I do not own the rights to the Legend of Zelda or Soul series.
Please review. Thank you.
The Germanic areas of the Holy Roman Empire were in terrible shape. Towards the borders, cities were more or less intact. The people were scared of the looming threat of the Azure Knight, but they were still able to carry on with their day to day routines.
Further inland, however, was a different story. Cities bore scars of recent battle. The people hurried everywhere they went, not wanting to be outside anymore than they had to be. Their terror was evident.
Even the air of the towns had gloom and despair about it.
Nightmare would face justice for what he'd done.
Soul Edge would face justice.
Making her way towards Ostrheinsburg through the countryside, Taki once more came upon the now familiar sight of a city in ruin.
The walls of this once proud city were in heavy disrepair, large sections having crumbled to the ground. Through the gaps in the fortifications, she could see several buildings charred and broken apart.
She continued on the path.
The sooner she found this "Nightmare," the sooner she could put an end to the destruction Soul Edge was wreaking on the world.
The sooner things would return to how they used to be.
"Hey, you!" called out a voice from behind her, snapping Taki out of her train of though. She turned to face the source of the shout.
A group of young men and women in light metal and leather armor stood together. One among them stepped forward from the group, wearing a scarred, horned helm, and a mismatched set of armor.
"Whaddya doing here?" he asked, approaching Taki.
Taki made no response, only narrowing her eyes. Something wasn't right here.
"What are you, deaf?" he asked after a moment. "I asked you what you were doing here? You clearly aren't a local."
Taki remained silent for a moment longer before answering. "I'm looking for someone. Why does it matter?"
"'Why does it matter?'" the man repeated, mockingly. "Well, Miss, it matters 'cause we're the law 'round these parts. We gotta keep tabs on what's going on in our territory." He took a few more steps towards Taki, and placed his hand on he hilt of the sword dangling from his belt. "And most importantly, we gotta collect the people's taxes."
Taki frowned. Of course this was a shakedown. "What do you want?" she asked flatly.
"What are you, stupid?" the man mocked her. "I couldn't have been any clearer. Taxes. Cough up everything you got." He held out his hand and beckoned Taki to give him everything.
"Vinzent," came a feminine voice from behind him. A young, blonde woman stepped out from the crowd, wearing a set of light metal armor. She looked worried. She must have known Taki was more than what she seemed. "Just let her go, we have enough."
"Keep quiet, Salia!" Vinzent barked. "No one's asking you." He turned back to Taki. "Now, pay up."
Taki grimaced, and silently turned away from the man.
"I was kinda hoping it'd go down this way," she heard him say. She then leapt to the side and out of the way of his strike. Turning quickly to face him, she drew the Rekki-maru from its sheath and adopted a defensive stance.
"You're gonna need more than that tiny knife to tango with me, lady!" Vinzent taunted, and charged her with a wordless shout.
Taki parried the strike, and knocked her attacker off-balance. Then with a swift kick to the stomach and a slash across his back, she knocked him to the dirt.
Vinzent struggled to his feet and spat. "GET HER!" he shouted to the rest of his group.
Many of the others drew their weapons and ran towards Taki.
One man swung a spear towards Taki's head, but she quickly dropped to avoid the tip. She grabbed hold of the spear's shaft and yanked it towards herself, bringing the bandit with it. She swung the Rekki-maru and cut him across the face before kneeing him in the abdomen.
A dagger cut into her side, and Taki let out a small groan of pain. She quickly turned and slashed at her attacker, imbedding the blade into the man's shoulder. She ripped the Rekki-maru out and swung it again, cutting into the man's leather vest. She flipped away from the man, delivering a kick to his face and knocking him out of the fight.
Taki landed on her feet and turned to face another attacker. The man swung a mace at her, but Taki nimbly avoided the blow. She dropped down to the ground and swept her opponent off his feet. As he struggled to get back on his feet, Taki delivered a harsh kick to his head, knocking him unconscious.
"Damn it!" came an annoyed shout from Vinzent. No sooner had Taki turned to face him that the knuckles on his iron gauntlet connected with her face, knocking her down. "You…," he said, stressing the word, "are one tough bitch to nail down, you know that?" He turned to his men. "Grab her."
Immediately, two of the group grabbed hold of her by the arms and shoulders, and held her as immobile as they could.
"Take her bag, boss?" one of the bandits asked.
"In a minute," Vinzent answered, wiping some spittle from his mouth. "Gotta get even first."
"Vinzent," Salia objected. "We don't need to do this. Just take her money and let her go."
"I told you to shut your trap!" Vinzent snarled. "You never had a problem with hurting people when Siegfried was here. But ever since he left you've gone soft. Keep it up, and you're out. Now do as I say and shut up!"
"When Siegfried was here, we didn't raid villages! The worst we did was rob deserters on their way back home!"
"SHUT HER UP!" Vinzent roared, and immediately another bandit grabbed hold of Salia, one arm around her neck, and a hand over her mouth. "You never knew how to listen, Salia," Vinzent said. "Now you're gonna wish you'd learned. But first…" He delivered a punch to Taki's stomach. "Shoulda just given us the money," he said, angrily. "Then we could've all gone our merry way." He gave another jab. "But now we gotta teach you a lesson." He stepped back, and delivered a fierce right hook to the ninja's face. "Hope it was worth it, lady." He drew his leg back and kicked Taki in the stomach, and laughed. He took a moment to regain his composure, and turned away. "Take her stuff and do whatever you want with her. Then cut her throat."
