Chapter 4
written by Illuminet
DISCLAIMER: Nothing has changed, *sigh*.
"..."-Indicate speech
'...'-Indicate thought
"Gah! It reeks down here. Could you refresh my memory as to why were down here, again?"
Axl complained with a gagging sound. Thanks to Sol's superior hearing they were able to locate the man hole that lead through the sewers. Because there was hardly any light, Sol focused his magic into the Fire Seal to heat the blade up, shedding red light over a small area. He held the sword in front of him to light his way and took the lead, while Millia took the rear. Sol sighed again.
"Alright, Low, for the FOURTEENTH time now: Were going through the sewers to best avoid those annoying robots, and so we don't have to face the desert heat. If you ask that question one more time, I'm gonna shove Fire Seal up your ass and cook you from the inside out!"
Sol was just a little bit irritable since the stench was even worse for him than Axl. Sol, not being human, had a nose that had a sense of smell almost five times greater than a normal human, so Sol's nose could pick up scents normally even a dog might have trouble sniffing out. Millia was thankfully not complaining nearly as much as Axl. Instead, she would just glare at Sol's back for choosing to have to travel down the dank tunnels of the sewers. She finally asked Sol a question that was bothering her for some time.
"Tell me Sol, do you know where were going?"
Sol's answer was not one she was particularly fond of hearing.
"Well Rage, I don't have a solid clue to where we'll be heading. But I do know that this Sewer System travel through every country in a continent. I'm guessing our direction is the west. I'm hoping we can take the sewers out of the country."
Millia looked a bit frazzled.
"Does that mean we have to sleep down here, too?!"
Millia wasn't about to put any other part of her body onto the slime invested floors of the sewers other than the bottom of her feel, since she had on shoes. Sol answered her question.
"I hope you two have a lot of stamina, because I don't intend to lay down here at all, so let's just keep walking, alright?"
The trio kept walking through the dimly lit tunnel, thanks to the light emanating Fire Seal.
Axl and Millia were starting to get tired, the walk felt like forever to them. Sol made sure he slowed down repeatedly so they could catch up. Sol seemed to sniff the air before smiling.
"Hmm...we should be out of here in three hours!"
Millia looked at him oddly.
"How do you know? I don't get it."
She had never known Sol to have such amazing human abilities.
"That's probably because you've never traveled with me before. I'm usually alone, ya know? My sense of smell is just as good as my sense of hearing."
Sol was walking faster now, wanting to get out of the sewers as quickly as possibly before his nose fell off.
"C'mon, lets get going now, I want to be out of here as soon as possible."
The three finally got towards the next man hole. Sol went up the ladder first, before stabbing his sword through the man hole lid as it exploded off the hole. As the three climbed up the ladder, Sol sniffed the air in relief.
"Aw, finally. That shit filled sewer was really about to do a number on my nose."
As he cracked his neck audibly before looking around, Sol noticed the lay of the land.
"Where are we now?"
Axl asked as he also looked around. Millia spoke up.
"I just want a shower..."
She pouted a bit. She felt really dirty after traveling through the sewer. They soon noticed that they were in a small forest clearing. The stars shined brightly in the night sky. Sol looked around again before sighing.
"Shit, I'm not sure where we are, this territory is unfamiliar to me."
Axl blanched at Sol's statement, as he slid on the ground, with a hopeless expression on his face.
"Darn, why do you seem to have the worst luck, Chief? Are we gonna have to travel through the sewers again?"
Sol walked up a small grassy hill. He turned back to his companions.
"Hey, there's a small body of water over here. Why don't we get a drink and rest up?"
Sol suggested as Axl and Millia ran up the hill, desperate for clean water. Each of them splashed the cool liquid on there face. Axl smiled in contentment.
"*PHEW* I needed that!"
Millia nodded her head in agreement. Sol turned his head up to the sky, as if hearing something. Millia looked worried.
"Is something the matter, Sol?"
He stood up, still looking at the sky, then nodded.
"I think something's approaching...?"
The other two kept deathly silent until they, too, heard a sound.
"It sounds like a propeller, lots of them."
Millia commented, still looking skyward. An object appeared in the sky. As it got closer the three could make it out to be an air ship. Sol saw a painted sigh on the bottom of the giant metal ship as it got closer. He gritted his teeth in annoyance.
'The May Ship...damn, its those annoying Jellyfish Pirates!'
The giant ship soon stopped and hovered in mid air over the small oasis, before descending towards the ground, blowing the trees back by the propellers wind current.
The three travelers held an arm to there face as the wind current splashed water on their clothes. Sol gritted his teeth as the water got his clothes wet. A ladder was extended to the ground, as two figures made their way down from the side of the ship. The first one was a tall man, with long blonde hair, tied by a thin sting. He wore a long hat on his head, and his eyes were covered in sunglasses. He wore a long black leather trench coat, with a matching pair of black pants, help up by a ridiculously large belt. He had no shirt on, revealing a well toned muscular chest. in his right hand he held a long wooden cane. The other one was a short brunette haired girl dressed in a bright orange dress. She wore a large, matching colored captain hat with a skull and cross bones decorated at the center of it. As the pair landed to the ground, they looked oddly at the trio. The man dressed in black looked at the three carefully before his eyes zeroed in on Millia. With amazing speed he was in front of Millia in a second, tilting her body backwards as he held her in his arms.
"Hey there, Miss. Your such a beautiful lady..."
The man didn't have a chance to finish as a large anchor dropped on his head from nowhere. Sol sweat dropped. The little girl in orange held the large anchor over her right shoulder, fuming at the tall man.
"Johnny..."
