Round 1-6: The Killer Bees vs. Lords of Shadowlaw
Author's Notes: Another update. M.'s concept art has been added to the art gallery. I couldn't find any picture that accurately represented Marin as I envisioned her, so I had to sketch my own drawing. Unfortunately, I'm not all that good with a scanner, so you'll be able to tell which picture it is at first glance. (Hint: It's the shabby-looking one at the bottom.) If you think you can draw better (and you probably can), then please do and show me.
Svalbard, Norway
Three days have passed
Ice. As far as the eye could see, the island of Svalbard was covered in ice. A mountain towered in the distance, illuminated only by the play of the Northern Lights. The chosen battlefield was a lake that was entirely covered by several feet of rock-solid ice. The surface shimmered dimly like a rainbow mirror. The aurora was unusually brilliant this night and despite the below-freezing temperature nobody actually felt cold. More of Marin's odd power at work, Cammy White supposed. She tested the ice with a hard stomp, then a diving Cannon Spike aimed straight into the ground. The ice held firmly. There was a calming quality about the entire winterbound scene that would've proved most pleasant in a different setting.
Nearby, Juni and Juli wore their old Doll uniforms. Cammy herself sported a Delta Red commando suit, complete with military-style boots and wristguards. Her beret hung rakishly at an angle. The camera crews had also arrived and were busy in the process of setting up their equipment. Cammy walked to her old squadmates and they conversed in low voices.
"It is time," Gill announced grandly ten minutes later. "Killer Bees, name your tactical leader."
"Here." Cammy stepped up to the center of the battlefield as her squadmates back off.
"Lords of Shadowlaw, name your tactical leader," Jedah ordered.
"Me." M. Bison strode up to Cammy, his armored boots clicking ominously on the icy surface. His great cape had been wrapped around his body and he looked most intimidating, staring down at Cammy from his sizable height advantage. Behind him, Vega and Balrog backed off to the sidelines.
"S-sir Bison ..." Cammy began.
"Save the soap opera, doll," Bison replied dismissively. He pulled his cape off and his right hand took on a bright violet glow for a moment. The cape disappeared in a wash of purple flames.
"Why you -! Have at you!" Cammy sank into a fighting stance. When the incredibly bright light flashed all around them and Marin called Begin!, Cammy needed no second bidding. She rushed forward and aimed a merciless Cannon Drill directly at Bison, channeling all of her anger into the attack. We cared for you, Bison! You betrayed us, not the other way around! Now that you won't take us back, all that's left is to kill you here and now!
Cammy skidded to a halt without having hit anything. She righted herself; as she did so, a draft of wind suddenly blew past. She turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of Bison sliding past and lashed out with a backhand, but she clipped only wind. The retaliation came swiftly in the form of a kick into the back of her knees, sending Cammy sprawling on the ice. She got up quickly, throwing up a Cannon Spike as she did so. But Bison had disappeared again and slid behind Cammy.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the World Collision tournament where the action is already hot." Kyosuke Kagami sipped idly from a plastic cup of bubble tea as he gave out the battle commentary. "Bison's playing a cat-and-mouse game right now and it looks like Cammy's fallen right into the trap. The matchup's a bit uneven, since amongst her team Cammy is the only one who stayed in fighting form after the Shadowlaw incidents ten years ago. On the other side, the Lords of Shadowlaw feature three considerably dangerous fighters and Bison is probably the top team combatant in this entire tournament. So the bet is -"
"Bison is going to beat the cream out of them!" Jin roared.
"Um, yeah, that's what I was about to say. Cammy's being worn out fast, while Bison still hasn't made much of an effort to take the fight home. Alia, how does it look over there in Svalbard?"
"Kyosuke, the night is absolutely beautiful here in Norway. What's not beautiful is the way that Bison is baiting Cammy. She's being worn out, she has to rely more on her teammates. Juni's been throwing in the random assist, but so far Bison is controlling the fight. He hasn't called out his teammates at all. Let's take a closer look." As she said that, Bison again dodged a kick from Cammy, turning his back and brushing his hands down his uniform contemptuously. Cammy launched a Cannon Drill aimed at Bison's back, but Bison also avoided that attack with a back roll on the surface of the ice. Before Cammy had even touched the frozen lake, Bison's boots came crashing into her back as he nailed her with a Scissor Kick. Cammy landed heavily; she couldn't remember when he'd ever been that fast.
Bison folded his arms; Cammy signaled for an assist attack and Juni came flying in with a Spiral Arrow kick. Bison merely sidestepped the attack. When Juni skidded to a halt on the ice and stood, Cammy rushed forward and tried to save her, but it was too late; Bison hooked Juni's back ankle with his own, planted his hooking foot and launched a roundhouse with his other leg, catching Juni squarely under the chin and sending her flying a moment later. Cammy struck at Bison as he completed his throw but he simply used the momentum of his spin to catch her with his arm and throw her also. Cammy righted herself in midair, at the same time wondering when he'd acquired that move. Of course; he'd have studied the battle data on Samantha McGrath, who also used the Scissor Leg Throw.
Cammy glanced upright; Bison sneered at her, then abruptly faded into a glowing outline before disappearing altogether. When he reappeared about a second later, it was above her head and coming down with a vicious stomp. There wasn't enough time to counter with a Cannon Spike, but Cammy did signal for an assist. She blocked the head stomp; Juni flew in with a Cannon Spike, but clipped only empty air as Bison warped again. This time he emerged right behind Cammy and struck with a kick to her sides, leaving the former assassin gasping in pain. Wincing to herself, Cammy gave another signal and jumped out.
"Now she's being replaced by Juni," Kyosuke observed. "Let's hope that better teamwork characterizes this latest addition to the fight." The overhead aurora intensified in brilliance as Juni tried to close on Bison with a number of punches and kicks. She ticked him a number of times, then went on the offensive. "He fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Kyosuke exclaimed wildly. "Tick, tick, tick, throw! Juni's grabbed Bison with the Earth Direct!" And indeed, Juni had Bison in a firm lock and spiraled upwards, halting the jump at its apex and coming down hard. She doubtlessly intended to crush Bison's chest between her knees and the ice. Unfortunately, Bison warped away at the very last moment and Juni nearly broke her kneecaps on the unforgiving surface of the battlefield.
Bison charged, launching a Scissor Kick through the air at Juni. She signaled for an assist that came way too late to prevent Bison's boots from kicking her most thoroughly in the torso. Worse, a stabbing pain was shooting through her legs and she couldn't stand. Juni waved for Juli to take her place and crawled off the battleground, where she and Cammy tended to her injured knees.
Instead of attacking head-on as Cammy and Juni had, Juli beckoned Bison to come to her. A tense standoff lasted for a moment as she crouched in a ready position while Bison folded his arms and glared impassively at her. Then he warped. Juli cursed; she spun around and Bison seized her by the neck, raising her into the air before casually throwing her off to one side. He warped almost immediately and appeared in Juli's flight trajectory, launching a Psycho Shot into her back. The ball of energy burned like fire and it was all Juli could do to keep from screaming.
"And Juli isn't faring any better than her teammates," Kyosuke remarked. "Looks like Bison is gradually shifting from a counterattack posture into an offensive posture. He's definitely pressuring Juli with his very abusable Scissor Kicks. For those of you just joining us, the current matchup pits the Killer Bees against the Lords of Shadowlaw and the bees -"
"They're being owned for free!" Jin screamed.
"Right, what he said. Let's take a look at the action as it occurs." The camera turned back to where Juli fought frantically to stop Bison, periodically signaling Cammy for cover fire. Juni's knees had apparently been bandaged to her satisfaction. Once, during a particularly ill-advised attack, both Cammy and Juli were hit by the same Scissor Kick. Bison smirked and folded his arms across his chest, smiling evilly. When Juli launched a Sniping Arrow at him, he kicked aside her leg and planted his boot in her chin in the same motion. Seeing stars, Juli opted to switch out with Cammy.
Now freshened by her brief respite, Cammy jumped into the battlefield, at the same time noting resentfully that on the other side Vega and Balrog were playing a game of cards. Bison moved fast; he feinted to the right and Cammy drove in with a kick, which he dodged. A moment later she assumed a peculiar defensive position and Bison attacked with a swift kick. Cammy twisted fully and swiped at Bison with a backhand, which he ducked. That gave him the time he needed to close the distance and in a moment Bison had seized Cammy by both shoulders.
"It's the Heartbreak Despair!" Jin yelled.
And indeed it was. With her arms pinned to her sides, Cammy could not defend as Bison kicked out both of her knees. She collapsed but didn't make it to the ground; a moment later Bison was laying into her with a storm of close-range kicks, finishing with the Scissor Leg Throw that he'd used on Juni earlier. Cammy landed hard; looking up, she seemed to see three images of Bison sneering at her. He pulled his cap off and straightened his hair - his taunt, Cammy knew. She decided to seize her opportunity and shouted, "Let's go bees!"
Juni and Juli appeared beside her a moment later just as Bison finished setting his cap on his head. Winding up, Cammy released the team super attack as she arced towards Bison in an enhanced Cannon Drill, intending to catch him squarely on the chest. If she could ... she doubted that even Bison could withstand a trio of Drive Smashers hitting him all at once. But just as she brushed his uniform without really making contact, Bison was gone, receding into the distance as a number of successively darker images trailed behind him, only his signature evil chuckle marking his passage. Cammy realized what was happening even as she frantically tried to stop her attack. It was, of course, too late; the Spin Drive Smasher could not be halted in time.
"Psycho Crusher!" Bison flew in spinning like a living rocket, his entire body awash with pure Psycho energy that seemed to engulf the whole battlefield. The Psycho Drive Crusher tore across the frozen lake and reached the unfortunate bees in an instant, catching them in the middle of their team-up attack. With more than three meters of energy concentrated in front of his physical body, Bison's ultimate technique ripped through all three of the women and sent them flying in three different directions, their trajectories highlighted by the streams of Psycho energy that trailed after them. All three landed hard and did not stir; Vega and Balrog cursed as Juni crashed between them, upsetting a delicate balance of cards.
"And the winner ... the Lords of Shadowlaw!" Gill proclaimed, his voice booming through Osaka stadium.
Vega sighed. "What a waste of time, I could've been getting my beauty sleep."
Osaka, Japan
Three days have passed
"Juni, Juli?! Wait, where are you going?" Cammy White looked up from a cup of tea and ran to her teammate as the orange-haired girl neared the entrance of the hotel, a number of bags in hand. Juli also lugged a heavy suitcase behind Juni. Both of them waited until Cammy had caught up before glancing at each other. "What's going on, where are you taking all of this?"
"I'm leaving," Juni said flatly. "We lost that fight, didn't we? I don't want to stay around anymore, I can watch the tournament on TV. It was nice pairing up with you again, Cammy, but I have a flight to catch in an hour. Juli is helping me with the luggage."
"Are you leaving too?" Cammy asked the dark-haired girl.
"No." Juli shook her head firmly. "I'll still be around to watch my daughter progress through the tournament. Although ... maybe Juni has the right idea. I got the latest news from Mason and Jill; besides the girls and the Darkstalkers, two of the Dragons are definitely missing. Yin arrived in their village but Yun and Yang never did. When the IDC ran a check, their flight had arrived in Hong Kong and they had boarded the plane but no one saw them get off of it. The airport sent their baggage to Yin. It was like Yun and Yang had vanished en route to China. Nobody's heard anything from Yin after that first day, too." Juli shivered a little as she said this and Cammy could not help but feel apprehensive.
"Let me help you with that, then," Cammy said softly and a little sadly as she and Juli towed the oversized suitcase between them. Outside, Vega and Balrog had also appeared to escort Juni. The Bees exchanged words with the men, said a long goodbye - Vega and Cammy hugged each other, at one point - before piling into the limousine and being driven to the airport.
The two Lords of Shadowlaw walked back inside leisurely, meeting Guile and Scott Wagner as they did so. "What's the latest news on the investigation?" Vega asked when they'd all been seated.
Guile shook his head. "Not good. The girls are gone; the Darkstalkers are gone; two of the Dragons are AWOL; Go Hibiki's been killed by Dadallent; Rose is also missing; more people remain unaccounted for. Dr. McGrath's just about ready to pull out his hair, he's feeling so stressed. He looks dead tired and terribly preoccupied. And ... I don't know if there's any truth to this ... but rumor has it that Dadallent challenged him to a deathmatch after the end of the tournament. McGrath wouldn't say and neither would Samantha; everyone else's view is just opinion." To Guile's knowledge, when Samantha had asked her husband about his conversation with Dadallent, the reply had been I don't want to trouble you with it. If anything, it had made Samantha even more troubled.
"Do ya think he'll do it?" Balrog asked.
"Do what?" Guile wanted to know.
"Take up Dadallent's challenge, that's what. That boy seems like a pretty mean customer."
"No kidding," Guile muttered. "McGrath and Dadallent fought three times in the past, neither of them ever winning a clear victory. Some people believe that one of the two is destined to die by the other's hand. I never believed in this whole fate deal myself, but it does make you wonder." He shook his head clear. "What do we know, though? Dadallent came and spoke with McGrath, that's what; we don't even know if a formal challenge was issued. The real issue at hand is all those confounded disappearances."
"Lord Bison already set a number of our agents on the case," Vega noted. "So far, nothing."
"Surprise, surprise," Wagner drawled.
As the four of them talked back and forth, a lone figure listened from an interior balcony situated one floor above them. Regina was seated outside of Gill's room in a comfortable wicker chair, where she could hear everything in the hotel reception area and lounge. She had a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn and had stopped humming to herself the moment Vega spoke. Regina glanced down at the more-than-half-complete sweater that she was knitting for Ken. A peace offering that I'm making with my own hands. I'll lay a spell on it, of course, so that when he wears it he'll be better able to resist any charm I accidentally send his way. I still can't believe that I might've seduced him. Accident or no, it is my fault and I must make up for it.
"You could finish your task in but moments, my lady, if you used your power," Gill said from within the room. Regina glanced at him; he was looking up from a thick book that he was reading. Something about philosophy, no doubt; it was a favorite pastime of his.
She smiled gently without breaking her stride. "That's true, Gill, and I appreciate your concern for me. But ... when I stitch it together, piece by piece, it's like a bit of my heart goes into each fold. Every last strand is a dear friend to me. Therefore, when I finish, I will know this sweater intimately. I want my love to be in it when I present it to Ken." She smoothed a crease in the yarn and smiled down on the cloth. Gill simply shook his head, understanding her answer without comprehending it, before turning back to his book looking for some insight that would help him realize what Regina meant. "Gill," Regina said suddenly, "while you were under Marin's jurisdiction, did she ever say anything about me?"
"Much," the seraph replied, setting his book aside and standing up. He joined Regina on the balcony and gazed outward, looking quite handsome in his tuxedo. "The Lady Marin spoke more of you than any other person on Heaven or Earth, divine or mortal. She cared for your well-being very much. Understandable, perhaps, seeing as how she was in essence your foster mother, my lady."
"Yes." Regina paused for a short second. "Have you ... have you ever seen her in battle?"
"I witnessed more than once an occasion when the Lady Marin trained the fighting valkyries -" Gill began.
"I don't mean training," Regina said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she added quickly. Then, before Gill could protest that no angel was worthy of an apology from a goddess, Regina forged ahead on her train of thought. "I've been in more than one war with my sister at my side. The Marin I know is usually a kind and gentle soul, and she approached my training with the same type of guidance; in battle, however, she takes on an entirely different quality. She takes combat quite seriously and grimly; sometimes, I think, she even enjoys fighting, though never for its own sake if I'm not mistaken."
"What do you mean, my lady?" Gill inquired slowly.
"I - it's just a memory I have, really, of a time when Marin and I were caught up in a war, millennia ago on a different world. We went there as part of my training, to learn some mundane skills that might be useful in the mortal planes. It was there, I think, that I first learned just how serious Marin could be about war if she were provoked. I was startled and perhaps a little frightened to see that side of her." Regina looked out into empty space, setting down her knitting needles. Below, the four men previously conversing together had dispersed. "This was before you were created, Gill. Marin and I visited a beautiful world together ..."
It was their second day upon that planet and their contact with humans had been quite limited so far. Regina was seated underneath an apple tree with a book in hand. Marin tended to preparing a small meal for the two of them, having foraged a number of roots and berries earlier. Both of them wore tight but comfortable clothing ideal for traveling through heavily forested terrain. And heavily forested it was, the ground thick with moss and lichen, the massive cedar trees blocking out any direct view of the sun overhead. Other than Marin's Rainbow Swallow, which she wore on her back, there was no visible weapon between them. They were currently taking a short break as Marin taught Regina about surviving in the wild. While most immortals saw such skills as beneath their notice, Marin considered no advantage too mundane to equip her sister with.
Marin had just about finished making lunch when it happened. A deer started out of the thicket, not twenty meters from where Marin and Regina camped. The animal was plainly frightened and Regina called to it; a moment later, the sisters saw why its eyes ran wild with terror. The deer raced to Regina and the goddess tried to soothe the terrified animal as a pair of hunters crashed through the woods hot on the trail. One of them immediately let loose a bolt from his crossbow, aimed straight at his quarry. He gave a shout as he realized that the deer was not the only living creature under the apple tree and Regina's eyes widened as she saw the bolt streaking at her. As it was, Marin's weapon flashed into her hand and she skillfully parried the bolt, sending it falling harmlessly to the ground. Had Regina been able to see, she would have noticed a dangerous look in Marin's eyes. Her older sister's aura alone was quite threatening.
"Pardon me, lady, I did not see you or your companion!" the man who had launched the bolt cried. He and his friend quickly covered the ten or so meters separating them from Marin, staying just beyond the reach of the Rainbow Swallow. By this time Regina had succeeded in calming the poor deer. "I do most humbly beg your pardon, lady," the man continued.
"Very well, sir, I accept your apology," Marin replied, hanging her twin-bladed weapon on her back. "My name is Marin, and behind me is my sister Regina," she continued. "We are simple travelers with no particular destination. Would you care to join us for dinner?" Mentally she sent a notice to Regina that they were not to reveal what they truly were, as per their ordinary protocol.
"I admit, lady, that I am famished," the man responded. He wore hunting clothes that effectively blended in with the surrounding forestscape, as did his friend, and the two of them sported simple iron daggers probably used for skinning. Both of them looked to be about in their mid-twenties or so, although Regina had never been a good guesser of human age. "I am the Baron Furinax. This is Le Riand, captain of my personal guard. We were hunting but now on the castle grounds. This place is actually restricted property, though you must be travelers from far away and as such ignorant of this matter, so I will not fault you."
"How did you discern that we come from afar, sir?" Marin asked as she knelt down and divided two portions into four. Regina joined them and they picnicked under the apple tree, the deer never straying far from Regina's side. The goddess fed the animal a few berries.
"Your weapon is a most beautiful work," Furinax stated, "of a craftsmanship unknown in this country."
"And you wield it with great skill," Le Riand added. "In this country, it is unheard of for a woman to bear arms."
So they talked over the meal, Regina deferring mostly to Marin except when she had questions of her own. The four spent a good hour under the apple tree discussing the world at large and Regina learned a lot more about the barony that they were passing through. Apparently it was a large and important kingdom but beset on all sides by contentious neighbors, not to mention the wild barbarians from the south. Furinax had come out hunting to get away from affairs of the state for a brief morning and so far he and Le Riand had caught nothing between them. When Furinax eyed the deer, Regina persuaded him that it were better to let the animal go and the baron consented. Both men seemed to be struck by the beauty of the two sisters and later Regina was to discover why. In a barony where nearly everyone had dark eyes and black hair, she and Marin had stood out the moment the baron had seen them.
"You seem well-read and experienced," Furinax said at last. "You must have traveled quite far for some time. Why not come to the castle with me? We could use two women of your skills there; you make an excellent meal, Marin, and you can both read and write, Regina, besides having a way with animals. Fortune knows that we have few enough of either in the capital."
"We are wanderers," Marin replied. "Your offer is a most generous one, but we must decline."
"Even wanderers may find shelter under our walls," Furinax stated. "Our policy is to never turn away anyone, even though it may be our most implacable enemy come to seek aid."
"Very well, sir, if my sister raises no objections, then we may remain for a winter." Regina, of course, had no problem with the idea and the four of them walked back together to the castle. And the baron hadn't been lying. The castle was situated on a beautiful mountain slope and commanded a view of the countryside, overlooking the bustling capital city. It was a regular fortress and its clean white stones shone in any angle of the sun. The whole place was indeed a fairy tale-like setting, a beautiful locale to dwell upon.
"That was a happy time for me," Regina recalled, smiling fondly. "I tended the animals and clerked for the baron; eventually, he promoted me to overseeing his treasury. Marin did everything; she worked as a cook, a seamstress, a messenger, anything you could think of. And I believed that she blessed the barony because of its hospitality to us. But she never trained in weapons while she was there. It was something about honor, I think; if my sister had practiced her weaponry, it would have shamed the men by implying their skills to be so inadequate that women had to be called upon to protect the barony. So we passed a happy winter there and come springtime Marin didn't leave the way we had originally planned to. We spent maybe two years in that place and the two of us were forever being courted by young men." Regina laughed; the area of Gill's face where the red met the blue had turned purple with suppressed indignity. Then she sobered somewhat and continued with her story.
The spring of the third year there - that was when the happiness ended. Marin awoke one night to the sound of the town crier and quickly roused Regina. They heard the bad news from Le Riand; a horde of barbarians had come up from the south and was laying waste to everything in its path. A battle had already been fought at the River Rush, the only defensible location south of the citadel, and that skirmish had ended in a stalemate. Since neither Le Riand nor the general were certain about engaging in another battle with an army that outnumbered their own twenty to one, the forces had been pulled back to the capital. The populace was being ordered to either leave the capital for towns further north or find shelter in the castle.
Furinax's castle might've looked pretty, but it was also one tough nut to assault. Only one moderately broad path led to it up the mountainside and that path could be commanded by squads of ambushed archers. No moat was there, but none was needed. North and west the castle was backed by the mountainside, while to the south sheer cliffs made it impossible in practice to move a large army to assault the location. That left only the eastern approach up the broad path as a practical locale and it was this path that the baron's men fortified. Regina had never had much interest in theories of war but at least Marin had made sure that she was well-informed in them. Attacking the fortress might prove both difficult and costly, but it was possible. So was siege, if the invading army were prepared to wait a whole year for winter. Marin assured her that they would not.
The horde came on and Regina wept as the barbarians torched the capital city. She begged her older sister to stay out of the coming conflict and Marin reluctantly agreed, watching with Regina from the keep as the horde inched its way up the slopes of the mountain. It took a month and a half as well as terrific losses, but finally the barbarians were camped outside the fortress itself. Furinax had lost a fifth of his fighting men; while the losses were higher on the enemy side, the beleaguered baron was still outnumbered at least fifteen to one. The situation went from bad to worse when an allied duchy had to pull back its relief force when she herself was invaded by neighboring kingdoms. Furinax worried constantly about his people. The enemy officers made it clear that they were not interested in prisoners.
So Marin remained indoors and chafed while a battering ram outside knocked constantly on the castle's massive white gates. And then, two weeks after the siege began, when the gate finally gave way, that's when it had happened.
"We've no time left!" Le Riand shouted at Marin. "Join the other women in the keep, I'll detail the baron's best guards to protect the place."
"Sir, my skills are superior to yours, allow me join the fight!" Marin shouted back.
"No, you will not! Join the children and the other women in the keep! Go, Marin!" And with that Le Riand rode off into the courtyard to give the last orders for the defense of the castle. Archers were situated in every commanding position possible and a number of them were already busy raining arrows into the horde gathered outside. But Marin and Regina both understood that once the barbarians entered the gate, it was only a matter of them before everyone would be gutted on a sword. If they were lucky, the women and children might be sold off as slaves. If. Regina had wept much at the sight of the soldiers slain, since many of them had been her friends. At least she could reveal to their souls who she really was before sending them on their way to Heaven.
"Will we be safe here, Regina?" a child asked, clutching at her skirt.
"Yes, we shall be, dearest," Regina replied softly, picking up the orphan and seating the girl on her knee. But then something else had caught her attention and she looked around. "Marin? Sister, where are you?" Receiving no answer, Regina called out mentally; Marin's aura flared for a moment in reply and Regina nearly dropped the girl in shock. "Let me out! My sister has gone to defend the gates!" The guards barred her way; Regina pushed them aside, apologizing as she did so, and hurried down the grand hall to the front of the courtyard.
She made it there in record time and, peering out of the third story window, commanded an excellent view of the situation. The gate had been battered down at last and even then the barbarians were pouring into the castle in one great stream of humanity. Le Riand's men were struggling to hold the line and prevent them from reaching the archers, who still possessed considerable firepower. Then, as Regina watched in disbelief, an unarmored figure wielding a shining weapon dropped the twenty or so meters from the wall directly to the ground in front of the shattered gate. It was Marin, of course, wearing the uniform of Heaven's combat valkyries. She landed lightly and disappeared for a moment in the press, but only for a moment. With only a few slashes, Marin cleared the gate of attackers. Regina stared as, all by herself, Marin held the gate against an entire army, the Rainbow Swallow flashing with deadly precision everywhere. Even some of Le Riand's knights had stopped to observe the spectacle. Somehow Marin managed to prevent anyone from slipping past her while warding off enemy weapons and arrows, at the same time dispatching her opponents in droves.
When half a hundred bodies had been piled up all around the gate, the others drew back and dared not advance further against the terrible warrior who defended the castle. Marin seized the opportunity to speak, magically projecting her voice so that anyone within a mile could listen. "Hear me! I am Marin, servant and retainer to the Baron Furinax. You have entered our lands and desecrated our homes, all without due cause. Leave now and I shall not harm you, as is within my power. Choose to stay, and I condemn your souls to hell."
From somewhere in the barbarian ranks a giant of a man stepped forward, carrying a huge iron club. He must have been around eight feet tall and he led a charge on the gate, a score of men following his lead. Marin sighed; half a dozen strokes later, she had dismembered the giant and half the men while the others ran back to the comparative safety of the rank and file. The Rainbow Swallow could shear through iron as though it were cloth. When another attack emerged a little while later, Marin did not raise her weapon again. Instead, she passed the Rainbow Swallow to her left hand while clenching her right into a fist and raising it. "So you have chosen, so shall your fate be!"
And that was when she showed everyone present a glimpse at her true power. Marin's boots left the ground and she floated a few inches off the stones. A set of ethereal black wings sprang from her back into existence, giving her the appearance of a sinister angel. Darkness erupted from her right hand and rapidly engulfed the surrounding area, expanding in a spherical shape at unheard of speed. Reality fell away; the castle disappeared, swallowed by the darkness, as did the mountainside, everything. Only the people were left; Le Riand, wearing a look of shock; the Baron Furinax, plainly afraid of Marin; the barbarian shamans howling in pure, unadulterated terror. Within the absolute darkness of the Void, only the people remained. Then the sphere of Void began to contract. The barbarian hordes erupted in screams as each man realized that he was being dragged by an inexorable force towards Marin's tightly clenched fist. The darkness drew in steadily, coalesced ... any moment now, they'd be sealed forever into the Void ...
"Halt!" Regina flung her arms around Marin. "Please, spare them, sister!" she begged, tears in her eyes as she faced Marin on her knees, clutching at her older sister's hand. "They are not at fault! Soldiers but follow the orders given to them by their superiors! Would you condemn the innocent and the guilty alike?"
Marin's implacable expression softened and she closed her eyes. "You are right," she said at last, opening her right hand. The darkness faded out, to be replaced by the setting that they were all familiar with; a castle still under siege. "Of course you are right. They will owe their souls to you, Regina." Marin looked up at the barbarian hordes, which immediately broke into loud wails and cries for mercy. "I have shown you a glimpse of my true power," she announced, projecting her voice again. "None here will interfere with your departure. Go in peace." They needed no second bidding.
As the barbarians fled, Marin gradually became aware that the baron's own soldiers were staring at her in astonishment - and fear, in not a few faces. She lowered the Rainbow Swallow and said, sadly, more to herself than anyone else, "I feared it would come to this. Perhaps there was no help for it." Then she raised her voice a little as Furinax and Le Riand approached cautiously. "Now you know the truth, my lord. My sister and I are goddesses. We cannot remain here after what I have done; however, I wish to thank you for your hospitality and kindness. You have been very generous to us when we were but travelers upon the road. I am indebted to you, my lord."
"Th - think n-nothing of i-it," Furinax stammered.
Marin closed her eyes again and raised her hands high into the air. Right before the baron and his men, each last scrap of rubble raised itself up and with clockwork precision found its proper place in the castle structure. Amidst a veritable whirlwind of flying materials, the castle reassembled itself under Marin's power, the men shouting in disbelief. Marin lowered her hands and opened her eyes when it was finished. "I thank you," she said, a little sadly, holding her voice steady mainly by force of will. Regina realized that tears were close to her own eyes; leaving behind so many friends again. "I will lay a blessing upon this kingdom. Should you ever require my aid, call my name and I shall appear though the Heavens themselves separate us. Rule well, my lord."
"Godspeed, my lord," Regina wished to Furinax and Le Riand.
"Farewell, goddess," Furinax replied, saluting as Regina and Marin bowed and faded into nothingness. Regina cried as they reappeared somewhere else. Marin herself seemed affected as she gently wiped Regina's tears away. "Take heart, dear sister. You need but wait a trifle and you shall meet the souls of your friends in Heaven."
"I think," Regina said slowly as she finished her story, "that was the first time I'd ever seen Marin fight in a real war. I know she's been in others before I was born. My sister takes conflict gravely." She raised her eyes and swept her gaze around the hotel, speaking more to herself than to Gill's attentive ears. Marin could sometimes be cryptic, but Regina had never once remembered a time when her sister had been secretive as she seemed to be now. All of which, of course, raised even more questions in light of the recent disappearances. "Marin must have spirited these people to safety. I wonder ... I wonder if that's what she senses now ... more conflict about to break out ...?"
Author's Notes: Another update. M.'s concept art has been added to the art gallery. I couldn't find any picture that accurately represented Marin as I envisioned her, so I had to sketch my own drawing. Unfortunately, I'm not all that good with a scanner, so you'll be able to tell which picture it is at first glance. (Hint: It's the shabby-looking one at the bottom.) If you think you can draw better (and you probably can), then please do and show me.
Svalbard, Norway
Three days have passed
Ice. As far as the eye could see, the island of Svalbard was covered in ice. A mountain towered in the distance, illuminated only by the play of the Northern Lights. The chosen battlefield was a lake that was entirely covered by several feet of rock-solid ice. The surface shimmered dimly like a rainbow mirror. The aurora was unusually brilliant this night and despite the below-freezing temperature nobody actually felt cold. More of Marin's odd power at work, Cammy White supposed. She tested the ice with a hard stomp, then a diving Cannon Spike aimed straight into the ground. The ice held firmly. There was a calming quality about the entire winterbound scene that would've proved most pleasant in a different setting.
Nearby, Juni and Juli wore their old Doll uniforms. Cammy herself sported a Delta Red commando suit, complete with military-style boots and wristguards. Her beret hung rakishly at an angle. The camera crews had also arrived and were busy in the process of setting up their equipment. Cammy walked to her old squadmates and they conversed in low voices.
"It is time," Gill announced grandly ten minutes later. "Killer Bees, name your tactical leader."
"Here." Cammy stepped up to the center of the battlefield as her squadmates back off.
"Lords of Shadowlaw, name your tactical leader," Jedah ordered.
"Me." M. Bison strode up to Cammy, his armored boots clicking ominously on the icy surface. His great cape had been wrapped around his body and he looked most intimidating, staring down at Cammy from his sizable height advantage. Behind him, Vega and Balrog backed off to the sidelines.
"S-sir Bison ..." Cammy began.
"Save the soap opera, doll," Bison replied dismissively. He pulled his cape off and his right hand took on a bright violet glow for a moment. The cape disappeared in a wash of purple flames.
"Why you -! Have at you!" Cammy sank into a fighting stance. When the incredibly bright light flashed all around them and Marin called Begin!, Cammy needed no second bidding. She rushed forward and aimed a merciless Cannon Drill directly at Bison, channeling all of her anger into the attack. We cared for you, Bison! You betrayed us, not the other way around! Now that you won't take us back, all that's left is to kill you here and now!
Cammy skidded to a halt without having hit anything. She righted herself; as she did so, a draft of wind suddenly blew past. She turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of Bison sliding past and lashed out with a backhand, but she clipped only wind. The retaliation came swiftly in the form of a kick into the back of her knees, sending Cammy sprawling on the ice. She got up quickly, throwing up a Cannon Spike as she did so. But Bison had disappeared again and slid behind Cammy.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the World Collision tournament where the action is already hot." Kyosuke Kagami sipped idly from a plastic cup of bubble tea as he gave out the battle commentary. "Bison's playing a cat-and-mouse game right now and it looks like Cammy's fallen right into the trap. The matchup's a bit uneven, since amongst her team Cammy is the only one who stayed in fighting form after the Shadowlaw incidents ten years ago. On the other side, the Lords of Shadowlaw feature three considerably dangerous fighters and Bison is probably the top team combatant in this entire tournament. So the bet is -"
"Bison is going to beat the cream out of them!" Jin roared.
"Um, yeah, that's what I was about to say. Cammy's being worn out fast, while Bison still hasn't made much of an effort to take the fight home. Alia, how does it look over there in Svalbard?"
"Kyosuke, the night is absolutely beautiful here in Norway. What's not beautiful is the way that Bison is baiting Cammy. She's being worn out, she has to rely more on her teammates. Juni's been throwing in the random assist, but so far Bison is controlling the fight. He hasn't called out his teammates at all. Let's take a closer look." As she said that, Bison again dodged a kick from Cammy, turning his back and brushing his hands down his uniform contemptuously. Cammy launched a Cannon Drill aimed at Bison's back, but Bison also avoided that attack with a back roll on the surface of the ice. Before Cammy had even touched the frozen lake, Bison's boots came crashing into her back as he nailed her with a Scissor Kick. Cammy landed heavily; she couldn't remember when he'd ever been that fast.
Bison folded his arms; Cammy signaled for an assist attack and Juni came flying in with a Spiral Arrow kick. Bison merely sidestepped the attack. When Juni skidded to a halt on the ice and stood, Cammy rushed forward and tried to save her, but it was too late; Bison hooked Juni's back ankle with his own, planted his hooking foot and launched a roundhouse with his other leg, catching Juni squarely under the chin and sending her flying a moment later. Cammy struck at Bison as he completed his throw but he simply used the momentum of his spin to catch her with his arm and throw her also. Cammy righted herself in midair, at the same time wondering when he'd acquired that move. Of course; he'd have studied the battle data on Samantha McGrath, who also used the Scissor Leg Throw.
Cammy glanced upright; Bison sneered at her, then abruptly faded into a glowing outline before disappearing altogether. When he reappeared about a second later, it was above her head and coming down with a vicious stomp. There wasn't enough time to counter with a Cannon Spike, but Cammy did signal for an assist. She blocked the head stomp; Juni flew in with a Cannon Spike, but clipped only empty air as Bison warped again. This time he emerged right behind Cammy and struck with a kick to her sides, leaving the former assassin gasping in pain. Wincing to herself, Cammy gave another signal and jumped out.
"Now she's being replaced by Juni," Kyosuke observed. "Let's hope that better teamwork characterizes this latest addition to the fight." The overhead aurora intensified in brilliance as Juni tried to close on Bison with a number of punches and kicks. She ticked him a number of times, then went on the offensive. "He fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Kyosuke exclaimed wildly. "Tick, tick, tick, throw! Juni's grabbed Bison with the Earth Direct!" And indeed, Juni had Bison in a firm lock and spiraled upwards, halting the jump at its apex and coming down hard. She doubtlessly intended to crush Bison's chest between her knees and the ice. Unfortunately, Bison warped away at the very last moment and Juni nearly broke her kneecaps on the unforgiving surface of the battlefield.
Bison charged, launching a Scissor Kick through the air at Juni. She signaled for an assist that came way too late to prevent Bison's boots from kicking her most thoroughly in the torso. Worse, a stabbing pain was shooting through her legs and she couldn't stand. Juni waved for Juli to take her place and crawled off the battleground, where she and Cammy tended to her injured knees.
Instead of attacking head-on as Cammy and Juni had, Juli beckoned Bison to come to her. A tense standoff lasted for a moment as she crouched in a ready position while Bison folded his arms and glared impassively at her. Then he warped. Juli cursed; she spun around and Bison seized her by the neck, raising her into the air before casually throwing her off to one side. He warped almost immediately and appeared in Juli's flight trajectory, launching a Psycho Shot into her back. The ball of energy burned like fire and it was all Juli could do to keep from screaming.
"And Juli isn't faring any better than her teammates," Kyosuke remarked. "Looks like Bison is gradually shifting from a counterattack posture into an offensive posture. He's definitely pressuring Juli with his very abusable Scissor Kicks. For those of you just joining us, the current matchup pits the Killer Bees against the Lords of Shadowlaw and the bees -"
"They're being owned for free!" Jin screamed.
"Right, what he said. Let's take a look at the action as it occurs." The camera turned back to where Juli fought frantically to stop Bison, periodically signaling Cammy for cover fire. Juni's knees had apparently been bandaged to her satisfaction. Once, during a particularly ill-advised attack, both Cammy and Juli were hit by the same Scissor Kick. Bison smirked and folded his arms across his chest, smiling evilly. When Juli launched a Sniping Arrow at him, he kicked aside her leg and planted his boot in her chin in the same motion. Seeing stars, Juli opted to switch out with Cammy.
Now freshened by her brief respite, Cammy jumped into the battlefield, at the same time noting resentfully that on the other side Vega and Balrog were playing a game of cards. Bison moved fast; he feinted to the right and Cammy drove in with a kick, which he dodged. A moment later she assumed a peculiar defensive position and Bison attacked with a swift kick. Cammy twisted fully and swiped at Bison with a backhand, which he ducked. That gave him the time he needed to close the distance and in a moment Bison had seized Cammy by both shoulders.
"It's the Heartbreak Despair!" Jin yelled.
And indeed it was. With her arms pinned to her sides, Cammy could not defend as Bison kicked out both of her knees. She collapsed but didn't make it to the ground; a moment later Bison was laying into her with a storm of close-range kicks, finishing with the Scissor Leg Throw that he'd used on Juni earlier. Cammy landed hard; looking up, she seemed to see three images of Bison sneering at her. He pulled his cap off and straightened his hair - his taunt, Cammy knew. She decided to seize her opportunity and shouted, "Let's go bees!"
Juni and Juli appeared beside her a moment later just as Bison finished setting his cap on his head. Winding up, Cammy released the team super attack as she arced towards Bison in an enhanced Cannon Drill, intending to catch him squarely on the chest. If she could ... she doubted that even Bison could withstand a trio of Drive Smashers hitting him all at once. But just as she brushed his uniform without really making contact, Bison was gone, receding into the distance as a number of successively darker images trailed behind him, only his signature evil chuckle marking his passage. Cammy realized what was happening even as she frantically tried to stop her attack. It was, of course, too late; the Spin Drive Smasher could not be halted in time.
"Psycho Crusher!" Bison flew in spinning like a living rocket, his entire body awash with pure Psycho energy that seemed to engulf the whole battlefield. The Psycho Drive Crusher tore across the frozen lake and reached the unfortunate bees in an instant, catching them in the middle of their team-up attack. With more than three meters of energy concentrated in front of his physical body, Bison's ultimate technique ripped through all three of the women and sent them flying in three different directions, their trajectories highlighted by the streams of Psycho energy that trailed after them. All three landed hard and did not stir; Vega and Balrog cursed as Juni crashed between them, upsetting a delicate balance of cards.
"And the winner ... the Lords of Shadowlaw!" Gill proclaimed, his voice booming through Osaka stadium.
Vega sighed. "What a waste of time, I could've been getting my beauty sleep."
Osaka, Japan
Three days have passed
"Juni, Juli?! Wait, where are you going?" Cammy White looked up from a cup of tea and ran to her teammate as the orange-haired girl neared the entrance of the hotel, a number of bags in hand. Juli also lugged a heavy suitcase behind Juni. Both of them waited until Cammy had caught up before glancing at each other. "What's going on, where are you taking all of this?"
"I'm leaving," Juni said flatly. "We lost that fight, didn't we? I don't want to stay around anymore, I can watch the tournament on TV. It was nice pairing up with you again, Cammy, but I have a flight to catch in an hour. Juli is helping me with the luggage."
"Are you leaving too?" Cammy asked the dark-haired girl.
"No." Juli shook her head firmly. "I'll still be around to watch my daughter progress through the tournament. Although ... maybe Juni has the right idea. I got the latest news from Mason and Jill; besides the girls and the Darkstalkers, two of the Dragons are definitely missing. Yin arrived in their village but Yun and Yang never did. When the IDC ran a check, their flight had arrived in Hong Kong and they had boarded the plane but no one saw them get off of it. The airport sent their baggage to Yin. It was like Yun and Yang had vanished en route to China. Nobody's heard anything from Yin after that first day, too." Juli shivered a little as she said this and Cammy could not help but feel apprehensive.
"Let me help you with that, then," Cammy said softly and a little sadly as she and Juli towed the oversized suitcase between them. Outside, Vega and Balrog had also appeared to escort Juni. The Bees exchanged words with the men, said a long goodbye - Vega and Cammy hugged each other, at one point - before piling into the limousine and being driven to the airport.
The two Lords of Shadowlaw walked back inside leisurely, meeting Guile and Scott Wagner as they did so. "What's the latest news on the investigation?" Vega asked when they'd all been seated.
Guile shook his head. "Not good. The girls are gone; the Darkstalkers are gone; two of the Dragons are AWOL; Go Hibiki's been killed by Dadallent; Rose is also missing; more people remain unaccounted for. Dr. McGrath's just about ready to pull out his hair, he's feeling so stressed. He looks dead tired and terribly preoccupied. And ... I don't know if there's any truth to this ... but rumor has it that Dadallent challenged him to a deathmatch after the end of the tournament. McGrath wouldn't say and neither would Samantha; everyone else's view is just opinion." To Guile's knowledge, when Samantha had asked her husband about his conversation with Dadallent, the reply had been I don't want to trouble you with it. If anything, it had made Samantha even more troubled.
"Do ya think he'll do it?" Balrog asked.
"Do what?" Guile wanted to know.
"Take up Dadallent's challenge, that's what. That boy seems like a pretty mean customer."
"No kidding," Guile muttered. "McGrath and Dadallent fought three times in the past, neither of them ever winning a clear victory. Some people believe that one of the two is destined to die by the other's hand. I never believed in this whole fate deal myself, but it does make you wonder." He shook his head clear. "What do we know, though? Dadallent came and spoke with McGrath, that's what; we don't even know if a formal challenge was issued. The real issue at hand is all those confounded disappearances."
"Lord Bison already set a number of our agents on the case," Vega noted. "So far, nothing."
"Surprise, surprise," Wagner drawled.
As the four of them talked back and forth, a lone figure listened from an interior balcony situated one floor above them. Regina was seated outside of Gill's room in a comfortable wicker chair, where she could hear everything in the hotel reception area and lounge. She had a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn and had stopped humming to herself the moment Vega spoke. Regina glanced down at the more-than-half-complete sweater that she was knitting for Ken. A peace offering that I'm making with my own hands. I'll lay a spell on it, of course, so that when he wears it he'll be better able to resist any charm I accidentally send his way. I still can't believe that I might've seduced him. Accident or no, it is my fault and I must make up for it.
"You could finish your task in but moments, my lady, if you used your power," Gill said from within the room. Regina glanced at him; he was looking up from a thick book that he was reading. Something about philosophy, no doubt; it was a favorite pastime of his.
She smiled gently without breaking her stride. "That's true, Gill, and I appreciate your concern for me. But ... when I stitch it together, piece by piece, it's like a bit of my heart goes into each fold. Every last strand is a dear friend to me. Therefore, when I finish, I will know this sweater intimately. I want my love to be in it when I present it to Ken." She smoothed a crease in the yarn and smiled down on the cloth. Gill simply shook his head, understanding her answer without comprehending it, before turning back to his book looking for some insight that would help him realize what Regina meant. "Gill," Regina said suddenly, "while you were under Marin's jurisdiction, did she ever say anything about me?"
"Much," the seraph replied, setting his book aside and standing up. He joined Regina on the balcony and gazed outward, looking quite handsome in his tuxedo. "The Lady Marin spoke more of you than any other person on Heaven or Earth, divine or mortal. She cared for your well-being very much. Understandable, perhaps, seeing as how she was in essence your foster mother, my lady."
"Yes." Regina paused for a short second. "Have you ... have you ever seen her in battle?"
"I witnessed more than once an occasion when the Lady Marin trained the fighting valkyries -" Gill began.
"I don't mean training," Regina said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she added quickly. Then, before Gill could protest that no angel was worthy of an apology from a goddess, Regina forged ahead on her train of thought. "I've been in more than one war with my sister at my side. The Marin I know is usually a kind and gentle soul, and she approached my training with the same type of guidance; in battle, however, she takes on an entirely different quality. She takes combat quite seriously and grimly; sometimes, I think, she even enjoys fighting, though never for its own sake if I'm not mistaken."
"What do you mean, my lady?" Gill inquired slowly.
"I - it's just a memory I have, really, of a time when Marin and I were caught up in a war, millennia ago on a different world. We went there as part of my training, to learn some mundane skills that might be useful in the mortal planes. It was there, I think, that I first learned just how serious Marin could be about war if she were provoked. I was startled and perhaps a little frightened to see that side of her." Regina looked out into empty space, setting down her knitting needles. Below, the four men previously conversing together had dispersed. "This was before you were created, Gill. Marin and I visited a beautiful world together ..."
It was their second day upon that planet and their contact with humans had been quite limited so far. Regina was seated underneath an apple tree with a book in hand. Marin tended to preparing a small meal for the two of them, having foraged a number of roots and berries earlier. Both of them wore tight but comfortable clothing ideal for traveling through heavily forested terrain. And heavily forested it was, the ground thick with moss and lichen, the massive cedar trees blocking out any direct view of the sun overhead. Other than Marin's Rainbow Swallow, which she wore on her back, there was no visible weapon between them. They were currently taking a short break as Marin taught Regina about surviving in the wild. While most immortals saw such skills as beneath their notice, Marin considered no advantage too mundane to equip her sister with.
Marin had just about finished making lunch when it happened. A deer started out of the thicket, not twenty meters from where Marin and Regina camped. The animal was plainly frightened and Regina called to it; a moment later, the sisters saw why its eyes ran wild with terror. The deer raced to Regina and the goddess tried to soothe the terrified animal as a pair of hunters crashed through the woods hot on the trail. One of them immediately let loose a bolt from his crossbow, aimed straight at his quarry. He gave a shout as he realized that the deer was not the only living creature under the apple tree and Regina's eyes widened as she saw the bolt streaking at her. As it was, Marin's weapon flashed into her hand and she skillfully parried the bolt, sending it falling harmlessly to the ground. Had Regina been able to see, she would have noticed a dangerous look in Marin's eyes. Her older sister's aura alone was quite threatening.
"Pardon me, lady, I did not see you or your companion!" the man who had launched the bolt cried. He and his friend quickly covered the ten or so meters separating them from Marin, staying just beyond the reach of the Rainbow Swallow. By this time Regina had succeeded in calming the poor deer. "I do most humbly beg your pardon, lady," the man continued.
"Very well, sir, I accept your apology," Marin replied, hanging her twin-bladed weapon on her back. "My name is Marin, and behind me is my sister Regina," she continued. "We are simple travelers with no particular destination. Would you care to join us for dinner?" Mentally she sent a notice to Regina that they were not to reveal what they truly were, as per their ordinary protocol.
"I admit, lady, that I am famished," the man responded. He wore hunting clothes that effectively blended in with the surrounding forestscape, as did his friend, and the two of them sported simple iron daggers probably used for skinning. Both of them looked to be about in their mid-twenties or so, although Regina had never been a good guesser of human age. "I am the Baron Furinax. This is Le Riand, captain of my personal guard. We were hunting but now on the castle grounds. This place is actually restricted property, though you must be travelers from far away and as such ignorant of this matter, so I will not fault you."
"How did you discern that we come from afar, sir?" Marin asked as she knelt down and divided two portions into four. Regina joined them and they picnicked under the apple tree, the deer never straying far from Regina's side. The goddess fed the animal a few berries.
"Your weapon is a most beautiful work," Furinax stated, "of a craftsmanship unknown in this country."
"And you wield it with great skill," Le Riand added. "In this country, it is unheard of for a woman to bear arms."
So they talked over the meal, Regina deferring mostly to Marin except when she had questions of her own. The four spent a good hour under the apple tree discussing the world at large and Regina learned a lot more about the barony that they were passing through. Apparently it was a large and important kingdom but beset on all sides by contentious neighbors, not to mention the wild barbarians from the south. Furinax had come out hunting to get away from affairs of the state for a brief morning and so far he and Le Riand had caught nothing between them. When Furinax eyed the deer, Regina persuaded him that it were better to let the animal go and the baron consented. Both men seemed to be struck by the beauty of the two sisters and later Regina was to discover why. In a barony where nearly everyone had dark eyes and black hair, she and Marin had stood out the moment the baron had seen them.
"You seem well-read and experienced," Furinax said at last. "You must have traveled quite far for some time. Why not come to the castle with me? We could use two women of your skills there; you make an excellent meal, Marin, and you can both read and write, Regina, besides having a way with animals. Fortune knows that we have few enough of either in the capital."
"We are wanderers," Marin replied. "Your offer is a most generous one, but we must decline."
"Even wanderers may find shelter under our walls," Furinax stated. "Our policy is to never turn away anyone, even though it may be our most implacable enemy come to seek aid."
"Very well, sir, if my sister raises no objections, then we may remain for a winter." Regina, of course, had no problem with the idea and the four of them walked back together to the castle. And the baron hadn't been lying. The castle was situated on a beautiful mountain slope and commanded a view of the countryside, overlooking the bustling capital city. It was a regular fortress and its clean white stones shone in any angle of the sun. The whole place was indeed a fairy tale-like setting, a beautiful locale to dwell upon.
"That was a happy time for me," Regina recalled, smiling fondly. "I tended the animals and clerked for the baron; eventually, he promoted me to overseeing his treasury. Marin did everything; she worked as a cook, a seamstress, a messenger, anything you could think of. And I believed that she blessed the barony because of its hospitality to us. But she never trained in weapons while she was there. It was something about honor, I think; if my sister had practiced her weaponry, it would have shamed the men by implying their skills to be so inadequate that women had to be called upon to protect the barony. So we passed a happy winter there and come springtime Marin didn't leave the way we had originally planned to. We spent maybe two years in that place and the two of us were forever being courted by young men." Regina laughed; the area of Gill's face where the red met the blue had turned purple with suppressed indignity. Then she sobered somewhat and continued with her story.
The spring of the third year there - that was when the happiness ended. Marin awoke one night to the sound of the town crier and quickly roused Regina. They heard the bad news from Le Riand; a horde of barbarians had come up from the south and was laying waste to everything in its path. A battle had already been fought at the River Rush, the only defensible location south of the citadel, and that skirmish had ended in a stalemate. Since neither Le Riand nor the general were certain about engaging in another battle with an army that outnumbered their own twenty to one, the forces had been pulled back to the capital. The populace was being ordered to either leave the capital for towns further north or find shelter in the castle.
Furinax's castle might've looked pretty, but it was also one tough nut to assault. Only one moderately broad path led to it up the mountainside and that path could be commanded by squads of ambushed archers. No moat was there, but none was needed. North and west the castle was backed by the mountainside, while to the south sheer cliffs made it impossible in practice to move a large army to assault the location. That left only the eastern approach up the broad path as a practical locale and it was this path that the baron's men fortified. Regina had never had much interest in theories of war but at least Marin had made sure that she was well-informed in them. Attacking the fortress might prove both difficult and costly, but it was possible. So was siege, if the invading army were prepared to wait a whole year for winter. Marin assured her that they would not.
The horde came on and Regina wept as the barbarians torched the capital city. She begged her older sister to stay out of the coming conflict and Marin reluctantly agreed, watching with Regina from the keep as the horde inched its way up the slopes of the mountain. It took a month and a half as well as terrific losses, but finally the barbarians were camped outside the fortress itself. Furinax had lost a fifth of his fighting men; while the losses were higher on the enemy side, the beleaguered baron was still outnumbered at least fifteen to one. The situation went from bad to worse when an allied duchy had to pull back its relief force when she herself was invaded by neighboring kingdoms. Furinax worried constantly about his people. The enemy officers made it clear that they were not interested in prisoners.
So Marin remained indoors and chafed while a battering ram outside knocked constantly on the castle's massive white gates. And then, two weeks after the siege began, when the gate finally gave way, that's when it had happened.
"We've no time left!" Le Riand shouted at Marin. "Join the other women in the keep, I'll detail the baron's best guards to protect the place."
"Sir, my skills are superior to yours, allow me join the fight!" Marin shouted back.
"No, you will not! Join the children and the other women in the keep! Go, Marin!" And with that Le Riand rode off into the courtyard to give the last orders for the defense of the castle. Archers were situated in every commanding position possible and a number of them were already busy raining arrows into the horde gathered outside. But Marin and Regina both understood that once the barbarians entered the gate, it was only a matter of them before everyone would be gutted on a sword. If they were lucky, the women and children might be sold off as slaves. If. Regina had wept much at the sight of the soldiers slain, since many of them had been her friends. At least she could reveal to their souls who she really was before sending them on their way to Heaven.
"Will we be safe here, Regina?" a child asked, clutching at her skirt.
"Yes, we shall be, dearest," Regina replied softly, picking up the orphan and seating the girl on her knee. But then something else had caught her attention and she looked around. "Marin? Sister, where are you?" Receiving no answer, Regina called out mentally; Marin's aura flared for a moment in reply and Regina nearly dropped the girl in shock. "Let me out! My sister has gone to defend the gates!" The guards barred her way; Regina pushed them aside, apologizing as she did so, and hurried down the grand hall to the front of the courtyard.
She made it there in record time and, peering out of the third story window, commanded an excellent view of the situation. The gate had been battered down at last and even then the barbarians were pouring into the castle in one great stream of humanity. Le Riand's men were struggling to hold the line and prevent them from reaching the archers, who still possessed considerable firepower. Then, as Regina watched in disbelief, an unarmored figure wielding a shining weapon dropped the twenty or so meters from the wall directly to the ground in front of the shattered gate. It was Marin, of course, wearing the uniform of Heaven's combat valkyries. She landed lightly and disappeared for a moment in the press, but only for a moment. With only a few slashes, Marin cleared the gate of attackers. Regina stared as, all by herself, Marin held the gate against an entire army, the Rainbow Swallow flashing with deadly precision everywhere. Even some of Le Riand's knights had stopped to observe the spectacle. Somehow Marin managed to prevent anyone from slipping past her while warding off enemy weapons and arrows, at the same time dispatching her opponents in droves.
When half a hundred bodies had been piled up all around the gate, the others drew back and dared not advance further against the terrible warrior who defended the castle. Marin seized the opportunity to speak, magically projecting her voice so that anyone within a mile could listen. "Hear me! I am Marin, servant and retainer to the Baron Furinax. You have entered our lands and desecrated our homes, all without due cause. Leave now and I shall not harm you, as is within my power. Choose to stay, and I condemn your souls to hell."
From somewhere in the barbarian ranks a giant of a man stepped forward, carrying a huge iron club. He must have been around eight feet tall and he led a charge on the gate, a score of men following his lead. Marin sighed; half a dozen strokes later, she had dismembered the giant and half the men while the others ran back to the comparative safety of the rank and file. The Rainbow Swallow could shear through iron as though it were cloth. When another attack emerged a little while later, Marin did not raise her weapon again. Instead, she passed the Rainbow Swallow to her left hand while clenching her right into a fist and raising it. "So you have chosen, so shall your fate be!"
And that was when she showed everyone present a glimpse at her true power. Marin's boots left the ground and she floated a few inches off the stones. A set of ethereal black wings sprang from her back into existence, giving her the appearance of a sinister angel. Darkness erupted from her right hand and rapidly engulfed the surrounding area, expanding in a spherical shape at unheard of speed. Reality fell away; the castle disappeared, swallowed by the darkness, as did the mountainside, everything. Only the people were left; Le Riand, wearing a look of shock; the Baron Furinax, plainly afraid of Marin; the barbarian shamans howling in pure, unadulterated terror. Within the absolute darkness of the Void, only the people remained. Then the sphere of Void began to contract. The barbarian hordes erupted in screams as each man realized that he was being dragged by an inexorable force towards Marin's tightly clenched fist. The darkness drew in steadily, coalesced ... any moment now, they'd be sealed forever into the Void ...
"Halt!" Regina flung her arms around Marin. "Please, spare them, sister!" she begged, tears in her eyes as she faced Marin on her knees, clutching at her older sister's hand. "They are not at fault! Soldiers but follow the orders given to them by their superiors! Would you condemn the innocent and the guilty alike?"
Marin's implacable expression softened and she closed her eyes. "You are right," she said at last, opening her right hand. The darkness faded out, to be replaced by the setting that they were all familiar with; a castle still under siege. "Of course you are right. They will owe their souls to you, Regina." Marin looked up at the barbarian hordes, which immediately broke into loud wails and cries for mercy. "I have shown you a glimpse of my true power," she announced, projecting her voice again. "None here will interfere with your departure. Go in peace." They needed no second bidding.
As the barbarians fled, Marin gradually became aware that the baron's own soldiers were staring at her in astonishment - and fear, in not a few faces. She lowered the Rainbow Swallow and said, sadly, more to herself than anyone else, "I feared it would come to this. Perhaps there was no help for it." Then she raised her voice a little as Furinax and Le Riand approached cautiously. "Now you know the truth, my lord. My sister and I are goddesses. We cannot remain here after what I have done; however, I wish to thank you for your hospitality and kindness. You have been very generous to us when we were but travelers upon the road. I am indebted to you, my lord."
"Th - think n-nothing of i-it," Furinax stammered.
Marin closed her eyes again and raised her hands high into the air. Right before the baron and his men, each last scrap of rubble raised itself up and with clockwork precision found its proper place in the castle structure. Amidst a veritable whirlwind of flying materials, the castle reassembled itself under Marin's power, the men shouting in disbelief. Marin lowered her hands and opened her eyes when it was finished. "I thank you," she said, a little sadly, holding her voice steady mainly by force of will. Regina realized that tears were close to her own eyes; leaving behind so many friends again. "I will lay a blessing upon this kingdom. Should you ever require my aid, call my name and I shall appear though the Heavens themselves separate us. Rule well, my lord."
"Godspeed, my lord," Regina wished to Furinax and Le Riand.
"Farewell, goddess," Furinax replied, saluting as Regina and Marin bowed and faded into nothingness. Regina cried as they reappeared somewhere else. Marin herself seemed affected as she gently wiped Regina's tears away. "Take heart, dear sister. You need but wait a trifle and you shall meet the souls of your friends in Heaven."
"I think," Regina said slowly as she finished her story, "that was the first time I'd ever seen Marin fight in a real war. I know she's been in others before I was born. My sister takes conflict gravely." She raised her eyes and swept her gaze around the hotel, speaking more to herself than to Gill's attentive ears. Marin could sometimes be cryptic, but Regina had never once remembered a time when her sister had been secretive as she seemed to be now. All of which, of course, raised even more questions in light of the recent disappearances. "Marin must have spirited these people to safety. I wonder ... I wonder if that's what she senses now ... more conflict about to break out ...?"