GUILTY GEAR

The Wedding Night

The Series

Conceived By: The Unknown Mystery Guy In The Last Chapter's Ending Who Is Who You Suspect He is

Written By: See Above

           In the previous chapter:

           Nazareth drops into a situation beyond him: Literally. Sol unleashes the Tyrant Rave: Version Theta. Kagura is afraid of bacon. The Wanderer shows Athena and Justine that their envisioned power lies in a parody of The Lord of the Rings. Bridget battles Sister Rosette while Sho Tsuzuku and his evil-and-not-so-incognito sidekick watch. Fan boys die multiple horrid deaths by Mauser boy Taka Ichiko, Nazgul, the Purple Dinosaur and Person With Many Aliases' Flying Ninja Kick. Lone Wolf SIX wars with the P4 Red Alert 2 style. Sheo's created characters make cameo appears and read/review pitches. Fan service is served by April, Jack, Jackie, Hikki and Nazareth, plus lots of Green Green parodies and inserts.

           This chapter, the regular story will be skipped. This chapter will be an interlude that doesn't have much connection to the story. Instead, this chapter will focus on what may be the greatest battle between the greatest fighters and authors to ever walk the world. This is it: The ultimate fight of all.

           This is the Author Wars.

           You all know the rating is PG-13, so this part is now dropped. Streamlining…

           Sheo Darren and the P4 do not own Guilty Gear and all the stuff they're ripping off. In fact, where is Sheo Darren? We can all make a good guess, can we?

The Wedding Night Series

Interlude

Author Wars For Real

Amidst the regular mini-thunder of gunfire in the clearing, two voices could be heard exchanging words and running commentary.

"Darn it; fight like a man!"

"Kid, I'm a nun."

"Oh. Sorry."

Bridget was in trouble. His opponent did not have much power to begin with, but she did have two Colt Government .38 semiautomatic pistols, quite an impressive bit of firepower. The young bounty hunter had never encountered guns before save for his twin Jack's shotgun, much less be on the shooting end of one.

Then again, they say there's always a first time to everything.

Right now he was huddled behind a large rock. Whenever he'd look up, bullets pinged off his shelter and sent him back under cover. He'd noticed that when the bullets detonated, they took small cross-shaped explosions. That had been of interest especially when he had used Faultless Defense and the pistol rounds were discharging only a few inches away from his face. Also, his opponent never ran out of ammunition. Damn Filipino action movie physics.

But that was not what he needed. What he needed was a plan.

And it so happens to be that he did have one…

Behind her own sheltering outcrop of stone, Magdala Monastery exorcist Sister Rosette Christopher considered her strange situation. For one thing, she noticed that her gun didn't need reloads anymore; its ammo capacity was somehow unlimited. For another thing, though she prided herself a pretty good shooter, all she had accomplished so far was to waste bullets, especially when that kid had put on that green defensive aura that she just couldn't break. Finally, she was fighting a normal –well, a mostly normal human kid instead of the demons she was accustomed to. After all, what kind of kid summoned killer teddy bears from hell from a yo-yo and could stop bullets?

While she considered her next move, Rosette decided to try a bit of psychological warfare –a first for her, considering her usual routine was to perforate the target with Sacred bullets. "Hey, kid; can you hear me?"

"Yes, Sister." Thankfully, her opponent seemed to be willing to talk and seemed polite. Rosette raised her voice and said:

"We don't really have to be unpleasant to each other, do we?"

"I guess so." There was sarcastic tinge to his tone. "But you started it."

"Me? You were going to pull that teddy bear on me!"

"And you were going to use me as target practice!"

"I was not!"

"Yes, you would!"

"Not!"

"Yes!"

They were yelling at each other now, forgetting their situation in the heat of their argument, standing up from their shelters visibly and glaring at each other as they tried to shout out the other's points. Then they remembered what they were doing, sweat-dropped in embarrassment and ducked back behind their respective safe holds.

"This is so stupid," Bridget volunteered after a few moments of peace. "We're trying to kill each other for no other reason than to advance this story's plot and pull off some cool fight sequences and waste server bandwidth."

"Story? What story? And what bandwidth are you talking about?"

"You don't know the Internet?"

"Kid, I lived in the 1920s. No idea what time it is now."

