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Chapter Text

Duel I: A Failed Rebellion

Ragna roared with rage as he charged the silver Murakumo unit before him, his sword-scythe the Aramasa was already glowing black and red with the energy he'd poured into it. His target giggled as she met his charge with her wing petals exposed. The two swung their respected weapons in an arc, both meeting in a powerful clash that cracked the very ground beneath them. Despite Ragna's exhaustion from his earlier fights with the Red Devil, an odd, hooded cat, a black seither blob, a strange doctor, his own brother, and the dangerously powerful masked freak, he stood his ground with every bit of strength he still had, but he was at his limit.

His most recent fight was definitely the costliest, not only was his opponent incredibly skilled and powerful enough to unnerve him with his fighting aura alone; the injuries he'd received in the fight weren't healing despite the BlazBlue's power. And that fight was barely two minutes before his current encounter with the crazy girl in front of him. It made him sick, hadn't he been through enough crap for one lifetime? He'd watched his siblings get kidnapped, his arm severed from his body, fires burn both the only home he ever had and his foster mother, and all in one day. Now he was fighting a deranged girl constantly saying demeaning innuendos... with the face of his own sister.

"C'mon Ragna!" the girl said cheerfully as she began forcing him back with her blades. "I can still keep going! Don't tell me you're done already!'

"Shut up! Shut the hell up you freak!" Ragna shouted as he pushed back the petals that had placed him in a deadlock. "I'm going to destroy you until there's nothing left!"

"Aw Ragna, Nu just loves it when you talk dirty," the girl said, causing Ragna's temper to raise even further. The Grim Reaper roared as he poured more seither in his sword, transforming it into its scythe form. He began a powerful swing that looked like it was about to take the girls head off, but stopped a hair's breadth from her neck. "Aw, aren't you gonna finish?"

Ragna couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried. He was frozen, every muscle on him was completely still. He kept his hands on the scythe, but he just couldn't finish the attack. 'Damn it! My body won't move! What's going on?!' The next instant, Ragna felt himself getting impaled in the chest by a giant blade. "ARG!"

"Nu's always dreamed of this," Ragna heard the Murakumo say to him. To his horror, he realized that they were both impaled on the sword. Nu edged herself closer to Ragna and wrapped her arms around him as a lover would, something Ragna wouldn't know. "Nu never wants to be without you Ragna, I want to always be a part of you, forever." She edged them closer and closer to the cauldron, and then they fell... down and down, further and further into the gateway to the boundary. Somehow, Ragna still kept his grip on his sword which had reverted back due to the lack of seither energy.

"BROTHER!" he heard a voice shout as he fell. Through his darkening vision, he saw a very injured Jin attempting to follow him into the Cauldron.

"Rach...el," he said with the last of his strength. "Get… Jin...out...of here... Please...!"

He knew it was a shot in a million; even if Rachel was watching and could hear him, nothing guaranteed that she'd be able to teleport Jin out or that she'd care enough to do so. But even when his vision darkened that he couldn't see anything at all, he could still smell the faint aroma of roses as his brother’s screams ceased. Despite himself, Ragna smiled before blacking out entirely.

The two then fell deeper and deeper, completely being engulfed in the by the supposed realm of gods. But this Ragna's story does not end there, no... it hadn't even begun.

Elsewhere

Ragna groaned at his pounding head, no not just his head, every muscle on body was crying out in anguish. Even the downpour of rain was hurting whenever a raindrop merely touched him. Despite the pain he slowly forced his eyes open, well his left one; his right eye was shut and refused to open. He slowly tried to move his right arm, but despite the pain he was feeling it didn't budge an inch. He knew what was happening, it had happened only once before, when he and his master Jubei had visited an area completely uncorrupted by seither.

"Damn it... where am I?" Ragna asked as he forced himself to sit upright. He looked around and realized he in the middle of a ruined city, a burning ruined city. He'd been lying on the solid concrete of a street and was soaked to the bone because of the rain. It took him a moment, but the Reaper slowly forced himself to his feet. His injuries seemed to have closed, but his clothes were still tattered and bloody, proof that his fight with the deranged Murakumo unit had certainly happened. He noticed his sword laying in the ground beside him. He picked up the sword and equipped it to his belt.

Suddenly, an inhuman roar was heard and nearby pile of rubble exploded as a giant dragon-like beast crushed it. The thing was huge, if it got up on its hind legs it'd be about the same size as the Red Devil Ragna had faced earlier. It had dirty brown scales, large wings, a long and powerful tail, and a pair of yellow eyes that were savagely focused on the Grim Reaper. It opened its jaws in low hiss and Ragna could see purple saliva dripping from the monster's jaws, almost certain that even scrape with those teeth could inject him with lethal venom.

Despite every odd against him, despite this things size and ferocity, despite Ragna's earlier injuries, he unclipped his sword with his good hand and brought the blade in front of him. He didn't care anymore, if he was going to die, he'd die with his sword in his hands, not cowering behind some rock. He'd die like he fought, as a human being until the end.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ragna questioned in a dark tone, though he doubted the thing could understand him. "Come attack me you freak!"

The dragon let out a savage roar before complying and rushing at the Reaper, its wing flapping to give the creature speed as it lunged at Ragna with its claws extended. Ragna dodged to the side at the last moment before bringing his sword around in a deadly arc, wounding the creature. The creature’s tail then lashed out at Ragna and smashed into his ribs, but Ragna forced himself through the pain as he proceeded to retaliate with his sword, chopping off a good portion of its tail. The creature screamed as it tried to turn and rake Ragna with its claws, but Ragna managed to dive out of the way before rolling on the ground and landing on his feet.

'Damn it, now what?' Ragna thought to himself as he observed his enemy. While the dragon did look like it had taken some damage from Ragna's attack, its wounds seemed to be a minor hindrance at best. 'Well, when all else fails go for the head...' Ragna eyed the thing's disgusting jaws which were now frothing. 'This is gonna suck.'

The dragon roared before charing in for a bite. The Reaper leapt over the attack before bringing his blade down on the creature's exposed neck. There was a splash of green blood from the cut and the creature roared in pain. It tried to shake him off, but Ragna impaled the creature as hard as he could and held on tightly to his sword. The dragon then tried to quickly roll on its back to crush its attacker, but Ragna saw the move coming.

He tore his sword out of the creature's flesh, causing himself to get sprayed in green blood before dodging the monster's heavy bulk. While the dragon was on its back, Ragna leapt above the monster's head and roared as he brought the blade down and fully decapitated it. The monster gave one last shudder before becoming completely still.

Ragna breathed heavily as he attempted to catch his breath. While getting smacked by the tail hadn't been that bad, his previous injuries had started to open and bleed further. With his BlazBlue currently useless and his healing factor greatly diminished because of it, Ragna was in pretty sorry shape. Despite this he reset his sword on his metal belt and started walking.

"Hey red coat," Ragna heard a voice behind him say. He turned his head at who'd addressed him. He was about Ragna's height, a few inches shorter at most, and had slightly tanned skin and brown hair, which was kept spiky in the front, but had a long ponytail in the back. His outfit consisted of a red plated headband that said 'Rock You' on it and a sort of robe that was mostly white, aside from the red cross pattern at its center. On his waist was a belt with a metal plate on the front with 'FREE' inscribed on it. He carried a large weapon that was about the size of Ragna's and looked like it was just a hunk of metal with leather wrapped around the handle.

"What?" Ragna responded with slight hostility. 'Something about this guy just pisses me off.'

'Everything about this guy pisses me off,' the mystery man thought to himself. "Kliff already got the rest of the civilians out and you're definitely not one of us, so who the hell are you?" Ragna said nothing. "Well if you won't talk get the hell out of here. This is no place for a cripple."

"Any advice where I should go?" Ragna decided to ask, letting the insult slide since he was too exhausted to mouth off.

"Head east; you'll find our outpost in a couple of miles. Tell them I sent you and they'll let you in... Or kill you on the spot. Meanwhile..." The man walked past Ragna over to the carcass of the dead dragon. His weapon then glowed red for an instant before he swung the giant blade, sending out a wave of fire that completely engulfed the creature. When the flames vanished a moment later, the creature was little more than ash. "...I'm on cleanup for the rest of these Gears."

'Cleanup he says,' Ragna thought to himself."Thanks I guess," Ragna said as he began to journey east. "You got a name?"

"…Sol Badguy. You?" Sol asked Ragna.

"Ragna," the Reaper called over his back as he walked in the direction that Sol had given him.

"Weird name," Sol muttered under his breath as he fished a cigarette out of his robe pocket.

"Speak for yourself!" Ragna shouted back, apparently hearing him despite the other keeping his words fairly quiet.

Sol grunted as he cast a simple magic incantation through his right index finger. The result was a small flame which Sol put the cigarette he’d finally managed to find into. After puffing the smoke and blowing rings with it for a few minutes, Sol heard movement behind him. At first he thought it was Ragna, coming back for something, but it turned out to be more Gears, these three appeared to be one of the early 'human soldier' models. Fast, strong, but very stupid. Sol said his usual thing as he put his ciggy back in his mouth and gently held the tip with his teeth as he readied his oversized sword.

"What a drag."

Chapter Text

Duel II: The Holy Order

"Damn rain," Ragna muttered under his breath as he kept trudging along the rocky terrain of the battlefield. The current downpour made the rubble he walked along that much harder to get around in. Sol had told him that he'd reach the Holy Knights Headquarters in two miles, but with the terrain even traveling a single mile could take time.

"Is this even worth it?" Ragna asked himself aloud. He knew that heading for the Holy Knights was his best chance of getting out of this mess and getting some answers, but if they did know about where he came from or who he was that would mean he'd most likely have to fight his way out when the conversation turned sour like they normally did with him. He already saw a group of lights off in the distance, possibly campfires built under a more covered area. For now, the Reaper decided getting out of the rain and trying to get warm was a good enough reason to head over there.

Ragna decided to rest at the top of his current rubble pile for a moment so he could decide what the best path to head back would be and finally take this brief chance to examine his wounds. They all seemed to be closed, even the gaping hole he'd had when he'd been impaled on that Murakumo unit's giant sword seemed to have fully healed after all the time it had been given. His clothes on the other hand were torn to shreds and soaked in the rain. Ragna doubted he'd find the materials to repair his favorite (only) outfit, but at the very least he could try looking… is what he told himself.

As Ragna started his trek again and moved along the path of rubble, he noticed small pieces of debris falling around him or being shuffled around. It looked like he was surrounded by more of those monsters from earlier; Gears Sol bad called them. Ragna drew his sword, but instead of attacking the monsters he instead rested the blade on his shoulder and proceeded to continue walking, hoping to find an open clearing where he could fight all of the freaks at once.

"This is going to suck, but what else should I have expected? My life's been one giant hell ever since that day..."

Meanwhile

Kliff knelt next to a recently built fire. The short elderly warrior was meditating with his giant sword, the Dragonslayer, resting beside him. Kliff hated the Crusades; he hated the frequent battles, the cold sleepless nights he'd have to endure, but most of all, he hated losing his family. Nearly every knight of the Holy Order had been taught by him. That meant with every death, every loss of a limb, or even every injury, he blamed himself. Of course, he couldn't let that misery show; his people meant too much too him and they needed to look up to a strong leader if they wanted to have any hope of living through this. Hope... that was all anyone could have as motivation these days.

His mediation was briefly interrupted as he heard footsteps approaching him. He could tell a lot about a person simply by the way they stepped. This person might've taken light steps, but it was done with the poise of dignity and authority and were both perfectly paced and well-coordinated. Yes... he knew who was approaching him.

"Command Kliff," Ky Kiske said before saluting. Kliff slowly opened his eyes to observe the blonde-haired youth in front of him. "I've just heard from one of our scouting parties that they've found a large group of 'Soldier Type' gears approaching our location. We're not entirely sure if they've found us, but they are in pursuit of another individual. He seems to be armed; however, his attire doesn't seem to match any of our own or any civilian garb. Your orders?"

Kliff took a deep breath before responding to Ky's question. "I suppose you're in better condition than any of our other men." It wasn't a question; Ky was one of the most resilient warriors on the battlefield. "I want you to handle this by yourself. Eliminate the group of Gears and bring the man in for questioning, but try not to get too rough with him."

"Sir, permission to speak freely?" Kliff nodded. "I think we would be better served sending out a small force of other fighters in order to eliminate these soldier gears. You'd need me here if we were attacked by another force or god forbid, Justice itself. Currently, I think the Thunderseal is the only weapon capable of standing up to the Command Gear."

"Don't place all of your faith in that sword you carry Ky," Kliff told his student. "That sword is only as powerful as you see it to be, but should you lose faith in your own abilities it becomes meaningless. I will keep our base defended and Sol will return from his 'cleaning' duties shortly. Besides, I know you've been hoping to settle your nerves with a fight for some time now."

"I suppose," Ky told his commander before saluting. "I'll depart at once."

"Dismissed."

As Ky left, Kliff closed his eyes and began meditating again. He thought back to when he'd first met Ky and how young and inexperienced he'd been when they'd first met. His growth was astounding and he was an honorable soldier until the end. He was everything Kliff could wish for in a successor, but it would still be a heavy burden to bear. Sadly this was war, he had little choice in the matter and he certainly wasn't getting any younger.

Just outside the Order's camp

The campfire's Ragna had seen earlier were much closer now, but he'd also attracted quite a few more Gears as he'd travelled. Even with his right eye useless, he could tell that he was followed by close to fifteen gears. He'd just made it to a decent enough clearing, so this was a good a place as any to fight them off.

(Cue Guilty Gear 2 Overture: The Fate Broke Down)

As it turned out, the decision was made for him as one of the human shaped Gears leapt at him from a pile of rubble. The was a quick flash of silver as Ragna swung his sword full force, cleaving the monster in half. Green blood once again sprayed from the massive cut and splattered against his clothing.

"Finally decided to grow a pair you freaks? Let's try to make this quick; I ain't got all day." Ragna's insult was unregistered by the creatures as they started rushing towards him, but it still felt nice for Ragba to trash talk something.

A Gear came at Ragna from behind to rake his back with it's claws, but Ragna merely sidestepped the attack before smashing the monster with the blunt end of his sword, sending it into one of its allies. As the two Gears struggled to recover, Ragna then impaled another gear on his sword before forcing his blade to cut out of the creature's side and slashing another gear, destroying it, and further coating Ragna in green blood.

"Carnage-!" Ragna shouted as he rushed toward a group of Gear and performed a devastating slash that destroyed a few, but wounded several. "-Scissors!" The entire group of risen was completely decapitated falling to the ground in pieces with the powerful follow-up that lacked its usual Soul Eater energy. With Ragna's back exposed, he was slashed across his back by one of the Gear's claws. Ragna grunted in pain before cutting the bastard in half.

Ragna dodged the lunge from another gear, causing it to slam into one of its allies. The Grim Reaper then took advantage of their dazed state and cleaved them both with his sword. Three gears tried attacking him from opposite sides, Ragna simply roared as he spun his entire body in a massive cleave, decapitating all three heads at once. The final two Gears lunged at him from ground level and air. "Infernal Divider!" Ragna shouted as his slash cleaved the two in half vertically.

As green liquid seeped out of the different Gear parts, Ragna took advantage of the moment to catch his breath. The wound he'd gotten on his back seemed bad, but he couldn't tell how deep or large the gash had been. He wouldn't have a chance to look over it anyways for he heard movement around him as a second wave of Gears approached him, this one much larger than the first, closer to thirty soldiers.

"You assholes are pissing me off! Enough already!" Ragna shouted as he was swarmed from all sides. Ragna roared as he swung his sword repeatedly in a berserk rage, cleaving through group after group of the monsters. It wasn't an easy fight as Ragna was clawed across the chest, on his back, and in his sides, but he kept going, he kept his grip on his sword and he just kept slashing. By now the swordsman's jacket and most of his other clothing was in complete shreds, unable to be repaired. He didn't care, even as his wounds from earlier reopened. He was going to keep fighting, not for any morals or because these things seemed evil, he'd just decided he wasn't going to die here and he was stubborn enough to follow through with his actions. No matter what injury, he'd keep fighting until the Gear's were lying on the ground in front of him in pieces.

When that had finally been accomplished, Ragna sagged to one knee. His body ached and he was bleeding out all over the ground which was now mixed with Gear blood. Some of his wounds were close to fatal, but even with his BlazBlue deactivated, Ragna still had a small healing factor to help him survive. Ragna noticed five more Gears of the same type heading towards him. Ragna readied himself for yet another fight, but that was before a bolt of lightning came from behind him and struck one of the Gears in the chest and downed it.

"Stay back, I'll handle them," a young man said as he walked past Ragna. The Grim Reaper saw that this guy was a bit similar to his brother, but there seemed to be only a few similarities and in appearance only, most notably their thin body types, their short hairstyles, and blonde hair color. The young man's uniform was similar to the one he'd seen on Sol, but where Sol's had been red, this one was a deep blue. This man also carried a broadsword at his hip which he then unsheathed. After he drew it, the blade gave off a surge of lightning.

One of the monsters rushed forward to kill the newcomer with his claws, but the young man unleashed a powerful slash, his sword leaving a wave of lightning as it cut through the air with accuracy. The Gear may not have fallen from the shallow cut, but the swordsman followed with a second slash the struck the exact same location and finished the gear. The man then slide toward a second gear and slashed its legs. The gear tried to impale its claws into the young man, but he flipped himself over and slashing down on the gear's exposed neck. The final three rushed towards the man, but that was before he coated himself in an aura of electricity.

"Ride the Lightning!" the man shouted as he rushed forward in a ball of electricity, vaporizing all three of the gears upon contact.

(End theme)

'So I do all the work and this guy takes all of the glory. Well whatever,' Ragna thought to himself as he put the Aramasa back on his belt. He was about to leave, but then the youth readied his sword. 'You've got to be kidding me...'

"I'm sorry, but I have to insist that you come with me," he told Ragna. His eyes gave Ragna the opinion that he was clearly serious, but he wasn't one of those assholes who tried to look down on him (plus, Ragna was taller than him). "Is this your work?" Ky asked, referring to the Gears that lay littered around them.

"Yeah, that was me," Ragna told him. "Kind of wished you'd showed up earlier though; my favorite jacket might still be alive." Ragna then looked at his torn garment.

"Apologies, I arrived here as fast as I could, though I think there are more pressing things to worry about than your coat. What style of magic did you use?"

'Magic, not Ars Magus,' Ragna noted. "None."

"Beg pardon?"

"Didn't use any magic, 'fraid I don't know any."

'He did all of this without the use of magic? And he can carry that enormous sword in a single hand. What kind of monster is he?' the youth thought to himself. "How did you know that our headquarters is located this way?"

"I saw the fires in the distance, but before that I ran into a man named Sol Badguy. He pointed me this way and told me to the Holy Order know that he sent me. 'Said they'd either let me in or kill me on the spot."

'That certainly sounds like Sol. But why'd he send him toward the army instead of the civilian evacuation zone?' The youth changed sword hands and held out his right hand for Ragna to shake. "Ky Kiske, Lieutenant of the Holy Order. And you?"

"Ragna," the Reaper said before shaking Ky's hand by twisting his left one around since he couldn't use his right.

"Oh, uh apologies," Ky told Ragna, realizing his blunder. The Reaper merely shrugged. "Also, my orders are to take you back, but I'm afraid you'll have to be questioned. My commander's going to be very curious about how you were able to take out all of those Gears by yourself."

"Not really much of a secret; I'm good with a sword, I'm strong, they're not," Ragna told Ky. "But what if I refuse to go with you?"

"Then I bring you back by force," Ky told him. "But I'd prefer if you just came with me. You don't appear to be in any trouble, but not coming with me could cause a sea of it."

'Guess he has a point,' Ragna thought to himself. 'Plus, I still have plenty of wounds and I still can't use my BlazBlue... Damn it, looks like I need to trust this guy.' "Just wondering, let's go get out of this rain."

"Can't disagree with you there," Ky said to Ragna as the two started walking. "So where are you from?"

"Nowhere, I just travel a lot and don't really have a home," Ragna told him.

"You're traveling in the middle of the Crusades? I find that unlikely."

"When I say travel, I mean try to avoid the fighting," Ragna defended.

"Though you're clearly strong enough to handle yourself if the Gear corpses are any indicator," Ky told him.

"You learn to fight pretty quick when your life's on the line," Ragna said. Trying to get the subject away from him he turned the subject on Ky. "What about you? Where are you from?"

"France," Ky told Ragna. "I lost my home when I was very young and trained myself until I was ready to join the Holy Order."

'France...' Ragna thought to himself. 'Those books that the sister had back in the church I used to live in, one of them talked about France, 'said it was a nation that existed before the Black Beast caused hell itself. But this can't just be the past; even if the Crusades could be some early name for the Dark War they would've mentioned the Holy Order or the Gears in recent history... So where the hell am I? What happened to me in the Boundary? And where's that psycho Murakumo unit?'

Feeling frustrated to no end Ragna let out a groan. Why couldn't he have just died when he'd gotten impaled and let that be the end of it?

Later

Entering the Holy Order outpost, Ragna saw what he'd expect to see in a war zone; some soldiers talking to each other in hopes of keeping their own moral up, others eating meager meals while huddling out of a fire to keep warm, some groaning as they nursed their injuries or missing limbs, and a small area of crudely made graves dedicated to those that had died.

'Wonder if this is what the NOL branches looked like after I tore them down,' Ragna thought to himself before smirking darkly. 'Nah, they were probably worse, less eating, more body bags.' Ragna doubted that he'd have to draw his blade here, but he was still glad no one had tried taking it from him.

Ragna and Ky approached the man that Ragna guessed was the commanding office. He thought it was strange that a man so small and old wielded a sword so large and unconventional, but Ragna knew if the man was doing it for bravado alone he'd already be dead.

"Commander Kliff," Ky said as he saluted. "The group of Gears has been completely wiped out and I've brought the traveler they were chasing with us."

The old man opened his eyes. He glanced at Ky for a brief moment before his eyes bore into Ragna. He stared at the Reaper, trying to get a grasp of the man from the outside.

"Well done Ky," Kliff told his Second-in-Command. "I take it the Gears weren't a problem for you?"

"No, but there were hardly any left when I got there," Ky told him. "When I arrived at the location, I found Ragna in a field of Gear corpses. There were close to fifty gears in total and I only managed to get the last five."

"You handled all of those Gears on your own?" Kliff questioned Ragna. The Reaper nodded. "I suppose that explains why you're covered in so much Gear blood. What style of magic did you use?"

"I don't know any," Ragna told Kliff.

"Really..." Kliff said before standing and walking around the Reaper, examining him. "Yet your wounds have already begun to heal... possibly a sign of untapped potential." He paused as he examined the BlazBlue. "What is this on your arm?"

"Lost my arm when I was young to a psychopath, this is the replacement I got," Ragna told Kliff. "Look, are we done twenty questions yet?"

"Hmph, he seems rather spirited," Kliff said to Ky. "And you're not part of the town that was destroyed or another fraction of the Holy Order?"

"Nope, just a traveler who's trying to avoid trouble, but knows how to fight," Ragna told him. Ragna wasn't really the best at lying or deceiving people, so he decided to keep telling the truth without giving too much away and he'd be fine.

"I see..." Kliff said, stroking his beard. "Ky, would you mind leaving us for now? I've still got a questions for the lad." Ky nodded, gave a final salute, and left. Kliff walked back to his fire and knelt. "I've got a proposition for you. Right now the Crusades are looking bleak and I need every able-bodied fighter I can find. I can have someone in the Holy Order teach you how to use magic, but I need your help, we need your help. Can I ask you to join us?"

Ragna weighed his options. He hated the idea of getting caught up in another war and he'd never worked well or got along with others, much less an organized, disciplined group like this Holy Order. On the other hands the Gears looked like a pretty big threat and like it or not he was in the middle of a war zone; fighting alone in a current state could be a problem and magic would give him just the edge he needed. Plus, if he didn't like the way this group did things, he could always run after he managed to learn magic.

"All right I'm in," Ragna told Kliff. "But don't expect me to listen everything I'm told; I've got a pretty big rebellious streak."

"So long as you fight well and none of your brothers-in-arms die because of it we won't have an issue," Kliff said before giving the smallest of smiles. "Besides, I've already had to deal with a rebel like you before but he gets the job done."

"Let me guess, Sol? He seemed the type."

"He is, but before anything else I suggest we get you some fresh clothing. Julia!" A young woman with dark skin, long crimson hair which was braided into a ponytail, round glasses, and a green version of the Holy Order's uniform walked up to Ragna and Kliff. She seemed to be about a foot shorter than Ragna and had a slim physique. She carried a lance on her back which was taller than her, about six feet in length. "Would you mind helping Ragna get set up with a uniform and some basic magic lessons?"

"Not at all sir, I'll make sure he gets what he needs," she said with a small salute. She began walking away and beckoned Ragna to follow her, which he did. The two made their way through the camp until they reached a small alcove. Inside there were a few chest with uniforms inside of them. "All right, so the standard uniform color is green, but since we've run out of them I guess for now you can just choose what color you want."

Ragna opened the chest and saw a several uniforms in a multitude of colors. There were ones with a red stripe like Sol's, blue like Ky's, orange, yellow ( very hard on the eyes), pink (yes, really), and purple. He looked through the different uniforms for a second before coming to one that suited him.

"Guess I'll take this black one," Ragna said as the held the uniform up with his left hand. There wasn't much to say about it. It looked like all of the other ones save for the design being black as opposed to a brighter color.

"If that's how you want to play it," Julia told him. “Hurry up and change, I'll be waiting at the training field. Ask a couple of the soldiers and you'll find the way."

"It might take me a while to change," Ragna told her. "I've only got one good arm right now."

"Don't tell me you're asking me to help me change." To Julia's relief Ragna shook his head. "All right then, take your time and come find me when you can. Also, if you're hungry go ahead and grab a bite to eat from the chef. I'll see you later."

"Later," Ragna said as Julia left. He began to change, but it really was more difficult with only one arm. Taking his jacket and hakama off wasn't too bad, but putting his new uniform on was giving him a lot of grief. Eventually stubbornness won through and Ragna managed to get his new uniform on. He then grabbed his belt and his metal bangles from his coat and put them on his new uniform, giving him the sense that it was really his. He then reset his sword on his belt and the blade managed to stay like he usually carried.

Ragna then balled his clothes under his arm left the alcove and head out, getting a few stares as he travelled. He then noticed nearby fire with only a few Holy Order members around it. He headed over and most of the members stared at him, but one of the guys just shrugged.

"Here to warm up?" he asked.

"Here to give the fire some fuel," Ragna said before begrudgingly throwing his old, shredded, blood-stained clothes into the flames.

Funny, those clothes had always been a big part of him. He'd gotten that jacket the day he'd graduated from Jubei and that was his symbol to identify him as the Grim Reaper, a criminal with the highest bounty in history and was often seen as the scourge to the world. Seeing his clothes burning, it felt like Ragna was throwing his entire past life away, the only reminder he had was the sword he carried and the Azure Grimoire which wouldn't activate.

"Guess I'll be leaving," Ragna said to the others huddled around the fire. None of them responded. "Alright, I guess I can take a hint." Ragna was about to leave when he noticed that all of them were completely still, like they were frozen in time. Looking around, he realized they weren't the only ones. The fire had stopped crackling, rain drops held suspended in the air, even the light wind had stopped. "What the hell's going on?"

"A new arrival... an unplanned one... you were not part of my designs..." Ragna turned and saw a figure directly behind him. They were wearing a strange white robe with several metal buckles on it and a few red and black stripes. His hood completely covered his face so Ragna couldn't tell what lay beneath.

"HOLY-!" Ragna exclaimed. This guy didn't look hostile, but something about him unnerved Ragna to no end. He wanted to go for his sword, but every cell in his body was screaming out in danger. In the end, he decided to stay still.

"I suppose I will just have to improvise; you and he could make this an interesting act indeed... You two could be just the monsters this world needs..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ragna asked, worried if this did come to a fight. "Me and who else would make good monsters!?"

"All in good time," the figure said. "I'll be looking at your performance... Maybe you can be the one to finally rival the Guilty Gear... Oh unknown traveler..."

Ragna blinked and suddenly everything was back to normal. The rain, the fire, the people. He was completely unnerved, knowing he'd have died if things had escalated. After standing deathly still by the fire for a time, he evntually shook it off and started walking on his way.

'Who was that man? What did he mean when he said I was the monster he needed and what the hell is the Guilty Gear?' Despite himself, Ragna let out a chuckle. 'I guess it never changes, no matter how many times I die or what world I go to there's always some asshole spewing cryptic bullshit.' It was almost a relief to finally have something so familiar.

Chapter Text

Duel III: An Uneasy Partnership

"Is that him?"

"Yeah, he's the one that just joined. Can't believe our first new recruit in weeks is a down and arm and can't even use magic."

"Are you sure it's not just for show? I heard he took out an entire squad of Soldier Type Gears on his own with that huge sword."

"Please, the only people in our who can do that are Commander Kliff, Ky, and that asshole Sol. This guy's just spreading rumors about himself. You can't trust anything he says."

Ragna rolled his good eye as he sat on a pile of concrete slabs and ate what little rations he'd been given; a stale loaf of bread, some dried jerky, and a mug of rainwater. As a crimi- sorry, as a revolutionary Ragna was already used to 'roughing it,' but even by his standards this was pretty sad. At first he thought he'd been cheated out of rations because of his status, but the other members seemed to be eating about as much as he was. After he'd drank the rainwater and finished the last of his bread ,he stuffed the rest of the jerky inside on of his pockets in case he needed the rations for later. Remembering that Julia had told him to meet her at the training yard, Ragna decided he'd just walk around until he saw her. After wandering for a few moments, he came to a small clearing with a couple of members swinging their swords against what looked like those soldier gears from earlier, however these things didn't strike back, they just stood there and took the hits until they vanished.

'Those things are probably training dummies. Just like the ones Jubei made with Ars Magus when he was training me.' He saw Julia in the center overlooking some of the members as they trained, her arms were crossed and her eyes were focused behind her glasses. She noticed Ragna and walked over to him.

"All right, ready to get started?" she asked. Ragna gave a simple, uncommitted nod. "Alright, what do you know about magic to start with?"

"Absolutely nothing," Ragna admitted bluntly.

"From the top then. In order to use magic you need to have an energy source vital to magic called Mana. It's a pretty mysterious energy source, but it's impossible to use magic without it. The only close substitute is Chi, but that has a style of its own. Anyways, the process for tuning mana into magic is called the Twelve Steps."

Julia unclipped the lance and handed the weapon to Ragna. The Grim Reaper could feel a strong power emerging from the weapon. Strangely enough, even though his BlazBlue was still inactive, he could actually feel a slight tingling sensation.

"All right, now I want you to channel mana through your body using this spear," Julia told him.

"Huh?"

"Mana is usually produced naturally through the body, but its power and usability varies for each person. Certain magic weapons can increase the amount of mana your body produces and helps with channeling it into magic, like this spear. You need to be careful though, your body can only take so much mana being channeled through it. With me so far?"

"So far, yeah," Ragna told her. "But how the hell do we produce mana anyways?"

"There's been a large discussion about that, and several philosophers have discussed it," Julia told him. "There was one philosopher who theorized that mana is actually created in a sacred realm and the only reason humans have access to it is because we all have a connection to that realm, even if it's incredibly small. He also said that the realm also holds all of the truths of the world, almost like a a giant library."

'Weird, that almost sounds like the Boundary,' Ragna thought to himself. "What was the realm called?"

"Well the philosopher called it the Backyard, or so I've read." Julia was surprised that Ragna was taking the time to question her. When she'd first seen him he often came off as a battle hardened brute, but he seemed pretty interested with the philosophy of magic.

'Backyard, Boundary, even the names are similar. Seriously what the hell is this?' Ragna asked himself in annoyance. 'There are way too many similarities between where I came from and here for this to be just a coincidence... Does this mean I can actually find a way home?' He shook his head. Magic first, going home later. "All right, so how do I get started?"

"For now, focus on making mana with whatever magic potential you have. It should be easier now that you're holding my weapon, but get the technique down so you can gather mana without it. To summon mana, focus on your core energy and draw from that."

"All right..." Ragna said as he closed his eyes and focused. He'd gotten used to focusing on the energies that laid within him ever since being taught to harness the power of the BlazBlue by Jubei and he was relying on his masters old teaching. As he started drawing out the power within him he started to feel a burning sensation throughout his entire body. 'Is it supposed to feel like this? he thought before the energy started to dissolve, the pain fading slowly.

"Well you started to summon mana," Julia said, a guilty look on her face. "I guess I should've told you that whatever energy you summon but don't convert into mana is sent along your body and is treated as backlash. I'm just glad you weren't able to summon a lot."

"Warn me next time!" Ragna shouted at her in annoyance. "All right I summoned mana, now what?"

"Now you practice getting the technique down until you don't create any backlash and can hold the mana in your body. It's just going to be a lot of practice from here."

"Sounds annoying," Ragna told her. "But if I'm gonna live through this damn war I guess I'd better get it down." The Reaper closed his eyes as he began to focus once more.

Elsewhere

Sol grunted as he walked past the outpost guards into the Holy Order outpost. He'd just come back after sweeping the parameter and he'd been surprised with the lack of Gears that had come after him. On any normal day he'd have close to twenty-five gears come after him when he activated 'Gear Attraction,' a special spell he'd created in secret for the sole purpose of giving him an aura that would draw Gears to him so he could put them down without having to find them. Today however he'd only found seven and he'd had to search around on his own feet without a Gear in sight. He'd even upped the spell's output, but that had done close to nothing.

"Sol!" The swordsman turned and saw a familiar annoyance of his approaching, the upstart brat who just so happened to be the second-in-command of the Holy Order, Ky Kiske. The two never spoke on good terms and their close proximity alone was enough to put Sol in a bad mood. When the two started talking thing often became... Heated? Electrified? I dunno, pick one.

"What do you want?" Sol bit back as he relit his cigarette from earlier. He'd come across a fresh supply of them earlier, but if he wanted them to last he'd have to use each one for as long as he could.

"Did you encounter a man called Ragna while you were searching for Gears?" Ky asked, his eyes narrowed in a glare. He couldn't understand why Sol always had to be a lone wolf. The man always went on missions on his own, never talked to anyone back at the bases, and wherever he was given an order it seemed like he always adapted his plan to do the exact opposite of whatever the order had been.

"What does it matter?" Sol asked as he let out a puff of smoke into the air.

"Answer the question!" Ky demanded. Many people had known Ky to be a very forgiving person at heart, but there were those moments he had with Sol that turned him slightly hostile… more than slightly if we’re being honest.

Sol put the cig back in mouth and hefted his sword, Junkyard Dog, over his shoulder before answering Ky. "Yeah I did. Why? Did he actually make it here?"

"He did, but his life was in danger because you weren't doing your job!" Ky shouted at Sol, his tone becoming more violent than usual, even when dealing with him. "You're supposed to escort civilians to the safe zone! Not send them off towards us and hope that they make it!"

"He made it didn't he?" Sol asked passively.

"With no less than fifty Gears at his feet!" Ky shouted. "He was close to death when I found him, it's a miracle that he's still alive!"

'Fifty?' Sol thought to himself. 'With my spell I'm not even able to find seven, but somehow this runt's able to get attention to fifty of these freaks. That and he managed to beat them all when I wasn't detecting any magic from him... what the hell is he?'

"Whatever," Sol finally decided on saying to Ky. He then shoved his way past the youth and made his way elsewhere. As Sol walked along he received stares from his fellow members of the order, but he didn't care; he'd lost interest in his social standing a long time ago...

As he walked along the edge of the clearing that was used as their training yard he noticed the man he'd seen earlier in the center of the group. It looked like he was trying to master magic, but to Sol the man had little idea what he was actually doing. He was able to feel out the power sure, but actually processing it was another story. He was processing less than a fraction of a percent right now, and that was with a magic weapon.

'This is the guy that managed to take down fifty gears by himself? I'd say that I don't see it, but magic power doesn't exactly translate to combat prowess, and he probably has at least a few techniques if he travels with an exotic blade like that.'

Sol didn't really have much else to do, so he sat on some rubble and watched Ragna as he tried to generate mana. If nothing else it'd give him some insight on why the Gears wanted him dead so damned bad.

Two Hours Later

Ragna was still struggling; no matter how hard he'd tried he experienced a massive amount of backlash and he could never keep the mana from dissolving for more than a minute at most. It brought him back of his days of training with Jubei alright, those first few days where all he'd managed to do was fall flat on his ass.

'Damn it, this isn't working,' Ragna thought to himself in annoyance as he clutched the spear. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Julia staring at him, apparently deep in thought. "Pretty pathetic huh?"

"Actually the fact that you were able to already able to produce mana without training is pretty impressive," Julia told Ragna while adjusting her glasses. "You might not see it yet, but you're steadily improving on you're conjuring of mana. All it takes from here is time and practice... which sad to say we don't have much of."

"Guess I'll just have to keep hitting this until it sticks," Ragna said. Hey, it was his normal way of working through things and it got decent returns at times. "Thanks for the help though."

"Yeah, good luck with the practice. Just let me know once you're able to properly create mana and I'll teach you about properly turning it into spells."

"Got it," Ragna said as he closed his eyes again and began to focus. The burning sensation was starting to get less intense, but his body still couldn't maintain the mana he created for very long. 'Damn it, this is taking too long! How the hell am I supposed to be maintaining mana if my body keeps rejecting it!'

After letting the mana disperse Ragna decided he'd take another approach to this. He laid the spear on the ground so he wouldn't break it by mistake with what he was about to attempt. He started summoning mana to his body once more, still feeling the backlash as he created it.

'All right,' Ragna thought to himself. 'Now if I can just move the mana to my BlazBlue...' He attempted to channel energy the same way he channeled Seither, immediately his inactive arm started throbbing in pain. 'WORK DAMMIT!'

The ground around Ragna started to rumble and his arm started becoming encased in flames of darkness. Ragna roared as he painful started getting his senses back in his arm. All of the other recruits started at Ragna in awe as the flames spread and covered his entire body.

'What the hell is this?' Sol thought astonished from where he was sitting. 'His magic just shot up to a level that should be impossible for him at this stage!' Sol took a moment to fully observe Ragna's magic as the flames continued to grow. 'It's like his body is reconstructing itself to be able to handle massive amounts mana. He's getting the equivalent of decade worth of magic training in a minutes, but the stress on his body will kill him!'

"DISPEL IT!" Sol shouted. "YOU LOSE CONTROL OF THAT MANA HERE AND YOU'LL EXPLODE FROM THE BACKLASH!"

Ragna gave one final roar as the flames gave one last massive burst of power, enough to tear up the ground beneath him and send dust flying everywhere. After a moment, the cloud cleared to reveal Ragna standing heavily in a crater he'd made with his power up. He was breathing heavily and his entire body was in pain, but his new uniform had miraculously survived and now both of his eyes were open. Ragna flexed his right arm, the BlazBlue moved with ease and Ragna could feel a steady power pulsing from it. He slowly opened his right eye and revealed the blood red iris.

'I feel... strong,' Ragna thought to himself. He tried drawing mana again and was surprised with how naturally it came to him. He didn't feel a single trace of backlash and the amount he was able to create was exponentially higher than it'd been before. Storing it was now a natural to him as breathing and he doubted it'd dispel anytime soon.

