Frozen Bindings
Beyblade and any other references do not belong to me. All characters that do not come from anywhere but my own mind and fingers, are mine.
A warning for some swearing, blood, and dark themes. Also, this will have mild yaoi in it.
Chapter 1: Pre-Frost
Papers piled high upon the desk. A pen scribbled madly, barely able to keep concentrated on what it was doing. The man wiped some sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, something he rarely did, but now was not the time to pause for a break. The silence, not doing anything, was a slow and painful killer. He needed to try and distract himself.
Anything would work. If only that was true. The man had tried pacing, waiting impatiently, tapping his foot. Even humming to himself hadn't worked. All he could concentrate on was the phone call that could come at any second. Or in a few hours. Or days, maybe even weeks from now.
It all came down to that phone call. Since nothing else had worked, the man had turned to the massive mountains of paperwork that needed his editing, and signature to help shape the future of a popular pastime. Maybe he should take up Beyblading? Or start Beyblading for the… elderly… What was he thinking?
The pen finally stopped and came to a troubled halt. Now his own mind was working against him, bringing up strange thoughts when he didn't need them. Dabbing some sweat from his brow with his handkerchief, the man stood up and decided he was far too overheated. He slowly strolled over to the large window on the side of his office and attempted to open the window.
After a few pushes and some grunts and heaves of effort, the man decided to let the rusty hinges win this round of the battle. He needn't tire himself out over a window that would not open. He needed his strength for the phone call. He needed everything for the phone call. Except some grave ideas that kept popping up in his mind.
He would be calling. And He would demand them. He would claim them rightfully his. But the man would not give in, not to that monster. He would never let those young ones to Him again. They would not go back, not after all they had been through. It had taken so long for the young ones to finally understand they weren't going to be harmed. And even longer before emotion began to slowly bleed out the cracks in their shell.
And even now, they were still confused. They didn't understand what others meant, when sarcasm or humor was used. They never understood. Humiliation had been a torture for them. And now it was enjoyed by all. What kind of psychotic world had they fallen into? They were used to punishments for wrongdoings. Now they were told it was okay and not to worry about it. Now they were allowed to speak their mind, not wait for permission to speak. Now people cared and worried about them, they didn't need to entirely fend for themselves anymore. It was all so confusing.
And then He came back. Demanding His right to own the young ones again. No one dared to stand in His way- he was too powerful and feared. Only the lone man, now awaiting the call, had any courage to look him in the face and loathe Him. To fight back. And the young boys depended on him to have a safe future. He would not let Him have them ever again.
With a sad sigh, the man finally turned away from the sunset, realizing he had actually spent much time brooding over his thoughts. He began slowly strolling back to his desk when he paused. What was that sound? It was so familiar, but in his slightly groggy state he couldn't place it. It came again, and his breath caught in his throat.
The phone was ringing.
((00oo-oo00))
Pack. Move. Unpack. Get comfortable. Pack. Move again. Get comfortable. Pack. Move again.
The pale hands slowly slid all belongings into the bag, worn and tired from years of use and abuse. The hands moved swiftly, without faltering. This was an action that was now all too familiar. It was bothersome really, to have to keep moving over and over…. When would it end?
"So tell me again why we have to leave? Why on earth do we have to keep moving?"
The hands paused in their work, a sign that they were thinking the exact same thing. But to appear as if all were normal, a hand reached out and grabbed a shirt and pretended to be busy folding it.
"We- You've been told again and again that this is for our own benefit, Ian. It's so that… so that…" the hands stopped and were now twisting the shirt, as if wringing a neck. Ian nodded understandingly and whispered in a small, somewhat frightened voice.
"It's all because He came back, isn't it?"
The hands' knuckles were nearly white now, strained just to keep from shouting in fear and horror that… He had just strolled back into their life.
"Yes. Yes it is, Ian."
Ian nodded quietly and sat in silence.
"Have you finished packing- you know that if you forget anything you'll never see it again."
Ian looked up, "Oh, yeah. Sergei helped me! Bryan is still in his room, complaining about life as usual," he said with a forced chuckle, "and then Sergei came in here to ask me to check on you. He also wanted to know if you knew how Kai was doing?"
