A/N: Here is the next course

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you may recognize

Chapter 6

Bladebreakers vs. White Tigers

Today was the finals. It would be the Japanese Bladebreakers verus the home team the White Tigers. Max stood up to the dish nervously. He would be facing Gary. On the sideline, Rei had his eyes closed and arms crossed, and pretty much keeping silent. "You can do it Max!" Tyson cheered. "Everybody ready?" Jazzman yelled.

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

Both beyblades clashed furiously in the handmade beydish. One red and the other a dark forest green. "Do you think Max can win chief?" Tyson asked worriedly. "I'm not sure Tyson." Kenny said softly. "Come on Draciel!" Max yelled as his bit gave off a soft purplish glow. Gary frowned, not wanting to be outdone and called out his own bit beast. "Galzzy!" He rumbled.

Gary's bit began to glow an eerie red as a massive grizzly bear rose from it. Max stared in shock. "That's Gary's bit beast?!" Tyson demanded. Rei opened his eyes, and there was an usual gleam in those yellow orbs. "I'll admit that I'm impressed." Kai admitted, turning to Rei who was frowning. "Is it as powerful as it seems?" Rei's frown deepened. "Let's just say I'm glad I'm not in Max's shoes right now." Said the ex-White Tiger.

"Finish him off Galzzy!" Gary ordered. No! Max was panicking. He was going to loose the match. The red beyblade leapt into the air and crashed down not only on Max's beyblade, but Gary ended up destroying the entire beydish. Sending it to collapse on Max's beyblade. And even more unfortunate was that Gary's beyblade remained spinning while Draciel had stopped.

Gary won the first round.

Max frantically searched through the rubble and finally picked up his battered beyblade. You did your best Draciel. He thought sadly and blinked as a strong hand was held outward towards him. The younger teen looked up into Gary's grinning face. "That was a good match Max. I hope we can be friends." Max laughed and shook Gary's hand. Rei shook his head and smiled. /Always like Gary to be so forgiving./ He told Driger with a chuckle. Driger just snickered loudly.

Mariah went up next as the BBA replaced the ruined dish with a brand new one. Silently, Rei stood up and faced her. "Don't you dare hold back Rei." Mariah ordered. Sad yellow eyes just watched, but he said nothing.

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

One pink and the other a silvery white, clashed and repelled each other in the beydish. Mariah scowled. For some reason, it felt like Rei wasn't even fighting at all. Almost as if he was letting her win.

She shook her head angrily. "I don't want to fight like this Rei!" She cried. He glanced at her. Well, at least she caught his attention. "I don't want to deal with this new you, but I want the old Rei back! My friend!" Rei's yellow eyes widen slightly. Mariah... he thought.

Strangely enough, a tiny smile played on his lips and the White Tigers were reminded of the old Rei. One who was playful and always battled fiercely with a smile. "I'm sorry for holding back Mariah. But, I won't do it anymore." He teased. Then his eyes slitted down. "DRIGER!" He roared out, Mariah grinned. "GALUX!" She yelled out. From the pink beyblade, a ferocious leopard rose and from the silvery beyblade came a roaring white tiger.

"CAT SCRATCH/TIGER CLAW-"

"ATTACK!" They both yelled out at the same time. A bright pink and green light lit up the stadium. And when everyone could see again, Mariah's beyblade had gone still while Rei's kept spinning like no tomorrow.

Rei won!

"You did it!" Tyson cheered happily. Rei smiled shyly as he caught his beyblade with fluid grace. Mariah smiled secretly to herself. As long as he's happy, then so am I. She thought, pleased. But she knew in her heart, it would take Lee a long time to forgive Rei for his actions. "Alright Tyson, you're up." Kenny announced. "You did a really good job." Max told Rei as the elder teen sat back down. "Thanks." Rei said shyly.

When Lee and Tyson faced off, the former White Tiger could actually feel Lee's hate and anger from where he was sitting. Rei watched his friend sadly. Oh Lee, why can't things just be the way they used to be? Rei wondered sadly.

Even though he appeared calm on the outside, inside was truly another story. Since Rei was half a Heartless, any dark emotions like hate and greed would arouse the demon within him. And right now, Rei was fighting the urge to destroy. Like it was for all Heartless.