'Something's wrong with his channeling,' Sol though to himself. 'When a normal person creates mana, the energy disperses naturally around the entire body with only a slight concentration in the brain area, but his seems to have a major focus on that arm of his. No... the arm's not only storing mana, but it’s also creating it. Is he using one of the Sacred Treasures? No, he'd have been able to create mana right from the start if that'd been the case, so what is it?'

"Well that was something," Ragna said to no one in particular. He noticed that all of the members of the Holy Order were still staring at him in awe, but decided to ignore them. 'I probably put on more of a show than I needed to, but at least my damn arm's working again.'

"H-How did you do that?" Julia asked Ragna in a stuttering voice.

Ragna was silent as he tried to come up with some kind of explanation that they'd buy. "My arm's actually a magic weapon just like yours. I guess it just needed some mana to actually activate it."

"How could you have had something with that power and not had any idea to activate it?" Julia asked Ragna with suspicion; nothing Ragna was saying seemed to add up.

"I only got this recently..." Ragna lied. He then thought back to the man he'd encountered when time had briefly frozen. He'd need to pile on another lie, but for right now it didn't matter. "There was a weird guy who gave this to me. I didn't manage to get a good look at his face, but it seemed like he knew I needed this."

"And you just took it?" Ragna and the rest of the Holy Order looked up and noticed Ky and Kliff heading towards them. "We noticed a powerful surge a magic, but you were the last person I was expecting it from. Why did you think it was a good idea to take the arm when you had no idea what it was?" Kliff's questions weren't hostile, but he did speak with authority.

"I was desperate," Ragna told him. "I'd just lost my arm to a Gear and I needed a way to defend myself. I didn't know that he wouldn't even teach me how to use this thing. How was I supposed to know that I needed to put mana into it to activate this damn thing?"

Neither Kliff nor Ky said anything. They just continued to analyze Ragna's arm and try to get an idea of how it had so much power.

"Commander!" a voice shouted. A man from the scouting group ran up to them in a hurry. "There's a large group of Gears about a mile off of our northern border! They're heading straight for the refugee camp!"

"Oh my god," Julia said. "How many men do we have posted there?"

"Not nearly enough," the scout told her. "There were several dragon types and close to thirty soldier types. What's worse is they seemed to be regrouping with other groups of Gears. For all we know there could be a massive army on the way!"

"We need send a large force immediately!" Ky told his commander. "Those refuges won't stand a chance without us and I refuse to stand idly by and leave them to die!"

"I understand, but our other group of scouts has yet to return from the south and they're long overdue," Kliff told his commander. "For all we know, this could be a diversion to divide our numbers and attack or take this encampment away from us, both of which we can't afford to have happen."

"Then I'll go alone." Everyone was surprised to see that Ragna had spoken up. "I'll take out the Gears myself and the rest of you can worry about the attack from the south. Now that I've got magic this'll be easy."

"Ragna you just managed to learn how to create mana, by means we're not even sure are permanent!" Julia told him. "Just because you're arm managed to shoot your power to a new level doesn't mean you can use magic!"

"Say what you want, I'm still going," Ragna said unyieldingly as he started to walk off.

"Then I'm going with you." It hadn't been Ky or Julia who'd spoken though.

Of all the things that had happened in the past five minutes alone, the most surprising thing by far was this. Sol Badguy, the constant lone wolf who'd blow off anyone who tried to talk to him and would never accept even the notion of bringing someone along for his mission, was volunteering to work with the newcomer Ragna? Never in a hundred years did anyone think this would happen. Ragna himself was skeptical to the idea, and frankly he wanted to work alone himself, but something told him he wouldn't have a choice.

"Fine, let's quit wasting time and go." Sol nodded and the two ran off towards the north.

Ky looked at his commanding officer in exasperation. "Are we really going trust something as important as this to those two? I wouldn't exactly call either of them a fully trusted member."

"I've put my faith in them because there's little else we could do," Kliff told the young swordsman. "Besides, Ragna came to us and joined willingly. There's little evidence to suggest foul motives here, even with the mystery of his arm."

"And how do you plan to handle that arm if its turned against us?" Ky had to ask.

"For now we can only watch," the elderly man told him. "Our efforts need to be focused on the Gears, but should problems start to arise we'll confront Ragna directly. Seeing how he and Sol handle this situation will give us a proper insight to his character and motives."

"Very well," Ky accepted. "I'll organize another scouting party to see if we can't find a detailed report on the situation in the south."

"I leave it to you then," Kliff told him. "And Ky?"

"Yes sir?"

"Be sure you give another thought to my offer. I still haven't given up hope that you'll accept my position."

Ky said nothing as he left. Perhaps the stress was getting to him or he wasn't feeling ready for a mission that had as large of a scale as this one, but the idea of leading the Holy Order seemed as far away from him as ever.

Later- Two Miles away from the refugee camp

Ragna and Sol continued to run through the piles of rubble and the pouring rain as they hurried to intercept the gears before they could lay waste to the refugees. Sol had taken the lead and was tracking the Gears with a spell as Ragna followed closely behind.

Because of his old habits of taking every mission on his own Sol had to occasionally remind himself that he wasn't trying to lose Ragna, but he seemed to be keeping up with him much better than the other members. Eventually the two manage to get to a small pile of rubble that was just overlooking the collection of Gears. The number had vastly increased before the scout had arrived, now carrying close to sixty soldier type gears and fifteen dragon types.

(Cue Order Sol's Theme Get Down to Business)

"So how do you want to do this?" Ragna asked from besides Sol.

"I break through, you try to keep up," Sol said before sliding down the pile and attracting the attention of several of the gears. His entire body started glowing with red flames as he charged his fire magic. Several soldier type Gears lunged forward to kill him, but Sol swiped Junkyard Dog, causing a wave of flames to emit from the weapon incinerating these first victims. He then cloaked his right fist in fire and lunged through the fire and attacked another Gear, impaling it through the chest. Sol then swung his sword and decapitated another two gears at their heads.

Ragna meanwhile had leapt into the fray with his sword glowing with Soul Eater energy. He hadn't poured in enough to transform it into its scythe mode, but the wave of darkness it created was absolutely devastating, wiping out an entire group of gears. "Gauntlet Hades!" Ragna shouted as he flipped over a group Soldier Gears and slammed his foot down on a Dragon Types head before following up with another kick. The dragon screamed in rage before Ragna brought his sword around and cut it's head off. "Dead Spike!" he shouted as he sent out a wave of darkness and destroyed another group of soldier gears.

"Storm Viper!" Sol shouted as he uppercutted a dragon type into the air with his leg completely covered in flames. He then focused and absorbed some of the remaining energy from the attack and unleashed another wave of fire as he landed. He then turned toward the Dragons behind him. "Tyrant-!" He shouted as he flame fisted one of them, punching through scales and flesh and ending. "Rave-!" Another fist, downing another dragon. "SHATTER!" Sol unleashed a massive shot of fire which engulfed several of them.

"CARNAGE-!" Ragna rushed forward and unleashed a massive on a group of gears. "SCISSORS!" The wave of soul eater completely destroyed the gears, leaving nothing left in its wake. "HELL'S FANG!" Ragna destroyed another group of Gears with his classic lunging fist or darkness maneuver. Even from the heat of battle, Sol still managed to take the time to analyze Ragna's attacks.

'I've never seen magic used like that before,' Sol thought as he cut down a Gear that had gotten a little too close for his liking. 'He's using it to not only inflict damage on his opponent, but he's also stealing part of their life force and converting it into energy for his use.' Sol then used his long ranged fire magic to blast a gear that was too far away for his liking. 'I would've thought that magic would be illegal, but I guess these are times of war.' Sol then eradicated a group of gears with massive slash because they existed a little too much for his liking. 'Still, where'd he learn it?'

'Fire magic aside, this guy's moves are a bit like my own.,' Ragna thought as he continued to carve through the Gears at an alarming (for them) rate. 'I don't know much about this world, but I know enough that I don't want this guy as my enemy.'

(End theme)

A few minutes later all of the Gears were completely eradicated; either by incineration, soul absorption, being cut to pieces, pounded into the ground... you get the idea. Ragna twirled the Aramasa in his hand a few times before placing it on his belt.

"Is that all of them?" Ragna asked Sol, the older warrior lighting a smoke.

"Should be," he said simply before fishing another cig out of his pocket. "Here."

"I don't smoke," Ragna told Sol, who still forced it into his hands. He tried smoking only once before and it was unbearable, all of those chemicals and fumes all at once.

"Keep it anyways, you never know if it'll come in handy," Sol said before blowing a ring with cigarette smoke. "You ready to head back?"

"Shouldn't we check on the camp first? The whole point of this thing was to make sure it was alright."

"You go ahead and check on it, I don't do well with people," Sol said as he started to walk off.

"Then why'd you decide to work with me?" Ragna questioned.

"Because I didn't think you'd last a second out here without my help," Sol said as he hefted Junkyard Dog, over his shoulder.

'Can't tell if he doesn't trust me or if he just doesn't like me,' Ragna thought to himself before heading towards the refugee camp. 'Wait a damn minute, when did I start caring about the people here so damn much? I'm supposed to be the Grim Reaper, a ruthless killer, a monster, a...' Ragna passed by a shattered mirror and took a good look at himself. In his new attire, he thought he might almost look heroic, maybe like a guy that people might actually follow, not one they'd scorn and fear. '…heroic... yeah right...'

Chapter Text

Duel IV: A Cause to Fight For

Despair... It was the first thing that Ragna saw as he entered the refugee camp. Families huddled together by burning barrels of garbage to stay warm, others scrounging around the area in a vain hope of finding usable supplies, and a select few covering themselves in small piles of garbage in order to block out the rain and the cold.

'Good god...' Ragna could only think to himself. 'How long have they had to live like this?' The Reaper continued to walked through the camp, forcing himself to look at each and every one struggle for survival, every face filled with hopelessness, forcing himself not to cover his ears as he heard a mother's sobs of agony as she held an infant barely clinging to life in her arms, forcing himself not to cover his nose at the horrible odor that covered the ruined camp.

'How is this surviving!?' Ragna thought to himself in anger. 'It's not like our base is much better, but how can anyone stand living in this hell!?'

"It's hard to look at, I know, but this is the suffering that this Crusade has caused," Ragna heard a voice with an accent he couldn't say he recognized. The man who'd said it certainly wasn't a refugee; his clothes were too neat and orderly and he didn't have a spot of grime on him. He was wearing a grey suit with a red-cross design on each of the sleeves, a white undershirt, a red tie, a red sash on his right shoulder, and a monocle over his left eye. He had brown hair which he had slicked to the side as well as a small beard and a thin mustache which were also brown. "You don't appear to be startled by my presence."

Now that Ragna could see his lips moving, he could make out the fangs that lie beneath, fangs that he'd only seen once before from a certain Rabbit. "You're a Vampire?"

The man gave a rather bemused smile as he reached inside his suit and brought out a brown wooden smoking pipe. "So you know of my kind, most unusual. I'd thought by now I'd be the subject of myths and used in a child's bedtime story to scare them into behaving."

"I've been around the block a few times," Ragna said (definitely not a lie).

"Is that so?" the Vampire questioned, not dropping his smile as he continued to hold his pipe. "If you had, I imagine I would've seen you by now, but sad to say I have no knowledge of who you might be. Quite surprising, truly; but let us take this conversation elsewhere."

Ragna didn't trust this guy, whoever he was, but he also knew that messing with a vampire was always a bad idea, if his experience with Rachel was anything to go off of. In the end, he decided to follow the dandy enigma and hope to get a couple of answers out of him.

"I had my speculations before, but your knowledge of my kinds' existence confirms it," the mystery man said as they walked. "Though I can't remember the last time I encountered someone with Vampiric, or Nightless as we’re usually called, traces in their soul." Once they had walked outside the borders of the refugee camp, he turned to face Ragna with a much more serious expression. "You don't have much time, so listen carefully. These people that you saw need supplies dearly, and they won't make it through another few days without them. There's a supply convoy a few miles away that should be arriving soon. However..."

"It's gonna get attacked by Gears, isn't it?" Ragna guessed. He didn't really understand what the guy had meant about his Soul, but he figured for now it could wait.

"You catch on quick, I can appreciate that," the vampire said. "It's under guard from the Holy Order of course, but even then the Gear group is far too large. They'll massacre the members and burn the supplies, leaving these helpless victims of war to die. There's still a chance to save them if you go now."

"Where's the convoy?" Ragna asked without hesitation. Bane of the world or not, he didn't care. After what he just saw, he couldn't just sit back and let these people starve to death. He didn't find himself above genocide or massive slaughter, but at the same time turning a blind eye was something he'd never stomach.

"You see that pile of debris over yonder?" The Vampire casually gestured with his head before taking a match out of his suit and lighting his pipe. "Keep travelling in that direction and you'll find the convoy. You don't have time to dawdle, so I'd suggest running the distance; I've noticed a good cross country run before an exchange of fisticuffs can do the body wonders."

"And you're not going because...?" Ragna questioned.

"It's not my battle to fight, it's yours. My place has always been on the sidelines, as a spectator."

'Weird, that almost sounds like the Rabbit,' Ragna thought to himself. "What the hell do I call you?"

"Ah, how rude of me. Here I am sending you off towards a battle and we've yet to even exchange names. I currently go by Slayer, so if you'd be inclined to call me that I'd appreciate it."

"Slayer, huh? Well call me Ragna," the Reaper said before running off towards where Slayer had pointed him. Once he was gone, the dandy gentleman chuckled to himself.

"I can certainly see why Sol is interested in the lad. He has an air of mystery about him, but he's impulsive to a fault. I can't help but wonder where this road will lead him." Reaching inside his suit once more, Slayer brought out his pocket watch. "A quarter past five... I dearly hope that I can observe my newest interest in combat before it gets too late, lest Sharon start to worry about me."

Slayer then took his red sash off of his shoulder, and it grew taller than he was. He then stepped into the sash, which transformed into a red bat and flew off into the darkness of the clouds above.

Meanwhile

Sol once again grunted as he passed by a border guard and entered the Holy Order's base. The seasoned warrior had a lot on his mind, some of it regarding the recent activity of Gears, and another part pointed towards the appearance of Ragna. He knew that the two had to be connected in some way, but as to how he had little idea. Noticing that his familiar place in the rubble pile was unoccupied, he took a seat and let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

'The kid's power seems to reside largely on the usage of darkness, and he's able to channel that power through his right arm and use that as a weapon. Not only does the darkness boost his attack damage, but he can steal energy from his opponents and use it for himself. But I'm still not sure about the type of energy he's stealing. When I saw him fighting the gears he was stealing whatever magic energy they had in them, but what would he be taking if there's no magic? Would he be stealing a person's life energy? Their very soul?'

Sol still didn't have the answers he'd wanted about Ragna, even after analyzing him in combat. Sol supposed that if he wanted a better understanding of Ragna's powers, he could always try fighting him man-to-man, but Kliff always scorned him whenever he beat up any of the other knights that tried to pick a fight with him.

'I could call it sparing match,' Sol thought to himself. 'But would anyone really go for it? I never participate in training exercises with the other recruits so singling out one soldier is going to seem strange. I guess the only thing I can do for now is wait for another chance to look into his powers.'

"So you've returned." Sol turned his head and saw Kliff approaching him. "How is the camp?"

"Safe," Sol assured him. "The new guy and I managed to wipe out all of the Gears."

"Well done them," Kliff said with satisfaction. "Where is Ragna now?"

"He said he wanted to check the camp, I let him," Sol informed him curtly. "Something wrong?"

"No, we've gotten word that our scouting party did encounter a few Gears to the south, but they've been dealt with. With such a collection of the monsters, I'm beginning to believe there may be a factory in the area."

"Makes sense," Sol agreed bluntly.

"I'm going to send out a small squad of troops to the refugee camp to protect it until the convoy arrives with reinforcements and supplies. I want you and Ky to be part of that group."

"Whatever," was all Sol said as he puffed his nearly finished cig. He'd only teamed up with Ragna because he'd wanted to see the results of the power up, but he figured he'd team up with Ky and the others, if only because he wanted to erase SOME suspicion.

"So you're working with your fellow Holy Knights now?" Kliff asked with a chuckle. "I'll make a Paladin out of you yet."

"Don't count on it, old man," Sol told him as he threw his cigarette the ground and crushed it beneath his boot. "This is a one-time thing."

"I'm sorry to hear you say that," Kliff said disappointedly. "But you seemed to team up well with the newcomer. What if I put you two together as a team in the near future?"

'There's the chance I wanted,' thought Sol. "If I have to." Kliff took that answer as the best chance he'd get at bringing Sol closer into the Order. The old warrior gave a respectful nod at the red and white garbed man before leaving. Wanting to conserve the rest of the smokes but not having anything else to do, Sol used fire magic to evaporate most of the rainwater before lying on the slab of concrete, placing his hands behind his head. "Wish I had some music to listen to; I'd kill for some Queen."

The Convoy

"We should be there soon," Matt, a young captain of the Holy Knights, told his unit before wiping some rain off his dark skin and brown hair. They'd been travelling with the convoy for days, and they were actually further ahead of schedule than they'd thought. As they'd travelled the roads in their magic-powered wagons, they'd expected to come across at least five groups of Gears, but so far they hadn't seen as much as a single one.

Not to say that he was looking with a fight, but Matt was feeling somewhat over prepared with the fifty Knights he'd brought with him. He himself wanted to be on front lines, slaying Gears and ending the Crusades as quickly as possible. But at the same time, he'd seen the refugee camp, the hardships that those people had to go through, how some members of the Order had family living there trying to survive the harsh conditions. Escorting the convoy might not be the job he wanted, but he was proud to do it.

"Hey partner," Tristan, Matt's lead wagon driver and long time friend, spoke up from next to him with his usual country accent. "It's been a pretty boring drive, am I right? You think the commander and Ky managed to round all of those Gears without us?"

"Maybe they did, maybe they didn't," Matt answered with a shrug. "It doesn't really matter to me. I've got better things to worry about."

"Like your sister?" Tristan asked as he shook the rainwater off of his cattleman hat. Unlike the rest of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights, he preferred to dress in his own cowboy style, with brown county leathers and faded jeans under a cream colored trench coat. The only things showing he was affiliated with the order was his silver rosary necklace that he wore. "Don't worry about her none, Kliff wouldn't let a damn thing happen to her."

"I guess you're right!" The wind had picked up, so Matt had to yell despite being seated next to Tristan. "Still feels weird though; I tried to join the Order so my sister'd get protection in this damn hell hole, but one year later she joins anyways and gets promoted higher than either of us!"

"You calling her one in a million or just saying we're lazy?" Tristan asked with a joking smile, before his face turned serious and he pointed. "Soldier Type, Ten o'clock."

"I see it," Matt assured him, noticing as a Gear stepped out from behind a large rubble pile. "Seems like it hasn't seen us yet. Half of my emergency jerky says you can't kill that thing from here."

"I'm drivin'! Hit it yourself!"

"Aw, can't drive and shoot at the same time?" Matt said slyly. "And here you are talking it up with the ladies of our unit, always telling them about your skills with a gun, how you never miss a target when it's in your sights."

"Really pushin' it pard," Tristan said with an angry sneer as he took out his silver revolver in his right hand and continued to drive with his left. 'LongShot, don't fail me now,' he prayed to his gun before letting the arcane bullet fly. Tristan's aim was exact and the shot made contact with the Gear's forehead before the magic activated and destroyed the head in a barrage of wind slashes.

"That oughta be a good tale for the ladies!" Tristan said cockily before several Gears came out from behind other piles, all of them converging on the road in front of them, this group included dragon types. "More of them!?"

"We've got Gears coming at us from our side flanks!" one of the men in the convoy shouted. "Close to a hundred on each side!"

"We've got fifty more closing in from behind!" someone shouted from further back in the convoy. "WE'RE SURROUNDED! IT'S A TRAP!"

"DAMN IT! Everybody get ready!" Matt shouted behind him. "We're going to go full speed and break through! On my mark!"

"Matt! We try that and they'll slaughter us like cattle after a drive!" Tristan tried to convince his friend. "You've got Jill to think about! Find another way!"

"THERE'S NO TIME! We need to get as many Trucks through as we can or all of the refugees are going to die Tristan! Then the Holy Order starts starving! I'm not backing out on this!"

Matt gave a heated glare at Tristan, daring the cowboy to say something. Tristan gave the smallest of glances to his longtime friend whose strategy was going to get him killed before sighing. "All right, all right, just give me a mark and I'll start the stampede."

"Steady..." Matt said as he raised his hand. The truck was closing in fast on the Gear battalion, the group on the sides were closing in to, Soldier types ready to lunge and Dragon types flying in from overhead. "Steady..." Another ten seconds and they'd be on top of the Gears. Matt started sweating, his nerves starting to finally get the better of him. He gave a silent prayer. "DO IT NOW!"

Tristan slammed his boot on the gas as hard as he could, sending the truck flying forward. The other trucks followed example and accelerated to ramming speed. The Gear group blocking the convoy tensed their muscles, getting ready to lunge and latch onto the trucks to tear them to pieces.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" Tristan yelled at the top of his lungs the moment before they got to the group.

Then the unexpected happened, a massive wave of darkness emerged from behind the Gears and slammed into them, destroying the barrier they’d tried to make. Those that weren't destroyed were knocked off balance and became easy roadkill for the trucks. In the end, all of the trucks broke through without a single Gear hanging onto any of the trucks.

"What the hell was that!?" Matt yelled before leaning out the side of the door. The only thing he saw when he looked back was a single member of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights, dressed in a white garb with black details that flowed in the violent winds like his albino hair, wielding a giant sword which he rested on his right shoulder, walking out to meet the Gear force alone.

"What did you see!?" Tristan yelled as he kept his eyes on the road.

"I don't know! A member from Order about to face those freaks by himself I think!" Matt shouted back. "We can't turn around for him now!"

"God give that man strength," Tristan said, though he'd never been much for prayer. "That idiot might've just saved all our asses..."

Back to the Battlefront

Ragna glanced over his shoulder as the trucks sped away at top speed. They might not be out of the woods yet, but at least they’d managed to break through the group of Gears without losing any of the transports.

"Well that's one problem solved," the Reaper muttered to himself before turning his attention to the massive army of Gears before him. He'd figured at least of few of them would continue to pursue the fleeing convoy, but the all seemed completely fixated on the man in front of them.

"Now it's just me versus all of them, huh? What a pain in the ass," Ragna complained before raising his right arm. "I don't need this... but let's give it a test run to make sure I can still use it."

(Cue Metal Gear Rising The Only Thing I Know For Real Extended)

"Restriction 666 released; Dimensional interference field deployed.' A surge of power burst inside of Ragna threatening to break free. The mana he was generating now was tremendous, more than five times what he'd been outputting earlier and it was still raising. An aura of darkness began to cover his very form, giving the appearance of a being of shadows. "BLAZBLUE... ACTIVATE!"

The Gears lunged forward as dark flames exploded around Ragna, but it was far too late. Ragna's new increase of speed was more than they could handle as he completely butchered three of them, carving them messily in half. As Ragna felt himself absorb the Gear's energy, he then channeled it into his arm in order to power another attack.

"DEAD SPIKE!" Ragna shouted as a massive beast head of darkness emerged from the ground before him and slammed into the Gears, butchering them. "SHATTER!" This time a longer reaching wave of darkness flew out and smashed into the Gear group behind the first one. A group of Dragon-type gears were performing aerial dive bombs at the Reaper in hopes of ramming him. "NO CHANCE!" Ragna made a downward sweeping motion and burst of shadows rose before crushing the Dragon-type gears to the ground.

"I'LL DESTROY YOU!" Ragna shouted as he coated his entire body in black flames and rushed forward, fist first. He plowed through the line of Soldier types, completely obliterating most of them and blasting away those he didn't. Once his initial lunge had ended, he used his transformed BlazBlue arm and grabbed stabbed the claw deep into a Dragon Type, giving a small spray of green blood. "JUST DIE!" Ragna shouted as he caused the Gear's side to explode, killing it instantly. Large fragments of its magic seeped out of its body and were then absorbed by Ragna's right arm, serving to power him further.

Ragna roared as he turned his body and unleashed a violent haymaker with the Aramasa, his BlazBlue empowering his sword, absorbing the energy of the Gears with every slash. As he finished cleaving those five Soldier types in half, he used his sword to flip more of them into the air before charging his sword with Soul Eater energy and bringing the blade down, crushing his opponents. Yet more Gears were blasted back and ripped to pieces from the force of the attack, but there were still over half the force remaining. Ragna roared as he ran forward to meet the threat, starting with a swipe of his sword that wiped out the first few Gears before back-stepping to avoid an airborne Dragon-type's attack, a column of flames from the monster's maw. 'These sparks aren't half of what I was seeing from Sol,' Ragna thought to himself before retaliating. "INFERNO DIVIDER!" He roared as he sailed skyward with an uppercut slash, cutting into the dragon before uppercutting it and performing an ax kick that sent it to the ground, causing it to crush several Gears beneath its large bulk.

Ragna then quickly transformed his sword into scythe mode before making wide ranged slashes that killed the Gears from mid distance. Ragna was now partially dancing with his scythe now, moving unpredictably and cutting down Gears with every swing. As the BlazBlue gathered more and more energy his hand started to throb uncontrollably.

'Damn it, am I overdoing with this thing?' Ragna thought to himself as he arm gave another pulse, now glowing with raw power. 'Maybe if I can just expel all of this energy somehow…' Ragna noticed all of the remaining Gears were rushing towards him. 'Now or never!' "TAKE THIS!"

Ragna brought his BlazBlue in front of him and roared as he charged its power and fired through his palm, resulting in a massive blast of darkness. Ragna grunted as the force from the blast was almost more than he could handle and nearly sent him flying. His feet sunk deeper and deeper into the ground for the five seconds the blast lasted. When the move had finished, Ragna felt completely drained of any energy, but there wasn't a single trace of the Gears in front of him; that move had obliterated them all.

(End Theme)

"That's some power," Ragna said to himself as he flexed his arm after catching his breath. "Took a hell of a lot of magic to use though… Maybe I can work on using it without having to steal the energy."

At that moment, Ragna heard slow clapping. He turned his head and saw Slayer standing on a pile of debris, that bemused smile still on his face and his lit pipe in his mouth. "A most pleasant show indeed my boy, you've certainly gone and exceeded my expectations."

Ragna scowled. "So that's all I am? Some form of cheap entertainment?"

"Oh, perish the thought," Slayer said with whimsy. "You could very well be one of the few hopes mankind has of surviving this so-called Crusade. And lest you forget, thanks to my partial intervention and your actions, you managed to save all of the refugees and quite possibly the Holy Order's entire advancement in this region. I'd say that qualifies for being more than a mere actor on a stage."

Ragna wasn't satisfied with that answer, but he allowed himself to reset his sword. "Whatever, just don't make this a habit."

"You needn't worry," Slayer assured him, blowing rings of smoke through his pipe. "I'll only bring these things to your attention, should they desperately require it. I already have another investment in your group to attend to."

'So there's someone else who knows him in the Order…'

"A word of warning though, without your newfound powers, taking out the upcoming Gear factory by yourself is going to be a challenge for you to accomplish alone. I'd suggest getting some form of help."

"Wait, a Gear factory?" Ragna asked in surprise. "Is that where these things are coming from?"

"You didn't know?" Slayer said in curiosity. "Surely you didn't think that the Gears were natural beings, did you?"

"Not natural sure, but I didn't think they come from factories…" Ragna said thinking to himself for a moment. "I guess with the name Gear it makes sense."

Slayer chuckled to himself. "Then allow me to let you in on another interesting fact. The Gears were developed and created by humanity to be used as weapons of mass destruction. In essence, they were created only to fight in their wars. But as you can see here, they revolted. They now follow the absolute control of the Command Gear; a being of frightening strength known only as the Type-01 Gear: Justice."

"Justice?" Ragna thought to himself. "So if I kill him-"

"Her actually; Justice is female," Slayer corrected. "But yes, the Gears will go dormant and the Crusades will end. Much easier said than done however; your commander Kliff has done battle with Justice a fair number of times, and even when he was in his prime he barely escaped with his life. Not even I know where Justice is currently, but if you do find her proceed with utmost of caution."

"Noted," Ragna agreed. He was about to proceed on his way before a thought from earlier stopped him. "Earlier you said something about my soul having vampire traces. What the hell does it mean?"

"A great many things," Slayer said, his eyes seemed to be examining Ragna more closely now. "Sadly, nothing that I could ever say for certain." Slayer took out his pocket watch and checked the time. "I'd very much enjoy having another conversation with you, educating you further with the great mysteries and wonders of Vampire kind, but I'm afraid I'll need to be on my way, lest my wife try to behead me for lateness."

"Wife huh… She a Vampire too?"

It wasn't the most polite of questions, but Slayer merely chuckled to himself. "I'll let you ask her that. Until next time my friend!" Slayer then threw the red sash once more and stepping into the bat which again flew off into the dark skies.

"Well that's something you don't see every day," Ragna said to himself. "But a Vampire Soul? When the hell did that happen? Was it back when I got my arm? Wonder if the Rabbit ever bit me?" Ragna shook his head. "Well whatever, I better get back to camp before something more annoying happens."

The Refugee Camp

"Get that barrier finished quickly! Ky commanded his fellow Holy Knights. "I want long range mages behind the walls and Gunslingers on the towers NOW! We don't know when the Gears are going to arrive!"

All around the refugee camp all of the Knights were hurrying as fast as they could… well Sol just leaned back and wait for the forces to show up, but that was pretty expected of him. The red soldier looked at ease, but he was actually focusing all of his energy on his Gear sensing spell. From what he'd heard the guys from the convoy tell Ky, the Gear group was supposed to be MASSIVE, so why couldn't he sense a single Gear in the area?

"Why aren't they here yet?" Sol heard Ky question two of the leaders of the convoy, Tristan and Matt. "You said that you encountered them about two miles away, so the group should've been here by now."

"I doubt it, but maybe that crazy bastard managed to hold those Gears off for longer I thought," Tristan said while he grit his teeth.

"Someone fought the Gears? Alone?" Ky asked in surprise. "Who was it?"

"I didn't recognize him, but he was wearing a black uniform from the Order," Matt explained. "It was thanks to him that we were able to break through in the first place."

'That red coat from earlier?' Sol thought himself. 'What'd he call himself again? Ragna? What was he doing two miles out, I thought he came here to check the camp… I know he's not a Gear, but there's just something about him that isn't natural.'

"Lieutenant Kiske!" one of the watchman called out from the tower. "Someone's approaching from the North! We can't tell who it is without the lights! Permission to switch them on?!"

"Granted!" Ky called back as one of the search lights was turned on. The guard guided the search light around until it came up to the figure; Ragna, who was covering his eyes and shouting a barrage of colorful curses to turn the searchlight off.

"No damn way," Matt said in awe as he observed Ragna walking up. "How the hell could anyone have escaped that?"

'Something's changed about him,' Sol thought to himself. 'Has he grown even stronger somehow? And those Gears he was supposed to have encountered… could he have really beaten them all?'

"Hell of welcome," Ragna muttered under his breath as he neared Ky and Sol. "So what's with the unnecessarily large flashlight anyways?"

"Where were you?" Ky asked, not answering Ragna's question. "I'd heard word that you'd encountered the convoy to the North, but how'd you know they were there?"

"I didn't," Ragna said with confidence. He'd had plenty of time on the way back to come up with an alibi. "I got to this place, saw some Gears off in the distance, went off to fight them."

"And you didn't let anyone know?" Ky asked again.

"Hey, I knew I could handle 'em," Ragna said with a smirk, then his smile faded. "Of course, that was before I saw the Gear group after the convey."

"And where are they?" Ky asked.

"Dead," Ragna told him. The rest of the Holy Order went into a series of murmurs. "What? With my magic they didn't stand a chance."

"Magic or that arm of yours?" Ky asked, scowling at Ragna in deep suspicion. Ragna simply shrugged.

"Whoa there," Tristan said in his country accent as he walked between Ky and Ragna. "Let's save the Q an' A for later. Fact of the matter stands, this guy saved our asses and the rest of the refugees. I say we give 'im a break."

Ky kept his scowl for another moment before nodding in reluctance. "Very well then. The rest of you! Get those supplies unloaded and distribute them to the refugees, they've waited for food long enough." The rest of the Order nodded as they headed off to distribute the food, several members of the convoy thanking Ragna as they passed. Ragna simply nodded to each of them, before turning to leave. Ky then spoke as he walked off. "I may not be able to trust, but still… thank you." The Lieutenant then excused himself.

As Ragna headed further away he saw Sol, leaning against a wall of rubble. The warrior didn't say anything as Ragna passed, he just kept looking him dead in the eye. Ragna didn't crumble under Sol's glare and stared back. Finally, Sol addressed Ragna with a simple nod.

A sign of approval? Ragna wasn't sure, but as he walked through and say the countless people literally crying tears of joy for the food that they'd been depraved of for so long, he couldn't deny it; this felt right… no. This WAS right. In the short time he'd been here he found a new place, and it was somehow with the Sacred Order of Holy Knights.

Chapter Text

Duel V: Waiting for the War

'Jeez, this place really is a wreck,' Ragna thought to himself as he walked through the refugee camp. He'd woken close to an hour ago so with nothing else to do he decided to take a look around the town that had been converted into a camp for the civilians of war.

So far it hadn't really been the most stimulating walk, ruined building here, refugees enjoying food from the convoy there; not a whole lot going on. A welcome change though was the eventual end of the rainstorm, but it was too late to keep Ragna from getting completely soaked. Luckily his new outfit was incredibly water resistance, but Ragna's hair was definitely drooping like he'd just gotten out of the shower.

Unintentional hairstyles aside, Ragna continued his morning stroll, but then he came across a building with a familiar design; a ruined church. Maybe it was just a nostalgic whim, but Ragna decided to check it out, even if it was just for a familiar setting.

There was no one inside the church, and for good reason. The entire roof had been destroyed giving no protection from the rainstorm that, for all Ragna knew, could've lasted a few days if not longer. There wasn't a part of ground that wasn't covered in water and the wooden pews were completely soaked as well. The cross at the front was missing completely and the stained glass windows were in pieces, but Ragna still felt strangely at ease. The Grim Reaper wiped most of the water off one of the pews in the front before taking a seat.

While sitting Ragna closed his eyes and simply let his entire body relax and his mind go blank as he entered a meditative state. He didn't really know how long he'd been there, but eventually he heard light steps as someone else entered the church.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here," one Ky Kiske said as he walked down the church aisle. Ragna didn't move from his seat or offer any response. "Apologies, I didn't mean to interrupt your prayer."

"I wasn't praying, just resting," Ragna told him as he finally opened his eyes and turned his head so that it faced Ky. "I'm not really a person for religion."

"You're not?" Ky said, slightly surprised. "Then why did you choose a church to rest in?"

Part of Ragna just wanted to tell Ky off and tell him that it was none of his business, but then again if this was a new chance at life, he could at least try to be less of an ass than he was last time, and giving Ky a small chat could give him a bit of trust, making his time in the Order a little easier. "Because it feels familiar I guess. I was actually raised in a church."

"I see," Ky commented. "What was it like?"

"Well the church itself was pretty different. It was much smaller, located out in the plains. There were only four of us; my younger brother and sister, the matron taking care of us, and myself. Wasn't the nicest or easiest way to grow up, but it was home… at least until we were attacked."

"By the Gears," Ky said with a sad look in his eyes, almost looking to be one of understanding.

Ragna was about to agree with him and lie, but he didn't feel like it'd do anything. That massacre had happened, and he'd NEVER forget who was responsible. "No… by something much worse." And with that dark statement Ragna got up and walked down the aisle past Ky, heading for the church's exit.

"Can I ask you something?" Ragna shrugged as he kept walking. "Where do you stand in all of this?"

Confused, Ragna stopped in his tracks. "What're you talking about? I'm with the Order obviously. What? You think I just saved the convoy because I was bored?"

"Somehow I don't find that too hard to believe," Ky said a little too honestly, peeving Ragna somewhat. "But that's not quite what I was asking. I meant why are you fighting in the Crusades?"

"Why? I don't know, maybe because I didn't get a sense of friendship from the Gears when they tried to bite my head off,' Ragna suggested sarcastically. "Look, I'm not a people person, but that doesn't mean that I want to just sit back and wait the war out while people are dying. One thing I've never managed to learn was how to turn a blind eye."

"That's reasonable enough," Ky agreed. "I'm not sure what our next move is going to be, but make sure you're ready when we head out."

"I will be," Ragna promised as he finally left the church leaving Ky inside by himself. The young lieutenant of the Holy Knight knelt on a knee and began to pray for the success in the war and the safety of his brothers and sisters in arms.

Outside Ragna continued to walk through the town, eventually coming across two of the members of the Holy Order that he'd seen in the head truck yesterday, the lead man and his cowboy driver sitting at a pile of rubble they had arranged like a table while they played cards.

"Hey pard," Tristan said as he moved a few regular stones to the center of the table with one arm and held his hand of five cards with his other. "On patrol?"

"Not exactly," Ragna said. "Just walking around really."

"If you're keeping your eye out for trouble it's pretty much the same thing," Matt said as he moved a several stones to the center himself. "Call and raise by four Tristan."

"Huh, still trying to bluff your way out?" Tristan said with a smirk. "Nice try Matt, call and raise; All in. You wanna join us? This game's just about over."

'I'll pass," Ragna told them. "Maybe another time."

"Just offering," Tristan said as he took some jerky out of his coat pocket and took a bite out of it. "And thanks again for saving our asses, this idiot here wanted to try ramming through."

"I thought it'd be our best chance of surviving," Matt defended. "I'm just grateful that we didn't need to leave it to that chance."

"Yeah…" Tristan nodded in agreement before his smile turned to a somewhat sadistic smirk. "But I can only guess what your sister's going to say when she finds out."

Matt's expression became pained and worried. "You… don't really mean that do you? You're not really going to tell her about this, right?" Tristan just continued to smile and made a small glance to the cards his friend was holding. Matt sighed and tossed his cards to the center of the rubble table. "Fine, I fold."

"Smart move," the cowboy said with a smirk as he collected the wagered stones.

"Have fun with your card game," Ragna said as he began to head off, Tristan's smile only seemed to widen as he collected the stones. The Reaper left and the cowboy went back to winning what would've been Matt's dessert for tonight.

Eventually Ragna heard a couple of clattering sounds coming from one of the abandoned buildings. The Reaper remained alert as he placed his hand on his sword's hilt and slowly approached the building, not wanting to be unprepared should a Gear decide to lunge out of the building. As he approached the door however, he started hearing familiar muttering from inside.

"Gah… no damn good," came the voice of Sol Badguy. Ragna rolled his eyes as he reset his sword and entered the building. Sol gave a glare at his comrade as he entered, and showed little signs of lightening his expression as he realized it was Ragna. "What the hell do you want?"

"I heard noise coming from in here and thought it could be a Gear," Ragna explained. "But what are you doing in a place like this?" It was hard to tell what this building was supposed to be with the torn posters and piles of debris.

'Looking for music," Sol said as he went back to looking through his rubble pile.

"Looking for… music?" Ragna repeated, confused as hell. "Okay…"

"Idiot, you know what this is?" Sol asked as he took a large black disk out of the pile. Ragna shook his head. "This is a music record, one that operates off of magic. I'm collecting them so that when I can finally find a device to play them I'll have something to listen to."

"Oh," Ragna said as he looked at the disk. "But how do you tell what music's on this thing? It looks so beat up I doubt it'll even play."

