Chapter 15
The Trial
I wonder if my spiritual body dies…if my body would turn into a zombie. Hehe…zombie… Murray, Corey's zombie head…wait. I found that stupid a few months ago. Why the hell am I laughing about it at a time like this? And why can't I see anything? Oh. My eyes are closed.
Derek opened his eyes slowly, the light from the sun blinding him a bit. Wait. Sun? He was in a black inferno not five minutes ago. At least his spiritual body was. His actual body was in Spirit World right now, in a room with black candles in it, where he had meditated into his spiritual body.
When did I get outside?
He was lying down, but no longer in pain like he had been before. He was staring up at a blue sky, the sun directly above him.
Jeez…I haven't seen a day like this sense…hold on. A day like this? Spirit World has a purple sky, not blue. This is…this is the Human World!
Derek jumped up quickly, but it was at that moment he realized something was different. His body was lighter. He took a moment to examine himself, and realized his new found weight loss wasn't the only thing that was different.
He was shorter than he had been, and his hair was a spiked up, similar to Corey's. He no longer had facial hair, and scars that should have been there no longer existed. He was wearing a pair of jeans and skating shoes, with a dark blue t-shirt that had the logo of The Rolling Stones on the front.
He was fourteen years old again.
"No way…" Derek said aloud, but he noticed even his voice had changed. "Jesus, I'm going through puberty again!"
He paused for a moment, and then began to laugh. Why was this funny?
Oh, crap. Even my maturity level has gone down…
He began to walk around, trying to figure out where he was…or even when. This had to be Human World. The air itself was filled with the scent of humans and slight bits of spiritual energy. The surroundings were all of human's world. Nothing demonic about it.
What is all this?
Suddenly, he heard a yell from off in the distance. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. It was definitely someone he knew, but still…
"Doesn't matter! I gotta help him!" Derek shouted, and began to run towards where he heard the voice. It wasn't too far off, only about a quarter of a mile, but it took longer than it should have. The draw backs of his younger body: he wasn't even close to his present body's state.
Back then, I was only a D-Class at best… Derek felt himself thinking as he ran.
Finally, he slid to a stop as he spotted seven large demons with horns atop of their head and wearing loincloths circling around a human boy, who had been backed up to a large rock formation with nowhere to go.
"Stand back, jerks!" The boy shouted, "Don't make me kick your asses!"
The closest of the demons laughed, "You may have taken out a few of our brothers, but there is no way you could take on all of us, kid!"
The boy grinned, "Wanna bet?" Spiritual Energy began to arise from the boy's body. It, like Derek's own, was only that of a D-Class. The same could be said about the demons surrounding him, but that made the odds still 7-1.
Well, I guess that means I should help! Derek thought to himself, grinning.
Just as the boy let his fist pummel into the closest demon's stomach, Derek leapt into the air and gave his own powerful kick to the one farthest from the human.
"Who're you?!" The boy shouted, but kept his attention on the demons.
"The guy who is saving you, that's who!" Derek shouted back, elbowing the next demon in the abdomen.
"Works for me!" The kid grinned and upper cut the demon he had just punched, causing him to fall to the ground. His spiritual energy began to grow even stronger as he fought on, as did Derek's own. It was like the two teenager's energies were playing off one another.
Finally, after only a couple cuts and bruises later, the two boys had emerged victorious, with the survivors of the demon group running for their lives.
"Yeah! Come back when you've grown some balls!" The boy shouted cockily, grinning widely as he did.
"You're a cocky one." Derek commented with a smirk.
The boy looked over to him. "So? I think we both have the right to be cocky, don't we? I mean, we just pummeled those demons into the ground."
"To be honest with you, I'm a demon, too." Derek said, although slightly regretted it for a moment, wondering if he would scare the boy, but he merely shrugged.
"I figured you were."
Derek blinked. "Why's that?"
The boy pointed at him, "You're energy…its red. All the demons I have met have the same color. I have blue energy, so I just assume that red is demon, blue is human."
Derek blinked and laughed a bit. "What you have is called Spirit Energy. Mine is Demon Energy."
The human boy blinked and then grinned. "Oh! Okay. That makes sense; I guess…what's your name, anyway?"
"Derek Maison. Yours?" Derek asked, extending his arm for the teenager to shake.
He did and grinned, "Corey Kartana. Nice to meetcha!"
The world around Derek began to quickly dissolve and turn white, leaving Derek to spin around in limbo.
Duh…of course! That was the first time I ever met Corey! Heh…damn we were young back then…and that place was our old Meeting Spot, up on the mountain in town…
The world formed around him again, and himself in the middle of a desert. His wooden training blade was in his hand, and he was staring face to face with Kurama, who was holding a bamboo stick.
"Derek." Kurama said quietly. "If you even want to consider defeating Shura, you not only need to hone your skills in fire, but also in swordsmanship."
"I know…" Derek said, breathing heavily. Why was that?
Oh yeah…he and I have been training non-stop for the past seven hours in this scorching heat…
"Begin!" Kurama shouted, and rushed towards Derek with movement so fast Derek could only parry the attack by moving his blade horizontal and above his head. Kurama swiftly moved the blade away and swung, hitting Derek square in the side.
"Shit!" Derek swore, grabbing his side with his free move.
"Don't let your guard down!" Kurama roared, swinging the blade once again and hitting Derek in his hand.
"Ow! Crap, Kurama!" Derek shouted, jumping back.
"Do you think Shura will let you stop and rest in the middle of your battle?" Kurama asked, frowning.
"Of course not…" Derek grumbled. Kurama sighed and walked over to him, putting his hand down on his head,
"You're a good kid, Derek, but I can tell you're easily flustered, just like Corey. You need to work on that if you ever want to learn true discipline."
Derek blinked and nodded. "Alright, Kurama." He held his sword at ready again, "Let's do it again!"
Just like with Corey, the world around him began to dissolve.
Why am I seeing all this again? Derek thought as he floated, Is this…the Black Dragon's doing? Oh yeah…that's right. I'm in a trial right now, but it doesn't make sense to me. I'm not fighting anything strong…just reliving memories…
The world came back into existence again, and Derek found himself on top of a rooftop. He glanced around, and then realized where he was.
The roof of the place where he and Jade first kissed.
Unlike all the other two times Derek had been transferred into his memories, he was watching from a third person point of view. He watched as both Jade and himself jumped onto the roof and began to talk.
"Well, I'm glad it was you who followed me, Derek." Jade said. Derek could remember all of this. How sweet her voice was…
"Yea, well, I had to see you again, after all." The younger Derek replied, also finding himself with a small smile on his face.
"Oh? And why's that?" she asked, walking towards him.
"Well...I don't know. I just wanted too, okay?" he regarded.
The real Derek sighed quietly and closed his eyes.
Dragon…I don't want to see this. Please, let me go somewhere else.
It seemed as though the Black Dragon heard him, and both Jade and the younger Derek disappeared, and in their place appeared the dragon himself.
"Why are you showing me all of this?" Derek asked, finding that, unknown to him, he had been changed back into his present day form.
"I needed to see your past, Derek Maison." The dragon replied, his mouth still not moving.
"Why?" Derek questioned again, "Don't you know it?"
The dragon shook his head. "No. I know up to the very point where you first used me, back in the Demon Realm Tournament against Dia Jaganshi."
"Oh…" Derek said, "That makes sense…but I still don't know the why."
The Black Dragon smirked and walked over to Derek, "I needed to see what you were like before I became your…ability."
"You didn't want to see me in actual combat?" Derek asked.
"I've already seen everything, Derek Maison." The ancient being said calmly, "I merely wanted you to see what you used to be like. When you first met Corey Kartana, trained with Kurama the Spirit Fox, and met your life love."
Derek felt his fists clench slightly. "Why, though? Why would I need to see all that? They're all here," He tapped his head, "In my memories."
"Are they?" The Black Dragon asked.
"Of course!" Derek retorted, feeling the heat rise in his body.
"I do not believe you are telling the truth, Derek Maison. These memories have been buried in your subconscious for quite some time now." The dragon reported calmly, eyes closed.
Derek blinked a few times. Was that true? No…of course he remembered all those times. Those were better times. Even though he knew Shura had been coming, he still enjoyed his training sessions with Kurama. He was always overwhelmed the day he met Corey. He cherished the day that he met Jade…
But…I don't think of those days anymore…those days are gone…
The conclusion hit Derek hard, and he slumped to his knees.
Am I…trying to forget those old days? I know I'm trying to move on…look onto the future, but…
"Are you even doing that, Derek Maison?" The Black Dragon asked.
"Stop reading my thoughts…" Derek said bitterly, rising back to his feet, "What do you care, anyway?"
The Black Dragon walked up to Derek and stared down at him. It was only until now that the warrior realized how much larger the dragon was to him. Derek had to strain his neck just to look into his eyes.
