Heart of Melting Blood
Legend of the Moonlight
Written by:
Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO

Author's note: Guilty Gear is copyrighted by Sammy Studios whereas TPYE-MOON holds the right over all games under the company's label: Tsukihime, FATE, etc, etc, etc…. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own 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.

Chapter 28
Midnight Carnival: Reprisal

Sometimes 10 years ago, at the Assassin's Guild…

"You mean… this creature has been inside of me for a very long time? No wonder why I sometimes feel funny."

"Alexander Hahn. Your talent as an assassin is impressive enough to grant you an important rank in the guild. As the highest leader, I foresee a bright future in your path. You should have no regretted your decision on joining the Assassin's Guild."

"But I… I'm a despised person. People avoid me whenever I go, and they always blame me even when I'm doing nothing."

"They are afraid of you, Alexander. They are afraid of what's inside of you. That's why you're forced to lead this solitary path."

"Master Zato…"

"Listen, Alexander. With great power comes great responsibility. What you possess right now may have been a gift, and it may have also been a curse. Think of it very carefully every time you intend to invoke it to life."

"But… what should I do if… it goes beyond control?"

"Only you have the power to control the entity. Only you have the full understanding about it. Only you know what to do about it. Are you ready, Alexander?"

"I am ready, Master Zato."

"Well, then, let the initiation ceremony begin."

x-x-x-x-x

Nightmare pounced at Link. The warrior of Zelda blocked the attack and counterattacked with a shield tackle. Nightmare screamed in dismay and slammed Soul Edge onto the ground; the resulting shockwave failed to reach Link as he nimbly jumped over the projectile. Again, Link counterattacked by throwing his shield as a boomerang. It collided onto Nightmare's body armour and dented it a bit; the damage was minimal, yet it was enough to piss the azure knight even more.

"Uh-oh," Link remarked. "Looks like I pissed him off."

Nightmare glowered at him. He pointed the Soul Edge at his adversary's face. "Die."

Just as Link was about to accept Nightmare's second projectile attack, someone jumped in and blocked the sword as it reached the ground. Link and Talim were shocked by the newcomer's act, and could not believe more as the newcomer wearing hakama and gi in white/red colour scheme revealed itself.

"What's up, fool?" was that Hikki said.

Geese's eyes widened at Hikki's appearance. "Is he impersonating me?" he demanded.

"He is cosplaying as you," Rock reminded.

"Even my hairstyle?" Geese asked.

Rock nodded, referring to the uncanny resemblances between Hikki's and Geese's appearance. "Even your hairstyle."

Nightmare's eyes widened. "Fool? You call me fool?"

"Of course you are a fool, fool," Hikki said, impersonating gangsters' street talk. He kicked Nightmare out of the way and made haste to Link. "Yo," he said, gesturing a salute to him.

"Who are you?" Link demanded.

Hikki shrugged and flexed. "Just someone who wants to have fun," he said.

"Fun? We're in the middle of a brawl and you want to have fun?" Talim interjected.

Hikki, instead, gave her a 'no-no' gesture. "What? Can't I have fun once in a while? Besides, you sound like you want to protest at me." The answer caused Talim to stoop her head. Link gazed at her in a puzzled look. She said nothing and kept frowning. "Whatever," Hikki said and opened his stance. "Let's do this."

Nightmare roared out in anger and pounced at Hikki. The fighter made a backward bend to avoid the azure knight's horizontal attack. He knocked Nightmare to the air with an upward palm attack; Hikki continued the attack with an Overhead Helix, which he used to capture Nightmare in midair and tossed him onto the ground.

Hikki flipped a thumb's down at Nightmare. "Owned."

Holy Orders Sol growled at the impersonator. "Copycat."

"Yeah, so fear me," Hikki announced.

Meanwhile, Mai was standing behind Misaki and Ky, the latter charging up his lightning force. She was told by the two fighters not to participate in the fight; they were well aware of how reluctant she was to fight her former EFZ comrades.

