. The final real chapter for After. I hope you've enjoyed.

Kai: Heh, you're pathetic.

Me: Shut up. Don't think I've forgotten about you, Tyson and the Pink dress. I think my friend's character has one you can borrow.

Kai: O.o

Me: Good birdy.

Kai: (Growl)

Tala: Sesshi-chan does not own Beyblade, Tyson, Kai or even the pink dress. That belongs to Kita's character Makura… A strange soul…

"Haze Training?" Mao repeated curiously, eyes wide. Kai shook his head.

"I never really got it. I left when they started training me. But Bryan and Tala were haze-trained from about three years old."

A sigh pulled itself from Kai's lips and hung in the air like a dark cloud filled with the sorrow from a lifetime of regrets. His eyes softened and Mao swore she could see the child he once was lingering inside, filled with sadness over the terrible fate of his two friends. Mao's eyes were sympathetic. She understood Kai's pain very well, having assumed the supposedly heartless, Demolition Boys were evil and abandoning them to their cruel and unjust fate. Seeing Tala and Bryan the way they were now, bloody and stubborn to the last when it came to their teammates, only served to make Mao feel more and more guilty about what she had thought about them. She had just judged them, and judged wrong, by what she really knew about both of the Russian Beybladers.

"I'll ask." Rei said, dispersing the cloud of depression and turning toward the angry Tala. Tala was still arguing with Lee, tearing the Chinese's arguments apart one by one. Lee was getting more and more uncomfortable, especially under the furious, scarlet gaze of his younger sibling. Ian's eyes were accusing, daring Lee to contradict Tala, to deny the awful truth written in the red-head's eyes.

Spencer, still leaning up against the wall, had a small smirk on his face, knowing that his teammates would cut Lee down to size. Emotionally speaking, of course. In Spencer's opinion, Lee was a midget already. Then again, the tall blonde was about six foot, three compared to Lee's five foot, six.

"You believe that if you want something, it will come." He snarled, fangs bared and wolf-like. "But we learned the hard way that you have to earn everything that you get. The world is so much colder then you can imagine." Lee shifted slightly. Mao cringed slightly, feeling Lee's discomfort.

The tiger tugged the injured boy's sleeve. Tala froze, eyes frightened. "Sorry." Tala's shoulders relaxed by an inch.

"What is it?" He questioned, still glaring at Lee. Seamlessly, Bryan took up the argument with the other boy.

"You think you know so much." He paused and ignored Lee's complaint. "You don't know what it's like to sacrifice," He said, continuing Tala's case.

"We've all made sacrifices." Lee protested hollowly, aware of Bryan's impending response. Bryan laughed mockingly.

"To learn how to launch your blade, you gave up a few weeks. To launch our blades, we gave up our innocence. We became weapons. We got scars, inside and out." The younger Neko-Jin added his own opinion into the pause.

"The scars I have are nothing." He told his brother. Lee sputtered nervously as Bryan continued to attack his position.

"Bryan's not happy." Kai mentioned. Rei chuckled.

"You think?" He turned to the older boy. "Kai mentioned something he called "Haze-Training". He told me to ask you?" Tala frowned and sighed softly.

"Haze Training is a very terrible and very powerful style of beyblading developed by BIOVOLT. To be a Haze Blader, you need to have an offensive style and an elemental bit-beast." His eyes went to the stadium outside the window.

"Do your teammates have it?" She asked with interest. Tala shook his head.

"Thankfully, no. Even though Spence is an element blader, he has a defensive style so he's out. And Ian's not an element blader even though his style is the right kind on it's own. Bryan is though." He paused. "And I can't thank you enough for breaking his training." He said, lowering his head in humility. Several strands of blood-red hair fell past ocean blue eyes, hiding them from view.

"Is Haze a bad thing?" The boy in question asked, disconcerted by Tala's thanks. The red-head nodded firmly.

"Yes. Haze Training relies on disrupting the nerve pathways to minimize sensations of pain and heightens adrenaline. The reason they call it Haze is because the blader goes into a Haze, where the only goal is to fight. You don't feel, you don't care." He sighed. "We can't have a friendly battle, we can't just train. Haze always kicks in." Mao grimaced.

"That doesn't sound good."

"It isn't." A tear leaked from his blue eyes. "The rest of the world thinks we're monsters for being like this. We can't control it." He wiped the tear away. "We hate ourselves as much as the world hates us." The girl frowned.

"Don't hate yourself."

"We do already."

"Please don't."

