Do not own Warcraft or Soulcalibur characters unfortunately.

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Chapter 10: Coming of the Observant Eye

Taki couldn't get over how that vision had played in her head or why it happened in the first place. It just didn't make any sense to her; when did she ever be with someone in that way? Let alone have her mask off in front of someone she didn't even know and kiss them for some reason that wasn't really apparent to her.

She walked through the puddle-scattered capital as her brown eyes observed the elves, markets and ziggurats as she passed them by. Of course she was really looking for Sophitia since Taki's help wasn't really needed anywhere and she had become nervous of Sophitia's whereabouts. She felt the wind brush against her neck and through her tied-up ebony hair as she heard a familiar voice call her from behind.

She turned to see Mina running up to her with her beloved Zanbatou in hand and a slight smile on her face with Kilik walking behind her with his staff slightly over his shoulder.

"Where have you two been?" Taki raised an eyebrow at the some of the bandaged areas on their limbs.

"Tra…Training." Mina answered, out of breath. "With the… Night el… elven archers." Mina paused and tried to regain some of her lost breath. Taki looked over to Kilik, who shrugged as he didn't seem as out of breath as she was.

"Basically, they shot arrows at us and we had to guard them as they came. That's why we look this way." Kilik explained as he pointed to the bandages. Taki raised an eyebrow at this information.

"You mean they just… suddenly shot their arrows at you?" Taki asked, finding this behavior of Night elves to be strange.

Mina finally looked up at Taki. "No, we were both kind of bored at the time and the archers looked the same way so we just found this as a way of passing the time. They gave us thick fur throes so that if the arrow got us in the chest, the impact wouldn't be as great as it would've been. It was fun." Mina concluded as if she was excited about what they just did and was willing to do it again. "You want to try?" Mina asked as she pointed in the direction of a rooted, living tree, which was the direction she just came from.

Taki blinked and shrugged slightly. "Sure, I don't have anything else to do for the time being anyway. Plus, I guess it would be great training for the confrontation of Nightmare." She openly stated as she headed towards the tree. Kilik and Mina both turned to her in alarm.

"W-what?" Mina yelled as she grabbed Taki's shoulder to maker her look at her. "When was this decision suddenly made?"

"Today." Taki answered simply. "It was Jaina's idea. Using Sophitia, she made a gem that would somehow trap Nightmare's soul or demon-self within it. So, in order to trap the demon, we need the demon to be in front of us, or so I'm guessing; I don't know what Jaina has planned next, but..." Taki explained Jaina's idea as if it was a step-by-step process and was simple in understanding. Taki continued to walk to the living tree that seemed to slightly sway from side to side.

"Oh." Mina looked to the side as she looked for her next sentence. "So do we know how to lure Nightmare here without having a whole bunch of moaning and limping creatures chasing us?" Mina raised an eyebrow, hoping that Taki would say 'yes'. The memory of when the last horde of undead came after her still made her grimace.

"Nope." Taki stated simply as she looked down at the ground as she walked upon it.

"That's reassuring." Kilik commented with a sigh as he looked towards their destination. Mina nodded in agreement as she brushed her amber-brown bangs out of her eyes.

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"It'll be quite the entertainment when we set it loose." Nightmare thought as he walked through the death-ridden grounds of Arthas' base. He ha just come from seeing Arthas' new 'bodyguard' that came from Nightmare's own world. The creation showed quite a bit of enthusiasm for Arthas' plans of mindless soul-stealing and endless massacres.

The creature was now or supposedly still head to toe in chains that were attached to a solid stone wall. Its strength was so great that the wall behind him began to have cracks at the chain's hinges from his constant pulling and thrashing against them.

It was more than reluctant to stay still and had the tendency to knock any undead warrior near it against the wall opposite of where it was chained with its arms and brute strength. It kept shouting "Don't keep me waiting for the souls you promise to me!" as he continued to thrash against its chains.

Kel'Thuzad stayed with the creature most of the time to use his dark magic to calm it. The lich used a frost spell that came from his own breath and blew his chilling breath against the creature and the cold atmosphere around it eventually calmed it slightly. Of course when the spell had faded, then the creatures rage rose again and would continue to knock and throw warriors and acolytes alike and thrash against his bindings.

Nightmare left because he had done his deed with his flesh-enveloped blade by bringing the creature to life and being partly under the command of Soul Edge. There was no need for Nightmare and he knew it at this point. He didn't want to waste his time anyway with a stubborn creature when a lich as wise as Kel'Thuzad seemed to be could handle the beast himself.

