Standard disclaimer: I don't own the series.

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AN: Well, it t'would appear that MS Word hates me. I am typing this in WordPad. Un, don't ask. Just... don't... ask. Really. Because I wouldn't know what to tell you. I have no idea why my program keeps freezing up whenever I try to type something in it.

This chapter will give you some insight on Gideon’s plans. I hope his ramblings make sense. Is he good, or is he bad? And why did he name Legence heir to the throne? Will this chapter reveal that? Judge for yourself! (winks)

Here are the review(s):

Anime Monkey: “Ryu: "Funny thing, irony is, I have a sword made of IRON! Oh the IRONy of it!"”

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG! I should have you write my lines!

Anyway, I’m glad that you liked the reunion. Heh, Ryu would have killed him if not for the fact he was hurt and Yuki moved in to stop him. I thought you might like that scene. Hm, where did Strife go? That remains to be seen. He didn’t go to Sari, though. Hm, yeah I know. That does get explained a little later. Ryu did find out he was okay, but like he didn’t want anyone else involved with his problems, he didn’t try to seek Bunyan out out of fear of him getting hurt again.

Well, anyway, here's the next chapter!

“Hey!” Ryu laughed as he walked through the front door of Yuki’s apartment. Yuki and Leon casually looked up from their respected seats. Yuki grinned slightly.

“Am I gonna get arrested for kidnapping the princess?” Yuki asked as Ryu and Nina walked into the room. Ryu closed the door behind him.

Nina gave Yuki a sour look. “Of course not!”

“Did you run away again?” Yuki grinned.

“If you only knew what I did, then you would run away too.”

“So, Ryu, you found Nina…” Yuki started slowly. “How did that happen?”

“Long story…” Ryu smirked.

Ryu sighed as he took a seat on the sofa, next to Yuki. Nina merely just paced the floor. “I can’t believe him! I mean he vanishes for ten years and it turns out that he’s pretending to be some kind of perverted bounty hunter! I mean, ARG!”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Not like it did any good…” Yuki muttered.

“You guys are just mean…” Ryu pouted as he sat on the edge of Yuki’s sofa.

“Just stating a fact,” Yuki grinned.

Nina threw her arms up in the air. “I can’t believe he’s Siegfreid Griffith!” Nina glared at Ryu. “Any other surprises you have?”

Leon cleared his throat. Nina looked in his direction and nearly screamed. She quickly drew her wand and charged the orb at the end on the staff. Yuki quickly jumped up and ran between Nina and Leon.

“NOT IN MY HOUSE! NOT IN MY HOUSE!” Yuki screamed.

Nina gave her a confused look. “Why are you protecting Demus?! He tried to kill Ryu!”

Ryu nodded in agreement. “Yeah! He tried to kill me!”

“Ugh!” Yuki muttered. “You both can kill him later! Right now, however, he’s the one that said there was a possible cure for Ryu!”

Nina placed her wand back behind her bag. “Okay, I’m listening.”

And so, Yuki, Leon, and Ryu spent the next hour or so explaining to Nina what they all learned about the past few days. During that time, Nina merely nodded in confusion. According to what everyone was saying, Ryu was on the run from Dragnier’s new prince, Yuki was fighting way too many demons for her tastes, and Demus… Leon was working for Sari of all people.

And… Sari thought she might have finally found a cure for Cymosion. Nina nearly leapt for joy. Of course, princesses were suppose to be too dignified to leap for joy, but Nina was no ordinary princess.

“WHOOP!” Nina laughed as she did a mini-victory dance.

Ryu and Yuki laughed as Leon merely sighed and held his head. The things he did for his mistress…

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Ten years ago, his son made a grave error in his plans. Ryu was the Prince Kaiser, the Destined Child. He was the one that was chosen by Ladon himself. Ryu would grow and lead his people and the world.

Of course, Demus couldn’t get over the fact that Ryu was too special. When he learned that the child had been infected with the deadly virus, he was not disheartened. He had always been a visionary. He made his living making the impossible, possible.

After all, all was going according to plan.

He sent Ryu to Lahan under the pretense that Aaron might be able to cure him. What he didn’t reveal was that Briet was one of his men. One of his Four Holy Swords, the Sword of Fire. If that woman had not lied about her heritage, then he would not have had the problem he was facing at this moment.

Valerie was part human… and so was Ryu. And the virus infected them both. He kept her crystallized remains in the heart of the castle as a current reminder to himself.

What that reminder was, no one but himself knew.

Aaron was not aware that Briet was one of his men. All he knew was that the man was one of the scientists working on Project FATE and the link experiments. He reasoned that he might have been able to use Ryu as a part of the experiments. He was Ladon’s chosen, after all.

But… the experiments had backfired. They had unleashed the Red Dragon by accident. He knew he had to cover his tracks. He ordered Salla to stop the experiments. He said that they had gone too far. He only wanted to clear himself of any possible blame he might have to deal with on a later date.

He did not once even think about the possibility that Ryu might be lost in the fiery chaos.

He knew, of course, that Ladon’s chosen would not die so easily. He was completely aware of Demus and Salla’s activities. He knew that Demus’ thirst for revenge would drive him to the point of tearing the world apart if he thought that it would bring him Ryu.

His work was not in vain. He did find Ryu. But then he was faced with another problem. Salla had always shown promise. When she had been working with Demus, he was not afraid of her turning on him. But when she stepped in and stopped Demus from taking Ryu captive, he knew then that it was time to silence her.

He ordered Salla’s death. Somehow she had escaped and aided those brats in stopping Demus. He then ordered Legence to finish off Demus and Salla for good. Legence had theorized about Saria’s powers. He knew that she would try to bring them all back if something happened to them.

He was right.

He knew that Legence would go a little trigger-happy and kill Ryu. He took the risk anyway. He had been right with that too. He also knew that Saria would bring him back. He wanted to make a point.

And he did.

And now, all the actors were together and the stage was set. It was time for the second act to begin…

“You’re Highness!”

King Gideon was pulled out of his musings by another of his Holy Swords. Zaccheus Transell walked out onto the balcony where Gideon was currently standing, his back to Zaccheus.

“What is it?” Gideon said in a gruff voice.

“All the preparations have been completed,” Zaccheus said with his head bowed and a fist over his heart. “By your order, we are ready to move.”

Gideon turned his attention to the fair-haired youth. He gave a nod. “Prepare the Dragoons. You will proceed to Wyndia and get permission to enter the Temple of Miliené. If they refuse, lay siege to the city and burn it to the ground.”

“Of course, my King,” Zaccheus said. He straightened and walked out of the room.

“A siege on Castle Wyndia? Aren’t you being bold.”

Gideon didn’t even bother to turn his attention to the owner of the taunting voice. “I will do whatever it takes to come into possession of the Goddess Keys. The Sky Key is enshrined at the Temple of Miliené. Wyndia’s Great Bird will not be able to stand against the power of the Brood.”

The blond-haired man walked onto the balcony. “Such brave words. Will you still stand when Ryu tries to stop you?”

“I have taken that into consideration,” Gideon said. He placed his hands behind his back. “He will not be able to stop me.”

“So said the last fool that tried to stop Ryu,” Legence laughed. “Ladon’s chosen is not a force to be reckoned with. But, I do suppose all things must end.”

Gideon looked at Legence. “Indeed. I will make the Urkans, no, the entire world know the power of the Brood before it’s over with. They will not underestimate us ever again.”

Legence nodded all knowingly. “Whatever you say. Just remember, once this is set in motion, there will be no stopping it. If Wyndia falls, then the entire world will rally against you.”

Gideon nodded. “That is exactly what I plan on. When they do rally against me, then I will strike them down, one by one.”

Legence nodded. “Of course, my king. Do you want me to accompany the Fire Sword?”

“No, allow him to proceed as planned. I have great faith in his abilities. Even if he does fail me, this will be the thing that will draw the prodigal son out into the open. And then… I can deal with him, once and for all.”

Legenece nodded. “As you wish, my king.”

All was going according to plan.

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“I would like to request a leave of absence,” Yuki said.

After much debating, Yuki finally managed to keep Nina from trying to kill Leon. (Nina, too, had fallen over and started laughing like a maniac when it finally dawned on her that Demus really had changed his name to Leon.)

Though Nina and Ryu still weren’t convinced of Leon’s sincerity, both apparently yielded after talking to Sari herself. Considering that Sari herself would fry Leon if he tried to hurt Ryu, they were convinced that Leon was telling the truth.

