Thievery Of The Sword

Chapter 8: Lovely Lonely Lady

Written By Illuminet

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

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Sol made his way up towards the outskirts of the city. It was near desolate mid day thanks to people congregating in other areas for their places of work and play. It had started out slow, but Sol began to see signs of struggles here and there along his path. One hooded Assassin hung across the guard rail, having impacted it enough to break the already flimsy piece of metal. Sol wouldn't be surprised if the body fell into the water below sometime soon, where the man's blood flowed down like a crimson river.

'It'd be nice to see how this guy got killed exactly. Whoever did it...must be damn powerful. A renegade Assassin?' Sol pondered to himself. Every now and again, mainly after their so called spars, Slayer would sometimes have long casual talks with Sol. There had been random topics that would occur, though once Slayer had gotten into a conversation about some of the living conditions of the Assassin's Guild. Sol remembered hearing that not all Assassins were content with their lives in the Guild in this day and age, even with several being trained at very young and very adaptable ages. Slayer may no longer be Head of the Guild for a very long time, but even in supposed retirement, he knew well of the things gained and loss through time within the organization.

"Well...heavy..." Sol muttered as he looked on ahead as he walked further through the abandoned streets, seeing two more carcasses of the hooded Assassin members. One had been somehow tossed through several glass doors of a tall but derelict skyscraper. The other one was gutted through by something sharp several times and lay strewn on the sidewalk. Sol caught with sharp eyes something along the shattered remains of glass near the front door the first Assassin had been smashed through. He stepped up closer to examine it

"Hair...?" Sol took the long strand of hair from along the glass and brought it to his face to examine it more closely.

'It's texture is very soft...silky would be the word I'm looking for I guess...so it would seem the owner of this hair takes a lot of care in it...' He rubbed the strand of hair in between his thumb and index finger, then brought it up towards his face. As a Gear, Sol's own senses were on par or more than even most animals. Like other powers and abilities, Sol could turn these keener senses on or off with relative ease thanks to his limiter allowing him reign over his some of his Gear nature.

'Definitely a woman...crazy, considering how rare it is for women to go into combat, let alone perform this much violence. Must be a renegade Assassin for sure. These injuries...how the hell did she create them though...? Despite the cuts...no metal pierced their flesh...' Sol dropped the strand of hair and had examined the bodies as they were on solid ground to do so.

'However she cut down these two...could it be from one of those rituals to obtain the power from use of Forbidden Magic? It's true that many of the top Assassins apparently use power of Forbidden Magic to give them some outrageous abilities...' He made his way further up, where the shade from the buildings was casting long blots of darkness along the road. The positions of those shadows allowed Sol to know it was around 2 PM in the afternoon. He could sense someone out there, another living soul besides himself. Sol sniffed briefly, his sense of smell allowing him to sift through each scent roaming the air. He was able to detect it. The pleasant aroma of the woman who had killed the other men, her scent mixed with the blood of several others she had killed. Sol knew that she must have been quite skilled. He walked further along the street, seeing the last two dead men. One had his head severed from the rest of his body and lay in the middle of the road. The last had appeared to be smashed against the side of a building, head and right shoulder liquidated into sinew and blood.

Fist tightening around the Fire Seal, Sol turned swiftly upon feeling a shift in the air. His blade guarded as the lithe body of a woman garbed in a white robe came crashing against the blade's flat with her feet pushing down to attempt unbalancing Sol. Realizing he was barely moved, she had prepared a rather nasty surprise for him to contend with, blurs of gold streaking towards him. Grunting, Sol pushed her away before he became a pin cushion for her. He also hopped back for good measure, barely evading her precise attacks. Once the tip of her foot touched ground, she was already closing the distance with amazing speed.

'So that's it...her hair is the weapon...to be able to solidify it to such a state that it is hard and sharp enough to cut through flesh like a real blade...and she's fleet footed...bitch is tough, no doubt about it.' Halting her lightning offensive with a casual looking swipe of his blade, she took it in stride and twisted to evade the attack while craning her head to send a long trail of hair whipping down on his back. Sol surprised her with his own reflexes, twisting into his own momentum to evade her attack and bypass her small frame by sliding underneath her. It was like a dance had begun as she practically glided towards him after having landed, her hair blasting needle shaped projectiles of her own hair at him. Sol swung the Fire Seal in a quick flurry of strikes, knocking all the pins down on the ground. His empty hand grabbed hold of her cloak and ripping it from her shoulders. Her back was to him. Her hair formed into two blades like formations like scissors, snapping shut nearly around his neck. He thrust forward with the Fire Seal's pommel towards the junction of her hair, preventing the blade shaped hair from closing as he tossed aside her cloak and letting it fall to the ground. He grabbed her, his large hand clamping down on her slender neck as he bodily turned her to face him.

