CHAPTER PETIT 2

Outside, on the outskirts of the remains of the city of Berlin……….

Rie was hiding somewhere near the pile of unused boxes. She was holding her bow straight up in the air.

"Where is it?" she thought. She was using her Gear powers to detect the location of the Accent Core. By generating her powers into her bow, it could act as a compass for her.

"Argh, damn it." she let go of her bow. It fell onto the ground, the top tip of it pointing to the North East.

"Aww, whatever. That should be it. The core went this far already? I wonder who got hold of it? Anyway, I must get hold of it quickly before he gets to open it."

Just then, a claw attached to a long chain came flying towards her. She startled upon noticing it, grabbed her bow and leaped aside, just in time as the claw crushed through the boxes, smashing all of it. Rie rolled to the side, and knelt down. She turned towards the attacker, who pulled back the chain back to her missing right arm into her sleeve.

"Kono yaro!" Rie exclaimed at her. Baiken was back again for her.

"Omae…" Baiken spat the hay out of her mouth. "You just don't learn from your mistake, don't you?"

"Atashi?" Rie thought of laughing out, but she tried to hold back her laughter. "It is you who should learn from your mistakes. After seeing your friends losing to me, is it still not enough for you to stop fighting me, and instead team up with me to obtain the Accent core together?"

"I don't give a damn. The only thing I know now is to stop you and your foul plans. And to pay you what you did to them." her only left hand grabbed her blade tightly.

"Is it a crime to rebuild the glory of our nation Japan? I guess you don't really care about it. What's the use of Bushido if you don't know how to apply it?"

"Urusai!!!" Baiken yelled back. "Kisama….you just don't know the feeling of losing the most important things in your life! That's what makes you eager to go for more. And when you reach such heights, you won't stop, and instead crave for more."

"Oh, kowai desu." Rie jeered back at her. "I already know the location of the core. And I'm gonna get it. If you think you're stronger than your friends, then stop me, with all your will and might. There will be no mercy." she held her bow upfront and was about to take an arrow from her container….

"Boke!!! Then you'll pay for it!" Baiken charged at her. Rie grabbed her arrow and fired a swift shot at her. Baiken dodged it, and drew out her blade and slashed at her. Rie blocked the blade with her bow, and with a small swift command from her lips, the knives at the edges of her bow pointed out. She pushed her back and it was her turn to try and slashed her with her bow.

"Hmmphh." Baiken flipped a tatami out of nowhere and blocked the knife. Rie pulled back the bow, leaped behind and shot a few lightning arrows from her bow, without using any arrows again.

"Damn." Baiken was in desperate situation now.

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Back to Dark City, quite some time already……..

Faust was the next one to lay on the ground, in a state of being defeated. His bag was half-opened next to him, with his umbrella broken not far away. He was about to use his own ultimate remedy, but couldn't use it on time before the final attack from I-no took him down.

"See? Didn't I say earlier? He's down already." I-no stepped on his head, as she looked at Fanny, who couldn't hold back her tears any longer. I-no rustled a bit on his head, but the paper bag covering his head wouldn't budge.

"What's with this idiot? Since you're like this now, just show me your baldy head! Come on, move the dumb bag aside!" she kicked his head aside

"Stop it!" Fanny yelled from her spot. Tears were still flowing down her cheek. She tried to put on a brave face and stared at I-no. "That's enough. I won't let you humiliate the doctor anymore!"

"Oh?" I-no gestured. She held her guitar firmly over her again. "Well then, you are next."

"Then bring it on. I'll do anything for the doctor." Fanny held up a giant needle out of nowhere.

Ho? I'm scared. I don't want my flu shot." I-no provoked with such kiddy joke. "Yeah, just kidding. Needles don't scare me at all." her fingers reached out to the guitar strings. .

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Somewhere not clearly specified…….

Bridget went on with her adventures looking for bounties. He walked care freely down the lane whistling as he carried Roger with him.

"Argh, it's getting bored. No one to get rid off." he let out a sigh. And then at an instant, his eyes caught hold of someone in training at the side of the park. A guy who was putting on some moves with his chain and sickle attached together. AXL LOW!!!!!!!!

"Hey!" Bridget called out to him. Axl startled, then turned back and noticed him.

"Huh? A girl?" he thought. "Mango mango. This must be my lucky day." he went to him.

"Yo, missy. What's up? Bored?"

"I'm not a girl. I'm a bounty hunter." said Bridget.

"Oh?" Axl rubbed his forehead in surprise. "Oh, okay. Boy, what's up?"

"Have you seen any wanted person around?"

"Huh? There's no one here, you know. Can't you see it?" he gestured. "Just me. Yeah, just Axl around here having his habitual training."

"Oh." Bridget's face became gloomy.

"You're bored?" Axl looked at him.

"There's no one around here for quite some time. I want to prove more of my manhood."

"Look. Maybe we can have some tea while looking for wanted people, you say. If I'm not mistaken, there's a restaurant not far from here. So what do you think?"

"Oh? But, you have to pay." he said.

"No problem. I still got money from the last fight. It's a Chinese restaurant I think. So let's go. We can chat the whole day as well. I want to know more about this era." he walked on.

"Wait for me." Bridget went after him, still cuddling Roger with him and his yoyo in his other grasp.

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Marseille…………….

Outside an abandoned building……..

Sol Badguy, again. He walked to the back alley of the building. As soon as he reached a dark alley, he stopped.

"I'm surprised that you'll be taking interest again to this kind of event." he said, referring to someone in the dark.

"That's what you'll say. You're still the same old man, with the same attitude." a short old man emerged from the darkness of the wall side and walked up to him; Kliff Undersn.

"So you know about the core too?" asked Sol.

"I may be this old, yeah, an old hop now, but I still know about all this things that we part of the Order used to guard as part of the measures to counter the Gears." Kliff rubbed his beard. "You sure did well the last time you took down Justice."

"So what?" Sol leaned back towards the wall. "What does that have to do with now?"

"Of course it has to do with now. It's not a surprise, since you left the Order at the wrong time. I'm surprised you would come to me for some advice about the core. This is part of heaven's feel or a blessing from god, that I still get to see you. "

"Oh?" Sol looked at him. "Spit it out. Let's go straight to the point. I need to be quick before Zato finds out how to open it."

"Zato? The assassin? He got it already?"

"Yeah. So what do you know?"

"There is one thing I'm a little worried, to be honest." replied Kliff. "I've been having these strange feelings for quite some time, but I really hoped it's not true."

"What do you mean? Could it be…..?"

"Yeah, it is. I'm afraid I'm having the bad feeling that Justice may still be alive, and hiding somewhere out there, waiting for the right time to strike again."

"Justice………." muttered Sol. "still alive…….. You mean Justice may also be hunting for the Core?"

"Precisely." he rubbed his beard.