The One Who Leads The Way

by TundraStanza

Twin Drive

One blinding light from a Vanguard circle later, Céri saw that he was above a forest area. What was holding him above said forest was a rocky peak. Said peak was crumbling every so often and he just realized that the big rock under his shoes had broken off the rest of the landmark.

"Oh, no..."

Céri found himself at the mercy of the law of gravity. Sliding down the rocky wall, he fell into a tumble, lost feeling in a hand, and scraped a knee against something else. It was a miracle that none of that had damaged his face even further.

"Ah-hah-ow..." He shook as he slowly stood back up and looked at the rock wall. He held his numb wrist with his other hand. "Whose bright idea was it to summon me on top of a freaking cliff?"

"My apologies, but I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with the finer nuances of these 'keys'."

The card fighter whirled around at the light, yet husky voice. There appeared to be a tall, white-clothed man holding a copy of the blank Vanguard card. He was wearing what looked like moccasins. He had a bit of a bushy tail growing behind him and a pair of mammalian ears sticking out of his silver hair. He was staring at Céri with a hint of amusement.

"Well, I guess I can't blame you too badly." Céri grunted against the pain. "I mean, I'm still pretty new to the whole 'being displaced' concept myself. Though, the anthro wolf costume is a bit much."

"Costume?" The amusement was replaced with doubt. "You mean... I wasn't always a fox demon?"

"Huh? Of course not." Now Céri was confused. "All of the displaced I've met so far were cos-players that were going to some big convention before a suspicious merchant zapped them to some version of a world called 'Equestria'. Didn't Kreuger mention any of this when he gave you my 'key'?"

"I had assumed that the dream wanderer was delusional at the time, but... you are the second one who has brought this to my attention... " The fox-man looked down at his hand, curling and uncurling his fingers a few times. "Why... don't I remember... who I am supposed to be?"

"Wait, you have amnesia?" Céri blinked and scratched the back of his neck with his good hand. "Geez, man. I'm sorry. I really have no idea what to do about that. Normally I'd suggest just waiting until something comes along to jog your memory. But... seeing as none of the rest of us displaced people are actually in our home worlds, that might not happen for a long time."

The other guy closed his eyes and sighed. "I suppose that is the best I can hope for." He looked back at eye level to the one he had summoned. "Thank you for the kind words." He pocketed his copy of the 'key'. "In any case, that is not the reason why I requested your presence."

"Right, so what am I going to be holding up my cards to this time?"

"Firstly, we should probably attend to your broken metacarpals." The fox-man motioned with an index finger. "Come over here for a minute."

"Uh... okay?" Céri walked over. His right hand sort of limped behind the motion of the rest of his arm.

The man in white grabbed Céri's numb hand and lifted it up. He then pulled something else out of his pocket. Céri didn't see it until it looked like the man had scratched him with a long fingernail and proceeded to insert a tiny black dot into the opening.

"Hey!" Céri exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

Something in his wrist was causing it to spasm. Within five seconds, something started growing out and surrounding the wrist entirely. It resembled a bracelet made entirely out of brown thorns. He also noticed that he could move all five of the phalanges on that hand without trouble. He tried touching the bracelet with his left hand, though his right wrist perceived that touch as if being directly contacted.

"The Gauntlet Thorns allow a limb to be used in spite of skeletal and nerve damage," explained the fox-man, "even to the point of perceiving a normal range of motion and senses. Though, it will release a rash-inducing toxin to anyone who tries to touch it other than the wielder. Please be mindful of who you shake hands with from now on."

"That's... oddly specific." Céri looked incredulously at the man.

"While I may not remember who I am, whatever phenomenon transported me to this world also gave me knowledge of every single seed and plant in my arsenal."

"Huh." Céri stared at his new plant accessory before looking at the man again. "Well, at least I can use my hand again, so thank you. Do you have a name? It seems kind of insulting for me to constantly think of you as 'Fox Man'."

A simple nod preceded his response. "Yoko Kurama."

---

Yoko led Céri along a path that eventually wound all the way out of the forest. A hissing noise met the card fighter's ears. Before he could ask what it was, something caught his attention further along the path. Several creatures with solid, yellow eyes were roaming about. Three-dimensional shadows, faceless dwarves in armor, and a fat robed creature made up the bulk. A couple ponies nearby were galloping around in panic, until two of the soldier shadows dug their claws through and pulled out their hearts.

Céri gasped and whispered, "Heartless."

"You are familiar with these entities?" inquired Yoko. "Then, perhaps you know how to eliminate them."

"Wait, what do you need my help for?" Céri wondered. "Can't you use your pocket garden to deal with them?"

The demon fox plucked a few seeds and flicked them with his thumb. After flying about ten feet, they sunk into the ground. Next thing Céri knew, he was watching three red Venus fly-traps growing out and growling. In an instant, they all chomped on the fat man and he evaporated.

However, a large valentine remained. It floated around a bit before moving about three feet behind the fly-traps. It reforged into the original fat creature that had just been destroyed. Meanwhile, the Soldiers had clambered over to the plants. After each of them spun around with their legs extended out, the fly-traps were chopped off their roots. The plants withered into small, dry husks.

Céri blinked. "Oh. I guess we need a Keyblade to deal with them permanently."

"Do you have such a weapon in your repertoire?"

"I might have something close enough to that," said Céri as he pulled out his Angel Feather cards. "But, this isn't the Equestria I was sent to originally. So, it's going to take me a while to bring it out." He looked at the field of approaching Heartless and then back at his summoner. "Think you can keep them all distracted for a minute or two?"

"I can guarantee forty-five seconds," said Yoko.

In an instant, Yoko had a rose in each hand. With just a flick of his wrists, the petals floated off the stems. At the same time, the thorns extended into a much longer and flexible form. Soon, the fox demon was whipping around the two "Rose Whips" with enough speed to create sonic booms upon contact with the Heartless.

"Guess I'd better get started." Céri pulled out his Grade 0 starter. "Stand up! First Aid Celestial, Peniel!"

The Shadows and Soldiers were all whipped away twenty feet. Extending his Rose Whips to even greater lengths, Yoko wrapped one around the Fat Bandit and spun it around. A Neo Shadow tried its luck by slashing its claws against the man's back.

"Ride! Battle Cupid, Nociel!"

Yoko retaliated against the Neo Shadow with a back kick. He followed up by swinging a whip around and flinging the Heartless back into the group of similar kinds.

"Ride! Million Ray Pegasus!" Céri held up his cards, hoping the Grade 3 would unlock soon. "Come on, come on, come on."

The fox demon performed an aerial somersault into the midst of the Heartless. His next move made his Rose Whips look like they were spinning around and hitting every single direction at once. The Heartless were getting whacked into a plant tornado. At last, Céri's Grade 3 card gained its colors back.

"Got it!" He held it up high. "For the love of all creation, behold! This has been foreseen. Ride! Prophecy Celestial, Ramiel!"

Yellow lights emerged from the card. After taking shape, blonde pigtails flowed to either side of the Unit's head. Light blue feathers spread out along the angel's wings. Her red, white, and green outfit was reminiscent of a marching band leader. In each of her gloved hands, she carried a giant, charcoal black scissor. They were relatively the right shape to be dual-wield Keyblades.

"Call! Crimson Drive, Aphrodite! Iron Heart, Mastema!"

The sword-wielding angel and the bandaged angel with a torn wing joined the battlefield.

"Alright, guys." Céri clenched his fist. "Set those Heartless up and let Ramiel take the finishing blow."

His Rear-Guard Units nodded in understanding. Mastema ran out while breathing heavily before swinging his arm blades against the ground. A few Neo Shadows were uprooted along with the ground they were standing on. Ramiel flew out and swiped her individual scissors at the airborne Heartless. The force of impact caused the shadows to evaporate completely.

Aphrodite flew over and smacked each of the Soldiers that were annoying Yoko. With a cross-slash, Ramiel took care of those Heartless as well. Red valentines emerged from their disintegrated bodies, floated into the sky, and vanished.

It was down to the Fat Bandit now. Yoko whipped the Heartless over to Mastema. Mastema cut it in the back. Aphrodite pushed it with a laser from her sword. Ramiel held her scissors behind her, charged up, and swung a Grand Slam right against the soaring bandit's head. An explosion of light released a large red valentine that floated into the sky. Like the other small hearts, it disappeared as well.

Céri leaned down and held his knees. His breathing sounded almost as heavy as Mastema's. His suspicions about using up energy in alternate Equestrias were confirmed by his current feeling of fatigue. Sensing that they were draining their Vanguard, his Units turned into particles and returned to his cards.

"Now, now, what's all this?"

"Huh?" Céri looked up at the sudden voice of a disappointed woman.

Standing further along the path was a very tall, pony. She wore armor of a similar color to the Shadow Paladins. It was very... gaudy, trying to look at her and her outfit. Though, the menacing slit irises were a touch intimidating.

"And just who are you?" asked Yoko Kurama as he stood before her.

"You must have been living under a rock to go so long without recognizing me." The armored pony chuckled humorlessly. "I am Midnight Sparkle, Sole Empress of Equestria and everypony in it."

"Well, as you can clearly tell, I am not a pony." Yoko held his clawed hands out to either side.

"It is an all-encompassing term," huffed Midnight, "and it matters little what you think. You will kneel in my presence, or you will suffer the consequences."

"Sounds like fun," said an amused fox demon.

The empress was not nearly as amused. "I'll make you understand the error of your impudent ways."

"Dylanson," muttered Yoko to the worn out card fighter. "I suggest you get going."

"What?" Céri looked alarmed. "What about you?"

"She does not carry the same aura as the Heartless we destroyed," the fox explained. "I believe my powers will suffice for incapacitating her." He held out his hand, and surprisingly had a Vanguard card. "Here, I found this in an abandoned castle earlier today. Don't worry about a passphrase. Just call me by name and I will reconvene with you at my earliest convenience."

Céri opened his mouth to object, but a wave of weariness flooded over him in that instant. He slowly reached out his hand and took the card. When he looked at its face, he gasped at the red along the edge. It looked like a young maiden surrounded in roses and carrying a botanical scythe.

"Dream-spinning Ranunculus, Ahsha?" Céri asked in awe. "But, that's a-"

"Go now!" Yoko pressed an open palm against Céri's chest.

Before he knew what was happening, Céri found himself falling into a seating position on Redheart's sofa.

"How did he do that?"

He looked down at the card in his grasp, and sighed. "Good luck, Kurama."
---

Author's Note:

And the crossovers just keep on crossing over.
...
We'll see if this weekly update schedule can keep working for me.