(AN: New chapter, now in the past. I think I'll have this and at least one more chapter in the past [maybe two if I can split them up], and then continue the present story through the events of SCV. Oh well, at least we passed ten and this isn't just a short-story. My personal rule for my works on here states that my stories must be ten chapters or more to not be a 'short story.' I was worried about this story not having enough content, since Tira isn't in as many games as, say Siegfried or Sophitia. Looks like I'm doing fine so far.)

(Also, I think I made a mistake in all of the past chapters where I may have mentioned 'jolly and gloomy' voices. That only becomes clear after the events of "Broken", so disregard all pre-1600 references to 'jolly and gloomy' voices.)

A Mother's Love

1591 AD

Wake up! the voices screamed at Tira.

I-I can't! Another voice replied. This was new. There had always ever been only one voice within Tira's head: the angry one. Now, it seemed, there was another voice. But she couldn't remember how it got there, she couldn't remember anything, except...

Pain. Unbearable pain, pain beyond belief. Her head was being split in two, like the blade of an ax being driven through her skull. She had blacked out, and couldn't remember anything else afterward.

You're stronger than this! growled the voices. Now get up!

Her eyes, swimming in the starry blackness of her subconscious, slowly opened up. It was dark, but there was no lack of light, though the moon and stars were hidden beneath a wrack of clouds. As she attempted to stand upon unsteady feet, she found her surroundings had drastically changed. Where once there was a beautiful, aquatic cathedral, now there lay burning ruins, broken and blackened. It was as though Hell itself had vomited its contents upon the Lost Cathedral and all it touched had melted.

"What happened?" she asked.

It looks so pretty! the new voice exclaimed.

We both felt it, growled the old voices. But there was something more to this than just a natural earthquake. Couldn't you feel it? It felt like the world was collapsing around those two.

Two? the new voices asked, sounding inquisitively merry.

The swords, you idiot! Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. They've reached the apex of their power. It was so great that it broke forth upon this place, like a bursting dam.

Tira tried to pay attention, but all the destruction about her, and the ringing in her head from all the voices talking at once, was giving her a head-ache. So great was her disorientation that she did not hear the clank of metal from the approach behind her.

"Servant!" a voice growled. It was beyond inhuman, as though the Void had grown life of its own and a voice was given it so that it may speak.

This snapped Tira's thoughts away from her current predicament. Turning about, she saw what remained of the Azure Knight. He looked on the verge of death, his body broken in half at the stomach, kept from falling apart by the malignant energy of Soul Edge. The broken and bloodied gash had grown teeth, as though it were the gaping mouth of the Void as well. She quivered as she knelt before this fearsome sight.

"My lord!" she cried. "You are alive! But, but how...?"

"The host and I were evenly matched," the Azure Knight replied. "It will not happen a second time. You, on the other hand, have failed me."

"Me? B-But how? I came to your side!"

"Your presence here was unneeded, and now it has made you a liability. Prove to me that you are not completely worthless. Find the golem Astaroth and return him to my service."

"And what will you do, my lord?"

"I will summon the shattered pieces of Soul Edge unto me again." the Azure Knight announced. "When next the host faces us, the Blade shall be complete!"

The Azure Knight held his sword aloft, and Tira could feel a rush of air. Suddenly her eyes exploded in horror and she let out cries of alarm. Upon the winds there appeared the black birds, her Watchers. They were being called to the Sword, and once they were caught within the vortex of power, they exploded in a mess of black feathers and blood.

"No!" she screamed. "Not the Watchers! Please, don't!"

But the Azure Knight was not listening. They were expendable now, all of them. The being that inhabited the blue armor was not a puppet, but the malignant manifestation of the will of the Evil Sword: the Inferno on earth. Suddenly, the beast let down the Sword. All the bodies of Tira's beloved Watchers lay dead and bloody around him, and already the Sword seemed to be more powerful. Long and sleek, it burned with the unquenchable fire that hungered for all life on earth. The Azure Knight turned about, casting his fiery red eyes onto the servant.

"There are yet three pieces of the Sword," it said. "The pirate, the woman, the child...their souls will be mine. Go east now, servant. Make certain the pirate finds his way to Ostrheinsburg. His is a powerful soul that has long evaded our hunger."

