Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Caliber, Tekken or any of it's characters. They all belong to NAMCO. I don't own anybody from the Zelda Series they belong to Nintendo. I do not own Spawn or Necrid either, Todd McFarlane does. And if you want the copyright info on the Original Characters it is in my profile.
Author's Note: I'm trying to keep this in the order of the game. The magic of Link's Great Fairy Sword as well as the Magic Sword and Magic Shield are both said to be stunned. Link can use no advanced magic in this world at will. But other weapons and items will appear but nothing that would be useless, such as the bombchus.
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Soul Calibur II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Twenty: Union and Division
Cassandra looked back down at the docks as she was the last of the small group to board the Eternal Wind, Link seemed to be a little annoyed at this point. Sophitia greeted Taki with a hug as she had of course saved her life seven years ago, while it seemed the Athenian warrior was very happy to see her even after what happened the assassin still remained monotone and alert to those around her. Link walked across the deck separating himself from the others. The swordsman looked at Link then to Raphael who had introduced himself earlier "Your companion is upset with a single defeat?" he asked.
Link looked up before speaking from half way across the deck "No I'm just irritated." he began counting off on his fingers "Talim's people. Bandits. Cassandra. That Don in Istanbul. It seems I have to fight all those I meet." he pointed out a little annoyed. Taki lightly chuckled "My apologies. I thought you might have been something poorly disguised as a human." Link reached up lightly running his index finger over his ear lightly groaning. Taki nodded "And that wasn't all that gave you away. Your eyes are different as well." Link rolled them lightly as it was obvious that things stuck out more to her than other people.
Raphael lightly chuckled as he brought up Flambert "Seems Sophitia's claims are no match for the real thing." Mitsurugi looked at the overconfident duelist "A lifetime of cheating death and embracing life will do that to any mortal." he stated rather insistently. Raphael nodded at this "I believe both myself and our company can relate to such. Does the lady have a name?" he asked toward the assassin. The woman crossed her arms under her chest before speaking out, calm and cool as before "You may call me Taki Moyika." Raphael nodded at this "The infamous shadow huntress from the Japan. Its an honor." he said with a light bow. She nodded her head as well.
Xianghua looked across the deck before looking at the two "Hey wheres Yoshi. I thought he would be coming with you." Sophitia looked at Mitsurugi and Taki having not heard much on this mysterious man they called Yoshimitsu. Heishiro spoke up breaking the curious silence "He split off from us not long after we set out. He says that he is going to continue to follow the call of his sword." he said with a shrug. Maxi brought a hand to his chin thinking back on the stories the wise clan member called Yoshimitsu told him during his time in Japan "Sword? Oh yes. It was stolen not long after Nightmare's strange absence two years ago, right?"
Taki nodded at this as she drew the sword she had threatened Link with polishing the perfect luster of the blade "Apparently he was attacked by a creature that moved in a very odd way, it went straight for his sword and ran away. That sword is the symbol of his clan, it holds the spirits of his bloodline as well." she said looking at the weapons Kilik and Xianghua held knowing they understood. "And anybody with self respect or pride wouldn't give up trying to get something like that back." Mitsurugi said gruffly. Everybody nodded at this knowing how their weapons seemed to be connected to them in some way, they were all worth more than their weight in gold or silver.
Link nodded in understanding knowing just how enraged he was when his first sword was stolen from him. Suddenly he took notice of something and turned to Raphael "Where are Talim, Jack and the rest of your group? I thought they would be back soon." he said with concern in his voice. Raphael pointed toward the market without a word. Kilik leaned against the deck next to the elven before looking toward the group "I wouldn't worry about Strife or Mina, but Yunsung and Kutter are both very careless." he said in all honesty. Mitsurugi lightly turned his head toward the pirate from Ryukyu "Exactly how many people travel with you?" he asked hating crowds.
Cassandra gulped as she herself remembered meeting Kyle a mile or so back. She quickly turned to Mitsurugi and Taki "Did either of you run into a man dressed in black with brown hair?" she asked wondering if they were responsible. Mitsurugi shook his head. Taki admitted she was too busy following her and Link. Suddenly there were footsteps from the ramp, they were silent and slowly taken this cued Mitsurugi to move his hand to his sword. Everybody looked at the young man as he stepped on board one arm holding his side, blood ran down from his lip and he had a few bruises on his face.
