I'm back-this time with something completely different. I've learnt my lessons from posting my DOA fic over here, and while I still plan on continuing it, I won't be putting as much time into it. So, I thought up of some half-baked SC fic to start on instead. Enjoy;)

The Purification of Eiserne Drossel

CHPTR 1: Fragmented Memories

Western Europe, late fifteenth century....

In a deep autumn forest, far from any road, a solitary figure wanders aimlessly through the woods. Her soft, young features were hidden beneath a dark brown cloak. The one thing standing out on her, was a large, shiny blade, shaped like a perfect ring. It hung loosely around her left shoulder, occasionally gleaming from the few rays of sunlight that penetrated the orange autumn leaves. Although she appeared to have no idea where she was headed, or even what she was doing, deep down she had a purpose. She her destination was Athens, and her goal was simply to put her guilt aside.

Her wrong doing at Athens made her reflect on her life up to this point. She didn't even know her real parents, she slaughtered one family that took her in when she was young. And then there was her 'other' family. The Azure Knight, known by some a Nightmare. The very will and embodyment of the evil sword, Soul Edge. During her time with him, she had mercilessly slain enough people-warriors and innocents alike, to put her in hell a hundred times over. At the time, she saw him as being her one true family. But looking back on it now, she saw it for what it truly was. Mindless servitude. She was a useful tool, one that would have eventually been sacrificed to feed Soul Edge, and at the time, she would've been happy to embrace this destiny. Athens always struck as particully unpleasant memory. During her time serving Soul Edge, she implanted fragments of Soul Edge into two children of a female warrior who battled Soul Edge in the past. This led her to have the occasional run-in with that warrior, although none of them were ever decisive. That woman, Sophitia, and her sister who also took up the sword for the sake of her sister, hated her bitterly for what she'd done Sophitia's children. The hatred wasn't unjustified.

Though the memories of her 'deeds' whilst serving the Azure knight were as clear as glass, the memories in the Lost Cathedral, leading up to her freedom, were not so. She remembered Nightmare fighting against a mysterious man in a white rob, before Sophitia interrupted the fight at a crucial moment, slaying them both. She remembered Sophitia standing infront of Soul Edge, poised to deliver a final, shattering blow, then she saw her fight against the sword's former puppet, Siegfried Schtauffen. She remembered there being an emormous explosion from the clash of their blades, and finally, waking up in a forest, with the veil of her madness lifted, along with the guilt of all the evil she had committed.

And so from that point onwards, Tira has walked alone. She wasn't certain if the events at the Lost Cathedral led to Soul Edge's demise, nor did she really care. Her only goal now, was to see that Sophitia's children were safe. Aside from stopping at a settlement to steal food and coin, she kept to the wilderness, far away from any main roads. Tira suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her violet eyes scanned the trees and bushes around her, as she gripped the handle of Eiserne Drossel a bit tighter. Someone was watching her. Suddenly, to her right, something jumped out at her. With a battle cry, the figure had aimed her sword directly at Tira's heart. In a single motion, she spun out of the way, and removed her travelling robe, revealing a bright orange outfit. Similar to something a jester might wear, except her outfit revealed her arms, abdomen, knees, and a small amound of her chest and thighs. She wore lightweight gauntlets and greaves coloured in a dark iron tint. Her hair, once green, had grown in length, and took on a dark ebony tone. She now wore it in double ponytails. Tira turned around to get a look at her attacker.

"It's you!" She gasped.

Her opponent was definitely female, dressed in a blue and white sleaveless tunic, exposing her pink high brief panties. She wore white boots which stopped at her thighs, and matching gloves that almost reached her shoulders. Silver ornate shoulder pads were the only pieces of solid armour she wore. She had short blonde hair, tied up with a neat blue ribbon. The thing that stood out the most, were her choice of weapons. She wielded a sword and shield, quite similar to Sophitia's weapons. The only difference was this woman's shield was red and oval shaped, yet it bore the same omega mark.

Tira stood there gawking at Cassandra, the younger sister of Sophitia. This wasn't the first time Tira had encountered her, yet the change her attire had thrown Tira off balance. Several emotions ran through her. Admiration for the sight infront of her, jealousy for not having such a well sculpted body herself, and something else she just couldn't put her finger on. Yet those feelings were nipped at the bud when she saw the vengeful intent in Cassandra's emerald eyes.

"Why are you following me?" Tira asked in a futile attempt to feign ignorance.

"You have to ask? I'm here to make you answer for the suffering you've put my sister through!" Cassandra responded angrily.

"And her children." She added.

"Ah yes..... Patroklos and Pyhrria...... how are they by way?" Tira asked innocently.

Cassandra took her question as a form of mockery, and immediately charged at Tira. Reacting quickly, Tira swung Eiserne Drossel out in front of her to intercept the first few attacks from Cassandra. Seeing an opening, Tira lunged her weapon at Cassandra, only to be intercepted by her Nemea Shield. Tira ducked under a downward thrust of cassandra's weapon, and spun around behind her. Tira had a perfect opening to slice Cassandra across her back and quickly finish the fight-and her life. However, she was no longer THAT Tira. Instead, she completed her spin move with a back heel to Cassandra's back, knocking her off her feet. Tira took a defensive stance, as Cassandra pulled herself off the ground.

"No really, are they safe?" Tira asked.

"Grrr. This is all just one sick game to you, isn't it?! It always has been!" Cassandra growled.

Tira bowed her head at that remark, knowing that she was referring to her old attitude.

"No. Not anymore, it's not. Not since the Lost Cathedral." She said quietly.

"And besides, you were the one who ambushed me, so I guess the proverbial ball is in your court here." Tira smiled, looking back at Cassandra.

Now, there was a slight look of confusion on Cassandra's face, yet not enough to deterr her from charging at Tira again. Once again, Eiserne Drossel met the first few blows from Cassandra's sword, and until she spun around, attempting to sweep her sword at Tira's legs. In response, Tira barrel rolled to Cassandra's shield arm, forcing her to bring her sword over Tira's head. She easily deflected this, before bringing Eiserne Drossel around Cassandra. She quickly lowered it to her feet, before before flicking it lightly backwards, causing Cassandra to fall face first on the soft grass. She pounded against the ground in frustration, before looking up at Tira, who had lowered her weapon.

"You've gotten sloppy, Cassandra. If I wanted to, I could've killed you twice." She boasted.

"ARRGH! Quit mocking me and fight!" Cassandra cried out.

Instead, Tira chucked Eiserne Drossel aside.

"No, I don't wanna do that. What I want is for you to calm down."

Cassandra, now completely baffled by Tira's behaviour, quickly rose to her feet, and pointed her sword directly at Tira's neck.

"Just what are you playing at?!" Cassandra questioned.

"I know you won't believe me, but this isn't some clever ploy to get you to drop your guard. This is real." Tira explained.

Cassandra slowly lowered her sword from Tira's neck, yet kept a firm grip on it.

"OK then, I'm listening"

"I'm not sure if I even understand it myself, but I think that whatever happened at the Lost Cathedral, broke Soul Edge's control over my mind." Tira started.

"The lost Cathedral...." Cassandra trailed off.

"Wait?! You were there too? I don't remember much of what happened. Could you tell me what you saw?" Tira asked impatiently.

"Well, I caught up with Sophitia before she went in that place. I tried to convince her to come back, but she warned me to back off. The look I remember her giving me..... I'm not sure what she would have done if I stood my ground. So I let her go. Then, there was the explosion. When I rushed back, there was no sign of the Cathedral-or Sophitia. I've been looking for her since then."

"You were there too. What happened to her?" Cassandra asked, narrowing her eyes at Tira.

"I didn't fight her, if that's what you mean. Nightmare instructed me to leave her alone. But I did see her. She interviened in a fight between Nightmare and his opponent, and killed them both. I remember her standing over Soul Edge, and.......that's pretty much it."

Tira decided not to tell Cassandra about seeing Sophitia's fight with Siegfried, since she couldn't make sense of it herself.

"Then it sounds like...... NO! I refuse to accept that. I won't give up searching until I find her or her body!" Cassandra boldly declared, gripping her sword even tighter.

Tira gazed sadly at Cassandra. By both of their accounts, it seemed like Sophitia made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy Soul Edge, yet her love for her sister prevented her from accepting the possibility, that she was dead. Tira could see such and attitude eventually lead to madness, but when she saw the hope that glimmered in Cassandra's eyes, she couldn't bring herself to burst that bubble.

"Well, good luck with your journey." Tira said, as she picked up Eiserne Drossel before attempting to leave on her lonely journey.

"You're going to Athens, aren't you?" Cassandra questioned.

Tira stopped in her tracks, as she felt Cassandra's glare penetrate her soul.

"What?"

"You asked about the children in our fight. You're planning on paying them a visit." Cassandra coldly claimed.

"There's something I must know about them, so yes, I will be stopping by on my journey." Tira explained.

"Then in that case, I'm coming with you."

"You still don't trust me, do you?"

"It goes without saying."

"Good, coz this way, I can prove to you that I have changed." Tira smiled.

And with that, both Tira and Cassandra set off through the wilderness. Now Tira's quest had that much more purpose to it. The chance to redeem herself in someone elses eyes held much more weight than simply washing away her own guilt.....

Writer's notes: And......done. My first attempt at an SC fic. Surprisingly, this chapter fell into place quite easily, including the fight scenes. My reason for having Tira as my main character, is because there are very few fanfics(if any) that portray Tira as something other than a split personality psychopath. So I wanted to try something different. And if this is about redemption, who better than Cassandra as the supporting role, since Tira did more harm to the Alexandra family than anyone else, and it was Cassandra that took the most offense to this. Also, since this is an alternative version to SCIV, you just know that it's not gonna be a picnic walk. So get set for action, excitement, and MOAR GEARS OF WAR!!!!!! MOAR HALO!!!!!!! (OK, lies on those last two :P)

Next Chapter: The girls come across the sight of a massacre, and one not commited by Soul Edge.....

Soul Calibur and all affliated characters are owned by Namco.