Tira's memories of traveling with Siegfried were growing fainter by the day. Although a very short span of time had passed since she had abandoned them, she felt as though she had been apart from them for years. She found it difficult to remember many details about her traveling companions besides their names and combat techniques – all of her time and attention had been directed toward her former Master, and she had regarded the others as ornamental. The only memories in her mind that remained vibrant were the ones that hurt her the most. Watching her Master value her less and less, watching him learn that he could abuse her without consequence, watching him spend his time and affection on other women. She didn't mind losing her memories of her time with those people – she only regretted that her memories of Siegfried were not fading as well.
He was in the back of her mind almost perpetually, fueling a plethora of emotions – anger at him for his abuse, anger at herself for failing to serve him adequately. Regret for wasting her time in servitude to him, regret for abandoning a man she cared for so deeply. She simultaneously hated him and loved him; she wanted to be his, but only if she was the only one whom he gave his affection to. He wanted to be his servant, his property, his slave, but only if he would treat her as though she was something more. The contradictory nature of her feelings only added to her feelings of confusion and uncertainty. All she knew now was that she had left him; she could not go back; she had found a new Master; now all she had to do was think of him, instead. All she had to do was think of Nightmare, serve Nightmare, please Nightmare, and she would have nothing to fear. She would be a good slave, a good servant; she would have a purpose and fulfill it.
Now if only that man would get out of her mind, she would actually be able to concentrate.
Presently, Tira was attempting to focus not upon Siegfried, but on the blonde-haired woman whom had joined them in Greece. Fought her at the temple – knocked her into the water – carried her to her house – put her in her room...but how had they gained entry to the woman's house with her unconscious?
A broken lock – right. The lock on the back door had been broken. How long had it been since they had exploited that lock – three seasons ago? The blacksmith would most likely have fixed it by now. Still, it was the only helpful detail she could recall. She could attempt to gain entry from the rear – she tried to work that option into her plan.
Tira was not a planner. The leader is the one who makes the plans; the servant simply follows the plan. During her tenure in the Bird of Passage, her life was easy as long as she paid attention to her leaders and followed their orders. She hung on their every word and carried out their commands to the very last detail. She didn't have to put any thought at all into her actions; she just needed someone else to do the thinking for her.
It was rare when Tira was forced to design a plan by herself, and she despised the process thoroughly. She second-guessed herself constantly, always wondered what factors she was forgetting to consider, always wondered how much better her plan would be if another person had crafted it. Her commanders in the Bird of Passage and her two Masters were always so confident and sure of themselves – she envied the ease with which foresight came to them.
The first aspect of Tira's plan was to conceal her appearance. In the past, Tira's habit of coloring her hair, lips, and body had served to give her a new appearance, a new identity to escape persecution for whatever crimes she had recently committed. However, after her time with Siegfried and his lot, she knew better – she was now garbed in a heavy cloak that covered her from head to toe, and covered her head and face similarly to the way that the ninja of Japan had done. She was aware that concealing herself in this way was likely even more conspicuous than her usual garbs, but also knew that few people would dare to involve themselves with such a dangerous-looking individual.
The second aspect of Tira's plan was to conduct her mission after midnight. There would be fewer individuals present, and thus fewer possible obstacles. Thirdly, she would obtain a mount and a vessel to transport the two bodies. She had stolen a horse and a cart full of hay, and deemed them to be adequate for transporting the two children back to her Master.
Tira had never been sent on a mission to capture individuals alive, not after she had demonstrated a propensity for killing hostages and other individuals that are more valuable when still breathing. She didn't know what to expect once she arrived at Sophitia's abode. If she had to kill the husband, he might make a commotion before dying. Alarming others to her crimes would surely make things difficult for her – she would attempt to conduct her mission without raising too much noise, or unnecessary confrontations.
As for the children themselves...Tira carried with her a 'gift' from Nightmare that she felt would ensure the cooperation of the two brats. Should it fail her, she would subdue the children without causing them permanent harm, and bind their limbs. Hopefully it would not come to that...two emotional, frantic children causing an uproar would be the last thing she wanted to deal with while making her escape.
Even as the house came into view, Tira still revised her plan and looked for flaws or possible improvements. She tried to imagine every possible scenario and design plans to deal with contingencies, but unforeseen events are nearly impossible to prepare for. Hoping for the best, she brought her horse and cart to a slow stop outside the back door of the smithy, dismounted, and tried the handle.
No luck. The smith had repaired the lock after all.
Tira removed a lockpick from one of her pockets and set to work. It had been years since she had used the device, but it was one of the first things she had ever been taught to use, and the knowledge was too ingrained in her mind to ever lose. With a click, the catch gave way, and the door opened with a light push. Tira slid herself inside the house.
She was in the smithy now. There were swords and shields lining the walls, all nearly identical to the variation she had seen the two sisters using. Being surrounded by so many instruments of death almost felt comforting – but Tira did not linger. Tira moved with unnatural speed and fluidity through the house. For all of the pounds that her cloak and ringblade put on her, Tira might have been a housecat, as quiet as she was. But unlike a housecat, the woman was liquid stealth. She seeped through doorways, poured through hallways, flowed through rooms, surged up and down stairs, all without making a single extraneous noise.
She knew not to enter the room from which loud snoring was emanating. She also saw a lithe figure with long blonde hair sleeping in a bed in a separate room. Did the husband play while his wife was away? Men – they're all the same.
Tira eventually found the children in a bedroom upstairs. They were both sound asleep in their beds, completely unaware that a murderer stood mere feet away from their defenseless bodies. The sight of such utterly vulnerable beings filled Tira with an urge to kill – to revel in their weakness, to exploit their frailty...but she would have to settle for exploiting them in a different way.
