Guilty Gear: Unlimited Guilt
Chapter 2: The Calming of Zepp
The truck brought Millia and Sol to the hospital in Moscow. The wound in Sol's chest was worsening, for a black substance was forming inside of the hole, eating the inside of Sol's flesh. He was rushed into the emergency room, and the doctors immediately begun their work. Millia waited in the nearby waiting room. She didn't like Sol much, but couldn't bear the weight on her conscience if she had let Sol die. Too many people had suffered because of her; too many people had died because she let Zato go the first time, let hem and Eddie live. No more, she decided. No more. She would hunt this Shadowed Man like she hunted Zato before him, and she would kill him. It would only be a matter of time.
But I have to work fast, Millia thought to herself, I have few clues to work with. He said he was going to Zepp, but how could I be sure he wasn't leading others and me to a trap? That was the scary part, Millia decided, she couldn't know. This wasn't like Zato, whom she knew very well. This was an entirely different man. He used entirely different tactics, entirely different methods. He was also much more powerful, for defeating Sol Badguy, killer of Justice, was definitely no easy task. Millia decided to go to Zepp. It wouldn't be easy to get to a flying country that was very militaristic and also did not like immigrants, but perhaps they could slow down the Shadowed Man for her till she got there. Millia just had to think of a way to get there...
Just then the doctor entered the room and motioned for Millia to follow him into the patients' room. There was Sol, sleeping, but breathing heavily, as if he where in pain. The doctor told Millia to take a seat and began asking her some questions.
"Do you know this man?" asked the Doctor.
"He is...a friend," Millia answered, worried if the Shadowed Man had spies in this hospital.
"Very well," the Doctor continued, "It is a miracle that this man is still alive. He had many scratches on his skin that just appeared during the examination after we brought him under the examination light. Those slash marks are not life threatening, but the wound in his chest is."
"We cannot determine what the black stuff is, or how to treat it. I can only think of one person who can help you friend now."
"And who would that be?" Millia inquired.
"He was once a great surgeon. You probably know him today as...Faust."
Millia knew Faust. He was once one of the top surgeons of his day, but when a routine operation went wrong, and left his patient, a small girl, dead, Faust snapped. He blamed himself for the mistake, and came to the conclusion that he could no longer heal, but only destroy. He became a sadistic murderer, killing people in the most bizarre and gruesome manners. It wasn't until a mysterious man confronted him that he was told the truth. Someone had tampered with the procedure on purpose. This broke Faust more than the failed operation did. He was used, and the end result was probably better than the saboteur could ever dream. Faust then faced facts; he had to help people to redeem himself for all the past doings. He is still nuts, but a good person nonetheless.
"No one has seen Faust since the last Guilty Gear tournament, until a few days ago," the doctor continued, lighting a smoke free cigarette, "He was last seen in London three days ago. He could still be there.
"How long do you think my friend here will last," Millia asked, looking down at Sol.
"He is a strong man," the doctor answered, but even his body cannot last forever. I believe around a week, perhaps ten days, at most. Then his heart will just give up, followed by the lungs, and then...he will simply die."
"It will take too long for me to get to London, find Faust, come back, and get to Zepp!" Millia shouted with frustration. She then suddenly realized the mistake she had made. If the Shadowed Man could have spies here, then Zepp most certainly could too.
"And what business would you have in Zepp?" the doctor asked with a raised eyebrow.
Millia's hair started to act violently, "And why should you know, doctor?"
"Malakovich."
"What?"
"My name is Malakovich. Sergei Malakovich. And I believe I can help you."
The Shadowed Man stepped out of another portal and took a big whiff out of the air. It stinks, he thought, but at least I know its Zepp. He walked down one of the alleys, marveling at the technology.
To bad it will all go to waste. He laughed as he looked upon the so-called "citizens" that lived in the flying fortress country. Zepp was ruled by a president whose rise to power is mysterious, but was a very dangerous man nonetheless. His policies were aggressive, and he would use his new technological weapons to accomplish his goals. One of the president's greatest weapons was the slave-soldier Potemkin.