'This woman...' Stunning blue eyes met with mismatched eyes, one of crimson red and the other amber gold. Sol could admit that he had not seem many a fine specimen of femininity as this one, even having served side by side with female Knights. Although halted by her beauty, it had been just a moment that he put the thoughts aside as he realized those two strands of hair were shifting behind him and about to pierce his back. He came forward while pulling her off her feet to bring her closer, slamming his limiter against her forehead. Her concentration broken by the jarring strike, her hair went limp and fell against his shoulders. He released his hold and let her stumble back, falling on her rear. The pause in their small tussle allowed him to see the woman's appearance overall. She was dressed in a form fitting uniform of white that looked somewhat akin to a one piece bathing suit, but was made of much more durable leather and other material. Mostly covering this was another form fitting dress like uniform of two pieces that had a white trim along the bottom of each, one along the bottom of her top just under her bust while the other made it's way along the bottom her her skirt. Her arms were covered in fingerless black leather gloves, while her toned legs were bare to him, her feet sporting white running shoes with blue plating along the front of them. She was up in an instant, her stance tense and rigid. She was still planning on fighting.

"I ain't one of your Assassin pals." Sol pulled his own cloak free, allowing her to see his appearance fully as the cloak fell in a heap by his right leg as he still held a fistful of the material in his grasp.

"Doesn't matter. Your in the way." Her voice was soft and pleasant, but she definitely had a small accent, telling him that English was not her first language. If he had to narrow it down, she was probably Russian, or at least spoke it as her native tongue. She seemed to understand English well enough though. She zipped towards him with her fleet footwork, tucking her body in a roll to close in while he swung his blade in a wide arc to try and make her retreat instead. Sol growled.

"Is that so?" Sol still was able to retaliate once she got into his face and was mid way in cutting him with a swipe of her hair, his cloak taking the hit as it was cut cleanly into, one corner splitting off. Sol used the distraction as the rest of his cloak fell over her. She pulled it off quicker than he expected, but not quick enough for him to lunge forward as he reared his fist back. His fist would have met with her face, but she was able to guard as her hair wove a protective defensive wall in between them. His fist slammed into her hair, the force still enough to send her back as she did not expect such recoil and skidded to a stop. She tried to retaliate, but Sol used her slight distraction to his advantage and had already lunged forward while swinging his blade overhead. The Assassin was almost caught in the attack, but reacted as quickly as she had his last attack and guarded with her hair once more while skidding back forward. Though her guard held, she could feel the power in his strikes of which she highly doubted she could contend with much if he did actually land a solid hit.

"Wait." Sol didn't press his attack, his empty hand up as a gesture to stop. His eyes started to dart about the surroundings. The woman would have pressed the attack since he gave up his, but didn't. Though she hardly knew him, her trained eyes knew that his reactions and senses were definitely above average. It meant he felt danger from somewhere. She was also starting to feel something not quite right in the air. Sol had caught on first, noticing that the woman's shadow was not moving naturally, his attacks having pushed her out of the darkness that was looming over them in the shade of the tall building they had fought under. He stepped bodily forward as he swung his blade to make her take a defensive step back. A black drill shot up from where she had been standing just the moment prior. The woman's eyes narrowed.

"That...so you did come all the way out here, Zato!" The woman sounded slightly aggravated, her only real sign of emotion so far. Sol heard of that name before. She began scanning the ground, almost not catching as a black spear shaped spike shot out at her, forcing her to defend the attack. A man in tight fitting clothing of all black arose from where the attack came from, his shadow not touching the ground and instead spread around him like a fanning blade. Sol's eyes narrowed, knowing of this particular creation from Forbidden Magic. The Eddie. The man's blonde hair was long, though not nearly to the woman's own, red cloth secured around his eyes by a leather strap at it's center.

