For the record, I wasn't going to update again for a while. Then I got this lovely review from Regina Raptorum, and it inspired be to continue! So here we are!! The next chapter!

Disclaimer: The day I own any of this stuff is the day I before President of the USA. Not Happening. And speaking of which, if Hilary gets in, I'm moving to Japan, I swear!!

Music: Evening (Naruto) and Tobira no Mukou e

Red Eyes, Gold Eyes, Shark Eyes
Duzell sighed as he padded through the library, his arms loaded with books. The twins were sitting in a corner a few feet away, and Gourry was giving his stack of tomes a confused look. As for Daisuke…

The vampire shook his head as he walked over to the young thief's table. He set his books down carefully before gently shaking the teen's shoulder. "Daisuke, wake up," he murmured. Groaning, the youngster sat up, making a face when a page stuck to his cheek. "Any luck?" he asked.

Yawning, the young man ran a hand through his limp hair before shaking his head. "No, nothing yet." He looked down at the page he'd fallen asleep on, and pulled a face. "This is a recipe, but it's a cook book!" he said in disgust. He closed the book and stared at the cover for a second, barely taking in the name of the author, one Dr. Marcoh. With a sigh, he placed the book aside and grabbed another one, this one titled 'Everything You Need to Know About Automobiles.'

With a tired sigh himself, Duzell slid into a chair next to the teen, staring at his books. The group had been on their way back to Traverse Town when they'd been forced to land. Apparently, the ship had lost a lot of fuel when they crashed on the last world, and they wouldn't be able to go anywhere unless they found a reasonable substitute.

To make matters more complicated, this world seem to be on the cusp of air travel, but the natives had no idea as to what was needed for that yet. Also, they had landed in an area where the people didn't speak Japanese. Instead, Daisuke said that they seemed to be speaking German, or at least a language that was similar to German. Luckily enough, their written language was similar enough to Japanese that the others could read it.

Strangely enough, Daisuke found that he could understand them if he concentrated hard enough. Same with their written language. When asked, Dark denied responsibly, saying that languages were never his gift, just certain offensive magiks and the thrill of stealing.

"Maybe it's the Keyblade," Gourry had said. For once, the blond was correct. It WAS the magic of the Keyblade that allowed Daisuke to understand the natives. This was why their Pharaoh had always been the one to greet the people who'd fallen into his world. This was also just another task that Prince Yuugi wasn't able to perform.

Duzell moaned as he read a passage out loud. "Act One: Earnest awoke one morning to find that he'd been transformed, into a giant cockroach," he recited. "…what the hell?" he muttered before tossing the book aside.

Having heard the passage, the twins retrieved the play, placing it in the pile of books to take back with them. "Haruhi'll like this one," Hikaru muttered.

Shaking his head, Gourry stood up and stretched. "I'm going to take a walk," he murmured to his comrades. Luckily, he was dressed normally for the planet, a pair of slacks and a blue dress shirt.

Looking up from a promising book on different types of energy and fuel, Duzell nodded. "Here, take some of the money and get us some lunch, will you?" he said, passing him a small sack with a little of the local currency that the twins had snitched. Grinning, the blond waved a small salute as he sauntered out of the library.

Outside, the warrior grinned as he padded down the library steps to the cobblestone pavilion, breathing in the fresh air. His boots clicked on the cobblestones as he steered towards a vendor that they'd bought food from before, a vendor that seemed to have a vague grasp of Japanese. Unfortunately, the group was getting tired of Chinese food, so they were looking for anyone else.

Green banners were hung up in the corners of the pavilion, with the strange writing of the area scrawled out on them, declaring an exam that week. Gourry grinned at the thought of watching other natives fighting each other, as the rumor they'd heard was that two members of the military were going to fight in this exam. Some of the towns folk were already calling it the Metal vs. Flame round.

As Gourry rounded the corner to the Chinese stand, he spotted a large truck parked next to the building at the end of the street, the one with the metal gates. The blond shrugged it off at first, thinking that it was just a supply truck, until he heard swearing from the vehicle. Curious, he turned to look, only to he surprised at the sight of a group of men wrestling something out of the back of the truck, something humanoid in appearance.

