Hey y'all readers! Man......I was hoping for a least 10-20 reviews before I continue on this. Having not updated for so long....  I lost all my usual reviewers but I guess that was my own fault....sigh....Anyway, that would seem only a minor loss since my primary purpose was not to get as many reviews as possible. All right, on with the story! Thank you to all reviewers (especially beamer) and readers!!! Enjoy!

Breath of Fire 2: Chapter 4-A little Winidian Adventure, Part 2: Winds of the Past, Wings of Change...

"It's a girl!" The Winidian doctor squealed in genuine delight, holding up a newborn babe in his gnarled hands. The wailing of the new infant did not go unheard as a tall and powerful man in his late fifties literally flew into the bedroom, startling the people in there. Ascorr Wyndia, the fifth-generation King of Winidia looked down at his lovely wife, Corwen Wyndia, who laid in the royal bed, looking as tired and helpless as the baby she had given birth to. She flashed a weak smile at her husband in response to his genuine look of concern to reassure him that she was fine.

"She will grow up to be a fine lady, Your Majesty." The Royal Mage Lillian Stormwind bowed to the awe-inspiring monarch, smiling as she did so. As one of the most prominent Wind Seers of her time, Lillian was present to foresee the future of the future heir to the Winidian throne-something she had been doing for the past three centuries. She was the only Seer to have lived for more than their normal average lifespan of a hundred and seventy-five years. Despite that, Lillian Stormwind looked like she was no older than the young Queen herself. There were hardly any wrinkles on her face; her movements radiated nothing but youthful vibrancy and energy and her flawless ivory skin gave people reason to suspect her of conducting sacrificial rites and casting demonic spells to maintain her youthful appearance.

The rumors did not bother her, but what really irritated her sometimes was that the Council had to rely on her time and again to solve 'storm in the teacup' problems even though it was within their power to take care of them. Having served three generations of royalty did not bode well with her temper. She tires of the strife between the Gargoyle Raiders and the Winidians, of the internal struggle for power in the Council and of all conflicts deemed as unnecessary. Maybe after the Northern Border Wars, she could retire and find some nice, quiet mountain to live on, unperturbed by the troubles of mortals.

"We shall name her Nina Eraine Wyndia, after her grandmother, how does that sound, dear?" Corwen Wyndia spoke in a frail voice, snapping Lillian out of her thoughts. She turned in time to see the King nod his elated approval. Somehow it was amusing that the King, well-known for his quick temper and quicker sword hand had such an expression of childish delight on his face as he bore the babe in his arms.

"No...it cannot be! What nonsense is this? Pray tell me the real truth, Seer!" Ascorr had a desperate look on his face as a young Nina snuck a peek from behind the doors. She was two years of age and had learnt to walk and even speak, much to the delight of her parents. Usually, a Winidian takes up to five or six years after birth to talk or walk. Her hair was already growing and reaching waist-length while her sapphire eyes, usually sparkling with purity and happiness were now clouded over by fear. Although she could not understand what her father and the friendly magic-woman was talking about, it looked to be very serious. In fact, it was the first time Nina had seen her father fly into such a terrible rage.

".....I'm sorry, your Majesty. It is as clear as crystal. Nina will become the 'angel of apocalypse' of our kingdom. It is as prophesied. The visions were so real that even I had to reluctantly accept the truth-"

"There is no truth, Goddamnit! It has to be a lie! How can she possess the power to destroy us all? How can my daughter even do such a thing in the future?" Nina was really scared now. Her father was so livid that he had a few veins visibly popping up from his temples and his face was a dangerous hue of red and purple. Nina would have laughed at that weird coloration if not for the grim situation.

"Ascorr, get a grip! I might have mistaken the time of Winidia's...destruction, but my vision will never be wrong about Nina! She is the one who will doom us all, whether you like it or not!" It seems that even the magic-woman was getting frustrated and tired of this argument. Nina began to tremble in fear. What could be so serious to trigger such drastic changes over her loving father and the amicable Aunt Lillian?

"The black wings......Can it be true that the prophecy has a twist? Can it be that those two evil things growing from her back are nothing but a normal pair of beautiful wings?" Ascorr's voice hinted at desperation, a feeling which was most unfamiliar to the lion-hearted warrior king.

