|
Chapter 11: Lost My Holdings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
mad Xx:
Zepp, floating country of Blackteck
mad Xx:
Sol leaned against the abandoned building where he could detect both Baiken and Anji’s scents, however, they went back into the crowd, leaving Sol once again without much to go on. He now smoked a cigarette as usual, formulating other ideas he could use in his search. In a last ditch effort previously, Sol asked a few people, but none claimed to have seen the two Japanese who fit the description.
‘******** I should just leave and search for information about That b*****d back on the ground like I’ve been doing...’
Sol kicked off the wall, letting his cigarette fall to the floor before stomping it out. He began to walk casually to join the crowd a few miles away, but was halted by none other than Baiken as she walked towards him. The two looked at each other, wordlessly. Although Baiken’s face was emotionless, Sol could detect a feral rage radiating from within her. The two simply kept levelly staring at one another, and although Sol could have done this all day, he really didn’t feel like playing any games.
“Where’s fan boy?”
Sol asked in his simple casual manner.
“He’s gone.”
Baiken answered in blunt tone. Sol quirked an eyebrow, thought it could not be seen under his head piece.
“Gone...? As in he left, or as in he’s dead?”
Sol asked again.
“He left this place. Now seeing as I’ve answered some questions for you, you should answer at least one question of mine.”
Baiken stated. Sol shrugged. Taking that as a sign to continue, Baiken did so.
“Are you a Gear?”
She asked, her tone raising ever so slightly, and it did not go unnoticed to Sol that her hand went to the hilt of her weapon. Silence reigned as Sol regarded her with a bored gaze. He had almost exactly two hundred years practice to keep his face emotionless, so Baiken’s question outwardly did not phase him in the slightest.
“What the ******** are you spouting about, woman?”
Sol said, his tone taking on a hint of anger.
“Prove it to me then. Remove that head piece of your’s.”
She demanded. Sol scowled.
“Huh? b***h, you have a lot of nerve to order me around. Your of no use to me, so get the ******** out of my way.”
Sol said in an annoyed manner, his tone rough. He began walking past her, but she drew her blade, forcing him back.
“You will show me.”
Baiken warned. Sol sighed, deciding to get this over with. He threw his sword into the ground, before bringing his hands to the side of his head where the black leather straps held his head piece on. Sol undid them, removing his head piece slowly. He lifted up the bangs of hair that fell over his forehead. To Baiken’s surprise, there was no emblem there. Her eyes narrowed in anger.
“Mito...that b*****d lied to me.”
She growled angrily, turning away from Sol. But is was true that Sol was emanating with a strange aura, that was not completely human. It seemed like it could have been a Gear, yet was highly muddled. Sol was about to put his head piece on, but Baiken’s curiosity got the better of her, and she turned to jab Sol in the stomach with the hilt of her weapon. Sol grunted, hardly feeling the pain at all, but it had been enough to make him break his concentration and that’s when Baiken truly felt it. The aura of a Gear. She could now see Sol clutching his forehead with his left hand. She let out a small gasp as she saw the red emblem appear on his forehead. Her surprise turned into anger.
“You...you really are a Gear, Badguy!
She stated, obvious hate in her voice. Sol growled, the sound coming out more feral and animalistic sounding. It took a large amount of concentration for Sol to hold his human appearance without his cell control device. He had been too caught up in trying to maintain his human form in front of Baiken, he hadn’t noticed her turning swiftly to strike him.
“Before I kill you, you’ll tell me where That Man is.”
Baiken, her voice still full of loathing. Sol peered at her, and she noticed from the one eye she saw that it had altered. The pupil of his eye had expanded into a vertical slit, and the iris itself retracted a bit in size. His only response was to growl at her in his deep voice.
“Fine, you won’t answer, huh? Then I’ll beat it out of you.”
Baiken threatened. This earned a small laugh from Sol.
“Beat me? Your just a waste of my time in my Gear form...”
Sol muttered out. Sol applied his head piece back to his forehead, and his eyes soon transformed back from animal like to human.
“...So I’ll even the odds.”
Sol finished as he grabbed the Fire Seal from the ground. He attacked with a precise slash to Baiken’s face, and she could barely bring up her weapon in time to intercept his. He came forward to strike her hard across the face with his fist, sending her on the ground. Baiken got up slowly, never having seen Sol fight with quite this much ferocity. He was still holding back, but Sol was not going to go easy on her like he did with anyone who crossed him in the past. This was because she knew what he was, and anyone who did, ended up dead. Baiken got up quickly, dropping her defensive abilities and applying them to offensive techniques.
“Sakura!”
She thrust out with her blade, but Sol simply spun to the left to evade, striking her in the side of the head with his elbow, and making her hit the ground again. He walked casually towards her as she sat up.
