-Chapter 3: Redemption-

"RED HAIL!"

A volley of cue balls screamed toward the bowing man, causing him to timely fade into the shadows to avoid them. Venom landed in his absence on a hand and his legs, balancing himself properly before standing.

"Is that your way of fighting, old man?! Run and hide?!" Venom yelled, his visible hue of blue scanning his surroundings.

"Ha ha ha ha! Of course not! I hope you don't plan on killing me, either, Venom. You of all people know that that just is impossible!"

In an instant, Venom was thrown into a nearby tree by an invisible force. But that force soon showed itself, for the nightwalker appeared, Venom in his grasp, as he held him against the tree.

"You were always weak, Venom! Whether Zato was around or not, you were weak nonetheless!" he growled. Testament and Sol were readying to attack, but a motioning from Dizzy bade them otherwise.

"No…no! I have worked too hard for this man's serenity, demon of the shadows!" Dizzy yelled, tears forming in her eyes despite her growing fury. "You are a plague of this earth! You do not deserve to live!" she continued to scream.

Kill him! Kill him! KILLLL HIIIMMM! Necro's inner tone cheered. Dizzy stopped her rage as best she could, but only collapsed to the ground, clasping her face as she wept.

"Necro…you must stop goading me on like this! I will do as I wish! You…you promised me!" she yelled. Slayer smirked.

"Gears….pitiful wastes of time…heh…I really don't see why they even wasted their time creating you," Slayer chuckled as his grasp upon Venom's throat become more tense, causing the white-haired man to clench his teeth. Just as Slayer could feel Venom's strength fading, due to the lack of oxygen, a swirl of white surrounded Slayer, tearing a bloody horizontal gap into his left side, causing him to let go of Venom and back away in shock rather than pain.

"Wha….what is this?!" he shrieked, looking down at the wound, where small entities unable to be identified at the moment continued to break down his flesh and intestines and, later, bone.

"This is the price you pay, nightwalker, for disturbing serenity," a solemn tone responded. Slayer forced himself to turn around and face the possessor of the solemn tone, but with the combination of pain and shock, he could hardly manage. Venom clutched his throat, still regaining his full lung capacity, as he looked onward as well.

"…Zato…?" he uttered. Yes..indeed, it was Zato. Rather than seeing the familiar darkness that was the Beast surrounding him, there was white…could there be another Beast? One of pure origin? As Venom pondered these things, Slayer was continually being consumed by the small entities. Zato sighed as he raised a finger toward Slayer.

"Nightwalker…because I refuse to sink to a level beyond you, I will at least give you the option of leaving the Assassin's guild, regardless of your former position, and, with Sharon, return to your beloved Transylvania."

Slayer gasped a few times as the entities continued to gnaw at his insides, and for once considered Sharon's feelings, rather than his own. She would not want to bear an eternity without him…and he knew this. But…the guild…he….the guild was his! Not Zato's and Venom's! How dare they simply decide to order him away and take it for themselves! The pain returned Slayer's mind to the current situation. Live? Or die? Certainly not death. Of course, he could always plot his revenge and return later to kill off Zato and Venom with one fell swoop…and that plan seemed favorable at the moment.

"Fine…fine! I'll…I'll go! Just…stop this insanity!" he finally yelped. The little parasites that were eating him alive melted away, leaving him to regenerate normally. Whatever those little things were, for them to negate his regenerative ability must have taken expert ability! Once his side returned to normal, Slayer glared at everyone around him.

"As I said…I will be taking my leave…but before I go…I want all of you to remember my words," he began as a finger pointed toward the newly revived Zato. "Happiness is but a rush of emotions at once! This man could very well be the plague resurrected by your own selfish desires!!!" he said, grinning afterward and slipping away into the shadows. After they were sure he was gone, Venom looked at Zato, and the swirls of white that danced about him, rather than to pool at his feet as "Eddie" once did.

"Zato…I thought…The Beast…I thought it left you…" he murmured, almost sadly. Dizzy finally rose to her feet, apparently having dealt with Necro once more for the time being.

"I know what happened…Venom….you remember when I said that I wanted to make you happy again? And that I would gain the aid of someone? That someone….is Necro. Necro is…an entity…inside of me. An evil placed into me by the Gearmaker. However…because I have managed to control his power, I decided to ask him to help me cure death and sickness…he agreed, but of course, at a price. This price varies from person to person…for Necro does as he sees fit. Whenever I opt to resurrect someone, I must confer with him. He draws his ability to revive the lost souls from both my better half and my own body. With this energy, he transfers a soul from its current plane of existence into this one, and rejuvenates the dead body fully, to better accommodate the soul. Though I asked him to remove the parasites and demons from your Zato, Necro recently informed me that the parasite was bound to Zato almost permanently, and could not simply be erased via Necro's power. Though at first that sounds saddening, Necro found a way to reverse the effect that The Beast formerly had on Zato. Instead of killing him, and crippling his corpse as done before, Necro managed to reverse the entity entirely, by consuming the negative power for himself—the price for his "services" to Zato—and leaving behind a pure one, one that could very well leave Zato with a longer lifespan than a normal human's."

