Ky was going to go through with it. He agreed to let Dizzy take the risk of breaking her leg again just so she could see Nora. She insisted, and he had no choice but to let her. God, it had been years since he had been so obedient to another Gear. But Dizzy actually made his subservience enjoyable. And now that subservience called for him to bring Nora to the door for her. There was some hesitation, but he had no choice because she said so. He would do it because it pleased her, too.

He waited out by the homemade stable as the mare ate, hugging his arms around his body to keep himself warm.

His prediction had been right last night. It snowed, but it was no blizzard, thank God. It had snowed at least an inch, covering the landscape in white from each twisted, naked tree to each blade of grass. It was nothing to fret about. He hoped it was the worst he was going to see this winter, but then again, it wasn't over. The winters here were never easy.

Nora snaked her head out of the comforts of her stable and nosed at his arm, leaving an residue of grain on the black fabric of his coat. He didn't notice it until he looked down after she let go of his coat. "That's disgusting." He brushed at his sleeve feverishly, trying to get it off the best he could. A neat-freak like him couldn't let something like that stay on his clothing all day.

After getting it cleaned off, he turned his head over his shoulder at the mare. "Come here, Nora. I have someone I want you to meet." He stepped forward, then paused, keeping his shoulder to the mare, using his body language to get her to follow him. "Come here." He watched over his shoulder as the mare cautiously lowered her head to the ground, sniffing at the snow before she stepped into the snow.

He started back towards the cabin, knowing the mare would follow him, as usual. But that's not exactly what the mare planned. He listened as her footsteps pounded through the snow, and she went flying past him, her tail held high and her neck arched. She kicked a few times, sending snow in the air as she went.

She galloped past the cabin, up to the bridge, where she lowered her head and nibbled at a top coating of the snow. He shook his head as he watched her, continuing his way to the front door. He could see Dizzy already there, the door cracked as she watched the mare like a stalking animal. Well, at least she didn't hurt herself getting to the door.

Once she saw him approaching, she opened the door a bit more, holding onto the frame for balance. "I thought you said she follows you everywhere," she said.

"Not this time," he muttered, and slid his hands into his pants pockets. He looked over his shoulder to the mare. He watched as she trotted towards him from behind. "Here she comes," Dizzy said. "Hello." The mare stopped a moment to touched her nose to his shoulder, then suddenly took off again, tearing through the snow.

Dizzy giggled. "Bye!" She then sighed as she looked down onto her leg and floor. "I wish my leg wasn't broken."

"I'm sure it will heal soon. Besides, you are a Gear. I know for a fact that Gears heal incredibly fast." He pointed a finger in a matter-of-fact way.

"How long did it take for your burns to heal?" she then asked.

He ducked his head at her question, and glanced down on his hand by the side of his thigh. He bunched his fist as if trying to hide that scar that still remained on his hand and arm after all these years. "I don't remember. Maybe a few weeks before the scars turned up. But you're more Gear than I am, keep that in mind. I think you're already making progress. You insist being on your feet." He looked at her from under his brows, scolding her silently.

She grinned shyly and ducked her head lightly at his look. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"I suppose. But you can't keep on your feet. Come on, you've already seen Nora. Go back inside, please."

Disappointed, she lowered her head and pouted like a child. "Could I stay out a little longer? I could sit out front here."

Was that another order disguised as a kind request? His simple Gear brain made it out to be. "Well, I guess you—"

He watched as her gazed was suddenly fixed upon something past his shoulder. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. Even her skin looked paler. Something felt wrong, and he had no doubt that the sensation was coming from her.

"Dizzy, what's—" He looked over his shoulder to see someone in red approaching. He watched her a moment, a woman in a strange red outfit. She wore a tall pointed hat, while tall leather red boots climbed up her legs up to her upper thighs. Her outfit looked like a mix of a mutilated jacket and a skirt—that lead nothing to the imagination. She was also carrying something, an instrument it seemed, but then after she stopped on the bridge, placing a hand on the railing as she looked towards them.

Ky turned his head back to Dizzy. "One of your friends?"

"No!" Dizzy immediately said, and ducked into the cabin, slamming the door shut. Ky was left outside, dumbfounded by her behavior, but soon, after noticing she had left him alone out there with that woman, Dizzy appeared at the door again. She grabbed him by the chest of his coat and yanked him inside surprisingly hard. He stumbled inside after she let go of him and closed the door.

