Author's Note: Some people have been wondering about the lack of Shamans and Dragons. You won't see Shamans. Period. It was cool in the game, but it wouldn't make sense in a plot with this kind of storytelling. Trust me. It would look silly otherwise. And besides, Sanamo's a whore. Seny 4 evar, w00t.

As for dragon transformations, I have my own plans for it. So don't worry about it. Admittedly, there won't be too much of Ryu going all Super Saiya-jin and turning into a giant lizard, but it will be there. It just won't be what you'd expect.

Warning: This chapter is much darker and more graphic than normal. If you were wondering why I had so many happy/silly omake chapters, it's to take the edge off this chapter.

Translation Note: "Oneesan" means older sister. Yua applies this honorific to Nina.

Chapter Eighteen: Awakening

The oppressive darkness curled around the two captives like an iron vise, tantalizing with its promise of serenity while torturing with its blood-blackened blade. They hung there, bodies like lifeless straw scarecrows, haggard, thin, and battered. But despite hours of pain, endless minutes of agony, the flow of their lifeblood—they smiled.

"Quite…quite a number…they…did on us, aye, lad?" Sten whispered through vocal chords hoarse from pained cries and dehydration, through blood-flecked lips.

Ryu's head lolled from side to side dizzily. Red oozed from holes along his flanks and back, where their torturers had stabbed him repeatedly with thin iron spikes. It was testimony to his resilience that he survived. "Hell," the ranger growled, "This isn't more than…a…flesh…wound." He coughed and a piece of lung came out, a mockery to his bravado. He looked at the fleshy mass in revulsion.

Sten sighed and looked to the shadowy ceiling of the dungeon cell they had been placed in. "So we're going to die," he said with the calmness of a man who had long ago accepted that fact.

I…don't want to die, Ryu thought. Yua…I have to live to see Yua again. And…and…I have to live to see…to see…. He coughed again, the pain shutting out his thoughts. But when his mind cleared, he felt a strangeness in the air. "It's going to rain," he murmured offhandedly.

The Highlander tilted his head and sniffed. "Yer right," he agreed. "'Tis a downpour tonight."

Ryu recalled an old superstition that rain was simply the spirits of dead kin in mourning. Okasan…will shed tears for me tonight.

The door to their cell opened menacingly and a dark, familiar shadow entered. Ryu's body instinctively curled away in fear. This was the man who came to them nightly with his blades and his spikes and his devices.

And with him came the smell of sulfur.

There was no mistaking the red evil glow in his eyes; though he wore the guise of a Creeping Clan prince, he did nothing to hide his true heritage in their presence. There was no point, after all. "Gentlemen," the demon said in low, villainous tones, not bothering to mask the devilish timbre of his voice, "you haven't been very cooperative with my questioning; you resist to tell me just how much you know. So I will prepare dinner for you."

He walked up to Sten and took the Highlander's chin in his strong fingers. Sten tried to break away, but the demon's grip was like steel and when he squeezed, Sten felt his jaw crack. The red glow in the demon's eyes brightened. "We will need some meat for the entree, of course," informed the evil creature as he drew a serrated knife.

Sten screamed as his left ear was shorn from his flesh. The demon regarded it impassively. "We can make a fine delicacy out of this," he said serenely, "after all, the Creeping Clan are expert chefs." Then he heated the blade in a nearby fire and pressed the glowing metal against Sten's wound. Smoke and the smell of charring flesh rose. Sten's cries were bloodcurdling and his eyes were as wide as teacups.

Ryu struggled against his shackles, the rusty metal cutting lines across his wrists and ankles. "I'll kill you, you monstrous bastard!" He raged and pulled and thrashed, doing more damage to himself than good. But he could not feel the pain through his anger and through Sten's screams. "I'll kill you!"

The demon looked at him dispassionately, ice-cold and superior. "And still he has the strength to fight. Commendable, boy, but foolish. Do not think me a cruel man. I will eventually put you out of your misery. But you caused me quite a bit of trouble. Your little fiasco three days ago brought me under question. Indeed, some believe the man you saved to be the true Prince Jean. That is, of course, a heady obstacle in my plans."

But Ryu was not listening to his monologues. "Even if I have to cut my hands off to get free, I'll kill you," he promised grimly. "Even if it means I have to tear out your throat with my teeth. You're going to end up a corpse, just like Angus and Joker!"

That got the demon's attention. His frog-like head whipped around in surprised, eyes smoldering like embers, demonstrating his interest. "You killed Angus and Joker?" Then a wicked grin spread across his lips. "You?" He laughed…and laughed…and laughed.

Yua stood vigilant, looking toward the curtain walls of Simafort's Steel Cage, the maximum-security prison for traitors and national-level criminals. Ryu-niisan is in there somewhere, she thought. Hang in there, brother. I'll save you somehow.

Three days had passed since the rescue mission. Three days since Ryu and Sten had been captured and sent into the Steel Cage. Three days of worry and apprehension.

I just got him back. It isn't fair. I just got him back.

Yua's pain was almost too much for her to bear. But her pain was that of a sister. I can't imagine what Katt and Nina must be going through now. They love him, after all. As much as me. In a different way, but that makes it no less painful.

She thought back to those first hours after Ryu and Sten were captured. The memories were still sharp and hurting.

"You left him there!" Katt roared at her, feral and outraged. The Woren was out of control and was only a hairsbreadth from striking Yua with her fist. "You were supposed to go back there to pick them up!"

Yua, tears running rivers down her cheeks, shot back viciously, "I didn't have a choice! By the time I dropped Jean off, they already had archers manning the walls. I couldn't get anywhere near them! Nina, too!"

Katt's hand short forth, grabbing a fistful of Yua's shirt and pulling her close to the Woren's snarling visage. Fangs were bared. "Listen here, you little bitch! Nina at least tried to get in there. She got a crossbow bolt in her leg for that. You turned tail as soon as you saw them nock bows. Don't even think of putting yourself on Nina's level."

"Are you saying I didn't give it my best?" Yua whispered. "Are you saying I don't care about Ryu-niisan enough to risk my life for him?"

Katt held blue eyes with green ones. Icy sapphires burned against flinty emerald. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

The thief could not think straight after those damning words. She could not remember clearly what happened next, but she knew what happened after. There was a throbbing pain in her small fist, a red stain of blood across the knuckles. Katt was on her rump nursing a split lip.

"You little bitch," the Woren hissed fiercely, eyes hard.

But Yua was undaunted. Her eyes were ice. "Don't you ever think that I don't love him," she said stonily. "Don't you ever say that again. If you do, I swear I'll kill you."

The tears came down and she sniffled. But the hard anger, the burning anger, was still in her blue eyes. "I love my brother. I'd die for my brother. But I know he doesn't want me to throw my life away. It would sadden him to die uselessly. At least this way I can try to save him. What Nina did…putting herself at risk like that…would have saddened him too."

Yua grabbed Katt's breastplate and pulled their faces close. The thief was still crying, but her voice was as steady as steel. "I love my brother," she repeated, "and it's the kind of love that keeps you alive. Ryu-niisan doesn't want the kind of love where you throw your life away. Remember that." She let the Woren go and stormed out of the room.

Yua looked at the Steel Cage with that moment in mind. "I'll save him," she vowed.

"I know you will."

The thief turned and saw Nina coming up behind her. The Windian had a bandage around her thigh. "How are you feeling?" Yua asked.

"Better." Nina joined her in her vantage of the prison. "You and Katt have been avoiding each other for three days."

Yua looked away shamefacedly. "Harsh words were said."

"Katt loves your brother very much," Nina said by way of explanation. "And she's very passionate. It's no wonder she exploded on you. For what it's worth, she's felt real bad for doubting your loyalty to him ever since."

"And you?" Yua asked. "Do you question my love for Ryu-niisan? Because I don't question yours."

The Windian smiled sadly and handed an apple to her. "Dinner," she explained, even as the thief brought it to her lips. Nina sat down and motioned Yua to do the same. After a moment of silent thought, she said, "I love Ryu, too. I can't help it. And I admit, when you turned away from the castle wall…I did wonder. But now I know you're as devoted to him as he is to you."

Yua looked away, suddenly overcome with emotion. "That…you saying that…means a lot to me, Nina. Ten years is a long time, and sometimes I wondered if my brother and I would ever be as close as we were as children. You saying that makes me believe that we still are. And that is the most precious thing to me."

Nina's arms slid around Yua's slender shoulders, drawing the younger girl into an embrace. The thief blushed self-consciously but eventually lowered her defenses and sank into the Windian's sisterly warmth. "You should always protect precious things," Nina said wistfully. "And I—and Katt—will help you."

"Nina…."

"We'll save them," Nina promised. "You'll save him. I'm sure of it."

Her soft-spoken words carried nothing but confidence, nothing but hope. It was a good feeling to Yua. "Nina…thank you."

The Windian giggled suddenly. "I have a little sister you know," Nina said. "She's about your age and she sometimes needs to be reminded about things like this."

Yua smiled at her, at the warm embrace, and the confidence and the hope. "You're a good sister, Nina-neesan."

I'm dreaming again.

I see the Eye before more, that familiar Eye. It comfort me, seeing it. I feel…no more pain. The demon took so much, inflicted so much…but it all evaporates when that Eye looks upon me.

Okasan….

I found her, okasan. I found Yua. Just like otousan told me to. But now I'm the one who's lost. Someone needs to find me now.

A friend got hurt because of me. I screwed up. My plan screwed up. And a friend gets hurt. Is this how it has to be? The cleric said it had to be. I am a Dragon. Misfortune and disaster follow in our footsteps. Okasan, is this how it has to be?

If so…if so…. Yua doesn't need someone like that protecting her.

If so…if so…. Nina and Katt don't need someone like that, either.

If so…if so…then I don't want to wake up anymore.

But…I guess it's just not in me to get what I want. So I have to wake up. I guess…

…it can't be helped.

Ryu's eyes snapped open, their emerald ferocity not diminished in the slightest. Fresh blood ran down his battered flesh, but his senses were so dulled by three days of torture that he could not feel any pain. Indeed, he could barely think straight. But one thought cut through the haze.

Kill the bastard. Kill the bastard.

There had been a moment's reprieve earlier. A calmness. A familiar feeling. That was all past. Now there was only the mantra.

Kill the bastard.

The demon was cleaning his tools. No point in letting them rust due to negligence. Sten hung limply from his shackles, unconscious. His breath was ragged and his chest lifted only slightly with each intake. He could die—a very real possibility. But Ryu did not even think of Sten. Just the mantra.

Kill the bastard.

The demon was talking; Ryu could barely understand it. "To think that you are the Destined Child, the Fated Child, the so-called Chosen One. You're strong, I'll grant you that, but you haven't even begun to tap your power."

Kill the bastard.

"Your mother should never have come to the surface, if all she was going to produce was a failure like you. Truly a shame, but I will not deny a certain degree of pleasure in knowing that the dreaded Child is nothing more than the bastard son of a whore."

Kill the bastard. Kill the bastard.

"Consider yourself lucky, Destined Child. Had it been any other demon lord who found you, you would face a torment far greater than anything I could produce. There are ways to destroy you without ever touching your flesh. Those techniques are not mine to learn, but those who know them use them effectively. You pray for death now…but under their tender mercies, you'd scream for it."

I pray for nothing but your death.

"I was able to probe your mind a bit a while earlier. You remember? The sensation of my fingers digging through your gray matter, twisting away bits of memory and personality and self-awareness…you cried for mercy, begged for it. And after I stitched you back up, holding your brain in my hand, you wept. No? You don't remember. Ah well. As I learned while sifting around, you would say, 'It can't be helped,' yes?"

Die, die, die, die!

The demon grinned and Ryu saw his true shape beneath the disguise. It terrified him. "You call for my destruction," the demon crooned. "Yes, your mind is something I know intimately now, even though I put it back in its little skull. Your thoughts are known to me. Your desires—my death, your sister's safety—are known to me. Even those things you don't admit to yourself. Your fears, you secret lusts."

Kill the bastard.

The demon was laughing and it made the stones of the dungeon walls shudder with its vile sound. "You focus so much on that moment. Kill me? You can't even stand. You're too battered, too tired."

My truth is that and only that—the moment. And in this moment, I want his head.

"You won't have it, Destined Child." A knife flashed before the ranger's eyes, pressed against the flesh of shoulder, ran lightly down the length of his arm toward his wrist. The demon's eyes were embers, burning but with a calm flame. "You're battered. You can't stand because you're battered. But now—you won't stand because you'll be broken."

The plan was simple: storm the Steel Cage. The night would serve to give cover and surprise. Speed would serve to give them the advantage of time. Strike fast, concentrating only on freeing Ryu and Sten. Prince Jean, Princess Papeta, and several sympathizers were even lending aid. It was simple.

But then again, so was the plan to rescue Jean in the first place. Nina tried not to think about the outcome of that scheme.

Through the rain, she looked at her comrades, Yua and Katt, and her allies—the de Tapeta sympathizers. Jean had done an excellent job of rallying rebels against the imposter. Though the frog prince was profoundly foolish, Nina could not deny his charisma; the prince knew how to play his people's heartstrings. More than a dozen political bonfires had erupted across all of Simafort and its satellites in the last three days. Men were calling for the "False Prince" to be brought down. They called for Ryu and Sten's release as saviors of the True Prince. They numbered almost two hundred. It was very impressive.

Nina was glad for the support, but she could not shake the feeling that it would not be enough. Dread…I feel it. Something's happened to them. To Ryu and Sten. I wish I were a worshipper of Eva…then I could at least pray that they're all right.

Nina saw Katt, grim and frosty. She's trying so hard to be strong, the Windian knew. She feels so purely and so strongly. It's her gift. But right now, it's a curse. Worry must be tearing her apart.

She saw Yua, eyes distant and confused. It's even worse for Yua-chan. Being separated from Ryu, right after getting him back…I can't imagine how I'd feel if I lost Mina like that. Be strong, Yua. For him.

"Nina, it's time," Katt said, bringing her out of her reverie. The Woren looked haggard. The wound on her leg was making her favor one side, only adding to her tired appearance. Her earlier brush with Yua and worrying over Ryu and Sten was taking its toll. "If we're going to do this, we have to do it now."

Nina nodded. "Follow the plan. Split the sympathizers into two groups and send one to the main gates. While they provide a diversion, we'll take the rest and go right on through."

Katt fingered her staff. "Do you think we'll meet much resistance?"

The Windian shrugged. "The Steel Cage is a maximum security prison, but its guards expect people to break out, not break in. Let's just hope our allies can cause enough of a stir to give us a chance at Ryu and Sten. It all lies on speed, Katt. I pray we're fast enough."

And then it was time. The rain pattered on.

The storming was lightning fast. Before Nina knew it, she, Katt, Yua, and a hundred sympathizers were charging through the dark stone halls of the prison, bashing down any opposition. Though the intent was to subdue rather than kill, Nina wondered just how many innocent guards would meet the reaper before the dawn. Don't dwell on it, she thought, hardening her heart, concentrate on saving Ryu and Sten.

"Down this way!" Yua said, pointing down a set of stairs. "This is where…the torture chambers are." There was a catch to her voice. The thought of her brother…in there…. Hold on, Ryu-niisan! she thought.

The rest of the sympathizers were keeping the guards busy, so Nina, Katt, and Yua went down the stairs alone. Alone into the black, oppressive darkness.

They could smell sweat. They could smell blood. They could smell sulfur.

"The demon's down here," Katt said grimly, drawing her staff. Nina readied a spell on her lips. Yua drew a pair of stout daggers.

A throaty, menacing voice boomed, "Indeed he is! You must be the three that occupy the Destined Child's thoughts. A pleasure." The demon stepped out of the shadows, his disguise thrown aside. The demon lord stood tall and monstrous, resplendent in his vile beauty.

"I am Kuwadora," he announced proudly, "Lord of Pain. On behalf of Angus the Destroyer and Joker, King of Madness, I will crush you…as I did you friends."

"Where's Ryu?" Katt demanded, growling fiercely. "Where's Sten? What have you done to them?"

Kuwadora grinned, showing rows of steely teeth as long as the Woren's arm. "I showed them the true meaning of pain. Behold! Your beloved and your companion." The demon swept aside the darkness with a hand, unveiling Sten's scarred body. The Highlander breathed shallowly, hanging from the ceiling by his arms. Dried blood caked the left side of his face where his ear used to be. His eyes lolled in their sockets, confused and vacant.

Behind him was Ryu.

What was left of him.

At the sight, Yua's eyes widened and her face paled. The terror and horror were so great that she could only whimper.

The strong ranger hung from shackles, but it was clear that the tendons in his wrists and ankles had been severed. Scars and holes traced his body, making him into a caricature of a sow sent to the butcher. The skin of half his face and his flanks had been peeled away, revealing the musculature. His eyes had been removed and placed on a nearby pedestal—they still moved, still saw, though they had no optic nerves left.

Nina wanted to turn away from the sight, but she could only stare, horrifyingly fascinated. "Ryu, oh, God, Ryu," she murmured.

Katt was far more vocal. "You bastard!" she screamed, tears flowing wetly and causing her fur to mat against her cheeks. "You bastard! You rotten, dirty bastard! I'll kill you, you monster!"

The demon was unfazed. "He said the same thing when I took the Highlander's ear. Now, he is clinging to life by my will alone. If you take my life, you will end his. Look well, girl—this is all that is left of your lover."

The Woren screamed her fury. When it was spent, a cold, flinty hardness took its place. "Better to be dead than your toy," she growled. "If it's the only way, I'll kill you and free him from his pain." She advanced, staff in hand.

Nina and Yua were right behind her, iron-hard determination etched into their eyes.

Kuwadora looked upon them as a schoolmaster would at upstart children. "Then I will send you to join your lover in hell."

I'm dreaming.

I see them fighting the demon. I them dying, even though he tore my eyes out and put them on a pedestal. I watch him tear them Katt in half as she charges at him. Her tattered remains slap my unfeeling legs. I watch him stab Nina in the heart and devour her. I watch him batter Yua to the ground and force himself on her. I hear her screams. I want to stop it. I want to stop it, but I can't move. I can't move at all. I don't have any tendons left to move with. So I scream, even though he already cut out my tongue.

You're not dreaming.

Who is that?

The one who sleeps inside. There are two paths before you. The future…and the moment.

I see the future…but….

The past is immutable. The future is malleable. You cannot return to the past, but you can change your future. Decide, Destined Child. The future…or the moment.

My truth is the moment. It will always be the moment. I choose the moment.

Then awaken….

An Eye…I see an Eye….

Awaken…my Destined Child.

He's too strong, Nina thought worriedly, clutching at her broken arm. The demon had beaten them in mere heartbeats. Katt lay battered on the ground, barely conscious. She groaned and forced herself onto her elbows. Nina limped over to her, kneeling protectively over the Woren.

Yua stood before Kuwadora, alone and afraid, but unwilling to back down. I don't want to throw my life away, she thought. Ryu-niisan would be sad if I did. But I'm not running away. I will save him.

"You have the blood of Dragons in your veins," the demon observed. "It smells rich and thick in your veins, little girl."

Yua tightened her grip on her daggers. "I don't know what you're talking about. All I care about is my brother. Let him and Sten go."

Kuwadora laughed mockingly. "Little girl, you haven't a prayer. The Destined Child is little more than my plaything. There isn't much left for you to save. It is useless to fight—" Something stilled the demon's tongue. The dungeon walls shuddered…trembling with fear of something far greater than the blackest of evils.

There was the sound of metal shattering. "What?" Kuwadora wondered. He turned and saw Ryu standing—standing! "Impossible! I slashed you ankles…."

Yua looked on in awe. "Ryu-niisan…."

Katt, lying in Nina's arms, murmured, "Looks like…he didn't need…our help…after all." She smiled. "Good old Ryu."

Where the ranger's eyes should have been, the empty sockets now flared with jade fire. His teeth were bared, with sharp canines flashing. A growl, low and thunderous, inhuman and majestic, rumbled in his chest and echoed against every stone block. An unseen wind whipped dust and gravel around him; Ryu was shielded by a torrential cyclone. Lightning crackled and sparked.

Kuwadora himself felt a shiver that quickly escalated to terror. "This is the power of the Destined Child!" he cried.

Ryu issued a cry of fury, of hatred, of pain…something answered it.

Blackness surrounded the ranger, misted over and enveloped him. More lighting arced around the inky sphere. Neither Yua, nor Katt, nor Nina could see into that mysterious shadow. They could only hear the birth of something terrible within.

And then, from the hidden depths of the blackness, something released an ancient cry: the roar of a Dragon.

The sphere dissipated. Within was a creature whose beauty was breathtaking. Large enough to fill the room, it was all muscle and red-gold scales, with a rippling chest armored by a yellow road of thick leathery plates. The snarling visage, gorgeous despite its terrible, intimidating appearance, bared teeth as long and sharp as sword blades. Plumes of white smoke wafted from dark nostrils in which ember-like flames smoldered.

Where Ryu once stood was a Dragon.