Instantly the hands froze, "I don't know anything!" came the sharp reply.
"Why should I have to worry about Hiwatari al the time? It's all because of his grandfather that we're in this mess!" the hands, now furious, tossed the shirt to the floor.
"Well, I guess because you two were, y'know, tag-team partners at the championships last year. I would think you two would… have some sort of connection," Ian said quietly, trying to shy away from the rage.
Tala's face finally softened at Ian's naïve innocence, "Alright. I'll go check on him and report back to you, commander. How does that sound?" he gave Ian a wink to show he was in a better mood again. The younger jumped up with a smile on his face and nodded eagerly. He then turned on his heel and dashed out of the room to make sure all his stuff was in order.
After a moment, Tala sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. He couldn't believe He had just shown up again. Now anyone who had been connected to the Demolition/Blitzkrieg Boys team was in hiding. The boys were constantly being moved around in order to avoid being attacked by Him. Tala saw the point in the operation, but felt ridiculously helpless, and that was a feeling he was not used to. And all the moving and change of location and setting mad his mind spin. If he ever made it out of this, he was going to buy a nice house in the middle of nowhere and just stay there.
Slowly he slid off the bed and gingerly picked up the discarded shirt as if it had become infected. He shook it out, folded it neatly, and then set it in his bag. Remembering his promise to Ian, the redhead walked out of his room to the door right beside. He rapped on the wood a few times.
"Are you still alive Hiwatari?"
There was a moment of silence and Tala felt a sudden knot of panic form in his stomach, but then came Kai's sharp reply, "And why do you care, Ivanov?"
"I don't want the cops all over."
"I'm so happy I'm appreciated around here."
"Shut up, Hiwatari. You're too stuck up for your own good."
"Go to hell, Ivanov. Haven't you ruined and annoyed enough lives?"
"By the time I get to Hell, you'll be ruler."
"And that's when all Hell will freeze over."
Tala snorted, Curse Hiwatari's sharp, quick tongue! Kai had beaten him again- but he had not won the war. It was an ongoing battle that had developed between the two during the World Championships that had ended a few months ago.
Tala made his way to the kitchen part of the suite. Sergei was cooking up one last meal they would share in this home, before they moved to another.
Without looking up, Sergei addressed Tala, "How's Kai?"
"Fine. I don't see though why we need to have him with us all the time," Tala took a seat at the table, watching Sergei cook.
"Well, for one: he was a student at BioVolt. Two, his grandfather runs BioVolt," Sergei paused as Tala noticeably stiffened for a moment, "Three: he, too, is a Blitzkrieg boy, and Four: he's not all that bad and the team isn't quite right without him."
"I'd say that was about five remarks about Hiwatari," Bryan snorted as he came walking in, Ian at his side.
Sergei shrugged, "I'm not good at math. So I guess I'm just lucky to have math genius Bryan to help."
Bryan snorted and seated himself into a chair, Ian scrambling up between Tala and him. Sergei came out a short time later with some grilled cheese sandwiches. He set them on the table and then swatted away Bryan's eager hand. Bryan sent Sergei an angry glare, but the large Russian was not put off by it.
"Bryan, go get Kai. We're not going to eat until everyone's here," Sergei said calmly.
With a growl, Bryan got to his feet and marched to Kai's door. He banged on it loudly.
"Are you ever coming out, Hiwatari? Some of us want to eat you know!"
"I'm not hungry."
Bryan growled, knowing all too well Sergei would not let them eat until Kai came out. But Bryan had too much pride- and he would not beg Kai to come out, "You now how Sergei is. We won't eat until you're out here."
"Then starve, I guess."
Bryan muttered a few choice curses under his breath before continuing, "Hiwatari, get your lazy ass out here right now or I will come in there and drag you out!"
"Go ahead and try Kuznetsov."
Bryan growled angrily, knowing all too well that Kai must've locked the door. But just to be sure, he tried the knob, and it was locked.
"Open the stupid door, Hiwatari! I- We don't have time for this!" Bryan shouted. He heard muffled snickers coming from the kitchen at his distressed state and his anger only intensified.
