Gwenyvier's Tale

It was a beautiful day. Snipes were tweeting, bushes were rustling, and knights were begging. A young woman, likely no older than 16, sat in the west garden with Monomi, writing a song. Well, modifying it. You may have heard it:

May it be the evening star
Shines down upon you.
May it be as darkness falls
Your heart will be true.
Friendless walk and lonely roam,
Oh how far you are from home!

May it be the shadow's call
Flies far, far away!
May it be, your journey on
To light the day,
When the knight is overcome,
You may rise to find the sun.

It was a pretty tune, but incomplete in her opinion. She sang it a couple times aloud, then bit the tip of her pipe as she tweaked a couple lyrics. A young woman with curly black hair, blue eyes, and an enviable chest approached her and complimented her. "I like your singing; it's better than that of a snipe!" Gwen giggled with embarrassment. "Thanks! I try." The young woman introduced herself. "I'm Sakaya. Nice to meet you!" Gwen curtsied and replied, "Same to you, Sakaya! I'm sure we'll be good friends."

Just then, a young man crashed on top of Sakaya, who was clearly displeased at being used as a cushion. Gwen rushed up to them and helped Sakaya push the man off of her. Sakaya asked, "Do people normally fall from the sky these days? I've been in the Clockworks for two months, and I just got back." Gwen chuckled and replied, "The first generation did." They both shrugged. The young man looked up at them briefly before he lost consciousness. Gwen felt his bones, checking to see which ones were damaged, and set the ones that had been misplaced. She summoned a bolt of pure energy and gently applied it to the broken bones. They healed up in moments, but the boy was still unconscious. She suspected he'd suffered a concussion, so she induced sleep to his brain and delicately manipulated it to boost his recovery.

He soon awoke to find a pair of beautiful ladies staring down at him. He flushed a deep red, clearly surprised to see two teenage girls staring at him. He dusted himself off, smiled, and said, "I don't think we've introduced ourselves. I am Archimeday, the angel of Palutena! And you are...?" Sakaya replied, "My name's Sayaka Eishiro, but you can call me Saya. All my friends do." Gwen ducked between her shoulders and smiled shyly. "I'm Gwen. Hi!" she said with a little wave. Archimeday bowed low and said, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, ladies." After a few moments of awkward silence, Sakaya piped up, "So... Anyone wanna go to Basil's café? It's on me!"

Gwen looked at the cafe, then back at Sakaya and nodded. They entered and took a seat, and a waitress took their orders. Gwen ordered a Blaze Pepper soup. While they waited, a blond-haired boy meandered into the cafe. Gwen watched him with interest; he was unusually handsome, and moved with uncommon grace. He found a table next to them (right behind Gwen) and swiftly took a seat. As the waitress took his order, he seemed a tad anxious upon the arrival of a few well-dressed men.

The waitress then served her soup. Wow, that was quick service! She took a bite of the soup. *wet sniff* *gasp* Very spicy! Just the way I like it.

The young man ordered roasted wolver. Gwen caught him gazing at her out of the corner of her eye, and he shyly looked away. Then, the well-dressed men who'd entered the cafe walked up to the young man and assailed him. One of them said, "Alright. We'll give you one last chance, or you'll be iced." The young man answered menacingly, "What if I don't follow you? What then? Will you freeze me in front of all these people?" The other well-dressed man said, "Joe, get him." The third man in the group brandished a Cryotech Alchemer and pointed it at the young man, who sneered, "Oh, so you really are going to ice me!"

He summoned two swords out of thin air, and Joe instinctively fired off his alchemer, freezing the young man's left shoulder. The man somersaulted over Joe and cut his shoulder, then stabbed him through the heart when he landed. With the bloody mess he'd created, there was no way he could stay in the cafe and act normally, so he put away his swords and ran out the cafe. His eye caught Gwen's before he disappeared around the corner.

Not wanting to miss her chance to befriend him, she abandoned her soup and raced after him. She spotted him around the corner, and called out to him, "Wait! Let me come with you!" The young man had heard her, and he stopped to address her. "You have no idea what evil you'll have to face if you follow me. Plus, it'd be too dangerous for someone like you, with no special abilities, to go try and defeat Vog." Gwen grinned and crossed her arms. "A 'girl like me?' 'No special abilities?' What do you take me for, a ditz? I can help you defeat Vog. I'm coming whether you like it or not." She laughed, then added, "Besides, I think you're bluffing; why would Vog send well-dressed thugs to kill you when he could easily do it himself?"

He replied, "Firstly, Vog is currently being revived by the organization that sent those thugs. They were trying to stop me from destroying the ancient revival ritual that is currently taking place. I don't know what kind of skills you have, so I can't judge you based solely on what you say. But I'll let you follow me. Just know that this might be the last time you will ever see your friends again." Just then, Sakaya came up from behind them and said in a butchered drawl, "Aw heeeeck no, you ain't going anywhere without us, girl!" Gwen grinned uncontrollably, but the young man scowled and said, "Fine. But only four of us. No one else." Sakaya replied gleefully, "Fine by me!"

While they were all introducing one another, they'd forgotten that the gang was still looking for them. Gwen spotted one of the thugs rounding the corner, and drew her flamberge. He drew his gun, too, and the bystanders began to notice. Soon, people on the streets started screaming, and knights began activating their battle armor in defense. Gwen flew past the thug, and he fell to the ground in two pieces before he even had a chance to block. She skidded to a stop in front of the following thug, who swung his calibur at her. She easily blocked it with a force shield, punched him in the face, and danced around his retaliatory swing. A third thug charged at her, and when he got close, she spun and sliced the both of them in twain.

Easy as pie. She wiped her sword with her red handkerchief, sheathed it, and lit her pipe. She seemed...completely unfazed. "Shall we continue?"

The blond boy picked up his jaw and said, "Alright. But first, I'll need to see how good you guys are at fighting. We'll enter a local tournament; is everyone okay with that?" Gwen and the others nodded in agreement. "Okay then! Let's go." He tapped a few buttons on the Coliseum entry terminal, and it showed the only available tournament - a 2 vs 2 battle. The young man heaved a sigh and said, "I hate to break it to you guys, but...the only available tournament is a battle of duos with a 100kcr prize. What do you all think about that? Should we give it a shot?" He grinned at Gwen, who blushed a bit. But she was also a reasonable girl. "If you want to test everyone's fighting skills, everyone here will need to participate. We should wait for a larger tournament."

Just then, Sakaya yelped as a knight with Pack insignia grabbed her and interrogated her. Gwen cloaked, drew her sword, and crept up behind the offender. She then decloaked with her flamberge at his neck. "You'd better let her go man, or so help me, I will dice you like a tomato." He growled, but his squadmate put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Gwen released him, and he walked off with his squad, muttering something about there being another source of information. She sheathed her sword, and saw Arch ask Saya to team up with him in the tournament, to which she happily agreed and declared, "Let's do this!"

Then the blond boy said, "Alright then. You guys better get your heart pads ready, because the enemies won't be holding back." Saya nodded at him and fist pumped Arch. She twirled her Swift Flourish around casually and grinned, "Good. Because we're not, either."

Gwen smiled as they entered the competition. The four of them were a team, and their first match against two swordsmen, a bomber, and a gunner would start in about an hour . She nodded at Gwen, who grinned and joked, "Let's kick some Wolver tail, guys." Saya smiled and noted, "This will be fun."

Gwen drew her Flamberge as the match begun. She sped in on the nearest enemy and raised her blade.

She swung.
He blocked.
She swung again. Scraped armor.
He swung.
She parried. Backstep.
He jabbed & missed.
Let's dance!
She spun to the side, jabbed his foot.
He tripped and fell.
She raised and plunged. Blood.
One down.
Foe boosted behind her.
She whipped around. Sliced.
Blood.
He whipped around.
Shots fired.
She blocked.
More shots fired.
He froze.
She charged.
Blood.
Two down.
"Point captured!"
Darn!
Raced to the home point.
*screech*
*smack*
She fell.
Foe punched at her.
She tilted her head. He missed.
She kicked him off. *crunch*
Blood. *groan*
She flipped to her feet.
Tip at his neck.
*groan*

Poor boy, he's in no shape to fight. She withdrew her sword from his neck and captured the point.

"Match End!" declared the announcer. Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. Her enemy was still holding his sore groin, so she withdrew a remedy capsule and health capsule and handed them to him before walking off the field. "How'd you guys do?" she asked her team.
"Not very well," the blond boy replied. "The match was very short, so I could only defeat five people; one with a parry, and the others barehanded." He added, "I specialize in Tiger Kung Fu and Aikido."

"I believe you still haven't told me your name. However, out of courtesy, I'll start. My name is Nathaniel York, and I am a White Knight of the Rose." Gwen was a little surprised that he was a White Rose knight, but she knew she shouldn't have been - his skills were on par with her father's. The White Rose knights were among the elite of the Rose Order, matched only by their Red and Black Rose cousins. She curtsied and replied, "I'm...simply Gwenyvier. You can call me Gwen."

The other team approached them, embarrassed at their quick defeat. Gwen walked up to them and shook hands with them. "Good game, everyone! You guys did well. It was an honor to have fought you." The one knight with the sore groin just groaned again. "And...sorry about that, sir. You fought well." He nodded and smiled weakly.

A curiously short Stranger approached Gwen and said, "Hello. I saw your fancy fighting; that was amazing." He removed his mask, revealing a pleasant human face. "Where are my manners? I'm Seatus." He extended his hand to her, and she shook it. "Yes, where are your manners? What did you do with them?" she asked with a wink.

Without waiting for a reply, she gestured to her teammates. "These are Sakaya, Nathaniel, and Archimeday. I don't know them very well, as we've recently become friends. Want to join us? I'm thinking of treating everyone to a victory meal."

Before they could leave the stadium, Gwen heard slight gasps come from the exiting crowd. She turned and looked to see a Black Rose knight leading the enemy team. He took off his hat, revealing himself to be Axis, Pack leader. Three Rose knights here?? This is going to get interesting fast. She lit her pipe and waited for Axis to approach her.

Nathaniel walked up beside her and whispered, "Gwen, there is something off about him, but I can't quite put my finger on it. The light in me tells me he is of dark-" Gwen cut him off. "Only the Purged have light inside them. All others are of darkness."

Nathaniel turned towards Axis (yes, Gwen knew his name) and said, "Good morrow, stranger! It seems you have made friends with my acquaintance Gwenyvier. I'm Nathaniel of the White Rose. You are?" Axis replied, "Axis, former Lieutenant of the Black Rose." He turned to Gwen. "I look forward to seeing you follow up on your threat." Gwen scoffed. "I only threatened you because you grabbed and interrogated my friend. Such a threat is no longer necessary."

Axis and his team departed for their next Coliseum round, and Gwen took a stroll outside. She crossed her arms, gazed at the sunset, and began to sing softly.

I am a heartless killer,
A restless soul alone,
A silly, fiery lover,
With heart of stone.

I have slain foes,
I have slain friends,
My father is dead
By my own hands.

Blood courses through me,
But it is not my own.
My hands are pale as death,
And the darkness in me grown.

Please, purge my wicked heart!
Make me white as snow.
Oh Lord, do not depart!
Your love is all I know.

She bowed her head. A single tear dropped to the ground beside a familiar black boot. Arch had come up beside her. "Gwen, are you okay?" he asked softly. She wiped her eye and lifted her head, still looking off into the sunset. "No, not really." She sighed, shifted her feet and looked at him. "I've done terrible things, Arch. Someday, I will have to account for them." She sighed and looked away for a moment. "What do you think of me? And I mean honestly; I don't need vain reassurances. Tell me truly: am I heartless?"

The concern on her face was troubling. Even more so was the fact that she considered herself heartless. She had killed the Fangs thugs without so much as batting an eyelash, but was that a sign of heartlessness, or of something else?

Seatus came up to Gwen's other side, opposite Arch. He said softly, "You aren't, Gwen. Believe me, you are kind. They had evil in their hearts anyways." Gwen was a little surprised to learn that he knew about them. He covered his mouth in shock, then quickly tried to recover. "I meant the opposing team." Gwen let out a weak smile and said quietly, "It's okay, Seatus. You don't need to be ashamed of your gift." She shivered and held her arms tighter. Seatus straightened, grabbed his shifted Stranger Cloak and said, "I'm going to need some different clothes. I got these from a kind Stranger. I'll be back soon!" He was about to go to the nearest alchemy machine when he felt himself restrained by his right hand. Gwen had stopped him. "You don't need to look far." She removed from her arsenal a Wolver set and Bristling Buckler. "Take these. Something tells me that you should be their rightful owner."

The cap and coat had spikes on them, and the cap had three eye holes in it. There was only one Snarbolax in existence that was gold-colored like this.

Gwen heard a commotion nearby. She noticed a gremlin being chased by enforcers. Seatus had already sprung into action, and now had the gremlin in his care while holding off the enforcers. Gwen cloaked and shot herself at the nearest enforcer, throwing him to the ground and startling the heck out of him. She looped around and shot past the second enforcer before he knew what was happening. He tripped and fell on his face. She skidded to a halt next to Seatus and decloaked.

She hadn't even drawn her sword yet.

Gwen examined the gremlin. He had Swarm runes all over him, but he wasn't fully consumed. She'd seen this before; there was a symbiotic relationship going on here, with the Swarm providing the gremlin strength and power in exchange for food (namely, the gremlin's mind and body). If this relationship was allowed to continue, the gremlin would cease to exist as an independent creature. But more concerning to her were the runes themselves. While Seatus was unaware of their significance, Gwen was familiar with them. Each rune summarized a part of the Swarm. As a rule of thumb, the more complex the runes are, the more advanced the Swarm is. The runes on this gremlin were intricate, and once Gwen had parsed them, she discovered a guiding intelligence of some kind behind the Swarm. She recognized one symbol in particular.

Vog!

But there was another symbol alongside him which she did not recognize; it represented a unitary living darkness, with associated naming markers. It could not be a reference to the Swarm, which was a collective living darkness. She was quite intrigued, but could not afford to spend more time on it, because the second round of Lockdown had started.

"Seatus, this gremlin is being controlled by Vog, who is in turn controlled by some kind of unitary living darkness with an unidentifiable name. I gotta go join my team so...can you think on that for me please?"

With that, she rushed off to the Coliseum and joined Sakaya, who had just finished her brief motivational speech.

The match started. Gwen raced to the nearest control point with Nate in tow, and they captured it together. No sooner had they finished when Rez and Nex showed up to take it. Gwen charged at Nex, and her sword met his with a loud clang. Gwen gritted her teeth and Nex wrinkled his nose as they pushed against each other. Gwen broke first, and her shield arm was sliced.

Blood dripped to the floor. Then it dawned on her: the safeties were off.

Nex chuckled as he waited for this revelation to sink in. Gwen wiped the blood off on her sword hand and gripped the hilt tighter. She blocked a sudden overhead swing from Nex and stepped away from him. He's just a man. This is a typical sword fight for me. No reason to fear. She sighed, brushed away her fear, and loosened her grip on the hilt. She stepped to the side and twirled her sword in her hand, taunting her opponent to attack her. Nex lunged at her, but she danced around it and swatted him in the thigh. He stumbled back, confused, and lunged again. Again, Gwen danced around it and thrusted into his sash.

Nex looked at her with surprise for a split second before he was teleported to the spawn point. "Nex has been defeated by Gwen using a Flamberge!" The crowed booed, and Gwen was taken aback by it. She almost didn't notice Rez, who was about to plant a bomb at her feet while she was distracted. She backflipped out of the bomb radius before it exploded, and knelt to the ground to anchor herself against the blast. When the dust cleared, Rez found himself on the ground at the point of Gwen's sword. She smirked at him, then poked him a little bit. "Bye" she said with a wink, and he teleported back to the spawn point.