Disclaimer: I do not own the Soul Calibur characters.


Chapter Nine: Off to War

Siegfried rose from his shared bed with Ookami one ordinary morning. He looked down at his beloved. She was still sleeping. Siegfried chuckled at how cute she looked with the wolf pelt wrapped tightly around her. He crouched down and patted her softly on the head. Ookami didn't stir and continued to sleep.

Siegfried walked out of her den and stretched his arms. He looked around the cavern and saw Kallias and Morag talking to each other. The rest of the animal spirits must've been sleeping still.

Since the first time he came to the cavern, Siegfried always speculated that the dragon and eagle had a thing for each other. But he never dared to question it. They might be just really close friends.

Then, he heard a loud yawn and turned his head. It was Teranika standing in the mouth of her den. She sat down and scratched her ear with a hind paw. When she finished, she lay down and began washing her paw with her tongue.

Kallias hopped over to Siegfried.

"Good morning," She said in her usual nice tone. "Did you sleep well?"

Siegfried turned to face the golden bird and smiled. "Yes I did. Thank you."

She bowed her head respectfully. Morag walked up to her side.

"We should be the ones thanking you," Morag said. "Ookami's never been this happy in long time."

"Yeah," That was Teranika's voice. "The last time Mistress Ookami was this happy was when Sappho got tangled in some vines and couldn't get out. The stupid fur ball was ranting on and on about 'why is it always her that's stuck'."

Teranika let out a laugh. That was when, from Sappho's den, came a sphere of glowing water straight at Teranika. Teranika, who continued to lick her paw, whapped the sphere with her tail back at Sappho. Sappho walked out of her den and hit the sphere with her tail, slashing it in half. Teranika looked at Sappho and smirked.

"Nice try," Teranika said smugly. "But it'll take a lot more than that to hit me with your water sphere."

Sappho glared at Teranika. "Hey! It's a lot cooler than your earth shaker attack!"

"Earth shaker?" Siegfried repeated.

Morag cleared his throat. "Each of us has our own unique element that we can control. Sappho controls water and Teranika controls earth."

"I can control wind and Morag can control fire," Kallias finished for him.

Siegfried looked at Delano's den. "What does Delano control?"

"He can use all four elements," Teranika said. "Only a few spirits has the ability to control all four."

"Delano is not as weak as you think," Sappho said. "He may be old, but he by far one of the wisest and strongest spirits in Alana."

"What up with the commotion?" Someone asked.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Ookami standing in the mouth of her den. She was picking the hay out of her red locks.

"Good morning Ookami," Everyone muttered. She replied with a simple nod and she walked over to Siegfried.

"So what were you guys talking about?" She asked.

"We were just explaining to the boy about the elements we can control," Kallias answered.

Ookami nodded. "I see…"

Sappho ran out of her and den and to Ookami, her blue eyes flaring with excitement. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Well…Delano doesn't need any herbs and the kill pile is high. I think today is just a lazy day," Ookami said with a smile on her face as she patted Sappho on the head.

Sappho let out a trill of excitement and began jumping up and down. Then, she jumped onto Siegfried's lap.

"Come on! Let's play Moonlight Lily," She purred to Siegfried. "Then we can have a mock battle!"

"Um…last time I check, I didn't get my weapon back," Siegfried pointed out. "Remember, the first day I came here you guys confiscated it from me."

Ookami's eyes brightened up. "I have a present for you."

Ookami got up and walked to her den. A few moments later, she came back with a Zweihänder in her hands. She handed it to Siegfried. It looked a lot different than the weapon he came here with. In the steel blade were inscriptions in red that Siegfried could not make out. The handle was black instead of brown.

Ookami smiled. "The other guardians and me made it for you. We named it Oidhche, which means "night". Do you like it?"

Siegfried didn't know what to say. He was stunned by the how beautiful the weapon looked first of all. He was also thankful for the fact that Ookami and her companions made this weapon for him.

The other guardians gathered near, with smiles on their faces.

"We embedded some magic into the blade and the inscriptions are ancient magic that are guaranteed to protect you in any battle," Kallias said.

Siegfried dropped the weapon and hugged the guardians into a group hug. They all yelped slightly at first and then smiled.

"We're glad you like it," Ookami said for the group.

Tears rolled down Siegfried's face. They weren't tears of sorrow or grief, but tears of joy. Joy for that his friends, who seemed to be foes at first, came together and gave him a gift he would never forget.

He let go of the embrace and then he got a thought. The spirits were never bad. It was humans who entered their territory first and they had to attack because they wanted to protect their home. That's why they were fighting this war! Siegfried knew that he should talk to Althalos and tell him to stop fighting against the spirits. This war has and always was pointless.

As the guardians went away, Siegfried asked Ookami if he could have a word with her. They went to her den.

"So…what is it you want to talk about?" She asked.

"D-Do you think we can visit the king in Mordrivale?" Siegfried asked, worried about what she might say.

Ookami's eyes widened in fear. "What? Do you hate it here?"

"No. I love it here and I love being with you but…I need to talk to the king. To end this pointless war. Maybe then-"

Then, a loud yowl that seemed to shake the forest interrupted Siegfried. The two looked outside and walked into the main cavern. There they saw Aideen, the great forest healer with the body of a deer, bleeding severely from cuts on his body. Delano quickly trekked up the stairs and let the deer lean on him.

"Get some bedding down for him," Delano instructed.

Sappho and Morag scrambled to get moss and hay down for him. Teranika walked up the stairs to help Delano get Aideen down. Ookami quickly got a container of water. Teranika helped Aideen, when he got to the bedding, onto his side. Ookami returned with some water and tried to put some water into his mouth.

"Please…."Aideen rasped. "Don't help…me."

"Who did this to you?" Ookami asked.

"Fe…Fen…" Aideen said, hardly being able to say his words.

"Fendrel?" Siegfried asked.

"Yes...him."

"Who's Fendrel?" Ookami asked.

"He is the commander of the army," Siegfried explained. "He must've attacked him."

Teranika growled. "Cursed humans…I'll go and rip his head off!"

"Ookami, what should we do?" Morag asked.

Ookami stood up and her eyes narrowed. "We fight…"

She went into her den and got her fox mask and her dagger. Siegfried cocked his head. Was she going to ask him t go with her?

She exited the den with the fox mask over her face.

"Teranika and Siegfried…you are coming with me," She said. "The rest of you will help heal Aideen."

Everyone nodded, except for Siegfried. Ookami is bringing out to battle on the spirit side he is supposed to be fighting for the human side.

Ookami looked at him and grabbed his arm.

"Don't worry about it," Ookami reassured him. "I know you're fighting against the people who hired you, but we need you."

Siegfried nodded and took the new weapon Ookami and the others made for him. He nodded his head and his expression hardened.

"Lets go," Siegfried said.

The three walked up the stone steps of the cavern to the mouth. Ookami jumped onto Teranika's back first, then helped Siegfried up. He wrapped his arms around Ookami's waist. Ookami turned her back to the cavern.

"Aideen, please be alive when we get back," She muttered. She looked forward. "Go Teranika."

Teranika nodded and ran as fast as she could along a narrow path through the woods. Siegfried held on tightly as the wolf ran as fast as she could through the forest.

It was only moments later when smoke flooded Siegfried's nostrils. The war zone was very near.

"Brace yourself boy," Teranika said as she jumped over a fallen tree. "The war zone on the spirit side is very different than fighting on the human side."

"Take advantages of nature around you," Ookami said. "Asset to the situation. Ah…can you see the battle field now?"

Siegfried squinted his eyes. He saw the dry, brown grass of the battlefield and the catapults along the great wall that protected the human kingdom of Mordrivale.

"Yes, I can," Siegfried answered.

"Good," Ookami said. "Hang on! Teranika's going to jump over the bush."

Siegfried wrapped his arms around her waist as the wolf jumped over the bush and onto the battlefield.

Siegfried looked at the battlefield. It was not different at all when he was captured and token prisoner by Ookami. Bodies of humans were on the dead grass, either dead or injured. There were several spirit bodies on the ground as well. The catapults were loaded and ready to be fired at the spirits.

On the spirit side, several cat-like and dog-like spirits were fighting human soldiers. Dragon and Griffin spirits took to the air, grabbing humans in their claws and then dropping them onto the ground. A giant stone spirit that was taller than a tree was also in the fight.

But all that didn't matter to Siegfried. All he wanted to see was Fendrel. Siegfried examined the area, and then he saw Fendrel, sitting on the back of a horse near a catapult.

"The coward," Teranika growled. "He had the decency to stab the great healer of the spirits but he doesn't hit the others. Oh, how I want to taste his blood."

"Just wait a little," Ookami said calmly to the wolf.

Then, Fendrel looked up and saw the infamous wolf and girl. A smirk came across his face.

"My soldiers! Come back!" Fendrel commanded.

The soldiers obeyed and went to their commander, leaving the spirits they were fighting were they were.

Teranika walked forward to the middle of the battlefield. Siegfried could feel how tense both girl and wolf were as they went to the middle.

"Well…if it isn't the great protector of the spirits," Fendrel bellowed. "Mistress Ookami, I believe."

"And you're Fendrel, I assume," Ookami spoke out.

Fendrel chuckled. "You and your pesky spirit friends are going to lose in the end. You know that?"

"We will never learn the outcome of the battle till the end," Ookami said calmly.

"Bastard!" Teranika snarled. "You attacked our healer, Aideen! Have you the decency to not assault a healer?!"

"Teranika…please be quiet," Ookami told the wolf.

Fendrel laughed coldly. Then, he spotted Siegfried. "Well, we finally found you, Siegfried. But it looks like you took the side of the wretched spirits."

"They are not wretched, Fendrel!" Siegfried yelled. "The spirits are just protecting their home!"

"Lies!" Fendrel lashed out. "The spirits are on this earth to destroy us all!" Fendrel pulled out his sword and raised it into the air. "Attack! Leave the two and the wolf to me!"

At that instant, the soldiers charged at the spirits once again. Teranika did a battle howl and the spirits charged at the humans. Teranika snarled at some soldiers that were in her way and smacked them away with her tail. Ookami was stabbing enemies with her dagger. Siegfried slashed away at the people who Ookami and Teranika missed.

Then, the soldiers parted as Fendrel charged at Teranika and the others. He was riding a horse at full speed. The beast trampled some poor souls as it made his way.

Teranika turned to face the horse and snarled viciously at the horse. The horse was frightened by Teranika's sharp fangs and reared up. Fendrel held on and kicked the horse. The horse went down and walked to cautiously to the wolf and its riders.

"Meet you in hell, spirit!" Fendrel snarled as he tried to stab Ookami.

Siegfried blocked Ookami with Oidhche. When Siegfried removed the sword barrier in front of Ookami, the she-warrior cut Fendrel's left eye with her dagger. Fendrel bared his teeth and groaned as he covered his injured eye. Teranika let out a growl of approval and ran away from Fendrel.

Siegfried watched Fendrel kick his horse into a gallop and went back to his post by the catapult.

"Is he giving up already?" Teranika said. "Boy! He's softer than you were, Siegfried!"

Siegfried rolled his eyes at Teranika's comment. But the wolf did make a good point. Why was Fendrel giving up already?

"Soldiers! Retreat!" Fendrel yelled out.

Soldiers retreated and stood next to their commander.

"I think he is giving up," Ookami said, astonished by the commanders softness.

"You never know with Fendrel," Siegfried added.

Then, the catapults rolled up onto the battlefield, pulled by oxen. Siegfried and Teranika's eyes widened.

"What the hell?" Teranika growled. "Are they going to fire at us?"

The oxen stopped pulling and the catapult faced the spirit army.

"I think they are…" Siegfried muttered.

"Fire!" Fendrel yelled.

The soldiers by the rope that keeps the rock in the basket grabbed a large axe and slashed the rope, sending the rocks falling into the air at the spirits.

"Run!" Ookami yelled.

But before any spirit could react, large boulders landed in front of them. As Teranika was about to run, a giant boulder crashed in front of her, startling her at first. Then, the wolf spirit shook her head and ran to the left.

"Fire!" Siegfried heard Fendrel yell, as another group of boulder were launch into the air.

A boulder headed straight towards Teranika and her riders. That was when the wolf's tail began to glow green. Teranika swung her hind legs around and the boulder was smashed into a million pieces by her tail.

"Nice," Siegfried commented.

"Thanks. But we need to get the hell away from here."

But just as Teranika was about to run again, an unseen boulder went flying towards them. The boulder landed only a few feet away from the wolf. Its impact sent earth into the air and Teranika. Teranika also got struck and her riders went flying into different direction. Ookami landed on the ground hard, her head hitting a rock as she landed. She went unconscious.

Siegfried's eyes widened as he tried to dash to Ookami.

"Ookami!" He yelled.

Then, something blocked his way. He looked up and saw Fendrel. Blood stained his face and Siegfried could see and evil smirk on his face.

"Say "hi" to the devil for me!" Fendrel snarled as his swords handle hit Siegfried on the head.

Siegfried's mind suddenly went black and he fell to the dry earth.

"Ookami…" He murmured before going cold.