Aly was silent as she looked at Eke, and then at Ryker.

Just as she did so, she saw half his face be covered in ominous inky shadows, and his eye turn red.

She audibly gasped when she saw this.

"Heya, toots." the demon said.

"Looks like we finally meet." he said further.

"Who... what... are you...?" Aly asked.

"Ry-guy's future!" the demon declared proudly.

The demon just laughed.

Aly, however, did not look impressed.

"You robbed Eke of his memories?" she asked angrily.

"That's not technically correct." the demon replied. "The little dragonling there willingly gave them up." he told her.

"....what?" Aly asked, looking at Eke now.

"Why...?"

Aly was silent as she heard all this, before looking at Eke.

"So you exchanged precious memories for your sanity?" she asked.

"Precious. Hah!" the demon laughed.

"Girly, the memories I took were FAR from precious." he laughed.

"Just know that if Eke hadn't made that deal, he'd have been nothing more than a mindless feral murderer, and he would have been destroyed a while ago." he told her.

"......" Aly was silent once more, before she turned to Eke and hugged him, holding him close to her.

"I'm so sorry this had to happen to you." Aly said quietly.

"But you're so strong to be able to keep going after something like that." she then told him.

"Eke, thank you for confiding this in me." she went on.

Meanwhile, Ryker just crossed his arms over his chest.

"Heh." he chuckled, shaking his head slightly, and smiling.

"I will never leave you." Aly assured him.

"I promise." she said.

"And all right." she then said, as they made their way to a chair, and Eke sat in it. When he did, Ryker had already left and come back with a bottle of ice cold water.

"Here." he said, handing it to him.

"And yeah, don't worry about Eke and his moments of fogginess." he then told Aly. "It's just... well... something that's part of who he is now." he shrugged.

"As opposed to who he WAS." the demonic side of him chortled.

"Yes, yes, THANK you, bye-bye." Ryker coughed, as that half of him seemed to suck itself in behind his right eyeball.

".............................hm." Ryker muttered.

"Maybe." was all he said.

"...do you want company, Eke?" Aly asked Eke.

"Or maybe someone with you just to be there?" she suggested.

"Just in case something happens?"

Aly just smiled as she saw him transform into a dragon.

"...heh." she chuckled.

"Wow." she said.

"You look absolutely majestic." she complimented him.

"And your wings are beautiful." she added.

"......" Aly was silent, before taking a few steps back.

She then closed her eyes, and allowed herself to shed her human-like form, changing into a rather slim and slender dragon, that still managed to look feminine... by draconic standards, anyway.

She then looked at Eke, and smiled.

"Shall we fly?" she asked, nuzzling him.

Aly watched him take off into the air, and smirked.

"I warn you, I'm pretty fast!" she called to him.

She then stretched out her wings and rapidly ascended into the air, catching up with Eke.

"Where to?" she asked.

"Lay out the course for me, my fiancee." she added with a chuckle.

Aly kept up to him, and used quick and deft movements to fly under him for a few seconds, and then beside him, before going under him again, and then back beside him.

"It doesn't matter what you look like." she said to him.

"You're always handsome." she told him further.

She then smiled, and pulled ahead slightly, looking back and air-kissing him.