Chapter 2 is here! Sorry for the long wait... (School's been keeping me busy) Well, thanks for the reviews from last chapter and a thousand apologies about the bad layout of chapter one. I've got three reviews... not bad for a start! Hope you enjoy this one as well! Don't forget to review.
I own nothing of SoulCaliburII or Legend of Zelda, and I guarantee I never will! But the original characters in the story and the script are mine, so if you take any part of that, I get to make easy money by suing you!
Chapter 2 Arrival
After entering the portal, Link realized everything was in complete darkness, and he was moving. First, slowly, than faster and faster. At one point, he began feeling lightheaded and so he shut his eyes tight. In his ears, he thought he could hear echoes of ringing. 'Argh! When is this thing going to stop?!' he questioned himself, 'I think I'm gonna be sick!'
After what seemed like hours suspended in the black void, he felt a ray of warmness dead ahead. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw that he was finally nearing his destination, where a small hole of golden light could be seen, and with each passing second, the hole expanded. Closing his eyes again, he silently prayed to the Goddesses of his world to guide him through this voyage. Then suddenly, everything stopped. Link became wary he was exposed to the seemingly blinding light, and after a moment, opened his eyes once more. Having adjusted his eyes to match his surroundings, he looked around. All around him were fields after fields of emerald green grass occupied with wild animals. Cattle and horses were grazing lazily under the brilliant noon sun, and the songs of birds could be heard with the gentle wind dancing gracefully across. He was here... He was on Earth.
He stetched a little, and thought, 'Ok, so now that I'm here, what next?' Frowning, he became aware that he hadn't much any time to lose, and he must be going as soon as he could manage. He absently began fumbling with his fingers, trying to think of anything of use. As more and more precious seconds ticked away, he almost felt like slapping himself. He had sounded so confident before, but now that he has arrived, he has absolutely no plan for his temporary, or perhaps even permanent stay on this foreign planet. He groaned as he felt his stomach grumble, 'Geeze! I should've at least ate something before I left!' Link Shrugged 'At least that's an idea...'. He spotted a tree and walk over to it. He took off his equipments and sat down. The warrior laid back his head and furrowed his brows, then clutched his bag and opened it, taking out a smaller package wrapped in paper. Inside he found a bundle of cheese and bread, and ripped off a piece of each. He quickly stuffed them in his mouth and chewed. The bread has already gotten to be a little stale, making his throat dry. He sucked on his tongue, but it did little good. Link searched his pack again, this time taking out a carton of water, and took a sip. 'Great, now to figure out which way to go...' he thought looking up at the heavenly blue sky.
"Um, so I'm trying to find the Soul Edge and destroy it," he said out loud to himself, trying to think something up as he took another piece of bread, "but haven't a clue how..." He blinked, putting his right hand up to his chin and his left hand under his right elbow for support, as if in a thinking position. "Er... Maybe I can sense it out like I did with the piece that came to my world?"
Although not with full confidence since this was a whole new place, with that thought in mind, he finished chewing and sat cross-legged. He partly closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath, then exhaled it out, and began concentrating hard. Soon, all the surrounding noises seemed to have become muted, and the plains and animals became a blur and faded away. So he stayed like that, until everything was blank as white paper. Gradually, Link felt a powerful presence, one that he had felt many times before, one that gave him strength and warmth--the Master Sword. Then, another powerful spirit neared, one that he had experienced only once in his life, one that filled him with power as well, yet also made him feel pain and draftiness--the Soul Edge. Link narrowed his eyes at the second presences wickedness, and felt as if it was calling him to come closer. He realized that his shard of the Soul Edge was responding to this evil source, pulling towards the west. As Link meditated, a battle between the Master Sword's Light and the Soul Edge's darkness had begun, sending him a tense sensation. He started feeling his muscles ache once they bulged with evil power as the bloodlust red glow of the Soul Edge dominated over the Master Swords pure, blue light, then sensing his normal strength return as the flow of blue was in control. It was weakening him considerably, and he needed to get out of it.
