The blond Dream Chaser knelt by the bed where the dark-haired boy was lying and patted his shoulder gently. "Hang in there, Rudy... We'll be back sooner than you know it."

"Jack? Will this work?"

Jack lifted his face to look at the girl who was standing next him. "It has to, Princess. And we already have the Life Guardian. We only need to go find the Illusion Guardian..."

Cecilia nodded, sighing. "I might have an idea where to look... So..."

"Yeah. We're just wasting time here. We'll be back, Rudy. Just take it easy. Mariel and Vassim will take care of you..."

Mariel smiled to them as they left the room, heading back to Tarjon village and from there, back to Filgaia.

The Elw girl moved her chair closer to the bed and stroked the boy's hair gently. "They'll be back soon, Rudy, and everything will be all right... I know it hurts, but stay with us. The medicine Emiko gave should help, but you need to rest..."

She sighed, stopping to look outside the window. "I just hope that the medicine will keep your nightmares away..."

Rudy didn't know where he was - once again. By now, he was too used to the dreams to know what was real anymore. He thought he heard Jack and Cecilia saying something, then Mariel talking, but then it was gone again and he was standing in a place he couldn't recognize.

"Hey? Anyone here?"

He sighed and gave up. In some places, he just was alone. Sometimes there were a lot of people, but sometimes, like here...

He remembered being in Zepet's cabin earlier. The old Dream Chaser had told him a story, and he had felt very comfortable there. He wished to go back, but had no idea how to do that.

The landscape around him looked totally unfamiliar. The trees were small and mostly dead. The ground looked dry, and only a few bushes grew in the area, desperately clinging to life, but obviously losing the battle.

Suddenly, he found himself staring at a brown horse standing about 20 feet away from him. The animal stared at him for a while, then turned and broke into a full gallop.

"Hey! Wait! I..."

He ran after the horse, then had to stop as he reached a deep-looking ravine. The horse was nowhere to be seen.

The boy sat down by the edge, sighing. He looked at the few small birds that flew by and smiled sadly.

He glanced behind him, and saw someone standing there. It was a tall, dark-haired man.

"Did you find my horse, boy?"

"Huh? Oh... the horse..." Rudy got up, taking a step closer. "Yeah, it was just here. I thought it was..."

The man took a step back, staring at him. "You... you're one of them..."

The boy blinked. "One of who?"

"Them!"

Rudy spun around, only to see Zeikfried and the other Quarter Knights standing on the cliff across the ravine.

"But, they're demons. I'm not... I..." He sighed, again remembering something he wished to forget. Metal. He was... but he didn't want to believe that. He was not a demon.

"I'm not one of them! I'm just... just a..."

"Just a demon! You and your kind don't deserve to live!"

Rudy shook his head, taking two steps back as the man moved closer, appearing threatening. He just wanted to get away. Then he realized he had forgotten that he was standing in the edge of the ravine... And then he just fell.

He didn't remember hitting the ground. He opened his eyes slowly, but everything was blurry.

"It's okay, Rudy... Just a dream again. Here, have some medicine..."

Rudy recognized the voice as Mariel's. He tried to answer, but couldn't speak. He heard another voice, male, talking too, but he couldn't hear the words.

His arm was hurting so much that he wanted to scream. He didn't know how much time passed, but then it stopped hurting and he slipped back into the darkness.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was in Adlehyde. It was early in the morning, and smoke was rising from the town's ruins.

The boy searched around, but found nothing. Everything - and everyone - was dead. He ran around the town, desperately looking for at least someone who could tell him what had happened, but found no one. Just dead bodies... all human.

Finally, he entered the castle. He tried to avoid looking at the dead guards and walked all the way to the throne room... where Cecilia was lying dead.

"No! Cecilia!"

He ran to the girl, stopped and fell to his knees. He was shaking, and just wanted to close his eyes and forget it all... but he couldn't.

