(Everglow) Yes, all of my readers, I'm rewriting this story as well. I just can't believe how much my writing has improved since I first started out on . Seeing how incorrect all these stories are, however, has led me to finally update this story (actually, I haven't updated because of computer troubles and school, but whatever…I'm really sorry that its taken so long!). That's right, I'm rewriting all the chapters that I had so far as add a new chapter onto it. That's right, everyone! After another year of waiting (apologizes again!) I have finally returned with the battle between Tira and Dark Angel. Anyway, here I go with the revised version of My Eyes Tell All. Please Read and Review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Calibur, its characters, etc. I only own this story and my original characters plus my random original places! So don't steal mine!!
Preview: Two Minds, One Body. One Eye shows the Darkness, One Eye shows the Light. But can this girl be trusted?
On with the show! Take two begins now!
Title: My Eyes Tell All
Chapter One: Night of the Assassin
The village rested below the cliffs of the Taplow Mountains, where the single temple of the villagers' God stood. Towering marble statues gazed down from the stairs of the temple to the village, as if they were the guardians of the people. And past those statues was the doorway to the temple, where Master Lionel waited patiently for his fate. Lionel did not question the strange feeling he'd been plagued with since that morning, because he knew exactly what was coming. It was his death.
"Master, so you've been up here this whole time?"
Lionel's thoughts were interrupted by another's voice; one that belonged to a student of his, Orwin. "I was looking for you since dinner…being as you left quietly without even saying where you were going."
"Orwin, I should have suspected that you would find me," Lionel gave the younger man a warm smile as he brought a comforting hand down upon the tall, eighteen-year old's shoulder. "You were always one of the brightest students I ever took on…and you are certainly more capable of finding me than Cedric is." Lionel smirked to himself as he glanced past the towering teen towards the path that led up the cliffs. "Isn't that right, Cedric…since you took it upon yourself to follow your brother all the way here?"
As soon as the last word rolled off of Lionel's tongue, another boy peered out from his hiding place behind some large boulders. The boy looked exactly like Orwin, with his dark chocolate brown hair that was untamed and growing past his ears. His eyes, which were a dazzling ice color, stared up at Lionel for a moment, completely entranced with his master. That did not last long, however, for the boy suddenly closed his eyes and grinned widely, moving himself completely from his hiding spot. Orwin rolled his own ice-colored eyes at the presence of the other boy, obviously not pleased with his twin's actions.
"Geez, Master, couldn't you have just let me be for once?" Cedric whined as he moved up the path and scurried up the stairs towards where his doppelganger and master stood waiting. "Can't you for once pretend that you don't see me?"
Silence. The three men all stood there, each of the twins exchanging glances before staring back at the master, hoping for him to break the quiet peace that was quite nerve-racking.
"No," Lionel said simply, ignoring Cedric's groan and Orwin's chuckle as he gazed out towards the village once more, feeling even more uneasy with every second that passed. "Is there any reason that you boys are here, I wonder…do you need anything?"
The twins exchanged looks once more with each other, both unsure of what to say. They had both felt that the master's mood had changed in the previous days. Lionel often took his job seriously, being very strict with his students, but he was always such a cheerful master. The man always had a joke up his sleeve and was often very sarcastic with them all. It didn't help that Cedric was so easy to trick in these cases, but it didn't matter to Lionel. He still carried on as if he only cared about the well being and training of his students. That was, until today, when he couldn't help but reveal his slight fear of what awaited him that night.
"Master, we've noticed that you have been acting strange all day," Orwin finally spoke up, concern flashing in his eyes. "I mean, I did…Cedric is so dumb that he wouldn't notice a butterfly at the end of his nose," Orwin added as he rolled his eyes at his twin, who protested loudly beside him but quickly turned his attention back to Lionel. "Is there something wrong…?"
Lionel remained silent for a moment, not knowing what to tell his students that awaited his answer. He did not want to worry anyone about what was to befall him that night, especially the two boys that he had taken under his wing ten years ago after their mother had been taken by an illness. But Lionel knew that he had to say his goodbyes. He did not want to leave the Earth without first warning the boys of the dangers that surrounded their village.
