(Graveyard)
It was a dark night inside of a spooky old graveyard. An eerie mist covered the area and owls sat in the tree hooting twice. No one would dare go into this disturbing atmosphere so late at night. However, two people didn't have a choice.
Two men glared at each getting into different fighting stances. The first man was a blue and white wolf wearing purple pants with a yellow sash. The second man was a human with brown hair in a braided ponytail wearing some kind of red and yellow outfit and had a strangely-shaped sword on his back.
"Back down, werewolf!" The man said with his eyes permanent shut. "You cannot win!"
"What?" The werewolf said in disbelief. "YOU challenged me!"
"I was referring to being able to avoid your fate." The man said coolly.
"Oh yeah, like I am going to just to lie down and die?" The werewolf snarled.
With that, he ran over on all four towards the human. The latter grabbed his sword and swung only for the werewolf to jump over it and countered with a kick to the face stunning the human and scratching his face with his sharp toenails.
The human grunted in pain but quickly recovered by slamming the handle of his sword into the werewolf's stomach with all of his might. This sent the werewolf flying backwards into a grave breaking it.
The werewolf groaned before weakly looking up. Suddenly, the human was standing over pointing his sword at his throat.
"Jon Talbain, may nobody remember your name." The human said.
The werewolf growled as his horrible luck. "Sorry but I got better things to do than be killed."
With that, he coughed a couple of times.
"AWOOO!"
Talbain then let out a loud howl causing the man to wince in pain holding his head. Seeing his chance, Talbain kicked him in the stomach knocking him away. Getting up onto his hands and feet, he scampered off with the man too stunned to react.
Talbain continued running making sure the distance between him and the man was large. Now Talbain was rarely to run away but for some reason, he just didn't felt motivated to continue the fight. Which was weird because this wasn't the first time that man fought him
After stopping in front of a small tree, he put his hand on it panting heavily.
"Did I lost him?" Talbain asked before scoffing. "Even if I did, knowing my luck, Donovan would find me again."
He then angrily punched the tree. "Dang it! This is getting out-of-hand! Vampire Hunters! Darkstalkers haters! And as much we haven't already trouble enough!"
Talbain then sighed. This had been happening to him for his whole life. Humans had been stunning him from society because of his werewolf curse which wasn't even his fault to begin with. Humans were always shunning him away.
However, despite his hatred for humans, he ironically wanted to become a human. Mainly because they were some children that actually like him but he knew that their parents would never let them see him again if they find out.
He was about to walk away until his canine hearing picked up something. Turning around, his eyes widened. Floating just over him were two balls of light. One white. One black.
"What in the world?" Talbain asked in disbelief.
Suddenly, the two balls went together resulting in a bright flash of light shocking Talbain. When the cleared, a nearby owl and several bats flew off in fear when Talbain had vanished from sight.
(Merchant Ship)
Talbain groaned as he slowly opened his eyes engulfed in darkness. Despite this, his ears picked up talking and the sound of wood creaking. Holding his head, he moved up wondering what was going on.
He quickly found himself staring at the deck of a ship. There were a few people talking to each other with some sailors doing work. Talbain didn't take long to realize that he was inside of a lifeboat underneath a white tarp in the daytime
"Where… Am I?" Talbain asked. "And how did I got here?"
Suddenly, one of the sailors noticed Talbain. "Hey!"
The werewolf's eyes widened. "Uh-oh!"
"Boys! Come over here!" The sailor shouted getting the others' attention. "We got a stowaway here!"
"A stowaway!" Another sailor said cracking his knuckles. "Well, let's just show them how unwanted stowaways are around here!"
"Oh great…" Talbain muttered. "Well, at least the sun is up. It would be a little easier to explain to these people in my human form."
With that, he decided to face the music and get up poking the upper half of his body out of the boat startling everyone.
"Everyone, please calm down." Talbain said. "I…"
"MONSTER!" A man yelled as a few people panicked. Talbain looked startled as everyone on the ship looked at him in fear.
"Monster? What are you talking about?" Talbain asked looking down.
His eyes widened in horror as he looked at a familiar pair of feral claws. He was in his werewolf form!
"What the? What's going on?" Talbain asked in disbelief. "Why am I in werewolf form? I am in daylight!"
One of the sailors shakily got out a curved sword. "Come on, you beast! Wolf or not, do you think we would let your get away with stowing away on THIS ship?"
The other sailors looked at him as if he was crazy.
"Are you out of your mind?" Another sailor asked in disbelief. "He is a beast!"
"So?" The first sailor asked. "They are six of us and one of him!"
The other sailors looked around for a moment before they all narrowed their eyes and nodded. They then got out swords as well. Talbain looked back and forth between the humans.
"This is not happening!" Talbain said in disbelief.
The sailors charged at him. However, Talbain thought quickly and leaped out of the boat. Despite being unarmed saved for his claws, he easily defeated the sailors knocking out in ten seconds flat.
Once he was done, he looked around to see everyone looking in fear. Talbain looked around. It was like a bad dream taking form into reality.
"I don't know who or what are you."
Talbain turned his head to see a man stepping forward. He was a young man with a brown mullet in a blue ninja-esque outfit.
"…But I do know I don't like the aura you are giving off." The ninja said sternly.
Talbain raised an eyebrow. "Are you… A ninja?"
"Indeed. And I am not going to just stand here and let you do as you please." The ninja said getting into a stance.
"Hey! THEY attacked ME!" Talbain said getting a case of déjà vu. "Actually, you know what? Screw it! I will take you down like I took down those punks!"
The ninja raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think a savage feral style would beat the effort I put into martial arts and ninjutsu?"
Talbain suddenly smirked. "Is that so?"
With that, he reached into his pocket. He then pulled out a pair of nunchucks much to the ninja's surprise. The Darkstalker then did a few howls before swinging them around.
"You know kung-fu?" The ninja asked surprised.
"Yes. Now weren't you was just saying about me just being all feral?" Talbain taunted.
The ninja merely smirked. "All right. Let's see if those things aren't just for show."
(Round One: Hanzou)
People nearby jumped as Hanzou leaped against the side of the ship and bounded off of it sending several ninja stars at Talbain. The latter swung his nunchucks around negating the attack. Hanzou saw this as his chance getting out a kodachi and dashing towards Talbain stabbing at him.
Until Talbain jumped out of the way at the last minute. Thinking quickly, he wrapped his nunchucks around the wrist that held the ninja sword catching Hanzou to cry to pain. Talbain then sent his knee into Hanzou's midsection causing the ninja to grip his gut. Talbain then finished the job with a hard chop to the back of the neck sending the blue-clad man onto his face out for good.
Talbain stood triumphantly over your opponent. "You had fought well but you can only do so much against a Darkstalker."
With that, he turned around to see the passengers were still shivering in fear. Looking down, he saw one of the sailors slowly coming to. Said man looked up to see Talbain advancing forward with a grumpy look on his face. He then grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close to his face.
"Okay, here is what I want you to do." Talbain said. "I am going to get into the lifeboat and you will help me escape."
"But… But that lifeboat is for emergencies only!" The sailor said.
Talbain growled showing his sharp teeth. "And being eaten by a werewolf isn't an emergency?"
The sailor's eyes widened at this. "All right! All right! I'll do it! Please don't eat me!"
Talbain rolled his eyes. "Good."
With that, he dragged the sailor over to the lifeboat. He promptly let go of the sailor before climbing in tearing off the tarp in the progress.
"Well?" Talbain said impatiently.
The sailor yelped before fiddled with some ropes. He then lowered Talbain and the lifeboat into the water. Once he made sure that the boat had hit the ocean, he walked over to the side of the ship.
"There are a pair of oars in the boat." The sailor said.
"Thank you. Now don't follow me." Talbain said.
"Y-Yes sir." The sailor said before backing away.
It didn't took long for Talbain to find the oars as he started to row towards the nearest land. As he did so, he gave a worried frown.
"What the devil is going on?"
