So, happy New Year, folks! I know I'm late on that. I was busying myself with this chapter here and (trying to) getting out of my Tales of Symphonia and Abyss craze. I pretty much said "screw the Wii for now" and use the game script. I'll just have to wing it with it for a bit longer. I'm going to do the best I can so it won't be direct copy and paste. I hate doing that.

Review responses to chapter 6:

drake202: I PM'd you I'm sure I did and responded to your review. If I remember correctly, I did consider the elemental dragon forms to make some entrance in the story. Maybe in the next chapter since that one's more interesting to say the least. Yeah, I don't understand why there's not a lot of good Breath of Fire crossover fics. With the endings in each of the games, it's likely possible they could get crossed into another game/anime easily. But, that's just me. As for your pairing suggestion, that would be Micaiah x Ryu. We'll see, since there's some who suggested Nailah x Ryu.

Shalemaster: Yup, he has indeed; one of them, at least.

Arcreed: Thanks! As how I'd differentiate between the rest of the laguz (well the dragon laguz), I suppose they would be similarly kindred but not entirely the same. Maybe like…distant cousins, something like that I had an idea of. That had me in a corner when planning this along. Not only that, but when the Black Knight comes out of nowhere. Ah well, let's see how this goes!

Thanks for all the story favorites, reviews and stalkers—I mean watchers! Sorry this took so long. *sobs* By the way, this is the only time we'll see the Warrior form, sadly. I want to bring out the—well erm…the other dragons of Ryu that will actually have impact. Oh yes, and "base" conversations shall come in this chapter as promised, probably with half of the members in this one and the other half in the next chapter.

Also, a very special guest from Breath of Fire III makes a slight cameo entrance in here. Ha-ha!

I don't own Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn or Breath of Fire III. I have the games, that's all.

Enjoy!

-x-x-x-

Part I: Silver-Haired Maiden; The Dragon Prince

Chapter VII: The Lost Heir; A Realization

-x-x-x-

An hour and a half passed over, the three teens that had been ambushed by laguz bandits now alone; two were confused while one seemingly didn't have a soul. It had been thirty minutes after the laguz were defeated, but Ryu remained steadily in that strange form. Sothe and Micaiah didn't know what to call it, but yet, after hearing Pain's words, they had to realize it.

Their friend was a dragon.

While he didn't look like a dragon laguz in Sothe's eyes, the aura emitting from him—that warrior's spirit that everyone appeared to have possessed—strangely alerted him that he was in some way. The three remained quiet as they could, but no doubt questions were piling up on a plate like papers would a desk. "Ryu?" The green-haired thief tried, hoping for one, their friend wouldn't smite him in his new state. Ryu simply turned his way when his name was called, not moving an inch out of fear of startling them, but acknowledged Sothe's incoming question.

"Yes Sothe?" the once blue-haired young man asked, his speech refined but under the draconic influence, it almost seemed to affluent an accent. Something that sounded close to the Tellius Language and Ancient Language; not only that, it sounded as if he were having trouble speaking. However, the words didn't reach Sothe at all. The thief stared at him quizzically, however Micaiah understood them.

"You…can speak the language of the herons?" Sothe wondered, surprised.

"It sounded similar to it, almost like it." Micaiah added, also wondering. Ryu simply stared at them, baffled for words. Deciding it would be best to transform out so he could at least speak properly, the dragon-figure attempted. Ah, another problem occurred; how would he get back to normal? His transformation just came out of nowhere and now he had no idea how to change back. Perfect. Ryu crossed his arms as he pondered silently and being unaware Sothe was starting up his question again.

"Ryu, were you always a dragon laguz and just hid it from us?"

The golden-haired dragon being sighed as much as he could in his new form before looking away from the Daein natives. "I… don't know. I could have…been." He struggled out, trying to stray from this 'heron language' in order for Sothe to understand. "I had…a strange dream of…dragons being…killed but I didn't think it would have…involved me in any…way." Ryu's large, tan colored bat-like wings shifted in emotion as he had, folding and opening to express his sorrow, slumping if one squinted. His skin had been decorated with hard, reddish orange scales; his shoulders, arms, hands, legs, feet and the sides of his face were scaly. Due to the glow of his dragon form, his pants seemed more brownish than their natural forest green color. "…I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Sothe asked next.

"…I feel…like I l-lied to you."

"No you weren't!" Micaiah defended. "I can see it in your heart, Ryu. You were being honest, you're telling the truth." She rose from her spot, approaching him without fear laced upon her trail. "I know you're confused about this as much as we are. We're not mad at you, either." Sothe also approached them, a small smile on his face as Ryu turned to him, eyes stricken with dumbfounded shock.

"Micaiah's right, Ryu. We're not mad at you for hiding the fact you were a laguz. It caught me off guard, I'll admit. But, you had your reasons."

"You're a good person. I don't care what race you are." Micaiah carefully clasped one of Ryu's scaly hands into hers, emphasizing her point. The dragon warrior managed a deep smile after his look of complete idiocy and stupor. Why hadn't he realized it before that his friends were truthful? But, what about Edward, Leonardo, Nolan and the rest? Would they sit kindly with a laguz in their ranks? "What…about…the rest?" He asked, lightly recalling his thoughts seconds ago and frowning. "Will they…accept…me?"

"Of course they will. What kind of question is that?" Sothe answered, crossing his arms. "Ryu, no matter what form you take, you're still you. They'll accept you, I know it." His words naturally rang true and they, coupled with the soft, gentle hands of Micaiah's around his, made the dragon feel comfortable and confident. He wouldn't know what he would do if they were scared of him. Most people were afraid of him anyway—hold on. People were afraid of me before? Ryu questioned himself mentally, pondering. Well, since I'm obviously a dragon that would make sense. I look terrifying. I'd scare kids away without trying.

"Ryu, stop it." Micaiah reprimanded him. "I may not be able to read your exact thoughts, but you're thinking negatively of yourself, that much I can sense. Please, stop. You're not some monster or horrible creature."

"…I…"

Both thief and light mage were giving him the hardened stares, except Sothe's were more along the lines of 'just do what she says, it'll make your life easier'. Noticing this, Ryu sighed and willed himself to accept the silver-haired girl's words. "Okay…I'll…try." Micaiah's mood lightened a little to his answer, knowing he would earnestly give it his best. She looked around briefly then said, "Yune? Come on out now, it's safe." Responding as quickly as a ninja, the orange canary fluttered in like a hummingbird, chirping happily to be in the presence of her friends. She perched upon Micaiah's shoulder, looking at Sothe to this strange creature that seemingly had the aura or presence of Ryu. She could tell; this person smelled like him, after all.

"You and that bird, I swear…" Sothe said with a face-palm. "It's…a little strange."

"You're just jealous." Micaiah giggled.

"Hmph."

Ryu suppressed a chuckle at the light bantering but focused his gaze upon the orange bird that had been oddly staring at him. "Hm, I wonder how we'll get you to change back, Ryu." The silver-haired mage wondered curiously, trying to come up with ideas. Her words fell on deaf ears as the young man of the topic and Yune were having a staring contest. "Ryu…?"

"What's wrong?"

I can see it in you. You're definitely Ryu! chirped a young, girl's voice in the mind of the blue-haired teen.

Ryu, in-thought, nodded his head as he saw a girl just about four or five feet tall, with long, curly locks of vibrant, burnt orange, deep russet colored eyes, wearing a long, yellow-colored poncho-dress, which covered her entire body sans her knees. Her legs were adorned in white tights fit for a girl and she wore brown boots. Decorated on said poncho-dress was a line of sea-green around the bottom edge. Her hair was overflowing with curls and was attempted to be tamed by tiny, red bows in it. However, said bows didn't bode very well in the waves of the curls. Completed with fair skin, the little girl stared up at the young man foreign to the world.

You seem familiar. I have a feeling I know you. Ryu told the girl.

I know. She said, giggling lightly. I am Yune.

Ryu slightly frowned. Yune? That's the same name as the bird with Micaiah.

Yes, I'm aware. That is me in my bird form. Yune smiled. Well, it's part of me anyway. The rest of me is sealed away in a medallion… The way she frowned and looked down signaled Ryu that Yune wasn't exactly excited about being sealed in someplace she didn't like being in. I've been with Micaiah since she was a little girl. She is interesting and I like her. She's friendly to me and to her friends.

The blue-haired dragon nodded agreeably. Yes, that's absolutely true. She also cares deeply for us, too.

Of course! Yune paused for a moment as their dream-world was filling in white details and a distant wind captured their hair mystically. So, Ryu, you're wondering how you can revert to your normal form, correct?

Yes… Is that why you called me from the world of the…waking, I'll say, yes?

Indeed. I couldn't communicate with you right then and there because of Micaiah. I know she's concerned for you, but I felt you would want some type of privacy.

Ryu chuckled slightly. Yes, you made a good point. What should I do to revert, Yune?

Hm, from what I've studied from you, I'd say your body would react and will its own self to transform, like the laguz of Tellius do. They shift and change at will; I'm sure if you think about willing your body to normal, it'll revert back. The giggly orange-haired girl said with a wide grin. Try it, Ryu.

All right. Here goes nothing, then.

On the outside of their conversation, Ryu's body began to glow again, just like last time. Sothe and Micaiah stared curiously though had to shield their eyes of the flashing light that enveloped their friend. His form began to grow larger than shrinking, the bones of his cracking to shape into the skeleton its master needed, willing himself to become; his new form just happened to have shaped into what appeared to be a…white, beastly dragon instead of the adorable, handsome young blue-haired man. Oh no, this is…the Radiance Gene! Ryu thought in half panic, stopping himself a second. Wait, "Radiance Gene"? Where did that come from?

Ryu, that's bad! Yune's voice echoed into his conscience. Think about being in your human form!

Oh right. I'm not sure how this happened, but here goes again. The dragon teen willed himself again, thinking about his human form before he went out of control—somewhat—and turned into that first form. That electric, spiky blue hair, the blue eyes, the muscular toned form of his human body and the sword in his hand. The thoughts swirled in his mind and slowly, his form was changing yet again, though this time, he was shrinking back to his regular height of around five feet six, somewhere around there, and that noticeable wave of spiked hair shaping wildly. When the light faded, Ryu opened his eyes. He was staring at both Micaiah and Sothe, who were now around his height. He looked down at himself, half surprised to see that he was in his natural self again. "Wonderful, I was able to do it." The blue-haired dragon teen smiled widely, picking up his sword he used earlier. Thankfully the sheath was still in tact.

"It's good to see you back to your normal self, Ryu." Micaiah said warmly.

"Yeah." Sothe stared at him again, frowning. "We'll have to get you a new shirt…"

Ryu chuckled at this, knowing all too well himself. "Yeah, I agree on that. Perhaps after we get out of here—" He stopped chatting and Micaiah closed her eyes. Something in the distance, sounded so beautiful, so serene and so downright peaceful. What could be making that wonderful sound? "Wait…I hear something."

Sothe looked around, wondering and clueless. "I don't hear anything."

"I hear it as well. I wonder what that is?" Ryu blinked. Sothe shook his head.

"…I still can't hear anything. Are you two sure?"

"…Yes." Micaiah nodded her head. "It sounds like someone's singing." She turned her body down an open corridor through the run-down ruins. "And it's coming from this way!" She pointed ahead and raced off in said direction, Yune flying ahead of her. Both of her 'bodyguards' took off after her.

"Micaiah, wait!" both Sothe and Ryu shouted to her.

After following, or rather chasing in Sothe's and Ryu's case, the light mage down the dark, stony corridor of the ruins, all three stop at an opening of the ruins, a little light from outside shining through the corrupted, laughable excuse for a roof. However, sitting upon a broken pile of treasure and wood, was a pale-skinned man who looked just about in his mid-twenties. He was dressed in elegant, pearly white and cream robes that instantly wrote him off as a nobleman. His large, similarly colored plume of wings sat behind him, folded carefully like a soft blanket. His slender green irises were focusing on the orange canary that perched herself upon his left shoulder. He simply continued humming his angelic song, each note vibrated with beauty as his voice dropped to an alto. Lying down beside him on each side of him were two wolves; one had beautiful, thick silvery-white fur that covered over it. It also had a velvet purple cloth as well as a golden trim abound it draped around its head, covering the left eye in particular. The single visible eye from the wolf appeared a pristine light olive color. The second wolf was shades of brown, mostly dark brown across the bulk. Its eyes were narrow and violet shades, nearly as dark as its fur, making it blend in.

Their tails wagged slowly in the melody of the winged man's voice, but suddenly noticed they were being watched. Their heads inclined upwards simultaneously as their noses picked up three different scents. A beorc's, another laguz's of sorts and a half-breed's.

"You! Hello! Who are you?" Micaiah called over to them. The winged man stopped singing, bringing his attention to the newcomers. Sensing no malice, the two wolf laguz shifted into their human forms. Ryu wondered how they did it with such ease but came to a realization that they had much more experience than he did. Seeing no harm in approaching them, the three from both sides quietly headed towards one another, stopping a couple feet away to give each other space.

"I am Rafiel." The white-winged male calmly stated. "A voice guided me here, was it yours?"

Micaiah shook her head. "No, but I heard a voice that guided me and my companions here as well. Someone or something may want us both here."

Taking notice of the situation and of the blond-haired man's appearance, Sothe popped in his question. "You're laguz, aren't you? One of the heron clan and two of the beast tribe, right?"

Rafiel nodded softly. "You are correct, beorc youth."

"I've noticed your white wings. You're of the royal herons. Are you related to Prince Reyson by chance?" The green-haired thief continued. The look on Rafiel's face was not any further from sudden surprise. Micaiah and Ryu, not knowing where this was going, exchanged looks with one another. What was Sothe going on about?

"Reyson? You know of my younger brother?" Rafiel asked, gasping.

"You could say that. We had served in the same company three years ago for some time."

"…What?" Rafiel paused, trying to find his words, his eyes widening even further. "Are you suggesting my brother is still alive?"

Sothe nodded. "Yes. He is still alive. And as far as I know, your father the king and the princess Leanne are as well." He confirmed and went on. There was no mistake in Rafiel's expression now; he was not only still shocked but now in deep realization of Sothe's words. Could it be true? Was this beorc the bringer of such good news to him? "Unless something's happened, all three of them live in the royal palace of Gallia, country of the beast tribe."

"U-Unbelievable!" The heron noble exclaimed. "My father and my sweet Leanne… They are all still with me! Oh, dear goddess!" He closed his eyes and allowed his silent tears he kept in for so long to roll down his soft face. "They're still alive. I'm not alone, no longer alone… Ah…"

One of the wolf laguz in their human form, the white in particular, approached him, putting a hand on his delicate shoulder. She was an obvious female, dressed elegantly in her own way. She wore a chain of linked necklaces around her neck, and wore a black, strapless top that exposed a little of her chest's mid-drift. Her hair was a dark lavender color, curling in a wavy fashion down to her shoulders and passed. Her complexion was tan, as if she had been purposefully sitting in the desert, getting a suntan. Her arms and legs were decorated in intricate tribal designs, true to her heritage as a laguz. Across her left shoulder was a patterned sash of sorts, and a satin fabric of cloth covered over her left arm, reaching towards her elbow. Buckled around her waist was a golden buckle, holding two blue and navy blue decorated pads together, both styled distinctly in a bizarre pattern. A bronze, pale-yellow cloth deescalated from the center, and velvet purple drawled out like a woven dress skirt behind her. Just underneath the velvet skirt was her beautifully furry tail of silver-white, which echoed her small, wolfish ears that sat atop her head. Her feet were in black long sandals, both with an open diamond design to expose her skin as it buttoned downward.

The second wolf laguz, an obvious male, was shirtless, all three teens noticed. Down his arms were the same tribal markings as the female's, and his skin complexion nearly mirrored hers. His straight locks of dark brown ceased around his shoulders, his bangs somewhat falling into his face. His violet-palette eyes tinted with a hint of auburn in them against the minimal light provided by the cracks in the walls and ceiling. Much like his hair, he had two wolf ears upon his head, the same shade as aforesaid locks. It was almost hard to distinguish them apart from his actual hair. Around his neck he wore a navy blue band that symbolized a collar if one squinted. A necklace in a thin, black strand wrapped around his neck as well, although it fell towards his collarbone. It had five tooth bones strewn through the string. His pants looked similar to those who would wear turbans in a desert—obvious as they were in one. They were beige colored, and an auburn colored half-skirt of sorts strewn around his backside, held together with a bizarre belt around his waist. From the center down was a white and pale satin fabric woven together with an intricate pattern before his legs in the front. From the bottom of his calves and up towards the firm legs were black woven cloths wrapped around neatly, and upon his feet were sandals, much like his fellow wolf laguz.

However, unlike hers, his only had the thumb toe strapped down while the rest hung free above the sandal's weight. His furry, fluffy tail of dark brown swayed behind him and his stance indicated he wasn't one for conversation.

"Rafiel…" The lavender haired wolf softly called his name.

"…" The brunet wolf silently 'said'.

"Hello and you are…?" Micaiah noticed them.

"I am Nailah, Queen of Hatari, and this is Volug, my loyal servant. Our kingdom lies far east of here." The female wolf laguz answered and introduced. Sothe, Micaiah and Ryu stared at her incredulously.

"…There's another country on the other side of the desert?"

Nailah nodded keeping a serious face in check. "As I've said. We have just traveled from there. Until we met Rafiel, we didn't know there were countries on this side of the desert either. After all, no one had ever crossed the Desert of Death and lived to tell of it. Without Rafiel's guidance, we would never have survived the crossing."

"My people, the heron clan of Serenes, were blamed for the murder of Begnion's empress. Begnion mobs rose up in rage and massacred them." Rafiel began as his tears from earlier still lingered. Ryu frowned at this information as did the other two, but they appeared to have known this already. A genocide of a whole clan? Why did this seem so eerily familiar? "I had thought the whole of my clan, my entire race, had been wiped out. I wandered the desert in despair." He opened his once shut eyes, smiling lightly. "If not for the queen, I would have died. In Hatari, I vowed to dedicate my life to her. And yet every night for these past three years, a voice has called out to me. Day by day, it has grown stronger…Until the voice led me to you all. Your news brings such joy to my heart!"

"Father…Reyson…Leanne… My beloved family… My thanks to thee, O goddess… Ah…"

"Rafiel…You talk too much…" Nailah said, sighing. She eyed the three teens next. "You, beorc…What's the best route to Gallia?"

Ryu blinked. Was she serious? Again, Sothe graced her with an incredulous expression. "For a group of laguz, traveling through the countryside of Daein is pure suicide." He said. "It might be longer, but we can take you as far as Crimea."

"We would be grateful. By all means, let's travel together." The Wolf Queen smiled lightly. "But why go to Crimea? Why not travel directly to Gallia?"

"Entering Gallia by yourselves would be nearly impossible. The man you need to get you into Gallia actually resides in Crimea." Sothe explained, and his tone of voice switched to that of one who was proud of a trophy he earned. "That man, Ike, is in contact with King Caineghis and his advisors. There's no doubt in my mind that he's the man you need." Ryu noted how much Sothe's tone appraised to utmost respect of this person's name. Ike, was it? However, he saw the distrust and scorn in Micaiah's face the moment the name was brought up. Apparently, she wasn't as fond of this Ike like Sothe was.

"Right. Lord Ike, "hero" of the Crimean Liberation, leader of the Greil Mercenaries, and the father of Sothe's children…" She mumbled and sighed. Ryu kept back an unintended laugh at her rather random point. Sothe didn't seem to hear what she said but it was pretty clear she didn't like Ike at all. But that was another thing; why was Micaiah like that? Was Ike really such a bad person to be spoken of like so? What had he done to earn such scorn from the light mage? Regardless, the group all agreed to travel together and soon backtracked out of the ruins, careful to avoid any other confrontation with any possible would-be enemies that may be lurking in the shadows. The blue-haired swordsman sighed. Today was rather eventful so far.

-x-x-x-

Conversation: "Trusting Companion" (Edward)**

-x-x-x-

Strolling through the campsite, the brunet myrmidon of the Dawn Brigade walked along, noticing his friends preparing for lunch. Ever since yesterday, Sothe, Micaiah and Ryu were partially silent for what had transpired in the ruins. When they came out, Ryu was decorated in ungodly scars and blood that it nearly made Laura faint. Thankfully he cleaned up and was provided another set of clothes by Muston and Daniel to replace his tattered ones. Now, Ryu was adorned in a simple dark blue tunic top, the creases of the shirt's fold stuck upward from its center button. Underneath was a padded white shirt. The trimming of the tunic top was aligned in simple silver, trailing down the center of the fabric. The pants he wore were the same material as Sothe's, though now only the same shade as Volug's own. His boots matched aforesaid wolf laguz's hair, being the same as Edward's, styled similarly. He kept his iron-plated gloves however, as they received no damage, if not counting the light dents on the frame. A simple cream-white long scarf draped around his neck and shoulders to give him a unique taste than a typical cape. Strapped to his backside was a dark brown sheath and his sword lied in it.

Lastly, Ryu's ocean colored hair remained unchanged, though now it lacked the blood it had carried from yesterday. It seemed to sparkle as much as Micaiah's hair when the sunlight hit it. Seeing as he was alone, Edward walked up to his sparring partner, trying to offer a smile. "Uh, hey Ryu." The blue-haired teen looked up from cutting meat slices and folding warm-temperature bread.

"Hello Edward." Ryu greeted him with a smile as well.

"What are you making there?"

"Lunch."

"I noticed." Edward chuckled. "But what's on the menu?"

"I thought it would be simple to make sandwiches. It's too hot in the desert to make something with fire, at least at this time of the day."

"Hm, sandwiches huh? Sounds good."

"Yeah, and it's time consuming."

"Right. Can I help?"

"Sure thing, Edward."

The brunet grinned, taking a seat next to Ryu, watching him resume cutting the meat to make near perfect slices for each sandwich. He removed his gloves, noticed the small bowl of water near Ryu and cleaned his hands in the cool water. After drying his hands with a cloth that was conveniently provided for him, Edward set to cut into the loaf of bread to make equal slices for the sandwiches. They stayed in silence for awhile, moving onto to the next steps with cutting cheese slices and chopping lettuce and tomatoes. The myrmidon finally broke the stagnant silence. "Say Ryu…Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Edward."

"Okay. What happened yesterday? I know you were all attacked by laguz bandits that much you, Micaiah and Sothe pointed out. But… something tells me something else happened."

Ryu paused—no, he froze on the spot. His eyes also froze on the ground, daring himself to breathe.

Edward noticed he must have hit a nail with Ryu on that topic and prodded further. "Ryu, if you know, please tell me. I'm your friend. No matter what."

"…"

Again, the stagnant silence loomed over the two swordsmen once more. Ryu pondered deeply about this; knowing Edward for as long as he had, the brunet was determined when on a mission. Nothing would sway him until he knew every detail. He may be carefree and casual, but Edward wasn't one to underestimate once something crosses his mind. Why was Ryu trembling with fear? The myrmidon was his friend, of course! He should outright tell him what happened, the full truth. But, why was he feeling fearful? Why was it feeling like a secret he needed to keep to himself? No, he should be more trustworthy of his new friends. But, would he scorn him? Would he deny him because of what he had become? Noticing Ryu was contemplating over his thoughts, Edward put down his cutting knife, the tomatoes he was slicing and put a firm hand on his friend's shoulder.

"If you don't want to tell me right now, then you don't have to, Ryu. I mean, I'm worried about you."

"Edward…"

"Yes?" His eyes glinting with hope.

"…What would you do if I said I was a laguz?"

"Huh?"

Ryu's blue eyes glanced up from their frozen stupor, his head turned to face him solemnly. "What would you do and say if I told you I was a laguz?"

The brunet suddenly blinked. "What would I do? I'd be happy, no duh." He answered. "In fact, it'd be really cool to see you transform into something else and then be even more powerful. In Daein, as kids, we're taught to hate and scorn the laguz, call them sub-humans and persecute them should they cross our path. But, when I met Micaiah, she made me think differently about them, and I want to learn everything about them. They must be amazing as I've heard about them." His dark brown orbs of eyes locked firmly on Ryu after his response. "Ryu, are you indicating you're a laguz?"

Not feeling the one to lie due to guilt clinging to his back like a barnacle on a pier, Ryu nodded slowly. "Yes. To be precise, I am of a dragon laguz. And, I used that power to protect Micaiah and Sothe yesterday in the ruins."

"…Wow!" Edward chuckled earnestly, catching Ryu by surprise.

"…What's so funny, Edward?"

"I mean, I knew your name meant 'dragon', but…I didn't think anything of it. I've…never seen a dragon laguz, no less any laguz before!" The brunet continued on with his rambling. "Nothing's funny, don't worry. I'm just excited. Here I've been taught laguz fight with their claws and teeth, talons and beaks, and their breath attacks that dragons have, but you're pretty much the first laguz I've ever met that can transform and use a beorc weapon!"

"Oh. Is it really that rare…?"

"Yeah! In fact, it's unheard of, just like you and Micaiah's healing power and then your magic, too. Wait. Laguz never had magical power either. They only shape-shift into their beast forms, and I read that herons are the only laguz that have any form of magical quality to them, hinted in their songs they sing." Edward pointed out.

"Oh." Ryu quietly mumbled, feeling out of place.

"But, that makes you even better, Ryu. You can use swords, transform, use magic AND heal! You're like a mage, swordsman, laguz and healer all in one! It's like a complete package!" Edward grinned wide, proud to call the blue-haired sword user among one of his friends. "I can't believe I'm friends with such an extraordinary friend. Not only are you nice and give advice, you're like your own person."

Listening to Edward's words kindled a new fire in Ryu. He smiled genuinely, feeling that proud sensation overwhelm him. The brunet understood him, and accepted him for who he was. Micaiah and Sothe were right—there was no need to worry about them. "Edward…Thank you…"

"Ryu, there's no need! If you were afraid I'd not accept you because you're you, then worry no more. Even if you were some monster, I wouldn't care. You're still my friend and nothing will change that!" The youthful myrmidon picked up his knife and the tomatoes again, resuming chopping as before. "Let's get these sandwiches done. I'm getting hungry!"

"R-Right." Ryu agreed, gratefully to get a weight off his chest.

"Hey Ryu?"

"Yes Edward?"

"Can you transform for me sometime later?"

Sparing a chuckle, Ryu nodded. "I suppose I could for you, Ed."

"Hah! Thanks, Ryu! You're the best!"

-x-x-x-

Conversation: "Friend of their word" (Leonardo) **

-x-x-x-

After lunch was served an hour later, Leonardo and Ryu volunteered to clean up the campsite so they could move onto their next location in a few minutes. As the others were packing away their belongings in the caravan and conversing with one another, the blond-haired archer grabbed Ryu in a conversation.

"I heard from Edward," Leonardo began.

"…Heard from him? What did you hear?" Ryu asked, having some clue of where this was headed.

"He told me at lunch that you were a dragon laguz." Ah, how had he known this would come up? Ryu looked at Leonardo, trying to afford a smile. Having a feeling Leonardo wouldn't scorn him either, the blue-haired swordsman kept up. "…What do you think?"

"Well, to be honest, I thought he was telling some joke or lying to me. I wanted to be sure for myself."

"I see."

"…So are you really a laguz, Ryu?"

"Yes."

"Ah." Leonardo closed his eyes momentarily. "…Okay, now I know Edward wasn't lying to me. But why have we not seen it? Other than Sothe and Micaiah?"

"I…can't be sure why. To be honest, I reacted to protect them." Ryu began, "Besides, would you have believed me if I said something about it before? We are in Daein. I know there's discrimination and prejudice against the laguz here."

"That is unfortunately the truth. Majority of Daein are prejudice against the laguz and for no reason other than they fear them." Leonardo sighed a little. "But not everyone in Daein is like that. Edward, Sothe, Micaiah, Nolan and I aren't like that."

"I know. That's what makes you all so comfortable to be around, Leo."

The blond archer flushed in embarrassment. "Really?" Receiving an honest nod from the swordsman, Leonardo smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Ryu. I'm sorry if I pried into your privacy."

"It's all right. It was bound to come up some time or another." Ryu replied truthfully. "I was scared at first that you all would be afraid of me and shun me away. I shouldn't have doubted your friendship. I know our friendship really just started. We've been together for a good few weeks, almost a good month. But, I was still afraid of how I'd be treated after learning of what I was." Leonardo placed a reassuring hand on Ryu's shoulder much like Edward had done earlier.

"Ryu, we're your friends. I'm your friend. It doesn't matter what you are, you're still my friend to me. There wouldn't be anything else in this world that could tell me otherwise."

"…That's almost what Edward said to me."

"Really? Well, we did grow up with one another, almost. While Edward is a little reckless, we tend to rub off one another. But he's telling the truth and so am I. I'm a man of my word. You will not be betrayed because of what you are, so don't worry, Ryu." The blue-haired dragon teen smiled warmly, feeling appreciated and accepted yet again. At least Leonardo and Edward were also on his side now…well, if there was any side to choose between. Invisibly, there was; the side of rejection and the side of acceptance.

"Thank you for understanding, Leonardo."

"Of course, Ryu. That's what friends are for."

-x-x-x-

Conversation: "Laguz Transformation" (Nailah, Volug and Rafiel) ***

-x-x-x-

The next few days flew by as the Dawn Brigade and company was still traveling amidst the Desert of Death. The new night rolled over after losing luck of not locating the missing prince of Daein and running in with another round of bandits, this time beorc bandits. They were easily dealt with and a victory was successfully claimed. After preparing dinner, Ryu took time to walk off, though not too far, to get some fresh air as his claim to part from the campfire.

"So much has happened already. It's been a good month, going on the second pretty soon. I hope we find that prince soon, too." Ryu took the strapped sheath from his back, readjusting it to his right hip. Once that was done, he drew his blade, watching as the moonlight's rays reflected off the edge. "Hm, Edward was right. It is easier to draw the sword this way. And it's much more comfortable, too." The blue-haired swordsman slid his sword back into its scabbard and took a deep breath. "Those dreams haven't been coming back for some reason. Perhaps…it has to do with my transformation. I wonder what they were truly trying to tell me."

"Ryu? What are you doing out here all alone?"

Aforesaid teen spun around quietly to see the caller of his name, Rafiel, approaching him with the wolf queen Nailah and her manservant Volug in tow. He tilted his head curiously at the laguz company that presented themselves. "I was just thinking about things that's all. More importantly, the thought of how to transform into my laguz form."

"Oh?" Nailah inquired next. "You're of the laguz as well?"

"Yes. You couldn't tell?"

"Not quite. You do have an air about you that tells me you are, but it's different."

Ryu slightly frowned. "I see."

"You're of the dragon tribe laguz, are you not?" Rafiel asked.

"I am. I've been hit with amnesia however, and I've forgotten how to shift forms if that makes sense." Ryu answered, not completely lying to the heron noble. After all, it was the truth. How was he supposed to know he was capable of shape-shifting from the whole get-go? "Sounds embarrassing but…"

"No, it's not." Nailah began, "We'll get you back on track. It's uncommon for laguz to forge how to shift, but it's not unheard of either. Would you like training, Ryu?" The blue-haired swordsman blinked, making sure he heard this correctly. The Wolf Queen of Hatari was volunteering to help him shift forms?

"I appreciate your offer, but are you sure? You're of nobility, I wish not to—"

"No, I insist." The lavender-haired laguz reassured.

"I shall assist you as well." Rafiel also pitched in. "We laguz may shift into different creatures, but the process is very similar, if not the same."

"..." Volug 'said'.

"I thank you Queen Nailah and Prince Rafiel for your offer to assist me. I appreciate it, truly." Ryu nodded in a light bow to them. His blue eyes found the brownish auburn ones of the brown wolf laguz beside his queen and wondered. "Volug? Would you also like to help me, too? You look quite lonely there." The quiet brunet lupine curiously eyed Ryu and his offer, nodding his head, a light smile upon his face.

"Of course. If you can pull your weight then we won't have any problems. Just don't slack off, little dragon." Volug said in the ancient language. For reasons only he hadn't know, Ryu actually understood that.

"Ah okay then…I'll try not to and I'll definitely pull my own weight. Just give me a push, that's all."

Rafiel smiled gently. "It seems you won't need to learn how to understand the Ancient Language, that's a small step forward. Now then Ryu, for this lesson, you must understand your form change. You must acknowledge its presence and allow it to coalesce with you."

"Allow my laguz form to coalesce with me?"

"Yes. Naturally, the beast within us that makes us laguz comes out casually as soon as we're born, we simply think about it to change, but for you, you need to understand its presence in order to remember how to shift." Nailah clarified. "Can you feel your inner beast?"

Ryu paused momentarily, wondering how he would respond to the dragon that resided in him. He could feel it, definitely. It was burning the tips of his fingers in a figurative way. Not only that, but it didn't feel alone. There was another presence lurking deep into his soul, but it was secluded, closed off and he couldn't reach it. But there were those he could feel right there, ready to burst free. The only problem was how to release them one at a time, to become comfortable with their strange presence. It was strange, though. At first, there was one, but as the days went on in their travels, he could feel more of them inching up from nowhere. The one he became to protect Micaiah and Sothe mysteriously vanished, in lack of better words. How did that happen?

Deciding to put that behind him, he turned to his three tutors and nodded. "I can feel them." He stated.

"Good." Nailah complemented with Rafiel raising an eyebrow in curiosity. Them? What did he mean? "Now, draw upon that feeling and allow it to take you over. The first time it hurts, but the more you shift, the easier it becomes and the more comfortable it becomes."

"Right…" Ryu took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He concentrated on the dragon burning within his body, trying to search for its power and its existence to merge with him while he shifted. It didn't take as long as he thought; his eyes turned a pure gold tint, and his entire body sparked with energy he recognized. Ryu shut his eyes, groaning as he hypocritically began fighting off the urge. Noticing his cringing form, Nailah frowned. "No." She half barked at Ryu. "Don't fight it. Allow it to consume you and use its power as your own. You are in control."

What? That…doesn't make…sense. Does it? The blue-haired teen wondered, trying to soak in the queen's words. Steadily, he allowed the urge to take full force like that time in the ruins. That instinct, that sudden jump in power he remembered bits and pieces of it. I must control it this time. Maintain it. Allow it to consume me and then use its power as mine. Ryu told himself, not recognizing his entire form was shifting swiftly. The bones snapped and reshaped into the form it was commanded to take, the willing of the teenager swordsman. In Ryu's place mere seconds from those thoughts stood a tall dragon with a golden, scaly reptilian form. Its horns were long and auburn in color and its eyes were a serene light blue with a golden tint to them. Claws as strong as a hawk's talons were in place of human hands, strong, tough hide and legs it stood upon. A powerful, long tail grazed the sand behind it. Mighty wings the length of two seven foot beorcs together outstretched widely and contracted into a fold. A visible red mark, that same misaligned "t" shaped 'scar' was just above his forehead though; nobody could miss it.

When the dragon snapped to, realizing what was going on, he slightly gasped. To say he was large was a slight misconception. He towered over his fellow laguz, possibly standing over twenty feet tall. He couldn't tell because he was standing on his hind legs, glancing down at his companions.

Hey…It worked. Ryu thought, unable to actually project his voice to the others but he had a feeling they knew what he meant.

"Ryu, you're marvelous." Rafiel praised. "I've never seen a gold dragon before…"

"Neither have I." Nailah commented after. "Now that you have shifted into your form, now it's time to shift back to normal." A low rumbling of a growl that resembled something of a groan escaped the pillar of gold reptile before her and the wolf queen crossed her arms. "Now, now, there's no need to groan and complain. Now that you've established your form, you must think about your human form and will your body to shift into it stably."

This whole transforming thing will tire me out, but I have to admit, it's worth it. The former swordsman thought again. Sponging in Nailah's words again, Ryu relaxed his body and kept his thoughts on his human form's appearance. Just like before, his body shifted, his bones crunching back to the five foot six young man it recognized. It was so sudden that Ryu opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Nailah who slightly towered him with her height. He felt his azure hair in front of him, noticing his bangs were getting long and out of control. Before he uttered a word, he swayed forward only to be caught by the queen herself.

"Whoa."

"Take it easy, Ryu. The first time is usually exhausting and taxing on the body." Rafiel reminded him.

"I understand." He took his surroundings in and noticed Nailah had still held him by his shoulders. The human dragon blinked, noticing how close in proximity he was to the royal lupine. He quickly straightened himself up and was grateful his long bangs sheltered the growing cherry of his cheeks. "Sorry Queen Nailah for falling on you." Ryu bowed lightly.

"Hm, it's no trouble. Like Rafiel said, the first time transforming takes a toll on the body. However, the more you use it, the easier it becomes."

"Thank you for helping me. If I follow your instructions, I believe I'll get the hang of it by myself."

"That's good to hear. But you'll still need someone to keep an eye on you." The lavender-haired laguz turned to her manservant, who caught her glance. "Volug, watch over Ryu when he transforms. Assist him if he struggles." Volug simply bowed and took on his wolf form easily as the wind blew over.

"But Queen Nailah…"

"You may also take Volug with you on your travels to finding this prince. He'll stay shifted into his laguz form. It won't seem so strange to have a dog with you, right?"

"Uh, well, no. But, how can you call Volug a 'dog'?"

"He may or may not be housebroken but he can put up a fight with any of those beorc. He'll prove to be a valuable asset I'm sure." Such a blunt woman. Ryu scratched his head, exchanging glances with the brown wolf now at his side. "Volug, I also want you to guard Ryu and his friends as well." The manservant now-lupine just barked in agreement. "Now that's taken care of, Ryu, you will do just fine."

"I shall pray for your success." Rafiel added with a genuine smile.

"Thank you both. Hey Volug, is Queen Nailah always like this…?" Ryu asked the wolf who grunted in response. The swordsman took this answer as a simple 'yes'; he sighed lowly but decided not to mention anything. Besides, having another laguz with them might help Ryu overcome his nerves. Maybe he wouldn't have to transform so much if Volug was around.

-x-x-x-

Conversation: "Kinship that ties us together" (Kurth) ***

-x-x-x-

"Ryu, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Kurth called to the swordsman as he and Edward finished their sparring match the next day. They still didn't have any luck in locating the elusive prince, but Micaiah kept them on their toes on hope alone. Somehow, she felt they had been getting closer. Ryu nodded to the pilgrim that traveled with them for this long. "Sure thing, Kurth." The blue-haired swordsman waved to Edward as he put their practice swords away in the caravan. After being led a ways from the campsite, Kurth turned to Ryu, a small smile settled on his face.

"What can I do for you, Kurth?" Ryu asked.

The young man with short, dark hair and blood red eyes sighed a little, but knew this had to come. "May I ask in advance that this stays between us? This may become very personal."

"Of course. I won't tell anyone of our conversation."

"Thank-you. Now then, Ryu, you know me as Kurth, but my full name is Kurthnaga. I am the prince of Goldoa, of the dragon tribe." He pulled down his cloak's hood, revealing his extremely dark, and forest green hair, nearly a shade lighter than black, his crimson eyes, and his tanned complexion. His attire was covered by the cloak but Ryu knew better. But, they had been standing in the presence of another noble? Before he went knighthood and bowed, Kurth stopped Ryu when he realized it a second sooner. "Please, don't bow to me Ryu. I don't want to attract attention."

"…All right." Ryu sounded a little dejected, "But, you're out here for a reason, am I right? A prince shouldn't be out here, ironically enough."

"Yes. I was looking for my sister, Almedha. She was the late King Ashnard's concubine, if you will. The orphan prince is my nephew and I am worried for him and her. I left my home to find them."

"I see. That's very honorable and kind of you, Kurth. I'm sure your sister will appreciate your presence."

"Indeed. It has been a long time since I've seen her. But, the reason I called you over here is because—"

"I'm a dragon laguz, correct?"

"Yes. You bear the same mark as my clansmen, and your transformation earlier confirmed it. It caught me by surprise that you could use beorc weapons and magic. Normally, such is difficult for us laguz to master, but you've done the impossible."

Ryu smiled lightly, though unable to determine if Kurth's words were of praise or not. He hoped it was the former. "I wonder if…I belong to Goldoa then. I can't exactly remember though…" He pondered hopefully. "Where is Goldoa, Kurth?"

"It is southwest of here and the palace and village itself sits upon a mountaintop to prevent intruders from entering. The only way up is to scale the mountain or fly in."

"…That's inviting." Ryu frowned.

"About your birthright to Goldoa, it is a possibility. However, your dragon form is on a completely different scale in comparison to the tribe's."

Now this was interesting. How did he differ? "How so?"

"Your form is of a gold dragon. The ones existing in Goldoa are Red, White and Black dragons, with Black dragons being of nobility. Your…shade is new, to say the least. Perhaps it is a rare gift from the goddess that you were born with." Ryu pondered again though remained silent at the 'goddess' word. Man, something about that word made his skin crawl and his spine shudder. Doesn't he know a goddess from somewhere? He just had to! There was no way such a word would cause anyone to flinch and shudder just out of nowhere like that. Perhaps he met this goddess at some point in his life, and the amnesia he's suffering from is blocking out the memory. That seems to be the only plausible case. What else could it be?

"Maybe Kurth…" Ryu finally said. "Is…this all you wanted to impart me with? It's good to know about you though, the truth."

"No, there is one more thing." The Black Dragon Prince-in-disguise began. "Once I meet my sister, I will go to my home country, to Goldoa. My cover up story to my retainer, Gareth, was I wanted to travel around a little. I should be back in Goldoa within the next two months, so hopefully I will get the chance to see my sister and nephew before my time is up. I want you to stay here and protect my sister and my nephew. I know this sounds like a brazen request from nowhere, but you and I share a kinship, and I could not trust just anyone other than Micaiah with this."

"I see. Does Micaiah know this?"

"…No. I wish for her to not get too deeply involved, but I know she will stand up for my nephew's cause to regain Daein back from the Empire. She truly loves her country."

"Indeed she does." Ryu smiled and Kurth returning it. "Then, I, Ryu will become the shield for your sister, Lady Almedha and her son, your nephew. Don't worry; it's not outrageous of a request. I learned about where I came from, Goldoa it seems, and that I have somewhere I belong. It may not come out now, but I feel I could try and see it for myself sometime."

"Goldoa is a wonderful nation, and it is neutral. Unfortunately, though. My father forbids trespassers that happen upon our territory."

"Really? That doesn't sound very pleasant, but I'm sure your father, the King of Goldoa I presume, knows what he's doing."

"I do hope so. It's been that way for many passing centuries." Kurth said as he pulled his cloak's hood over his head again to shelter it from the blowing sand going about its way in the wind. "That's all I wanted to tell you, Ryu. Thank you for understanding."

The swordsman nodded his head, still with that smile. "You're welcome, Kurth. Thank you for imparting the knowledge with me. I feel one step closer to remembering about myself."

"Of course, Ryu. If you would like to talk about Goldoa or anything of the sort, you're more than welcome to come to me. Well, let's get back to the others now so they don't leave us behind."

"Right, after you, my prince."

"Ha-ha, no need for formalities."

"I was teasing." Ryu added, following behind Kurth as they headed back to the camp, which was now being set up. However, the one thing that he couldn't get out of his mind now was Goldoa and the phrase "Dragon Prince". Why would such a phrase tack so much of his attention all of a sudden? Why do I get the feeling there is more to this…amnesia than I'm letting myself on? I wish I could remember everything.

-x-x-x-

The group, back on the road in the desert, was setting out to finally locate Ashnard's son once and for all. Coupled with the harsh, intense, sweltering heat of the sun's rays baking them like cakes in ovens, their progress wasn't less than satisfactory. They were only on the desert's edge and yet it was already taxing on them. They had left the area in which they met Queen Nailah and Prince Rafiel's small company, the royal laguz having followed the Dawn Brigade. With them, they had the ever-so-helpful Volug manservant, who had been tailing behind Ryu like a lost puppy every second. He surely was keeping to his word and orders. "We still have something we must do." Micaiah told Sothe as they had stopped for a break under a convenient, natural alcove arch of rock, which provided enough shade for everyone.

"It'd be great if we found Ashnard's son soon. I'm burning up out here." Sothe grimaced.

"I'm not sure what it is, but I see a lot of images, stacked on top of each other. It's hard to see what they all are." Micaiah said, closing her eyes as her mind projected images only she could see. "There's danger, battles, and terrible sadness, but also…hope. Whatever our destiny is, I know we'll find it in the desert. Let's go."

Sothe nodded. "I understand, Micaiah. I'll tell everyone to make ready." And with that, the green haired thief headed off to the merry band of theirs, first getting a hold of Nolan. Walking ahead to provide company to the silver-haired mage was none other than Ryu, whom kept his right hand steadily upon the hilt of his sword. Tailing right behind him was his "guardian dog" Volug, who remained dutifully in his laguz form. Ryu secretly envied his ability to do so but knew he'd be able to pull that off sometime later when he got the hang of his transformation. So far, he was able to hold it for a good two hours, fly—or rather, glide—and attack normally. Granted, he was a little slower in his transformed state for now, but he'd get just as agile as his human form soon enough.

"Micaiah? Are we heading back into the desert?" Ryu asked her.

"Yes, Ryu. I predicted many battles ahead." The light mage replied. "I know you're getting used to it but…"

"If you want me to use my dragon abilities for these upcoming fights Micaiah, I'll be more than happy to help you with that—"

"But—"

"—regardless if laguz are mistreated in Daein and from what I've seen, Begnion, too. It's okay. I can handle it. As long as I draw breath, as long as I'm able to change forms, and as long as I hold this sword, I will fight for the Dawn Brigade. Whatever comes our way, we'll win."

"You're right, Ryu. We'll overcome all obstacles, and with Sothe, you and everyone by my side, I know it's possible."

"Yeah."

"…Hm, Ryu, pardon me, but what happened to your hair? It seems…shorter." The blue-haired swordsman blinked, perplexed for a moment before realizing exactly what she meant. Chuckling, he felt where a few spikes of his hair had been and rubbed it embarrassingly.

"Well, my last sparring session with Edward was with our actual swords. Let's just say he gave me an unintentional haircut." True enough the couple of hair spikes upon his head were cut off, being as flat as a tree stump. Some of his hair spikes remained, but they now swayed a little backwards, giving him a rather younger appearance. "Don't worry about it though. It'll grow back." Ryu brushed his bangs away with his hand, hoping that they would still block out his dragon mark but remain out of his eyes' way. Fortunately the former happened, but the latter did not. Seeing his futile attempt at winning a round with his hair, Micaiah giggled.

"I'm a great swordsman, but I get beat by strands of hair…" Ryu joked, giving the silver-haired girl a reason to continue her bout of chortles.

"Ryu… You're truly funny."

"All right, everyone's ready Micaiah—what's so funny?" Sothe returned but sported a questionable gaze at both the mage and dragon boy.