Unfortunately, the lion spirit and the dragon spirit were equal in strength and speed. "I can't believe it ended in a draw." Kenny said angrily. "So, who'll fight in the death session?" Max asked uneasily. Still fighting his urges, Rei stood up with his bangs shadowing his eyes. "I will." Rei said with a growl. "Are you sure?" Tyson questioned. Rei gave an ever so slight nod. "Yes."

Lee scowled when Rei, with his eyes still shadowed, stepped up to the arena. "Don't think you're gonna win traitor." He hissed. Just for a second, Lee caught a glimpse of Rei's eyes. They were glittering like two ruby red jewels. "That is for Fate to decide Lee." Rei said through clenched teeth as the two got into position.

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

The black and silver beyblades clashed furiously. "Why did you leave our village Rei?" Lee demanded angrily. If one payed attention, you could hear the hurt and betrayal in his voice. "Where we not good enough for you?!"

Rei sighed and glanced at him with pained yellow eyes. "I didn't have much of a choice." Rei whispered. "I had to leave to keep you all safe." Then his eyes harden. "DRIGER!" He roared in a much deeper than normal voice. "TIGER VULCAN CLAW ATTACK!" He ordered. Before Lee could even blink at the announcement of this new attack, a huge beam of green energy shot from the bit within Rei's beyblade, going straight through the roof. People only stared in shock as debris fell and smoke filled the arena.

Coughing, Lee looked around frantically. How the hell did he get so strong? He took a quick look to the stunned Bladebreakers. Could it be because of them? He wondered. "And the winner of this match is Rei!" Came Jazzman's surprised voice.

WHAT?!

Lee looked forward and gasped. His beyblade had gone still while Rei's kept spinning. And the spinning beyblade flew into Rei's hand. Lee picked up his own and stared at it. Maybe grandpa was right. I should've been able to control my temper. That's why I wasn't chosen to have Driger. Rei watched Lee with a neutral look, wondering what was going through the fifteen year old's head. "You did it Rei!" Tyson called out. "We won the Asian Tournament!" Max said eagerly.

Hm?

Rei looked up to see that Lee held out his hand, in an offer of friendship. "I'm sorry for accusing you of being a traitor. I should've trusted you more. Are we still friends?" Rei grinned, showing that he was not upset in the least. "We never stopped being friends." He said warmly, shaking the hand, renewing their friendship.

Mariah tackled Rei into a hug, which made Rei's cheeks take on a rosy pink hue. "Glad to have you back Rei." She happily. "I'm sorry for that landslide Rei." Kevin said guiltily. Rei just smiled at Kevin. "It's okay. I understand." Kevin grinned, glad that his idol wasn't too angry. Hearing all this, started to make the four Bladebreakers envy of the friendship that the White Tigers held with their friend and teammate.

Rei tilted his head, an icy cold feeling washing over him and he shivered. "Are you okay?" Mariah asked worriedly, touching his arm. She quickly drew back however when she realized how cold he was. "You're as cold as ice!" She cried. No one else saw the nine pairs of glittering red eyes watching the two teams from the shadows. Rei frowned. It was those demons that Maleficent had created a few weeks ago to destroy him. But, he couldn't let his friends get hurt because of him! What to do?

Swipe

Yikes! Rei swiftly moved to the left, in order to avoid getting hit by a second crystallized arrow. The two teams simply stared at the arrow that was imbedded deep into the rocky beydish, still quivering. Lee had never seen Rei move that fast before. But, Rei did not come out of this unharmed.

A long, thin scratch appeared on his right arm, drawing forth his black blood. Rei's lips curled slightly. "Damn." He swore under his breath. "Are you okay?" Max asked worriedly. Rei waved him off, even though blood was dribbling down his right arm. "I'm fine. Just a scratch." He muttered.

Just what was with Rei?

Chapter 7

Flashback

Rei had been confronted by the other White Tigers before he had headed off to the hotel. "What is it?" Rei asked politely. The four friends shifted nervously. "You, see...uh..." Lee trailed off. "We want to know if we can come with you guys for support!" Kevin blurted out. Rei blinked before breaking out into a full blown grin. "It's alright with me as long as it's alright with Mr Dickenson and the village elders."

