The First Intermission -
And now, for the benefit of our viewing audience, I now present to you, A.B.A, the newest Guilty Gear duelist, performing her version of Abba's hit, Chiquitita, in her own words to describe how she got there. Consider this a short song bio snippet on her.
(Note: It pays to have the mp3 so you can follow along, and please spare me if I suck. I'm not that great writing in song format and all. The rest of the story is fair game.)
Also: I have already stated what I said in Chapter 2 because I know those two Gears are watching me with great interest right now.
Testament and Justice (fully engaged with their weapons ready): You think?!
Location: Same from when we left off in Chapter 3
She stood up to the sky as the new GG duelist, A.B.A, started to sing. She felt nervous, considering she was singing out of the blue among a group of several bystanders, but got over this nervous feeling and attempted to get the notes down…
Oh my sweetest dearest friend... (She says while facing her weapon. She turns back and forth various times during the performance.)
It has been, so, lonely around me…
But you know, I cannot be, without you, my sweet Paracelsus.
It's like we have been destined to be…
When I found you lying by the field…
We have seen, all the world, in its awe and quiet wonder…
And I have never left you out of mind…
It was like I found my soul in you...
The keys, I have found, were nothing less to that of you…
Paracelsus, you know I…
Could never leave you behind…
Yet I have feared for our lives,
Of what truly lies beyond us…
But this is the not time to cry…
When I was born I felt this way. It bears no limits.
I myself do know too well, how if feels, to be alone,
And left out, feeling so lonely around.
But I know I have to go on…
I just cannot give up and let this life just take me out!
But with you and I beside, with my Key, and my own…
We shall find our place under the stars.
With you and I, with my Key, and my own…
We shall find our place well among the stars.
Several ABBA fans start to accumulate around the area as she continues her song, thankfully ignoring all of them.
It was like I knew it well…
Back from when I came out of my shell…
I was alone, with no home, and no one
To call as my own papa… "I'm sorry if it's coming out bad. I know it doesn't fit right with the song."
"No. No. Continue. I'm starting to like this." said Vincent.
The capsule that I first saw…
I though I was seeing my own womb…
No heart, no mind, no place…
I was left to all my own…
But I knew that I had to leave…
There is so much out there to see, out there and now…
But I know, that world out there…
I can feel, fear, passing through my heart…
But we shall not give up this fight…
For you and I shall walk this road right to the end… (She faces her key again, blushing a bit for botching it.)
Paracelsus, you and I, I know it well…
We shall make it after all…
I know that, there is so, much to know…
And I'll be, there, all the way with you…
With you and I, with my Key, and my own…
We shall find our place among the stars
She was out of sync partly throughout the performance, but the onlookers didn't see it that way. The entire audience walks out from the nearby theater and congratulates A.B.A on a fine job, complete with cheering and brining over flowers, since she happens to be positioned near the Winter Garden Theater which is showing the musical Mamma Mia, which is based off of the Swedish pop singers work. (Lousy Run-ons) Vincent goes up and shakes her hand, but stops halfway.
"A.B.A, although I would like to congratulate you on impressing me a lot, I hope you realize that I may not have a part for you."
She was not happy to hear this. "Are you saying I can't come?"
"You can come, but I'll have to think about it, seeing that I have you, plus all the other GG women, sans Bridget of course."
"So you want me to come over tomorrow?"
"Yes A.B.A." Vincent made his signal to his allies. "Ian, Areia, make sure A.B.A is given the best of care.""I think we can handle her." From behind everyone, the immortal couple appears, still dressed in their snazzy uniforms. "A.B.A, we know how it feels to be left alone sometimes," Sharon said. "How about you come with us? We'll be able to make sure you are taken care of."
"Well… are you sure you can guarantee this?" She replied, concerned for her overall safety.
"Yes. Come along." Slayer added. "I personally would like to know about how you were created. Perhaps I can help you with understanding some things.""Ok… but do not touch my friend Paracelsus." She walked with the two and out of the area, keeping a close watch on her key. As they leave, the three look at the situation.
"Ok, everyone. You know the plan. Everyone should be settled at their respective spots, so we meet back at the same location first thing in the morning… provided there is no random dueling in this city."
"Not likely." Areia said. "I told everyone that if there is a duel, they shall be kicked out and they automatically forfeit their weapons to you."
"Excellent. This should keep them in control. Now if you'll excuse me, someone's ass needs to be kick."
"You repeated history again, Vincent?" Ian added. Vincent causally ignored him as he walked off.
Back at the Mayship, which is currently positioned somewhere in the hangars of JFK, the captain and his lovely second in command discuss the events of the previous hour, along with Leap, who was apparently being more excited than anticipated.
"Leap. Calm down there. I know you are in the opera, but you don't have to get this excited."