Most everybody gawked at Kyle Strife as he huffed before moving his hand to the hilt of the Oblivion "And just what in the hell happened to you?" Raphael asked rather casually. Kyle growled lightly as he walked onto the ship and past the group obviously pretty annoyed by whatever had happened. Cassandra was about to ask if he was alright when he spoke up "Please don't talk to me." he said as he brought one hand to his forehead. Mitsurugi shrugged at the Korean decent swordsman, but Taki seemed to keep a watch on him. She could feel the energies that emanated from those two swords.
Both of them were of the same make and of different color but they didn't fool her, she could feel the difference in these two Oni swords. The one he kept his grip on was that of a warrior, the other was that of a fighter. She sensed that neither energy seemed to be possessive of him and didn't seem to so much as tug at his soul. She then noticed the sword at her waist shaking in its sheath, the Mekki-Maru was responding to both him and the one she had chased down. She would have to keep an eye on both of them for the time being there was something otherworldly about the boy and something about Strife she did not trust.
Sophitia noticed the gaze Taki had on the two of them and was a little nervous as she looked back toward her "Who are these people Sophitia? I thought there would be fewer." she said serious as always. Sophitia breathed before pointing out Kyle and Raphael "They are not part of the group, they are another team of seekers who are traveling with us for the time being." Mitsurugi knew what Sophitia ment by her tone, these people were as foolish as he had once been "I see." he stated lowly.
Taki then turned her eyes to Link who sat on the railing of the ship looking out over the ocean, it was as if he was trying to find a difference in them "And just who exactly is he? He is like a human but different. Is he a half breed?" she asked. Cassandra stepped up before her sister could speak "Lets spare the questions okay. It is a very long story and he hates retelling it. Just assume he is a victim of the evil seed alright." Sophitia looked at her sister a little disturbed by her rudeness. Mitsurugi looked back at the elven, Taki did then same before nodding "Alright. But you had better tell me before long then." she said to Cassandra.
Kilik and Xianghua watched these events from the helm and were both a little unsure of Taki and Mitsurugi working with them. Maxi looked at them as he noticed Kilik leaning on his staff "Both of them can be trusted, you guys don't need to worry. Personally I'm more concerned about Sorel and his group. They're hiding something." Maxi said. Kilik nodded grimly at this, last time Maxi had a hunch that something bad would happen they ran right into Nightmare and Astaroth at that castle in Germany.
It wasn't long before most of them were gathered around the deck excluding Stephan and Michael who were loading up the hull with the supplies that would be needed for the next few months. Raphael and Kyle had returned to the Nightwraith and were pretty much just awaiting Mina's concern on what had happened to Kyle. Talim and Jack would also be going with them as well as they would be heading for the same place. Though something about the Four Blades just couldn't be trusted, just how far would they be willing to go to get the Soul Edge first.
"Then it is decided. We will move to the West." Maxi said as the group finally came to an agreement to go after the sword itself instead of fooling around with the shards. Kilik and Xianghua both nodded at this as they were both anxious to finish off the Soul Edge and finally put an end to the Black Wind's still unknown plans. Sophitia seemed to be a little unanxious to confront Nightmare once again, she didn't know if she could fight him with the knowledge she possessed of him.
Mitsurugi looked back at the Nightwraith as they saw Talim telling them that she wished to go with them along with Jack. Though it was obvious that Talim would continue to try and convince them of Soul Edge's nature he was skeptical. "Are you sure we shouldn't slow their movements toward the sword?" he asked hinting sabotage. Cassandra huffed as this was said "Why bother? They'll probably end up sinking themselves before they get close." Taki walked to the edge of the ship placing her hands on guard rails "Let them do as they wish. No matter their skill they have no clue as to what they are getting themselves into. We should leave as soon as possible though." she said rather sternly.
It wasn't long until the entire group felt ready enough to push away from the harbor and head to the west. Talim watched from the deck of the Nightwraith as the Eternal Wind left ahead of them and even past Mina's interrogation of where Kyle got those bruises, Yunsung and Jack's mocking and Raphael's demanding they hurry up she could feel the wind. She closed her eyes as it swept over the deck of the small ship and continued on weaving through the designs on the rails. She breathed as she looked out over the ocean and whispered lightly "Where are you?"
Drake watched from his place on the upper mast of the Nemesis as they approached the coast of Oman. The wind whipped over him as his right had held onto one of the ropes that secured the sails. Ivy had held him and Diablos back from leaving feeling that flying in the storm would be too dangerous, they now approached the middle east and with each passing moment they came closer to their targets. One shard deeper into the desert and another somewhere in the nearby high lands, the latter would be his own target. He looked down to see several of the force standing on one end of the ship. At least forty of their warriors and their captains. His mistress was also there along with the commander and her unwanted father.
He found himself now dressed in all black, from the pants to the jacket he was as dark as the ship's sails. He was also armed with a pair of short bladed katana's now. Readied in the same fashion as the Japanese demon hunters who used even shorter blades. The one on the reverse of his waist possessed a deep blue ribbon wrapped grip, and the one over his right shoulder possessed a burgundy ribbon wrapped grip. They were a pair of swords from the place he was raised, each of them blessed by nature they were called the Southern Wind and Northern Wind.
It wasn't long before the sails were being pulled up by the remaining crew that were going nowhere, he found that the Nemesis had taken dock along the side of a rock formation. A ramp was dropped from the right side landing on the side of the rocky coast. Drake renewed his grip on the rope the fingerless leather gloves keeping the burn off his hands as he dropped off the side slowly dropping to the deck. The wood creaked under his feet as he stood up walking off the boat along with the several Lizardmen and Uruk-hai. Ivy rode on a well trimmed black horse, he walked behind her "Are you ready?" she asked him simply.
He nodded before she held something out to him, he looked at it able to tell what it was. It was the same thing issued to the squad leaders of the grunts, a crystal of blood red that would pick up just how close one was to a soul shard. Ivy looked at him "We'll be heading deeper into the desert. De Leon believes that it shouldn't be any more than a three day trip. Are you sure you want to go on foot?" Drake took a few steps forward "I don't feel like putting a poor animal through hell in these rocky regions." he said before continuing on. Ivy then watched him walk off before she turned to join the large group. The Nemesis then moved away to conceal itself somewhere from any passing ships.
Drake looked back as he placed on foot up on a rock looking as the force lead by Nightmare vanished beyond view. Surely wherever they went to claim the shard Nightmare had felt would turn into a bloody massacre should they show resistance or not. However it mattered little to Drake as he only had his assignment in mind, to retrieve the shard and return it to the Black Wind or if that should prove impossible to prevent any other force from getting it even if it requires he destroy it. Drake continued on to the north only three days later to receive a clue of what he would face.
The storm had been long and the sky had become dark as Drake continued to journey forward coming closer to the mountainous region of the country. The gem given to him by Ivy had glowed a great deal of crimson just hours before showing that somebody had used it. It wasn't long until he found it. All dropped almost in a circle were over a dozen Arabian warriors, possibly thieves or bandits of the deserts and mountains. A few of them were gathered up in a pile and what looked like large foot prints were on the ground.
Drake stood in the center of all of this, the sand had been stained red with the blood of these men and their bodies had been left to ruin. But Drake was worried over one simple fact, there were only one set of these large footprints and it appeared that several different weapons had been used to slay these men and there were odd marks around the entrance wounds. The rain continued to fall as the thunder cracked and sounded above, Drake shook his head as he spoke "What kind of power did this?" he asked himself.
Drake shook his head as he looked back as the wind blew almost as if to urge him forward after whoever had slaughtered these men. Drake nodded "I understand." he whispered almost as if he was conversing with the element "Self defense is one thing. But slaughtering those who run and are no threat to one is another." he stated. With this said he continued onward toward the mountains with no clue that he would come face to face with more than he could imagine or wish.
TBC...
Next Chapter: Final Preparation
The two groups land in Oman only to make a discovery. The Soul Edge itself has managed to hide itself from Talim's delicate senses. With only one choice the teams choose different ways to travel knowing that the Black Wind will be after at least one of the shards. On the way Sophitia and Link have a talk as the Athenian maiden shares her great fault: Her inability to face Nightmare again.
