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Post by BloodValkyrie on Mar 12, 2013 11:41:39 GMT -5
Klausenburg
ZWEI silently smiled as he heard Yu mention the meaning of his name. It was extremely fitting but, of course, the Persona user and the rest of the group knew nothing about that. Meanwhile, Carl and Suna listened to X and Zero converse and the maid couldn't resist adding her own take onto the situation.
"Uhm, I'm not an expert like the Doctor or anything, but...would going to your world's past really alter anything? How do we know it wouldn't just make...I don't know, a parallel version of it instead?"
The cloaked reaper raised an eyebrow. "How do we know it would?"
"Exactly!" Suna exclaimed, a little too excitedly. "We don't know!"
ZWEI listened to everyone talking behind him and let out a deep sigh. It seemed like the majority of this group was a bunch of jokers and only a few of them were actually serious about their situation. Maybe they knew more than he did? Maybe they knew something that let them act all light-hearted about things? Either way, it did not matter at this time. The group continued moving, going through the gates of Klausenburg and leaving the city.
Outside Klausenburg
A stone path led the group outside and continued throughout the grassy fields ahead. Up ahead, off the right side of the path and in a small clearing, were several tents, crates, and wagons. Horses were standing around feasting on the patches of grass while a small group of people sat around in a circle, using small crates as seats. ZWEI led the group towards them, stopping a few meters away from the camp.
"Hey Hilde!" He shouted. "Looks like we got some more visitors!"
An older woman with short red hair immediately walked out from one of the tents. She had bright brown eyes, light skin, and a beauty mole on the bottom left of her chin, under the corner of her lips. She wore silver armor similar to a knight's with a griffin motif on the shoulders and knees, while a short sword lay in a sheath on her right thigh. The woman's appearance alone gave off an aura of leadership and authority. It felt as if her presence alone demanded respect.
Her eyes wandered to the group behind ZWEI before focusing back on him.
"Even more of them? Like Julius?"
"Yep. Dropped out of the sky right in front of me."
"What about the other man? Patroklos Alexander?"
The werewolf scratched his head. "Yeah, about him...he's wrapped around Dumas's finger. No way we can get him to even listen to us until that's fixed."
Disappointment and disapproval crossed Hilde's face.
ZWEI held a hand up, signaling he had more to say. "Hey, it's not like I did nothing. I managed to convince him to question Dumas. He looked pretty shaken up when he left. I'm pretty confident he's doubt the hell out of that bastard."
"That explains Viola's fortune then."
The werewolf looked confused. "Excuse me?"
"Before we left the main camp...she mentioned there would be 'others who were part of the light'. She mentioned that she alone needed to help them. She told Siegfried and I that we'd need to head to the capital after we were done in Klausenburg."
A concerned look crossed his face. ZWEI did not like Viola going off on her own for long periods of time. She was like a sister to him and the two had traveled together a lot. She had some fighting skills but these were strange times. People from completely unfamiliar realms were constantly popping in and out. This was a horrible time to go off alone.
Hilde's tone was soft and comforting, like a mother talking to her child. "She'll be fine, ZWEI."
He shook off his melancholy and walked past the female knight. "I'll help pack up the camp. We should get moving as soon as possible."
She nodded and turned her attention to the group of otherworldly visitors in front of her.
"I am Hildegard von Krone, second-in-command of Schwarzwind and Princess of the Wolfkrone Kingdom." She looked at each member of the group expectantly, waiting for their own introductions.
Carl instantly became nervous. She was second-in-command of a group of knights? And a princess of a kingdom? He was basically standing in front of royalty! Was he supposed to introduce himself with a fancy title too?
"I'm Carl Makkura. Undead Reaper of...uhm...the Ruins?" The least he could do was add a respectful way to address her. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
Yes. "Ma'am" works fine.
Hilde narrowed her eyes in hostility and her hand hovered over her sword. "Undead? As in, brought back from the grave?"
Suna immediately moved in between them, holding her arms out as if shielding Carl.
"No, no, no!! Yes, Carl was brought back from the dead and, yeah, he may have a short temper, be a bit immature, and be dense as a brick sometimes...but he's a good person! The others can vouch for him as well!"
The female knight looked at the maid cautiously. "And you are?"
"Suna Hayashi. Former Servant of the Hellblaze Manor within the Azure Forest. Carl was a close confidant of my mistress there."
The Azure Forest was completely unknown to Hilde. But she had expected such a thing since this group hailed from another realm. Her muscles relaxed and she moved her hand away from her blade.
"Very well..." She looked at the others, awaiting for introductions.
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Post by Advix on Mar 12, 2013 15:54:15 GMT -5
Raiga stepped forward soon after Suna had made her greeting. She casually bowed, having a bit of fun with the whole thing. It was like a moment out of one of those old fairy tale books she used to read as a kid. "I am Raiga the Second, a Guru of Grauwald, and a successor of Shinryuujin." She withdrew with a hearty grin on her face. This was so cool, she couldn't wait to tell Yarashii.
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Post by Greed on Mar 13, 2013 14:11:21 GMT -5
-Jade-
"My name is Yu Narukami, ma'am. Please to meet you." Jade watched as Yu quietly introduced himself and stepped back, Jade himself still silently amused by Carl's awkward display. That boy did have a way to go, but at least he wasn't as dim as Luke was at the beginning. However, he was musing too much at the moment, and a timely introduction was the best sort of introduction.
"I'm Colonel Jade Curtiss, 3rd Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, madam." Jade bowed ever so slightly, waiting to see how she responded. Of their group, he was the only one with any reasonable military expertise... and he was also pretty sure that he was the only one with any seriously scientific expertise since The Doctor was currently at the sanctuary.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Mar 13, 2013 21:48:44 GMT -5
X agreed. They simply didn't know....
When X came upon the woman introduced as a "princess," he felt a bit awkward. He had never heard anyone referred by the title of princess before in his life. He knew what a princess was, but had never met one. The world and time he came from had no place for royalty. Regardless, he moved beyond his discomfort and introduced himself respectfully.
"Maverick Hunter X at your disposal ma'am," he said with a formal salute. "Me and Zero represent a military organization that is currently investigating the time-space distortions."
"You could say we're working with with the rest of these guys out of necessity," X's comrade added. "We're all working towards the same goal, or so we figure."
Kazuya remained silent. He saw no reason to show respect for this woman. It would not benefit him in any way, so why bother? If he was asked to speak up, then he would, but until then, he decided to let the "heroes" do the talking. They certainly did enjoy diplomacy.
X would have taken the chance to inquire about the state of the world they were in, but another human seemed to be closing in with the intent of offering the group his greetings. He was a somewhat aged gentleman who wore a long brown coat, a red scarf, and leather boots, and carried a whip at his side. Given the quality and style of his attire, X doubted that he was from this time period.
"You all are offworlders, I presume?" the aged man asked. "I certainly hope you are. Alucard and I have our hands full. The situation grows worse by the hour, and this world is going to need much more help than the two of us can provide on our own if we plan on breaking even."
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Mar 15, 2013 9:04:02 GMT -5
Schwarzwind Camp Outside Klausenburg
Hilde nodded at the gentleman then looked back at everyone. "Everyone, this is Julius Belmont. He is, like all of you, not from around here. If you want any further details on him, I'd suggest to ask him." She then looked at the martial artist. She had noticed Kazuya's lack of an introduction and loudly cleared her throat in an effort t get his attention. Julius was currently talking with the group but damn it all if she would allow herself to be so rudely ignored.
"As for you?" She questioned the Mishima with a stern tone.
Suna nodded at the gentleman. "Yeah, that's right. We're all from different worlds. I guess since you are too, you already have an idea about what's going on right? I mean the whole 'reality falling apart' thing."
Carl was more interested in the last sentence the man said. He made it seem like things were already going poorly. Were there already villains from other worlds here? Maybe he could find out what that flame-headed demon did with Amura's body after leaving Racamgi. "Huh. It sounds like you guys already have some problems in this world. What's going on?"
During all this, ZWEI was busying helping the other mercenaries pack up the camp. He was silently listening to the group's conversation as he worked. He released a quiet sigh as a feeling of dread creeped into his heart. Things were already on edge with the battle between the cursed sword and the holy sword, but ever since people from other worlds began dropping in things just got even more difficult. He was confident they could handle it but he could not help but feel they would all end up running into something from another world that was simply too much for them.
His eyes wandered to the otherworldly group as he packed crates onto a wagon. He sincerely hoped they were powerful. They would need all the help they could get.
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Post by Advix on Mar 15, 2013 23:09:54 GMT -5
Raiga was interested in this man from another world, but her attention was immediately grabbed when the princess tried to talk to Kazuya. "Don't mind him, Princess, his parents never taught him manners," she jested, though perhaps her words were truer than she realized.
"Her words are an understatement," a deep, smooth voice echoed from behind Hilde. A tall, beautiful pale man formed out of mist. His hair was long, and whiter than his skin, and he wore a slender, black pinstriped suit, along with a regal cape of black and crimson. "His eyes tell all, you'll sooner fight him than earn his respect. In fighting is the last thing we need, Your Majesty." The pale man inch closer to whisper to Hilde. "Be wary of him. He exudes a dark aura, not unlike that of my own, or my father's. It would be wiser to see how he fights our enemies than to taste it for ourselves."
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Post by Tokrochiru on Mar 16, 2013 4:30:45 GMT -5
Kazuya chuckled.
"Your albino friend is right. If you want respect, show me that you're worthy of it. Otherwise, don't waste my time."
As he further examined the pale man in the cape, he thought, for a moment, that he sensed something dark. Dark and powerful. But just like that, it was gone again. This man must have been suppressing his own power. This man was even less worthy of respect than the princess. Only a coward would fearfully suppress such power.
Julius cleared and spoke up again not long after Kazuya came to this conclusion.
"If you haven't already guessed, this is Alucard. He and I have been stationed here to monitor and suppress the chaos spreading throughout this world. Dark powers are at work. A malicious force is bending the will of innocent people in this world and turning them into bloodthirsty killers. If we don't stop the spread of this corruption soon, we fear it may spread to a multitude of other worlds."
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Mar 16, 2013 20:16:02 GMT -5
Hilde was about to say something to Kazuya again but stopped after the pale man's statement. He was right, of course. They had more important things to worry about anyways. Her brown eyes moved towards Alucard after she whispered back to him in response.
"Keep an eye on him. If he causes problems, you have my permission to strike him down."
Hilde had a liking for Alucard. He was respectful and had a cool head. He had earned her respect and trust, much like Julius, so she had little problem with taking advice from either of them. The female knight turned away from the group and began walking back to the camp. "We're almost done here, so don't get too comfortable. We should be moving out within the hour."
Suna was too busy gawking at Alucard to listen. He was an absolutely gorgeous man. His long white hair, pale skin, and sharp eyes were a sight to behold. His dark clothing heavily contrasted with his hair and face, bringing out their beauty even more. The best comparison she could come up with was that he looked like some type of dark prince from a fairy tale. A faint blush was on her face as she stepped forward and gave the man a polite bow.
"I-it's a pleasure to meet you, Alucard. M-my name's Suna Hayashi."
Carl narrowed his eyes at his maid's unusual behavior but pushed it out of his mind for the moment. What was of more interest was the last thing Julius just said. Dark force at work? Malicious force bending the wills of innocents? The word "corruption" helped him figure it out faster. Or, at least, develop an educated guess.
"Wait. Are you talking about Soul Edge, Julius?"
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Post by Tokrochiru on Mar 16, 2013 21:19:40 GMT -5
"Ah." Julius focused his attention on Carl in particular. He seemed a bit suspicious of him at first, but after squinting at him for a while, he assumed a more relaxed position. His gaze was sharp, deep, and somewhat painful, like a deadly knife. It was as if he was dissecting him, trying to see if his soul was as tainted as his body. Luckily, it appeared that in the end, Julius deemed Carl worthy of respect. He gave the smallest hint of a smile before continuing to speak.
"So you've been briefed on it. Under normal circumstances I would delight in destroying such an evil weapon, but there are those who believe it may be the key to solving the greater mystery of the space time rifts. I'm not entirely convinced, but I'm willing to go along with it for now, since a few of the men who believe this are trustworthy. Make no mistake though, if this blade does not significantly help our cause, I will be the first to volunteer to cleanse its evil from the multiverse."
Julius was clearly a man who took his duty very seriously. Almost religiously, in fact. He just might have been, if the cross-shaped blade and holy book strapped to his belt was any indication.
"Hilde will inform you of our plan of attack shortly. Until then, you'd all benefit from preparing yourselves for a trip."
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Post by Greed on Mar 17, 2013 20:35:31 GMT -5
-Jade-
"Prepare? I do believe we came prepared." At that, a spear materialized in Jade's hand for a moment, before he dematerialized it, placing his hand back into his pocket.
"All this is now is an issue of waiting." And, Jade silently thought to himself, keeping an eye on Kazuya. Again, he'd sensed something remarkably close to the first fonon from him, but it had just as soon vanished. And while he had sensed another similar power from that Alucard fellow, he was at least being courteous.
-Yu-
Yu had to agree with the colonel; they had come, prepared for whatever awaited them on the other side, and now they just had to... wait to find it. It was a bit, well...
"... if only I had some paper." Well, folding origami cranes had been an old hobby of his.
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Post by Advix on Mar 19, 2013 0:12:21 GMT -5
"There's no need to rush," Raiga called over to Jade. "I can use a little more time to say hi to this earth." She had passed a glance Kazuya's way to see what he was doing, only to have her attention caught by Suna's bow to Alucard. His face offered no change in expression as the maid greeted him, before finally addressing her.
"Likewise, Miss Hayashi. If you'll excuse me..." Alucard gave her the slightest of nods before following after Hilde, the dark prince tailing behind the warrior princess. Raiga wasn't entirely sure what to make of the exchange, but figured it was best to sit back and watch. The muscular woman backed up and next to Kazuya, standing next to him for a bit before giving him a slight nudge with her elbow.
"So, what's going on, Kazi-kun? I know you aren't exactly a team player, but what's so hard about dropping your name to a gal when she asks it? Hell, I'd thought a big headed guy like you would have wanted to announce your name before putting her down. Now that I think about it, though, I guess I can see why you tried to stay quiet. 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.' I knew you had some manners deep down inside. I'm sorry for saying what I said about your parents." It was hard to tell if Raiga was teasing him, or completely serious. Perhaps a little bit of both.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Mar 22, 2013 14:56:20 GMT -5
Hilde performed a quick sweep of the camp with her eyes, making sure everyone was working and that things were moving at a satisfactory pace. Two mercenaries were taking down the tents while the rest were busy packing away crates on the wagons. They were almost done and the group would be able to leave in a few minutes. The princess silently nodded in approval at this and walked back to the other-worldly guests.
"There is one thing in particular that needs to be done before we can really attack. Judging from the fact Makkura here mentioned Soul Edge, I'm going to assume you all know about that cursed blade." Venom creeped into her voice as she mentioned the soul-devouring blade. "Our best bet at defeating its wielder and destroying it lie in its opposite. The holy blade known as Soul Calibur."
Carl opened his mouth and was about to say something.
"We do not need your aid to help us find it. Siegfried has had possession of it for years."
Carl swiftly closed his mouth, his question being answered before he could even say it. Confusion appeared in his eyes as he thought more about what Hilde had just said.
"Wait, wait. If you already have this Soul Calibur sword...then why aren't we going straight after Soul Edge?"
"The sword chooses its master. We still need to find the right person."
The warrior princess's eyes scanned everyone in the group before her, as if studying them.
"Soul Calibur's master might just be one of you... But we won't know until we meet back up with Siegfried at the main camp, which will not be for a few days."
ZWEI walked back to the group, having finished helping pack up the camp. "Hey, I've got an idea."
Hilde looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"Why don't we split up? Some of these guys can stay with the group that's heading for the capital to meet with Viola and the rest can head back to the main camp and meet with Siegfried. It's faster than all of us heading to the capital together and meeting with the big man later."
The female knight considered the idea, silently deciding if it was okay. She then nodded and looked at the group of inter-dimensional guests.
"We will do exactly that. You can decide amongst yourselves who will go with each group." She looked at Julius. "Julius, you're in charge of the group heading to the main camp. Make sure everyone gets there in one piece."
Carl was not exactly sure what to do. It sounded like heading to the capital was going to be rather boring since all they were going to do was meet with Viola and bring her back to the camp safely. While those at the main camp would meet Siegfried who sounded like he was the leader of the group. On top of that, Hilde made it sound like they would all see if any of them were Soul Calibur's true master. He looked at his allies and waited for them to decide what each of them would do. However, he gently nudged Suna in the ribs and whispered to her.
"Go to the main camp. You'll be safer there."
She looked at him quizzically and whispered back. "What about you?"
"Not sure what I'm gonna do yet, but it'll be easier for me knowing you'll be somewhere safe."
"If that's how you feel, you should have just left me back at the Sanctuary."
"As if you'd let me go to another dimension without you."
The maid said nothing, knowing the undead man was right. She decided to be the first f the group to make their choice.
"I'll head to the main camp." She then walked over to Julius, stopping at his side and seeing who, if anyone, was joining her.
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Post by Greed on Mar 25, 2013 10:39:03 GMT -5
-Yu-
Before Yu could really speak up, Jade turned around, heading to the camp, standing by Julius. Well... it would be like him to try to get to the heart of the matter. Yu looked at Carl, before speaking up.
"I'll go to the capital. If there are more people like Julius and Alucard who aren't quite so friendly... it might be a good idea to have a little more power on each side." Jade nodded, and glanced towards Julius then towards Kazuya; Yu could understand the apprehension all too well. This wasn't like Kanji, and he couldn't given Kazuya the benefit of the doubt. There was something base and primal about the martial artist that made him more than a little scared of him. Truthfully he was split between wanting Kazuya where he could keep an eye on him, and where he wouldn't have to be near him. He didn't want him anywhere near Suna, and he was sure he was with Carl on that one.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Mar 27, 2013 22:29:20 GMT -5
"You two should probably split up," Alia said to X and Zero over the comm. "It'd be most efficient if we had eyes both at the capital and at the camp."
"I'll head to the camp then," Zero said, speaking to both Alia and Hilde. "A capital city is serious business, and X is a thousand times the negotiator that I am. It's best if we send someone there who knows how to solve problems without violence."
While X believed that Zero was selling himself a little bit short, he couldn't dispute his point. X did have a much greater desire to avoid conflict than Zero did. From the start, X was hesitant to resort to violence at all.
That was a long time ago though...
...
No, this wasn't the time to dwell on that. X had to stay focused on the mission. He had to remain professional.
"Alright. I'll head to the capital to meet Viola then."
Julius respected the decisions of both of the two color-coded robots. When Kazuya remained silent, however, he raised an eyebrow.
"Having trouble making up your mind, Kazuya?" he said to the red-eyed demi-human.
"No," said Kazuya. "Not at all." He told them the truth. What really had him preoccupied were the two blades. If they lived up even remotely to the hype that these barbarians were giving them, then they were powerful indeed. He was beginning to understand the fat man's interest in these blades. They could both have proved to be valuable assets....Especially to their wielders....
"I will go to the camp," Kazuya said simply, his arms still crossed. This was both a good and a bad thing to Julius. On one hand, it meant he could keep a closer eye on this man. However, it also meant that he would be in close proximity to Soul Calibur. Julius was skeptic to trust this man. The evil presence that resided within him was one thing, but it seemed like he wasn't even trying to present himself in a positive light. It was strange. He had a gut feeling that this character was fully capable of being likable and charismatic when he wanted to be, but for some reason, he was disregarding a positive image for a negative one. Was he trying to get everyone else here to dislike him?
There was reason to believe he would be of use to their cause, otherwise the others at the Sanctuary would have had him locked away or excommunicated by now. Still, he had to keep an eye out for this one. There was no telling what this man was capable of. Not even a mind reader would likely know.
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Post by Advix on Mar 28, 2013 14:58:08 GMT -5
"I think I'll go to the city, and meet this Viola lass. If we're all meeting up at the camp anyway, I might as well take the long road and see some sights," Raiga spoke aloud. "That's right, I haven't spent that much time with the Colonel. Maybe, I can get to know you a little better." Alucard could only watch Kazuya with extreme scrutiny whispering to Hilde.
"Your Majesty, should I head to the camp as well? If only to keep an eye on the martial artist." Alucard was very hesitant to allow him near the spirit sword.
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