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 people are wondering about Kyle swords so I'll clue you guys in. The Oblivion and Nirvana (unrevealed) are a pair of double edge long swords that work hand in hand when brought together.
Soul Calibur II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Thirty-Six: The Black Wind's Ambush Neither Xianghua or Kilik could believe their luck at this point, they had actually been lead here only to be ambushed within the next few minutes. With the forces of the Black Wind coming in two different directions it would be all but impossible to escape from them unharmed. As they moved down the stairs to the second floor they knew there was conflict already going on as they heard the sounds of clashing metal coming from the main hall. Kilik looked at Xianghua "We have to tell the others, where did Sophitia tell us to meet her down here?" he said as they stopped at a pair of large double doors.
Suddenly the two of them burst open causing both warriors to raise their weapons in defense only to lower them as a shocked looking Cassandra stepped into view. Xianghua breathed "Don't do that to us!" she shouted at the younger Athenian who seemed to be out of breath despite the fact she had just come from the library, which they had inspected while searching for a way into the attic. Cassandra instead of responding looked at the two of them "Where is my sister? Something is very wrong."
Xianghua reserved the urge to swear as she spoke "Your not the only one to notice, we have to find the others. This house is being ambushed as we speak, if they get caught off guard we're in big trouble." she snapped as she pulled Cassandra down the hall. Cassandra pulled her wrist free "You don't understand, Link is..." "He can take care of himself Cassandra, I'm more worried about others on the ship." Cassandra breaths as she decided she'd just have to explain it to Sophitia, she is the only one who would believe it.
Sophitia breathed as she stepped out onto a balcony that was built on the second floor that over looked the garden, they had just moved through a rather lavish master bedroom that contained nothing of their interest. Siegfried breathed as he leaned against the stone railing "I don't think we're getting anywhere in our search, we should regroup with Maxi and the others before long."
he stated. Sophitia gave a weak nod towards this as she looked out over the fenced in gardens that were around the back of the mansion, just as beautiful as those in the courtyard.
Siegfried stepped up and lightly tapped Sophitia on the shoulder, he didn't say a word but pointed down toward the back of the garden where a certain ally of their's was sitting on a stone bench apparently just thinking. Sophitia lightly sighed figuring he was disappointed he didn't find the former heiress that was supposed to live at the estate "Think he'll be alright?" she asked him. Siegfried looked at her and shrugged "I've only been with you a week but the man is tough,
he should be fine." he said in spite of his knowledge. It wasn't like he could just tell him everything without causing more hatred towards himself. Sophitia then noticed the back gate was open and became cautious...
Raphael rested one hand against his forehead, it had been a good long while since he had been this disappointed which was a rare thing for him all together. He shrugged figuring that he shouldn't hang upon it, it wasn't like they ever had anything that was very deep. If anything he and Isabella Valentine we're close friends and rivals, nothing romantic ever went on between them. Although Yunsung and Seung Mina seemed to doubt that even after he told them the same story at least half a dozen time in the past week. He chuckled, not that he would mind if they did have such a history.
Suddenly Raphael's attention was snatched by the sound of an object crashing through the shrubs he sat in front of, a few small leaves going over his shoulder signaled him to move. "Sorel!" a call of his name from the house gave more insistence. He jumped up and leapt forward as something came down hard just catching the edge of his calf. Ignoring the small pain in his leg he whirled around unsheathing his blade from his side, a Uruk-hai's repulsive head poked through the brush and his sword had been brought to the bench. Raphael narrowed his eyes "Leave this place at once!" he demanded but instead the piggish beast jumped through the brush and was followed by others through the gate.
Siegfried looked to Sophitia "More are coming from the basement! They've been waiting for us!" he shouted before looking down to spot more coming up on Raphael's blind side. Gathering up his guts he sprinted forward gripping his large sword and pushed himself up over the side of the balcony to come crashing down on the forced. Sophitia wasted no time in gripping her own weapon and following, in her own more stylish way.
Raphael narrowed his eyes losing the normally calm exterior he kept about him, the Black Wind was laying another trap and it was on the Valentine's land. He swiped his sword before going into stance, that is before he noticed the Lizardmen coming from the house behind him. The Lizardmen gave savage taunts before they were suddenly silenced from above. Siegfried looked up at his fellow swordman giving a light smile "Starting without us?" he asked with an unbelievable amount of sarcasm. Sophitia didn't speak and only prepared her weapons.