The thing was swearing and cursing up a storm, calling to the forefront his take of his captors personal partner preferences, and that of their parents. Fortunately for it, the men didn't understand a word he was saying, as he was using the same dialect as Gourry! As the warrior peered closer, he noticed the shredded tan clothes, and lavender skin. Steel-colored hair was in disarray as intelligent blue eyes sparked and flared with repressed magic. His wrists were bound together and ropes were around his neck as the men in the blue uniforms pulled and yanked him along.

The thing that really jogged Gourry's memory though, were the patches of stone that dotted the captive's face.

"Zelgadis-san?!" he called. Hearing his name, the chimera looked up, locking eyes with Gourry. "Zelgadis-san!" Gourry cried happily, racing over to the warrior. Before he could get close though, the uniformed men pulled the poor man away, through the gates. The blond yelled to his friend as the gates closed with a crash. "Zelgadis-san! Zelgadis-san!!"

Before the chimera was pulled into the building, he managed to turn and look at the blond. "Gourry-san! Help me!" he yelled as he disappeared through the doors.

……………………………..

Back in the library, Daisuke jerked awake again as Gourry raced back in. "Where's the fire?" he murmured as he stretched lazily.

Gourry ignored the young thief as he strode over to Duzell. "One of my friends is here!" he exclaimed loudly, earning a round of shushes from the rest of the library.

Duzell however, was instantly on alert. "Which one? And where is he?" he asked in a lower voice. Curious, Daisuke and the twins huddled around the table.

The blond warrior shook his head as he sat down at the table. "It was Zelgadis-san. And he's been captured by those men in the blue uniforms!" he explained, holding his head. "We need to help him, who knows what those people can do to him?!" he wailed, his voice getting louder again.

This time, a young man from another table growled as he marched up to them, gold eyes flashing in annoyance. Gloved hands slammed down on the table as he barked at the group. "Do you mind shutting up? Some of us are trying to study for the Alchemy Exam!"

Being the only one who could understand the younger teen, Daisuke grinned sheepishly as he kicked Gourry under the table. "Ah, I'm sorry about him, he just learned something bad about a friend of his," he explained.

Calming, the blond stood up straight, shoving his hands into the pockets of his red coat. Even standing straight up, the teen was still shorter than the young thief. Curiosity entered his golden eyes as he looked at all of the books that the group were shuffling through. "What are you doing anyway? These aren't any good if you want to enter the exam as well," he offered, sorting through the piles.

Duzell wrinkled an elegant nose at the young man before him. "I would prefer if you did not mess with our books, young man," he muttered primly.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO YOUNG THAT HE'S NOT YET OUT OF DIAPERS!?" the teen exploded. It was quite impressive, as it was accompanied with flailing arms and gnashing teeth.

"He never said that!" Daisuke exclaimed as he backed away from the young man, before realizing that he'd responded to what Duzell had told him. "Wait, you can understand him?" he asked, making the red-clad teen stop.

"Of course I can, he's only speaking in Xingese. I learned that language years ago," he said flippantly.

"And how old are you?" Gourry asked as he leaned in.

The teen grinned as he pointed at himself. "I'm Edward Elric, fifteen years old, and the youngest member of the State Alchemists!" he said proudly. Introductions were quickly given all around, and Ed grinned as he looked at the older men. "So, do you know any alchemy? I hear that the Xing techniques are quite different from the ones Amestris uses and teaches," he asked, stars in his eyes at the chance to learn something new.

Before Duzell could answer in the negative, Daisuke grinned as Dark took over his vocal cords. "Why don't you wait until the exams? This is not the place to be demonstrating anything," he offered.

Mentally, Daisuke was growling at the spirit. 'You said you'd give me a warning next time you had to do this,' he muttered.

'Sorry Daisuke, but would you rather Duzell mess everything up for us?' he offered as the younger teen finally walked back to his table.

"What was that all about? And what do you mean, wait until the exam?" Duzell hissed.

Grinning, Dark, who was in complete control, but still in Daisuke's form, gestured for the vampire to follow him as he lead him outside.

"What are you up to now Dark?" Duzell asked as they stopped in an alley.

Dark grinned as his body started to morph into his own. "Aw, am I that transparent?" he asked as he leaned against the wall, Wiz crawling out of his shirt. He shrugged when the older man glared at him, stroking Wiz's fur. "Well, we have no clue as to what we're looking for. These, 'Alchemists,' seem to be the main power in this world. If we enter this exam, then maybe we can get someone to help us with fuel for the ship," he explained calmly.