Tira reached into her garbs, and withdrew a fragment of metal. It was black, jagged, and shaped like a small, double-edged dagger. It glowed with a faint red aura, and emitted a barely audible yet ominous hum. Sometimes when Tira held it, she could hardly bare to let go of it or take her eyes off of it – it had a hypnotizing, entrancing quality...and if this was the effect of the shard on a normal human being, then Tira predicted that its properties would make the two brats putty in her hands.
Tira removed the garbs covering her head, and sat on the bed of the boy. She stroked his hair with her free hand, and he began to stir.
"Wake up, Pat..." She struggled to remember his name. "Patyrrha. Wake up."
The boy lazily parted his eyes and sleepily looked up at Tira. As the realization slowly came to him that he was looking up at a complete stranger sitting upon his bed in the middle of the night, his eyes grew wide and his face began to contort in fright.
"Do not fear me, boy. I am your friend." Tira said in what she hoped was a soothing, motherly tone of voice. "I've even brought you a gift."
Just in time to prevent the alarmed child from shouting, Tira held up the shard. After the boy's gaze reached the fragment of metal, his expression of fear gradually faded. His hands gravitated toward the shard, and Tira allowed him to grasp it. He held it tightly in one hand, caressed it with the other. He examined it from all angles, and clutched it tightly to his chest as though it were a long-lost toy that had finally been recovered. Only once he had finished inspecting the shard did his eyes return to the mysterious woman sitting upon his bed.
"I'm a friend of your mother." Tira lied. "Do you remember me? We met once. It was almost a year ago."
The boy tore his gaze away from the shard and squinted at her, as though she was far away, out of focus. "...I remember." He said at last. "What's your name?"
"My name is Tira." She said. "Your name is Pyrrha, right?"
The boy shook his head. "I'm Patroklos! But my friends call me Pat. ...Hey! Is mom back?" He asked, a little too loudly.
Tira raised a finger to her lips. "Shhhhh." She instructed. "I'm here in secret. I'm not supposed to be here."
"Why?" Patroklos whispered anxiously.
"Your mother is away on an important mission, so she can't see you right now. But I feel sorry for you, because you have to spend so much time without your mother. I'm supposed to be with your mother and her friends right now, but instead I came here to find you. I want to take you to your mother so you can see her."
Patroklos' eyes and mouth widened in surprise. "Really?" He asked.
"Yes." Tira said. "If you come with me, I'll take you to your mother."
Patroklos smiled widely. "Thank you so much! Pyrrha is coming too, right?"
"Oh, of course..." Tira said, looking very pleased with herself.
The boy's attention turned once more to the shard in his hands. "What is this thing?" He asked.
"It's...a tool that can beat Soul Edge." Tira said, telling the boy the exact opposite of the truth. "Doesn't it make you feel good?"
The boy nodded. "Yeah. Yeah...it does."
"That's good. Very good." Tira said, grinning widely.
"Patroklos, who is that?"
Tira and the boy turned to see that his sister had awoken. Rubbing her eyes, she peered at Tira warily, and then noticed the object in her brother's hands. Once her gaze found it, she did not look away. Her brother frowned, and turned away from her, clutching it possessively. "It's mine! She gave it to me." He said, almost angrily.
"What is it? Let me see!" Pyrrha said, now completely disregarding Tira. She got out of her bed and walked toward her brother. Patroklos leapt from his own bed to get away from her – Tira tried to grab him to prevent him from getting away, but he evaded her. As the girl ran toward her brother, he ran away. Pyrrha began to chase Patroklos around the room, and he evaded her as though her touch would bring him instantaneous death.
"Shhhhh! Quiet!" Tira hissed. "You two are making far too much noise!"
Patroklos made for the exit of the room, and Tira stood before it to prevent his escape. Ignoring Tira's hushed demands to stop and calm down, the two children ran frantically around the room, their chase becoming more frenzied with each step. Pyrrha finally caught her brother, and reached for the shard. He shoved her away, but she simply shoved back as she tried again to take it from him. The two children continued to fight over the fragment, and within moments they were throwing fists. Tira watched as the two siblings launched into an all-out brawl, biting and clawing each other, each keeping one hand wrapped tightly around the shard of Soul Edge, each desperately trying to keep it from the other.
Tira continued to demand the two children to stop, but they completely ignored her. Their scuffle grew louder by the moment, and Tira knew that she could not allow them to continue. She approached the two fighting children, stuck her hands into the flurry of fingernails and teeth, ripped the shard from their grasps, and held it high up where they could not reach it.
The children turned on her now, clawing and biting her as though their lives depended on it. Their meager attacks did not harm her, but certainly stung. Tira grew angry, and although her first impulse was to begin depriving them of limbs, she knew that her Master would not appreciate hosts that lacked arms and legs. Tira gripped the shard with both hands, bent it with all her strength, and snapped the fragment in two.
"Here! Now you both get one!" Tira snapped, and shoved the two shards into the greedy, grasping hands of the children. They each snatched their respective fragments from Tira's hands, and then slipped away from one another. Immediately they began to eye the other sibling's fragment covetously, which produced an exasperated sigh from Tira.
"If you two keep this up, I won't bring you to see your mother." She said.
"No!" Patroklos gasped.
"You're here to take us to see mom?" Pyrrha asked.
Tira nodded quickly. "Yes. But only if you behave. Stay quiet. Enjoy the toy I've given you. You each have one, so no fighting."
