Dragons and Demons
by Chris-Chris

Prologue: Ryu woke up in a dungeon not remembering much. He remembers sleeping under the dragon statue when he woke to the sound of soldiers running up to him. They said something to him then hit him across the head with something. He looks for the nearby guard and asked him about his crime. "You killed several people, you murderer."

'I killed... people?' Ryu asked himself. He doesn't know what's going on, but he knew he must escape and find out what the situation is.

Time and place: Two years after the defeat of Deathevn. Wyndian dungeons, cell number thirteen, 12:00 pm.

'I have to get out of here and fast. But how do I get out of here?' Ryu asked himself. He checked the back walls for any sign of weakness but didn't find any. He turned from the brick wall and looked around. After examining his cell, he looked at his cell gate. He noticed that the lower left bar was missing the bottom part. Ryu knew he could move the bar, but he would need someone else to get him out. At this point, Ryu was starting to think there was no way out of here. 'I can't transform, I don't have any of my weapons. But, how do you get out of here Ryu?' the young warrior sat on his broken down bed. 'Dammit. There has to be a way out of here.' Ryu thought.

Just then he heard a loud crashing nose coming from the front gate. "HOLD HER STILL!" Ryu heard a guard's booming voice. "PUT HER IN CELL NUMBER THIRTEEN! Let the murderer deal with this one!" He yelled once more. Ryu really didn't see why they were calling him a 'murderer' as of he didn't kill anybody. Ryu thought as the guards threw a young woman in his cell.

"YOU JERKS! I've never been so mistreated in my life!" she yelled back at them. The young girl started cussing in every sentence when she finally noticed Ryu sitting on the bed. She glared at him and yelled in his ear. "HELLLOOO! ARE YOU AWAKE? OR ARE YOU DEAF?!"

"NO! I’m not deaf!" Ryu shouted back.

"Alright, alright. You didn't have to yell..." She said. The woman turned from him to the back wall. She looked to only be seventeen. She had deep purple hair and wore a black chest plate over a dark blue shirt. She had black pants and metal boots.

"I already tried looking for a way out and I couldn't find one." Ryu told her as she looked at the brick wall. "So, what’s your name?" Ryu asked her.

"Its Trenity. Yours?" Trenity answered.

"Ryu. What are you in for?" Ryu tried keeping the conversation going.

"Oh, some jerks thought they'd mess with me, but I taught them a thing or two. How about you?" Trenity said proudly.

"They say I killed several people when I didn't... I think I know of a way out of here, Trenity." Ryu told her.

"You do?! Great! Just tell me what to do." Trenity looked at him.

"You see that bar over there? Its missing part of its bottom. If I hold it up just high enough for you to escape, well you grave the keys and get me out of here?" Ryu asked her.

"Yeah. We both know neither of us stand a chance alone. So, I'm in." Trenity assured him.

"Alright. I trust you with my life. Now, are there any guards coming?" Ryu looked down the dungeon's hall. "Good. I'm going to left it and your going to have to be quick and crawl through." Ryu told her. He walked to the broken pipe and graved it. He pulled it up just high enough for Trenity to fit through. She crawled underneath the bar and looked for the keys. Ryu sat the bar back place, then he watched Trenity.

Trenity walked along the wall quietly. She came up to the desk and saw the guard asleep. the young girl quietly graved the keys from the guard’s belt. After a moment of silence, she went back to Ryu's cell. She unlocked the gate and Ryu walked out. Trenity was smiling proudly as Ryu said, "You're like a mouse. Thank you, now if you'll follow me, I can get us out of here." Ryu turned away from her and saw the guard from earlier. 'Shit!' Ryu thought as the Wyndian soldier noticed the two and started to run towards them.

"Halt! Stop right there!" the guard yelled. Ryu looked at Trenity and nodded. Trenity looked a little confused as Ryu brought his hands into the air slowly. The guard came up to them. "How did you two escape? You’re going back in there. Yo, you! Wake up you bone head!" he said as he woke the guard from his nap.

"Excuse me officers, but I really have to leave the castle now. Forgive me for this." Ryu said as he rammed into the first soldier. They went into the wall. After Ryu knocked the first guard out, he quickly ran to the other one and threw his elbow into the other soldier’s neck. "They'll be out for a while. Come on." Ryu said as he looked at Trenity. The two ran up the dungeon hall to a set of stairs.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Ryu peeked around the corner to see no guards. 'So far clear. Good escape.' Ryu couldn't help but think. He slowly walked around the corner and walked left.

"Uhh... Ryu, the exits this way." Trenity pointed the other way.

"You go on ahead. I have to get my sword back." Ryu told her. Out of all the things that could happen to him, he would risk it all to get his Dragon blade back. That sword was the sword that the Great Dragon Lord Ladon had given him. The powerful blade had saved Ryu many times.

"Ryu. We don't have time for you and your stupid sword. We have to get out of here." Trenity said.

"Go on. I have to get it back. I'll meet you down the hall in a while." Ryu said as he continued his way down the left path. Trenity rolled her eyes and ran down the right hall.

Ryu had reached a wooden door. He opened it and carefully walked in. The room was full of swords, suits of armor, all kinds of weapons that a warrior could want. The young warrior walked to a pile of swords and started to dig for his own blade. After awhile, Ryu still didn't have his saber. 'Shit, not one of them is mine. maybe it's in the King's War room...' Ryu thought. Ryu left the room and started for the King's War room.

Ryu found another set of stairs and went up them. He came to yet, another hall. He checks the hall for any guards and found only one. He waited for the soldier to walk to the stairs, then he knocked the unexpecting man out. After setting the soldier in a spot where he wouldn't catch any attention, Ryu started his way down the Royal Hall. a little ways down, Ryu found the Throne Room doors wide open. Figuring the king would be there, Ryu hide behind one of the wooden doors. while hiding, he could hear a discussion the king was having with two other men.

"No... the worse that could happen is that that 'murderer' could escape and start killing people once again. Not only that but also the demon attacks are starting to scare the people your majesty. " the old general spoke out loud.

"Yes, but let's not worry about him. We must be concerned with the demon attacks. Admiral, what did you say about a plan?" the king turned to the new admiral.

"Yes your majesty. If you recall, the last demon attack was here in this little village of Captin. If you'll look here, you can see that the demon is circling around us," the admiral pointed out on a map. "its next attack will be some where in the grassy high lands. In the Village of Grain. I say we attack it before it starts to attack the village." the man suggested.

"Hmm... what do you think General?" the king asked.

"I think it’s a wonderful idea. I'll send my men there at dawn. the village will be cleared before the demon starts his attack. Good day your majesty." the general bowed and left the room.

"Good day, your majesty." the admiral bowed and left the room as well.

'A demon attacking the villages? could it be Deathevn? No, my friends and I defeated him.' Ryu thought. After a quick glance to see if anyone was coming, Ryu slipped past the doors and on to the War room.

When Ryu walked into the room, he saw it was a bright room with maps everywhere. In the center of the room was a table covered with more maps, around the table was suits of armor. After a minute, Ryu began he search. He looked under the table, under the maps, in the suits of armors. His sword was nowhere to be found. As he started his way to the door, he heard hills of boots clapping against the floor. Ryu had to hide somewhere. He quickly hid behind the curtains. The young warrior could see well enough who walked in. Nina came into the room and walked to the table. She started to look through the maps. As happy as Ryu was to see his long time friend, he didn't want her to see him.

After a while, Nina spoke, "Come on out Ryu. I know your there." She was still looking through the maps as Ryu came out from behind the curtains.

"Eh... how did you know it was me?" he asked, dumfounded.

"I went to the dungeons to help you out when I saw that you were gone. I figured you'd be looking for your sword. So, here. And here's you knife. Ryu..." Nina looked at him as he threw his sword strap over his shoulder. " I know you didn't kill all those people, but father does. Your a wanted men now... so, please be careful." Nina said to him.

"Don't worry Nina. I'll be just fine. You take care." Ryu said as he gave her a comforting smile. Nina smiled back as he walked past her. "Ohh, and, don't let them get you down because of your wings. I'm still your friend." he turned back to her. The black winged Princess nodded and watched him leave.

The blue haired warrior made his way down the hall only to bump into Trenity. "Ouch! Watch it!" she yelled in a whisper.

"Sorry, didn't see you down there. So, what you watching?" Ryu said as he bent down next to her.

"You see that group of guards? They're guarding something..." Trenity said as she pointed at five guards.

"But, isn't that their job? Listen, I have an idea." Ryu motioned for her to listen. She giggled as Ryu told her the plan. After Ryu had told her, she jumped up to the railed ceiling. Then she hopped to the rail above the guards. Ryu nodded as he step from behind the corner. "Hey guys... I've escaped." Ryu left himself open.

"Hey, it's that bastard who killed all those people. GET HIM!" They yelled. Just as they started moving, Trenity fell on top of the back two. The front three looked back and one almost yelled for help when Ryu came from behind and hit him in the back of the neck. Trenity quickly got to her feet and tripped the other two soldiers. Ryu graved their shields and bashed them upside the head.

"See ya'!" Trenity said as the two ran out of the palace. "we were a great team, weren't we Ryu?" Trenity laughed as they ran through the front courtyard.

"Yeah. We were." Ryu chuckled.

"Hey, do you mind if I stick with you? Until I get back on my feet that is." Trenity asked.

"Sure. But if you get hurt, don't blame me." Ryu said.

"Yeah sure. Like I'm going to get hurt! HAH! I'll blame you for anything that happens!" Trenity laughed. Ryu smiled as he looked at the drawbridge.

'Just beyond that gate is the town. I'll have to find out more about this demon and the attacker.' He thought. The two was out of the castle walls by sunrise.

chapter 2: Mysterious Demon attacks; the imposter Ryu

The sun was just starting to rise over the village houses as Ryu and Trenity were asking around about the demon attacks and the murderer. Not too many people knew about the demon attacks and they were getting very little information about the killer. Men were getting ready for work as children were running to the school building. Ryu and Trenity were inside the blacksmith's shop asking him questions.

"Nahh, they caught the blue haired guy who was killing all them people." Said the village’s blacksmith.

"What did he look like?" Ryu ask.

"Well, he had blue hair, just like you. He had a black sword and a red violet cape." The blacksmith replied.

"How well did you see him?" Ryu asked again.

"Well, he threatened a young girl and I stood up to him. Eh, I guess my bluff scared him away." he answered. "You wouldn't happen to be him, would ya'?" The weapon builder reached for his ax next to him as he eyed Ryu.

"Huh, don't worry sir. That no good crook is locked up." Trenity reassured him. The man put his ax down carefully, still looking at Ryu.

'Blue hair like me? What the hell is going on?' Ryu thought.

"Ryu, we might find some more information at the bar." Trenity suggested.

"Yeah. Come on Trenity. Thank you for your time, sir." Ryu thanked the blacksmith and left the shop.

"Ryu. I'm going to go equip myself. Don't cause any trouble at the bar." Trenity told him. She walked the opposite direction of the bar.

'She must think I'm one of those... just like Bow.' Ryu thought. He walked into the bar to see more people than he expected. The air was filled with smoke and the smell of beer. 'Good thing I have dragon lungs, achk!' Ryu thought as he coughed his way to the tender. After blowing the smoke away from his eyes, he sat down to look for any foreigners.

"Can I get you something?" The bartender asked.

"Nahh." Ryu said. The bar was pack with drunken men everywhere. Ryu's hopes of talking to anyone was decreasing.

"You look as if you’re looking for someone." the bartender remarked.

"I'm looking for someone who would know of the demon attacks. Do you know of any one?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah. You see that guy over there, in the corner... he says he survived an attack. Hey, you aren't that murderer are you?" the bartender looked at Ryu.

"No. He was caught and thrown in the dungeon. Thank you." Ryu said. The young warrior stood up. He stumbled his way over to a table with a man playing cards with three younger men.

"You cheated! You cheated you little bastard!" yelled the drunk. The other three men left the table as he banged his beer on the table, making it slip all over the place. "Whatda you want?" the drunk asked Ryu.

"Someone told me you lived through a demon attack. Can you tell me about?" Ryu asked as he sat down.

"So you’re wanting to hear about their diamond, eh? Alright... I'd just woken up to go to work... hiccup... The day started out real slow and normally... hiccup... the drunk was rocking back and forth.

I think itwer about noon when the sky went red... hiccup... everyone was coming out of their shops to see what was going on...

(he started to lean to the side, Ryu followed to keep direct eye contact)

Then a fire ball came out of the sky... hiccup... When it touched the ground, the houses around it melted... hiccup...

(he leaned the other way)

It formed a dragon... is the dragon's still alive? The creature started to destroy the village. hiccup... hiccup.. hiccup..." The man was so drunk that he fell face first onto the table.

"Thanks for your time..." Ryu said as he tossed a gold coin on the table. Ryu walked back to the front to think a little more. 'A demon who looks like a dragon... hmm.. this doesn’t sound too good.'

"Hey Ryu! So, did you find out some information?" Trenity came up to him.

"Yeah. What did you get? Some knives?" Ryu asked. He saw a set of daggers on her belt.

"Not just any old daggers. These daggers here are my special daggers. Just like you and your sword, I have my daggers." Trenity said.

"Okay, okay. As long as you know how to use them." Ryu shrugged.

"Can I order a drink?" she asked him. The tender got her a drink

"Yeah. Nothing too heavy though..." Ryu said as he handed her some gold coins. Trenity called for the tender and ordered rum. she paid for the drink and took a big sip.

"What? We going some where?" Trenity ask as she took a gulp.

"We're going to go and stop the Demon." Ryu told her.

"Demon... you mean big scary monster with scary supernatural powers? Great! So when we going?" Trenity ask. She seemed drunk. Ryu looked at her and then the Bartender.

"What has she been drinking?" He asked the bartender.

"Good and strong rum. Would you like some?" The bartender asked thoughtfully.

"No. Come on Trenity. I better get you out of here before you start getting close." Ryu said to her. Ryu stood up to walk to the door. He looked at the door and saw five guards looking at him. They were walking towards him and Trenity. "Shit! Let’s go Trenity!" Ryu shouted as he grabbed Trenity's wrist. He ran for the back door.

"Get them!" Yelled the captain. Ryu reached the back door and he turned the knob, but instead of walking out, they fell down a trap door.

"Yeahhhhh!!" Trenity yelled as if she was enjoying the fall. They came to a fork in the tunnel and Trenity went down the left side after Ryu went down the right side. Trenity landed in hard coal while Ryu landed in a soft, feathery bed.

"Ohhh. It's a man..." said a woman. Ryu had fallen into the girl's show room.

" Hey there... you look a little lonely... why don't we cheer him up, girls.." The girls in this room wore small suits, some wore bikinis and bathing suits.. They slowly walked over to him. Ryu went a little red. About ten girls were moving in on Ryu. He backed up in the bed as an attempt to escape them, but his body couldn't move.

"Umm... excuse me... ladies... but I..." Ryu said. He managed to get off the bed but now was stuck in a corner.

"Don't worry. We don't bite." Said a woman wearing a blue bikini. They were now real close to Ryu.

"Ohh... what’s with the sword and armor? Are you a strong warrior?" Asked a girl wearing a pink bunny outfit. The girls were now reaching out for Ryu's arms.

"Excuse me girls... but I really have to go..." Ryu said as he pulled their hands off of his chest. He couldn't keep up with them there were just to many hands for a guy to deal with. Ryu got to thinking about Bow.

"Noo..." the girls whined.

Just as Ryu was being covered by girls, the guards burst open the door. "Back away from him girls. He's the murderer." The captain told them. Ryu was happy to see the guards for once that day. The girls moved away from Ryu leaving him wide open for an assault.

'I don't want to kill anyone, so... I hope those lessons from Katt helps.' Ryu thought. He tightened his fist. The first front two guards moved towards Ryu. He gave the first two a good punch, but then the rest of them moved at him. Ryu was pushed down to the ground. They had Ryu on the floor for a moment but Ryu was able to pull his strength and push the guards off of him.

Ryu managed to get out of the room. While running, Ryu looked inside his pocket for his dragon tear it wasn't there. He remembers seeing it on the desk but forgot to grave it. Ryu was running down a path and he saw a group of guards being pushed back ahead of him. 'What the heck is going on?' Ryu wondered what was happening.

When Ryu reached the stairs, he saw two familiar figures. "Bow! Katt!" He said as he stop in front of them.

"Hey Ryu. Can't you stay out of trouble without us?" Katt said.

"Nice to see you too, Katt. How's it going." Ryu smiled at his friends.

"Gee, Ryu. What did you get your self into now?" Bow said.

"Later. Have you two seen a girl with dark purple hair?" Ryu asked.

"I'm right here!" Trenity said as she peeked from behind Bow.

"Good. You're safe. We have to talk. I'll explain every thing when we get outside." Ryu said. They left the bar and walked to the hotel.

Chapter 3: Secret in the Alley

Bow and Katt was in the palace talking to Nina but instead of talking normally, they were speaking in low voices.

"So you see, his Dragon tear is in the dungeon... do you think you could get it for him?" Bow asked Nina.

"Yes I can, but how is he?" Nina looked worried.

"He's alright, today was pretty rough and he's resting right now." Katt whispered.

"Good. I'll be right back. Wait in the hall." Nina said to them.

"Move fast Nina, every minute wastes time." Bow told her.

Nina walked down to the dungeons to see the guards asleep next to the walls. She sighed and walked to the front desk.

"Can I help you m'lady?" the guard asked her.

"Hmm... yes. Is there a black stone down here?" Nina asked politely.

"Well, Admiral Damine took that stone, he said if you came looking for it, you'll have to talk to him." The guard told Nina.

Nina did not like the new Admiral her father hired for their protection. She honestly had a bad feeling about this new guy...

"Alright, I'll go speak with him... thank you." Nina said good-bye and left the dungeon.

"Sorry guys, I'm going to have to speak with the admiral. I'll be right back, please have a seat." Nina offered her friends the bench and walked towards the war room.

She walked in to see the young, blue haired admiral sitting on the window seel. In his right hand was the Dragon tear.

"Good evening Admiral Damine... how are you?" Nina asked with kindness. (although she really despised the guy.)

"Great Miss Nina... how are you?" he asked without looking at her.

(The Dragon tear went black)

"Oh... I'm fine... Admiral Damine... can I see that stone?" Nina asked.

(She could feel a lump in her throat.)

"Why yes, Princess..." Damine handed her the stone. His eyes met hers, she had to look away because his eyes resembled Ryu's eyes.

"Thank you, can I keep this stone? It's really beautiful..." Nina was hoping he wouldn't know anything about her and Ryu.

"Yes you may."

"Thank you." Nina bowed her head and turned for the door.

"Oh... Princess Nina... don’t try hiding him... I know where he is..." Damine whispered from behind. He walked past her. The dragon tear was held tightly and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped the tear away and walked back to Bow and Katt.

"Good job Nina! He'll really appreciate this." Bow said. Nina handed Bow the stone.

"Tell him to be careful..." Nina told him.

"I wouldn't worry about him, Nina. He's a crazy guy... hopefully they won't get him." Katt said.

"Katt!" Bow elbowed her.

"Sorry! I'm just playing... Ryu well be just fine. Take care Nina." Katt gently patted Nina shoulder giving her a cheery smile. Nina returned her smile with a smile. The two left the palace.

"Here you go Ryu one dragon tear as you requested." Bow said.

"Thanks you guys." Ryu put his Dragon tear back in his bag.

"So... how do you plan to kill the Demon?" Katt asked in her kitten like self.

"Ok... I remembered hearing the next attack was going to be in... the Village of Grain. I believe I should go there." Ryu said.

"So what’s you plan?" Bow asked.

"My plan is to find some more information on the Demon... then I need to find that imposter." Ryu told them.

"Great. How do you plan to kill the demon?" Katt asked.

"I guess I'm just going to have to fight it as long as my dragon powers can hold..." Ryu said.

"You look like you need some rest. Take a nap Ryu. We'll meet you in the Grassy highlands in front of the Village." Bow said to his friend. He gave Ryu a big pat and walked of the hotel with Katt.

Ryu was alone until Trenity came from behind. "Hey Ryu. "

"Hey. Why don't you go on ahead to the room, I need to go outside." Ryu handed her the key and walked outside.

Ryu was outside standing against the brick wall when he heard laughter in the near by alley. He crept to the corner to listen.

"Heheh... that was real good, Damine...you're the best!" laughed an icy voice.

"Yes... making everyone believe that boy is the killer was an excellent idea to give me the opportunity to get my plan in motion." Damine chuckled.

" Yeah! Yeah! And when they find him and kill him you'll be free to take over the world! Heheh hahaha!" Laughed the voice.

"Calm down my little friend... you don't want to kill yourself Price." Damine said to Price.

'They're the ones behind all this... but why would they want me dead? I have to wake Trenity and leave town right away...' Ryu thought. He slipped back into the hotel and ran up to the room.

"Trenity. Trenity... wake up... we have to leave now... come on!" Ryu shook her. She woke up and asked,

"What's the rush?" She rubbed her eyes.

"I'll explain on the way. Come on." Ryu threw her chest armor and daggers and the two left Wyndia.

Chapter 4: Destroy the demon; a mission failure?

Ryu and Trenity were walking through a grassy field talking. The Village was up ahead and a dragon statue was off to their right. The sun was out high and dragonflies were buzzing around their heads as the summer wind blew a nice breeze.

"So, the guy Damine is the real killer... how are you going to find him? And why didn't you attack him back in the alley?!" Trenity yelled. Ryu had explained the whole situation to her, now she was complaining about it.

"If I did he would've called for the guards and then I would've been in big trouble for sure. Anyways, I think I've seen him before..." Ryu thought hard but nothing came to mind.

"Maybe you saw him in your reflection... heheh." Trenity laughed in a whisper.

"Trenity, this is noo.. whoaaa!" Ryu fell to the ground landing flat on his face. "What was that for?" He shouted. Trenity had tripped him and was on the ground herself.

She put a finger to her mouth and looked down the hill. "The soldiers are down near the village... look." She pointed out.

Ryu looked down the hill to see a camp with several soldiers waiting for the demon. As they sat there planning and watching every little soldier the cautious man felt something poking his shoulder. He expected a soldier so he slowly reached for his sword hilt... as/when he had a hold of the hilt, he quickly drew it out to attack.

"WHOAA!!" Katt yelled as she flew back to dodge Ryu's blade. She hit the ground bottom first and sat there in pain.

"Katt!! I'm sorry! I thought you were... you were a..." Ryu tried to apologize but she held a hand out to stop him speaking then rubbed her bottom.

"Hey buddy... you look good in green... hey there Trenity." Bow said. (His Cheeks turned a little red)

"Hi Bow and Katt!" Trenity said cheerfully. Ryu, Bow and Katt bent down to the ground.

"So... what do you plan to do?" Katt asked Ryu. Her ears twitched as Ryu took a deep breath.

"I dunno... still thinking... did you guys find out any thing on the Demon?" Ryu turned to them.

"Kind of... you remember how you were, supposedly, killing the people? Well, at the same time the demon was attacking the first village, Vilina. Now, if you think about it, the demons can't work without someone controlling them... and what better way to control a demon then causing pain and hatred?" Bow said.

"Hmmm... but how could the demons be resurrected? It doesn't make sense... hey, have you guys heard of someone named Damine?" Ryu started to say when Trenity elbowed Ryu's ribs.

"They're coming!" She told him.

"Huh?" Ryu looked down the field to see three soldiers running up towards them. "Shoot! Okay! Bow, you and Katt wait for me in the village. Trenity, you go wait at the dragon statue and don't move from there, wait for the demon to come. I'll meet with you then." Ryu told them. Trenity and Katt jumped up.

"No way! I'm not letting you go alone! There's no telling what they'll do to you!" Katt yelled at him.

"Yeah! If your going then I'm going!" Trenity shouted. Ryu sighed and looked at Bow for some assistance. Bow shrugged.

"You must go. I don't want you guys harmed due to what they believe. I can't afford to have you guys harmed. If something bad is to happen to me, then you will have to stop the demon with out me. Please?" Ryu pleaded. Katt bit her lip as Trenity sobbed. Bow placed a hand on Katt's shoulder.

"Katt, you know he's right... now come on." Bow said to her.

"Alright. But be careful!" Katt yelled at Ryu. Bow and Katt ran off to the village as Trenity ran for the dragon statue. Ryu took off the cape and stretched out his arms. "Ignore them! It's me you want!" Ryu yelled at the soldiers. They ran up to Ryu and bashed him upside his head with their shields. Ryu hit the ground hard and was beaten until he was unconscious..

Ryu was reawakened by cold water splashing in his face. "Wake up! Wake up!" someone shouted at him. Ryu opened his eyes and tried to move, but only to notice that his hands were tied to a pole. He looked around to see a tent and a table that three Wyndian soldiers sitting around it, two on the right and one on the left. In the right hand corner, was his sword.

"What time is it?" Ryu asked.

"It's eight o'clock and all is well... too well I'll say." answered the soldier on the left as he put down a bucket.

"Can I speak to your General? As my last request?" Ryu asked.

"I'm already here..." said a voice at the entrance. Ryu looked to see an old man wearing Wyndian clothing. His gray hair was slicked back and his uniform was premind pressed. "Men, I'd like to speak with him alone... thank you." The general dismissed them as they left.

There was a long pause before either of them spoke.

"So, you're the famous hero Ryu, eh? Princess Nina speaks of you often..." the general looked at Ryu's Dragon tear.

"Yes... er... is she alright?" Ryu asked.

"Yes, she is... but is very worried about you... she doesn't believe you killed those people, so, I'll have some trust in you as well." The general cut the rope that was binding Ryu to the center pole. Ryu stood up and rubbed his wrist.

"I need you to warn Nina for me... a guy named Damine is the real killer... he's planning on controlling the world. If not, then he'll destroy it. Can you tell her that?" Ryu told the old man.

"You must be talking about the admiral... come to think of it. He does have a great resemblance to you... she has been complaining to her father bout him... alright, I'll tell her... you wait here." the general turned to walk out of the tent.

"General, sir, be careful." Ryu told him. The general smiled and step outside.

"Ryu reequipped himself with his weapon's then sat on the bench. He waited for a while when he heard a noise. Ryu looked around the room to see nothing of the source. He then looked at the floor. Trenity, apparently, had dug a small tunnel in the ground of the tent and was peeking in, smiling weakly.

"Trenity! What are you doing her?! I thought I told you to stay at the statue," Ryu yelled at her in a whisper.

"But... but... I thought you would like to know that the demon is about to appear..." Trenity told him.

"WHAT?!!" That time, the guards heard him.

"Hey, what's going on in there?"

"Shoot, hang on, I'll be out in a minute." Ryu told her. Her head disappeared. Ryu started to dig the hole a little deeper so he could crawl through. When the hole was deep enough, Ryu slipped through and met Trenity on the other side. "Go back to the statue and wait there. I'll see you in a few minutes." Ryu sound as if he hoped this battle wasn't going to take very long. After they separated, Ryu started his way through the back part of the camp, knocking out any guard who saw him, to the village.

When he ran into the village, nothing seemed to be wrong. 'Where is it?' Ryu asked himself. He looked around the dark, quiet village but saw nothing. 'Good, at least the general had the village clear before it came...' he thought.

Suddenly, a loud, cracking sound came from the sky. He looked up to see the clouds turning brown and the stars disappearing into a red flare. The sky was blood red when a yellow and orange fireball appeared above Ryu. It drew closer and closer Ryu had to roll out of the way of its impact. He was nearly burned by a spark of lava. The warrior turned around to see the fireball forming a creature. It formed a body, long skinny arms, muscular legs and a large alien like head. Flames appeared on it's back to form wings like a dragon's.

The demon threw its arm into some buildings causing the building to burn and fall in ruin. Ryu was almost hit by a burning piece of timber but he fell to the ground in order to avoid it. ''I have to do something fast!" he couldn't think clearly though. Ryu didn't notice the Wyndian soldiers running to the battleground from behind until he heard a yell.

"Get in formation men! Don't be afraid of it!" The general yelled. His men all formed an attack tactic to attack the huge beast. Arrows flew by Ryu's head at the demon only to be unaffected.

"NO! Get out of here!" Ryu yelled at them. But the men stood their grounds ready to fight till the death. "er... I guess I'm going to have to transform now... (ice dragon... grant me the ability of ice force...)" Ryu pleaded to his blood line of his dragon powers. As his blood ran quickly through his veins, his skin was changing color. a flashing blue light engulfed Ryu as he transformed into an ice dragon. When the transformation was complete, Ryu was now a huge ice, blue dragon. He unfolded his might wings and the ground below him froze in an instant.

"Retreat!! Retreat!!" Yelled the men. The soldiers ran out of the village. They never imagined a dragon and a demon in one spot together.

The village was in flames and the ice dragon knew it didn't have much of a chance in this inferno, so, it had to end this battle quickly. Ryu used an ice blast at the demon. The demon shouted and countered with a slash at Ryu's chest. The dragon charged at the demon knocking them to the ground. The demon got up before the dragon and charged for a fireball assault. By the time Ryu stood up on its hind legs, the demon launched the attack. Ryu couldn't escape the attack. As it drew nearer and nearer, the dragon's hope of winning turned down.

"Dark powers of Death I summon thee! Death slice!" Trenity yelled as a blast of dark magic shot from her fingers. The dark attack deflected the demons fiery blast.

"Cure two!" Bow yelled as he healed Ryu.

"Finish it, RYU!" Trenity yelled.

The ice dragon’s chest puffed up as it sucked in the air getting ready to attack. As its last attack, the ice dragon fired a powerful ice breath. The demon threw its arms around in pain as it got one last hit in the dragon before it died. Ryu fell back and hit the ground. The ice dragon was no more and Ryu was back at his normal self. The village was in flames and Bow had to carry Ryu around.

"You two girls go back to Windier, hurry up... here they come." He told them.

"Hold it Bow! I'm not letting you guys go alone again!" Katt argued once again.

"Katt, we don't have time for this! You two get outta here and try to find a way to get us out of there once we're in the dungeons. Now go." Bow told her. Katt and Trenity ran for the nearby woods as Bow and Ryu was taken by the Wyndian soldiers.

"Hey buddy... wake up..." Bow said. Ryu opened his eyes to see complete darkness.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"We're in the Wyndian castle's dungeon... gee, they must really think your dangerous now..." Bow said.

Ryu felt something metal around his legs, and arms. He couldn't move. "Where are the girls? Are they all right?" Ryu asked. (He tried to move his hand but couldn't.)

"I told 'em to run... careful, they have you chained up to the wall." Bow told him. He figured Ryu would wander what was going on.

"So... just using my power to save everyone's life, they think I'm going to kill them... man what a crazy week this has been..." Ryu said weakly.

"That's the problem... we DIDN'T kill the DEMON. There're still MORE out there..." Bow said.” Nina said that there is more out there... so, we failed to kill of the demons... sorry buddy..." Bow said lowly.

The two didn't talk for a long while. Ryu had several thoughts go through his head all at once. Then, the dungeon door flew open.

"Who is it buddy?" Bow asked.

"Hang on..." Ryu fixed his eyes. After a minute or two, the young blue haired warrior saw Damine! In the palace of his best friend!

"Hmmm... it's him alright... Bring him to the tower... heh." Damine could see Ryu in the dark even though the torches were way behind him.

"Buddy... what's wrong?" Bow asked as he saw a group of soldiers with torches come up to their cell. They walked in and clubbed Ryu upside the head knocking him out. Then, they unlocked his chains and dragged the dragonic warrior out of the dungeon.

Chapter 5; Ryu vs. Damine

The guards were dragging Ryu up Nina's tower. As they past by Nina's bedroom door, the Wyndian princess happens to notice them. She peeked her head out to see them dragging Ryu up the stairs. "Excuses me sirs'... where are you taking him?" she asked politely.

"Admiral Damine wanted him brought up to the tower m'lady." the guard on the left answered.

"Very well then. I shall be the one to witness his punishment." Nina nodded and followed behind them. She couldn't bare seeing Ryu like that, but she knew if she was going to help she had to follow them. They went up the spiraling staircase to reach a wooden door that would lead to the top of the tower. The soldiers opened the door and shuffled Ryu through it.

"Princess Nina... how great it is to see you out here to watch this criminal’s punishment... men, could you leave us alone?" Damine gave them a look and the soldiers left the tower.

"Damine, I have reason to believe you are the one behind all the demon attacks, and you are the real murderer... is this true?" Nina demanded.

"Why yes Princess... I'm surprised you figured it out..." Damine chuckled.

"So... your the one who is controlling the demons... why? Why would you have such horrible creatures killing so many people?" Nina asked her tone sounded a little heart broken.

"Because... they destroyed my life. I hate them all to hell! They murdered my family! Destroyed my village! And completely destroyed my life!" Damine yelled.

"Who!? Who did, Damine?!" Nina asked softly.

"The demons! They killed them in front of my eyes and burned my village. And now, its time for a little pay back! But because of Ryu and his friends, I cannot get revenge on Deathevn. Instead, Deathevn came to me and told me he'd give me the power to control his monsters only if I were to destroy the destined child. But, I have other plans instead of killing that weak dragon there and his friends. I'll destroy the world instead!" Damine shouted.

"You cannot do that! I won't let you!" Nina yelled almost panicky.

"What are you going to do? Price! Get her!" Damine yelled. Nina didn't have a chance to move when Price came from behind and graved her neck. He turned the princess around and kicked her into the back wall. As Nina sat next to the pillar, she could feel tentacles moving around her body.

"Ryu...."

"....."

"Ryu... get up my destined child..."

"Mom?"

"Get up Ryu... your friends are in danger..." Ryu could hear his mom’s soft, dragon like voice speaking to him.

"But mom, I don't have the strength to fight anymore... I feel like all my energy's being drained from my body... I can't save them anymore..." Ryu cried.

"Don't say that my son... you are a dragon... you have your friend's faith in you... do you plan to give up? After you defeated Deathevn? How can you say that when you have friends to protect and people you care about?! Now wake up... my son..." Valirie said. Ryu could feel his mother's warm touch and strength flowing within his blood. "I'll always love you..."

Ryu reopened his eyes to find himself on top of Nina's tower. He could feel the wind's high gust and the roaring of a thunderstorm around him. the brave warrior stood up only to be pushed by a gust of wind. "Well well well... what do we have here? The dragon boy has finally awoken. Heh. It's too late kid! I already have the Princess and the power to control the demons! Your just too late!" Damine shouted.

"What have you done with her?! Where is she?!" Ryu shouted. He had such the urge to cut Damine's throat.

"She right over there... eh." Damine pointed to a machine that had half of Nina's body. The machine looked much like the one back in Evari, the one that had Ganer, Ryu's father, in it. It was glowing red ever five seconds. Ryu tried to get her unattached but Price came from above and hit Ryu across the face with a pole. Ryu looked back at the attacker and saw that Price was a small and skinny man. He had pale skin and black-slicked hair. His eyes were black and he wore only black pants.

"Heheeh! Lets see you try that again!" Price laughed. Ryu wipe the trail of blood from his mouth and looked at Damine.

"What kind of machine do you have her attached to?!" He demanded.

"The same machine that had your father Ryu. It is taking away her energy and is giving it to me... you know how hard it is to control demons without strong enough energy. You can't save her now Ryu, she's almost dead, heh." Damine chuckled. As he talked, Ryu thought he heard a voice from the past. A cold, cruel voice that he remembered all too well. It was a voice to Deathevn.

"How dare you use her as a source for your evil intensions... she is needed for her people and she is my friend. I won't let you take her." Ryu said calmly as he closed his eyes. 'Master Ladon... this will probably be the last time I use this sword... so please lend me your strength and power... help me save my friend once again...' Ryu asked his Dragon God, Ladon, for his help. A silver illuminated ball appeared above Ryu. He reached out for it and the ball turned into a sword. He turned to look at Price.

"Heheh... what are you looking at? Gotta staring problem? Heh!" Price laughed.

"No... just planning..." Ryu said.

"You better make that smirk disappear before I make it disappear for you." Price was getting angry.

"Alright, come get me..."

"Errrrr! I can't hold back anymore Damine! He's dead!!" Price charged at Ryu.

"No! Price! You fool!" Damine yelled. Ryu swiftly moved his sword vertically then thrust his Dragon blade through Price. "Errr, you'll pay for that!" Damine yelled. He threw his hand in the air and started chanting, 'I’m wind I’m power! My holy gust shall defeat your power! I’m wind I’m power! My holy gust shall defeat your power!' He kept repeating these words over and over and with each repeated set, a yellowish-green area grew bigger around him. After the fifth phrase, he shouted " Gust of WIND!" He fired a huge, spear like, wind attacking at Ryu. The blue haired dragon had no chance of escape and was hit sharply in the stomach. Ryu flew off the edge.

The dragon warrior had no way of transforming due to the pain he was feeling. He was inches from the ground when a Great, pink bird caught him. "Mina! Thank you for saving me! Now take me up the tower to save Nina!" Ryu thanked the bird and held on tightly as the Great Bird flew up the tower.

About half way up the tower, Ryu stood up on the birds back. 'I call upon the powers flowing within my veins... the dragon blood that grants me power to protect people... I command thee Thunder Dragon to help me in the request!' "THUNDER DRAGON!" Ryu shouted. The storm clouds built up with flashes of lighting. Ryu was hit by a clap of lighting as a yellow light came from his body. He opened his eyes, they were now that of a serpent. He jumped off the birds back to transform in a clad of lighting into a thunder dragon. The Great Bird flew away from the battle until she would be needed again.

Ryu flapped his mighty wings and flew for Damine. "So, you want to fight as DRAGONS do you? Alright then..."Damine said. He closed his eyes as red light surrounded him. The light grew brighter as his dragon wings grew from his back. No sooner did his transformation start did it end with a Black dragon replace Damine. Damine snorted and flew after Ryu. Ryu got ready for the black dragon by flapping his wings and went higher into the air. Damine followed as he inhaled air to breath out fire. The thunder dragon moved to the side and summoned lighting to strike Damine but was only to be deflected by Damine. The dark dragon caught up with Ryu and hit Ryu across the face with his spike tail. Ryu roared in pain.

Chapter 6: The battle of Dragons, the destined child's destiny

The mighty Thunder dragon roared in pain as it flew back away from Damine. A huge scar was left across Ryu's chest from the slash of the black dragon. Ryu gathered power within his mouth and charged for a blast of thunder. He let the energy burst go after Damine. The black warrior ducked in time and flapped his wings causing an ultra sound wave. Ryu didn't have enough speed to move and was hit by the sharp pain. Wounded and worn, Ryu didn't know how much longer he could fight, but he knew he must stay in battle. He called upon the light blots that flashed in the sky and used them on Damine. But no matter where the black dragon went, the jolts missed him.

"Is that the best you can do?" Damine said in his deep, rough, dragon voice.

Back in the forest near Windier, Katt and Trenity awaited for a prefect moment to save the boys. Katt looked into the sky and saw odd lighting bolts that were not like a normal thunderstorm. "Katt, I don't like the looks of this storm..." Trenity whimpered.

"Nor do I... it has to be Ryu... come on, we're going to help him." Katt said. The two were in the forest camping. Katt stood up from her seat and graved her staff. Trenity stood up as well. "Come on, we're going to Windia." Katt and Trenity walked out of the woods to find Mina flying towards them. "Mina!! Can you take us to Windia?" Katt asked the giant bird. She nodded her head and tilted for the to climb on. After both girls were on, Mina took off for the palace where Ryu fought Damine.

The people of Windia were beginning to think it was the end of their lives and started running for the hills to watch helplessly over the Dragon battle and watch their village get caught up in the fight. The dragon's continued their battle and as they continued, Mother Nature's balance in power among the creatures was losing its control. The planet shook and disasters were happening everywhere. Ryu wasn't doing too well and it looked like Damine was taking it easy. Ryu feared the worst for the world now. His strength was draining fast and is powers were so low he could de-transform at any moment.

"Shit! That's Ryu, and another dragon?!" Katt screamed as they approached the castle. The huge bird flew towards the gates. "First we get Bow... then we help Ryu... got it?" Katt told Trenity. The two jumped off of Mina and ran into the palace. Katt and Trenity ran as fast as they could to the dungeons where Bow waited helplessly in his cell. They arrived in the dungeons, "Bow! What cell are you in?!" Katt yelled and waited for a replay.

"DOWN HERE!!!" Bow screamed like he was in a life or death situation. Katt followed the sound of his voice. She found his cell and busted the door open. Bow was screaming like a baby.

"Why are you screaming!! IT HURTS MY EARS YOU KNOW!!" Katt yelled at him.

"Ahhh!! SPIDERSSS! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" he screamed more.

"Uhh, you big baby! Now come on!" Katt broke the chain that held Bow to the wall. He stumbled to his feet. "Ryu's fighting right now and he needs our help!" Katt told him. The three ran outside the palace. Bow saw his best friend losing to another dragon. Bow thought of a quick healing spell.

"HEAL!" he shouted. Bow cast his heal spell on Ryu. Ryu had recovered from his wounds but had no magic to stay as a dragon. Ryu detransformed near the tower. He landed and rolled to shake off the bad landing.

"Thanks Bow!" Ryu looked at Nina. He ran to her and griped his sword handle. "Let me get you out of here..." he said softly. Ryu looked back up at Damine, the dark dragon was beginning to call the demons. Ryu started to chop the machine up. He freed Nina's right arm and legs. After slicing the last piece of machinery, Ryu held the faintly girl in his arms. Bow, Katt, and Trenity ran up the tower the two.

"Is she all right?" Bow asked.

"She's just fainted. She'll be all right. Come on, we better get down from here before mister big, bad, and ugly notices he can't control the demons anymore." Ryu said to them. He walked to the edge and waited for Mina. The Great Bird flew to them and lifted them from the ground. Ryu left Nina with her younger sister. "Take her out of here, Mina." Ryu told her.

"So, whose mister big, bad, and ugly?" Katt smirked.

"Damine... he's a dragon clans member just like me... Katt, can you do one spell?" Ryu asked her.

"Yep."

"Good. Your going to use that spell while I distract him... can you do it?" Ryu gave her that friendly smile.

"You bet!" Katt said cheerfully.

"Yo! Damine! Come get me!" Ryu yelled out. Damine snorted and charged for Ryu. "Wait for it... wait for it... and, NOW!" Ryu moved from in front of Katt just as she fired her flame spell. Damine didn't expect this and was hit by the fireball. He crashed to the ground landing in front of Ryu. Ryu looked over him to see if he was dead. Bow and Trenity.

"Is, he dead?" Nina asked.

"I think so..." Ryu said. They all turned to say something to one another when each were swallowed by a black go. It was the demons. Damine was back to his normal state and alive. He stood up to speak with them.

"My... I didn't expect that..." he chuckled. He pushed his hands forward making a force push the heroes into the castle walls, no sooner after they touched the wall did the goo turn into stone covering their body but not their heads. "Now, I will make you watch as the people around you die!" Damine tried calling a demon but none came. "What? What has happened?!" he screamed.

"Hah! Looks like father has left you Damine! You can not control the demons anymore!" Trenity yelled. They all looked at her.

"Who are you little girl?! What do you mean?!" Damine demanded.

"My Name is Trenity de Evan! I’m Deathevn's daughter. You cannot control the demons. They left you as soon as Ryu got Nina out of that machine father made. Ha, you're going to die any minute now!" Trenity laughed.

"What do you mean Trenity?" Ryu asked her as if he didn't want to believe any of this.

"Sorry Ryu. But I’m the daughter of the man you tried to kill. He is still alive and he'll be back. I was trying to find you and tell you but when I heard of the demon attacks I figured I should wait till we found out what was going on. I'm sorry." Trenity said softly.

"It's okay. Right now we have to stop him." Ryu told her. He started to remember what his mother had told him.

"Don't say that my son... you are a dragon... you have your friend's faith in you... do you plan to give up? After you defeated Deathevn? How can you say that when you have friends to protect and people you care about?!"*

Ryu pulled his strength together. He remembered his friends and the power of Anifini within him. His body changed form as he powered his strengthened to the power once more. The same power he had defeated Deathevn with. After a moment, the stone cocoon was broken and Ryu was as a dragon. The Anifini dragon.

"So, back for more are we? Hah!" Damine laughed.

"Damine, we dragons were not meant to destroy. Our mission is to protect those who are weak. I do not believe you are one of me... you use your power to hurt the weak. As for that, I have no choice but to kill you!" Ryu yelled. Damine looked at him with a scornful laugh. The two got ready to fight when Trenity suddenly busted out of her block.

"Dragons should not fight each other... not like this." she said.

"What are you going to do little girl?" Damine shouted.

"I'm going to seal you back where you came from!" Trenity yelled. She put her arms in a criss cross pattern. A blue light appeared in front of her. She started to mumble something then fired the bright light at Damine. The dark, dragonic man countered and charged for Trenity. Trenity couldn't move. She was too shocked to move. Ryu crashed into Damine. The Anfini dragon flew above him and powered up for a powerful attack. Damine looked up at the almighty dragon in fear. Ryu released the beam of energy at Damine. The once strong imposter hollered in pain as the beam destroyed him. Ryu detransformed and the others were free from their compartment. They all looked at one another and smiled.

-Gate; a month later-

Ryu stood in front of the ancient gate that his mother once guarded. Soon, he would too. "I miss you mum. I found sis. I know my place is to be here guarding the gate but give me just a little more time." Ryu stopped when he heard a voice saying,

"A little more time and Nina will kill us for being late to your wedding. Besides, you’re the groom. Then she'll really have your head." Trenity walked up to him.

"No kidding. Boy, I didn't think she'd say yes." Ryu chuckled.

"Well your majesty, she won't be your wife if you’re late. Come on. We need to get going." Katt said as she too walked up to him.

"All right. Give me a minute." Ryu chuckled. The two girls left him. Ryu looked back at the gate. ' Yeah, just a little more time...'

The end

Maintained by:

d Galloway (Insert Image Here)