Previously in Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED…

"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."

x-x

"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.

x-x

"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…"

x-x-x-x-x

Guilty Gear
Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED
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 11
To Be, Or Not To Be?

"Alright, this is what I want you to do. Ky, I want you to use your experience as IPF officer to establish an investigation team. Bring Rock and your wives along; it could help you a lot."

"What? With this holy brat? No way, Lone Wolf! I'd rather tag along with Slayer than…"

"Do it or I'll use my power to authorize a Dizzy/Hotaru hentai doujin."

"WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN!"

"Damn you, Lone Wolf…"

"Fear the author. John, I've made contact with Potemkin, asking for the president's agreement to help us, so I want you to meet Gabriel and discuss with him regarding this matter. Use any and all opportunity the Zeppian government gives to you."

"The Jellyfish Pirates will do their best."

"Shiki, you are to work together with Arcueid and Slayer in tracking down the person Slayer claims as the black feather. Go to Cairo and meet Elde and wait for the next instruction. I'll remain here and inform you of anything useful."

"Why didn't you join us, Kiba-chan? It might be fun if we're tagging around at Cairo."

"Unfortunately, Arc-chan, I have another matter to do here. Anyway, time is running against us, so we have to act fast. Good luck."

x-x

Lone Wolf NEO breathed out in exhaustion and leaned against the chair. Never in his whole life he would act as a chairperson, handle a conference and take charge of the two cases of black feather and PWAB. He sighed and covered his face with the file, and began to mumble silently.

"What are you mumbling of, Lone Wolf-san?" He dropped the file to the floor when he reacted to the voice. He turned around and looked at the leader of the Tohno family, who was standing next to him. "Seems that you still can't get over with your old behaviour as usual, Lone Wolf-san."

"Go figure," the author spoke and breathed out. "All these things happened to me and I didn't even have everything prepared. Bleh, just thinking of it gives me serious headache."

Akiha giggled. "You still haven't changed at all, Lone Wolf-san," she commented, "just like the first day we met."

"Right," he spoke and stared back at the empty ceiling. "Just like the day…"

x-x

"To be, or not to be? That is a serious question."

Lone Wolf paused and stared at the evening sky. There was sadness in his eyes, and slowly it seeped out of its source in the form of tears. Lone Wolf shrugged and wiped off the tears. "Damn, I shouldn't cry at time like this," he mumbled and continued walking.

Several minutes of walking had passed, and he found himself standing in the middle of a playground, facing the sunset. Realizing that he had strayed off his original course, he decided to give it a break and sat on a nearby swing. Silent as he was, he stared up at the sky and began to murmur under his breath.

"Sorry for bothering, but what are you mumbling of, sir?" He looked at the source of the voice and saw a young woman in high school uniform standing next to him.

"Go figure," he answered and looked back at the sky. "All these things happened to me, and before I knew it… sigh, I knew I shouldn't cry over the past." He laughed over his head and looked back at the young woman. "Whatever it is, may I ask you who you are?"

"Tohno, Tohno Akiha," she replied. "And your name is?"

"Lone Wolf," the man said.

x-x

"And before I even took time to figure it out," Lone Wolf NEO spoke, I was introduced to the member of the Tohno House: you, your brother Shiki, the housemaid twin sisters…"

Outside the conference room, Kohaku suddenly sneezed while sweeping the floor. "Ayuh?"

"…and soon, everyone else in Misaki Town became my friends," he spoke. "And it was also that time I decided to take things seriously in another matter."

"Thus, you chose to become an author," Akiha added, followed by laughs from the two of them. "Speaking of which, how's everything on your side? You promised to write letters to us as often as you could, but not even a single letter reached us. Hisui was very concerned of you, and she always asked me all about you."

"Sorry," Lone Wolf apologized, trying to suppress his laughs. "I did write letters to you, but the tournament got me first."

"The Battle Revolution, right?" she spoke. "I heard that it got cancelled before it reached final rounds. What happened to it?"

Lone Wolf's laugh stopped. He sighed and stared at the table. "You wouldn't like to know what happened that time, Akiha," he told her. "You wouldn't want to."

x-x-x-x-x

He walked down the street alone. The man in legend, famous for his "are you okay?" battle cry, watched at several kids who were playing street basketballs. Replying to their call with a salute, he headed toward an open area and ended up arriving at an empty hangar. Standing alone at the area, he keenly observed the surrounding area and shrugged. "One year has passed," he spoke, "and South Town hasn't changed that much. Everything still remains the same as always."

"THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE." He quickly turned around, searching for the source of the digitally synthesized voice. He saw a man in red garbs leaning against a pillar, holding a sword in his hand. "SUBJECT'S NAME: TERRY BOGARD. FAMOUS TO HIS ALLIES AND FOES AS THE LEGENDARY WOLF OF FATAL FURY, SUBJECT PROVES TO BE DANGEROUS TO OUR OPERATION, AS HE HAD FOUGHT OUR ROBO-KY UNITS BACK AT HONG-KONG. ASSIGNED RISK RATING TO SUBECT IS A."

"Let me guess," Terry spoke, "the bureau sent you to chase me around again, right Robo-Ky?"

"YES AND NO," Mark 2 replied and walked toward the lone wolf of SNK universe. "THE BUREAU DID SEND ME TO TRACK YOU DOWN. HOWEVER, DETAINING YOU IS NOT OUR AGENDA."

"Oh?" Terry voiced. "Sounds like you've gotten bored at this wolf already."

"BUT ENOUGH TALK," Mark 2 insisted and opened battle stance. "CHIEF HAS ORDERED ME TO ANALYZE YOUR FIGHTING STYLE, AND THAT MEANS TO HAVE A MATCH AGAINST YOU. DEFEATING YOU WILL EASE THIS TASK, AND PROVE USEFUL IN COMPLETING OUR MAIN MISSION."

"Heh, as I expected from a PWAB unit," Terry said and grinned. "Well, then. Shall we begin?"

Mark 2 grinned as well. "IT WOULD BE MY DIGNITY TO BEAT YOU, TERRY."

"Come on! Come on!" Upon hearing the taunt, Mark 2 charged toward Terry and tried to hit him with his Ky-Maku Homerun. Terry instantly blocked the uppercut and counterattacked with a Rising Tackle, sending Mark 2 to the open air. The robot air-recovered and fired barrages of rocket-powered self-guidance flying fists at Terry; all of them were cancelled by a Power Geyser.

"ANALYSING POWER GEYSER… ANALYSIS COMPLETE." Mark 2 landed back on the ground and deeply stared at Terry. "POWER GERSER, YOUR STRONGEST TRADEMARK OVERDRIVE, INVENTED AND PERFECTED AND MASTERED THROUGH YEARS OF PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE. I MUST SAY; BEING HIT BY IT MUST BE PAINFUL AND EXCITING."

"Exciting? Really?" jokingly Terry asked.

"THEN I SHALL ATTACK YOU AGAIN." Mark 2 sprung toward Terry and attempted a second Ky-Maku Homerun. Again, it was easily blocked, but to Terry's surprise, the blocked hit turned out as a feint. "POWER GEYSER!" Mark 2 slammed his fist right below Terry's feet and released an eruption half the size of Power Geyser with doubled strength compared to its counterpart. Taken by surprise, Terry was hit by the overdrive and was knocked off the ground.

"How did you copy Power Geyser!?" Terry demanded after crashing on the ground. Mark 2 emitted a synthesized laughter and taunted him, much to the lone wolf's anger. "What are you laughing at, Robo-Ky!"

"THE MARVEL OF TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENT," Mark 2 answered. "WE, THE ROBO-KY MARK II ARE CUSTOM-BUILT AND SPECIALLY MODIFIED TO MEET THE MOST CURRENT DEMAND OF WINNING BATTLES AGAINST ANY AND ALL KINDS OF OPPONENTS, WITHOUT BEING RESTRICTED TO ONE FIGHTING STYLE. WITH THE BUILT-IN BATTLE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE, CODENAMED "IDENTIFIGHT", WE ARE THE MOST ADVANCED COMBAT ROBOTS TO ROAM THIS PLANET. TO USE A SIMPLER TERM," the robot spoke, "YOU'RE PWNED."

Staggered and heavily battered, Terry stood back on his feet and glowered at Mark 2. The wolf spirit was howling in anger, insulted and greatly deprived by the robot's act, and was demanding its master to let it free. "You're nothing but a replicated soldier. PWNED or not, I'm not going to lose to the likes of you."

"UNFORTUNATELY, TERRY," Mark 2 replied, "YOU ALREADY LOST."

"I'll prove it wrong! Are you okay?" Terry shouted out the feared battle cry of Buster Wolf and leaped toward Mark 2, fist first. "Buster-"

"ANALYSING BUSTER WOLF…" The golden eyes shone brightly, and Mark 2 responded to the result of the analysis. "ANALYSIS COMPLETE. BUSTER WOLF!"

An immense explosion shook the empty building, followed by piles of rubbish and debris blown away by a powerful shockwave. Both Buster Wolves had collided, and they seemed to be equal, until someone was tossed out of the flying dust. Terry's right arm was smoked and burnt out, as well as his whole body. He managed to glance at Mark 2 before he crashed on the concrete pavement.

"MY BUSTER WOLF HAS PROVEN TO BE STRONGER THAN YOUR BUSTER WOLF," Mark 2 commented and unloaded an empty cartridge from a knuckle-mounted shotgun. "HAVE NO WORRY, I USED A NON-LETHAL 12-GAUGE STUN CARTRIDGE. BE GRATEFUL TO BE STILL ALIVE, TERRY," the robot continued and exhaled smokes from vents and exhausts. He discarded his Buster Wolf stance and walked away from the unconscious Terry. "SUBJECT HAS BEEN SILENCED. IDENTIFIGHT IS UPDATING. NOW PROCEEDING TO THE NEXT TARGET."

x-x

"Chief, field test on IDENTIFIGHT 1.0 is complete," reported the scientist. "Analysis shows that Mark 2 has successfully implemented the software into its battlefield database, and managed to copy the fighting style owned by its opponent. It should be-"

"Very impressive," the chief interrupted, his eyes were locked at the video footage of Mark 2/Terry duel. "But it's still too early to confirm its effectiveness. Proceed with the experiment and file all the reports as soon as it's done."

"Yes, chief."

x-x-x-x-x

Morning arrived at the land of the pharaoh, bringing along with its sunray an uncertain hope for the future ahead. Already demolished into pieces by unknown attackers, the city of Cairo was put under emergency situation by the authorities. Everywhere and anywhere in the city, armed military guards could be seen patrolling the area to prevent further attacks from happening. Even the citizens were screened for inspection by the police force, fearing that any of them might be the next attackers.

"All of these things happening… sheesh, why can't people live in peace?" Sion mumbled as she waited outside the cake shop, waiting for Alex who was inside the shop. "Now what's taking him so long?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Alex greeted as he walked out of the shop. "I can't pick the cakes we're going to have for today, all of them look delicious to me."

"Whatever," Sion mumbled. "We're going back to my house. I don't want to stay out here when the soldiers are around."

Alex stared at her and smiled. "Lead the way, Miss Sion."

Sion grumbled at the addressing and walked away from him. "Why don't you drop that suffix from my name, Alex?" she insisted.

"I can't help myself but to call you with respected addressing," Alex said and walked behind her. Sion just mumbled at the response and walked without even looking back at him.

Passing several guards, the two people talked with each other along the way to the Atlasia Residence, as if the situation at the city was nothing to them. Alex was grateful for all things Sion had done to him, and decided to return the deed by treating cakes and ice creams for the day's tea break. On Sion's side, she still could not see the reason behind the sorrowful eyes she had seen and thought that Alex might be toying with his feeling. Moreover, the Alex she was seeing on that day was in "cheerful mode", unlike the "melancholy mode" he had several days earlier.

Alex suddenly halted. "Let's go this way," he insisted and moved away from the street they were walking on. Sion could see the reason behind it; the road was headed to the attack site, and she was pretty sure that the place brought him a painful memory. She has no choice but to follow.

He halted again, much to her dismay. "What is it again?" Instead of answering her with words, Alex handed over the groceries to her and stepped forward. "Alex? Something wrong with you?"

"I hear something," he told her, looking at his left and right. "12 people, coming at us, right from our left." He turned to the left and watched, as a dozen of fully armed agents jumped from their hiding place and surrounded the two of them. "Now what? Sending more agents to hunt me down? People nowadays just have no respect toward each other."

"Silence, fallen soldier," one of the agents demanded and pointed a scimitar at his face. "We're ordered by the bureau to bring you to the headquarters, dead or alive. We don't want anyone to get hurt, so drop everything you're carrying and follow us in peace."

"In peace or in pieces?" Alex sarcastically asked. He reached his back and grabbed the hilt of the kodachi, but then he felt his hand was blocked by someone. "Miss Sion, don't try to stop me."

"I don't care!" Sion insisted, holding his hand very tightly. "I don't know what grudge you have against those people, but if you think you can repent all your past sins by killing more people, then DON'T DO IT. I can't let any more people to be slain before my eyes, and I don't want you to commit that kind of crime."

"But Miss Sion…"

"DON'T DO IT!" Sion cried and clenched his hand with brute force. "Just… don't do it if I'm around… please?"

Alex was silent for a while, wondering whether he should follow his instinct of a warrior or to listen to the young woman. He was too concerned of how to deal with the situation, that he did not notice an agent pouncing toward him. He only reacted the moment Sion cried in distress, when the opposing sword was closing to his face by an inch.

"To be, or not to be? A question with the force to reckon with."

"To be."

In a lightning-fast movement, he snatched the attacker's arm and counterattacked with a palm thrust on his body. The attacker was sent flying toward his comrades, colliding with several agents standing on his way. "Miss Sion, may I make a promise with you?" he asked and grabbed a nearby broomstick and cleanly chopped it into half with his hand.

"What are you going to promise me, Alex?" asked the young woman.

"Whatever happens," he said and crossed the sticks in a perfect angle, "I'll try not to kill people in front of you. I'll try to."

"What's this?" the agent from earlier sarcastically asked. "You're going to fight for the sake of your lover? How pitiful, and that's the greatest mistake you've done. Get him!"

"Unfortunately, for you people," Alex insisted, "You're making the mistake for messing with the black feather."

x-x

"Elde-san, are sure this will lead us to the market?" asked Kirika.

The Swordsman looked at his beloved woman. "This is the road, I believe. Well, at least, that's what Lone Wolf told us to go," he told her. He, then, looked around the city and saw no pleasant sight or happening events around. "Since Cairo's under attack, everybody's now afraid to go out, even for a simple stroll. I guess the world's no longer safe for them."

"Are they too paranoid or something?" Kirika asked again.

"More of intimidated, I think," he answered. "Especially since ravens sightings are common today. But… wait. I'm pretty sure I'm not quoting someone, am I?"

"I think you don't quote someone," Kirika commented.

"I think I did. But I'm pretty sure the name sounds similar to me," Elde wondered. "Hmm… raven…"

(Somewhere, out of nowhere, Raven was sitting in boredom when he suddenly sneezed. "Who the heck is calling out my name?" he demanded and rubbed his itching nose.)

"Hey! There's a fight over there!" Kino exclaimed and pointed at street fight happening at the city square. The two of them watched at the direction and rushed to the mass, curious to know what was taking place. The roadside show was both amusing and intriguing, as the man in black uniform single-handedly outwitted his opponents with a pair of sticks almost effortlessly. The three visitors were amazed by how well the man fought, until Kino spotted the sight of a raven flying over the scene. Subsequent to that, a piece of black feather fell off the raven and landed on Elde's shirt.

"A feather…" the Swordsman whispered and took the feather. Carefully examining it, he later realized something. "Black Feather!" The man in black uniform responded to the call, exposing himself to the attackers. Elde shouted at the man in alert, but he reacted too late as a scimitar sliced through his back. The man cried in pain and fell onto his knees, trying to endure the biting pain on his back.

"Alex!" the young woman who was standing behind him all the time rushed toward him. "Alex, your back's bleeding…! You're hurt!"

The man hesitantly stood up and faced the attackers. "Don't worry about me, Miss Sion," he insisted between his pants, "this injury is nothing to me… really…"

"You're dead, Fallen Soldier!" Elde looked at the attacker whose scimitar was coated with blood. "We told you to drop everything and follow us to the headquarters in peace, right? But you turn out to be quite stubborn and blockheaded. We shall finish you off right now."

"TO HELL WITH THAT!" the man cried and pounced toward the attackers, too fast for the spectators to watch and follow. And as fast as it begun, it ended also too fast before the people realized what had taken place. A split second after that, they saw the man in crouching position behind the stunned attackers, holding the fighting sticks in a backhand position. He slowly stood up and spun the sticks in his hands, and looked back at his opponents.

"Dust to dust. Amen."

In an instant, all the opponents were hit by an invisible attack eighteen times, and fell onto the pavement one by one. There was no cry of pain or terrified and frightened screams; only a dead silence that followed after. The man reached the iron cross and clenched it tightly and frowned. As if he was mumbling of something, he breathed out and stared at the woman. "Miss Sion, you might think that they're dead, but they just fainted. Don't worry, I kept my promise of not committing murder in front of you, didn't I?" Not long after that, a mass of black feathers fell of the sky and dramatically filled the scene with a melodramatic sense.

"That must be him," Elde uttered and stepped forward. "Excuse me, but I believe that you're the one carrying the name Black Feather. Isn't that right, Alex?"

Alex stared at the Swordsman in intrigue. "And who might you be? Do we have some kind of business? And how did you know my name?"

"The name is Elde Talonn," Elde pronounced. "And to answer the second question, yes. We do have some kind of business. No, it's an important business."

"You didn't answer my last question," Alex demanded.

"I heard your name being called by the woman over there," Elde spoke, pointing his finger at Sion. "That is why."

"I see. How important might this meeting might be, young man?" Alex asked again.

"So important, it is," Elde answered, "that the lone wolf of author's world has sensed an upcoming threat coming from you. We are sent to this city because of the reason."

To be continued…?