Earth and Shadow (read desc)

Cat Girl

She smirked.
"Unless you have a problem fighting a girl."
"Not at all," Nightmare said. He swung at her, but as he swung she jumped up and landed on his scythe. Before he could slice at her again she nipped him on the arm with the edge of her sword, cutting him. He growled and smacked her away with a wing. She flipped midair and landed gently on her two feet. When she saw the cut on his arm she grinned and sheathed her sword.
"My jobs done. Eh, good luck, I hope you make it."
"What are you talking about? Fight me if you're going to!"
Her cool demeanor, the smug look on her face like she'd already won, gave me a sinking feeling in my gut. I had no doubt she had poisoned her blade or used some other low trick in that brief clash.
"No, it wouldn't be fair otherwise. Welp, safe travels you bunch of idiots."
As she walked away the blade of her sword flashed in the sparse sunlight. Faint symbols, etched into the steel, were visible for a split second. I narrowed my eyes and made sure to keep note of them, in case they came in handy later.
And like that, she left.
"I hate cat faunae," Nightmare mumbled, "They are always odd. And they almost always go into the assasin or thieving business."
"So what was she? She looked more like a guard then anything."
"I have no idea. I think whoever owns this mansion hired her as a second hand fighter or something. Either wa-" He froze.
"Well fvck. That sword was enchanted." He whispered.
"What's wrong?"
He touched his cut, looking at the blood on his finger.
"She applied some kind of poison to her weapon I think. And since it was enchanted it made it stronger. We have to hurry before it kicks in."
"Alright...," I said, "Will you be okay?"
He hesitated.
"I don't know, but I have a good feeling that it's going to be painful or knock me out. I don't wa-" He cried out and clutched his wound. Instantly worry clenched my gut. Before I could say or do anything, however, Nightmare stammered out,
"Y-yup let's go."
He walked out the door quickly, holding his scythe in one hand and his crystal in the other. I wanted to help him, but I trusted his judgement. If the poison was going to overwhelm him, it should be in a place where he was away from danger. Against MY better judgement, I followed.
We made it mostly unscathed through the mansion, but we were slowed down by Nightmares pain. It seemed every few minutes he winced, or bit his lip, or clenched his fists. Anything to keep himself from crying out. The pain seemed to attack him in-between less and less intervals. Finally, we turned around a corner, only to be face to face with a retinue of guards. And what do you know, Diana was with them.
"Freeze!", the guards shouted.
She smirked and waved at us sweetly before running off again.
"That little," Nightmare got his scythe ready.
"Don't you're in no condition to fight. I can handle them, I'm not as bad as the last time you fought me."
"Don't be stupid, I'm fine. They'll-" He leaned against a wall and shut his eyes as another wave of pain racked him.
"Ok..." He relented, "Maybe you're right. But I still don't want you rushing into danger." His stubbornness showed no bounds.
"I'll be fine, I grew up in a place where winning was mandatory. This should be a piece of cake."
Nightmare nodded, reluctance clear on his face. While we were talking the group of guards rushed us, seeking to gain hold of the battle. I summoned my katana and ran towards them in a single bound. One guard swung at me, their large thick blade whizzing towards my head. I ducked down, sliding across the cool smooth floor, and swung my blade upward. The edge cut through their bones and flesh with surprising ease, slicing them in half.
Both halves hit the floor with a sickening thud. The guards faltered, filled with revulsion and fear at the bloody sight, but after a moment of brief hesitation they forged onwards.
I jumped behind one, stabbing him in the back. I ripped out my sword and swung it around, blood flowing in a arc, and chopped off another guards head. The last two guards backed off, knowing they would be doomed if they continued fighting. Desperately, they put up their weapons, choosing to defend rather then attack.
I smirked, crouching down.
"Offence or defense, you're still going to die."
I held my sword tightly, and ran towards them. They tried swinging at me, but it was useless. I dodged every hit and by the time I was finished, they were dead. I wiped my blade on some cloth, ridding it of blood. As I looked up I saw Diana leaning against a wall, a lollipop stick poking between her lips, watching the whole thing.
"Damn, you've got some skills. However I've seen people like you before. Are you confident enough to fight me, or shall I go on my way?"
"D-Don't fight her," Nightmare said weakly, but I ignored him.
"So you're that cat bitch huh? I'm not letting you get away that easily Diana."
She smirked.
"Awww you remember my name, that's adorable. But you can't beat me, you must know that. If you're little dickhead can't, and he's more powerful, how can you?"
"Besides," She continued, "Your teammates basically dead anyways. Don't know why you're acting all high and mighty."
"Because that little poison you have on your sword doesn't affect me at all, and he's not that I know that for a fact."
I glanced back at him, checking how he was doing, only to see he was sitting on the ground, his back against a wall. His skin looked pale, shiny from a layer of sweat coating it. He looked so weak, I doubted he could move very much anymore. His skin was see through in some places, as if he were a ghost.
"Y-yeah b-bitch, I can't d-die," He said. From how he looked it wasn't convincing at all.
"Well I guess it sucks to be you, 'cause that poison doesn't wear off. Actually, I should probably clarify, it's not poison. It's my weapons power, see?" She unsheathed her blade, clear in the light. Nightmares eyes widened as he beheld the symbols.
"H-how did y-you g-get that..?"
"Easy, it was given to me. How'd you get that scythe?"
Nightmare growled, "R-R-Rain... Y-You don't w-want t-to fight her." he warned.
I narrowed my eyes at Diana, wanting nothing more then to cut her to pieces, but I looked into Nightmare's eyes and saw he meant it. Something will go horribly wrong if I attack her one on one.
"Fine, I won't..."
Diana smirked, studying Nightmare carefully.
"Hm you look like that old legend thingy, with the dark reaper. And your magic feels like him. So I guess It's lucky I took you out. I mean, better then the Queen finding you and doing it herself. If she caught you alive, well... You wouldn't be let's just say. I do my history so I know what your weapon can do."
"Ha, now that I think about it," She continued, "I guess I get bragging rights since I took out one of the worlds most physcopathic killers."
"I-I s-swear to god I'll d-destroy you Faunae. Y-y-you d-didn't beat m-me in h-honest battle," Nightmare said, gritting his teeth from both pain and frustraiton.
"This isn't the olden days grandpa. The point is I beat you with a single hit. And besides, Kluvonik isn't the type of weapon to go head on in a fight. You should know that. Also, by your familiarity of my weapon, you must have met it before. What's wrong, did someone ELSE give you a scratch and beat you instantly?"
I squeezed my fists so hard I feared I would break my hilt. I wanted to annihilate her. And obviously Nightmare felt the same.
"T-t-thats it," he said, attempting to stand up. But before he rose halfway he screamed in pain, the poison or whatever it was attacking him with renewed force. He fell again, a bit shaky, hatred for this cat bitch plain in his eyes.
Diana smirked and casually leaned on her sword, satisfied by the anger she has caused. After a moment of watching Nightmare go through his pain, she said almost bored,
"Eh, so, the only reason I'm still here watching you suffer is because I'm starting to become quite curious. How is someone like you still alive? Is it your scythe?"
When Nightmare didn't anwser, glaring at her, she continued.
"Hmm nooo... You're see through. You're technically dead. Oh! I know! Your souls alive, which meaaaaans..." She looked at me, excitement about a new challenge in her eyes. I gritted my teeth, holding my katana in front of me.
"Welp, that's cool," She said, "Hey grandpa want me to put you out of your misery? I think I see how this thing is working now."
"I-I-I w-will k-kill you o-once I get o-over this t-t-thing.." He coughed.
"Yeah you're going to go into your little crystal thingy once you die, probably come out good as new. I'm just trying to help you out, that's all." She smiled slyly.
"Y-y-yeah r-right."
Nightmares scythe glowed slightly more, and the symbols vanished. He weakly moved his scythe up to his lips, and whispered to the blade. Diana's eyes widened.
"Shit- Don't you da-"
Before she could even finish Raven appeared. He looked at Diana cooly, almost coldly. As soon as Raven appeared Nightmare gasped and passed out, his scythe clattering to the floor. Raven looked at Nightmare, then at me, then drifted his gaze over to Diana, who was now a lot more cautious.
"I think I see the situation. You, get out of the way so we may pass," he said, pointing to Diana.
"Oh great," she complained, "I'm fighting a freaking weapon. What next? No dark dude I'm not moving aside."
Raven looked at me, "Do you wish to fight her?"
"Yep!," I said, feeling a excitement to cause her harm well up inside of me. I have to thank Nightmare for letting Raven out, this was going to make things interesting.
"Then let's fight," He said, "She can over power us both on our own, but if we work together we might be able to attack her." He went over to Nightmare, and picked up the scythe which was his home. He looked down almost sadly at Nightmare, pity showing on his face. Or was it grief? It was impossible to tell considering he was made of shadows.
"Rest easy, and come back soon when you're gone." He moved back over to my side. I stared at him, starting to wonder exactly what he WAS. He seemed to have emotions, and no emotions, at the same time.
I turned back to the fight. Diana was studying us both cautiously, trying to figure out our weaknesses I suppose. I didn't wait for her. Magic ran up my blade and the tip was soon coated in red and black. I held it, prepared for either attack or defense depending on what the battle decided.
Then she charge, quicker then I expected, and slashed downwards at me. I held my katana up, the blade pointing downward like Nightmare once taught me with a spear, and her attack got deflected into the ground. Almost simultaneously Raven cut at Diana with Nightmares scythe, slicing at her side, but she rolled out of the way just before it struck.
She countered with another slash towards Raven's throat, but the blade went right through him as if he were non existent.
"What the hell are you!?" she exclaimed in frustration. Instead of answering he attacked her again, but she backed away just in time, growling in annoyance.
She spun around and shouted, "GUARDS!" before throwing a smoke bomb in our faces and bolting.
"She does not seem friendly," Raven noted.
"No kidding," I agreed.
Raven went to Nightmare.
"He's going to go into the crystal again very soon as his body recovers. And when he leaves I will leave soon after. We must hurry."
He looked to me, "Can you make a portal?"
I nodded. NOW he seemed almost like a real person, although he talked in a weird robotic manner.
"Yeah."
"Then do so quickly, dear Rain. I will hold off the guards but as I said, I don't have much life force until I go back into the scythe. I used most of it in my dragon form."
"That was you?? Nevermind that." I hastened to create the portal, going as quickly as I could without making a mistake. Raven swung the scythe around and faced the hallway, ready in case someone were to attack us.
"Yes. I can appear in any form Nightmare desires, but quite often I appear as humanoid so as to make it easier for other humanoids to understand me."
"That's cool," I admitted. A large group of guards came thundering down the hallway. Without hesitation Raven fought them. He never broke stride, never tired, and he always, ALWAYS, used fatal blows. His tone and expression didn't change much, remaining emotionless, unempathetic or even so much as giving a flinch to where he would strike next. A small shiver ran down my spine, and I was suddenly glad I didn't have to fight him. He was... Unnatural... To say the least.
"Take this," he said, suddenly thrusting upon me Nightmares scythe.
"Alright..." I said hesitantly, taking the scythe gently in my palms. I was well aware after the Blaise fiasco how dangerous this thing could be. But nothing seemed to happen.
I hoped Nightmare didn't mind Raven giving me his stuff.
"Keep me and Nightmare safe into we return, until then, have a good day Rain." He bowed to me then disappeared. Nightmare was already gone, just a few lazy shadows curling on the ground. The crystal was glowing, so I assumed he had died and gone back into it.
I sighed and went through the portal, shutting it behind me. I sat down on a log in the middle of the forest and sighed.
"That was... Wow."
But little did I know that the day wasn't quite over.