Dragon Quest
By: BlackLiGurl
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Note: This is the chapter where Ruby does some major butt kicking!
Chapter 10: Do You Remember?
Ruby pulled him into a tight embrace. Nall looked down at her and dropped his sword.
"Who would have thought that the love that they shared would be what weakens the spell..." Jean said dreamily.
"Uh...I knew..." Hiro mumbled, "that's why we let her go, ya know?"
Jean glared at him, making him chuckle. Leo glanced at them then looked back at Nall and Ruby.
'I don't know if this will work or not...but Ryo will probably try to stop Ruby...and this is a job for everyone's favorite crime-fighter...' Leo thought.
He glanced around nervously and slinked away. Meanwhile, Ruby looked up at Nall and into his cold, emotionless eyes. Nall just stared back in bewilderment.
"Yeah! Don't you remember when we were on the Dragonship Destiny...and-"
"YOU TWO REALLY WERE DOING SOMETHING WEREN'T YOU!?!" Ronfar yelled, "ew..."
"NO!!" she screamed glaring back at Ronfar. She cleared her throat and looked at Nall, "remember the song you were singing?"
"Singing? I-I don't sing..."
"It was the song that your friends Luna and Alex wrote, remember?"
Nall pulled away from Ruby and glared at her.
"You're lying!"
"Do I look like I'm lying? Don't you remember me?"
"No! No one loves me! I've never been loved! I'm alone and I'm gonna stay that way! Lonliness is all I'll ever known!!" Nall yelled, "n-now get out of my face b-before I decide to kill you!"
Ryo laughed.
"He's a prisoner of darkness! And even though he killed my only family...we still need him and you must be out of the way!"
He lunged at Ruby, preparing to slice her in half. She didn't flinch. She just continued to stare at Nall who just glared back at her with a mixture of fear and anger in his eyes.
"Will you let him hurt me?"
Nall blinked and swiftly picked up his sword and blocked Ryo's claws. Ryo stared at Nall, confused.
"Why did you stop me?"
"I dunno..." he said backing away.
"Good, out of my way so I can take her Aura and kill her..."
"Do not fear! Mystere is here!"
Just as Ryo thrusted his claws at Ruby's throat, Mystere jumped down from the high roof top of Taben's Peak and kicked him off balance. Everyone sweatdropped as Mystere put Ryo in a head lock.
"What the...?!" they all exclaimed simultaneously.
"Young maiden, continue helping your friend. I will hold off this evil-doer!"
Ruby smiled.
"Thanks Leo!"
"I know not of this Leo you speak of...I am Mystere!"
"Never thought I'd see this again..." Ronfar said shaking his head, "I am SO embarassed..."
"At least he's holding off Ryo..." Lemina mumbled.
Ruby looked back at Nall, who was staring at Mystere confused. Suddenly, he growled and shook his head.
"You're starting to annoy me...so I'll just have to kill you!"
Ruby stood, uncertain of what to do. She would have used fire but in her human form, she couldn't use her fire attacks, at least not that she knew of. But now wasn't the time to test that out because if it didn't work, she would be killed. She could have changed into her adult form, but she didn't want to kill him and she couldn't use Red Dragon Anger because it would destroy the entire place. Plus, her adult form would have less room to move making her a sitting duck if Ryo decided to take her Aura.
"Ruby! Catch!"
Lemina threw her wand at Ruby for her to catch it. Ruby glanced at it and frowned.
"I don't know how to use this!"
"Just point and say 'fire' or 'water'! Stuff like that!"
Ruby nodded and pointed it at Nall. She wasn't really sure what attack she should use. This would be her first time fighting in her human form and she wished she was using something more simple and wasn't up against her "mate". With magic, she had to determine what type of attack would do the most or the least damage. But, she had to think fast because Nall wasn't playing around. If he could hurt Sapphiren so badly, probably killing him, he would kill her without a second thought. So she used what always came to her mind first.
"FIRE!!"
