Previously on Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED…
"Speaking of which," Shiki uttered. "How's the black feather case, Lone Wolf? Has it been solved? How was it going?"
"Good and not good," Lone Wolf spoke, letting Hibiki to bandage his bleeding head. "The Black Feather should threaten us no longer, and I can assure that. However, it's debatable whether Ky will accept him again or not. He's like-ITTAI! Hibiki-chan, don't be too rough at me…"
"Stand still, Lone Wolf-san. I'm trying to wrap this bandage on your head," Hibiki reminded and applied another piece of bandage on his head.
"Just look at that," Shiki remarked, "getting treated by the girl he adores so much. I don't even get this kind of chance because these girls are always fighting over me. Sheesh, what am I? A maharaja?"
-x-
Alex was staring deeply at the holy knight for a while before he shrugged and turned away from him. "After helping you to defeat the robots, all I receive from you in return are demand instead of gratitude? Don't tell me that you're demanding a duel between us, Ky."
"I don't care about that!" Ky answered. "I must punish you for betraying justice and humanity! Come back here and face me like a knight! Alexander!"
Alex stared at Sion, who nodded at him as if acknowledging him of something. He, then, looked back at Ky. "I don't want to do this, really," he uttered and sighed, "but to quote Mister Sol Badguy: shut the fuck up and die," before flipping a middle finger at Ky.
"Oh, great," Sol grumbled, "now everybody is quoting me and my middle finger taunt. Sheesh."
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. The author would really appreciate 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 21
The One Arc Part 1
Wolf Pack Rising
"This is war, and we are soldiers. What if tomorrow, the war could be over? Isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dying for?"
Morpheous, The Matrix Reloaded)
"We continue with the latest report of the attack on South Town. The attack aimed on all fighters and martial artists residing the city still remains unsolved, even after the local police department cooperated with the International Police Force. Despite the rumours that the Post-War Administrative Bureau was behind the incident, the bureau strongly denies their involvement in the so-called 'attack on the wolf's lair'. Current investigation team assigned on the case, however, has discovered fragments of a digital sound amplifier believed to be installed on the now-defunct Robo-Ky units, increasing the suspicion of the bureau's connection with the case. President Chipp Zanuff says to the reporters during press conference that he will request the Congress to begin their own investigation, knowing that such case will possess risk on the internal security."
The TV was switched off. Lone Wolf NEO breathed out in anguish and leaned against the sofa, staring at the empty ceiling of the Falken Residence. He knew that time was strictly against him as the case of global Mark II attacks increased from day to day, and he did not even have time to establish investigation teams or whatever related. Even the Zepp government was slow in taking their actions, especially after the most recent attack of the new Robo-Ky units on the President's Castle reported in the news. Earlier that day, the author had been informed by John whom he asked to meet President Gabriel that the leader had to take precautious step regarding the country's security, forcing him to deal with the crisis by himself. Alone or not, he must take his own steps in preventing Robo-Ky Mark II from threatening the whole universe of Guilty Gear.
Lone Wolf stood up and walked toward the notebook computer and established satellite communication link. He patiently waited for the link to be granted, snapping his fingers and cracking his neck once in a while. "Access granted. Waiting for reply…" Instantly, the image of a silver-haired, 16-years-old girl appeared on the LCD screen, who seemed to be surprised meet him.
"Lone Wolf-san! Oh, my! What a surprise," excitedly Tessa uttered. "I never thought that you'd reach this submarine. What's up?"
"I'm fine, Tessa-taichou," the author replied. "I kind of missed you and your crews very much. We're comrades, right?"
The young woman shyly giggled and cupped her flushed cheeks. "Yada, I was just trying to assist you as much as I could. It was you who the Mithril should be grateful, Lone Wolf-san." Both the people laughed, remembering the time they were introduced in the height of Battle Revolution. It was on that time that Mithril was assigned to human welfare and peacekeeping operations, thanks to Yuuki Darren and company who did not want such tragedy to repeat itself in time to come. Nobody knew how or why the mercenary group was involved in Guilty Gear universe, yet their presence saved the people's time and relieved the tension the victim of the Battle of Kiev had to face.
