Tira ran a check list of certainties in her head. checking what she was certain of and what she wasn't. The British marines wore bright red. That woman wasn't wearing red at all. That was odd unfortunately this was not something she was certain of. she was alive and well. That she was certain of. She could feel muscles she never knew she had working with each step she took. She felt energised and stronger than she'd ever felt before. And she used to be impossibly strong before hand. That she was certain of. She was one water. she was sure of that. A war ship of some sort. That she was certain of. It was under attack, that too she was certain of. She wondered what side she was one but quickly scolded herself. Since when did she have sides? She was partners with anyone it was death and murder, no one and nothing else. No, Tira stopped dead in her tracks. Soul Calibre, Nightmare, what about them? she asked herself. Tira dropped to her knees clutching the sides of her head. She was confused and she hated it. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know how she got there. she didn't know why that soldier referred to her as Tina Crow. Who was that? Was it one of her alias's? What she stuck in some past? Was she back doing her assassination work, like she had so proudly before? Was she really there? She didn't remember being as tall as she was now, she didn't remember changing her hair, she didn't remember being so wide in the hips and chest. Those couldn't be grown. Those couldn't be faked. Her voice was the same, that she was sure of but the marking on her skin by her waist?
She didn't have an opportunity to linger on that thought she could hear running now. Running coming in her direction. A soldier, thin, short, male appeared out a corner and caught the blunt end of her blade cross the face with enough face to launch him into the wall where the blade held him up with the sharp end pressing against his neck. "Who am I?" she screamed at the solider.
"Tina Cr-" The soldier didn't get the chance to finish. She spun the blade and cut into his throat spraying blood on her shoulder.
She ran for it, sure that she'd descended into the dark abyss of hell, doomed to run through this metal trap forever.
She found metal stairs leading down and jumped them catching a soldier just as he r was coming up. Her two feet crushing his chest when he hit the floor. Blood burst form his lips then his neck as her blade cut across his throat. A gun shot went off and hit her blade shaking it heavily, another soldier was pointing and odd L shaped device at her. she ducked just as a yellow flame burst from it. It was a gun! A powerful one. the bullet had just missed her. She swung her blade and threw it at the soldier. The blade spun wickedly on his chest digging in deep. Tira pulled it out and ran on before the soldier hit the ground. she ran on bumped into the soldiers killing them both with her blade in a childish looking spin. She ran on jumping down tiny holes and steps until she stopped, panting slightly. There was nothing but metal in front of her. She cursed and ran back stepping over the people she'd killed. The whole activity had left her as confused as she had been before. Then there was also the realistic threat of being killed by these weapons they weren't the single shot muskets she was used to at all. thy shot many bullets with no paused. A blade seemed completely ill placed in such a world. she sped up running faster and faster enjoying how much speed she could gain, she also enjoyed the fabric she was wearing. It was nothing like the cotton she was used to. which was hard and scratchy. She climbed on and on until she could taste the salty air of the sea. Tira turned on a passage and slipped on a pool of blood, a pool of blood left by her. Surprisingly the slip saved her. A thick metal lance blade just flew over her head missing her forehead by millimetres and clanging heavy against the passage walls. It seemed clear that she wasn't the only sword wielder left.
Tira smiled. But the blood coated soldier didn't smile back, he simply stared had at Tira. It was the 2nd lieutenant. "Where am I?" He roared like a wild animal, Tira knew the type of soldier. Wild, powerful, big, he was a berserker.
"I was going to ask you the same." Tira yelled, standing and composing herself.
"Your useless!" He yelled and thrust at him. He was fast. She parried his blow but his lance was caught inside her blade. He was stuck unable to move freely in the tight passage they were in. Unfortunately with Tira's blade caught in his she wasn't about to get free of him and time soon. She kept hold of her blade and scrapped the blade up his to get close enough to touch him. He retreated quickly and kept her at a good distance from her. Her suddenly stopped and pushed forwards launching her heel into the air. she didn't have time to move properly and received a kick to her temple. She lost consciousness, her knees buckled and she let go of her weapon and fell face first onto the floor. The impact split her lip but woke her up almost immediately. The berserker had lifted her his lance up against the rood with her blade still stuck, spun her hoop and dropped it down on her with vigour . she rolled away in time to be cut up by her own blade once again. She slide on her back and just up but the berserker pulled back out of kicking or punching range once again. Tira followed once again, and once again he turned quickly, twice as quickly as he had before. the speed of it put moving out of the way cleanly out of the question but Tira didn't care she hadn't planned on moving out the way. She spat the blood from her lip into his face and caught his eyes dead on. He turned slightly missing and brushing her shoulder. It slowed her but enough to keep her from kicking out hard on his hand forcing the massive lance out his hands, hilt first t the floor the weapon tilted down and her blade slide down the hilt. Tira kicked him in the groin and knee before reaching out and grabbing her weapon, the blade cut her arm but she ignored it and clutched tightly swinging the blade down on the berserker's back. Cutting a perfect line which filled with blood quickly. The berserker roared and grabbed Tira's waist and slammed her into the wall. Tira screamed, they were both pressed against each other as her punched into her and she punched back. unable to pull her self free. She has dropping fists against the side of his head and him on her chest but he was winning. Her punches were getting weaker where was his were getting faster. Her was covered in cuts and bruises but nothing seemed capable to stopping him. the ship lurched back just as he pulled his fist back to uppercut her in the cheek. She got a knee around and twisted against the wall like the second hand of a fast moving clock and kneed him in the ear. The impact was strong enough to send him two steps back, dropping her on her stomach from the sudden release. She picked up her blade and threw her whole body upwards at an angle. She almost stepped past him, she moved so fast. She pulled her blade across him and fell on her stomach once again. excruciating pain exploded up to her whole body in continuous shock waves. she chanced a look up and saw the berserker holding his neck and staring blindly. He head fell back and hit the floor leaving his body on its feet. Blood squirted up the top and bubbled over his fingers. Not one to avoid relishing over a success she jumped and slashed at the body. Spraying blood before she kicked the body away. She let out a scream of success and let out heavy breath. Her chest hurt, breathing was an exercise in pain. A white light shone from the berserker's body, it rotated and then disappeared, she looked and saw other lights emerging from behind her. The dead bodies were all giving off a light which was forming into thick balls of beautiful light. "Souls!" Tira cried out.
They zipped away from her and led up the ship. Tira collected herself as much as she could pressing on her wounds, applying such heavy pressure that the stopped bleeding. She finally found the top of the ship. Over two hundred souls floated in mid air and disappeared inside of a large blade with an eye ball attached to its centre. the man holding the sword didn't ring any bells in her mind but she was sure she knew the sword. It was the soul edge of old. A ghost of a great weapon. Cervantes owned that blade, she knew that. but that wasn't Cervantes. The pirate devil was much larger.
She drew back when the eye ball turned its attention in her direction.
"I can feel your soul from where I stand, child." The voice called from over the sounds of the ocean, which sounded very different from the sounds she remembered. the ship was moving fast. Tira stepped out and stretched her fingers, making sure the cut on her palm wouldn't effect her grip. She knew the man's voice it was certainly the voice of Cervantes, she never forgot a voice. He, it seemed, was in the same situation as her,
"Where are we?" Tira asked.
"That's not something for you to concern yourself with child." Tira took a slow breath. Her stomach and ribs hurt and the adrenaline from previous fight was fading quickly, the fatigue from running the length of the ship was coming back with a vengeance. she was confident she could kill him but not the way she was. Too much would ride on luck. A seagull landed on the boat a good distance behind Cervantes and Tira laughed.
"Fine. then I have no use for you." She screamed and ran at him. He pointed his sword at her. She knew the weapon doubles as a gun but she ran on. the end of the barrel lit up and she dove forwards. The gun fired and the bullet missed killing her but deflected off her blade and sunk into her shoulder. Still she ran on screaming at the top of her voice. she swung her blade twirling it in her hand to knock his sword away. She parried his strike at her and threw her blade at his face, as expected his second blade protected his face and the hooped blade spun off his blade and rolled away behind him Tira slid under him and ran away catching her blade before it hit the floor. She turned and saw his gun on her. He fired. She screamed. She didn't remember his gun firing nearly as quickly as it was now. The bullet had torn a hole into her back she limped now. Another bullet hit her thigh and she screamed again. Cervantes was chasing after her. she limped faster. another bullet hit and she ell, just as she reach the rail. The bullet hit her back so hard it threw into the railing, cracking her once bruised ribs , she simply hung there, defeated and confused. She didn't understand, it didn't make sense. She could feel Cervantes standing over her. The tip of his sword pressed against the side of her skull, cutting a hole to the bone. It didn't as much to the pain already wracking her entire body. She wondered if he recognised her as she had recognised him. Nothing seemed likely any more. A seagull cried out loudly and swooped down on Cervantes scratching his eye. he blade pulled away and Tira slid through the rails jumping off the boat.