Kindred Spirits-Part 1
Siegfried walked acroos the barren land known as The Wastelands. The soil there was grey and hard, full of clay. Hardly anything grew aside from some scrub and a few trees. The trees, however, were practically dead. The area was very gloomy and almost no one ever came through here. He had no idea where his destination was. He simply followed the winds and listened for rumors of Soul Edge. He hated the evil sword for the pain it had caused him, given him pleasure in killing and destroying. The sun was beginning to set and threw long shadows across the deserted plains. Siegfried was now reminiscing on his recurring dream and it was not until he heard a woman's voice call to him that he snapped out of his trance.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" (AN: Use the suspension of disbelief here on the whole communication thing. It was the best solution I could come up with.) The voice came from a woman in a tight red outfit with a mask concealing half of her face. Her hands were on two small swords, one across her back and one at her hip. She looked Siegfried up and down and found him oddly familiar for some reason.
Siegfried looked up at her and replied, "I am Siegfried Schtauffen. Have we met?" Siegfried also found the young woman to be familiar, though he could not quite place where he had seen her.
She hesitated. "No, I am Taki, the demon huntress. I ask again, what are you doing here?" Taki fingered the hilts of her swords. After a lifetime of loneliness and hunting down evil beings, she had never come to fully trust anybody.
There was another pause, longer. Tension ran high in the air. A gentle breeze stirred up and brought the faint musty smell of the barren earth into the air. "I seek Soul Edge."
That was perhaps the worst thing Siegfried could have said. Taki gasped and her eyes widened. Her fears had been confirmed, this man wanted Soul Edge. 'He must not get that sword,' she thought to herself. 'I will never know the truth of Meki-marru if I allow him to get hold of Soul Edge.' She took a deep breath in and readied her fighting stance.
Siegfried immediately noticed she was about to attack and readied Requiem.
The two fighters stood staring at one another waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Taki leaped forward with a yell. Siegfried swung out his zweihander, trying to land a blow in the neck, but Taki ducked underneath the blade and puched him hard in the face.
Siegfried could feel his jaw aching as he fell backward but quickly recovered. He rolled backward, stood and began twirling Requiem in the deadly Blaze maneuver. Taki leaped backward to avoid it but when Siegfried suddenly swung the sword behind him and brought it up with his left hand in a massive upward cut, the tip managed to catch hold of her left shoulderplate, leaving a deep gash in it.
Siegfried went on the attack again. He executed two powerful downward cuts, both missed, but he managed to cut Taki's forearm when he sliced upward leaving the blade to rest at his back in a base hold and ready for the next attack.
Taki did a great flip backward to get some distance. She quickly checked her arm. The cut was shallow, though it was still bleeding. She could not believe how fast this young man could swing a sword that heavy. He would have to be incredibly strong to have that kind of control over the force of the blade. Unfortunately, before she could form a plan, she looked up and saw Siegfried in mid-air before his metal boots connected with her chest in a drop kick sending her flying backward and landing hard on her side.
Siegfried went in for another attack, but Taki sprang up and delivered a spinning kick to his head. The first conected into his temple, but the second he managed to block. Taki jumped high into the air drawing both swords. She did a half-twist and was about to land behind Siegfried. The young warrior saw this and prepared to pivot to smack her with the flat of his sword.
What happened next took place so quickly it was hard to tell what happened when. The instant Taki landed, Siegfried was already turning. She lunged forward and jamed both Rekki-Marru and Mekki-Marru into his shoulder up to the hilts. Siegfried already had so much momentum when he felt the swords enter his flesh that his attack was successful. Taki let go of her blades and was sent flying as the flat of Requiem slammed hard into her ribs.
She got to her feet several seconds later to see Siegfried staring down in shock at the two swords which had so easily cleaved through his armor and run through his shoulder. Abruptly, Requiem fell to the ground with a clatter. Tears started streaming down his eyes and Siegfried used what little energy he had left to turn and face the setting sun.
Taki gasped in horror. She recognized him now. Looking at him from behind, his armor shining in the light still left from the horizon, Taki could clearly tell he was the young man from her dreams. She heard two hoarse words escape from Siegfried's lips. "I failed," was all he said as he looked up at the sky with tears staining his face. Then, his kness gave way and Siegfried Schtauffen fell to the ground, his whole world going black.
Siegfried walked acroos the barren land known as The Wastelands. The soil there was grey and hard, full of clay. Hardly anything grew aside from some scrub and a few trees. The trees, however, were practically dead. The area was very gloomy and almost no one ever came through here. He had no idea where his destination was. He simply followed the winds and listened for rumors of Soul Edge. He hated the evil sword for the pain it had caused him, given him pleasure in killing and destroying. The sun was beginning to set and threw long shadows across the deserted plains. Siegfried was now reminiscing on his recurring dream and it was not until he heard a woman's voice call to him that he snapped out of his trance.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" (AN: Use the suspension of disbelief here on the whole communication thing. It was the best solution I could come up with.) The voice came from a woman in a tight red outfit with a mask concealing half of her face. Her hands were on two small swords, one across her back and one at her hip. She looked Siegfried up and down and found him oddly familiar for some reason.
Siegfried looked up at her and replied, "I am Siegfried Schtauffen. Have we met?" Siegfried also found the young woman to be familiar, though he could not quite place where he had seen her.
She hesitated. "No, I am Taki, the demon huntress. I ask again, what are you doing here?" Taki fingered the hilts of her swords. After a lifetime of loneliness and hunting down evil beings, she had never come to fully trust anybody.
There was another pause, longer. Tension ran high in the air. A gentle breeze stirred up and brought the faint musty smell of the barren earth into the air. "I seek Soul Edge."
That was perhaps the worst thing Siegfried could have said. Taki gasped and her eyes widened. Her fears had been confirmed, this man wanted Soul Edge. 'He must not get that sword,' she thought to herself. 'I will never know the truth of Meki-marru if I allow him to get hold of Soul Edge.' She took a deep breath in and readied her fighting stance.
Siegfried immediately noticed she was about to attack and readied Requiem.
The two fighters stood staring at one another waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Taki leaped forward with a yell. Siegfried swung out his zweihander, trying to land a blow in the neck, but Taki ducked underneath the blade and puched him hard in the face.
Siegfried could feel his jaw aching as he fell backward but quickly recovered. He rolled backward, stood and began twirling Requiem in the deadly Blaze maneuver. Taki leaped backward to avoid it but when Siegfried suddenly swung the sword behind him and brought it up with his left hand in a massive upward cut, the tip managed to catch hold of her left shoulderplate, leaving a deep gash in it.
Siegfried went on the attack again. He executed two powerful downward cuts, both missed, but he managed to cut Taki's forearm when he sliced upward leaving the blade to rest at his back in a base hold and ready for the next attack.
Taki did a great flip backward to get some distance. She quickly checked her arm. The cut was shallow, though it was still bleeding. She could not believe how fast this young man could swing a sword that heavy. He would have to be incredibly strong to have that kind of control over the force of the blade. Unfortunately, before she could form a plan, she looked up and saw Siegfried in mid-air before his metal boots connected with her chest in a drop kick sending her flying backward and landing hard on her side.
Siegfried went in for another attack, but Taki sprang up and delivered a spinning kick to his head. The first conected into his temple, but the second he managed to block. Taki jumped high into the air drawing both swords. She did a half-twist and was about to land behind Siegfried. The young warrior saw this and prepared to pivot to smack her with the flat of his sword.
What happened next took place so quickly it was hard to tell what happened when. The instant Taki landed, Siegfried was already turning. She lunged forward and jamed both Rekki-Marru and Mekki-Marru into his shoulder up to the hilts. Siegfried already had so much momentum when he felt the swords enter his flesh that his attack was successful. Taki let go of her blades and was sent flying as the flat of Requiem slammed hard into her ribs.
She got to her feet several seconds later to see Siegfried staring down in shock at the two swords which had so easily cleaved through his armor and run through his shoulder. Abruptly, Requiem fell to the ground with a clatter. Tears started streaming down his eyes and Siegfried used what little energy he had left to turn and face the setting sun.
Taki gasped in horror. She recognized him now. Looking at him from behind, his armor shining in the light still left from the horizon, Taki could clearly tell he was the young man from her dreams. She heard two hoarse words escape from Siegfried's lips. "I failed," was all he said as he looked up at the sky with tears staining his face. Then, his kness gave way and Siegfried Schtauffen fell to the ground, his whole world going black.