Dark Dranzer's Arena, Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Chaotic Dimension, 17th Universe (Time Unknown)
Dark Dranzer was alone in his room, playing a gentle melody on an ocarina. His eyes were closed, his body swaying to the tune of the song. He opened his eyes, letting a tear run down as memories of Dark Dragoon, Dark Driger, Dranzer and Kai returned to him. Memories that he had suppressed and memories Rin had suppressed. There were also memories that they both cherished. They filled his head, intertwining with the lullaby playing in his head that had begun ever since Dark Driger's darkness injured Rin.
"Dranzer and . . . Kai." He whispered before holding his head, "Am I prepared?" The final battle was approaching. He still felt that something was wrong with him. Still, he was glad that Rin's light was shining softly in their soul room.
'You are an ocean of waves. Weaving a dream, like thoughts become a river stream. Yet may the tide ever change. Flowing like time, to the path, yours to climb.'
The song was getting louder. Dark Dranzer hissed and held his head, trying to make him shut up. He didn't know why he kept singing. Was it to drive him mad with grief or to console the grief-stricken boy trapped in his own nightmare, trapped in the foreign darkness? He also wondered how in the world he heard the song of someone who wasn't in this world anymore.
'Thou seek the light with an outstretched hand. A divine blade lies before you. So command the wake of dreams. To restore the world, cut 'way the seams.'
At that moment, thousands of voices cut through Dark Dranzer's mind, making him yell and drop the ocarina in his hands. The worst part was that those memories weren't his. They were Rin's. All of them were filled with powerful emotions of love, happiness and sorrow. They were too strong.
"I haven't seen you smile so innocently in months." "Your father and mother love you, Rin." "Please forgive me even though I deserve the hatred you have of me." "I really am sorry, Rin, for that night." "With all of us watching each other's backs, nothing can stop us!" "With a smile like that, you'd think you'd show it more." "I'll make you smile enough that you won't need to smile for two years because your quota will be achieved." "Be happy, Rin." "Rin, we'll get out of here, right?" "Is that how you greet everyone or just me?" "Trust me with your heart, Rin." "Good-bye, Mizushima." "Please don't shut us out." "Live, my sweet child." "You're an oddity, Mizushima." "Let's be friends, okay?" "It was only a dream." "You're cute." "Anyways, you're a little late, aren't you?" "You're not a bad person."
'Join in our prayer, in our song, of birthrights and love. Come the sun, illuminate the sky. Pray that we may quell the dark. Light take the throne. Lost in thoughts all alone.'
"Stop it!" He yelled, as if that would help, "I don't want those memories. Take them away. Take them away." He fell to his knees, trembling and half crying for mercy. Inside Rin's soul room, where Dark Dranzer's influence could not reach, white eyes opened while the owner of said eyes patted the head of a crying child.
'Sorrow is what kills the heart, my dear Yami-Suzaku.'
Dark Dranzer already knew that. His heart had been overwhelmed with sorrow long ago, the moment he had fought against Eden's Rapture all those years ago. After that, the Forsaken Fallen were, as their name suggested, forsaken by their fellow holy beasts. It wasn't fair, because they had done so much for their friends and for the Elders, only to rewarded with pain and sealing for thousands of centuries.
The song was still being sung by the familiar voice, although it didn't pain him as much to hear it. As his Elder had once told him, memories were precious and, no matter how painful they are, they should never be repressed. Every memory was important.
Dark Dranzer stood up, picking up the ocarina he had dropped. He smiled, putting a hand over his heart. He thought about Dark Dragoon and Dark Driger, about Chaos and Night, about Dark Draciel and Gaea, about Tartarus and Ouranos, about Hades, Nemesis and Hecate. No matter what happened, he would never forget his dear friends. His memories – the only joy he could have at the moment – would help him defeat Kai and Dranzer.
"Be prepared, my other half," He muttered, taking out the blade he had. He was silent, staring at the blade. This was the blade he had found in Rin's hands the day Tyson escaped and had begun to fix because it was damaged. He knew this blade, felt the residue of Dranzer's influence in the blade.
The blade was none other than Dranzer Metal Spiral.
~~~MIAB~~~
Chaos's Chambers, Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Chaotic Dimension, 17th Universe (Time Unknown)
Chaos fiddled with the black queen, hovering it over the white king, before putting it in front of the white knight, looking serious. He glanced at Zeus and the others before glancing at the bladers hanging from the ceiling, looking pensive, "Do you think I should put them down?"
