Soul Calibur - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Dawn of Fate ❯ Chapter 4

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Flash of steel in the mid-day sun

The battle has begun
Blood spills all around us but still we carry on

No mercy we will show to them
The white flag shall be raised
We'll fight for our freedom
Ride towards this evil place

~‘Where Dragons Rule’, Dragonforce

As Draco gave the order to move out everyone was prepared, but they all guessed they were going on foot until Tira spoke up.
“Draco... how exactly are we going to get there? There are no horses in the stable. Do you really think we can make it there on foot?” asked Tira.
“We don’t need a horse... I just hope this still works...” said Draco as he pulled a flute from his tasset and began playing notes on it, but nothing seemingly happened, but after five minutes the sound of large flapping wings echoed through Ostrheinsburg as Draco’s pet dragon, Andreal, flew overhead and then landed in front of them.
The dragon looked at Draco as if he’d seen a ghost; he had always thought his master had died.
“Andreal...” muttered Draco as he reached out his hand.
The dragon let out a high-pitched roar and then licked Draco.
“It’s good to see you too, old friend,” said Draco as he wiped the saliva from his face and hair. “I need you to take us somewhere.... I know I’ve been gone a long time, but are you willing to serve me again?”
Andreal lowered his head and wings to allow Draco and the others on his back. “Thank you, old friend,” said Draco as they all seated themselves on Andreal’s back, then he raised up, spread his wings, and took flight- ready to go wherever Draco needed him to.
“You played this all along?” asked Tira looking at Draco as the wind blew through their hair.
Draco turned to her and grinned. “It’s good to be alive again, isn’t it?”
Tira smiled back. “You better believe it!”
“Let’s just keep it that way,” said Drake as looked at the couple.
“You’re such a mood-killer,” said Jynx.
“I’m not being a mood-killer... I’m just saying that there’s a big battle ahead,” replied Drake.
“True, but that’s nothing out of the normal for us,” said Draco as he put his arm around a giggling Tira.
“Just our luck... they’re like teenagers again!” groaned Drake as he rolled his eyes.

.::~::.

A few hundred years post to this, Raven was sitting in a terraced house as the sky began to dim, barely listening to the words her godson was reading from a schoolbook.kept clasping her hands uneasily in her lap, anxious for her friends safety.y hadn’t she let her journey with her?’d made a good team in the past, and especially this time...before, the sword’s power had been waning anyway.this time it sounded as though it was being restored as more powerful than even its former self.didn’t know what she was taking on.
“If only I could get someone else to help...” Raven mumbled, interrupting Noel’s reading.put down his book and looked up at her.
“Where’s mummy?” he asked, for the umpteenth time.
“I...dunno, I’m sorry,” she mumbled, getting up and walking to the window.looked out at the dimming sky, sighing softly to herself.only there was someone else she could call on...someone she could trust, who would stay loyal to them no matter what.they could keep an eye on her, make sure she came to no harm.
And then it occurred to her.’d only met him briefly, a few months back, but surely he might help again?had disliked the man, had felt insulted he’d come to her aid before.he would surely help; after all, he’d saved her life last time!
She glanced round at Noel.was slumped backwards in bed, his mouth slightly open, snoring softly.care not to wake him, she eased the window open so that the cold night air blew on her face.her face up in effort, she felt her clothes tear as feathers sprouted for her to take her alternate form.moment later, she leapt from the window and flew into the pitch black sky, out of sight.

.::~::.

As Draco and the others headed off to stop the full resurrection of the evil sword, Lord Dragon and Lust continued their path of destruction as they entered another village and attacked. The merciless butchers slaughtered everyone and everything in their path.
“Blood, souls! Come unto me!” roared the black-clad phantom. The vile knight went on a killing spree as the screams of the hapless villagers increased his hunger for bloodshed.
Lust also partook in the slaughter as she slashed and hacked through every man and woman that crossed her path, but then she came across a small girl crying over a dead body. The blue-clad knight raised her sword; ready to smite the child, but then she felt a sharp pain surge through her head.
‘NO! This is wrong!’
‘Kill her! KILL HER!’
‘I... I cannot!’
‘Do as I command!’
‘NO!’
Lust fell to her knees giving the child time to flee.
“What is happening to me?!” exclaimed Lust.
“Servant, on your feet! There is more soul harvesting to be done here!” barked Lord Dragon.
Lust struggled to her feet and her eyes began to glow red, then she laughed manically and started slaughtering villagers again.
By the time the attack was over the entire village was splattered in a sea of blood. The two knights stood triumphant as blood dripped down their armor.
Lord Dragon looked at Lust with disgust. “You slaughter many, but I saw you... I saw you let that child escape!” roared Lord Dragon as he grabbed her by the throat.
“I... don’t know... why!” exclaimed Lust as she struggled to breathe.
Lord Dragon locked his cold dead eyes with hers. “Cross me again and you shall become my next meal!” roared Lord Dragon as he threw her to the ground and began to walk off.
“Where are we going now, master?” asked Lust.
“To the source of the Evil Seed’s rebirth!” cackled Lord Dragon as he grabbed a horse from the stable and mounted it. “Mount a steed and follow me to victory!” roared Lord Dragon as his eyes glowed ominously.

.::~::.


Japan was surprisingly peaceful for a change. Mia had taken solace in a thick ginkgo tree overlooking a crystal clear lake. Her ringblade hung on a branch an arm's length away, just in case- Mia thought, however, that all was calm enough to not even worry.
Unfortunately, as fate would have it, a black-clad figure zoomed passed, bouncing from branch to branch towards the neighboring village, disturbing Mia's peace. She swore loudly, grabbed her ringblade and threw it in the offender's direction in an attempt to stop them in their tracks.
The ringblade soared true towards its target... only to bounce off the offender's weapon- a glowing sapphire-colored staff- and fall to the ground with a loud, metallic clutter.
“Hey, what gives!?”
Mia growled under her breath. “I've half a mind to slap you silly, imbecile!” she barked, bounding towards the person who had oh so royally screwed up her meditation for the day.
Said person was a tall, well built man with ash-gray hair and crimson-colored eyes, dressed in simple but torn gi and heavy boots. Mia assumed he couldn't be over the age of twenty-five.
“What's the rush? Couldn't say 'excuse me' at all, could you?” Mia growled, peering at the man.
The man peered back, squinted a little...
“Oi! I asked you a question!”
...then, as some sort of realization dawned on him, pointed at Mia, and in a loud voice, exclaimed “YOU!!!”

.::~::.

Back in the skies, Draco yelled in pain as his right arm began to throb.
“Draco! What’s wrong?!” exclaimed Tira as she grabbed him to keep him from falling from Andreal.
Draco didn’t react, he just began to shake violently.
“NO! Draco! What’s wrong?! Answer me!” yelled Tira as she slapped his face, trying to get him to snap out of it.
“Andreal! Land.. Now!!” was all Draco could get out before he completely blacked out.
The dragon obeyed Draco’s command and landed in a meadow. Tira and the others quickly laid Draco in a clearing as his body began to twitch violently.
“What’s wrong with him?!” exclaimed Tira.
“I don’t know...” replied Drake.
“Help him!” demanded Tira.
“How? I don’t know what’s going on,” replied Drake.
“Dammit! I said help him!” yelled Tira as she grabbed him by his cloak.
Drake simply slapped his sister-in-law and looked at her grimly. “I told you; I don’t know what to do!”
“Maybe Soul Calibur has something to do with it,” said Storm Shadow pointing at the wrapped up Phantom Soul Calibur that had appeared in Draco’s hand upon his resurrection.
Tira was too bust crying over husband’s body to worry about Drake slapping her or what else was going on at this point. “Draco! Please wake up!”

.::~::.

The sun set over the small village in Greece. Fading from the warm day to the cold night, but the village seemed peaceful, but for one family, this night would be a living nightmare. On a hill above the village two silhouettes appeared under the moon light. One was that of a young woman carry a strange weapon around her shoulder, the other was a young man carrying a great sword wrapped in rags which he had slumped over his shoulder.
Meanwhile in the Alexandra household, Rothian had just put his children to bed, then he sat in down in an old chair awaiting his wife, Sophitia’s return from the Eurydice temple.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Rothan answered to see a young man dressed in a jet black armor.
“May I help you?” he asked.
“As a matter of fact you may... I’m a friend of Sophitia Alexandra. Is she home at the moment?” asked the young man barely even showing any human emotion.
“No... and I don’t think I’ve seen you before... are you with Siegfried Schtauffen?”
The young man smirked. “We know each other pretty well...”
“I see... well, I’ll tell Sophitia you came... but can I have your name first?” asked Rothian.
“Actually, I’m here about her children... I have reason to think they’re in danger... are they here?”
“Why yes they are...”
Before Rothian could react, the young man backed away and a bladed ring came hurdling towards him - the blade cut through his flesh splitting open his chest and throwing him back. Rothan fell to the floor, gagging up blood as he saw the girl who had been trying to take their children for so long.
The young man grinned again as Rothian began to give up the ghost. “Thank you for your cooperation...”
“Oh and don’t worry about your wife; we killed her, too!” giggled Tira.
“And your children are next!” added the Soul edge possessed Draco.
With that, Draco and Tira headed into the children’s room. Screams echoed through the room for a moment, then it was silent.
Draco looked at Soul Edge as blood dripped from it, then everything began to come back to him as Soul Edge’s control over him faded. “What have we done? WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!”
As Draco screamed Tira grabbed him and began to shake him. “DRACO! DRACO! WAKE UP DRACO! PLEASE WAKE UP!”

.::~::.

Miles away from Draco’s nightmare, in the heart of a forest, all was still.place seemed deserted, even though this spot had seated three teenagers not long ago.then, a bush stirred slightly, and through the gaps in the leaves the reflection of human eyes could be made out.moment later, the eyes withdrew, and Jet pulled back from the hedge, her brow furrowed in frustration.was this place so deserted?didn’t seem right, somehow...
Pulling her cloak tighter around her torso, she cautiously trekked through the damp forest floor.acknowledged instantly how rural this place was, and accepted grimly that she had made it back to the fifteenth century again.had hoped never to return.if the rumours were true...she had to find Draco before the evil spread again. And more importantly, she had to help her friend, Maria...
She stopped abruptly in her tracks.had just trodden on something soft, and leaned down to examine it.it in her fingers, it was a smooth fragment of olive green cloth, torn from a travelling robe.eyes widened.it wasn’t...?ut no, it had to be.wore such distinctive clothing, and this was made of snakeskin, a rare material to come across in these times.meant Maria had been there not long ago.where was she now?
Peering around for more clues, she wandered around the place for some time, until she reached a secluded dirt track.was bumpy and uneven, and extremely muddy, as though passengers hadn’t passed through it for some time.etched in the track seemed to be footprints of something not quite human; no, these marks were more reptilian.this where she had gone?wasn’t sure.path ahead was dark and eerily silent; it didn’t seem the way she’d go, somehow...
Then again, what other leads did she have?her shoulders slightly, and glancing back a few times to ensure she wasn’t being followed, Jet made her way down the dark passage without a second thought.

.::~::.

Mugoi Miyamoto had, since leaving his village, started a journey to get himself better acquainted with the world, and to take a break from his now boring life in Kyoto, where he was still (what his master called) a fledgling ninja, although he'd never intended to become anything of the sort. His was a quiet existence, going from place to place, partaking in the local festivals and the like, and generally shaping himself into the worldly man he now was.
So it was, of course, a surprise of epic proportion that he should randomly run into 'that weird white-haired kid' from his village that nobody (except him) talked to, and who'd left when things were boring at the ripe old age of seven.
To him, Mia was a sadistic, murderous, maniacal blood-fetishist left to find a way to get paid for killing people when she got bored of playing with kunai and shuriken.
Just his luck. Mugoi's eye twitched; he glared at the sky, mentally reminding himself that if there was a God, then said God was laughing at him.
Mia cocked her head at him and sniffed. “What do you mean, 'you'?” she asked dryly.
“You look like someone I knew. Are you from around here?” Mugoi asked, just to be safe.
“I am- That is to say I was. I sort of wander around now,” Mia replied, still wary.
Mugoi nodded. “Do you remember ever being in Kyoto when you were younger?”
“When I was a kid, yeah... why do you ask?” Mia frowned. For some reason, she didn't like the way this was heading.
“You weren't part of a clan, were you? Mugoi queried, hoping that he'd dropped enough hints.
Mia frowned more deeply now. “As a matter of fact, I was. What of it?” she growled.
“Remember me?” Mugoi said with a cheeky grin.
Mia glared in uncertainty, then, as memories unlocked themselves, her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth, gasping. “Holy-- but you-- the clan-- WHAT the HELL!?” she cried, incredulous.
Mugoi laughed, slapping the woman on the back. “Long time no see, miss Warui!” he said enthusiastically.
Shocked, Mia fainted.

.::~::.

Draco screamed as his eyes opened, then he saw himself in a meadow with Tira standing over him.
“You gave us a scare there!” yelled Tira as she embraced him.
“I’m sorry... but now I am sure of it! Soul Edge must be stopped... no matter the cost-”
Just then, Draco paused.
“Draco... Is something wrong again?” asked Tira.
Suddenly, Tira heard a familiar voice. “YOU! I should have known!”
Tira quickly used her ring blade to block just in time as a katana came towards her.
“Nice you see you too!” groaned Tira as she saw a man in a white tunic standing before her. “The years have been kind!” yelled Tira as she broke the deadlock and struck, but the man blocked her attack causing them both to be knocked back. The two charged at each other again, but Draco got between them and caught their blades in his hands.
“Enough!” yelled Draco as he pushed them both to the ground.
“What the hell was that for?!” exclaimed Tira.
“This man is not an enemy,” said Draco.
“No, but she is!” yelled the man pointing at Tira.
“Why do I get the feeling you know this man, Tira?” asked Draco.
“I do...” said Tira frowning.
“You should! You and your master kidnapped Angel years back!” yelled the man.
“Well you got her back! Get over it, Atom!” yelled Tira as she started to charge again, but Draco simply grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Let go of me!” yelled Tira as she started hitting his shoulder.
“My apologies... she’s still got a wild side even after all these years,” said Draco as Tira continued to yell and swear. “I take it your name is Atom?”
“Yes... Atom Hikaro actually. My men and I are investigating a pillar of light that appeared in the sky. It’s said that since it’s appeared some people have been going berserk and some say they’ve seen those that have died walking among the living again.
“I see... well we know what you’re looking for... perhaps we should join forces?” asked Draco.
“If that creature is with you, no!” replied Atom.
“You’ll find she’s not the same person who has wronged you in the past,” said Draco as Tira finally calmed down and he set her back down.
“People never change! Just be glad I’m going to let she and the rest of you be on your way and not kill you,” said Atom as he sheathed his sword and began to walk off.
“Jackass!” yelled Tira as she blew a raspberry.
Atom turned. “If we cross paths again... you may not be so lucky...”
With that, he vanished into the mist.
“How many people have you pissed off in the past, Tira?” asked Draco.
“I can’t remember,” giggled Tira acting as childish as Draco was used to.
“Well, this has all been fun, but I think we should be off again, don’t you?” asked Jynx.
“Of course,” said Draco.
By Draco’s orders everyone climbed back on Andreal’s back, then the dragon spread his wings and took flight once again; heading for their destination, the shrine which would bare witness to the opening for a new stage of history.

.::~::.

Meanwhile, Draga, Tela, and Endora had re-packed their supplies and set out for the source of the pillar of light. As they got closer and closer the three young warriors grew more and more tense- gripping the hilts of theirs blades tightly. They knew if this was Soul Edge being restored their was a good chance the battle ahead could get messy.
Eventually, they came up on a cliff which was above a large valley. The three young warriors stopped, bent down on their hands and knees near the cliff, and surveyed the surroundings as the wind bellowed through the valley.
“Look!” exclaimed Endora pointing. “There’s an old shrine over there!”
Both Draga and Tela locked their eyes on the structure. “That has to be it,” said Draga as he flung his sword, ‘Testament’ over his shoulder.
“If this is something to do with Soul Edge... Do you think we can stop it?” asked Endora.
“We’ve stopped it once before... we can do it again!” exclaimed Draga.
“Tela? Are you ok?” asked Endora noticing Tela was just sitting silent with her eyes still dead-locked on the shrine. “TELA?!”
“Oh! Sorry...” mumbled Tela. “I was just-”
"Thinking about mother and father?" interrupted Draga.
“No... not at all...” mumbled Tela as she rose to her feet.
Draga sighed slightly- he knew Tela was obviously lying to him, but there was no time to worry about it. Deep down all three knew this did have something to do with Soul Edge, but they prayed it wasn’t.
Unbeknownst to the three young warriors, Viper was still stalking them in the shadows.
‘That... shrine... could it be another of Ares’ shrines?’ thought Viper as she gripped Viper Edge tightly. ‘We shall soon find out!’
As Viper followed the others into the shrine, Jet continued to pace down a secluded footpath not too far away.wasn’t to know she’d just missed her friend, a few minutes before, but she sensed she was somewhere near.of clothing had been snagged on branches all along this way, from where Viper had hastily followed her prey.smiled a little to herself in anticipation; surely she couldn’t be far away now!
As she approached where the trees grew closer together, she stooped her shoulders a little to squeeze through the gaps.shrine was only half a mile away, but Jet had no idea it was there yet.as she crouched to move through some of the lower branches, she had to admit the lack of human presence was disturbing.
Eventually the darkness was broken by the daylight, as she came out of the forest opposite the entrance of the shrine.wasn’t the same entrance as Maria had entered through, however; it seemed a lot narrower and well hidden.examined it from her hiding place, reaching the same conclusion as Maria had.
“A shrine...perhaps...this is linked to Kunpaetku?possibly Ares?” she said aloud in surprise, forgetting to keep her voice low.
Instantly, a branched snapped from behind her, and Jet let out a yell as someone pinned her to the forest floor.felt scaly hands grope at her belt as her weapons were removed, and cursed inwardly at her attackers.a dozen hands dragged her to her feet, and she used all the power in her legs to fight back.efforts were futile; there were too many of them, and she let out a strangled cry as someone slammed her head back against the trunk of the nearest tree. Just before she blacked out, a low, rasping voice hissed at her mockingly.
“So, you found a way to escape and stay alive, did you?don’t expect to be so lucky this time, Viper!”