Author's note: Nothing new, but as always, thanks for waiting! P.S. Sorry for the lateness (have been pretty busy lately) and sorry if the fights are short, but I know I tried.

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As Leixia drawn out her jian, Helen was surprised as to how similar it had looked to Xianghua's sword. But what made it look a bit unique was that the handle was colored a mix of cyan and sky blue, and a snail-piece that resembled a dragon.

It was no wonder its name was translated to 'Ten Feet of Blue'.

On the other hand, the Chinese girl asked, "How are you able to wield a lance that big?"

It was clear she was referring to the Scarlet Lance, which happened to be Helen's weapon of choice. "I've been taught how to fight years ago thanks to a man named Varskov. I've worked for his family as a maid, but I became very interested in all things combat." she replied.

"Wow, that's cool!" Leixia exclaimed, but her smile soon turned serious as she added, "But enough yapping; let's go!"

She lunged and successfully made her first attack, which were a couple of slashes. Helen, though impressed, was still itching to give her friends a victory and tie Leixia and her allies.

Fighting back, she hit her with her lance, almost with clear precision. One more slash, and Leixia would hit the ground.

However, she still had enough energy in her to persevere, with a combination of hits from her jian, as well as a couple of kicks. Her opponent would regardless get up, intent on performing her Critical Edge.

Helen was able to succeed, using her lance to take hold of her, and then smashing her to the ground a few times. She then flung her off with the lance, and it was no surprise that Leixia was just as astounded as her.

"You're pretty good...but you ain't seen nothing yet!"

As she said those words, she jumped up and provided several swirling hits on Helen. As the Russian girl fell down, Leixia let out a fairly breathless giggle.

"I guess this calls for a draw. We had a great time testing each others's weapons, plus I think you'd make a worthy successor to your mother." Helen said as she managed to get up.

"And I think you're one seriously tough girl!" Leixia added.

Both girls laughed as they shook hands out of respect, before Xiba called out, "Okay, one last match!"

Patroklos had instantly heard those words, before he came out with Soul Calibur ready at the helm. As he stood before the plucky boy, he watched as he readied his staff.

He had attempted to attack him, but was caught by surprise as the boy dodged his every move, and even jumping up to the top of staff one time. Thankfully, his last hit would be successful, but Xiba was ready to strike back.

The boy grinned as his weapon effortlessly tore through Patroklos with a combination of his staff as well as a few kicks, which was enough to jog his memory. He fights like Kilik, allright! He thought silently.

When he was about to finish up the series of slashes, Patroklos surprised Xiba by parrying him, before he heard him ask, "Hey, you think you can keep up?"

"Perhaps...if I'm lucky enough."

"Heh..."

After their brief conversation, Patroklos continued his momentum, learning to dodge when given the chance. Despite this, however, Xiba was quick to catch up.

Parrying his opponent's attack, the boy would deliver his own special move: using his staff (assumed to be the Kali-Yuga, or perhaps a successor) he flung him up in the air, before rising up and unleashing several kicks.

Finally, the staff figuratively swung down, and as he took the hit, some of Patroklos's armor were nearly crushed. He groaned as he slowly sat up, before Xiba exclaimed, "Sounds like I've got a victory!"

"I'll admit, all of you were pretty good. Even though you're visiting Lasberg and all, I really think you could've made good allies."

As Patroklos said those words, he noticed Leixia helping him get up. "Thanks." he told her, to which she smiled with him.

"Y'know, all this fighting is really making me hungry; who wants dinner?" Xiba asked.

"Well, we could. But I think the six of you all gotta recuperate, somehow." Marie replied. Remembering the public bathing chamber, however, she added, "Hold on, I have an idea!"

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A while later...

"Isn't this water great, Sis?" Natsu asked.

As she happily lounged herself into the bath, she heard Isuzu reply, "Oh, yes. I've always enjoyed bathing here."

"Come to think of it, it's a lot warmer compared to the waters I've found myself diving into back where I came from." Helen added.

"You know, I think that Marie really made a good choice for the six of us to be bathing here." Leixia added, before playfully splashing at Natsu.

"Hey!"

It didn't take long for the ninja to splash back, prompting both girls to get into a small splash fight whilst they laughed. Not too far away, Xiba was busy scrubbing his body, whereas Patroklos looked on as he immersed himself into the bath yet again.

"Hey," he called out to him.

This quickly brought the Chinese boy's attention as he asked, "What's up?"

"It looked as though you and Leixia really get along well. Are you more than just friends?"

"Gross!" Xiba exclaimed with a sneer, before jumping into the waters.

"Why not?" Patroklos inquired.

Realizing that the others were close by, Xiba wanted to keep things private between him and the Greek youth. Taking him by the arm, to his surprise, he brought him to behind a statue, to which he asked in a whisper, "You promise you won't tell anyone, right?"

"I do promise."

Xiba cleared his throat and began, "Well, in secret, Leixia and I...w-we're half-siblings. Plus, I never knew whom my father was, either."

Patroklos was caught off-guard at such a revelation, and he said with a serious look, "I won't tell anyone else about it, as I've already promised."

The younger boy grinned, before asking, "So when's dinner?"

"As soon as we're done bathing." was his response.

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Soon after, Maxi and Marie agreed to have everyone eat together at Schwarzwind's castle, as the dining room in the MHN's base could only hold eight people. Eventually, they'd reach the area, and the servants had provided the group of eleven (including the rest of Schwarzwind) a feast.

"So these are the visitors from afar, huh?" Z.W.E.I. asked.

"Yes. More importantly, they'd come to find some challengers." Patroklos replied.

The two men then looked over at Xiba first, who was eating some food excitedly. Truly, he had never came across a different kind of cuisine that was also quite good.

Then, they brought their attention to Leixia and Natsu, as they were talking to Isuzu and Helen about the splash fight both girls had. Surprisingly enough, both Mad Hearts Neo members were able to join in.

Finally, Patroklos and Z.W.E.I. would look over at Maxi and Mi-Na. "I have a feeling I've never seen them before." the silver-haired man said.

"Maybe you can introduce yourself, Viola, and even those two goofballs to them." Patroklos suggested.

Z.W.E.I. shrugged, before he called out to the duo, "Excuse me, may I talk to you for a moment? I believe we've never met."

Mi-Na turned to see him and asked, "Oh sure! Are you one of Siegfried's allies, by the way? Because from the looks of it, you...really don't."

"I am."

"Oh, really?" she said as she raised an eyebrow. "That's a surprise right there!"

"I have a few other people I'm also closely associated with." Z.W.E.I. continued, mentioning Viola, Greed and Malice. The former was sitting next to him, and smiled as she looked over at him, whereas the latter two were too busy bickering while picking at each others' food.

"Dammit, Greed, I wanted more sauce on my steak!"

"Pfft. Your loss is already my gain; plus this food is delicious!"

Z.W.E.I. then said to Maxi and Mi-Na with a small smile, "Well, enough of them. Besides, I'd like nothing more to get to know you both like Patroklos did."

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On the other side, Marie was in the midst of finishing her dinner. From out of nowhere, Freyja emerged behind her.

"Ooh, all this food is pretty succulent!" she exclaimed. "But alas, I've had my share of mealtime like you have."

"Maybe I can call on a servant to fetch me more food."

"Your stomach's probably gonna get a little too full, huh?" Freyja asked.

"No. I'm just gonna hand it over to you, because I care." Marie responded.

Of course, Freyja wasn't the only one, as Athena was present. However, instead of being at the dining table and clamoring for food, she looked on with a small smile.

"Athena..."

She heard the familiarity in that voice and turned to see that Ares was there and almost sulking, all the while leaning against a wall.

"I feel like I owe you an apology for being so angry about us being mentors to Patroklos. I think you're better at this than I am, so I'm gonna let you off the hook and continue doing your thing, allright?" he asked.

Athena gave him a comforting smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks. Even though you're a jerk of a brother at times, there are times when you for once do the right thing." she told him.

Ares smiled faintly and nodded, and eventually dissolved. This left Athena to continue watching over Patroklos and the others as they were close to finishing up.

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Once dinner ended, the two groups were preparing to return to the town of Lasberg. However, Tristy had vaguely remembered an event from long ago, back when she and the rest of the Mad Hearts had been present with Siegfried and Schwarzwind.

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Many years ago...

Kelly Witherspoon was not only the youngest member of the Mad Hearts, but she was the most introverted. She was also a hopeless romantic, given her fondness for a potential happily ever after.

When the group first encountered the trio of Kilik, Xianghua and Maxi, Tristy couldn't help but notice the brunette from Sweden being so lovestruck. She decided to take it upon herself to visit her at the inn the five women had temporarily checked in.

"Kelly..." she asked as she entered one of the bedrooms. It belonged to not only Kelly, but also Annabelle, who was just as reserved as she was. But Annabelle was a very intelligent Brit who had herself a few romances, all of which ended in disappointment.

That aside, Kelly detected the German woman and asked, "Yes?"

"I want to know why you were being nervous around them."

"Well..." Kelly sighed as she continued, "I think the guy with the stylish hair is kind of cute."

"Are you kidding me? He's much older than you; say, around 28 or 29? You're only 16!" Tristy exclaimed.

Although this disappointed the young girl at first, she sighed as she reluctantly agreed. "Y-You're right. My apologies for being so smitten; it's just that he was pretty handsome."

"I know." Tristy said with a nod, giving her a comforting smile. "But I'm certain you'll not only find someone close to you in age, you'll find someone you'd truly love."

Kelly ended up smiling back as she hugged the leader, believing her words to be full of true encouragement.

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Coming soon: more of chapter 15!

With love for my fans,

Chrissy