Flesh and Blood

Okay, first I'd like to say that it's the first time I write in English. I wrote in in French first for a fiction tournament, then translated it to English. That's why I would request a bit of your indulgence. ^^ Thanks for understanding. Also, I'd like to point out that it does only have a few relation with StarFox. In fact, the only relation with it is my character which I created for the tournament purpose only. He's from Lylat, but the rest is happening in the Zelda universe. Sorry for that, but I don't have anywhere else to post, and I needed people to correct me. Don't hesitate to point out my mistakes! Thanks!

Here we go.

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First of all, I have to present the characters and the world the scene takes place.
Kurst Keiger: My character. He’s an anthropomorphic alligator with human abilities who used to be a commando in another universe. He’s kind of tall, has a strong will and is kind of rational in his moves and thoughts. He fights with advanced military close combat techniques and has a combat knife.
Here's a little sketch of him. ^^ http://www.noelshack.com/uploads/Scan10060091992.JPG
Ephraim Harada: My teammate character. He’s a lone warrior suffering from schizophrenia. He’s not a brilliant brain, but his ability to fight is not to prove anymore. He fights with a huge sword and two short blades named Kôdachis but can also give some hard time to his opponent with his hands.
Sheitan: She’s the second personality of Ephraim. She does everything to turn his life into a real nightmare. When he let the madness takes over him, he sees Sheitan moving and acting where another person would see Ephraim.
Hon’Liu: A former General in his land, he was banished after his defeat in a gigantic battle against the Lighting Bird where he lost a thousand of his men. It is told that a lone fighter then killed the bird after that, and so he tried to recover his honor, crossing unknown lands to spread his name. He fights with a halberd and an electric glove.
Marshall: Nobody knows much about him, neither why he’s here. He seems to be always drunk and always keep a bottle of alcohol with him. He masters the combat technique of the drunken man and also usually uses his bottle to fight.
Zakoestros: A former beast named Linki, he was once killed by a man named Signe. He traded his life with the Death against the life of fifteen warriors. However, arriving back in life, his body was not like before, he was now a human. He now organizes a new tournament in which Signe participates, but he wants to find a way to recover his normal form before to take his revenge.

Story: It’s a long story, but what we need to know is that Zakoestros, for personal purpose, started a tournament of death match. A great reward waits for the winner, and so about thirty people tried themselves. Many died at the first round, among them was Hon’Liu but he was somehow resurrected, and so sixteen fighters are still in the tournament. The organizer decided the second round would be a team match. Kurst teamed with Ephraim, and Hon’Liu teamed with Marshall. And so they fight, in an arena Zakoestros decided, which is the Symmetry City.

Symmetry City: This town has a dark past. Built on the mountain-side of a volcano, its equilibrium was assured by a sort of magical nut. However, one day, it was broken and the volcano started to awake. A legendary hero came by and fixed the nut thanks to a magical harp allowing people to travel through the time, and the town was safe again. The hero left the harp here, and the habitant built a museum in honor to the hero and to the goddess who created the harp. The harp is now assuring the equilibrium of the town. It is the arena Zakoestros decided for the four fighters of this round.

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Flesh and Blood.

It was the beginning of a new afternoon in the peaceful Symmetry City located half-high in the Talus peaks. Those peaks were overhanging the Nuun Plains of the Labrynna country. The streets were animated with the merchants' screams and those of peasants roaming the city and giving spectacles, as well as the loud noise of the crowd. Despite its past, the town was thriving and was now a flourishing city. On the village’s place enthroned a wonderful marble fountain, rose up in honor of the great hero who once saved the village from sinking in the darkness.
Nothing could have predicted what would happen today.
Two fowl shadows rose from the ground near the fountain, under the skeptical or even panicking look of the passers-by. The two clouds of shadow vanished, leaving as much anthropomorphic forms to appear. Kurst Keiger and Ephraim Harada now stood there.
The two consequently allied were wondering where they arrived. The Symmetry City the organizer told them.
“I don’t see anything symmetric, Kurst growled.
- I suppose we’re not at the right place to see it, Ephraim mused.”
Sheitan started to laugh.
“Stuff it you! Ephraim yelled.
- You’re talking to me? Kurst asked.
- No, just drop it.”
Sheitan broke into a huge laugh; Ephraim suddenly felt a violent chock on his head, closely missing to knock him off. Hearing the sound, Kurst turned around and saw Marshall with a quietly ironic look, satisfied to see his target falling on his knees on the paved ground. From the corner of the eye, he could also see a known face. Hon’liu, the general he thought he had killed, was standing right in front of him.
“We meet again! The former general yelled.
- Tell me, who’s the guy? Oh shit, I broke my bottle knocking this idiot, added Marshall.
- We meet again indeed. I have to believe this world reserves me more than one surprise, Kurst answered frowning.”
Ephraim stood up, lightly sounded, and wobbled from left to right before finding back his equilibrium. He gazed the little bald old man who was smiling still with his quietly ironical look. Without a warning, Hon’Liu jumped on the reptile fist in front, but this one doubled the first blow. The general, with his second hand, sent another blow in Kurst’s stomach, who folded under the pain. Just to follow the move, Marshall put himself in position of battle and started to harass Ephraim with not very precise but extremely violent punches. Ephraim was compelled to double the blows and couldn’t take his two blades from his belt. Kurst was still folded under the strike, and Hon’Liu used this lapse to knock his muzzle with his knee, very sensitive place for the alligators. The reptile fell on his back. On his side, seeing he couldn’t break his opponent’s guard, Marshall let himself fall on the ground to sweep his adversary took unexpectedly. The drunken man then stood up and struck Ephraim with his feet.

In front of this extraordinary violent spectacle, the villagers were thrown into panic, the women screaming and the children crying in their parents arm. The town’s guards immediately interfered to try to put an end to the battle, helped with some self-confident men. Strong of their adrenaline, Hon’Liu and Marshall welcomed the guard with their own manners, one grabbing his halberd to shred their belly, the other knocking to death the most reckless.

Using the general hubbub and the guards’ intervention, Ephraim stood up again and helped his ally on his feet. They moved away from the fountain and rushed to the next building: the museum. This one was achieved a few years ago. The building was stretching in half-circle at the north around the central place, built with a white stone bright under the sunlight.
The guards’ bodies were emptying of their blood on the shining city pavements, as the two murderers smiled, proud of their prowess. But the general didn’t defer to notice his two opponents vanished.
“Damn it! Where did they go?! Marshall!
- I dunno man, ya know I was fighting too buddy!”
The old bald man looked at the huge structure in front of him. In a total randomness, he showed the building with his finger.
“I… I guess they’re in there…
- Tsss… Hope for you… I’m here to track down the beast, not for a pleasure visit. Furthermore I’ve already been here long ago…
- Oh yeah?
- It was by the time I was spreading my name all around, after my… defeat against the Lighting Bird. Trying to make speak about me, I crossed this village making sure people would remember my name… By this time the guards managed to chase me, but not this time.
- In fact, I don’t give a damn about it. I just wanna find another bottle to replace the one this retard broke, Marshall replied, which awarded him an evil look.”