"Some music's better than no music and I can try to repair it, plus I can't tell what plays since the artwork's so torn," Sol explained as he turned his attention back to the pile before holding out the record for Ragna to take. "If you want to make yourself useful hold on to this. I'm sure there's got to be-"

There was a sudden bright flash of light behind Sol's back. The warrior quickly turned to find Ragna staring at his right arm, the record nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell did you do!?" Sol shouted.

"I don't know!" Ragna shouted in return. "I just grabbed the thing and my arm suddenly absorbed it!"

"Your arm ATE my record!?" Sol shouted, completely outraged. "How the hell am I supposed to listen to it now!?"

"Don't look at me! How was I supposed to know that-!?" Ragna arm gave a small tingle before giving off a black spark. "What the hell!?"

(Cue Queen's Sheer Heart Attack Album 'Brighton Rock')

It defied all sense of the very interpretation of logic, but as Sol and Ragna stared at Ragna's BlazBlue they realized that it was playing music. Ragna couldn't explain it, but suddenly magic symbols were floating around his hand, emanating the music. Not only was Sol surprised by the fact that Ragna's arm was also a music player, but more importantly…

"Th...that song," he said, looking completely speechless.

"What in god's name is going on?" Ragna groaned as he shook his arm. "Okay, how the hell do I stop this thing!?"

In a flash of grey, he suddenly found himself being held at his neck by Sol's sword, Junkyard Dog. "Stop the music and I cut your head off."

"Eh?" Ragna uttered nervously, sweating profusely as Sol had the apparent look of a demon in his golden eyes. "What's gotten into you?"

"Sorry," Sol said, surprising Ragna even more with the apology alone as he removed his sword. "Just… don't turn off the music, all right?"

"Uh… okay?" Ragna said as he looked around the store at the other piles of broken record pieces. "You think if I collect enough pieces I'll make a complete record with my arm?"

Sol considered that for a moment. "Couldn't hurt to try… All right, you go through that pile over there, I'm going to check the back. And keep the music going."

"I got it, I got," Ragna groaned. "I totally just got turned into your personal jukebox, didn't I?"

"Well considering we're partners now…" Sol started with a slightly spiteful smile.

"When did that happen!?" Ragna shouted.

"Kliff's orders, deal with it," Sol said curtly as he made his way into the building's backroom to continue his quest for music records.

"...Asshole…" Ragna muttered under his breath as he knelt in front of the scrap pile. And thus began Ragna and Sol's rocky partnership.

Chapter Text

Duel VI: Let's Rock!

Ragna, Sol, Ky, and a large group of Holy Order troops walked along the path back to the headquarters. They'd left the refugee camp under a strong guard and were starting to escort the people in them further away from the frontlines and deeper into the Order's territory. From what Ragna understood the Order's scouts had finally found enough info to tell them where the Gear factory was supposedly located.

While most of the soldiers including Ky Kiske were worried about the upcoming battle that was risky at best, Ragna was currently more concerned with avoiding Sol Badguy. Since his arm had been revealed to have the ability to absorb magic records and play the songs that were on them, Sol had continually insisted that Ragna follow him and play music. Frankly, Ragna had never really been one for learning music, but if he had all of Sol's favorite album, Queen's Sheer Heart Attack, unintentionally memorized lyric for lyric and note for note since just this morning then he knew this had gone way too far.

Avoiding Sol meant blending in with the other troops. Ragna had quickly caught on that Sol hated company, and he'd never worked with others (which left the Reaper somewhat pissed that he'd been singled out) so he decided to travel in a group. This proved to be a little more annoying, given the barrage of questions he'd been getting from the other recruits, but if he had to listen to Killer Queen one more time he'd lose it.

"So you got that sword from your master?" one of the members from the order asked.

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago," Ragna said passively. Giving the right information was a bit difficult, but Ragna was confident he could keep himself out of hot water.

"So…" Tristan the began, adjusting his cowboy hat. "Have a girlfriend? Someone you want to finish this war for?"

"What!?" Ragna instantly spat out. "Where the hell did that come from!?"

"Just trying to find out a little bit more about our little 'man with no past,'" Tristan said with a casual shrug. "So, do ya?"

"None of your business!" Ragna shouted.

"Aw, someone's getting defensive," a female member of the order teased as Ragna began to blush. "C'mon yes or no will work."

"Then no," Ragna said heatedly. "Never planned on having anyone, never will."

"A real barrel of laughs, ain't ya?" Tristan said with a sigh. "C'mon man, you've got to have someone to look out for. What's the point of living life without that special someone?"

"Less annoyances for one thing, more money in my wallet for another," Ragna reasoned. "Do you really think the Crusades is really the best time to start dating?"

"It's actually not that bad of an idea," Matt, the convoy leader, told him. "It could be a distraction, something to keep your mind off of the fighting. That, and you always fight harder when you have someone that you need to look out for."

'I wouldn't know,' Ragna thought to himself bitterly. 'It's always been just me looking for revenge against a world controlling government, now I'm in the middle of the Crusades and I'm supposed to save the world by being a team player? Talk about a change of roles."

"Just think about it," Tristan said with a smirk. "After all, you don't want end up lonely and grumpy like a certain hot head do you?" Sol scoffed in the background. "Find someone to fight for, make some friends, it'll keep you from going crazy."

"Don't expect a miracle," Ragna told them off as he started walking further ahead of the group. If it was discussing love life or risk being forced to play Queen for Sol, Ragna suddenly felt the need to listen to a little more Tenement Funster.

Back at the Base

Since it was getting late, Ragna was sitting on a concrete slab enjoying his dinner. Since they'd managed to get more supplies, Ragna actually managed to add some protein bars to his regular jerky and water meal. Currently he was sitting by himself behind a pile of rubble, trying to get some seclusion and keep away from Sol. Despite hiding himself, he heard footsteps approaching him.

"Hey." Ragna recognized the voice. He looked up and saw Julia, the woman who'd started teaching him magic. For those of you who don't remember what she looks like, slightly dark skin, crimson hair in a long ponytail that went to her waist, wears glasses and a standard green issued Holy Order uniform, and wields a spear.

"Hey," the Reaper said in return, not making an effort to start a conversation.

"I heard about what you did for the convoy, so I wanted to thank you," Julia said, a little intimidated by Ragna's constant scowl.

"I was just there and I did what I needed to, simple as that. No need to thank me, alright?" Ragna said with a huff.

"Well I do, I mean my brother and a close friend of mine were leading that convoy, and from what the guys were saying without you they wouldn't have had a chance. First the refugee camp and now the convoy, people are actually starting to have faith that we're going to survive the Crusades."

"Don't make a big deal out of it. I had Sol with me, remember?"

"Not when you saved Matt and Tristan. Those two are all I have left… After my dad died fighting in the war and mom died from a disease in the camps Matt tried to provide for me as best he could. Back then he was a lot more stubborn than he was today, so when we were in the refugee camps he was convinced the Order was taking most of the food for its soldiers."

Ragna stayed silent and continued eat, the food in his mouth tasting a little worse.

"He found out that wasn't true, but he still wanted to join in exchange for having Kliff take care of me. Kliff agreed and… I don't really know the details, but apparently he'd just lost his son. Matt joined the Order and Tristan, who's been my friend before I could walk, followed him. From what I can understand the two got into some scrapes… so I started having Kliff train me."

"And that's how you got here today," Ragna commented as he put his food away.

"That's how I got here," Julia said before turning to smile at the Reaper. "So now you know what it means when I say thank you."

Not used to be thanked, Ragna felt a little uncomfortable. "Whatever," he said passively, not making eye contact with Julia.

Julia gave a small sigh. "You should really try to open up a little. Right now that cursed arm of yours is the least of your worries to making friends."

"I'm not looking to make friends, and I already heard all of this from that cowboy on the road," Ragna scoffed. 'That and some more annoying advice.'

"Sounds like something Tristan would say," Julia said. "He's always been like that, ever since we were kids."

"You got a thing for him?" Ragna asked, surprising himself that he'd decided to ask.

"No, not really," Julia told him. "He's always been more of another older brother to me. He's quite a character, ladies man at one point, caring husband to his wife the next."

"He's got a wife?" Ragna questioned incredulously.

"Yeah, he's been married for about a half year now," Julia told him with a small smile. "His wife, Sarah, was a lot like us. She lost her parents a when she was young and she's helping the order by acting as a medic in one of the refugee camps. He's always been a flirt, but his wife makes sure he doesn't go too far with it."

"Tch, to get married in the middle of this hellhole," Ragna shook his head. "Talk about bad timing."

"Actually, timing was why they'd decided to do it then. We'd just lost a battle and casualties were higher than they've ever been. Tristan's proposal came completely unexpectedly, but the very next day the entire order and the rest of the refugee camp was at his wedding. It was small, and we couldn't do much, but in the end it helped raise moral. That cloud of depression above us disappeared and we started winning battles again."

"Alright, but what's you point to all of this?"

"There's not really a point to make," Julia admitted before giving a small smirk. "But I got you to listen to me at least. If I can get you to listen, maybe I can get you to open up."

"Sorry, you say something?" Ragna said to her. He'd tried to say it in order to be rude so that she'd leave him alone, but neither of the two could keep a straight face and Julia giggled while Ragna gave off a small chuckle. "All right, I'll try not to be a stand-offish ass ALL the time."

"Good, I think that's supposed to be Sol's job anyways," Julia said with a smile.

"Oh, is it?" came the familiar voice. Julia yelped as Sol Badguy stepped out from around the rubble pile, his face looking crosser than usual.

"Don't tell me that you're stalking me for more music," Ragna groaned. "I've already got enough problems without being your personal CD player."

"Well how else am I supposed to listen to music?" Sol grunted. "But that's not what I came here for. The plan's been set and it looks like we're finally going to tackle the factory at dawn."

"Bout time," Ragna grunted as he stood "So what's the plan?"

"You're with me; you do as I say, you try not get yourself killed, and most of all you stay out of my way," Sol told him gruffly as he turned to leave.

"Okay, now hold on a damned minute!" Ragna growled as he stood. "If we're going to be partners it's about time I cleared something up; I ain't taking orders like some second rate sidekick and I'm not just your source of music! I'm SICK of listening to Queen! I've got their songs stuck in my head and it's a living hell!"

"Not my problem," Sol told him uncaringly.

"Maybe I don't know everything about how this thing works with music, but nothing's stopping me from figuring out how to delete every track on this damn thing!"

"You're threatening me?" Sol asked slightly enraged as the two got in each other face and butted heads (literally). Julia could practically see the violent sparks between Sol's golden eyes and Ragna's green and red ones. "Funny, just yesterday I remember coming across this cripple that couldn't even use magic, and now you think you're tough because of a stupid arm and some music?"

"You're. Not. My Boss. Hell, I don't even want you as a partner because of all the crap you pull with me you asshole! I'd rather beat the shit out of you!" Ragna told him.

"You trying to pick a fight?" Sol vented at Ragna.

"Well I'm not backing down from one, what about you?" Ragna vented back.

"Guys… stop… please?" Julia pleaded, but neither man seemed to have heard her.

"There's a clearing fifty kilometers to the west, we'll settle this there." Sol told him as he backed his face away.

"Fine with me," Ragna said darkly as the two proceeded to run off, leaving a very worried Julia behind.

Neither man said anything on their way to the area Sol had described was close to a circle clear of any ruble which looked like it was placed on an old roadway still covered by the rainwater from the last few days. There were crumbling buildings along the edges, giving the setting something of an arena feeling with tall, ruined buildings in the distance. Ragna and Sol took their places on opposite sides of the center.

(Cue Guilty Gear II Overture Misadventure)

"Last chance to back out," Sol said as he got into a ready stance.

"Why don't you take it?" Ragna spat at him before he drew his sword.

"Punk," Sol muttered before he and Ragna roared and rushed forward, their feet splashing through the water as they did.

HEAVEN OR HELL

FINAL

LET'S ROCK!

Ragna’s Aramasa and Sol’s Junkyard Dog clashed, sending sparks flying as the two entered a lock with their blades. Sol managed to push Ragna back before bringing his blade down, but the Reaper avoided the blow by side stepping to his right. Sol adjusted his sword swing so that it'd follow Ragna, but the attack was deflected by his said.

"BLOCKHEAD BURST!" Sol shouted as sent a series of explosions at Ragna. The Reaper blocked the attack by using a Barrier Ars as Sol's attacks slammed into the shield before he dropped the guard and made a low slash for Sol's legs. While Sol guarded against the attack, Ragna flipped his body into midair for a kick to Sol's head while his target went for skyward knee strike.

"GAUNTLET HADES!"

"STORM VIPER!"

Attacks of flame and darkness struck each other, causing sparks to fly and the ground to shake sending up a small burst of water under where the collision took place. The two landed on the ground with their backs to each on other sides of the water wall before quickly to slash each other cleanly cutting through the water while their blades clashed. The two sent several more bladed attacks at each other cutting the water barrier from earlier into tinier pieces before it could dissipate. Sol sent a final downward slash while Ragna countered it with an upward one, cutting the water in half one last time as it started to dissolve into mist.

"SAVAGE FANG!" Sol shouted as he sent a giant wall of flames at Ragna from the ground, instantly turning the mist to steam. Ragna responded readily by channeling his Soul Eater drive and roaring as he brought his sword down, dispersing the flames and sending a massive blast of steam in all directions.

"FAFNIR!" Sol shouted as he charged his flames with blade and stabbed it at Ragna's feet with the Reaper mirrored Sol's attack with his own dark version. Their collision and impact in the ground caused created a giant indent and a great tremor.

Ragna twisted his body in a powerful roundhouse slash and Sol grunted as he felt blocked the giant sword with his own blade. 'I haven't taken my limiter off yet, but he's still making me fight seriously.' He stepped out of the blade lock and leapt the the air and delivered a bandit revolver attack at Ragna, which hit a glowing barrier. 'He's hiding something… but let's see what this kid's got as he is. I can't take my headband off anyways.'

"DEAD SPIKE!" Ragna shouted as he sent a giant demon-beast head from the ground towards Sol. The Holy Order member grunted as he blocked the attack, but allowed the blow to push him back as he skidded across the ground. When he stopped moving he began charging his Fire Magic as Ragna rushed towards him. "TOO SLOW!"

Sol didn't move until the Reaper's blade was nearly on top of him, but he sent out a burst of fire around his entire body. Ragna wasn't harmed much by the attack, but it was enough to send him flying. "GUN BLAZE!" Sol rushed forward, three burst of flames spouting from the ground. Ragna grunted as he was by the first burst, sending him into the second, then the third. As he took the last hit he craned his head to find Sol waiting for him with a flame charged punch. The attack was dead on, sending Ragna flying through the air before he crashed deep into one side of the rubble pile.

"COME ON!" Sol yelled as a ruined building a mile off crumbled from the force of the battle. "I thought you said you were gonna beat the shi-"

Ragna burst out of the wall, his body bloody and his clothes torn, and rushed towards Sol at amazing speeds. The older warrior grumbled as he didn't think that Ragna would have fallen for the trick before unleashing a Gold Burst which would give him an edge in combat. But, after activating it he didn't see Ragna.

"Yeah… I did."

As Sol quickly looked up to the source of the voice and his eyes widened at the vision of his opponent and the scythe he wielded. Ragna brought the blade down harshly, drawing blood from Sol and putting him off guard. He then quickly reverted the weapon to a sword and stabbed the blade down and cut Sol against his thigh before swinging his blade upwards and cutting him across the chest with enough force to send him airborne. The Reaper then leapt up in the air after his target before grabbing his cloak's collar and smashing his knee into Sol's gut, sending him flying back into the rubble pile with enough force to cause the ground to shake, the pile to fall over him, and another building in the distance to crumble.

'I hope that did something, this guy's a monster. We might be matching each other blow for blow now, but he's hiding something BIG. What the hell would happen if either of us actually went all out?'

A burst of intense flames came from the pile where Sol had landed, sending flaming debris flying in all directions. The Gear Hunter grunted as he stood from where he had landed, his outfit was torn and now he was looking a little bloodier.

The two said nothing as the ycharged each and resumed battle with their swords, the metal constantly clashing as steel met steel countless times in a frenzy of attacks. By the end of the combination, Ragna made an upward slash as Sol attacked with a fist coated it fire before following up with other attacks.

"TYRANT-!"

"CARNAGE-!"

Another clash of a flaming fist and sword or darkness. Sol gripped Junkyard Dog with both hands and charged huge amount of fire magic into it while Ragna channeled Soul Eater into his sword.

"-RAVE!"

"-SCISSORS!"

The attacks of fire and darkness collided, creating a massive explosion of the mixed magics. Sol and Ragna were both forced back as their attack was already enough to make the ground itself rumble from the force. Both fighters took advantage the instance they stopped skidding.

"ROCK IT!"

"HELL'S FANG!"

The two lunged forward at each other, meeting directly in the center of the area as their fist's met the other's face. The shockwave produced was enough to rip the previously flat ground apart and sent both of the two fly back into the walls of rubble.

DOUBLE KNOCK OUT!

(End theme)

Ragna grunted as he managed to pick himself out of the wall as Sol did the same. The two were both breathing heavily after the brutal struggle that had just taken place.

"So… did I make my point?" Ragna asked as he slowly approached Sol, not sheathing his sword yet. The two's healing factors was now kicking in and starting to help them recover.

"I guess…" Sol told him passively, before giving a nod of acceptance. "Fine, do what you want. I hate being in charge anyways."

"Good, and I figure I shouldn't delete your Queen music," Ragna said as he reset his sword, seeing as the battle was over. "Guess I was kinda a dick."

"Kinda?" Sol questioned with an actual smirk.

"Don't push it Badguy, I don't think you any better," Ragna grunted. "We should be getting back, I don't want the Order to worry about us."

"Fine," Sol said as the two allies began walking back to the base.

"So… want some travelling tunes for the road?" Ragna decided to offer.

Sol thought to himself for a minute. "Pretty sure we managed to find a Billy Joel record back at the shop. He's supposed to be pretty decent." Ragna nodded as he activated his BlazBlue and started playing the music.

"Well there's that," Ragna said before looking down at his torn uniform. "So what're we supposed to do about these?"

Sol's arm glowed in a strange green before he touched his red uniform. Immediately the rips on the uniform began to close and the grime disappeared.

"This isn't too hard of a spell, you probably can use it since you just watched me," Sol told him. Ragna tried focusing his BlazBlue to copy the wavelength he'd sensed from Sol's. It worked well enough and he managed to repair his black uniform.

"Useful, kind of wish I had this when I lost my coat; might've been able to save some of it" Ragna said as the two walked on. "I gotta say, you really know how to throw a punch."

"That so? Well you're not half bad yourself," Sol admitted as he took out and lit a cigarette. "Best fight I've had in a while."

The journeyed together for a while until they made it back to their base, but upon arriving back they saw that most of the members were in lockdown trying to stay out in the open to protect themselves while reinforcing structures.

"Weird," Ragna said as the two split up. As he walked around the camp he found Julia sighing as she exited Kliff's tent as he and Ky discussed the specifics to their strategy. When she caught sight of Ragna she quickly rushed over to him. "What's going on?"

"What the heck happened to you!?" she demanded of the Reaper. "One moment I see you and Sol run off to battle to the death and the next there's an earthquake before I can warn Kliff! I'm just glad that it stopped the two of you from finishing that stupid fight and killing each other!"

'Earthquake?' Ragna thought to himself, before realizing that his brawl with Sol could have been what caused that. 'Guess we both took things a little too far.'

"Well?" Julia said as he she put her hands on her hips and glared at the Reaper awaiting his answer.

"We uh… we talked it out and decided to come back?" Ragna defended weakly, his fake smile clearly giving him away. The smack he received on his forehead was enough to tell him that Julia hadn't bought it. "Hey…"

"Idiot," she groaned before leaving him in a huff.

'What in the seven hells was that about?' Ragna thought to himself before shrugging it off. 'Well whatever, we're going to be attacking the Gear Factory tomorrow and I'm going to need to be sure that I'm ready for whatever happens.'

Chapter Text

Duel VII: A River of Blood

It was well past midnight and the knights in the Holy Order that weren't on guard duty had fallen asleep long ago. By sunrise the next morning they'd be heading out to a battle that would prove critical towards ending the Crusades; the destruction of the Gear Factory. The factory was sure to have a full legion of Gears guarding it and it was possible that the command gear, Justice, would make its appearance then. Everyone wanted to be ready and rested should that happen, but their local Reaper figured he could get a bit more practice in.

Using the time he had to his advantage, Ragna was committed to his late night training by tempering his usual (if unorthodox) fighting style. The simpler attacks weren't his concern, it was the moves that used his Azure Grimoire. His body might've been forced to adapt to the use of this world's magic, but he knew he still had room to improve and that was something he would need in the coming days of the Crusades. If his magic had shorted out during his fight against the massive Gear force or (god forbid) his duel with Sol, Ragna wouldn't have made it away alive.

Ragna swung his massive sword downwards, just stopping as its edge hit the rainwater from yesterday's storm. The puddle separated under the blade shear force, but Ragna immediately swiped his sword to the right for a much quicker cut, before channeling his Azure Grimoire into the blade and performing a spinning slash of darkness. When he was just about done with the attack, he forced the Aramasa to go into its scythe form and performed a single slash parallel to the ground. Black wisps were emitted from the blade and the force of the attack was enough to send the rainwater flying.

"Give it a rest already," came Sol's gruff voice from behind as the fellow Holy Order member and Ragna's newly assigned partner made his way forward with his own blade, Junkyard Dog, resting on his shoulder as he held the grip in his left hand. Sol's face didn't seem any more annoyed than usual, but it definitely didn't look like he was happy.

"What brings you out here?" Ragna asked, leaving his weapon in scythe form and letting it rest against his shoulder.

"The boy scout wanted an explanation for why you weren't in the camp; I'm the bastard he decided to chew out," the Gear Hunter told him, though it was evident that Sol didn't really seem to care about getting in trouble.

"Boy scout?" Ragna questioned, unsure of who his partner was referring to.

"Ky, the blondie," he explained gruffly. "He wants you back in camp so he can keep an eye on you and we can be ready for tomorrow."

"You still haven't told me what the hell we're supposed to be doing, remember?" Ragna decided to remind him. "Kinda need to know the plan of attack."

"Best way I can put it is we're going to be holding the Gears back while Ky's and Kilff's teams head into the factory and try to bring it down. Couple of scouts reported back saying that there's a much larger Gear force heading this way, so it's going to be a problem if we don't keep them from reaching the factory."

"Any we're just waiting?" Ragna questioned. "If that Gear force is closing in on us should we really be sitting around?"

"It's risky to wait for them to join up, it's suicide to go after them when it's dark… for most people," Sol told Ragna.

"...You hinting at something?" the Reaper asked.

"Yeah, if I didn't have to…" Sol trailed off and shook his head. "Just get back to the camp, we'll deal with the rest of that shit in the morning."

"You go on ahead, I'll head back once I finish up here," Ragna told him as he nonchalantly tossed his scythe into the air and then caught it with as single hand above his head.

'...So this is what it feels like to be the one getting blown off,' Sol thought as he headed back into the camp. 'First time that's happened to me in a while.'

Ragna continued to swipe the air around him with his weapon alternating between his own fists, his sword, and its scythe form. Ragna alternated by leading into some of his standard techniques, like Dead Spike or Inferno Divider. As far as he could tell there wasn't anything wrong with his fighting style, the magic was flowing through his body like he'd been using it his whole life… so why did he feel so uneasy?

-The Next Morning -

Ragna was aroused from his slumber as the encampment noisily started gathering supplies and readying themselves for the day's important battle. Grunting as he cracked his eye open, he saw that the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet, but it seemed like there wasn't any time to waste. He gave a groggy yawn as he rose from the rough ground that he'd been forced to sleep on.

'Dammit I'm sore,' he thought to himself before he tried to get some sore cricks out of his back. A series of pops was heard by and the Reaper let out a short, satisfied breath. 'Sleeping out in the woods would've beaten sleeping on solid concrete, at least then I might've been able to find a softer spot.'

"Hey pard, so you're finally up," Tristan, the Order's local cowboy enthusiast, said as he cleaned the chamber on his revolver. "Was wondering where you'd run off to last night, you missed a good poker game."

"I don't gamble," Ragna told him laxly as he continued his morning stretches. "Besides I don't have anything worth betting here."

"You've got that fancy sword don't ya?" the cowboy noted, gesturing to where the Aramasa he been impaled in the ground.

"You'd have to kill me take that from me," its owner told him harshly. "And even then I doubt you'd be able to pry it away from my corpse."

"Heh, somehow I don't think you're bluffing there," Tristan said as he began putting his revolver back together. Still let's hope that we don't have to find out if that's true today, fighting off the Gears with you and Sol backing us up already sounds difficult enough."

"So you're part of the outside force too then," the Reaper noted. "Who else is there to worry about?"

"Hey, we can handle ourselves better than you think," came Matt's voice as he approached the two with his twin handaxes strapped to his side. "I think our biggest issue today is keeping you from getting into another argument with Sol."

"Oi oi, we already settled it," Ragna told him as he finished his stretches. "Sides, he started it. So this factory battle, it's going to be a bigger fight than last time?"

"Maybe not," Tristan admitted. "From what we've heard security at the factory's almost nonexistent. I guess they weren't planning on seeing an entire army wiped out when they went after the convoy. The real problems whatever traps they're going to be hiding inside the factory and if the new group shows up."

"If they do show up I'll wipe 'em out just like I did the last group," Ragna told the others before hearing footsteps heading towards them.

"Try to remind yourself that you don't have to do it alone," Julia said as she also approached the group with a stern expression behind her glasses. Her crimson hair was done back in its usual ponytail to keep it out of her eyes and her spear was strapped to her back as usual. "I'm going to be in command today, so at least TRY to listen to what I have to say."

"Don't expect any miracles," Ragna told her bluntly as he yanked as sword out of the concrete and put it back on his belt. "If the plan works I'll follow it until something better comes along, but I'm not really known to stand down."

"You and Sol both," Julia sighed. "We'll be heading out in a few minutes, so everyone make sure you've got your equipment, grab a quick bite, and be ready to go when Kliff gives the word."

"Don't worry Julia, we're set to move out on a moment's notice," Matt assured his sister. Once the female Lieutenant had left he turned to Ragna. "You know that she's counting on you."

"She's counting on everyone," the Reaper passively said back. "If I wasn't here, you'd have Sol to rely on, wouldn't you?"

"And you'd expect him to listen to Julia?" Matt asked rhetorically as Matt finished putting his revolver back together and gave the chamber a quick spin. "Just make sure you're there when she needs you. We've got her back but… what we're dealing with isn't human."

'I'm not really that much of a human either,' Ragna thought darkly as he glanced to his right arm. "I'll do my part; I can promise that much."

"That's all we're asking," Matt said before smirking. "And maybe a bit of music on the road."

"My vote goes to country," Tristan said, his fixation with cowboys ever present. "Been a while since I could listen to a good song."

"So long as it's not more Queen…" the Reaper groaned, leading his companions to softly chuckle.

"You just don't have any taste in music," Sol muttered as he passed by the group with a lit cigarette in his mouth.

The Gear Factory

The forces around the Gear Factory were handled easily, almost too easily. It would have looked like there was a trap, but with the Order's scouts and elite units heading into the factory they'd be ready for whatever came their way. Ky and Kliff's group had headed inside close to fifteen minutes ago and Ragna was starting to get impatient.

"Come on, how's it taking them this long?" he griped as he laid on flat slab of concrete with his hands behind his head.

"You don't have any idea how big this place actually is," Matt told him as he stood on lookout with his binoculars. The two had been positioned about a half mile from the factory to keep on lookout and send a message back once they'd gotten word. "I've been inside a Gear Factory before and trust me, they're either huge on the outside or they've got over a dozen subterranean levels to make the gears. Planting the charges is going to take a while and that's without getting into whatever security the base has."

"So we're going to be here a while," Ragna groaned. "Any sign of the gear force?"

"Not from where I'm standing, but they might be trying to gather forces together and hit us with the biggest group they've got. I'm hoping that would slow 'em down, but without Kliff or Ky here if we see a combined force we might not make it."

'Honestly I think Sol would pack enough of a punch for both of them,' the Reaper admitted to himself as he thought back to his fight with the fire magic user the day prior. He winced as his arm gave a sudden throb. 'Damn, what's this feeling? Something happening because of my magic? Somehow I'm getting a really bad vibe from it…' "Hey, you're sure there isn't anything out there?"

"Who's the guy with the binoculars?" Matt retorted. "If you want to take a turn on lookout go ahead and… Wait… I think I see movement over that rubble mountain! There's a force only five minutes away and it looks big! Damn! They've even got a massive Gear too! Might even be a B-class!"

'That big one must be what's setting this off,' Ragna thought to himself as he looked at his arm which continued to throb painfully. 'Does it do this whenever there's a tough Gear nearby or something?'

"Julia!" Matt shouted into a magic circle emitting from his finger. "We've got the force coming in on this side! I don't think we've got the numbers to take 'em!"

"Head back here now!" she commanded over the spell. "We're going to need a plan to deal with them and I don't want you or Ragna doing anything reckless!"

'She knows what to expect from me anyways,' Ragna thought to himself as Matt gestured for them to both go back to the factories opening. If he'd had been considering walking back, that idea died the moment he saw Sol nonchalantly passing by to head out towards the oncoming Gears. Matt gave a nervous glance to the Gear Hunter before looking back to the darkly smirking Ragna. "Don't bother waiting up."

Helplessly watching as Ragna headed off to join his partner, Matt continued to stare at the retreating Reaper as he headed off to face a force far larger than the one he'd faced to save the convoy. Matt sighed to himself before running back to join his sister, far too preoccupied to notice the well-dressed gentleman as he watched on a short distance away.

"This may take an interesting turn for the two off them," Slayer thought to himself aloud as he held an unlit pipe in his lips. "I almost lament not having a glass of fine wine to enjoy while I spectate their encounter."

It took only a short jog for Ragna to catch up with Sol and the Gear Hunter only seemed to give him a sort of passive-aggressive look as he got close.

"No one asked you to follow me," Sol said him while still holding his cigarette from earlier between his lips, the tobacco reaching the end of its life span.

"Yeah? Well no one told me to stay behind either," Ragna responded him with his familiar snarky smile.

He gave an exasperated chuckle before smirking back. "Fair enough."

(Cue Dynasty Warriors 8 Cyclonized Typhoon )

As the two approached, a smaller and more agile groups of the Gears broke away from the main force and ran around the two more seasoned warrior and headed for the factory's entrance. "Should we stop 'em?" the Reaper asked.

"Let's leave the leftovers to the others," Sol said as he spat out his cig and rolled one of his shoulders to get a few of the pops out. "We got bigger fish to fry and they should do something."

"Right, so how do ya' want to do this?" was Ragna's query as he unslung his sword and pointed it the forces in the front of him. "I take the left and you'll take the right?"

CLANG!

Ragna took a step back in surprise as Sol knocked his blade upwards using his own weapon. His golden eyes were dead serious as he addressed his partner. "Just keep slashing until we're done." With that blunt description Sol immediately took off running towards the Gear army.

"My kind of plan." Ragna agreed snarkily before he also took off running towards the opposing army, but Sol made it their first. The giant Gear that was still causing Ragna's arm to throb was at the back of the group, so Sol started with the weaker ones.

"Gun Blaze!" he shouted as he dashed though the Gear's lines and caused columns of flames to shoot up from the ground behind him, sending several of the nearly countless Gears flying. A soldier type gear attempted to rake its claws across Sol's back, but that attack was deflected harmlessly against his sword before Sol messily cleaved the monster into two half. A flying dragon type gear breathed a column of fire at him from above, but its heat was nothing compared to its targets. Send swiped his sword skyward and sent out his own massive wave of fire, consuming the opposing flames and incinerating the Gear to ash.

As Ragna approached the group, he launched himself into the air and transformed his weapon into its scythe form. Letting it radiate dark energy, Ragna cleaved the blade through several Gears and severed them in a gory splash of blood. He then spun his scythe and slaughtered even more of them. Another Dragon type broke through the lines on foot and breath its own column of fire at Ragna. The Reaper allowed his weapon to revert back into sword mode before he leapt upwards to dodge the blast. Once he was above the monster, he plunged the blade down and struck through the creature's head killing it instantly.

One the other side of the battlefield, the smaller Gear units that had broken off from the main force were rapidly approaching the Holy Order members. Tristan took careful aim with his revolver and let a single shot fly into the heads of one of the Gears. The wind magic inside the bullet was unleashed and tore the head to ribbons. The cowboy then switched cartridges and fired his next bullet which ricocheted between his target while damaging them. Twirling his gun as he switched to the third cartridge of his revolver. He braced his aim with his free arm, targeted a line of Gears and fired off a powerful piercing shot that went through without resistance.

"There's a few down at least!" Julia shouted as Tristan continued to fire at the Gears with the rest of the ranged attackers. "Everyone get ready!"

As the Gears closed in their group, Matt was the first to rush forward to meet them with his duel hand axes. He swung a well-aimed blow at a Soldier type Gear's head and barely managed to break through its outer armor. Since the Gear was still standing, Matt charged his fire based magic into his other axe and quickly decapitated the monster. Causing his other axe to glow with flames, Matt then made a slash with both of his weapon and sent out magic waves that cut through a few of the enemy. He then gave a shout before leaping into the air and bringing his weapons down and sending out a blast of fire that sent several Gears flying back.

Despite her responsibilities of leading the troops Julia wasn't one to avoid the frontlines of combat herself. Julia practiced a rare and flexible type of light magic that had the potential to boost its users combat ability when channeled properly. Sending light magic into her spear, she stabbed her weapon forward and impaled it through three Gears at once. A nearby opponent was about to claw a helpless, but Julia cast a quick incantation that sent a blinding ray of light out of her palm that incinerated the top half of the Gear. Ripping her spear out, she channeled more magic into it, resulting in an axe head of light to appear near the top point. Using her makeshift halberd, Julia swung her weapon in a devastating arc and managed to decapitate several Gears.

Back on the front lines of the battlefield, Ragna was starting to get annoyed by how many Gears he was having to fight through. He spun his body to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick to the enemy to send them flying back before sending out a Dead Spike and obliterating another group. A dragon flying overhead dive bombed towards the Reaper to flatten him, but he'd been ready. "Inferno Divider!" Ragna's oversized sword plunged into the Gear's thick hide and cleaved it in half without resistance. With both halves still in midair, he performed an axe kick and sent them falling to the ground, crushing several smaller Gears beneath the creature's large bulk.

After taking a moment to charge his fire magic, Sol fired off a Blockhead Burst which resulted in a series of explosions that wiped out a large line of the monsters. The hunter then braced his body and allowed himself to contain some of the leftover spell energy. He then rushed forward with a fire encased fist and destroyed one of the gears with a powerful punch before he brought his sword down and cut another gear before swinging it upward and sending out a burst of flames.

Many of the remaining Gears finally got the message that the two were the stronger targets, leading them to break off from the main group and headed toward the Order's forces near the factory entrance. That left Ragna and Sol with the largest of the gears. The monster got around on four large legs and had a huge bulky body, about thirty feet tall and twenty feet wide. It had long and sharp tusks and a lengthy snout, like a mammoth, but its body was also completely covered in a black exoskeleton and spikes. The creatures let out a harsh scream as its long snout exhaled a white mist over the ground it. When the mist cleared the entire ground was frozen and there were sharp spike formations of ice formed all over the ground.

"This thing's already a pain in the ass," Ragna grunted as his arm continued to throb painfully. "Let's just kill it and be done here."

"My thoughts exactly," Sol agreed with due bluntness as he rushed forward.

Ragna sent out another Dead Spike to create and opening in the ice wall for his partner to pass through so Sol wouldn't be slowed. When the older fighter made his way through the broken barrier the giant Mammoth type Gear swung its head to the side in an attempt to knock Sol over with its large and ice spike covered tusks. Badguy dodged the attacks by sliding on the ice ground until he came close enough to the monster.

"Storm Viper!" Sol shouted as he brought a flaming knee skyward and flipped his in a midair kick, leaving a trail of flames behind him. The attack only seemed to glaze against the creature's tough exterior, but Sol thrust his leg downwards for a final kick to little effect. 'Dammit, this thing's got a tougher hide than I would've thought.'

Ragna leapt up behind Sol with his weapon transformed into its scythe form and emitting its dark energy. He let out roar and he brought the weapon down on the same part that Sol had struck, barely managing to make crack marks appear on the creature's skin.

"No good!" Ragna shouted as the mammoth swung its head and knocked the two out of the air with its spiked tusks. Ragna winced as the icicles easily pierced his cloak and skin and dove deep into flesh, hitting several of vital organs. Had it not been for his above human endurance and his impressive healing factor he might've died there. He groaned as he landed before giving off a burst of power from his BlazBlue, causing the ice impaled in him to shatter. "Sol! You alright?"

"I'm fine," Sol grumbled. Like Ragna he'd also been pieced, but because of the intense amount of fire magic he'd had he wasn't pierced as badly though it was taking him longer to heal. "That spot's still vulnerable! HIT IT!"

"On it! Follow me!" Ragna shouted back as he rushed forward toward the monster with his sword raised above his head. The mammoth exhaled a powerful blast of icy mist from its mouth, but it wasn't enough to slow Ragna as he burst through the cloud. "CARNAGE-!" Ragna's initial sword slash was finally enough to break through the mammoth's thick hide, revealing more vulnerable flesh beneath. "SCISSORS!" The blast of darkness that followed was directed straight into the open wound, causing the Gear to reel back and scream. "SOL!"

Time slowed as the Gear Hunter's shadow fell over Ragna. Sol had leapt above him and both of his fists were already emitting searing heat and destructive flames. Sol had a smug grin on his face, far cockier than Ragna had seen before. Sol roared before plunging his flame covered fists into the open wound, also managing to force the leftover dark energy from Ragna's attack in as well. The two magic collided and created a massive explosion inside the creature. The mammoth shuddered for a split second, before falling to the side with a dull thud.

(End Theme)

"You got him?" Ragna asked as he equipped his sword to his belt, acting rather nonchalant despite what had transpired.

"All that's left of it is the outer skin; that combined magic didn't leave anything inside," the elder warrior told Ragna bluntly. "Still, your magic's scary enough on its own, but mixed with mine-" Sol was cut off as Ragna grimaced and gripped his right arm in pain. "You okay? Hey! Snap out of it!"

'Damn it! What is this!?' the Reaper thought through a blurred mind as the BlazBlue continued to throb. 'This should've come from a powerful Gear and it's not even fading!' A small rumble was heard behind the rubble mountain, causing both to narrow their eyes. 'Now what!?'

Slowly taking large and lumbering steps out of the pile came two more of the giant Gear the two had just fought. Their large gaze first looking at their fallen kin, before looking at the two Holy Order warriors that had downed it and roaring in rage.

"More of the same shit," Sol muttered as he braced Junkyard Dog in his left hand. He was about to charge off and face the two before he noticed Ragna still gripping his arm. "Get that thing under control! We're in a warzone for god's sake!"

'They…' Ragna thought darkly before glancing back up to the Mammoth's while still wincing. 'They aren't causing this…'

Back near the entrance to the Gear Factory, the rest of Julia's unit was busy holding off the remnants of the more minor opponents. Tristan fired off an exploding round into the force and blew a large chunk of it away. Julia charged more light magic into her spear and increased its length with a shining point made entirely of light and stabbed it through the line of monsters. Matt swung his twin axes with ferocity and cut through more of the Soldier type Gears, managed to cleave many of them in half. When he saw that he was being overwhelmed he brought his burning axes together and cast a powerful incantation, sending out a large wave of fire and turning his targets to ash.

