A/N: Here's the next set of double chapters. Enjoy my amigos!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you'll recognize

Chapter 4

1 week later

"Grr! Kevin! When I get my hands on you!" Rei growled angrily as he launched his empty beyblade into the handmade dish on the mountains that surrounded the village. All week the Bladebreakers had trouble by the name of Kevin. Just last night, Kevin attempted to steal Kenny's data and had challenged Rei to a battle. And tricked the poor neko-jin who lost concentration and the White Tiger took off. Leaving a broken hearted Rei behind.

It was then and there that Rei took off towards the mountain to re-train himself not only with his beyblade. But for himself as well.

The silvery beyblade went dead after a few seconds. "Damn." He cursed. Suddenly, a pink beyblade sent his flying back to him. Rei didn't even need to know who it was. "Mariah." He said neutrally. The pink haired girl landed and picked up her beyblade. She gave Rei a sad look.

"I heard about last night from Kevin." She began. Rei gave her a bitter look. "What? And you came here to yell at me?" He growled. She frowned, brown eyes flashing angrily. "That's not why I ran all the way here!" She snapped. "Why can't thing's just be the way they used to be?" She pleaded. He hesitated and looked away.

What could he tell her?

...

High above a world, the Gummi ship came to a halt. "I can't believe we're finally here." Riku breathed. The world was mostly covered by water but it had land and clouds. "What's the name of this world Donald?" Goofy questioned as the duck peered over the data computer. "Er-all it says it's a planet called Earth." Donald shrugged. "I'm sure all of us are excited to be here. So let's get down there and find Sora!" He said eagerly.

The glowing black portal that would lead the gateway to get into a world, appeared behind them. Then all three jumped through.

...

Mariah frowned in concern when Rei froze and glanced towards the skies with an unreadable look in his eyes. "I'm sure Lee will forgive you about the past. And don't tell me you don't miss your old team." She pleaded with him to rejoin the White Tigers. His face soften into a gentle look. "I do miss home. And I kinda miss being on the White Tigers-"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Shouted an angry voice. Startled, both friends whirled around to see a bruised and dirty Tyson and Max stumble forward. Tyson's face was full of rage. "Maybe Kevin was right about you. Maybe you really are a traitor." He growled. Hearing this broke Rei's heart even more. He glanced down at his feet, black hair shadowing his eyes from view.

Mariah scowled, seeing the pain written in his face and glared at Tyson with pure hatred. The dragon blader stepped back, surprised. "How dare you accuse Rei like that you jerk!" She yelled at him. "I know with all my heart that Rei is no traitor. Not to us nor to you!" She cried. Rei looked up sharply, his yellow eyes wide with shock. "Mariah..." He whispered. She held out her Gaulx beyblade.

"I challenge you to a fight Tyson!" She snarled. "You're on." Tyson mocked. Mariah was about to make a snappy comeback when a strong hand placed itself gently on her shoulder. She looked up into Rei's icy slitted eyes. "I'll fight him Mariah." He said quietly.

"Are you sure you wanna do that Rei?" Max asked curiously. For one thing, Rei would be at a disadvantage. For without Driger, there was no way Rei could beat Dragoon. Right? Rei smiled gently. "Don't worry Mariah, I'll be fine." He assured the worried younger girl, and ignoring Max.

"I'm not gonna take it easy on you Rei." Tyson sneered. Rei just gave a feral grin, allowing his fangs to be easily seen. "Just the way I like it." He purred.

3...2..1...Let er rip!

"Go Dragoon!" Tyson yelled eagerly. Dragoon happily began to launch in his hurricane attack. Rei was calm as the wind picked up, lifting all four teen's hair up wildly. "Finish it." Rei instructed. Tyson gasped as the silver beyblade's attack ring pulsed with a soft golden light. The hurricane was ripped by an invisible creature. Dragoon was sent flying. And the winner was Rei. Max stared in shock. "H-how?" He stuttered.

"Simple. Even before he got Driger, Rei was the best in our entire village." Mariah said gleefully. Rei quietly picked up his still spinning beyblade. Who should he stay with? The White Tigers? Or the Blade Breakers?

