A/N: Let's see now, Ranma and Yami just met up with the powerful Merlin, and had just been told that the ancient wizard was gonna train them in the ways of magic. Interesting, eh?
blah= Driger to Rei
/blah/ = Rei to Driger
Disclaimer: Don't own anything you'll recognize
Chapter 9
Ranma, and Yami could only stare at both Merlin and Rei in shock. Rei knew the greatest wizard of all times? Rei pulled out the book Cid had given him and handed it over. Merlin smiled. "Thank you Rei." Rei relaxed as Merlin used his second name. He didn't want Ranma and Yami knowing the truth just yet. "Just give me a minute to settle in."
Merlin went up to the circular stone and sat his bag on a second, yet smaller circular stone on top. He took out a long black stick; obviously his wand, and began waving and dancing about. To their amusement, many kinds of house hold objects began to float out and insert themselves into the room.
In a flash of white light, the empty room was now full of objects. Such as a bed, a dresser, one regular table and two desks, a number of books scattered about, a telescope and some vases stood by the entrance.
Wow.
"There we go. All done now." Merlin said cheerfully. Yami and Ranma felt their jaws drop down in shock. Rei giggled at the sight. Blushing, the two closed their mouths.
"It's not funny." Ranma grumbled, still red. "Yes it is!" Rei squealed between giggles. "Oh, and may I introduce the Fairy Godmother?" Merlin continued.
A funny looking tiny white pumpkin like carriage, that was sitting next to the entrance was surrounded by blue dust and in a flash, an elderly, yet slightly chubby, woman was standing there. She wore a pale blue dress with a slightly darker blue cloak with a hood. Her wand, unlike Merlin's which was black, her's was white.
"I too, shall be helping you in training with magic." She said gently.
"Can you tell us what this is?" Yami asked politely, as Rei removed the Earthshine that they had gotten from Leon. The Fairy Godmother inspected it with a frown.
"Oh my, this poor soul has become a summon gem." Ranma raised an eyebrow. "A summon gem?" He repeated. She nodded. "Yes. a summon gem is a soul who lost their world but refuses to give up. Now, Bippity-Boppity-Boo!" The gem became tiny stars which entered Rei's heart. "Now, you can summon him to battle whenever you need him." Rei grinned.
"Thank you."
"Oh, and before you three leave, remember to check with Cid at the house in this District." Merlin pointed out. They nodded and left. "Good luck child." The Fairy Godmother whispered, returning back to the carriage form.
Remembering the stairs that was by the door to the Second District, and the only house up there, the trio trotted up the stone stairs, still no signs of Heartless. And found the once vacant building was now all lit up. Shrugging, Rei pushed the door open and all three went inside.
Surprisingly, Cid, Yuffie, Aerith and Leon were all in there. Either sitting on the bed or leaning against the wall. "Hey there, how's everything going?" Yuffie asked cheerfully. Rei gave a wary smile. "Slow." He muttered.
"Have you guys heard of Maleficent? I hear she's in town." Said Cid. "Who's Maleficent?" Ranma questioned. "An evil sorcereress. She's the one who's been controlling the Heartless for the last nine years." Leon said coldly.
"She's not the one controlling them." Rei hissed. His pupils had dilated into slits, and for a second, an eerie red hue appeared, but it was gone in less than a millisecond. They glanced at him in shock.
"What are you talking about? Of course she's their leader!" Yuffie protested. Rei shook his head. "Fraid not." He said calmly. Yami grew suspicious. "Then, who is the one controlling them?" He asked sharply.
"Ansem."
Cue outburst in 5...4...3...2...1...
"WHAT?!"
Rei winced slightly, and rubbed his ears, which were ringing. "Do you mind? I'm not deaf you know!" He snapped. Aerith frowned. "But that's impossible. Ansem would never do that." She cried. Rei glared at her, eerie colored eyes flashing darkly.
"Not if he was consumed by the darkness. All he wants is eternal power and have darkness spread into the other worlds." He growled. "How is it you know this?" Leon asked suspiciously. Rei sighed before giving the man a dirty look. "Maybe because I met the guy?" He snapped. Leon redden slightly but did not say anything. This was unsettling for the gang.
