Standing Alone

*When an alien Queen sets her sights on Dizzy, Testament alone must stand against the entire GG universe to protect his precious one, as Ky makes his way to confront this new menace (slight Testament/Dizzy, Jam/Ky) *

Ch. 1: Nights and Dreams

Dreams. Images of tattered bodies, grotesque faces, and in the center of them all, my precious one. Dizzy. I'm unable to save her, to protect her from these creatures. They overtake her, and make her one of their own. Then, they turn her on me.

"Testament-sama."

I awake with a start. I don't understand why I go to sleep. Being a gear, I have such need. I guess it's because Dizzy always did it. She'd look so sweet asleep, surrounded by the various creatures that called this place home. I guess I wanted to appear more human to her. But now she's gone with those humans, and I'm here all alone.

I'd never admit it to anyone, but I am lonely. This place was so full of life when she was here. But now, it feels as if a curtain has fallen over this once vibrant place. Her laugh replaced with the cold howl of the winds. Zio tries her best to keep me from such bouts of melancholy, but she cannot replace her laugh.

I'll never admit it, but I love her.

The snap of a twig alerts me to a presence here. I'm not alone. I summon my Searing Fang and scrutinize the landscape. It's quiet. Too quiet.

Just like that night, months ago...

I swung behind me, bringing the Searing Fang within centimeters of a young boy's face. "What are you doing here?" I asked with absolute authority.

"I-I... excuse me, sir, I was just looking for someone." He said nervously

"You're Bridget, right? Dizzy's new friend." I replied. I knew why he, or was it she, no, defiantly a he, was here. "Let me guess, Dizzy's missing again."

"N-n-no, that's not it at all. Johnny wants to speak with you."

"That human air pirate? What does he want?"

"I-I-I don't know."

I realized I was making him nervous, so I brought down my scythe. "Fine, let's go." I said. He led me out of the forest, and to the Pirate's ship. He led to me where Johnny was, and waited outside the door as I walked in. There was something different about him. All the times I had seen him, he was calm, collected. But this time he was nervous, if not outright terrified.

"What do you want?" I asked impatiently. If I got this over with, maybe I could go see Dizzy.

"Testament. I'll be frank with you Dizzy is in great danger. There's....this thing. To be quite honest, I don't know what the hell it is. All I know is that it's after Dizzy. I've already had four of my crew go missing trying to fight it. I need your help."

He didn't need to say anything more. If Dizzy was in danger, I had to protect her. I turned around. "You already know my answer. I'll go to see her."

"Wait," he said. "I moved her room to a more secure location. I'll take you there." As he walked by, I noticed a gray patch on his right hand.

"What is that?" I asked him.

"Oh, that. One of those things bit me. It's nothing."

I wasn't worried about him; I was worried he'd give it to Dizzy. He led me down a series of corridors, deep into the ship. Various times, he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief from his coat. He was sweating profusely, and occasionally let out a discomforted grunt. He pointed to a heavy metal door.

"There. I'll. I'll stay here and sit a while."

I walked up and knocked on the door. "How's there?" a sweet, innocent voice asked.

"It's me." I didn't need to say any more. The door opened and she flung herself into my arms, with an enthusiastic cry. Tears began to flow from her eyes, and I caressed her head. "It's okay, my precious one, I'm here."

" I missed you," she whimpered.

I smiled. She was always so emotional; I had only been gone a few months. I just held her there, kissing her forehead. She was the only one I'd let see me like this. She was cared, and it was my job to reassure her. Suddenly, I heard the pirate cry out, and saw him collapse to the ground.

Johnny!" Dizzy called and tried to go to him. I held her back. My instincts told me something was wrong. He rose from the ground in almost a zombie- like state. The brown patch on his skin had spread to his chest and face, and his teeth had grown long and sharp.

I rushed at him and hit him with my scythe. He went flying, and went through a wall. I looked at dizzy, then looked back as he got back up, this time with a group of large, gray slugs.

""Where's the nearest exit?" I asked.

"The hanger! This way!" she led me down to a large room, with a giant pair of doors. Johnny followed in pursuit. As we passed by, Dizzy flipped a switch, and we discovered the ship was airborne as several other crewmembers emerged with the same discoloration. It was too far to jump, so fighting was our only option.

As if in answer to a silent prayer, a bolt of lightning tore through the smaller creatures, as an airship pulled up alongside us. A man with blonde hair in a white and blue uniform stood on top, sword in hand. He held out his other hand, gesturing us to jump. I looked at Dizzy.

"We're going to jump."

"But it's too far!" she cried.

"Do you trust me?" Dizzy nodded, and let me take her in my arms. And the creatures closed in, I leapt from the ship onto the man's and set Dizzy down. We took out seats behind him.

"You better buckle up, this could get rough." He said.

Several winged creatures appeared, spitting a green fluid at us. He tried to outmaneuver them, but his attempt was in vain. The fluid struck a wing and the ship went down. He managed to land us in a thick wood, where we quickly disembarked. We finally let ourselves rest when we were sure that there was no pursuit.

"I never thought I'd be indebted to a human, especially a former Holy Knight." I said.

"Think nothing of it. I was on my way to the Mayship, and thought I'd lend a helping hand."

"Do you know what those creatures are, Mr. Kiske?" Dizzy asked.

"Some sort of parasite. I was following Sol when they attacked him. He ended up like your friends on the ship. We have to do something, or else everyone, gear or not, will die."

"I snorted in agreement. I didn't care about the human, but these things were after Dizzy. "How many have been infected?"

Ky sighed heavily. "Almost the entire human race."