Heart
of the Melting Blood
Legend
of the Moonlight
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 it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge.
Chronological Note: Heart of the Melting Blood: Legend of the Moonlight takes place scarcely half a year after the event in Heart of the Melting Blood RELOADED, and currently runs roughly in parallel with Guilty Gear: the World within and Without written and created by Sheo Darren. This is Heart of Melting Blood: Legend of the Moonlight's new arc, the Awe of She Arc, which takes approximately a week after events in FATE Arc, and takes place in a peaceful, seaside town away from all the chaos and disorders. This is the arc where another half of the story will be revealed, thus completing the story… hopefully.
Chapter
19
Clash
of the Three Warriors
It had been a very great and memorable day for the summer group; added with the presence of Alex, unexpected but very much accepted, it was the best they ever had. Now that the summer holiday's over, it was time to pack home. Save for Dizzy, who wished the holiday was longer, everybody else was satisfied to enjoy the day without having to face all the hassles and hardships.
("But I don't get it," along came Yuuki's voice, even as she and her crews observed the event onboard Death Star, "of all people, why does Lone Wolf-san want Alex and Dizzy to be paired? I don't think Ky will approve of this, and Lone Wolf-san still doesn't explain me on this matter. Sheesh."
"Err… That Girl," Raven interfered, "perhaps it's because Lone Wolf knows what's best for the two of them?"
"Besides, Alex-kun and Dizzy-chan look very cute with each other!" suggested Tessa, who happened to be onboard the space station. Yes, the author stressed on the word happened, so don't ask.
That Girl glared at the Tristan da Tuatha captain. "I thought you're still onboard your ship, Tessa," she insisted.
"Why, I'm on vacation," the grey-haired girl giggled.
Just then, Ruri interfered. "Baaka," the girl promptly said and walked back to her room. Yuuki, Tessa and Raven glanced at the member of the Nadesico ship and blinked in amazement. At the same time, the cue of 'Scandalous' echoed in the control room, further adding the amusement to the three people.)
"So, we won't meet again after this, huh Mr. & Mrs. Rage?" Alex asked.
"Well, yeah, I think," Venom answered. "We still have renovation of our house to do, and we need to finish it before Christmas."
"And while we're on it, why don't you visit us?" Millia suggested, even as her hair started prodding Venom's forehead. "Perhaps if you're to bring Dizzy, Hotaru and Hibiki along, it'd be fun."
"Hmm, I'll think of that," Alex answered and thoughtfully scratched his chin, before he turned his attention to Hibiki. "And what about you, Miss Takane?"
The Takane heir just smiled and corrected her sunflower hat, even while she was standing on the railway platform. "I'm going to my home in Kiev, there's nothing I can do here anyway even if I opt to stay," she said, and here she snapped when she heard a disapproving cough. She turned to Hotaru, and could see her mischievous grin. "Don't tell me you're going to tease me this time, Hotaru-chan."
"Why, yes I am," Hotaru replied and giggled. "You're going to save your boyfriend from his glompy-licious Mriya-san and ask him for a date under the hazelnut tree, right?" she suggested with a very teasing tone on the last word. "Aw, that makes me so jealous to see your romantic affair with him, especially when autumn's coming. Can I go with you and date Lone Wolf-saninstead?"
The suggestion was merely a joke, yet Hibiki took it too seriously. Way too seriously. "Never! No one but me can ask him for a date! Not you, not Mriya-san…"
(Back at Kiev, Mriya was happily ogling Hikki when she suddenly sneezed. "Hey, I wonder who mentions my name," she wondered and rubbed her itchy nose.
"Oneesan, will you please stop ogling me!" Hikki demanded. The cheerful woman, as usual, protested her little brother and continued cuddling him. "Bah, I give up. But can anybody please help me this instance!"
Mai, on the other hand, watched in pity as her husband was poorly asking for her rescue. "Shame on you, Hikki," she commented with very cold, glaring eyesight.
"Aw, Mai-chan, what's the matter?" And here Mriya switched target and seized Mai's neck, repeating the same thing she always did to her plush doll to the Swordswoman of Fate. "Is Mai-chan angry because I always ogle her lovey-dovey Chrono?"
"Mriya-oneesan, please stop it! For a single woman who isn't married, that's a disgrace," helplessly Mai insisted.
Mriya, however, was undeterred by the words and rubbed her cheeks against Mai's. "Hey, I didn't know Mai-chan is glompy-licious too," she remarked and embraced Mai even tighter than she always did to Hikki.)