Inside of the museum, the two fighters were trying to set up a blockade at the door to make unable for their hangmen to get in. Kurst showed Ephraim some piece of furniture and armors hanging there to block the door. The reptile rested on the ground for a moment, time to recover his mind while the schizophrenic was doing all the work.
“Damn it… This general became way too strong. His journey with the dead and his battle more than me cannot have changed him that much… Kurst whispered a paw on his temp.”
The museum’s personnel were hopelessly trying to stop Ephraim from vandalizing the place, turning priceless piece of art into simple blockade. Drawing his sword was enough to dissuade the most courageous.
“Ephraim, use your big blade to block the door too, Kurst told to his teammate.
- But…
- It’s a piece of advice. If you want to die here, it’s your problem. You’ll get your blade back later.”
The young man complied; he detached the rope maintaining the giant weapon on his back to lock it amidst the other objects.
“The first who tries to unlock the door will find him with a hole through the stomach, Ephraim said, giving a single glance over the crowd, enough to force respect of the potential recalcitrant.
- Ephraim! I love you when you speak like that! Sheitan yelled, throwing herself at the neck of the man who growled.”
A few minutes were enough to hear a few persons ramming the door. Their voice indicated it was outright Hon’Liu and Marshall.
“Cursed lizard! Get out of here now! I have something to tell to you and your half-tail! The general yelled.
- And ya buddy owe me a bottle! Dun make us enter here and brake everything! Marshall added.
- My half-tail? Kurst whispered glancing at it, he continued: How’s your neck? Tell me, how did they sew it up in hell?”
Sheitan burst into a loud laugh. Marshall sneered too, seeing the face of the general, but this one replicated knocking the old man on the top of the head.
Hon’Liu then transmitted his anger to the blockade, causing a resound inside of the museum. The alligator rather not wanted to fight his opponent in such a mod. He pulled his teammate to the end of the museum.
A small room was presenting itself to them. Some long grey-marble columns were holding the roof, and a small number of pictures of a long-blue-haired young woman were decorating the wall. At the center of the room, a pedestal rested on which a harp sat enthroned in his glass cage; beside, a piece of parchment with some inscriptions in an unknown language for the two fighters, followed with two ranges of notes.
“This is stupid… A single entrance? Kurst cursed.
- You mean a single exit, Ephraim mused, eyes closed with a hand on the chin.
- It’s no time to play with words for a schizophrenic. We must find a way to get out of here. The two others will be here sooner or later, and the only thing we have right here is a harp. Do you feel like playing them a lullaby?
- If I had my giant blade, I could have tried to dig a way through the wall…
- Any other brilliant ideas?”
Cutting short in the conversation, a little bald man with a mustache appeared in the room. Having not seen the scene of the blockade, he mistook the two fighters for simple customers.
“You don’t seem to be from this region… Does this harp intrigue you? It’s a beautiful legend, the man said grinning with a commercial smile.
- In fact… we have no time for beautiful legends, Kurst replied.
- Kill him; else we’re not out of here before a long time! Sheitan added as Ephraim was telling her to shush.
- Come on, don’t be shy guys! This harp was offered to us by the Oracle of Ages, Nayru. It is thanks to this harp that our village was saved in the past.”
The two teammates glanced at each other as if they thought about the same thing. The man continued his story:
“In the past, the village’s equilibrium was assured by a nut. I know it’s weird, but the past generations found out that this harp had a greater power than the nut. Therefore, thanks to it you can…”
The historian couldn’t finish his sentence that Ephraim knocked him out. The alligator burst the glass cage to take the instrument and turned back to Ephraim.
“You thought the same thing as me? Kurst asked.
- Yeah this man was way too boring!
- No, I was meaning… never mind.
- There are notes here… But I don’t know how to play an instrument… Do you play the harp?
- It mustn’t be so different from piano…
- And do you play piano?
- Why do you think I said that? Are you an idiot or something?”
Sheitan fell on the ground laughing loudly; her laugh reaching the young man’s ears who tightened his fists.
Kurst had a good memory. In Lylat, he had to remember a lot of capital information for his special missions. Two ranges of notes wouldn’t be so hard to remember.
Only a few minutes after taking the harp out of its plinth, some jolts made shaking the ground. Only a low intensity at the beginning, the jolts got more and more violent.
“Zakoestros said we could disturb the village’s equilibrium… And this old man told us about this harp and its power of equilibrium… Don’t you think…?
- Zakoestros is insane. A city held by an instrument; you’ve got some more stupidity like that? It’s a battle here, not some kind of… fantastic roman! Kurst replied.”
The door was starting to break apart under the ram of the two other fighters. Ephraim hurried to take his sword back and uncovered it from the cloth which was protecting it from the wear of time.
“Did you know that this sword can take out a horseman and his horse?
- Well, maybe that if those two find a horse out there to charge the museum we will have a chance then. Now shut up, I’ve got to concentrate!
- Hey calm down, you’re usually more quiet.
- I’m missing my nicotine…”
The reptile sat on a marble bench, putting down the harp on the ground. He closed his eye and remembered the melody. A few tries to find the good notes, and he started to play. A series of harmonic sounds. Immediately after the play, a pinkish ray got down from the sky and circled the reptile.