"Anyway, no time to joke around," Lone Wolf spoke, his voice turned stern and concerned.
"Lone Wolf-san, is there anything wrong?" Tessa asked. "You look so depressed."
"…yeah, there is something wrong," he told her. "Especially when the PWAB is planning to inflict chaos around the world. I don't know what's in the mind of the bureau's officers, but… they're up with no good again, Tessa. And this time, it's worse."
Silence. Both Lone Wolf and Tessa were staring at each other before the girl broke the unwanted stillness. "Are you refering to the Mark II outbreak, Lone Wolf-san?" The author nodded slowly. She frowned, realizing that the world had been under threat once again. "Sonna… what are we going to do? This… this isn't like what we had faced the last time."
"That's why I called you, Tessa," Lone Wolf said. "I need your help to locate any industrial complex or area where the bureau is conducting massive manufacture of Mark II. Once it's found, I want you to use your authority to disrupt their operation with everything you have. And I mean everything."
"But Lone Wolf-san, we're told by Yuuki-san not to use weapon of mass destruction in this universe," the young captain told him, "for whatever reasons. Well…"
"I don't give a damn about what she told you!" Lone Wolf replied and slammed the table. "The bureau is on the loose, and they're now taking opportunity to cause chaos and disorder around the world. Do you expect me to sit and do nothing while those damned people are showing their real intentions!? Do you!?"
"Lone Wolf-san, that's not what I meant! Chigau!" Tessa replied in panic. "And besides, you're scary when you're angry. Kowaii…"
Lone Wolf shrugged and drooped his head. "Gomen, I just can't take it any longer… honto ni, gomen."
"Lone Wolf-san…"
"Tessa," he called her, "you already know that I'm the author of this universe, and you already know that I'm responsible to everything in here. However… that doesn't mean that I'm the one who does all the works. No, I don't work alone anymore. I need people to ease the burden I'm carrying right now." Then he sighed and looked up at the flatscreen. "And besides, I think I'm the only person after Sheo who has the most allies in any fan fiction universe. I have Hibiki-chan as my assistant, everyone else as my comrades… no, friends. You, as well."
Tessa giggled. "Aw, that's so sweet of you, Lone Wolf-san. I'm so flattered to be your friend."
"A friend in need is a friend in deed, right?" the author replied, a smile carved upon his face.
"Yosh!" the young woman exclaimed. "Allow us to perform thorough observation on the bureau's global operation. We just don't have any idea of where the industrial complex is located, so it might take time. Oh, we might be sending our agents around the world to ease this task, for your information."
"Make it quick. The slower we get to our work, the faster the bureau will accomplish everything they've planned," Lone Wolf said. "And I give you my words to use any methods to put their operation to a permanent end. Got it?"
"Haii! The mercenary organization Mithril is ready to serve you anytime!" excitedly Tessa responded and saluted him. "You can count on us, Lone Wolf-san!"
"Arigatou, Tessa-taichou," the author spoke, saluting at her. "Lone Wolf NEO roger and out."
The video conference ended. Lone Wolf breathed out in relief and walked away from the notebook, approaching the door of the mansion. He, then, walked toward the open area across the road, where the casts of Tsukihime and Melty Blood were enjoying time; although Ciel and Arcueid could be seen engaging in their endless duel at the middle of the field, while Ren innocently sat under the oak tree, staring at the blue sky. As he came close to the group, he was greeted by Hisui who invited him to have a seat with the heirs of the Tohno family. "No, thanks. I'm here to ask you people of something," he told the housemaid.
"Us?" Hisui asked.
The author nodded and watched at Shiki. "Mister Shiki, can I ask your favour to join my wolf pack?"
Shiki, who was having a conversation with Akiha, looked up at him. "What on earth does that supposed to mean, Lone Wolf?"
"We have no time to lose right now," Lone Wolf said, "because I believe that you people have heard or read the news of Robo-Ky Mark II armed force taking the whole world by surprise."
"Including the raids recently taking place here, right Lone Wolf-san?" Akiha asked.
"Correct, and since I can't afford to wait some more time, I decide to bring the bureau's operation to their permanent end," he answered. "But I can't work alone, by the way, so I need your support in taking care of the bureau and their robots."
"Oh, alright then," Shiki said and pointed to his face. "You can count on us to kick the bureau's ass anytime you want."
"I'll help Lone Wolf-san and oniisan as well," Akiha said.
"Same with me," Hisui told him. "And I'm very sure that oneesan agrees to give her aid to Lone Wolf-san."
"Haii! Haii! I'll help Kiba-chan, too!" Arcueid shouted in the middle of their duel, managing to evade Ciel's punch.
"Your kindly help would be appreciated, Arc-chan!" Lone Wolf shouted back at her.
"Haii!" she replied and again evaded Ciel's Key Blade attack. "Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh! Ciel can't attack me! Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh!"
"Hey! Don't stick your tongue at me like that!" Ciel demanded.
"Who wants to listen to you?" the True Ancestor told her and showed her tongue at the Vatican agent. "PIIDAH!"
The author could only chuckle under his breath when he watched at the rivalry and excused himself to return to the mansion. "Now that the TYPE-MOON people have agreed to join the pack, it's time to seek for the rest of the wolves. Then the bureau will be in trouble once the wolf pack is leaving its lair."
x-x-x-x-x
Terry walked out of the hospital after given permission to take his leave. He had been staying at the hospital for almost a month, and he had heard a lot of news regarding the Mark II units and their rampages around the world. The most recent case he heard was taking place at the Kusanagi Mansion, where the Kusanagi clan was under attack by the invading robots while taking preparation for tea ceremony with the Chizuru clan. The raid failed, mostly because of the interference of a woman carrying the title Chaos Bringer who helped the scions of both clans in defeating the PWAB soldiers. Knowing that Kyo and his fellows survived the attack unharmed, Terry gained confidence that he, too, would be able to defeat the replicated soldier who had disgraced him and the rest of the South Town fighters.
He strolled near the Geese Tower and looked at the very top of the structure. "Even the Geese Tower was under attack… and he was unfortunate to be defeated by Mark 2…" He frowned and shook his head. "Such an unexpected ending for the man who was and still my mortal enemy…" He shrugged and continued walking when he saw Misaki kneeling near a pile of concrete wreckage. Curios of what she was doing at the place, Terry approached her and offering her his help.
"Terry-san…" Misaki called out his name, not glancing at him.
"Hey, little girl," Terry said and knelt beside her, "what are you doing here?"
The girl looked at him, staring at the eyes of the lone wolf for a long time. Unable to contain her emotion, she fell onto his body and clung onto him, crying. "Terry-san… otousan is…" she sobbed.
"I know, little girl…" Terry spoke and softly rubbed her back. "I know what happened to him. I'm sorry." Misaki broke into her anguish cry and buried her face in his arms, calling out Geese's name many times. Terry sighed and slowly embraced the girl. "Poor little girl…"
"Terry-san…" Misaki called him between her sobs, "otousan had asked me to find the man who would avenge his… but I don't know where to find him…"
Terry frowned in concern. He alone would be overpowered if he were to challenge Mark 2 in a rematch, and he already realized that the PWAB soldier already became uber powerful after defeating The Most Powerful Man In The World. "Then there's only one man…" He pulled Misaki off his embrace and wiped off her tears. "Misaki, I think we should go and visit Lone Wolf NEO right away. He's the only one we can rely on in stopping the robot's madness."
"Lone Wolf… NEO?" Misaki asked.
"The one who had saved the world from the wrath of the new archetype Gear, remember? If he's that capable in saving the entire planet, then he should be able of fighting that robot," he told her.
"But… where we should find him? He's nowhere to be found, and finding him will take time…" worriedly she spoke.
"Have no worry, Misaki," the lone wolf told her. "I can feel my wolf spirit howling in eagerness. If it knows where Lone Wolf is, then it will take us to him."
"Oh."
"Anyway," he said and stood up, facing east. "We've got no time to lose. We better move right away, or Mark 2 will mess around again."
x-x-x-x-x
Lone Wolf NEO watched, as all the people who were present at Kiev took their place at the living room. He had managed to call most of them to attend the urgent gathering, and the number of the people was more than enough to start the conference. "Alright, everyone. I don't want to waste time, so I'll explain the reason you're called here," the author spoke.
"It better be something important, Lone Wolf," Zero said, while his assistant was still hugging his neck, distracting him from the author.
"I already know what Lone Wolf's going to tell," Sol insisted and shrugged, "but I'll let him explain. Whatever."
Lone Wolf coughed and corrected his eyeglasses. "I already told the people of TYPE-MOON about the current situation we're facing, but I'll repeat it again." He glanced at each of the people in the Gendo's eyes and closed his eyes, taking a moment of thinking. "I'm very sure that all of you already hear of read the news of the Mark II rampage around the world, don't you?" he asked and opened his eyes.
"Then what are we waiting for!?" May roared and swung her anchor in the air, almost hitting Iori and Bridget who were standing next to her. "Let's kick their ass right now! I can't wait to PWN them for hurting Yamada-san!"
"Calm down, May," Lone Wolf reminded. "I know some of you are very eager to bring them into annihilation, but… at current rate, our strength isn't enough to deal with the robots. Imagine what will happen if a whole armed forces of Mark II is unleashed. We're dead."
"But we can't just sit and do nothing, Lone Wolfie-chan! We must do something!" Justine insisted.
"I know, Justine. I know," Lone Wolf answered. "And stop calling me Lone Wolfie-chan."
Justine pouted. "I was hoping to be friendlier at you. Aw…"
"That depends on what the Corrupted Flame will say," the author spoke and glanced at Sol who was leaning against the wall, ignoring the statement he made. "By the way, where's Ky? I was expecting to see him attending this meeting."
"He said something of Alexander Hahn," Sol told him, his eyes warily glancing at Alex and Sion. "…like "I will not step my feet inside this mansion if that traitor is inside. For God's sake, he cannot be forgiven!" or something like that. Sheesh. What's with that holy boy anyway? He's not been angry like that before."
"I see." Lone Wolf shrugged and switched his attention at Alex. "Alex, I've heard from these people that you had faced the Mark II units three times. One at Cairo and two at here, in Kiev. So I'd like to ask for your thoughts regarding the unit. Perhaps the experience you had while dealing with the robots would be useful in the future."
"Okay…" Alex took a deep breath and looked around him, noticing that the people were staring at him in expectation. "Let's see… as long as I can remember, the Robo-Ky units are capable of copying other people's moves, like what I saw at the city park days ago. But I noticed something when they called out their leader's name."
"Leader? Do they refer to the officers of the bureau, Alex?" Rock asked.
"Not quite," the ex-knight answered. "They're referring to someone they call… Fuhrer. They seem to be in obsession with this Fuhrer, but I don't know the reason. I guess they're just being loyal toward their leader."
Lone Wolf scratched his chin and nodded. "Fuhrer… not the people of the bureau… then who is behind all these disorders?" he pondered.
"Lone Wolf-san, you said something about fight fire with fire," Akiha uttered. "What did you mean by that?"
"If the bureau's using robot to inflict chaos, then we'll use robots to stop the chaos from spreading," the author explained, "and there isn't anything better than using Robo-Kys."
"Right," Zero added. "Lone Wolf had asked Ciel and I in locating the defunct Robo-Ky units. So far, we managed to find a group of Robo-Kys abandoned at Pearl Harbour. The numbers are quite small, but I think they should be more than enough to help us."
"Che, the old and malfunctioning robots of PWAB. I don't care of whatever you're going to do with them, Lone Wolf, but Ky won't like it if he knows that you're being sarcastic toward him," Sol insisted.
"Then I simply suggest him to stay out of this mess," Lone Wolf slyly suggested. "And besides, I don't think he'll ever cooperate with us since… whatever, I won't talk about that matter right now. The Mark II crisis is more important." The author was about to continue his speech when Dizzy's horrified scream echoed from the outside. Immediately the people rushed out of the mansion and saw Ky facing a group of Robo-Kys, demanding the robots to leave the mansion.
"Lower your weapons!" Lone Wolf ordered. The Robo-Kys who were defending themselves from the anger of the genuine Holy Knight responded to the command, causing surprise and unrest among the people. He ignored Ky who was demanding him for explanation as he walked toward the old units. "So, Robo-people, what's brought you here anyway? You know, we just had a discussion about you a while ago."
"Need-leader," one of the Robo-Kys spoke in a broken voice. "We-need-leaders-to-guide-us."
"Where did you guys come from?" Lone Wolf asked.
"Area-PH2034-off-the-coast-of-Oahu-Island," the Robo-Ky answered.
"That's hell of far away from Kiev," Zero insisted. "How you managed to come here? You're like, malfunctioned and defunct. Taking journeys under your current condition is very risky."
"We-don't-know-the-answer," the Robo-Ky told him. "But-we-came-here-because-we-wanted-to-search-for-a-leader. Robo-Kys-need-a-leader."
"Impossible!" Ky exclaimed. "You robots are nothing but the bureau's puppets, and you are doomed to cause troubles! Why would you need a leader to guide the kinds of you?!"
The Robo-Ky glared at Ky. "Speech-recognized-as-an-insult." Staggering on his feet, the robot walked toward Ky and immediately punched him on the solar plexus. "Never-offend-us, human. We-robots-also-have-pride-like-you-are."
"To hell with that!" Ky shouted and withdrew Thunderseal. Immediately the units took out their weapons and glowered at the Holy Knight, ready to strike at them. "I don't care of what you're doing here, or what Lone Wolf's going to do with you, but I cannot tolerate with…"
Alex promptly silenced him with a chop on the back of his neck. Ky could only glower at him for the last time before he fell unconscious. "Sorry, Ky, but can't you be quiet for a while?" he uttered. "Okay, Lone Wolf. What are you going to do with them?"
The author looked back and forth between Alex and the Robo-Ky. "State out your name and your identification, Robo-Ky."
"Robo-Ky-Mark-One. Serial-registration-RB5001," the Robo-Ky pronounced.
"Alright, RB5001," Lone Wolf called out the robot's name. "I'm Lone Wolf NEO, and these are the people who are going to accept your existence. Unfortunately, none of us can be your leader, not even I." RB5001 sulked in disappoinment upon hearing the statement, much to the author's pity. "But perhaps I can help you in finding your ideal leader, if you agree to cooperate with us."
"Any-terms-would-be-accepted, Lone-Wolf-NEO," RB5001 spoke. "We-Robo-Kys-are-ready-to-collaborate-with-you-at-anytime."
Lone Wolf grinned and offered the unit a handshake. "Welcome to the wolf pack."
x-x-x-x-x
"OH, HOOO…" Mark 2 nodded as he watched at the video footage of the encounter between the people and the old Robo-Ky units. "THEY'RE PLANNING TO PREVENT US FROM CONTINUING OUR OPERATION BY ASKING THE OLD UNITS TO JOIN THEM, EH? WELL, I DOUBT THAT THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE IT IN THE QUICKEST TIME SINCE THE PRODUCTION IS ALMOST COMPLETE." He, then, clenched his fist and let an intense gale to envelop the fist. "THE MARK II WILL PREVAIL, AND NOBODY IS GOING TO STOP US. NOT EVEN THE LONE WOLF."