Author's Note: Hey, I'm Silvan Arrow, and I'm new to This is my first beyblade fic on this site, so please go easy on me. I will update as soon as time permits.
Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade or any of its characters. Hiruka-Rei's-Kitty came up with the name Eri, so I guess I don't own that either. I do own the actual character, as well as Pyrix.
When the Ice Melts
Chapter 1: The New Recruit
A lonely little girl sat huddled in a dark alley. Her black hair was tangled and dirty, and her clothes were tattered. A breeze kicked up with the coming evening, and she pulled her torn jacket, which was too small, tighter around her thin body. This 7 year old child was oblivious to the people in the streets, walking about freely in the sunlight. The grief she had born for two years was a burden that she should never have had to carry. However, a small flame of hope still kindled in her heart, kept alive by her only friend in the world.
Flashback
A pounding on the girl woke the 5 year old girl up. She heard angry shouts coming from outside her house. Her mother burst into her room, carrying a backpack. "Hurry, Eri, get up!" the mother, who looked panicked, exclaimed.
"What's wrong, Mommy?" Eri asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"There's no time to explain. Pull some clothes on over your PJs," she replied hastily. After helping her daughter dress, the mother led her daughter to the basement and uncovered a trapdoor in the floor, opening it quickly. "Hurry, go through this door. It will take you outside. Just keep running and don't stop," she explained, handing Eri the backpack.
"Are you coming with me, Mommy? And where's Daddy?" Eri asked, putting on the backpack. Just then they heard the door come crashing down, followed by a gunshot and a thud.
Tears welled up in her mother's eyes. "I can't come with you, dear. Take this too." She handed Eri a red beyblade with gold decals. A picture of a red and orange wolf was in the bit chip; her tail looked as if it was made of fire, and flames surrounded her paws. "This is Pyrix. You mustn't let anyone take her from you. If you ever feel sad or lonely, Pyrix will always be there for you." She hugged her daughter tightly and kissed her cheek. "Now go. Hurry."
Tears welled up in Eri's eyes. "I love you, Mommy." She entered through the trapdoor, and her mother closed it behind her and concealed it again. Eri heard angry voices as she ran through an underground tunnel.
"Where is the legendary Fire Wolf?" a gruff male voice demanded.
"I-I don't know," the mother stammered.
"You will tell us!" the voice shouted. Eri heard the sound of a gunshot as she emerged from the tunnel under the night sky and continued running.
End Flashback
Eri heard the soft padding of feet, though not human, approaching, and a small brown puppy came running up to her, a piece of bread in her mouth. Eri picked up the puppy and carried her to the back of the alley, where the sunlight or human eyes did not penetrate. Eri set the puppy down and she returned to her true form: a fiery red wolf. The wolf laid the bread down and spoke: "I'm sorry, Eri, but this was all the humans would give me. They are not as generous as they once were."
Eri put her arms around the wolf's neck and hugged her. "Don't worry, Pyrix, I'll be fine. Thank you." Eri sat down and ate, and the wolf lay down behind her, curling her body around the child to keep her warm. Pyrix was the reason that Eri had survived this long and why she still had hope.
Once Eri finished eating, she lay back and snuggled against Pyrix's warm, furry body. Pyrix covered the child with her tail. "We mustn't give up hope, Eri. I just know we will find a better life." But she was already asleep. Pyrix smiled and laid her head down, keeping alert for any danger.
During the middle of the night Pyrix's ears pricked up. She whimpered and nuzzled Eri to wake her up. "What's wrong, Pyrix?" Eri asked groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Someone's coming. I can't let anyone see me," Pyrix replied. She quickly vanished into her beyblade, which Eri kept in her pocket.
Several sets of footsteps thudded against the ground, and Eri saw three men emerge from the darkness and stand over her. She shook in fright. "W-who are you?" she asked.
"Are you Eri Kovano?" one of the men asked gruffly.
Not knowing what to say, she replied timidly, "H-how do you know my name?"
The man turned to the two following him and ordered, "Inform the boss we've finally found her." Then he grabbed Eri's wrist and said, "You're coming with us." As he dragged her off, she screamed and begged him to let her go. One of the other men roughly tied a blindfold over her eyes. Eri felt them place her in a car. She was too scared to move as the car drove off.
The next thing she knew she was being led down a long hallway inside a building. When her blindfold was finally removed she was standing in a small dark room with no windows. The entire structure was made of stone. A man with purple hair wearing a mask stood in front of her; the three men who had kidnapped her were standing behind her to make sure she couldn't get away. The man with purple hair spoke, pretending to be nice: "Well, hello there, Eri. We've been looking for you for a very long time."
"Where am I?" Eri squeaked.
"You're in the Abbey. This will be your new home." The man knelt so his gaze was level with hers. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "And my name is Boris. I'm so very pleased to meet you." His icy touch frightened Eri, and she gave a start, stepping back away from him. Her beyblade fell from her pocket. "Oh, what do we have here?" Boris asked, picking up the beyblade.
"Give Pyrix back to me!" Eri exclaimed.
"So, that is the name of the Fire Wolf," Boris mused, gazing at the beyblade. He held out the beyblade to his men. "Here, you know what to do with this." One of the men took the beyblade and exited the room.
"What are you doing with Pyrix?" Eri asked in a panicked tone.
Boris didn't answer. He ordered the other two men, "Take her to her cell. And give her something to change into. Her training begins tomorrow."
The two men each took one of Eri's arms and dragged her away. As they dragged her down the hall, she shouted, "Let me go! Give back Pyrix! HELP ME!"
As she was being taken away, an eight year old red-haired boy poked his head out of his room. He saw the two men dragging the girl behind them. "What's with all the racket, Tala?" a boy with blue two-toned hair asked. He was the same age as the redhead.
"There's a girl out there, Kai. I think she's a new recruit," Tala replied.
"Huh? A girl? Girls don't train at the Abbey," Kai replied.
"Well, I've heard Boris has been looking for this girl. He said something about finding the legendary Fire Wolf bit beast," Tala explained. He strode back into the room and crossed his arms. "Oh well, it's none of our business."
In Boris' Research Lab
The man carrying Pyrix placed her beyblade in a large test tube, big enough for holding a bit beast for research. He closed the tube and ordered the scientist working the machine, "Begin the extraction process."
"Yes sir." The scientist started up the machine, and the test tube started to glow green as it filled with incubation fluid. A shaft of light emerged from the beyblade as Pyrix was drawn out. She hovered in the test tube, not moving. "Shall I begin the memory wipe?"
"Yes, begin at once." The man thought to himself, 'Once we have erased Pyrix's memory, we can block all her emotions except the desire to win and dominate. Then she will be just like the other bit beasts we have altered.' He looked over at four other test tubes harboring bit beasts: a wolf, a falcon, a whale, and a snake. However, as the test tube started to glow again, Pyrix opened her eyes and started to struggle. "What's going on?" the man asked in alarm.
"Pyrix is resisting the memory wipe. The energy readings are rising off the scale," the scientist replied hastily. Pyrix let out a howl that echoed throughout the entire abbey, and the test tube shattered in a burst of fiery energy. When the smoke cleared the beyblade was lying on the floor with Pyrix safely inside her bit chip.
Boris came running into the lab and noticed the puddle of incubation fluid around his shattered test tube. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked furiously.
"Sir, Pyrix resisted the memory wipe and destroyed the test tube," the man replied.
"Our entire network is down. We've lost power," the scientist stated. "What should we do with the Fire Wolf?"
Boris thought for a moment and grinned evilly. "This could very well work in our favor. The Fire Wolf has shown that she has more than enough power without being altered. We will return her to Eri and train her in the Abbey. The bit beast has shown that she will accept no other master." Then Boris started laughing evilly.
In Eri's Cell
Eri sat on the bed in a cold, dark room. She was completely alone and missed Pyrix terribly. Then someone opened her door and tossed a small object on the floor. "Here, take this. Your training begins tomorrow."
Eri picked up the object and realized with a start that it was her beyblade! And Pyrix was still in her bit chip! "Pyrix, I'm so glad to see you!" The bit chip glowed, and Pyrix materialized before her. However, she looked completely exhausted and collapsed on the floor. Eri rushed to her side. "Pyrix, are you okay?"
"I'm…okay, Eri. I beat them," Pyrix replied weakly. "They…tried to erase my memories, but I managed to stop them. Now they mean to keep us here and train you in beyblading." Tears welled up in Eri's eyes, and she sobbed into Pyrix's fur. Pyrix nuzzled her lovingly and tried to comfort her young master.
End chapter 1
Author's Note: So how did you like it? Good? Bad? Ugly? I have another chapter ready to post as soon as time permits. Please read and review!