"Open the door, or I'll break it down!"
"Hungry, are we?" Kai asked calmly.
Bryan stormed to his room and ripped open his bag. He grabbed his launcher, ripcord and Falborg blade, and then marched right back to Kai's room.
"Alright, Hiwatari, open the door now!"
Bryan paused as he heard no reply. Then he heard Ian in the kitchen.
"Wow, Sergei, these sandwiches are really, really good!"
Bryan turned on his heel and raced into the kitchen. Tala, Ian, Sergei and Kai were seated around the table, eating the sandwiches. When they caught sight of him, the all suppressed amused chuckles.
"When did you get out here?" Bryan demanded to Kai.
Kai shrugged, "While you were off getting your 'blade. Tala tried to tell you."
Bryan growled, then slammed his launcher and blade onto the table and sat down. He grabbed the plate of sandwiches and took three or four.
"Hey!" Ian cried, "One at a time!"
Bryan shifted his glare from Kai to Ian for a moment. The younger got the idea and shifted his chair over towards Tala. Sergei sighed.
"You know, if this is what it's going to be like every bloody day, I would rather let Him get me than stay here with you immature brats."
All eyes shifted from each other, to Sergei, and then to their laps. It was true, but what else could they do when they weren't allowed outside and had to stay in close proximity with people who preferred to have miles or personal space. And besides, they wouldn't be deemed weaker or softer than any of the others by trying to be all 'friendshipy' or 'happy' to be together, they had too much pride.
But would He really be back- trying to get them again? Would they serve Him again? What would happen to them? What was He up to? Would they ever be free of the past? Could they ever let go of what happened? Of what could happen? Could they ever be like normal people?
The last question was easy to answer. No. Not after all they'd gone through- they would never be able to look at the world with a child's innocence. They could never be carefree or fearless. There was so much to fear in the world. And they could never remain in the light for too long. Shadows can only hide so long in the daylight.
Sergei broke the silence by pushing his chair back with a loud squeak, and then he cleared the table to go wash the dishes.
"Check you stuff and make sure you have everything. We don't want to leave anything behind," he said solemnly, "we'll be leaving shortly."
((00oo-oo00))
"H-hello?" the man said, shaking, as he answered the phone.
"Hello, Dickinson. I hope you have fared badly," came the snarl from the other end of the phone.
"Voltaire! I don't know what you and Boris are planning, but you will not have the boys again!" Mr. Dickinson cried, getting straight to the point.
"Ah, yes, Dickinson. Always the last man standing? Well not for long. I will get what is rightfully mine back. All those boys belong to me."
"No, Voltaire! This is my final word. You Will Not Have Them- AGAIN!" The final words hadn't been meant to be loud, just serious. But Mr. Dickinson found that they came as more of a threat… or a challenge.
Voltaire chuckled amusedly from the opposite end of the line, "Very well, Dickinson. But understand this- a Hiwatari always gets what he wants."
Mr. Dickinson opened his mouth to retort, but the line went dead. He sighed sadly and massaged his temples with a shaking hand. So much anticipation and anxiety, and energy spent over one short phone call. It seemed silly, but so much was riding on him. The poor Blitzkrieg Boys team had suffered so much, that when Boris had made a public announcement in a court meeting about taking them back, Mr. Dickinson had almost immediately seen the risks and dangers for the boys and had them go into hiding. They were also moved constantly as to ensure no one could keep tabs on them for long.
Sinking into his chair, he looked dumbly at his discarded pen and before he could think, his hands had grabbed the pen and he was thoughtlessly signing papers once more.
((00oo-oo00)
"Is that everything?" the driver asked.
Tala sent him a mild glare before flatly stating, "If there was anything else, there would be more bags sitting out here."
"Uh… alright. Let's go now, and remember to go two at a time. Don't want no accidents here now," the driver said, trying to warm up the cold atmosphere. The boys only sighed and Bryan and Sergei zipped up their coats and put their hats on to disguise themselves. They calmly made their way out of the hotel- getting outside for the first time in about two weeks. Then they got into the car parked jus across the street. Tala and Ian went next, pretending to be brothers. Kai went out with the driver.