“Youshijin!”
She sent three chained blades flying up in Sol’s direction, but he struck them down before they could make contact. Baiken rose to draw her sword, but Sol struck her sword with his before she could even bring it out, the pommel of the Fire Seal pushed against her weapon not allowing her to draw it. Sol’s hand quickly grasped the front of her kimono, bringing her speeding towards him as her head collided with his, and Baiken was sent staggering, her back hitting a wall of an old building.
‘Is this...how he fights went he’s truly serious?’
Baiken thought to herself. Sol’s combat ability was always difficult for anyone to measure, but it was always known that he never pushed himself too hard. Sol was now upon her again, thrusting out with his foot to kick her solidly in the stomach with enough force to send her through the wall. Baiken lay on her back, breathing heavily. She tried to get back up, but the combined injuries from both her fights with Anji and Sol made the process difficult. She knew she should have spent more time to recover, but her obsession with having revenge against That Man had overshadowed her common judgement. Sol now towered over her, his gaze piercing. He grabbed her roughly around the neck, lifting her up off the ground.
“Now your going to answer me. Where’s fan boy?”
Sol asked in a dark tone. Baiken just glared down at him from her vantage point.
“Go ******** yourself, Gear trash.”
She answered, a small smirk appearing on her lips. Sol’s eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened around her neck, constricting her lungs of air.
“Your dead anyway. You might as well tell me, so I can beat the information about That b*****d out of him. I’ll get revenge for both of us.”
Sol stated. Baiken sneered.
“Bullshit...your one of his servants, so stop playing dumb...I’ll take you to hell before I die...”
She grasped a paper seal in the fold of her kimono.
“Baku Rin!”
She placed a crippling spell on the seal, before bringing it out and slamming Sol in the chest with it. Sol was driven back by the unexpected attack, and Baiken fell to the ground, kneeling and coughing. She got up slowly, unsheathing her blade and walking towards the immobile So, who lay against an old assortment of rusted metal pipes. She now stood over him bringing her blade up.
“All of you Gears deserve to die.”
Baiken said threateningly. Sol simply glared up at her. Baiken brought her sword down, intent on ending Sol’s life, but his right hand came up, clutching the blade in his fist, which drew some blood from his palm. Baiken looked surprised. Sol growled, and through sheer will power, made the seal burn off from his chest, into nothing. He now stood up, still holding her sword.
“Was it fan boy who twisted your logic around? I’d kill myself before becoming a servant to That b*****d.”
Sol said slowly. He then head butted her, releasing her weapon as he did so. Baiken backed up slowly from the blow, trying to fight off the feelings of going unconscious.
“Damn you...! Tatami Gaeshi!”
She growled out, bringing up her foot before stomping the ground, causing a wave of magic tatami mats to rise up from the ground in Sol’s direction. Sol avoided it by air dashing, before slamming the hilt of Fire Seal right at her forehead, knocking her off her feet. Baiken tried to get up again, her stubborn nature not allowing her to fall so easily, but her fatigue caught up with her again, and she finally fell back to the ground, conscious fleeting as darkness overcame her vision.
‘She could have lived longer if she didn’t get involved with him or learn about me. But now, she going to die by my hand.’
Sol made his way over to her fallen form.
“Your lucky...at least you get the chance to die, unlike myself.”
Sol said, slashing down with the Fire Seal.
“Spare her life, Sol.”
Anji had appeared behind him, just before Sol’s blade could plunge into Baiken’s back. He turned slightly to regard the Japanese male.
“You shouldn’t have told her. Those who know must forfeit their lives. But since both of us are on the subject, why did he tell you about me?”
Sol asked as he turned fully to face Anji.
“I’m his servant now, Sol. I am obligated to know what you are and what you once were.”
Anji said truthfully. Sol’s grip tightened around Fire Seal’s hilt.
“Is that so? Then you’ve been altered as well?”
Sol asked. He couldn’t detect any signs of augmentation within Anji at all, however. Sol gazed at Anji, disbelieving. Any personal servants to That Man always was given quite a boost of power to add to their own, and given the gift of immorality. Anji had neither, nor did he seem to be totally taken in by That Man’s great charisma that he would give both body and soul to serve That Man like Raven and I-No. Only a select few had a strong enough will, Sol himself included, who could resist That Man’s influences due to strong mental defenses. However, Anji’s great weakness to uncovering the unknown because of his immense curiosity would make him a perfect candidate to succumb to That Man.
‘Why...? If he lacks the strong mental defense, what type of powerful enough emotion could keep him partially rooted to his humanity?’
Sol thought, thoroughly puzzled. He had to admit for once, Anji had him stumped. Hatred and revenge were usually the emotions that could make up for one’s weak mental defense to That Man’s charisma, but Anji did not have these animosities towards That Man, unlike Baiken.
