Thievery Of The Sword

Chapter 7: Comrades In Arms

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Characters from the Guilty Gear series are the rightful property of Arc System Works.

Note: Well this is where Order-Sol's story mode ended. The remainder of this story is now coming from my own imagination as far as what Sol might have possibly been up to after he deserts from the Order until GGTML.

:xXx:

"That weapon, Sol...the Fire Seal." Kliff's voice shown slight surprise, but his eyes shown with an understanding. As if he knew a day like this might come.

"Sorry, old man...unfortunately..." Sol turned away from Kliff. He knew that Kliff and him might be good friends, but there was a fine line to tread when said friend steals something as precious as what Sol had. Kliff stroked his beard for a moment.

"It's fine. I'll allow you to take the Fire Seal, Sol, but on one condition..." Kliff took the Dragon Slayer in two hands. Sol had a wry smile upon his lips.

"I can already guess. But tell me why, old man...you sound as if you were planning to give me this sword." Sol looked directly at Kliff now, his eyes searching the Commander's own. Kliff grinned.

"Sharp as always, Sol. Indeed, I planned to give you the Fire Seal eventually. It will be sooner than I expected was all. Perhaps that's why I felt the need to take a stroll...to meet up with you here after your desertion from the Order. To test you and your new weapon." Kliff gathered ki into his core, his body growing taller. The once pale gray hair on his head became silver, growing longer and wilder on his head. His face no longer had a beard, the wrinkles disappearing to form a younger and livelier face. This was the young Kliff known from some sixty years ago, at his prime. The clothing may have barely fit over his frame, which was bulging with muscles, but it did not detract from his overall appearance as the legendary figure in history he already was.

"The magic of Ki is truly something...to be able to regain your youth, even if for but a moment..." Sol pondered aloud. He knew that Kliff was going to be quite strained once he reverted back to his original form, but for now he was the younger and faster man of the past. Which meant a tough fight for Sol. Yet he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I have to put more effort this time, Sol. Your strength warrants such, my friend." Kliff swung the Dragon Slayer not only with one arm, but it was blazing fast as well. It was a side swipe, aimed at Sol's neck. Sol brought the Fire Seal up and braced his arm against it as the two weapons impacted. Kliff and Sol were both gritting their teeth. Sol's muscles bulged and flexed as he kept the strong attack at bay, his feet sliding in the dirt though he refused to be moved off his feet. Much as the other spar at the HQ, Sol's uniform ripped at some areas due to his immense brawn, muscles flexing against the tight material.

"That's pretty good...my arm is actually shaking." Sol said, a small smirk on his face. Regardless of the strong attack from the much bigger sword, the weapon of the Outrage set held up magnificently against it. Kliff was also smirking.

"Weapons of the Outrage set are amazingly resilient. Despite being smaller than your previous weapons, it holds together even against the crushing force the Dragon Slayer is capable of...and you, Sol...with the strength you possess..." Kliff retracted the weapon and spun around, sending the blade to Sol's unarmed side. Sol had been thrown off balance due to pushing against the Dragon Slayer initially, but got his footing just in time to once again block the massive blade with the Fire Seal single handed.

"Tough bastard..." Sol muttered. He pushed the Dragon Slayer away to give him a moment to close the distance between them, the Fire Seal being swung out in a wide arc. Kliff intercepted the rectangular blade with the Dragon Slayer's handle, spinning the weapon to entrap Sol as Kliff grabbed hold of his arm and drew him in close for mighty spear kick aimed into Sol's chest. Sol was able to anticipate it and went with the momentum to spin past the kick and try and land his empty fist in Kliff's face. Kliff manipulated the Dragon Slayer expertly as always, using the handle to defend and offset Sol's own offense with his own as the blade came spinning towards the deserting Knight. Sol crouched under the attack and was ready to rush in again when Kliff blasted him with a ki wave from his palm. The Fire Seal was brought up to defend just in time, but Sol was once again put at an ineffective distance. He tried to close the distance a few more times, but Kliff fought with the Dragon Slayer more efficiently in his youthful appearance, halting all of Sol's attacks that he tried to get in. Deciding to test something, Sol conjured up the ranged attack that he used on Ky.

