A/N: Thanks again for the reviews, everyone! I have to admit, the manner in which Link is introduced to Amy is perhaps not as realistic as I had envisioned it. Might make a few tweaks to it at some point.
And it appears I had a Freudian slip regarding Link's age ALLLLL the way back in Chapter 11. I meant to say Link was 12 at the start of THIS story, not OOT, and thought 10 sounded about right for the start of OOT, but I entered 12 by mistake and didn't notice it until a reviewer brought it to my attention.
Sorry if this confused or otherwise upset anyone, but I wanted to have a "Young" Link for this story as the name of the story implied, and thought 13 by the time he arrived in Europe would be a good age to meet this description. I have since updated that mistake in Chapter 11, and as I think about it, I bet I added more confusion about his age as I remember a character thinking to himself/herself Link was "like 13? 15 years old?" in another chapter...ugh. I feel I deserve flames for causing such confusion. Hey, it's my first story...mistakes happen, right?...Right?
(Sees angry looks with crossed arms and fingers slowly tapping)
Well...hope that doesn't upset too many folks about it.
(Ahem) But moving on. Things are coming to a head in the Romania arc. There will be one more Romania chapter after this one. Hope it has been entertaining thus far. Here comes part three of this arc. Enjoy!
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This is a sentence. - Narration. No character speaking or thinking.
"This is a sentence." - Character speaking out loud.
'This is a sentence.' - Character speaking in his/her head.
"(This is a sentence.)" - Character speaking out loud but in a language unfamiliar to the characters (and I was too lazy to research the correct wording).
This is a sentence. - Emphasis placed on the italic word in the normal course of the narration or the character speaking or thinking.
This IS a sentence. - Same as with the single italic, just a variation of expressing the emphasis.
This is a sentence. - All italics means the event is happening in a dream or flashback of which I would give a quick note prior saying a dream or flashback is occurring.
This is a sentence. - During a dream or flashback, emphasis placed in the normal text word in the normal course of the narration or the character speaking or thinking.
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I do not own The Legend of Zelda or Soul Calibur.
Chapter 24 - Evil Revealed
(Earlier)
Taki had been silently making her way through the castle since leaving Link. As expected, there were a significant number of guards but were not as numerous as more of them were primarily by where the dancing was being held. This made it slightly easier to figure out their movements and positions to avoid being seen by them. As she was unfamiliar with the layout, she had to take her time to memorize where each guard was and moved about to and from so as to safely move from room to room without getting caught.
Finally, she made her way to what looked to be a large study of some kind after nearly half an hour of searching, somewhere near the back end of the castle. Although upon closer inspection, it was more along the lines of a library than a study as it was three stories tall with shelves and shelves of books on each level. She knew she was close to her goal, though, as soon as she walked into the room.
'I can feel it...the shard is here, somewhere in this library. A particularly big one, it feels like. Now, where could it be?' she concentrated a little before looking in a particular direction. 'Hmm, it looks to be on the second level.'
Seeing a spiral staircase, she walked up the stairs on the side of the room before she continued looking. Like the downstairs, the center of the wall gave way to a pathway to another part of the castle, with shelves of books along either side of it (A/N: Think the library stage in SC II in terms of design, even though that stage is in France instead of Romania, and with spiral stairs as opposed to ladders, which I thought was weird to get from level to level).
'Now, a common hiding place in such rooms would be inside a book, behind a painting, or in a hidden panel of some kind. So which is it here?' she thought to herself as she looked to where the energy felt the strongest.
She shortly isolated the section that appeared to be holding the shard, which was in a middle shelf close to the edge near the center of the room. She looked through several books to see if it was hidden there, but closer inspection revealed nothing. She then looked at the space behind where the books were and could feel the energy seemed to be coming from the wall.
'Hmm, secret panel, then?' she mused to herself as she removed several books before pushing a hand against the wall. After moving her hand around the wall, she felt something give, and sure enough, a secret panel opened, a brief smile of satisfaction adorning her face. Inside, she found what she expected—a shard of Soul Edge...and a very sizable one, too. Whereas many shards she had seen were often less than an inch long and rather thin, this one was so large she could not even fully cover it with her fist it was as much as two inches in diameter and up to half an inch thick.
She then closed the secret panel and replaced the books she had previously moved so it would look as if she had never been there. She then took a moment to look at the shard again as she walked away.
"Just where did he get a shard so large? Is this what he has been using to corrupt these people-AH!"
She gave a slight shout of pain when something hard and a little sharp smacked her hand, forcing her to drop the shard. So surprised by the sudden attack she ended up tossing the shard over the edge to the lower level. She watched where it fell over before turning over to see what hit her.
Or rather, WHO had hit her as she saw a figure standing thirty feet away.
"You..." she said as she recognized the figure before her.
"We meet again, ninja," the figure replied before retracting her weapon.
"Ivy," Taki simply replied.
The woman Ivy was very tall at 5' 10" and had short white/silver hair with dark red lips. Her outfit was particularly revealing, consisting of a purple outfit with some gold armor covering her entire left arm, save for just above the elbow, that resembled claws at the fingertips. She also had gold armor covering most of her high-heeled feet, but nothing else. Her upper thighs were bare but had a pair of gold rings wrapped around them, and her upper right shoulder was bare as well. She wore a matching purple neckwear with two straps leading down to her chest that held up her extremely large breasts. So large were they that the outfit showed a very large amount of cleavage in the upper and center parts of the breasts, barely covering up the...essentials. Two purple leggings and a matching right sleeve that covered her hand all the way to her upper arm filled the rest with a green gem on the back of her right hand (A/N: Her primary outfit from SC II).
Said hand was holding her very unique weapon that she had used to strike Taki's hand that previously held the shard. It was a double-edged sword but actually consisted of several sections put together. This allowed it to be wielded like a normal, single handed sword when collapsed or could be extended into several sections and could be wielded like a whip, depending on the user's preference. She smirked at her handy work before replying.
"Taki, I believe. Not whom I was expecting to see, but not complaining either."
"The feeling is mutual. And just who were you expecting, if not me?" Taki replied, slowly walking to the middle of the area as she gauged her opponent, while also glancing where the shard went.
"No one you need concern yourself with," Ivy replied, making a similar glance and movement. In truth, she was expecting to see a familiar man with a scythe as she was following his trail to this town, but this was just as good.
The two women had previously met four years prior at Ostrheinsburg Castle in Germany. It was then that Ivy, whose real name is Isabella Valentine, learned from Taki that she was the biological daughter of the original wielder of Soul Edge, the dreaded pirate Cervantes de Leon. She was very shocked and devastated upon learning this, and in more ways than one. Her father, or at least the man whom she thought was her father, died searching for Soul Edge as he believed it was the "key to eternal youth." But upon learning that it was in fact an evil blade that drove people mad, she vowed to destroy the sword as retribution for his death.