The Brit lad sighed. Another unsuspecting newcomer dragged into the fan fiction by whatever it was that ran the P4's central processing unit or Sheo's brain? "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Several seconds of silence before Rosette agreed: "No idea."

Again Bridget sighed. "Just what is it you want?"

"I'm here to save you, kid. That teddy bear is dangerous."

"You mean Roger? Of course he's dangerous. He's one of my weapons."

"He also is emitting a devil aura. You don't know what you're going up against, kid."

"You're right, Sister. I don't have any idea what I'm going up against."

Rosette thought she could detect a slight tinge of sarcasm in his voice. "Are you mocking me?"

"No. Why don't we just get this all over with? After you lose, I'll treat you to Starbucks."

"What's Starbucks?" asked the Magdala nun/exorcist.

"One of the great advances of modern technology and history: Trust me."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Count of three." Both of them tensed. "One, two…"

"Three," murmured Sho Tsuzuku as he watched. "Let the ending begin."

Behind him, the girl smiled.

"Bridget."

And now, the Author Wars begin.

The scene was pandemonium.

The kitchen wasn't big enough for the entire lot of them, so they took their fight outside. In style and character, of course: By blasting a hole through the Ultrasaurus armor, something Blackheart ZERO had no difficulty in doing since Sheo wasn't around to make the carrier Zoid invincible by his mere presence.

"You'll pay for that!" Earl Osborne's voice echoed from the bridge of the Ultrasaurus. "I mean it literally. I'll accept cash and most major credit cards. Every month you are late, there is a 10 % increase in the lump sum to be paid. Please pay on time in order to avoid the additional penalties."

Once outside, the individual characters paired up with their opponents. It proved to be an equal battle, skill pitted against skill, power against power, insanity against insanity.

Taka Ichiko leveled his Mauser rifle at Person With Many Aliases. "Omae wo korosu, Person WMA. I have been sent to kill you."

"You cannot kill me, Heero Yuy fan." The GG author twirled that evil staff he used to bonk May in the first chapter of Keeper of the System. "My insanity is beyond reckoning."

"Actually, I'm crazy, too."

"Oh?" Person WMA looked interested. "How so?"

"I have an insanity roll. Watch." Taka Ichiko rolled a four-sided dice (1D4). "If it comes out four, I do something illogical."

The outcome of the roll was 4. "Yes!" The Mauser-armed senior high school student was exultant. "I can do insane stuff now."

"You're an RPG fan, are you? A honest-to-goodness table-talker guy?"

"Sort of; here, have some lunch." Taka Ichiko handed over a boxed lunch. "My girlfriend made it for me."

"Your insane move of the round is to give me a boxed lunch?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm. Thanks. But," Person WMA got into a ninja staff fighting pose, though he did put down the boxed lunch carefully. "I dislike your kind. There is no true game but dedicated gaming console fighting games!"

"In the name of Eternal Fighters ZERO (a PC fighting game), I will prove you wrong!"

"By the way: How good is your girlfriend at cooking?"

"Good. How's yours?"

"Excellent."

So far away, both Mina Majikina (Samurai Showdown Zero) and Akira (Rival Schools) sneezed.

TRUE Unknown and the 'Organization Of Fans Who Want To See Bridget And Dizzy Go At It Like Rabbits' all glare at the slightly goofy guy in flight jacket toting a Winchester lever-action carbine in each arm. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I am Leon, Leon Winchester. I'm here to destroy you for pairing up Millia and Venom."

"It wasn't my fault; Blackheart ZERO took over my keyboard."

"Yeah, but you continued it. I'm a Millia fan." Leon Winchester shook his carbine around menacingly. "Millia belongs to me! Only me!"

"Let me guess: The P4 told you all about that?"

"Yes! And for that blasphemy, I will kill you."

"I see." To himself, TRUE Unknown muttered: "So, the P4 is a Bridget-May fan, too; that's why it turned against me and invaded my story. By the way," he asked Leon Winchester, "Are you pro-Bridget-May pairing?"

"Sort of..."

"Aha!" The GG author gestured to the OOFWWTSBADGAILR. "Go, my minions! Tear this unbeliever apart! For our cherished belief of Bridget and Dizzy going at it like rabbits in Kaiser Ryouga II's fan fiction!" (Aside, Kaiser Ryouga II coughed; but it wasn't his turn yet) "Death to the infidel!"

As the rabid fans charged, Leon Winchester raised his rifles and opened fire.

"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"

"If you are done castigating yourself, can our battle now begin?" Kaiser Ryouga II looked a bit impatient and bored. "I am a very busy writer. I've got places to go and fan fiction to write and characters' lives and reputations to ruin."

"Why you?" Sammy a.k.a. Mittens was hopping up and down in anger. "Why do I get to fight you? I wanted to fight Blackheart ZERO!"

"Blackheart is presently occupied with Deathwing Omega. Therefore, I will take up his TRUE Unknown-type Swordo and ZERO Punch you back to the Abyss of Lone Wolf SIX that Sheo Darren's P4 has invaded a la Sir G. Mittens," Kaiser Ryouga II added insultingly.

"You even use the same lingo!" Sammy screeched and felt like tearing some fur off his head. No wonder Taka Ichiko goes crazy when he reads this story! It's insane, and so are Sheo and him!"

"Thanks for the comment!" Taka Ichiko sent their way as he fought Person WMA.

"Enough twaddle!" The kitten that was no kitten glowed with evil energy. "Die, Kaiser Ryouga II! You do not belong in this world!"

"It was not by my will that I came here." The GG writer could not be moved by threats and even sneered. "I was called for by plot convenience, which wished to annoy you."

"Annoy me? You take whomsoever anime or game character you wish, and put them in yaoi/yuri fan fiction doing things even I would not dare think of!"

"What is yaoi/yuri fan fiction?" Kaiser Ryouga II was seated upon a computer chair, holding a can of lemon juice in his hand. "Hmm: Lemon. I like lemon. I write lemon. Yummy…"

"You were saying?" Sammy inquired icily.

"Ah, yes. As I was saying: What is yaoi/yuri fan fiction?" The can of lemon juice was cast away arrogantly. "It is nothing but the results of a bunch of sick minds who like making sick yet somehow cute pairings between people of the same gender, examples of which include Sol-Ky, Anji-Chipp, May-April, April-Dizzy, Zato-Venom, Kyo-Iori, Ryu-Ken, Frodo-Sam, Batman-Robin, Touya-Yukito, Kamui-Fuma, and very nearly all same-sex partners in movies and literature? Especially CLAMP! And especially X 1999!

"But enough talk!" Kaiser Ryouga II got up and unveiled his Author's Umbrella of Destruction. "Have at thee!"

"Truth!" A small Japanese tea-drinking table appeared before Sammy, who sat there drinking tea before he shoved it away and yanked out the gigantic butcher knife of Kliff's. "Prepare to die before the onslaught of the 'evil old man goes chop-chop' style that Akihiro Tanabe's May feared in GG!"

"So: A Kliff clone, eh? And feared? We will see!"

Blackheart ZERO regarded his arch rival. "So."

Deathwing Omega smirked. "So."

"It appears we will continue our fight from Chapter 15 of my story."

"True. This time, you will lose."

Again, the two authors warped to an unlimited space beyond, where they assumed their true incarnate forms as ZERO and Omega and began blasting each other again.

At the same time…

"Dizzy-chan, could you please pass me some tea?"

"Hai, Hotaru-chan."

Dizzy, Hotaru and their respective husbands Ky and Rock were having a picnic. The two girls had resolved their quarrel in the previous chapters and now acted like the best of friends; sisters, even, since they did look almost exactly alike. This was good news to the boys, but bad news for a certain author who had so wanted to take advantage of the situation.

("Darn," grumbled Lone Wolf SIX.)

"I hope Lone Wolf SIX isn't too disappointed when all this came to an abrupt end," Ky was saying. The French knight was apprehensive about the wiles of thwarted authors, especially ones who liked to write insane stories like the fan fiction he was in right now. Ky had very good experience with his own wedding.

"I'm sure Sheo can handle him," thought Rock aloud.

"Yeah, except that Sheo is still missing."

"We could fight," Hotaru suggested.

Ky and Rock stared at her in horror.

"What Hotaru-chan means is that we could do a rematch," explained Dizzy. "But we won't take it seriously."