The White Tigers took Beyblading seriously. But the Bladebreakers saw it as fun and not a way of life. With a sad smile, he faced the three teens. "I've made my decision Mariah. I'm staying with the Bladebreakers." He announced. Mariah felt her heart break.

"Mariah." Growled a low voice. Both Mariah and Rei flinched slightly as they turned around. "Lee." Mariah said uneasily. "What are you doing here with this traitor?" Lee hissed, glaring at Rei with disgust and hatred. "Watch it buddy." Tyson snapped, glaring at Lee with just as much dislike. Rei shifted on his feet, a feeling of unease quickly over came him.

They were being watched.

But, by who?

A gleam coming off of something in the distance, caught Rei's attention. The neko-jin blader looked up sharply.

Yellow eyes met ruby red.

And that was when Rei realized that the red eyes belonged to the beings Maleficent had summoned to kill him. And he also realized that the creature (or was that creatures?) Was aiming what he thought was an arrow at Lee. "Lee! Look out!" Rei yelled suddenly.

Lee grunted as strong arms shoved him down to the hard ground. But, just as he was ready to yell at Rei, he heard Rei's sudden cry of pain.

Mariah gave a terrified shriek as Rei collapsed to his knees, clutching his right shoulder, hissing in pain. Lee scrambled to his feet just in time to see a pure crystallized black arrow quivering deep in Rei's right shoulder. An eerie thick black liquid dripped from the wound, and down Rei's shoulder in streams. The liquid had the most unusual blue sheen.

Blood.

"Come Mariah." Lee said thickly, not looking at his wounded former friend. Mariah glanced at Rei but reluctantly followed Lee down the mountain side. "Rei!" Max squeaked in fear. "That's it. I'm calling Kenny." Tyson yelped and yanked out a small white cell phone and dialed their hotel room. Luckily, Kenny picked it up on the first ring.

["Hello?"] Tyson gave a relieved smile. "Hey Chief, we need you and Kai to get out here ASAP." Tyson instructed. ["What? What happened?"] Kenny asked frantically. Tyson glanced at Rei with a sicken look. "Rei's been hurt and he needs medical attention." ["Hold on. Kai just walked in."] Tyson heard the two talk and then Kenny spoke back into the phone. ["We'll be there as soon as we can. If he's hurt really bad, keep him awake. We don't want him falling asleep."] Kenny ordered and hung up.

Tyson clicked the phone off and faced his friends. "Alright. They should be here soon." He said warily. About half an hour later, Kai and Kenny arrived. Kenny was carrying a first aid kit. Both boy's eyes grew wide with shock.

Kenny knelt at Rei's side and opened the kit to reveal bandages and other things. "This may hurt a bit." He warned. And without warning, yanked the arrow from Rei's shoulder. An inhuman yelp left Rei's lips as it was removed. "Take of your shirt." Kenny continued. Rei gingerly removed his stained top so Kenny could bandaged the gapping hole. While this was happening, Kai picked up the arrow, inspecting it.

"This kind of arrow shouldn't exist." He said in a dangerous tone. "What do you mean?" Max asked curiously, walking over. "There shouldn't be crystallized arrows. It's impossible." Kai said grimily. Kai tensed when the arrow burst into dust in his hand. "All done." Kenny announced.

They turned around to see Rei slipping his bloodstained top over his bandaged shoulder. "I don't know how you're gonna be able to battle tomorrow." Kenny said worriedly. Kai frowned. "He isn't." He said coldly. Rei blinked. Is it just me, or does Kai actually have a heart? He mused. "Rei, this team mainly functions on honesty. Now, can you tell us what's going on?" Kenny asked slowly. Rei didn't answer. "Well?" Tyson asked.

Silence only greeted them.

...

Riku blinked as a wave of intense pain washed over his shoulder before briefly fading away. "Is something wrong Riku?" Donald asked, after they exited the ship. They were standing on the roof top of a huge mansion. And in the distance, Goofy could make out the faint outline of a tall tower. "I'm not sure." Riku mumbled.

The trio had landed in Paris France.

Riku looked up towards the afternoon sun. "Don't worry Sora. We'll find you before Ansem does." He whispered. "I promise."

