OK, so I was asked if bonus SC characters would be in the fic. To be totally honest, characters like Darth Vader aren't going to be there. As for guys like Ezio and Link, it's debatable. Ezio may fit into it, as I'm not sure what time period he lived in, and if Link shows up, I'll have to change his back-story to fit into the elves with Scherazade. Anyway, this chapter is kind of short, but I really need to catch up on all of my stories, so I couldn't spend too much time on this.
"I don't understand why he would be so foolish! What could Maxi be thinking?"
Legs dangling freely, Xianghua sat on the cobblestone wall that lined the beaten dirt path she and Kilik were traveling on. "Well I guess he's thinking he'll do anything to take down Astaroth. You know he hates that giant more than anything Kilik. If anything, we were the foolish ones for thinking we could stop Maxi from trying to get his revenge. Either way, there's nothing we can do."
Kilik frowned. "But did you not hear his plans, Xianghua? He wants to use Soul Edge to defeat Astaroth! Such a power can't be wielded so easily; especially if revenge is the only motive one has for using such a weapon!"
Xianghua stood from her seat and placed her hands on her hips. "Well what do you want to do, Kilik? If we try to stop him again, it'll come down to blows for sure! Do you really want to fight him? He's your friend!"
The Chinese monk crossed his arms. "Well he is a friend that has chosen the wrong path! We can't just let him run loose like this!" At that, Kilik sighed. "If only Xianglian were here... she would know what to do..."
Xianghua frowned and looked away from her companion and crush. She didn't like it when he brought up Xianglian: although she knew the girl had been important to him, he spent too much time thinking about her, and not enough about Xianghua. At least, she thought of it that way.
The ensuing silence from their little altercation left the both of them awkwardly facing each other. Neither of them knew what to say. However, it would soon be clear that they wouldn't have to say anything at all. Although neither of them noticed it at first, it soon became obvious that the sky was growing ominously dark. Still not uttering a word, both Kilik and Xianghua looked up at the rapidly transforming sky, taking special notice of a peculiar vortex the storm-clouds were forming.
"Kilik, is this... normal?"
The staff-wielding monk shook his head. "I have never seen anything like it. Xianghua, perhaps we should find some cover; this storm looks more dangerous than most."
Xianghua nodded, and they both retreated to the cobblestone wall she had been sitting on. There were several trees they could have hid under, but with the risk of lightning, that would have been foolish. They had just reached their cover of choice when an ear-splitting explosion and a flash of blinding light emitted from the sky behind them. A split-second later, debris was flying everywhere. Kilik shoved Xianghua to the ground in an attempt to protect her from any dangerous flying objects. After a few seconds of lying on the ground, Kilik decided that the danger was over, and rose to his knees to look back at the carnage that had been wrought. What awaited his eyes was quite a sight.
Rising out of a massive crater in the ground was the figure of a person, still cloaked in smoke from the smoldering hole around him. However, even his silhouette was enough to distinguish it as something other than human. The head of the figure was a curved triangular thing that could roughly be associated as a western dragon or some such. The creature had talon like fingers, or equally claw-like nails, as well as a strange wing protruding from its hip.
"Xianghua, stay here."
Fascinated, yet wary, Kilik proceeded to investigate with Kali-Yuga at the ready. He advanced slowly, and after coming within a few feet of the creature, which was know twisting and turning in a stretching like fashion, called out to it. "You there! Show yourself, or prove you are not an enemy!"
A few seconds of silence followed, and instead of answering, the mysterious figure moved slowly towards him, until it exited the veil of smoke around it, and revealed its true form. Kilik quickly recognized the figure of a person, not a monster. The dragon head was merely a fancy helmet, the claws were just gauntlets with curved tips, and the wing was a fauld that wrapped around the figure's right hip.
The two of them stared at each other in silence. Well, Kilik assumed that the figure was staring at him, despite the fact that he could not see its eyes behind its helmet. After a few moments of silence, the armored figure finally spoke.
"English?"
Kilik recognized this word with dread. Yes, he knew what English was, but no, he couldn't speak it. Being raised at the Ling-Sheng Su monastery, Kilik was only fluent in Chinese. Kilik shook his head to convey that he could not speak English, and the armored figure sighed. Seeing that the two of them were at an impasse, they both stood in silence as they tried to think of ways to communicate.
Fortunately, Xianghua decided to join Kilik in investigating their new visitor, despite his wish for her to stay back. "I'm sorry, did you ask for English? I'm fluent in that language."
The armored figure cocked his head at Xianghua in surprise. "Oh? How come you speak English when your friend does not?"
Xianghua bowed, as was the customary greeting to strangers. "I used to serve on the Chinese border guard. We were required to learn other languages, in case foreigners were ever passing through."
The armored figure, whose voice had been distinctly male, looked from side to side to examine his surroundings. "Chinese? Is that where I am now? Quite a large jump..."
Xianghua raised an eyebrow in confusion at his remark. "Jump? You... jumped here? From where?"
The strange man responded in a very reserved tone. "Forgive my lack of clarity. Jump was not an appropriate word to describe my methods of travel. Still, it is not important. Am I currently standing in the lands of China? Learning my location is of utmost importance right now."
Xianghua nodded, still befuddled about the man's "methods of travel". "Yes, you stand on Chinese ground, just on the border between China and Tibet."
The armored man crossed his arms. "I see... and what year is it? What Dynasty is currently ruling?"
His strange questions confused Xianghua to no small extent, and if Kilik was capable of understanding the questions being asked, he'd no doubt feel the same.
"It is the year 1590, and the Ming Dynasty is still in power, as they have been since 1368. May I ask where you are from, sir? Forgive me for my rudeness, but your questions are quite... strange."
The stranger chuckled. "I suppose they are. However, I have been withdrawn from the affairs of the world for quite some time; it is good to see that the Ming Dynasty is still standing, despite the festering public hatred towards them."
This whole conversation was very unusual. Xianghua took a brief moment to translate it to Kilik; paraphrased, of course.
"He doesn't seem like an enemy, but he keeps asking questions with obvious answers, like the year and place and the ruling dynasty. He also mentioned that he jumped here or something. I don't know what he means, though..."
Kilik looked between the stranger and Xianghua, wondering if she had translated everything correctly. The armored stranger merely looked on in silence, since he couldn't understand Xianghua's Chinese dialogue with Kilik, who motioned at the crater the three of them were standing in front of.
"Ask him what that was all about."
Xianghua nodded and turned to face the strange being once again. "What was that explosion? And why were you in it?"
The stranger shook his head. "These are things you do not need to know. Higher powers than you know are at work here, and they do not wish to be brought within the realm of mortal knowledge. Therefore, your questions must remain unanswered."
"But-!"
The armored man held up a hand to silence the Chinese woman. "No. I will not deign your question with an answer. Now if that is settled," he said while pointing to the east, "what is in that general direction?"
Xianghua crossed her arms defiantly. "It seems pretty rude to ask a question while refusing to answer ours."
The armored man quieted, without an answer for the moment. Xianghua smirked in triumph, thinking she could not force his hand. "Now, if you want any more answers out of us, then you'll have to-"
"Never mind."
"Huh?"
The armored figure turned to face east, back towards the Chinese center land. "I do not require an answer from you. In those moments of silence, I have already determined the direction of my destination. I bid you farewell, and safe travels."
With that, the mysterious stranger began to walk along the road that would take him away from Tibet and into China, with a brief wave of dismissal as his only goodbye. Xianghua started after him.
"H-hold on a minute! We-"
Her objection was halted by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face Kilik, who was shaking his head. "Forget about it, Xianghua. He's not important, and we need to get after Maxi, before he hurts himself."
Xianghua sighed, knowing that Kilik was right; her intrigue in the unknown metal man was not as important as stopping Maxi from getting his hands on Soul Edge. It was up to she and Kilik to seal away the Swords, and they didn't have time to waste on peculiar strangers.
Tira hopped out of the weird limbo dimension Zasalamel had used to ferry her across the world, followed by her flock of ravens (which she had demanded that Zasalamel let accompany her), and she had barely plopped down to a rough plateau when Zasalael floated down to the ground beside her.
The demented girl took a brief moment to dust off her scarlet leggings, before taking a look at her surroundings. A quick analysis of the land around her showed that it was not where she needed to be.
"Hey! This doesn't look like a monastery to me! It's just a bunch of mountains and stuff! This isn't what I said, Zassy!"
Zasalamel crossed his arms, with his scythe cradled in the nook of his elbow. "I am aware of what you said, Tira. However, I am also aware that you are not to be trusted."
Tira feigned injured feelings. "Ouch, that's not very nice, Zassy..."
Zasalamel spread his arms and motioned at the Himalayan mountains surrounding the two. "As you can see, you are stranded in the center of an unknown mountain range. Until you tell me what you know, I will not take you from this place, and should I abandon you, I doubt you'll survive the cold trek to the bottom, especially in the tramp clothes you're wearing."
His comment earned a none too pleased glare from Tira's dark side. "Who the fuck are you calling a tramp? I'm way too classy to have lost my virginity so soon, you ass wipe!"
Not at all pleased to be insulted by this insolent girl, Zasalamel couldn't resist goading Tira further. "And you will likely remain one for the rest of your life. Someone like you has no chance of securing a man's love."
The seventeen year old girl, while crazy, apparently still had fantasies about love, and she was not happy to have Zasalamel refute them. "That's not true! I bet someone will have the hots for me eventually! Just because nobody has wanted your stupid ass in a thousand years doesn't mean you have to take it out on me!"
The Watcher of Time chuckled. If one didn't look beyond Tira's seemingly normal and cute exterior, they could actually have some sort of feeling for the girl. However, one look into the deranged mind and shattered personality that she was a victim to would turn any possible suitors away. Besides, Tira's love for killing would be a very serious issue if it ever came to light with a common person; and if they accidentally hurt her feelings, she wouldn't hesitate to kill them as well.
"Well, point is, you're stuck here until you answer my questions about Nightmare. Or you can stay up here and freeze. It's your choice."
Zasalamel could've sworn he heard the girl growl at him. "You think you can get away with something like this? We had a deal!"
"Well the terms of the deal have changed. Tell me what you know, or I'm leaving you here."
Tira scowled. "You bastard... I should've known better than to trust you."
"If you're done complaining, I'm still waiting for an explanation."
Suddenly shifting gears completely, Tira scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, uh... I don't really know anything, Zassy."
The girl's interrogator sighed. "I'm not going to be deceived that easily. Tell me the truth."
Tira stomped her foot on the ground like an angry child. "I am! I don't know anything, Zassy, honest! I figured I would just hitch a free ride..."
These obvious lies angered Zasalamel, and he wasn't going to endure them. If Tira wouldn't tell him the truth, he would find out himself. He took the two steps forward that were necessary to place his hand on Tira's forehead, and within seconds her memories were flowing from her mind to his.
His plan was to go back chronologically until he reached the information he needed, but this plan was soon trumped. The thoughts from Tira's conscious were nothing but pure chaos. Nothing was in order, nothing was clearly defined, and everything, past, present, and future, was jumbled up on top of each other.
Disjointed memories and thoughts crashed into Zasalamel's mind, not a one of them his own. He saw brief flashes of things that he knew nothing of; a murder in the streets, a home burning to the ground, a broken bird in the the palms of a girl... while he knew these memories did not belong to him, Zasalamel could feel the emotion in all of them as if they were.
He could feel the hundreds of cuts and gashes from Tira's years of training with Eiserne Drossel, he could feel her love for a middle-aged woman with a gentle smile... he could feel the burning agony in the image of that same woman, bloody and maimed, her blood on a crying apprentice's fingers...
Zasalamel tried to break the mental contact between he and Tira, but the link was not responding, and he couldn't move, as his mind was too enraptured by the memories of this broken and twisted girl.
The regret of a strangled child, the euphoria of a murdered father, the indifference to a crying mother; one after another, followed by the smiling face of that woman again, uttering words of love to a girl who had known none in her life, before the image of her bleeding corpse took over once again.
Finally gathering the willpower to fracture the link between the two of them, Zasalamel pulled back from Tira, both physically and mentally. Both of them stumbled backwards from each other, but whereas the Time Guardian recovered quickly, Tira fell to her knees and cradled her head as tears streamed down her face.
Zasalamel eyed the girl with a modicum of pity; she had lived a hard and arduous life, even before she had been psychologically split in two by the Spirit Swords. However, he knew this was her fate, and therefore did not feel that Tira deserved any more or less than what she was meant to receive. This was Zasalamel's opinion on all humans.
Seeing that Tira had at least stopped crying, and was sufficiently calm to some degree, he began to speak. "Tira, now that-"
"I'll kill you."
Cut off by the menacing tone Tira used, Zasalamel silenced himself, and met Tira's violet gaze, filled with malice and hatred.
"If you ever do that to me again... I'll murder you. I'll tear you into a thousand little pieces and feed you to the birds. Those memories are mine! If you ever touch them again... I'll fucking slaughter you!"
Zasalamel noticed Tira's Watchers circling around her like a black tornado, as if they were a symbol of both her angst and her anger. He sighed in defeat. He was not scared by any means, as it was not like Tira could really kill him, but either way Zasalamel decided that she didn't really know anything.
"Very well. I see that I have crossed the line. I'll take you to the Monastery without any further delay."
The ravens settled onto the ground around Tira's kneeling body as she answered in a tormented voice. "No. I...I wanna stay here for a little bit. I need... I need some alone time."
Zasalamel actually felt kind of guilty for making the usually care-free twerp like this. Still, such a thing was an uncommon emotion for him, and he dispelled it without much effort. But seeing as he was the cause of her misery, Zasalamel thought he could at least agree with her wish for temporary solitude.
"I'll come back in an hour. Be ready by then."
With that, the Guardian of Time opened another gate to the Memoria Crux behind him, and entered into the cracks between reality, leaving Tira to dwell on her past.
Well, that's that. I'll try not to take so long next time, but school has gotten really hectic lately, and I've also been assisting a friend in the writing of an original story so...yeah.
Tell me, would anyone like romantic pairings between SC characters as side plots during the story? I'm a pretty damn good romance writer, (And if you don't believe me, read Call of Destiny) so I could definitely do that.