"I'm gonna chock me a bitch!" Douglas yelled as he punched the old knight in the face, cracking its armor and showering him with dust. The three had just wandered into the tunnels under the tower and had immediately run into two old knights, which were regretting their decision to stay and wait for so long.
"See the fist and your skull," Teddy yelled as he slammed his hand into the beings skull, breaking it into a millions pieces, "You just can't piss on hospitality."
"Can you try to make sense?" Douglas yelled as he dusted himself off.
"And why would I do that? Just to sound normal? Look around, we are in the middle of a lost land, and are protecting a teen that may or may not be a total badass. You think this is normal?" Teddy yelled, to Jaunes headache. The teen was still not completely sure of his companions, he was still trying to figure if they where sane or not. Either way, they still had a way of annoying him.
"Do you have to yell?" Jaune asked, to Teddy and Douglas's laughter.
"Good point, he was giving me a headache anyway." Douglas said as he continued down a staircase, down into a small river.
"Someone, please call a plumber." Jaune joked as he started walking, only to be stopped by two stares.
"The fuck's a plumber?" Teddy asked, before he continued forward into the water.
"It's a…never mind, something from my world." Jaune groaned out.
"I feel like they are great warriors, with that name." Douglas jeered as they continued forward. At least until Teddy stopped at a huge arch in the rock, and charged down it.
"Hey, wait for me!" Douglas yelled as he charged off after him.
"What's wrong with these guys?" Jaune said as he slowly rounded the corner, trying to take a slow, tactical approach. He was trying, but apparently Teddy and Douglas had other ideas. The pair was dealing with another old knight, this one pretty much died immediately due to sheer manliness.
Teddy was already up the stairs with Jaune and Douglas running behind him, they approached him at the end of a hallway that was at the top of the stairs.
"Hey Jaune," Teddy yelled as he came out of an alcove, "Take these."
Jaune caught a steel helmet, boots, and gauntlets
"Those might keep you alive longer, if you're lucky." Teddy said with a laugh, to which Jaune just shrugged as he put them on.
"Nice," Douglas said with a smile, "They match your chest piece perfectly."
"Uhm, why aren't you wearing armor?" Jaune asked, a little embarrassed at the gift.
"We don't need it, we rely on speed and quickness to defeat foes," Douglas said as the trio walked down the stairs and deeper into the tower, "Besides, if we die, we come back. You don't, so hence the armor."
"Jaune, you have a different skill set than us, use it to your advantage." Teddy said, picking up on Jaunes suddenly down face. The teen perked up at that comment, if only a little. The trio stopped at a huge opening in the wall, this one looked like it was busted out rather than carved.
"Twenty coins on it being a road to death, any takers?" Teddy broke out, much to Jaunes sudden fear.
"Come on, there's almost always a bonfire before that…" Douglas said as he walked deeper into the cave, and immediately seeing another bonfire.
"Well, shit," The mustached man said as he lit it, revealing a figure against the wall. Jaune had one reaction, a sudden yelp.
"What?" Teddy and Douglas yelled, both getting into their fighting stances.
"It's…It's…a man!" Jaune yelled, pointing at the figure.
"Excuse me?" The figure said in a female voice, "I am Lucatiel of Mirrah; I am most certainly not a man."
"Uh…Sorry?" Jaune said, hoping that the woman wasn't going to use that huge sword on him.
"You are a strange one, tell me: What is your name?" Lucatiel said in a commanding voice, one that made the teen shiver.
"Jaune Arc," The teen whimpered out, "And these are my…companions, Douglas and Teddy."
"We are capable of naming ourselves, kid." Douglas said, very annoyed.
"Jaune Arc, what do you seek in this cursed land?" Lucatiel asked in a curious tone, one that still promised pain if answered wrong.
"To seek courage…" Jaune burst out, his mind racing back to the Emerald Herald.
"Courage…A knight seeking courage?" Lucatiel laughed out, "Jaune Arc, why do you seek courage in this place? No Mans Wharf?"
"He seeks his courage by following us," Douglas said in another annoyed tone, "We were told to seek the king, apparently that is quite dangerous. So Jaune, here, may learn courage with us."
"Or he may die, get stabbed, break bones, lose eyeball…" Teddy started rambling.
"So what does he say?" Lucatiel asked, getting annoyed at the stocky man.
"I seek…by watching these two," Jaune burst out, "These two fight like maniacs, but they still fight for what they think is right. They have lost everything, and still they fight on. They fight so others don't feel their pain; I follow them so that I can see what courage is."
Douglas stopped, his eyes narrowed.
"Is that…really how you feel?" The man asked his voice cracking.
"Uh…yeah." Jaune answered, shocked at his own outbreak.
"Well, looks like I have another reason to keep you alive." Douglas laughed out, while Lucatiel smiled under her mask.
"Jaune Arc, if you need assistance, don't hesitate to call on me." Lucatiel said before suddenly disappearing.
"The fuck?" Douglas asked before remembering where he was, "Good point, Jaune! Get Teddy! We are moving out!"
Jaune turned to Teddy who was still listing off things that could happen.
"And finally he could be raped by this weird lady in a old man mask, bad touch, lady." Was what he said before he realized that she was gone.
"How long?" Teddy asked Douglas, who was sitting at the bonfire.
"Getting better, just a few minutes now." Douglas said as he got up. Jaune looked at the pair, still trying to figure out if they were crazy or not.
"Let's go, Ted." Douglas called out as he walked down a side passage, into a huge chamber that looked more like a dock than a cave.
"Holy shit…" was Teddy's reaction to the sight while Jaune just stared in awe, until an arrow narrowly missed them.
"Move!" Douglas yelled as he ran towards a building that was in the distance. He ran past what seemed to be a corpse, which suddenly jumped up and tried to shove an ax into the man. Teddy and Jaune had other ideas; Jaune slammed his shield into the hollows back while Teddy slammed his fist into its back.
They ran into the building which had a few tables and three more hollows in it.
"Feel the pain." Douglas yelled as he grabbed one of the unfortunate sods near him, and slammed him into a nearby table. Teddy jumped over said table that was now in splinters and punched another hollow in the head, Jaune turned to block a strike from another axe wielding hollow. He quickly dispatched it with slice to the neck, slitting its throat.
Jaune had no time to think about what he had done as his allies took up off a flight of stairs; he followed to see that they had a hollow wearing a strange helmet on the floor.
"Varangians," Douglas muttered under his breath as he turned to Jaune, "Pirates, sent her to work the mines, problem was when they started hollowing. They went mad, took back their weapons, and took over No Mans Wharf. Thing was, they were so hollow that by the time they could escape, they only wanted souls. They couldn't sail away, that is the curse. To forget."
Jaune was shocked at the history lesson when he heard Teddy singing.
"What do you do with a drunken sailor," Teddy said as Douglas joined in, "What do you do with a drunken sailor early in the morning?"
The song was interrupted by an arrow into Teddy's back.
"Hey, we're trying to sing here!" Douglas yelled, only to be almost shot with an arrow, "How rude, Teddy time for some education into social conduct."
The pair leaped off the building, running at the archer. They where stopped by another pirate, this one threw a jar of black goop at Teddy, but quickly sent him to Davy Jones locker. About this time Jaune caught up.
"You are about to see something cool!" Teddy yelled as he charged the bow wielding hollow, Jaune quickly realized something important.
"Ted! Wait!" Jaune yelled out, only for Teddy to ignore him and try to punch the hollow. He took an arrow for his trouble…which set the black goop on fire, and roasted Teddy alive. Douglas ran forward and threw the hollow into the sea, before turning to his fallen comrade.
"See you in a little bit." Was all the man could say before Teddy turned to ash, with Jaune staring?
"Shouldn't we…" Jaune tried to ask but was cut off by a battle cry; he quickly turned to see that there where more hollows and another pirate.
"Fuck Em Up!" Douglas yelled as he charged, with Jaune behind him, panting. Douglas opened up with a kick to the pirates groin, while he leaned over Douglas tackled him. Jaune had to deal with two hollows, both of which were trying to eat his soul. Thankfully for him, they had no formal training, or had forgotten it, and as he blocked one axe strike, he stabbed his sword through the others chest. The one that was blocked was dispatched in a similar manner.
Jaune was feeling pretty good when he heard a sickening sound behind him, one of a man being stabbed. He turned to see that Douglas had a sword through his guts; he turned his head to Jaune.
"Don't move…" As he said this he grabbed the pirates head and made it face its back. He then turned to ash, leaving Jaune alone. Jaune was scared; for he had just watched his only allies die. He quickly looked around; he was at the bottom of a flight of stairs that seemed to lead up to two more levels. He also had a building to his right, one that seemed pretty solid.
He decided to enter to try and plan his next move, but he did not expect to see some sort of creature in it. The creature was a short thing, with long arms, and it was pissed. It swung its long arm at the teen, which blocked it with his shield. The creature immediately swung its other arm, slamming into Jaune and knocking him back. The creature tried to shove its claws into the knights' stomach, but was blocked by Jaunes sword.
The creature then ripped the sword out of the poor teen's hand, leaving Jaune with only his shield. Jaune looked around, trying to find an escape. He had none, only a cold hard wall to his back. Jaune knew what his fate was; he was going to die here. He was going to die without light, without friends, without Pyrrha…
Jaune looked at the ground in shame as the creatures hand rose for the final strike, when suddenly a voice rang out, "Back foul beast."
A hollow man jumped through the door, a torch in his hand. The creature immediately backed away, trying to block the light with its hand. Jaune got a closer look at the hollow; he was built, tall, and had…really blond hair. The kind that Ted had…
"What?" Jaune yelled out as another hollow jumped in, this one with a purple mustache, and proceeded to punch the creature in the face.
"I told you to wait!" This one yelled as the creatures face was caved in, leaving a red smear against the wall.
"What…the…fuck?" Jaune gasped out, to the hollows laughter.
"That is the first time I've ever heard him cuss." The blond one yelled.
"Jaune…it's us, Teddy and Douglas?" The purple one stated, trying not to laugh.
"But you're…" Jaune pointed at the pair.
"Hold on, Douglas pop one." The blond one said as he pulled out a strange carving and pressed it to his chest, suddenly his flesh seemed to quiver and change. His skin knit together and started to gain color outside off green, he soon looked like he had before…Teddy.
"Explanation, please?" Jaune asked, looking at Douglas who had done the same.
"Yeah, probably should have mentioned this when I told you about not dieing, we can still die technically. We just come back as hollows; every time we die we hollow a little more. We can offset this by using one of these," Douglas stated, holding out a strange carving, "A human effigy, this little thing gives us back our humanity. They are rare, so we do our best not to waste them."
Jaune was flabbergasted, being in a world where the very laws of life and death where rewritten was, understandably, was unnerving.
"Anyway, we need to move, I smell more souls ahead," Teddy commanded the teen as he started up the stairs to a point where the path split into three, "Douglas, what does your sense say?"
"Go to the left, into that building." Douglas said as he pointed, the pair slowly walked in with Jaune following, still in shock. They ran into some dogs, but they were dealt with relatively quickly. They were turned into rugs in a matter of minutes, the trio continued up another flight of stairs. They stopped at a door way, the group could see that there was at least another pirate and dog ahead.
"Ted, use long range." Douglas whispered as he reached and pulled out a bow, Teddy did the same. The pair lined up their shots.
"I'll get the dog, you get the pirate." Teddy whispered, and with a grunt of affirmation, the pair suddenly fired. The dog went down but the pirate took the arrow like a man and proceeded to rush the trio, at least he tried. Douglas merely shafted another arrow and fired it into the beings head. It felt very little as it died, and the trio moved on.
Jaune was in the rear, but he heard what sounded like footfalls behind him. Without missing a beat, he swung his sword behind him. The feeling of the blade hitting flesh told all he needed to know, he turned to see that he had just gutted another pirate.
"Good word." Teddy yelled back as he approached another set of stairs, Jaune tried to get past him when Douglas stopped him.
"Wait, look," The purple haired man pointed at ground, on which there was some strange writing, "That is a message from another undead."
"You mean, like from before the pirates?" Jaune asked, showing a little bit of fear.
"No, from another undead in a different world. Trust me, it's easier not to think about it," Douglas said to the teens skeptical face, "It reads 'need torch', now what could that mean?"
"How bout we light a torch?" Teddy said, light one from a nearby scone.
"Hopefully not another trick," Douglas said as he lit his own torch, "Stay close Jaune, never know what's around the corner."
Jaune followed closely behind, and was glad he did. On top of the stairs was a path, one that was crawling with more of those…things. They all backed away, the fire seemed to scare them. At least until they got to the middle of the path, there the creatures started to come closer.
"Run!" Douglas yelled, to which the trio bolted off. The creatures started running after them, much to Jaunes fear.
"Keep moving," Teddy yelled as they passed a small alcove with a torch scone on the entrance, "I'm lighting it!"
As Teddy yelled this he lit the thing, but was suddenly flat on his ass. One of the creatures had grabbed his leg and was trying to pull him into the darkness.
"Fuck off!" The blond man said as he kicked with all of his might, and when you consider that he could break stone with almost no effort, that was a lot. The creature went flying, while Teddy scrambled away to Jaune and Douglas, who where waiting.
"One of the worst displays of manliness that I have ever seen." Douglas said as he pulled the warrior to his feet.
"Buddy, fuck you." Teddy said with a laugh as he playfully punched Douglas in the arm.
"Are you OK?" Jaune asked, still trying to piece out what was going on.
"Yeah, nothing a little estus won't fix." Teddy said as he took a swig, before moving forward to another light area. This one had a bell and a lever, which Ted pulled without hesitation.
"Do you ever think?" Douglas yelled as the bell rang, summoning a ship from the water. Jaune was the first to notice that the path lead to some roof tops.
"Uh, is this a good idea?" He asked as the pair started to jump.
"Nope, you got a better one?" Douglas said as he jumped off, followed by Teddy. Jaune sighed and took his leap, onto one roof, and the next, and to the floor.
"That wasn't so bad…" Jaune said as he noticed that the two had opened the door to another building, this one connecting to another one that seemed to be near the entrance. Jaune followed the pair into the building, and up some more stairs.
"How many stairs do we need?" Jaune said as he goes to the top, only to find that his two companions were fighting two more pirates. He walked into the fray, into a shack that was on top of another building. This one had another pirate, which Jaune had a duel with.
The pirate had two falchions, and tried to stab the poor teen. Jaune merely raised his shield and blocked the first blow, he then stabbed forward. The hollows armor had no effect on the blade as it pierced through, skewering the man.
"Nicely done," Teddy said as he entered, followed by Douglas, "A little work and you would be a great warrior."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaune asked in anger.
"You just look like someone who is still learning how to be a warrior," Douglas stated as he looked at another flight of stairs, "A good fighter yes, but still…you seem to be learning."
Jaune looked at the ground in embarrassment, before Teddy broke in, "But…you seem to have heart. Sometimes that's all you need in a fight, the ability to fight when you know what is right. Anyway, let's kill things!"
Teddy finished off that speech with a hoot of bloodlust as he charged down the stairs. The other two followed, to see that Teddy had just woken the hornets nest. Four pirates where attacking him.
"Perfect." Douglas mumbled as he charged into combat, grabbing a pirate and suplexing him to the ground. Jaune had to deal with one that was in his face; his shield caught a blade and deflected it, allowing him to make a red line across the foes throat.
"Jaune, catch!" Douglas yelled as he shoved one of the opponents at the teen, who in one smooth motion lopped the creatures head off.
"Douglas!" Teddy called out as he crushed one of the pirates' heads against a wall, before grabbing another's arm. Douglas, knowing what he meant to do, grabbed onto the other arm.
"Jaune, run him through." Teddy yelled to the teen, who locked eyes with his prey. He saw the hunger, the hatred, and he did not miss his target.
"Well, that was fun." Teddy said as they went back up the stairs.
"I really don't know why I travel with you sometimes," Douglas said with a grin, "You cause me so much trouble."
"If you didn't have me, your life wouldn't be nearly as fun." Teddy said before stopping at the thresh hold of the path.
"Jaune, do you see that?" Teddy said, pointing at the ground to a strange white light.
"That is a summon sign, an undead who wants to help us out. Go ahead, touch it." Teddy stated as he shoved Jaune towards it.
"But…" Jaune began before being cut off by Douglas, "you want to be brave? Touch the fucking sign!"
Jaune flinched and lightly touched said sign, and in a burst of light, Lucatiel was beside him. Jaune jumped, but Lucatiel seemed not to react.
"She can't talk, she's a phantom." Douglas said as he moved forward, down the stairs into the last leg of the area. Jaune had questions, but he figured that it wasn't important so he kept walking. The ship was docked nearby, and minus some hollow with a death wish hanging on the dock, they arrived in record time. Only to discover that the ship had some rather hostile host.
"I'll get the ones on the right." Ted yelled as he charged off.
"I'll get the ones on the left." Douglas yelled as he also charged off.
"That leaves these to us." Jaune said as he took on the ones in the middle. Now Teddy forced his foe into a splintery rail, Douglas threw his into the ocean. Jaune…actually was a badass. His sword was quick and his shield strong, by that I mean that he fucked up their shit in so little time it's really not worth mentioning.
"Sweet." Teddy said as he jumped off the broken railing.
"It seems we must venture into the ship." Douglas yelled as he took off down even more stairs.
"How many of these are there?" Teddy moaned as he went down, followed by Jaune and Lucatiel. They stopped at a fog gate.
"Big one?" Teddy asked as Douglas entered the area.
"Yep!" Came his voice from the other side, the trio entered to find that Douglas was fighting a strange contraption. It seemed to be two metal statues fused at the ass, one side had maces while the other had scimitars. Anyway, it was trying to mess up Douglas.
Jaune ran in, his shield raised. The being turned to him and slammed its mace into his shield, sending him flying. He landed against the hull of the ship, making an impression. The being decided to finish him off; it ran with its mace held high.
"Jaune!" Teddy yelled as he rushed in and pulled him out of the wall, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow.
"Jaune, stay here and be ready to rush in when you see an opening." Teddy commanded before returning to the fight. Jaune was slightly insulted until he saw that Teddy and Douglas were dodging the blow, punching only when they could.
They're trying to find a weak spot! Jaune yelled in his mind as he got up, his sword ready to strike if he could. At least that was the plan…until Douglas got hit in the leg, it snapped with a brutal crack. Teddy rushed to his friends' side, while Lucatiel distracted the thing. She tried to kill the thing with one stroke but was soon on her back.
"Lucatiel!" Jaune yelled as the thing raised its blood soaked mace, and let it fall. Lucatiel was no more, and the thing turned to deal with Teddy and Douglas.
"No…No…" Jaune said as he sunk to his knees, "I can't…I can't do it…"
Jaune saw as the thing inched closer to his new allied.
"Jaune…If you fail, then they will die. You will die before they can return; your death will be on their conscience. Do you want that?" Said a strange voice in Jaunes head, normally he would freak out, but not today.
Jaune rushed in to intercept the things blow that was to end Douglas; his shield would not be enough. A golden glow suddenly filled the air, filling the room with warmth. Teddy turned to see that Jaune was currently surrounded by a strange white field. Although Teddy couldn't see, Jaunes eyes where golden. He threw off the maces and slashed at one of its arms.
The arm fell off, leaving just one mace. Jaune quickly sliced through one of the things legs, forcing it to the ground. It tried to swing but the blow was deflected off of the shield. Jaune then switched the shield to sheath form and took his sword in a two handed grip, he then charged at the creature. He slammed the blade into the base of the creature, and jumped up. The creature was cut in two, killing it.
"Whoa Jaune, What the fuck?" Teddy said as he helped Douglas to his feet. Jaune's aura died down as he turned to the pair.
"Are you OK?" Jaune asked, to which Douglas nodded, "I have no idea."
"That was badass!" Teddy yelled as Douglas took a swig of estus that reset his leg.
"I don't know what happened, I just saw Lucatiel die and…" Jaune was interrupted by the pairs laughing.
"Jaune, she's not dead. She was just sent back to where ever she came from." Douglas said as he went through the doorway that had just opened.
"Wait, what?" Jaune stuttered as he followed.
"She's alright, just a little displaced. Hey you're not interested in her, right?" Teddy asked, suddenly close to his face.
Jaunes mind flashed to Pyrrha, those green eyes pulling him in.
"No, I could never be…" Jaune said with such certainty that Teddy could tell that he wasn't lying.
"Hey! Come here!" Douglas yelled from atop a ladder, the pair followed him up to see him looking at a contraption.
"I think this is how we get there…" Douglas said as he pressed a button.
"Where?" Jaune asked, as the ship started moving.
"Hopefully somewhere with more sun." Teddy said as they sailed away.
A few hours later…
"This sucks"
And done…not gonna lie, writing about No Mans Wharf was pretty hard. Never realized how boring it was to have to talk about all the different levels. Anyway that's done.
So, who is this voice in Jaunes head? Is he going crazy or something afoot? Please Guess…