Dragon Quest
By: BlackLiGurl
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Note: Okay...writer's block terminated...I'm back! Anyway, in this note for this chapter, I'll answer some questions and comments I got on my reviews.
~To malu: Ruby didn't fight much last chapter because she doesn't know how to use her fire magic in her human form yet. If you haven't noticed, Nall never really got a chance to show her because as soon as she got her human form, Nall was attacked by Yira. Not to mention, Ruby's fire attacks in her Dragon form are a bit too destructive for her to use without burning down the building they're usually in. But, she'll fight more in this chapter, don't worry. And, Nall gave Hiro Althena's sword as a way to show Hiro that he has his blessings as a friend (and to help Hiro get Lucia). Nall can use swords, even though he's a Dragon. His profile in the Lunar 2: Eternal Blue manual says that he has excellent fighting skills, so I suspect that he uses the sword on his back.
~To Taiga: Ruby sorta has an emotional breakdown but then again...not really
~To Story_Weaver1: Don't worry, Yira didn't do anything TOO nasty...unless you want to imagine that...o_O
~To JoJo10: I know of good Nall stories but I can't remember them right now. They should be in my favorite story section so check there.
Chapter 9: Betrayal
Weeks had gone by and Lemina still couldn't figure out what to do to make the spell actually track Ryo down. Ruby was beginning to lose hope. She stayed in her room, not coming out for days at a time. Hiro and Lucia visited daily, trying to make not only Ruby feel better, but the Dragon Kids too. They were just as worried about Nall as Ruby was. The kids were crying more than when the Shadow Dragon Cult had kidnapped some of them approximately a year earlier. Ruby usually stayed in her baby form, cuddling the Nall plushie he had given her the day he was captured. Ruby couldn't understand how the doll could still be intact after 1000 years, not to mention the 200 years he spent wandering around with the box. It still looked like it was in mint condition, and still looked exactly like him. Matter of fact, it reminded her so much of him, she just had to keep it near. His friend Jessica, the one who Nall says made the stuffed toy in the first place, did a great job. Maybe too great. One night, while everyone was looking through Mia's book, Ruby finally emerged from her room. Lemina growled and slapped herself on the head as the little pink cat flew in carrying Nall's little plushie and sat on the table along with Ebony and Sapphiren, who also were in their baby forms to conserve energy.
"Any luck?" she asked sadly.
"I'm sorry Ruby..." Jean said.
She sighed sadly and slouched, tears running down her face.
"I can't help but to think this is all my fault."
"It's not. How many times do we have to go through this?" Ronfar asked, sounding a bit harsh.
Ruby looked up at him then whimpered sadly, looking at the Nall plushie. Ronfar blinked and scratched his head as Hiro and Jean gave him angry glares. Lemina shook her wand furiously, ignoring her surroundings and their conversation.
"The only thing I know is that the wand I used to cast the spell is glowing...very dimly...but glowing!"
"Wait a second! Lemina, you never told us that your wand was glowing!" Ebony said.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? I just thought it meant I needed a new wand..." Lemina mumbled looking at her wand.
"Point it around a few times..."
Lemina shrugged and did what Ebony said. She stopped when the wand was pointed northwest and the jewel began to glow a tad bit brighter. Her face lit up with joy.
"Yay! I figured it out!"
"You?" Sapphiren asked suspiciously, "I coulda swore it was Ebony over here...that noticed the glowing of your wand was how you used the tracking spell."
"That was rather simple Lemina..." Lucia said.
"Well...I thought it was more complicated than point the wand and follow the glow!" Lemina laughed.
Ruby growled and balled up her little paws as they joked about Lemina not being able to figure out something so simple. Finally, she snapped and shot a giant blast of fire at Lemina. Luckily, Ruby's fire only singed her hair and put soot on her face. Ruby hadn't turned up the heat as much as she could have. Everyone shut up and looked at Lemina, who had froze in shock from the sudden attack. Her widened eyes stared straight ahead, as if she was afraid to look down at Ruby.