Both children suddenly seemed to have no interest in their own shard, knowing that the other sibling had one as well, but they did not want to draw the ire of the one whom had granted them these wonderful objects.
"Who are you?"
Tira whirled around to face the voice that had spoken to her. A slender, long-haired young man stood in the doorway of the children's room. He bore numerous similarities to Sophitia and Cassandra – the same facial features, the same color of hair and tone of skin. He also reminded Tira of a younger, less muscular Siegfried – he certainly shared the calm, yet threatening aura. Tira had occasionally heard the two sisters twittering about an estranged brother, but she had not expected him to be a factor tonight.
"Can Uncle Lucius come, too?" Patroklos asked.
"No, I'm afraid not." Tira said, reaching toward the ringblade slung over her shoulder.
Lucius raised his sword in preparation for combat. "No, don't hurt her!" Patroklos begged. "It's just Tira. She's a friend of mommy!"
"A 'friend'?" Lucius asked. "Why is a friend of my sister kidnapping her children in the middle of the night?"
Tira growled. Harming the children's uncle might keep them from cooperating with her. She tried to figure out a way to get out of this mess – but the only solutions she could think of involved her ringblade and blood.
"What have you given the children?" Lucius asked, pointing his sword at Patroklos' fragment. "It's something foul, isn't it?"
The children clutched their fragments possessively. Tira grinned.
"Patroklos, Pyrrha." She purred. "Uncle Lucius wants to take away the toys I gave to you."
The children gasped, skittered toward Tira, and hid behind her back.
"Children, would you rather keep your toys and see your mother, or lose your toys and stay here?" Tira asked.
"I want to see mommy. I want to keep my toy." Pyrrha said. Patroklos nodded in agreement.
"Children, listen to me!" Lucius said. "This woman is lying to you. She is no friend of your mother's. What she has given to you is evil. She is trying to kidnap you."
The children gasped, and looked up at Tira for an answer. She merely placed a hand upon each of their heads, and stroked their hair.
"Lucius wants to steal your toys." She said simply. "Stick with me and I'll make sure that you get lots more toys just like the ones I gave you!" Instantly the two children disregarded Lucius' words, and clung to Tira for protection.
"You've bewitched them." The young man growled. His composure was giving way to fury, and he trembled with anger.
"Come along, children." Tira said, and placing her hands on the children's backs, she began to walk toward Lucius. The children, each with an arm around their benefactor's waist, walked with her.
"You're not leaving this house." Lucius sneered, raising his sword.
"Children, you can use your toys to make Uncle Lucius move out of the way."
"Really?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes!" Tira said. "Just touch him with that toy I've given you and he'll let us through!"
The two children instantly held out their "toys" toward Lucius, and began to approach him. "Don't listen to her." Lucius instructed. "She is lying to you. She is trying to – "
Patroklos swung his shard at Lucius, and the young man leapt back. He looked down at his nephew with an expression of pure horror. He knew that very moment that he had lost these two children, that if this witch held a power over them that could convince them to attack their own uncle, she had already won.
His eyes burned with a fury that Tira had never seen before, and he stepped out of the way to allow them passage. He would not risk harming the children.
"It worked!" Patroklos said with glee.
"That's right. These toys can do a great many things. I'll show you all of the things you can do with your new toys while we're on our way to see your mother. First, let's go outside – we're going to take a ride in a cart! It's going to be fun!"
The children cheered, and clung to Tira again. She guided them out of their room, past Lucius, down the stairs, through the smithy, and out the back door.
Tira noticed that Lucius was not pursuing them. Either he had given up, or he had something planned. Tira knew that she had to work quickly.
"Get into the cart, children." She instructed. "See all the hay in there? Hide inside of it. If anyone sees you or hears you, they'll try and take your toys away, so make sure you're hidden really well, and stay quiet!"
Patroklos and Pyrrha clambered into the hay that Tira had loaded into the cart. She watched them cover themselves until they were completely hidden, and then she mounted the horse.
When Tira heard glass shatter above her, she instinctively lashed her arm back, sending her ringblade sliding across her arm and into the grasp of her hand. Her ringblade blocked Lucius' longsword, but the momentum that the young man had gained from jumping through the window was enough to knock her off of the horse. The two of them went tumbling to the ground, Lucius on top of Tira's ringblade, pinning her down to the ground. She placed her feet on her ringblade and then kicked, flipping the blade up and sending Lucius flying off. By the time he had scrambled to his feet, Tira had already mounted the horse, and with a quick spur, sent it galloping straight toward him. Lucius stepped to the side and attempted to stab the horse as it rode past, but was forced to withdraw his attack and duck to avoid a decapitation from Tira. His final act was to stab his longsword into the spokes of one of the cart's wheels, but this only served to yank his sword from his hand, and send the weapon clattering to the side harmlessly, the cart unphased.
Tira covered her head and face in cloth once more, gradually slowed down the speed of her horse, and within a minute she appeared no more conspicuous than any other merchant transporting a cart of hay through the streets of Athens, despite the late hour.
After several minutes of traveling, Tira stopped the cart to check the state of the children. They were both curled up comfortably in the hay, clutching their shards, rocked to sleep by the rhythmic motions of the cart.
Tira breathed a long sigh of relief. She had succeeded. The children were hers, and now all she had to do was return to her Master. She made sure that her body and face were concealed, wrapped her ringblade in cloth to conceal the conspicuous weapon, mounted the horse again, and proceeded to exit the city.
Although Athens now enjoyed a time of relative peace, its turbulent history had required the construction of large walls surrounding the city. All entrances and exits required the crossing of a stone bridge so as to bottleneck potential invaders. Travel in and out of the city was monitored, but no examinations were enforced on travelers. Tira approached one of the city's gates, nodded amicably to the guards, and began to traverse the bridge.
The moment that her horse laid hoof outside of Athens' gates, she considered her mission to be complete. Of course, she had no way of knowing whom she was about to encounter while crossing the bridge.
--
"Athens is right there – it's in sight! We can't stop now!"
"But it's midnight, sis. What are you gonna do when we get there, wake everybody up at this hour? You've waited almost a year, another twelve hours or so won't hurt you."
"But – but – " Sophitia tried and failed to produce a suitable rebuttal.
"Just get some rest, sis." Cassandra said. "You wanna be awake when you see the kids again, right?"
"How can I sleep when I know my family is less than an hour away from me?" Sophitia whined. "We've come this far, let's not stop when we're so close!"
"Sophie, stop being selfish." Cassandra said, her hands on her hips and her head tilted to the side. "We've been traveling for almost a day straight because of how eager you are to get home, and now we're all exhausted! We need our sleep, sis."
Sophitia let out a long sigh of defeat. "Fine, then...I'll wait..." She grumbled. Cassandra smirked. For once, the roles of 'stern sister' and 'impatient sister' had been switched.
The others, however, were concentrating on a more serious matter.
"Siegfried."
"Yes, I sense it."
"It's moving."
"It's leaving the city."
"If we stop now, we might lose it."
"We should try to catch up with whoever is carrying it before they get too far."
"Catch what now?" Cassandra asked.
Siegfried pointed toward Athens. "The aura of Soul Edge – we can sense it in the city."
"What?" Sophitia gasped. "What's it doing there? Does this mean the children might be in danger?"
"We can tell that it's moving out of the city." Taki said. "It's probably in the possession of a traveling merchant who failed to find anyone interested in such a dreadful thing."
"The last time," Sophitia stuttered, "the last time a merchant brought a shard to the city – the way the children reacted – they – "
"You told us." Ivy muttered. "They became frenzied, fought over it."
"Relax, Sophitia." Setsuka said. "If the shard is leaving, then it's definitely not in your children's possession."
Sophitia breathed a sigh of relief.
"So – we're not stopping?" A weary Cassandra whined.
Siegfried nodded. "And that means we keep moving – with haste. If we are quick, we'll be able to catch the holder of the shard before he leaves Athens.
--
Tira paid no heed to the figures that were approaching her from the opposing end of the bridge until they were close enough for their silhouettes to become familiar. At first, she was in denial – she refused to believe that it could be possible...but slowly, one hoofstep at a time, it became harder to deny the truth. The Korean woman was missing, and what appeared to be a little girl had been added to their alliance, but aside from those two discrepancies, Tira was undoubtedly staring down her old "friends"...and that man was among them.
What were the chances? What was the possibility of this occurring? Why now of all moments? She would have found an encounter acceptable at any other moment, but not right here, not right now, not at the worst possible time!
Was it fate? Destiny? Was this a sign from the gods, the universe? Perhaps she should have expected this – her interests now ran opposite to theirs, and they were both involved with the same elements, so it was only logical to presume that their paths would cross. She should have predicted this, should have factored them into her plan – she was kidnapping the children of one of them, after all.
But, wait – did she even have to worry? There was no reason for them to recognize her. Her appearance was completely obscured, if suspicious. The children were asleep and hidden from sight, as well. All she had to do was keep moving forward – she would pass them, they would pass her, she would be safe, and her mission would not be endangered.
She tried to keep her gaze fixed straight ahead, but her eyes kept darting back toward the group. She tried to prevent her eyes from landing on him, but unfortunately his face was the one thing she wanted to see more than anything else in the world.
When she finally gave in and allowed her eyes to fall upon him, she felt her entire body go slack. There he is. That's him. He's right there. He's so close. Master! I love you, Master. Forgive me, Master. Let me serve you, Master. I've missed you so much, Master.
When she remembered the reason she had left him, she felt her entire body become tense. I can't believe I have to endure being so close to this scum again. I should reach out and slice his head off before he even knows what's happening! No – I should slowly torture him every day for a year, just like he did to me. I gave all of myself to him, and in return he abused me. I devoted my entire life to him, and I didn't receive a single ounce of appreciation.
Of course not. You were his slave, not his wife. He owed you nothing. You were nothing to him but property, and that was your own decision. You shouldn't have expected anything from him in return.
I don't want to be a "slave". I just want someone else to tell me what to do because I hate making choices on my own. But that doesn't mean he's entitled to abuse me. That doesn't mean that I can't be appreciated. That doesn't mean that a man can't return the same loyalty that I give to him. I want to be valued, to be treated well, to be appreciated, to have mutual loyalty from a man.
But it's not just any man I want. It's him. It's Siegfried.
Why him? He's a terrible man.
He's not a terrible man – a man can treat his own property as good or as bad as he chooses to. That doesn't make him terrible. If it was different – if I told him from the beginning that instead of slavery, I want wanted mutual loyalty – I bet he wouldn't have slept with other women. He's a good man underneath the abuse.
You can't go back to him. Not now. You're in too deep. You already stabbed him in the back, betrayed him, abandoned him. You were nothing to him to begin with, and you are inadequate compared to other women. He will not take you as his slave again, nor will he ever take you as his wife. You have a new Master now, a Master who allows you to indulge the desires that this Master forced you to suppress. You will enjoy your life and your new Master as soon as you sever your emotional bond to this Master.
"Hail." Siegfried said, with a hand raised in greeting. "Pardon us, traveler, but could we trouble you for a moment?"