Though a kind and gentle person at heart, Potemkin was a terribly loyal servant of the President. His mission was the collection of the Gears, so that Zepp's scientists can study them, and associate the studies to new technology, mostly weapons like Potemkin. Potemkin himself did not like violence, but because of his duty to the President, fought any battle. He was good at what he did, for Potemkin was a mammoth of a man. Developed by Zepp's science, Potemkin is a huge man, with very large, muscular arms. He also wore braces on his wrists that allowed for greater punching power. If it weren't for the fact that his great weight slowed him down greatly, Potemkin would be the perfect super soldier.
And also the perfect candidate, The Shadowed Man schemed, as he headed towards the government building. He walked a ways till he passed a bar. A drink would be in order, I do believe, the Shadowed Man decided. He stepped into the bar were many of Zepp's elite soldiers were drinking and laughing. He stepped up to the bar and ordered a pint of Zepp's finest. The bartender handed the drink to the Man. He swirled it around in his glass, looking with disgust at the strange yellow liquid. He shrugged and took a sip; in a quick moment he spat it out again.
"What kind of filth is this!" The Shadowed Man shouted, his eyes flaring red, "This isn't even hard." Some of the guards took notice and went up to the man.
"I don't want any trouble, so I won't charge you for that one," the bartender said, noticing the flare in The Man's eyes. He motioned for the other soldiers to back off, of which they did. "Sorry about that, but all the liquor here is synthesized, none of them have any real alcohol," the bartender explained.
"Meh," the Shadowed Man scoffed. He turned to leave when he noticed an officer with a lot of medals talking to a bar maid. He overheard words like "love", "force", "power", and "punishment". The Man walked closer when the officer pushed the bar maid over.
"Do you realize who I am?!, "the young officer yelled, "I report directly to the President! I can throw you and your entire family into prison!! I won't be denied!" The Shadowed Man put a hand on the officer's shoulder who quickly spun around.
"I suggest you leave this young woman alone, before I have to deal with you myself," he said with a calm voice.
"Did you not hear what I said," the young man yelled back, "I report to the president! I can do anything I please and get away from it. Low class citizens like you and her mean nothing to me! I can use you and abuse you as much as I like!"
"Well there's problem number one," the Man answered, his eyes turning a light blue, "I am not a citizen. Problem number two: I don't like to follow Zepp Law." With that his blades slid out of his wrists.
"Guards! Arrest this interloper!"
The guards ran towards the Man with riot clubs in hand. These clubs were electrified.
"Problem number three: You underestimate your enemy." The Shadowed man jumped over the soldiers and stabbed each lamp beacon in the bar. This left the room completely in darkness. The bartender his under the counter and the bar maid ran towards the broom closet. The guards pulled out their rifles and started to fire at The Shadowed Man, but to no avail. He simply disappeared and reappeared at his convenience, slashing and stabbing at each soldier, killing them instantly, until only the officer remained. He fired his pistol at the Man, but he blocked each bullet with his blades. With one swift stroke, he chopped the officers hand off that was holding the pistol, and stabbed him deeply with his two blades. The officer gasped as he was lifted off his feet.
"Problem number 4," the Shadowed Man laughed, "You have what I need." He threw the impaled man into a table and retracted his bloody blades. The Man moved towards the dead body, and took a small silver stick from his pocket.
Excellent, he thought as his eyes resumed their pure black color, this security stick will give me all the access I need. "Both of you better leave," the Man warned the bartender and the barmaid, "It is a long way to the Government building, and it will be a bloody day in Zepp today."
He turned, placed some money on the counter, and left the bar.
"Mr. President, there seems to be a disturbance in sector Gamma-Eight!"
"On screen."
The president looked on inside his war room. Potemkin was behind him, surveying the damage in one of the sectors. Ten soldiers laid dead on the street, slashed at the throat, but the predator was not found.
"Sir, the disturbance is now in Gamma-Twelve!"
"Close off the exits! Make sure it doesn't reach Capital Sector!" the president barked!
"Force fields in Capital Sector are raised," informed one of the technicians, "Raising Force Fields in Sector Alpha..."
"It's now in Delta-Three!"
The President thought for a moment, then decided on a course of action. "Monitor all twelve areas in the Beta sector. I want to see what we are up against."
"Acknowledged sir."
"Force Fields raised in Alpha sector, now raising fields in Beta."
"Sir! The disturbance is now in Delta-Eleven! Now in Beta-Two!"
"On screen!" the President yelled. The screen showed a man in a gray coat and a gray ball cap leaving and entering from shadows. He slashed any guard that stood against him with his arm blades, and made swift work of one of Zepp's Battle Tanks by consuming it with shadows. It was completely gone after the shadows left. The man moved swiftly from shadow to shadow, as if they were doors leading from one to another, from area to area, sector to sector. He finally arrived at the Force Field leading to Alpha sector when he stopped. He just stood there, smiling with an evil smile, while his pure black eyes scanned the Field.
"Death count!" The President demanded.
"Two-thousand super-soldiers out of our eight thousand, sir," one of the officers answered nervously.
"At least the Force Field stopped him."
"Sir!" Another officer shouted, "He seems to have a silver security baton!"
"NO!" The president shouted, "He can..."
But it was too late. Alpha sector's Force Fields were lowered, and the Shadowed Man killed all the super-soldiers that stood in his way. He cleared out the entire sector, killing each and any soldier, until he reached the Force Field of Capital Sector. Again, he lifted the silver baton high, and the Field was lowered. The Shadowed Man was inside the Capital building.
"Mr. President, he is inside!"
"Send any and all troops that are inside the building to stop him!"
"Yes sir!"
But the monitors showed different. The Shadowed Man warped from shadow to shadow, killing soldier by soldier, till he was in a large room filled with super-computers. He removed a small box from within his coat and connected it to one of the computers.
"Sir, he is accessing our archives," said an officer, worriedly, "He is stealing our files from projects Omega-Three-A, Omega-Six-F, and JUSTICE-PROJECT."
"Is this what he was after?" the president pondered. Potemkin just stared on.
"Sir! He is destroying our computers!"
"No! All our data will be lost! So many years of research and suffering! STOP HIM, STOP HIM!!"
The Shadowed Man was already gone. The computers were all but destroyed.
"He's heading to the main power generator of the building!"
"Mr. President," Potemkin asked in a calm voice, "May I suggest that we evacuate the premises?"
"Your right," the President answered, "All right people lets move..."
The room became pitch black.
"Activating auxiliary power."
A few dim lights turned on, leaving plenty of shadows.
"Leaving so soon? Things were just starting to get fun..."
Everyone looked up. The Shadowed Man was standing in a dark corner on the ceiling, perfectly straight, with a big grin on his face. He sunk back into the shadow, but quickly popped out; killing the officers in the room, until only he, the President, and Potemkin remained.
"Potemkin!" yelled the President, "Get him!"
"Of course."
Potemkin moved to punch the Shadowed Man, but he quickly warped to shadow behind the giant and slashed his back. Potemkin yelled out, but quickly retaliated by grabbing the Shadowed Man and threw him at a steel wall. The President grabbed from what looked like a gun closet and pulled out what was a very hi-tech gun. The Shadowed Man was dazed by the force of Potemkin's throw, but appeared un-hurt.
"Impressive, guinea pig," the Shadowed Man smirked, "But soon I will open your eyes." He jumped on top of Potemkin's back and plunged one of his arm blades into the mammoth's back. Potemkin shouted in pain and threw the Shadowed Man off him, but the damage was done. Potemkin's skin became a gray color; his hair was black instead of brown. The Omega symbol formed on his forehead and on his chest.
"Well," the Shadowed Man laughed, "That was a little too easy." He turned around to see the President aim the gun at him.
"What on Earth could that be?"
"It's a molecular disassociator," the president grinned, "And it does what it says." The disassociator started to hum and glow a light blue color. The Shadowed Man just yawned.
"Deal with him, would you?"
Potemkin rose from the spot where he lay and grabbed the disassociator. He crushed it like a grape. The President looked on with horror as his best super-soldier advanced upon him.
"Killed by your greatest weapon...I love it."
Potemkin punched the President who went right into one of the active computers. He shook violently as the electricity flowed through his body. In a swift moment, he was dead. The Shadowed Man laughed maniacally, "Sol is defeated, and Zepp has been calmed. Nothing stands in my way!" He walked over to one of the terminals.
This will shut down all of Zepp's power except for the floatation device, he thought. This will ensure no Zepp pursuers. The Shadowed Man turned the knob, and Zepp was then out of power. He and Potemkin were soon in the Presidents private hanger, and had already commandeered his private vessel.
"Come Potemkin! We have much work to do! We return to Aries Castle, and prepare for the next phase!"