"Nothing in particular." She replied, ending her giggling right there though it was obvious she could spring back into a fit of them anytime soon with her light grin. "Thank you for telling everyone, Sothe."

"It's no trouble, but seriously, what was so funny?" He stole a glance at Ryu who grinned rather mischievously at the look he was receiving from his thieving companion. Feeling guilty as charged by the suspicious glare, Ryu sighed and relented. "She was laughing at my hair problems."

"Oh right. Edward delivered a clean cut to that wild mop of yours." Sothe added with a smirk.

"…Right he did."

"So, back to the first topic, which way do we go from here? We've already been north, so that pretty much leaves east and south. Which way?" The green haired rogue asked his closest friend, watching as she pondered on his question. That is, until they were interrupted by the brown wolf beside Ryu. Volug growled suddenly his ears twitched in irritation as if he heard something—which is exactly what he did.

"What is it, Volug?" Micaiah asked, wondering why the wolf was snarling. Trying to understand growls of a beast wasn't easy; however, they had a translator standing by them, thankfully. The ocean-haired swordsman readily listened to Volug's grunting tone, adjusting them in his mind to formulate words.

"Volug says he can sense beorc in the south, a lot of beorc." Ryu translated, putting a worried emphasis on 'a lot'.

"There must be something out there, then." The light mage deduced seriously.

Sothe nodded in understanding. "That settles it then. We'll head south." The four hurry to gather the others and garnered the others in what they hoped was the prince gathering forces in the desert, and hoping it wasn't what they thought it was. If anything, facing any Begnion soldier in this sweltering heat was the last thing they wanted to deal with. However, curse his luck, Ryu's right eye twitched and found impending danger looming over them. There was no doubt they'd run into Begnion troops. He wasn't surprised if they had been Jarod's men. That'll just prove that man was annoying as buzzing fly in the summer and was like a damn cockroach. In a nutshell, Jarod wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Ryu sighed exasperatedly.

That man is getting on my last nerves. He thought dangerously.

-x-x-x-

"Look at all those troops!" Edward gawked in surprise when the Dawn Brigade finally found the source of Volug's direction and noise. "Jeez! They're gathering around that small building over there like lost puppies."

"It's too late to compare them to innocent puppies, Edward. They're just downright mutts now." Ryu said after, frowning. His azure eyes scanned the would-be battlefield; several men clad in red armor, wielding spears, axes, swords and tomes scattered about like weeds in an empty field. It was rather annoying. Begnion soldiers were gardening around and with them being here, there was no doubt the prince of Daein was around here somewhere. Of course Begnion would try to silence this outrageous rebellion force while it was fresh and young. "Something tells me the prince is around here." Ryu mumbled quietly to himself, though he was sure Volug heard it.

"Hm, look over there!" Micaiah pointed ahead. In the fair distance, everyone could see the object, or rather, objects, of her sudden interest. There was a towering man in brilliant white and lavender colored armor, wielding a lance plated in sparkling silver. He had just implanted his spear through an enemy soldier, forcing the man back with the thrust of his lance. The ground soldier groaned loudly before falling to his death. Nearby, there was another man with short, grayish blue hair, and from where they had been watching from, he seemed to be wearing a purple tunic and silver armor around his shoulder and chest to protect from damage. He drove his sword home through another soldier that attempted to get close to the entrance of the building, meeting his end right there.

The swordsman pushed the corpse back and returned back to the fray.

Lastly, there was a young woman with long, reddish-pink hair, the bangs curling around her face to hide some of her features. She was in a similarly colored armor; hints of yellow from underneath told them she had something under the armor. She expertly swung her axe to inflict damage upon her opponents, whom also tried to get too close. However, what caught Ryu's attention the most was the emerald winged reptile this young woman had been riding upon like a steed. The dragon teen tensed up a little; was she riding upon a dragon of Goldoa? Was that green dragon warped from its original form like Ashnard had done? Come to think of it, would he be warped to stay trapped in his dragon form and be used like that? Ryu shuddered mentally at the thought. Just trying to stay in that form long enough to get used to it was taxing enough, but to remain trapped in it forever until you died didn't sound like a delicious cake on a plate to Ryu.

"Hmph!" The silver-armored general grunted as he stabbed another soldier, felling him.

"Impressive as ever, General Tauroneo." The swordsman near him commented appraisingly. "However, we can't hold out forever. We are seriously outnumbered. It's time we put these vermin in their place. Are you ready, Jill?"

The girl upon the dragon steed twirled her axe. "Just give the word, Zihark!"

"All right. Let's get them, then!"

"You two take care not to rush the enemy and injure yourselves." Tauroneo warned, earning a nod from both of his younger charges.

"Who could the Begnion soldiers be attacking out here in the middle of nowhere?" Nolan wondered, having not heard the three's conversation, but noticed they were chatting with themselves about something.

"Whoever it is, we've to help them!" Micaiah urged.

"Wait a moment…" Sothe started up, staring at the general with the silver-white armor and lance from where he could. "The people Begnion are attacking… It couldn't be… That armor…" His pale golden eyes widened in realization. "Only certain people are allowed to wear it. I may very well know that soldier."

"Really?" Micaiah gasped, earning a nod from her friend. "Well, then all the more reason to go help them! Let's hurry!"

"Right."

"So how will we go about this?" Edward asked. "We'd be flattened kittens if we just rushed in the fight."

"Edward makes a good point. Rushing in will do us no good. We need a solid plan to fall upon. There are several troops and very few of us. Even if we get assistance from those three, we are still fairly outnumbered." Nolan suggested sagely. "It would be wise to remain alive against such odds."

"Point proven." Sothe admitted.

"Hm…If we split up in different teams, we can take on different portions of their forces." Micaiah began.

"I see. You want us to scatter into teams and draw out the soldiers' attention to us so the other three can move forward and take them out. We'll be distractions." The bearded brunet rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Aran and I shall be on a team." Laura smiled and her best friend right beside her with his lance ready.

"I shall accompany you two." Nolan invited himself.

"All right. That makes one team."

"Leonardo and I will get them." Edward grinned. "Hey, Meg, would you like to come with us? Your defenses would help keep Leo out of danger in case there are soldiers who try to attack him up front." The young girl with brown pigtails smiled warmly, her brown eyes fixed upon the myrmidon.

"Sure thing! I'll keep him protected, oh you know it!" She chirped, putting her helmet on, drawing out her sword and hoisted her shield up.

"I…shall go with them." Ilyana said, taking up her tome. Her light lavender eyes met Leonardo's gaze, who smiled warmly in her direction.

"Okay then that leaves me, Micaiah, Volug and Ryu—" Sothe trailed, his eyes scanning for the two laguz. Unfortunately, they weren't there. "Where the hell did they…?"

"S-SUB-HUMAN!" A voice cried out in pure terror, garnering the attention of the Dawn Brigade. They spun around simultaneously, watching a short battle ensue between Ryu, Volug and a red clad soldier. The brown wolf charged the man holding his spear in a death grip—he was sure his knuckles were white—and Ryu followed right along, drawing out his sword in a horizontal swipe. By the speed of both of them, they seemed like a blue and brown blur that jumped on something red. Volug slammed his bulk into the soldier, knocking him down. Ryu drove his sword through the man's throat while he was still flailing on the ground, ending him. Just after this, more Begnion soldiers turned to rush them, angered for their fallen comrade.

"Looks like they had the idea." Sothe noted. "Come on, we can't let them get in there and get hurt!"

The rest followed after the thief's lead, heading to rush the enemy. Yune hurriedly flew out of the dangers of the battle but still within proximity to watch.

Just further east of the battlefield stood a man with short, refined tan hair, a small beard upon his fair skin just on the bridge of his mouth, his dark brown eyes scanning the area claimed to be a warzone. His maroon robes draped over him, and in his hand was a red colored tome with gold trimming laced around it. It was obvious he was a mage—a Fire Mage to be precise. Around him stood three other fire mages and a priest with his stave, obviously watching the battle and would move if commanded or if their allies needed assistance. But, given the situation that they had their opponents outnumbered, there was no way they'd ever need help. However, he couldn't fathom why he was thinking of dread now…Something didn't seem right in this picture.

His numbers in men were decreasing, but knowing the enemies were only three people, this concerned him. How were three measly people keeping his soldiers in check? He snorted irritably and growled. "These fools are persistent. Why do they keep trying to defend what is already a hopeless cause?" He mumbled to himself. Snapping him out of his thoughts was a simple soldier, panting out of breath as he had obviously ran to meet his commander.

"S-sir! There's a problem!"

"What is it? Why aren't you all pushing the enemy back and claiming them?" The tan-haired commander leered.

"Sir, there's an extra addition of forces that are fighting us as we speak! They simply came from nowhere!" The troop reported with obvious evidence of panic in his voice.

"Calm down, soldier. They just might be reinforcements to protect that wretch of an orphan. They are nothing compared to us. Don't let them out of your sights either. Squash them all!"

"Yessir, Commander Wystan!" The soldier saluted, turned around and hurried back to the fray to give his commander's orders to the rest of his cohorts. Watching him go off, Wystan grumbled something unintelligently under his breath. Things were certainly getting interesting, but word of these reinforcements or whoever they are was, to say in the least, unexpected. How would they have gotten a messenger sent out to recruit more to aid them? He had been watching the battle zone carefully. Not one came out of that building those three were patrolling like police that even resembled a messenger. So how had they requested assistance?

"This is…certainly becoming more interesting by the minute." The Fire Mage commander mused.

-x-x-x-

"Meet the reinforcements! Wipe them out!" Begnion soldiers roared about, each of their comrades overhearing the command. "This is orders from Commander Wystan!" Sothe rolled his eyes and prepared to attack. One soldier with a lance met his gaze and initiated the fight. He lunged forward, thrusting his lance's blade to pierce Sothe through his head, only to be met with the glistening shine of the greenet's dagger. The clash of sparks was created instead, allowing Sothe to maneuver around the soldier. His footwork distracted the man, allowing Micaiah time to chant her spell and command a shining blast of magic to blind and strike. The Thani spell crushed the man within his armor, virtually squashing all life out of him like an empty soda can crumbling under someone's foot.

Another soldier replaced his fallen comrade, only to meet his own end with Sothe's exceptionally skilled throwing of knives to faces. Just after him, was another soldier; however this one grasped sword in both of his hands. Sothe met the man head on, their weapons meeting and clashed, sparks flickering off from the rebounding iron of their weapons. The soldier nearly overpowered the young thief, throwing him off balance just slightly but Sothe regained his composure and blocked the vertical slice that would have split his head in half.

Thankfully, another Thani spell crashed over the soldier, allowing Sothe the room to move out of the way and then kick the man down. The light magic felt like a burning fire, and hearing the sound of melting armor upon a body was rather unpleasant, to say the least. Still, Sothe was glad he wasn't the one Micaiah was aiming for.

"Sothe, are you all right?"

"Yes, thanks to you."

"I'm glad."

"Are you all right?"

"I am fine. Come, we must help the others."

"All right. I'm with you, Micaiah."

-x-x-x-

"Look out, Edward!" Leonardo called out as he assembled an arrow in his bowstring faster than he could ever remember and launched an arrow to hit a soldier that had snuck up on his friend squarely in the face between his eyes. He fell with a thud, making the myrmidon of his target spin around. "Whoa, thanks for the save, Leo."

"It's no problem, but please pay more attention to your surroundings. You could have gotten hurt."

"Sorry Leo. I was focused on the guy in front of me."

"I know. There are more of them, so let's go, all four of us." The blond-haired archer looked at the two females in their small group. "Meg, Ilyana, how are you two faring right now?"

"I'm just fine Leonardo." The youngest of them replied.

"…I am fine…" The thunder mage answered, smiling lightly. "But we should be careful."

"Of course. Edward and Meg, you two should keep the front up while Ilyana and I handle the rear. It's a simple but effective plan. We'll need—" The archer didn't get to finish as Edward shoved him aside; an axe was thrown straight for him from behind! The myrmidon ducked to the right, watching the spinning weapon sail over his and Leonardo's head and arch back around in a boomerang fashion. There was no mistaking what that was; a Hand Axe.

"Damn!" Edward cursed, his eyes darkening on their assailant. The boomerang axe was caught by its thrower, who leered at the young teens, grinning.

"Even if you're reinforcements, you're still a bunch of kids!" the soldier scorned. "This isn't a place for brats like you. I'll give you one chance… Get lost!" He was soon joined by five other cohorts of his, who were armed with similar weapons. "I'd rather not dirty my hands with blood of kids, if you catch my drift."

"Oh, we catch your drift all right, but we're fine right here, thanks." Edward feigned a smirk. "We have every intention of staying here."

"Hmph. It's your deaths then. Don't complain to us that you were never warned!" the Begnion militant bellowed, he and his group lunging forward, one by one. Meg stood in their way, thrusting her broad, iron plated shield, knocking them back. They grunted in surprise of the young girl's sudden burst of brute strength. Edward took this opportunity to jump over Meg with a graceful flip, landing upon on soldier, flattening him with the force of his weight. The myrmidon used this momentum to clash axe and blade with the second soldier, only to best him as swiftly as he moved. The brunet moved, slashing away to render the men useless against the next wave of attacks.

He struck their legs and arms, and the last one met the pommel of his sword's hilt squarely in his face. They all shouted at him but didn't get further than that as arrows struck their necks from behind. Leonardo smirked. "Perhaps it is them that should be paying attention." One soldier managed to survive, and blindly attempted to attack the archer. Meg intercepted him however, using her shield as a barrier between them, using the flat edge of her sword to backhand the infantryman a ways off. "Damn you brats!" He spat, glaring darkly at them. Unfortunately for him, a dark cloud formed overhead, blocking out the desert's setting sunlight on the horizon. He looked up and instantly paled.

Three electrical bolts rained upon him, electrocuting him on the spot. He screamed as he felt his body growing numb; he fell with a thud just like the first soldier they encountered. Ilyana pushed a few strands of her hair from her face, but it was evident her expression never changed. "…He's done…" She said simply.

"Good job everyone." Leonardo praised. "That was certainly close, I'll say, but we pulled it off well."

"Yeah…" The brunet looked over to see Nolan, Aran and Laura fighting off their own wave of soldiers from the left. "Hey, there's Nolan and his group. Let's join them. They look like they need some help over there."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Come on!" Leonardo led his small band towards Nolan's. They were just upon a ledge that easily led to the building being blocked by the white-armored general.

"Take this!" Nolan shouted as he drove his Steel Axe horizontally to inflict a fatal wound upon his opponent who tried to best him with a mere lance. He pivoted when he sensed another soldier attempt to attack him from his right; however, a javelin soared past him to pierce through the man's abdomen, courtesy of Aran. Nolan quickly waved him thanks as he kept up his frontal assault. He and Aran were sandwiching Laura between them as the wave of Begnion soldiers came upon them, mostly mages, fire mages to be exact.

They tried to hit Laura while the other two were occupied, however the young healer was adept in dodging their magic, and deflected a few of them with the orb of her staff. "Push them back!" Aran shouted to Nolan, using his lance as a pole horizontally, shoving the cluttering of three soldiers in front of him back with robust energy. The three stumbled back slightly, nearly tumbling over one another as they backed up. Nolan elbowed one, kicked the second after him, and his last third one was slapped away with the flat surface of his Steel Axe. "This isn't looking good." The bearded man admitted.

Aran nodded softly. "Quite, but we have—"

"Need some help?"

The two fighters look over their shoulder to find Leonardo and his group joining the fray. Edward was already meeting the fallen soldiers Aran had managed to push back, sidestepping their fenced spearing and retaliated with his own swift attacks. Leonardo shot one of the men Nolan knocked back with two arrows, one to his leg and the other to his arm, making him fall back down. Ilyana casted another Thunder spell upon another and Meg followed up and cut through the idiot's neck. The navy-blue clad Daein soldier and axe-user smiled at their companions "Perfect timing, boys." Nolan encouraged. "You too, Meg and Ilyana. We could use the added help."

The blond-haired archer nodded. "Of course, Nolan." Meg gave an offered smile before she put her helmet back on. The Thunder mage of the group nodded in assurance.

"Let's run these Begnion dogs out!" Edward called over his shoulder, grinning as he met with another soldier. Aran joined his assault, both sharing blows against the single spearman clad in red. All the militant of Begnion could do was block the attacks of both Dawn Brigadiers with his buckler of a shield, stepping back as they pushed him back. "Stand back!" Nolan called over, equipping himself with his own Hand Axe. He twirled it once in the grasp of his right hand and chucked it straight for Edward and Aran. Timing it correctly, the myrmidon and lancer sidestepped just in time, watching the confused expression of the Begnion soldier a split second before the blade of the axe struck him in the face. It crushed in his nose, and no doubt his face was split. Blood splattered from the impact and he fell backwards with a loud thud. He didn't move an inch, having lost all instinct as soon as the Hand Axe came in contact.

The two mages that were left backed up and tried to scorch the group with their magic. Unfortunately, their spells didn't get too far as two knives were thrown to their heads from the right, rendering them useless. The others looked up and saw Sothe and Micaiah approaching them. "Are you all okay?" The thief asked them.

"Yes. That's all of them for now." Nolan said as he stepped on the dead soldier's body to jerk his axe from its temporary lodge. "Just a few minor injuries I can assume, but nothing that won't heal over."

"Allow me." Laura volunteered. Sothe held out his left arm which had been stabbed by the blade of a lance not long ago, Nolan mimicked him. The black-haired healer channeled her power through the stave, the blue orb lighting up as it sprinkled the healing energy over her two wounded companions. They relaxed slightly, watching the wounds mend and the blood dry up. "There. Are you feeling better?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes, thanks to you, Laura." Sothe replied.

"Thank you," came Nolan's response after, "but now has anyone spotted our two missing laguz friends?" Everyone partially froze. With the battle on their minds, they had slightly forgotten about Ryu and Volug. In fact, those two vanished in the thick of the battle. Everyone had their focus on Begnion soldiers and helping out the—they assumed—forces of the prince. "…Damn." Sothe muttered under his breath.

"I believe we should try to keep an eye out for them and find them. Their lives are just as important." Nolan advised.

"How hard can it be to find Ryu? His hair makes him stand out like a sheep in the middle of a pack of foxes." Edward half joked, but the meaning was there. Ryu really shouldn't be hard to find. "That and Volug's the only wolf we have around, right? So, he shouldn't be any harder than Ryu."

Nolan closed his eyes. "Yes, but that doesn't mean the terrain is on our side and the weather. The sands haven't been conflicting us this far, but it may obscure our vision anytime. Do be careful regardless of the objective."

"Right…"

"Sothe? Is that you?" A voice all too familiar to the greenet spoke his name. He and his friends turned to see the pale-blue haired swordmaster and wyvern rider staring at him. "Ah, it really is you, Sothe."

"Zihark, Jill. It's good to see you both as well. What are you two and General Tauroneo doing out here fighting Begnion?"

"We're guarding the prince inside this building here." Jill replied. "They came from nowhere, really."

"I see. Then, we'll help you out."

"Will you, Sothe?"

"Of course, Zihark. We've heard about the prince being here gathering forces. We were looking for him and hoping to confirm the rumors. It seems running into you three was a blessing then."

The Daeins shared a chuckle before nodding, Jill continuing the small conversation. "Yes, that's all true. Shall we join together like old times?" The green-haired rogue nodded, supplying a grin. "We'll need all the help we can get. I'm glad you and your friends came. We truly appreciate it and so will the prince."

"Let's get rid of these Begnion soldiers and thank one another formally once this is over." Sothe said, noticing another wave of Begnion soldiers approaching them from the corner of his eye. "Get ready everyone, here they come!"

-x-x-x-

Wystan growled. His forces were decreasing in numbers by the minute. These reinforcements were besting his men, and by the light report, they were nothing but children. How humiliating! What the hell were his men thinking? Were they EVEN thinking? How could they be defeated by mere children who used weapons like toys? "What are those idiots doing? They were not trained to be killed by stupid brats that believe they are heroes! This isn't a damn fairytale! Where are my mages and archers? I want them all killed and burned to ashes!"

"Yes sir!" The nearest soldier saluted. "Also, sir, permission to speak freely."

"Permission granted. Hurry up."

"Well, some of our men were felled by a human who could use magic…"

"They're probably a mage. Of course they would!" Wystan snapped irritably.

The soldier paled a little. "No, sir, this boy is using magic without a tome. We don't know how, but he took out more than half of our forces the eastern zone with just one spell." The tan-haired mage stared incredulously at his man. A boy using magic without the use of tomes? Wait! He's heard of this before, and it had been recent. If this was true, then that means…

"These reinforcements must be the Dawn Brigade!" He hissed aloud. "No wonder! We have underestimated our enemies and gravely paying the price. There can be no mistake about this. That silver-haired wench and her merry band are here." Wystan glared at his man. "That boy who can use magic, is his hair…blue?"

"Y-yes sir it is."

"I want him captured. The wench can wait just bring that blue-haired bastard to me. General Jarod will be pleased when I have one of his grand prizes brought to him." Wystan ordered. "Do everything you can to overwhelm and overpower him, but bring him to me!"

The soldier saluted and hurried off to gather another platoon of Begnion soldiers. One of the soldiers present, however, approached the tan-haired mage in command. While he was dressed in armor, it was an obvious color of violet where it would normally be red for Begnion. A scabbard was fastened to his left hip, his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword instinctively. He wore a violet colored helmet over his head, which covered his eyes and his hair. But, there was no mistaking that blood red eyes glared from underneath the visor. Wystan turned to meet the enigma of a soldier's gaze and frowned.

"It appears you were right after all." The mage commander grumbled in admittance. "There is a boy who can use magic freely and his hair is blue, just like you said. How did you know he would be here?"

The purple-clad militant said nothing until a few moments later; he broke the eerie silence between them.

"I just knew." He stated as his voice hit the alto tone. "…And he shall be coming your way."

"What?"

"…Nothing."

"If you have something to say, I suggest you say it." Wystan glared. The soldier simply remained where he was, silent, but appeared to be contemplating something. The maroon garbed mage scoffed irritably and refused to wait for the young man's answer. "Whatever. He'll be good as ours soon enough. And then I shall hand deliver him personally to General Jarod. Oh, this is a lucky stroke for me!"

"…"

-x-x-x-

Volug snarled as a myrmidon of Begnion tried engaging him. He growled, forcing the man to cower, and took the opportunity of the pause to lunge forward. His teeth met flesh as his jaw snapped around the man's neck, tearing out his skin as he ripped open a flesh wound that would take years to mend. The man roared in agony before being brought down by Volug's sharp pull. Not believing his prey was dead, the wolf swung the man by the neck with his mouth clamped shut continually, wildly thrashing and prancing about as he viciously swung the growing limp body around like a rag doll. Successfully hearing the snap of bone that had once held together break beneath his grip, the laguz dropped the lifeless body down. The taste of human flesh and blood was never in his cup of tea, but it was necessary. He had to guard his young, fellow laguz charge.

Speaking of his young charge, Volug turned his attention to steel clashing against one another, the source being the aforementioned blue-haired laguz up against two Begnion myrmidons. Growling lowly, the brown lupine began making his way towards the fight, only to be stopped by a flash of red. Volug paused as flames erupted like a huge pillar of light right in front of him, a few embers bouncing off the sand-covered ground. Internally, Volug cursed his luck; Fire Mages were so typical but he hadn't been expecting them. If anything, the beast laguz absolutely hated fire and having fire magic was a dreading weakness.

"Well, shit out of luck." Volug swore as he leapt out of the way from being hit by another Elfire, the same pillar of magic from earlier. He spotted his magical assailants in the distance and snarled. He had to get rid of them first if he wanted to avoid being barbequed laguz. They were each firing magic spells, one after the other, in hopes of scorching the sub-human that raced around as if he owned the place. "Someone roast that trash!" One of the mages roared. The men got an idea and readied a few archers beside the mages. Using their fire magic, they chanted quickly, lighting their comrades' arrows alight in flame and then the archers shot their lighted arrows!

"Clever tactics for some beorc, I suppose." Volug commented dryly, avoiding the raining of fire arrows coming his way. He sidestepped a few, ducked under another batch and hopped to the left and right respectively to keep his evasion up. The closer Volug advanced to get towards those foolish beorc that attacked him, the more arrows and fire came his way. He was forced to retreat back a few times to avoid being charred alive or avoid being struck with an arrow. This wasn't any good.

"Volug, hang on!" He heard Ryu's voice. The blue-haired swordsman kicked one of the myrmidons he had been fighting away, buying himself some time to conjure a magic spell. Ever since his training with the royal laguz a few days ago, Ryu had attuned to more of his magical talent. Apparently, his "lost magic" was recovered, and he had been itching to use the spells he believed he once used. It felt right to use them. It felt he had used them many times before, but the mystery of that still eluded him. The last time, he wiped out a good half platoon of Begnion soldiers with a powerful wind spell, Typhoon.

As much as he wanted to repeat that, he didn't. Allowing the elements to surround and gather into the palm of his hand, Ryu's blood grew cold as he fingered the essence of energy flowing into him. The air around him grew colder, despite the desert's blistering heat that hounded on everyone else. While it was soothing and frigid, he needed to focus. Ryu concentrated the subzero aura and magic into a spherical orb of light into the cupping of his hands and released it in the direction of the mages and archers trying to shoot Volug down. "Blizzard!" Ryu casted, the burst of magic exhilarated as the chills of the element glower in full force. The icy wind carried over to them, and soon enough, a huge multitude of jagged glaciers erupted from underneath and around the soldiers. They didn't even get a chance to howl in pain as they were encased in ice.

The few seconds they were trapped in the pinnacle of ice had frozen their blood and souls on contact. When the icicles died down, it burst into shards and shards of glassy ice, releasing its prisoners. They fell like squashed flies that had been swatted with fly swatters, unmoving and unresponsive. Volug watched with amazement awe at Ryu's ability to use, what appeared to be, a high level of magic that was possibly unmatched in beorc standards. The wolf was about to nod his thanks to the blue-haired swordsman when he noticed there was a remaining myrmidon behind him. Snarling, Volug rushed up to meet the attack head on. Foolish! He knew it was stupid, but he simply couldn't let Ryu get hurt. It was an order by his queen. She put entire emphasis on guarding Ryu more than Micaiah, possibly due to the fact the swordsman had yet to find his true potential.

That and she believed he would be a great match to test against strength sometime down the road.

"Volug!" Ryu spun around to watch as the wolf charge the myrmidon, snapping the man's neck like before. The wolf spat the human flesh and blood out of his mouth. Ryu stared down at the wolf laguz, eyes flashing and filled with utmost concern. Volug noticed his gaze and looked up, wondering.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Ryu shook his head. "Don't say that! You just rushed in and took the brunt of that attack! I know you're hurt."

"I am, I won't lie. But it's nothing. There's not many of them left, we have to finish this."

"Not until I heal you first."

"Don't waste your power on me. Save it for later."

Ignoring his charge's order, Ryu's fingers lit up in a familiar whitish-green aura. He concentrated the energy to one hand and held it over Volug. "Heal," Ryu whispered the chanting of the spell's name echoed ethereally and responded to its caller's voice. Once the energy swept over the wolf laguz, he immediately felt rejuvenated and restored, but it would be some time before his energy returned full force. "When will you learn to listen to your peers?" Volug half scolded.

"Not for awhile. You were hurt because of me not paying attention to my surroundings. I owe it to you that much."

Volug shook his head. "Protecting you is an order from the Queen. Getting injured, while I didn't agree on it coming with the package, just so happens to be apart of such. Don't get caught up like that again."

"Very well, you win."

"My my! Look at what we have here!"

-x-x-x-

A voice broke through the two laguz ancient language conversation, causing chills to run down their spines. Both spun around to come face to face with a man with short, tan hair, same colored mustache, fair skin and dark brown was garbed in maroon robes and carried a red tome with gold trimming laced around its edges. Beside him were two fire mages with similar red tomes, about a dozen spearmen and a priest, obviously there for healing. The silent soldier from earlier also made his presence. Well, this predicament didn't look so good. "What shall we call this? 'A boy and his dog'? Ha!" The mage commander spat, earning himself a pair of glaring violet and blue daggers.

His gaze turned to Volug, a glowering sneer edging its way to his features. "How charming. You must be one of the foul sub-humans of the deep sands. That explains the stench." The laguz snarled at the insult. The mage in charge returned his focus upon the blue-haired teen again.

"You and your friends are a tenacious bunch, I'll grant you that. You do realize Daein isn't known for winning its wars. Why do you come to help the helpless? Why do you persist? Your efforts will be wasted away like this very desert!"

Ryu frowned. "What is Begnion doing out here? I do not recall General Jarod instructing his men to kill innocent people that were hanging around in the desert. Has he gone insane yet?"

"Hmph! A traitor like you would know nothing! What business we have out here is none of your concern any longer. Even if you're the so-called maiden's 'Angel of Death'."

"Who are you?" Ryu asked, ignoring the apparent title he supposedly thought Begnion conjured for him.

"I am Wystan, commander of these forces of Begnion. Your merry band has been a thorn in my side since you arrived here and started thrashing about. However, I've heard a little about you and your, let's say, magical feats, boy." This didn't seem to faze Ryu much. He knew Jarod would spill the information of his abilities to his men to make him that much easier to find. Not like his electric blue hair was evidence enough, but it did make him stand out like a sore thumb. "General Jarod would love to have his hands on you. You're caused nothing but trouble for him. Now, surrender! You're outnumbered!" Indeed, he was surrounded and spears pointed at him and Volug. As much as Ryu wanted to pull off a magic attack, he couldn't cast it while Volug was so close to him.

Trapped again by the same unfortunate tactic that got him, Laura and Micaiah captured last time, Ryu reluctantly raised his arms in defeat, dropping his sword. Volug growled at him, surprised. "The hell are you doing?!"

"You're right next to me. I can't attack them. I don't want to do anything rash, and neither will you, Volug. One move and we'll be barbecue or worse. I don't want to juggle the options we barely have here." Ryu replied softly, however it caught the attention of Wystan and the purple clad soldier.

"What's this? Communicating in the ancient tongue to the sub-human? Heh, then there's no explaining why you have such magical talent. Ha-ha-ha-ha! Why hadn't the General figured this out sooner?!"

"What?" Ryu stared incredulously in wonder.

Wystan shook his head. "Of course you would hang around such filth and garbage as sub-humans! You have the blood of a sub-human in your veins! You half-breed bastard! You're a Branded! No wonder you have such strange color of hair and strange powers! It all comes down to the blood running through your body!" Ryu partially froze to this. Branded? Who were they? Or rather, what were they? How could he be a Branded if he was identified as a Goldoa dragon? This wasn't making any sense!

"…What? How…?"

"Don't listen to him, Ryu!"

The blue-haired teen's eyes widened when he heard his name. It came from a voice so close, so strangely familiar, but from where? It wasn't Volug's voice, no. It wasn't Sothe's, either, and it couldn't be Micaiah's because this voice was masculine. It was someone's voice he knew, yes, that much was true, but, where? Where could it have come from? Ryu froze in a trance, staring at the ground as images once again claimed his mind. They were flashing rapidly, one after another. It was so hard to keep up! Why was it happening to him and why now of all places? No, no, he couldn't let them get the best of him. He didn't want to retreat into the corners of his mind and remember those images. Ryu bit his bottom lip, clutching his head, trying not to drop to his knees. Why was the voice so damn familiar? Who did it belong to? Why did he feel he knew it? He'd have to because he wouldn't have recognized it.

"Ryu!" Volug called to him, trying to snap him back to reality.

"You are a dragon! Get up and fight!"

Ryu snapped out of his trance, watching as the man clad in purple armor brandished his sword, cutting through three of the soldiers standing in front of him. Getting the hint, Ryu grabbed the hilt of his sword, engaging in blind combat with the confused soldiers. Volug joined the fray, clawing his way through the circle of soldiers surrounding them. It happened so fast, sword slashing through flesh, blood pooling around them, mixing with the sand below his feet. He couldn't see correctly, but he knew what he was doing. It felt like his body was moving in accordance with someone else's movements. The three were literally dancing around with the soldiers; taking one step back, two steps forward, three steps to the left, two steps to the right, duck under, swing around them, counter and parry their attempts. Lance met sword, teeth met flesh, it was a bloody dance.

Finally, after ten minutes of the fight, only Wystan was left, but he had been caught up in the wave of the confusion, he hadn't been able to inflict any damage on his targets. The soldier turncoat walked up to the commander mage, who coughed up blood, spitting into the sand.

"How…did this happen? We had you…surrounded." He choked.

"…It appears you underestimated the timing, Commander Wystan."

The tan-haired mage glared up at the voice's owner. "You! You traitorous scum! Just like that boy! I'm beginning to wonder if mysterious, silent soldiers are to be watched more carefully."

"…Do as you wish. But let me remind you. I only assisted you in order to find who I was looking for."

Wystan trembled, not in fear, but in anger. "Y…you meant to betray us all along?! You…tricked the general into your lies!" The soldier simply smirked at the man, his eyes flashing in cold anger, however.

"…You've figured it out. Well, now that your usefulness is obvious at this point, I have no reason to keeping you alive. Any last words?"

Wystan shook his head, stunned beyond any at this realization. "Absurd. One must not meet failure against tattered remnants of a conquered—" A sharp edge of a blade stabbed the mage commander through his heart, bursting from his backside. His eyes shrunk to the size of peas, his breath and vision betraying him as it clouded. His breath was drawing shorter by the passing seconds. His brain was trying to prevent the body's shut down, but that proved useless. Blood tried to pump through the veins, only to leak from the afflicted wound. Wystan's hearing shut down, his senses cut off like a knife running through a rope. "…coun...try..." He muttered out last. The soldier withdrew his sword from the bloody corpse of the mage, conveniently using the man's robes to clean off his sword of his blood. He sheathed his sword and turned to meet Ryu and Volug.

However, the blue-haired teen and wolf weren't alone.

"Ryu! Volug!" a girl's voice called to him. In rushing moments to come, a group of beorc came to Ryu's side in an instant. The soldier eyed them all suspiciously, but soon sensed something coming out of teenager of object. He felt peace emitting from him while being around these people. The one who called his name was a young woman with sparkling silver hair. "Thank goodness you're both all right!" The brown lupine grunted in response.

"Hey, we finished off all those Begnion soldiers—whoa!" a brown haired myrmidon began, but when his eyes met the stranger standing before them. "Ugh, we missed one!"

"Wait." Ryu stopped them. "He saved Volug and I…he saved us." What in the world? Why would a Begnion soldier betray his own men to save the enemy? Wait. Didn't something similar occur when Ryu joined them? They exchanged looks with one another before pausing slightly.

"He doesn't appear to be fighting us." A blond-haired archer spoke up next. "What are his intentions?"

The whispers of the others didn't matter as the eyes of his object were staring at him strangely. The others stopped talking and watched the scene unfold before them. It was a staring contest, obviously, but it wasn't intense or creating fires of tension at all. Blue eyes of curiosity stared into the unreadable, red ones across from him, sheltered by the helmet. Everyone kept on their guard, preparing for anything.

"I am not here to hurt any of you. I am only here for one." The young man in violet armor stated. He slowly inched his right hand up and pointed his index finger straight in Ryu's direction.

"Wait, what do you want with Ryu?!" Laura cried out worriedly.

"I do not want anything of him in general, but of his words."

"What?" clueless Sothe chipped in. "What the hell are you talking about?" That was the question just everyone wanted to ask, albeit different in wording. The thief glared pale gold daggers at this stranger, staying alert. "If you're with Begnion, then you're not to be trusted."

"Lower your weapons. I am not going to attack him or any of you."

"You think we'll—!"

"Sothe do as he says." Micaiah instructed sternly. "Please, do it."

Sensing something was about to happen and trusting his best friend's judgment, the group lowered their weapons. "…Fine. I trust your words, Micaiah." Seeing the humans around Ryu cease their hostility, even partially, the purple-clad man nodded and kept his gaze focused on Ryu, who didn't budge or blink. It was hard to say if he was even breathing, but the man knew he was just studying the enigma that was he.

"Ryu, you've caused a lot of trouble, you know."

"Of course I have."

The man nodded, removing his helmet. A long curtain of lavender hair fell down once freed from its imprisonment of the helmet. He bore no bangs, but Ryu knew he must have brushed them back. However, what caught his attention was the small, red mark on this young man's forehead. It resembled his, almost, and Kurth's as well. Those deep, auburn eyes locked firmly with his azure orbs. There was no malice in those eyes. "Begnion's been after you and the girl for a long while. They almost captured you, I've heard."

"How do you know this?" Sothe demanded.

"I used to work with them, obviously. Doesn't take an amateur to figure out the Silver-Haired Maiden is popular among the works of the Begnion generals. There has been word of her "Magical Blue Puppet" following behind her title. You can wager a guess as to who that refers to. News spread fast across the countries."

"Hmph." The rogue of the group scoffed.

"Well, what do you want? Hopefully not here to antagonize us with riddles and insults." Edward finally said, his tone losing its jolliness.

"No. I am only here to assist Ryu and Ryu only." The man narrowed his eyes at the others, slowly returning his gaze to the blue-haired swordsman. "Well?"

"…I don't know. Why only assist me?" Ryu questioned, seemingly to contemplate something. One thing was for sure, something about this guy was oddly familiar, just like that voice from before. Were they connected somehow? "What do you gain for only helping me? I don't have much to offer. I have sworn my allegiance to the Dawn Brigade and their efforts to free Daein."

"Then I shall follow you and your lead."

"Hold on. Why are you so insistent on helping us?" Micaiah asked next, a worry evident in her voice.

The man shook his head. "If it means helping and assisting Ryu, then that's all that matters." Again, his gaze fixed on the aforesaid person. "Again, will you allow my presence?"

Ryu took a look at each of his friends. Micaiah and Laura wore looks of worry, Sothe's was set on glaring, Nolan looked like he was contemplating, Edward, Leonardo and Meg wore frowns, Aran seemed to be in a mixture of pondering and upset, Volug was snarling and Ilyana, dear Ilyana, looked like she was about to pass out from hunger. Frowning himself, Ryu stared at the lavender-haired male. "I…can sense something about you that you mean your word, but I'll leave the decision to Micaiah and Sothe." He slowly closed his eyes. "They are the ones who allowed me to join the Dawn Brigade in the first place. If it hadn't been for them, I probably would have never been here."

"Before we can even agree to this, you have yet to state your name."

"How rude of me, you may call me Teepo." While his immediate gaze was settled on the light mage and thief, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ryu. Nobody seemed to notice how stiff and frozen he appeared, once the name escaped the soldier's lips. I wish I could come to a conclusion soon. I know I just saw him flinch to my name. My eyes did not betray me …Could he really be…?

"What do you think, Micaiah?"

All attention was focused on the light mage as she, too, closed her eyes. A moment of silence swept over them before she reopened them and smiled lightly. "His heart is the truth. I will allow it. You have not sided with Begnion completely, but you are in search of someone…are you not?" Surprised by her talents, much like Ryu had many weeks prior, Teepo nodded simply. "That is correct. I am looking for someone. And I believe assisting Ryu will help me find them."

"I see then. Well, we came off to a bad start, I'm Micaiah."

"Well met, Micaiah. If my sword and magic can be of use, then use them as you see fit."

"Yes—wait you can use magic, too?"

Teepo eyed her curiously. "Yes. Is it such a terrible thing?"

Sensing something else about this situation, but deciding to leave it at that, the light mage shook her head at his question. "No, nothing is wrong with that." Except something tells me you can use magic without tomes like Ryu can. And, I sense a deep power within you that is very similar to Ryu. Is he…also a laguz?

"If we're well acquainted, let's go see if the orphan prince is actually here." Sothe suggested. Nobody argued with that idea and began following Sothe back to the building they found earlier.

-x-x-x-

"General Tauroneo!" Sothe called out to the man in white armor. He had short brown hair that layered over strands of itself, a burly mustache of brown settled upon his grown face. Those hardened yet soft blue of his eyes met the pale gold ones of the teenaged thief. There was a strong smile implanted on Sothe's face that told everyone who knew him that he was excited and happy to have been reunited with old friends. "Jill and Zihark, too. I can't believe you three are here. I haven't seen you since the war three years ago. Who would've thought we would meet in such a place like this?"

"It is good to see you, Sothe. You've grown so much, I hardly recognized you. It is rather odd to be meeting here, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Sothe agreed. "We've a lot of catching up to do, but that can wait for later. I'd like to make introductions." He nodded towards the group standing behind him, his eyes first upon the light mage and the orange canary now upon her shoulder. "This is Micaiah—"

Unfortunately, the young teen was cut off by someone stepping out from behind Tauroneo. He was obviously an old man with graying, dark navy blue locks dragging off his skull, a little bald spot visible where hair used to be in the front. His dark, purple and black robes indicated he was a mage of sorts, possibly one who used the dark arts of magic. Upon his pale skinned face he wore simple, small circular glasses, which had a chain hooked onto them for easier access and to prevent them from being misplaced. "And who have we here? Hmmm?" The creepy dark robed male inquired, eyeing the Dawn Brigade members suspiciously.

Sothe narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Step back. Who are you?"

"Do not worry, Sothe." Tauroneo assured the young thief before turning his attention on the old man who came out from virtually nowhere. "Lord Izuka, there's no need for concern. This young man is Sothe. We, Jill, Zihark and myself, know him well. Sothe, may I introduce Lord Izuka. He is advisor and close confidant to Prince Pelleas, Ashnard's son." Well, the old fart was certainly strange, but to hear the word "prince" and the phrase "Ashnard's son" sparked a light in the Dawn Brigade. Sothe instantly turned to Micaiah.

"Micaiah! Did you hear that? The prince is here." The girl by name smiled at her friend's words and everyone else, except Volug—who stayed out of sight—and Teepo, shared that same expression. "Still," Sothe started up again, "I can't believe we ran into you three—of all people—guarding the prince. What a lucky coincidence. General Tauroneo, we came here because we heard the prince was gathering forces in the desert. We want to help you in your efforts. Will you let us join you?"

"Certainly. Daein needs all the courage we can muster. Let us join forces."

"See here!" Izuka butted in rather rudely. "What do you think you're doing?! You can't just ignore me and start making decisions! These people are suspicious, veeerrry suspicious." His eyes flashed eerily, making even Ryu cringe. "You're all Begnion spies, aren't you? Come now, tell the truth!"

Sothe's own irises flashed dangerously at the accusation. "We're the Dawn Brigade. We'd never work with those damn, filthy curs!"

A sudden realization hit Izuka as his eyes widened incredulously. "T-the Dawn Brigade!?" He exclaimed excitedly. "But how? Then, perhaps the girl…No! Could it be?" He quickly moved towards Micaiah, who was baffled at the man's random ramblings. "Are you the Silver-Haired Maiden? Do you have the healing touch of Sacrifice?" Izuka asked rapidly, taking Micaiah's hand into his own, almost greedily.

"E-excuse me!" the light mage withdrew her hand from the advisor.

"Take your hands off her!" Sothe growled, stepping in between Izuka and Micaiah. His trust of the man was already thin the moment he accused them of aiding Begnion, but for him to even approach Micaiah as he had done, no less touch her, was the final draw. How dare he! Apparently the danger of which he was within Sothe's dagger was closing in, Izuka didn't seem to mind at all.

"If she's here then…then…" His eyes traveled and began their search for something else. They found each of the Dawn Brigade members' heads, but that shade of blue caught his utmost attention. "Yes, yes! There is no mistaking it! The maiden's Angel of Death!" That title again, huh? Edward stared at this crazy lunatic that called himself an advisor. Izuka approached Ryu just as fast as he had Micaiah moments ago, examining the swordsman from head to toe. "Yes, yes. This is him in the flesh! The magical smiter of souls. Ahhhhhh!" The prince's advisor also had the audacity of touching Ryu.

Flabbergasted, Ryu blinked, unable to truly process what the hell just happened. "What…? I'm no Angel of Death…" Teepo sighed irritably; he was already annoyed with this man that he was trying his own thin patience.

"Off." He swatted Izuka's hands off the blue-haired teen's own, his blood red eyes narrowing dangerously at him. Well, seems Izuka has earned two men's attention, both wanting to strangle him to death.

Ignoring the offending slap to his hands, the dark-robed advisor gasped. "What a coincidence! Or is it fate? Or maybe it's my unrivaled skill as a revolutionary organizer? With the Silver-Haired Maiden and her Angel of Death at our side, we'll surely win over the people of Daein! And then…yes! Incite scattered rebel movements, mm-hm, and then, further… the future of…change…" Now what was he babbling about? Sothe and the others just stared at Izuka incredulously; some worried for the man's sanity and others not really giving a care for his health. He was strange, no questions asked.

"Is he…touched in the head?" Sothe quietly asked his old friends. Zihark sighed and Jill looked away shamefully. While they didn't mind Izuka, his rather creepy personality certainly wasn't too welcome.

"Oh, my, but yes. I'll beckon to…no, demand that the vicious scalawags…surrender! Perfect! I am a genius!" Izuka suddenly stopped his babbling and finally realized he was being watched by curious sets of eyes. He had his focus on Micaiah and Ryu, however. "Come, come, my dear maiden! You must meet the prince! Bring your dear smiter of souls with you!" The man exclaimed, rushing back inside the building as he giggled…creepily. Well, that was out of the way. Once he was out of earshot, Tauroneo sighed deeply.

"Goddess help me…" The general began. "I swear, that man could try the patience of a stone."

"Hmm…" Sothe pondered. "Everyone, I don't like the sound of this, Micaiah and I will be back."

The white-armored general headed inside, followed by Sothe and Micaiah. The others decided to wait for what was to come, being hopeful. "I'm glad we found the prince, but boy, that guy was scary. And I thought I'd never say that!" Edward said. Leonardo and Ilyana whole-heartedly agreed. Sensing the other beorc weren't around, Volug returned from where he had gone off to, sitting beside Ryu as he sat down not too far from the group. The wolf glanced up at him, wondering what distracted the blue-haired laguz teen.

"Is there anything wrong?" Volug asked.

"…Yeah. Just one thing." Ryu said, sighing as his eyes found the violet ones of his supposed 'guardian'. "Volug…Am I really a smiter of souls?"

And there goes this chapter! Whoo-hoo! And to those of you Breath of Fire fans, can you guess what dragon form Ryu took? I'll give you a hint other than the obvious stated in the chapter; you have to use three of the five elemental dragon genes to get it! Also, from now on, the elemental dragon forms will be used, along with the Eldritch gene, so they're like "one" form that Ryu can use. That means he'll still be able to use Vitalize and such. Kind of makes sense as I want him to still be a healer. Anyway, leave a review and all that jazz! Thanks again for the patience, faves, follows and comments. All appreciated! :D