Event 4: Seconds Too Late

Siegmeyer and Seiko charged from the final room of Sen's Fortress, crossing a short bridge to a large platform. As the exited the room, the massive Iron Golem across from them crossed a similar bridge and swung the short-handled ax in his hand. Either by some magic or the very force of the swing, a blade of air shot from the ax, aimed at Seiko. She dove to the side, bricks exploding behind her. Just another pit in the battle-torn floor of the platform. Siegmeyer continued forward, tackling one of the golem's legs. To Seiko's surprise, he managed to move the leg back a bit. The golem fell forward on one knee, using his free arm to keep himself steady. Seiko ran forward, jumped, flipped, and kicked the golem in the side of its head with both feet. The golem's weight shifted, and it put its hand right on the edge of the platform to keep from falling off.

"Move!" yelled Siegmeyer, yanking Seiko from the ground where she'd landed on her back.

Seiko scrambled away just in time to avoid getting crushed under the golem's ax. It stood, made a metallic roaring, and shot its hand at Siegmeyer, who was closer. Siegmeyer didn't have time to dodge the deceptively quick attack and was lifted into the air. The Iron Golem took a step to add force to its arm, which it swung down, slamming Siegmeyer into the ground. He howled in pain, dropping his sword. His shield was stuck to the golem's palm, the single large spike in the center punched through its metal skin. Seiko looked at the golem with rage in her eyes. She remembered what Quelaana had said to her...

"You have vast power, and even more potential for power. But you are new to Pyromancy, and you lack control. Control will come when you master yourself, and only then. When the image you hold of yourself is as close to your ideal as possible..."

Seiko closed her eyes. She had not come so far to die, and she had not helped Siegmeyer to watch him die, either. Seiko clenched her fists, the golem drawing closer to Siegmeyer, ready to crush him under its foot. Being thirty feet tall, bulky, and made of thick iron, there was no question Siegmeyer's armor would crack like an eggshell. Seiko's eyes opened, blue flames spraying to the left and right of her head from them. She yelled in anger and effort, slamming her fists on the ground. All around Siegmeyer, and everywhere under the golem, pillars of blue flame erupted from the ground. The golem stumbled back, off balance, starting to glow from the incredible heat. As soon as the golem moved away from Siegmeyer, so did the pillars of flame, still issuing up under the golem.

"Now!" yelled Siegmeyer, grabbing his sword up and charging the golem.

"HYAAAA!" he roared, bringing his Zweihander down on the left leg of the golem, just above the knee. He cut halfway through the golem's leg, thanks to the heat. The golem leaned back, dropping its massive ax off the platform. Seiko jumped back, toward a crumbled pillar. Her open hands hit the pillar and she released more flame. Like a rocket, she shot from the pillar and slammed into the smoking chest of the golem. It toppled over the edge. Seiko reached up into the falling golem's hand, still on its chest, and yanked Siegmeyer's shield from it's palm. She jumped, already over the edge. The jump was in vain. She'd never make it so high.

"Seiko!" said Siegmeyer, diving for the edge on his belly and reaching down. He caught her hand around the wrist, the ground shaking from the impact of the Iron Golem on the forest floor far below. With minimal effort, Siegmeyer pulled her back to the platform. The flames in her eyes were gone, and she held out Siegmeyer's shield to him. He took it and started to say something, but had to drop his sword and shield to catch Seiko as she passed out in front of him...

Seiko woke in a pristine white stone chamber, next to a bonfire. A someone in dull gold armor stood in one corner, noticing her wake.

"Finally up, hmm? If you're looking for that Catarina knight, he had to leave you here. Some knight with a Darksign asked for his help and they left together. From what I hear, you almost melted the last Iron Golem at Sen's Fortress. If that's the case, I suppose you can catch up with them. That is, if you get moving now."

The woman finished and went back to staring at the floor. With no one else around, and the bonfire so vibrantly burning, Seiko reasoned she must be a Firekeeper.

"Where... Is this...?" asked Seiko, holding her head. Her hood was down and her black hair extended into a heap on the floor.

"You don't know? Well, I suppose you had passed out before you got here. This is Anor Londo, great city of the ancient Lords."

She'd made it. She and Siegmeyer had been some of the first in ages to conquer Sen's Fortress. She could only imagine how hard it had been for whoever came before, since three other places for golems to stand had been empty. Seiko stood, hugging herself to stretch her arms and back, stiff from sleeping on stone. Living flesh needed more comfort than Hollowed skin. Facing the stairs leading up and out, Seiko pulled her hood back on, hiding her hair within it again. Too bad she didn't have anything to tie it with. Seiko went up the stairs and was met with the most brilliant sight in her memory. A city, with tall white towers and huge buildings, glimmering in golden sunlight stood before her. In front, dominating her view, was a castle that dwarfed every other building, reaching almost into the clouds. To her left and right were different paths, archways big enough for the Iron Golem she'd fought before. In front of her, there was a hole in the floor, but as she watched, a platform filled the hole for a few seconds before descending again. An elevator down to the rest of the city, she assumed. With nothing living in sight, Seiko walked forward to take the elevator down.

After crossing a long bridge and a round platform, one that seemed like it could move up and down if one turned the lever in the center, Seiko came to the steps of the massive castle she couldn't help but see. As she looked up, rather reluctant to climb so many stairs, she saw the large main doors swing open. No promise that those doors would stay closed, Seiko began running up the stairs, skipping one or two at a time. She ran on the left set of stairs, since the middle of the path had larger stairs, probably for giants. When Seiko reached the top, she saw several important things. Far away, all the way in the back of the castle, she saw Solaire and the cursed man she'd been chasing fighting two other knights. But before she could rush to help them, she would have to deal with the two giants standing in front of her. Both had heavy golden armor on, massive tower shields, and halberds by their sides. She'd only just woken, and while she felt well rested, it had taken all of her strength to kill just one enemy so large. How could she kill two, and then help in another fight? Once again, Siegmeyer was her best chance, running out of a gate to the left and sheering off the leg of one giant from behind. As it fell, crippled by its own weight and the loss of a limb, Siegmeyer swung his sword up and beheaded the giant with its own weight. The second giant, seeing Siegmeyer as much more of a threat than the skinny woman on the stairs, stepped forward and stabbed his halberd at Siegmeyer. Siegmeyer held up his small shield, deflecting the blow at the cost of a dent in his shield and being pushed backwards. Seiko took the chance and hurled a fireball at the giant's feet. To her surprise, it jumped aside before the blue flames could cook its feet in the armor. It shifted its grip on the halberd, swiping the ax-head on it at Seiko to cut her in half at the waist. Seiko ran forward and jumped, clearing the shaft of the halberd and aiming her palm at the head of the giant. Its shield was off to one side, using the weight to add force to the swing of its halberd, which had missed by far. Seiko fired a Flame Arrow right into the front of the giant's helmet, the flames seeping through and burning its face. The giant dropped its weapon and shield with a crash and clawed at its helmet. Apparently, it wasn't meant to be removed, because the giant struggled in vain, burning its hands trying to pull it off and avoid death. Suddenly, the giant cringed and released its head, its fingers curling in pain, and it screamed in an inhuman voice. It fell to its knees, then on its face, dead. Seiko had already landed and stepped aside.

"Thanks!" she yelled to Siegmeyer, waving.

"Not a problem! Now, let's get in there and help squash those knights!" said Siegmeyer, shouldering his sword and running for the main entrance to the castle.

As Siegmeyer and Seiko ran for the chamber in the rear of the castle, visible up more stairs from the main hall, they watched Solaire and the Chosen Undead fighting a new enemy. It looked like one of the knights from before, only doubled or tripled in size. Seiko and Siegmeyer just reached the stairs as the massive enemy fell. When they reached the top, however, it was only Solaire who stood before them. He had a wad of white cloth in his hands, and began to glow.

"A healing prayer! As expected from such a knight as Solaire!" said Siegmeyer as they drew close.

"Where'd he go?!" demanded Seiko.

Siegmeyer looked quickly at her, surprised by the outburst.

Solaire stood, his prayer finished. "He's headed up the elevator already. And on that subject, I beg your pardon, but here I take my leave."

Right before Seiko's eyes, Solaire began to fade away until nothing but an ethereal Hollow stood in his place, holding his sword and shield. The ghost ran for the elevator. Seiko couldn't hide the surprise and confusion on her face.

"Oh, my. Have you never seen one depart your world?" asked Siegmeyer. "It's a common occurrence, really. Each of us has our own world, tied together loosely by our Undead curse. Had I a Black Separation Crystal, I could also depart this world. Of course, then I would have a tough time returning should one of us need the other. But enough about that, isn't the reason you're here just up ahead?! Go, go! I'm off to explore the city a bit more. Never waste an opportunity for adventure!"

Seiko nodded, running for the elevator in the corner of the chamber. Siegmeyer laughed to himself, turning around and heading for the main hall, up some stairs and into the maze of hallways in the castle.

The elevator spiraled down, then back up in a matter of seconds. When Seiko reached the top she saw a bonfire and a last set of doors up some stairs. At the bonfire, the Cursed Undead she had followed all the way here sat. As she ran forward, about to call out, the man put his hand on a large stone vat or bowl next to him, reached into the bonfire, and vanished into it. The vat went with him, and suddenly she was alone. Had she been any faster, Seiko may have finally met the entire reason she was even sane. But too late now. With nothing else to do, Seiko sat at the bonfire, resting her elbows on her crossed legs. She rested her face in her gloved hands, breathed out, and wept...

Event 5: Souls Of Lords coming soon...

Author's Note: For anyone curious, Seiko is based on Black Rock Shooter. I made a character mimicking BRS on the 360 version of Dark Souls. Well, her and several others related to Huke's artwork. If you don't feel like reviewing, feel free to PM me with suggestions and opinions. I have ideas for the story laid out already, and I'm trying to work in the Prepare To Die Edition content (AotA), but it'll be difficult. I also have quite the ending in mind, though I'm not sure if it's been done before or not. I haven't read other fanfics for Dark Souls, to be honest. Thanks for reading, and as soon as I'm done with the next chapters for my other two fics, this'll get another update...