Chapter 6:Out to sea
If blades could talk, the last week would have proved an epic for Flambert. The battles Raphael had went through ranged from epic to indescribable.
And it had all paid off. Raphael was going to get the Soul Edge in his grasp. With the blade, he would be untouchable.
Of course, the issues of distance was always a factor. Raphael walked onto the dock and up the ramp for the ship. "I suppose that leaving the way I came is fitting." he mused. He felt no lament leaving the east. He had no fond memories, nor did he have any attachment to this place. There was nothing that placed this area over most of Europe.
Except, of course, for Amy. How he would love to return to France and see his beloved angel. Soul Edge would be the key to their happy future together. His daughter would never frown again.
"The nobles deserve to burn in hell for the suffering they've caused her." Raphael said. He cared nothing for any other peasant. No person mattered in the world, except for one. Raphael's cherised Amy.
Raphael slept the soundest he had since the voyage had begun. Granted, it still wasn't very sound, but it was still comforting.
Raphael awoke to hear a loud sound from below him. Groggily he listened as he heard voices.
"It's moving again! It's moving again!" a frantic voice said.
"Fire! Fire!" A more composed, but no less frantic voice said. After several gunshots, the groaning and thrashing stopped.
"Is it dead?" the first voice Raphael had heard asked.
"Not a chance that killed it." the other said. "The damned thing took a cannon in the face and kept charging like there was nothing there."
"So it's not dead?" the first voice asked nervously.
"No." the other voice replied, obviously beginning to lose his patience with his partner. "Now quit your bitching and help me tie more cords to this guy. We might have to chain his head down too."
"Why are we carrying this abomination?" the first voice asked. "The guy who gets this will be killed."
"And you won't be complaining if we get a nice big pay off will you?"
"Well, no...."
"Then quit your bitching and help me tie him up!"
Raphael then heard no more and thought no more of it as he turned over to return to his relatively peaceful slumber.
Raphael awoke once more, only this time, the noises he felt were much more deadly. "Cannon fire!" Raphael muttered, quickly rising and grabbing Flambert. If pirates tried to hinder his journey to Germany, they would pay dearly.
As Raphael came on deck, his eyes were stung by the brightness of the sun. As he looked over the the hull, he saw a pirate ship sailing for the ship at top speed. "It seems that death awaits some very foolhardy pirates." He said, waiting for the ship to come. He would kill every last one of them in neccessary.
As the pirate ship became close, Raphael saw a man with raven hair jump from ship to ship and come on board. "I've come for that ugly freak." the pirate said.
"I know not whether your brother is here." Raphael said lazily, wondering if the stupid pirate understood the insult. "However, you have hindered a voyage that is imperative for my well being, and that is a crime that shall not go unpaid."
"So, you wan't me to knock you out?" the raven haired man asked. "Is that what you're saying?"
"I'm saying that you're going to die, savage." Raphael replied.
"Then put that flimsy sword of yours to good use instead of your mouth." the man said. As Raphael moved to strike, the raven haired man pulled out a pair of nunchaku and used them to block. The two weapons struck, and passed each other, no result coming.
"I don't believe I got your name." Raphael said.
"Maxi." the pirate said with a smirk. "And you are?"
"Raphael Sorel." Raphael answered. "It will be a pleasure to cut you down."
"Not from where I'm standing." Maxi said, nunchaku at ready.
"Then allow me to change your stance!" Raphael replied and the two began to trade blows again. At first, Raphael thought that his sharp rapier would have a definite advantage over Maxi's blunt weapon. However, the resilient Maxi managed to take every blow Raphael served and give his own. This man was a good fighter!
Their fight continued for many minutes. Neither seemed to gain any advantage until another cannon shot made the hull of the ship shake. The sound of wood cracking, however, was not from a cannon. It came from below deck.
Raphael flinched as he heard an unearthly roar from inside the ship. He then saw stars as Maxi's nunchaku slammed against his head. Raphael fell over violently, only semiconcious.
"I don't have to time to waste on you." Maxi said. "I almost forgot that the freak was on this ship."
As Maxi ran off, Raphael barely managed to get to his feet. He didn't have a concussion, fortunately, but his head was throbbing painfully. Common sense told him to stay down and wait for the throbbing to stop, but his honor would not let him just sit and take the punishment. He ran after Maxi, ignoring the throbbing in his head.
