Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Star Wars, and I will continue to say that
Chapter 3
Who am I?
Location: Somewhere on the Coast Time: Around high noon
Ryu set out on his journey early in the morning and had been ever since, he did not know how long the was or how much longer he would need to keep going. All he knew is that to get where he wanted to go, he needed to take this path. He hoped. Ryu had sometimes misread the Force, causing him to blunder into traps or ambushes then swiftly rescued by his former master. A pleasant sea breeze occasionally blew across the small child as he made his way down the road, the breeze was heartily welcomed by as it cooled him down from the hot sun that loomed over head.
"I've heard of ghost towns but ghost highways? Who builds a road if nobody ever uses it?" Ryu stopped, looking back on the road then looking forward. Still not a soul in sight, a sigh erupted from Ryu as he continued trudging down the paved road. A couple more hours passed and the sun began its slow descent, Ryu decided to give it up and settle into the nearby forest with large trees that hugged the road.
He decided it would be better to sleep in a tree instead of on the ground where a hungry predator might come and feast on him. Ryu scanned the trees as he walked under them, looking for a large enough branch that wouldn't snap in the middle of the night. A half hour past before he found a branch to suit his needs, high enough off the ground and thick enough to support his weight. Ryu gathered his energy and leapt up the branch but fell short a couple inches. He fell through some branches on the way down and sustained a cut on his left hand.
The palm of his hand wasn't bleeding too badly but it would be best to clean the wound once he was comfortable. The branch was a bit more difficult than Ryu originally thought, and now he couldn't climb the tree because it might cause a bigger gash on a piece of bark. As he thought on how to reach the branch, he had a strange idea. He placed his hand on the ground and tried to expand his reach over the earth and once he thought everything was ready he shouted, "Stone Pillar!"
Earth stirred beneath Ryu's feet before he was launched into the air. About two inches into the air. Ryu looked down at his feet, this was a small mound of dirt he was standing on and not the clear cut stone pillar that he'd seen in his vision. Another sigh came out of Ryu as he considered his other options. He decided that it would be best to jump to another lower hanging sturdy branch before leaping to the desired branch.
Again Ryu gathered his energy and lept to a closer lower branch, he dropped down softly on the branch and then looked toward his real target. As he began to gather his Force energy a third time the branch he was standing on let out a sharp crack and started to break off the tree. He leapt up quickly as the branch broke off and managed to grab onto the edge of the thick branch. Ryu gritted his teeth as he was forced to use his injured hand to help climb up onto the branch. As he thought, his hand slipped on the branch causing an the cut to get even bigger.
Once Ryu was settled onto the branch, he removed his backpack and started searching for something to wrap his hand with. As he was searching he managed to find some disinfectant for his cut along with some unused cloth that was left over from his last robe creation. Ryu leaned against the trunk of the tree as he tied the piece of cloth around his hand firmly.
Luckily he had chosen a branch with a perfect view on the sea right in front of him. He looked back up at the sky, the sun was far behind him and slowly disappearing while a crescent moon slowly rose over the horizon. To Ryu, it looked like the moon was rising up and out the sea. Ryu dug back into his back and found some minor rations, he deduced he maybe had enough for five meals. That number was reduced to four as Ryu started to chomp down on his meal, going over two days without a meal can be hard on a ten year old.
Ryu went through his bag to see what else he might have packed away, enough lightsaber parts to make several more; should he need to and find an adequate saber crystal, some more leftover cloth, a rebreather for underwater exploration and toxic environments with some spare filters, some identification for himself, the Mandalorian gauntlets and a small cube object. He pulled out the small cube and shifted it around in his hands trying to figure out what it was. It was golden in color had various marking all along the outside, it had a decent weight to it and appeared to have a couple scratches on it probably from all the situations it has been in the past.
"Hmm, where have I seen something like this before. . . . Oh yeah, I've seen these things before. Holocrons. But wait, why did Etro say this belong to me? And how did these things work again?" Ryu tossed the cube between his hands and thought for awhile, thinking back to his time training as a youngling. There were many different types of holocrons that came in all sorts of different colors and shapes but Ryu couldn't remember ever seeing this particular holocron ever.
"Lets see if this thing still works, if I remember correctly I need to channel the Force into this for it to work." Ryu closed his eyes and started to channel small amounts, if he wanted to use this thing for an extended period of time then he would have to regulate how much energy he put into this thing.
The cube flickered slightly and after a couple seconds a golden projection erupted from the hologram, the projection flickered for a good minute before Ryu slightly increased the power to the device. The flickering subsided and a sentence written in galactic basic appeared in the light. "To Learn the ways of your Ancestors, present your lifeforce as proof of your lineage."
Ryu cocked his head to the side, "Present my lifeforce? Proof of lineage? What in the name of the Force is this?" Ryu stopped channeling his Force energy and the projection faded immediately, he placed the cube in his lap and leaned his head against the tree. He continued to think as the moon continued to rise, the noise created by the creatures of the forest died and was replaced by sounds of the nightlife. The blood stain on the cloth wasn't much but the cloth was was still a bit damp.
"Lifeforce huh?" Ryu unwound the cloth wrapped around his hand, as he was unwrapping it he managed to open the wound slightly and a small trickle of blood started flowing from the cut. The blood was smeared on the top of holocron and Ryu once again started channeling energy into the device again.