"Lemina! Why couldn't you figure that out sooner!!" Ruby screamed, "WE COULD'VE BEEN SAVED NALL IF YOU WEREN'T ACTING LIKE SUCH A FUCKIN' DITZ!!"
Slowly, the party turned their gaze to the angered kitty-looking creature. She looked at them, her teary eyes filled with a fire fueled by her rage toward her not-so-blonde-anymore friend.
"We have to save Nall! And I'll take that damn wand and go by myself if I have to! By now, they could have done horrible things to him!! They could be hurting him! They might even have done worst! The worst could have happened..."
"Ruby I'm-" Lemina mumbled.
"And if it did...if it did..." Ruby hissed, clutching the plushie. She suddenly roared, "I SWEAR TO ALTHENA I'LL KILL YOU, LEMINA!!"
"I-I..."
They were all stunned by what Ruby said. Her fur was standing on edge and her teeth were bared, making her look like a very menacing kitten. Although she was still very small at the moment, they were actually afraid of her.
'Killing someone isn't in Ruby's character...but she hasn't been herself lately. Would she go through with it?' Hiro thought, staring at his childhood friend.
'A dragon can't kill a human! It would throw the world off balance!' Ebony thought, horrified with her paws over her mouth.
'If she did kill Lemina...would she do it in a very slow and painful way...or quick and painless? Hm...Ruby's pretty mad so I probably shouldn't ask her...' Sapphiren thought, blowing bubbles to keep himself amused and his mind off of what was happening, 'She might hurt me...I hope she doesn't though...but, who knows...'
"W-we're just trying to lighten the mood, Red," Ronfar said, "w-we didn't mean for you to think we weren't serious about saving Nall..."
"B-because we are..." Leo continued.
Ruby sighed and let go of the plushie.
"I shouldn't have said that. Lemina, I'm so sorry. I won't kill you. I'm happy we learned how to work the spell. I'm still a little worried, that's all..."
She sighed and flew to the playground. She was glad the kids were fast asleep because she didn't want to worry them. She morphed into her human form and sat on the swings.
'Almost a month ago...me and you were sitting here and I was sad about Hiro. Now, I'm alone...sad about you Nall... Why do the ones I love always get taken away from me?'
Ruby sighed as Hiro came out and sat beside her.
"It's pretty chilly. Don't you think you should come in? If you catch a cold, we won't be able to go get Nall in the morning."
"What could they be doing to him? I hope they didn't hurt him..." Ruby said sadly, "and what if the worst DID happen? What would the Dragon Kids do? What would I do!?"
"Kill Lemina?" Hiro asked in a joking way.
"Hiro! I'm serious!"
"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you...little Dragon..." a voice said behind them.
They spun around to find Ryo and Yira behind them. Ruby stood up, growling.
"WHERE'S NALL!?!?!" Ruby roared.
"Why, he's right here..." Yira said as a evil grin spread across her face, "but I don't think you'll like what you'll see."
Nall appeared behind them, kneeled down on one knee and his head bowed. Ruby looked at him and didn't know whether to run toward him or away from him. He looked like Nall but she could tell something wasn't right. He was wearing black and dark purple armor with a black cape.
"Nall! Are you okay?!"
He stood up and glared at her. His stare was as cold as ice, instead of cool and full of playfulness. Nall pushed Ryo and Yira out of his way so he could make his way to Ruby. Ruby watched him for a while before running behind Hiro, who unsheathed his sword.
"Hiro, something's wrong! That's not Nall!"
"Oh...but it is..." Ryo hissed.
She knew that it was definately the real Nall, by the presence and the aura he was giving off. But she didn't want to believe it. It was like the light was stripped from his very soul.
"I don't wanna have to do this Nall! But you can't hurt Ruby!"
Nall unsheathed his sword as well and suddenly lunged at Hiro. Ruby stood back as Nall and Hiro fought. Deep in her heart, she already knew who the victor would be. Nall slashed Hiro across the chest then kicked his wound, making him fly into a nearby wall. Hiro dropped his sword and groaned in pain, holding his injury which was beginning to bleed very badly.
"Kill him! Kill him now!!" Ryo growled.
"No! Torture the boy!" Yira said, "make it funny!"
Nall glared at Hiro as he slowly walked over to him. He stepped on the gash on Hiro's chest, making him scream in pain. Ruby frowned. She couldn't let this happen. So she pushed Nall away from Hiro, and stood between them.
"Stop!" she screamed, "Nall this isn't you!"
"I'm not afraid...to kill a girl..."
He grabbed her neck and slammed her into a wall, making her yelp in pain. His hand chilled her neck, making her choke from the shock of the icy feeling. Not only was his glare cold, but so was his skin. Of course, his body was usually cooler than any human's, she could tell when he used to grab her and shake her around or pet her back when she only stayed in her baby form, but this was different. It was an evil cold that was not of this realm. When he let her go, Ruby fell to the grass on her hands and knees and started coughing. Nall kicked her in the stomach to make her flip over and put the tip of his sword at her throat. Tears began to fall from her eyes once again.
"Please don't do it..."
Meanwhile, Lucia frowned and held her head. Jean looked at her confused.
"What's wrong Lucia?"
"I thought I heard someone scream...and I feel a familar presence near here, just outside actually...but it seems to be corrupted..."
"We should probably check it out then," Ebony said transforming into her human form.
Sapphiren followed suit as they ran out to the playground. They all stopped abruptly when they saw Nall.
"Nall!?"
"I knew it..." Lucia mumbled, "...but there's something wrong..."
"Yes...it's your friend Nall...but he's not your friend anymore...Nall's decided to come to the winning team!"
"That's not true...You brainwashed him..." Ruby whispered weakly.
He just stared at her, emotionlessly. Yira walked up to Nall and grabbed his arm. Ruby snarled as she snuggled against him. Nall closed his eyes and grumbled softly.
"Guess what? This cutie's mine now! Nyah-nyah! And he came all by himself! He never wanted you in the first place!" Yira laughed, "See?"
She stood on her toes and kissed him passionately, making Ruby even more angry. Ryo shook his head at her.
'Yira...don't underestimate her...' Ryo thought.
"Ruby, do not let anger cloud your judgement!" Leo shouted.
Nall pushed her away and glared at her. Yira raised an eyebrow confused.
"Hey! You're suppo-"
He quickly thrusted his sword into Yira's chest, piercing her heart. She gasped and looked down at the bloody sword that went through her body before collapsing on it. Everyone's eyes widened in shock. . "I told you not to touch me..." he growled as he slid her body off of his blade and threw her off of the balcony.
Ryo ran to the balcony and looked over the ledge. Yira's body was no where to be found.
"SISTER!!" Ryo roared. He glared at Nall and unsheathed his claws, "you aren't supposed to kill your team! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KILL YIRA!!! You're supposed to kill them!"
Nall slowly turned around and averted his gaze to Ryo.
"You will do as I say! Or...you'll meet the same fate as that stupid girl!" Nall yelled, "and you know damn well I'm powerful enough to kill you too..."
Ryo clenched his fists and looked down. Nall grinned.
"Good boy. Now fetch the Black Dragon Aura!"
"What! Nall don't you remember! You're a Dragon too!" Ebony yelled.
Sapphiren stood in front of Ebony and stared at Ryo and Nall, determined to protect her.
"Go help Hiro and Ruby..." Sapphiren mumbled, "I can handle this...I think...can I? Yeah...Yeah! I can!"
"But Sapphiren! He's a lot stronger than you think!" Jean exclaimed.
"Not to mention, Nall might jump in anytime. Are you sure you up to this?" Ronfar asked.
He nodded. For once, the normally aloof and goofy Blue Dragon was completely serious. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the wind blow through his hair as he thought about what he was going to do. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he smiled.
"It's time for me to show Ebony what I'm really made of..." he said assuming a martial arts fighting stance, similar to the one used by members of the Blue Dragon Fist, "when someone fights for love, they can be strong enough to overcome anything...even their best friend who they know is way stronger than them..."
"Sapphiren..." Ebony whimpered.
"Good luck then buddy..."
Ronfar smiled and walked away with the others to help Hiro and Ruby. Ryo walked over to Sapphiren, unsheathing his sharp claws. Ebony stepped back involuntarily out of fear.
"Step out of the way Dragon! I have no need for you!"
"Yeah well I have no need for you either! Get out of our lives will ya!"
Sapphiren let out a battle cry and began punching and kicking him with lighting speed. Ryo could block very few of his attacks and soon he was flying into a wall. Sapphiren turned around and looked at Ebony, who was staring in disbelief.
"Wow..."
"You see Ebony! I AM strong! Living near Horam and the Zen Zone really did me some good!" he said.
"Do you really love me?" Ebony asked, smiling and blushing shyly.
"Of course I do! If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have been able to kick his butt so easily. Do you...love me?"
"Oh, Sapphiren!!" she said as she jumped into him, hugging him tightly, "who couldn't?"
He smiled broadly and wrapped his arms around her in a tight, loving embrace. He heard someone crying out, but he didn't listen because it wasn't Ebony yelling. The whole world disappeared around him as he held his love in his arms. He completely forgot about the situation; Nall being evil, the fact they're supposed to be getting their Auras back, Zophar's possible return. Nothing mattered at all. Suddenly, everything shattered as his eyes widened and his arms fell to his sides. Nall had stabbed Sapphiren in the back with his sword. Sapphiren stepped away from Ebony, turned around, and looked at Nall. Ebony looked from him, to the sword, to the blood on her clothes in utter horror. It took every ounce of her strength to stop from passing out.
"W-why?" Sapphiren whispered weakly. He fell to his knees and coughed up blood, "w-what's wrong with you..."'
They watched as Sapphiren fell forward and Nall took his sword out of his back. Everyone had tried to warn Sapphiren and Ebony that Nall was about to strike. None of them, however, had enough courage to actually go up and stop him, due to what he had done to Hiro and Ruby. They were hoping Sapphiren or Ebony, or both, would hear them and get out of there theirselves. Ruby shook her head in denial.
"Lucia, what's going on!" Ruby yelled, "Nall would never do that! He would NEVER hurt us!"
"Zophar...could have put a curse on his soul."
"Just like what happened to Mauri...can't Ruby go into his mind like I did?"
"I don't know. Nall is way too strong for us to hold off while Ruby's in there...plus the curse placed on him is too strong right now."
"You sayin' Mauri's weak?" Ronfar mumbled.
"Now's not the time to be stupid Ronfar!" Lemina yelled, "Of course we're not saying that!"
Ebony tried to run but Nall grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. She squirmed, trying to release himself from her friend's grip. He growled and tightened his grip to keep her still.
"Ryo! You lazy excuse of a minion!! Get up and take this Dragon Aura NOW!"
Ryo shakily stood up and walked over to them. He lifted his hand and Ebony began to glow with a bright green light. She screamed and passed out as her Black Dragon Aura was extracted from her body. Ryo put it in a pouch as Nall dropped the unconscious girl beside Sapphiren.
"That's it, I have to do something!" Ruby yelled.
"Wait Ruby!" Hiro exclaimed.
She ran over to Nall and stood in front of him.
"What? I didn't think you wanted to die so quickly," he sneered.
"Nall, I love you!"
He blinked and scratched his head, puzzled.
"And if you truly have decided to be evil...I can't live in a world where we fight and not make up over a plate of fish...go ahead and kill me if you want! Take my Aura! Do whatever you want! I don't care! Because I love you, I can't live without you being an arrogant, lovable, jerk..."
"L-love?"
Note: Wow...As I proofread this I realized this is a pretty good chapter...Lots of action with a pinch of romance. I'm pretty proud of this chapter seeing as though I'm usually not too good with fight scenes. Oh well, read, review, don't flame or I'll track you down and kill you...Psyche!!
By: BlackLiGurl
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Note: Okay...writer's block terminated...I'm back! Anyway, in this note for this chapter, I'll answer some questions and comments I got on my reviews.
~To malu: Ruby didn't fight much last chapter because she doesn't know how to use her fire magic in her human form yet. If you haven't noticed, Nall never really got a chance to show her because as soon as she got her human form, Nall was attacked by Yira. Not to mention, Ruby's fire attacks in her Dragon form are a bit too destructive for her to use without burning down the building they're usually in. But, she'll fight more in this chapter, don't worry. And, Nall gave Hiro Althena's sword as a way to show Hiro that he has his blessings as a friend (and to help Hiro get Lucia). Nall can use swords, even though he's a Dragon. His profile in the Lunar 2: Eternal Blue manual says that he has excellent fighting skills, so I suspect that he uses the sword on his back.
~To Taiga: Ruby sorta has an emotional breakdown but then again...not really
~To Story_Weaver1: Don't worry, Yira didn't do anything TOO nasty...unless you want to imagine that...o_O
~To JoJo10: I know of good Nall stories but I can't remember them right now. They should be in my favorite story section so check there.
Chapter 9: Betrayal
Weeks had gone by and Lemina still couldn't figure out what to do to make the spell actually track Ryo down. Ruby was beginning to lose hope. She stayed in her room, not coming out for days at a time. Hiro and Lucia visited daily, trying to make not only Ruby feel better, but the Dragon Kids too. They were just as worried about Nall as Ruby was. The kids were crying more than when the Shadow Dragon Cult had kidnapped some of them approximately a year earlier. Ruby usually stayed in her baby form, cuddling the Nall plushie he had given her the day he was captured. Ruby couldn't understand how the doll could still be intact after 1000 years, not to mention the 200 years he spent wandering around with the box. It still looked like it was in mint condition, and still looked exactly like him. Matter of fact, it reminded her so much of him, she just had to keep it near. His friend Jessica, the one who Nall says made the stuffed toy in the first place, did a great job. Maybe too great. One night, while everyone was looking through Mia's book, Ruby finally emerged from her room. Lemina growled and slapped herself on the head as the little pink cat flew in carrying Nall's little plushie and sat on the table along with Ebony and Sapphiren, who also were in their baby forms to conserve energy.
"Any luck?" she asked sadly.
"I'm sorry Ruby..." Jean said.
She sighed sadly and slouched, tears running down her face.
"I can't help but to think this is all my fault."
"It's not. How many times do we have to go through this?" Ronfar asked, sounding a bit harsh.
Ruby looked up at him then whimpered sadly, looking at the Nall plushie. Ronfar blinked and scratched his head as Hiro and Jean gave him angry glares. Lemina shook her wand furiously, ignoring her surroundings and their conversation.
"The only thing I know is that the wand I used to cast the spell is glowing...very dimly...but glowing!"
"Wait a second! Lemina, you never told us that your wand was glowing!" Ebony said.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? I just thought it meant I needed a new wand..." Lemina mumbled looking at her wand.
"Point it around a few times..."
Lemina shrugged and did what Ebony said. She stopped when the wand was pointed northwest and the jewel began to glow a tad bit brighter. Her face lit up with joy.
"Yay! I figured it out!"
"You?" Sapphiren asked suspiciously, "I coulda swore it was Ebony over here...that noticed the glowing of your wand was how you used the tracking spell."
"That was rather simple Lemina..." Lucia said.
"Well...I thought it was more complicated than point the wand and follow the glow!" Lemina laughed.
Ruby growled and balled up her little paws as they joked about Lemina not being able to figure out something so simple. Finally, she snapped and shot a giant blast of fire at Lemina. Luckily, Ruby's fire only singed her hair and put soot on her face. Ruby hadn't turned up the heat as much as she could have. Everyone shut up and looked at Lemina, who had froze in shock from the sudden attack. Her widened eyes stared straight ahead, as if she was afraid to look down at Ruby.
