(Internal POV ; Jack )

- Tell me Jack... Tell me what got you into HD Academy. Encourages me Gingka's father to tell him about the incident. My head hurts just remembering it.

- After Damian's defeat, and the fight between Gingka and him. Ziggurat got very angry and raised his hand to Damian more than once, before he had never done it, or so I was never told, but that day... I saw Ziggurat who tried to strangle Damian with his own hands, Damian tried to defend himself as best he could, he wanted to run away... " I feel the tears welling up inside me " so I intervened to defend. I fought against Ziggurat, to allow Damian to go for cover, but Ziggurat caught him further, and he pushed him from the top of the stairs while I tried to stop him, Damian almost died because of this monster, so I decided to take Damian away from Ziggurat, so that he would never be mistreated again. I tell him, Gingka's father has noted everything down, listening to me carefully. He looks dismayed by what I have just told him, he looks at hisphone.

-I see... It's a very revolting story that you're telling me. In this case, you don't have to worry anymore, the WBBA will protect you. Take the opportunity to rest a bit, I'll pick up Damian in an hour.

Gingka's father leaves my room, leaving me alone here with myself. Because of the fever, my memories come back in my mind, when I entered the HD academy, I was only 14 years old and it was in this hell, that I met Damian. He was so small, but his eyes already breathed great sadness, he always stayed in his corner playing with many toys, yet he felt no pleasure in playing with them.

Ziggurat spend a lot of time with him, every time hewent to see him, Damian didn't reappear for several hours, theylocked him in a room, then after he came out. Pale, exhausted andeven sadder than before, then one day I decided to approach her. Hisfirst reflex was to ignore me, but I never let go, I wanted to seehim smile, hear him laugh a little too, even hear his voice. It tookme more than five days before he spoke to me for the first time.

He had agreed to draw with me, at first he didn't draw very well but as we spent time together, his drawing level improved so quickly.

We spent so much time together that we gradually thought of ourselves as brothers, he and I. With the improvement, we became a competition partner and Damian was much more communicative with me, unfortunately this gleam he had in his eyes never dissipated. When he was alone he must have been so sad that I couldn't hear his own tears, yet he always smothered everything he felt, Damian never wanted anyone toknow what his heart was saying, he wanted be feared by all, so that no one can look down on him.

- Damian... I whisper before falling asleep. Before I plunged into deep sleep, I think I heard again noises that I had heard in the past...In the room where Ziggurat had forbidden me to access, once I heard strange noises.. Creaking wood, muffled moans belonging to Damian, Ziggurat constantly talking, talking about so-called experiments and asking Damian not to move while he is doing his experiment. Those noises were terrible, and there was nothing I could do...

( Internal POV : Damian )

This table, its handcuffs that hold me down, this fabric bandage over my mouth and Ziggurat close to me, with these horrible syringes that sting my skin, the worst thing is that he was not alone, there were several people in this room. What a horrible memory. It started when I was 7 years old, Ziggurat put me on a bed the first time.

-Don't move Damian... It will be quick. He said to me while bringing closer the first product that he injected into my navel. I jumped when the product spread through my body, I started jumping and screaming so much it hurt me. And since I couldn't keep still, Ziggurat deprived me of my movements and my voice to continue his experiments on me. I can still feel his hands running through my body where he was pricking me, on my chest, my arms, my stomach and my legs, the needles piercing my skin and the terrible sensations that these products inflicted on me.

- We are at the last Damian, hold still now... Ziggurat said to me before pushing his last needle deep in my navel, I want to scream but the blindfold bothers me, yet my scream comes from the back of my throat. I suddenly open my eyes.

- Calm down Damian, everything is fine, you're safe. Said a man with red hair, I remember him, I think he's Gingka Hagané's father. I am lying in a very thick bed and he is holding me by the waist.

- Where I am... ? I ask him trying to catch my breath, my chest hurts so much.

-We are at WBBA headquarters, I brought you back from the hospital where I dropped you off, you were still asleep. Damian, you really put yourself in danger there. Here, swallow this. He tells me.

He has a medicine he wants me to swallow.

- No thank you... I don't want to take this kind of stuff anymore, which poisons me little by little. I try to say, but I feel him brush my hair.

- Damian, what I have here is a drug that will only heal your heart, it's not the drug that Ziggurat made you take to supposedly stabilize your heart, this drug is the one that will do the job. You have totake it, or else I'm afraid you'll have another heart attack. Trust me Damian, I'm not trying to cheat on you, trust me.

- Ok... I nod before swallowing his medicine.

- It's okay Damian, tell me... Can you tell me what happened to you ? I listened to Jack's version but I have to hear yours... According to the medical reports, you suffered more beatings, plus a head injury. Do you want to tell me about it ? Gingka's dad asks me, I still feeltired, I take a deep breath.

- I remember wanting to run away... I heard screams, Jack wanted to defend me then I fell from the stairs, after Jack took me to Japan so that we could live in peace, but I know we are not off the hook. ( My body starts shaking and tears roll down my cheeks ) Ziggurat is coming back and he's going to lock me up again and he'll hurt Jack...I don't want to go back there sir...I'm sorry for everything i did at the world championship, sorry for everything that happened, and sorry to be alive... But please help Jack.

It's so beneath me to cry, but I can't help it. I'm much too sick at heart, Gingka's father comes to put his hand on my forehead and then wipe my tears.

- Don't say such things Damian, for Tsubasa and Yu it's true that what you did to them is unforgivable, but that's no reason to think about such things, if your parents gave you life it's for a specific reason, you deserve to live like all human beings on this planet. You have certainly done horrible things, but you are still a victim of Doctor Ziggurat, he guided you on the wrong path, but now with us you are no longer at risk. We won't let Ziggurat get you or Jack back. So don't worry, and don't have such thoughts anymore okay ? He said tome, the tears are coming up at high speed and I can't help crying again, Gingka's father continued to stroke my head until I calmed down.

- Come on, it's going to be fine Damian. Here drink a little. He says to me, handing me a glass of water which I swallow in one go.

- And where is Jack ? I ask worried, he explains to me that Jack is in the next room resting, that he still has quite a fever.

- I understand... He did so much for me, and the weather conditions must have made him sick, that often happens to him. He deserved a little rest, but now... What's going to happen to us ?

Gingka's father smiled at me.

- Well, why don't you stay with us ? Japan is vast and here you would never be alone, you could play Beyblade as much as you want...

- Sir... With all due respect, compared to Gingka, Jack and I don't really take Beyblade seriously, Jack only uses it for his artwork,while I... The Beyblade never really interested me, I don't see why I would continue on this path, I would like to make myself useful on something else. Like cooking or technology, see in the scientific field, but not in Beyblade for sure.

- Do you want to give up your career as a blader ?

- Yes, I would like to be able to study. I have a vague memory of myparents telling me that if I went to high school, I could be what Iwant to be, so I would like to try. Gingka's father smiled at meagain, stroking my hair.

-Well, we'll try to fix it for you. After all it's your choice, butfirst take the opportunity to rest. I nod then he leaves the room, leaving me alone here, maybe it's better that way if I stop playing Beyblade, it's too dangerous. My head hurts so much, I can still hear Ziggurat's voice inside me, no, it's not his... It's mine.

Turning to the window, I see my reflection. My other self, with glowing red eyes and a haughty look.

- Look at you, you're pathetic. What would the doctor say about you if he saw you in such a weak state ? His eyes filled with pride foryou don't you miss a bit ?

-No ! No, I don't want to see him again. This man is a monster, just like those who work along side him, I don't want to go back to what I was before, to undergo the development and these twisted experiences again...

- But that's the price to be the chosen one ! Did you forget it  ?After our parents left us in the hands of Doctor Ziggurat because their work was more important to them, automatically this good doctor saw in us a potential that no one had noticed. He brought out this potential in us, we were the strongest, respected and feared byothers. Even our sickness could no longer stop us, for we werehealed. And don't lie to me, you liked it as much as I did, afterall, I'm you and you're me...

- That's all in the past. Improvement will no longer work on me and I will never again let you humiliate others as you did, I will not allow Ziggurat to do what he wants with me !

- You believe that ? Hahahahahaha, stop don't make me laugh. Damian, we are a demon and if you are stupid enough to believe that you can resist your true nature, you are wrong. In you, I will grow and take up much more space, you will feel in you this insatiable desire to undergo experiments to become stronger, it will torment you again and again, and then you will see yourself returning to yourself in the arms of the Doctor Ziggurat.

- NEVER !!!! I scream throwing the glass of water against my reflection which disappears, my heart suddenly sinks, I see again the face of Ziggurat who smiles at me and tries to catch me, Gingka's Dad comes back into the room to catch me, I cling to him to try to recover my composure. But I'm too scared, Ziggurat is watching me, I can feel it, he's very close.

- Ziggurat is coming ! He's going to find me, he's coming, he'scoming... I'm going to become a monster again, he's going to kill me!! I shout, Gingka's father doesn't let go of me and comes to stand up so that I don't feel dominated, telling me that I'm not risking anything, that everything will be fine. My body keeps shaking, I have to run, Gingka's father lets go of me, I run but fall to the ground, I can't get up so I lean against the corner of the wall, curled up onme, I have a headache.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I keep repeating myself before starting to scream ; LEAVE ME ALONE !!!

( Internal POV : Jack )

I hear Damian screaming, I get up in a hurry to go to his room, I see him against a corner of the room, frightened under the eyes of Gingka's father but also of Gingka and his friends, I come to approach of Damian to try to calm him down.

- Damian, pull yourself together, it's me Jack. Calm down. I tell him, shaking him a little, he comes to take refuge in my arms to start crying again. I grit my teeth in anger thinking of Doctor Ziggurat.

- He's responsible for all this, he used us like common tools, like lab rats and all that to end up like that. That piece of trash. Why did we accept ? Why didn't we say " NO " ? How could hedo this to us ? I then feel a hand on my head, I turn around to see Gingka's father who looks at me with sadness...

X

A few years earlier...

- Jack, if I made you come, it's to talk to you about something that I really dislike. Tells me Ziggourat a few days after a written exam, he shows me my mediocre grade, I was only 14 years old at the time and I was not a very good student, my arrangement results were irreproachable, on the other hand... My grades in general studieswere disastrous and what Ziggurat couldn't stand was the bad grades and especially the dunces... At the same time, he had done great studies before, so for him studies are essential even before the Beyblade.

- I thought that with several hours of study, it would increase your grades but it seems to me that I was wrong on your account. Your advanced results are very satisfying, but I refuse to have your studies neglected, I have no choice but to give you private lessons. He said to me, I remember the bitterness that I had to know that I was going to have to do still more studies and with an additional help, I felt ashamed to be so bad.

- But Doctor Ziggurat, with all due respect, I've never been good at studying, it's useless, I'm only good at the arts. I answered him by trying to negotiate, he then took out all my last checks, determined to show me that he was always right.

- That's not true, your marks in language aren't too bad, and also in literature which are excellent, you're even the best of my students in literature.

- My father studied literature in his youth so the first thing he wanted to teach me was reading and writing, as well as good manners of speaking. I justified myself with Ziggurat and it's true, my father is a great writer, my mother too even if she mainly studied business, so I very quickly learned this area that my father cherishes so much, on the other hand mathematics and science subjects are my biggest fault, I am a real sucker, my own mother could never solve this problem with me.

Doctor Ziggurat thinks for a moment before doing other homework that is not mine, but the results are impressive, high marks in almost all subjects, except literature and art where the mark is average but no more, it's limit the 1st of the class.

- I found the solution. He declares ; the homework that I have there belongs to my little genius, it's Damian Hart, in the studies he is very smart. He manages to reach my level in all math andscience subjects, he is even better than you in languages. On the other hand, his average mark in literature is a problem for me, he has a lot of problems with writing and doesn't necessarily express himself well in his writings or even in words, this child is really complicated. So that's what I offer you Jack, not having time to take care of you and not wanting to pay an extra teacher, Damian will make you raise your level in mathematics and science, and you you raise his level in literature and art. Damian is smart, you will have no trouble studying with him, you will have two hours of extra study every day of the week except weekends until I find your results satisfactory. You can go. A concludes Ziggurat.

At that time, Damian was only 12 years old, yet he was number 1 in the HD academy, the first time I saw him, he was frail and too quiet for me, he never spoke to anyone , except in Ziggurat. He also ate alone or even with Ziggurat in a special room for him, Ziggurat refused to allow him to see the other residents of the HD Academy.

