Disclaimer: I still don't own Guilty Gear or any of its characters.

Ch. 2 All Aboard!

The restaurant was gone, burned to the ground. Jam wasn't sure if every chef dreaded this but it wasn't exactly something one looked forward to when trying to make a living.

With the arsonist still on the loose, Kuradoberi asked around feverishly but was unable to get any answers from the many pedestrians who frequented the restaurant. Jam was on the verge of calling it quits when a small voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Excuse me?"

Jam looked to her left then right before looking down to see someone who appeared to be a small nun holding a yo-yo and a wanted poster. She wasn't sure if this was a boy or a girl and decided to save herself the trouble by thinking of the individual as an "it."

"Have you seen this lady?" it asked holding up a picture of a particular blue-haired girl with wings. Though, it wasn't a very good sketch as the artist drew a depressed-looking Dizzy sitting on a stool with a cigarette in hand.

"Um...why?" Jam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm Bridget the bounty hunter and I'm going to catch her!"

Jam stared at the child silently for a few seconds before bursting out with laughter.

"What?!" Bridget asked.

"This has to be a joke!" Jam laughed.

"But...I really am a bounty hunter!" Bridget protested.

"Not that! The bounty on that girl has already been dealt with!" Jam revealed.

"No way! By who?" it asked.

"Well...if you must know," Jam said with smugness, "I'M the one who collected the bounty on that dangerous Gear and used the money to start an awesome restaurant! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah right!"

"But I did! I..." Jam began to protest.

"They should put bounties on liars with bad hairstyles," Bridget mumbled.

"WHAT?!" Jam screamed.

Both leaned into each other's faces with glaring intensity. The wind picked up as Bridget silently flinged the yo-yo downward and retracted it.

"You any good with that yo-yo?" Jam asked.

"There's no one better!" Bridget said while performing a swinging trick.

"If we do this I won't go easy on you," Jam said.

Bridget looked away seemingly backing down then suddenly swung the yo-yo towards Jam who instinctively backflipped and began gathering chi energy in her hands.

"Go Roger!" Bridget commanded.

"Hm? Who's Roger?" Jam asked. Her question was answered by a large teddy bear that appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and latched onto her face.

While Jam screamed and tried to pry the bear off, Bridget wrapped the yo-yo around a nearby cart wheel and stretched the string causing the blinded chef to trip face first over it. Jam finally pried the bear loose and retaliated by throwing it into the laughing Bridget's head. Both resumed their intense glares and charged at each other, Jam raising her fist and Bridget raising the yo-yo. The sudden appearance of Ky, however, caused them to halt their attacks just inches from his face.

"Ladies? Let's not go there."

"I'm Bridget, I'm not a lady!" the young bounty hunter revealed.

"Well...greetings whatever you are!" Ky answered after a pause. "Now Jam, I asked around but unfortunately I wasn't able to divulge any information. Also, I've been summoned back to France."

"Aw, why now?" Jam asked disappointedly.

If you need further assistance I suppose you could contact the Jellyfish Pirates down by the docks. They have an airship so you should be able to cover a lot of ground," Ky explained.

"Airtravel? Pirates? FISH? Thank you, Ky!" Jam hugged the officer before departing.

"She's quite a character isn't she?" Ky mused.

"Yeah, she's terrible. Hey listen, have you seen this lady?" Bridget asked holding up the picture of Dizzy.

Ky's eyes widened at the sight of the familiar Gear who he happened to leave in the company of the Jellyfish Pirates.

"Um...no, never seen her before in my life! BYE!" Ky darted down the street and away from the confused Bridget who caught the stares of a few pedestrians.

"WHAT?! DO I HAVE A DISEASE OR SOMETHING?!" Bridget screamed loudly and looked down. "Oh...it seems I made a little tinkle. Roger! Cleanup!" The mechanical bear decided to disobey his master for once and ran off.

Meanwhile, after several minutes of browsing the various ships, Jam finally came to a huge airship stationed at the docks. Several female crew members came up and down the ramp carrying various boxes while a particular girl in orange checked things off a clipboard.

"Jackpot!" Jam said aloud as she approached the girl holding the clipboard. "Hey there, little one! I heard you guys were stationed here and..."

"Little?!" the girl asked feeling offended. "Who do you think you're talking to?!"

Jam shot the girl an irritated look before continuing, "As I was saying before I was so RUDELY interrupted, I was just in the neighborhood and..."

"Let me guess, you want in?" the girl asked.

"Well not exactly. You see, I need a ride!" Jam corrected.

"A ride, huh? Well I got news for you, sister, air travel ain't cheap!"

"What? I have to PAY?!" Jam asked incredulously.

"Either that or you can walk to get to where you're going!" the pirate girl said with a smirk.

Relax Jam, the chef thought. She's just a little girl. You don't want to be known for beating up little kids do you? Hell, I don't even think she's had her period yet. "Now look, kid," Jam said in a serious tone, "Someone burned down my restaurant and I need to cover more ground so I can find em'! I didn't come all this way to get turned back by some funny-looking pirate girl! Now give me a lift or else!

The girl dropped her clipboard before bending down and lifting up a large anchor with while Jam stared and pointed in cartoonish disbelief.

"Looks like we got us a troublemaker!" the pirate stated.

The rest of the crew stopped what they were doing and surrounded Jam who suddenly felt apologetic. "I was joking!" Jam said with a nervous smile. "I wasn't threatening you for real or anything like that...YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?! she asked while assuming her fighting stance.

Before anyone could move, a man appeared wearing a long flowing coat, wide-brimmed hat, and shades. "What's going on here?" he asked.

In her best tearful impression, Jam replied, "I came here asking for a lift and this mean little pirate girl tried to attack me!"

"May, what are you doing?"

"WHA...?! BUT I...!!" May stammered.

"Go to your room," the man ordered.

May mumbled something under her breath as she stormed off.

"Sorry about that, May can be a little stubborn sometimes. I'm Captain Johnny, miss...?"

"Jam Kuradoberi!" the chef answered.

Johnny kissed Jam's hand causing her to giggle while the female crew rolled their eyes.

"We're fully stocked, awaiting takeoff!" one of the crew members stated.

"Thanks, April," Johnny replied. "Well hop onboard, get settled in, and we'll go for a ride, little lady!"

"You're a lifesaver!" Jam exclaimed.

The chef followed the crew aboard the airship and took a moment to marvel at the interior. Pictures littered some of the walls of various locations the crew had traveled to. One showed a younger May struggling to carry a huge swordfish while another showed some of the shipmates dragging a drunken Johnny into rehab. Jam walked along taking in the scenery until she bumped into someone who dropped her laundry.

"Sorry!" Jam apologized. "Dizzy?"

"Jam!" The familiar Gear threw her arms around the chef. "How long has it been?" she asked.

"Um, a few weeks?" Jam recalled

FLASHBACK

A bloodied and beaten Dizzy laid on the ground while Jam stood over her in triumph. After the camera that was set on the forest rock flashed, Jam turned and handed the Gear a napkin.

"Okay, you can get up now!"

"Oh thank goodness!" Dizzy said as she wiped off the fake blood. "It was so nice of Mr. Sol to spare me!"

"That's not all. Now with everyone thinking I beat you, I can start that restaurant I've always wanted!" Jam stated with dreamy eyes.

"You cook?" Dizzy asked.

"DO I?!" Jam retrieved a small green box from her traveling bag and opened it. "SUSHI?!"

"Um...that fish looks raw," Dizzy pointed out.

"Of course sushi's raw, TRY IT!" Jam shoved the food into Dizzy's mouth.

The Gear forced a smile and chewed repeatedly but her face soon began to match the color of her hair. "Mmm...this is so...good," she said painfully.

"Here, keep the box!" Jam said as she slung her travel bag over her shoulder. "See you at the restaurant!"

Once Jam was out of sight, Dizzy quickly spat the food out of her mouth. "GAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!"

END OF FLASHBACK

"A lifechanging moment for the both of us!" Jam stated. "So you liked the sushi?"

"It was...nice," Dizzy said, looking towards the ground.

"Now that we're traveling together I guess I can scope out your kitchen and cook up some more, eh?" Jam said with a confident laugh.

For the first time since humans had hunted her, Dizzy felt the sudden urge to cry.