Venom, along with the others, was dead silent. He looked at Zato almost piteously, wanting to ask so many questions that concerned Zato's personal feelings, but no words dared to form. Zato looked at Dizzy, then at his own hands.

"Am I…to be cursed?" he whispered. Dizzy approached him, taking one of his hands in hers, and sighed.

"No…no…it is a gift…! Never curse abnormalities, as gruesome as they may come to you—never despise them!" she whispered. Zato nodded as if he understood, and stepped away from her. Looking at Venom now, he slowly approached him. Raising a hand that now pulsated with the blood of the living and not of the dead, he gently touched the visible portion of Venom's face.

"For everything I have caused you in the past…pain…..suffering….sadness….I..am sorry, Venom.." he said sadly. During the moment, Venom's eyes were closed gently, yet after those words, they were opened once more.

"For what it is worth…all of the sadness and suffering I have went through…amounts to nothing this moment," he said in return. Dizzy smiled, mostly to herself for her accomplishment, and then inwardly at Necro, for though he could be a pain, this moment between lost soulmates was worth it.

-

Sol sat alone upon a tree trunk, deep inside what Testament called his decrepit paradise. Testament's words were somehow confusing…and he wanted a direct answer. Why would Testament even be concerned about he and Ky's relationship?! That was for him to deal with anyway! He had his reasons for leaving Ky…though…he'd never bothered to mention these things to the police officer. Ky was…not as identifiable as Testament was. To him, Ky was too open and curious. At first, he seemed attracted to that…but now…it was beginning to drive him away. Or…it had driven him away. Testament was more secluded and spiteful—so much like himself, with the exception that he was a tad more social and forthcoming with his thoughts. Testament seemed interested at first…but then had returned to his former life of seclusion suddenly. Was it because of his oath to forever despise those that were the Gears' enemies? But…Sol had already said that he'd given up his profession! Maybe he was lying to both himself and Testament…maybe he wanted to no longer hunt the Gears. Or maybe…he just wanted to tip the scales of Testament's favor towards him a little more?

"….Ah…fuck…" Sol cursed, slamming his palm against his forehead as he slumped forward a little. What the hell's the matter with you?! Are you a Gear hunter or not?! Make up your fuckin' mind! he thought to himself. He'd have to combat these things right now, because he was beginning to really screw things up. Bad. The cawing of a raven nearby interrupted his chain of thought. Looking over his shoulder, Sol located the bird. But…the raven simply faded into darkness. Shrugging it off, he turned back around to continue contemplation. But, what stood dead ahead was a ghostly…lavender figure. A…female demon. Sol looked her dead in the eye, and spoke quite sternly.

"What the do you want? Birdseed?" he asked with a flicker of his eyes elsewhere. The demon sarcastically smirked.

"No. Just to see what it is that makes my master so special to you," she said. Sol ignored her and stood to his feet. As he turned around to leave, she was found in front of him once more.

"You never answered my question," she said. Sol growled gently.

"Look, it's none of your damn business, wench! Now move!" he ordered. The demon still did not budge.

"Fine. I'll just go through you!" he growled a bit more harshly, grabbing the hilt of his weapon. Yet, as he brought it forth to pierce her body, it phased right through her.

"Just because I can solidify doesn't mean I can't do vice-versa," she said, smiling broadly. Sol, annoyed, retracted his blade, and turned back around to sit on the stump once more.

"Do you plan on answering me?" she asked. Sol snorted.

"No."

"Fine.  I'll just tell my master that you still are a Gear Hunter, and that you were simply fooling him into thinking that you really were interested just so that you could get a better chance of killing him!" she said quite cheerfully. Sol chuckled.

"If I wanted to kill him, that would have been done some time ago," he said plainly. The demon frowned some.

"Oh? Do you really think that Testament, the Lord of Summons, could be so easily defeated?!" she asked, challenging Sol's ego. Sol rolled his eyes.

"Trust me, I would have my ways. Stop trying to coax me, demon. Go back to your perch," he said. The demon pouted, returned to her raven form, and took flight. Left with his beloved, silence, Sol returned to his train of thought.

-

Testament stood beside Dizzy, watching fireflies buzz about them as they stood out in a decadent meadow—the grass yellow and brown, while the nearby water grayed with increased pollution.

