Kuroi no yoru,
kurai no taiyo,
yama ga naku,
sora ga shukketsu suru,
hakai to shi,
hassei to tanjo,
ken no Hikari,
watashi no naka de desu.
Kanojo o shinu desu...
rei ni hitori de!
--------------
May blinked furiously as the menacing presence of Justice graced her
dark ebony eyes. Though she had heard stories about Justice and his
legacy from Johnny and some of the other members of the crew...she had
always considered these stories to be nothing more than overblown
fabrications. However May started to realize just how fearsome and
frightening the Gear Commander really was.
Even before, when Dizzy had been kidnapped, May had not gotten a good
look at Justice. The whole incident was over in a flash. But now his
clear, intimidating figure was standing firm right above her.
May felt a bead of sweat trail down the side of her face, and her
thumping heartbeat took on a stronger beat. The pirate girl was aware
of the fear inside her...but Dizzy, her newfound love, was trapped by
this beast’s will. Dizzy had to be set free and right now, the only
person who could do it was May.
May wiped her brow free of sweat. {It’s okay, Dizzy. I’ll get you out
of this.}
In seconds, the pirate May was dashing up the one hundred stepped
stairway to heaven, cruise-lining for the icy prison of Dizzy, just
above those broken gates. Justice looked at this young woman as she
ran up the stairway. In a very blunt way, May’s disregard for him
annoyed Justice. But then also, the King of Gears had to admit that he
was impressed by her bravery. Not many people had the bottle, spirit
or backbone to even challenge him. That was worth praise even in
itself.
May continued to run up the stairs towards Dizzy, almost stumbling
along the path, that is until she was cut off by Justice’s awesome
figure, blurring in front of her. She gasped in shock as her feet came
to a stop and Justice slowly inspected his quarry.
“Human girl...why do you come here?” Justice asked inquisitively,
“Surely you realize the fate that will befall you if you dare to cross
me.”
May tried to hide the fear in her voice. “G...get outta my way.”
Justice chuckled. He always had the ability to sense fear in someone.
This human girl reeked of it. But he also felt a strong determination
within her. “Could it be that you are here to destroy me?”
May’s eyes narrowed. Her focus was still on Dizzy and the ice prison
she was frozen in, but she was still incensed enough to get busy.
“Let Dizzy go!” May yelled.
Justice took that moment to look back at Dizzy. She was just above the
broken gates, frozen. Though it seemed like he needed no one, Justice
took a special interest in Dizzy. Her power, although dormant, was
enormous. Even from the moment he was reborn, the leader of the Gears
felt Dizzy’s immense strength. It was a power only a being such as a
Gear could possess. A strength that had to be isolated and controlled.
And once Justice was done with this place, he would take a deeper
study into Dizzy’s powers.
“She...” Justice breathed stiflingly. “...Is of precious blood. She is
a unique entity chosen by destiny to fight for my cause. A Gear is a
lifeforce that can transcend all levels of might a mere human could
even hope to achieve. She is superior to you and your kind in every
way possible.”
May scowled. “What are you talking about?! Dizzy isn’t some kind of
soldier you can just use when you feel like it!”
“Ha, ha, ha, ha!” Justice laughed loudly, his bellowed chortles
echoing within the stairway to heaven. “We were designed to be nothing
more than weapons by your kind, human. Look at her body.”
Justice pointed over to Dizzy’s ice prison. Though seeing her was
blurry due to the choppy build up of ice, May had a fairly good clear
view of her imprisoned love.
“In the eyes of your kind,” Justice said. “She is nothing more than a
weapon in a human shell. And in some respects, that child is a weapon.
But her free will makes her special. No Gear created after me, living
or dead, cannot be absolutely free from my will. But her...she is
unique. And that makes her worthy of my quest. The elimination of your
race. Soon...she will be your enemy.”
May gripped her fist together. “You can’t do that to her!”
Again, Justice laughed. It goes without saying that he was not taking
May seriously. But it also goes without saying that Justice had every
reason not to be cautious. Even in his current state, body his
battered and chipped, his left arm dismembered, Justice was still
extremely powerful. Defeating a small human girl was no difficulty to
him.
Justice steeled his body. “Your kind must be defeated.”
May stepped back a bit. She knew she was afraid but it was only now
that the brunette actually felt that chilling fear, drilling at her
from within the depths of her stomach.
But Dizzy was in danger.
And as long as Dizzy’s safety was put in question, May would never let
fear stop her. May stood silent for a second, then whipped her anchor
around her shoulders, and took on a cadenced fighting stance. With all
her might, May gripped the weighty anchor and firmly locked her eyes
on Justice. “Get outta my way!” May yelled again.
“You are wasting your life and my time, human. Stand aside or you will
be the first to feel the anger of the Gear race.”
That was it. No more. May could not take any more of this. If she
could not go around Justice to get to Dizzy, then she would go
*through* him. It was almost as if May’s feet did their own thinking,
when the propelled her forwards at the dismembered God of Destruction
and heaved her colossal anchor at his body.
Justice merely tensed the grip he had on his fist, and smoothly
swerved to one side as May’s iron anchor thrashed around in his
direction. The anchor clashed with the ground striking up fierce
sparks of static. But May did not let that trouble her. The young
pirate dragged and heaved up her unusual weapon, pitching herself at
Justice once more. May ran towards her Gear enemy with quickening
anger, and horizontally slashed at Justice’s already damaged chest.
Justice weighed his options. He could easily crush this girl like the
measly little gnat she was, but then also, Justice had a liking
towards toying with May’s ‘type’. She was no threat to him whatsoever.
Justice pushed his body backwards through the crispy air and leaned
back, May’s anchor sailing clear over his body. May scoffed at this
failed attempt to damage Dizzy’s kidnapper. Quickly, Justice moved
from his former position, and stood straight up, waving the back of
his hand tauntingly at May.
That did not help the chagrin of the pirate. With her teeth gritted
and her body shaking, May was felt insulted by the simple fact that
Justice was not taking her seriously.
May’s anger drove her into attacking for a third time, and May
instantly charged Justice again. Foolishness and courage be damned,
this maniac had to be taught a lesson. Catching sight of this, Justice
made a shallow turn to the left, clattering his long metallic,
chain-like tail against the carpeted steps. Because her advance was so
blind in nature, May could not stop herself in time and tripped over
Justice’s tail.
A haughty laugh bellowed around May’s ears as she stumbled along the
steps, and eventually fell over, raising up clouds of dust and dirt as
her lithe body crashed against the ground.
May felt her blood throbbing. {He’s just laughing at me...}
The electricity around Justice’s body started to streak up again. The
more he wasted his time with May the more time his body had to
rejuvenate itself from his battle with Sol.
“Human girl...” Justice was able to say as his laughter stopped. “You
are not going to be able to defeat me.”
The next sound to follow Justice’s declaration was the clashing metal
sound of May’s anchor ramming into the ground. The sky-flying pirate
used her large weapon for leverage and pushed herself back onto her
feet. In one swing, May pulled her anchor back onto her shoulders, and
started another sequential dash at ‘Daigyakusatsu no Kami’. Rather
than swing her anchor, May slipped it between her arm and her waist
and attempted to ram into Justice. However the Gear cleverly noticed
this. The rocket-powered energy generators over Justice’s shoulders
charged up with propulsive energy, and heaved his techno-biochemical
body off the floor and into the air.
As May passed under him, Justice took a good look at May. At first
glance, she was nothing more than a snivelling human child at best.
But she was attacking again and again and did not seem to be losing
energy at all.
Something was odd about this child.
It was the curiosity in Justice that motivated his next move, as he
branched out his long, white metal arm, gathering a little energy from
within himself.
