Author's note: Nothing new, but thanks for waiting as always!

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It has been quite a while since I've been to Lasberg undetected...

A cloaked, feminine figure had such thoughts in her head as she looked around the townscape. There were plenty of people, some selling their wares, some drinking at the tavern, and some (mostly children) just having fun running around.

Make no mistake, the woman was clearly Tira. However, she had to keep her identity a secret to the citizens.

She let out a small smirk as she thought to herself once more. And this time...I will finally get to that girl!

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While out for some grub at the tavern, Marie was ready to eat and mingle with friends. After ordering her food, she noticed Viola entering, which prompted her curiosity to strike again.

"Hey, Viola! What brought you here for?" she asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened several days ago; remember how I was hellbent on figuring out who I am?"

The blonde nodded, wordlessly urging her to continue.

"Well, I now know who I am: I used to be someone by the name of Amy Sorel, the foster daughter of Raphael Sorel. As of now...he's dead, and that Graf Dumas has taken his physical form. I've already explained this to Schwarzwind, and believe me, they were quite floored."

Viola's revelation prompted Marie to widen her eyes, and she said, "So that's what happened when you lost contact with him."

"Maybe. And I ended up living with several people whom I vaguely remember..."

"But what happened to your hair? It used to be red?"

Once again, Viola nodded. "Yes, it had. Its color changed drastically during that time, though"

"Do you think you will see Dumas again?" the leader asked.

"I'm not sure; but I'm certain he's aligned with Nightmare." was the white-haired girl's response. "We could even come across him again in the future, if it's possible."

Marie gave her a small, but genuinely brave smile, as did Viola. Before long, they would start enjoying their food and drink together.

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Later on, as evening began to show, Freyja had looked out the window in Marie's room, seeing the orange sky before her eyes. At the same time, she seemed rather pensive as she closed her eyes.

It didn't take long for the leader to ask, "What's wrong? Are you having visions again?"

The red-haired goddess turned to face her, opening her eyes as she said, "One of Nightmare's most devoted followers may have visited Lasberg. But this time, she's not exploring and not wanting to be recognized. Remember how Pyrrha has been having nightmares about her?"

"Lydia's told me about her, too. She's even tagging along with Patroklos to find her, as well."

Marie's words made Freyja smile, as she told her, "Then that's good; I'm sure they'll deal with her as soon as possible. I'll be more than happy to let them know."

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"So...where is she?"

Patroklos had asked Lydia this question as they looked around Lasberg, but to no avail. "Well, we checked everywhere, but I don't really see her."

When she spoke those words, they had returned to the base, and it wasn't long before Freyja's voice called out from the window. "Maybe she's outside the town, maybe around the forest, even."

Lydia was initially surprised, but nodded at her words, as did Patroklos. "Let's go!" she said as she looked over at him.

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Upon leaving the town, Patroklos and Lydia were close to reaching the forest almost nearby, when a voice rang out to their surprise.

"Wait!"

They turned around, and saw that it belonged to Pyrrha, as she had overheard their conversation and caught up with them. She had also with her her sword and shield, to which she continued speaking.

"You're going after her?" she asked. "Please, Lydia. Take me with you!"

"Hold on, so you want to find her, too? That...almost came out of nowhere."

"I've an idea: maybe I should play bodyguard to both of you. After all, I knew about you having bad blood with her." was Patroklos's suggestion.

Lydia and Pyrrha were bewildered at first, but both girls smiled in agreement. "Sounds good to me." the British girl replied.

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Having reached the forest some time later, Pyrrha, Lydia and even Patroklos began to investigate. "You sure she's around here?" the siblings heard her ask.

"I'm certain..." Pyrrha replied.

While they were looking around, a woman with silver-ish pigtails had kept herself hidden behind a tree, no longer needing her cloak this time around. After Tira had explored Lasberg, she was disappointed that she couldn't locate Pyrrha.

"This is ridiculous...where the hell is she?" she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, Lydia's ears detected what she assumed to be low whispering, and asked, "You hear something?"

"That voice...it sounded familiar."

Pyrrha's reply would prompt both of them to follow where the voice came from, but as they grew closer, Tira emerged. She had on a malicious smirk, and had her ringblade prepared to strike.

"You!"

"So, you've remembered me after all those years." Tira said. "And since you brought backup, I might as well do the same time." she added, mentioning Patroklos.

Several of the Watchers, in the form of ravens, flew to her side. This gave the burgundy-haired girl an idea, and she looked over at the siblings.

"Pyrrha and I will take care of Tira; you deal with the ravens."

"Are you serious?" Patroklos asked, somewhat dumbfounded.

Lydia let out an awkward chuckle, before saying "Allright, I take it back. I'll try to take them down with my bow." True to her word, she went to focus on taking out the ravens.

Meanwhile, Patroklos asked, "Why'd you bring that cloak with you when you looked around Lasberg?"

Tira scoffed, before replying, "For your information, I was trying to locate your dear sister around town. Unfortunately, she wasn't that much of a social butterfly, or even afraid of going outside."

"Neither is true, and you know it!"

Fury sparked her eyes as Pyrrha made the first move, taking her opponent by surprise. "Were my insults taken too far for you?" she heard her ask, her grin appearing once again.

Tira would then make several slashes with her weapon, and though the Greek girl would block the first few, she ended up getting hit by the next several attacks. That prompted Patroklos to take action and make his move.

As for Lydia, she had been able to shoot down a few of the Watchers. They would end up being rattled, and fled from her sight.

She looked over the siblings, as they were now up against Tira. The malfested woman was hit as Soul Calibur pierced through her a few more times, before her mouth gaped in awe.

"You and that Marie brat...you're the successors to Soul Calibur, are you?" she asked.

"How'd you guess?"

Tira's shock soon turned to amusement as she continued, "That's a silly question for you to ask me, pretty boy. But I'm certain that the successor to Soul Edge will be-"

"Me?"

When Pyrrha asked, the malfested woman's grin couldn't get any bigger. "How'd you guess?"

The blonde suddenly stood in her tracks, her heart beating almost in terror.

"Bloody hell..." Lydia muttered under her breath.

Since Pyrrha was figuratively petrified, she had to take over for her. Shooting several more arrows, one of them was able to land on Tira's shoulder, prompting her to grit her teeth.

Patroklos would then follow things up with his Critical Edge, charging for her, and giving her a single slash. As he sheathed his sword, she fell to the ground.

He was surprised as to how Soul Calibur was just as powerful as it was in the past, and was confident that it would prove to be of good use.

Tira, on the other hand, grimaced as her sadistic joy turned to anger as she said, "I knew you'd be this strong...but you sure as hell ain't strong enough to take down Nightmare!"

"Maybe...but Marie and I will have allies backing us up!"

Tira rolled her eyes, before she and what remained of the Watchers took off. Leaving the trio alone in the forest, they were able to discover that the moon was beginning to rise.

"I guess...we'll have to go back to the others." Lydia suggested.

"Agreed."

When Patroklos looked over at Pyrrha, he asked, "Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath, before she finally responded with a shaky, "M-Maybe."

Giving her a reassuring smile, he, along with Lydia, helped her back to the base, where everyone else was waiting for them for dinner.

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While the entire group, as well as the Alexandra siblings, consumed their meals, Pyrrha seemed quiet and not wanting to talk. Everyone else was happy and enjoying themselves, but she wasn't in the same mood as them.

"Pyrrha?" she heard Lydia ask her. "Why don't you wanna converse with us?"

The blonde girl sighed, and wound up asking her a question of her own. "Can we talk in private? Both of us? Please?"

This caused Lydia to nearly spit out her food: after having grown on her for a considerable amount of time, it looked like Pyrrha wanted to be intimate with her. She gulped down her food and smiled, replying with, "Of course! After we're done eating, that is."

Pyrrha also smiled back, before dinner resumed.

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After that, Patroklos, Pyrrha and Lydia had their wounds attended to as usual. Soon after, Lydia returned to her room to relax for a bit, before considering retiring for the night.

The sound of her door being knocked on, though, caused to answer it almost instantly. "Pyrrha...glad to know you'd drop by." she said with a small smile.

"Me, too. Listen, you may not like what you're going to here..."

As she closed the door behind them, Pyrrha took a deep breath, and finally said, "I might be the next holder of Soul Edge, as Tira said, and I'm very scared."

"What...?!"

"I can't bear to be in charge of the weapon Nightmare had wielded in the past!"

Pyrrha was visibly frightened as her body shook, to which Lydia wrapped her arms around her, almost tightly. "Pyrrha...I know nothing bad will happen to you; I'm sure somebody else might wield Soul Edge, and that somebody won't be you." she said.

"Lydia, we've been around each other for so long since my brother and I tagged alongside you and the other Mad Hearts Neo. Will you stay by my side...please?"

Her earnest words would make Lydia shiver a bit, recalling her attempt in having a relationship with Leia, a former classmate of hers. Closing her eyes, she pondered it over, before she finally replied, "I will. With all my body and soul, I will."

Pyrrha smiled as she figuratively found herself melting in Lydia's arms for a while, until she asked, "But what if you still have feelings for Patroklos?"

The British girl was initially taken aback, but she found herself telling her, "I...I might."

"There's nothing wrong with a little polyamory, right?"

Lydia shuddered, and responded with, "That's just gross; besides, I never saw any incestuous bonding between the two of you." She added, "But don't worry, I'll be more than happy to spill the beans about my relationship to him."

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Heading for Patroklos's room, Lydia did a few knocks almost immediately, to which the door would open.

"Hello!"

"Lydia? What brings you here?" he asked.

"Well, I wanted to visit you because Pyrrha was curious about if I had feelings for you, even if I was very much into her." she replied as she entered his room.

"Wait a minute...you were developing a relationship with her too?"

Lydia grinned as she replied, "Yes, I have. Aren't you surprised?"

"But why?"

"Well..." Lydia sat on the bed and gave him a serious look. "A few years ago, I had a crush on a friend, but she rejected me because she was dating my brother Nicolas. And even though I wasn't just drawn to her like moths to a light, I'd taken a fancy to you, too."

"Are you insisting that you'd strike up a romance with both of us?"

"Yes. Besides, I have plenty of time in the world to officially hook up with both of you...and yet, you're still siblings."

"I'd have to agree with you; it's really disgusting to develop romantic or even sexual feelings for your brothers or sisters." Patroklos said, nodding.

"So what do you say?" she asked, sporting a confident smile.

"Um...both of us would love to be around you - individually, of course. I mean, you can spend time with Pyrrha, and sometimes you'd do the same with me." he replied.

"Like the time I gave you head?"

The blond blushed at her words, "Uh, yeah."

"God, it feels so good to be swinging both ways..." Lydia muttered to herself as she let out a sigh of relief.

Her words prompted Patroklos to ask, "Wait...you...you swing both ways? Does that mean you like boys...and girls?"

"Exactly."

The duo shared a laugh together, before she would finally take her leave for the night.

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Sorry if I didn't come up with a better ending. Still, stay tuned for Chapter 8!

With love for my fans,

Chrissy