Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ramiel walked across the Gaia Plains. A light rain fell on his body as he moved across the fields full of tall grasses. It seemed that Latent was not a good place to be at the moment, so he'd gotten out. It was rather simple for him to do. He'd found a back alleyway away from people and or ghouls, and transformed into one of his dragon forms. He'd then jumped and flew off into the sky, easily leaving the city and climbing into the cloud layer before he could be seen. He'd flown to the southeast since his nose had told him that this area was mostly populated by animals, and not people or ghouls.

That was nearly a week ago, and he'd lived mainly by eating edible plants and killing what food he could to survive. Shelter was hard to come by, but he'd managed to compensate for this by going into a dragon form and letting the thick hide take the punishment from the elements. He was thinking of how best to gather information about his target, the one called Madison, when the winds suddenly blew a scent towards his nose. It carried the smell of forrest trees, and oddly enough, the smell of dragon...

Two distinctly different dragon scents, along with something terribly familiar... This, he decided, was worth checking out. He lifted his False Ragnarok and hefted it up and into its shieth on his back. After brushing away the moisture that had collected on his face and hair, he then began to walk towards the smell. Little did he know that he was headed for quite a surprise...

Both parties grew closer to one another, until finally, they were both within sight range. Once both had gotten within sight rage, all hell broke loose...



Ryugi and Vargus were completely speachless as Ramiel walked into their midst. He looked almost exactly like Ryugi minus some very small details. His eyes were slightly darker, and a little harder looking. Ramiel was visably younger. His clothing was obviously newer and not nearly as battle worn, and, of course, he had a Raganrok, which Ryugi no longer had. Ramiel was the first one to speak, his voice a little darker sounding than Ryugi's, but otherwse sounding exactly alike. He pointed a finger angrily towards Ryugi.

You! With the scarf! Why do you smell like me! Why do you look like me! Explain yourself! Or else, I'll have no choice but to eliminate you...

Ryugi was taken aback, and pushed Vargus behind him protectively as Eclipse jumped ship and scurried behind Vargus' neck. The poor little dragon was just as confused as the rest of them.

Whoa there! Hold on a second! Theres no need to get angry! I don't know who you are, or why you look like me. And I'd like to know the same thing.

Shut up! I know what you are! You're a clone, made by some twisted company! I can't allow you to tarnish my reputation or the reputation of Marchiko Labs!

That said, Ramiel unshiethed his False Ragnarok and charged angrily towards Ryugi.

The sound of metal slamming into metal rang true and loud across the plains as Ramiel's weapon clashed with Ryugi's and sparks flew! However, the sheer mass of Ramiel's False Ragnarok sent Ryugi's sword flying and sent him flying off balance across the battlefield. He skidded and bounced nearly 20 feet before finally coming to a stop, and pulled himself up off the ground just in time to see a powerful lance of white energy screaming across the ground towards him.

You FAKE!!

Ryugi thought quickly and rolled to the side to avoid the massive wave, the bits of energy catching his clothing and shredding bits of the tough fabric, even as the anti magic field tried its best to disperse and dispell the blast. Ryugi knew that after a powerful overhead strike, Ramiel's sword would be imbedded into the ground just as his sword had always been. Now was his chance to strike!

He wasted no time in dashing foreward, pushing every part of his body to perform to its maximum. He closed the gap as Ramiel grinned wickedly and raised both hands, palms open and aimed towards Ryugi, his massive sword still embeded in the dirt at his feet.

Dragon Fume!!!

Ryugi's eyes opened wide in horror as a massive gout of flames exploded from Ramiel's open palms and rocketed towards him...



Ramiel grinned as the burning wave of flames washed over his opponent. There had been no warning of the attack other than the call right before the flames had fired outwards towards Ryugi's speeding form. Ramiel then threw his head back and laughed. This was way easier than he'd thought.

Ha ha ha ha! Some clone he turned out to be...

He then moved to remove his heretic weapon from the ground, but...

You're MINE!!!

Ramiel turned just in time to see Ryugi's fist milliseconds before it slammed into his face, sending him flying backward from the force, his dragon jaw bones aching from the sheer force that had been thrown into the blow. As the blast had enveloped Ryugi, hiding him from view, he'd kept running as hard as he could, the heat burning his face and singing more of his hair. His anti magic field worked as hard as it could to dampen the effect of the elemental flames, but the heat created still stung.

As he'd neared the end of the flames, he'd launched his body foreward, flapping his wing once while still on the ground to add a bit of extra momentum his legs compensating for the awkward force. He'd then jumped forewards, twisting his entire torso into the powerful right punch. The result was devastating as the combined force of Ryugi's momentum, twisting body, a little help from gravity, and the punch itself all formed into a mighty blow to Ramiel's jaw.



After the punch had hit, Ryugi wasted no time in landing ready to keep moving, recovering from the hit even as he raced towards his flying opponent. Ramiel had used the force of the punch to backflip, however, his timing was off, and Ryugi met his surprised face with a recovering right elbow which sent him twisting through the air as Ryugi used the twisting motion to spin up his left leg into a powerful kick that caught Ramiel in the chest. As Ramiel flew backwards, Ryugi fell into a crouch panting a bit. The fierceness of the battle alone was beginning to take effect on him as well as the burn's he'd taken from Ramiel's flames. Much more of this, and he'd be winded and tired before he could defeat Ramiel.

Ramiel skidded backwards across the ground and lay still for a moment as Ryugi tried to gather himself. Then, as Ryugi watched, Ramiel rose to his feet, his head low, a twisted grin on his face. All Ryugi could do was move himself back into a standing position and watch the events that unfolded next...

So... You think you have me beat huh? You got some punches in on me, but that won't be enough to stop what I REALLY am...

Ramiel's eyes began to glow a sinister red color, as Ryugi's eyes opened wide in terror as he realized what was coming next. He backed up a few steps not knowing what to do.

Ryugi! Get out of there! I sense a massive flux of energy coming from him!

GrraaaAAAHHH!!!

Instinctively, Ryugi's wing snapped in front of him as Ramiel disapeared behind a massive blast of white light in the shape of a dome. A powerful blast of wind and stray energy exploded away from where the dome was as Ramiel emerged in a new form...



It appeared that Ramiel's dragon forms were also different from Ryugi's in color and stats. For instance, unbeknownst to Ryugi, this was a Power and Speed form. Ryugi would need to keep his wits about him to defeat this new menace. Ramiel then turned towards the horrified Ryugi and glared, a disembodied voice coming from the large red form.

Lets see how you do against the real me...FAKE...

Ramiel's eyes narrowed at the word, and he charged angrily towards Ryugi...

Quietly making her way through the few trees, Nixxy let her mind wander over what little she knew of where she was heading. Her mother had told her to seek answers at this stadium, yet what were the questions. Brushing her hand through her hair she frowned and looked about, a battle was being fought nearby from the sounds of it. She pondered turning and making her way far around the noise, she had no time for someone elses problems and there was no way she was going to get involved with other peoples business.

Gripping her walking staff a little harder she turned and began skirting the edge of the trees, where the fields began. She could easily see the battle and hoped that their attention would stay upon each other and not some stranger that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she went further to the south around the battle far enough so she would not be noticed it would take her farther away from her goal but to keep from having to deal with others would be worth it.

Her attire was one of a wanderer, dull faded tshirt and jeans, with well worn sneakers. Nothing flashy which was exactly what she liked. All her worldly possessions were contained in a backpack that itself had seen better days. To say she looked poor was an understatement, but the cold pride in her gaze made it so others would stop and think twice before offering her any assistance.

Glancing back at the battle she raised a single brow as she now saw a dragon and from the distance what looked to be a human fighting...yea she had been smart yet again to stay out of it..with a cold smile she continued making her way away from the fight.

Far enough away to be considered what she thought a safe distance she turned and watched idly abiet somewhat curiously the battle. It had turned into what she would deem a suicidal mission taken to the skies.

Heh the human better have wings..he kills the dragon, or he gets thrown, either way he is done for.

A deep frown flits over her features and her chin moves up just a notch. She begins to turn away, bringing up the mental walls that were her haven and her prison.

None of your damn business Nix, your luck if you butted in you would end up in the middle of someone elses mess. Keep your mind on your objective...the stadium.

Still she watched, with a somewhat detacted yet morbid curiousity as to how the battle would end. Dragons were not something to toy with, she had to give kudos to the human, as insane as he may be he had guts. Her oddly shaded gaze narrowing slightly as she watched what would happen next.

Ryugi still held fast to Ramiel as the dragon climbed high into the sky, getting soaked from all the raindrops. The twists and turns had stopped for the most part, or so it seemed, but that didn't mean that Ryugi was going to let go or try to attack anytime soon. One wrong move, and splat. He'd be a Ryugi pancake. Knowing that, he still giripped the horns with all his might.



Once Ramiel was good and soaked from the rain, he then moved to perform his next maneuver. He spun himself around, doing a half loop so he was now headed towards the ground. Then, he tucked his wings in and began to spin, rolling faster and faster as he sped towards the ground!

Lets see you hold on NOW!!



Ryugi gritted his teeth and held on as hard as he could. Then Ramiel dove and began to spin. The speed was almost too much for his grip to bear, and he felt his hands slip as the water acted as a lubricant. The spinning force tugged at his body and soon, Ryugi's legs were spinning around the dragon as his hands desperately tried to hold on.