Then she felt her arms tapped. She turned around and found herself grabbed on the neck. "Surprise!" Cervantes said and tossed her across the coliseum. The swordswoman had no idea she would be unfairly ambushed by an enemy, and was unprepared for impact as she crashed on the wall.

"That was pathetic," Cervantes commented. He looked around him; the free-for-all was as hectic as it had started onboard Archangel. He laughed and turned to the knocked out Mai. He approached her and gave her a hard stomp on her arm. "Sorry, lass," he said and aimed Nirvana at her. "I may not know you, but I must kill you."

Hikki stopped jumping around in victory when he heard Mai's pained cry. He turned around and saw Cervantes stomping on Mai repeatedly. "What the fuck?" he cried out and tossed a Reppuken at Cervantes; it merely served as a warning, so the Spanish pirate lord effortlessly blocked it.

"Just what the hell you think you're doing?" Hikki demanded and pointed to Cervantes. "Touch my wife and die."

Cervantes batted an eyebrow. "Son," he uttered, "I have no idea of what you're talking of."

Hikki snapped. "It means you're trying to touch her before I do! ONLY I CAN TOUCH HER, YOU GODDAMN PAEDOPHILE!"

Mai blushed. Hibiki blinked many times at the exclamation. Holy Orders Sol grimaced at the word 'paedophile'. Shirou and Shiki gasped in horror and shouted: "NOOOO! WE ARE NOT PEDOS!" while Saber and Arcueid comforted them. John shook his head and uttered, "I just wish my brother Johnny isn't screaming up at heaven right now."

At faraway, Yuuki Darren could only say: "wow." Ayanami Rei remained silent and went "…" at the scene. Nagato Yuki stared at him, nodded and continued reading a copy of Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising. Hoshino Ruri glared at the camera, said: "baaka" and returned to her room.

Cervantes was staring at him for a long time. Then he shrugged and stepped several feet backward. "I don't quite understand that, but I will end this," he said and began Soul Charging.

Hikki, then, glared at Mai. "And you, Miss Mai," he said and put his hands on his waist, "I thought you would still continue to fight as a Wanderer," he said in a mocking tone. "What a weakling you are."

Mai frowned. She did not like being called 'weakling' especially when it was her husband himself who addressed her with such. "I'm not a weakling…" she insisted, tears dropping off her cheeks.

"Then why didn't I see you lifting your sword?" Hikki replied. "Don't tell me you already forgot the promise you and Sayuri-san had made. Or maybe you're still with your EFZ friends. Boo-hoo." Mai scowled. She did not like being fooled at. She did not like being labelled as an EFZ fighter. She did not want to be thought as someone not worthy of the title Wanderer.

Hikki lost his patience. He swung his fist into the air. "Come on! Kawasumi Mai I know wouldn't simply surrender! Show me you're still a worthy swordswoman!" he shouted. "Come on! Don't make me double-cross you and go after somebody else!"

Mai's eyes widened. As if on reflex, she seized the scabbard of her sword and used it to repel Cervantes' unblockable attack as it was coming toward her. She glowered at the immortal pirate for a long time then she kicked him out of the way. She stood up, made herself firm on her feet and opened a kamae.

"My name is Kawasumi Mai," she pronounced her name, "and I am a Wanderer."

"Alright! That's what I want to hear!" Hikki exclaimed. "Go Mai!"

At the same time, Misaki overheard the declaration. She just grinned. "Well, well. Mai-san has found what she's fighting for." She turned back to the Eternal Fighter Zero warriors. "Looks like the so-called traitor no longer need to worry about you all."

The fighting girls screamed out in blasphemy. They pounced at Misaki in unison, aiming for her chest. The Atemi Nage girl grinned in calm manner and eased her stance. She waited for all the opponents to come close, then…

"WATCH OUT!"

Misaki snapped. Her eyes shining brightly, she spun her arms in slow motion and braced herself from impact. Time seemed to slow to a halt as the EFZ fighters approached her, and…

"SHIN ATEMI NAGE."

