1The Darkened Sanctum

VII: "Torn Heartstrings..."

Led by Lin, the party of three staggered on through the door and down into a large, open room. None of them knew there were eyes fixed on them from behind the boxes and trash piles, until Lin picked up a faint ringing.

"Wait. Can you hear that?"

"...No..." Ryu looked at Lin, speaking quietly, "What is it?"

"The sound of an electronic... the ringing. There's something else in here..."

Nina could hear it too, and she pulled closer to Ryu, trembling a little as they slowly walked into the center of the room. They were about to continue when she came to a halt with a yelp, catching glimpse of a figure behind a crate- Rangers suddenly came out of the scenery and surrounded the group.

"At least you're easy to corner," One man scoffed from the rear, sword in hand, "Surrender now or face the punishment of death!"

"..." Ryu looked around with a pathetic look smeared on his face- he could see Lin in her usual combat stance, gun held out, moving it to anybody that even wavered a centimeter. He then looked down at the trembling Nina, who was slowly moving her plumbing-fixture rod into her right hand. Letting off a sigh, he drew his sword, "You will let us through! We don't want to harm you!"

"Yeah right!" A man behind a plexiglass shield yelled, "You killed my daughter, you freak! Snapped her in half like a twig- as if we're letting you get away with-"

"Don't get emotional."

Ryu gasped, looking over his shoulder- there stood Captain Zeno, behind her, Bosch. She lightly pushed her glasses up her nose, then looked straight at him with a stern look, "Ryu, I apologize for meeting like this... but something must be done. You... what you've become... we can get you treatment..."

"Captain, please!" Ryu nearly begged, "We just... I just have to get Nina somewhere safe..."

"I... apologize... But if you will not come willingly, I fear I will have to command them to attack. You are not in your right mind- please, Ryu, come back to us... we can cure you..."

"No..." He shook his head, "No, I'm not sick... Please..."

"As you must." Zeno suddenly waved her arm in the air, "Move in! Bring him down, but don't kill him! Spare the small one, the one with the tail is not of our concern!"

"Hmph! I'll one-with-the-tail you!" Lin loaded her gun and fired a single shot- a guard right beside Zeno collapsed with a yelp as a hole appeared straight through his head, but the captain didn't move. This set things into motion- the group came charging upon the three- Lin quickly took off, around a trash pile, avoiding shots fired at her.

"...!" Nina watched as the soldiers came charging, then suddenly swung her staff up and back down, causing the area in front of her to turn into an inferno, the yelps of the injured foes rising with the flames. With the greatest speed she could muster, her rod was twirling and curving all through the air until she was surrounded by flame that acted like a shield.

In the meantime, Ryu had been tackled to the floor, and was under a pile of men who did their best to keep him pinned. Struggling, he could barely see the one at the top getting an injection ready- slamming his eyes shut, he tried as best he could with all his strength to throw them off...

Mere bugs... crush them!

"Unngh!" Ryu winced, causing the people to get him completely pinned.

Tear them to shreds, child!

Before they could get their arms in to inject the tranquilizer, a huge amount of heat came from Ryu.

Show them your pain!

With a loud scream, Ryu burst into flames, severely injuring those directly on top of him- the rest hardly had a chance to run when his clawed arm cast them aside like dolls. By this time, he noticed Nina's fire spell was wearing out, and three men were closing in on her as she trembled in fear- shooting over, gliding above the floor, he brought his claws down through the head of the first one, and in the same move, hit the second one with a talon, knocking him into the third- with a snarl, he moved in front of Nina who collapsed to her knees, ready to destroy anything that came close.

Nina herself could barely breathe, from the smoke caused by her fire circle to the dust in the air- she didn't know Ryu was in front of her, keeping her safe- she was collapsed on her knees, leaning against her staff, wheezing for air...

"Where'd she go?"

Lin appeared from behind a trash pile and shot a man through the back of the neck, disappearing before they could get to her. Running up the pile, she then aimed down and shot one straight through the skull- leaping down, she ran past a man who swung down his sword- barely getting a scrape on her face, she skid to a halt, turned around swiftly, and shot him through the chest.

