Weapon, a guilty gear fanfic

TITLE: Weapon
AUTHOR: Athena Asamiya (empresskatzy@hotmail.com)
SERIES: Guilty Gear XX
TYPE: Part 1/1, Sol POV songfic.
RATING: PG-13
WARNING: Heavy GGXX spoiler warning - concerning Sol, I-No, Axl, and The Man - for a majority of this fic. Also some creative liberty taken with the character storylines. (In other words: some details are fantheories and not official.) Some harsh language too. But no Solky, sigh. :( I TRIED to fit bunny-kun Ky in, I really did...and as a side note, any and all "Gear pairings" - both het and yaoi - are just beyond evil.
SETTING: The year 2182, right before the events of Guilty Gear XX (which apparently takes place "a few weeks" after the end of the GGX storyline -- Sol defeating Dizzy but sparing her life, Johnny and the Jellyfish Pirates saving Dizzy, etc.)
THEME: "Weapon" by Matthew Good. (songfic theme)
COMMENTS: ...I don't think I can even give any comments on this one. It'd take far too long to explain what's official and what Asuka and I have theorized, so I'll let you read it for yourself and then decide. ^_~;; Come February 4th, you may be able to figure out some of this for yourself. (But I am giving a spoiler warning. A really big one. A lot of this stuff is actually in the game -- read the GGXX Story Mode FAQ at GameFAQs.) Trust me, Guilty Gear XX has thrown in some twists that will turn your perception of this game's story and its characters on its ass. And I'll say now that, even with the wholly appropriate song lyrics, I've never had a more exciting or entirely difficult experience writing a single fanfic before. Read it once, then read it again. Enjoy.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-( GGXX )-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

here by my side an angel
here by my side the devil
never turn your back on me
never turn your back on me again
here by my side it's heaven

One of the first things you learn when you've been stuck on the same goddamn planet for the last three lifetimes is that everything collapses in time. No matter where you go, the landscape's always littered with the remains of the past -- man's attempt to achieve immortality through everlasting landmarks, failed. Nothing lasted forever in these times, not even the Statue of Liberty or any of the former landmarks. All long destroyed by time and war.

So ruins all look the same. But these ones were far too familiar for my liking.

I stepped gingerly over the crumbled remnants of a concrete wall, feeling loose stone and mortar shift under my boots. My eyes took in as much of the sight as I could identify in the light of the dying sun -- the wreckage of a long-abandoned private facility right in the middle of America's nothing and nowhere. Specifically, an old lab from the early 21st century.

The one where everything started and so much ended.

I pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking slow steps through the former site of the infamous laboratory. Nicotine, my favorite vice, was all that was going to help me get through this -- my first return to that bedamned site. Destroyed or not, it still felt ominous, still gave me the same fucking chills like nothing else could. There was very, very little in this world that could possibly even attempt to scare me, but this place sure as hell ranked up there. For that reason alone, I'd avoided coming here until now, did my best to avoid thinking about it. Shoving the memories back, where they belonged. Because most of them contained the screaming, and it just about drove me out of my mind to hear THAT again. It was bad enough to hear it in my dreams almost every night, to see those nightmares again every time I closed my eyes...

Demons don't dream.

But I had no clue what I was anymore.

-demon, human, Gear, scientist, bounty hunter, criminal, creator, destroyer-

So maybe that was why I came back. To see if I could find some semblance of identity in the ashes of my beginning. God knows I wasn't able to find it anywhere else, in this world that I'd helped destroy.

Fragments of worn, rusted metal and debris crunched underfoot as I made my way through the lab site, ducking under partially collapsed doorways, the blade of the sword hanging at my hip brushing a scorched wall as I passed. I couldn't resist a bit of a smile as my fingers idly touched Fuenken's hilt; this lab was its birthplace as much as it was my own. It WAS here, after all, that I-

-no-

-that he'd first developed the blueprints that would later become OUTRAGE, the six anti-Gear magic weapons. The Seikishidan's only saving grace during the Crusades. (You sure as hell didn't see me getting any gratitude for it, but I never expected any, especially from those self-righteous assholes.) The irony that one of them was in my possession never really escaped me. Though it wasn't irony so much as it was...deserving, I'd think. Those weapons were mine. This sword Fuenken was mine.

Always had been and always would be.

After trudging silently through the wrecked site, a mixture of dust and cigarette smoke trailing behind me, I stepped through the doorframe of a room almost tucked away behind what used to be large hallways and experiment rooms. It was here that I stopped, knowing that this specific site was the end of my journey. As my head turned to take in what was left of it over 150 years later, only foundations and dirt, I could still see the glistening white of the walls, hear the sound of shoes tapping against metal floor. Even in its current long-destroyed state, I would always be able to see this room as it used to be, as it would always exist as a ghost in my memory. No matter how much I tried to forget it.

The main laboratory of Gear Research and Development's Division 6A -- the Gear and Human Body Experiment Number 1.

My birthplace, sort of. My own personal hell would be more like it.