"Gun Flame!" The words left Sol's mouth as the first thought that came to mind and letting the trail of fire come at Kliff. Kliff was about to smite it with a wide fanning swing of the Dragon Slayer, only to see Sol tear right through the flames himself as he used it as cover to advance inward towards Kliff at tremendous speeds that wasn't expected. Kliff defended but was left skidding back as Sol used a shoulder tackle to open the other man's stance, his empty hand grabbing at Kliff's uniform to draw him in. Kliff used his empty hand to halt Sol's equipped arm as the Fire Seal was swung forward with vicious speed. The two were in a deadlock as Kliff tried the same tactic and swung Dragon Slayer forward, only to be stopped by Sol's arm meeting his own as his grip left Kliff's garb. Both were gritting their teeth as they strained against the other, spittle leaving their mouths through bared teeth. Kliff knew that Sol would outlast him though, and decided to fall back and use Sol's momentum against him. Sol was sent tumbling as Kliff used his foot to kick Sol off his downed form so he couldn't be impeded as he made his way back to a standing position. Sol was sailing through the air, flipping himself upright and performed a backwards air dash to escape Kliff's two handed thrust of the Dragon Slayer and landed safely in a low crouch before rising to a stand. Kliff's breathing was becoming ragged, and he felt that he wouldn't be able to maintain his youthful appearance much longer. Sol appeared to be hardly winded.

"Take this!" Kliff decided to pull off one of his most powerful attacks before reverting back to his normal aged form, drawing the Dragon Slayer back briefly before thrusting it forward and piercing the ground deeply, sending spikes of energy that looked like the sharp teeth of a dragon towards Sol. Sol found it difficult to defend the powerful attack head on, drawing forth a defensive barrier that allowed him to be pushed outward from the destructive energy as it cracked the ground in several places. Sol rushed in with his tremendous speed once more to close the distance quickly, but came to a halt when he noticed Kliff's eyes had gone white, his skin becoming a bit paler and more wrinkled. His stature shrunk back to the old man Sol was familiar with, breathing in and out heavily from his exertions. Sol decided to hold off pressing his attack to let Kliff regain his wind again. Kliff struggled to stay up right, and the Dragon Slayer fell from his grip. It hadn't impacted the ground, though, Sol there to take the handle and ease the weapon across his shoulder as his free arm went to help Kliff.

"Easy, old man. You really strained yourself pulling off a stunt like that." Sol said, assisting Kliff towards a flat rock to sit himself. Sol placed the Dragon Slayer by the old man's side. Kliff looked up at him. His eyes met with Sol, and he gave a nod of thanks. Sol had let him be and strode back to the Fire Seal, which he had planted in the ground the moment he realized Kliff was about to topple over.

"Sorry...that was a technique I've been working on to fight Justice with the same strength I had in my youth, but I am still working on making it last longer. Exerts me a lot though..." Kliff's breathing became normal and calm again.

"So I noticed." Sol said as he took the Fire Seal out of the ground.

"Sol, sorry I couldn't fight you longer...still I'm very satisfied by your display of strength as always...the Knights of the Sacred Order need you...many Knights will not understand, Ky probably most of all at this point...but to end this war once and for all, your service is still required." Kliff stared at Sol. Sol sighed.

"Old man, even if that's the case...I can't remain here as a part of them...nor do I want to. Sorry, but that's how I feel." Sol looked away from him.

"Your searching for something, Sol. I don't know what it is, but I do understand that much. I'm sure you will find it somehow...go, Sol. But please...never forget." Kliff's gaze went to the sky, becoming aglow with the light of the sun piercing through the darkness as it crept over the horizon. Sol, too, began to look at the sunrise.

"You will be relentlessly hunted by the Knights and Bounty Hunters amongst others for your desertion in the near future, but regardless...even though you may no longer hold a place within the ranks of the Sacred Order, you are still one of my men...and a part of my family." Kliff leaned back further against the rock as he continued to watch the sun peeked just a bit further up.

"Yeah." Sol affirmed, beginning to walk away from Kliff, the Fire Seal over his shoulder.

"Sol, I look forward to seeing you again, in a world where this war is nothing more than a memory." Kliff's stood up from the rock and took hold of the Dragon Slayer. The two men looked back at each other one more time.

"Me too." Sol nodded, before making his way through the mountains and out of Kliff's sight. An unspoken promise between them. This war...it would end. It had to.

:xXx:

Sol had made his way well out of the mountains. He knew that he would have to trek through the wilderness and sneak his way into a city. He decided to keep his Knight garbs on for the time being, since he was thinking on what Kliff had said to him.

'I may no longer be a Knight, but I do know that I've decided to continue to fight the Gears, and that means to also stop Justice. I can't keep this uniform on, but there's some things on it I want to save for when I do get a change of clothes. Old man...I won't forget. But, I'll be doing things my way from now on, is all. I will put an end to this stupid war between the Humans and the Gears!' Sol had decided to stow away on another train line once he came upon some train tracks in the forest. It was a regular civilian owned train that Sol found out was heading towards New York. It would be a long way to go, but it would definitely get him to a city that was far away from a military installation and he could sneak among the crowds.

Though far from being as prosperous in this bleak future, New York was still a decent sized outpost for civilians since the city had been liberated by the Order about fifteen years prior. Gears usually didn't attack a place liberated, but some stragglers often were stopped by a joint force effort of the Knights and Zeppian military. The Assassin's Guild had once also been a part of this joint force before stepping further out of the picture of the war as it continued to rage on. While no true military installation was present like an Order HQ or Zepp Base, there were a few miniature outposts out there , but guarded outside the perimeter of the actual city itself. But it was a far cry compared to the security of both Human military's actual bases.

This meant some civilians could prosper somewhat again during these hard times and go back from being caught up in the large war as it went on elsewhere. Sol had been sure to sneak out of the train, using his uniform as a disguise since there were a couple of Knights hanging around and chatting it up with civilians as the exited the train. To the people, Sol was just another face, even to the Knights for it wasn't uncommon for some Knights to take leave during the war efforts to get some much needed relaxation time by coordinating it well in advance so that another Knight could take the other one's place in the fight against the Gears. The Fire Seal was covered in a thick cloth Sol had stolen aboard the train. He made his way at a casual pace to avert further suspicion, but knew it wouldn't be much longer before word got spread so far out about what he had done. He hoped to get a change of clothing while he was at it to make himself a bit more unrecognizable from the Knights.

:xXx:

Sol had gained further updated knowledge on the layout of the city by imprinting a map in his head. He made a quick detour to a cheap but decent store of the clothing line chain called RIOT. It was a brand that Sol had grown attached to in his life as a Gear, for the clothing style just always seemed to be up his alley as far as the trends were concerned.

"Hello sir, welcome to RIOT. Is there anything in particular your looking for?" One of the Sales Associates caught his attention with a bright smile on her face. She only saw another Knight on leave when she addressed him. It also told him word probably hadn't spread too far yet about him. This was likely since the Order would want to keep the theft of a weapon of the Outrage in house as much as possible, but Sol wagered it only a matter of time before they might get Bounty Hunters in the mix. Sol would have to enjoy his brief walk out in the open for only a little while.

"Nah, just browsing...you got an ATM in this store?" Sol said as he craned his head about, his eyes zeroing in on the fitting rooms near the back right side of the store. An ATM would help with his hefty sum of money he had pocketed in many secret accounts to confuse the Order's payroll so they couldn't trace anything back to himself. It allowed him to not have to resort to being so out in the public just to obtain another card from a bank, further keeping him on the down low.

"Yes we do, sir. There is one over at the left back corner of the store. Mostly opposite of fitting room, sir." She said. Sol nodded.

"Thanks." He said curtly and went to browse in the section for men's clothing. Deciding he didn't want the very flowing clothes like his Knight uniform or as bright white, Sol picked out a pair of beige colored demin jeans that looked like they wouldn't be as tight and constricting as the pants of his uniform. He was glad to see that these jeans had allowed for dual belt loops, meaning he could still wear his belt with the etched word FREE on the surface of the large metal buckle. It would be one of the ways he kept his promise to Kliff, to maintain just the barest amount to still hold the Knight belt upon his waist. Looking around the stalls more, Sol caught sight of a black sleeveless shirt and two different sets of long black fingerless gloves. Sol took them to the fitting room and tried out what would hopefully be his new duds. Stripping out of his uniform, Sol placed the jeans on first and was relieved that they were not nearly so tight as the pants of his Knight uniform.

