Forces of Darkness
Chapter 15: Forgotten
The Manor, On the Border of France and Spain. O Month, OX Day 2010... (Day 5) 1200 hours...
Staggering along the vineyard with a walking stick in his hand was the tattered Claude Blackhawk, hopefully reaching the last leg of this journey.
Two days ago, somewhere along the border of France and Italy, the Jeep that he stole from the Rocket base ran out of gas. And with absolutely NO money in his wallet, credit cards or bank account (literally throwing it all in to the reward box, for the capture or assassination of Daisuke Yamamoto, about two weeks before... that idiot...), he was left with no choice but complete the rest of the trip by foot...
Just a few more steps... he thought to himself. That's it... walk towards the ruined mansion and hope that there's people that live there... and that they're friendly...
Luckily, one person from inside of the old building did manage to see, through the window, the weak and worn middle aged man inch his way to the entrance. She was a young, dark gray haired woman, dressed in a long, beautiful white and purple robe, showing that she was a determined follower to the Soldats.
Claude dropped to his knees at the foot of the building's steps, hugging the walking stick. Forget it... he thought. This is the third place that I tried... How could this possibly be the Manor!
"Are you alright?" a woman's voice with a strong Irish accent asked him.
Claude looked up to find the dark gray haired nun with a worried expression on her face. "Miss..." he said. "Is this, by any chance, a place called the Manor?"
"Why, yes, it is." the nun replied.
Claude swiftly got to his feet and hugged the nun, bawling tears of joy. "Thank God! I finally made it after long last!"
"Congratulations to you." the nun said as she struggled out of the bear hug. "And could you possibly stop hugging me sometime soon... I can't breathe..."
Claude quickly released his hold and bowed slightly. "Terribly sorry about that..."
"Well," the voice of another woman interrupted. "who might this young gentleman be?"
The second woman, a beautiful lady with long light brown hair in a braided ponytail, was one that dressed similar to the dark gray haired nun but just a slight more fanciful.
Claude half-gasped at the somewhat familiar woman. "You wouldn't happen to be the priestess of the Soldats known as Altena, would you?" he asked.
"I am." the brown haired priestess replied. "Why do you ask?"
Claude took in a deep breath. "...I have a confession to make..."
(Scene: The dining room inside the Manor.)
An hour passed between Claude's arrival to the end of his story of how he developed a grudge against the Black Hat Bandit and how that same grudge became so strong that he hired a professional sixteen-year-old assassin to eradicate his rival.
But, as he said, all of that has changed. He confessed to the priestess that jealousy and greed consumed him over the course of the week and that he now wants to be the one to see Daisuke die by one of his own bullets and not one of Chloe's knives...
"So..." Altena began. "you came all this way from Japan to tell me that you want Chloe to drop the mission?"
Claude hesitated then gave a small nod. "...Yeah. It would have been easier if you had some form of long-distance communication."
"You mean a messenger? Or a letter, per chance?"
This is a digital age, Claude thought as a sweat drop fell behind his head. and she knows NOTHING about e-mails... Good Lord, what is this world coming to...
"Never mind..." Claude replied as he rubbed his head. "The trip has taken a toll on me and I'm beginning to ramble..."
"I understand. Well, if you would like-"
The door swiftly swung open, interrupting Altena's sentence.
"Mistress Altena," one of the common, nameless nuns said as she appeared from behind the door. "we just got word that a mysterious red vehicle is making its way here."
Claude hid his awkward gasp of joy and shock from the two ladies. "Do you know how far away that vehicle is?" he asked.
"Give it another day and it'll be here."
Claude smiled. "Good..."
"Do you know if the sword is with them?" Altena asked the nun.
"Yes." the nun replied. "The one that has been marked for death carries it with him."
"And he shows no sign of giving in?"
"None that the reconnaissance agents can see..."
"'Sign of giving in...'" Claude interrupted. "Did I miss something?"
Altena looked over at Claude. "Forgive me..." she said. "It seems that you are not aware of the unholy sword."
"'Unholy sword?'"
The priestess nodded. "Around the twelfth century, two swords were forged in honor of Noir. The first sword was forged above ground, in a town not too far from here, was blessed with the name: Soldat. But the second sword, a sword with a reverse-edge blade, was forged here but far underground, close enough to touch the fires of Hell. That sword was cursed and bore the name of Tadlos.
"Though it was to be placed here in the altar, the smith of Tadlos, near the brink of insanity after enduring countless hours near the fire, stole the sword and traveled back to his home.
"But one member of Noir was sent to go herd the blacksmith back to the Manor and place the stolen sword upon the altar, regardless if it was cursed or not.
"Within a week, the smith returned along with Noir, but the sword was not with both of them. The smith refused to say where he hid it or who it was given to. Therefore, the order was made to Noir to execute the smith, now dubbed the 'Thief of Tadlos.'
"The high priest was pleased with assassin's execution of the thief that he announced her worthy to possess the name of Noir.
"But the mystery remained, even now, on where the exact location of the sword was placed."
"Until you heard from Chloe that the sword was at a Team Rocket base in South Korea." Claude noted.
"Correct. Since the order was given to execute your target, I ordered Chloe to coax the target to carry Tadlos."
"I remember... I was beaten pretty badly by the sheath alone... I can't imagine how powerful the blade is... especially when it's given to an unstable person."
"Then the curse will affect the target even more..."
"And that curse is?"
"It's true that Tadlos gives the person that wields it unnatural strength and agility, but it also makes that person go insane..."
Claude was speechless... Oh, dear God, what have I gotten myself into? he thought. But, no matter who the odds were in favor of, he was going to carry out his personal promise without fail. "It's true that Daisuke possesses great strength," he said bravely. "but it will not persuade me to back down! I will kill Daisuke with my own hands or at least die trying!"
"And in the event of your untimely death?" Altena asked.
"Have Chloe take over in my place. Make sure she doesn't hesitate."
Altena smiled. "...She never does..."
(Scene: An abandoned road in France.)
A lone red Jeep, carrying the somewhat sleepy driver and the six other passengers, continued along the endless night-painted trail.
In the back, sat a distressed Daisuke, knees close to his chest. The sword, as well, embraced in front him, the end of the handle upon his forehead.
I... can't believe it... he thought. She was right next to us the whole time... and we never knew till then... He sniffled, fighting back his fearful tears. ...I was... so close to death... that I didn't even know...
He resisted all effort to cry, but the tears were already falling in two streams down his face. I'm afraid... I know what that assassin is capable of doing, but I have only witnessed it once. He looked to his shoulder, knowing that now the wound had closed, but the red scar remained. So why? Why do I fear such a deadly prodigy who is younger than me?
He looked to the sword, poking his head. No... I can't show my fear to the rest of the team. I must be strong. We'll be victorious through these last two days and we'll go on living through life with a whole new meaning... He smiled a little, hoping that it all works out in the end...
To be continued...
This is the end of Part III for everyone... And the climax shall build in the final part of Forces of Darkness: The Manor -- Saigo no Battle...