A/N: A lot of you guessed right about the sacred spirits. Good Job! I hope you liked your sneak peak.

Here's the next chapter, given to you in a little over three days. Isn't that nice? Three days is so much better than one to two weeks. I love summer vacation. :P

Enjoy

Warning: Strangeness. (You'll see)

Souls Journey

Chapter Seven

A Weird Encounter

Tyson's POV

Tyson blinked, then blinked again. Nope, still there. After the strange world of no sensation, the young blader found himself staring at...himself? No, this being in front of him was not the same. There were differences.

The figure was taller for one. Not by much, but enough to make a difference. And he was older, that was certain. How much older, though, he had no idea. The figure had that ageless quality about him. He seemed young, but an agelessness seemed to surround him. Hair as black as night hung in long waves to his feet, long bangs framing his face. Eyes, the bluest eyes Tyson had ever seen, peeked out from a flawless face.

Okay, so maybe this being didn't look very much like him. But somehow, in some way, Tyson knew that they were one and the same.

"Hello Tyson," the stranger spoke. His voice was as beautiful as he was, soft and .

"Hello," Tyson answered back, though it came out a mere whisper.

The stranger smiled. "Do you know who I am?"

At that question, Tyson felt his breath catch. "You, you are..." Placing a hand against his head, Tyson tried to catch onto a fleeting thought. "You're...me?"

"Yes, and no. I am who you were. You are me, reborn."

"Reborn." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, we share the same soul." The stranger that was him and yet not, lifted his arm in a sweeping gesture. Tyson, following the movement, noticed for the first time that they seemed to be floating in a room of light. "This is, I guess you could say, the place were souls reside. It is neither earth, nor what humans call heaven. It is between. You were brought here to regain the memories of your previous life, my life." He turned back to Tyson again, dropping his arm. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Tyson let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. "Yes. I, I kept having dreams. I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but I knew I would be...changed." Tyson couldn't stop the flash of hurt that crossed his face at that. He didn't want to change, to become someone else. Lowering his eyes, he tried to hide that fact. His other saw anyway.

"Hey," the soft voice caused Tyson to raise his head. "You'll still be you, you know. All your memories, the things that make you who you are, they will still be your's. You'll simply have more memories."

Tyson felt something in him loosen at that.

"Besides," the figure before him continued. A teasing light entered his eyes. "I happen to think you and I are very alike anyway."

Tyson couldn't help but laugh at that. Feeling the last of his reservations go, he looked up at the other thoughtfully. "So, what is your name anyway?"

He watched, bemused, as the older boy slapped a hand to his head. "Gah, I'm so rude! Here I am, talking to you, and you don't even know my name." Shaking his head, he grinned. "Maybe we're more alike than I realized."

Tyson blinked at that. Did he just...? "Hey!" He crossed his arms in a pout as the other burst out laughing.

As the chuckles subsided, the black haired male straightened. Then sweeping the most elegant bow Tyson had ever seen, he introduced himself. "My name is Gabriel, and it is a pleasure to meet you face to face."

Uncrossing his arms, Tyson couldn't help but smile at that. "So, now what?"

Gabriel took a step closer. "Now, you receive my memories."

"Wait, does that mean I won't see you again?" The idea left him feeling kind of sad.

"No, you won't, but you won't need to." Tyson looked confused at this. "You see, I'll be in you always. A part of you. You won't need to see me, because you, in a way, will be me." Seeing Tyson still looking unsure, he chuckled. "Don't worry, once you wake you'll understand."

Stepping closer, Gabriel closed the distance until they were less than an arms length away from each other. "Wait, one more question."

"Only one more," Gabriel teased.

Tyson ignored it, looking up at Gabriel seriously. "How can you be standing here talking to me? You can't be a soul if I have your soul, so..."

Gabriel grew serious at that. "No, actually I am a small part of your soul. The part that holds all of who I was. In a way, I'm not really Gabriel. He died, after all. But at the same time, I am him in every sense. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"Good, because it's time." Slowly, Gabriel reached out until his hand was but an inch from Tyson's head. Looking down into eyes that, unbeknownst to their owner, were as blue as his own, he paused. "If I could have been born to be anyone, I would have wanted it to be you."

Tysons eyes barely had a chance to widen at that, before he felt a touch to his temple and then he was gone.

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Tyson felt himself, floating between that place between sleep and wakefulness. Lost in that unique state, a strange thought hit him. He wasn't simply Tyson anymore. But he wasn't Gabriel either. He was simply... himself.

