Author's Notes:

Well, this is my third attempt at MR fan fiction. All comments, flames, and productive forms of criticism will be accepted at any time. Just send them to macrossgrn@yahoo.com I'll be sending stories in a few chapters at a time, to make things a bit easier on my schedule. Hopefully, I'll have Chapters 10-12 for "A New Player" done in a week, and maybe a few more chapters for this done in that time as well. I did both the Prologue and Chapter 1 in the span of around 3 hours.

Hope you like this!

It had been 3 years now since Genki had returned to his world, and now he was 15. Still full of energy, he had taken part in many sports, such as Baseball, Soccer, Football, and Basketball. He made a few friends, but continued to be haunted by the memories of his old friends in the other world. When he arrived in his world 3 years ago, however, he had been missing for months. His mother had no idea where he had been, and Genki would simply leave it that way, knowing if he told anyone, they would likely throw him in the insane asylum and throw away the key. He led a fairly normal teenage life, going to school, doing homework and playing sports, all the while keeping the secret of the Monster world to himself.

In the Monster Rancher world, Holly and Pixie (who had fused with Big Blue to become Granity) have begun a village around the shrine, which Genki first appeared from, and where Mocchi had been unlocked. The village was small, but was self sustaining. With help brought in by the various monsters that Genki had befriended, a small river had been diverted past the small mountain, providing the means for life in the barren wasteland. In the three year span, the village became a town, filled with humans and monsters of all kinds. The world itself began to slowly heal from Moo's attacks. All the fallen monsters were revived into mystery disks, except for a certain five…

Although Moo was destroyed, some monsters never learn. One in particular, who had been thought lost, had been unlocked- with his evil crest intact. No one could tell who or what this monster was, but all that was known is that Genki and his company had met him once, but no one but Holly and Genki would know where… He slowly gathered forces from and mystery disks he could find, unlocking them and turning them to evil with his evil ways. His laughter would ring out for miles with each monster he turned to evil, causing the area around his base to be called the Echo of Evil. Within the last few months, however, his forces began to expand their territory, slowly claiming land that brings them closer and closer to the ocean of the northern continent.

Rumors have reached the southern continent from many monsters that escaped, of the new threat. They speak of the horrors befalling the humans there, that the ones not used for slave labor are turned against each other in arenas. That there are eight powerful monsters that always remain in teams of 2, which are more powerful than the Big Bad 4, who Moo once controlled. Now, finally, the village that Holly and Granity began has become a stronghold for the escaping monsters, and the call goes out for anyone willing to help to form advance scouting parties. Their mission is to scout out the northern continent, and to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the monsters there…

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Genki sat at the desk, doing his homework as he listened to the introduction of his new Monster Rancher game. "Okay, now, let's see… 10x +3y = 15… solve for y…" he muttered, trying to concentrate on his math. His room, as was usual for a teenager, was a disaster area. The only really clean area around was near his Playstation, the TV, and his desk. The rest of the room was a complete disaster. However, near his TV and the Playstation in front of it, was a backpack full of useful items. A first-aid kit, a few days worth of food, a canteen of water, and a few CDs, as well as a pair of rollerblades- new ones, that are stronger and more durable than the other ones that he had left behind in the monster world. He also kept his most valuable CDs, ones which he knew held rare, powerful monsters within, so that he could unlock them at any time if needed. His backpack also held a light sleeping bag and a change of clothes. He figured that maybe, one day, he might get back to the monster world, and this stuff would help.

"Alright now, time for a break," Genki said, wiping his forehead off. "Time to play the game!" he grinned, and pressed start on his controller. Clicking past the beginning scenes and choosing his name as Genki when he was asked for his name, he began the introduction sequence. To his surprise, Holly appeared on the screen as his trainer assistant. Time had been kind to her- she now had rather long hair, she was a bit taller, and she turned out to be very good looking by human standards. In the background, Granity was shown leaning against the wall of the room, looking over in her direction and towards the TV screen. The camera panned away from Holly and Granity, and zoomed in toward a mystery disk that was placed in the shrine's platform- a place that Genki easily recognized. Please insert new CD the screen typed up. Genki slipped a new CD into the Playstation, and a moment later, swapped it for the Monster Rancher 20XX CD. Suddenly, a bright light filled the room as the monster began to appear… and then all went black as something very strange happened.

"Yes!" Genki yelled, grabbing a light coat from his chair, then jumped over toward the TV, grabbing the backpack as the light from the TV returned in full force. A strange pulling sensation crawled over Genki's body, and suddenly, he found himself falling once again, past numbers and images that he couldn't quite place… until he found himself faced with 5 images of old friends. "Mocchi, Suezo, Golem, Hare and Tiger!" Genki exclaimed happily, waving and smiling to the images as they watched him fall down the strangely blue-lit tunnel, seeming to keep at an eye-to-eye level until…

"Ouch!" Genki yelled out, wincing as he hit the platform, butt first. Almost as quickly, however, he felt something rather large and then another, slam down onto him as he blacked out. At least I'm back he thought, as his mind drifted into a slight blackness, aware of sounds scrambling toward him… and then a weight lifted off of his prone body as well, as voices he couldn't quite recognize spoke up around him.

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"So, Holly, what do you think the mystery disk will hold?" she spoke up from the wall, after closing the door behind them. The orbs within the dragon mouths lit up as the machine had begun its work, spinning the mystery disk in place as energy collected above it. "Honestly, Pixie, I don't know." Holly replied, looking back to her friend from the Moo war. Not many called her Pixie anymore- only a few close friends from before she had fused with her friend Big Blue. "That's why they call them Mystery Disks, right?" she laughed lightly, and then turned her attention to the mystery disk, and she blinked as she saw something rather strange happening, something vaguely familiar…

"Something's wrong, Holly, turn the machine off!" Granity quickly flew over to her, looking at the console and the platform. "I can't, Pixie, the controls are out of control!" Holly exclaimed, stepping away from the glowing console, as they both turned their eyes to the strange event occurring just in front of them. A portal of some sort had opened above the platform, and the mystery disk was now gone. Suddenly, however, a figure dropped from the portal, something familiar about it, but they couldn't tell from the yell of pain given from the person there, and then yet another figure dropped from the portal as well, the strange glow disappearing immediately afterward. As soon as Holly opened her eyes, she could see Granity pushing the figure off of the prone form on the platform. She gasped, eyes going wide as she recognized the teenager there. "Genki…"

Chapter 1: Back in action, and new friends!

"Oh, my head…" he said, as he shakes it lightly as he woke up a bit more. "Where am I?" he asked, eyes opening to look over to see two female figures kneeling over a kid a few feet away from him. He blinked in surprise, pinching himself and winced slightly, before giving a nod to himself. I'm either dreaming and that somehow hurt, this is an illusion… or that woman has wings! He thought, looking around the room again. The figure with wings did remind him of one of the monsters off of the game he had been playing a few hours ago, before he had to rest. He was not one of the healthiest people in the world. In fact, his immune system was rather weak, so that even the common cold could put him in bed for days. He had his clothes on- somehow, he even had a cloak on and boots. Next to him were the pair of rollerblades he skated with whenever he felt well enough to go outside and play. There was also a pack that he didn't recognize, but guessed it was the other kid's.

"Alright, who's the wise guy who tried to knock me out!" said a somewhat deeper voice than my own, and my gaze turned back to the boy the two women were helping to sit up. "I don't mind falling, but I'm not too happy about having people fall on me!" The two women tripped and hit the ground, as I would have if I hadn't been sitting. I merely laughed lightly, and raised my hand. "Sorry, that was me… As for falling on you, thanks for breaking my fall. I didn't meant to fall into you, though." I said quietly, beginning to grin as I looked to the three. The women slowly stood up, and I was right. The one with wings was a Granity, I could tell, and the other seemed familiar too… "Um… could someone tell me where I am? Last thing I knew, I was asleep, and then I wake up here after falling on you… What's going on?"

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"Heh... well, looks like we have another from my world to deal with… right, Holly? Pixie?" I said, jumping to my feet, with my hand in the air- a gesture that both would recognize, I guessed. As usual with my old self, I didn't wait for an answer as I walked over and helped the pale looking kid up. "I'm Genki. The name means energy, and if you couldn't tell, I've got a lot of it!" I grinned to him as I stepped back, picking up my stuffed backpack. "And I bet you play the game Monster Rancher, don't ya? Just think of it this way- everything you know about that game will come in handy in this world. You are in the game! And so am I, too!" I started doing backflips around the platform, and ended up walking back to them on my hands as I grinned. The three others just stared at me, dumbstruck (and with a sweat drop as well). Then, Pixie began to laugh, followed by Holly.