Kurst just magically vanished. The jolts were amplifying, making shake the walls of the structure. Ephraim was all alone, Sheitan couldn’t prevent from laughing about him seeing his dumbfounded face after the disappearing of Kurst. All by himself and against a crowd of people panicking after understanding what was going on, the young warrior was overwhelmed. The poor employees started to take out the blockade to free the only exit, and this, despite the warnings of Ephraim. According to them, it was all clear: they would prefer to die by trying to escape than waiting here for the ceiling to collapse. The city equilibrium was broken, and that, Ephraim couldn’t fight against it, let alone with two predators hunting him.
The blockade finally gave in, and the global panic was installed in the city. The crowd was running away at a fast pace, zigzagging between the birthing lava flows. Hon’Liu and Marshall were proudly standing at the entrance, not at all scared by the forces in work. On the contrary, they slowly closed on the young man and stopped at a few meters from him. His gigantic blade pointed at them, the swordsman was sweating. He was slightly shaking, glancing at the exit locked by the general and the drunken man with his dark eyes.
“So… I’m looking forward how you are going to make it now that you are all alone, Sheitan grinned, leaned against a wall, her hands behind her head.
- Sheitan, it’s really not the time for that… Ephraim replied.
- The fear of death makes you talk alone? You’re shaking, it’s miserable, Hon’Liu bullied while searching for the lizard.
- We don’t care! Let’s just kill this dumb and check if he has some money to pay back my broken bottle! Marshall yelled, teetering from left to right.
- Where’s your scaly friend? He went to cry in a corner? The general asked, angrier than ever.
- He vanished… You’ll have to satisfy yourself with me, the young man answered.”
Both his hands tightened on the blade, starting to make it spin around him. The speed it reached with the centrifuge force was impressive, and the enemies only saw a wind whirl circling Ephraim. His plan was clear: he would wait… hope for his ally to show up, until then he would hold back Hon’Liu and Marshall. The general growled and held back Marshall who was growing impatient, narrowing his eyes with anger. Ephraim’s technique was giving him a perfect defense within the two meters around, removing all blind spot.

The reptile opened his eyes. He saw red. Not from anger, but by the strange red color tainting the air. He then heard a crowd of voice behind him. Turning back, he saw a large crowd gathered which was showing back to him. The crowd attention was directed in front of them.
A scream, then a horrified gasp from the crowd rose up. Kurst stuck the harp in his back and got closer of the events to see what was going on. Being taller than most people, he didn’t have to get too much close to see and he even preferred to keep some distance to not attract the attention. After all, he was only a Lizalfos for them, a monster amidst others.
Looking in the same direction of the crowd, he could see what spectacle was making it react. In front of a cheap-looking house, a tall well-armored man holding a halberd was looking down at another man folded on the ground, the back against the house’s wall. His right arm was missing, bathing in a blood puddle beside him. It was easy to figure out that the halberd still stained of blood, and the man holding it was responsible of this barbarism.
“Do you even know who I am? Imbecile! I DO know what lies in this shack!
- You… You’re a fool! The injured replied.
- A fool? No. I would know if the search of power was synonym of foolishness! Keep in mind the name of Hon’Liu, pathetic man! That this name you’ll accuse for your death and the death of your family in front of the gods resound in heaven!”
He raised his halberd, and then launched it in the man’s stomach, killing him instantly. Horrified screams of the crowd rose in the sky as Hon’Liu entered the cheap shack. A part of the crowd ran away from the scene to escape from the city. A few men, the most courageous rushed in the shack to try to stop the General.
Kurst used of the general panic to follow the men inside. He leaned in a stealth position. By this time, Hon’Liu didn’t know him; he would use this and turn it to his advantage. The reptile reached the shack, and leaned against the wall near the door. He stole a glance inside; the most reckless men were lying on the ground, their spirit gone, while the others were leaving, with a blank look, shocked by what just happened.
The general grabbed his halberd with his two hands and started a movement of scale, aiming a small nut on a table.
Kurst used the general inattention to rush on him and grab him by the back, blocking his arms and forcing him to drop the halberd which fell on the floor in a loud metallic sound.
“Don’t move, Kurst whispered in his ear.
- What the… Leave me alone miserable! The general answered, obviously surprised.
- No, I’m sorry but what you intend to do is punished with death sentence. Not that I care about it, but I’m killing you because I need it.
- Idiot! I can’t die! I’m the lone survivor of the battle against the Lighting Bird! I’m the invincible General Hon’Liu!
- Trust me I know who you are, and I killed you once already. Well, technically no, I’ll kill you in the future… never mind, it’s a long story.
- What are you babbling about?!
- I told you to drop the subject. Now, I hope it will be the last time…”
In a searing move, Kurst released his prey to take his knife in its back-case, and then cut the general’s neck before he could even react.
“… let’s not make it a habit, he said to finish his sentence.”
Not caring about the fate of the peoples, he left the shack and stood at the entrance to take the harp. He crossed a group of armed guards who jostled him on their way. Kurst growled then moved aside to remember the notes of the melody which would allow him to go back in the present, hoping from the bottom of heart that it would work…

Everything happened promptly. The walls collapsed, too weak to handle such jolts. The heat was not helping, turning the foundations as tractable as sand. The ceiling fell too, right on the three fighters. The first stones were first cut up by Ephraim’s sword, but the few hundred pounds of rock which followed exceeded his capacity. The young swordsman was thrown away against the wall by the brutal stop of the sword’s impulse. Hon’Liu and Marshall who saw it coming just moved back a bit, dodging the biggest part of rock.
The red color was fashion here too now, and the landscape around them was turned into desolation. Burnt vegetation, huge smoke columns and lava flow all around. One had to be crazy to stay here. It was good luck, because at least one fighter was. Beside, the old general and the drunken man went to meet him again. The poor man was lying on the ground, under a few pounds of engraves, blood running on his face. He was struggling to keep consciousness, while Sheitan was grinning like an angel… strange thing for a woman wearing the name of the devil.
The old general grabbed the young man by his collar and raised him over the ground.
“Now tell me where your handbag is, or I untie your tongue with my own manners, the general whispered with an evil look.”
The young warrior struggled to nod at the woman attending to the scene. Hon’Liu didn’t notice but the young man started to grin of an evil smile. Wondering if he changed his mind, the general asked the question again, but he was rewarded with a spits between the two eyes.
“Kill him damn it! Marshall told, getting impatient.
- Go to hell, son of a whore! Sheitan answered, having total control over Ephraim’s body.
- Tsss… It’s too bad for you.”
Hon’Liu wiped his face, then brought his other hand at Ephraim’s collar, and started to strangle him. With his glove parried with a lighting feather, he threw a powerful hurting electric current through Ephraim’s body. He then released him after a dozen of seconds, and the pitiable young man collapsed on the floor on his belly.
“You’re an imbecile. Don’t mess up your only chance to win just to save the skin of the Lizalfos. He’s not worth it, and he won’t be able to defeat us alone anyway.
- Pain… is only an indication to prove we’re alive… you’ll have to… do better than this… if you want to put an end… to my life…, Sheitan answered, spitting blood before opening wide her eyes which she landed on the old general.
Suddenly, Hon’Liu vanished.
Marshall’s eyes widened, Ephraim didn’t have any more control over his body, whereas he normally seen everything Sheitan was doing, here it was all blank. The drunken man, shocked, sobered up and found all his lucidity back. According to him, the change of behavior of Ephraim was the reason for his teammate vanishing.
“You’re a wizard! What sorcery is that?! You killed your friend and now my teammate! Burn in the lava flow you evil being!”
He ran away as fast as possible, but saw Ephraim standing up and starting to chase him. The swordsman pulled his two Kôdachis from the cases hanging at each side of his belt. Marshall, frightened, ran to the breastwork of the town giving a view on the Nuun valley. Ephraim was still closing on him, now in a fast pace, his two blades ready for use.
“Stay back you demon! Don’t come any closer! Leave me alone! Marshall yelled to the young man rushing on him with a devil smile.”
It was now too late to try and defend; his only choice was to jump from the breastwork. And he did.
Marshall literally jumped in the space, before scrapping the slope of the mountain. His legs couldn’t stabilize with the so important difference of altitude, and Marshall rolled down, tearing off a few plants and cutting his flesh on rocks on his way.
Kurst re-appeared beside Ephraim who was looking at the pitiful old man tumbling down from the mountain. He was a little surprised to find the same ambient as in the place he just left, but it didn’t prevent him from enjoying the spectacle. Ephraim gave him a dark look, flustering the reptile who didn’t understand his attitude. Did he let the madness take over him? It’s what it seemed, and his second personality looked rather aggressive.

At the bottom of the valley, Marshall rolled again over some meters, and then finally stopped against a pair of foot. His body was hardly damaged and his blood was running from the grazes and wounds covering it. He struggled to look up, but could recognize the man.
“Z… Zak…Zakoe…
- Marshall. You deceived me. I thought I made it clear: the one who reach the foot of the mountain is disqualified. What a lack of wisdom.
- B… But…
- There’s no ‘but’.”
With a stick he held in his hand, the organizer draw a line a few centimeters behind the place where the pitiful old man was lying, delimiting the arena. Marshall gave a pleading look to the organizer, but only had a fake sorry look in response. Zakoestros rose up the man by his collar and pronounced a few words. Marshall’s eyes turned blank, and the organizer let him fall on the ground.
A few minutes later, Zakoestros joined the two winners. Ephraim seemed to wake up from torpor, and the first thing he saw was Sheitan giving him a large satisfied smile. She closed on the man and whispered him:
“Do not let you disturbed by the sympathy you feel toward this lizard… knowing the craftiness of the organizer, you’ve got a lot of chances to fight your friend the next turn. Friends of today are foes of tomorrow. If you are against him, don’t hesitate, just act… If I see any weakness in you, you can count on me to finish the work. Think about the reward… think about her.”
The young man downed his head thinking back about what she just told him. Zakoestros’ voice rose up, bringing him back to reality.
“So, here lie our two winners. I didn’t though you would use the time to eliminate your opponents.
- You said yourself we could use everything we find on the place, Kurst replied.
- Is it bad? Ephraim asked.
- No, you won. It was the goal. Let’s go back.”
The three men vanished in a dark ray, leaving the city being gulped by a huge uninterrupted lava flow, which would spread in the valley, devastating everything on its way…

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That's all for now.

interesting, the symmetry city story, a magical nut was fixed by a guy with a harp that lets him travel through time.

Ephraim suddenly felt a violent chock on his head what was that supposed to be, knock?, clonk?

Kurst cursed. tongue twister!!!!

other than missing words and understandable grammar mistakes the rest was decent.

I liked it, but due to language differences I'm confused about one thing. Ephraim, he's schizophrenic, but whats all this about Shietan? its his second personality but I'm confused on what these two have in common separate from that.

I liked it, now if only it translated more easily into English odds are I would love it.

Thanks for reading.

Quote :

Ephraim suddenly felt a violent chock on his head what was that supposed to be, knock?, clonk?

-> Yeah; Marshall knock him on the head with the bottle.

Quote :

Ephraim, he's schizophrenic, but whats all this about Shietan? its his second personality but I'm confused on what these two have in common separate from that.

-> They don't have much in common. Ephraim is a normal guy, 'cept he is crazy. He roam the land to find a way to help his gf. Shitan is his double personality, but she is really a *****, if you see what I mean. During Ephraim's childhood, she used to kill his pets, she wake him up while he sleep, this kind of thing. But as she is only an hallucination, only Ephraim see her, and when she sees Ephraim is endangered, she defend him, because she is still linked to him, if he dies she dies.
Did I answer your question correctly?

Anyway thanks.

yes, I'm pretty sure, the hallucination thing cleared it up really well