disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur, Soul Edge, Taki or Sophitia. These all belong to NAMCO.
Such a pity; they won't let me have them. Oh well. But this fanfic is mine.
Requietum
by jin long
jin_long@lycos.com
Chapter 11
The flaming sword glowed an unholy red in the darkness of the night as it smashed into
a hovel, barely missing the ninja that had managed to leap off the structure's roof. The
house splintered, wooden beams reduced to a mess of splinters and stone rendered
fragmented. Fire erupted from the remains of the building, a result of the sword's flame.
Taki shielded her eyes with her arm as the debris flew up at her from the impact. A piece
of stone grazed her cheek, causing a trickle of crimson to appear. She could see Sophitia
dodge the sword as it thudded into the ground next to the Greek, sending earth flying up.
With unsure slowness Taki unsheathed Mekki-maru, already resonating with the demon's
energy. It was hungry. So very hungry.
Swiftly, she ran across the rooftops heading for the Balrog. The demon was distracted, all
its concentration on the Greek that was continually dodging its blows. It bought her enough
time to leap into the air and sink Mekki-maru into the closest available and strategic target.
The Balrog howled as the blade penetrated its sword shoulder. But for its size it was a
wonder that it felt the blade at all. Not content with what was a mere pinprick on the
demon's shoulder Taki drove it downwards using her weight and all the force she could
muster.
The demon swatted her away, but not before she left it with a wound that stretched almost
to its chest from its shoulder. Taki grunted, feeling the force of the wind of the blow smack
into her as she dodged.
She rolled as she landed and got to her feet. If the stike had actually connected, she knew
she would have been quite dazed. Mekki-maru seemed to take on an evil glow as it slowly
absorbed the Balrog's blood till it shone once more. It did not go unnoticed.
The Balrog grinned, putting a claw to its wound, then suddenly its red eyes opened wide in
shock. Taki intuited what this meant, saying "I see you aren't used to being injured and
being unable to heal your wounds." The Balrog's response was a growl. "Even knights with
blessed blades couldn't do this! How?!"
How indeed, Taki thought. No wonder Toki wanted Mekki-maru.
She siezed upon the chance offered demon's bewildered state and charged. From the corner
of her eye she could see Sophitia charging in as well.
But the demon reacted too fast. Its sword morphed into a flaming whip which it then used to
sieze her by her leg. Taki felt herself lifted up into the air and flung into a nearby hovel. The
force of the throw was strong and Taki crashed resoundingly into the house.
The ninja grunted from the impact, forcing her dazed self to stand. Damn it, she had been
a bit careless back there. She looked up and immediately raised her arms to catch the
incoming Greek.
Sophitia landed on her, the force knocking them both down. It was not enough to knock
Taki's senses out of comission though and she asked "Hey, you okay?"
Sophitia moaned a bit, rising to her feet. "Reasonable." She got back into a ready stance,
looking up at the Balrog. "I think you made it angry."
"Well, it's going to be furious then."
With blinding speed Taki ran at the Balrog. Flaming sword blows thudded into the earth as
she dodged each strike, leaping onto a nearby roof then into the air, landing on the demon's
injured shoulder.
The heat of the demon's body nearly burned her feet but she didn't care, stabbing the demon
and slashing down its chest. Blood spurted from the huge gaping wound she left and it burned
where it touched her skin. It swatted at her with one of its claws, but she saw it coming and
slashed at the open palm, nearly severing a giant finger.
Taki did not stop, almost in a frenzy as she stabbed the Balrog's cheek, dragging her blade out
and exposing the demon's teeth as the cheek was cut cleanly. She stabbed, slashed, cut over
and over, not caring what her blade severed. And Mekki-maru loved it. Mekki- maru enjoyed
the demon's pain.
Taki could not believe how brutal and sadistic she was starting to become. She could have
beheaded it now from her position on the demon and yet she had not. She was torturing,
playing with it before she killed it. She felt Mekki-maru acting on that supressed anger within
herself for demons....
The Balrog howled, collapsing to one knee and panting from the pain. Its eyes betrayed the pain
Taki's slashes had caused it, and it growled, lashing out and catching her in its palm. Slowly, it
began to tighten its fist, obviously enjoying the feeling of crushing the ninja in its palm.
"I will not lose to a human!" it growled, looking her in the eye.
The ninja gritted her teeth, trying to drown out the pain that was weakening her and desperately
attempting to break the Balrog's tightening grip. She tried stabbing the fingers with her blade,
Mekki-maru going in so deep that it almost reached what passed for bone in Balrogs, but it
was no use. The demon's claw would not open.
She had lost focus, she knew. And it would be the death of her.
"Let go of her, demon!!!"
Taki looked up to see Sophitia leaping towards the Balrog, sword poised to strike. And strike
the Greek did, sinking her divinely forged blade into one of the demon's eyes. The orfice
spurted blood and the demon howled as Sophitia twisted the blade inward to ensure that the
eye was completely destroyed.
The Balrog howled, letting go of Taki as it swatted Sophitia to the ground. The Greek landed
painfully with a forceful thump, stunned.
Taki grunted, finally free of the demon's grip. Her eyes widened in alarm as she saw the Balrog
turn its attention and its sword towards Sophitia,who had only begun to shake off the effect of
being stunned and was rising to her feet.
"Sophitia!!!"
The Greek looked up at her then grunted as she dove in and tackled her out of the path of the
flaming sword's slash. However, Taki soon felt a searing pain as the sword connected with her
side and she gasped.
It felt as if the area around the wound was being burned from the inside. In truth, if she were
the demon's size it would have been a mere nick, but as it was the would stretched from her hip
to just about under her chest.
Despite the pain and the bleeding she was grateful that it had just barely connected. Otherwise
meant that she would be severed in half. Taki forced herself to rise to her feet, knowing the
demon would not hesistate to strike again.
It did as she supposed, and she barely had enough time to grab the Greek, dodge and run past
the demon's blind side into another hovel. Breathing hard, she let the Greek down. Her vision
was becoming blurry and she could feel the blood flowing down her side and over the hand she'd
raised to her injury.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay conscious but she forced her eyes to stay open.
She knew she could not leave Sophitia alone against this demon.
She heard the Greek groan beside her then the scraping of boots against the ground as Sophitia
rose to her feet. "...That was close... Thanks Taki. I didn't..." The Greek's eyes widened and Taki
knew Sophitia had just realized her condition. "Oh Gods, you've got to get out of here!"
No, Taki answered in her mind. They had to kill the demon now. They were going to kill the demon
now if it was the last thing she ever did. "No. I'm not leaving you..." Taki breathed in deeply. "I'm
not leaving a first-time demon slayer! You could die, and I would never forgive myself for that!"
"You're going to die if you don't go!" Sophitia placed a hand on Taki's side. "Gods, this doesn't look
good. Get going! I'll be fine here!"
"NO!" Taki yelled. "I'm not leaving you! Not before this thing is dead!"
"Don't act so tough! You'll d-"
She slapped Sophitia on the cheek, stunning the Greek and rendering her silent. Taki knew she was
losing blood, and fast. Sophitia had to listen. She didn't have much time. "We'll get this thing. I need
your help, so listen well, because there isn't much time." Taki paused, gritting her teeth to shut out
the pain. "We're going to decapitate it. I'll distract it while you land the first strike, then I'll finish it
off. I'll signal for when you make your move."
Taki breathed in again. "I don't have much time, and neither do you. Do you understand all this?"
Sophitia nodded. "I do."
"Good." Summoning up the last of her strength Taki ran outside the hovel, catching the Balrog's
attention. This was it. They had to do it in one go. There was no other chance.
"So there you are!!!"
The Balrog growled as it swung its sword in an overhead strike at her. Taki could see it grin as she
raised Mekki-maru to block in response. Did it think that she couldn't block it with her ninjatou?
The Balrog was obviously surprised as their weapons connected, the force of the impact causing the
ground underneath Taki's feet to crack. Dust was sent into the air with the strength of the strike as
Mekki-maru cackled with dark, swirling energy that seemed to surround it, cracking the Balrog's blade
as Taki pushed up with all her might.
"How is this possible?!" the demon hollered. "My sword should have shattered yours!!!"
Taki grunted, still pushing against the Balrog's blade. "You are a very stupid demon. Do you think I
would even block with this if I knew your sword would shatter it?!" She pushed further up, the Balrog's
sword beginning to fragment. "You just don't get it, do you?" she said. "I'm trained to kill your kind,
not like those knights or their corrupted priests!"
The Balrog's sword began to fragment as Mekki-maru and Taki's energy began to swirl around them
both. "For you to terrorize these lands is unforgiveable, demon! Now, be dead and be silent!" She
her head to the side. "Now! Sophitia!"
The Balrog howled as Sophitia leapt and came down on it, slicing through half of its neck as she
returned to the ground. The Balrog's blade fragmented as Mekki-maru's energy tore through and
Taki leapt up, blade aimed at the other half of the demon's neck.
"Begone!!!!"
Mekki-maru sliced cleanly through the Balrog and its horned head fell to the ground. The decapitated
body fell to its knees, devilish energy swirling around it from the headless neck. Debris and earth were
lifted into the air as the dead demon fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
Taki shielded her eyes as she landed a good distance away, having pushed off from the demon before
it collapsed. She watched as the evil entity disappeared in a whirl of dark and reddish energy into the
night sky.
It was then she allowed her eyes to close and submitted to her injury. She fell to the ground, limp and
lifeless and felt the earth as it seemed to surround her. It seemed to be almost blissful as she drifted
off, her physical and spiritual energy both spent.
"TAKI!!!!!!"
to be continued....
Such a pity; they won't let me have them. Oh well. But this fanfic is mine.
Requietum
by jin long
jin_long@lycos.com
Chapter 11
The flaming sword glowed an unholy red in the darkness of the night as it smashed into
a hovel, barely missing the ninja that had managed to leap off the structure's roof. The
house splintered, wooden beams reduced to a mess of splinters and stone rendered
fragmented. Fire erupted from the remains of the building, a result of the sword's flame.
Taki shielded her eyes with her arm as the debris flew up at her from the impact. A piece
of stone grazed her cheek, causing a trickle of crimson to appear. She could see Sophitia
dodge the sword as it thudded into the ground next to the Greek, sending earth flying up.
With unsure slowness Taki unsheathed Mekki-maru, already resonating with the demon's
energy. It was hungry. So very hungry.
Swiftly, she ran across the rooftops heading for the Balrog. The demon was distracted, all
its concentration on the Greek that was continually dodging its blows. It bought her enough
time to leap into the air and sink Mekki-maru into the closest available and strategic target.
The Balrog howled as the blade penetrated its sword shoulder. But for its size it was a
wonder that it felt the blade at all. Not content with what was a mere pinprick on the
demon's shoulder Taki drove it downwards using her weight and all the force she could
muster.
The demon swatted her away, but not before she left it with a wound that stretched almost
to its chest from its shoulder. Taki grunted, feeling the force of the wind of the blow smack
into her as she dodged.
She rolled as she landed and got to her feet. If the stike had actually connected, she knew
she would have been quite dazed. Mekki-maru seemed to take on an evil glow as it slowly
absorbed the Balrog's blood till it shone once more. It did not go unnoticed.
The Balrog grinned, putting a claw to its wound, then suddenly its red eyes opened wide in
shock. Taki intuited what this meant, saying "I see you aren't used to being injured and
being unable to heal your wounds." The Balrog's response was a growl. "Even knights with
blessed blades couldn't do this! How?!"
How indeed, Taki thought. No wonder Toki wanted Mekki-maru.
She siezed upon the chance offered demon's bewildered state and charged. From the corner
of her eye she could see Sophitia charging in as well.
But the demon reacted too fast. Its sword morphed into a flaming whip which it then used to
sieze her by her leg. Taki felt herself lifted up into the air and flung into a nearby hovel. The
force of the throw was strong and Taki crashed resoundingly into the house.
The ninja grunted from the impact, forcing her dazed self to stand. Damn it, she had been
a bit careless back there. She looked up and immediately raised her arms to catch the
incoming Greek.
Sophitia landed on her, the force knocking them both down. It was not enough to knock
Taki's senses out of comission though and she asked "Hey, you okay?"
Sophitia moaned a bit, rising to her feet. "Reasonable." She got back into a ready stance,
looking up at the Balrog. "I think you made it angry."
"Well, it's going to be furious then."
With blinding speed Taki ran at the Balrog. Flaming sword blows thudded into the earth as
she dodged each strike, leaping onto a nearby roof then into the air, landing on the demon's
injured shoulder.
The heat of the demon's body nearly burned her feet but she didn't care, stabbing the demon
and slashing down its chest. Blood spurted from the huge gaping wound she left and it burned
where it touched her skin. It swatted at her with one of its claws, but she saw it coming and
slashed at the open palm, nearly severing a giant finger.
Taki did not stop, almost in a frenzy as she stabbed the Balrog's cheek, dragging her blade out
and exposing the demon's teeth as the cheek was cut cleanly. She stabbed, slashed, cut over
and over, not caring what her blade severed. And Mekki-maru loved it. Mekki- maru enjoyed
the demon's pain.
Taki could not believe how brutal and sadistic she was starting to become. She could have
beheaded it now from her position on the demon and yet she had not. She was torturing,
playing with it before she killed it. She felt Mekki-maru acting on that supressed anger within
herself for demons....
The Balrog howled, collapsing to one knee and panting from the pain. Its eyes betrayed the pain
Taki's slashes had caused it, and it growled, lashing out and catching her in its palm. Slowly, it
began to tighten its fist, obviously enjoying the feeling of crushing the ninja in its palm.
"I will not lose to a human!" it growled, looking her in the eye.
The ninja gritted her teeth, trying to drown out the pain that was weakening her and desperately
attempting to break the Balrog's tightening grip. She tried stabbing the fingers with her blade,
Mekki-maru going in so deep that it almost reached what passed for bone in Balrogs, but it
was no use. The demon's claw would not open.
She had lost focus, she knew. And it would be the death of her.
"Let go of her, demon!!!"
Taki looked up to see Sophitia leaping towards the Balrog, sword poised to strike. And strike
the Greek did, sinking her divinely forged blade into one of the demon's eyes. The orfice
spurted blood and the demon howled as Sophitia twisted the blade inward to ensure that the
eye was completely destroyed.
The Balrog howled, letting go of Taki as it swatted Sophitia to the ground. The Greek landed
painfully with a forceful thump, stunned.
Taki grunted, finally free of the demon's grip. Her eyes widened in alarm as she saw the Balrog
turn its attention and its sword towards Sophitia,who had only begun to shake off the effect of
being stunned and was rising to her feet.
"Sophitia!!!"
The Greek looked up at her then grunted as she dove in and tackled her out of the path of the
flaming sword's slash. However, Taki soon felt a searing pain as the sword connected with her
side and she gasped.
It felt as if the area around the wound was being burned from the inside. In truth, if she were
the demon's size it would have been a mere nick, but as it was the would stretched from her hip
to just about under her chest.
Despite the pain and the bleeding she was grateful that it had just barely connected. Otherwise
meant that she would be severed in half. Taki forced herself to rise to her feet, knowing the
demon would not hesistate to strike again.
It did as she supposed, and she barely had enough time to grab the Greek, dodge and run past
the demon's blind side into another hovel. Breathing hard, she let the Greek down. Her vision
was becoming blurry and she could feel the blood flowing down her side and over the hand she'd
raised to her injury.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay conscious but she forced her eyes to stay open.
She knew she could not leave Sophitia alone against this demon.
She heard the Greek groan beside her then the scraping of boots against the ground as Sophitia
rose to her feet. "...That was close... Thanks Taki. I didn't..." The Greek's eyes widened and Taki
knew Sophitia had just realized her condition. "Oh Gods, you've got to get out of here!"
No, Taki answered in her mind. They had to kill the demon now. They were going to kill the demon
now if it was the last thing she ever did. "No. I'm not leaving you..." Taki breathed in deeply. "I'm
not leaving a first-time demon slayer! You could die, and I would never forgive myself for that!"
"You're going to die if you don't go!" Sophitia placed a hand on Taki's side. "Gods, this doesn't look
good. Get going! I'll be fine here!"
"NO!" Taki yelled. "I'm not leaving you! Not before this thing is dead!"
"Don't act so tough! You'll d-"
She slapped Sophitia on the cheek, stunning the Greek and rendering her silent. Taki knew she was
losing blood, and fast. Sophitia had to listen. She didn't have much time. "We'll get this thing. I need
your help, so listen well, because there isn't much time." Taki paused, gritting her teeth to shut out
the pain. "We're going to decapitate it. I'll distract it while you land the first strike, then I'll finish it
off. I'll signal for when you make your move."
Taki breathed in again. "I don't have much time, and neither do you. Do you understand all this?"
Sophitia nodded. "I do."
"Good." Summoning up the last of her strength Taki ran outside the hovel, catching the Balrog's
attention. This was it. They had to do it in one go. There was no other chance.
"So there you are!!!"
The Balrog growled as it swung its sword in an overhead strike at her. Taki could see it grin as she
raised Mekki-maru to block in response. Did it think that she couldn't block it with her ninjatou?
The Balrog was obviously surprised as their weapons connected, the force of the impact causing the
ground underneath Taki's feet to crack. Dust was sent into the air with the strength of the strike as
Mekki-maru cackled with dark, swirling energy that seemed to surround it, cracking the Balrog's blade
as Taki pushed up with all her might.
"How is this possible?!" the demon hollered. "My sword should have shattered yours!!!"
Taki grunted, still pushing against the Balrog's blade. "You are a very stupid demon. Do you think I
would even block with this if I knew your sword would shatter it?!" She pushed further up, the Balrog's
sword beginning to fragment. "You just don't get it, do you?" she said. "I'm trained to kill your kind,
not like those knights or their corrupted priests!"
The Balrog's sword began to fragment as Mekki-maru and Taki's energy began to swirl around them
both. "For you to terrorize these lands is unforgiveable, demon! Now, be dead and be silent!" She
her head to the side. "Now! Sophitia!"
The Balrog howled as Sophitia leapt and came down on it, slicing through half of its neck as she
returned to the ground. The Balrog's blade fragmented as Mekki-maru's energy tore through and
Taki leapt up, blade aimed at the other half of the demon's neck.
"Begone!!!!"
Mekki-maru sliced cleanly through the Balrog and its horned head fell to the ground. The decapitated
body fell to its knees, devilish energy swirling around it from the headless neck. Debris and earth were
lifted into the air as the dead demon fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
Taki shielded her eyes as she landed a good distance away, having pushed off from the demon before
it collapsed. She watched as the evil entity disappeared in a whirl of dark and reddish energy into the
night sky.
It was then she allowed her eyes to close and submitted to her injury. She fell to the ground, limp and
lifeless and felt the earth as it seemed to surround her. It seemed to be almost blissful as she drifted
off, her physical and spiritual energy both spent.
"TAKI!!!!!!"
to be continued....