We see the pirate member feeling very flushed in her face. "Well, I mean, this is the first time I'm actually performing in an opera. Why do you think I'm happy?""Well yes." Johnny said. "I mean, I feel the same way for you too. Besides, the director told us that they needed the girls for an ensemble cast. It would be fun considering it's usually just me, May, Dizzy, and sometimes April."
"What about Bridget?"
"He doesn't count." He turned away feeling disgusted due to embarrassing reasons that happened during their first encounter, i.e the time he accidentally rocketed May to the Moon and Johnny had to intervene.
"I do have one thing that does bother me though." May added. "Did it ever occur to you that Vincent was a bit harsh on Dizzy?" The other two shook their heads. "I mean, it's like he just went on to us three and completely ignored Dizzy-sama."
"I completely disagree with you May." Leap added in a flush of emotions. "Do you not realize what would have happened if Dizzy was given a chance?"
"I though she would do fine."
"Not the way I see it."
(Flashback)
We see the entire crew practicing at the lobby area of the opera house. Leap is currently practicing with each of the members for tryouts. It is now Dizzy's turn.
"Are you sure you can help me sing well? I never even tried it before."
"Nonsense dear, I bet you could do find as an actress. Now let me hear you make a note."
"Ok. Ahhh…."
All of a sudden, all exterior windows around the theater simultaneously shatter. Estimate time of shattering: …let's just say Quantum Mechanics wouldn't be fast enough to pinpoint it.
"That's funny." Vincent said randomly while in the theater. "For some reason, I just felt something… wrong. Oh well."
(End Flashback)
While the two were discussing the potential power of Dizzy's voice, Johnny took this time to slip out of the hangar and out of the way of everyone. Walking towards the outside of the building, he is quickly interrupted by a woman of sorts, storming in as a swarm of security vans are very slowly catching up to her.
"So that spell does work after all… Then how come it didn't work on Vincent?"
Johnny took notice of the "attractive" girl and came up to her with quick speed. "Hello there. What brings you to this airport?" "Are you Johnny, captain and leader of the Jellyfish Pirates?""Yes, and why do you ask?"
"My name is Cecilia Nicomar, and I need to personally speak to you. It has to do with your involvement with Vincent and his play."
"Do you happen to work for him?"
"Hell no!" She yelled out in an atrocious manner. "The guy would rather see me turned into a gear just so I can be killed by Sol, Ky, and the rest of the Holy Order. The reason I'm here is because I have to talk about something serious that will happen to…"
Overhearing the entire conversation with her super sensitive "cheat detection" ears, May runs over, stops for a second, and summons the Great Yamada Whale, which managed to vault itself from the Long Island Sound before diving right back in. Cecilia, likewise, gets whacked from her spot right to where the security vans were moving. The security guards, now worn off from the slow spell, jump out of their vans and immediately cock their "blacktech" weapons on her.
"Wait a second? You guys still use "blacktech" weapons?" A confused Johnny replied. "I though you phased that out with magic."
"It was part of a trade deal with improving relations with the Zepp government." One of them replied. "Besides, why the hell are you getting involved? You're lucky we are allowing you and your crew to stay on the property."
"And who's giving the big 10,000 world dollar bonuses on everyone's paycheck?" Johnny replied. The guards reluctantly agree. "Ok, but if you screw this up, don't come looking at us if Interpol starts to ask 'why is "A country" harboring S class pirates.'" The vans turn away, leaving Cecilia with the other two. Johnny immediately turns to May. "Would you mind explaining to me why you did that May?"
"Well isn't it obvious?" She said with equal fervor. "I know she's trying to snuggle onto you. How else can she dress up in such clothing?""I knew I should have dressed up in street clothes." The magician wondered. She quickly turned to May. "Listen here. I am usually a nice girl, and I'm only here to tell him about a warning on Dizzy."
"Everyone knows about Dizzy already." She said. "They knew about her after "The Midnight…"
"You are wrong, May." Johnny intervened. "That Knight 'Ky Kiske' told us that he'd make sure that Dizzy was still dead. However, it was kind of hard to hide it from everyone when she walked in with her tail."
"Look, I don't care what the deal is with Dizzy being dead or not." Cecilia said. "All I know is that she is now in danger of being killed."
"I still don't believe you." May took to the offense, summons a nearby dolphin and, likewise, did her battle intro. "Now get away from Johnny-sama."
"I apologize, Cecilia. May is usually not like this."
"I can sympathize for you, Johnny." She said. "But if she wants a fight then I might as well go along just to shut her up."
"So you won't get away from Johnny?"
"I have to tell him this important information, but since you are so defensive of 'Johnny-sama', you might as well prove it to me how well you can hold that giant anchor of yours."
Moments later, the three return to the hangar. As the twelve members of the pirates watch with interest, including Johnny, who was positioned at the middle of the stage, the women quickly get in their battle stances. "Just so you know, Johnny. I'm only doing this just to make a point to May here."
"I'm ok with it. I just don't want you to hurt her so badly."
"He's not Vincent Voltaire, so she won't suffer much."
"Hey, can we start fighting already?" An impatient May was about to chuck her anchor directly at the magician.
"Ok, already. We just need one more person…"
As on cue, the GG announcer descends on the outskirts of the hangar, parachuting towards the duelists. Approaching the ground, he quickly disengages his equipment and hops to the hangar. "Ok, I'm here."
"Ah, so now we can begin."
"Hold on a second their, Cecilia." The announcer quickly took out a small pamphlet and gave it to her. "I'll have to give you this since we are using GG style rules and you need to familiarize with our styles."
"Ok…" She makes a small glance at the modifications. "Let's see… tensions… overdrives… faultless defenses… Instant kills are possible but withheld for simplicities sake... ok." She gives the pamphlet back to the announcer.
"I just have one question." May said. "Where do you come from anyway?"
"The powers that be, May? Besides, the writer here has to find a place for everything."
Vincent Voltaire (the writer, not the character in story): Something tells me I'm going to regret that move.
"Ok, everyone ready?"
The two duelists nod.
"Heaven or Hell! Let's Rock!"
The two make silent gestures at each other, waiting for the other one to make the first move. For Cecilia, she makes note of her wavy anchor hand, knowing that as soon as it makes a jolt, the girl is about to strike. For May, she takes note of her "anchor hand", knowing that the key to victory is to get that wand out her possession.
For Johnny, all that he knows is that May ought to be less jealous of other women. "For crying out loud, she's hanging around 11 other women." He though. "Just because another one comes around doesn't mean I'm going to lose sight of her."
As for the announcer, well…
"I hope you realize the more you two 'turtle', the more your 'fighting buzz' wears off."
"'Fighting buzz?' Is that what you happen to call the 'tension' around here?" She said, switching her focus to him for a second that should not have been made.
"Gotacha." Without hesitation, the "dolphin squadron" started their attack formation, whacking her from all sides of the playing field: front, back and above. "How do you like me now? Surprised I could do that?"
"No, not really. I have people who know a lot more about summons." Wiping the blood from her mouth, she gets back up. "You see, I am a Dark Magician, and the thing is that I happen to know a lot more about magic than most people like you."
"Really? So you think all that I'm doing is just "magic" to you?"
"Sort of. That and my friend Vincent could pass you off as a 'weapon of mass destruction,' though I personally think Dizzy could pass off as one since she is a gear. She turns to Dizzy. "Sorry about that, but it is true, is it not?"
"Yeah, but I don't think too much about it either." Dizzy added, sitting next to Leap on the end of the left wing. "You should look out for those dolphins though."
"What dolphins?" She looks back to May, and notices the '2nd division' on the attack. Cecilia grabs her wand vertically and forms a bubble shield around her, canceling all damage, but draining what little power she accumulated so far. "Lousy fish sapping my Magic Power."
"Hey, they're mammals."
"I know that." Still sneering at the girl, she runs over and lands one on May's face. The pirate girl loses her balance and plops down. "Gotta' thank my bro for teaching that one."
"Wait a second. You have a brother?""Duh! I've got a whole family skilled at this." Taking advantage, the magician hops back and fires a straight shot towards the recovering pirate girl. It lands on her and vaults her back towards the hangar wall. Returning for the add-on, Cecilia swings her right arm upward, hitting May and sending her airborne. May falls back down, but now without hitting both the ceiling and the walls of the hangar.
Though May was not pleased at this combatant, she started to notice her true potential. Scared of this potential loss, she resorts to desperate measures.
"Johnny, she's cheating. I know this." She expressed much whine in this.
"May, what has gotten into you? Never have I seen you like this before." The pirate captain was very confused at her first mate. "I know that I like you and all, but I think this is kind of obsessive…"
"Obsessive?" The pirate girl was shocked. "If I happen to like protecting you as much as the rest of the crew, why do you think I am so sure of defending you against women like her?"
"Would you like me if I suddenly decided to shave my head?"
May took only seconds to process this. "No, Johnny-sama. You know how much 'baldies' scare me."
"Then will you stop the fight and let her say what she has to say?"
"No. Because in order for our love to shine, I can't have anyone stand in my way."
"In that case…" He snaps his fingers, signaling to the others. "Girls? I'm interested in a make over. Try to match me up with something that looks good on a bald guy."
In a strange move of loyalty and fashion sense, the remaining 11 members immediately walked up and started to think about this new idea. This included brining various fabrics, clothing, accessories and the obligatory shaver. In the next 30 seconds, the crew has drawn up new styles to match the new look of Johnny, and already three of the members are turned on by this new change of his.
