A/N: Here is the next revised chapter. Hope it's good
blah= Driger to Rei
/blah/ = Rei to Driger
Disclaimer: Don't own anything you'll recognize. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.
Chapter 5
Ranma grimaced. "This guy is defiantly powerful. I can feel his ki all the way over here." Yami was worried. He recalled the stories Ranma told him before all this happened. About the ten year training trip to make him the best there was. Rei frowned. "Watch out for that sword of his. He knows how to use it very well." He said quietly. Yami swallowed thickly.
"I have a feeling you are correct Rei." He said uneasily. "Wind!" Rei called softly three times. The barrier of mist quickly flew up all around the trio. Hopefully it would help them. "Take this!" The man yelled, jumping high into the air. Rei's eyes widen.
Oh boy.
Rei dove for the ground and barely rolled out of the way as Cloud slammed his broad sword into the ground. Right where Rei had been seconds before. The area around the sword had flashed an eerie dark purple but it quickly faded and Cloud whirled around.
"Why are you doing this Cloud?!" Rei demanded, deflecting the next attack by bringing up Ultima. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the air.
The silent warrior was slightly surprised that Rei knew his name, but it quickly faded. "Sorry kid. Orders are orders." Ranma frowned as he heard this. Obviously Rei knew this man. But how?
"FIRAGA!" Rei yelled.
A huge blast of flames sent Cloud flying. The blond hissed in pain from the high level spell. Growling, he ignored the third degree burns that were forming on his skin and lashed out blindly this time in pure rage. Sorry Cloud but you leave me with no choice. Rei thought sadly. Yami managed to deflect another attack by Cloud's with a trap card he called "Mirror Force."
"Let's go!" Rei yelled, a bright red light surrounding him and his Keyblade. Ranma and Yami leapt back to avoid the powered up attack as Rei became a red and gold blur, zipping all around Cloud. Then he reappeared behind Cloud, his Keyblade, held out slightly. For a second, nothing happened.
But then, Ranma and Yami gasped as Cloud's eyes grew wide with pain before he slumped to the ground in a dead faint. Rei was bent over one knee, breathing heavily. "I hated to do that to him, but he had left me with no choice." He said sadly. With that said, Rei doused another Elixir and was fine in a matter of seconds. "You did it!" Cheered Lee.
They turned to see the Beybladers running towards them. Phil was very impressed with their actions. "Not bad kid. You just may have what it takes to be a hero." He mused.
A sudden coldness washed over Rei and he shivered. "What's wrong Rei?" Tyson questioned worriedly. Rei was looking around frantically. "Something is wrong. Can't you guys feel that?" Bryan frowned.
"Feel what?" He asked a bit rudely.
"So dark. It feels like..." Rei trailed off as he recognized the power behind the coldness.
Uh oh.
The ground shook and Rei whirled around and backed up in horror. Ranma was confused but then he looked down to see a very huge shadow looming over the group. Everyone could feel hot breath on their necks, making all nine shiver in fear. They slowly turned and looked up.
And up.
Standing over them was a very huge three headed black dog with glowing red eyes, nasty looking fangs, and actual black smoke was coming from its nostrils. Rei swallowed hard.
"Th-that's Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld." He said thickly. They were backing up slowly until a golden brown blur went in front of them. The blur revealed to be a very muscular young man somewhere in his twenties with curly auburn hair and warm blue eyes. He was dressed in chestnut armor, showing he was a gladiator.
He had rushed in, grabbed Cloud and lifted the still unconscious man onto his shoulder, and held up his free hand, trying to keep the demonic beast's attention on him. "Get those kids outta here Phil!" The man yelled. Phil hastily agreed and urged the others to follow him back into the main lobby
Inside, one could tell that Phil was very worried. "Who was that guy?" Kevin wondered out loud. "That was Hercules. I'm just wondering what the hell Cerberus was doing here?!" Phil growled. Then he sighed heavily. "Still. I know Herc could take him on." He said quietly.
"I hope."
Rei clenched his fists tightly. "Hercules won't be able to fend off Cerberus with Cloud being injured. I'm going to help him." He vowed.
Say WHAT?!
Lee grabbed Rei's right arm rather tightly. "Are you insane? You can't go back out there!" He screeched. Rei glared at his friend. "And why not? If I don't, then Hades will win and we'd be in big trouble." He snapped.
Rei nearly jumped out of his skin as a gentle hand was placed on his shaking shoulder. He looked up curiously into a grinning Ranma. "You're not doing this alone Rei. We're gonna help." Yami nodded in agreement. Rei smiled. "Thank you." He whispered. Phil gave a wary smile. "Kid I got two words for ya: Go get him!!" Rei, Ranma, and Yami nodded and ran through the door, and back out into the arena where trouble would greet them.
