Instead of waiting, Sol rushed right forward, Fireseal blazing in his fist. He crouched low and dashed along the ground, leaving the fire trail behind him. "Grand Viper!"

Ky was not quick enough to react, and was knocked right off his feet, the edges of his uniform singing slightly. He recovered mid-air, and charged his blade, before swinging it downward. "Stun Edge!"

Still falling from his previous attack, he looked up just in time to see the wave of energy as it smacked right against him. He stumbled back, his limbs jolted by the surge, but quickly shook it off, as Ky landed several paces away.

"You're a traitor and a thief, Sol. I'm not letting you escape without answering this time," Ky stated boldy as he charged forward again.

"You're gonna mess up that pretty face of yours trying so hard," Sol boasted. As Ky approached, he took a single step forward, and struck his sword arm forward, sending a burst of fire right into Ky's gut.

Ky flew back, and tumbled along the ground, but quickly pushed himself back to his feet. "Don't mock me!" He cried as he charged forward.

"Damn, I dont' think I've ever seen him lose his cool like this," Sol mused to himself. He shot out Fireseal, and sparked a Gun Flame towards his incoming opponent.

Ky leapt up, flipping forward and swinging his sword in a large arc, charged with a colorful array of energy. "Greed Sever!"

"Oh sh..." Sol could only back up enough to barely get caught by the tip of the blade, leaving a scratch on his shoulder, which for a moment crackled with the energy from Thunderseal. "Not too bad."

Ky took a deep breath, appearing to calm himself slightly. "If you don't want more, you can start talking."

"Like I'd be threatened by that," he answered. "You can taunt me all you like, but I can assure you, you won't beat me, not with that sword."

"That's what you think. Just because I've not bested you yet doesn't mean its impossible. And what would this sword have to do with it?"

Sol relaxed his posture and smiled. "I'll let you in on a secret. I made that sword, and this one too. So don't go calling me a thief."

"You? Kliff said these swords have been around for a long time, how could you have made them? You aren't old enough to have made them!"

"I'm not telling you anything else until you land another hit on me. How does that game sound? Every time you hit me, I'll tell you something more."

"Fair enough, I'll beat it out of you one question at a time!" He made a forward dash motion, but dropped low, sliding towards Sol, and before he could react, Ky knocked him right off his feet with a sweep of Thunderseal.

Sol dropped and cursed under his breath. He had let his guard down, and paid for it.

"Why did you leave the order? You exceeded most others in ability, but you ran off, and took Fireseal with you," Ky demanded his answer.

Sol slowly rose to his feet again, this time keeping himself read. "I couldn't be restricted to the order. I'm looking for That Man... the one who is responsible for creating the gears."

"You plan to kill him for revenge or something? Do you think it will make a difference? The Gear Project was shut down, he can't continue that work."

"No, he's up to something, I know he is," Sol sighed, and shook his head. "I have to find out what, and stop it. And I don't need you, or the order, or anyone's help to do that!" He shot Fireseal forward again, and launched another Gun Flame.

Ky leapt over, and brought Thunderseal over his head, and swung it downward. "You're one person. Tackling the task of finding him alone would be much easier if you had help."

Sol lifted his blade up and knocked the strike away, and caught Ky by his collar. "How do you think you can help me, when you've got the Post-War Administration Bureau causing trouble now as well? You can't even handle that!" He reeled his head back, and struck the metal plate of his headband against Ky, knocking him from his grip and sending him stumbling over.

Ky brought himself up to a crouch, leaving his sword to appear as if it were laying on the ground. "The help I get on that case is less than adequate. I'm practically doing everything myself it seems."

"Heh, I could probably introduce you to someone who can give you some help. Whether he would I can't say," Sol stepped forward, standing over Ky with a cocky smile.

Ky quickly gripped the hilt of his sword again, and quickly rising to his feet, he lifted the blade straight up, aiming right at Sol's head.

Sol stumbled back startled, barely evading injury, but Thunderseal caught his head band, and knocked it upward. He quickly spun around, and covered his forehead to hide the mark.

"Tell me... how can you claim to have made these swords? They're older than you are," Ky said as he pointed the tip of his sword towards Sol's back.

Sol took a deep breath, and for a moment, his conversation with Testament came back to him. Perhaps he should tell him, he thought. Not like it would do much harm. Ky couldn't capture and imprison him. "If you must know, I'm almost four times your age." He gripped the head band, and pulled it off, turning around slowly. "Don't act like you know me, you don't even know my real name."

Ky was a bit stunned at his words, and even more so by the tattoo on his forehead. "That is... is this a joke? That's a gear's mark! What's the meaning of this?"

"Don't be an idiot, the meaning is as clear as the mark on my head. I'm a gear, Ky. I have been for almost 150 years. I'm not entirely sure, but I think even Kliff knew that. He was trusting enough to put that aside, since I saved his life. This is why you can't beat me. I'm far stronger than you could ever be."

Ky stared at the mark, and then sighed. "I don't know if I should believe you or not. But I guess that also explains why you left. You, a gear, in an order established for the purpose of eliminating them."

Sol chuckled and shook his head. "I have no connection with other gears. I was the first, a prototype. I'm not bound to the will of commanding gears, I'm not without my will. I left for the very reason I told you, nothing else. Now, unless you have anything else to ask, I did come here for a reason."

"And what reason is that?" Ky said, relaxing his posture again.

"That person on Johnny's ship you said wanted to meet me," he answered. "I want to see her, and I need help to get up there."

Ky smiled and nodded. "Like I said, other people can help. But I am curious, what is this about? Why is it so important you meet her?"

"It's... not really important. Just personal reasons. I figured if anyone, you'd know how to get in contact with her."

"Well, Johnny got in contact with me first, so I doubt this would be too hard. But..." Ky's face turned a little more serious. "Just how personal is this?"

"That's really none of your business," Sol said, looking away.

"It's like that, is it? So how did you want to meet her? Just walk up and say hello? I have a much better idea, if you're interested," Ky's serious expression lit up with a smile.

"Like what?"

"A ball, persay. I'll mask it as a reunion of the order, so naturally you would be invited."

Sol thought for a moment and nodded. "You know, that might actually be a good idea in a few ways... if the Post-War goons get wind of it, they might decide to crash the party. Or maybe, even that witch I-no might show up to cause trouble..."

Ky chuckled and stepped forward, extending his hand. "Well in that case, I'm glad we still have your full uniform. It will be quite a sight to see you in it again."

Sol looked at his hand and back up to his face. "You expect me to put that on?"

Ky nodded, but his smile didn't fade. "If it is to be a reunion event, I expect the proper attire."

"Fine," Sol took his hand, and shook it with a firm grip. "I'm not sure how you'll sneak those pirates into the party, maybe that would be best left up to them."

"Maybe so. I'll even bring your old sword you used before ste... err... reclaiming Fireseal."

The two stared into each others eyes, the fire of enmity still there, but there was still an old sense of comraderie from days past.