The General's Daughter

This is the second to last chapter, BTW. . .

Chapter 11

I fidgeted. All the introductions and stories were done and everyone was just milling about.

Taki and the blonde woman Sophitia had not returned and I was beginning to worry. I voiced my concerns to Mitsurugi, then Maxi. “I know, Yuki, but Taki can take care of herself. Bes, es, if we split up, there’s an almost certainty something will happen.”

Mitsurugi pulled me aside, out of the group’s earshot. “I know you’re concerned about me and Soul Edge. I promise you again, it won’t take over my mind.” He caressed my face with the back of his hand. “I love you.”

I put my hand against it, tears forming in my eyes. “I love you too; at least listen to me, then. It’s evil. I’ve done research, I’ve spoken with Taki and you heard Xiang It will take your soul and you’ll be a killer—a murderer!”

Brown eyes sparking, Mitsurugi retorted back. He moved his hand from my face. “It is NOT evil. It is the Ultimate Weapon. With it, I defeat the Tanegashima, then my life is complete. You wouldn’t understand--”

“Is that all you care about is revenge?” I backed up slowly, shaking my head. “. . .why? You’ve spent your last ten years trying to exact your revenge and what’s it gotten you? Nothing!”

Mitsurugi opened his mouth to say something when both of us heard sounds of a fight. Something loud, like an explosion, then a pained cry. “That sounded like Taki!” I glanced over at Maxi, who was already standing, straining to hear the sounds.

Without thinking, I ran around the side of the temple. There was no back—it had been destroyed, apparently ages ago. Maxi grabbed my shoulder; I turned to him and he put a finger to his mouth.

In the middle of the now demolished courtyard were Taki, the blond Sophitia and a tall Westerner who looked dead. Sophitia was on the ground in a puddle of her own blood, utterly still. Taki was nursing a bloody hole in her side about four meters from where Sophitia lay.

“. . .finished it! I finally have my revenge after five years!” The western man was shouting. He pointed the hilt of the smaller of his two swords at the ninja’s throat and cackled violently. “Too bad your little boyfriend’s not here to see this. . .” I peered closer and saw what appeared to be a hole in the crosspiece.

I couldn’t let that happen. With Maxi hot on my heels, I charged the undead man with an angry yell.

His back was to me and he swiveled the larger sword around, hoping to take off my head.

Sometimes it’s good to be short. . . the sword only clipped a few hairs off.

Continuing my charge, I went under the man’s arm, opening his side with the now-drawn wakizashi. I ended the charge near Taki, who looked behind me, astonished.

“You are a brave woman. Foolish, but brave.” The hair on the back of my neck stood. That cut should have split him open!

“Really? Guess you didn’t look behind you!” I heard the vicious smack of wood on flesh and the sound of several hundred stones of meat falling to the floor.

Taki just lay there for a few moments and for that long, I thought my friend was dead. She stirred and finally sat up. “. . .good timing, both of you. . .”

I turned around to see Maxi kicking the other man in the side of the head. He looked over at Taki and relief washed over his face. He ran to her side and gathered her in her arms as delicately as a mother would a child that had been frightened. He kissed her face and neck, keeping his hand strategically over the wound to stop blood flow. “I was so worried.”

Taki’s eyes flew open. “Sophie!” The ninja struggled weakly out of Maxi’s arms and went over to the blond warrior’s side. I had wandered over there in their moment of tenderness and was checking her.

She had been on her stomach when I found her. I rolled her over to check her. Half-closed blue eyes stared vacantly up at me and the pale skin had a gray tone to it—she was gone. Her throat had been cut and there was a large bloody hole in her right chest. I cringed.

Saying nothing, Taki just bowed her head.

We all heard a rustling on several sides of us. I jumped up, as did Maxi. “This is not really my idea of a vacation. . .” the pirate grumbled.

“Who says it was a vacation?” I answered.

“Hey, you two alright?!”

I heard Mitsurugi’s voice. “Yes, love, we’re okay. Can’t say the same about the—hey, he’s gone!” I had been mentioning the undead man, but when I glanced at his body, he was gone.

Mitsurugi entered the demolished courtyard. Not stopping to check on Taki, he walked over to me and held my face in his hands.

“I’m fine, really, I’m okay. It’s not my blood.”

Instead of letting go of me, he wrapped his large arms around me and just held me. “Don’t do that again; you had me worried.”

I heard Taki quietly sobbing while Maxi held her and doctored her wound. She had grabbed Maxi’s neck with her arms and wasn’t letting go.

More clatter and the foreigners joined us. Cass let out an anguished cry and ran to the body of Sophitia. The young woman knelt by the deceased warrior’s side and began sobbing. “What happened?!”

“Sophie and I were talking, catching up, and Cervantes jumped out of the shadows. . .I was such an idiot. . .I never checked the shadows. . .” Taki cried out in pain as Maxai sewed up the hole. “. . .she never saw it coming. . .But if Cervantes is here. . .so would—GET DOWN!”