"My dear Millia...it would seem you've been a very naughty girl. Running from the guild...not what I would expect from one of my best and brightest." Zato said, his voice smooth as silk but did not hold any real warmth to it. Sol thought he detected a hint of Spanish accent in Zato's words but it was indeed very slight. Millia schooled her emotions in check. Zato seemed all to aware of the turmoil within her, though. A slight smirk crept it's way upon his lips. He was blind, but his other senses had honed to a greater capacity than most Humans.

"Then it seems you don't know me very well after all." Millia spoke, her tone cool. Zato released a slight chuckle.

"Now, now, my dear...I know you better than you know yourself after all. I can end you at my leisure. If not for that man, you would have not even known I was even here. He must be quite something, to see through me. For that, I do show some respect." Zato gave a slight bow towards Sol's direction.

"You...your the head honcho of the Assassin's Guild, right? More commonly referred to as Zato-1. Seems a bit more than just lovers quarrel." Sol said, scratching at an itch behind his right ear. Zato gave out a laugh, his shoulders shaking.

"Oh, it it that obvious? Your quite perceptive. You also are aware of just who I am yet don't cower in fear of me. It's quite difficult to feel you out...you must be well trained. Even Millia seemed to have a bit of difficulty in taking you down, a rare feat indeed. If not for her, perhaps I could test my own mettle against your own...such is life. I hope you don't mind if I steal your dancing partner for awhile, for we do have a history after all." Zato turned to face Millia, his arms coming forward to guild his shadow to do his bidding. Large snake like creatures formed from it, lashing out at her. Millia sent her own hair forward to smash into them in nearly the same fashion as Zato had attacker her with to cancel out the attack. She took to the air, spinning to send a needle down at him. Zato's form became an amorphous blob that slithered along the ground to close the distance of the still airborne woman. He rose up right under her location, sending a large black claw from his shadow rising to strike her. Millia kicked off the form appendage and landed at a safer distance to rush in and try and intercept him. Sol heard something that caught his attention, Zato becoming aware of it soon after, but was not quite so worried about it as he intercepted Millia as she closed in.

"Zeppian mecha...scout type..." Sol saw the red colored, pilot controlled, and lightly fortified mecha armor that flew through the air above their heads. Sol realized it was doing a security sweep of the areas less populated for any activity that might be going on, mainly to protect from the Gear menace if they might ever show up. Being that Zepp mainly ran with the use of Black Tech, the term dubbed for older technologies that didn't run on Magic energy, they had a few more advanced things to play around with by comparison to the Knights in terms of aerial combat. Airships, while still quite useful in aerial combat, were much slower and cumbersome by comparison to some of the armored combat machines Zepp had at it's disposal as a floating island nation where most if not all of the Black Tech was placed and situated. It was made illegal for most parts of the world to use Black Tech as the products that had been made in the past polluted much of the world and eroded so many of the natural resources until Magic had curbed it's use, but Zepp had so much of it that there could not be any real helping of it being used. And so anyone with the right permits and waivers could use Black tech outside of Zepp, like their own military. As Magic technologies became more advanced, the people as a whole hoped to be free of Black Tech all together eventually, but such a time had not come yet. It halted above the three, it's thrusters flaring. One of the two hatches on the machine opened, a Soldiers of the Zeppian army repelling down to the ground from a wire cable with an automatic machine gun in his hand.

"That's enough fighting out here in the boondocks...wait! Your Zato-1 of the Assassin's Guild! Your under arrest!" The Soldier may have only halted to prevent further fighting, but soon realized just who it was that was that he faced. His gun was up in an instant. Both Zato and Millia had taken pause of their fight, gathering what it was they were planning to do. Sol grumbled under his breath.

'Great...I walked right into an annoying situation. Guess that's what I get for being a bit too curious along my way out of this city. The blame's all mine...but maybe I'll just leave these people to hash things out while I make my getaway.' Sol thought, but remained still as to not draw any further attention to himself, as the Solder recognized Zato only at this time. Sol would have to be well away from here to evade any other Knights or Soldiers who probably got word of his desertion by now.

