Disclaimer: See previous chapter

Chap. 12

"What is this place?"

"Ky Kiske. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"Ah. I go by the name of Crow. And as for the first question, you are quite famous. Not to mention your data was needed for the attack drones I made."

"That was you?"

"Hey, don't frown. You should be flattered. But in any event, those were just for testing. This one here, however... will take my work to the next level."

"No! That...!"

"Not exactly. It is a duplicate, vastly more advanced than those drones I made of you. It's not an exact copy, but I'd say it's pretty close."

"Why...? Why would you create such a thing?"

"Why not? To be able to create such a creature, to display such sheer genius, it must be shared with the world, don't you think?"

"Such a creature would destroy the world. It may even create another war. Many innocent lives would be lost."

Acceptable losses in the name of science.

No! That is unacceptable!

"Well then, there's not much you can do about it. But your timing is good. You can help test out its capabilities. Oh, and by the way, its designation is called Vengeance now. Have fun."

Months ago, Ky had received a report of strange activity in a distant area. Deciding to investigate, what he discovered was far past what he had expected to find. It turned out to be a hidden laboratory, the very facility that had been producing robotic replicas of him. But even worse, he had discovered that this Raven character had created a duplicate of the Commander Gear, Justice.

As the demented scientist had mentioned, even though it wasn't the same strength, it was extremely powerful. Too powerful, as he had learned the hard way, battling the creature up to the forest on the surface of where the laboratory had been hidden. During the battle, Ky had been caught by one of Justice's, or rather Vengeance's, fire-bombs and while Ky was engulfed in the flames, the gear razed her talons across his chest, tearing through his already burning uniform and wounding him. And if that wasn't enough, when Ky went into retreat, Vengeance unleashed her energy cannon attack, annihilating the whole area.

It was nothing short of a miracle that Ky was both alive and in one piece...

"Target acquired." Vengeance spoke as she narrowed her eyes at Ky. "Termination commencing."

Despite her size and armor, Vengeance rushed at Ky with blinding speed, lashing out with her black talons. On instinct, Ky brought up his sword in defense, but the force of the attack nearly hurled Ky back toward the entrance. Stifling a groan of pain as he kept to his feet, Ky rolled forward and slid on the ground, kicking at Vengeance's leg. Then as the gear staggered back (very slightly), Ky lashed out with his sword, sweeping at the armored legs of the gear.

But the sword blow had failed to connect as Vengeance's tail snapped forward and blocked it. And that wasn't the end of it as the same tail snaked down to Ky's arm and wrapped around it. Before Ky could pull away (or try to), Vengeance pulled first, flinging the officer to the other end of the room. Ky soared through the air and across, rolling badly as he hit the ground. The young officer rose up immediately (but not as quickly) and began readying for another attack.

"I don't have time for this. Grand Viper!"

Ky's attention shifted to Sol, who burst at Vengeance in a trail of fire. Nearing the gear, Sol kicked off the ground, launching himself upward and with the hilt of Fuuenken ready to smash into Vengeance's head. But in the last instant, the Commander-Gear tilted her head back, with the flame just stretching overhead as Sol soared on past. But the bounty hunter wasn't finished quite yet. Finding himself flying toward a wall, he twisted his body about, causing his feet to slam against it and then kicking off right afterward. Fuuenken still ablaze, Sol slashed down on Vengeance.

And only managed to raze a few locks of hair...

Using her boosters, Vengeance had shot away from Sol before his attack had connected, although it still came close. As Sol landed from his failed attack, Vengeance reversed course, now sliding across the ground toward Sol, crossing her arms as she did. Sol saw her only as a blur when Vengeance lashed out, backhanding him with both her clawed hands and using lighting magic to enhance the attack. Sol brought up his broad sword in defense, but was still struck by the electricity and staggered back. Pressing on, Vengeance reared her claw back and was about to bring it down for another slash.

...only to held back by a metal chain...

From afar, Axl had latched the chain of his kurusi-gama around Vengeance's arm before the Commander-Gear could strike. Turning her head in annoyance, Vengeance pulled sharply on the chain, taking Axl with it. The Britian allowed himself to fly through the air and wheeled about to bring his feet forward, landing both feet of Vengeance and causing her to stumble forward slightly. Axl then kicked off, just before she swiped at him and he landed a distance away. Seeing Vengeance distracted, Sol quickly called forth the power of his Fuuenken once again.

"Gun Flame!"

