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Chapter 2.

His world consisted of nothing but pain. Dante ached all over, each and every breath he took sending waves of agony crashing through his body. Panic took control momentarily and he tried to stand up, to flee, far, far away from the agony, only to discover his limbs were bound by some sort of rope which resisted all his efforts to break.

A voice he didn't recognize penetrated his ringing eardrums, and he turned his scorched eyes in an attempt to focus upon its source. "Enjoying your stay? I made it especially comfortable for you," it said sarcastically.

Dante realised the voice belonged to his attacker, the wolf he saw drop from the tree in his last seconds of clarity before his mind shut down. She now approached his face with a sick glee on her phizzog. "Do you remember me, Kalaw? I remember you clearly, you evil bastard. After what you did to me and my master, I'd never forget about you." She hissed out the last few words, savouring the moment.

Dante was dumbstruck by the accusation. He'd done what? That wasn't his name! "You're crazy! I've never met you before in my life! My name is Dante!" he exclaimed in response, struggling a little harder against his bonds, despite the pain from his burnt scales lancing through him.

"Don't lie to me! You know EXACTLY what you did!" Fury coloured her voice, twisting her fair features, "You murdered Master Sekal! Five years ago, you KILLED him in cold blood, and before you die I want to know why!?" A tear ran down her face as the memory of her master lying bent and bleeding in her arms her came rushing back to her.

"I've told you already. I didn't...I have never known any Sekal, and I certainly don't know you!"

"Liar! Don't you dare lie to me!" Rena lost what little control she was hanging onto. She walked over to Dante and grabbed a hold of the rope that was looped around him and readied herself for what she was about to do. She focused her anger inside the rope, imbibing part of her energy into it, creating a link between herself and it. "He was all I had, and now you are about to die for your actions."

"I didn't kill your master! What the hell do you want from me? What do I need to prove in order for you to stop this madness?" He pleaded. Why wouldn't she see reason? Why wouldn't she see she was making a mistake? A vendetta had obviously blinded her to the obvious, but the red haze of insanity blurred her eyes and bunged up her ears.

"What do I want from you? Why I want you to die and rot in whatever hell-pit you dragons go to when you expire," she spat.

The strength of her anger surged into the rope, causing it to constrict around him. Dante let out a wordless shriek as his bones were crushed, wings mangling as the fine bones splintered beyond repair and blood began to pour from his orifices. He panicked. He was not ready to die. Not here. Not before he figured out who he was. Not before he recovered his memories that kept vanishing without warning. He was NOT going to die now.

"Nooooo!!!" Dante bellowed with what was surely his last breath. Suddenly, something deep inside him rose to the surface. The band of metal on his wrist glowed green for a second, and his dying body erupted into bright green flames, reducing his magical bonds to mere ashes in seconds. His bones popped back into place, healing as if nothing had ever happened to them, cuts and gashes disappeared without scars, his only signs of injury long gone...with the single exception of the long jagged scar that marred his chest...the one that he had no recollection of ever receiving.d

Rena could not believe her eyes. Why hadn't he died? She didn't have time to react before Dante lunged forward, pinning her to the ground with his claws. His eyes had changed with the green fire as well; they now glowed with a faint orange hue and seemed to peer straight into her very being. Frozen with fear, she had no choice but to lie there as he spoke with a pained voice, one full of sorrow and despair.

"Please just leave me alone."

Rena just nodded, unable to form any reply of her own. She knew that her life could well be over as she couldn't reach for any of her assassins' knives with her arms pinioned as they were by her quarry's superior weight, not that they would have done much good against a beast that had just resurrected himself in front of her. Dante released her from his grip, and turned to walk away, barely making it three feet before collapsing beside her, the green fire fading away.

What had just happened? He was supposed to be a cruel, ruthless monster who had killed her master without remorse or pity... And yet he hadn't put up much of a fight, even after she had almost killed him! Well she had killed him, if he had been a normal dragon, but that was something that also puzzled her. She tried to crawl towards his wrist, the one with the mysterious band of metal on it, but the gem in the middle flashed warningly as her hand approached it, a wash of magical power more ancient than anything she had encountered before washing over her senses...She backed off immediately.

Was this really Kalaw? The dragon before her certainly looked like the Kalaw she remembered from that fateful night. Rena began to question her own judgement, which was something she hadn't done in many years. Not since that day... She shook off the thought; it brought back too many bitter memories that were best to remain buried in the past. Could this dragon...Dante as he called himself really be innocent? Something wasn't right here. He was safe for now though, her honour as an assassin wouldn't allow her a second attempt at his life, unless he attacked her, or until proof of 'Dante's/Kalaw's' guilt could be found. She'd have to wait until he woke up so she could question him more thoroughly to find out for herself.