Lock and Key

Whoa, I forgot that too. Whatever, thanks for the heads up.

 

Longer update to make up for the likely lack of any from now till Christmas. I'll be doing a few peripherals to this story that'll take less time and effort to tide you over if I care enough to. I can't think of anything else I really have to say except thank you to all who acknowledge me and wish for the betterment of my work. as always tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll strive to make it go away forever.

Door 12: Ten Years Later

The two had arrived at a stone ruin from another age, half buried in sand and weathered by the winds that never seemed to cease in this land and yet, they still managed to look impressive. Daniels’s eyes darted back and forth in the half light as if he was waiting for something. Callum took notice of this and stepped back slowly. Suddenly a voice resounded throughout the ruins, it was an almost unintelligible rumble at first, but it grew closer and clearer with each passing second. It was a man, either older or simply gruffer than Daniels by the timbre. Daniels stayed rooted to his spot; he closed his eyes before he unlocked his revolvers, and stood ready to fire. When he reopened his eyes a grizzled figure had appeared before him his mouth issuing a pleased message.

“So glad to see you again, Jonathan Daniels. Though, I hardly expected you to return like this.” The man who arrived was hardly what Callum had expected of a man that had beaten Daniels in what he’d assumed was a straight match. He was wiry, lithe looking, in his forties at least, and in desperate need of personal grooming and hygiene practices beyond a cursory shave. He also featured a mottled and discolored scar across the front of his neck and what seemed to be ages of wear on his faded red and black clothes. However these were his less prominent characteristics, he carried by a careful count thirty eight swords of grossly varying sizes and styles. The five he carried on his back were far too large to be ordinary, locks perhaps. The rest were situated in various casings about his thick hardened leather belt in various sets and combinations. Seeing the man brought a subtle sense of fantasy and wonder to the viewer, and also a terrifying sense of dread. Despite his calm expression his eyes stood out against the rest clearly stating to all he was a killer.

“If you’re talking about my witness, then it’s just to confirm a winner.” Daniels replied dryly as he carefully removed his bandanna from about his neck and adjusted his hat and coat.

“I rather thought you’d come alone, but you know things never go as expected, that’s why our kind must always verify it through battle.” The man laughed haughtily and grinned revealing a set of perfect fang-like teeth.

“Shut up about this “our kind” bullshit. I fight for my own reasons you fight for yours, every man is his own spirit and body, that’s why we collide like the creeping stars way up there in the heavens.” Daniels responded with a certain confident air, it felt strong and steady like a ray of sunlight.

“You’ve grown quite a fondness for small talk in these past ten years. You’d have been at my throat by now when you were here last, in fact you were.” The swordsman chuckled to himself as an old man does when he’s seen a child to something very childlike.

“What can I say, I’ve mellowed.” Daniels shrugged without once letting his eyes blink or drop from his target.

“Well, you’ve come at a good time, I’ve been needing a good target to test my new swords on.” The man chuckled resting his callused hands on a small sword he wore on the front of his belt. “Someone who wouldn’t die right off.”

“You’ve changed a bit yourself, you look like hell for one thing.” Daniels retorted with a snort.

“The years wear heavily on some of us, but those are the guys that get buried. Who’s gonna be one of those guys?” The older of the two was smiling vacantly, enjoying every second of the conversation for no apparent reason.

“That’s why we must invariably verify it through battle.” Daniels shot back the man’s words with a hint of sarcasm in is voice.

“I guess you want to get this over with. I’d wanted to talk some more but you still have no sense of propriety.” The man scolded with a wag of his finger.

“Strato Vercingetorix, here’s where I take your title as August Emperor of Swords away from you, prepare yourself.” The brown coated man declaimed with stentorian conviction. Strato let his face curl into a warm smile as Daniels turned around to face the last blaze of the sun and sat with his back to him, his opponent and held his head high, the older man smiled and did likewise. Before he’d turned completely around he shot back one message.

“Don’t get carried away kid.” With that the two sat back facing back for several minutes, or so it seemed to Callum as he quietly watched the events unfold. “Alright witness, count down from ten.” He turned his head a bit towards Daniels. “We move at zero got it?”

“Got it.” The two younger males replied synchronously. Daniels shut his eyes and Callum started the countdown, it sounded so distant to the combatants as they readied their minds for conflict.

Ten

Daniels felt each passing count like a thud in his in his ears as he focused his mind planning out the fight.

Nine

Ignoring the feeling his curled up his body and crossed his arms over his chest ready to spring straight up.

Eight

Strato let his body lie relaxed over the sand and left his eyes open as he stared away from the setting sun.

Seven

He rested a hand on his smallest blade, a bone white fang of less than two feet sheathed in black leather at the front of his belt with two grooves, one running up either side of it’s flat and each with a small black pellet at each respective base.

Six

Callum watched all of the slight moves the other two made and stepped back even further as the now foreign sound of his own call marked the next count.

Five

The boy contemplated the outcomes for a brief moment before letting his voice ring the next passing number.

Four

Everything lay still on the field, but the minds were all steeped in tempestuous thought.

Three

The battle was now nearing it’s time.

Two

There was no turning back.

One

Don’t jump the gun the last beat will determine the victor, reaction and prognostication, everything that had been said and done rode on this final moment.

“Zero.” The time that seemed to have stopped for them started once more. Daniels leapt to his feet and twisted himself around to fire two shots with a collision trajectory halfway to the target. In the same moment Strato whirled around drawing his blade and launching himself forwards at the same time. Suddenly there was a bell like tinkle and a rain of brightly glowing shards flew off of the collision site of the bullets at Strato. Before Callum could blink there were many clashes of metal on metal and Strato stood with his back to Daniels with fragments of bullets lying in the sand. Daniels twitched in anticipation as the older man slowly turned himself back around. He wore a broad grin on his face and swaggered forwards with only his fang of a sword in front of him. Daniels moved first again, in a split second he’d repositioned himself and fired off four more shots, all of which were brought to heel by the grizzled man’s lightning quick sword. He let the grin drift off of his face in favor of a grim focus that marked the beginning of his assault.

In what seemed like no time he’d closed the gap between the two and made two swings at his brown coated opponent. However his adversary didn’t miss a step, both swings sailed harmlessly past leaving him enough time to counter fire a point blank shot; it’s trajectory glanced against Strato’s cheek grazing the skin but a hair's width failing to even draw blood. The two men clashed at close quarters in this fashion leaving no advantage to see for several seconds before a lunge of the bone white fang sword forced Daniels out of the close range match while at the same time launching the two beads from the base of the blade at the retreating Daniels. In the face of this secondary reaching attack he could only lean himself back enough for them to pass over him only to be detonated with what was clearly enough force to have killed him had he been hit.

In the brief moment between the explosion and the next move of his opponent Daniels lunged back in towards his opponent firing one shot straight into the man’s guard giving himself time to position both pistols beneath the blade and fired knocking the arm out of Strato’s hand. The older man stood unfazed and reached for another sword when Daniels suddenly sprang back and blasted the sword in mid-flight continuing to control it’s trajectory with precise aim and keen fire. At the end of his flight his lifted one gun an he drove the blade into the sand with his last shot and left his other firearm trained on the opponent. Strato made a face and froze in his spot.

“No more playing with me. I think I’ve proven how much better I’ve gotten.” Daniels sighed and pushed up the brim of his hat with the barrel of his free revolver.

“Admittedly you’re better, now let me show you how much better I’ve gotten. Just because you‘ve got a new weapon don‘t think you can surprise me, after all my sword style is completely flawless and invincible.” He let his hands drop to his sides and his head cock to one side.

“The modified Colt twin edition is weapon enough to beat any sword and my marksmanship is enough to beat any swordsman.” Daniels retorted without dropping his gun or his eyes.

“You people and your locks, I fight with the true weapon of gods, the mystic blades that have been scattered throughout the various worlds of Escher, created from the distant yearnings of those in reality, the blades that are so powerful to wield them is a sin in some mythologies, I’ll never let myself lose to a commoner’s weapon.” Strato with stony faced and grim impatience.

“The providence of competence will decide that, old man. Now draw your next sword for me to shoot down.” Daniels ordered narrowing his eyes and focusing in on the swordsman’s hands.

“If it’s gonna be about doubles let Twin Mirage and Reflected Edge answer your challenge.” Strato simultaneously drew out two identical longswords with royally crested ornamentation on the hilts and guards and tassels on the pommels from sheathes about his waist. He brought them into a readied stance and waited intently.

“You’ve got named swords, how cute.” Daniels chuckled aloud fixing his second armament on the target.

“Let’s go then.”

 

woah, nice chapter.

one thing i did notice that this chapter seems rushed.

and its a bit harder to follow than the others.

but the lack of time does that...i barely have time for anything myself.

nice drawing...though i don't get why he looks femenine...but its your concept art.

 

To rephrase: I own a pair of boots that look like those, so yeah. That's where I get that. The rushed thing wasn't for lack of time so much as for lack of an idea as to how this chapter should be written, I hope to improve, but you know.

 

actually, nope i dont.

but yeah, im pretty busy too with school and stuff.

but the chapter truly is the first one with an actual, non-beserker duel.

 

Really? That's awkward.

Shout huzzah for higher education. >.>

Expect more, Daniels gets more words than anyone else in this arc of the story which goes on 'til they reach the-- screw it that would spoil the story.

 

Well, here's my second bi-weekly update, and I bring you an actual chapter, believe me I'm just as shocked as you. You know, as usual I had no time to edit, just point out my faults and tell me to fix them.

Door 13: The Clash

“Let’s go then.†The two shouted synchronously. The battle that ensued was too fast and abrupt to properly see, much less describe. In the eyes of the only one able to see such a clash it may as well have been nothing but foil chaff fluttering in the wind.

Blades flashed and gunshots resounded in the half light, but neither of the two warriors showed any sign of faltering or injury. This all came to a sudden halt with a single move however; Daniels used the pistol in his leading hand as a shield to block an oncoming swing and held the longsword in place just long enough for the move that would change the course of the battle, he flipped up his other gun and made a motion like a punch as he slammed the gun into the flat of the halted blade and fired simultaneously. Strato took several seconds to understand what really happened but it was clear to anyone that his hand was trembling uncontrollably from that strike.

“What the hell did you do to my arm?†He asked gruffly as he punched his own arm to try and stop the shaking only to feel the same tremor spread into his other hand’s fingers.

“If I wanted to name it, I’d call it Concussion Vibrato. In short I hit your stiff arm with vibrations conducted through your sword. The bullet starts the vibrations the punch amplifies them and they go straight into your arm shaking it violently setting your muscles into a temporarily weakened state of shock, it’ll numb your whole forearm if done perfectly. It‘s more intense than having your arm beaten with a crowbar.†Daniels explained calmly as he stood ready to strike at any time.

“You really did do nothing but develop a style to beat me in all these years. I should congratulate you, but my sword isn’t so flimsy as to fall to that kind of trick.†Strato grimaced, angered at his mistake, but he let it pass and without a second thought drove his swords into the sandy ground, and with what was left of his dexterity and his teeth he lashed the tassels of the blades onto his hands and wrists. He lifted the free swinging blades and smiled to himself and then looked over to Daniels who‘d waited patiently for him.

“No more breaks, I’ll fall asleep if you let me rest like this.†Daniels taunted before unlocking and flipping his survival knife up into his mouth where he held it ready to grasp at a moments notice. Then the two combatants faced each other down, neither giving a sign of attacking lest it trigger an unfavorable clash. The interminable glares cast across the field of battle lay unrelentingly focused on their targets, watching and feeling for the next move, then next thought, anything that would give them victory. Suddenly the tension that had been so great broke into a mad rush of gunfire and slashes.

Daniels had been first to move, last to the punch; like a pair of hissing vipers Strato’s blades tore through the air screaming towards their target. In a succession of thunderous clashed the two met in fierce melee, gun and bullet frustrated by gracefully wheeling swords. Daniels cracked first, cursing under his breath as he struggled to preempt and react to the wide swift arcs of the blades. He took a cut to the cheek, another to the leg and one even across his chest. He was beginning to see it though, the true meaning of the blade’s path. That’s when they broke apart and stayed apart, still glaring intensely and breathing harshly.

“You get it now, don’t you?†Strato balked, realizing what the look in his adversaries eyes meant.

“Hm.†He nodded.

“Do you really?†Strato inquired almost sardonically.

“Hm.†He nodded again.

“Show me.†With that they would have resumed their battle of furious speed and wildly flashing arms if it had not been cut short in their first clash. Strato brought his two blades down on his opponent to inscribe a cross on his body, but the brown coated man stood his ground and knocked away the oncoming assault with two simultaneous concussion strikes causing the blades to hover, humming in resonance, without momentum or trajectory to transform intoflowing retaliation. Strato cursed as Daniels rushed in knife at the ready. In the last moment preceding contact the older man dropped his hands down onto large box-like scabbards on either side of his belt forcing myriads of thin swords to draw themselves out crossing in front of him and barring the avenue for the instant of attack. Daniels had failed to take down his target. He spat angrily as he repositioned himself around the obstacle for another series of shots when he saw Strato simply staring at him with empty sheaths at his sides, the swords were no longer in front of him. Daniels eye’s widened and he threw his head upwards to see a rain of blades bearing down on him. Though he deftly evaded the hazards, he ended up off balance with two swinging blades bearing down on him.

The blonde twisted his body just enough to get out of the way allowing his hat to drop to the shifting sands as he staggered towards the ruins darkened outer wall. Strato turned the missed assault into another strike but it failed as well, the knots he’d tied earlier came loose under the strain of his swings and let his swords go flying off into the desert. Without waiting to test his hands he grasped at one of his numerous blades that stood, blade buried in the sand and hurled it at his enemy, feeling the power had return to his arms he let a smirk glance across his face. Daniels somehow found enough time to stoop over and replace his hat in it’s rightful place as he avoided being impaled by the projectile.

Strato continued on with his ranged assault, adroitly maneuvering himself away from retaliatory attacks as he flung forth his blades letting them drive their edges deep into the ancient stone walls as they missed their mark time after time. Daniels ran along the wall in an effort to escape this hail of swords, letting them create a trail behind him as he narrowly escaped death leaving each of them as a reminder. He, however, was caught off guard when the sword master drove a blade into a section of the wall ahead of him nearly tripping him. He, however, wrenched it from the stone with several well placed shots and as it floated before him he kicked it straight back at Strato.

The strike looked like a clean hit as well. It passed the head and threw back the upper body, let loose a thin trail of blood, everything seemed in order until Strato stood tall again holding the blade of the sword clenched in his teeth. He spat it out into his hand where it was accompanied by another two thin blades held between his fingers. He smiled subtly and rushed forwards clashing with bullets until the range became too close to properly aim, with the claw like grip style harassing and frustrating all Daniels’s attempts at retaliation. Daniels fought mainly with his guns as blunt hammers only firing when he had to, partly because of the range and partly because the thought nagging at the back of his mind was growing more and more, eating away at his concentration. He was running out of shots.

Strato picked up on the shift in behavior quickly and pressed the attack onwards. The frantic battle that ensued could hardly be tracked by Callum’s eyes, it was a totally foreign sight to him, the combinations of smooth and sharp movement, that was at the same time all so controlled and deliberate. He’d only ever seen desperate conflict in battles, the precise intent and motion of the two combatants couldn’t be totally understood through the lens of his experience, all he could manage as staring in awe and wonderment.

Strato howled triumphantly as he slashed at his opponent, throwing the brown coated man into the stone wall. The man retaliated by dragging a blade out from it’s lodging and hurling it towards his enemy who deftly blocked it and took another swing with his claws of swords. Daniels retreated back through the forest of blades in the wall and watched Strato’s movements in deep analytical thought, rather than fighting back. The swordsman smiled and knocked all of the remaining blades into the air and with focus assaults forced Daniels of the wall. With a quick flick of his wrist he’d sent the blades in his hands to join their matches as he drew a new sword off of his back. It was a long and sharply angled one edged sword with a lightning bolt themed mural on it‘s side.

Daniels eyes widened upon seeing a familiar sword and hurriedly back away and fired several shots only to see them knocked down by arcs of electricity upon nearing the blade. Strato continued smiling as the blades fell back to earth surrounding his opponent. He raised his lighting blade into the air and gripped it tightly as his began to emit an electrical glow and small sparks in the night’s moonlit arena. Daniels rushed away from the blades that surrounded him but it was too late to escape, Strato swung his blade down onto the closest blade and the lighting quickly discharged into the numerous other blades forming a net of lighting discharges that Daniels only just barely managed to evade direct contact with, but his troubles were not over. When he landed outside of the net he felt his body go numb and heavy.

“Checkmate.†Strato said smugly, the lighting had discharged into the sand as well and the field though not strong enough to kill was a powerful immobilizing force. Daniels could do nothing but wait and curse his misfortunate mistake. Strato watched the stiffly still figure of his opponent wobbling slightly in the shifting sands and almost falling forwards in amusement before drawing a second sword off his back. It was long like it’s cousin blade but also resembled a large curved butcher’s knife with waves etched into it’s surface. Before swinging it down he only said one thing: “Die.†With blade released a blue tinted arc of light with the force of his swing concentrated within it. Daniels tried to grit his teeth and close his eyes but it wouldn’t come, he simply feel himself stand like falling statue overbalanced in the sand waiting to be destroyed.

Strato stood before his fallen adversary with a bemused look on his face. Daniels had fallen before the wave of light reached him and what’s more when he fell the wave of light and force was cleft in twain before it could reach him somehow. Strato could do nothing but stand there replaying the scene in his head. Daniels was just as amazed that he wasn’t cut in half but he was more than somewhat more grateful for it, and unlike his opponent he understood it. Strato grimaced as Daniels dragged himself slowly and shakily to his feet as he felt the electrical paralysis weakening.

“Looks like I didn’t die, sorry to disappoint.†Daniels mocked pushing his hat back in place.

“This is going to bother me forever if I don’t know, so tell me.†Strato inquired almost facetiously.

“It was your own attack. The lightning that put me all rigor mortis made my jaw strong enough to cut the wave with my knife as I fell. It‘s like a shockwave, your attack that is, so interference that strong caused it to rip itself apart before it could cut off the ride side of my body.†Daniels shrugged to test his body as it began to loosen up even more.

“That tiny blade?†Strato spoke incredulously as he eyed the survival knife in the moon’s light.

“Has the power to augment it’s sharpness and even range even based on my fighting will.†Daniels said with intentional slowness to buy himself more time to recover.

“Alright then, you’re still at a disadvantage though. Using your fighting will has the downside that I’m sure you noticed already.†Strato regarded the knife’s blade with disdain but no longer mistook it for no threat.

“Yeah, it has no limit, but the bullets also use a certain amount of anima as well and that is limited.†Daniels shrugged again in concession.

“So how many shots do you have before you’re ready to give up?†Strato continued, aware that his opponent was able to move close to properly again.

“I estimate around a hundred. That said, mind if I end this a bit quickly?†Daniels said gripping his guns and smiling at his own strength’s return.

“I wanted to do the same thing.†Strato pouted in jest before raising his blades at the ready again.

“Alright.†Daniels quickly rushed forwards going in for an uppercut between the huge blades and firing several times as his punch flew upwards. Strato dodged it and cut back with his lightning edged sword letting sparks fly off dangerously as it charged up. Daniels retreated briefly before firing three shots at Strato. The older man winced in agitation as his lighting discharged prematurely into the first bullet rendering it immobile, and cursed as the two others flew past him into the path of the falling bullets from earlier setting off another fragmentation bomb effect. He managed to only just evade major damage but still took a lot of minor shrapnel wounds to his left shoulder. Daniel grinned and ran back in leaping and bounding over the incoming wave blasts from the great knife like sword and forcing the lightning blade to discharge the electricity before it could gain enough electrical energy to lethally arc at him. So Daniels and Strato clashed, knife and guns clattering and clanging against the disproportionately large swords.

Soon they broke apart, unable to determine a victor in simple clashes. Daniels sighed and drew back his hand as if to punch and Strato raised his blades in an offensive posture Daniels let a smile slide across his face before he threw his arm forwards in the form of a knockout punch at his enemy letting a gunshot sound echo throughout the ruins. Suddenly, Strato felt his grip on his blade loosen as he felt a tremendous force on his sword, it was as if he‘d clashed with a strong opponent at the tip of his blade. When he looked at his armament three disfigured bullets lay on top of the other at the very tip of his sword, and by the time he brought himself back out of his shock Daniels had closed in.

Making the same motion as he had earlier in the duel he punched at both swords firing simultaneously, and in doing so, knocking the blades away from their master. Strato, ignored the setback and grasped his enemy by both hands and slammed his own forehead onto the other man’s. Daniels staggered back pressing a hand to his head to steady himself and watching Strato completely unfazed as he drew forth his largest sword. It was about eighteen inches in width one in depth and as long as it’s wielder was tall, almost. It had a straight double edge that fanned out at the end and came back together in a curved cleaving edge. It also had an orange tinge and strange symbols carved deep into it’s flat. The brown coated man and the red garbed man didn’t wait to analyze their opponents this time, both simply rushed forwards into danger they knew all too well by this point. Strato’s blade quickly became engulfed in flames as he brought it forwards time after time, hurling it’s gargantuan form against metal and sand, melting all in touched indiscriminately.

Daniels backed off, not daring to move within reach but not willing to accept the defeat he‘d struggled against for ten years. Suddenly he holstered both guns and held his knife before him defensively. Strato didn’t change his expression but advanced slightly. Daniels looked at the man, tired and beaten, if it was sheer skill he’d only lose at this point, however he knew he had to win somehow. So he rushed forwards with every ounce of strength he could muster and clashed against the burning sword ignoring the pain of the burns and striking out again and again. Strato merely parried his foes assaults and remained immovable. Finally, Daniels staggered back hands twitching in pain and consciousness wavering. That is when Strato walked forwards and lashed out cutting deep into Daniels’s shoulder and forcing him to his back.

“How does it feel to get your wound cauterized as it’s made?†Daniels only spat at him struggling against himself to keep screams and sobs at bay. Strato raised his sword above his head ready to deliver the final blow, Daniels grit his teeth and made himself still as if waiting to receive the blow. Callum stepped forwards, but immediately reminded himself that it wasn’t his fight and he was only here to determine who was the real winner. So he too waited. Strato mumbled something to himself and gripped his sword tightly with both hands, and readied himself for victory. Daniels looked into the brilliant plume of flames and smiled, he produced a flask of some unknown liquid from his coat and faster than his opponent without the encumbering blade made a wide swing with his arm splattering the liquid in a wide arc over his opponent and watched it catch fire along with what of it had missed it’s mark. Strato dropped his sword in favor of putting out the fire on his torso. In the end it burned itself out leaving a scorched line across his chest.

“Looks like I’ll get to give you another parting gift this time.†Daniels chuckled replacing his knife with his guns and standing with a renewed confidence, with only two swords left to contend with he had a chance, slim as it was.

“Yes, this scene takes you back doesn’t it?†He took another sword off his back, this one had a long handle and it’s blade was broad and split into two prongs that came close to meeting near their terminals but left several inches of separation between their inward facing backs. The sword seemed to radiate energy and distort the light around i ever so slightly, but with the pale moonlight it could’ve been an illusion.

“I won’t lose to that this time.†Daniels barked confidently.





Next time you can expect the exciting--er-- somewhat disappointing conclusion. I still haven't decided on exactly how to end it, but the fight is almost over, thank the almighty god of overlong text Shadders. see you all in hell--er-- two weeks.

 

woah, this part uses a lot of different weaponry.

and a lot of swords, i like specially skills, the blades.

everything in this chapter displayed a lot of that.

and it was good.

i actually thought you had given up on this, since you removed the link siggy and all.

 

just one thing about the drawing, the face looks like a skull.

but you gave strato so many varying weapons.

and that made me realize how weak church and callum really are.

 

I originally thought I'd go with a creepy half dead look but later decided to change it, so that's why he's got a gaunt skull of a head here.

The ideas for his weapons are actually from about five years ago, I justnever came up with a place to use them 'til now.

That's good I guess, I never really thought about it, I just wanted to finish it because I hate writing fights.

 

This is a week early to be part of my biweekly update, but I'm awful at keeping stuff once I'm done. My extras are all about Church it seems. I may keep with that because he really doesn't get much screen time with the other two around. Well, you know criticize as you like. Go, go, Speed Racer.


Extra Door 13: The Drinking Game

Church sat in the empty diner at the front of the inn rereading a particularly intriguing passage from his book. The proprietor and lone employee of the small wretched establishment were holding some kind of meeting or something to that effect, it mattered not, they were both planning on going over to the pyre and dying in a few weeks anyways. One had a terminal illness, the other was poisoned, the term 'dead men walking' seemed to fit them, those who‘d already given up on their pathetic little lives.

Church could only just help himself from pondering what it must seem like for him to be there at None. Just as he was turning a page to look at a familiar diagram and black of text the door opened. A slim figure, probably female, entered draped in a traveling cloak and kept anonymous by the scarf of a collar the garment sported. Church made no more than a brief sidelong glance before he frowned. He’d seen that walk before, in Noir there was a girl who walked with the same weight shift and timing in her gait. The problem was he couldn’t place her any further than that. The man paid it no outward attention and returned to his book but still contemplated all possible identities of a pursuer.

The traveler took a seat several tables down, in the middle of the room. Church paid no heed to such things, but still glanced over when he heard the cashier enter. He looked somewhat flustered, but not entirely out of touch with the present situation, whatever it was that he was dealing with wasn’t preoccupying the man, there was nothing to worry about on that front at least. The traveler stirred to pull down her collar, she ordered a drink, the strongest spirit the shop kept in stock for that matter, and she made sure to order a round for Church as well. He shut his book and turned to her keeping it in his hands, ready to be opened, as a gesture of his lack of genuine interest in her.

“You look a bit young to be drinking like that.†He commented, it was true, with her face revealed it was clear she couldn’t have been even twenty.

“I would beg to differ.†She said simply without betraying emotion or intent. She was hiding something, and not very well by her manner.

“Well, I’ve never been much of a drinker I’m afraid.†Church responded as the glasses were brought out. He let the man place down the drinks, but Church shook his head and pushed it away from himself afterwords. “I hope you won’t mind that.†He said falsely apologetic.

“I insist, we’re living at the edge of nowhere here, why not live a little before we die a lot?†She said taking a drink and setting down her glass carefully in spite of her affected enthusiasm.

“I think I’d prefer to stay more alive for the long haul.†Church countered, amused. He tried to place her features and mannerisms but nothing came to mind, no one he‘d met then. “After all, self preservation is the most prevailing of all my instincts.†She laughed.

“Really? I suppose you could look at it that way. I’d prefer to have a purpose, but that’s just me.†She shrugged off his obvious sardonic tone and drank more, not in the trade either.

“You’re right, it is just you.†Church said bluntly, the face and voice never had matches, so he’d never talked to her, but the gait with which she entered was undeniably from Noir, a passerby perhaps. No, chance isn‘t so coincidental. A personal vendetta was more likely, but against whom was still a mystery.

“Care to elaborate on that--what was your name again?†She inquired, feigning tipsiness and comprehension failure.

“No. And I didn‘t tell you my name.†Church replied instantly, inane ideas like drawing information out of someone unwilling to comply were so clichéd and antiquated that Church felt as if he’d heard each one ten times over. Her own method was no exception, she’d bought him a drink, gotten into a useless conversation, and even tried to remain polite through his caustic and antisocial behavior, that must’ve been the worst attempt at information gathering he’d ever seen.

“I’m Emily Stadton, nice to meet you.†She grinned stupidly, Church almost scowled but simply answered her instead.

“I’m Francois Villon, but why don’t you just get to the point?†He inquired, his voice bland with effort to not burst into insult and abasement.

“Small talk is more fun.†She smiled sweetly and let her act drop, she wore the face of one genuinely looking for something, but that face was no more convincing than the idiotic drunk mask she‘d cast aside. If anything, compromising her cover was the worst way to get anything out of Church or, dropping the cover was tantamount to admitting to lying, the worst way to gain the trust of anyone.

“Then we really have nothing to talk about.†Church concluded before placing his book down on the table firmly stared icily.

“I guess so. We‘ll all just remain ships passing in the night then.†She stood up, downed what was left of her drink, pulled up her collar and left the inn. Church turned back to his table and pulled out a deck of playing cards and placed it on the table in front of him. He made a motion as if to draw a card, but e stayed his hand for a moment and took a small sip from his glass.

“Disgusting.â€





I may in fact have to change my release schedule to once a week if this kinda thing keeps up.

 

this part is very dialouge driven.

though i think it would be wiser to slow the descriptiveness of how lousy she was at gathering info.

but an interesting chapter(wich in itself seems like a filler)

i really like filler parts.

 

I was going for a different style, but you know it looks like I need to work on it a bit more.

Extra doors are canon for the record, and are in some ways fillers, but in other ways not.

 

Bi-weekly update time. I've finished with some degree of competency another chapter. I'm glad to have battle over and done with, but it saddens me to tell you this, but Lock & Key will shortly be coming to a close. I estimate another five or so chapters will be posted before it's completed, in short two months tops. I greatly enjoy this story and having so little of it left with it is somewhat disappointing. However I hope that you can enjoy these chapters in reading them many times more than I enjoyed writing them. I'm rambling now, so I'll get onto it.



Door 14: The Winner/The Loser

“Don’t you dare think that the power is the same as it was ten years ago. If you do then you’ll die too quick.†Strato stated no lie in his voice as he allowed his sword to bob up and down in his grip.

“Still trying to fool yourself into thinking you’re so much stronger than me? The truth is you’re weaker than you were before and I’m stronger, my chances may never get much better than this.†Daniels taunted.

“Age doesn’t tell strength, a true warrior doesn’t need to be young to be strong.†Strato countered with a smirk crossing his lips briefly.

“Whatever you say old man.†Daniels said, his tone reeking of sarcasm. He paused and felt the words around in his mouth before speaking. “Either way, the long and short of the matter are, in a shootout like this one you can’t win.â€

“Words, words, words!†Strato suddenly threw his hand into the air dragging his immense blade skyward and wildly flailing it about with each word. “Our kind can only communicate through our actions!†Daniels acted first, he leapt back and held his guns between himself and Strato arms crossed over one another and poised to fire. The wizened swordsman dropped his sword to a parallel with the darkened sands and sighed. “Shoot him, Apollo.â€

Daniels tightened his grip on his guns as the great sword began to shimmer with a light that began faint, but flourished with brightness in seconds. Just as the light became nearly intense enough to blind an onlooker the light was released from the confines of the blade in a great beam of searing energy. In the same moment Daniels fired two bullets into the center of the blast, one leading the other.

When the light faded, Daniels stood once more unscathed by the seemingly unavoidable assault. Daniels didn’t wear a triumphant face though, he simply looked tired as he heaved air in and out of his lungs and slouched over in the pale moonlight. Strato paid no attention and raised his sword once more when he heard a cracking sound and looked for a source. He found one bullet had crushed the base of the blade and buried itself between the edges several inches into the hilt.

Soon after this discovery, the enchanted arm broke into pieces leaving only two dull, useless blades buried in the sand and a broken handle in Strato‘s hand. He looked at the beleaguered man before him for a moment before removing his last sword from his belt and bringing it and it’s heavy black and white iron bolted sheath along with it. It looked as if it had been crafted around the sword as a seal to keep it’s edge from ever feeling light of sun or moon on it‘s edge.

“You want to know what that was. I can see it in your eyes.†Daniels badgered, still far from catching his breath.

“Since we both need a short breather, I’d like a short explanation.†Strato replied, almost disinterestedly, but not totally aloof.

“These guns can’t just shoot one kind of bullet, I can put more or less fighting spirit behind it, what I just showed you was two bullets following the same trajectory straight into your blades weakest point, in theory at least, both with the maximum power I could get. Colt Maximum Dual.†He said almost triumphantly, were he not wobbling and stumbling under his own weight, he could have looked the part as well.

“It cut through the beam fast enough to stop it before it could reach you at all. Not bad at all. But that sword was very precious to me. So I’ll have to kill you, seriously now.†He held his final weapon before him displaying it’s sealed form. “With this sword, this unchallenged sword that I’ve never been able to even draw your death sentence shall be carried out.â€

“Go right ahead and try.†Daniels chuckled, but he was cut short when he felt pressure on his ribs and heard a creaking sound that must’ve been his ribs getting ready to break. He looked down in the instant before he was throw through the air, the blunt edge of the huge bolted scabbard Strato held was digging itself into his body like a huge club. He landed in the rough sand, and felt it grinding against his skin as he got to his feet. Near him, lay one of the twin swords Strato had lost earlier, he holstered both guns and picked up the blade testing it’s weight in his hands, it was awkward and foreign to the grip, and too heavy to properly move. Strato said nothing as he walked slowly, almost methodically through the desert towards his target.

Daniels didn’t flinch when the scabbard came again, he saw it clearly this time, the strike of the master swordsman. He jammed his own blade into the sand to take the hit while he drew his gun to fire, however the heavy strike never landed on the barricade sword, Strato changed the trajectory halfway through the swing and took it to the head of his opponent. Daniels barely had time to react to the change, he ducked back as fast as his battered body would allow, but he still had to take some of the heavy metal to his head causing him to fall backwards, losing his hat once more in the process. He lay on the flat of his back and looked up at the infinitesimally distant stars with a sudden desire to reach out and grasp them in his hands. “Dammit.†He sighed. “I wanted to win.†Strato looked down on his defeated opponent and stopped.

“You could very well have killed me several times earlier.†Strato stated plainly.
“Yeah, and?†He coughed a bit and cleared his throat.

“Why?†The older man asked coldly.

“It didn’t feel like a real win. I couldn‘t just kill a guy that still thought he was winning, it‘s just that if he dies without knowing the winner, then who‘s to say I won? Sounds stupid I guess.†The man chuckled, then grimaced holding his injured ribs, moving only slightly and even then gingerly.

“Well, because of your moronic sense of honor I’ve lost a sword and wasted a lot of time trying to figure out what you were thinking. To answer your ponderings: the winner lives, the loser dies. Simple. Isn’t that what the witness is here to confirm?†Strato replied.

“I know it in my head somewhere, but it really doesn’t connect to the part that tells my body what to do.†Daniels said smiling ironically.

“I thought I’d found the most talented fighter I could ever find when I found you ten years ago. It turns out you’re the weakest man that I’ve ever met.†Strato sighed in disappointment.

“That’s where you’re dead wrong.†Daniels lunged forwards suddenly brandishing his survival knife. Strato was taken aback by the unexpected change in demeanor, but parried smartly. Daniels didn’t fall, but stumbled past the swordsman weakly. Strato felt his sword’s aura changing in his grasp, but he couldn’t place his finger on what it was exactly, other swords got a different feel when their elements were unleashed but this was slightly different. As he was looking at Daniels he decided to try to draw his sword for the first and likely the final time.

Daniels raised his face to eye his target, but he could barely keep his eyes open with all the pain and fatigue he was feeling. However, when he saw Strato draw his sword his wearied eyes opened wide. The cutting edge was snow white and gleamed even in the moons faint light. The flat was blacker than coal and seemed to absorb light from the world around it darkening all but the brilliant white of it‘s own blade. Strato looked pleased with himself, he examined the length of the blade, the plain infantry style sword and shifted his gaze to his opponent when he’d finished.

Daniels tried to raise a hand to fire but barely managed to remove his guns from their holsters before Strato began his attack. He approached with inhuman speed and the two crossed paths in such a swift flurry of movements that nothing appeared to have happened at first. The illusion did not last long, for the brown coated man dropped to his knees as three gashes opened up all over his body.

“Not bad at all given your condition. However, I’ve mastered only this kind of sword truly and completely, my power is at it’s peak and you have maybe ten more shots left.†There was a gunshot, Strato felt hot metal brush past his shoulder as he watched Daniels struggle to keep his outstretched arm from shaking.

“Six.†Daniels declared with his last shot. He dropped his arm to his side and holstered the gun he’d just fired and held his other hand steady as he could to fire. Strato rushed in again listening for the desperate shots as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

One

Strato blocked it easily.

Two

It missed, Daniels‘s arm was shaking again.

Three

The blade master evaded.

Four

A mere graze.

Five

The sword master cut it down in mid-flight, preparing to do the same to the gunman.

Six

Strato was upon the brown coated man.

Seven

The August Emperor of Swords fell.

“What the hell?!†Strato bellowed as he felt the bullet’s punch in his side, he felt like howling even louder but held down his pain. However, his blood was leaving him quickly, and he couldn‘t understand it at all. “You lied.â€

“No, I didn’t. The Colt can shoot more than one kind of bullet.†He said, holding up a smoking gun, the one he’d holstered earlier. Then he twisted the chamber out and let a single shell fall to the ground. “Real ones work too. Now I’ve taken your title of Emperor of Swords from you. Just like you wanted right?â€

“Sorry kid, but that title, it was taken from me by a man with a sword faster than the winds that guide my blade. When I saw his blade work I knew he was my better and declined a match so I could live long enough to fight you again.†Strato‘s breathing was shallow and quick, it was a wonder he hadn‘t gone into shock already. He smiled. “At this rate I might live. Th--â€

“No, that would make you the winner.†Daniels withdrew a small box white cardboard from his coat and a lighter. He slowly pulled a cigarette from the box, it looked like it had been wrapped by hand and it had two words written on it in illegible script. Daniels placed it in Strato’s mouth as the elder’s ragged breathing slowed and lit it. “Here’s your funeral pyre, loser.†Strato was already dead by the time he’d finished the brief rite.

With those parting words Daniels collapsed over the dead body of his past nemesis blood mixing with his enemy’s as it poured out of his body. Callum, who had remained silent for the entire match was alone. He’d been stunned by the battle and the outcome, but not as stunned as he was when it all began to sink in. He slowly began to let his body and mind work again. He shifted himself a little at first then started thinking again. Eventually he spoke.

“Church isn’t going to be happy.†Was all he could think to mutter to himself as he walked over to Daniels’s prone form. “He’s still breathing at least. Still, I can’t drag him back to None, it’ll take two days like this and he‘s not looking any better for the wear.†Callum wanted to just search the bodies for valuables and go back at first, but it didn’t seem right leaving a friend to die, so he dragged the brown coated blonde off of the dead swordsman and after several seconds of awkward searching pulled out a set of bandages from one of the coat’s numerous pockets. Several minutes later bleeding was less of an issue but getting back still seemed impossible.

The moon was still in the east now, the night was going to be a long one. When he went to replace the remaining bandages a note fell out of another pocket. Callum picked it up and held it suspended a foot from his face between his middle finger and thumb. He cocked his head to the side in an effort to read the smudged ink stains that ran the width of the paper. He frowned, it was a will. Callum stole a glance at Daniels as he breathed slowly and raggedly a meter or so off. Callum returned his gaze to the paper and read over the parts he could. He was almost ready to toss it aside when he noticed a little note near the bottom left hand corner.

There a brief, legible set of instructions detailed what Callum was to do after the fight. The ink was newer and less faded and smudged than the surrounding text. The instructions included a safe place in the ruins and several other things to do in the case of Daniels’s death. He was a very methodical man as Callum knew him, but this was really a bit too out of character for the happy go lucky guy that lay on the ground before him, his entire ody stained with blood. Walking into certain death and knowing it Callum couldn’t even begin to understand it.

“Well, looks like we’re going into that city over there. I hope you knew what you were doing.â€





I feel this one was forced, sort of. I couldn't think of a proper way to express the ending to such a fight so I ended it like this. I hope you'll forgive me. I also had no time for edits, so any problems you see should be relayed to me for correction. Okay, I'm done.

 

its gonna end soon?

how are you gonna wrap it up in only five chapters?

and its also a shame, that so many legendary weapons were wasted.

anyways, some small parts felt a bit rushed, but otherwise good chapter

that link in your sig....pretty sneaky.

 

XD.

some rant that is

seems more like a worthless babble

i don't know why but i laughed when i saw the "reader(s?) part, and just realized that i'm the only person who still reads this, of course some people come every now and then...

though truly the only thing i did help was your ego?

XD, pretty pathetic really.

but, hey here's an idea , why don't you make a fan fic that's cookie cutter and badly written, after all every mainstream person here loves those.




no, but with bad jokes aside, you should really consider finishing this and working with other stories(when you find time)

i actually read parts of "nocturne persona"

even though, it was a bit confusing, and the resemblance to KH was too clear.

some parts were seemed rushed atleast to me, or maybe it was the fact that some paragraphs needed some more separation(no, not really).

 

So here I am again with my latest update. I'm starting to struggle with this here, oh the irony. I'd also like to say that I hope I never have to write another fight scene as long as I live. That aside, I think this one is either pretty good or an absolute flop, tell me how it goes. I apologize for my grammar errors, seriously, just tell me what's wrong and I'll try to fix it.



Door 15: Epitaph

Daniels awoke in darkness, not complete darkness but close enough to it. At first he believed it to be night, then a breeze crossed through the room disturbing a curtain enough to allow a thin strand of light to cross the decrepit chamber. The man found himself suddenly lifted from his darkened haze and into an old stone chamber, cramped and stiflingly hot in spite of the shade and there was a faint scent of blood on the air. He tried to sit up when it came back to him, the sharp jolt of pain from beneath his bandages reminded him that he’d won, through searing pain and dizzying fatigue, he’d managed to defeat Strato Vercingetorix; the man who’d spared his life ten years before, the man who left a mark of shame on his back, and the man who’d taught him his first lessons of combat.

Daniels rested his head back down upon what he realized were the ragged folds of his coat and let his head fall to the side. He saw Callum sitting in a corner of the room with his right leg lying straight out, his arms wrapped around his left leg and his head tilted forwards just enough to conceal his eyes. No sooner than the blonde had looked did the object of his focus look back. Callum raised his chin enough to view the small room with alert eyes. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but shut it again without uttering a word. He dropped his head back down and pretended to sleep as well.

Daniels welcomed the silence, his companion upheld, conversation would lead to questions and discussion, neither of which were within the gunman’s capabilities at the time. With one last look at his temporary caretaker Daniels drifted back into his slumber, back to dreams of echoes and shadows that mirrored reality in twisted grotesque forms, back to the dreams where he could replay his life through another lens, and back to the dreams that no longer held inevitable defeat.


The next time the man awoke it was to an unrelenting stream of stinging sunlight flowing through the door that no longer sported the dark heavy curtain and the shadowed silhouette of his younger comrade, his thin frame blocking only a similarly thin patch of the sun‘s harsh rays. Daniels sat up wincing, but not pausing; he lifted a sore arm to shield his eyes. Callum smirked in satisfaction, when he saw the man move with relative ease. Daniels almost half smiled in return and broke the seal on his world of silence.

“How long was I out?†Daniels asked groggily as he tested his shaky limbs in the partly brightened chamber. His arms and legs were sore from injuries and overuse, but the heavy ache of his chest where he’d been slashed multiple times was by far the worst.

“A night and half a day. Good job.†Callum replied with an ambiguous mixture of sarcasm and encouragement. Daniels could only just see the boys relieved looking face against the sharp contrast of light and dark.

“I see.†He paused and collected his thoughts for several seconds before looking to Callum again. “I won?â€

“Yeah. Speaking of that guy…†The black haired boy trailed off awkwardly. He shifted his feet around causing his shadow to dance about the sun bathed strip.

“Yeah?†Daniels inquired insistently, holding up a hand against the flicking light.

“What’re we going to do with the body?†Callum asked, attempting to be as diplomatic as he possibly could be.

“Bury it.†Daniels answered almost instantly. The answer seemed rushed at first, but it suddenly became clear that the man planned on it since he had time to think of it at all.

“Really?†Callum stated more as a pleasantry than a question. He was no longer making restless movements, but he’d taken on an uncharacteristically disinterested tone.

“Yeah, somewhere in the ruins-- we’re at the way station I presume?†Daniels spoke rather quickly and fidgeted a lot, he seemed either nervous or uncomfortable about something the boy could not even begin to decipher.

“Uh huh. Your will told me to come here if you lost. You were out of it and there was nothing else for it.†The stress was most clearly on the word ‘will’ when the younger of the two spoke. He didn’t add any malice or force beyond due course, but it still stung to hear it from him. Daniels eyes dropped momentarily before he could compose himself.

“Thanks.†He replied.

“It really was nothing on my part. Strato left a few remedies here-- I can only assume he waited for you here for a little while.†Callum reasoned aloud, almost questioningly.

“Yeah, the agreement was that whoever entered here first set off countdown and the other would have to show up in a week or forfeit.†Daniels explained.

“How would you know whether someone entered this world?†Callum asked quizzically.

“This.†Daniels rummaged for a few seconds through his jacket and finally held out a ticket, similar to the train tickets they‘d used once before. Callum took it between his index finger and thumb and peered at it skeptically. It had typed on it a few words including an underlined deadline date and the current date. “It activates it’s partner ticket when introduced into a preset condition and reveals a deadline or a piece of sealed information depending or whatever based on who set it and how. You can only find a few of these in Escher, but the old man used this to tell me how much he wanted a rematch one day, or how I should stay out of this place. I can’t tell what he meant by it. I don’t really get how it works either. Anyways, we’d better get moving. Church isn’t gonna be happy about all of this is he?â€

“He really won’t be.†Callum sighed as he dragged himself into the afternoon sun, towards the entrance to the ruined city. He was closely followed by the limping form of the formerly brown coated man who grimaced in the intense heat and muttered a few words to himself.

“Impossible to please, that one.†Daniels remarked almost disdainfully, his voice still so soft and hoarse.

“I suppose.†Callum gave little more than a whisper in reply.

“Yeah.†Daniels replied sullenly, rubbing his neck in a downcast manner as he followed the black haired boy with his hat hanging over his eyes and his coat slung over his shoulder.

The two walked down a straight stretch of sand covered road for several minutes. Suddenly Callum turned left and the gate entered his line of sight. He stopped and blinked against the sun’s rays before turning back to see Daniels hobbling over as best he could. The boy waited silently for the man to catch up. When the blonde overtook his companion and rounded the corner he sighed heavily before continuing on the seemingly impossible trek out of the ruins. From then on their pace was slowed to match the injured gunman‘s. Callum swayed back and forth with a steady rhythm as he walked forwards, already sweating and panting in the heat he could barely keep himself moving in the noon sun, but every day in the ancient city would be another liability and with no supplies of which to speak for the next day it could only lead to an unpleasant experience either way. So they trudged on to the location of the body.

It was the same. No insects zoomed about in the desiccated plain and the sun hadn’t deprived the corpse of all it’s moisture yet. It looked identical to it’s living visage, with the exception of a proud expression. No, the face that once wore that expression held nothing on it. The blood had drained, the life had fled, all that was left was a stony, expressionless face with empty, half closed eyes. Daniels reached out quickly to force the lids shut before he did anything else. Next he began laboriously dragging the lifeless corpse to the very edge of a great stone pillar.

Callum began to follow when he was halted by an extended hand forbidding his pursuit. He stopped and watched the excruciating path of the two. The blonde haired man stopped, and rested himself against the pillar and the body half a meter before it. He motioned at the swords scattered over the sands some half buried others lying as if they’d only just fallen. Callum closed his eyes and waited for a moment before grudgingly moving himself towards the closest blade. Soon he was driving the last of the collected blades into the ground at the feet of Strato’s body.

Daniels silently thanks him and began heaving sand over the cadaver. Callum silently watched the labor of his comrade and waited patiently. Neither of them made any motion to acknowledge the other for hours. Daniels merely sweated and sagged with his task and Callum observed, almost totally aloof and free of care. The next time either of the two spoke was nearly dusk.

“Finished.†Daniels sighed, his breathing came and went in great heavy pants and puffs, his head lying against his knees where he sat. “When do we leave?â€

“We should leave tonight. A few more days and we’ll die out here.†Callum stated dully.

“Agreed.†Daniels began to rise but fell back to the ground, shaking and wobbling at even the simple task.

“You need a shoulder?†Callum offered a hand, but Daniels refused and on his second attempt rose to his feet with near perfect grace and balance. He slung his coat across his shoulders as ragged and charred as it was, pushed his hat back and smiled.

“No, I just need a bit more quiet.†He said calmly and purposefully, and so the two set off with the last rays of sun fluttering at their backs. Silence hanging between them, lightly, but forcibly at the same time.

The entire night was spent walking back across the desert, towards None. They ate and drank what they had left as they walked and they may very well have slept as the trudged onwards. The time passed slowly, and the distance slower, but Daniels still wore a cool smile on his face all the while. Callum took no notice and simply forged ahead, leaving the brown coated man to himself. They watched the moon and stars pass them by as the night grew older. When the moon had almost reached the western edge of the sky a familiar sight greeted the two travelers.

In the distance they could see and just barely hear over their footsteps a great black column of smoke erupting from a great fire. Neither said a word, neither had to, they had returned to None and they were on the home stretch. Callum sighed with relief and quickened his pace back to a normal walking tempo. Daniels followed as well as his body would allow, but fell a ways behind by the time Callum reached the inn. The black haired boy entered the dilapidated establishment almost immediately after he reached it, a relieved smile only just crossing his face as he did so.

“I’m back.†Church looked up briefly and replied coldly. He had been leaned back in a chair reading until the black haired boy spoke. He swept a strand of hair from his face and tilted his ear towards the door, listening for another set of footsteps.

“And?†Callum frowned, he considered how to explain the situation before he decided such a thing was short enough for him to explain.

“Well. It’s over, we can keep moving.†Callum replied, entirely unsure if his answer was adequate or even correct. As a result his words came out somewhat stiltedly.

“Fine then. Where‘s the cowboy?†Church ignored the awkwardness of his tone, brought the chair back onto all four of its legs and stared at him.

“Outside.†Then after a second of thought he added, “and don’t hit him or anything when he comes in.†Church merely nodded and set down his book. The two remained almost impossibly silent for several long minutes. Neither made eye contact or even acted as if they were aware of the other’s presence. Finally Daniels entered the small inn and greeted Church with a weak wave. When the other man saw the state of his clothes and posture, he made no remark or gesture.

“So I’ve finished my business that I had to take care of.†Daniels said, breaking the thin layer of quiet with his awkward remark.

“So it would seem.†Church replied phlegmatically. His inaction served as an open invitation for Daniels to advance further into the inn. The man also took it as forgiveness for his rash actions and simply took up his usual manner.

“Yeah, well it’s time we get moving again, tonight we’ll be able to cross the desert to the next checkpoint we’re looking for.†Daniels yawned nonchalantly and leaned against the nearest wall.


“Name?†Church asked monosyllabically. He

“Nanome. That’ll be our halfway point if all goes smoothly.†Daniels said optimistically.

“Do I even need to ask?†The effeminate male said skeptically.

“There’s a group of people there who can transport us to within two day’s walk of the gate.†Daniels set his hands in front of himself weakly and tried to draw out the framework of his plan.

“If that falls through?†Church cocked an eyebrow and pocketed his book.

“There are other places but they’re all a bit farther out.†Daniels assured him, feigning an attempt at appeasing the skeptical man.

“I see. This place really must not change much.†Church observed with a sidelong glance at the black haired boy, who yawned loudly.

“We depend on that more than anything.†He replied. Church said nothing and removed himself from the diner area and shut himself in his room.

“Well, I’ve had a long day of watching you do things, so I’ve got to go purge my mind of it and get some rest.†Callum quipped as he fllowed suit and left Daniels alone, standing in the empty dining area. He pulled himself out a chair and flopped down in it heavily. He eyed a freshly woken barman, who entered as inconspicuously as his dull wit would allow, and ordered a drink. When it arrived he simply held it up to the east as the sun began to rise sending beams of light scattering through the glass to all corners of the room.

“Well…here I am.â€




That's all folks.

 

yeah, i read it, actually a while ago, didn't post because, well, i noticced , i keep commenting too much.

i really want to see how you manage to incorporate church and callum, back into orbit, and also the glaive girl.

 

You can never comment too much, unless you're double posting, which is frowned upon. Like this ---> >:-{-

I really want to see how I manage that too. Especially when I still have more... you know what, you'll just have to wait 'til I'm done working it out probably some time tomorrow.

Remember kids, only four more chapter left.

 

Okay, it's been two weeks since my last update, it seems I'm doomed to be a liar no matter how I schedule it. In compensation for the wait I've done a very long chapter, be grateful, or disgruntled either works for me. So, I've got no edits here either, tell me if you see any issues, you know.




Door 16: Here It Goes Again

That night, the three reunited peregrinates returned to their shortly interrupted journey. Daniels in his ragged coat led them onwards with a new found alacrity bearing a striking resemblance to his usual chipper attitude of the time before they entered the Enigma. Church followed without question or complaint regarding their situation, he simply put his feet one in front of the other and matched the lead’s pace. Callum on the other hand trailed behind and kept his eyes on the heels of the man in front of him as he walked with only the faintest amount of his consciousness devoted to the situation. Each of them kept to their own thoughts for the long night’s hours and the desert’s long miles.

The pounding repetition of stepping, sinking a little into the sand, finding one’s footing, and starting over beat into Callum‘s head a tempo for thought, a rhythm to emphasize the words floating through his head. First it seemed incredibly clear, he could feel each thought pass by with a step, each question followed by an answer, but when his head could no longer reason out answers to his internal questions the pounding of his feet, the pounding in his head, the images swimming before his eyes and in his mind, it all seemed somehow incredibly fast, dizzying even.

Just when the reeling in his head began to translate to his body Daniels came to a sudden halt. He softly suggested they take their rest then when the hardest bit of dunes was past them. The moon passed the itinerants by on its own journey, as did the stars and any other bit of life that happened to survive the deserts brutal days. Finally the black haired boy broke the silence with a question that had been forgotten.

“Yo Daniels.†“You called that…†He paused perplexedly as he rolled the question around in his head trying to phrase it just right. “What you use to power a lock weapon, you called it anima. Am I right so far?â€

“Yes.†He followed the evasion of detailing the fight as he answered tersely, thinking of how he‘d answer as comprehensibly as possible.

“Anima is just a broad term.†Church said before either of the other two could speak. “Kid, what he’s talking about isn’t really just one thing, it’s three clearly defined things, each with it‘s own unique properties. Id, the ‘I want’ or selfish desire that drives survival instinct and other self serving actions, Ego the sense of self and introspective personality what makes you different from any other person, and Superego, the sense of morals and justice the thing greater than yourself that you work for… the balance to Id’s selfishness I suppose.

"Terms originally coined by Freud in his work on the human mind, and adapted to their counterparts discovered here in Escher. Each is considered a form of mental or spiritual energy, as different they are, named for the Latin word for the soul: anima. It’s what the locks and keys use to produce and effect, depending on the levels of each respective force a different effect is produced. That’s how locks work, it’s best I tell you before Daniels goes off spouting some ridiculous analogy.†He paused, made as if to speak again, then fell silent, content with his answer as it stood.

“I see.†Callum sighed to himself. He would, in some ways, have preferred a conversation on the matter, but seeing an answer in front of you so plainly and refusing it just to keep up effectively pointless interactions is just stupid. He sighed again at the thought of him being the one to wish for a conversation. Not too long ago he was the guy who’d spend all his time avoiding others, and now he was thinking thoughts that betrayed everything he used to be. He was brought out of his thoughts again when Daniels spoke.

“Well, we’d better not get too comfy.†Daniels said wryly as he got to his feet and began walking again. The others followed suit, each partaking in the foresight of prospective drudgery and silence. Still, they moved onward.

Towards the end of the night, when the first of dawn was just getting ready to show itself in anticipation of the day, another small settlement, of a similar style to None appeared from beneath the crests of distant sand dunes. Daniels’s eyes lit up with a certain accomplished glee, as if the fact that the small town was still there was enough to prove he was right in all of his assumptions regarding the journey, that may very well have been the case for all any of the travelers truly knew.

Church yawned lethargically and pushed onwards after their triumphant leader. Callum glanced up at the wretched place and quickly returned to looking at the ground. He was beginning to get the impression that this place was going to be the death of him. It wasn’t the battle he’d seen, nor was it the oppressively bleak landscape so much as it was the endlessness the Lateral Enigma seemed to evoke. Maybe that’s why it was called an enigma, the incomprehensible mystery that tore people apart, begot chaos, incurred mass bloodshed, and created a frontier like this.

By the time the three reached the town of Nanome it was bathed in grey daylight, still in the early hours when people would rather be sleeping than acting. The exhausted trio trooped towards the closest inn to make plans on their next move all the same. The town, though equally tiny and wretched as None, was a good deal livelier. The inn and tavern had been combined into one slightly larger complex.

The interior of which was a strange eclecticism of eastern and western design and structural features. The entirely wooden structure that was the tavern’s barroom and the inn’s lobby was set about with grimy, heavy tables with iron bands and bolts holding them together. Upon entering, Church and Callum realized that there was probably never a moment when either would be completely devoid of some sort of activity, be it merry making or murder.

Callum grimaced in disgust when he entered the tavern front where the air stank of alcohol and blood and the floors were riddled with teeth, broken glass, and splinters of chairs destroyed in brawls. The inhabitants were even worse, if that was indeed possible, they shouted and fought, laughed and cried, killed and died, all over a stout pint of reeking alcohol.

The sights and sounds accompanied by the stench were almost unbearable for the black haired boy; he was beginning to see what the world had to offer was less than he’d even expected after None. Callum quite visibly shook a disapproving head at the scene. Church showed a similar level of disdain for the drunken pigs stumbling about before him, but kept himself from making it quite as apparent as his younger companion.

Daniels face became serious, as it had done when he first entered the Enigma. However, he forced a smile and pushed through the reeking crowd towards the check in desk and got several rooms without incident. The three took several minutes to accustom themselves to the tavern inn rooms before reconvening in Daniels’s room. Church sat on top of a worn out table with his legs dangling off the side only barely touching the floor. Callum sat cross legged on the foot of the pallet like mattress and Daniels occupied the chair that accompanied the desk..

“Alright. This place is as I left it ten years ago, both a good sign and a bad sign.†He looked at both of the others for any sign of inquiry. When none came to the surface of either of his company member’s faces he went on. “Good part is the guy that can get of out of here post haste is probably still hanging around like the rest of these idiots. Less auspicious part is we’ll likely be killed in our sleep or something with things as they are.â€

Church muttered something that sounded like, “And who’s fault is that?†Daniels paid him no mind and continued.

“We, consequently, have to keep as low a profile as is humanly possible. If we play it right, we live, if not we’re fucked verily. Questions, comments, concerns, complaints?â€

“I have a question.†Church raised his hand in mock enthusiasm.

“Uh huh.†Daniels replied dryly.

“How are we supposed to stay low profile and find a guy at the same time?†The boy asked fiddling around with a zipper on his bag.

“I know this guy, where he’ll be, what he’ll respond to, and the fact that he’s one of the few that can be trusted. We don’t need to ask questions and we don’t need to look suspicious.†Daniels answered adroitly. Church nodded in half approval and glanced over at the other listener briefly.

“Aren’t we already being sort of suspicious in coming here this way and then not getting hammered instantly like the others?†Callum asked confusedly.

“Not really, though we’ll have to make an appearance before midnight to make it seem like we’re just some regular travelers just going from point A to point B.†Daniels replied, he spoke with a heavy doubt lying in the back of his mind, but he remained optimistic as possible.

Also, when do we leave?†Callum added with a nod of acknowledgment of the first explanation.

“As soon as possible. I‘ll be heading out later to have a talk with our ride. I suggest we rest up now and prepare for the worst.†Daniels yawned and got to his feet slowly.

“Can’t say I disagree.†Callum replied fatigue dragging down on his speech.

“I’m locking my door then.†Church stated with such a serious and deadpan tone then he could only be joking. Still all three were tacitly considering it as a precautionary measure all the same as they went their separate ways.

That night the black haired boy was roused by a sharp rapping at his door and a hiss that he recognized as Church’s harsh whisper.

“We’re being inconspicuous now.†He said dully before leaving Callum to collect himself enough to join his comrades. The bed was stiff as a board and smelled like it hadn’t been in use in years. In fact, the room itself shared that musty odor as well as some of the mold. As Callum rose from the wretched thing he felt how stiff and sore his body had gotten from the past few days of walking and sleeping in such a place. He took half a minute to just get himself moving properly in the semi-darkness. When he’d become sufficiently mobile he begrudgingly moved himself to the door, unlocked it and followed Church’s lead to the tavern area.

Daniels was waiting for them at a table on the upper tier of the floor plan tucked in between two tables with especially uproarious occupants. The thin wooden board walls separating tables into alcoves on the terraced sections were only a small mercy. Though they kept much of the spit and various other fluids contained to their original areas. They however, could not stay the howling, whooping, or reeking that all customers tended to participate in.

“If I’d come here to have these degenerate worms spew their saliva all over me--†Church began.

“We’re not here to bitch, we’re not here to get soaked in a rain of bodily fluids, and we’re most certainly not here to get targets painted on our backs. So sit down and shut up, I’ve got a plan.†Daniels whispered, menacing in spite of the deafening roar around them. Church quietly sat down and gave no further argument, he was a proud man in some ways, but he always knew when he was about to make a fool of himself and cut his losses early.

It turned out that Daniels’s plan to keep them inconspicuous was to make them the center of attention. After they’d settled into the revolting booth Daniels stood up on the grimy table and shouted at the top of his lungs something that sounded like an unintelligible call to arms or a round of drinks for everyone. The latter turned out to be true, for almost instantly everyone had a tankard in hand filed with some manner of foul liquid.

Daniels feigned enthusiastic participation in the subsequent merriment speaking to each and every person as if they’d been friends years ago and only just forgotten to come to call until now. Callum had to admit that this method, displeasing as it may have been, was probably enough to keep the occupants of the town drunk and happy enough to stay their killing blows for a few days. This analysis however was far from correct.

Neither Callum nor Church felt any compulsion to join in any of the celebratory bout of sonorous conversation or inordinate drinking and were quickly pegged as outsiders by one of the more sober and belligerent patrons of the tavern. He was a large man, nearly seven feet tall and muscular. He wore clothing reminiscent of government issued military uniforms that had been torn up over years of fighting and his hair was cropped to match. Rather than staggering drunkenly all over the place he strode over to the silent pair strongly and slammed his great paw onto the table.

Callum ignored it and continued to keep watch of Daniels’s situation half way across the room, ready to call for backup. Church looked up at him with a smirk before returning his eyes to the spot on the table he seemed to have deemed most interesting. The man made no response to the gesture, instead he lifted the thin black haired boy from his seat with one hand. He forced back a surprised yelp but still looked as scared and confused as he was trying not to seem.

“You.†He grunted.

“Me.†The boy responded with nervous laughter in his voice.

“Something about you doesn’t belong here.†Church snickered under his breath as he watched the spectacle amusedly. The man took no notice of him but Callum made furious gesticulations in ill conceived attempts request the feminine man’s assistance.

“I noticed that very point actually. Not much of a drinker, a bit squeamish when it comes to the ripping limbs off, have an aversion to watching people die horribly, not that there’s anything wrong with that, ha ha ha, but somehow I manage.†The man clearly wasn’t stupid, nor was he very intelligent. He thought, but not deeply or clearly.

So he calculatingly narrowed his eyes at the boy as he spoke and quickly decided it was appropriate to just pound the upstart into a bloody mess. For that‘s all he was, a worthless worm that didn‘t know his place or how to survive in the place he assumed to have. It could be considered a mercy even, in this kind of world.

Callum felt his weight shift once again just before he was hurled roughly through the air. He landed squarely in the middle of a table in the corner of the raised tier about ten feet away and nearly passed out. When he’d had several seconds to reorient himself he found himself facing a man with a lock hung around his neck similarly to Daniels. It had long flowing lines engraved onto it’s surface and was colored like a polished lump of iron. The man’s face was covered by the dark blue hood of his jacket, which looked several sizes too large, much like the rest of his baggy attire.

Callum tried to apologize to the occupant quickly but the man took no notice of him and rose to meet the man who’d thrown him instead. The larger man stared down at his smaller counterpart for several seconds awaiting some kind of explanation for the absurd action. The shorter man threw his head back revealing a woman’s face. She had dark eyes and dark hair and wore a bright with an expression of amusement. By now the gazes of every set of eyes in the tavern were trained on the two.

“I know the food here is shit and the drinks are worse, but I really hate it when people disturb my meals all the same.†Her voice was stable and cool as she spoke. “So I’d like it very much if you got on your hands and knees and apologized to me, acceptable?†The man snorted with arrogant laughter, but the blood had drained from Callum’s face the second she removed her hood.

The young girl was the assassin he’d seen in Ares. The cold dark eyes and the short dark hair hadn’t changed a bit and Callum remembered the pain of that day in his hand and in his chest as she spoke with that cool voice, that voice that only just masked her killing intent.

“You really think that you can beat me?†The burly man scoffed and turned his gaze back to the black haired boy who remained sprawled over the table. The girl grasped what was left of his tattered sleeve and smiled unpleasantly.

“I’m not the brightest of people, so I make sure not to speak until I know.†She parried instantly. The man made an angry hissing sound and without warning lashed out. He swung his tree of an arm at her only to have her deftly circle around behind him and start laughing. “Hahaha! You think that’s a smart idea? You swing before you even know who you‘re fighting, and here I thought I was dumb. This place is just too much!â€

“I’ll kill you, you insolent bitch!†He rounded on her but she followed his turn with a hand planted on his spine, preventing him from making a move without her instantly knowing.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to speak to a lady that way?†She said slipping a key into the lock around her neck and turning it with a click. Her short sword materializing in her hand from a wisp of dark vapor.

“Screw propriety!†The man rushed backwards into a wall, forcing her away.

“Without manners where would we be?†She quipped quickly. Suddenly the man started chuckling at her taunt for no apparent reason.

“You’re right, where would we be?†He said regaining his composure to a certain extent. “I’m the former General Marcus Fox, and you are?†He stretched out a hand as if to shake hers as his broad shoulders shook with his laughter at something that no one else found funny.

“About to get paid quite handsomely it seems. You’re head will bring me-- how much was it?†She tapped the flat of her blade against her chin in thought for a moment before she suddenly flipped her blade from one hand into the other as if the whole affair had grown dull when he stopped trying to kill her.

“A bounty hunter.†He nodded in grim acknowledgment and shook away his bout of crazed laughter in favor of a fighting pose.

“For today it seems.†She smiled and gripped her sword tighter. Marcus rushed forwards, readying his fists.

“You fight me knowing me--my reputation.†He smirked as the girl charged as well, her blade flashing in the dim barroom light. “You were right when you said you were stupid.†They clashed. Not a single drop of blood was drawn from the man’s bare arm as it frustrated the blade’s advance. He grinned triumphantly.

“I fight you knowing your rep and why you’re retired ‘General’.†She retaliated with a wicked grin and a sarcastic wit, she proceeded to drag the edge of her blade across his arm leaving a shallow cut. Marcus remained in an indignant and fearful silence as he struck back again and again each time coming away with a fresh cut against one of his arms. However, the injuries were minor and he came closer to hitting his mark each time.

The girl obviously noticed this because she suddenly took the offensive and adroitly kicked out his plant foot during one of his longer swings at her and circled behind him in one long fluid motion. With no change in expression or hesitation she drove her blade into his back. The great brute let out a gasp of pain before staggering forwards, his great mass pulling the blade out of the girl’s hand as it remained lodged in his heavy muscular chest.

She simply watched him struggle to stand for several seconds before speaking with a changed tone, one of condescension and total confidence. “You’ve lost. I knew your days of fighting were over, but I can’t say I thought an assassination would be this easy you impotent worm.â€

“You bitch.†He struggled to speak through the pain trying to keep his composure despite the sweat pouring down his face and the blood pouring down his chest. She shrugged as if he’d said nothing of consequence and wrenched her blade from his back. He slumped over instantly, dead.

“I may be a bitch, but hell, I’m still alive. Right, you belligerent bastard?†She smirked as she knelt down and removed his head with one clean sweep of his sword and shoved it into a sack she had produced from within her jacket. She stood up brushed herself off, slung the sack over her shoulder and looked at everyone around her, many stood in stunned silence, others had small side conversations but the general consensus was to be in some kind of shock.

She continued back to her table and examined Callum‘s face as it sat across from hers. She lifted a hand and made a short sweeping motion. “Check please.†With that parting shot the entire barroom came back to life and everyone promptly forgot about the death of Marcus Fox.

“I--†She held up a hand and then patted him on his head as one would an animal or small child. Then the girl set down the head in the chair next to hers.

“Thanks for helping me out back in Ares. That girl was tough, nearly impossible to take out quick, I probably would’ve been there all night getting injured and tired and dirty if you hadn’t come along. Thanks.†She smiled sweetly as her malicious face would let her.

“I didn’t mean to.†He muttered back as he righted himself and took the seat across from her. On some level he felt that this was wrong, talking to her after all she‘d done, but at the same time something told him to stay there and ride out the storm in his mind..

“Whatever, you did it and intention doesn’t pay the bills.†She replied resetting the table as it had been before Callum had fallen and put everything out of place.

“Uh…†Callum stammered trying to find a way to talk to her in spite of what he had seen her do and what he knew she could easily do to anyone at a moments notice.

“Speaking of paying the bills, you have any idea where Central Enigma is from here? I’ve been looking around for it since a deal fell through back in Romarina--â€

“I don’t think I can help you.†Callum finally plucked up the courage and composure to reply in a strong clear voice, but no sooner had the words leave his mouth did he lose his nerve.

“Really?†She was somewhat bemused by his sudden outburst, but remained friendly.

“You’re a killer--†He accused, his voice soft again. The girl lifted a spoon from the center of the table and twirled it in between her fingers lethargically.

“I think I resent that. I’m an assassin, I only do it for money.†She said pointing a spoon at him.

“That’s even worse you know.†He remarked.

“You take your emotions out of it and you’ll be able to make quite a bundle.†She said scooping up a stray bit of mush and eyeing it on the spoons squalid surface.

“But--†Callum tried to retort but she interrupted in a suddenly somber tone.

“If you’ve got no attachments to the world it really doesn’t bother you. I mean, if you resolve yourself to not feel sad or angry or happy it won’t matter as long as you can get by.†She looked at him for a moment with tired, hounded eyes. When Callum spoke again she dropped her gaze to the table and frowned.

“You--†Just then Church deemed it a good time to interrupt.

“Leave it. She’s obviously not gonna listen to you. She’s not a people person.†Church said leaning on the screening wall of the alcove.

“You knI’m right here sis.†The assassin mocked with a wry grin.

“And here is where I take my leave.†Church said pulling Callum along by the scruff of his collar with him with a mildly irritated expression. “You too kid.†Callum stood and walked back over to the table he’d been so unceremoniously removed from.

“Hang on a second.†Callum felt a tug on his arm and looked back to see the dark haired girl holding onto his hand with a question in her eyes. “If you’re ever in need of assistance killing someone, here’s my business card.†She said thrusting a slip of stiff, thick paper into his hand. “I like you kid, so don’t die before we meet again.†She smiled, it looked slightly more genuine than before but the affectations of the gesture just cheapened it.

“I won’t.†He replied weakly.





Now it's over. Three more chapters left.