{Where the heck did he go?} May thought as her charge ended. Her black
marble eyes looked around for any sign of her enemy. Nothing. But
then, as May was about to turn around, a bright white-hot light
surrounded her. May looked up to see what was going on, but before she
even had the chance, Justice fired a blast of dense energy from the
palm of his dark hand. May yelped as she was hit by that attack, and
was knocked backwards slightly by it. That had caught her off guard so
much that May had to pause herself for just a few seconds to think
about what just happened.
Without shifting his eyes from May, Justice landed gracefully upon the
ground. Now he was concerned. A blast like that would have destroyed
most soldiers the Sacred Order of Holy Knights would have had at their
disposal. Yet May had taken a full on hit and survived. Not only that
but she was standing up again. For the most part, Justice could not
understand why such a young girl was able to resist him like this.
Until he really thought about it...
{Impossible!} Justice thought in severity. {Could this child be...?
Japanese?}
Justice looked at the scowl on May’s face as she stood up. The
resilience, the strength. It all added up. This girl was of pure
Japanese blood.
Justice was no less than incredulous. “So...there were...survivors.”
The more the God of Destruction thought about it, the more confusing
it was. But all at once, it wasn’t all that hard to accept. After
destroying the lab that had brought him back from the grave, Justice
had run into that fiery Japanese swordswoman whom he defeated easily.
Justice clenched his fist as May attempted to attack him once more. If
this child was truly of Japanese descent, then there was absolutely no
need for him to hold back.
**********
Millia ran towards Robo Ky, lowly dashing through the high up growth
of grass just outside of the tower. So far, contending with this
bucket of bolts had been no great struggle for the disinclined
assassin. The time had come to finish this little game off. Millia
still had a date with another mechanical nightmare, high off the upper
reaches of the tower. This pretending robo-soldier was doing nothing
more than delaying Justice’s comeuppance.
As Millia came close to Robo Ky, the young blonde whipped her hair
into the deadly shape of a blade and made a smooth set of hack and
slash motions at the android’s already damaged body. The mechanical
knight let out a strangled robotic cry as Millia’s razor sharp hair
sliced at his chest and abdomen. Those fierce strikes continued, and
eventually, Robo Ky’s fake Sacred Order uniform was shredded into tiny
ribbons. Quickly he waved his sword at Millia, who effectively dodged
that, to overcome these attacks.
Robo Ky jumped back to avoid Millia, and launched himself into the
air. The assassin was proving to be more of a challenge than his data
first indicated. It was clear that Millia had reached a whole new
level since his database of info on her had been collected. But
regardless, Robo Ky still held the edge. The robo-knight crossed his
metal arms across his body, and assembled some power units from that
small but potent energy generator within him. Soon he spread out his
arms, and fired a crescent wave of lightning in a downward trajectory,
heading straight at Millia. The Russian woman looked up at this.
Whatever that attack was, it was standard form for Robo Ky. He had
been using it continuously since the start of this battle. But it was
different this time. This wave of blue energy was much faster than
usual.
Millia employed her brilliant assassin-trained agility to swing her
whole body to one side, in a dazzling attempt at avoiding such a
technique. But as the blast collided with the ground, a fierce
explosion rocked the land, and the subsequent shockwave forced all of
the balance out of her body. Millia topped over within a cloud of
smoke created by the impact, batting away traces of ash with her
hands. That last lightning wave definitely had more ‘pep’ than the
previous ones.
But before Millia put stock in that, Robo Ky lunged at her from her
left. Robo Ky brought down his mighty sword to strike at the Russian,
but she did not fear it. She formed her hair into the shape of an
overhanging shield and fended off Robo Ky’s assault. But even so,
Millia could feel the jolts of electricity passing through her hair.
Robo Ky was stepping up the game.
As soon as Millia dissolved the form her hair had previously taken,
Robo Ky threw himself at Millia, knocking the woman out of the dust
and smoke clouds. Robo Ky reared back the fake Thunderseal, and lunged
it at Millia’s waist. Millia quickly ducked under the blade and curled
her body into ball, rolling past Robo Ky’s legs with ease. She had to
put some distance between herself and that clunking machine. Millia
quickly stood up and tried her best to study this situation. But
before she could, Robo Ky fired another one of his unending arsenal of
lightning waves. Millia picked up speed and ran out of the way, hoping
to avoid the shockwaves of Robo Ky’s technique before it hit. No such
luck. Zato’s nemesis was blown off her feet by the explosion, and Robo
Ky saw this as his time to attack up front. The android jumped over
from the reverse of his body, and struck up a cloud of lightning above
his body as he somersaulted forwards over himself. Millia saw Robo
Ky’s body descending towards her own, and rolled to one side to avoid
this. A loud crash echoed into the night as Robo Ky’s legs rammed into
the grassy ground, streaks of electricity passing along it as well.
Millia coughed as more dust got into her throat. Something was off
about this situation. A couple minutes ago, she was smacking Robo Ky
around like a rag doll. Now he was starting to dominate her.
But for what reason?
Millia’s winter cold eyes thinned out. “...How is he beating me?”
Robo Ky stood up slowly, that last move had meant his whole body was
on the line, but it did have pleasurable results.
“ASSASSIN_MILLIA. I_HAVE_RECORDED_ALL_OF_YOUR_FIGHTING_TECHINQUES.
YOU_HAVE_NO_CHANCE_IN_DEFEATING_ME. SURRENDER_NOW.”
Millia smirked. “For all your backchat and techno mumbo jumbo, you
still have no idea about who I really am. I’ve been a recluse for the
better half of my adult life. Nobody has known isolation like I have.
And through it all I was hunted down like a miserable dog by a band of
ruthless poachers. But not once did I surrender to the likes of you.
You may know me better than anyone one on a physical level...but you
still have a long way to go if you ever hope to understand the human
soul.”
“SILENCE!” Robo Ky screamed. “STUN_EDGE!”
Millia ducked over to one side of Robo Ky’s blast. Which was even
faster than the previous one. But then Millia realized something. Robo
Ky was not getting stronger. It was his analysis of her that was
giving him an edge. Something had to be done to put him away. Millia
ran forwards at Robo Ky, hoping that her superior speed would be
enough to throw the mechanized brute for a loop. But before Millia
could get close, Robo Ky made a peculiar hand motion, and crouched
down while doing so. A good distance from the android, a pulsating
wave of striking sapphire energy broke out in the molecules of the
crispy night air. The speed of Millia’s run offered her no hope of
avoiding this, and she let out a flat grunt of pressure as she slammed
into that stationary lightning wall. A surge of electricity jolted
through Millia’s lissom body and out of reflex, Robo Ky seized his
chance to strike his opponent down. For a slight second, Robo Ky fell
still. Then lightning strong energy unhurriedly developed around Robo
Ky’s body, and soon the energy formed into a clear crystalline sphere
of thunderous electric energy. Four other globes of power subsequently
surrounded this spherical energy ball. Then without warning, Robo Ky,
completely surrounded by his lightning shield, sprang at Millia and
stormed along the cold grasslands.
Millia was still too dazed from the Ray Divider to see this coming,
and so more damage was inflicted as Robo Ky’s cruising attack smashed
against her body. The force was immense but the duration of the attack
was lacking at best, and a few seconds later, the blonde woman was
tossed back like so much rubbish. As her tumbling body stopped moving,
Millia gritted her teeth and curled her left arm around her body.
Internal damage had been done. And Robo Ky was not finished yet.
**********
“Arrgh!!”
May yelled out as the firm back of Justice’s iron fist struck her. Her
pirate hat was blown right off her head, and May fell to her knees,
with a superior Justice standing before her. She couldn’t believe it.
May had been kicking butt since she was a kid. Everybody on the crew
had said before that she was freakishly strong. But compared to
Justice, all of that meant nothing.
