Monster Rancher: The Dark Ones

Something flew across the roof, blocking the moonlight for a split second, like a shadow then the Magic holding Mocchi dropped the little monster as it's head snapped back. The Magic stumbled forward and fell off the track to it's death, the other Magics standing next to it both looked back as they were seemingly kicked off the rollercoaster, both falling to their deaths.

A figure leapt from the track and spun in air until it landing on the ground, it stood erect and leapt back as a Magic attacked and threw it's cloak off to reveal a boy Holly's age dressed in red-brown plate armor with a sword and shield on his back. The boy drew his weapons and blocked the Magic's punch then delivered the finishing blow.

Two others ran at him each armed with a dagger. He polished off one as the other ran by him ignoring him. It headed straight for the other group. The boy leapt in front of Holly making the Magic stop, it jabbed the dagger into the boys stomach with all it's might, piercing the armor and straight down to his flesh. The boy backed up nearly falling into Holly but stumbled to the side at the last instant.

The Magic drew another dagger and raised it up as a thumping sound came quickly from the left, something big and red charged into the Magic and knocked it across the building complex with it's staff. A pixie type monster descended from the ceiling and shouted "Lightning." as a bolt of electricity shot from her hands and hit the park generator.

The Magics started to retreat when a tiger looking monster ascended from the shadows cast on the floor by the above rollercoaster track, the Magics froze in place as it leapt forward biting and impaling them with it's horns. It landed on it's feet and slid around to face the new lost disks and seemed to smile as smoke rolled off the ground.

The boy stumbled around for a few seconds and turned to the rebels as he pulled the knife from his stomach, the knife's blade was covered in blood as he dropped it and fell to his knees. Holly ran out to help him but he held his hand up motioning for her to stay away as he stumbled to his feet. He looked around the park, there were lost disks scattered everywhere. He looked up as the pixie type monster dropped down in front of him.

"All of Mu's lackeys are dead."

The boy nodded as Genki stepped forward. "Pi-Pixie?"

The monster looked down at Genki. "Pixie? I'm not Pixie, the name's Daina."

Genki looked down as Mocchi ran up to him. "Mocchi, you're okay!"

"Yeah, chi, he saved me." Mocchi pointed at the boy holding his stomach with his hand tightly.

The boy picked his sword up off the ground and walked over to a helmet laying in front of a lost disk, behind it was a sheath and dagger. He then grabbed the vines wrapped around the disk and pulled them off the ground to reveal a small brown bag under it. He tossed the lost disk to the side and picked the bag up looking at it then put it into a small pouch on his belt. He looked up as the centaur creature stood beside him. It reached down to touch the cut on his armor to have it's hand knocked away.

"Antares, I'm okay."

The monster nodded. "If you say so, but that looks like a nasty wound."

The tiger monster leapt over in front of the other group as he slowly walked towards them Tiger jumped his way barring his teeth. "Who are you?" He said through clenched teeth.

The other monster returned the snarl. "The name's Cujo."

The young swordsman turned and walked over to them his eyes were fixed on Holly who returned his stare. But instead of telling them to leave he simply said "What are you doing here? Don't you know it's not safe here? Mu's army patrols this area, and the bandits do too."

Genki stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Genki, my names mean energy, what's your name?"

The other boy crossed his arms. "My name is of no importance to you."

Daina sighed as she landed standing beside the boy. "His name is Galeon or Gali as we call him, I'm Daina, this is Cujo, and the red lobster over there is Antares." she said pointing to the Terror Dog and Antares.

Antares growled a warning at her to which Daina replied by smiling.

Galeon turned his back on the group. "What are you doing here?"

Holly walked over to him and stood in front of him. "My name's Holly, we're looking for the Phoenix so we can defeat Mu, what are you doing here?"

Galeon closed his eyes pretending he wasn't looking at her. "Mu stole an artifact from me, I'm going to get it back."

"An artifact?" Genki said as he cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, you know, something of value." Galeon said spitefully.

"Well, sor-orry." Genki stuck his tongue out and turned his back on Galeon as he crossed his arms.

Holly looked back at the lost disks covered in vines then at the four newcomers. "But, why did you have to...kill them?"

Galeon scowled. "What goes around comes around."

Holly sighed. "But wouldn't killing them make you no better than them."

Galeon shrugged. "I do not care if I am any better than them, I have my way of doing things, and maybe you have yours. Their lives mean nothing to me."

Holly's eyes glazed over. "But they are living beings too, they have families, friends, how do you think your friends would feel if you were killed?"

Galeon glanced up at Antares, Daina, and Cujo. "My friends could, and would, go on without me. My life is of no significance."

Holly mulled it over a few seconds. "How can you say that?...Don't you think your parents would be worried if something happened to you? It'd break their hearts hearing you talk like that."

Galeon was unmoved. "I have no parents. I have no one. No family. No loved ones. Few friends."

Galeon bent down and picked up his cape then drew it up around him. He then walked off without so much as a look back.

Holly was nearly moved to tears. "How could he be so...dark..." she whispered as she clutched her hands together in front of her chest.

"I say we shouldn't trust them." Suezo said as he watched Galeon disappear into the darkness.

Hare drew the rebels together. "Suezo's got a point, we don't know where they came from, they could be baddies for all we know." Genki and Mocchi nodded.

"Right."

"Chi."

Cujo turned and followed Galeon off into the darkness. Antares and Daina stood looking at the other group in the huddle before Antares finally sighed and dropped the saddle bags he had slung over his shelled back on the ground.

Tiger turned and slinked off in another direction without saying a thing.

"Where're you going?..." Genki said inquisitively.

"I want to be alone."

Genki shrugged and then sat down beside the fire Daina had stared.

Galeon and Cujo sat side by side on the roof of the old amusement park peering out over the rolling hills that stretched for miles across the landscape. Cujo looked back to light footsteps as Tiger slowly made his way over to them and sat looking out across the scape.

Galeon normally used a scene such as this to relax his mind and clear away the clutter, but for some reason he kept drifting to someone he had met earlier, someone named Holly. He finally gave up on relaxing and let his mind wander onto the subject of her. He looked over and realized they had been joined by a member of the other group and thought for a second before recognizing the dog looking monster.

"Tiger of the Wind, I presume."

Tiger nodded. "Yep."

Cujo looked around Galeon at Tiger. "So you're fighting Mu now also?"

Tiger nodded. "Holly's smile captivated me...they have a point though. Mu needs to be stopped...and besides, I owe Genki one."

Galeon nodded. "I'm after Mu for what he's done. He's got it coming, he killed two of my monsters and has been raising all around hell with me lately."

"Hmm...It is not always wise to hold a grudge, it will only lead to trouble."

Galeon smiled slightly. "Well, maybe I am looking for trouble."

Tiger sighed and shook his head. "Have it your way. By the way, how long have you been fighting against Mu?"

Galeon leaned back on the sloped surface placing his hands behind his head. "A little over a year."

"Hmm...and how old are you? Thirteen? Fourteen?"

Galeon smiled. "I turn fifteen in about another week."

"A year is a long time to be fighting a grudge, you should be spending your childhood having fun."

Galeon shook his head. "No, my body is fourteen years old, I've lived for thirty-three years."

Tiger had a perturbed look on his face. "But how?"

"The artifact Mu stole from me and Colt is called 'The Stone of Time', the Timestone can drastically slow a persons aging, they only age about a year for every thirty. On top of that what makes your body cease aging is called a 'Manastone' it also gives you access to a great deal of power, each of us have one, and I recovered all but three off of that Magic."

"Wow..." Tiger said amazedly.

"Yeah, 'wow'..."

Cujo stood and leapt down through a hole in the roof then went over and laid down by the fire Holly was now cooking dinner on.

"You're more welcome to have supper with us." Holly said to Antares.

Antares nodded. "Thank you, your offer is very kind."

"Oh, it's the least I can do, you saved us after all..." She replied as she started to stir the soup again.

Antares looked at Cujo as he walked up and sat down then back at Holly. "In advance, please excuse how these two act..."