Fire shot out of the wand's jewel and engulfed Nall as he shielded his face. Ruby gasped, not meaning to use such power on him.
"Oh...I forgot to mention...the urgency of your voice controls the amount of magic used..."
"That's kinda late Lemina!" she yelled, "I could have seriously hurt him!"
The fire died down and Nall was no where to be seen. She looked around, suddenly wishing she hadn't chosen to fight him. Suddenly, Nall appeared behind her and cut her back with his sword. Ruby spun around when she felt the pain shoot through her back. She stared at him and gasped.
'How'd he...?' she thought. But, it suddenly came to her, 'he teleported..duh...'
Nall smiled at her, almost playfully. He doubted that she could defeat him and was teasing her. She frowned at him and pointed the wand at him. Her hand was shaking but she knew she couldn't yell or it would be too powerful. Then, she had to think of an attack that wouldn't hurt him, he couldn't teleport away from, and would hold him for a while.
"Ice!"
The beam of ice that was fired at his arms took him by surprise, binding him. He had expected her to use a fire attack. Nall looked down, slightly confused. He tried to free himself, but it didn't work. Ruby pushed him and, without his arms to balance him, he fell on his back. She was proud of herself for being able to knock Nall down, but she wasn't very happy at the time.
"When I get out of this...I'm going to kill you..." he teased, "and I'll make sure it hurts..."
Ruby could see that Nall's personality was emerging, although it disturbed her that he could still be Nall yet be evil at the same time. She began to question the goodness that was in Nall in the first place.
'How could a simple curse be strong enough to make him completely evil? Mauri's old self came out and pleaded for Ronfar's help every now and then. The only thing I can think of is that maybe he wasn't all that good in the first place. Maybe all of those years of being alone corrupted him and this was just the thing needed to send him over the edge...'
Suddenly, she heard a child-like yawn. She turned around to see some of the Dragon Kids had began gathering by the door.
"What's going on, Ruby?" a young girl asked sleepily, "are you and Big Brother training?"
"When did Big Brother get back anyway? How come he didn't come in and say hi?"
'Big Brother? Are they talking about me?' Nall thought as he looked past Ruby and at the children.
"Yes...we're training...now you gotta go back inside!"
"Can we help in some way?"
'They could help...but if Nall breaks free of the ice, they'll all be in danger. And I can't risk their lives...but I can't think of anything else...'
"I can make sure the kids stay inside," Lemina said about to round them up.
"No! They can help..."
Her fellow adventurers looked at her in shock while the children beamed at her happily. They were just glad they could help. Nall managed to get on his knees and watched as they came closer. He smirked at Ruby while still watching them.
"I'll kill them too..." he said quietly, inaudible to everyone except her, "just wait..."
She glared at him before smiling at the kids once they had gathered around her. The innocent confusion in their gazing eyes made Nall frown. He felt as though this was something that would normally make him smile and want to answer all of the questions they asked.
"Now, I need you to tell Nall, your Big Brother, anything that you remember of the time you two shared..."
"That's no fun...I thought we'd get to play Cowboys and Indians!" a boy said, "it looks like you were playing that with Nall! Why can't we play too!"
"I'll get the arrows!" another said.
Lucia shivered at the thought of the evil game and grabbed Hiro's arm. But, Hiro's mind was somewhere else. He didn't even notice her. He was watching Mystere and Ryo fight.
'How long will Leo be able to hold off Ryo?' Hiro wondered, 'should we be helping him or Ruby?'
"We should be healing Sapphiren before he leaves us..." Ronfar said taking the twig out of his mouth, as if he had read Hiro's mind, "Ruby can handle Nall and Leo...or Mystere...can handle Ryo for the time being."
Hiro nodded and retrieved Ebony and Sapphiren, with the help of Jean, and laid them by Ronfar. He cleared his throat and began healing Sapphiren. The kids were still talking about how they wanted to play Cowboys and Indians, which was annoying Ruby.
"Do what I said or I'll give you a beating!!" Ruby threatened. She softened her tone as they shut up, "besides...Nall...isn't feeling well...and needs you right now. This is something you need to do if you ever want to see him again."
"Is he going to die? I thought he said he couldn't die!"
"No..."
The kids looked at each other and began thinking about a time they could talk about. Ruby sighed. Even if Nall wasn't all that good, she still loved him and wanted him to be okay.
"Big Brother, do you remember when you found me? I was drowning in a river and you saved me! Then you brought me here!" a little boy said.
"I-"
"My turn, my turn!" a girl yelled, "do you remember when you told us the story of the cat that was all alone for many, many years because he was different until he found a cat that was different just like him that saved him from lonliness?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow at the little girl's story. She was going to have to ask Nall about this "story" when all of this is over.
"You tell us a whole bunch of stories about ancient stuff. One time you told us the story of the Goddess and the Dragonmaster. It was a really romantic story. Want me to tell it to you?"
"No..."
"Yeah, he already knows the story Shiva!! He told it so he knows it, duh!"
"I was just checking!"
"Remember when I wash crying because I misshed my mommy and daddy and you gave me a great big hug to make me feel okay? Then, you let me sheep in your room sho I wouldn't be alone or teashed by the other kidsh?" a boy with a lisp said. ((A/N: That's right, I did that on purpose!!))
The other kids erupted in noise as they started to tease him and caused a big commotion. Ruby's eyebrow twitched as they argued.
"Okay...that's enough guys..go before you annoy Nall..."
They laughed at her and soon gathered in a circle to converse about something. Finally, they looked back at them and smiled.
"We wanna give Big Brother a hug!!"
Ruby thought about it. She looked at the ice binding Nall and saw that it was still pretty strong. Plus, she thought that maybe their hugs would help him remember.
"Go ahead...but be quick about it!"
The children celebrated and gave Nall a group hug. He growled under his breath as they hugged him.
"You know what to say kids!" Ruby said.
"WE LOVE YOU BIG BROTHER!!"
"Now get!"
They smiled and ran out. Nall just watched them, dumbfounded by the amount of affection showed by them. Ruby looked down at him.
"They're the Dragon Kids...and you take care of them. As you can see...they admire and love you very much. Do you want to let them down?"
"I don't care about them!!" Nall roared as he broke the ice around him and got up, "All I care about is killing you!"
The body heat from the children when they hugged him melted the ice just enough for him to get free. Ruby shook her head.
"What about Alex...and Luna...they were your bestest friends in the whole world remember? They're probably really saddened by the way you're acting."
"I don't know of these people!" Nall yelled.
"Hiro! Hand me your sword!"
Hiro complied and slid the sword over to Ruby. She held it up to Nall.
"This is Althena's sword, the sword Alex gave you to protect!" Ruby said showing it to him, "then you gave it to Hiro so he could get Lucia..."
"I'll kill you!"
"Well, use the sword Alex gave you..."
"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that...prepare for a world of pain!! Although...it'll only be a few minutes. But that short moment of pain will bring me pleasure beyond anything you can fathom!"
Nall snatched the sword and brought it up, preparing to stab her. Ruby watched him, confident for an unknown reason that he wouldn't be able to do it. As he thrusted it down, toward her chest, his eyes widened and he stopped only a few centimeters from her heart, so very close to killing her. Slowly, he brought it closer to him to look at it. Althena's sword seemed to glow with a strange light as he held it in his hands.
"I gave this to you, Nall...you can't kill her with it...you love her," a familiar male voice said inside his head, "you know Althena's sword was meant to protect the ones you love and you love them all! You don't really want to hurt them. Let them help you be freed from this evil! This isn't the real you!"
His breathing suddenly got labored as he dropped the sword, frightened by the voice he had just heard. He backed away from the sword, staring at it like it was the most evil thing he had ever laid his hands on.
"A-Alex? W-why..ARGH!"
Nall grabbed his head and fell on his knees. Ruby kneeled down and put a hand on his face as he cried out in pain.