He crawled next to the wall where a guard was lying, and sat there. He glanced at the guard and noticed it was Jack.

"...J..ack..." He whispered, reaching out to touch the older Dream Chaser's hair. The ex-knight was obviously dead. His sword was lying a few feet away, broken into two pieces, and he had blood all over his clothes. On his chest was a wound where someone had stabbed him.

Tears fell down on the boy's cheeks. He just sat there, stroking the dead Dream Chaser's hair gently. His lover's hair. He couldn't stop shaking, and just sat there.

A small blue mouse crawled out from somewhere from under Jack's bloodied clothes. "...Ru...dy?"

The boy glanced at the Wind Mouse, not seeing anything from his tears. "Hanpan... why...?"

Hanpan stopped moving. "It's... not your fault... There was... nothing you could've done... They just..."

"Who? Who did this?"

"Them..." The Wind Mouse pointed across the room, then fell silent. Rudy turned to look, and saw the Quarter Knights standing on the other side of the throne room.

Zeikfried grinned, taking a step forward. "Yes, we. The demons. And you. You did this, too."

The boy jumped up and tried to back away, but could only press himself against the wall. He shook his head. "No... I didn't... I..."

"Yes, you did." The black-haired demon leader removed his helmet, walking closer. He stopped in front of the young Dream Chaser, and touched his face softly.

"Yes you did, Rudy. You're made of metal, just like me. And you can't protect the humans from your own kind..."

Rudy shook his head, trying to move away from the demon's touch. "Never... I'm not... a demon..."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Jack lying on the floor, motionless. A flash of rage filled him and he kicked Zeikfried on the knee. The demon staggered back a few steps, and the dark-haired boy took his chance and ran.

He just ran, and didn't know how long he'd been running. The landscape around him looked familiar, but his mind was too confused, and he was too filled with uncertain feelings to be able to remember where he was. He only stopped when he came to a small cabin.

He looked around, then entered the small building. An old Dream Chaser was sitting next to the fireplace.

"Rudy? Where have you been?"

The boy sighed and smiled a bit, then walked to the old man and knelt down next to him.

"It doesn't matter... I just..."

Zepet sighed, then patted his shoulder lightly. "It's okay. It doesn't matter where you were. This is your home, and you can always come home..."

The young Dream Chaser didn't answer. He just sat down and pressed his head on the old man's lap. Zepet stroked his hair gently, and he felt safe.

He woke up in a bed somewhere. He couldn't see clearly, and the room looked strange. Someone was sleeping in a chair next to the bed.

He heard someone entering the room but couldn't see who it was. He closed his eyes, because for some reason, it hurt to keep them open.

A somewhat familiar voice said something, asking someone to wake up. He tried to concentrate on the words to get at least some idea of his location, but his mind was too numb to understand full sentences. The voice was asking if someone had fallen asleep when watching him. Then another voice answered, but he couldn't hear what.

"Rudy... Are you awake? You should try to eat..."

The boy blinked a few times and opened his eyes. He thought he recognized Mariel to be the person talking to him, but then he couldn't think. It hurt too much. His left arm hurt like it had been on fire. He tried to move it, then turned his hurting eyes to look at his arm... only to realize it was missing.

Mariel said something, and the other voice was asking something, too, but he couldn't hear anymore. He welcomed the darkness that took over his mind again.

The young Dream Chaser wandered around the darkness, trying to figure out where he was this time. He remembered something being wrong with his left arm, and immediately touched it with his right hand, noticing that everything seemed to be in place. That didn't change the fact that his left arm hurt, though.

He sighed, wondering why he couldn't see anything. His eyes usually accommodated to the dark easily, but this time, it was different. He just couldn't see.

He stumbled forward and came by a cold metal wall. He stopped for a moment to rest by the wall, then continued, following the wall.

Suddenly, the lights returned. The boy looked around and found himself in a corridor in the Photosphere. It felt weird, because Photosphere was supposed to be in the bottom of the ocean now.

