Prince of Persia - Kindred Blades Chapter 17, a prince of persia fanfic

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Dark Path

The Prince made his way through the streets, his renewed confidence during battle seemingly drawn from an endless emotional well, as he slaughtered one threat after another on the way to the Resistance's secret safehouse within this section of the city. Every now and then, a well-aimed enemy counter managed to land a lucky blow on the Prince. But it was nothing a quick rewind couldn't fix, as he adapted to the formerly successful counter move and slew the perpetrator in cold blood.

The sun began to set once he finally arrived at the safehouse, earlier than expected (the Prince carefully examining his surroundings before deciding to enter).

Wallrunning into a vacant window above him, the Prince made himself comfortable as he waited what felt like an eternity for Darius and the Resistance forces to arrive.

A few hours went by, but Darius and a number of Resistance soldiers arrived, unlocking the door to the startling of the Prince (who woke up from a much-deserved nap).

'Was wondering when you'd get here,' the Prince stated with an almost inpatient tone. 'I could have freed the trapped citizens a thousand fold, in the time it took for you all to get here.'

Seemingly ignoring the comment, Darius stated with business-like authority, 'It seems you live up to your reputation, Prince. We didn't encounter many active enemy forces on the streets, only having a few close calls... Well done.'

'Oh, it was nothing,' the Prince sarcastically responded. 'Just more battles for the historical records.'

'Sire! What has happened to your arm?' a soldier commented. 'That doesn't look normal!'

'It.. is nothing,' the Prince lied, as he looked it over. 'Just a distinct battle scar from a monster that attempted to turn me over to their side on the way here. But I showed them why you do not want to make enemies of Persian royalty and... ended him.'

A number of soldiers sounded very impressed by this story, but Darius was not so easily convinced. Something was off with the Prince that stood before him, but he knew there was no way to prove it without something more viable than a gut feeling. And right now, there were more important matters to deal with.

Resigning himself, Darius ordered the soldiers to deal with whatever bodily function required their immediate attention, before everyone stealthily traversed down the next few streets to the Coliseum under the cover of darkness.

Arriving at the gates, the Prince and Darius snuck up on two unaware threats, dispatching them silently as the Resistance soldiers did the same accordingly. It was then upon entering, that they saw moving portions of a great beast which had previously been known as nothing more than a local rumor, at one of the many entrance corridors to the arena proper while it seemingly reached down and snacked on some kind of food (as torches lit the Coliseum arena in portions of orange light).

The Prince had a good idea of what that food source was and he had to hold back the temptation to empty his stomach's contents.

Everyone quickly took cover in the shadows provided by the corridors, as they tried to come up with a new battle strategy on the fly.

'What do we do now?' one soldier nervously stated quietly. 'There's no way we would stand a chance against that... thing!'

'I have one,' the Prince said, as he started to jog away and activate the switch for the door supports, locking off Darius and the Resistance soldiers from following him in for the time being.

'Dammit!' Darius stated in subdued frustration. 'What does he hope to achieve by going in and fighting this battle alone? Argh, follow me men. Perhaps we can use those cannons to lend that hot-headed prince some support.'

Looking up at the giant beast, the Prince could see this creature for what it truly was. It looked uncannily human, possessing a large exposed gut that stood out among the pitiful amounts of armor attached to its person and a sword the size of a tower, currently stabbed into the ground.

It didn't take long for the monster to notice him as it got to its feet, raised its sword and was about ready to slice the Prince in half.

Narrowly dodging out of the way of the incoming blow, the Prince ran around the arena and spied some wooden beams he could climb. But this creature wasn't so foolish enough to simply allow him to gain the home-field advantage and knew that so long as it could keep the Prince on the ground, it was only a matter of time before he would be another morsel of food for the monster to feast upon.

Putting his regained ability to slow down the flow of time to good use, the Prince made a mad dash for the walls, running along it as he caught the wooden beams (just as the Sands' effects wore off). Continuing to climb, the Prince could now see the monster's face in greater detail. Dried blood was displayed across its upper body, its eyes displaying an unnerving sense of bloodlust (as it attempted to reach its open hand out and grab the quick Prince).

Backflipping out of the reach of the arm, the monster suddenly roared in pain as it turned around to find the source of its discomfort. The Prince could see a spiked cannonball jabbed into the creature's back, which could only mean Darius and the Resistance members had managed to get to the stored artillery.

Ensuring not to waste this opportunity, the Prince made a huge leap and landed on the beast's left shoulder, stabbing it with his sword for some stability support.

Enraged, the monster attempted to grab him. But with hardened determination, the Prince quickly pulled out the sword and sliced at the creature's hand, causing it to cry out in further pain as he ran onto its head and stabbed his sword into one of its eyes, blinding it partially as the Prince landed back on the ground while the creature crouched down to tend to its wounded vision.

The beast let out an unnerving roar, before being newly pelted by spiked cannonballs from Darius and the Resistance in the upper levels. Turning its attention back towards them, it raised its sword and sliced at where it believed the disturbance was originally, destroying two of the cannons during the scuffle.

Fortunately, the Resistance members had made sure to make a run for it to a different position, adrenaline making them go at speeds that a few didn't ever believe they could go.

With this, the Prince proceeded to attack the monster's flabby legs, slicing as quick as he could, blood pouring from the wounds as the creature collapsed on the ground, the pain too much for it to still stand.

'Now! Finish him while it's down!' a soldier cried out to the Prince, the Prince clinging his blood-covered sword with great strength as he moved quickly to the creature's face and stabbed the sword into the creature's other eye, forcing it in until the monster's cries of pain ceased and it finally died.

Pulling the sword out of the eye socket, the Prince moved his weapon about several times to clear it of as much blood as he could. Satisfied with the results, he returned his sword to its hilt.

The arena doors all opened up, as the Prince rejoined the Resistance members on the ground floor in the arena.

'What were you thinking!' Darius shouted to the Prince. 'Running head-on into battle against such a threat, was a reckless and seriously life-threatening tactic. I'm actually amazed you weren't killed!'

'I still slaughtered this creature, didn't I?' the Prince responded in frustration. 'It was no tougher than many of the other threats I've come across in my travels.'

'You have no idea what's really at stake, do you?' Darius angrily retaliated. 'If you die, any hope left in stopping this plague is well and truly gone. Make sure to remember that, Prince. Or it will truly be the death of us all.'

As Darius walked off, the Prince followed after a bit, silently fuming over the stubbornness of this man. Who did he think he was, instructing him in ways akin to communicating with a small child? When this was all over, the Prince hoped to never have to deal with Darius again as the Resistance proceeded down to the lower levels and free uninfected prisoners from their forced captivity over the next few hours to various safehouses.

Light Path

The Prince made his way through the streets, his renewed confidence during battle seemingly drawn from an endless emotional well as he slaughtered one threat after another, on the way to the Resistance's secret hideout within this section of the city. Every now and then, a well-aimed enemy counter managed to land a lucky blow on the Prince. But it was nothing a quick rewind couldn't fix, as he adapted to the formerly successful counter move and slew the perpetrator in cold blood.

The sun began to set once he finally arrived at the hideout, earlier than expected (the Prince carefully examining his surroundings before deciding to enter).

Wallrunning into a vacant window above him, the Prince made himself comfortable as he waited for Darius and the Resistance forces to arrive, tending to his minor wounds in the meantime.

The Prince decided to make effective use of this long waiting period, sitting down on the ground as he closed his eyes and went into a meditative state, managing to land on the right wavelength as he engaged in idle chatter with Zurvan without needing to return to his mindscape.

Much discussion was had about the Doppelganger, what his grand plans for Babylon likely were and the coming dangers that lay ahead for the Prince in his journey.

Towards the end of their mental back and forth conversation, the Prince ensured to ask Zurvan if there was anything he knew about this 'beast' who called the Babylon Coliseum its new home.

'Ah, you mean 'Klompa'? Yes, I do know exactly what this creature is.' Zurvan replied.

Continuing on with his recollection, Zurvan brought up details which especially intrigued the Prince, 'During my tenure as a corrupted general, your shadow made it very much clear to me, how invaluable Klompa was in the coming wars with other continents. With his great strength, durability and size at his beck and call, your Sands duplicate would be practically considered invincible. Many nations wouldn't stand a chance. And while it is good that your Resistance seeks to bring this creature down, it won't be an easy task, even for you Prince. Take great care when you face him and remember, there's always more strength in numbers.'

As the Prince came out of his meditative state and feeling completely recharged all-round, he could hear the door to the hideout being unlocked. Ready for anything, he was relieved to see Darius and various Resistance soldiers entering the building, expressing an open sigh of relief.

'Took you long enough to get here,' the Prince said. 'I was beginning to worry that I might have to return to battling these threats alone.'

'Oh, it was nothing,' the Prince sarcastically responded. 'Just more battles for the historical records.'

'Sire! What has happened to your arm?' a soldier commented. 'That doesn't look normal!'

'Ah, yes... about that,' the Prince said. 'I ran into an old friend of my family along the way. He had become corrupted by the Sands of Time and was very much close to completely turning me to the opposing side. It was only through sheer willpower that I was able to survive in my new monstrous form, before discovering water could reverse the transformation largely. I attempted to reason with the Elder, but he left me no choice. He was able to hold back his darker impulses long enough for me to bring his torment to an end... I can only hope he's in a better place now than the current existence we find ourselves in.'

'So... you're one of them now,' Darius said.

'Not entirely,' the Prince responded, as he looked at his corrupted right arm. 'I'm able to keep it at bay for the time being. But its best we hurry, lest my better half fall to this corruption entirely.'

'Very well then,' Darius stated in a surprisingly reserved tone. 'Alright men, go resolve any bodily needs immediately. We set off in the next few minutes.'

Arriving at the gates under the cover of darkness, the Prince and Darius snuck up on two unaware threats, dispatching them silently as the Resistance soldiers did the same accordingly. It was then upon entering, that they saw moving portions of a great beast which had previously been known as nothing more than a local rumor, at one of the many entrance corridors to the arena proper while it seemingly reached down and snacked on some kind of food (as torches lit the Coliseum arena in portions of orange light).

The Prince had a good idea of what that food source was and he had to hold back the temptation to empty his stomach's contents.

Everyone quickly took cover in the shadows provided by the corridors, as they tried to come up with a new battle strategy on the fly.

'What do we do now?' one soldier nervously stated quietly. 'There's no way we would stand a chance against that... thing!'

'I have an idea,' the Prince said. 'Darius, can you and the Resistance members venture to the higher levels where all those old artillery cannons are stored? If I can distract him long enough, perhaps some careful spiked cannonballs on your end can weaken him somewhat and make it easier for me to kill him.'

'Very well,' Darius said. 'But how do you expect to stay alive? You're just one man against a savage beast.'

'Do not worry,' the Prince said. 'I've dealt with similar monstrosities before during my travels. Just ensure to make a run for it, if the beast decides to focus its attacks on you.'

The message understood, Darius and the Resistance soldiers made a rush for the stairs to the higher levels as the Prince proceeded to jog into the arena itself, a tad fearful but confident at what needs to be done tonight.

It didn't take long for Klompa to notice him as it got to its feet, raised its sword and was about ready to slice the Prince in half.

Narrowly dodging out of the way of the incoming blow, the Prince ran around the arena and spied some wooden beams he could climb. But this creature wasn't naive. Klompa wasn't going to simply allow him to gain the home-field advantage and knew that so long as it could keep the Prince on the ground, it was only a matter of time before he would be another morsel of food for it to feast upon.

Backflipping out of the reach of the arm, Klompa suddenly roared in pain as it turned around to find the source of its discomfort. The Prince could see a spiked cannonball jabbed into the creature's back, which could only mean Darius and the Resistance members had managed to get to the stored artillery.

Ensuring not to waste this opportunity, the Prince made a huge leap and landed on the beast's left shoulder, stabbing it with his sword for some stability support.

Enraged, Klompa attempted to grab him. But with hardened determination, the Prince quickly pulled out the sword and sliced at the creature's hand, causing it to cry out in further pain as he ran onto its head and stabbed his sword into one of its eyes, blinding it partially as the Prince landed back on the ground while the creature crouched down to tend to its wounded vision.

Klompa let out an unnerving roar, before being newly pelted by spiked cannonballs from Darius and the Resistance in the upper levels. Turning its attention back towards them, it raised its sword and sliced at where it believed the disturbance was originally, destroying two of the cannons during the scuffle.

Fortunately, the Resistance members had made sure to make a run for it as instructed to a different position, adrenaline making them go at speeds that a few didn't ever believe they could go.

With this, the Prince proceeded to attack Klompa's flabby legs, slicing as quick as he could, blood pouring from the wounds as the creature collapsed on the ground, the pain too much for it to still stand.

Pulling the sword out of the eye socket, the Prince moved his weapon about several times to clear it of as much blood as he could. Satisfied with the results, he returned his sword to its hilt.

The arena doors all opened up, as the Prince rejoined the Resistance members on the ground floor in the arena.

'Have to say, mighty impressive!' Darius said to the Prince. 'Running head-on into battle against such a threat, was a reckless and seriously life-threatening tactic. But seeing you hold your own against that beast is one story to be told for future generations!'

'Thank you Darius.' the Prince responded casually, feeling honored to see a man he'd known in a previous life as self-centred and egotistical, be so optimistic. 'But I certainly wouldn't have been able to defeat it without all of you.'

'Agreed,' Darius replied. 'Do you see now Prince how much can be conquered with the proper teamwork. Keep this up and I might actually start to see you as an equal.'

As Darius walked off, the Prince followed after a bit, lost in thought at the words he'd never expect to hear coming out of Darius's mouth. He could certainly see where Farah had gotten her combat smarts from in retrospect. But to see so much riding on him succeeding in stopping the Doppelganger, only strengthened his resolve to push on and see where this journey took him next.

When this was all over, the Prince hoped to start a more mutual friendship between the two nations, as the Resistance proceeded down to the lower levels and freed uninfected prisoners from their forced captivity over the next few hours to various safehouses.