7Title: Desolation
Author: Alicia "Kamitose" Guy
Summary: Two sisters, one clings to the light, the other descends into darkness.
Rating: T, for strong language, violence and disturbing themes.
Disclaimer: None of the characters in this piece of fiction belong to me. They belong to Namco.
Distribution: As long as I am credited, and as long as you ask (and let me know once it's posted) then I don't care where it's distributed. BUT you have to ask.
Author's Note: This is my third ever Soul Calibur fanfiction.
She had succeeded. She bled from many wounds, a sharp pain in her gut where she had been stabbed with Soul Edge reminding her she was still alive, but by the gods... she had succeeded.
With Algol lying prone before her and the two swords scattered beyond his grasp, Cassandra had wasted no time in grabbing the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, off the ground and driving it into the eye of Soul Edge. The sword cracked and made sharp cries of pain. A sentient being, and now it suffered for all the ruination, all the desolation it had caused over the years.
Cassandra felt no remorse for what she had done to get to here. Lives had been lost, surely, but it was to be expected. She had saved her sister and was now destroying the swords, that was all that had mattered to her.
Soul Calibur began to shine brightly, its holy energies reaching out to create a catastrophic Utopian landscape. With a cry of desperation, Cassandra used all of her strength to shatter the crystalline sword and send the shards flying across the floor.
She collapsed then, from exhaustion and significant amounts of blood loss. A smile softly crossing her lips as she spoke "Let's go home, Sophitia..." Her words trailing off as she slipped out of conscious.
And as she slept, neither sister realized a fragment of Soul Edge was missing from the sword, a fragment that lie dormant in Cassandra's body, waiting...
It had been a month since the swords were decimated and Cassandra and Sophitia had returned home to Athens. Sophitia was reunited with her family, though she never truly seemed the same. Her reluctant servitude to Soul Edge had changed her. Her smile wasn't nearly as wide as it had once been. She was grateful, yes, positively grateful to her sister for saving her and Pyrrha... but she could not wash away the sins she had committed. She warred with herself over it every day and Cassandra tried so hard to help but what could she do? Sophitia knew she could never truly understand.
But what had concerned Sophitia more than her own personal demons was her sister. Cassandra's injuries were grave and she should have been dead. And yet she was able to walk about and play with her niece and nephew, work in the bakery, and smile. There was something disconcerting about her though, that had disturbed Sophitia greatly. There was something off about her sister. It was something about the way her eyes looked. The sun could have illuminated her entire face and yet deep shadows would remain around her eyes, casting them in darkness. Smudged and purplish gray, the skin under her eyes made her appear to have many sleepless nights. Yet Cassandra never complained.
The days went on and Sophitia had noticed more and more that Cassandra was looking paler and more sickly, and still the shadows grew. She knew that she would have to send for the physician soon if this had kept up. Cassandra would not readily admit to anything being wrong but they both knew something was not right. Cassandra began to stay inside more often than not, her excuses always half-hearted as she crawled into bed and hid away from the noon-day sun; citing stomach pains as her reasoning. Truth was, it was exactly that, for as she slept, the soul shard feasted upon her light and innocence. And slowly, slowly but surely, began attaching its hideous tendrils to her insides.
Winter had eventually encroached upon the city and Sophitia's concern for her sister deepened. Cassandra barely left her room anymore, choosing instead to stay in bed, bundled up tightly, locked away from the outside world. Sophitia had taken up her old room beside Cassandra's at her parent's home to watch over her ailing sister. Sometimes in the middle of the night she would hear shuffling around. Occasionally something would get knocked over and Sophitia would rush in to find her sister wandering aimlessly, almost frantically about her room. Other times she would hear her sister crying out in pain, incoherent ramblings and sobbing emanating from the thin wall that separated them. And Sophitia grew scared.
She had sought the aid of physicians but they could not figure out for the life of them what was wrong with Cassandra. She grew angry at their lack of answers and sent them off. After discussing the matter with her parents, Sophitia decided to bring Cassandra home with her, she could better watch over her there. She felt responsible for what ailed her sister, if it had not been for her, Cassandra never would have suffered this.
One night, upon bringing in a bowl of hot kotosoupa, Sophitia came in to find Cassandra sitting on her window sill. "They shine so very bright..." She started, staring at the stars that danced across the night sky. "...sometimes, they hurt my eyes." Cassandra looked down for a moment before turning her eyes to her sister. They were sad, the colors in her eyes had grown terribly dark, slight red flecks danced across otherwise dead colors. "That's not normal is it?"
Sophitia put down the soup on the bedside table and walked over to her frail sister, wrapping her arms around her, hushing her precious little sister. She felt so cold. "It will be alright, Cassandra. Don't worry, we'll figure something out." Sophitia said, trying so desperately to convince herself, she failed at convincing either of them.
"You're lying..." Cassandra said softly as she leaned her head against her sister's shoulder. The two of them sat there in silence, looking at the harsh burning stars until Cassandra finally drifted off to sleep.
With the passing of winter, Cassandra had started to seem better. She was out and about again, not as much as she used to be, but it was a nice change of pace to see her in the sunlight. The circles under Sophitia's sleep deprived eyes began to melt away with the winter snow as she watched Cassandra once more playing with Pyrrha and Patroklos in the sun. Her relief, she found, was short lived, for the paleness and darkness had not left her sister. She still felt cold to the touch and the shadows still encompassed her once shining eyes. Cassandra was hiding something from Sophitia and she knew it. Even as the days grew hotter, Cassandra insisted on keeping herself covered up. She would protest any time that Sophitia would offer to get her some more weather appropriate clothing.
One day, as the summer approached, Cassandra stood in her room observing the strange marks that had grown along her arms and legs, all radiating from the nasty scar on her stomach where she had been stabbed by Soul Edge. The marks resembled dark crimson veins upon her skin. They ached with an angry fury and Cassandra grew scared. She was too concerned over her transformation that she had not noticed her sister standing in the doorway, petrified at what had become of her.
"Cassandra!" Sophitia yelled running over to her sister. Cassandra's reddening eyes had met with Sophitia's blue ones in alarm.
"I don't know what's happening! They've crept over my arms and legs for the last few weeks... this is the worst I've seen them. I don't know what to do..." Cassandra wept to her sister. "Please, help me Sophitia!"
But Sophitia knew not what to do. Her sister was desperately clinging to her, afraid to let go, and all she could do was stare at the hideous veining branches that had crept over her arms, that pulsed strangely with a dark energy. Making up her mind, Sophitia looked to her sister. "I'm seeking out the holy stones." She started. "They may be able to help."
Cassandra nodded slightly and let go of her sister, her hands trembling with fear. She wrapped her arms around herself as Sophitia gave her a kiss on the forehead and then left to fetch her sword and shield. She would have to act swiftly if she had wanted to save her sister.
Sophitia returned a month and a half later, holy stones filling a satchel at her hip. She had entered her home but found an unsettling silence greeting her. Desperately she called out to her family only to be met with a heavy silence that permeated the air. She gripped her sword tightly and ran through the rooms of her home, searching for anyone. Her home lay in disarray, furniture overturned, smatterings of blood on the walls; but it was the silence above all else that worried her so.
A cold, cruel laugh finally cut through the silent night air as Sophitia reached her children's room. Fear and apprehension gripped tightly to her heart as she gripped her sword even tighter. Holding her shield up to protect her, she walked inside the dark room. The smell of blood was overwhelming as she lost her footing, tripping over something- a body...
Rothion...
Bile rose in the back of her throat. Her beloved husband lie dead at her feet, slash marks all across his body, deep, bloodied lacerations decorating his flesh. She held back a strangled cry as she knelt beside him, forgetting momentarily the laugh she heard earlier. He was dead, the life long since gone from him.
Sophitia looked up, sensing another presence in the room. She was greeted by two glowing red eyes, a sword faintly outlined in the pale moonlight. "I see you've returned, dearest sister." The voice taunted as the figure stepped into the light. Sophitia gasped as silvery blond hair came into view followed by her sister's face, still heavily cast into shadow, twisted and sinister now and framed by pulsating crimson veins. She smiled at her sister, bloodied lips and sharpened teeth glistening. "I think you may be a tad late, though." Her voice was unnatural, like it was two voices speaking at once... Cassandra's and another more sinister voice, Sophitia noticed with great sadness.
Cassandra raised her sword and shield. "I suppose you lucked out... the children didn't have to watch their father die..." She said playfully as she approached her older sister. "I killed them first. Their souls were delicious, so light and innocent." As she neared Sophitia noticed the living eye on Cassandra's shield. Her weapons had been taken by Soul Edge... and somehow so had Cassandra.
Sophitia raised her sword to Cassandra. "By Hephaestus, I will not allow you to hurt anyone else." Sophitia said, her word steady, determined, focused. She had lost everything to this sword and now it dared mock her in her sister's body. She would see it's final end.
"By Hephaestus? Listen to you, still clinging to your impotent gods. This would never have happened if it weren't for Hephaestus. Silly child... you rely too much on your deities." She finally stopped in front of Sophitia, sword pointed at her face. "I will enjoy killing you greatly." She said licking her lips.
Sophitia stood, watching as Cassandra's blade raised with her, and met her dark sister's sword with her own. "Don't make me kill you, Cassandra!" Sophitia pleaded with the apparition in front of her. A cruel laugh cut her off.
"You failed to completely destroy me the first time and you have failed ever since. You can't even properly defend me, how could you ever hope to defeat me? I have slowly driven you to madness through your sister, and now I will devour your soul. Come now, I will show you true darkness."
Anger and hatred stirred in Sophitia's heart. She would not allow her sister to become like the Azure Knight... no, it stopped here and now. She swung her sword at Cassandra, slashing deep into her leg. "I am sorry, Cassandra!" She cried as she continued to barrage her sister with blow after blow. Cassandra had barely any time to react until finally she delivered a strong blow to her sister's temple, with the pommel of her darkly infected blade.
"Stupid girl. You cannot possibly win against the darkness. I have broken you, I have won!" The voice boomed. "What have you left to fight for? I have taken everything away!"
"I have the memories!" Sophitia yelled as she reached into her satchel and drove a sharp shard of holy stone into the corrupted Cassandra's heart. Cassandra's eyes grew wide in shock as blood sputtered out of her mouth. Her facial features softened a touch as she looked her sister in the eyes.
"Sophitia..." Her voice was normal again. "It's alright..." She grabbed her sisters hands which already gripped tight to the shard, and pushed the shard in further. "it's better this way. You tried... I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to fight it..." She said through clenched teeth as she rolled her eyes back.
"Cassandra!" Sophitia cried, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "Cassandra, no, come back!" But the body before her fell limp. The veins and darkness retracted and she was once more her younger sister. Sophitia's shoulders heaved as the tears continued to stream down her face. "Cassandra... why did you try to save me? Why did you go after the sword?" She sobbed into her sister's chest. "I failed you... I've failed everyone."
Sophitia then looked to the cursed weapons before her. Raising her own sword she looked to the eye that peered at her from the shield. "I will see you in Hades!" She yelled to the unholy aberration as she drove the sword down into the eye, just as her sister had done months ago.
She stood now, covered in the blood of loved ones. She walked over to the window sill and looked out at the pale moon and stars, recalling what her sister had said all that time ago... sometimes, they hurt my eyes... And she realized, as she watched them dance, all happiness and light, that they hurt her eyes as well... they were too bright. They were just too damn bright.
A/N: Forgive me, that was just a steaming pile of dark!fic there. I have been wanting to do this for awhile now and was finally inspired to write it by these two pictures by xuexueyuehua at deviantart (the evil sisters pic I pictured cassandra to look like she does in the evil sisters pic and the evil cassandra pic). The way evil Cassandra looks there is exactly what I was picturing. So yeah, just a quick little evil fic while I work on finishing Chapter 11 of Pitfalls.