"Yeah, it'd be like a friendly match we're friends now. Ne, Dizzy-chan?"

"Hai, Hotaru-chan."

Their husbands sighed in thanksgiving. "Well," offered a vastly relieved Rock, "What now?"

"I'd like some shade," Ky said. The sunlight was for some reason hitting him directly. Stupid plot purposes messing up nature…

Out of nowhere, an umbrella opened, providing instant shade.

"Ah, thank God for that." Ky then did a double-take and rocketed off his feet. "What the–"

"Oh, hello." Faust gaily waved at the foursome. It was his umbrella. "What do we have here, little children?"

Ky was in a panic. "Get away from me, monster!"

"Ah, Mister Kiske, we haven't finished our therapy session yet. Come over here and we'll go on with the procedure…"

"Mister Ky?"

"No! Don't let him get near me!"

Too late: Moving very fast, Faust had grabbed Ky, produced a bottle of some unidentified liquid from his lab gown and dumped every last drop of the contents down Ky's throat.

A startling transformation took place.

"Yikes!" exclaimed Rock.

"Oh my," went Hotaru.

"Mister Ky!" cried Dizzy.

"Oops," said Faust. "Wrong bottle. I shouldn't have made him drink the water from the Cursed Spring of Drowned Girl…"

Ky was totally ashamed and embarrassed. He also was totally a girl, complete with curves, long hair and feminine assets and highlights.

"SHEO DARREN! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"

And now, back to the Author Wars…

"Stand still while I smite thee!"

"Counterstrike tactics: Jump around and don't stand still!"

Person WMA was just about done with his repertoire of insane attacks and rip-off weapons –he had, at one point, duplicated his opponent's Mauser rifle. But they say the original is more powerful than the fake.

Taka Ichiko had hopped nonstop all the while, firing off his Mauser every now and then. He also lobbed a few flash bang grenades before running off back to the Terrorist base to buy more ammunition, a Kevlar vest and helmet, a couple high-explosive grenades and a pair of Beretta pistols a la Tomb Raider.

"Are all of you Filipinos this hyperactive?" the GG author asked while they fought.

"Nah: Only the ones who play Counterstrike (local favorite 3rd person shooter)."

"All of you gamers are like this?"

"You should see the kanto boys. I'm nothing compared to them. They never drop their Arctic sniper rifles, even when someone is knifing them. They also don't use the sniper scopes, but they can kill you easily at long range without resorting to scopes."

"Interesting factoid, but this battle has gone long enough!" Person WMA unleashed a massive aura as he prepared to launch his Destroy move. "Prepare to lose now!"

Taka Ichiko shot him.

Taka Ichiko killed Person With Many Aliases with Mauser rifle.

"Damn." Person WMA was lying on the ground, the triumphant Taka Ichiko holding his rifle up high in victory. "I got careless."

But the insert character's win lasted only for three seconds, when an arrow came out of nowhere and–

Mina Majikina killed Taka Ichiko with bow and arrows.

"The hell?" Taka Ichiko was now laying side-by-side of Person WMA. "Where did she come from?"

"Person? Are you okay?"

"Ah, yes, Mina. Once more you have saved me from utter doom."

A motorbike suddenly skidded to a stop near them. "Taka!" the biker girl who jumped off the cycle called out. She glared at Mina. "Why did you hurt my boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" both the Samurai Showdown Zero fighter and Person mumbled.

At their feet, Taka Ichiko coughed in slight embarrassment.

Akira (Rival Schools) glared at Mina. "It seems that I must avenge Taka's demise. Prepare yourself, archer girl! I will beat you!"

"Never." Mina got into her fighting stance. "Biker girls like you can never defeat one who has the essence of a true warrior."

Akira attacked. Mina defended. Both Person WMA and Taka Ichiko sweat-dropped from where they lay injured.

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yes. Your girlfriend?"

"Yup. Is the pack lunch you gave me still there?"

"Yeah."

"Share?"

"Sure."

"DIE!"

"Forty-three–"

"DIE!"

"–Forty-four–"

"DIE!"

"–Forty-six–"

"Hey, you missed one kill count."

"Oh. Thanks."

"You're welcome. DIE!"

