Author's note: Nothing new, but as always, thanks for waiting! But I would like to point out that Cassandra's Ultimate in SC4 will be her Critical Edge here.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Patroklos stirred as the rays of sunlight began to bathe him, until he noticed that something was amiss. It was clear that Marie had already awoken, and was sitting next to him.

"Good morning!" she said with a cheerful smile.

Letting out a yawn whilst stretching, he replied, "Good morning, Marie."

"A little sleepy, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

As Patroklos got up, he went to get dressed. Marie was waiting patiently, but Freyja would catch her by surprise.

"So the Fated Hero and Heroine have finally got together." she said with a smile.

Marie chuckled, before she saw the Greek youth was almost fully clothed. He turned to see the goddess of war, and said, "It's an honor to be seeing you again."

Freyja's smile grew bigger as she saw that his upper body was exposed, but her gaze would be cut short. Once he was finally dressed, he had an idea.

"Marie, I was wondering if we can travel to Greece. I'd like to show Aunt Cassandra what I've learned for a long time with you." he said.

The leader, having remembered introducing Freyja to Cassandra, smiled with approval. "Is that so?" she asked.

"Of course." Patroklos replied.

"Sounds good to me!" Marie exclaimed.

Standing up, she also asked, "But shouldn't you check up on Pyrrha? See how she's doing?"

He nodded. "I'd very much like that."

As they left together, Freyja briefly contemplated the thought of seducing Patroklos. However, she had to focus on what was going on.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As he visited the Schwarzwind's castle, Patroklos had planned to visit Pyrrha, true to his word. Expecting Siegfried, he instead came across Tristy.

"Tristy," he said, "May I drop by to see my sister? I hope she's doing alright."

"Of course. She seems to be a bit perplexed about one of her arms, though. Maybe you can talk to her about it?"

"Sure."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pyrrha had just awoken, and had asked for some soup for breakfast. When the doctors brought it to her, she began to eat.

At the same time, Patroklos had entered the medical bay. "Pyrrha? Are you okay?"

Hearing him speak made her smile, and she replied, "Patroklos...it's good to see you again. And yes, I'm getting better...I hope."

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be traveling to Greece with Marie at my side." he said.

"Oh, you and Marie got together as a couple?" she asked.

"Yes; I just need to undergo some training with Aunt Cassandra."

Pyrrha's smile grew bigger, and she said, "Just...be careful, okay?"

"I will; don't worry."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Several days later...

Having returned to his native country after taking temporary leave from Lasberg, Patroklos smiled. He heard Marie ask, "So you said you were gonna visit Cassandra, right?"

He looked over at her before nodding. "Let's go find her."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cassandra had just come home after a rather busy day, and was preparing to have a bath. However, her plans were cut short when she heard a knock on the front door.

"Could you save the bath for later?" she asked one of the servants.

"Of course, madam."

She went to answer the door, and upon opening it, she was pleasantly surprised.

"Patroklos!" she exclaimed with a smile. "It's so good to see you again! How's life going?"

Patroklos smiled back, before replying, "I'm glad to visit you again as well, Aunt Cassandra. I've got good news and bad news, by the way. So can we talk in the courtyard?"

"Sure!" Cassandra said. "Oh, and uh...from the looks of things, is Marie now your girlfriend?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

It was obvious that she was referring to Marie, who simultaneously blushed and giggled. Patroklos briefly looked over at her, before looking back at his aunt. "Yes...she and I are currently in love." he replied.

"Well, it's about time you've found someone to find romance with."

The Greek youth couldn't help but blush, but also smiled even more radiantly. As he entered the house, he was already poised to go to the courtyard to speak to his aunt.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Nightmare chose her?!"

Cassandra bolted from her chair, eyes widening in shock.

"Yes...and to make matters worse, she was assigned Soul Edge as prophecized. Pyrrha was also assigned to work for Nightmare, and was also told to find and kill Marie and I, the holders of Soul Calibur, and also the Fated Hero and Heroine."

Taking a deep breath, the Greek woman asked, "Y-You didn't fight her, did you?"

Patroklos replied, "Marie and I fought her, but in the end, Pyrrha lost fair and square. Luckily, we didn't kill her. Instead, we brought her back to Schwarzwind's castle, where she would be tended to by Liz and the doctors."

Cassandra breathed a sigh, and exclaimed, "Oh, thank the gods!"

"But, as she told me, she also has a bullseye on her back, in a figurative sense. In other words, Nightmare could track her down and kill her for her failure." Patroklos added.

"Then I'm glad you've still got her on your side. Otherwise, things would've been even worse for Pyrrha, my poor niece." she said, giving him a hug out of relief.

He hugged her back, before eventually pulling away. "So I came here to train for a bit, and with you as my teacher." he added.

"Oh, really?" Cassandra asked, before her relieved smile grew bigger. "I'd be honored! Besides, it's been a while since I last kicked ass!" she exclaimed.

"I'll be taking notes, okay?" Marie asked.

"Sounds good to me." Patroklos replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After escorting him to her home's training room, Cassandra has already took out her sword as well as her shield. "So, you ready?" she asked as she turned to see him.

"Yes, but hold on." Patroklos replied, before taking out Soul Calibur from its sheath.

This was enough to take the woman by surprise, and exclaimed, "So it IS true! You're one of the holders of Soul Calibur's newest incarnation!" before asking, "Didn't it come with a shield?"

"It did, but Ares destroyed it one not-so-uneventful day."

"I wonder why?" she inquired.

"Well, Athena insisted that she and Ares mentor me and Pyrrha, but Ares wasn't all that happy about it, so in a rage, he broke it." Patroklos told her.

"Couldn't you bring it to a blacksmith?"

"No, I'm far better off with only the sword." he replied.

"A-ha, I see..."

Once she walked to the center of the room, he followed her lead. It didn't take long for her to charge, exclaiming, "Here I come!" before her blade cut through his armor.

As he took the first hit, Patroklos had to put some effort into his training. After a couple of hits from her, he retaliated with several swings of his sword.

Cassandra smirked, before dodging an incoming attack. However, she was already caught offguard by his combo.

Ready to strike back, she was close to pulling it off. To her surprise, since he didn't have a shield, Patroklos parried her attack with Soul Calibur.

"Way to improvise." she said.

"Thanks."

He finally slashed at her several more times, nearly breaking her armor. Around the same time, Marie watched, eyes full of curiosity.

However, his string of moves were cut short when Cassandra blocked with her shield. She would then figuratively slice through him a few times, before attempting to jump onto his head with her posterior.

Luckily, Patroklos was more than happy to evade her, before taking her by surprise with his Critical Edge. When he was finished, he sheathed his sword and looked back to see Cassandra panting and grinning at the same time.

"Well, damn. You sure did learn an awful lot back in Germany!" she exclaimed.

He smiled, before helping her up. "Thank you, Aunt Cassandra." he told her.

"I suggest you take a load off for the rest of the day; what do you think?"

"Sounds pretty good."

Both aunt and nephew smiled out of respect, before Marie waved to them. She exclaimed, "Great sparring there! I should have a turn next, do you think?"

Patroklos could only shrug, and replied, "I guess so. Either later on, or tomorrow, take your pick."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Some time later, after returning to the villa he recalled sleeping in, Patroklos decided to have a bath, which was outdoors, so to speak. As he let out a relieved sigh, he sunk into the water.

He also began to ponder the future and what laid ahead of him and Marie, yet also wondered if he could help Pyrrha turn against Nightmare. As his thoughts began to cloud his mind, he suddenly heard the sound of water.

Turning his head, he noticed that the MHN's leader had just stepped into the bath. She sighed happily as the waters tended to her skin, especially when she agreed to spar against Cassandra as well.

"Oh, hey, Patroklos!" she called out to him.

"Hey, Marie. I have a question for you." he replied. "Do you really like baths this much?"

"I love taking baths! It not only helps me relax, but when I was little, I was super-playful."

"You mean you were accustomed to splashing water onto your parents?" he asked.

"Pretty much." Marie replied.

Nodding, Patroklos noticed as to how the night sky was quite beautiful, with its glimmering stars. He looked over at her again, and said, "You know, if we were ever married, then this feels like our honeymoon together."

"A honeymoon?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Silly, we're not even married!"

Marie let out a small giggle, while Patroklos replied, "Of course not. But to me, it feels like it." before swimming over to her.

"What do you mean?"

When she asked such a question, she wasn't aware of his fingers tracing across the skin of her upper leg. This prompted her to blush, before her train of thought became jumbled once again.

HessohandsomeIfeelsolucky!

Nevertheless, Patroklos pressed his lips against hers. She was surprised at first, but would eventually go along with it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Some time later...

"Patroklos? What's going on over there?"

Patroklos gasped, before diving into the water. Marie noticed, before she whispered, "It's okay, you can tell her."

He emerged from the bath, clearing his throat as he got a towel to wrap around his waist. "Nothing, really. Just had a chat with Marie, that's all."

"Well, I heard someone moaning, so I wonder who-"

"Allright, we were just about to get intimate, and nothing more." he replied, blushing a bright red.

"Oh, really?" Cassandra said, raising an eyebrow. "Now that I think of it, maybe I should have myself a little moment with Elijah." she said, before taking off back to her house.

He looked back at the German girl, who was also a shade of beet red. However, she could only smile as she said, "Maybe next time we'll do it, and indoors especially."

Both Patroklos and Marie smiled together, before cleaning up and retiring for the night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

During their intimacy in the bath, though, Freyja had also heard Patroklos, before licking her lips seductively. However, Athena had on a noticeable flush as she asked, "What are you enthralled about?"

The Norse goddess turned to see her, grinning before replying, "I've a feeling I want a piece of him, just like Marie."

"Are you kidding me?! Gods can't commune sexually with mere mortals!"

"Yes, it does. I mean, it worked for Dampierre, so why not Patroklos?" Freyja said with a wink. Athena rolled her eyes, letting out a somewhat annoyed sigh.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next few chapters will follow the same formula until we get to chapter 18. With that said, catch you on the flip!

With love for my fans,

Chrissy