"Faster!" Ivy snarled, swinging her whip around to give her more than an adequate defense against Bangoo's offense. She grinned sadistically as Bangoo attempted a feint to hit him with his dagger, but his lack of reaction time allowed her precious weapon to snag his ankle and throw him off balance.

With her whip reformed into a sword, she aimed it at the boy's head and hit only dirt as he rolled out of the way and and struck her blade with his own. She backed up and was ready to throw the bladed segments at him again when the boy closed the distance between them and swept her legs out from beneath her.

She was about to snidely advise him to press his advantage when the blade of his dagger dug into the ground above her head, then trapping her wrist with his knee, and using the leverage against her to prevent her escape.

To her satisfaction, the boy knew how to fight, though his skill was natural and unrefined.

"Not bad. But you should know better when to finish off your foe," she said as a mental commanded to her blade tore him off of her and onto the ground.

With a forceful pull, she yanked Bangoo off the ground and onto his feet. As much as she wanted to, she restrained the grin of a satisfied teacher and said, "There's too much wasted motion in your step. However, it was good that you were able to restrain me with such little notice, so it's not a total loss. You're learning quickly, young man."

The young Indian nodded, but looked to his blade and then back to her, "But I was angry. If I had stabbed incorrectly, you would have died."

Her gaze at him was even and calm. "No, you wouldn't. Even in your anger, you possess a control greater than most and would never do an ally harm. I can see that in your eyes, boy. It's a strength and a weakness. It's a strength because it will earn you the loyalty of warriors like yourself. Sadly, it is also a weakness that the underhanded will take advantage of."

She looked at him directly in the eyes, "You must learn to find that line between mercy and justice and stay upon it. For your life or the life of a comrade may depend on it. And you must be prepared to defend your life against anyone... even if it's me."

She could tell the boy wanted to speak against the thought of them having to face each other. Truth be told, a small part of her grew fond of him for that. Yet, experience taught her that even the most stout of companions had the capacity for treachery. It was a mistake she had made which nearly cost her life when she put in her lot with the Fygul Cestemus.

Turning back to her family's abandoned summer home in Lyon, Ivy said, "But enough of that. Tomorrow, we leave for Venezia; where we'll be following a lead to another shard. Ironically enough, it will be in a drunken revelry with the aristocracy of Italy. I was invited by Lord Winchester last month to this party and thought not of going until he informed me of some interesting parties in attendance."

"Such as?"

Her smile deepened like cat watching its prey, "The disenfranchised son of the House of Sorel. Obviously, under an assumed name, he will be there since he's searching for the sword as desperately as we are."

Bangoo frowned, "I don't understand. Why are people of sound judgment trying to get something that's obviously bad?"

Ivy snickered, "Because they think themselves the cream of the crop of humanity, when in reality; they're not worthy enough for the dregs. They listen to the lies about it granting wishes, immortality and such. They're mostly harmless."

"And what about the ones that aren't?"

"That's where you'll come in. Watch them from the shadows, boy. The man from Sorel is a dangerous one. He is a man of few scruples and will kill anyone in his way; effectively and efficiently. He holds a well versed veneer of civility, but beneath, a well trained and blood-thirsty beast lurks in his heart. I will teach you what they look like so you will be an effective lookout. And I hope by then, your skill with your weapons will be greater, since the men of the aristocracy are not like the thugs which accosted you when you first arrived."

With a snap of her fingers, Angelo walked up with Bangoo's ax on his shoulder to hand it to its owner.

"What we need to concentrate on is how to use your father's ax. The Apocalypse has garnered more fame than you'll ever realize."

Lifting the weapon over his shoulder, Bangoo asked her, "What do you mean?"

She reached forward and gently stroked the designs on the side of the ax, "around the British Empire, there is a legend of great renown. It was of King Arthur Pendragon. A true king and man among men. In a lawless and chaotic times, he was the first to establish a rule of 'might for right'. His virtue brought many like-minded men to his round table, one of which was the Percival the Mighty. There's a rumor among blacksmith and weapons collectors that Percival himself wielded that ax and had cut down Saxons by the dozen with every swing."

She turned from the intricate carvings on the side of the weapon to its current owner, "I'm not saying I believe in this, but to control the mind of the enemy can be a powerful factor in a battle. I want you to wield that ax as though it were the one Percival used."

It didn't surprise her to see the boy looking at her and then the weapon in complete awe. It looked like she'd have to break him of that habit.