However, the shock of Johnny-sama being bald was far too much for May to deal with… and so she passed out.
"Uh… announcer guy doesn't that count as an… Instant Kill?"
"…you're technically right. In that case, May is DESTROYED! Cecilia wins by default."
The other members cheer, much to the surprise of the confused magician.
"Uh… why are all you cheering?"
"You don't know how long we wanted to pull this off to May." said an overjoyed Augus, who happened to be wearing a full suited fencing uniform. "She's been so jealous at him for months that we all have to work together and knock some sense into her."
"And you can say that you were in on it too, Johnny?"
"Yes, sadly." He added. "I'm afraid I had to do it, but it was for the better of her. I mean, when you have my crewmates walking around, I prefer it that everyone gets a chance to love me equally. Even the cat here agrees, right Janice?" The black cat pops up ala 'Kuroneko-sama' from Trigun and meows in response. "Besides, I don't want to cut my hair anyway."
"Well, I'm done there." She makes a glance at May's incapacitated body. "You think we should wait till she wakes up?"
"I think so." April added. "Besides, we can't wait to show her these Polaroid's once she wakes up."
A hour later, as May successfully recovers from that traumatic nightmare and tears up April's Polaroid's, and another argument is happening between how they scared her with the "bald Johnny" gag, which is really not important in this case, Johnny finally gets the time to speak to Cecilia inside his personal quarters. The two are currently sitting down in swivel chairs. "Now that the girls have had their fun, I want to know what is with this Vincent fellow."
"Well, it is known that Vincent has given a lot of advantages to all of the pirate crew, especially with having a solid ensemble for various scenes in the opera, but I have to warn you about something." She sighs out of concern. "Vincent is not the nicest of people."
"What do you mean? He seemed to have been pretty nice when he talked with the girls."
"That's just it. He knows the girls, and can usually get along nicely, especially with Leap, which I think is odd for a guy to do that to begin with, but…" She sighs again. "When it comes to Dizzy, he holds no restraint in how far he can go."
"I don't understand."
Cecilia stands up to face the pirate captain. "Vincent may not like her, and all of these actions may be to undermine the Gear's potential. I'm not sure how to explain it, but you have to keep a watch out for him."
The captain was not at all impressed by the magician. "I just can't see that. The guy was able to help us with repairs and all the legal things on the hangar. I don't think he would backstab us like this, but…" He looks out of his window. "Do you have any evidence?"
"Well, I met up with him several months before you guys came on. I confronted him and in typical fashion, he was trying to run the hell away once I met him."
"Oh, really?" "Well, it all started like this. After he refused to believe who I am, I decided to let it all out on him. Oddly enough, he didn't take it so well…"(Flashback)
We see Cecilia and Vincent confronting each other, and right from where we left off in the last flashback sequence when Cecilia transformed into her Dark Magician Girl form, which lasted about 15 seconds. Though in the eyes of Vincent, that was 15 seconds too much…
"AHHH!! MY EYES!!! MY BEAUTIFUL EYES!! YOU SCARED ME FOR LIFE YOU KNOW THAT?!"
"Oh, shut up." said the magician, who went all snooty on him. "You are the first person that has ever been terrified for what I did.""Of course I am! You put mental pictures in my brain that I'll never get out! Do you know how horrible it is to witness a magical girl transformation sequence?! It's evil in itself."
"You know, you've got one really messed up concept of evil." She said as she used her wand to scratch her back.
"How so?" he said as he placed his signature visor on top of his head.
"Well, for one thing, every single guy so far today would have begged me for a subtle transformation sequence. Why do you think there is so much fame during the Sailor Moon days when those transformations took place? It's the girls in complete nudity going all out into shifting their powers and…"
"You know, I am not impressed at this." His visor now shows her entire body slightly out of focus, flashing along vital data such as health and weak points. "I am more infuriated now that you mentioned "The Omega."
"The Omega? What? Is like Tuskino Usagi and the other soldiers' sworn enemies of yours?""Hell yeah! I hated the anime when it was released, and I have sworn to purge the world of ultimate evil, much like you."
"So, you are telling me that Magical Girls are inherently evil."
"All are… with some exceptions such as Card Captor Kinomoto Sakura."
"I see." She fiddles around with her wand. "So you got issues with all of that stuff?"
He nods respectively.
"So that means that if I should happen to summon this "weakness" of yours, you'll get 'owned?'"
