Chapter 2

The Ancient Fire

Jacky walked through the streets of Orient Town, a variety of wonderful smells hovered through the air. It was the best part of Kagutsuchi, how relaxing the town could be. Jacky walked past countless people who went about their day-to-day business.

He unexpectedly bumped into someone as he shifted through the crowds. "I'm sorry about that, sir. I didn't see you there."

The person he bumped into was a bit challenged in the height department, so it was no surprise that he wasn't noticed. The stranger laughed, his voice sounded familiar. "I don't blame you; it's not your fault."

The stranger tipped his hat back, giving Jacky a better look at his face. That bright blonde hair, those deep blue eyes; He couldn't possibly forget that face.

"Carl Clover, is that you?"

"The one and only," he responded. Carl took a good look at the black-haired young man that stood before him and it took him considerably longer to recall who he was. "Ah, now I remember you. You're Jacky Sol Ray, correct? I haven't seen you in such a long time."

"Yeah, it has, last time I saw you was back at Academy graduation a few years back. After that I never heard from you. What have you been up to these days?" Jacky was happy to see a friendly face again, especially an old friend.

"Well, I'm not military anymore, that's for sure. Even you could pick that up, right?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, Shortstack?" Jacky laughed. He would probably have put Carl into a chokehold and given him a noogie for that comment if he hadn't've noticed the doll standing behind him.

"That's a Nox Nyctores, right? What are you doing with something like that out in the open?"

"Sis is always around, since there's no need for her to hide," Carl replied. 'Sis'? What was he talking about?

"…." The doll behind Carl was silent, not surprising, of course. However, something about that Archenemy seemed to suggest that it was still talking, even in silence.

"Anyways, I'd actually heard that you were a vigilante, a bounty hunter, even. Have any targets in mind right now?" Carl nodded in response and what he said made him flinch. "Indeed, I do. His name is Ragna the Bloodedge. Surely you've heard of him, Jacky?"

So Carl was hunting Ragna? What was the reason behind this? The bounty? The fame for bringing in the most wanted criminal? Or was it for what he carried, the Azure Grimoire?

Carl noticed the faint traces of fear in Jacky's expression and smiled. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about him, would you, Jacky?"

He looked down at Carl and then at the doll standing behind him. "No, I don't know anything about him. Only rumors, though I doubt there anything you haven't already heard of," he said as he turned to leave.

The next thing he knew, the Archenemy had blocked Jacky's path leading away from Carl.

"Lying is a bad practice, Jacky. You know that as well as anybody else. I'll ask again, tell me what you know about Ragna the Bloodedge."

"I'm sorry, Carl, but I can't help you and, even if I could, I wouldn't! I don't want to hurt you Carl, but if you try to attack me, I will defend myself and I promise that it won't end well for you." He attempted to pass by the doll, but it extended one of its arms to block his path further.

"I'm warning you, Carl, don't get in my way or I'll be forced to deal with you like I deal with every other obstacle."

The doll swung its arms at Jacky. He bent backwards and high-kicked it before back stepping and tripping Carl over with a leg sweep. After that, he made a break for it, heading to the edge of town as fast as possible, where there were bound to be less people.

As he ran, he burned through the air and through the flames, his Archenemy, Drakos came forth. He took his weapon by the hilt and prepared himself for a fight. His Archenemy, Drakos, was a double-edged bastard sword with a red blade.

He managed to reach one of the ports at the edge of Kagutsuchi. After that, he stopped running and turned to face his opponents. They were out of sight, though, he could still feel Carl's aura. He couldn't pinpoint where he was, though, his sensory skills wasn't his strongest trait.

The Archenemy doll came forth from above and cut four gashes across Jacky's chest, drawing blood. He managed to step back a bit before the blow landed. His wounds were shallow, but even still, he couldn't afford to drag this fight out.

"I'm sorry, Carl, but I'm not dying here. Not yet." Jacky avoided another swipe from the doll and then thrust Drakos through it and pinned it to the ground. He summoned fire and burned Carl for a bit before giving him a good, hard kick, knocking him out. He snapped his fingers and the fire the lingered on Carl immediately vanished. Carl had second-degree burns, but he'd be alright. As for the Archenemy that he pinned to the ground, he didn't trust it, so he kept Drakos within the material plane.

Kagutsuchi West Port – Noel Vermillion

A few hours ago, Ragna and Tao (Mostly Tao this time) had once again driven her away. It was nothing really all that new, but still, Ragna was just as rude as ever and Tao was just as insulting, though Noel doubted that Tao realized it.

As she strolled through the edge of the city, Noel noticed smoke in the distance. She summoned Bolverk and ran off to investigate.

Kagutsuchi South Port – Jacky Ray

Jacky approached Carl's unconscious body and kneeled down. "What should I do now? I can't just leave him here. Despite who his target is, he's still my friend." He pondered what to do when he heard the approaching sound of footsteps heading his way. "Someone's coming, maybe they can help."

Jacky got up to his feet and waited for the person off in the distance to get close enough to where they could hear him. That's when he noticed something.

"Saya?" It looked just like her, but as the girl came closer, he noticed some subtle differences and realized that she was someone else entirely. As she finally came within earshot, Jacky remembered recognized Noel.

"Who are you?" The girl asked. "What is with you guys not remembering me? I recall every single one of you guys immediately, but you guys go and forget me? That's just terrible," He responded, "It's me, Noel, Jacky Ray!"

As an expression of recognition began to cross her face, Jacky picked up Carl and she began to become distressed. "What happened to Carl?" She demanded.

"Well, you see, he kinda attacked me and I just happened to defend myself. Of course, that means I had to keep his doll incapacitated too, considering it can't be knocked out cold."

"W-why would Carl attack you?"

"He knew I was keeping something from him and tried to beat some answers out of me. I don't really approve of him going after Ragn-!" Jacky immediately shut his mouth, but it was too late.

"Ragna the Bloodedge?"

Jacky immediately charged a fireball in his open palm and aimed for Noel. "If you try to do what Carl did, I will have to take you down as well, Noel!" He couldn't summon Drakos or else the doll that Carl commands would attack him again.

"N-no, I wasn't going to do that! Ragna isn't a bad person, I know that," she cried. This was certainly a surprise. Jacky expected her to want information, but she was willingly turning that down. Something big must've happened while he was gone from Kagutsuchi.

He let the fire in his hand extinguish and lowered his hand, but remained cautious. Noel approached and leaned over Carl. "Do you know a good doctor around these parts, Noel?" Jacky asked. She nodded her head, but she raised her hands and began groping at her chest, particularly in her breast area. She was muttering a name under her breath, as well.

"What are you doing?" Jacky said, bringing her back to reality. "Eh? N-nothing! I just said that we should visit Dr. Litchi. She works at a clinic in Orient Town, we can take Carl there and have his wounds healed."

"Okay then, that sounds good, let's do that," he said, scooping up Carl's body and walking to town. "Lead the way, Noel." Noel walked ahead of Jacky after looking back at Carl's doll, which was still pinned to the ground.

"What about her?"

Jacky looked back at the doll and then continued towards town. "Once we're far enough away from it, I'll deem it safe to release it, but until then, I don't want that crazy thing assaulting me again."

Ikaruga – Ragna the Bloodedge and Taokaka

Ragna and Tao were roaming the city, poking through some cafes and restaurants, eating their fill, and resting for a bit.

"Why are you in such a hurry neow, Good Guy?" Tao asked.

Ragna released an agitated groan as they passed through town. Having received no answer, Tao grabbed Ragna's arm and pulled at him to get him to stop. "Let go of me, you damn cat!"

He manages to loosen her grip on his arm and eventually she gives up on pulling his arm and begins to pull at his legs. "Nyot until you stop and rest, Good Guy, meow!"

Ragna knew Tao long enough to know that she wouldn't give up on this easily, and so, he relented and took a room at an inn. There was almost no arguing with Tao and he wasn't in the mood to yell at her at the moment.

Orient Town, Litchi's Clinic – Jacky Ray, Noel Vermillion, and Carl Clover

Jacky and Noel had just arrived at the clinic and managed to convince Litchi's assistant to take Carl in, despite her wariness of Noel. They decided to leave the clinic for a few hours, which was mostly Jacky's idea, considering that Carl's Nox Nyctores would be arriving soon enough.

"So, where have you been all this time, Jacky? We never saw you much after we graduated from the Academy."

"I mostly worked in the Assassin's Unit. Stealthy Undertakers for the NOL, you know?" Jacky explained, "Not a very enjoyable job for yours truly, but the orders to put me in the Assassin's Unit came straight from the Imperator herself, so…"

Orient Town, Litchi's Clinic – Jin Kisaragi

Jin had been wandering around, his mind wrapped around the NOL attacker. "No, you can't leave yet, your wounds haven't healed!" Jin noticed Carl off in the distance attempting to leave the clinic.

Jin approached the boy; he was in a particularly calm mood today. "Excuse me, but can you tell me what happened here?"

Carl looked up at his interviewer, stepping back a few steps at the sight of the former NOL major. "You've got a lot of burns, Carl. Care to explain?"

