Xiax
This one's an extract from the only story I've ever finished. It's title-less, but never used to be. I'm not telling you what the title used to be, I've had too many people laugh at me for it.
Also, I know it needs some major editing. In fact, I'm pretty sure that some of it makes no sense at all, but if you feel inclined to comment on what may be better, then that would actually help a lot.
Mikkifavo woke and sat up quickly. She put her head in her hands and tried to will away her headache.
Through her fingers she studied her surroundings curiously. She had no idea how she had ended up in a room and in a bed. The whole room seemed strangely clean and Mikkifavo took this as meaning that it was an infirmary of some sort, minus the medical equipment. Everything in the room was white - the walls, the bed sheets and the curtains that hung from the small window in the corner.
Mikkifavo remembered that she had passed out and wondered how long she had been unconscious for. She couldn’t remember any details of what had happened before she had blacked out and she tried to concentrate as she rubbed her face. When the realisation finally hit her, she jumped up from the bed and searched the floor for her shoes.
She saw the familiar glint of her sword coming from underneath the bed. She stared at it as she sat on the floor to pull her shoes on, then crawled over to pick it up. When she touched the cold metal she shivered. Holding the sword always gave her a surge of rage about nothing at all. She carefully placed her sword on the bed, and it was then that she noticed the two other weapons on the floor in the corner. There was another sword which was smaller than hers and completely silver where her hilt was gold. There was also a battleaxe which was silver and black.
As Mikkifavo approached them curiously, she saw Reevee’s name on the sword and Mokalu’s on the axe. She closed her eyes as she picked them both up, expecting to feel something from them. When there was nothing, she carried them over to the bed and placed them next to her sword. She finally stood and made her way to the door, but as she was turning the handle, she found that she couldn’t bring herself to open the door. She stood there for a few seconds, not moving at all, then she turned and glared at the sword.
“I can’t even leave you behind?” She demanded of the object angrily. “I am crazy,” she muttered to herself as she returned to grab the sword. “I really wish it was that easy to get rid of you.”
As soon as Mikkifavo had closed the door behind her, she saw Reevee and Mokalu come from around the corner carrying Sabador and Tocx. She gave them a questioning look and opened her mouth to speak, but Reevee beat her.
“Sta paid us a visit,” he stated.
“Yeah, I remember. I sensed her around. She’s the reason I fainted.” She opened the door to the room, but didn’t let Mokalu and Reevee pass. “I see that she came bearing gifts,” she commented as she tapped a bow that had been slung over Tocx’s shoulder.
“They’re not gifts.” Came Luff’s forced voice as she dragged herself along the corridor using the wall as support. Mikkifavo rushed to her side and supported her weight as best she could with the sword clutched in her left hand. Luff had a bow on her shoulder as well, and Mikkifavo ran her fingers along Luff’s name in the white surface. “You noticed it too, right?” Luff mumbled as Mikkifavo pulled her along the hall to the others. Mikkifavo stopped again in front of the door and closed it.
“You don’t want to go in there,” she said as she slid Luff down onto the floor in front of it.
“Why not? We have to-”
“No.” Mikkifavo interrupted Mokalu forcefully. “You don’t want anything that Sta would give to you.”
“But we can use them to fight Xiax.” Mokalu argued.
“But at what cost?” She asked him, helping the boys to put Sabador and Tocx down on either side of Luff. “At the cost of your freedom? I can’t leave my sword behind, and that could be a problem if I drop it somewhere or someone takes it. I’m stuck with it forever.”
“Another… thing…” Luff gasped out. “It makes… you… feel…makes your emotions… stronger.” She stood up by pushing herself against the wall and looked Reevee in the eye, then did the same to Mokalu as she spoke. “Believe me, it feels wrong, and you don’t want your emotions to take over you.” She stumbled and Mikkifavo caught her before she could fall. She pulled Luff back to the floor.
“Stay,”she ordered. Luff nodded and leant against the door.
“So what are we doing, then?” Mokalu asked. Mikkifavo just shrugged.
“I guess we should wait for Sabador and Tocx to wake up,” she suggested. Luff took hold of Sabador’s hand.
“Can they hear us? Were they talking to you?” She asked.
“They might be able to hear us, but I don’t know because they weren’t responding.” Reevee answered her. “Sta must have hit them hard.” Luff shook Sabador lightly then stopped and inspected her head.
“Yeah, she really did hit her hard,” she commented as she rubbed the back of her own head. When she pulled her hand away, it had blood on it. She looked at her hand for a second before speaking again. “Sabador has a bigger bump on her head than mine,”she joked casually as she tried to hide the blood from the others. Mikkifavo knelt down in front of her and looked at her sympathetically.
“How much does it hurt?” She asked worriedly, laying her sword down on the floor. “I wish I could do something for you, but Sabador is unconscious.” As if on cue, Sabador groaned as she woke up. She lifted her head and groaned again, this time covering her mouth with her hand to stifle the sound.
“How quickly do you reckon I can heal myself?” She asked. “I really hope that Sta didn’t knock out any brain cells that I need for healing.” She held her head in her hands and just sat still. After a couple of seconds of sitting like that, she looked up at Mikkifavo. “Mikkifavo, you’re awake,” she stated. She tried to move herself, but stopped moving straight away. “Maybe I should start slow,” she mumbled as she slowly moved her hands up to Luff’s head. She closed her eyes and nothing happened. “Help me?” She sobbed softly. Mikkifavo put her hands on top of Sabador’s and finally the blue glow lit up Luff’s head. Sabador panted a little, and Mikkifavo took Sabador’s hands and placed them on her own head. Mikkifavo held onto her hands as she healed herself and then Tocx. He woke up after his head was healed and rubbed his head.
“Did I get hit in the head?” He asked groggily.
“I guess so.” Mokalu said as he helped Tocx to his feet. Luff stood up too, and Mikkifavo took Luff’s place next to Sabador and in front of the door.
“What are these?” Sabador asked as she removed a pair of blue silky gloves from her jacket pocket. Mikkifavo took them out of her hands and studied them. Embroidered inside them was Sabador’s name. Mikkifavo made a frustrated noise and she threw the gloves back into Sabador’s lap.
“That means that Mokalu and Reevee are the only ones who don’t have a weapon from Sta to worry about.” She said irritably.
“Well we might as well get them then.” Reevee said.
“No!” Luff exclaimed quickly. “Sta was… she was slightly… less evil and more… insane, but… but she told me that these weapons were no gift, and if I ever get the chance, I should get rid of mine. You have the chance to leave those evil things in there.”
“How do you know that they’re not going to help us?” Reevee questioned her.
“Evil?” Tocx asked as he took the bow from his shoulder and ran his hand over the smooth wood. “It looks cool to me.”
“Yeah, it does.” Luff agreed distractedly as she traced her name with her finger.
“These are weapons?” Sabador asked, staring at the gloves in her lap. “What are they supposed to do, suffocate the person I'm fighting?”
“It doesn’t seem like they’re meant to do anything, does it?” Xiax’s deep soothing voice called out to them from the corner. Everyone reacted fearfully. Sabador froze, Mikkifavo grabbed her sword and hastily jumped to her feet, holding her weapon out in front of her. Luff and Tocx both had an arrow strung in their bows and pointing at Xiax. There was nothing Reevee and Mokalu could do but wait for an attack, so they stood ready to defend themselves. Xiax was leaning against the wall casually listening to their conversation and he looked amused at their reaction.
“Ooh, feisty!” Xiax exclaimed playfully as he moved closer to them. “You have weapons, and they’re pointed at me, but would any of you actually have the courage to kill me?”
“I would.” Reevee growled, clenching his fists. Mikkifavo gave Reevee a sideways glance, but instantly turned her attention back to Xiax and any movements he was making.
“This is all crazy, Mikkifavo.” Xiax crooned at her. “It’s all well and good for me to be chasing you all through these worlds and for you to be trying to build up the strength and courage to fight back, but you haven’t even taken a swing with that sword. Isn’t this getting a little pointless? With the exception of your friend Shemiot, none of you really want to kill me at all.”
“You are very much mistaken.” Sabador’s voice rang out with more articulation than usual. She stood and placed the gloves on her hands. “Xiax, you know very well that these children want nothing more than to be rid of you. After all, they are the team who it is said will eventually defeat you. But in saying that, I have to concur that they are just children, and I never knew a child who was completely willing to kill someone.” Mikkifavo put her arm out to stop the possessed, white-eyed Sabador from getting any closer to Xiax. He just smiled at her.
“Mzuah!” He exclaimed loudly. “I knew that wherever Shemiot was, you wouldn’t be far away... But Sabador?” He scoffed. “”I thought you knew better. She is the weakest of this whole team, after all. By the way, this body stealing thing? It is genius. Remind me that next time I destroy anyone powerful, I should do it properly and not leave them to continue on a feud years after they are already dead." He looked thoughtful and turned his attention to Mikkifavo. "That reminds me. Mikkifavo, where is Shemiot this fine day?”
“I’m sorry.” Mikkifavo answered sarcastically. “Shemiot doesn’t do requests. He can’t come out to play today, so I suggest you go home and come back another time.”
“No, Mikkifavo, I think I’ll just have to make you feel weak so he comes out.” Xiax started to pace the width of the small corridor, never taking his eyes off Mikkifavo. “Or we could just talk. As Mzuah said, you are just children and not fighters. You wouldn’t hurt me unless it was in self-defence. We could talk about your mother. I know that she’s a sore spot for you, since you love your family so much.” Mikkifavo just stared at him blankly. “No, that topic has been overdone, hasn’t it? I thought I’d just address the statement that Mzuah made about children not being willing to kill. In my own experience with children, I have found that under the influence of my darkness, children seem to be very willing to do anything I ask of them. You yourself seem to struggle not to do what I want you to, even if I accidentally shoved Shemiot’s spirit into your body. Speaking of that experience of yours, Mikkifavo, even though it hurt, it made you feel stronger, didn’t it? Some of the children that I recruit decide to do what I ask just because of my presence, but some of the more special ones require that little push and so have the treatment I gave to you. Wouldn’t it hurt you less just to follow me, Mikkifavo? Most of the ones who get what you got obey me just to stop the pain.” Mikkifavo gripped her sword tightly as she remembered all of the naïve kids she had met who would now be under Xiax’s control. She stood shuddering with rage at his words. “See? You want to fight, Mikkifavo. You’re angry. Of course, you want to fight for the wrong side, but we can change that in time.” Mikkifavo tried to control her breathing and relaxed her grip on the sword, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her. “You know…” Xiax laughed. “Some of the kids I… take under my wing… they’re like you, and I underestimate the good inside of them. They struggle so much with the evil that they kill themselves. You should really let me finish before you get suicidal.”
“Shemiot is different.” Mikkifavo stated, swaying as she tried to keep control of herself. “And I can control it.”
“I’m sure you can.” Xiax said patronisingly. “But can you control your team? I think two of them just escaped,” he said happily. “So much for loyalty.” Mikkifavo lost control for a moment and turned towards the door.
‘I told you not to touch those!’ She yelled out to them in their minds.
‘Yeah, that was before Xiax came to torture you.’ Reevee replied as he and Mokalu came out of the room with their weapons.
“Oh. You’ve got a shiny piece of metal too, do you?” Mikkifavo spun around and found that Xiax was standing right in front of her. She stepped backwards and knocked Sabador to the floor.
‘Sorry,’ she told her, still watching Xiax closely with her sword in front of her defensively.
“You two are both so alike.” Xiax taunted. “Both with swords, both trying to lead this little group and you’re both stubborn. Maybe you should get married.” He grinned. “Maybe I should give him some of the same type of darkness that I put in you, see how alike you really are.” Mikkifavo suddenly swung her sword heavily at Xiax, but he had already unsheathed his own sword and blocked her blow. “Come on.” He teased. “Why not let Shemiot out? He is stronger, after all.”
“No.” Mikkifavo leant her weight on her sword to push Xiax backwards, but he was already pushing back. Mikkifavo pulled back and waited for Xiax to swing at her. Nobody else moved, they just watched the two fight silently.
“Come on. You know you’re going to lose.” Xiax said. Mikkifavo had to duck under a swing of his sword and moved back as Xiax advanced. Mikkifavo charged with the point of her sword and when Xiax dodged, she swung at his back. Xiax’s sword was there to meet it as he turned to face her. Mikkifavo waited for him to strike back, but he just smiled and glanced over at the others. “Hey, now you’re not in between your team and me.”
“Move!” Mikkifavo yelled.
“They seem to be frozen in place.” Xiax observed. “What do you think could cause that?”
“No, you couldn’t… how would you… there’s no way…”
“Finish a sentence, Mikkifavo. I can do whatever I want, you should know that by now.” Mikkifavo looked helplessly at the others as Xiax moved closer to her. Tocx’s bowstring pulled back, and an arrow fired down at Xiax’s leg. “Ow.” Xiax said simply. He pulled the miniature arrow from his leg. It hadn’t even made him bleed more than a little spot. He dropped the arrow on the floor. “Well, that was pretty useless, wasn’t…” Xiax fell onto one knee and held onto his leg, wincing from the pain. He touched the arrow that he had dropped on the floor and growled deep in his throat. He stood up to face Mikkifavo. “You didn’t win,” he told her as he sheathed his sword and took off down the corridor, limping slightly. Mikkifavo watched tensely until he was out of sight then relaxed her whole body. She let go of her sword and it clattered to the floor, but she couldn’t make any other movement. She stood still staring at the corner she had seen Xiax go around.