...

Rei's head snapped up and he looked around, curiously. "What is it Rei?" Tyson asked in concern, about an hour after coming back to the hotel. Rei shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. "Don't worry Tyson. It's nothing." The neko-jin promised. When the dragon blader looked away, Rei's eyes grew misty. Was that really Riku's voice I just heard? For a second, he swore he heard his Islander friend's voice. But he couldn't have heard them.

Could he?

Chapter 5

The gang didn't have a match that day, but they had went to see the match that the White Tigers had. Only to see Lee unleash the Tiger Claw attack through Galleon. Much to Rei's anger. "That's Rei's bit beast!" Max yelled, when Lee revealed that he would be getting Driger and not Rei.

"That white tiger should've been mine. Not that filthy traitor!" Lee snarled. Rei's eyes thinned into slits as his rage grew. "I'll make you a deal. Whoever wins the Asian Tournament gets to keep Driger." Lee mocked. "And it will be me." "Watch yourself Lee." Rei growled, a venomous tone was detected in his voice.

What was going on between the two?

...

SNORE

Rei winced and rubbed his sensitive ears. "Jeeze. Does he have to be that loud?" He grumbled, giving the snoring Tyson a dirty look. Kenny glanced at the clock. "We better hurry. Or we'll be disqualified from the match today." He warned.

"Don't worry. I'll stay behind and make sure Tyson wakes up. We'll catch you on the next bus to the arena." Rei assured them. "Good luck!" Max said, waving as the other Bladebreakers left the two behind. Rei was thoughtful. How to wake Tyson? Then he got a wicked grin. Rei ran into the bathroom and filled a bucket full of cold water and put some ice into it. And with a snicker, dumped the contents onto Tyson.

Tyson woke up with a loud yell. "Get up or we'll be late." Rei said, with a snicker. Glaring at Rei, Tyson dressed into dry clothes and the two friends headed onto a bus that would take them to the arena.

About halfway there, Rei's eyes flashed a hellish red before settling on their normal yellow hue. "Put your seatbelt on." He whispered. Tyson was confused. But, before he could do anything, the bus gave a tremendous lurch before stopping. "What was that?!" Tyson cried, rubbing his throbbing head. Rei undid his seatbelt and quickly scrambled outside. Tyson was then treated to a rare sight of Rei leaping onto the bus roof and glanced forward. "Well?" The dragon called.

"It seems it was a landslide." Rei mused and then took a quick look to their right and smiled. Tyson did not like that smile one bit. "What is it?" He asked warily. "There's a shortcut leading over the mountain to the arena that we can take." Rei answered happily. "How long is it?" Tyson asked flatly. "Only ten K." Cue in 5...4...3...2...1...

"WHAT?!" Tyson shrieked.

Rei gave Tyson a seriously nasty look. "Ow. You mind not screaming? I can hear you perfectly fine." He snapped. "Sorry." Tyson said sheepishly. "Come on." Rei called, leaping from rock to rock. Tyson was panting and he was barely able to keep up!

The older teen stopped and turned to face Tyson in concern. Tyson was wheezing while Rei was hardly breathing heavily at all. "You sure you can keep this up?" He asked. "I'm fine!" Tyson waved him off. The neko-jin froze, hearing a loud rumble coming from above them. "Another landslide!" Tyson cried.

Rei swore loudly in Chinese when he saw a particularly huge boulder heading for his friend. "Look out Tyson!" Rei yelled, and he pushed the smaller boy out of the way. Tyson grunted when some of the rocks slammed into his back. But, the boulders passed over him harmlessly.

However, at the arena, the two Bladebreakers were trying to stall so that Rei and Tyson could arrive. Suddenly, Mr Dickenson ran up to Kai, Max and Kenny, breathing heavily. "There's been a landslide..." He wheezed. Kai paled.

Back on the mountains, the dust just settled and Tyson took that as his cue to look up. The blue haired teen paled when he saw that Rei was clutching his right ankle. It was twisted funny and was swollen. "I shot my ankle." He groaned. "Listen Tyson," he pointed to the path that lead straight. "Just keep going down this path and you'll make it in time for the match." Tyson shook his head.