Droplets of sweat fell from May’s face onto the cold, withered floor.
Never before had May put this much effort into fighting one person, it
was a very rare occurrence for her to be this angry. All of this anger
was fuelling her. But moreover, Dizzy was the real issue. It wasn’t
until recently that May had realized just how much Dizzy meant to her.
All the feelings of love and attraction were never really acknowledged
until now.
May’s heartbeat went up faster and faster, but not from her fight with
Justice. In her eyes...her dark marble eyes, reflections of Dizzy ran
rampant. Through separation, breathes the realizations of necessity.
May started to fully understand the depths of her caring for Dizzy.
Images of the young Gear doing anything...anything at all. They were
worth something to May. To see Dizzy laugh, smile, speak. Even cry if
need be. They all warranted a reaction from May. And they all
reflected a section of May’s heart that could only be understood by
Dizzy herself.
May loved Dizzy with every inch of her being. And right now, the only
thing stopping them from being together was Justice. And it was that
thought that gave May the courage, strength and patience to continue
to fight. As long as Dizzy needed to be protected, May would be there
to carry it out.
May slowly drew in breath, and weakly placed her arms on the ground.
Though her vision was blurry, May was sure that she could do this.
Exploiting all the strength she had left in her body, May slowly stood
on her feet, and clasped onto the anchor at her side. Justice just
stared at this young Japanese girl. Even for a Japanese woman, she was
extremely determined.
But there was a fine line between determination and arrogance.
Justice sneered. “Your fight is over, child. Go to sleep.”
In spite of the bleak situation she was in, May managed to form a grin
from her lips and pulled her anchor over her head, to rest on her
supple shoulders.
“I’m not...giving up...” May said defiantly. “...Not until you...let
Dizzy go...”
Justice felt a feeling certain humans call as bewilderment. Since the
moment of his creation he had never actually seen or heard of a human
fighting to ‘help’ a Gear.
“Why?” The Bio-technical weapon asked. “Why would you risk your life
to save that of a Gear?”
May scowled like she had just been asked the stupidest of all
questions. “Because I love her!” The pirate girl shouted. “I won’t let
you take her away from me!”
Justice was still clouded by such revelations. “You are...in love with
a...Gear?” He asked, still confused by such talk.
But whatever Justice’s feelings on the situation where, May could not
care any less than she already did. In a flash, the muscles in May’s
body tensed and contracted and her feet streamlined across the dusty
carpeted ground.
“Let her go!” May bellowed.
Justice sensed the keen boost in May’s momentum, and brought his arm
to one side of his body. Although he really didn’t think he needed
this much energy to defeat May, Justice had seen the kind of powers
that the Japanese had employed during the Crusades. It would be
foolish to underestimate this child on the basis of her innocence.
Glittering traces of energy surrounded Justice’s sharpened hand,
building up power for the next motion to come. Just as May got near
enough to strike Justice, the Gear King violently dragged his arm
around his body, and spread it in the region of his mechanical frame
in a circular motion. A thin wave of azure blue energy sleekly cut
through the night air, and struck harshly into May’s lower abdomen.
The young girl screamed in pain and things just went black and white
for May at that point. From the moment of impact, from the instant
Justice’s attack made contact with her flesh, she took in just how big
the gap between her power and that of Justice really was. Though she
wasn’t really aware of it, May was tossed clear across the one hundred
steps of the stairway to heaven. In seconds her weakened body slammed
against Dizzy’s ice prison, the sickening blood from her mouth
splattering against the glass-like frost. Though May had lost a sense
of her surroundings, she could still manage to remember just whom she
was protecting. And as a result, a wave of shame and hurt passed
through the brunette. Of course the pain was physical, but there was
also a deeper pain. A pain within May’s heart.
A heart-wrenching pain that existed simply because she couldn’t defend
Dizzy.
That was the reason May came to China. To defend Dizzy from anything.
But when it really mattered, May did not have the potential to protect
her beloved Dizzy.
Shining dewdrop tears shone through the air as May’s body slowly fell
through the air and landed crudely on the ground. May could only
mumble a few words as the last of her energy left her.
“...Oh...Dizzy...I’m...so...sorry...”
May’s energy was depleted. That was it. That was her limit. And
Justice slowly advanced on her.
“It sickens me to think there are survivors...” He said hatefully. “I
will have to eliminate you, human...Japanese human.”
Unbeknownst to anyone, even Justice, Dizzy was not unconscious. Not in
the least. Somehow she had woken up during Justice’s battle with Ky
Kiske, and had been watching everything that had taken place since
then. It was tough to watch any of it; Dizzy had always been adverse
to violence, but what truly horrified her was Justice’s treatment of
May.
Sweet, innocent, loving May.
Someone who had done nothing but protect others and had done her best
for her crew. Justice had treated May like she was nothing more than
soiled dirt. Like her life meant nothing. Never before had Dizzy seen
such cruelty, not even by the human people who verbally abused her in
Spain. That was the act of insecure, frightened people. Justice’s
actions were inexcusable.
And he was not finished as it was. Justice stepped towards May’s
comatose body, stamping his large ashen metallic foot on her pirate
hat as he neared her.
Even though Dizzy could not move in her ice prison, she could see
quite well what was going on around her, and tears welled up in
Dizzy’s crimson eyes as she saw May’s blood stain the outside of the
glassy ice.
Dizzy couldn’t take it. No more. No more suffering.
On the outside, Justice stepped towards May, and brought his single
fist into the air. The path of humankind had to be liquidated. And the
only way to do this...was genocide.
Whilst Justice was about to bring an end to the young pirate, he
stopped himself and looked at the ground. There was a slight tremor
passing through the stairway to heaven. The fragmented shards of
rubble and smashed statues littered around the area were also shaking.
Soon the sound of this shaking reached Justice, and the smaller rocks
on the ground rose and fell, just like that.
Justice was unable to explain what was going there. Something was
obviously gathering power and was doing it quickly, almost in urgency.
There was a presence within this area that was unlocking its
influence. The Gear commander let speculation take over, and hastily
looked back over at Sol. From the looks of it, he was still out cold.
And just a short distance away from Sol was Ky, who was also out of
it.
So if it wasn’t either of those two or the Japanese girl...then...
Justice swerved his head back around to look up at the gates, or more
specifically, the ice prison containing Dizzy. And correct to
Justice’s suppositions, the icy cage holding Dizzy prisoner was
cracking apart. Through each new streaky crack in the ice, a new beam
of light shone all the way through, beaming across the grim setting.
Then, without so much as a forewarning, the light being emitted from
Dizzy shattered her ice prison, filling the skies with scorching hot
white light, forcing Justice to cover himself as masses of dust, ice
shards and stone were tossed along the stairway.
Then, amidst the burning light, Dizzy’s unhindered sylvan form graced
the stairway to heaven, her wings in their full span, adorned in light
like an unholy Angel of Redemption.
Slowly her feet touched the cold floor following the dissolving of the
illumination and Dizzy’s teary red eyes directed themselves towards
her one true love.
And the dark figure standing across from her.
The ‘Queen of Gears’ came face to face with the King.
**********
Testament sneered deviously at Johnny. To be filled such a power, the
heightened power of a fully functional humanoid Gear was no less than
an unimaginable thrill to the senses. To be in touch with one’s
surroundings. To be able to feel every single vein pumping blood. To
feel every molecule scattered across the body, filling with fervent
clout and vigour.
These were the gifts of a Gear. A higher link on the evolutionary
chain than any human could be. In every way possible, Gears were
superior to humans. And every time Testament looked at bastard human
filth like Johnny, this fact was brought back to his mind with
disturbing speed.
Testament pointed his scythe at Johnny. “Your kind have walked along
the earth for too long, human! The time has come for a purification of
this planet. Everything within the world has become foul and rotten.