"I don't know, Ascorr. It is hard to say whether the legends passed down by our ancestors are true or not. All I can say is that if we want to protect Nina from bloodthirsty mobs in case of a calamity really occurring, we should send her away at an age where she could more or less fend for herself. I can sense great magic power coursing through her blood. If she harnesses that power well enough, she could protect herself. But if she uses it in the wrong way......" Her words trailed off and even though the King knew what she hinted at, he was finally resigned to the fact that he had lost this argument. Lillian was, after all, one of his most revered mentors. He heaved a sigh of resignation and left through a side door without noticing his daughter hiding in the shadows, trying her hardest to stop shaking and stop breathing.

Her presence did not go unnoticed by the magically vigilant Royal Mage, who decided that the princess was better off knowing about her fate later than sooner, as it might mar her happy childhood with dark dreams and black wishes. Shaking her head and cursing silently at the Fates for such a cruel arrangement for the Princess, She faded away into the deeper parts of the castle for purposes unknown.

Meanwhile, the young Nina did not understand much of what was going on, but came to a conclusion that they main topic was about her as her father had mentioned "my daughter". But what could it be? Could it be about those two shiny things on her back-something which the adults call wings? She jumped up in fear as a bolt of light illuminated the interior of the castle through the window. She shrieked and ran off to hide in her big, cozy bed which she called her shelter from the scary flashing lights outside.

"Hey, Sis! Catch!" A bubbly and cheerful ten year-old Nina Wyndia shouted to her sister Mina, who was one year younger than her, throwing the ball into the air for her to catch. The happiness at the birth of her sister was only soured by the death of her mother shortly after. Mina Elaine Wyndia, the 9 year-old princess ran forward gleefully to catch the ball. The shorter and younger girl had shoulder-length azure-colored hair and sparkling green eyes, but what caught the attention of the people around her was her smile, full of warmth and innocence. At a far corner sat another youth, who goes by the name of Kendrick Stormwind. He was staring, entranced by what he considered beauty of Nina. He had only arrived in the castle shortly after his magic training with his great-great grandmother-or something like that in the Wind Mountains and had just arrived as the named successor to his great-great-no, to his "ancestor", the great Lillian Stormwind. There were quite a few jokes made about his "fair-haired hero" image due to his blonde locks, but those responsible for that were scared by the amount of magic he could wield at the tender age of ten. He was by no means malicious, or at least that was what Nina thought at first when she saw him. For some reason unknown, that boy's face seemed to redden when she called him over to join the both of them in playing. Was it because the weather was too hot for his liking-since he had been living in the mountains for ages?

Naturally, Kendrick warmed up to the both of them and his happiness at making new friends overcame his shyness and his sullen face transformed into a bright and cheery one. He seemed to particularly stick close to Nina than anyone else but usually keeps quiet, his shyness silently conquering him and stripping him of his confidence, something which he displayed unerringly while weaving the most intricate spells available to him in his stores of knowledge.

"It wasn't until at the age of twelve did I know why he reacted in such a funny way around me." Nina sighed as her road trip down memory lane with Katt Chuan halting momentarily, jolting the entranced Woren out of her stupor.

"Yeah, well, anyone could have guessed that!" Katt scoffed, not unkindly. But she did still think Nina was somewhat of a klutz, despite her regality and magical talent......

"Not me," Nina giggled, the sound akin to the soft chiming of wind chimes to a certain Ryu Bateson, who was hiding in a dark corner and trying to regain his composure.

He wished he had taken lessons with his mysterious mentors about handling girls.

"But you haven't told me why you were exiled! Was it because you were a different magician or something?"

"No, Katt. It all began with the prophecy about the 'black wings of the Apocalypse'....."

"No! I forbid you to venture any further than the palace!" Ascorr shouted again, but this time out of worry and anger for his thirteen year-old daughter. Nina tried her best to show her anger at the imperious figure of her father with an impertinent stare but failed miserably. She pouted and began to beg her father again.

"But why? Even Mina can get out of the capital and fly about freely with the clouds and sing with the birds. There's such a wondrous and new world out there for me to explore, Father. Why can't I go out? I'm older after all, and you said you wanted me to experience new things....."