The girls were tossed, away from their intended target. They were suspended in midair for a very long duration of time, as if they were in stop animation. In fact, camera rotated around them in the uncanny Bullet Time effect, exposing every detail of the scene. Then they were pushed by a massive invisible force and crashed into the wall of the coliseum. Misaki flipped her hair over her shoulders, untouched by the enormous strength of the reversal, and shrugged.

(Lone Wolf NEO commented: "Misaki looks kind of sexy whenever she flips her hair over her shoulders. And so does Tsuruya-san. I wonder what brand of shampoo both of them use." Hibiki bopped him on the head with her tessen. Standing next to the swordswoman, Tsuruya looked perplexed by the comment.)

"I should've stopped quoting my father for many times, but whatever it is," she said. "Predictable."

Geese suddenly shuddered. Rock was perplexed by the reaction his father was displaying and asked for explanation. "Someone is going to overtake my reign, but I don't know who," he told him.

"Wow," Ky cooed in surprise. "I didn't know you're this strong this close."

Misaki giggled at the comment. "Why, thank you Kiske-san."

Hikki finished cheering his wife. He turned around and cracked his fingers as he glanced at the Dragoon assassins. "And you just don't want to mess with me, yo. I'm going to kick all your asses, yo."

"Since when Hikki learns street language?" Hibiki demanded.

The Dragoon assassins screamed out in blasphemy and charged at Hikki as a whole unit. The young fighter simply waited for them to come close, before he suddenly fired a super-intense Reppuken at them.

"What's the matter, homie?" Hikki taunted the defeated assassins. "You ain't seen nothing yet, yo. Because I'm going to own you like never before."

The assassin grew furious and charged at the solo fighter. Hikki shook his head in amusement and jumped over the assassins. Hikki laughed victoriously and tossed a Kami-Reppuken at the assassins; the force of the wind-based projectile was more than enough to knock out all of them, but several assassins managed to evade the attack. They counterattacked by tossing daggers and kunais at the Korean boy, but the fighter was nimbler than they expected. Hikki made a midair somersault and tossed another Kami-Reppuken at the assassins; this time, it hit them and sent them flying into the Mediterranean.

Hikki landed flawlessly. He looked around him, outstretched himself and said, "that's why they should never --ever-- mess with me, because I'm going to kick their ass for good."

At the same time, Holy Orders Sol was glowering at the pinned down Metal Widow Mark 2. Inside the super robot, Doctor Getter was struck in fear he had never felt before. The fire-donning human was nothing like his other adversaries; he was, after all, Sol Badguy, the man who was reportedly among the very first batch of scientists who started the Gear Project, owner of the coveted Fireseal, possessor of hell on earth and the fighter who had over 100 years of brawling experiences. Of course, being in his Holy Orders form gave him more tricks up his sleeves to display, especially the ever-cheap Action Charge spam.

Oh, did the narrator forget to mention that he was a huge fan of Queen?

Sol glowered at Doctor Getter. "You may mess with Justine or Athena or even Hotaru," he growled, "but using tentacle monsters is an absolute no-no to me."

"You dare telling me to discard of my children!" Doctor Getter replied. "I am Doctor Getter, the great master of super robot! A great scientist like me does not need to accept your pathetic advice!"

Sol snorted. He ignited a fireball from his fist, swung it in front of Metal Widow Mark 2's face and flipped yet another middle finger. "You're one fucking annoying bastard."

At the same time, Athena was assisting Justine when she heard a loud battle cry that was followed by a massive explosion. She looked at the source of the noise and saw Holy Orders Sol sending Metal Widow Mark 2 high into the sky in a Dragon Installed Level 3 Storm Viper, followed by an aerial Level 3 Tyrant Rave Omega. The Overdrive was Roman Cancelled and --since he was in his A.D. 2172 form a.k.a. his coveted "Boss" form-- Holy Orders Sol continued with another Dragon Installed Level 3 Storm Viper; this time, he Roman Cancelled it into a Level 3 Bandit Revolver Prototype.

"I see a silhouette of a man!
Scaramouch! Scaramouch! Will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning! Very, very frightening me!
Galileo! Galileo! Galileo! Galileo!
Galileo Figaro!
Magnifico! Oh, oh!"