(Citadel City)
It took a couple of hours but he had managed to reach a nearby port town. Despite getting a lot of stares, Talbain was surprised to hear that nobody attacked him. In fact, he had managed to get information on going to the citadel city. Despite the moderately calm reception, Talbain refused to take any chances and wore a cloak hiding his werewolf form.
It took a while but he had managed to reach the citadel managing to walk past the guards without causing suspicion. Once in, he scanned the area trying to figure out what was going on.
"Why can't I change back to my human form? I don't know where I am but I am going relieved by my curse in the daytime." Talbain said before his eyes widened. "Have my curse had gotten so out of hand that I am stuck in werewolf form forever regardless of the time of day?"
He then groaned rubbing his temples trying not to reveal any bit of his fur. This day just gets worse and worse for him. He was stuck in some unknown land and he was permanently stuck in werewolf form even in the daytime. What was he was going to do?
"Hey, you!"
The werewolf raised an eyebrow before turning his head to see a vendor staring at you.
"Yeah, you! Are you lost?" The vendor asked.
"Am I ever." Talbain groaned.
"Oh, where you want to go?" The vendor said.
"Home." Talbain said flatly.
The vendor blinked twice. "I am sorry but that is something you have to find out for yourself."
"I was afraid you would say that." Talbain sighed.
The vendor raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute. Did anything happen to you involving two balls of light?"
Talbain's eyes widened before rushing over to the vendor. "Yes, yes! Tell me! How did you know?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. You'll be surprised how many people came in here with the same story." The vendor said.
"So… I am not the only one?" Talbain asked before speaking softly. "So that's why all I got was stares at the port town."
"Quite a puzzle, isn't it?" The vendor asked.
"I'll say. Surely so many people being brought here by the same way can't be a coincidence." Talbain said shaking his head.
"Yeah, I wonder if…" The vendor said before trailing off.
Talbain noticed this. "…Noticed if."
"The Spirit Sword and Cursed Sword had something to do with it." The vendor mused.
"Spirit Sword and Cursed Sword?" Talbain asked.
"Yeah or better yet, Soul Calibur and Soul Edge. One sword made up of pure light while the other is made up of chaotic darkness." The vendor said. "Both opposing weapons emit a lot of powerful energy."
Talbain looked on getting interested.
"Many fighters from around the world travelled to try and find the two swords for certain reasons." The vendor explained. "But few come back to tell the tale."
"Powerful energy. So that is how along with so many got here." Talbain thought. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait a minute. If this power is as strong as he claims, that maybe it would be able to cure my curse…"
He then slammed his hand on the table. "SIR!"
The vendor jumped in his place. "W-What?"
"Please tell me where Soul Calibur and Soul Edge are!" Talbain begged.
"What? You actually want to find them!" The vendor asked in disbelief. "Haven't you heard the part where I said "Few come back"?"
"I know but if these swords are as powerful as you say, I couldn't help but investigate!" Talbain said.
The vendor blinked twice before sighing. "I feel like I am about to send a lamb into the wolf's den. All right if you are THAT eager to go…"
"Now hold on!"
Talbain and the vendor turned to see a man stomping over. He was a young man with blonde hair and clad in white and blue holding a blue sheath that carried a sword.
"Assuming your tale is true, do you really think you should trust THIS guy with the information?" Jin asked jerking his thumb at Talbain.
"Oh, I suppose YOU will do any better." The Darkstalkers taking offense of the comment.
"Better than you. You won't even show your face to the person who is giving information you desperately needed." The man said. "Why should he let some person he doesn't even know go after that much power?"
"What part of "Few came back" don't you understand?" The vendor said flatly.
"Take a hike, loser. Let a real warrior find the swords." The swordsman said rudely.
Talbain growled. "And I suppose you are only saying that so that YOU could have the power."
"Truth be told, I couldn't care less about the power. I just want to use them to leave this world!" The swordsman said.
"Well, tough luck! Do you think you are the only one wants to go back home?" Talbain snapped.
"Boys, boys, calm down!" The vendor said getting to keep peace. "Assuming you don't get killed, only one of you would go that far."
"Very well." Talbain said grabbing his cloak and throwing it off him showing his werewolf form surprising the swordsman and the vendor.
Despite stunned, the swordsman merely scoffed. "My only surprise is WHY I didn't know that you were a mangy mutt from right away."
Talbain snarled. "Go ahead. Continue with the insults. Give me the motivation to take you down."
"Pfft. I will never be taken down by a beast like you." The swordsman said getting into a stance. "I COULD use the exercise for actual threats though."
The vendor looked back and forth realizing what was happening. "Me and my big mouth…"
(Round Two: Jin Kisaragi)
A crowd came up to watch the duel. Jin got out his sword out of his sheath and slashed at Talbain. The kung-fu fighter lashed his nun-chucks attempting to block the attack.
Everyone looked in awe as Talbain had managed to squeeze one of the holes of the chain of his weapon making Jin's thin blade go in. Taking his chance, he sent his nunchucks not only taking the stunned Jin away from his blade but also planting it in the ground. Once he was done, he leapt onto the katana and used it as a springboard giving Jin a hard roundhouse kick.
Jin swung around before collapsing on his face unconscious. Talbain glared down at his foe before scoffing picking up the katana out of the ground before throwing it in the side like it was garbage. Talbain then crouched down and picked up his nunchucks.
He then looked around at the people staring at him. With a sigh, he made his way over to the vendor who was stunned.
"So is it too late to ask the directions to Soul Calibur and Soul Edge?" Talbain asked as if he was talking in an everyday conversation.
(Barren Battleground)
After getting the directions from the vendor, Talbain had left the citadel and gone on his way for the search for Soul Calibur and Soul Edge. If the two swords were as strong as he claimed them to be, then maybe he could use them to curse him of his werewolf curse forever.
Again, he could go out on a lovely moonlit night without fear of turning into a wolf. He doesn't have to make his children friends keep secrets from their parents just so he could teach them martial arts. Most importantly, he doesn't have to keep with Darkstalker hunters like Donovan.
As he continued his train of thought , he continued through a barren wasteland with only a few dead trees around along with the skeletons of many soldiers. Talbain eyed the skeletons before continuing underneath the light of the full moon.
Suddenly, he stopped in his place with a confused look. Blinking twice, he crossed his arms.
"So are you going to attack me or you are just here to stalk me?" Talbain said coolly.
As if on cue, a figure emerged from one of the dead trees looking annoyed. He wore a blue spandex outfit with a white cloak and a skull mask over his face. He had a sword and shield in his hands though Talbain could tell that he had more weapons behind his back.
"Aw, come on!" The man complained. "I had studied stealth skills of spies! How did you know I was there?"
"You think this is a costume, fool?" Talbain snarked. "I could sense your presence even without that ridiculous outfit."
"Hey! Not cool!" The cloaked man snapped. "Especially since I have to take off my boots to count the number of people with even lamer costumes!"
Talbain cast the man a weird glance before shaking it off. "What do you want?"
"Same as you. I want those swords." The cloaked man said pointing his sword at the wolf-man.
Talbain narrowed his eyes. "So… You want the grand power too?"
The cloaked man scratched the back of his head. "Um, yes and no. I want the swords but I don't want to use the power they wield."
Talbain blinked twice. "Well, what do you want them for?"
"Apparently a lot of people had given up everything just to find their swords." The cloaked man said. "Their friends. Their families. Even their lives. Can you believe how much money one person could pay for those babies?"
"Wait a minute." Talbain asked in disbelief. "Two swords both of great power is responsible for taking us away from our homeworlds and if we seize said power, we can get whatever we want and you want them to sell to the highest bidder?"
"What can I say? I saw an opportunity and dollar signs blinded me!" The cloaked man cheerfully.
Talbain's eyebrow twitched. "And to say that so… happily! Anyway, you are here to stop me right?"
"Yep! Nothing personal but if you don't stand down, I have to make a throw rug out of you." The cloaked man said getting into a stance.
"Good! Gives me a reason to beat your masked mug into the ground!" Talbain said getting out his nun-chucks.
"Hey, you're no pretty-boy yourself." The cloaked man taunted.
"Shut up!"
(Round Three: Taskmaster)
Switching from a classic sword and shield combo to twin swords, Taskmaster swung violently at Talbain who skilfully leaped out of the way avoiding the barrage. Taskmaster swung one of his swords only for Talbain to leap over it and kicked Taskmaster in the back knocking him away.
Taskmaster staggered forward for a moment before turning around. "You're good, wolfie! But you can't beat my accuracy skills!"
Talbain raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you going to fight with a bow and arrow next?"
"That is usually my second most-used weapon but no." Taskmaster said pointing on his swords at Talbain. "I got something just as nice."
BANG!
If it was one thing Talbain was grateful for his curse was that it gave him fast reflexes. Swinging his nunchucks, he managed to avoid taking a fatal bullet to the chest. But not without having his weapons fly out of his hands.
Taskmaster laughed heartily before pointing his sword pistol. "Looks like you are all out of luck, wolvie! Any last words?"
Talbain stepped back narrowing his eyes as the Taskmaster advanced forward.
"Actually, I have a question." He said.
"Um, okay?" Taskmaster asked.
"What do wolves do underneath the moon?" Talbain asked.
"Um, howl? Shouldn't you of all people…"
That was all Taskmaster got out before Talbain let out a loud piercing howl. Taskmaster roared in pain dropping his twin swords and holding his head trying to stop the ringing. Seeing his chance, Talbain ran forward and did a roundhouse kick into Taskmaster's face.
The mercenary spun around three times before slowly stopping wobbling on his feet. He then collapsed on his knees.
"Not…" Taskmaster said weakly before falling onto his face. "Cool…"
Talbain glared down at the man making sure that he wasn't playing possum. Once he had confirmed he was out for good, he walked over to his nun-chucks and picked them up.
"The ability to use multiple styles at once, quite fluidly I might add." Talbain said walking off. "And he uses them for the greedy pursuit of money. It is like B.B. Hood mixed with Lord Raptor."
Deciding not to cast Taskmaster another look, he walked off leaving the unconscious man behind.
(Grand Tower)
It had taken Talbain a while but he had finally managed to reach his destination. He gaped at it. It was a tall tower standing high right off the ground. It looked like it would take a long time to climb.
"Yep… I think the swords are definitely up there." Talbain said. He then took a deep breath. "I wouldn't be surprised by the end of this, my feet will feel like lead in the morning."
He then narrowed his eyes.
"But as long as those feet are human, I couldn't care less." Talbain said stepping forward. "I had gone too far to turn back down."
With that, he started to make his climb. As he continued to ascend up the long flight of stairs, he noticed that the sky had turned a somewhat dark blueish colour in contrast to its natural colour. Perhaps the swords had something to do with this. Nonetheless, he refused to back down.
After taking the occasional break, Talbain had made it up to the halfway point. Walking down a bridge, he made his way to a circular room. Talbain stepped in with his eyes widening.
Inside of the room was nothing but tall, slim windows showing the outside with burning torches. What caught his attention was who was sitting on the side.
Sitting in front of his way was a man with red hair. He wore some kind of purple outfit with detached sleeves and had a stern look on his face.
"A wolf-man, huh?" The man noted getting up out a sword and shield. "Never had expected one to come all this way."
"Well, I have." Talbain said getting out his nun-chucks. "Anyway, let's just cut to the chase. You are after the power too, right?"
"No." The man said simply.
This completely threw Talbain in a loop. "Wait. What?"
"I don't need power like that. I got better things to worry about." The man said.
"And how do I know that this isn't some kind of trick?" Talbain asked getting out his nun-chucks.
"If this IS a trick, why had I wasted my time waiting for rivals to come up and stop me from getting those swords?" The man challenged.
Talbain blinked twice. "All right. Point taken. But if that's the case, why come all the way up here and wait?"
"It's quite simple." The man said before pointing his sword. "To keep people what wielding it."
"Excuse me?" Talbain asked.
"You heard me. My primary reason for not going after the swords is because I don't need them." The man said. "But my secondary reason is that they sound too powerful to wield."
"You have to be kidding me?" Talbain asked in disbelief. "I came all this way and you accept me to go back just because you say so?"
"If I knew it was that easy, I wouldn't have got out my sword." The man said. "But honestly though, turn back. Whatever you want the swords for, it can't be worth it."
Talbain did a few practice kicks looking determined. "Oh, you have no idea how much it is."
(Round Four: Kratos Aurion)
Kratos swung his shield to block a few strikes from Talbain's nun-chucks. Thinking quickly, he slammed the handle in Talbain knocking the wind out of him. Shoving his shield forward, Kratos struck Talbain in the snout. The wolf-man staggered back holding his snout.
Kratos then did a slash with his sword. However, Talbain quickly recovered in time to parry the attack with his sword. The purple-clad man tried to make up for his mistake by striking with his shield but Talbain leaped over the attack.
He also landed on Kratos' shoulders bounding off turning around. He then slammed his nun-chucks into the back of Kratos' neck. The red-haired man fell to the ground fighting to stay conscious.
"Stay… Away…" Kratos said with his vision going blurry. "The swords… are dangerous…"
"Well, sorry but I had come too far and fought too many enemies to stop now." Talbain said coolly.
That was the last thing Kratos heard before losing consciousness. Talbain glared down at his foe before walking on.
"Even if I am risking my life, this is a gamble I am willing to take." He said putting his nun-chucks over his shoulder.
(Tower Pinnacle)
Talbain kept walking and walking. He didn't cared how long it would take him. He had to get to those swords so he could get the wish he had been hoping for so long. He didn't even care if he had to fight one more opponent. He just wanted to win.
Talbain continued walking until he saw the end. He continued onwards until he made his way to the middle. He was on a stone circular surrounded by pillars and stone statures. He also noticed five torches with some reason one of them was unlit. He also saw two circles on the ground.
However, he frowned looking around frantically. There was no sign of any swords or another way to advance.
"Where are they? They have to here!" Talbain asked in disbelief. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have fought all those people!"
Talbain looked around for anything but much to his dismay. He found nothing. He looked down defeated. After all this searching, had his quest had been for nothing? Was he doomed like this forever?
He was about to give up until he noticed something. The unlit torch in the ring of five torches. He raised an eyebrow. Why wasn't that particular torch lit like the others?
"If I find a way to light that last torch, would the swords appear?" Talbain asked softly.
With that, he advanced towards the torch.
"Stay where you are!"
Talbain's eyes widened before turning around to see a man coming out from a stone pillar. He was a man who long red hair like Kratos only he wore a black leather outfit and carried a whip.
Talbain narrowed his eyes. "And you are?"
"Simon Belmont of House Belmont." The man said readying his whip.
"House Belmont?" Talbain asked confused.
"We are a clan of vampire hunters." The man said narrowing his eyes.
Talbain's eyes widened before slapping his forehead. "Of course! Because even when dragged into another world, I can't escape them, can't I?"
Simon narrowed his eyes. "I don't know where Soul Calibur and Edge is but I am not letting a creature of the night get its hands on it!"
"Ugh! You vampire hunters are all the same!" Talbain growled. "You relentlessly go after us Darkstalkers because of our title!"
"It is the duty of a Belmont to protect the world from the night." Simon said.
"Protect the worl…? This isn't even your world!" Talbain cried in disbelief. "Which if I am not mistaken, you had gotten here against your will!"
"Indeed, I have. Still even if this isn't my world, I refuse to just sit back and let a creature of the night gave that much power." Simon said. "You will not live to see those swords."
Talbain snarled before getting into a stance. "Okay, you know what, fine! I had faced different types of people to get that power! Beating a vampire hunter would be icing on the cake!"
(Destined Battle: Simon Belmont)
Talbain yelped in pain after Simon's whip clashed against his leg. Despite in pain, Talbain growled before leaping at Simon swinging his nun-chucks who had managed to block it with his whip. The two struggled with each other trying to gain ground.
"Give up! You can't win!" Simon taunted.
"No! I… Need… That… Power!" Talbain said through gritted teeth.
With that, he kneed Simon in the gut surprising him.
"I'll show you the power of a Darkstalker!" Talbain shouted throwing his nun-chucks in the air and catching them.
He then did howls before punching Simon in the face following a spinning hook with his weapon. Letting out one more howl, he sent his palms out sending a fiery figure of a dragon's head into Simon.
It sent the vampire killer flying across the platform until he flew back-first into a pillar. He slid off unconscious before hitting the ground.
Talbain stared at the unconscious man before looking down at his hands in awe.
"Nothing in my years of training had I did a move like THAT." Talbain said.
Deciding that the battle was over, he looked up at the unlit torch. Much to his surprise, it was already lit.
"But how…?" Talbain asked.
Suddenly, he heard a noise from behind him. Turning his head, he saw the two balls of light from before. They then started to take form. The white ball became a beautiful sword of crystal while the black ball became a sword of flesh.
"Is this… Soul Calibur and Soul Edge?" Talbain asked.
"Indeed, child." Soul Calibur said much to Talbain's surprise. "I must say, I am impressed. I would have never figured out that people would realize that we were the cause of this."
Talbain paused. "So… Why did you do this?"
"For a host, of course!" Soul Edge roared. "I had been waiting for too long for a host!"
"Soul Edge, enough!" Soul Calibur scolded. "But you ARE right. We did this to find a rightful host."
"Rightful host?" Talbain asked looking around at the torches. "So THAT is what is up with the torches?"
"Indeed. The torches represented the five out of fifty fighters you had defeated." Soul Calibur said. "With your defeat over the vampire hunter, he had earned the right to wield one of us."
"Now I suggest that you choose me, pup! I could see the hatred for the prejudice against your kind!" Soul Edge snarled. "Choose me and I help you get revenge!"
Talbain paused for a moment. "No."
"What!?" Soul Edge screamed.
"So what if I decided to kill the humans that treated me horribly?" Talbain asked. "Then what? Then more humans would attempt to get stronger and go after me. It is just the same thing only with a sword."
"Are you serious going to just sit back and take the abuse!?" Soul Edge said in disbelief.
"I don't have to." Talbain said walking over to Soul Calibur and grabbing it with his hands.
"You had chosen wisely, child." The Soul Calibur said. "Now tell me your wish."
Talbain gave a deep sigh. "All my life I had been shunned from society because of my curse. People were very prejudiced against the Darkstalkers and because of that I disliked most humans…"
"I noticed that you said most." Soul Calibur said.
Talbain nodded. "I had befriended some kids. They didn't care about the way I look. In fact, they said that I looked cool as they say. But… My curse. Because of it, we have to meet in secret because no self-respecting parent would like their child be with a werewolf."
Unknown to the two swords and Talbain, Simon had regained consciousness. He had heard Talbain's interactions with the two swords and he looked in awe at the werewolf's words.
"So Soul Calibur, here is my wish. Please remove my curse! Make me human once more!"
Soul Calibur paused. "Very well… I will grant you your wish."
Everything went in slow-motion for Talbain as Soul Calibur emitted a white flash blinding Simon.
Slowly, the light cleared up. Simon opened his eyes to see someone replace Talbain. He was a human with white spiky hair wearing the clothes as Talbain.
"Is this… The real man?" Simon asked weakly getting up and making his way over. "Wow, I have no idea what to say but…"
The Belmont then saw Talbain turn his head. Much to his horror, Talbain's eyes held a blank expression on his face. Simon stepped back stunned.
"Um… Is that you?" Simon asked.
"Yes, Mr. Belmont. I am fine." Talbain said in a mixture of his and Soul Calibur's voice. "In fact, I am more than fine."
"Um, all right?" Simon asked scratching his head. "Listen… About attacking you."
"No need for apologies. You were merely doing what you was destined to do." Talbain said. "I could never fault you."
Simon raised an eyebrow noticing that this was indeed a change of attitude from earlier.
"I shall atone for my time as a Darkstalker by hunting down other Darkstalkers and killing them." Talbain said.
Simon looked surprised by this. "What? What about just being able to be with the children?"
"I cannot do so with those atrocious running around." Talbain said sternly.
"This… This is madness!" Simon asked in disbelief. "Isn't this why you hated humans?"
"I did but then I saw the light and realized that it was not prejudice. Just common nature." Talbain said. "Those born of darkness must be killed."
Simon shook his head. This can't be the same person that spoke with him earlier complaining about prejudiced against his kind.
"But then Darkstalkers would get stronger and attack you." Simon said deciding to give a test.
"Let them. I will purify my world making sure any Darkstalker born would be cleansed." Talbain said with a smirk.
That did it for Simon. Readying his whip, he wrapped it around Soul Calibur.
"Wha… What are you doing?" Talbain said.
"Saving you!" Simon said pulling on his whip. Talbain struggled to pull the sword back but he acted too late. Simon yanked Soul Calibur out of his hands. Swinging it around, he sent it falling towards Soul Edge.
"NO! Don't give her here…" Soul Edge shouted but it was too late.
As the two swords clashed with each other, they broke into small pieces. A white and black mist emitted from the remains of the swords starting to float into the air.
"And to think I was going to choose Soul Calibur." Simon said glaring up. "She was no better than Soul Edge!"
Suddenly, he heard a groan. Looking down, he saw Talbain on his hands and knees back in his werewolf form. With his eyes widened, he walked over.
"Are… Are you all right?" Simon asked.
"No…" Talbain said weakly.
Simon looked down. "I apologize. Not only did I attack you but I robbed your chance to become human again."
Talbain sighed. "No… I should be THANKING you. If you didn't destroy Soul Calibur, I would had stayed a human but became what I hated about them."
"I see." Simon frowned.
"But why?" Talbain asked.
"Hm?" Simon asked confused.
Talbain lifted his head up. "Why did you saved me even though I was going to slay the very beings you been trained to kill?"
Simon sighed. "Never in my years as a vampire hunter, had I met someone of the night who is… honourable. You openly expressed your hatred of humans and yet you didn't choose Soul Edge and his path of revenge. All you want to do is to be with children."
"But now that may never happen." Talbain said sadly.
"Don't say that! You had fought all this way here just to cure you of that curse." Simon said. "I know what it is like."
"Really?" Talbain asked.
"Yes, I literally had to resurrect a powerful vampire to get rid of it." Simon said.
Talbain's eyes widened before looking back at the ground. Perhaps Simon was right. The odds were against him surely somewhere they must be a cure somewhere.
Suddenly, the two had heard something. Looking around, they saw two portals on the opposite of the platform.
"Hey, I recognize that place!" Talbain said looking at a portal. "It is the graveyard I was in before getting abducted."
"Hey, same here." Simon said looking at the opposite portal. "At least we know that we along with the people that had been taken here had been taken back to their home-worlds."
"Yeah, I guess." Talbain said.
"So what was your name?" Simon asked turning around.
"Um, Talbain." Talbain said.
"Well, Talbain. I never thought I would say this to a creature of the night…"
He then let his hand with a small smile.
"But I am glad I met you."
Talbain raised an eyebrow. "Well, I never thought I would say this to a vampire hunter…"
He then smiled as well.
"I am glad I met you too."
With that, he slowly grabbed Simon's hand for a handshake.
…Despite his curse following him around, Talbain continues to be tenacious and determined into finding a cure…
NOTE: Looking at the last two chapters, I realized something. I made Soul Calibur too nice. I mean sure she wants to take out evil beings and protect the world but this is the woman who posed as a guy's mother and tried to possess him into killing his sister. I think Talbain was a right choice to show how manipulative she can be when it comes to opposing darkness.