Wow. My experience with other fanfics has led me to believe that the vast majority (I'd say 80% or more) of fanfiction.net readers have absolutely NO control over the English language. I figured that Soul Caliber fans would be in this majority (it's a fighting game, after all). I can't believe the reviews I've gotten; you guys have reaffirmed my faith in the human race (points gun away from forehead). You people are wonderful.
This is Chapter 2. Unfortunately, for personal reasons, my good friend Kaika will not be writing any chapters of her own. This would have been her first one in the story. However, she is working behind the scenes as an advisor. She's the one who came up with this idea in the first place; we've all suffered a loss without her stellar writing.
And many of you, after reading Ivy's "Alchemy" lines, were probably scratching your head and wondering what was going on. Well, I don't use Magic in my fanfics (except as a force for evil) and instead I use Psi. Psi comes from the mind of the user and requires no words at all. Everyone has their own personal Psi, which stems from their soul. Psi, alongside Science, is considered a "Great Discipline". There are seven Disciplines in all. The sixth Discipline, Magic, is considered the "Fell Discipline".
This chapter will focus on Ivy, Sophitia, and Kilik. You will notice the lack of accents, mostly due to the fact that it is very hard to write accents and not make the characters sound stupid. The chapters will switch off between Siegfried and Nightmare on one end, and Sophitia, Kilik, and Ivy on the other.
"SHOWTIME!"
CHAPTER 2
Trailing a Dream
Kilik looked about himself on the prow of the ship. They were sailing into mainland Europe now, at a port town in Spain. The merchant ship they had booked passage on rolled gently with the waves. Ahead of them, the harbor of the town beckoned, it's piers extending far out into the waters. A medium-sized city lay behind it, smoke pouring cheerily from the chimneys of the houses alongside it's cobblestone road. It had taken them several months, journeying from China, to get here, and Kilik could scarcely believe he was finally looking at land again. To the Tibetan monk, it had seemed like they had been on the ocean for forever.
[ At least the trip wasn't any shorter for Nightmare,] Kilik thought.
Turning from the prow, his loose outfit swirling in the sea breeze, he regarded Sophitia, who stood on the prow. The Greek warrior had her sword tucked in, but still held onto her shield with her right hand, holding it in front. Her blue dress, covering the chain mail underneath, swirled about her. The sailors gave her a wide berth. Kilik grinned as he remembered why.
It had been about two weeks into the trip when a lustful sailor had suddenly become taken with Sophitia. None of the crew had approached Ivy at all; they were scared to death of the strange Englishwoman. They had apparently decided Sophitia was a more proper target for their affections.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
The sailor had, in his usual tactless manner, approached Sophitia from behind. Sophitia, who had mostly ignored the sailors, didn't notice him until he was right behind her. Reaching up to her breasts, he had grabbed them and announced loudly, " Oh, nice and firm! Just the way-"
He never finished the sentence. Sophitia had back-handed him with her shield and broken his nose. Out like a flash, gleaming brightly in the sun, her sword had then sliced the offending sailor's entire face off. Delivering a horizontal stroke, she had cut him in half. Although the captain had said he'd drop them off at the next port and charge them with murder for killing one of his sailors, Sophitia had told him that it would be his head next time, and that she'd kill every sailor onboard and swim to Europe if she had too. The captain had backed down, but every night one of the three warriors stood guard, to make sure the sailors wouldn't attempt anything. None of them did; Sophitia had moved faster than any warrior they had ever seen before, and none were anxious to test out the power of her friends.
Sophitia's eyes, almost always hard, had softened when she looked at Europe, her homeland. A sigh escaped her lips. She turned around to wake up Ivy, who had stood guard last night and was now sleeping.
Inside her room, oblivious to the outside world, Ivy tossed and turned on her bed. Her sword, responsive to her emotions, had unlinked itself and writhed about on the desk beside her, moving like a snake.
A single word passed Ivy's lips:
" Siegfried..."
************************************************************************
They had walked the road north to Voldo's castle until sunset, and then had made a little campfire. Siegfried had a small handaxe he used to chop kindling, and there was a fallen tree nearby that he hacked into usable logs with Requiem. He hated dulling the sword like that, but he'd have a night to sharpen it anyway.
Ivy, for her part, had set about making them supper. She had been carrying a few bottles of water and a small kettle, and she now used these to prepare some boiling water. To it, she added some meat and vegetables she'd found. As it was cooking, Siegfried found a handy rock and moved it towards the fire. Sitting down, he took out his sharpener, laid Requiem on his leg, and began sharpening it.
Ivy watched him as she stirred the soup.
" Nice sword," she said. " But doesn't it weigh too much to really be any use?"
Siegfried shook his head. " Not really. It's balanced pretty well, and I've trained to use it my whole life." He continued sharpening his immense blade. " Besides, like my father always said..."
He stopped talking suddenly, head drooping. God. He'd forgotten all about his father. Frederick. Killed by his own hands. He could blame it on Nightmare, but Siegfried would always feel guilt and blame himself for his father's death.
Ivy, noticed his sudden change, cautiously asked, " Siegfried?" She worried that maybe her new companion was either a nutcase, or had some strange disease.
" It's nothing," he said, and then, since it was obviously something, " I'd forgotten that my father is dead. He was... killed a year ago."
Two emotions warred in Ivy's mind: relief he wasn't a nutcase and sympathy for his loss. She herself knew how painful the loss of a parent was.
[Even if he isn't your real father,] a mental voice spoke.
" I'm sorry," she said, not knowing how to proceed. " It's... hard, isn't it? I lost my father too."
He looked at her, and a weak smile appeared on his face.
" Yeah, it's hard. Sorry to do that. I've ruined the evening mood."
She half-smirked at that, and checked the soup. While they were talking, it had finished cooking.
" Well, here's supper," she said, taking out a small wooden bowl. " But I don't know what you'll eat out of."
From a small pack on the back of his waist, Siegfried produced a bowl. Regaining some of his good humor, he said, " Probably this, I figure."
Smirking once more, she ladled out some of the soup. For awhile there were only the sounds of eating as they finished their soup in silence. After they were done, Siegfried sat back and said, " Good soup. My compliments."
Ivy nodded, and then grew very self-conscious. Her life had not prepared her for this. Growing up, she was segregated from others because of her rank and studies. And now that she was gronw up, she was used to traveling alone, and had no idea what to say now, with night spreading its velvet wings all around them and their campfire burning low.
Fortunately for her, Siegfried started the conversation- he was a veteran of several travels, and he had always been with others, usually members of his father's army. " What's your "personal reason" to go after Voldo?"
She shrugged. " Why should I tell you?"
He grinned. His good humor had been entirely restored by her comment. He was a joker at heart, and was always looking for good openings to jest.
" I'll tell you my reason if you tell me yours." Noting the look on her face, he switched to a boastful tone. " Oh, come on. Don't you won't to know the deep, dark secrets of my mind?" He matched this off-kilter speech with a mocking serious expression.
No longer smirking but smiling, she said, " Fine. I have a little personal quest of my own. My father hated magic, claimed it consumed not just lives but souls. I want to continue his own battle to eliminate the mages."
Siegfried nodded. " Good. We could always use less magic in the world. My own reason," he ducked his head. " It'll sound strange, but I'm on a quest of redemption. I did something... very dishonorable a year ago. Ever since then, I've been trying to redeem myself. Voldo's just another evil man to kill." Switching subjects, he then said, " Speaking of Voldo, have you ever seen him?"
She nodded. " Twice. Once in France, where he was following some rich man around, and once in Spain, where we fought. He's a very odd creature."
Siegfried snorted. " Odd isn't the word for it. Our favorite leather-bound freak with the knife fetish is more than strange, Ivy- he's absolutely beyond belief. He looks like he could fillet a fish by twitching his pinky finger. And I still can't figure out how he sees anything with that thing around his eyes."
She actually laughed at that, a beautiful tinkling sound. Siegfried found himself loving that laugh as soon as he heard it. " Good question. I never thought of that before... how does he see?"
Seigfried shrugged, and they continued talking. It was long into the night before either went to sleep. They had no guard- this was a very remote area, and the thieves had scattered when Voldo took over the nearby castle.
As his head hit the end of his sleeping bag, Siegfried's last thought was [My God, I think I'm falling for her..]
Ivy's own thought was [I like him... No, more than just liking him.]
They fell asleep, minds echoing the same thoughts.
************************************************************************
Sophitia had heard the Snake Sword writhing on the chest and had rushed in. Her quick entrance had caused Ivy to awake and instantly grab her sword, which quieted as soon as she touched it, reforming itself into a sword.
" Ivy?" Sophitia asked, her face drawn with worry. " Are you okay? Your sword was changing... what happened?"
Ivy shook her head. " Just a dream," she said. " My sword responded to my emotions. Just a dream."
Sophitia looked at her, and then struck by a sudden suspicion, whispered, " Is it about Siegfried?"
Judging by Ivy's quick look away, Sophitia nodded her head.
" Ivy," Sophitia began her voice low and calm, " I know how you must feel..."
" No, you don't," Ivy said, her voice suddenly shaking with anger. " You have no idea what it's like. He's the man I love, Sophitia. How am I supposed to kill him? He bared his soul to me. I'm the only person alive that knows what he went through when Nightmare took over. He's the only person I've ever really loved..."
Breaking down, she fought back sobs. Sophitia turned her head.
" If my husband," Sophitia began, head still turned, " was taken over by the Soul Edge, I would kill him in an instant. Not because he would be consumed by the Soul Edge, but because it would free him from the torment of being locked in his own mind. Think of it like that, Ivy, not as killing Siegfried, but saving him."
She turned and walked out. Ivy thought of a million things to say to her- how Sophitia's rock solid belief in the Greek gods was what gave her such single-mindedness, how killing her husband if he was consumed by Soul Edge would have nothing to do with helping him and everything to do with her sacred quest, how obsessed she was with destroying the last Soul Edge and finishing her quest. How Sophitia could never understand, so long as she held her duty before all else, what it was like to give yourself to someone totally without reserve, to love with all your heart and damn the consequences.
In the end, she said nothing. But she promised herself the same thing she had promised herself everyday since Siegfried had picked up the Soul Edge trying to save them all:
" I will save you, Siegfried. Even if it means my life."
Outside her room, Sophitia wondered if Ivy would interfere with her quest to destroy the Soul Edge.
If she tried, Sophitia would kill her.
And not lose a drop of sleep. Service to the gods required no less.
- Chapter Three is coming up, wherein we learn more of Ivy and Siegfried's battle with Voldo in Castle Travens!
This is Chapter 2. Unfortunately, for personal reasons, my good friend Kaika will not be writing any chapters of her own. This would have been her first one in the story. However, she is working behind the scenes as an advisor. She's the one who came up with this idea in the first place; we've all suffered a loss without her stellar writing.
And many of you, after reading Ivy's "Alchemy" lines, were probably scratching your head and wondering what was going on. Well, I don't use Magic in my fanfics (except as a force for evil) and instead I use Psi. Psi comes from the mind of the user and requires no words at all. Everyone has their own personal Psi, which stems from their soul. Psi, alongside Science, is considered a "Great Discipline". There are seven Disciplines in all. The sixth Discipline, Magic, is considered the "Fell Discipline".
This chapter will focus on Ivy, Sophitia, and Kilik. You will notice the lack of accents, mostly due to the fact that it is very hard to write accents and not make the characters sound stupid. The chapters will switch off between Siegfried and Nightmare on one end, and Sophitia, Kilik, and Ivy on the other.
"SHOWTIME!"
CHAPTER 2
Trailing a Dream
Kilik looked about himself on the prow of the ship. They were sailing into mainland Europe now, at a port town in Spain. The merchant ship they had booked passage on rolled gently with the waves. Ahead of them, the harbor of the town beckoned, it's piers extending far out into the waters. A medium-sized city lay behind it, smoke pouring cheerily from the chimneys of the houses alongside it's cobblestone road. It had taken them several months, journeying from China, to get here, and Kilik could scarcely believe he was finally looking at land again. To the Tibetan monk, it had seemed like they had been on the ocean for forever.
[ At least the trip wasn't any shorter for Nightmare,] Kilik thought.
Turning from the prow, his loose outfit swirling in the sea breeze, he regarded Sophitia, who stood on the prow. The Greek warrior had her sword tucked in, but still held onto her shield with her right hand, holding it in front. Her blue dress, covering the chain mail underneath, swirled about her. The sailors gave her a wide berth. Kilik grinned as he remembered why.
It had been about two weeks into the trip when a lustful sailor had suddenly become taken with Sophitia. None of the crew had approached Ivy at all; they were scared to death of the strange Englishwoman. They had apparently decided Sophitia was a more proper target for their affections.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
The sailor had, in his usual tactless manner, approached Sophitia from behind. Sophitia, who had mostly ignored the sailors, didn't notice him until he was right behind her. Reaching up to her breasts, he had grabbed them and announced loudly, " Oh, nice and firm! Just the way-"
He never finished the sentence. Sophitia had back-handed him with her shield and broken his nose. Out like a flash, gleaming brightly in the sun, her sword had then sliced the offending sailor's entire face off. Delivering a horizontal stroke, she had cut him in half. Although the captain had said he'd drop them off at the next port and charge them with murder for killing one of his sailors, Sophitia had told him that it would be his head next time, and that she'd kill every sailor onboard and swim to Europe if she had too. The captain had backed down, but every night one of the three warriors stood guard, to make sure the sailors wouldn't attempt anything. None of them did; Sophitia had moved faster than any warrior they had ever seen before, and none were anxious to test out the power of her friends.
Sophitia's eyes, almost always hard, had softened when she looked at Europe, her homeland. A sigh escaped her lips. She turned around to wake up Ivy, who had stood guard last night and was now sleeping.
Inside her room, oblivious to the outside world, Ivy tossed and turned on her bed. Her sword, responsive to her emotions, had unlinked itself and writhed about on the desk beside her, moving like a snake.
A single word passed Ivy's lips:
" Siegfried..."
************************************************************************
They had walked the road north to Voldo's castle until sunset, and then had made a little campfire. Siegfried had a small handaxe he used to chop kindling, and there was a fallen tree nearby that he hacked into usable logs with Requiem. He hated dulling the sword like that, but he'd have a night to sharpen it anyway.
Ivy, for her part, had set about making them supper. She had been carrying a few bottles of water and a small kettle, and she now used these to prepare some boiling water. To it, she added some meat and vegetables she'd found. As it was cooking, Siegfried found a handy rock and moved it towards the fire. Sitting down, he took out his sharpener, laid Requiem on his leg, and began sharpening it.
Ivy watched him as she stirred the soup.
" Nice sword," she said. " But doesn't it weigh too much to really be any use?"
Siegfried shook his head. " Not really. It's balanced pretty well, and I've trained to use it my whole life." He continued sharpening his immense blade. " Besides, like my father always said..."
He stopped talking suddenly, head drooping. God. He'd forgotten all about his father. Frederick. Killed by his own hands. He could blame it on Nightmare, but Siegfried would always feel guilt and blame himself for his father's death.
Ivy, noticed his sudden change, cautiously asked, " Siegfried?" She worried that maybe her new companion was either a nutcase, or had some strange disease.
" It's nothing," he said, and then, since it was obviously something, " I'd forgotten that my father is dead. He was... killed a year ago."
Two emotions warred in Ivy's mind: relief he wasn't a nutcase and sympathy for his loss. She herself knew how painful the loss of a parent was.
[Even if he isn't your real father,] a mental voice spoke.
" I'm sorry," she said, not knowing how to proceed. " It's... hard, isn't it? I lost my father too."
He looked at her, and a weak smile appeared on his face.
" Yeah, it's hard. Sorry to do that. I've ruined the evening mood."
She half-smirked at that, and checked the soup. While they were talking, it had finished cooking.
" Well, here's supper," she said, taking out a small wooden bowl. " But I don't know what you'll eat out of."
From a small pack on the back of his waist, Siegfried produced a bowl. Regaining some of his good humor, he said, " Probably this, I figure."
Smirking once more, she ladled out some of the soup. For awhile there were only the sounds of eating as they finished their soup in silence. After they were done, Siegfried sat back and said, " Good soup. My compliments."
Ivy nodded, and then grew very self-conscious. Her life had not prepared her for this. Growing up, she was segregated from others because of her rank and studies. And now that she was gronw up, she was used to traveling alone, and had no idea what to say now, with night spreading its velvet wings all around them and their campfire burning low.
Fortunately for her, Siegfried started the conversation- he was a veteran of several travels, and he had always been with others, usually members of his father's army. " What's your "personal reason" to go after Voldo?"
She shrugged. " Why should I tell you?"
He grinned. His good humor had been entirely restored by her comment. He was a joker at heart, and was always looking for good openings to jest.
" I'll tell you my reason if you tell me yours." Noting the look on her face, he switched to a boastful tone. " Oh, come on. Don't you won't to know the deep, dark secrets of my mind?" He matched this off-kilter speech with a mocking serious expression.
No longer smirking but smiling, she said, " Fine. I have a little personal quest of my own. My father hated magic, claimed it consumed not just lives but souls. I want to continue his own battle to eliminate the mages."
Siegfried nodded. " Good. We could always use less magic in the world. My own reason," he ducked his head. " It'll sound strange, but I'm on a quest of redemption. I did something... very dishonorable a year ago. Ever since then, I've been trying to redeem myself. Voldo's just another evil man to kill." Switching subjects, he then said, " Speaking of Voldo, have you ever seen him?"
She nodded. " Twice. Once in France, where he was following some rich man around, and once in Spain, where we fought. He's a very odd creature."
Siegfried snorted. " Odd isn't the word for it. Our favorite leather-bound freak with the knife fetish is more than strange, Ivy- he's absolutely beyond belief. He looks like he could fillet a fish by twitching his pinky finger. And I still can't figure out how he sees anything with that thing around his eyes."
She actually laughed at that, a beautiful tinkling sound. Siegfried found himself loving that laugh as soon as he heard it. " Good question. I never thought of that before... how does he see?"
Seigfried shrugged, and they continued talking. It was long into the night before either went to sleep. They had no guard- this was a very remote area, and the thieves had scattered when Voldo took over the nearby castle.
As his head hit the end of his sleeping bag, Siegfried's last thought was [My God, I think I'm falling for her..]
Ivy's own thought was [I like him... No, more than just liking him.]
They fell asleep, minds echoing the same thoughts.
************************************************************************
Sophitia had heard the Snake Sword writhing on the chest and had rushed in. Her quick entrance had caused Ivy to awake and instantly grab her sword, which quieted as soon as she touched it, reforming itself into a sword.
" Ivy?" Sophitia asked, her face drawn with worry. " Are you okay? Your sword was changing... what happened?"
Ivy shook her head. " Just a dream," she said. " My sword responded to my emotions. Just a dream."
Sophitia looked at her, and then struck by a sudden suspicion, whispered, " Is it about Siegfried?"
Judging by Ivy's quick look away, Sophitia nodded her head.
" Ivy," Sophitia began her voice low and calm, " I know how you must feel..."
" No, you don't," Ivy said, her voice suddenly shaking with anger. " You have no idea what it's like. He's the man I love, Sophitia. How am I supposed to kill him? He bared his soul to me. I'm the only person alive that knows what he went through when Nightmare took over. He's the only person I've ever really loved..."
Breaking down, she fought back sobs. Sophitia turned her head.
" If my husband," Sophitia began, head still turned, " was taken over by the Soul Edge, I would kill him in an instant. Not because he would be consumed by the Soul Edge, but because it would free him from the torment of being locked in his own mind. Think of it like that, Ivy, not as killing Siegfried, but saving him."
She turned and walked out. Ivy thought of a million things to say to her- how Sophitia's rock solid belief in the Greek gods was what gave her such single-mindedness, how killing her husband if he was consumed by Soul Edge would have nothing to do with helping him and everything to do with her sacred quest, how obsessed she was with destroying the last Soul Edge and finishing her quest. How Sophitia could never understand, so long as she held her duty before all else, what it was like to give yourself to someone totally without reserve, to love with all your heart and damn the consequences.
In the end, she said nothing. But she promised herself the same thing she had promised herself everyday since Siegfried had picked up the Soul Edge trying to save them all:
" I will save you, Siegfried. Even if it means my life."
Outside her room, Sophitia wondered if Ivy would interfere with her quest to destroy the Soul Edge.
If she tried, Sophitia would kill her.
And not lose a drop of sleep. Service to the gods required no less.
- Chapter Three is coming up, wherein we learn more of Ivy and Siegfried's battle with Voldo in Castle Travens!