Chapter 39: Catastrophe Part 1: World Distortion

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur, Zelda, or Metroid. Although that only appeared once, I still think it needs to be mentioned. glares at lawyers

Last Time on ALF...

Link, Cassandra and Siegfried finally face Soul Edge in battle. Meanwhile Mitsurugi teams up with Setsuka and Talim to deal with Voldo, managing to sever an arm. With that done they head up to help Link and the others, who are busy fighting against Soul Edge's true form in the shape of a pig boar demon. Through teamwork they manage to defeat Inferno and destroy the sword. That's when Link attacks Soul Calibur out of nowhere. Elsewhere, Sophitia discovers a monster attacking her home.

Sophitia heads home as fast as she could. With the news of her home under attack by a new threat has caused worry to overcome her senses. She's even forgotten to bring her purchases with her; all that mattered is the safety of her family.

"Rothion! Patroklos! Pyrrah!" calls out the mother, looking for her family. Sophitia gasps in shock when her eyes catch the sight of her husband gagged and tied to a chair. He's on the floor, showing he was trying to escape. "Rothion!"

Sophitia rushes to her husband's side to undo his gag when a hand grasps hold of her mouth; her look of surprise is understandable, since the fact that someone snuck up on her is a bit of a surprise itself and that the hand feels nothing like a humans.

Back To Action...

Link swings at Soul Calibur once more, causing the possessed knight to block with it. That didn't help; Link begins to pound at it with the Master Sword, chips of the crystal weapon being plucked off with each strike. Claire backs away and shouts, "Stop! What do you think you're doing?"

"I am putting an end to Soul Edge." He states, raising his sword high up before charging.

"Go get her, Link!" Cassandra cheers.

"What's going on? I thought Soul Edge was destroyed. Why is Link attacking Soul Calibur?" Talim questions as she witnesses the scene unfolding.

"I don't like the look in that guy's eyes either," Mitsurugi says as he watches Link fight.

Link makes a stab at Claire, who instead uses Siegfried's body to block. He pierces into the knight's chest armor, but stops halfway upon realizing what he's doing and pulls out. Claire then questions him by saying, "How dare you attack me? You're trying to destroy the light of humanity!"

"I had my suspicions when you didn't heal Pyrra when she was sick, but Edge Master and Algol confirmed it for me," says the Hero of Time as he raises the Master Sword skyward. Claire fires a flurry of diamonds at Link, who deflects them all masterfully. "You're a sword created from purified shards of Soul Edge to destroy Soul Edge. A spiritual weapon made to destroy can never stay peaceful."

Link dashes at Claire, who exposes Siegfried's body so he would hit him instead. But he figures this and instead punches at her sword arm, forcing the warrior to drop it. Claire then states, "You're a bit of a hypocrite. Didn't you make that sword so you could destroy your enemies?~!"

Instead of answering, Link stabs at Soul Calibur's core. The sword flashes light and releases energy spikes that attack him. The energy inflicts wounds onto Link's body, but also causes the Master Sword to reflect a pure golden light from its power source. 'This light... The Master Sword has returned to its true strength!'

The light of Soul Calibur begins to dim the longer Link's blade remains in the core. The sword splits into two dead halves, before Link draws his sword up from the ground and looms his sight over the weapon. He then sheathes it away and calls off his armor.

"Link, you did it!" Cassandra cheers as she jumps over to him. She manages to hug him, but the hug knocks him off balance.

"Cassie, get off!" he complains, lifting her up off of him. He plops back onto his behind though as his vision falters, the fatigue from using so much power taking its toll.

"Link, you okay?" she asks, helping him up to his feet.

"Yeah, thanks for helping me up." Link, with Cassandra wrapping her arms around him, walks over to the others. Siegfried joins them as well.

"But why did you destroy Soul Calibur too?" Talim asks.

Link almost falls to his knees, but manages to catch himself. "I had to. Algol left memories inside of me telling me about the truth of Soul Calibur; it's a sword made of the shards of Soul Edge purified to fight against it. It was made specifically to destroy Soul Edge, and would stop at nothing to achieve its goal.

"That's why it only bothered saving me from that curse, and didn't heal Pyrrah or Necrid. That's why the mirror Kilik has a shard of was needed to constantly purify it. I couldn't let it become twisted and grow to be even worse than Soul Edge."

"I see," Setsuka says with interest. "You were entrusted this task by Algol when he passed on."

"I guess, you might be right." Link peers his eyes at the exit. "Let's go. I bet the others have noticed."

Downstairs, Twinrova crawls herself over to the walls, feeling Soul Edge's energy is diminishing. 'Inferno has been defeated, and we have failed to defeat the elf once again... But I'll be damned if I don't kill him!'