"…and not even Dizzy-chan!" Hibiki continued.
"Mou, why do I get involved?" Dizzy demanded.
It was only seconds later that Hibiki realized what she had spoken in the open public, and was now trying to hide her embarrassed face. "Yada… I'm not supposed to say that… dame-dame-dame-dame-dame!" she insisted and repeatedly shook her blushing face.
Alex just sighed at the silliness and shrugged. "Anyway, I think the train's going to depart anytime soon," he said.
"Yeah, I think we have to go now," Venom said and boarded the train, with Millia following closely behind. Hibiki followed on as well, although she went to another train headed to Kiev. "We'll meet again, Alex!" they shouted after boarding the train.
"We will!" Alex shouted and waved to them.
A loud announcement from the officer-on-duty and a deafening whistle later, both trains departed from the railway station and was set off to their destination. Alex, Dizzy and Hotaru continually waved to the departing passengers before they looked at each other. "So, what's next?" Alex asked.
"Umm, I think we should go home too," Dizzy suggested. "Do you have anywhere to stay after this?"
"I don't think I have any," he answered. "Why?"
And here Dizzy giggled. "Then why don't you stay at our place? Well, I know it's kind of weird to ask somebody else, but I'm sure you wouldn't mind," she said.
"Sound like a good idea," Alex said and nodded.
"Sou da!" Hotaru interjected. "We haven't had our dinner together, ne Dizzy-chan? What if we invite Alex-san to come along? It'd be fun if he's with us tonight."
"That's right!" Dizzy immediately took Alex's hand and held it tightly. "It's been a long time since we last had dinner together. You wouldn't mind it if we ask you to join us, right?"
x-x
It was a very short trip, and soon the three people arrived at their residence just at the outskirt of the town Lyon. Alex cooed in fascination when he looked at the architecture of the mansion, which was largely inspired by the palace of Versailles although in a smaller scale. "Wow, you girls surely have massive financial background to live in such a luxurious house," he commented.
"Why don't you take a walk around here first?" Dizzy suggested. "We'll let you know after we finish making the dinner."
"Okay," he said and looked around him. "Then I'll go to the church first for a bit of… session." He waved to the girls and walked to the old church just across the grazing field. Again, curiosity took place as he looked at the sight of the church. And somehow, he had a sense of déjà vu that he had seen the religious building before.
"Well, the only answer is to find it out," he told himself and approached the church. He arrived at the building and examined the worn-out door before slowly opened it, exposing himself to an abandoned gathering hall. It's empty, he thought as he walked in, and there's nobody to be seen inside this hall. His only guess was that the church had been abandoned for a very long time for a reason only God knows.
He stumbled across a metal plate as he approached the preaching altar. He knelt next to it and lifted the plate, blowing the dust away as he did. Then he read its engraved inscription.
"In memories of knights of holy orders who were wrongfully slain on the faithful Easter's Days. May God bless their soul and put His divine retribution upon him who had allowed himself to be sinned."
He suddenly snapped. This time, a flashback of a forgotten event happening at the very place he was kneeling in bombarded his memory. He shivered, dropped the platter back to the ground, and groaned in pain even as the flashback became clearer. It was now obvious that the after-effect was agonizing, and it was so painful that he screamed on top of his lungs.
He settled down. The flashback had gone, as suddenly as it had appeared. His breath was hoarse, and his face was coated in thick sheen of sweat. It was such a painful event that he felt as if his life was taken away. Slowly he stood back on his feet and gazed at the icon of Virgin Mary for a very long time, the latter gazed down at him calmly.
Then he turned around and walked toward the door. "I… I should go now…"
x-x-x-x-x
It's dinner time for the residents of the mansion, and like the two women promised, it was an occasion full of fun and excitement. As usual, the two women were busy chattering among themselves while feeding each other, giggling as they did. And somehow, they had found their time cooking variety of meals even they never expected to prepare in the shortest time. Not only that, the songs of Mai HIME and a certain Tagalog song were also played in the background, further enhancing the friendly atmosphere.
Alex, however, was in deep thought. The served porridge was taken for granted as he was pondering of the flashback he had at the church. Not only he was intrigued and disturbed, he also wondered whether the flashback had link with the déjà vu he had earlier.
"Alex, Alex!" He was startled and quickly turned his attention to the now dismayed Dizzy. "Mou! What's wrong with you, Alex? Did anything come up in your mind?" she demanded.
Trying to hide his anxiety, he forced himself to laugh. "No, I just drifted in my thought," he told the Gear.
