Breath of Fire 2: Chapter 1-Of pets, God Statues, Harpies and
Ruins
"Elder! Please give us work! We're full-fledged workers now and really want to do something!" Bow's voice rang out. Sixteen year-old Ryu Bateson and Bow Doggie stood before the elder of the Ranger's guild of Hometown. Ryu sighed as he watched the argument between the elder and Bow began. It has been ten years since their terrible encounter with the demon at Gate and Ryu couldn't forget what had happened. The only thing that puzzled him was why the demon had not taken his soul or his life yet as he laid on the ground, defenseless and near death. When both of them woke up, the three men who rescued them were concealed by cloaks and mystery as they had never shown their faces. The first had taught Ryu swordsmanship while the second taught Bow the art of using bows. The third had taught both of them in the art of thievery, which was something Ryu didn't learn much about, completely opposite from Bow.
"Alright, calm down now, Bow. There's one job that needs to be done." Ryu turned his attention back to the Elder as he spoke, throwing a piece of paper onto the desk.
"Finally.WHAT? FIND A GODDAMNED PET??!?"
".Well, that's the only job left around here, Bow, so if you don't take it."
"N-O NO. I don't want to do it. What kind of job is this? Some dumb guy loses his pet, which is his responsibility and wants us to help him find it back? Sheesh!" Bow ranted as the Elder covered his poor ears to escape the wrath of Bow's voice.
"Um, Bow." Ryu began but was cut off by the sound of a door opening. In stepped a pretty girl with waist-length blue hair and four foot six, one foot shorter than Ryu. She wore a dress of cascading purple topped with a pink bodice and had large, innocent eyes of green not unlike Ryu's. She also had a pair of wings of pure white, accentuating her pristine features. An eye-catching Winidian, Ryu thought as he recalled the lessons about the Wing Clan. Judging by her appearance and the youth of her face, Ryu felt that she must be around fourteen or fifteen years of age.
"Sir?" The pleasant voice that sounded like crystal bells floated across the room as the girl walked up to the desk. "Are these the men that will find my pet?" Ryu then realized that the girl walked with an impeccable grace that could put any swan to shame. She also wore a exquisite necklace of rubies. Ryu silently whistled in awe. This girl probably came from a rather prestigious family. He then noticed Bow's stunned and smitten expression and smirked to himself. While she didn't really catch his attention, Bow was definitely enraptured by her.
"Oh Mina." The Elder said to the lithe Winidian. "Well, they don't seem to want the job."
"Hang on a sec, Elder!" Bow immediately jumped up and exclaimed. "We didn't say we wouldn't do it, right, buddy?" He asked Ryu for confirmation, a strange glitter apparent in his eyes. Ryu just shrugged and nodded, the playful smirk directed at Bow who didn't seem to notice.
Bow ran up to Mina and talked quickly, "Mina! Youcanleaveittometofindyourpet!"
"Well, thank you very much!" Mina seemed not to notice how flustered Bow was as she smiled disarmingly at him, causing him to gain a new interest in his old leather boots.
"Leave it to us, Elder, and everything will be fine!" Bow shouted loudly, thumping his chest. Ryu sighed and decided to stay silent.
"Thank you very much again! Please find my Suzy as fast as possible, if it is not too much to ask for." She smiled sweetly, this time at both of the novice rangers. Bow flushed while Ryu returned a small smile and nodded.
"Leave it to us, elder!" Bow repeated. "It's a pity such a pretty girl just happened to have the bad luck of losing her pet, and as men, it's our duty to find it back and bring it back to her safely!"
The Elder sighed. ".You are a.calculating man, I must say, Bow. Anyway, just try your best, okay? And don't try to be a hero and do something rash."
Bow had already started to drag Ryu out just as the sentence was completed and the Elder sighed again. "That Bow.Maybe I ought to find some proper jobs for him."
* * * *
"Stupid guy, eh?" Ryu couldn't help but poke fun at his best friend. " Instead it turns out to be a 'unlucky pretty girl', for you.hmm.I find it funny how the stupid becomes the unlucky."
"Shaddup, pal. Let's just ask around. I can't wait to find her pet!" Bow replied with a dreamy expression on his face.