Twinrova releases a pulse of energy into the castle walls, which quickly spread throughout the entire structure. She then collapses, the loss of blood finally granting her final breath.

Taki and Maxi are still climbing the stairs to the main floor, when the castle begins to shake. Maxi, noticing it last, asks, "What's going on?"

"Oh no. This..."

Upstairs Link and the others could feel the castle shaking. Dust begins to fall from the crevices along with loose debris, and Link soon knew what was happening. 'Uh oh.' "Uh, we gotta go guys!"

"What's going on?" Siegfried asks.

"It's just a bad feeling, but I think the castle is about to collapse on us."

"What?" Everyone shouts in shock.

"We better get going then!" Mitsurugi heads for the steps in a rush. Siegfried grabs hold of Link's other side and together with Cassandra head down the stairs with the others.

Taki and Maxi hurry up themselves, scaling the stairs as fast as their injured bodies can go. "We have to get out of here before we're crushed!"

"What about Link and the others?" Maxi asks, his eyes focused on the steps so he doesn't fall.

"I'm sure they know and are on their way out. There's no way any of us will die by such a desparate tactic." These are her words before she grabs hold of Maxi's abdomen and increases her speed. Maxi does his best to make sure his feet can keep up, even as they hit the next floor.

Soon pieces of the building begin to fall down, a ceiling of rubble about to crush Link and his friends. Spawn uses a charged shot to blow it up. "This place is gonna fall too quick for you to run out the door. Make a new exit!"

"What about Maxi and Taki? They're still at the bottom!" Spawn scuffs at Link's worries and blows a hole in the wall. He then shoots the floor.

"I'll go get them. Just go!" he says, heading down the hole in the ground.

"How are we gonna just jump out this window without us dying?" Cassandra asks as she looks out at how high up they still are. There's no way they could jump down, especially with their injured party.

"Leave that to me. The elf and I can soften the ground when we hit," says Mitsurugi as he draws his katana.

"Oh, I see. But will that work?" Link asks.

"I'll help too." Cassandra takes out her blade.

"That should do it. Let's get going!" Mitsurugi grabs Link and jumps out the hole with him. Siegfried, Cassandra, Setsuka and Talim jump with them, and good thing too; the floor caved in below them.

Mitsurugi, Cassandra and Link reveal their swords and release energy attacks, creating an explosion underneath them that successfully cushions the ground they fall upon.

Back in the castle Spawn lands before the ninja-pirate couple Taki and Maxi. "So you guys are alive afterall."

"Spawn!" Taki speaks in shock.

"I'm getting you out of here." Spawn grabs hold of them and, using the elements of wind, levitates upward through the hole.

Spawn bursts through the top of the ceiling with both warriors in his grip. The castle collapses just as they break free, turning into nothing but rubble. Those who witness give a sigh of relief as they see the warriors who entered are okay.

Cassie and Sieg carry Link over to the others while Spawn allows Maxi and Taki to move by themselves. Xianghua comes up to them and asks, "You guys alright?"

"Yeah, thanks," Link replies.

At the moment he moves off of Sieg and Cassie to walk on his own. Unfortunately his body gives off a sudden pulse of dark energy that brings him down to his knees. Cassie grabs him, saying, "Link, you need to rest."

Link gives out a sigh. A part of him hasn't realized he lost so much energy from Soul Edge's fight. "Why do I feel so tired?"

Spawn sighs and looks away as they all gather. He notices Tira is still around while Girardot and his men have left. The heroes cheer happily as they've realized all their hardwork and determination have finally paid off. Link holds his hand out, forming Farore's Wind.

"Everyone gather together. I'll teleport us back to Wolfkrone." Link holds the spell together while using both his hands, his magic still weak.

Siegfried stares at the dirt, his eyes narrowed and seemingly lifeless. Taki notices and asks, "Siegfried, you okay?"

"Yeah...It's just that, I feel so much better. Destroying Soul Edge, atoning for my sins, that's all I had. But when Hilde knighted me, I felt like I gained a new purpose in life... I guess now, I can live for my friends." These words gain the attention of all the heroes who fought beside him valiantly. "That's what I will do."

"I think that's a good idea." Link states.

"What about you, Link? What's left for you?" Kilik asks, this time referring to the Hylian hero.

Link gives off a smile; he came from another world to stop an evil sword from affecting his home, and ended up losing someone he loved and gaining someone else who would stay by his side. Zelda is gone, but he has Cassandra by his side. He also has the promise he made to her, to give up fighting and put her worried heart to rest.

