MRIYA LOST HER FEATHERS. RECOVERY IS IMMINENT. IORI'S ASSISTANCE IS URGENTLY NEEDED.

"Mriya? I think… I know who sent the orb."

"What? Who?"


Thinking back to that abruptly-ending Halloween, her long brown hair flying in the wind rushing past her face, she had to smile. "Lone Wolf," the girl allowed, watching the approaching, familiar airship that would always be home sweet home, "You sure know how to simplify reunions…"

"What was that, dear?"

"Nothing, Bridget, nothing…"


The World Within And Without


Disclaimer: Sheo Darren does not own Guilty Gear or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.

Featured Anime: Coyote Ragtime Show


Calendar Arc

Episode Two


Reunion


"We're back!"

"Welcome back!"

Hugs and kisses and cheers freely exchanged. Family reunions were always joyous occasions despite what a lot of anime made them out to be. This was no exception.

"So how was England?" Leap asked over the friendly ruckus. In her arms, pink-haired baby March gurgled happily.

"Cold and foggy," May said off-handedly. "The people there were just foggy. But Bridget's parents are great. They adored me on first sight." She grinned impishly. "My father-in-law kept nagging me for a grandchild. I told him that Bridget and I were working really hard at it." She patted her tummy appreciatively.

"May!" her rightly-embarrassed husband protested in a half-hearted tone.

"That's a nice tan, April-senpai," admired June. "You look much fitter than you did before you left.

"Hiking across the whole Philippines will do that to you." April, her brown hair tied in a ponytail, gave the practically sparkling Mayship an approving nod. "I see you took good care of my baby, June, Octy, Novel. Good job!"

June blushed. Octy and Novel grinned.

"I see Jack's still alive," Augus noted on the side.

"And standing rather close to you," added July.

"Without a sea of blood and a wake of destruction trailing you," finished Febby.

The threesome gave April naughty zoom-in-close looks. June was also curious. April only shrugged.

"We came to an understanding. It served us both to quit killing each other."

"So," Sephy shyly asked, "So you're in love with each other now?"

April face-vaulted. "Where did you get such an idea?" she hotly demanded of her abashed crewmate.

"Well, couples in The World Within And Without are usually love-hate couples with tsundere girls and perverted guys…"

"Bite your tongue, Sephy. All those shoujo manga and Harlequin Mills & Boone novels you've been reading have rotted your brain."

"Gomen…"

Jack rolled his eyes at the overflowing sappiness. "Stop that," April told him.

"What? Can't I get even a gesture in edgewise?"

"Yes. Saving you from Four back in Makiling ought to count for something on your part."

"That wasn't how it happened!" Riled by the reminder of how close he'd been turned into a girl, Jack angrily countered, "And if we're going to dwell on unsettled debts, how about that fight with Kawana Misaki in Sulu? You'd have lost that if it weren't for me!"

"That doesn't count!" The memory of her mud wrestling fiasco turned April a pretty tomato red. "Besides, you got me into that match in the first place!"

"Well, you were the one who dragged me into it and turned it into a strip match!"

"That was after you groped me, you pervert!"

"That was an accident! Besides, you don't have any assets to grope in the first place, you brick wall!"

"What did you call me, pervert?"

"I said, you brick wa–"

April jumped Jack. Scuffle began. Their spectators grimaced or cheered as their wont.

"Get 'im, April!"

"Take it to that enemy of all women!"

"Go, Jack, go!" Febby shrugged off July and Augus' stares. "Hey, Jack's cute, I'd give him that."

"SHUT UP!" April yelled from where she was murdering Jack with an abdominal stretch submission move straight out of Japanese pro wrestling. "HE'S MINE, YOU HEAR! MINE!!!"

"Yep, nothing's changed..."

Sephy sighed, but in joy. No. Everything's changed…


Mismatched eyes watched the boisterous reunion fifteen feet below with reserved intensity. Akari leaned upon crossed arms that in turn rested upon steel safety railings. A pout was below her dignity, so she settled for a soft sigh of an emotion she dared hope would never bother her again: envy.

They looked so happy. Her Jellyfish teammates and the newcomers enjoyed each others' company. They belonged with each other.

She didn't. Despite her own bravely foolish little hopes, hopes inspired by the very same people who held their arms out in welcome to her, she was not one of them, not one with them. She was a stranger sharing a strange land with a strange people. She would never belong with them.