Nightmare stopped at the edge of Arthas' dark base. He looked back and sneered slightly; it had been a while since he was truly alone and he liked the feeling when he was. He turned back to the forests and headed through its decaying trees and dead grass. The foggy air increased in thickness the further he went and he liked it. It made him feel like nothing could disturb him, which, as he took second thought, was in actuality strange to him like he had never really felt so calm before just for being alone.

He stopped and sat on a dark colored boulder, taking in his surroundings. He suddenly felt a strange cold sensation on his neck; it felt like he was being watched. He whipped his head around to look behind him.

"Speak all those who wish to hide instead of confront me!" He called as he stood himself and eyed the dark forest around him. There was a pause and he suddenly heard a deep dreary voice speak far at his side.

"Azure Knight." The voice was feminine and sounded somewhat troubled as it called behind a tree. Nightmare looked around to find a woman drift from behind a tall decaying tree, her gray dress fluttering behind her in the moist air as she went. Her fiery eyes bore into his own.

"What kind of a spirit are you? Why do you dare disturb me?" Nightmare asked as he surveyed the pale woman and her expressionless face.

"I'm no spirit nor demon, merely a banshee here to make a proposition for you." She answered calmly in her shadowy voice as she continued to stay stationary yet levitate above the ground while holding the tree she stood behind.

Nightmare raised his eyebrows in intrigue. "A banshee? And you bare a proposition yet I remember you're under the command of Sylvanas Windrunner, are you not?" He asked calmly although he smirked at this little interaction between himself and a messenger of a woman who he and Arthas considered a possible traitor.

"I am." She answered calmly even though she could sense his slight glee in the interaction. "Sylvanas sent me to tell you that she knows of a woman that you might be interested in meeting again." She informed, finally moving her body figure by lifting her head slightly to be level with his.

Nightmare laughed at the woman's claim. "A woman? Why would a woman be of any use to me?" He continued to laugh.

"Her soul may be of great value to you." The banshee actually seemed to smile although she tried to hide her grin. "Her name is Sophitia Alexandra. She is from your own world, do you know of her?" The banshee turned her head slightly to the side as she asked.

Nightmare's expression of amusement turned into one of seriousness, he actually went a little wide-eyed at the sound of the name. He looked up to the gray skies as he remembered the last time they had their little confrontation. "Sophitia… yes, I remember her. She tried to stop me… or to put it in her words, 'save' me." He stated softly then heis gaze swept up to the skies as a grin spread across his face. "Oh her soul would be of great value and I'd love to see the horror in the sentinel's eyes when she sees and watches me plunge the blade she tried to destroy through her stomach. I'd love to hear that scream echo through the woods." Nightmare spoke aloud to himself, not caring if the banshee heard him. He looked at her for a few seconds. "How does Sylvanas know that I have the fancy to kill her?" He asked rather suspiciously.

The banshee paused, trying to think of an explanation since she didn't know that he'd actually question the proposition. "She had overheard this 'Sophitia' speak of you while she was searching for her prey and was wondering if you would want to have the honor of killing her since she has no real use for her." She lied, hoping that would be all Nightmare would ask about.

Nightmare paused and looked at the banshee for any sign that she had been lying, but her face was so pale and her eyes were so red it was rather heard to tell her emotions. "I see." Nightmare stepped toward the banshee. "Take me to her."

The banshee smiled. "Of course, Azure Knight. I will fly you to their whereabouts." She stated, although for the sake of her queen having time to prepare, she would take her own time in bringing Nightmare to the Elves' campsite. "Arthas won't need to know where you are of course since the woman's death will surely be quick since I've heard so much about you." The banshee knew that every dark killer and leader loved to be flattered so she inwardly smiled at her lie.

"Of course. I wouldn't tell him anyway; it isn't any of his business." Nightmare thought aloud as he came to her. She inwardly grinned at how well her queen's plans were coming together.

'That living woman Sylvanas tried to kill didn't look like a traitorous one in the least, but she better not have any idiotic plans of destroying my queen.' The banshee thought as she took a part of the knight's armor in her hand and began to lift them weightlessly from the ground. 'I just hope my queen knows what she's getting herself into.' She thought hopefully as she lifted her gaze to the skies that held the color of her face.

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"Do you really believe your… erm, banshee will bring Nightmare all the way over here?" Sophitia asked as she leaned against a nearby trunk. She and Sylvanas hadn't moved from their area since Sylvanas' servant left to fetch the dark knight.

