Guilty Gear: The Missing Link

by Piccolo Sky

Novelization of Guilty Gear: The Missing Link. Complete.

25. Father and Mother

"Father and Mother"

---

Axl heard an abrupt shift behind him and the sound of touching.

"Eek!" A sharp voice rang.

The voice was so loud and sudden that everyone in the ground snapped around and stared out into the blackness, expecting some new horror to come forth and attack. Axl himself drew his sickles out…and in the pitch blackness the faintest lines of a red glow began to light up the scythes. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to provide decent illumination. At any rate, all of them froze momentarily and waited for something more.

A sigh was heard in the blackness.

"Sorry." May's voice went out. "I forgot we were clear when I brushed against the wall."

Axl rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He wasn't alone in the group.

"It's a good thing I can't see you, girl…" Millia's annoyed voice rang out. "Are we almost out?"

"It should be just up ahead." Chipp's voice returned. "Come on."

Axl groaned, and then turned and followed after Chipp once again. He was beginning to grow a little tired of being in this pitch black labyrinth. Like May had said, they were finally clear of the roots. Chipp couldn't hear them anymore as they went along. Nevertheless, they stayed tied together so that no one could get lost. And Axl wouldn't feel for certain that he was clear of strange devices and dangers until he was out of there. It was likely he wouldn't truly feel safe until he was off this godforsaken island that had long since ceased to be home. For now, however, he just wanted to be out of this damn shaft.

Two more minutes passed as the troop walked onward. They had stopped weaving one way and another now. It seemed as if they were finally back into straight corridors. Maybe this was a real sewer or subway. However…Chipp was also slowing down. It could have been for any one of a number of reasons…but Axl hoped that it wasn't the reason he dreaded…that he was beginning to forget where he was. He did keep walking along without pausing as they continued, although he did slow down considerably at some points. And he didn't lead them back the way they came at any point.

At last, Axl felt the ninja halt in front of him. He nearly ran into him due to his abrupt stopping, but the Brit was able to halt just before impact. May, however, ran right into him with such force that he nearly stepped up and crashed into Chipp anyway. He frowned a bit at this, but said nothing else and didn't bother looking. He couldn't see her or show disapproval anyway. He heard Millia and Potemkin stop soon afterward.

"Why did we stop?" The woman immediately asked.

There was a pause of silence in front of Axl.

"…I think we're here." Chipp answered a moment later.

Axl didn't like the fact that he was somewhat hesitant in saying that.

"Um…there's nothing here." May spoke up.

"It would be over our heads. He lowered me down…" Again, Chipp was hesitant.

"…Are you sure?" Millia asked in a rather sharp voice.

No answer. A moment later, and Axl felt the hairs along his wrist shift, as if further down the line they were doing something.

"Ow!" Chipp yelped.

"Answer me."

"I think!" Chipp yelled in reply, growing irritable. "For God's sake, I was practically unconscious!"

A sigh responded. "Fine. Number two in the line…can you make any light?"

"The name is Axl." The Brit answered grumpily.

"Can you do it or not?"

The man frowned in response and sighed. "…Ain't no way I'm losin' this shirt. Might be the only shirt left in this damn time period with a Union Jack on it…" With that in mind, Axl began to go for his pant legs instead. With something of a grumble, he manipulated his scythe over it and cut a bit, so that he was able to yank off the rest of one leg with a tug. Still sighing, he held it in front of him and focused his power on it. It took a moment, but eventually a flame began to ignite.

There wasn't much time, and just holding a burning strip of cloth didn't make for much of a torch. And so, the man immediately held it up as best as he could and waved it around the vicinity.

It was fairly wide open here, and Axl was glad to see that everything around him seemed to be part of an empty storm sewer. It meant that they were indeed clear of whatever Testament's "evil lab" was doing… However, that was where the good news ended. Axl could see just in front of Chipp, and noticed that one of the reasons he had been forced to halt was that the corridor ended. All that was in front of them now was a wall with a tiny drain underneath. They had a somewhat high ceiling above them…but there was no sign of any ladder. It stretched up about twenty feet before terminating against metal. There were no entrances.

Axl shook the fabric once as it got near his fingertips, and let it fall to the ground. It smoldered out and vanished a moment later. As a result, no one was able to see Millia look down and glare at Chipp.

"…I think your skills are a bit lacking."

"Hey, if you don't like it, then by all means go back the way we came, back into that corridor full of those damn vines, and find your own way out." Chipp snapped back. "I didn't have to wait up for the rest of you!"

"Let's all just calm down a bit." Axl spoke up with a sigh. "Arguing ain't gonna help anything. We can start working our way back until we find a ladder that leads up to some manhole. Or we can get our big bloke chum from Zepplin or whatever to pound a way…"

A moment later, and Axl cut himself off as he and the others drew back in sudden pain. The fire light had been gentle and monochrome, and so they had managed to adjust well enough to that. However…a much brighter, whiter, and blinding light suddenly burst forth from above. The people below immediately shielded themselves and winced in response. A sizzling sound began to burn overhead along with the light, sounding like some sort of electricity. Axl held back until his pupils had shrank a bit more before he was finally able to look above and toward the source.

What he saw was blinding and forced him to look away rather quickly…but he was puzzled by what he managed to glimpse. It almost looked like some sort of blade gleaming with electricity. He was forced to look away now…and soon after he began to pull back further as well. White, molten fragments seemed to be dripping from the ceiling. The electric blade was so hot that it appeared to be melting it. The others saw this and quickly moved to the sides. Based on seeing it, Axl realized that whoever had that device, or whatever had it, was cutting through the ceiling with it.

Axl managed to weakly look out and to Chipp, who was also shielding himself and holding back. "I don't suppose that's something standard in this century, is it?"

Chipp looked to him with confusion at that, and Axl moaned inwardly. He had never actually told them that he was from the past. It didn't really seem to be a priority message, after all. And it would only confuse things more than they needed to be. However, as he thought about it longer, the blade's sizzling suddenly cut off. A moment later, and all five jumped as a piece of metal fell down twenty feet and slammed loudly right in their midst. Axl himself almost yelped as he recoiled, and turned his eyes to what had come down.

The first thing he noticed was that he was able to see it in the first place. Light was now coming from overhead. It was dim, but it provided enough illumination to easily look around oneself. The piece of the metal itself was surrounded with a gleaming edge, which was rapidly cooling. It didn't take much for Axl to realize this was where the blade had come through. At any rate, the metal was simple looking and seemed to have a layer of concrete on top of it. It was also cut in a vague circle.

Axl knew it was rather unlikely…but based on what he had just seen, he began to wonder none the less. Was someone trying to save them?

The Brit stepped forward, moving into the light, and looked to the ceiling. The others soon began to follow behind. Their own bodies were slowly illuminated as they looked up and out. Far overhead, some sort of blue glow from a distance was somehow seeping in through the circle shape in the ceiling. The sky was dark now. It was night, and a cloudy one at that. They could see the source of the blue glow was illuminating some of the lower clouds, but other than that they could see nothing. A cool wind was blowing down into the sewer. Far in the distance…Axl thought he could heard some sort of clashing or ringing sound…

As Axl tried to place its identity…someone suddenly popped his head over the edge and looked down. He and the others instinctively drew back a bit, but then came to a halt and looked up. Normally, he would have been overshadowed by the dim light beyond him and impossible to see. However, they had been in the darkness for some time, and their eyes had adjusted quite a bit to pick up dark shapes. As a result, Axl and the others were able to look up and see who it was.

It appeared to be a young blond man, even younger than Axl. He was wearing some sort of white and blue uniform. It was hastily mended in places, and there was dried blood on its collar as well as his face. However, he could see little in the way of fresh wounds. A few older ones were there, but nothing severe.

He didn't appear to be the most friendly type. His look was dark and serious, far too much for someone his age, it seemed. Yet before he could say anything else, he heard something distract him from his thoughts.

"Terrific. An IPF officer."

Axl turned his head around in confusion to the sound of that. He soon found himself looking at Millia. She had suddenly turned irritable, it appeared. Her teeth were grit and her arms were crossed, and she looked up to the man with considerable annoyance. Axl crooked his eyebrow at that. He didn't quite understand her reaction. What was IPF? To tell the truth, he didn't know. He had been struggling to catch up on past history until now, and he couldn't keep a bead on every new anagram that entered his mind. He just had the basic assumption that any three letter group was bad. That usually turned out to be a good bet.

Millia, however, wasn't the only one who was changing. Axl also noticed that Chipp was starting to sweat a bit, and look rather uncomfortable. May's face was beginning to tighten as she grasped her anchor handle. The big one also seemed to clench his fists. It looked like they were all spoiling for a fight. If so, then Axl was even more uncomfortable. Right now, he didn't care for any more brawls.

The two sides were silent for a while, much longer than Axl thought was necessary, which only heightened his unease. Eventually, the one overhead broke the silence. He seemed very reluctant, however. He was looking over them all, in particular Millia and May, and seemed to be regretting something. Yet in the end, it seemed as if he swallowed it down and spoke.

"…Is anyone down there injured?"

That was some relief to Axl. It seemed as if he was there to help at least. Yet before he could relax fully, he heard Millia retort in a cold snap.