Link clenched his teeth and forced his eyes open, short of breath. Taking in a big gasp of air, he choked as too much came pouring in at once. He was sweating a little, and was indeed a bit tired, but after another sip of water, he was reenergized and making his way through the plains--westward.
"Ah! So this is Regulus!" exclaimed a young girl, noding her her in admiration. "Not bad, not bad! Hope this place is as good as I was told..." She walked up to the large iron gate of the town, and a few guards approached her.
"Good day miss!" exclaimed the guard dressed in blue, sending her a warm smile, "What business do thou have with thee today?"
"Does who have what?" she asked, apparently confused at this type of saying.
A man in brown next to him rolled his eyes and translated, "What do you want?"
She gave a charming smile and giggled, "What else? You do have a reputation of taking warriors in training, don't you?" She spun around once on her heels, "well, here I am! Ready to put my skills to the test!"
"You?" questioned another guarded uncertainly.
"Er, sorry but, I'm afraid I don't think you will accomplish much anything here!" the man clad in blue said.
"Ooooh! You're so sweet! Thanks!" the girl said with a grin, "But I'd still rather see if I can find something of interest here!"
"Don't think she gets what you meant..." a guard whispered to him.
"Oh well, it's been nice talking with you guys! Um, see you around?" With that, she took out a pair of elbow blades, and walked inside.
"You think Edgar would let her train here?"
"Not sure..." replied a guard, and began humming.
Link looked up at the light that had managed to steal through that gaps of the massive green roofs. He had entered a forest, and has been walking for about five hours. A few twigs and dried leaves snapped and crunched as he walked on top of them, 'This forest is pretty long...' After walking for another fifteen minutes, the Hyrulian warrior finally caught sight of a road. Letting out a sigh of relief, he flexed his legs and followed it up west, and eventually came across a large field of housings. It was surrounded by a great fence, with an iron gate leading into the town. Link smiled thinking that housing meant people and people meant shelter, food, and directions. He jogged up to the gates that surrounded the shelters, and saw a squad of guards armed with spears and dressed in a light brown uniform, with one man in front armed with a sword and dressed in blue. 'Probably the leader of this squadron.' Link decided. But before he had a chance to walk up to them, he heard a voice--no two voices coming from inside the gates of the town.
"Hey! No... Let me! I am..." Link could make out only a little part of what was said, but was sure that the voice belonged to a female. Then followed a more gruff voice, one of a man, "Forget you! ...not going to..." Suddenly, the barred gates swung open with a shrieking noise made by the grinding metal. A girl who looked no older than 13 was pushed out and stumbled to the ground. As she stood up angrily, Link, with his keen eyes, looked her up-and-down. She had raven black hair, with braids used to tie up at the end, forming two dangling pony-tails. She had a pair of dark brown eyes, with skin that was like those of Link's, a bit tanned. She had on little clothing, only those that covered the most necessary parts. There was a green sleeveless clothing that covered her chest and breasts, leaving her abdomen area bare. On both her lower arms bore a green cuff. She also possessed a large bronze necklace around her neck. Her pants were white and a little puffy. On her foot was a pair of green boots with a matching pair of green socks, and in each of her hands was an elbow-blade.
Link, from his position behind a nearby bush, widened his eyes as he realized something wasn't quite right... 'Her ears!' He thought, moving his hands up to feel his own, 'They're round!' Link looked over to where the man who had thrown the young girl out, and then to the guards who were staring at the seen, feeling pity for the girl. 'Their ears are all round!'
The girl dusted herself off and glared at the man, "Listen to me you...you...big, stinky guy! I am worthy of this place, and I'm..."
"Just a little girl!" He interrupted, scrunching up his nose. "Now leave!"
"Um, Raghav," began the captain of the guards, "I know this hasn't a thing to do with me..."
"So stay out of it..." Grumbled Raghav, sending him a threatening glare. The guard shuddered and shrank back.
"Please! Just give me a chance! I'll prove I'm worthy of Regulus! I will I will! I'll even fight you to... "
"Fight me!?" exclaimed Raghav who roared with laughter, "Fight me?! I'm sorry but I don't think I heard quite clearly..."
She gritted her teeth and readied her weapons, "I don't find it as amusing... I am dead serious."
Raghav shook his dead and waved his hand mockingly, " Why don't you just run along back to where ever it is that you came from, and sew some socks or whatever it is you women do." He pulled up his pants and sniffed," Besides, I have better things to do then waste my time with some meddling kid..."
The girl narrowed her eyes and poked her finger at him, "Ugh! You are the most stupidest and simple-minded sexist I have ever had the misfortune to come across! Let me in, or else!"
He turned around, ignoring her, " I'm gonna go train now... make sure someone like her never gets in again, or you will all be sorry!" He glared at them each square in the eye, daring anyone to mutter a comment. "Understood?" he finally said.
The squad gulped and nodded.
"Good..." he grinned, and went inside without another word.
Link had been observing their every action, and heard every word. 'That wasn't the nicest of things...' he thought frowning. But that was the least of his worries, for he had a bigger problem. 'Do all the people here have round ears? If so, what would they do if they saw me?' Link pondered. He decided to keep a distance from the town, so he moved from the bush he had been eavesdropping behind, and walked further away and into the nearby woods. He shuffled his feet uneasily, and then a gust of wind blew by, tearing his relatively large green hat on the ground. Sighing, he bent down to pick it up, when the idea hit him. With a grin, he placed it back on his head, and stuffed his ears within them as well. 'There! Much better! Now let's see if lady-luck is with me today...' As he was about to head back to the town, something stopped him.
"Not from these parts now are we?" came a voice behind him.
Link gasped and jumped with shock. He turned around cautiously, expecting hostility. Instead, there, leaning against a tree was a rather kind looking old man. He had gentle brown eyes, and aged white hair. He had on a simple white robe, with a meek smile on his face.
Remembering his manners, Link approached him politely, but with alert, with his weapon ready at any moment. "Er... I was um... just, wondering around..."
The man raised an eye-brow, and chuckled, " Well that's a first... Now tell me, do you always 'wonder around' behind a bush? Or is this some special occasion?"
Link huffed at this, ' Has he been following me?' He scratched the back of his head and replied, "With all due respect sir, I do believe this is non of your worries, so if you don't mind, I must be leaving."
"Leave? To where?"
The question stung at Link, for he himself was not even sure. 'The old man's pretty annoying...I guess into their town, right?' The warrior rubbed his forehead, and thought, 'But I would look too suspicious if I were to go in now... I mean, this guy sounds to be a citizen of this place...'
"Well?" The man asked again.
"Must I say?"
"No, but I would prefer if you do... Who knows, I might even be of some help!"
'Great...' Link thought, 'Well, here goes... hope he buys it.' , "Well actually, I'm quite foreign to this part of the country..." he muttered.
"Ya' don't say!"
"And, I was hoping for a place to get supplies and ask for directions."
The man yawned and looked out at the sky. The sun was getting ready to set, and a flock of birds flew by, returning to their homes from a day's work. "It's getting dark, almost time for supper." He smiled at Link and declared, "Why don't you come with me back in town? My name's Edgar by the way." He paused and clicked his tongue, "Um... What may I address you as?"
Link was glad he did not press on, and was surprised at this man, Edgar. He had shown him nothing but kindness, and Link's tension seems to have been reduced, "The name's Link, nice to meet you Edgar."
"Likewise." Edgar said, stroking his beard as he began walking towards the town. "Now let's get going."
Link followed behind, dragging his worn body across the road. Then, he suddenly remembered the girl who hadn't been as lucky. "Hey Edgar?"
"Hm?"
"Earlier, I saw a girl who was kicked out... do you think you can help her too? She seemed pretty miserable..."
"Very well, where is she?"
"I'm not quite sure, it has been a while since the incident, and so she likely has already... "
His voice trailed off, as they stepped out into the clearing. There, still pleading with the guards, was the girl. The guards seemed pretty weary.
"...left?" Link finished. "Hm... she is really persistent."
Edgar shook his head and walked up to the men. "Open the gates, let her in."
The men turned their head towards the source of the sound, and smiled. A man who had been sitting on a nearby rock jumped up and said, "Oh look Edgar's back! Open the gates!"
Edgar smiled at them, and turned towards Link and the girl, "Well, let's go!"
"About time..." the girl said and folded her arms.
"I'd rather address you by name..." He said to the girl, who walked casually next to him. They had entered Regulus, and so far, all Link saw were herds of men and women alike, either training or just relaxing.
"You can call me Talim!" she replied with a smile. Link was following them from behind, and was scanning the surroundings.
Edgar chuckled and said, "Well Talim, this here," He turned towards the Hero of Time, "is Link. And I'm Edgar."
Talim jumped next to Link, "Nice to meet you Link! Nice to meet you Edgar!"
Link couldn't help but smile. 'She's a very sociable girl... and quite enthusiastic too!' "Nice to meet you too."
"So tell me Talim, what were you so exited about?" Edgar asked, "Er... just out of curiosity." he added.
She swung one of her elbow-blades and replied cheerfully, "Well, I've heard news that you were training new warriors, and I wanted to test my skills!"
"And you were thrown out?"
"Ya... by some rude guy."
Edgar laughed and said, "Probably Raghav. Don't mind him though, he's actually a pretty hard working man. It's just that he has been quite tense now that he is getting ready for the final tests to graduate from here."
Link, meanwhile, took in all the information. 'So this is like some training academy huh?' He looked around, and noticed the atmosphere fit. 'Hm... Maybe I should try out too! Just to see how the people of this world fight...' "Hey Edgar, do you think I can try out too?"
"Of course! Everyone is welcome... well, everyone that think they can stand it here at least!" Edgar responded, giving a hearty laugh.
"I'm sure I'll make it."
"That's fine, so it's set then! But before any who seek mastery of the way of the warrior, they must all first prove their worth." Edgar said as they passed a column of training fields, occupied with dozens of students. "Same goes for the two of you. But for tonight, you shall rest."
As they walked, Link couldn't help but think Talim was rather small to be training at a place like this. 'It sounds pretty challenging!'
"Say, Talim?"
"Hm?"
"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"Fifteen." she answered looking at him as they spoke.
"Fifteen?" Link thought in disbelief.
"What? Really, I'm fifteen!"
"You seem a bit..." Link searched for the right words to use, and like usual, he was not the best with words. "small..."
Talim didn't seem to take this personally, as she just smiled and replied, "Well, it doesn't matter! I'm not ashamed of my size! It's my abilities that really counts!"
Edgar nodded in agreement, and said, "The girls right Link. Do not underestimate anyone by their appearance, or it may lead to your downfall!"
Link flushed and mumble, "Right..."
They stopped at a section of plain wooden housings, surrounded by various types of trees and plants outside. The door leading to the main house was open, and a few shadows could be seeing hanging offhandedly. Edgar scratched his abdomen and said, "This is the women's dormitory. Talim, why don't you go and find yourself a room? I'm sure the girls there will be kind enough to help you out. Suppers..."
"K, see ya Link!" She waved good-bye and disappeared inside before Edgar has had a chance to finish.
"Hm," Edgar shrugged and said to Link, "Quite a lively one there."
Link smiled and muttered his agreement.
"As for you," He said after leaving the girl's resting area and approached another similar one, "This is where you will be staying for the night. As I was about to say to her...You will be informed when supper is ready. We're having roasted duck!" Edgar rubbed his stomach, and with gleaming eyes, licked his chops.
"Thank you." Link said with gratitude. He looked up to the crimson horizon, and realized that he hadn't eaten for quite a while. He searched his mind for something else to say, but all that he found was, "Well, see you later!" and stepped inside, his mind still racing to keep up with the days events.
Chapter 3 preview: (In the voice of Link) Luck was with me when I had found this place... The little people whom I've met so far have shown me nothing but kindness. However, will affairs with the rest of the beings fair as well? Will the rest of my stay here be as successful? And Raghav's attitude towards Talim's isn't getting to be any better. Don't miss the next chapter of this tale of souls and swords...
Well that's it for chapter 2! I hope everyone enjoyed it! The next chapter should arrive in about maybe two to three weeks, thanks to my packed schedules and school work... Anyways, please R&R!
So until next time, Happy readings...
CrypticHero