"No. I have defeated her plenty of times." A hint of hesitation is heard from his voice. "Besides, I don't need to deal with you. It has been my purpose to purge the world of ultimate evil, and much like you stated before with the three goddesses, the pop singer, and that android that you'll never hear me utter her name, I shall not give up on this vital objective." He walks toward her, shifting his feelings from (un)holy berserker to a tempered war veteran, almost as if he was hiding a feeling of some sort. "I have tried to forget the past of mine by doing this. Those targets knew the risks when they entered into this world, and I suggest you leave me alone and allow me to do my job and accept what I have done."
"I can't do that Vincent, because you very well know that what you did was wrong." She raises her arm to block his path. "I just cannot let you pass until you tell me why you did it."
He dropped his voice and his emotion to near sympathy from this point. "I can only tell you this. There are many women around the universes near and far that have the distinction of being the embodiment of "perfection", and life forms such as those can not exist while I'm around. Messing with me is far too much for you to handle, so do yourself a favor and get out of my way."
He departs with his back facing the girl, and leaving her behind to wallow in this though.
(Pause in flashback)
"So that was it?"
"No, it was what he did after that shocked me."
(Resume flashback)
"By the way, Cecilia," he said just before he walked away. "You should really get some better clothing; I can practically see your black panties from this spot."
That did it! The obligatory vengeful "baka" whopping soon followed as she vaulted to his spot with a large mallet formed out of her wand.
"You sick hentai pervert! Take this…"
She stopped midway. In a complete defiance of all anime related clichés in existence, Vincent raises his hand and positions it directly at the pole, halting the mallet's progress within inches of his head. "You do not know me well do you?" He replied with little emotion. Cecilia is in utter shock. "Cecilia, I want you to know that such petty things do not work on me. I cannot be persuaded by feminine charm, and I have no effects on any nosebleed scenario of any sort. The only reason I did that is to show you that no demonic female can ever subject me to their whim. I said this because it is never my style to degrade another unless it truly deserves it. Take this in mind should you ever face me again." In one complete motion, he moves the arm away from him and throws the mallet several feet out of the way with Cecilia still on it.
(End flashback)
"I don't know how much I can explain it." Cecilia replied, now completely done with what she had to say. "That is what happened."
"I see." The captain took notice and stood up from his spot. "Is it just because Vincent thinks Dizzy is this innocent child that makes him so enraged to hurt her?"
"That I don't know. I have heard stories that he has also brutally defeated notorious succubus and presumed "shoto-clone" Morrigan Aensland, and I know she is in no way innocent at all. Furthermore, there are several other characters, such as Mai Shiranui from the KOF tournaments, and Nakoruru from the world of Samurai Showdown that would have fit the scenario here, but there is evidence to show that he respects those women a lot, and would never harm them at all. It's just odd really." She sat down again. "He claims he's purging the world of evil, but he has known to fight alongside characters such as the Bernstein Pirates, and even knows the signature 'Genocide Cutter' by heart. I'm starting to think that maybe there's something involving all of these characters. It's like he's someone who loathes something about them… but…?"
She gets out of her seat and walks to the door. "I'm heading out now. I need to think this over."
"What should I do about Dizzy?"
"I think you should keep a close eye on him. I just don't want Dizzy harmed. That's all." She disappears out of the room and out of the hangar as Johnny thinks about this dilemma on him.
Meanwhile, somewhere several hangars away from the pirates, and on board Vincent's personal spaceship, the Titan, Vincent finalizes the plans for the play. Inside this efficient and cozy spaceship, complete with rec room, cargo, and space for six, including the owner who gets the best room obviously, the captain quickly evaluates his position of the musical. Of course, since he is the only one currently occupying the area, he is letting his emotions out on who should be with who…
"Damn it. These people are never satisfied. If I have one person acting as another, the other party will lynch me… but then I'll get my weapon… but a few of them don't even use weapons, and I still have to deal with security." He flushes through the cast as he places the portraits of the duelists one by one on the rec room's table, then removing them as necessary. "Ok. Now I know Dizzy is in no shape to act, so that's obvious." He chucks the high glossy, full bodied photo into the incinerator. "And I know Bridget is an auto for Cherubino, so that's easy." He attaches the equally high glossy, but much better photo of Bridget with a tag marked "Cherubino." He looks down the list…
"Slayer and Sharon as the Count and Countess, are obvious as well." He takes their 'painted portrait copies' and attaches the respective tags "Count and Countess of Almaviva" on them. "Now I did want Faust to play as the Doctor, but after his "Big Butts" routine, I'm not sure." The oddly blue colored Polaroid is placed in a file marked "Maybe." And as for Baiken, that's obvious. I ought to thank Areia for that." She places a paper copy of a Japanese tapestry, which has Baiken's fully clothed body onto a pile marked "Not likely." His search continues.