She said in a low dangerous tone, using the man's name. Johnny held his arms up in a defensive position.
"Ow...please May, it was an accident! You know how I get if front of a pretty girl..."
The young girl, May interrupted him.
"Why don't you ever do that to me?"
The girl said, keeping the low dangerous tone.
"What does she got that I...hey, I know you! Your that lady who was chasing after that shadow guy a few years ago, right?"
Millia's eyes showed with recognition.
"You were the girl chasing after that winged woman, too, weren't you? I never caught your name, until now."
Millia said softly. May smiled.
"I haven't caught your name, yet."
Millia gave May her full name.
"Its Millia. Millia Rage."
Johnny had trouble getting on his feet. he looked towards Axl and Sol.
"Yo Axl, Sol! Can you guys help me up?"
Johnny asked. As he was helped by the two men, he asked them why they were in the oasis.
"What are you guys doing here in our secret Oasis?"
Axl looked at Johnny for a moment.
"Secret Oasis? You guys own this area?"
Johnny nodded.
"Unofficially speaking, yes. Its one of our mains sources of water for the May Ship, since we can't get it from the Government. Ya know, being out laws and all."
Axl nodded his head at the explanation.
"You guys going somewhere?"
Axl asked. Johnny scratched the back of his head.
"Well, our newest member wants to go to England to meet a friend she'd promised to see. So were going to the European continent. How'd you three get over here, anyway?"
Axl's expression turned a bit serious.
"We got hunted down by some robots that look like Ky Kiske back at a checkpoint town in the desert. Chief Sol wanted us to go through the sewers. Once we came up, we ended up here. Hey, since your headed to England, mind if we come along?"
Johnny thought it over for a moment.
"Well, normally I'd refuse, but seeing as you are in a lot of trouble, I guess I can lend a helping hand. We'll just get the water and be off, so welcome aboard!"
Once the water was brought into the ship via a large vacuum type machine, it ascended to sky. Inside the Captain's quarters, stood Axl and Sol, along with Johnny, who was steering the wheel of the ship. The room was rather small, with some navigation equipment and maps everywhere. Sol looked onward at the sea of clouds before asking Johnny a question.
"Hey, how is she doing?"
Johnny kept his eyes forward, still steering.
"Dizzy? Why do you want to know?"
Sol looked out at the clouds again. But as he was about to say something to Johnny, some one entered the room. Sol looked at the person, and saw it to be the very one he was talking about with Johnny. She was a rather short young woman, with wine colored eyes, and azure hair, tied up in a yellow bandanna of sorts. She more a short sailor shirt, covering only her chest, while leaving were waist bare. there were holes in the back where a pair of small pings protruded from: the right wing was black, while the left one was white. She wore very short denim shorts, with a hole in the back to show a long black tail with a yellow bow tied near the end. Her long white and blue stiletto added some extra height to her frame, but otherwise, she still looked a bit short. The wings and tail proved her to be more than a simple human. She was a Gear. A Half-Gear, to be more precise. She noticed Sol and looked at him a bit pensively. Sol gave her a sideway glance from his standing position.
"Your looking good, Dizzy."
Sol said simply as she bowed her head down a bit.
'Um...its nice to meet you again, Mr. Badguy, but why are you here?"
Sol came closer, about to say something, when Dizzy's black wing all of sudden transformed into a reaper like creature, and lunged for Sol. Sol jumped back to get out of reach of its long scrawny arm, As Dizzy grabbed it by the shoulders.
"Please Necro, not now, remeber what happened last time..."
Necro, her black wing, was not in a pleasant mood to see the only man who could beat him around without seeming to try, and that didn't hold well with Necro.
"Let ME at him! I'll KILL him! I'll TEAR him apart..."
As Necro kept raving at Dizzy, Sol laughed, seeing how pissed Necro was.
"Its nice to see you, too. Might as well say hi to Undine as well."
When Sol said the name, Dizzy's white wing transformed into a pale woman with long feathery hair. She nodded towards Sol.
"Hello, its been a while, Mr. Badguy. I'm surprised were all meeting in a friendly manner such as this."
Dizzy looked pathetically at her white wing for help restraining Necro, but Sol stopped her.
"Go ahead and let the bastard let off some steam. I did beat him a second time, anyway."
Necro gritted his teeth at Sol in frustration.
"I was fighting constantly, so when you came along, I was to tired to fight you at my full power!"
Sol closed his eyes and shook his head at the black wing as he smirked at it.
"Excuses, excuses. When will you learn that I'm an unbeatable opponent, Necro?"
Necro's eyes flashed red.
"You want to take this outside?"
Sol narrowed his eyes, anticipating a fight with the young Half-Gear, in order to gauge her strengths and see if they improve in his absence.
"Lead the way."
He said calmly, but Dizzy didn't look to pleased with this and turned towards Sol.
"Please Mr. Badguy, don't provoke him. I don't want to fight you..."
Sol interrupted her, his voice taking on a serious tone.
"You should just accept Necro as a full part of you, ya know? The same should go with Undine. They are systems that hold the key to your Gear powers. To not allow them their wish to fight, you merely drive them away. They are connected to you, Dizzy. They will be the best friends you ever have. Trust me on this, I should know..."
Sol felt himself speak to much, and cut the rest of his speech there. Dizzy looked curiously at him.
"How do you know?"
She questioned, trying to understand what he meant, but Sol shook his head.
"Why don't we go out to deck and see how strong you've become, eh?"
He walked quickly past her so he could avoid further questioning. Dizzy soon followed. Axl and Johnny, who had remained unnoticed, turned to each other. Axl spoke first.
"That's the most he's said in a long time."
