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.
Authors Note: Okay I don't know if they had military words like Colonel and General back then but lets just assume that they did. It will make things a lot less complicated. Also it may take a while to get Yoshimitsu or Heihachi into this.
PROFILES: Added Profiles for Siegfried Schtauffen and Spawn/Al Simmons. The link to these can be found in the author's profile.
Soul Calibur II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Thirty-Four: Heart to Heart (Part One)
While Maxi and Raphael decided to stay behind and assess the damage expenses to the Eternal Wind, the members of the Four Blades had moved on ahead obviously wanting to check on their own ship. The present members of the White Wind all followed Siegfried and Sophitia toward the Nightwraith knowing they had to check on Drake who had been swatted clear across the harbor by the mighty demon. Kilik and Xianghua had already gone to check but a little extra help never hurt.
The group of Siegfried, Sophitia, Link and Cassandra were just relieved that the demon had vanished but Taki and Mitsurugi were suspicious. Despite his monstrous powers and energy he was no kind of demonic force the huntress had ever encountered and according to Sophitia it was not fueled by the Soul Edge's power, Siegfried however insisted there was definately a foreign energy to him and ordered the White Wind to be on their guard.
It didn't take long for the group to cross the harbor and reach the smaller vessel called the Nightwraith, stepping up on deck they were greeted by the sight of several people standing around a concerned Talim trying to awaken a motionless Drake. Yunsung looked at the younger warrior he had started to resent before speaking to Talim "Is he alright?" he asked in concern. Taki stepped over to Drake, probably the first person she had actually felt indebted to in a long time.
Yunsung stepped back as did the young priestess as the huntress checked a few places around Drake's neck and chest feeling for broken bones. She smiled before looking at Talim "He will be fine when he wakes up. I don't know what struck him but it seems to have only taken his breath for the moment." Talim let out a sigh of relief as she noticed Drake stir lightly. He then held out his left hand over the deck and glow able to be seen on the wood.
Taki saw this and knelt down prying open his hand which dropped yet another shard of the Soul Edge, the huntress looked at Talim "He stole it from him?" she said refering to the creature. Talim nodded and Taki found herself chuckling lightly, Drake was just as thrill issued as either Byakko or Yugo. As she prepared to claim the shard something happened that none of them had seen before. The shard itself had other plans.
Without any kind of warning it shot up out of Drake's hand driven by and indefinite force cutting a shallow gash into the demon huntress's right hand, the upsurge of demonic energy in turn caused her to fall back. Luckily her adaptation to her own tainted weapon protected her from any kind of infection, Mitsurugi moved up catching her by the shoulders "Are you alright?" he asked in his native language. Taki nodded seeming disoriented from the shard's sudden attack, Talim had also reacted by pulling Drake away with the help of Yunsung.
Everybody else seemed to prepare themselves as the ever sought after fragment levitated before them as if it had a will of its own outside the main blade. Sophitia knew that the Soul Blade hated both her and Taki with a vengeance, and the Soul Edge probably had the same feelings toward Kilik and Xianghua but none of them had never seen any of the fragments become so violent from their presence. Kilik had also made the theory that the Soul Edge was probably more grateful to Sophitia, shattering the Blade gave Soul Edge a higher place on the balance.
The fragment spoke out, in the same matter it had spoken to them in Oman. Not in a spoken language but in a variety of signals, sounds and feelings that were sent directly into their minds which were somehow understood without any effort. These were nowhere near as casual as in Oman, these were created from malice, anger and hatred and the very words summed it up Traitorous Mortal! Worthless Backstabber! Despicable Bastard! it roared out in the unnamed language.
Sophitia was probably the only one who understood right of and her eyes turned to an irritated Siegfried, the way his eyes narrowed sent chills down her spine. The younger warrior slowly raised his claw tipped right hand and flexed it slightly as if reflecting on his time as Nightmare "I've been called much worse and I do believe there is a difference between betrayal and falling out of an alliance forged on lies." he said referring to the apparently redeeming properties of the blade. Siegfried raised his tainted hand before motioning for the fragment to do its worse.
The fragment of the Soul Edge glowed the brightest any of them had ever seen fueled by the knowledge of the damage Siegfried had done to it and filled with and unquenchable hatred darted right out at Siegfried attempting to strike him through the chest. Siegfried didn't flinch as his life was threatened by this fragment mimicking an arrow or a bullet instead his reinforced his stance and at the last possible moment raised his hand in a seemingly vain attempt to catch the fragment.
The fragment smashed hard into his hand and continued its attempted to reach its former master's heart but Siegfried managed to hold it back, surprising himself as he did. It seemed to be a short lived battle of wills before Siegfried finally brought his fingers around the shard squeezing his fist around it, the glow pouring from behind his hand as it tried to bombard his mind with every possible temptation as if screaming for him to take back the power he once had. Siegfried only laughed under his breath as he forced the shard down at his side and squeezed hard, the energy seemed to shoot up and then vanish.
There was silence as Siegfried brought up the shard looking at it in the center of his palm "Your stale lies do nothing to excite me, and I am not going to be the pawn of anybody, especially not you." he whispered before he looked up at the group who all seemed to look on. He then looked to Sophitia motioning her over, she took a little time to recover herself before she slowly stepped over to him. Siegfried winced lightly as he removed the shard from his palm which was now burnt and bleeding "It must truly hate me now, I'm pleased." he chuckled.
Sophitia took the shard as he held it out to her, although she felt she should be a little more cautious she could tell there was nothing to fear. Kilik, Talim and the other sensitive to the energies could probably also feel that the energy had been suppressed to the point of being powerless rendering its temptations mute. This was quite the discovery for both her and the young knight, he had unconsciously picked up the ability to not only dispel the blade's energies but also seal them.
"Ask me again, Sophitia Alexandra." she slowly looked up as Siegfried said this, his arms were crossed over his still bare chest and his eyes were very serious, she knew what he was asking her to do. She spoke "Will you come with us? Will you please assist us in the search for the Soul Edge and the Black Wind? Will you please let them know your not backing down?" she asked him touching something in his heart. Despite all he had been through he was still only human at heart and he was still afraid, it was his choice above all.