The King sighed heavily. Some things do come back to haunt him. He could only look at Nina sorrowfully; feeling ages old than his sixty. He looked so baleful that Nina had trouble remembering she was angry. Her father had to tear away his gaze from her eyes, an action unfamiliar to the King who had never backed down from a challenge. Somehow, Nina felt that her father was not really restricting her, but instead, protecting her from something horrible. But the look in his eyes felt so.....alien, as though he was not her beloved father, but a reluctant guardian. It was a look which she had seen in some people's eyes when she looked at them and greeted them cheerfully. Now, perhaps it was truly time for her to unravel the mystery why all she got were apprehensive stares and cold shoulders.

"Daddy-no, Father," The King visibly flinched at that. She never called him Father unless it was really serious. "Why does everyone look at me like I'm some sort of plague, ready to kill and destroy?"

"Was it because of my wings?" Nina asked again when the silence which ensued after her first question became unbearable. The King looked up now, eyeing her wings with a terrible hatred, the hatred which had long vanished after the War. Nina felt extremely nervous now. This was the first time she had seen her father with such a look of pure, undisguised venom of hatred on his face. What was wrong with her wings?

"The black wings of Apocalypse......" Came a muffled reply, as though answering the nagging question in her mind. She was startled and began looking around, scrutinizing the area for anyone in the vicinity. It was then she realized that it was her father who had said those words. His voice was so disembodied, so alien, so lifeless that Nina began to worry about her father.

"Daddy, are you alright?" Nina asked, her question about freedom totally forgotten.

"The.....black wings.....I'm......so sorry Nina....." The following silence was only punctuated by the rustle of royal robes on the carpeted and waxed floor of Nina's room as Ascorr Wyndia walked out of her room like a zombie. Nina remembered going after him, but was immediately stopped by the sight of two large wet spots on her carpet.....

"Those were the first tears Father had shed, if the rumors were not wrong about him being an emotionless person." A sixteen year-old Nina sighed, still looking down at her untouched cup of tea, the reddish-brown liquid reflecting the bittersweet nostalgia from the reminiscing of her memories and the sorrow, ever so ominous, floated about her aura, seemingly casting the room in gloom. Katt Chuan was perplexed. But kept silent to prompt Nina to explain further.

"The black wings of Apocalypse.....I later found out from a book of prophecies and a seemingly mad old woman in the dungeons that it refers to the One who will bring ultimate destruction and chaos to the kingdom and will also have a hand in Calimshad. The old woman also said something about the death of 'the glory of the skies', something which I truly do not understand....."

".....And it seems that I am the One, the Azrael of Winidia, the harbinger of Doomsday. Isn't it ironic that someone hasn't attempted to kill me yet?" The sorrowful smile and glistening tears in Nina's eyes was enough to make any grown man cry his heart out for her. Katt, being a female, was nonetheless alarmed and worried. But curiosity stopped her from comforting her winged friend as she continued chokingly.

"A few days after that conversation, Father fell ill and at the same time, sent me away from the kingdom. Mother had passed away but my stepmother continued to rule in Father's stead. However kind she was to me, I knew even she believed the prophecy. All I could do was bid all of them a nice, little farewell before moving into the Magic School in Hometown...." Her sobs became louder, drowning out any other possible sound in the well-furnished room. This time, the Woren reacted almost immediately. She held Nina's hand and stroked her back softly, doing the same with her hair as a hot and salty liquid began to drench her tights.

".....Do you want to destroy me, Katt?" Nina's soft voice sounded, barely a whisper.

Katt was startled by the question, but immediately replied with a vehement "NO!!!" and continued, "You are my friend, Nina! How could you even think of such a thing? For as long as I live, I will never hurt you intentionally, let alone kill you! Katt Chuan can beat the living hell out of a person, but she will never ever kill her own friends!" The Woren girl looked so determined that Nina's tears suddenly seem to stop, clouded sapphire eyes looking at her in surprise. All Nina felt now was an indescribable warmth inside her, making her feel cozy and loved. She never had such a friend who was willing to oppose the common views about her and stand up for her instead of turning against her since the whole world is hostile towards her. Before she could speak, a hand extended from behind her, holding a handkerchief with the simplest pattern.

"....Yeah. Therefore, please don't cry anymore. It hurts us to see you so sad." The pleasant voice somehow sent shivers down Nina's spine and she turned around to look at a blue-haired Ranger, smiling softly and warmly at her, the laughing emerald eyes urging her to cheer up. "It might be my imagination or something, but the whole place seems so dark and gloomy when you cry." Ryu paused, then pinched her cheeks playfully. "Hey, even when you cry you look sorta.....cute. But thatsnotthecase! What I'm trying to say is that you just have to live your life the way you want and errmm....yeah, I guess that's about it! Hahaha!! Oh! The rain's stopped! Wanna see a rainbow, Nina?" Ryu asked nervously, not sure whether Nina's mood was still, well, bad.

An astonished Nina looked at him, an indescribable warmth washing over her heart. It felt slightly different from when she was being comforted by Katt, but all she knew now was that she could no longer withhold her tears as they streamed down her cheeks, tears of happiness.

"Nina? Hey, you okay? Did I say something wrong?" Forgetting all his nervousness, the only thing in Ryu's mind to be solely the Winidian princess, a look of concern etched onto his face as he leaned over to get a closer look at Nina's face. "Hey, if this talk about your exile and your past saddens you, then maybe we could talk about other stuff, right? It's not like I'm going to force you or anything.....So maybe we should leave you alone for a while-"

"Thank you." Came a quiet reply. Ryu's heart skipped a beat at that mellow voice. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Nina, surprise evident all over his face. "Thank you. For everything, Ryu and Katt. I.....I never thought I would have such good friends....." Nina's face looked a bit puffy and her eyes were still red, although her sobbing did stop. The only thing which looked cheery enough was the small smile she showed. To Katt, she did not look too happy or nice.

To the Ranger, the smile made her looked like an angel. "Well, a crying angel perhaps, but nonetheless a beautiful one." A voice snickered in the back of his head, barely audible mentally. This earned a typical blush coming upon his cheeks and a mental scowl at that unknown voice, probably from his darker personality, something he did not even want to share with Bow yet-

"Oi, Ryu! You're zoning out again!" A pair of striped hands grabbed his and pulled him close to the irritated face of Katt Chuan. "What are you thinking , eh?" The Woren asked playfully, a glint of mischief in her laughing green eyes.

"Waah!!!" Ryu jerked back, his face twice as red. Sometimes he just hates hormones and their wonderful functions about making his reactions go haywire. Maybe he should have done what Bow suggested and spent more time with members of the opposite sex. Now he has no idea what to do around them, especially with two pretty girls traveling with him. "I wasn't spacing out! I was just.....thinking! Yeah! Don't scare me like that!" He blabbered, while Katt stuck out her tongue. The mild sound of giggling floated into their ears, slowly and unsteadily, but not without a touch of amusement in it.

"You two look like you're having fun." Nina smiled gently at the both of them, her composure regained. She skipped over to Ryu and smiled happily at him, much to his perplexity. "What? Didn't you tell me that there was a rainbow in the sky? Let's go see it!" The winged girl grabbed Ryu's hand and pulled him towards the balcony overlooking the skies, humming a little tune to herself, the Ranger as red as red can be. Katt watched them go with a frown on her face, and deciding that she needed a rest, went into the guest bedroom, her mind swirling amidst confusion and......jealousy.....?

"Why should I be jealous? It's not like Ryu's my.....my boyfriend or anything. He can do what he wants! Who cares?" Katt exclaimed aloud, startling the passing servants of the Stormwind household. She stopped and laughed sheepishly, realizing what she had done and continued down the hallway to the guest bedroom.

"Wow! It looks beautiful!" Nina exclaimed, literally jumping in excitement and wonder at the seven-colored bridge stretching across the limitless blue sky, bridging unknown gaps. Ryu could only gape at the most beautiful rainbow he ever saw. As twilight had already descended upon Winidia, 'normal' rainbows Ryu had seen were barely visible at night. Here, he saw a rainbow which looked as though it was lighted up by some sort of magic. The rainbow illuminated the castle, sending down a myriad of colors upon the land and castle. The hue of each color change constantly, making the mystical bridge seem as though it was shimmering while each color literally glowed in the darkness, accompanied by the dancing lights of the stars in the clear night sky.

"Well? Do you like it? Breath-taking isn't it?" Nina smiled and turned to look at Ryu. She giggled at his open-mouthed expression, his eyes fixated upon the ethereally beautiful rainbow. She waited for a while before Ryu managed to tear his eyes away from the magnificent sight.

"That was.....truly breath-taking. Thanks, Nina." Ryu said with an easy grin, Nina replied with a happy smile and that was when they discovered they were still holding hands.

".....Ah!" Both of them exclaimed in unison, much to the embarrassment of the other and both turned to look away slightly, cheeks burning and hearts threatening to jump out of their bodies. Silence ensued.

"What was I thinking? How long had I held his hand? But it's so big and felt so nice and warm.....Ah! What am I thinking? I better get rid of these thoughts now and apologize to him. 'It was an honest mistake that I like holding your hand....' No, that's not right! Oh.....what am I suppose to say?"

"She held my hand! But it doesn't really mean anything I guess.....it felt so small and delicate, just like the angel she is.....Argh!!! How can I even think of that? We are only friends, just friends....right? Anyway, it isn't that I like her.....right? She's still got that Stormwind guy. I better apologize....."

"I'm sorry!" The simultaneous answer surprised both of them, to say the least. Both of them looked away again, still blushing at the mere memory of holding hands. Ryu managed to pluck up his courage and began to speak.

"Erm....H-Hey, I'm sorry. It meant as much to you as it does to me, t-this holding hands thingy. It doesn't really m-mean anything to me. It's not like w-we are......a-a-a c-couple or something....." the blue-haired teen sneaked a peek at Nina, who suddenly stopped in the middle of fiddling with her hair, her fringe cascading down her face, making her expression unreadable. The red on her cheeks did not fade, however, and Ryu wondered why, or at least he did, until she spoke.

"Erm.....Ahhahaha! It's okay! I mean, i-if it means nothing to you then it means nothing to me, r-right? Ha.....We are j-just friends, right?" For some reason, Nina felt a stab of pain in her heart when Ryu had voiced out his indifference towards that incident. She suddenly felt desperate to hug him and cry, but decided not to make a scene; Nina controlled her emotions and forced a small smile.

"Nina? Why are you crying again? Did I say something wrong?" Ryu asked, his shyness once again forgotten as he drew himself closer to Nina, subconsciously using his finger to wipe away the sole tear sliding down Nina's smooth right cheek.

So she wasn't able to control herself after all.

"Hmm? What's wrong? You can always tell me, Nina. You will never have a better listener than me!" thumping his chest, Ryu grinned at the winged girl in front of him. Somehow, he always gets back into a cheerful mood even after something troubling happens. That, Nina realized, was one of his best traits which she came to like while they were traveling. Whether it was having trouble finding a shelter when it rained, or whether when a few particularly slippery E.Slimes slipped past him, he would always find his own way to bounce back. This time, she did not resist, all her troubles pouring out and the stress of holding everything inside slowly dissolving as she remembered all her misfortunes and forgetting them in an instant.

She enveloped Ryu in a heartfelt hug, wings and all literally covering the two of them and gazed up into his emerald eyes, so depthless, so understanding.

"Nina??? Wha-"

She shook her head ever so slightly, putting her right index finger on his lips to silence him. Although tears were pouring down her face like two waterfalls, she was smiling. "No, Ryu. Just.....hold me. Just for tonight. Let my emotions overwhelm all my resistance and logic, alright?"

Ryu just nodded dumbly, his body suddenly unable to move and all he could do was gaze back at Nina's sapphire eyes, glistening brightly with tears of different emotions.

In the background, the rainbow continued to shimmer, a colorful and grand arch of bliss and beauty.

Around his neck, somewhere on his chest, the Dragon Tear's greenish yellow color became a deep hue of green.

They gazed into each other's eyes, searching, probing gently and slowly; Trying to unravel the mystery of each other's emotions.

"Ryu.....I....."

