Chapter 4: Plans


(Raphael's Castle- Dinning Room)

"Y-you're saying that Tira broke into the throne room and stole Soul Calibur?!" Raphael asked his daughter in a shocked tone of voice, nearly chocking on his forkful of food. Quietly, Amy nodded her head, a twinge of guilt showing on her face.

"Christophe, the new servant you hired recently, and I were in the library when we heard yelling coming from the throne room where you and the other servants were." she said, explaining how the events unfolded. "Then there was the shattering of glass and we rushed to the throne room after hearing her voice. But by the time we got there, she was just about to jump out the window. Then..." Amy suddenly paused, shuddering as she recalled what happened.

"Then what?" Raphael asked, beginning to feel tense.

"She... she looked at me and said..." Amy sighed, then began to imitate Tira's voice the best she could although she was stuttering slightly due to being afraid, an emotion she didn't feel often. "'L-Lady... D-Dionna requires this sword for her... plans. You're going to be part of her family soon enough, little butterfly, just like your father.'"

Raphael gritted his teeth and cringed after hearing the name. Dionna?! What could she possibly want with the holy sword?

Seeing her father's face, Amy slowly got up and walked over to where he was sitting, and looking him in the eye, said, "Father, I know you risked your life and worked hard to try to make a new world for me. But I'm still here for you. You don't need to be afraid." She smiled sweetly; the smile that Raphael had always loved to see every morning.

Raphael sighed, calming down. She was right: she was still here, not captured by Dionna. He smiled at his daughter, and sat down, resuming their meal together. But somewhere in the back of his mind, a sinister voice that sounded awfully like Dionna's was saying, "You're mad at your servant, right? He did nothing to prevent your plan from resulting in absolute failure. Kill him as punishment like you did for the other three. Let his soul become mine…"

Amy's voice broke the sudden silence after awhile. "...Father?" she asked timidly after sitting back down in her chair. "Who is... Dionna?"

Raphael remained silent, struggling to find an answer. He took a deep breath.

"I... I don't know..."


(Next morning. The forest on the outskirts of town.)

He did not want to leave Amy alone again, but he had to get his mind off of what Tira had done to ruin his plans. This was not a killing mission, just a walk….

But suddenly, he spotted two people, a man and woman, walking together. The girl appeared to be Asian, Chinese perhaps, wore all light blue clothing and had her brown hair in two pigtails. The man had equally dark brown hair, strange looking dark blue apparel, and a rod for a weapon.

He recognized the male instantly. Kilik. This man with the Kali-Yuga had fought him a couple times before, but that was during Raphael's pursuit of Soul Edge, and he had put that sword behind him long ago.

He did not want to kill anybody today on this walk, but the thirst was returning, and he had his eyes on Kilik's girlfriend….


"Xianghua! Nooo!" Kilik yelled, struggling, leaning on his Kali-Yuga to get up after Raphael hit and sliced his body severely to get to Xianghua. But it was too late: Xianghua was now dead due to Raphael drinking all of her blood. Kilik watched in horror as Raphael wiped his mouth and let go of Xianghua, her body crumpling to the dirt ground; her eyes: empty and lifeless. Raphael picked up his now speckled red rapier, and made his way towards Kilik, whose eyes now showed fear. Raphael smirked, and swung his sword gracefully.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

And then the man breathed no more.

Strange. This feeling felt almost satisfying to Raphael, as he stared at the fresh blood trickling down his sword and wetting the dry soil under his feet…..

Raphael shook his head. What had he done?! He had just killed two innocent peasants! (Well, almost innocent. Kilik had interfered with his plans once or twice as well.) He clenched his fist as memories of his experience with Dionna came flooding back, and his left arm still throbbed with the same unimaginable pain.

He suddenly cringed as the sound of hands slowly clapping together came closer to him. Slowly, he turned and was face to face with Dionna, her bright eyes shining brightly in the shadows of the trees she was hiding in. "Well done." she said, smiling as she ceased clapping her hands. "I saw the whole thing. You did a fine job disposing of those two mortals."

She suddenly reached out and snatched the front of Raphael's outfit, pulling him close to her. "Now..." she said, icily, as she took out her sword. "Let's get moving, Sorel. You have some work to do..."


TO BE CONTINUED