All this time Zeno and Bosch had been observing- the captain had her usual cool look on, calmly looking across the carnage. Bosch, however, was another story: dripping with frightened sweat, he was slowly shuffling back for the doors, thinking of nothing but how to escape. Zeno looked back, frowning a bit, and he was forced to move closer, shakily holding onto his blade.

Looking back ahead, she was finally surprised to see how many people had actually fallen since the flames cleared- she also got her first chance to gaze upon the demonic creature Ryu had become. Realizing it was now or never, she pulled out a blade from a sheath, then another, then called into the fight: "I know not if you are in your senses, Ryu, but you leave me with no choice! Prepare yourself!"

"Captain, don't go!" Bosch yelped as she ran into the fight, watching helplessly as Ryu slowly backed up... An intense heat stung Bosch's eyes as he stumbled back, the entire field a glowing mass of heat- continuing to back up, he had his arm over his forehead to shield his eyes. As the fiery blast cleared, he dropped his sword, finding every single one of the fighters had been reduced to mere bloodstains and burnt shadows on the floor.

Lin had collapsed onto her rear end in pure, horrified shock, while Nina continued to fight to catch her breath. Ryu, panting, still in dragon form, slowly moved his gaze onto Bosch, the last remaining target in the room.

"What...what did... you do to captain..." Bosch started to back away, leaving his sword behind, "You... you freak... you bastard! You... you..."

Ryu let out a loud snarl, enough to send the man fleeing back to the boroughs. Collapsing into his knees, setting aflame at the same time, Ryu reformed into his normal figure, wheezing painfully. Faint drops of blood came from his mouth, his head pounding.

"Ohmigod-" Lin suddenly crawled over to him, "Are you okay?"

He swallowed hard, then moved himself away from her. There was a pulse... a separate beat pumping through his body, challenging his heart. There was a faint ringing in his ears- with a deep breath, he let his head hang, then spoke darkly, "Who are you?"

Odjn.

"Why are you here? What are you doing to me...?"

You are my chosen... you are the 1,000 year world destroyer...

You will destroy this world and reach the sky!

"What are you doing to my body...?"

You will understand through the pain...

Lin watched in silence, unsure of what to do. She then refocused on the person she could help- moving to Nina, she patted her back, "Hey... are you okay?"

Nina nodded, letting out a sigh.

"Good... hey... uhm..." Lin spoke softly to Nina, looking at Ryu, "Ryu isn't feeling very well right now, so we need- Nina!"

Nina was instantly crawling over to him, and when reaching his crouched figure, she latched on into a big hug. Slightly surprised, Ryu sat up, Nina shifting in order to keep him in a tight embrace. Swallowing sharply, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against hers.

"It's okay... I'm fine..."

She kept her eyes closed, burying her face into his chest.

"It'll be okay, Nina..."

Lin stared at the scene, letting out a sigh and falling into a relaxed, seated position. All around her were the crimson-coated shadows burnt into the cement floors, a few weapons here and there. One that escaped the powerful blast was one of Zeno's swords, the gleaming metal reflecting the dull colors. Shaking her head, she let out a second sigh, slowly taking her knees into a hug. Her tail wrapped around her figure, end resting gently against the still-warm floor.

"I have seen worse than this..." She thought to herself, silent, "Why am I so scared now?"

"Lin... you okay?"

"Huh? What? Oh... oh yeah..." She relaxed, tail straightening out, "I was just waiting for you guys..."

"..." Ryu let out a sigh... His eyes wearily gazed over the scenery, staring at the red marks across the floor. His attention was caught by the sword- separating from Nina and Lin, he walked to it and stared down. Picking up the blade, he stared at it with a sense of nostalgia... His mentor... one of his best friends... gone in a second of senseless rage. Closing his eyes, a few tears threatened to come out, but he forced them back, then pulled out his own blade. Tossing it onto the floor, he put the silver, mid-weight blade into his sheath, holding onto the hilt for a moment. "...I'm... I'm sorry... I didn't..."

"We'll have to get moving soon. By now, news of us has to have been sent to the regency."