"Just one problem Dark," Duzell offered, already trying to find a way for this plan to work. It was true, they were going nowhere with the books alone, and they needed to continue to look for the Pharaoh. "We don't know how to use alchemy, and only two of use can even use magic."

Dark grinned as he winked at the vampire. "It can't be that hard to fake, can it?" he asked. "Just a few choice illusions, some practiced lies, and we're golden!" he said, playing with a new summon marble he'd found hidden in the library shelves. While Fawkes had been in a blood red stone, this one was the color of sand.

A ways away from the pair, a tall man with a handlebar moustache snorted as he watched the two saunter back into the Central Library. "So, they think they can enter the exam that easily?" he muttered. "As if! There's no way they'll survive to get off this world!" he exclaimed lowly.

"I thought it was my job to take care of those people, and the one in red," a voice from behind the older man grated out.

The man grinned kindly as he looked back at the person behind him with his one good eye. "And indeed it is. You will be the one to kill the Full Metal Shrimp for us, Kouga."

The headlights from a passing automobile lit up the alley as the man stepped forward, revealing a man with sky blue eyes, and fur and armor. The man was nervous as he scanned the streets, claws hands flexing and unflexing around a sword at his side, and his tail swished restlessly against his thighs. He glared up at the uniformed man as he growled, revealing elongated canines. "Just remember our deal Fuhrer-san. I help kill these people for you, and you will not only take me home, but you will also resurrect the members of my pack, correct?"

The man nodded as he gestured towards the roof. "Yes, of course, as we agreed on. Now, you better get into hiding again. We wouldn't want you to be captured like the chimera and the shark man, now would we?" he asked. Shrugging, Kouga jumped up to an overhang, clawing his way up the wall until he reached the roofs.

Alone, the Fuhrer chuckled darkly, his lips lifting in a scimitar-like grin as he watched Ed march out of the library, heading back to his apartment and his brother. "And you, I only hope you can do your job as well, if Kouga fails," he called into the dark, eyes flashing purple momentarily.

There was no response, only a pair of red eyes that glowed before melting into the darkness.

……………………………..

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Kaoru asked as Daisuke and Duzell got ready for the final part of the exam. The group were camping out in the woods were they'd landed, which was luckily only a mile or so away from the exam, and half a mile from the city.

Daisuke shrugged. "We managed to pass the first part. I'm just glad that I can use magic without hurting Dark," he offered. Dark had been coaching Daisuke in how to use his magic, and the youngster had shown quite the flare for it, especially water spells.

Duzell placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Just stay calm today, alright?" He looked up at the twins as Gourry strapped his sword on. "We're going early today in order to see the exhibits of the confirmed Alchemists. Gourry's hoping that we'll be able to find his friend this way."

"Come on, we need to go if we want to get there on time!" Gourry insisted, playing with the special bands that had been given to him and the two magic users. Those bands would be their tickets into the exhibit. Their plan was to find whomever was holding Zelgadis, and try to break the poor chimera out. At that point, they would blend into the crowd, and ask around about anyone who could make the fuel they needed. They had figured out the ingredients, but they didn't have access to the amounts that they needed. Hopefully, they wouldn't get caught when they released the mage.

"Ok, I'm ready to go!" Daisuke chirped as he jumped out of the door. With a slight smile, Duzell exited gracefully after the hyper teen, Gourry right behind them.

"Do you think we'll see any Heartless this time?" Gourry asked as they entered the city a few minutes later. They'd found out that this exam was normally taken only once a year. Because of the Heartless killing off many of the Alchemists and regular police, the city had decided to increase the exams to one every few months. This one happened to coincide with the exams that the other State Alchemists had to take to keep their licenses.

Daisuke shrugged. "I heard a rumor that they were part of the tests today, but I'm not sure," he offered. Before he could say anything else, a tall figure in a cloak brushed past him, sky-blue eyes glancing at him as he went by. The young thief blinked at him, but shrugged as they continued into the city, heading for the fairgrounds.

The state had picked a good area for this part of the test. It practically was a fair, with some of the older Alchemists displaying their newest creations, medicines, and inventions. In one corner, a young man was using a bucket of water and a few alchemy symbols to create large, elegant ice statues. A woman was showing off what seemed to be carved frames and sculptures, until she created an elaborate wood panel in front of the young thief.