"Tyrant Rave! OMEGA!"

Metal Widow Mark 2 was again sent crashing into the ground. Holy Orders Sol glided back to the downed super robot, Fireseal burning in such heat that the ground below him instantly melted into glass-like materials. "Time to finish this once and for all."

"NEVER!" Metal Widow Mark 2 stood back on its feet and aimed its fists at the approaching Holy Knight. "I, Doctor Lens Getter, shall prove to the world that I'm the best! Nobody will dare defying my will after this!" So saying, the super robot braced itself as ignition started counting down. "Prepare for your doom! METAL WIDOW, FIRE!"

The super robot fired the fists and sent them flying toward Sol. At the same time, Doctor Getter commanded Metal Widow Mark 2 to deploy its shoulder and body cannons. All the stored energies were now let loose in a massive particle beam all aimed to destroy the self-proclaimed Corrupted Flame. Athena cried out in distress but her voice was engulfed by the deafening roar of the particle beam.

"DRAGON INSTALL!"

Sol let out a burst of flame that instantly nullified the effect of the particle beam. Doctor Getter was appalled and stepped backward in fear, and so did Metal Widow Mark 2 that impersonated him to the letter T. The American Badass landed on the glassy earth, glared at the super robot and flipped yet another middle finger. "Instant Kill." He charged up and pounced at Metal Widow Mark 2, leaving behind him trails of scorched earth. Despite the super robot's efforts, it was fatally useless to stop the Gear, and now he was crouching next to the robot's feet.

"NAPALM DEATH!"

The hymn of Hallelujah echoed in the air.

Sol Badguy turned around. He sported a thumb's down, displayed it to the destroyed Metal Widow Mark 2, and said: "you suck." He turned away, shrugged his head off and walked toward Athena when he heard a sinister laugh from beneath the ruins. He glanced at the charred metals and could not believe his eyes. "What the hell is he?"

"You cannot destroy me!" Doctor Getter slowly rose from the ruins. His laboratory suit burnt into nothing, exposing his true form. Metal skin covering biomechanical organs, artificial veins and nerves coursing through body, and ruby light pulsing from his left eye, Doctor Getter looked liked something that came from the trilogy of Terminator. "I am Doctor Getter, the greatest super robot scientist in the world! Look at what the marvel of science has done to improve my outlook! With this new body, I am invincible!"

Sol was not impressed. On top of that, the theme song of Terminator that started playing in the background annoyed him. "Oh, fuck. Will anyone please do something on this nonsense crossover?"

Doctor Getter laughed. He lifted his hand. He clenched it. At the same time a loud, deafening roar echoed from the sea. The sea surface bubbled intensely, and from it came a creature like nothing before. Doctor Getter laughed maniacally as he pointed to Sol Badguy. "You thought you could defeat me with your puny fireballs! You were wrong! My child with send you to the deepest hell you've ever imagined!" The metallic creature roared when the name 'Metal Serpent' was mentioned and deployed its on-board weapons. "Now, witness my ultimate creation! The most dangerous, the most coveted, the most powerful, the most ultimate… METAL SERPENT!"

Metal Serpent slammed its tail onto the cliff and smashed the ground: it happened to slam where Talim was standing on. The wind priestess lost balance and fell with the crumbled ground toward the seaside coastline 500 metres below. Her distressed cries were swollen by the loud cries of Metal Serpent that fired laser beams from its eyes, destroying everything around it.

"TALIM!"

Doctor Getter laughed. Despite the damage, he still managed to stand on his feet and sported his arrogance smile. "Even if I'm defeated, my super robots never know the meaning of defeat! They will continue fighting until they achieve absolute victory! I WILL ALWAYS BE INVINCIBLE!"

"No."

He turned around, and in an instant a lightning-flash sword attack slashed through his body. Doctor Getter was in a suspended animation and could neither move nor speak. He could only feel a cold wind breezing through him, and then he saw a person standing next to him with swords withdrawn.