"–Forty-five–"

Leon Winchester Pendragon adopted the tactic of walk-backwards-while-you-shoot, which basically spoke for itself. While the OOFWWTSBADGAILR charged straight at him, the insert character calmly walked backwards and away from them. Each step he took, he fired one of his Winchester rifles and a rabid fan would drop. The next step he took, he would fire his other rifle while he triggered the lever and reloaded the first gun.

Then one gun, and then the other, jammed.

"Oh, well," Leon Winchester said as the horde of fans closed in. He pulled out a monstrosity of a weapon: A dozen Winchester rifles arranged like a Gatling gun.

One five second burst did the trick.

"Impressive." To Leon Winchester's surprise, TRUE Unknown was only a foot away. "You have neutralized my minions quite easily. I now see why you bear the last name of Winchester. But, your skill is not enough against my power."

"Which is?" The insert character swung his massive Winchester Gatling battery around.

"This." TRUE Unknown charged up a massive Shotokan karate fighter-style fireball. The giant fireball came at Leon Winchester's way, bigger than he was tall and utterly destructive.

"I'm gonna die," Leon Winchester mumbled as the fireball came within an inch of him–

–and then harmlessly dissipated into nothing before it could hit him.

"Whew. That was close."

"Damn," TRUE Unknown muttered in annoyance. "I do not deserve this kind of insult. After all, I didn't go around hitting May with a staff."

A piece of paper fell from the sky. Don't press your luck, advised the telex from the P4, who was still fighting Lone Wolf SIX in the Abyss. You do favor a Bridget-Dizzy pairing, do you? This is merely justice.

"I was protesting you giving me a Dan Hibiki attack. Of all the attacks I could launch, why a Dan Hibiki attack?"

Oyaji will do 90% damage to opponent at the cost of 150% of your HP. You'd be dead 1 ½ times over. Be thankful it was not the attack you launched.

"And you say Gadou-Shokoken is a good move?" argued the exasperated author.

SVC Chaos' Dan's Super Fireball is pretty powerful… if you know how to use it.

"That wasn't the point. The point is: It's a Dan Hibiki attack."

That is the point.

"And you're angry at me because I pulled off a Millia-Venom pairing?" TRUE Unknown asked the relieved Leon Winchester. "Compared to this computer, your reason is logical and peaceful."

"Sheo was supposed to do a Millia-Johnny pairing," said the insert character,

"And you favor that?"

"No. I will crash that wedding! Millia is mine! All mine!"

"Crazy Filipinos…"

Kaiser Ryouga II effortlessly deflected Sammy's huge knife with his Umbrella of Destruction. "You are no match for me, little kitty-cat!"

"Don't call me kitty-cat!" Sammy was berserk. "I do not want to be called a kitty-cat! Especially by the likes of you!"

The GG author only laughed and unveiled a lot of images before him. There was Kirika, Tessa, Rei, Chloe, all the other girls that Sheo Daren liked and who adored Sammy, all the cute girls in various fighting and role-playing games, et cetera.

"WHERE'S MY KITTY-CAT?" all of the girls were chorusing cutely. "WHERE'S MY KITTY-CAT?"

If that wasn't enough, Loony Tunes' Tweety appeared. "Aw, wook. It's a cute wittle putty tat. Hello, Putty Tat."

The taunt drove Sammy nuts but also filled up Kaiser Ryouga II's Tension Gauge.

"I will KILL you for such INSOLENCE!" Sammy activated his Instant Kill mode. "You will learn to fear the greatest warrior of the Empire of Nibbles!"

"Let us see who will fear who." Kaiser Ryouga II also activated his own Instant Kill.

"DIE! THE NIGHT OF THE THOUSAND KITTY-CATS!"

"KAISER RYOUGA'S FAN FICTION WRITING ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE: YAOI/YURI SENSORY OVERLOAD!"

The explosion that resulted from a thousand kitty-cats attacking and a swarm of yaoi/yuri characters all making out was gigantic. When the smoke and debris cleared, Kaiser Ryouga II was standing in the middle of ground zero, totally unmarked and unharmed and utterly victorious.

"The Kaiser reigns supreme."

In the Ultrasaurus, Kirika seemed startled for no apparent reason.

"Kirika?"

"Uh? Gomen; I was just thinking of something."

"Like your kitty-cat?"

"Hai."

"ARGH! DON'T CALL ME KITTY-CAT!"

And in the alternate universe…

Blackheart ZERO and Deathwing Omega –actually, ZERO and Omega– were slugging it out mano a mano. They were equally matched and could go at it for infinity if not for a sneak trick.

"Look!" Omega pointed behind ZERO. "It's Chii and Black Chii!"

"Hah. I will not be tricked by your lowly attempt to cheat."

"Really. Chii and Black Chii are there."

"Nice try, Omega. But that's the oldest trick in the–"

"CHII!"

ZERO turned around and saw Chii and Black Chii –rather, Amazing Nurse Chii and Evil Dominatrix Black Chii fighting behind him, while a dazed-looking Chipp Zanuff floated in the darkness of the empty space.

"Chii! Chii will not let Black Chii hurt Chipp!"

"Chii! Chii cannot stop Black Chii from destroying Chipp!"

"I must be back on drugs for the world to be so crazy…"

ZERO sweat-dropped, or as closely as he could, considering he was in his ultimate avatar mode. "Eh?"

"Aha! I have tricked you!" Omega powered up his ultimate attack. "I have won now, Blackheart ZERO! Take this: OMEGA BLASTER!"

There was no way ZERO could execute a defensive or evasive move; no time at al to do anything but gape at his imminent destruction. The immeasurably powerful blast of energy that was the Omega Blaster hurtled towards him–

"What?"

To everyone's amazement, the Omega Blaster seemed to harmlessly break upon an invisible shield, the hitherto concentrated particles of energy scattering away from a single point in front of ZERO that radiated, of all things, an AT FIELD!

As the last of the Omega Blaster's energy dissipated into nothingness and peace returned to the alternate universe, everyone got a good look at what had stopped Omega's ultimate attack and so saved Blackheart ZERO's life, the item that was floating in the midst of the darkness.

It was a pair of eyeglasses.

"Impossible," Omega murmured in shock, even as Blackheart ZERO smiled in recognition and relief. "It cannot be! He cannot be here! He's in a coma!"

"Not anymore," a calm and very familiar voice said out of nowhere, a voice that was long indeed in coming and quite welcome. "Not anymore."

While Mina and Akira were fighting, their boyfriends were sharing lunch, Leon Winchester and TRUE Unknown were arguing about the feasibility of a Millia-Venom pairing and Kaiser Ryouga II was seated on his throne like an emperor of old.

"A fighter who possesses the true essence of a warrior can never lose!" Mina declared as she launched more arrows.

"Oh, yeah? Striker call: Scooter girl from hell!"

A girl riding a scooter came from the side of the screen and nearly ran over Mina.

"Akira's lunch is quite good," commented Person WMA as he bit into another takoyaki and watched the heated battle of their fiancées. "She's also a pretty good fighter."

"Next time, let's have Mina cook lunch," suggested Taka Ichiko as he downed a Coke and handed over a Pepsi Light.

"Deal."

"The pairing will never work out," TRUE Unknown was rationalizing. "I mean: Venom's gay and Millia's a lone wolf."

(In the Abyss, Lone Wolf SIX paused in his relentless war against the P4 and asked: "Did anyone mention me?")

"Ever watched Will and Grace?" countered Leon Winchester.

"Good point," TRUE Unknown conceded.

Kaiser Ryouga II merely posed a la Gendou Ikari from Eva and sat there on his throne, observing everyone.

A portal opened, and out stepped Blackheart ZERO, to the cheers of everyone there. "Is the Author Wars already over?"

"Yep," everyone answered. At least, all the guys answered: Mina and Akira were still fighting and so ignored him.

"So, Blackheart? What happened? Tell us how you beat Deathwing Omega."

The GG author in question smiled enigmatically. "I would, but I agreed with someone that it is a story for another time."

"Someone? Someone helped you beat Deathwing Omega?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Well… it's a secret for now…"

Sister Rosette lay tangled up in a snarl of unbreakable yoyo string, subdued but being a bit loud about it. A few feet away, a dusty but victorious Bridget was tucking his decisive weapon away into his clothes.

"A doll? I got beaten by a doll?"