As the two continued to stare out the window.
----
"So, the mission was unsuccessful?"
A shadow spoke up around the glowing sphere.
"Unfortunately, yes. We have lost all traces of Sol Badguy. However, It seems he was not alone. One Axl Low and Millia Rage fought along with him."
The shadow spoke up again after divulging the new information.
"I see. Those two were targets a few years ago, correct? I guess we all have keep our ears opened for any sighting of Sol Badguy. Have any Bounty Hunters had any success?"
The other shadow shook its head.
"No, not yet. So far, it seems he eludes them, as well. We will just have to wait again. A minor set back, Sir."
The other had to agree.
"Yes, only a minor set back. Still, if even the Bounty Hunters should fail, there is still the project..."
----
A Police Air ship flying over the ocean. Ky stood on the front most balcony of the all white ship, staring down at the endless ocean as his hair and clothes whipped in the wind.
He held an empty tea cup in his hand. Ky sighed.
"We were unsuccessful. You've eluded me again, Sol. Regardless, the fact that a bounty was put on your head could only mean one thing: You are being hunted, not just by me."
Ky just wanted to get back to Paris, since the flight to Arizona had been a wasted one. The only thing to note was the charred sand, with an abandoned bar left standing. As he looked forward he thought he noticed something in the sky. He took a telescope from the small table he was sitting at and looked through its lens. His eyes widened. The telescopes zoom rate was impressive. He could see the ship's deck clearly, a rough ten thousand miles away. but that's not what fully surprised him.
'Sol is on the deck of the May Ship!'
Ky looked around the room before his eyes caught sight of a small radio linked directly to the Ship's steering room. Ky grabbed it immediately.
"Captain, hurry and put this ship in stealth mode, and trail the ship approximately ten thousand miles in front of us, understand?"
----
On the May ship's deck, Sol could have sworn he heard some thing but brushed the thought away, as he looked towards Dizzy, as she transformed into a tight fitting leather outfit with white sleeves, her pirate clothes disappearing. Sol brought his right arm up to his neck and cracked it as he tapped Fire Seal's blade against his left leg. Some of the female crew of the ship watched with interest. They never saw Dizzy lose a fight before, but they would be awed by Dizzy as she would push herself harder this time than normal. Dizzy's mind knew that it was futile to hold back her powers. Sol was the only one so far who pushed Dizzy to her limits, her normal tactics against lesser opponents proving useless against him in their past fights. Dizzy steeled herself for the fight.
'I wont hold back...'
The two stood upright, with calm manners. Sol occasionally cracked his neck as he waited casually to see what Dizzy would do. Instantly, she rushed towards him, before swinging out with a sword arm. Sol was impressed, as he barely blocked the swing.
'That was like Justice's Michael Sword...'
The blade disappeared as Dizzy spun her body, her other arm turning into a kind of crab claw as she struck again, Sol twisted his sword to prevent it from getting caught, but was solidly hit in the back by Dizzy's tail, as it transformed into a giant worm like creature a bit him, drawing first blood as it tore through his shirt and back, knocking him up in the air. Dizzy then jumped after him, but as she reached him, he reacted with a back flip, and then caught her tail in his right hand as he swung her below him, before twisting his body and catching her in the stomach with the back of his foot, sending her plummeting to the deck with amazing speed. She hit it solidly before bringing her self up quickly and jumping away from Sol as he landed, but he swung his sword horizontally, swaying forward, and caught her in mid air. As Dizzy landed, she put her hand to her side and felt blood dripping down her fingers, soon however, the cut closed as her body regenerated itself of the damage. The crew was silent, amazed by the speed of the two combatants. They stood still again, each recovering their breaths as they stared at each other.
"That was a good attack Dizzy, you've improved."
Sol commented. Dizzy was one of the few out there who could really get Sol fired up in a fight. Though, she was still to weak to test out his true power on her, he was fairly satisfied so far. Dizzy looked towards him.
"Why don't you attack first this time."
Dizzy said to him.
'Looks like I have to show her some other attacks I have...'
Sol suddenly rushed towards her with great speed, striking out with the pommel of the Fire Seal, before striking upward with the blade. Undine appeared and placed a strong shield of ice over Dizzy, and so far it held, until Sol brought the sword back to his right side, before slashing at the shield and cutting it in two, leaving Dizzy shocked. Sol then stepped over a little bit bringing his fist behind him, then twisted his body as he sent his fist flying in a gauntlet of fire, hitting Dizzy in the face, and making her sail through the air before she hit the deck with her back. As she rose, Dizzy held her cheek in pain before glaring at Sol and getting up. Sol dashed towards her again as Dizzy crouch down, as Undine formed over her and shot her hand out, making a pillar of ice jut out of the deck. Sol saw it coming, but had run to fast, as his momentum carried him through the icicle shattering it, as he tripped and fell to the ground. He got up slowly, looking at Dizzy again before Necro came forth and slashed at Sol with his claw. Sol was forced to jump but saw through the trick to late as Necro formed small scythes of blue flame and sending them upward to meet Sol at the peek of his jump, Sol was about to fall head first onto the floor before he quickly brought himself up right, and landed on his feet, and calculated the distance there was between him and Dizzy, then rose in the air quickly, bringing his arm back behind his head as a spark of fire came in front of it. He quickly brought his fist forward, stretching it to the length of his arm. He hit Dizzy solidly in her chest as she hit the ground quickly, before bouncing up slightly before recovering in mid air and landed at the same time Sol did. Sol stood up right as he waited for Dizzy to continue, noticing the wound healing abnormally fast on her. He smirked.
'She regenerating now, huh?'
Dizzy breathed in slowly before exhaling.