"Nina! Where are you?" A familiar voice rang out, jolting both of them to their senses. It was too late for them to jump apart as Kendrick Stormwind walked in. The shock registering on his face was somehow, Ryu decided cruelly, satisfying to see. "What's.....this about?" Came his question, his tone deliberate, slow.

And dangerous.

".....Ah! It's nothing like what you think. Nina just happened to trip and fall into me. That's all." Ryu quickly explained, afraid of the consequences had he stayed silent. "Isn't that right, Nina?" A small nod and silence. What does that mean?

"What were the two of you doing here in the first place?" They, or rather he was not out of the danger zone yet. "Oh, I just wanted to take her here to look at the rainbow....." He gestured to the sky and pointed, only to see a drearily obsidian sky looking back at him gloomily, somehow filled with dark clouds without any warning at all.

Ryu felt the Tear glowed red and immediately tensed up, meeting the challenge present in Kendrick's eyes. "Nina, your mother wants to see you. I hope that could at least brighten up your day." The tone was guarded and strangely alien. Was he another demon? No, it couldn't be.....

Nina sighed audibly and released herself from the position she was in. "Thank you, Kendrick." Ryu could see the disappointment in her eyes and also, a terrible shadow of sorrow and guilt clouding her eyes. She floated off towards the guest bedroom, the positive aura around her somewhat lessened.

"Tomorrow. You and I. We are going to have a little duel." Kendrick Stormwind's voice came out in barely a menacing whisper. Ryu looked up into his eyes and immediately knew he was in for a tough time.

Sleep was a luxury to the three adventurers as emotions threatened to boil over, swarming their thoughts with their confusion about their emotions......

"Your Majesty, She is here." The Royal Mage Alexis Ruthain informed, in his usual quiet, wispy voice. Known for the first half of his lifetime as only a crazed alchemist, he learned the mystical arts under the tutelage of an unknown wizard of immense power, or so he claimed. No one had seen him at the borders, trying to subdue demons or excessively aggressive creatures threatening to disrupt the peace in Winidia to some extent. All he had done was to cast spells to change the weather to a favorable one for harvests and festivals. Of course, there were hardly any disasters or wars descending upon Winidia, so all the people could do was to keep quiet about his "incompetence" lest they wanted to face the wrath of Queen Lena Wyndia. However, there were rumors he could summon the legendary Great Bird, a legend of the old ages. But that is also what it is-a rumor.

Nina Wyndia entered the throne room, her face curiously expressionless with Ryu and Katt hot on her heels. She seemed to be looking at Mina in particular and sighed so softly that only her two companions could hear. As the Ranger and Fighter scrutinized the room and was impressed by what they saw. Banners of the royal color of white and red hung upon the walls. A few dozen guards lined the hallway and looked tough enough to take on as many Dinafungs alone. While the exterior of the castle walls were made of magically-impregnable material, the interior was a complete difference, obsidian and marble the main materials for the structures inside the room. Diamond chandeliers hung overhead, reflecting the sunlight which poured from a transparent and seemingly fragile roof. Ryu could find no words to describe the place except 'majestic' and 'magnificent'.

"Greetings, Queen of Winidia. We are here at your honorable request." Nina bowed to the imposing figure sitting upon the throne while Ryu and Katt hesitated for a second before following her actions.

"You may dispense with the formalities." The rich voice boomed throughout the throne room and Ryu looked up, surprised to see a youthful woman, say in her early adult years, looking every bit like a demure "Your Highness" instead of the owner of the commanding and powerful voice which just spoke to them. She wore a simple green satin robe without any designs and her crown was equally bland. Not one of the hypocritical "I want to help the poor but need to feed myself more" persons of nobility, Ryu decided. Judging from the mirrored expression of Nina's on her face, Ryu knew this was not going to be easy for his winged friend.

"I thank you for returning my daughter to me. If there may be anything you request, gold or the finest arms available in our kingdom, I can grant them to you." She was looking directly at Nina and Ryu saw a pinch of sorrow in her eyes. Or was he just imagining things?

