My Dark Heart: Ryan's tale (a Destinies Intertwined, Riku x Oc sequel)

Chapter forty: Breakthrough, Setback, and Something In Between

It's been a full week now. We've made progress, but he's still so far off.

We take one step closer, Maleficent takes two steps farther back and drags my brother along with her. It's so frustrating!

I'm starting to think that it might be too late...

What if--

"Rachel? You okay?"

Riku's voice yanked Rachel back into reality. He and Shira were staring at her, worry creasing the corners of their eyes.

"I-I'm fine. Just thinking. Lately, Ryan's light fragment has been getting weaker. I don't know how much longer he'll be able to hold out for."

"Let's split up," said Shira, "We'll cover more ground that way. Meet back here at sunset."

In reality, Shira just needed a moment to herself. Splitting up was a more efficient way to search for Ryan, but...

It was also a coverup for Shira's hopelessly introverted side.

Most of the humans I've met left a terrible impression. Always talking behind my back, thinking I can't hear it. Chester letting me fall... Giana handed me over... It made me think there was no hope for their kind.

But those three have slowly begun to restore my faith in humanity.

Riku knew of Shira's true nature. Of that, she had no doubt-- after all, he'd witnessed her transformation into a human, even if it was only once.

But he didn't seem the least bit concerned about it. In fact, both Riku and Rachel seemed to trust her completely. Shira couldn't comprehend it.

And Ryan...

I wonder if we'll ever be able to sort things out.

Shira looked around. Lost in her own thoughts, she'd wandered off into unfamiliar terrain. She now stood before a large brick wall that seemed vastly out of place. She sighed, and leaned back against it.

The next thing she knew, she was stumbling backwards and falling into the grass. The wall was gone, and now Shira stood before a cave, surrounded by a lush forest. The wall was... an illusion?

Shira cautiously stepped into the cave. It was dark and cold, but worth exploring. Even if Ryan wasn't there, maybe she could find treasure. There's the dragon in me speaking again.

The sound of ragged breathing cut through the silence. Her vision tunneled-- a figure in the distance, tied up and not moving. Shira's legs moved on autopilot.

She lifted his chin to inspect his face. It was him, alright.

So, there really is treasure here.

Her fingers brushed his cheek-- freezing cold to the touch, and ghostly pale-- untied him and gently eased him onto the cave floor. Ryan remained limp and unconscious despite the movement. 

"Ryan, I know everything probably hurts really bad right now. I know you're probably exhausted-- trust me, I understand that. But you have to open your eyes, okay? If you can hear me..."

For a moment... nothing.

But then--

"Sh-Shira... I..." He coughed as his eyes began to open. "...What... Where's... How did you-- ...Am I..."

"Shh..." Shira halted Ryan's string of question. "You're safe, everything's all right."

"Wh-why--" he grunted, "Ow..."

He barely had a voice anymore from the dust in the cave. Ryan moved to place his trembling hand over hers. His expression softened.

"Is it really you... Shira...?"

"That's right. It's me. I'm gonna take care of you and get you out of this place, so trust me, okay?" 

"...Okay."

Shira pulled a cloth and water bottle from her bag, poured water onto the cloth and pressed it to the friction burns on Ryan's arm.

Upon contact, he yelped and yanked it out of the way, but Shira persisted and reached forward.

"No! N-no, stop... Please stop...!"

She looked into his terrified eyes, red and tear-stained and shadowed with dark circles. "I'm sorry, Ryan, but you have to hold still. Let me help you, it won't take long."

"I... I can't... It hurts..."

"I know, baby, I know..."

Shira took a deep breath. She had another secret. Hidden behind the quiet, anxious frame and the walls she'd build up over the years... Shira could sing.

And she did.

Ryan thought he might have been imagining things. Sure, things were already taking an unexpected turn today, but he never would've thought that she could sing like this. Shira was always so quiet, but...

Her singing was... She had the voice of a goddess.

Before he knew it, she was moving to his other side. His right arm was cleaned up now, and wrapped in bandages. The pain was still there, but it was a step up from his wounds constantly being exposed to all the dust in the air-- it was bad enough that so much of it was already trapped in his lungs.

Shira finished up tending to Ryan's arms. After he drank what was left in the water bottle, she brought out something that gave him a rush of energy just from looking at it-- Food.

What looked to be one of Rachel's homemade burgers sat right in front of him, but he wasn't sure if it would be rude to take it. His stomach protested the thought loudly.

Shira looked worried, "Eat up, it'll give you energy."

He felt a wave of relief, "O-oh. Okay. Thank you."

Each bite felt like he was home again, filling him with warmth and restoring his strength, if only a little.

"We should get going. Rachel and Riku are waiting for me to report back."

Ryan yelped again, only this time it wasn't from pain. 

"They'll be so relieved when I come back with you."

Shira helped him up. They walked towards the entrance, both of them pretending not to notice the way neither one had let go of the other's hand, even when Ryan was on his feet again.

He looked up towards the clouds, closing his eyes and letting the warmth of the sunset overtake him.

The respite, however, was very brief.

For that was when Maleficent made her appearance once again.