Chapter 17: Past Revealed

Right, Part II! Enjoy! Oh and you get to meet Fire in his human form and that's my original character, sorta. I'll have to configure a real character sketch of him sometime…when I do, I'll put the link up my profile. Right enough of this! READ ON!

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            A drop of water fell on Rath's face and he slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed his head. I have such a headache… He looked at his hand. It was clean. He sat up blinking. Was it all a dream?

            Two forms stood on either side of him, but he could not make it out. Everything was black like a deep void. "Who are you?" he called out into the darkness.

            They stirred and slowly turned to him. The one to his left slowly walked over to him and kneeled, his face hidden in the darkness. "Rath? Are you all right?"

            "Who are you?" the Dragon Knight repeated. "Am I…dead?"

            The figure chuckled. "No, you're not dead, thank the Dragons. You're inside your mind."

            "My mind?"

            "That is correct," the other figure said as he stepped forward, his face also hidden in the darkness. "We had managed to save you from falling to your death, but we were unsure if whether or not we had saved you from internal death."

            "Internal…?" Rath blinked when he felt something in his other hand. He hadn't realized it was still balled up into a fist. He knew what it was before he even saw the bright glint. It was the crystal pendent he had been holding from the dream. Or was it a memory?

            "It was a memory," the figure next to him confirmed.

            Rath narrowed his eyes. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

            He shrugged. "I'm part of you. It's easy to tell." He paused. "You do know who I am, right?"

            "I wouldn't have asked first two times if I did," Rath said dryly, but it suddenly dawned on him. "Are you…Fire?!"

            Bright red eyes lit up the figure's face as it came into light. He had short, fiery red hair with one golden ring earring on his right ear. He was wearing a dull red jacket over a white, sleeveless shirt, the pants a matching red with a bright red sash around his waist. Around his neck was a dark red crystal hanging from a platinum chain, which glinted from an unknown source of light. The Dragon looked at Rath and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you could call me that, or Honou. But in this form, I'm Saiseiken."

            Rath blinked. "Saiseiken?" He turned over to the other figure who still stood before him. "And you?"

            Light, steel blue eyes shone in the darkness and a slight breeze blew around them, revealing the stranger with the golden crossed shaped earrings and blood red clothing. "I am Shizuken. Dragon of the Wind, or Kaze."

            "Whoa, wait a minute," Rath said placing a hand to his forehead. "I understand Fire…I mean Saiseiken being in here…but you?" he said, looking directly at the Dragon.

            "It was my Mistress' wish," he responded. "And anyway…you have the seal."

            "What?" Rath stared at him confused. "The seal? I don't control you, only Fire."

            "That's where things get a bit messy…" Saiseiken said. "That pendent that you hold in your hand is actually Shizuken's seal and only source of power. He had started to awaken when you arrived at the same school as Lady Cesia."

            Rath sat there silent, slowly taking it all in. "So let me get this straight…Cesia is the Mistress of the Wind Dragon?"

            "That's right."

            "And I hold the seal?" he repeated dubiously.

            "Yes," Shizuken said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "All these years I had been asleep in that crystal." He walked around them slowly then stopped, his back towards Rath. "You had found that crystal in the Wind Tunnels, and that is where I had been sealed by Nadil long ago. I would have awakened sooner if only Lady Cesia had touched the crystal you had tried to give her…" He growled. "And I would have killed Nadil right then and there. She wouldn't have had to suffer…"

            "What are you talking about?!" Rath shouted angrily, startling Saiseiken. "What did Nadil do to her ten years ago?!"

            The Wind Dragon stood there silent for a moment then let out a long breath. "She lost…her humanity…"

            Rath sat there shocked. So that's how…that's how she's part yokai…like me… "You seem to know everything about Cesia…"

            "Of course. I am her Dragon. She is my Mistress. We are as one…or were."

            "Were?" Rath repeated.

            "The seal," Saiseiken said, nodding toward the crystal in Rath's hand. "See this?" he said as he lifted the dark red crystal that hung from his neck. It had a sleeping dragon in it, just like the one Rath had. "This is my seal. You had it inside you the whole time."

            "Inside me?!" Rath yelled incredulously. "How could it be inside me?!"

            "Yeesh, you don't have to yell!" Saiseiken said wincing. "I'm right next to you, you know. Anyway, yes. You were really a full yokai. And I know this because I'm part of you, remember?" he said narrowing his eyes at Rath as the Dragon Knight was about to intervene. "I know you hate having secrets known, too, but tough luck about me. Of course I stay away from very private thoughts…" He snickered and nudged Rath.

            Shizuken blinked as he watched Rath's face turn bright red. He coughed. "Ahem…Saiseiken?"

            The Dragon coughed. "Right. Anyway, you were yokai physically, but human on the inside, thanks to your old Master. He had found you abandoned and raised you up in the village in Saerinas, where you first met Cesia. Then Nadil attacked and you were left there for dead."

            Rath sat there in silence as Saiseiken took a breather. "So…had I died? And how did I conjure up that wall of fire if you weren't there already?"

            "Oh yeah, that. You're a fire yokai at heart."

            He blinked at stared at the Dragon. "A fire demon? Me?"

            "Yep, and it made the transition a lot more easier, hehe." Saiseiken yawned. "Man this is getting way too long for my taste. To cut the story short, you were found by the Dragon Patrol and would luck have it, the Dragon Lord himself was there! So he healed you with his Dragon Blood, making you an honorary Dragon and heir to the throne! Congrats!" He grinned. "I was given to you and then the Dragon Knight trio was born, though I'm not sure whatever happened to Cesia…maybe she died or something?" He regretted it as soon as he had said it as Rath and Shizuken glared at him. "JOKING!"

            Rath twitched. "Okay…so I had been in Dusis before… How did I end up on Earth?"

            Saiseiken hesitated. "Uh…that's where even I don't know. It's all just…blank between there and when I awoke again back on Earth when you first met Cesia."

            "Reborn." The two blinked and looked Shizuken, who stared down at them. "Everything started over from a certain point in time."

            "How?" Rath asked, completely lost.

            "It was the Dragon Lord's wish…look." The Wind Dragon turned slightly and waved his hand in the air. Wind started to swirl and form a large globe. From within, the two could see a sort of movie playing in it. "There had been a great battle between the Dragons and the Yokais," he said as the wind globe showed the two forces fighting. "For years it dragged on and soon nearly the whole continent had been destroyed. Even though the Dragons had won in the end, it was no satisfying victory. So much devastation, so much carnage. It would have taken eons to replace all the damage that had been done from that war." The image flickered and vanished as Shizuken slashed through the wind globe with his sword.

            "Hey! It was getting to the good part!" Saiseiken wailed as Shizuken sheathed his sword. He immediately hushed when both Rath and Shizuken glared at him. He turned away muttering.

            Shizuken coughed. "The losses were too great. The Dragon Lord had also lost his Queen, Lady Raseleane in a battle. It had been an ambush in the castle…" He shook his head. "So with the help of his Queen's Dragon Eyes and every bit of power he and his Light Dragon had, Lord Lykouleon restarted time from exactly the time you were born," he said, staring straight at Rath. "He tried to change the course of history, but he knew that was too much of a task, even for a Dragon Lord with two magic amplifiers like the Dragon Eyes and his Light Dragon. He only managed to change where it had begun, but he could not change the events…totally. Your meeting with Cesia and the other three Dragon Knights was timed completely different, as was your location. But in the end, you still ended up coming back here and your past still lingers in your mind, as well as everyone else's."

            "Does Lykouleon know?" Rath said suddenly. "Does he know everything about this?!" He narrowed his eyes. "And how do you know all of this?"

            "Actually…he doesn't," Shizuken said, surprising the Dragon Knight. "In addition to restarting time, he too had lost his memories, as well as not being able to attain an heir to the throne. That was one of the ultimate sacrifices he had to make." He turned to Rath. "And how do I know? The wind tells me these things, for they have been blowing since the beginning of time and forever will be. And I had been drifting in time for a very long time. You were not reborn with my seal like the others had. In fact, my seal had been with the Light Dragon the whole time."

            Saiseiken gaped at him. "Dude, you were with the Light Dragon?! The big supreme Dragon?!"

            Shizuken blinked. "Yes…There was really no where else at the time. Until now," he added, looking at Rath. "Once more it seems that I am to be handed off to Cesia by you."

            Rath clutched his head. This is too much…I was reborn?! What of Thatz and Rune? And…Cesia? Where is she now? What had happened to her in the past?! Did I ever…find her? The battle was supposed to have taken years right? Did I ever go out to find her? He shook his head. And…lost her humanity? I don't want to know how that happened…

            "You don't want to know," Saiseiken said softly. "Shizuken told me… Boy do I regret it."

            "You're not helping me here," Rath said stonily, glaring at the Fire Dragon.
            "I can't keep my mouth shut, can I?" he said sighing. "Can't help it, you know? I worry about you a lot, Rath…you are my Master."

            Rath sat there in silence then stood up. "Okay, so how do I get back to reality?"

            Saiseiken grinned as he jumped up. "Now there's the Rath I know! All you have to do is concentrate and will yourself to come back to consciousness. Quite simple really."

            The Dragon Knight stared at Shizuken. "Here…you might want this," he said as he held out the crystal that was the Wind Dragon's seal.

            The Dragon stared at it then closed Rath's fingers back over the crystal. "Keep it for now, it would be of no use to me at the moment. The only ones who can hold it now are you, Lady Cesia, and the Dragon of Light."

            "Can you…reach her?" Rath asked hesitantly.

            The Wind Dragon closed his eyes. "I had before she was taken for I had awakened as you can see. At least in human form. And I can faintly feel her presence… Since I have awakened, it will not be so difficult. It will be, however, if I try to go to her directly. I can talk to her or sense when something is happening…if I'm not blocked off that is."

            Rath stood there silent, his hand clutching the crystal. Cesia… "I'll find her again. Even if I have to be reborn a million times, I will one day find her, and save her."

            Saiseiken looked at his Master then patted his shoulder. "Well said, lover boy." He swiftly dodged the punch that Rath had quickly thrown at him. "Whoa!! Man, you're way uptight!" He cringed as Rath stared at him for a moment, but then his master smiled, surprising the Fire Dragon. He then continued to suddenly start laughing and had trouble regaining his composure. Saiseiken blinked. "Uh…Rath?"

            After a few moments Rath stopped laughing and grinned. "It's been a while since I've relaxed some. Thanks Saiseiken."

            The Dragon grinned back. "Heh, anytime, Rath. Now get out of here! I'll still be here…and most likely Shizuken too since he's got no place to go."

            Rath grinned. "Right. Later!" He closed in his and after a few moments he flickered and disappeared all together.

            Saiseiken stared after him. "…Do you think we did the right thing?"

            Shizuken looked about him, seeing the bubbles filled with lost memories and dreams. They had not been visible before, but they were now starting to emerge. "Yes, he has to know. Only then will he be able to face the thing he most fears…"

            Saiseiken sighed and sat down. "I just hate to see him when has to confront Cesia…if she…"

            Shizuken sighed and looked down at his sheathed sword. "Don't mention it. Don't ever. He must not know. Not now at least…"

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Right, well there it is! Boy that took some time @_@ Stay tuned for Chapter 18 ^^ Review please =O!