's and sat with her in silence. Finally he could say that he had a family.
Epilogue…One Month Later
"Wake up, you lazy bums!" Eri shouted as she ran through the hallway, banging on all the bedroom doors in turn. A loud thud from one of the rooms told her that Ian had once again fallen out of bed.
She heard Tala groan from behind one of those closed doors. "Eri, what's the big idea getting us up so early? It's Saturday!"
"Did you forget? Tyson invited us all over to his grandpa's dojo for a cookout!" Eri called back.
"Fine, I'm coming," Tala grumbled. Eri could hear Bryan and Spencer muttering complaints in Russian under their breath as they staggered around their rooms. She figured she had done enough damage for now and headed downstairs to wait for them in the living room.
Soon after Tala was released from the hospital, Mr. Dickinson had surprised everyone by buying a large house in Japan for the Blitzkrieg Boys as thanks for finally bringing down Boris. He said it was the least the BBA could do after all Tala's team had gone through. Tammy, Clara, and Amy had moved in as well, since they had nowhere else to go. Biovolt was gone for good now. The U.S. Abbey was disbanded and all the bladers either returned to their families or entrusted to foster homes.
So much has changed in the past month, Eri said.
Indeed, Pyrix replied. Tala is finally reunited with his sister, Boris is gone for good, and, for the first time, we can finally enjoy some peace and quiet.
Well, it won't be quiet for long. Just wait til Ian gets down here and starts chewing me out for making him fall out of bed again, Eri joked. Pyrix laughed before retreating to the back of Eri's mind.
Tala was the first one to join Eri in the living room. "So what makes Tyson think we would even want to come over for a cookout?" Tala joked.
"I dunno. Maybe he thinks you need to loosen up a bit," Eri teased. She stood up and hugged him. Tala kissed her softly on the lips before they parted. "So are the others coming?"
"They should be down any minute now." Just then they heard several pairs of feet pound down the stairs. "Right on cue." Spencer and Clara came down first, followed by Ian and Amy. Tammy came down next, followed closely by Bryan. Spencer and Clara were now dating, as were Ian and Amy. Tala knew that Bryan harbored feelings for Tammy, but he hadn't come out and admitted it yet. Eri hoped that would change soon, but Tala wasn't too comfortable with the idea of his baby sister (A/N: Yes, Tala's older by a few minutes.) dating someone so soon after he had found her again.
"Ah, this is the life," Eri remarked happily to her best friend as she pillowed her head in her hands.
"Yeah, sometimes it's nice to just get away from everyone and watch the clouds go by," Michelle replied with a content sigh. They had slipped away from the dojo a little while earlier and were now lying on a grassy hillside enjoying the sunshine and watching the clouds. Michelle rolled over on her side so she faced Eri and said, "I wonder who won the pie-eating contest."
Eri chuckled. "Probably Tyson, but I wouldn't count Spencer out just like that." After a brief silence, Eri continued, "You know, it's funny." Michelle gave her a puzzled look. "Once again, you came to my rescue when I was in trouble."
"How so?" Michelle asked.
"Well, when I was still stuck in the Abbey, you got your team and Mr. Dickinson to come bust us out. And then, just before we were about to enter the tournament against Tammy's team, you showed up just in time to help."
"Oh, I didn't do that much. Remember, it was your team that finally brought Boris to justice," Michelle stated. "I just did what I could to cheer you guys on."
"Well, it really helped just knowing that you guys had our backs," Eri replied. She grinned at her friend and said, "Thanks, buddy."
"No problem," Michelle said with a smile. A comfortable silence fell between them as they lay on the grass enjoying the warmth of the sun.
"So here you two are." Michelle and Eri sat up and turned around to see Kai and Tala approaching. "We thought you had ditched us," Kai said with a teasing smirk.
"Nah, we were just talking," Michelle replied as Kai sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Ya know, I think we should go on another vacation," Eri remarked as Tala took a seat next to her.
Tala laughed slightly at that. "Yeah, the last one didn't quite turn out the way we planned." He draped his arm around her shoulders and added, "But for now, being here with you suits me just fine." Eri rested her head on Tala's shoulder and simply enjoyed being with the people she cared about.
After everything they had been through, it was finally over. The Blitzkrieg Boys no longer had to live in fear of Boris. Now the days ahead held new promise for them as they looked ahead to a bright future, and the sun smiled down at the four figures nestled on top of the hillside as the birds sang a merry tune and a gentle breeze whistled through the trees.
The End
Author's Note: WOOHOO! I'm done! I can't believe I'm finally done! (does completed story celebration/victory dance) Wow, it feels so great to finally complete a story that I have been writing for months. Of course, I couldn't have done it without all my wonderful readers and reviewers. You guys are the best! I would really like to thank Ms. Controversy for inspiring me to even consider a sequel in the first place. I simply could not have written this story without her ideas and the continued support of all you reviewers. I hope you'll join me again for the third (and hopefully final) story of this series. Catch ya later!