Tira finally snapped back to reality. While she had been lost in thought, Siegfried and his companions had formed a line across the bridge, preventing her horse from moving forward. She pulled back on the reins, stopping the horse, and then cursed her decision not to lash the horse and barrel straight through their 'barrier'.
"Thank you for yielding." Siegfried said courteously, although he had given Tira little other choice. "By any chance, are you in possession of a curious metal fragment?"
Tira nearly cursed aloud. She had forgotten all about their ability to sense such things. She examined her options. She couldn't turn around – not enough room for the horse and the cart to turn. She couldn't leap off the bridge – a river flowed below. She couldn't dismount and kill them all – they were too skilled. She could attempt to barrel straight through them, but they would likely attack her horse or cart.
An alibi, she needed an alibi...
"Do not involve yourselves in those wicked fragments." Tira said, speaking in a deep voice and heavy accent. "I carried one with me for a long time, and it tainted my body with its aura. I discarded it long ago." Tira could not help but be impressed at her own cleverness. What a perfect defense! They had to let her through now.
"...I...see..." Siegfried said, slowly, cautiously, eying Tira nervously. She began to perspire, more so than she already was. Had she given herself away somehow? "...Have we met before, traveler? You seem familiar to me."
Tira turned her head aside. "I have never seen you before in my life. Please, let me pass. I am on urgent business. I must hurry."
"I've only seen one person in my entire life with purple eyes." Ivy said, smirking knowingly.
Tira winced. "It is a side effect of the metal fragment that polluted my body. It embarrasses me to speak of such matters; please, let me be on my way."
"Did you pass by a smithy while in Athens?" Sophitia asked.
"Ah – no – why?"
"You smell of coal, as though you have spent time inside a blacksmith's workshop."
"Your insults wound me!" Tira said. "I do not wish to endure any further harassment from you."
"Oh! I didn't mean any offense! I'm sorry!" Sophitia said with genuine remorse.
"Mom?" A quiet voice asked.
"...Did I just hear someone?" Cassandra asked.
"No, you didn't." Tira said worriedly.
"You know, you have a strange accent. It seems to come and go." Setsuka said.
"You mock me because I am learning how to speak this language without an accent?" Tira growled.
"What is that round thing on your back?" Asked a quiet voice. The others looked around for a moment to figure out who had spoken until they realized it was the young redheaded youth.
"Round thing...?" Tira muttered.
The ringblade.
Although the weapon was wrapped entirely in cloth, the size and shape of the weapon were still discernable, and it was certainly one of Tira's trademarks.
"It is merchandise that I am transporting. It is a...mirror. A round mirror."
"Why do you have it on your back instead of in the cart? I've only ever known one person that carried around a disk-shaped object on her back." Ivy said with that same knowing grin.
"I refuse to divulge any more information to you scoundrels!" Tira said.
"That's enough." Siegfried said. "Let him pass."
"Siegfried!" Ivy exclaimed.
"We have troubled this poor soul enough today." Siegfried said to his followers. He turned to face Tira. "O traveler, we apologize for trying your patience today. May you fare well in your travels, and forgive our rudeness."
"Siegfried!" Ivy repeated. "That person is – "
"Look on the other side of the bridge." Siegfried said quietly.
The group turned their attention to the guard post on the opposite side of the bridge. A small group of guards were approaching them. It was likely that the guards had interpreted Siegfried's group as bandits committing a bridge robbery.
The others stepped aside immediately, and Tira spurred her horse onward past them – only to hear a familiar voice cry out.
"DON'T LET HER GET AWAY! SHE KIDNAPPED TWO CHILDREN!"
"Lucius, I should have killed you!" Tira hissed, realizing the real reason that the guards had left their posts. She lashed and spurred her horse violently, causing the steed to gallop across the bridge at full speed.
She had almost made it to the opposite end of the bridge when a bright flash of light suddenly blinded her. When her vision returned, she saw that her horse was heading toward what appeared to be a wall of blue flames. The horse stopped galloping immediately, but the cart did not stop as quickly – it kept traveling and slammed into the horse's hindquarters, sending both the horse and Tira tumbling to the ground, and into the blue flames. Tira scrambled to escape the inferno, only to realize that she felt no heat. She noticed paper with Japanese writing stuck to the ground. A ninja trick – Taki had laid a trap on the bridge in case she tried to escape!
The blue flames faded away. Tira looked up and saw that her cart was toppled over, and her horse unable to right itself. She knew immediately that she would not be able to use either anymore. Ruined, ruined, ruined! Everything is ruined now! DAMN IT ALL!
She saw the children come crawling out of the hay, both apparently unharmed, but startled nonetheless. Could she and the children outrun Siegfried and his lot? She couldn't give up without truing.
"Children! Come! We have to hurry!" Tira said, gesturing with her hands. The two frightened, confused children scrambled toward her.
"PYRRHA! PATROKLOS! STOP!" Sophitia cried upon recognizing her children's forms.
The two children whirled around. "Mom!" They both cried out happily. Tira knew that this was her last chance to avoid losing the children. She could only think of one option.
"Children, listen to me!" She said. "I gave you those shards! I gave you those fragments! And I'll give you more! But only if you come with me!" Tira said, extending her arms out to them.
The two children stopped and looked at one another, unsure of what to think. Their trust in Tira, born from their bond to Soul Edge, was just as powerful as their bond to their own mother.
Suddenly, the two children's arms were yanked violently out to the side by an unseen force. It was as though they were puppets whose strings had been violently pulled. Their arms now pointed away from Tira, toward the others. They were gripping tightly onto their shards, but the shards ripped from their hands and sailed through the air.
The two shards shot straight into the palm of Ivy's gauntlet, which she clenched shut as soon as the fragments made contact. "Finally, this taint has served me a purpose." She said with a smirk.
With the fragments removed from their hands, the children's demeanor changed entirely. When they saw Tira, they shrieked and ran in the opposite direction, into their mother's waiting arms. Sophitia embraced the two children with the kind of love only known to a mother, and then her companions positioned themselves in front of her to block any chance that Tira might have had of stealing them once again.
Tira fell to her knees, and slammed her fist into the stone bridge several times, each time with a curse. When she lashed her head up, she saw that Siegfried and his companions – now joined by several guards and a scowling Lucius – were not twenty steps away from her.
Disheveled, low to the ground on all fours, and spewing forth an endless string of curses, Tira appeared as though she were possessed by demons. She finally recomposed herself, rose to her feet, and stared down her adversaries. Their weapons were drawn, and both Ivy and Taki were poised to unleash their strongest spells. The only person who held no weapon was Siegfried.
He was standing in front of all the rest, yet at that moment, he looked less like the calm, stoic leader she had always known, and more weary, frail, and vulnerable than she had ever seen him.
The others were clearly waiting for Siegfried's call, and Lucius and the guards were clearly wondering why the others weren't attacking. Siegfried took a few slow steps forward toward Tira, a deep longing and pity in his eyes.
"So you really are on his side now..." He said in a voice that was almost a whisper. Tira tried to glare at him menacingly, but could not.
The two seemed to carry on an unspoken conversation. Using nothing but their intimate knowledge of one another, the many memories from their time spent with one another, the familiarity of each other's body language, and the expressions on their faces which said more than words ever could, they told each other everything they wanted to say, but could not.
"...I wish that things could return to normal." Siegfried said aloud. "But because you betrayed us once, we can't allow you back. We can't trust you not to endanger our mission."
"I - I wouldn't want to go back to you! I hate you!" Tira lied. "You're pathetic for wanting me back, and you're a twisted man!"
Siegfried showed no response or emotion to Tira's words. "Do you wish to say anything for yourself?"
"I have nothing to say to any of you." Tira said. "We no longer have any ties. It's as though I never knew any of you – got that? None of you mean anything to me anymore. I serve Nightmare now." The recollection of her current allegiance invoked a new thought process: What can I do right at this very moment to serve my Master? A thin smile appeared on Tira's face as a realization came to her.
"Wait – I have something to say to that one." She said, pointing a finger toward Sophitia. The woman sneered and clutched her children closer. "Your children are one with Soul Edge. If Soul Edge is destroyed – what do you think will happen to your children?"
Sophitia lifted her head, and her sneer slowly faded into a look of realization.
"Didn't you ever think about the consequences? Your kids will die without Soul Edge to sustain them." Tira said.
"No! I don't believe you!" Sophitia said, although she did not seem convinced of her own words.
"Feeling torn? I would, too, if I'd left my children to fend for themselves." Tira spat. "Go on, continue your journey. If you win, you get to watch your children die. But you won't win – Master Nightmare will triumph. And then your children will get to live! So won't you think of joining us?"
"B-be quiet!" Sophitia stammered.
"I won't let you poison my sister's mind with your lies!" Lucius said, stepping forward. "She's only one woman; let's take her down now, before she causes any more harm."
Siegfried looked at Lucius sadly, then lowered his face. When he raised his head, he wore an emotionless expression of acceptance and determination. He slowly reached behind his back and gripped the hilt of his Zweihänder. Tira winced.
As the two parties each stood their ground, waiting for the appropriate moment to move, Amy suddenly bolted forward. The young girl charged toward Tira with speed that none could have predicted, rapier drawn and raised, her face showing no emotion but her eyes burning with an inferno of hatred. As Amy drew back her rapier, Tira reached back, grabbed her cloth-covered ringblade, and swung it out to the side, flinging the cloth away.
Tira expected no challenge from the red-haired lass, and lunged forward with her most devastating attacks to finish her off quickly. However, the girl had apparently become exceptionally skilled since the time they had last met. She sidestepped and bent her body at extreme angles to dodge Tira's attacks, while following up immediately with slashes and stabs aimed specifically for vital organs. Although Tira was able to evade mortal wounds, she sustained several blows and her blood began to fly.
Tira realized that she would have to take the girl seriously – but not in time to save herself from a devastating mistake. Amy pretended to prepare a swing, and Tira blocked in anticipation of an attack. However, Amy simply used the opportunity to drop down and sweep her legs out, tripping Tira and sending her careening into the ground. Without taking a moment to look up, Tira rolled to the side, barely avoiding a rapier through her neck. Tira continued to roll to the side as rapidly as she could, until she reached the edge of the bridge. There, she swung her ringblade back, and then hurled it forward at Amy, who dodged it deftly. She reached into her pockets, and began hurling small knives at the girl, who evaded them almost without effort.
"She's not trying to attack – she's getting rid of weight." Ivy realized.
Tira spun around and threw a knife at Taki's throat. Taki tilted her head to the side to dodge the knife, and unleashed the magic blast that she had been charging up until this point. Tira had anticipated this, and leapt up into the air after flinging the knife. Taki's magic attack exploded beneath her, sending her careening high into the air and off into the river below – just as planned.
Once in the water, Tira swam north, shed her boots and gloves, and then swam south. The others traveled north along the river, found her clothing, and continued traveling north, attempting to find her. Tira lost them effortlessly.
--
Siegfried's group was exhausted. Their encounter with Tira had been short-lived, but a taxing ordeal nonetheless. Expecting a traveling merchant at most, they had instead encountered a traitor. Her attempt to capture Sophitia's two children could only have been for one purpose – to procure surrogate host bodies for Nightmare. They were lucky to have arrived when they did, or else the children might have been lost to them.
Sophitia was incredibly emotional, sobbing and holding her children almost perpetually. Her children were distraught, as well – their memories of Tira were hazy, but they each had a feeling that they had done something terrible. They sobbed when recalling the woman and the stones she had given to them, and had no clue why.
Lucius' injuries were not serious, but he was devastated at his inability to protect the children from Tira. Warning the bridge guards that a cart-toting kidnapper was attempting to leave the city had played a major role in stopping Tira, although he expressed a deep sense of regret for failing to stop her sooner.
Although Sophitia and Cassandra would have preferred to reunite with their estranged brother under more pleasant circumstances, they were delighted to see him at all. The kidnapping ordeal and the subsequent search for Tira drained the group of all energy. Siegfried and the others stayed at an inn for the night, while Lucius returned to Rothion's smithy.
Rothion himself had only awoken at the sound of shattering glass, and panicked when he discovered that his children and brother-in-law had vanished. He followed a suspicious trail of hay and muddy hoofprints away from his open back door to the bridge where the confrontation had taken place. He witnessed the event from afar, but dared not to stray too close lest he risk his health. When he saw his wife, he felt a flood of different emotions – but when he saw the children run into her arms and saw the kidnapper evacuate the area, he felt that his presence was not necessary. Seeking not to trouble his already troubled wife, he had treated back to his smithy. When Lucius arrived, he filled Rothion in on the details.
The next day, Sophitia and Cassandra set out for Rothion's smithy. Sophitia told the others not to accompany them – that she wanted to be alone with her family. The others respected her wish.
Sophitia and Cassandra were warmly welcomed by Lucius. He had been living with Rothion since the "mugging". Although the true purpose of his extended visit was to keep an eye on Rothion and ensure that he did not conduct any debaucheries, Lucius had eventually entered into Rothion's employment. Because of the injuries that Lucius had incurred upon the blacksmith, Rothion had much difficulty running his business. Harboring a degree of guilt for wounding the man – even though he had certainly deserved it at the time – Lucius began to help out Rothion around the smithy. Lucius performed so well that after Rothion had recovered, he offered the young man a job as his assistant.
The pay was good, free room and board was an excellent bonus, and Rothion had proven himself to be more than the lecherous adulterer that he had once appeared to be. Lucius had many long discussions with Rothion and had come to understand his pain and frustration over its wife's absence, and did not judge him as harshly as he once had. Rothion was not a two-timing scoundrel, but a man who'd been subjected to a trial he could not bear, and a temptation he could not resist. Although Rothion still bore physical scars from the beating Lucius had given him, as the months passed by, something akin to a friendship had blossomed between them. Lucius would have had trouble tearing himself away from the household to begin with, seeing as he didn't want to leave the children all alone with Rothion after Cassandra had left. He no longer doubted the man's moral qualities, but loved his niece and nephew too much to leave them with only a single caretaker.
After the three of them had finished catching up, Lucius asked Sophitia what she intended to do about Rothion.
Sophitia told Lucius how she felt. Rothion had hurt her, hurt her deeply – but he would never have been unfaithful to her were it not for her absences. He had broken his marriage vows, but, she conceded, so had she in retaliation. The two were married, and they had children with one another – separation was not an option in her mind. She remembered what married life was like before the cheating incident – it was the happiest time of her life. She loved Rothion, everything about him, every moment she spent with him, and although there was a black stain on their marriage now, she wanted to make it work. She wanted to forgive him, to return to the way that things used to be.
When Sophitia finally approached Rothion, he revealed to her that he'd overheard everything that she said to Lucius. He was ecstatic that she forgave him, that she still loved him, still wanted to be his wife. He apologized to her profusely for his unfaithfulness, for his harsh words that one night so many months ago. They spoke not a word of what Sophitia had done with Siegfried, and as far as Rothion knew, Sophitia had only "taken revenge" a single time. The two of them reconciled quickly and easily, eager to put the ordeal behind them after so many months of contemplating it and wishing for a happy, peaceful resolution to the matter.
Afterwards, Rothion asked Sophitia why she had returned home. She explained that it had only been a visit – but in light of the fact that her children's lives had been endangered during her absence, she was rethinking these long leaves. She made a vow – she would only spend one more month on her current journey, and then she would not devote another second of her life to the gods. She feared that Rothion would become angry upon hearing that she was going to leave again, but instead, he was overjoyed that she would only leave for one more month.
Sophitia spent the rest of the day with her family. She enjoyed sharing with them the many things she had seen and done on her journey, but more than that, she enjoyed spending time with her husband and children as a 'normal' mother for the first time in months.
When the next morning came, Sophitia's companions visited Rothion's smithy, with the exception of Siegfried, who wisely decided to avoid Rothion and spend the day elsewhere. The family was reintroduced to Sophitia's friends, and Sophitia revealed her intention to remain in their company for only one month longer.
"I'm so worried about the children, though." Sophitia said. "When I saw them come tumbling out of that cart – knowing that someone had stolen my children – I've never felt anything so terrifying, so infuriating in my entire life. What if...what if Tira comes back?"
"I'll be ready for her next time." Lucius said. "We'll board up the children's room, put locks on the doors – and when they're not asleep, I'll watch them every moment of the day."
"You can't devote yourself entirely to protecting my children." Sophitia said. "As much as I would appreciate it, I can't ask that of you."
"You don't have to ask it; I volunteer myself to guard them." Lucius said. "I want you to have peace of mind while you're away from home; I want you to know that you don't have to worry about your son and daughter."
"...Lucius..." Sophitia said emotionally.
A few moments of silence passed, and then Cassandra spoke.
"I'm going to stay here in Athens."
The majority of the others were surprised to hear this, while several of them had expected it.
"Cassie!" Sophitia gasped. "Are you staying because of the children, too?"
"I actually decided to quit a long time ago." Cassandra admitted. "Everyone else has a really good reason to be a part of this mission – I'm only a part of the group because I wanted to tag along. ...I don't...contribute to the group. I don't have any special magical powers or anything like most of you do. I don't do very much. I wanted to go on an adventure...so I did. But now...I've had enough. I'm staying."
Cassandra's self-effacing comments were depressing, but they were also true. The others comforted her, reassured her that she wasn't useless, but also respected her decision to remain in Athens – largely because, as sad as the reality was, Cassandra was dead weight, just as she implied.
To lighten the mood, Cassandra asked Setsuka to entertain them. Delighted to perform before a new audience, Setsuka began her routine. She demonstrated the different instruments that she could play, performed several songs as well as dances, recited her most entertaining jokes, and told her most exciting tales. The Alexandra family fell in love with Setsuka, asking her to perform again and again. She was a one-woman circus, full of talents, and kept them amused for hours.
Even after Setsuka had exhausted her repertoire, the Alexandras spent a great deal of time speaking with her, in awe of her character and her proficiency in their language. The children were most fond of her. When Patroklos called her "Auntie Setsuka" and the rest of the family followed suit, something in Setsuka seemed to change. She became uncharacteristically silent, and seemed to be deep in thought. After a while, she spoke her mind.
"...I have an announcement to make." Setsuka said. "I will no longer be a part of the mission to destroy Soul Edge."
There was all-around shock this time, from everyone present.
"Why, Setsuka?" Cassandra asked.
"I was never a part of the mission – just a part of the group." Setsuka said. "Much like you, I didn't have a reason to join; my presence in your group was incidental...and rather ornamental, as well. I enjoyed my time among you all...but I believe I've found something more fulfilling. For the first time ever, I actually know what I want from life."
"And what's that?" Sophitia asked.
"...To be a part of a family." Setsuka said. "If it's alright...I'd like to stay in this home for a while. As long as you'd be willing to let me. I wouldn't be a guest; I'd be an equal member of the household. I'd do work to earn my keep, I'd pull my weight – it would be an honor, as long as I could be a part of this family."
"Where did all of this come from?" Lucius asked. "This seems rather sudden."
"I don't...know what it's like to be a part of a family." Setsuka said. "This family...it's complete. A mother, a father, a brother, a sister, an aunt, an uncle...This is everything that I have never had. I feel as though I am looking at everything that I have always wanted, right before my eyes. I feel as though...I am home. I feel as though I am finally where I belong."
"What makes you think a Greek family is just going to adopt a Japanese stranger?" Ivy scoffed.
"I'm not Japanese. I'm European." Setsuka corrected. "This country may not be my birthplace, but this part of the world is where I came from, if that makes sense. I've struggled with my identity for so long, but now I feel as though I know where I belong."
"Can Auntie Setsuka stay, dad?" Patroklos asked.
"Pleeeeeeeeeease?" Pyrrha begged.
"Well..." Rothion considered. "We're short on hands, even with Cassandra staying. We could always use another helper, especially when we have to protect the children from that woman."
"I agree; it seems that this is what's best for everyone." Lucius concurred.
Setsuka beamed with happiness. "Thank you so much – I won't let you down!"
Sophitia bid a final farewell to her family, and then she and the other women returned to Siegfried. Sophitia announced her intention to depart from the group after a month's time. It saddened Siegfried to learn that he would soon lose one of his most valuable comrades, but he respected her decision, especially in light of Tira's recent actions. After this, Cassandra and Setsuka informed their leader of their plans to depart from his mission not in a month's time, but immediately. Siegfried was surprised to hear such news, but accepted their choices as well. He did not expect anyone to feel compelled to stay in his company, considering the journey to be a personal choice, not an obligation – except in his case, of course.
Cassandra and Setsuka bid Siegfried a tearful goodbye, and then left to settle into their new lives in the Alexandra household. Siegfried looked from Ivy to Sophitia to Taki, and finally to Amy.
"So, there are five of us now." He said. "Our numbers grew for so long, but they are quickly dwindling."
"I am committed to seeing this journey through until the very end." Ivy said. "I'm not quitting unless Soul Edge is destroyed."
"...My feelings are the same as Ivy's." Taki said, one for few words as always.
Amy was one for even fewer words, and did not speak at all.
"Amy," Sophitia began, bending down to speak to the girl. "Your curse is gone and there is a household nearby that would be more than happy to take you in. Would you like to stay here, too?"
"No." Amy said firmly and resolutely, with more conviction and determination than the others had ever witnessed from he before. They knew that the cause of her passion was Tira – although Amy was the weakest member of the group, her combat skill had shot skyward since she had joined them; it took her weeks to learn what had taken them years. If she continued to develop at this rate, she would be just as talented as the rest of the group within a month's time – perhaps less than that. Her performance against Tira suggested that she was already at their level. She was no longer a burden, no longer a frail child that the others were embarrassed to drag around. Her potential was impressive, and her thirst for vengeance was frightening. She simultaneously awed them and scared then – and as of late, she had begun to earn their respect, as well.
"Well, then." Siegfried said. "Let us travel north, where the Azure Knight is said to roam. We need to learn more about him – how he came to return, how powerful he currently is, and in what ways he threatens our mission."