"Orwin, you've always been one of my best students," Lionel whispered softly as he smiled in remembrance of all the times that Orwin had proven himself the best in his class. "I knew that you would notice even the slightest change in my behavior…and that worried me earlier."
"So something is wrong?" Cedric piped in suddenly, ignoring the fact that his master had not praised him at all. He was used to it. "What's up, Old Man…you feeling sick or something?"
"Cedric…this is anything but an illness," Lionel answered, placing a hand on the younger twin's shoulder. "Something will be happening tonight, and I want both of you to take care of the rest of the village…and stay away from the temple until sunrise."
Both of the boys' eyes immediately went wide in shock as they began to protest with their master. How could their master expect them both to just sit by in the village when their master would be up at the temple all alone, where apparently something was to occur?
"Master, are you nuts?!" Cedric yanked his shoulder away from the man, his anger plainly evident in his facial expressions. "You think that telling us that something is going to happen and then saying that we can't stay here is going to go down well with us?!" The younger twin was always one who did not know when to keep his mouth shut. Plus, Cedric had no control over his emotions yet. That was something that Lionel was trying to teach him in the boy's recent training, but now Lionel only hoped that Orwin would be there for the twin from now on. "I don't really know what Orwin thinks of this, but I can tell you right now that I don't approve of you being up here by yourself when something's going down…I am staying here and helping you fight whatever it is!"
"Cedric, shut up!" Orwin snapped, shooting a glare over at his brother. "I'm sure if we have Master explain himself we can get by this without having to raise our voices like you seem to think will have an impact on his decision."
Cedric frowned at his brother's response but remained quiet as he looked over at Lionel, waiting impatiently for him to say anything regarding what was going on. Lionel felt pressured under both boys' stares, but he was going to try and keep the boys calm while telling them his business. It was the least he could do, after all. These boys were like Lionel's sons and he loved them too much to simply keep important things such as this a secret.
"I will explain myself to you boys," Lionel began as he sighed deeply. "There is something approaching here tonight that threatens our village…but it is nothing I can't handle."
"It certainly seems like something you can't handle by the sound of your voice," Cedric interrupted, causing both Lionel and Orwin to frown. "Fine, I'll stay quiet…but you had better level with us, Master…"
"I can assure you, Cedric, that I am leveling with you," Lionel continued. "This person that approaches will be attacking the temple, but from what I have gathered…this enemy is not after anyone in the village and it is certainly someone I can take down on my own." Lionel made sure not to reveal his lies to his students. Especially since Orwin could easily tell if Lionel slipped up just a tiny bit. "But just in case there are things going on in the village tonight…I wish for you two to stay put there, along with all the other students and the guard…and protect the villagers."
The twins both remained quiet once Lionel had finished his explanation, as if they were each questioning whether to believe in their master's story. Cedric showed that he was still angry while Orwin kept his emotions in check and remained calm as he thought through the options he was given. Really, what Lionel had said sounded anything but true, but Orwin knew that he could not go against his master's words. Lionel trusted both him and Cedric very much, and Orwin did not want that trust crushed because he and Cedric both didn't believe what he was saying.
"All right, Cedric," Orwin finally spoke, looking over at Cedric with reassuring eyes. "Master has given us both orders, so we should follow them exactly…don't you think?"
Now Cedric was stupid about many things, such as his studies or pretty much anything that had the ability to rack the brain. But when it came to his brother, Cedric was actually spot-on. And the younger twin was furious at the fact that his brother was willing to just ignore Lionel's worries and go on back to the village to stay there until morning. From the story that Lionel had told them, it seemed too much like lies to simply ignore it. However, Cedric could feel Lionel's gaze on him and he relented. There was no way that the boy was going to win this argument.
