Disclaimer- I don't own Soul Calibur. Namco does. I'm just kidnapping the characters and roughing them up a bit. It makes life interesting. :)

Chapter 2-

Natsu frowned as she heard a fire crackling nearby. The last thing she remembered was Arahabaki's rants about Siegfried. Now her body felt as if she had been in a fight. She cracked her eyes open and saw that her hands were tied in front of her. Before she could move, a small plate of bread and meat was placed in front of her face.

"You should eat," Patroklos said lowly. As he moved to the other side of the fire, Natsu pushed herself up into a sitting position. "And then maybe you can explain what happened."

Her eyes narrowed as she twisted her hands around and picked up the plate. "You know about Arahabaki," she grumbled. She started to shove food in her mouth and tried to figure out what the demon was hiding from her as well. "He doesn't like your friend."

Patroklos snorted. "I remember you didn't like me all too much either," he countered. When she glared at him, he shrugged. "I don't think you like anyone when you first meet them."

"I didn't know I was supposed to." Natsu glared at the ropes binding her wrists before ripping her hands free. She sent him a challenging look when he raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you want, Patroklos?" she asked tiredly. The last time they spent any time together he had been too focused on finding his sister.

"We need to stop the swords," he said simply. "After what happened last time, I have a better understanding of why your master believed they both needed to be destroyed."

Natsu slowly chewed her food as she thought about the little bit of information Taki had told her about her the swords. "They deal in absolutes," she said quietly. "Soul Edge wants chaos to rule. The darker, the more deprived, the better. Soul Calibur wants absolute good. Not taint whatsoever." Narrowed brown eyes looked at him. "So you don't think the world would be better off with no trace of the Malfested?" she asked curiously.

"The Malfested need to be destroyed. There is nothing good that can come from them. You can't get me to change my thoughts on that." He stood to his feet and started to pace around their camp. "But what Soul Calibur wants..." Patroklos shook his head as an angry sigh left him. "It doesn't care what harm it causes in the back lash. That sword wanted me to kill my own sister. An innocent victim of the Malfested." His eyes were troubled as he turned to look at Natsu. "I want to protect people. I want to protect Pyrrah. But I can't do that if I slay everything without a thought."

"So you're no longer the Heir to the Sword of Souls," she said as she stood to her feet as well. "I think you're better off without it." Her eyes lost their suspicion as she approached him. "There can never be a world of absolute good. Evil is needed to balance everything out. Just like light and dark."

"Did Arahabaki teach you that?" he asked. She was standing directly in front of him. If it hadn't been for that one drunken night before they reached Ivy's citadel all of those years ago, he would have been scared. While it was known to the world that the ninja in front of him was temperamental, he knew that she wouldn't do anything to truly hurt him. "That a little darkness is needed to gauge the light?"

"His exact words were, Light was needed to reveal the levels of Darkness," she countered. At Patroklos' blink, she shrugged. "My demon can be insightful every now and then." A deep frown crossed her face when she thought about the tall blonde that was missing from their group. "That still doesn't explain why I attacked Siegfried. Arahabaki took complete control over me. He's only done that one time before."

Patroklos noted the way she shivered and frowned. It was clear to him that she didn't want to remember that time. But he was confused with the attack as well. "He seemed to want to protect you and Taki from Siegfried. And when I asked Siegfried, he said that you're family to him."

Natsu's back straightened. "I don't have a family," she said darkly. "And after seeing Xiba, Leixia, and Xianghua, I don't really want one."

Siegfried carried more firewood into the camp. He frowned darkly as he looked at both Natsu and Patroklos. "Wanted or not, you have one," he said before dropping his bundle next to the fire. He saw the way the girl's shoulders bunched and couldn't help but think of her mother. "Didn't Taki or Chie ever explain everything to you?"

She hated the way he called her master by her name. As if they were special to each other. "Explain what?" she questioned in a hiss.

Siegfried sighed as he walked over to his own traveling bag and fished out the journal Chie had given him. His heart was heavy as he found the passage that he had read every night since receiving the small leather bound book. "I think you'll believe this more than you will me."

Patroklos stood just behind Natsu's shoulder as she snatched the journal away from Siegfried. Her eyes widened as she instantly recognized the handwriting. "We were given this last week," he said softly. "Since then, we've been looking for any sign of you or Taki."

Natsu read the passage and felt her world slowly crumble. "This can't be true," she said as she looked up at the man her master said was her father.

"Why not?" Siegfried challenged. "If she could leave me on a tower encased in ice, she could raise you without saying she's your mother."

Normally brown eyes flashed red. "It killed her to leave you," Natsu hissed. When she felt tender hands on her shoulders, she looked over her shoulder into Patroklos' eyes. "They both had a choice. He chose Soul Calibur, and she chose the world." She pulled away from her friend and approached Siegfried. "Don't you dare stand here and think that you're better than she is. She wanted to save the world. You want to damn it."

"I didn't understand what the Swords were back then," Siegfried said with a shake of his head. "I do now. They both need to be destroyed. I need your mother's help to do that."

Her temper snapped. "She's not my mother!" Natsu screamed. She hadn't expected the ground under her feet to rumble as she turned and ran away from both Siegfried and Patroklos.

Patroklos glared at Siegfried for a moment before running of after Natsu. He wasn't going to leave her alone as her world shattered around her. From their conversations during their travels, he knew that the girl loved her master. Natsu fashioned her entire life after Taki's. If she hadn't been Leixia's bodyguard when they first met, then she would have been off demon hunting.

It wasn't long before he saw Natsu ahead of him. Just as she was about to take to the trees, he tackled her to the ground. When she started to fight him, he growled. "Natsu, it's me!" he shouted as she tried to fight him off. When wild crimson eyes looked at him, he gently touched her face. "It's me," he repeated as the fight left her.

Natsu shook her head as she looked into his green eyes. "She wouldn't lie to me," she said in a small voice. "Not about something like this."

"What if it was to protect you?" he countered. When she looked at Patroklos, he gently brushed her bangs away from her face. "Think about it, Natsu. My sister and I were targeted because of our mother. Taki wouldn't want that for you. Especially after Arahabaki possessed you."

The shadows under her eyes deepened. "I was sealed inside of her," that dark and dangerous voice replied. As Patroklos straightened, so did she. "I protect her. When she doesn't want to face the truths of the lies around her, I am the shoulder she cries on. And when it's her turn to maintain balance, I will be the one that holds her hand as she shatters whoever is holding either of those blades."

Patroklos gripped her shoulders and shook her. "Natsu," he yelled into her face. "Do not let Arahabaki control you like this. You have to face this. Not him." He continued to shake her as he looked into rebellious garnet eyes.

Eyes that slowly darkened to heartbroken chocolate. Natsu gasped as she reached out and wrapped her arms around Patroklos' shoulders. As she buried her face in the crook of his neck, she felt his arms slowly embrace her. After a long moment, she released a shaky breath. "I don't know if I can," she whispered against his skin.

With ease, he moved off of her and lifted her into his arms. "You can deal with this. I'll be here with you."

Natsu closed her eyes as she tried to process the last twenty minutes. She was no longer the pitiful orphan that everyone in the clan believed. Her father had been the Azure Nightmare, and her mother was the greatest Demon Hunter in history. Natsu's arms tightened around Patroklos' shoulders as she thought of how he had instantly become her rock.

And that's only until he finds his sister.

Natsu closed her eyes against Arahabaki's taunts. She wouldn't turn away from Patroklos. Just as they hadn't turned away from each other back then.

The ship the Sairen no Himei sailed into the port of Hong Kong. The captain stood at the helm with a watchful eye on the chaos of her ship. The men were all excited to find out that she would give them a fortnight in dock. They would all have plenty of time to party and drink and whore around. Little did they know, once they left dock again, they wouldn't see land for over a month.

She had to find a way to rid the world of the Two Swords. She also had to find a way to rid her daughter of the demon inside of her.

"Captain, all of the men are ready and waiting your orders," her first mate said with a bow.

Chocolate colored eyes looked at the crowd. "My orders are simple. Be back here in two weeks. We sail with or without you."

As the men cheered, she looked around the port. Somewhere in this city the key to destroying the Two Swords. All Taki had to do was find it.