Standard disclaimer: I don't own the series.

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AN: Yup, a new chapter for the new year! Happy 2009 peoples! Heh, that means that I have been writing this story for a little over a year. Wow. That's like some kind of record for me! lol And ya know? It's because of all the wonderful reviews that I have gotten that have given me the motivation to keep on writing. Heh.

So, a special thanks goes out to Nina Windia, Meeerf, Anime Monkey, Rouge_Kaiser, Lord Kain, yamanana, katana777, Omega Gilgamesh, and everyone else that has read the story. And I would like to say a very special thanks for Arcahan from the Breath of Fire Fanfic Library for all the special work he's done. So, THANKS EVERYONE!!!!

So, yeah. Thanks everyone. It's not the greatest story out there, but people are reading it so I guess that it's a little good :)

(Lil' Arcy says: Yeah, we're good! And thank you also for Airess for, once again, showing us how a writer can stick to her keyboard and just keep on hammering away. It's a lesson on perseverance, people!)

Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Nina wasn’t sure if she was processing the information correctly. Did that Professor say he was a dragon elder? Ryu himself had said that the old man was a Destined. The Dragon Tear only flashed in rainbow colors for the Destined. So, that meant that the old man was Destined. But, who was he?

Nina warily watched as the old man flagged Jin over and started talking to the doctor. Jin crossed his arms and would occasionally nod his head in agreement. The old man finally ended the conversation and turned his attention back over to Ryu and Nina.

“So, here’s the deal, Ryu’s gonna need the Kaiser power. Unfortunately, Gideon took Ryu’s powers. The good news is that I can help him get some of that power back,” the old man said with a grin.

“That is good news,” Nina said slowly. “But, you never did answer our question. Who are you?”

The old man waved his hand in the air absentmindedly. “Does that matter right now? All of you are running out of time.”

Ryu cocked his head to the side. “Running out of time? Hey, what’s going on here?”

Jin sighed and crossed his arms. He turned his attention over to Nina and Ryu. “Gideon and Legence have two out of the three pieces that they need to activate the Gate. We may have three of the six Goddess Keys, but they still are way ahead of us.”

Ryu nodded. He needed no explanation. He did remember what Yuki had said to him, after all. He still couldn’t believe what she had said, though. But some distant part of him agreed with her words. He knew that time was running out. It was just a good thing that he no longer had cysmoison. Because of his friends, he was no longer in danger of dying from that disease. His plan might be able to work now.

Ryu sighed slightly and looked over at the Professor. “Okay old man,” Ryu said. “Tell me what I have to do in order to regain the Kaiser power.”

The Professor smiled. “You are indeed a good boy, Ryu. I am proud that you have made it this far.”

“Right,” Ryu said. “Thanks… I think.”

The Professor frowned slightly. “Ryu, you have the memories of your past lives,” the Professor said. Ryu flinched at what he said. Past memories, but they were not his. They belonged to those that came before him. “So, you know what will happen. You know what you must do in order to obtain the powers.”

Ryu froze. He remembered a similar action of another Ryu and another dragon elder. That Ryu had to fight for the right to wield the Infinity Gene. He had to fight the dragon elder Jono. That Ryu had won, but it came at the cost of Jono’s life. Ryu’s eyes widened as he looked at the Professor.

“I am going to have to fight for the right to wield the power,” Ryu said flatly. Nina turned and looked at Ryu in confusion.

“Fight? Ryu’s going to have to fight?” Nina asked. The Professor nodded.

“Yes,” the Professor said. “Ryu, when you are ready, come find me. I will be waiting.”

And with that, the Professor left the room. Wes scratched his head in confusion and followed the Professor out of the room. Nina turned her attention back to Ryu. Ryu merely looked down at the floor. Sari and Jin looked at each other for a mere second before quietly excusing themselves.

Nina placed her hand on Ryu’s cheek and turned his face to meet hers. She smiled and leaned in close and kissed his forehead. Ryu blushed like mad, but allowed Nina to kiss him. She slowly withdrew and straightened up.

“Ryu, what’s going on?” Nina asked.

Ryu merely shook his head. “Really? I don’t know. So much has happened in such a short period of time. I can barely process it all.”

Nina nodded. “Well, there’s something else that I have to tell you. The thing is…” Nina steeled herself. How was she going to tell Ryu that he had a sister? “Well, there was this girl at Dragnier, Nunnally. When we escaped, we took her with us.”

“Nunnally?” Ryu asked. “Isn’t that the girl that Yuki asked us about?” Ryu frowned at the mention of Yuki’s name. “Yuki’s dead…”

Nina nodded. “That’s what they told me.”

“She died saving me,” Ryu said. He held his hands up and a small white and blue light formed around his hands. “She gave me her power to heal…” the light died down. “I… don’t know what to do about that.”

Nina looked away. “Wyatt’s also…”

“I know,” Ryu said. “Look, we can talk about this later. Please tell me what you were going to say about this Nunnally girl.”

“Ah… she’s…” Nina fidgeted in place. “your… sister…”

“Ah… what?” Ryu looked genuinely confused. “My… what now? Sister? Nina?” Ryu laughed nervously. “Nina, I don’t have a sister.”

“Um… yeah you do,” Nina said. “Leon confirmed it.”

Ryu stared at Nina. “And… how come I never knew about her?”

“Leon said that you repressed your memories of Dragnier from when you were little,” Nina said. “Nunnally would have only been two years old when you went to Lahan… so you might not have remembered her.”

“Whuhuh?” Ryu stuttered. “I don’t believe this…”

“I don’t believe it either,” Nina sighed. “Well, just in case you were curious, she’s does not have cymosion. I don’t know how she managed to avoid getting it, though. She’s your full sister, after all. According to Leon, Valerie had her shortly before she started to show signs of the disease. Nunnally was born really sick, though. She is wheelchair bound.”

Ryu shook his head. “I dunno. I just don’t know. Nina?” Ryu looked up at Nina. “I have a sister? This is just freaky.”

“Tell me about it,” Nina waved her hand in the air. “What I don’t get is why if Gideon had another kid, why he didn’t name her the heir to the throne?”

“Because,” Leon said. Nina and Ryu looked up and saw the older man walk through the door. Ryu frowned slightly.

“Because what?” Ryu finally asked.

“Gideon is under the control of Legence,” Leon said. “According to Nunnally, he has completely forgotten about her. I am not surprised, though.”

“Did Nunnally tell you that?” Nina asked. “Why is Gideon even working with Legence?”

Leon crossed his arms. “He wanted to save Ryu and Valerie from dying. That was the whole point of the FATE Project. At least, that was the point at first. Legence came to Gideon and told him that he could save their lives. Of course, Legence is just using Gideon and now has complete control of him.”

“As well as two of the pieces…” Ryu sighed.

“Yes, Manna has told me all about what happened. I filled Nunnally in on what’s been going on. She seems to be taking it pretty well. But, then again, that’s how she’s always been.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ryu grunted.

“Hn?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?” Ryu snapped. “Why didn’t you tell me we had a younger sister?”

Leon frowned. “If I had said anything, the you would have wanted to rescue her… and Gideon might have used her somehow to get to you. He had no trouble kidnapping Nina, did he? Nunnally could have gotten really hurt if you had known about her. I was merely trying to protect you both. Nothing more.”

Ryu sighed in frustration. “Okay, fine. I’ll give you that one. Demus, what are you doing in here?”

Leon frowned at the use of his real name. “Lady Saria sent me in here. She wanted to know when you wanted to meet with the Professor.”

Ryu shakily stood up. “Now is as good a time as any,” Ryu said. He squared his shoulders and walked towards the door.

Nina gave him a sly smile. “For someone that died, you are recovering pretty well.” Ryu smiled at her response, but Leon kept his frown.

“I wouldn’t jest so lightly. Miyuki died to give you that power,” Leon said in a hollow voice. “You should be thankful.”

And with that, Leon walked out of the room. Ryu and Nina turned to each other, confusion written all over their faces.

“Did… I say something wrong?” Nina asked.

Ryu scratched the back of his head. “I dunno. He seemed pretty pissed that I said that…?”

“Ryu?” Nina asked.

Ryu frowned slightly. “I wonder if… nah.”

“What?” Nina asked.

“I was just thinking out loud,” Ryu said. “I wonder if Demus had a thing for Yuki. I mean Yuki did say something about them eating out at that restaurant.”

Nina was about to say something in response, but Ryu had already left the room. She shook her head and frowned. It was a horrible reminder that Yuki was dead. She was gone. Nina just couldn’t process it. She squashed the thought and walked out of the room.

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Ryu didn’t even bother to stop and talk to any of his companions. He wanted to get the test over with. Besides, the last time someone fought for the Gene, they had to go it alone. No one was allowed to interfere. He also knew what the Professor was saying. He knew what the Professor was asking him to do. Ryu didn’t want to fight the old man.

If Ryu fought and won, then the Professor would die.

That was what had happened to Jono, after all. He knew that the only reason that Jono had lived for as long as he did was because of the Infinity Gene that was inside of him. Somehow, the Professor had obtained the same Gene. Which led to Ryu questioning the old man’s identity.

If his memory was correct… one of the last people to see Jono alive was…

“Oh, shit!” Ryu muttered to himself. He stopped walking and looked up at the sky. The Professor had told Leon to tell Ryu to meet him outside in the water gardens. Apparently his cousin had a love for flowers and fountains. Then again, there were many things about Sari he didn’t know about.

Sari had mentioned something about going with him and his companions. He wondered if she really would. Her rejection powers would really come in handy. And now, thanks to Yuki, Sari also had other powers as well. Ryu sighed. There was no way he could ever forget about what Yuki told him.

And what he told her he was planning on doing. He really hoped it wouldn’t come to him having to give his life for this gambit. Especially after all the hard work his friends put into saving him. But, there was still so much they all had to do yet.

Ryu shoved his hands in his pockets and resumed walking. He finally came to the entrance of the garden and opened the white wooden gate. There were flowers everywhere. In the center of the garden was a massive water fountain. Standing beside the fountain was the old man.

The old man was staring at the fountain. Ryu walked up to him and stood quietly behind him. The old man cleared his throat and turned around and looked at Ryu. Ryu looked down at the old man and noticed that there was something odd in the old man’s eyes.

“You know, she loved flowers,” the Professor said. There was a type of raw emotion in his voice as he spoke.

“Who?” Ryu asked. “Who loved flowers?”

The Professor just laughed. “An old friend. A girl not unlike your Nina. She loved flowers. She was a wild one that’s for sure. A very powerful sorceress, she was. She said she always felt like a trapped bird, unable to fly.”

Ryu frowned slightly. “This girl… she was merely a friend of yours?”

The Professor gave Ryu a forlorn look. “What are you expecting me to say? That the girl was my friend? Or something more?”

Ryu looked at the old man. “It’s that… the way you spoke about your friend… it sounded like there was more than just friendship between the two of you.”

The old man smiled slightly. “It was a long time ago,” the Professor said. “She long gone.”

“She died,” Ryu said. “And you still live… because of the Infinity Gene that you carry.”

The Professor laughed. “So, you know then, huh? Do you know why I have such a thing?”

Ryu nodded numbly. “I never thought that I would be talking to you face to face… it’s a little freaky.”

The old man nodded. “Of course. But you know something like this was bound to happen.”

“Yeah… but explain something to me,” Ryu said. “If you are a dragon elder, how come you are into building giant robots?”

The old man laughed. “Ha! Ryu, I am over five hundred years old. You tend to get bored after awhile, so I took up a hobby.”

Ryu gave the old man an incredulous look. “But, giant robots?”

The Professor nodded. “Actually, it wasn’t my idea. Not originally. See, Momo thought it would be…”

“Momo? What’s Jin’s daughter have to do with this?”

“No, Momo. The Grassrunner scientist that had an obsession with machinery.”

“Oh…”

“ANYWAY! Momo thought it would be fun to build a giant robot. I still don’t know how she talked me into helping her build one. But, yeah.”

Ryu merely stared at the old man. “This… the whole giant robot thing was just a hobby?”

The old man nodded. “Well, there’s more to it, but that’s another story. Ryu, are you certain this is what you want to do?”

“Uh… not really,” Ryu admitted. “I don’t want to kill you old man.”

The Professor laughed. “Child, it will take more than me handing the Infinity Gene over to you to kill me.”

Ryu scratched the back of his head. “But one thing, old man. How did you get under Myria’s radar?”

The old man tapped his head. “Trade secret. Ask Deis sometime.”

Ryu sighed. “Sure. Why not? Okay, old man. I’m ready when you are!”

The Professor grinned. He cracked his knuckles. “So, this is what it feels like to be on this side of the fence.” The old man smiled. He made a motions with his hand and he and Ryu vanished.

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Ryu groaned as consciousness slowly crept in. Ryu grunted and slowly sat up. He glanced around and tried to figure out what happened. The last thing he remembered was that he was talking to the old man in front of the water fountain. His currently location looked to be in some kind of ancient temple.

“Where am I?” Ryu muttered as he stood up and glanced around.

“An ancient dragon temple,” a strong male voice said from behind Ryu.

Ryu froze. He slowly turned around and nearly had a heart attack. Standing before him was a young man that looked to be about his age. It was like looking in front of a mirror. The young man looked almost identical to Ryu. But instead of Ryu’s green eyes, the man had blue and his hair was slightly longer than Ryu’s.

Ryu felt his jaw drop a little. He already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask, but he still felt the need to ask it. “Who… are you?”

The other man laughed. “Seriously? You have to ask?”

“Arg,” Ryu grunted as he ran his hands through his hair, spiking it up on the ends. “I thought you were an old man.”

The other man laughed. “I am… but the old man guise is just that, a disguise. You asked me how I stayed under the radar for so long. Remember?”

Ryu sighed and nodded. “So… magic?”

“Yes, the look was merely an illusion. Of course I wouldn’t be the old man that Jono was. I was the former Destined Child, after all.”

Ryu nodded. “This is what you meant, wasn’t it? Why it would be harder to kill you?”

The other man nodded. “Yes. I was rather hoping it would come to this, though. I have held this power for over five hundred years. It’s time to end the cycle… don’t you agree Ryu?”

Ryu nodded. “You know what I am going to do, then?”

“Yes,” the other man said. “Though I am curious as to how you plan to pull this off.”

“First things first, old man. I have to know… will this kill you?”

The other man shook his head. “No. It will… merely make me mortal once more. I will die, someday, but not after you take the Gene from me.”

Ryu looked somewhat relieved. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I’m ready… Prince Ryu.”

The other man laughed. “I am no prince… but since you insist on getting this over with…”

And with that, the other man raised his hand into the air and started to channel power. He yelled as he started to flash violently. Seconds later, he was engulfed by a gold light. When the light died down, instead of a young man, stood a massive gold and silver-scaled dragon.

Ryu blinked. “Going all out, old man?” Ryu smiled and drew his sword. “I can dig it!”

And with that, Ryu lunged at the dragon. The dragon snorted and roared. Ryu was about to lung at the dragon, but the dragon suddenly took to the air. Ryu stumbled a little bit and growled in frustration. This was going to be harder than he thought.

How was Ryu supposed to defeat a Kaiser Dragon?

Ryu didn’t have time to ponder that thought for long, for the dragon decided at that moment to swoop down and lay the smack down on Ryu’s head. Ryu yelled and barely managed to dodge the fly by beat down. Ryu spun around and got ready once again.

What could he do? He could cause the dragon to revert somehow, but how was he going to do that? That thing was massive. Ryu cursed as he dodged another swoop from the dragon.

He was going to have to think of something. He noticed that the dragon was only swooping down and trying to hit him. The dragon had never once resorted to a breath attack. Was he trying to give Ryu a fighting chance?

Ryu realized what he was trying to do. He was trying to make him think of a way. He was trying to make Ryu find another way to fight. Ryu grinned slightly to himself. Another way. It was not necessary to fight in order to get the power. The old man was just trying to show Ryu another way to fight. To win.

Ryu grinned as he reached for something in his back pocket. The dragon cocked his head and prepared for another swoop. Ryu smiled and tossed a small rock in his hand. He drew in a deep breath and let the rock fly with all his might. The rock hit the dragon square between the eyes. The dragon howled in pain and was forced to land.

Ryu smiled and took this distraction to launch a head on attack. The dragon howled as Ryu’s sword made contact with the dragon’s thigh. The dragon turned around to claw at Ryu, but Ryu easily dodged the attack and made another swipe at the dragon, this time catching the dragon’s other flank.

The dragon growled in anger and frustration and swiped Ryu with it’s tail. Ryu dodged the tail and tore into the dragon with his sword once more. The dragon howled and tried to get up, but a quick swipe with Ryu’s sword and the dragon’s wing was pierced and held in place by Ryu’s sword.

The dragon growled in annoyance and tore its wing free. The dragon moved and Ryu moved to the other side of the dragon and tore into its other wing. The dragon slammed its tail against the stone floor and howled. Ryu grinned slightly to himself and dodged another attack from the dragon’s claws.

Ryu was trying to figure out what his next move would be when the Kaiser jumped up and drew in air. Ryu froze in his tracks. A breath attack. If Ryu didn’t do something, then he was dead.

RYU!

Ryu blinked. Had he heard someone call his name? Ryu’s head snapped up. He knew what to do.

He didn’t know if this was going to work, but it was forth a shot. Ryu held his hands out and shouted, “HOLY MIRROR OF LIGHT, REFLECT WIZARDRY SPITE!”

The light shield was up just as the golden fire hit him. The fire was reflected off of the shield and sent right back at the Kaiser. The dragon howled in agony as it was burned by its own attack. Ryu’s shield went down as a light formed around the dragon. When the light died down, the other man was standing in its place with an amused look on his face.

The man was glowing slightly as he approached Ryu. “So, you managed to defeat me…”

“I wouldn’t say that…” Ryu said, but was cut off by the man.

“I’m impressed. I would hate to be the one that fights you. I have a feeling that you will do just fine in the fight against Legence.”

The man smiled as he held out his hands. A gold orb of energy appeared in his outstretched hands. He walked over to Ryu and pressed the orb against Ryu’s chest. Ryu howled in pain as the orb was absorbed into his body. Ryu convulsed once and collapsed. The man caught him before he fell to the ground.

“Well done,” the man said. The man hefted Ryu over his shoulder and glanced behind him. “I thought no one was supposed to interfere?”

Yuki’s transparent form formed behind the man. Yuki giggled and shook her head.I didn’t do anything. Ryu’s just remembered one of my spells, that’s all.

The man nodded. “So, you’re what? Deis’ errand girl now?”

Yuki shrugged. Dunno. I’m just here, that’s all.

The man nodded. “Well then, I see. Well, tell Deis I said hi and all that crap.”

Yuki nodded. Yuki turned to go. I do have another message for you.

“Oh?” the man asked. “And what’s that?”

Yuki smiled slightly. She says she misses you.

The man stopped in his tracks. “You… talked to her?” He asked.

Yuki’s smile grew wider. Actually, she talked to me. They all miss you, you know? But they know that you have a duty to perform and wait the day that you can finally join them.

The man smiled slightly. “That’s good to know.”

And with that, the man and Ryu vanished. Yuki smiled and bowed her head and vanished also.

 

To be continued…