"Fine…I'll go," Cedric stared over at Lionel for a moment before giving a sad smile. "Hope all goes well, Master…"
After that, Cedric turned away from Lionel and his brother and rushed down the path back towards the village. The boy was obviously hurting by all of this, and Lionel knew that Cedric was suspecting the worst to occur. If only the poor boy wasn't right. Orwin noticed his master frowning deeply and he let out a sigh, moving towards the path.
"Master…I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt here…but I must say this," Orwin halted on the path, staring back at Lionel with sad eyes. "Cedric still needs you…and so do I…please remember that and be safe…"
"I will be safe, Orwin…and please just do this for me, and make sure Cedric keeps to his word," Lionel smiled over at his student. "Orwin…you will do this for me, won't you?"
"Of course, Master…that's what brothers are for afterall…beating up each other while protecting them," Orwin chuckled at his joke before taking another step forward down the path. "Master, I do have one thing to say…you better be alive when me and Cedric come back at sunrise."
"Please, not even the devil himself can keep me from being alive and kicking," Lionel lied, giving the boy a comforting smile as he picked his final words to him carefully. "I'll see you soon, Orwin…and tell Cedric that I expect him to work on those emotions of his get under control the next time I see him."
Orwin did not question his master anymore. The boy moved down the path back towards the village where he knew Cedric would be waiting with a scowl upon his face. The older twin did not look back once as he went, believing in the master's words. Orwin prayed that it was all going to be all right, and that he would be able to see Lionel alive once again.
Lionel watched as Orwin disappeared further down the path, hidden behind the cliffs as he moved closer towards the village. Once he knew that the boy was safe and out of range, Lionel turned back towards the inside of the temple where a figure waited in the shadows, two blades shimmering in the moonlight.
"I see you've come for me at last, you assassin of the darkness," Lionel sent a sharp glare towards the slender figure as he spoke. "But I must warn you that I will not be dying so easily…I will fight until the end of my life."
"Heh, Assassin of the Darkness, you say?" the figure chuckled softly and stepped forward, revealing that it was a young woman whose face was hidden under the hood of her black cloak. "Please, this is simply for my own reasons…I have nothing to do with the lame darkness that you fear."
"You were not sent her by the one who seeks the sword?" Lionel asked with a surprised tone. "You mean that you were not sent here by the one called Nightmare?"
"Sent by that joker…please," the figure reached a pale hand up to the hood, removing it from her head entirely to reveal a young face that was covered from the nose down by a scarf, leaving two unique eyes in view; her left eye was glazed over, showing a faint sunny yellow color while her right eye was a dark emptiness that held no emotion whatsoever. "I don't need some crazed man giving me orders…like I said, I'm here for my own reasons." The girl quickly sheathed one of her blades and pulled her shoulder-length blonde hair into a small ponytail. "Let's see…you're Lionel aren't you…the master of this village?"
"You are correct," Lionel nodded, watching the girl intently as she prepared her other blade. "I believe I have heard of you before…two minds, one body…are you that person?"
"That would be correct, three gold stars for you," the girl joked as she brought the blade up into a striking position. "So, are you ready to die, sir…and just to let you know, your death is coming whether your answer is 'yes' or 'no'?"
Lionel frowned deeply at the thought of being killed by such a rude girl. He did not want his fate to be decided by her blade. Lionel, at first, was prepared for his death but now he wanted nothing but to end this brat's life.
"I'm not going to die here," Lionel hissed as he gripped the hilt of his blade, pulling the sword from his sheath. "In fact, I'm going to be the one who is left standing while you on the other hand…" Lionel fell silent as the girl took a step forward, letting the sword twirl by her fingers.
"I do love your enthusiasm, sir…but your thoughts here are completely wrong," the girl rushed forward at Lionel, taking her sword and thrusting it at the man. "You die here!"
Lionel quickly brought his blade to block the girl's, forcing her back and moving to swing his own blade. The girl simply blocked all of his swings, and the man could feel the girl's smirk that was painted across her face hidden under the scarf. This girl was actually enjoying herself at the moment that she was trying to kill him. A true psycho, the man thought grimly.
"Well, you certainly are an interesting character, my dear," Lionel forced the girl to back up into one of the statues, his sword stopped by the girl's blade merely inches from her neck. "You seem to be just barely twenty from the look of it…and those eyes of yours…I was surprised that I did not recognize them for their true nature before."
"What do you see, pal?" The girl seemed to continue her smirking, her one dark eye showing the faintest emotion in it. "Tell me, since you seem so mezmerized with my eyes right now." She giggled softly as she winked at the man. "Are you falling in love with me, old man?"
"You are a strange girl I must admit," Lionel said, ignoring her later comment. "Your eyes are as strange as your personality…your left eye is full of light and kindness, but it is so dim that one would suspect you were blind in that eye…and as for your right eye…it's dark and screams for death; it's full of hatred and evil…"
"Wow…spot-on there buddy," the girl pushed Lionel off of her, taking advantage of his vulnerable point. "Now, take this!"
(In the Village)
Orwin looked over at Cedric as they walked back towards their home, having already warned the guard of the dangers that could possibly occur tonight. The younger twin was never this quiet, and that disturbed Orwin. He did not like his younger brother being bothered by all that was going on.
"Cedric, there is nothing to worry about," Orwin reassured his brother, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Soon we will see the master again…and all will be well…so maybe you should work on his request for when he returns in the morning."
"Request?" Cedric finally spoke up, questioning his brother. "What do you mean by that?"
"Master said that he wanted you to work on those emotions of yours so that your emotions would be in check when he sees you next," Orwin smiled over at Cedric. "He really does want you to do well, you know."
Orwin stopped in his tracks, realizing that Cedric's eyes were wide in fear. Orwin tried to shake his brother out of his dazed state but it was no use. There was no helping the boy now. There was something in those words that Orwin was not able to see. Cedric knew what his master meant when he said those words.
"Why did I leave him?!" Cedric cried out, turning heel and running back towards the pathway up the Taplow Mountains towards the temple. "Orwin, he's going to die…Master is going to die!"
(Back at the Temple)
Lionel could not believe that he was unable to stop the girl's blade from piercing into his skin. Red beads leaked down the silver blade onto the girl's hand. She watched with excitement as a red river poured out of the man's wounded stomach, causing Lionel to fall over from his weakened state. The sword had gone all the way through, and there was too much blood leaving his body. Lionel's fears had been confirmed; he was going to die at this brat's hand after all.
"Girl…let me know your name," the man coughed up blood as he stared up at the girl with strained eyes. "I must know your name!"
"I see no problem with that, I suppose," the assassin shrugged. "Although since you're pretty much dead I don't see why it's so important…my name is Dark Angel and I came here to get the shard from you, sir." With that, the girl pulled the blade out of Lionel and knelt beside him, reaching for a pouch on his belt. "This is where the shard is held…right?" The assassin did not wait for Lionel to answer, for she had reached into the man's pouch and pulled out the glowing shard. "Well, I'll be taking this now."
"That shard will bring the death of you, woman…and your light side will finally be free from your treachery…" Lionel coughed again, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth. "I know who you are now…the true soul of this body is the light side…and she desperately wants to be free from the darkness that controls her other half."
"Well, you certainly are a smart man, deary…too bad I had to off you," Dark Angel fell silent as a single tear escaped the dim eye. "What the…?"
"See, the kind one cries for my death…I knew it to be true," Lionel finally let out one final gasp before falling forward to let the darkness overcome his lingering soul. "Your other half…will win for sure…remember that, devil woman…"
Dark Angel frowned at the sight of the lifeless body before her, wiping the blood of her blade. The man had certainly given her trouble, but not as much as her pesky left eye.
"That was mighty troublesome if I do say so myself," Dark Angel rolled her eyes and sheathed her blade quickly. "He just wouldn't die…I was beginning to think the guy was immortal or something…oh well, at least I have this shard now."
"No!" Dark Angel turned her head quickly, seeing a tall boy there with anger filling his eyes. "Who the hell are you…what did you do to Master Lionel?!"