"No, we're fine. Everything's fine down here. We're having the time of our lives. So why don't you go back and assist your superiors in your police business?"

This made the man overhead stiffen, it seemed. A wave of anger almost seemed to go through him.

Axl couldn't believe the woman. He didn't care if she was crazy and had helped them out. She wasn't going to blow this. Immediately, he stepped forward and let out a nervous laugh. "Uh…heh heh. She's just kidding. Little joke she's been working on." He answered, gesturing back to her and seeming to wave his hands in a way to indicate, "ignore her". "Um…officer…do you have any rope or something you can use to pull us out of here?"

The man once again hesitated. Yet again, he seemed reluctant, but he managed a nod. "…Yes. Hold on." His head vanished again.

Immediately, Axl snapped around and looked to the others. "What the hell is the matter with you guys? You want to get stuck down…"

The Brit soon trailed off. As he turned and began to talk to them…he noticed something. Millia was looking cold and standoffish. Both Chipp and Millia were seeming nervous. The giant seemed unusually cold and grim. On seeing all of this…he realized that something was wrong. Something he had missed big time.

"You must not have that good of a memory." Millia answered back…although her voice was quieter and not nearly as biting this time. "I told you before that I was an assassin. And last I looked, killing anyone for a livelihood and not being a member of the army is against the law. And I'm more than famous enough to have my picture on a few wanted posters that an International Police Force officer can pick up."

Axl paused here, and then suddenly raised his eyebrows in a knowing look. "Oh…ah…that's what it meant…"

"I've been busy myself." Chipp threw in. "I'm not a murderer. I'm exacting retribution for the death of my sensei and ridding St. Louis of a few scumbags. Yet I don't think the police will see the difference."

May stuck out a thumb toward herself. "May of the Jellyfish Air Pirates. 'Nuff said."

"And as for our large friend back here," Millia indicated behind her. "Zepp is an aggressive military country. They see someone like him and he'll be thrown in jail for interrogation to find out what Zepp wanted. And since he's a slave soldier, they'll probably detonate his collar by remote before he has a chance to talk. Bottom line: none of us are too eager to get help from an IPF officer."

Axl stared on silently. Yet even as he did…a rustle was heard overhead. He turned his head back up, and was just in time to see what looked like some sort of old plastic tubing come down. A bit of it overhung and hit the bottom.

"That's all I can find." The officer said from overhead. "I've tied it down up here and I'm helping hold it. Hurry up. We're all in danger."

Axl looked away from overhead and around him. No one moved. Millia was the only one with dark expression. The rest of them were hesitant, but stood their ground. They were all silent and offered nothing else.

"Come on!" The officer called down again. "Move! We don't have much time here!"

Axl looked back down to the others. Still no change. They stood silently. He looked around a few times, but then looked back up to the tubing and gave a shrug.

"Well, if none of you will take advantage of my chivalry, then I'll go-"

"And what is supposed to make us think we won't be in even more danger by climbing your rope?" Millia cut off, once again ignoring Axl.

The officer overhead hesitated here, and frowned slightly. He paused a moment, but then let out a sigh.

"…Listen, I don't care what you think about me right now. The important thing is to get out of here. There's going to be an airstrike on this island soon, and it's going to destroy all life in this area to get the Gear. If you want to live, you need to get to a minimum safe distance in…" The officer paused here, and looked to his gauntlet. He seemed to have a timepiece there. "Twenty minutes."

Axl's eyebrows raised considerably there. He turned to the others and looked for their reactions. May and Chipp now began to look a bit more uncomfortable. It was likely the slave soldier from Zepp hadn't understood any of it. As for Millia, however, she stood her ground.

"Again…why should I think I'd be in any less danger from climbing your rope?" She asked. "I'm not childish enough to think that you would make up a lie to lure us out like this, but I'm not stupid enough to think that you haven't recognized me. You've probably recognized most of us. You IPF types are very good at recognizing the most wanted. You're also very good at increasing your reputation by taking out the worst on the lists. And from my experiences, it wouldn't matter if it was Ragnarok right now. You still wouldn't be able to pass up the chance of nailing at least two major criminals. Especially you, Captain Ky Kiske."

May's eyebrows raised even higher there. Chipp snapped around to Millia as well. Even the giant seemed to react to the name. Once again, Axl found himself left in the dark. If he had read that name, then he forgot it by now. He was forced to sigh and take a back seat yet again. As for the officer, he showed no change and continued to stare down.

"Whoa, wait a minute…that's Ky Kiske?" May asked aloud. "As in…the Ky Kiske who ended the war?" A pause. "…I always thought he was older…"

"There can't be two people with blades like that." Millia answered, still looking to the officer. "I know you never let a criminal go. So what's to guarantee that you simply won't run us through the back once we get up there?"

The man, who Axl assumed was indeed this Ky, sighed again in response, and rolled his eyes.

"Alright…you're right about some things. If this was any other day and any other circumstance, I might indeed arrest you all as soon as you were out of there." He admitted, his tone growing in annoyance. "Yet this isn't. Currently, the greatest threat the world has ever known is wrecking havoc. He's killing the only true target I want to bring in alive, as well as the man who was my greatest mentor. Stopping him is my greatest priority, and ensuring he doesn't escape the air strike blast. I'm also determined to make sure that no innocents die as a result of the air strike. For all of your distrust and chagrin, I might actually be tempted to walk away from here. But I risked a court martial and disobeyed a direct order just so that I could find you and get you out of here, so I won't walk away now. Now…either get onto that rope and climb out of that sewer, or I'll jump down, knock you out, and then drag you out of it myself. But one way or another, I'm leading you to a minimum safe distance."

May's eyes widened a bit at this statement.

"Maybe he is Ky Kiske…"

Axl looked over to Millia. The woman hesitated a bit longer. Her gaze stayed focused on Ky. However…it didn't get any worse. It seemed to grow frustrated and contemplative. A few moments went by as she seemed to battle it out mentally. They stretched on to seconds. Once it came to this point, Axl frowned. He went for his wrist, grabbed her hair, and began to yank it off.

"'K this." He grumbled. "The rest of you can stay here and get flash fried. I took you far enough already." After a moment longer, he finished yanking off the hair, and went over to the rubber tubing. A moment later, and he grabbed on and began to hoist himself up.

May and Chipp paused a second longer, and looked to each other. Then, both of them broke down and reluctantly began to move behind the Brit.

"If worse comes to worse, I think we can take him..." May said with a shrug.

This seemed to break Millia. She frowned a bit more, let out a scowl, but then sighed and stepped forward to grab the tubing. As a result, the slave soldier let out an uneasy sound, but then stepped forward as well. If the rest were leaving, so was he.

"Fine…" Milla grumbled in surrender. "Anything that gets me off this island quicker is a blessing."

---

Sol stared back at Justice, looking unaffected by the talon positioned over his brow. However, he cracked a small smile in the end.

"Kliff told me he wanted to die at the hand of a great warrior. Naturally, I couldn't let you kill him."

Justice didn't answer. He stared on at the man for a moment longer.

Then, in a flash, Sol leapt back two feet. Justice himself appeared to dematerialize and reappear right in front of him. However, unlike Sol, who quickly shifted back into position and braced himself again, Justice was crouched and moving a hand with talons outstretched down in front of him, moving to slice open his target. But on seeing Sol had left…he stopped before it ever reached there. Once he did that, he calmly rose to his feet again. The talons closed into a fist and went to his side.

"Still playing the overconfident fool, Frederick? You know how well that served you last time…"

Sol's eyes were narrowed for a moment…but then suddenly widened. Quickly, he darted back again, as Justice seemed to instantly appear right next to his head. An armored elbow shot out and smashed into the air where Sol's head had been. The man abruptly flipped backward a moment later, as Justice once again disappeared and reappeared right in front of him. He crouched as his talons shot out and cut a rift into the ground, again hitting only air instead of Sol. The helmet looked up, and the eyes beneath it narrowed. A moment later, and Sol was rapidly backflipping as fast as he could. Staying on his heels…or rather continuously appearing where he had been…was Justice. Each time, a hand, foot, or tail slammed down against the concrete over his last position.

At last, a particular point came in which Sol leapt back, and Justice once again appeared and swung his foot out for his head. However…Sol hadn't fully moved back this time. Instead, he dropped down backward and landed on one hand. A moment later, and he grit his teeth and swung himself around, aiming a sweep kick for Justice's legs. The Command Gear saw this coming, and quickly leapt into the air to avoid it. Now seeing Justice occupied, Sol quickly swung his legs around further, put them underneath him, and quickly lunged forward with his sword in a stabbing motion. Unfortunately, the Gear was still too fast. Justice managed to land back on his feet and swing out an arm to deflect the stab before it could land.

Sol quickly swerved his head to one side to miss Justice's next blow. Before the Gear could follow up, he quickly advanced with two slashing strikes. He powered up the Fireseal to maximum as he did so…but, unfortunately, much as it had last time they fought…Justice's gauntlets still protected against each strike. He had to sidestep a moment later to avoid an uppercut powerful enough to unhinge his jaw, and then perform another backflip as Justice followed that up with another backhand. The Gear turned his head to him afterward, and immediately leapt and lunged at Sol, raising a hand and outstretching talons once again. Sol had barely managed to land from the first backflip before his eyes widened, and he quickly did so again to avoid the slash impaling him.

