Ninja Gaiden: Legendary

Chapter 4: Fateful Confrontation

As Ryu nears the inevitable confrontation with the head of the NUKPANA, the world around him begins to distort. An eerie indescribable feeling lingers in the air; something completely unnatural, as if the energies of the world seem to overwrite the Dragon Ninja out of existence. Although slightly anxious, he knew what he must do. The power of then Clairvoyance stone is an abomination; a curse rather than a gift to man. And now a psychopath had acquired the artifact and placed the entire plane of existence in jeopardy.

My first official mission. And already the world is depending on me... No matter, I must fulfill my duties as Dragon Ninja, regardless of the outcome.

Ryu finds no time to linger on these feelings as he finally reaches his destination, courtesy of his enemy of course.

"Go to your demise fool. I will enjoy this greatly." After his taunt, the Necromancer vanishes, leaving Ryu in a dark corridor. The Dragon Ninja's strides become hesitant as he maneuvers through the pitch black of the corridor. Eventually, his eyes begin to capture traces of light. The air also seems to have its own gravitational pull from the direction of the light, causing a slight feeling of bittersweet lethargy.

Eventually, Ryu arrives at his destination, a door permeating with radiant energy in front of him; the hinges are coated in a luminescent golden light. With a deep sigh, Ryu prepares to grab the hand to open the door.

It is tim-

"Sssss-AAh!" The Dragon Ninja rapidly squints his eyes and grips his head, hissing in sudden pain.

What was that…? Ryu questions in thought. After the migraine shifts to a slight throb, his eyes return to the matter at hand.

Must be the clairvoyance's stones power… No matter.

The Dragon Ninja narrows his eyes in determination and begins to open the door to meet his challenge. Immediately, a bright light envelops him and temporarily takes away his vision.

"So you have come at last dragon cub."

As Ryu's eyes adjust to the light, he spots the man of the hour himself sitting on an invisible space of air with his back to the Dragon Ninja. He is clad in red-combat armor and has a long black broadsword attached to his back. He appears to be wearing a dark hood, concealing any trace of his true being from sight. Ryu's eyes trace the room, more notably lingering on the multi coloured energies that transiently coat the enclosed area. The lights cycle around the room, before returning to the NUKPANA master and then repeating the process erratically.

"Give me the stone and no harm will come to you." Ryu declared vehemently.

The red-clad armored man chuckles in response. "Is that so?"

This is it.

The NUKPANA master begins to turn from his place facing the wall. He then lowers himself to the ground with his arms folded as his amber eyes never leave Ryu, watching him like a hawk. Ryu grips his sword in anticipation as he lowers the hood of his red-combat armor.

"As you may already know, I am the leader of the NUKPANA. My name is Makai." Makai has now fully lowered his mask showing a pale skinned youthful face. His wild dark-blue hair sprouts out in every direction, cascading down his neck.

"I will give you one final warning. The power you possess is completely unfathomable. It is a hazard to all of existence!"

Makai rears his head back and chuckles.

"But that's the thrill! We humans have been denied such luxury from the pathetic dragon gods for too long! In fact, didn't the very gods you fools worship become corrupted in their own manner?"

Ryu scowls angrily in response.

"If your own gods cannot even control themselves we're does that leave their offspring?"

"You will regret saying that." Ryu unsheathes the Dragon Blade and prepares for battle.

Makai scoffs, "Will I now? Don't be a fool. I can see it in your eyes Hayabusa."

"What!?"

Makai stares at Ryu in a calculating manner, "Oh yes. I see you have tasted the very power your kind despises. I can sense your internal struggle. Just give in." He smirks and cracks the bones in his neck, "I promise the reward is greater than anything you could ever imagine."

Ryu's eyes narrow, "Shut up! That is none of your damn business!".

Makai shrugs nonchalantly, "Hmph. Very well. If you will not listen to reason, then perhaps I can show you power not even the Dragon Gods could control!".

The wind begins to pick up and the erratic energies of the room surround Makai. The psychotic NUKPANA leader cackles loudly as the godlike power of the Clairvoyance stone radiates through him.

"HAHAHAHA! MY POWER IS WITHOUT RIVAL!".

Ryu's eyes widen as the energies surrounding Makai expand and tear away at the walls holding the room together. The power shoots up like a rocket above the NUKPANA leader and completely shatters the building's ceiling. The Dragon Ninja reflexively dodges the falling rubble with graceful flips and spins until the destruction dies down. The building has now completely collapsed exposing the two warriors to the night air. Ryu surveys his surroundings and notices that the color of the sky has changed; it is now purplish red. Lightning crackles and jolts through the overhanging clouds as the unnatural and devastating powers of the Clairvoyance stone have accepted Makai as its master.

Makai calms as the energies focus around him and form his aura. Ryu readies the Dragon Blade and assumes a wider stance, stretching his legs in the process.

"You will die here tonight" Makai smirks and takes an open palmed stance.

Ryu teleports to Makai with lightning speed using his traditional "Blink" technique. As he prepares to slash, the NUKPANA master easily sidesteps and sways his hand, swatting the Dragon Ninja aside. Ryu kips up and starts a running pace, throwing multiple shuriken at his foe. Makai forms an energy shield stopping the shuriken in mid-air; he then multiplies the shuriken by adding his own energy, and fires them back at Ryu.

"Oh sh-"

Makai chuckles as Ryu struggles to dodge the almost unlimited amount of shuriken redirected at him.

"This is it? The pathetic Dragon Gods have entrusted you fools to protect this world? What a laugh!"

As stamina begins to wear him down, Ryu begins to take slight damage. Makai eventually stops his onslaught and looks amusedly at the Dragon Ninja.

"Show me your true power!" Makai removes the broadsword attached to his back and charges Ryu unexpectedly. Ryu raises his Dragon Blade to challenge his foe's weapon. The two lock eyes; One a glare and one in amusing contempt.

"You are too weak!" The two break away and begin a flurry of counter slashes, each trying to find an opening to strike but easily swatted away in reciprocity.

The two eventually pull away and stare each other down. Ryu heavily breathes to refill his lungs with stamina whilst his opponent looks on with discontent.

"What makes you think you can control a power not even the gods could control!? There is a reason our creators despised its very existence!"

Makai sighs and shakes his head disappointedly. "Ha. You, a mere child are questioning me about control!? Get over yourself Dragon cub. Perhaps you can begin talking like a man a few years from now, but until then you are, and will remain, a useless fool."

The NUKPANA master begins to slowly raise a finger in front of his face, "This is quite the bore. I will give you one last chance to hit me with everything you got", he closes his fist suddenly, "and then its lights out Dragon Ninja".

Damn it! I was hoping not to resort to this. Putting everything I have into this attack will surely kill me, unless…..yes that should work…. But only this time!

Ryu narrows his eyes. "Very well then."

The Dragon Ninja grunts and then folds his hands with his two fingers overlapping; he then begins his meditative chant as he gathers energy.

"RoooooooaAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" A radiant blue aura bursts into existence around his frame and shoots up and around in a sporadic manner.

"Rin! Pyo! To! Sha! Kai! Chin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!" He finishes his chant by jumping into the air and thrusting his hands backward and forming a cup to gather energy.

Here I go!

Makai traces the Dragon Ninja with his eyes . "RoooooooaooooaaaaaaaaHHHHH!" Ryu fires the blast towards his opponent. The blue and gold blaze of energy completely overwhelms the sky with bolts of electricity.

The blast directly hits Makai causing the NUKPANA master to scream in pain.

"W-What! Impossible!" The blast eventually consumes Makai and an explosion of colossal magnitude ensues. The shockwave travels, ripping off stone, dirt, rocks and even small cars alike.

Electricity crackles across the entire land after it finally fades into clear sight. Makai is nowhere to be seen. Ryu, completely spent by his final attack, collapses on both knees, sweat dripping off his brow.

"Yes…pant….pant…..I have done it… and as expected I have not perished….looks like that abomination refuses to abandon me still".

Ryu sighs in frustration, "Damn it…!" When he finally regains his strength, Ryu stands straight up and spots his enemies broken broadsword. He walks over and begins to inspect it.

"Perhaps I should take this to Father as a token...?" Ryu's eyes furrow as he contemplates his next action. Suddenly, his communicator buzzes, startling him from his stupor.

"This is Ryu Hayabusa, what is it?"

Irene can be heard on the other line sounding anxious and concerned, "Ryu, what's been going on over there!? The city is crawling with fiends! Your people seem to have the situation under control but we are assisting anyway we can"

"That won't be required, although thanks for the effort. I have defeated the leader of operation and will retu-UH"

The unsuspecting Dragon Ninja is impaled by an invisible force and hoisted into the air.

Slowly a harsh cacophony of metallic whistling sounds begins to resonate and a sword begins to materialize, sprouting from Ryu's chest and covered in his blood.. Ryu follows its reconstruction with his eyes before shockingly discovering it trailing to a figure.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"W-what?"

Makai stands perfectly unscathed.

"Surprised?" Makai imaples the Dragon Ninja deeper with a grunt.

"GAaAAGUH", Ryu coughs blood, dropping the Dragon Blade in response, his eyes wide in horrific shock. Makai holds him in place with one arm on his broadsword.

"How does it feel? Knowing your victory to be nothing more than a figment of your imagination?"

Ryu gives no response and continues to cough in pain and agony.

"I said…." Makai impales Ryu even further "HOW DOES IT FEEL?"

The Dragon Ninja cracks open an eye, the colour has changed to a yellowish hue, "F-Fuck you"

Makai scowls while reaching up and ripping the Dragon Ninja's mask off of his head.

"I want to see your face. The horror in your eyes as I take everything from you."

Makai swings his sword with ferocity, causing his victim to fly onto a cold stone wall. Ryu coughs out blood harshly at instant impact and slowly slides down, leaving a ragged dark red trail. He attempts to cling onto consciousness, but his eyelids become heavy and his vision blurry, preventing any clarity or hope of doing so.

Makai chuckles malevolently before stretching his arms above his head nonchalantly, "Let's see….First, I'm going to kill that wretched bitch that constantly gives me an earful. What was her name….uh…..Kureha?"

Ryu's dead green eyes widen.

"Then, I'm going to go to your village and rip your dear old papa apart with my bare hands"

"You bastard…."

"Speaking of your village, don't worry, I'll give that plenty of attention too. Then you and your kin can happily prance around like a bunch of fools, singing your words of godly praise in the afterlife! HAHAHAHAHA!"

This can't be happening…

BOOM!

A massive boot collides with the NUKPANA master's face, sending him crashing into a wall as he drops his sword.

"Is that a fact?"

Jo Hayabusa has arrived!

"D…d…ad" Ryu groans out gleefully.

Jo looks over to his son, "Don't move son. You are gravely injured."

Ryu suddenly gasps as he takes in a large amount of oxygen to feed his starving and gravely injured lungs. His eyes open and he subconsciously thinks.

"You don't say you asshole?"

Who said that..?

Suddenly, a large rumble quakes into existence. A large piece of rock is swatted aside revealing Makai who emerges unscathed brushing himself off.

"So the elder Hayabusa has made his appearance."

"That's right, and you're so called godlike powers did not save you from that attack just now."

Makai scoffs, "My apologies. I guess I was preoccupied making your cub into a shiskebab than paying attention to my surroundings for a moment."

Jo Hayabusa angrily grits his teeth and clenches his fist, "You piece of trash! You will pay for hurting my son!"

"Hmph. Well then, how about we settle this with an old fashioned fisticuffs?" Makai cracks his fingers and readies himself in a stance.

"Fool. I'm not here to spar with you"

Jo Hayabusa unsheathes the Dragon Sword.

"However, you may do so regardless"

After a few moments of silence, the two masters begin their battle, opening with an all-out flurry of slashes and punches.

Ryu struggles to stay awake. He lies in a pool of his own blood and his ninja garb is in tatters from Makai's relentless beating. Eventually his eyelids become too heavy, and he succumbs to darkness…

Thump….thump….thump…..

The sound of a slow distinct heartbeat can be heard, slowly echoing in the midst.

The fighting is barely audible in the background.

Thump….thump…..thump…..

"Hehehehe"

W-wh-o-se, t-there?

"Your FaaaAther has sent you to your DeeeaAAAthh…."

…!

S-shut up…just stay away from me you f-filth.

"Hmhmhm…use my power….or DIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

"EmbrAAacCCE the DAAAaaarRRKNESS! Ryu…"

"But you'll die!" a childlike voice echoes…

…..

"Do it. Don't fuck this up or we'll all die".

Ryu's eyes snap open; they appear pupil-less. His body continues to remain immobile from the point when he was struck down by Makai's devastating technique. Eventually a red aura begins to gather around his figure.

"Oh come on! I expected more from the leader of the Hayabusa ninja clan!" Makai swings and Jo Hayabusa retaliates with numerous backflips.

"Don't think that we will simply let you walk out of here with that stone". He wipes the sweat off his brow.

"That kind of power doesn't belong to the likes of you, nor can you control it".

Makai scoffs, "You hypocritical fool. I have spent decades harnessing the power to control the stone. It is within my grasp, a power your own kind sealed because of succumbing to darkness". Makai sheathes his weapon, suddenly smirking and averting his eyes elsewhere.

"Speaking of which"

Jo Hayabusa's eyes narrow, as he follows Makai's line of sight…to Ryu. Jo Hayabusa looks at the state of his son before the realization sets in. His eyes widen in horror.

"RYU! NOOO!"

Que Lamb of God – Walk With Me in Hell Instrumental

But his plea reaches deaf ears. Ryu opens his mouth and lets loose a roar so powerful that the world itself seems to quake. His canines begin to sharpen and slowly grow in length. His fingers also grow into sharp talons and his skin colour changes to an azure blue. He crawls forward onto his fours as his ninja garb is torn to shreds from the growth of his transformation. The Dragon Ninja rears his head back suddenly, and bones begin to protrude from his skin, coating his body in a skeleton like armor.

"RYU!" Jo Hayabusa rushes to his son's side.

"RYU LISTEN TO ME! DON'T LET THE DARKNESS OVERCOME YOU! I KNOW THAT YOU DESIRE POWER BUT YOU MUST STOP! THIS ISN'T THE WAY!"

The young Dragon Ninja turns his head to his Father. The head Hayabusa's blood turns cold as he realizes that he cannot detect a trace of humanity left in the demonic eyes of his beloved son.

Jo Hayabusa backflips to widen the distance between himself and the monstrosity that was once a proud shinobi. He unsheathes his sword to prepare for the worst yet to come.

Ryu averts his eyes down lowers his head, revealing a hardened beast like jaw encased in a bone like head covering; the casing reaching to just above his brow then pointing behind his head. Even though his transformation is quite an eyeful the real distinction lies in his eyes; blood red and glowing, carrying no hint of a protector, but a destroyer. The wound in his chest is now fully healed as his transformation finishes.

"Well now isn't this a surprise" Makai applauds Ryu's transformation amusedly.

"Bravo. Bravo." He walks over to Ryu's still crouching form, "But you'll have to do better than tha-"

A large fist comes crashing into the NUKPANA master's jaw before he can finish his sentence, causing him to fly through the air and come crashing into the ground.

"RAAHAHAUAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHG HHHHHHHHH"

"Why you little shit. You're gonna regret doing that!"

Makai bursts into supersonic speed and charges the fiend Ryu. The corrupted shinobi meets him head on with a clash of fists, causing a massive tremor that shatters the windows of buildings and quakes the city streets.

Jo Hayabusa constantly remains focused on the fight at hand. Even though the two are moving at indistinguishable speeds, parrying and slashing at each other, the clan leader never loses sight of them. His son is at a level now where he could very well slaughter everyone. He is reluctant to engage the battle and fears that only the NUKPANA master can bring him to his senses. If smashing him into oblivion is the outcome, than it is indeed a just cause.

Makai and Fiend Ryu break away from their fighting and stare each other down.

"Hahaha how exciting! You see what I mean dragon cub? This is the power that you have foolishly rejected. Do you realize what it can do for you?"

Ryu cracks his neck and claws. Surprisingly, the demonic shinobi grins and begins to speak, "You pathetic insect! You're life has come to its end…. I will kill you with haste but great pleeAAASUre!"

"So it speaks! Haha very well, a silent fight is a boring fight! Show me your true power devil incarnate!"

Before the two can resume fighting, a chopper emerges from below the buildings, opposite the destroyed museum top. Irene can be seen sitting on the passenger side with a megaphone in her hand. A loud screeching is heard followed by incoherent mumbling as she uses the device.

"Jo Hayabusa! Clear out of there, we will assist you!"

After her loud exclamation, Irene readies a large caliber mounted turret and takes aim at the two deadlocked fighters.

Jo Hayabusa's eyes widen, "No! Stay out of the way! You will die!"

But the splicer pays no heed. Jo Hayabusa leaps out of the fray as Irene hammers away at Ryu and Makai. The two easily dodge at incomprehensible speeds, leaving mirages of their persons behind. Irene eventually runs out of ammo, shockingly clicking away but to no avail.

Makai smirks and prepares to strike down the chopper. However, he is swiped aside by Fiend Ryu who walks casually to the edge of the rooftop. Irene's eyes widen to the eyes of saucers as she witnesses the monstrosity the likes of which she has only seen in her nightmares.

"Annoying woman! Looking for an early retiIIIREMENT?"

The two lock eyes. Irene is paralyzed in fear as the blood red eyes stare into her soul and make her insides churn. But it is at the precipice, that moment in time, that Irene notices something in the beasts eyes..

Sorrow…

The realization dawns upon her unconsciously.

This….why do I believe that this is…it can't be!

As if reading her thoughts, Fiend Ryu chuckles malevolently. Within the blink of an eye, he casually lifts an arm and the chopper is split in half. The chopper is instantly blown to pieces along with its inhabitants. Unbeknownst to Ryu and Makai, an azure apparition darted towards the chopper just in time to save one life.

Jo Hayabusa distanced himself from the fighting and placed the unconscious Irene on the ground.

The clan leader scowls, "Disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful" before "blinking" back to the fray.

The two have already resumed fighting. Makai punches the corrupted shinobi, who then flies through a building and out the other end before planting into the window of another. Makai then teleports within range and fires homing waves of energy. Ryu regains his bearings and pushes off of the shattered glass, dodging in the air with a graceful like ballet.

"Nice try!" Makai zooms in on his prey, preparing to deliver a haymaker to his side. But Ryu suddenly vanishes.

"What!?"

He re-appears and uppercuts Makai into the sky. He then blinks to his skyrocketing body before delivering a punishing backflip kick to his solar plexus. Makai coughs saliva and catapults towards the Earth. Before plunging into the ground, he recovers, holding on to the walls of buildings, as they crumble from his slowing speed.

The NUKPANA master closes his eyes and breathes deeply, before sharply exhaling and smirking at Fiend Ryu, who stands in the distance on a rooftop looking amused.

"Well now! It seems I have grossly underestimated your skills Hayabusa! No matter! It appears I will have to use a fraction of my true power after all!"

Makai prepares to once again head into the fray before a disembodied voice stops him.

Kill him now

What?

Makai has no time to question the voice as a massive influx of energy floods his brain.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" The NUKPANA master screams in pain.

"You worthless scum! I will rip your heart out!"

Makai blasts off with fury and punches Ryu in the face. The demonic entity spins through the air before being smashed down, through the building with a hammer blow. Ryu gets back on his feet and readies himself.

"Finally! Show me the stReeenGTH of this pathetic pebBBLLE you call pooWWWWEr!"

However, before the demon can once again enjoy a fruitful fight. He screams in agony as his right arm is ripped from his body. Ryu drops to his bone-ified knee waiting for the sudden rush of adrenaline to null the pain.

"Hehehe. Sorry my friend. But it was fun while it lasted!"

Jo Hayabusa continues to watch the battle from afar, sickened and horrified at the situation. All thoughts of the ninja way now leave him. He prepares to aid his lson but stops when he notices a slight tremor in the Earth. The head clansman looks to his right and notices the Dragon Blade, left in the pool of blood that Ryu once inhabited moments ago. It glows bright blue and vibrates slowly.

"The Dragon Blade…" Jo Hayabusa runs over to pick it up. With subconscious confirmation he states.

"I understand"

The blood pouring from Ryu's wound gradually begins to slow as the bone like skeleton covering his body begins to grow and appear more pronounced. His body is once again undergoing a revolting transformation.

KILL HIM!

"Say goodbye!" Makai exclaims.

"GAUAUUAAGH"

Suddenly, a large glob of blood is spat into the air by the corrupted shinobi. A glimmering sword is seen protruding from his torso. Makai's eyes widen in disbelief as he notices the wielder to be none other than Ryu's father. Jo Hayabusa.

A period of silence and disbelief falls.

Slowly, Ryu's closes his eyes in pain and shifts his head to find the preparator. He opens his eyes and realizes that it's his Father.

"D…..Dad".

Jo Hayabusa looks in heart wrenching sorrow at his son, but notices that his eyes have shifted to an emerald green!

"Ryu! I'm…I'm so-"

"T-thank you"

The elder clansman's voice is caught in his throat as his eyes widen.

Suddenly, a tidal wave of blue energy engulfs Ryu, blowing Makai and Jo away. The Dragon Blade continues remain etched into Ryu's torso but his demonic skin begins to disintegrate.

Makai prepares another attack, unaware of the circumstances before the disembodied voice stops him again.

Leave him. It is time to retreat.

Makai scowls but obeys reluctantly. He turns and walks away, raising an arm and conjuring a portal.

"This is not over you fools"

The NUKPANA master disappears into the void.

Jo focuses his attention on Ryu. The young dragon cub has once again returned to his original glory. However, the gaping hole in his stuck where the Dragon Blade has pierced him remains. He gradually opens his eyes and turns his head to his Father before smiling...

"I'm sorry"

The Dragon Ninja vanishes...

"RYU!"

.

.

.

A long bright tunnel of opaque colors is seen, clouding Ryu's vision.

"What…..is going on…." He lazily states.

"Where am I…?"

Suddenly, he feels a burning sensation on his right leg. Ryu's eyes manage to focus as he realizes that a dark shadow is grabbing onto his leg.

"Get….offf…..meee! gAAAUUUUGH" Ryu coughs blood as he realizes that he has still been injured.

As he continues to struggle, he notices a bright white light at the end of the tunnel.

He travels through it and numbing silence replaces sound

Little by little, sounds can be heard, slowly escalating in decibels.

The sounds are made out to be screams and yells.

Ryu opens his eyes and notices that he is in a village of some kind. But he finds no time to linger as he realizes that the denizens of the village are under attack. Ryu looks down and finds the sword still impaling him. He grips the hilt from his back and pulls it out with some pressure, grunting in pain. Then the realization sets in.

Wait. My arm! It's back!?

A baby's crying returns Ryu to his senses.

It's time I put it to use!

A woman and her child are backed into a corner as fiends resembling the ones he had faced before prepare to slaughter them. Ryu grabs the fiend from behind, hurling it back and into the air. He then follows with a destruction straight slash carving it into pieces where it disintegrates.

He walks over to the brown haired woman and her child before asking, "Are you alright?"

"Yes but you are hurt sir!"

"Don't worry about me, just stay hidden!"

Ryu then follows suit and destroys the remaining fiends with slight difficulty. He is thanks the Dragon Gods and finds that there were no casualties.

"GAAAUUUGGH" Ryu coughs blood and grunts in pain.

Murmurs can be heard in the crowd of villagers.

"Somebody help him!" "Who is this guy?" "Wow! That was so cool!"

He notices one voice in particular.

"Hey you! Stop right there!"

Ryu vaguely notices a man with a headband that dons a swirling leaf like symbol. There appear to be three other individuals but he cannot make them out.

The Dragon Ninja decides to escape the scene to not draw more attention than he already is. He dashes on top of the rooftops of the small buildings, barely making out anything but the path in front of him. Ryu hears clanking behind him, indicating that he is being followed. A voice in the distance shouts.

"Ino! Shikamaru! Choji! Go after him! I'll alert the hokage"

Ryu continues to sprint until he eventually reaches a large like gate. He swiftly passes through it before hearing a "Hey! Come back here!" from what he makes out to be guards of some kind. As he makes it into dense brush, blood continues to ooze out of his chest and his body begins to slowly shut down, decreasing his speed. Eventually, he slows to a staggering walk.

"D….Damn it". The Dragon Ninja falls flat on his face and slips into unconsciousness, hearing the faint pattering of shoes closing in on him.

Whats up guys? Sorry for the long delay. I've had barely enough time to do anything these days because of college. I hope this long chapter made up for that and FINALLY. The crossover happened I know haha! Review and pass this on to all your friends!

Peace!

Safer