"About traveling to more worlds, I've installed a Warp-G in your gummi." Cid said after a heavy pause rang in the air. Just as Rei was about to answer, the ground gave a tremendous lurch as a bell rang through out the air. "Sounds like it came from the Gizmo Shop." Yuffie said worriedly.
The trio exchanged worried looks. "We better go check this out." Ranma said softly. "You're right." Yami agreed. "Good luck you three." Aerith called as the trio ran out of the house. "They'll need it." Leon muttered.
The second they got outside, Rei raised Ultima over his head.
"THUNDAGA!" He yelled.
Bolts of thunder rained down and only Rei could hear the faint chime in the air. That meant the Gizmo shop would be up and running. Now to get there without being attacked by Heartless.
But how?
"The Gizmo Shop is in the Second District. How do we get there without being detected?" Yami asked curiously. "What we want is the bell on top of the building." Rei said quietly. He pushed the doors that would lead them back into the Second District open and they quickly rushed through and the doors slammed behind them.
Back in the First District, the Beybladers were uneasy. Not too long ago, Yuffie, Aerith and Leon had taken off for the Third District and hadn't returned. Coupled with the ground shaking and the bell ringing, it was enough to bring their fears and worries to life.
"Do you suppose they're alright Chief?" Tyson asked the younger boy worriedly. Kenny's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I don't know Tyson. I really don't know." He admitted. "We have to believe in them." Mariah said softly.
"If we believe in them, they can do anything." Lee nodded in agreement. "She's right. We just have to believe in Rei that he can win." He answered quietly. "We're with you all the way Rei." Oliver whispered, looking up at the starry sky. Unknowingly, a star winked out of existence.
They didn't have much time left before every world fell to the eternal darkness.
Rei frowned to himself as they came into the lower courtyard of the Second District. Ever since facing Clayton for the second time, he could feel the darkness within him growing at an alarming rate. What would happen when it would swallow him entirely? Would he destroy his friends?
He hoped not.
"Is that the Gizmo Shop Rei?" Ranma asked, dragging the teen out of his depressing thoughts. Rei snapped out of his trance and followed the martial artists' gaze. Ranma had pointed out the biggest building in the area which obviously at a large golden bell engraved on top. Rei nodded.
"Yes. We need to find the ladder that will get us up there. It should be on the second level outside, on the right of the building. Do you have a monster that can get us up there?" Rei asked of Yami who grew thoughtful. "Probably Silver Fang." He answered after awhile.
In a flash of yellow light, the beautiful silver wolf appeared. It panted slightly and licked Yami on the face, only simply smiled. "Silver Fang, do you think you could get us to the top of the Gizmo Shop?" He asked politely, pointing to their destination. Silver Fang looked up. He could do it and nodded, showing Yami he could do the trick. Yami's face lit up in a smile.
"He'll do it." He told the other two who grinned. Yami was the first to climb on the wolf's back, followed by Ranma then Rei taking up the rear. Ranma and Rei were surprised to find that Silver Fang's fur was soft as silk.
"Hang on tight." Yami called over his shoulder. Rei clung tightly to the soft fur as did Ranma. In two great big leaps, they were standing on the very top of the Gizmo Shop. Yami recalled Silver Fang and put the card back into his deck. "You can see the entire Second District from here." Ranma breathed.
"It's a magnificent view." Yami said softly.
Rei noted the boxes and crates blocking the entrance to the giant bell. "Could you guys help me move these things?" Rei called, slamming his body into the crates. Yami and Ranma quickly did the same and the crates gave way under their combined weight.
Rei walked forward and pulled the rope of the bell. With his sharp eyesight, Ranma gaped as the stone wall with flowers that was sitting in the fountain, the tiny bells decorating the fountain had lit up with bright blue light and the wall turned to reveal another picture. This one of flowers. Rei pulled the rope again and it shifted back to the flowers. Rei pulled it one last time and to the other two's shock, the wall turned over, revealing a large glowing keyhole.
"A keyhole." Yami said in awe.
"Come on, I need to seal it before any Heartless show up." Rei said grimily, before jumping down to the ground. Of course he landed without any problems. Ranma easily landed on the ground without problems because he was a martial artist. Yami had little difficulty because of his magic.