Raphael growled as he faced the Uruk-hai and ended up back to back with the other two warriors "What are they doing here?" he snarled.
Siegfried shook his head before speaking "They must know that we're after the Soul Calibur.
Perhaps Nightmare handing it over was a piece of bait to make us go after the others, thus knowing where we'd end up."
Sophitia narrowed her eyes knowing that her sister was in that mansion somewhere probably fighting for her life in its tight corridors. This realization didn't make Sophitia happy "They picked the wrong day to start with me." she said completely out of her normal saint like character. Raphael brought up his sword "If everybody is ready, lets dance." he said with a great confidence. The Uruk-hai then attacked and the warriors all raised their blades prepared to die by them as they had lived by them.
Mina ran down the incline as fast as he legs could carry her toward the two ships that rested unsuspecting of what was going on. Her shoulder felt like it had been shattered although she could still move her arm, but not without some amount of pain not very good in a head on battle.
She didn't want to leave Kyle alone but he had virtually demanded it and she wasn't about to argue when he became so focused. When he was like this her presence would only serve to get in his way, much like Hwang back in the day.
"Ambush!" she screamed out as she came within the proper hearing distance of the two ships "We're being attacked!" she screamed out at the top of her lungs as she hit even ground and ran over the thin glaze of sand toward the Eternal Wind's lowered ramp. Several of them had just been standing around and a few others seemed to look up at the mansion, specifically Drake and Talim. They however dropped their actions when they saw her and Maxi ran over the ramp at once to catch her as she fell to her knees.
"Mina?! What happened to you?!" he asked as he helped her walk on deck. While there should have been tears of pain in her eyes there was only a deep anger "Ivy...Valentine attacked me and Kyle. She is who we've been looking for. The Black Wind is attacking the mansion from the other side of the peninsula." she said referring to the first beach about a mile from the mansion they first planned on using. Drake looked at the mansion and felt a darker wind begin to blow,
one of guilt, pain and uncertainty. Then without any clear motive he jumped the side of the ship and broke into a run towards the mansion.
Yunsung watched as he ran and felt his suspicion and distrust of Drake kick in enough for him to follow "Where do you think your going?!" he shouted after Drake who didn't respond. He didn't get far before Talim grabbed her elbow blades and followed directly after the two of them.
Heishiro Mitsurugi had seen plenty of battles in his time and seen many forming battlefield and this was towards the top of his list, and he knew they had to cut off the ship that was firing at the mansion. Turning toward Michael and Stephan he took charge "We've run aground! We won't be able to get out before they come for the ship! Prepare for battle!" he demanded remembering the Eternal Wind's cannons would be able to return fire to any other ship.
Naoyuki however had other plans "Over here!" he shouted hailing them towards the Nightwraith.
Taki looked at Mitsurugi and nodded before both of them dashed forward and jumped onto the smaller much swifter ship. Naoyuki in turn hoisted at the ropes that bringing the sales into full which ended up pulling the Eternal Wind free of the shore. Naoyuki then moved and servered the rope that held the Eternal Wind and the Nightwraith together. Taki looked over at Mina who was standing on the deck "What are we doing?" Mina spoke "They arn't going to waste cannon fire on us. We're providing a moving target."
Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow at this as he drew his sword out of preparation "A moving target for what?" he asked just as they was a splash from the side of the ship. Water sprayed up onto the deck as a lightly armored blue scaled Lizardman jumped onto the deck from the water followed by others. Mina dropped into stance "Answer your question?!" Mina shouted as the three warriors dropped into stance.
The Lizardman roared as it jumped at Taki and was then send back as a small explosion came from behind her, she looked back to see Jack standing there with his rifle. He smirked and winked at her before he became serious again, obviously he didn't catch the hateful glare from Mitsurugi toward his weapon. Naoyuki took the wheel of the ship "I'll try to get us around to that other ship! Keep those bastards busy until then!" he shouted. Everybody prepared themselves knowing that the Eternal Wind probably had the same problem. Mina gave a light glance to what sat on the mast of the ship, Kyle's hawk Silverbolt. He knew something was wrong.
Drake gave a shout as he jumped up and kicked the front gate to swing open and then moved inside stopping to look around. The front garden was now a small battlefield as several of the Lizardmen and Uruk-hai were clashing with the likes of Kilik, Xianghua and Cassandra. He began wondering where Ivy was before he was suddenly grabbed and turned around to face Yunsung "What the hell did you run off for?!" he screamed at Drake before being pushed back "What is your damage Yunsung?!" he shouted back.
A Lizardman roared as it rushed at the Korean from behind and raised his blade, Drake saw this and quickly slapped his left hand down on Yunsung's corresponding shoulder pushing him to the side. His right hand gripped the Northern Wind which was drawn from its shoulder sheath to strike the creature down in a stabbing motion. The monster fell and Drake quickly pulled Yunsung to his feet "The wind carries this conflict through the air." he said as he dropped into stance. "Yeah right." Yunsung said doubtfully.
Talim had ignored the obvious tension between the two boys and moved to the first surviving teammate he saw which just happened to be Cassandra. The younger athenian gave an angry battle cry as she used her shield to force away an Uruk-hai's blade before drawing her own across its throat. Talim moved to her and fell back to back with her effectively protecting her while she did the same. Cassandra spoke up "Talim? Are the ships on the move yet?" she asked as another cannonball struck the house "We can't take this anymore!" she shouted.
Talim nodded "They're moving to take it out. Where are the others?" she asked. Cassandra looked back as she thought of Link once again wondering how he was fairing, she knew she shouldn't get in the way but couldn't help it. Cassandra had noticed several of the Lizardmen moving into the mansion and worried that Link had been over powered. Then again nobody said that this creature he was fighting was even with the Black Wind. "I have to help Link." she said before running inside.
It didn't matter what amount of noise was going on around the mansion, one could not mistake the battle cries of anger and rage that came from the main hall where Link and his archival continued to clash. The light of the Master Sword came down hard and everytime was only matched by the equel power of the Shaodw Sword. Link breathed hard as he swung down at the man that claimed to be his brother slowly forcing him up the stairs, while he held an expression of anger and determination Arus'Nei only had with him a calm smirk. Both swords clashed again before falling into a stand off crossed at hilt position. Arus'Nei smirked "You've gotten faster in five years Masters. But I'm still not impressed." he chuckled.
Link ignored the obvious taunt and pushed the shadow off of him before jumping forward bringing his sword down with much more power. The blade glowed as it punched into the stairs in a large curved slash kicking up a great deal of wood into the air before it was brought back up to meet with the Shadow Sword "Come now Link, I know you can do better." he taunted before Link got another idea. He released the grip on his shield allowing it to slide of his arm before he swung out and struck his twin across the face dropping him to the floor. He then raised his blade ready to make the deathblow "Tooya!" he shouted. In Hyrulian it essentially ment 'farewell'
Dark Link narrowed his eyes knowing that Link wasn't as disoriented as he originally thought and quickly moved smashing his leg into Link's side before jumping up to swing his blade. Link quickly switched his blade to block the blow but the sheer forced sent him down the stairs, a quick backflip off his hands however caught him at the bottom. He recovered quickly before he dashed up the stairs swinging again hard.
Arus'Nei grunted as he swung up the Shadow Sword knocking the opposite blade away from him, he then turned and swung at Link putting a cut in his right arm. Link narrowed his eyes "Why can't you and your kind just leave me alone!" Link screamed before swinging again at the Shadow Sword which only caught the Master Sword. Knowing each others way of fighting in and out, getting a clean hit was next to impossible but often it was the determination that prevailed. Link came up with his blade which Arus moved to block, before switching his stance and putting in a hefty swing at his shadow's mid section.
Arus'Nei jumped back but still caught a deep gash in his abdomen, giving a growl of pain he brought up his sword and pushed Link back before jumped hard to the top of the stairs where he stopped falling out of stance. This caused Link to ease up as well but kept ready. Arus'Nei swiped his blade through the air before placing his shield on his back "You actually think that I am anything like that fool Gannondorf or any of those other that carry a grudge because you and your band managed to screw up their plans? You're a bigger fool than I thought?" he announced.