"What kind of man would you be like without those memories?"
"What?" Derek asked, confused at the question.
"Where would you be today, had those events not occurred? If you had never met Corey Kartana…if you never trained under the Spirit Fox, Kurama…if you had never met the love of your life, Jade? What kind of man would you be?"
"I…I don't know." Derek admitted.
"You would be dead, Derek Maison."
"What?!"
"The darkness in your heart would have fluctuated far beyond your control. You would have slipped into madness…that is what would have happened."
"I don't believe you!" Derek shouted, "It's true that Corey, Jade, and the rest of them have made me a better person, but that doesn't mean I would have been evil or anything!"
"Oh, really?" The dragon took a step back and raised his hand. Black flames began to creep out of his skin, and before Derek had time to react, they began to scorch his body. He began to feel the same pain as he did the last time this happened.
"See what becomes of you, if you were to never meet your friends…" The rest of the dragon's words were cut out by Derek's own cries of pain.
******
A young man ran through a scorching desert, with only a tanned cloak to block out the suns hot rays. A blade was sheathed carefully to the man's side. His face could not be seen; the cloak's hood making sure it would not be burnt from the heat…
The man was heading towards a small fortress in the middle of an oasis. The fortress was made entirely out of stone, with the oasis at its front. Outside, the place was guarded by dozens of demons, the strongest the warlord of the fortress could find…
The warlord himself was a demon filled with hatred for all humans. The humans who had killed his mother when he was a child. The humans who drove his father into madness, and then left his own son in this world alone…
The young man who was crossing the desert finally found himself in front of the stone fortress and unsheathed his blade, which glimmered with spiritual energy. It caught the demon guard's attention and they charged at him. The young man quickly engaged in battle…
The demon warlord took no time in preparing himself for battle. He grabbed his blood stained katana and began to walk out of his quarters, feeling the intruder's spiritual energy overwhelming his own guards. He'd have to act fast if he wanted to prevent himself from finding more troops…not that it would matter soon. Not if his plan worked…
The young man finished off the final demon and swung his blade, letting the blood fly off of it. His cloak had been tattered to the point where it no longer served a purpose, so he threw it off of himself…
The demon warlord stepped out of his dark fortress, and his details are finally shown. He is a man in his later teens, a surprise to the human who was expecting an older demon. His hair is jet black and very long, tied at the end with a red bow, and a beard of the same color. He wore a suit of armor that could have been worn by a samurai of Japan. He had two different color eyes: the right, green; his left, blue. He was build was strong, as was the demonic energy that was emitting out of him…
The young man, who had just let his cloak fly off in the coming wind, grinned lightly at the demon he faced. This young man was only seventeen years old, with hazel eyes and spiked brown hair. He had a goatee on his chin, which matched his hair, but with a slight shade of red to it. He wore a tan jacket, with a white shirt underneath, and a pair of blue jeans. A pair of black boots were strapped to his feet, with a pair of leather gloves of the same color on his hands, which gripped his sword.
"So…you are Derek Maison, the warlord of this fortress?" The young man asked.
"I am…and you must be Corey Kartana, the young Spirit Detective who has been driving fear into the hearts of demons."
"Guilty as charged…and speaking of guilty, by the power invested in me by Spirit World, I'm to place you under arrest." Corey said coolly, his grin never changing.
"Is that right?" Derek replied, smirking still, "And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll have to kill you."
"I'll accept that as a challenge, then."
"They never do it the easy way. Damn, demons."
And the two warriors ran at one another, swords at ready and preparing to kill one another…
Corey Kartana stood over the lifeless body of Derek Maison, his sword stabbed through the demon's chest. Corey, whose arm had been severed off in the battle, had barely come out alive. He stumbled backwards and fell onto his backside. Barely able to move, he grabbed what looked like a cell phone out of his pocket.
"This is Spirit Detective Corey Kartana. Mission status: complete. Target: Eliminated. I need a cleanup crew here, now, and a transport to pick me up. Over." He put the phone away and looked down at the deceased demon, withdrawing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his jacket pocket and lit up, exhaling smoke,
"I really hate demons…"
Ten years later, that same young man would lead an army to destroy the leaders of the Demon World, having found the entrance to the world during his time as Spirit Detective. He was killed after battling ten S-Class apparitions in melee combat. Spirit World was blamed for the incident, and Lord Koenma took the fall…
Five years after that, a being known as Darkine appeared and killed the leaders of the Demon World and the Human World. He soon took control over Spirit World, and controlled all three worlds for the rest of eternity, making himself into a God with the powers of Spirit World…
******
"That's a lie!!" Derek screamed, his demonic energy exploding around him. The Black Dragon took a step back, but was smiling, "There is no way…no way that that would happen! I wouldn't fight Corey like that! He wouldn't try to take on all of Demon World! Darkine won't win!"
"But it is all true…" The Black Dragon said calmly, "The day you and Corey Kartana became friends, you changed the fate of a lot of people, including yourselves. That is how Darkine's prophecy was formed. Why do you think it was just the two of you in the prophecy? Just because you two are strong?"
"I…" Derek didn't know what to say there.
"It all makes sense, doesn't it, Derek Maison? The prophecy was created because some force knew that the entire world's fate rested on you two from the very beginning. You and Corey Kartana were destined to fight side-by-side, and if that destiny had broken, all the worlds would be doomed for certain."
Silence followed directly after that. Derek just stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend and let everything he just learned sink in. Before he had time to say anything else, the dragon spoke once more,
"Darkness had always been in your heart, Derek Maison. It is in your bloodline. Darkine knew this, and that is why he sent his assassin to kill your wife, knowing only too well what would occur afterwards. It had nothing to do with me…"
"Black Dragon." Derek said, actually interrupting the ancient creature, "I understand what you are saying. I…I believe you, but I am no longer like that. I refuse to be. No matter what happens, no matter what trials I must go through, I will never, ever, let that darkness take me over again. I will help Corey, Liz, and the rest of my soldiers win this war against Darkine, no matter what! I don't care if you do not think that I can use your power because there is evil within me. I'll do it without it. I have my friends, and my son…and that is all the motivation I need!!"
Both the dragon and Derek stared into one another's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, when finally the ancient being broke into a smile.
"That, Derek, was the answer I was looking for."
"Huh?"
"You passed my trial. I will allow you to become my apprentice."
"J-just like that?" Derek asked, bewildered.
"You've shown me patience, and you've shown me that you are nothing like your ancestors, and because of that, I will grant you my power."
The Black Dragon walked up to Derek and rested his hand on his shoulder and his eyes suddenly turned jet black. Derek felt both their bodies begin to pulsate rapidly, and the dragon's body soon turned transparent. He slowly walked forward and into Derek, who in turn felt an enormous amount of dark energy enter his soul.
Having no other choice but to expel some of the dark power, Derek let his demonic energy explode with black flames which flared around his body and closed his eyes. To his surprise, the Black Dragon was staring at him in his mind, smiling.
"You have done well, Derek Maison. Use my power to defeat Darkine and protect your friends. Fulfill the prophecy with Corey Kartana, and do not sway from your path…no matter who you meet in Darkine's lair…"
******
Dia Jaganshi's eyes suddenly shot open as he felt the sudden surge of power coming from inside of the room where Derek meditated.
So…he did do it…
He waited patiently for the power to settle, and walked into the room, where he found Derek panting heavily on the ground, his shirt having been burnt off and black scorch marks running down his chest and arms.
"How does it feel, Maison?" Dia asked, keeping his voice steady.
Derek slowly looked up at him with eyes that gave Dia a start. His left eye, which was usually blue, was now a dark red color, with a black flame circling around the iris. A small grin appeared on the demon's lips.
"I feel…better now. It's different…it's like having another person being inside of me."
Dia stared at Derek for a moment and a small smirk appeared on his own lips. "This doesn't change anything, Maison. I still will be the one who defeats Darkine." Dia turned around and began to walk out the door, and then in a quieter voice said, "At least now, though…you will provide adequate back-up."
Derek blinked a few times and couldn't help but give a small chuckle after Dia left the room. He rose from the ground and looked at his arms and chest.
It really did a number on my body, though…that's for sure.
Derek very carefully left the room, only to find Kurama standing outside now.
Derek blinked. "Kurama? What's up?"
Kurama examined Derek and smiled slightly, "I see you did what Dia Jaganshi could not. Congratulations, Derek."
"Thanks, Kurama…whoa." Derek suddenly fell forward, and was quickly caught by Kurama.
"You will need rest now, Derek…" Kurama said quietly, "The toll on your body was quite extravagant."
"…noted…" Derek mumbled before passing out in the red-headed demon's arms. Kurama chuckled softly and carefully took Derek to the infirmary for the second time in a week, letting the general's body prepare for the battle that would soon come.
"I can only hope Corey is doing what he needs to do to prepare for the upcoming battle."
