Guilty Gear, its characters and settings are property of Sammy Studios, and are being used in this fanfiction without permission. This fic is rated R for violence and sexual content, and it contains yaoi material.
As this takes place after GGX2, I'm picking and choosing the endings that apply. Such as:
Ky did speak to Sol.
Slayer was not sealed by Venom.
Bridget met Potemkin, and is now with the Jellyfish Pirates.
Dizzy defeated I-no, and was saved by Sol from losing control of her powers (her ending 2)
Culmination
Prologue
By now the rain was coming down in thick torrents, invisible against the black of night and heavy. Every once in a while a flash of white lightning would split the air and draw shapes into form, intelligible only by the brief, dazzling outlines reflected by the water. For those slight instances, the landscape was bright, and inexplicably beautiful. Splashed in iridescence, the shattered rock and splintered wood had not looked so alive in years.
Testament wasn't used to rain like this. Further north it came slowly, with clouds that drifted languidly between horizons for days spilling cool drizzle, sometimes warm showers. But here--somewhere in the cuff of Italy, he assumed--the storm had come suddenly with little warning. In a matter of moments the gentle coastline seemed to sway with each gust of wind across the sea, pulling old stones from their rest and drawing waves high over the old structures that had once held them. He had even considered taking shelter. But with the storm at its peak Testament found himself settled beneath the corroding marble of an old statue. In his haste he hadn't been able to identify the figure, save that it was barely enough to keep the rain from him. His hair was soaked, sticking to his neck and jaw so that he could taste it at the corner of his mouth. Worse was the leather clinging to his thighs, parting in just the right places to spread the cool chill up and down his limbs. Every once in a while the wind picked up enough to throw droplets into his face; he would tilt his head back, letting them slide through his hair, over the bridge of his nose and down his throat.
A mere two weeks had passed, and yet Testament found the cold, restless pit creeping into his stomach once more. Before, when the answer came to him, it seemed like a simple solution; he'd wanted to see Dizzy. Just to know that she was all right, to make sure she wasn't being mistreated. Now it would be just as simple to find her again, and yet he was somehow hesitant to do so. He had let her go, was supposed to have turned his back and left her to her own life. At the time it had seemed a perfectly natural decision, and even now he did not regret it. There were only times like these when his insides felt hollow, something deep behind his ribs aching. It was a need that was as tangible as it was fierce.
Thunder echoed overhead, and Testament lifted his head slightly, shaking it so the rain slapped against his cheeks and neck. It didn't help him feel any dryer. He was finally considering searching out a new resting place when another clap resounded, this one far closer than the last, and this time accompanied by a flare of brilliant orange light. Testament gasped quietly as the once prosperous port town was bathed in reflections of bright fire. He couldn't help but imagine if that was what the city must have looked like as it died, glistening like a burning jewel against the night.
A moment later the Gear reclaimed his senses; the light died, leaving him without sight once again, but he could clearly detect a foul odor on the wind. That had been some explosion just now, and it was close. A little surprised that he'd not been able to sense the approach of a battle sooner, Testament pushed wearily to his feet. He was not interested in fighting anything in this weather, but he wasn't sure he could sit idly by, either. If anything, it might be worth it to see who the parties were.
As soon as Testament stepped out fully from under the shelter of bronze he was soaked through all over again. The first few steps brought him to a deep puddle that splashed cold water up unpleasantly against his bare calves. He almost gave up his curiosity right then, but then his ears caught on the clanging resonation of steel—blades meeting. Scowling slightly he trudged through the miniature rivers that had formed around his unintended pedestal, toward the origin of the explosion.
It didn't take long; Testament had barely traveled more than a minute when the sound of heavy footsteps pounded toward him. He could still barely see, however, and he stepped carefully aside as he peered down the empty, broken street. When the figures flashed by they were running at top speed, like wraiths streaking through the falling curtains, splashing more cold filth against his uncovered flesh. There were more than he had anticipated. As they stampeded past he caught only a glimpse of burning neon against metal, the smell of electricity and wet iron and blood. It was familiar somehow, but he didn't know why until the mass drew to a sudden halt. The sting of clanging swords resumed, and in the tiny sparks borne from the metal he could just barely make out a recognizable uniform in the fray. He stared in confusion. "Ky…?"
One of the whirling figures turned, and Testament caught only a glimpse of gleaming yellow before a blade streaked, severing the head from its body. Testament started when the sound of it hitting the pavement was the sharp thud of metal. They were robots—dozens of them, moving in a swarm. But there was a human voice among them, gasping, and it only took a moment for Testament to identity that as well. Their gazes met once amidst the lightning, and there was something fierce in the man's eyes, like worn desperation. Like a warning as he lifted Thunderseal, its surface beginning to glow.
Testament gasped quietly, realizing what he was up to too late. "Ky—" But when he remembered the rain water sloshing at his ankles he had no choice but to retreat. His limbs were sluggish from having sat motionless for so long, and yet one powerful leap took him high into the air, away from the struggle. He had just felt the balls of his feet touch a solid stone archway when the scene below him erupted. Everything seemed to explode at once; he felt the heat from the electricity as it blazed among the robots, carried by the rain, raising ear-splitting, artificial cries that were nearly lost in the hum of trembling metal. The light was blinding. The robots collapsed in groups, some writhing madly before dropping to the street, some shattering into shrapnel. A few pieces seared Testament's arms as he protected his face.
And just as suddenly as it had begun, the white lightning ceased. Whatever robots had been left standing dropped in sickening heaps as the rain hissed against their burning surfaces. Testament waited until he was sure it was safe before dropping to the road once more, stepping cautiously through the fallen toward the one form that smelled of blood instead of oil. It might have been only morbid curiosity that drove him to the man's side, and he dropped lightly to his knees beside the body, sensing the unnatural heat emanating from it. He placed his hand carefully against the man's curved spine but there was no movement, not even a stirring of breath.
There was a whirl of gears behind him, and Testament turned sharply just as another bolt of lightning struck in the distance. For that moment his gaze fell on the face of a man—a face of skin, with deep-set eyes he could barely make out. He curled his fists, preparing to summon his staff, but when the sky was lit again the figure had vanished into the rain.
