A/N: Okay, since I'm so nice, you guys get two chapters again! Hooray for you!

Ed: Hoor-ray...

Roy: WOOOOOO! (throws confetti everywhere)

Link: (sulking) I STILL can't believe they want ME. And MARTH. TOGETHER.

Kim: WOULD YOU QUIT COMPLAINING?

Link: NO!

Eliwood: Everyone stop fighting! (lifts up plate) I've got biscotti!

All: BISCOTTI! (TACKLE)

Eliwood: OW! I'm mean, HOORAY:)

Onto the chappie!

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Chapter 6: First Attempt

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The day went by as usual. Ryka battled some more and rejected Falcon's swooning, and Link stubbornly lost again against Marth until the elf agreed to allow the prince to help train him. And all the while, Roy patiently awaited for that night, but kept his eagerness to himself to not arouse any suspicions.

That is, until dinner came.

The Pherean couldn't help himself. Once he had gotten his food and settled with Link, Marth, and Ryka, he began shoveling into his meal, figuring that the faster he was done with eating, the more time he had for learning. But as the half-dragon devoured his food, his three friends couldn't help but notice.

"Whoa, Roy, what's the rush?" exclaimed Link.

"...gulp, um... I'm hungry," Roy meekly explained behind a cheek-full of food.

"Funny, you were just about as hungry at lunch when you pigged out then," Marth muttered.

With the spoon in his mouth, Roy glanced up with big guilty eyes like a caught puppy. Seeking to cover up for him, Ryka spoke up.

"Roy, you should slow down. You wouldn't be able to do much with an upset stomach, would you?"

The boy glanced at Ryka, interpreting her silent message. Shamefully, Roy slipped the spoon out between his lips and cleared his throat, slowing his eating pace dramatically. Surprised at how easily she got him to calm down, the other two looked between them curiously. Link, whose optimistic mind saw chemistry, grinned, whereas Marth, whose cautious nature saw a sort of deception, leered suspiciously.

But before either of them could speak out, Ryka stood, her plate cleared, and very subtly, very quietly, she leaned over and whispered to Roy, "I'll meet you there."

Roy nodded to her knowingly, and she waved goodbye to the other two and left the cafeteria. This motivated Roy to eat slightly faster, but not as rapidly as before. Link and Marth may have had different perceptions, but they both stared at their redhead friend all the same.

"...What was that all about?" they asked simultaneously, though in different tones.

Roy looked up from his meal, confused. "...wha?"

Link leaned forward, a knowing smirk on his face. "Where're you meeting her, huh?"

The mamkute flinched. "None of your business."

"No, seriously, Roy," Marth spoke up, dead serious. "What are you doing with Ryka?"

"Dang it, Marth, it's not your business either!" Roy shot up, taking his plate forcibly. "I'm not a little kid! Quit babysitting me!" He turned away and left his two friends, slightly bewildered at the sudden outburst.

"...Whoa," Link blinked for a second, then shrugged. "Ah, guess we'd better leave him be, then, huh?"

Marth was growing concerned. "I...I don't know..."

"Well, I mean, he's right. Just 'cause he's the youngest doesn't mean we gotta hover over his shoulder all the time. He really doesn't need us to make decisions for him anymore."

Normally Marth would've found it extremely odd to hear such a mature comment from Link, but his thoughts were too preoccupied to notice. "...but..."

"Aw, don't worry about him, Marthy," Link grinned, patting the cobalt on the back. "When he needs help, he'll know where to come. He'll be alright."

Hesitantly, Marth nodded, staring off in the direction Roy had left for wherever he was going. The prince sighed and reluctantly restrained himself from following.

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Roy eagerly threw open the door and stepped onto the roof, immediately spotting Ryka on the same bench they had occupied the other night. Hearing him close the door behind him, she turned to face him as he walked over and sat down quietly, a little embarrassed.

"Um... sorry about that," he apologized sheepishly. "I was just really excited to get to the lesson..."

"No, it's alright," Ryka assured. "But just watch yourself. Our powers are a little on the unstable side."

Roy nodded, facing her anxiously. "So...what first?"

"Well..." Ryka had thought about this throughout the day and had already made their decision. She firmly stood up. "I think a good way to start off is showing you your ultimate goal: a complete transformation."

Roy's eyes widened at that as he knew what she meant.

And so it began: Ryka seemed to go limp as her head lolled back to face the heavens, but her legs still stood strong and firm as the process began. Her body began to stretch and her clothing seemed to melt into her skin before a soft glow enveloped her features. As Roy watched in awe, the first thing his eyes caught were light blue, leathery wings stretching themselves out.

And what he saw after the glow died down filled him with so much wonder and shock that his legs buckled beneath him, and he dropped down to his knees where he was standing.

Where Human Ryka once stood was a dragon of forest green, with a beige belly, and the same wild hair, headband and amphithere feathers intact. Her snout was curved to the bottom, almost beak-like in a female shape, her entire face reflecting gentleness and natural beauty. He eyes were shut as she was recovering, then opened to reveal shining crystal orbs that matched their human counterpart, aside from the thinned, reptilian pupils.

Roy's jaw threatened to drop to the ground in sheer amazement. He made a tiny squeak before he managed to get out "...Y...you... t-t-transformed...!"

Ryka the Dragon nodded, smiling warmly.

"How... how did you..." Roy stammered. "...how'd you t-transform by your own will...? And where'd your clothes go?"

Ryka laughed at his barrage of questions, sitting in a comfortable perched position. "Okay, here's something you need to know first. Within every human being, half-blooded or not, are two things: a conscious and a subconscious."

"And the subconscious controls things the conscious can't right?" Roy ventured.

"Yes, that's one distinction. But see, a subconscious has knowledge of its own, almost a separate being. It knows when to transform, when to execute dragon powers... or, at least most of the time."

Roy inclined his head questioningly.

"All you have to do is command your subconscious to trigger the process. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, but it is possible."

Roy took in this info. "Okay... What about the clothes?"

"Once the subconscious has ordered the transformation, the conscious can control how it's carried out. If you simply imagine your clothing to fuse with yourself, it will be done. The fibers of the clothing fuse with the skin fibers, and that's why..."

"...your hide is green and beige, like your tunic! And your wings, blue like your cape!" Roy realized, and her nod gave him a gleeful sense of accomplishment. "...Does it hurt?"

"Oh, yeah, of course it does," Ryka answered off-handedly. "But I've gotten used to it. You will too after your body's been melded that many times."

Roy thought hard, then, his mind made up, he glanced up and gave her a bold grin. "Let me try it."

Ryka blinked. "Roy, are... you can't be serious..."

"Just, lemme try it. Once," Roy countered without pleads in his tone. "I wanna see if I can."

Ryka sighed. Not permitting him to experiment would only discourage him. After all, she remembered how equally eager she was when she first began. "Okay, give it a shot. Just don't strain yourself, okay?"

Roy nodded, glad for a chance. He stood rigid and concentrated, hard. He wasn't sure exactly how he was supposed to do it, so all he did was keep think Transform, transform, come on, transform! His hands were curled up in fists, trembling with effort.

Come on, come o...!

Then he felt it: the pull at his fibers he felt the first time he began to transform. He grimaced deeply as the pain began.

"If it's too much, you can stop it! Don't hurt yourself!"

But there was no amount of pain Roy couldn't endure. He was much too determined to let pain stop him now.

Then something strange happened. He felt a sort of twang, like a bowstring snapping back, and somehow he knew his request to transform was rejected. As if teaching him a lesson for good measure, whatever halted the process shot out a wave of sharp pain through his body, and he let out a shrill cry before he lost the strength to stand up, beginning to fall.

"Roy!" Ryka stumbled over and allowed him to fall into her wing, his energy spent. Carefully she laid him down, then a soft glow later and she was back in her human form. Quickly she knelt by Roy's side as he regained consciousness with a groan, regaining his strength bit by bit.

"Unh..." he moaned, dragging his eyes up to glance at her. "R-Ryka... w-what happened...?... Did I do something wrong...?"

"No, no, Roy, it's alright," she assured. "The same thing happened when I first started out. When the subconscious feels it's not the right time to begin transforming, it lets you know and rejects the command. You're just not ready yet, that's all."

Hearing this, Roy frowned faintly in disappointment.

"Don't worry about it," Ryka helped him sit up, patting him on the back. "We'll start on your other powers and work our way up, okay?"

Roy nodded, smiling in comfort as he sighed, allowing himself to recover. He began to wonder why his subconscious didn't think he was ready, but with a borderline separate being with much knowledge, he decided its judgment was certainly better than his. So, with no other choice, Roy decided to wait for his time to be ready.

Which, in truth, would be closer then he was expecting.

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A/N: All info was made up by ME, thank you.

Roy: Wow, creative genius at its best:D

Thank you!

Ed: Suck-up.

Roy: (sticks out tongue)

Kim: Hey! You're MY lackey! You're supposed to suck up to ME!

Link: (points at me) But this is HER fic.

Kim: Oh... carry on.

Roy: :)

Eliwood: (munching on biscotti) Yummy. :)

Please review!