"I'm home," I muttered to the empty room, a bitter note in my words as I thought I could hear an answer, a multitude of voices, whispering on the wind.

(Welcome back, Frederick.)

here by my side you are destruction
here by my side a new colour to paint the world
never turn your back on it
never turn your back on it again
here by my side it's heaven

As I stood in the middle of the wreckage that was both his former workplace and the place of my creation, I had to keep reminding myself why I'd come back in the first place. There was a time when I'd have rather died than return here. I hadn't even been the one to destroy the goddamn place -- Justice did a good enough job with that, as I saw three deep clawmark gouges struck through the remainder of a wall. Apparently he'd hated this place as much as I did, if the remains of the lab were any indication of his fury at being restrained by "weak" humans-

-hearing myself scream, feeling the drugs being pumped into me, sedated and restrained and tortured, living day after day after goddamn day under their control-

00 and 01's origins were more similar than anyone thought. More than I'd ever admit, anyway.

I ran one hand over the remains of control panels, computer monitors, and so much else that had disintegrated into dust over time. As I pressed my forehead against a pillar and closed my eyes, I couldn't help but remember how many times I'd reminded myself to stop dwelling on all this. It'd make me weak. Of course, I never showed any of these emotions - hell, never showed any emotions period - when anyone else was around, but here...especially here...

It was hard to keep anything back in a place where you'd been stripped so bare before.

I whirled around and buried Fuenken in the pillar, barely resisting the urge to scream, unable to hold back my anger and frustration any longer. I didn't fucking ask for any of this idiotic angst. For Christ's sake, I'm the strongest fighter in this entire goddamn world! I didn't have an equal, I didn't take shit from anyone, I didn't lose to anyone-

So why was I letting my past defeat me like this?

"I didn't ask for this," I growled through clenched teeth. "You hear me, bastard? You did this."

No response. I had silenced him a long time ago.

There was too much I had pushed away and repressed. It was the only way I could find some semblance of balance between us, back in those days of insanity....sacrifices had to be made in order to reach that balance. Even now, I can't seriously think of us as being the same person -- we only share the same body. That's it. I'm not him and he's not me. It just makes more sense that way. He had a life once, and now it was over.

But a voice from somewhere murmured, That's what you came here to find, though. You came here to rediscover what you've lost.

His life. Frederick's life. My true past.

The only thing that may be able to help me in the coming war.

I shook my head to myself, knowing that it would be a tricky process. Most of the parts from Frederick's mind were still hazy at best; just flashes of faces, smiles, bits of scientific knowledge coupled with a typical scientist's need to transcend boundaries, limitations of the human life and flesh. No, I couldn't recall many memories from his life that weren't completely vague -- all that I did recall was shoved away into the farthest corners of my mind. There were, however, faces that stuck out more strongly than others...

A cheerful young man with long blond hair, blue eyes earnest and excited. A childhood friend who became an assistant. "Sir, you'll definitely succeed in your research! I'm putting my faith in you, okay?"

A striking Japanese woman, long black hair and luminous green eyes, smile bright and sincere against pale skin. "You'll come to my rock show tonight, won't you, Freddie? I just know it'll be Midnight Carnival's best concert ever..."

And then our boss, that man who oversaw it all...that fucking bastard who was responsible for this, responsible for the creation of the other two who would make up the four, with me left to be sentenced to destroy both the world's ugliest creations and his former best friends...

All of us destined to be changed, to be turned against each other centuries in the future, all doomed to be victims of the project. Victims of what I'd begun and what that man corrupted so completely.

Something whispered in my mind. ...And the reunion of the Gear Project scientists is soon to come.

So I'll need answers. I'll need the edge in this fight. This was the only weapon I had left.

I had to give in and let myself remember.

Then it all came back to haunt me, and I could see it unfold behind closed lids.

careful you be careful
careful you be careful
this is where the world drops off
this is where the world drops off
careful you be careful

+ The Year 2014: Rhapsody +

Here began the Age of Magic.

Four years earlier had brought about a miracle that lauded the dawning of a new era in the world -- the discovery of a limitless, controllable energy dubbed "magic" by the media and excited believers. Here was an opportunity to replace humankind's harmful energy sources, nuclear power and pollution-creating fuels...it was a chance to possibly halt the damage the human race was doing to the Earth. The theory was presented that, if the old ways of science and technology were slowly phased out, a new type of technology could take their place -- magic technology, the ability to utilize the energy as a means of creation. It was the biological field that presented the most engaging theory -- that this new energy could be used to better the human life, and perhaps even create a new race of artificial beings. The government, in cooperation with the United Nations, granted permission for only one laboratory's research and experimentation into this possibly beneficial phenomenon. And, in light of the recent technological terms being tossed around in regards to this proposed theory, its main project was nicknamed the "Gear Project".