"That's just about the last of them," Tristan said with relief as he fired another exploding bullet into a group of Gears. "Let's wrap this up so we've got some good news for Commander Kliff."

"Agreed," Julia said as she managed to cut down another Gear with her lance. "Everyone forward! Let's finish this!"

The members of the Holy Order gave an energetic shout as they attacked the Gear force with renewed energy. Blood continued to flow on the rain soaked ground and bodies fell. The battle looked like it was about to end there, before ever Gear suddenly leapt back from the conflict, about 15 feet away.

"What the-!?" Matt said as the Gears continued to mind their distance. They didn't move forward to attack the members of the Order, they only stood back and hissed at their enemies.

"What're they doin'?" Tristan asked as he quickly reloaded his revolver, but had yet to fire off another shot. "They're not retreating."

"I don't know and I don't like it," Julia said darkly. "Everyone form up! Let's not let them overwhelm us with whatever they've got planned."

The members of the Holy Order complied and kept their weapons raised as they tried to keep an eye out for whatever the Gears were planning. As far as they could tell there wasn't any sign of another weapon coming in from the sky or anywhere else, so what was happening was just plain unnerving.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEE

A sudden painful sound of metal scraping against concrete was heard by all of the members, but none of them were able to tell where the sound was coming from. The members of the Order glanced around nervously as the Gears only seemed to become more excited in their hissing. Then suddenly, the painful sound stopped.

Matt said nothing as he continued to glance around, sweat beading on his forehead from all of the anxiety he was feeling. Then he noticed a flash of black shadow as it seemed to come seemingly out of nowhere and sped towards his sister.

"JULIA!" Matt shouted. The redhead barely had time to notice the black blur heading toward her with a smug smirk of malice upon its face. She didn't have any time to react as it raised a crimson red scythe and brought it down. The moment before it cut into her flesh, she felt Matt rush into her and shove her out of the weapon's path. He tried to raised his axes to block the move, but scythe was not stopped and cleaved through the blades, right before carving into Matt in a gory burst.

"M-Matt…?" Julia could barely stutter as the two halves of her brother fell to the ground. He'd been messily cut across the waist and was lying in a growing pool of his own blood. Julia's spirit and mind were crumbling as she knelt down to see him up close. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused as his last breath painfully left his body. "MATT!"

(Cue Guilty Gear X2 Bloodstained Lineage Extended)

"So he sacrificed himself for a woman as his last act… How pointless." The speaker of that sentence and the scythe's owner said with boredom as he pushed a few strands of dark hair out of his eyes. He was a tall man (this is before his change in Strive) of a very slim build. He was wearing two pieces of black leather that didn't cover much of his body and was reasonably well toned beneath. His long dark hair and handsome face might've made him appear to be a charmer, but that idea was gone the moment you looked into his cruel yellow eyes.

"You… YOU BASTARD!" Tristan shouted before raising his revolver and firing off a powerful piercing shot. The mysterious murderer gave a smug smile before he laxly swung his scythe and managed to deflect the powerful shot and sent it through three other Holy Order members. "What the-!?"

"Idiotic humans," the enigma insulted again. Members of the Holy Order gave a battle cry as they charged towards him with weapons drawn. The dark haired man twirled his scythe met the unit's charge with his own attack. His scythe was reaping blood from the members and laying waste to their ranks with the smallest of efforts. The men screamed as their mysterious enemy cut them down in the bath of crimson. He'd just finished with them before he heard another gunshot sound. He leapt the instant before the ground he'd been standing on was consumed by an explosion.

"HE'S IN THE AIR! GET HIM!" Tristan shouted. Members of the Holy Order channeled magic and created runic circles in front of them. The cowboy raised his gun in attempt to fire an early shot at the scythe wielder. All he saw was his target give another cruel smile before extending his arm and instantly creating a giant blood red circle in front of him. "GET DOWN!"

The enemy’s circle unleashed a demonic spray of red upon the knights. Tristans was the quickest to react and managed to dodge most of the blast, but his right arm was caught on the edge of the blast. He gritted his teeth as the sheer force of the attack tore his arm to shreds. As the cowboy struggled to remain standing he heard the raspy screams of the members that were caught in the main attack. Now only had the attack horribly torn their flesh, but their sickening skin showed that the attack had poisoned them.

"You lesser beings truly are pathetic," the scythe wielder said as he landed back on the ground without difficulty. He shook his head in complete contempt as he noticed the woman from earlier slowly rising to her feet with shaky hands barely managing to keep a hold on her weapon. "You face Testament, yet you want to die on your feet… If you weren't a human I might've been able to respect that."

Julia screamed as she lunged forward with intent of ramming her spear into the man's heart. Testament only gave a simple swing of his scythe and batted the attack way. With her spear out of his face, the darkened warrior sent his second attack for her neck, but Julia managed to create a blade of light about the size of a short sword to defend her. The moment the scythe touched the light, it shattered and unleashed a massive explosion. While Julia went flying back and lost her glasses in the process. Testament managed to dig his feet into the ground and keep from following suit. He created another blood colored magic circle in front of him and unleashed another torrent of red.

Julia barely managed to dive the pointed end of her spear into the ground and swung her body to dodge the attack. Right as she landed, Testament swiped his free arm and sent out a magic skull. The spear woman didn't have her footing regained to where she could easily dodge the attack, so she hastily swiped her spear and managed to break the skull. Using his division to full effect, Testament dashed forward and brought his scythe above his head to carve Julia like he had her brother. Julia barely managed to see the attack coming and hastily brought her spear up.

SHING!

Still gripping his shredded and poisoned arm, Tristan watched with dread filled eyes as Testament finished slash with a cruel smirk plastered on his face. Julia's spear was cut cleanly in half, but it was the sudden splash of blood that made him grit his teeth. While the move wasn't fatal, Julia had been delivered a long cut across her stomach. Due to her time in battle she managed to stay conscious, but she struggled to stay standing as she stumbled back and gripped the wound.

"Farewell fool," Testament taunted as he readied his scythe for the final blow. Poised to strike, the Gear ally paused as he felt the sudden rush of wind come from behind him. Leaping at the last instant, the dark haired warrior barely managed to dodge the giant blade that swung at where he'd been standing. 'Close, but it will take more than that to-' Testament's cocky train of thought was broken as a fist covered in darkness sailed through the air and delivered a shattering blow to his jaw and sent him flying.

(End Theme)

"So he's the guy that's screwing with arm," Ragna said darkly as he looked around him at the bodies of fallen knights. "And that asshole's got a lot more to answer for."

"R-Ragna," Julia said with pain from behind him as she struggled to keep standing.

"Grab Tristan and find somewhere to take cover, I'll take this pale faced freak down." His tone wasn't angry; if anything Julia was afraid of just how emotionless it actually sounded.

"...Okay," the Lieutenant of the Holy Knights said as she made her way over to the injured cowboy. "Wait, where's Sol?"

"Oh, he's managing without me, probably," the Grim Reaper told her with a smirk.

On the other end of the battlefield Sol was scowling by his lonesome as the two foreboding Mammoth type Gears lumbered towards him. Nonchalantly readjusting his headband, the warrior glared at the giant monsters he'd been left with.

"Yeah, go on and play the hero while I stay here and take care of them; that's fair," Sol muttered to himself as he poured enough fire magic into Junkyard Dog to have its entire blade glow a powerful crimson while emitting flames. "Makes me wonder if Kliff put us together 'cause he's holding a grudge for something."

Finally close enough to their target to attack, one of the Mammoth's reeled its headed back before swinging at Sol with enough force to sweep dust from the ground. Sol braced himself until the icicle tusk was right on top of him. He then swung his flaming weapon with devastating speed and accuracy and cleaved off the Gear's tusk in one fell swipe. The monster blew a high pitched squeal out of its trunk as it barely managed to avoid toppling over. It's tusk was already starting to grow back, but it's glare to Sol was menacing… anyone else would think.

"I'm through screwing around," Sol shouted as wisps of flames started to wisp around his cloak while he recharged his magic. Once it was charged enough, he left out a roar and his entire body was shrouded in crimson fire. "I'LL BURN YOU TO ASHES!"

(Cue Killer is Dead's Chosen By the Moon)

Back on the other side of the battlefield Testament made his way to his feet and glared at the man that had struck him down. The albino in question only seemed to glare back and the tension was thick enough to cut. The mysterious black cloaked man glanced to Julia trying to carry Tristan off the battlefield to a safer spot offering more cover. The cowboy looked like he'd outlasted the poison, but his arm was unsavable even with healing magic.

Testament put his hand up to the Gear's on the sidelines, telling them this was still his fight, but one of them got a bit too bloodthirsty watching the two injured humans struggle away. He leapt away from the others and barreled towards its victims with saliva leaked from between its jaws. Four more of the gears joined in and followed it in the rush. They hadn't even made it halfway before they noticed their last sight, a demonic beast head soaring towards them.

With Ragna having just sent out a Dead Spike, Testament used that small opening to fire off a skull before following up to strike him with his scythe. Ragna managed to catch the skull with an aimed swing before hastily bringing the weapon back to block the enemy's scythe and entering a blade lock.

"You're strong for a human!" Testament yelled in his face with a sneer. "But you're no match for me!" Ragna didn't even have time to give off quick insult before Testament dashed backwards and left him stumbling forward. Testament threw himself into the air and cut deep into the Reaper's shoulder as he passed over him, sending out a spray of blood. He thought he'd managed to escape, but Ragna caught the scythe's blade with his own sword and pulled Testament back into range. "What!?"

"DARKNESS CONSUME YOU!" Ragna's Azure Grimoire became a massive claw of darkness. Digging it into Testament's flesh and hoisting him into the air, tendrils of darkness surged from the ground and struck him countless times for before its user finally crushed the claw and sent his opponent flying.

"RGGH!" Testament grunted as he barely managed to land on his feet. He was bleeding all over his body and it didn't look like Ragna was going to give him any respite. The two blades clashed again, creating more sparks between the two. After another powerful clash, Ragna took a step back in retreat to allow his sword to transform into a scythe. "You as well!?"

Ragna didn't respond, he only slashed at Testament while his weapon radiated pure darkened energy. Ruble went flying with every slash the two made contact with and the Gear felt himself getting forced back with every swing as Ragna advanced on him. Gritting his teeth Testament, dodged one of the scythe slashes and leapt back to create and blood colored circle. As the torrent was unleashed Ragna spun and summoned a wave of dark energy through his scythe. The two magics collided and the reaction caused a massive explosion that tore the ground between the two asunder.

'Damn it! Who is he!?' Testament thought as he continued to bleed. He was still injured from the massive blow that Ragna had already given him, but his healing factor still allowed him to fight. 'Justice told me that the only member worth avoiding specifically was the Immoral Flame, but this person's fighting on the same level as he is! Where did the Order find such a member!?' A series of explosions sounded off from inside the Gear factory with enough force to shake the ground. Testament grit his teeth at the set of failures before beginning to flee.

"Hold it!" Ragna shouted as he began running after his retreating opponent. He didn't get far before the other Gears decided to jump in. They started going after both him and the hiding Tristan and Julia. "Tch! Coward." Ragna unleashed a scythe slash and wiped out three of them. "That guy… next time I see him I'm wreaking that cocky face of his!"

(End Theme)

Back to Sol

Sol plunged the superheated Junkyard Dog into the Mammoth Gear's side. The weapon's heat allowed it to bypass the Gear's previously indestructible exterior and hit the Gear's flesh inside. The Mammoth tried to shake him off, but the Gear Hunter instead leapt off on his own volition. He dodged the ice spikes that were fired off by the second Gear and circled around to the front of the one he'd just stabbed. The Gear tried to crush him by swinging its long truck, but he managed to guard against the attack before leaping up into the air.

Sol's again coated his sword in intense flames as he stabbed it into the creature's left eye. If it wasn't for the intense heat he was giving off he might've been soaked with the creatures blood. As it stood the liquid managed to evaporate before touching him. Struggling to stay in place as the creature fought to shake him off, Sol fired blast after blast into the cut he'd made hoping to fry the creature's brain. Eventually the monster's movement began to slow and it stopped struggling as hard. Sol fired a final blast for good measure before finally leaping away.

"Hah… hah… Damn 'em…" Sol panted ominously. "Leave it to that guy to make these things a total pain in my ass." Sol was low on energy, but he could still keep fighting. Bracing himself as the other Gear made it way forward he started to again charge his magic. "All right… Let's see if I can find a weak point in this thing."

He rushed forward just as the Gear had begun to inhale for a freezing breath attack. Sol reeled his body back for a powerful punch to the center of the creature's head, but before he could even begin to throw a punch, reality seemed to warp in front of him and suddenly there was a man standing in his way. Sol grit his teeth before leaping back as the man blasted the massive Gear into the air with a single punch of his own.

"Crusading till death

Melancholy of flame's guilt

A dance without end."

Sol grit his teeth as Slayer turned to face him and took his pipe out of his mouth with a smug grin as his target disappeared from view. The ponytailed Order member looked like he had a few choice words for the vampire, but instead simply threw his sword to the ground where it impaled itself from the force.

"Apologies, were you quite looking forward to that?" Slayer asked with a chuckle. "From where I was watching it didn't look like you particularly enjoyed being left behind."

"If you knew that then why not step in 'til now? You seemed to have plenty of chances from you little box seats," Sol muttered as he fished out another cigarette to smoke. 'Damn, only got one left after this…'

"Being truly dandy is in timing and presentation, there's no use rushing these things," Slayer said, with his usual code of dandy excuse (at least in Sol's eyes it was an excuse). "But I thought I was rather clear when I said that extermination of the Gears was your job and not mine… and you seemed rather adamant about playing the Genocider."

"I'm just cleaning up the mess I helped make in the first place," Sol said before lighting the cig. "And I don't appreciate being spied on when I'm doing it."

"Do you really mean that? I always thought you loved having an audience," Slayer playfully said trying to get a rile out of Sol. He saw that he was about to succeed so he decided to have some fun and pointed his index finger at Sol. "Your next line is Stay out of my damned business old man!"

"Stay out of my damned business old man!" Sol shouted before grunting as he realized he'd been played… he'd been played hard. "...I want you out of my face… NOW."

"If you insist, but I very much look forward to the next act, especially now that we have another actor on the stage," Slayer said before he disappeared from sight once more.

"Yare yare," Sol grunted as he began to smoke. It was a few moment later until Ragna finally approached came back for him. "Have fun leaving me behind?"

"Well…" Ragna thought back to seeing Kliff and Ky's groups exiting the Gear factory and how Julia had finally lost it now that the fight was over. He also thought about all the bodies he'd seen on the ground when he'd gotten there. "...No, I didn't."

"...It's part of war kid," Sol told him like it was obvious. Ragna glared at the older warrior and the nickname he'd called him. "But if you know that much, don't beat yourself over it. We still got a lot of shit to get through."

"I know that much," the Reaper told him with a groan as he looked around the battlefield. "Wait, where's the last giant Gear? I only see two here, what happened to the third one"

Sol was silent as tried to come up with a way to explain to Ragna that the two of them likely wouldn't be seeing that particular Gear ever again. He was about to utter a simple and off-handed remark to his partner, but that was before a massive crash was heard close to the two. Both jumped back in surprise and braced their weapons as a powerful cloud of dust washed over them.

'Don't tell me…' Sol thought to himself as the dust started to clear. Just as he'd thought, it was the giant Gear that the vampire had launched just a few moment prior. The entire thing was… broken, that was really the only way you could put it. Slowly creaking his head over towards Ragna, he noticed his partner looking at him with an eyebrow raised in expectancy.

"...That… was what happened to the other Gear…"

Chapter Text

Duel VIII: Eight Years Later

April 5th,2180

With the events of the Crusades having ended, effort and supplies had been invested into rebuilding the major cities around the world that had been lost in the massive Gear onslaught. Not all of the world was focused on rebuilding their old way of life however; many rumors had circulated throughout the world of the building of a new nation; the Independent Kingdom of Illyria as it would be called. Still, the effort it would take to build and organize an entire nation from the ground up was already a massive. Additionally, with no clear leaders progress would be slow.

Progress across the rest of the world wasn't that much better; almost all of the world had been attacked in the rise of the monstrous Gears and would need to be largely rebuilt from the ground up. As of right now, only a select few settlements were actually considered completed and orderly enough to house the large masses that had been misplaced during the war... Neo Las Vegas was not one such settlement.

Half of the City of Sin remained was little more than large piles of ruble awaiting to be salvaged into any type of resources that could be found. The buildings that had been constructed after the war were massive, but they still paled in comparison to the bright and shining monoliths that had once decorated in only the largest and brightest neon lights. The diversity between the businesses was no longer as extravagant either. Now all buildings were either a casino, a strip club, or even a covertly placed brothel.

The city was left chaotic and practically lawless, making it the perfect place for criminals to gather. Despite how few resources most refugees had managed to gather after the war, they felt like trusting the desolate wastelands would be safer if the alternative was this hellhole. Truly this was a lawless and godless land and left the police less than effective.

"You bastard! You've been giving me shit cards all night and I'm sick of it!" a large, intimidating, and muscled thug in biker leather shouted at the dealer before him. The muscled man had a pair of kings in his hand while the dealer had managed to make a two pair with sevens and jacks.

"Sir please," the mustached tuxedo wearing dealer said as he took the chips from across the table. "You're making the other customers uncomfortable." This wasn't an odd display for the city or this casino for that matter. The return rates on these tables were extremely low and any money or resources that you'd have gambled with would likely go to the casino's owner by the end of your visit... That and rumors of the casinos cheating you out of your money were spread frequently.

"Grr... I'm not takin' this shit anymore!" the man shouted as he slammed his fist down, breaking the table in half. Several patrons around the two backed off at the sudden display as the larger man grabbed the dealer by his collar and hoisted the terrified man into the air. "GIVE ME BACK ALL THE MONEY YOU STOLE FROM ME!"

"S-SECURITY!" the terrified man called out. Several other rough looking men burst through the doors into the gambling parlor, each of them equipped with small metal batons and non-magical ballistic weapons. The intruder gave a growl as he threw the dealer off to the side where the poor man hit a wall. "GAH!"

"I'll come back for you later," the large man threatened before a magic seal appeared beneath his feet. Giving a feral roar, his body and muscles seemed to expand as his clothes became stretched and the rips expanded. Many of the men fired off their guns at the giant, but he only smirked wickedly as the bullets seemed to bounce uselessly off of him. Roaring, the man rushed forward and clothes-lined several men to the floor and before backhanding several more into the wall. Grabbing one man by the leg, he proceeded to use him as a club to swing him around at the others and sending security personnel flying. The casino hired brutes then fled from the scene running for their lives. "COWARDS! GO ON AND RUN! I'LL TAKE MY TIME HERE!"

By now all of the patrons were covering behind the gambling tables in terror as the man laughed wickedly. Police reinforcements would take some time to arrive once they were called in, and even then there was no guarantee that they'd be able to apprehend this powerful outlaw. This man was going to take his time wrecking this place... at least it looked like he would have.

"Tch... Only a thousand on your head? Talk about a small fry."

The thug then turned to the source of the voice and saw a single man heading into the casino. In that eight years that had passed, Ragna didn't appear to have aged a day physically. His spiky hair was the same pale shade of white that it always was and his muscle tone had strangely remained the same. What had changed was his clothing; a new red coat that was only slightly longer than his previous one, a black hakama set of a shirt and pants, the same metal plated shoes, and a familiar collection belts which were also used to hoist his blade, the Aramasa. The two major differences were the metal plate on the front part of one of his belts which now read GRIM, and Ragna's darkened red and green mismatched eyes... eyes of a man who had seen things he wouldn't ever be able to forget.

"...Who the hell are you?" the giant thug demanded as Ragna continued to slowly walk forward. The massive thug then took notice of Ragna's giant blade and scoffed. "The hell? You want to kill me with that piece of crap? It'd break after the first swing!"

