Author's note: Yo, sorry for the late update, but I haven't been feeling to good lately, so you can have an extra long chapter, 10 pages! I was planning 6 or 7 so whatever… thanks Bill and Swords-babe for reviewing… oh yeah, I got and idea for this chapter from this recurring dream I have. Could you please review this chapter I spent ages on it, doing a rough draft and final draft trying to get it perfect…

Disclaimer: I don't own Breath of Fire… (Sigh)

Paths of the Heart

Chapter XI: Dragon's flight

"Can we go now?" Nina asked, still bouncing with excitement.

Ryu smiled "Yes, let's go, I don't want to spend any more time in this dump." She giggled and looked over Ryu's shoulder, as her expression turned to puzzlement.

"Who are they?" She asked.

"I'm Erma," Erma said pointing to herself, "And this is Steve." She said pointing to the said person.

"Hey! I wanted to say my name!" Steve shouted, and so began another row…

Nina giggled "Nice to meet you both."

"And nice ta meet you too." A mysterious voice called.

Ryu sighed and muttered, "Not again…" The person stepped out of the shadows, "Don't I know you?…" Ryu asked, the person seeming vaguely familiar, the person, or rather the woman, slowly circled round Ryu.

"Why… ya, we have met once, however I have always been watching ya… Ryu." Ryu gasped at his name, how did she know it?

Nina then decided to jump into the fray, "How do you know Ryu's name, tell me or I'll flatten you like Buster!"

"Buster?" The woman said putting her finger on her chin, "Oh! You mean Sattire." She smirked, "But you can't flatten me, you don't have a rolling pin, unless O' course if you have a 'magic spell' ta flatten me." She said coolly as Nina growled at her.

"Just tell me, who are you?"

Ryu took a step back; Nina was a sweet poilite naïve (Though slightly annoying) girl, however as he had learned you do NOT want to make her mad.

"Me?" The woman asked flipping a strand of jet black hair over her shoulder, then smirked, "I'm Dawn." Something jogged in Ryu's memory, a woman with black hair spying on them and… the letter…

"You! You were the one who kidnapped Nina!"

"Well… Bolt help'd too speak'in O' which, where is e'? He should have headed ya off earlier…" She muttered quietly, but Ryu still heard it.

"Bolt went bye-byes." He said nonchalantly, Dawn's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

She gaped like a fish for a few seconds before managing to murmur quietly "Y-you… killed him?" Ryu nodded smirking, Nina blinked, Ryu was acting very nasty today. She wondered why.

Meanwhile we find Dawn slumped on the floor crying her eyes out, awwww… isn't that sad?

"M-My p-partner is-is dead?" Dawn spluttered, Ryu was still wearing a smirk when he replied.

"Yeah, you can see his mangled corpse in the other room if you like,"

Nina frowned, "Ryu… that's not very nice…"

Now it was Ryu's turn to splutter, "Wha?" 'I'm just teaching her a lesson for kidnapping Nina.' he thought dully, but was denied more time to ponder by Dawn, she had rose to her feet, a new fire burning in her eyes.

Meanwhile in the background…

"You think these fight scenes are getting a little repetitive?" Steve turned to his sibling.

"Yeah, but the authoress has said that she's trying to make them all different so they don't get repetitive."

"Oh… good." Uh… back to the story.

"I will avenge my partner! Ryu! You will suffer!" She hissed the last word out with so much venom in her voice that Ryu was sure that she would transform into a giant snake.

Ryu sighed, "I was hoping to avoid this, but it looks like I have no choice…"

Nina gave him a faint smile. "Yeah, but this time were together again!" Ryu nodded and turned to Steve and Erma.

"You guys want to help?"

Erma thought for a second but seeing the blaze in Dawn's eyes said "Uh no thanks… me and Steve will just stay here and watch…" Steve nodded nervously to this statement.

"Suit yourselves…" Ryu muttered turning to Nina. "You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Nina shouted, Ryu smiled, and turned back to Dawn, or rather he meant to, however she was gone, he blinked.

"Over there Ryu!" Nina called, pointing to a corner where Dawn stood casually leaning against the wall, smirking.

Ryu though bepuzzled at Dawn's quick movement was not deterred as he drew his Dragonslayer and leapt forward gracefully, however his sword met hard concrete as he accidentally jammed it into the floor, struggling to get it out.

Dawn took this time to strike, in a flash she kicked Ryu in the back to the leg, hard. Causing him to keel over slightly, then she punched him in the face making a small stream of blood to trickle down from the corner of his left eye "Oh…" he murmured feeling like he was going to throw up.