Near the middle of the fairgrounds was a tall cage. Seeing it, Gourry gulped slightly before jogging over to it, Duzell and Daisuke right behind him. To his surprise though, Zelgadis wasn't in the cage. Instead, a tall creature with blue, shark-like skin stood there, hands bound and fingers tied together. Shark-like eyes glared at the world around him, and it growled low in it's throat as Daisuke came up to read the plaque on the front of the cage.

"Specimen is a chimera, human and blue shark. Estimated age: late twenties, early thirties. Is able to manipulate water through specific patterns using the hands. As such, hands have been bound for the safety of the handler. Chimera was located along the outskirts Lior, but is thought to have originated from the country of Xing, due to the fact that it speaks their language."

Daisuke ignored the rest of the information, such as the 'chimera's' ability to breath underwater, to look up at the blue-skinned man. "Chimera can't talk normally, right?" he asked as Duzell edged up to him.

The vampire nodded. "Only one other was created before, and all it said as for someone to kill it," he muttered, remembering one of the journals he'd read.
"Of course I'm no f(&ing chimera!" the man growled lowly, pointed teeth bared.

The trio looked at each other. He'd spoken in Japanese, using the same accent as Naruto and the other ninja back in Traverse Town. Growling again, the man slumped against the side of the cage, holding his bound hands against his forehead. "Where's my partner when I need him?" he muttered.

"So, you're not from this world then?" Gourry asked slowly, walking up to the cage in order to wrap a hand around the bars.

Smirking, the man lunged at the blond, only to clonk his head against the bars. Unfazed, he shook his head for a second as he crouched down to get closer to eye level with Daisuke. "I'm Hoshigaki Kisame, a ninja of the Five Countries, and I want out of here before those blue bastards over there slice me open!"
'Demon Shark? Daisuke, should we trust this guy?' Dark inquired.

'They're gonna kill him! At the least we can get him out!' the young thief protested. Turning back to Kisame, he looked the shark in the eye. "Do you know where the other 'chimera' is?" he asked.

Kisame raised a hairless eyebrow. "The guy with stone on his skin?" he asked. When the trio nodded, he jerked his head to the right. "He's over there, tied to the post. The only reason I'm in the cage is cause of the fact that I'm meaner," he said with an evil grin, baring shark-like teeth.

"Give us a few minutes then, we'll get you out, ok?" Gourry offered.

"Duzell, can you stay here for a minute?" Daisuke asked, pushing Wiz into his shirt as he thought of Riku. "Give us three minutes to find Zelgadis before getting rid of the shackles," he ordered as he shifted into Dark's form. If he was to get caught, he'd rather get caught in this form so he could still walk around in Daisuke's form.

Quietly, Dark and Gourry stalked over to where Kisame had pointed out, only for Gourry to suck in a breath at the sight of his friend. The chimera had been tied to a post, with his hands behind his back and a gag in his mouth. Blue eyes glared at the people around him, steel-like hair in disarray, only for him to start slightly at the sight of Dark and Gourry. Frantically, he jerked his head towards a man in a blue uniform. An Alchemist.

Cheekily, Dark winked at the sorcerer as he sauntered up to the alchemist, a mousy little man who looked like he lived in the library. "So, what can you tell me about this creature here?" he asked, jerking his thumb at Zelgadis.

Seeing Dark occupying the man, Duzell gulped slightly, not completely sure about this, but still, he pulled out a small dagger from his sleeve, and sliced through the wires that were binding Kisame's fingers. With his fingers free, Kisame smirked as he ripped the shackles apart. Hands flashed through a series of signs, and the shark cackled before roaring, "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!!"

Duzell suddenly found it harder to breath, as if all the oxygen was being sucked out of the air, right before a wave of water gushed forward, submerging half the cage, and destroying all the booths and tables in front of it.

At once, all the Alchemists in the area converged on the cage, trying to subdue the ninja. Electricity, fire, ice, all sorts of attacks flew through the air, letting Duzell sneak away.
When the mousy man raced away to help with the ninja, Gourry and Dark quickly cut the man from the post, Gourry pulling the gag from Zelgadis' mouth. "Get out of the city, the ship's in the forest," Dark barked, pushing the man towards the gate, dodging a shark-shaped watery torpedo.