The holocron glowed golden again and the projection whipped to life, except this time a figure stood before him. Whoever the figure was, they hadtheir hair tied into a single ponytail and had the facial features of someone who appeared to be in late forties early fifties who wore heavy Jedi robes, "Welcome Ryu Krayt Nezuma, may this Holocron guide you in your pursuits wherever theymay take you. Whether it be in the universe this holocron was created, or the one you shall find yourself in."
"What?! How does this thing know that I traveled to a different universe? Who made this?" Ryu commanded that the message was replayed again to make sure he wasn't mishearing. But what he heard the first time was what he the second and third time as well.
"Ryu, you may be wondering how I knew of your journey. Like me, you have visions. And I have prepared this holocron just for you, to train you so you can protect the ones you love and make your own future. You are the last in your lineage who will have need of this holocron, what you do with the knowledge is your own choice. All I ask of you is to do what your heart feels what is right, good luck.
Your Ancestor,
Ryu Zhuses Darkson
The figure bowed deeply before the projection flickered off while the cube still glowed brightly.
"Ryu Zhuses Darkson, who were you?" The holocron seemed to answer him because because the man reappeared and started talking once again. It was a short bio on Zhuses himself, the name Darkson was a sith name and Zhuses's father was an immensely powerful sith. His ancestor Ryu was raised as a devote Sith during the Jedi-Sith war that happened approximately 3970 years ago, give or take a decade or two. But Zhuses was an oddball among the Sith order, showing mercy and kindness to those whom he beat. Zhuses's father did not approve of this, so one day after a battle between them and the Jedi was won by the Sith he ordered Zhuses to execute the prisoners. Zhuses had resisted his father and decided it was time to leave, he threw his saber and cut his father in half with a surprise attack and then quickly escaped with the freed Jedi. Shortly after he was inducted into the Jedi order after going through his own tests administered by the Jedi order. It is unknown when exactly he made the holocron but he probably kept it a secret from the Jedi order.
"Wow, who knew I had a Sith ancestry? Although it might explain why I might be a tad bit aggressive." Ryu continued to ask what files the holocron held , it held a vast pool of Force powers of varying abilities and uses. Not only Light side but also techniques that only a Dark side user could use. Among the other files stored inside the holocron were some further information what happened to Zhuses, how to use the Force effectively in martial arts, some information on dangerous animals, and what appeared to be a restricted section that Ryu couldn't access. Ryu slipped the cube back into his bag and set the bag between his legs. He continued looking at the moon until he felt his eyelids started feeling heavy.
"I wonder-" A yawn came forth from Ryu, "I wonder if anyone else in my family line was named Ryu?" His eyes slowly closed with the last thing he saw being the mirrored moon on the ocean water.
()()()()
Ryu's Dreams
Sweat dripped down Ryu's face as he plunged the iron hoe into the earth and dragged it along creating a small ditch for which seeds could be planted in. Ryu looked up at the sun, it was beating down on him causing him to soak his shirt in sweat. He unbuttoned the shirt and tossed on a nearby fence peg. As Ryu heard footsteps on dried dirt approach him, he turned around to see a man about in his late thirties wearing a straw hat with dust covered tank top and shorts.
"Calling it quits for today?" The man asked.
Ryu shook his head, "Nah, we have to keep working or we might miss the season at this rate."
The dust covered man laughed, "Well then, how about you use some of that fancy magic so we can go enjoy some of Agitha's cooking." He concluded pointing a thumb toward an adequately sized two story white wood house with an abnormally large tree behind the house, a little bigger than the one he was currently sleeping on. A strange red structure also sat next to the house and tree and animals could be seen walking in and out of it.
"Works for me." Ryu lined up next to the row he just finished and cracked his knuckles. He then began to focus his magic energy and then brought his fist down on the ground. A long small ditch similar to the one he dug started to apparently dig itself as if someone was pulling a plow through the ground.
"Hey boy, if you have that fancy magic, why don't you just use that to dig?"
Ryu rose from the ground, "Well, if I really to much on magic then I'll become weak physically. If I do all the work physically then I neglect my magic training. So I do it half and half."
"One thing is for sure, you are certainly stronger with that magic now then when we first took you in. Now that you got this in hand, I think I'll just mosey on back to the house."
The man started to walk away but Ryu put a hand on his arm,"Trying to dump your work on a ten year old huh? I wonder what your wife will think of this?" Ryu asked hiding a mischievous smile.
"You're no fun." The man sighed.
"You're not being very adult-like." Ryu replied.
"You can't blame me for that, I'm a poor excuse for an adult."
"I know, that's why you have your wife to change your diaper." Ryu joked while he patted the man on the back, "Come now, lets get back to work.
The work went by quickly for Ryu as he continued to dig the small ditches with magic, as his section was done he proceeded to dig a couple ditches for the aging man. As the man continued working Ryu grabbed his shirt which had dried on the post and slipped it back on. But when he started getting closer to the house he started to hear crying around side the house by the tree. When he had the base of the tree in his sights, he saw a young girl about seven years old with a simple green strap dress crying.
The girl turned toward Ryu as she heard approached her, she continued to cry as she dove her head into his chest, "Big brother, mom is going to yell at me!"
Ryu sighed, "What did you do Neri?"
"I-I didn't mean to . . . it was a accident and I tried to fix the problem b-but-" The girl sobbed.
He placed a hand on her head and said with a reassuring voice, "Just tell me what it is and big brother will make it better."
She looked up at him with her deep blue eyes, "Does big brother promise?"
Ryu smiled, "Big brother promises."
The girl was still slightly reluctant but she slowly pointed up into the tree, "I g-got my new kite stuck high up in the tree."
With a couple steps back and a glance upwards he managed to pinpoint the white with pink hearts kite about four fifths up the tree, the string had somehow been severed leaving the kite unable to reach from the ground, "How did you get it stuck that high?"
Neri looked away with shame, not wanting to answer the question. Ryu sighed before bending down slightly down, he put his hands on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly. After he took a couple steps toward the tree and away from Neri, he began to gather up his magical energy and his magic circle erupted from his feet and slowly swirled around him.
"Stone Pillar." Ryu whispered.
A stone pillar made him airborne in a seconds and continued upwards for a good couple of seconds before he started moving downwards. No alarm was needed since Ryu managed to land on a thick branch most of the way up he needed to go. Ryu began to shimmy up the trunk of the tree until he was level with the kite, he then began to slowly move along the branch until he was within arms reach. The kite took a bit of effort to remove from the foliage but it was simple enough.
"Got it." He shouted back down.
"Yay, big brother is the best!"
Ryu rubbed the back of his head, "It was noth-"
*Crack*
Ryu found himself falling toward the earth as the branch that was holding his weight snapped. Sadly there weren't any branches thick enough to grab on the way down, this fall had a possibility of killing him but even if it didn't, the number of broken bones would be numerous. Either death or crippled for life, neither sounded pleasing. So to make it painless he quickly angled his head toward the ground.
"Big brother!"
"Soil of the Winds!" Bits of dirt from all around them broke off in chunks and quickly flew to Ryu. The bits of dirt formed solid ground underneath Ryu while he was still descending but the soil started to quickly slow his fall. When he did hit the ground it was nothing more than a slight bump, the soil around him crumbled back into the bits and pieces it once was. Ryu continued laying on his back while staring at the sky, just happy to be alive.
Neri fell to her knees beside Ryu with tears again in her eyes, "Big brother, are you okay?!"
"Less now since you drove one of your knees into my stomach." Ryu complained.
"I'm sorry big brother, if I didn't get it stuck in the tree then you wouldn't have been in danger!"
"But it was you who saved my life."
The girl stopped crying for a second and tilted her head, "What do you mean?"
"As I was falling I thought there wasn't any hope for me. Then when I heard you shout something occurred to me." He paused briefly to look at the partly cloudy sky, "If I'm dead, who is going to make sure you don't get eaten by a bear?"
Ryu bear hugged the seven year old and started to pretend that he was a bear, laughing as she tried to squirm out of his arms . The two continued to play until it got dark, then a woman's voice from the house called them in for supper leaving the white kite with pink hearts at the base of the tree.
()()()()
Location: Forest near the coast Time: Shortly after dawn
The sound of birds chirping and small critters chipping filled Ryu's ears, causing his eyes to slowly open and be filled with the early morning sunlight. Shifting slightly, he sat straight looking at yet another two suns effect.
He rubbed the crust away from his eyes that gathered around them overnight. He then let loose a loud yawn and stretched his arms, "Can't I have any normal dreams? So many visions recently, maybe it's an omen."
His gaze shifted back toward the sky, a few stars were still showing in the early morning. His thoughts drifted toward back home toward the Jedi temple and his years he spent traveling with Etro. Despite his feelings to his old world, he did truly miss the familiarity of day to day life. And now it slowly dawned Ryu just how truly alone he was, he had no one to turn to and no purpose. Ryu might not agreed with all the Jedi morals and rule but he fought for them because he himself wanted peace. But whether it was for himself or the Republic was yet to be seen.
Deciding that reminiscing was only making him feel bad and getting no where, he stood up and threw his bag to his back. Looking down, he realized just how high he was. He judged the distance to about seventy to eighty feet. The branch that snapped during his ascent was clearly visible and was roughly half way up to his branch, "Man, that would suck if I fell."
As if on cue, a rather large bird had dived down and was attempting to claw and peck Ryu in the face. Caught off guard by this sudden attack Ryu slipped off the side of the branch and started plummeting toward the earth. He didn't even have any time to say and magic spells as he was continuously bounced among the branches on the way down. After about half a minute of bouncing he finally hit solid ground, landing on his left arm, thankfully not breaking it.
He tried shifting to his back but the backpack prevented that, so Ryu just lay there on his side breathing hard. He felt mostly unharmed, a couple of more cuts and bruises were evident but nothing too serious. Then Ryu started to feel weak, like his energy was slowing draining from him. Then he started feeling something thick and wet spread over the right side of his body. Next came the pain, Ryu gripped his side as the pain swiftly came into action. His hand touched more thick and wet stuff, he brought his hand back to his face to find blood. And quite a bit of it.
Ryu cried out as he sat up to inspect the damage, somewhere on the way down he must have gotten cut up by a broken branch root. His robes were torn and the six inch gash on his side was clearly visible and still bleeding. He needed help and fast.
Stumbling to his feet, Ryu started quickly moving through the forest toward the road. He tripped multiple times as his vision began to blur, whether it was from shock or blood loss he did not know. After a minute of stumbling in the forest Ryu managed to get out back out onto the road but failed to see a small hole next to the road which his foot proceeded to get stuck in. Ryu hit the stone road and bump his head as he fell onto the road. He shifted his gaze down the road from where he came from, not a soul to be found. With some effort he managed to shift his gaze the opposite direction, the last thing he saw was two kids running toward him. Both had blue hair but with different shades and one looked a couple years younger than himself while the second looked maybe about the same age as him.
The two fell to his side and started talking to themselves, Ryu managed to mumble something as his vision darkened, "If you loot me, I hope you cut off your hands with a lightsaber."
As he faded into blackness he heard their conversation continue, "I don't know if I can do this." The voice was female and sounded worried.
"You can, you just have to believe in yourself." Came the second voice, it sounded male and older than the female.
"But I have nevered healed anything like this before." The girl continued.
"If there is anyone who can save him right now, it is you Wendy."
"Wendy? Where have I heard that name before?"
Ryu felt a sudden whirl of wind before finally having darkness completely overtake his vision and lead him into unconsciousness.
()()()()
Location: Forest edge near the coast Time: Hours later, High noon
For the second time today, Ryu's eyes began to flutter open. His nostrils were filled with the sea breeze along with a cool wind washing over him. He no longer felt extreme pain on his side but it still stung a little. His first sight was a face, a young girl with short dark blue hair and brown eyes who was sitting next to him watching him closely.
"It's not polite to stare you know." Ryu said flatly, the sudden sound of his voice caught the girl off guard causing her to jump slightly.
The girl quickly turned around and yelled, "Jellal, he's awake!" The girl turned back to him and continued staring heard footsteps walk up from behind the girl and stopped at her side. He had lighter blue hair that was about the same length as his own, the strange feature about the blue haired boy though was he a strange red tattoo above and below his right eye.
"That's a strange tattoo." Ryu said while still studying the pattern.
"That's a strange hairstyle, never seen a kid with a braid on one side of their head before. Well not any boys anyway." The kid said with a tone Ryu didn't really like.
Ryu started to rise but fell back down when he gripped his side from the sudden pain. The girl next to him quickly put a hand on his chest, "You shouldn't move. You wouldn't want to reopen the wound."
After some minor protesting, Ryu complied with the girls wishes and laid back down. The boy walked away, but Ryu couldn't see what he was doing. Ryu then noticed that the top half if his robes were no longer on his person, he looked around and found his bag off to the side near him but no upper garment. The girl noticed him looking around and became curious, "What are you looking for?"
"Where is the upper part of my garment?"
The girl looked away, "Well, we didn't have any spare cloth to wipe away the blood and the shirt was already torn so we uh . . ."
"You're telling me, that you tore up my personal hand crafted robes that I made myself just to wipe off some blood?" Ryu's tone was rising in anger.
"I'm really sorry!" The girl made a desperate bow while sitting down and nearly whacked heads with his own.
He sat up slowly to ensure the pain would be minimal as he did so, "Jeez, the nerve of some people. Using other peoples stuff for purposes that it wasn't made for."
The other boy had walked back by now and was currently standing again next to the girl, "Well, these 'some people' just saved your life. You could be a little grateful you know."
"I never asked for your help did I?" Ryu was starting to rise to his feet despite the protest of the girl.
"Alright, next time you're bleeding to death I'll be sure no one helps you. Is that what you want?" The blue haired boy's voice was now rising in anger with Ryu's.
Ryu took a step toward the boy, "That's not the problem, I saw the tear in that robe. I could have easily repaired it but now with it torn to nothing I don't really think that's an option!"
"It's just a pair of clothes! You can make some more yourself if you say you have the skill!"
Ryu was done with the kid, he walked over to his bag and knelt down next to it. They had placed both sabers along with his utility belt inside thankfully when they were tending him. He quickly slipped on the belt on his tannish colored pants. The boy scoffed, "Jeez, you must have had horrible parents. My dad was horrible but at least he taught me common courtesy."
His gripped around the lightsabers in his bag tightened, his voice became serious with a hint of anger, "What did you just say about my parents?"
The kid he knew stepped on a extremely sensitive subject just from his voice alone, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to insult your parents. Both of us have no parents and I assumed you still had some. Do you? Or are they dead if you don't mind me asking?"
Ryu remained silent for awhile, the grip around his weapons not loosening up at all. After what felt like a minute had past Ryu stood up and turned around with his sabers in hand. The boy took a step back as a hand instinctively reached for his staff on his back, he didn't know what they were but with what was going on they had to be some sort of weapon. The silence continued for a little longer and it looked like a fight was going to break out at any second. Just about as Ryu was going to take a step forward, he caught the young girl moving out the corner of his eye. It was obvious that the older one took care of the girl, and without him who knows what would happen to her. Ryu continued thinking for a moment longer before coming to his ultimatum.
"Never met them."
The boy released his gripped on his staff as Ryu clipped the sabers to his belt, "Oh, I see. Sorry."
"Were you the cause for me never meeting them?" Ryu asked.
The question initially confused the boy but quickly understood what Ryu meant, "No, I mean I don't think so."
Ryu chuckled without showing a smile, "Don't worry, you weren't. I know what it was."
Silence resounded up between the three of them once again. The only sound that filled their ears were the critters and birds in the forest along with the waves washing ashore nearby. The wind stirred slightly causing the grass and leaves to shift slightly, the young girl decided to break the silence herself.
"My name is Wendy Marvell." The girl seemed cheerful to divulge her name to a stranger.
"Pleasure." Ryu replied, he shifted his gaze to the boy.
"Jellal. And you are?" Both Jellal's and Wendy's gaze were fixed on Ryu, there was no way out without at least giving his name.
"The name is Ryu Ne-" He thought for a moment then changed his mind, "Ryu Darkson."
"Interesting name, can't say I have ever heard either of those names." Jellal said with curiosity.
Ryu nodded, "We are pretty secluded from where I came from."
"Hmm." Jellal turned to Wendy, "We're setting up camp here tonight."
The girl nodded and ran off to her bag and started rummaging through it for something. Meanwhile Jellal turned back to Ryu, "Why not join us? We could always too with some more company."
The sun was high in the sky and was already starting to descend and he wanted to make some progress today. Although on the other hand he could stand to gain some information about about this world. After some debate in his head, he made his choice.
"Fine, but only for a hour or two."
()()()()
Four hours later
Ryu was originally going to try and get some information from them but in the end he became transfixed with Wendy's story. She was not raised by her birth parents but instead of her adopted parent who was an enormous dragon who went by the name Grandeeney. She was taught Wind magic by the dragon as she was being raised. Wendy continued with a short explanation about her magic in which she has the ability to use it to heal people. And that it was her who mostly healed his wound, it took her three uses of her magic to heal it to its current state. When Ryu asked about where the dragon was, Wendy told him that the dragon disappeared without a trace two days ago. Jellal found her the same day and decided to take of her, she felt very lucky meeting him.
A sinking suspicion was lurking in Ryu's stomach, "What color was Grandeeney?"
"Pure white? Why do you ask?"
Ryu was already deep in thought, he recounted the time when he entered Earthland from the sky. He tried recounting what color dragons he saw, he was almost certain that he saw a white one but he couldn't be sure, "Oh no reason, just curiosity."
Jellal walked over with a pile of sticks in his arms and set them down near the two, "What happened to staying here only a hour or two?" He smirked.
"Bite me." Ryu stood up and reached for a pouch for his belt and removed a small crystal like object. He tossed it to Wendy who fumbled with it with it at first but soon had a firm grip on the blue crystal, "That is a Rubat crystal, you'll notice when it's dark that it glows pretty brightly. Even now you can see it shine a little."
Wendy tilted her head in confusion, "Why are you giving me this?"
Ryu closed the pouch and turned back to Wendy, "You saved my life, I owe you a favor. But I can't repay it right now. Hold onto that crystal and I'll find you again someday to repay it."
"But how? How will you expect to find me?"
"Lets just say I have a connection with that crystal. And who knows, we may slam into each other again someday."
Ryu wasn't sure whether this was the same Wendy from his vision but regardless he was sure he could find this Wendy again if she held onto the crystal. He was still with Etro he had once came across a merchant who was selling crystals. This interested Ryu and as he was examining them his eyes fell across the Rubat crystal. He bought it for a handful of credits and always kept it as a good luck charm instead of putting it in another lightsaber.
"Thanks Ryu, I'll be sure to take good care of it." Wendy smiled as she started looking at the crystal from every possible angle.
Jellal walked up with a smile, "I guess you do have a heart."
"Again, bite me." Ryu stuck out his hand, Jellal took the hand in a firm handshake.
Once they were done, Jellal turned back to the pile of stick he had assembled in a makeshift fire place, "Now to get a fire going."
Jellal then heard a strange snap-hissing sound behind him, Ryu walked past with a blade of pure black light extending from one of the silver cylinders. The blade made light contact with the pile of sticks as it past but an immediate small trail of flame sprouted up from where the blade made contact. Ryu deactivated the weapon and clipped it back to his waist without breaking a step.
Ryu shouldered his backpack and started walking down the road, Jellal smiled and quickly yelled, "Wait."
Jellal quickly walked over to his back near the new fire, after rummaging through it a little he finally pulled out a piece of black clothing. He threw to Ryu who caught it in the air, "Don't want you to freeze before repaying Wendy."
Ryu chuckled again before removing his bag to slip on the shirt, it was identical to Jellal's but was a snug fit. He swung the bag back on his and nodded towards Jellal, "Thanks for the shirt."
"Thanks for the fire."
"Whatever." And with that, Ryu started walking down the never ending road once again. The wound on his side still stung slightly but not enough to cause him any real discomfort, besides he was too focused on the road ahead and what might await him. After a few minutes of walking he came to a bend in the pathway that headed further inland but before walking on he took one last look back at his two new acquaintances. The two of them were sitting by a decent sized fire, chatting to one another. Ryu started to feel lonely once again and wished he could have stayed with them a little longer but he had places to be. This time with a small bit of remorse, Ryu trotted up the pathway further inland.
Jellal noticed Ryu round the bend from which he and Wendy came from earlier this day, he turned to Wendy who was also watching him go, "Better hold on tight to that crystal if you want that favor, he seems like the type of never goes back on his word."
Wendy smiled and turned her gaze back to the crystal, "It's pretty. Maybe I should get a necklace or bracelet it can go on."
"Maybe." Jellal smiled at the young girl as she continued playing with the small blue crystal. A sharp crack sounded off from the direction of the ocean, Jellal turned his head to see dark clouds rolling in quickly. Lightning was striking at least every couple seconds, it looked like hell's gates were open and this storm was the first thing coming out of it.
"Wendy, into the forest. We need to find some cover from the rain." The two of them quickly gathered their belongings and moved into the shelter of the forest just as the rain storm hit the beaches.
()()()()
Location: Some inland road Time: Unknown, thick black clouds are blocking the sun,
Ryu could not believe the ferocity of the storm, the wind was strong enough to sweep off his feet and send him flying a few feet. Lighting flashed every couple of seconds, striking everywhere and even hitting somewhat close to Ryu. There was immense difficulty just trying to stay on the road because the rain was in such a downpour he could hardly see five feet in front of him. But with every footstep continued to be placed on a stone road which reassured him that he was still heading somewhere for the time being. Luckily his bag was waterproof allowing everything that resided inside it to remain perfectly dry.
"For crying out loud! I have been walking for hours! Does this road even go anywhere or is this a never ending road created by the Sith to have their victims seep slowly into madness?" Even though Ryu couldn't hear himself talk over the rain and thunder, he thought that it seemed like a pretty decenit idea for a Sith to use.
A sudden gust of wind hit him hard enough causing him to slip and fall, landing on his injured right side. Ryu gritted his teeth through the pain and stood up again only to have another gust of wind to send him flying forward. Again, his head connected with the road causing Ryu's vision to slightly blur. As his vision started to come back into focus he noticed a faint light off in the distance. He picked himself up and quickly trudged onward toward the light, hopefully it was some kind of shelter or cave just anything to get out of the rain.
After moving toward the light for a good minute, he realized that the firm stone road had been replaced by thick wet mud. Luckily the Jedi boots they issue to almost anyone were built to last and trudging through mud wasn't going to destroy them. The light intensified every second that Ryu got closer, he could now make out the shape of what appeared to be the front porch of a two story house. Ryu kept getting closer until he was a couple feet from small set of stairs leading up to the porch.
He hesitated for a second, considering what the people might think if a ten year old boy shows up in the middle of a storm that felt like it could tear a full grown tree out of the ground. Then considering that he wasn't a full grown tree, he decided to test his luck with the house. However, as he approached the stairs he heard a sharp crack.
Ryu quickly scanned the area around but found nothing, then again he started toward the stairs before hearing a even louder crack. Immediately afterward, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head before he blacked out.
()()()()
Same place, A minute Ryu blacking out
Despite the weather outside, Cyton was enjoying dinner with his wife and daughter. The dinner was warm creamy vegetable soup with a side of buttered bread that could be dipped in the soup. They always ate this meal during celebrations and today they were all celebrating his daughter's seventh birthday. Even stormy nights wouldn't stop this small family from celebrating anything.
Lightning flashed outside closely followed by thunder, the man smiled slightly, "My oh my, doesn't look like it's going to let up soon does it?"
"I don't know Cyton, although storms like this could be the sign of a bad omen." The woman picked up a napkin to wipe away the bits of break around her mouth.
The girl looked across the table to her mom, "Mommy, can I sleep with you and daddy tonight?"
"Neri, are you still scared of lighting?" Cyton asked before chomping down of a piece of bread.
The girl looked down at her food and slowly nodded her head, her mother placed a hand on her head, "Of course you can. But you're a big girl now, you can't always run to your parents room if you're scared. Sometimes you need to face your fears."
Neri nodded again without looking up at her parents, Cyton leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. He couldn't see much of anything due to the darkness and heavy rain, excluding the front porch which had a covering from the rain.
Cyton jumped slightly when a flash of lightning went off and he swore that he could have seen a young kid standing a couple feet from their front porch but when another flash went off a couple seconds later there was nobody to be found. Had he imagined it or was there someone lurking around their house. Possibly a thief or a criminal looking for a place to seek shelter. The risks were too great if that were to happen and his family were to be taken hostage.
Jumping to his feet, he moved over to the wall where a steel sword was placed on a plaque. Neri and the woman were alarmed by this sudden movement, "What's going on daddy?"
The man looked toward his wife, "Agitha, take Neri up stairs and don't come down unless I say so. Alright?"
Agitha nodded and quickly took Neri by her hand and pulled out of her chair and disappeared up the stairs in a couple seconds. Cyton's gripped tightened around the grip of the sword, he wasn't an expert at sword fighting but he did know a couple techniques that have saved his life before. Before heading outside, he lit a lantern sitting on a small table next to the door. Two of his fingers gripped the door handle lightly before he yanked it open and quickly observed the area outside the door. There appeared to be nobody lurking around on the front porch so Cyton cautiously stepped out onto the porch. His foot connected with something and as he looked down he saw a piece of broken wood fence slide across the porch, down the steps that stopped next to an face down unmoving figure on the ground a foot from the first step.
Cyton dropped the sword and ran to the figures side, whoever it was they appeared to be very young with silver hair with a braid going down the right side of their head. He then noticed that the back of his head was bleeding, then he quickly glanced around to find bits of broken fence everywhere. Part of the fence which connected two fence pegs must have broken in two and a rather large chunk must have hit the kid in the back of the head hard. Cyton removed the strange looking bag the kid had on their back and tossed it through their door, then he rolled the kid over to his back and carefully picked him up.
"Agitha, Neri, get down here quickly!" Cyton said as he walked through the door, lightly kicking his sword as he did.
The two girls came down to see the injured boy in the man's arms. He had them quickly clear off the table so he could gently set him down and inspect the boy. Two fingers were placed on the kid's neck by the woman, her face relaxed as she felt a steady pulse. Neri quickly ran upstairs to fetch some bandages that could be wrapped around the child after the wound was clean. Luckily the wound on his head wasn't too bad, the real problem was what kind of brain damage the kid going to have. After all that was, Cyton retrieved some of his old childhood clothes he had always planned to get rid of but never got around to it. Once the silver haired boy was moved to a couch, everyone helped change him from his damp clothes into some more dry ones. Neri took a sharp interest in the two cylinders attached to the kids waist but after a quick talking by her father she set them aside with the rest of his stuff. They all also the the scar on the upper right side of his back along with with fresh-ish looking cut below his chest, also on the right side of his body.
Once the kid was fully clothed and sleeping peacefully, the family of three moved back to the kitchen and sat around the table inspecting the kid's belongings to figure out who he was. He had a belt with some strange tools clipped onto it, a strange looking bag, a pair of heavy clothes, some food, two metal cylinders, some cloth, and a couple of strange looking objects including a small cube. The family studied the objects on the table and could not figure out what the strange objects were or who the kid was.
Cyton looked to his family, "So anyone have a clue who the kid is?"
Neri and Agitha shook their heads, "He seems to collect a lot of odd trinkets, I have no clue but I would guess that he must be a traveller. Not enough items to be a merchant, too young to be one also. But that doesn't explain why he was travelling through a storm all by himself."
Neri continued to study the two cylinders, "Maybe there were lost in the storm if he was travelling with others?"
Cyton nodded, "It is possible, but we can't risk going outside now. We'll have to wait till the storm clears up."
The mother nodded in response but the girl looked worried, "But what if they need help? We could bring them here and they could sleep in the barn."
A small smile broke across Cyton's face, he placed a hand on her head, "If only if it was so easy. Now where is he going to sleep, I don't want to risk him waking up in panic and tearing up the house. And to make things worse we don't have a guest bedroom to let him sleep in."
Neri quickly spoke up, "He can sleep on my bed."
Cyton's head was already shaking before she finished the sentence, "Out of the question, it's too dangerous."
"Dad . . ." Cyton was in shock slightly, she had always called him daddy up to this point, "You say I have to be a big girl now. Let me be a big girl . . . please."
Cyton rubbed his eyes and let out a long sigh, he looked straight into his daughter's eyes and saw a fire in them much like he did when he was younger, "Fine. But keep the club next to you and wake us up as soon as he starts waking up. Understood?"
The girl nodded and quickly ran upstairs to fetch the club that they kept in case of emergencies. Cyton sighed once more and took a sip of water as she disappeared. Agitha let out a small laugh and he raised an eyebrow in response, "What's so funny?"
"She has too much of her father in her. Wanting to act like a big kid and scared of lightning."
"That's when I was a kid!" Cyton slouched in his chair while his wife continued to chuckle.
()()()()
Neri's room
Neri had moved a dining room chair to her room so she could sit and watch the kid. The club sat in her lap at the ready in case he decided to suddenly attack her. Cyton explained that she should try to hit him on the head or between the legs then quickly run away. He would make sure that kid would regret messing with his little daughter, Neri and Agitha only chuckled at Cyton's determination. The three of them stayed up until midnight to see if the would wake up but he merely laid there with the only movement being his chest rising and falling. As the parents left, Cyton tried to convince Agitha to let Neri use the sword instead but after some reassuring from Neri and some ear pulling by Agitha he finally left his daughters rooms and crossed the hallway to their own.
The boy moaned and shifted in his sleep, Neri smiled softly, "Wonder what he's dreaming about?"
She looked around her room, stuffed animals laid strewn about the floor, a four drawer dresser sat perched up against the wall next to the door, some books were placed in a small bookcase by the bed, a toy chest sat half open on the opposite side of the room from the bookcase. All in all, it was a pretty nice room, Neri enjoyed the time she was able to spend with her dolls and toys. Passing hours sitting on her bed reading and rereading the same same books over and over again. This room suited Neri well, fulfilling her need when she wanted to play and unwind from whenever she help her mother tend the garden. Which was probably destroyed now with all this heavy rain, but they could easily plant new seeds in the ground once the sun came out.
Neri let out a drawn out yawn, she was tried but she had said that she would stay up and watch the kid. She began pacing around the room in order to wake herself up which helped a little. In order to keep herself up she retrieved her two favorite dolls, one a knight in heavy clad armor with a removeable helmet, the other a princess wearing a blue dress fit for a royal ball with a crown of gold with jewels encrusted around the crowd upon the doll's head. She always had a dream where a heroic knight would save her life when she was in dire need of help. Then she would fall in love with the knight and they would be married the next day. The problem with the dream though is that the knight never had a face. It didn't exactly scare her, it just made her depressed that she couldn't see her love's face.
Achoo
Neri was brought out her thinking process when the kid on the bed let out a loud sneeze. She nearly fell out of the chair by the sudden surprise of the sneeze, when she look up the boy was still sleeping soundly on his back. Neri got up from the chair and quietly went downstairs, she tip toed past her parents room and made sure not to make the stairs squeak as she went down. In the kitchen she found what she was looking for, some left over soup that they had at dinner. She helped herself to another bowl and a glass of milk and quietly trekked back upstairs and managed to slip into her room without waking anyone up. As she sat down, she placed the glass of milk down on the ground and began to dig in. The food at this point had gotten cold but it hadn't lost any of its flavor.
When she finished Neri placed the bowl and glass on the nearby bookshelf and moved back to the chair. It was then she noticed just how quiet it was, beside the constant pitter patter of the rain. The window's drapes were currently being held aside by a hook on each side of the window. Neri walked up to the window and tried to see what was outside, what she would usually see is her families crop fields but now she couldn't see anything.
Flash
Neri jumped back and let out a small scream, she fell to her knees and cupped her hands over her ears while tears flowed down her cheeks. She was absolutely terrified by lightning, since as far back as she could remember. And to make things worse if that she couldn't go running off to her parents to night because she was suppose to watch the strange boy. Then an idea slowly formed in her head, she stood up and turned toward the boy on the bed.
Neri walked over and stopped at the bed's edge, examining the boy's face carefully, Studying him made her realized that he was a bit cute, he had a sort of mysterious look with the silver hair and breaded segment. She carefully crawled onto the bed and whispered into his ear, "D-do you mind being my brave knight tonight?"
The boy mumbled something incomprehensible, Neri took as a yes. She pulled the covers over herself and scooted closer to the strange boy until her head was resting on his shoulder, "I'm trusting you, okay?"
Again the boy mumbled something that couldn't be understood, didn't matter to Neri who quickly fell asleep. The storm continued raging outside with heavy rain and constant thunder but all who slept in the house had a peaceful nights sleep. Although in the morning they will have to make a decision regarding this young boy's future.
()()()()
Neri's room Early Morning
"Where am I?"
The boy rubbed his forehead as he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a ceiling. He continued to breath silently as he laid there on the bed, but as he continued to breath he started to pick up someone elses breathing. After a quick glance around he found a young girl sleeping soundly on his shoulder, her hair was a brown and about shoulder length but was currently tied into two pigtails. It was easy enough to gently raise the girls head off his shoulder and place it down on the bed. He also had to remove a hand that had been placed around his waist like he was a big teddy bear. But as he slipped out of the bed the girl started moaning in her sleep in response to her giant teddy no longer being with her. Acting quickly, he grabbed one of the pillows and gently placed it in the girls arms. Her arms tightened around the pillow as she fell back into a deep slumber.
The sun was shining slightly through the open window, revealing small bits of the land to him which appeared to be mostly fields. Before he left the room, he glanced back at the girl, "Thanks."
As he made his way down stairs the boards creaked with every step he took but he didn't really care. He came down into what appeared to be a dining room with various bit of odd trinkets scattered across the dining room table. Curiosity got the better of him and in result he sat down at the table and started looking through the strange objects. He must have been studying them for hours because the next time he looked out the window, the sun was halfway up into sky.
At this point he heard a small shuffle upstairs that appeared to be originating from the room he woke up in. A door was swung open and he could hear somebody running before a second door was quickly opened. He then heard some yelling but couldn't hear what was being said except someone sound frantic and the others sounded tired. Soon after he heard even more feet rushing around, it seemed they were searching the top floor for something.
After about what seemed a minute, he saw the same girl that had been sleeping on his shoulder run down the stairs. She froze in place, her deep blue eyes were transfixed on him. She then looked back up the stairs and yelled, "Dad!"
He then heard heavier footsteps come down the steps and he came face to face with a man in his late thirties with brown hair who was only wearing underwear and carrying a rather sharp looking sword, "So, it would seem you've woken up."
The man continued down the stairs as a woman in what looked her mid-thirties with hazelnut hair stopped on the stairs next to the young girl. The boy's gaze never broke from the man as he came closer, "So it does."
The man quickly looked to his daughter then back to the boy sitting at the table, "Did you do anything do my daughter?" His tone concealing anger in it as he ask.
"Aside from removing her head from my shoulder, nothing."
"What do you mean 'removed her head from your shoulder'?"
"Exactly what I said, I woke up and found her head sleeping on my shoulder so I gently moved her head off."
The man looked back to his daughter with a raised eyebrow, she started fidgeting with her fingers, "Maybe I'm not ready to be a big girl. I got scared from the lightning but I didn't want you guys to think I was still a baby."
"You should have just come sleep with your mother, I would have watched him."
"Not that my opinion really matters right now, but I didn't really mind." The boy continued shifting through all the odd trinkets on the table.
The man sat down at the table across from the kid, and he dropped his sword on the table to catch his attention. The two were staring each other down, and the man studied the kid carefully before asking, "What in the blazes were you doing out in that storm last night?!"
"May I ask a question first?"
The man hesitated at first but complied, "Fine, go ahead."
The boy took a deep breath and paused before asking, "Who am I?"
Chapter 3 is finished, HECK YEAH! This was an extra long chapter and took me longer than I thought. Mainly because there are so many good youtube videos that come out every day, and because I get Super Saiyan Lazy (I don't own DBZ either). Anyway writing this chapter was fun, got some visions in and had a meet up with some characters that won't be seen for a long time but you know, meh. I'm having a lot of fun writing this series so even if I don't get any positive feedback I am still going to write this thing. I have had a vision of me finishing it! The next chapter might take me a bit longer to write because I will soon be encountering one of the greatest enemies known to a high school student: FINALS!
Anyway, join next time on chapter 4
Forging a new life
Stay Classy folks, Rogue Pizza out