"Testament, why have you set aside your oath…not that I would not mind you doing so…but…this is very unlike you. Of all people…Sol Badguy? He is the very epitome of growing hatred between Gear and man!" Dizzy said, looking at Testament, who still watched the fireflies.

"I cannot say what has possessed me, Dizzy. As quick as I would be to kill him…this…'former' Gear Hunter, as he has declared himself…now…this…disgust for him has oddly turned on me…not as an affection…but this odd fondness that I cannot place. As though the both of us are locked in dual hatred for the other's kind are we too locked in solitude. Why he would come to me in the night to offer his heart willingly confuses me…my own dark intuition tells me that he himself is unsure of what he is doing…and that it is impulse, and for me to disregard it. Do not think that I have thrown away my hatred, Dizzy, for it still lingers…but…Sol…it falters gently, enough to where, must I admit, a closeness would be allowed. Through that short closeness, however, it seemed that hatred ordered us apart, for almost instantaneously we were locked apart. By his pushing me away…and my pulling with it…as though we were realizing that we were never to be…because of this hatred in us," he said, watching one firefly's light slowly dwindle into blackness.

"But what do you want, Testament? To be alone forever and die alone? That cannot be what you want!" Dizzy said. "You are my brother, Testament, even though genetically this is invalid…but, I want you to be happy, Testament!"

Testament said nothing a moment…then spoke slowly.

"Dizzy……happiness does not concern me. Though my humanity seems to be deciding on its own at the moment, I will only be left with whatever destiny decides to give me."

Dizzy sighed, accepting Testament's words.

"Okay…but…still…consider it? For me?" she still asked. Testament sighed.

"Very well…" he murmured. Dizzy smiled warmly before turning around to face the cabin, where, outside sat Venom, and inside Zato slept. Approaching Venom, Dizzy waved gently and sat beside him on the ground.

"Still sad?" she asked. Venom shook his head.

"Simply dealing with the revival of someone I thought that I could never see again. Dizzy," Venom began as he turned his head to face her.

"Why do you want to help people, when they have been so cruel to you?" he asked. Dizzy looked down a moment, then spoke as she studied a single dead blade of grass.

"I think…that people just don't understand things that are new to them, and that they become hostile when new things arrive. Because of that, I want to show everyone that all Gears aren't bad. That's why I try to talk to Testament a lot about his quickness to kill a human. He hates them because they are ignorant and cruel, as well as irresponsible…but…I want to show him that they just need a chance. Testament is a little hard at heart…but…I think slowly…very slowly…he is beginning to understand," she said. Venom nodded.

"Ah…I suppose that he cannot comprehend our feelings, either?" he asked. Dizzy nodded.

"Mostly, yes…Testament was once human…but after becoming a Gear, I think he just decided to accept what he called 'the abomination that he is', and with it, make everyone suffer just as he would."

Venom watched Testament walk off into the moonlit distance before sighing and shaking his head.

"Well, Dizzy…..I want to thank you for what you have done for me…for bringing Zato back to life….everything….if ever you need either or both of us, all you need to do is follow your intuition…"

Dizzy nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Venom," she said. Venom nodded in return.

"And…for starters…in the morning, we should help you get home….wherever that is…okay?" he said. Dizzy's eyes widened almost instantly.

"Oh my God! Johnny! May! Oh, I know they're so worried! I'm very sorry, but I must be going!!" she said hurriedly as he rose to her feet. Venom blinked a few times.

"Well….if you must go, then I will see you whenever I do, Dizzy," he said, waving her off as she took flight into the night sky.

-

"April! Johnny! Duck!" May ordered as she and Bridget hit the deck floor. Johnny grabbed April as he dove onto the ground as well, avoiding the flying debris as well. The mysterious shockwave had torn into the side of the Jellyfish, sending it sideways a bit.

"That BITCH! I thought we put her out of her misery a long time ago! She just won't die will she?!" Johnny cursed as he dared to rise after the hit. Laughter met his comment.

"Ha ha ha! I'm not through with you cute little pirates yet!" the amused tone of I-no echoed as someone yelled for the crew to duck again.

BOOM!

"Waaah!!" Bridget wailed as he tumbled along the floors and skidded into a metal ladder.

"Ow!" he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "That mean lady! Ugh! We didn't even do anything to her an' she just attacks us!" he pouted before standing on his feet and proceeding to march toward the source of the explosions.

"Bridget! Wait!" Both May and Johnny yelped as they chased after him.

"Don't be stupid, Bridge! You can't take her out alone!" Johnny yelled. Bridget ignored him and continued on.

I'm gonna show her! I'm gonna show everyone!!

-End Ch 3-