Headed by some of the greatest scientists from every country, the Gear Project - housed in a large American laboratory facility - was strictly off-limits to the media but attracted the attention of research fields from around the world. Speculations ran wild on the current findings of the Gear Project, and what it could mean for the future of the human race. For the project's main theory dealt with the combination of animal and human DNA - an experiment previously thought impossible and the stuff of science fiction - using the magic energy to improve the human condition. And while there were many who also proposed that this same theory could be used to create a whole new being altogether, the current dilemma was attempting to find some way to make this Gear creation hypothesis work...and so the Gear and Human Body Experiment Number 1 was brought into being, to solely study the effects the Gear technology could have on a human body -- among them the fabled possibility of immortality.

The chief researcher for the Gear and Human Body Experiment Number 1 was an American in his mid-twenties, a scientific genius who had excelled at all his previous studies and stunned the science world with his proficiency. However, proper identification was never a predominant concern within the Gear Project, and so this scientist was often just referred to by his given name -- Frederick. He always said he preferred it to any sort of hyperbole that would overexaggerate his qualifications -- though really, one could not exaggerate enough. Many felt that if anyone, this bespectacled young American would lead the world in researching the new "Gear magic technology".

Frederick naturally maintained a team of scientists to work on his experiment, but his two closest assistants and researchers were also his best friends -- one of them being a gangly British man named Axl Low, an expert in quantum and astrophysics. He and Frederick had been fellow students at the same college in England - one of the many they had both attended - and had formed a deep friendship that inspired Frederick to recommend Axl as an employee on the Experiment. Of course, he had been approved, along with one of Japan's top scientists -- a woman who, like Frederick, simply went by her first name, Megumi. It was within the walls of the laboratory that Axl Low and Inoue Megumi first met, and had been involved in a serious relationship ever since. Though Megumi was most often soft-spoken and shy - the complete opposite of outgoing, abrasive Axl - the Brit's love for her was unwavering, and Frederick was glad to see his friend so happy (even if it DID occasionally interfere with his work). Frederick's own relationship with Megumi - besides their professional one - was purely platonic. The quiet scientist already had Axl's affections, and Frederick's only love was his research -- or so Axl always teased him. Nevertheless, that didn't stop Megumi from treating Frederick like a long-lost brother, given that they had such similar personalities.

Despite the obvious bond the three of them shared, Axl was careful to always show his respect for his superior - and it was honest respect, even though he'd known him for so long - by referring to him as "sir". Never anything else. Megumi was different, however -- she constantly called him "Freddie", a joking reference to their shared love of the classic rock band Queen and its frontman, Freddie Mercury. Although not looking like the sort to love the attention of the spotlight, she herself fronted a rock band, Midnight Carnival. She had only coyly mentioned it once or twice, but it still made her one of the only Gear Project employees with significant outside interests.

Their boss was not impressed by outside interests.

No, he wanted results, always results. Deep inside the walls of the Gear Project lab facility, Frederick removed his glasses and sighed, running a hand over his face. Too much energy put into his research and experiments... Of course, he never complained. Science was his passion, his only beloved, and this opportunity that he'd been given was more valuable than anything. It was just the current strain of pressure from his boss that was putting him a bit on edge...everything else was going perfectly fine. He stifled a yawn in favour of a smile to himself, pondering the benefits that this new magic Gear technology could be used for. He and his team just had to make the right calculations, just had to perform the right experiments...and perhaps finally, the key to human immortality could be found.

He had dreamed of nothing else.

Right now, though, he could see that Axl was dreaming of nothing else but his passion either. There were almost visible hearts floating on the air as the researcher, long blond hair held back in a ponytail, gazed lovingly at his co-worker, who was trying her best to concentrate on her DNA slides. However, her white cheeks were tinted with just a bit of a blush as she stared through the microscope, obviously aware of her boyfriend's rapt attention. Frederick chuckled quietly at the sight, then cleared his throat quite noticeably. "Axl..."

Axl snapped to attention immediately, nearly dropping the set of slides he was holding as Megumi giggled. "Uh -- yes, sir??"

Frederick raised one eyebrow, brown eyes lighting up with amusement. "Just a little reminder to keep your eyes on your work."

Megumi blushed even more fiercely, dark hair obscuring her fine features, and Axl rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sure thing, though it's kinda hard to concentrate when you've got something so lovely in front of you."

"We ARE supposed to be professionals, Axl," Megumi reminded him gently, finding her voice at last. She directed her gaze and a bit of a wink to Frederick. "Perhaps Freddie will have to see about transferring you to another area."

"Which could be done quite easily, I assure you." Frederick checked through a handful of sheets on his clipboard. "Let me see...I've got Abbott, Hines, Lan and Kristoff working in Laboratory B...Sampson, Wong and Fischer meeting with staff from the Magic Utilization and Development team...and Seiki and Ramirez doing additional research in the file library." He held up one of the slides, raising an eyebrow at Axl. "And we, my dear friend, are examining DNA samples. Simple enough?"

"Yeah..."

"Then get to work." As much as he tried to be an authority - this WAS his experiment, after all - Frederick couldn't help but let a wink slip. He could never act so strict towards any of his experiment's researchers, especially Axl and Megumi -- Axl in particular, given that they had been friends before they were boss and employee. Axl knew this, and could never resist pushing the envelope a bit. "Aw, sir, come on. This has got to be the most boring area of the experiment. DNA and slides! Stick me with Fischer and the rest in chatting up the boys from the Magic department. Now that's something I'd be interested in!"

