Thievery Of The Sword

Chapter 11: A Corrupted Flame

Written By Illuminet

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

:xXx:

Leviathan growled in a low snarl, feeling pain seer into it's flesh. The Fire Seal was hacking through it's tough scales like a scythe cutting wheat for a harvest. Sol had descended upon it's stomach and started weakening it with swipes of his blade that moved faster and stronger than anything the Megadeth Gear had ever felt. The wounds made on it so far were remaining like the open sores they were, the weapon of the Outrage doing what it was made to do. It spat another destructive ball of charged lightning at the small target of Sol with exact precision.

'Not this time.' Sol's vision was so well attuned that the ball was coming at him like the pace of a snail's crawl. He ran towards and then swerved by it by running along its side, dragging the Fire Seal to leave a rather large cut aiming along it's torso to it's chest. His sheer speed allowed him to run along the side of the Megadeth Gear without losing his footing at all. Leviathan became keen on Sol's increased abilities and answered back as electricity coursed densely on one bladed wing, slamming the appendage along it's chest as both a defensive and offensive maneuver. Sol was prevented direct access to it's heart, and the discharge that was let out slammed into him, or would have had he not defended. The charge still muddled Sol's senses somewhat and he didn't expect the large fin to smack him back as it left Leviathan's chest. Sol went sailing through the air, seeing Leviathan make an complex twist of it's body to gather momentum and swing it's tail at his retreating figure. Sol grunted as his unprotected back made contact with the appendage, blood leaving through the clenched teeth and smearing the side of his face.

"Asshole!" Sol snarled, reacting with instinct and twisting to jam the Fire Seal into it's tail and getting his legs wrapped around it to prevent him from being sent back down to Zepp's surface. Leviathan growled in unbridled pain as Sol was able to halt himself, then steadily cut the bladed fin like end of it's tail off to fall to the surface. The Fire Seal now free, Sol used the momentum of the thrashing tail to get back towards Leviathan's main body and continue the assault. He had ten more minutes to remain actively in Dragon Install mode.

:xXx:

At the middle of the Zepp Army's fleet, Gabriel and Potemkin watched the fight. Even though enlisted only, they commanded a lot of respect for their own achievements on the fields of battle against the Gear menace. The Fleet's Major General was told their advice to cease fire, and she did so and ordered her fleet to follow as well.

"Sergeant Gabriel, who is that? To be fighting Leviathan alone..." The Major General had been in her late thirties, and a good friend of Gabriel's. She had been enlisted before turning over the officer side of the Zepp Army. Unfortunately, due to the needs of the military, she was assigned from the infantry duties she loved to be commander of Zepp's 189th Air Fleet. Though just as important and she was well aware of it, she still felt the nagging feeling that she was being protected by a large airship than by her fellow Soldiers on the field. There was the hint of recognition in her eyes as the camera tried to zoom in and pinpoint Sol's movements along the Megadeth Gear but was having a very difficult time doing so since Sol was just moving too fast for the camera to maintain it's view on him. Manual control was too slow as the person could barely react to Sol's burst of speed, and Automatic was proving similar even though it had the endless control of a machine which required no dexterity and stamina to move, even with slow motion activated.

"Sol Badguy...does that name ring a bell, Ma'am?" Gabriel asked, binoculars in his hands. Potemkin also had some, but he held them delicately between his thumb and fore finger.

"Sol...wasn't he someone we served with once in one of the joint missions of the Order and Zepp?" She recalled.

"Correct, Ma'am. I'm not sure why he did it, but he has deserted from the Order. Otherwise he would still be all the way across the world, in A-Country, leading the 13th Platoon Knight Raiders." Gabriel mentioned. The Major General placed a hand on her chin in thought.

"A part of the Knight Raiders...then he was part of their most close-range oriented side of the Order's infantry ranks. Well...regardless of how he appeared here at all...perhaps this is a blessing. Just on foot and a sword in hand he is doing more damage to Leviathan than our ordinance. That sword though..." She sounded like she recognized it.

"You know something about it, Ma'am?" It had been Potemkin that spoke, turning his gaze towards her. She crossed her arms under her chest.

"I've read an article once on the fascinating subject of the weapons of the Outrage set. If I'm not mistaken...I think that's the Fire Seal, a strange looking sword that was in possession of the Order, granted to them from the UN." She spoke in quiet awe.

