Who owns Soul Calibur? ...not me...

Day 2

Lilith awakes the next day just before the sun starts to rise and gathers her belongings up. Walking down to the stream near camp, Lilith slowly removes her clothing, making sure no one is watching. Diving head-first into the water, Lilith washes herself off. After she's done washing, the young woman puts on her form fitting black shirt and her form fitting black pants, along with her short black boots and her belt, which is thin leather woven together with a few red jewels adorning it and a black sheathe that contains a small dagger. Lilith dries her hair off so that it hangs in loose curls and places her thin black circlet upon her head, before making her way back to camp.

Naomi has the tent packed and is standing there, waiting for her.

"Are you ready, Lilith?"

"Yes…" Lilith says, looking towards the border of Romania.

Mounting their horses, the two ride off towards the border of Romania. They reach a small town and notice that a lot of the buildings look like they have had fire set on them.

"I wonder what happened here…" Lilith says, her words trailing off, taking in the destruction and eerie silence of the town.

"Why don't we find out?" Naomi suggests, unfazed by the destruction, not even raising an eyebrow in surprise.

A young woman in tattered clothing is weeping in the streets. Dismounting her horse, Lilith approaches her.

"Excuse me miss, what happened here?" Lilith asks, her voice gentle and light.

"The…the…Azure Knight has returned! He slaughtered nearly everyone in our town…he slaughtered my husband…he slain my children…He set our town on fire…I have nothing left…" The woman said sobbing bitterly and clenching her fists, she begins to beat the ground, her hair flying in her face unceremoniously.

Lilith can tell that the young woman is very shaken up over this and leaves her alone, returning to Naomi.

"Naomi the destruction in this town was caused by the Azure Knight. Who is he?"

"The Azure Knight wields Soul Edge, murdering many to quench his thirst for blood. He was rumored to have been defeated but, I guess, he has arisen once again. One like him never truly dies. We should leave this place…" Naomi says.

Suddenly feeling a throbbing in her back, Lilith clutches the spot where Naomi had lodged something in her back.

"Lilith?!" Naomi asks with well rehearsed concern.

"My back…it hurts…agh!" Lilith passes out due to immense pain.

Propping her up on her horse, Naomi rides out of town.

"Everything goes according to plan…" she smirks, "I'm just sorry that you are in pain, my beloved…"

They girls arrive at the next down, Lilith still unconscious. Stopping outside of an inn, Naomi ties the horses up. She picks up Lilith and carries her into the inn, receiving a few odd looks from townsfolk but she doesn't notice, her attention focused on the innkeeper.

"Excuse me, sir? Would it be possible to rent a room for the night?" Naomi sweetly asks.

"Sure…umm is she ok?" The innkeeper asks gesturing to Lilith.

"Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs a night's rest, that's all."

Taking the key he hands her, Naomi walks up the stairs. She goes down a hallway, reading the numbers on the doors until she reaches theirs'. Naomi opens the door, shutting it behind her, locking it and lays Lilith down on a bed.

Lilith wakes up a few hours later, head throbbing and her back aching. Sitting up, she clutches her head, a shrill ringing in her ears causing her to emit a cry of pain and confusion.

Hearing her cry out, Naomi struts over to her and places a hand on her forehead, "Lilith, you're burning up! Where does it hurt?"

"In my head and back and my ears are ringing!"

Naomi sits down next to her and pulls her close, stroking her hair, "There there…it'll be alright…"

Soothed by Naomi for a few hours, Lilith starts to feel better, walking over to the mirror to fix her hair which had become quite unruly during her fit. Brushing out her hair, Lilith catches a glimpse of her face in the mirror, emitting a gasp upon what she sees; her irises are red!

"Naomi!" Lilith cries out, panic present in her voice.

"Yes Lilith?" Naomi asks, walking over to her companion.

"My eyes…they're red!"

Naomi looks into Lilith's eyes and a shocked expression splashes across her face, something she was not expecting.

"Lilith we must get you out of here before anyone else sees this," Naomi says packing their stuff up quickly and rushing Lilith and herself out of the hotel.

The girls mount their horses and ride off, the sun slowly starting to rise. They see smoke in the distance and hear people screaming. Upon arriving in town, they see a knight in azure armor slaughtering the people.

"Naomi my back's throbbing again!"

"We don't have time to worry about that. The Azure Knight is right over there!"

Seeing the two girls, the Azure Knight slowly walks towards them, swinging his Zweihänder at them as they jump off of their horses. Their horses run away, in a panic.

A battle ensues between the two women and the Azure Knight. Nightmare raises his sword high in the air with every intention of hitting Lilith but Naomi jumps in front of Lilith just in time, blocking the blow. It almost seemed impossible for Naomi to get there in time, as if she was expecting Nightmare to do that or Nightmare was deliberately taking his time. Suddenly laughter is heard reverberating through the Azure Armor.

"You will be a nice host!" He growls, grabbing Naomi and running off with her.

"Naomi!" Lilith screams, running after him.

Lilith maintains a steady running pace, not too far behind the Azure Knight, gaining on him as they exit the town.

Raphael's POV

I am leaving Romania. I need to atone for my sins before I can go back to Amy. During the time I was infected by Soul Edge's evil energy, I spread my sickness to many others and slaughtered many as well. I left on another journey to destroy the Holy Stone but was unsuccessful. I was defeated by Siegfried Schtauffen who was on his own quest of redemption. He spared me, again, and I headed back to Walachia. That's when I enter my castle and found Amy cured of the infection. I was then knocked unconscious and when I woke I was cured of my infection as well. A man named Kilik had cured me. Reflecting on my actions, I decided that I was not a suitable father for Amy at the moment. Much to her dismay, I left her in the care of Kilik and headed out.

No destination planned, I walk along the countryside of Romania. I start to sense an evil energy…It can't be Soul Edge…can it? As I get closer I see something I would never have imagined seeing in years. It's the Azure Knight, Nightmare, and he is carrying a woman with red hair over his shoulder, running from another woman with wavy golden hair. The two women are dressed the same except for the fact that the redhead is dressed in a slightly more promiscuous fashion. They must be traveling together and the Azure Knight must be trying to kidnap this one for whatever reason.

Maybe this is my chance to gain redemption. Unsheathing my rapier, I step out in front of the running Azure Knight. He stops and puts the girl down. The girl immediately springs up, unsheathing a Chinese Blade. The other girl catches up, unsheathing her Katana.

"You dare to stand in my way?" Nightmare roars, bringing his blade down at me.

I quickly put my rapier up in front of me to block the blow but get knocked back far away from the force of the blow. When I look up I see the two women on either side of the Azure Knight. He swings his sword at them, the golden haired one jumping to avoid it but it makes impact with the other. She crumples to the ground, clutching her stomach, a big gaping wound present, blood already seeping through her hands.

"NAOMI!" The golden haired girl cries, rushing over to her friend but as soon as she reaches her, she is knocked back by the Azure Knight, a large wound in her shoulder.

I run to the scene, hoping I can get there before he slays the two girls.

Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, the Azure Knights turns away from the battle, beginning to hurry out of the area. As soon as I ready myself to give chase, I am stopped by the cry of a young girl.

"Sir! Help! Please! Help me!" The golden haired young woman is waving her arms frantically, trying to get my attention.

I know that to atone for my sins defeating Nightmare will help but what will bring more aid is helping people, saving lives.

I look at the blood spurting out of the wounds on the woman's left shoulder and right thigh. If she keeps moving she will die from loss of blood. I run over to her and place my hands on her firmly.

"Stop moving! You will only bleed to death faster!" I say harshly, quickly taking some gauze wrapping from my bag, wrapping them around her arm and thigh.

All the while she is protesting and pointing to her fallen comrade. Her comrade looks worse but I must treat this woman first, she has the higher chance of living right now.

"There your wounds are wrapped up. Do not move," I warn.

"Please…help my partner!" She says scrambling over to her friend's crumpled body.

I sigh, she isn't listening to me. This fool of a girl is going to die if she keeps this up. I don't want my efforts to be wasted so I quickly rush over to the other woman and notice the huge gash in her stomach. If it was just a bit deeper, her organs would be spilling out, not a pleasant visual. There is much blood on the ground around her, indicating that she may already be dead. I listen for signs of breathing and hear not a sound. She hasn't got a pulse either. She's gone.

"I'm sorry…" I turn to the golden haired warrior, "there's nothing I can do."

"What?! She can't be dead…she just can't be!" She cries and lifts the fallen woman's head up, wasting her energy.

"Naomi…just open your eyes! I want to hear your voice again…" Tears are forming in her red eyes…wait…RED eyes?

There is something wrong with this woman. Perhaps she has been infected with Soul Edge. I decide to leave her be for the moment but stay at her side. She could easily move the wrong way and bleed out. Suddenly I sense movement, tree branches rustling from an unnatural breeze, someone moving swift and fast.

A ninja jumps down out of the tree, landing a few feet away from us. Her long black hair is tied up and she is wearing a dark blue skin tight outfit, similar to the one the golden haired woman is wearing. Slowly, she approaches us.

"You…" she says pointing to the crying girl.

She looks hostile and I am not going to let her attack this young woman. I stand in front of the distraught girl.

"Leave her be. She is grieving," I warn the ninja, if she attacks my efforts to help the golden-haired woman will be in vain.

"Stay out of my way if you don't want her to die as well. Her body is tainted," the ninja says, pushing past me.

I turn to see her lifting the girl's shirt up and cutting her back. A shrill scream echoes throughout the countryside. She better not be killing her and wasting my time!

"You're hurting her!" I exclaim, anger rising in my voice.

"She'll be in a lot more pain if I don't do this," the ninja says removing a fragment of Soul Edge from the woman's back.

That's why her eyes shone red. "Excuse me, but what the hell did you just do to me!" the young woman exclaims, angrily, her small hands clenching into fists.

"You were infected with Soul Edge, didn't you know? Well it's gone now, you're going to recover. I'd explain it to you but I must leave now to purify this fragment," the ninja says, disappearing as quickly as she came.

"Soul Edge?! But why…how?!...agh!"

I look to the girl, noticing she's clearly in more pain than ever, and bandage up her back. She squirms a bit.

"Don't move you'll bleed more," I calmly say, trying to be patient.

As soon as I am done bandaging her she looks back to her fallen comrade, brushing some red strands of hair away from her lifeless face. The girl herself looks to be on the verge of death but still has the strength to weep over her friend's body. She will die soon if I don't get her to a clinic. If I haven't made this clear already, my efforts will be wasted!

"There's no use mourning for the dead! If you must, you can mourn later. You must go to a clinic immediately and get those wounds checked out," I tell her, losing my patience fast.

She looks up at me, face streaked with tears.

"Not without Naomi," she insists, her light voice cracking.

"She's dead and you will be too if we don't leave now."

She stands up, an angry look on her face as she opens her mouth to most likely argue but collapses, too weak to walk. I pick her up bridal style and start walking towards a town I had passed that was not too far back, out of the path of Nightmare. The young woman struggles to get out of my grasp.

"Don't struggle, you will reopen your wounds," I tell her harshly.

I notice she is looking over my shoulder at her friend, too distracted to hear me. I say nothing more and continue walking at as fast a pace possible, her light weight making it easy for me to travel with her in my arms.

End POV

The young woman falls unconscious in Raphael's arms, making Raphael hasten his pace. Making it to the town in record timing, he immediately finds a clinic, taking the unconscious woman there.

Raphael's POV

I enter the clinic, frantically looking around for a doctor. A nurse rushes up to me.

"This girl has been wounded severely she requires medical assistance!" I say with urgency in my voice.

The young nurse nods and runs to get a doctor. Within moments the young woman is in a hospital room being tended to by a doctor and a few nurses. I stand by, watching them treat her when another nurse approaches me.

"This must be hard for you," she says, her voice filled with concern.

I look at her a bit confused before realizing she thinks I have some sort of relationship with the girl.

"She your sister or wife?" The nurse asks, attempting to take my mind off what's going on.

"No…I just met her today. She was being attacked. I went to help her but her attacker took off. Her traveling companion didn't make it…"

"Oh…you are a kind man," she says, "You didn't have to help her. How very noble of you!"

I feel ashamed as she says this to me, if only she knew. I am not a kind man. I never have been one before. I've always had an uncaring and cold demeanor about me. My life has been inexplicably harsh and unfair so I must admit I have become quite bitter. It didn't help that I already had an arrogant attitude to begin with. It's hard to break old ways.

The doctor tells me she is going to live but will require constant watch incase she opens up her old wounds. I can stay for now. It's the least I can do for her. It would be pointless for me to leave her now and have her wounds bleed out, letting her die.