The big day...

Ky wandered about the grand hall, weaving between the guests who had come. Many were stopping to greet their former comrade, but he made a point not to linger too long in one place. He was far too nervous.

No matter where he turned, he could swear he saw that metallic reflection of himself, those cursed Roby-Kys that had begun to haunt him. But it seemed his eyes were just playing tricks on him, because when he thought he saw one, he would look again, only to see someone in their uniform, acting just as they should.

"Ky! You look so uptight! Relax and enjoy the festivities!" Jam's energetic voice cut through his mind, and brought his attention around to her. He turned to look at her, and was nearly knocked off his heels. Jam had selected one of her Chinese dresses which she wore commonly during her days as a restaurant owner, a red silk dress embroidered with a golden phoenix.

"J-jam! You look stunning," he said, trying his best not to stutter.

"You think so?" she asked as she spun around to model it for him. This was the first time since her days as a chef in her restaurant that she had worn this, and was the first time that Ky had seen her wearing it ever. She wanted to make an impression.

"Yes, it's lovely. I'm sure that dress is one of a kind here," Ky answered, his tone a little more calm. Here in France, very few would think to dress in the fashion of the old Orient, opting instead for the traditional dress type of Europe of the Renaissance. Though he hailed from the area himself, not even he could deny that Jam looked breathtaking. He failed to notice that his eyes had wandered a little below her face.

"Ky, I'm up here," Jam said with a laugh in her voice. She had caught him, but found his naive nature about it charming. "You should eat something! I had a little help filling out the menu to cater to the regional tastes.

"I hope you still made some Chinese dumplings." For the moment, Ky's mind had wandered towards food, and he was no longer worrying. He noticed Testament standing beside the display of Kliff, looking like he were speaking with the statue of his adopted father. He turned back to Jam and smiled. "Well, let's get some eats, and then we should see if everyone is ready to hatch this plan."

Jam winked and hooked her arm around his. "Right this way," she said, and led him off towards the food tables.


At the top of one staircase, Sol was busy prepping himself for the upcoming moment. He had removed his headband so his formal attire would not be too offset by the rebellious look the metal headpiece gave. He had left Fireseal in Ky's care, instructing him to keep it hidden, but easily accessible.

"You surprise me. I certainly didn't expect you to go through with this," a familiar voice called out to Sol from a shadowed corner.

"Since when do you presume to know what I will and will not do, old man?" Sol answered back without even looking towards him.

"You are far more knowledgeable than you appear. Certainly even others have told you by now that tonight might bring grave consequences, perhaps worse than you can imagine," the man answered as he stepped slowly into the light, allowing the gleam to reflect off his glasses. Slayer stood reveiled in the light, his pipe in hand.

"I'm counting on something happening. If that witch shows up, I'm going to make sure she squeels this time," Sol answered, heaving a sigh.

"You know that nothing long term can come of this night. It is too soon. Yet still, here you are. Are you prepared to reveal that you are what these people fear most, and that the commander they thought was dead was alive and among them? What sort of scare do you think this will cause?" Slayer posed the question, not with such a heavy weight as to reprimand him, but simply putting it forward.

Sol turned to face him finally, but unlike usual, he did not stare him down with a cold expression. His face showed compassion, even a bit of longing. "Yeah, she might be happy with her friends, but do you really think she will be happy with an existence of constantly hiding the fact that she is there? If people can open their eyes and see her for WHO she is, not what she is, then she can be accepted, and then she will really understand happiness. For the first time since I can hardly remember when, I have something before me that makes my existence worth it. Sure, I can continue to search for That Man, but after that, then what? I had no reason but myself before, but now, I have her. Haven't you ever had anything that made every moment of your life worth waiting for the next?"

Slayer smiled, and taking a puff from his pipe, stepped forward again. "You have only the most noble of intentions, I'm sure. I simply want you to understand that it may still be too soon. I just hope that you are prepared for the worst." With those last words, he bowed, and stepped back into the shadow, releasing a puff of smoke before the glow from his pipe faded.

Sol didn't have much time to think about Slayer's words, as he soon heard Ky's voice from downstairs: "I would like to now bring out a special guest. I'm sure some of you might remember him well, and certainly some will recognize how pivotal he was in ending the Gear War with his fight against Justice. Some of you might not know that he is also the man responsible for ending the threat once and for all and preventing the start of a second Gear War. So, let us all give a big welcome to Sol Badguy."

Sol took a deep breath, and stepped slowly towards the large staircase, until he could bit by bit see over the railing to the grand lobby below. As he approached the railing, all his thoughts were drowned out by a roaring applause. He looked to see Ky staring up at him with a bright smile, and Sol knew that somehow Ky had managed to build this support for him. It was almost flattering, he thought.

Ky turned back to the crowd gathered around, and held up his arms to quiet them. "Of course, we mustn't forget to bring out his special guest." Ky turned and looked up to the top of the opposite staircase. Sol turned his attention there as well, where he saw several young women and a dashing man of blonde hair huddled around. He even recognized the short girl with the long brown hair from his past roamings, despite how she was now dressed in a gown of her own.

He saw Johnny look towards him, and flash him a wink, and spoke something too soft for him to hear. The girls parted, and stepped back.

For a moment, time stood still. He knew who was waiting there, and as he waited to see how she would appear, his breath stopped. His eyes fell on an image that went beyond his hopes. For a moment, he was unsure whether it was her, or an angel.

Dizzy stepped forward from among the pirate crew, dressed in a pure white gown, cut down just a couple inches below her shoulders the whole way around. The gown wasn't very frilly, but it shimmered in the light as if it was itself the source. It flowed around her legs, all the way down to her ankles, but gave a glimse of the glimmering shoes she wore. And on top of everything, her two wings which could not be hidden stretched to either side. Aside from one's off colored nature, he could swear she were an angel.

The crowd was silent, but Sol was too fixed on her to wonder why. Slowly he descended down the staircase, and in step, Dizzy stepped down slowly, almost seeming to levitate above each step. Sol could tell his heart was racing, anticipating the moment when the two would be face to face. And then the fear came to grip him. Any moment, he thought, something would pop up to interrupt, and the magic would be shattered. Each step he moved just a little faster, as if racing against time to reach this moment.

As his feet reached the ground floor, his mind relaxed, and he slowly walked across to wait for her, as she had fallen behind his pace. He held out his hand up the stairs, and once she was close enough, she lifted her hand, and placed it in his. He drew her closer, slowly, as she walked down the last steps, and then, at last, they were so close, he could feel her breath.

This was the moment, the two of them face to face, gazing at each other. No words were spoken, and for the both of them, it was as if no one was watching. Sol's hand lifted, he wasn't quite sure why at first, until he realized he had lifted it to wipe a tear from her cheek. Neither of them even noticed the applause from the crowd that watched. Only a hand on Sol's shoulder brought their attention back.

Sol looked around and saw Ky beside him, smiling to them both. Sol smiled back, and turned to Dizzy again, and led her from the stairs out onto the floor.

"Let's have some music! This won't be a ball if we don't have some dancing!" Ky called out.

At the cue, a small chamber orchestra began to play. Ky found Jam and led her onto the floor, chatting quietly to her as they went. The attendees that had come all assembled with their guest, taking each other hand in hand, and began to dance.

Sol would not let go of Dizzy's hand, and her fingers gripped his firmly. He turned to face her, and hesitantly she lifted her free hand up to his shoulder, and his ventured down to her side, resting just above her hip. Their bodies drew close together until they were touching. Dizzy recalled the dance with Testament, but this felt much different. Even though she was already closer to Sol than she had been with Testament, she wanted to be closer.

"Thank you," she said in her soft voice, just loud enough for Sol to hear over the music.

His foot took the first step, and Dizzy, simply following his lead, moved with him. "I should thank you," he answered back.

The two drifted across the floor, not minding the others around, some who continued to dance, some who stopped to watch Sol and Dizzy float across the floor as if dancing on a cloud. As they moved, their faces kept drawing closer together, neither of them fully aware of it.

"You look so nice when you smile," Dizzy spoke again, every word ringing in his ears like soft, kind-hearted laughter.

"I can say the same for you. But your smile is more radiant than ever with what you're wearing tonight."

Dizzy's face looked down a little for a moment, her cheeks deepening in color. "All my friends helped to pick it out. I'm very glad you like it." She looked up again, and when she did, their faces were so close, their noses almost touched.

The two of them stopped, standing still in this posture, staring into each other's eyes. Nothing else was said between them, neither had words left to say. Sol's body tipped forward slowly, without his even thinking about it, Dizzy's waiting where it was, not quite sure why.

Their lips were now a mere half inch apart, and now most eyes had fallen on them. Already some who watched were cheering quietly, but they did not hear it. Their eyes drifted closed, the two of them approaching one another, until...

A sour note struck out, ringing against the music of the orchestra. But it was not violin, or oboe. Sol heard it clearly, and it snapped him back painfully. That sound, that note came from an electric guitar.

He looked up, anger boiling up on his face. Up on the railing at the top floor overlooking the lobby, I-no sat, smirking back at him the same way she always did.

"Oh dear, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything, SOL!" she called out to him, placing that emphasis on his name as if to mock him for hiding who he was.

"Ky!" he shouted out, never taking his eyes off the woman in red.

Ky didn't even have to answer back. He raced to the display of Sol's first sword in the order, and reaching behind it, pulled Fireseal and Thunderseal from their hiding place. He flung the former to Sol, who caught it without looking. He stepped in front of Dizzy, tigthening his grip on the hilt, sending a wave of flames down the blade.

"How nice of you to show up, uninvited as always," Sol finally called back to I-no. "You've got some guts, showing up in front of a crowd like this."

I-no laughed and shook her head. "They won't remember a thing, except maybe that a strange woman they can't recall came and gave two gears the beatdown of a lifetime!"

"You miscount," a voice spoke from behind her, as Testament's form appeared, his scythe following soon afterwards. I-no chuckled, leaping away from him before he could lay a hand on her, hovering in the air a moment, before, her trajectory changed, spiralling downward rapidly towards Sol.

Sol brought up his sword, leaping as he performed an uppercut motion. "Volcanic Viper!" he cried, his blade igniting around him.

The two clashed, each strike knocking off the other, sending them both back slightly. Sol and I-no landed facing one another, Sol still burning with rage, I-no's mocking smile still staring right back.

"Well, Frederick, shall we dance again?" she spoke in her annoyingly calm tone. By now, most of the crowd had rushed to the outskirts of the hall to stay out of the way. Most were confused by her words about her beating down gears, as her entrance made her seem a bit more like an antagonist, leaving many unsure who the enemy was.

Ky stepped beside Sol, Thunderseal sparking in his hand. "You're going to have to deal with me, as well."

Testament bubbled up from the ground at Sol's other side, reforming his scythe again. "And me as well."

"Hey! Count me in, too!" A voice rang from the top of the stairs, and Johnny leapt onto the banister, sliding along it all the way to the ground floor.

Sol wasn't impressed by their display, knowing all too well that none of them really could stand up to her.

"So, the boys all want to play? I hope you have the stamina to keep up. I hate dissappointments," she mocked the group, to which her hat laughed at them as well.

"Shut up and let's get this started," Sol answered back, his mindset once more in his battle state.

Heaven or Hell...

LET'S ROCK!