Author's Note: Canon change again. I imply early on in this chapter that Hometown is a port city, even though it isn't in the game. There is a method to the madness, of course—why the hell would there be a mercenary company in a peaceful town like Hometown unless there was some source for excitement? Also, I wanted to develop the "laconic antihero" persona I had in mind for Ryu and contrast it with the "secretly nice guy" elements I've been hinting at. As you'll see,I made hima lot darker than thegame might indicate, which makes sense to me because of his rather shaky family history. I intend to have Ryu's defining character trait be"identity crisis," particularly because of his lack of familial influences.Side note: In this story, Nina is twenty and Mina is seventeen.

Chapter Four: On Angel's Wings

"So this is where you live, huh?" Katt said, looking around. "Nice place. Quiet. Kind of hard to believe that it's got a Ranger's Guild. I mean, it doesn't look like a lot happens around here."

"Hometown is a crossroads, Katt," Ryu explained, tacking a bounty notice for the thief on a bulletin board. "Most of the excitement comes from travelers trying to catch a boat to the west or merchant trains heading out to Corsair and Windia. There, that's the last of the flyers. Now all we have to do is wait for someone to hunt her down for us, or at least tell us where she is."

"Shouldn't you at least put a picture up?"

"She has bat wings," Ryu said by way of explanation. "She'll be pretty hard to miss. Are you getting hungry? It's almost lunchtime."

Katt rubbed her belly. "I am getting a little hungry…."

"My apartment's near here. There should still be something in the icebox. Come on." Ryu led the way, but just as he turned the corner, he was blown back by a gale. "What in Eva's name?" Ryu and Katt hurried to the corner to see what was going on.

A slender girl with short blonde hair and dovelike wings of shimmering black faced off against a group of thugs wearing purple bandanas. "That's a Windian," Ryu noted.

"I've never seen one before," Katt said in awe. "Look at those wings!"

But Ryu was focusing on the thugs. He recognized the markings on their bandanas. What's the Joker Gang doing this far west? he wondered. This is nowhere near their territory. The other gangs in the area won't stand for this, I'm sure. This Windian must be pretty important for the Jokers to risk a street war.

"I said leave me alone!" shouted the Windian girl. Bolts of lightning lanced from the sky and stabbed into the cobblestone street near the Jokers. They hopped back in fright. Surprisingly, the Windian looked apologetic. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean for it to be that big. Still, you better not come any closer, I'm warning you!"

"And we're warning you," growled back one of the Jokers, "you better do what the Boss wants you to do, or you won't see your little sister ever again!"

That set the Windian on fire. Her eyes narrowed and glowed with the power of sorcery. "What did you do with Mina?"

Mina? Ryu wondered. As in…no way.

"Come over to our hideout, Nina," said another Joker. "Come hang out with us. All you want. All night long. Heh, heh. Better do it, or bad things will happen to that cute sister of yours." With that, the thugs left. Ryu marked their passing with interest.

"That didn't sound too good," Katt murmured.

"It seems I have a bit of a vested interest in this," Ryu said dryly.

"Huh?"

"We're making a bit of a detour, Katt." Ryu walked over to the Windian, who was staring at the ground in despair, her small hands tightened into fists. She was trembling with rage. Had he been Bow, he would have said something comforting or at least debonair. But he was Ryu and he only knew how to be blunt with people. "You're Mina's sister? The Mina who has a pet pig?"

The Windian looked up in surprise. "Um, yes. How did—"

"Mina hired me to find Suzy when she ran away," Ryu explained. "I'm a ranger. Ryu Bateson. This is a friend, Katt Chuan."

"Hello," said Katt.

The Windian curtsied automatically, demonstrating her high bearing and aristocratic standing. "I am Nina Windia."

"Nina and Mina," Ryu muttered. "Very cute. To the point—if your sister's being held captive by the Joker Gang, then I'll help get her back."

"You'd do that?" Nina said elatedly. Then she mellowed and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because she's a former client," Ryu said casually. "It wouldn't do for the Ranger's Guild to lose its customers."

Suddenly, Katt laughed. Both the ranger and the Windian looked at her curiously. The Woren wiped tears from her eyes as she brought her mirth back to tolerable levels. "What he means to say," Katt explained, "is that he's just a nice guy. Heck, I've known you for only a few days, Ryu, and I can already tell when you're just pretending to be a street tough."

Ryu just ignored her teasing and turned to Nina. "The point is, Katt and I can help you. Do you want our help or not?"

Nina looked at him guardedly, as if trying to discern his motives for helping her. She stared into his eyes, azure irises staring into iridescent emeralds. Finally, she said, "I don't know why, but I want to trust you. All right. I accept any assistance you can give me. For Mina's sake."

"Then you're going to have to trust me," Ryu said in cold seriousness. "The Jokers are not to be trifled with. I've taken a few bounties against some prominent Jokers in the past, and I can tell you they're a tricky bunch who won't hold back. For all we know, your sister might already be dead and they're just saying they have her to draw you out. That's just the way they work."

Nina's face paled at the prospect. Katt noticed this and bopped Ryu on the head. "Don't upset people like that, Ryu!" she admonished. To Nina, she said, "I'm sure that Mina's all right. But you get Ryu's point, tactless as it is. We better move fast if we're going to save your sister."

"Then let's go already," Nina said through stiff lips.

The three pushed themselves hard to get to the Joker's hideout. At the punishing pace they set, they covered half the trip in only a day's march. By the time night fell, all three were exhausted. But Nina could not find it in her to sleep. Worry had taken residence in her soul and made her restless.

She sat on her bedroll, looking up into the dark sky, wondering how Mina was doing. If those thugs hurt her…I'll…I'll…. Nina curled up into a ball, couching her forehead against her knees. She never thought she could hate someone, but here she was, thinking about hurting not just one person but a whole group of them. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not notice someone walking up to her.

"We'll get her back," Ryu said quietly as he sat down on the grass next to Nina. The Windian turned her head to him, tears glimmering at the corners of her azure eyes.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Nina whispered. "Though the thought's welcome. Where's Katt?"

"Sleeping. That one can sleep anywhere as long as you tell her a story to put her to bed."

"I wish someone could tell me one," Nina murmured. "If only to take my mind off things. I'm so wound up with worry that I feel like I'm about to explode. I keep asking myself, 'what have they done to her?' 'Is she eating right?' 'Is she hurt anywhere?' And telling myself that I'm on the way doesn't make the worrying stop."

"Nor should it," Ryu said. He scratched his head. "I'm not very good at talking to people. I like work because I don't have to talk to people. But I think it's good that you keep worrying. It means that there's still hope. I don't know how to express it any other way. It's like…it's like if you can still think about the person as if they were still alive and well, then there's a chance they will be."

"That makes sense to me," Nina said with a quiet smile. "Thank you, Ryu."

The ranger smiled back. "If you still need a story to help you sleep, I know one that has nothing to do with gangsters. It does have something to do with losing little sisters, though. Is that all right?"

"Depends on if it has a happy ending," the Windian replied.

"Kind of does," said Ryu. He began, "Once upon a time, there was a little boy who lived with his kind father and curious little sister in a big church. One day, the curious little sister went into the mountains, like she always did, because she was curious. She said she could meet her mother, who died a long time ago, if she slept out in the mountains.

"The kind father was worried and so asked the little boy to help him find the little sister. They found her sleeping in the mountains, of course. The kind father and the little sister went back to the village head of the little boy, though.

"You see, the little sister told the little boy to sleep in the mountains so that he could meet his mother, too. But when he woke up, he couldn't find his father or sister anywhere, no matter how hard he looked."

Nina looked at him strangely. "That's not a very happy story."

Ryu shrugged. "Maybe not, but the happy part comes in what happened to the little boy. You see, he never stopped looking for them. He grew up, but he never forgot them. He might do other things with his life, but he would always hope they were still out there, waiting for him. So he keeps looking, even if he can only find them in his dreams."

"Not the nicest story I've ever heard," Nina said quietly, "but it's very allegorical. And very beautiful. I'll keep hoping, then." She smiled. "Katt was right. You are a nice person." She settled down to sleep. "Thank you and good night, Ryu."

"Good night, Nina."

Ryu shoved a Joker into the wall, gripping him by the collar and holding him up with one arm. "All right, scumbucket," the ranger growled in low, menacing tones, "you just saw me, the Woren, and the Windian take out about a score of your buddies in less than three seconds. You're lucky we didn't kill them outright. Believe me, at the speed I was moving, it was real hard not to cut you. So if you don't want me to make any mistakes while I'm swinging a big meat cleaver around, you're going to tell me where Mina Windia is being held. Understand?"

Katt and Nina watched the spectacle with open mouths. "Is he…is he like this often?" Nina asked.

The Woren shrugged. "I've only known him for about a week. But I didn't think he could look that scary. He's like a Biruburu."

Both girls were having a difficult time measuring up the ranger who was able to tell them stories to the frightening man threatening a hapless Joker.

Not that Ryu noticed. He was busy interrogating the thug in his hands. "She's with the Boss now, is she?" he said, repeating the Joker's confession. "How many bodyguards?"

"Six," the thug squealed.

"Hope they aren't friends of yours," Ryu growled. "Because they won't be around for very long." Then the ranger slugged the Joker across the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Ryu," Nina said, reaching out to touch him on the shoulder. "We're not just going to go and slaughter people, are we?" she asked nervously. "I mean…I know it's for Mina's sake…but…."

"We haven't killed anyone yet, have we?" Ryu asked pointedly, gesturing to the dozens of battered—but breathing—Jokers in the hallway.

"But you said—"

"We're dealing with crooks and murderers, Nina," Ryu said coldly. "We're dealing with the scum of the earth, the dregs of society. You can't afford to be nice. I don't know what it's like in whatever aristocratic neighborhood you and Mina were raised in, but down here in the gutter, threats and bullying get you as far as you can throw your weight around."

"But that makes you no better than these thugs!" the Windian protested.

The ranger shrugged. "Not everyone can afford the luxury of your high-minded ideals." Ryu looked over at Katt, who was also eyeing him warily. "Katt? Do you have anything to add?"

"Just that I'm disappointed in you," the Woren said. "I'm a gutter girl, too…but at least I draw a line and don't step over it. Looks like you never bothered to draw one."

Ryu winced at that barb. "We don't have time for this," he said stonily. "Mina's with the Joker Boss. That should be our concern, not bantering about ethics."

The three made their way deeper into the Joker hideout in silence, none willing to continue the conversation.

When they reached the Boss' throne room, they found the Jokers waiting for them. Six thugs stood around their leader. The Boss was a repulsively huge man, all slob with layer upon layer of fat rolling along his round body. Mina knelt beside him. An iron chain connected the Boss' thick ankle to a leather collar around the Windian's neck.

At the sight of this humiliation, Nina clenched her fists and let energy crackle between them. Her teeth ground hard.

"Joker!" she growled fiercely, showing an iron-shod determination her normally gentle nature belied. "Let my sister go now!"

Mina looked up at the sound of her voice. "Sister!" she cried gratefully. She was quickly silenced by a sharp tug from the Joker.

"Oh, that guy's going to get it," Katt promised in a chilling tone. Her claws tightened around her staff meaningfully. "Hey, fatty, try that one more time and you and your goons are only going to leave here with a doctor."

"Bold threats, kitten," the Joker rumbled through thick lips. "But as you can see, the chick is unharmed. It's the dove I want. Well, Nina? What say you? Will you join me as my aide and consort? Choose wisely—Mina's life is at stake."

"You're a twisted monster," Nina spat back. "You threaten an innocent girl. I'd never join sides with your ilk, you knave. I'm taking Mina back right now!" She stepped forward, eyes aglow and hands sparking with magic. Nina raised her hands and summoned lightning and wind, but the Joker looked unperturbed as the balls of crackling power danced toward him. Blue-white arcs of lightning exploded around the fat human, but when the dust settled, Joker was still sitting there, laughing maniacally.

"Impossible," Nina murmured in shock. "That was my most powerful spell…."

Ryu narrowed his green eyes at Joker. Something's very wrong, he thought. It's like…it's something inhuman. That smell…sulfur…it's like…like Angus. Aloud, he warned, "This man's possessed by a demon. He isn't human."

"You mean like Angus?" Katt asked, eyes widening. She regarded Joker again, this time warily rather than contemptuously. "I can't believe something like him is a demon."

Nina looked at them in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"In Corsair, we fought a Coliseum manager who had been possessed by the spirit of a demon," Ryu explained briefly. "He could change into a monster and became almost impervious to normal attacks. Back then, I smelled sulfur around the manager, but I thought it was just his smoking pipe. Now I see that it's the smell of the demon inside."

He drew his sword and moved toward Joker. The slob just looked at him with an amused, languid expression. "You might as well show us what you really look like," Ryu said calmly. "I already know that you're not human."

For once, Joker looked genuinely surprised and off-guard. Ryu continued, "Unless you release Mina right now, we're going to send you to meet Angus…in pieces."

Joker's eyes went livid and narrowed dangerously. "I had heard from some associates that he had been killed by adventurers. Who would have thought it was a skinny punk like you." Joker snapped his fingers; the six thugs drew steel. "I haven't time to mess with your kind," the slob grunted. "From all I hear, you only beat Angus because he was stupid enough to get buried under a roof. That won't happen in a cave like this, so I don't have anything to fear from you." To the thugs he said, "Gentlemen, kill him."

The thugs rushed the ranger, who went on the defensive. "Katt, Nina! Take him!" Ryu shouted over the clash of metal.

The girls looked at him worriedly, but when they saw him holding his own against the thugs, they unhesitatingly went on the offensive. Nina flew over in front of Joker, who held Mina in a puffy hand. The girl struggled under that grip. The black-winged Windian narrowed her eyes. "I said let her go, Joker," she said with merciless threat in her voice. "I won't say it again."

"You've just made a big mistake, Nina," Joker retorted.

Suddenly, Katt charged and slapped him across the face with the butt of her staff. "Shut that trap of yours, fatty!" Katt's blow was stronger than she thought, for it tore off a part of Joker's face. Flesh peeled away, revealing purple leather underneath.

"The blue-haired punk said he wanted me to show my true form," Joker rumbled in a voice no longer human. Skin flaked away and his massive body grew to an even more prodigious size. "Very well! Tremble in fear, mortals! God gives me my strength!" Gone was the fat slob and in its place was a monstrous demon. If not for the rows of sharp teeth in its wide mouth, it would have looked like a purple ball.

"My God," Nina breathed in horrified awe. She covered her mouth and nose in revulsion. "It smells like sulfur! Augh!"

"It's even uglier than Angus," Katt noted. "But at least it's big enough to hit!"

"Nina!" Mina cried, "Save me!"

At the sound of the girl's voice, Nina went into motion. She moved her hands through the patterns of a spell, hurling lightning and flame at the rotund monster. The barrage did not even faze it.

"Silly child," Joker rumbled. "I am God's servant! You shan't defeat me so easily!" It spat something from it's gut, something long and sticky—it's tongue. The appendage slapped Nina across the head, knocking her to the ground. The Windian let out a pained cry.

Katt quickly moved protectively in front of her, batting aside the whip-like tongue with her staff. "Get up, Nina!" she said, charging straight at the demon. She put all her strength into her attack, but did little more than break away a few chips of leather. "Why are these things built like brick houses?" she wondered in annoyance. A grunt escaped her lips as Joker slammed its thick body into her, sending her flying back.

"We're not making much progress," Nina said, wiping blood from a cut on her forehead. "It shrugs off our strongest blows."

Katt licked red stains off her lips. "Too bad we don't have a ceiling to drop on this guy," she bemoaned.

Nina looked up to the roof of the cavern. "Perhaps not," she said with a grim smile, "but I think I can find a good substitute. Katt, could you—"

"Distract him?" the Woren said with a grin. "Yeah, no problem. Seems I'm getting that job the more we fight these things." Katt rushed back into the melee with a wild battle cry.

While the Woren kept Joker busy, Nina aimed at the object she saw up above—a stalactite. It would take all of her energy to make her plan work, but she was sure it would end the fight quickly. It was their only chance for victory, in any case. A bolt of lightning shot out of her fingers and sliced through the base of the stalactite. It dropped several feet before she could catch it with magical winds. She moved her hands, manipulating the currents of wind and telekinesis. The stalactite oriented itself horizontally and aimed at Joker's heart.

"Katt!" Nina shouted. "Get down!" As the Woren ducked, the Windian launched her makeshift lance. The stone weapon pierced Joker straight through, impaling him fully and nailing him to the wall. The creature thrashed and wailed in its death throes, but finally expired with a final spattering of black ichor.

Katt went to Mina, grabbed the collar, and ripped it apart with strong claws. The Windian girl rushed over to her older sister, embracing the black-winged mage tightly. "You're all right now, Mina," Nina whispered soothingly, her cold determination vanishing under Mina's presence. Gone was the fierce magus; now Nina was a nurturing and caring sibling. "It's okay. It's okay."

"I'm glad you came to save me, Nina," the younger girl mumbled into the elder's dress. "I was so scared, but I knew you'd save me somehow. I never believed otherwise, not even for a moment."

Katt smiled at the tender reunion. Then her ears perked as a thought struck her. "Where's Ryu?" she asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about me," the ranger said, walking up to her. There were new slash marks through his jerkin and cuts covered his arms and face, but he was otherwise unharmed. "It looks like you two handled things here without any problems."

Katt jerked a thumb at Joker's ruined corpse. "He wasn't as tough as Angus," she said nonchalantly, puffing out her chest.

"I'm still concerned that we've fought two of these things in only a few days," Ryu murmured, kneeling by the corpse and studying it with the trained eye of a detective. "And they were based relatively close to each other—this mountain range and Corsair. I can't help but wonder if there are demons in the other cities, too."

The Woren frowned. "That's not a good thought," she said at last.

"No, but he brings up a good point," Nina said, still holding on to Mina. "I don't know what happened in Corsair, but I agree: the fact that you fought two of these demons in such close proximity to each other is a very bad sign. Not only that, Joker matches no known description of any recorded monster. Certainly, no monster in these regions has magical resistance like he had."

"Now that I think about it, Angus wasn't like anything I'd ever encountered before, either," Ryu said thoughtfully. "And if his thick hide was any indication, he was magic resistant as well."

The adventurers were silent for a long moment. Finally, Nina said, "A mystery for another day. Right now, I want to get Mina back home." She said the word 'home' with the slightest of hesitations, but Ryu did not miss it. He looked at her wonderingly, but decided that that, too, was a mystery for another day.

Instead, he said, "Windia is a long walk. But if you want some company, Katt and I will be more than happy to escort you."

The Windian smiled ironically at him. "Don't want to lose any customers?"

He grinned back. "Of course not."