One man let go of Taki and went for the small pack around her waist. She took this opportunity and, despite her injuries, headbutted the other man holding onto her. He fell to the ground and Taki grabbed the other by the head and brought it down onto her knee.
"Oh, you just don't know when to quit!" Vinzent said angrily, and drew his sword. He charged towards the currently unarmed Taki.
She didn't have time to grab the Mekki-maru, and the Rekki-maru wasn't in reach. He was already too close, she wasn't going to be able to get out of the way in time. She didn't have a choice. She braced herself for his attack.
It never came.
A loud, wooden sounding "thunk" came from Vinzent's direction, and he fell to the ground in pain.
"What?" Taki asked aloud, and looked up from the grounded bandit. A shirtless young man with about shoulder-length red hair, spinning a wooden staff in his hand. He wore a leather band across his chest – and what looked to be a crystal mirror embedded in it.
"Sorry to crash the party," he spoke, smiling.
"It ain't like it was much of one without us," came another voice from behind her.
Taki turned to face two more newcomers who'd just rescued Salia from the rest of the gang. One was a Japanese man in a white, open coat wielding a pair of nunchaku. The other was a dark-haired girl in traditional Chinese garb with a sharp, thin sword.
"You're welcome, by the way," spoke the Japanese man, running his free hand through his hair.
The girl socked him in the arm.
"Ow!" he said, gripping his upper arm. "What the hell?"
Taki made no response, and went to pick the Rekki-maru up off the ground. She sheathed it and turned back to the one with the staff. "I thank you for the assistance," she said. "Who are you?"
"They're dead!" Vinzent's voice rang out, and he charged towards the man, cutting him on left cheek. He then kicked him in the jaw, and knocked him to the ground. "Shoulda just minded your own business, boy!" He then cut into his cheek again, the two gashes forming a V. "Maybe now you'll learn."
"Kilik!" the girl cried out, and ran towards Vinzent. She leapt up into the air, and brought the sword down onto the bandit.
Vinzent held up his own sword and blocked the attack. He pushed back against the girl, his superior size and physical strength overcoming her and knocking her away. The thug snarled and raised his sword up, getting ready to finish the girl off.
The Rekki-maru plunged into his neck, and his own blade fell to the ground with a clatter.
Taki yanked her dagger out and Vinzent dropped to the earth. She wiped the blade down and sheathed it before turning to Salia. The Japanese man, meanwhile, ran over to his two companions to help them up – the one with the staff still unconscious.
"I'm sorry for all this," Salia pleaded, her hands shaking. "Please, just let me go. I-I'll take Schwarzwind, and we… we'll clean up our act."
"Schwarzwind?" Taki spoke up. "Just a moment," she said, stepping towards Salia. The girl was clearly very nervous as Taki approached, but she stood her ground. "Schwarzwind," Taki repeated, "Does that have anything to do with Schwarzsturm?"
Salia's eyes widened. "No, no!" she said, "We're not with Schwarzsturm, we just have a similar name!"
Taki stared silently for a moment. Then, satisfied Salia was telling the truth, she nodded and turned away, back towards the trio that had come to the rescue.
The young man with the staff had come to. He had a cloth pressed to his cheek to try and stop the bleeding.
"Hey," the Japanese man said as he rose to his feet. He extended his hand, "thanks for saving them just now."
Taki took his hand briefly, and nodded. "You're all right?" she asked the duo that had battled Vinzent.
"Yeah," said the redhead, "yeah, we're fine."
"Kilik, please let me see it," the Chinese girl prodded. The man, Kilik, acquiesced and removed the cloth. The girl let out a small groan at the sight. The wound ran fairly deep. It would leave some scarring.
"I'll be fine, don't worry," he reassured her, reapplying the cloth against the gash.
"You said you were looking for Schwarzsturm?" the Japanese man asked Taki.
She nodded.
"Why?" he asked, his expression stern.
Immediately, Taki drew the Rekki-maru and held it to the man's throat.
"Maxi!" Kilik called out in concern.
"I'm going to stop them," Taki answered him. "Don't make this difficult."
"Easy," the man said, "I ain't gonna get in your way, if that's what you're worried about." Taki paused for a moment and slowly drew the blade away from his throat. The man stepped back and continued, "We're trying to stop them too."
"You're sure you can face them?" Taki asked.
"We just saved you, didn't we?" he replied, somewhat indignantly.
"I had it under control."
"Ostrheinsburg," came Salia's voice. The group turned to face her – she hadn't left yet. "You're heading for Ostrheinsburg."
"We are?" the man asked, confused. "No one's wanted to tell us anything. All we knew was that it was somewhere North of here."
"Ostrheinsburg," Salia repeated, "Northwest, actually. It's faster if you cut through the forest."
Taki raised an eyebrow, somewhat skeptical.
"She's right," said the Chinese girl, looking at a map she'd produced from her pack. "The paths all go the long way around forest."
"If you're really set on getting there, that's the fastest way," Salia reiterated, "but Schwarzsturm and the Azure Knight are incredibly powerful. You don't know what you're getting into."
"I've faced their kind before," Taki said, remembering her battle with Soul Edge's previous owner. "Thank you for the advice," she added, and began to make her way towards the forest.
"Wait," called Kilik's voice from behind her. "We'll go with you. We're after the same thing."
Taki opened her mouth to object, but stopped herself. There really wasn't any real reason they couldn't tag along. Having a few people at her back against Schwarzsturm couldn't hurt any.
"Then let's get moving," she said.
So, what'd you think? Good? Bad? Why?
Let me know. Leave a review.