Hercules grunted as he shifted the dead weight on his shoulders and glared up into Cerberus' six red eyes. He sweated heavily. He was in big trouble.
"We're here to help Hercules!" Hercules made out the battle stances of Rei, Ranma and Yami. Hercules reluctantly left them behind so he could get Cloud to safety and vanished into the main lobby.
The black Scan visor flashed over Rei's eyes as he locked onto one of Cerberus' outside heads. "This is gonna be hard you guys. Cerberus' has two major attacks: first of all, avoid being in the line of attack with the middle head or you'll take major damage. Second is when he leans down, he sends out a huge amount of dark magic into the air." He explained grimly as he cast the Aeroga spell.
Suddenly, all three heads opened their mouths and huge fireballs, about the size of mini vans flew out and sped in their direction!
"Look out!" Rei screamed. The trio quickly separated and the fireballs crashed into the stone wall behind them. Luckily, they were unharmed.
"That was a little too close." Ranma breathed.
"THUNDAGA!" Rei yelled.
Black storm clouds gathered overhead, surprising the two as they continued to dodge Cerberus' bites and fireballs. Huge bolts of golden thunder rained down on the arena. Most hitting the three headed dog. Cerberus roared in pain.
Now, instead of attacking Ranma and Yami, it focused all of its rage on Rei. Rei grinned. This was just what he wanted. He just prayed his plan would work and eliminate Cerberus in one shot. But, it would be worth it.
A pale blue aura flared around Rei as he hurled the Keyblade at Cerberus' right head. The razor sharp blade sliced deep into the demonic dog's head causing it to whimper in pain. Now, as Rei caught the Keyblade, he brought the powerful weapon down in an arc. Ranma and Yami stared in awe as bright blue energy washed over it, and lit up the entire arena and skies. The two had to shield their eyes to avoid going blind.
When they could see again, Cerberus was gone and Rei was bent over one knee, wheezing. All that magic, it was no wonder he was so tired.
"Y-you did it Rei." Ranma said in shock.
"Tired." Rei mumbled, before collapsing in a dead faint. Yami managed to catch him. The tri colored haired teen glanced down at the peaceful face of the sleeping Keyblade master and smiled.
"It's strange." He mused quietly.
Ranma glanced at him in confusion. "What are ya talking about?" He asked tiredly. Yami met Ranma's curious gaze and chuckled softly. "It's just when this first started I didn't know what to make of him, but now..." He shook his head in a daze. Ranma was thoughtful.
"I know what you mean. I thought Rei was a bit arrogant with that Keyblade of his. But he has a good heart and he is a good friend." Ranma admitted. Yami smiled. "That he is." He agreed. Ranma then got an idea. "Didn't he say that his friends; Donald and Goofy, lost their hearts?" Yami slowly nodded, remembering when Rei told Kairi the bitter news. "Well, I know we can't replace them, but what if we can find a way to bring up the good memories of them."
Yami nodded.
"That would probably make him happy." He then smiled.
"Why not?"
He looked up into the setting sun. "We should head back." He told Ranma who agreed. Ranma then lifted the sleeping Rei onto his back. And with a smile, carried Rei piggyback style back to the main lobby where their friends were waiting anxiously for them.
Tyson looked at the darken doorway with an unreadable expression on his face. "I hope their okay." He said worriedly. "They're strong warriors." Lee said quietly. "We must have faith in them." That still didn't calm any of them down. Not too long ago, Cloud had woken up and was sitting back out on the main gates to the Gummi ship.
Mariah's sharp eyes grew wide as she made out vaguely human shapes in the doorway. "Hey, I think that's them!" She cried in excitement. Yami and Ranma came out, a bit worn and burned, but alright. Ranma was carrying a sleeping Rei on his back.
"Is he okay?" Max asked quickly, seeing Rei's state. Yami gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. He's just sleeping. For he used up all of his energy in facing Cerberus." He told the worried blond.
Hercules nudged Phil gently. "Come on Phil." He said sternly. "Alright." Phil grumbled darkly and read out from a piece of parchment. "Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heros." He said gruffly. That was when a similar parchment floated into a very surprised satyr's hands. He glanced down. It was a junior hero licence.
Er- - sort of.
The licence was upgraded to a full hero licence right before his very beady black eyes. Very weird. "You can also compete in any of the games. Unfortunately due to that last battle, there won't be any until I repair the stadium. Until then, your out of luck."
Lee nodded slowly. "Well, we'll be going now." He said quietly. That was when Hercules spoke. "Don't take it too personally. You'll have to find out the hard way what it's like to be a real hero. Just like I did. Anyway, good luck on your journey." Ranma gave a tired smile.
"Thanks. Although it'll be awhile until Rei wakes up as only he can operate the Gummi ship." Ranma answered and the group left the two behind. The second they passed the doors, Phil spoke up.
"I still can't believe those little squirts actually beat Cerberus!" Hercules smiled and leaned down. "Just between the two of us, I had already worn Cerberus down before they showed up." Phil snickered.
The gang made their way to the Gates and froze. For someone was blocking their way. Ranma and Yami scowled. "What do you want Cloud?" Ranma growled. "I'm sorry." Came the soft answer. This shocked them. Wha - - ?
"Why were you helping Hades?" Yami asked gently. Cloud sighed. "I had lost my light. And Hades promised to help me find it." Ranma glanced back at the sleeping Rei and was thoughtful. "Rei lost his light yesterday. And we're helping him search." Cloud was surprised as he looked at the sleeping teen that was being held gently on Ranma's back. He tossed something to Yami who easily caught it.
Inside was a tiny silver star. "When he wakes, please give it to him and tell him not to loose sight of it." And Cloud vanished behind them. Ranma was surprised. "Maybe he's not as bad as I thought." He mused. Now all they could do was wait for Rei to wake.
Hm. Maybe they should rest as well.
Rei looked around in confusion. Wasn't he just in the Coliseum, fighting Cerberus? Where was he anyway? His eyes widen as he recognized the lilies and roses around him. He was in that garden from an earlier dream he had. The one his real mother had been in.
He walked forward and past Weeping Willows and saw the woman from before, curled up underneath a Willow, cradling a bundle in her arms. And Rei knew it had to be him. He smiled. She looked so happy. But...
What was she mumbling about?
He leaned in and struggled to hear her words. {"Oh, my little one. How I wished none of this darkness occurred."} She sighed wistfully, and a tiny hand reached out and grabbed her finger, cooing softly.
BOOM
The Queen had looked up sharply, cradling her baby close to her breast and her eyes widen as she saw smoke in the distance. That only meant one thing:
The Heartless were here.
{"Hello your highness..."} Hissed a very familiar voice. Rei whirled around and gaped as he recognized the shady form of Ansem. But, what was he doing here?! The man reached a shadowy hand out to the Queen.
{"Give me the boy, and I might spare your life wench."} Ansem snapped. The Queen's eyes flashed dangerously. {"Never!"} She cried. She looked around frantically. {"Where is my husband?!"} She demanded. Ansem snickered. {"Oh, you mean...him?"} Ansem stepped back and the Queen burst out in a wail as a dancing Shadow Heartless stood there. Rei froze.
Ansem had known who he was all along.
Everything was being covered in eternal darkness. With his heighten hearing, Rei could make out Ansem's voice saying:
{"Ha, ha, ha!! You've failed in your mission Keymaster! I have won!"}
Darkness rules over all....
Rei's eerie eyes flew open as he sat up in a rush. Beads of sweat trickled down his face. "Rei?" Came a worried voice. The Keyblade master looked up frantically and met the worried eyes of Bryan. "Are you alright?" The Demolition Boy asked softly. "I'm fine." Rei mumbled.
"Just a bad dream." Bryan knew there was more to this, but he chose to let it go.
For now.
About ten minutes after Rei had woken up; freaked out, the others slowly woke up as well. Rei couldn't let them know about his dream. Or was it a nightmare? He didn't know and didn't even want to know the truth.
"Where to now?"
Ranma asked, yawning. Rei took out his palm lap top and looked through the worlds. "The next world is about half an hour from here. We should be there shortly." Rei said quietly.
"Then, lets go!" Tyson cheered, rushing through the huge gates. Chuckling, Rei followed as did they. But, Bryan quietly explained to the others about finding Rei in a sweat from a nightmare and that they should watch out for any more signs.
Back in Traverse Town, things were going pretty smoothly since the ten had left for Wonderland. "You think that they're okay?" Emily asked worriedly. Michael gave the red headed girl a reassuring smile.
"I'm sure they're fine. Come on, we still need to perfect our training with our bit beasts before they come back." Emily nodded in agreement with the brunette and followed her fellow teammate outside so Leon could take them back to the hidden training area.
In an endless realm of darkness, a man that Rei knew all to well and loathed very much, was watching the gang who were making their way to the third world on their stop and grinned nastily as he watched the dream Rei had minutes before.
"So he begins to remember." His grin grew even nastier. If that was possible.
"And so the beginning of the end has begun."
"Perfect."
I'll get the revised Chapters 6 and 7 up in a minute.