After getting his feet again, he slowly turned his head. "Dizzy, what's the matter?"

She had her back to the door, leaning on it, as if bracing it. "That's the woman who pushed me!"

"Pushed you? I thought you fell."

"She pushed me and I fell," she said to him.

He narrowed his eyes then. "That's something you didn't tell me."

"I didn't think she would follow me."

He narrowed his eyes as he watched her, how she stood against the door, her hands bunched to her chest. He not only saw her fear, he felt it. "Is she after you? Did she attack you because you're a Gear?"

She nodded timidly.

He felt a low growl rumble within his throat then.

That rage. That rage he began to feel earlier hit him, and it hit him fast. But this time, it was for a cause. He hadn't felt it in so long, but it was instinctive and so were his actions. He barely gave any thought, and as soon as he knew it, his body was acting. He went straight for the mantle, and grabbed the white object above it, going on his toes to reach it. He immediately began to unwrap it, swinging it in a circle after he freed the end. The cloth unraveled, exposing a long red blade, then an odd black and red diamond-shaped core, then a long handle and a forked hilt. After years of shameful concealment, Thunderseal was finally free from its shroud.

Ky tightened his grip around the red handle, and went for the door.

"Ky? Where are you going?" she asked as he began to twist the knob. He didn't answer her though, he was too focused on getting rid of this woman before she got the chance to come near Dizzy.

He ran towards the woman nearing the cabin and skidded to a stop, blocking her path, becoming the only barrier between her and Dizzy. She didn't look like much of a match. He could kill her—if it weren't another sin to try to cleanse himself of.

"Stop right there!" he shouted at the woman.

The woman stopped a few paces from him at his command. She placed a hand upon her hip and passed him a devious little grin. "What do you think you're gonna do with that big sword, huh?"

"Kill you if you take another step further," he growled. "What do you want from Dizzy?"

"A man who gets straight to the point. Ooh, and he's got an accent. Kind of sexy." She placed a finger to her crimson lips.

"Shut up," he snarled. "Answer my question!"

She passed him that same little smirk. "This is only between me and that ugly beast. Now why don't you step aside and let me deal with her? I saw that beast from behind the door. Don't bother hiding her."

Ky looked over his shoulder towards the door, then pulled his head forward again, returning his eyes on the woman in red. "You want Dizzy? You're going to have to go through me first!"

The woman laughed. "Don't play hero with me. This is only between me and her. This doesn't involve you, so why don't you step aside before you get hurt."

"No!" he growled. "This does involve me. Now. Like I said, if you want her, you'll have to get past me first."

The woman placed her hand upon her chest, and sighed, while Ky watched the frost escape from her breath. "If you insist." She then raised her guitar over her head, and lunged at him. She swung the instrument down on him, slamming it right across the head, making Ky stumble backwards, struggling to keep his balance.

The whole ordeal caught him by surprise. He wasn't even expecting her to attack him, but she did. It left him dazed with a sharp pain writhing where she hit him. His vision wavered for a few moments and he blinked until it began to subside. Even his hearing had numbed, but he still heard the woman's muffled laughter.

"That's what you get for standing in my way!"

"Leave him alone!"

It was Dizzy's voice. He quickly picked his head up to see her fly out the door. She halted a step or two from the woman, and threw her arms out, seeming as if she shoved the woman back, sending her flying a good few feet away. But once his jarred brain gathered what was going on, he noticed that she never put her hands on the woman. She had used her powers to send her back. What a feat.

He watched a moment past his wavering vision as the woman began to pick herself up, meanwhile Dizzy floated—actually floated—towards her, mere inches from the ground. He blinked trying to clear his vision. "Dizzy . . ."

She didn't turn her attention to him and moved closer but kept out of arm's range. She placed her feet on the solid ground again, placing her weight into her good leg. She spread her fingers while she lifted her arms from her sides, as if she were protecting him.

Was she?

He rubbed at the soreness at the side of his head.

"Leave me alone!" Dizzy snapped at the woman. "Leave us alone!"

That mocking laughter of the woman hit his partially muffled ears again. "There's an us now?" She laughed again.

"Just go away and leave us alone. What do you want from me?"

"I just want to have a little fun teasing you and torturing you. Haven't you done that before? Maybe you should ask him." She turned her head towards Ky, the two making eye contact. "He looks like he knows about that sort of thing. He's got those eyes." He watched a grin slip across her lips.

