Gilgamesh Obtains the Holy Sword
"I have searched far and wide for a sword like that!" a giant red 'man' said. He was challenging a young man with blonde spiky hair. The sword the boy wielded was bigger than him. It was a wonder he could even lift the friggin thing. "You're making a mistake." the boy replied. He held his sword, the Buster Sword, out in front of him, firmly gripping the hilt of the weapon.
"There is no mistake. THAT is a FINE blade!" the giant said, pointing at the boy's sword. "I already lost my chance to get that gun blade, but I SHALL get this one!" The giant pulled out a halberd, and held it idly in his right hand. "Now, let's fight like-!" All of the sudden, the red giant disappeared in a flash of dark blue, black light, leaving the boy standing there in bewilderment.
"I've met a talking lion, fought an alien from outer space, and even challenged a one winged angel, but that guy definitely tops the strangest thing I've ever seen." The boy lifted his sword and placed it on his shoulder, and then began to walk off.
In the deep depths of the dark town of Death City, a portal to the Rift formed in one of the many alley ways in the city. A giant red monster, covered in samurai armor, popped out of the portal. "-men!" The 'man' looked around at his new environment. This was not the battlefield he was once on. "Accursed Rift!" the man yelled as he punched the side of a building, leaving an indent of his fist in the wall. "And I was so close to getting that giant sword, too..." The swordsman stepped out into the streets of this bizarre town. It was really dark, yet every object was so bright. There were pumpkins, of all things, everywhere. Even the lamp posts resembled them. what the hell was this place? Halloween Town or something? "Where am I? This place is definitely stranger than the other worlds I've been to." The giant walked out in the streets to get a better look at the place. He looked up at the night sky to see the moon staring back at him, grinning. The giant winced. That was creepy as hell.
"What the hell is that?" a voice called out. The monster quickly turned to see where the voice was emitting from. There was a short boy with white spiked hair and a headband standing out in the street. He was accompanied by a cute blonde girl in a trench coat.
"Ah, natives." The man slowly walked towards the two. "Greetings, I am Gilgamesh! The greatest swordsman in all-um, what is this placed called?"
"Death City." the girl replied.
"Er, yes, the greatest swordsman in all of Death City!"
"Hi, I'm-"
"Now we fight!" Gilgamesh shouted, as he began to pull out his Halberd. He jumped into the air, readying his Dragoon jump attack. "Maka!" the boy yelled. "Right." the girl apparently named Maka said. The boy suddenly turned into a scythe. The girl grabbed it and spun it around until she finally brought it back into an offensive position.
"What sorcery is this?" Gilgamesh asked, never seeing anything like that before. As he got high up in to the air, he suddenly started to fall, directing his attack on the girl. Maka jumped back to evade the attack. Gilgamesh crashed into the ground,leaving a small crater where he landed. "Ugghhh, my head..."
"This guy's strong, Maka, but I don't think he's too smart."
"I know, it's strange though... I don't sense any malice from him. Whatever he is, I don't think he's bad, Soul."
"What are you talking about? The guy's trying to kill us."
"You're good, but I'm better!" Gilgamesh yelled as he traded his halberd in for a sword, the Exalipoor. "Eat this!" Gilgamesh jumped into the air and attacked Maka, cutting her arm.
"Maka!" Soul yelled as the meister jumped back trying to avoid anymore damage.
"What...was that?" Maka asked. She took a look at the wound. But nothing was there. She was sure that she got cut just now.
"What? That did nothing? But this is the holy-" Gilgamesh quickly inspected the sword he was using. "Wait a minute...THIS isn't the blade of legend!" He threw the sword on the ground in a fit of rage. "And I thought for sure that this was THE Excalibur!"
"EX...calibur?" Maka asked, making this weird annoyed looking face.
"Ugghhh." Soul sighed, making the same annoyed face through the scythe. "You don't mean that annoying sword, do you?"
"Er, yes! The holy sword! The blade of legend! ...what do you know about it?" Gilgamesh asked, clearly confused. Was Excalibur here?
Soul transformed back to his regular self. "Um, are you going to try and kill us or...?"
"It's how I say hello." Gilgamesh answered, smiling. The two partners looked at one another, confused. "I told you he wasn't so bad, Soul."
"Okay, but who are you, and, more importantly, what are you...?" Soul asked.