"Let's see..." Sol muttered to himself and placed the black shirt on next, tucking it into the jeans. He placed the gloves on next, noticing that he could attach something on the back of the outer ones he got and so decided to remove the metal plating on the back of his smaller white gloves that was part of his Knight getup and strapped them on his new black ones. Approving of the look in the mirror so far, Sol noticed he still had quite a bit of scars peeking out of his black shirt. Sol pondered about keeping his vest and twisted the large golden buttons that kept it on the mantle and the coat end of his knight uniform. Not liking the whole thing on, Sol was able to safely remove the top half portion of the vest from the rest of it by undoing the large buttons completely. Sol found himself satisfied with the look overall, but the red sash cloth of his belt he felt was too long now that he was not in such long clothes.

:xXx:

Sol walked out of the store, still in his Knight uniform, a plastic bag with his purchased clothing in hand. He made his way to one of the dark alleys on the side of the streets, glad that not too many people were milling about in the area he was currently in. Sol had tossed his uniform away, but kept a few things that he was able to modify himself through a bit of effort to still maintain an image he felt that would show to Kliff the promise he made while still expressing the person Sol was himself. He knew to the Knights like Ky, it would likely be a mockery, but Sol could care less. Sol had added a few leather straps on his person just to add a little bit extra to the beige jeans, and one lone strap over his right bicep just for the hell of it. Still he admitted it helped add some uniformity to the double leather straps of his limiter and his belt, the buckle attached with a shorter piece of cloth Sol had cut from his original one on his Knight uniform, using the Fire Seal to do it. He was able to modify it with several inter-lapping leather belts to make up the black border frame that other Knights had on their own but added a bit of a unique touch to it.

'Not bad...and so much more comfortable than those damn dresses they call uniforms. Now these are clothes I can get used to!' Sol had taken the wrapped up Fire Seal in hand after draping a makeshift cloak around his head and shoulders. It had been cut from the extra fabric Sol had taken to cover the Fire Seal in the first place. It would add a bit more protection from easily getting recognized again. But to make extra sure, Sol took the less crowded route. He had made his way past what had once been one of New York's greatest monuments: The Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, it had not survived the war either and was now broken apart into pieces. The head ended up not too far from the dented railing that made up the once popular viewing point for the statue itself. Sol narrowed his eyes, his senses picking up on hostiles nearby. It wasn't the feeling of Knights or the Zeppian Soldiers though, but still a dangerous force. Sol could feel them slinking closer towards his back, not realizing Sol himself was already aware. Sol went towards the shattered head of the Statue of Liberty, gazing at the empty eyes on it's stone face.

"Haven't you got eyes in your head? The fuck do you want..." Sol turned, seeing five figures garbed similarly to himself in cloaks. He grumbled, realizing who these people were, but wondered if they sought him due to having taken the Fire Seal or not.

"Well now...it seems we couldn't get the element of surprise on you. I didn't think you were the one we sought anyway, but I wanted to be sure." The figure said.

"Why is some of the Assassin's Guild out here? Not like you've been all that active with the Crusades going on." Sol said curtly. He may have been out of the loop a bit from his time fighting as a Knight on the front lines, but he was pretty sure the Assassin's Guild was congregated in their ancestral home bases located primarily in European countries. The place known only as Nirvana was where the Leader of the Assassin's Guild resided with his top most cohorts. So why were some in A-Country?

"That's none of your business. Just be glad we've bigger things to take care of and so your life is spared...we've wasted too much time anyway. Move out!" The Assassins ran off. Sol kept his gaze to them.

'Something is up...and it'd be heavy if I got involved...fuck, though. Why'd they have to go off towards where I was already headed? Annoying, but...guess what happens happens. I'll avoid it if able, but if I got to crack some skulls too...so be it.'

:ToBeContinued: