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"The Slaying of the Knights" (on the way to Rockaxe) They trudged on the path in utter silence. Zamza had yet to disclose the impending location the trio was headed to, but Kage knew they were heading towards the Matilda Knightdom and Rockaxe. Whether this was just a brief pitstop of the overall objective of their travels Kage did not know. Zamza had done a good job of not spitting that out, Kage believed for fear that he and Fuma would have left without him. He was probably right. Kage respected the intelligence and caution with which Zamza had handled the whole situation, he wasn't the smartest person on the planet, but at least he wasn't a complete moron. Kage looked at the sky and for no reason got a ubiquitous feeling of trouble. He didn't believe in superstitions, but the sky gave him an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. The gray atmospere hung over them like an umbrella, following them wherever they went. Like doom. The leaves of the trees were in a status of constant agitation, hiding the people which could have hid amongst the branches. The blades of grass waved back and forth with every brief but harsh wind, like the hand of a grandfather clock, always in a state of perpetual motion. The clouds hid the sun from view, gathering it's abundant rays and collecting them in it's wool, casting a somber shadow over the ground as far as the eye could see. No birds sang their eternal melodye, keeping the plains quiet, save for the three men's feet hitting the balmy, fecund earth with every rise and fall of their legs. The smell of stale, doleful air penetrated each of their nostrils, a smell almost as bad as death. Indeed, the very despondency of the day matched Kage's soul and shook the very core of his essence, and he knew, this was not going to be a fun day at all. * * * * * Kage looked at the two knights. One was young, and really nervous. Kage guessed that he hadn't been doing this long. The other, obviously a veteran knight, showed no signs of nervousness, he was confident and serious, the kind of man every leader wanted in his army. He took no crap from anyone, not Zamza nor Kage, and said everything with a cast-iron finality that almost all men could admire. The two were as different as could be, yet they had one thing in common, they were both white knights of Matilda, the pesonal knights of Lord Gorudo. "What do you mean we can't get in?" Zamza shouted, exasperated. The young knight cringed and fell back a step, he was more than just a little jumpy, to Zamza it looked as though he probably needed a toilet to get to, more than likely, this was his first day on the job. "W-w-well, y-you s-see, w-we're n-n-not s-sposed to let a-anyone in" the young knight said. Kage thought he probably wanted to say more, he just couldn't do it without losing control of his bodily functions. "We can let you go on, but you'll have to leave your weapons here with us" the older knight finished for the rookie, "but you still have a ways to go until you get to Rockaxe, and chances are you'll be attacked by monsters or bandits on the way there, the choice is yours" he continued, a smug and cocky smile on his face. Zamza glanced at Kage who returned the stare. Fuma stood quietly behind them, staying out of the conversation. "Well, we need to go to Rockaxe, and we still need our weapons so if you will please just step aside, I assure you, we mean no harm to the people of Rockaxe, we're just making a quick pitstop and then we plan to continue on our journey." Zamza said keeping his eye on the experienced white knight. "I'm sorry, but we can't let you pass unless you give up your weapons, we can't take the chance that you may harm the people of the knightdom." the knight responded, his eyes showing impatience with the whole situation. "Although, it appears you do not have a weapon, so I can let you go, your friends however, are another story." he said to Zamza. Zamza chuckled and then sighed. That would not do and he knew it. He found it funny that people always thought he was without a weapon, and therefore, was considered relatively safe, but this was getting nowhere fast, and they needed to continue on their way. "How come we can not continue on our way to Rockaxe with our weapons?" Zamza asked, only slightly curious. Truth be told, he really didn't give a damn. "Oh, well, our leader, Lord Gorudo, was attacked by a samurai and-" the young knight began before a vicious stare from his comrade cut him off. The novice shrank back and returned to his silence. "That is none of your business, just know that you cannot continue with your weapons" the old knight said, totally under control. "Gorudo, that fat bastard." Kage mumbled audibly, turning his back towards the two knights. "HEY!-" the old-timer shouted at Kage's backside, before he was cut off by Fuma, showing the two knights that he was not mute, like they had previously believed. "Wait, who's Gorudo?" he asked Kage. "Gorudo's a fat bastard who can't do anything by himself. He's the leader of the knightdom, but wouldn't be worth a damn if he didn't have Camus and Miklotov, the leaders of the red and blue knights. He's basically just an ass with power." Kage finished up, answering Fuma's question. "BY OUR HONOR WE WILL NOT STAND BY HERE AND LISTEN TO YOU INSULT OUR DISTINGUISHABLE LORD GORUDO! YOU WILL PAY FOR THOSE COMMENTS YOU, YOU, BRIGAND!" shouted the gray haired knight. His partner, however, wasn't so gung ho and kept his previous position, sword still in sheath. Kage turned back around. "Honor? What is this honor you speak of? Why must a person be honorable? Honor is just a silly concept you people try to spend all of your life finding to no avail. You believe a person is honorable just because another person is has decreed it upon them. Honor is just an asinine image created by some fool to consider himself better than others. You believe it is better to die honorably than to live disgracefully, correct? Than, I shall give you your chance to prove this, are you prepared to die for your so-called honor?" Kage said, finishing his lecture and removing his blade. The blood drained from the two men's faces. Zamza looked first at the two knights and then back at Kage. This was not how he wanted to do this, there had to be another way to Rockaxe. A better way. But Zamza knew it was out of his hands now, only the gods could stop this. Kage looked at the two. The veteran was a little shaken by Kage's oration, and the younger, had yet to draw his sword. For people who lived by such a strong code of honor, these men were not going to defend the concept very well. "You have insulted our liege lord and scoffed at our honor, you will not live!" the experienced knight said, overcoming the butterfly's in his stomach and charging at Kage. Kage smirked under his shroud and easily dodged the wild swing by the outraged white knight. "Let's make this a fair fight, shall we? I'll even give up my sword" Kage said, showing the old knight his blade. In the next second, he gripped the handle of his sword, turned around and threw it, on a direct course for the younger knight. The knight didn't have time to move, seeing as how he wasn't paying attention or expecting this in any way, and was struck down by the projectile as it cut through his heart, removing a soul from the earth which had been there just seconds before. "YOU BASTARD!!!" the knight said, attempting to once again charge at the skillful ninja. He ran with the blade at his side, and when he was close enough, tried to take a swipe at open air. In his fury filled charge at Kage, the experienced knight could not stop his momentum as he watched Kage perform a perfect flip over him. The doomed knight got his sword halfway back from the strike when his spirit also headed for netherland, leaving his body with a broken neck. Kage didn't say a word. He removed the old man's potch and then walked over to the younger knight and removed his potch, as well as the sword lodged in his body. Zamza glanced at Fuma and back at Kage. A look of total disbelief covered his face. "Did you have to do that?" he questioned, not hiding the anger that coursing through his veins. "Yes, it was necessary." Kage replied plainly. "There could have been another way!" Zamza protested boldly. Kage sighed. "Do we have to go to Rockaxe?" he questioned. "W-well yes, b-b-but-" "Then it was necessary. We must get to Rockaxe, those two knights were obstacles, obstacles must be removed, it's as simple as that." Kage replied coldly. Zamza couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What if they had wives and children?" he asked once again, not wanting to let it drop. "Then they are now without a husband and father. Now, let's go" Kage said, and began to walk in the general direction of Rockaxe, Fuma in tow, leaving Zamza in his solitude with the two corpses. After a few seconds, Zamza shook his head sadly and continued after Kage and Fuma. * * * * * "Oh shit" the young knight said as he hustled to his post. He was going to be late, and tardiness was not excusable. It was his own fault; he had to give his wife and daughter a kiss and hug goodbye before he left. It took forever to get away from his daughter, who had grabbed onto his leg and wouldn't let go. He smiled at the memory. His smile was replaced with a frown as he remembered that it was a knight's duty to always be on time. There were no exceptions to this rule, even if you did have to see your darling baby daughter before you left. He continued his steady pace, when he heard some shouting. Something about dishonoring Gorudo, and killing a brigand. He began a sprint to place of the shout, removing his sword as he ran. It only took about a minute to see what was happening, and when he did he didn't like what he saw. As soon as the event came into view, the knight saw a man, dressed completely in black, throw a sword at one of his fellow white knights. He watched as the sword struck the young knight down. He began to back up a few steps, and watched in relative horror, as the other white knight had his neck snapped from behind. Replacing the sword in it's sheath, the knight tore off in the direction of Rockaxe, anxious to get some help. * * * * * Rockaxe was as beautiful as Zamza had remembered. The stone buildings and walls, providing a majestic feeling radiating throughout the entire city. It was the first time in a good five years since Zamza had last been to the city, much to long stay away from the gorgeous city. "What are we here for?" Kage asked, watching the people of the town go about their daily business. "Nothing really, I just need to stock up on some medicine" Zamza replied. "Well, go get it, and we can be on our way. I want to meet up with Slade as quickly as possible." Kage said, not giving Zamza an option. "Alright, fine, I'll be back in a few" Zamza stated, leaving by himself. He walked the streets invisibly, the citizens of the city either not noticing him or choosing not to acknowledge him. Rockaxe was big, and a tad confusing, but Zamza strolled through the place as if he had lived there all his life. He found the item/armor shop with little problems and walked through the door. The clerks eyed him suspiciously, but Zamza didn't notice. He just wanted to get his medicine and leave. He looked at the wares of the armor shop, but seeing nothing really compelling, he traveled to the cashier of the item shop. "Yeah, I need five packs of medicine and three packs of mega-" but Zamza couldn't finish. Right there he saw the item that would get him out of this mess. Just what he needed, "um, three packs of mega medicine and that" Zamza said, pointing at the item he believed would save his ass. "Okay" the clerk replied. He gathered the materials, then, counted it up. Zamza hastily paid the price and grabbed his new items, very pleased with himself. As he walked outside, he was very surprised to see several white knights waiting for him.
Zamza looked at the knights curiously, each of them with their sword drawn and looking as though they were ready to attack. "That’s him" one of the knights said, a young man who was older than the rookie knight who was now deceased, yet younger than the veteran, "at least that’s one of them. His two friends are probably around here somewhere" he finished. "I don’t know what you’re talking about." Zamza said, which of course was an all out lie. "I saw you" the accusor stated, " you and you’re two masked friends killed two of our fellow knights". Zamza didn’t like where this was going. These knights were either going to kill him, or take him prisoner, neither one very appealing options. "We must take you into custody" another of the knights said, "if you resist, we will be forced to kill you." The knight probably could have said more, had two shurikens not lodged themselves in the back of his throat. He made an audible gurgling sound, then, fell to the ground face first, blood spewing from his mouth the whole time down. The spectators which had gathered around to watch the knights take the stranger captive, shrieked and ran in terror. "There’s the other two!" the witness knight shouted. The remaining knights turned around and saw Kage and Fuma, standing about ten feet behind them. Zamza watched the current situation. The knights were in disarray, and now was his chance. He lit Tekken up and punched the closest knight in the back of the skull. The knight turned back towards Zamza groggily, and was greeted by two quick hooks to the face. He fell to the ground just seconds later. Zamza backed up a couple of steps as two more knights came to avenge their unconsciencous ally. Zamza raised his right hand, calling forth the power of the Fire Dragon Rune. He felt it immediately, the power, and as the giant flame roared out of his hand, Zamza could have sworn he heard a name whisper in his head, Cyrano… Zamza disregarded the name, and watched as the huge flame burnt the three knights (the two coming at him and the one on the ground), to nothing more than smoldering ashes. The impact on him was heavy as well, as he was thrown back into the wall of the item shop, cracking the beautiful stone which held it up. Kage looked in awe as Zamza torched the knights, maybe there was something to that rune after all. Kage came back to reality in a hurry, and looked at Fuma. Fuma glanced back, and Kage pointed to the left. Fuma, nodded in agreement, and then Kage was gone. Fuma stepped up, and began walking towards the remaining three white knights. At that point the three knights broke away from each other, two heading for Fuma and the other going towards the hurting Zamza. Zamza got up in a hurry, and prepared for the next opponent. His head hurt like hell. He glanced around and found Fuma, staving off two other knights, Kage was nowhere to be seen. Zamza lit Tekken and once again waited. The first onslaught of swings and thrusts by the knight left Zamza wounded in not only one, but two places. He had dodged a vicious swing, and had almost gotten away unscathed, but the edge of the blade came across the back of Zamza’s hand, sending excrutiating pain throughout his body. The second wound he had no chance of avoiding, it was a thrust that penetrated his left shoulder, causing a momentus amount of pain any time he tried to use his left arm. He fell back a few steps again, trying to defend against the next bombardment of attacks. The knight pushed on, and after Zamza dodged two swings that were supposed to decapitate him, the white knight pulled out a dagger and shoved it in Zamza’s calf. Zamza fell to the ground in agony and watched as the knight moved over him.
He watched the knight move over him, and then he watched the knight’s head go rolling off his shoulders and fall to the ground with a sick thud, as Kage jumped down from the top of item shop, his bloody blade in hand, and cut through the knight’s neck. Zamza smiled at Kage and got back to his feet in pain, wanting to know where Fuma was. Kage and Zamza didn’t have to look long. Two knights, one badly injured with his arm cut clean off, attempted to fight Fuma. The healthy knight brought his blade across his body, and barely caught Fuma across the chest. Fuma tried to press on, but the knight was well trained, and after two quick thrusts with his own blade, Fuma was once again opened up by the knights sword, this time, right in the thigh. Kage had seen enough and moved in silently. He stalked up to the first knight, who was barely conscious due to the pain of missing on arm, and shoved his blade through the back of the man’s chest. The man slid off the blade without argument, deader than a doornail. Kage pressed on, and when Fuma saw him, he started the best offensive he could muster, throwing the unfortunate knight back into Kage. The knight looked at Fuma with a shocked, pitiful face. It was be the last face the knight would ever make, as his throat was cut, ear to ear. Zamza grabbed some of his new bought medicine, and took it eagerly. He handed some to Fuma for his wounds, and looked back at Kage. "We need to get out of here now. There will be more knights shortly." Kage said shortly. "I agree" Zamza said, and then added, "why did you do that, help me out?" Kage looked at him. "You are my investment, and I am not going to lose you, that’s all." Zamza nodded. He began to walk away when something forced it’s way back into his head. Zamza cried out, and grabbed his head. What’s going on he thought as the word continued to pound it’s way into his mind, and then, just like that, the pain stopped, yet the word lingerd: Cyrano… Cyrano… Cyrano… Kage looked at Zamza curiously as he cried out and grabbed his head. Probably some effect of his rune, Kage thought. He looked at the burnt corpses on the ground, then at the others, he knew one thing for sure though, Gorudo wasn’t going to be happy about this.
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