"You should go down there," the man in black standing behind her said.

"I deputize you to go in my stead." She didn't even bother casually looking over her shoulder. "Practice what you preach and lead by example as all stellar captains are supposed to do."

John only smiled. "I don't want to spoil it for the girls."

"Same here. If I go there, I'll only come off as an outsider, complicate things."

"You're not an outsider. You're part of this family now."

"So are you– much more than I am– but I don't see you down there bestowing blessings like the Pope Himself."

"I've got more immediate concerns."

"Like what?"

"Like you, Akari. You're a problem child," John said with a smile. "You need a lot of personal attention."

Akari glared daggers at him. "Don't patronize me. You're my Captain, not my father."

"I apologize for making you feel bad."

"And stop acting so cloyingly sincere. It's annoying."

"I apologize again."

She sniffed in disdain and looked away– but not before John glimpsed a dangerous smile already playing upon her face.

Akari straightened aggressively. "I think," she wickedly admitted, her intent far more of amusement than malice, her own way of playing coy, "I think a complication wouldn't be too bad, after all. Wouldn't you agree, Captain?"

So saying, she leapt off the railing– and into the fray.

John sighed. "You could have used the stairs at least…"


"And here we were all preparing for World War III with Iori," July was saying.

May sighed. "I don't know when Iori-oniichan's coming back." She had just told them about Iori's disappearance and Lone Wolf NEO's message. "I know he can take care of himself, but I still worry."

"I'm sure Lone Wolf NEO knows what he's doing," April reassured her best friend.

"I hope so…"

Some sixth sense sounded. May spun around to catch a girl skillfully land on her feet fifteen feet away. Behind her back she felt the other Jellyfish slightly draw back in apprehension. That told her the newcomer was dangerous.

"Who the heck are you?" May demanded. "And what are you doing on my ship?"

"I'm Akari Odine. The girl haughtily put both her hands on her hips and smirked. "You're May? The second-in-command of the Jellyfish Air Pirates?"

"That's right. Why?"

Akari drew her blades out of her cape. She pointed one at May's face. "I challenge you for your position of leadership."

"Actually," Jack managed from where April had a sleeper hold on him, "April's the real–"

His opponent tightened her pain grip. Jack choked on his words.

"Who the hell let you on board my ship?" May demanded.

"Why, our good Captain John did." Akari threw a smirk over her shoulder. "Didn't you, Captain?"

May glared. John almost groaned.

Did Johnny ever go through scenes like this everyday?

"Well," May declared, "Nothing's final unless I clear it!"

She whistled. A bright blue bottlenose dolphin, one of her qi-created assistants, bounced her anchor from its beaked snout into her waiting hands. May rested the monster weapon on her shoulder and got into her stance.

"You're on, Akari! If you win, you can take my place. But if you lose, you get off my ship and never come back!"

"You'll have to kill me to win!"

"Consider yourself buried and forgotten, then!"

"Dream on!"

Akari lunged forward. May met her midway. Steel clashed on steel. Battle cries sounded as the combatants started unloading projectiles and melee strikes on each other.

John and Bridget groaned. Sephy actually chuckled.

"I don't see what's so funny," April muttered as she let go of the now-insensible Jack.

"Akari was a loner when she first came aboard," Sephy explained. "She only thought of herself and stayed away from us. She even wanted to kill Captain John. But she changed for the better and became a true part of our family."

"I still don't see any change for the better."

"That," July chimed in, her eyes taking in the battle like a lover's would his beloved, "Is just Akari's way of getting to know other people. She's a scrappy sort, which is why we get along."

"Oh, please. Don't give me that crap about people knowing other people better if they first fight. This isn't a shounen manga loaded with testosterone and fighting tournaments."

Bridget was about to say something to the contrary. April shut him up with a sideways glance.

"But can't you say they look like they're enjoying it?" Augus asked aloud.

April watched Akari and May duel across the length and breadth of the Mayship. She had to admit that the two did look like they were having fun. Kind of like how she squabbled with Jack or May with Bridget. Save that they didn't go brandishing deadly weapons and qi critters at each other.

"Akari and May are very much alike," concluded Sephy. "They're headstrong, reckless, fearless and hopelessly in love with their Captains. I think they will get along very well."

"If they don't end up killing each other first." April caught herself. "What was that last one, Sephy? About May and Akari and their Captains?"

"Hmm? Did I say anything about that?"

"You really have been reading too many romance novels…"


Dinner found everyone happy and alive. May and Akari sported some minor injuries, nothing that really hampered them. They had become so engrossed with their duel that, with the food beginning to cool, Leap grabbed them by their shirt collars and dragged them to the dining room despite their protests. The two settled for a verbal continuation over their meals.

"How'd you reflect Yamada-san back at me with just your cape?"

"It's an aikido trick. If you can find the right angle and apply the right amount of force, you can redirect any physical attack."

By now Akari didn't bother with her old custom of first checking the food for poisons. I'm getting careless. Not to mention spoiled. Leap's cooking is superb as usual. I'm going to get fat on this rich food, slow down in a fight.

Despite her self-recriminations, she soon went to grab a fourth serving of roast beef, gravy, creamy macaroni and salad from the buffet table.

Weak! Weakweakweak!

"I wish I could be as thin as she is," May mumbled, amazed the skinny Akari could eat so much and not show it in her body.

"But I like girls who are slightly plump," Bridget protested.

May glared at her husband– then realized that he was very slender for a boy. In fact, he was more slender than her.

"Uh, May? What's wrong?"

"Bridget… You…"

Jack licked his lips. The last slice of roast beef sultrily reclined across its serving platter. It beckoned to him like a wistful dream. And it was his, all his for the taking.

Come to Papi!

Fork and knife approached the slice with perversely predatory intent.

"Great, there's still one left." And without further preamble, Akari snatched up the roast slice.

Jack gaped.

Not yet content, the brunette proceeded to empty the tray's thin layer of greasy meat juice over her meal.

July laughed. "Steak War One has just begun," she told the similarly sniggering Augus.

April also busied herself with Leap's cooking. Yes! No more balot and adidas for me! Though the menudo was nice…


Jeremy Colt grumbled at the sky for no apparent reason. "That's it, stick it to me more, you sadistic bastard, even though the story's no longer focused on me…"

Rolito laughed. Chloe pretended not to be listening, though she did smile slightly.

"I saw that, woman!"


John watched his wards' friendly bickering with reserved pleasure.

It's been a long time since all the Jellyfish Air Pirates had gathered together. The only one missing was Dizzy. They would pick her up from Kiev in a day or so. Then the reunion would be complete.

The mood was infectious. Everyone it touched instantly fell under its spell. Even Akari, the unapproachable lone wolf, had swallowed it hook, line and sinker. She even dove headfirst into the thick of the festivities.

That's the way we are. No man is an island. Everyone wants to be part of something special.

Everyone wants to be loved.

Johnny, my brother… your children are happy. I know this makes you happy, too.

I will protect their right to this happiness. Always.


"On course," June noted, "And on schedule."

"Radar's clear," Octy announced over the radio from her position in the engine room/auxiliary bridge. "ECS is running fine."

"Good job, everyone." Acting Captain Febby gestured grandiosely. "Carry on."

"Don't let it get to your head," Novel advised.

"Silence, knave, or it's the gallows for thou."

"Yes, Milady Mirabou."

Chuckles filled the bridge. The trio (along with Octy, the ship engineer and therefore perpetually on duty) manned the Mayship tonight while everyone else ate and rested.

There was little to do. The Mayship was heavily automated and could fly itself pretty well. Her ECS protected her from the prying eyes of any hunters out there.

But the ship's first captain had always decreed that there should be a human component in the loop as back-up. Just in case.

"I'm going to go take a real look around." Novel fingered her spyglass meaningfully.

"You outdated old fogy," teased Febby.

"At least I have a useful hobby."

"But astrology makes more money than astronomy!"

Novel was about to voice her rejoinder when she caught a flash out of the corner of her eye despite her obtrusive bangs. "Huh?"

They turned in time to see– and feel– the first cannon shell hit.


Unseen, the Marauder quickly closed on the Mayship. Advanced ECS shrouded the sixty-foot long jet aircraft against detection. Sensors specifically attuned to the subtle electrical field generated by holo-emitters easily kept track of its lumbering quarry.

The pilot was a dark-haired beauty in a frilly black Gothic dress. She steered the Marauder with superb skill. "Make your shots count, Sept," she told her copilot/gunner.