"I guess I'll have to try out the new ability Necro provided for me."
She said simply as Sol looked at her with a questioning glance.
"What new ability?"
He asked. The question was answered as Dizzy held her head in her arms as if in pain. A large black shadow formed around Dizzy's small frame as her eyes glowed fiercely. Sol looked a bit surprised by what he saw.
'That looks like...'
Sol's thought was interrupted by the feelings of power that swelled around Dizzy as her form turned back to normal. He could hear the crowd of women cheer Dizzy on.
"What the hell was that?"
He asked as his grip on the Fire Seal tightened.
"Its called Necro Install. A lot of my powers have been boosted up greatly now. Are you sure you wish to continue?"
Sol grinned. There was no way he would back up now.
"So what if you got more powerful. Let's just continue this fight!"
Dizzy blurred out of his vision before he felt her strike him in the stomach with a dragon type arm, and felt the Michael sword slash him from the shoulder downward, cutting through the front of his shirt and half jacket. Sol gritted his teeth before striking upward with his sword, barely blocking a punch thrown by Necro, and then pushed Dizzy back, and jumping away from her. Dizzy stood still, as if waiting. Sol breathed hard.
'Damn...'
Instantly he brought his sword up before slamming it into the ground. Dizzy recognized the attack. The Gun Flame was an attack Sol used to send a trail of fire trailing on the ground. From experience she knew that the fire did not travel very far, so Dizzy wondered why Sol would pull it off so far away. As the Fire Seal connected with the ground, flame did appear, but looked a bit smaller than usual. Dizzy was shocked to see the flame coming towards her a such quick speed without dispersing, as she remembered. She quickly side stepped the attack as it struck the decks metal railing uselessly. Dizzy lingered to long on the flame and hadn't noticed Sol jump high into the air, before sending his sword up in a small arch, the sound catching Dizzy's attention as she stared a flame that came from Sol's sword. Dizzy was about to evade the projectile, when she fell to her knees, exhausted from remaining in the Necro Install form to long. Luckily enough, the flame hit the area in front of her, as Sol landed on the ground.
"It seems you have to work on that, huh?"
He asked in an amused tone. Dizzy nodded.
"You win, Mr. Badguy. I'm going to decline the rest of the match."
She said in a tired voice. Sol walked up closer before he was looking down at her.
"Who said your going to give up? Sorry, but this fight ain't over yet."
Dizzy looked at Sol in surprise.
"But I've used up most of my power already."
Ignoring her protests, Sol put his palm on her fore head. A flame emitted from her body, as Sol closed his eyes and concentrated.
'What's happening? My power is returning back to normal. Its as if I had never fought yet.'
Dizzy had a puzzling expression. Once he removed his hand, he opened his eyes and looked down at her.
"Use your Necro Install again and try to defeat me."
Sol said simply as he walked away. He turned around to face her, and seeing no reason not to, Dizzy used the Necro Install once again.
"All I have to do is defeat you, right?"
She asked. Sol nodded.
"That's all you have to do...but its not gonna be quite that easy anymore."
While Dizzy's face showed confusion, Sol crossed his arms, one over the other, as he began to build up power. A ring of fire burst from his feet, before he lifted his left leg up and suddenly stomped back it on the ground, as he roared to the sky, out stretching his arms, as his body began to be surrounded in a black flame, a white mark seemed to appear on his fore head, before flickering off.
"Dragon Install!"
Sol yelled as the black flame suddenly dispersed. Sol's wounds had all healed as he stood up right again, and put his right hand in his pocket. His eyes glowed brightly now. Dizzy was awed, feeling the sheer power of his will seeming to push her back a little. Even the rest of the crew could feel it as it seemed to push them on their knees as they looked upon him. Sol grinned again.
"Let's not waste time, Dizzy. Come at ME!"
Instantly he rushed off towards her, swinging his sword downward on Dizzy's head. She could barely react to his movements, evading the swing by mere centimeters. As she flew back, Sol kept up with her and struck her with a back hand as he twirled through the air. He soon struck her in the side of the head with the flat of the blade, making Dizzy spin like a cartwheel through the air. As she recovered, Sol ran right behind her as she landed, before impaling his sword into the ground and sending a large pillar of fire up from the ground, and upon striking Dizzy, sent her flying up once more, encased in flames. Dizzy hit the deck at the other end. She staggered to her feet, as smoke trailed off her body as she stood up shakily.
'I'm totally on the defensive. His power is too great...what can I do?'
Dizzy thought while staring at Sol. A thought struck her.
"This is my final assault...Necro!"
Necro materialized from Dizzy's dark wing, drawing out his claw, before blasting streams of light at Sol, who easily dodged it. However, Necro began to fire even more rays at a faster pace trying to catch the man off guard. Necro then morphed into a giant dragon head and sent a large blast of blue flames at Sol. Sol brought up the Fire Seal in an attempt to defend himself as the beam washed over his body. Dizzy began to struggle to keep her balance as the blast got stronger and stronger. Dizzy finally flew back, screaming as she was sent flying backward, hitting the rail at the end of the deck, rendering her unconscious. Sol had used his magic to create a shield of energy to absorb the impact of the attack and remained unharmed. He then took a look at Dizzy's fallen form, before looking at one of the crew members.
"Hey you, get her to the sick bay."
With that being said, Sol walked off, bringing his sword over his right shoulder, heading back inside the ship.
Note: Just expressing my thanks to the reviews of Chaos Samurai(I believe that's his or her name). I would also like to answer a question you asked in your third chapter review: Sorry, but there most likely will be no romance in this story. Its mostly an action story. Maybe in another story, though.
written by Illuminet
DISCLAIMER: Nothing has changed, *sigh*.
