Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Soul Calibur.
Chapter 10: Her Past Revealed
Siegfried felt cold and damp when he awoke from his blackout. He opened his green eyes slowly. He was in a stone chamber with the only light source was a torch outside of a barred gate. The atmosphere reeked of mold and the only sound was from a leak through the stone ceiling. It didn't take him long to find out that he was in a dungeon.
He staggered to the bars of his cell and shook it.
"Hey! Let me out of here! I need to save Ookami!" He yelled as he shook the gate.
Then, a fist came through the bars and struck Siegfried in the face. The young man fell onto his butt. He placed a hand on his face and looked up at the figure that assaulted him. It was a man, about his height and age. He was wearing armor and he had a ring of keys in his hand.
"Shut up!" The guard snapped. "Don't have a fit, your girlfriend is in there with you. And for your wolf friend, its somewhere far from you guys. It's probably going to be executed soon."
Siegfried's eyes widened. 'No…not Teranika.' Siegfried thought to himself.
"Commander Fendrel will be here soon," The guard said as he went back to his chair next to the cell.
"Whatever…" Siegfried answered.
He slowly stood up and walked to back of the cave. What's the point? Fendrel will probably kill him and Ookami along with Teranika.
As he walked to the darkness, he stepped on something. He looked down and saw a tail. Was it Teranika? Did she hide in the cell with him?
But he looked closely. The tail wasn't colored pure white, Teranika's fur color. The color was more of an off-white color. He picked up the tail and followed it to the body. The fur was as soft as Teranika's, but felt different, in a way. He reached the head and felt something hard, kind of like a mask. Siegfried picked up the head and brought it to the light, where he could get a better look.
In the light, he could see the features better. The animal had mask on. The mask had eyeholes cut out for the eyes. On the top and bottom of the eyehole, was red paint, simulating make-up. Red circles that represented blush was on the mask were the cheek was. Then he realized whose mask it was. It was Ookami's mask.
Siegfried shook his head in disbelief. "No…my Ookami can't be an animal."
The animal was passed out, resting her head on Siegfried lap.
"Siegfried…I have something to tell you," A voice came out.
Suddenly, Siegfried wasn't in the cave anymore. He was in the part of Alana were he first met Keita, the nine tailed queen of the forest. The only difference was that the creature's head was still on his lap.
He looked at the animal on him more extensively. It was indeed an off-white colored fox with nine tails. Red rings were around the fox's ankles. The fox was on her side, her chest raising and falling slowly as she breathed. Then, Keita's sweet scent surrounded him as she appeared in a bright flash of light. Keita's fur glowed and she bowed her head in greetings. Siegfried looked at the fox, his green eyes flooding with nervousness. Was the fox on his lap really his beloved?
"I-Is this Ookami?" He said as best as he could without crying.
Keita looked at the fox and then back at Siegfried. The forest queen's eyes were filled with the same sadness as Siegfried's.
"Yes…it is her," She said softly.
"You mean…she's actually a fox?" Siegfried asked.
"Well…the actual story began long ago, when Ookami was a baby. The truth is…she isn't my blood daughter."
Siegfried's eyes widened as the fox paused. She took a breath and continued. "It was eighteen years ago, two humans were exploring my forest. I heard about them and went to confront them. I spotted them and told them to leave the forest immediately or I would kill them. The woman had a bundle in her hands. The man told her to leave the bundle. So, she dropped the bundle and made a run for it with her husband. I walked over to the bundle, curious to what they left behind. It turned out to be a baby girl. I picked up the baby and brought her back to my den."
Siegfried then remembered that dream. It was exactly as she explained but he didn't know who the baby was. Now he knew who it was. It was Ookami.
"So…that means she isn't a spirit?" Siegfried asked.
"I'm not done with my story yet," Keita muttered. "I raised the child with my child, a nine-tailed fox named Airlia. Despite being different species, the two grew up peacefully and protective of each other. I was happy because they were happy. Then…something happened six years ago."
Keita's voice became lower and she began flexing her claws at the ground. "Ookami was twelve years old. Ookami and Airlia were patrolling the forest by the battlefield and a human ambushed them. The two were able to protect themselves but…" Keita had problems speaking out whatever she was about to say. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Airlia…got stabbed in the chest…"
Siegfried's eyes widened and flooded with sympathy. "Was the blade of the sword covered with purple goop?"
Keita nodded. "That liquid is designed to kill spirits. Ookami was stabbed, but it didn't affect her. Airlia was also stabbed, but since she was a spirit, it ended up killing her. But Ookami didn't want her to leave. So…she decided to take in Airlia's soul into her body. Airlia agreed and then, Ookami had two souls in her body, the one of her sister and her own. Usually, humans would die if they did that. But Ookami's soul was strong and she didn't. Since taking up Airlia's soul, she had the ability to turn into a nine-tailed fox.
Siegfried looked at the fox, his eyes were beginning to flare with anger, thinking that Keita was lying and made her take up Airlia's soul.
"You probably made Ookami take up Airlia's soul!" Siegfried lashed out. He stroked Ookami's neck.
"I beg your pardon?" Keita asked.
"You know full well! You probably wanted Ookami because you knew that Airlia might die and you needed her as a host for her soul."
"Silence!" Keita shouted, curling her lips into a furious snarl. "I didn't want Ookami to die. It was her parents' fault that they abandoned her! And Ookami also took Airlia's soul on her own accord. She loved her sister that much that she wanted her soul to live on through her!"
Siegfried then started to understand. Ookami just wanted to keep her sister alive. Keita's snarl went away, but her body was still tense.
"After my death," Keita said, her voice becoming calm again. "Ookami vowed to protect the forest, using her own power and the nine-tailed form given by Airlia."
Siegfried looked at Ookami. She was stilled knocked out. Then, her body turned into her human state again. He looked back at Keita.
"What would happen if she was stabbed by a sword with the purple liquid on it?" Siegfried asked.
Keita looked down at the ground and shook her head. "I don't know."
"Keita…" Siegfried muttered and the fox looked up. "I'm…sorry."
"I forgive Siegfried," Keita said as a smile came across her. "But…I want you to promise me this."
"What is it?" Siegfried asked with concern in his voice.
"I want you to promise me that you'll protect and love Ookami, through the thick and thin. Whatever may happen…you will still care for each other."
Siegfried smiled and bowed his head. "I promise."
"Thank you," Keita said as she and the forest began to disappear.
Siegfried brought Ookami up to his chest and held her tightly. "I promise, Keita…" He murmured.
The forest and Keita were gone and he was back in the dungeon with Ookami. He looked down at her and he noticed that she was beginning to stir. She opened her red eyes slowly and Siegfried smiled at her.
"Siegfried?" She asked softly.
"Yes…its me," He whispered.
She looked around. "Where are we?"
"We're in the Mordrivale dungeon," Siegfried said to her.
"Is Teranika here with us?"
Siegfried hesitated and then shook his head. Ookami's eyes went wide.
"Where is she?"
"I…I don't know," Siegfried answered.
Ookami stood up, she staggered at first but then straightened up. She walked over to the bars and shook the bars. Siegfried stood up and went to stand next to her. She turned her head to look at him and saw the fury in her red eyes.
Then, they heard footsteps come near the cell. Ookami stopped shaking the bars.
"Well…look at the caged birds!" A voice called out.
In front of the cell was Fendrel. Ookami tried to reach at him through the bars, but he was too far away.
"Where is Teranika?" She asked through gritted teeth. "Tell me or I'll cut your throat out."
"My dear," Fendrel chuckled. "You don't have to be like that. But you are a spirit…I guess its just your nature."
"Shut it Fendrel!" Siegfried snapped. "Where is Teranika?"
"You mean that wolf beast?" Fendrel asked. "Well…let's just say that its going to be executed soon."
Ookami backed away, shaking her head. "No…No. Not Teranika…"
Siegfried glared at Fendrel with all the hate in his body. Fendrel just laughed.
"You're so cute when you're angry!" Fendrel laughed. "But your execution is very soon, boy. Remember? You betrayed the kingdom for the spirits. Guards, get him."
The door flung open and two guards went in there to get Siegfried.
"No! Take me!"
Everyone turned around and looked at who spoke. It was Ookami. Fendrel laughed.
"Well…looks like the spirit girl is willing to take the position for the traitor. She has guts. Very well…we'll take her instead. She can make a good pet for me."
The guards let go of Siegfried. He crawled to Ookami and held her hands.
"You don't have to do this," Siegfried whispered to her. His green eyes were flooding with distress.
"He'll kill you if I don't. I don't want you to die," She said as she hugged. "I love more than the moon and sun…"
The guards grabbed her by the arms. Before they took her away, she kissed Siegfried on the cheek. The two guards brought her out of the cell and they slammed the door shut. Siegfried ran to the bars and watched as his beloved was dragged up the stairs by the guards and Fendrel.
"Siegfried!" He heard her yell. "No matter what happens; I love you!"
"I love you too!" Siegfried yelled back.
Then he scrambled back to the darkness of the cell and began crying.
"Ookami…" He murmured as tears rolled on his cheeks. "I love you…"