"Lemina! Why couldn't you figure that out sooner!!" Ruby screamed, "WE COULD'VE BEEN SAVED NALL IF YOU WEREN'T ACTING LIKE SUCH A FUCKIN' DITZ!!"
Slowly, the party turned their gaze to the angered kitty-looking creature. She looked at them, her teary eyes filled with a fire fueled by her rage toward her not-so-blonde-anymore friend.
"We have to save Nall! And I'll take that damn wand and go by myself if I have to! By now, they could have done horrible things to him!! They could be hurting him! They might even have done worst! The worst could have happened..."
"Ruby I'm-" Lemina mumbled.
"And if it did...if it did..." Ruby hissed, clutching the plushie. She suddenly roared, "I SWEAR TO ALTHENA I'LL KILL YOU, LEMINA!!"
"I-I..."
They were all stunned by what Ruby said. Her fur was standing on edge and her teeth were bared, making her look like a very menacing kitten. Although she was still very small at the moment, they were actually afraid of her.
'Killing someone isn't in Ruby's character...but she hasn't been herself lately. Would she go through with it?' Hiro thought, staring at his childhood friend.
'A dragon can't kill a human! It would throw the world off balance!' Ebony thought, horrified with her paws over her mouth.
'If she did kill Lemina...would she do it in a very slow and painful way...or quick and painless? Hm...Ruby's pretty mad so I probably shouldn't ask her...' Sapphiren thought, blowing bubbles to keep himself amused and his mind off of what was happening, 'She might hurt me...I hope she doesn't though...but, who knows...'
"W-we're just trying to lighten the mood, Red," Ronfar said, "w-we didn't mean for you to think we weren't serious about saving Nall..."
"B-because we are..." Leo continued.
Ruby sighed and let go of the plushie.
"I shouldn't have said that. Lemina, I'm so sorry. I won't kill you. I'm happy we learned how to work the spell. I'm still a little worried, that's all..."
She sighed and flew to the playground. She was glad the kids were fast asleep because she didn't want to worry them. She morphed into her human form and sat on the swings.
'Almost a month ago...me and you were sitting here and I was sad about Hiro. Now, I'm alone...sad about you Nall... Why do the ones I love always get taken away from me?'
Ruby sighed as Hiro came out and sat beside her.
"It's pretty chilly. Don't you think you should come in? If you catch a cold, we won't be able to go get Nall in the morning."
"What could they be doing to him? I hope they didn't hurt him..." Ruby said sadly, "and what if the worst DID happen? What would the Dragon Kids do? What would I do!?"
"Kill Lemina?" Hiro asked in a joking way.
"Hiro! I'm serious!"
"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you...little Dragon..." a voice said behind them.
They spun around to find Ryo and Yira behind them. Ruby stood up, growling.
"WHERE'S NALL!?!?!" Ruby roared.
"Why, he's right here..." Yira said as a evil grin spread across her face, "but I don't think you'll like what you'll see."
Nall appeared behind them, kneeled down on one knee and his head bowed. Ruby looked at him and didn't know whether to run toward him or away from him. He looked like Nall but she could tell something wasn't right. He was wearing black and dark purple armor with a black cape.
"Nall! Are you okay?!"
He stood up and glared at her. His stare was as cold as ice, instead of cool and full of playfulness. Nall pushed Ryo and Yira out of his way so he could make his way to Ruby. Ruby watched him for a while before running behind Hiro, who unsheathed his sword.
"Hiro, something's wrong! That's not Nall!"
"Oh...but it is..." Ryo hissed.
She knew that it was definately the real Nall, by the presence and the aura he was giving off. But she didn't want to believe it. It was like the light was stripped from his very soul.
"I don't wanna have to do this Nall! But you can't hurt Ruby!"
Nall unsheathed his sword as well and suddenly lunged at Hiro. Ruby stood back as Nall and Hiro fought. Deep in her heart, she already knew who the victor would be. Nall slashed Hiro across the chest then kicked his wound, making him fly into a nearby wall. Hiro dropped his sword and groaned in pain, holding his injury which was beginning to bleed very badly.
