Kilik felt along the cliff edge for any sort of small crevice or foothold to climb back up, but it was not to be. The cliff wall was worn smooth by wind and rain. He looked down, but below was just as smooth and twice as steep. He'd never survive if he should fall from this ledge. Maxi will be able to tell that creature isn't really me, Kilik tried to cheer himself. Of course... I didn't realize it wasn't the real Maxi. Kilik began shouting warnings once again, even though his voice had became hoarse and considerably quieter.
Ignorant to his cries, Maxi slept as the Imitae drew its hand high, ready to plunge it's claws into his flesh.
"Prepare yourself creature! Here I come!" a voice penetrated the forest. Maxi's eyes flew open to see something that looked like Kilik, only with claws, ready to slice his chest open.
"Eeeegads! Kilik!?" Maxi squeaked.
The owner of the voice appeared sword in hand, charging at the impersonator. The Imitae shrunk back, its deception discovered, it relaxed turning back to its true form. Maxi watched with a mix of horror and fascination as the face of Kilik was replaced with blankness with only that bulging eye protruding out of the head as it deflected the woman's blade with it's tough-skinned forearms.
"Kilik! What happened to you? Did the Seed do this to you? Talk to me, mate!" Maxi pleaded with the Imitae. "Look, we'll go back to that old lady, Odaba, remember her? I'm sure she'll figure this out and bring you back, ok? Come on, Kilik, dig deep, look into your heart and all that crud! It's me, your pal, well, ok, we're not the best of friends right now, but come on! How can you forget a face like this?"
"Oh shut up, won't you!" the stranger yelled irritably as she sliced at the deadly claws.
"What are you attacking him for? That's my friend, he needs help!" Maxi restricted her sword with Soryuju. The Imitae, outnumbered and faced with this distraction took the opportunity to run. The young woman struggled free of Maxi's weapon.
"Moron! You let it escape!" She took off running after the Imitae. Maxi followed, determined not to let who he thought was Kilik die by this crazy woman's sword. Through the forest they ran one after the other. The Imitae tried its usual tricks, doubling back on the trail, swinging from the trees to leave no foots prints, but that female was wise to all its tricks. They were closing in. In an act of desperation, the Imitae headed for the cliff's edge, the only place it might be able to kill the both of them. It stopped and waited just long enough for them to catch up, but not catch it.
"There it is!" the woman said. Both the Imitae and the woman made a mad dash, sprinting with all the energy they had left. Just as the woman could have grabbed the creature's neck, it jumped above her in a high arch. As she watched the creature pass over her, the cliff's edge met her feet. She flailed her arms to keep balance. The Imitae landed behind her in just the right position to push her over the cliff.
She screamed as she fell.
Kilik had only seen her silhouette against the predawn light when he grabbed her ankle. Her weight and momentum pulled Kilik to the end of the ledge.
She dangled over the side.
He was still sliding.
"Give me your sword!" he commanded.
"You better catch it!" she commanded back.
Moving as little as possible, the young woman tossed her sword up to him. Straining, he let one hand off her ankle to catch the sword's handle and plunge it into the side of the cliff just as he felt himself slide off the ledge.
She shrieked when she felt herself fall again, but stopped short as soon as she felt the tug of an anchor holding the two of them. Kilik gritted against the pain of the double weight that pulled against his arm.
The Imitae stuck its head over the side, watching the dangling humans. Carefully, it dug its claws into the side of the cliff, climbing down to Kilik's ledge. Delighting in the helpless position of its victims, the Imitae tauntingly scratched at Kilik's fingers gripping the sword. Kilik grunted in pain.
"Don't let go! Don't let go!" she was chanting.
"I'm sorry," Kilik said. "I can't hold on—"
A nunchaku chain was swiftly around the Imitae's neck. A small sharp twist and that neck was broken. The body fell. No one could hear it hit the bottom of the peak.
Kilik looked up, "Maxi!"
The pirate held Kali-Yuga down to the woman's reach.
"Ladies first."
She took a firm grip of the red rod, climbing up as if it were a rope. Kilik didn't let go of her ankle until he was sure Maxi had safe hold of her. Maxi and the young woman took hold of Kilik's free hand, helping him up to the ledge. Once all were safe, the sword was wrenched free and given back to the woman.
Using Maxi as a human step stool, the stranger and Kilik made it back to the top of the mountain. Kali-Yuga was used to help Maxi up. The three of them collapsed on the ground, panting hard.
"Good to see you don't have claws Kilik."
"I told you it wasn't him!" the woman said.
"Next time I want to go over a mountain; punch me," said Maxi.
"Gladly," Kilik gasped. He turned his head to the young woman, "And you? What brought you to this peak?"
She slowly closed her eyes. "A good intention gone wrong," she said finally. Maxi looked over at Kilik, his expression saying What kind of answer is that?
Kilik smiled, "I'm grateful for it then. Otherwise we would all be dead. I'm Kilik. That is my friend, Maxi."
"My name is Xianghua."
* * *
The sun rose, sending beams of light to warm the travelers resting on the mountain's peak. Kilik awoke and took deep cleansing breaths, glad to be rid of all the nights troubles. Maxi stretched and yawned loudly. Xianghua had already been up for some time it seemed. The only sign that she had been there at all was a small patch of flattened grass where she had slept.
"She's gone then?" Maxi asked.
"I suppose so," Kilik sighed.
"Good riddance. She seemed kind of bossy to me—"
"Uh, Maxi?" Xianghua had come out of the forest.
"Not to mention kind of on the dumb side—"
"Maxi?" She walked up behind Maxi.
"She wasn't that great of a swordswoman either—"
"Maaaxi!"
"What is it? Sheesh, you keep interuppting me!"
"She's also right behind you," Kilik smiled wrily.
"What?!" Maxi quickly turned around. With the morning sun shining, the men saw the sword carrier was late teens, maybe twenty. Her skin was fair, her hair dark and short. She wore a Chinese styled blouse, with large bell sleeves, her legs were covered down to the knee with form fitting shorts. Her sword was sheathed, a blue tassel swinging at the end of the handle. In one arm was a small pile of berries and wild fruits. In the other hand was a large rotten plum.
"So, go on, I'm bossy, stupid, unskilled, what else, Maxi?" she said in a musical tone.
"Too nice of a girl to throw rotten fruit?" Maxi said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Splat!!
"Wrong again!" she smiled and giggled triumphantly. "Here Kilik," she tossed him a mango, "eat up, we've got a long walk to get off this mountain."
Maxi wiped rotten plum from his eyes. "So I guess this means you're sticking around with us, ay?" he said icily. Xianghua's hand snatched another plum.
"Which is perfect, just great!" Maxi stammered. Xianghua giggled.
"You're so funny!" She tossed the plum to him.
Maxi took a big bite, and swallowed the sweet fruit joyfully.
"By the way, I think there's a worm in that one," Xianghua said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Xianghua is finally here! And I actually completed a chapter without a cliff hanger ending! But it doesn't end here, lots of fun and torment in future chapters!
^_^ Thanks for Reading! ^_^
**Update**: Romea has informed me of an error I made: Xianghua isn't in her early twenties when she first meets Kilik and Maxi, she's only supposed to be 16! With a 4 year difference from the SCII profile, that would mean Kilik is 19 at this time, and Maxi 24. However, since I've already described Maxi as being 28 and I have some plans that would just work out a lot better if they were all a smidgen older, I'm going to just leave their ages according to the SCII profiles.
Hope this doesn't subtract from the enjoyment you get out of the fic. ^^; Thanks for the heads up, Romea! I appreciate it. ^^