"What are you...DOING TO ME!?!" he roared, closing his eyes tightly.
"Listen to what she has to say. She knows you better than you know yourself right now..." the voice said.
"NO! Go away!!"
Ruby sighed, thinking he was talking to her, and rubbed his cheek lovingly. He opened his eyes, yet kept them narrowed to look at her.
'My head is pounding! It's like something is trying to be free! What has this girl done to me!? How did she do this!? Who was talking to me!! Is she using telepathy? No...it's a boy's voice! What's going on!?'
"Alex...Luna...Ramus...Mia...Nash...Kyle...Jessica...they were all your friends!" she said, "And now you have Hiro, Lucia, Jean, Ronfar, Lemina, Leo, Ebony, Sapphiren, the Dragon Kids...and me...you'll never be alone! Never again!"
He looked at the ground blankly, then collapsed into Ruby's arms. Ruby ruffled his hair as she thought about him. She still wondered if he was a bad person deep down. Lucia walked over to the two, making Ruby look up at her in curiousity.
"Zophar's curse must be very strong..." Lucia mumbled, "...not once did his normal self come out..."
"Does that mean he was a bad person to begin with?"
Lucia laughed.
"Of course not! Nall is the White Dragon of Althena, Dragon of ice and light. He can't be evil because he wasn't made to be. Sometimes he may seem like...I believe the term is 'jerk'...but that's just his personality. He always has a good intention in mind, whether he's stealing someone's money or scolding you. You see, the power of light in him would probably make him the purest of all the Dragons, followed by Sapphiren, the Dragon of water and friendship; you, the Dragon of fire and courage; then Ebony, the Dragon of electricity and darkness."
"Ebony's evil?"
"No, it's just that as the Black Dragon, she's more vulnerable to be corrupted because of her power of darkness. All Black Dragons are like that. Take Rubeus, Ebony's father, for example...he was easily taken over by Ghaleon in the past."
"I see..." Ruby mumbled.
"That's the reason why a White Dragon is always the chief of the Four Dragons," Lucia said. Suddenly, she took on a grim tone, "it would take a lot of darkness and evil to corrupt them...and that's what has happened here. But, the more evil put into the curse, the harder it will be to save the one cursed...whether they have the purest heart in the whole universe or the darkest."
Ruby sighed sadly and looked down at him. He was frowning even as he was out cold, like he was having a nightmare. It was obvious that he was fighting the curse, deep within his subconscious.
"Lucia, do you think I could go in his mind now? I know what I said didn't cure him but I DO think it weakened the curse."
"Yes, I just hope he stays out of it for a while. Are you ready? Remember, if you run into trouble, it could mean life or death for the both of you."
Ruby nodded.
"Just keep Ryo busy. I'll be able to do it."
Mystere screamed as Ryo knocked him off the balcony.
"Leo!" Lemina screamed.
"Remember my name is Mystere!!" he yelled as he fell.
She and Jean ran over to the ledge and looked down. Mystere was hanging onto a branch sticking out from the building by his cape.
"I'm okay! Just help the others fight off Ry-I mean-that evil doer!"
Lucia cupped her hands together, making a bright light shine forth from them. Ruby looked at Nall and smiled, right before she collapsed on top of him. She appeared on a rock in a dark, cold world, Lemina's wand still in her hand. She looked around, horrorfied.
"This is Nall's mind? Why is it so dark? I thought Lucia said Nall was the purest of us..."
"Zophar's curse is what's making it so dark..."
Ruby turned around and saw a boy around 15, looking around. He had short, light brown hair and bright green eyes. The boy was wearing a blue chinchila hat, a green shawl-like jacket with yellow fur lining the inside, a white long sleeved shirt, and tan pants tucked inside his brown boots. Ruby raised an eyebrow confused.
"Who...are you?" Ruby asked, "Hey! How'd you get in Nall's mind!"
Note: I likey! Do you likey? I likey! But you are the ones that must likey!!