"..."-Indicate speech
'...'-Indicate thought
"Gah! It reeks down here. Could you refresh my memory as to why were down here, again?"
Axl complained with a gagging sound. Thanks to Sol's superior hearing they were able to locate the man hole that lead through the sewers. Because there was hardly any light, Sol focused his magic into the Fire Seal to heat the blade up, shedding red light over a small area. He held the sword in front of him to light his way and took the lead, while Millia took the rear. Sol sighed again.
"Alright, Low, for the FOURTEENTH time now: Were going through the sewers to best avoid those annoying robots, and so we don't have to face the desert heat. If you ask that question one more time, I'm gonna shove Fire Seal up your ass and cook you from the inside out!"
Sol was just a little bit irritable since the stench was even worse for him than Axl. Sol, not being human, had a nose that had a sense of smell almost five times greater than a normal human, so Sol's nose could pick up scents normally even a dog might have trouble sniffing out. Millia was thankfully not complaining nearly as much as Axl. Instead, she would just glare at Sol's back for choosing to have to travel down the dank tunnels of the sewers. She finally asked Sol a question that was bothering her for some time.
"Tell me Sol, do you know where were going?"
Sol's answer was not one she was particularly fond of hearing.
"Well Rage, I don't have a solid clue to where we'll be heading. But I do know that this Sewer System travel through every country in a continent. I'm guessing our direction is the west. I'm hoping we can take the sewers out of the country."
Millia looked a bit frazzled.
"Does that mean we have to sleep down here, too?!"
Millia wasn't about to put any other part of her body onto the slime invested floors of the sewers other than the bottom of her feel, since she had on shoes. Sol answered her question.
"I hope you two have a lot of stamina, because I don't intend to lay down here at all, so let's just keep walking, alright?"
The trio kept walking through the dimly lit tunnel, thanks to the light emanating Fire Seal.
Axl and Millia were starting to get tired, the walk felt like forever to them. Sol made sure he slowed down repeatedly so they could catch up. Sol seemed to sniff the air before smiling.
"Hmm...we should be out of here in three hours!"
Millia looked at him oddly.
"How do you know? I don't get it."
She had never known Sol to have such amazing human abilities.
"That's probably because you've never traveled with me before. I'm usually alone, ya know? My sense of smell is just as good as my sense of hearing."
Sol was walking faster now, wanting to get out of the sewers as quickly as possibly before his nose fell off.
"C'mon, lets get going now, I want to be out of here as soon as possible."
The three finally got towards the next man hole. Sol went up the ladder first, before stabbing his sword through the man hole lid as it exploded off the hole. As the three climbed up the ladder, Sol sniffed the air in relief.
"Aw, finally. That shit filled sewer was really about to do a number on my nose."
As he cracked his neck audibly before looking around, Sol noticed the lay of the land.
"Where are we now?"
Axl asked as he also looked around. Millia spoke up.
"I just want a shower..."
She pouted a bit. She felt really dirty after traveling through the sewer. They soon noticed that they were in a small forest clearing. The stars shined brightly in the night sky. Sol looked around again before sighing.
"Shit, I'm not sure where we are, this territory is unfamiliar to me."
Axl blanched at Sol's statement, as he slid on the ground, with a hopeless expression on his face.
"Darn, why do you seem to have the worst luck, Chief? Are we gonna have to travel through the sewers again?"
Sol walked up a small grassy hill. He turned back to his companions.
"Hey, there's a small body of water over here. Why don't we get a drink and rest up?"
Sol suggested as Axl and Millia ran up the hill, desperate for clean water. Each of them splashed the cool liquid on there face. Axl smiled in contentment.
"*PHEW* I needed that!"
Millia nodded her head in agreement. Sol turned his head up to the sky, as if hearing something. Millia looked worried.
"Is something the matter, Sol?"
He stood up, still looking at the sky, then nodded.
"I think something's approaching...?"
The other two kept deathly silent until they, too, heard a sound.
"It sounds like a propeller, lots of them."
Millia commented, still looking skyward. An object appeared in the sky. As it got closer the three could make it out to be an air ship. Sol saw a painted sigh on the bottom of the giant metal ship as it got closer. He gritted his teeth in annoyance.
'The May Ship...damn, its those annoying Jellyfish Pirates!'
The giant ship soon stopped and hovered in mid air over the small oasis, before descending towards the ground, blowing the trees back by the propellers wind current.
The three travelers held an arm to there face as the wind current splashed water on their clothes. Sol gritted his teeth as the water got his clothes wet. A ladder was extended to the ground, as two figures made their way down from the side of the ship. The first one was a tall man, with long blonde hair, tied by a thin sting. He wore a long hat on his head, and his eyes were covered in sunglasses. He wore a long black leather trench coat, with a matching pair of black pants, help up by a ridiculously large belt. He had no shirt on, revealing a well toned muscular chest. in his right hand he held a long wooden cane. The other one was a short brunette haired girl dressed in a bright orange dress. She wore a large, matching colored captain hat with a skull and cross bones decorated at the center of it. As the pair landed to the ground, they looked oddly at the trio. The man dressed in black looked at the three carefully before his eyes zeroed in on Millia. With amazing speed he was in front of Millia in a second, tilting her body backwards as he held her in his arms.
"Hey there, Miss. Your such a beautiful lady..."
The man didn't have a chance to finish as a large anchor dropped on his head from nowhere. Sol sweat dropped. The little girl in orange held the large anchor over her right shoulder, fuming at the tall man.
"Johnny..."
She said in a low dangerous tone, using the man's name. Johnny held his arms up in a defensive position.
"Ow...please May, it was an accident! You know how I get if front of a pretty girl..."
The young girl, May interrupted him.
"Why don't you ever do that to me?"
The girl said, keeping the low dangerous tone.
"What does she got that I...hey, I know you! Your that lady who was chasing after that shadow guy a few years ago, right?"
Millia's eyes showed with recognition.
"You were the girl chasing after that winged woman, too, weren't you? I never caught your name, until now."
Millia said softly. May smiled.
"I haven't caught your name, yet."
Millia gave May her full name.
"Its Millia. Millia Rage."
Johnny had trouble getting on his feet. he looked towards Axl and Sol.
"Yo Axl, Sol! Can you guys help me up?"
Johnny asked. As he was helped by the two men, he asked them why they were in the oasis.
"What are you guys doing here in our secret Oasis?"
Axl looked at Johnny for a moment.
"Secret Oasis? You guys own this area?"
Johnny nodded.
"Unofficially speaking, yes. Its one of our mains sources of water for the May Ship, since we can't get it from the Government. Ya know, being out laws and all."
Axl nodded his head at the explanation.
"You guys going somewhere?"
Axl asked. Johnny scratched the back of his head.
"Well, our newest member wants to go to England to meet a friend she'd promised to see. So were going to the European continent. How'd you three get over here, anyway?"
Axl's expression turned a bit serious.
"We got hunted down by some robots that look like Ky Kiske back at a checkpoint town in the desert. Chief Sol wanted us to go through the sewers. Once we came up, we ended up here. Hey, since your headed to England, mind if we come along?"
Johnny thought it over for a moment.
"Well, normally I'd refuse, but seeing as you are in a lot of trouble, I guess I can lend a helping hand. We'll just get the water and be off, so welcome aboard!"
Once the water was brought into the ship via a large vacuum type machine, it ascended to sky. Inside the Captain's quarters, stood Axl and Sol, along with Johnny, who was steering the wheel of the ship. The room was rather small, with some navigation equipment and maps everywhere. Sol looked onward at the sea of clouds before asking Johnny a question.
"Hey, how is she doing?"
Johnny kept his eyes forward, still steering.
"Dizzy? Why do you want to know?"
Sol looked out at the clouds again. But as he was about to say something to Johnny, some one entered the room. Sol looked at the person, and saw it to be the very one he was talking about with Johnny. She was a rather short young woman, with wine colored eyes, and azure hair, tied up in a yellow bandanna of sorts. She more a short sailor shirt, covering only her chest, while leaving were waist bare. there were holes in the back where a pair of small pings protruded from: the right wing was black, while the left one was white. She wore very short denim shorts, with a hole in the back to show a long black tail with a yellow bow tied near the end. Her long white and blue stiletto added some extra height to her frame, but otherwise, she still looked a bit short. The wings and tail proved her to be more than a simple human. She was a Gear. A Half-Gear, to be more precise. She noticed Sol and looked at him a bit pensively. Sol gave her a sideway glance from his standing position.
"Your looking good, Dizzy."
Sol said simply as she bowed her head down a bit.
'Um...its nice to meet you again, Mr. Badguy, but why are you here?"
Sol came closer, about to say something, when Dizzy's black wing all of sudden transformed into a reaper like creature, and lunged for Sol. Sol jumped back to get out of reach of its long scrawny arm, As Dizzy grabbed it by the shoulders.
"Please Necro, not now, remeber what happened last time..."
Necro, her black wing, was not in a pleasant mood to see the only man who could beat him around without seeming to try, and that didn't hold well with Necro.
"Let ME at him! I'll KILL him! I'll TEAR him apart..."
As Necro kept raving at Dizzy, Sol laughed, seeing how pissed Necro was.
"Its nice to see you, too. Might as well say hi to Undine as well."
When Sol said the name, Dizzy's white wing transformed into a pale woman with long feathery hair. She nodded towards Sol.
"Hello, its been a while, Mr. Badguy. I'm surprised were all meeting in a friendly manner such as this."
Dizzy looked pathetically at her white wing for help restraining Necro, but Sol stopped her.
"Go ahead and let the bastard let off some steam. I did beat him a second time, anyway."
Necro gritted his teeth at Sol in frustration.
"I was fighting constantly, so when you came along, I was to tired to fight you at my full power!"
Sol closed his eyes and shook his head at the black wing as he smirked at it.
"Excuses, excuses. When will you learn that I'm an unbeatable opponent, Necro?"
Necro's eyes flashed red.
"You want to take this outside?"
Sol narrowed his eyes, anticipating a fight with the young Half-Gear, in order to gauge her strengths and see if they improve in his absence.
"Lead the way."
He said calmly, but Dizzy didn't look to pleased with this and turned towards Sol.
"Please Mr. Badguy, don't provoke him. I don't want to fight you..."
Sol interrupted her, his voice taking on a serious tone.
"You should just accept Necro as a full part of you, ya know? The same should go with Undine. They are systems that hold the key to your Gear powers. To not allow them their wish to fight, you merely drive them away. They are connected to you, Dizzy. They will be the best friends you ever have. Trust me on this, I should know..."
Sol felt himself speak to much, and cut the rest of his speech there. Dizzy looked curiously at him.
"How do you know?"
She questioned, trying to understand what he meant, but Sol shook his head.
"Why don't we go out to deck and see how strong you've become, eh?"
He walked quickly past her so he could avoid further questioning. Dizzy soon followed. Axl and Johnny, who had remained unnoticed, turned to each other. Axl spoke first.
"That's the most he's said in a long time."
As the two continued to stare out the window.