"Kill him! Kill him now!!" Ryo growled.
"No! Torture the boy!" Yira said, "make it funny!"
Nall glared at Hiro as he slowly walked over to him. He stepped on the gash on Hiro's chest, making him scream in pain. Ruby frowned. She couldn't let this happen. So she pushed Nall away from Hiro, and stood between them.
"Stop!" she screamed, "Nall this isn't you!"
"I'm not afraid...to kill a girl..."
He grabbed her neck and slammed her into a wall, making her yelp in pain. His hand chilled her neck, making her choke from the shock of the icy feeling. Not only was his glare cold, but so was his skin. Of course, his body was usually cooler than any human's, she could tell when he used to grab her and shake her around or pet her back when she only stayed in her baby form, but this was different. It was an evil cold that was not of this realm. When he let her go, Ruby fell to the grass on her hands and knees and started coughing. Nall kicked her in the stomach to make her flip over and put the tip of his sword at her throat. Tears began to fall from her eyes once again.
"Please don't do it..."
Meanwhile, Lucia frowned and held her head. Jean looked at her confused.
"What's wrong Lucia?"
"I thought I heard someone scream...and I feel a familar presence near here, just outside actually...but it seems to be corrupted..."
"We should probably check it out then," Ebony said transforming into her human form.
Sapphiren followed suit as they ran out to the playground. They all stopped abruptly when they saw Nall.
"Nall!?"
"I knew it..." Lucia mumbled, "...but there's something wrong..."
"Yes...it's your friend Nall...but he's not your friend anymore...Nall's decided to come to the winning team!"
"That's not true...You brainwashed him..." Ruby whispered weakly.
He just stared at her, emotionlessly. Yira walked up to Nall and grabbed his arm. Ruby snarled as she snuggled against him. Nall closed his eyes and grumbled softly.
"Guess what? This cutie's mine now! Nyah-nyah! And he came all by himself! He never wanted you in the first place!" Yira laughed, "See?"
She stood on her toes and kissed him passionately, making Ruby even more angry. Ryo shook his head at her.
'Yira...don't underestimate her...' Ryo thought.
"Ruby, do not let anger cloud your judgement!" Leo shouted.
Nall pushed her away and glared at her. Yira raised an eyebrow confused.
"Hey! You're suppo-"
He quickly thrusted his sword into Yira's chest, piercing her heart. She gasped and looked down at the bloody sword that went through her body before collapsing on it. Everyone's eyes widened in shock. . "I told you not to touch me..." he growled as he slid her body off of his blade and threw her off of the balcony.
Ryo ran to the balcony and looked over the ledge. Yira's body was no where to be found.
"SISTER!!" Ryo roared. He glared at Nall and unsheathed his claws, "you aren't supposed to kill your team! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KILL YIRA!!! You're supposed to kill them!"
Nall slowly turned around and averted his gaze to Ryo.
"You will do as I say! Or...you'll meet the same fate as that stupid girl!" Nall yelled, "and you know damn well I'm powerful enough to kill you too..."
Ryo clenched his fists and looked down. Nall grinned.
"Good boy. Now fetch the Black Dragon Aura!"
"What! Nall don't you remember! You're a Dragon too!" Ebony yelled.
Sapphiren stood in front of Ebony and stared at Ryo and Nall, determined to protect her.
"Go help Hiro and Ruby..." Sapphiren mumbled, "I can handle this...I think...can I? Yeah...Yeah! I can!"
"But Sapphiren! He's a lot stronger than you think!" Jean exclaimed.
"Not to mention, Nall might jump in anytime. Are you sure you up to this?" Ronfar asked.
He nodded. For once, the normally aloof and goofy Blue Dragon was completely serious. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the wind blow through his hair as he thought about what he was going to do. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he smiled.
"It's time for me to show Ebony what I'm really made of..." he said assuming a martial arts fighting stance, similar to the one used by members of the Blue Dragon Fist, "when someone fights for love, they can be strong enough to overcome anything...even their best friend who they know is way stronger than them..."