Taki pulled Maxi down to her side, a whirl of blades barely missing his head. Everyone else hit the floor as well, except for Mitsurugi. He drew his katana barely in time to intercept the vine sword on it. Had he not, it would have gone right through his chest. . .

“Thank you for saving me the trouble of getting my own directions!” A pompous female Western voice called out. “Now, we wait for Nightmare—“

The woman’s voice was cut off as Mitsurugi yanked the vine-sword towards him. A tall woman with extraordinarily pale skin landed indignantly on her knees about five meters from him. She was now in the center of the courtyard, a wall at her back and confronted by five very angry warriors.

“Isabella Valentine. . .should have known the rat race would be here.” Cass looked up, eyes red with pain. “It was you, wasn’t it?! That started the rumor about Soul Edge?!”

“I started no rumor; I merely passed on what was told to me.” The woman picked herself off the floor and imperiously dusted herself off.

I stood up and brushed the dirt from my armor—

--and was promptly knocked down again. Not by Mitsurugi, but by some. . .thing else. I was belly down on the ground and the thing was on my back. It hissed and raised its claws to bring them down on my upper back.

In its moment of glory, it never noticed me turn around.

I shoved my wakizashi towards it; it grabbed the blade, buying me enough time to scramble out from under it. It hissed in anger and started back towards me.

Suddenly, the courtyard was full of people. Combatants. Where did all these people COME from?! The fighting erupted almost immediately as soon as I got to my feet.

A tall, blonde faced off against this guy in azure armor, who I guessed was Nightmare. A tiny, thin sword against a large, heavy one. . .

This thing that appeared to be made of stone bits clattered around Cass and her sister’s dead body. A huge red eye floated down and the bits assembled around it in a humanoid form.

A HUGE being with its heart outside of its body brought its axe crashing down near Maxi. The pirate pushed Taki away to safety and danced under another blow.

I was cut off from the group by the thing with the claws. It seemed to laugh at me and came closer.

Right where I wanted it.

As soon as it lashed at me with its close ranged weapons, I ducked and backed out of its range, but keeping it in mine. I drew my katana and poked it, succeeding in only making it angry.

It hissed and stabbed the claws at me, missing by a butterfly’s breath. I grabbed its wrist and twisted it, hearing the cracking of the several tiny bones.

It screeched and jabbed at me with the other claw, catching me in the side. It didn’t go in deep enough to kill me instantly, but enough to limit movement.

Unfortunately for me, the thing had the advantage, as I had grabbed the LEFT wrist; it was ambidextrous.

Unfortunately for it, I had unexpected backup.

I heard the sound of metal sliding into flesh and the thing stiffened. It turned around, ripping the claw from my side. It skittered into the shadows, the blow not going through its strangpikepiked armor.

Yoshimitsu was behind it! “You looked as if you could use assistance.”

“I was doing fine, thank you!” Truth be told, I would have been dead if he hadn’t intervened.

No sooner had I said that then the being jumped out at both of use. Yoshimitsu pushed me aside while receiving the attack on his own sword. The force of the blow knocked him down, dazing him.

I landed indignantly on my side, but was up barely in time to block the clawed weapons coming at my head. “Gerroff!!” I planted a foot in its chest and launched it. It fell away, hissing and screeching.

It regained its footing, agile even for its tall and heavy build, then came at me, claws bared.

Yoshimitsu intervened, accepting the attack on his own katana. “You should not be here.”

“Huh?!”

The man—ninja—whatever he was—attacked the being with a flurry of kicks and slashes, all blocked. “Your lover needs you. He is in danger.”

I blushed—how would he know that?!

My question went unanswered as Yoshimitsu slashed over the being’s head, missing as it ducked. It took advantage of the man’s momentary unbalanced state to ram both claws into Yoshimitsu’s lower chest.

I could FEEL the pain and surprise the man was going through and I nearly collapsed.

“. . .go. . .NOW! Neither of us . . .will see the end of the day. . .” Yoshimitsu rasped. The wounds to him were fatal. . .The two opponents were now set up ten meters from each other. “. . .go!”

Undecided, I stepped away. Turning, I saw the Western woman with the snake sword fall to the undead pirate I had been fighting. He fell soon after, the snake sword passing through his throat. The body crumbled to dust.

I heard the clang of weapons and turned back to Yoshimitsu and the thing.

Both were now on opposite sides from each other, weapons at their sides. The being fell—in two pieces. Yoshimitsu sank to his knees, no longer able to fight. He had another wound, deep in his stomach, to add to the two in his chest. I saw blood coming from under his mask and FELT his pain—and his peace.

“Go save him . . . you’re the only one . . . that can. . . I will see you . . . in the afterlife, samurai.” He whispered peacefully, then fell face forward, dead before he hit the ground.

Momentarily, I stood there, stunned. Then I heard his voice again, this time in my head: “Go.” Then I nodded to the fallen warrior and ran back to the courtyard.

Mitsurugi was no longer there. Instead, I saw the aftermath of the battles.

Several more warriors had come.

A girl, no more than fourteen or fifteen, sat with a young man’s head cradled in her lap. The man was badly injured. He lifted a hand to the girl’s face and whispered something in Korean. The hand fell and the girl wailed.

Cassandra was leaning against a wall, bleeding from a deep cut to her chest. The thing she had been fighting was in several pieces around her. I ran up to her and put my hand on her chest. “Talk to me, kid!”

“. . .not a kid. . .” At least she was alive. The wound wasn’t as deep as previously thought. I bandaged it and lay her down on the cement. She’d survive, but I don’t know if she’d be the same. . .

“Where’s Taki and Heishiro?”

“. . .upstairs. . .both alive. . .Maxi. . .dead. . .”

“Where?!”

She didn’t answer me; she had fallen unconscious. I turned, looking frantically for stairs or anything to get me to the top level.

I found Maxi. He was lying on his side several meters from the big golem he had been fighting. It was dead, the heart ripped out of its body, lying in a pool of blood next to it.

Maxi, contrary to my belief, wasn’t dead. Yet. He was very badly hurt, a deep gash to his stomach. Blood and innards were pouring out of the wound. I put my hands on it to try and stem the blood flow.

The pirate gasped and opened his eyes. “. . .too late, kid. . .” he smiled wanly. “After all these years. . .I remember my friends. . .and Taki. . .please. . .tell her I love her. . .and I’ll. . .”

He never finished his sentence. I looked up from trying to place his organs back inside him to his face. He was ghostly white, gone, but with a peaceful look on his face. His half open eyes stared up to the heavens. . . “I will tell her. . .” I said, tears running down my face.

But first I had to find her. And Heishiro.

I found a set of steps leading up to somewherAs IAs I stood uncertainly at the bottom of the steps, I heard the sounds of battle.

That clinched it.

I ran up the steps to find Kilik, Taki, and Xianghua. Taki lay on her stomach,e tue turned from me, alive, but unconscious. Kilik and Xianghua were looking around frantically.

“Where did he go?! He was just here!”

“Who?!” I demanded.

“Mitsurugi—he and Taki were fighting and she lost and then this bright light and he disappeared!” Xianghua said hysterically.

“And Maxi! He was right behind us!” Kilik shouted. He turned to go back down the stairs.

I grabbed his arm, tears in my eyes. “He’s gone.”

“Whadd’ya mean he’s gone?! He wouldn’t run from a fight--!”

“Kilik, he’s dead.” Xianghua said quietly, understanding me.

The man’s fiery demeanor ceased. “. . .dead. . .?! But. . .how--!?”

“The golem. Maxi. . .he said he remembered you. . .” I whispered with tears in my eyes.

Xianghua fell to her knees with a cry and I heard another wail behind me. I turned to see Taki, who had apparently risen to her knees, lean forward and bury her face in her hands.

“. . .no!”

I gathered her in my arms, more tears streaming down my face. Maxi had been a friend to me as well, though I never got to know him as one. “He. . .he said he loves you.” Taki let out a pained cry and buried her face in my shoulder.

She was in bad shape, physically. She had a shallow but bloody cut running from her right upper chest to her left hip and various bruises on her arms and face. “. . . I’ll see him . . . soon enough.” She sobbed. “Hei-kun. . .Soul Edge. . .Inferno!”

My eyes widened. What was Inferno?

Taki must have read my mind. “It’s the . . . demon guardian . . . of Soul Edge. You have to stop him. . .I tried. . .Daibutsu, I tried. . .we fought. . .but he wouldn’t hear me. . .you have to stop him!” she cried, tears running down her bruised and bloodied face. “You’re . . . the only one . . . who can.”

She went unconscious in my arms, visage wet with grieving tears.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light.

Heishiro fell to the ground from. . .somewhere and this fiery being that I guessed to be Inferno raised its sword—that looked suspiciously like Heishiro’s—for a killing blow.

Heishiro blocked it and kicked the thing’s legs out from under it.

It didn’t make it to the ground when Heishiro was up. He stabbed the thing through the spine and twisted, the crack of bones echoing through the temple.

The thing rose up, as if lifted by an unseen set of strings. It uttered an unearthly, bloodcurdling shriek and exploded into thousands of little flames, which scattered to the winds.

It was getting dark—no, it wasn’t. I looked up to see dark storm clouds closing in.

Heishiro, bruised and bloody but alive, stood up on shaking legs.

I heard a *schink* and looked around.

The sword that the knight with azure armor had been wielding was burrowed in the stone.