"You know, Bow, if you are gonna have such a terrible weakness for pretty girls, you might find yourself in a lot of trouble with them."
"I can't help it, can I? And don't you even find her attractive at all? You stood like a stone gargoyle there."
"Nah. She's pretty, sweet and all, but she's not my type and not my age, buddy, so .She's all yours to go after." Ryu grinned at his Grass Runner friend again, just to irritate him, but to no avail.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Bow's cheerful voice rang out. Ryu shook his head in resignation and followed his overexcited friend to inquire about the pet.
"There was someone strange to the south near Mount Fubi, Bow, maybe that could help you." The guard replied to Bow's question about the pet.
"Hmm.okay, thanks, Garrick! That oughta be some help." Bow said, patting the man on his back. "Let's go this corner.? There's only an old dragon statue here."
Ryu heard the last statement of Bow and stopped him from leaving the town. He had a sudden, overpowering urge to look at the statue. The blue-haired teen stepped forward and gaze at the statue.
Which suddenly opened its eyes and grinned at Ryu who of course, jumped back in surprise and knocked into Bow, sending him sprawling onto the ground.
"Hey there! So there are still curious people willing to pray to me? Lately, the new God St. Eva seemed to get all the attention of the people.no one pays any attention any more to the Dragon God. It was so pleasant then, the people praying, asking for my advice, my blessings." The statue ranted on and on till Ryu, who had recovered first, popped out a question as curiosity got the better of him.
" Erm.Who.or what are you?"
The statue seemed to turn and apologize profusely. "Oh my, sorry about that. Where were my manners? I guess complaining is one symptom that I am getting old.by the way, my name's Ladon, the Dragon God." The statue grinned a toothy grin, showing his phantom incisors and full row of sharp teeth.
"Eh, nice to meet you." Ryu said uncertainly. This statue was strange, but the Tear seemed to reflect no malevolent colours regarding the statue's intentions. " Pardon me, Great Ladon, but how did you 'fall out of favour' with the people?"
"Who knows, and call me Ladon. Hate all that formal stuff. Probably because I did not have any preachers left in this world, I guess. Perhaps you could help me."
"Whoa there, Great-I mean Ladon, we got jobs to do, now, so sorry." Bow said hurriedly. Ryu cut him off immediately.
"Maybe, I could pray to you, Ladon. I'm not a firm believer of St.Eva and kinda need to put my faith in some other.entity or something." Ryu offered and the ethereal body from the statue took a pose of considering his offer.
"Hmm.okay then! That will be fine by me, I guess. Anyway, if you go on and pray to my other statues found in other places, you could unlock secret powers of mine." The ethereal form winked and faded out. "Thanks for your offer!"
"That was scary." Bow stated. "You don't seemed frightened or shaken, though, buddy."
"Dunno. I just thought this would be normal. Anyway, Let's go find a pet."
* * * *
"Damned. These Gongheads are hard to kill. Stupid shells." Bow muttered as he barely had time to dodge its attack.
"Mmm..." Ryu replied absently-mindedly as he cleaved an E.Sludge into two, his sword singing the song of battle. Those Gongheads look familiar, perhaps they were cousins of the one he had fought in Gate?
"Look ou-" Bow's warning came as a Leech came flying towards Ryu from the back. Without, looking, Ryu spun about and ducked, then slashed upwards, jumping together as he did so. The Leech was cut in half, its upper half still writhing as it died.
"Wow. Nice one buddy. But how did you know without any warning?" Bow asked as they paused to catch their breath before moving on.
"Dunno. Must be that the training paid off." Ryu replied nonchalantly as he cleaned the greenish blood off his sword and sheathe it. "There's Mount Fubi, Bow. Ain't you excited?" Ryu said with a sly grin.
"Yeah! Suzy must be in there somewhere. Hope she doesn't get attacked or eaten, or Mina's gonna be very sad." Bow said worriedly and excitedly at the same time. "Come on buddy, Let's go!"
* * * *
"Psst, Psst! Its big!"
"Huh?" Did you say something, dude?" Bow turned to ask Ryu, who shrugged and had an expression that mirrored Bow's puzzled one. Bow seemed to ponder about something, but shrugged in the end and went into the first cavern they came across.
Moments later, Bow's mood turned sour again as they found themselves surrounded once again by Small Goblins. They somehow managed to overcome the monsters and reached a spring. "Finally, we can rest, buddy. Ya need some water?" Bow asked, exhausted as he walked towards the spring, water coming out of a miniature dragonhead.
"Thanks, but I can get some myself." Ryu replied, bandaging up a small cut on his hand." By the way, that's a healing spring. It fades your wounds and energizes you.
"Really?" Came Bow's muffled reply as he gulped down large quantities of the water. "That's cool."
And they continued on, battling any monsters who seem bent on eating them for lunch. They heard the voice again as they exited the mountain caverns they had entered on a different level.
"Lucky it's handsome! All we take now lately are cats and dogs!"
"Yeah, and maybe the occasional sheep."
"Be quiet, sisters! We need to hide and ambush our food, ya know."
"As if you are quiet."
the squabbling went on, leaving two puzzled novice rangers at the bottom of a natural ramp.
"Oh well," Ryu shrugged and went up ahead of Bow, not giving a damn about who the owners of the voices were.
He was about to find out.
"Here we go! 1.2.3.GO!"
"Wha-" Ryu barely dodged in time as three sets of talons swiped at him. He looked up to see three harpies flying about.
"I want the handsome one!" Said the first harpy, and she swooped down upon the pair.
"Does she mean me?" Bow said, as he prepared for battle. Were circumstances not so grim, Ryu would have teased his friend. He dodged the harpy's attack easily and countered it.
"Hey! He's mine, Peach!" The second harpy attacked Ryu with the same results.
"Stop, Palo! Puti wants him!" The third harpy swooped down recklessly and this time, Ryu's attack struck home. Puti went down in a shower of blood.
"Sis!" The other two harpies cried out. Two arrows embedded themselves into Palo's chest and she fell.
"AHH!!" Peach screeched as she dove straight at Ryu with a berserk rage. "DIE!"
"Ryu! Get out of the way so I can get a clear shot at her!" Bow cried as he watched, slightly anxious for his friend. All he received in reply was a devilish smile and a glint in Ryu's emerald eyes as he stood his ground. As Peach neared him, He threw up his sword hilt first and grabbed her talons and held them in check. Peach screamed and struggled wildly. Ryu, who seemed to be waiting for something, suddenly smirked and let go of her talons, earning three talon marks across his chest.
The sword plunged down into Peach's back and her eyes went wide from anger to triumph to shock as her dropped onto the cliff of the mountain, dead.
Ryu retrieved his sword and turned to Bow. "You okay, pal?" Bow looked at him, open-mouthed and pointed silently to Ryu's wound. "Oh that? It's okay, man. Somehow I don't feel much pain. Training must have really paid off and at least I know I'm handsome." He added, trying to lighten the mood. Bow scowled at him or rather, the smug grin on his face.
Bow then closed his mouth and gasped as though he had suddenly realized something. "Could it be that, those things had eaten Suzy?..I really hope not. Let's go find her quickly!"
"You betcha." Ryu replied. "Let's start by combing the mountain. Maybe Suzy's hidden somewhere there." Bow nodded his approval and the best friends made their way to the top of the mountain.
"Let's move this rock." Bow said and without waiting for Ryu's response, he shoved the rock down. It bounced and hit an enormous boulder, which subsequently bounced about like a basketball and crashed down, wrecking the first cavern entrance.
"Wow." Was all Ryu said as they looked at the chain reaction. "At least we have a quicker exit now, Thanks to you, Bow." Bow laughed nervously and quickly looked about for witnesses. Satisfied and relieved that there was no one around, Bow darted into the entrance of the cavern.
* * * *
"So there leaves the west of Mount Fubi, where some ruins are located." Ryu stated as they walked towards the very place he had just mentioned.
"Suzy has just got to be there! There isn't anywhere else-" A horrified scream cut off the rest of his words and the rangers immediately sprang into action, charging towards the ruins at full speed.
"It came from inside here, Bow!" Ryu exclaimed as he charged in, longsword in hand. "Hey, is everything fine? What the-" The duo came face to face with six cockroaches the size of a man's forearm surrounding an old man. Three bolts from the crossbow of Bow's and three successive slashes were enough to finish the battle.