Dizzy grumbled at the answer and forcibly shoved a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. "Oh! Will you please stop being absent-minded? We're having a nice dinner right now, and you decide to think of anything else? It's not good, you know," she reminded.
"Oh-ho. I think Dizzy-chan never does this to Ky-chan before," Hotaru teased and foxily elbowed Dizzy. "May I know why you want to do this to Alex-san only, hmm?"
"Hotaru-chan, stop it!" along came the embarrassed Gear's protest.
"Aw, Dizzy-chan doesn't want to admit it! Boo-hoo!" Hotaru exclaimed and splattered a spoonful of mousse onto her face, before scrambling away from the dining table. Dizzy snapped in anger and chased the firefly girl around the dining room, leaving the dumbfounded Alex behind.
"Hey, I think I'm going to join this mess too," Alex declared and threw a scoop of ice-cream at Dizzy. It hit her face, and the woman was now channelling her anger toward the lone wolf. Alex laughed at her reaction and jumped away, even as she grabbed a blueberry pie and tossed it at his direction. "I think I just made Dizzy-chan angry. Uh, I'm so scared," he uttered.
"Why do you suddenly call me with the –chan suffix, Alex?" she demanded.
"Because I find it fitting your cuteness, that's why," he suggested, and was promptly hit by another blueberry pie. "Hey, wasting food isn't nice, you know," he demanded and wiped the food off his face.
"Yeah! Didn't Ky-chan tell you not to use food as weapons?" Hotaru added and made a 'no-no' sign.
The Gear had it enough, especially when Alex was the one who made her embarrassed. She charged at him and chased him out of the kitchen. "I'm so going to catch you tonight, Alex!" she cried.
x-x-x-x-x
Midnight arrived. Almost everything on the earth that breathed was soundly sleeping, drifting deep inside dreamlands they were visiting, leaving those accustomed to the darkest of night to roam about. It was a serene hours of darkness; gentle wind of the night blowing softly against leaves and grasses, while crickets and owls rhymed and hummed together to the song of the night.
The lone wolf of holy orders revisited the old church and approached the old altar. Taking a very long time to familiarize himself with the lurking silence inside the building, Alex knelt in front of the altar and brought both his hands toward his chest, even as he was praying in low murmurs.
"God," he started his prayers, "I don't know of whatever I had done in the past that caused people to hurt me, but if I indeed had committed such a sin, I pray for You to reveal it to me." He continued praying, oblivious of the night that was growing older and quieter, and little did he know that a pair of feet was stepping into the hall.
"I've finally found you."
Who is it? Slowly he stood up and turned his attention to the caller. It was her, the woman he so faithfully cared of he was willing to put his life at stake. The sight of her in the night gown, altogether with her sapphire hair free of any restraints, was more than pleasing for him. Yet her presence in the church was concerning him. What had brought her to such a place, and why?
"What are you doing here? I thought you're still sleeping right now," asked the man and turned back to face the altar. He heard nothing but footsteps, and soon realized that her intention was only to be close to him, indicated by a lithe body pressing itself against his back. "Dizzy?"
"Hush. Don't say anything for now…" he heard her whispers, even as he felt her arms tightened around him. Her body was pressed closer, and for a moment he gulped at the warmth breath he felt upon his back.
"Dizzy, what are you doing?" demanded the lone wolf, even as he tried not to submit to the embrace, and remained stiff.
"I've been waiting for this day," Dizzy whispered and rested upon the tough masculine figure, holding it as closely as she could. "I've been looking forward to see this day… when I can finally tell you of my feeling…"
"What are you talking of?" he replied.
"Please… I need you to hear it," she spoke and buried her face beneath the man's garb. "I… I cannot keep it inside of me any longer. I must let you know my feeling toward you, or else… I may not have the chance again…"
"Your feeling… towards me?" This time, he eased off a bit and slowly took a hold on her hands. "What… what do you want to tell me?"
"It's… it's about our promise…" answered the Gear while tightly clenching her hands which were holding his. "I understand it if you don't remember anything from that day, but if you do…" And here she let go off him and walked until she was shun by moonlight coming from another window. There was no word spoken during the brief silence that followed, even as the twos stood motionless inside the hall.
"Why," Alex subsequently broke the silence, "should I remember anything from that day? And what's with this promise? Did I… did I make any of it with you?" He later heard a soft-sounding weep, and cautiously he approached the woman, only to see a bitterly crying Dizzy. "Dizzy, did I say anything wrong?"
"You idiot…!" Dizzy spun on her feet and hurled at him with such force, Alex stumbled backward as she landed on his chest.
"Dizzy?"
"How could you say such a thing...!" she whined and clung onto him for the second time. "Why must you forget the promise? Why must you not remember it? Why?"
"But Dizzy, I…"
"I don't care! I don't care whether you're pained by your memories! I don't care of how painful it is to have it back! I just want you to remember the day we made the promise…" she continually sobbed. "Please, Alex… that's all I want to ask from you…"
Slightly he pulled himself away from her. Slowly, he brought his hands to her face, cupped both the tears-dampened, flushed cheeks and brought her face towards his. The young woman was startled by the featherlike touch of his hands, and was more surprised when she found herself wrapping her arms about his neck. Yet she did nothing to stop it, and she was sure that he, too, didn't bother of what was to become upon them. And then he was lowering his mouth onto her partially opened lips…
"For God's sake!"
Dizzy was startled by the sudden uproar and pulled herself away from Alex. She turned to the owner of the shout, and an extremely shocked expression appeared across her face. An equally surprised Alex looked at the person, and he too was appalled.
"Ky?"
Without saying anything, Ky charged forward, leaving the bedazzled Rock behind, and hurled himself at Alex in such speed, the lone wolf barely had time to push Dizzy away and block the oncoming tackle with bare wrists.
"What are you trying to do to her, Alexander?" Ky roared and pushed Alex to the far end of the hall.
"Why are you attacking me?" Alex demanded.
"Insolent traitor!" Ky delivered a hard kick onto Alex's torso and sent him flying to the wall with a Vapour Thrust. The knight jumped away and immediately approached Dizzy, by now horrified at what was happening. "Dizzy, are you alright? Did he hurt you?"
"What have you done to Alex, Ky!" replied the Gear. "Why did you attack him?"
"What? You have no idea of who this criminal is," Ky answered and pointed the Thunderseal to Alex. "And yet you allow him to harm you? You don't know how dangerous he is to you."
"But he's not!" Dizzy denied the claim. "He's never done anything to me! Why are you suddenly calling him a criminal?"
Just then, Alex woke up and tried to recover himself from the jolting uppercut. Ky immediately backed Dizzy and opened a fighting stance. "Stand back, Dizzy. This man has no right of living as a human because he chose to betray us and fight with our enemy instead," he declared. "I, therefore, shall execute him in the name of the Holy Orders!"
"Ky, stop it!"
It was useless. Ky fired a Sacred Edge at the staggering Alex, pursued the projectile overdrive and attacked him from an overhead direction. Again, Alex was knocked off and could not defend himself nor fight back, even as the angry knight hammered him many times and sent him through the ceiling window with Ride the Lightning. He crashed on the nearby cemetery, still under pursuit by the Holy Knight who fired a charged aerial Stun Edge at him. He managed to see it coming and rolled out of its attack range. He got back on his knees, gasped at the inflicting pain on his chest and put a hand over a bleeding scar.
"You didn't answer my question, mister," he growled.
"Why should I answer the likes of you?" Ky persisted and started charging up the sword. "Let me tell you something, Alexander. You had committed the worst crime in the world, and you allegedly allowed the Gears to corrupt your mind and turn you against us. Murderer of mankind, slaughterer of people, disruptor of family ties. Your sin is beyond the grace of God."
"What? Even God's against me?" Alex cried out and writhed when his head ached. "What had I done in the past that you call me a criminal?"
"Don't tell me you forgot!" Ky screamed and fired a very taut Sacred Edge. The light blade came out too fast for Alex to block, and it hit directly on the scar. He was flung toward a boulder and got knocked out when his head crashed on it. Ky marched toward him, grabbed his collar and single-handedly lifted the unconscious man. "Traitor of justice," he growled and tossed Alex back to the ground. "And yet you didn't even bother of fighting back. I was expecting you, assassin-turned-knight, to give me everything you have. You're even lowlier than those Gears." He, then, brought Thunderseal erect in the air, and glowered at Alex. "Say your last prayers, Alexander."
"Ky, no!" Dizzy immediately jumped in and backed the fallen man, spreading her arms as she did. "Don't do this! He can't fight anymore!"
"Why do you bother to be his aide, Dizzy?" demanded the knight. "Are you trying to turn your back against me and humanity? Step back, I will execute him and deal with you later on."
"Have you gone crazy? What's wrong with you, Ky? You're not even like this!" she pleaded.
"I've had it enough. Everyone's making fool of me and I can't even have my chance to punish the wrongdoers," Ky uttered. "And seeing you getting kissed by him, on top of that, do you have any idea of how mad I was?"
"Why do you want to care of that!" she replied in sheer embarrassment. "We didn't mean to!"
"Enough saying." A hard backhand perched upon her face, and Dizzy was sent crashing on the ground. Ky glared at the young woman, snorted under his breath and turned back to Alex. What was greeting him afterwards was so unexpected that Ky had not expected it to happen upon him.
"We meet again, Ky Kiske," along came Alex's murderous voice. His hand started crushing Ky's throat, and his red-blooded eyes were deeply consuming him. Somehow, the Warrior's Berserk had been invoked, and he was now awakened by a sense of murder so strong it pressed even the hardest of Ky's determination. "And I must say, Ky, you're making a terrible mistake by slapping Dizzy just a while ago."
"For God's sake, what do you want from me!" Ky choked as he was struggling to get free.
"Revenge, I believe," he answered. "And by calling me a traitor of humankind and sinner for protecting the Gears, you're expecting me to succumb to justice and allow my body and soul to be executed?" With that said Alex punched Ky right on the solar plexus and threw him back at the boulder he had crashed on earlier. "Foolish of you. I defended those Gears because they had rights to live like the rest of us. I fought for them because they couldn't afford to protect themselves. Do you ever realize how deeply torn my heart was when they were slaughtered right before my eyes? Those damned knights didn't care whether the Gears could fight or not! All they did was to blindly follow orders and kill them!"
"Gears are Gears! They are destined to be enemy of mankind!" Ky shouted back even as he hastily stood back and resumed his stance. "What do you know about them?"
Alex took out his marionette gloves and wore them, slowly as he did. "They were my family, and they were the one who had saved me from those bastards. They had treated me and accepted me when my existence was rejected and despised. They had given me love and care when my soul was filled with hatred and sorrows. They were more than everything to me, when I thought I had lost anything in the world," he answered. "And if you think Dizzy and I never met, you were wrong. We had, and we had made that promise together before I was forced to abandon her." And here he turned his attention to Dizzy, whose bright ruby eyes were telling him that she could not believe herself. "I'm sorry, Dizzy, but I had to."
"Alex, you finally remember…" Realizing what finally happened to him she ran toward him but was stopped in the middle of track. She tried to get away from the hand that was holding her shoulder when she realized it belonged to Sol. "Sol? What's brought you here?"
"Stay back, Dizzy. This is not going to be pleasant," Sol replied and stepped forward. "Look, kid. I've told you I'm going to find you first if anything were to happen to Dizzy, haven't I?" he asked Alex.
"Sol! What are you doing here?" Ky demanded, surprised by the presence of the Gear.
"I've still got an unfinished business with this kid to settle," Sol promptly answered and brought down the Fireseal he was slinging over his shoulder. "And as I said on that day, I won't be nice at you, kid. Are you ready?"
"Even if this may cost my life," Alex uttered and pulled out a kodachi hidden beneath his sleeves, "I will not allow her to cry, or to shed even a drop of tear. This is what I had promised to her on that faithful day."
"Huh. Do whatever you want to," Sol grumbled and opened his stance. And so did Ky, who was more than eager to punish the so-claimed wrongdoer in the name of his justice. Alex spun the sword in rapid successions before he, too, made a fighting pose. And now the three warriors, once serving the Holy Orders as their rightful knights, were pitted against each other in a duel only God knows why.
Heaven or Hell!
Duel 1!
LET'S ROCK!
A scream of battle cry, the sounds of three colliding steels, and the battle officially started. The Corrupted Flame, the Knight of Hope, and the Lone Wolf. These three people would soon outwit and outsmart each other in the duel no one could foretell its outcome, and soon they would be fighting for the truth that must be unfolded tonight.
"No, please…" Dizzy whimpered as she and Kagura witnessed the clash of the three warriors. She stepped forward as to approach the battlefield when Kagura's hand stopped her cold. "Let me go! I must tell them that Alex won't survive the fight!"
Instead, she just shook her head. The heir of the Souma family stared at the female Gear in thoughtful sight and said, "Sol-kun said Alex-kun must know the truth today, or he'll forever be haunted by delusion he made up."
"Delusion?"
"Only Sol-kun knows the answer."
Dizzy looked back and forth between Kagura and Alex, the latter escaped a massive combo attack of Tyrant Rave and Sacred Edge, and she had to surrender. This duel couldn't be stopped even if I have the strength to prevent it from happening, she thought and immediately left the cemetery without looking back.
"Please, Alex, don't get killed…"