By: BlackLiGurl
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Note: This is the chapter where Ruby does some major butt kicking!
Chapter 10: Do You Remember?
Ruby pulled him into a tight embrace. Nall looked down at her and dropped his sword.
"Who would have thought that the love that they shared would be what weakens the spell..." Jean said dreamily.
"Uh...I knew..." Hiro mumbled, "that's why we let her go, ya know?"
Jean glared at him, making him chuckle. Leo glanced at them then looked back at Nall and Ruby.
'I don't know if this will work or not...but Ryo will probably try to stop Ruby...and this is a job for everyone's favorite crime-fighter...' Leo thought.
He glanced around nervously and slinked away. Meanwhile, Ruby looked up at Nall and into his cold, emotionless eyes. Nall just stared back in bewilderment.
"Yeah! Don't you remember when we were on the Dragonship Destiny...and-"
"YOU TWO REALLY WERE DOING SOMETHING WEREN'T YOU!?!" Ronfar yelled, "ew..."
"NO!!" she screamed glaring back at Ronfar. She cleared her throat and looked at Nall, "remember the song you were singing?"
"Singing? I-I don't sing..."
"It was the song that your friends Luna and Alex wrote, remember?"
Nall pulled away from Ruby and glared at her.
"You're lying!"
"Do I look like I'm lying? Don't you remember me?"
"No! No one loves me! I've never been loved! I'm alone and I'm gonna stay that way! Lonliness is all I'll ever known!!" Nall yelled, "n-now get out of my face b-before I decide to kill you!"
Ryo laughed.
"He's a prisoner of darkness! And even though he killed my only family...we still need him and you must be out of the way!"
He lunged at Ruby, preparing to slice her in half. She didn't flinch. She just continued to stare at Nall who just glared back at her with a mixture of fear and anger in his eyes.
"Will you let him hurt me?"
Nall blinked and swiftly picked up his sword and blocked Ryo's claws. Ryo stared at Nall, confused.
"Why did you stop me?"
"I dunno..." he said backing away.
"Good, out of my way so I can take her Aura and kill her..."
"Do not fear! Mystere is here!"
Just as Ryo thrusted his claws at Ruby's throat, Mystere jumped down from the high roof top of Taben's Peak and kicked him off balance. Everyone sweatdropped as Mystere put Ryo in a head lock.
"What the...?!" they all exclaimed simultaneously.
"Young maiden, continue helping your friend. I will hold off this evil-doer!"
Ruby smiled.
"Thanks Leo!"
"I know not of this Leo you speak of...I am Mystere!"
"Never thought I'd see this again..." Ronfar said shaking his head, "I am SO embarassed..."
"At least he's holding off Ryo..." Lemina mumbled.
Ruby looked back at Nall, who was staring at Mystere confused. Suddenly, he growled and shook his head.
"You're starting to annoy me...so I'll just have to kill you!"
Ruby stood, uncertain of what to do. She would have used fire but in her human form, she couldn't use her fire attacks, at least not that she knew of. But now wasn't the time to test that out because if it didn't work, she would be killed. She could have changed into her adult form, but she didn't want to kill him and she couldn't use Red Dragon Anger because it would destroy the entire place. Plus, her adult form would have less room to move making her a sitting duck if Ryo decided to take her Aura.
"Ruby! Catch!"
Lemina threw her wand at Ruby for her to catch it. Ruby glanced at it and frowned.
"I don't know how to use this!"
"Just point and say 'fire' or 'water'! Stuff like that!"
Ruby nodded and pointed it at Nall. She wasn't really sure what attack she should use. This would be her first time fighting in her human form and she wished she was using something more simple and wasn't up against her "mate". With magic, she had to determine what type of attack would do the most or the least damage. But, she had to think fast because Nall wasn't playing around. If he could hurt Sapphiren so badly, probably killing him, he would kill her without a second thought. So she used what always came to her mind first.
"FIRE!!"
