Breath of Fire 1. The Beginning

**Breath Of Fire 2: The Hidden Past**

Prologue Part 1 : The Beginning

Memories flash across his mind like thunder across the horizon in a storm. Past times when a younger, happy mind was in control. Thoughts of running across fields and through the forests that surround the small village of Gate. But of these memories some are stronger than others. One in particular stands out. The memory of his death.

It was a bright start to the day that would mark the death of Ryu Bateson. He awoke as always to the sounds of the church organs being played by his father. His father always played the organ and was considered by many to be the best. The sound alerted Ryu to the fact thathis sister was not asleep in her bed like she usually was. Most mornings she managed to sleep through the organs and would wake up late only to find she had missed breakfast and was on the way to missing lunch.

Nevertheless, Ryu awoke and quickly dressed and was just making his bed when he heard his father's voice call out from the floor below. "Ryu, could you please come here for a moment?" Ryu, on his way down anyway finished off making his bed and quickly headed downstairs. He reached the bottom of the landing to find that his father was already waiting for him impatiently.

Ganer Bateson was a fairly old man and had lived through many turbulent times as could be seen from his worried brow. Despite his age he seemed to carry an air of confidence that alluded to hidden power behind his seemingly aged features. Normally a happy person, this morning he had a frown on his face and Ryu could tell that he was not as cheerful as he usually was.

"Ryu could you please go a find your sister Yua for me? I would go myself but I have to organise the morning prayers and get ready for the festival of the forest tomorrow" said Ganer who obviously had other things on his mind.

Ryu gladly accepted as any reason to get away from helping his father with the prayers was well worth the effort. As he rushed upstairs to put on his boots his train of thought wandered to his sister Yua and her possible location. He knew exactly where she would be, in the mountains behind Gate.

Ryu left the church and headed down the winding path the stretched through Gate and served as the main road. It was still early in the morning and most of the town was still waking up although a few of the townsfolk greeted Ryu as wandered on. Even the old lady at the cottage greeted him, which was unusual as she only ever acknowledged him when he was with his father. He quickly dismissed this odd occurrence as he reached the little known trail that stretched from Gate to the mountains.

The back mountains of Gate had no known name to the people of Gate. They had always just called them the back mountains, but they did have a proper name. It had been forgotten during the period of the time that had passed since the destruction of Tyr, a name that itself had also been lost in legend, into myth and then faded away. It was the ancient hideaway of the ultimate power.

Drogen!


	2. The Dragon's Rest

Prologue Part 2 : The Dragon's Rest.

As Ryu wandered through the small forest the led to the back mountain his thoughts could only reside on his sister's constant persistence in visiting the back mountains. As If the thought of the mountains in their entire splendor wasn't enough, then the huge dragon that lay across one side of the mountains must have been the attraction.

Ryu's mind wandered back to the time when Gate was under attack. Ryu was only 5 then and he could only think of playing in the church garden one day when flying demons covered the sky. So thick they came that the sky became black and no light shone through. He could remember his father's yell at him to get into the church and then heading for the door just as the first of the demons landed.

Ryu half entered the church and turned around to see his father and mother stand with the other villagers to face the seemingly endless horde of demons. Ryu watched on as his father did something he had never seen before. It was something that he didn't think his father could ever do and something that was totally unforgettable. His father had used magic.

Ryu watched on with wonder as his father pointed up to the sky, blackened with the demons and then yet forth an almighty bellow. The spell his father had just called down was one of the legendary spells that was only taught to master magicians. Suddenly a huge wave of lightning raced down from the sky and formed a massive tornado shaped beam that burned everything in its path. Ganer had just cast BoltX.

Ryu was suddenly jolted back into the present as he heard a scream come from up ahead near the foot of the mountains. The unmistakable scream of his sister. Ryu raced ahead as fast as he could just to arrive in time to see his sister surrounded by a swarm of beaks. The common beak is not much more than your average monster but when they gather together into a swarm they can become big trouble.

Ryu looked around for a weapon to use against the beaks. He found a huge stick and grabbing it he lept forward and struck the closest beak. Although the blow had little affect on the beak it did turn its attention away from Yua and towards Ryu. A short sharp squeak escaped from the beak and all of the other ones turned their gaze to Ryu. Ryu quickly wondered if he made the right decision as the beaks suddenly dived for him.

He lashed out with his stick whacking one of the beaks just above its eyes. The beak hit the ground and rolled around squeaking in pain. The others reached Ryu and he managed to dodge several of them before their numbers became too much and he was struck hard in the chest. Knocked to the ground with the stick, his only defense lying meters away from him it looked like he was in big trouble.

A voice echoed through the mountain canyons and reached Ryu's ears just as the beaks were preparing for what was to be their final attack. "S. BOOM". The ground shook and Ryu was bounced around as 10 lightning bolts struck home on each of the beaks, frying them out of existence. Ryu turned to the source of the voice and spotted his father approaching from the forest.

"Ryu, are you okay? Where is Yua? Is she hurt? I came as soon as I heard the scream." Ryu was surprised that his father had been able to hear Yua's scream from the village but he quickly snapped and rose to lead his father to his sister who was bundled up in a ball on the ground. "Yua, are you alright?" asked Ganer as he approached the little girl.

He reached into his side pouch a grabbed a vial and gave it to the girl.

"Here drink this, it will help take the pain away." Said Ganer as he saw that she had several cuts and bruises from the beaks. He then turned to Ryu who was puffing from the fight. "Thank god that you were here before Ryu. If not for you then your sister would have been in really big trouble." He reached over and put his hand on his sons shoulder. "I didn't know you could handle yourself that well. Ryu was confused and then saw that his father was pointing to the now broken stick that Ryu had used.

"Maybe I should start teaching you how to use a sword?" said Ganer who moved away from Ryu and back to Yua. "Yua why do you keep coming to this place? You know that the back forest and mountains are dangerous places."

The girl popped her head up out of her ball and stood up slowly. "Because when I come here I see mother."

Ganer looked taken back by this statement. "But your mother died ten years ago Yua" said Ganer putting his arm around his daughter.

"When the demons attacked Gate I fought to protect the village and the people but I couldn't protect your mother. I was helpless as I watched demons drag your mother off into the back mountains. It was the worst day of my life" said Ganer.

He hung his head and tears started to come to his eyes. "If only I had been stronger then I might have been able to save her" said Ganer.

Yua shook her head. "No father, you were the best. Everyone in the village says so. They say that you stood your ground against the demons and didn't even flinch when they surrounded you."

Ganer looked at his daughter and smiled. "You really believe the stories of some fear stricken people. I might have shown confidence, but I was scared to death on the inside. I thought that I was going to die there at the hands of those winged beasts and I probably would have if it wasn't for the arrival of the dragon."

Thoughts pierced Ryu's mind as he remembered the arrival of the dragon. He was watching on as one by one villagers were falling to the demons. Though they fought valiantly they were no match for the beasts and soon only a few remained. Ryu remembered seeing his mother being dragged off by demons and his father chasing after her only to be cut off by the tide of the incoming beasts from the sky. He watched as his father cast S. Boom's one after another clearing wades of demons from the village but in the end his father was exhausted and soon the S. Booms lost their effectiveness. Ganer soon stopped his casting and puffed and panted as he was surrounded by the screeching demons.

Then from above a different shadow covered the sky. A huge dragon appeared and flew over the back forest towards the village. The demons were now screeching differently as they all scrambled and took off to escape the approaching dragon. But the dragon belched forth a great fireball that encompassed the fleeing demons and destroyed every one of them. Down on the ground Ganer had recovered and was finishing off the last of the demons still in the village.

And as suddenly as the dragon had appeared it was gone again, flying back over the forest. The villagers all raced through the forest to catch one last glimpse of the dragon and were surprised when it landed on top of the mountains. It stretched itself out and then proceeded to fall asleep on the mountain top.

And their it still remained to the day as Ryu looked up and saw the enormous head of the dragon rest just a little bit away from. It looked so peaceful and calm. A flash struck Ryu and suddenly his mother came into mind. He couldn't explain it but he just saw her smiling at him and beckoning for him to come forward. Ryu in a trance walked slowly forward towards his mother's outstretched hand.

He reached out and grabbed on to the hand and walked side by side with his mother into the piercing light. Time passed and ages came and went. And an image burned into his mind that was to stay with him always.

The Eye!


	3. The End

Prologue Part 3 : The End

Ryu awoke with a start to find that he was lying on the grass in front of the dragon. He tried to remember back to the dream he had been having. He could see his mother standing next to him, holding his hand. Telling him how she missed him, and that she was happy to see that had become such a beautiful young boy. And then when everything seemed perfect he was suddenly wrenched back into reality.

He looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already high into the sky. He wondered whether his father would be beginning to worry when he remembered that he was talking to them before he fell asleep. He looked around but could see that his father and sister had gone. Father probably wanted to get back to the church he thought as he got of the ground and started back towards Gate.

A little while later, Ryu wandered into the back of Gate and strolled down the road. He was glad to be out of the forest and away from any possible danger. He was just passing the first houses when he someone yell out in front of him. "Ohhhh. We have a visitor!" Ryu looked around but could not see anyone that looked out of the ordinary and so he just kept on walking. So it was a surprise when one of the villagers approached him and asked his name.

After a few moments it was clear to Ryu that something was wrong. He had lived in Gate his entire life. Everybody in the village knew him and his family but now they were acting as if they didn't. He told them that he lived in the church with his father, Ganer. But was politely told that the only father in the village was Father Hulk. Dazed from this Ryu walked into the church and was shocked to see not his father standing behind the table in front, but another man. This man was older than his father, with a few grey wisps of hair surrounding his quite baldhead.

The man looked up from what he was doing and smiled at Ryu. "Hello there my child. Welcome to the church of St. Eva. You like you have not place else to go. You are always welcome to stay here if you wish. The church of St. Eva welcomes all orphans with open arms. Even if you are a thief, you are still welcome because in the eyes of St. Eva, all those who do wrong can still repent their sins and become pure."

The next few hours passed in a blur. He remembered bathing and donning clothes that Father Hulk had provided him with, eating a meal with the other children in the church and then getting into bed. Ryu was dreaming of the past days events with dismay. How could his father and sister just suddenly disappear? Where could they have gone without him? And why did everyone in the village constantly insist that they had never seen him before?

He was just starting into these thoughts when a loud creaking sound woke him. He opened his eyes to see one of the other children creeping about the room. This child was different from the others. He looked like a small dog, with large floppy ears. And although he was trying to be quite he was whispering to himself. "Nothing to steal. So poor this church is. Well might as well take the candles." And with that the dog picked up several candles from around the room and then headed for the door.

Ryu did not know why he got up out of the bed, he just did. He walked over to stand in front of the door as the dog came up to him. "What are you doing? Why are you just standing there? Help me with these candles and we can get out of this cheap place" said the dog.

Ryu accepted the pile of candles and then together with dog, walked out of the church and then left Gate.

They were walking across the countryside when the dog started talking. "My name is Bow by the way. Bow Doggie. What is yours?" Ryu told him and then he told him about his day. "Well, I'm sorry to hear about your family. But what are you gonna do? Me personally, I never knew my family. I've been an orphan as long as I can remember. I've gone from town to town, stealing and begging to get enough just to survive. I was walking through a town called Captain, when I heard a rumour that there was a treasure so big that it would have set me up for life. It was supposed to be near a small village called Gate. So I walked hear but it turned out to be a flop. Now I've got nothing but a bunch of useless candles," said Bow.

Bow proceeded to tell Ryu that he had been picked up one day in town by members of the thieves' guild. So he had been forced to join the guild and give a percentage to them of whatever he stole. The two were just getting to know each other when Bow started sniffing wildly. "Damn, it's going to rain," said Bow.

Then he started racing towards a nearby cave entrance in the mountains up ahead.

Ryu followed behind him and soon they had reached the cave although both of them were drenched. The cave was very dark and sticky and Ryu could hear the sound of dripping water in the distance. "Well, what are we going to do now?" asked Ryu who was staring at Bow in the dark.

Bow scratched his head for a while and then remembered the candles. With Ryu's help they managed to get a candle going and then headed off into the cave.

After walking for a while Bow glanced ahead and saw a shadow of something big. As they got closer they could see that it was a huge tail. "What the hell?" said Bow as he ran towards it.

The tail moved on and Bow and Ryu followed. Ryu tried to convince Bow to ignore it but he silenced him saying that the tail could lead them to the treasure.

Then the light from the candle spread as they entered a huge cavern, and saw the owner of the tail. A huge demon sat the there in front of them, glaring. It's huge tail slashed about and its giant claws scratched at the ground. Then it opened its mouth and bellowed. "Who dares to disturb my slumber? Who wakes the great Barubary from his eternal sleep?"

Bow rushed forward to confront the huge demon named Barubary. "It is I, Bow Doggie. I have come for the treasure," said Bow.

"Get out of my way little Grass runner" roared Barubary and he swept Bow aside with ease with his huge tail. Bow was flung across the chamber and he slammed into the wall and fell to the ground unconscious.

The demon known as Barubary then looked over at Ryu. "And who are you little one? Why do you disturb my sleep?"

Ryu was speechless. He just stared at Barubary in awe. He had seen demons before but never one of this size. Barubary looked at Ryu with his huge eyes. He was looking for something. Something buried in the mind. He knew it was in there somewhere it had to be. Only its presence could awaken him. And then he saw it. A spark. A flash. A fire burning deep inside this little child. And he knew. He was going to die, by this little child's hand.

He roared at the little child. "So you think you are the destined one? You think you can defeat the great Barubary? I am invincible to your weapons and protected from all of your spells. A puny child like you could never defeat me."

And with that he whipped his tail straight at Ryu. Ryu after seeing what happened to Bow, knew what happened if you got hit by that tail and he jumped up into the air and somersaulted over the tail. As he hit the ground he threw one of the candles at Barubary. It bounced on his thick armour and broke as it hit the ground.

Barubary laughed. "A candle. Is that the best you can do?"

He swung his tail again and Ryu dodged again. Barubary started to get angry, and he moved forward was surprising quickness and swashed his tail again. This time Ryu was not quick enough and was hit in the chest by the tail and flung across the cavern. He hit the wall and landed on the ground with a thud.

Ryu was in pain. Great pain. He knew that he was going to die in this place. He would never see his family again. His father's caring face, his sister's little laugh. All gone. And then he found a strength he never knew existed inside of him coming to the surface. He could hear Barubary roaring in laughter and looked over to see the still body of Bow lying crumpled on the ground across the cavern. Then he rose unsteadily to his feet and with great effort motioned for Barubary to come at him again.

"You have strength, Destined Child. But you will never defeat ME."

And with that Barubary grabbed Ryu in one of his claws. Ryu struggled but soon discovered that he could never break the grip. Barubary then threw Ryu up into the air and watched as Ryu landed, impaled on his claw. Blood spurted from the great hole in Ryu's body where Barubary's claw was "Now destined child, by my hand alone shall you die. Now and forever will you know the defeat that you suffered at my hands. I condemn you destined child. You shall die quickly."

Ryu was barely conscious as he heard Barubary roar at him. He knew this was the end. He was dying and soon he would die without anybody in the world to mourn his passing. Goodbye, he thought as he slipped into unconsciousness and out of existence. Barubary noticed Ryu's body grow still and then threw the bloodied corpse from his claw. Then he turned to crawl away from the cave "Victory is at hand! Soon the world will be ours! The last of the dragons is dead! We have won!


	4. Rebirth

Chapter 1 : Rebirth

Bow awakened to find that he was lying in the ground in the dark. He remembered running into the giant demon, what was its name again? Oh yes! Barubary. Then getting hit by the huge tail and then extraordinary pain for a brief few seconds before he slipped into unconsciousness. What had happened to Ryu? Where was he? Bow struggled to his feet and scrambled around in the darkness trying to search for his companion. Although he had only known Ryu for less than a day, he was starting feel a bond develop between them, with time maybe even friendship. If he could find out what happened to him.

After searching around what seemed like an eternity, Bow's leg brushed up against something in the dark.

"Ryu, is that you?" he asked.

But the lump remained motionless. Bow knelt down and felt around. He could feel a body and then in more detail, legs and then a head. But in the darkness he couldn't quite complete the picture so he searched for the candles that Ryu had been carrying before they had encountered Barubary. He found one lying not far from where he was but it was broken in two, so he continued his search unto he discovered an unbroken one and then using the little flint and tinder he had left, lit the candle. It's pale light reflected against the cavern's massive walls and then Bow turned to see a sight that turned his stomach.

Lying on the ground where he was feeling before was the broken and bloodied body of Ryu. The first thing that Bow noticed was a gaping hole in the middle of Ryu's chest. He could only guess as to what would have caused that and then he examined the rest of Ryu. His head hang to one side, eyes open staring into emptiness, they shone with the candles flickering light. Bow slowly walked over to Ryu's body and checked him over but it was obvious that he had been dead for some time.

Bow lifted Ryu's shoulders up and placed his head on his own lap. He stroked the blood covered blue hair out his face.

"I promise you Ryu, that I will not rest until I find that demon Barubary and see that he is personally destroyed," whispered Bow into the cold loneliness of the cave.

He then lowered Ryu back on to the floor and looked around the cave. He was searching for anything he could use to carry Ryu out of the cave so that he could give him a proper burial, it was the least he could do for the person who had saved his life. He found a few branches lying on the ground and tied them together with some rope and made a sling to carry Ryu. Then he lifted Ryu's lifeless body onto the sling and began the journey through the cave.

Darkness surrounded his vision. So thick it poured around him. Stretching into infinity and forever more. Then a light appears in the corner of his eye. It shines brighter and brighter and he walks towards it. He has already walked towards it once before and it lead to his death. Dare he trust the light again? His essence continued forward and then upwards as the light continued to shine on him, lighting his way. Then he was walking through a garden, so beautiful that everything he had seen before paled in comparison. He strolled through along the path and became aware that he was alive again. He looked down at his body and discovered that it was fully healed and that the giant whole in his chest had disappeared.

The path continued on through the garden and winded up towards a pergola that sat on the edge of a huge lake. There sitting in the pergola was man ready from a manuscript.

"And so he walked down the path and came upon a pergola next to a large lake. He had know idea where the lake was, nor where he was himself. He approached the pergola only to find a man sitting reading out aloud from a manuscript in front of him," the man said as the body approached.

He looked up from his reading and stared at the person in front of him.

"I was just reading your life story. Very interesting! Although it ended a bit short for my liking. But then suddenly it just started again. Very interesting indeed! Normally that doesn't happen, but for in very rare circumstances when a dragon reaches the age of understanding. You however don't look that old so I am guessing that you have arrived here too early. Well, I guess that means that you are not yet ready for the knowledge that I usually impart. This poses a very unusual question. What am I to do with you? I don't know because this has never happened before," the man said as he scratched his head.

After much deliberationhe arrived at a decision.

"I have decided to send you back to your body until your time is at hand. Then I will send for you through one of my messengers. Until then I suppose I will be seeing you. Oh! And this time make sure you are not so careless as to through your life away. I don't know how many times a dragon can be reborn before it really is the end, so be careful."

And with that the man clapped his hands and the body was suddenly lurched backwards through the garden and then down the path back through the light and towards the darkness, then was jolted back into reality. Cold air rushed into his face as he awoke. He leaned forward only to find that he was resting on some sort of sling. He looked up to see a confused and horrified face looking down at him from above. He slowly stood up and took a few unsteady steps forward.

Ryu had been reborn.


End file.

Breath of Fire, Adventure, Romance