"Put them down as in putting them on the floor?" Raul asked. Everyone else had been doing something else, like Oliver was playing a game of chess by himself while Ming-Ming had been braiding Zeus's hair, the beast looking relaxed. Either that or he was loopy from blood loss. They had all stopped when Chaos had spoken, though.
Chaos was quiet before smirking at them, the darkness around him swirling. They all shivered, feeling very disturbed at the image. He laughed, the darkness receding, "I'm messing with you. You humans are too easy, I'm afraid."
"You don't help matters by being so cryptic." Oliver muttered, Chaos responding with a laugh. None of them seemed happy while Chaos looked up.
"Yeah, yeah," He said before he reached out for something then paused when he turned to see there was nothing there. He sighed, running his hand through his hair, "I don't have anyone this time around, huh?"
"Getting sentimental, Chaos?" Zeus asked.
Chaos looked at him with serious, hurt eyes, causing Zeus to flinch at the emotion. Chaos laughed without mirth and Zeus could've sworn that the other beast's laugh cracked as if he was hurt.
"If I was, what reputation would I get?"
~~~MIAB~~~
Kai's head was swirling with possibilities. He thought about battle strategies as he climbed up the stairs. Everyone else was just as silent, all of them occasionally looking to the back to see the two that were in the back.
Ray was carrying Riku bridal-style, Riku whispering – still in denial about his legs – to the black-haired blader while sobbing softly, clinging to the other boy's shirt. Nami hated to hear it and she could tell the others did too. It was the most she had ever seen Riku cry ever since they were children. Aya had told her, though, that Riku had cried when he had been found by Aya and Rin years ago.
"Everyone, wait up!"
They all turned back and Tyson grinned, waving, "Max! Aya!" He stared at the pair before blinking, "Why are you both wet?"
Max and Aya were both still wet from their plunge into the lake and their clothes were pressed tightly to their bodies. Aya pushed her wet hair back, smiling back at Tyson, "We fell into a lake after the fight, Ty! It was so cool!"
"Wasn't what you were thinking when you fell," Max muttered before Aya playfully hit him. She smiled and her eyes lit up when she saw Riku in the arms of Ray. She rushed up the stairs, looking happier than she had in weeks.
"Ri-Ri!" She yelled before she paused, the smile fading from her face. She reached out for the boy and looked hurt when he curled closer to Ray, trembling. She looked at Ray, "What is wrong with Ri-Ri?"
"Riku . . . can't move his legs anymore." Ray muttered, Riku turning to see the sadness welling up in Aya's eyes before turning his gaze away. Aya smiled softly, placing a hand on Riku's hair. She felt like sobbing but there was no way she'd do such a thing. It'd end up hurting Riku more. She stroked the boy's hair, still calm. Ray was surprised, to say the least.
"Kai," Aya looked up, her whole demeanor exuding sorrow and pain before she grinned, "make sure to beat Dark Dranzer for Riku's sake, okay?" Kai saw Nami give out a sigh of relief, something he wanted to do. Aya was, thankfully, still Aya.
"As if you need to tell me." Kai said, continuing his trek up the stairs. He felt Dranzer stir in his mind and touched his heart, feeling it beat faster. Honestly, he was terrified. He was scared that Rin would end up like Riku or worse. He was scared that he would need to kill Rin. Neither option made him very happy.
'Whatever the result is, we must accept it and move on,' Dranzer said but he could hear the despair in his partner's voice. It seemed they were both lamenting the task they had to complete.
'Easier said than done.' Kai said before they finally reached Dark Dranzer's room. He didn't hesitate to open the doors, knowing who'd be behind it. He had been preparing for this battle for months. He wasn't going to hesitate now.
Dark Dranzer was alone in the room, playing a violin gracefully. That definitely made Kai stop in his tracks because the song Dark Dranzer was playing was Natasha's symphony. It was the musical symphony that reminded him of days where he and his family and the Mizushima family would get together and entertain each other with mundane things.
His dad and he would show their blading skills, his mother would sing, Haru would play a flute, Rin would play the piano and Natasha would always play this symphony with her violin. It was so nostalgic and it hurt.
"Recognize it?" Dark Dranzer asked, finishing the song. He smiled, the violin disappearing, "I should hope so; Natasha composed it just for you and Rin. Well, she also wrote it for your intertwining tragic fates."
Kai wanted to yell at him for insulting Natasha's memory but a hand on his shoulder – Tyson's hand, considering the hand gripped his shoulder as if to hold him back – stopped him. He took a deep breath, deciding to not give Dark Dranzer the satisfaction of seeing him get hurt. Dark Dranzer didn't seem to mind that much.
His eyes were different from the last time he had seen him. His pure red eyes now had patches in color where his iris was white while there was a blue ring around both his pupils. His clothes and hair were the same but the eyes were not.
"I'd love to chat but I've been itching to fight you for days, technically hours in Earth," Dark Dranzer said with a smile, "I would have loved to torture you with the fact that you've cause so many people to be hurt. Oh well," He materialized his blade and saw the recognition in Kai's eyes, "Looks familiar, huh?"
"Dranzer Metal Spiral."
"Found it in Rin's hands after Tyson escaped. I tinkered with it so it's better now." He got into a battle position, "Wanna test it out?" He unfurled his torn wings again, taunting Dranzer and Kai, reminding them of Dranzer's sin. Kai could hear how horrified Dranzer felt.
Kai's eyes glowed before he materialized wings of his own, the bright red wings being a contrast against Dark Dranzer's darker and torn wings. The gap between them – of light and darkness – was too obvious at that moment. Kai turned to look at Tyson and smiled. Neither of the rivals said anything. They knew what the other was thinking about so no words had to be said amongst each other.
Kai stepped forward, "Gladly." He took out his own blade – an updated model of the hard metal system – and placed it in a launcher. Kenny saw the red auras surrounding both bladers and could even see the auras taking the forms of phoenixes.
"Let it rip!" They yelled, their blades rushing out and meeting each other halfway, the sound of their clash sounding throughout the silent room. They glanced at each other from across the room and Kai was surprised that Dark Dranzer wasn't glaring at him, the way he usually did. Instead, he seemed more subdued.
"Dark Flame Spiral," Dark Dranzer said, the fire appearing from the palm of his hands and heading towards Kai. The top part of Kai's hair turned red when he jumped, taking flight. He scoffed while Dark Dranzer frowned. Dark Dranzer began to fly again, his eyes glowing, "Not bad, Kai. Still, you're not synchronized completely, are you?"
Dark Dranzer seemed to vanish and Kai looked up too late as Dark Dranzer knocked him to the ground. Their blades clashed, Dranzer's blade flying off and hitting the wall. Kai groaned, his wings stinging. He spread them before he took to the air again, his blade speeding towards the other blade.
Dark Dranzer narrowly missed him but Kai was able to land a hit on the other's left wing. He hissed, losing some altitude before he caught himself. He yelled, flying towards Kai. Kai dropped down to meet him. At the same time, their hands conjured up fire while they reached out to hit the other. On the ground, their blades were surrounded by a fiery aura.
"Demon Phoenix Fire!"
"Divine Fire Arrow!" Kai yelled, the bottom part of his hair turning white as he formed the soul bond with Dranzer.
The two attacks connected, sending both winged males flying apart. Kai's eyes dilated while Dark Dranzer's did too. They both saw different flashes inside their heads that made their heads hurt.
Dark Dranzer saw a couple looking down at him, smiling. He saw an old man staring coldly down at him. He saw a young Rin playing the violin, Natasha doing the same. He saw Tyson from across a stadium. He saw himself being saved by Tyson and the others in Lake Baikal. He saw himself wielding Black Dranzer. He saw himself meeting the brunt of Zeus's attacks. He drew back, as if hurt by the memories.
Kai saw Dranzer laughing as Dragoon and Dark Dragoon were hanging from a tree. He saw Dark Driger and Driger chasing after him. He saw Chaos singing inside a black tower. He saw the Hollow Tree, Daisuke speaking to it in a voice that didn't sound like his own. He saw himself as a twelve year old, Voltaire speaking to him – speaking to Rin – about how the two hadn't seen each other in years. He saw himself standing under the mistletoe, holding someone's hand and that person leaning down towards him. All of these memories weren't just Dark Dranzer's or Rin's, though. Kai reeled at memories.
'What was that?'
'When you made contact, you two must have shared memories,' Dranzer told Kai, 'If we can connect for a longer time, we might be able to see into the soul room and wake Rin up so he can find a way to end his imperfect union with Dark Dranzer.'
'Sounds like a plan.' Kai thought as he faced off against Dark Dranzer. The other was staring at him with dilated eyes before he shook his head, as if riding himself from the memories. The two didn't hesitate as they came to blows, fire and blood mixing into their battlefield.
"What are you trying to save?!" Dark Dranzer asked, throwing a fireball straight at Kai. Kai/Dranzer deflected it with his wings, dodging another volley of fire balls, "Don't you know Rin's gone?"
"I'll see if that's true." Kai/Dranzer responded before they seemed to vanish. Dark Dranzer looked around and felt his other half behind him. Just as he turned around, Kai/Dranzer kicked him right in the stomach. He gave out an 'oof!' and Kai's eyes dilated as he and Dranzer made their way into Dark Dranzer's soul room.
~~~MIAB~~~
Kai felt himself enter the soul room, surprised at his actions as he had not expected this to work so well. He looked around to see that he was in a dark soul room, a foot of water submerging the place while there were destroyed trees everywhere, as if a forest fire had occurred. He couldn't see Dark Dranzer but he could see a soft light in the distance.
'Rin!' He yelled, running towards that light. He made it there quickly and was surprised at the white, glowing tree made of out of crystal. Water flowed from between its roots, making the soul room become submerged. He saw a black haired person sitting on top of one of the branches, looking down at their lap and sighed, 'Rin, time to wake up.'
The person looked up and the color in Kai's already white face left, 'N-Night?'
The holy beast – the one that had died protecting Kai – looked the same as always with his silky long black hair and his gentle and wise eyes. He was dressed in a silver-white kimono with black designs of symbols Kai did not understand. He had a red scarf wrapped around his neck, making him seem, for some odd reason, more serene. As usual, there was a soft white glow around him, as if he was the moon illuminating the night.
"Shh," Night whispered, "you will wake him up." He motioned to the sleeping child that was on his lap, who was dressed in a simple white kimono that was clutching a small stone. Kai recognized that child immediately as Rin and looked up at Night, questioning his presence here in Rin's soul room.
'Why are you here? They said you were with Tyson.' Kai stated, staring at the beast in front of him. Night's gentle gaze softened and created a branch to lift Kai up so he could be in his level.
"He needed help. His soul room is in shambles. This is the only way I know to help him," Night answered, running a hand through Rin's hair, who shivered and mumbled something, "Until his heart and soul heals, I will let him sleep. He deserves that much.
"As for why I am here and in Tyson's soul room is because of First's will. She allowed two parts of my soul to be inside of the minds of two people: my true tamer and one of your friends who would have to be the one to battle Chaos."
'Tamer?' Kai asked before looking at Rin, 'You're telling me that he's not Dark Dranzer's-.'
"Dark Dranzer lost her tamer the same night Chaos did. Rin was just the perfect substitute for both of them. Dark Dranzer happened to make a connection with him before Chaos did. But I knew that he was my true tamer the moment I saw him."
'And you said nothing?' Kai asked.
Night sighed, "He did not seem to like the concept of tamers and beasts very much. He would not have liked to have been my tamer. It is an awful thing when your tamer rejects you."
'He would have preferred you over Dark Dranzer,' Kai answered before reaching out to Rin and Night, 'It's time to end this battle and save you both from Dark Dranzer.'
"I wish it hadn't come to this."
Kai looked at Night and, now that he looked carefully, he could see the similarities between he and Rin. It was strange that he hadn't noticed that until now. This world was such a strange place with odd coincidences. Kai smiled up at Night, 'But there was no other way. And you know it.' When Night said nothing, Kai turned around, 'Goodbye, Night.'
"Farewell, Kai."
~~~MIAB~~~
Dark Dranzer pushed him away with a yell, his eyes losing the blue ring around the pupil. He glared at Kai/Dranzer before creating dark flames in his hands. He gave out a cry and punched Kai in the chest. Kai/Dranzer cried out in pain and flew back. He held his wound as he smelled burning flesh. He felt Dranzer healing his wound before he rushed at Dark Dranzer, throwing fireballs at the other. Dark Dranzer glided away from them before he cried out as one managed to hit his right wing, losing some altitude before landing on the ground next to their wobbling blades.
Dranzer/Kai's fiery red aura seemed to spread like a forest fire and they all backed away as Aya hissed in pain when she made contact with the aura. Dark Dranzer's eyes turned completely red before he began to glow. In the glow, they could see Dark Dranzer's true form – a fiery female who looked calm – before the aura turned into a phoenix made of flames. Kai/Dranzer closed their eyes, as if gathering strength, before opening them. Their aura was a gigantic phoenix, twice the size of Dark Dranzer's.
"Show me your powers, you two." Dark Dranzer said before flying upwards to the duo that shared a body, mind and soul. At the same time, the blades rushed towards each other like their wielders.
"Suzaku's Heaven Inferno!" Kai/Dranzer and Dark Dranzer yelled before their flames engulfed the other. Max raised up his hands, his eyes glowing purple and a water shield appeared, keeping the flames from burning everyone.
"Kai!"
In a chess set not too far, a queen fell.
~~~MIAB~~~
Night, Rin and Kai were floating above a forest, Night holding the small Rin in his arms. Night smiled down, seeing Dranzer holding Dark Dranzer in a hug. Dark Dranzer was falling asleep, her body vanishing. The two beasts were leaning on a familiar looking tree, one Dark Dranzer hadn't seen in centuries.
'Is this the end, then?' Dark Dranzer asked, staring up at the brilliant blue sky she had recreated from her memories. Dranzer began to run a hand through her hair, making her hum in happiness.
'No. It'll be your new beginning,' Dranzer responded, looking up at Rin and Kai before looking back down at his other half, 'I'm sorry for my actions. I was horrible to you.'
'I'm not entirely blameless, either,' Dark Dranzer muttered before closing her eyes, 'I wanted to keep hating you, you know. As long as I hated you, I would not feel the pain of losing you, of you hurting me. Maybe it's the same for all of us. Still, I don't know if I truly hate you or not.'
'It's okay if you do.' Dranzer responded. The two fell silent, not knowing what else to say. Then again, there wasn't much to say and, sometimes, silence was the better option. Night took Kai's hand and lowered him to the ground next to Dranzer and Dark Dranzer. They sat down, all of them except Rin looking at the disappearing Dark Dranzer
'There is always sleep between part and meet with our usual words on the usual place. So let us part like we always do. . . And in a world without you, Dranzer, I'll dream of you,' Dark Dranzer spoke, her voice coming out in a whisper, 'Beyond the path without you is a forgotten promise to keep. And though our paths may not cross anytime soon, all paths are connected somewhere. When I arrive at where you are, we may not appear to be as we were . . . But we'll make another promise to keep.'
She touched Dranzer's face, memorizing his face before closing her eyes slowly, 'we'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when. Oh, I know we'll meet again some sunny day.' She smiled serenely, a smile Dranzer hadn't seen since the war against Eden's Rapture, before she vanished, the soul room turning dark while the trees died. As soon as that happened, Night stood up, Rin stirring in his arms before going limp once more.
'Take care of Rin, Night.' Kai said, even though he knew that he didn't need to say it. Night nodded and then headed towards the silver tree, the only tree filled with light and life, singing softly to the sleeping Rin. Once he was out of earshot, Kai stood up and held out his hand for Dranzer, 'Let's go.'
Dranzer smiled up at him and took his tamer's hand.
~~~MIAB~~~
When the fire died down, Max dropped the shield and they all looked up to see Kai flying, holding Dark Dranzer bridal-style. The beast's hair was black, meaning that Rin was back. This was further proven when the torn dark wings vanished. Aya fell to her knees, sobbing happily while Tyson looked relieved. Kai landed on the ground, his wings vanishing as well. He looked at Tyson before glancing down at the male in his arms.
"Rin won't wake up. Not yet," He informed them. Aya stood up, Max patting her softly on the back. She seemed to appreciate the small gesture but she still looked worried for Rin's sake. Kai looked back to see that Dark Dranzer's blade had stopped spinning while Dranzer was about to stop.
"Why? Why won't Rin-."
"I'll explain on the way." Kai answered and Kenny felt shock as he saw Rin glowing as if he was bathed in moonlight. He didn't say anything but suspected that Tyson wasn't the only one with a piece of Night in his heart.
"Now," Tyson stated, bringing everyone's attention to him, "the final battle commences."
**EDIT: I'm adding pictures and videos to some of the important chapters like the mini Dark Bit-Beasts arc and Reluctant Heroes. The picture is the cover that was on FF . net when this chapter was first posted and removed when the next chapter was uploaded. The Byakko and Genbu covers are now in their respective chapters**