There Will Be Shadow

Sorry for taking so long. Got addicted to pokemon and stuff.

Fated Paths

Fate is a mysterious thing. Just like the past, it pushes and steers; dictates, for the most part, your future. Tears people apart, smashes families to pieces. Destroys friendships and creates enemies. I didn't know about Kaiel's past, no, and nor did I want to know. It wouldn't be long until I did, though. And he'd find out about mine.

That's the way with fate. Brings up your past; past demons you'd rather forget. But...it also gives you a future. Suddenly, mine was there, plink plink of metallic boots on the cold tarmac covered floor.

Kaiel.

His luminous eye staring at me. Ice blue in the night. Ice blue to match the frigid air of the inky dark. A groan. He inches forwards, sits down by me, even. His warm cloak wraps around my shivering form, and I see the ghostly stump of his former glory for the first time; his cruelly amputated right arm crossed against his chest. It fills me with the same sadness from before. I don't care that his infamous Executioner is digging into my hip. All I feel is this sadness...

His eye stares at me once, but he doesn't say anything. Nor do I, and the eye flicks away again. The only sound is our soft breathing, and the groaning being in armour unconscious next to us; the very thing that divided us apart.

The very thing that brought us together. Again.

Heh.

Fate. Fate is such a strange thing...

Two pairs of sapphire eyes watched as the fallen Meta Knight finally stirred from unconsciousness. He rose, his caped back initially toward the pair as he tilted his face mask back into position, only to whirl around when he heard a half amused snort from behind him.

"Not so noble now, eh?"

That voice; he knew that voice. Meta Knight looked up slowly at the two now stood before him. One was a tall, blonde haired female with piercing blue eyes, clad completely in some kind of skin tight azure coloured jump suit with strange, glowing pink symbols on it. She felt familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place a name to her face. The other, slightly taller cloaked figure, who looked not too dissimilar from Ganondorf in terms of appearance, with equally piercing eyes - one organic, the other mechanical - was the one he did recognise. His glowing yellow eyes widened. How was he even alive...? Meta Knight stared at Kaiel for longer than he intended before he was finally able to wrench his gaze free.

"Drakosbane." He finally addressed the veteran warrior, his age old name for him thrumming though his helmet.

Meta Knight spied the woman shifting uncomfortably, leaning from one leg onto the other in her standing position. Kaiel, however, remained motionless and emotionless, as if daring Meta Knight to make a false move. The armoured warrior involuntarily clenched his white gloved fists.

"So..." The woman's voice drifted through his ears almost like an unsteady bird song, "What happened to you, Meta Knight? I mean, a moment ago, you were so bent on killing Kaiel here...now you are more docile than a well tempered horse! What's up with that?"

Underneath his mask, Meta Knight's eyes flicked between Kaiel and the one who was interrogating him. He shifted from one metal foot onto the other and back again, before he finally mumbled: "Why don't you ask him?"

"Because the lady's askin' you!" Kaiel roared at the knight impatiently, mechanical eye glowing threateningly. Thankfully, the woman – Samus...yes, that was her name – stopped him short with a curt wave of her hand.

Samus gave Kaiel a reproachful look, before continuing, "As Kaiel says, I'm asking you. What happened to you? You were acting possessed."

Something slipped in place when Meta Knight heard Samus utter that. "I was possessed."

Through the metal of his helmet, he heard Kaiel sigh, before the Bounty Hunter's, "Go on." He cleared his throat.

"It all began back, way back; back before the Day of Eternal Shadow..."

...Back to just after the Brawl. I remember now, as clear as day. That trainer kid, Red, I think, had taken it all in a very close fight with Aran herself. I'm not usually one for sticking around to watch other smashers fight, but that match was beautiful. Even when it went to sudden death, the pair were still at it for hours. When Samus Grapple Beamed the kid's Squirtle, I thought that was it. But then Charizard comes from nowhere and BAM. Game. Then Lucario and I fighting for third place. Another close one.

Anyway, everyone was celebrating with the kid, congratulating him and his Pokemon. Even though I had come third, I didn't feel like staying to celebrate. I just wanted to fly home and repair the Halberd so I could get out of this city for good. I didn't fit here, and the city didn't fit me. Leaving, I was certain, would also stop these sickening feelings I'd been getting, gnawing away at me like some disease. I needed out, now.

Before I could spread my winds to fly, however, I felt something tap at one of my pauldrons. As I turned, a fist impacted me in the face, causing me to lose consciousness. In my blacked out state, I had a prophetic dream in which I saw the city shrouded in darkness, as it is now. I saw red glowing eyes, which soon turned to ice blue. When I came to, my mind was darkened. All I could see were those glowing, blue eyes, eyes that haunted me at every turn. So when I saw the Drakosbane for the first time, imagine it...!

I had my eyes set on him then. So I watched, waited. Waited in the shadows for my chance. The little good that was still left in me didn't want to do this, but the darkness was too overpowering, the visions I had too haunting...so I bode my time. Waited for the Day of Eternal Shadow to come and everyone to turn against Drakosbane just as the darkness had promised me.

And then the day came, or rather the night. Lightning cleaved the sky just as Galaxia would cleave the Traitor in due course. I chased him, cornered him like he was a mere beast. Our eyes met. His glowing blue eyes...SLASH! No more. Only blood. Blood that had never tasted so sweet. Blood that had never tasted so bitter.

I don't know what occurred after that night. I thought my nightmares would all be over. But they weren't. They only got worse as the city plunged into darkness. And then my orbs spied him again, and I thought it were impossible. But you were alive, Drakosbane, and the shadows in me were urging me to finish what I started. What I didn't count on, though, was a certain Bounty Hunter being by my enemy's side. My thoughts were only on how you could be alive.

Then bam, shot outta the sky. How the mighty fall, eh?

Now I'm here, facing two mighty warriors...

"...Facing the both of you, telling my story. Funny how things turn out..." Meta Knight concluded, drawing in breath. "And that, warriors, is that."

Silence greeted the knight's words. But it didn't last long.

"What a load of bullshit!" Kaiel's thunderous voice shattered the quietness. "Possessed my backside! You knew very well what you were doing when you tore me to shreds and left me for dead! You goddamn knew!"

"I-I was possessed!" Meta Knight stuttered quietly. "But...if it helps, I swear to atone for my wrongdoing." He placed a gloved hand on a pauldron.

His former enemy only glared at him, the icy glow of his mechanical eye waning and waxing slowly.

"When you two are quite done..." Samus interjected before either of them had a chance to say anything else, "We have a duty to find out what is causing this darkness, and who caused Meta Knight to become possessed."

"We?" The street veteran's voice half spluttered, "No way."

"I must agree with Drakosbane. Going after the one who rendered me possessed would be most unwise. You are asking for a death wish, Lady Aran." Meta Knight nodded in agreement.

An almost unbearable pause followed the knight's words once more. It was only broken when Samus turned her back on the other two, and softly, almost inaudibly uttered:

"Fine. I'll go alone."

Both men stared at Samus, dumbfounded, like she had just stripped completely before them both or something. It took them so long to gather themselves together, that Samus had already begun to walk away.

"Lady Aran, is that a good idea?" Meta Knight gathered himself first, calling after her.

Samus paused, before half turning around. "Well, it is clear neither of you are going to help me, isn't it?"

"Now hang on just a minute..." Kaiel started, but Samus cut in again before he could finish.

"They are my friends, Kaiel! Just because you may not give a damn about them, doesn't mean I feel the same way as you!"

"Friends? And I thought the Huntress worked alone." The street veteran almost jeered at her, as if daring Samus to defy his statement. Meta Knight looked uneasily between them, wondering how the Bounty Hunter was going to respond this time.

"I won't lie to you; half of the other smashers are annoying most of the time. But we'd do anything for each other, so I owe it to them to find out where they are!" Samus explained, her voice heightening in pitch towards the end of the first part of her explanation. "Whether you come with me or not is up to you, but I'm going regardless."

With sudden speed, Kaiel lunged at her, throwing his only hand forward, and grabbed Samus by her injured shoulder, before turning her to face him harshly. He ignored her yelp of surprise.

"With your shoulder how it is?" He hissed at her, the frightening glow of his eye returning.

"Let go of me!" Samus tried to pull away from him.

"Drakosbane, unhand her! You are hurting her!" Meta Knight readied his sword.

Kaiel forced himself to loosen his grip and the Bounty Hunter broke free. She massaged her shoulder with her other hand. "I managed to save your life earlier, didn't I?" Samus returned his cold eyed gaze with one of her own.

"I was completely fine."

"You call half throttled to death and having your face shoved into a wall fine? Well, next time, I shalln't bother!" She stormed off.

"Ugh, why do you have to be so stubborn!"

A pause in motion. "I'm not the one being stubborn here!"

"Fine, walk away, see how I care!"

With that, both of them walked away, in the opposite direction, leaving Meta Knight alone.

"For the love of honour..." He shook his head, and, against his better judgement, followed after Kaiel.