"I'm a wandering swordsman in search for the strongest of swords," Gilgamesh began, trying to sound mighty. "But the sword I wish to find the most is the holy sword Excalibur. Every time I get a new lead on it's whereabouts, I always find these useless weapons." He took out a lot of copies of the Excalipoor, one of the weakest swords in existence. "If you're wondering why I'm here, it's because I've been cursed to wander through a portal known as the Rift. It takes me to different worlds, parallel to my own."
The meister and her weapon looked at one another again. "We better take you to Mr. Stein. I think he could help you" Maka suggested.
"He didn't even answer my question." Soul complained.
"Help me? As in free me from the Rift?" the swordsman asked, excited by the mere thought of escaping his prison.
"Sure, he knows a lot of things. Maybe he's heard of this 'Rift' thing before." Soul said.
"Hmmmm, so be it. But you must tell me more about your Excalibur so that I may take it with me!" Gilgamesh gripped his fist and threw it into the air, making a triumphant pose.
Maka and Soul looked at each other again and then suddenly smiled at one another. "Sure,
we'll tell you all about Excalibur, but after we take you to Stein" Maka replied.
"Alright, then what are we waiting for? Let us go!" Gilgamesh started to run down the street, hurrying over to Stein's place...or he would have if he knew where he was going. He suddenly stopped and then ran back to where the two kids were. "Erm, you lead the way." Gilgamesh said, lowering his head in failure. Maka giggled as Soul rolled his eyes.
As they reached the doorstep of the home of Mr. Stein, Gilgamesh couldn't help but notice all the weird stiches on his place. Who has that much time to decorate a house like this?
"Hey, Mr. Stein, are you there?" Soul asked, banging his fists against the door. A few seconds later, a man appeared at the door. He wore a white lab coat and a pair of giant glasses that he adjusted to stay on top of his face. His hair was gray, and the oddest thing about him was the 'wound' in his head. A giant screw lied there inside his head. The man turned the flat part of the screw, adjusting it for...some reason.
"Oh, Maka, Soul. How are you?" The man, who must have been Mr. Stein, looked up at the towering Gilgamesh."Who's your friend?"
"That's why we're here to see you, Mr. Stein," Maka said, "We thought that maybe you could help him."
"I see." Stein said, still looking up at the giant. Gilgamesh turned his head to the side, confused. It's like he's never seen a legend before. "Well, come on in. I'll make us some tea."
Stein walked back inside to prepare for his guests. The trio followed him inside, though Gilgamesh was having trouble fitting through the door. "Need some help?" Soul asked the swordsman supreme.
"No no, I've got this. You go on ahead."
"Okay..." Soul left him there to struggle through the door.
"Accursed doorway! You will not best the mighty GILGAMESH!"
Several minutes later, Gilgamesh was finally able to enter Stein's house by morphing into one of his many forms. Gilgamesh walked into the living room where Maka, Soul, and Stein all sat. Maka and Soul sat on a couch, and Stein sat in a rolling chair, backwards. "Took you long enough." Soul said. Maka gave him one of her famous Maka Chops, hitting the top of Soul's head with a book she pulled out of nowhere. "Be nice, Soul. He's not from our world. Maybe he's never walked through a doorway before." Gilgamesh didn't know how to reply to that.
"Take a seat...Mr. Gilgamesh, was it?" Stein said motioning towards the chair next to his couch.
"The mighty Gilgamesh is fine." Gilgamesh replied, walking over to the chair. He collapsed on it.
Damn, was it comfy!
"So, Maka says you're not from our world, is that correct?"
"Yes, I come from a faraway land where I was once the general of an entire army trying to take over the world." The three natives looked at Gilgamesh strangely. "But, I, uh, have since changed ...ever since I met that young man known as Bartz, my most fierce rival!"
"Butz?" Soul asked, snickering.
"What? No. His name is Bartz. He is the most skilled warrior I have ever met."
"Okay, so tell us how you got here, Gilgamesh." Stein asked, trying to escape this topic.
"In my world, there was an evil warlock known as ExDeath. He tried to gain the power of the 'Void'
that was located in a place called the Interdimmesional Rift. He banished me there after I failed him in defeating my rival Bartz and his friends. I walked through the many realms of the Rift trying to find a way out. I later came across Bartz again who was trying to defeat the warlock. He expected a fight from me, but I assured him I had changed. All I wanted was to escape the stupid place. Later, I ran across Bartz again fighting some monster. Since he's my rival, I had to save him. Only I can beat on him after all. After the battle, I was banished to the Rift and brought to another strange world."
"Are you talking about our world?" Maka asked, tilting her head to the side. It's not THAT strange.
He's one to talk...
"No, it was a different one. There was this guy with a weird sword. A combination of a gun and a sword." Gilgamesh said. "I really wanted it."
"So I take it you've been to other worlds before?" Stein asked.
"Yes, several others. I've met a strange number of warriors in my journey through the Rift, I've either challenged them or joined them, depending on my mood."
"Okay. So basically this Interdimmensional Rift brought you here."
"Pretty much. It randomly takes me from world to world after a certain amount of time has passed. Although, it's always random every time." Gilgamesh said, scratching his head.
"Ah, so you won't be here long, I take it?" Stein asked, taking a sip of his tea.
"I'm not sure. I've been to worlds for as long as a year, but in other worlds, I've only remained there for a mere matter of moments." Gilgamesh thought back to the last place he was, where he challenged that boy. That was probably the shortest trip he's ever taken through the Rift.
"Hmmmm... I'll talk to Lord Death about this. I think he'll know more about it. He may even have a way to take you home." Stein said, taking out one of his cigarettes and lighting it.
"Oh, yeah... Maybe Lord Death's mirror can take you home." Maka suggested. Mirror?
"Yes, I was just thinking that. Lord Death's mirror can view every part of the world. It might be able to view other parts of other worlds, too. But let's save that for tomorrow. It's late, you three must be tired."
"Not really. I was in the midst of a battle when I was teleported here. I'm still ready for some action!" Gilgamesh said, raising both his arms in the air, curling his fists. But then he remembered what Maka and Soul had said earlier. "I want to know more about Excalibur. I want to take it for myself."
Maka and the others made the same face they made before when Gilgamesh mentioned Excalibur. What's wrong with Excalibur?
"The holy sword, held by King Arthur in the 12th century." Stein answered. "You can find it in a cave behind a waterfall. It's not far from here, and it's pretty easy to spot."
"HAHA, thank you, friend! Now the mighty Gilgamesh shall claim the sword for his own!"
"Hold on, Mr. Gilgamesh. Why don't you look for it tomorrow?" Stein suggested. "It's late and dark outside. You'll have a better chance finding it in the morning."
"Hmmmm," Gilgamesh thought, placing a hand on his chin. "So be it. The mighty Gilgamesh could use some sleep..."
"I thought he just said he was ready for some action?" Soul asked, whispering over to Maka. Maka merely shrugged. "Would you like to sleep over at our apartment, Gilgamesh?" Maka asked.
"Yes. That would be very nice." Gilgamesh replied, letting out a small smile. It was good to be in a world where his opponents were actually nice to him. If he had actually struck Maka with the mighty Excalibur, she'd probably end up dead, and there would definitely be no mercy from these guys had Gilgamesh killed her.
"It's probably best he stayed here with me, Maka. I'll take him with me to Lord Death tomorrow before class." Stein said. Stay with him? Gilgamesh preferred to stay with the cute girl, not the old man.
"But what about Excalibur!?" Gilgamesh asked.
"Don't worry, we'll go get Excalibur after we talk to Lord Death. Sound good?"
"Fine. As long as the holy sword belongs to me, then I couldn't care less."
"Alright, you two. You've got class tomorrow." Stein said, looking at Maka and Soul. "Time to go home and get some sleep."
"Okay, thanks for the help, Mr. Stein." Maka said. Soul just merely got up and left. Maka shortly followed behind him. "Goodbye, Gilgamesh!"
"Fare the well, as they say." Gilgamesh said, waving to the meister. He was beginning to like her.
Good thing he didn't kill her.
"Mr. Gilgamesh, let me know when you wanna rest. I'll be in that room over there on my computer." He motioned over to one of the doors down a hall. It had stitches on it just like all the other parts of his house. Gilgamesh would have to ask him about these weird decorations later.
"Thank you, err, Stein. I'll just be outside, getting some air." Gilgamesh replied. Maybe he could escape from this place.
"Okay, but don't stay up too late. I'm a professor at a school, so we have to get up early."
"Yeah, yeah, okay." Gilgamesh said waving his hand in the air, trying to shrug Stein off. Gilgamesh morphed his way through the door and left.
Stein just sat there in his rolling chair, adjusting the screw in his head. 'I wonder what's inside this guy? Maybe I could dissect-' Stein shook his head. 'The madness...it's back. It's probably best he did stay out there.'
Gilgamesh walked outside and felt the chilly air brush against his skin. It must be fall time in this world. The whole town was covered in Halloween type decorations, after all. Gilgamesh stared up at the sky, noticing the bizarre looking moon that grinned menacingly. Gilgamesh shivered. It still scared the hell out of him.
