''Even before you start… This is a preemptive chapter. Just know that I have a whole bag chapters, with your name on it…''

Lol, if any of you didn't catch the Dr. Evil reference from Austin Powers you should be ashamed of yourselves! Once again I apologize for the delay. I'm not going to go into what happened this time but ust know that It won't happen again. I will write and finish this story no matter how I feel. I like making you guys happy to see what happens next in this awesome story as it progress.

So I know I said this chapter was going to be exciting but it isn't... because I didn't want to combine it with everything else and it would be reaaally long. I know a lot of people don't like long chapters. But this chapter is very important so please read.


Me and Mio stood in the hallway against the wall, waiting for the students to pour out of the classroom as I watched Seong-Mina and Yun-Seong disappear down the hall.

''Hey, Delaney?'' Mio called.

I snapped out of my starring trance and turned to her. ''Yeah?''

''Do you… know that guy or something?'' She asked, nodding her head in the direction in which Yun-Seong disappeared.

''Um, sort of.'' I said.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but then a voice interrupted us.

''Good morning girls, come on inside.''

I turned around and before me stood the Greece Goddess herself. She wasn't as old as I had imagined her. She looked like the young mother that she was, and brave, youthful older sister. Her skin was the exact definition of beautiful porcelain. Her green eyes surrounded by thick dark lashes sparkled more brighter than any emerald I had ever seen. She was dressed in modern clothing of course. She was wearing a royal blue suit jacket with a black silky blouse that covered her cleavage underneath (Thank God). A royal blue tight skirt that stopped a bit above her knees, black strappy heels and her hair was tied back into a braid, leaving a few bangs framing her face.

I mean, damn, was it possible that everyone from the game would be beyond unnaturally beautiful? I was seriously waiting for someone who was going to have an average appearance that wouldn't induce you to stare at them every five seconds. If I thought boys drooled over average chicks, they must have gone brain dead when they saw some of the females from the game.

I quickly caught a hold of myself and remembered that I was a new student.

''Hi, I'm a new student here.'' I said. I handed her my schedule.

She took it and glanced down at it. Her eyes lit up. ''Delaney…Nelson…'' She read. Then looked at me. ''You must be Zasalamel's niece.''

She looked me up and down once, studying me under a perplexed gaze for a brief moment. Then she gave a small smile. (To hide whatever it was she was thinking,)

''Go on inside and find yourself a seat, I'll be right with you once everyone arrives.''

''Okay,'' I said, and walked inside.

Mio was right behind me. ''Oh! Come sit by me! My desk is right here!''

She took my arm and dragged me to a desk in the center of the room. She pointed to a desk on the row left to hers. I wasn't a bad seat, I would have preferred to sit in the back and not deal with being distracted by people talking behind me or starring at my back, but I guess I would have to deal with it. School was what? Almost two weeks in? All the good seats were probably already taken anyway.

I sat down in the desk next to Mio's. She was beaming already, taking out her notebook and looking happily at the board ahead. The students continued to pour in, filling in seats in front of me, behind me and all around. Then in walked Dean.

''Good morning Ms. Alexandra.'' He said, flashing her all his pearly-whites.

''Good morning Mr. Mason, how are you?'' Sophitia said casually, smiling back. She probably didn't realize that he was flirting with her, like most guys would or certainly already do.

He crossed the room and took a seat right next to… me! He leaned back in his desk, sighed and placed his feet on the bottom of the chair in front of him. Then he glanced in my direction and saw me, his honey brown eyes met mine. He smiled.

''Oh hey, I didn't see you there.''

My face grew hot. Casually, I averted my gaze and pretended to be looking in my purse, but I know he saw me. I smiled nervously, and turned briefly to look at him. ''H-hi, how's it going?'' I stuttered.

Darn it, why was it that this guy was making me so nervous? Then I swallowed my shyness and took a good look at him.

Dean was tall with a toned, muscular figure, I saw that just by getting a glimpse at the creases in the side of his neck. He had dangerous masculine features with a smooth square jaw and a set of full lips. Those big honey brown eyes that he was starring at with me matched his thick, wavy chestnut brown hair that had that wind tousled look and coiled around the back of his neck. No doubt about it Dean was friggin' hot… He probably had everyone girl in school chasing after him.

''Good.'' He answered. ''You're that girl I saw in the hall yesterday aren't you?''

For some strange reason I giggled. ''Yeah, and you must be Dean.'' I said.

He laughed and quirked his eyebrows. ''Heard about me already huh? I'm not surprised.''

I didn't know if he was being an egotistical jerk or if he was just kidding.

''So, what's your name?'' He asked.

He appeared to be a regular t-shirt and jeans kind of guy. He was wearing a plain v-neck white T-shirt, a black leather jacket, dark Levi jeans and brown Polo boots

''Um, I'm Delaney.'' I said after I was done giving him a full body scan.

He smiled. ''Delaney, huh? That's a pretty and unique name, for a pretty and unique girl.''

I giggled and I felt my cheeks burn. ''And you sir, are a major flirt!''

We both laughed.

After our laughter died I felt Mio beside me nudge my arm. She looked at me over the rim of her glasses and smirked.

''Looks like someone's got The Hots for Mr. Dean.'' She whispered.

I smiled but said nothing.

Sophitia closed the classroom door after everyone had entered and walked over to sit behind her desk. The tall blonde girl, dressed in a pink shirt and white mini skirt, and her bitch clique were the last students to enter. She tossed her golden locks away from her shoulder and sashayed over to her desk at the back of the classroom with her minions following behind her, their stilettos made that annoying clickity-clackity sound on the floor as they did.

The blonde girl spotted me and scrunched her nose up as she lowered herself in her seat. I turned away and tried to ignore it.

As the students talked among themselves, I saw Sophitia motion for me to come to her desk.

She handed me my scheduled as she scribbled my name in her role book.

''Here's your schedule. Oh, and here is a list of the supplies you'll need for this class.'' She pulled a sticky note off her pad and handed it to me.

''Thank you.'' I said, and went back to my desk.

Sophitia got up and walked in front of the class. ''Okay class, quiet down.''

After a few seconds the noise died down. I was impressed. At my school, usually a teacher would have to say ''Quiet down!'' almost ten to twelve times. So far Sophitia acted just like any teacher I had came across in all my years of going to school. Maybe Zasalamel gave them a manual tittled; How to Pretend to Be an Educational Instructor. I wonder if all my Soul Calibur would be as professional as her. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she had been teaching for years.

''Today we will be entering the next section of unit one in our English Literature; Mythology.''

The students groaned while I grinned and laughed inwardly. I absolutely loved Mythology! So I was going to enjoy this.

''It's not as bad as it sounds, class. In fact I think you'll find it quite interesting.'' She went back over to her desk and picked up a black hat filled with what appeared to be strips of paper.

''As you know, there are many different kinds of Mythology from different cultures. But the most popular among all, is Greek Mythology. Which is what we will began studying.'' She said smiling as she walked between the rows of desks. As she did, I caught some of the boys turning their heads to look at her bottom.

Greek Mythology? Well that would make sense, Sophitia was Greece herself. And if I remember correctly she used to worship the Greek God's at a temple in the game.

''Each one of you will be given the name of the God from which you draw from this hat. So there will be no squabbling or choosing over which you want to study. I want you to write a one page report describing what life is like from the point of view of the God or Goddess you will get.''

When she came up to me I reached inside and shoved my hand all the way to the bottom, trying to get a good one.

When I took my hand out I looked at the piece of paper. It read: HORAE, GODDESS OF TIME, NATURE AND CHANGE.

Goddess of time? Was this some sort of joke? I turned around to look at Sophitia, her back

was to me as she went down the end of the row. When she turned, she glanced back at me and gave me a knowing look. What the…?

''Whatever God or Goddess you retrieve is the one you will do your report on, there will be no switching or changing it.'' She said, as if reading my mind.

I sighed, why was I making this out of a big deal? I guess doing a project on a Goddess of time wasn't so bad. I might actually learn a thing or two, sense the predicament I was currently in dealt with time itself. It just all felt like a coincidence… I couldn't shake the feeling that Sophitia had set this up.

''Who did you get?'' Asked Mio beside me.

''Uhm, Hu-ro-ray….? Hu-ray, Horae. However you say her name. What about you?''

''I got Persephone!'' She chirped happily. ''Niece and wife of Hades. I always thought her story was a little sad.'' Her smile faded as she said the last part.

''I got Hermes, God of border crossings and guide to the Underworld.'' Dean said aloud as he read his scrap of paper.

''Oooh that sounds cool! Do you know anything about Hermes?'' Mio asked as she leaned forward over her desk to look past me at him.

Dean slumped his shoulders. ''Nope.''

''Well, he is the Messenger of the Gods, he can travel to any realm whenever he pleases and…'' Mio continued to talk Dean's ear off as placed my face in my palm and drifted off.

''Ms. Alexandra, I got Epimetheus I never heard of him, who is that?''

Sophitia paused before turning to the class. '' Class, does anyone know who the God Epimetheus is?''

The class was silent. I raised my hand. ''Epimetheus is the brother of Prometheus. They were the sons of Atlas. He represented the negative side of mankind.''

Sophitia nodded her head. ''Correct, that's very good Ms. Nelson.''

Most of the students in the class turned around to look at the nerdy-new-girl-of-the-school who outsmarted all her classmates.

''And don't forget class, reports will be due by next Friday.'' Called Sophitia.

From the back of the room I heard a girl snort. ''Well someone's a teacher's pet.''

A couple of other girls giggled at her remark.

Mio leaned over to me and whispered. ''That was Nancy and her gang, they run this school. Just try to ignore them if you don't want any trouble.''

I wanted so badly to tell Mio, ''I don't give damn if she runs this school or not! She doesn't run me!'' I wanted to go back there, grab her by her bleached blonde hair and bang her head against the desk to let her know I wasn't afraid of her and I wasn't going to let her bully me like everyone else. But that wouldn't be a good way to start off your first day at a school where your kidnapper of a sorcerer was principle.

So instead I swallowed my growing anger and told her, ''I'll try Mio, I'll try.''

Afterwards, Sophitia gave us a worksheet where we had to read a passage from the book and fill in the blanks with what we learned. It was fairly easy and I got it done within a few minutes. When class was over, I gathered my things and waited until everyone had left.

''Delaney aren't you coming?'' Mio asked as she stood over my desk. ''We go to Math together next.''

''Yeah, I'll be right there.'' I told her.

''Okay.'' Mio left and made her way towards the door. ''Goodbye Ms. Alexandra!'' She waved.

''Goodbye, have a nice day.'' Called Sophitia.

Slowly, I got up and walked over to her desk. She looked up at me expectantly.

''Um, Sophi- I mean… Ms. Alexandra?''

''Yes, what is it?'' She studied me as she waited for my answer.

I nervously looked down at my white baby doll shoes. I didn't know what to say. Or where to began for that matter. I was concerned, for her and for other members of the staff that were from Soul Calibur. There were so many questions I wanted to be answered. I didn't even know if it was safe, or if I was allowed to speak about my situation to them. Did they know that I wasn't really Zasalamel's niece but a ''descendant'' which means I wasn't exactly human and that I was braught 10 years from the past just like them? Would he care if they did?

Instead I took a deep breath and asked the first question that came to my mind.

''Do you… like it here?''

Her eyes widened briefly, but her serious expression remained complex. ''What do you mean?''

Then I just went ahead and decided to take a risk… If I told her that I knew everything, most likely, if I was correct about her character (personality) she would remain calm about it and wouldn't go back and tell Zasalamel.

''I know. I… know everything…'' I stated slowly.

Then I looked up and met her eyes. ''I know that you and a lot of others were brought here, the future, from your time which was more than five centuries ago by Zasalamel… There are stories and games in my time… Well there were stories, about you and everyone involved with the sword.''

Finally she blinked and realization creped it's way into her expression. She looked down at the papers on her desk and leaned back in her chair. ''I see. I suppose you would know that. You are that… man's relative after all.'' She said the word like it put a bad taste in her mouth.

I suppose after the situation he put her in, I would hate Zasalamel too if it happened to me. In fact I did. But ten years wasn't a big change from the world I came from, things almost felt the same. But centuries… that would take a while to get used to.

I cleared my throat. ''That's partially true… I'm not his niece, but I am related to him by blood. He brought me here too, from the past. Ten years from the past, it's not centuries and the world hasn't changed much but it's still scary.'' I admitted.

''It's scary being away from my family and being expected to do something that I have no knowledge about. I don't even know if I will be able to go back home…after all of this is over.'' My voice cracked as I said the last sentence.

I didn't know why I was spilling my guts to a strange woman, (strange as in a female Greece warrior from a different time period) that I had just met today. I just felt like she could relate and understand where I was coming from, she was a mother after all. But now that I had told at least one person about my situation, and released some of the pressure, my mind was a little bit at peace. Although, the pain and fear were still there.

I realized for the first time just how bad my situation was. I hadn't just been brought ten years from the past, but I had been brought into a world where I knew no one. I had no clue how to get back. I was far, far away from my parents who though I was dead, I was living with a strange man and for the first time in my life I had no idea who I was ( or what for that matter) anymore , or I what I was supposed to do.

''I-I just...'' I began between hiccupping sobs. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't help the tears that escaped the corners of my eyes and ran down my cheeks. I began to cry like a little baby, right there in front of Sophitia.

''Oh Gods, please…don't start crying now.'' I heard Sophitia get up out of her desk chair and move towards me. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled into a gentle embrace.

''I want to go home...'' I sobbed. I clung onto her like she was the only thing keeping me from losing my sanity. (She really was) She was warm and soft and as I breathed in her summery jasmine scented perfume, it put my mind at ease for a moment. I cried there, with my face buried in her shoulder for I don't know how long. She continued to rub my back soothingly and after a few seconds my hiccupping sobs ceased.

When I was done, she pulled back to look at me. Her worried emerald green eyes looked over me. She shook her head and sighed. ''You poor, poor child.''

She reached over and grabbed me a tissue from her desk. I took it from her and dried my eyes.

''Listen to me,'' Her voice was calm and urgent. ''If you ever want to return home, you must be strong for now. I know it's hard to adapt right now. It was hard for me and everyone else. But crying from day to day is no way to survive. It is uncertain rather any of us will be returning home. So please…don't cry. Try to find happiness in whatever you can and remember be strong, for your parents and your loved ones back at home.''

I sniffled and looked up at her. She smiled down at me and brushed a lock of hair away from my forehead. Something warm tingled in my chest looking at such a caring, beautiful woman right in front of me. I swear, if I was a lesbian I would have declared that I was in love with Sophitia right then and there. But I wasn't, so I simply returned her smile and nodded. ''I will.''

She gave me a light pat on my shoulder before she stepped away. ''But to answer your question; Yes. I have come to like your world more so than I did a few weeks ago.''

A few weeks ago? Zasalamel had them here for that long?

''This world and the people in it have changed drastically!'' She paused and thought to herself. ''Well, I guess it would change after five centuries. I have to admit, some things have improved for the better. For instance, there are strange devices that make a lot of tasks that would have been hard in my time so easy! It is sad that the history of the Gods that govern this world have been made out to be fiction… But…''

She sighed. ''I try to look passed it and find the things that I value and treasured back in my time.''

''Are your… children and husband here?''

The ghost of a smile played on her lips, and her eyes lit up briefly. ''Yes they are. Gods know that if they weren't I wouldn't stand being here one second longer. I would fight that evil man to my very last breath and demand he take me back to them.''

I chuckled. That would be something she'd say.

''Do you enjoy teaching?'' I wondered.

''As a matter or fact I do. More than I thought I would. When he told me that I would be required to be an instructor, right away I refused.'' She stated, her voice and face became hard.

''I fought and demanded that he returned me home. But then he threatened me with my children and husband, and my little sister. He made it clear he wouldn't return me until I completed all the tasks he demanded of me. The main reason for why he brought me here still remains a mystery, but now that my family is here, I don't have much to worry about. And if I was going to teach, I decided it should be something I enjoy. I do so love reading stories to my children and teaching them how to write.''

I smiled. I was glad to hear that being here wasn't too hard on her and that her family was right beside her. Like she said, maybe if I could find a little happiness and tried to enjoy myself, things wouldn't be so bad. I didn't know when I would return home, but for right now I had to be strong, do what was asked of me and prepare myself for that day. Moping around and crying wouldn't solve anything. And who knew… maybe if I found out more information and discovered my powers… I could find my own way back home.

''Thank you, Sophi-'' I stopped myself.

She chuckled. ''It's alright, you can call me by my first name when the other students aren't around.''

''Thank you, Sophitia.'' I told her, beaming. A few more tears made their way down my cheek, but this time they were tears of relief.

''You're welcome child. If you should ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask.''

I nodded.

''Sooner or later that evil man will get what he deserves…The Gods will have no mercy on the ones who harm those that follow their path.'' Her expression hardened, and her emerald green eyes went glassy and cold. For a brief second I got scared. I felt sorry for anyone who would experience this woman's wrath if they made her angry.

Just then, a student walked in through the door. ''Good morning Ms. Alexandra!'' He said grinning, trying to be sly about scanning her up and down. Geez, did every guy act this way?

''Good morning Mr. Hector.'' Sophitia greeted casually, before turning back to me.

''I'd better get to my next class.'' I said.

''Okay, and remember what I told you.'' She briefly touched my shoulder and met my eyes.

I gave her a small smile before I turned to leave. I went out into the hallway, and as roar of the ocean of voices engulfed me, my mind stayed clear. I felt lighter, happier even. I noticed small things about the school I hadn't before when Mio dragged me down every hall. For the first time that day, I actually was looking forward to how the rest of it would unfold.


Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!

Also, maybe I wasn't clear before so I'll make it clear now. The characters in the story have been brought back during the time of Soul Calibur III. That's my favorite game... and it's when Zasalamel makes his debut in the series. So anyway, Sophitia in this story is 25+ She's 18 in Soul Calibur, and 25 in Soul Calibur II. Her age from SCIII-SCV aren't given on Wikipedia. So just know that she is 25+ and she has had her children. I wanted to be firm on her mothery nature for this chapter xD.

Another major thing! And it won't matter until waay, waaaay later on in the story. I know in SCIII that it says Maxi is 28 on his profile…. He's old enough to be a teacher… and in this story he's not! He's a student! HAHA SPOILER! And even with the female protagonist being 18, a ten year age difference isn't very cute…. So for the sake of romance let's just pretend for him that he is 24, like he is SCII!

The next chapter in Tiger and The Dragon is almost finished too! It will be out by this weekend! Make sure you check that out!