She meant the dozen automated gun turrets protecting the upper hull of the Mayship. Even a glancing hit from those large-caliber weapons could cripple or outright destroy the Marauder. They could not let that happen.

"Roger."

They spent the next ten minutes patiently stalking their prey. Each minute saw them closer and closer. The pilot waited for the best opportunity to attack. She got it.

"Now!" The Marauder rocketed upwards. In ten seconds it was four hundred feet above the Mayship and a mere six hundred behind it. "Weapons hot!"

Seeker heads came to growling life. The barrel of a 100mm high-velocity rapid-fire gun jerked within the Marauder's chin turret mount as targeting computers sought a favorable firing solution.

"Take those turrets out now!"

"Roger."

The Marauder's cannon raved. Turrets exploded one after the other. A salvo of homing missiles finished off the rest.

"All turrets destroyed," Sept quietly reported. "Topside is clear."

"Good shooting, Sept. Get ready!" the pilot yelled to her ten sisters in the back. "We're going in!"

One of the girls, a cute brown-haired girl who would have reminded certain people of an Italian cyborg agent with an FN P90 and a reputation for going berserk, nudged her sleeping seatmate. Her look-alike yawned and stretched her arms.

"Are we there yet?" she sleepily asked a third girl. All three looked exactly alike.

"Yup!"

That brought the girl fully awake. "Yay! Playtime!"

"Brace yourselves!" the pilot ordered. She allowed herself a sadistic little smile as the Mayship grew before their cockpit. "Here we go!"


"We're under attack!" Febby hit the alarms. "June! Evasive maneuvers!"

"Roger!" The Mayship shuddered slowly as it ponderously changed course.

"All upper hull turrets have been destroyed," Octy reported rather calmly for the life-and-death situation they were in. "We're defenseless."

"How did they get so close?" Febby demanded. "I thought our ECS was up?"

"It was. I assume the enemy has sensors tuned specifically to defeat ECS."

"But how would they know where we were? And why are they attacking us?"

"They must have somehow learned about our rendezvous with the Alex Rowe. That would suggest a connection with the PWAB agent we captured. Revenge, most likely, or a counterblow by the PWAB, triggered this attack."

"You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"Not quite. I have yet to produce a suitable answer explaining the meaning of meaning."

"No!"

Novel's frantic cry snapped her fellow bridge bunnies around yet again. The girl was still scanning the sky behind them for an unseen enemy. "They're going to ram us! Brace for impact!"

Moments later, the attacking airship crashed belly-first into the Mayship's upper hull.


Battle lights bathed the whole dining room a morbid red. Klaxons screeched. The celebrants' heads snapped up in shock and surprise.

"What the–"

Metal loudly crunched against metal. The Mayship lurched violently. Unwary diners tumbled out of their seats. Various unattended objects leapt into all directions.

Akari had the singular experience of watching the contents of her plate defy gravity right before her very eyes. She kept her cool and balance, though, and landed on her feet expertly. She also caught the falling food.

It'd be a shame to waste all that good cooking. Now, what the fuck is going on?


June had experienced quite a lot in her sojourn as an air pirate. That included a number of mid-air collisions. What she never expected was getting involved in such an incident. She'd expected both her skill and the Mayship's sheer size to deter other airships from getting too close. Now she knew what those WWII US Navy sailors felt when the Japanese kamikazes came screaming down their throats. It was knowledge she could have lived without.

"Is everyone all right?"

"My pride is hurt," Febby weakly joked, "And that's saying a lot."

"June? Febby?" Novel had her spyglass to her eye. Her voice quavered slightly. "We're in trouble…"


Twelve women exited the Marauder. The majority of them wore lacy dresses of Gothic fashion. One, a brown-haired girl with a gentle face, dressed in meido clothes. Their final member stood out as the only one in an elegant blue-gray suit meant for men.

They toted an arsenal of firearms, a katana and throwing knives. Their leader, the Marauder's pilot, pulled a gold-plated Luger out from its holster, cocked its hammer and held it above her head in a very dangerous manner. She regarded the smoking airship they'd just invaded with contempt reminiscent of a certain magician assassin girl they would soon battle.

Her name was April. She sneered.


"Johnny…"


Tsuzuku/Itutuloy/To Be Continued