As Justice landed, Sol quickly tightened his grip and rushed forward to give him a slash. Again, no such luck. The Gear raised an arm and blocked against the blow…and then lashed out much as Sol had in a tripping kick for his legs. Sol was forced to leap up as soon as the clash was blocked. Yet even this was planned. Justice lashed out with his tail almost the moment that Sol was in midair. The appendage spiked and headed straight for his chest. Sol's eyes widened again as he saw this, and knew he was powerless to dodge. As a result…he did the only thing he could think of. He quickly reached out and seized the tail with one hand. Then he tightened his biceps and twisted himself around it, just missing it impaling him.

Justice seemed to sneer at this, and angrily turned to the side and thrashed his tail once. The snap was so severe that Sol nearly cried out in pain as his body was snapped along with it. His body was shaken so violently it felt like his brain was being crushed within his skull. He lost his strength, and soon he was flung off of the tail and across the battlefield.

Moments before impact, however, and Sol managed to recover. Using what appeared to be nothing short of superhuman, he appeared to somehow repel off of the air itself and flip his body around, going from a headfirst sprawl into a crouch position, aimed back at Justice. He landed a moment later, splaying himself out with both legs and one arm on the ground, while the other kept the Fireseal up and at his side, and after dragging for a moment he came to a halt.

Yet again…Sol had no time to relax. Sweat burst forth from his brow as, in the blink of an eye, Justice was on him. Letting out the smallest gasp, he turned to the side and avoided an axe kick from the Command Gear, which obliterated the fragments of pavement where he was, sending bits of rock everywhere and plunging a hole two feet deep into the ground. Again, he was forced to leap and dodge back as Justice swung around and flashed out his talons for him. The force of the wind that he cut stung him regardless, due to its sheer ferocity, but he held on. And it was a good thing too…for soon Justice was lunging at him with both talons outstretched. Gritting his teeth, putting both hands on his sword, Sol lashed out with his blade. He managed to catch one with his sword, and had enough force to deflect it to the side so that his blade could catch the other. After that, he planted his feet and held. Justice did the same, and loomed his larger size over him. The two ground against each other.

"I've had a chance to think about you for six years, Sol." The Gear sneered. "What about you? Did you think about my generous proposal from our last meeting?"

Sol's eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched. "You mean your offer to make me your brainwashed slave? I think I'll pass."

"You have little choice." Justice responded. "My servant…or my kill."

Seeming to almost move instantaneously, one of Justice's arms left Sol's blade. A moment later…and it drove forward for his chest. Sol barely managed to catch it, and out of instinct alone shifted his blade to his stomach. If he hadn't, he would have had his insides ruptured by the power. As it was, his arms went into agony as they were nearly sprained, and the force of impact against his sword rocked the ground and shattered the air. His own body was forced back violently. He somehow managed to stay standing, but he cut two long rifts into the ground where his boots drug. Justice immediately tightened his other hand into a fist, and then leaned back just slightly. As Sol felt his arms slowly begin to throb…he saw the Command Gear aim his tail at him and lash it out with killing force. His eyes widened yet again at the speed and ferocity of his opponent. It was more than he remembered it. He had to sidestep to avoid it. He didn't have time for a leap on this one.

Another hiss seemed to come from the Command Gear…and an instant later he vanished. Sol stiffened…but then felt cold sweat shoot down his spine. He just managed to sense the air shifting behind him. Justice had reappeared there. Quickly, Sol spun around to the side, just in time to miss being impaled by Justice's tail. The Gear scowled again, and once more disappeared. Sol didn't wait. He broke into a run…and nearly was bowled over by fist sized rocks as Justice's body came crashing down against the ground next to him, both feet out and intended for his head. A second later, and he ducked quickly to avoid Justice's tail taking his head off as he appeared at his side. After that, he was forced to grind his feet to a halt and force himself to leap back as Justice reappeared in front of him, swinging both fists down to pound an eight-foot diameter circle deeper into the ground.

Sol was growing very sweaty now, and he could feel himself breathing harder. But he flipped back none the less additional times, once more putting distance between himself and Justice. This time…the Command Gear didn't pursue. As Sol came to a halt and aimed his sword in front of him again, his opponent slowly rose to full height out of his hole again. The visor on his helmet looked to Sol, and seemed to glare angrily at him.

"Won't come to me, Frederick?" He sneered. "Then I shall send part of myself to you."

Sol stiffened on hearing that. He knew what was coming next.

The large bulges on Justice's shoulder armor suddenly gave a hiss. A moment later…and two rectangular areas suddenly flipped up and out from the main body. There were three circular holes in each one, right on top of the other. Sol tightened his jaw and braced himself. A moment later…and each one of the holes gave a hiss. When they did, objects came flying out from them, one after the other. A line of smoke followed from each one, and each object sailed straight for Sol.

Missiles.

Bracing himself, Sol turned and began to run for it. The first of the missiles impacted where he was, and sent out a large blast of fire and debris. Some of the stone whipped up and hit Sol in the back. It also unsteadied his steps and blasted him with heat and air. But he ignored the pain and distraction and kept running. Another missile pounded the ground behind him a second later, and another along the path he was taking. Before the last three impacted, Justice fired another six. And another six after that. Soon, the Command Gear was calmly standing, while Sol was running for his life.

The parts of the arena floor that were still intact were now destroyed. As eruptions of flames and debris went up all around Sol, he was stretching his already weary body to the limit. He was running, jumping, dodging, and moving in every way possible to get away from the deadly projectiles. Each one was far more powerful than a missile of equivalent size and human construction. They were charged with magical energy, making them that much more dangerous. Sol continued to get stung and smacked with debris, but there was nothing else for it. He had to keep running. The shots were not wild. Each one was detonating on his heels, and each one threatened to knock him to the ground to make him easily prey for the follow up.

At last, the missile fire died down. Sol heard the sounds cutting off. He dodged two more missiles after this, but there was one final one still after him. Here…he suddenly stopped and wheeled around to face it. The missile, indifferent to this, continued to come up to him. The man looked at it a moment, quickly calculating the warhead angle and velocity, and where the explosive charge likely was. He only had a split second to do this…but that was all he needed. As the missile came in…he shifted to the side and sliced out with the Fireseal. A moment later, and the blade neatly cut through metal. The missile immediately fell into two parts, the engine firing cutting out, but did not detonate. When it did, Sol quickly reached out and seized the explosive part…

Right before he felt horrible, mind-numbing pain shoot through the back of his skull. Because it hit his optic region, he was blinded temporarily as his body was shoved forward face first. A moment later, and his chin was ground against the smoldering, smoking debris that littered the ground of the arena. His wound was split open again and his bones came a bit closer to fracturing. His senses rattled violently yet again.

Somehow, however, Sol shoved his arms down and pushed up. As a result, he somehow sprung his body off the ground, up into a flip, and then landed back on his feet. He quickly turned around and held his sword in front of him with one hand; putting himself at a profile and concealing his other arm. He ignored the fact that he was in one of the smoldering areas, and that his shoes were burning as well as his skin from having been exposed. He ignored the fresh blood dripping from his face too. He focused entirely behind him. There, fists back, one leg out, and strattling the ground, was Justice.

The Gear had used the missile barrage as a diversion. As soon as Sol's back was turned, he had used his incredible speed to get behind him and give him a flying kick to the back of his head.

Justice soon relaxed, and began to straighten up again.

"Then if you won't join me, tell me something I haven't been able to figure out for these past six years." He said as he stood to full height, and began to exert his electricity beneath him to grow higher. "Why is it that you can resist me? I'm aware of my capabilities. Even Gears that proceed me should have been subservient to me. What keeps you from being so?"

Sol kept his eyes narrow, but managed a small smile again.

"What's life without some mystery?"

With that, Sol snapped out of the profile and revealed his other arm. Here was something that, based on Justice's hesitation, he didn't expect.

The missile warhead was in Sol's hand…and he immediately flung it at Justice so quickly that even the Command Gear was unable to respond before the weapon struck him and immediately detonated.

Sol brought up his free arm and shielded himself as a wave of heat and wind rushed over him. The light was blinding even to one with mastery of magical flame, and he was forced to squint as Justice vanished into a fireball. He winced as the deafening eruption rang out over the landscape. However, through this all, he stood his ground. He kept his hand on his blade. As soon as he was able to, he lowered his arm and looked back into the flaming cloud. After a few seconds, it died down from being a pillar of fire to being more smoke and smoldering. He struggled to look through this, and try to see what had become of Justice…

He soon found out a second later.

A hulking, unblemished armored form lunged out of the smoke and smashed a fist into Sol's skull.

The man wasn't even able to gasp as he saw the smoke and fire seem to melt harmlessly off of Justice. The armor wasn't even scorched. And once he struck…he could focus on nothing. The blow was too powerful. It felt as if his head turned to jam and his teeth were cracking as the fist smashed into his head. The bridge of his nose fractured, and blood began to flow from his nostrils. His body went limp, and flung backward through the air, twisting into an arc…

Yet before it could go too far…Justice reached out and seized him by the headband. With a violent yank, the Command Gear drew him back, and buried his fist deep into his stomach. Although Sol was too dazzled to even be aware of this, his eyes bulged and his mouth turned into an O as blood erupted from it. As soon as the Command Gear pulled his fist out, he collapsed on all fours. Somehow he held there, but he wheezed and hacked as he struggled to get his wind back.