As he came down to the stairs, his breath was taken away as he saw a giant receiving Maxi's attacks.Maxi slammed his nunchaku against the behemoth repeatedly and knocked him to the floor.
"Remember me, you ugly freak?" Maxi demanded of the giant. Raphael said nothing, only in shock that such a creature existed.
"You all look the same to me!" the giant replied, raising a huge axe. Maxi, being very nimble, dodged the blow easily and slammed his foot into the giant's guy.
"You're going to pay, Astaroth!" Maxi cried. "For everything!"
"Scream, you little worm!" Astaroth said, swinging his axe again. Considering the close quarters of where they were fighting, Raphael was worried that this fight might cause the ship to sink. He, however, remained a pragmatic warrior and waited for a victor to result.
Maxi remained merciless. His nimble body easily dodged the powerful axe. It didn't matter how strong Astaroth's blows were if he could not hit the seasoned pirate. Maxi, on the other hand, used his quick body and small nunchaku in astonishingly creative ways. He even used his foot to attack once.
It didn't take long for Maxi to gain advantage. Slamming the nunchaku against Astaroth's fingers incredibly hard, Raphael heard bones snap. With a howl Astaroth dropped his axe and fell to his knees.
Maxi didn't let up his attack. His nunchaku flailed so wildly that Astaroth begin to fall apart, literally. Astaroth's arm dropped from his shoulder, but no blood dropped.
"How is that possible?" Raphael muttered under his breath as he continued to watch the fight. He got no answer, however, because all that was heard were Astaroth's cries of agony as Maxi's nunchaku slammed against every part of his body, causing scars to open and stitches on the man to come undone.
Raphael remained silent as Astaroth fell to the floor, stone dead. Maxi stood in front of the corpse, triumphant. His breathing was labored and Raphael could tell that the man had absolutely no heart left in him for a fight. He would be utterly defenseless against another attack.
And this...Astaroth creature. That was what Maxi had called it, wasn't it? There was no way this creature could still be alive. Raphael didn't bother himself with that creature at the moment. His concern was Maxi. This man had attacked him. He had hindered his voyage to Germany. He would pay dearly for that.
Maxi didn't feel the rapier slipping through his chest until it was too late. He looked down at the sword that so instantly spelled his doom. Had Maxi been a more superstisous man, he would believe that what came next to be very voice of death.
"I hope your triumph brings in the other world." Raphael hissed into his ear. Raphael slipped his sword back into it's scabbard and Maxi fell to floor, as dead as his former opponent.
Raphael then went to Astaroth. "Most certainly dead." Raphael nodded, but he then nodded something odd on the man's axe.
It was a shard of Soul Edge.
"It appears that our dear crew has some explaining to do."
Raphael grabbed the ship's captain and slammed the man againsty the wall. He then pressed Flambert's blade against the captain's neck. "Now talk you scurvy-ridden bastard." Raphael threatened. "What the hell did I see down there? What was that demon I saw?"
"Astaroth?" the captain rasped. "Well, we don't exactly know what he is. The greek say he was created by Aries to gain an artifact of almost unimaginable power. A great sword of immense evil."
"Soul Edge." Raphael confirmed. "It seems that everyone is searching for this accursed blade."
"You know about-" the capain was cut short by Raphael's blade pressing against his neck again.
"And why were you carrying him?" Raphael demanded. "Why would you endanger yourselves in such a way."
"We were going to sell him as a freak to a carnival or a circus." the captain said.
"And the pirate?" Raphael pressed on, wanting to learn as much as possible.
"Had some vendetta with the creature." the captain said. "He's attack us several times before." The captain knew as soon as he uttered the words that he had said the wrong thing.
Raphael threw the man to the floor, slamming Flambert's hilt against his nose, breaking it. "You knew that the pirates were after you, yet you did nothing to warn us? I should kill you right here, but I require you to keep sailing to our destination. You are allowed to live."
The captain seemed to have regained his backbone at those words. "You dare to-" He was silenced when the blade came back to his throat.
"Yes, I dare to." Raphael said. "Are you saying that I was wrong in sparing your life?"
That was all Raphael had to say. One look at Raphael's eyes told the captain that all his men would not be able to defeat this man. He stepped back and slumped into his chair.
"Good." Raphael said, turning away. "I expect the rest of this voyage to be smooth."
If blades could talk, the last week would have proved an epic for Flambert. The battles Raphael had went through ranged from epic to indescribable.
And it had all paid off. Raphael was going to get the Soul Edge in his grasp. With the blade, he would be untouchable.
Of course, the issues of distance was always a factor. Raphael walked onto the dock and up the ramp for the ship. "I suppose that leaving the way I came is fitting." he mused. He felt no lament leaving the east. He had no fond memories, nor did he have any attachment to this place. There was nothing that placed this area over most of Europe.
Except, of course, for Amy. How he would love to return to France and see his beloved angel. Soul Edge would be the key to their happy future together. His daughter would never frown again.
"The nobles deserve to burn in hell for the suffering they've caused her." Raphael said. He cared nothing for any other peasant. No person mattered in the world, except for one. Raphael's cherised Amy.
Raphael slept the soundest he had since the voyage had begun. Granted, it still wasn't very sound, but it was still comforting.
Raphael awoke to hear a loud sound from below him. Groggily he listened as he heard voices.
"It's moving again! It's moving again!" a frantic voice said.
"Fire! Fire!" A more composed, but no less frantic voice said. After several gunshots, the groaning and thrashing stopped.
"Is it dead?" the first voice Raphael had heard asked.
"Not a chance that killed it." the other said. "The damned thing took a cannon in the face and kept charging like there was nothing there."
"So it's not dead?" the first voice asked nervously.
"No." the other voice replied, obviously beginning to lose his patience with his partner. "Now quit your bitching and help me tie more cords to this guy. We might have to chain his head down too."
"Why are we carrying this abomination?" the first voice asked. "The guy who gets this will be killed."
"And you won't be complaining if we get a nice big pay off will you?"
"Well, no...."
"Then quit your bitching and help me tie him up!"
Raphael then heard no more and thought no more of it as he turned over to return to his relatively peaceful slumber.
Raphael awoke once more, only this time, the noises he felt were much more deadly. "Cannon fire!" Raphael muttered, quickly rising and grabbing Flambert. If pirates tried to hinder his journey to Germany, they would pay dearly.
As Raphael came on deck, his eyes were stung by the brightness of the sun. As he looked over the the hull, he saw a pirate ship sailing for the ship at top speed. "It seems that death awaits some very foolhardy pirates." He said, waiting for the ship to come. He would kill every last one of them in neccessary.
As the pirate ship became close, Raphael saw a man with raven hair jump from ship to ship and come on board. "I've come for that ugly freak." the pirate said.
"I know not whether your brother is here." Raphael said lazily, wondering if the stupid pirate understood the insult. "However, you have hindered a voyage that is imperative for my well being, and that is a crime that shall not go unpaid."
"So, you wan't me to knock you out?" the raven haired man asked. "Is that what you're saying?"
"I'm saying that you're going to die, savage." Raphael replied.
"Then put that flimsy sword of yours to good use instead of your mouth." the man said. As Raphael moved to strike, the raven haired man pulled out a pair of nunchaku and used them to block. The two weapons struck, and passed each other, no result coming.
"I don't believe I got your name." Raphael said.
"Maxi." the pirate said with a smirk. "And you are?"
"Raphael Sorel." Raphael answered. "It will be a pleasure to cut you down."
"Not from where I'm standing." Maxi said, nunchaku at ready.
"Then allow me to change your stance!" Raphael replied and the two began to trade blows again. At first, Raphael thought that his sharp rapier would have a definite advantage over Maxi's blunt weapon. However, the resilient Maxi managed to take every blow Raphael served and give his own. This man was a good fighter!
Their fight continued for many minutes. Neither seemed to gain any advantage until another cannon shot made the hull of the ship shake. The sound of wood cracking, however, was not from a cannon. It came from below deck.
Raphael flinched as he heard an unearthly roar from inside the ship. He then saw stars as Maxi's nunchaku slammed against his head. Raphael fell over violently, only semiconcious.
"I don't have to time to waste on you." Maxi said. "I almost forgot that the freak was on this ship."
As Maxi ran off, Raphael barely managed to get to his feet. He didn't have a concussion, fortunately, but his head was throbbing painfully. Common sense told him to stay down and wait for the throbbing to stop, but his honor would not let him just sit and take the punishment. He ran after Maxi, ignoring the throbbing in his head.
As he came down to the stairs, his breath was taken away as he saw a giant receiving Maxi's attacks.Maxi slammed his nunchaku against the behemoth repeatedly and knocked him to the floor.
"Remember me, you ugly freak?" Maxi demanded of the giant. Raphael said nothing, only in shock that such a creature existed.
"You all look the same to me!" the giant replied, raising a huge axe. Maxi, being very nimble, dodged the blow easily and slammed his foot into the giant's guy.
"You're going to pay, Astaroth!" Maxi cried. "For everything!"
"Scream, you little worm!" Astaroth said, swinging his axe again. Considering the close quarters of where they were fighting, Raphael was worried that this fight might cause the ship to sink. He, however, remained a pragmatic warrior and waited for a victor to result.
Maxi remained merciless. His nimble body easily dodged the powerful axe. It didn't matter how strong Astaroth's blows were if he could not hit the seasoned pirate. Maxi, on the other hand, used his quick body and small nunchaku in astonishingly creative ways. He even used his foot to attack once.
It didn't take long for Maxi to gain advantage. Slamming the nunchaku against Astaroth's fingers incredibly hard, Raphael heard bones snap. With a howl Astaroth dropped his axe and fell to his knees.
Maxi didn't let up his attack. His nunchaku flailed so wildly that Astaroth begin to fall apart, literally. Astaroth's arm dropped from his shoulder, but no blood dropped.
"How is that possible?" Raphael muttered under his breath as he continued to watch the fight. He got no answer, however, because all that was heard were Astaroth's cries of agony as Maxi's nunchaku slammed against every part of his body, causing scars to open and stitches on the man to come undone.
Raphael remained silent as Astaroth fell to the floor, stone dead. Maxi stood in front of the corpse, triumphant. His breathing was labored and Raphael could tell that the man had absolutely no heart left in him for a fight. He would be utterly defenseless against another attack.
And this...Astaroth creature. That was what Maxi had called it, wasn't it? There was no way this creature could still be alive. Raphael didn't bother himself with that creature at the moment. His concern was Maxi. This man had attacked him. He had hindered his voyage to Germany. He would pay dearly for that.
Maxi didn't feel the rapier slipping through his chest until it was too late. He looked down at the sword that so instantly spelled his doom. Had Maxi been a more superstisous man, he would believe that what came next to be very voice of death.
"I hope your triumph brings in the other world." Raphael hissed into his ear. Raphael slipped his sword back into it's scabbard and Maxi fell to floor, as dead as his former opponent.
Raphael then went to Astaroth. "Most certainly dead." Raphael nodded, but he then nodded something odd on the man's axe.
It was a shard of Soul Edge.
"It appears that our dear crew has some explaining to do."
Raphael grabbed the ship's captain and slammed the man againsty the wall. He then pressed Flambert's blade against the captain's neck. "Now talk you scurvy-ridden bastard." Raphael threatened. "What the hell did I see down there? What was that demon I saw?"
"Astaroth?" the captain rasped. "Well, we don't exactly know what he is. The greek say he was created by Aries to gain an artifact of almost unimaginable power. A great sword of immense evil."
"Soul Edge." Raphael confirmed. "It seems that everyone is searching for this accursed blade."
"You know about-" the capain was cut short by Raphael's blade pressing against his neck again.
"And why were you carrying him?" Raphael demanded. "Why would you endanger yourselves in such a way."
"We were going to sell him as a freak to a carnival or a circus." the captain said.
"And the pirate?" Raphael pressed on, wanting to learn as much as possible.
"Had some vendetta with the creature." the captain said. "He's attack us several times before." The captain knew as soon as he uttered the words that he had said the wrong thing.
Raphael threw the man to the floor, slamming Flambert's hilt against his nose, breaking it. "You knew that the pirates were after you, yet you did nothing to warn us? I should kill you right here, but I require you to keep sailing to our destination. You are allowed to live."
The captain seemed to have regained his backbone at those words. "You dare to-" He was silenced when the blade came back to his throat.
"Yes, I dare to." Raphael said. "Are you saying that I was wrong in sparing your life?"
That was all Raphael had to say. One look at Raphael's eyes told the captain that all his men would not be able to defeat this man. He stepped back and slumped into his chair.
"Good." Raphael said, turning away. "I expect the rest of this voyage to be smooth."