“Please Sol...I beg of you to spare her.”
Anji was now on his knees, bowing to Sol. Sol shook his head.
“Weren’t you listening before? You told her what I was, and now she’s going to pay the price for your mistake. Then I’m going to beat the s**t out of you until you tell me where That b*****d is.”
Sol stated in annoyance.
“Please Sol...she is my salvation. She was the one who prevented me from totally going over to the side of That Man. His talk about standing up to defy both the heavens and the earth were so mesmerizing...that I could learn all the answers to my questions...and I didn’t think I could withstand, but the last remaining thoughts about her continued to fester within me, and eventually, I regained what little there was left of me that was still human. That’s why I was able to tell him not to change my body so I could wield enough power to match Mr. Raven or Ms. I-No. That’s why I’m still human...because of my love for Baiken...haven’t you ever been overwhelmed by such a joyous feeling? So please...have a heart and spare her.”
Anji explained, continuing to plead with Sol.
“So, it was the emotion called love that kept you bound to your true self...we Gears have long since forgotten that emotion, however, when you pathetic humans decided to use us for war.”
Sol stated.
“I see. Then, if that is not a good enough reason, then spare her in exchange for information on where That Man is. All you would have to do is unleash your full Gear powers. That would be enough to kill him. Not only that, but in doing so, Baiken will no longer have to go on her quest for revenge. She will no longer have to nearly kill herself on a journey to find him.”
Anji explained to him. Sol smirked, now finally understanding what Anji was intending to do.
“I get it now. This is all for her...to save her. But, like an idiot, you’ve already told her about me. And as tempting as your plan to get rid of That b*****d sounds, There is no way I’m going to simply use my Gear powers to kill him. Undergoing to my full Gear state means I’ll lose the ability of thought and reason and be nothing more than an animal living on instincts. With that happening, I won’t be able to experience the satisfaction of seeing his blood flow freely. I’ll stop anyone, even if it’s my own Gear nature, from robbing me of that satisfaction before I let myself die.”
Sol explained, not bothering to hide his intentions from Anji considering the Japanese man was a servant of That Man’s anyway.
“I see...that’s why you always challenge him in your current state. That’s why your becoming more powerful without simply relying on just you Gear powers alone. Then, let me ask you something else. If Baiken’s memory of me telling her about you being a Gear is erased, she would no longer have to die, correct?”
Anji asked him. Sol thought it over briefly.
“Yeah...she wouldn’t be a problem then if you took her to I-No. Now tell me where he’s hiding in exchange for your b***h’s life, or I’ll kill her right here and now.”
Sol threatened, wanting Anji to go on his previous words of exchanging Baiken for the information. Anji nodded in understanding.
“He has been trying to study about Leopaldon based off what he was told by Slayer and his current knowledge. He’s in Antarctica. Leopaldon is also making its way there as well. My original plan was to lure you to Leopaldon before it could reach Antarctica, because our master has learned Leopaldon has the potential to grow even more powerful if it goes to that frigid place. I needed a distraction to keep Sis off my trail, yet ironically, only you had the necessary background to convince her, so in a sense she would still end up on my trail eventually by following you, or so that was how I envisioned it. Oh well...I took a gamble and lost. I can accept that. I guess it really is up to you to decide now weather you want to go after Leopaldon first or That Man.”
Anji finished explaining himself, before going to pick up Baiken’s unconscious body. He turned back to face Sol.
“Even if my plan backfired because of her stubbornness, little will change in the long run between you and me now, Corrupted Flame.”
Anji spoke seriously, and his emotions became sated to show a taciturn visage. Sol mirrored his countenance.
“You are now my sworn enemy, Anji Mito.”
Sol spoke just as seriously as Anji did. The Japanese man disappeared after that, and Sol lit a cigarette with Fire Seal and began weighing his options in terms of importance.
‘Leopaldon or That b*****d...Leopaldon or That b*****d...if that giant creature’s headed towards Antarctica and I go after That b*****d...Leopaldon may prove to be an interference...on the other hand, the pirates, Zepp army, boy scout, and Testament may interfere with the progress of Leopaldon, slowing it down, hell, even the Bureau may interfere again as well...and yet, my progress will still probably be slowed down because not only will I have to take on both Raven and I-No, but Mito as well...’
Sol thought to himself.
“It’ll be...heavy...but, That b*****d it is then.”
mad Xx:
Sky, The Megaton, Ultimate Heavy Class Mecha Transporting Zeppian Airship
mad Xx:
“A.B.A? are you feeling okay?”
Dizzy knocked quietly on the door that led to a restroom. Paracelus was leaning against the wall beside the door. Dizzy waited for a response, but none came. The door swung open suddenly, and Dizzy would have been slammed in the face had she been only a centimeter closer. A.B.A leaned on the door with unsteady feet, her cheeks tinted slightly green.
“Ughhh...”
The red haired girl moaned. A hand was clutched over her stomach, and another over her mouth. She took a few steps, about to drag Paracelus with her, but she quickly dropped the chain and went back into the restroom again, puking into the toilet once more. Dizzy patted the girl’s back gently.
“Johnny says it’s best to do something so you won’t think about your motion sickness too much, A.B.A.”
Dizzy said softly. She helped A.B.A back up in a standing position.
“Don’t know what to do...”
A.B.A mumbled. Dizzy tried to think, seeing as this wasn’t the May-Ship, there was really little to nothing that could be used for entertainment. At the bottom of the ship were the hangars for the mechas and the cafeteria room, at the middle was the training and exercise room, and it was only here at the top of the ship, where most of the soldiers chatted amongst themselves, and the captain’s quarters and infirmary was located here as well. The Jelly fish pirate members felt rather out of place here.
“Why don’t we go see what May and April are doing?”
Dizzy offered.
“Okay...”
A.B.A agreed, grabbing Paracelus and dragging him behind her. It didn’t take long to find the two as Dizzy would have thought at first considering the size of the airship. However, both May and April looked bored out of their minds as they lay down on the front of the deck, sighing every so often. Janice the cat was curled up and sleeping on the railing, her body perfectly balanced from having slept on the raining of the former May-Ship numerous times.
“There’s nothing to do on this thing...”
May said, another sigh escaping her lips.
“Honestly...why did Johnny have to remain persistent in riding this ship? I’ll bet the President would have given us any other airship down there, so why did he show Johnny this one, if it could only be borrowed?”
April said in the same lame tone. Dizzy sat besides the two, patting the area beside her to have A.B.A do the same. The red haired girl complied slowly, easing herself down while Paracelus was leaned against the railing.
“What were you both talking about?”
Dizzy interjected, and May and April turned their heads to face her.
“Not much...just complaining about what a stupid move it was to decide to borrow this airship with a bunch of military personnel on board too. I wonder why Johnny wanted to take this one rather than an airship for ourselves? I think that would have been the smartest move.”
April said, bringing Dizzy and A.B.A into the conversation.
“Your right. That is strange.”
Dizzy agreed, nodding.
“It’s because the pirate wanted to steal this airship, but didn’t count on it only being able to be controlled by the slave. As for the president of Zepp, it’s obvious he wants his men monitoring us and the creature.”
Testament stated, appearing out of nowhere to answer.
“Oh, Testament. I didn’t know you were there.”
Dizzy said in surprise.
“It may be best to sharpen your skills. Going after that Leopaldon creature is very dangerous, yet we must find a way to stop it.”
Testament reaffirmed. Dizzy looked thoughtful.
“Yes...I never knew such a powerful being could exist. I could tell it was holding back against Mr. Badguy back on the May-Ship. Both of them were, actually. If he can’t defeat it, I’m not sure if any of us can...”
Dizzy said slowly. She turned towards A.B.A as if a sudden thought occurred to her. Testament had also come to the same revelation. He then turned to regard A.B.A.
“Child, do you know how to wield that axe of yours?”
He asked her. A.B.A looked a bit surprised, not expecting him to speak to her. She simply nodded truthfully. May, Arpil, and Dizzy looked at her in surprise.
“Are you serious? You can actually swing that giant axe around?”
May asked. April turned to May.
“You can swing a giant anchor.”
She said.
“Yeah, but at least I have some meat on these bones to do it. I don’t know if someone as light as her can actually do it though, especially with something even heavier then my anchor.”
May told her. A.B.A looked a bit miffed, since they didn’t seem to believe her.
“I can fight...”
She said, her voice a bit louder than before, but still sounding weak. Testament stepped forward.
“Then demonstrate with a sparring match. I will be your opponent.”
He said, his scythe appearing. Dizzy was up to stop him, however.
“Wait Testament. I’ll do it. I’m afraid you might be a little too rough on her.”
She told him. Testament looked as if he wanted to refuse, but after a long pause, he made his scythe disappear and backed away.
“If that’s what you want.”
He said softly. Dizzy nodded her thanks, then turned to A.B.A.
“How about it, A.B.A? Why don’t we spar a bit to see you skills?”
She asked. A.B.A turned to look at Paracelus, who nodded after a moment. A.B.A nodded back, grasping his chain and standing up, dragging him with her as she followed Dizzy towards the center of the large deck.
:ToBeContinued:
 Mariah_Silvermane · Wed Apr 16, 2008 @ 09:12pm · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
