Chapter 17: The Fellow (Who Makes It Bored Is Killed)

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to view it.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:xXx:

Antarctica, Underground Shrine

:xXx:

'So...this is the place?'

Sol thought to himself. He moved down the dimly lit path of the large cave quickly and gracefully, skillfully keeping himself from making a sound along the ground. He didn't need to alert That Man and have him run away if it could be helped. He was glad to know that the glowing crystals along the way provided him with a clear view of his surroundings. If he had been forced to use the Fire Seal, he might have alerted his enemy because of his light source.

'Looks like I'm being met with some luck here for once. Let's hope this keeps up.'

Sol continued downward, his eyes narrowing slightly as they took on animalistic like qualities. A slight grin appeared on his visage. This hunt was looking more and more appealing now that the search had finally yielded some good results rather than a bunch of dead ends.

:xXx:

Antarctica, Underground Shrine, last chamber

:xXx:

"We've done what we had to...but this is all we could obtain."

That Man said, more to himself than his other two subordinates. Anji had returned and told That Man of his failure, though he obviously left out the part of telling him that Sol knew where they were. That Man confined him to research down in the cave, which proved quite bothersome since it was so cold and Anji didn't wear any warm clothing to begin with. Unlike him, Raven had little problem physically.

"So now what, my liege? Do we return to the surface and keep watch on Frederick? We haven't kept surveillance on him for quite some time, and I-No can't do it for us either."

Raven asked, turning to face That Man. Anji huddled on the cold ground, rubbing his arms in an effort to keep himself warm and spared only a brief glance towards That Man to indicate he was also paying attention.

"Yes...maybe that is best for the time being. My only regret here is that little information could be obtained despite the through search. Raven, Anji, let's be on our way."

That Man said and began walking towards the exit of the room.

"Tyrant Rave Beta!"

Sol's form was illuminated briefly in the darkness by the small sphere of fire surrounding his right fist. He struck the fire ball with his left fist, causing an explosion that would have gotten That Man had Raven not been fast enough to jump into the line of (literally) fire.

"Frederick...why are you here in Antarctica?"

That Man questioned. Raven smirked as he had been engulfed in the massive flame shield.

"Your attack is useless..."

Before Raven could say anymore, Sol cracked him in the face with the hilt of his sword, making the black dressed servant of That Man fall and hit his back on the cold ground. Sol finally stepped fully into the cavern.

"Looks like I've got the drop on you for once, asshole."

Sol said softly, but laced with hate. Fire Seal was gripped tightly in his hand as it tapped against his leg.

"I'm forced to agree. And what of Leopaldon? You didn't already destroy it, did you?"

That Man questioned. Sol shrugged.

"Wasn't really paying attention. I could care less about that giant freak. You're the main prize I want to take on. Get ready."

Sol said lazily before charging at That Man. Anji got in the way, bringing up his fan to intercept and catch Sol's blade.

"I-NO!"

Raven roared out. A small portal opened in the ceiling before the red clad musician jumped through. I-No's eyes narrowed in on Raven's.

"Damn it, Raven. Why do you always have to interrupt me when I was creating a new music piece?"

I-No said in a frustrated tone. Raven turned towards Sol.

"We must do our job."

He said simply. I-No turned to Sol, a scowl on her face.

"Stupid Corrupted Flame! Why don't you be a good little boy and stay buried in the Earth for a couple of centuries!"

I-No growled out, her eyes turning crimson as they flared with an eerie glow. Sol released himself out of Anji's hold before swiftly running towards That Man with immense speed, before the servants could react. Sol slashed out horizontally, but That Man hopped over Sol's sword and body, before bringing out a hand to strike Sol in the back with a small burst of energy that sent Sol hitting the wall with the side of his stomach before landing face first on the ground. He growled as he leaned up. That Man was now shielded by his three servants.

"You three keep him occupied. I must find out what has happened with Leopaldon."

That Man said before turning away and ascending to the mouth of the cave. Sol stood up, gripping Fire Seal calmly as he regarded his opponents.

"Get out of my way if you don't want to get hurt."

He warned them. I-No simply laughed at him.

"Yeah fucking right! Stand still over there and maybe we'll let you off easy. Wouldn't want to ruin that ancient body of your."

I-No said smugly. Sol just sighed, before a smirk graced his lips. He brought his right hand up, gesturing the three over.

"Bring it."

Was all he said before walking calmly in their direction as his thumb hooked into his pocket and his fingers tapped rhythmically against his upper leg. Raven and I-No took to the air, advancing on Sol from the each side, while Anji advanced head on, which was definitely not the smartest thing to do, but he was left with little option. Sol slashed out in a giant arc ahead of him, forcing Anji to jump over it. Sol quickly brought his sword back as he looked up towards Anji.

