Chapter 8
When we last left our heroes (cliché, I know, but I've always wanted to say it), they had swords at their throats. So... yeah. They still do. Moving on.
Rayen examined the swords as best he could without moving his neck. The one on the assailant's right was up to his throat. It was a short, serrated blade, obviously meant to deal as much damage to armor or skin as possible. The one in the mysterious figure's left hand was up to Phil's windpipe and much longer and thinner, with crosspieces that were swept forward. Odd design for a weapon, Rayen mused, especially one used in an off hand, for the shadowy character obviously favored his right.
Rayen dropped his own weapon and raised his hands. This obviously did not pertain to the other's definition of 'moving', for Rayen's throat remained intact.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"I was just about to ask you the same question."
"I escaped from the building back there."
"Were you being held hostage?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm the one with the swords against your throats. I think I'll ask the questions."
"Fine with me. We followed the monster trail here."
"Why? Do you plan on getting killed?"
"No. We have the power to defeat these monsters. We were looking for them around here."
"Well, you found one."
"Where?"
"Right in front of you."
"You mean..."
The figure stepped into the lights of the building. He looked conspicuous, although he seemed like an ordinary human being. What gave him away was that he was covered in black clothing from head to toe, that of a martial artist or a ninja, tied with a night-blue sash. His face was completely covered except for his deep brown eyes that somehow exuded an aura of coldness. He unwrapped the cloth that covered his face, and Rayen had to repress a gag. The man's face was wrecked and distorted, so out of shape that one could barely tell it had once belonged to a human being. He wrapped his head back up once more, and continued.
"Yes. They captured me. They spent days bombarding me with strange lights and sounds that changed me, I don't know how. I was their guinea pig, their experiment gone wrong! They made an abomination out of me; I am no longer human. They were quick to apologize once the Dragoon Spirit reacted to me, of course. They promised me wealth and power. I had gained power enough from their torture, and wealth interested me no longer. I destroyed them all with my newfound strength, and the monsters broke free in the ensuing struggle."
"Revenge is a food that appeases the senses but not the appetite. One who partakes of it does everything they can to get more, until the lust for it consumes them and they care for nothing else. One cannot live on revenge."
The man stared hard at Rayen for this response, but did not answer. Phil spoke up.
"Do you have a name?"
"Not anymore, now that I am no longer human. But they (Rayen had never heard so much loathing concentrated in one word before) called me Project Shade."
"Shade, huh? Why not call you Shadow?"
"There was a Project Shadow before me. He... was not as fortunate as I."
Rayen and Phil could not understand how under any circumstances Shade could consider himself lucky. Rayen felt a sudden revulsion towards the people who had done this. The fact that they could do this to other human beings violated the sacred laws of creation. Something had to be done, and since they were the only ones who knew, it would obviously have to be them.
"Why don't you travel with us? We're all Dragoons, we would work better together, since we all seem to be after the same thing."
"I will not travel with people weaker than myself."
"Let me guess. That means one of us has to defeat you in combat, right?"
Shade nodded. Rayen sighed.
"This is so much like a video game it's almost scary."
"Video game characters don't drive motorhomes," Phil pointed out.
"True enough. I guess I'll go at it, then."
Rayen drew his sword. They stood a few feet apart. Shade gripped both his weapons.
"Alright, here are the rules. You lose when you are either disarmed or when your opponent has his weapon against some vital point, like the heart or throat. This is hand-to-hand combat, no Dragoons, no magic. Got it?"
"Seems simple enough."
"Good."
After that last word, Shade lunged. Rayen parried the serrated blade and dodged the longer one. Shade was extremely fast, and Rayen began to feel hard-pressed very early. He had to do a number of defensive spins and sweeps to avoid being counterbalanced by his opponent's speed and dual weapon tactics. He dodged and strafed. Eventually he got a chance to press an attack of his own.
Rayen slashed and stabbed, keeping Shade hopping to block every strike. Eventually he attacked with an overhead strike, and instead of blocking it, Shade caught the blade in the crosspieces of his longer weapon. Now Rayen knew the purpose of the weapon's strange design; it was made for weapon trapping! With Rayen's arm at such a high angle, all Shade had to do was wrench his arm upwards to send the sword flying from Rayen's grasp.
The sword was still in the air, and had not landed out of Rayen's reach, so he had not lost yet. He did the only thing that came to mind; he lashed out with his foot in a vicious kick that connected square with Shade's chest. As the ninja stumbled backwards, Rayen caught his sword out of the air. He lunged forward, and as Shade brought his right sword up to parry, Rayen tried a little weapon trapping with his own weapon. He hooked the point around one of the serrated ridges, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the weapon into his waiting left hand. He tossed it backwards as far as he could, to discourage the illusion that his adversary could attempt to retrieve it.
Shade did not appear to entertain that illusion however, because he switched his longer blade to his right hand and swung the blade with a slash that sent Rayen jumping backwards. Rayen parried the next slashes, then decided to use the weapon's own design against it. He waited until Shade thrusted, then caught the forward-swept crosspieces perpendicularly with the eagle's wing of his own blade. He pushed his blade upward, until it stopped right in front of Shade's throat. Shade could not turn aside Rayen's weapon without use of his own. He dropped the blade into the grass. The battle was over; Rayen had won.
Rayen sheathed his sword, and held out his hand. Shade grasped it, and they shook. Shade retrieved his weapons from the grass, then they both headed over to the RV. Phil was waiting in the driver's seat the whole time, and even decided to inject some humor into the atmosphere by microwaving a bowl of popcorn while he watched. As they entered the mobile home, he grinned.
"Better than a 3 Musketeers flick. Where to?"
"Northwest."
"Why northwest?"
Shade said nothing in reply, just stared at the Jade Dragoon with his hard brown eyes.
"Just do it, Phil. He obviously knows more about this than we do."
"Alright. Where we headed?"
"Fletz."
"Fletz? As in, the Twin Castle?"
"There's only one Fletz."
"Alright then..."
Still doubtful, Phil pulled onto the road and headed towards the highway that would take them to the Twin Castle.
When we last left our heroes (cliché, I know, but I've always wanted to say it), they had swords at their throats. So... yeah. They still do. Moving on.
Rayen examined the swords as best he could without moving his neck. The one on the assailant's right was up to his throat. It was a short, serrated blade, obviously meant to deal as much damage to armor or skin as possible. The one in the mysterious figure's left hand was up to Phil's windpipe and much longer and thinner, with crosspieces that were swept forward. Odd design for a weapon, Rayen mused, especially one used in an off hand, for the shadowy character obviously favored his right.
Rayen dropped his own weapon and raised his hands. This obviously did not pertain to the other's definition of 'moving', for Rayen's throat remained intact.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"I was just about to ask you the same question."
"I escaped from the building back there."
"Were you being held hostage?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm the one with the swords against your throats. I think I'll ask the questions."
"Fine with me. We followed the monster trail here."
"Why? Do you plan on getting killed?"
"No. We have the power to defeat these monsters. We were looking for them around here."
"Well, you found one."
"Where?"
"Right in front of you."
"You mean..."
The figure stepped into the lights of the building. He looked conspicuous, although he seemed like an ordinary human being. What gave him away was that he was covered in black clothing from head to toe, that of a martial artist or a ninja, tied with a night-blue sash. His face was completely covered except for his deep brown eyes that somehow exuded an aura of coldness. He unwrapped the cloth that covered his face, and Rayen had to repress a gag. The man's face was wrecked and distorted, so out of shape that one could barely tell it had once belonged to a human being. He wrapped his head back up once more, and continued.
"Yes. They captured me. They spent days bombarding me with strange lights and sounds that changed me, I don't know how. I was their guinea pig, their experiment gone wrong! They made an abomination out of me; I am no longer human. They were quick to apologize once the Dragoon Spirit reacted to me, of course. They promised me wealth and power. I had gained power enough from their torture, and wealth interested me no longer. I destroyed them all with my newfound strength, and the monsters broke free in the ensuing struggle."
"Revenge is a food that appeases the senses but not the appetite. One who partakes of it does everything they can to get more, until the lust for it consumes them and they care for nothing else. One cannot live on revenge."
The man stared hard at Rayen for this response, but did not answer. Phil spoke up.
"Do you have a name?"
"Not anymore, now that I am no longer human. But they (Rayen had never heard so much loathing concentrated in one word before) called me Project Shade."
"Shade, huh? Why not call you Shadow?"
"There was a Project Shadow before me. He... was not as fortunate as I."
Rayen and Phil could not understand how under any circumstances Shade could consider himself lucky. Rayen felt a sudden revulsion towards the people who had done this. The fact that they could do this to other human beings violated the sacred laws of creation. Something had to be done, and since they were the only ones who knew, it would obviously have to be them.
"Why don't you travel with us? We're all Dragoons, we would work better together, since we all seem to be after the same thing."
"I will not travel with people weaker than myself."
"Let me guess. That means one of us has to defeat you in combat, right?"
Shade nodded. Rayen sighed.
"This is so much like a video game it's almost scary."
"Video game characters don't drive motorhomes," Phil pointed out.
"True enough. I guess I'll go at it, then."
Rayen drew his sword. They stood a few feet apart. Shade gripped both his weapons.
"Alright, here are the rules. You lose when you are either disarmed or when your opponent has his weapon against some vital point, like the heart or throat. This is hand-to-hand combat, no Dragoons, no magic. Got it?"
"Seems simple enough."
"Good."
After that last word, Shade lunged. Rayen parried the serrated blade and dodged the longer one. Shade was extremely fast, and Rayen began to feel hard-pressed very early. He had to do a number of defensive spins and sweeps to avoid being counterbalanced by his opponent's speed and dual weapon tactics. He dodged and strafed. Eventually he got a chance to press an attack of his own.
Rayen slashed and stabbed, keeping Shade hopping to block every strike. Eventually he attacked with an overhead strike, and instead of blocking it, Shade caught the blade in the crosspieces of his longer weapon. Now Rayen knew the purpose of the weapon's strange design; it was made for weapon trapping! With Rayen's arm at such a high angle, all Shade had to do was wrench his arm upwards to send the sword flying from Rayen's grasp.
The sword was still in the air, and had not landed out of Rayen's reach, so he had not lost yet. He did the only thing that came to mind; he lashed out with his foot in a vicious kick that connected square with Shade's chest. As the ninja stumbled backwards, Rayen caught his sword out of the air. He lunged forward, and as Shade brought his right sword up to parry, Rayen tried a little weapon trapping with his own weapon. He hooked the point around one of the serrated ridges, and with a flick of his wrist, sent the weapon into his waiting left hand. He tossed it backwards as far as he could, to discourage the illusion that his adversary could attempt to retrieve it.
Shade did not appear to entertain that illusion however, because he switched his longer blade to his right hand and swung the blade with a slash that sent Rayen jumping backwards. Rayen parried the next slashes, then decided to use the weapon's own design against it. He waited until Shade thrusted, then caught the forward-swept crosspieces perpendicularly with the eagle's wing of his own blade. He pushed his blade upward, until it stopped right in front of Shade's throat. Shade could not turn aside Rayen's weapon without use of his own. He dropped the blade into the grass. The battle was over; Rayen had won.
Rayen sheathed his sword, and held out his hand. Shade grasped it, and they shook. Shade retrieved his weapons from the grass, then they both headed over to the RV. Phil was waiting in the driver's seat the whole time, and even decided to inject some humor into the atmosphere by microwaving a bowl of popcorn while he watched. As they entered the mobile home, he grinned.
"Better than a 3 Musketeers flick. Where to?"
"Northwest."
"Why northwest?"
Shade said nothing in reply, just stared at the Jade Dragoon with his hard brown eyes.
"Just do it, Phil. He obviously knows more about this than we do."
"Alright. Where we headed?"
"Fletz."
"Fletz? As in, the Twin Castle?"
"There's only one Fletz."
"Alright then..."
Still doubtful, Phil pulled onto the road and headed towards the highway that would take them to the Twin Castle.