Previously on Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED…
"A real warrior, we would've been," Lone Wolf spoke and withdrew NEO Dagger from its concealed scabbard, "but it doesn't applied to a minion sent by a certain organization to inflict global chaos."
Mark 2 grumbled and pointed the oversized blade at the author's face. "THEN WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? EVEN YOUR ROBO-KY MARK 1 UNITS ARE INFERIOR AGAINST US! YOU SHOULD'VE KNOWN THAT EARLIER."
Lone Wolf chuckled and opened battle stance. "Action speaks louder than words. Heaven or hell!"
"Final!"
"LET'S ROCK!"
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.
Quotation from Chapter 17: Kanon Arc part 6: Sayuri, from Sheo Darren's The World Within and Without, edited and paraphrased with permission from the author himself. Featured musics in this chapter are nowhere from Madlax (among his new favourite tracks. Kajiura Yuki rocks!), and Sheep Will Sleep (,if You Become Fatigued) from Guilty Gear Isuka.
Chapter 27
The One Arc Part 7
Vortex Infinium 2nd Stage
"Power Geyser!"
Several Robo-Kys were sent flying to the air by the energy geyser exploding from the ground. Terry victoriously threw a smile at the fallen robots and proceeded with another Power Geyser, eradicating the robots into pieces. "Not as expected from robots who tried to destroy my hometown, eh?" he asked and opened his battle stance. "Come on! Come on!"
"GET-THEM!" the remaining active Robo-Kys shouted and pounced toward the lone wolf in Ita-Ky-Geki move. Terry merely smirked and rolled out of the tackle attack, and counterattacked with another Power Geyser. The attacking Robo-Kys were sent over Misaki's head, and she took the chance to unleash a deadly Raising Storm, completely razing the robot into pieces. She slowly stood up from her overdrive stance and corrected her hair.
"That was not enough," coldly she spoke, "I should've fought that damned Mark 2 and avenge father's death."
"Misaki-san, behind you!" She responded to Azmaria's cry and turned around, seeing a Robo-Ky's head-on tackle. It was too late to dodge and she was hit by Ita-Ky-Geki, and was knocked off to the air. "MISAKI-SAN!!"
The Robo-Ky's eyes gleamed. "Take-this, whore!! KY-KOKORO-NO-ICHIGEKI!!"
The follow-up overdrive of Ky-Maku-Homerun knocked the Hakkyoukuseiken fighter out of the robot's attacking range, sending her toward a boulder. Terry ran toward Misaki when a group of Robo-Kys stood on his way. "Get out of my way, damn it!" he shouted and pounced toward the robots via Burn Knuckle. The robots endured the attack using their Fortress Block and counterattacked with a sweep, knocking the Fatal Fury off his feet.
"You-are-OWNED!!!" the Robo-Kys shouted and swung their blades at Terry.
"Oh, really?" and a blast from a handgun knocked the swords off the robots' hand. The Robo-Ky turned around in anger and saw Madlax standing not far from them in maroon silk gown, pointing a handgun at them. "Well?"
"Who-the-hell-are-you!?" Robo-Ky demanded, angrily pointing at her.
"I'm just a woman," calmly she answered, giving them her warm and alluring smile. The Robo-Ky snapped in anger and fired endless salvoes of his flying fists at her. Madlax softly smiled and fired at the projectiles and knocked them off range.
"DAMN-IT! NOBODY-MESSES-WITH-US!!!" the Robo-Ky roared and charged toward Madlax in his Ky-Genshou. Madlax jumped over the horse attack, aimed the handgun at the robot's head and let loose a bullet onto his head. The Robo-Ky got a headshot and was knocked out, and crashed on a boulder due to loss control over the horse. Madlax safely landed on the ground and turned around, facing the remaining Robo-Kys.
"So, who is next?" she asked while reloading the handgun.
Terry got back on his feet and ran toward the unconscious Misaki. "Hey, Missy. Are you okay?" he asked while shaking her body. Misaki slowly regained her awareness and stared up at the lone wolf's face. "Don't scare at me like that, okay? You can't lose here, don't you get it?"