The second Rei took a step forward, he leapt back as a familiar adversary showed up. Much to Ranma and Yami's anger. All three recognized the huge purple metallic body with the glowing yellow eyes. "Guard Armor." Rei growled. And unfortunately, for them, Guard Armor was blocking them from reaching the keyhole. Yami quickly summoned the Dark Magician and Ranma powered up his body and his weapon. Yami shifted the staff and tensed, waiting for the first move to be taken. Rei gripped Ultima tightly, watching warily with the Scan visor activated.
"Dark Magic Attack!" Yami yelled. The Dark Magician raised his staff and sent out a massive blast of dark energy, forcing the robot to stumble back slightly. Rei frowned. Not even half of Guard Armor's health declined. His eyes grew wide. Then that meant...
Oh no.
Rei quickly cast the Aeroga spell. And just in time too. Yami gasped as Guard Armor took a step backwards, when he changed. His arms became his legs, and his legs became his arms. His body turned upside down and his head rolled about slightly, and a slit open, looking more like a mouth with a pair of yellow eyes glaring at them. Rei cursed under his breath.
Just great.
"What is that?!" Ranma screeched. "Opposite Armor. Basically a more powerful form of Guard Armor. Be careful, he has a new attack. A beam cannon he can fire from his torso." Rei warned, dodging the swipes coming from Opposite Armor's hands, er- - his legs.
While Ranma and Yami were busy dealing with the other body parts, Rei was flying through the air so he could attack the main torso. His keyblade sliced through some of the other arms and legs, but he kept aiming furious blows on the robot's main body part. "Oof!" Rei yelped in pain as he was slammed by a powerful beam of pinkish light into the benches in front of the hotel. He grunted, stood up and shook off his dizziness.
"Sonic Blade!" He yelled, becoming a golden blur as he slashed through the robotic body.
"Slash!" He cried.
For a second nothing really happened. But then Ranma and Yami smiled to themselves as all, but the main torso, dissenter grated into nothing, dropping bright green balls. Rei hastily told them to pick the balls up if they were drained of their physical energy. After picking up about ten, the two were fine again.
Rei glanced back at the actual body and grinned. Apparently, when he had been slicing Opposite Armor up, his had gotten some major hits in. And Opposite Armor's health bar had gone from orange to yellow to about half green. His grin grew. "I'm going to summon an old friend." He told the two curious teens. Rei closed his eyes and searched his heart for the one he needed and opened them.
"Courage!" He cried.
A ball of white light erupted from his heart, glowing on the tip of Ultima as he waved it in the shape of a keyhole. Silver light swirled around him, flying wildly about. Glowing underneath him in bright neon green light, was the kanji character for white tiger.
"Driger!"
Out of the light, merged a huge white tiger. Ranma swallowed thickly at the tiger, but quickly berated himself that this was no time to be a coward. Yami thought the white tiger was a magnificent creature.
Driger looked like an ordinary white tiger, save for the fact that he reached up to Rei's waist in height, had golden armor around his shoulders, a golden helmet and a golden metallic tail. The white tiger had glittering green stripes instead of the usual black ones and liquid eyes locked onto Rei. Ranma swore the tiger grinned a toothy grin at Rei. But, he had to be imagining that.
Right?
Driger gave a mighty roar, making the duo step back in fear. Rei chuckled and leapt onto the back of his friend. "Let's do this Driger." He whispered. Driger nodded. With a war cry, the dynamic duo struck!
One to the bottom of the torso, another to the middle and the last one through it. Ranma and Yami gaped. Like before, Opposite Armor fell apart, each part fading into ice blue light as a pure crystallized heart flew into the air. Driger nuzzled Rei briefly before disappearing in a haze of green mist and re-entered Rei's skin.
Rei fell to one knee, breathing heavily. "At least he's gone." He said tiredly.
"Yep. Time to do your stuff Rei." Ranma said cheerfully. Rei smiled and stood up, pointing Ultima at the keyhole. Tiny gold stars swirled around the tip as the blue beam entered the keyhole. He grinned as the keyhole was sealed and surprisingly another gummi piece fell out. "Come on, we need to let the others know of the good news." Yami said eagerly.