"End."

With a click of the sword inserted into its scabbard, Doctor Getter was downed. Mai glanced at him, as the super robot genius fell lifeless toward the ground. The black-haired, emerald-eyed girl took a deep breath and swayed her hair over her shoulder. "I am…" she whispered, "a Wanderer."

Talim fell toward the coastline. Metal Serpent was pouncing toward her, trying to catch her weakened body with its massive jaws. She did not see it coming, and certainly she could not see the danger coming with it. She was half-conscious, and barely able to move her limbs. All she could do was to let Mother Nature decide her fate. She let destiny chose the path, as she closed her eyes.

Somebody snatched her body. She did not know who --it might have been Link-- but then she felt a strong gale spinning around her in rapid rotation. Slowly she opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of emerald eyes. She was not quite sure of what was going, but the owner of the eyes was saving her from falling down the cliff.

"Hang on tight," Hikki uttered and began charging up his wind power. Talim did what he told her, and she clung onto him as he fired the wind vortex from his hand into the ground. It disintegrated into an air cushion, and the two fighters made a soft landing on the ground. Talim was released from his firm grasp, and he jumped back across the sea, heading toward the oncoming Metal Serpent.

"Talim!" She looked upward and saw Link and Mai looking down at her from the edge of the cliff. "Are you alright down there?" Link shouted.

"I'm alright!" she shouted back. She heard a loud battle cry at her back. She turned around and saw Hikki firing multiple Reppuken at the super robot. "He can't fight the monster alone! Somebody must help him!"

Hikki crashed on the beach next to Talim. With the help of the wind priestess, he struggled to stand up and glowered at Metal Serpent. His breathing laboured, his face bloodstained, Hikki was furious for being overpowered by the machine monster. "This calls for an extreme measure," he growled. He crossed his arms, released tense wind vortex from his palms and shivered. As if foreseeing the consequences, Metal Serpent let out a mighty roar and charged at Hikki.

"Sir! The monster is heading toward you!" Talim shouted.

"Miss, I'd advice you to step away," Hikki reminded her, "and one more thing: I have a name, and that is Hikki." Hikki glanced at Talim and sported an assuring smile. "Hey; don't tell me you're worried. Keep that aside; I'll still be in one piece." Soon afterwards, the wind vortex turned dark blue, and Talim was greatly oppressed by the massive aura of the element. Fearing the worst, Talim left him and took shelter behind a boulder.

Metal Serpent roared. It glowed brightly and transformed into a whitish light matter. The machine monster was in collision course with Hikki, and there would be no escape as the monster was within millimetres from contact.

"TIME HALT!"

Time came to a standstill. The world was brought into a bone-chilling pause. All living beings and non-living matters were struck in suspended animation. All, which included Metal Serpent, whose light matter was suspended in still frames.

Hikki dropped his hands. He reared backward and suddenly hurled toward Metal Serpent. At the time he shouted "Chrono--" the gales burst out and changed into a violent vortex, its ferocity leaping into a point where everything would cut into pieces by exposing it to the razor-sharp wind blades.

"CROSS!"

The sound of clashing metals blasted loudly. Then, nothing as everything turned pitch black, except for the visible shrieks of aerial bombing siren. It seemed the universe would stand still for eternity, until a chiming sound echoed faintly in the background. Only then normality was restored, and it revealed what had happened in the split second.

Hikki stood on his feet. The wind vortex disappeared as he discarded it from his hands. Without looking backward, he lifted one hand, snapped his fingers, and instantly a gigantic crucifix of light appeared in the thin air. It slashed across Metal Serpent and disintegrated the machine monster into many pieces that fell in mass into the sea.

He glanced at Link and Mai, the latter smiling in relief at his condition. He, then, looked at Talim and threw out a thumb's up. Talim smiled widely at the gesture.

x-x-x-x-x

"Lacus Clyne! Do you read me? Lacus Clyne!"

"Lone Wolf? What are you doing on our radio frequency?"

"I have no time to explain!" the voice replied. "Listen, there's a free-for-all inside your ship and it's going to destroy it. You have to land it on Sardinia; it's the only way to safe the ship."

"Wait! There's a free-fight on board? What happened? Who's in charge of the people?"

"Listen to me, Lacus. You have to land Archangel on the island, or you'll risk losing the ship. We have no time for this argument. Can you spot any clear patch of land?"

"Hang on; my crews are looking for it. Got it; there's an abandoned coliseum 10,000 feet from Archangel. Lone Wolf, what should we do once we land there?"

"Just land the ship. Leave the rest to me."

"Roger. Lone Wolf… what are you going to do after this?"

"I… I don't know. I just hope things won't turn bad."

He turned off the radio. Lone Wolf NEO looked inside the interior of the cockpit. The XFA-27A he found locked inside Archangel's vault was considered a Holy Grail; how the super plane of Ace Combat 2 got transferred from its Usean birthplace and ended up in Heart of Melting Blood, and more specifically the universe of Gundam SEED Destiny was something he did not want to know. All he knew about the fighter was he needed it to deal with the situation both he and Archangel were facing.

"Lone Wolf-san, can you hear me?"

Lone Wolf NEO looked at his 9'OC. He saw Strike Freedom flying next to him, and gave a wave to the mobile suit. "I thought you're still staying at the hall," he chuckled.

"Lacus told me to assist you," the MS pilot replied.

Lone Wolf NEO laughed. "That was freaking fast. Like, it was just minutes since I contacted Lacus."

Kira laughed as well. "Oh, come on Lone Wolf-san. You know I'm ready to help you."

Lone Wolf NEO's laugh faded. He glanced at the radar screen; red arrows and dots started filling the display, and they were riddling around him. These were fighter squadrons, naval fleets and mobile suit deployments of Dragoon Society, assigned to destroy Archangel and its crews as well as the abandoned coliseum. He armed the XFA-27A and turned his sight to his starboard; Kira was equipping Strike Freedom as well.

"We'll have to hold the line for full 15 minutes," Lone Wolf NEO informed Kira. "After that, my friend Captain Testarossa will take over. Remember, 15 minutes."

"Aha," Kira remarked, "so the rumours are true. Lone Wolf NEO has the authority to call reinforcement from any part of the fan fiction universe."

Lone Wolf NEO shrugged. "Whatever, Kira. Whatever."

"FOR DRAGOON SOCIETY!" the opposing pilots of the fighters and MS units shouted.

Lone Wolf NEO sighed. "I wonder whether Ciel-senpai is watching this…"

(background music: Ace Combat Zero / The Round Table)

Lone Wolf NEO broke away to the left. Kira flew to the right. The oncoming fleet of F-15S/MTD and Su-47 missed their targets and made a hard turnaround. Lone Wolf NEO executed a Cobra and fired several QAAMs at the fighters; all of them hit and the fighters dived into the sea, leaving their pilots parachuting out of danger.

"Lone Wolf-san, enemy at your 9'OC!"

Lone Wolf NEO made a quick thrust-vectoring. The XFA-27A evaded an Ignited Gouf's Gatling cannon, and he fired a volley of QAAM at the attacker. The MS jumped away from the missiles and found it facing Strike Freedom. In a quick succession, the super MS sliced the Gouf's arms and legs and sent it crashing on an island.

"Thanks, Kira," Lone Wolf NEO remarked. "That was really close."

"Don't worry about it," Kira replied. He turned around and blocked a barrage of 16-inch artillery shells fired from Dragoon battleships. Immediately he invoked his SEED Mode; he fired Strike Freedom's multiple laser cannons at the warships and hit them --directly on the triple-gun turrets. Lone Wolf NEO had no time to watch the accurately deadly laser barrage as more and more fighters appeared to swarm at him.

"Fox 3. Missile launched."

More QAAMs were fired at the opposing fighters, and more kills were scored as all the Dragoon fighters took direct hit and crashed into the ocean. Lone Wolf NEO made a flyby over the downed pilots who were swimming toward the ship, and nodded to confirm the kill.