"Who are you?" he growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Leave him alone!" Dizzy said. "He wouldn't do anything you would. He's not like you."

His conscience felt like it was squeezing his brain. Dizzy was defending him, defending a person who had indeed harmed people just for the sheer thrill of it. Dizzy didn't have a clue about the secrets he held within him. And it felt wrong.

He pulled his lips back into a sneer, then charged forward and straight for the woman in red. He began to raise Thunderseal, with sparks riding along its edge. He ignored the heat building on the palm of his hand and focused on the woman. She raised her eyes past the brim of her hat as he lunged at her. When he slashed his blade, she shielded herself with the body of the guitar. His arm was lightly jarred at the force of his blade hitting her guitar. The sensation ran up his arm, even feeling it down in his bones. He slashed his blade again and again, while the woman held up her defense against him. After his third failed slash, he raised a foot and aimed a kick just over the body of the guitar. This time, he hit his mark, with his boot striking her face.

She stumbled backwards, holding her face. He readied himself for another strike but Dizzy's voice halted him before he could.

"Stop it! Stop it!"

He turned his head over his shoulder to look at her, the Gear in him heeding to her command.

Then, he watched as her soft red eyes widened and her mouth fell agape. He saw her green wing twitch. She wrapped her arms around herself, her knees closing in on one another. She ducked her head as she assumed the strange position, her body beginning to shake. A gasp escaped her mouth before she commanded, "Ky, get down!"

There was no hesitation. He dropped straight to the ground on his stomach, with one hand still gripping Thunderseal close by his side. A few seconds after he hit the ground, he heard her scream. He didn't get up, though, no matter how badly that scream of hers urged him to. He felt a powerful energy cross over him, like an angel of death. He kept his head ducked.

He then heard the woman in red scream, and her body collide into the snow. He laid there a few seconds more, his ears burning from the silence around him. But then energy was gone, giving him the suggestion that it was all over.

He picked his head up and saw Dizzy on the ground. He immediately scurried to his feet and knelt by her side. Thankfully, though, her eyes were open. Perhaps she just had been knocked off her feet. "Dizzy?"

She turned those beautiful red eyes to him. "I couldn't hold back. She was going to attack you."

"Thank you, Dizzy," he whispered, then picked his head up. At the mention of the woman in red, he saw her picking herself up from the attack. She looked like she had just been hit by car, the wind knocked out of her, her hair a bit tasseled, with a few small tears in her barely-there clothing. She was holding her side. Maybe she got a few broken ribs.

Good.

"I'll deal with her now," he said, and stood up. He stormed over to the woman, his hand wrapped around his sword tightly. She was so dazed, she barely noticed him by the time he neared her. Just as she looked up, he threw his free hand out and grabbed her roughly by the throat. She began choking as he began to pull her away. "You have a lot of explaining to do." He dragged her across the snow, her feet barely keeping her up with her.

He pulled her by the stream where he hurled her into the icy water. He watched how her body slammed into it, throwing icy water into the air. He stood on the bank, watching her sit up, her knees in the air. Her glance soon turned to him, cursing, "Ugh. You bastard!"

It only made him chuckle as he looked down on the water. He brought the tip of his sword to it, the tip raised an inch from the water. He swirled the blade over the water, feeling the heat, aching to let the electricity riseand flow into the water. He looked down into it with an emotionless face. "Did you know water is a conductor of electricity?"

"You wouldn't."

He then grinned, his lips sadistic and hungry.He continue to swirl the tip of the blade above the water, teasing her with the idea. "Oh, I would, after what you did to Dizzy and I. Actually, I could care less what you do to me. I can withstand your attacks. But Dizzy? That's where you cross the line. A nice girl like her doesn't need anymore grief. God punishes those who sin. Think of this as the hand of God." He then felt heat burn into his hand as the electricity jumped from the sword and into the water, quickly spreading like a hungry swarm, straight to the woman in red, as if the magic could sense her evil.

She screamed as the water was electrified with his magic and attacked her body. The moment she struggled to get to her feet, she flopped back down like a fish, throwing water and ice about. She soon laid in the water, becoming motionless with her face just barely getting a taste of the cold air. His face was emotionless as before, watching the electricity fade out as it lost the touch of its master.

And with that, he returned to Dizzy.