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"It's good to have you back, Genki!" I exclaimed, walking over to push him over onto his back, and then pull him upright and into a hug. "It's been a long time, how have you been?" I asked, letting him go as I brushed locks of my brown hair from my shoulder as I watched Pixie do the same thing to Genki, giving him a good hug and then tousling his short hair. Then, I turned to look over to the newcomer and smiled politely to him. "My name is Holly. Welcome to our world. If I may ask, what is your name… and are you a friend of Genki's?" I asked the young man… he seemed to be about my age, it looks like, though he doesn't seem to be very energetic. Must not be part of Genki's family, I think to myself as I looked back to Pixie and Genki, and then to the new kid again.

"Actually, Miss Holly, I have never met Genki before... my name is Tyson, and I don't think Genki and I are even from the same country back on our world. But if what he says is true… then I think I know most of the story here already." he replied, looking to the hyperactive Genki, and then to the now quiet Granity before turning my gaze back to Holly. "Still, I'm not sure just how I got here…" he shrugged lightly, and smiled as he took in a deep breath. Well, he seems nice enough, I thought, watching the new kid before looking back at the others as well.

----

Well now, this is interesting… I thought, as I looked the new kid over. He already looks much better than he did, even when sleeping! He must have been sick or something before he got here… still, it could be an act. I wouldn't put it past that strange new enemy of ours to pull a stunt like this to get a spy in our midst. I couldn't help but smirk over to the new kid, my green hair waving behind my back lightly as I stretched my stone gray wings. "Well, now, Tyson, if you're anywhere near as good as my friend Genki here, I think you'll survive here easily." I couldn't help but to laugh lightly. The kid had almost no psychic aura of power, I noticed. Genki and Holly had much more than he did, individually.

"Still, the more help we can get, the better. It's good to see you again, Genki, but we were kinda hoping for a monster." I grinned at him, stepping back over to the console… at least it had stopped glowing, fortunately. "You didn't happen to bring any more of those… what did you call them? CD-ROMs?" I ask, placing hands upon tanned hips as I looked to Genki from here, wings retracting against my shoulders without even a thought.

"Well, Pixie, I did manage to bring some with me… Now, let me look real quick" he said, dropping to sit down, crossing his legs as he rummaged through his backpack. "Got enough things in there, Genki?" I asked, watching him as he actually set things off to the side. He has matured- he's not throwing everything around now! I couldn't help but to think that. "Here we are!" he exclaimed, pulling out about 8 cases with what seemed like small mystery disks in them. "These are the ones that I was saving for especially this sort of occasion," he said, as he jumped back onto his feet, looking to Holly and I. "Which shall we unlock?" I asked, shaking my head. "Eight new monsters to raise? I don't think so. I say we go back to the number we had three years ago. Let's see… 6 of them should do. I doubt all of them we unlock will be babies, right?"

----

"Hmm…" I shrugged, and leaned down, picking up the rollerblades before walking down from the platform, leaning against the wall as I reached it. This should be interesting, I thought, as I watched the others begin to move away from the platform as well. Then, I noticed something kind of strange that Holly had on her back, behind her own small backpack. It was a pair of rather old, worn and used, rollerblades. "Um, Miss Holly… where did you get those rollerblades, if I may ask?" Holly's face just blanked in surprise for a moment, before she smiled and reached back to take them off. "These, Tyson, are the rollerblades that Genki forgot about when he went back to your world 3 years ago. I'd forgotten about them being there until you said that." She laughed lightly, looking back over to Genki, and the new pair of rollerblades he had strapped on against his backpack. "Though, it looks like they wouldn't fit him now, so I think I'll just keep them for myself. I've gotten quite good at skating, I think." she smiled softly as she spoke, her eyes watching Genki the whole time.

"Yikes…" I whispered, now getting the picture of this small family. Granity, or Pixie, and Holly had been friends of Genki's three years ago when he had somehow found his way into this world. According to the introduction sequence on his game, Genki, Pixie, and Holly had lost six good, close friends. All of them were monsters of various types. The strangest thing though, I think, is that the two women are getting along… They both seem very attached to Genki, and from what I've seen... Genki doesn't have a clue how to deal with this. Not that I could blame him, I thought, as I close my eyes, awaiting their decisions on how many of the CDs they would unlock, and which ones they would use. "Well, at least it seems like we're all going to be friends," I whisper to myself. Though, it also seems that I'm not going to win certain people's trust easily… especially if what was said in the introduction to the game was true.

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Unknown to Tyson, Pixie was keeping an eye on him. I'll trust him as far as I can throw him.