"I demand this stupid crossover to stop! Where the hell is Lone Wolf when we need him?" Lone Wolf NEO laughed at the impromptu radio call. That voice belonged to the pissed off Sol and Geese; he knew he would have to avoid them from now on.

x-x-x-x-x

(background music: E.S. Posthumus / Pompeii)

Alexander pounced at Valentino. Now fully strengthened with Warrior's Amok, he was now giving the Dragoon lord no chance of fighting or defending. The assassin knight kicked him on the torso and sent Valentino crashing on the wall. The blood armour was pulsating rapidly, supplying Alexander with constant flow of energy, and under the influence of the Forbidden Beast he would stop at nothing.

"Blast!" Valentino kicked back and counterattacked. His multiple lance thrusts failed to hit Alexander; instead, Alexander evaded the attacks as if he was eluding wind breeze. He made a quick repel that knocked Valentino's lancer off his hand, and gave the Dragoon lord a hard roundhouse kick on his face. Alexander backed off a bit, pounced at Valentino and snatched his head; thrusting it toward the ground. The crash would have killed Valentino instantly if it wasn't for the headgears he was donning.

Alexander was not satisfied. Gripping Valentino firmly on his neck, he lifted him off the crater and glowered at him. "Remember when you told me that Master Zato wanted Lia to be adopted in by the Guild?" he spoke. "It turned out that it was the Guild's executives who wanted her to join them. Master Zato had explained it clear to me; Lia would not have to follow my footstep as an assassin."

"Lie!" Valentino choked when Alexander's hand crushed his throat. "Lia had wholeheartedly agreed to join me and become Dragoon Society's top warrior! You know nothing!"

"It was because she had no one else to rely on!" Alexander interjected. "You saw an opportunity to step into my family's affair and urged Lia to go against her will. Have you not learned of how she might have felt when you told her you'd help her bringing back her brother?" The blood armour pulsed rapidly; it was influencing Alexander into killing Valentino, yet the decision was held back. "I should have killed you right now, but I won't do it because you must first be punished."

So saying Alexander screamed a battle cry and tossed Valentino back to the wall. He gave Valentino no chance as he attacked him in rapid succession, delivering killing blows on him from all directions possible. Alexander intensified the tempo of his attacks; this time he kicked Valentino high into the night sky and continued his madden attacks on him. The Dragoon lord was no longer capable of defending himself and was nothing more than a living punching bag.

"DIE VALENTINO!"

Valentino crushed on the ground. Alexander landed next to him and grabbed his head; again, Valentino was tossed to the wall, but this time his shoulder blade was stabbed with Alexander's kodachi. He cried out in pain as the blade was twisted inside it, and as he crashed on the wall the sword got stuck in its limestone structures.

Eiko overhead the distress call. She jumped into the fight and ordered her followers to cover Valentino. She faced Alexander and found herself overwhelmed by the suppressed killing aura that emerged from inside of him.

"Back off, Miss Tanaka," Alexander demanded. "You are not my target."

"No!" So saying, Eiko opened her stance and got ready for the worst. "I will die for the cause!"

Alexander shook his head. He executed a teleportation move and appeared behind Eiko. The sensation of the killing aura was so strong Eiko's knees started to weaken. "You know, Miss Tanaka," he growled inside her ears, "I kind of liked you when we met for the first time. Perhaps I should tell you that I've wanted to befriend you. What I don't get about you is," and here he seized her nape and squeezed his claw on the spine. "Why are you so stupidly persistent to fight this losing war? Surrender now, and I shall spare your life."

"Let me go…!" Eiko gasped. She was moaning in pain as her nape was squeezed to the point of rupture.

"You didn't answer me, so bye-bye." He released her off the grab and delivered a paralyzing karate chop onto her nape. The female judge was knocked out cold and fell to the ground unconscious. He, then, turned around and glowered at the warrior monks; by now they were struck in immense fear and fled.

Alexander lifted one of his palms into the air. He aimed it at Valentino's heart. He reared up, made a low-sounding growl and suddenly pounced at Valentino. Like a hungry tiger suddenly presented with a banquet of fresh meat, Alexander hurled himself toward the Dragoon lord, with nothing to hold him or stop him. He had only one thing in mind.

Finish him.

"STOP IT!"

The wall exploded. A portion of the coliseum collapsed into the earth and turned into dusts. Alexander had redirected his punch onto the wall just millimetres before it found its target on Valentino's chest. Somehow, Sion's voice knocked his sense to its normal self, and slowly he was recovering from the killing spree.

He grabbed Valentino's neck for the third time, glowered into his eyes, and grinned. "I am done with you. Let the system of justice decide your fate." He let go off the weakened warrior and walked away from him. Discarding the blood armour off his body, which reverted into its liquid form and seeped into his body, Alexander walked toward the victorious fighters.

"Are we done?" he uttered.

At the same time, the XFA-27A and Strike Freedom made a flyby over the ancient coliseum; the pilots of the aerial fighting vehicles made a record time after neutralizing (note: neutralizing, NOT destroying as both Lone Wolf NEO and Kira Yamato are against the ideas of killing people while they're around) the whole Dragoon fleet under 5 minutes. There was more time to wait for Tuatha de Tahaan, so the pilot of the XFA-27A made several aerobatic manoeuvres over the sky of Sardinia while Strike Freedom landed next to the coliseum.

"Good job, both of you," Lacus radioed in the two pilots, "I'll expect better cooperation between you in the future."

"Don't mention it, Lacus," Lone Wolf NEO replied. "It's my job."

"So, Lone Wolf-san," Kira interfered. "When are you going to propose Takane-san into marriage?" The author screamed out in blasphemy and demanded Kira to stop talking of it. Little did he know, that the radio conversation was purposefully aired over Archangel's speaker system, and the first person who was struck in embarrassment was, of course, Hibiki.

"Iyaa!" Hibiki moaned and cupped her blushing cheeks. "Don't say it out loud, mou!"

"Alright! We've won!" Link cheered. Nightmare was defeated by Hikki and Cervantes had to admit defeat due to fierce competition from Mai (to quote Cervantes later on: "I will reclaim my victory in the future"). He and Talim were celebrating the victory with Mai and Hikki, the latter was sporting his version of Geese's victory pose.

Geese could only sigh. "I wish somebody could put an end to this stupidity," he complained.

"Relax, Dad," Rock said and patted his back, "at least we won the battle."

Misaki watched in sympathy, as the EFZ warriors retreated from the coliseum. She waved goodbye to them and turned to the tired Ky. "So, Kiske-san," she said, "what did you say about our rematch?"

Ky was puzzled. "Rematch? Did I remember saying anything about it?"

Misaki giggled. She grabbed Ky's uniform, tossed him up the sky and landed her Deadly Rave. The announcer was heard shouting "DESTROYED!" as Ky was Instantly Killed by the finishing move. She waved her silky hair over her shoulders, faked a cry and shrugged. "So sorry, Kiske-san, but you're still no match against me."

Sol knelt beside Ky. He poked his body several times, before he stood up and took a sip of his Marlboro. "Owned."

Hayabusa and Logan took a deep breath of relief. The war had finally ended, and now they were thinking of their future. "I should visit my family in Iceland," Logan spoke and holstered the battle axe over his shoulder. "What about you?"

Hayabusa shook his head. He threw his sight to the full moon, as if he was thinking of the best answer possible. "I have no idea. Maybe I should go where my feet leads me," he answered.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Logan replied.

"AH!"

They looked at where Athena was pointing. It was Alexander, and he was toppling on his walk. He lost balance off his feet, and was losing control of his stance. He walked towards Sion, oblivious of the injuries he was suffering, and slipped. He lost unconscious and fell toward the ground when Sion ran up at him and snatched his body before he could reach the pavement. He fell asleep fast in her arms, and Sion was touched by what she was seeing.

She smiled. "You've had it enough, Alex," she whispered and softly kissed his scalp. "Rest as long as you want to, okay?"

Coming up: Epilogue