Chapter 9

Norway was stepping ever closer as the troupe of warriors marched onwards. Siegfried, whom had no really interaction with anyone in the last 5 years, still keeps it that way. The women were talking about frivolous things not being the slightest of interest to him.

"How long has it been now?" Siegfried thought to himself, "one day seems like a week and as we search for a weapon strong enough to defeat Soul Edge, it may be too late for it to do anything at all. Soulcalibur will just draw us away from the person who we should be searching for. Look at them, not the slightest bit focused on what they are doing." He marched onward as a black sheet of stars crept over the sky. Soon the crackling of a fire filled the air.

The camp was dull and dreary, but this time, cold, very cold. The tent proved useless and no caves were anywhere near. Xainghua did not seem to mind, but Cassandra was chilled right through to the bone. Siegfried watched her pace around trying to keep warm. He was now clad in nothing but layers of clothing as his armor reduced his body heat. Back and forth Cassandra paced, rubbing her arms, hands and body to keep from catching a chill. She sat down beside Siegfried.

"You mind," she began, "if I lean on you for some heat?" Siegfried was a little surprised by her question. Why him and not Xainghua. She seemed to like her a lot more than him. Nonetheless however, he did let Cassandra lean on him.

"Siegfried, what do remember about us?" The fire crackled as he thought. Cassandra looked at him discovering that he was drawn into the dancing flames. She gazed into them as well, soon becoming mesmerized by them. Suddenly she felt a soft fabric touch her skin. Siegfried had drawn a blanket over the two of them. Once again she looked at him, but this time he looked back.

"How stern he looks," she thought to herself, "Must be focused on finding Kilik. Gosh. Our goal is to find Soulcalibur, but mine is to find Kilik."

Xainghua had been sitting on a log thinking about Kilik as well. "Cassandra," she spoke softly, "What are your plans after we destroy Soul Edge?" She kicked a stone into the fire.

"Simply, I don't know. I'm worried about Kilik, very worried. What if when we destroy Soul Edge, he dies? What if we never see him again? What if…"

"You love him don't you?" Xainghua said bluntly.

"I guess, why, do you?"

"I've actually never really thought about it, but maybe. No, the correct answer is yes, definitely yes. We have been friends for a long time, fought together, watch death together. If you can get through a war together, then I guess your bond is strong. And to you I ask the same. Why? What do you…"

"This is totally irrelevant," Siegfried interrupted breaking his silence, "What does it matter if he is destroyed? He is the host of Soul Edge. Once taken over, he should be slain. You do realize that if we do defeat IT that IT will come back and take over him or myself once more? This is why I'm going to kill him after to relieve him of this."

It started to snow. Few trees were left as they had crossed the Norwegian tree line hours ago. It was silent after Siegfried spoke.

"Heartless bastard!" Cassandra screamed, "How could you! Who dare you? Who gave you the right to play God?" She shoved herself away from him and turned away.

"Cassandra," Xainghua spoke, getting up and placing a hand on Cassandra's shoulder.

"What?"

"Kilik and I… We were betrothed since birth. We're going to be married."

Cassandra turned around, looked at Xainghua with wide, watery eyes and shook her head. Xainghua returned it with a nod. Cassandra broke out crying and ran off into the south headed toward the deeper part of the forest. Xainghua had her hand reached out to Cassandra, and then withdrew it to her chest.

"Pathetic. A woman so broken over a man she will never have." Siegfried spoke, his words cold and heartless, like Cassandra had said before.

"Damn you man, you are heartless," Xainghua walked off into the tent and lit a lamp, "Go console her. You of all people really need to work on people skills. Cassandra is right ya know. You can't keep relying on a massive blade of steel to do your talking for you."

Siegfried was disgusted, but deep down another new feeling has overcome him, guilt. Guilt for what he had just said, and gilt for what he knew he wanted and is still going to do. Kilik and he had a long standing rivalry. Even if Soul Edge was defeated he was correct. IT will come back. If not Kilik, them Soul Edge will still have one less person to possess. He got up and walked away with a crunch, crunch, crunch as he stepped through the snow.

Cassandra ran through the woods, past trees, rocks and stumbling upon them as well. This was impossible! Kilik was already betrothed to Xainghua! It can't be like this. All her feelings for Kilik were just a veil of infatuation, blinding her true sight from what the truth was. She never really saw their body language as chemistry and love. She fell.

Still sobbing, she got up to her knees. No where to go. No one to go to. He hand fell upon her handle of her Dark Blade. Inspiration, a sad, sad inspiration came to mind as she drew her sword from its scabbard. He raised it above her head, bent her neck one way… and dropped her sword. She lay down, crying in the snow. She felt sleepy. Finally, she blacked out.

Siegfried tracked the distraught lady through the same path as she had led him. After about ten minutes of searching (she ran in circles). He found a body. Once more, a new feeling came upon him, concern. He looked at her, lying limp on the ground, ice cold and blue lips on her face. He picked her up, sat down and held her close to himself, rocking her gently. He couldn't believe it. Words, something that he had never really used for no one wanted him to use them, had killed someone he had known dear. A tear ran down his cheek. He was, after all human.

Cassandra moved in his arms. For a moment, all was blurry, but then clear. To her surprise, she was being cradled in the arms of a person she would have never have guessed. Siegfried was crying and rocking her gently in grief. She reached out her hand and placed it one his cheek. He stopped crying. He stood up and carried her back to camp.

"To answer your question, no, I don't but I want to. Can you help me?" He said to her.

She moved slightly and began to tell him her story, "We were only teenagers when we best remembered it. You a few years older than I, but not sure of how old. You were always trying to impress your father as you had told me, but to no avail. We were quite the duo you and I. You had no other friends. Everyone else saw you as, different. I didn't see you that way. We used to talk for hours about things that had no real importance. Do you remember the old willow tree in the field, standing there all alone?"

"Yes, I do," he said softly, walking closer to camp.

"I saw that tree as you, lonely, standing in a field, not where it belongs. I think that I was you sort of guide to take you to your destiny. Then all this stuff happened, like…"

Even at the camp, the two conversed for hours. Siegfried remembering a lot more with Cassandra around that all the time he had tried while alone.

"Cassandra," he said.

"What is it?" she asked, huddled in a blanket, very close to the fire.

"Thank you, old friend."

"I thought friendship wasn't won so easily?"

"That's true, but you're the first and only one to win it. Come here and sit with me."

So she did, once again huddled near the fire under the blanket, gazing at the fire.

"It looks almost…" Siegfried started.

"Enchanting," Cassandra finished.

Xainghua sat in the cold tent, looking at No Name and thought of Kilik. She sheathed it, placed it on the ground and peaked outside at the fire. She had heard talking and smiled at the sight.

"Well I'll be damned."

The next day, all three set off on their escapade once more. Siegfried, whom was once cold and imperceptible, was still that was, but with new emotions slowly emerging. Cassandra had told him all about their childhood the night before. Siegfried couldn't place his finger on it; which it was more that is: intriguing or a great memory he had suppressed. The snow fell softly and landed everywhere. Trees weren't a luxury anymore, the higher they got, the fewer trees there were, which meant more wind to bother them. The trio became winded at about three-quarters of the way there and had to stop. Siegfried became quite furious with himself.

"Damn! If I weren't human, I could scale this mountain in a minute," Siegfried cursed at himself. Cassandra placed her hand on his shoulder-plate.

"It's no one's fault. It's just that… you aren't use to human limitations. That's all it is and nothing more," she said sadly.

Xainghua sharpened her blade on a rock, as it had become quite dull over the past time. The sound of the blade scraping against the rock made a chilling noise that made them even colder. Once rested, they kept on scaling the perilous mountain. Cassandra looked down, and not being able to see the ground reminded her that she didn't like heights. She was so caught up in getting Soulcaliber that she didn't even shutter at the mountain. She froze on the ledge then let out a scream. Siegfried and Xainghua looked back, seeing Cassandra frightened and in trouble. The ledge she was gripping to was crumbling at the base. If she held on much longer, she would surely fall to her death. Siegfried, whom was already on a new pathway above the ledge, was struck with a memory.

It was a freak flashback to when they were playing near a creek; Cassandra was on a log trying to cross recklessly when she slipped. The rapids below rushed by. Their parent had warned them about going there, but the rumors of the most beautiful flowers in the meadow the followed them was too good for Cassandra to resists. Of course she brought little Siegfried along too. When he spotted his slipping friend, he rushed over, practically running across the log bridge with ease and grabbed her hand. He remembered the shouts of "Don't let me go! Don't let me go!" in his head. Then, he let her go. His hand had slipped and she fell into the rapids. After the incident, Cassandra was taken to a hospital, and Siegfried's whole family beat up on him.

"Why weren't you there!" he remembered his sister saying.

"You should have been the one to fall!" said Cassandra's father

"You are completely pathetic. You should never have been born!" his father had said.

"Not again…" Siegfried said to himself angrily. He drove his sword into the ground, jumped down the ledge and grabbed Cassandra's hand.

"Don't let me go!" she screamed.

"Not this time, no!" he replied valiantly. He pulled her up, and made her get onto his back. With the extra weight of the two of them, the ledge crumbled almost a moment after. Siegfried jumped back up, clinging to the ledge of the pathway he had just been on with both hands. He told Cassandra to climb up, and she did so hastily. Siegfried was about to help himself up, but Cassandra put out her hand.

"One for all, all for one, right?" Cassandra said. It was their old childhood pact. She helped him up to the ledge, both of them lay panting on the ground. Xainghua was never said much, but this left her absolutely baffled. She would never have expected this from Siegfried of all people.

Xainghua, Cassandra and Seigfried tagging along behind eventually made it to the top. A cave at the summit was the only thing left. Snow now blew hard and furious at the trio, obscuring their vision.

"Shall we go?" Xainghua asked.

"Agreed," both Cassandra and Siegfried said together. Both looked at each other and smiled, then laughed. Cassandra's was light and fluttery, while Seigfrieds was harty and jolly.

Friends, Xainghua thought to herself, I never would have expected this at all. When we fought Nightmare for the first time, he was ruthless, cold and black hearted, and he was the same the second time around. But this time…something is definitely different. He seems so much more human, but how can we be sure? He was after all, Nightmare. The only reason he isn't like that anymore is because of Kilik. Kilik…Taken back by Soul Edge and taken away from me. When will he be back? Are you aliright? Theses are only some of the thousands of questions I ponder on each day. I don't care if you're ITs puppet, for that is not you, really. Nightmare though, I guess isn't really Nightmare either. He's Siegfried. You can't judge a book by its cover. Nevertheless, I still fear so Cassandra's safety, for she is vulnerable to Soul Edge's demands now that she had befriended Siegfried. I hope she will be fine…

The trio entered the cave…

Meanwhile, Kilik sailed to China, to the Sheng Lu Temple in search of Soul Edge's new dark acolytes…

A/N: This is really, REALLY bad! I'm trying, but it's been really long. I hope you like it. R&R! I'll try to be more consistent.