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Standard disclaimer: I don't own the series.
AN: Hello! Okay, so to date, Yuki contacted Leon/Demus in regards to some mysterious girl named Nunnally. Leon apparently knows her and told Yuki who she was, but told her to hide the information from Ryu, so Nunnally cannot be used against Ryu. The party met up with Bunyan and started their trek through the Sea of Trees. Ryu and Manna had a quick chat about Destiny and Ryu's role in it. Before the party could get to the Grassmen's village, something happened to Wyatt that caused his powers to go out of control.
Well, that's it for the recap of last chapter! Anyway, I hope everything has been easy to follow~!
Okay, this isn’t one of my better chapters. It’s mainly running dialog and exposition. Heh, it’s been a long, busy week, but I wanted to get this up, so here it is!
So, here are the reviews!
Rouge Kaiser: Yeah, Ryu does seem a little angsty. Heh, well, that does get resolved a little in this chapter. Ryu has this annoying habit of blaming himself for stuff that wasn’t his fault.
Hee, you also get to find out how Yuki will react to Wyatt in this chapter. Heh, she is gonna seem a little bipolar after this chapter. ^_^;;; Hee, wait until you find that out. I likey my cliffhangers. Can you tell? Ah, this chapter also explains more about what happened in Lahan.
Heh, that will be a fun chapter when I finally reveal where that little plot is going. (big grin)
Ah, thanks! I’m glad that you are still interested in the story. I was getting slightly worried if the story was too long to hold people’s interest, ya know?
Anyway, onto the next chapter!
It seemed like the nightmare had once again resurfaced. He hadn’t meant to destroy the city. He only wanted to protect that little girl. But, the ones that had linked him to that machine had awoken his powers and that child that he was linked to did something to the system.
He couldn’t control his powers. That was the main reason that the golden haired lady sealed him in the ancient ruins of Caer Xhan. He did, after all, destroy that city. He had never wanted to be a burden, nor did he never want to cause such destruction. His entire existence had been nothing but chaos and destruction.
He had been created to fulfil a certain purpose. He had been created to call upon the power of Ladon himself. The ancient citizens of Caer Xhan had wanted the power to challenge Myria herself, but lack the means to do so. After all, the Destined Child would not be born for several more centuries.
But, Myria had found him and sealed him away after he destroyed the greatest city of the Techno Age. And then, that man had found him and unsealed him. The man who called himself Aaron the Wise had taken him and the gate from the ruins and brought him to Lahan. He wanted to call on the power of Ladon, too. He just wanted it for a different purpose.
If he could only remember why Aaron and Gideon wanted that power, then he might have been able to…
Wyatt groaned as he looked up. He realized that he was lying on his back, staring up at the bright blue sky. He blinked and tried to remember what he had just been thinking about. He silently cursed himself when he could remember nothing. He groaned again as he slowly sat up and looked around.
The last thing he remembered was that odd noise. That same noise had been the one he had heard right before Lahan was destroyed.
“You up?”
Wyatt’s head swiveled in the direction of the soft voice. Yuki was sitting in a crouching position a few feet away. She softened her gaze and stood up. She walked over to Wyatt and extended her hand down to the little master. Wyatt reached up and took her hand. Yuki helped Wyatt to his feet.
“Uhn…” Wyatt muttered darkly. “What just happened?”
Yuki frowned slightly. “Someone was trying to harm the Yggdrasil and the forest got all freaky and then your… power… launched everyone to the four winds.”
“Whu?” Wyatt asked. “Power? Oh!” Wyatt blurted out. “I… uh… I mean…”
Yuki merely nodded. “That was Red Dragon, wasn’t it?”
Wyatt nodded. “Uh… that’s what Grandfather called it.”
“I thought so,” Yuki said as she crossed her arms. She turned her full attention to Wyatt. “You’re him, aren’t you.” A statement, not a question.
Wyatt could only nod. “Yeah… I’m Fate.” Wyatt said gravely.
He didn’t know what had happened. The last thing Ryu remember was that he was talking with Manna about the Destined and the next thing he knew, he was lying out in the middle of nowhere.
Ryu tried to get up, but he realized that he was actually pinned underneath a fallen tree. He groaned and tried to shimmy out from underneath the thing, but he was pinned tightly to the ground. Ryu grunted and then cried out in pain. He reached over to his side and felt blood coming from his mid torso.
Great. So not only was he trapped, he was injured, too. The day just kept getting better and better.
Ryu’s vision suddenly swam. He realized that he had no idea how long he had been lying there, trapped. He must have lost a lot of blood for him to feel so dizzy and lightheaded. He moved his head to the side and realized that half of his face was coated in blood.
Okay, if he started to panic, he might end up causing himself much more injury. If he tried to transform, he’d just crystallize on the way down. Ryu was starting to run out of options. He knew he had to get free. If he didn’t, he would be free game for any forest creatures in the area.
Ryu’s ears perked. He could hear the faint sound of currs off in the distance. He knew that he was going to half to have a chat with that ‘Murphy’ fellow at some point.
The currs were getting closer and Ryu was starting to panic. There were at least three currs and all of them looked hungry. Yeah, Murphy was going to get his ass kicked if Ryu ever got out of the mess he was currently in.
Ryu, however, didn’t even get time to react before the first curr lunged at him. There was a brown blur and the next thing Ryu knew, there was a decapitated curr lying on the ground next to him. Several more swipes and the other two currs were missing heads.
Ryu slowly glanced up and saw Bunyan staring down at him, holding a bloodied axe in his hands. Bunyan looked down at Ryu and smiled slightly.
“Did you think that I was about to let you die on me?” Bunyan asked with a laugh.
Ryu smiled slightly in relief. “I…” Ryu closed his eyes as he blinked back tears. “Father…”
Bunyan smiled as he knelt down and placed his gloved hand on Ryu’s forehead. “Now there Ryu,” Bunyan said. “I understand. I will get you out of this mess.”
Bunyan stood up and shouldered his axe. “Now hold still, this might get a little rough.”
“I… I’m sorry…” Ryu said. “I didn’t mean to…”
Bunyan paused. “Didn’t mean to what?”
“I didn’t mean to get you killed,” Ryu said as he choked back a sob. “I never meant for you to get caught in the crossfire.”
“I know that lad,” Bunyan said quietly. “I know that you only wanted to help, and never cause any one harm. You have always done the right thing. Don’t start questioning yourself now.”
Ryu swallowed hard. “I…” Ryu took a deep breath. “Father… thank you.”
“Save the thanks for later lad,” Bunyan said. “I have to get you freed first.”
“Red Dragon,” Yuki finally said. Both her and Wyatt had walked in silence for the last hour or so. They figured that if they could find the one that was trying to harm Yggdrasil, they might run into their companions.
“A mysterious power that is said to rival that of the gods,” Wyatt said. “It was made as a copy of Ladon’s powers and could only be controlled by the gate and core unit.”
“You’re the core unit,” Yuki said. “You are that boy… Fate.”
Wyatt nodded again. “You know then?”
Yuki nodded. “It was that same power that destroyed Lahan,” Yuki said as she stopped and turned to Wyatt.
“Yuki…” Wyatt said. He knew that Yuki blamed the dragons for destroying her home. “I didn’t mean to! I mean…”
“Aaron was responsible for your powers going berserk,” Yuki said. “Not you. You can’t control it, can you?”
“No.”
Yuki gestured towards Wyatt’s connection gear. “That thing… that gives you some control over your powers, right? And the Ether Drive…”
Wyatt smirked slightly. “Did Jin tell you what this was?”
“Ether Drive is able to heal the Red Dragon… or suspend its powers and make it harmless,” Yuki explained. “Yeah, Jin told me about that thing when he told me about what really happened in Lahan. At least, what he knew about what happened in Lahan.”
Wyatt hung his head. “I had never wanted to hurt you. You were my first friend… the first person to show me kindness. I just wanted to protect you… and that boy…”
“Ryu,” Yuki said. “He was the one that I gave the Asters to.”
“But it all went up in smoke, didn’t it?” Wyatt said.
“I was a foolish child,” Yuki said. “I made my share of mistakes… but I am trying to learn from them.”
“Me too,” Wyatt said.
Yuki smiled brightly and nodded. “Well, heh! Zettai daijobu da yo!”
“What did you say?” Wyatt asked.
“It will be all right!” Yuki translated. “My mother used to say that when I was sad or whatever.”
Wyatt smiled. “Yeah. Zettai daijobu da yo. I like that saying.”
Yuki smiled and turned to continue walking, but stopped in mid stride. She withdrew her short swords and frowned. Wyatt walked over to her and looked over in the direction Yuki was looking in.
Standing before them, in front of a massively large tree, was a middle-aged man with dark brown hair, dressed in a suit and white lab coat. He seemed to be doing something to the large tree.
Lying a few feet away from the tree was a young Grassman. It moaned as a green liquid oozed from various parts of its body. The creature tried to move, but could only scream in pain.
The man seemed slightly irritated. “Oh, hush now,” the man said with a slight accent. “You were only asking for trouble by coming out here and challenging me.”
Yuki’s eyes widened in surprise. “No…”
Wyatt screamed as he withdrew his guns and lunged at the man. “AARON!”
The man turned around and smiled slightly. He raised his arm and took a swing at Wyatt. Wyatt screamed as he was sent flying backwards. Yuki dropped her swords and made a leapt for Wyatt. She caught him in midair and both fell to the ground.
Aaron turned his attention to Yuki. He scowled slightly and started to walk in their direction. “Well, if it isn’t the failure. I never thought I would ever see you out here.”
Yuki scowled and grabbed her short swords. Wyatt drew his guns once more.
“I thought you were dead,” Yuki said evenly. She readied her swords just in case Aaron did something.
“You were always pitiful,” Aaron said. “A weak creature that had no power.”
“So sad to tell you,” Yuki smirked. “But you are wrong in that statement.”
“Oh?” Aaron asked. “How so?”
Yuki response by launching a lightning bolt in Aaron’s direction. The man in question barely had time to dodge the attack. He grinned and clapped his hands in approval.
“I am truly amazed to find out that you actually have power! I knew Jin was hiding something from me. I never would have guessed it to be this!”
“What are you doing out here?!” Wyatt snapped. “What did you do to that… uh… Grassman?”
Aaron’s face darkened. “That child was in my way. I had to stop him.”
“In your way?” Yuki repeated. “Had to stop him? Fuck! What were you trying to do?!”
“The sap from the Yggdrasil is said to heal any kind of injuries. Some say that it can give eternal life. I am merely testing out a theory, that’s all.”
Aaron turned his attention back to the tree. “Unfortunately, I do not know where the Yggdrasil is located in this dense forest. So, I am using the trees here to find out… this child happened to come along and try to stop me, but I was able to stop him before he was able to get to me.”
“BASTARD!” Wyatt screamed. “This is all YOUR fault! Everything that happened in Lahan, Yuki’s parents… ME! You did this!” Wyatt’s eyes flashed red. A bright blood red aura engulfed Wyatt.
Yuki held her hand out. “Connection gear!” the device appeared in Yuki’s hand in a plume of white light. Yuki then ran over to the fallen Grassman and knelt down beside him.
“He… cannot… please…” the Grassman said. Yuki noticed that the creature’s breathing was dangerously shallow. “Stop him…”
Yuki knew that Grassmen differed greatly from humans and other clans, but she knew that if she didn’t do something soon, the Grassman would die. Yuki prayed that she would be able to heal him. A white light engulfed the plant man.
Wyatt, on the other hand, didn’t even notice what Yuki was doing. Instead, the form of a transparent dragon took hold of him as he lunged at Aaron once again. Wyatt didn’t bother to shoot at Aaron. He just tried to strike blow after blow. Each blow that Wyatt inflicted on Aaron only served to make the man angrier and angrier.
“Enough!” Aaron finally bellowed and skewered his hand through Wyatt’s upper torso. The boy screamed as Aaron withdrew his hand and let Wyatt fall to the ground. Wires were exposed and sparking from the gaping hole in Wyatt’s chest. Aaron smiled and turned around to complete what he was trying to do, but a slight movement from behind him caused him to stop and turn back around.
“OPEN ETHER CIRCUIT!” Yuki’s voice echoed throughout the forest. Wyatt’s body flashed and the damaged started to repair itself. Wyatt moaned as he staggered to his feet. He turned around and saw Yuki and the Grassman standing a few feet away.
Aaron growled and vanished in a plume of dark light. Wyatt grinned slightly and staggered over to Yuki and the Grassman.
“What… how did you know what to do?” Wyatt asked.
“I remember that Jin used the Ether Drive before on you and well… yeah. I decided it was worth another shot!”
“You… were just guessing?” Wyatt yelped.
“Zettai daijobu da yo!” Yuki laughed. She then grew serious and turned to the Grassman beside her. “Are you alright now?”
The creature nodded weakly. “I do believe so. Thank you for helping me. My name it Rowan.”
“I’m Yuki and the kid’s Wyatt,” Yuki said. “What was that man trying to do?”
“He was trying to find his way to the village,” Rowan said. “I was trying to stop him, but he overpowered me and injured me.”
Yuki nodded. “Okay… so… now what?”
Wyatt smiled. “Say, Rowan? Can you take us to see the Yggdrasil?”
Rowan considered for a moment. Yuki quickly stepped in. “There’s a really good chance that Aaron will try something again. I think he only retreated for now.”
Rowan finally nodded. “Yes, I will take you to Yggdrasil. You saved my life after all. It is the least I can do.”
“Are we lost?” Nina asked for the third time.
“No, at least I don’t think so,” Jin said with a sigh.
Manna idly wondered to herself if she could reconsider that crazy idea to help Ryu and his companions. Three hours of wandering through a dark, dense forest and the only thing she had heard were Nina’s constant questions of whether or not they were lost.
“HEY!”
Manna, Jin, and Nina looked up and spotted Ryu and Bunyan several feet away from them. Ryu smiled slightly as he walked over to Nina and embraced her. Nina responded by hugging him back just as tightly.
“Could someone get a room for them?” Manna said under her breath.
“I concur,” Jin said.
Ryu and Nina broke their embrace a moment later. Bunyan walked over to the two and smiled brightly.
“Ryu, who’s this young lady?” Bunyan asked. “Your girlfriend?”
Ryu cracked a smile and Nina blushed slightly. “Yeah, you could say that. Her name’s Nina."
Jin and Manna exchanged glances and nodded Jin cleared his throat.
“I hate to break this up, but we need to get to the village as soon as possible,” Jin said.
Ryu frowned. “What about Yuki and Wyatt?”
Manna merely nodded. “They found a guide. I do believe that they will meet up with us there,” Manna said. She looked up at the trees. She frowned. “I think we better hurry…”
Bunyan nodded. “Okay. If everyone’s ready, please follow me.”
To be continued…