Zelgadis smiled as he pulled part of his shredded shirt up. "Thank you," he whispered before racing off, leaping up onto the rooftops.

An explosion caught the trio's attention before they could leave. When the smoke and steam cleared, Kisame stood there, arms crossed over his bare chest. "Ya know, I never got to thank you three," he said in an almost conversational tone. The muscles rippled in his shoulders and arms as he eased into a fighting stance. "How about I tear your legs off?" he asked.

"They are my targets!"

At the sound of the new voice, the foursome looked in it's direction, only to see the man in the cloak from earlier. Proudly, he threw his hood back, revealing sky-blue eyes and pointed ears, dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Throwing the cloak away showed that he was clad in gray and black armor and fur, with a tail that swept against his legs.

Kisame laughed at the wolf man as he propped a fist on his hip. "As if a mangy animal like you could win against an S-class like me," he taunted, only to yelp when the creature suddenly streaked forward, a dust cloud kicked up as he attacked. "What the Hell are you?" he growled, pressing a hand to the claw wounds that had opened in his side.

The man grinned, baring fangs that may not have been as impressive as Kisame's, but were scary all the more for them. "I am the demon Kouga, the Prince of the Eastern Wolf Pack. And as far as you're concerned, I AM your better!" he declared, flexing his hand. With a flash, metal claws appeared, covering the nails and fingers of his right hand.

At this, Kisame snarled, pulling thin lips back to reveal every last sawed tooth. "I'll show you who's better!" he growled, going through a rapid pattern of hand seals. Seeing this, the wolf stiffened, and Dark and the others went into defensive positions, remembering the sharks from before.

"Let them go, Kisame," a new voice ordered softly. A lone man swept up, a metal headband tied on his forehead, the familiar Konoha symbol scratched, but a beacon to Dark and the others. Long raven hair was tied back, and red eyes blazed. Seeing him, Kisame nodded after a second, lowering his hands.

"What are you doing here? These are my prey!" the wolf growled, arching his metal-clad claws threateningly. Turning to the creature, the Uchiha,-what else could he be with those eyes?-glared, only for the demon to stiffen, then howl in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

"Hey!" Gourry yelled, turning to the Uchiha. "Wasn't he your ally or something?" he yelled, confused.

"And what, gave you that idea?" the man asked, tossing a cloak to Kisame. Happily, the shark-man pulled the cloak on, revealing the red clouds printed on the dark material, same as the Uchiha's. "We may have been hired by the same man, but we are not allies," the man offered.

"You…" the wolf growled on the ground, clawing his way back up onto hands and knees. "He, promised…." he managed to gasp out before falling over onto his side, trying to stay awake. "fuhh….rer..." he slurred, trembling from pain, anguish and exhaustion.

Shaking his head, the Uchiha turned to leave, Kisame following him loyally. "Poor wolf, you have no idea what that creature was," he muttered. "And as for you three," he said, turning around for a second, "I give you, a parting gift."

"And what would that be?" Dark asked sarcastically.

With a slow smirk, the man raised his hand, summoning a horde of Heartless. As the twitching, pulsating mass converged on the trio, the two ninja flickered away.

Duzell swore softly under his breath as he started weaving a spell. Before he could finish, Dark grinned as he pulled the newest summon off the Keyblade, which had materialized the second the Heartless appeared. "I wondered how it felt to summon one of these," he muttered before pushing his magic into the yellow gem. Unbidden, the words spilled from his lips as the new creature shimmered into being, like a mirage in the desert. "I call on you, the One-tailed Demon, Shukaku!"

Cackling, the beast stomped on the Heartless around it as it bellowed, "I'm free! I'm finally freed from that accursed statue!" Gleefully, it pounded on the dark creatures under paw, beady black eyes dancing happily.

"Wow. Ok, let's not summon him again," Dark muttered as he slashed through a large, potbellied Heartless that was trying to body slam him. Mentally, Daisuke nodded emphatically.
Duzell snorted as he jumped away from a Heartless in what appeared to be clunky armor, jumping on top of what used to be the cage. "Sul!" he called out sharply, releasing his magic in the form of sharp blades of wind, killing off a good handful of Heartless. Turning, he raised an eyebrow at Dark as he threw a handful of fire into a cluster of the creatures. "And why did you summon him?" he asked, ducking away from a Heartless, sent flying by Gourry.