Everybody picked up on what Sophitia was asking him and several were holding their breath minus Talim and Naoyuki who were unsure of exactly who this man was. She made the assumption that this was the man that they had sought out, she was more concerned about her still unconscious friend. He looked at them before speaking making sure all of them could hear "This is something that you will have to give me the night to think about, in the meantime you are welcome to stay at the fortress. It's the least I can do."
He looked across the harbor remembering Maxi's annoyance and chuckled "I'll also send over some of our people to assist your friend in repairing his ship. Once you know where your going we can resupply you, but we must be strict on how much we can give you." he then started walking eventually vanishing down the road. Sophitia looked back at them and organized them. After Kilik picked up Drake, Maxi managed to calm down and wait for the repairmen and Sophitia managed to retrieve their collection of shard from the ship they headed back to the fortress.
When the group finally arrived back at the fortress it was around nightfall and a good number of them questioned what Siegfried planned to do. Maxi and crew were of course not present, despite the Commander's offer they wanted to oversee the repairs of the Eternal Wind themselves. Kilik and Xianghua had already explained that unless they would be closing in on Astaroth or the Black Wind he wouldn't intrude. The Four Blades had felt the Nightwraith in the capable hands of Naoyuki and Jack, despite the fact Kutter was still part of Maxi's crew he just seemed to get along with the less driven group of seekers.
Kilik breathed as they reached the main hall of the fortress, last time they had been standing there they were ready for conflict but now they knew they were welcome there. Siegfried, Katherine and another man who wore a dark uniform stood at the bottom of the stairs ready to greet them. The man quickly introduced himself as Colonel Arus Loire, Cassandra made a note of this as she had earlier noticed that Link became uneasy the first two or three times this man's name was mentioned.
Siegfried spoke to them as he noticed that neither of his subordinates were about to "You pretty much have the run of the place right now, your rooms are down the hall from the knight's quarters located on the second floor. The kitchen is in the back and your more than welcome to join the others." he shrugged.
Katherine could see Siegfried's difficulty of playing host and quickly decided to cut in "You are our quest here. If you have anything important that needs to be asked please come to be. We will be in the library." she stated.
Siegfried gave a nod of thanks before he turned to move off but was stopped by the sound of a heel stepping forward, he looked back to see Xianghua standing there "Wait, I have a few questions to ask!" she said grabbing his attention. It was obvious to Siegfried that she was wondering what they were doing.
Siegfried looked back at his comrades "You go right ahead and get started, I'll be there shortly." Arus Loire and Katherine Chambers both hesitated but followed orders vanishing upstairs. Talim breathed as she continued to stand by the unconscious Drake, she knew this was important but she wanted to put him somewhere he wouldn't get stepped on while he slept.
Xianghua raised an eyebrow as Siegfried insistently dismissed them, Siegfried looked back at her able to read her thoughts through her eyes "To my knowledge, nobody here knows what happened to me between the times I went after the sword and arrived back here. You can imagine what would happen if they discovered." everybody seemed to understand him on this.
Xianghua decided to get on and ask her question "You said earlier that if we gave you a little time you could tell us where the other pieces of the Soul Calibur are. How much do you know about the blade?" she asked her eyes lightly moving toward the bag she had slung over her shoulder.
Siegfried brought his feet together and brought his clawed right hand to his chin while the other moved to hold the elbow, it was his normal thinking stance as one would call it "Only what I have heard, it was probably the only piece of Soul Edge's knowledge I could never tap into, all I know is that it is the only thing that can truly destroy Soul Edge." Sophitia looked at him as he began to speak, Link also listened wondering if the Master Sword truly couldn't defeat it.
He continued "While any normal man made blade can shatter or break them, the Soul Edge is never truly destroyed. According to what we have managed to translate from a few scrolls found in Soul Edge's former resting place, the Soul Calibur was forged to be the exact opposite of the Soul Edge in its energies and its aura. The effect of them clashing is like a pair of cannonballs hitting each other and point blank range, if they were ever truly to be taken against one another who knows what would happen. But looking over past incidents it seems that the Soul Calibur is our only hope of ever destroying the Soul Edge." he finished up hauntingly.
Xianghua now had more questions, considering these documents were found where the Soul Edge and Soul Blade were found by Cervantes there had to be more "Two more questions. Who exactly forged these different weapons and exactly how are you going to find out where the other pieces of the Soul Calibur are?" everybody looked toward Siegfried, he seemed to enjoy being the center of attention but was serious about it any way you sliced it.
"We know very little about these two weapons, all we do know is that since the dawn of time mankind has used these weapons. So any information on where they came from has been lost in the course of history, all I can safely say is that they could not have been created by average mortals. As for finding it follows the same pattern as the Soul Edge, it will seek out the most powerful warrior it can find. The only difference is that it doesn't manipulate them, normally it will seek out those that only have the world's best interest in mind. Those who seek to destroy the Soul Edge." he explained.
Siegfried shrugged lightly before he pointed up the stairs "We do our best to keep track of the world's most potential fighters, I wouldn't be surprised if a number of you are on the list. Going through we should be able to at least point you in a half decent direction. However chances are there will only be one in Europe which is all we can keep track of in detail." Xianghua understood this, with all the tournaments they held in Rome it would be easy to gather information on fighters.
Xianghua figured that Siegfried determination is what kept Nightmare from removing the Soul Calibur blades in his abdomen "I have only one more question. The Soul Edge has healed over time but it seems we have to piece the Soul Calibur back together. What is going on?" she asked really wanting an answer to this one.
Siegfried thought before shrugging "We don't have details on the Soul Calibur's powers but we have much information on Soul Edge and Soul Blade, I'll have Katherine look into that. Now if you'll excuse me." he said before giving a light bow and then stepping off. Kilik stepped over placing his hands on Xianghua's shoulders, she was the only person that had used the mysterious Soul Calibur recently. The shards of the Soul Calibur lacked the energy it had before but the Soul Edge seemed to be back to at least two thirds of its original power.
Questions bombarded her mind as she continued to wonder. Why couldn't the Soul Calibur replace the energy it had lost and heal? Was there truly something that the Soul Edge had that it did not? What would happen if she were to face Nightmare again and lose?
Kilik continued to rub her shoulders as she continued thinking these questions under her breath, it was hard for him to watch but it was even harder for somebody else in the room to watch both of them in this moment of closeness.
Taki Moyika narrowed her eyes lightly as she watched Kilik attempt to comfort the second youngest member of their group. She sucked in a breath before she quickly turned away she had seen far too much emotion flying around with these people and it was about to drive her mad. She decided to distance herself from what she saw and headed up the stairs heading in the opposite direction of Talim and Yunsung.
Many might have looked at this and wondered what it was all about, but Mitsurugi knew otherwise. She had been looking at some of them with recent since they asked her about her past in Oman. She had told him briefly about her horribly ill-fated romance from the past and could understand why seeing others could irritate her. It was unbecoming but he had learned that he should just leave her alone while she was like this.
Link looked up the stairs at first wanting to confront Taki, he had been suspicious ever since she went out that night to speak with Drake. He instead walked off toward the training yard where a number of the Defenders were doing their evening practice. After moving through the door he began hearing a pair of heels next to him. He looked back to spy Cassandra following him. She smiled before speaking "I wonder how they would take it if we showed them how it was done." he smiled lightly before telling her he'd enjoy the company.
The Hylian had to admit that he liked her a lot. Ever since they had met she had not once ever tried to get details on him life and had not pried either, he was honestly wondering how she felt about him. He looked at her as both a teammate and a friend, he wasn't really sure how much farther that could go but he wasn't prepared to make assumptions until everything was done with.
Still it was odd. Despite how well they got along he hardly knew a thing about her life, and the only thing she probably knew was his life surrounding the Soul Edge.
Link eventually came to a stop when he discovered he had walked up the stairs and was now standing with Cassandra on the wall the surrounded the fortress. He breathed before he leaned back against it, his back dragged the stone as he sat down Cassandra lightly knelt down and looked at him "Do you think Siegfried will join us?" she asked.
Link shrugged lightly "There have been many in my life I could meet and read but I'm afraid I cannot give much of an answer in his case. He had been through a lot. Cassandra, I've been meaning to talk to you. Just seems that everything anybody speaks about is Soul Edge, it sickens and almost infuriates me." he explained clenching his fist in expression.
Cassandra smiled before she sat down next to him "Great minds think alike, I don't think I can take anymore of the obsession that Sophie and Mitsurugi seem to be on. So what do you want to talk about?" she asked as casually as she could.
Link thought for a second "For lack of a better word: You." Cassandra raised an eyebrow at this, Link chuckled "I don't know. I just think its about time that we learned more about each other, I consider you and friend but I hardly know anything about you that I haven't witnessed. Chances are you arn't exactly bursting with knowledge of myself, eh?"
"Guilty." Cassandra said as she realized he was right, she began getting the urge to learn more about him as well "To tell the truth, I've been wanting to speak with a few of you guys but the only people that seem willing to open up on anything are Mina, Yunsung and Talim. As for myself, I don't know where to start." truthfully she rarely had much interaction with new people due to the fact that so many of her friends in Athens knew a great deal about her.
Link thought a second before looking back at her "How about telling me about your childhood. Athens is a fascinating city, what is it like growing up there?" Cassandra thought for a moment gathering her mind before she began telling Link about her peaceful years.
He in turn told her of his experiances growing up in a forest and then setting out into the world, they seemed to literally hang off one another's words.
While Link and Cassandra found themselves in a long delayed talk Siegfried and company were trying their best to narrow down the already massive list of potential souls that Soul Calibur would choose. "Can't we come up with anything better than best guess?" Siegfried groaned as he looked over a list of about twenty names he only recognized a few of them however.
Hwang Sung Kyung. A renowned warrior in Korea who was a higher up of the Costal Defense Force, he had taken part in a tournament while he sought Soul Edge eventually giving it up. Nathaniel William Adams. A barbarian in the lower part of the Mediterranean that Sophitia had spoke up that apparently fought against a dark sect that had kidnaped his adopted son. Li Long, he remembered this man from his own search for the sword and apparently nobody knew what happened to him. These were all in the unlikely pile and there were only two names in the pile they considered.
One was the winner of three tournaments in the past five years, a mysterious man from Japan called Yugo Hitkiri. Very little was truly known about this man accept that his fighting style is not in any book and he possesses strong spiritual energy. There was also the fact that when he recieved a prize for the tournament, a shard of the Soul Edge he shattered it with a single swing of his sword pretty much expressing his hatred for the sword. Siegfried had of course never met this man but the way Arus described his fighting style he was ready to ask that woman, Taki if she knew this man. See if he was also a demon hunter or formerly of the Fu-Ma.
The only other name on the list was Sophitia's who they had discounted due to the fact she obviously didn't have a piece of the Soul Calibur. He could only guess that because at the time she felt the Soul Edge had been defeated and she had no desire to fight any longer. Xianghua was another possibility but somehow she also lacked a shard of the Soul Calibur aside from those she had received from himself and a prided Nightmare. He continued to look through the tabs trying to remember anybody who would have at the time possessed such an immense urge to destroy the Soul Edge.
Siegfried breathed as he backed away from the records and began walking toward the door, Katherine looked at him "I was about to tell you to get some fresh air. You look exhausted lately." Siegfried lightly smiled at his comrade's concern for him before he moved through the door heading back toward the main hall. Arus looked at Katherine and lightly chuckled, she looked at him "What?" she asked him honestly confused. Arus looked at the door Siegfried had gone through and Katherine groaned in response "Your out of your mind Loire." she said before continuing her work.