"Hey, you alright?" Bow asked the man.
"Yeah, got scared out of my skin- ARGH! It's HUMONGOUS!!! D-Don't come near me!!!"
Ryu whirled about and saw a cockroach about six feet in length skittering towards them while Bow fought down a sound of revulsion and they readied for yet another tiring battle.
Despite the sheer size of the insect, the fight was a short one and Bow did the honour of reviving the old man, who promptly fainted upon sighting the giant cockroach. Looking at the way he dressed, Ryu could only deduced that this man must either be a beggar or has traveled a lot. Torn overcoat, scraggly beard in dire need of a shave, tanned skin, wearing a pair of smelly old boots with his toes pointing out rather obtrusively, an extremely faded travelling cloak and a balding head with sunken eyes. He probably did not have enough food to eat for some time.
"Whoa, that was the biggest cockroach I have ever saw. Never seen anything like it in all my years of wandering." The old man shook his head as though trying to clear it. "Never had to fight cockroaches just to protect my food." The old man mumbled to himself. Then, he saw the duo scrutinizing him. "Oh, my apologies. My name us Niro, and I have decided to settle down here after years of endless and boring wandering. Those times were good though, fighting Basilisks and the like." The old man rambled on until he came back to reality about five minutes later, leaving Bow yawning rudely.
"Oops, there I go, rambling again. Anyway, I was going to eat the food before they could return from their first attacks. Since you two saved me, then I guess I will have to share it with you."
He strolled over to a nearby cauldron on fire and produced a chubby pig from his torn overcoat. "Emm-mm! Doesn't it look delicious? Since you youngsters rescued me, I will give you the two legs. Add a little chilli and some spices and voila! The pig will be ready to eat!"
"What's this? Ah, doesn't matter. I'll just boil you for a bit till you are tender and fragrant." Niro said as he unhooked the collar around the pig's neck and threw it carelessly over his shoulder, which landed right on Bow's nose.
"Hey, watch it old man! That hurts!" The Grass Runner complained, rubbing his sore nose as he picked up the collar. His expression froze as he looked at the nametag on the collar. "Ryu?"
"Yeah?"
"Let me confirm this. We are supposed to look for Mina's pet, right? And her pet's name.is S-U-Z-Y, right?"
"Uh-huh. Wait, you don't mean." Ryu looked at Bow in horror and they realized simultaneously.
"The pig is Suzy!!!"
The next thing that happened was madness. Ryu and Bow both scrambled over to the cauldron to push Niro aside. Bow tripped over Ryu and singed his fur upon slight touch of the fire while Ryu grabbed a nearby bucket of water to put out the fire, soaking Bow in the process. Niro had rushed up to stop them but bundled Ryu over, both falling over and pleasantly rewarded by the cold and dirty water remaining in the bucket splashed all over them while Bow pulled out the struggling Suzy quickly, scalding his paws as a result.
"Phew, Suzy looks fine to me. It's a good thing we realized it in the nick of time, right guys?"
"Yeah Bow."
Niro gave out a sigh. "Darn it, all that good food gone just like that." He took a pleading stance that implied 'can I have a bite of the pig before you go first?'
"Over my dead body, pal!" Bow replied back anxiously, afraid the old geezer might try something funny to get Suzy. He quickly tucked Suzy into his bag despite her outraged 'oinks' of protests. "
"All right! Mina's gonna be so happy I found her! Maybe she will even give me a kiss.Then I could ask her out for dinner."
"Uh, buddy."
"In a posh restaurant with champagne."
"Uh, Bow."
"Then we will walk under the moonlight."
"Bow."
"Then we will declare our love for each other, then we will kis-"
"BOW!!!! SNAP OUT OF IT MAN!"
" Huh, what?" Bow turned around, irritated his daydream had ended so abruptly. He came face to face with a extremely irked Ryu and a amused Niro.
"Good. At least you're awake. Now I assume you want to rush back?"
"That goes without question!!! Let's go!" With that, Ryu found himself pulled by Bow, travelling at the point where they were about the break the sound barrier of speed.
Ryu sighed. His friend was never ever going to change.
A Happy New Year to all readers! Plz R&R.
P.S: Keep in mind the New Year resolutions you have for themselves. Do your part to fulfill them and all the best for 2004!
"Elder! Please give us work! We're full-fledged workers now and really want to do something!" Bow's voice rang out. Sixteen year-old Ryu Bateson and Bow Doggie stood before the elder of the Ranger's guild of Hometown. Ryu sighed as he watched the argument between the elder and Bow began. It has been ten years since their terrible encounter with the demon at Gate and Ryu couldn't forget what had happened. The only thing that puzzled him was why the demon had not taken his soul or his life yet as he laid on the ground, defenseless and near death. When both of them woke up, the three men who rescued them were concealed by cloaks and mystery as they had never shown their faces. The first had taught Ryu swordsmanship while the second taught Bow the art of using bows. The third had taught both of them in the art of thievery, which was something Ryu didn't learn much about, completely opposite from Bow.
"Alright, calm down now, Bow. There's one job that needs to be done." Ryu turned his attention back to the Elder as he spoke, throwing a piece of paper onto the desk.
"Finally.WHAT? FIND A GODDAMNED PET??!?"
".Well, that's the only job left around here, Bow, so if you don't take it."
"N-O NO. I don't want to do it. What kind of job is this? Some dumb guy loses his pet, which is his responsibility and wants us to help him find it back? Sheesh!" Bow ranted as the Elder covered his poor ears to escape the wrath of Bow's voice.
"Um, Bow." Ryu began but was cut off by the sound of a door opening. In stepped a pretty girl with waist-length blue hair and four foot six, one foot shorter than Ryu. She wore a dress of cascading purple topped with a pink bodice and had large, innocent eyes of green not unlike Ryu's. She also had a pair of wings of pure white, accentuating her pristine features. An eye-catching Winidian, Ryu thought as he recalled the lessons about the Wing Clan. Judging by her appearance and the youth of her face, Ryu felt that she must be around fourteen or fifteen years of age.
"Sir?" The pleasant voice that sounded like crystal bells floated across the room as the girl walked up to the desk. "Are these the men that will find my pet?" Ryu then realized that the girl walked with an impeccable grace that could put any swan to shame. She also wore a exquisite necklace of rubies. Ryu silently whistled in awe. This girl probably came from a rather prestigious family. He then noticed Bow's stunned and smitten expression and smirked to himself. While she didn't really catch his attention, Bow was definitely enraptured by her.
"Oh Mina." The Elder said to the lithe Winidian. "Well, they don't seem to want the job."
"Hang on a sec, Elder!" Bow immediately jumped up and exclaimed. "We didn't say we wouldn't do it, right, buddy?" He asked Ryu for confirmation, a strange glitter apparent in his eyes. Ryu just shrugged and nodded, the playful smirk directed at Bow who didn't seem to notice.
Bow ran up to Mina and talked quickly, "Mina! Youcanleaveittometofindyourpet!"
"Well, thank you very much!" Mina seemed not to notice how flustered Bow was as she smiled disarmingly at him, causing him to gain a new interest in his old leather boots.
"Leave it to us, Elder, and everything will be fine!" Bow shouted loudly, thumping his chest. Ryu sighed and decided to stay silent.
"Thank you very much again! Please find my Suzy as fast as possible, if it is not too much to ask for." She smiled sweetly, this time at both of the novice rangers. Bow flushed while Ryu returned a small smile and nodded.
"Leave it to us, elder!" Bow repeated. "It's a pity such a pretty girl just happened to have the bad luck of losing her pet, and as men, it's our duty to find it back and bring it back to her safely!"
The Elder sighed. ".You are a.calculating man, I must say, Bow. Anyway, just try your best, okay? And don't try to be a hero and do something rash."
Bow had already started to drag Ryu out just as the sentence was completed and the Elder sighed again. "That Bow.Maybe I ought to find some proper jobs for him."
* * * *
"Stupid guy, eh?" Ryu couldn't help but poke fun at his best friend. " Instead it turns out to be a 'unlucky pretty girl', for you.hmm.I find it funny how the stupid becomes the unlucky."
"Shaddup, pal. Let's just ask around. I can't wait to find her pet!" Bow replied with a dreamy expression on his face.
"You know, Bow, if you are gonna have such a terrible weakness for pretty girls, you might find yourself in a lot of trouble with them."
"I can't help it, can I? And don't you even find her attractive at all? You stood like a stone gargoyle there."
"Nah. She's pretty, sweet and all, but she's not my type and not my age, buddy, so .She's all yours to go after." Ryu grinned at his Grass Runner friend again, just to irritate him, but to no avail.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Bow's cheerful voice rang out. Ryu shook his head in resignation and followed his overexcited friend to inquire about the pet.
"There was someone strange to the south near Mount Fubi, Bow, maybe that could help you." The guard replied to Bow's question about the pet.
"Hmm.okay, thanks, Garrick! That oughta be some help." Bow said, patting the man on his back. "Let's go this corner.? There's only an old dragon statue here."
Ryu heard the last statement of Bow and stopped him from leaving the town. He had a sudden, overpowering urge to look at the statue. The blue-haired teen stepped forward and gaze at the statue.
Which suddenly opened its eyes and grinned at Ryu who of course, jumped back in surprise and knocked into Bow, sending him sprawling onto the ground.
"Hey there! So there are still curious people willing to pray to me? Lately, the new God St. Eva seemed to get all the attention of the people.no one pays any attention any more to the Dragon God. It was so pleasant then, the people praying, asking for my advice, my blessings." The statue ranted on and on till Ryu, who had recovered first, popped out a question as curiosity got the better of him.
" Erm.Who.or what are you?"
The statue seemed to turn and apologize profusely. "Oh my, sorry about that. Where were my manners? I guess complaining is one symptom that I am getting old.by the way, my name's Ladon, the Dragon God." The statue grinned a toothy grin, showing his phantom incisors and full row of sharp teeth.
"Eh, nice to meet you." Ryu said uncertainly. This statue was strange, but the Tear seemed to reflect no malevolent colours regarding the statue's intentions. " Pardon me, Great Ladon, but how did you 'fall out of favour' with the people?"
"Who knows, and call me Ladon. Hate all that formal stuff. Probably because I did not have any preachers left in this world, I guess. Perhaps you could help me."
"Whoa there, Great-I mean Ladon, we got jobs to do, now, so sorry." Bow said hurriedly. Ryu cut him off immediately.
"Maybe, I could pray to you, Ladon. I'm not a firm believer of St.Eva and kinda need to put my faith in some other.entity or something." Ryu offered and the ethereal body from the statue took a pose of considering his offer.
"Hmm.okay then! That will be fine by me, I guess. Anyway, if you go on and pray to my other statues found in other places, you could unlock secret powers of mine." The ethereal form winked and faded out. "Thanks for your offer!"
"That was scary." Bow stated. "You don't seemed frightened or shaken, though, buddy."
"Dunno. I just thought this would be normal. Anyway, Let's go find a pet."
* * * *
"Damned. These Gongheads are hard to kill. Stupid shells." Bow muttered as he barely had time to dodge its attack.
"Mmm..." Ryu replied absently-mindedly as he cleaved an E.Sludge into two, his sword singing the song of battle. Those Gongheads look familiar, perhaps they were cousins of the one he had fought in Gate?
"Look ou-" Bow's warning came as a Leech came flying towards Ryu from the back. Without, looking, Ryu spun about and ducked, then slashed upwards, jumping together as he did so. The Leech was cut in half, its upper half still writhing as it died.
"Wow. Nice one buddy. But how did you know without any warning?" Bow asked as they paused to catch their breath before moving on.
"Dunno. Must be that the training paid off." Ryu replied nonchalantly as he cleaned the greenish blood off his sword and sheathe it. "There's Mount Fubi, Bow. Ain't you excited?" Ryu said with a sly grin.
"Yeah! Suzy must be in there somewhere. Hope she doesn't get attacked or eaten, or Mina's gonna be very sad." Bow said worriedly and excitedly at the same time. "Come on buddy, Let's go!"
* * * *
"Psst, Psst! Its big!"
"Huh?" Did you say something, dude?" Bow turned to ask Ryu, who shrugged and had an expression that mirrored Bow's puzzled one. Bow seemed to ponder about something, but shrugged in the end and went into the first cavern they came across.
Moments later, Bow's mood turned sour again as they found themselves surrounded once again by Small Goblins. They somehow managed to overcome the monsters and reached a spring. "Finally, we can rest, buddy. Ya need some water?" Bow asked, exhausted as he walked towards the spring, water coming out of a miniature dragonhead.
"Thanks, but I can get some myself." Ryu replied, bandaging up a small cut on his hand." By the way, that's a healing spring. It fades your wounds and energizes you.
"Really?" Came Bow's muffled reply as he gulped down large quantities of the water. "That's cool."
And they continued on, battling any monsters who seem bent on eating them for lunch. They heard the voice again as they exited the mountain caverns they had entered on a different level.
"Lucky it's handsome! All we take now lately are cats and dogs!"
"Yeah, and maybe the occasional sheep."
"Be quiet, sisters! We need to hide and ambush our food, ya know."
"As if you are quiet."
the squabbling went on, leaving two puzzled novice rangers at the bottom of a natural ramp.
"Oh well," Ryu shrugged and went up ahead of Bow, not giving a damn about who the owners of the voices were.
He was about to find out.
"Here we go! 1.2.3.GO!"
"Wha-" Ryu barely dodged in time as three sets of talons swiped at him. He looked up to see three harpies flying about.
"I want the handsome one!" Said the first harpy, and she swooped down upon the pair.
"Does she mean me?" Bow said, as he prepared for battle. Were circumstances not so grim, Ryu would have teased his friend. He dodged the harpy's attack easily and countered it.
"Hey! He's mine, Peach!" The second harpy attacked Ryu with the same results.
"Stop, Palo! Puti wants him!" The third harpy swooped down recklessly and this time, Ryu's attack struck home. Puti went down in a shower of blood.
"Sis!" The other two harpies cried out. Two arrows embedded themselves into Palo's chest and she fell.
"AHH!!" Peach screeched as she dove straight at Ryu with a berserk rage. "DIE!"
"Ryu! Get out of the way so I can get a clear shot at her!" Bow cried as he watched, slightly anxious for his friend. All he received in reply was a devilish smile and a glint in Ryu's emerald eyes as he stood his ground. As Peach neared him, He threw up his sword hilt first and grabbed her talons and held them in check. Peach screamed and struggled wildly. Ryu, who seemed to be waiting for something, suddenly smirked and let go of her talons, earning three talon marks across his chest.
The sword plunged down into Peach's back and her eyes went wide from anger to triumph to shock as her dropped onto the cliff of the mountain, dead.
Ryu retrieved his sword and turned to Bow. "You okay, pal?" Bow looked at him, open-mouthed and pointed silently to Ryu's wound. "Oh that? It's okay, man. Somehow I don't feel much pain. Training must have really paid off and at least I know I'm handsome." He added, trying to lighten the mood. Bow scowled at him or rather, the smug grin on his face.
Bow then closed his mouth and gasped as though he had suddenly realized something. "Could it be that, those things had eaten Suzy?..I really hope not. Let's go find her quickly!"
"You betcha." Ryu replied. "Let's start by combing the mountain. Maybe Suzy's hidden somewhere there." Bow nodded his approval and the best friends made their way to the top of the mountain.
"Let's move this rock." Bow said and without waiting for Ryu's response, he shoved the rock down. It bounced and hit an enormous boulder, which subsequently bounced about like a basketball and crashed down, wrecking the first cavern entrance.
"Wow." Was all Ryu said as they looked at the chain reaction. "At least we have a quicker exit now, Thanks to you, Bow." Bow laughed nervously and quickly looked about for witnesses. Satisfied and relieved that there was no one around, Bow darted into the entrance of the cavern.
* * * *
"So there leaves the west of Mount Fubi, where some ruins are located." Ryu stated as they walked towards the very place he had just mentioned.
"Suzy has just got to be there! There isn't anywhere else-" A horrified scream cut off the rest of his words and the rangers immediately sprang into action, charging towards the ruins at full speed.
"It came from inside here, Bow!" Ryu exclaimed as he charged in, longsword in hand. "Hey, is everything fine? What the-" The duo came face to face with six cockroaches the size of a man's forearm surrounding an old man. Three bolts from the crossbow of Bow's and three successive slashes were enough to finish the battle.
"Hey, you alright?" Bow asked the man.
"Yeah, got scared out of my skin- ARGH! It's HUMONGOUS!!! D-Don't come near me!!!"
Ryu whirled about and saw a cockroach about six feet in length skittering towards them while Bow fought down a sound of revulsion and they readied for yet another tiring battle.
Despite the sheer size of the insect, the fight was a short one and Bow did the honour of reviving the old man, who promptly fainted upon sighting the giant cockroach. Looking at the way he dressed, Ryu could only deduced that this man must either be a beggar or has traveled a lot. Torn overcoat, scraggly beard in dire need of a shave, tanned skin, wearing a pair of smelly old boots with his toes pointing out rather obtrusively, an extremely faded travelling cloak and a balding head with sunken eyes. He probably did not have enough food to eat for some time.
"Whoa, that was the biggest cockroach I have ever saw. Never seen anything like it in all my years of wandering." The old man shook his head as though trying to clear it. "Never had to fight cockroaches just to protect my food." The old man mumbled to himself. Then, he saw the duo scrutinizing him. "Oh, my apologies. My name us Niro, and I have decided to settle down here after years of endless and boring wandering. Those times were good though, fighting Basilisks and the like." The old man rambled on until he came back to reality about five minutes later, leaving Bow yawning rudely.
"Oops, there I go, rambling again. Anyway, I was going to eat the food before they could return from their first attacks. Since you two saved me, then I guess I will have to share it with you."
He strolled over to a nearby cauldron on fire and produced a chubby pig from his torn overcoat. "Emm-mm! Doesn't it look delicious? Since you youngsters rescued me, I will give you the two legs. Add a little chilli and some spices and voila! The pig will be ready to eat!"
"What's this? Ah, doesn't matter. I'll just boil you for a bit till you are tender and fragrant." Niro said as he unhooked the collar around the pig's neck and threw it carelessly over his shoulder, which landed right on Bow's nose.
"Hey, watch it old man! That hurts!" The Grass Runner complained, rubbing his sore nose as he picked up the collar. His expression froze as he looked at the nametag on the collar. "Ryu?"
"Yeah?"
"Let me confirm this. We are supposed to look for Mina's pet, right? And her pet's name.is S-U-Z-Y, right?"
"Uh-huh. Wait, you don't mean." Ryu looked at Bow in horror and they realized simultaneously.
"The pig is Suzy!!!"
The next thing that happened was madness. Ryu and Bow both scrambled over to the cauldron to push Niro aside. Bow tripped over Ryu and singed his fur upon slight touch of the fire while Ryu grabbed a nearby bucket of water to put out the fire, soaking Bow in the process. Niro had rushed up to stop them but bundled Ryu over, both falling over and pleasantly rewarded by the cold and dirty water remaining in the bucket splashed all over them while Bow pulled out the struggling Suzy quickly, scalding his paws as a result.
"Phew, Suzy looks fine to me. It's a good thing we realized it in the nick of time, right guys?"
"Yeah Bow."
Niro gave out a sigh. "Darn it, all that good food gone just like that." He took a pleading stance that implied 'can I have a bite of the pig before you go first?'
"Over my dead body, pal!" Bow replied back anxiously, afraid the old geezer might try something funny to get Suzy. He quickly tucked Suzy into his bag despite her outraged 'oinks' of protests. "
"All right! Mina's gonna be so happy I found her! Maybe she will even give me a kiss.Then I could ask her out for dinner."
"Uh, buddy."
"In a posh restaurant with champagne."
"Uh, Bow."
"Then we will walk under the moonlight."
"Bow."
"Then we will declare our love for each other, then we will kis-"
"BOW!!!! SNAP OUT OF IT MAN!"
" Huh, what?" Bow turned around, irritated his daydream had ended so abruptly. He came face to face with a extremely irked Ryu and a amused Niro.
"Good. At least you're awake. Now I assume you want to rush back?"
"That goes without question!!! Let's go!" With that, Ryu found himself pulled by Bow, travelling at the point where they were about the break the sound barrier of speed.
Ryu sighed. His friend was never ever going to change.
A Happy New Year to all readers! Plz R&R.
P.S: Keep in mind the New Year resolutions you have for themselves. Do your part to fulfill them and all the best for 2004!