And yes, you will soon notice that this chapter is fast, confusing, and less satisfying than it should be. The next chapter should be slow and interesting, though... and, for reasons you'll soon learn... filled with overdue bios at the start.
00000
The B.E.W.G.S. was as good as new, with only a few blocks absent, as though it hadn't been affected by the large crash a few hours prior. Though Joey had shown up looking dissapointed and frustrated, and Kaiba seemed downright homicidal as he told the dock handlers the descriptions of the two who had cut them off, Yoh's earlier lightheartedness had returned, only vaguely weaker with yet another assumed responsibility. "So, now that that's all settled, where to next?"
Kaiba seemed to calm down to his usual level of discontent. "There's a world we haven't been to in the opposite direction of how we went to the Digital World. Though, for a change, it isn't made of data, it won't exactly be a welcome place to travel. So our best bet is to take our original path back to The World, then continue onward."
Joey's mood, however, be came even worse with this news. "What? We just recovered from that cosmic 'coaster ride, and you want to try it again?" His eyes narrowed in suspisciousion. "You wouldn't be trying to beat the King's record for non-Warp Gummi Space travel, would you?"
"Of course not." Kaiba answered calmly, though Yoh noticed a slight twitch around his eyes as he did so. "But it's the only way. The Blue Eyes' Boost Gummis still need to be repaired, though, so we have a nice, long, nerve-wrenching drive ahead of us."
"Why not try that other planet, though?" Yoh asked, causing his comrades to stare in amazement. Though they still hadn't gotten to know each other very well, the two duelists would never have thought that Yoh would turn down the chance to slack off. "Why exactly is it unwelcome? If there're any clues to help you find your King, isn't it worth a try?"
Kaiba's amazement faded first, and he again resumed his frown. "Derris-Kharlan is a world made entirely out of an energy called mana, which you could think of as the 'blood' of some worlds, and the only surviving world of a set of three, which were connected by that mana's flow. It is barren and unpopulated, without any form of sentient life on the surface. I don't think it's too hard to figure out why we should avoid it."
Yoh thought for several moments. "Uhm... because of everything you just said?"
Joey facefaulted, Kaiba groaned. "Think about it; why would the Heartless destroy two worlds, but leave an undefended world remaining?"
Amidamaru reappeared, a dark expression on his face. "I would assume it's being used as base for the Heartless, correct?"
"Exactly. Out of every world discovered so far, Derris-Kharlan has one of the highest amounts of Heartless activity. It's likely that most, if not all, of the Heartless we've fought so far were dispatched from there. There are several other worlds with the same circumstances, and because we've had to monitor and occasionally defend against them, the origin world of the Heartless has never been found, if there even is one."
"Ah, I get it." Yoh stated, though much of it had obviously gone over his head. "But... doesn't that just make it more suspiscious? And if it's a Heartless hotspot, isn't there a chance the King could've gone there, looking for those report pages?"
Joey blinked. "Hey, that DOES sound like something the King would do! If he thought there'd be a page or two there, it wouldn't matter how many Heartless were in his way..."
"Sad, but true." Kaiba agreed. "Old habits are hard to break, and he DID always help you out of situations only an idiot would get into."
Joey glared, but continued. "Still... the King going there and US going there are two different things... no offense, Yoh, but you seem to collapse more often than 'ya eat. And we still don't understand everything about those powers that Sheik guy supposedly gave us, so we might just be heading on a suicide mission..."
It was Yoh's turn to be surprised. For all of Kaiba's quips, Joey seemed to have a fairly strategic mind... then again, he supposed, a Captain of the Guard for someone as powerful as they described their King to be HAD to be more than he seemed. "Is your King really that strong?"
"You have no idea." Joey nodded and Kaiba sighed simultaneously.
"But if he DID go there, and hasn't come back, that might mean he's been captured, or he's been forced into hiding there. Whichever way you look at it, it seems this Kharlan place is where we need to go."
Kaiba smirked grimly. "Unfortunately for us, getting there is almost as much of a problem as surviving on the surface. While the Blue Eyes is far beyond any other single Gummi Ship in power, the Heartless have several dozen armadas in orbit around the world. And thanks to those idiots from earlier, we can't boost our way through."
"Then perhaps we could make it up to you, Mr. Psycho Mage?"
The trio turned, Kaiba's expression turning to one of fury, to see the two from earlier, this time with a third standing between them. Yoh felt nervous around this newcomer; he seemed to be a year or two older than him, with brown hair and eyes, a brownish-green traveler's cloak wrapped around him, slightly taller than him, and with what was arguably the second-most serious look in his eyes that Yoh had ever seen. The boy sighed after glancing toward the blond-haired, white-clothed man, who had obviously made the 'psycho mage' comment.
"We're sorry for what happened earlier, and I admit its my fault for not filling out the paperwork myself. We know of a few people who could help you past that defense force, and we at least owe you that much." His voice was polite and sincere, with a patience that sounded incredibly strong. Yoh briefly wondered how often he'd had to apologize for his friends' sakes.
"Agreed." Kaiba said quickly, anger evident in his voice. "Although that still doesn't cover a few other costs.."
"We don't have any munny, but I promise to help in any way I can." He nodded. "Follow me... and feel free to keep your weapons out if you think it's a trap."
As all six moved to enter a nearby alley, the boy turned once more, a warmer smile on his face. "By the way... my name's Syaoran."
"Kurogane." The tallest one robed in black added.
"Fai D. Flowright, at your service." The blond finished.
As the Keybearer and his friends introduced themselves, they had no idea how hectic this chance meeting would make their lives...
00X00
To be honest, Kaiba had no idea how they'd wound up here. One second they were just barely into the alleyway, and now they found themselves in a large room, octagonal-shaped, dimly lit by a pair of lamps on a buisiness desk. Seated behind it was a man who seemed the definition of average; from the length of his black hair to his height and build, the only extravagant things were the black, priest-like robes he wore and the exceptionally eerie smile on his face.
"Ah, you must be the ones we've heard so much about." He said, a seemingly sincere smile on his face. "My name is Xelloss, leader of the anti-Heartless organization, Secret."
The responses were simultaneous.
"Never heard of ya."
"A 'Secret' organization. How original."
"You've heard of us?"
"In reverse order: yes, I agree, and thankfully you're not alone." He replied. "I started this formerly small group when my world was destroyed, and though we've managed to elude the public eye, we've been responsible for the safety of many worlds out of Traverse Town's normal range."
Kaiba's frown deepened. "And you're suddenly letting us know about you just so we can get a ride. How... conveniant."
Xelloss grinned. "I understand, Mr. Kaiba. You probably want to know exactly WHY I thought to offer you aid... the mere assumption that we want the prophesized hero on our side is a bit weak.
"I'll go a bit more in-depth, then. Secret's primary function is destroying any Heartless that appears on a world, while finding and arranging more permanant modes of defense around the world's Keyhole."
"In other words, illegally introducing the existance of other worlds." Joey said, suddenly angry. "Those non-interference laws are there for a reason, yunno!"
"Indeed: They make great excuses for your government to not spend resources for the sake of others." Xeloss nodded, riling the two palace employees up even more. "That aside, I am using resources gained through my own buisiness to fund this organization's work, and I truly care little for the ethics of it."
"And what, may I ask, is you 'buisiness?'" Kaiba demanded.
"That... is a secret." Xelloss wagged his index finger as if telling off a child. Even Yoh was starting to get annoyed. "Back to the explanation... whenever possible, Secret attempts to recruit powerful individuals from the worlds we protect, and in doing so are able to do more for other worlds, gain power and resources, and, of course, the most important of all... forge bonds of friendships between the worlds. Like it or not, we ARE all in this together, after all."
Xelloss ignored the sarcastic coughing from Kurogane's area, and continued. "Thanks to our more... technologically-based members, the Secret lab has both the ship and the pilot guaranteed to get you through ten Derris-Kharlans. In exchange for keeping our existance 'secret' for the time-being, and for agreeing to two other conditions, we are willing to aid you. Interested?"
'Two conditions? He certainly doesn't seem worried we'll refuse... unfortunately, we can't, regardless.' Kaiba thought. "Name them."
"1. Someone from my old world, who I would VERY much like to meet again, is imprisoned on that world. If you agree to free her and bring her here, we will guarantee you a safe ride there."
"No problems with that." Yoh said, hero's instincts kicking in. "The other?"
"2. Whether or not your mission is successful, if you survive, I want an un-revokable promise that you will aid us in a mission we have scheduled in a few months. It has a minimal chance of success and cannot be held off any longer than the date we've calculated."
The trio glanced at each other, with a smile, a glare, and a sigh, and nodded. "Agreed."
"Perfect." Xelloss clapped loudly once, startling them. "If you leave the way you came, you'll wind up in the lab. Ask for the Chief. As for you three... " He gestured to Syaoran and the other two, pulling up a large stack of papers. "..make sure Sakura sees these as well; the next world you're assigned to won't be as simple as the last one... "
00000
Once again, they'd somehow wound up somewhere completely different. It was much brighter and filled with long workbenches, upon which several people with oddly blank expressions worked on strange machines. Each and every one of them had the same weird aura.. as if it was recently there, and unnatural.
"Mechas..." Joey breathed, sounding nervous. "Suddenly it makes sense why he really keeps this place 'secret.'"
"Mechas?" You inquired. He was surprised to see an uncomfortable expression on Kaiba's face.
"Well... when non-living things have personalities, and somehow wind up as Remnants of their worlds, they adopt humanoid appearances. Since most of these are robots, the term Mecha is used... but unlike most Remnants, who are injured or comatose when found, they seem to take to being 'human' too easily, and attempt to blend into society." He looked away. "They... aren't well-liked."
"Sad, but true. You three must be the Keybearer and his allies. " A new voice agreed. They turned to meet yet another new person...and gaped.
He was tall...taller and possibly more built than Kurogane was, wearing a large red jacket over a white muscle shirt, with blue jeans and shoes that looked like they were half steel. He wasn't perticularly ominous, however... his face and warm, yellow eyes were gentle, with an almost paternal look. His metallic blue hair was shortly cropped, and what could be described as a one-hand rifle was safely holstered at his side.
"Um, are you the Chief? Xelloss sent us." Yoh asked. With a soft chuckle that furthered thoughts of being attacked from their minds, the tall Mecha shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, although I'd like to be called that again... it seems like it's been so long..." He sighed meaninfully, before shaking his head and addressing them once more. "My name is Optimus Prime, Field Commander of the Secret Space Defense Force. I work here under the Chief whenever I can; advanced weaponry is my specialty."
He pressed a button on his wristwatch. "He'll be along in less than a minute, unless he gets distracted..." He grinned sheepishly. "...which is what I just did, I guess... see you around."
He walked off without another word, leaving Yoh grinning as well. "I don't see what's not to like."
"That's because you're lucky enough to not see many things." Kaiba said quietly.
XX0XX
At that same moment, on a cold world, almost void of life, a hand twitched, and a smirk formed. Though her cell was completely dark, the mere fact that she was conscious was all the light she needed to feel confidant again... that, and another source of light, which her would-be captors hadn't taken when she was locked up.
All she needed was time... but she was going to get much more help than that, soon enough.
00X00
Perhaps it was the fact that the Gummi Ship was built like a bright pink sports car with too many spikes.
Perhaps it was because the driver, with white-streaked orange hair and a purple and white uniform, was grinning like a madman as he examined it.
Whatever the reasons for his feeling faint at the thought of his future, nothing topped the fact that Kaiba had to look down to see the Chief...because he only came up toYoh's chest.
He looked to be between 5 and 8, with silver hair, a blue t-shirt with white shorts, roller blade-equipped shoes, and multi-colored eyes, his right red, his left blue. He smiled widely as he shook Yoh's hand. then rolled back a few spaces to bow before introducing himself.
"Welcome to Secret, Mr. Asakura, Mr. Wheeler, and General Kaiba. Allow me to introduce myself; I'm Secret Chief Technician and Repair Manager, Artoo Detoo. Formerly an R2 astromech unit, I have been in service for more than 40 standard years, with minimal problems, a 98 percent satisfaction rate from my owners. It's a pleasure to make your aquaintance."
There was a short pause, before Yoh attempted to start a greeting, but Artoo continued. "Unfortunately we have little time to introduce ourselves; the timeframe when Derris Kharlan's defense fleet is the thinnest will be over in five minutes, so you need to hurry."
The next instant, a purple and white blur ran into them, and they found themselves strapped securely into the ship's seats.
"Ugh...so much... scene changing..."
Yoh picked the speaker off of his fang necklace. "Myoga! Where've you been? Those bios haven't been updated recently..."
"I must again comment on how safe your headphones are, Master Yoh, but they do make writing a bit diff-"
"Attention, highly confused heroes!" Their driver said after reappearing from the blur. "Name's Straight Cougar, and like the boss-bot said, there's no time for more detail. I SHOULD warn you, though...aside from the gas, wheel, and turbo boosts, I have no freaking clue how to drive this thing."
"WHA-"
ZOOM.
Yoh could faintly tell they were back in space, and the vehicle was going about ten times as fast as the BEWGS. And that the pilot was saying something.
"INCREDIBLE!TheytoldmeitwouldbefastbutIhadNOIDEAthiswaswhattheymeant!Thebeauty!Therapture!TheSPEED!Whowould'vethoughtI'deverfindafasterridethanmyAlter?IhaftawarnyouguysrightnowIdon'tcareHOWthisdriveendsbecauseMYLIFEISCOMPLETE!"
Finally deciding that understanding the day's events was too hard, Yoh tried to blank out again, dissapointed when he found it was impossible.
XXXXX
Chapter Originally Uploaded: January 26th, 2006.