Once everyone was inside the car, they were on their way. The driver whistled a light, friendly tune while he drove, and the teens sat in silence.
"Now do you boys know where the old mill site is?"
Everyone's eyes flickered to the driver. The Old Mill Site? Why on earth would that man, Mr. Dickinson, send them there? Was he planning on hiding them there- until someone else came to get them? Their trust with Mr. Dickinson was thin, but it was there. And it was especially treacherous while the boys were being moved from a place they had gotten used to, to another unfamiliar area with people who could turn on you at any second.
"I guess that's a no, eh?" the driver said with a laugh.
The Old Mill had once been used to power Tokyo when the city was still small. Now it was more like an abandoned pile of ruble and full of gangs, drugs and other 'Underworld' organizations. It was a well known fact that no one in their right mind went there unless it was unavoidable. There were also many rumors, not that the Blitzkrieg's believed them, that the place was haunted by malevolent ghosts.
They continued along, always a pair of eyes on the driver now. The mentioning of the Old Mill had them more wary than ever. Why on earth would Mr. Dickinson, a man who it seemed would have a heart attack if he had to hear a harsh word against anyone, send them to a place of gangs, drugs and thieves? It didn't add up and all of them were on the alert now.
The car finally rolled to a stop, and the driver looked back to flash them a grin.
"I'll be right back, just want to make sure they're here."
"Who's they?" Tala demanded before the driver got out.
"Just the people who are going to pick you up," the driver shrugged. He then got out of the car, followed by many angry glares. A few minutes later the door opened and the man stuck his head inside, "they're here! C'mon out."
The boys slowly unloaded their meager belongings from the car and look around. The Mill had never been cleaned up, the government always put it off saying that they would every year. It was now stones and ruble overgrown with moss, weeds and trees. There were still many areas that had been scorched by fire.
A black van drove up to the car. Sergei immediately stepped in front of Ian to protect the younger if necessary. Though Ian was a powerful member of the Blitzkrieg Boys, it was mainly because of his great intellect. Ian had never been much of a strong-man, and so the rest of the team secretly looked out for the 'baby brother' as he had been dubbed. Sergei wasn't the only one who didn't like the situation right away, Kai, Tala and Bryan all tensed up and were looking around warily. Their driver seemed perfectly fine though.
A larger, buffer man stepped out of the van. The driver walked to him and the whispered a few words together. Then the larger man went back to the van and brought out a suitcase. Their driver took it eagerly and stepped aside, then turned to the boys and said loudly.
"Have fun boys, I sure hope I never have to take care of you brats again! With this money I'll never have to worry about anything ever again!" he laughed.
Half a dozen armed men leapt out of the back of the van and surrounded the group. There was a rally of shots. Sergei let out a gasp of surprise as he felt the powerful toxin enter his veins. He heard a quiet yelp and turned to see Ian straining to pull a dart from his shoulder.
Toxins! Sergei realized, They're going to take us… take us back too…
The giant of a blader stepped back to try and help Ian, to help the younger escape, but the toxin was too strong and he collapsed.
They're going to take us back to… Him.
…well, here's a bit of an old idea I have. I hope you like it. I realize that I had the B-Boy's going OOC in the beginning of the chapter. But I wanted to keep that little part of teasing Bryan in, and just to show the sort of relationship they all have together.
I also realize that I have patronized Ian A LOT in this story. This is just part of the plot, because in this story, Ian is much younger than the others and never did go through as much training, so he's a bit of a baby brother to everyone. And he acts like it, and he enjoys it. So… if you don't like it… bear with me or don't read this story.
And, Him/He could be Boris OR Voltaire. In Mr. Dickinson's case, it happened to be Voltaire, but it might've been Boris calling as well.
Next Chapter: The Blitzkrieg Boys are introduced to what will be their world for quite some time, and what's this? Voltaire is going to have some new 'preparation' experimented on Kai?
Hopefully it wasn't very boring for all you people out there, and I hope you like the idea. I have this story planned out, as well as the sequel, but any suggestions are still welcomed- I might be able to work them in! And now this chapter's getting way too long, so I just have four more words to say:
REVIEW AND STAY TUNED
Demenior