Frederick smiled faintly, removing his glasses. "I don't see why you persist in messing around with 'magic' exploration, Axl. We're researchers adapting it to function with practical science, not wizards casting spells."

"But we're working with magic, sir. What's the problem in having a little fun learning how to use it?" Axl's blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "It's just beginning to be explored, though the United Nations is thinking about passing restrictions on civilians who learn how to use it...c'mon, don't tell me you've never dreamed about harnessing REAL firepower!"

"Firepower, hmm..." Frederick tapped the end of his glasses against his chin. "That could be a future possibility, enabling the DNA's combination magic to give additional properties..." He shrugged, leaning back in his chair with a laugh. "I don't know, though. It just seems too much like something out of a video game to me."

"That's what I'm saying!" Axl grinned. "We haven't even started to scratch the tip of this new energy and what it's capable of -- what we can do with it and use it for. The future's gonna be bloody brilliant."

"I'm sure no one would disagree," Megumi said quietly from the testing counter, looking up from her slides. "The discovery of magic was the most revolutionary in history."

"..And we're a part of it. It's all in our hands," added Frederick with an enthusiastic smile. "What we discover and create here could change the face of the world forever. All my life I've worked towards something like this...and if all the theories are correct, if we can PROVE it..."

"Sounds like our mate here is starstruck!" Axl said amusedly. "Thinking about the fame and prestige, sir? Not that I'd blame you -- finding a way to create immortality would be a one-way ticket to the record books."

Frederick shook his head. "Not just that. I don't care much for the idea of being famous...I just want to bring this theory to life. I want to prove it correct. Think about the benefits it could have for the human race!" He rose from the chair, pacing around the lab with a thoughtful expression. "Enhanced immune systems and pain thresholds, a prolonged - maybe even eternal - lifespan, other possible advantages from the animal DNA and magic...it's absolutely mindboggling to consider what we could do with this technology."

Megumi laughed briefly, unrolling the sleeves of her lab coat. "You two are so excitable."

Axl sidled up to her, slipping one arm around her waist. "Can you really blame us, beautiful?"

"Hey now, you two, none of that here in the lab," Frederick chided with a joking grin. "Distractions can cause accidents."

"In more ways than one," added Axl with a devilish grin, and was rewarded with a slap to the face and a laugh from his girlfriend. At seeing his two assistants so happy, Frederick felt a deep sense of joy and hope. What were a few sleepless nights compared to working on the cutting edge of science with your two best friends? It was better than anything he'd ever dreamed, and the future held nothing but promise. He was sure of it.

"Axl, Megumi...we're going to have a true breakthrough here." Frederick couldn't help the excited smile that broke across his young face, even though his glasses slipped askew. "The Gear and Human Body Experiment Number 1 will be the first division of the Gear Project to succeed!"

and you breathe in
and you breathe out
for it ain't so weird
how it makes you a weapon
and you give in
and you give out
for it ain't so weird
how it makes you a weapon

+ The Year 2015: Elegy +

"You're working late again."

He didn't even look up from his papers at the sound of Megumi's voice. The cramped office was almost completely darkened, a single lamp only creating harsh shadows against the walls. To call the office of the Experiment's head scientist 'chaos' would be complimenting it -- clutter was strewn everywhere, stacks of thoroughly-marked textbooks, various and typical laboratory apparati, writing utensils of every form, and notebooks. Many, many notebooks. Frederick was a writer of sorts, and had been taking observational notes ever since the first day of the Experiment...it was almost an obsessive hobby, his assistants had long since noticed.

But tonight, it was more than just this obsession that was worrying Megumi.

The Japanese woman lingered quietly in the doorway, long red jacket draped over her typical white lab coat, eyes alight with unease. "Freddie..." she began patiently, "it's past midnight. Why haven't you gone home yet?"

There was no immediate answer as Frederick ran both hands through his hair, lowering his head to the desk in defeat. "This research is too important...I can't waste any time. It's already been a year and we're being pressured so much...not enough time to properly test the theories..."

Megumi stepped cautiously into the office, winding her way around the debris littering the floor. She peered over at Frederick's crowded desk to see what he was working on, but it was only the usual weekly assessment of the Experiment. As the head of the Experiment, he was required to submit a report to their boss - the man who was behind the entire Gear Project, a tremendous responsibility - detailing the progress of their research and experiments. And though they were rapidly moving towards their goal, it seemed obvious funding-wise that the Gear Project boss was looking towards different areas of Gear technology development. Namely, the idea of creating an artificial race that could be used as disposable soldiers....an idea Frederick had always disapproved of. He had been very vocal against the use of Gear technology to create "evil", as he'd put it. And playing God by giving birth to a new race - instead of simply altered humans - was not what he wanted to accomplish.

Megumi herself wasn't sure where she stood on this tense issue. She had a profound amount of respect and admiration for their boss, whom she considered an absolutely brilliant scientist. And she was aware enough to know that his aspirations towards creating an entirely new race of beings was not as lofty as it sounded...new breakthroughs were being made every day in many of the Gear Project departments. She knew that their boss was not going to stop until he perfected his image of war machines...though he could possibly need Frederick's research to do so. And Megumi was positive that Frederick would never give it up for that sort of cause. And rebellion would not be tolerated.

She'd have to choose a side, in the end. Before one chose her.

Taking her mind off those troubling thoughts, she glanced at the nearly full ashtray next to his desk, tapping it with one short nail. "Since when do you smoke?"

"Since I need something to get me through these damned nights." Frederick's voice was husky and strained from lack of sleep. Megumi covered up a sigh, knowing that this was yet another in a series of nights when she and Axl would return the next morning to find Frederick still at the lab, barely awake after putting all self-care and sleep aside. It was a brutal cycle that the head scientist had fallen into, and Megumi could tell that it wasn't getting better for him. Not with the mounting pressure being put on him from the head staff council...they were getting there, they just needed more time-

"We're running out of time."

Frederick's tenor voice suddenly cut into her thoughts. She blinked at the similarity between their sentiments, though she knew it wasn't exactly unexpected. Their entire department knew that there was now a countdown placed on their experiment, one that might not even last for another year. Unless they came up with a truly impressive discovery, the Gear and Human Body Experiment Number 1 - the first official experiment of the Gear Project, but not the last by far - would be ended.

But is the Experiment in danger of being cancelled because of lack of results...or because our goal is no longer what our boss wants?

"Freddie, I..." Megumi paused, then started again. "Freddie, I think we'll be alright. The council must understand how hard we've all been working, and I don't think they'd be so quick to shut our experiment down-"

The interruption was harsh. "I don't think any of us understand, really, what the head council wants."

Megumi was silenced by her own surprise, even though she knew better than to expect that Frederick suspected nothing. She didn't know any more than he did about what was really going on behind the scenes, yet she had assumed that what she DID know was mostly her own speculations. Because there were, after all, no rumours to fuel these unspoken suspicions -- no one talked. Here, there was a clearly present danger of knowing too much.

Meanwhile, Frederick was resting his forehead against one hand, voice barely audible. "I don't know what I'm doing, Megumi. I...just don't know anymore."

Although Megumi was not an entirely outspoken woman, her fear for what was happening to her friend spurred her into speaking her mind. "Freddie, I...I really think this project is destroying you. You're barely eating, I KNOW you're not sleeping, and you're not taking care of yourself at all. You're putting everything you have into this project and it's killing you." Her voice softened in concern for her superior. "You've changed. You've changed so much. Axl and I are worried."

There was a long, painful silence from Frederick, who remained sitting stark still at his desk, staring at nothingness. He finally turned bleary brown eyes to Megumi, and she was struck by the amount of desperation so deeply imbued in them. "This is for the good of humankind, Megumi. This is my purpose."

She could find nothing to say to that. The stillness was broken by Frederick scraping his chair back, pushing messy spikes of brown hair away from his face. "Go on home, Megumi. I swear I'm almost done here for the night."

"A-alright..." Still a bit shaken by his words, Megumi turned and paused at the door, looking back at the tired, disheveled form of the lead scientist of the experiment. She frowned. "Promise you'll go home soon, Freddie?"

For the first time that night, Frederick offered a weak smile to his assistant. "I promise, Megumi. You don't have to worry."

The Japanese woman smiled in return, unable to help herself. "Someone has to. Axl and I will be in the lab at around 9, so we'll see you then." Without waiting for a response, she slipped out of the office and was gone, leaving Frederick alone in the room - and alone with his thoughts - once more. The same thoughts that were keeping him up all night, keeping him here in the lab to mull over and struggle against.

We're being used.

With that thought, that same suspicion that had plagued him for months, Frederick glared darkly at their boss's name addressed at the top of the report. He knew what was going on now. Oh, he knew, all right. 2015 was drawing to a close, and it had taken him all of the last two years to figure it out -- what the Gear Project had evolved into, what it was all a simple cover for. And soon it would be just another useful toy for the Shuusen Kanrikyoku and their little war games.

His grip tightened on his pen. ....I won't let them do this. Not with my research. I won't let them use my work for creating war.

Exhaling sharply, he leaned back in his chair before lifting a cigarette to his lips, lighting it while remaining deep in thought over details that he'd already analyzed a hundred times or more. They're past the point of using the Gear technology to prolong life and eliminate aging...no, all they seem to be concerned with is creating a super-soldier...what WE'RE trying to achieve is hardly relevant anymore. Benefiting the human race as compared to making war...there's no contest. None at all.

Almost subconsciously, his hand moved to the underside of the desk, fingers finding and detaching the familiar shape of the key. Like so many times before, Frederick slipped the key into the lock of the lefthand desk drawer, hearing the audible 'click' and sliding it open. Such caution was needed when dealing with these documents...even in the dim light, he could read the large bold 'Classified' letters on the top folder. A small smile creased his weary features as he slid the set of documents out of the first folder, the word plainly printed across the otherwise-blank front page.

OUTRAGE

The blueprints that were his failsafe, his secret. Not even Axl and Megumi knew, because if their boss ever got word of this hidden side project of his...well, he didn't even want to consider the consequences. This was all far too dangerous. He just had to keep faith that these designs would remain unseen, unfound, until the day they may be of use...a day that Frederick was, by now, almost positive would come.

And with what I may have to do...this could be all I can put my hopes in.

With another sign, he stubbed the life out of his unfinished cigarette and settled back at his desk, intending to finish the weekly report as he always had before. Going on with life and his research as he always had before.

But instead, all he could do was trace and re-trace a strange symbol -- a five-tongued flame, the same stigma that had been haunting his dreams for countless sleepless nights.

never turn your back on it
never turn your back on it again

+ The Year 2016: Threnody +

"...And how is our subject today?"

"A marked improvement, sir."

"So it would seem.

"He seems more...restrained than usual."

"It's possible that the new type of sedative is proving effective. What else is there to report?"

"Ah....physical reproduction of human appearance has been successful -- no outward signs of animal DNA influence are visible. However, an unforeseen anomaly in the eye pigmentation has caused the prototype to develop pupils of separate colours--"

"We've had it as our subject for the last month. Why was this not noted before?"

"I'm...not sure, sir."

"....I see." The head of the Gear Project moved swiftly away from the control panel, stopping in front of the glass barrier separating the small laboratory from the holding cell. "One for the Gear within and one for the augmented human without..." His words trailed off as he stared through the glass at their subject, prototype Gear-00, crouched in a corner of the chamber. The illumination of the cell made it easy to see the smattering of bruises and injection scars etched across its broad body, streaked with blood and dirt. Enhanced both by the drugs and the evolution caused by combining the human and animal DNA with magic, the prototype truly was a fine specimen...even ignoring the hatred that radiated from its one visible eye. The prototype had its knees pulled up to its chest, head resting on its arms, and a single crimson eye stared out from the mess of long, tangled brown hair. The glare it was projecting towards the man was unmistakable in its feral fury.

And intelligence.

The man smiled. Perfect. "It's not sedated at all. On the contrary, it seems to be conserving its energy. A wise choice." He turned to his female assistant, one of the few left from the wreckage of the experiment that bred this creature. Their first Gear. "Are there any further observations, Miss Inoue?"

Megumi shuffled through her papers, thankful for the excuse to keep her eyes cast downwards. "...showing signs of improved obedience as of the last seven days. Increased emotional suppressant medication by 5%. Results show almost immediately -- dysfunctionality and rebelliousness substantially subdued. However, attitude and personality traits still need adjustment..."

"And what of the magic levels in the prototype's system?"

Megumi pulled her chair up to a nearby computer terminal, fingers rapidly moving over the keyboard until the desired file appeared on the screen. "....All testing appears to result in magic levels of 45%. We still have no test results to determine how much of this percentage he can truly utilize, or if our figures are underestimated. That possibility could exist."

"See that it doesn't," was the man's short response. "I want additional testing performed to determine the true levels of the prototype's magical strength. Its physicality and pain threshold are second to none, but it is imperative that we accurately determine how well it can harness magic." He almost seemed to smile, ever so slightly, though Megumi could not read the emotion that accompanied it. "The Anti-Gear Magic Development team have been coming along with their research quite well, and I would like to see how the prototype reacts to their new type of magic. We might be able to coax its full power out, if it refuses to show it to us."

Megumi rose from her chair, gazing out at the huddled figure in the containment chamber. "Is that possible? That he could be so aware as to hide his power from us?"

"Of course. The animalistic instincts may be intact, but so is the human consciousness and intelligence. It is no longer a mindless beast. It knows what we are doing to it, and it is...less than pleased, to say the least." It almost seemed like the man's eyes shone with pleasure and pride. "It is truly awake."

The Japanese scientist's brow furrowed, considering the significance of this. "Then, if he's conscious..."

The man nodded in response to her unfinished thought. "The evolution has stabilized. Phase 2 of the testing should begin as soon as possible."

"But sir..." Further protest died in her throat as her boss directed a particularly stern look at her. But something inside her brought her to speak again, something that she had tried to keep buried even since she took this position on the Gear Prototype Project. Something that cried out against knowingly performing such heinous acts of science towards her former friend and colleague... "But he CAN die. He may be immortal, but his body's not."

"Miss Inoue, I am well aware of the limitations that exist with the prototype's human body. However, we must push the boundaries to determine the extent of his resistance to pain." His eyes moved towards the beloved specimen once more, voice musing with vague mirth. "I do believe he's holding out on us."

Megumi wasn't sure whether to be pleased or worried by this news. Either way, it seemed that the testing was far from over for her altered friend, and even more than that, she couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. Something was going to go wrong.

Mentally running through the list of prospects - none of them good - she found herself only thinking of her boyfriend, who had been mysteriously absent for the majority of the day. It wasn't a rare occurrence given their different branches of the Gear Project, but he'd usually stop by to see how she was doing, or go for lunch with her. Come to think of it, it WAS rather odd... "Have you seen Axl Low today, sir? I haven't seen him since this morning..."

"Mr. Low is occupied with an assignment for me at the moment." Her boss continued to idly flip through the reports, not looking up at her. "He should return soon."

"...I see." Unlike herself, Axl had not signed on to assist in this section of the Project. On the contrary, he had been quite vocal about "using" his friend for research, and very obviously refused the invitation to join their boss in his primary experimentation -- what became dubbed the Gear Prototype Project. But Megumi had been swayed by their boss's words, his assurances that Frederick had planned this all along. Though Axl had had a point when he swore that Frederick surely would have told THEM, at least. So much of this didn't make sense...would never make sense because Frederick was no longer there to explain.

Freddie... she sadly thought as she turned away from the glass, ...why would you do this? Why?

She didn't even realize she'd murmured the last part out loud until her boss answered her. "We wanted our living weapon, Miss Inoue," he answered quietly, "and now we have it. He understood."

Megumi winced, trying not to even contemplate the possibility. "How are we so sure he did?"

"Because he achieved his dream." Her boss met her stare with cool confidence, seeming so sure of what he was talking about. And although Megumi had nothing but great respect for the man, she wished she could hate him for it. "He found his immortality. There were just certain...side effects that he hadn't considered." The boss stared intensely at their subject in the chamber, speaking almost inaudibly. "Well, no matter. This prototype is the best subject we have to help us create a race of true Gears. Fully man-made beings, the ultimate goal of the Gear Project-"

Then it started.

Both Megumi and her boss felt it instantly -- a keen jolt of energy, almost kinetic, crackling on the air. They only had a brief second to exchange looks before a second and then a third wave of energy shifted around them, drawing past them, almost as though being summoned. The realization of what was happening hit both of the scientists at the same time.

It was the magic of a Gear.

The computer Megumi had been working on began to emit shrill wail, the words flashing in an endless stream across the screen. WARNING! UNSTABLE ENERGY LEVELS! WARNING!

Megumi dashed to the computer and hit the keys, desperately trying to trigger the anti-Gear magic mechanism, but to no avail -- the system was not responding. The sterile brightness of the room dimmed as the lights flickered, waning in response to the gathering magical energy in the atmosphere. And all the while, the prototype sat in the corner of the chamber, unmoved, unmoving, staring at the two of them with one unblinking crimson eye as the magic energy pooled around him.

Suddenly, in a startling moment of clarity, Megumi realized why he had been so restrained in the last few days. He had been amassing power for an attack.

Striking back against his captors and tormentors.

"Oh God, he'll destroy the lab and kill us all...!!" Shoving the chair back so quickly that it skittered across the floor, Megumi moved to the central control panel and hit the button underneath. Instantly, the room was full of additional sirens, ones that echoed throughout the entire compound. Emergency alarm. This definitely qualified as an emergency.

"Attention all Gear Project personnel, this is the emergency alarm system-"

But as Megumi turned to yell at her boss to evacuate, she stopped dead in dismay.

He showed no sign of being the least worried or concerned. Instead, he was standing in front of the chamber, doing absolutely nothing even as magic sparked around him angrily. There was a number of audible bangs as the lights inside the chamber exploded, bathing the still prototype in shadow. Yet her boss still said nothing, and Megumi wasn't sure she could make out his facial expression, but...

...was he laughing?

"-we would ask that all occupying the building to evacuate immediately via the nearest exits-"

Undeterred by the cacophony of sound, the man pressed one hand to the glass, gaze not budging an inch from his precious specimen, whose mass of long hair was being lifted and tossed around him with the flow of energy. "Remarkable...that it can utilize its inherent magic at this point in time..."

"Sir, this is NOT the time for observations!" Megumi was pounding the buttons on the security console, punching in the sequence for lockdown of the area. Shoving strands of black hair out of her face hastily, she grit her teeth as she made one last attempt to activate the anti-Gear magic, but to no avail. And all the while, the prototype stared, just stared as the tangible waves of magic accumulated in his ragged body.

"-there will be five minutes until full compound lockdown, I repeat-"

Ignoring the calm voice of the intercom, Megumi scrambled for her keycard and made one last attempt to get some sense into her boss. "It's going to break any minute now! We have to get out of here!"

However, the man was utterly oblivious to the chaos around them, hands in his lab coat's pockets, staring into the containment chamber, through the rapidly growing cracks in the glass to the small flickers of flame - flame? - that were beginning to dance on the air and floor around its captive. And when he spoke, it seemed distant, as though he was addressing someone else entirely...and still smiling. "Frederick...and then you, are the world's hopes."

"SIR!!" cried Megumi, whirling around in a panic, but her boss made no motion, no response, only smiling contentedly at the beast behind the glass, the screeching of the alarms and the flashing lights and she suddenly thought she heard a voice-

"Get out."

Megumi hesitated, the voice so familiar yet so warped, distorted. She turned, slowly, afraid of what she might see through the shadows. Her own voice came out as a whisper, eyes wide in terror. ".........Freddie?"

"Get out...now."

It was just as she turned and ran that a gold glimmer of a cat's eye opened in the darkness, and a twisted red symbol began to glow. The glass shattered, the shields went down, and the prototype Gear-00 rose from the ashes like a phoenix. Like a demon.

And everything after that erupted in flames.

careful you be careful

+ Present Year 2182 +

"You are the world's hopes..."

It almost hurt to open my eyes again.

But when my eyelids slowly rose, I was looking at the tips of my fingers, engulfed in the same flames as that time immemorial. Baptism by fire. So there, at least, was some connection to the past -- our shared past. Shared with Frederick and the other two, whom I recognized all too well. One of them I'd already seen, already fought against and soundly beaten (but refused to acknowledge as being familiar to me -- last thing I needed was Freddie's little friends tagging along on MY mission) and the other who'd make her appearance very soon. I could already sense her new power, her new insanity -- she hadn't escaped either. It was all coming together just so disgustingly well. Just the way they'd planned it.

So I'd only managed to trash that wing of the laboratory - they'd safeguarded the entire facility damn well - and make my escape, vowing to return and destroy the place for good once I'd learned how to use my new powers fully. I'd gone into hiding for the next fifty years or so, in an attempt to deal with my changes and all the conflicts within me. "Going insane" would probably be a better description. Combining the unnatural evolution Frederick had just gone through - the hostile takeover of his dark side and all that Freudian shit - with the less than pleasant lab testing, and you had one fucked up test subject. I could still remember bits of those dark years, trying to come to grips with the torturous birth that had left his consciousness almost buried and mine so alive take the punishment for a crime I didn't commit.

Easy to see why I hated the little chicken shit. He'd left me to be tortured for HIS sins.

His playing God in pursuit of his foolish dream.

So Frederick would never return...not fully, anyway. I had made damn sure of that. Back then, his essence had returned every so often just as I was trying to balance out my own essence in this altered body, and it had made for more than a few nights of screaming at nothingness, clawing at my head and wishing the world would just explode. After his voice finally quieted, I didn't find the peace I'd been looking for -- instead, the Gear fully awoke, bringing with it the lust for chaos and bloodshed. What followed next were days I never wanted to relive, can't even remember that much of....just flames and the smell of death. It's mostly a blur. Thankfully.

Not a single person on this miserable planet knew how much power I really had. And I preferred to keep it that way.

After balance was resumed, though, it was back into hiding, trying to adjust, trying to make sense out of the madness. Frederick's consciousness had returned just enough to make me feel guilty for what I'd done, but the Gear had been pleased. So pleased with all the destruction I'd caused. And seeing the terror being caused throughout the world at the hands of the new Gear armies - the ones that Frederick's research had been used to create; he hadn't been a martyr after all - I vowed right then and there that I was not one of them. I would not be like one of them, mindless machines made for killing and war. No, I couldn't be like them because part of me was still human and would always remain so, as much as I fought against it and hated to admit it. I got what I needed from Frederick's consciousness -- the ability to keep myself free from control when Justice had enslaved all the existing Gears back at the exact turn of the 21st century.

But I also maintained his conscience. His sense of right and wrong.

And it was because of THAT, because of the center of his entire fucking mistake, that I'd always be fucked up. I could never be human, but I could never be a Gear. Gears don't have morals. Gears don't think like human beings do.

Frederick's essence kept me human.

But in the end, was that what I really wanted?

...I remembered a photograph. A single photograph of many people, many smiling faces, smiling so naively. The proud, happy faces of the Gear Project scientists, all so innocent to the crime they were unwittingly committing. Or maybe some of them knew, and just didn't care -- it sure as hell wouldn't surprise me now. And among the faces surrounding Frederick were Axl Low, and Inoue Megumi, and our boss who was to later betray us all. One of the last possessions I'd even bothered to hold onto that could remind me of my past, of what I once was, of HIM--

I'd burned it. Without hesitating.

Even now I could see the flames licking the acetate paper, devouring my former self as I smiled. There was nothing else I could do. Though whether that smile was triumphant, sad, devious...I still don't know. But I remember smiling, just smiling, even though it was so long ago that I watched Frederick, the human scientist, go up in flames.

After all, there is no 'Sol'. There's only Frederick and the prototype Gear-00, the Flame of Corruption, separated by an emblem and a pair of two-tone eyes.

And they'd definitely be expectant to see what I've become.

As for the Shuusen Kanrikyoku and the coming second war...

Now I know that I'll have to end what I started in 2016.

My lips shifted into that same smile as I moved another cigarette to them, murmuring the words to the empty air of what used to be my palace and my prison, and the beginning of what would soon be the world's end.

"We'll get our reunion. I'll be waiting for you...all of you."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-( GGXX )-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

here by my side it's heaven

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Sol=Badguy x Ky=Kiske: Causing fanboys to bitch and complain since 2001! ^_^v
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