Disclaimer: Once again. . . Me no own, you no sue
A/N: Thanks for the *cough* 1 review and thanks to those that emailed me
privately *cough*2*cough*, I have a plot twist planned (said to much damn),
it's intentionally hazy plot but if it bugs everyone enough I'll fix it up
in a few more chapters.
MONKEY!!! oO_Oo
Chapter 3: An Old, Old Face
The long haired warrior stumbled slightly in the dim lit street. He was tired and sore, and his sword, armor, and haversack were becoming more of a burden each passing minute. Finally he found the local inn and stumbled in. The innkeeper was a little frightened by the traveling warrior, especially for the fact that he carried a rather large sword that would have unsettled most normal people that had little experience in the life of traveling warriors. "What can I do for ya' sir?" the Innkeeper asked after regaining a bit of his composure. "I. . . would like a room. . . and a meal would be nice too." The blonde man responded as he rested his zweihander against the wall. "Okay, that would be 20 gold pieces a night and that includes food." The innkeeper rummaged around under the counter and produced a key. "The key to room 21 sir, the room is upstairs." The warrior took the key and nodded his head in acknowledgement while placing the gold on the counter. He let out a heavy sigh as he picked up his weighty weapon and trudged up a set of stairs that creaked threateningly each step he took as if they were to collapse from under his immense weight. He was completely unaware of people that could have been in the nearby rooms as he trudged down the hall and unlocked the door to his room. It was an average sized room. The bed was only big enough for himself and there was a desk with a chair off to the corner of the room. Next to the bed was a nightstand that had a lantern burning away silently on top of it to light the room. The man propped his sword against the wall and began to carefully remove his heavy armor piece by piece. He sat silently on the bed examining his breastplate. It was so scarred from the countless battles he could no longer see his family emblem on it. The breastplate dropped to the floor with a loud clank as the blonde man was lost in his thoughts of the Soul Edge and its new wielder, Raphael.
O======I================================================== ~~
"Siegfried, you're still in no condition to be leaving this bed!" A young girl proclaimed. "Sis! SIS! He's trying to leave!!! SIS!!!" the young girl cried out. Another yell echoed up the stairs. "Cass, just stop him. He's still weak."
Cassandra sighed. She didn't want to accidentally hurt the man she was trying to cure. Siegfried almost made it to the stairwell but he collapsed. Cassandra dragged him back to the room and strained to get him on the bed. Siegfried groaned in pain as he fell onto the hard floor when Cassandra accidentally dropped him. "S. . .ou. . .l . . .E. . .d. . .g. . .e, need. . ." Siegfried mumbled in a delusional state. Even though his previous body had recovered to its old state, Siegfried still desired the blade. The Soul Edge had permanently seared a piece of itself into his soul. Now and then, Siegfried would mutter something about the blade or about eternal darkness. Cassandra's sister had found the fatally wounded human-demon known as Nightmare several years ago. She expected the demon to be carrying its fragment of the Soul Edge, but it wasn't. It was clearly obvious that someone had already defeated the monstrosity and stole the weapon. Her sister saw something in that wounded demon, someone that seemed faintly familiar to her. Against the wishes of her traveling companion, a ninja woman, she brought the demon back with her to Athens. She and Cassandra tended the wounds as well as prayed to the gods to restore the man to his old form. Their prayers had been answered and the creature known as Nightmare slowly became the man Siegfried once again. "Cass? I heard a thud." A blond woman asked as she stepped into the room. "Um. . .yeah! Everything is fine. . ." Cassandra tried to lift Siegfried again to cover her blunder. "So. . .phi. . .tia" Siegfried muttered again as he pointed to the blond woman. Sophita quickly was at Siegfried's side. "Yes, do you need anything Siegfried?" she asked in a soft caring voice. Siegfried motioned for her to bring him his zweihander that he named Faust. She hesitated, keeping his wellbeing in her thoughts. "Siegfried, the weapon is heavy, you shouldn't wield it right now, and you're not at your full strength yet."
He groaned. He needed to feel the power of his old sword once more. He needed to go searching again. The burning desire for the Soul Edge would never die until he wielded it once more at its full potential.
O======I==================================================
Siegfried silently placed his armor aside and grasped the hilt of Faust. The room was too small to practice a few swings so he once again sat silently on his bed and examined the ancient blade. He hadn't used it ever since his days searching for the Soul Edge. He had left it in Sophita's care before the Soul Edge corrupted his mind. Siegfried stared at his old weapon and ran his hand down the flat of the blade. For being so ancient, it still retained its killing edge and its sturdiness. Finally, placing the blade against the wall, Siegfried changed into a new tunic and breeches before heading downstairs to the large dining hall.
The dinning hall was simple in design, and wasn't even really a hall. It was several rounded tables placed around the room with chairs. A set of doors at the far end of the room led into the kitchen. Siegfried took a seat near the only two other people in the room, two mercenary that were too engrossed in gossiping to notice him. Siegfried listened in closely. ". . . You are so full of horse shit, you know that? None of those poor bastards could have escaped. The demon would have hunted them all down and killed em'." "You got a point man, but listen, with all that ruckus goin' on, one of em' might have gotten out." "Shut up, just shut up. That demon guy with his army is stompin' across the world makin' people sign fealty to him or die. I say we just try to get on his good side so he won't kill us." "Really, why would he single US out, he's only going after those people that hunted for the demon sword and you know that, he could give a damn about us or anyone else for that matter." "I'm not sure man, what do you think he will do once he kills them all? I mean, those people are the only ones who have a shot at killin' this guy. If the demon kills em' all, we aint got a chance in hell of seein' daylight again. . .hey, what the hell are you doin?" One of the men realized that Siegfried has been eavesdropping onto their conversation. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Siegfried replied coolly. "would you care if I joined in the conversation? There are some things I would like to know from the local gossip. . ." "Whoa whoa who! We ain't locals; we're mercenaries hire to protect this little town." Replied one of the men. "Of course, my mistake. . ." Siegfried replied "I just, would like to know if there were any rumors going about on the demon's activities or where it might be holding out." "Yeah, that bastards goin' on an all out rampage across Asia. He's crushin all them little resistance factions that think they can hold off his rise to power." "Rise to power? He's got the demon sword doesn't he? What could make him more powerful?" Siegfried proclaimed. "Well, rumors are that there are shards of another sword that will make him stronger, that's what I've heard. One of the big resistance factions had one of the shards buried underneath their little fort. The demon just squashed them like bugs." One of the mercenaries slammed his hand down on the table. "Just like that, like I was sayin' earlier, I doubt any of them poor bastards lived-"The other mercenary cut in, trying not to start another argument in Siegfried's presence. "I heard that the demon has a hold out in Spain. He's got all them nobles there cowering in fear, but he hasn't killed em' yet." "Thanks for the gossip." Siegfried said as he got up from his seat. Before he left the room he thought he heard one of the mercenaries utter under his breath. "Good luck, ya crazy bastard." Obviously one of the mercenaries was wiser than he looked, and Siegfried wasn't exactly being subtle with many of his questions. He quickly shrugged off that thought though.
Siegfried forgot about eating and went up to his room. He would need rest for the long march the next day. He needed to find one of those supposed shards. Slowly, he began to draw his master plan to reclaim the Soul Edge and become its rightful wielder for all eternity. . .
~End Chapter 3~ A/N: Well, thanks for the constructive criticism. This chapter should clear up a little bit of the haziness but not all of it stay tuned for the next chapter. I gonna make this one hell of a jumpy story..
Chapter 3: An Old, Old Face
The long haired warrior stumbled slightly in the dim lit street. He was tired and sore, and his sword, armor, and haversack were becoming more of a burden each passing minute. Finally he found the local inn and stumbled in. The innkeeper was a little frightened by the traveling warrior, especially for the fact that he carried a rather large sword that would have unsettled most normal people that had little experience in the life of traveling warriors. "What can I do for ya' sir?" the Innkeeper asked after regaining a bit of his composure. "I. . . would like a room. . . and a meal would be nice too." The blonde man responded as he rested his zweihander against the wall. "Okay, that would be 20 gold pieces a night and that includes food." The innkeeper rummaged around under the counter and produced a key. "The key to room 21 sir, the room is upstairs." The warrior took the key and nodded his head in acknowledgement while placing the gold on the counter. He let out a heavy sigh as he picked up his weighty weapon and trudged up a set of stairs that creaked threateningly each step he took as if they were to collapse from under his immense weight. He was completely unaware of people that could have been in the nearby rooms as he trudged down the hall and unlocked the door to his room. It was an average sized room. The bed was only big enough for himself and there was a desk with a chair off to the corner of the room. Next to the bed was a nightstand that had a lantern burning away silently on top of it to light the room. The man propped his sword against the wall and began to carefully remove his heavy armor piece by piece. He sat silently on the bed examining his breastplate. It was so scarred from the countless battles he could no longer see his family emblem on it. The breastplate dropped to the floor with a loud clank as the blonde man was lost in his thoughts of the Soul Edge and its new wielder, Raphael.
O======I================================================== ~~
"Siegfried, you're still in no condition to be leaving this bed!" A young girl proclaimed. "Sis! SIS! He's trying to leave!!! SIS!!!" the young girl cried out. Another yell echoed up the stairs. "Cass, just stop him. He's still weak."
Cassandra sighed. She didn't want to accidentally hurt the man she was trying to cure. Siegfried almost made it to the stairwell but he collapsed. Cassandra dragged him back to the room and strained to get him on the bed. Siegfried groaned in pain as he fell onto the hard floor when Cassandra accidentally dropped him. "S. . .ou. . .l . . .E. . .d. . .g. . .e, need. . ." Siegfried mumbled in a delusional state. Even though his previous body had recovered to its old state, Siegfried still desired the blade. The Soul Edge had permanently seared a piece of itself into his soul. Now and then, Siegfried would mutter something about the blade or about eternal darkness. Cassandra's sister had found the fatally wounded human-demon known as Nightmare several years ago. She expected the demon to be carrying its fragment of the Soul Edge, but it wasn't. It was clearly obvious that someone had already defeated the monstrosity and stole the weapon. Her sister saw something in that wounded demon, someone that seemed faintly familiar to her. Against the wishes of her traveling companion, a ninja woman, she brought the demon back with her to Athens. She and Cassandra tended the wounds as well as prayed to the gods to restore the man to his old form. Their prayers had been answered and the creature known as Nightmare slowly became the man Siegfried once again. "Cass? I heard a thud." A blond woman asked as she stepped into the room. "Um. . .yeah! Everything is fine. . ." Cassandra tried to lift Siegfried again to cover her blunder. "So. . .phi. . .tia" Siegfried muttered again as he pointed to the blond woman. Sophita quickly was at Siegfried's side. "Yes, do you need anything Siegfried?" she asked in a soft caring voice. Siegfried motioned for her to bring him his zweihander that he named Faust. She hesitated, keeping his wellbeing in her thoughts. "Siegfried, the weapon is heavy, you shouldn't wield it right now, and you're not at your full strength yet."
He groaned. He needed to feel the power of his old sword once more. He needed to go searching again. The burning desire for the Soul Edge would never die until he wielded it once more at its full potential.
O======I==================================================
Siegfried silently placed his armor aside and grasped the hilt of Faust. The room was too small to practice a few swings so he once again sat silently on his bed and examined the ancient blade. He hadn't used it ever since his days searching for the Soul Edge. He had left it in Sophita's care before the Soul Edge corrupted his mind. Siegfried stared at his old weapon and ran his hand down the flat of the blade. For being so ancient, it still retained its killing edge and its sturdiness. Finally, placing the blade against the wall, Siegfried changed into a new tunic and breeches before heading downstairs to the large dining hall.
The dinning hall was simple in design, and wasn't even really a hall. It was several rounded tables placed around the room with chairs. A set of doors at the far end of the room led into the kitchen. Siegfried took a seat near the only two other people in the room, two mercenary that were too engrossed in gossiping to notice him. Siegfried listened in closely. ". . . You are so full of horse shit, you know that? None of those poor bastards could have escaped. The demon would have hunted them all down and killed em'." "You got a point man, but listen, with all that ruckus goin' on, one of em' might have gotten out." "Shut up, just shut up. That demon guy with his army is stompin' across the world makin' people sign fealty to him or die. I say we just try to get on his good side so he won't kill us." "Really, why would he single US out, he's only going after those people that hunted for the demon sword and you know that, he could give a damn about us or anyone else for that matter." "I'm not sure man, what do you think he will do once he kills them all? I mean, those people are the only ones who have a shot at killin' this guy. If the demon kills em' all, we aint got a chance in hell of seein' daylight again. . .hey, what the hell are you doin?" One of the men realized that Siegfried has been eavesdropping onto their conversation. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Siegfried replied coolly. "would you care if I joined in the conversation? There are some things I would like to know from the local gossip. . ." "Whoa whoa who! We ain't locals; we're mercenaries hire to protect this little town." Replied one of the men. "Of course, my mistake. . ." Siegfried replied "I just, would like to know if there were any rumors going about on the demon's activities or where it might be holding out." "Yeah, that bastards goin' on an all out rampage across Asia. He's crushin all them little resistance factions that think they can hold off his rise to power." "Rise to power? He's got the demon sword doesn't he? What could make him more powerful?" Siegfried proclaimed. "Well, rumors are that there are shards of another sword that will make him stronger, that's what I've heard. One of the big resistance factions had one of the shards buried underneath their little fort. The demon just squashed them like bugs." One of the mercenaries slammed his hand down on the table. "Just like that, like I was sayin' earlier, I doubt any of them poor bastards lived-"The other mercenary cut in, trying not to start another argument in Siegfried's presence. "I heard that the demon has a hold out in Spain. He's got all them nobles there cowering in fear, but he hasn't killed em' yet." "Thanks for the gossip." Siegfried said as he got up from his seat. Before he left the room he thought he heard one of the mercenaries utter under his breath. "Good luck, ya crazy bastard." Obviously one of the mercenaries was wiser than he looked, and Siegfried wasn't exactly being subtle with many of his questions. He quickly shrugged off that thought though.
Siegfried forgot about eating and went up to his room. He would need rest for the long march the next day. He needed to find one of those supposed shards. Slowly, he began to draw his master plan to reclaim the Soul Edge and become its rightful wielder for all eternity. . .
~End Chapter 3~ A/N: Well, thanks for the constructive criticism. This chapter should clear up a little bit of the haziness but not all of it stay tuned for the next chapter. I gonna make this one hell of a jumpy story..