All the corridors looked the same - metal walls, some lights and a patternless dark ceiling. The floor was also metal, and his footsteps echoed in the corridors as he walked forward. He took a few turns, but the hallways still looked the same.

"Lost?"

Upon hearing the calm voice behind him, Rudy jumped around, reaching for his sword. He grabbed it and took a few steps back. A quick glance around showed him that he'd suddenly entered a bigger room. He didn't remember ever seeing it before, though - it was dimly lit, and had no furniture or anything. Just cold metal walls and floor.

His hands trembled as the speaker stepped closer. The demon smirked, removing his helmet. In one hand, Zeikfried was holding his spear, the Glumzamber.

Rudy took another step back, pointing his sword at the demon leader. "Don't come any closer..."

The black-haired demon laughed. "Why? What reason do you have to fight me in the first place? You're just like me..."

"I'm not! I'm not a demon!"

Zeikfried shook his head. "Not a demon, you say... But your powers are beyond a human's... You can use the forbidden ARMs... Then what are you?"

The boy blinked, lowering his weapon a bit. "I... I'm..."

Then he noticed that Zeikfried used his moment of confusion in his own advantage, but it was too late. With a single strong, calculated strike of the Glumzamber, the demon leader knocked the sword off his hand, sending it flying across the room. He turned to look for it, but couldn't see it anywhere.

He heard the demon commander moving closer, and spun around, drawing his ARM. Quickly, he aimed at the Quarter Knight and pulled the trigger.

Only to realize he was out of bullets.

Zeikfried laughed again. "Bad luck, ARM boy. Seems like you won't be using your forbidden weapon after all."

Rudy moved back until he couldn't move anymore. He pressed himself against the wall, closing his eyes. He heard the demon step closer, stopping in front of him.

The demon leader leaned closer and touched the boy's face gently. "You're not a human, Rudy... Why can't you accept it?"

"...I-I'm... not..."

The demon's lips covered the boy's, and he couldn't continue. He fell powerless, and the only thing that kept him standing was the fact that Zeikfried had pressed him against the wall and was holding him there.

He wanted to scream, but the all sounds that could escape his lips were suffocated by the violent kiss. The demon's tongue entered his mouth, searching around and claiming control.

Zeikfried broke the kiss after a long while, picked to boy up and lay him down on the floor. Rudy lie motionless for a moment, then blinked as he realized the demon leader was removing his vest and shirt.

"No! Let go off me!!"

He fought back, but Zeikfried captured his wrists with one hand and ripped his shirt off, smirking evilly. Rudy felt uncomfortable as he felt the cold floor under his bare back. However, he couldn't stop to think about such details for very long as the demon started working with his pants.

He tried to kick the black-haired man off him, but Zeikfried moved to sit on his legs, pinning them against the floor. It took only a few moments, and then he was lying there naked, with no way of protecting himself.

Zeikfried grinned evilly, leaning down to kiss him again. "I'll show you what you are, Rudy... You're nothing... You belong to nowhere... But now, I'll make you mine..."

The boy succeeded in freeing his left hand from the Quarter Knight's grip, and tried to slap the demon. He hit a couple of times, but his hand only met the cold metal of Zeikfried's armor. The demon just laughed at his futile attempts, then kissed him again, hungrily and violently. Rudy tried to bite the invading tongue, but it seemed to just agitate the demon even more.

"Mine, Rudy, mine..." The demon whispered to the boy's ear, snickering evilly. He forced Rudy's legs apart, holding him still with his own weight.

"No..."

The boy closed his eyes again and shook his head, trying to move away from the kisses. He thought of his lover, the blond Dream Chaser, wishing the ex-knight was here to protect him. But all he could hear was the Quarter Knight's voice, and all he could feel was those strong hands on his body, touching him everywhere. He cried out as the demon's hand stopped on his crotch and started rubbing gently.

"P-please... stop..."

The black-haired demon didn't answer. Rudy tried to squirm away when he felt the demon's lips on his chest, brutally sucking on his nipples and then moving lower, capturing the tip of his member. His hands were free now, but all he could do was to try to hit the Quarter Knight, in vain. He grabbed the demon's black hair and pulled hard.

His strength escaped him when he felt the demon's fingers between his buttocks, then entering him. He screamed and tried to hit the demon leader, but Zeikfried moved out of his reach, sitting up.

"Let me go! Stop!!"

The fingers inside him moved rapidly, making him bleed. Tears of pain filled the young Dream Chaser's eyes, and he tried to move away. The demon was sitting between his legs, holding his thighs apart.

"No, Rudy... You're mine now..." Zeikfried's laugh echoed in the room. "Mine..."

The boy heard Zeikfried remove his armor, and made a helpless attempt to escape. His lower body was held tight, and all he could do was to claw the cold floor powerlessly. The demon withdrew his fingers, and for a short moment, he hoped it was over.

Then he saw Zeikfried's smirking face close to his again, and felt how the demon thrust into him violently. His scream died under yet another brutal kiss. The Quarter Knight moved in a steady rhythm, each move hurting so much that he hoped to pass out. He was bleeding badly, and the thrusts were tearing him even more.

He couldn't fight anymore. He tried to hit the demon a couple of times, but did no damage. The Quarter Knight's tongue explored his mouth, and he could only moan weakly under the kiss. The rough movement inside him made him want to throw up. His body was hurting all over, and even when keeping his eyes closed, his vision was filled with white stars.

"See now, Rudy... you're not a human..."

The dark-haired boy couldn't answer. The throbbing pain around his lower body almost made him faint, but unfortunately, it also kept him awake. He could feel Zeikfried's lips on his neck, but didn't care.

"Jack... Jack... help... me..."

The black-haired demon laughed again. "Calling your human lover won't help you anymore, Rudy. You're mine..."

He lost his voice, but kept calling the Dream Chaser's name. The pain overtook his senses, and he lay powerless, the only thing that he felt anymore being the rapid thrusts. Then the demon's release filled him, and he whispered the ex-knight's name for one more time before he lost consciousness.

He woke up in his bed at Zepet's cabin. The pain was still there, but the place was familiar. He opened his eyes and found Jack holding him, whispering his name gently. Rudy smiled and closed his eyes, letting the darkness take his mind again.

It was Mariel's turn to watch the dark-haired boy when Jack and Cecilia finally returned. She was still a bit weak from the injury she'd taken when she had opened the path to the Elw dimension, but watching Rudy wasn't a hard task.

Mariel smiled to them as Jack showed her a small stone plate. It hadn't taken them that long to find it, actually - only a little over a day and night. They both looked tired, but weren't planning on resting anytime soon.

"We found the Illusion Guardian. Cecilia remembered correctly - the book was in the Sealed Library in Curan Abbey..."

Vassim stopped at the door behind them, nodding approvingly. "Hope you aren't too tired, because we have work to do..."

Cecilia shook her head. "We'll have time to rest later. First we have to take care of Rudy."

She turned to look at the boy who was lying in the bed. Jack had knelt next to the bed, and was holding the boy's healthy hand.

"It's gonna be okay now, Rudy," the blond Dream Chaser whispered. "I'm here... We're all here for you."

The dark-haired boy opened his eyes slowly, then smiled weakly. He whispered the ex-knight's name, then fell asleep again. His nightmares weren't over yet, but for this one moment, he was safe.

Author's notes:

Zeik x Rudy, 'cause I promised Seto to write some a long time ago. Yay.

Non-con stuff. Well, can't really write Zeikfried and Rudy having a real relationship without making it totally AU... Anyway. You probably noticed the setting has Rudy and Jack as lovers.

Isn't probably too hard to figure out where in the game this fic happens.

- Lady Harken (February, 2002)