"On second thought, maybe I should go back inside..."
"Hey, you." a feminine voice called out to the swordsman. Gilgamesh looked around trying to find out where this stranger's voice was coming from. "Down here, ribbit." Gilgamesh looked below to find a cute little frog looking up at him.
"what the hell? Talking frogs? Next I'll be hearing Moogles speak..."
"Moog-what?" The frog shook its head, trying to forget what he said. "Look, mister, someone sent me to come get you, ribbit."
"Someone sent a frog to do a man's job? How cowardly can you get." Gilgamesh replied, disgusted. "Tell this guy if he wishes to speak to the mighty Gilgamesh, he has to do so himself."
"So be it." another feminine voice said. Gilgamesh slowly turned around and saw a small girl with blonde pigtails in a black robe staring up at him.
"Shouldn't you be in bed, little girl?" Gilgamesh asked, almost chuckling at the little girl's appearance.
"Fool." the girl said under her breath, sighing. "Look, I heard what you're going through right now. And I believe I might be able to return you to your world."
"Stop right there, young lady. I'm not going anywhere without the Excalibur." Gilgamesh said, sticking his chin up.
"Ugh, you don't mean...THAT thing..." the girl replied, again making that face the others made.
"I don't understand. Why does everyone always make that stupid face when I bring up the Excalibur?"
"Err, nothing, I can get you both the Excalibur and the portal back to your world, but you have to do something for me in exchange." the girl said.
"And who might you be?"
"I am Medusa, and that over there is Eruka. We're both witches."
"Ribbit." Eruka said, nodding her head.
"Huh, you mean this frog...and this girl are...heheheh...hahaha...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gilgamesh laughed. Never in his entire life has he ever met something so ridiculous. Medusa merely placed a hand on her face. 'What an imbecile. But still, if I can experiment on him, I can get the powers of this Rift they spoke of.'
"Look, when you come to a decision, let me know. I'll be lurking in the shadows, waiting for your answer." Medusa said, too annoyed with the overgrown child to care anymore.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, toots. I don't need a little girl to do a man's job anyway, so NYAH!" Gilgamesh said, sticking his tongue out at Medusa.
"Despicable. Come Eruka, we have more important things to attend to." The two vanished deep into the dark depths until they could no longer be seen again. 'I will get those powers though. Mark my words...'
"Well that was weird. And pointless. But it sure was priceless." Gilgamesh chuckled. "Alright, time to go get the almighty Excalibur! Hope that creepy scientist guy doesn't notice..." And with that, the giant jumped into the sky, and landed on one of the many rooftops surrounding the city. He then jumped from rooftop to rooftop to find this cave that Stein mentioned.
After hours of exploring the city, Gilgamesh finally found the waterfall Stein was talking about. "Alrighty, so behind this waterfall lies a cave, huh?" He placed a hand on his chin. "Hmmmm, should I jump or climb up? What's manlier?" He started to run up to the waterfall and jumped into the air and towards the waterfall. "Both of course!" He landed on the side of the mountain and quickly grasped a hold of the slabs of rock coming out of the mountain. "Alright, let's do this!"
Gilgamesh quickly shimmied to the waterfall. Luckily for him, he was right by the entrance to the cave. He jumped off of the side the mountain and quickly walked into the cave. It was wet and murky, typical for these kinds of caves. Lights emitted from the sides of the straight and narrow cave.
'You'd think there'd be more security for something as great as the Excalibur.'
So Gilgamesh decided to travel through the river flowing down the cave. On his way, he saw several sprites flying in the air. Were these the protectors of the Excalibur? He had hoped they weren't. He was always up for a good fight, but not with small, defenseless creatures.
"Um, hey, you, Tinker Bell." Gilgamesh said, pointing at the group of sprites. One of the sprites looked down at Gilgamesh (ironic since everyone so far was looking up at him), and flew towards him.
"Do you need something, Mister?" the sprite asked. She was very small, about the size of a toothbrush and probably as thin as one. She wore a strange garb that just screamed 'magic fairy princess!' Her voice was as sweet and cute as her adorable face. Gilgamesh couldn't help but be memorized by her. He's met a fair share of summons in his day, hell, he was one on multiple occasions, but this sprite was definitely much prettier than the ones he's met in the other worlds he's visited. Shiva had nothing on this one!
"I am the mighty Gilgamesh!" He struck a pose, hoping to impress the sprite. The sprite ignored his advances though. Dammit. "I'm a collector of rare and powerful swords and I heard that the famous Excalibur is located in this very cave." As soon as he mentioned Excalibur, the look on the sprite's face changed dramatically. No longer was it the cute, innocent face that her kind was usually wearing, oh no, it was the same face the others made. What the hell are wrong with these guys?