Nina then found out that the three planned on traveling to Shevat to talk in greater detail about the plan to save Ryu’s life. Never to be one that was left out, Nina argued with the three that she wanted to go too.

Ryu then pointed out that Nina was currently a runaway from the castle, and they could be arrested for kidnapping the Princess. Nina then reminded Ryu he had a bounty on his head, and if they didn’t let her come along, she would turn Ryu in.

Ryu pouted about how unfair Nina was being. Leon was impressed that Nina would go to such lengths to be with Ryu and Yuki. Yuki just rolled her eyes and muttered something about the Red Ninja of LUV making a comeback.

A death glare from Nina was all that was needed to get Yuki to shut up.

So, this was what currently led to Yuki standing in front of Cyrus’ desk, requesting time off. The Ranger captain gave Yuki a concerned look. He leaned forward on his desk, his hands tented over his face.

“Why the sudden request in a leave of absence?” Cyrus questioned. “You are one of our most hard working Rangers. They don’t come more dedicated than you.”

Yuki shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Of course he would have to question her request. Too bad she wasn’t lazy like Bosch, maybe then he might have let her off, no questions asked.

She had to come up with something… and quick.

“That… is exactly why I need the time off,” Yuki lied through her teeth. She had never been a good liar. Jin had always managed to catch her in her lies. “I have become too tired to even function properly and I am afraid that I would just end up being a burden to the team.”

There. That seemed like a good enough reason.

No dice.

“Is there something wrong with your health?” Cyrus questioned, a look of concern etched across his face.

“Wuh?” Yuki muttered. She just didn’t believe this! What was with the twenty questions? “Ah, I mean…” What could she say to get him off her back? Yuki’s shoulders slumped. “Look Captain, the fact of the matter is…”

Cyrus gave her a curious look. He held up a hand to silence her. “No, there is no need to tell me anything if you do not wish to. I completely understand.”

“You do?” Yuki asked, the surprise evident in her voice.

“Of course,” Cyrus smiled. “You are in love.”

“What?!” Yuki stuttered. Did she just hear him right???

“Ah yes, young love,” Cyrus smiled. “I remember when I first fell in love. I was acting just like a lovesick schoolboy. I almost blew a mission because of my love, Mardeia. Boy, were those the days…”

Yuki fought the urge to puke. She decided to quickly change the subject. “So! Does that mean that I can take off?”

Cyrus glanced up at her. “Hm? Oh, right. Of course! Remember not to do anything too risqué.”

“Right… of course…” Yuki muttered darkly as she quickly gave Cyrus a salute and with the speed of a small deer ran out of the office.

As she exited the building, Ryu, Nina, and Leon greeted her. Ryu had taken the time to change back into his traveling clothes, complete with high collar cloak. The former of the three was grinning like the crazy people they were. The latter of the three was sweating bullets.

Yuki frowned slightly and crossed her arms. “Do I even want to know?”

Leon cleared his throat. He groaned and cocked his head in Nina and Ryu’s direction. “They are truly crazy.”

Yuki shot Ryu and Nina a questioning look. The two just pretended to look innocent.

“I don’t think I want to know…” Yuki muttered darkly.

“So, everything’s set then” Leon asked. Yuki nodded.

“Yes, I have the time off that I need to complete this mission.”

“Good. Now, we can get to the details of the traveling arrangements…”

Yuki smirked. “No need.”

“Beg pardon?”

“I can just teleport us there. Of course, there’s that whole thing about using my magic for personal gain, but considering that this is an emergency, I don’t think that karma will kick my ass too much…” Yuki muttered.

“What…?”

“Oh, just watch!”

And with that, Yuki grabbed onto Leon and Ryu’s arms. She then instructed Ryu to hang onto Nina. He took Nina’s hand and then asked what were they supposed to do. Yuki grinned and said that they were supposed to do nothing.

A bright light engulfed the four and the next thing that anyone knew, they were standing in the office of Saria la Crosse. Yuki had teleported them to Shevat.

Sari looked slightly surprised. Salla entered the room and just shook her head in amusement. Nina gave the two a sheepish grin and Leon quickly walked to over where Sari was sitting, trying to regain what pride and dignity he had left.

Ryu just scratched his head and waved slightly at Sari. “Um, hi?”

Sari just shook her head in amusement. She turned her attention to Yuki. “You work fast.”

Yuki grinned. “I know.”

 

To be continued…