"I know that Anji did all right with the Don, so I could let him pass." He takes a copy of his tapestry and places a tag marked "Don Basicilo." "And A.B.A did a good job nonetheless, but I'll need time to think about it." She places a mini copy of her painted portrait on the "Maybe" pile. "That just leaves me with Venom, Sol, Ky, Chipp, Johnny and Axl, and since there are only three more parts… Wait, Sol tagged along for the ride and wanted out of the match, and he was not really that better than Ky so…" His Knight mug shot was placed with the "Not likely's." "That just leaves me with five. I'll be able to fit all the remaining women in unfortunately, but…"
Voltaire's cell phone rang. He quickly picked it up. "Is this Vincent Voltaire, the director that is going to do "The Marriage of Figaro" using the characters from Guilty Gear?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"No one in particular. I'm just a fan which happens to demand that you place Dizzy as one of the leads." The speaker was expressive and annoyed in his speech. Voltaire was not the slightest bit amused. In fact, he was pissed off.
"All right! Who the hell are you telling me what I can and can't do? It's my play and I can do whatever I want with it!"
"Wait a second; I didn't expect this from someone like you. Besides, you are wrong to question us." The man continued with unwavering emphasis. "We are known to some as one of the groups behind the famous "Midnight Carnival" incident, and although we should have been gone already, we are still here. You should probably know us as…"
"The Post-War Administration Bureau." Voltaire replied. Of all things, he never expected them to contact him, and his response was both concerning and intriguing. "Well… this seems very interesting." He quickly calms down. "I apologize for my response. I though you were some crazed Dizzy fanboy."
"Trust me. I assure you we are not, but our interest is with her though."
"I can see that." He shifts his attention back to the pictures. "So, let's get down to business. What do you want with me?"
"I am merely an agent asked to give you this demand. You are to place Dizzy as a key figure in your opera and not part of the ensemble cast."
"Now you think I'm going to do something like that? Sorry, but I rather place talent on some people that have merit, not on some that are derived to be good in everything."
"This is shocking to hear. I never expected you to pass such judgment on a girl like her."
"I must be firm in my decisions. I believe that there are a lot more duelists who deserve a lot more respect in this. This is why I have developed such an interest in Leap."
"I guess I can understand your motive now, and don't think about tracing this line. It's secured."
"Crap." Though the director as he was just about to activate the ship's "line tracer" program. "All right. If you happen to be so interested in Dizzy having a key role, then ask me this. 1: How the hell did you find out about Dizzy? I though she was presumed dead by you guys."
"We have our ways. We have managed to search and find the location of her following a programmed raid on the Pirates."
"I see. Interesting. #2: Do you have any evidence on proving that Dizzy is in anyway good?"
"Do you have any reason to see that considering you never actually gave her a chance during the auditions? Might I recall you did only Leap, Johnny, and May, leaving the rest for the ensemble?"
"Good response. And #3: Why her?""We, the PWAB, have our own motives with the Gear." There is a slight pause as Vincent fixes his hold on the phone. "Mr. Voltaire, I hope you understand that we don't take kindly to those who try to resist us."
"Look, I would have accepted your request, but the fact that your organization is responsible for several negative actions during 'The Midnight Carnival' has resulted in my refusal, especially in a demand like this. I'm afraid there is nothing you can do to dissuade me."
"Would it help if we happened to know something about your past?"
"Great, another one. Look, my past is jumbled with a lot of riddles and mysteries. It'll take weeks to figure out…"
"That you wanted to take the lives of a goddess triumvirate, a Psycho Soldier pop singer, and a construct that has the distinction of being a…"
"SHUT!!! UP!!!" The urge to throw the cell phone across the room was great, but the desire to find out what is going on was greater, so he slammed it at a nearby couch cushion, which soften the impact. Several seconds later, he picked up the phone, much calmer, but more desperate looking. "What do you know about… are you working for…?"
"Cecilia Nicomar, the Dark Magician Girl? We are aware of her existence, but we have no interest in her. By our look, we can see that you are very reluctant to work with us. Therefore, we must take action." The cell phone hangs up immediately. Voltaire sits down, flushed with sweat and tears, for only a minute when a loud shattered sound is heard from the pilot area. Running over out of concern, he notices, right away, a robotic version of a familiar Knight that sports a blue trench coat and a weapon that vaults electricity out of it…
"A Robo-Ky?!"
"BY-ORDER-OF-THE-PWAB," The "Ky-clone" said. "I-AM-FORCED-TO-TAKE-YOU-IN-FOR-REFUSING-TO-SUBMIT-IN-OUR-DEMAND!"
"Not on my life. You can tell the PWAB that I want no part with them, period!"
"YOU-REFUSE?! THAT-IS-NOT-AN-OPITION!"
Going into his compartment of sorts, he fiddles with a few buttons as his signature dueling song is being played out loud.
"…so I guess we are going to have to duel over this, right?"
"PRETTY-MUCH."
"Can you give me a 15 second start to get my tools?"
"SURE." The robot shrugs his shoulders and hits "rewind" on the audio contraption.
"Thank you." The director bows and makes a run into the obligatory hallway connecting all the rooms and the cargo hold, down to said cargo hold, grabbing whatever Unreal Tournament 2k4 weapon he could find, storming out of a very opened cargo airlock, and to the freedom that is a J.F.K hangar…
However, in front of him was the robot.
"YOU-STILL-HAVE-FIVE-SECONDS-LEFT." He said as he hits "play" on his contraption again.
"Well, at least I could do with… the Biorifle?" Looking towards his hands, he notices the tactically useful, but not in this case, GES Biorifle. For those unfamiliar, this controversial weapon is useful in certain situations, where it can be use as a minefield tactic and wait for the guy to feel the exploding green sludge on him out of nowhere, or just lob a huge blob of the stuff and have him screaming "bloody murder."
Though the weapon is useful in dense, isolated combat terrain, in an open field like the outskirts of a hangar, well… you get the idea.
"…uh… could you give me five more seconds to find a better weapon?"
"NO, NOT-REALLY."
"Dang."
"STUN-EDGE!"
The slow moving, yet very deadly electric spike rushes to get Vincent while he tries to fiddle with the weapon. Apparently he has not used it much in his travels, so we see him running like crazy trying to avoid the spike while fixing the jammed weapon.
"Damn weapon is still not working right… why can't I…" Voltaire knocks the device as a green sludge pops out. Jumping over the slime, it quickly explodes on Robo-Ky as the robot is unable to lose track of the target.
"CORROSION-DAMAGE-DETECTED! CURRENTLY-AT-93.89-PERCENT-HEALTH-TOTAL."
"That worked at least." Running deep within the hangar, he passes by several mechanical tools, old rusted plane components, and several barrels of fuel. Robo-Ky just passed through there with no problem.
"TARGET-CURRENTLY-IN-PURUSIT. ENTERING-SCANNER-MODE."
Still hiding behind several barrels, he finally unlocks the weapon, and gets it working again, albeit at 4/5's ammo. "I wonder if this guy has a built in scanner, cause if he does, he could quickly…"
"INITIALIZE-IMPALA-HUNT!"
Without warning, Vincent feels the full effect of Ky's sword streak by as he is literally pushed to the sky. With Vincent still airborne, the Robo-Ky, turns back from his spot and angle's his sword upward.
"VAPOR-THRUST!"
The Thunderseal clone, still upwards in the air, juggles the descending director even further up into the hangar, and with further marks around his body. After finally landing on the ground for what seemed like a minute. The author was feeling sore. Various cuts were etched around his body, and the feeling of several voltages of electricity may have "tweaked" his hair a little. Fortunately, he was still holding the goop machine. Once positioned back up, Robo-Ky returned to his normal fight stance.
"VINCENT, THE-PWAB-MAY-FORGIVE-YOU-FOR-THIS-INFRACTION. GIVE-DIZZY-THE-CHANCE-TO-PERFORM."
"You are downright crazy, you know that?" Disabling the safety, he fires several streams of the substance as it expands and covers a small area in front of Robo-Ky. He quickly notices the effect and shrugs it off.
"I-AM-NOT-SUBJECTED-TO-COWARDLY-TACTICS-SUCH-AS-THIS. MIDAIR-STUN-EDGE!" Returning to the air, Robo-Ky positions his hand toward the hilt of his sword and quickly slides it off in the opposite direction, forming a large electric pulse. That same pulse is deflected by some green airborne sludge which, since Voltaire was still firing, lands directly on him. The sludge has a bigger impact as it starts to melt part of his armor away.
"MODERATE-CORROSION-DAMAGE-DETECTED!!! CURRENT-HEALTH-IS-70.44 PERCENT. SHIFTING-MODES."
The Robo-Ky disappeared for a moment as it ran off out of the hangar. Using this lapse in time, Vincent runs back to the ship for better weapons. Running past the dead residue and metal fragments, he makes a leap toward opening the door and getting himself back into the ship and safety… if it was not for the fact that he got pounced by the blunt edge of Robo-Ky's sword and falls flat on his face a second later.
"DEVERSION-TACTIC-SUCCESSFUL!" The Robo-Ky picks up the director by the shirt collar, who at this point feels tenderized for all the damage he has received. "You know… I… have… hated… fighting… against… you… in… story… mode. You are very… cheap… you know that?"
"I-KNOW! THIS-IS-HOW-WE-DEFEAT-OUR-TARGETS-WITH-EASE!"
"Really? The… feeling… is… mutual."
"NOW-THAT-VICTORY-IS-MINE, WHAT-SAY-YOU? WILL-YOU-OBEY-US?"