He laughed softly. "Too late."

"Why would BIOVOLT do that?" She asked.

Tala chuckled bitterly. "BIOVOLT doesn't care about it's bladers. It strengthens you because your adrenaline is heightened, but it destroys you inside." He glanced at Bryan. "Bry's lungs got weakened even more from the Haze Style. That's why he's so sick right now, because he can't tell when he pushes his lungs too far."

"How did it break?" Rei enquired, heart heavy.

Tala grinned fiercely. "Kai's training was lost when he left. You broke Bry's when Drigger protected you. If this world is kind to us, it will be broken for good. I expect it to reappear." He added sarcastically. "It broke because you shocked Bry from the Haze. Falborg responded and pulled back."

"Is yours still there?" Mao asked in concern.

"No." The seventeen year old smiled even more. "Boris had to undo his own work on me. To make me into "Cyber-Tala" he had to deprogram the Haze."

"You're still a cyborg?" Kai frowned. Tala shook his head.

"The program is too expensive to use on a broken, useless tool like me. Boris deactivated it. First thing he did once I lost." He smiled more. "I haven't been free of the Haze in fourteen years, it feels good."

"I'm glad." Rei muttered. "That's not only completely and utterly wrong but it's totally against the spirit of the game. It's more than winning and losing. It's not supposed to be something forced on young children." Tala laughed emptily.

"To BIOVOLT, victory is the only way. Defeat means death." A shudder tore itself from his damaged body, "Or worse." His eyes met Bryan's. The teen shut his mouth instantly and made his way to his friend's side.

"What is it, Tal?" He asked in a soft voice. The boy shivered.

"It's too much." Bryan frowned.

"Stop that, Tal." He took Tala's arm and guided him to his own bed, which was flanked by Spencer and Ian, glaring daggers at Lee.

Kevin and Gary stood uncomfortably behind their leader. Ian stepped forward quickly to take Tala's other arm. His face softened instantly. Kevin shifted nervously as he remembered helping Rei into the room.

"They aren't so different." He said quietly to Gary who nodded.

"I guess so." The youngest White Tiger stared at his friend.

"They're just like us."

Lee bit his lip and looked across at his sister, who was watching the Demolition Boys with soft eyes.

As Bryan and Ian helped Tala to the bed, Spencer stepped forward and helped Bryan lift Tala into it. Tala's face was ashen again.

"What is it?" The blonde asked. Tala cringed.

"Ankle." He said tersely. "Damn Boris." Bryan snorted.

"Understatement." He turned to Lee. "Just to point out. We hate Boris much more, and with more reason, then you ever could." The Chinese nodded to his team and Kevin and Gary followed him quickly from the room, leaving Mao and Rei within with all the five Russian Beybladers.

Instantly, Tala's pale face seemed to crumple in on itself. The eyes were haunted and the mouth drawn tightly. The mask of coolness and control shattered and broke apart. Bryan frowned nervously.

"How bad?" He asked. Tala's eyes closed.

"Bad."

"Emotionally?" He asked.

"Like crap." The other sighed, exhausted eyes opening again. "I don't know how much more I can take."

"It's adrenaline." Bryan frowned again. "Damn them."

"The scientists for BIOVOLT," Kai explained quietly before striding quickly to the door. He opened it.

"What are you doing?" Ian asked, being the nosy one.

"Getting a doctor." Was the only response before the door shut. Tala grimaced.

"Doctors again." Bryan shrugged.

"You need it, Tal." Tala frowned.

"Doesn't mean I got to like it." Rei glanced around the room.

"What do you want to do when you get out of the hospital?" He asked, trying once more to lighten the mood.

Tala closed his eyes for a moment.

"I want to be able to watch the sky." He said wistfully. "I want to watch the stars come out and the moon come up without being afraid."

"I want to watch the sunrise." Bryan offered. "I'd like to see the world waking up without being so terrified of what will come."

"I want to be able to sleep past three A.M." Ian suggested, with the same amount of relish as his teammates. "I wanna be able to sleep without worrying that Boris is going to come in and beat any of us for it." Spencer nodded, knowing well the feelings that his companions were expressing.

"I want to know that there's something more out there." He said, eyes reflective, "That we could do more then blade and we can do more then just be slaves to some sadistic, insane megalomaniac."

Tala's blue eyes smiled at his teammates.

"I promise, we'll do those things." He said softly.

"As soon as you're better," Bryan promised. "I know I'd rather die then go back to BIOVOLT and the Abbey." Tala nodded wearily.

"I agree." His voice was haggard and exhausted. His eyelids sagged as his body slumped forward slightly.

"STOP THAT!" Mao cried. "Stop talking like you're going to die!" Tala gazed at her through ancient eyes.

"Too late." He said quietly. "I am." Bryan frowned. He grabbed both of Tala's hands. Bryan bit his lip tensely.

"Hold on." He whispered. "I know you can, don't let him win. If you give up, if you die, Boris wins." His lip was bleeding, crimson tears from the gash in his mouth, accentuating the paleness of his face.

"I don't know." The older teen murmured softly, tightly gripping his friend's hands with his pale ones.

Rei was looking concerned, mother-hen side kicking in and was glancing with apprehension at Tala's leg.

Ian was twisting his fingers together. His nervousness was contagious, rubbing off on the calm blonde beside him.

The door opened with a bang as Kai rushed in with a medic. The woman snapped to action, pulling the once pure white bandages off of Tala's ankle to get a better look. The wound was pouring blood, and Mao could see something white sticking out.

With a sudden nasty lurch of her stomach, she recognized it as a bone. One of the fragments from Tala's leg was jutting out through the torn skin.

"GET HIM TO SURGERY!" The woman yelled. "We'll have to take off the foot!" Mao cringed harshly as the doctor lifted Tala onto a stretcher. They raced the redhead out of the room in a flurry of sound, leaving his friends behind.

"Whoa." The only thing Rei could manage at the moment. "I hadn't figured he was that bad underneath." Bryan glared at him.

"Tala hides his pain from us." He snarled. "He never shows when he's hurting." He frowned darkly. "Tala's not going to be pleased about loosing his foot. He's going to hate people looking at him like a cripple"

"He won't be a cripple." Mao said solemnly, getting agreement from her brother.

"Yeah." Ian agreed. "Tala's no cripple and he's never going to be one." He vowed, his red eyes serious. Bryan nodded.

"You got a point, Shrimp." He said, laughing. Mao smiled faintly. Ian nodded as well, moving to stand beside Mao instead of his usual place beside his other teammate. Mao put her arm around his shoulder in an unexpected gesture of reassurance.

"Tala will be ok, Ian." She said gently. He nodded.

"I know." He grinned up at her, "You know that you can call me Jiang if you want to, right?" He asked. Mao paused, her eyes widened as he said those words. Did he understand how much it meant to her to know that he was still her little brother? She didn't know, but she did know that in that moment, she truly felt herself to be his sister.

"Thank you, Jiang." She told him earnestly, "It means a lot to me." He grinned even wider, his eyes more relaxed then she had ever seen them.

"I know." He shrugged. "You earned it, by caring about what happens to Tala and all…" He trailed off. Rei smiled along with Mao.

"I'm worried." Kai said, breaking the silence with the first words he had said since he left to find a doctor.

"Tala will make it." Bryan insisted, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself the most.

"Of course he will." Spencer said comfortingly before silence descended on all of them like a rain cloud.

Hours later, the nurse found her way back into the silent room. All eyes were apon her. The crimson of Kai's eyes, the scarlet of the youngest Neko-Jin, the golden gaze of the older two, the greenish-blue eyes of the tallest, and the pale, worried eyes of Bryan which watched her attentively.

Mao held her breath, hoping for the best and secretly afraid of the worst, Tala's pale face still lingering in her mind.

"Your friend's surgery is over." The nurse announced. Instantly, she was hounded with questions from all sides.

"How is he?" Bryan asked roughly.

"How did it go?" Ian asked, concerned. His sister nodded, with her arm still wrapped around his shoulder.

"How is his leg?" Came the question from Spencer.

The nurse held up her hands.

"He's fine." She answered. "Your friend is pretty tough for a teenager," She paused, "More like for anyone." They all nodded. "Although I am concerned with the amount of scarring on his body." She trailed off. "Is there an explanation for that degree of scarring?" Bryan nodded slowly.

"Tala gets beat by our guardian. He always takes the heat for us so he's got a lot of scars. Our guardian was Boris Balcov." The woman nodded.

"I received a note from one Mr. Stanley Dickenson to that effect." She informed them formally. "He told me of Tala's condition" She paused, "And the role that Boris Balcov played in his injuries."

"But how is he?" Bryan insisted, a note of worry in his voice. "Did you have to take off the foot? How is the rest of his leg?" She smiled.

