"Putting that aside," Kirika continued, "who and what is this Black Feather? Why would we investigate his existence? Is Lone Wolf-san so afraid of this man that he asked us to check it out?"
"If Lone Wolf were afraid of this man, he wouldn't even consider of asking us to go to Cairo at the first place," Elde insisted. "I believe there's another reason behind it. And I fear it's something the three of us… no, all of us don't want to face."
x-x
"The name is Alexander Hahn, once serving the Holy Orders as a Sacred Knight. I went by many names: Dark Paladin, The Lone Wolf of Holy Order, Black Feather… and the Fallen Soldier, as you called me once. But, Miss Sion, the Alexander I had said earlier died ten years ago due to treachery committed by his comrades."
"Then why are you…"
"Here?" He breathed out for the third time and stared at the sky, by now silhouetted by the ravens coming down to feast on the carcasses. "Who knows? Ten years of journey, trying to repent all the sins I had committed, but end up adding up more sins…"
x-x-x-x-x
Guilty Gear
Heart of the Melting Blood
Written and conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO
Lone Wolf NEO does not own any of all the games or anime or manga featured in this story, but he owns the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. Lone Wolf would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge.
Chronological Note: Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED takes place scarcely half a year after Guilty Gear versus SNK 2: Battle Revolution, and currently runs roughly in parallel with Guilty Gear: The World Within and Without written and owned by Sheo Darren.
Chapter 10
Situation Critical
"We begin our program with an exclusive report brought from the city of Cairo. An explosion has occurred at the al-Maktub marketplace several hours ago and destroyed a mosque and a church located near the market. Estimated numbers of casualties are still being calculated, although 50 dead bodies have been recovered from the disaster area. There are no parties or group claiming to be responsible for the incident, and authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion. In the mean time…"
Sion turned off the television and walked toward the table, taking a seat beside Alex. "Here you go, as you requested," she said and handed over a glass of hot cocoa to him.
"Thanks, Miss Sion," he spoke and took the glass. "And thanks again for letting me stay in your house."
"I can't let the police arrest you for no reason," Sion insisted, "and look at the news report. Now everyone's caught in fear due to the explosion. What in the world is going on?"
"I don't know," Alex uttered and took a sip of the cocoa, "before I knew it, everything and everyone before my eyes were caught in the explosion. And… Laila… she…"
Sion stared at him in intrigue. "Laila?"
"The girl I treated her with ice cream at the park," he told her and put down the glass. "I met her and her mother just before the explosion took place. I could still remember the face she made when she invited me to join them…" Alex grumbled and cupped his face, shrugging in dismay. "And I couldn't save her… damn it!"
"I… I'm sorry to hear that, Alex," Sion uttered.
Alex breathed out and eased off. "It's… it's alright. I can bear with this tragedy. These things have happened a lot to me before."
Silent as they were, Sion eventually excused herself and went upstairs. "I'm going to prepare the bedroom for you, Alex. I'm thinking of letting you stay here until we can figure out how to solve this problem," she told.
"Thanks. You don't have to be generous to me, Miss Sion," Alex replied, smiling at her. Sion could only smile at him in response and quickly walked up the stairs, ignoring the man who later proceeded to finish the hot beverage. He breathed out and stared at the empty ceiling, letting his mind to fly away from problems and issues. Later he frowned and, again, cupped his face. "Big brother couldn't save you and your mother… please forgive me, Laila…"
x-x
"Remember, soldiers. Whatever happens in our duty, never turn your back away from the Holy Orders for the sake of personal cause. May God be with us. Amen."
x-x
Alex reached the iron cross and clenched it very tightly. "But I've turned my back away from the path of the Holy Knight because of personal matters… what else can I do? What else?" he whispered between his whimpers, not knowing that Sion was watching him from the stairs.
x-x-x-x-x
Kiev, Ukraine.
"Has everyone arrived, Hibiki?" asked Lone Wolf, waiting inside the meeting room whilst accompanied by the iaijitsu woman and the casts of Tsukihime.
"They should be here in any moment, Lone Wolf-san," Hibiki uttered while putting down several files in front of the author.
"I don't really mind if you're calling them for this meeting," Shiki said and corrected his eyeglasses, "but why do you want us to join in?"
"Oniisan, didn't Lone Wolf-san tell you before?" Akiha asked, nudging him on the rib.
"Yeah, yeah, he did," Shiki insisted and coughed. "About the explosion at Cairo, and the black feather thing… (Insert random Japanese babblings). Right?"