"Oh, so you're one of the old man's students I see," the assassin brought her hand up to quickly wipe another tear that threatened to escape from her dim eye. "Well, I got what I came here for…sorry deary but you've got yourself a master to bury." With that, Dark Angel moved to the edge of the cliff, given a slight wave of the hand. "See ya Sweet pea!"
"No, you bitch!" Cedric growled as the assassin sprinted off the cliff, falling towards the village. "No...get back here…I'm not letting you get away with killing Master Lionel!"
"Cedric, what the hell are you screaming about…Master told us not to come up here until sunrise?!" Orwin came rushing up the path to where the temple was, his eyes falling on the body of his dead master. "What…what happened…Cedric, what happened?!"
"That bitch killed him!" Cedric cried as he rushed to the side of the cliff, appearing ready to jump after the assassin. "That bitch came here and killed our master…Orwin, she killed him!"
"Cedric, calm down!" The older twin quickly rushed to his brother's side, pulling him away from the side of the cliff. "I don't know who you're talking about and what all happened here but we need to go warn the guards about this."
"Orwin, there was some chick up here…she stole something from Master and killed him," Cedric stared out over the cliff, anger painted on his face. "I'm going to kill her…I'm going to go after that bitch and kill her myself…she is going to die by my sword!" Cedric twisted valiantly to free himself from his brother's grasp, but Orwin's arms were locked around his own. Finally, Cedric gave up and simply stood within Orwin's hold shaking in both anger and misery.
Orwin could only stand there and comfort his twin, unable to think of anything else to do. Cedric's emotions were as wild as a wolf in the wilderness. There was no controlling him, especially at times like these. Cedric had made his mind up. He was going to find the woman that killed his master, and he was going to avenge him.
"Cedric, go get the guard…just to guarantee that no one else in the village was harmed by this woman that you speak of…" Orwin did not flinch as Cedric shot him a harsh glare. "Cedric…I know you want to go after this woman as soon as possible…but understand that you hold a responsibility to this village as well…and they need us right now."
Cedric continued to glare at his twin, but finally relented and sighed heavily. Orwin's words were true and Cedric did care for everyone in the village tremendously. The boy finally nodded and moved back over to the path, refusing to look at his dead master's body as he went back down towards the village.
"This is bad…" Orwin whispered to the silence of the night, gazing over at his departed master. "You said you weren't going to die, Master…but now you're gone…we still need you, you know," Orwin mumbled as he shook his head. "I need you…and most importantly…Cedric needs you…"
(In the Darkness of the Forest Outside the Village)
"Great, they got their guards out looking for me," Dark Angel chuckled from her spot on the branch of a tree, watching the people begin to panic from the news of the assassin spotted in their village. "It's quite funny watching the children squirm like this…I should really do it more often."
'Another person's life was taken…and you're happy about it…' A voice sounded from inside Dark Angel's mind. 'You're sick, twisted, evil…how could you do that to someone…?'
"Quite easy Everglow…you just take the sword and stab them," Dark Angel muttered, addressing the voice from inside her. "You really need to lighten up a little and kill the innocent act and all…because your hands have blood staining them."
'All of that for your enjoyment and for a shard of that damn sword you're after,' the voice hissed at the assassin. 'I'm not going to let you have your way so that you can hunt down Soul Edge and use it for evil…!' With that, Dark Angel screamed out, her dark eye hazing over and being replaced with a beautiful, sun-colored eye. "I won't let you get your way…not ever!"
(AN) Ok, so it's a little bit different from the original chapter one of this story. Last time it was mostly dialogue though and I really needed to add some more stuff in there. Also, just to let anyone know who might actually be a first time reader. I know there are a lot of original characters in this one chapter and none from the actual game, but they are coming really soon. No worries on that one. Actually, this is to everyone. I might actually have some of the SC characters appear sooner than the battle between Dark Angel and Tira. Anyway, I most go so that I can continue with all these redos of the chapters. Please read and review, but I must remind you that flames are not allowed. Thanks for reading!