Tira bowed, then left the blazing Inferno to make her way down the mountain. In the morning, she would go in search for the pirate and the golem. Though she cared not for either of them, she had her duties to fulfill. Once she was done, she would return to Ostrheinsburg. She had almost forgotten about the woman and the child.

Suddenly, she looked down at herself and noticed that she had another problem.

When Tira finally returned from her venture into India, she was feeling tired and somewhat sick. The foreign 'spirits' of that place had entered her body, making her feel unwell. She also discovered that her mood swings grew increasingly worse, with even the slightest provocation setting her into either an angry, sullen gloom, or homicidal joy. It made things more interesting, but it got in the way of battle. Her jovial side was more playful and energetic, while the sullen side was slower but deadlier: that side didn't play with her enemies as much as the jolly side.

Upon arriving at Ostrheinsburg, she found the Azure Knight there, as well as a large creature that looked as though its flesh were made out of hardened clay. This must be the golem Astaroth. He spoke very little, avoided the presence of others and seemed to enjoy the idea of killing and torture as much as she did. If this thing were any human, or at least more open to companionship, she would find spending time with him enjoyable.

The fourth denizen of Ostrheinsburg was a creepy old man, practically naked save for old rags wrapped around his withering, gray body and a very large codpiece. Instead of hands, he wore large katars that gave him the appearance of having claws instead of hands. His eyes were covered and his mouth was bound by an uncomfortable-looking gag-rope so he never spoke, only communicating in grunts and moans. It disturbed Tira out immensely to be around it, and she spent most of her time alone, or at least roaming the castle on her own.

Baby Pyrrha was a mess when she found her again, still locked in the cellar where she had left her. She scolded her for being so filthy and incapable of keeping herself clean, then dragged her out of the cellar. In one of the castle-halls, she found an empty barrel that looked as though it had been used for washing. Tira, personally, never washed herself, fearing that she might loose her skin in the process. Nevertheless, Pyrrha was so horribly dirty, covered in her own filth, that even Tira could not long bear the smell of her. After carrying a bucket or two of water from the river, she proceeded to pour the water over Pyrrha's end, ordering her to clean herself up and don't come back until you're done.

Free once more from that horrible little girl, she made her way to the Throne Room. Assembled there, on one of the rare occasions that Astaroth could be forced into coming up from the dungeons, was the Azure Knight with his servants. Tira crept in from behind, joining them as though she had been there all along. Already her heart was beating nervously beneath her little chest. The Azure Knight had called her a worthless liability. Did that mean she would end up dead, like all the rest, her soul feeding the power of Soul Edge?

But I don't wanna die! sobbed the jolly voice.

You won't die, snapped the gloomy voice. If you do exactly as I say! We've survived without him before, we can do it again.

No, not this time! her jolly thoughts argued. He's the only one who understands us! He has the path to power, to destruction! Without him...what becomes of us?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the great, oaken doors being thrust open. Down the grand corridor there appeared the outline of a woman, wearing pure white and wielding a sword and shield. Tira knew exactly who this woman was, though it had been many months since she had last crossed blades with her: the Amazon had called her Sophitia Alexandra. With a devious smile creeping onto her face, Tira knew exactly why she was here.

Don't say a word! growled the angry, gloomy thoughts sullenly. Just follow my lead and everything will be alright.

-|-~-\o/-~-|-

Tira was back lolling about the castle with nothing much to do. The meeting had been boring. Instead of coming to fight or demand her daughter back, Sophitia had pledged herself to the service of the Azure Knight. She would defend Soul Edge and then her own soul would be devoured to feed that which she had protected: her life was meaningless to them. It didn't matter that her master accepted her, she didn't feel jealousy like an emotionally-driven child who can think no farther than the cries of her body. She was just another servant, expendable in the end.

While Tira was wandering about, bored to tears, she saw a tiny white cat padding its way along the stones of the castle wall.

"Hello there!" she exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

Before the poor animal could react, she closed her cold steel gloves about it, then picked it up to look at it. It was too young to determine sex, but, all things considered, it was rather cute.

"Oh, poor little kitty!" she pouted. "Mommy's gonna miss you if you're not home soon!" With a laugh, she knelt down and drew her knife from out of her boot. Killing this kitten meant nothing to her, just a way of easing the boredom of waiting before battle. Once the kitten saw the blade, it gave a struggle for its life, leaping successfully out of Tira's clutches and bounding away for it's life.

"Oh, now where did you go?" she groaned. With a smile on her face and her knife blade upward in hand, she began to prowl the castle, calling out: "Here, kitty kitty!" She wandered about, looking for that annoying little kitten, when all of a sudden a thought came to her mind.

We have a poor little kitten of our own here! the jolly thoughts commented.

She's just a means to an end, growled the angry voices.

But can't we have a little fun with her, since her Mommy's here too?

Oh, I guess it wouldn't be such a bad idea. It would certainly feel good to torture her with the knowledge that her child will never remember her.

She laughed hysterically at the thought, then swiveled her head as her gloomy mood took control. She marched down the halls of the castle until she heard the sound of a bird. Suddenly her jovial mood took control and she was looking curiously about hither and yon, trying to find the sound of the bird. At last she saw, nestled in one of the hallways, a fledgling raven with a broken wing.

"Aww, you're too young to be broken already," she lamented to the bird, who tweeted mournfully back to her. She rose her hand to strangle the bird to put it out of its misery, but then another thought came into her mind.

"Come along, Munin," she said to the baby bird, scooping it up in her hands. "You'll be the first of my new Watchers."

-|-~-\o/-~-|-

Tira returned the bird to her room - a tiny servant's quarters nearest the Throne Room, then made her way to find the one she had set out to find in the first place. While she was walking, she took a notice of her garments. They had been horribly torn and burned during the incident at the cathedral, and she had been forced to repair them at the first town she found. Most of the ruined or burned pieces were torn off, which left very little still remaining of the red uniform she had 'modified.' To that end, she stole several gold rings, which she used to keep her sleeves and trousers from falling off. In addition, a few haphazard straps of rough leather served to keep her bosom steady in battle. She was quite proud of what she had done.

Focus, you idiot! Do what you came to do then be done with it!

Okay okay, you killjoy!

Still infatuated with her jovial mood, she sauntered over to what had once been the quarters of the lady of the castle, now long since deserted. Here was where the Greek woman had placed herself. With a firm knock at the door, punctuated by a jovial "Knock knock!", she announced herself to Sophitia.

The woman turned about, and immediately, Tira hated her. She hated her because she was weak. She was trusting, loving, caring: she would give of herself in a heart-beat, selflessly and without thought of anything in return. She noted, from the look of sorrow in her green eyes, that she was hesitant, especially to take life. That was weakness, cowardice, sheer stupidity. Tira trusted no one, sometimes she feared even the voices within her head. Love was weakness to her and she cared for nothing but the birds, for they were truly free. She thought nothing of taking from anyone without ever thinking of giving back. She never hesitated when it came to killing; in fact, she loved it.

"What do you want?" Sophitia asked, after a few, meaningless words passed between them.

"To show you something!" Tira answered. "You've come a long way to find your little girl, don't want you to be disappointed: nope nope!"

This is it, the best torture ever! her jovial thoughts oozed as she went to find Pyrrha. She's the idiot for having children, for leaving her alone and defenseless! She needs to see this!

(AN: Had originally planned on making this chapter longer, but thought of cutting it here, especially since I need to make this story a little longer. Yes, we mentioned how her SCIV outfit came to be.)

(I guess the title speaks for that last moment, where we get to see Tira analyze Sophitia [rather than the author analyzing Tira]. As far as the canon goes, yes, she was involved with getting Maxi to Ostrheinsburg, but I cut that out. I'm wrapping up the past-portions of Tira's story and bringing in another character with very little time in the story seemed overly tedious, so he gets honorable mention as 'the pirate.' Also, it is said in SCV that she has a 'new' flock of Watchers. One could say that they just all died of old age, but, as Nightmare's SCIV ending sees him devour Tira's soul and, it is strongly hinted, that SCIV Nightmare is in fact Inferno inhabiting the armor of the Azure Knight, that seemed a little more likely, since he's calling all the pieces of Soul Edge to him and doesn't need them anymore.)