//------------------------------// // Helpless // Story: The Wandering Warrior // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// 'Back here again,' Ryu thought to himself as he gazed over the hill at the small town of Ponyville, which was just waking up to the rising of the sun. With the height given to him by the hill, Ryu was able to jut barely see Tiara and her father walking through the streets, with four other fillies following Tiara. 'I can't blame the girl, though. After I battled with my evil side for the first time, I needed my friends alongside me. It's best that she's here.' Ryu then closed his eyes and channeled the power of nothingness through his body, opening his eyes to see that everything within his field of vision had a white tint to it. He looked down at his arms and legs to see a white aura radiating from him, one that was far stronger than it had been the last time he had used it. Ryu then brought his hands together and concentrated, summoning a sphere of power within his grasp. "Shinku...HADOUKEN!" Ryu roared as he fired the ball of energy into the sky, watching as it exploded in a shower of power. He heard some ponies in the town begin to scream, but his focus was quickly brought back to himself as he glanced down to see that the white aura hadn't faded away like before. "I've gotten stronger," Ryu realized with a smile as he clenched his fist, feeling the power of nothingness flowing through him. 'This is the strongest I have felt since the Satsui no Hado. Perhaps...perhaps after all of my training I am finally ready to fight my evil half. But whatever may come, I will walk the path of my destiny. That is the true power of nothingness." Ryu then focused on his strikes, sending out rapid punches with far more speed than he would have ever been able to do without his new power. Each strike created a small shockwave and his kicks sometimes sent out burst of air that knocked branches off of trees. While Ryu would have wanted to be there to help Tiara, he knew better than to head into Ponyville with what had happened at the tournament. He knew they saw him as a monster, as a demon that would kill all of them if give then chance. And he knew that when they had last seen him, their thoughts about him would have been correct. 'But now I am ready. Now I can finally rid myself of the demon that has plagued me for so long,' Ryu thought as he clapped both hands together, generating a shockwave that tore apart the air around him. He then closed his eyes and felt the power disperse until the next time he needed it. Ryu crossed his legs and sat in the field, taking in the sweet air and enjoying the silence that surrounded him. But despite the peace and tranquility of the situation, he could not tear his mind away from what Tiara's father had called him. Selfish. And despite thinking as hard as he could, Ryu couldn't find a reason for why Filthy would call him that. Ryu had fought for them when he didn't want to, aided them in their times of need and had always given them advice and help. Isn't that what his master would have wanted him to do? Ryu then opened his eyes and glanced towards the town, suddenly feeling guilty for a reason that he did not know. Should he ignore what the ponies thought of him and be there with Tiara while she was trying to recover? Ryu then shot to his feet and shook his head, walking over to the trees on the edge of town before he split one in half with a punch filled with rage. 'No, I cannot go aid her. How can I hope to help her overcome her demon when I have yet to best mine?' Ryu asked himself, now understanding the source of his guilt. 'If I had trained harder from the start, if I had not allowed myself to be distracted by this world, then I would have found the power earlier to best the demon.' 'And then there is that hermit. This was his plan all along. To draw out the demon in me and force me to battle against my dark self. But what was he speaking of when he meant the other me's? The ones that didn't make it to old age or the younger ones that found a power like mine? And what does he have to gain from unleashing a force such as Evil Ryu?' Ryu found the questions more than he could figure out and he sat down beside the tree he had punched in two, closing his eyes and banishing all distracting thoughts from his mind. He quickly lost himself in meditation, but a small part of him refused to stay quiet. 'Master, if you are watching over me, am I walking down the right path?' Ryu asked into the unknown, knowing that there would be no answer. 'Following the true path of my destiny has brought me this great power...but is it me? Is surrendering myself to my destiny something that you would approve of? Is it right? I need your guidance one last time...although I would prefer to simply talk with you again.' "So this is where you've been hiding." Ryu's eyes opened to see Diamond Tiara standing beside him, a kind but weary smile upon her face. Ryu made a motion for her to sit with him and she did so. "Figured you'd be off by yourself somewhere, but thanks for tossing up that giant ball of power that scared half the ponies in the town. It was kind of you to tell me where you were." "I did not mean to scare anyone," Ryu apologized, but Tiara waved him off with a shake of her head. "Stop apologizing. You don't always have to do it," she said before she gained a faraway look in her eyes, one that slightly concerned Ryu. "How is the darkness within? You haven't had any issues with it, have you?" "No...but it's always there. I can feel it, just waiting for me to mess up," Tiara whispered quietly, fear in every word. "It's just like you told me about yours. It whispers to me, tempting me with it's power. And I hate it. I spent so long trying to cast off the old version of myself, only for it to come back even stronger. Sealing it away made it go quiet for a little while, but I'm afraid of when it gets it's full strength again." Ryu found as she spoke he couldn't help but nod somberly in agreement. When he had first discovered the power of the Dark Hado, at a much older age he admitted, he had many talks with Gouken about the very same topics. The fact that it seemed to wait until its host was weak before striking with all of its power, trying to tear apart who you are. "Perhaps it would have been best if I had not taken you up on that offer about fighting for you," Ryu eventually said, causing Tiara to raise an eyebrow at him. "Had I not, then you would have never had the chance to mirror my techniques and thus the power of darkness would have been unknown to you." "And then we'd be in debt and I might have been kidnapped by fish ponies and a hundred of other what if's might have happened. Ryu, whether you like it or not we're friends now. That means we stick with each other through the best and the worst," Tiara told him, but there was none of her usual fire within her voice. "You're scared," Ryu stated. He didn't need to ask her: he could hear it in every one of her words. She shuddered slightly before curling up into a little ball, staring at the ground. "Yeah...how do you do it, Ryu? How do you deal with this kind of darkness within yourself day after day and find the courage to get up each morning, knowing that it might be your last?" Tiara asked Ryu, who closed his eyes at her words. "Because I've only had it for three days now...and I can barely find it in me to greet my friends. To have it with you nearly all of your life...you're so strong." "I am weak. If I was strong, then none of this would have happened in the first place," Ryu admitted in a bitter tone. "I would have slain my evil side and you would have never had to have dealt with this darkness. I have failed you as a protector." "...well, you can still try to make up for it," Tiara began, her tone causing Ryu to glance down at her. "Because while you can't get rid of this darkness within me, you can teach me how to control it. Like you did." "...I cannot. If I cannot control my own demon, then I will most likely be unable to help you with yours," Ryu replied with a shake of his head. "The best thing for me to do is perfect this new power and use it destroy my dark side. Once I have proven that I can, I will be better suited to-" 'Selfish.' Ryu lifted his head with a start as he heard the voice echo through his mind, causing him to look around for a moment as he tried to figure out why the words had chosen then to appear. He then glanced down at Diamond Tiara to see that her head was hung low and defeat burned in her eyes. Ryu gritted his teeth before letting all of his frustration out with a sigh. "Place your hooves on your knees like this, if you are able." Tiara glanced up at Ryu, who was sitting up with his hands resting upon his knees. After a moment she copied his position, though he did have to push against her back slightly so that she sat up straighter. He then began to show her how to breath in an out, to calm the body and prevent emotions from becoming too strong. "The most important part of meditation is to just...be," Ryu explained to Tiara, who looked lost at his words. "To not worry about the world or the future or even who you're supposed to be, but just live in the moment. To just exist. To become one with reality." "Sounds boring." "It can be. But then you will reach a point where you can feel the world around you becoming one with you. Where you can feel the breathes of the butterflies, feel the weight of the rivers and know the strengths of the mountains. And once you can do that, you can find peace, even if it's just for a moment," Ryu calmly replied. "That sounds cool. How do you do it?" "...I do not know. I have not made it to that point yet. A man named Dhalsim explained that is how it feels," Ryu admitted with a bit of embarrassment, causing Tiara to roll her eyes. "And all your credibility goes out the window," Tiara said with a shake of her head, but Ryu cracked open his eyes to see a smile upon her face. She then took in a deep breath and let it out as she closed her eyes, trying to focus on just existing. "Hey Ryu? What do you plan to do after you defeat your evil half?" "You mean if I defeat him." "I mean after. You'll beat him Ryu. I know you will," Tiara replied with nothing but confidence in her voice. Ryu began to think about her words, supposing that he had never considered it before. "I will finally defeat the demon that slayed my master. After that...I suppose I will continue to do what I always do. Travel the world seeking the best fighters, challenging them and then becoming stronger in the process." "Oh. That's...nice," Tiara said, but Ryu sensed there was more to her words. He nudged her with his elbow to get her to continue. "It's just...I think you should do more with your power than just fight. You're really strong, far stronger than nearly anypony I've ever met. I think you could use your powers to help better the worlds, to make it so others don't have to worry about the darkness that you struggled with. You could help show them how to be strong. You could teach them." Ryu thought about her words, wondering if what she was saying would suit him. A life of aiding others, of using his skills to not simply better himself. 'My master always told me that he spent his entire life seeking to master his skills, but only when he began teaching me and Ken did he ever truly feel satisfied. Perhaps...that life would not be so bad.' "That is if you make it to that stage of your life." Ryu and Tiara's eyes snapped open in unison to see the hermit walking towards them, face hidden by his hood but the rest of his metal body visible in the gleaming of the sun. Ryu sprang to his feet and placed himself between the hermit and Tiara, his body already glowing with the white aura. "What do you want, you monster?!" Ryu roared at the hermit as he channeled his power into a hadouken, which he was ready to throw at the first sign of an attack. "What I sought before your zebra friend so rudely interrupted us. I wish to see how your battle ends," the hermit replied as he waved his hand and created a vortex of shattered magic beside him. Within the vortex both Tiara and Ryu could see the red eyes of Evil Ryu, eyes that were just waiting to be freed. "You are an interesting Ryu, I will say that much. You question more than the others and you seem to have grasped the power of nothingness quicker than the others as well. I wonder if it will be enough." "Take another step towards us and I will show you that my power is more than enough!" Ryu bellowed with hatred in every word. "Why did you unleash the demon within Diamond Tiara?! What could you possibly have to gain from hurting such a young girl?!" "Why? Because she was so desperate to be your student that I thought I would make her more like you. A slave to the demon within," the hermit replied with such cold indifference that Ryu almost lost control of his emotions. "Or do you mean why do that to such a young filly? Because I can. So why shouldn't I?" Ryu bellowed with fury as he hurled his hadouken towards the hermit, but in a flash of darkness Evil Ryu burst through the vortex and slashed through the fireball, ceasing its existence. Ryu's eyes narrowed as the evil him slowly walked forward, taking up a fighting stance as it did so. "You wish to see how this battle ends? Fine. I am ready," Ryu spat before calming himself down, taking in a deep breath and concentrating. His body was coated in a white aura that filled him with strength and when his eyes snapped open they were completely white. "But once I have bested my other half, I will be coming for you hermit. Prepare yourself." "Oh Ryu, if you survive this then I will more than be happy to end you," the hermit replied right before Evil Ryu let out a bellow and lunged towards Ryu. "This is the path...of my destiny!" Ryu roared before charging forward to meet Evil Ryu. The both of them threw out a punch and their fists collided in the air, signaling the start of their final battle.