This is nothing more than the result of mankind’s corruption. The
disease of humankind which plagues the earth...must be destroyed! It
is my duty. The Gears might be nothing more than an extension of your
existence, but I believe...that we are the next stage of earth’s
continual evolution.”
Johnny scowled, as rare as it was for him to do that. “What are you
talking about?”
“To grow and thrive is the indomitable function of this planet. But
when humanity was born, it signalled the birth of a dangerous parasite
that threatens that equilibrium. Fooled into believing that it could
sustain its life and that of humanity, the earth accepted this
development. But the earth was not strong enough to protect itself
from humankind’s darkness and so it was almost crushed. From that
time, the earth realized that humans were unfit to claim dominion over
the earth. They were too selfish and self-absorbed to even think that
their actions had an effect on the earth. No matter how miniscule.
From that realization, destiny gave birth to a highly developed life
form called Gears. Beings that could fight humanity on an equal
playing field. We were chosen to reclaim the world from human scum
like you. It is my destiny to protect the earth from your kind’s evil.
Humanity is the enemy of life!”
Johnny shook his head. “You’re right. Human people are selfish. We are
cold, we are egocentric. But does that give you any right to force
your own wishes on the world?”
“Silence, human!” Testament leapt into the air and, brought his scythe
to the side of his body. Then, starting from a circular motion
downwards, Testament swung his scythe around in spin, slashing at
Johnny’s presence.
Johnny grabbed the edge of his hat and moved to one side of
Testament’s attack. He was pretty sure now that Justice had full
control over him. But Testament’s caring for Dizzy might be just the
way to reach him. Still, Johnny placed a defensive hand on the hilt of
his sword. He didn’t want to have to hurt Testament since Dizzy did
care for him, but if he had to, Johnny would finish it.
“You think that’s what Dizzy wants, huh?” Johnny said sternly. “To
fight and kill? Battling in some crazy war that will bring her nothing
but pain and anguish?”
Testament yelled out again, just before bowing in respect. Johnny was
curious about Testament’s sudden change in attitude, and studied the
Gear for a second. There was a hateful grin at the side of his mouth.
Then that horrible sound of a ground-borne demon buzzed in his ears.
Johnny quickly moved to one side as the demon beast tore up the steps
of the staircase they were standing on. Johnny swiftly jumped back to
avoid it and stared Testament.
“How dare you say that girl’s name?” Testament snarled. “Your people
have done nothing but bully and terrorize an innocent heart that
wished for nothing more than a quiet existence. She knows and feels
the pain brought along by human inconsideration. Dizzy is superior to
you in every way!”
Johnny sneered. “You still didn’t answer the question. Do think that
would make her happy? Acting as Justice’s lapdog? Living a life of
destruction and warfare? Well I don’t think so. This might sound rude,
but...I don’t think that’s what she wants out of life. I think she
just wants to live her life as a normal girl.”
Testament said naught, but stepped forwards slowly, and waved his free
his hand in the air, eliciting a curious sound. Like a puncture of
flesh. Johnny maintained his guard, kept his blue eyes trained on
Testament’s movements.
Testament stood still, seemingly dropping his guard. Whether this was
a rouse or not, Johnny didn’t care, Testament was bent on killing him
no matter what he did. Johnny ran toward the former knight, and pulled
at the hilt of his sleek blade by just a fraction of a millimetre. But
as Johnny came close enough to land a blow, he ran into a web of
sorts.
It was like a bloody net in the shape of a mesh, which held Johnny
tight with the sticky substance it was coated with. Johnny gritted his
teeth as he struggled to wrench himself loose, and this became even
more desperate when he saw Testament making certain actions.
The former knight bowed for respect once again, and then stamped his
hand into the ground, screaming Nightmare Circular. The action
unbolted a fissure in the channels of time and space, seemingly
opening a gateway to the unholy underworld itself. Johnny blinked in
shock as blood red spirits of the dead stormed against his body,
knocking him out of the bloody web and down the staircase. As Johnny
tumbled down those stairs, Testament stared downhill at him with his
eyes full of dark loathing.
“That blast was full of the angry cries and wails of the dead, human.
You heard them for a split second and it had the force to rend your
soul. I hear those voices everyday. I hear them when I sleep, and I
feel their agony as I draw in breath. They cry out for an end to your
race. And an end to their suffering. I will not fail the spirits of
the dead, human.”
Johnny smirked, wiping the blood from the side of his face. And slowly
a grin trailed on Johnny’s visage. Despite all the fighting, his
spirit would never die.
“Heh...” Johnny scoffed, not even bothering to get up. “Those cries
are for peace. And you should know that. Because Dizzy has that same
cry.”
**********
Dizzy rushed over to May. Not caring how Justice felt about it, Dizzy
quickly went to her love’s side and checked to see her condition.
After rubbing the bangs from her forehead, and checking her pulse,
Dizzy confirmed that May was okay. She had taken a beating, but May
was more or less fine. Dizzy smiled brightly, a few of her tears
dropping on to May’s shredded orange uniform.
The innocent Gear had no idea what she would do with herself if
anything ever happened to May. Justice looked curiously at Dizzy and
May. It was just so confusing for him. How could a Gear and a
human...be in love?
Humans hate Gears and Gears are superior to humans. They are natural
‘Shukuteki’. Nothing could or would change that. So how was it that
these two, human and Gear, could act in such a manner? It was one of
the few things that Justice could not get his head around. And for
that reason...he was driven to know more.
“Child...why do you comfort the human girl?” Justice asked.
Dizzy looked over her shoulder, tears staining her eyes, May’s blood
coving her hands. “How could you do such things to May? She is so kind
and caring...she came all this way...put her life on the line to
protect me...I love her...why would you want to do something to hurt
that? To hurt her?”
Justice shook his head. “Your experiences with the human in this time
of peace has made you blind to them. To their true desires. It is
regrettable...but understandable.”
Dizzy looked curiously at Justice, just for a second. It felt...very
unusual but, Dizzy got an awfully nostalgic tingling when she looked
at the other commander Gear. It was like looking into a dim mirror.
Something was there...but Dizzy couldn’t place it. But what she knew
she felt, was disgust. When human people called her a second Justice,
it hurt Dizzy a lot. But she knew in her heart that she was nothing
like him. Justice only saw his true purpose and self-being within his
weapon body. Violence is justified if that is what you were made to
do. But to Dizzy that was simply an excuse. Nothing justified death,
killing and destruction. No living being, human or Gear, had the right
to crush anything they so chose to do. And as long as Dizzy had life
and breath within her, there was no way she would allow Justice to
continue his rampage, despite of the reason.
Dizzy placed the sweetest of kisses upon her May’s cheek, and got to
her feet slowly, turning to face Justice, her dim reflection.
“You have no right to shape the world to the way you chose.” Dizzy
said. “You cannot stamp through life as though it were a toy to be
used at your whim. You do not have that right!”
Justice closely inspected Dizzy through his eyes. “It is humanity that
I seek to destroy, young one. Life itself is a thing to cherish. I do
not deny that.”
Dizzy tried to hold back her tears. “So then why...? Why would you
attack innocent people? People who do nothing but care for each other?
It makes no sense...”
Justice felt himself become enraged. “It makes every bit of sense! I
am a weapon...I was designed to destroy, and so I do. It is the fabric
of my being! We are Gears! What consequence does their fate have on
us? My mission...is genocide. And I exist...no, I function only to
achieve that mission.”
Dizzy wiped the tears from her eyes. Though her body was shaking, her
throat sore, and her body cold, the young girl knew what she had to
do. Justice had to be stopped once and for all. Otherwise, more
innocent people, just like May were sure to suffer. Justice looked at
Dizzy. There was a new austerity in her eyes. Whatever resolution she
had come to in her mind, she was deathly serious about it.
“I cannot allow you to proceed any further!” Dizzy declared. “As a
person...I...I will not tolerate it!”
Justice shook his head. He was curious about this girl’s power and
would have liked for her to join his side, but her mind had become
polluted by the taint of human influence. Such a flaw does not a good
soldier make. At any rate, Dizzy’s power had to be quashed. For the
good of Justice’s mission, this young Gear had to meet her fate.
Justice slowly crouched over and then leaned back, opening the
compartments over his shoulders. Two hot discharges of steam leaked
out from them, and Justice stood back up. To do battle with a fellow
Gear was always something of an honor.
Wasting no time, the energy chargers over Justice’s shoulders powered
up and propelled Justice forward at Dizzy. He instantly brought his
fist up and stuck it straight ahead, in a stabbing motion. Dizzy saw
this, and zoomed to one side of Justice, before he could hit her.
Justice slid a few metres away, and then Dizzy stole the opportunity
to make her attack. She respectfully stood on guard as Necro
materialized from his dark wing form, and projected a spinning staff,
surrounded by flaming blue energy. Justice looked back, behind him.
That unusual attack was slow moving but had the capacity to do some
damage. Fearing what might happen if he didn’t act, the King of Gears
tossed his body upwards slightly and back flipped, thrashing his tail
around the path of his movements in a rounded shift. This created an
upward shooting jolt of lightning, of which Dizzy’s attack knocked
into.
Justice slid back a little on all fours and watched Dizzy’s movements.
She was unsuited to fighting, that was for sure. Whatever her power,
if she lacked the skill to properly use it then she was no real threat
at all. Still, Justice would not underestimate the girl. The Gear
commander dashed forwards once more, heading directly for Dizzy.
{If he is allowed to get any closer, I might not be able to stop his
attacks.} Dizzy thought pensively. {I have to keep him away.}
Knowing this to be true, Dizzy leaned forwards and let Undine emerge
from her light wing form. The young Gear crossed her arms as a symbol
of intent, and Undine neatly spread her arms out, summoning the cold
braces of ice and frost to her aid. Immediately a jagged javelin-like
ice spike shot up from the scarlet-carpeted ground. In the nick of
time, Justice stopped himself from being impaled by such a force, and
halted in his steps.
Justice simply scowled at the thing, and made three sleek, sharp
chopping motions with the hand of his one arm. The ice spike was cut
into four even pieces, all of which shattered the second they hit the
ground. Dizzy blinked. Never before had she seen anyone resist her
power like this. Something was just not right. However Justice did not
allow Dizzy to mentally think about that, and charged at the
cerulean-haired girl. Dizzy was far too unprepared to effectively
think up a counter to this act and gasped as Justice’s tail struck the
side of her ribs. Dizzy stumbled to one side, grasping her ribs as she
was pushed to one side. Type-01 wasted no time waiting, and struck
Dizzy once again, with the back of his fist. Dizzy felt the air being
knocked out of her as Justice’s shadowy iron fist hammered her lower
stomach. The young Gear desperately drew in air, and toppled onto her
knees.
Justice just looked at Dizzy. She did have some incredible strength,
but her command of it was deficient.
“I am in awe of she who can utilize such power.” Justice uttered
conceitedly. “But are you controlling it or is it controlling you,
young Gear?”
Dizzy desperately gathered in air. She was not up to fighting like
this. The sheer force of her power was enough to see off most people,
but against fighters such as Justice and Sol, brute strength was not
enough. She was not accustomed to this kind of fighting. Dizzy lacked
the proficiency to manipulate her powers in the way that Justice
could. But there was still a way to win. Necro was in no way as timid
or as unskilled as Dizzy was. If she took a chance and let him have
control for a short while, it might tip the scales. But Dizzy was
hesitant. Not only would it cause her a great deal of pain, but also
Necro could be dangerous if he was out of control. Nevertheless,
Justice was a greater threat right here and now. And he hurt May.
That was the one thing Dizzy could not forgive.
Gradually, Dizzy pulled herself back onto her feet, and stood off
against her fellow Gear. Then, for a split second, Dizzy renounced the
control she had over her body, and gave all of it to Necro. Dizzy’s
dark guardian wrapped his spiritual form around Dizzy’s body, and from
that second, the body of the beautiful Gear was flashing with a
supreme dark radiance. Dizzy’s head lulled slightly as it ended, but
it arose straight back, with the darkest of grins attached onto her
face. Necro now had full control.
Justice was wordless. Such a change in disposition was rather odd to
him. Although it didn’t worry him. Until...
A Necro-installed Dizzy spread her nimble arms out even to both sides
of her body, and instantaneously an unstable wave of miniature
volcanic explosions erupted along the ground. Justice roared as the
volatile molten blasts surrounded and ravaged his already maimed body.
The shock of such an attack prevented Justice from focusing properly,
as Dizzy jumped through the clouds of smoke surrounding him. Dizzy’s
darker wing wrapped around her hand, and made a slashing motion at
Justice with unbelievable strength. The chest plate of the Gear leader
was chipped directly on contact with Dizzy’s boisterous fist, and he
screamed out a second time as another one rammed into his abdomen,
piercing his battle suit. A short second later, Dizzy’s hand
reappeared as it cleaved through the small of Justice’s back, covered
in scrap metal, electricity and a black substance some might regard as
blood. With a cruel smile, Necro-Dizzy roughly ripped out the hand
impaling Justice’s torso in addition to shoving him backwards with a
violent push. Justice lurched backwards, holding his gaping wound with
his only arm.
{Where...did the child get this power from!?} Justice thought
urgently.
Dizzy didn’t wait for Justice to make his comeback assault, and
gathered up power in her hand. The connections between Gears run deep
and Justice was about to learn just how immense that depth really was.
Slowly, almost mechanically, Dizzy swung her arm around and over her
body, but while doing so, Necro’s wing wrapped around the arm once
more. This formed a gigantic blade, so heavy and so powerful that
Necro-Dizzy had to hold onto her arm to maintain control. The ancient
scripted blade cut through the air itself, producing a golden wave of
energy to strike Justice down. The King of Gears let out a frustrated
cry from seeing that. Dizzy’s attack distinctly resembled his Michael
Sword. But rather than waste time thinking about it, Justice drew back
his arm and swung it around his body in a similar way to Dizzy,
creating his own wave of power. The two energy bolts collided with
each other, sending powerful shockwaves across the stairway to heaven.
As the light died down, Justice observed Dizzy. She was further away
than she had been before. But then he looked at his feet. There were
two trails; both of his feet were in one of them. Although Justice had
defended against Dizzy’s assault, he had been pressed back like a
feather.
Justice could not understand how the girl attained such power so
quickly. He was sure that her strength had not increased; when Sol
unlocked his true potential Justice could feel it. So then how...? How
could Dizzy raise her power like this?
Then it hit him. {She didn’t increase her power...} Justice thought.
{She focused it! This is the true scope of her abilities...}
Justice snarled. Now there was no way he could allow this girl to
live. Daigyakusatsu no Kami bent over forwards, crossing his arms over
his body. If Dizzy’s strength was allowed to exist within the world,
there was no telling the kind of damage she could do to Justice’s
overall plan. Justice pulled together some of his spare energy,
gathering and focussing this power in the compartments over his
shoulders. Necro-Dizzy decided not to wait for the outcome of
Justice’s activities, but as she glided towards him, it became
apparent that she was too late. Justice screeched once more as the
dual partitions unlocked themselves and a masterful blast of pure
white energy stormed out from within them. Necro-Dizzy grimaced at the
blast and raised her hands to protect herself. The Gear cried in agony
as the heat from Justice’s powerful energy surge burned at her senses.