"Ma'am, could you patch a line directly with Commander Kliff Undersn? Your high enough on the chain to do so. If you want me to file for a hearing up the chain fully, then I will do so. Just because we worked together in the past on the field doesn't mean I have the right to request such a thing from you directly. As a lower rank as well as an enlisted of the Soldier's infantry, you may instruct me of the right course to take, so long as I can speak with him frankly." Gabriel spoke. The Major General and Potemkin were both looking at him with surprised stares.

"Sergeant, I'm high enough on the chain to make a direct call to him at my leisure. I'll have you present when I make contact with him." She said. She owed him this much from teaching her to survive on the field.

"Thank you, Ma'am. Sorry for having to put you in such a position." Gabriel's tone held the truth of his words.

"No worries, Gabe. Once were back on station, let's give it a try."

:xXx:

"Hey, Johnny, why are we cease firing?" One of Johnny's crew asked. Johnny was soundless for a bit, gazing at the action through a telescope. Though such things were antiques, they still held up well in a world that was starting to regain a foot hold in the new field of Magic technology.

"That crazy bastard..." The Pirate Captain muttered. He wasn't able to catch much, less than even the Zepp Army and their much more updated Airships, but he could glimpse Sol fighting on top of Leviathan. He was also doing quite a bit of damage even with just a sword. Leviathan's scales were being hacked away, blood flowing from wounds that should have started regenerating at this point but were not. Johnny lowered the telescope from his face, his shades falling from being propped on his forehead. They landed back on the bridge of his nose and covered his eyes.

"If he can kill Leviathan...guess the least I can do is allow him passage off Zepp." Johnny said with a sigh. He walked towards the helm of the bridge.

"This is as good a time as any to pray for his success. We're not going to risk blowing him off Leviathan just for a few extra puny hits. Keep an eye on him as best you can. Heh...it won't be easy though...and something tells me he wouldn't have it any other way." He placed his hands on the rail.

"Let's make ourselves scarce to the Zepp army. We got some bunkers we can hide the May Ship at until the fighting is done. We'll go back to being undercover on the surface of Zepp for now. Be on the look out for Sol, because who knows what state he'll been in after fighting Leviathan so viciously." Johnny ordered. The May Ship made it's course towards the still undamaged areas of Zepp.

:xXx:

Leviathan tittered in the air. Sol had succeeded in dealing a vicious blow, damaging one of it's blade like wings and making it's stabilization very weak. Leviathan went crashing down in a vicious arc, skidding all the way across a large section of Zepp's surface. Sol held on to the side of it's neck, trying to steady himself so that he could go for that end all strike when they stopped moving, intent on stabbing into it's spinal column and severing it from Leviathan's brain. But Leviathan was skidding on it's side, making the attack hard to land easily without Sol being dragged under it's massive frame and crushed. He would be too useless then to finish Leviathan for the time being, he knew. He hoped it would stop soon though.

'Come on...! Only three minutes left!' Sol could hear the warnings, knowing he would be weakened for a fair bit once Dragon Install Mode wore off. If he prolonged the effect any longer, his limiter device wouldn't be able to handle it. Leviathan performed a quick strike as it reared it's head off the ground, snapping it's jaws with tremendous speed that nearly matched Sol's own movement.

'This is familiar...' The former Knight thought sarcastically, preventing himself from being eaten alive as his limbs kept the large jaws pried open. He felt the lurch of them falling, realizing he had combated the Megadeth Gear all the way back to one of the edges of Zepp. He could feel the immense strength of Leviathan's jaws bringing him to his knees within it's mouth, it's serpent like tongue darted forward to wrap around him and dragging him ever so slightly towards it's throat. There was only a minute in a half for the Dragon Install mode. Sol gathered power towards his armed hand, the Fire Seal gathering with large amounts of fire. He knew if this didn't work, he may as well be as good as dead, not sure if his body could last long enough in the Megadeth Gear's digestive tract. Even with regeneration on his side.

"Got to charge my Magic faster...! This will enhance the effects beyond the normal levels...it just has to work!" Flames had gathered incredibly dense around the Fire Seal before Sol swung the blade upward with a snarl of his lips.