I was the only one who had the privilege of seeing him.

I studied with him for over two years. And during his two years, his face changed, from a silent and frail little boy, I saw this boy laughing and talking for hours about what he was passionate about. It was the first time I saw Damian happy, towards the others he pretended to smile, but when we shared our games, he didn't pretend. Damian really laughed at every blunder I made during our revisions,and I laughed at his. During our video games and even during my drawing lessons with him where we drew anything, I discovered new facets of him all the time, a bit of a joker, open-minded on many subjects and less others, childish as well as very mature, sleepy as hyper active, he was everything.

I had never had so much fun with someone before, we even had sleepovers together where we played video games or watched movies all night and also in 1 2 3 sunshine, because when we played or we were watching amovie, we had to stop as soon as someone passed in the corridors inthe middle of the night. I remember a joke we made to a soldier from the academy, a soldier we didn't like at all because he often made fun of us. We had watched a horror movie and we had recorded all the sounds of the movie to play them at the soldier's window, and every night. He ended up believing that his room was haunted, he almost quit, unfortunately Ziggourat had un masked us. We were without television for two whole weeks.

It was funny though.

Everything changed when Damian reached the age of 14 years old, Ziggurat often asked Damian to come with him for a long time, so I found myself on my own, even at night playing alone or painting. And when Damian came back, his old face came back. Sad, silent, like an empty shell. He didn't want to play with me anymore, or he was putting less heart into it than before. I saw him less and less too, he locked himself in his room and I no longer had the right to go see him.

Ziggurat forbade me, claiming that Damian was too tired, or sick to play with me, that I should leave him alone, once I asked Damian what Ziggurat was doing with him.

- Experiments... He answered me while we were playing chess together ; to help me better support the arrangement system, my heart or my body poses a lot of problems, the doctor tries to correct that.

- And it hurts you ? I asked him worried, his shoulders immediately began to shake, he grabbed an arm to try to stop the shaking.

- A little... It's very unpleasant, but by dint of getting used toit... My body is too frail compared to those of others, so the experiences are not very comfortable. Nature has not favored me atthis level, I have a lot of trouble gaining weight now, so I resist badly to the tests that I am offered, there is only improvement which doesn't bother me at all. He stammers.

- If you're not gaining weight, it's not your fault. It's Ziggurat who imposes a special diet on you, and it's not very fair. So nature hasn't hurt you, take a look at your adorable little face, many girls would like you, believe me, girls will run after you, the same for your eyes, they are unique, a dark gray almost silvery, you don't see that every day, in your arms you swell a little like your thighs as a cyclist, and your body is very decent, but with a little more weight it would suit you better, that's for sure.

- Jack, it's weird what you're telling me... Said Damian a little embarrassed, he was even blushing, and I burst out laughing, at that moment I had no doubts at all about what was going on. was really happening, until I went to see for myself one evening, the door was a little open and I peeked in, I saw something that paralyzed me.

- Don't move so much Damian, it will go faster if you cooperate...Spoke Ziggurat, Damian was lying on a bed with wrist and ankle restraints, with only a boxer on him, scientists were weighting on his arms already Damian was tied to keep him from moving and one kep this hand over his mouth, as Ziggurat approached with a syringe filled with a bizarre product that he injected into Damian's navel. My friend couldn't scream but he was writhing in pain, hurting himself trying to get out of his bonds. Ziggurat looks at him, allowing himself to touch his chest and stomach.

- Bad reaction, I must have made another mistake in the preparation. Maybe his diet isn't effective enough, the problem is losing weight would kill you, huh ?

I saw him pat Damian in several places before he said.

- Good grief, more deficiencies. He's got it all over his stomach and legs, it's unbelievable, change his whole diet plan, I'm going to have to limit the experiments again. Definitely, to be able to make him an elected official it will be a complicated task. Damian moans and keeps shaking as Ziggurat allows himself to touch his hair.

- Bring tranquilizers, otherwise he won't hold up. Order Ziggurat, it's horrible...

I fell to the ground at such horror.

X

I had forgotten that moment... I knew what had happened and Ziggurat also knew that I had seen everything... but the arrangement made me forget everything. It's his fault.

I will make him pay !