".....Thank you, your Highness; your offer is most gracious. However, we do not need anything except the clearance of the passage towards the west-"

"Mother! How can you not recognize Nina?" The sweet voice of Mina carried over to everyone present in the hall. She looked so distressed that Ryu felt immense sympathy towards her. Here is her sister, who because of her wings is rejected and repulsed by the Windian society.

"OH! What are you talking about, Mina? You have no.....sister....." Even as the Queen feign genuine surprise, Ryu believed that she was only covering up her grief and anger at being unable to care for Nina. "Take the princess back to her room to rest." The simple command warranted enough power that even the willful Katt thought it was also directed to her. Four guards saluted and stonily escorted the crying princess back to her room, who was on the brink of hysteria. Nina watched all this without any reaction, save for a sad smile and mild shaking. "Permission granted. However, I have another request from our foolish Mage Knight Kendrick Stormwind. He wishes to battle one of you, and that is Ryu Bateson."

"That would be me, your Highness," Ryu stepped up and spoke, wondering what kind of duel it would be. "It will be an....honor to battle one of the finest Mage Knights in your kingdom."

"You are too kind." The reply was somewhat frosty and filled with hatred as Kendrick Stormwind stepped in from a side room. We will fight a free-for-all battle in the castle courtyard. What say you?" The smirk was very challenging and Ryu simply could not refuse it.

"Fine. Courtyard it is."

The battle was on before Ryu knew it. Three magical flashes of light went past him, making his hair stand on an end as he barely dodged it. He cursed. He had no knowledge of any magic and it looks like this time round, his luck might not even be enough to make up for his foolishness.

Barely having time to draw out his sword, three balls of fire twice the size of his head flew towards him at an alarming speed. He dodged again, jumping three times away from his original spot. Holding his longsword in two hands, he looked at his opponent on the ground.

Only to feel extremely sharp needles of pain on his back. He looked up and saw a tiny wisp of black smoke arising from his back and the surprised face of Kendrick Stormwind, flying high above him.

"Wha-? What are you?" Came the question. Indeed, everyone watching was surprised that he, a normal human hardly flinched under a magic attack. Nina's expression was wondrous, Katt's amazed and all others shocked or surprised. "No matter, I will take you down, one way or the other!" Tucking in his wings, his opponent dived at breakneck speed towards Ryu. Still unsure of his tactics, Ryu dodged again, only to have the diving Winidian curb his speed right before he reached the ground and zoom towards him, a longsword outstretched.

Reacting as fast as he could, Ryu dug his sword into the earth and swung it up with all his might, bringing all the soil and gravel up to slow down the advancing Kendrick. A shout of surprise rewarded his efforts and he slashed lightly across Kendrick's sword arm. First blood.

"Nice one, Ryu!" Katt cheered. He grinned without turning away. An angered opponent can be a stupid one or a dangerous one. For Kendrick Stormwind, Ryu would rather kill him than take any chances, but this was only a duel.

Except for the fact that his opponent's eyes were blazing with a terrible fury. If looks could kill, Ryu would probably have lost a long time ago.

Kendrick began chanting and Ryu felt the air around him crackle. Pure, raw instinct saved his skin once again as he leapt away before a column of fire blazed from the ground, burning everything else to a crisp. Ryu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and also mentally kicked himself. What was he doing, dodging and flitting around like an irritating mosquito, running from each challenge? He quickly concentrated on the figure standing there, trying to weave another spell and charged.

"Fool! You've walked into my little trap." Kendrick hissed. As he tried to comprehend his "trap", Ryu suddenly felt himself slowing down and looked down to see a pair of magical shackles bounding his feet to the ground. "Struggle all you want, Ranger, but no one has ever broken my magic before, and you will not be the first!" This time, Ryu knew he was done for. The combined Powerspell of S.Boom, Fireball, Freeze and Tornado zoomed towards him.....

The explosion was greater than Kendrick had imagined. It had literally taken out one fourth of the courtyard's earth and with it the bothersome Ranger as well. Now, nobody can stand in his way of his beloved Nina.....

"No!! Ryu!" The scream was heard from the Woren girl. She seemed troublesome enough, but perhaps only as a nuisance. As he looked on, his heart felt as though it was slowly shattering when Nina flew over to the spot where Ryu stood even before the dust cleared. Did he mean so much to her? Why was she caring for someone else so deeply? Why didn't she like him as much?