Through alchemy, she constructed the sword in her hand and then used a ritual to turn it into a living sword with the intent to destroy Soul Edge. Then she came across Nightmare, who actually wielded Soul Edge but she was unaware of this fact at the time, and participated in a ritual that resulted in innocent people's souls being sucked from their bodies, killing them and filling her with guilt and regret. But through Taki, she learned that her sword, the blade she create to destroy Soul Edge, was actually given life by Soul Edge itself.
But the worst was when Taki revealed her heritage and her biological father was actually a murderous, sick pirate corrupted by Soul Edge that terrorized Europe for decades. She knew she was adopted before this news but did not care at the time, as the Valentines were the only parents she knew.
This news, however, changed everything. Not only did she renew her vow to destroy Soul Edge, but she also vowed to destroy all traces of Soul Edge as a result—the sword, the shards, all of it. As she herself was connected to the evil blade, this would also include herself, a fact she was not oblivious to. And all those who were corrupted by Soul Edge, or otherwise looked to obtain it, she would kill without mercy.
Guilty, or innocent.
And now, she came across a familiar foe looking for the shard of the evil blade, and from what she could tell, also held a weapon that radiated the energy of Soul Edge, and so she must also be eliminated.
"I always wondered if we would ever meet again. Now I can destroy the spawn of Cervantes once and for all," Taki declared as she got into a fighting stance. While she needed to get the shard Ivy had knocked away, she would also feel content knowing a threat was eliminated if she did not manage to get the shard.
A sharp snap of her sword-whip came from Ivy at that comment. "That man is NOT my father, wench," she snarled.
"Deny it all you want, there is no changing that fact," Taki rather gloated.
"I AM aware of that fact," Ivy replied, making Taki shift her head slightly in surprise.
"You do not deny it, then?"
"I am...aware of my heritage," Ivy replied softly before her determined look reappeared, "but no matter what you say, that man is, nor will ever be, my father."
"Hmph. Be that as it may," Taki started before getting into a fighting stance, Ivy responding in kind, "I cannot ignore your evil deeds. You are still responsible for the deaths of many, and all descended from the evil blade must be destroyed. Begone!" she replied back before charging after her.
As she got close, in one motion Taki quickly drew her weapon and swung a series of slashes that Ivy blocked or parried with her collapsed sword. She countered with a couple of her own before making a third slash where she extended her blade as she swung. Taki ducked underneath it before having to lean back from another, lean the other way from another strike, then backflipped to avoid another to her legs.
Ivy narrowed her eyes slightly as she collapsed her weapon, the two pausing to gauge their next move. While they only fought briefly the first time, it was enough for both women to conclude that the other was highly skilled, and it was clear to both that this would be difficult. After several moments of silence, the two slowly moved closer to each other, waiting for the other to strike. Taki obliged with a spinning thrust that Ivy parried with a spin, countering a pair of follow up strikes before making a kick to Taki's side. The hit connected, but did little to deter her.
Taki replied with a charge, but instead of using her sword, she made a roll while making a pair of spinning kicks on her back to Ivy's midsection. Caught off guard, Ivy stumbled back from the hit, only to go back on the defensive to block and avoid a series of swings from Taki. She ducked under a high swing, spinning around to face Taki again, her back to the lower level of the library and stood but a few feet from the edge.
Her eyes widened when, to her surprise, Taki jumped high in the air, then as if by magic, suddenly SHOT towards her in a fast diving strike. She ducked underneath the attack out of instinct before following where she went, only to widen her eyes in realization at what she was doing.
'She's going after the shard!'
Taki ran after said shard shortly after landing, which wasn't far from the point she dropped it from but had to back in the direction she came from to go after it due to the angle required to fly over the ledge and Ivy. She reached an arm out to grab it, but just as she got within a couple feet from it, Ivy's snake-sword hit it away again, much to her frustration.
"Grrr, I'm starting to hate that sword," she commented as she watched it travel a good twenty-five feet away, only to have to avoid a piercing strike from above. She took several steps away from the ledge Ivy was standing over just as said person dropped down to her level.
She tried to go for the shard again, but Ivy made sure to prevent her from getting any opportunity before moving closer. Ivy kept up the pressure with a series of short and long-range strikes that Taki had to dodge or parry. She was getting frustrated not just at the fact she had difficulty countering with her long-ranged weapon, but also at the time it was taking to get the shard. Someone was bound to hear or find them sooner or later, and that would just add further complications.
They exchanged a series of blows, neither one able to really take advantage of the other or make a move for the shard. Both of them kept strategically positioning themselves so the shard was always in sight no matter where they went. Facing the multistory shelves, they were now in the back-right of the room with the shard about ten feet from the very center of the room on the front side closer to where the ledges were. Taki used a series of hit and run strikes, quickly moving close to attack before quickly moving back to dodge; however, at most she could only graze Ivy's thigh, not nearly enough to even hinder her, and she received a small cut of her own on her upper left-side, though it was not bleeding.
Ivy found a good part of her less on attacking and more on preventing Taki from getting the shard. As much as she hated to admit it, Taki was a much quicker foe, and she even seemed to be able to maneuver herself in midair. This forced her to concentrate more on Taki's movements to keep her from making a move for the shard, which prevented her from making a move for the shard herself. It also didn't help she was wearing high heels, which were not really designed for combat.
'Note to self: Do not wear high heels ever again,' she commented to herself as she blocked another strike. She gave another series of short and long strikes that Taki backflipped to avoid, making a particularly high and far one to avoid a low sweep with her sword. After she landed, Ivy shot her sword forward as far as possible, which Taki quickly blocked with one of her blades. But this time, the manner in which she blocked caused Ivy's blade to wrap around her sword.
The two froze briefly at that, both somewhat surprised at the turn of events as they looked between their blades and each other. Then an idea came to Ivy, letting out a smirk just as she made her plan known.
Taki looked up in curiosity at seeing Ivy' smirk, wondering what she was up to-
SCHING!
With a mental command, the various sectional pieces of metal that made up Ivy's sword...suddenly broke apart entirely. Not only that, they were hovering in midair!
'She never showed THIS before!' Taki thought to herself before she quickly ran away to avoid several pieces that flew right towards her while Ivy watched her go.
She took another high jump to avoid another, then blocked another shard with her sword before she summoned her ki and quickly launched fireballs from her other hand to knock back two more shards.
Ivy saw this and swung her sword handle forward. In response, all pieces of her sword once again flew towards Taki at once.
Seeing this, Taki made a series of hand-signs as she landed while channeling her ki. After making her final hand sign, a large blue barrier suddenly surrounded her. But just as quickly as it formed, she suddenly shoved her hands outward...and the barrier started expanding rapidly outward! Now it was Ivy's turn to be surprised.
'She never showed THIS before!' she thought as she watched as her sword pieces bounced off and were pushed back from the barrier.
The floor started breaking apart from where the barrier touched as it expanded. Ivy was forced to retreat to avoid touching the barrier herself. She summoned the sword pieces back to her hilt as she ran, then quickly thrust her blade up to the second level, impaling it just below ledge before she quickly used the swords properties to pull her upward to the second ledge. She rolled and ducked as a precaution in case it reached her.
She watched as it approached to her level, but it suddenly vanished just before it could reach her. She hesitated a few seconds, ensuring the danger had passed before she stood up and quickly moved towards the ledge.
"NO!" she shouted at seeing Taki grab the shard. She saw her running towards her direction, only to realize she was leaving towards the path beneath her level. She tried to use her sword to prevent her escape, but Taki simply dodged or knocked her sword away and kept on running.
"Grrr, you cunt! No one, NO ONE can escape from me!" she shouted as she jumped down and gave chase. She saw her take a left up ahead and ran to catch up to her. "Come back here!"
(Present)
Raphael excused himself from the crowd after he walked back inside, announcing his injuries were affecting him more than he thought and telling them to enjoy the festivities in his absence before walking upstairs, holding a hand on his ribs where he genuinely received an injury and exited the room. But as soon as he was out of sight, he stopped limping and straightened up before drawing his sword, an angry and determined look adorning his face as he took the lead while still following his trailing servant's directions.
His servant informed him that there was a break-in in the library, and immediately went to inform him upon their discovery. No one had yet spotted who had done this, but it was estimated to have occurred at least ten minutes after he was informed. But whoever it was, that someone must have known of the shard of Soul Edge in his possession. How someone discovered this and where, he could not say, but he was going to make the fool pay. He cautiously peered over the corner to a hallway, bracing himself for what may come. The fact no one reported another army attacking indicated it was a single person, or maybe but a few individuals who had snuck in.
He suddenly paused and gasped slightly at the sight of the four dead bodies that littered the hallway. He couldn't help but feel a pinch of sorrow at having lost so many servants and guards, especially with the ones he lost in the prior battle, but now he was starting to get a little concerned.
'No one reported any deaths when I was informed...When did this happen?' he thought as he inspected the bodies. 'It couldn't have been long as the blood is fresh. Hmm, it must have happened not long after their initial discovery of the break-in. Then that means...'
"Daria," he addressed his servant.
"Yes, master," said servant replied and straightened in attention. Raphael turned back slightly before continuing.
"We have a dangerous intruder or intruders in our midst. Head back and tell the people to leave as quietly as possible. Also, have at least three guards keep an eye on Amy...and that boy she is with. Make sure no harm comes to them."
The servant was about to do just that but that last part caught her attention. "A boy?" she echoed while blinking. "What boy?"
"Do not ask questions!" he yelled, making her stiffen in fear. "Just make sure they're safe. Now, GO!" he ordered with a wave of his hand.
"Y-Yes, my Lord!" Daria said nervously with a quick bow before running to do just that. An angry master was never a healthy thing, and she was sure he was furious now.
Raphael watched her go a few seconds, thinking of his daughter as well as the boy she was with. He was still cautious of the boy with that holy...shard or whatever on him. But at the same time, he did not detect him as dishonest or deceitful in character when speaking with him, and he looked to show genuine interest and care for her well-being. Combined with how his daughter seemed to show interest in him as well and how he even managed to make her smile, he decided to chance that his daughter was in good hands with the boy and he would not let any harm come to her if something happened; however, this development made him rethink the danger they could be in, and so ordered to have them protected.
He took a deep breath to reassure himself of his actions and continued forward. He slowly walked by the slew of dead bodies and examined the wounds on them. They were all slashed by a blade of some kind, but none he was familiar with. Some wounds looked like it was from a blade with jagged edges while others were without jagged edges. What kind of weapon did that?
Unable to learn anything more, he cautiously headed to the library roughly a minute later and couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise as he entered. The bottom floor looked like an earthquake or something happened as it was disrupted everywhere to the point there was almost no flat surface anywhere. Many books were scattered by the shelves, having fallen off from...whatever happened.
'There was no tremor that I or anyone felt. What could have caused this?' he thought. What was even more perplexing was the damage looked circular, like it came from a single point in the room, roughly a third of the distance from the wall opposite where he entered to the center of the room.
He turned his attention to the second level where he kept the shard. He made his way up, seeing the damage did not carry to the second floor. He shoved the books aside and opened the hidden panel. Sure enough, the shard was gone.
"Merde," he cursed before shoving another stack of books as hard as he could in frustration. "Bastards! I will make you suffer for this, mark my words! YOU HEAR ME!? YOU WILL ALL DIE! NOW WHERE ARE YOU!?" he declared as he quickly looked around on where to search for the murdering thief.
A sound behind him caught his attention. He quickly opened the door behind him, seeing nothing down the hall in front of him. He looked down the path to his right, which showed nothing. He then heard a sound coming from the other way and turned his head in that direction, only to widen and then narrow his eyes in rage at seeing more dead guards.
"Bastards," he cursed again.
"Ugh..."
Suddenly, one of the guards made a sound, catching his attention.
'He's still alive!' Raphael thought as he quickly rushed to the man's side. He was laying down on his side at an angle, originally facing away from Raphael before he hopped over him and knelt down by him.
"Andrei...what happened?" Raphael asked him.
"Kwa sah..." Andrei tried to speak, but Raphael saw his throat had been cut, among other places, and so could not speak properly. It must not have been as deep as he had not yet bled out, but with the amount of blood he already lost, he must have been bleeding for at least a few minutes. As Raphael was about to speak again, he looked down to see Andrei was moving his arm...and pointing in a direction, pointing down the hall before shifting his arm to the right and stopping, as if saying to go that way and turn to the right. Raphael nodded to himself before turning back to him.
"Who did this, Andrei? WHO?" Raphael shouted while shaking him once at the end.
Andrei tried to say something, but he could only make one more gargling sound before collapsing. Raphael softened his eyes slightly and let out a sigh before closing the eyes of Andrei, sparing a moment of solemnity at his death before his angry look returned and rushed in the direction he had pointed.
He let out a very...animalistic hiss at seeing even more dead bodies down the hall with a couple laying on the stairs. The slew of dead bodies led him to the second floor of the north side. He walked along the upper level of a two-story study, looking for any sign of the (soon to be dead) intruder, so far only finding the dead guards that were stationed there. He wondered if said intruder left as there was a way outside to the upper level not far from here. He peered outside the middle of three windows, looking for any sign of the intruder.
He had barely enough time to widen his eyes in surprise when someone literally crashed right through the window he was peering through, a pair of feet kicking him hard into his chest. He rolled in a backwards somersault before quickly flipping himself upright. He looked up at who had hit him, and his eyes widened in surprise at seeing a mysterious girl in green, wielding a very large circular blade...with jagged sections in three parts on it and was covered in blood. Raphael quickly regained his composure and got back into a fighting stance.
"Who are you, wench? Are you responsible for killing my men?" he demanded.
She smirked at him as she replied. "That's right!" she replied rather gleefully. "And YOU'RE next!" she shouted before attacking without another word.
She swung away a pair of defensive thrusts as she advanced forward. Raphael stepped back in reply, but he overlooked a dead guard by his feet, which caused him to lose his balance and stumble backward. Fortunately, the railing prevented him from falling down, but when he looked up, the girl thrust her blade into the ground in front of him, actually embedding it in the floor. He was then further surprised when she used her weapon as a pivot and she swung herself BETWEEN her weapon and nailed him with another hard double-kick to the chest.