"We had to take his foot off at the ankle." She told them. "There were some complications from that kind of break and we couldn't save it. Its his choice whether he wants to keep his ankle and wear a brace on it, or whether he wants to have his ankle amputated as well and wear a prosthetic limb." Bryan frowned.

"I know Tala's answer. He'll keep the leg." He said firmly. "I've known him since I was born and he's too proud to lose it."

"I see." The nurse replied. "Within half an hour, your friend should be awake and you will be allowed to see him. In the meantime, the doctors would like to see you," She gestured to Bryan, "About your lungs." He grimaced.

"Alright." He turned to Mao. "Can you keep Ian, Kai and Spence in line?" He asked, delegating the responsibilities to her. Ian sighed. She grinned widely, showing sharp, cat-like teeth, and nodded.

"I can keep the White Tigers in line." She offered. He just shook his head.

"You haven't seen anything." He said, moving slowly toward the door, "Ian is something from a nightmare, I swear."

Ian grumbled. Kai nodded, Mao laughed.

"I'll try." She promised as Bryan left the room.

"Wonder how Bryan's going to be." Spencer mused. Ian smirked widely and tapped Spencer's shoulder.

"He'll be just fine." He grinned, before turning to whisper in the blonde's ear. Spencer grinned. Kai shook his head.

"Oh no." He muttered.

"What?" His White Tiger teammate asked innocently.

"They're up to something." Kai said. "And we're in for it." Ian just grinned, his face completely innocent.

"Not at all." He said sweetly, before sidling up to Rei. "Sooooo, since when have you had some feelings for Mao?" Mao blushed. Rei shook his head desperately.

"I don't!" He shouted. "She's my sister!" Ian shook his head mischievously.

"Actually, she's my sister." He grinned. "I know you do."

"I don't," Rei yelled desperately, "I'm in love with Salima!" A silence followed the words as Rei put both hands to his mouth. Mao giggled.

"I knew you liked her!" Ian smirked.

"I have powers." He said mysteriously. Rei shook his head.

"You little rodent." He muttered in annoyance. "I can't believe I just fell for that. It's the oldest trick in the book." Spencer smiled, speaking up.

"Ian's a master." He told them solemnly.

"I can tell." His sister grinned.

-

Less then twenty-four hours after Mao and Kai rescued the Demolition Boys from Boris' clutches, Tala had woken up and been released from the intensive care section of the Bey Hospital. Bryan, having found out that he was scheduled for surgery on his lungs the following week, was greatly relieved.

Tala, now without one foot, had to learn to stand all over again. He flatly refused prosthetics, opting to keep the rest of his damaged limb still on his body. The hospital granted him his request and put braces onto his ankle to hold it in place. They were made of steel, and encompassed his ankle nearly completely, but it let him stand without needing a mock foot which was good enough for Tala.

Bryan underwent his surgery, which went off well, despite the discovery of scar tissue in his lungs, and was sewn back up without a hitch. He knows that his lungs cannot take much strain, and was extremely annoyed at the fact that he couldn't run anymore, until Tala reminded him that he couldn't run either.

Kai chose to take a year off from beyblading to help Tala and Bryan cope with their disabilities. Although the BladeBreakers were not pleased with the news, they accepted it with more goodwill then was expected. Kai managed to see Boris Balcov locked away in prison for life on counts of child abuse and Voltaire get a similar sentence. He managed one of his first true smiles in years when he knew that his friends would never be threatened by either of the sinister duo again.

Spencer managed to find a distant relative living in Serbia who was able to tell him what he wanted to know about his parents. Although they offered him a home, Spencer refused, saying that he chose to remain with his teammates. He chose to continue blading for practice but not to compete, saying that he had enough memories.

Ian and Mao left soon after Tala recovered to go to China. The rest of the group followed them soon after. They visited the Neko-Jin village, which gave the Russian bladers a decidedly chilly welcome. The White Tigers, specifically Lee, asked Ian to blade with them in the following year, but he refused. Mao decided to take a year off as well to take care of the four boys, who were living with Kai in Japan after leaving Russia under fear of Boris still having influence in various corrupt ways.

As Tala said, "It's a new beginning," and they were determined to make the most of their free lives.

Did you like? I know, it moves a little too fast but I guess it's ok. I'm going to have a shortish thingy about the BladeBreakers' reactions to the news about Kai and the Demo Boys… That should be fun… Please review. And also, I'll post much faster if Eulogy of the Dead and Rising get reviews. (Wink) Not one review for either of them. EotD is a Beyblade fic and Rising is a Naruto… Please review all three.