----
"So, the mission was unsuccessful?"
A shadow spoke up around the glowing sphere.
"Unfortunately, yes. We have lost all traces of Sol Badguy. However, It seems he was not alone. One Axl Low and Millia Rage fought along with him."
The shadow spoke up again after divulging the new information.
"I see. Those two were targets a few years ago, correct? I guess we all have keep our ears opened for any sighting of Sol Badguy. Have any Bounty Hunters had any success?"
The other shadow shook its head.
"No, not yet. So far, it seems he eludes them, as well. We will just have to wait again. A minor set back, Sir."
The other had to agree.
"Yes, only a minor set back. Still, if even the Bounty Hunters should fail, there is still the project..."
----
A Police Air ship flying over the ocean. Ky stood on the front most balcony of the all white ship, staring down at the endless ocean as his hair and clothes whipped in the wind.
He held an empty tea cup in his hand. Ky sighed.
"We were unsuccessful. You've eluded me again, Sol. Regardless, the fact that a bounty was put on your head could only mean one thing: You are being hunted, not just by me."
Ky just wanted to get back to Paris, since the flight to Arizona had been a wasted one. The only thing to note was the charred sand, with an abandoned bar left standing. As he looked forward he thought he noticed something in the sky. He took a telescope from the small table he was sitting at and looked through its lens. His eyes widened. The telescopes zoom rate was impressive. He could see the ship's deck clearly, a rough ten thousand miles away. but that's not what fully surprised him.
'Sol is on the deck of the May Ship!'
Ky looked around the room before his eyes caught sight of a small radio linked directly to the Ship's steering room. Ky grabbed it immediately.
"Captain, hurry and put this ship in stealth mode, and trail the ship approximately ten thousand miles in front of us, understand?"
----
On the May ship's deck, Sol could have sworn he heard some thing but brushed the thought away, as he looked towards Dizzy, as she transformed into a tight fitting leather outfit with white sleeves, her pirate clothes disappearing. Sol brought his right arm up to his neck and cracked it as he tapped Fire Seal's blade against his left leg. Some of the female crew of the ship watched with interest. They never saw Dizzy lose a fight before, but they would be awed by Dizzy as she would push herself harder this time than normal. Dizzy's mind knew that it was futile to hold back her powers. Sol was the only one so far who pushed Dizzy to her limits, her normal tactics against lesser opponents proving useless against him in their past fights. Dizzy steeled herself for the fight.
'I wont hold back...'
The two stood upright, with calm manners. Sol occasionally cracked his neck as he waited casually to see what Dizzy would do. Instantly, she rushed towards him, before swinging out with a sword arm. Sol was impressed, as he barely blocked the swing.
'That was like Justice's Michael Sword...'
The blade disappeared as Dizzy spun her body, her other arm turning into a kind of crab claw as she struck again, Sol twisted his sword to prevent it from getting caught, but was solidly hit in the back by Dizzy's tail, as it transformed into a giant worm like creature a bit him, drawing first blood as it tore through his shirt and back, knocking him up in the air. Dizzy then jumped after him, but as she reached him, he reacted with a back flip, and then caught her tail in his right hand as he swung her below him, before twisting his body and catching her in the stomach with the back of his foot, sending her plummeting to the deck with amazing speed. She hit it solidly before bringing her self up quickly and jumping away from Sol as he landed, but he swung his sword horizontally, swaying forward, and caught her in mid air. As Dizzy landed, she put her hand to her side and felt blood dripping down her fingers, soon however, the cut closed as her body regenerated itself of the damage. The crew was silent, amazed by the speed of the two combatants. They stood still again, each recovering their breaths as they stared at each other.
"That was a good attack Dizzy, you've improved."
Sol commented. Dizzy was one of the few out there who could really get Sol fired up in a fight. Though, she was still to weak to test out his true power on her, he was fairly satisfied so far. Dizzy looked towards him.
"Why don't you attack first this time."
Dizzy said to him.
'Looks like I have to show her some other attacks I have...'
Sol suddenly rushed towards her with great speed, striking out with the pommel of the Fire Seal, before striking upward with the blade. Undine appeared and placed a strong shield of ice over Dizzy, and so far it held, until Sol brought the sword back to his right side, before slashing at the shield and cutting it in two, leaving Dizzy shocked. Sol then stepped over a little bit bringing his fist behind him, then twisted his body as he sent his fist flying in a gauntlet of fire, hitting Dizzy in the face, and making her sail through the air before she hit the deck with her back. As she rose, Dizzy held her cheek in pain before glaring at Sol and getting up. Sol dashed towards her again as Dizzy crouch down, as Undine formed over her and shot her hand out, making a pillar of ice jut out of the deck. Sol saw it coming, but had run to fast, as his momentum carried him through the icicle shattering it, as he tripped and fell to the ground. He got up slowly, looking at Dizzy again before Necro came forth and slashed at Sol with his claw. Sol was forced to jump but saw through the trick to late as Necro formed small scythes of blue flame and sending them upward to meet Sol at the peek of his jump, Sol was about to fall head first onto the floor before he quickly brought himself up right, and landed on his feet, and calculated the distance there was between him and Dizzy, then rose in the air quickly, bringing his arm back behind his head as a spark of fire came in front of it. He quickly brought his fist forward, stretching it to the length of his arm. He hit Dizzy solidly in her chest as she hit the ground quickly, before bouncing up slightly before recovering in mid air and landed at the same time Sol did. Sol stood up right as he waited for Dizzy to continue, noticing the wound healing abnormally fast on her. He smirked.
'She regenerating now, huh?'
Dizzy breathed in slowly before exhaling.