Seeing as how his doll, Nirvana, hadn't arrived yet and that he was defenseless, he relented, and released the events of what recently took place, with Jin absorbing every last bit of info.

Years Ago, NOL Military Academy…

Jin had wandered the halls, heading to his next class when a certain fire breather crashed into him, knocking him over.

"Watch where you're going," he yelled. The black-haired fire starter popped a vein and leaned in towards Jin, furious. Extreme heat was coming off of him while extreme cold was coming off of Jin. "Shut up, Jin. Or, I'm sorry, should I refer to you as Student Body President? So sorry I made you drop your precious school work, TOOL!"

"Be silent, you scaly scourge! I don't care what you think of me, you need to learn some manners!"

"You wanna fight, Abominable Snow Freak? LET'S GO!"

Jin and Jacky began to throw quick punches and swift kicks; Jacky even headbutt Jin in the gut once. Jin and Jacky were almost never getting along. They saw things differently in that time and their huge gap in opinions often lead them to fights, whether they be physical or verbal, it didn't matter. Hell, when they weren't particularly in the mood to argue or fight, they would just throw viscous glares at each other.

These quarrels usually concluded with Tsubaki having to separate the two from the angry fights.

Ever since Jacky first saw Jin, he wanted to ignore Jin, but fate just laughed at him and he often found himself involved with Jin a lot. This led to the two to be constantly at each other's throats. Despite all the angry fights, Jacky's constant insults at Jin, and Jin's slight superiority complex over Jacky, those days were still enjoyable.

Present Time, 12th Hierarchical City of Kukunochi – Noel and Jacky

Jacky and Noel had lost track of time conversing with each other and exchanging stories of recent events.

"Are we in the 12th City?" Jacky just nodded depressingly.

"We should probably get back to the clinic, Carl must be awake by now," Noel muttered. The duo turned on their heels and headed off when Jacky rammed into someone big. "Sorry about that, Mr. Tager," Noel said as she helped Jacky off the ground.

He looked up at the red giant that stood before him. He's heard of the Red Devil of Sector Seven during his time in the Assassin's Unit, but he never thought that he'd be as big as they said. "Sorry for the trouble, sir. I didn't mean to trouble you," Jacky said.

"Oh, it's no trouble at-," He began, but a voice from nowhere, distinctly female and vaguely grouchy interrupted him. "Tager, what the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be heading to the 10th city right now. As for those kids, I suggest you not get involved with them, especially the Azure Successor. It's not yet time to associate ourselves with them."

"Roger that, Kokonoe," Tager moaned. The Red Devil excused himself and left the two behind.

"That was the Red Devil?" Jacky asked. Noel nodded and laughed as Jacky punched the air. "He looks awesome! I expected him to be real intimidating, but, DAMN, he's cool!" Noel laughed and looked on as Jacky's appearance began to shift with his excitement. Scales on his skin began to form, hardening his flesh and his arms began to appear as a rusty red shade. "Jacky, your scales are showing," She said. Jacky immediately paused and chuckled before his appearance shifted back to his usual look.

"Sorry about that. Just the excitement, it got to me."

Jacky and Noel continued on their way back to Kagutsuchi.

13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, Litchi's Clinic – Jin Kisaragi and Carl Clover

Jin had stopped his investigation for a moment in order to rest. He may be a tenacious one, but at least, for once, he knows when to take a break. Litchi entered the room and set down a tray of food for Jin and Carl.

"Kisaragi, I've answered your questions, it's only fair that you answer mine. Why are you asking me about the NOL? Aren't I supposedly the last person you would question about the Librarium?"

Jin sighed and gave a quick nod. He took a deep breath before he explained. "I've been hunting down Captain Hazama for a while, looking through branches of the Library for clues, but I recently found three NOL branches burned to the ground, all that was saved were cabinets and bookcases which held records and files and every single one of them had the same categories missing from them. J, R, S, and T were the categories that were taken from the branches of the Library. I've changed my objective to finding whoever is rummaging through these files. Also, there's something that has piqued my curiosity about this file scavenger."

Carl looked up from his meal towards his cold visitor. "What would that be, Jin?"

"While I was going through the burnt base, I noticed faint traces that could only have come from the use of a Nox Nyctores. This scavenger is a user of Ars Magus, that was obvious from the beginning, but as I was leaving the ruins of the NOL branch, the ashes from the building were beginning to flicker with violet sparks of fire and after I had retreated a safe distance, a explosion ripped apart what was left of the ruins. Whoever has been going through the Library's files wields a powerful Armagus and a fierce Archenemy."

-Drakos, the Ancient Fire-