Dammit hold on... Hold on for the love of god...please...

His hand muscles ached terribly and the forces at work on his body tugged and pulled on his legs as if a whole other person was trying to rip him from his hand hold. He gritted his teeth and let out a yell as he held on with everything that he was worth. Until...

RYUGI!!! No...

Ryugi's grip had finally broken and he was thrown from Ramiel's form.

There were a number of things going through Ryugi's mind as he was thrown. The first was how light he felt. So light... Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he was flying free like a bird. He felt as if he had wings and was floating through the sky. He noticed how beautiful the clouds looked from where he was. The sun just bearly peeking through the layer of overcast. It was so calm, so beautiful...

Things seemed to move in slow motion as he looked around. He saw Ramiel spinning through the air and open his wings to straighten his dive and stop the spin. He saw bird flying high above him, the gentle beats of their wings moving them foreward to wherever they wanted to go. The shine off of their white feathers was almost blinding...

Pictures flooded his mind. Pictures of events that had taken place long ago in his life, and others that just brought him joy. He saw his hometown of Presea in a little valley. The sun shining off the rooftops of the houses made of white stone. Happy people going about their business in the marketplace. And off to his side, a happily smiling face with red eyes, long silver hair and a ponytail. His brother...

Another flashed into his mind. This time it was much later in his life. He was in a camp of sorts surrounded by several other people. Everyone was laughing happily around the campfire. He saw his friend Matthew, a thief, poking fun at Lamia, a fighter who was excellent at her dual bladed combat. His other friend Devan sat and laughed at the hyjinx, his heavy sword laying against the tree near him. And off to Ryugi's side, sat the gentle white mage, his beloved friend Kara, who smiled at him...

Another flash, and another image. Suddenly, he saw himself, much younger, and the others he'd just seen fighting off a horde of monsters. Everyone was back to back facing the horde, and at the far end of the area, a cave Ryugi noticed, was Ragnarok in all its glory. A pillar of light shining down from a small hole and bathing the blade with light, its cutting edge embedded into the rock. Ryugi's vision zoomed in to focus on just his little group...



We can't hold them off for much longer!

The strong form of Devan shouted as his blade scliced through a black wolflike creature, vaporizing it.

Theres just too many of them! Theres no way he can win this, its nearly one nundred to one odds!

Lamia's blades were blurs as she cut down beast after beast, desperately trying to keep the group together.

Yo Ryu! I hope you've got something up your sleave this time or we'll all be gonners!

Matthew's light blade slashed again and a again, fighting off everything he could.

I'm trying, but any flames I use at this distance will hurt all of you! I can't do it!

Then, the creatures surged forewards, and the entire group was overcome by the beasts. Everyone was knocked out except Ryugi and Kara, who fought terribly to get the creatures off of their bodies.

Ryugi's Sol Blade cut into the horde of creatures that tried to finish his group, hoping and praying he could save them from this event. He was so close to his goal and to think of losing now was almost unberable. Just then, a bright white light emanated from the center of the fallen group causing the creatures to back off for a moment...

Don't worry... I can stop them...

Kara looked over to him, her soft blue eyes closing afterwords. She had her hands pressed against each other as if in prayer, and her body glowed with a brilliant white light. Ryugi could see what Kara was doing, and suddenly, it hit him. That spell... That was her final spell. It used the power of her soul to emit a powerful blast of pure energy that would eliminate any darkness or evil, at the cost of her life...

Kara! Don't do it! Please! The sword isn't worth it! Its not worth you! Please...!

Ryugi's sword cut another bunch of creatures apart as he ran towards Kara. He caught her in his arms and broke her concentration.

Ryu..gi...

The girl was mystified.

Kara... The other night... Just because I can't return your feelings of love, doesn't mean that I don't love you as a friend... I don't want anything to happen to you...

Kara's light still flowed from her body, keeping the creatures back in fear.

Ryugi...I...

But it wasn't to be. Before the girl could finish her sentence, one of the creatures braved the light of her attack and jumped for her. Knocking Ryugi down, and separating the both of them. The creature then attacked Kara savagely.

Ryugi was horrified! He jumped up, throwing the creatures off of him, their claws tearing at him. He cut down numerous beats as they lunged at him. He desperately hacked away at them, trying to reach his friend. He could hear her screaming as they attacked her, and it pained him, he had to help her, to save her no matter what.

You... You BASTARDS!!! COME AND GET ME!! I'M STILL HERE!!! LEAVE HER ALONE!!!

The beasts attacking Kara stopped what they were doing and every single one in the large room turned and headed towards Ryugi. He could hear them coming, running across the ground, their claws digging into the hard rock of the cave floor. He could hear his old master telling him not to do what he was about to do... If sacrificing himself meant saving one more person, then so be it... He then let loose every ounce of power he had in his body. He removed all blocks on his power and let it flow freely from his being. The full power of his flame element erupted from his tiny body as the creatures all jumped towards him.

The power from the flames vaporized the beasts with ease, and they kept coming, certain that they could get past them. Ryugi's body was positioned between them and the fallen members of his party, creating a barrier of passion's flame and Ryugi's own will to protect those that he cared about. One by one, the beasts tried to challenge the flames, and each failed. These flames destroyed anything that tried to harm his friends, while protecting his friends with Ryugi's love. The strength of his resolve made the flames harmless to his friends, but devastating to anything else...

Then, once every last creature was gone, his flames sputtered and went out, his element totally tapped until it could recharge... Tired and determined, he forced himself onwards towards where Kara was. He collapsed at her side, and took up her bloodied hand. He looked to her face and her soft blue eyes looked back at him as a gentle smile crossed her face.

Thank you... Ryugi...

Her soft voice came from her mouth as she looked up at him...

You... showed me true love and...caring... But I don't think I'll make it to see you get to your goal...

Kara... Don't talk like that... You'll do fine... We'll get you patched up and you'll be good as new...

She raised a trembling finger to his mouth to quiet him.

Shhh... No more words... You know as well as I do that... this is it for me... Please, don't cry for me... I'm going to a better place... And someday, we'll meet again, just like old times... I'll always be with you... in your heart... But for now... I have to go... Just... remem...ber. Be strong...and live... For...both... of us...

As she finished speaking, her eyes slowly seemed to glaze over, and her hand gently fell from Ryugi's grasp, limp.

He just stayed there a while, in the dimly lit cave, laying next to the body of the only other woman he'd ever been close to since Vargus. The pain of her loss weighed heavy on his heart, but he didn't couldn't honor her request not to cry. Tears fell from his eyes, not for her as she had asked, but due to the fact that he had failed to save her. His skills weren't enough to protect her from death. His inadequate skills couldn't protect everyone that he'd come to call his family. Once more he felt the pain of that.

But he could honor her last request at least. He gently removed her golden saphire ring, and placed it in his breast pocket along with his other memories. He then kissed her cheek, still slightly warm, and stood up. He checked to see if the other members of his party were ok, and, seeing that they were, he then walked to the end of the large room to where Ragnarok stood. He reached out and grasped the massive sword, pulling it free of the rock. As he held it in his hands, he spoke aloud to himself.

Kara... I swear... I will be strong for you... I will fight to protect the ones I care about, using this sword to accomplish those goals. I will live on for both of us... And I'll never forget you...



The events flashed through Ryugi's mind at lightning speed as he fell, the whole sequence not taking more than half-second. But that wasn't the end of his visions. Another flashed into his mind, this one almost one hundred years before he'd even set foot in Leviathan Stadium.



He stood beside his friend Garret next to a pile of smoking and broken down rocks. They were the remains of a massive rock golem that he had been sent to destroy, along with a few other mercenaries. Ryugi had watched in horror as Garret had been punched by a massive stone fist that had slammed him into the canyon wall where the fight took place...

Garret... I'm sorry... I... I couldn't...

Hey... man... Shut up... You did the best you could... And thats all I could ask for... Not everything is your fault...you know? I should...have seen that punch comin'... I knew what I was gettin' into... when I started this job... and you did too... People die in battle... all the time... Its a way of life... The way things are... Take my dagger... It'll help you remember me...eh? Now I don't want to see you bawlin'... for little old me... Ya hear? Just live enough... for the both of us...alright?

Ryugi watched as Garret's form slumped a bit. He sniffed a bit, and took his dagger from his limp hand, placing it in his little bag of memories.

I'll keep living for the both of us... You just rest now... We'll meet again someday, and it'll...be like old times...



Ryugi came out of the vision and thought to himself...

Maybe I've lived long enough for both of them and myself... I've been through so much in my life, that maybe it really is my time to go. You can't argue with fate when it comes your time... Ryudo and Vargus won't be happy... And I know Silver will be missing me, and Madison too... But in the end... I'll be able to see all of them again someday... I'm sorry I couldn't live longer for you...



For as Ryugi had finished his thought, he felt a thump go through his body that shook him out of his daze. He looked around only to see silvery white scales below his body. He then looked up to see the head and neck of a beautiful dragon...

With lavender eyes.

Vargus...?

I'm not ready to lose you yet Ryu-kun... And you still have living to do for others... Now hold on tight.

Ryugi gripped his legs tightly around the base of Vargus' neck and placed his hands on the top of her neck, as Eclipse bounded down her neck and into Ryugi's jacket, nuzzling his guardian lovingly.

Alright... Lets roll...