Author's Note: Let me do the mentions for the reviews in the next chapters all at one go…If there are going to be any more reviews, that is.

Before reading...

Disclaimer: I write fanfiction, and despite my wildest dreams of wanting to own the Capcom, I don't.

...And on with the story.

Chapter 9: Eight-legged Nether homecoming

"Sorry for crashing the party, my friends, but I just couldn't miss out on the fun you were having-"

No sooner had he spoken when he caught sight of the silhouette of a certain Ranger to his left. Even though the strike missed him by several metres, Andaroy was impressed that the failure of a Broodling had actually improved so drastically in such a short amount of time. What kind of training had he undergone?

Andaroy had no time to spend thinking about such trivial matters as he dodged another blow designated to separate his head from the rest of his body. He only had a single goal in mind here, and that was to test the abilities of the Berserker before him, not fool around and inciting his other companions, who looked a little darker than the gathering black fluff in the sky before a thunderstorm.

He muttered an incantation and blackish runes appeared before the party, sealing them in a globe of twilight colors. The roar of rage from his assailant was all he needed to bolt from his current position. He whistled at the depression the sword had left in the ground mockingly and drew his own. If he did not get serious enough, even the slightest mistake could cost him an injury...or more.

He took the initiative this time round and jumped down straight at the blue-haired Broodling, his sword baying for blood.

But it found none, as the blade licked air. He looked up to see the crazed warrior descending on him instead. Andaroy smirked and leapt out of the way, just enough such that Ryu's weapon would barely cut him. With his sword down, the Broodling was wide open and Andaroy closed in for the kill...

...Only for him to stumble. His eyes widened as he looked at the crumbling floor beneath him. Leaping away, Andaroy barely dodged a dangerous thrust to his throat. He lashed out with his left foot and caught something solid. Ryu flew back from the impact and stood his ground, panting slightly.

"Is that all you have, Broodling?" Andaroy smiled mockingly at him. "I have to admit, youimproved somewhatduring the time I had not watched your little band of adventurers. Still..." He looked at his fingernails and grinned sardonically. "...Pathetic."

"Shut up. Release them now, or else..." Ryu replied quietly. Andaroy felt the energies starting to swirl around the warrior before him. His smile grew wider. Finally, the Broodling was getting serious.

"Or else what?"

"This." That was the last coherent reply from Ryu as his voice changed to that of an almighty beast. The reptilian wings unfurled from his back and covered him, but instead of a cold, bluish light or a giant flame, tendrils of electricity shot out from his body, gradually forming a ball of bluish electrical energy, covering Ryu. The ball grew in size and a light bluish-green dragon broke out from the ball like a newborn hatchling. The tendrils spread out, striking the black ball that trapped Ryu's friends and obliterating it utterly. The rest reached out to every corner of the cavern and towards Andaroy, who deflected them easily.

"A Thunder Dragon...Most interesting, Broodling. Who would have thought a weakling like you would have that kind of power?"

The dragon roared in response and sent out a ball of lightning at him. Andaroy grinned and stopped the attack with two hands, slowly and painfully pressing it into his palms. The ball dissipated into nothingness, though the ruined gloves and burn marks on Andaroy's hands were obvious to all.

"What is he...?" Nina pondered aloud as they watched in shock and amazement that their enigmatic adversary had managed to negate an attack from one of the greatest creatures that ever lived on Asparia, even if he had been slightly injured from doing so.

"Beats me...But it doesn't look like Ryu's will lose anytime soon, even if this goes on." Katt replied nonchalantly, hiding the worry she had for her transmuted friend.

Ryu was indeed having a hard time trying to land a clean hit on his enemy, who had been parrying or diverting his claws or lightning attacks. The man dodged another attack with the agility of a monkey and sent a small fist into the dragon's head, which buckled and roared in pain. That did not stop it from continuing its attacks. Instead, the retaliation only served to anger Ryu more and he began bombarding projectiles at Andaroy from afar. Large chunks of the cavern wall soon began to fall with every attack dodged.

"Ryu, you have to stop zis! Ze cavern is going to collapse if zis continues!" Jean shouted over the ruckus caused, but the dragon paid no heed and continued firing away with a relentless rage. One particularly large piece of debris fell and crushed the lifeless body of Kuwadora.

"Kuwa!" Jean cried out in vain. He had planned to give him a decent and proper burial despite his crimes, but now, a simple but large piece of granite has become the final, nameless resting place of his dear friend.

"This doesn't look good...not at all..." Sten cowered in awestruck fear as Ryu continued his fruitless attempts to destroy his enemy, which had more success at trying to bury his own friends.

"We have to stop him!" Rand grabbed a relatively large rock and threw it at the dragon. It shattered like fragile glass pounded on rock, but all it seemed to do was tickle Ryu. "Well...I tried..." He shrugged as Ryu continued the devastation of the entire place.

"Fool." Andaroy moved in a flash and knocked Ryu back into another wall. "To think I was looking forward to a good fight...And this is what you give me." He sent a black beam into the dragon's chest, inciting a roar of pain and helpless anger. As it crumpled to the ground, Andaroy floated down towards the dragon, satisfied with his work.

Little did he realize that it was a trap Ryu had set up. Opening his eyes abruptly, Ryu unleashed a final attack, consisting of a giant lightning bolt from his mouth at point-blank range. It struck a bewildered Andaroy and threw him back, just before slowly reverting to his human form. "...Take that, you bastard. Who's the fool now?" He tried to stand up and grin, but failed miserably as he felt his muscles protest. He could only watch as his adversary spit out blood from his mouth and walk towards him slowly...

"Ryu!" The next instant, he saw a pair of black wings and a feminine figure in front of him. She chanted softly and a fireball appeared from her hands. "Stop! I won't let you come any further!" She glared at Andaroy, who just smiled in return and stepped forward. The fireball flew at him, but the flames passed through him as though they were nothing more than a slight breeze.

"That's a good Spark spell, Princess, but I'm afraid your friend behind has warmed me up already." He grinned. "I don't like to get rough with females, so please do step aside."

"No! I won't let you hurt him anymore! You've won, so please be away from here, since that's what you want, isn't it? To test Ryu's strength and come out as the victor. Therefore...I'm not going to let you hurt him again!" Nina stood her ground despite her fear of the man before her. Andaroy was powerful...and dangerous, but she felt that there was an unspeakable need to protect Ryu. She just could not bear to see him get hurt badly again...

"Nina..." Ryu struggled to stand and finally succeeded with the help of a few pieces of debris here and there. He stumbled over to the Winidian and almost leaned on her for support. "...Don't...He's too strong...You can't-" Ryu felt his world spin as he fell, the fatigue from his transformation and his two battles finally getting the better of him.

"Ryu!" He heard Nina scream his name and saw her face hovering over his, etched with worry. He could hear a babble of noises, consisting of pounding footsteps, angry voices and the deafening sounds of things falling onto the damp, hard floor. He felt his body being lifted up, and a heavy object striking him on the back of his head. The last thing Ryu saw was purple cloth before he finally welcomed the darkness so eager to claim him...

"...I see...So that's what happened when I was asleep..." Petape murmured as Rand finished his commentary of the events that took place in the caverns below. The group was now in one of the royal guest rooms of the palace, waiting for Ryu to wake up while trying to contemplate the meaning of the turmoil while they were underground. There were too many questions unanswered for them, as each individual sank into their own sea of thoughts.

Ryu... Nina looked at him in concern. He had been asleep for half a day and the injuries on his body were not what one would call 'minor'. The damage inflicted by Darksoul on his dragon form seemed to have accumulated and passed on to the human body of Ryu, resulting in the heavy bruises and slash scars on his body now. Simply put, Ryu's body had seen better days.

What did he mean by 'looking forward to a good fight?' Is he associated with the demons we've met? Why does he speak as though he knew Ryu from somewhere? She sat down by the bedside, her wings folding so as not to disturb the sleeping Ranger. Ryu...Please be alright...

Just as the words left her mouth, the blue-haired teenager stirred slightly, which was enough to make Nina sit up straight and stare at him hopefully. "Ryu...are you alright?" The rest of the group stopped their contemplation and conversation to look at their intrepid leader.

"Where am I...?" Ryu groggily sat up and gazed around. Instead of the cruelly grey and cold stone prison he was expecting himself to be in, all the Ranger saw was lavish furnishings and a brightly lit place roughly three times the size of his own apartment. "Where is this...?"

"You are in one of the guest rooms in the palace, Ryu." Rand crossed his arms and sighed in relief. Despite sleeping for twelve hours, his friend did not seem to suffer too much from his encounter with Andaroy...

Or not, Rand thought as he saw Ryu winced when trying to sit up.

"Lie down...You need to rest." Nina coaxed gently. Ryu did not comply, however, but just stared at her. "I-Is there something on my face?" She blushed lightly despite herself.

"N-No...But..." She could see that Ryu's face was beginning to fill with color as well, though he gazed down instead of at her face. "Y-Your hand...It's a bit tight..."

Nina glanced down at her own hand, which had grasped his and squeezing it tightly. She felt heat rush up her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry!" She wrenched her hand away despite the small hint of disappointment in her heart.

She must have done it subconsciously... Ryu looked at her, still blushing from the warmth of her hand. And I'm just acting like a hormone-crazy teenager...Snap out of it! He quickly smiled at her to cover his embarrassment. "You don't have to apologize...I must have worried you...all of you."

"Ryu..."

"You got that right, buster!" Katt pounced on him immediately, as though something was urging her to do so, even though she knew Ryu needed some rest. Watching Nina and Ryu together somehow made her feel uneasy. "Don't ever do that again and worry us for the next twelve hours, damn it!"

"Katt! What...Owww..." Ryu winced as she landed heavily on him. "You could have been a little more gentle..."

The defiant green eyes stared at him angrily, but Katt could not keep the worry in her eyes from showing as well. Realizing that she was right on top of him, Katt blushed and got off. "As long as you're fine, I can be as tough as I want to you!" She huffed. Sten chuckled while the armadillo and princess beside him raised their eyebrows at the scene. "What?"

"Nothing, Katt. Nothing at all." Sten laughed, his eyes twinkling. "I just sorta envy Ryu-" A hard object came down on his head like a ton of bricks, causing him to see stars.

"You just don't know the meaning of keeping quiet, do you?" Katt waved her bow staff threateningly at him and Sten laughed nervously, subconsciously crawling away from the angry Woren. Ryu laughed at the scene despite his injuries. The two of them always seemed to brighten up the days with their antics. Scanning the room, he realized that the SimaFort prince was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Jean?"

Petape sighed. "He's...at ze balcony. Kuwadora's death vas quite a blow to him..." Ryu stayed silent at that. Although he had not been the one who directly killed the Prince's childhood friend, he was still partly responsible for not stopping his murderer.

Andaroy Darksoul... Ryu's mood turned dark at the mere thought of the opponent he had fought, the one person who had managed to defeat him without breaking into as much a sweat. Ryu knew that he was powerful, but even so, Andaroy had beaten him effortlessly while in his dragon form. Was there no way to turn the tables on him?

"Ah! So all of you are here! Vonderful!" The familiar voice boomed, filled with cheer instead of the gloom everyone else in the room had expected. Jean Hoppa de Tapeta walked into the room, his usual aura of happiness shining around him. He grinned at them and looked questioningly when he saw their stunned faces. "Vat? Vat's wrong?"

"It's nothing much, but we thought you were grieving...over Kuwadora-"

"Grieving? Vat are you talking about? I vas just thinking about how to tell Father zat I vish to travel vith Ryu."

"But I thought you...and you were looking so desolate about it a while ago..."

Jean scratched his head. "Vell, I vas sad for a vhile..." He gave a silly grin to his sister. "But Kuwa vouldn't vant me to cry or feel sad over his death, I'm sure of it, Petape."

The Princess looked at her brother in amazement. Usually, he had seen to be so silly and ignorant about the occurrences around him, but the Jean before her suddenly seemed so mature about the demise of his best friend since young...Had her brother really grown up finally?

"...Oh, zat reminds me. Petape, do you remember ze way to my room? I seem to have forgotten about it...Silly me..." Jean laughed a silly laugh, breaking the silent tension lingering in the room. Petape sighed. Maybe she had been too quick to judge her brother as of yet.

But at least he was back. Back to the old Jean, filling the air full of laughter and bringing humor to the world in his quaint little way. She giggled faintly, still very much aware that someone close to their family was gone, and in a way she would never have expected...

"Petape, Jean." A rich, booming voice rang out, so unlike the one the group had heard before from the owner of the voice. King Hoppa de Tapeta strode into the room with four guards behind him, though none had drawn their weapons. Apparently, he had heard of the 'little' ruckus caused in the caverns below their very feet, yet the smile on his face told them all they needed to know.

"Ahhh, Jean, It's zo good to zee you back!" the King patted Sten on his head, much to the amusement of his guests. Sten stared at him in confusion and finally realized that His Majesty's eyesight was probably poorer than he had imagined.

"Father! Zat is not Jean! Zat is ze monkey! Jean is over zere!" Petape could not help but rattle frustratingly at her father, who turned to look at the Creeper Prince.

"Oh my, oh my! How very careless of me! My son! You've returned!" He enveloped the Prince in a bear-hug, which Jean gladly returned. Ryu and the rest stepped back to give father and son space for their hearty and emotional reunion.

"Ah...Age is a cruel foe indeed. I've battled its side effects for so long, but a veakened body and shortsightedness can only allow me zo do so much, as Kuwadora possessed part of my mind easily..."

"Possessed?" Ryu spoke, and realized he had shown little respect by doing so. "Forgive me, your Majesty, but it came as a great surprise to all of us..."

"You may dispense vith ze formalities, my blue-haired friend. You have earned zat much respect vith me zo speak as though you're speaking vith a friend." The old Creeper chuckled. "You did not hear me vrongly, my friend. He possessed half of my mind and vith it, half of my sanity. I vas left to idle about in my mind while I had little control over my body as well as my vits."

"Kuwadora started to exhibit his authority over everything once under my command-The hunting party, the servants, the guards...and even the army." He shook his head in regret and grimness. "Had he been successful, I can't imagine vat vould have happened..."

As he trailed off, Ryu nodded his agreement silently, knowing that saying anything else probably would not ease the grief of the old Creeper before him. Considering that he had been close to Jean and Petape, there should be an unmistakable bond between him and the King as well.

And it's your entire fault... A little voice in his head echoed through the caverns of his mind, mocking him, taunting him. But what could he have done? He did not even see or sense Darksoul anywhere near him...

That's because you are weak, fool.

No…I'm not weak…I just…

Just what? Ryu could hear the voice clearly now, noting that it was still disembodied, such that he had no way of confirming the identity of the speaker despite his suspicions. Face it, Broodling, you are nothing but a mere hatchling, inheriting everything from your mother. Tell me and ask yourself; What skills do you have that were noteworthy against him?

The shrill laughter rang out clearly in his mind. See? See? This is what I meant, Broodling. You can't even fully control your abilities despite your time with Dannan Gorath-

"Shut up! I don't need you to tell me anything! What the hell do you know!" His eyes snapped open, and Ryu found everyone staring at him in either shock or worry, or a combination of both. There was no mistaking, however, what their eyes of incredulity told him.

"I...I'm sorry, your Highness...I've been...weary of late. Perhaps I should retire for the day." He bowed deeply and mechanically marched out of the room, seeking refuge in what would be just another guest room in a few days.

He leaned out on the balcony, propping his head up with his elbows on the ledge and looked out at the cloudless sky; a direct contradiction to the general mood in the castle right now. But how could it not be? The shocking revelation that the 'Prince' was actually an imposter and yet was almost a kin to that of the royal family turned the respectable keep into a place of rumor-mongering and speculation.

And it's all your fault.

"Ryu...?" The familiar soothing voice cleared the clouds of confusion in his mind. He turned, and saw the ever-familiar black wings and the brilliant green eyes filled with concern.

"...Hey." It was a short, simple greeting, but spoke volumes of 'I want to be alone, sorry' to anyone who heard that. Ryu turned back and felt her presence still behind him. Either she had difficulty understanding him or she was just...

"...Yes...?"

"It's not your fault, Ryu. He was just-"

"Too powerful for me?" He laughed bitterly and spoke before Nina could. "No, don't argue. You're right. I'm too weak to do this. I could barely graze Darksoul despite being in my dragon form...And most of all, I of all people should have sensed him before he stabbed-"

It was almost too much for him to go on, even if the victim was someone he had barely knew. The truth that he had failed to save a life was there, cold, harsh and unforgiving, especially when he knew that the other was prepared to give up the darkness that had consumed him and embrace the light once more-

"...But...No one was able to stop him as well! It isn't just your fault, Ryu. We were all responsible for what had happened! All of us understand that, and we want to share your pain..."

Ryu found himself smiling back at Nina, but there was little he could do to stop the sadness from showing in his voice. "...I'm sorry, Princess...Could you give me a little time alone? I...don't think anyone can help me with this." Without even confirming whether she answered, Ryu turned back to the sky and resumed his thoughts. It was only a few seconds before he could hear footsteps receding and the sound of a door being gently closed.

"Something troubling you about that frog?" The voice was loud and clear, but Ryu knew that it only resonated in his head. He did not even bother to register surprise, nor wonder how he was able to hear the voice in the first place.

"He isn't just a frog. He is an important-"

"Fool."

Ryu's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. "...Did you call me-"

"Yes, you are a fool, Ryu Bateson. To think you can even call yourself a warrior shames me to be in your body."

"What did you say?"

He heard the outrageous laughter again, and it was all he could do to rein in his anger before he started swearing. "You are still a hatchling, after all...barely sixteen to seventeen years of age, I see. You have much to learn, and I have much to teach you."

"And what would it amount to? Why does it even matter whether you teach me or not?"

Ryu winced as he heard the terrible hissing sound of unmistakable anger. "Fool! I need to teach you for two reasons, and the first one alone is enough. Haven't you been listening? If you die, I will perish as well and vice versa. In other words, it's for my sake...as well as your own, considering you think that you are that weak."

"That isn't really-"

"A reason? Well then, young one, what do you fight for? World peace? Adventure? Are you even suppose to be thinking about keeping someone alive even though he or she is your opponent?"

Ryu's tongue was instantly caught in his throat. That statement, not matter how brusque or dangerously rude it was, hit the bulls-eye. Dannath was right; He had indeed been thinking about ways how not to end everything so messily. It was little wonder Darksoul had such an expression of loathing and amusement on his face: He wasn't even taking him seriously. He had even sensed it himself, but had always escaped from that truth.

That his blade hardly had any killing intent in it when it came to humans or at least what looked like them.

The sky was soon crowded over by a mass of grayish-black clouds as though egged on by some mysterious force.

No one was really talking when Ryu returned. As expected, Nina did not even glance at him once, while Rand and Sten gave an ambiguous look. Only Katt's eyes held worry, but even that quickly passed. Perhaps it had been his behavior, perhaps it had been the death, but only Jean was whistling away despite the dark mood...And he was the first to enter this place.

The Prince himself stopped, however, and looked around, as though smelling the musky stench of gloom in the room. "Vat's vrong, my friends? Surely you can get over ze death of Kuwa, like I have."

The statement alone sent everyone's attention at him immediately; Jean Hoppa de Tapeta was the last person who was expected to say such words. The Creeper recoiled a little in embarrassment at the sudden attention upon him.

"Vell...Ve'll talk about zis later, my friends. For now, it seems zat you have been searching for a woman vith vings on her back, no?"

A silent and unanimous nod came from the party.

"Vell...Ve might have ze person you have been looking for. Our vilgilantes found her trying to sneak off into ze night and have discovered a profound fear of hers. She is now in ze royal kitchen cellars. Vould any one of you come vith me to identify her?"

"You really shouldn't have-"

"Done that to Nina since she is quite sensitive? I know, Sten...But you repeated it all the way from where we left, damn it."

"That still doesn't clear your guilt, I assume."

"But-"

"You should be ashamed of yourself, telling off someone who was simply trying to find out what happened." This time, Katt's voice buzzed like a fly near his ears and from the corner of his eye, he could see Rand nodding affirmatively. The three of them had somehow persuaded Nina to take a break and rest. She had been injured slightly against the final attack from Andaroy, or so Ryu heard from Sten.

"Here ve are." Jean beckoned theatrically with his arms, and the portcullis opened. Unlike what the gang expected, the cellar was huge beyond measure. The ceiling seemed to stretch upwards forever, while the giant pillars spoke volumes aboutan estimate of how large this cellar could be...or for that matter,thetrue size of the castle itself.The area was occupied by a dozen or so Creepers presently, each busily doing the things that matter.

What really took the attention of the group; however, were something-or rather, some things big. As they walked along, they noticed that there was only but a pathway enough for five people to hurry across, and flanking it were cages that had what seemed like glass panes, keeping the lively creatures inside before they became a dish on the table of a noble here. Of course, in these cages were-

"Bugs!" Katt simply could not resist the urge to squeeze Ryu as though her life depended on it. Not that she did not feel guilty about it, especially after the incident Ryu had with Nina. Still, it was her time alone with him without the Winidian around...

"Oh look, it's the girl." Ryu pointed, as though in a deliberate attempt to ignore the Woren clinging to him. She huffed returned to a standing position, shooting a glare at a snickering Highlander. The Ranger, however, was troubled by the shocking truth of Dan's words and how he acted towards Nina. It was out of character for him to push someone away like that.

It was undeniable, though, to say that he was quite interested to know that the girl had blue hair with a lighter hue than his, and green eyes as well. Other than the fact that she was doing a strange dance away from the friendly giant cockroaches scurrying towards her, her ears were slightly pointed, enough to be deemed as a being of a magical race rather than human. She looked to be around 14 or 15 years of age. Surprising for a youngster nowadays, considering the time of peace had made most people mellow.

"Get them away from me, you stupid frogs! I hate insects!" Her face had a nice ring to it, almost like the voice of a singer whose voice has not yet developed completely. It sounded familiar to Ryu, however. He could never bring himself to forget about the voice on the night where Bow was accused of stealing.

"Hey there, little missy. Ya suppose ya could come with us for a lil' while? We seek your...ah, assistance..." Rand was the first to speak up, noting that no one in the party had said a word after being showed the spectacle.

"Help? With what?"

"Clearin' up somebody's name. Ya don't want him to be dodgin' and hidin' forever, do ya?"

Ryu could hear a scoff from her voice, causing his heckles to raise a little. "Who cares? It's not like that was my fault in the first place. Too bad for him, I suppose."

"I suppose you would rather make friends with those friendly little critters, then?" He cut off Rand unknowingly, but the armadillo gave him a small thumbs-up as the go ahead. "Hmm...Nice place you have there. Free companions, free lodging, free food...and in a castle too. How lucky can you get?" He shrugged and turned on his heel. "Let's go. No point in wasting our time when we can travel about freely-"

"Alright, Alright! I get your point! Yeesh, you sure know your stuff in blackmail...Now GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"No need to scream, Miss..?"

"Patty, just call me that, alright? And don't even think of laughing!" The girl retorted when she saw the Highlander trying his hardest not to snicker, but did anyway. "Get me out of here!...Pretty please?"

"Ryu sighed. "Just make sure you don't do anything funny…and we need you to return Kilgore's treasure, Patty."

"Oh, this hood thingy? You can take it for all it's worth, just please let me out of here? I promise I won't escape."