Sylvanas' bloody gaze swept up to the twilight, amber skies that was at its peak and would soon fall into the darkness of night. She noticed that gray clouds began to cascade closer to them from the Northeast of where she stood. "I have no doubt. Sharlindra is very loyal to me." She stated. Her misty voice was very mysterious to Sophitia's ears. Sophitia looked down as she paused and dug the toe of her boot into the rich ground. Sylvanas could sense her slight nervousness and hesitation. She chuckled within her throat as she turned her head slightly to speak. "Do you fear me?" She peered out through her hood so that Sophitia could only see a speck of the bright red color of her eyes.

"I'm… just… surprised. That's all." Sophitia spoke softly then paused. "That I have actually earned the trust of not only an undead person but of one who also tried to kill me."

"Did you forget already? I don't trust you nor do I like you; not only for being one of the living but one who relies so much on other people, it's such a foolish thing to do." Sylvanas stated in a sneer as she turned back to gaze at the rippling waters of the lake.

"That's not true!" Sophitia retorted which surprised Sylvanas slightly, but her sneer came back as Sophitia continued. "To rely on other people shows that you have respect and honor." She stated. Sylvanas whirled around to stare her right in the eye, her blood red gaze made Sophitia flinch slightly but didn't look away.

"Relying on someone is suicide. I even knew that when I was still alive! You have to trust your life and your honor in your own hands, not in somebody else's!" Sophitia raised an eyebrow in surprise at how sincere Sylvanas sounded when it came to believing in such things. Normally Sophitia thought that all undead and evil were mindless and had no real morals, but this undead archer showed her different. "You always have to assume the worst when in battle, that way you don't end up killed because you laid your life in the hands of someone else!" Sylvanas' bloody eyes narrowed into slits. "You weep over your former love and you hope that she will always save you whether she loves you or not! That alone is foolish, you must always take care of yourself. Her mind is half-gone as well, so relying on yourself would be the smartest thing you could do." She stated in a firm tone. Sylvanas raised an eyebrow as Sophitia's eyes became very focused on hers even though they held confusion.

"How… How did you know that Taki's memory is half-gone?" Sophitia's eyes began to dart then went wide as realization came to her, but she said nothing until she heard the truth from this undead assassin.

Sylvanas' eyes kept on hers as she leaned back onto her leg while she lifted her other, having her knee close to her chest and resting her arm horizontally on her knee-joint and having in close to her mouth; she looked like she was kneeling to a highly-ranked lord. Sylvanas looked down to the side for a few seconds then back up to Sophitia, who held her gaze.

"The necromancer, did you hear of him? The one who attacked your… beloved?" Sylvanas sounded as if bringing that word from her dark lips was quite difficult. She watched as Sophitia nodded her head slowly. Sylvanas sighed silently. "I had sent him to gather information of your whereabouts." Before she could say more, Sophitia grabbed the collar of her ragged cloak in a flash and brought her close. Sylvanas was surprised to see the amount of surprised rage in the girl's face.

"Y-you?" Sophitia started as her face screwed into even more rage. She closed her eyes tightly as if she could feel her inner self scolding her. "I should've known. I should've seen it!" She threw Sylvanas hard against a tree, hearing her grunt as she hit the trunk of the tree. She grabbed Sylvanas again and pushed her hard against the tree. "And you knew the consequences of sending your little magician on Taki!" Her teeth grit as she made Sylvanas look her right into the eye by wrapping her hand around her throat.

Sophitia could tell she was hiding her thoughts to herself by the way Sylvanas had her fiery eyes narrowed at her.

She looked at Sylvanas vengefully as she pressed the heel of her palm into the base of Sylvanas' throat to make her speak; she wanted to hear her side of the story even though she had a feeling it would be a brutal one for her heart to hear seeing as to how Sylvanas had such a vengeful spirit when she was confronted by her.

It took Sylvanas two tried to push her voice throat that was being blocked. "For your information, I didn't know he was going to go that far." Sylvanas noted as she hardly moved her jaw as she spoke but clenched it in frustration.

Sophitia raised an eyebrow as she pressed Sylvanas harder against the tree making her wince slightly. "What do you take me for? How could you not know he was going to take her memory when you said it yourself that you had sent him?" Sophitia asked in a forceful and demanding voice as her muscles began to tense from holding the pale blue woman. Because of what she now knew about what Sylvanas seemed to have done to her love, Sophitia's pity for this creature slowly fell.

Sylvanas struggled and gasped against Sophitia's round shield that pressed into her chest to lock her against the thick tree. "I sent him but I didn't think he would care to go as deep as he did into that demon huntress' mind." She stated in a rather projective voice and widened eyes as if she was hoping that Sophitia, being the sentinel that she is, could see the truth in her eyes no matter how demonic they appeared.