"Well…" Vincent, now having his ass "owned" by Robo-Ky, lifts his face toward the mechanical freak. "…I… I will…"
"Vincent! Fire in the hole!"
Almost out of reflex, Vincent closes his eyes very hard and covers his ears tightly. In an instant, a "flashbang" has occurred right around the area of Vincent, completely blinding and deafening the robot.
"OPTICAL-AND-AUDITORY-RECEPTORS-DAMAGED! OVERALL-STATUS-IS-65.44-PERCENT. RESTORING-FUNCTIONS…"
Dropping Vincent back into the ground, the director scampers out of the zone as he recuperates his energy. Once rechecked, he calls out to the mysterious voice. "Who are you? I want to thank you."
"No problem, but that is not the time right now. You have to defeat Robo-Ky this instant."
"This doesn't make sense. At least I could know who you are."
"That is not important. Do you want the PWAB to lead this project?""Hell no!"
"Then finish off the blasted robot."
"I will." The loud echoes resonated throughout the hangar as the Robo-Ky regained his sense of hearing.
"HEARING-RESTORED. APPROACHING-TARGET…"
With the mechanical beast now approaching, he realized that this gun was the only thing he had left, so, with him hiding behind a series of more fuel barrels, Vincent charges the gun for a maximum attack. Using the barrels and debris for cover, he keeps running around, trying to get on his back side, until he is absolutely sure he made it. If he could make this final attack, he will have done it and won.
Making his way to his back, he jumps out of the cover, faces the robot, and points the gun directly at Robo-ky's turning head.
"SENSORS-RESTORED! TARGET-LOCKED!!"
"Time to eat some slime, Jack…!"
"RIDE-THE-LIGHTING!!"
The Robo-Ky surge train flickers past Vincent and throws him back towards the fuel barrels. At this point, with his last attack a bust, I'm not sure I could describe how he feels right now.
"Ow… Pain… Don't understand… Billy…and… Mandy…on… how…"
"STOP-QUOTING-FROM-LATE-20th-CENTURY-CARTOONS... BZZT!!"
"Shut up!" Checking his gun for potency, he realizes that the gun is now completely empty and out of charge. "Wait, if I was charging the gun and it is now empty… then where…" Taking a quick look at Robo-Ky, he notices the concentrated sludge of very toxic and very inedible green slime that was in the gun is now covering the 'droid and eating the life out of him.
"ERROR! MASSIVE-ARMOR-BREACH!! CORE-CIRCUITY-FAILING!! ERROR!"
In that one time Robo-Ky vaulted Vincent with the "Ride The Lighting" overdrive, he apparently didn't realize that in that impact, Vincent happened to have let go of the trigger, and while both the gun and him went toward one direction, the releasing sludge went in another way; that of the renegade Robo-Ky. Odd how the laws of physics work sometimes.
"ERROR!! DESTRUCTION-IMMINENT!!! CTRL-ALT-DEL!!! DANGER!! I-SEE-BLUE-SCREEN-OF-DEATH!!! DANGER!! CORE-IMPLOSION-IMMINENT!!
In the anticipation of a big explosion, Vincent braces himself using the fuel barrels for protection. However, seconds later, he feels nothing. Going up to see what's going on, he sees the robot not explode. Rather, it becomes convulsive as it gradually whimpers out to a dead stop, much to his disappointment…
"Aw. And I wanted a cool explosion."
…followed by a loud "special-effects" type BOOM that splits the robot in two! Voltaire is now partially covered in soot and robot dust.
"I had that one coming."
Vincent walks over the corroded, melting and mostly dissolved carcass that is Robo-Ky, and as he takes one look at the metal wreck, a minute message is barely audible from his voice box.
"YOU-CANNOT-ESCAPE-US! SOON...WE... SHALL...TAKE...YOU...DOWN..."
"Ah, you go dead now."
For sheer relief and kicks, Vincent kicks the deadweight in the head. The Robot finally shuts up.
After looking at the mess, and now realizing that he's going to need a new space windshield to replace the smashed one, he finally figured out that the though of dealing with the opera was about to get a whole lot complicated than he anticipated, especially with a cast like the Guilty Gear duelists and the eventual swarm of Robo-Ky's trying to kick his ass for disobeying a scheme from the PWAB. With this in mind, he did the only thing he could do.
"I'd better call the gang. Now with the PWAB around, I've got a lot of cleaning up to do… and just who was that person anyway?"
Preview of next episode…
As the subway train makes it's way toward Lincoln Square, We see Vincent narrowly escaping the sudden attack of Testament's personal ally, Zio, nearly piercing him as the train doors are about to open. She gets stuck with her hand imbedded inside a brick wall.
"I see he's got word of what's going on."