"A thief's word is hardly worthy ofone'strust..."Ryu muttered but gave the indication that Jean had gotten the right person. The Prince gestured to the servant Creepers handling the cage, and they opened the portcullis enough for Patty to bolt out, who scrambled to hide behind the biggest member of the party. Ryu looked disgruntled but nevertheless amused that such a thief with guts of steel having the nerve to steal from Trout, yet here she was, cowering away from some insects that she should have done away with as quickly as her lithe figure suggests.

"Right...Now that we have you along, Patty, perhaps you could assist us in a little explaining." He grinned. "Don't worry...It won't take long."

Moments later, Ryu's grin was wiped off his mouth as they stood in front of a rather forgetful avatar of a certain god, who was trying to remember a peculiar spell of teleportation for the entire party.

Ryu was not a happy man. Ladon had been wasting their time for the past half an hour and Nina was avoiding him so far. He did not know why he felt like this when there were times where Bow had ignored him pointedly whenever he was angry with the blue haired Ranger, but it was definitely not a good feeling.

He sat down by the now dead campfire, with only soot and ash in its fiery wake. Judging from the position of the sun, Ryu calculated that it was perhaps noon or sometime around there, give and take a couple of hours. Sighing, he turned to look at the rest of the group; it only seemed that Jean had anything interesting to do at all, and that was looking at the insects buzz about their heads.

He turned, and everything else in the foreground seem to fade when he landed his eyes on the female with black wings, looking and staring out at the lake, a land of water so peaceful that it seemed as though the slightest breeze would send ripples across. He walked over to the Winidian quietly, hoping that he could at least apologize properly...

"Hey..." Ryu stopped abruptly behind her. He could see her shoulders tensing, then relaxing-or rather slumping slightly-somewhat.

A reaction…good.

"I um...I'm..."

"I'm sorry!"

"Huh?" Now he could not help but look confused. Why was Nina apologizing to him when he was the one who did something wrong in the first place?

Looking at the baffled expression on his face, Nina hurried to explain, albeit a little anxiously. "Well...You see, I knew that you were blaming yourself, and that it would be for the best to leave you alone, but I just couldn't-" The former princess stopped as she felt a warm hand on her head. Looking up, what greeted her immediately was a bright smile from the blue-haired teenager she had been babbling to.

"I'm alright now...Don't worry your pretty little head over that." Bowing his head, Ryu sighed. "I should be one to apologize...At least, I understand that all of you have been worried about me. I should never have pushed you away like that..."

"Hey, you two! The old geezer's finally got it right! Come over here, will you?" Patty's now familiar (and rather irritating) voice rang out. Ryu looked up again and smiled at Nina.

"Shall we go?"

"...Yeah, we should." A smile in return was all Ryu needed to know.

"...And so, that's everything that has happened to us so far. Seems like the place looks much better since the last time we left it." Ryu observed, looking around the now more spacious room that he had just entered. Bow had been complaining how the room he specially made for the both of them had been 'invaded and old woman and a pretty hot babe dressed in red.'

The Ranger knew his best friend's stubborn streak. It definitely wasn't 'out of respect for the elderly did he grudgingly gave up the room.' But even that was not important, considering that they had just explained what adventures they had been having and how they finally end up with the real culprit.

"And don't think of anything strange, Bow. You know she's the one who got you into a whole load of trouble in the first place." His eyes were roaming again, as usual. Ryu felt the need to do something about that, since he knew that one of these days, Bow's roving eye was bound to get him into a ditch so deep he won't be able to climb out of it.

Bow waved absentmindedly, his eyes still on the thief who scrutinized the place with a pinch of approval in her eyes. "Don't worry about that. I won't get into that kind of trouble again...What's her name again?"

Ryu sighed; some things just never change. "Seems like you guys did a good job with the house, though. I never thought Niro would look so happy there." He changed the subject, referring to the elderly man sitting at a long table, happily chatting with Sten and Rand. "I never thought I would see the day where you would actually delve into interior design..." He looked around and whistled. "Andsee success."

"Pfft, You're just jealous I managed to do something great."

"Maybe..." Ryu smiled somewhat sadly, recalling the events that had happened in the caverns. Bow sensed that he had touched a nerve somewhere, and decided to change the subject instead.

"So...Now that we have the real culprit, I can finally travel with you guys? I've been itching to see the sights and sounds of everywhere else aside from this house and Hometown."

Ryu could not help but sigh at the eager look on Bow's face. "Alright...But no more teleportation! It's barely half a day's walk there, and the monsters here shouldn't be too much of a problem. You might need some practice as well, Bow."

"If that's decided, I suppose y'all could fill some of us in on this lil' thief 'ere and what the heck's really goin' on." Rand spoke, his speech slightly slurred. Apparently he was still feeling the effects of the teleportation, courtesy of Ladon. The statue just outside of the house was even cleaned up, much to the pleasure of the old god.

Ryu nodded and explained their need to find the real culprit as they traveled, taking their time while Bow tried to regain the feel of his crossbow again. It wasn't a long story in the first place, but with Katt cutting in most of the time, the tale had to be done only when a unfamiliar face came in sight instead of the old guard. Ryu walked up uncertainly. The air behind him didn't seem to have the same lively and homey aura he remembered before he left the place. Something didn't seem right...

The Ranger stepped up nevertheless. "Excuse me...Is there something going on in this town-"

"No one is allowed into the town, I'm afraid. It's under martial law."

Ryu blinked. "Martial law? What happened?" He tried to take a step forward, but something sharp and pointy stopped him dead in his tracks as the guard pointed his spear at him, trembling slightly.

"Please, no more questions. Just...wait till this storm's over or find some other town to stay in." The guard slowly set his weapon back in place and moved back to his post. Looking perplexed and feeling a little anger at the same time, Ryu backed away into his group of friends.

"What happened? Why won't they let us in, Ryu?" Out of the whole group, Bow was the most anxious. The reason was clear to him, but he explained it nevertheless in the most direct manner possible, feeling a pang of sympathy for his friend as he watched his facial expression melting from simply anxiety to absolute horror.

