Author's Notes: For the longest time, I've had been holding out for Soul Calibur VI to be a sequel to V, but I knew it was bound to become a reboot into a new timeline where the much more beloved characters are. Not only I was rather disappointed, but I at least am glad Bandai Namco gave Soul Calibur another shot. Been years after SC6 came out, and I decided to write a different take on Soul Calibur V. A fanfic which have a more likable and role-fitting Patroklos, a stronger-willed Pyrrha, Zwei as a genuine werewolf, Viola's bigger role in the story, and so on. Also, I won't include a guest character, as tempting it is, I don't want to risk logic/plot holes involving the guest. Ultimately, this is a quest to make these characters who were hated for ages into better characters, or as TV Tropes call it: Rescued from the Scrappy Heap. Thank you to those who give this fanfic a chance, and please enjoy this.

Episode 1: Patroklos Alexander

Once a mere baker and blacksmith-in-training, as well as a boy who had an ideal childhood. Patroklos Alexander became a vigilante, a hunter of monsters who embraced evil, a nomadic young man searching for his sister, and on a quest to atone for his actions. What has he done for which he felt guilty? He slaughtered innocent people while he was blinded by revenge, assuming they were Malfested, a flaw that his former boss, Graf Dumas, took advantage of. He was still haughty and impatient after leaving Draf Dumas, but he learned to mellow his worst qualities after realizing that his flaws made him easy to manipulate. While he had come far to become a more savvy person, he was still manipulatable when the right buttons were pressed.

—

"Why aren't we all looking for a fair lady?" Asked a criminal scum before receiving a bunch from his captor.

Patroklos, wearing a gray version of his 1P outfit with a cloak, held a criminal named Dampierre up to a stone wall in a room lit by many candles. Patroklos growled, irritated by his retorts. He asked this question once more: "Did you have a woman named Pyrrha, and was she sold or not?!"

"Oh, so many women named Pyrrha. I had a Pyrrha, a redhead who got killed by another woman jealous of her beauty. Or are you talking about a blonde woman who looks a bit like you, Patroklos Alexander?" Dampierre laughed and twirled his mustache with his free hand.

"Don't get any ideas; I know who you are. Dampierre. You're a liar and a thief. You kidnap and sell women and children to people who purchase them for pleasure." Patroklos threw Dampierre onto the hard ground, next to a pile of chains. "You conned many people, lower and higher classes alike. I won't hesitate to hand you over to an angry mob, but if you tell me what happened to Pyrrha, I may let you get a chance to run."

"Boy. You are the nicest of many fools who believe themselves to be knights in shining armor, but armor can't protect one's pride once reality hits them. Foolish birdies these days fancy themselves to be heroes and role models, but they don't realize just how unfair this world is. You'll just end up being another awful memory just like them!" Dampierre tried to stab Patroklos in the neck, but Patroklos parried the hidden dagger Dampierre used. "Damn it! Fine! That bitch was sold to some brothel in the city of Venice. I sold her to some man named Vico. I don't know what else about him; he's just an old man. There, you happy now?"

Patroklos let go of the conman, who took the opportunity to flee. Dampierre made a gesture to insult Patroklos before he found himself in a swarm of angry people proceeding to rough on him. Patroklos sighed as he moved his hood over his head and passed by the violent mob. Patroklos was in the Republic of Venice, one of the city-states on the Italian peninsula, so thankfully he wouldn't be far from his next destination. Not long after he passed by the angry crowd punishing the conman, Patroklos was stopped by an albino woman in a black and dark purple dress with a rose motif right behind him.

"What do you need from a wandering fool like me?" Patroklos asked, annoyed and keeping a polite tone.

"You are searching for your sister, yet you find only more clues and even more clues on her whereabouts. You should realize this by now, Patroklos Alexander." Said the woman, putting her fingers on his shoulder to turn him around to face her.

"I told you and Zwei before that I'm not interested in joining a group of mercenaries. It'll just waste more of my time."

"I see you are spending a lot of time beating up conmen and enslavers lately. Or is that different? Well, at least it's an improvement from murdering people on your witch hunts." A tanned man, well-built and only wore pants with chains, walked right behind Patroklos.

Patroklos sighed out of frustration, not attempting to hide his irritation any longer. "Your ears must've not been cleaned then. I will make amends and atone for my actions. And that conman sold my sister to a brothel in Venice."

"And she was purchased by a noble from a faraway land. Trust me, I went there out of the kindness of my heart and all the ladies told me all about it. 'A handsome foreign noble saw her, a disastrous and hideous woman, and somehow been seduced by her. And he takes her instead of many prettier women like us'" Zwei said, finishing off with an exaggerated feminine accent.

Surprised, Patroklos wanted to ask more, but he knew he'll only end up in an unfavorable situation. Still, he wanted—no, he needed to know more.

Patroklos clinched his fist, tired of dealing with two sellswords going after him for reasons unknown. Patroklos took a gamble by asking this: "Is she still with that noble?"

"Oh, that's the neat part. She's married to him. She was his maiden, and he was her knight. Something out of a sanitized fairy tale Recently, she has gone missing without a trace of where she was. And this is the more interesting part: the same noble hired some of us to find her, even going as far as selling his fancy home along with many riches and luxurious items to us as payment. It seemed to me your sister found a great man to spend her life with, and you were chasing after a leftover breadcrumb trail that was nearly eaten up. I doubt you want to keep going alone. And as a bonus, you may get to meet your brother-in-law." Said Zwei, crossing his arms with a smirk, knowing this was a win.

Patroklos grumbled. He seriously does not want to come along with sellswords, but what choice do he have now? He sighed and gave in.

"Fine. I'll come along. But only until I find my sister. And you and your group better be able to keep that promise." Patroklos said reluctantly.

"Not only that, there's another reason why we've been chasing you. Our boss wants to see if you're the right man for a job." Zwei mentioned.

"We both told him this idiot here is unfit." Viola mumbled next to Patroklos, which he didn't hear.

"What job?" Patroklos asked, following Zwei and Viola.