"Kai!"

Anji prepared to unleash his foot stomp attack but Sol lept into the air, catching him in a fiery blade.

"Volcanic Viper!"

Anji was engulfed in flames as Sol spun in the air, bringing out his right foot to connect with the side of Anji's head, making him plummet to the ground with great speed. Sol used his continued momentum to leap away from Raven and I-No, but they stopped their own jump to charge in his direction. Raven was already intercepting Sol in the air, driving his fist forward at the swordsman. Sol brought his sword up to defend as he was pushed back, and Raven leaned over as the two descended, Raven's spikes turning towards Sol's chest before firing. Sol grunted as the projectiles exploded against him, sending him back trailed in flames and smoke. Sol skid along the slick ground before righting himself up.

"Sultry Performance!"

I-No was almost upon him as she flew through the air, spiraling as her form was shrouded in a small array of pink sparks. With his quick reflexes, Sol brought his right arm up to catch her by the neck in perfect timing. He turned around and proceeded to throw I-No in an almost baseball pitching throw. He delayed his release, making her slam against the ground with her back with enough force to pop her back up in the air above his head.

"Bandit Revolver!"

Sol jumped towards her, kneeing her squarely in the back before spinning in the air to deliver his other foot to the back of her head, making her smack into the ceiling as he pushed against her. He rebounded off her to intercept Raven again who was trying to aim for his blind spot.

"Bandit Bringer!"

Sol smashed his flame powered arm against the man's face, making Raven stumble back slightly. Sol slashed upward once he touched ground, trying to catch Raven in the head with the edge of Fire Seal, but Raven grasped his arm, preventing Sol from completing his swing. Sol struck out with his right fist, only to have it caught in Raven's other hand. Raven head butted Sol in the chest, his attack proving very effective with the horn on his forehead. Sol had a long gash across his chest after Raven's attack, and reacted with a head butt of his own when Raven had reeled his face back to head butt Sol again. Sol's attack proved more effective then usual due to the metal head piece attached to his forehead. The blow made Raven's head snap back and he stumbled on his feet slightly, though still holding Sol's arms. Sol growled in annoyance as he hopped up, curling his feet up to his chest before slamming them out against Raven's face with tremendous force. Raven fell back as Sol pushed off him, earning Raven to rip off his sleeves as they both fell to the ground in unison. Sol got up quickly, now sleeveless, and defended against Anji as the Japanese man came in with a strong downward swing of his fans against Sol's sword. The two Outrage weapons crackled with energy. Sol pushed against Anji roughly, making the younger man go backwards, but Anji reacted with a side kick that knocked Sol into the air.

"On!"

Anji sent an electric jolt through Sol's body via his fans. Sol was tossed back down to the ground.

"Chemical Love!"

I-No shot her lancing projectile out to intercept Sol before he could connect with the floor. Raven recovered, jumping at Sol before grabbing him from behind, locking his arms under Sol's arms, as his hands clasped around the back of Sol's neck, forcing his head to stay forward. Sol was slammed roughly on the back of his head courtesy of Raven. Sol was then held up , remaining pinned by Raven as I-No and Anji took free shots in striking Sol in the stomach. Sol was starting to get angry. One particularly hard swing by I-No that forced him to cough up blood finally led Sol to devise a plan. He pushed Raven back near a wall, before bringing up his legs against the pale man's stomach.

"Tyrant Rave Alpha!"

Sol was ripped free of Raven's hold as he kicked off him, sending Raven colliding with the wall as Sol zoomed towards the surprised I-No and Anji, encased in a flame shield. Sol collided with the two other servants, sending them flying in opposite directions. Sol rammed his fire shield into the wall, making it disperse before kicking off the wall to perform another Tyrant Rave Alpha, randomly flying into the walls and then kicking off them to attack the three. Raven tried to intervene with Sol by firing off homing horn missiles at him, but they had little use as Sol moved too fast for them to connect. After a while, Sol stopped his assault and landed close to where the entrance was situated. Not that the assault proved very useful since Sol didn't really hit any of them. I-No laughed at this.

"Was that it? You didn't even hit us with your attack, Corrupted Flame."

I-No stated snidely. Sol smirked.

"Oh? Who said I was trying to hit any of you? See ya."

Sol said before making a mad dash towards the entrance. The cave walls started to rumble violently.

"Damn, he was trying to make this place collapse. We have to get out of here!"

Anji stated as he started running towards the entrance as well.

"Savage Fang!"

A geyser of fire rose up, making the entrance collapse in on itself.

"DAMN YOU FREDERICK!"

