A/N: I apologize for making Ivy OOC earlier, I know she's not a villain
but I'm just bitter because she tends to beat the crap out of me on the
game. ^_^ Also, I'll try to put in all the characters, but I may leave
out some of the unlocked ones and the extra person from PS2, since I don't
know anything about him.
~Belle
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kilik was sitting beside Talim's cot, holding her hand. He wanted her to wake up soon. He and Link had felt another disturbance during her sleep and the ship was heading towards land once more. There seemed to be a small collection of shards emanating from an area just north east of their current position in the sea.
He could hear Link and Yunsung outside of the cabin door. Apparently the two were getting along better and were sparring at the moment. Encouraged by the few words Link had uttered earlier, the Korean was trying it seemed to teach the elf how to speak.
A quiet groan caught his attention. Talim had opened her eyes and was peering around the room a bit confused.
"Welcome to the land of the living." Kilik teased as he gave her hand a squeeze. Talim's attention then focused upon him.
"Are you okay?" She demanded sitting up quickly and immediately regretting the action as she fell back to the cot as a sharp pain in her side caught her attention.
Kilik couldn't help but laugh at her selflessness. "I'm fine. You however took a fairly nasty blow."
Talim nodded, while looking down to her side and taking note of the bandages. "Nothing serious." She muttered.
"Fortunately." Kilik agreed with her.
Talim's eyes closed briefly. Kilik worried that perhaps she was going to fall unconscious again. Then her eyes opened again slowly. Her chocolate gaze pleaded with him. "I must go on deck. The winds are calling to me with something important. I must heed the summons."
Kilik nodded. He was confident about the message the winds would have for her matched the feelings he and Link had earlier. He released her hand from his grasp and lifted her from the bed with one arm secured around her back and the other under her knees.
Talim laughed at him, in spite of the sore that caused her bruised ribs. "If you don't mind, I'd like to walk." She smiled at the red blush that rose in his cheeks as he set her gently on the floor. She swayed briefly and his arm quickly snaked around her waist to steady her, careful of her wounds.
"Okay, so maybe I could use a little help." Talim reluctantly admitted. Why did she always seem to be so weak in front of him? She knew that she could walk just fine, but she also didn't want to refuse this chance to be close to him. Life was full of tough choices and sacrifices she decided as they made their way to the deck of Maxi's vessel.
Kilik led her towards the railing on the side of the ship in the direction that they were heading. Talim's eyes closed as she began to meditate. Kilik didn't quite want to relinquish his hold so he moved his hands to rest upon her shoulders as he stood behind her.
After a few moments of silence, Talim turned in his hold to face him. "You and Link have already detected the shards?"
"Yes, we are heading towards the coast as we speak in search of them." Kilik replied.
Talim looked thoughtful as she processed all the information the winds had shared. "We will run into both friend and foe. I believe that our group may become too large for practicality soon."
Kilik shrugged while scanning the rapidly approaching coastline. "Then our group will split." He could feel Talim slouch a bit at that declaration. "I'll stick by your side though." He reassured her and was blessed with one of her radiant smiles.
"Hey Talim!" Yunsung ran over to the couple. "I'm glad to see you're alright, I was really worried." He confided.
"Thank you for the concern, Yunsung." Talim bowed slightly in greeting.
Yunsung grabbed hold of the wind priestess' wrist and began to drag her away from Kilik. "You've got to see this!" The two youth began to head off towards a smiling Link on the far end of the deck sitting , waiting patiently for their arrival.
Kilik watched after the duo as they headed towards the elf. He envied their innocent. He shook his head and approached Maxi at the helm to further discuss the next goals of the mission.
"Hello Talim." Link greeted when the two reached him. Talim's smile took in her ears as she stared at her friend in shock.
"You can talk!" She declared excited with her hands clapping together in joy.
Link looked at her a moment before comprehending the words. He looked over at a proudly smiling Yunsung. "Link talk a little." Link agreed. "Link knew Talim lives."
"I was worried that you were going to die after Ivy stabbed you so deeply, but then Link surprised us all by assuring us that you would live." Yunsung explained to a beaming Asian youth.
"This is wonderful!" Talim declared as she took a seat upon the wooden deck. Yunsung followed suit and the three of them sat in a circle. "Do you guys know much about where we're heading?" Talim inquired.
"Mainland. There are some shards. Didn't Kilik tell you?" Yunsung inquired.
Talim nodded. "Yeah, I just thought you guys knew more than that perhaps." She shrugged.
Link smiled at Talim and patted her shoulder affectionately. "Link keep no secrets from Talim." He reassured her while pulling out his ocarina and playing a tune for his two friends.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
She stared at her opponent in disbelief. Her blond hair was being blown around her by the strong winds around her. This opponent of hers had a shard however and she needed that shard. She glanced down at her sister's shield once more to gain some inner strength.
"You're definitely not my type!" She shouted before charging into the beast with a massive eye centered in the stomach area. She aimed for that eye with her sword, but her attack was blocked by her own sword! That was impossible!
She raised her shield to deflect the blow the monster sent her way. "I don't understand this at all." She muttered to herself.
The warriors separated into two groups to track down the shards for they were coming from multiple directions. One consisted of Talim, Link, and Yunsung. The other was composed of the three veterans.
Yunsung was running down the alley that Talim had indicated the presence of the shards to be greatest. Link and Talim were walking calmly behind him sharing an extremely simple conversation due to Link's limited conversational skills.
The duo almost walked straight into the stationary Yunsung. Link hit the tall Korean upside the head, disapproving of his abrupt halt.
That's when they all began to watch the Athenian warrior fight a giant eyeball type monster. "What is that thing?" Talim voiced the question they were all asking themselves.
"I'm going all out!" The determined warrior cried before thrusting her blade into the creature who suddenly began changing weapons to a much larger sword, followed by a pair of elbow blades, and then a small boomerang. Cassandra was becoming very confused by the charade.
Then she heard a feminine voice over her shoulder and cast a glance behind to see three people standing there watching her battle.
"Look out!" The largest of the three shouted, redirecting her attention to more pressing matters. She evaded the strike at the last moment and then managed to stab her sword right into the center of the giant eyeball. She covered her ears as the oddity screamed an inhuman scream and began to dissolve into a purple mist.
A shard of Soul Edge was all that remained of her foe. She leaned down to pick it up and deposited it into her pocket. Then she turned to face her audience.
"What was that?" Yunsung asked as the blond walked towards them.
"That was some sort of charade. My name is Cassandra. Who are you?"
The trio introduced themselves. Talim looked towards the area where charade was destroyed. "That charade was human once, but tainted by the shards he possessed beyond the grave. I take it you are in search of Soul Edge?" Talim asked the girl.
Cassandra nodded. "Yes, but I need to return home. I was starting my journey back to Greece when I ran into that charade thing."
"Why Greece?" Yunsung asked curiously, he felt a little uneasy about Talim's explanation of the monster. Maybe possessing Soul Edge to defend his country wasn't such a great idea.
"I have reason to believe that the key to finding Inferno, the current possessor of the sword, lies within Greece." Cassandra answered confidently but her eyes betrayed her uncertainty.
Talim nodded while noticing her blue eyes cloud over. "Don't worry, you'll be okay." She reassured the strange girl. She rested an arm across her shoulder and began to walk back towards the direction of their ship. "We're in search of Soul Edge. We're to rid the world of it's evil. You are welcome to join us."
Cassandra offered an accepting smile. "Thank you."
Yunsung and Link trailed behind the two girls a little. "Does she make friends with everybody?" Yunsung asked a little jealous that Talim was the one talking to the Greek beauty.
Link's face broke into a giant smile and he nodded enthusiastically. "Talim everybody's friend." Link agreed. Then he looked thoughtful and the smile faded. "But not Ivy though." He quietly disagreed with himself. He was still troubled that he had to kill the disturbed woman. She wasn't evil.
He vowed then that if he were to meet another warrior with a good heart that was poisoned by Soul Edge he would do all he could to save them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maxi was walking briskly down the streets of the busy market. The three veteran warriors had split up, hoping to find the shard toting person faster this way. Besides, Maxi didn't really care to hang out with Kilik at the moment. The man was in a foul mood since it was decided that he and Talim be in separate groups.
Xianghua also seemed a little peeved at the way the group split up. Maxi ran his fingers through his thick, dark mane in frustration. He didn't understand what the big deal was.
So absorbed in his internal musings he failed to notice the woman walking straight at him with her head bowed down, lost in her own personal thoughts.
Naturally, the two smacked into one another. The woman glared at the man with great annoyance, until she noticed the shards he possessed. He too noticed she possessed a shard.
Suddenly Maxi broke into a grin. "Good, I've been looking for you."
"What?" The woman was totally taken aback by his response.
"You're searching for Soul Edge, so am I and some associates. We came to this village in search of you." Maxi explained as he stood up off the ground and helped the stranger to her feet as well.
The woman shook her head. "Actually, I'm looking for my foolish friend. He took off in search of the sword and I want to make sure he makes it home safe. He's too important in the revolution to get himself killed on a stupid search for some sword."
"I'm Maxi."
"Sueng Mina at your service." She shook his hand. "Well, play time's over and I need to find Yunsung." She began to walk away after flipping her long red hair over her shoulder.
"Wait! Yunsung is part of my group of companions. Why don't you come back to the ship with me. We can all figure out what to do." Maxi coaxed.
Sueng Mina turned back towards him reluctantly and then silently agreed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Will the group split? Half head to Greece and the other half to France? Can Sueng Mina convince Yunsung to return home? Will Link learn how to use pronouns? Stay tuned!
~Belle
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kilik was sitting beside Talim's cot, holding her hand. He wanted her to wake up soon. He and Link had felt another disturbance during her sleep and the ship was heading towards land once more. There seemed to be a small collection of shards emanating from an area just north east of their current position in the sea.
He could hear Link and Yunsung outside of the cabin door. Apparently the two were getting along better and were sparring at the moment. Encouraged by the few words Link had uttered earlier, the Korean was trying it seemed to teach the elf how to speak.
A quiet groan caught his attention. Talim had opened her eyes and was peering around the room a bit confused.
"Welcome to the land of the living." Kilik teased as he gave her hand a squeeze. Talim's attention then focused upon him.
"Are you okay?" She demanded sitting up quickly and immediately regretting the action as she fell back to the cot as a sharp pain in her side caught her attention.
Kilik couldn't help but laugh at her selflessness. "I'm fine. You however took a fairly nasty blow."
Talim nodded, while looking down to her side and taking note of the bandages. "Nothing serious." She muttered.
"Fortunately." Kilik agreed with her.
Talim's eyes closed briefly. Kilik worried that perhaps she was going to fall unconscious again. Then her eyes opened again slowly. Her chocolate gaze pleaded with him. "I must go on deck. The winds are calling to me with something important. I must heed the summons."
Kilik nodded. He was confident about the message the winds would have for her matched the feelings he and Link had earlier. He released her hand from his grasp and lifted her from the bed with one arm secured around her back and the other under her knees.
Talim laughed at him, in spite of the sore that caused her bruised ribs. "If you don't mind, I'd like to walk." She smiled at the red blush that rose in his cheeks as he set her gently on the floor. She swayed briefly and his arm quickly snaked around her waist to steady her, careful of her wounds.
"Okay, so maybe I could use a little help." Talim reluctantly admitted. Why did she always seem to be so weak in front of him? She knew that she could walk just fine, but she also didn't want to refuse this chance to be close to him. Life was full of tough choices and sacrifices she decided as they made their way to the deck of Maxi's vessel.
Kilik led her towards the railing on the side of the ship in the direction that they were heading. Talim's eyes closed as she began to meditate. Kilik didn't quite want to relinquish his hold so he moved his hands to rest upon her shoulders as he stood behind her.
After a few moments of silence, Talim turned in his hold to face him. "You and Link have already detected the shards?"
"Yes, we are heading towards the coast as we speak in search of them." Kilik replied.
Talim looked thoughtful as she processed all the information the winds had shared. "We will run into both friend and foe. I believe that our group may become too large for practicality soon."
Kilik shrugged while scanning the rapidly approaching coastline. "Then our group will split." He could feel Talim slouch a bit at that declaration. "I'll stick by your side though." He reassured her and was blessed with one of her radiant smiles.
"Hey Talim!" Yunsung ran over to the couple. "I'm glad to see you're alright, I was really worried." He confided.
"Thank you for the concern, Yunsung." Talim bowed slightly in greeting.
Yunsung grabbed hold of the wind priestess' wrist and began to drag her away from Kilik. "You've got to see this!" The two youth began to head off towards a smiling Link on the far end of the deck sitting , waiting patiently for their arrival.
Kilik watched after the duo as they headed towards the elf. He envied their innocent. He shook his head and approached Maxi at the helm to further discuss the next goals of the mission.
"Hello Talim." Link greeted when the two reached him. Talim's smile took in her ears as she stared at her friend in shock.
"You can talk!" She declared excited with her hands clapping together in joy.
Link looked at her a moment before comprehending the words. He looked over at a proudly smiling Yunsung. "Link talk a little." Link agreed. "Link knew Talim lives."
"I was worried that you were going to die after Ivy stabbed you so deeply, but then Link surprised us all by assuring us that you would live." Yunsung explained to a beaming Asian youth.
"This is wonderful!" Talim declared as she took a seat upon the wooden deck. Yunsung followed suit and the three of them sat in a circle. "Do you guys know much about where we're heading?" Talim inquired.
"Mainland. There are some shards. Didn't Kilik tell you?" Yunsung inquired.
Talim nodded. "Yeah, I just thought you guys knew more than that perhaps." She shrugged.
Link smiled at Talim and patted her shoulder affectionately. "Link keep no secrets from Talim." He reassured her while pulling out his ocarina and playing a tune for his two friends.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
She stared at her opponent in disbelief. Her blond hair was being blown around her by the strong winds around her. This opponent of hers had a shard however and she needed that shard. She glanced down at her sister's shield once more to gain some inner strength.
"You're definitely not my type!" She shouted before charging into the beast with a massive eye centered in the stomach area. She aimed for that eye with her sword, but her attack was blocked by her own sword! That was impossible!
She raised her shield to deflect the blow the monster sent her way. "I don't understand this at all." She muttered to herself.
The warriors separated into two groups to track down the shards for they were coming from multiple directions. One consisted of Talim, Link, and Yunsung. The other was composed of the three veterans.
Yunsung was running down the alley that Talim had indicated the presence of the shards to be greatest. Link and Talim were walking calmly behind him sharing an extremely simple conversation due to Link's limited conversational skills.
The duo almost walked straight into the stationary Yunsung. Link hit the tall Korean upside the head, disapproving of his abrupt halt.
That's when they all began to watch the Athenian warrior fight a giant eyeball type monster. "What is that thing?" Talim voiced the question they were all asking themselves.
"I'm going all out!" The determined warrior cried before thrusting her blade into the creature who suddenly began changing weapons to a much larger sword, followed by a pair of elbow blades, and then a small boomerang. Cassandra was becoming very confused by the charade.
Then she heard a feminine voice over her shoulder and cast a glance behind to see three people standing there watching her battle.
"Look out!" The largest of the three shouted, redirecting her attention to more pressing matters. She evaded the strike at the last moment and then managed to stab her sword right into the center of the giant eyeball. She covered her ears as the oddity screamed an inhuman scream and began to dissolve into a purple mist.
A shard of Soul Edge was all that remained of her foe. She leaned down to pick it up and deposited it into her pocket. Then she turned to face her audience.
"What was that?" Yunsung asked as the blond walked towards them.
"That was some sort of charade. My name is Cassandra. Who are you?"
The trio introduced themselves. Talim looked towards the area where charade was destroyed. "That charade was human once, but tainted by the shards he possessed beyond the grave. I take it you are in search of Soul Edge?" Talim asked the girl.
Cassandra nodded. "Yes, but I need to return home. I was starting my journey back to Greece when I ran into that charade thing."
"Why Greece?" Yunsung asked curiously, he felt a little uneasy about Talim's explanation of the monster. Maybe possessing Soul Edge to defend his country wasn't such a great idea.
"I have reason to believe that the key to finding Inferno, the current possessor of the sword, lies within Greece." Cassandra answered confidently but her eyes betrayed her uncertainty.
Talim nodded while noticing her blue eyes cloud over. "Don't worry, you'll be okay." She reassured the strange girl. She rested an arm across her shoulder and began to walk back towards the direction of their ship. "We're in search of Soul Edge. We're to rid the world of it's evil. You are welcome to join us."
Cassandra offered an accepting smile. "Thank you."
Yunsung and Link trailed behind the two girls a little. "Does she make friends with everybody?" Yunsung asked a little jealous that Talim was the one talking to the Greek beauty.
Link's face broke into a giant smile and he nodded enthusiastically. "Talim everybody's friend." Link agreed. Then he looked thoughtful and the smile faded. "But not Ivy though." He quietly disagreed with himself. He was still troubled that he had to kill the disturbed woman. She wasn't evil.
He vowed then that if he were to meet another warrior with a good heart that was poisoned by Soul Edge he would do all he could to save them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maxi was walking briskly down the streets of the busy market. The three veteran warriors had split up, hoping to find the shard toting person faster this way. Besides, Maxi didn't really care to hang out with Kilik at the moment. The man was in a foul mood since it was decided that he and Talim be in separate groups.
Xianghua also seemed a little peeved at the way the group split up. Maxi ran his fingers through his thick, dark mane in frustration. He didn't understand what the big deal was.
So absorbed in his internal musings he failed to notice the woman walking straight at him with her head bowed down, lost in her own personal thoughts.
Naturally, the two smacked into one another. The woman glared at the man with great annoyance, until she noticed the shards he possessed. He too noticed she possessed a shard.
Suddenly Maxi broke into a grin. "Good, I've been looking for you."
"What?" The woman was totally taken aback by his response.
"You're searching for Soul Edge, so am I and some associates. We came to this village in search of you." Maxi explained as he stood up off the ground and helped the stranger to her feet as well.
The woman shook her head. "Actually, I'm looking for my foolish friend. He took off in search of the sword and I want to make sure he makes it home safe. He's too important in the revolution to get himself killed on a stupid search for some sword."
"I'm Maxi."
"Sueng Mina at your service." She shook his hand. "Well, play time's over and I need to find Yunsung." She began to walk away after flipping her long red hair over her shoulder.
"Wait! Yunsung is part of my group of companions. Why don't you come back to the ship with me. We can all figure out what to do." Maxi coaxed.
Sueng Mina turned back towards him reluctantly and then silently agreed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Will the group split? Half head to Greece and the other half to France? Can Sueng Mina convince Yunsung to return home? Will Link learn how to use pronouns? Stay tuned!