"Tyrant...RAVE!" The explosion of flames that emanated from the blade was so powerful, Leviathan's top and bottom jaws were severed apart, it's head flying free from the remains of it's enormous body. Electricity shot free from parts of it's body with great violence and ferocity in thick lightning bolts, though it began to wane. Sol dashed through the air after escaping from the remains of Leviathan's jaws, trying to bring his fall as far away from the body of Leviathan's location as he could. The sky and sea were spiraling to Sol's vision. He could catch a glimpse of bits of tiny islands in the water, knowing it must have been what was left of Japan. Those tiny islands jutted from the sea like unmarked graves for the Japanese people who became so scarce. The UN had evacuated as many Japanese that survived as they could find on the island some years back.

"Fuck..." The former Knight muttered. Dragon Install had been deactivated. His head seared with immense pain as his abilities adjusted and returned to their former parameters. Then his whole body felt very weak, sickeningly so.

DRAGON INSTALL MODE=Deactivated. All Statistics will be decreased 15% below normal levels except Healing Factor, which will remain at 0.5% capacity to keep the body alive. Overall damage to the body is 54%. Body is recovering at 36% and rising. Shut Down will occur in 5 seconds to buffer feeling and damage from current free fall. This function cannot be subject to override. Approximate time for restart will be in 72 hours. This equates to 3 days. The body will make a full recovery and expected to surpass previous productive ability.

RECOMMENDATION=The body does require little rest, but taking a large amount of rest is strongly advised.

Sol closed his eyes, already expecting the black out to occur very soon. He had tried to resist it, but as it was not able to be overridden, he was stuck for now, about to go into a 3 day long coma and not knowing where he would wake up next.

:xXx:

Johnny and the crew had been using the May Ship to hop about the remaining islands. Leviathan's carcass had fallen not far from the broken remains of the nation of Japan. Zepp's air fleet had rendezvoused with the Order fleets of Russia and China and were investigating Leviathan's floating corpse among the waves of the Sea of Japan. The May Ship had left under the cover of night, not able to leave any sooner due to the heavy amount of military personnel and equipment sending relief and rescue to the citizens of Zepp.

Johnny and the others were checking one of the larger pieces of the island remains, hoping Sol's body had been swept towards the shore. Johnny wouldn't get his hopes up of the former Knight surviving, but at the same time couldn't bring himself to think Sol could not find a way to have survived and make his way to one of the land masses. He knew Sol had a knack for surviving some very dangerous situations, though he wasn't always sure how the other man did it.

Johnny did end up meeting someone on this island as his shoes plodded through the soft sands of a small beach that was marred with the debris of broken city structures which had once been magnificent skyscrapers. The rest of his crew spread out to cover more ground. He was alone because his skills allowed him to meet opposition more easily than the others. It had been a girl, just a small child. Her appearance seemed pale and ghost like in the light of a quarter moon as no clouds obstructed the night sky. Her body looked bony from a lack of proper nutrition and her eyes were wide and innocent but were shaded with depression. The torn uniform she wore reminded Johnny of those worn by school girls in Japan. It made Johnny snap to a realization.

"No way...a survivor?" The Pirate Captain spoke with bated breath, hardly able to believe it. His brief movement made the girl coil back in surprise, and she tried to run, but her legs did not take her far before they gave way and she fell. Johnny's long strides had allowed him to cut the distance quite easily, catching the girl before she fell fully on the ground. Her breathing was ragged and shallow, her body too weak to sustain her from such exertions, Johnny could tell. She slip like a boneless doll against him, unconsciousness taking hold of her. A voice from the shadows spoke to him then.

"That child deserves a home...a home of which you can provide her." The voice of the man was smooth and refined, but caught Johnny by surprise, his thumb clicking his blade free of it's cane sheath ever so slightly. In the shadow of the remains of a building did Johnny finally catch the small spark of fire, casting a small glow upon the older man's wizened face, the monocle on his eye shown with the small flicker of light. Smoke rolled free from the pipe, the only small source of light in the darkness. Johnny had wished he brought a flashlight for a moment, but didn't feel any malice from the other man. His reflexes cooled.

"Do not worry about Sol. He is going to be well taken care of. For now tend to the girl as her life is very close to ending if she does not regain her strength to live. Show her the light of life. Here" Johnny saw something tossed towards him, falling a few inches from his grasp. It was a small teddy bear, it's fur covered in sand and a few seams had been split, some white fluff escaping from it's body, which lacked a plushness to it's body as the girl lacked meat on her bones.

"Who are you?" Johnny questioned as his free hand took hold of the teddy bear. The Pirate Captain knew the other man wasn't lying, but that was all he could tell. The other man turned away, his figure seeming to meld with the shadows more and more.

"You, who is one of many who walk a momentary life will likely find out in due time." He was gone after those words. Johnny took the bony girl in his arms and decided he would do as the man said, for the child was indeed frightfully light in his arms. He needed to get her medical assistance as soon as possible so she could be well taken care of.

"In this lovely month of May, a strange but pretty girl crossed my way..." The Pirate Captain hummed.

:xXx:

Order HQ in A-Country the next day from Leviathan's attack on Zepp...

Kliff sat in his chair, offering the Major General of Zepp's army and audience to meet. A message had been sent via a weak communications ping from a radio that was running on unrefined technology of Magic. Gears could intercept these feeds if the lines were left open for too long, so the message had only been 30 seconds long and prepared in advance to ask permission to set up an appointment to meet the legendary Commander. Kliff had accepted, as there were claims of sightings of Sol by the Major General herself and the two that took post right behind her, one a Sergeant and the other a Corporal as well as being a Slave Soldier. They had taken a fast transportation Airship to meet Kliff as soon as able. It had been about a 17 hour trip since it was all the way across the world.

" At ease." Kliff had said when he saw the three go to the position of attention followed by a salute in his direction just a few moments prior to his entry to meet them in his office. After the woman and Kliff sat down, and Gabriel and Potemkin were in their respective versions of parade rest did he speak.

"If I may be frank, Ma'am, we are both very busy individuals. Please be concise with your report regarding the appearance of one Sol Badguy on the surface of Zepp." Kliff's eyes were covered by his thick eye brows and the downward turn of his head. Regardless, the three could feel a piercing stare full of clarity. Certain people had a presence, that of a Lion amongst the pack who was leader of all, and Kliff emanated with that aura very keenly at this moment.

"And I shall be frank, Sir. Now to begin with..." She explained in short detail the sudden appearance of the powerful Megadeth Gear, and of the sudden unexpected appearance of Sol fighting on top of it in the air soon after, which luckily mitigated a large amount of structural damage to the surface of Zepp and saved many citizen's lives. After her talk she just had to ask the one main thing nagging on her mind.

"...that's about all of it, Sir. There was one intriguing thing to note other than the power Sol Badguy displayed. The Fire Seal sword of the Outrage Set. I couldn't be absolutely sure, but the weapon he had did appear to be it. Leviathan was not able to regenerate at all after being attacked by it either, a customary trait of one of the Outrage weapons." She finished, hoping to catch a glimpse of some knowing reaction that would tell her that it was true that Sol had the Fire Seal in hand besides also deserting the Order. Both of which were crimes of High Treason to the Military code. Kliff did not react at all emotionally, but slid a piece of paper across his desk. It was a Bounty Hunter reward page, and Sol's face was at it's center, the reward of $100,000 world dollars for his capture or death for being a deserter of the Military, but no mention of having stolen an Outrage. Under the picture was a title and then Sol's full name.

"Corrupted Flame Sol Badguy..." She read. Potemkin could easily see the piece of paper.

"Flame of Corruption would make more sense, since his desertion could spread to others in the Zepp army or the Order's ranks. Regardless, a bounty for one deserter would likely quell any chance of him hiding..." Potemkin remarked and then suddenly stopped, realizing he spoke out of turn and without permission.

"No Corporal, Corrupted Flame is the title he shall be bestowed with, for he is not a flame that corrupts others, it is he himself that is corrupted. These will be spread world wide over the next week. Take some stacks with you to post on Zepp, Ma'am. I've no more time unfortunately. You shall be escorted out. Dismissed." Kliff's words were concise in his response, though he hadn't corrected Potemkin for the uncalled words.

"But about the Fire Seal..." The Major General did not receive a response as Kliff left his office while one of the Knights came to escort them on their way.

'Sol...you will never be the man hailed as a hero, nor do you want to hold such a title for it is not in your nature. But I will hail you for your achievements and nothing else, for there are many, besides Leviathan. Job well done.' Kliff continued to walk until reaching his training hall.

:ToBeContinued: