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Standard disclaimer: I don’t own the series. Sorry.
AN: \/\/00T!!11!!1 Hee, just trying l33t $p34|
Right… anyway :) I’ll just stick with smileys and stuff. So, I have had three reviewers! The lovely Nina Windia, the awesomeness Anime Monkey, and a brand new reviewer, A random bof fan!!! ~hands all reviewers chocolate chip cookies~ You guys are great!!!
So, Nina had a question for me last chapter about kodachi and what they are. Or something like that. I responded I thought they were a type of twin Japanese short swords. Turns out I was almost right. According to Arcy, a kodachi is a Japanese short sword. He said that the sword play did not actually have to have two kodachi; just one, but two might come in handy. Thanks Arcy for clearing that up. ^_^
(Lil' Arcy says: Yer welcome.)
So, reviews. Tell me, does FF.net still allow this, or was it frowned on and told to stop? It’s been a long time and I really haven’t read anything about it, but I really don’t wanna get in trouble. Or whatever. Right? :)
Okay, answers to questions in the reviews!
Nina Windia: glad you liked the freak out. Lol This will happen often. Poor Ryu. ~snicker~
A random bof fan: Thank you for liking my story so far ^_^ You know, in BoF III during the time your party runs around Junk Town, in the piles of trash it looks like there are TVs and broken cars. I always did wonder what the world was like during the Techno Age. I have always wondered what the citizens of Caer Xhan eliminated themselves with, too. Myria herself said that that was the reason she kept a strangle hold on the world’s technology. Well, glad you like the action and humor. I was worried that it would be too humorous to be taken seriously. Oh, yes. Those bandits want their revenge. Heh.
Anime Monkey: Problems like you wouldn’t believe. Ryu and Yuki haven’t had a break since chapter one, huh? And Nina? She’s just been with them for a couple of hours by the end of the last chapter. Needless to say, these kids will be fit by the time Act I ends. Oh, there’s a really good reason that Demus wants Ryu dead. Related? Maybe… I can say that there IS a connection between the two. Yes, ascension would be bad. But, for different reasons. I can say that Demus is a descendant of the Light Dragon clan. (boy, do I hope that didn’t give anything away…) (most likely, but hey, who reads the Author Notes anyway, right?)
Well, thanks for all that reviewed and I hope you enjoy the next (hopefully) exciting installment!
He knew they were talking about him, but he wasn’t sure what was going on anymore. The voices seemed so distant, so far away…
“…a deadly disease. Already infected Queen Valerie…”
He knew he wasn’t all right. He was in far too much pain to be all right.
“…attacks the body’s immune system. It attaches itself to recessive genes in individuals who are at least third generation…”
It was too difficult to move. When he could still see, he remembered what appeared to be a hospital room… or something that looked like one. He had been lying on his back and he remembered there being… tubes? Something running in and out of his body attached to some strange machines.
“…causes total crystallization of the entire body. Once internal organs have been crystallized, the body shuts down and kills the host…”
He felt like his skin was made out of rock… but it was smooth…
“…I see. And the spell that your shamans have cast. This will keep his internal organs from completely crystallizing?”
“We can only hope so. We don’t know what will happen…”
“Aaron! My wife and son have been infected with this Ladon forsaken virus! You had better come up with something better than that…”
He couldn’t remember anything after that. Everything went dark and cold. Until…
“MAZAN KAJN!”
He remembered light. His eyes had crystallized and he hadn’t even realized it. When the red and gold light hit his eyes however, he began to see again. He wasn’t sure what he was staring up at, but it seemed to be a tall figure in a black trench coat with a hood over their face, covering everything but their nose and mouth.
“What… happened here?” the figure all but growled in a soft deep voice. So the figure was male.
The man walked around his body and looked over at the monitors on either side of what he figured was the bed. He couldn’t remember anymore.
“Cysmoison?” the man asked to himself. “If that’s the case, then how is this boy still alive…? Shamanistic spells. Aaron, you have really outdone yourself, you bastard. You can’t be any older than six… maybe seven…?”
The man stopped talking to himself and started watching him closely. He had been watching the man walk across the room. The man must have noticed his eyes following him.
“Can you understand me?” the man asked. He didn’t know how to respond, so he just moved his eyes again. The man nodded.
“I understand. Listen, I am going to… help you. Yes, that’s the word for it. I don’t know what put you in this state, but… no ones deserves to die in this state…”
He could feel the man place a gloved hand on his chest. He saw the man frown as the man tried to press down. The man merely shook his head as he started to chant something. He could see the man’s eyes glow bright gold.
He could suddenly feel his body! He didn’t feel like his skin was rock anymore. He could breath again. He felt the man start pulling the tubes out of his body. He also felt the cold rush of air on his skin. The man nodded and picked him up cradle position, one arm under his knees, the other under his shoulders and neck, supporting his head.
The man started out of the room, when another figure appeared in the doorway. The man stopped and tensed. The other figure walked into the room and stepped into the dim light to reveal a young teenager with long dark blue hair tied into a ponytail and pale features. He held out his arms, as if to show he had no weapon. The man still didn’t relax.
“Who are you?” the man asked the teenaged boy.
“His brother,” the teen replied, gesturing to the small boy in the man’s arms.
He had no reason to doubt the teen’s words, but something distant in the back of his mind was screaming at him to run. There was a sense of danger around the teen.
“How do I know that you are not with the Dragoon units?” the man said.
“I’m not attacking you, am I?”
“This could be a trap… ah,” the man moaned almost inaudibly.
“Are you alright?”
“Un… I need to go,” the man said as he approached the boy. “If he is your brother, protect him. If you harm him, I will hunt you down and kill you.”
The man handed him off to the teen. The teen took him and smiled. “Do not worry. I will take good care of him.”
The man growled. “You had better…”
Ryu groaned as he shifted in his sleeping bag. That dream again…
The fire had long died out and the sun was just barely rising. He sat up and tried to smooth his spiked blue hair down. When he realized it was futile, he stopped and glanced around at his campmates.
Yuki had ditched the gloves and vest and her boots were kicked off. Nina’s hair was down and her green jumper and shoes were right next to Yuki’s stuff. They were both leaned up against a long log that was lying on the ground, right next to each other. Ryu grimaced as he remembered that the girls stayed up really late watching the stars and telling ghost stories.
Ryu threw on his vest, gloves, scarf, and boots and walked over to the girls and rapped them each on the head. Both of them groaned and looked up. Yuki sighed and reached for her glasses and put them on as Nina started to straighten out her hair.
After the girls got ready, they set to restarting the campfire. Ryu grinned as he tore off a large branch from a nearby tree. Ryu tied some string onto the end of the stick and then dug up some worms. After he got five big juicy good ones, he headed off to the nearby stream.
When asked what he was doing, Ryu replied he was getting breakfast. Nina and Yuki nodded and walked a little ways into the forest to looked for some edible berries.
The surface of the water mirror rippled as a long, slender finger touched the water. The owner of said finger brushed a few stray indigo hairs out of her face. She had very defined features, features which she didn’t care about showing off. A low fitting purple corset and a long slit black skirt showed off her chest and upper legs quite nicely.
The radiant looking woman smiled and turned around to face her guest. A cloaked figure appeared before the woman in a flash of blue and white light. He walked over to the woman and glanced down at the water mirror.
“What took you so long?” the woman asked in an elegant accent.
The man sighed. He touched the water mirror and an image of Ryu appeared in it. The woman merely nodded and sighed.
“Are you on a mission by her, or are you just playing guardian?” the woman said with a sly smirk.
“Both,” the man said, his voice devoid of any emotion.
“I see,” the woman frowned. “All business then,” she gently patted his arm. “You really need to loosen up. You are so tense.”
The man chuckled slightly. “Sure you should be saying that?”
The woman’s eyes narrowed and flashed. “That’s not really nice, you know?”
The man merely nodded. “That’s why I said it.”
“Hm,” the woman said. “The two of you are shadowing them?”
The man nodded. “In a way. One of my…associates is shadowing them right now. But she probably told you that already.”
“Yes,” the woman amusingly shook her head. “She sure is meddlesome for an Overseer.”
“She must be,” the man said. “The gods themselves wish to stay out of this. Myria’s awakening is at hand and Ladon is nowhere in sight. This has me slightly worried.”
The woman nodded. “I am more worried about what plans Sister has in store for this time. Ryu… has he…ascended?”
“I do not know.”
The woman nodded. “Demus is on the move.”
“His motives are fueled by jealously, and his actions are controlled by anger and desperation.” The man said.
“He wants Ryu dead.”
“Is that an observation, or a fact?”
“Both,” the woman said.
“Indeed,” the man said.
Ryu grinned as he sat down on the ground and watched the fish swim in the small creek. He always loved fishing. When he was younger, his father would take him fishing and when the caught some good fish, Bunyan would gut the fish and then prepare the fish over an open fire.
Ryu frowned as he thought of Bunyan. Was his father still alive? What had he gotten Yuki and Nina into? This was all his fault. If he had just…
Ryu groaned as he felt his left arm twitch, causing him to drop his makeshift fishing rod. He looked down at his arm and noticed that his arm from his elbow to his hand was solid crystal. Ryu’s eyes widened as he watched his arm twitch again and then turn back into flesh again.
Ryu sighed and picked up his rod again. After about half an hour, Ryu started to dose off. Just as he was about to drift off into dreamland again, the line tugged. Ryu jumped up onto his feet and pulled hard on the rod. A fish came flying out of the creek, attached to the end of his line.
Ryu grinned as he detached the fish from the rod and baited the hook again. Ryu was so caught up in his fishing, he didn’t noticed the shadow standing over him, blocking out the sun’s light.
Ryu glanced up and took notice of a tall, young man with pale silverish-blonde hair, dressed in a black trench coat, pants, and boots. The man held a sheathed katana over his left shoulder. The man grinned down at Ryu.
“Fishing?” the man asked.
“Getting breakfast,” Ryu responded and went back to fishing.
“Right,” the man said. He shifted weight from his left foot to his right and gave Ryu a sideways glance.
“Is there something you want?” Ryu asked after a few minutes of being studied by the odd man. Ryu took noticed of the Dragon’s Tear and noticed it flashed rainbow for a second before turning back to clear. Ryu’s head jerked up at the man.
The man merely grinned. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find a kid named Ryu, could you?”
Ryu’s eyes narrowed. “I am Ryu.”
“Ah,” the man said. “Then in that case,” the man placed a hand on Ryu’s shoulder and leaned close to Ryu’s ear. “I suggest you run like hell.”
“What?” Ryu asked as hi shoulders tensed up.
“Some bandits are…”
“NOT AGAIN!” Ryu wailed. He nodded. “Thanks…”
“The name’s Troy. World-worn traveler and spinner of tales.”
“Right…” Ryu said. He gathered up the fish he caught. “Um, are you hungry…?”
“Nope. Just thought I’d do my good deed for the day and give ya a head’s up. You see, I hate bandits. Really hate them. So, if I can stop them from getting their bounty, the worse for them and the better for me!”
“Gotcha!” Ryu said. With a wave, Ryu headed back towards camp.
Troy grinned slightly and shook his head. He turned around and headed off in the opposite direction.
Yuki and Nina were already back at camp by the time Ryu got back. Yuki was munching on what appeared to be a chicken leg and Nina was eating blueberries. Ryu shook his head and took out his short sword and started to gut the fish he caught.
Nina turned pale slightly and reached over and grabbed the other chicken leg that was sitting in the pan next to the small campfire. Ryu sighed and skewered the fish meat onto a stick and placed it over the campfire.
“So,” Ryu finally said as they continued eating. He picked up his fish and took a bite.
“Yeah?” Yuki asked.
“The bandits are still hot on our trail.”
“Yeah?” Nina asked as she finished her drumstick.
“I say we get the jump on them before they do us,” Ryu said.
Both girls nodded. “How do we find them?”
Ryu heard a twig snap and sighed. “I’d say about…”
A fireball cut Ryu off as he jumped back, barely dodging the fire. Zake, Jenkin, and their masked buddy stepped forward. Zake looked like he was about to scream. His face was bright red and there was a vein popping out of his head.
“Um, hi?” Nina said nervously.
“Hiya,” Yuki said, grinning slightly.
Ryu said nothing and continued to eat his fish he didn’t exactly work so hard to catch. Zake growled darkly and pointed to the three children.
“Do you KNOW what kind of hell we had to go through because of you?!” Nina and Yuki shook their heads no.
“Um… boss?” Jenkin stuttered. “We didn’t have to go through anything. We just… um…”
“Shut UP, Jenkin!” Zake yelled. “You’re not helping!” Zake turned back to the three. “You are going to pay for… huh?”
The large cloaked figure stepped forward. “Allow me,” the figure rumbled in a deep, booming voice, securing that the third fellow was indeed, male.
“Sure…” Zake stuttered. “Have at it!”
Zake and Jenkin jumped back as the cloaked man stepped forward. Ryu and Yuki quickly get out their weapons as Nina assumed a battle stance. The three never had a chance. The man blurred and was on them in a matter of mere seconds. He clubbed Yuki and Nina on the back of the neck, causing them to slump to the ground.
Ryu screamed as he glory charged the man, his short sword at the ready. The man lunged at Ryu, but Ryu dodged and weave around every punch. He had already set out of two other matches with these guys, he was not about to be outdone by a couple of girls.
He was a guy after all; he had to have SOME dignity.
Ryu tried to cut the man, but when the sharp blade made contact, it made a chink noise and bounced off, causing Ryu to fall back. Ryu growled slightly as he dodged forward and jumped around the man.
The man did seem a little slower than Ryu, but apparently his massive size hid the sole fact he was wickedly fast. Ryu glanced up at the cloaked man’s face, and noticed two azure orbs staring back at him.
Ryu yelped and stumbled in mid-step. The man took that opportunity to attempt to clobber Ryu upside the head. Ryu regained his wits and jumped back just in time to avoid getting hit.
Zake growled and drew his halberd. The big guy was taking far too long. He lunged forward and struck Ryu with the blade. The halberd’s blade punctured Ryu’s waist and came out his stomach. Ryu screamed as Zake quickly withdrew the blade.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” the large man demanded. The ground shook a little from the vibration of his booming voice.
“He was becoming a massive problem,” Zake laughed as Ryu wailed and fell over. “He had to be taken care of… huh?”
The large man’s hand lunged forward and he held the smaller in a strangle hold. “What’s… the big deal???” Zake choked out. “I thought…”
“You fool,” the large man whispered. “Do you know what you have done?”
Jenkin kicked the prone Ryu with the tip of his boot. “He’s a good as, huh?”
Ryu’s body twitched slightly. The large man took a step back. Zake and Jenkin moved closer to see what was going on with the blue-haired child. Ryu’s body suddenly contorted and he let loose a deafening scream.
Ryu’s body jerked to his feet by an unknown force. Each beat of Ryu’s heart seemed to echo throughout the forest. Ryu body was consumed by white light. The small form soon grew into a twelve foot form of a great beast. When the light died down, the three men were staring up at a twelve foot red scaled dragon.
A really pissed dragon.
The dragon looked around at itself and let loose a deafening howl. One that was associated with shock, despair, and disbelief. The dragon narrowed his eyes and lowered his head to look at Zake and Jenkin.
Ryu’s maw contorted into a snarl. Zake and Jenkin could barely control their bowl movements. Ryu’s face almost adopted a sinister look to it as he jumped back and into the air, held up by a pair of massive draconic wings.
The large man’s eyes widened. He quickly blurred and reappeared next to an unconscious Nina and Yuki. He gathered the two girls into his arms and turned his back to Dragon-Ryu and Zake and Jenkin and braced himself.
Zake and Jenkin drew their weapons, prepared for the winged lizard to dive-bomb them. Instead, the pissed dragon let loose a stream of fire from his maw. The two men screamed, as they were being burned alive. Meanwhile, the large man seemed unaffected by the stream of fire.
The cloak burned away from his massive form. Ryu’s eyes went wide with shock and anger when the man stood up, Yuki and Nina in his arms. Seven feet tall with massive amber muscles that seemed like they were made of stone. The man was dressed in a dark purple tunic with wrappings around his clawed hands and talon like feet. His face was almost dragon-like, with a pronounced beak like snout and horns curved out of his head. a pair of massive dragon-like wings protruded from his back.
Ryu screamed and lunged at the man-beast. The gargoyle-like man jumped into the air and flew back a few feet to avoid Dragon-Ryu hitting him. The gargoyle placed the girls on the ground and raised his hand into the air and in a plume of smoke, summoned a halberd. This one, however, was much different than the one that Zake wielded. This one looked ancient and ornate.
The gargoyle lunged at Ryu and slammed the blade into Ryu’s stomach. The dragon roared at the man pulled the blade out in one which motion. The dragon wailed and flashed once, before reverting back into the form of a pissed off eleven year old, 4”10 boy.
Ryu staggered on his feet and looked at the gargoyle. “A…Guardian…?” Ryu asked in a shaky voice.
The man nodded. Ryu shook his head in disbelief. “How? Why…? You’re kind are suppose to be dead…”
The gargoyle nodded. He glanced over at the badly burn Zake and Jenkin, who were barely alive. He then turned back to Ryu. “Turn around, little one. I do not wish for you to see this.”
Ryu gave the man a confused look, but turned around nonetheless. A second later, he was glad that he had. He heard something that sounded like a melon being smashed. Ryu shut his eyes tightly and shook slightly. He felt a large hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked up at the gargoyle.
The gargoyle seemed so familiar…
“Ryu Bateson?” the man asked.
Ryu nodded, his eyes lighting up in anger. “What… did you do!?”
The gargoyle sighed. “I… did what had to be done.”
“That does not give you the right to kill anyone!”
“They were trying to kill you!” the gargoyle roared. “They would have killed you and your friends if I had not intervened!”
“They were a couple of idiots! What could they have…”
“They are being shadowed,” the gargoyle said. They both looked over at Yuki and Nina, who had started to stir slightly.
Yuki and Nina sat up and nearly fell back over. Before them was a massive gargoyle!
Ryu shook his head. “What are you talking about?!”
“Salla Treiba,” the gargoyle said. “I assume you know the name?”
“The name of…” Ryu started, but trailed off.
“That name…” Nina said. “Hey, isn’t that the name of Laurante’s Dragoon captain?”
“Yes,” the gargoyle said. “She had orders from Prince Demus to shadow those two idiots. They really weren’t anything but pawns for her. She was to kill Ryu and the bandits, and return Princess Nina back to Wyndia.”
“What… about me?” Yuki asked.
“She probably would have killed you, too.”
“Erp…” Yuki gulped.
“Yes,” the gargoyle said.
“So,” Nina stepped forward. “Who are you? Why are you helping us?”
Ryu growled. “Who cares! He was in league with those two, and he just killed them!”
The gargoyle shook his head. “No, I am not in league with them. I was asked to shadow them and protect you three from them and Salla Treiba.”
“Asked?” Ryu demanded. “Who asked you?!”
The gargoyle looked right at Yuki. “Jin Uzuki asked me to.”
“My brother?!” Yuki asked. “You talked to him? Where is he? Is he okay?”
The gargoyle shook his head. “I do not know. He asked me four years ago, should these events ever come to pass, that I was to protect Ryu and all those who accompanied him.”
“Ahn…” Yuki sighed. “Oh. Oh wait! He… knew about this?”
“What’s really going on?” Ryu snapped.
The gargoyle shook his head. “It is not for me to explain it here. We must find the other one first. Time is short. We do not have long before…”
“Who are you?!” Ryu demanded once again.
The gargoyle knelt down on one knee and laid his halberd on the ground next to him. He looked at Ryu in the eye and Ryu involuntarily shuttered.
“I am Garland, Guardian in the service of the Goddess, and protector of the Destined Children.”
Ryu’s mouth fell open. Yuki and Nina just stared.
“Are you serious?” Nina asked.
To be continued…