"I… I'm sorry, Terry," Misaki apologized and broke the eyesight. "I'm very sorry…"
Terry could only shake his head and took the injured Misaki to the medical team. "Please take care of her for a while," he spoke to Azmaria.
"Haii," Azmaria spoke as she helped Misaki to seat near the girls. "Terry-san, please be careful while fighting the robots."
"Don't worry, Missy," Terry told her with a grin carved upon his face, "this lone wolf never gets tired of fighting." He jumped back to the battlefield and approached Madlax who already reloaded her handgun, giving out his wolf grin. "So, Missy, care to watch how a lone wolf deals with this kind of situation?"
Madlax merely giggled. "Be my guest."
(Battle music: nowhere, Madlax)
The Robo-Ky Mark II battalion screamed in anger and charged toward the duo. Madlax jumped over Terry and opened fire at several attacking Robo-Kys, knocking them off course. Terry pounced toward the backed off Robo-Ky and tackled them with High Angle Geyser, further knocking them away. Several Robo-Kys pounced at them from other direction and aimed their rocket punches at the lone wolf. Madlax quickly jumped toward Terry and opened fire, knocking the projectiles off their range. "Thanks for the cover, Missy!" Terry shouted and unleashed a gigantic Power Geyser, knocking the attacking Robo-Kys off the ground.
"YOU-STRAY-DOG-MUST-NOT-RUN!" the Robo-Kys shouted and fired several rocket punches at Terry.
"Do I look like a stray dog to you?" Terry asked and again fired a Power Geyser at the Robo-Kys. "Never compare a lone wolf with a stray dog, you metal freaks! POWER GEYSER MAXIMUM!" A gigantic energy geyser emerged under the robots and sent all of them flying in the air. He turned around and fired another Power Geyser Maximum onto another attacking group. Another Robo-Ky group pounced at Terry and was promptly knocked off course by another Power Geyser.
"Behind you!" Responding to the yell, he turned around and counterattacked a Robo-Ky's charging tackle with Power Dunk. He jumped over the knocked Robo-Ky and landed a dust attack, knocking the robot back to the ground. The lone wolf punched the ground beneath him and unleashed a gigantic Power Geyser, again knocking Robo-Ky back to the air.
"YOU-STRAY-DOG-MUST-HAVE-BEEN-TIRED-ALREADY!" another Robo-Ky shouted and imitated the Power Geyser overdrive.
"Do I?" Terry shouted and rolled to avoid the power move. Instantly Madlax jumped in and fired several bullets at the attacking Robo-Ky. "Nice gun, Missy!" he shouted at the mercenary. Madlax merely smiled and turned around, firing several more bullets at a group of Robo-Kys. She managed to knock them back, enough for her to reload her weapons. She glanced up to the sky and saw a flock of ravens flying over their head. Wondering what was that about, she remembered the final moment between her and her chief before departing for Kiev.
x-x
"Madlax, I want you to go to Kiev. Take Margaret along with you."
"Why would I go there, Chief?"
"Your former comrade called me, requesting for your help. He's facing a problem."
"Lone Wolf… I never thought I'd hear his name again."
"I know. It's been a while since you two separated. But anyway, there is a little time for remembrance. I already bought airline tickets for both of you, the flight is due to depart this midnight."
"Thank you very much, Chief."
"One more thing before you leave, Madlax."
"Yes?"
"Be careful of the black feather."
x-x
"Missy, are you okay?" She was startled and stared back at Terry. "Something's bothering you, right? I can tell it from your eyes alone."
Madlax shook her head, as she pushed back a full ammo clip into the USP she was holding. "A memory, sort of," softly she answered.
Terry smirked and corrected his Fatal Fury jacket. "Don't worry about that, Missy. Sometimes a little pinch of memory can be good for us," he answered, confidently smiling at her.
Madlax just smiled and swayed her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Maybe you're right."
"ERROR! BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH! ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!!!" the Robo-Kys shouted and pounced at the two fighters in unison. They stared at each other, nodded and jumped away from each other. "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR TIME!!!"
"Says who?" Terry asked and crouched close to the ground.
"SAYS US!!" the robots roared and fired torrents of rocket punches at the fatal fury.
The lone wolf grinned. "Are you okay?" Immediately he hurled toward the attacking robots and unleashed a huge energy explosion on them. "BUSTER WOLF!!!"
x-x-x-x-x
Elsewhere…
"Dust to dust."
Instantly the Robo-Kys were slain into pieces. Alex stood back from his kneeling position and put Black Sabbath back into its sheath. He turned around and Instant Blocked a Ky-Maku-Homerun; much to the Robo-Ky's disgrace, he counterattacked with an uppercut kick and sent the robot over the ground. He reached the hilt of Black Sabbath, braced himself on the ground, and pounced at the hapless red-garbed warrior. Again, seventeel light streaks appeared around the robot and slain in into pieces.
"Alex! Behind you!" He turned around and saw a Robo-Ky trying to land a flying kick. The kick made contact; to the Robo-Ky's, it hit a shadow! The robot turned around as to locate its target when a hand tapped its shoulder. "I'm over here," and an elbow attack hit directly on its face, wrecking its nose. The Robo-Ky tried to regain its sense when a whip seized its neck, and sliced it half. The robot fell to the ground and shivered uncontrollably, as Alex watched at the attacker and grinned. "Nice, Miss Sion. You could have helped me a while ago."
"Stop joking around, Alex!" the fairly dismayed Sion insisted. "You're almost attacked. Watch over your back next time, okay?"
Alex could only laugh silly while scratching the back of head. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sion. I'll be careful next time."
"YOU TWO ARE OWNED!!" another Robo-ky shrieked and aimed its anti-armour rocket at them. "ESPECIALLY YOU," and it pointed at Alex, "THE BLACK FEATHER WHO KNOWS NOTHING BUT HIS DESIRE TO MURDER PEOPLE STANDING IN HIS WAY. WE WILL CARRY OUT THE BUREAU'S ORDER TO ELLIMINATE YOU, ADDED WITH THE FACT THAT YOUR EXISTENCE AS A FORMER HOLY KNIGHT WHO PROTECTED THE GEARS ARE DISTURBANCE TO US."
Sion stepped forward. "He's not! He promised me not to kill anymore! Why would you accuse him as a murderer?!"
"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM, GIRL!" the Robo-Ky answered, as several more Robo-Kys aimed their bazookas at the pair. "ALEXANDER HAHN, ALSO KNOWN AS THE LONE WOLF OF HOLY ORDERS. THE BUREAU GIVES HIM RISK RATING OF S DUE TO HIS CONTROVERSIAL RELATIONSHIP HE HAD WITH THE GEARS. A HOLY KNIGHT SERVING THE GEARS? THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST STUPID THING A HUMAN WOULD DO."
"You don't know anything about him!" the scion of Atlas Academy cried.
"That's enough, Miss Sion," Alex spoke and tapped her shoulder.
"But Alex, they…"
A polite grin carved upon his face, as he assured her with his facial gesture. The purple alchemist tried to say something before she grumbled and turned her face away from her. He could only sigh and glared at the Robo-Ky. "So, you think you can capture or elliminate me just because I dropped humanity, huh?"
"SUBJECT EMITS A DANGEROUS KILLING INTENTION," the Robo-Ky alerted and armed the bazooka. "PREPARE YOURSELF, BLACK FEATHER."
(battle music: Sheep Will Sleep (,if You Become Fatigued), Guilty Gear Isuka)
They opened fire. Tens, or hundreds, of rockets packed with anti-armours and -personnel incidenaries were fired at Alex, all aiming for his body. Alex waited for the rockets to come close and suddenly disappeared in dust trails. He reappeared above the robots and looked at the rockets that began to chase him. He grinned and spun midair, knocking every rocket that came at him with the sheath of Black Sabbath. The Robo-Kys were ticked off and fired more rockets at the black feather, screaming in anger to see the former soldier destroyed into pieces. Sion, as well as Misao, cried in distress, trying their best to stop the robots from attacking Alex.
Not for Aoshi.
He noticed increament in Alex's agility and speed, as he kept spinning in the air. "That is…"
The spinning halted. Alex was suspended midair, slowly descending to the ground. The Robo-Kys emitted a loud yell and fired modified Gamma Rays at the dark paladin. Then, in the blink of eye, Alex suddenly disappeared from sight, utterly avoiding the cannon with his agility alone. The former apprentice of the Oniwabanshu group reappeared behind the Robo-Ky and beheaded the robot in a speed impossible to follow. He glared at the remaining robots, murderously grinned and pounced at them.
"HE'S ONLY ALONE! DON'T GET INTIMATED BY HIS SPEED! GET HIM!" the Robo-Ky from earlier yelled and fired torrents of rocket punches at Alex. The remaining Robo-Kys followed on and pounced at Alex, trying to land their best attacks on the black feather. Alex swiftly evaded all attacks and counterattacked with his own, outrunning the robots by a complete surprise. The robot became mad and fired another streams of rocket punches; the ex-knight easily dodged the projectiles and pounced at the attackers, slashing and beheading each of them.
"So," the former soldier uttered after attacking the robots and lifted the kodachi into a backhand position. Subsequent to that, a flock of ravens appeared in the sky and filled the scenery with its pitch blackness. "Who shall I deal with next?"
x-x-x-x-x
At the bridge of promise, almost levelled to nothing in the confusion and madness of battle…
He fell. The timekeeper fell as well. With it went the madness of the Child of Chrono. The madness was no more; it was destroyed and disappeared for eternity. He was restored to himself.
And it did not came free.
It could not be denied that there was a price to his sanity, nor was there any doubt to its heavy import. The price of his sanity and the young woman's life was a fragile girl with tresses of brown hair limply hanging down her head, vivid cinnamon eyes happy even when death arrived to claim her soul. Again, the thought of the passing week emerged inside his head, the idea that came to life when he first saw her: a girl who was all too much like-
Yuu…
I've killed her…
He stared at his bloodstained hands. The image of the playful and cheerful girl reappeared in his vision, knocking and teasing every part of his memory box. He fell upon his knees and cupped his face with the blood-coated palms, and was brought into a temporary hiatus, shivering in both dismay and shock.
I've killed her again…
Hikki, you stupid.
"NOOO!!!!!!!!"
x-x
Aurora stoppped singing. She stared up at the blue sky and could only shake her head. Time was disrupted, and was now enraging in dismay, sweeping across the land as if a flock of desert locusts rampaging the land. She could feel it; the cry of a delicate heart, broken by the tragedy happening before its eyes.
"He… he has done it." The Handmaiden of Fate could only close her eyes and clasped her palms, bringing them close to her chest. "You have been hurt inside of you. I can feel the pain you have to bear." Slowly, a drop of tear flowed down her cheek and fell onto her garb, as she brought her palms closer. "Lone Wolf… please do something. His heart needs someone to sooth right now…"
x-x
Mriya gasped. Her heart went crazy, as if she had felt a pain. Unable to contain her emotion, she fell upon her knees and cupped her face, bitterly crying. "Chrono…"
x-x
Dizzy was startled and stared up at the sky. "What… what happened? Why does my heart feel uneasy?" she whispered and clenched her battle robe.
x-x
Lone Wolf NEO parried Mark 2's uppercut and counterattacked with a blue Psych Burst. He jumped away from the red-garbed warrior and turned to the open sky of Kiev. "It's him…" he grumbled and looked back at Mark 2. "Why did it happen in times like this…? Damn, I knew I should've done something about him."
"WHAT'S THE MATTER, LONE WOLF? ARE YOU GETTING TIRED ALREADY?" Mark 2 mocked and taunted him.
"None of your business, Mark 2," the author spoke and opened his stance. "Let's finish this, shall we?"
"I'M AFRAID THIS BATTLE WILL WAGE FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, LONE WOLF," Mark 2 spoke and executed his power-up overdrive.
Lone Wolf NEO could only shake his head and grimly grinned. "So be it. EN GARDE!"