Even half asleep, the absurdity of that thought hit him, causing him to be jolted fully awake. Feeling himself sigh softly, he tried to get his bearings. Where was he again? Hmm, he couldn't seem to remember. Maybe he should open his eyes and see? Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Now, eyes open.

Okay, they're not responding. Why were his eyelids so heavy? Never one to give up, Tyson gathered himself and slowly but surely opened his eyes.

Only to close them again quickly. Where ever he was, it sure was bright. Ow. Maybe he should wait a minute before tying that again.

"Tyson?"

What?

"Tyson, are you awake?"

Who? That voice sounded familiar; but for the life of him he couldn't place it.

"Tyson?"

Ooo, another voice this time. And just as familiar too. He was getting curious now. Maybe he should try opening his eyes again.

Steeling himself, he slowly raised his lids. Still bright, but bearable. Blinking a few times to help his eyes adjust, he focused in on where the voices were coming from. Aw, now he remembered. The first voice had been Max. The blonde was kneeling beside the couch he seemed to be resting on. And the second voice belonged to Rei, who was standing just a little bit behind and off to one side of Max.

Blinking up at them for a minute, he realized that they were both staring at him. What did they want? Confused slightly, he moved to sit up. Only to nearly fall over from unexpected weight.

What the? Looking back a bit, he saw what had caused him to fall. He had forgotten to take into account his wings. Simple.

Wait, he didn't have wings. Well, he did as Gabriel, but this was Tyson's body right? Right?

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Normal POV

Everyone in the room just stared at the boy, who was now looking at his wings like they were going to attack him. Needless to say, this wasn't exactly what any of them had been expecting.

Max and Rei shared a look as the blonde slowly got off the floor. Tyson was definetely not himself.

Of course, the question on everyone's mind was; was this even Tyson anymore? Or was it...Gabriel.

Unsure, everyone just kept silent as they watched the boy on the couch. The boy who now looked to be practicing moving his wings. Back and forth, back and forth, slowly and gently. Then harder, causing an almost imperceptible breeze to flow across the room.

Then, without warning, the wings unfurled fully, flapped once, twice, and Tyson was in the air. He flew up a couple feet, hovered, then slowly descended until his feet touched the couch and he landed gracefully; wings folding halfway to his back.

And everyone else? They just watched, enraptured, as the graceful boy moved.

No one spoke. Max and Rei had tried calling to him before, and he hadn't responded.

Then, suddenly, the blonde got a startled look on his face; as if he had just thought of something. Max looked unsure for a moment; then decided to go ahead and break the silence. "Um...Gabriel?"

You could practically here the intake of breath on that name. But it worked. It finally got his attention.

Tyson flinched, and looked at Max with wide eyes. Slowly, he answered. "Hai?" (1)

Then, he froze, eyes widening at what he just said.

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Tyson's POV

Did he, did I? Oh lord, what just happened. Tyson tried to remain calm, and you know breath, while looking wide eyed at the equally wide-eyed Max. How did he know? How did he know my name? "How...?" He hadn't realized he had spoken out loud until Max spoke back.

"They told us." The blonde said slowly, as if unsure of what he was saying. "Ty, Gabriel...Tyson? Is it true? Are, were you someone named Gabriel?"

Aw, well, this is not exactly how I planned on them finding out, but I guess it could have been worse. Feeling like he was a little too out in the open standing on the couch, he used his wings to smoothly flutter down in front of the couch. Of course, now he had to look up to talk to everyone. You can't have everything I guess.

Looking at his friends with more courage than he actually felt, he answered in a calm, soft voice. "Yes, I was." Pausing, he studied there reactions, or lack of reactions. "And still am." That got a reaction out of them. "I'm still Tyson though, too."

Tyson couldn't help he small grin that crossed his face after he said that. Amused and slightly more at ease, he began to explain to them how that worked. Something that, if you thought about it, he had just explained to himself not too long ago. As he began his explanation, he couldn't help the passing thought that he had a very weird life.

TBC

(1) I so wanted to end it here, but I decided to be nice. Oh, and Hai means yes in case you didn't know. :)

A/N: You know, this story has a mind of its own. Though I am still on the right track for all the big stuff I have planned, the way I'm getting there is not what I planned at all. Aw, well, Tyson's right. You can't have everything. And besides, I think it's turning out all right.

Review please. If I get a lot of nice reviews, I may just put something in the next chapter about Tyson's mate. (I know some of you must be wondering about that.) Besides, reviews always make me want to write. :)

Wing