Link dropped out of stance as well but held the Master Sword firmly in his hands "What are you talking about? What the hell did I ever do to you?!" he shouted in anger.
Arus'Nei closed his eyes reflecting on several aspects of his life. The suffering, the pain, the crushing loneliness and seclusion. He looked back on everything he had gone through before finally speaking "You were born, Link. Your simple existence has stolen more from me and caused me more misery than you could possibly imagine...and I'm going to pay it all back in spades!" he shouted before running down the stairs to swing at Link who back flipped away from the attack and then jumped forward bringing his blade down.
Link stepped back as his blade was deflected again and the two began to circle around the main hall, their glares serving as the center of an unseen ring they walked upon. Link spoke "I have no clue what your talking about. I don't know who you are, where you come from, if your real or just my shadow...and quite frankly it make no difference to me!" Arus chuckled as he prepared to restart their battle "You're a pathetic liar Link." he said dropping into stance.
As they prepared to continue the assault when suddenly the front doors were kicked open and a dozen black fleshed creatures stepped through the doors. Link recognized them as some of the Black Wind's grunts from Istanbul, Arus'Nei recognized them as those stupid creatures from the ship, the Uruk-hai. They looked at two similar men before looking to one of their group that had a run hand print on his face, the mark of a squad leader "Which one is our target?" one of them asked. The captain could look upon the two and have no clue, so he raised his sword "We take them both!" he roared.
Link looked towards Arus'Nei who shook his head mouthing out 'truce' before they both turned toward two attacking Uruk-hai that rushed at them. Their movements were in unison and the same style. Right hand went to the shoulder while the left, with sword still in hand went down to the strap that held on the abdomen plate armor. Then in one fluid motion both of the piggish creatures were hurled over head and into the handrails of the stairs shattering the wood, both unconscious. They then spun around in the same direction to cut down the next two attackers.
The other seven Uruk-hai just yelled before rushing at the two of them and they broke into their own way of fighting. Three came at Link while four came at Arus'Nei each of them out for Hylian blood, but not a drop would be theirs. Link kicked his shield up from the floor catching the end in his hand and then slamming it across his first attacker's head cracking open his skull.
The next had his attack deflected and then had the Master Sword driven through him, Link turned loose on his sword as the last came at him and reached behind his back. The next thing the last attacker knew he had been struck in the chest with an arrow, and then looked up in time to receive another between his eyes...
Arus'Nei gave a loud battle cry as he slammed his shield into the first attacker getting the Uruk-
hai out of his way before driving the Shadow Sword into the second. The blade glowed before he swung up and then swung down again, a flash of darkness and the creature turned as black as coal and then fell into dust. He then took the liberty of slashing the first across the spin. A third attacker came as Arus'Nei took one of the cheaply forged swords and hurled it to stab into its head. The squad leader roared angrilly before attacking him. Arus'Nei narrowed his eyes before he smashed his shield into the monster's sword breaking it. He then sweeped the monsters feet getting him up in the air, then in one savage motion he bisected the creature at the chest ending its existence.
The black oil and puss that served as the Uruk-hai's blood was now sprayed all over the main hall the rose pink and white marble was stained, Link felt that it was a shame this place was the battleground. His eyes scanned the room as he noticed that Arus'Nei had vanished, he looked toward the two large doors as more of the creatures entered to attack him. His attention was then caught by the tip of sword sticking out from behind a pillar near the entrance. Link rushed around arming his bow before firing, Arus ducked out of the way with a grunt before bolting through the nearest door. A creature attempted to get in Link's way only to be struck down...
Cassandra Alexandra didn't feel well about leaving the rest of the group to fight but she had to make sure that Link was okay, if his opponent was truly the man he had spoken to her about in Venice then he probably needed help. She rushed through the doors after a single Uruk-hai and saw a shadow move from behind a pillar just as an arrow came at him. Link put the bow away and then prepared to go after the shadow just as the creature moved, the Master Sword glowed and before Cassandra realized it the creature had been drawn in half from head to toe.
Cassandra had watched everybody fight and spent a lot of that time close to Link but she had never seen him so savagely attack an opponent, she could tell from where she stood he was angry about something. Their eyes met for but a second before he dashed down the nearest hall after the figure that had run away from him. Cassandra looked back at the others and cursing her own sense of curiosity she gave chase on Link wanting to know exactly what was going on.
Ivy had ran and Kyle had given chase. It was as simple as that. He had to chase her, he had to catch her and he needed to force her to tell him where her unwanted father was. His lust for vengeance might have been on of his few weaknesses and he had layed it out like bone before a group of wolves to be exploited but he didn't care. Cervantes would die by his blade alone and he would sacrifice anything he had to. And right now the fact he had proven that his most powerful goal could grab hold of him easily it truly wasn't much of a price.
From the hidden alchemy lab where he had left Mina to tell the others, through the dining room and study, down another flight of stairs and down a very long tunnel that seemed to have been hidden away Kyle eventually found that Ivy had stopped running. He stepped into a very large chamber that appeared to have been dug into an underground cavern, it was at least three hundred feet wide, a hundred feet long and a hundred feet tall. All hidden underground but strangely light still poured into the room from an unseen source. Ivy obviously noticed him looking around.
"Its an ancient Eygptian trick. Using mirrors to reflect sunlight, my foster father believed that gold needed sunlight to remain in its true glamor. Back when this cavern was chalk full of it, but of course that was the past." Ivy shared. Mina had told him stories of Ivy back when she still sought the sword to destroy it, apparently from a family that had squandered its riches in vain attempts to find the Soul Edge and Soul Blade. Not that he cared "Tell me where de Leon is." he said demandingly to her, bringing one arm to grip the hilt of the oblivion which was sheathed on the back of his belt.
Ivy breathed lightly "Well at least you have enough dignity not to call him my father, but then again you should thank me for bringing you here." she said making Kyle very suspicious.
Turning his head he glared into a lightly shadowed part of the large cavern "You're disrespect knows no bounds does it Isabella." a middle aged voice said. There wasn't enough light to clearly see it but he could make out the sinister glow of two eyes and a blade.
A man stepped out from the shadows and Kyle felt his grip around his blade's hilt grow. The way the man crossed armor onto pieces of military uniform along with the hat, there was also the white as snow beard and the white pupils, all were dead give aways. Not that the deathly pale flesh and the Soul Blade were any less significant. There was no mistaking it. This was Cervantes de Leon, he truly had risen from his grave to walk among the living. A little intimidating even to him. But fear was a barrier nobody went through life without, and it wasn't something he wasn't going to step over. Cervantes looked upon Kyle having heard about a man whos resolve to kill him seemed to be his fuel for fighting, nothing mattered to him but revenge. Looking upon this young man he wasn't impressed and he didn't look anything like he expected. Since he laid hands on the blades he had killed countless military personal that followed the puny, pathetic thing called honor. He had expected a distinguished son of a European commander or somebody that the general public would have given a damn about. All he got was some filthy eastern brat probably out to make a name for himself. "Cervantes..." Kyle said the name slowly. His voice was like poison and burning with hatred, it was a familiar growl that Cervantes had heard before but he had never heard it with such anger,
such hatred. It was as if all of his being was fixed on the hatred he possessed for the immortal pirate, in one swift motion he brought out the black bladed sword that the Valentine had apparently reacted to. Cervantes might not have recognized the warrior before him but he knew the blade he carried. The first blade that had ever managed to harm him after he attained the Soul Edge. In one swift and fierce motion Kyle tore the Oblivion from its metal and leather sheath creating a few sparks as he did so, the lightweight long sword swipped through the air before being brought up. Cervantes at once felt the amount of power that began rushing through the youth's body and glared toward his daughter, she had never mentioned anything of this. She just smirked at him as the youth spoke. "De Leon..." he growled again as if possessed by his own ambitions. Cervantes had expected a speech, or gloating like Sophitia had years ago. He got nothing of the sort.
Without another word or another ounce of body language the Oblivion's master rushed at him with a cry of combined anger, hatred and determination covering the forty foot gap in less than a second. He jumped up and brought the destructive blade down just as the Soul Blade was brought up to hold it off. Cervantes planted his foot as he raised his blades in a cross position to ward off his attacker, the Oblivion broke through the defense forcing his hands apart before the blade moved in a stabbing motion. Cervantes quickly forced the shorter Turmoil hard to the side managing to keep the blade away from him.
Cervantes attempted to recover himself but before he could even raise his sword again his opponent had jumped up and given him a powerful kick to the side of his head. The pirate lost his footing and struck the ground surprised that this warrior was actually fighting on the same terms as him. He quickly anticipated the next obvious moved and rolled just as the blade dug into the ground where his neck had been just a second prior. Kyle yanked up his blade and went back into stance, Ivy smirked from where she stood which was now next to the doorway. With any luck this boy would find a way to rid her of her father, she'd have to check later.
Cervantes narrowed his eyes and growled as the boy ran one gloved hand along the edge of the blade "Why are you so surprised old man? After what you've done to me you shouldn't expect the slightest bit of fair play from me. Don't you dare compare me to the White Wind." he said before dropping his weapon back into stance. Cervantes got back to his feet bringing his swords into their traditional stance. "Impotent brat! You actually think I'd remember the faces of those I have fed to the swords? You shouldn't take such a thing personally." Cervantes taunted.
Kyle narrowed his eyes towards Cervantes and brought up his blade which caused Cervantes to flinch "The Oblivion wants your blood. I want your head. Stop stalling and fight." he said in a haunting voice. Cervantes looked back toward the entrance of the vault to see that Ivy had vanished, Kyle spoke again "Your own blood betrays you pirate. Not that I could blame her, your existence had damaged her own almost as much as my own." Cervantes growled before glaring at Kyle "Damn you child!"
Kyle mentally smiled at this. The stories of Cervantes being hot tempered were true and he had obviously struck one very large, very sensitive nerve. His vengeance was within his grasp and everything about his opponent was betraying him, he might have had the Soul Blade but it would not be enough to stand up against Kyle extensive knowledge of the Immortal Pirate.
Cassandra felt a stitch start to form in her side as she chased Link down the halls, he snapped into different room and halls without showing any kind of warning before moving. Along the way he had taken down three different attackers with fierce efficiency and didn't show signs of slowing down until he caught whoever he was chasing. Link was still a mystery to her in several ways. He rarely spoke about himself and now he was showing anger, adrenaline and a great deal of determination in catching whoever he was after. They soon reached a hall on the east wing of the mansion.
Cassandra could see it just down the hall. The splitting image of Link she had seen in the main hall standing right next to a window with his arms crossed, during the few seconds she could see him she could easily see so many similarities and very few differences. He raised one arm urging Link to come forward right before he stepped back then jump through the window, breaking through the glass and thin wood probably striking another structure. Link didn't hold up he just jumped out right after. Cassandra rushed to the window just in time to watch Link chase after his alter ego "Link...what is wrong with you?" she questioned softly to herself.
His alter ego ran towards the cliffs that were just off to the side of the estate and Link after recovering from a two story drop chased after. Link drew his sword as he ran and the shadow drew his as he reached the edge of the cliff, he then turned and stepped toward his lighter half.
Link spun around as he ran for added power and the shadow made the same action causing their swords to clash hard together. They both stepped back. Not one of the Black Wind's forces were nearby, nobody would bother them.
Arus'Nei spoke after a tense stare down between the two of them "Are you prepared to test fate once again Link?" Link didn't say a word gripping the Master Sword he brought it up the blue glow appearing around the blade once again showing his raw determination. Lightning clashed above as the gathering clouds began to work their natural wonders. Rain began to mix with the beads of sweat gathering on Link's brow but he didn't flinch as he was ready to end this seemingly eternal duel. Arus'Nei nodded his head "Then let us end this." he said before following Link's stance.
Next Chapter: Frailties of Mortality (Cassandra's Voice) Arus'Nei is somebody Link can never forgive. And Link is somebody Arus'Nei can never forgive. The truth of their relationship is unknown to me and it seems I never will know as they fight a battle set long ago. I feel a darkness in the air as the leader of the White Wind must fight against his own binding hatred and his long sought target. The reaper approaches this battlefield and it seems to know its target.
NOTE: I figured I'd try it YYH or Trigun style. I think that a few of my chapter previews are giving too much of the story away. Okay so I kind of lied last time, it took longer than I expected to set everything up. Next chapter it all comes to a close, somebody will be taken from this story.