The hard impact knocked him through the guard railing down to the lower level, pieces of the railing falling down with him. However, he flipped himself upright in midair just as the girl jumped down to follow him. As he landed, he rolled to the side to avoid another swing of her ring blade before parrying a pair of additional swings from her and stepping back. The two paused several moments before they slowly circled each other, analyzing their next moves.
"Why did you kill my men? And why are you trying to kill me?" Raphael asked calmly but with noticeable sharpness in his tone. He was unamused when the girl laughed at him.
"Hee, hee! Because! You hurt my master, and anyone who causes harm to my master must die," she replied. Raphael could tell she had a sinister glee when it came to harming others, like she personally enjoyed it.
"Oh? And just who is your master that I supposedly have harmed?" Raphael asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she replied with a smirk before she attacked again. She thrust her blade forward in two large upward circular motions, then blocked a countering spinning attack from Raphael, then sidestepped a thrust to her abdomen. He pulled back, the two of them briefly getting into another fighting stance.
"Well then, let us dance!" Raphael declared with a mocking bow before they engaged in a series of horizontal swings that they both blocked and parried before Raphael sidestepped an attack with a spin.
As he thrust forward and got up close to counter, he saw an opening and gave a quick knee strike to her stomach followed by a straight kick to her upper chest, pushing her back. She tried to back away, but he continued the offensive with a barrage of rapid thrusts that Tira had difficulty blocking. Finally, one thrust managed to scrape her bare abdomen, which made her hiss in rage as she looked at him.
"Touché, ma cheri," Raphael taunted as he got back into a fighting stance
"Touché this!" Tira shouted back before charging after him. This time, Raphael stayed on the defensive as he parried her attacks. He jumped over a low swing to his legs, spinning around as he did, and parried another pair of slashes as he calmly stepped back and waited for the girl to strike again.
Tira was starting to get frustrated. Her attacks weren't connecting like she expected, and this man wasn't leaving any opening. It also looked like he was...dancing? She looked at how he moved back and forth in anticipation of her next move, and how his feet were constantly moving in a tapping-like motion. She narrowed her eyes at that. She was a very agile fighter herself, but she had to admit she never really fought another like this before.
'This will be harder than I thought,' she said to herself. Deciding to take a different approach, she took a more defensive posture and decided to wait for Raphael to strike.
Raphael saw this change in demeanor but was not worried and merely smirked at this change of pace. He happily obliged and "took the lead" as he went on the attack, giving a powerful thrust as he did. Tira parried and spun in a circle, blocking another pair of swings before countering with an upward slice, then spun into a pair of horizontal swings to the abdomen. Raphael parried these before stepping back from a charging downward slash that hit the floor.
She pulled back, and he went back on the offensive and ran towards her, but this time instead of using his sword, he suddenly gave a light hop and did a sliding kick to her legs. Caught off guard, she was hit in her lower leg hard enough to cause her to fall. She rolled to the side, and Raphael quickly got up to keep up the pressure. Tira parried a thrust coming towards her while she was on her side, then rolled to the side again to avoid another one before turning it into a flip and landed a solid kick to his side as she got up, forcing him back.
Tira then noticed he was holding his side longer than she expected. 'That's odd. I hit him good, but not that hard. So why-' Her eyes suddenly widened in realization. 'He's already hurt there!'
A predatory grin appeared as a plan came into motion.
"My turn!" she shouted gleefully before attacking. She thrust her ring blade forward that was parried, then gave a hard downward strike that Raphael wasn't able to parry as well. She took advantage by stepping into a hard upward swing that knocked Raphael off-balance, allowing her to get another good left kick into his wounded right side and moved closer to attack again. Raphael tried to counter by side-stepping the strike and threw a spinning right elbow, but she ducked underneath and countered with another spin kick to his abdomen, this time with her right foot.
She followed with a spinning slash to the abdomen that was parried, but using the ring blade to its advantage, she started spinning three more times while standing on one foot and placing her other leg in the ring to control its movements, essentially becoming a dancing blade of death as she spun closer to him. This unexpected move caught Raphael off guard as he tried to block them, but the third of the three spins connected, reopening his prior wound as his armor, though covered much of his body, left his sides exposed.
"Merde," he cursed as he started bleeding significantly. He suddenly found himself in a severe disadvantage as he looked back at the girl. 'Curse that blonde woman. If I wasn't already injured, I would have surely taken down this wench!' he thought to himself as he tried to figure a way out to escape. Fortunately, their fighting caught the attention of other nearby guards.
"(My Lord!)"
The two turned to see three guards approaching them, all with swords in hand. Seeing his chance, he went for it. "(She's the intruder and killed the others! Stop her at all costs!)" he ordered before retreating down another path.
"Oh, no you don't!" Tira shouted as she engaged the three guards. She parried a swing from one before slicing the neck of a second. Taking advantage of her momentum, she ducked under a thrust to her head while kicking the chin of the other. She then sliced the chest of the one who tried to thrust his blade into her two times before slicing his neck. She then turned to the third, who had just recovered from the kick but could not react in time to stop her from slicing his head off. She looked around her to verify they were dead, giving a sick smile at the sight of all the blood before running off to where the man went.
"You won't be escaping a second time. This time you die!" she shouted before giving chase.
In a southeastern part of town, people were starting to run away in terror. Why? Well, a tall monster with a glowing orb on its chest might have had something to do with it. Not long after the battle started, some of the people heard the commotion and looked out their windows to see what it was, only for them to shout to everyone of the monster on the loose, making everyone start running in terror. Not that this bothered Talim. If anything, it made it easier to not have to worry about other people getting hurt.
Talim ducked under another slash from the creature's strange weapon. It wasn't a metal blade of any kind. Instead, it was made out of some form of energy that could transform into whatever the creature desired. So far she had seen twin blades, a longsword, an axe, even a whip-like attack. The energy came from his hands, but to the average viewer, it looked as if it was coming out of nowhere. The creature also didn't just use its weapon but also engaged in hand-to-hand combat to mix it up. The unconventional weapon and fighting style kept Talim on the defensive as a result. Even so, she was unable to stop it from scratching her arm and sides as well as a large bruise on her body.
However, she was not unable to fight back and used her smaller size and nimbleness to land a few strikes of her own. She blocked a straight punch using both her elbow blades, only to narrowly dodge a spinning kick to her midsection. She charged forward and then twisted her body to avoid another straight punch, spinning into an elbow slash that hit him beneath the bottom-left part of the chest orb. She then followed with a jumping spin kick that connected in the creatures head, making it stumble a bit.
It growled in anger at that before forming two blades again and swung them at her, which she parried out of the way before stepping back from an upward slash. She countered with a spinning elbow stab, followed by a hard kick to the chest. However, her smaller size prevented her from getting close enough to really connect both attacks, and she received a spinning elbow to the face for her troubles, quickly followed by a hard punch to the chest that keeled her over before being knocked down by a straight kick to the face.
She laid on the ground for a few seconds, trying to shake off the set of hits she took. She had to admit, this creature was unlike anything she had ever met. If it wasn't for the fact it did not have the sword Soul Edge on it, she would have mistaken it for the being she knew as Nightmare. She looked up just in time to see the beast come into view and try to stab her with another energy blade strike. She flipped her feet behind her to avoid the strike, which pierced the stone ground beneath her, then used her hands to spring herself upright onto her feet.
She breathed heavily as she tried to figure out her next move against the green monster. As she fought, though, she couldn't help but feel something strange in the wind regarding this creature. Through the wind, she could pick up the feelings of the creature. Despite its growling and hideous form, Talim could sense what felt like...sadness. And pain. Like there was a part of it in constant turmoil.
"Just what are you?" she whispered before the creature attacked again. She dodged and weaved her way around the creature's attacks, trying to counter whenever she could. She then saw an opening when she ducked under another punch and grabbed its arm and threw it hard over her shoulder onto the ground.
The creature, whose real name was Necrid, shook its head in surprise at that. It got up and threw a pair of whip strikes, but the girl dodged and jumped around them. Another pair of sword strikes were blocked and a kick was avoided, which she countered with a spinning elbow that grazed its arm. Necrid was now getting frustrated at its inability to hit the girl again. The way she nimbly jumped and dodged and attacked was making it harder to connect.
Suddenly, the creature got an idea and decided to use a similar move of its own. After the girl blocked a right cross, it suddenly turned its weapon into a spear, but rather than attack directly with it, it thrust it into the ground and used it as a pivot to land a spinning double kick hard into her side. The impact sent her almost flying, crashing into a nearby house.
NOW Necrid had her, it thought. It formed another spear and then ran to thrust it into her-
"RAAAAAAH!"
Necrid was surprised to see another speared weapon coming right at it from the side. It had to awkwardly step backward and to the side to avoid it, then a slash, followed by another high thrust, only to feel a sharp blow to its stomach, then a kick to the chin that staggered it, then received a gash to its left side. On instinct, it swung an energy blade to force its assailant back and gain some distance. It looked back to see who had harmed him, only to narrow its eyes at the first girl he attacked earlier, albeit sporting a large bruise on her face.
"Stay away from my friend, you ugly freak!" Seong Mi-Na yelled.
She was caught by surprise from the first strike and was unable to help Talim until she finally regained her bearings, waking up just in time to see what was happening and stop him from skewering her friend. The creature growled in anger before charging again.
Like Talim, Seong Mi-Na was at first caught off-guard by the way the creature attacked, taking a surprise slash to her thigh and a couple hard strikes from its fists and kicks. However, the creature had taken several hits already from Talim, and Seong Mi-Na was able to counter. They traded blows with various slashes and thrusts before Seong Mi-Na pulled a feint, pretending to go high before making a low thrust to its ankle and foot. The creature hopped in pain from the unexpected strike, allowing Seong Mi-Na to charge again. She made for another low strike, but as the creature tried to counter, she suddenly jumped into the air. As she did, she twisted herself so she could wrap her legs around the creature's head. Her added momentum allowed her enough force to literally throw the beast off its feet into a flip, landing hard onto the ground.
Seong Mi-Na tried to thrust her Zanbatou into its glowing chest orb, but the creature formed a shield with its energy weapon, protecting it. She tried a second time, then a third, then a fourth in hopes of getting through. Unfortunately, the fourth strike was when the creature rolled to the side and gave a footsweep, knocking her down. They both quickly got up, but the creature followed with a diving attack that surprised her, sending them rolling a few times before the creature managed to grab her in mid-roll with both arms wrapped around her. He then proceeded to bear hug her, squeezing the very life out of her.
"Talim...help!" she tried to yell, but the lack of air prevented her from letting out more than a pained cry. She struggled to break free, but the creature's much taller height and larger size prevented this.
"I'm coming!"
Necrid heard the voice from behind and quickly tried to swing behind him to stop her. However, Talim was ready and jumped into the air as she charged, jumping over both of them in the process. She then grabbed the creature's large head to alter her momentum and land behind it. Instinctively, the creature dropped the girl in its arms and tried to defend itself with a blind horizontal slash.
She dodged it and then thrust both blades forward into its midsection. The creature growled in pain, then tried to grab her like it did with Seong Mi-Na. However, Talim was ready and bent backwards quickly while simultaneously blocking its arms with her own while giving it a hard kick to the chin. The creature became surprised and off-balanced from the hit, and Talim followed it with a pair of strikes to the chest and abdomen with her elbow blades. Then she surprised the creature again by jumping OVER him, slashing her blades across its body as she jumped, then quickly stabbed her blades in its upper back as she fell behind him.
Necrid howled again and stumbled forward, barely staying on its feet. It did not stay that way for long before it felt a hard kick to the back that knocked him down. It started breathing heavily, crawling a little from the pain before turning onto its side. It then saw the two girls standing before him in their fighting stances. They were also breathing heavily, but the advantage was clearly on their side.
"You were once human..." Talim spoke softly, getting its attention. "...weren't you?" she said softly.
"What?" Seong Mi-Na cried, glancing at Talim in surprise.
Necrid stayed silent as it stared at her. Something at what she said triggered something in its mind...something it thought it had forgotten, but he shook its head before getting onto one knee and then raised its left hand upward. Energy started crackling in its hand, making the other two prepare for an attack. Instead of an attack, a swirling vortex suddenly appeared behind it, the wind blowing heavily from it. It then staggered backward into it, keeping its eyes on the two girls while holding its wounds. Then as soon as it was completely inside, the portal vanished.
Silence filled the area as the girls looked around to see where it disappeared to and wondering if it would reappear. Until Talim finally spoke.
"It's gone...it disappeared entirely."
"...Are you sure?" Seong Mi-Na tentatively asked.
"Yes...it is no longer here."
The two let out a sigh of relief before collapsing onto their knees, letting out a collective sigh of relief.
They finally won.
(Shortly After Raphael left)
Amy started showing Link around the outer parts of the castle (her arms still entwined with his), although Link had to admit she wasn't exactly an excitable tour guide. She spoke with blankness for the most part and did not give very elaborate descriptions of the area. Nonetheless, it was a very pretty castle, Link thought. He remembered how amazed he was the first time he explored Hyrule Castle after the wizard's attack, and this looked similarly impressive. They finally made their way to an area on the side of the castle that looked to be a castle garden with a fountain (A/N: I know it doesn't show this in the game or the picture on its wiki page, but I decided to add it). It looked very pleasant, Link thought, much like the one in Hyrule Castle.
"And this is our castle garden. I frequent this place often," Amy stated.
"I see. It's very peaceful. A nice place to relax for you?" Link asked.
"No. To train."
Link gave her a curious look at that. "To train?"
"Oui."
Link blinked a little at that. She was trained to fight? That was unexpected, but now he was really curious about her. "Huh, that's pretty cool actually. What do you train with?"
Now it was Amy who blinked at his response. Partially at the term "cool," but mainly at how he did not laugh or mock her in any way like other boys she met when she said she could fight. Usually they said something along the lines of how women "don't know how to fight" or "fighting is a man's job" or something similar. Instead, he looked genuinely curious and asked what she trained with.
"A rapier," she replied.
"...What's a rapier?" Link asked in confusion.
Amy tilted her head again before answering. "A thin blade commonly used in fencing."
"Oh, I've heard of that. That's awesome! Who taught you how to fight?"
Amy was once again caught off guard by his rather excited response and blinked a bit before replying. "...Papa taught me. He is a fencing champion and taught it to me to help defend myself. You...do not think it strange?"
Now Link blinked in confusion. "Think what is strange?"
"That I train with a sword?"
"Of course not! Why would I?" Link exclaimed. He had to admit, he was under the impression most girls and women of this world did not know how to fight from what he was taught by Hachibei-sensei.
And frankly, that upset him, as the idea of a "weaker sex" made no sense to him as he could give many examples of how that just wasn't true—the Gerudo tribe, Impa, Zelda, and those pirates in Termina that looked like Gerudo among others. And to see more women in this world that challenged that whole "weaker sex" thing was a pleasing sight.
Amy continued looking at him, a slightly surprised look on her face before her lips twitched into a brief smile. "Just...wondering. I...could show you, but Papa would not let me bring it with me to this gathering."
"That makes sense. I use a sword and shield myself, but, well...I figured it would not go well if people saw me enter your home while armed," he joked. Although in truth, he still had his Sheikah Scroll on him, and had it ready to summon them on a moment's notice. Even so, he did not want to show her and have to answer several uncomfortable questions.
Another twitch of a smile graced her lips as she slowly replied. "...Indeed."
"So, what else can you do besides sword fighting?" Link asked, changing the subject.
Amy looked at him a bit before thinking of a reply. "Papa also taught me to dance."
"Oh, right," Link said, becoming a little embarrassed. "That's one thing I still have to work with," he joked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his free arm.
A third twitch of a smile appeared. "Perhaps...but...good for a first time." Strangely, she felt something almost...flutter inside her when Link laughed at that. It felt...nice. "How...about you?"
"How-oh, what else I can do besides sword fighting?" Link asked in confirmation, getting a nod in reply. "Well..." he trailed off, trying to think of what to reply. Then an idea came to him as he gently gestured to let go of him (which she did very slowly) and reached into his tunic and pulled out his Ocarina. "I can play music. You want to hear?" he asked.
Amy blinked in confusion at the blue egg-shaped thing in his hands. "What is that?" she asked him.
"It's called an ocarina. A...friend gave it to me before I left on my journey," Link replied.
Amy looked between him and the "ocarina", as he called it. She idly wondered who this friend was that gave it to him before she gestured to sit down at the fountain. Taking his cue, Link then started playing some of his favorite tunes. That is until he received an unusual request from her.
"Could you play something...darker?"
Link stopped playing and blinked in confusion before giving her a surprised look. "Darker?" he echoed.
"Oui. I prefer something more...melancholy," she replied.
THAT threw Link off. He figured she would like an upbeat tune, if the dancing was any indication. Instead she wanted him to play a...sadder tune? He was about to ask if she was feeling sad herself, but finally decided against it...for now. He started playing the more darker or otherwise less upbeat tunes he knew such as the Nocturne of Shadow, the Requiem of Spirit, the Elegy of Emptiness, and the Song of Time (and the Inverted Song of Time, none of them activating any time altering effects) among others.
He looked at Amy's reaction as he played, and though he did not see her smile during any of them, her body language indicated she was nonetheless paying rapt attention to them. Then he played the song he knew has an affect on everyone he's played it to—the Song of Healing. While most of his songs no longer had their magical effects in this world, this was one of the few that did. He cautiously watched Amy's reaction as he played it a few times.
At first, Amy seemed to particularly like this song at first, but as he started a second play-through, her expression changed from something akin to delight to discomfort. As Link kept playing, this discomfort steadily rose to the point she had to turn away. She closed her eyes tightly as painful memories she had long pushed away and buried were threatening to resurface in her head once again. It got so bad that she put her hands to the sides of her head before shaking her head, trying to shake out the bad memories.
"Please...stop," she unconsciously whispered. "No...stop...get away!"
Link debated whether to stop playing or not when he heard that, and now he was starting to regret playing it. It was clear she was remembering something particularly painful in her past, something very traumatizing. The trouble was if he stopped now, the incomplete process may keep the memories fresh and the pain associated with them for a long time, which could traumatize her even more if she did not get a sense of closure from it. Maybe that was why she rarely smiled, he thought—she's had such a hard time growing up she didn't really know how. After weighing his options, he decided to take a risk and kept playing another round of the song.
"Please...no...go away! Leave me alone..." she whimpered out much louder as she clenched her eyes harder, her head shaking more as the memories made her recall her life years ago...
(Flashback)
A little girl was crying in front of her now dead parents. Their health had been deteriorating for a week due to the Black Death, and despite them assuring her that it would be alright, she could not stop crying. Her parents then dissolved in front of her, and she found herself alone. A door suddenly opened, and then a man appeared, an angry look on his face as he yelled at her demanding money for rent. She recognized him as the landlord and tried to explain how she had none and that her parents were dead. He then declared he would take what was left.
When she tried to stop him from doing so, he backhanded her in response. He then said for her to clear out, and when she refused, he called for help, and three soldiers shortly appeared. He explained how she refused to clear out for unable to pay the rent, and the soldiers forcefully grabbed hold of her and literally threw her out into the alley. She slowly got up, but when she tried to gain sympathy from them, a soldier simply shoved her back down and told her to leave immediately.
Unable to do anything else, she quickly ran away in tears, holding onto the one possession she had left—a faceless, wooden doll, one of the few possessions her parents were able to get for her despite their poor income. She later found herself hungry, but when she asked others for help, everyone ignored her or shoved her away. One of them even shouted for help, stating she was being attacked, and a soldier suddenly grabbed her hair from behind and another beat her with the butt of his rifle, forcing her to run away again.
She then found herself scavenging for any sort of food she could find, often fighting other animals in the streets for the same scrap of food. If she found any money, she would often have it stolen by another, commonly by a soldier who claimed she had stolen it from him. Then an animal bit her, and she became very sick. But when she asked for help, no one would help her and would instead keep away from her or call for help, where a soldier would beat her again. She would have so little energy she could only crawl at times. When she finally recovered, she was broken. Unable to find any sort of happiness anymore. She would walk with an always downcast look, her stomach often growling for food, and her hair in a mess and disarray.
Every day was the same. Living in the streets. Scavenge for food. Avoid the soldiers, and other people. She was sad, but no more tears fell, having dried up long ago. She felt herself walking in an endless abyss of darkness. Her energy was mostly gone, her will to live dissipating like her parents before her. Her hunger getting the best of her as she found herself vanishing into the dark.
"Find him!"
A light suddenly appeared behind her, followed by the soldier's cry. Curious, but cautious, she turned around and saw where the light was coming from. A man passed by her, exhausted and injured, a worried look on his face as he did.
"This way!" they heard a man shout from behind them.
With no other choice, he hid himself in a broken down building in view of the girl. She then turned and walked away, not caring for him in the slightest, merely vaguely surprised he did not beat her like many others. As he hid, the light faded away, leaving her in the dark again.
"You! Hold it right there! Little girl!" a soldier shouted as he ran up to her. She stopped before slowly turning to face them, preparing for another beating as she slowly looked up to them. "You must have seen the man pass by here just now. Which way did he go?...Answer me!" he yelled at getting no response from her.
She expected to get a beating like all the other times a soldier talked to her, by now having gotten used to it. She did not care for the man they were after, but a small part of her still resented the soldiers who practically ran the town and made her life miserable. Feeling like she had nothing left to lose, she ducked her head but pointed the soldiers down the alley—away from the man, and they immediately ran in that direction, leaving her alone once again.
Except this time she was not alone, for shortly after the soldiers left, the man reappeared behind her, the light appearing around him once again. "Merci, but...why did you help me?"
Amy did not immediately reply and simply stared at him with a blinking but blank expression. "...I don't know," she finally replied.
"Hmm...what are doing in the streets? Where are your parents, young one?"
"Dead," she simply replied with an equally dead response.
"You are by yourself? No home?" he asked in surprise.
Amy shook her head in reply. Then she was surprised when the man offered a hand. "Come. You deserve more than this. Come with me, and I promise you will live a better life. Away from the soldiers. Away from those who have hurt you."
Amy looked at him with cautious surprise on her face. No one had ever said something like that to her before. It was either beating, a yelling, or ignoring she received. But this...this was the first person she met who did not do any of these. Was he trying to fool her? Get her to drop her guard before striking? But the look in his face was...different. It was like...the way her parents looked at her. Loving. Caring. Not hating. Or frowning. Suddenly, she was starting to feel something she hadn't felt in a long time—hope.
Very slowly, she tentatively moved to take his hand, and the light started surrounding her as soon as she grasped it.
"I am Raphael Sorel," he replied with a smile.
"A-Amy..." she replied back.
Another light suddenly appeared by them, and he put his hand to her back and gently guided them towards the light. As she walked towards it, she looked behind her to see the soldiers, along with the many people who had hurt her previously, the darkness accompanying them as they approached.
"You do not have to worry about them anymore," Raphael stated softly, getting her attention. "I promise you, from now on, your life will be better."
Amy looked at him, tears starting to fill her eyes as she now offered her hand to him. He smiled and took her hand, and as soon as he grasped it, the light around them glowed brighter, and the soldiers and people behind her suddenly shattered into pieces before she and Raphael vanished into the light...
(End Flashback)
Link had played one last refrain of the melody after he noticed Amy's shaking had ceased. What particularly worried him was when she actually let out a yell for several seconds before stopping just seconds earlier. It must have been REALLY bad for her to have gone so far as to do that, and now he was worried he might have done more harm than good at having continued to play it. He slowly put away his ocarina before cautiously moving up to sit next to her. "A-Amy?"
At first, Amy did not reply, simply continued breathing heavily as a few tears fell from her. She did, however, let out a very deep breath.
"Amy?" he said again.
This time, she did slowly turn her head towards him. She had an unreadable expression on her face, and Link wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but before he could ask if she was alright, she suddenly jumped to wrap her arms around him and started crying uncontrollably. Link was caught off guard by her actions, and even had to stand him and her up on their feet to keep from falling. Even so, she wrapped her arms around him even tighter as she continued crying profusely.
For over five years, Amy had been suppressing her emotions, a side effect of the trauma she had experienced at such a young age. Even after being adopted by Papa, she kept them suppressed out of fear that she would be hurt again and the pain would return even more, so by bottling them up, she would experience less pain. But though she had bottled up her emotions in that time, the pain was still there every time she was hurt, pain that was ultimately never forgotten. Any tears she wanted to cry then, she simply dammed them up so they wouldn't fall. But through Link's song, the pain she had kept inside for so long caused that dam to burst wide open, and all the tears she did not cry for the past five-plus years...were finally being shed.
Link found himself in another familiar situation with a crying girl, but again, he didn't care as he hugged her back in return. "Shh...it's okay. I'm here for you," Link whispered, gently rubbing his fingers across her back to comfort her. "Everything's going to be alright."
He slowly felt her relax more into him after he said that, burying her face into his shoulder as another round of tears came. Amy's crying slowly lessened as he comforted her. After a minute or two, the tears slowed before she let out a deep sigh, resting her head against Link's. Link then leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes as he continued hugging her.
A few more sobs escaped from Amy at this, and Link held her tighter in return. He then started rocking he back and forth a little, and Amy sighed again as she held him tighter. After a short while of doing this, Amy let out one last deep breath and rubbed her face into his shoulder again to wipe away her tears before slowly pulling back, their arms still wrapped around each other. They looked into each others' eyes, and Link was taken aback at what he saw.
She was smiling. Not a small smile, or simple upward twitch of her mouth, but a big, real smile. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Y-You're, welcome," he softly replied.
She never looked more beautiful than she did now, and Link found himself at a loss for words at what he was seeing. Her smile was so radiant, and her voice suddenly sounded so heavenly.
For Amy, she knew Link was different the moment she saw him, but now she saw him as something else. She saw him as someone who was kind. Someone who was caring. Someone...she could genuinely trust. She didn't know exactly what that song was or why it made her feel the way she did, but she felt so much...better. So much more joyful. So much more spirited. Dare she say...
So much happier.
It felt as if all the emotional pain she had been suppressing had suddenly been released...and then faded away into nothingness.
'All thanks to him,' she thought to herself.
As they continued holding each other, they suddenly realized the situation they were in, but neither one let go of each other; in fact, they subconsciously held each other closer. Their hearts were suddenly racing a mile a minute, their breathing becoming more labored. The emotions going through them right now were starting to overwhelm them, their bodies starting to act on their own.
Link saw Amy's eyes drift ever so slightly downward before looking back up to him. He wasn't sure what was guiding him, but he found himself doing the same just moments later, and that was when he realized what she was looking at...but he did not move from his place. Their hearts raced more in anticipation, and she repeated the gesture before slowly moving her face closer to his, then repeated the gesture again. Unconsciously, Link found himself doing the same as her as their faces moved closer and closer. Their hearts beat even faster that they felt it was going to burst. They paused one last time, their lips were but inches apart before they closed their eyes and moved their lips one last time to close the gap-
"GET DOWN!"
That was all Amy heard before she was suddenly knocked down in surprise by Link, who landed on top of her in a protective manner. Unseen by her, a giant scythe nearly cut them in two before Link shoved her and himself down to avoid it. Link looked up and saw the attacker about to strike again with an overhead strike.
"Sohlda!" Link shouted before his shield instantly materialized onto his arm, barely blocking the scythe in time. The inside tip of the scythe hit the shield, but the impact knocked it away slightly. The attacker was surprised but still swung in the same way again, and Link blocked it again but was out of position to block a third strike. As the attacker prepared to swing down again, Link spun on his side and gave a footsweep to the assailant, successfully knocking him off his feet.