"...Right..." He looked back, "Ready to go?"

Lin got up, then walked with Nina in silence to Ryu, slowly moving into the lead as the party left the open room, heading down a very dry hall. The complex seemed to echo silence; it was so loud that it rang in their ears, threatening to eat any noise uttered within the metal walls. As they were walking, Nina began slowing down, still not entirely recovered. She started to cough, coming to a halt, covering her mouth as she did.

"Nina?" Ryu looked back, coming to a halt, "Are you okay?"

She continued to cough, then slowly sunk down to her knees.

"Nina!" He moved to her, kneeling down, "Nina..."

"Ryu..."

He looked up at Lin, looking concerned.

"When... when we were in the boroughs... and when Nina came down to you... something happened. She drew in the air around her... it was the cleanest, purest air I had ever breathed in my life."

"..." He looked back to Nina, "Bless you..."

Nina let out a cough, but gave a smile anyhow.

"...she took all of the gas with her, Ryu."

"!" Ryu blinked in disbelief, then understood clearly: "We've got to get that stuff out of her- there had to have been enough to bring down the entire Midsector!"

"...Normally, I wouldn't suggest it... but she was being shipped out of BioCorps labs- they might know how to help her, as dark as it sounds... we'll find answers to any questions there as well."

Nina shook her head at this name, starting to tremble a bit.

"We'd never leave you there, never again, Nina..." Ryu patted her head some, "Come on, we'll go- and leave- together. Right, Lin?"

She let out a sigh. "Right."

"We'll wait as long as you need, okay? Just concentrate on feeling better."

"I'll... go ahead," Lin smiled a bit, "...I'll come back and tell you what it looks like from here."

"Alright..."

Lin headed through the door, pulling it shut with her tail. Moving away from the door, she made sure there was silence, then pulled out a small compact mirror, then flipped it open- the inside had the usual mirror, but the bottom half had a small speaker and small buttons- popping in a few numbers, she brought it up close to her face and waited.

"You're connected. How are things, Lin?"

"I think I'm on drugs."

"...What?"

"No, I mean..." Lin sighed, "I've got the shipment with me, but there's a complication... there's this guy..."

"...Lin... you'll have to contact me later, there is someone waiting outside the door. It is a short meeting, so try again in about half an hour. Keep yourself in one piece- you are the most valuable talent Trinity has available. Whatever you do, however, make sure that girl stays in more pieces than yourself."

"...Yes sir." She closed the compact, grumbling a bit. Tucking it away, she let out a sigh, regained her stature, then opened the door, peeking in the hall. "Ready, guys? It'll be a bit of a walk, but nothing too serious, I believe. We can always stop on the way!"

"We're coming!" Ryu helped Nina to the door, smiling a bit, "Thank you, Lin..."

"Hmph. I'm not doing this for you!"

Bosch had fled back to the Boroughs, and had headed up to his large apartment- about the size of three normal, closet-sized apartments stuck together. The door had been closed and locked shut, and he was kneeling before his bed, face pressed against the blankets, his whole body shaking. Not a few minutes ago had he been emptying the contents of his stomach into his private bathroom- pale and trembling, all he could think of was how his world was coming down.

"S-so close... I c-could've been... been Regent..."

Faint memories of that face... smiling... laughing... they filled his mind's eye.

"No! No... he's... no..."

Visions of those blood-red eyes and billowing flames took over.

"What... is he...?" Holding his head, he let out a faint whimper, "He's going to destroy- no! No... no... there must be a way... Fight fire with fire... fight fire with... There must be a way... there must be..."

Letting out a long sigh, Bosch forced himself to come back to his senses. "There must be a way to get that power from him... or to... get power alike him... I can't let Father down... no... I'll prove it... that I can take on anything- if I destroy Ryu, then those fools in the regency will have to take me in! There must be a way- yes... yes, there is a way!"

He started laughing to himself, his sanity being shredded as he did, "It's easy... I know right where to look..."

Obnoxious laughter filled the room, the man shedding tears as he did. Unable to do anything else, he laughed, laughing until he collapsed in exhaustion.