Sophitia narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she let off of Sylvanas' throat but just enough to make Sylvanas stay in her position. She was speechless as her eyes that were written with question and confusion stared into her undead captive's gaze.

Sylvanas could tell she was debating in her head but she just wanted to end this pointless feud. "I wasn't even with him at the point that he was with her! I was watching the encampment they were visiting while my hordes battled against them." Sylvanas informed as she leaned her head as far forward as she could as if she was voicelessly saying 'how can you not see it?'. She groaned in an annoyed tone as Sophitia continued to pause before she let go of Sylvanas' throat.

"Just what are you trying to tell me? Because you appear to be stalling." Sophitia stated in a deep and serious tone as she backed away a few steps. She wanted an explanation for the loss of her real true love's memory. To her, even though Sylvanas thought of her love for the demon huntress as being useless and idiotic, Sophitia didn't care; Taki's smile, strong positivism, considerate persona and loving embrace underneath her masculine demon-huntress shell.

Sylvanas rubbed her throat and adjusted her ruffled cloak slightly before she spoke. "When looking into the mind of the living, one can go so deep so fiercely that the memory can be almost if not completely lost. But this rarely happens, which is why it actually surprised me when I figured out what he did to the huntress." She looked over to the side as if to avoid Sophitia's gaze that was now quite intent upon Sylvanas. "I remembered my necromancer telling me at one point that the huntress appeared to be quite fond of my blonde target, so by the way this 'Taki' acted around you when she stopped me, I could already tell what my necromancer did." She informed then hesitantly looked back up.

Sophitia took a step forward. "And you never said anything?" She looked at the pale figure in frustrated surprise.

Sylvanas raised an eyebrow. "You never asked." She replied with a smirk. Sophitia stood straight as she looked back with an annoyed expression. Sylvanas just watched as Sophitia's gaze slowly lowered and softened, she looked like she was now deep in thought. The undead elf just crossed her arms over her chest and sat down upon a patch of grass with one leg over the other and leaned her back onto the tall tree. She closed her eyes tightly and sighed as if she was still slightly annoyed by watching this living warrior's struggle for her love. "As I said…" She started in a low voice. "I didn't know he was going to go that far. So don't blame me for your loss." She stated with her red eyes remaining closed, not caring to look upon the blonde warrior's troubled and even lost gaze.

Sophitia sighed after a moment and looked to the sky's reflection upon the shimmering waters of the lengthy lake. "And the person I would claim vengeance on for Taki is now dead, at least if I remember what you said correctly." She looked over to Sylvanas to see her nod once to say that what she said was true. Sophitia looked back again. "So I guess there's nothing left for me to do now but hope that Taki's memory will return eventually." She thought out loud but in a very soft voice as if she thought no one would hear her.

Sophitia's words mad Sylvanas Sigh in relief; the pointless argument finally ended. She ran her fingers along one of her long and clammy-skinned ears which were the only part of her that displayed her Elven heritage besides her skill in archery and her ability to still speak Elven. She made a face that looked like what she was about to mention disgusted her and didn't care about it anyway. She sighed as she ultimately made herself speak it as she saw the bright warrior's gloomy and rather listless state. "There is a way to bring her memory back you know." She stated in a careless tone.

Sophitia immediately whipped around to look at Sylvanas, who didn't look up at her in return. Her expression held extreme surprise as she looked at the undead elf before her. "There is? Are you serious!" She asked with a voice full of hope as she came closer to the hooded elf that seemed to pay no attention to her.

"Would I lie to you?" Sylvanas peered towards Sophitia's hopeful gaze through her hood.

Sophitia pulled back slightly and hesitated at the question. "M…must I answer that?" She asked in a cautious question as if she was really serious.

Sylvanas' narrowed gaze snapped completely to hers at her response, she slowly looked away as she continued. "Anyway, I'm not exactly sure how to bring someone's memory back; I wasn't taught undead magic." She explained simply. "It just takes some finesse. Try to find ways to remind her without scaring her off." She watched as Sophitia looked down in thought to her words. "Of course, if it was me, I'd just let it come to her slowly while giving her… hints." She raised an eyebrow at what said, not really believing it.

"I'll do my best." Sophitia spoke in a hardly audible voice that Sylvanas could hear with her long ears. Sylvanas' gaze snapped to hers, which still remained in a daze. The forest was silent apart from the constant rustling of the leaves above caused by the soft breeze. "Perhaps you should tell your elven and human friends that your bearer of Soul Edge is coming. I trust my banshee will return by the time the sun completely sets behind the trees." Sylvanas informed after minutes of silent hesitation. Sophitia just looked up at her for a second then nodded as she stood herself straight.

Suddenly there was a low growling sound within the trees, making Sophitia snap towards the thick forest while Sylvanas just turned her head a quarter of the way as if she didn't take it as much of a surprise as Sophitia did.

A big animal on all fours with white fur and bright blue focused eyes crept out of the leaves of a thick bush. Sophitia's eyes widened though she took a step forward as Tyrande's battle companion focused her eyes upon the undead creature that looked back at the black-striped tiger expressionlessly as if she found no threat in it.

"Starstrider!" Sophitia called as she came toward the tiger that growled deeply and viciously again at the hooded figure. "It's okay! She isn't a threat!" She assured the best that she could while she tried to make the defensive tiger turn to her. With a loud roar the battle cat came forward at full speed towards the demonic elf.

Sylvanas quickly stood herself onto her feet and pushed her cloak so that it was off of her brown leather arm guards making her defend herself better. With a 'bang!' Sylvanas' eyebrows rose with intrigue and surprise as Sophitia was already in front of her, holding the huge tiger's strength back with her golden-rimmed shield.

"Sh-she's not trying to kill me!" Sophitia grunted as she held the beast back. Starstrider wouldn't let up her strength, although Sylvanas was surprised that the Greek still kept her feet firmly planted onto the ground. She wasn't surprised however that the tiger was trying with all her might to defend this human.

"I'll deal with her." Sylvanas stated in a low voice as she waited for the white and black-striped beast to make eye contact with her. When Starstrider's fierce eyes locked onto hers, Sylvanas mumbled a chant as her blood red eyes melded into a very deep purple color as her eyes went wide in concentration.

As Sophitia continued to hold her back, she noticed that the tiger's strength began to falter and decrease. The feline beast suddenly fell right to the ground with Sophitia nearly falling on top of her. Sophitia pulled back her shield as she looked into the tigers eyes to find them in a strange daze and almost glassy even with her blue iris seemed to now have a purple hue.

"She'll be fine; she's just in a trance or dream state basically." Sylvanas informed after she merely blinked to break her concentration and make her eyes turn back into their deep red color as Sophitia was checking over the fallen creature. The concerned blonde turned to her in confusion but keeping one hand on the beast's collarbone as it was lying on its side.

"You did this? How?" The Greek asked out of confusion and curiosity.

Sylvanas came forward slowly as she looked down slightly. "It was a 'gift' that my banshees taught me when I first became their queen." She answered as she gently nudged the dazed creature with her foot. "She'll be fine here by herself and I'm sure she'll come around eventually. You just better go." She suggested softly.

"What'll you do?" Sophitia asked as she stroked Starstrider's soft thick fur before she stood herself up from her kneeling position and checked her shield for any flaws or scratches that the white tiger might have caused.

Sylvanas looked in the direction of the base of the Night and Blood Elves. "I'll slip in when it's dark enough and I'll try and retrieve my weapons. Until Nightmare comes, I'll hide in the trees and if you and your elves need help against him, well, I'll help in my own way in the trees." She answered expressionlessly apart from her raised eyebrow as she turned to head into the endless trees.

"If you say so." Sophitia replied softly as she turned to leave. "I'll make sure that the bases are ready for Nightmare's assault." She stated broadly as she turned to leave without looking at her undead cooperative.

Sylvanas couldn't help but laugh, making Sophitia turned to her quizzically. "You sound so afraid." She stated but still sounded amused. "My banshee told me that his demonic self isn't that stable since he kept talking to himself when she was eavesdropping for me."

Sophitia could tell that Sylvanas thought of Nightmare as useless and hardly a threat, which she could only sigh at. "You don't know him like I do. You don't know the devastation I've seen caused by him. I know that you or Arthas may not be too different in that respect as well, but Nightmare's caused more murders in my world than you two have in this world. Trust me; I've fought against him before." Sophitia spoke in a low serious tone as she looked at the archer's pale face that was now plain as it looked back at her own. Sophitia slowly turned to leave with a formal nod. "Good luck in getting your weaponry and… erm…. Goodnight." She spoke hesitantly as he left through the brushes and trees.

Sylvanas just watched her form blankly as it disappeared through the brushes. She raised an eyebrow at her "Goodnight"; she was the first in a very long while to say that simple word to her. After darting her eyes a few times she just pushed the thought out of her head and mentally shrugged as she turned and leapt from tree limb to tree limb.

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"Oh ho! Our curious yet determined human is back!" A Night Elven archer with her bow on her shoulder stated with a grin as Taki, Mina and Kilik came up to the huge tree called the Ancient of War. When the archer looked at Mina excitedly from the tree and spoke of her race and personality some of the other archers that were stationed there for the time being immediately turned to her direction.

Taki's gaze swept across the grinning archers then turned to Mina with a raised eyebrow. "They know you well." She stated cockily, knowing it was obvious. Mina just turned to her and shrugged as she smiled.

"Here to play target practice with us again?" Another archer came forward with a smirk. Her eyes landed on Mina and Kilik's bandages then widened in surprise. "Didn't you think of one of those Blood Elf Healers helping you with those wounds?" She asked as she took Mina's arm under her fingertips and observed it.

Mina just blinked as she let the elf survey her. "Well I wasn't even sure what the differences between your races were besides skin and eye color, so how could you expect me to know enough to do that?" She stated as the tall archer sighed and turned to a tall elf with a human skin tone and straight blond hair that went down his back and over his deep red cloak.

"Healer!" She called with a raised hand. The blood elf turned his golden eyes to them as he held his staff in place in the leaf-covered ground.

"Do you want to guard against our arrows since you're the only one unscathed?" Taki turned as she heard the voice of another slender, purple-cloaked archer with shorter hair than the elf who called the healer over to tend to Mina and Kilik's wounds.

Taki raised her eyebrows and rubbed her mask-covered chin with her fingers in thought and turned to Mina and the busy healer with golden wavy auras emitting from his fingertips and landing on Mina's flesh-wounds. "Sure, I'm sure it'll be fun by the looks of all those cuts you gave Mina and Kilik." Taki added as she nodded and turned to the other archers who immediately smiled and turned to each other at her reply.

"Okay then, stand so that the trees are behind you, that way we won't harm anyone with our arrows." The archer explained as she drew out a purple-feathered arrow as at least three or four others followed suit. Taki did as she was told then bent her knees, focused her senses and slowly pulled out her Rekki-Maru half-way out of its sheath.

She waited and listened as the archers aimed their arrows and stretched their bow strings with their slender fingers. The ninja noticed that she was already starting to gain some Elven onlookers who just watched with somewhat intrigue.

'T-wang!'

Taki looked back just in time and not a second later drew her blade and guarded the oncoming long arrows with flash-like movement. She felt the force of the strong arrowheads on her blade and watched as they sprung upwards after they hit and fell to the ground. The elves all looked at her with raised eyebrows as if surprised. They remembered Mina and Kilik at least missing one.

"She's a fast one." One archer whispered to another while her listener nodded slightly.

"Luck, surely." The first archer stated as another group of archers came to test Taki's skill as their new goal. Mina looked from behind the archer, surprised at how focused Taki looked. The second group of archers readied their bows as Taki readied her stance.

'T-wang!'

Taki swung her arm around in front of her to guard the next wave of arrows as they flew towards her in purple flashes that stood out from the green and brown backgrounds. She was intrigued by how strong, durable and swift these arrows were made. "Those are some strong bows you have." Taki stated as she eyed the beautifully crafted bows with their glowing blue strings.

"Ready for the next wave of arrows?" The first archer asked as she clasped her next arrow to her bowstring. Taki noticed that there many onlookers now including children that were propped up on their elder's shoulders to get a better look.

Taki smiled. 'Let's give them a show, shall we?' She thought as she turned to the first archer and went into a defensive stance. "Whenever you are." She tightened her thick brown leather arm guards as she spoke.

The third set of archers readied their long bows with some closing one of their eyes to make their aim more accurate. With a 'T-wang!' sound that Taki was now becoming used to, she used her arm guards this time and either dodged or blocked them all with such swiftness that it brought the many elven onlookers to stare at her in awe. Even Mina and Kilik looked at her with the same expression as the groups of eager archers came forward with their beloved arrows.

"Wow." Mina whispered to herself as she continued to observe Taki's reflexes. "Either it's just me, or Taki seems to be more… focused when she doesn't have Sophitia on her mind like she used to." She concluded with a raised eyebrow then noticed Kilik sharply turn to her as she mentioned Sophitia having been on Taki's mind.

"When did this happen?" Kilik asked in a forced-out whisper as he leaned toward the Korean girl. Mina looked at him and sighed.

"You mean Taki having been in love with Sophitia?" She whispered back and at Kilik's slight nod she just shrugged. "I don't know; they were in love with each other even before I had met them!" She stated in a whisper as she turned to watch Taki continue. Kilik slowly turned to watch the ninja practice without a very strong hint of tension in her eyes.

"W-well. I h-hope that Taki and Sophitia get together again; wouldn't want to miss it-err I mean, wouldn't want them to become lonely." Kilik stated with quite a bit of difficulty as if slurred with nervousness, which made Mina slowly turned to him with lowered eyebrows even though he didn't look back.

"You're getting dirty thoughts, I know you are!" She whispered quite loudly so that some of the elves who stood near them glanced at her. Kilik closed his eyes tightly before he sharply turned back to her.

"Well the thoughts are your fault; you shouldn't have told me about their… uh… relationship! Now I can't get them out of my head!" Kilik spoke in a whisper as loud as hers was as he rubbed his forehead with his hand as if her thought it would make the ideas in his head go away.

"Well try!" Mina whispered loudly back so that more elves glanced at her. She turned back to observe the Asian woman as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But, anyway. I still think that Taki has become more focused than before, perhaps even a better huntress." She stated informingly as she nodded once for her own emphasis.

"Ha! A better huntress?"

Mina sharply turned as she heard the voice and mocking tone of someone that she feared the most of all the people she'd met on this quest; Maiev. Maiev stood behind her and was walking up to the group of archers that were testing the demon exterminator's skill. She held a slight grin as if amused and a raised eyebrow.

"If she was really good, she could stand up to my sentries." Maiev proposed as if she was implying for Taki to really try to stand up to her own Watchers. She turned to the onlookers and passerby's in the roads of the capital and searched through the people. "The sentries of the Watchers!" She called, making about five beautifully cloaked women who had their dark furred panthers in tow turn to her sharply as if waiting for their command with the obedience they were told to have for their higher-ranked officers.

"Maiev, you're not seriously going to have this human go through the trouble of-" The first archer stopped as Maiev turned to interrupted her.

"The more trouble, the better. Because then she'll be ready for anything in these lands, don't you agree?" Maiev looked at the speechless archer confidently as the elf slowly looked down and stood aside.

"I suppose you're right." She replied in a low voice as she placed the arrow that she was about to use next back in her arrow case on her back.

"But not right now."

Another deep but soft and feminine voice broke through the whispers of the other archers and onlookers as she came close to the massive living tree that looked down at her when she spoke. Tyrande placed her hand gently on the tree, Sophitia stood right behind her with her hands clasped within each other.

"What are you here for?" Maiev asked relentlessly as she shifted her round armor on her shoulders. Tyrande slowly turned to her.

"To ready ourselves for an approaching evil. Sophitia has informed me that the bearer of Soul Edge and ally or Arthas is on his way to this very base, so we must prepare." She informed coolly as the whispering between the onlookers, sentry and archers became louder in alarm at the report.

Taki, Mina and Kilik all immediately turned to Sophitia, who looked as calm as Tyrande was. Although she couldn't keep her eyes off of Taki, which made the ninja's eyes dart away from her own at odd seconds out of nervousness of the Greek's constantly soft gaze.

"Is he?" Maiev raised an eyebrow underneath her helmet then clasped her hands together rather excitedly. "Great, I finally get to meet this Azure Knight and finally get to have my sisters go into battle with him." Maiev sounded as if she was more excited that she actually had something worthwhile to do.

"Right. Well, if you could tell the other Ancients in Ashenvale and warn the Blood Elf leaders to be prepared and train more warriors?" Tyrande asked Maiev calmly as she looked up the Ancient of War as if telling it to do what she just required from it. The rugged wooden head of the tree slowly nodded, bending some branches in the process and began to slowly move its 'arms' repeatedly as if it was chanting.

Maiev seemed to sigh. "Sure… fine, the more defense the better." She turned on her heel and weaved her way through the groups of archers before she broke into a run towards her destinations.

Sophitia turned to Tyrande. "What shall I, Taki, Mina and Kilik do to help?" She asked in a low voice. Tyrande just kept her moonlit eyes upon her for a few seconds in thought.

"Well, I already sent Jaina to report to the Orcs and she's fine in completing that alone." Tyrande thought aloud as she placed her fingers on her chin in thought. "I think that all I can ask of you is to be prepared since you know more about this knight then any of our races do. I would only need you four to lead and command us what to do to better defend you since you will need to help Jaina in stealing and purifying his soul." She explained softly as Sophitia nodded slowly.

"I understand. We'll be ready." She confirmed as she turned to her friends, who all nodded in agreement.

"Great, we're going to be in front of the groups of races." Kilik restated again with a troubled sigh.

"I know, but there's no use in complaining." Mina stated with her own sigh as she started preparing herself by stretching her muscles.

"I agree." Kilik rolled his neck until his eyes landed on Taki who was searching around her body suit for something. "What are you looking for, Taki?" He asked out of curiosity.

"I can't find my blade-polishing rag. Have you seen it? I've lost it for days." She exclaimed although in her search she didn't hear Sophitia gasp slightly. Sophitia really had no intentions of giving Taki's rag back because it was the only part of Taki that she could actually hold.

"Priestess!" An elven runner brought Taki's attention away from her rag and onto the urgent voice of the elf. "There's been a sighting of some sort of black demon in coming from the cloud-covered skies. The Blood elves and Orcs both saw it at their observatories. The demon is said to be carried by what looked like a pale spirit of some sort and the demon is wielding a blade as tall as his own self!" The runner reported in alarm.

"That's Nightmare!" Mina shouted although she had no idea how a ghost was able to carry a living armor-wearing knight. Tyrande's calm expression turned into one of alarm as she sharply turned to Mina. Her eyes darted as she turned back to the runner with a very serious expression.

"Runner, I've sent the warden Maiev to tell the Ancient's to produce more warrior and to warn the blood elves. Now I need you to do the same. How far is the demon from here?" Tyrande asked as she leaned forward to better hear her scout.

"The blood elves at the observatories guessed perhaps ten kilometers coming from the North." The runner explained, sounding confident that her information was correct.

"Ten kilometers, that isn't too far from here." Tyrande stated mostly to herself as she tried to think of how far that really was. She sharply turned back to the runner who stood and waited diligently for her command. "Runner, hurry and sound the horn for our sisters to gather in the fortified square of Ashenvale. Then go and tell the Ancients that I command them to begin training more warriors." The runner nodded at her priestess' command and hastily ran in a different direction than Maiev headed, her yellow cloak (most likely colored that way because she was of a different class then the other elves) matching her swiftness as she sped through the capital.

Tyrande turned to the already-trained archers and pointed towards the fortified center of the capital. "Go sisters, meet in the capital and we will wait for the assault there!" She commanded broadly and the warriors, archer, druid, and dryad nodded obediently as they made their way through the crowd of peasants and commoners.

"I'll see if I can spot them from that ziggurat."

Tyrande didn't have time to turn as a red and black flash body went passed her and ran up to the tallest ziggurat which was the same ziggurat that held her quarters. She raised an eyebrow as she watched the Asian jump from one level to the next until she landed on the very top and kneeled down of the platform to better balance herself against the winds that came over the trees. She could just be seen with the remaining twilight skies outlining her form.

"How quick and swift she is." Tyrande noted mostly to herself in intrigue. 'I wonder if she can match our speed when prowling through the woods.' She thought to herself with a raised eyebrow at the thought.

"She's done that many times before." Sophitia added openly as she gazed at the focused woman on top of the ziggurat, admiring her for not having fear and hoping that she would find a way to strike a nerve in Taki's memory. She would find a way, she knew it, and she wasn't going to give up hope.

8

"Banshee! How far are we from the destination?" Nightmare demanded over the sounds of the roaring winds going through his armor and helmet. They soared over the thousands of thick trees, waterfalls, lakes and wildlife of the forest bordering Ashenvale with the dark clouds just passing overhead and little droplets of rain could be felt.

"Not much further my lord." Sharlindra cringed as she called Nightmare her 'lord'; she didn't like the idea of feeling unfaithful to her beloved queen. "Perhaps seven kilometers." She added as she gripped his armor a little tighter. 'I can only hope that they're ready, if they aren't then my queen and I will be discovered if they should fall.

"Perfect; my thirst is beginning to drive me mad, especially when I know that the first soul that I'm going to consume is that annoying Greek woman with impeccable timing when it comes to my own love of destruction. She likes to destroy my own fun." Nightmare explained mostly to himself in anger like a little spoiled boy.

"Patience my lord; you're time for consumption will come." Sharlindra spoke with a smirk this time, thinking of what this knight's demise would bring for her queen as well as Arthas.

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Sorry this one took so along although this one took less time than the last one did. I know the who banshee flying a knight over the lands and waters to Ashenvale is very out-there but it was the only fast way that I could get Nightmare over there besides teleporting.

There next one will be interesting seeing as to how there will be another well-known Warcraft leader making an appearance and there will be a Maiev vs. Taki demon exterminator fight, and there will be a hidden ending: will Nightmare succeed or will Jaina, Sophitia, Sylvanas and the others succeed in purifying Siegfried's soul?

I had to wait until now to pin the two chapters up because I'm going out-of-country for a week and I wanted to wait until the last minute and not leave you hanging. It may take me a while like two weeks or more to submit the next chapter to this one, but perhaps not the next chapter to 'My Way'. The next one will be a little funny as well and Sophitia will try her hints in the next one.