"I don't think I have to fight anymore. It's time for me to rest and relive my life. Right, Cassandra?" Link turns to the new love of his life, who returns her own smile.

"Don't worry Link. You can rest now; we're all free from Soul Edge..." Cassandra tells him, hugging the man she loves to give him all her warmth. With that Link activates his spell, and everyone teleports back to Wolfkrone.

The rubble within the castle gives way, and out rises the Darknut duo Grimm and Orz. "Ah, my head! It feels like it's bleeding!"

"It is," Orz comments, rubbing his shoulders and pushing rocks and stuff off of him. "I'm amazed you survived that."

"I'm amazed we survived this!" Grimm rubs his bleeding spot and looks around. "Hey...I don't feel Soul Edge anymore."

"...Crap!" Orz smacks the side of his head, realizing what that meant. "We're doomed! Soul Edge is destroyed, and now there's nothing left for us to do!"

"Well, if that's true then shouldn't we cease to exist?" Grimm asks as he rubs his bad eye.

Orz takes a moment to contemplate this. If they were beings created from Soul Edge then they shouldn't be alive anymore. 'Huh, now that I think about it we're not reliant on Soul Edge then.'

"So, what now?" Grimm pushes the dirt off of him, glancing at the empty scenery around him.

"...Wanna go find a bar?"

"Hell yeah!" Orz and Grimm bump fists and prepare to leave. "Screw Soul Edge and fighting the Hero of time. We don't have to do anything anymore!"

"I still wanna beat up that nun chuks guy for hitting me in the back of the head, but meh..." Orz and Grimm drag themselves out of the rubble and head towards the nearest, non-malfested city.

Unfortunately as they just begin their travel, their eyes spot a figure up ahead. Orz's eyes widen in shock. "Oh no."

"Is that-" Before Grimm could finish, the figure fires a ray of red energy that blasts them into pieces.

Back In Wolfkrone...

Link and the others appear on the outskirts of the city, only for their eyes to widen in shock. Yun-Seong comments, "What in the hell?"

"My god!" Talim cries out, holding her mouth.

Wolfkrone has been torn apart. Rubble decorate the streets, some people have become drenched in injuries and blood, and even Hilde's castle has gone up in flames.

Siegfried charges as fast as he could towards the city, making a beeline for the castle. All the others save the really injured, Spawn and Tira follow after him. "What happened?"

"We destroyed Soul Edge, right? So what happened?" Cassandra asks.

"Master, that reminds me, what's left for you? Soul Edge is gone, so what's left?" Tira asks her master.

"That's not important." Spawn heads off away from the kingdom.

"Spawn..." Link, with Cassandra's help, moves closer to the Hellspawn. "I know things might be hard for you, but people here could still use your help."

"I was never in it to help you. Whatever the problem is, you will be enough to deal with it." Spawn continues to walk off, his servant Tira still following him. "Thanks for killing Soul Edge though."

"No problem," Link replies.

"Come on Link. We have to go see to the others." Cassandra pulls Link over to the kingdom where the others are.

Siegfried continues running through the kingdom towards the building. Before he could reach it a guard approaches him. "Are you Sir Siegfried?"

"Yes?"

"Lady Hildegard has asked for you upon your arrival. She's at the hospital just south of here," he says to him.

'The hospital.' "Thanks!" Siegfried treks south of his position, and thankfully the guard leads him into the direction. The others spot him changing directions and follow him to the hospital.

He soon reaches the hospital and enters. There he finds Hildegard watching over a man laid on a stretcher. She notices Sieg and says, "Siegfried, thank goodness you've returned."

"What happened to you? Who attacked the kingdom?" he asks.

"...I can't describe it... It's just...it was a monster," she murmurs, limping over to the knight. Louder she says, "It was a monster! Somehow it possessed the powers of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, and decimated the kingdom in mere minutes!"

"Soul Edge and Soul Calibur? But that's impossible! Link and I destroyed the spirit swords in Ostrheinburg," says the warrior. "Could Soul Edge's influence remain in effect even after death?"

"That still doesn't explain why it has Soul Calibur's influence." Siegfried turns around to face Taki and the others after she speaks.

"Oh well. We're just gonna have to find and kill this thing too," Yun-Seong says.

"You didn't do anything!" Mina states.

"What's going on?" Cassandra asks as she and Link enter the hospital.

"I caught most of what's going on...So there's still one more threat," Link says as Cassie lays him in a chair. "I'm sorry about your kingdom."

"It's okay. At least Soul Edge is gone." Hilde gives off a weak smile at that.

"Whatever this thing is I'll take care of it." Mitsurugi tells her. "Link and Taki may have gotten to shine, but it's my turn to have some fun!"