Dark scoffed as he danced away from a squad of the creatures, backing up towards the cage himself. "I didn't know it was a homicidal demon!" he argued, panting for breath. "I'm just hoping we can get rid of him!" he muttered, glancing at the Tanuki who was happily destroying Heartless and buildings alike. He glanced out at Gourry with a grin. "Looks like Gourry's having fun though," he joked, nodding towards the human cannonball.

"Good for him," Duzell retorted flatly. "Vara a ilya!" he chanted, extending his hands towards his comrades. As he did, sparks of pure green fanned out, covering Dark and Gourry. To the vampire's surprise, they settles on the trembling form of the wolf demon, who was struggling to get back on his feet. At the moment, he was only up on his knees and hands, the strange metal claws gouging the cobblestones. 'Wonder why it worked on him too?' he thought.

"What was that?" Dark asked as he twirled, running a Heartless through. Before he could turn around, a small red, lantern-like Heartless grinned as it threw a wave of fire at the thief. Yelping, he held a hand up, but blinked when the fire washed over him. "What the?"

"Basically it's a shield for most magic," Duzell offered as he threw a small wave at the lanterns.

Panting, Gourry backed up towards the pair, sword in front of him as he tried to kill another Large Body. His sword just kept bouncing off of the creature though, until Dark stepped in and slashed the Heartless with the Keyblade. "How many of these things are there?!" he exclaimed, leaning back against the bars of the trashed cage.

Dark gasped for air as he plowed through a dozen of the red lantern Heartless, weakened from a blast of water from Duzell. "We've got to be almost through them all," he gasped weakly, backing up next to Gourry.

"Wish we hadn't sent Zelgadis away," Duzell commented, trying to catch his breath. As a master vampire, he had a large amount of magic, but that doesn't mean he had the stamina to use so much so quickly. Especially with the body of a wild cat as his original form. There was only so much magic he could channel at a time. "Sul. Sul! Naur!!" he yelled, throwing wind and fire into a small herd of the armored Heartless.

Suddenly, red sparks flew through the air, and a large section of the cobblestones surged into the air, trapping the rest of the Heartless within a thick wall of stone. Grateful for the break, the trio straightened, looking around for the person responsible.

"What the Hell is going on here?" Ed snapped as he marched up, red coat snapping behind him. Right behind with was a suit of armor, matching him step for step. Only Duzell was about to see that it was possessed. "How did all of those creatures get in here, I thought that the city was being patrolled by the rest of the military!" he barked.

"Someone summoned them?" Gourry said stupidly.

Ed opened his mouth to ask how someone could 'summon' so many Heartless, only for Dark to clear his throat. "Really guys, you know that thing isn't going to hold them for long," he said, pointing. Even as he said this, a few shadows were starting to form on the stone, showing a few Heartless starting to ooze through.

"Oh, why don't we get the badger to help?" Gourry asked, pointing at Shukaku, who was still rampaging, blasting sand at the final Heartless Large Body.

Hearing him, Shukaku turned around, growling. "I am not a badger!! I'm a Tanuki!" he growled. Angrily, he blasted sand at the blond, who yelped and dodged around the stony prison. Following him, the sand scoured away at the stone and Heartless, eating towards the warrior.

"Shit! Dark, get rid of him!" Duzell ordered.

"How?!" the thief yelped, ignoring Wiz, who was trying to pull on his hair. "The last one just left, I don't know how to make this one go!"

'Try ordering it!' Daisuke called mentally.

Nodding, the spirit patted Wiz of the head, signaling for him to transform into his winged form. Second later, they were in the air, and Dark circled the Tanuki. "Shukaku! I order you to stop!" That didn't really work. The demon just grinned before throwing a handful of sand at the thief. Skillfully, Dark swooped away before returning to flutter in front of the Ichibi. "Stop now! Go back into the stone!!" he yelled fiercely, holding up the stone in question.

That seemed to work. With a roar, Shukaku started to dissolve, a swirl of sand-colored light circling the thief before infusing themselves with the summon stone again. The body of the demon wavered, and collapsed as the last of the light entered the stone, dissolving into a large pile of sand.