"Now then... DEFEND YOURSELF!" she cried like a banshee and brought her weapon to bear.

=

Cassandra lost time and place since the shard took hold of her. All she could remember was running at speeds that seemed impossible for man as it was. Not even the fastest horses she had seen in Greece could speed over the ground as quick as she did.

The only other thing she felt was fear. A fear so great it caused her to run without any sense of purpose and away from her sister. Had things been different, she would have given Siegfried that blasted shard... or would she? It held mysteries of such inscrutable design, that it was impossible for her to resist.

And now, here she was. Alone with only the light suit of armor on her back, her armaments, the shard, and a few gold, silver, and bronze pieces in her pocket. Looking with despair at the city ahead. She figured she would have to either find a job or a lead to someone that knew about the Soul Edge. The rumbling in her stomach told her that the run had taken more from her than she realized.

Overhearing travelers whose language she could understand, the town she was in was called Rovinji. It wasn't a city yet, but the fishing and trade industries provided enough people to keep the town large and bustling.

Walking with the crowd cautiously, she wandered to the bazaar, hoping to find a food vendor with cheap prices. She would not last long knowing so little of the area.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed a tressel of black hair disappear into the back alleyway by the port. With a bad feeling in her stomach, she moved through the crowd to the entrance. There was an air of familiarity about that person, something just beyond the reaches of her memory.

With another turn, she paused briefly to realize that there was no one around. She was about to turn back when the edge of a blade rested against her neck.

"Don't move," a voice with an Asian accent whispered.

Cassandra gasped and held her breath as her assailant slowly edged her way around.

"You seem familiar..." the asian woman said calmly at her side.

Slowly turning to face her, Cassandra recognized the woman immediately. "Oh... it's you... the woman that saved my sister's life."

To her relief, the asian woman lowered her blade and stepped back.

"Ah, you must be... Cassandra?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"So then, what brings you here of all places?"

"Well... it's my sister. You see..."

"WACHOOO!" screeched a younger girl's voice from behind Taki. The ninja ducked as a Chinese sword dancer, roughly Cassandra's age, flew through the air and struck forward with a vicious flying side kick. However, Cassandra did not react fast enough and ended up flying into a pile of wooden crates.

Though groggy from the impact, she did have the presence of mind to see the newcomer swing her sword at Taki with amazing fluidity. The ninja naturally blocked and hopped backward, but the dancer only increased the pace of her offensive.

"Thought you could get away from me, huh?" the Chinese girl cackled with a slash that appeared like a dance step, meant for kings and emperors.

"You give your ability too much credit," the ninja said, frowning.

The newcomer smirked, "to the contrary," she stepped forward, feigned a swing to the ninja's ankles and used the momentum to swing her left foot into Taki's face, "I'm more than aware of my limits. They just happen to be higher than yours."

Cassandra rolled out of the way as Taki stumbled back a meter before charging and with a burst of speed, slid to a halt behind Xianghua as their assailant collapsed. Cassandra pushed herself to her feet as Taki returned the smirk to Xianghua. "If that be the case, I judge your perception to be highly suspect."

To both hers and Taki's surprise, Xianghua started laughing. Before either one of them could figure out why, their assailant rolled to her feet and held up Taki's swords and throwing daggers.

"Think what you like, ninja whore. I got your weapons," she laughed again as Taki realized that she was not lying, "you're talking to the person who can rob every pick-pocket in the Ming Dynasty's capital blind!"

Cassandra blinked as she leaned against the wall, ready to draw her sword and assist Taki. However, she didn't get far as Xianghua quickly closed the distance between them and knocked out the air in her lungs with a precise stab to her stomach with the hilt of her sword.

"I'll be with you in a minute," she said, casually placing Taki's stolen weapons in her pockets as the ninja attempted to take advantage of her turned back. Cassandra gasped for air and held her stomach as she slid against the wall to the ground again. She saw the dancer fall to the ground to avoid a roundhouse kick from Taki, only to flip to her feet, hitting the ninja in the abdomen along the way.

With a few precise steps, Xianghua drew her sword and had her foe on the defensive.

"You'd be wise to give Mekki-Maru back," Taki said with her plated forearms raised defensively.

"I'm well aware of the curse on your sword and what you use it for," Xianghua said with a frown, "and speaking for my master and myself, the ends don't justify the means!"

Xianghua stepped forward and stabbed thin air as Taki hopped to her right. She immediately changed her foot position and whirled around, striking Taki on the side of her head. She followed up with another kick, knocking Taki to the ground. Xianghua stood over the fallen ninja with a smirk.

"Not bad, Taki. You almost had me that time, but you just can't seem to get the big picture. The more you try and use the Soul Edge for your own ends, the more it will summon people that will stop you or, adversely, it will use you, no matter how strong you think you are."

With a hateful glare, Taki said, "like you would ever know, little girl."

The dancer's face slowly softened. "I didn't want to do this, you realize..." she lowered her weapon, "...you and I, Taki. We're more alike than you know."

To both Cassandra's and Taki's confusion, Xianghua knelt in front of Taki, as though she were speaking to a friend, "we both had much before fate reduced us to nothing."

Their confusion turned to shock when Xianghua reached forward and caressed Taki's cheek, "I never wanted to fight you, Taki. You're like a sister to me... I don't want to fight you..."

Taki blinked, "I... what are you talking about?"

Xianghua's wicked smile returned, "a script to confuse ninja with." In an instant, Xianghua's hand struck a few points around Taki's neck and shoulder, and within seconds, Taki lay in a state of paralysis.

Chuckling, Xianghua stood up and with a smirk, she said, "not many people know this, but Sun Tzu once said that confusion and defeat are common bedfellows." Another pressure point attack on Taki's shoulder rendered her completely unconscious.

Pushing herself to her feet, Cassandra was ready to charge when the dual point of a sword appeared inches from her face. She never noticed it before, but Xianghua's weapon was of an unusual design. The sword appeared made of two smaller blades, colored with a greenish hue. However, the hilt was encompassed by a sphere with a few thorn vines, slithering outward. The guard was in the shape of a pair of leathery wings and heart of the blade had an eye that seemed to stare straight at her.

"I know you have a shard. And I can see that it's held you in its thrall before. It would be a good idea if you were to throw it into the sea," she said in all seriousness.

Cassandra blinked from the gaze of Xianghua's sword to its owner. She frowned at her assailant and stood up.

"Only to let someone else have it? I think not. I'll finish what my sister couldn't..." she added quickly.

Cassandra blanched when she saw Xianghua laugh. Not only that, the eye on her sword seemed to narrow in amusement. She wondered what was so amusing when Xianghua suddenly pinned her to the wall by the point of her blade. She found herself staring into Xianghua's completely red irises, how they had changed was beyond her.

"Trust me, friend. You don't want to be kept in the influence of something or someone touched by Inferno," she whispered with a voice that now bordered on demonic, "it makes you do things... things you don't like..." Cassandra gasped as she felt the bones in her arm being squeezed with inhuman strength by Xianghua's free hand, "like hurting and killing people... and enjoying it."

Tears of pain welled in Cassandra's eyes as she felt her arm ready to break, only to know relief when Xianghua let go. Rubbing her sore forearm, she looked up to see the dancer pick up the unconscious ninja as though she were as light as a feather.

"What are you going to do with her?" Cassandra asked.

"What else?" Xianghua replied as her eyes and voice slowly returned to their previous state, "take her to my master and see what should be done before she make an even bigger nuisance of herself."

"Your master?"

Xianghua smiled viciously, "Yes. My master, though everyone thinks a woman, but is actually a man. From another world no less. He seeks to destroy the Soul Edge since it threatens his world and ours alike. Were it not for my 'Lady', I would be either dead or another host for the Soul Edge, just like Schtauffen; and I should have killed him when I had the chance."

A connection was made in the back of Cassandra's mind, "Wait! Are you Chai Xianghua? If you are, I need your help! My sister..."

"...has a shard in her eye. I know what happened, but I can't help her. I have enough problems of my own. However, if you want to find people whose 'goals' are like yours, then I suggest you head to Italy. There are people gathering that have information about the Soul Edge which you may find useful."

Cassandra found herself at a loss for words when she was left alone. She had come all this way to find something that would help her sister, only to find the wielder of the Soul Caliber was also corrupted.

With a dejected sigh, she stumbled wearily out from the alleyway, back to the bazaar. With what money she had, she could maybe pay for a night's stay at one of the cheaper inns. With any good fortune, she could find work around here temporarily until she could earn enough money to pay for a boat charter.

Walking amongst the rest of the people, she noticed a commotion at the edge of the pier. An inhuman roar pierced the air and creature that could have been human at one point leaped from the water and onto the planks.

Its skin was colored green, and covered with sharp protrusions all over his shoulders. On its chest, a circular plate glowed with an unknown power as its deformed right hand created weapons out of nothing to destroy anything in its path. The people cleared out of her way as she stepped forward to face the monster.

Drawing her sword, she demanded, "what are you?! Who do you think you are?"

She stepped backward when the creature sniffed something in the air and then bellowed something incomprehensible at her. She realized he must have been referring to the Soul Edge, since it was pointing at the pocket in which her shard was hidden.

"I hate to tell you this, but this shard isn't yours," she said brandishing her weapon. Before she knew it, her pupils dilated once more and she snarled, not knowing she was being controlled by the shard, "it's MINE!"

She charged the creature, intending on impaling it on her blade, only to miss as the monster side-stepped her strike and hit her with a sphere that appeared out of its deformed hand. Cassandra recovered faster than she noticed and after getting some distance between herself and her opponent, she charged again from an angle. Swinging her right foot out, she was able to knock the monster's left foot off the ground, making it balance on its remaining appendage, allowing her to switch to her other foot to donkey kick it away.

Her advantage was short lived as she felt her ankle being wrapped around by what appeared to be a chain link and thrown into the air with little difficulty. Again, she was caught in mid air and slammed into a stand, rolling through the piles of freshly strewn clothes as pain surged through her arms.

The creature roared again and drew its arm back, having a feeling as what was to come, she rolled out of the way as the same chain link screamed across the ground and through the air where she was a second ago, ripping apart anything it touched.

Finding not much chance attacking it from a distance, she closed the distance between them and hopped to the right as it swung a something that looked like an ax vertically.

Taking advantage of its miss, she gave the monster a fierce uppercut with her shield, struck its face with the butt of her sword handle, and then brought her heel downward on the top of its skull. However, to her shock, it grabbed her ankle once more on her decent and threw her into another stand.

Holding her hand to her head, she tried to ignore the throbbing in the back of her skull as a pair of footsteps approached her.

She turned to see a man dressed in well worn traveling leathers and a rapier at his side. She was about to ask who he was when he stepped past her and drew his weapon. The plea to turn back had crossed her mind until she saw the confidence in his step. No, it wasn't just confidence, it was skill and power.

Her observations were proved true when the green beast lunged forward with its claw, but missed as the man moved with an elegance to the side. Her disbelief grew when she observed the newcomer move with the grace of a dancer, practically untouchable no matter how wide or hard the beast swung. It was uncanny to Cassandra seeing the stoic face of the gallant swordsman. It appeared that nothing could faze him.

The man simply shook his head and spoke in a language foreign to her, "You do have the intellectual prowess to actually eat, do you not? Or are you too stupid to remember even that basic knowledge without your mother to remind you?"

From what she could tell, whatever the swordsman said had evidently irritated the monster so much that it intensified its attack. Cassandra was ready to leap to his defense when the beast lunged forward again, without the intent of missing. However, she gasped when the fencer moved like the water around the rock in a river, to the unprotected back of the beast man.

From what she could see, gone was the civility of the gentleman, replaced with the savage hunger of a predator. The man's blade became a blur as he repeatedly stabbed the back of the beast. She gaped in horror upon witnessing the man impaling the beast's neck with the point, twirled around, forcing the beast to face him, and finally impaling the monster through its spinal cord.

Within seconds, the monster convulsed and then fell to the ground, never to move again.

She had to close her open mouth with her hand as she finally gathered the courage to stand up.

"Um... thank you," she said as calmly as she could.

The man cocked an eyebrow upon turning to her, "Entschldegung?"

She blinked, "Oh, you're German?"

The man tilted his head, "pardone moi?"

"French?"

"Niet."

"Russian?"

"Impropio!"

"Spanish?!"

"Non."

"ARG! I know you can understand me! Pick a language and stay with it!"

The man chuckled in good humor, "Dear me, never before have I met with a Greek Firebrand before. And a fighter at that."

Her shoulders slumped a bit, "I don't want to admit it, but I have a long way to go before I can reach your level."

"Ah, but your eye is far from green. And you have the humility to understand that no one is above improvement."

Cassandra frowned, "don't patronize me. And I'm not one of those country bumpkins that you can bed with a few pretty words."

The man smiled and it chilled her to the bone. "I assure you, friend, my intentions are honorable."

"Of course they are..." she mumbled before she heard a sound of something burning and turned to the body of the monster suddenly burning from something within.

She covered her eyes as the glow became too intense for her eyes. However, within seconds, the light died down and she saw several pieces of glowing metal that were unmistakable to her eyes.

Soul Edge shards.

Almost on impulse, she ran forward and started to gather them in her pouch.

"I wouldn't take those, if I were you. You may well catch what made him such a fool to begin with," the man said with an air of warning.

Placing a few shards in her pocket, she turned back to him, "even if I didn't, someone else would take them and do who know what with them. I'm going to make sure no one uses them again."

The man only laughed at her resolve, "very well. But if you end up a gibbering buffoon, do us all a favor and drown yourself. It's easier that way."

With the last of the shards in her hand, she looked from it to him and said with a smirk of her own, "and what would you do with them? You too seem to be quite knowledgeable and interested in this... 'thing'."

The man smiled impishly, "now that would be telling."

"You're a strange man. Though a gentleman, you can be quite a savage. You've also saved me, but I doubt it was because of some heroic idiom."

"Well isn't that a way to show gratitude?"

"Don't misunderstand me, sir. I would've been torn from limb from limb by that creature were it not for your intervention. I am grateful for my life and I owe you a debt. Yet, there's something within your gaze which makes my intuition to not dare look the other way, lest I lie in a shallow grave."

The man's chilling smile returned, "then consider it encouragement not to cross me?"

Cassandra hesitated a moment, considering her answer, "you could say that."

"Very well then!" the man pronounced boisterously before bowing, "with that, I bid you adieu, mademoiselle."

Like the wind, her mysterious hero came and left. Leaving her to contemplate his warning, which sounded an awful lot like the Chinese woman's as well.

Noticing the crowd beginning to return to the scene, she bid a hasty retreat to another part of the dock. Hoping that no one had seen her take the shards.

-

The darker alleyways of the city had a definite gloom that did not ease her rapidly beating heart. Not only had she made a wrong turn again, she had no idea how to get back to the port. Finding a well hidden creek between the creates, she put her sword on the ground to the side and arranged the shards she had collected on the ground in front of her.

The warnings she had received earlier were echoing louder and louder in her mind. If it was true, then those shards were what had created that... thing that had nearly killed her.

Could the same happen to her?

The fact she could not control her anger around Siegfried and she couldn't hold herself in a battle only attested that she simply throwh the shards into the water.

Yet, another quarry appeared. Others would simply take up the chase without the knowledge she had. It was starting to become more and more of a burden she didn't want. Yet, fate had placed her as the center of some demented joke.

Maybe, if she simply broke the pieces with her sword hilt, maybe they'd become small enough where they'd be worthless. It was certainly a possibility. The shard in her sister's eye was certainly large enough to do whatever it did, but there had to be a limit to its power when reduced in size.

Gripping the hilt of her sword, she raised with weapon like a makeshift hammer. In a way, it as almost unfortunate. The secrets the Soul Edge had could have been limitless and to understand them would have been the most wonderful thing in the world.

With a sigh, she figured the only way to learn as the great ones did was to make the same mistakes and resist the same temptations that they did.

When she was ready to bring the butt of the hilt down, she hesitated. Yet, forced the questions out of her mind and slammed the weapon down. However, the instant the hilt it, the metal changed into a gelatinous substance and crept onto her hand. Within seconds, the other shards nearby followed suit and gathered onto her hand.

In horror, she stood up and tried to force the possessed sword out of her hand. However, the shards had hardened once again and had clamped themselves over her hand and wrist.

When the metal touched her skin, she could feel its malignancy forcing its way into her mind. She felt the anger, the sorrow, the madness that the Azure Nightmare had lived in. The fear was starting to pull her into a spiral of despair she could not get out of.

She could hear the taunting laughter of the Soul Edge in her mind. Mocking, insulting, and demeaning everything she was. She feel the Soul Edge taking control of her fear and anger, turning them against her.

Yet, in a second of clarity, she understood how the cursed weapon worked. Instead of trying to force the weapon off of her hand, she then took the rest of the handle of her sister's sword and focused on forcing the malign power of the sword back.

It was the fear. That was how it gained control of the victims. However, the answer lay within the problem. If one could find the will power to control their fear, then it was possible to wield the weapon without being controlled by it.

Slowly, a smile spread across her face as she forced her will against the sword. Bit by bit, the Soul Edge was losing ground and influence. A cruel laughter came from her throat as she gave one final mental push, completely annihilating the influence of the Soul Edge.

Gradually, the shards slowly moved from her hand and into the crafted weapon. Soon, the weapon started to change its shape in her hand. Though still a short sword, she could sense its new power to change shape and length at her will. A well placed stab could surprise her foes.

Another more malicious grin formed on her lips as she felt its power coursing through her veins. It was beyond marvelous. She could also feel its knowledge, experience, and comprehension becoming hers.

And she was trying to destroy it in the first place? Foolishness!

She was broken out of her reprieve by the sounds of several men marching in her direction. Though still far away, their voices carried farther than they realized.

"Are you sure you saw her coming this way?"

"Of course I am. She took the shards and ran this way."

Her eyes widened in shock. She was being followed. Even with her new weapon, she couldn't hope to stand against several men at once. She needed an avenue of escape. A distraction. A disguise.

Her new weapon had caught that last thought and before Cassandra could stop it, veins along her neck and face grew to unhealthy sizes. She gasped and held her jaw as pain raced through her entire body. Her attempt to scream was thwarted as her voice was silenced by the saliva flowing from her mouth.

=

One man looked around several of the large crates, "There's only one way out of here and I doubt that little wench could find it."

Another man spoke up, "How do you figure that?"

"She's not from around here, that's why. No outsiders can find their way around here without a guide."

This time, another voice spoke up from in front of the men, "Are you so sure of that?" a man stepped out of the crevice and inclined his head behind himself, "if the girl I saw running through here is the same as the one you're looking for, then I suggest you hurry."

Not wanting to waste an opportunity, the half dozen men hurried forward and past the man. However, it proved to be their undoing. The stranger drew a sword and before the last man could scream, he was impaled from behind by a glowing sword.

Several seconds later, another man fell in the same manner as his friend. By the time the other four men realized, it the stranger had charged and slew three of them in one swing.

With the last man on his knees against the wall, he attempted to draw his sword, but before his sword could escape his scabbard the blade of the stranger pierced his head and within seconds, he was dead.

The stranger smiled at the carnage and shivered as he felt his victim's life force flowing through the sword. Not needing the disguise anymore, Cassandra allowed her face to return to its previous state. With a satisfied smile, she beheld her azure colored eyes in the reflection of her sword.

She understood the reason why the Soul Edge was feared by those two who tried to 'warn' her. Their weak minds could never hope to subdue its power the way she had. Perhaps she did have that gift that Sophitia spoke of. And it was most useful. All that mattered now was the power she wilded. The wisdom she could learn with it made her cackle in anticipation.

However, one final detail still remained. Her new weapon required a name. And it needed to be appropriate considering what it was.

It didn't take long before an idea flashed across her mind. What else were things like this were created for? She cradled her new weapon, reveling in the warmth of the metal, as though it were a baby and whispered,

"Bellicus."

War.

End of chapter 7

As Cassandra centric as this chapter is, she'll be sure to let Ivy and Bangoo take the front in the next chapter. Why? Because she's not all bad... she's just no good. :p Besides, one can only go so far with something like this.

Oh, about the ax, I doubt Percival in the legends was an ax wielder. I'm only going off of the Capcom game 'Knights of the Round', in which said knight is a lightly armored, but burly ax wielder. It's an oldie, but goodie game.

And for those who are talking about how Xianghua wouldn't be able to beat Taki; well, I am inclined to agree. But the 'not-so-goody-two-shoes Xianghua' can. And I'd like to give thanks to DarkFacade-88 for giving me the idea.

Also, I wanted to bring Raphael into this story, but there wasn't enough room to fit him in as a major character, unless I get an idea. (HA! As if that ever happens.) We loves our morally ambiguous characters, don't we? :) At the least, you can expect him to make a few more cameos because he's just too cool an anti-hero to simply ignore.

Next: Cassandra. I've liked what I've done with her so far. And I got a few more ideas to work with her later on in the story. With any luck, they'll be good enough for me to not want to smack myself for doing it in the first place.

I'm also looking for anyone willing to be a proof-reader to pick up grammatical errors and such, since I'm not the best at pick up such things. If there's anyone out there willing to take the pain, I'd appreciate your help.

Finally; all things in this story belongs to Namco. I could never hope to make such cool things in the first place.