"And I need to discuss with everyone regarding these issues," Lone Wolf spoke and took one of the files, "that's why I've asked Ky to return to Kiev immediately. I've also asked John to come here, as well as Slayer. And since you people are here, too, I guess it'd be appropriate to let you know this thing."
"The Nightwalker?" Hibiki asked. "Off all people, why would you invite him to this meeting, Lone Wolf-san?"
"He was the one who informed me about this black feather," he answered. "And I'm very suspicious of how or where did he get the information. That's why I invited him here."
The door was opened, and Hisui and her twin sister Kohaku entered the meeting room. "Lone Wolf-san, the guests have arrived outside the room," Hisui informed. The author looked at Hisui and asked her to invite them in. "Wakarimashita. Saa, oneesan." Both the maids walked out of the room and entered it again, guiding the guests into the meeting room and showing them place to seat.
"Welcome, people," Lone Wolf greeted as the guests took a seat. "I just hope that I didn't take any of your precious time for this urgent meeting."
"I knew there'd be something happening, Lone Wolf," Ky spoke, "so tell us, why are you inviting us to this meeting?" Lone Wolf was silent, his eyes warily staring at each of the guests. Ky coughed and grumbled in dismay at the response the chairman of the conference gave. "Do you have any idea of what are you-"
"Omatase, minasan." All the people inside the room watched at the source of the voice and saw a cape popping out of nowhere. From the cape, walked out a man most of them already recognized. "Has the meeting started already, Lone Wolf NEO? I hope I didn't come late for today's discussion."
"We're waiting for you, Slayer," the author replied. "And you came dead on time. We were about to begin this meeting. Now, will you please have a sit? Hisui will guide you."
"Thank you very much, Lone Wolf NEO," Slayer spoke and followed Hisui to the seat nearest to Ky. The ex-IPF commander cautiously watched at the vampire lord. "Patience, Holy Knight. This won't take long, I guarantee," Slayer assured with his vampiric smile.
Lone Wolf signaled at Hibiki, in which she nodded and proceeded to hand over the files to the guests. "Everyone, I will now explain the agenda of our meeting. As you may have noticed," he spoke and turned on a wall-mounted flat-screen TV, "the city of Cairo had been under attack by armed mercenaries yesterday, killing many innocent peoples at the city. However, it's not the attack that we're going to discuss." The scene switched to a video footage of a flock of ravens flying over the market, moments before the attack took place. "This is the reason I called you people here."
"The black feather," Slayer uttered. Everyone inside the room curiously watched at the Nightwalker, much to his delighted surprise. "My, my. I didn't expect to see this kind of reaction given by you people. Humans always amaze me."
"Yes. The black feather," Lone Wolf spoke. "And as we're discussing about this black feather, Hibiki's ex-apprentice Elde Talonn is currently at Cairo to investigate this matter. He had called me several hours ago and informed us that he, Kirika and Kino are doing fine and weren't affected by the attack. I even called my ex-acquaintance Sion Eltnam of the Atlas Academy to have this case settled as soon as possible."
"As soon as possible?" Ky asked.
Lone Wolf coughed and gave out the infamous "Gendo's eye of concern". "I fear, if we don't act fast, this black feather could bring us trouble. Lots of troubles."
"Hmm…" John scratched his chin while browsing the file handed over by Hibiki. "This has got to be the strangest case the Jellyfish Pirates has ever faced, and I would like to believe that my twin brother would say the same thing if he were here."
"But I'm very curious on one thing," Ky added while checking the documents taken out from the file. "What kind of thing that would have connection with the black feather?"
"Perhaps Slayer will answer the question for you," Lone Wolf uttered, staring deeply at the ex-leader of the Assassin Guild. Both the author and Slayer exchanged each other's sights before the latter coughed and grinned.
"Very well," he uttered and proceeded to correct his necktie. "For one thing I must admit here, I was the one who informed Lone Wolf NEO to be aware of the black feather. And of course, I will answer the question Mister Kiske has raised a moment ago." Warily the people inside the conference room waited for the answer, causing the vampire to laugh again. "Anyway, the black feather we're discussing here is not a thing, as Mister Kiske said earlier." His eyeglass went opaque, as Slayer slightly frowned and stared at Lone Wolf. "It's a person."
A sudden ad lib occurred among the discussers, and curiosity began to arise inside of him. "What do you mean by person, Slayer-san?" Akiha asked. "We would like to know, please tell us about it."
"I thought your answer couldn't be shared, Slayer," Lone Wolf insisted, staring at him with another of his Gendo's sights.
Slayer laughed and corrected his necktie. "I didn't want to tell you that time because it wasn't appropriate for you to know. Now that the situation has become critical, I have no other choice but to share it with the people here," he uttered.
Lone Wolf was about to respond to the comment when Hibiki informed him of an incoming message. Excusing himself for the interruption, he turned his PDA on and accessed the message box. Everybody watched at him in aware, as his face was showing the sign of unpleasant reaction. "Everyone, I'm afraid we've got ourselves another critical situation," he informed and pressed a button on the conference table. The wall-mounted screen turned on, and showed a video footage of a man in white/red garb standing next to a slain body. "This amateur video was taken several days before the explosion took place at the al-Maktub marketplace. From the look of the garb the man in the footage wore, this is worse than we would ever think.
"For God's sake," Ky suddenly exclaimed, "it's Robo-Ky! I can identify the robot from its uniform alone! What is PWAB planning to do again this time?"
"That's what I'm wondering of, Ky," Lone Wolf uttered and turned off the TV. "Now we've got two issues to deal with; the black feather and the PWAB. I believe if we don't act really fast, either one or both of these will cause problems in near future. And I don't want that to happen."
"Then what do you want us to do, Lone Wolf?" asked the Jellyfish Pirates' captain. The entire crews of the Mayship, including the newly commissioned Akari Odine, were staring at Lone Wolf in expectance of answers from the author.
"A good question, John," Lone Wolf answered. "Inside the files Hibiki handed over to you a while ago are documents and related information you might find useful in helping me. I have asked Zero to gather all available information to share with in this meeting, however I will highly appreciate it if any of you could provide more info regarding these matters."
"Have no worry, Lone Wolf!" January exclaimed and lifted the file to the air. "If you need anything, the Jellyfish Pirates are ready to help!" Before long, all except Slayer stated out their readiness and willingness to help Lone Wolf NEO in getting over the situation.
"I don't know whether we can do anything useful," Shiki uttered and smiled at Lone Wolf. "But we'll help. Be thankful to have your old-time friends helping you at time like this."
"Haii, haii! I will help Kiba-chan as well!" excitedly Arcueid spoke. In an instant, the conference room turned silent, as the people were weirdly staring at the vampire princess. "Oops. Did I overact again?" sheepishly she asked.
Lone Wolf unpleasantly coughed. "Arc-chan, you know you should not…" Arcueid and Ren already gave him the feared Bambi's eyes of cuteness before he could finish his words. "Damn it… those eyes really own me this time," the author grumbled.
"Aw, Kiba-chan doesn't like us doing this to him," Arcueid squealed, deeply staring at him with the Bambi's eyes widened.
"I give…"
x-x
The meeting ended after an hour and half, and the guests were invited for tea break served and prepared by Hisui and Hibiki. They were having their good time chattering and talking among themselves, which was an opportunity rare for any of them to get. The bashful November, the trustworthy assistant of the chef who was simply called "the cook" for unknown reasons was very excited to finally be able to meet her online friend Hisui for the very first time, and Hisui seemed to be delighted as well, albeit the housemaid did not show her emotion as much as her Jellyfish Pirates counterpart did. The rest of the people were very delighted to know each other, and Arcueid was the most noticeable one. Already having a good time having conversation with Slayer (and enjoying red wines requested by Slayer himself), it would already be obvious that both of them were accounted as the strongest being in their respective universe; Arcueid is, of course, the vampire princess and the protagonist of Shingetsusan Tsukihime bearing the name "True Ancestor" while Slayer is famous to Guilty Gear XX players and fans alike as the ex-leader of the now-defunct Assassin Guild and feared by the PWAB for his 'unknown' status (he's also quite badass-looking for a vampire, literally). Ren, on the other hand, cutely and innocently stared at the empty ceiling, arising curiosity and eagerness among the Jellyfish Pirates to befriend the familiar of Arcueid. To their utter surprise, the blue-haired girl chose to befriend Akari though she never realized how dangerous the thirteenth pirate might be.
Lone Wolf NEO noticed that Dizzy was constantly looking for someone at the guestroom. Curious to know what had bothered her, he approached the Gear and asked whether he could help her with anything. "Mou, why isn't Hikki here? I had planned to meet him and have a talk with him as soon as we come here," she spoke.
"It seems that you're worried of my disciple too much, Dizzy," the author said, grinning at the mumble.
"Of course I am," Dizzy answered. "I mean, how can I forget everything he has shared with me along this time? He's been close with me even before I realize it. For me, he's like a brother."
Lone Wolf couldn't agree with her more. She was telling him the truth; Hikki was already close with the innocent Gear, much closer than with everybody else including Mriya. He knew that the child of Chrono would not realize it due to the ignorant attitude he had.
Lone Wolf reached her shoulder and patted it. "You know what, Dizzy? You won't have to worry over his loneliness, and soon everyone will follow on."
Dizzy's ruby eyes were staring at him in intrigue. "What are you trying to say, Lone Wolf?" asked the girl.
He grinned. "Well, Dizzy, we'll know the answer very soon enough."
"Hey!" In an instant, all eyes were locked on the door, where the sight of a young blonde man standing at the door was visible. "Nobody told us about this party! Where the hell is Ky!?" angrily Rock shouted. Ky already moved away from the mass, walking toward the nearby curtain to hide. Too bad for him, Rock already spotted him. "KY!!! How dare you cheating us and told us to wait at the outside!" he roared and stomped toward the Holy Knight. "That's it! I've had this discrimination enough! You're going to be PWNED TODAY!"
"Yikes! To the exit, righty then!" Ky squealed and ran away from the biological son of Geese, while Hotaru helplessly tried to prevent him from causing havoc at the room. All the people inside the room watched at the sitcom before laughed.
"I never thought people in Guilty Gear universe would be this cheerful," Arcueid commented, while taking a sip of blackcurrant juice served by the housemaid. "Just look at those two," she spoke and pointed at Rock and Ky, by now already opened their battle stances before Dizzy and Hotaru scolded them for ruining the mood of the gathering. "Chasing each other around as if they're rivals or something, these people are very amusing."
"But to meet one of my own kind in such time and place has got to be the most surprising occurrence to happen in my whole life. Don't you find it delightful, Miss Brunestud?" Slayer spoke and drank a glassful of red wine.
"Oh, just call me Arcueid, Slayer. I'm not really used to act as formal and as noble as you do," the True Ancestor insisted. "After all, we're relatives. Right?"
"I cannot help myself but to agree with the statement of yours, Miss Arcueid," Slayer answered. "Cheers."
Arcueid grinned and tapped the glass she was holding with Slayer's. "Cheers."
"Perhaps, Miss Arcueid," Slayer spoke while drinking the beverage, "you can consider my invitation to our dinner with Lone Wolf NEO. You see, I'm the kind of man very eager to have a longer conversation with people like you. Lone Wolf has already showed his readiness to join us in the dinner, but how about you?"
"Eh? Kiba-chan knows you too?" Arcueid asked in curiosity.
"We're friends, if you want to call our relationship with the term," he told her.
Arcueid giggled. "Cool! Anyone who's Kiba-chan's friend is a friend of mine as well. I'd really like to have a dinner with you."
x-x-x-x-x
Sion was sitting on the chair next to the window. She was in complete confusion and self-argument; not even her "brain overclocking" ability could help her in getting the problem over. It was about Alexander; she had witnessed the massacre he had committed at the park right before her eyes, and she had been foretold of the emergence of the black feather, and she was very sure that he was that black feather. Yet on the other hand, she saw him as a man lost in his guidance. Moreover, the anguish reaction he showed when he spoke the name Laila showed that he somehow repented all the misguided acts her had committed, yet for some reason only he knew, could not avoid. "Fallen Soldier or not, Alex's got to be helped. And somebody has to start it," she insisted and stood up. She approached the door and opened, where to her surprise Alex was standing right in front of her eyes. "Alex! You're surprising me! What brings you here?" asked her.
"Just checking," he answered and peeked inside the room.
Quickly Sion shielded his sight and laughed unpleasantly. "I still haven't prepared this room yet. I think you should wait a little longer, okay?" she insisted.
"You think so?" he asked whilst his eyes peeked into the room. "But I think it's prepared already."
"I mean, the laundries aren't picked up yet! So please be patience, while I settle everything, okay?" she insisted and slammed the door. The girl breathed unpleasantly and leaned against the door, putting a hand on her chest. "Why would he come at time like this? What if he's eavesdropping on me? Oh, no. Did he hear what I had said about him?"
"Miss Sion," Alex called from the outside, "I'll be waiting downstairs. Just call me when it's done, okay?" Sion didn't answer; she waited, as she heard his surprised mumble and sounds of footsteps moving away from the room. She waited for a minute or so, and heard nothing after that. She sighed in relief.
"That was close. I thought he'd storm in and question me out of sudden," she thought. Then she stared at the empty ceiling, wondering of something. "Those eyes… they seem to be full of sorrows and anguish… if only I could know what are hidden behind those eyes…"