"Sapphiren..." Ebony whimpered.
"Good luck then buddy..."
Ronfar smiled and walked away with the others to help Hiro and Ruby. Ryo walked over to Sapphiren, unsheathing his sharp claws. Ebony stepped back involuntarily out of fear.
"Step out of the way Dragon! I have no need for you!"
"Yeah well I have no need for you either! Get out of our lives will ya!"
Sapphiren let out a battle cry and began punching and kicking him with lighting speed. Ryo could block very few of his attacks and soon he was flying into a wall. Sapphiren turned around and looked at Ebony, who was staring in disbelief.
"Wow..."
"You see Ebony! I AM strong! Living near Horam and the Zen Zone really did me some good!" he said.
"Do you really love me?" Ebony asked, smiling and blushing shyly.
"Of course I do! If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have been able to kick his butt so easily. Do you...love me?"
"Oh, Sapphiren!!" she said as she jumped into him, hugging him tightly, "who couldn't?"
He smiled broadly and wrapped his arms around her in a tight, loving embrace. He heard someone crying out, but he didn't listen because it wasn't Ebony yelling. The whole world disappeared around him as he held his love in his arms. He completely forgot about the situation; Nall being evil, the fact they're supposed to be getting their Auras back, Zophar's possible return. Nothing mattered at all. Suddenly, everything shattered as his eyes widened and his arms fell to his sides. Nall had stabbed Sapphiren in the back with his sword. Sapphiren stepped away from Ebony, turned around, and looked at Nall. Ebony looked from him, to the sword, to the blood on her clothes in utter horror. It took every ounce of her strength to stop from passing out.
"W-why?" Sapphiren whispered weakly. He fell to his knees and coughed up blood, "w-what's wrong with you..."'
They watched as Sapphiren fell forward and Nall took his sword out of his back. Everyone had tried to warn Sapphiren and Ebony that Nall was about to strike. None of them, however, had enough courage to actually go up and stop him, due to what he had done to Hiro and Ruby. They were hoping Sapphiren or Ebony, or both, would hear them and get out of there theirselves. Ruby shook her head in denial.
"Lucia, what's going on!" Ruby yelled, "Nall would never do that! He would NEVER hurt us!"
"Zophar...could have put a curse on his soul."
"Just like what happened to Mauri...can't Ruby go into his mind like I did?"
"I don't know. Nall is way too strong for us to hold off while Ruby's in there...plus the curse placed on him is too strong right now."
"You sayin' Mauri's weak?" Ronfar mumbled.
"Now's not the time to be stupid Ronfar!" Lemina yelled, "Of course we're not saying that!"
Ebony tried to run but Nall grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. She squirmed, trying to release himself from her friend's grip. He growled and tightened his grip to keep her still.
"Ryo! You lazy excuse of a minion!! Get up and take this Dragon Aura NOW!"
Ryo shakily stood up and walked over to them. He lifted his hand and Ebony began to glow with a bright green light. She screamed and passed out as her Black Dragon Aura was extracted from her body. Ryo put it in a pouch as Nall dropped the unconscious girl beside Sapphiren.
"That's it, I have to do something!" Ruby yelled.
"Wait Ruby!" Hiro exclaimed.
She ran over to Nall and stood in front of him.
"What? I didn't think you wanted to die so quickly," he sneered.
"Nall, I love you!"
He blinked and scratched his head, puzzled.
"And if you truly have decided to be evil...I can't live in a world where we fight and not make up over a plate of fish...go ahead and kill me if you want! Take my Aura! Do whatever you want! I don't care! Because I love you, I can't live without you being an arrogant, lovable, jerk..."
"L-love?"
Note: Wow...As I proofread this I realized this is a pretty good chapter...Lots of action with a pinch of romance. I'm pretty proud of this chapter seeing as though I'm usually not too good with fight scenes. Oh well, read, review, don't flame or I'll track you down and kill you...Psyche!!