"Not the first time, Sister."

"Chrno, where are you when I need you? Oh: I left back in 1928. Drat."

Bridget laughed. After staring at him for a few seconds, Rosette also laughed.

At the count of three a minute earlier, they had both jumped out of their shelters, planning to end their fight at once. Rosette had loaded Gospel rounds into her pistols, knowing the sheer destructive power of the special holy bullets –the mystical equivalent of a large-caliber artillery round– would be enough to crack any defense the weird kid could pull off, evil teddy bear or none.

She didn't expect Bridget to pull out a very unconventional weapon, though: The Hibiki Takane Plushie Toy.

Imbued with the innocent soul of the girl it was based upon and protected by the power of Lone Wolf SIX, the Hibiki Plushie absorbed the Gospel rounds like a sponge to water. While Rosette had in understandably consternation gaped at the scene, it was child's play for Bridget to loop both of his yoyos around the distracted nun and tie her up.

"Okay, kid, you win." Having realized her defeat though unconventional but fair methods, Rosette was good-natured enough. "Now, could you untie me? I'm waiting for that Starbucks freebie you offered me last chapter."

Executing an extravagant bow, Bridget walked over to his opponent and bent down to untie her.

"I… I lost…"

"Looks like it."

"This is so stupid! How could I ever lose to you?"

"It was a fair fight. You were very good; I could have lost to you if I was careless."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?"

"No. But I enjoyed fighting with you, if it makes any difference…"

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"You're different from all the others. You're just like me. We're just kids, dragged into the world of adults because of what we believe in."

"My reasons are different from yours."

"I know. You fight to gain the love you long for; I fight to gain the acceptance I dream off."

"Maybe…"

"Can we be friends?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Nothing wrong with being friends, is there? Kids like us should stick together. Besides, I'd like a rematch with you."

"You got it."

"Bridget. My name's Bridget."

"And I'm May."

May…

"Hey, kid? You okay?"

He was crying. He was crying now, crying into Rosette's shoulder while she patted him comfortingly on the back. He was crying for no other reason than that he remembered the girl he loved and how she had just vanished from his side one day. He was crying because he was human, and he wanted –no, needed her love. The love of the girl he loved.

"May…"

Rosette felt like she held her brother Joshua in her arms again. Yoyos and bears and plushie dolls or none of those at all, Bridget would still be a kid. Kids needed being taken care of.

Then she saw the two people nearby.

Bridget felt his new friend tense. Not bothering to blink away or wipe off his tears, he turned around to see what there was–

–And went absolutely cold.

"Bridget." Sho Tsuzuku was his usual evil self. "Surprised to see me? Don't."

But it wasn't the evil insert character who ripped off the Matrix just nowthat brought the pit of coldness within his heart. It was the girl who emerged from behind Sho, the girl in black leather and auburn tresses and eyes that had once been earth brown but were now burning crimson, the girl he knew very well.

The girl he loved so much.

"Ohayou, Bridget. Okaeri."

Bridget stared in terror at the girl who was once May.

From where he watched, he could not be observed, even by the analytical Kaiser Ryouga II, whose godlike power over May and Bridget and company in his fan fiction was without parallel. Even Sho Tsuzuku –or, at least, this particular Sho Tsuzuku, could not see.

But he saw all that he wished to see, and was pleased enough.

This was the true extent of his power, after all: The power of reality that not just all authors but all human beings with imagination could achieve if they tried.

He wasn't all-powerful. He'd be the first to admit that.

But he was pretty damn close, all right.

And yet he would let it all be. He would only step in every now and then. He would not force Time and Tide; he would go with the flow of Fate.

For that was the beauty of life: The unpredictable turn of events that constituted an experience of a human being.

That was, perhaps, what he wanted above all.

Enough mystical fervor for now: It was time to go back to the story he shaped, the story he steered as the Handmaidens of his creation also tended the worlds in their keeping. To go back to a creation fallen to the dark and a swordswoman in distress a love-square that needs resolving, fellow authors who were asking when he'd come back, and to two lovers sundered by Fate's Threads and driven to fight.

And back to all the girls he loved.

And back to all of his girls.

Sunlight flashed upon a pair of spectacles pushed back up into proper place.

He smiled.

"I'm back."