"No way I'm leaving you here man." He told Rei. Tyson then helped Rei to stand and the two limped off for the arena. What they failed to see was a bright green light shooting from the skies and jumping into Rei's body.

Rei?Rei paled. /Driger? Is that you?/ Rei asked slowly. Yes. And I'm sorry for leaving you like that...what happened to you?Driger asked slowly. Rei hesitated. /There was two landslides. Tyson would've gotten seriously injured by the second one so I pushed him out of the way and I think I sprained my ankle./ Rei answered, bracing for the yell. WHAT?!

In the arena, Max was hesitant to battle, but a snarling Kai ordered the blond to finish it and ended in a draw. Kai took round two and won easily. Unfortunately, they were in big trouble for round three.

"Who's next?" Wheezed a familiar voice. The worried Bladebreakers and Mr Dickenson whirled around to see a battered and bruised Rei and Tyson standing there. Rei was limping slightly and both were covered in dirt and grime. Max saw that Rei was limping and helped the older teen to the bench. "It's your turn Tyson." Kenny told his friend who nodded.

Up in the stands, Mariah noticed that Kevin came back in late. But why? Kevin saw that Tyson and Rei had arrived and scowled. "Damn. I thought those landslides would've worked." He grumbled. "Oops." He looked uneasily at a red faced Mariah who spent the remaining third round yelling at Kevin for such a horrible prank. Even Lee gave Kevin a lecture. Tyson won the round in under three seconds!

"Yes!" Max cheered.

...

"Still no signs of Driger." Kenny said glumly that very night. "There's no way we're letting Lee get a hold of Driger." Tyson said angrily. Max looked over to where Rei was. Rei had his ankle propped up on a pillow, and he was looking at his beyblade with an unreadable look. "What is it Rei?" Max asked curiously.

Rei looked up and gave a warm smile. And held up his silvery white beyblade. The gang saw a familiar white tiger in golden armor etched onto the bit. Tyson grinned, realizing what it was.

"Driger's back." Rei announced softly.

"That's great Rei!" Max said happily. He was pleased for his friend that Driger was back to where he belonged. "Anyway, you should turn in early Rei." Kenny advised. Rei chuckled and stood up slowly, making sure not to put weight on his bad ankle. "Alright. I'll see you guys in the morning." He said with a smile. "Night Rei." They called. Rei limped to his futon and fell fast asleep.

...

"...so....Kairi's homeworld is out there somewhere, right?" Rei looked around wildly. He was floating in an endless blue sky. He glanced down to see three kids; two boys and a girl, sitting comfortably on a tree branch with unusual fruit on it. Rei recognized them to be the younger versions of him, Kairi and Riku.

"Could be. We'll never know by staying here." Riku mused, arms crossed over his chest. Kairi giggled. "Hee, suppose you get to another world," she giggled. "What would you do there?" She asked. "I haven't really thought about it." Riku said quietly. "But, I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? I mean, we could've easily just as ended up somewhere else right?" Rei saw his younger self shrug. "I dunno."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Exactly." He muttered. "You've been thinking about this a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked gently. Riku smiled at her, the younger soon-to-be Keymaster scowled. "All thanks to you. If you hadn't come here I'd probably never thought of any of this. So thanks Kairi." Kairi grinned. "You're welcome."

Above, Rei saw tendrils of black mists rising from the sand and wrapping itself around Riku's heart, turning it dark. Kairi's heart shone with an inner light, keeping the darkness at bay. But the darkness entered his younger self's heart turning it grey. He was already lost. Neither of the light nor of the darkness. But somewhere in between. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

They knew.

The Heartless knew the whole time.

...

Rei sat up, in a rush. You okay?Driger asked sleepily. Rei brushed a hand over his chest. /I'm not sure Driger./ He said quietly. Sensing trouble in the teen's voice, all sleep left the tiger spirit's voice and he was completely serious. Nightmare?Rei shook his head. /No. More like a memory./ Came the whispered reply. Rei glanced out to the rising sun.

When the Heartless arrived, he'd be ready for them.

Next round is coming right up