"Ryu what is it?" Nina asked him.

"Something is coming," is all he told her. Ryu looked around. Turning his head each time he heard some kind of noise. Nina gave him a confused look. All she saw was trees surrounding them a few bushes here and there. Also a lake was n the distance.

"Show your self!" Soran commanded. Then he heard some noise from the tree in front of him.

"Are you sure you aren't just imagining things?" Gabriel asked them. No answer. Then Nina looked up and saw a shadowy figure jump at her. It came right down on her and grabbed her shirt. The shadowy figure held her up by the neck. Nina was gasping for air.

"Ha you were easier to get than I thought," said the man with a grin. Then he started laughing hard. Everyone had an angry face looking at this man that held Nina up by her neck. Ryu's face was mad with anger.

"Let her go!" He commanded. Nina turned her eyes towards Ryu. His face was full of hatred to the man that stood in front of him. The man put a tighter grasp on Nina. She could barely breath. It seemed he was going to choke her to death. Then he loosened his grip enough so that she could breath.

"I wish I could kill this fragile Windian girl, but my master says to keep her alive," the man said. "She must be pretty important if my master wants her." His eyes turned to the frightened Nina.

"DeCabra No Los Cuardso!" Gabriel called out these words. A dark light started to cover the man up. All he could do was laugh.

"This beginners spell will never stop me," he said as the dark light disappeared from his body. "I must be on my way now, or master Iris will be furious with me." Soran watched Ryu, as he became enraged in anger. Nina looked at him with a worried look on her face.

"Ryu please don't transform you could hurt someone, or maybe even..." the thought of thinking about it made her want to cry. She knew what she had to do. "I must use my power for good, and nothing else." She moved her hand in front of the man's face. She closed her eyes and started to concentrate. Then a blinding white light surrounded the man. He dropped Nina to the ground making her loose her concentration.

"Are you some kind of freak?" Asked the man as he backed away. Then Ryu ran in front of Nina with his sword out in front of him. His face turned to a grin. "I'm leaving you freaks to your business." Then he jumped up high into the air and disappeared. Ryu then turned to Soran who was lying against a tree.

"Why did you just sit there?" Ryu asked him.

"What was there to do?" He asked back with a less serious voice than Ryu. He shot a glare at him.

"Stop the fighting you two can't you see that Nina is blanked out?" Gabriel asked them. They both turned to Nina. Her arms were crossed and a scared face was plagued her.

"I'm a freak?" Nina kept asking herself over and over again. Her face seemed to get sadder and sadder as she thought about it. "Do they really care about me?" She kept asking herself tons of questions. Everyone just watched her. She did nothing not even move. Ryu then decided to go up to her. "Do they think I'm a freak?" Then she heard footsteps. She looked up and saw Ryu coming to her. "I can't let him see me like."

"Nina what's the matter?" He asked her. Then she stood up and looked Ryu straight in the eye.

"You don't deserve to like me, a freak," she said to herself. She got up and started running into the forest. Passing up tress and bushes on the way. The trees and thorns of the bushes she passed up scratched her. She didn't care all she wanted to do was get away from everyone. Ten she stopped running when she saw a lake. Trees surrounded it. The trees made the reflection in the lake look amazingly beautiful.

* * *

"Nina?" Ryu asked himself.

"Don't get so damn emotional she'll be fine," Soran assured him. For once his words were comforting to Ryu. Gabriel smiled at him. "What are you looking at princess?" Soran's voice was high pitched.

"You didn't swear at me for once," Gabriel said with a smile on her pale face. "I can't believe he didn't swear it must be a miracle." Her expression on her face turned to a bigger smile thinking of it.

"Your botherin me with all that smiling," he said giving her a strange look.

"Well I think the god's gave a miracle to us all," she said as a smile stared to form on Soran's face. Ryu just watched the two.

"I guess miracles can happen if Soran actually smiled," he said out loud.

"I herd that dragon!"

"He's back to normal again," Gabriel sighed. Soran gave her a mean yet happy look.

"Piss of," he said as he walked away.

* * *

Nina looked at the lake. The small breeze made the water move but only a little. This soothed Nina's soul. It reminded her of her travels with Ryu when they were trying to destroy Zog. They often rested by a lake, and it always calmed her. She looked at the scenery around her. When she was traveling with everyone she often looked at the scenery to calm herself down. Everyone did it seemed. Then she heard a sound coming from the bushes.

"Who's there?" She asked with a trembling voice. Then a girl popped out of the bushes. She had dark blue hair, and when she smiled she had a little fang. Nina looked at her with a surprised face. She walked up to Nina and then sat down by her. She looked at Nina as if she were examining her.

"He like you a girl with wings," she said looking at her wings. She touched one of Nina's wings. She pulled her hand away from her wings. "So fragile."

"What are you talking about?" Nina asked her. The mysterious blue haired girl stared at her

"Ryu," she said without hesitation. "I'm Layla from Drogen."

"Are you related to Ryu in some way?" Nina asked with a look of concern. Layla stood up brushed herself off, and walked closer to the lake.

"I'm his girlfriend," she spat out. Nina's eyes widened. She never knew Ryu had a girlfriend. He never mentioned her once when they were traveling. She shook her head in confusement. Layla looked down at her.

"I left the comforts of Drogen to see what the world was like," she started to say. "Since Ryu had left on a journey I had no life without him. For months I waited for his return, but he never came back. I decided to go look for him on my own. I never found him. When I was in the city of Tantar one-day I saw a giant stone robot coming near the town, and got scared. When it blasted the town people heard of this in Drogen, and thought me as a goner. Ryu got word of this I assume, and...

"What, go on," she told her.

"He must have decided to find someone else, but I was alive." I survived, but only by a hair. A nice doctor I met took care of me, and then I journey out again to find him. When I finally came across him he was protecting you against this man that wanted you dead. It hurt me to see, but I knew that he forgot about me and found someone else. Then I waited for the right time to talk to you alone."

"I'm so sorry for you is their anything I can do to help?" Nina asked.

"Stay away from Ryu!" She yelled at her. Then ran away. Nina's eyes started to water.

"Stay away from Ryu I can't just..." she stopped. She is right I just took Ryu away from her." She got up and started to walk towards where they were staying. "I wonder if she is headed there?" Then she started to run back. "I can't loose you not now!"

* * *

"I hope Nina is ok she has been gone a while now," said Ryu as he jumped down from the tree he was sitting in.

"She'll be fine I'm sure she is on her way back right now," Gabriel said trying to cheer him up.

"I think that Iris girl took her," Soran said.

"Keep your big trap shut!" She snapped at him.

"It's ok I'm sure she just needs time to think," Ryu joined in. Gabriel just smiled at him.

"You freak me out when you smile like that you hell princess," he said with a grin.

"Well you scare me when you smile, and that is something new for you," she commented back at him.

"At least I ant no princess from hell so piss of!" He yelled back at her.

"Well sorry, but you have to marry this princess from hell," she fought back with a giggle. Ryu just laughed at them fighting. "You seem to enjoy this don't you Ryu?"

"I always do."

"Don't side with her dragon."

* * *

Nina started running through the forest now.

"I have to get back before Layla does or else," she said to herself. "I just don't want to think of what might happen to Ryu's friendship and me." She raced through the trees that scraped her arms and legs. She was bleeding all over from some of the scratches. When she finally got back she saw everyone fighting their same little nonsence fights. As she came up to everyone they all gave her a strange look. Nina looked at herself, and noticed she was scraped up pretty bad.

"Nina what happened to you?" Ryu asked her.

"Nina something must have happened tell us," Gabriel pleaded.

"I bet it was Iris," Soran spat out.

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A/N: I took your guys advice, and fixed it up a bit! I hope you like it more than before. Review please!