It was by some miracle that the White Tigers were given permission to come. Much to the anger of Tyson and Kai.

End Flashback

...

That of course had been two weeks ago, and now both teams along with Mr Dickenson and Tyson's crazy grandfather, headed to America for the American Tournament. Upon arriving, Mr Dickenson arranged a tour at a BBA faculty in New York City.

However, they ran into a very pretty blond woman with familiar sapphire eyes. She was wearing a purple headband and a purple dress suit and purple shoes while wearing a white jacket. She was Dr Judy Tate. "Mom!" Max said happily, hugging her tightly. The woman blinked in shock. "Maxie?" She questioned. Mr Dickenson smiled. "There you are Judy. Kids, Dr Judy here trains the American BBA team." The old man explained. Rei raised an eyebrow. Now, who was keeping secrets from who?

"Of course. Follow me." Along the way, they ran into a young girl about fourteen with wavy light orange hair and sharp prussian blue eyes. She wore a yellow and green tee-shirt, a green plated skirt, white tennis shoes. And like Judy, she wore a white lab coat. Judy called her 'Emily'.

"And this is where we train our Bladers to handle any kind of situation." Judy said proudly, letting them enter what appeared to be some sort of lab. All around the room was a number of machines and in front was a very large screen that covered half the wall. An eerie feeling fill Rei and he shifted nervously on his feet. "I got a bad feeling you guys." He muttered. "You're be a little paranoid." Kenny scoffed, drooling over the machinery in the room.

At this, the White Tigers grew tense. Whenever Rei gets one of those feelings, he's usually right, Lee thought uneasily. Mariah placed a calm hand on Rei's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll be careful." She whispered to him.

He gave a slight nod at her words. No one saw the small smile on Judy's face, nor the button that Emily pressed on a nearby console. But, everyone in the lab clearly heard the four Bladebreakers, minus Kenny, and the White Tiger's surprised yells as the ground beneath all eight gave a way, and they fell through a secret shaft. And all eight were instantly knocked unconscious.

Kenny whirled around in shock. "What the-?!" He cried. "What'd you do with them?" Grandpa Granger demanded angrily, all traces of his humor was gone from his voice. Even Mr Dickenson was stunned.

...

Max groaned softly, his head was throbbing painfully. He looked up and all grogginess left his eyes and he got up in a rush, and regretted it as dizziness washed over him. Lying all around him in unconscious heaps was Kai, Tyson, Rei, Lee, Kevin, Mariah and Gary. "Wake up you guys!" He hissed loudly. Soft groans greeted him as the other seven teenagers slowly regained consciousness.

"What happened?" Tyson asked, rubbing his sore head. "The last thing I remember was falling through a hole in the floor." Kevin muttered, shaking his head to clear the dizziness away. Lee suddenly blurred and lifted Max up by the collar of his tee-shirt. "This is all your mother's fault!" He snarled.

"Hey! Let him go Lee!" Tyson yelled. "It's not his fault Lee. Please put him down." Rei said quietly. Grumbling, Lee obeyed and dropped a slightly nerved blond down to the ground. "Where are we anyway?" Gary asked curiously.

They were standing on a sandy beach and crystal clear blue water lapped at their feet. The skies were also clear and the warm sun shone down brilliantly on them. Behind them was a jungle with a number of tropical trees and there was even a waterfall! Linking to a smaller island was a bridge and Lee could make out a strange fruit that appeared to be star shape hanging from the branches from the tree that leaned out towards the sea. There was also tree houses in the huge thick trees.

The color drained from Rei's skin as he looked around with wide yellow eyes. It can't be, he thought sickly. What is it Rei?!Driger asked frantically. /This is my home Driger. Destiny Islands./ The White Tiger looked through Rei's eyes and whistled. Destiny Islands was paradise compared to the village back in China. "Where'd you get that sword from Rei?" Came Tyson's shocked voice, which snapped Rei out of his muses.

Huh?

Rei glanced down to see a very thick gold handled silver sword in his hand. Encrypted into the hilt was a familiar black circle with two smaller ones for ears. It was King Mickey's Dream Sword. But, what was it doing in his hands? "I don't know." Rei said slowly and tested it out.

The blade blurred in his hands and he smiled. I still got it! He thought, pleased. "Since when were you that good with a weapon?" Kai demanded, finally speaking since they arrived. Rei merely raised an eyebrow. That was one question he was not about to answer at all. "So, how do we get out of here?" Mariah asked hotly, her hands on her hips, eyes flashing angrily. "I don't know." Max admitted, guilty

A wave of coldness washed over Rei and he tensed. Not good. If he was picking up on those energy signatures, it was a sure sign that the Heartless would attack.

Shouwomf

Everyone looked up sharply just in time to see something they did not know appear. It was the size of a small child, that is if a child was completely black. A small lithe black body, a round black head, razor sharp claws and talons, wiggling antennas and of course beady yellow eyes. "What is that?!" Mariah shrieked. "There's more around us." Kevin whimpered as they realized they were surrounded on all sides.

"Damn. We're in trouble." Rei cursed under his breath. One Shadow suddenly leapt for Tyson, but it was instantly destroyed by a flash of metal. Tyson blinked in shock as the Shadow burst into dust and a crystallized ruby heart flew into the air. "One down and nineteen more to go." Rei muttered lamely.

"Just what are they?" Kevin repeating Mariah's question from earlier. Rei chose to speak, but he did not take his eyes off the Shadows. "They're called Shadows. Rather weak really. It'll be bad if they call in for reinforcements....like right now..." Rei trailed off as another set appeared.

Only these were covered in dark blue armor, a silver helmet, curved up talons, blood red dipped claws, and glowing yellow eyes. Over their chests, right where their hearts would be, was a black heart with a thin red "x" crossing through it. "Great, they brought in Soldiers." Rei growled, backing up slightly.

"Oof!" Rei grunted as a Soldier clawed him on the chest, and of course drawing his thick black blood. Hissing slightly, he brought his sword down on the Soldier's head, effectively destroying it. "You okay?" Mariah asked worriedly. Rei merely waved her off. "We'll talk later after we get out of here!" He yelled, dodging an attack from another Shadow. "Yikes!" Kevin yelped, barely avoiding being ripped in the chest by a Shadow.

Getting an idea, Rei suddenly threw the sword at the remaining Heartless and smirked as it went flying through them, destroying them and the sword flew back into his hand, which he caught. "Come on, we need to get out of here before more of them shows up." Rei told them, clutching his wound. They nodded. "But how?" Gary asked.

How indeed?

...

Kenny glared at Emily. "Just how do they get out of that program?" He demanded. Emily looked uneasy as she glanced at the main computer. "The program simply pulls out a location from one of the player's minds and let's them survive there. But, those things were not supposed to be there." She cried. "Emily, try aborting the program." Judy suggested. Emily typed furiously for a minutes before paling. "I can't Dr Judy!"

"WHAT?!" Kenny yelled. "Something's taken control of the program. I can't do anything. And," she swallowed thickly. "the safety proto call has somehow been disabled."

...

Rei looked up. "We're being watched." He said suddenly. "What do you mean?" Mariah began but was cut off by a pure black sword slamming into the ground where Rei had been standing seconds ago. Luckily, Rei sensed the attack was coming and had leapt out of the way. "Who threw that?!" Tyson demanded. "I did." Purred a throaty voice. Rei froze. Out of the shadows of the jungle, came a man in his early twenties.

The man was very tall, a lithe tan muscular body, and waist length silver hair with cruel red orange eyes. He wore no shirt, which showed off his muscles, but he did wear a white open vest that seemed to end just below his knees, black leather pants, knee high shiny black boots, a silver leather trench coat with black sleeves, and white elbow length gloves. Pulsing over his heart was a black heart shape mark with a thin red "x" through it.

Rei swallowed hard. "Ansem." He said uneasily. Ansem lifted the pure black sword and before anyone could even blink, he lunged for Rei. Intending to kill. "Rei! Look out!" Lee cried, feared for his best friend.

The Keymaster quickly jumped over Ansem's head and landed gracefully behind the older man. The Dream Sword was held in a defense position. No way I can attack Ansem out right. I need a plan. But what? He wondered, still keeping his eye on the Dark Lord. Suddenly, Ansem held out his hands, almost as if he was going to hug Rei. But, the neko-jin knew better. "Come. Open your heart to darkness." Ansem hissed.

The ground beneath them suddenly became an eerie shade of blue mixed with black and a dark purplish pillar of energy shot from beneath Rei, surging through his body. Forcing him to scream out in pain. Dark energy coursed through him, reaching down to his soul, filling him with the energy of the Heartless. Finally, after ten minutes of screaming, Rei was released.

Rei was a wreck. His proud clothing was torn and his skin was cut in many places. His wild hair was out of its normal style and allowed the long silky black strands to fall freely over his face. Panting, he stood up. Tyson was a bit surprised to see that Rei's hair came just below his knees. "Rei..." Mariah whispered, pain in her voice was easily detected. Once more, Ansem's form blurred, but, instead of lunging for Rei, he did something else instead.

"Urk!" Everyone paled when they saw the black blade sticking through Rei's stomach. Ansem smirked and jammed the sword even deeper into Rei.

...

Judy gasped. "That's it. Emily go get the other All Starz," She ordered. Emily hastily lefty the room. "You three come with me." Judy barked to the other three remaining members. "If we leave now, we can just make it." Kenny heard her mumble as he struggled to keep up with her quicken pace. Please be alright Rei, He prayed as he hurried up.

...

Rei's yellow eyes widen in shock and pain, but mainly pain as Ansem removed the sword from Rei's stomach. Rei swayed dangerously on his feet with a gapping hole in his body. With a whimper, he slumped to the ground. Just as the black liquid began to pool around him, the simulation finally disappeared.

"REI!" Mariah shrieked, running forward. "Don't lift him, you'll only make it worse." Kai said quietly. The last thing Rei saw was someone running towards him and hearing his name being called before he finally slipped into unconsciousness.

...

It was about five hours later and after an extensive surgery, Dr Judy said it was alright for the two teams to visit Rei in the hospital. As the two teams entered, the feeling of sickness rang in the air. Sleeping in the only bed in the room was Rei. A number of machines was hooked up to him, struggling to keep his battered body alive.

"Hey, wait a second. Something's different about him." Kenny said suddenly. Mariah looked closely and realized that Kenny was indeed correct. "He's right. There's some red highlights to his hair." Mariah pointed out the blood red streaks running through the pure black hair. Lee placed the Driger blade on the table next to the sleeping Rei sadly, praying for Rei to regain consciousness.

Suddenly, the silvery white beyblade began to glow a soft neon green. "What's going on here?!" Tyson cried. The green light slowly drifted in the air and began to curl around Rei, almost in a loving manner. The light seeped into his skin. Kenny quickly opened Dizzi and was typing furiously. The light had engulfed Rei's body entirely, lighting up the whole room with its glow.

"I don't believe this." Kenny said in shock. "Believe it Kenny-boy. It's real." Said Dizzi. "What are you talking about?" Kevin demanded. "That light is Driger. Somehow, he's deepening a bond that's healing Rei of his injury. In fact, Rei should wake up any minute now." Kenny said, amazed. The light eventually died down and Rei stirred. "Rei?" Mariah asked hopefully, holding his hand. Slowly, Rei's eyes fluttered open. Only they noticed something was terribly wrong.

Pale blue eyes stared out instead.

What happened to his eyes? Kai wondered curiously. "Wh-what happened?" Rei asked groggily. "Don't you remember?" Tyson asked quietly. Those pale blue eyes locked onto him, narrowed slightly. "That creep nearly killed you!" Mariah said angrily. /Driger?/ Rei tried.

Thank god you're alright Rei.Driger said warily. /What did happen after Ansem?/ Rei asked. Driger hesitated. Well, you got stabbed pretty bad in the stomach and it was the All Starz you got you to the hospital. And...He trailed off. Rei raised a mental eyebrow. /Driger, what else happened? I know something changed. I can feel it./ Rei insisted. I had to lend some of my own energy to heal you. In other words, your appearance has changed.

/Like how?/ Driger sighed. You have some red tints to your hair and your eyes are now the most unique shade of pale blue.

Oh boy.

Next course is coming up