"You fool." Justice spat. "You think I would be stupid enough to have weapons that could be used against me?"

The Gear immediately raised one arm and flexed it, projecting his armored elbow. In another moment, he would have driven it down on Sol's back with the intention of fracturing the spine…

Yet to Justice's surprise…Sol suddenly snapped back to life. Abruptly, his body leapt back upward and sent his own skull sailing for Justice's helmet. A moment later, and the two connected. Although the smacking sound was rather loud and painful to the ear…the armor sustained no damage. Nevertheless, the Command Gear actually staggered back a step from being hit. His arms relaxed and his palms opened, further accenting how off guard he had been caught by that maneuver.

After a moment, the Command Gear looked back down, and saw that Sol was back on his feet and brandishing the Fireseal in both hands. His face was tight again, and his eyes blazed with passion. They even looked like they had traces of redness inside their retinas…a fact that Justice didn't miss.

"Well, well…" He spoke aloud. "What have we here?"

Sol didn't answer. Instead, he immediately advanced on Justice. He was moving even faster and more powerfully this time. The Command Gear was forced to step back twice and twist his body to avoid the first two slashes. After that, he brought up his gauntlets and deflected, first a slash for the neck, and then a slash for the legs. After deflecting the second, however, the Command Gear suddenly snapped around and leapt up, launching a flying roundhouse kick for Sol's head. The man answered by quickly, and seemingly without exhaustion, throwing himself to the ground and letting the leg go overhead. However…Justice was following up with his tail. Yet as the armored appendage sailed for Sol, the man answered by holding up his sword and blocking against it. Despite the power, he managed to hold it back. If that wasn't enough…Justice was a bit surprised to see him use the tail as a fulcrum and actually throw his body over it in a front flip and land on his feet. Now, to the Gear's shock, he was facing a profile of his back. He rushed in to slash, and it was only due to Justice catching this and swinging around in time that he managed to deflect a stab.

Even so, Sol had barely had his stab deflected when he used the momentum to swing around, spin his body, and then bring the sword back up at Justice's neck. The Command Gear appeared amazed again despite his stoic appearance, and quickly brought up a gauntlet to intercept this as well. A moment later, however…and the Gear let out a slight breath of air as Sol snapped up with both legs and delivered a double kick to his chest. Although no damage registered, again the Gear was forced backward. Not only that, but he recovered in a flash yet again to move in and stab for Justice's chest. The Gear was once again forced to deflect one stab, dodge another slice for his head, and block two more after that…

Justice began to grow irritated at this point. After blocking a third strike…one of his hands lashed out like a jolt and smashed Sol in the face. Again, his head snapped back and drug his body with it, and it appeared he would be flattened by it. However, to the Command Gear's surprise…the man abruptly recoiled back again, sword outstretched and aimed to stab him through the heart. Again, Justice was forced to move quickly to slam his palms on it in a blade catch. The visor looked to Sol, and saw that his eyes were no less passionate and dangerous, even though one was now starting to swell from a black eye, and the nose was leaking considerable blood.

The Command Gear abruptly ripped a hand off of the Fireseal and slashed out for Sol's head. The man quickly ducked to avoid it…and then stepped back up and launched out a kick to Justice's side. This time, the move was too fast to avoid it. Although it was doubtful it left much damage against that solid form, the blow nevertheless struck the side of the Gear and made him arch inward. A hiss went out from the mask, and quickly the Gear lunged forward and slashed again at Sol. Despite how tired he had to be getting, Sol flipped backward to avoid the first slash. Justice quickly moved in and sliced downward from head to toe where he landed. Yet Sol quickly sidestepped and avoided that as well. Then, to Justice's surprise, he advanced on him and began to slash furiously. The Command Gear was forced to stand and back up as his own gauntlets went out to meet the blade for each hit. This time…sparks flew off from each impact. One of their two weapons was being worn down from hitting the other. Sol himself moved in quick with rapid slashes and stabs, not giving the larger Gear the chance to recover. Justice soon was pinned in a way as he fought back against this assault…

Giving another hiss of anger, Justice finally smacked Sol's blade away and moved with incredible speed as he performed a flip kick. However, Sol once again was fast enough to move out of the way, and came back in stabbing almost before Justice had even landed again. The Command Gear quickly raised a gauntlet and smacked the stab away, then lashed out in a stabbing motion with his tail. This time, Sol managed to roll to the side, letting the tail scratch the stone debris. Again, he rushed forward with a stabbing motion. Glaring angrily at Sol for avoiding yet another hit, the Command Gear suddenly exerted his full levitation power. Instead of dodging in the traditional sense, Justice was launched into the air. The Fireseal stabbed uselessly where he had been. However, as soon as the sword had done this, Justice broke off his levitation ability, and let gravity pull him back down. A claw was extended and raised, and as the Command Gear fell, he zeroed in on Sol's face with the intent of ripping it off…

Yet despite the extra speed and power Justice had in this one…it was his biggest miss. Sol suddenly put on a burst of speed himself, and dodged out of the way. The claws had enough force in them to rip shreds of clothing off of Sol's leg from the sheer slipstream, but hit nothing but stone. And while Justice was still flailed out in his landing position with his claws outstretched, Sol ducked inward with his sword naked, charged it up powerfully enough to where it blazed with nearly-blinding light…and swung it at Justice's calf…

"WAA!"

The mixture of a hiss and a cry bellowed from beneath Justice's mask. The speed of the Gear immediately made him appear to vanish and reappear ten feet away from Sol…but it was too late. He had seen him coming too slowly. As his body reappeared in the same crouching position, something it felt made it turn its visor down to just below the right hip.

Edges gleaming from the heat of the Fireseal, a long cut was now in his armor. Sparks flew from several different sources of cut electronics. The visor stared at this for a moment…before reaching down with one of its long, taloned claws and dipped it into the cut within the armor. When it pulled it back…the tip was stained red.

The body of the Command Gear appeared to shudder for a moment, before it snapped its head back in Sol's direction. The man, still bursting with passion and energy, was already running in on Justice with his sword ready to thrust. The blood had already burned off of it. Feeling true anger for the first time in years…Justice rose to his full height, balled his hands into fists, and shrieked in rage.

"ENOUGH!"

Something rather unexpected happened on him saying this…something that, despite Justice's rage, did not escape his notice. Sol slowed. His feet so abruptly dropped speed that he nearly stumbled. The passion that was coursing through him suddenly seemed to simmer down. His grip on his sword seemed to weaken, and his arms started to lower.

Beneath the visor, the eyes of Justice raised in genuine surprise…before narrowing again as the Command Gear rushed forward.

Sol seemed to snap out of it a moment later, and his eyes widened as he saw Justice attack. But this time…it was too late. The heavy fist of Justice smashed into his stomach, crumpling his body around the blow. All strength nearly fled his body. The hulking Gear ripped him off of his feet with the blow, but didn't stop there. He continued to rush after him, carrying him on his fist as he did so, keeping him off of his feet and around his arm. Then…with great rage and mercilessness…Justice snapped his other fist back and pounded that deep into Sol's stomach. He yanked out the other at the exact same time, but Sol's eyes bulged even more as what air he had left rushed out of his lungs, and the rest of his strength evaporated.

Still Justice didn't stop. He kept rushing into Sol, and as he did he yanked his fists out and back in again and again. Each pound drove Sol's limp body onward, and each one kept him suspended in the sky as the Gear beat him. The flurry knotted and twisted Sol's insides and sent blood flowing freely from his mouth. After pounding him for what he thought was sufficient, Justice shot out an arm and hooked his talons into Sol's body, digging them under the outer skin. After that, he yanked him out of the air, snapped him around, and smashed him against the ground with enough power to break in a small crater. Yet still not satisfied, Justice yanked his bleeding body out, brandished his other talons, and proceeded to stab against Sol's chest with the inch-long weapons again and again, like a crazed knife murderer. After making Sol use what air was left in him to cry out in agony, and after leaving his bare chest a mess of blood and wounds, Justice yanked him back down in front of him, and then hooked his face and backhanded it immediately after with the same fist. As blood was sent flying from his mouth in both directions, the force of the blow yanked Sol back off of Justice's talons. He crashed against the ground a moment later. He didn't drag, but sprawled his body out and came to a halt. Only then did he lose the Fireseal, letting it fall out of his hand and to the ground.

Thus satisfied with Sol's pain, Justice raised up to full height and held his bleeding talons in front of him. A moment later…and blue flame erupted and consumed the fluid. The Command Gear kept his visor on Sol the whole time, expecting him to be dead by now.

Therefore, he was a bit intrigued when Sol actually began to moan and writhe on the ground. He coughed up more blood in a sputter, but kept shifting even after that. He seemed to be in considerable agony, but still wasn't totally crippled. He was down for now, but looked as if he could get up.

Justice, in response…smiled widely beneath the helmet.

"So you still live, eh? In that case, Frederick, this is your lucky day. It seems I won't have to destroy you after all."

Sol hacked once, but then cracked his one good eye open and looked back to Justice at this.

"I can't believe this." Justice continued with a snicker. "This whole time, I thought it might actually be part of your personality. Your genetics at the bare minimum. But that's it, isn't it? The only thing that separates you from being independent and being my minion is that strip of metal attached to your forehead, isn't it?"

Sol's pupils immediately shrank as he stiffened. His pallor seemed to dim.

"Don't bother denying it." Justice continued. "I saw what happened when I yanked you up by your headband. I must have loosened it. That's why the sudden surge in strength. But it also looks like that's the reason why I was able to get you to stop your charge. So all I have to do is rip that piece of clothing from your head, and you're mine? Superb…"

Justice immediately began to step forward. Sol slammed his mouth shut and swallowed, getting blood in it as well. He was weak, aching, and stiff…and much of his improved stamina had been beaten out of him. He had numerous internal and external injuries, and every move drove him into pain. Any normal human would have been dead. But still, he struggled to get to his feet. Yet he was too injured. He could barely move. He had barely managed to sit up when Justice closed half the distance

The Command Gear had just begun to raise one of his talons…when Sol heard a voice that made both him and Justice freeze.

"Justice!"

The Gear hesitated for a moment…before straightening up and putting his hands and arms to his sides. He looked almost like he was sighing. After that, he turned his head behind him, and stepped around to twist his body to do the same. This also allowed Sol to see who had spoken.

Sol's one good eye widened again, before his jaw tightened in anger.

Fool...I told you to get them out of here…

Ky Kiske was back in the stadium, and had his sword naked, sparking, and aimed for the Command Gear.

"So…your archaic sense of honor wouldn't let you flee from my wrath?" Justice called out to him.

"I never feared you." Ky snorted back, eyes narrowing and face full of anger.

"I seriously doubt that, boy." Justice mocked.

"I was just seeing to some of the civilians." Ky answered. "Command Gear Justice, by authority vested in me by IPF, I hereby execute a field sentence on you, as fits a criminal of your threat level and crimes. The punishment is death. Come forth and face true justice."

The Command Gear stared back a moment, but then simply let out a chuckle and turned away. Ky's eyes widened in surprise. It was obvious that he had expected Justice to attack…to rush forward and bat him away at the least. Yet he did nothing but ignore him, as if he wasn't even worth his time.

"A human dealing in justice…what an epic paradox…" The Command Gear sneered. "Away with you, boy. I have things to discuss with my newest servant." He took another step toward Sol.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ky challenged back, narrowing his gaze and preparing himself for battle again.

Justice stopped in mid-step, and then turned and looked behind him again. "Oh?"

"I've called in an air strike on this area." Ky responded, getting a bit of a dangerous smile himself as he did so. "They're less than ten minutes away now."

Sol's eye widened again, and he struggled to rise as anger began to paint his features.

Damnit, Ky! Don't tell him that!

But it was too late. The helmet of Justice seemed to rise, and he turned fully around again.

"We're using one of your own warheads." Ky continued. "Even you won't be able to survive. I have the only override for the strike. So if you want it, you're going to have to fight-"

Ky's voice suddenly broke.

One moment, he was looking at Justice from a far distance, seeing him looming over Sol.

The next…and the Gear was casting a shadow over Ky from one foot away.

"-me." Ky managed to let loose from his lips.

"Alright, human." The Command Gear sneered, extending his talons. "You wanted to fight me so badly…so now what?"

For a brief instant, Ky was petrified. The aura of Justice seized him and froze his heart. However, the instant passed. When it did, Ky was able to grit his teeth and remember his duty. He quickly brandished the Thunderseal in front of him, and aimed his blade for Justice's heart. He gave a small yell and rushed forward…

Justice answered by calmly extending a hand and grabbing the blade. He held it in place without flinching, and let Ky struggle to get it free and fight back. While he did, he calmly pulled back a hand and then gave Ky the back of it with talons outstretched.

The power was so great that Ky was thrown into the air and sent into spirals over himself before falling back down to the ground and crashing. Blood flew everywhere from four lacerations along the side of his head. Already, Ky was weak and dazzled from that move. As he lay there momentarily, Justice flung the Thunderseal away to the side, for Ky had let go of it when he was knocked back. He quickly pushed himself up onto all fours and looked to the side…only to see that Justice was already over him and ready to crush him with one foot. His eyes widened, and he rolled out from under it as fast as he could. Justice's foot smashed down and obliterated where he was…but Ky wasn't free. Justice appeared to instantly disappear and reappear on his left. Ky noticed this and turned…but it was too late. The tail thrashed out and caught Ky underneath the nose, sending him flying back and another eruption of blood.

Ky had barely managed to sprawl out on the ground before Justice's tail lashed out and wrapped around his waist. None too gently, the Gear yanked him back up and to him. Somehow, despite his face now being covered with blood and being dazzled, Ky formed fists. As soon as he was up in range, he swung out both hands and beat Justice on the side of the helmet. All he got for his effort were cuts and bruises on his knuckles from hitting the hard armor. Justice ended his thrashing by smashing his own helmet into Ky's brow, making the knight go limp in his grasp. He followed up by driving his knee into his stomach, bashing his head one way and the other with his fists, and then slashing open a large bloody X on his chest by flashing both sets of claws at once. As the red fluid flew everywhere, and Ky's uniform fell into stained tatters, the man craned his head back and yelled in agony.

"That uniform sickens me." Justice sneered. Immediately, he shot out a hand and seized Ky by one of his wrists. He yanked Ky's arm up, forcing the limp, beaten man to be upright, and then made his other hand into a fist.

"Where is your failsafe?"

Ky was panting from the sheer trauma his body was in, but he managed to look up with a dark glare at Justice. Vainly, he raised one leg and brought it down on Justice's knee. The intent was to break a kneecap. But unfortunately, the armor was too strong, and so was the Gear beneath.

"Wrong answer."

Justice tightened his fist…and instantly broke the wrist.

Ky's eyes went open wide, and he cried out in pain again. Justice let the arm fall. Blood was coming out from the wrist now, from where bone fragments had poked out. He seized Ky's other wrist next.

"Where is your failsafe?"

Ky was quivering now from the sheer amount of pain he was in…but he managed to glare at Justice.

"…Burn in Hell."

Snapping to life yet again, Ky swung both of his legs up with as much power as he could muster and gave Justice a blow beneath the chin. The head snapped back a whole inch before turning back to normal.

"You must not like your bones very much, so-called knight…"

Justice began to tighten his fist…

…Before suddenly relaxing, snapping his arm to one side, and flinging Ky away. As the man was thrown into the ground for a tumble, the Command Gear snapped around and looked behind him.

Sol had managed to get back to his feet, but that wasn't all. The Fireseal was in the ground next to him, and both of his hands held the two halves of Dragonslayer. One by the handle and one by the blade. He glared at Justice for a moment, before snapping a hand out and flinging the handle toward him. The blade was aimed outward and headed straight for the chest of the Gear.

In response, Justice planted his feet and flashed his talons. The blade reached him a moment later, and with an easy flick of the wrist the Gear smacked it out of the air. However, right behind it, whirling like some sort of strange shuriken, came the blade of the weapon. Justice had just finished knocking the first piece out of the sky when he swung his other fist in an uppercut, and smashed into the blade right in the middle. The weapon was sent airborne once again. Yet even as this happened, Justice brought up his tail again, formed a spike, and shot it straight out in front of him, past the path of both weapons…and right to the form of Sol Badguy, who had taken up his sword as soon as he was finished throwing, and running forward to thrust.

A moment later, and the appendage ripped through Sol's shoulder. The forward momentum of the man only shoved his body farther onto it. Soon, Sol ground to a halt and gave out a cry of agony as blood oozed out from his shoulder and down his back. He went rigid, and the Fireseal once more fell from his grip. He had intended the blades to act as a diversion as he ran forward to stab the Gear…but it had failed. He had neglected to keep in mind that Justice essentially had three appendages. Now, he went limp on the end of the tail.

Justice strolled forward, keeping him suspended on the end, until he was right in Sol's face. He proceeded to hoist him up and off the ground, and let his body hover right in front of him. The man had lost considerable blood, and his stamina was nearly gone. As a result, he could only weakly stare back as the Command Gear raised him in front of him.

The emotionless visor of the Gear glared back for a brief moment…before he calmly raised one taloned hand. Sol's look appeared to stiffen despite how weak he was. Fear seemed to flood his features. However, he couldn't do anything about it. His one arm was useless. The other could barely rise.

As such, he was unable to do anything as Justice seized the metal portion of his headband, and with an easy pull ripped it off of his head.

With that, Justice flicked his tail and sent Sol's body flying away from him. He crashed to the ground a moment later, once again sprawling out. Yet this time, he went totally flat. The power that had kept him going before seemed to have disappeared. That didn't matter to the Command Gear. He calmly watched as Sol went lifeless with his limbs loosely hanging in four directions. His head was back, and he breathed hard. Blood poured out from his wound.

Justice tossed the headband to the side, and let it clatter and click against the rocky ground.

"Much better." He stated. "Gear…you will not move or attack unless ordered." Once he had finished saying that, the barrels in his shoulders hissed, and once again began to emerge to fire again. He calmly began to turn around toward his other opponent. "Now that you are gone…I'll-"

Justice went silent. The eyes beneath the mask widened yet again, the most yet.

Ky Kiske was back on his feet, and had launched himself into the air. The Thunderseal was in his one good hand, aimed in a downward thrusting position. It was blazing with electricity. Ky was sweating and straining, no doubt having put all the power he had left into the weapon. He was already on the way down again when Justice turned. The Gear was too late to react, even for his own speed. With a sense of sudden panic and surprise, the Gear began to fire the rockets in his armor…

That was his biggest mistake yet…for that was when Ky managed to drive the fully charged Thunderseal into the top of the missile bays, down through the armor on the shoulder, and pierce it through the other side.

"AAAAH!"

An explosion rocked out within Justice's shoulder as he screamed in agony. The eruption punched the armor with such force that pieces of it were ripped off violently, and the shrapnel and blast tore through the shoulder and erupted in Ky's face. The knight himself gave a cry as he was ripped backward and sent crashing to the ground. Once there, he lay motionless for a moment before he grit his teeth and managed to sit. Hs attempts to stand didn't go so well though. As he struggled to get his legs beneath him, he let out a small cry and winced. He looked down to the source of his pain...and saw. Some of the shrapnel had embedded itself against his leg bones, poking out from his flesh..

He looked up again soon after, and saw that Justice was in far more agony. The Command Gear was writhing, holding his remaining good arm to his bad shoulder. All that was there now was a blackened ruin. The armor had worked too well. Most of it had held in, forcing Justice's limb to feel the full force of the explosion of his own missiles. And although the outside was armored, the inside was flesh and vulnerable. Black smoke fountained out of the interior. Sparks fizzled and the smell of burned flesh wafted through the air. The Thunderseal, still sparking and charged with the power that Ky had put into it, remained lodged in the shoulder. Blood was dripping from below.

For a brief moment, Ky stared back at Justice, seeing him having sustained more damage than he ever had in his life. There was a fool's hope within him that this would have been enough. Justice would have been too hurt to continue. However…he knew it wasn't true. This wouldn't have stopped him…and it didn't stop the Command Gear.

The visor flashed up, now scorred from the flames and heat, and Ky thought he heard an animal snarl from beneath it. The talons on Justice's good hand actually seemed to extend further as his palm went up and slammed around the handle of the blade. Not caring about the pain, the Gear yanked it out with one rip and proceeded to fling it behind him. This time, it went far into the air, over the stadium walls, and out over the city and street beyond. Ky heard it clatter to the ground and come to a rest.

The knight turned back to Justice, and soon struggled to push himself up, desperate to keep fighting…

When his windpipe was slammed shut. A crushing pain went into his neck as the vessels were pinched as well, and talons began to dig into the skin. Again, Ky was ripped off of his feet and into the air. Despite the agony as well as the lack of air to his lungs or brain, Ky feebly reached up with his one good hand. His bad arm raised too, but was otherwise useless. He looked down…and saw himself staring into Justice's soulless visor. And yet…somehow he could sense the hate pouring off of the Gear as he throttled him and held his body before him.

"Once again…foolishness on your part, and some on mine as well. Whenever I'm trying to play with Sol, you seem to come in and stab me in the back in some way. This is the last mistake you'll ever make, insect. You've escaped my hand once too often…"

Slowly, Justice began to crush his hand inward. He wasn't satisfied choking Ky to death. He wanted to crush his neck and pop his head off. As Ky's face turned purple, he writhed more strongly with all the power he could muster…but couldn't get away. He was helpless now. There was nothing left that he possessed. The visor stayed aimed perfectly on him…

That was…until it turned ever so slightly a few seconds later.

Ky never found out what exactly had made Justice turn his head. However, the answer was that the mask of the armor had allowed in the smallest scent. Ky himself caught it when it blew toward him a moment afterward. It was the scent of flesh burning.

Justice wasn't able to turn his head anymore…before a wet ripping sound suddenly erupted. Immediately, Justice's grip loosened. As he felt warm liquid splash over his body, Ky fell to the ground in a heap. He landed rather roughly and spilled onto his back. As he did, the smell of burning flesh grew even stronger than before. He was weak and dazzled, and soon he was gaping for air as the blood rushed back into his head. His senses swooned for a moment. However, in the end he was able to lean himself up and look over his body. The warm sensation, he realized...was blood. His eyes widened, and he quickly looked back above him. Justice was still there…but now Ky's face filled with surprise rather than fear.

Justice had gone stiff. His body was rigid in the final position he had made, preparing to crush Ky's throat. The visor stared out blankly at where Ky's face had been. Then, it slowly turned downward, the person behind it in as much disbelief as Ky himself.

A blade, smoldering with heat, causing the armor to curl around it and peel back, was plunged through Justice's torso and out the other side.

Justice's one free hand clenched and relaxed. It slowly moved toward the blade, but it didn't grab it. It was still burning hot. A strange throat sound began to come through the helmet. Slowly, the head of Justice turned and looked behind him. Ky, much as Sol had a moment earlier, turned and looked as well.

Sol Badguy, looking teaming with strength and power, eyes now blood red, held his blade through Justice's torso. His hair, no longer held back, splayed all around. The gaping wound on his shoulder had been burned closed. That was the source of the smell.

Justice gagged again…but managed a word through the helmet.

"H…how…?"

Sol responded by yanking his blade out sharply. His face was still full of passion, but he controlled it now, making it grim instead. As soon as the Fireseal left Justice's torso, it was as if a puppet's strings had been cut. He immediately collapsed to the ground. He landed on his knees at first, and somehow managed to hold himself up there.

As for Sol, he turned the Fireseal around and plunged it into the ground. Ky stopped looking at Justice, and focused entirely on Sol. In particular…he looked to the red eyes. The man himself turned and looked over to the ground. There was his headband. He quickly bent over, snatched it up, and then quickly brought it around his skull again. He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back and tied it. When he finished, removed his hands, and opened them again…they were blue once more. Only then did he look down to Justice's kneeling form.

"You were right about one thing after our last battle, Justice." He began calmly enough. Despite his face being sweaty and red, he managed to stay cool and moderate in his voice. "Gears were born to kill. It's in our nature. I chose to oppose mine using this device. Yet it wasn't what kept me from being controlled by you. That was in either my genetics or my will, whichever you prefer. I pretended to cave so that you wouldn't expect me to spring on you from behind."

The figure behind the mask gasped and let out a small cough. A small chuckle followed.

"You little bastard…" He spoke in an amused voice. After that, however, the form stiffened and suddenly threw its body back as hard as it could. As a result, it managed to get off of its knees and spill back. Ky, recovered a bit now and still sitting nearby, began to scramble to his own feet here. The sudden shock and recovery enabled him to override the pain in his limbs. However, there was no need. As he stood up, Justice simply went onto his back. There wasn't much blood in the wound that Sol had left, but it did bleed and dribble its precious fluid.

"I may be doomed to die at your hands…but I'm certainly not going to die kneeling before a pathetic human."

Ky stiffened a bit here. Sol himself turned his eyes over to the knight, remembering their own battle not long before. A moment later, however, and Ky calmed down. His stony, cool face returned. Now, both men were standing over the beaten Justice. The Command Gear breathed in rasps for a moment, before turning his head over to the knight.

"I can't believe it… I was beaten by the both of you again… Either it's my own foolishness…or perhaps destiny on your sides. I would have preferred to die at the hands of Sol…but knowing that this ape had a hand in it…"

Ky glared down on Justice in response to this, saying nothing.

"…Aren't you going to fill my ears…" Justice continued. "With some meaningless tirade about how your race has proven itself superior to mine?"

Ky didn't answer this. He kept his head aimed downward and his look grim. What he eventually did, however, was surprising. He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. He looked…regretful.

"…This isn't a victory I'm proud of."

The helmet actually stiffened a bit, as the face beneath it looked more intently at Ky.

"You were stabbed in the back." Ky explained. "You didn't even get to see the blow coming. It was an underhanded way to win…even for you. And I attacked you without warning myself. One of the things that sets us apart from your kind is that we can fight with honor. I violated that."

Sol looked up to this, and narrowed his gaze at Ky. Yet before he could think of anything to do or respond to…a rather loud, angry hiss from below sounded.

"You little…" Justice scowled. "You sickening human… You filthy little hypocrite… Even now, you try to make my loss more painful…by feeding me the nonsense that you're better than me…! You and your miserable self-righteousness! Your stupid ideals of so-called justice and mercy! I'd spit on you if I thought it wasn't worth some of my last breaths!" A hacking went out from beneath the helmet, and the Gear wretched and buckled. Yet as he returned to gasping again, the one healthy arm stiffened, and then shot out for his head in a spastic movement. He soon grasped his own helmet, and began to move his hand to the side.

"You think you're just the picture of honor and chivalry…" Justice growled as he moved his talons to the side. He said nothing more. He just maneuvered his hand under the helmet. A moment later, and hissing began to burst out as the sealant of the helmet was broken.

On seeing this, both Ky and Sol began to stiffen up. Never before documented, before man or Gear, had Justice removed his helmet. Yet now, he began to break the sealant on it. For all they knew…it hadn't been removed since it had first been put on countless ages ago. However…Sol soon began to relax. His head bowed down and his eyes went to the side.

He knew what was beneath that helmet. Ky did not.

The trembling talons moved around the edge of Justice's head. After a few moments more, he had successfully undone all of the seals. That done…the clawed arm moved out and onto the front of the helmet itself, over the mask portion. The grip spread out and tightened, and soon a ripping sound went off from the helmet being affixed for such a long time. The rubber-like sealant at last was exposed to the air. The sound of the voice distorter quit. The panting behind the mask began to come out clearly. At last it was off, and the owner of the armor swung its arm down and let the mask clatter to the side.

Ky saw…and his jaw immediately loosened as his pupils shrank.

It was a woman.

Her long, reddish-violet hair seemed to prop her skull up like a cushion now. The black rubber portions of her armor seemed to adhere to her, covering her neck and climbing up the sides of her head like a second skin. Her face was ashy white, but not from the same cause as Testament. This had been from not seeing the sun in so long. Her face was without blemish or defect, almost looking like wax rather than true skin. Indentations were on it from where the armor had been attached for so many years, and they didn't recover. Blood was around her white lips, and was coming out more so as she breathed and spoke. Her eyes squinted against the dim light before relaxing. They were blood red, yet they were also faint and weak, as if they had lost all pigment. The pupils seemed to vanish into the retinas.

The eyes slowly shifted over to Ky. The knight looked down, seeming aghast and shocked. Sol showed nothing. He kept his arms crossed as he waited for what would come next.

Justice's eyes narrowed, and her bloody teeth grit.

"What's the matter?" She asked in a mocking, weak voice…no longer having any trace of male or machine on it, but a bold female voice instead. "Shocked? Upset? Horrified that the one you helped kill was a female?" She snorted, and did manage to spit a wad of blood in Ky's direction, although it fell short of him. "You sicken me. Male and female Gears alike…were willing to die for the cause of freedom. You thought of the males as simple soldiers to kill…a plague to wipe out…but you always avoided battling the female ones… You thought they were worthy of life…simply because they were female. We were all of the same mind and power…yet you thought of some of us being more 'human' than others because of sex…almost as if they were a different race… And you extended no such mercy, honor, chivalry…or any other foolish human notions…to anyone else of my kind… You simply thought I was a monster to be killed… You never allowed any other thoughts… Yet you dare to think I'm so wicked…for feeling the same way about your race…"

Ky didn't answer. He couldn't answer. Some of his shock faded, however, and his mouth shut again. After a while, he turned away and looked to the ground as well. He stared at a spot on it and didn't look away again. Justice seemed to realize he was still listening, and after coughing again she said more.

"I'm going to die…but I died my own person…not some mindless drone. Why do you think I fought Kliff…and ignored you? You're just some shock troop…an item on a chessboard… You're a powerful one…but you're not your own. You're a slave to your own…archaic…biased…and conflicting codes of ethics… They're what make you the lap dogs of others…and they make you only extend your ideals…to those you think are worthy… He was his own person at least…and he could think beyond good and evil… I'd have preferred to kill one like that…and now I'm ashamed to have your blade hurt me."

Ky kept his head bowed. He didn't show any other distress or change. He remained silent. Sol, however, straightened up a bit at this. This last monologue by Justice had reminded him.

"Kliff…"

The man began to turn to move.

"Wait…Frederick…"

Sol stopped in mid-step. He turned back to the fallen Justice. The Command Gear was looking at him now. Her eyes were softer, and her face less angry.

"I…wasted too much…talking to that fool…" She spoke in a more strained voice. It looked like she was going into more pain, and weakening. It wasn't going to be long now. "But…I was right…" She choked out between increasingly labored gasps. "My way…was the only way… You'd never…have been able…to live among them…if you hadn't tried to pass as one… They'd have hunted you down…Corrupted Flame…"

Sol didn't answer. He continued to stare expressionlessly down at the Gear. She stiffened a few more times…but then appeared to cross a threshold. It seemed the body had given up on trying to live after so many years. Now, it relaxed. Justice's eyelids drooped. She looked away from Sol and above herself. She spoke out in a near whisper, yet still audible enough for both to hear.

"Human…" She addressed to Ky. "Mark…my words… The Gears…will never be beaten…" She swallowed once, staying silent for a brief moment, then concluded.

"Not so long…as that man…lives…"

Ky's head raised, and his eyebrows immediately crooked at this puzzling phrase.

However…Sol's eyes widened as he stared harder at Justice. A fire seemed to suddenly be ignited beneath him. His body tensed up as he leaned in closer.

"He's still alive?" He called out in a much louder voice. "Justice…he's still alive?"

The Gear was unmiffed by this. She smiled a bit wider, and her eyelids drooped to half closed.

"I wish…the three of us…could talk…one last time…"

Sol threw himself to his knees at Justice's side. His good hand shot out and grabbed her by the good shoulder, and immediately he tried to pull her up despite his weakness and her heft.

"Do you know where he is? Tell me! Justice, you have to tell me where he is!"

If Justice heard, then she didn't answer. The smile stayed on her face as her eyelids closed completely. Her head lost its support and slumped backward. Sol, nearly gritting his teeth, hand clutching desperately at her armor, looked on at her imploringly for a moment more. However…it was too late. He held her up only a bit longer before his face began to smooth out again. The urgency faded, and his body slowly relaxed. Once he was calm again, the man bowed his head and let out a long sigh. Then, he slowly let his one arm relax completely. Justice was lowered back to the ground. Once she was put to rest, she moved no more.

Sol stayed at her side, staring at her, a moment longer. As he did, Ky himself stayed cold for an instant before looking up and beginning to look around. He too had heard what Justice had said, and now that he was convinced the Command Gear was dead he wanted to find Kliff. He was weak and unable to do much more than hobble, but he began to move around and search the area.

Sol himself took one final look at Justice's dead body. As he did, he clenched his hand into a fist.

"…I'll find you and kill you." He whispered.

His hand relaxed after that, and he rose to his feet. He turned away from Justice, and soon his look softened again as he started to look around the area as well. In the chaos of the battle, anything could have happened to Kliff. And now, the blue flames that had come from Justice were beginning to die down. It was rapidly getting dimmer in the stadium. The exterior lights, fortunately, seemed to still be working, and let some glow come into the interior.

Finally, Sol looked to his left…and saw that Ky had already stopped. He was kneeling next to something at another part of the stadium. Sol turned and tried to run toward it…only to grimace and slow. Without his adrenaline rush, pain was become far sharper. He had to drop into a fast walk and hobble over to the location as best as he could.

As he drew nearer, and began to see over and around the irregular, broken field of the stadium…he began to make out Kliff's bloody, broken body. It was still breathing. Sol couldn't tell if it was stable or worsening though. At any rate, he was soon up to the side, and kneeling down next to it as well. Both men went silent as they looked down on him.

Kliff's face was already turned to Ky. He didn't appear to instantly notice that Sol was there. He was smiling at him, though his expression was tired.

"Little…runt…" He squeezed between his lips. Talking seemed a burden for him. "You beat her twice…and I couldn't beat her once…"

"Don't talk, sir." Ky immediately answered. "I'm going to get ahold of the IPF. They'll pick you up and have you back in France within the hour."

Kliff managed the slightest frown, and gave a snort.

"Kid…my spine is broken…" He slowly, almost hesitantly, answered. Hearing this immediately made both Ky and Sol alike pale. Ky swallowed...and his hand developed the smallest tremble.

Kliff shook his head. "I might pull through…but then what…? At my age…I'll just wait around to die… I think I'd rather…go out here…right after one last fight with that bastard…" He caught himself here, and gave a weak chuckle. "…That bitch…whatever…"

"Sir…" Ky began to answer.

"You…better cancel…that strike…before it's too late…"

Ky was silent in response to this. He bowed his head slightly. Kliff turned his head a bit more to him in confusion.

"What's wrong…?"

"…I canceled the strike before I came in." Ky answered. This caused Sol to look up and back to him, though not necessarily in surprise. He just stared at him. "It didn't seem right…to kill him…her…in such a cowardly way… And I wasn't going to let you die…or even Sol die like that. I swore to God that I would kill Justice if all else was to fail, or would die trying. But I wasn't going to let that blast happen."

Kliff was silent for a moment. Ky kept his head bowed. Sol showed nothing. At last, the old man smiled again.

"You ballsy son of a bitch…" He croaked. "Irresponsible as hell…but something I would have done if I was ten years younger… But you're right… She killed enough people…there wasn't a need to make other people…sacrifices to finish her… That took guts…and character… That's what I knew you had when I first saw you…all those years ago when you first wanted to enlist… I may have never told you this…but I'm glad I picked you as my successor… I'm proud of you…"

Ky kept his head bowed, but Sol was able to see his face redden slightly.

"…Thank you, sir." He managed to choke out, just barely sounding official.

"I'm a civilian now, Captain…" The old man snorted. "It's just Kliff."

Ky paused and swallowed, but then managed to speak a quieter phrase.

"…Thank you…Kliff."

Kliff stared at Ky for a moment longer, but then turned his head toward Sol. He hesitated a moment before smiling again.

"So…that's the answer, Frederick…" He murmured. "I should have known…years ago… Maybe it was my pride… I wanted to think a regular human…could be that powerful…that I could become that strong… Our greatest warrior…was a turncoat…"

"I was never a turncoat." Sol flatly answered. "Because I never abandoned the side of my own species."

Kliff kept smiling. "…I won't pretend…I can begin to know…what goes on in that head of yours, Frederick… Why you thought you needed to kill them…"

"It was simple." Sol answered. "To me, there was never any distinction between human and Gear. There were only those who wanted to destroy innocent lives and those that wanted to save them. Justice was wrong. She didn't want freedom for her kind. She wanted her kind to be slaves beneath her. She was angry at humanity for using her as a tool, but as for the rest of her kind…they were just weapons that changed ownership. That's why she used Testament, why she killed him as soon as she had no more need for him. The Gears would never be free so long as she lived. I was fighting for both humans and Gears in that war."

Kliff paused for a moment after hearing this. His smile faded a bit at first. Yet as Sol concluded, it spread on his face again.

"…I think now…I'm starting to get what you were trying to tell me…before we left for this island…" He spoke. "And I think…I might believe you… I wish that more of them had been like you, Frederick…"

The man hesitated, but then gave a smile of his own.

"…And I wish there had been more people like you, Kliff. I may have killed many Gears in the war…but the mark on this world that I am most proud of that I left is that I saved the boy who would grow up to become Kliff Undersn."

Kliff smiled a bit more, and gave a snicker. After that, he stared at Sol for a bit longer…seeming to take in his image and features, as if he was burning them into his memory for where he was going. Or perhaps he was studying that face hard…and seeing that, underneath the blood, cuts, and swellings, it was still the same after all this time as it was the first day he saw it. Once he had seen enough, his eyes closed and he appeared to relax and rest.

"…See you later, Frederick…but not too soon, I hope."

The old man took in a deep breath after this and exhaled.

He didn't inhale again.

Both Sol and Ky stared down at the man…a man who had died in peace. He didn't strain or struggle or try to hold on to the last. He appeared to just let his spirit free at the end of it all. He looked content…satisfied…that he had gone out exactly as he had wished, and now had no regrets left. He may have had no family…no deathbed…no official mourners…but it didn't matter. He had his father and his son at his side. He was able to say goodbye to the both of them. After that, there was no reason left for him to hang on any longer. He went off to join the rest of his comrades who had fallen over the decades of war.

The two men silently looked over him. Although neither man cried, both of them felt sadness and regret at seeing their mentor/pupil go. However…Sol, on his part, couldn't feel too sad. He knew that this was how Kliff had wanted it to end. There was little doubt in his mind that he let himself go at that point. It wasn't the pain and trauma alone that had killed him. And Kliff had lived up to all of his expectations. The boy he had met had never forgotten his warning to him, and had devoted his life to living out his hopes for him. That was no greater honor that he could have given him.

At length, Sol began to hear Ky whispering. He looked up only slightly before he realized he was hearing a prayer. When that happened, he leaned his head back down and just listened. Yet eventually, the man was done. And once that happened, he began to stiffly put his legs beneath him to rise again. Sol detected this, and began to tuck his own legs under to get up.

After a few moments, both men were on their feet, and once again face to face. Ky kept his eyes down for the moment, still looking at Kliff. He almost appeared to not even notice Sol. As for the other man, he held his ground for a moment. He wasn't sure what was going to go on from here. It was clear enough that neither of them were in good shape to fight anymore. Ky was without his weapon, and so between the two Sol had the clearest advantage. However…Sol hoped that somewhere in there Ky may have lost some of his anger…

He ventured a shadow of a smile at last.

"…Looks like you're the one who was the distraction this time, Ky."

In response, the knight, to Sol's surprise, turned his body away and literally gave him the cold shoulder.

"…Don't talk to me." He stated, almost angrily.

Sol's smile faded, and he instantly looked puzzled.

"You're one of them." Ky stated flatly. "This whole time, you were one of them…"

Sol's puzzlement faded as well after that. Instead…his eyes began to narrow as he felt irritation starting to come up within him. So…that was the issue.

He crossed his arms and formed a stern expression. "I didn't think anyone would understand. But you know full well that I was on your side the whole time."

Ky's head turned up, and soon Sol found his blue eyes staring at him coldly. His look, if anything, seemed more spiteful and loathing than it did before their fight.

"Do I?" He asked. "I always wondered why you tried to get the Fireseal for yourself. I always wondered where you had come from and how you became so strong. What other secrets have you hid from me, Sol? What did you want that sword for so badly? And what did Justice mean by what she said?"

Sol felt the blood in his veins begin to heat up. He felt his fingers begin to tighten. Anger started to fire up in his brain. At last…he couldn't take it anymore.

Moving too fast for Ky to see or react, he raised his good arm and slapped the man across the face.

The force was sufficient to send Ky's face swinging to the side. It would have drawn blood if Ky's nose wasn't already bleeding. Immediately, the knight's face turned back, his teeth now gritting, and looking very angry. He might have sprung on Sol anyway in another moment, sword or no sword, but he was stopped. For the first time in their encounters…Sol's face had turned genuinely angry. He had held this in a long time, but he couldn't anymore.

"You want to know something, Ky? People like you were the real reason I left the Sacred Order. People who were too shallow and weak to ever see past their own biases and prejudices. You saw me fight for years in the Sacred Order saving lives and stopping Gears. You saw me fight against Justice myself. I saved your life tonight. Yet because of this sword…because you now know the truth about me…I no longer fit into one of the two categories in your small mind. Good and evil. There is no room for gray. So instead you magnify the sins of those you don't like, and you blot out the sins of those you do so that everything is either one or the other.

"I once thought you were a decent person. I actually wanted to be your friend. I thought that after tonight we could see each other as comrades. Yet as far as you're concerned, time stopped moving the day I took the Fireseal. Nothing else that happens matters."

Ky continued to look angry. His good arm stayed balled into a fist. And he looked on the brink of lashing out and striking Sol back as he had been. However…he didn't move. He just stood there and fumed as Sol talked.

After a moment of silence for Ky to muse this over, Sol gave a snort and simply turned away. He put his back to the knight and looked to walk away from him. Ky saw this, and nearly moved out to try and stop him.

"If you want to attack me, be my guest." Sol threw over his shoulder, halting Ky before he could do just that. "If you want to tell your organization about me, that's fine as well. I don't care. I just know I don't care about being your friend anymore. Justice was right. Frankly…you're so simple I don't care to get to know you. I already understand you completely. And, to put it in her words…you sicken me."

Sol began to calmly walk away after this, his footsteps gently crunching against the cracked pavement.

Ky's teeth flashed. He nearly jumped out to attack again from behind. He nearly shifted his front foot. However…he got no farther. He stayed tensed and ready to ambush him…but couldn't do anything else. Perhaps it was related to Justice's way of immobilizing one through fear…but somehow Ky had to let the Command Gear's words sink into his psyche. He couldn't block them out or dismiss them because they were coming from the "enemy". His rigid personal moral code had already been fractured too much today to allow him to prepare that as a defense. Exhaustion and weariness, not to mention grief over the death of Kliff, kept him from lashing back out violently against Sol's own claims. They too began to sink into him. And like it or not…he couldn't keep himself from thinking about them. Part of him said not to…to ignore them and wave them off as meaningless words. But every time he did that…a claim from Sol or Justice accused him of being close-minded and blind to the truth. So instead, he tried to think over things, and tried to see that, indeed, his way was the best possible way by logically and spiritually thinking things through.

However, that did not happen.

At the end of everything…he would be dead along with countless other millions if it hadn't been for his enemy.

This thought was too much for him. It went against all of his schemata and ideals. It was practically a universal paradox to him. And as a result…he was paralyzed and unable to move as he watched Sol slowly make his way to the exit of the stadium. He couldn't move a foot to go after him or chase him. He could do nothing except watch him vanish into the darkness of the stadium interior, and then emerge on the other side only to soon fade off into the darkness of the rest of the city. Even after he was gone…he couldn't make himself chase after him even to look. He was frozen by the power of Justice's final words and Sol's rejection. And though Ky told himself that Sol was bluffing…that he'd never be his friend…that he wanted nothing to do with him…he couldn't make himself believe that. He was beginning to learn that you can only insist you are right when countless other facts and voices are saying you're wrong before you start to doubt yourself. And he hated that. He told himself he shouldn't doubt himself…that he was a servant of God and in the right. And yet…he couldn't believe that either. Somewhere, deep within his heart…he wondered if he was lying to God by saying that. If he was lying to himself…

Ky was left alone in the stadium. The eternal foes lay dead around him. The father of human hope and determination…and the mother of the Crusades…both dead and practically side by side. The last of the lights faded. The wind began to grow cool and came into the stadium, blowing away clouds of dust and debris.

The knight finally inhaled and exhaled, and then lost his anger completely. With a grim face, he turned and began to walk out of the stadium through a different route, to get his sword and to radio the IPF.

---

To be concluded...

FINAL CHAPTER: D...