Fire shot out of the wand's jewel and engulfed Nall as he shielded his face. Ruby gasped, not meaning to use such power on him.
"Oh...I forgot to mention...the urgency of your voice controls the amount of magic used..."
"That's kinda late Lemina!" she yelled, "I could have seriously hurt him!"
The fire died down and Nall was no where to be seen. She looked around, suddenly wishing she hadn't chosen to fight him. Suddenly, Nall appeared behind her and cut her back with his sword. Ruby spun around when she felt the pain shoot through her back. She stared at him and gasped.
'How'd he...?' she thought. But, it suddenly came to her, 'he teleported..duh...'
Nall smiled at her, almost playfully. He doubted that she could defeat him and was teasing her. She frowned at him and pointed the wand at him. Her hand was shaking but she knew she couldn't yell or it would be too powerful. Then, she had to think of an attack that wouldn't hurt him, he couldn't teleport away from, and would hold him for a while.
"Ice!"
The beam of ice that was fired at his arms took him by surprise, binding him. He had expected her to use a fire attack. Nall looked down, slightly confused. He tried to free himself, but it didn't work. Ruby pushed him and, without his arms to balance him, he fell on his back. She was proud of herself for being able to knock Nall down, but she wasn't very happy at the time.
"When I get out of this...I'm going to kill you..." he teased, "and I'll make sure it hurts..."
Ruby could see that Nall's personality was emerging, although it disturbed her that he could still be Nall yet be evil at the same time. She began to question the goodness that was in Nall in the first place.
'How could a simple curse be strong enough to make him completely evil? Mauri's old self came out and pleaded for Ronfar's help every now and then. The only thing I can think of is that maybe he wasn't all that good in the first place. Maybe all of those years of being alone corrupted him and this was just the thing needed to send him over the edge...'
Suddenly, she heard a child-like yawn. She turned around to see some of the Dragon Kids had began gathering by the door.
"What's going on, Ruby?" a young girl asked sleepily, "are you and Big Brother training?"
"When did Big Brother get back anyway? How come he didn't come in and say hi?"
'Big Brother? Are they talking about me?' Nall thought as he looked past Ruby and at the children.
"Yes...we're training...now you gotta go back inside!"
"Can we help in some way?"
'They could help...but if Nall breaks free of the ice, they'll all be in danger. And I can't risk their lives...but I can't think of anything else...'
"I can make sure the kids stay inside," Lemina said about to round them up.
"No! They can help..."
Her fellow adventurers looked at her in shock while the children beamed at her happily. They were just glad they could help. Nall managed to get on his knees and watched as they came closer. He smirked at Ruby while still watching them.
"I'll kill them too..." he said quietly, inaudible to everyone except her, "just wait..."
She glared at him before smiling at the kids once they had gathered around her. The innocent confusion in their gazing eyes made Nall frown. He felt as though this was something that would normally make him smile and want to answer all of the questions they asked.
"Now, I need you to tell Nall, your Big Brother, anything that you remember of the time you two shared..."
"That's no fun...I thought we'd get to play Cowboys and Indians!" a boy said, "it looks like you were playing that with Nall! Why can't we play too!"
"I'll get the arrows!" another said.
Lucia shivered at the thought of the evil game and grabbed Hiro's arm. But, Hiro's mind was somewhere else. He didn't even notice her. He was watching Mystere and Ryo fight.
'How long will Leo be able to hold off Ryo?' Hiro wondered, 'should we be helping him or Ruby?'
"We should be healing Sapphiren before he leaves us..." Ronfar said taking the twig out of his mouth, as if he had read Hiro's mind, "Ruby can handle Nall and Leo...or Mystere...can handle Ryo for the time being."
Hiro nodded and retrieved Ebony and Sapphiren, with the help of Jean, and laid them by Ronfar. He cleared his throat and began healing Sapphiren. The kids were still talking about how they wanted to play Cowboys and Indians, which was annoying Ruby.
"Do what I said or I'll give you a beating!!" Ruby threatened. She softened her tone as they shut up, "besides...Nall...isn't feeling well...and needs you right now. This is something you need to do if you ever want to see him again."
"Is he going to die? I thought he said he couldn't die!"
"No..."
The kids looked at each other and began thinking about a time they could talk about. Ruby sighed. Even if Nall wasn't all that good, she still loved him and wanted him to be okay.
"Big Brother, do you remember when you found me? I was drowning in a river and you saved me! Then you brought me here!" a little boy said.
"I-"
"My turn, my turn!" a girl yelled, "do you remember when you told us the story of the cat that was all alone for many, many years because he was different until he found a cat that was different just like him that saved him from lonliness?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow at the little girl's story. She was going to have to ask Nall about this "story" when all of this is over.
"You tell us a whole bunch of stories about ancient stuff. One time you told us the story of the Goddess and the Dragonmaster. It was a really romantic story. Want me to tell it to you?"
"No..."
"Yeah, he already knows the story Shiva!! He told it so he knows it, duh!"
"I was just checking!"
"Remember when I wash crying because I misshed my mommy and daddy and you gave me a great big hug to make me feel okay? Then, you let me sheep in your room sho I wouldn't be alone or teashed by the other kidsh?" a boy with a lisp said. ((A/N: That's right, I did that on purpose!!))
The other kids erupted in noise as they started to tease him and caused a big commotion. Ruby's eyebrow twitched as they argued.
"Okay...that's enough guys..go before you annoy Nall..."
They laughed at her and soon gathered in a circle to converse about something. Finally, they looked back at them and smiled.
"We wanna give Big Brother a hug!!"
Ruby thought about it. She looked at the ice binding Nall and saw that it was still pretty strong. Plus, she thought that maybe their hugs would help him remember.
"Go ahead...but be quick about it!"
The children celebrated and gave Nall a group hug. He growled under his breath as they hugged him.
"You know what to say kids!" Ruby said.
"WE LOVE YOU BIG BROTHER!!"
"Now get!"
They smiled and ran out. Nall just watched them, dumbfounded by the amount of affection showed by them. Ruby looked down at him.
"They're the Dragon Kids...and you take care of them. As you can see...they admire and love you very much. Do you want to let them down?"
"I don't care about them!!" Nall roared as he broke the ice around him and got up, "All I care about is killing you!"
The body heat from the children when they hugged him melted the ice just enough for him to get free. Ruby shook her head.
"What about Alex...and Luna...they were your bestest friends in the whole world remember? They're probably really saddened by the way you're acting."
"I don't know of these people!" Nall yelled.
"Hiro! Hand me your sword!"
Hiro complied and slid the sword over to Ruby. She held it up to Nall.
"This is Althena's sword, the sword Alex gave you to protect!" Ruby said showing it to him, "then you gave it to Hiro so he could get Lucia..."
"I'll kill you!"
"Well, use the sword Alex gave you..."
"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that...prepare for a world of pain!! Although...it'll only be a few minutes. But that short moment of pain will bring me pleasure beyond anything you can fathom!"
Nall snatched the sword and brought it up, preparing to stab her. Ruby watched him, confident for an unknown reason that he wouldn't be able to do it. As he thrusted it down, toward her chest, his eyes widened and he stopped only a few centimeters from her heart, so very close to killing her. Slowly, he brought it closer to him to look at it. Althena's sword seemed to glow with a strange light as he held it in his hands.
"I gave this to you, Nall...you can't kill her with it...you love her," a familiar male voice said inside his head, "you know Althena's sword was meant to protect the ones you love and you love them all! You don't really want to hurt them. Let them help you be freed from this evil! This isn't the real you!"
His breathing suddenly got labored as he dropped the sword, frightened by the voice he had just heard. He backed away from the sword, staring at it like it was the most evil thing he had ever laid his hands on.
"A-Alex? W-why..ARGH!"
Nall grabbed his head and fell on his knees. Ruby kneeled down and put a hand on his face as he cried out in pain.
"What are you...DOING TO ME!?!" he roared, closing his eyes tightly.
"Listen to what she has to say. She knows you better than you know yourself right now..." the voice said.
"NO! Go away!!"
Ruby sighed, thinking he was talking to her, and rubbed his cheek lovingly. He opened his eyes, yet kept them narrowed to look at her.
'My head is pounding! It's like something is trying to be free! What has this girl done to me!? How did she do this!? Who was talking to me!! Is she using telepathy? No...it's a boy's voice! What's going on!?'
"Alex...Luna...Ramus...Mia...Nash...Kyle...Jessica...they were all your friends!" she said, "And now you have Hiro, Lucia, Jean, Ronfar, Lemina, Leo, Ebony, Sapphiren, the Dragon Kids...and me...you'll never be alone! Never again!"
He looked at the ground blankly, then collapsed into Ruby's arms. Ruby ruffled his hair as she thought about him. She still wondered if he was a bad person deep down. Lucia walked over to the two, making Ruby look up at her in curiousity.
"Zophar's curse must be very strong..." Lucia mumbled, "...not once did his normal self come out..."
"Does that mean he was a bad person to begin with?"
Lucia laughed.
"Of course not! Nall is the White Dragon of Althena, Dragon of ice and light. He can't be evil because he wasn't made to be. Sometimes he may seem like...I believe the term is 'jerk'...but that's just his personality. He always has a good intention in mind, whether he's stealing someone's money or scolding you. You see, the power of light in him would probably make him the purest of all the Dragons, followed by Sapphiren, the Dragon of water and friendship; you, the Dragon of fire and courage; then Ebony, the Dragon of electricity and darkness."
"Ebony's evil?"
"No, it's just that as the Black Dragon, she's more vulnerable to be corrupted because of her power of darkness. All Black Dragons are like that. Take Rubeus, Ebony's father, for example...he was easily taken over by Ghaleon in the past."
"I see..." Ruby mumbled.
"That's the reason why a White Dragon is always the chief of the Four Dragons," Lucia said. Suddenly, she took on a grim tone, "it would take a lot of darkness and evil to corrupt them...and that's what has happened here. But, the more evil put into the curse, the harder it will be to save the one cursed...whether they have the purest heart in the whole universe or the darkest."
Ruby sighed sadly and looked down at him. He was frowning even as he was out cold, like he was having a nightmare. It was obvious that he was fighting the curse, deep within his subconscious.
"Lucia, do you think I could go in his mind now? I know what I said didn't cure him but I DO think it weakened the curse."
"Yes, I just hope he stays out of it for a while. Are you ready? Remember, if you run into trouble, it could mean life or death for the both of you."
Ruby nodded.
"Just keep Ryo busy. I'll be able to do it."
Mystere screamed as Ryo knocked him off the balcony.
"Leo!" Lemina screamed.
"Remember my name is Mystere!!" he yelled as he fell.
She and Jean ran over to the ledge and looked down. Mystere was hanging onto a branch sticking out from the building by his cape.
"I'm okay! Just help the others fight off Ry-I mean-that evil doer!"
Lucia cupped her hands together, making a bright light shine forth from them. Ruby looked at Nall and smiled, right before she collapsed on top of him. She appeared on a rock in a dark, cold world, Lemina's wand still in her hand. She looked around, horrorfied.
"This is Nall's mind? Why is it so dark? I thought Lucia said Nall was the purest of us..."
"Zophar's curse is what's making it so dark..."
Ruby turned around and saw a boy around 15, looking around. He had short, light brown hair and bright green eyes. The boy was wearing a blue chinchila hat, a green shawl-like jacket with yellow fur lining the inside, a white long sleeved shirt, and tan pants tucked inside his brown boots. Ruby raised an eyebrow confused.
"Who...are you?" Ruby asked, "Hey! How'd you get in Nall's mind!"
Note: I likey! Do you likey? I likey! But you are the ones that must likey!!