"Ky? Ky?"

The ruins that had once been the academy where Ky had trained most of his young life until he mastered his art stuck out of the ground like grave markers. The walls stuck out like jagged shards and nearby, there was the crumbling remains of the building, emptied and gutted. He could still see the stain glass, dirtied and broken now. Most of it had fallen into the ground and buried itself there as if in hiding. Some parts of the walls laid on the ground like platforms. It was overrun by weeds and vines that climbed over the remains. There was one piece of rock that was cracked in half with vines crawling out of it like worms from the body of a dead animal.

Both weeds and hard stone were under his feet as he stared across the grass field where long range knights challenged themselves with targets in the distance. There were no targets set up now, just the view of a field of green grass. It was quiet and still. No knight was ready to prove his greatest potential to the elders and Masters. It was just ruins now, dead since the end of the war, perhaps longer. He hadn't seen it since he was proven he was ready to fight and beyond. His knighthood was realized fast.

"Ky?"

He blinked and turned his head to Dizzy beside him. He stared at her face almost dumbly at first, then brought himself back. "I'm sorry, what?"

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He blinked again. "Nothing. I was wandering."

"Oh, I see." She looked around the area. "What happened here?"

He looked at her then turned away with his hands behind his back. "Gears, no doubt." He walked away, leaving her to stand there in the space where he used to practice with his fellow knights in training and the Masters. She watched him as he walked through the grasses, maneuvering through the ruins. He stepped on some broken stained glass with it crunching under his boots.

He walked around one piece of rubble and ran his hand across it. He stared at it as if it was a dead but beautiful beast. He remembered his fellow students. Perhaps this piece had been apart of the halls. There was a pillar laying on the ground nearby. He touched it, too.

Had men been killed here?

His eyes scanned the area but he didn't see any markers, only stone ruins.

"Ky! Ky!"

Dizzy ran to him, but not quite able to pull him out of his world. "Ky!"

"Yes, Dizzy?" He stared forward.

She went silent as she watched him.

Ky felt like he was in a trance, standing in the ruins. He was in the heart of it. Before, he only looked at the surface and walked away with a sigh. Now it was different. It was uglier.

Dizzy, with her head ducked, walked around the ruin and sat down on it. She stared down on the ground. "Ky? Do you hate me?"

Ky suddenly jumped out of his daydreaming and thoughts of the past and snapped himself awake. It felt like he had been shocked all through his body when he heard those words come from her. "What? What made you think that?"

"The Gears." She swung her legs while she looked down.

He let a moment of silence pass before he said, "No. I don't hate you. You're not like them."

"So what makes me so different?" She ran a hand across one of her wings tenderly.

"You're human," he said.

She stared at him. "You're very strange."

After that, he turned his head and nudged the ground with his boot. A piece of rock rolled out from under it.

"I'm not, you know," she said. "You're lying. You see my wings and tail. And you saw what I can do. And what about the village? Did they tell you about me?"

"All of that doesn't matter," he mumbled.

"It doesn't?"

"I may be one of the few who sees past those wings and tail. I want to see you safe." He looked around, trying to break himself out of the conversation a moment. It was getting awkward. "So do you like it here?"

"I think it's pretty, but . . ."

"But what?" he said.

"You don't like it here," she said in a worried voice.

"Nonsense." he said.

"No. You have that look on your face."

"What look? Come on, Dizzy, let's keep going. Besides, this place isn't for me anymore. It's for you."

"But—"

"Dizzy, was taking you out of the grove and bringing you here in vain?" He stared into her innocent child-like eyes. She looked scared—of him. Was putting her through this too much?

She shook her head no to his question.

"Then why are we here?" he asked her.

She broke their stare and returned her eyes to the ground. She stayed that way a long moment. Ky didn't press her and stood there. He didn't know how long he stood there with her refusing to speak. He listened to the whistles of the bugs in the grass and the birds meantime.

Finally:

"I. . .you brought me here. . .to be safe."

"Yes. And?"

She briefly went quiet.

"This place was destroyed by Gears. I think. Was it?"

He was quiet, too.

"You brought me here to be safe," she said again. "You brought me here to be safe from the bounty hunters you talked about. It looks quiet. It's sunny and there's lots of interesting things." She turned her head about, glancing at the ruins, the field and a patch of woods in the distance. He remembered the woods was a fine place with a trail. Sometimes the knights in training used it to practice. Inside, there were lots of hiding spots to use as if they were hunting Gears. The long range knights had the better advantage, especially the archers. Ky had once jumped one from behind and won the game with a small group he commanded.

Further in, past a stream was a small village, but it was too far for them to notice the ruins. And they wouldn't care about this place anyhow. Ky had met its habitants years ago. They were fine people.

"What else?" he asked her.

"May I look around the ruins? In there?" She pointed to the main structure.