Siegfried eventually found himself back on the fifth floor balcony where they had found him earlier, he breathed in the cool night air deeply and exhaled as he continued to wonder if it he should truly go after the Soul Edge. He breathed out as he leaned against the stone railing of the balcony, the wind lightly pushed against the white cotton shirt he now wore not very happy with his scars in the first place. He had essentially given up on the armor as the weight put too much strain on his arm and his ability the wield the Ziewhander had improved to the point of needing no such precaution.
He looked down at the moat that was directly below the balcony and lightly sighed as his mind went over the pros and cons of going with them. His clawed right hand dug into the stone as pressed himself on this honestly having no clue of what to do, it wouldn't have been the first time but it wasn't often. He blew the air again tossing a few of the bangs that rested upon his eyebrows, he began to assume that the most current saying was true 'Lady Luck is a whore with prices beyond any man's purse.' he was beginning to take it to heart.
His thoughts were cut short as he heard the sound of heeled feet walking toward him, he didn't look up instead he kept his eyes down toward his own feet. A pair of feet in Athenian sandals that stretched toward the caff appeared and it wasn't too hard for him to guess who they were connected to. He raised his head turning to look and found what he expected, Sophitia Alexandra starring over the now sleeping city of Venice. The wind lightly blew through her hair as she looked over torch lit canals and streets of the city which was a big change from the tranquility of Athens. Which he vaugely remembered.
Siegfried chuckled lightly drawing the young woman's attention "Are you trying to make a habit out of following me around?" she looked back at him as he reminded her exactly how they turned out partnering up. After he had started his own journey to find Soul Edge he had encountered a warrior that wielded a large hammer and was so determined to get the sword himself he was ready to kill for it. Siegfried managed to slay him but the blade he was using at the time, Faust had been damaged and needed to be repaired. He took the thirty mile trek to Athens where he found a number of blacksmiths.
He approached one in particular (who just happened to be Rothion of all people) who offered a fair price to repair the damaged sword. This was probably the first time that Sophitia had seen Siegfried, she had returned from Rome with her original weapons to have them reinforced for combat against armored advisories as she was running into a lot of them lately. At this point she hardly knew Rothion but knew that he was an excellent blacksmith and was doing very well in the business despite his age which was only a year older than her. There were also a bunch of traveling vagabonds around that all seemed to be ready to go after some sort of a big score in the north which turned out to be the Soul Edge.
Siegfried spoke up telling them exactly what he had seen of the sword's power and pretty much guaranteed that they had no chance of getting their hands on it. Sophitia at first figured he was some sort of a trouble maker until he started saying how the 'sword of redemption' was not a treasure to be wielded by run of the mill fighters. They of course moved off without paying Siegfried any mind. Sophitia's sword was finished before Siegfried's and she was about to leave, but what he called the sword concerned her and she ended up confronting him on it.
She attempted to convince him but he was hellbent on getting the swords for himself and destroying them, which was what would reward him with infinite redemption according to the Catholic Church. Siegfried left Athens the next morning and neither of them truly expected to see one another again but sometime later in the very city she stood now they encountered one another again both of which were attempting to escape several members of a vile cult that wished the retrieve the Soul Edge. To her knowledge it was the same ones who created Astaroth and Renzor. They both went on the side of mutual gain and decided to argue about the sword once they had it.
What made her feel responsible was the fact that she had left him back at an Inn in Spain and gone after the sword alone, had she been there with him she might have been able to stop him from making such a fatal mistake. She sighed mentally at these memories. Luckily the silence was broken by a welcomed question.
"You know my life as of late." Siegfried's voice brought her out of her flashback and she looked up to see him looking at her with a light smile on his face "Tell me Sophitia, tell me about your life and what it has brought you in the last four years?" he asked that friendly nature of his coming out, her presence seemed to have rejuvenated him.
Sophitia smiled before she began talking "I'd hate to start on this note but after I shattered the Soul Blade I was injured by it. Luckily Taki was there to drag me back to Athens, I spent a few months recuperating and eventually managed to get back on my own feet. There were a few lasting effects of the shard but I managed to over come them accept for this one time where I lost consciousness..." Sophitia closed her eyes and a warm smile appeared on her face. Siegfried smiled as well interested in her life and urged her to continue.
"As if by fate somebody else dragged me home. I knew him when I was younger but he was normally too busy in his trade but after he took me home we became much closer. If you want to put a face on him he was the same man who was repairing Faust when we first met." Siegfried lightly smiled at this before he reached down pulling up her right hand looking at a small silver ring that looped around her forth finger. Sophitia smiled at his actions "I guess there is little more to say about it. I've never been happier." she shrugged.
Siegfried smiled at her before speaking again "Children?" he asked simply. Sophitia shook her head "We plan to have some once this whole mess is dealt with, but not a day goes by that I don't look forward to a family." Sophitia said with her eyes closed. Just the thought of having a family and an easy going life brought a warm feeling to her, until she realized something. Siegfried and her were awful close before they became separated, how was he taking all of this. The look of warmth vanished and she looked at him almost awaiting an irritated responce.
Siegfried spoke again with a light friendly chuckle "You can probably guess that I am painfully jealous...but thats life. I'm not going to try to change things, it's good to see that it has given you love and happiness. Just remember that I'll always love you...and lets just try not to lose touch this time." he said with a smile.
Sophitia giggled and then smiled at him "No worries." she said before she turned and walked away feeling that a great deal of weight had been lifted from her shoulders and her mind. Hopefully now Cassandra would stop worrying about the possible scenarios she had drawn around herself, Siegfried and Rothion. There would never be any competition over her. Just love on two different levels.
Next Chapter: Heart to Heart (Part Two)
Link tells Cassandra more about his life and the people who have been heavily involved in it. Talim tends to Drake's injuries while they flashback to the good old days. Mina helps Kyle sort out a few questions in his mind. And an unexpected source confronts Taki on her hopes and feelings for her missing lover.
OOC: Yeah, yeah I know these information/socializing parts of the story are slow and can be confusing but I have to get a number of these things across for the sake of the story. The next part of this should give a bit of insight to the couples and the relationships.
Authors Note: Okay I don't know if they had military words like Colonel and General back then but lets just assume that they did. It will make things a lot less complicated. Also it may take a while to get Yoshimitsu or Heihachi into this.
PROFILES: Added Profiles for Siegfried Schtauffen and Spawn/Al Simmons. The link to these can be found in the author's profile.
Soul Calibur II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Thirty-Four: Heart to Heart (Part One)
While Maxi and Raphael decided to stay behind and assess the damage expenses to the Eternal Wind, the members of the Four Blades had moved on ahead obviously wanting to check on their own ship. The present members of the White Wind all followed Siegfried and Sophitia toward the Nightwraith knowing they had to check on Drake who had been swatted clear across the harbor by the mighty demon. Kilik and Xianghua had already gone to check but a little extra help never hurt.
The group of Siegfried, Sophitia, Link and Cassandra were just relieved that the demon had vanished but Taki and Mitsurugi were suspicious. Despite his monstrous powers and energy he was no kind of demonic force the huntress had ever encountered and according to Sophitia it was not fueled by the Soul Edge's power, Siegfried however insisted there was definately a foreign energy to him and ordered the White Wind to be on their guard.
It didn't take long for the group to cross the harbor and reach the smaller vessel called the Nightwraith, stepping up on deck they were greeted by the sight of several people standing around a concerned Talim trying to awaken a motionless Drake. Yunsung looked at the younger warrior he had started to resent before speaking to Talim "Is he alright?" he asked in concern. Taki stepped over to Drake, probably the first person she had actually felt indebted to in a long time.
Yunsung stepped back as did the young priestess as the huntress checked a few places around Drake's neck and chest feeling for broken bones. She smiled before looking at Talim "He will be fine when he wakes up. I don't know what struck him but it seems to have only taken his breath for the moment." Talim let out a sigh of relief as she noticed Drake stir lightly. He then held out his left hand over the deck and glow able to be seen on the wood.
Taki saw this and knelt down prying open his hand which dropped yet another shard of the Soul Edge, the huntress looked at Talim "He stole it from him?" she said refering to the creature. Talim nodded and Taki found herself chuckling lightly, Drake was just as thrill issued as either Byakko or Yugo. As she prepared to claim the shard something happened that none of them had seen before. The shard itself had other plans.
Without any kind of warning it shot up out of Drake's hand driven by and indefinite force cutting a shallow gash into the demon huntress's right hand, the upsurge of demonic energy in turn caused her to fall back. Luckily her adaptation to her own tainted weapon protected her from any kind of infection, Mitsurugi moved up catching her by the shoulders "Are you alright?" he asked in his native language. Taki nodded seeming disoriented from the shard's sudden attack, Talim had also reacted by pulling Drake away with the help of Yunsung.
Everybody else seemed to prepare themselves as the ever sought after fragment levitated before them as if it had a will of its own outside the main blade. Sophitia knew that the Soul Blade hated both her and Taki with a vengeance, and the Soul Edge probably had the same feelings toward Kilik and Xianghua but none of them had never seen any of the fragments become so violent from their presence. Kilik had also made the theory that the Soul Edge was probably more grateful to Sophitia, shattering the Blade gave Soul Edge a higher place on the balance.
The fragment spoke out, in the same matter it had spoken to them in Oman. Not in a spoken language but in a variety of signals, sounds and feelings that were sent directly into their minds which were somehow understood without any effort. These were nowhere near as casual as in Oman, these were created from malice, anger and hatred and the very words summed it up Traitorous Mortal! Worthless Backstabber! Despicable Bastard! it roared out in the unnamed language.
Sophitia was probably the only one who understood right of and her eyes turned to an irritated Siegfried, the way his eyes narrowed sent chills down her spine. The younger warrior slowly raised his claw tipped right hand and flexed it slightly as if reflecting on his time as Nightmare "I've been called much worse and I do believe there is a difference between betrayal and falling out of an alliance forged on lies." he said referring to the apparently redeeming properties of the blade. Siegfried raised his tainted hand before motioning for the fragment to do its worse.
The fragment of the Soul Edge glowed the brightest any of them had ever seen fueled by the knowledge of the damage Siegfried had done to it and filled with and unquenchable hatred darted right out at Siegfried attempting to strike him through the chest. Siegfried didn't flinch as his life was threatened by this fragment mimicking an arrow or a bullet instead his reinforced his stance and at the last possible moment raised his hand in a seemingly vain attempt to catch the fragment.
The fragment smashed hard into his hand and continued its attempted to reach its former master's heart but Siegfried managed to hold it back, surprising himself as he did. It seemed to be a short lived battle of wills before Siegfried finally brought his fingers around the shard squeezing his fist around it, the glow pouring from behind his hand as it tried to bombard his mind with every possible temptation as if screaming for him to take back the power he once had. Siegfried only laughed under his breath as he forced the shard down at his side and squeezed hard, the energy seemed to shoot up and then vanish.
There was silence as Siegfried brought up the shard looking at it in the center of his palm "Your stale lies do nothing to excite me, and I am not going to be the pawn of anybody, especially not you." he whispered before he looked up at the group who all seemed to look on. He then looked to Sophitia motioning her over, she took a little time to recover herself before she slowly stepped over to him. Siegfried winced lightly as he removed the shard from his palm which was now burnt and bleeding "It must truly hate me now, I'm pleased." he chuckled.
Sophitia took the shard as he held it out to her, although she felt she should be a little more cautious she could tell there was nothing to fear. Kilik, Talim and the other sensitive to the energies could probably also feel that the energy had been suppressed to the point of being powerless rendering its temptations mute. This was quite the discovery for both her and the young knight, he had unconsciously picked up the ability to not only dispel the blade's energies but also seal them.
"Ask me again, Sophitia Alexandra." she slowly looked up as Siegfried said this, his arms were crossed over his still bare chest and his eyes were very serious, she knew what he was asking her to do. She spoke "Will you come with us? Will you please assist us in the search for the Soul Edge and the Black Wind? Will you please let them know your not backing down?" she asked him touching something in his heart. Despite all he had been through he was still only human at heart and he was still afraid, it was his choice above all.
Everybody picked up on what Sophitia was asking him and several were holding their breath minus Talim and Naoyuki who were unsure of exactly who this man was. She made the assumption that this was the man that they had sought out, she was more concerned about her still unconscious friend. He looked at them before speaking making sure all of them could hear "This is something that you will have to give me the night to think about, in the meantime you are welcome to stay at the fortress. It's the least I can do."
He looked across the harbor remembering Maxi's annoyance and chuckled "I'll also send over some of our people to assist your friend in repairing his ship. Once you know where your going we can resupply you, but we must be strict on how much we can give you." he then started walking eventually vanishing down the road. Sophitia looked back at them and organized them. After Kilik picked up Drake, Maxi managed to calm down and wait for the repairmen and Sophitia managed to retrieve their collection of shard from the ship they headed back to the fortress.
When the group finally arrived back at the fortress it was around nightfall and a good number of them questioned what Siegfried planned to do. Maxi and crew were of course not present, despite the Commander's offer they wanted to oversee the repairs of the Eternal Wind themselves. Kilik and Xianghua had already explained that unless they would be closing in on Astaroth or the Black Wind he wouldn't intrude. The Four Blades had felt the Nightwraith in the capable hands of Naoyuki and Jack, despite the fact Kutter was still part of Maxi's crew he just seemed to get along with the less driven group of seekers.
Kilik breathed as they reached the main hall of the fortress, last time they had been standing there they were ready for conflict but now they knew they were welcome there. Siegfried, Katherine and another man who wore a dark uniform stood at the bottom of the stairs ready to greet them. The man quickly introduced himself as Colonel Arus Loire, Cassandra made a note of this as she had earlier noticed that Link became uneasy the first two or three times this man's name was mentioned.
Siegfried spoke to them as he noticed that neither of his subordinates were about to "You pretty much have the run of the place right now, your rooms are down the hall from the knight's quarters located on the second floor. The kitchen is in the back and your more than welcome to join the others." he shrugged.
Katherine could see Siegfried's difficulty of playing host and quickly decided to cut in "You are our quest here. If you have anything important that needs to be asked please come to be. We will be in the library." she stated.
Siegfried gave a nod of thanks before he turned to move off but was stopped by the sound of a heel stepping forward, he looked back to see Xianghua standing there "Wait, I have a few questions to ask!" she said grabbing his attention. It was obvious to Siegfried that she was wondering what they were doing.
Siegfried looked back at his comrades "You go right ahead and get started, I'll be there shortly." Arus Loire and Katherine Chambers both hesitated but followed orders vanishing upstairs. Talim breathed as she continued to stand by the unconscious Drake, she knew this was important but she wanted to put him somewhere he wouldn't get stepped on while he slept.
Xianghua raised an eyebrow as Siegfried insistently dismissed them, Siegfried looked back at her able to read her thoughts through her eyes "To my knowledge, nobody here knows what happened to me between the times I went after the sword and arrived back here. You can imagine what would happen if they discovered." everybody seemed to understand him on this.
Xianghua decided to get on and ask her question "You said earlier that if we gave you a little time you could tell us where the other pieces of the Soul Calibur are. How much do you know about the blade?" she asked her eyes lightly moving toward the bag she had slung over her shoulder.
Siegfried brought his feet together and brought his clawed right hand to his chin while the other moved to hold the elbow, it was his normal thinking stance as one would call it "Only what I have heard, it was probably the only piece of Soul Edge's knowledge I could never tap into, all I know is that it is the only thing that can truly destroy Soul Edge." Sophitia looked at him as he began to speak, Link also listened wondering if the Master Sword truly couldn't defeat it.
He continued "While any normal man made blade can shatter or break them, the Soul Edge is never truly destroyed. According to what we have managed to translate from a few scrolls found in Soul Edge's former resting place, the Soul Calibur was forged to be the exact opposite of the Soul Edge in its energies and its aura. The effect of them clashing is like a pair of cannonballs hitting each other and point blank range, if they were ever truly to be taken against one another who knows what would happen. But looking over past incidents it seems that the Soul Calibur is our only hope of ever destroying the Soul Edge." he finished up hauntingly.
Xianghua now had more questions, considering these documents were found where the Soul Edge and Soul Blade were found by Cervantes there had to be more "Two more questions. Who exactly forged these different weapons and exactly how are you going to find out where the other pieces of the Soul Calibur are?" everybody looked toward Siegfried, he seemed to enjoy being the center of attention but was serious about it any way you sliced it.
"We know very little about these two weapons, all we do know is that since the dawn of time mankind has used these weapons. So any information on where they came from has been lost in the course of history, all I can safely say is that they could not have been created by average mortals. As for finding it follows the same pattern as the Soul Edge, it will seek out the most powerful warrior it can find. The only difference is that it doesn't manipulate them, normally it will seek out those that only have the world's best interest in mind. Those who seek to destroy the Soul Edge." he explained.
Siegfried shrugged lightly before he pointed up the stairs "We do our best to keep track of the world's most potential fighters, I wouldn't be surprised if a number of you are on the list. Going through we should be able to at least point you in a half decent direction. However chances are there will only be one in Europe which is all we can keep track of in detail." Xianghua understood this, with all the tournaments they held in Rome it would be easy to gather information on fighters.
Xianghua figured that Siegfried determination is what kept Nightmare from removing the Soul Calibur blades in his abdomen "I have only one more question. The Soul Edge has healed over time but it seems we have to piece the Soul Calibur back together. What is going on?" she asked really wanting an answer to this one.
Siegfried thought before shrugging "We don't have details on the Soul Calibur's powers but we have much information on Soul Edge and Soul Blade, I'll have Katherine look into that. Now if you'll excuse me." he said before giving a light bow and then stepping off. Kilik stepped over placing his hands on Xianghua's shoulders, she was the only person that had used the mysterious Soul Calibur recently. The shards of the Soul Calibur lacked the energy it had before but the Soul Edge seemed to be back to at least two thirds of its original power.
Questions bombarded her mind as she continued to wonder. Why couldn't the Soul Calibur replace the energy it had lost and heal? Was there truly something that the Soul Edge had that it did not? What would happen if she were to face Nightmare again and lose?
Kilik continued to rub her shoulders as she continued thinking these questions under her breath, it was hard for him to watch but it was even harder for somebody else in the room to watch both of them in this moment of closeness.
Taki Moyika narrowed her eyes lightly as she watched Kilik attempt to comfort the second youngest member of their group. She sucked in a breath before she quickly turned away she had seen far too much emotion flying around with these people and it was about to drive her mad. She decided to distance herself from what she saw and headed up the stairs heading in the opposite direction of Talim and Yunsung.
Many might have looked at this and wondered what it was all about, but Mitsurugi knew otherwise. She had been looking at some of them with recent since they asked her about her past in Oman. She had told him briefly about her horribly ill-fated romance from the past and could understand why seeing others could irritate her. It was unbecoming but he had learned that he should just leave her alone while she was like this.
Link looked up the stairs at first wanting to confront Taki, he had been suspicious ever since she went out that night to speak with Drake. He instead walked off toward the training yard where a number of the Defenders were doing their evening practice. After moving through the door he began hearing a pair of heels next to him. He looked back to spy Cassandra following him. She smiled before speaking "I wonder how they would take it if we showed them how it was done." he smiled lightly before telling her he'd enjoy the company.
The Hylian had to admit that he liked her a lot. Ever since they had met she had not once ever tried to get details on him life and had not pried either, he was honestly wondering how she felt about him. He looked at her as both a teammate and a friend, he wasn't really sure how much farther that could go but he wasn't prepared to make assumptions until everything was done with.
Still it was odd. Despite how well they got along he hardly knew a thing about her life, and the only thing she probably knew was his life surrounding the Soul Edge.
Link eventually came to a stop when he discovered he had walked up the stairs and was now standing with Cassandra on the wall the surrounded the fortress. He breathed before he leaned back against it, his back dragged the stone as he sat down Cassandra lightly knelt down and looked at him "Do you think Siegfried will join us?" she asked.
Link shrugged lightly "There have been many in my life I could meet and read but I'm afraid I cannot give much of an answer in his case. He had been through a lot. Cassandra, I've been meaning to talk to you. Just seems that everything anybody speaks about is Soul Edge, it sickens and almost infuriates me." he explained clenching his fist in expression.
Cassandra smiled before she sat down next to him "Great minds think alike, I don't think I can take anymore of the obsession that Sophie and Mitsurugi seem to be on. So what do you want to talk about?" she asked as casually as she could.
Link thought for a second "For lack of a better word: You." Cassandra raised an eyebrow at this, Link chuckled "I don't know. I just think its about time that we learned more about each other, I consider you and friend but I hardly know anything about you that I haven't witnessed. Chances are you arn't exactly bursting with knowledge of myself, eh?"
"Guilty." Cassandra said as she realized he was right, she began getting the urge to learn more about him as well "To tell the truth, I've been wanting to speak with a few of you guys but the only people that seem willing to open up on anything are Mina, Yunsung and Talim. As for myself, I don't know where to start." truthfully she rarely had much interaction with new people due to the fact that so many of her friends in Athens knew a great deal about her.
Link thought a second before looking back at her "How about telling me about your childhood. Athens is a fascinating city, what is it like growing up there?" Cassandra thought for a moment gathering her mind before she began telling Link about her peaceful years.
He in turn told her of his experiances growing up in a forest and then setting out into the world, they seemed to literally hang off one another's words.
While Link and Cassandra found themselves in a long delayed talk Siegfried and company were trying their best to narrow down the already massive list of potential souls that Soul Calibur would choose. "Can't we come up with anything better than best guess?" Siegfried groaned as he looked over a list of about twenty names he only recognized a few of them however.
Hwang Sung Kyung. A renowned warrior in Korea who was a higher up of the Costal Defense Force, he had taken part in a tournament while he sought Soul Edge eventually giving it up. Nathaniel William Adams. A barbarian in the lower part of the Mediterranean that Sophitia had spoke up that apparently fought against a dark sect that had kidnaped his adopted son. Li Long, he remembered this man from his own search for the sword and apparently nobody knew what happened to him. These were all in the unlikely pile and there were only two names in the pile they considered.
One was the winner of three tournaments in the past five years, a mysterious man from Japan called Yugo Hitkiri. Very little was truly known about this man accept that his fighting style is not in any book and he possesses strong spiritual energy. There was also the fact that when he recieved a prize for the tournament, a shard of the Soul Edge he shattered it with a single swing of his sword pretty much expressing his hatred for the sword. Siegfried had of course never met this man but the way Arus described his fighting style he was ready to ask that woman, Taki if she knew this man. See if he was also a demon hunter or formerly of the Fu-Ma.
The only other name on the list was Sophitia's who they had discounted due to the fact she obviously didn't have a piece of the Soul Calibur. He could only guess that because at the time she felt the Soul Edge had been defeated and she had no desire to fight any longer. Xianghua was another possibility but somehow she also lacked a shard of the Soul Calibur aside from those she had received from himself and a prided Nightmare. He continued to look through the tabs trying to remember anybody who would have at the time possessed such an immense urge to destroy the Soul Edge.
Siegfried breathed as he backed away from the records and began walking toward the door, Katherine looked at him "I was about to tell you to get some fresh air. You look exhausted lately." Siegfried lightly smiled at his comrade's concern for him before he moved through the door heading back toward the main hall. Arus looked at Katherine and lightly chuckled, she looked at him "What?" she asked him honestly confused. Arus looked at the door Siegfried had gone through and Katherine groaned in response "Your out of your mind Loire." she said before continuing her work.
Siegfried eventually found himself back on the fifth floor balcony where they had found him earlier, he breathed in the cool night air deeply and exhaled as he continued to wonder if it he should truly go after the Soul Edge. He breathed out as he leaned against the stone railing of the balcony, the wind lightly pushed against the white cotton shirt he now wore not very happy with his scars in the first place. He had essentially given up on the armor as the weight put too much strain on his arm and his ability the wield the Ziewhander had improved to the point of needing no such precaution.
He looked down at the moat that was directly below the balcony and lightly sighed as his mind went over the pros and cons of going with them. His clawed right hand dug into the stone as pressed himself on this honestly having no clue of what to do, it wouldn't have been the first time but it wasn't often. He blew the air again tossing a few of the bangs that rested upon his eyebrows, he began to assume that the most current saying was true 'Lady Luck is a whore with prices beyond any man's purse.' he was beginning to take it to heart.
His thoughts were cut short as he heard the sound of heeled feet walking toward him, he didn't look up instead he kept his eyes down toward his own feet. A pair of feet in Athenian sandals that stretched toward the caff appeared and it wasn't too hard for him to guess who they were connected to. He raised his head turning to look and found what he expected, Sophitia Alexandra starring over the now sleeping city of Venice. The wind lightly blew through her hair as she looked over torch lit canals and streets of the city which was a big change from the tranquility of Athens. Which he vaugely remembered.
Siegfried chuckled lightly drawing the young woman's attention "Are you trying to make a habit out of following me around?" she looked back at him as he reminded her exactly how they turned out partnering up. After he had started his own journey to find Soul Edge he had encountered a warrior that wielded a large hammer and was so determined to get the sword himself he was ready to kill for it. Siegfried managed to slay him but the blade he was using at the time, Faust had been damaged and needed to be repaired. He took the thirty mile trek to Athens where he found a number of blacksmiths.
He approached one in particular (who just happened to be Rothion of all people) who offered a fair price to repair the damaged sword. This was probably the first time that Sophitia had seen Siegfried, she had returned from Rome with her original weapons to have them reinforced for combat against armored advisories as she was running into a lot of them lately. At this point she hardly knew Rothion but knew that he was an excellent blacksmith and was doing very well in the business despite his age which was only a year older than her. There were also a bunch of traveling vagabonds around that all seemed to be ready to go after some sort of a big score in the north which turned out to be the Soul Edge.
Siegfried spoke up telling them exactly what he had seen of the sword's power and pretty much guaranteed that they had no chance of getting their hands on it. Sophitia at first figured he was some sort of a trouble maker until he started saying how the 'sword of redemption' was not a treasure to be wielded by run of the mill fighters. They of course moved off without paying Siegfried any mind. Sophitia's sword was finished before Siegfried's and she was about to leave, but what he called the sword concerned her and she ended up confronting him on it.
She attempted to convince him but he was hellbent on getting the swords for himself and destroying them, which was what would reward him with infinite redemption according to the Catholic Church. Siegfried left Athens the next morning and neither of them truly expected to see one another again but sometime later in the very city she stood now they encountered one another again both of which were attempting to escape several members of a vile cult that wished the retrieve the Soul Edge. To her knowledge it was the same ones who created Astaroth and Renzor. They both went on the side of mutual gain and decided to argue about the sword once they had it.
What made her feel responsible was the fact that she had left him back at an Inn in Spain and gone after the sword alone, had she been there with him she might have been able to stop him from making such a fatal mistake. She sighed mentally at these memories. Luckily the silence was broken by a welcomed question.
"You know my life as of late." Siegfried's voice brought her out of her flashback and she looked up to see him looking at her with a light smile on his face "Tell me Sophitia, tell me about your life and what it has brought you in the last four years?" he asked that friendly nature of his coming out, her presence seemed to have rejuvenated him.
Sophitia smiled before she began talking "I'd hate to start on this note but after I shattered the Soul Blade I was injured by it. Luckily Taki was there to drag me back to Athens, I spent a few months recuperating and eventually managed to get back on my own feet. There were a few lasting effects of the shard but I managed to over come them accept for this one time where I lost consciousness..." Sophitia closed her eyes and a warm smile appeared on her face. Siegfried smiled as well interested in her life and urged her to continue.
"As if by fate somebody else dragged me home. I knew him when I was younger but he was normally too busy in his trade but after he took me home we became much closer. If you want to put a face on him he was the same man who was repairing Faust when we first met." Siegfried lightly smiled at this before he reached down pulling up her right hand looking at a small silver ring that looped around her forth finger. Sophitia smiled at his actions "I guess there is little more to say about it. I've never been happier." she shrugged.
Siegfried smiled at her before speaking again "Children?" he asked simply. Sophitia shook her head "We plan to have some once this whole mess is dealt with, but not a day goes by that I don't look forward to a family." Sophitia said with her eyes closed. Just the thought of having a family and an easy going life brought a warm feeling to her, until she realized something. Siegfried and her were awful close before they became separated, how was he taking all of this. The look of warmth vanished and she looked at him almost awaiting an irritated responce.
Siegfried spoke again with a light friendly chuckle "You can probably guess that I am painfully jealous...but thats life. I'm not going to try to change things, it's good to see that it has given you love and happiness. Just remember that I'll always love you...and lets just try not to lose touch this time." he said with a smile.
Sophitia giggled and then smiled at him "No worries." she said before she turned and walked away feeling that a great deal of weight had been lifted from her shoulders and her mind. Hopefully now Cassandra would stop worrying about the possible scenarios she had drawn around herself, Siegfried and Rothion. There would never be any competition over her. Just love on two different levels.
Next Chapter: Heart to Heart (Part Two)
Link tells Cassandra more about his life and the people who have been heavily involved in it. Talim tends to Drake's injuries while they flashback to the good old days. Mina helps Kyle sort out a few questions in his mind. And an unexpected source confronts Taki on her hopes and feelings for her missing lover.
OOC: Yeah, yeah I know these information/socializing parts of the story are slow and can be confusing but I have to get a number of these things across for the sake of the story. The next part of this should give a bit of insight to the couples and the relationships.