Author's Note: Well after a year and a half of planning (and figuring out how this works), it's time to get this show on the road! Hope you enjoy it!

I don't own the Legend of Zelda series nor do I own the Soul Calibur series. All that stuff belongs to Nintendo and Namco respectively.

Chapter 1 – The Darkest Hour

The task that was given to them by their Master was one of utmost importance. If they succeeded, they would break her so-called 'unwavering resolve', leaving her vulnerable. But not to a defeat by their hands, no, their Master had become too clever for that. He knew that somewhere out there was that wretched sword that countered his strength, so why waste the opportunity for a greater army? She had proven herself to be a fine pawn to her Gods, and now he had the chance to make her a slave of his own. After all, what greater power was there than to twist the minds of potential threats and turn them into your greatest servants?

Although why this task was given to them was a mystery, especially since he had more capable servants. But this question never crossed their minds, for they were simply soldiers who marched under his banner, soldiers whose minds were so corrupted that their bodies changed to a hideous cross between a man and a lizard.

Perhaps the answer to this question was that it simply wasn't necessary. For they had arrived at the city during the night, located the house, and used their new abilities to climb up the wall and through the window into the bedroom of the one they were after, with no troubles whatsoever. They looked around the room and quickly found what they were looking for, a little girl with blonde hair, fast asleep in her bed. Now stealth wasn't required, as one grabbed the girl and, whilst she was screaming, placed her in the bag held open by the other.

Their task was done, now they needed to escape before any soldiers came. But just as they jumped out of the window, the bedroom door flew open. A man armed with a blade suddenly sprung through, looking towards the bed to see the girl was missing, and caught a glimpse of something leaping out the window to the streets below. He ran straight to the window and again, could just about see a pair of… creatures run down the street. He contemplated giving chase, but his fear stopped him from jumping down from such a height. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, the man screamed at what must have been the top of his voice.

"PYRRHA!"

But there was no response, it was hopeless. It seemed as though no-one in the world could hear his plea.

Except for one…

It was pure coincidence that he was passing through a courtyard, having not found an inn to spend the night at after a day of unsuccessful searching, before his senses suddenly told him that something was about to happen. Never being one that ignored these feelings, he perched himself on a rooftop that overlooked a group of houses and watched over them, like a gargoyle. His waiting eventually paid off, as he saw two creatures that looked very familiar to him climb out of a window. One of them carried a bag that had something in it. But he chose to watch as they ran past him, and it was then that he saw something moving inside the bag, along with muffled screams.

It was this that made him stand up, and watch as the creatures ran down the street. Behind him, he suddenly heard a man's scream that came from the direction of the house. He clenched his gauntlet-covered fists. Something had to be done.

As the father regained his breath, he instinctively looked over to the rooftops of the houses opposite the courtyard. But he soon turned around and prepared to search for his daughter the hard way, as there was nothing that was out of the ordinary.

The watcher heard thunder rumbling in the background, this would make his rooftop sprint more dangerous, but he didn't care. He needed the advantage of being able to cut the corners of any of the turns the assailants took. They were much quicker than the average person, but he could see he was catching up to them, as any change in direction made meant he could keep his momentum, only requiring a short leap to jump over the alleyways. Any time they switched to the opposite side of the road, he simply used a device of his to latch onto any surface he could find, like a lantern, or a chimney guard, or a certain material used for some of the rooftops, and swung or pulled himself to the new position, allowing him to continue.

He chased them for a while, never losing sight of them. In fact it wasn't long before the watcher was slightly ahead of the creatures, and they still had no idea he was there. The rain now started to fall, but he knew the chase was coming to an end, as he looked ahead he saw a large wall, signifying the boundary of the city. He noticed that this section of the wall was in the middle of two guard towers, therefore being the section with the least security. He also noticed whilst it was impossible for anyone to jump over it, the positioning of the buildings at the foot made it possible for someone to climb onto it, and if these creatures could climb up a house, then this was certainly within their capability.

So he leapt down from the rooftop, and landed right in front of their path with cat-like precision, making them stop dead in their tracks.

The creatures were startled, they knew this was the most likely place to meet resistance, but they never expected someone to leap down onto the road. The person was hunched over with one hand on the floor, making his face impossible to see, but they did notice he was armed with a large sword and shield that were both strapped onto his back. But as the figure stood up they saw he was only a young man, no older than twenty, and while his physique was good for someone of his age, his clothing eliminated some of his masculinity, as he wore a simple green tunic with white skin-tight undergarments. Then his face became visible from under the green, pointed floppy hat he wore, and while the structure of his face along with his long, blonde hair gave off the look of a 'pretty boy', his blue eyes were cold, having the look of a warrior. But this wasn't what caught the most of the Lizardmen's attention; they were drawn to his ears, as they appeared human at first but then ended with a point at the tips. They both tilted their heads to the side. Although they were abominations to mankind, even they were perplexed by this youth's presence.

But he unfazed by their confusion; all he cared about was that they had something that wasn't rightfully theirs.

"I do not know if you can understand me," the young man said "but if you release the contents of that bag, then I might let you live!"

They understood him, but there was no chance of them listening to him. The Lizardmen chuckled slightly as one of them drew its sword and shield. What could a pretty boy in tights possibly do to them? He probably couldn't even hold that sword on his back, let alone use it!

Seeing the beast draw his weapon was all that the young man needed to see. He slightly lowered his head, not taking his eyes off his new opponent. His left hand grabbed the blue hilt of his sword, whilst his right hand grabbed onto the hold of his shield. He drew them, and spread his legs into his fighting stance, giving a brief thought to how good it felt to be wielding the Blade of Evil's Bane into battle once again.

The rain was now falling more heavily, but the warrior didn't care. All he needed was eye contact with both of the monsters. Everything else seemed unimportant.

Whilst the young man seemed to enjoy this moment of silence, the beast soon became impatient, the longer they delayed the more chance there was of encountering the city's soldiers. With this in mind, the Lizardman charged towards the intervener and brought its blade down on his head, which was blocked by the man's own blade, eliminating all thoughts that he was unable to wield the sword.

Whilst they were caught in this lock, the Lizardman growled at its opponent in an attempt to frighten him. But it didn't work, as he simply stared at it with those icy, blue eyes. The warrior broke the lock by swinging the Lizardman's sword around and then off his own, causing the beast to stumble slightly. But it immediately recovered, attacking with its shield which was deflected by the intervener's own shield, and then unexpectedly somersaulting into the air in an attempt to kick him in the face. The intervener was surprised by the beast's flexibility, but dodged it. But he didn't expect a second kick to come straight after the first, and was caught on the chin.

He stumbled backwards slightly, but the Lizardman closed the distance and made a slice for the man's now exposed throat. But he managed to recover quick enough to duck down, avoiding the attack and kick the monster in the legs, which was immediately followed by a jumping kick to its head. The Lizardman was completely open to an attack, and the warrior swung his sword before lunging towards the beast's chest.

The Lizardman felt something smack against its chest. But when it looked down, it saw the hilt of the intervener's blade pressed against its body. It looked towards the young man in confusion, who simply looked back at it with a smirk on his face.

"One." he said, with a look of intimidation in his eyes.

The monster didn't know what he meant by this, but what it did know was that this fool just humiliated it in combat. But fortunately, he was stupid enough to spare it, a grave mistake. Perhaps it did underestimate him slightly, but that was a mistake he wouldn't live to regret.

The Lizardman took a swipe for the warrior's head, which removed the intimidating expression from his face, before he ducked under the attack and back-flipped away from the beast. It went back on the offensive with its sword once again being brought down on the young man's head, but he blocked it once again with his own sword. But this time he did more than push it off, as the beast's sword slid down his own, causing the Lizardman to stumble into the warrior, who bashed his shield into the monster's face. With the beast recoiling from the impact the warrior delivered a hard kick into his opponent's face, with such force that the Lizardman fell flat on his back, causing a big splash in the puddles of the cobble street. Before the Lizardman could recover though, the warrior had leapt up into the air and was descending into the monster with his sword held downwards.

The warrior landed with both legs on either side of the Lizardman's body and the blade made contact with its chest, but again, it didn't penetrate the skin. The Lizardman looked back towards the warrior, who had the same look in his eyes and the same smirk as he had before.

"Two." The young man said as he stepped back off the Lizardman, thus removing the threat of the blade.

The beast got up off the wet floor, giving off another growl. Only this one was of pure anger. It still couldn't figure out why this warrior was counting up, and right now it couldn't give a damn. It's pride was the only thing on its mind, and how low it was after being defeated twice and spared twice. Both times it had to look at that smirk; he knew he was better than it. But no more! The monster's rage had gotten the better of it, as it roared at its opponent and charged towards him one more time.

Strangely, the young man wasn't scared. In fact, his smirk intensified as he prepared for an assault. The Lizardman was now blindly attacking the warrior, using its sword and shield, along with all of its limbs and appendage, aiming for nowhere in particular. But with all strikes being either blocked by the man's own sword or shield or dodged completely, this attack was proving fruitless. But the beast didn't care anymore; it would wear him down if it had to. Anything to wipe that smirk off his face!

But while the Lizardman was putting its strategy into action, the warrior was formulating his own. It was a risky manoeuvre but everything seemed to be going his way during this battle, besides he had never done it on this type of monster before, so why not see what happens?

Content with his reasoning the warrior grabbed both arms of his opponent as they came for an attack, and then swung himself underneath the legs of the Lizardman's wide stance, using the arms as support. He also narrowly avoided the tail, which had just recovered from a block before it got in the way. He let go of the arms as he passed under the beast's groin and slid across the slippery floor slightly, before standing up again, just in time to catch the monster's tail with his right arm while it staggered.

He then used this time to swipe his sword onto his opponent's neck. But once again, he stopped just as it made contact. Then those words that the Lizardman didn't want to hear came.

"Three." He said as he slid his sword off the Lizardman's neck.

The young man placed his foot onto the beast's back and pushed as hard as he could, causing the Lizardman to fall forwards. But as it got up onto its feet, it looked towards its companion who had stood watching this 'fight', it was pointing to where the warrior was, telling its partner in their tongue to "Watch out!"

It turned around, but did nothing as the man's blade was suddenly plunged into its chest; all it could do was cry out in agony. The precision was perfect, as it was right where the beast's heart was. It had a matter of seconds to live. The Lizardman used these final moments to look into the warrior's eyes. There was no smirk, no intimidating tint to his blue eyes. Instead there was just a look of sincerity, a look of having done this many times before.

As the Lizardman closed its eyes and lurched towards the warrior, he pulled the blade out of its chest, causing it to immediately fall to the ground, totally devoid of any life.

His gaze then shifted from his fallen opponent to its partner, who stood stupefied at its comrade but with the bag still in its arms. It eventually noticed the warrior's stare, and responded by reaching for its own blade and then pointing it towards the bag in a threatening manner. After a short pause, the warrior responded by sheathing his sword and shield, and the monster sniggered to itself, even the mightiest of heroes fall when another's life is endangered.

But suddenly the warrior reached both arms into a pouch on the back of his belt and revealed his bow and arrow. It was done with such speed, the monster could only realise this by the time the warrior was set up, ready to take the shot. The Lizardman hid itself behind the bag, making any chance of an instant kill impossible, not without giving the monster enough time to kill whatever was inside the bag.

Knowing this, the warrior aimed towards the monster's leg and summoned a little spell he knew that gave his arrows an elemental power. The power he summoned was Light, the one that drained his strength the most but guaranteed a kill as long as the opponent was evil. As the strength gathered in the arrow, a small yellow aura appeared around its tip.

The Lizardman took a peek around the bag to see what the intervener was doing, and saw that his arrow was suddenly glowing with a light that gave off a heavenly hum as the warrior pointed it towards the beast's legs.

Now it was trembling in fear. No matter what it did, this young man always had a way of making the situation worse for it. The monster's partner was dead, with itself being in grave danger with no way of avoiding it, all because their Master wanted some stupid little girl. No. Its partner may have been blind enough to die under their Master's banner, but this Lizardman was not going to make the same mistake. It would rather hide from their Master than suffer death from either this warrior, or the city's soldiers.

The warrior was slightly confused when he saw the monster suddenly drop the bag and run in the opposite direction. He dropped the spell and lowered his bow. In all his years of fighting monsters, it was something he never saw before, one fleeing for its life. He was tempted to let it go, then reasoned that this all could have been a trick. The monster could have easily returned while he was not present.

With this in mind he raised his bow once again and summoned another spell. This one gave off a blue aura, and the sound of a deep, frosty wind. The effects of anyone being struck by this spell were horrifying, even to monsters. But with the beast being so far away a weapon that killed with one hit was needed, and it drained less of his magic power than the previous spell.

He released the arrow, and continued watching. But once he saw that the arrow struck his opponent's leg, he turned his attention towards the bag, as he walked towards it.

The monster fell to the ground, injured, but not dead. The pain was agonising, but it could still escape as long as it continued running. But as it tried to run, it found that it was not longer able to move the injured leg, and soon after, all feelings from it vanished. As it made its next step, it was unable to move any further.

It looked down, and was horrified at what it saw; its leg had turned to ice! This cemented its leg to the ground, halting its movement. But then it noticed that the ice was spreading upwards, consuming its entire body. The monster tried frantically to break free, trying to pull its frozen leg off the floor and then attempting to break the ice with its fists, but to no avail. Before long, only its head remained, but even that was covered, leaving a statue of a fearful monster made of pure ice.

But the spell did not stop there as the arrow kept producing ice, but since it had nowhere to spread to the ice simply intensified. Soon after it became so thick; it shattered under its own pressure. Hundreds of shards of the monster sprinkled onto the floor, now simply waiting for the sun to melt it away.

While this happened, the intervener cut the rope that bound the bag using a dagger he kept in his pouch. When he peered into the bag, a little girl suddenly sprang out of it, taking in a huge gasp of air. Even the warrior could feel how stuffy the air was in that bag.

The girl then took in her surroundings. She didn't know where she was, it was raining, and then she noticed a strange man looking at her. He had a smile on his face, and his eyes were full of warmth. But then she noticed his ears, they weren't like her families', or anyone else's for that matter. They looked like ones that she was told about in stories.

"Hello there," He eventually said "I am here to take you home!" he declared as he reached out for her. But she recoiled away from him with a look of fear in her youthful eyes, huddling a part of the sack as if to protect her.

It was now the warrior realised; he didn't hide his ears. Throughout the day he tucked his ears into his hat to blend in, which he figured was for the best after seeing how those he first met responded to him.

"Do not worry; I will not hurt you." He assured her, realising there was nothing he could do about it now. All he could do now was put on a big smile, and hope she realised he was not her enemy.

After a few moments the girl lowered the sack from her face, her eyes weren't so fearful anymore either. The warrior intensified his smile, ensuring her she had not made a mistake in trusting him. Then he noticed how wet her head was, as her blonde hair dulled in colour and stuck to her head. He then thought on of how cold she must have been, seeing she only had bed clothing to protect her from the rain. As if by instinct, the warrior removed his hat from his head and placed it on hers. She appeared confused by this at first, but then realised what the intention was.

"Come on, I shall carry you home." The warrior said as he prepared to pick up the girl, but did not do so until she quickly nodded.

He struggled to see though the intense rain, as his fringe now drooped over his eyes, but after regaining his bearings the hero ran back the way he came, with the young girl cradled in his arms.

…

Meanwhile, far away there was a castle that, for many years, had been derelict; totally empty of life. In a way that was still the case, for the creatures that took up the castle as their stronghold were simply pawns; slaves that, willingly or not, gave themselves to the demon who sat on the throne of the castle. Even though he didn't earn the position, he sat on it with such power that nobody questioned it. And never far away from the demon was his sword, which leaned against the throne, but looked as though it stood of its own accord. In fact to some, it looked as though the sword itself was the one that was on the throne, as it gazed to its servants with its terrifying eye. He was a frightful creature, only respected by a handful of his servants, the rest simply feared him.

But suddenly his monstrous fist slammed on the arm of this throne, causing the majority of his servants to jump out of their skin.

"Soul Calibur?" He boomed "How can that damned sword be in two places at once?" He asked aggressively, even though the question was directed at no-one in particular.

He was confined to his castle, but that didn't stop him from being able to witness events outside the castle, especially those concerning his 'other half'. But the problem was he could now sense two energies that were almost identical, both hundreds of miles apart from each other. But this new presence also felt familiar somehow, as though he had encountered it before.

"It makes no sense!" He growled in the utter confusion of the situation. The demon needed answers, and he knew that he was going to get them, one way or another.