"I guess I'll have to try out the new ability Necro provided for me."
She said simply as Sol looked at her with a questioning glance.
"What new ability?"
He asked. The question was answered as Dizzy held her head in her arms as if in pain. A large black shadow formed around Dizzy's small frame as her eyes glowed fiercely. Sol looked a bit surprised by what he saw.
'That looks like...'
Sol's thought was interrupted by the feelings of power that swelled around Dizzy as her form turned back to normal. He could hear the crowd of women cheer Dizzy on.
"What the hell was that?"
He asked as his grip on the Fire Seal tightened.
"Its called Necro Install. A lot of my powers have been boosted up greatly now. Are you sure you wish to continue?"
Sol grinned. There was no way he would back up now.
"So what if you got more powerful. Let's just continue this fight!"
Dizzy blurred out of his vision before he felt her strike him in the stomach with a dragon type arm, and felt the Michael sword slash him from the shoulder downward, cutting through the front of his shirt and half jacket. Sol gritted his teeth before striking upward with his sword, barely blocking a punch thrown by Necro, and then pushed Dizzy back, and jumping away from her. Dizzy stood still, as if waiting. Sol breathed hard.
'Damn...'
Instantly he brought his sword up before slamming it into the ground. Dizzy recognized the attack. The Gun Flame was an attack Sol used to send a trail of fire trailing on the ground. From experience she knew that the fire did not travel very far, so Dizzy wondered why Sol would pull it off so far away. As the Fire Seal connected with the ground, flame did appear, but looked a bit smaller than usual. Dizzy was shocked to see the flame coming towards her a such quick speed without dispersing, as she remembered. She quickly side stepped the attack as it struck the decks metal railing uselessly. Dizzy lingered to long on the flame and hadn't noticed Sol jump high into the air, before sending his sword up in a small arch, the sound catching Dizzy's attention as she stared a flame that came from Sol's sword. Dizzy was about to evade the projectile, when she fell to her knees, exhausted from remaining in the Necro Install form to long. Luckily enough, the flame hit the area in front of her, as Sol landed on the ground.
"It seems you have to work on that, huh?"
He asked in an amused tone. Dizzy nodded.
"You win, Mr. Badguy. I'm going to decline the rest of the match."
She said in a tired voice. Sol walked up closer before he was looking down at her.
"Who said your going to give up? Sorry, but this fight ain't over yet."
Dizzy looked at Sol in surprise.
"But I've used up most of my power already."
Ignoring her protests, Sol put his palm on her fore head. A flame emitted from her body, as Sol closed his eyes and concentrated.
'What's happening? My power is returning back to normal. Its as if I had never fought yet.'
Dizzy had a puzzling expression. Once he removed his hand, he opened his eyes and looked down at her.
"Use your Necro Install again and try to defeat me."
Sol said simply as he walked away. He turned around to face her, and seeing no reason not to, Dizzy used the Necro Install once again.
"All I have to do is defeat you, right?"
She asked. Sol nodded.
"That's all you have to do...but its not gonna be quite that easy anymore."
While Dizzy's face showed confusion, Sol crossed his arms, one over the other, as he began to build up power. A ring of fire burst from his feet, before he lifted his left leg up and suddenly stomped back it on the ground, as he roared to the sky, out stretching his arms, as his body began to be surrounded in a black flame, a white mark seemed to appear on his fore head, before flickering off.
"Dragon Install!"
Sol yelled as the black flame suddenly dispersed. Sol's wounds had all healed as he stood up right again, and put his right hand in his pocket. His eyes glowed brightly now. Dizzy was awed, feeling the sheer power of his will seeming to push her back a little. Even the rest of the crew could feel it as it seemed to push them on their knees as they looked upon him. Sol grinned again.
"Let's not waste time, Dizzy. Come at ME!"
Instantly he rushed off towards her, swinging his sword downward on Dizzy's head. She could barely react to his movements, evading the swing by mere centimeters. As she flew back, Sol kept up with her and struck her with a back hand as he twirled through the air. He soon struck her in the side of the head with the flat of the blade, making Dizzy spin like a cartwheel through the air. As she recovered, Sol ran right behind her as she landed, before impaling his sword into the ground and sending a large pillar of fire up from the ground, and upon striking Dizzy, sent her flying up once more, encased in flames. Dizzy hit the deck at the other end. She staggered to her feet, as smoke trailed off her body as she stood up shakily.
'I'm totally on the defensive. His power is too great...what can I do?'
Dizzy thought while staring at Sol. A thought struck her.
"This is my final assault...Necro!"
Necro materialized from Dizzy's dark wing, drawing out his claw, before blasting streams of light at Sol, who easily dodged it. However, Necro began to fire even more rays at a faster pace trying to catch the man off guard. Necro then morphed into a giant dragon head and sent a large blast of blue flames at Sol. Sol brought up the Fire Seal in an attempt to defend himself as the beam washed over his body. Dizzy began to struggle to keep her balance as the blast got stronger and stronger. Dizzy finally flew back, screaming as she was sent flying backward, hitting the rail at the end of the deck, rendering her unconscious. Sol had used his magic to create a shield of energy to absorb the impact of the attack and remained unharmed. He then took a look at Dizzy's fallen form, before looking at one of the crew members.
"Hey you, get her to the sick bay."
With that being said, Sol walked off, bringing his sword over his right shoulder, heading back inside the ship.
Note: Just expressing my thanks to the reviews of Chaos Samurai(I believe that's his or her name). I would also like to answer a question you asked in your third chapter review: Sorry, but there most likely will be no romance in this story. Its mostly an action story. Maybe in another story, though.