Author's Note: I'm trying to keep this in the order of the game. The magic of Link's Great Fairy Sword as well as the Magic Sword and Magic Shield are both said to be stunned. Link can use no advanced magic in this world at will. But other weapons and items will appear but nothing that would be useless, such as the bombchus.
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Soul Calibur II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Twenty: Union and Division
Cassandra looked back down at the docks as she was the last of the small group to board the Eternal Wind, Link seemed to be a little annoyed at this point. Sophitia greeted Taki with a hug as she had of course saved her life seven years ago, while it seemed the Athenian warrior was very happy to see her even after what happened the assassin still remained monotone and alert to those around her. Link walked across the deck separating himself from the others. The swordsman looked at Link then to Raphael who had introduced himself earlier "Your companion is upset with a single defeat?" he asked.
Link looked up before speaking from half way across the deck "No I'm just irritated." he began counting off on his fingers "Talim's people. Bandits. Cassandra. That Don in Istanbul. It seems I have to fight all those I meet." he pointed out a little annoyed. Taki lightly chuckled "My apologies. I thought you might have been something poorly disguised as a human." Link reached up lightly running his index finger over his ear lightly groaning. Taki nodded "And that wasn't all that gave you away. Your eyes are different as well." Link rolled them lightly as it was obvious that things stuck out more to her than other people.
Raphael lightly chuckled as he brought up Flambert "Seems Sophitia's claims are no match for the real thing." Mitsurugi looked at the overconfident duelist "A lifetime of cheating death and embracing life will do that to any mortal." he stated rather insistently. Raphael nodded at this "I believe both myself and our company can relate to such. Does the lady have a name?" he asked toward the assassin. The woman crossed her arms under her chest before speaking out, calm and cool as before "You may call me Taki Moyika." Raphael nodded at this "The infamous shadow huntress from the Japan. Its an honor." he said with a light bow. She nodded her head as well.
Xianghua looked across the deck before looking at the two "Hey wheres Yoshi. I thought he would be coming with you." Sophitia looked at Mitsurugi and Taki having not heard much on this mysterious man they called Yoshimitsu. Heishiro spoke up breaking the curious silence "He split off from us not long after we set out. He says that he is going to continue to follow the call of his sword." he said with a shrug. Maxi brought a hand to his chin thinking back on the stories the wise clan member called Yoshimitsu told him during his time in Japan "Sword? Oh yes. It was stolen not long after Nightmare's strange absence two years ago, right?"
Taki nodded at this as she drew the sword she had threatened Link with polishing the perfect luster of the blade "Apparently he was attacked by a creature that moved in a very odd way, it went straight for his sword and ran away. That sword is the symbol of his clan, it holds the spirits of his bloodline as well." she said looking at the weapons Kilik and Xianghua held knowing they understood. "And anybody with self respect or pride wouldn't give up trying to get something like that back." Mitsurugi said gruffly. Everybody nodded at this knowing how their weapons seemed to be connected to them in some way, they were all worth more than their weight in gold or silver.
Link nodded in understanding knowing just how enraged he was when his first sword was stolen from him. Suddenly he took notice of something and turned to Raphael "Where are Talim, Jack and the rest of your group? I thought they would be back soon." he said with concern in his voice. Raphael pointed toward the market without a word. Kilik leaned against the deck next to the elven before looking toward the group "I wouldn't worry about Strife or Mina, but Yunsung and Kutter are both very careless." he said in all honesty. Mitsurugi lightly turned his head toward the pirate from Ryukyu "Exactly how many people travel with you?" he asked hating crowds.
Cassandra gulped as she herself remembered meeting Kyle a mile or so back. She quickly turned to Mitsurugi and Taki "Did either of you run into a man dressed in black with brown hair?" she asked wondering if they were responsible. Mitsurugi shook his head. Taki admitted she was too busy following her and Link. Suddenly there were footsteps from the ramp, they were silent and slowly taken this cued Mitsurugi to move his hand to his sword. Everybody looked at the young man as he stepped on board one arm holding his side, blood ran down from his lip and he had a few bruises on his face.
Most everybody gawked at Kyle Strife as he huffed before moving his hand to the hilt of the Oblivion "And just what in the hell happened to you?" Raphael asked rather casually. Kyle growled lightly as he walked onto the ship and past the group obviously pretty annoyed by whatever had happened. Cassandra was about to ask if he was alright when he spoke up "Please don't talk to me." he said as he brought one hand to his forehead. Mitsurugi shrugged at the Korean decent swordsman, but Taki seemed to keep a watch on him. She could feel the energies that emanated from those two swords.
Both of them were of the same make and of different color but they didn't fool her, she could feel the difference in these two Oni swords. The one he kept his grip on was that of a warrior, the other was that of a fighter. She sensed that neither energy seemed to be possessive of him and didn't seem to so much as tug at his soul. She then noticed the sword at her waist shaking in its sheath, the Mekki-Maru was responding to both him and the one she had chased down. She would have to keep an eye on both of them for the time being there was something otherworldly about the boy and something about Strife she did not trust.
Sophitia noticed the gaze Taki had on the two of them and was a little nervous as she looked back toward her "Who are these people Sophitia? I thought there would be fewer." she said serious as always. Sophitia breathed before pointing out Kyle and Raphael "They are not part of the group, they are another team of seekers who are traveling with us for the time being." Mitsurugi knew what Sophitia ment by her tone, these people were as foolish as he had once been "I see." he stated lowly.
Taki then turned her eyes to Link who sat on the railing of the ship looking out over the ocean, it was as if he was trying to find a difference in them "And just who exactly is he? He is like a human but different. Is he a half breed?" she asked. Cassandra stepped up before her sister could speak "Lets spare the questions okay. It is a very long story and he hates retelling it. Just assume he is a victim of the evil seed alright." Sophitia looked at her sister a little disturbed by her rudeness. Mitsurugi looked back at the elven, Taki did then same before nodding "Alright. But you had better tell me before long then." she said to Cassandra.
Kilik and Xianghua watched these events from the helm and were both a little unsure of Taki and Mitsurugi working with them. Maxi looked at them as he noticed Kilik leaning on his staff "Both of them can be trusted, you guys don't need to worry. Personally I'm more concerned about Sorel and his group. They're hiding something." Maxi said. Kilik nodded grimly at this, last time Maxi had a hunch that something bad would happen they ran right into Nightmare and Astaroth at that castle in Germany.
It wasn't long before most of them were gathered around the deck excluding Stephan and Michael who were loading up the hull with the supplies that would be needed for the next few months. Raphael and Kyle had returned to the Nightwraith and were pretty much just awaiting Mina's concern on what had happened to Kyle. Talim and Jack would also be going with them as well as they would be heading for the same place. Though something about the Four Blades just couldn't be trusted, just how far would they be willing to go to get the Soul Edge first.
"Then it is decided. We will move to the West." Maxi said as the group finally came to an agreement to go after the sword itself instead of fooling around with the shards. Kilik and Xianghua both nodded at this as they were both anxious to finish off the Soul Edge and finally put an end to the Black Wind's still unknown plans. Sophitia seemed to be a little unanxious to confront Nightmare once again, she didn't know if she could fight him with the knowledge she possessed of him.
Mitsurugi looked back at the Nightwraith as they saw Talim telling them that she wished to go with them along with Jack. Though it was obvious that Talim would continue to try and convince them of Soul Edge's nature he was skeptical. "Are you sure we shouldn't slow their movements toward the sword?" he asked hinting sabotage. Cassandra huffed as this was said "Why bother? They'll probably end up sinking themselves before they get close." Taki walked to the edge of the ship placing her hands on guard rails "Let them do as they wish. No matter their skill they have no clue as to what they are getting themselves into. We should leave as soon as possible though." she said rather sternly.
It wasn't long until the entire group felt ready enough to push away from the harbor and head to the west. Talim watched from the deck of the Nightwraith as the Eternal Wind left ahead of them and even past Mina's interrogation of where Kyle got those bruises, Yunsung and Jack's mocking and Raphael's demanding they hurry up she could feel the wind. She closed her eyes as it swept over the deck of the small ship and continued on weaving through the designs on the rails. She breathed as she looked out over the ocean and whispered lightly "Where are you?"
Drake watched from his place on the upper mast of the Nemesis as they approached the coast of Oman. The wind whipped over him as his right had held onto one of the ropes that secured the sails. Ivy had held him and Diablos back from leaving feeling that flying in the storm would be too dangerous, they now approached the middle east and with each passing moment they came closer to their targets. One shard deeper into the desert and another somewhere in the nearby high lands, the latter would be his own target. He looked down to see several of the force standing on one end of the ship. At least forty of their warriors and their captains. His mistress was also there along with the commander and her unwanted father.
He found himself now dressed in all black, from the pants to the jacket he was as dark as the ship's sails. He was also armed with a pair of short bladed katana's now. Readied in the same fashion as the Japanese demon hunters who used even shorter blades. The one on the reverse of his waist possessed a deep blue ribbon wrapped grip, and the one over his right shoulder possessed a burgundy ribbon wrapped grip. They were a pair of swords from the place he was raised, each of them blessed by nature they were called the Southern Wind and Northern Wind.
It wasn't long before the sails were being pulled up by the remaining crew that were going nowhere, he found that the Nemesis had taken dock along the side of a rock formation. A ramp was dropped from the right side landing on the side of the rocky coast. Drake renewed his grip on the rope the fingerless leather gloves keeping the burn off his hands as he dropped off the side slowly dropping to the deck. The wood creaked under his feet as he stood up walking off the boat along with the several Lizardmen and Uruk-hai. Ivy rode on a well trimmed black horse, he walked behind her "Are you ready?" she asked him simply.
He nodded before she held something out to him, he looked at it able to tell what it was. It was the same thing issued to the squad leaders of the grunts, a crystal of blood red that would pick up just how close one was to a soul shard. Ivy looked at him "We'll be heading deeper into the desert. De Leon believes that it shouldn't be any more than a three day trip. Are you sure you want to go on foot?" Drake took a few steps forward "I don't feel like putting a poor animal through hell in these rocky regions." he said before continuing on. Ivy then watched him walk off before she turned to join the large group. The Nemesis then moved away to conceal itself somewhere from any passing ships.
Drake looked back as he placed on foot up on a rock looking as the force lead by Nightmare vanished beyond view. Surely wherever they went to claim the shard Nightmare had felt would turn into a bloody massacre should they show resistance or not. However it mattered little to Drake as he only had his assignment in mind, to retrieve the shard and return it to the Black Wind or if that should prove impossible to prevent any other force from getting it even if it requires he destroy it. Drake continued on to the north only three days later to receive a clue of what he would face.
The storm had been long and the sky had become dark as Drake continued to journey forward coming closer to the mountainous region of the country. The gem given to him by Ivy had glowed a great deal of crimson just hours before showing that somebody had used it. It wasn't long until he found it. All dropped almost in a circle were over a dozen Arabian warriors, possibly thieves or bandits of the deserts and mountains. A few of them were gathered up in a pile and what looked like large foot prints were on the ground.
Drake stood in the center of all of this, the sand had been stained red with the blood of these men and their bodies had been left to ruin. But Drake was worried over one simple fact, there were only one set of these large footprints and it appeared that several different weapons had been used to slay these men and there were odd marks around the entrance wounds. The rain continued to fall as the thunder cracked and sounded above, Drake shook his head as he spoke "What kind of power did this?" he asked himself.
Drake shook his head as he looked back as the wind blew almost as if to urge him forward after whoever had slaughtered these men. Drake nodded "I understand." he whispered almost as if he was conversing with the element "Self defense is one thing. But slaughtering those who run and are no threat to one is another." he stated. With this said he continued onward toward the mountains with no clue that he would come face to face with more than he could imagine or wish.
TBC...
Next Chapter: Final Preparation
The two groups land in Oman only to make a discovery. The Soul Edge itself has managed to hide itself from Talim's delicate senses. With only one choice the teams choose different ways to travel knowing that the Black Wind will be after at least one of the shards. On the way Sophitia and Link have a talk as the Athenian maiden shares her great fault: Her inability to face Nightmare again.