Slamming the flat sword into the ground, Sol sent forth a blaze of fire on the ground that raced toward Vengeance. The gear was unable to avoid the oncoming attack and was soon engulfed in it. However, that made little difference as Vengeance simply stood in the midst the raging flames, completely unaffected. Sol growled in annoyance, but rushed toward the Commander-Gear, launching himself into the air knee-first. Vengeance moved first, however, intercepting him in mid-air with a clothesline.

"Gh!"

Hitting the ground hard, Sol grumbled as he rose, unaware that Vengeance was moving upon him, her hand straightening forward, and forming into a long blade. Rearing her arm back, the Commander-Gear prepared to strike when her eyes shifted to the side and suddenly she dashed away, a moment before a blade of electricity slashed from the side where her head was. Sol managed to look up and grumbled when he realized what had just happened.

"I didn't ask for your help."

Ky didn't turn his gaze away from Vengeance, but he answered. "I owed you one from long ago. And I repay my debts, even to a guy like you."

"Heh..."

Their little reprieve was cut short when they sensed a build-up of magical energy. Both focused on Vengeance who was crouching down. It wasn't until she rose up again when Ky realized the danger. They all did in fact, for when Vengeance lifted upright; her shoulder armor had been opened, showing two surges of intense energy.

"GET DOWN!"

The next moment was nothing else but a blinding light, a terrible screeching noise and the crumbling of material being vaporized. When the light cleared away, Ky lifted his arms away from his face and looked up and was astonished by what he saw. The gear's blaster attack had completely vaporized the entire wall behind them. And not just the wall either. The entire section of the facility behind them had been blown clean to the outside, exposing it in a path of rubble and debris.

The shock on the young man's face was clear. Even though had been caught in this attack before, to see its effects were a terrifying sight. Turning to the source, Ky readied himself only to wince when he realized that the energy attack had scorched his back. It didn't feel too bad, but it would be enough to slow him down a bit; a luxury he couldn't afford in this fight.

Remembering his comrades, Ky looked about himself. From the far side, he could see Sol rising up from the ground. From the looks of it, the bounty hunter was holding his right arm, which was covered with scorch marks. 'So I'm not the only one who's hurt.' Looking further, he managed to see Axl on the ground further off, unconscious. Bits of debris were all over him and Ky couldn't tell if he was just knocked out or worse. Either way, the situation was bad. Both he and Sol were injured and Axl was knocked out.

And they still had to deal with Vengeance...

The said gear stood in the midst of the destruction, eyes glowing ominously as she looked upon the two remaining combatants. Yet she made no move to engage them and instead tilted her head up slightly. Ky's eyes narrowed and then widened as he realized that she was looking past them. Turning back (a stifling the pain he felt in doing so), Ky saw another figure approach, an all-too familiar blood-red scythe in its grip.

Testament...

Strangely enough, Ky didn't seem too surprised. From what he knew about Justice, the Commander-Gear could control other gears and Vengeance apparently had the same ability as well, a fact that Ky realized when he fought him outside the facility. Testament was no exception from the control, as was shown in the first Sacred Order tournament when he was used to try to revive Justice from the seal that imprisoned her. That control could have explained his protectiveness of Dizzy, but Ky didn't believe so.

In any case, the situation was worse. Not only would he be facing Vengeance, but Testament as well. Ky was unsure how much the black gear had recovered from their earlier scuffle, but if he was here, then he must have healed enough to resume fighting. Looking back at Vengeance, Ky gripped hard on Fuuraiken. This would be a terrible battle, no doubt. But Vengeance had to be stopped, no matter what. The sword sparked in response to his thoughts and Ky held his sword up, waiting to see which one of the two would move first. It would be difficult, since both gears were on opposite sides of him.

Until Sol moved over and stood behind him...

Ky blinked but said nothing as the bounty hunter moved to cover his back, facing Vengeance. He knew they would have to work together to survive this, but somehow it felt a little surreal. Granted, it wasn't the first time they had to work together, but it was the first time that Sol seemed to acknowledge that they had to work together.

"Don't get the wrong idea." Sol grumbled, as if reading his thoughts. "I just don't have time to waste on both of them."

Oddly enough, Ky felt a slight grin form on his lips. "Of course. No sense in wasting time."

Sol glanced back at the officer briefly, a bit surprised by the remark. With a grin of his own, Sol turned back to face Vengeance. The grin disappeared and was replaced by a determined scowl. From behind, Ky could feel the heat of the Fuuenken rising and a few bursts of fire puffing forth, responding to Sol just as Fuuraiken responded to Ky. Fire and lightning spat on the ground beneath the two as they stared at their opponents, who stared back at them with cold eyes.

"Heaven...or hell..." Ky whispered.

Sol grinned ferally. "Let's rock."