"Umsorrycanthelpyou." The sprite responded, quickly retreating to the rest of her fairy friends. Gilgamesh couldn't hear, but the sprite was talking to her friends about something, and when she was finished, they all quickly fled to Cosmos knows where.
"Well...that was strange," Gilgamesh stated, perplexed, "And I'm the strangest guy I know!" He just shrugged it off and went on his way, hoping that maybe if he went straight, he'd find the sword. When in doubt, always go straight. As he continued, a bright light shined in his eyes. "Agh, what the hell is that?" He shielded his eyes with his right hand, to see what the nuisance was. A sword sat there, stuck in a large slab. Sunlight could be seen from the top of the cave, shining it's light on the sword. It had to be Excalibur.
"Yes...at last...at long last!" Gilgamesh placed both arms in the air, curling his fists and began doing some fist pumps. He ran towards the sword screaming "It's mine! It's mine! It's all MINE!" When he got to the sword, he stopped. He rubbed both of his hands together, and then gripped the hilt of the sword and began to pull it out with ease. "Huh, well that was easier than anticipated."
"Congratulations, warrior! You have been chosen to become the greatest hero of all time!" a voice said, apparently coming from the sword. A sudden burst of yellow light covered the room now. Wings spread from the sword.
"Whoa, me? A hero?"
"Are you ready to become victorious? Ready to claim some glory?"
"Victory...Glory..." Gilgamesh said, becoming enthralled by the sword. He made a weird face, that matched the way he felt at this moment. Excalibur AND the title of a hero? He preferred swordsman supreme, but, hey, hero's pretty impressive, too.
Suddenly the light disappeared, as well as the wings, and the sword turned into an odd looking creature (A penguin? An ant eater?). He was very pale, as white as a ghost. He wore a classic looking attire, something nobles would wear back in the day. And he had a top hat and cane to boot.
Gilgamesh froze, keeping the enthralled face he had before. He looked down at the thing before him. "Greetings." the creature said. Gilgamesh suddenly lost that face, now forming a frown. Was this...?
"Are you...Excalibur?" Gilgamesh asked, a little disappointed.
"Fool!" the creature said, pointing it's cane up at the giant's face. "Do not speak, while Excalibur is thinking."
Gilgamesh stepped back, a little confused AND intimidated. Wait. Gilgamesh...? Intimidated? It didn't sit well with him. But even he could feel the power emitting from this little guy. Whoever or whatever he was, he had power. There was no doubt about it.
"You there! Strange creature! I am the greatest swordsman in all of the many worlds, Gilgamesh!
I have searched the marches east and west for the mightiest sword that was ever created and my search has led me here, to YOU!" Gilgamesh said, introducing himself the best way he knew how. "You are the sword, correct? The almighty Excalibur?" He bent over in a squat so he that could look the creature in the eyes.
"Fool!" Excalibur said again, sticking his cane in Gilgamesh's face, causing the giant to roll backwards. "If you wish to become my master, you must first follow this one thousand rule guide."
Gilgamesh got back to his feet and blinked. One THOUSAND rules? Is this thing REALLY the Excalibur? He was starting to think this was just another crummy Excalipoor, despite the power he could feel from this guy. Was he mistaken?
"One thousand rules, huh?" The giant said, rubbing his chin. He should have known that there would be cons to this magnificent pro, but was it truly worth it? Of course it was! How could he ever doubt himself? Gilgamesh was the greatest swordsman! He's challenged many villains and heroes alike!
And a sword collector for crying out loud! He had to get this sword, no matter how high the stakes.
"So be it. If you become my partner, I shall follow all one-thousand rules..." The red giant said,
though hesitantly. He quickly got down on his hands and knees and bowed to Excalibur. Excalibur merely kept the one expression he had since he was released. It was hard to tell what attitude he had.
"Rise, my new master. Together, we shall be victorious!" Excalibur then suddenly turned into his sword form once again, bathing in the shiny light he was once enveloped in. Gilgamesh's enthralled look returned on his face as he reached his hand out to grasp the holy sword. "Come, chosen one! Let us make haste and vanquish your foes!" As Gilgamesh held Excalibur in his hand, he smiled. He just HAD to test this thing out. And he knew the perfect opponents.
"At last, the blade of legend...it is time to put you to work, my new friend!"
TO BE CONTINUED