Ky stared at it. One side had been crushed.

He chewed on his lip nervously at her request. "I-It has lots of history—"

"Then no."

Ky jerked his shoulders. "No. You may. There's nothing left inside anyway. It's just a shell now. You could use it as shelter."

"Thank you," she said. Her eyes wandered again. "Will I be alone if I stay here?"

"I'm afraid you will," he said. "I cannot be here with you day and night. I have my obligations with the police force. But Dizzy—I will check in as much as I can. If you choose to stay here. Will you accept?"

She put a finger to her lip as she thought his offer over. "Umm, okay." She glanced around.

"I'll get something for you. Anything that would make your stay here pleasant. Just tell me. Tonight, I'll bring some things." He paused as he looked at her. "No, now. I want you comfortable before the day ends." He ran his fingers through his hair and let his finger nails dig in a little into his scalp. "I'll stay with you a little until tomorrow."

She smiled. "I'd like that."

Ky's heart thumped a moment. "Right. I'll go now. I'll see if you like it here."

She nodded.

He took a few steps back. "I'll be quick. I'll bring back a pillow or a blanket for you. Maybe some food if you're hungry." He took a few more steps before he turned and walked away. She didn't follow or call to him as he went. He tried not to look at the ruins, fearing it would bring back those thick thoughts of his past. . .but no, that always followed him. He couldn't fight it.

What if she started asking questions? Was he going to tell her the horrific tales of how he led the holy knights and killed Gears?

He sighed and slipped a thumb into his side pocket, and when he did, he felt something stiff inside. Curious, he dug his hand into it and pulled a piece of folded paper out of it. He looked it over and opened it. It was the report on the Gear. His eyes felt like ice when he looked at the words.

He folded it in half and ripped it down the middle. He ripped it over and over until it was in tiny pieces then threw it into the air.

He had found the Gear, but to hell with the bounty.

* * *

"That's bullshit."

"No. He said it was dead. He can't lie, he's a police officer."

Sol spat out the last of his cigarette as he looked at the man who had witnessed a certain young blonde police officer with a cloaked woman. Sol had no doubt who the described police officer was, but the woman with him didn't bring up any names or faces. But it didn't matter, he didn't care about women Ky took. She could have been running from the law while he was here. If he failed with the Gear, he might as well prove something.

So like him.

He knew damn well the Gear wasn't dead.

Rumor of it started in a piss-ant town in Germany when he first got warning. He had been sitting in a smoky, nearly empty tavern when he overheard a conversation between two men. He heard the word Gear and began listening to the strangers with his back to them.

"No one's gotten to it yet," one said. "Some haven't come back." He chuckled. "I'd love to get my hands on it, but hey, I got a wife and kids."

"I know a knight."

The other in sadistic disbelief: "No. . ."

"I do. A real hard-nose. He's got a pet falcon, too. He says he used to be—I don't know, something called a Master. He says it's a knight who mastered the art of magic and the holy order or what-not. They're also high-ranked. Most of them are trainers. Well, that's what he told me."

"You think he'll go after the Gear?"

"I told you he's retired. But I haven't shown him the reward. Look."

"Wow! One million world dollars! I'd chase after it with a stick!"

The other laughed. "I'll hold the funeral for you."

The two went on with their bantering until one stood and left. A few minutes after he did, so did Sol, but he didn't go straight to the door. He went to the table where the two had been talking and rudely scooped up the paper that had laid between the two. "Let me see that."

"Hey!"

Sol ignored the man and looked over the paper. It was the usual reward, but the fact that it was Gear-related pulled on his attention like a magnet. At the top, words in bold read: REWARD! ONE MILLION WORLD DOLLARS!

Sure, that would attract the daily idiot.

Then below:

Attention all bounty hunters or men and women brave enough to take a challenge. This reward has been issued to announce a Gear has been spotted in a grove. It has been labeled as extremely dangerous. It is up to you to find this Gear. Good luck.

"Gear," Sol muttered and slapped the paper back down on the table. The man's drink wobbled.

Sol's journey, not too shabby in his opinion, led him here in this dirt-village, only to find that brat of a blonde had found it. And he didn't killed it. What was his problem? He had been a knight and he wasn't going to kill it? Some new just cause? Sol couldn't wait to hear this one.

"I got a feeling who he was with," Sol muttered.

"Yeah? That girl?"

He nodded.

"Who?"

"Mind your own business."

The man shrunk back with his hands held out. Sol paid him no mind and glanced at the woods that had led into the rumored grove. It had been there, and another Gear (who wasn't too much of a fight; he was all mouth) but when he was there, it was empty. It was a disappointment not to get his hands dirty.

It proved it was Ky who took the Gear.

Now where was his next step? If he could track the origins here, he could track it again. And with Ky out there, it would be even more easier.