Warrior's Edge
By Soulwave
Disclaimer: Even though this is my story the characters displayed in it are copyright of Sammy and whoever else owns them and shouldn't be used in any way without permission. however this is my story so those rules override that. enjoy.
Flames of destruction and death littered the battle field, sounds of mother earth rumbling under a mass grave of fallen soldiers. weapons, swords whether shattered or broken in half were either embedded in the crimson soaked dirt or the backs of warriors. towers of black smoke and fumes rising to the heavens impeding the evening skies that desired to shed some light in this dark and gloomy field. small pockets of explosions covering the area, times of war is never a easy experience to go through it's fowl stench filling the atmosphere. to use the term slaughtered would be an inappropriate title for this situation.
A massacre would be better suited for what has occurred here, the eyes of dead soldiers once blazing with fires of bravery and pride. now displayed fear. who could be responsible for such a tragedy? what man in there right mind would be capable of causing such havoc? these were the thoughts of three men, remaining soldier in The Scared Order of Holy Knights sent out with there fellow comrades on info which stated the heavy presence of gear activity in this sector. so far there Intel was correct, upon arrival of the Knights location they were immediately attacked.
Not one of them were prepared for the sudden assault. there attackers (so they believed to be more than one) were that quick resulting in a loss of twenty-five percent of the Knight's Royal Force in a matter of seconds. one by one they fell, though fighting bravely however in the end failing. their opponent's assault was swift and decisive. for all their years of expert combative training skills, they mean nothing here as they easily fell, countered by the enemy. twenty minutes were all that was needed to wipe out the entire force except for three men.
They crossed through the field of their fallen brethren, swords drawn stepping over warriors of the earlier battle. the devil's flames soaring high whipping against the blowing winds. each of the remaining warrior's uniforms dirtied by the fires, torn or covered in smoke. the signature weapons of every Holy Knight pulled into battle ready position. their eyes focused trained on anything that might be suspicious so far that was becoming a difficult task to do courtesy of the small outburst of fires.
"Where the hell are they?" the gruff voice of a blonde haired knight slowly walking through. his eyes dashing left and right looking for anything. his two remaining fellow soldiers behind him giving protection at his six. "Damn them where are they hiding?" cursing for his inability to look beyond this haze of smoke.
"Lieutenant, it's almost impossible to pinpoint the enemies location through all this chaos and mayhem" the daunting voice of another soldier called to the man in front of him.
"It was impossible to pinpoint their location before this disaster even started" the third and final solider, a black man spoke grumbling as he checked his nine. the three men walking in a slightly crouched position just in case of a situation which called for an immediate dive.
"Enough of the chatter, keep yourselves focused our enemy is still out there we can't afford to screw up" the Lieutenant growling back lowly to his soldiers. his eyes never wavering from his twelve o' clock.
"Maybe it's better for use to pull back and wait for our support unit to arrive sir" the second solider voicing with trepidation in his thoart as his eyes frantically searched the area.
"That is a negative solider, we will never run away from a situation that is not the code of the Holy Knights, desertion is not an option" words leaving the lieutenant's lips with hatred as he paced through the field. a gust of wind suddenly blowing across his direction, he paused raising his hand in front of his face for a minute letting the element subside before lowering his arm. as winds of black smoke settled back to somewhat normal condition he lowered his arm bringing it back to the hilt of his blade, however before the lieutenant could fully grasp his weapon in both hands his attention was focused on a sudden event that transpired right in front of him.
A mist the sweltering heat and dancing flames before him, there stood a figure. a female to be exact, his eyes scanning the female stranger from head to toe. long slender legs encased in high heel crimson leather platform boots that ride all the way up to mid-thigh. a unbelievably short matching red skirt clinged to the woman's hips tightly it was almost second skin, his eyes noticing the sweet curves of the woman as he continued his observation. the skirt looked to be covered by some variation of a red corset linked by golden rectangular bracelets shifting his gaze further he noticed that the crimson piece of material did it's job well as he focused his dark brown eyes on her cleavage.
If he desired to speak right then and there he wouldn't be able to staring at her chest supported by the make shift corset and a thick golden hoop that rested between her ample breasts. it was then that he also noticed that this woman wore no bra. the lieutenant's vision was clearly focused on that part of her body. moving on he figured she was wearing some form of a jacket. the sleeves reaching only half way up her arm, though she possessed no under garment her chest was concealed by two large red strap moving to link with the base of the jacket. but supported on her neck by another golden hoop connected to a black strap.
His eye sight was greeted to the visual of her soft flawless round feature, short raven hair down to her neck gently flowing in the wind concealing her eyes from him. he mentally cursed mother nature for denying him the right to capture the expression in her eyes. however the exotic would quickly change to down right strange as he finally noticed the wired looking insanely large red hat on her head. it resembled something like those old fashion cowboy hats he used to remember reading and seeing in ancient books. if the size of the hat didn't do it for him it would most likely be the skull design on it that might.
"Hi" a sensual voice spoke out to the Lieutenant as she shifted her weight to her right leg. a seductive smile crossed her lips as her eyes travel across all three men. she takes note of their mesmerized reaction with amusement chuckling lightly. slowly the lady in red begins to walk towards them, neither member of the Holy Knight knew what to make of this situation. watching as this unknown woman walked with a seductive purpose. is this some sort of illusion? a trick created by their enemies?
Such a beautiful sight to behold none the less, the lieutenant focused completely on her never averting his vision from this woman. it was like being caught in some type of a trance staring into her eyes....."EYES!" tighter than before the Lieutenant gripped and leveled his blade once again pointing it her.
"My my solider that's a pretty big sword you've got there" a soft yet dark tone of voice coming from the woman. "You gotta be careful you might poke someone by mistake" that smile still present "And you wouldn't want to poke me now would you?" her words always teasing as she looked at him.
"Sir?" a confused expression flashing over the face of one of the subordinates as he approached the Lieutenant.
"It's her, she the one the gear who calls herself by the designate I-no" with that revelation the remaining soldiers once again fell into a battle stance.
The stunning raven haired gear just giggled light heartedly as she placed both hands on her wide hips cocking her head to the side observing as they started to spread out preparing for the forthcoming battle. flames of hell rising behind I-no, however the female Gear displayed no fear. I-no's smile never disappeared from her lips as she one by one looked over her multiple prey. "Well now gentlemen calm yourselves, I'm flattered and all but there's no need for all three of you to get so excited over little ol' me pulling out your big and long swords" the seductive Gear bitting her lower lips in a oh so erotic manner.
"Foul creature" one solider snarled. hatred and rage consuming each individual. one baring his teeth to her like a wild animal ready to rip this chick apart.
"Tsk tsk, now that's not a nice thing to say to a lady" I-no said glancing at the rude solider. "Didn't your mother teach you better?"
"Your no lady, you are just a damn freak of science and magic no way human" the African solider spat out circling I-no's left.
"Okay then" speaking sweetly but..."I'll make sure that each and every one of your deaths are as slow and painful as possible" deadly venom filled the raven haired Gear's voice as her seductive smile quickly shifted into a cold hearted expression.
Words were replaced by action as all three men rushed towards I-no opting for one assault. white eyes of death flared with anger as the first solider to reach her raised his sword above his head and brought the heavy metal down the middle, his intentions to cut I-no in half. not much effort was made by I-no as she simply spun to her left avoiding the slash having it connect with the ground. as her body twirled I-no motioned into a roundhouse kick letting the heel of her right foot slam into the solider's right cheek. I-no putting power in the kick resulted in the Holy Knight losing his balance spinning and falling on his back.
The second approached her with a fairly simple attack as well looking to run his sword through her chest with a thrust of his scared blade, I-no side-stepped the move. letting it pass by her then grabbed it with her gloved hand. her speed was something these soldiers could never comprehend as she hastily rammed an elbow into her opponent's face and put a well placed kick to his mid-section. this saw the solider sliding across the rough terrain surface on his ass only to stop at the base of a pill of burnt carcasses from the previous battle.
Two down one to go, and her favorite none the less as the crimson clad Gear turned to the Lieutenant returning that seductive smile to her lips as well. she scanned the strapping Lieutenant up and down just like did. blade in his hands left leg in front of the right at an angle wind blowing against his hair, despite it all she regretted to have to kill such a good looking man. he was a smart one, not stupid like his comrade's laying on the floor right now. he knew it would be foolish to attack, he was trying to create a plan, good boy.
However I-no would not give him the time, her body moved with speed approaching the sole knight. her body lowered as she dashed towards him. the Lieutenant remain cool and collected as she drew closer to him so far, the Gear was fallen into his trap. there was a saying that he always followed ever since the academy, "let your enemies come to you" a tactic his lived by for his times as a solider of the Holy Knights. it has gotten him through many battles. the idea would be simple let I-no get within five feet of him then strike at her with a forty-five degree angle slash from right hip to left shoulder blade. a common technique taught to advance knights.
With I-no closing in he extended his left leg behind him bended the right knee placing his blade on the left side. counting the distance twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, "FIVE!" he shouted as he moved back and lashed out with his blade in an upward slash. normally this technique would work on a normal man, I-no is not a man, a point made by one of the soldiers I-no is a beautiful creation of science and magic. so for her the Lieutenant's attack looked to be happening in slow motion, she easily averted the strike by flipping over the Lieutenant's shoulder landing on her feet behind him.
Just as I-no can not be considered as human, the Lieutenant can not be called just a mere man as he proves it by retaliating instantly as he spun to his right and struck out attacking with a horizontal slash aiming for the Gear's head. no normal man could recover in time to properly mount an attack of any form mere seconds after an first failed attempt. this is why he is considered for the advanced guard of the Holy Knights. the Lieutenant swung putting all his strength into it there is no way she could predict him attacking immediately afterwards this victory is his. or so he thought.
As his body followed the direction of his swing the Holy Knight was stopped abruptly. his sword met with resistance as he saw I-no blocking his move with a sky blue musical instrument. A Guitar! that damn smile of hers never disappeared from those sweet lips even in a situation such as this because of that his rage increased. I-no watched his angered expression and began to giggle. "Ah why are you so angry, did you think that you could actually beat me?" The Gear's tone soft yet murderous. "No human in the entire existence of Gears has ever defeated us" the Holy Knight growling as he exerted his power into the blade trying force her back and break I-no's block. "No matter how much you may try no mere human can bring a Gear to their knees"
With that the raven haired Gear pulled away from her opponent moving to the side, letting him stumble forward from the force of energy he pushed against I-no and her guitar. the Holy Knight cursing internally as he quickly recovered his foot and turned around to face her. as his head turned back to her, the soldiers eyes went wide as he caught the sight of I-no swinging her guitar upward. she targeted for his chin slamming the musical instrument against it, the raven haired tight skirt wearing Gear put power into that swing. so much that the force sent the Lieutenant flying high in the air like a ball that kissed the slugger of Babe Ruth.
"Sweeeeeeeeeeet" the deadly Gear spoke as she lifted her hat watching her grand slam soar high. then drop like a comet to the ground about three hundred yards from her location. "Such a damn shame he was kind of cute too, AHHH! why are humans just so freaking fragile, Raven?" she grumbled walking away from the carnage.
"You see my dear this is the reason why our master wishes to reduce our contact with humans as much as possible" the dark monotone of Raven stated as he walked beside a dead corpse.
"Is it truly my fault Raven these humans are just pathetic you break one bone and they just drop dead" The stunning black haired Gear grumbled kicking a dead body.
"Need I remind you that your doing more than just breaking their bones my dear I-no" speaking to her in an emotionless tone. "Puncturing their lungs, crushing their windpipe, severing limbs and other body parts" he said effortlessly picking up a dead solider he believed to be alive only to toss the body aside like some common torn up doll.
"Well I can't help it I'm a girl that needs to keep busy" she responded by stretching out her arms above her head relaxing her body.
"How about using that guitar of yours dear girl for playing music rather than bashing peoples head in?" asking while he continued to search of the battle field not really paying any attention to the leather clad female.
"I can but it won't be as fun as causing pain" Raven's expression was stoic as he and I-no stared at the destruction. as they walked through the battlefield a deep groan grabbed Raven's attention. he moved into the direction of the faint sounds of despair.
"Well I'll say this at least you remembered our master's plan through your little romp and left one still able to breathe under his own power" he said looking down to one of the three remaining soldiers. though he is still alive, the solider is badly injured suffering from internal bleeding. Raven crouched before the fallen warrior lifting his chin up. a small stream of blood pour from the corner of his mouth."However there is some truth in your words my dear I-no, these humans are fools to believe that they can overcome us"
"All the more reasons for our existence in the world, and if they cannot see that then it is up to us to put these idiots in there proper place" I-no's words were filled with malice as she picked up a body by the neck squeezing crushing the dead soldiers thoart as if it would do something then tossed it into a open flame.
"Unfortunately dear I-no that is not our decision to make" he spoke as he wrapped his fingers around the collar of the Knight's vest pulling him up. "We are not Gods but simply messengers for them" his eyes flared red placing the injured solider in a trance. "And that is what we are doing here right now"
"I don't see the reason for letting one of them send our master's message to them I could have done it personally" the raven haired gear remarked with a cute pout crossing her arms across her chest like a stubborn child.
"He could have picked you but our master is looking to deliver a message to the Holy Knights headquarters not start a war on their door step" he said running a finger down the side of I-no right cheek. her eyes narrowed shifting to the right as she caught that wicked grin of his. "Do not fret my dear I-no you shall have your fun once the information is spread to the knights and our guest make there appearance"
"They better arrive, especially him I have some history with the bastard that I want taken care of now" she spoke sending her fist into a nearby rock formation shattering the mineral into shards.
"All in good time my dear, all in good time" Raven spoke as he and I-no with the messenger in hand disappeared into the smoke and flames.
******
Elsewhere another battle was taking place, the roar of battle filled the air. and the clashing of swords hit the ear as this fight raged on. it was in no way the equivalent of the Holy Knights confrontation with the Gear I-no. where there was many against one, the situation is reversed here there was one battling many. she was just walking throw the woods following the path usually traveled to arrive at the next village. her thoughts keep to herself not really caring for anything else until she picked up the sound of leaves rustling from a nearby brush.
Though she was aware of this the woman continued to walk forward at her usual pace never stopping to look back. her fingers curled around the concealed item in her left hand. she immersed herself in the detail of the surrounding area looking for a good vantage point. clearly she was dealing with street thugs, she'd heard reports of bandits attacking travelers on this road using guerilla tactics to rob them of money or anything that could make them a profit. though she was aware the woman continued to travel through this area. it was the fastest way to arrive to the next village, other routes would take an additional time. something she could not waste.
With this knowledge the shortest was the best even if it possessed a few perils. she could more than handle a few common muggers looking to fill their pockets. no for the samurai Baiken it wasn't the challenge in fighting any of these men. it was the time spent kicking their a$$ that Seishino-san hated. she was doing what she exactly didn't want to happen. waste time. Baiken made each and everyone of the bandits understand this as clashed swords with one the armed thugs. two minutes had gone by, this angered the pinked haired warrior resulting in her enemy feeling her foot connect with his stomach.
Pain filling his senses as he dropped his sword staggering back from Baiken's attack. seeing an open move she took it as she reached out with her left hand grabbing the thief's shirt and performed a hip toss. his back erupting in pain from Baiken's throw, as he rolled trying to get back to his feet Baiken prevented this as she motioned into an upwards kick with her right slamming under his chin.
Blood leaving his lips as he falls back to the dirt covered floor letting the darkness consume his vision as he slipped into unconsciousness. quickly Baiken turned her attentions to the next thug. her opponent was tall possibly 6'2 in height with dark tan skin and a massive build, no where in the same category as Potemkin but impressive no the less. he wore a simple white sleeve-less shirt tucked into his loose black pants. his bulging arms flexing as he curled his hands into fist with the intention of using them on the woman's face. Baiken held her sword firmly as she approached him, caution her current mode for the moment.
As soon as Baiken was in range the towering opposition struck out with his powerful right arm. Baiken waited for the last possible second before she turned her body to the side avoiding the feel of her enemies fist against her face. strands of pink hair flowing as the force of the opponent's fist soared right by her, Baiken moved in and lashed out with her katana slicing across the abdomen. she retreated hastily to a safe distance falling back into a defensive stance.
A perplexed expression crossed the giants face as he looked at Baiken then down to his abs then back to the candid reaction Baiken displayed. "Foolish woman" he said in a deep voice as he smiled advancing towards her. "You missed"
"Did I?" the smooth voice of Baiken responded continuing to keep her reaction neutral. as he steeped closer to the samurai he all of a sudden felt a little chilly, he paused as his entire body felt the rapid change in temperature. as he blinked once he looked down to see his belt lying on the floor with his pants around his ankles. the man's hands were frantic as he bended down to pick up his belt and pants. "Hold that pose" Baiken said as she drew in closer pulled her fist back, as soon as he shifted his head back to look at her Baiken's fist was already in mid flight. Seishino's strike was fast as her fist hit the giant square in the face crushing his nose.
He recoiled from Baiken's punch flapping his arms trying to keep balance only to fail when Baiken performed a roundhouse kick placing so much energy that she knocked out the giant's last baby tooth. a loud thud washed over the area as the giant landed on the floor arms to his side, nose bleeding from one nostril and his poka-dot boxers exposed for the world to regrettably see.
The remaining bandits looked on with frightening awe as this female named Baiken stood, her back too them gazing over the fallen frame of their giant friend. their bodies frozen in fear as the one arm pink haired samurai turned her focus on the still standing two. Baiken watched them carefully with her sole peached colored iris, lips pursed tightly, sword in her left hand. "I hate it when people waste my time" she calmly stated pointing her sword at the two men.
Fear edging across one man's face as he caught Baiken's direct stare towards him. he swallowed hard, hands shaking soon followed by his legs as he continued to stare into her rage filled eye. his feet having a mind of their own as he now places more distance between him and this female fighter. as this occurred the second just stood with equal anger, his right hand shaking but due more to hatred that coursed through him because of the woman standing a few feet ahead of him. one person, a woman no less is able to dismantle two men in less than two minutes, excuse me make that three men seeing how the coward beside him was slowly retreating.
"Why don't you be like your friend and leave right now, it would save you the embarrassment of being defeated by me" Baiken said retaining that collected voice, but her expression displayed agitation.
"Nah, my mother told me to always stand up to others and never turn your back on a lady" the thug spoke out in a sinister tone. his eyes locked on the woman intensely as he pulled out a large hunting knife. "Your gonna pay for what you did"
"It's your funeral pal" she replied not really concerning herself with his words. "I believe I've been more than nice with your comrades considering you've wasted five minutes of my valuable time here"
"Whatever chick, just get ready to scream" with those final words he made a mad dash for the skilled warrior. his fingers gripping tightly around his knife, a knife he hoped to run across this woman's neck seeing her blood spill across the floor and secondly straight through her heart.
If Baiken was prepared for her opponent she didn't show it as she stood in place not moving one bit. as he drew closer she still didn't move, he raised his knife above his head and went airborne ready to stab her in the chest. at the last moment as smile of pure wickedness filled Baiken lips as she raised her sword and struck it to the ground a large wave of Ki energy erupted from the ground heading straight for the descending bandit. not being prepared for this assault by Baiken the thug was unable to mount a defense resulting in the destructive force impacting on his chest.
She watched as his body snapped back from the force throwing him from Baiken and land head first into the ground a few yards away. "Baka" soft tone flowed over Baiken's lips as she sheathed her Katana letting it rest once again on her right hip. she walked over to the fallen thug, kicking his side until she heard a faint moan indicating he was going to be fine. along with his damaged pride he most likely suffered a few broken bone. "Serves you right for wasting my time" as she pressed her sandals against his left cheek.
In that moment something else caught Baiken's attention, clapping. she turned her neck looking over her shoulder to the source of this noise. silver hair filled her vision, continuing a pair a red-amber eyes locked on her single peach iris. his skin tone is normal, darkened only slightly by the sun, and his body toned to the pinnacle of physical readiness by hours upon hours of training. he wears an outfit which is the creation of a pair of white slacks, fishnet undershirt, black vest, black belt with red ends, a black choker encircled his neck. what finally caught her attention was the black gauntlets especially the right one which held a lengthy curved blade attached to it.
"Oh damn not now" a deep groan came over Baiken as she brought a hand to her head. her annoyance returning as she fixed her eyes on the silver haired Shinobi Chipp Zanuff. a smile crossed over the shinobi's lips as he caught her expression. "What the hell do you want Zanuff?" Baiken asked in somewhat tired manner lazily eyeing the Japanese wanna be.
"Well hello to you too my beautiful Kochou"
******
Sounds of naked feet splashing in water echoed at a high level decibel throughout the narrow corridors. heavy panting replaced that noise as the person running stopped and leaned with a right hand against the cold wall taking a few minutes to capture a much needed breath of stale air.
Horror lit up in the eyes of the runner as that terrible and all to familiar sound of combat boots tapping against the cold tiled floor filled the halls. "She went down the west corridor" the loud and dreadful voice of a facility guard rang out. summoning that extra strength the chase continued. there wasn't a specific route to take or right door to go through. as long as she could escape from those pursuers. there was no way she would go back to the red room.
Running through the area turning at every corner she came to a long hall. her purple eyes lit up with joy with the sight of a large window resting on the north wall. with her pursuers behind her she made a dash for her ticket out of here. relief washing over the girl's body as closer and closer she got to the window. but as quickly as that relief came so too had it vanished.
She came to an abrupt halt as a lone figure emerged from a corner a few feet ahead. "Where do you think your going young lady?" a sleek feminine voice called out standing directly in front of the window. a full moon shined through blanketing the entire length of the hall. all the girl could make out was a silhouette of this woman blocking her way. "You didn't actually think that you could get away from us now did you?" once again that smooth voice graced these narrow halls as sounds of heels clicked against the floor letting the girl know that her pursuer was approaching her. "You've been a bad little girl"
Words were something impossible for this girl to say as she backed away from the advancing chaser. her eyes never left her unknown follower as she back away that's why she screamed when her back met resistance and looked up to see another one staring right back at her with crimson colored eyes the only thing identifiable about him right now seeing how he immersed himself in the darkness where the moon's touch could not reach. she evaded a hand that tried to reach out and grab her ducking under it and pushing herself up against an adjacent wall.
Those red eyes followed her every movement. she panicked, her fear that overwhelming as tears started to fall down her cheeks. those innocent purple eyes darting back and forth to both hunters. her little form sliding down the wall as the two trackers stood looming over the child. "Come child it's time to go back" her mysterious female said reaching out with a slender hand. "Back to the red room for you dear girl"
"NOOOOOOOO!" her voice exclaimed loudly crying as the woman's hand reached out for her arm. in that instance as white light exploded from the little girls chest and began expanding around her and illuminating the hallways blinding the duo. as they raised a hand in front of their eyes shielding themselves from the intense light that washed over their retina. after a few seconds that sudden outburst of light dissipated only having the moon as a source of luminance.
"Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?" crimson eyes flared in anger as he asked this question.
"I'll tell you what happened, the kid pulled a freaking Houdini on us" she answered examining the spot where the girl was just a few seconds ago.
"A what!" crimson eyes scratching his head as his eyes displayed confusion.
"Oh never mind about that" irritation in her voice.
"So now, exactly what do we do?" white eyes glared back at crimson orbs in true disbelief for that question just presented.
"You gotta be kidding me right, we go after the child that's what"
"Where would we even start our search from?"
"Right now I really don't care about where we start as long as we find the kid that is all that matters" they began walking down the hall "Because I don't know about you big guy but I don't wanna be the person that has to tell our master that we lost his most prized possession" a shiver coursed over the woman's form as she consider that idea. "Damn we better find this kid fast"
******* To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Man this is tough writing a fanfiction that is PG rather than my normal R and higher rated fanfics. none the less it's the beginning, hopefully I'll get the hang of it. this is first guilty gear fanfic but I believe I did okay with chapter one. I'm not sure how long this is going to be but time well tell.