"How irritating...don't you think an insignificant gnat like yourself should know better than to step into such peril? You'd best pull the trigger now or flee...I won't give you another option to save your life otherwise." Zato threatened. The Soldier clicked the safety off his gun and squared his stanch a bit lower.

"I've already got backup on the way, but if you prefer some hot lead digging in you right now, I can do that easily." The Soldier said in a firm voice, but it was just a farce as far as Zato was concerned. Sol saw the bead of sweat drop from the Soldier's chin from under his helmet. One weapon of Black Tech was not going to do much to a person like Zato, who possessed great control over the Eddie. Sol also noticed the small red light beeping along the top left side of the hovering mecha, knowing it was likely a homing beacon that signaled for backup to come. The Soldier hadn't lied in that respect then. Regardless though, Sol knew he better make himself scarce before any cavalry arrived. It was when the trigger was pulled that Sol, Zato and Millia reacted in a specific fashion. Zato held his arms out wide as a spray of bullets pierced into him, but instead were deflected as his shadow engulfed his figure and transformed it into a demon like creature with sharp claws and talons. Zato extended his arm, his claws thrusting forward to pierce cleanly through the Soldier, flak jacket and all. The Soldier was dead on the spot and hung loosely from on the wire cable. The armor mecha hovered higher above, signaling to other mecha on the way that possessed much more fire power due to their weaponry. Millia had tried to use the small distraction to get to Zato, her foot kicking out towards him, but he blocked it. Sol grabbed his cloak and rushed past the two Assassins, but not before giving Millia a hand by shooting off his Gun Flame technique into the ground towards Zato. It was mainly due to Zato's irksome attitude rubbing Sol the wrong way. The Assassin Leader was able to evade the attack, but barely. The distraction was better than the Soldier's however, and Millia was able to get a good kick in at his ribcage, making Zato hiss in annoyance.

"That's not very nice of you to hit and run like that!" Zato split a piece of his shadow out to distract Millia as it lashed at her while he turned and lunged towards Sol with a bladed spike protruding from his elbow. Sol smacked it away, performing a rather graceful back flip for his size as Zato tried to push the retaliation with the other arm swinging forward. Sol succeeded in kicking Zato cleanly in the chin while evading the strike to make the man's head snap back from the recoil. Just another way to spite the prideful bastard.

"Like I give a shit. Later." Sol was already back on his feet and on the move, Millia having slashed the shadow puppet and bringing Zato's focus back on her.

"Just you wait...I'll make you feel a fear yet!" Zato called out.

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Sol's long strides took him well out of the commotion as armored mecha suits of different varieties were coming to the scene. Sol didn't chance anything and just stuck to the shadows of the alleyways between buildings.

"Well now...the pride of the Zeppian Army...Slave Soldiers..." Sol muttered as he saw hulking men that were dressed in tall olive colored coats to cover themselves. Many had the tell tale signs of Slave Soldiers if the size alone didn't give them away: giant metal collars around their necks and binding gauntlets around their fists. Though incredibly slow for infantry, their amazing resilience kept them alive to fight in battles of attrition. They were bred specifically to become the insanely sized individuals that they were, though their bodies had evolved something akin to a gorilla's own. Their arms were tremendous and powerful, their reach and speed was very surprising despite their lumbering motions. Their lack of great mobility stemmed from the small but still stocky legs they possessed, making them hobble about when walking and moved using their arms not unlike a gorilla's own when they wanted to pick up speed. Still, it didn't help them much. Sol knew this from the time he was fighting along some in a joint battle against the Gears who were raiding about in Ukraine.

'To be shackled in such a way...not everyone is lucky enough to even be born free...' Sol allowed the giants to pass by the alley he was hidden in before making his way to the streets again. It was a sad truth. They were still slaves since coming to existence after all. The collar that they were forced to wear so often if not nearly all the time actually was a contraption that injected a small but still lethal bomb into the person's neck. For all the strength they possessed physically the localized bomb was planted in such a way that they could not resist it with even their great defensive bodies as it had enough force to basically blow off their head from the rest of the body. It was known as DDD(Death Dealing Device) or Triple D in some jargon of the military faction.

"Heavy...but unless someone overthrows the current President of Zepp...the tyranny within that floating rock will remain and endure." Even outside of the Crusades which was the biggest war of all, small internal wars were being waged daily all around the world it seems.

:ToBeContinued: