Author's Note: It's been a few months since I last updated, but now finals are just about over, so I can finally finish this story and move on to other projects. With any luck, I can compartmentalize the last few segments of the game into three chapters!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Last Flight

The loss of Sten Legacy was a blow that continued to ache even after a week of mourning. They had all lost a dear friend that day in Highfort, and they took the pain in their own way. Yua quietly cried, Katt took to punching rocks, trees, or anything else that she could vent her anger on, while Nina simply prayed that the tired old soldier had found some measure of peace in death.

Ryu, however, was more active in the days since Sten's demise. "This killing and sorrow ends now," he said after leaving Highfort, "Myria and Saint Eva have gone far enough. We draw the line here—they go no farther." He spoke with such command, such determination, that none of his friends even questioned the energy and purpose he displayed thereafter.

His dedication was frightening, really. After the transformation, Ryu had seemed guided by fate and simply let the currents of destiny carry him forward. But Sten was like the catalyst that reminded him that fate sometimes needed a firm hand to yank it around. Now he planned. The old logical, earthy Ryu had come back with a vengeance.

They knew that the Church of Saint Eva lay on an island far, far to the southeast. Ships and transport were heavily regulated, meaning that obtaining direct passage to the island would be next to impossible. Conventional flight would likewise be physically unwise—Nina, Yua, and Ryu could only fly so far before their wings would grow exhausted.

Which is why they have returned to Windia. "There is a legend," Nina was saying as the group crossed the vast Windian Bridge once again, "of how our people could once turn into Great Birds that could fly anywhere in the world. Over time, this power has dwindled, and now only a magical device will allow a Windian to take the shape of the Great Bird." Nina hoped that she hid her perturbation well.

She probably did not. "Are you all right?" Ryu asked in concern. There had been a subtle undertone to the Windian's voice.

"I'm fine," Nina replied stiffly.

"Is it because of your parents?" he asked, jumping to the logical conclusion.

Nina nodded slowly, hoping that this would defer his worry. "Yes…that's it. I don't think I'm ready yet to face them…but we have to press on, right?"

Ryu gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. Yua took her hand. "It'll be okay, Nina-neesan."

No, it won't, the Windian thought glumly. But with any luck, this will be the last sacrifice anyone will have to make.

Suddenly, Katt slapped her on the back. "Buck up, Nina! If anyone's got a bad thing to say about your wings, I'll beat 'em into the dirt! Ha!"

Nina smiled at the Woren's enthusiasm. "Let's not cause another international debacle, Katt. Anyway, thank you all for your support. Come, the gate lies before us."

The four travelers passed through the guarded portcullis with no resistance—surprising, considering how Nina's black wings were regarded in this region. Their hopes for a quiet trip through Windia were quickly dashed when a troupe of castle guards arrived, bristling with armor and weapons. "Halt," they said, "and go no farther. You are the adventurers traveling with Nina Windia—you will come with us."

"We have done nothing wrong," Ryu said coldly, crossing his massive scaled arms across his broad chest. It gained the desired effect; most of the troopers shuffled nervously on booted feet.

But the guard captain was adamant. "This is a royal order, from the crown itself. Come with us."

That got the friends' attention. They looked at each other, immensely curious. The king and queen wanted to meet with them? Personally? Nina looked at the guard in the eye and said, "We will come quietly—but as guests, not prisoners."

"The Royal Highnesses specifically said that you were to be treated with the utmost cordiality," the captain replied, which only furthered the friends' surprise.

Later, when they finally arrived at the palace, they were treated to a quiet repast of relaxing wine and pastries, which settled their nerves some. Nina, however, was at a loss. This was not how she expected her homecoming to play out. She expected ridicule or warding, not welcome and cookies. Her edginess must have shown through her normally composed exterior, for Yua gently rubbed her forearm.

Nina touched her hand with a smile, silently telling her that she was all right. To prove the point, she delicately nibbled at a tart to pass the time. With all of the strange happenings lately, she wondered what the meeting with her parents would be like.

She was about to find out, for the regal rulers of Windia entered, resplendent in silks that complemented the pristine whiteness of their wings. Nina felt a tumult of emotions well in her heart at the sight. Resentment for being outcast because of her midnight feathers. Joy at seeing her parents once more. Sadness for being away for so long. Then happiness returned, for she saw her sister, Mina, walk in behind the king and queen.

Mina looked like she wanted to rush into Nina's arms then and there, with only propriety and her parents' hardened visages barring her way. The older Windian sister felt the same. What were those too-regal, too-stiff faces waiting for?

Suddenly, the tense silence was broken by a quiet, motherly command. "Mina, go to your sister."

Even before Nina could get around being acknowledged as blood-kin, she felt Mina's light weight barrel into her midriff. She wrapped her arms around her sister's long tresses, petted her soft wings, and held her close. "Welcome back, Nina," Mina murmured.

Nina looked up and saw Ryu, Yua, and Katt's smiles; she smiled back. Then she turned to regard her parents with wonder. "Why?" she asked simply, that one word engulfing all her questions and emotions without doing them justice.

"Yes, why?" Katt asked. "You didn't give her the most parental welcome last time we visited," she added bitterly.

"All in good time," said the king. "Is it so hard to believe that we want our daughter back?"

"It is," Nina said quietly, extricating herself from Mina's embrace, but leaving their hands fiercely clasped. "All this time you've neglected me, left me in boarding schools, kept me away. I know it's because of my wings and the curse that's supposed to befall Windia…so why break out of the habit now?" With each word, she grew louder and angrier, years of buried pain finally reaching the surface.

With each word, the king and queen winced as if stabbed by a knife. "It's true that we were told that a calamity would come when a member of the royal family was born with black wings," said the queen. "We didn't want to see you hurt by mobs, so we sent you away."

"So why accept her now?" Ryu pressed with no small amount of anger himself. Nina was not one to surrender to her emotions; it made his blood boil to know that she had been suppressing so much agony.

"We've been receiving reports of all you four have done over the past few months," the king answered. "You've brought nothing but good into this world. I do not know who keeps sending these monsters, but you've stopped them time and again." He walked up to Nina and rested hands on her shoulders. "You've done so much, Nina. Everything you've done has brought pride into our hearts."

"We were wrong, Nina," the queen said quietly. "We shouldn't have run away from the problem. We should have tried to help you, as you've helped so many. We were wrong, and every day since you left us, we have regretted our decisions. Forgive us."

These words took Nina's breath away, but tears welled in her eyes. Sobbing, the salty liquid coursed down her cheeks. "Mother, Father," she murmured, saying the words with the care of someone who had never spoken them in their life. She broke free of Mina's grip and threw herself into her parents' arms, receiving a crushing embrace in return.

Yua found her brother out on the balcony, staring into the night sky. She shivered. "Aren't you cold, Ryu-niisan?"

He shook his head. "This body doesn't feel heat or cold," he said simply.

"Oh, really," she dryly replied, hopping onto the railing and kicking her feet over the edge. "Well, for us lesser mortals, we like to stay warm."

He ignored her sarcasm. "Is Nina still with her family?"

"Yup. They've got lots to catch up on. Don't know where Mina or Katt are, though."

"I'm glad she's back with them," he said with a hint of sadness that Yua did not miss.

"What's wrong, big brother?"

He was silent for a long moment, but finally yielded. "I was thinking of all the people we've met in our travels. And all the people who ended up dying. I don't want you, Katt, or Nina to come with me when I go to Saint Eva's Church, Yua."

The girl balked, almost falling off the railing. "Like hell we aren't!"

"Please, Yua—I mean it. Once we have the power of the Great Bird, I want to be the only one who stages the attack on Eva and Myria. Bow and Sten are already dead because I couldn't protect them. I don't want the rest of you to get hurt, too."

"It's not up to you to make that decision!" she countered loudly. "We've put too much on the line already.

We have just as much right to seeing this through as you do. So you don't get a choice, Ryu Bateson. We're coming with you."

The dragonman was not convinced, but he wisely kept any more of his opinions to himself.

Those few hours with her family were the best in Nina's life. For years, she harbored a seemingly hopeless dream, where she could talk with her parents like a normal daughter, where the color of her wings did not bring an eerie pall over their talk. Now, that hope was realized.

Thus, it saddened her to have to come to business. She came to Windia for a reason, and no matter how pleasantly surprised she was at her welcome, that reason needed to be addressed.

"The mark of the wing," the king murmured quietly, his shoulders limp and sagging.

"You can't…" the queen said, "you just came back to us…."

Nina wiped her eyes and nodded. "I know. That's what makes this even harder. I know what the sacrifice is; I know what's required. But Saint Eva is evil, and the only way to stop this madness is to go to the heart of darkness itself. For that, we'll need the mark of the wing."

After some silence, the queen asked, "Do…do your friends know?"

Nina shook her head. "It's best that they don't. Ryu especially. He'd stop me, even though he's the one who wants to destroy Eva the most."

"That is because he loves you, isn't it?" the queen noted. "It is very obvious to those who have been in love. Which is even more reason why you should reconsider, Nina! To lose yourself as the Great Bird…to never live as a human again…."

"…Is something I choose to do," Nina said adamantly. "Too many have suffered because we couldn't do what needed to be done. If I can do what needs to be done, then I will."

Her chin met her chest. "Please," she said quietly. "It hurts enough as it is. Please don't make it harder. In a way, it would have been easier if you still…."

"Don't finish that," the king said. "We love you, Nina. Now and forever." He reached over and drew his daughter into a tight hug, kissing her forehead. "My brave girl…we love you." Then he let his arms fall and unclasped a medallion around his throat. Upon with was a silver angel's wing. This he handed to her. "The mark of the wing," he said simply, pushing away a sob.

Nina wrapped her fingers around the cold metal. It seemed heavier than it looked, though that could have simply been her spirit. "Father, Mother…I'm sorry—Huh?"

Suddenly, thin hands snatched the medallion from her grasp. A flash of silk and white wings darted past toward the stairs.

"Mina!" Nina cried. "Damn it! She must have been eavesdropping! Mina, wait!" The Windian rushed to catch up, half-flying, half-running. Oh, God! Mina, Mina, Mina! Don't, you stupid girl!

"Mina! Mina!" Ryu heard Nina shout.

"What the hell?" he wondered. He grabbed Yua by the arm. "Let's go!" he said. With a powerful burst of his wings, the Bateson siblings flew from the balcony toward Nina's cries. They perched upon the railing of Windia Castle's tallest spire. They caught the glinting of moonlight upon midnight wings.

"Nina, over here!" Ryu called. Nina flew over to them. "What's going on?" he asked, seeing her flustered countenance.

"It's Mina!" she explained hurriedly. "She's going to do something incredibly stupid!" The Windian rushed past them into the spire.

"What? What?" Yua asked, following close behind.

"It's the Great Bird…I didn't tell you this before…to become the Great Bird, we must permanently transform into one."

Ryu balked. "You were going to do that? Nina, how could you!"

She looked away from him. "Please, Ryu, not now. I thought it best that I make the sacrifice…but Mina overheard."

He nodded in sudden understanding. "And she's going to take your place. We have to stop her!"

They arrived at a pair of massive iron doors, sealed by lock and magic. Beyond were the sounds of sorcery, crackling and humming with a life all its own. Nina pounded her small fists against the unyielding metal. "MINA! MINA!"

Ryu gently took her aside and cracked his massive knuckles. "Let me," he said, slamming his great fist into the iron. He left a dent, but even his claws proved unable to tear the doors apart.

"MINA!" Nina kept on shouting. "Come out of there now, Mina! Please! You don't need to do this!"

"And neither do you, sister," came Mina's soft voice. She sounded so serene, in stark contrast to Nina's frantic wails. "All my life, I've looked up to you. All my life, I wanted to do something to help you. You were always so sad when I came to visit. Now I can do something. Please, Nina. Let me help."

Ryu managed to tear a long, wide gash through the door. A bright white light spilled out of it. There was a moan…and then silence and darkness.

"MINAAAA!"

The friends stood atop the highest spire of Windia Castle with the Great Bird. The king and queen had come to see them off.

They did not say much. There was not much to say.

The Great Bird nuzzled its beak against Nina's back; she fondly stroked it, though her smile was sad indeed.

Ryu mounted first, pulling Yua and Katt upon the majestic creature's long neck. The sight brought tears to the Windian's eyes, parent and sibling alike.

The king and queen drew their sole remaining daughter into a final embrace. "Mina would have wanted you to live happily," the king murmured.

"I wanted the same for her," Nina replied. "But that's not going to happen, is it? The curse…was real…after all."

"We thought it meant the end of Windia," the queen said. "We never expected the catastrophe to be like this."

"And in its own way, this is even worse than seeing Windia in flames," Nina said bitterly. She turned away, and mounted the Great Bird alongside her friends.

In silence, they left.