Raven's roar sounded from behind the rubble, not that Sol really cared. They would most definitely make it out alive, but it would take a while and that was exactly what Sol wanted. He rushed out of the cave quickly before he, too, could possibly end up trapped as the passage way started to fall apart. Sol lept out just in time as snow caved in on stone. He saw a familiar shape of blackness amongst all the white of the snow during his ascent.

"Gun Flame!"

That Man turned his head slightly to see the fire ball descending quickly down at him. He turned around fully, swinging downward with his heavy cloak and smiting the flame before it could connect with his body. Sol landed on the ground in a slight kneeling position as his feet and right hand sunk into the soft snow. Sol stood up, regarding That Man with cold eyes.

"Your not getting away from this one, bitch."

Sol said firmly as he made his way closer.

"Frederick...I had hoped we wouldn't meet again so soon."

That Man said.

"Just another one of those things that's out of your control."

Sol muttered. He thrust out with his sword, but That Man brought up his arm to catch it.

"Fafnir!"

Sol came forward with powerful leaning punch of fire that was halted with That Man's barrier, though the force of the blow sent him reeling back, releasing his hold on Sol's blade. Sol dashed through the air, before swinging downward in a wide arc, but That Man evaded, striking Sol against the stomach and making him hit the snow. Sol rolled over before getting to his feet again.

"Just tell me one thing. Why me? Why do you want to test me against that fucking overgrown monster?"

Sol said as he came forth with another fierce slash that was barely deflected by That Man.

"Who said those were my intentions?"

That Man said in an almost innocent tone that made Sol growl in fury as his eyes became more feral.

"Don't you fucking act as if this isn't another one of your games. It's all your fault. Your's and Justice's! If she hadn't mentioned you before she died, I could have killed myself and finally be at some kind of inner peace with myself, asshole! But now I got to kill you before that inner peace can be obtained again!"

Sol stated, striking at That Man with such ferocity that his attack cracked through That Man's barrier, cutting down into his shoulder. That Man retreated back a bit, just as surprised as Sol was that the blow connected with his flesh.

"I see that your power has risen quite far in only a short amount of time, Frederick...maybe the time will soon come when you will truly surpass me and have your wish granted."

That Man said calmly as he clutched his bleeding shoulder.

"However...I cannot die by your hands yet Frederick. I must know what my premonitions truly mean before I can have peace and die without regret."

That Man retreated slightly further. Sol let a deep growl sound from his throat.

"Stop calling me by that fucking name! Frederick was a naive idiot who wanted to make humanity ascend to a higher evolution. He died like a coward and left me in charge of this pathetic body of his to call my own and left what little remains of my soul to clean up his damned messes. You and Frederick raped this little planet of yours by creating us...and left me with the weight that you could never support in your own two hands!"

With that Sol sent That Man reeling back with a mighty swing of the Fire Seal's blunt side.

"We humans wanted to become more than human...we wanted to become as gods and save the only place we could call home. Frederick...no, Sol Badguy...the one formed of man, beast and magic...the one who is torn by the two opposing halves that make him whole...the Human and the Gear...if only you hadn't manifested a soul and created a conscious...that body of your's could have been used like the tool it was suppose to be, and I could have carried out Frederick's last wish of delivering this world from ultimate destruction!"

That Man said, with a hidden fury buried deep within that Sol had never before thought possible. Soon, Sol found himself flying through the air by a powerful jab, before striking the side of the mountain. Sol fell on his rear, snow cascading all around him as it rolled down the mountainside.

'Shit...I didn't even see that coming. Guess I brought up a sore subject for him. Not that I care. He's the one who's in denial about his best friend's death even though he practically killed the bastard with his own two hands.'

Sol thought to himself as he got up slowly. He worked the kinks out of his neck as he stood up steadily, not giving a reaction as snow went down his now faded shirt and making it soggy and wet.

"Shut up with your damn sob story already. You wanted tools for the benefit of humankind, but instead got weapons for their destruction. Tough luck. Deal with your own damn sins and stop dragging me into all this shit. This whole fucking world can wither and rot for all I care. As long as you've been run through and killed by my blade, I can finally leave this disgusting world behind."

Sol said gruffly as he advanced on That Man, who only shook his head.

"When are you going to grasp the fact that it was you who was chosen to be the messiah? There have been so many candidates to salvage the world, yet only the original remains."

That Man said, in an almost disappointed tone.

"FUCK YOU! WHO EVER SAID I WANTED TO BE A SAVIOR!"

Sol roared, charging at the only person who actually could cause him to lose his temper.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Well, Sol had a lot of things he needed to say and get off his chest. This chapter could have been better, I believe. If I have some time, I'll possibly edit it, but hopefully it came out okay if nothing else.