Dizzy had to sharply close her eyes to prevent herself from being
blinded by the awesome light. Tensing her muscles and pushing her left
leg back was still not enough to fully defend against this power and
Dizzy was forced rearward by it.
Dizzy was smashed into one of the few standing statues left in the
stairway to heaven and when the beam subsided, Dizzy’s limp body
crashed onto the ground, smoke and dust covering her over.
Justice made a sound that sounded like panting, and lowed himself to
one knee. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up. Nearly all of
his energy had been used up in his battles with Ky, Sol, May and
Dizzy. But from the looks of it, Dizzy wasn’t going to be getting up
anytime soon.
Necro freed Dizzy’s body from his control; he was no longer able to
prolong his command without doing serious damage to her. Then as Dizzy
regained her senses, she realized how tired she was. That last attack
from Justice took it out of her. If things went on like this, she was
sure to die. But Dizzy was just so exhausted...
Tears welled up in Dizzy’s eyes again when the sweet memories of her
time as a Jellyfish Pirate returned to her. “I’m sorry...everyone. I
am...just so tired of it all...I cannot...defeat him...”
Justice looked over at Dizzy’s body. She wasn’t moving, but she was
still alive. He had to finish her off now, before anything could get
in the way. One more direct hit from the Gamma Ray and Dizzy would be
blown into oblivion. So again Justice bent over and assembled all the
last scraps of power his body contained.
The few speckles of her tears pattered on the floor, and with her
sullen feelings of guilt and shame, Dizzy slowly lost consciousness.
**********
Dizzy looked around her environment. She was...floating. In a
shapeless void, nothing around her but emptiness. In a colourless,
faceless, forever shifting voice. Dizzy shut her eyes.
ISOLATION
That hateful feeling. The feeling of being alone. One thing I disliked
was being alone. Especially now that I have experienced what it meant
to have true friends. But...was the isolation where I really felt
comfortable? Were having friends too much of a...
FEAR
Do I...fear letting them down? I...don’t know...I am careful about
it...I hate the idea of them being angry with me...but...I do not want
to be afraid of them...they are my...
TRUST
I trust them...I love them...they have made me feel so welcomed on the
May ship...I can never forget their kindness. They have real
strength...I...am a Gear...is that all I exist as? A Gear? Or do I
mean more? Should I mean more?
“If you’re asking the question, it shows that you know you’re worth
much more!”
Dizzy looked around. To one side of her. Standing there were June and
April. Her friends...two close friends who she felt she didn’t
deserve. Friends that had been so kind to her...
Dizzy struggled to hold back her tears. “I don’t deserve you.”
June rested her hand on her waist, and shook her head. “What are you
talking about? You’re our friend, Diz! Now and forever! Come on, win
this one for the team!”
Dizzy looked over at April. She was equally confident. “I believe in
you, Dizzy. We all do.”
Over on the other side of Dizzy, both Johnny and Testament appeared.
Dizzy looked at the two of them. Her protectors. The people that went
out of their way to defend her.
“Johnny...” Dizzy said quietly. “...and Testament...”
Johnny winked at Dizzy from behind his shades. “It’s all up to you
now, cakes. Don’t let us down.”
Testament looked at Dizzy, with that same cold but caring expression.
“Ascend to new heights, my precious one.”
Then Dizzy turned her attentions to the woman that was in front of
her. Her first real friend. The only girl who she felt comfortable
with no matter how she felt...
The girl she loved. “...May...”
May smiled brightly, and drifted forwards toward Dizzy, clasping the
scarlet-eyed girl’s hand, and rubbing her tears away with her other
one.
“There’s no need to be sad.” May said sweetly. “I’m here for you. I
know you can do this...because we are connected. We have been since we
first met. I feel what you feel, you see what I see. I’m in love with
you, Dizzy. I don’t want you to ever believe that we don’t have faith
in you.”
Dizzy smiled a little bit. “...May.”
“Now...” May started. “Get up and show that walking tin can what a
Jellyfish Pirate is made of...”
**********
Justice continued to charge up the final attack that would put Dizzy
away for good. Her power was phenomenal, but under the raw strength
and cunning of Justice, all that power meant nothing. Justice then
snorted as he saw Dizzy move. The young Gear, struggling to stand on
her hands and knees, was slowly getting up.
Justice was able to speak, even though he was building energy for his
final attack. “How can you have any power left?”
Dizzy hauled herself to her feet. She wasn’t scared anymore. There was
no need to be. She had her friends, April, June, Johnny, Testament all
by her side. And what mattered most, was the fact that she had May’s
love in her heart. With those tender feelings of affection giving her
strength, there was no way she could lose.
Not now, not ever.
“Fine then young Gear!” Justice bellowed. “Your tenacity will be
greatly accepted in the netherworld!!”
Without further ado, the twin compartments over Justice’s broad
mechanical shoulders separated and opened up, firing another
gargantuan blast of destructive force. Dizzy did not move or flinch.
To look at her, you would have never guessed that any sort of change
had occurred within the young woman but there had been.
Dizzy was not afraid anymore.
As long as she had the support of her friends and her love, nothing on
this earth could stand against her. And Dizzy at last understood that.
As the energy ray came near to her, Dizzy calmly set her hands forward
and held the blast back. Though the energy of it was scorching hot,
Dizzy’s power had reached a whole new level. And she had finally the
control to use it. The innocent Gear held the blast firm, even as the
ground started to shake once more, cracking the foundation of the
tower. Justice forced more strength into the Gamma Ray when he
realized that Dizzy was shielding herself almost effortlessly, but it
was not enough. Justice was too tired and Dizzy’s power was growing by
the second. Slowly, Dizzy began to step forwards, pushing Justice’s
energy beam back as she moved. He could not believe it. This child was
resisting his attack even though she should have been drained of all
her energy.
Before long, Dizzy’s hand moved away from the beam and fell to her
side. Now the only thing standing between Dizzy and destruction was
the raw force of her dominant Gear aura. Like the shield that defends
the soul of a person, Dizzy’s shining white aura held Justice’s attack
at bay. And with one final resolution, her feet began to slowly rise
from the floor.
This had to end.
The lightning bolts and thunder claps in the dark night skies of
Fuzhou took on a deeper pitch as a powerful new force began to emerge
from the depths of destiny. Dizzy screamed while a mighty force filled
her body. Streaks of golden power flowed through her veins and all the
wounds and bruises on her body just disappeared, almost as if they
were never there. Dizzy continued to rise until she reached a certain
point above the ground. Then her body was enveloped with nothing but
white light and she discharged everything her bright soul could
muster. Instantly Justice’s energy beam was dissolved under the
absolute pandemonium of Dizzy’s chaotic power. Rays of light
overflowed the stairway to heaven, shining into the night skies as
bright as any star could ever be. Justice shrieked while he was
blasted by Dizzy’s ultimate strength. As easily this, parts of
Justice’s body began to melt and erode away; the force of Dizzy’s soul
was like a corrosive acid. And it was then that Justice understood.
He was going to die.
But even more than that, the King of Gears saw the untouched purity of
a mighty Gear’s power. And as a result...visions of That Man, the Gear
Maker, flooded through Justice’s thoughts, just as they had done a
year ago. And he fully appreciated the meaning of them.
{Incredible...the true power of a Gear.} Justice thought. {I see...so
that is...the next chapter, is it? Then my presence...it is not at all
necessary...I see. Then I won’t interfere. To die now...by the fist of
a Gear...is...acceptable.}
With a final shaky rattle, Justice, the leader and commander of the
former Gear army, met his final end.
**********
Johnny held firm. Though he was losing ground to Testament, he was not
going to give up. Though Johnny did wonder just how long he could keep
this up without actually hurting Testament.
Soon the dark scythe wielding Gear reared over Johnny with his
foreboding presence, and pulled his weapon high above his head. Johnny
was not going to attack just yet, but kept his hand on his blade.
“Now human!” Testament said. “Feel the agony of a thousand souls
of...of...”
The former knight dropped his blood tipped weapon, and slowly fell to
the ground. Johnny looked at him with a puzzled appearance on his
face.
“What happened?” He asked. “Did he...no...I don’t believe it...”
Johnny couldn’t hide his good cheer and smiled. “Someone killed
Justice!”
**********
Millia blinked as Robo Ky came closer and closer to her. Her ankle had
been damaged by one of Robo Ky’s lightning waves. This robotic faker
had successful predicted all of her moves and abilities. It appeared
that he wasn’t lying when he said Millia was outmatched. Now that
machine was going to destroy her.
Millia looked away as Robo Ky advanced on her. All of her struggles
against Zato and the Guild, she had overcome them all. Yet the final
story would be concluded by a soulless android.
Robo Ky lifted the false Thunderseal into the air to strike down a now
helpless Millia Rage. “YOUR_FATE_IS_SEALED.”
“Fuujin!”
“Youzansen!”
Robo Ky yelled out as two attackers damaged the back of his body, and
the robotic nightmare went sailing over across the grass into a nearby
rock, smashing its metal cranium.
Millia looked up from the ground she was lying on. To the cheery
smiles of Baiken Seishino and Anji Mito. Millia couldn’t believe that.
They came to rescue her?
“B-Baiken?” Millia stuttered, partly from her shock, and also from her
fight with Robo Ky. “What are you doing here?”
Baiken simply smiled, and Anji walked over to give Millia a hand up.
“Baiken just wouldn’t stop nagging me until we came over here to help
you out. We would have been here sooner but we didn’t know where you
had gotten. Until we got some help from that Axl guy.”
Millia clasped onto Anji’s and let him help her up. “Thank you. Both
of you...” Millia turned her attention to Baiken. “But you were
injured. Why did you risk hurting yourself again?”
Baiken ignored the twinge she felt at her waist. “I decided not to let
you have all the fun. I guess I missed most of the party though, eh?”
The Japanese swordswoman began to walk over to her friends, until the
pain from the injuries that Justice had inflicted set in. Baiken
groaned and staggered a little, until Millia and Anji rushed to her
side as best they could.
The blonde assassin and the inquisitive fan carrier stopped Baiken
from falling, holding both sides of her. For now, Millia forgot about
her beaten ankle. “Baiken, are you alright?”
Baiken nodded, not really looking up. “...Yes...I’m fine.”
“Sure, sis?” Anji asked.
Again, Baiken simply nodded. “Yes...thank you both.”
Both Millia and Anji smiled. Baiken had changed a little. Normally she
would have just told you to let her go, but now she was accepting
help. Then as they both thought about that, Millia and Anji’s
attentions turned to each other.
{What exactly *is* Baiken’s connection to this man?} Millia thought
curiously. And surprisingly enough, Anji’s thoughts weren’t much
different. {What exactly *is* Baiken’s connection to this woman?}
**********
“Uuuughh...”
May groaned loudly, her ebony eyes opening up slowly. From the looks
of things, she had been out of it for a while. Then she remembered the
fight. Justice...and Dizzy...
May looked behind her. The ice prison that Dizzy had been inside of
had been crushed. Then May looked around desperately for Dizzy. If
Justice wasn’t here, then that meant he might have left again, taking
Dizzy with him. Just when May started to panic again, the pirate took
a look across from her, just down the one hundred stepped stairway.
“Dizzy!” May yelled.
The young girl ran erratically to Dizzy, who was lying asleep on the
dusty ground with a withered blanket covering over her. May slid to a
stop when she reached her girlfriend, and kneeled down to check that
she was okay.
Luckily, she was. “Thank god...she’s okay.”
“She needs rest.”
May looked behind to see Sol standing just behind her. “Who are you?
Did you take care of Justice?”
Sol said nothing. There wasn’t a shred left of Type-01. Justice was
well and truly dead. Even though he hadn’t seen any of it, Sol was
pretty sure that Dizzy had been the one to take him down.
“Well?” May prodded. “Did you?”
“...Just take her out of here.” Sol barked. With those last few words,
Sol made his way down the steps of the stairway to heaven. The place
was trashed enough as it was.
May just forgot about Sol. At the moment, the only thing that mattered
was Dizzy. May smiled brightly and ran her hand through Dizzy’s lush
blue hair. She was okay. And they were together again.
“My Dizzy...” May stated dreamingly.
**********
Two days later, May, Dizzy, Johnny, June and April and a few of the
other girls decided to spend a little more time in Fuzhou. The fires
had been taken care of and all reports of Justice sightings had been
dismissed by the Union of Nations as a hoax.
Johnny, April, June and Dizzy were sitting on a wide couch in the main
room of the Inn they had rested out. It had been fixed up pretty well
considering Justice tore into the place, and they had even fixed the
Karaoke machine. Which was what they were about to watch right now.
Johnny looked at Dizzy who was sitting at his left. She had a slightly
troubled expression on her face. Like she was worried about something.
“You okay, Dizzy?” Johnny asked.
Dizzy looked at Johnny. “I am fine...I just...I am worried about
Testament...I have not seen him in a while...I hope he is okay.”
The captain of the May ship attuned his shades slightly. Testament had
broken free of Justice’s control after his death, but he wouldn’t
stay. He only made sure that Dizzy was all right and then left. It was
probably for the best.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” Johnny reassured Dizzy. “You know he can visit
any time he wants to. I’m sure you’ll see him again.”
Dizzy smiled. “Yes...thank you, Mr Johnny.”
Johnny scowled playfully. “Hey, hey, hey! Now what did I tell you
about all that ‘Mr Johnny’ stuff?”
The young Gear chuckled gently. “I’m sorry, Johnny.”
“That’s better! Now...I wonder who is going to sing next?”
Backstage, May was busy handling the lyrics for a special song. A song
that she was going to sing for a special someone. Dressed in her
favorite midnight black dress, and her hair loose and free, May felt
more than ready to do this. As soon as the Inn’s owner announced her,
May stepped through the curtains to the small stage, to see the
clapping of the crowds and the bewildered looks on Dizzy and the
others.
With a microphone in one hand and hope in the other, May smiled at her
audience but fixed her attentions on Dizzy.
“Hello everyone!” May said, her voice louder due to the microphone.
“I’m gonna sing a song, for someone really special to me. I hope
everyone likes it...”
May got her feet tapping, as the speaker started to play her music.
She really wasn’t a 20th music fan but maybe it could convey the
point. Something she didn’t feel she could properly express any other
way.
“Baby, maybe, we can spend a little time together now that we're
alone...”
May moved around a little. “So long...I have been waiting...now can't
you let me take you home?”
“All these things we do will make our dreams come true...”
“You want me, and I surely want you...”
“Tell me where to go...tell me what I need to know...to take you on a
little ride...”
A blush appeared on May’s face when she started to get whistles from
some of the younger men in the room, but kept her focus on the one
person that really mattered.
May took a deep breath as she continued. “Hold me...control me...let
me circumnavigate your body, mind and soul...”
“Like a seed from a flower...I can grow and you must know...”
“Sadness, don't mean a thing...‘cause, you and me girl...”
May suddenly got more passionate. “You know we're in the swing!”
“All the things that I want to get with you on a midsummer night...in
the evening light...sweet evening light...”
“All these things we do will make our dreams come true...”
“I want you, you want me... I surely need you, baby...”
May turned to look at Dizzy. There was a pleading look in her eyes. A
look of longing. Dizzy did not mistake it, and her face flushed with
love when she realized just what May meant by singing such a song.
“And so far what we’ve done...has made our live become...something
more than...evening light to make it right!”
“All, all I want from you baby, is sweet loving and I know...I know
yes I know...I know what I want from you, girl!”
“We can make it right. We can hold onto each other tight, lose our
inhibitions...Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”
As the music took a lower turn, May stopped dancing enough to
expressed the true meaning of her song.
“Every little thing we do is good, every little thing you see is
sweet, every little part of you I'd like to meet...”
“I want you girl, you know I want you...I want you in the evening
light...”
The funky backbeat tune died down, and May clammed up when she
received a standing ovation, people cheering with all their hearts.
May then looked back at the front row. Johnny, April and June were all
cheering and praising her and so was Dizzy. May felt her heart
pounding as Dizzy watched her. Somehow, she got the feeling that Dizzy
understood her sentiment. Because it was returned with equal passion
and affection.
May beamed at her girlfriend. {I love you, Dizzy.}
**********
“Hey, Axl! You done yet?”
Axl, clad in a pasty white apron, washed the dirty, soiled dishes of
Jam’s customers, trapped inside that confining kitchen. Axl could not
stand it. He had bust his back to help out Dizzy, May, Johnny, Jam,
Sol, Baiken and Anji, yet at the end of the day, he was washing
dishes.
{So I couldn’t afford to pay for Jam’s meal, big deal!} Axl thought
annoyed. {She charges through the roof!}
Jam poked her head through the doors to the kitchen. “Well? Are you
done with those dishes yet?”
Axl sighed. “No ma’am...”
“Well then get back to work!” Jam yelled. “I’ll take care of things
out here...”
Jam pulled her head back and walked through the main dining area over
to Ky’s table. He had cracked two ribs while battling Justice, and he
had no other place to go, so Jam happily offered Ky somewhere to stay
until he got back to full health.
“Hiya, Ky!” Jam said cheerily, putting down his order on the table. “I
have your tsukimi soba right here!”
Ky graciously accepted that. “Thank you, Jam. How much do I owe you
then?”
Jam shook her head. “Free of charge! After all, you really need to
build your strength up. And what kind of girlfriend would I be if I
didn’t take care of you?”
Ky looked puzzled. “But...I thought we were just-“
The French knight’s question was cut short when Jam fed him some of
the tsukimi soba. Axl poked his head through the kitchen doors and
regretfully saw that.
{...If Megumi was doing that for me...what a lucky stiff. Sometimes it
just doesn’t pay to be a background hero...}
**********
Millia, Baiken and Anji looked out over the cool windy grasslands of
Fuzhou. Justice had been defeated, and the town had been saved from
destruction. The only question left was what comes next. Both Baiken
and Anji had their futures set. They both wanted to confront That Man;
the only difference was their objectives. But Millia didn’t have that
same aim. Her mission was fulfilled with the death of Zato.
Anji sighed as the wind slowly blew his locks of hair. “So...where is
it that we go from here? I was on my way to Mainland China on a hunch
about That Man’s location...”
“Then that’s where we’ll go.” Baiken said firmly. She then looked back
at her assassin companion. “Millia?”
The blonde chuckled. “You saved my life. I have a debt that I owe you.
And until I pay it back, I think our paths are intertwined.”
Baiken grinned, her ponytail of peachy pink hair flocking in the
breeze. “Excellent. Then let’s go.”
The trio then began their slow journey towards Mainland China. But as
the three warriors walked away, two figures watched them from above on
a small cliff. One of them had an antiquated pipe placed at the corner
of his mouth, a seemingly living cape over his shoulder, and a monocle
over his eye. This wise man had his arm swathed around the shoulder of
a younger looking woman, outwardly innocent, but overflowing with
underlying power.
The older man looked over at Millia, Baiken and Anji. “The passage of
time never ceases to create interesting things. There was always a
characteristic of peculiarity within the human world. Or maybe I think
in such a way because I have spent so much time in the darkness. What
do you say, Sharon?”
Sharon smiled. “I agree, my love.”
A resolute look was masked on Slayer’s face as he looked down upon the
trio. Or more specifically, Millia.
“Let it be so...” The Ishu said calmly. “As the wheel of life is
maintained...a new chapter begins.”
**********
wasurekaketa nanika wo sagashinagara
kegare no nai tsubasa wo dakishimetai
namiuchigiwa ni umoreteta kanashimi no kaigara
hirotte aruita hibi wa mou sutete shimaou
suna no nemuri ga sameru koro shiawase no hana taba
kaze ga hakonde kite kureta mou furikaeranai
kono hoshi no
dokoka de
egao ga umareteru saa kimi to yukou te wo tsunaide
wasurekaketa nanika wo sagashinagara
kegare no nai tsubasa wo dakishimetai
sorairo ni somaru hitomi kira kira kagayaite
sugisatte yuku ano hibi wa mou tooi maboroshi
omoide no kawa wataru tabi okubyou ni natteta
kedo kimi ga ite kureta kara
mou yuuki wo daseru
kono hoshi wa
itsu demo
yume ga afureteiru
saa kimi to yukou donna toki mo
kowaresou na kokoro wo mamorinagara
kimi no atsui manazashi wo miteitai
wasurekaketa nanika wo sagashinagara
kegare no nai tsubasa wo dakishimetai
**********
THE END
**********
Kaiser’s Afterthoughts
----------------------
* (Sniff) That’s it folks...the end of the DB, BS saga...I dunno
whether to laugh or cry...we’ve had some fun though, haven’t we? Yeah
it’s been a long road, but we’ve finally made to the end. But don’t
worry! A sequel will be coming soon, that will tie up some of the
loose ends of the Darkest Body, Brightest Soul storyline (Ky vs. Sol,
Venom’s fate, Slayer, May/Dizzy as a couple, etc).
* Before I go anywhere, I want to thank all these people.
Deathsythe
Zeronova
Asuka
Dezz
Nik
Axl Gear/green fire
Depression
Dark Paladin
Saikaku Makioka
iczer6
anjimito
Ice-God
Grand Master Shoma
Katzy. H
Shahnida
Wing
Hybrid
Tallulah, Grammar Songstress
Samuraiter
Talon Harvilicz
janis
Ky Kiske
Chibi Chan, the Fluffy Bunny
Mr. Grim
Eagle
Gouf
TrickCard
TheArchimage
Ellie Vyle
Kebinu
Mimi
Devin Daniels
XenoMark
Jun
Sammy
Darkheart
Accursed
Tian^2
Shingo Yabuki
Tumbleweed
RocK M
Kevin Chu/Person with many aliases
Jay Funk
Dethlord
(??) Dotlsg@aol.com
adam phillips
mr_omega_007
Nauveta
Z Lord
Dean Garrison
Minku/Pierce Fraser
Your support/comments/advice/criticism made this fic possible. I also
want to thank my family and friends, whom I shamefully ignored while
writing chapters of DB, BS and all the people who read my story. Many
thanks, you guys.
* The songs Sexy Boy, Everyday and Pure Again are property of their
individual creators. I own none of them. But the little Japanese poem
at the start of this chapter is mine; it’s called Dead Earth Crescent
Life. If you wish to use it, go right ahead.
* Sorry to all the people waiting for e-mails from me, I’ve been
really busy and I haven’t checked my inbox for damn near a week. I’ll
get back to all of you as soon as I can.
* And...an added sorry for taking so long to update Loop the Loop and
Rival Rage. But I have written two new chapters to Rival Rage by this
time, and I’ll get cracking on a new chapter to Loop the Loop as soon
as possible.
* Somebody IM me so we can talk about Guilty Gear! I’m always in a
mood to discuss storyline these days.
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