"Mariah, could you please calm down. I'm sure they're fine." Enrique growled. For the last twenty minutes, Mariah kept pacing back and forth. She scowled, but sat down at a table at the café.
"Here they come!" Kevin cried, pointing forward. "Well?" Michael demanded. Rei grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Traverse Town has been sealed up. The Heartless won't threaten it." He said happily, before fainting.
"REI!" They cried.
The sun shone brilliantly in the clear blue skies as a slight breeze brushed against the tropical trees of the paradise Destiny Islands. Two little boys, no older than five, stood outside a hidden cave entrance that was surrounded by bushes. The soft noise of falling water from the nearby waterfall could not bring them out of their uneasiness.
The youngest had unruly cinnamon brown hair and large pale blue eyes. He simply wore a white tee-shirt, red shorts and yellow sandals. His companion looked to be about a year older with shoulder length silver hair and cat shape aquamarine eyes. He just wore a sleeveless yellow tee-shirt, bright blue shorts and dark blue sandals. He also wore black gloves. He grinned at the brown haired boy.
"Come on Sora," He teased. "I dare you to go in." Sora shivered, looking at the entrance. Somehow, tendrils of dark mists were swirling around the cave hole. It felt like they were reaching out to him.
"I'm not sure Riku..." He whispered.
Riku's smile faded. What was wrong with him? He grabbed Sora's hand gently and urged him to follow. "I promise nothing bad will happen." He said soothingly. Sora looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Promise?" He pleaded. Riku smiled weakly. "I promise."
Riku dragged Sora towards the cave entrance when the black mists reached out and grabbed his ankles. Sora started struggling frantically. "Riku! Help!" He cried, reaching for his friend, who seemed to be out of reach.
"No!" Sora cried. "Don't go!"
"Don't go!" Rei yelped, sitting up, eyes wide. He placed a hand over his chest, right where his heart was fluttering wildly. Still breathing heavily, he looked around. Right now, he was sitting on the canopy bed in the Red Room at the Hotel.
/Driger, do you know how I got here?/ He asked the tiger curiously.
Thank god you're alright Rei. I was worried when you passed out.Rei raised an eyebrow.
/I passed out?/ He asked incredulously. Rei felt Driger nod and he was surprised. /I must have depleted my energy completely./ He mused.
Driger frowned. Anyway, right after you fainted, Ranma and Yami brought you here. And that was two days ago.He explained. Rei's eyes widen. Two days ago?! A loud snore caught Rei's attention, and the key bearer looked over and smiled at the sight. Sleeping peacefully in two chairs next to the bed were Ranma and Yami. Both had fallen asleep and were leaning against each other.
And it was Ranma who had been snoring.
Rei chuckled softly. It was a silly sight. His soft laughter woke them up. "Mm?" Ranma's eyes flew open. "Rei, you're alright!" He said pleased. Yami's eyes fluttered open, revealing concern. "Are you alright now?" He asked worriedly. Rei gave a tiny smile and nodded. "Don't worry. I just used up all of my energy. I'm fine now."
To prove it, he got up slowly and stretched gracefully, cracking all of his joints. Ranma winced. "Doesn't that hurt?" He asked. Rei grinned lightly. "Nope." He said cheerfully. "The others have been waiting for you to wake." Yami said quietly. Rei's grin grew as he followed them back to the First District.
It had been two days since Rei, Ranma and Yami had taken out Opposite Armor and of Rei passing out. "Why did Rei pass out like that?" Tyson wondered out loud for the hundredth time.
"I don't know Tyson." Kenny snapped. This was getting really old. Lee looked up hearing a soft laugh and his eyes widen in shock. Can it be? He wondered.
Coming around the corner of the Accessory Shop was Ranma, Yami and Rei. And all three were laughing softly. "R-Rei?" Mariah asked shakily. The older teen looked up and smiled warmly.
"Hey." He said softly.
The gang rushed up to him, asking questions all at the same time. Rei held up his hands, as if to fend off their questions. "Easy does it you guys!" He laughed. It was Kai who asked the important question.
