Cim's Note: I do not own any of the characters or weapons used in the following story, nor the universe in which the actions take place. They are all the property of Namco.

Also note, I've been reading through the document several times now and checked it with several spelling-machines, and so I hope the mistakes are very few.

The main idea behind this fanfic was originally to create an alternative version of Raphael's journey in Soul Calibur III, including Amy as a vital part of the quest, as she follows after him and eventually joins another group of adventures. Enjoy!

He just sat there. Silent, in deep thoughts, sitting uncomfortable in his chair with closed eyes and his right arm supporting his forehead. To be true, he was so far away in his thoughts, some would say he was actually sleeping. And indeed, he was dreaming. Having a nightmare about the knight...

Raphael stepped aside again, avoiding the slashing blade from the Azure colored being before him, and twirled his rapier, Flambert, a couple of times before making his own attempt. A stab from his sharp blade, that was brutally blocked by his opponent retrieving the large, red blade that he wielded. Swinging the blade towards Rahael once more, forcing him to jump and back away from the insane and wild attacks that know fell quickly and harshly on him, the Azure Knight in front of him send out a silent, hoarse giggle. The cruel and bloodshot eyes inside the large helmet stared at the Frenchman, as the red blade carved through the air and hit it's target with success, leaving a wound in Raphael's right arm. Luckily not his sword-arm. But Raphael was too focused on getting his hands on the very sword he was avoiding and blocking, to even care about his own blood being spilt as he moved and failed his attacks. But in a corner of his mind, he knew what was waiting. He had received far too many wounds, lost too much of his blood. And in some way, he felt different. The more wounds he received, the angrier and determined to get the sword he became.

The Azure Knight send his sword clashing against Flambert's thin blade, nearly tumbling the physical weakened Raphael backwards to a position that could prove lethal for him. But he quickly regained some of his balance, rising to a kneeling position and attacking the Knight. But he failed again, this time not able to retrieve his blade to block the vertical slash of the red blade. He felt ... dizzy, alone and somewhat cold. His firm grip around Flambert's handle loosened, as the weight of his body became too much and he fell foward, his face hitting the ground and his mind slipping away into unconsciousness. He fought hard not to close his eyes, as his opponent talked to him in a loud, ecstatic voice that made the walls around them tremble:

"Now, offer your soul to me..."

The terrible sound of a sharp blade getting raised for one last time – a preparation to deal the final blow - reached Raphael's ears and he looked up. The Azure Knight before him raised his arms toward the sky and let evil energy run through him. This was it. His end, his final breath. The end for...

"Amy..."

Raphael spoke the name of the person that meant everything to him. Nothing else in this world was as dear to him as Amy. What would happen to her, if he did not return? Would it be her end too? No... no, not that...

Warm emotions overwhelmed the cool Frenchman, at the very thought of his beloved child, but they quickly turned into emotions of fear and sadness, as the thought of her being left alone in this terrible world again, clouded his warm memories of her. All alone, no-one to look after her.

Raphael's body trembled, and small tears of grief of letting his foster daughter down ran down his cheeks, washing the coagulated drops of blood off them.

The tears continued their silent flow, and time seemed to freeze, as Raphael awaited the blow that would remove him from his world, let Amy alone once more. This time, he would not return.

"A..." Raphael's voice trembled as unusual emotions pierced his normally cold heart. "Amy..."

Without his own knowledge, Raphael's left hand reached out for Flambert's handle as he turned his eyes from the man before him to the ground. His left hand grabbed the rapier's handle firmly once more, as the Azure Knight send the sharp red blade towards him, and his head was filled with a scream he had never heard before. The scream of a young girl, left alone in this world twice...

"AMY!" Raphael shouted as he opened his eyes.

He looked around, his right hand still pressing against the nearly invisible scar on his chest through his soaked shirt. He was in the castle ruin. Their home. He sighed, his heart still beating quickly and his thoughts concentrating on the nightmare he'd just escaped. It always ended like that. The only time he'd escaped the very scene he'd just visited, was the time when he had been fighting the Azure Knight for real. He had managed to dodge the attacks of Soul Edge's weilder and strike the demonic sword's eye with his own faithful blade. But the battle had cost him dearly. No, it had cost them dearly - as Amy, too, had suffered. And all because of his failure during the battle.

Raphael's hand ran through his short hair as he thought back at his return to the old mansion, where Amy had saved him from death once more. But they'd both been cursed by evil.

Raphael looked at his left hand and shut it slowly as his eyes turned to the documents on his table. He had been working all night, despite the hunger created by the evil that had infected his very being. Usually, he would've been outside now, hunting souls to feed upon and slake his hunger. But not currently. For three long days and nights, he had been working for a solution in Amy's best interest. Searching for a reason and, more importantly, an answer, a way to brighten up her future. There was no apparent cure for them, nor their victims.

Their victims...?

Raphael smiled slightly, scratched the three-day-old beard on his chin, and gave the idea behind their victims more thought - Now, if all of god's children on earth were to be infected by the same evil as they were, then there would be no difference, and no danger to Amy. The first bricks of the puzzle was already in play, as Raphael had already spread the evil to a large part of the land surrounding the ruins they now regarded as their home. Soon, he would march further into the nearby town and slowly... very slowly, everyone would be turned into the same cursed being. No one would be different. Raphael's smile widened even more as he rose from the chair and went out of the room to check on Amy.

So, let's see what you all thought about this chapter – The next one is coming up soon!