"Because you're destined to lose, destined to aid the Almighty One through your failures, young one." A reptilian voice spoke out in his mind. He decided that there will be enough time to comprehend what he was saying after he ensured Nina's permanent stay in his residence.

Until he saw a figure sitting up beside the exiled Winidian princess.

It had blue hair.

"Ryu! Are you alright?" The concern in Nina's voice was unmistakable and unbearable to the Mage Knight. The object of her concern, however, did not respond. He merely sat there, poised, like an injured tiger coming back for the kill. It came as a mind-blowing shock to Kendrick that his opponent was only left with a bleeding temple and mostly minor cuts on his legs and body. Only a deep cut was spotted on his left arm, bleeding away profusely.

"Ryu? What's wrong? Are you alright?" The mention of his name by Nina simply made his blood boil and unable to stand it any longer, he powered his blade with electricity and charged at the Ranger.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Ryu pushed Nina aside and avoiding the blade expertly, the energies just a few millimeters away from his sidestepping body and landed two successive jabs in Kendrick's armored stomach. More shock was registered upon his face as he flew back a couple of feet, winded by the force of Ryu's punches. He looked up and saw that his opponent no longer looked like the human he is supposed to be. His eyes were glowing an angry green, pupils and iris unseen. His face seemed to take on a feral appearance, his teeth somewhat sharper than before. Even his hands resembled claws from a creature of power and destruction.

He cursed and brought the blade up in a cleaving slash which he knew would chop anything in two. The disbelief was evident on his face as the being known as Ryu Bateson grabbed the blade of his sword and with a simple twist, broke it into two. The combined energies of fire, lightning and ice did not even seem to tickle Ryu at all, even though Kendrick could see that the flesh on his hand was slightly blackened and bleeding readily. He, or it, took up his own blade in a whirl of blue, red, white and silver, drew out his sword at an inhuman speed and.....did something with it. At that speed, Kendrick wasn't sure. In all his years of training, he had never even encountered opponents with this kind of speed. What was he exactly?

Searching through his memory banks, he was hit by the realization of the answer but went down in a shower of blood as five deep cuts score his chest, stomach, arms, legs and face. "You.....You're....."

Ryu looked at him, confused. What had happened? All he knew was that he was blasted by Kendrick head-on by that Powerspell and should probably be unconscious or even dead. Everything went black, or rather white due to the resulting explosion and he could not remember anything. Suddenly, here he was, battered as badly as he could remember, and his opponent in a more critical condition. The blood, slick, warm and fresh on his sword roughly gave him the answer as to who was the culprit of Kendrick's defeat. He looked at his opponent in genuine surprise.

"You....are....a B.....Berserker.....How did you.....sur....vive....." The last words came out, softening as each word was blurted out with much difficulty. He gurgled and vomited more blood before his head lolled to the right, unconscious.

"Berserker.....?" Ryu questioned to no one in particular. How could he be one of them? The fabled battle-crazed warriors, full of bloodlust and the desire to kill. How could he be one of them? But the sword he was holding.....

Ryu shook his head. Here was yet another mind-boggling question. All he did was stare straight and let the confusion drown him as Winidians streamed into the courtyard, carrying the two duelists to the infirmaries. His mind was still whirling however, trying to come up with answers that are not there. How was he able to withstand the magic attacks? Why was he still able to fight even though he was bleeding profusely?

"Go to the back of the castle tomorrow in the morning. Make sure no one follows you. You will get more answers there, my child." A soothing voice, roughly reptilian and yet fatherly called out in his mind. Ryu silently agreed and relaxed, hoping that most, if not all of his questions will be answered soon enough.

Nina and Katt came over to him, enquiring about his injuries. The look on Nina's face almost made Ryu want to hug her again. But he knew he shouldn't-mustn't do it.

At least, not when his emotions are still in a greater turmoil than he imagined.

"Not yet."

Phew! Finally finished it. Took me a bit longer than usual due to a bit of a writer's block. Anyway, hope you have enjoyed this, although the pace might be a bit slow. But, after all, I did add in some juicier bits not available in the game, right?  See ya all next time round!!