Sighing, Dark relaxed, floating back down to the ground. Looking over at Gourry, he was relieved to see that not only was the warrior safe, but the Heartless were all gone. 'Daisuke? You need to take over, I don't have any magic left,' he thought as he tapped down, only to fall to his knees, Keyblade as his side.

'Alright Dark,' Daisuke said mildly. With a breath, he shifted back into his own form, Wiz changing back into his cute, fuzzy self.

"What the HELL are you?" Ed asked, eyes wide. "Are you a chimera yourself?" he asked softly.

"No, I'm just possessed," Daisuke said, letting the Keyblade dissipate.

Before Ed could ask, there was a groan from Kouga, who had staggered up to his feet, leaning heavily against the remains of the cage, which was little more than a crumbled ball of metal. He was staring at Ed and Al, the suit of armor, and was growling weakly. "You, you're the one, he send me to kill," he snarled, trying to right himself. "I'll kill you first, then I'll, I'll track that, bastard down and, skin him alive," he muttered just loud enough for the others to hear him.

"Why are you trying to kill Big Brother?" the suit asked in a small voice.

Kouga growled, trying to take a step, but stumbling. "I was told, that if I killed you, he would bring, my pack back, to life," he snarled, flexing his hand threateningly.

"Who told you?" Duzell asked. No matter the world, most of the magical and scientific laws made the raising of souls impossible. What's worse was the fact that Duzell had come across multiple references that using Alchemy to raise the dead was illegal because it rarely worked, and it always took the life of whomever was performing the alchemy itself.

The wolf demon shook his head, confused. "He looked human, but he didn't, smell it," he said slowly, his knees trembling as he tried to keep from falling on his face. "His eye, it kept, flashing purple." With a slight groan, he sank back to his knees, claws sinking into the weakened metal.

Ed's eyes narrowed at that description. "Envy," he muttered. Shaking his head, he marched up to the demon, much to the distress of his brother, and looked him in the eye. "Even if he was human, that 'thing' would have never been able to bring back your family," he said heartlessly. "Human-alchemy is forbidden for good reasons," he stated, gripping his arm. Duzell and Daisuke could see that the arm didn't have the same give as flesh would.

"so," Kouga growled softly, "he was lying to me?" When both brothers nodded, the growl scaled higher, and the demon stumbled back upright. "I'll kill him!!" he yelled with more energy than ever.

'What is with this guy and killing people?' Daisuke thought, only to get a mental shrug from Dark. Out loud, he commented, "How can you kill him if you don't know where he is?"

Kouga flashed his fangs at the young thief as he stumbled forward. "I can smell him you idiot!" he spat angrily. Sniffing the air, he growled lowly as he turned towards the military base. "There he is," he said menacingly before stumbling forward, surprisingly fast for someone who'd just been weak as a kitten. Looking in the direction that Kouga was going, Duzell was surprised to see a man grinning at the demon before ducking away. A man with an eye patch, and a scimitar-like grin.

Growling, Kouga loped after the man, his stride evening out as he ran. Confused, Ed, Al and the other followed after him, Ed and Al confused because they'd seen the man as well. The military office was only a few minutes away, and Kouga barked at the man, who had halted in front of the gate.

"Ah, good to see you again Wolf-boy, Fullmetal shrimp," he said with a smirk. The single eye flicked towards Daisuke and the others, and the grin grew wider. "Ah, there it is," he muttered, looking at the Keyblade, which had materialized at the sight of the man.

"Envy! Why'd you'd do this!" Ed yelled, clapping his hand, then running one over his right arm. To the surprise of the others, a deadly-looking metal spike extended in a shower of blue sparks, shredding his sleeve.

"What had you think I did anything?" the man asked cheekily as he shifted back on his rear foot. Suddenly, there were purple sparks, and the man shifted, into the form of a young man with long spiky green hair, purple eyes, and a dark shirt and skort. "All I did was give a few nudges," he joked, smirking at Kouga.

"You bastard!" Kouga roared, clawed toes digging into the stone as he streaked forward, the steel claws materializing on his hand again. The creature, Envy, only grinned, and ducked away.

Those purple eyes turned on Daisuke as he ducked a wild swipe at his head. "So Key-kid, have you been traveling for so long that you've forgotten about your friends?" he asked, bending backwards away from a kick.

Daisuke startled at the mention of his friends. "You know about them?" he asked incredulously. Seconds later, he dived into the fray, ignoring Dark, who was warning him that this felt like a trap.

Envy just grinned as he jumped away, jumping up to land on the top of the gates of the military entrance. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about the white angel, then the girl," he teased before falling backwards off the gate, into a familiar black and purple shadowy portal.

"Shit!" Ed growled, transmuting the blade back, revealing a metal arm.

Daisuke though, was distracted by a familiar tingle of magic. Holding the Keyblade up, he aimed at the gate, and grinned as a beam of light shot out, hitting the gate with the click of a lock.

"I know where I've heard of you before!" Gourry exclaimed all of a sudden. Curious, the others turned to look at the warrior, who nodded as he grinned at Kouga, who had gone weak in the knees again. "Yeah, I met these two guys back in Traverse Town! They wore the same furry skirts as you! And one had a mohawk," he said.

The demon gaped at the description of the two. "Did one have a chain over his shoulder?" he asked. When the blond nodded, Kouga grinned slightly. "My packmates," he muttered. Turning to Daisuke, he swallowed before kneeling, arching his head back slightly. "If at all possible, could you take me to them?" he asked.

'What's he doing?' Daisuke thought.

'A mix of protective and submissive,' Dark offered. 'His hands are still up, but he's baring his throat and stomach. He wants you to forgive him, but if you take a swipe at him, he'll tear out your throat.' The spirit paused before finishing his thought. 'He must have lived in a dangerous world to be this paranoid of you,'

'Thanks Dark,' Daisuke thought sarcastically taking offense at the spirit calling him weak. Gently, making sure Kouga could see his hands, he grabbed the wolf by the wrist, pulling him up. "You don't need to do that, of course we'll give you a ride!"

"One problem Daisuke," Duzell interceded. "We still don't have fuel for the ship."

"What do you need?"

It was only the work of a few hours for Edward to get the materials for them and to transmute them into the fuel. In exchange, the vampire gave Ed the recipe for the fuel itself, and all the notes they'd accumulated during their stay in the library. After reading through the first page, the young blond was happy to help out. As Daisuke entered the ship though, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, as if that wouldn't be the last time he'd see the Uchiha, or Envy.

Laughing, Envy waltzed into the dark room, a small wound on his shoulder healing in a flurry of purple sparks. "Man, that kid packs a wallop!" he joked, only to stop short at the dirty looks being sent at him from the rest of the group. "What? Do I offend?" he asked before sniffing a pit.

"You told the kid about his friend."

Envy waved a hand negligently. "No, I teased him with the hint that I have information on his friends. There's a difference, like that between parental feelings and pedophilia!" he joked.

The man in the coat growled. "He didn't need to know anything!"

"Ah, go play with your giant robots!"

"Enough!" Naraku intoned, silencing the Homunculus. "Envy, you need to go and search for the other Princesses. You are the only one who can blend in perfectly," he ordered.

Envy sighed before summoning a random portal. "Yeah yeah, I'm going." He turned right as he entered the inky shadows. "Anyone want some ramen while I'm gone?" he asked, only to dive away as the others glared at him.

Silently, Naraku rose from his seat on the tatami. "As for myself, I believe I will take the boy and solidify his loyalty to our cause," he said, red eyes glowing demonically as the light faded from the mirror.

And now, for your enjoyment,

WORLDS THAT NEVER WILL BE

Basically, worlds that won't make the cut for some reason or another.

DAWN OF THE LIVING DEAD

"This is insane!!!" Daisuke screamed as he ran away from the ravening, snarling horde behind him.

"No arguments here!" Gourry yelled as he slashed at a faster creature.

"Who the HELL came up with the bright idea of Heartless ZOMBIES!?"

And because this one was short...

LOVELESS

"Ok, this is kinda cool," Daisuke muttered as he flicked his new red puppy-like ears. "But Duzell, how come you have ears, but Gourry doesn't?"

Duzell hunched up in embarrassment, his new, kyawl-like ears flat against his white hair. A pair of girls, both without ears, giggled as they listened in on Daisuke's comment. "It's not my fault, Gourry's married," Duzell muttered. "It's not fair! I wouldn't have had these stupid things a hundred years ago!" the vampire ranted lowly, cursing Phelios, Fate, Ishtar, and himself for being reincarnated as a cat.