Nina growled, "Ryu! Combo attack!" she bellowed, Ryu nodded slowly, picking himself up. Then finally managing to release his sword, he lifted it up into the air and shouted.

"BURN!"

Followed by Nina…

"CYCLONE!"

And together…

"SIMOON!"

But all that was lifted was dust… Ryu took a deep breath, "It's no good Nina she keeps moving, we can't hit her, we must retreat!" Nina nodded, "Come on Steve, Erma we've got to go!" He yelled desperately, they quickly heeded his words and ran after him.

Suddenly Nina stopped gasping at something.

"What's the matter, Nina?" Ryu asked, she wordlessly pointed to the far side of the room, Ryu followed her vision and saw what had disturbed her so much…

Fire.

'Crud, crud, crud, crud.' Was all Ryu could possibly think. He had accidentally set the building on fire with his failed 'burn' spell. 'Crud, crud, crud, crud."

Then he remembered.

Ryu once again lifted his sword into the air.

"Rainstorm!"

Nothing happened.

"Rainstorm!"

Still nothing.

"RAINSTORM?"

Grrrrr…. Why isn't it working?" Ryu growled utterly confused.

"Uh… Ryu? Pung Ryong lives in our world, he can't be summoned by you to here…" Nina pointed out.

'Crud, crud, crud, crud.' "Let's get out of here then." He said.

"Right." All of them replied, they would have to get out quickly though, the fire was spreading, everything touching turning to cinders, and if they didn't get out soon, so would they.

"You haven't lost me yet you fools!" an oh-so-familiar voice called, though Ryu noticed that she looked rather different, her hair was burnt and frazzled, her clothes in tatters and her eyes held that mad look.

"We gotta get out of here!" Nina said loudly though her voice was laced with panic, and she screamed when a flaming pillar collapsed, almost on top of her.

They began to run, but Dawn was catching up with them, mostly because of Ryu's limp (which he had acquired when Dawn kicked him) and so Dawn was only a little way behind them and speeding up.

Though the white sterile corridors they went (Though they were now covered in flames) but Dawn was now closing in, and there was no time to stop and fight her, and the fire… well it was spreading like crazy.

There was only a few inches between Dawn and Ryu now…

There was only one thing he could do…

Just one…

"AHHHHH!" Ryu screamed, feeling wings burst out of his back and horns out of his head. Dawn skid to a stop to gape.

Erma and Steve were about to as well but before they had a chance to, Ryu in his hybrid dragon form grabbed their hands with his own claw shaped ones and pulled them off with so much speed, that if you asked Erma afterwards she would say that she was beginning to feel sick.

Nina uncurled her long wings and took to the air, propelling herself gracefully forward, managing to go at the speed of Ryu, only spluttering when her golden hair got caught in her mouth because of the wind.

Dawn finally had the sense to stop gaping and continue the chase. She was now going the same speed as Ryu and Nina, though they were now quite a bit in front of her.

It was all seemingly going quite well for Ryu and the rest, however fate once again, decided to intervene.

"EAAAKKK!" Erma screamed coming face to face with a large drop, luckily Ryu had stopped just in time though. Erma wiped away the sweat from her brow with her sleeve and said, "By the time this is over I'm going to have a fear of pits as well…"

Nina unlike Ryu fluttered down gently beside him and frowned. "Ryu… what are we going to do?" She asked, for the pit was also a dead end, and also was the only way out.

Dawn came back into vision, the fire racing behind her like a tidal wave, like before there was only one thing he could do…

And like before, he took it.

Ryu grabbed Nina with his dragonish hand and jumped into the pit pulling her in with him, Erma and Steve looked nervously into it, then jumped in as well.

They fell lower and lower and lower, it seemed that this 'pit' would lead them to the bowls of the earth. (Though of course it just leaded to the 1st floor) Now why you ask is there a giant pit in the middle of a 60 story building? Well this was another abandoned lift shaft, this time with no lift.

You could tell it had been abandoned for a long time, as the sides were covered in moss, and Nina took great time to pronounce her "Ewwww…"

Then it became apparent what exactly was at the bottom: a thick layer of glass, barricading the exit to the lift shaft.

Ryu had about 2 seconds to react.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Wha?" said all in reply, and found that their half-dragon companion was now a full purple dragon.

Aura…

Ryu (or Aura) speeded up smashing though the glass, it of course not hurting him because of his tough dragon-scales, and landing on the shard-scattered 1st floor, the others landing on his back and letting out an "Oof." Sound.

Nina turned round, Dawn was no longer following them, had the fire consumed her? She was given no more time to think for Ryu flapped his powerful wings lifting them all up into the air, and sped out of the window, as the building erupted in shades of red, orange and yellow behind them as they flew into the glorious sunset…