"What? Martial law? But there was never a need for that! Either the constables or the Rangers would take care of things...Speaking of which, how is the Ranger Guild doing? I need to know!"

"...Bow, take it easy. You're going to tear my shirt sleeve off if you continue to do this. Besides, it's rather unsightly for a Ranger of your caliber to panic. What we can do as Rangers is to find out what the hell's going on in there."

Bow released his hold on Ryu's sleeve and looked down, apparently embarrassed. "Right...Sorry...But where do we start?"

"Where else?" Ryu grinned. Upon seeing Bow's confounded expression, he continued. "Don't tell me you forgot about that little ditch we dug up when we were kids."

"You can't mean...!"

"Just a little work and we'll be all set. I'm afraid..." He turned and smiled apologetically to the others. "...that Rand and Nina will have to stay behind. I'm sorry, but I don't think we can dig a ditch deep enough to accommodate you. We'll be counting on you, though. Stay by the Ladon statue. Once I have a chance, I'll contact you through the old geezer-"

"I'm going to stay with them." Katt cut off Ryu abruptly and glared at him playfully when he looked at her questioningly. "There's...There's something I need to do back at Niro's...You know, get my own room or something now that it's nothing short of a three storey building…I do get to stay there, right?" She winked at the Ranger, who blinked in surprise at her change of behavior and tone. He nodded silently anyway, and they went off in separate directions.

"Why din'cha go with 'em, Katt? I always thought you were eager for some action all the time-"

"Can you keep a secret, Rand?"

"Who me? Of course…But is it really somethin' so secretive as to cause ya to-"

"I need a girl to girl talk with Nina."

Rand snorted derisively, causing the said Winidian to turn around questioningly. The Woren elbowed Rand in the sides rather hard and smiled innocently, and Nina finally turned away after a few more agonizing seconds.

"Watcha do that for?" Rand gasped, struggling to find his breath. Looking in the direction Katt was staring off to, Rand straightened and sighed. "I get it...I won't get in yer way, then."

"What do you understand?"

"Doesn't matter what I understand, does it? Go do what ya need to." Rand shrugged and continued on ahead, striding past Nina. She blinked, turned around and looked at Katt with the same look again.

"Did I miss anything? What happened?"

"It's nothing...He's just feeling down that he can't be involved in a girl to girl talk."

"Girl to girl...talk?"

Katt grinned. "Yeah! We don't really know each other much despite having experienced quite a few mishaps already, right? We didn't really had the time to sit down calmly and talk it out as friends, not comrades-in-arms...That sort of thing." Katt grabbed her delicate hand and literally pulled her along before she could protest. "Come along! We've lots to talk about!"

"Zis is ze most interesting thing I've encountered. I'm glad zat I came along vith you, Monsieur Ryu."

"Ryu would do." He smiled back somewhat impatiently, concentrating on lifting more dirt from the supposed 'ditch' that he had mentioned earlier. Apparently someone with the 'right frame of mind' decided to notify the authorities about the little hole and caused it to be covered up. Now the five of them were shoveling dirt away as much as they could to make just a space enough for one or two people to crawl through, with a certain crook complaining of back aches. "Forgive my imprudence, but this is hardly the kind of thing we do as Rangers that you would call interesting..."

"No, no. Back at ze palace, it's alvays ze servants who insist on doing zis things..." Jean heaved and a large portion of dirt came loose. "There! Seems zat it's done." He pointed to the hole, the moonlight pouring in from the other side, revealing a dark passage large enough to fit one or two grown men in. "Shall ve go?"

They emerged from the other side, expected to be greeted by the ever watchful yellowish-white globe hanging in the sky and the ballad of the crickets, but the first thing Ryu saw as he clambered out of the hole was the smile of an elderly man, clad in a uniform-like robe. Behind him, there were others dressed in various jerkins and gambesons, holding easily concealed weapons. Short daggers and kukris arrayed their hands. Sten made a move to draw his own, but Ryu stopped him. There was no hostile intent amongst them.

"It's been a really long time, Elder. I'm sorry we haven't dropped in to visit you lately. We've been a little...busy."

The wizened man nodded in understanding, the smile steady on his face. "It's just as well. Rangers should always put work as a top priority, Ryu. I'm happy that you are adhering to our unique set of Ranger etiquette...And I see Bow's back again." He chuckled as the look on Bow turned apprehensive. No need for that, son. We never believed you would steal anything. Everyone here's your friend."

Bow relaxed, but only just. "What's with all that martial law crap going on out here? We came back to clear my name, and coincidentally the whole place's shut off from us!"

The Elder nodded grimly, stroking his chin somewhat anxiously as he took a thoughtful pose. "Things have been rather...crazy a month back. Ever since the time where the both of you left, the mayor's been acting strange. Raising taxes for no apparent concrete reason, cutting down on the manpower of the Guardsmen corps, homing in on 'crazed vigilantes' like the Rangers and now declaring martial laws after a spate of mysterious attacks on the citizens without even consulting the Guardsmen. Everything's running amok, and even as I speak, we're being hunted like dogs by his new "Guardsmen", who are in fact hired swords..."

"...Those who cut down innocents without hesitation at the sight of gold." Ryu nodded grimly. It was indeed a very bleak situation they were facing, and he had an idea why all that had occurred. He just needed a little more information. "Elder, do you know of anyone who's close to the Mayor? Any friends of significance in the town?"

The Elder scratched his chin thoughtfully."...If my memory didn't fail me, I would say the several wealthy merchants in town like Kilgore and Trout...But Kilgore was imprisoned as well..." He jolted. "You can't mean..." His eyes widened and he shook his head vehemently. "But that's impossible! He may be a person of some influence, but the Mayor Gradin we know is a man with backbone! He wouldn't change so quickly due to the whims of a friend...Would he?"

The blue haired Ranger shook his head slowly. "Mayor Gradin would never do that. I think we need to do a little investigation of our own, Elder." He grinned devilishly. "Try not to hear about our exploits when we go on a little investigating, old man."

"You know, you should show a little more respect to your elders, Dragon-boy." Sten pulled a bloodied Zip dagger out of the body that laid two feet away from him and he began the simple process of cleaning it with the clothing of the dead mercenary. Tough as they looked, the intrepid Ranger found them to be of little hassle. At least, that was what the alcoholic breath from an opponent told him when he staggered and fell to the ground without a fight.

"Not that he really minds, anyway. I'm used to talking that way to him anyway." Ryu nonchalantly replied while the monkey clicked his tongue disapprovingly. They carefully stepped over lying bodies, corpses or no and made their way quietly into the City Hall. It was small building, but its ancient roots were nevertheless imposing and seemed to command respect from every citizen who passed it by.

Today, however, Ryu only felt a sense of foreboding and evil radiating from it.

Everything inside seemed changed. Darkness enveloped the entire place, with only small candles giving vision to the five of them, giving off a faint, eerie glow. Patty hung close to the blue haired warrior and he could hear a soft whimper from her.

Ryu smirked. "Don't tell me the bold thief is afraid of a little blackness here…"

"B-But can't you feel it? There's something n-not right about this place."

"You can sense it too?" Ryu was surprised. He believed that perhaps the 'Broodling' preference that Andaroy used might have something to do with his own awareness of dark energies around here, but Patty as well?

There was no time to answer his own question; however, as the chittering noises coming from everywhere robbed his attention away from Patty. It was all that was needed for Patty to be snatched away as soon as Ryu's head was turned.

"HEELLLP-" Her cries were cut short, and the noises faded as soon as they started. Ryu frowned, trying to remain calm. If I'm still rationale, I would say that the Mayor and Trout's got something to do with all these. If we could find them...

He turned to the confused Highlander and Creeper. "Jean, Sten! We need to get to the top floor. That's where the Mayor's office is. Perhaps we can find Patty there and the answers to all these...happenings." Then, specifically at Bow, "I hope you are up for this, buddy. Such incidents are probably what you've never experienced before."

Bow scratched his head. "I've a very bad feeling about this, but I suppose this could be a warm-up to what I would be facing when I go with you guys. Let's get this over with." He notched another bolt into his trusty iron crossbow with a determined look on his face. Ryu chuckled and followed his eager friend up the stairs, with his other friends hot on their heels.

Nina fidgeted. It was that horrifying feeling again, as though something bad was going to happen. She could not wait to get out of this situation right now and do something. In fact, anything would do...

...As long as it doesn't have Worens staring at you and your wings as though you were the finest specimen from the Infinity.

"So...What do you want to talk about?" Nina broke the silence that ensued ever since Katt ordered Rand not to disturb their 'important talk.' What was said between them for the last fifteen minutes was silence, though.

Katt finally gave up what she was doing and sat on the other chair in the quaint little room she had, such that she was directly facing Nina across a small tea table. Staring straight into her confused green eyes, she took a deep breath, and decided to convey it in the most direct way possible.

"What do you think about..."

Nina looked on expectantly, her attention now totally riveted towards Katt as she struggled to string the last word together with her whole sentence.

"What do you think about...about R-R..."

"About Ryu?" The Woren almost fell back in surprise. She did not think that the Winidian would have guessed what she wanted to ask, but there was no time to be surprised anyway. She nodded mutely and stiffened when she saw a smile gracing her lips.

"Oh...He's a nice guy. Spirited, a little childish sometimes, but a caring person, I suppose." The words seemed almost automatic for her to say as they appeared in her mind. Her smile, however, had a mind of its own as it took on the same form as that of a devil. "Why do you ask, Katt?" The tone was suspiciously angelic, a stark contrast to the smile on her face. Nina had to suppress a giggle as she watched Katt squirm.

"Oh well, I er...Needed to know more about everyone!"

"So why didn't you ask about me, or Rand, or Sten or-"

"B-Because he's the first person I've met in the party that I actually like-"

"Oh, so you like him!"

"NO! No, it's nothing like that..." Katt stopped blabbering and saw the Winidian's look on her face and sighed. "Alright…I-It's only a small crush, okay? Not a big deal."

"Oh..." Nina tried to sound disappointed, but she couldfeel a strange feeling-aslight, small and dull pain in her chest when her suspicions were confirmed. "...Does he know anything about it?"

"Obviously not, geez! That's what you call a crush, right? Just like Stormwind had one on you..."

"That was more of an infatuation..." Nina replied, smiling lightly even though she recalled how ruthless her childhood friend had become in wanting to win her hand in marriage. "Speaking of which, do you think Ryu and the others are going to be back soon? They seemed really confident that they can end whatever's plaguing the town..."

"Aren't infatuations and crushes the same? Oh well...I'm sure they're having fun. Now, about the magic lesson you promised me earlier on..."

"This is getting really tiring..." Sten panted as he struggled to pull out a dagger stuck in the hairy, eight-legged giant carcass that laid across the stairwell. With considerable effort, he pushed it off, sending it tumbling into the darkness below. "Just exactly how many are there?"

"We're getting there soon. Be patient, Sten." Ryu replied absentmindedly as he wiped the sticky fluid away from his face and stepped over half a carcass, almost casually slashing at the next one that met him on the stairs. The Prince of SimaFort, on the other hand, seemed carefree enough compared to his other three companions, who either looked at their assailants in disgust or with grimness. Bow had to resist putting another bolt into another decapitated arachnid.

"Come on...It's just a few steps away-" Ryu flung the wizened oak doors open and gasped. Courage fled for a moment, but a strand held on as he focused his attention on the main attraction of the blood-splattered room: A somewhat surprised-but still being able to look pompous-Trout and the Mayor Gradin du Lach.

Or what seemed to be left of him. Ryu felt a sense of dread slowly covering his emotions. The Mayor looked nothing more than a shell of his former self. Deathly pale, whitish skin replaced the healthy baby-pink that saw itself on the cheerful middle-aged man. Black spots of a seemingly malevolent nature dotted his body, making him seem more like a sick and dying leopard instead. He was wrapped in tight silk, with a peculiar giant spider towering over him, all ten eyes fixated on the Ranger before it. Behind him, he could hear retching sounds from Bow and Jean. They had probably plucked up the courage and scrutinized the room, obviously not liking what they saw.

"Well, well. I didn't expect a fugitive to be here. Do you want to confess your sins before we give you a lighter sentence?" Ryu narrowed his eyes as he stared at the merchant. There was no more doubt as soon as he saw the smugness in his eyes. "The town would've been a better place without you loose cannons around..."

"What do you stand to gain, Trout? All you're doing is demonizing the city and destroying the peaceful life they have!"

The plump man shook his head as though responding to a slow learner or a child who has yet to understand the wiles of the 'adult' world. "Ryu, Ryu...Those are words that any self-righteous man would say. I'd have thought better of you. 'He' would have thought better of you."

"'He'?" Ryu asked, confused. He was well aware that there would be no answer given, but it didn't hurt to appear puzzled anyway. He did know what was coming, though. The merchant they knew as Trout was no longer in front of them when the noise started. While his companions look on in horror, Ryu narrowed his eyes as an additional pair of arms sprouted from his body and his skin bulged and boiled, ripping to reveal the true ugly purplish mass beneath it. Similarly, the already plump face contorted and seemed to melt away literally as a larger head with beady eyes as well as a maw the size of a regular man's torso showed.

Another demon... He drew his blade silently as his other companions did, albeit a little shakily. He barely dodged the lengthy tongue that swiped restlessly at him and his companions simultaneously. It seemed so fast that even Ryu had some trouble detecting the direction in which it was going to hit. "Bow! We'll try to occupy this little bastard. Do your thing while we're at it."

The Grass Runner nodded while Jean and Sten slowly circle the remaining giant spider and what was known as Trout. The tension was thick, and all four of them were sweating ever so slightly. One wrong move might end in their demise...

And it attacked. With speed belying that of it's enormous exterior, the demon practically materialized in front of Sten and sent a flurry of punches. The Highlander rolled several times on the floor...and stayed still, a small pool of blood slowly spreading.

"Monsieur Sten!"

"Stay, Jean! We can't afford anymore casualties..." Without warning, Ryu charged headlong into the demon, which let out a high-pitched giggle and leapt out of the way with ease to land just behind the warrior, ready to devour him. The former, however, had different plans. Halfway through his charge, he pivoted on his left foot and spun, his sword swinging in a deadly horizontal arc.

The shriek that followed was unbearable, but Ryu felt a small sense of satisfaction as a purplish liquid gushed out and splashed onto the floor while the Creeper prince hurried over to the monkey.

"Ryu, I can't feel his pulse!"

His eyes narrowed. "Jean, leave him be for the time being. I don't think one attack is enough to finish him."

"Indeed." Without warning, the frog prince pounced on the surprised monstrosity like a tiger onto a lamb and executed a series of lightning-fast strikes at various parts of it. The attacks were accompanied by miniscule grunts of pain and bewilderment. Even Ryu was impressed, despite being able to see the strikes a little more clearly this time. Apparently the demon had replaced his defense for a lightning fast offense.

"Waoorgh...!" The demon lumbered towards them laboriously this time, the telltale signs of profusely bleeding legs taking its effect. Its attack potency was now disabled. Having little worry left, Ryu simply circled him and administered several hits to its vulnerable back. The monstrosity screamed, but refused to succumb to the pain and turned in an attempt to strike his antagonist down, who nimbly sidestepped him.

"Ryu! It's done." The blue-haired teenager hopped a safe distance before risking a look at Bow. The Grass Runner supported an unconscious Patty with her arm slung over his right shoulder, and the bloodstains told him what he needed to know. "That better be the last time I fight such a crazy arachnid..."

"...But as long as it's a pretty girl, you'll dive straight into a dragon's lair." Ryu grinned as he saw a indignant but slightly red Bow glaring back at him. "Enough about that..." He turned his attention back to the panting demon, which had unsuccessfully tried to make a meal out of the Creeper dodging and stabbing at him with his trusty rapier. "Why did you do all this?"

"Foooolsss! You'll never understand the power of money!"

Ryu looked at him as though he had never seen him before. "Money...? Just for that and you willingly made a contract with the netherworld? Why not wish for power instead?"

"Look at him, Ryu. Look at his eyes." The Ranger turned, surprised to see Sten walking up towards them nonchalantly. "Playing dead has been a skill of mine ever since I had a memory, though that's a lot of expensive ketchup down the drain...But anyway,what's more important is that all I see is a mad obsession in his eyes. He thinks of nothing but only that which he desires..."

"Then he can take it back to Hell from where he gained those powers." Ryu raised his sword. "...And may...may Evrai or whatever God bless his soul."In a swift and fluid motion, Ryu feinted twice to the left and once to the right before driving a powerful thrust straight into the middle of the demon, skewering it to one of the walls.

"...Nooo...The...money...My money..." It fell, and slowly dissolved, melting away in a ethereal puddle of green sludge and dark magic as the battered adventurers looked on.

"I thought you said they were having fun?"

Katt scratched her head. "...Well, I didn't expect them to look so...tired." She pointed to the group, who had sent out a signal flare a moment ago. The three of them had hurried over, only to be greeted by the sight of five haggard adventurers looking irritated, with a comatose middle-aged man over the shoulders of Ryu.

"Hey," A simple wave, but it seemed as though there were a ton of bricks weighing down his arm. "Could you help us out a little here?"

Author's Note: Been more than a year since my last chapter, and I'm felt really guilty. Sorry for those who wanted a new chapter. I know this was way below my standard, but lots have happened since the time lag between the previous chapter and this one. I sincerely apologize to the readers also for the fact that I'll be more inactive within a week's time. Rest assured, though, I'll try my best to come up with ideas for a novelisation that can meet your expectations. Thanks. Please do review if you feel the need.