Chapter 1: Merging the Land of Gears Part 1
(Author's Note: Now that I am quite literally trying to take every character and remotely linking story into account, I will be breaking up quite a bit of the story chapters into parts so that it's not quite as overwhelming. I'm going to do my best to keep it as organized and true to each story as I can, but there is so much information on all of this so it could get confusing. Please, feel free to message me if something is hard to understand; I'm more than happy to fill everyone who needs it in on several characters and instances that may not be recognized or clearly put. Enjoy everyone!)
(Quick Note: I altered the story slightly to fix the canonical issue)
The United Kingdom of Illyria...normally it is such a beautiful and prosperous place with people living their merry lives right out in the open. Due to the leadership of the three kings Ky Kiske, Leo Whitefang, and Daryl, the tri-fecta kingdom had carried on itself well for the past many years. But, as its Golden Age came into full bloom, the whole world itself had began to turn into hell itself. Having thought that The Crusade had ended the mass majority rule of all Gears, the world was quite unprepared for this new massive rising of the Gears once more. Having made no progress to contain the massive Gear outbreak over the past month, the head king of Illyria and the leader of the new Holy Orders, Ky Kiske, couldn't help but to feel powerless in his current position of rule. Ky took a distressing breath, slowly releasing it as he had a rest upon his throne. For that past month, he hadn't been able to take the field with the rest of the order nor has he been able to do anything except guide troops and command the operations of his forces to create shelters for the people of Illyria. His personal guard, Demetrius, was kneeling before his king, listening to his rambling, ready to offer any advice that he may at a moment's notice. Shaking his head in dismay, Ky slammed both of his fists upon his thrones arms, lifting himself to his feet.
"My position be damned! I can't shake this feeling of resentment and hatred towards my current position. I need to be out there, fighting alongside MY holy knights and defending the people of MY country that I have been blessed with to rule!" Ky growled. His sounds bounced off the walls of his throne room (which closely resembled the main room of a cathedral) and finally into Demetrius's ears. After Ky stood, he removed his king's tiara from his head and threw his royal coat to the floor angrily. He then latched his eyes onto Demetrius, who was ready for any order.
"Demetrius...first I would like you to make a call to our sister kingdom's King, Leo Whitefang and call him to arms. Knowing him he's probably out in the field already, but request him to come anyway. Inform our other sister kingdom's King, Daryl, that he is in full command of all operations as long as I am in the field of battle. If either of the two Kings have any objections to my actions, tell them that I will take full responsibility for my actions. After those messages have been sent, I would like you to unseal the Magnolia Eclair from the armory. I'm going to prepare myself to take the field," Ky ordered firmly. Without any words of restraint or advises against his actions, Demetrius simple bowed and gave a nod of his head. He immediately charged from Ky's field of vision, allowing him to stretch his back.
"Now that I think about it, it has been a pretty long time since I've been in such a high alert battle. I believe that I may take some joy in this," Ky said to himself with a smirk. With that he left behind the curtain of his throne, his personal dressing room secretly nested behind it. Placing his hand upon a disc like ornament that was plastered in the middle of the door, it began to glow as they slowly opened inward. Lining the walls were many ceremonial robes, leader casual clothes and night dress; he walked passed all other clothes as if they were inferior, eventually stopping before a chest that was pressed up against the back wall. It stuck out like a sore thumb among everything else in the room; it's structure was of an old, extinct tree's wood, clearly handcrafted to perfection. Leather binding was used to create mid sized rectangles on every side, protecting it from any surface it may hit. Ky removed a rag and a key from within his King's coat and began wiping down the dusty old thing. It had clearly been out of sight of the sun for nearly a decade, giving Ky a chore instead of a simple white down. Ky couldn't help but smile nostalgically as he slowly dug into all the nooks and crannies of the box until it was flawless. Tossing his cloth into a hamper that rested at the boxes side, he unlatched the lock that was sprawled over the crease of the chest with the key he had removed. With a loud creaking noise, Ky opened it completely, revealing every piece of his old Holy Order's that had been slumbering inside of it. Removing every piece of his King's attire and hanging them neatly on its hangers, Ky would then replace each piece with a piece of his old uniform. Exactly as Ky left it, there wasn't a speck of dirt or dust anywhere on it. It's blinding white colors shined brightly in the light with every single revealing. To ensure that it still fit properly, Ky took extra care in putting on each individual piece; the first time he had heard Kliff explaining his duties as a Holy Orders Knight was running through his mind over and over again, almost like a creed that had to be recited before equipping the very uniform he was now wearing once more. Tightening the belts, he ran his hand across the front of his main belt; his fingers dug into the engraved letters that spelled "HOPE" upon it. After sliding on his gloves and boots, he carefully shut the chest and locked it once more. In front of him was the mirror he used everyday of his life to make sure that his dress was perfectly worn at all times. He spun around and posed a few times to make sure it was constricting any movement that he may have to make. As perfect as everything was, he noticed a small problem: His hair had grown so long that it would clearly obstruct motions and visions during a battle. Quickly thinking, he reached above his ceremonial clothes to his right and removed a hair restraint that rested upon the top shelf. He pulled his hair together into one lengthy ponytail then latched it to the base tightly. His smile that he had worn through the whole process of dressing suddenly turned as serious as death itself.
"I must go, my people need me," he said authoritatively into the mirror before turning away and walking out the doors. As he left the curtains to his private room, he quickly noticed the last piece of his uniform. Resting on the table to the right of his throne was the Magnolia Eclair, resting gently on its magically embedded horizontal stand. With the face of a soldier, he quickly snagged its handle and spun around, expelling electrical energy in the shape of an arc in front of himself. Equipping it to his side holster on his belt, he quickly charged down the hall, b-lining for the castle doors to join the fight.
"I hope Sin is alright…" Ky thought to himself, tearing the front doors open. Waiting outside with a line of troops blocking the path was none other than Leo Whitefang, waiting impatiently for Ky to finally arrive. His twin greatswords were implanted into the stone walkway that led to the doors and his uniform's bright orange tint demanded everyone's attention. Ky gave a small nod before his statement.
"I sincerely hope that you weren't waiting here long. You've seemed to have arrived much sooner than I could've hoped for. I guess you were close by when Demetrius delivered the message?" Ky asked. Leo stood there with his arms crossed, smirking confidently. As Leo took in a deep breath, Ky softly sighed to himself, very aware of the event about to unfold.
"WHO DARE STAND AGAINST ME?!" Leo cried, his units retaliated with a united retort of "the enemy!"
"WHO CHALLENGES ME?!" Leo called out once more, to which he his units replied "a total fool!" Leo then turned to his units and shook his head, taking in another deep breath.
"WRONG! BOTH ARE FOOLS!" Leo said with a final roar, his troops rallying at attention to his sides. Ky couldn't help but shake his head at Leo's infamous narcissistic behavior.
"Must you partake in questioning your troops in such a manner every time we meet? Ky inquired. Leo kept his smirk spread on his face as he took his greatswords into his hands.
"As a soldier that hasn't seen the field of battle in many a year, I do believe that you aren't capable of saying anything ill towards my method of command. As a leader, I must demand my troop attention and respect. Through my grand speeches, it builds the courage of us all to face any endeavor before us. Surely you do the same for rallying our own troops do you not?" Leo snickered, knowing how much of a wet blanket Ky could be. Ky shook off all the unpleasantries and put his game face on with a smile.
xxxxxx
"What are these creatures...? They look grotesque and repulsive, yet, I...feel Mother in every single one of them. Are they tools such as I for Mother? I can feel it. I can feel their destructive nature that dwells within them. They also wish to annihilate all life such as I. I shall not lay waste to them; I'll have them do their work as I do mine," Ramlethal quietly stated as she watched the army of Gears attack the people of the Illyrian Kingdom. Floating above the masses, she readied Lucifero as it formed into a large beam cannon. As she looked down, she watched a line of Gears were being shot down one after another. Explosions of heart shaped flames chained one after another, growing closer to her position. Slowly she returned Lucifero to its normal form and descended to the ground. With several gears blowing past her, a girl in a white and red wedding dress breathlessly stopped in front of her.
"Sister! Are you responsible for all this?!" Elphelt forced from her throat, desperately catching her breath. Ramlethal felt a small fire begin to kindle in her heart as she glared Elphelt down fiercely.
"These creatures are not my doing...they merely follow the will of Mother just as I do. Remove your presence from me, or I will be forced to annihilate you," Ramlethal droned, emotionless, cold and calculating. Elphelt shook her head as tears began to form in her eyes. She slowly edged and closer and closer to Ramlethal, which triggered Lucifero to turn into her large twin blades, each one twice the size of herself. Ramlethal swung them both at Elphelt as she approached once more. Elphelt quickly made a dashing retreat, narrowly avoiding the vicious swings. Elphelt raised up her gun and opened fire, only to have her bullets of energy deflected side to side by her immense blades.
"You aren't just a tool! You have feelings just like I do, just like these people do! Please! You have to break away from her grasp!" Elphelt cried, running towards her. Ramlethal faltered for a moment as Elphelt's words dug into her ears. She felt a strange pain in her heart as she approached. Ramlethal grit her teeth tightly and growled, cutting into Elphelt's side during her approach. Elphelt shrieked with pain as flew back, a small trail of blood following her flight path. Ramlethal quickly moved her hand to her head, the kindling embers of emotion slowly beginning to burn. It only took a few minutes before Ramlethal regained her cold composure. Returning to her feet, Elphelt bit her lip through the pain, slowly approaching her once more. Ramlethal simply stared as she readied Lucifero into the form of her beam cannon. As Lucifero began to charge, and strange and powerful red light immediately formed around herself and and Elphelt, their bodies being engulfed in its powerful energy.
xxxxxx
"I'm very glad to have all of you here. Our target is the central area of the city. That is where the heaviest flow of gears is currently located and our defensive lines have only been able to delay them. So, let's make haste to the central point of Illyria, that is where we will be most useful. May God have mercy upon us in our endeavour and the knights of the Holy Order! Let's move out!" Ky ordered, dashing with Leo at his side towards ground zero of the Gear's invasion. Swing after swing, Ky, Leo, and his troops tore into every gear that opposed them, crippling them all to the ground. During their charge, it seemed as if their were an endless number of them approaching onward. The horrific sights of people being mutilated and torn limb only fueled their hearts with more rage and power to destroy them all. A woman screamed as her son grabbed a sword along the ground, ready to fight them off with all his being. A swing couldn't leave his hands before a gear knocked the blade clear from his hands and went to shred his throat with its crudely place claws. Ky immediately turned and stabbed through the Gear's back. Yanking his blade upward, the Gear sizzled and burnt as it crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The woman then pulled her son back to her.
"Bless you my King, I have no words of thanks for saving my son," the woman began to cry. Ky knelt to one knee and held her hands in his.
"There is a defense shelter no more than a block heading behind us. We've cleared the way now so please make your way to it and stay there. I commend your son for trying to defend you, he truly has God's blessing," Ky stated kindly before charging back into the fray. Upon the call out of one of Leo's men, both Leo and Ky tried to maintain their footing as the earth beneath them began to tremble ferociously. Barely able to keep their footing as they ran, Ky and Leo came to a complete stop as a large pillar of red light could be seen way off in the distance. It shined with a brilliant crimson glow with patterned waves of energy surging through it with grand consistency. It's immense size grew into a biblical proportion, as if this were God's wrath shining down upon them all. It filled the sky as Ky and Leo shielded their eyes, only to have the crimson light swallow them up inside of it well within seconds.
xxxxxx
Gorgeous azure skies and the gentle breeze of spring flew along the deck of Jellyfish Pirate's home. The clouds roamed about lazily, holding the various wisdoms that flow through the air to themselves; always watching, always knowing, and forever silent. Without a care in the world, the Mayship finally had its moment of relaxation. After many encounters that threatened the very clandestined nature of the ship, mostly caused by a guitar wielding witch who refused to leave them alone, they could finally enjoy some wide open Jellyfish Pirates suffered quite the hassle when they had to land for fuel and repairs. An increased outbreak in Gear activity caused their repair time to be cut short. Fortunately it was enough to get back into the air, but for how long, only God knew.
Blushing lightly with her nose stuffed in a book was April, the helm girl. Whenever the chance to relax finally came by, she couldn't help but immerse herself in wonderous stories of adventure and romance; Ironically, most of them were about pirates or being lost at sea with their lover. Once they hit a comfortable altitude, June pulled out her massive collection of organized chaos that she called flight plans. Sorting through them in the same cabin as April, she was already figuring out when they'd have to land, cost of supplies, next course of action; everything that the reliable and quite brilliant June was known for on the shit. Unlike her the rest of the crew decided to chill out on the deck, taking in some much needed R&R. It bothered June that so much of the crew were essentially ditching their posts, however it were truly serious Captain Johnny would say something. Febe gave a long stretch in her lawn chair, deciding that now was as good a time as any to take in some sun. Lying in between Febe's legs was Janis, the crews beloved cat who nuzzled up and purred softly as she made herself comfortable. The youngest member of the crew, March, set up a really small play table where she was having tea with her trusty stuffed penguin. She was talking and having a blast with it as she usually did with her wondrous imagination. The fun and tough ruffian of the crew, July, could be heard playfully whistling a sea shanty as she sharpen and polished her beloved cutlass "Delphinus" while her partner in crime, Augus, stood next to her. With her typical serious yet smiling look on her face, Augus continually trained and kept her martial arts skills as sharp as July's Delphinus. Their nicknames, which March came up with, was the butt-kicking sisters, since they acted a lot like siblings during a battle. Sebby refused to take it easy as she restlessly continued to clean the floor, polish all the metal etc of the dock. Only known by a few members of the Jellyfish Pirates, Sebby had declared the main deck her child, and she maintains it and treats as such every single day. Their trusty look-out Octy, was half snoozing on the roof of the main cabin of the ship. Even when she is asleep, she instinctively would peek from side to side, always making sure that there was never anything endangering the ship. Contrary to her hair covering most of her face, she had the sharpest eyes in the entire crew. Laying flat on the deck sprawled out like a kid in her bed was their engineer and mechanical genius Novel, who had pulled double all-nighters to make sure the ship was as repaired as it was going to get after their land confrontation. It was rare to see her asleep; most of the crew believed that it was a myth that she would rest. Catching almost everyone's attention, an entrancing aroma swept out onto the ship deck from the side stairs, where the mess hall was locating. It was Leap's way of letting everyone know she was cooking up something scrumptious.
"Today is just as beautiful as all the members of my crew, such a rare sight to behold. Oh I almost forgot, April! We need to make our way to the Japanese Reservation," Johnny preached to the crew like a poet as he walked up from the other side of the ship where the living quarters were. April let a cute 'aye aye' slip through her lips before Johnny took in the incredible breeze. His hand made leather boots made a satisfying step sound with every single movement forward. Making his way to the very front of the deck, his coat was blowing behind him just as free as he was living on the ship. Connected to his arm like a fashion accessory was none other than May, who didn't like letting him go even when he'd try to shake her off. With her body slowly growing ill, May held onto Johnny for more reasons than one.
Catching March's attention from her tea party, their special passenger and unofficial member, Bridget could be seen amazing her with some new yo-yo tricks he had just worked out. The story of how Bridget gained attendance onto the Mayship was truly hysterical. It all started when he ran into Johnny. Because of this, it was only a matter of time before Johnny gladly allowed him on the ship. Little did Johnny know however, is that he had broken his number one of his own ship. Unknowing that Bridget was indeed a boy, he continually treated him like a girl, which he just played along with since he was able to come on board. It wasn't til Johnny had to use the restroom that he discovered his farcical decision. It was good for the long run though, because now Johnny had another male he could talk about guy stuff with, which is definitely a new treat for the both of them. Johnny has made it his personal goal to turn Bridget into a real man, which Bridget was all for 110%, however, he can't really change his behaviors over night. Either way, Johnny was up for the task and has been following his declaration every day to create a suave man such as himself. Octy let loose a wicked yawn and worked for a huge stretch, getting all the kinks from her bones in one swift pull of euphoria. As she laid her head back onto its resting place, it ended up rolling back over the side of her post, where something odd caught her eye. A large pillar of red light shot down from the earth's very atmosphere a ways away and began to grow in the distance. Octy then jumped to her feet and called over the starboard side of the ship.
"Captain Johnny! There's some strange lights far off from here but you should probably have a look!" she shouted out, her voice very famous for being able to project so far. As May put her hands back on Johnny, he immediately shook May off his arm, which signaled to her that there was business a foot. Johnny then quickly ran for the side of the ship, catching sight of the target that Octy had laid her sights on. May saw the hulking pillar of light and called everyone to arms.
"Everyone to battle stations! I repeat everyone to battle stations!" May shouted as fiercely as a Viking commander would call for a charge. Febby sighed as she removed Janus from between her legs and slowly sat up in her seat.
"Aw man...well it was nice while it lasted," Febby whined, cracking her neck and rolling around her arms, getting ready to man her post. April quickly ran over to Bridget and March making sure that March made it safely inside the cabin.
"Come March, it's time to go inside ok?" April asked sweetly. With a big, happy grin March nodded and took April's hand. April then quickly, but without panic, walked her into the cabin, escorting her to her room safely. Even though it was just a pillar of light and not an actual enemy from what they could see, July and Augus smirked at one another as they cracked their joints and necks to prepare themselves.
"Alright! We finally might get some action!" July hopped up and down happily with her cutlass, getting loose for when she may be able to draw her sword upon anything. Augus merely smiled, cracking her hands with an outward push while they were together. Sephy looked over at the shouting and threw her mop in the closet close by.
"I wonder what the heck is going on, I hope it's nothing too serious," Sephy said to herself, concern written on her face gently. Made a dash and dove into the control room like a baseball player, quickly getting herself set up on her beloved controls. After escorting March to safety, April and Bridget ran out next to Johnny and May to observe the strange sight. All four of them watched in fear and awe as multiple beams of light shot down from above them to the ground, like light raining down from the heavens. April gripped onto Bridget while May clenched onto Johnny as Johnny turned the ship to avoid one of the glowing pillars. Augus and July continually ran around the dock, making sure that nothing would simply hop aboard from the unknown pillars of energy and light.
"Captain Johnny, we're surrounded!" Octy called from her post as April tried to avoid another pillar. A smirk curled upon Johnny's lips as he turned to April.
"April, steer hard into that pillar of light off the port side, let's see what these things are all about!" Johnny ordered, gazing off into the light like a man on a mission to the unknown. Before long, the ship was completely drenched in the pillars light.
xxxxxx
"So um...Sol. Who are we going to go meet exactly?" Sin inquire, trying to figure out why they were headed to a building like something you'd see in a classic horror movie. Sol pulled out a cigarette from his almost empty pack and lit it up, taking a long drag off of it.
"Slayer. He's the former leader of the assassins guild and one of the very few people that is as strong as I am. Just make sure you shut up and behave, I'm not happy about coming here either," Sol barked, making Sin shrug his shoulders in defeat. Slowly approaching Slayer's castle, Sol continued to take drags off his cigarette, blowing out relieving smoke. Being only half Gear, things such as cigarettes and alcohol still had effect on his nervous system, causing him to relax. Whenever Slayer would call on Sol, it was never for a good reason. To Sol it was either whimsical bullshit or just plain things are going to get bad for you. Neither answer has ever suited Sol in the numerous times this has come up, however, he did respect and somewhat Slayer's insight even if the news of it did suck.
"So what, is he like a vampire something? I mean he has to be with this castle right?" Sin laughed, constituting Sol to bop him on the head with Junkyard Dog. Putting out his cigarette on the back of his hand, he groaned from Sin's childish remarks. Sin rubbed his head as he yapped from pain of the strike.
"Hey was that really necessary? I was only kidding!" Sin whined, still rubbing his head. Before he could say anymore Sol turned and glared him in the face; it's what Sol would do when he needed Sin to seriously shut up. Reaching the doors, Sol banged on the door with the bottom of his fist.
"Hey old man, I'm here," Sol growled. The door then slowly opened, creaking loudly as it pulled in all the way. Standing there holding the door was Slayer's wife Sharon, who politely greeted them both in.
"It is good to see you again Fredrick, and who is this handsome young gentleman accompanying you?" Sharon asked borderline seductively. Sol groaned as he walked in while Sin smiled like a kid and blushed at the beautiful woman in front of him.
"I'm Sin! I'm the son of the King of Illyria! It's nice to meet you, um…?" Sin inquired, Sol shook his head and grabbed a hold of Sin's arm and dragged him off. Sharon simply giggled as she accompanied them into Slayer's study. As you'd expect, all of the walls were lined with an endless number of books and various victorian decorations, creating a nice, cozy environment for guests to enjoy. Sharon closed the doors behind them as she approached an empty chair. Sol shook his head as he pulled out another cigarette.
"Come on old man, spare me the theatrics. What is it you needed to tell me?" Sol growled as he usually did when he was abnormally grumpy. Sin looked around the room completely confused, as if Sol were just growling at himself. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Sin's shoulder, causing him to jump away in a fright. Slayer laughed and lit up his pipe as Sin fell right on his rear, causing the room to jump a little.
"Such a jumpy young lad. It's hard to imagine that this boy is the bi-product of Mr. Kiske's relations with a Gear. Fredrick must find you quite the hassle to deal with. Sorry, it was too hard to resist. It's not everyday I get to scare someone like the old days," Slayer laughed taking tote on his pipe. Sol let a smirk crawl on his face from Slayer's attempt to break the ice.
"I know, it's hard to believe that the boy scout would even have the balls to speak to a woman. But yes, I'm babysitting Kiske's bratty son," Sol smirked yet groaned. Sin grumbled to himself as he sat back up and glared at Sol. Slayer shook his head as he disappeared then reappeared in his chair, crossing his legs to get comfortable.
"So old man, why the hell did you ask me to come here?" Sol's tone grew serious once again. Slayer tilted his foot towards himself, causing a chair to pull up behind Sol so that he could sit. Sin sat quietly for once as the two interacted.
"How shall I say this, our long time acquaintance, Asuka R. Kreutz, is involved. Otherwise I wouldn't waste our precious time that you and I both share," Slayer explained. Sol's ears stung when the name of the monster came to the air, shifting his teeth in his mouth to form an angry gesture.
"Start talking old man," Sol barked, clenching his teeth together amusingly as Slayer partook in another tote on his pipe.
"Look out the window Fredrick," Slayer replied. Sol got up from his chair and looked out through Slayer's massive vertical windows to see red pillars of light shoot down out of nowhere. As Sol continued his observation Slayer let loose a puff of smoke.
"I managed to see what he was doing before these lights started to shoot up out of nowhere. It appears that he made a partnership with another higher being like myself within the confines of the Backyard. I couldn't clearly catch what they were speaking of, but I believe they mentioned something about merging worlds together," Slayer said, blowing out smoke in small rings. Sol growled and slammed his fist on the outside frame of the window.
"If That Man is trying to merge the Backyard with the rest of the world that's impossible. He's already failed at doing that before," Sol spat, leaving his view from the window. He grabbed Sin by the arm and dragged him to his feet aggressively. As Sol tore the doors of his study open, Slayer appeared before him.
"Fair warning Fredrick, there are quite a few individuals on my roof watching us. Do take care of yourself and the son of Kiske," Slayer remarked, only to have Sol give him a half nod as he dragged Sin out of the building by force. Slamming the castle doors behind him, he pulled out another cigarette and lit up. More beams of light began to shine down from the sky this time he could make out strong waves of energy within each ray, showing clear signs of magic playing a role. As he took a drag on his cigarette, his eyes tilted up to the top of Slayer's castle, snickering gruffly as he made out the figures and knew who they were. Being part Gear had its advantages after all. Like gargoyles staring into the night, three shadowy figures were glaring down at the two heroes like a hawk.
"Heheheh! It looks like he noticed us. Maybe we should go make friends with them," Raven chuckled as he licked his bladed on his fingers. Standing to his right was a woman covered completely in leather. As he words flew, the occasional sound of strings could be heard being tuned on a guitar. I-No paused for a moment to gaze up at Raven.
"I'm sure Sol would just burn you to a crisp until you become a food dish. I bet fried Raven would be so tasty too, mmm. Asuka would put me back in that damn box if we decided to make a move on them. If we didn't abandoned the jobs we were given this aggravating bird watch wouldn't exist. It's a bitch but that's how it is," I-No groaned, continuing to tune her guitar. As one of the pillars of light touched down next to Slayer's home, Sol and Sin gave a stretch to loosen up their nerves.
"Let's see where this shitty laser show takes us," Sol smirked, tilting his head up at Asuka's goons, blowing smoke up in their direction. Sin began to dance around with his flag pole, getting himself ready for whatever was going to happen next. Sin let loose a loud gulp as the light overtook them, the goons, and and Slayer's castle all within seconds of one another. With the bright light engulfing it all, Slayer too a gander at the red purgatory through his window.
"She looked just like how I imagined a daughter of mine would look, I can't wait to share some tea with her," Slayer smiled as Sharon laid her head in his lap. Slayer gazed down and showed a tooth grin. Slowly, he leaned down to Sharon's neck and quickly bite into her neck, sucking her dry as the castle vanished from the outside view
xxxxxx
Japan, the land of the rising sun was indeed enjoying its glorious sun that rained its light upon them. Even in the middle of the day, the sun shined beautifully among all of the trees, plants, animals, and all other things existing within their glorious nation. The main reservation was in a state of bliss, being one of the few areas that haven't been a target of the recent Gear attacks. Anji Mitou rolled out a scroll upon a table that he had placed underneath a cherry blossom tree; it was his favorite place to both recite poetry and to practice his calligraphy. As the sweet smell of the trees made their way along his nostrils, he raised his leave and began to write out a haiku with his calligraphy brush. Looking into his impractically small glasses, he made sure to be quite careful with every brush stroke. However, when writing a character in mid-stroke order, he raised his eyes to see Baiken smoking her pipe without a care in the world underneath her favorite tree. A wide smile formed upon his face as her presence inspired his writing.
"Hair so beautiful; Gracefully blowing with the wind; Beauty incarnate," Anji whispered softly to himself as he finished writing out the words on the scroll. He then placed the brush down beside his scroll of love and began to make his walk over to the one he loved so very much, however unrequited it was. Baiken's eye opened and turned to the noise of the grassy steps approaching her. With a groan she took very long tote of her opium pipe. Every time Anji would approach her it would be the same pattern of conversation, like clock-work. It would start with some kind words, a love confession, a question about her life, then a rejective punch to his stomach. It's not so much that she hated Anji, in truth, she did like him to some extent, it's just his approaches on her made her stomach irk in pain, his words always sounding so fake when she knew they weren't. Anji finally arrived in front of her, ready to do his confession as he did every time they met. Seriously, every time.
"Ah my dear Baiken, how are you on this glorious day?" He asked with the sense of romance in the air. Baiken just closed her eyes and took a toke of her opium, feeling it chill her out. She slowly opened her one good eye, which eyed him very intently.
"Idiotic words, a mouth that never closes, please can you shut up, " Baiken said with a straight face into Anji's. Anji took a moment to count the syllables in her haiku, only to be amazed that it worked out, regardless of the message telling him to go away.
"I hadn't the slightest idea you could form Haiku's by the tip of your tongue. It's as remarkable as your looks my love," Anji replied. Only Anji could possibly turn an insult into a loving statement about the person who spoke. Baiken shook her head in disbelief as the message went over his head.
"I trained in the art of Bushido; we learn haikus as a form of self-fulfillment. If you remembered your own studies on the subject matter you wouldn't sound like such a moron," Baiken grumbled, taking another long tote of her pipe. To no surprise, Anji was unphased by the aggressive advance.
"Its because I lose my train of thought whenever I gaze upon your beauty, it never fails to leave me breathless," Anji retorted. Baiken shook her head at how dedicated Anji was to his cause in this conversation. This is the first time Baiken had truly shown signs of an aggressive attempt to make him go away, only to have Anji twist it all into a love song. Catching her off guard, Baiken's stomach began to growl audibly. She cursed at her stomach as Anji took a listen.
"My it seems as if you are suffering from hunger as I am. Would you please join me for some lunch on this beautiful day? I will be happy to pay for you dining," Anji laid his game on thick as she blushed from her stomach. Then a simple idea popped in her head that'd make everyone happy.
"...As long as you buy me some sake…" Baiken said with a release of smoke from her lips. This is the first time Anji has seen any sort of victory whatsoever when approaching his beloved. Even though he knew that was the only reason she'd bother to even grace him with her presence, he took the bait like a fish anyway.
"As much as my dear desires," Anji said lowering his arm down to her. She sighed and gently tapped her pipe to her tree to empty its contents to the dirt. After sheathing the pipe back into her ukata, she used her sword as a crutch to rise herself to her feet. She used her teeth and arm to tie up her sword and sheath to her sash then began to walk next to Anji. She forced him onto the side where her arm was missing so he wouldn't be tempted to hold her hand. Even with her ploy being successful, he reached down and held the claw at the end of the chain as if it were her hand. She furrowed her brow as she blushed lightly, trying to not believe that this idiot would find that romantic. Try as she might, there was no escaping Anji's kindness.
"Well my dear, I must partake in my lunch for this glorious day, would you like to join me?" Anji asked thoughtfully. Baiken thought about it and figured she would take this opportunity to get the one thing she craved more than vengeance, sake. She smirked at him closing her eye. As the approached the a food stand of a very familiar oriental acquaintance of theres, the main road began to flood with fliers, all of them flying around like some kind of magical ninjitsu art. One of them smacked Baiken in the face, causing her to angrily tear away from her face. She looked down onto the paper and sigh in disgust. It was a flier with Chipp Zanuff for President plastered all over it. It was more and more apparent these days that Chipp was an American before he came to Japan. Too stupid to realize that the Japanese reservation was ruled by a traditional Shogun, Chipp continued to plaster the fliers anywhere he could find a free space. Even Anji looked at them sadly as Chipp's obnoxious smile was plastered on all of them. Finally leaving her side to pick up some of the fliers off the ground, Baiken proceeded to their destination. The stools at the cart only housed one person at the moment. It was a girl lightly bobbing her head into a bowl of ramen. With dark indigo hair and a pair of odd looking headphones, it couldn't be anyone else besides Kum Haehyun sitting there. Sitting down next to the stand was an open chested Kum Jon Ryoku. Baiken let a smile crawl onto her face as she plopped onto the stool next to her. Mid slurp Kum turned her head and gave Baiken a friendly nod. Jam then turned her attention forward and gazed upon the other familiar face in the little complex. Turning away from her wok, Jam noticed the cherry blossom samurai knocking her knuckle on the counter.
"Ah! Baiken, glad to see you again! Same usually, sake with beef bowl yes?" Jam delightfully chimed in. Baiken gave her a confirming nod as she turned her head towards Anji, who had finished helping a few locals clean up some more fliers. As Jam began to hum an oriental tune to herself, Anji's footsteps approached the next stool with haste, until he gracefully sat upon it. He turned and gave a wave to Kum who was still loudly munching on her ramen. With a gratifying nod back at Anji, she finally swallowed her large mouthful of the delicious dish.
"It's been awhile since I've seen the both of you together, could it be that you have finally embraced the love you have for one another?" Kum teased with a smirk. Baiken shook her head and poured a shot of sake as it was placed in front of her. Anji laughed modestly in response as he turned his eyes to the overhead menu. At the sight of Anji, Jam turned and stood before him, swooning over him.
"Hey handsome, what on menu do you want today?" Jam spoke, trying to speak in proper tongue. Anji ignore the vocational faults of the lovely waitress, smiling back at her.
"I'll have the Vegetable Lo Mein please," Anji ordered, again returning his gaze to the lovely Baiken. Continuing to ignore Anji she downed the shot of sake and immediately filled it once more. Baiken then turned her attention to Kum, who was lifting up the bowl to drink the soup.
"Have you heard a word from Johnny yet? We are still going to try and fix May's chi right?" Baiken inquired. Placing the bowl back down, Kum returned her statement with a sad nod.
"Unfortunately not. I received a transmission from him not too long ago but the connection was cut off mid way. There must've been some sort of interference or something," Kum explained. Loudly sighing, Baiken grit her teeth with frustration as she downed the next shot of sake. Contrary to her cold and uncaring demeanor, Baiken did truly have a worrisome heart for others, especially those of her fellow countrymen and women.
As Chipp continued his relentless assault upon the main town in the reservation until finally his flier supply had run dry. Sliding out his glasses, he used part of his sash to wipe them clean of the dust kicked up on them. As he cleaned them, a sudden burst of energy and wind kicked up nearby, sending Chipp flying off his feet and into a tree. Sliding his glasses up on his nose, he saw a strange looking gentleman clad in a traditional samurai attire; the piercing white shade of it perfectly matched the individual's skin, hair, and the protruding fox ears that grew out from his shag of hair.. Having never seen him before, he felt as if the odd gentleman was another one of the reservation's powerful tenant that help in its defense. Taking in the scent of the trees in bloom, the gently let out a relieving sigh. The man in white approached Chipp, holding out his hand in gesture of kindness.
"My how I have forgotten how the smell of the gorgeous world is so intoxicating. I must give my sincerest thanks to That Man that disturbed the backyard. Ah to be free again!" Izuna happily chirped as he looked down at Chipp. Returning him to his feet, Chipp brushed himself off and decided that he should head back to his personal quarters to create more fliers. His eyes couldn't help but to stare at the white man for a moment as he flew past him like the wind. In a matter of 10 seconds, Izuna's enlightenment was quickly cut short by the sound of a very familiar friend in his head.
"Izuna? Is that you?!" the familiar voice rang. Being able to communicate via their magical forces, Izuna gave a revealing laugh to the receiver on the other end, Dr. Paradigm. Izuna smiled and walked over to a comfortable looking tree then laid out beneath it, resting his head on his hands.
"You couldn't let me enjoy this wonderful fresh air any longer that a minute could you? But yes, my friend, it is indeed Izuna," He jested. Dr. Paradigm's frantic voice could barely be heard over books that had fallen from a table and onto a hard floor. Taking in the glorious warmth of the sun, Izuna relaxed while Paradigm got his wits together.
"I thought you had been banished by the Universal Will, how did you escape?" Paradigm inquired, finally regaining his composure. Izuna's eyes opened to the sight of cherry blossoms blowing in a strong wind, following them to sight of blinding red pillars of light.
"Have you looked outside Paradigm? The Universal Will's power has been muted from the massive amount of energy enveloping this world. I'm sure you are aware of what's going on correct?" Izuna sighed. Paradigm's voice stabilized and he took a peek outside of his lab window in one of the towers of Ky's castle in the United Kingdom of Illyria.
"Yes I'm quite aware. It seems that Asuka Kreutz has found away to cause a temporal conversion with another plane of existence. I'm completely baffled considering it should be theoretically impossible even if you and I were to get involved in such a process. There must be some other source of immense power at work here," Paradigm said, the sound of the wind from the pillars' increasing size on both ends beginning to howl.
"I'm sure there is. However, it seems we have no more time to have an idle conversation on the matter. Once the ritual is completed we can regroup with one another and figure out our next course of action," Izuna said with a yawn. Dr. Paradigm agreed as the beams of light consumed them both. Still completely unaware of what was going on around them, Anji and the rest of them were still enjoying a simple time together.
"At least we can be thankful that the Gear invasion hasn't quite reached us yet right?" Anji tried to lift up the mood, but only Jam fell for his clumsy attempt. As their plates of hot food was being placed before them, a strange phenomenon shined down all around them. The pillars of red light had finally reached the reservation. Anji stood up to look hard at it, seeing the combination of chi and energy that forged it. Unfortunately there was no time for them to make any sort of move as the lights grew larger by the second. Baiken grabbed a hold of the main bottle of Sake and downed it all without hesitation.
"It looks like something interesting is about to happen…" Baiken smirked as the pillars of light swiftly took the whole Japanese Reservation by storm.
To Be Continued...