Taking advantage, Link quickly got to his feet before helping Amy up as fast as he could. "Come on!" he urged a still stunned Amy as he got up to get her to safety. He barely had time to push her out of the way again before narrowly dodging a slice to his chest again.
"Dwals!" Link shouted before his trusty sword instantly appeared behind him, and he quickly drew it in time to make an "x" with his shield to block yet another overhead strike, hearing a curse from the man at that. This time, the weapon stayed in place, and Link felt himself struggling for dominance with his attacker.
He finally got a look at him and managed to see a large and tall, white-hooded figure with dark skin. He also noticed one of his eyes looked yellow but had no iris in it. Said eyes suddenly widened at him for some reason, allowing Link to use his strength to shove him away, only to take a spinning kick to the face that made him stumble backwards while spinning a full 360. He managed to keep his footing, only to have to jump over from a low slice to his legs, rolling as he did.
Link parried another pair of strikes before ducking another. This time, he saw the kick coming and used a kick of his own to parry it away and did the same with another. He then charged forward and went on the offensive with a series of close strikes that the man had some difficulty blocking with his larger but slower weapon. This allowed Link to take advantage with a jumping spin kick to the head, making him stumble backwards and spin a near 180. He followed up with high jump into the air and thrust his sword downward. The man barely had time to raise his scythe up to block it, but the manner in which he blocked it made him off-balanced. He stumbled back slightly while Link landed in a crouch.
Taking advantage, he ran shield first into his exposed midsection, pushing him back roughly ten feet before shoving him harder. He fell back into a roll but flipped himself up immediately. This action let Link perform a jumping overhead strike, but the man managed to block in time with his scythe. They struggled for dominance as they tried to push the other back. But for Link, it accomplished his goal.
"Run! Get out of here!" Link yelled to Amy, who was still standing where she was before Link's shout brought her back to her senses.
Most would think a girl like her would be terrified in this situation, but actually, it was quite the opposite. In fact, she was...mad. Like, REALLY mad, or at least that's what it was feeling like to her. Just...almost raging inside. Sure she had felt somewhat upset at times in the past, but this...this was something different. She was feeling an emotion she wasn't sure she ever felt before—pure anger.
She was having quite possibly the best night of her life—talking and dancing with Link, a boy that (quite literally) stumbled into her life, then hearing him play a song that seemed to just melt away her tears...and to top it all off, was about to experience her first kiss with him.
Only for the moment to be ruined by this...grim reaper of a man.
Rather than showing fear, she was almost glaring daggers at this man as her fists were clenched and slightly shaking in a rage she didn't know she had within her—and she wanted to make him pay.
The trouble was she left her weapon in the armory, which was several minutes away from where she was. She was watching Link fight this man, and while a part of her was impressed with how he was fighting while also wondering where the sword and shield came from, all she cared about was causing harm to the one who ruined her moment.
It was only when Link shouted at her to run did she finally shake off her thoughts. She ran to the exit as fast as she could while still keeping a distance away from the man with the scythe. She stopped to give one last look at Link, silently hoping he would be alright. But just before she left, something else about Link caught her attention—his cap had been knocked off. More importantly, she saw a particular feature of him that was previously hidden beneath his cap.
'His ears. They're...long,' she thought in confusion. Actually, they were unusually long. Was he an elf? Or something from Greek Mythology? Or why were they so long? Questions started rising in her mind at that, but she decided to ignore them for now and ran towards the castle.
With one less thing to worry about, Link concentrated on the man in front of him, who was internally surprised at the boy's strength. He gave a hard shove to push off and took a step backward, swinging his scythe to gain some distance for good measure, which Link stepped back to avoid.
The two paused a few moments, gauging each other before the man narrowed his eyes at him. Zasalamel looked relatively calm, but inside, he was seething. His plan had all come together, but somehow he managed to see him coming before he could kill him, and not only that, somehow the boy summoned his shield and sword though some kind of magic he was unaware he had. He had witnessed some of the boy's magical feats, but nothing like this, and now he was forced to fight the boy to obtain what he needed—before help arrived.
"Now I see how you avoided my attack," he started, drawing a confused look from Link before he pointed to the cap lying on the ground to the side, making Link panic slightly.
'Ah, horse dung. Not again!' he lamented. 'That means Amy saw that too!'
He briefly wondered how she was going to take that—as well as her dad—before the man continued. "I must say, you have been a major thorn in my side, boy."
A confused, angry look adorned Link's face at that. "What? How? I've never even met you before now! Just who are you? And why are you attacking me?" Link shouted. The fact he did not rush after Amy when he had the chance told him it really was he who this man was after.
"Who I am is not important. As to why, you have something I want," the man replied. A slightly concerned look adorned Link's face at that.
"And...what would that be?" Link asked slowly, though he had a pretty good idea what he was referring to.
"I have been watching you for months now, since your exploits in Japan," Zasalamel started. "I saw you fight that samurai on the bridge, even managing to defeat him. An impressive feat, to be sure."
Link widened his eyes a little at that. Last he checked, there were no witnesses to that fight. So how could-
A look of realization suddenly dawned on Link's face. "Wait...I remember. I thought I heard something after that fight, but I didn't see anything, so I dismissed it...That was you?" Link asked.
"Very good," he replied, nodding in confirmation. "You indeed almost discovered me, but I hid myself before you could. But it was after your fight with the samurai when I saw you had something particularly valuable in your possession, something I desired to have."
Link paused a moment to think about what he meant before his eyes widened and then narrowed at what he was implying. "You want the shard I took from the man, don't you? You want the shard Soul Edge?" Link replied, more as a statement than a question.
"Actually...no."
Link blinked in surprise and confusion. He didn't want the shard of Soul Edge? "You...don't? Well, then what DO you want? What else could I have that you would find valuable?"
"Your sword."
The confused look now turned to full surprise on Link's face, glancing at his sword a moment before looking back to him. "My sword? Why do you want my sword?"
"I have...need of it. But that is all you will get out of me as I am short on time. Surrender it, and I will leave peacefully."
Link merely got into a fighting stance in response. "Hmph. You'll just have to take it from me."
"So be it," Zasalamel replied as he got into a fighting stance of his own.
A/N: Whew, another very long one. I was hoping to finish the arc here, but soon realized it would not be possible. It will definitely be wrapped up by the end of the next chapter.
Not sure if the French actually said "touché" like that back then, even when fencing, but I couldn't come up with any other witty dialogue. Suggestions?
The next chapter will go back and forth a little between the characters and the timing of when their events occur. If something is initially unexplained or confusing, it will clear up later.
For now, Raphael is in trouble while Ivy is chasing Taki for the shard. Zasalamel finally revealed himself to Link while Amy rushes to get help, and Seong Mi-Na and Talim are able to fight off Necrid. Things are about to come to ahead...but how will this affect everyone?
Stay tuned!
This is Agent Ghost-Writer 000 signing off.