"Don't even think about it!" Taki tells him. "Nobody does anything until everyone's in peak form. Link is too exhausted to face this threat, and Soul Calibur is gone. Not to mention me and Maxi are too injured."

"It'll be fine. I still have two potions for us to share." Link takes out a full jar of yellow stuff. "This should heal all of our wounds."

"Bah! I don't need to rely on you pissants!" Mitsurugi heads out the hospital by himself.

"Mitsurugi-"

"Leave Heishiro alone," Taki says to Link. "Even if he does find that thing he's not the type to be completely overwhelmed." Her eyes dart to Yun-Seong.

"Hey! What's that look about?"

"Link, you just focus on healing. Me and the others ca-Oh god!" Cassandra's eyes widen in shock when she realizes something. "Where's Amy?"

Link's eyes rise up when he realizes that suddenly. He suddenly finds enough energy to stand and head out the door. Cassandra stops him at the last second, just as Hilde says, "Link, don't worry! She's safe! When the attack happened the monster didn't go after her."

Link stops at that moment and turns to the red haired beauty. "She's still in the hotel hiding."

Hearing that he breathes a sigh of relief. He turns to Cassie to ask her something, but before she could she says, "Of course. I'll go see to it she's okay."

"Thank you." Cassandra guides him back to the chair and heads off to find Amy.

"I think we should come up with a plan to find this monster," Kilik says.

"I agree but first, who here has internal bleeding or a slash wound?" Taki asks.
"Link shared his red potion with us from before, but it should be shared by those who really need it."

"Then can I have some too?" Hilde requests of the team.

"I am bleeding on my wrists." Talim raises her arms, showing the wounds she got from the old, bone man.

"So myself, Maxi, Link, Talim and Siegfried. Will that be enough?" Taki turns to the Hylian as she lists the names.

"It should be fine. I won't need to take a drink anyway," Link says, taking out the green bottle. "This should be enough for me."

Link tosses Taki over the yellow jar. "If you drink the rest, be careful. The only one here who can make more is Ivy, and this green one only restores magic and fatigue."

"Okay, thanks for the information." Taki takes a drink from the yellow potion.

"Does it taste good?" Mina asks.

Taki finishes her drink and breathes out saying, "It tastes like wine water."

"Gimme!" Maxi snatches the jug and takes a sip. He then spits some out, complaining, "It tastes like vinegar!"

"I know." Taki smiles deviously.

"You tricked me!" Everyone else laughs at his predicament.

"Still, it did the trick." Taki unravels her bandage on her right arm, revealing the wound has healed rather quickly.

Back with Cassandra she's on her way towards a building, and comes before two guards standing by a room. "Cassandra Alexandra?"

"Yes?"

"We've been waiting for you. The child is inside." The two step aside to allow her entry, and she quickly enters the room. There she finds Amy sitting on a bed, looking out the window. She turns to see Cassandra, and a faint smile appears on her face.

"Amy, thank goodness!" Cassandra dives for the girl and hugs her.

"I'm okay. The monster didn't come here," she tells her.

"Thank goodness..." Amy's eyes widen. She still isn't use to her being so worried about her. "I'll take you to Link in a few."

"It was a skeleton." This is the single explanation Hilde could give. "A skeleton came out of nowhere and laid waste to us. It just showed up and attacked, without warning or reason."

"Could it be Revenant?" Taki asks as she flexes her wrists. "That skeleton who worked for Zasalamel? Or maybe Zasalamel himself?"

Siegfried shakes his head. "That's impossible. He was obliterated; I saw with my own eyes."

"Either way, that monster is all that stands between us and true victory," Link says as he picks himself up and sighs. He hasn't drunken the green potion yet so he's a little tipsy. "We'll go looking for it tomorrow. Right now I suggest everyone take the night to rest."

"I guess." Kilik takes Xianghua's hand and heads for the same hotel Cassandra went to.

"Link, you get some rest too." This is Talim's suggestion.

"Right." With this everyone heads for the hotels to rest for the night.

Link approaches the room Cassandra and Amy are in, and inside he finds them together chatting. Cassandra sees him and says, "Link, you shouldn't be moving so much!"

"It's okay. I'll be on my back the rest of the night." Link plops onto the bed between the girls. His eyes glance towards Amy and he says, "It's good that you're safe Amy."

"...Thank you," is her reply.

Link lays his head and soon closes his eyes. Cassandra rubs his back lightly as he tries to sleep. '...I just want all this to end... In the end I have to return to Hyrule and tell them what happened.'

That's when he comes to an idea he never realized. Eventually, he'll have to make the decision where he'll have to live in either his world or hers. He's not totally sure he can bring Cassandra to his own world, especially when she'll be living amongst beings who speak another language. It might be unfair for her to live in his world because he wants familiarity.

'I never realized that...'

Later That Night...

Kilik looms his eyes over the ground before them. He stays sitting on top a porch with Kali-Yuga on his right shoulder and the Dvapara Yuga around his neck. He looks like Batman in this scenario.

"No sign of trouble yet," he murmurs as he awaits the next sign of danger. While it's true Link says they need rest, Kilik on the other hand can't find himself resting in this situation.

His patience pays off when he senses Soul Edge off in the distance. "Finally, it's making its move."

Kilik heads inside his room and awakens Xianghua. "Xianghua, wake up."

"Huh? Kilik?" His lover rubs her eyes as she awakens.

"Go get Maxi and the others. We're going after the monster." Kilik leaps out of the building window to the ground, using his staff to break his fall.

"Kilik!" Xianghua heads out the door, grabbing her sword along the way.

Kilik jets in the direction of the demonic presence. As he nears the creature he could feel a deep energy inside of himself growing, a familiar, cursed energy. 'I have to keep this under control.'

Soon he reaches his target, the skeletal warrior Revenant. "So it was you, Revenant."

The undead skeleton draws dual knives and charges Kilik. The bo master sweeps at Reve, who jumps in the air. The skeleton throws a small set of knives at Kilik, who twirls his staff to deflect them. Revenant approaches Kilik and throws a series of slashes at the defending Kilik. He then cuts the fight short by picking up a knife thrown at him and tossing it at Revenant's left eye.

The undead cries out in pain before Kilik comes up and jabs him several times in the chest. He then slams the right end of the staff in the side of his face. As Revenant falls to the ground Kilik could hear, "Kilik," coming from behind him.

He turns around briefly to see Xianghua coming for him. "Where are the others?"

"I got Talim to do it. You can't just go after a monster on your own!" she says to him.

"Don't worry. This skeleton is nothing," Kilik retorts as he takes hold of his Kali Yuga and uses it to propel himself towards Revenant and kick him in the face. He then stabs the staff through his face, as if playing billiards. Revenant collapses, his skull shattering to pieces.

"You did it!" Xianghua shouts happily. 'He's right. That was too easy! It's like he wasn't even trying!'

"I guess you didn't need to call the others," he says as he twirls his staff and hits the ground with it. "Let's get going."

Before they could leave, Kilik hits the ground painfully. As if in slow motion, Xianghua looks to Kilik and slowly watches as he falls to the ground. Her eyes suddenly widen before screaming, "KILIK!"

Before she could react, a sphere of energy encases her, tearing into her skin and shredding her clothes to pieces before sending her a mile away towards a building. The entire building explodes and collapses, leveled from that one attack. As the rubble collapses onto Xianghua, her eyesight picks up what faintly looks like a blurry figure walking towards her. Her eyes shut before she could see what happens.

That Morning...

Xianghua's eyes open suddenly. Her vision still blurry, she could only make out a few familiar faces as she slumps her head to the side. "Where...am...I?"

"She's coming to! Xianghua, you okay?" Taki asks the Chinese warrior.

"What happened..." she asks slowly, her throat still sore from rubble in her throat. She then gasps and asks, "Where Kilik?-!"

Taki and the others couldn't say anything. The silence greatly worries her. Talim then speaks, "We don't know. There was no sign of him when we found you."

"What? T-that's impossible!" Xianghua coughs after having to raise her voice.

"There's more..." Taki says, adding more to her worry. She holds out a mirror to the injured woman, and she gasps upon seeing her red eyes and pale skin. "Whoever did this turned you into a malfested."

"W-What? But how?" Xianghua begins to panic. First not only did someone attack her and Kilik and that person also kidnapped him, but also she's a monster that only Kilik could purify. She soon begins to hyperventilate.

"Xianghua, calm down! Control your breathing!" Taki says, holding her down to calm herself. "We need you to explain what you saw..."

Outside of the hospital room she rests in, Link manages to stand by the door long enough to hear everything. 'Just what are we facing this time? Am I good enough by myself?'

As he contemplates his strength, his left eye quickly turns white for a split second.

Julia: And so we reach the final arc.

Kenshin: Sounds dark. What's he gonna do?

Manabu: I hear there's a planned sequel in the works. But here's a preview of the next chapter anyway.

Preview:

"We've been warped to Athens?"

"Sister!"

"But why would he single us out one by one?"

"So it's you..."

"Your powers are being held back because of the parasite deity inside of you."

Chapter 40: Catastrophe Part 2: