Imperial Palace

"Where is he! I've been waiting here for days! Is this how the Emperor treats his subjects!"

"Silence whore!" The Official of the Court shouted as he stomped towards Xianghua, "The Emperor treats his subjects as he wishes!"

"Xianghua, lower your voice," Wujan had made no motion to his wife's demands for the Emperor's appearance. He was neither fearful for his life nor humiliated by her outburst, "You're only encouraging the man's ignorance."

"Ignorance?" The official scoffed, "I am the Emperor's Chief Eunuch, I know all that is spoken from his mouth."

"That is not what I meant," Wujan corrected continued to swipe his brush over the parchment laid out in front of him, "I meant that you are ignorant for attempting to assert yourself above a woman who has defeated a blade of demons."

"Heh! You may believe this woman's claims, but the Emperor knows you for who you truly are!" The Eunuch shouted, pointing a finger at Xianghua, "If not for the General, I would be paying you a visit at the Brothel. The Chai Family does produce lovely whores...wonder if your daughter will follow in your footsteps-"

"Watch your tongue or I'll cut it out." Xianghua warned, pointed her nameless sword at the Eunuch's crotch before he had a chance to draw his sword, "What woman would want a man as lacking as you anyway?"

"Xianghua...please point the blade somewhere that has a spot to pierce?" Wujan asked without looking away from his parchment as Xianghua exhaled and brought her sword up to the Eunuch's stomach, "Carry on."

"How dare you threaten me-" Xianghua's eyes widened as she sheathed her sword and prostrated herself as the Eunuch turned in confusion and quickly followed, "Your Highness!"

"Prince Changluo!" Xianghua shouted, "Your highness, your presence surprised me!"

"Get up..." The Crown Prince muttered boredly, as the Eunuch rose to his feet, the prince smacked the top of his head, "Not you, I meant Yan Xianghua..." The Eunuch immediately prostrated himself again as the Prince met Xianghua's eyes while she rose to her feet, "You have no need to bow to me unnecessarily, I'm not the Emperor yet."

"When you do, may that reign be long and prosperous my prince." Wujan said his head bowed to the Prince, "And forgive my wife's rash words, she merely feels insulted by your father's tardiness."

"Figures, father forgot that he even sent the message until now." Changluo scoffed, "But he's with one of his whores and told me to tell you his orders."

"Orders?"

"You will go to Istanbul as my father's envoys to Sultan Ahmed." Changluo said as he handed a sealed scroll to Wujan, the prince nodded and the Ming General broke the seal to read it's contents, "The Sultan sends word of a growing rebellion from their tributaries in the Kingdom of Hungary. A holy warrior under Graf Dumas has seized control of the Graf's territories and is waging an aggressive civil war against the Hungarian King and the Sultan's armies."

"He is winning then?" From her husband's grave voice, she could tell that things were getting worse in the West, "Of course he is, one would have to be either very powerful or very fearless to attempt to face a war on two fronts...how many have died?"

"That's why the Sultan has called for us." Changluo said while surveying a map of Eurasia that was posted in the back of the hall, "The boy's forces are growing quickly, he's managed to convert recruits from the peasantry and even captives of war into fanatical soldiers. They say that his sword holds dark magic which allows him to steal or overwrite the souls of those whom he strikes down, "purifying" them of their malfestation."

"This sounds more like the beginning of a cult than an army."

"A cult can be equally terrifying under the right leadership." Wujan said to which Xianghua nodded, "What has your father decided to do?"

"He is sending you." Changluo answered to Wujan's surprise, "You will go to Istanbul ahead of your army to give the Sultan my father's answer to the terms of an alliance against this "Holy Ravager" that stays in Hungary. Then, you will assist the Sultan's armies with your own in whatever means that he requires."

"Is that all?" Xianghua inquired, feeling as though the prince wasn't telling her something, "Then why am I being sent? Last time we talked, your father didn't think highly of me."

"And he still doesn't, I'm sending you for reasons beneficiary for both of us." The Prince replied, "My mother believed your report concerning Soul Edge when you first set out, 16 years ago. For stopping the sword back then, all of the Dynasty owes you a debt that can never be repaid, regardless of what your grandfather or my father have told you. But I have...reliable sources that report the holy warrior wielding the Krita Yuga."

"WHAT!" Xianghua's cry of surprise echoed through the Imperial halls, "IMPOSSIBLE! YOU'RE LYING!"

"How dare you raise your voice at the Crown Prince!" At once, a section of the wall to Xianghua's right rose to reveal a wall of shields with spears pointing of them. The Wall advanced on Xianghua until the points of their spears were hacked off by a single slash, "Out of the way korean rat!"

"Tian!" Wujan shouted at the young man who stood defiant before the Imperial Guard. The young man hesitantly lowered his glaive as Wujan bowed before the Prince, "Forgive my wife's outburst, but surely there is a mistake with your reports?"

"I have multiple sources and they all said the same thing," The Prince answered while motioning to the wall of guards to return to their place at the side of the hallway. To the untrained eye, their shields appeared as part of the tapastry of the hall, "The young man who commands Dumas' Lands wields the Krita-Yuga and it was your daughter who assisted him."

"Leixia?" Xianghua couldn't believe whose name she had heard, "Who is the source? Tell me now or you won't live to become Emperor!"

"Imputent whore-" The guards prepared to move again, but the prince held up his hand, "Yes your highness!"

"An Alchemist with no sense of modesty," The Prince responded, "Trustworthy enough?"

"Yes," Xianghua answered, "What else did she say?"

"The boy was given the Krita-Yuga and participated in a ritual which would awaken and strengthen it." The Prince explained as Wujan studied his wife's growing frustration and fear, "I heard nothing more from her afterwards save that a girl who resembled you and wore the Dvara-Yuga partook in the ritual along with a blond japanese ninja, a Ryuku Pirate and a boy who wielded the Kali-Yuga. Whether your daughter...or your son had knowledge of the Holy Warrior's plans are beyond my knowledge. Perhaps he deceived her? Or something happened in the following confrontation that caused this change in the boy?"

"I will do as you command my prince," Xianghua agreed, "I just want to save my children."

"As would I if Youxiao were in the same situation." The prince answered with sincerity, "This is task to you. You must remove the Krita-Yuga from the hands of this Ravager however you can. You would know more about the subject, but I believe that this youth may have corrupted the Krita-Yuga or Soul Edge, the supposed Sword of Salvation, corrupted both of them. Whatever the truth of this is, you must find out about it. Remove the Krita-Yuga from the Holy Warrior and purge it of it's corruption. If you can't, destroy it."

"Destroy the Krita-Yuga?" Wujan asked as Xianghua stood in place as if to allow those three words to sink into her mind, "Would such a feat even be possible-"

"The Krita-Yuga's true form is the equal-opposite of Soul Edge and the latter has been destroyed several times as Xianghua herself as accomplished." The Prince theorized, "If Soul Edge can be destroyed, so can the Krita-Yuga, but only if you must."

"I'll break it down to dust if that's what it will take," Xianghua stated while turning to leave, "Either way, I'm bringing our children home. Your highness."

"How dare you turn your back before you are dismissed-" The Eunuch swiped out his sword, but was stunned to the point of sweating when he saw Xianghua standing perfectly balanced on the tip of his blade with her own blade pointed at his forehead, "Carry on ma'am..."

"Thank you." Xianghua replied as she lightly poked the Eunuch and skipped off of the sword, "Tian! You're coming with me!"

"Yes Lady Xianghua..." The young guard shivered when he looked back towards the Imperial Guards and gave a respectful bow before turning to the Prince and General, "Lord Wujan...Your Highness..."

"That was amazing," The Prince said with a subdued smile as Tian ran to catch up with Xianghua, "I haven't seen that defiant spirit inside of her for many years."

"She is a mother," Wujan stated while looking over the content of his decorated parchment, "The bonds between parent and child defy all other reverence."

"I am afraid that I would know nothing of this from my own father," The Prince sadly admitted, "You are dismissed, I must tell my father of your answer."

"Your highness." Wujan bowed to the Prince and exited the Hall. Outside, he found Xianghua reassuring Tian about his actions in the Imperial Palace, "Not nearly as bad as I had feared."

"Have a little faith in your wife." Xianghua replied before looking towards the Western sky, "It's evening time in the West...I hope Leixia and my son are sleeping well."

Somewhere in the Servian Wilderness

"Does it stand for Zoolander's Wonderfully Energetic Invader?"

"That doesn't even make any sense at all," ZWEI said with his fingers pinched to his forehead, why did he agree to this stupid game? Xiba just nodded, proud of his guess, "Okay, your turn Natsu."

"I think I've got it this time!" The blond ninja exclaimed, "Your name stands for...Zebra's Woefully Enormous Illness!"

"That was worse than Leixia's guess..."

"You're not giving us helpful hints!" Leixia said in embarrassed protest, "It'd be easier to walk backwards on a wire blindfolded while holding two barrels full of water over your shoulders!"

"It does sound fun!" Pyrrha giggled but stopped when ZWEI rolled his eyes, "I...thought it did..."

"It is fun! I've done it!" Xiba shouted, "But I still can't figure out your name...maybe if Leixia cooks more food-"

"No!" Leixia yelled, "You've already eaten supper! We need to make our supplies last till we get to Athens!"

"But you let the wolf eat..."

"I only give him snacks!" Leixia said while petting the wolf that lied next to her, "And...he seems to like cooked food better...odd..."

"Maybe he was someone's pet?" Natsu figured while the wolf's fur rose and fell with each breath that it took amidst it's sleep, "Or he'd befriended someone who fed him cooked meat often and just grew accustomed to it?"

"You know what I think?" ZWEI was convinced about the nature of the wlf, "I think the wolf isn't a wolf at all. It's way too docile around people, people that it doesn't know."

"Maybe it's just happy to be around people?"

"It's not in a wolf's nature to be friendly to just anyone." ZWEI responded to a lightly defensive Pyrrha. Not in the mood for an argument, he decided to drop it, "Whatever though, I'm going to sleep."

"I'll take watch after Cassandra," A humored Maxi said while everyone went to their mats, "Go on, wake her up."

"Alright..." Pyrrha agreed reluctantly, she sat on her knees and shook her aunt's shoulder, "Aunt Cassandra? Cassandra?"

"What...Sophie...just five more minutes..." Pyrrha heard Cassandra say with her eyes closed, "Quit it Sophie...go cuddle with Rothion..."

"She must be having a good dream..." Pyrrha said, smiling at how her aunt chuckled in her sleep, "I'll take watch."

"You sure about that?" Maxi asked to which Pyrrha nodded, "Fine...wake me when three hours have passed."

"Alright." Pyrrha agreed while she fastened her jacket and sat in front of her sleeping aunt, "You're not going to sleep too?"

"And leave our safety with you? Please," ZWEI answered with his back against a tree, "Nothing too personal, I'm just not gonna wait to get stabbed in the back again."

"I said that I was sorry..."

"And I was still stabbed." ZWEI pointed out, causing Pyrrha to lower her head, "It's not even you that I distrust, it's what's inside you."

"It's not even there..." Pyrrha muttered more to herself than ZWEI, "Not anymore...not that way that it was..."

"You sure about that?" ZWEI asked, causing Pyrrha to hold out her right arm and observe it's pale and sickly complexion, "If you're not sure, then there's no reason for me to not distrust you or at least keep my eyes on you."

"All four of them?"

"Nah...you're down to just these two." ZWEI said less harshly, "What was it like?"

"Wielding Soul Edge?" Pyrrha asked, seeing ZWEI tilt his head, the girl understood, "I didn't have it for very long...and...I don't want to talk about it."

"I just curious," ZWEI admitted, appearing to be willing to drop the subject, "Sieg never really talked about his days as the "Azure Knight". When he did, it was brief and to the point: He killed his dad, convinced himself that someone else did it, found soul edge, acted as it's host until he fought a French guy, then he got soul calibur and defeated soul edge to atone for his sins. Pretty much a summary for a book."

"Why did you want to know?"

"I wanted to know if finding it is worth the trouble attached to it," ZWEI answered, "Does it really give you power and having that power makes you drunk and crazy with it? Or is Soul Edge really this soul-warping entity that uses it's wielders as puppets who didn't even understand what they had."

"More of the latter..." Pyrrha answered, "Will I ever be able to atone for my sins?"

"Why not?" ZWEI reluctantly offered, "If the Azure Knight can find atonement then why not some possessed cry-baby?"

"Cry-baby?" Pyrrha asked and when ZWEI nodded, she fumed, "I don't cry that much!"

"That much?" ZWEI asked, still surprised from Pyrrha's outburst. While the girl seemed to marvel at the volume of her own voice, ZWEI simply smirked, "So you're human after all, there's hope for a backbone yet."

Author's Note:

Here's something confusing about this taking place in Hungary.

At about this time, Most of Hungary was a vassel/tributary state or territory of the Ottoman Empire after they defeated the Hungarians over half a decade or so earlier. Yet another portion of Hungary was ruled by the Hasbergs, an influential dynasty from the Holy-Roman Empire. Graf Dumas (Nightmare) was reportedly a member of the Holy Roman Emperor's inner circle and that's how he became a Graf...but where he actually rules is a fictional castle...So there's no way of knowing if he's in charge of a tributary to the Ottoman's or the Hungarians.

The way I'm going with it, Graf Dumas is in charge of an area that's technically still under Hungarian Control, but still owes tribute to the Ottoman Empire either because it's close to Ottoman Territory, within Ottoman Territory, or the Ottoman's are just being jerks. Or maybe being Nightmare in disguise, the Ottoman's reeling from the conclusion of the Long War and Emperor Rudolf being a reportedly ineffectual emperor...he just took the castle and killed whoever tried to take taxes from it?

Think about it...that's a free soul every couple of weeks.

To be fair, there's a lot of historical factuality that's thrown out the window, so it's a moot point. Afterall, we have two swords of the soul battling each other with catastrophic events and somehow, only a few people actually know what's going on. What's worse? People still hunt for soul edge after two devasting events (The Evil Seed and the Events of SCIII-SCIV) that occur in recent time and they want it to fix their problems. Then again, I don't think literacy and intelligence were widely praised as things you needed to live, so I guess that makes sense.

Just food for thought, is there a difference between distorting the space-time and actually traveling through time?