"Why did you faint?" He asked simply. Rei gave a strange smile. "I simply used up too much energy. So it took two days for me to recover completely." He grinned widely. "Anyway, who's up for our next world?: He asked cheerfully. It was still the same. "Good luck and be careful!" Emily called as the group took off through the gates to the Gummi Ship.
Good luck indeed.
They'll need it.
"And how may I ask are you going to get rid of the key bearer?" Rasped Oogie Boogie. "And it better be better than last time." The spirit grumbled. Maleficent removed a tiny package from within the folds of her black gown and tossed it lightly towards the Arabian vizier. The man raised an eyebrow.
"And what is this?" He growled. Maleficent grinned cruelly. Seeing that nasty little smile on her pale green skin, made the other Generals receive a chill up and down their spines. "Have an Air Soldier inject it into the boy and he'll be no problem at all." She purred. Captain Hook frowned, polishing his silver hooked hand over his silk jacket. "And how is that to help us?" the pirate demanded harshly. "The liquid in the darts is from the dark world of the Heartless. Full of Heartless blood actually." She laughed a nasty little laugh. "One injection, then he becomes one of us."
"Forever."
"AH-CHOO!" Rei sneezed loudly as the ship took off. "That's the fourth time you've sneezed. You're not catching a cold are ya Rei?" Lee asked softly. Rei shook his head. "No, just someone's talking about me, that's all." Rei muttered. About ten minutes later, the Gummi Ship hovered in front of a swirling mass of dark purplish black energy.
"What is that thing?" Kai asked. Yami frowned. "It seems to be some sort of vortex." He mused. "Maybe it leads to more worlds." Ranma suggested. Rei smiled. "Only one way to find out!" He cheered.
He took ahold of the controls and tilted forward ever so slightly and the ship lurched a tad as it went through. "Woah!" Rei yelped and pulled the controls back just in time as he barely avoided an energy beam from an enemy Heartless ship.
"That was close." Tyson breathed.
"I'll say." Max said quietly.
Rei bit his lips as he kept the Gummi Ship from being hit by energy beams from all the Heartless Ships. "Is that it, Rei?" Tyson asked as the ship automatically came to a halt. Behind them, on the main computer console, appeared a holographic image of the world. It looked like a desert with an Arabian palace on top and a giant lion head cave on the bottom. The gateway that would lead them onto the world, appeared in the ship. "You guys ready?" He asked. They nodded.
"Then let's do this."
The first thing they were greeted by was the blazing heat. All of them, minus Rei and Yami, were sweating heavily as they stepped into the streets of the odd looking bazaar. Ranma wiped the sweat from his brow and pouted at the two who weren't miserable in the heat.
"I hate you two." He grumbled. Rei chuckled. "Where is everyone? Shouldn't there be people out here?" Tyson asked. "You're right Tyson. Something doesn't feel right." Lee murmured. Rei whipped out Ultima and Ranma and Yami whipped out their ultimate weapons as well. About ten Shadows and an almost human looking Heartless appeared.
It was about the same height as Kenny, only with pale blue skin and glowing yellow eyes. They wore dark blue vests, baggy dark blue pants that were tied around the ankles, slightly curved shoes, gold bracelets around their wrists and a white turban was on their heads. There was even white bandages covering most of their face, except for their eyes. Rei scowled heavily, recognizing the breed.
"Bandits." He hissed.
One Bandit rushed forward, intending to cut off his head with its curved sword. Rei instantly brought up the Keyblade, blocking the attack that was aimed for his neck. He flipped over its head and quickly sliced it in half, effectively killing it. Yami used his Ookazi card, effectively taking out what was left of the Bandits and Ranma wiped out the Shadows with a blast of ki.
"Hmph."
The five could only stare in awe. Rei, Ranma and Yami had moved fast in killing the horde that had attacked. Ahead was the road to the Main Plaza. "Come on." Rei urged. They walked through the arc way and into another empty plaza. "Alright, this is getting a little old." Tyson said warily.
Hm.
Rei looked over to the left to see a hidden entrance. "I have a feeling we should go that way." He said suddenly. "What are you talking about?" Ranma asked. "Down that alley." Rei pointed to the left where Yami swore that boxes had been there a second ago. Lee shrugged. "I guess. I've learned to trust your instincts on this Rei." He said calmly, and followed his older friend down the worn out area.
It was very tiny and somewhat cramped with a bunch of crates off towards one corner. "Who's there?" Came a timid, yet sweet female voice. Rei tensed and turned sharply at the voice.
Out stepped a very pretty young woman in her late teens or early twenties. Her waist length black hair was tied back with sea blue green ribbons, tan skin and large chocolate eyes. She wore a bare mid-drift sea blue green top, sea blue green silk pants; similar to that of the pants of the Bandits, slightly curved up golden shoes, and large golden hoop earrings.
She spotted the Beybladers, one martial artist, and one ancient spirit standing there, each watching her curiously. "Hello there. I'm Jasmine. My father is the sultan of Agrabah." She introduced herself. "So, that makes you a princess." Said Ranma. "But he has been disposed by Jafar, who now controls the city." She continued sadly.
Rei growled low in his throat from hearing the Heartless General's name. "Jafar?" Ranma asked in confusion. Jasmine was surprised. "You haven't heard of him? He's the royal vizier. He's gained evil powers and has now seized Agrabah." She frowned. "He's desperately searching for something - - - something he calls the 'Keyhole'." She sighed heavily.
"Jafar caught me trying to escape, but he helped me." Rei raised an eyebrow. Even he could tell that Jasmine cared deeply for this savior of hers. "Who helped you?" Lee asked. "We were hiding nearby, but he left awhile ago to go check something...oh, I hope Aladdin is alright."
While Jasmine explained about Agrabah and the recent events, Rei was nervous. His Scan kept picking up brief bursts of darkness all around them. Something bad was gonna happen. And soon. What Rei failed to see was that an aerial Heartless, just out of reach from the Scan, held a tiny object in its claws.
Without warning, Rei felt an overwhelming pain in his right shoulder. His bluish white eyes traveled down and he cursed softly. Embedded deep within his shoulder was a shiny black arrow. Ranma tilted his head, wondering why Rei hadn't spoken in these past few moments.
"Rei?" He called.
The pig-tailed martial artist turned and his blue grey eyes widen in horror. "CHIKUSO!" He yelled. The gang, including Jasmine, whirled around and paled at the sight of Rei with an arrow in his shoulder. "How the hell did this happen?!" Tyson demanded. "Why don't you ask him?" Rei growled, the pain easily visible in his voice.
Him?
"I do believe he means...me...." Purred an evil voice. Jasmine shivered, she knew who it was. Standing over them on a higher up ledge, was the cruel vizier. "Jasmine, allow me to find you more suitable company, my dear princess. These rats simply won't do, you see. And especially the key bearer." Jasmine was confused.
"What are you talking about freak?" Kai sneered. Rei's eyes widen in realization. "You wouldn't dare!" He hissed. Jafar smirked and snapped his bony fingers.
Yep.
He would.
Black lightning cackled around the wound, causing Rei to roar in pain. A roar that sounded suspiciously like a certain White Tiger. He clutched his shoulder, whimpering in pain, he could barely make out the gleeful look in Jafar's eyes through his hazy gaze.
Kairi... was the last thing he thought before darkness claimed him and he knew no more.
Jafar was still gleeful when Rei slumped to the ground, but froze as Rei slowly stood back up. Albeit unsteadily. With a grunt, he reached up and ripped out the arrow from his shoulder. Mariah made a face at the sight of the shimmering black blood that dripped from the arrow, which was now splashing onto the ground. Rei tossed it aside.
"What's happening?" Jasmine whimpered in fear. Red lightning began to cackle dangerously in the once clear blue skies. Tyson was simply stunned that black clouds could gather in such a short time. An eerie purplish black mist seemed to swirl lazily around Rei, and the Key Bearer finally looked up.
Even Jafar stumbled back, horror in his eyes.
Rei's eyes, once a unique shade of bluish white, was no more. Instead, an entirely new eye color glared out. One that made Jafar very uneasy.
Hellish blood red eyes.
Only one thing settled in Ranma's mind, as he watched his possessed friend warily. They were in big trouble.
Big time.
Uh-oh, what do you suppose happened to him?