Cujo growled at him quietly causing Antares to seem to smiled lightly.

Holly looked at Cujo and nodded. "I'm sure they couldn't be any messier that Genki, Mocchi, and Suezo..."

Antares chuckled then abruptly stopped. "It wasn't their table manners I was getting at...It's their bad attitudes."

Cujo growled at him again.

Antares sighed shook his head.

Holly stirred the stew she was making in a pot over the fire as Genki came over with a arm full of sticks followed by Hare with the same. The two dropped them beside the fire then sat down to rest and warm themselves. Suezo and Mocchi sat on the other side looking into the flame. While Daina laid on her back looking up at the stars through a hole in the roof.

Antares and Cujo looked across the amusement park as something dropped from the ceiling and walked slowly towards them followed closely by a smaller animal. After a few seconds Galeon and Tiger came into the light of the fire and stood looking at the group. Galeon then looked at Antares.

"Are we staying here tonight?"

Antares nodded. "Yes, we might as well, no use in going any further."

Galeon shrugged took his armor off piece by piece to reveal a black jumpsuit he wore underneath the armor. He tied the plates together and dropped them beside the fire then sat down himself. Holly looked up at him as he sat down and blushed slightly from the sight of his muscular figure through the jumpsuit. She sat staring at him for a few minutes before Genki waved a hand in front of her face causing her to snap out of it.

"Hey, Holly, how much longer 'till dinner's ready?"

She snapped out of the stare quickly and put her hand to the side of the her face. "Oh, uh, not much longer."

Holly looked up from the pot of stew at Galeon again to realize he was now the one staring. She blushed a little and he apparently realized he was staring and quickly looked to the ground. She looked down at it then took a bowl from beside herself and poured a ladle full into it.

"Genki, it's ready."

"Oh boy!" The young boy said as he sat down beside the fire to eat just to be shoved out of the way by Suezo and Hare who wrestled over getting their own first. After the two moved away Holly looked around to see Tiger, Galeon, and Cujo sitting side by side across the fire from her, and Mocchi and Antares to her right but Daina was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where's Daina?"

Antares shrugged. "She'll come back soon enough."

"Oh..." Holly said as she poured the last bowl full. She looked across the fire at Galeon sitting quietly with his arms and legs crossed as if he were meditating. "Here Gali, this bowl is for you."

Antares and Cujo both had shocked looks on their faces as they looked at Holly then at Galeon. They both moved to stop him from doing anything irrational but he simply looked up and said. "Thank you." as he took the bowl.

The two monsters sat back down a little uncertain about what had just happened but figured he hadn't heard her not use his full name.

By the time they had finished dinner it had gotten late and the moon had risen high into the sky.

"I think it's best we turn in now." Tiger said as he laid down beside the fire.

Genki nodded as he un-rolled his sleeping bag. "Yeah, we gotta keep our strength up for fighting Mu."

They had all laid their sleeping bags out and were starting to bed down when Genki noticed Galeon still sitting beside the fire with his eyes closed. "We should get some sleep, Gali, it's late."

Galeon opened his eyes slowly. "The name is Galeon, and I'll take first watch, I'm not tired anyways."

Genki shrugged. "But we beat the baddies, it's safe now."

Galeon shook his head. "We beat some baddies, when those don't return to base they could send more."

As he finished he stood and brushed himself off then disappeared into the shadows.

Galeon wondered around the park for several minutes before finding himself beside a small fountain that bubbled water quietly. He sat down on the edge of it and gazed up at the stars. *Why did I throw myself in front of that blade earlier? I could've blocked it...but Holly might have gotten hurt-* "No, I am not going to let myself..." he shook his head as he mumbled quietly. *She is kind of cute though...* He kneeled down and splashed water in his face. *Snap out of it Galeon! You are not going to let love control your actions!*

Holly laid in her sleeping bag staring up at the sky, for some reason she couldn't get to sleep, she wasn't worried about her safety, nor the other. The scene with Galeon earlier kept playing in her head, she finally sat up and looked around, Galeon was no where to be found. She slowly crept out of her sleeping bag and looked around wandering for a few minutes before coming upon the fountain and Galeon standing leaning on the edge staring into it.

Holly walked up beside Galeon and glanced at him, he was standing staring into the calm water deep in thought. She slowly moved her hand up and placed it on Galeon's shoulder causing him to jump. He quickly leapt back and stood gawking at her for a second. She smiled and looked down as she fiddled with the tail of her shirt.

"I-I couldn't sleep, and I t-thought maybe we c-could talk..." She said as she fumbled the shirt tail through her fingers.

Galeon felt a twinge of pain in his side and slid his hand down holding his stomach as he gulped. "Uh, um, s-sure..." He lifted his hand at it and saw the damp blood covering it, he looked down at his side in the faint moonlight, the dagger had hit him between the two plates and torn into his flesh.

Holly looked at the cut and the blood soaked clothes and gasped. "You are hurt!" She ran over to him and kneeled down looking at the cut.

Galeon shook his head. "It's not that bad, really."

Holly wiggled her finger through the chain male touching the cut causing Galeon to cringe in pain. "Yes it is." She said as she stood up again. "Come on back to camp, I'll bandage it up." She took his hand in her's and led him back to camp.

Galeon followed the girl letting her hold on to his hand causing him to blush, he hadn't had much experience with girls and didn't know what to do.

Holly made him lay down on one of the closed sleeping bags as she looked at the place through his jumpsuit. "You'll have to- Um, take this off..." She blushed as she thought of what she was saying.

Galeon blushed also as he unzipped the front of the suit and pulled it down off his arms and pulled it off his body down to his waist where he tucked it into the back. He laid down again as Holly looked down his body quickly finding the cut on the left side of his stomach but though she'd found it she froze in place, her eyes slowly moving up and down his body. He looked like he had been working out long and hard, his whole body seemed to be toned and bulging with muscles, she noticed he had several scars running across his chest and stomach either going down to his waist or up to his neck. She heard something and blinked then looked at him.

"Something wrong?..." He repeated again.

Holly gulped. "N-no...I just n-noticed your scars..."

Galeon looked down at his chest. "Yeah, I've been hurt alot..."

Holly took some bandages and a bottle from her knapsack and bandaged the wound quickly.

After she was finished she stood up and looked at her work then wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt. "There, all done."

Galeon sat up and looked at the bandage. "Uh, um...thank you..."

Holly turned and looked at the rest of the group asleep in a circle around the fire. "Um, I'll g-go somewhere else if you'd like to change your clothes."

Galeon shook his head. "No, that's ok, I'll just keep these on."

"Oh...okay then."

Galeon pulled the jumpsuit back onto himself then went and sat by the dying fire staring into it's vanishing embers. Holly sat down beside him and pulled her feet up beside herself propping herself up on her arm.

"So..."

"So..." Galeon repeated shortly after.

Galeon sat staring into Holly's chocolate colored eyes, she was returning his stare as they sat waiting for nothing more than the morning to come.

"So...where'd you come from?..." Holly said as she pulled a lock of brown hair from her face.

Galeon sat and thought about the question for a moment. "This may sound crazy, but about 30 years ago I was living in another world...I won a tournament for a game called 'Monster Rancher 2' and they sent me a copy of their newest game...Well, after I got the game I was so happy and I sat down to play it. As soon as I turned it on and went through everything the game sucked me in. I landed in a shrine about a eighty and miles north of here."

Holly gasped and looked at a sleeping Genki on the other side of the ashes from the earlier camp fire. "That's what Genki said happened to him!"

Galeon cocked his head to the side then shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's all one big conspiracy..." He yawned and stretched his arms, Holly following suite. "It's getting late thought."

The two looked over as Cujo sat up and licked his chops then looked at Galeon. "I'll take the watch now, you get some sleep."

Galeon nodded.

Holly laid down to sleep on one side of the fire, Galeon on the other and the two laid thinking about each other until they drifted off to sleep. Cujo sat under a small tree nearby looking up at the stars.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, the second is coming soon as I get it done. R&R if you want, I would just be happy to see people actually reading my work, no flames please, they'll just be something else I have to ignore.