"...Much as I'd like to carve you in half, your bounty says I've got to bring you in alive," Ragna told the man, not in the mood for playing games.

"Heh, and you really think that you can even touch me? You must've missed it; not even bullets leave a mark on me!" Ragna didn't appear to be impressed. "Rrr... I'LL BREAK YOUR SPINE!" Grabbing one of the large Poker tables, the thug threw the massive object at the Reaper with a wild swing from both of his arms. Unmoving from his spot, Ragna caught the table with a single hand and didn't even flinch at the massive blast of wind that followed from the sheer force of the attack that sent a flurry of cards and dice flying. He then set the object behind, placing it on the ground with a sound Thud.

"WHY YOU-!" the man shouted, right before feeling a massive punch right to his gut. Looking down, he saw that the newcomer had sucker punched him in the gut, moving so fast that he left an afterimage directly behind him. "Damn... you..." That single punch was all it took send the man to the ground; lights out.

It took quite some time for the authorities to arrive after that, big shocker. Putting the criminal in magic enhanced handcuffs and several other sealing based objects. They escorted the criminal off of the scene, giving Ragna his receipt for the bounty on the wanted man. The Reaper was about to head off, but then saw the recovering dealer slumped on the wall and made his way over.

"You alright?" he questioned at the downed man, offering a hand to help him up.

"Thanks to you, I guess I will be..." the man said as he took Ragna's hand and the Reaper helped him back to his feet. "If you hadn't shown up I would've been in-"

RIIIIIIIIIIIP!

"Trouble..."

In Ragna's 'attempt' to be helpful, he'd 'accidentally' ripped the dealers suit arm on his way up. With the cloth gone the dealer's arm was exposed, as was the automatic card dealer that had been hidden underneath. Now in plain sight for Ragna and the rest of the casino to see. The man felt his body go cold as Ragna simply looked at the cloth he'd ripped off, not even giving a single glance at the cheater's tool.

"Whoops," he muttered as he started walking off leaving the dealer and the rest of the casino to deal with the outraged customers. "My bad."

As Ragna the Bloodedge made his way out of tension filled establishment, a small blue magic sigil appeared before him, indicating that he was receiving a call from a long distance away. He growled in annoyance as he recognized the specified signal of the sender. He saw that the streets he were walking were mostly empty so the guided the sigil up to his ear and spoke into it.

"I've told you a thousand times; I don't know where the hell he is," Ragna told the person on the other end of the line with (he thought) due bluntness.

"Do you always assume that's why I'm calling?" asked the voice on the other end of the line.

"Considering the bone you've been trying to pick with him, you can't prove otherwise," Ragna muttered. "Give it a rest already, you're never going to find him unless he wants you to."

"And whose fault is that? You were the one that let him go without a fight," came Ky Kiske's annoyed voice on the other end of the line.

"So did Kliff, but I don't see you complaining to the old man," the Reaper rebutted as he continued walking down the road. "This is a waste of time, quit calling me if you're just going to accuse me of something that happened years ago. I don't know why you have to keep bringing it up."

"Because you don't realize what you've done! By letting Sol go, you've-!"

"I'm not the one who still has the Fireseal, and Sol can put that thing to better use than anyone else... or are you forgetting what really happened leading up to that?" Ragna's tone was dripping with venom, despite how vague he was with the meaning of the words. Ky didn't say anything in retaliation. "...Quit calling me."

"Wait, Rag-!" Ky's words were cut short as the Reaper swiped his finger away from his ear ending the call early. The Reaper sighed as he continued walking through the desolate streets of the city.

"Tch, it's always got to be something with him, doesn't it?" Ragna thought to himself, remembering his time spent fighting through the Crusades. "Him and Sol both..."

Years Ago -The Crusades-

"SEEEEEEYAAAAAAH!" a woman screamed as she plunged her spear forward, stabbing it deep into the hide of one of the large monstrous. The Gear let out a shrill scream of pain before it fell to the ground, dead. Screaming once more, the weapon then swung her spear in an arc, cleaving through several of the artificial weapons. Using her magic, she then created an orb of light in her palm and created a massive blast of energy to weaken several Gear before rushing forward and finishing them off with additional slashes. Many Gears lay dead at her feet, but it wasn't enough; she charged forward to kill more.

"JULIA! GET BACK IN POSITION!" Ky Kiske called as he and his men were kept back by the bulk of additional Gear forces where they couldn't support her. "JULIA!"

Julia wasn't listening, she could only keep stabbing and swinging her weapon with blood lust. She'd already lost her brother and most of the unit under her to these monsters; she wouldn't rest until every single one of them was carved to pieces. Causing her weapon to glow with a piercing light, she kept thrusting it through the monsters mercilessly, felling one Gear after another. Julia was so caught up in her merciless slaughter, she didn't see the Gear leap out from behind her with jaws wide enough to snap her in half. It clearly would have, if not for the darkness coated fist that smashed the thing to a bloody pulp in one shot.

"Damn it! Keep your guard up!" Ragna shouted as her as he swung his sword and turned another force of Gears to bloody viscera. "Go back with the others you idiot!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Julia shouted as him as she only kept swinging at the Gears. Again Ragna had to slash a select few Gears in her blind spot to keep the red-head alive.

"Tch, and he leaves me to pick up this mess," Sol Badguy growled to himself as he slung fire at the Gears in front of him, burning them to a crisp. "Karma is one hell of a bitch."

That battle didn't last for much longer and the teams didn't suffer any casualties, but there were far too many close calls to soldiers losing their heads or even something like losing a limb. Every soldier in the force was on edge after the massacre two weeks earlier caused by the mysterious Testament figure. If the Gears had such a powerful key player that could wipe out an entire force, then it would only be a matter of time before Justice itself finished the job. As of right now, only five members of the Holy Order seemed strong enough to even stand a chance against Testament and one of them was in Australia... the Gear leader itself would be a different story.

"Feh, this is getting ridiculous," Sol thought to himself as he stood over a mountain of Gear corpses.

Reaching his fingers into one of his pockets, he reached for his regular cigarette stash only to discover that this was his last one. Knowing he should enjoy it, Sol brought it up to his mouth and lit the very tip with his fire magic. He was planning on making this final cig last as long as he could, maybe with some Queen to listen to while he smoked it, but he hadn't even started to taste it before a stray Gear burst out from beneath the corpses of its allies. Rushing towards Sol with razor sharp claws, the Gear Hunter was forced to lean back and avoid the initial slash before countering with his sword, running it through the creature's body.

"Tch, was that really-?" Sol tried to begin, right before his cigarette fell to pieces. His LAST cigarette. "Son of a..."

The members of the Holy Order felt the tremor of the explosion back in their camp and they all saw the fiery column of flames that reached high into the air. Many of the Order watched on in concern... Ragna was unimpressed.

"Someone's pissed," he commented as he rested on his slab of ruble within the encampment, already used to this sort of behavior from Sol. Staring up at the smoke covered sky, he sighed as he slowly allowed himself to fall asleep until his patrol shift.

"Ragna." The Reaper groaned as he opened his eyes which landed on Ky Kiske. "I've got new orders for you."

"Now what?" he demanded as he didn't move from where he was resting. "I was about to get a nap in..."

"You can take your nap in a moment; I just wanted to let you know I'm assigning Julia to your team until further notice." Okay, the Reaper hadn't been expecting that one. In fact, the message that Julia would still be fighting at all after what had just happened was something of a surprise for him.

"Not sure if you've been paying attention, but that sure as hell wasn't the first fight she's been in since our run in with that Testament freak. Not the first time she's gone so blood crazy either," Ragna reminded the blond. "Kliff wants her off the front lines, so isn't this a good excuse to send her to guard the refugee encampments?"

"We've considered ordering her to do so, but it's clear that we can't send her back and expect her to stay there, also... as you know she's in a precarious position right now," Ky told him, though it was clear that he was just as uncomfortable with the situation. "...I can't believe I'm saying this, but as right now she's safest with the two of you instead of finding a new unit for her to lead. Whatever chaos your fighting style includes, it seems to match with her current one well enough. I just want you to make sure she's safe." Before Ragna could protest, Ky walked off.

"Oh Sol's going to LOVE this," he thought to himself sarcastically. Not feeling too motivated, Ragna remained lying on his own designated slab of rubble. He continued to lay there until Sol passed him by. "Yo."

"Hmph." It was clear with his growling that the brown haired fire user wasn't in the best of moods, much like Ragna had thought earlier.

"What's your problem?"

"Lost my last cig," Sol told him, as if that explained his attitude. Ragna rolled his eyes before taking out the single cigarette that he'd gotten from Sol after they'd worked together the first time. Tossing it to his partner, Sol started at the small roll for a moment before smirking and lighting the tobacco. "Thanks."

"Not like I was going to use it anyways," he told Sol as he rolled his eyes. "FYI, Julia's on our team now. Ky's orders."

"...And just like that, you've lost me," Sol told him, causing Ragna to glare at him. "Ky went to you because he knew that I wouldn't listen, so I won't listen. This is your problem now." Ragna gave a groan as Sol walked off, getting a couple of cricks out of his neck as he went. "Try not to die out there."

"...Just my luck," Ragna groaned as he went back to resting.

The Present

"Always had to push things on me, didn't they?" Ragna thought aloud. "But then..."

Whatever he'd been about to say was interrupted as another magic call from Ky appeared before him. Scowling at the blue sigil, Ragna answered it once more.

"Ky..."

"Just listen to what I have to say; this doesn't have to do with Sol... at least I don't think it does," the blond told him immediately, trying to make sure his contact didn't hang up like last time.

"It's INTERPOL work then?" After the Crusades had finished and the Holy Order had dispersed, Ky had begun working for the International Police force as an investigator. Though the organization itself was understaffed, unorganized, and lacked any significant funding; he'd apparently already started to make a name for himself in the short time he'd been there. Apparently Ky was more or less considered the poster boy of the entire organization.

"INTERPOL is interested in this, but I'm referring to the recently announced Tournament," Ky told him.

"Tournament?" Ragna questioned. "The hell are you talking about?"

"You haven't heard? News of it has hit most of the cities and... Where are you exactly?" Ky's voice seemed rather suspicious towards Ragna's activities, just like old times.

"Vegas."

"NEO Vegas?" the former Holy Order captain demanded, a sense of betrayal in his voice that Ragna would be in such a hive of scum and villainy.

"I've got to eat and there are plenty of marks and security contracts here for me," Ragna told him.

"Still working as a Bounty Hunter then..." Ky growled.

"I prefer Mercenary, but what the hell are you talking about a Tournament? This is the first I've heard of it."

"It's... They call it the Sacred Order Selection Tournament. Apparently it's for the formation of the Second Holy Order, but everything about the presentation is off."

"A Second Holy Order? Who in the hell thought that was a good idea?" Ragna demanded. "Kliff split us up after the Crusades specifically because he didn't want us to turn into a world dominating military force." Ragna had gone along with that plan easily, not wanting to become anything like the Librarium he'd rebelled against in his home world.

"Which would imply that whoever is organizing this tournament is staging a Coup against the reforming governments... but it can't be that simple. Killing is permitted in this tournament and there are even some rumors that killing your opponents will net you more points to proceed than letting them live."

"So it's an organized blood sport? Wouldn't the Bureau be against this from day one?" The PWAB; the Post War Administration Bureau. While very few people knew the actual inner workings of this organization, it was apparent that they were starting to spread their influence and power over most of the remaining cities in the few years that had passed since the Crusades. Already Ragna was keeping them on his mind if they needed to be his next target.

"I... I haven't heard anything from them yet, no one I've talked to has," Ky admitted. "Almost as off putting is that criminals that are allowed in the tournament. Whoever is organizing this tournament has made it so the police force can't apprehend any criminals that are presently entered, no matter how intense their records are. There's even a rumor of a serial killing surgeon named Dr. Baldhead being one of the front runners."

"They've got mass killers and low grade criminals participating in this thing? Funny, you'd think that they'd be right at home in Vegas then," Ragna muttered.

"I think they might have an event planned to be hosted there, but our current intelligence is saying that there won't be a round hosted for another week, possibly longer," Ky told him. "I'd rather that we didn't wait that long."

"So in short... We've got a publicly advertised blood sport that's claiming to be a selection process for the Second Holy Order. It can also act as a safe haven for criminals fleeing from whatever remains of the law enforcement so that they can get into the Holy Order and stay out of law enforcement hands?" Ragna asked, trying to make sense of the whole situation. "What's the prize anyways?" Silence. "Oi! Ky!"

"...A wish."

"Wish?"

"Yes; the winner of the tournament is said to get a single wish granted, their secret and innermost desire," Ky explained to him. "I know how absurd that sounds, but the people entering the tournament are starting to believe that whoever is running it has developed a new form of magic to grant desires."

"This is just getting more and more obscene," Ragna grumbled to himself. "Well, at the very least I'll have a ton of marks gathered together in one place... Fine, you've got my attention. What do you want me to do?"

"There should be a spot somewhere near you to enter the tournament in the Americas. I'm still in the Paris at the moment, so I doubt we'll be seeing each other in the first few rounds." Ky was silent on the other line for a moment. "North-West then..."

"Old Seattle?" It was the only city on the West Coast of the States that had managed to be even slightly rebuilt since the devastation in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland during the Crusades had been... extensive.

"The very same," Ky informed. "Try to stay in touch."

"...Whatever," Ragna told him harshly before ending the transmission. "...One wish, eh?" The Reaper shook his head. "Get real Ragna, that's not what's going on here..."

Chapter Text

Duel IX: Old Soldiers

‘Damn it, Vernon… I know that this was short notice, but this was the best you could get me? Some favor to call in, I totally should’ve just run the entire way.’ Ragna was in the center of a magic transport ship that would bring him all the way to Seattle so he could get a look at the Sacred Order Selection Tournament with his own eyes. It was a cramped, shaky affair and the smell was far from enjoyable. That last part probably came from the type of people Ragna was sharing this lack of seat room with; giant thugs (plenty that he recognized from wanted lists) who probably haven’t showered in weeks… weeks if he was lucky. Leaning back in his chair, he tried to not get overly annoyed and waited for when he could really get to work.

“Flight peanuts sir?” a passing flight attendant ask as she held up a small package of the snack offering. She had her bright blonde hair done up in a bun and a dull blue stewardess uniform. She seemed pretty enough with only slight makeup and her piercing hazel eyes as she put on her best smile for Ragna. Her name tag read Isabelle. “Only 5 World Dollars.”

“…How much for water once the Thirst enchant on then starts getting to me? And then after I’ve had my drink, how much is it going to cost to take a piss?” he demanded, knowing full well that there was a catch. He didn’t get anything past a continuous smile as he shook his head and decided to ignore her. She then tapped on his shoulder and got up close to his face.

“Look, normally I wouldn’t ask this, but I’m stuck working on commission until I make it to Seattle, and if I don’t make the cut I’m going to be penniless, so help a girl out would you? You don’t need to pay for the rest… just these if you could.” She wasn’t lying, he could tell easily enough.

“…Fine, I’ll take two,” he relented as he brought out a ten dollar bill. He at least continued to get a pleasant smile from her, but couldn’t help but feel suckered.

“But seriously, save them for when you can buy cheaper water,” Isabelle whispered as she handed him his peanuts and took the money. “Our small size bottled waters costs $15 and regular size costs $30.”

“I’m amazed you can stay in business like this, but I guess this is why you’re trying to get out. Best of luck,” he wished curtly. As she headed off to offer the wares to the rest of the crew Ragna cracked open the package and wanted to see just what he’d bought. The enchant was practically a cantrip grade spell that he could dispel in his sleep (if he were affected by them in the first place). The big problem was what he was getting for his money; only ten halves in the package for the $5 he spent. 50 cents a nut. ‘I guess this explains why they have a girl that good looking handing them out, otherwise they’d never sell.’

“Let go of me you pig!” he heard the stewardess yell as one of the thugs had grabbed her arm.

‘Of course, that has to come with its own risks.’

“Now sweetheart, that isn’t very nice. You should treat all your customers as best you can, like with how close you and that pale hair got.” Pale hair, far from the worst of insults Ragna had levied at him. “How about you come close to me and show me the same kind of service?”

No one closer was coming to save her, in fact it seemed like several of the thugs were hollering with laughter or asking for their turn. The onboard security didn’t seem like they were going to be any help, instead the hired muscle seemed to be actively avoiding the conflict and ignoring it all together. Instead Isabelle was the first to action and she raked her nails against her aggressor’s face hard enough to draw blood and force him to let go.

“You bitch…” the thug growled as he menacingly rose from his chair to tower over Isabelle. She couldn’t help but feel nervous as she looked up at his rage filled face, but she held her ground even as the rest of thugs looked like they were going to join in with whatever he had planned with her. “I’m gonna-!”

Bam! Crack!

Her attacker went still as the rest of the brutes stood cautious at the sudden sounds that had rung out throughout the cabin. The first of which had sounded like a gunshot. A moment later, the brute that had grabbed her slumped back into their tiny chair with a trail of drool leaking out of their mouth. Their glazed over eyes showed they were completely unconscious and the cause of this was the indent on the side of their header. Around it were broken pieces of a…peanut.

“If you assholes don’t leave the girl alone, I’ll add you to whatever history book covers bastards that were knocked out by airline food.” Ragna’s threat may have sounded completely absurd, but as he tossed his remaining airline snack in the air and gave off one of his classic scowls… no one quite felt the need to challenge him. They even seemed to tense as he got up, walking down the aisle past Isabelle to the airline security. “You’re in my seat.”

“B-but this is for the onboard security!” they sputtered out.

“Then why did I have to do your damn job for you? You’re lucky I’m still gonna let you grab the grab the paycheck.” An obvious rhetorical question. Unable to argue, they vacated their seat and left Ragna the chance for his desired extra leg room. His scowl still in place, Ragna looked at the thugs who seemed more like hostages in his aura. “You want to tear me limb from limb you’ll get your chance when we can play with our arsenals at the tournament, but until then you’re all going to listen to me.” Not a challenge was heard, but Ragna could see that he’d already made plenty of enemies. Smirking for the first time in a while, he plated a different kind of card. “So be sports and make it up to the nice stewardess lady you were all scaring, will you? I’m sure it’d mean a lot to her if you bought some of her wares.”

He wasn’t asking.

“Bags of peanuts are now going for 20 World Dollars with a two bag minimum.”

Apparently neither was she.

Seattle

Ragna let out a groan as he exited the transport and stretched out the soreness from the ride. He was the last one out, content staying where he was until the crowd had thinned out. Taking his first look at Neo Seattle, he was half surprised at all of the construction he was seeing. Apparently this place was recovering from the Crusades quicker than most of the towns that had been destroyed. Observing the streets, it even seemed that most of the people here seemed like honest workers trying to make an actual life for themselves in spite of the calamity they’d been dealt… Might help if he could get rid of the thugs that had come here for the Holy Order Selection Tournament.

‘Okay, so now I need to find where they’re holding the damn thing. Ky didn’t give me any specifics so I’ll have to either ask around or tail some of the thugs still on their way. Shouldn’t be too hard.’

“Hey, wait up!” he heard Isabelle call from behind him. She’d changed out of her Stewardess uniform and was now dressed in black tank-top, a green long-coat, and torn pale jeans. She also wheeled a basic luggage trunk behind her. “Never got the chance to thank you, or even got your name.”

“…Ragna,” he told her without so much as glancing her way.

“Oh, Ragna and…” She glanced downwards, finally getting a good look at his metal belt with REAP scratched onto it. “You’re… you fought in the Crusades. And what’s more, are you the Grim Reaper of the Order?”

‘Son of a bitch, did someone actually go and give me a reputation?’ “If that’s what they called me.” ‘Damn, now that title just makes me think of that other son of a bitch.’ “Don’t read too much into that, I wasn’t anyone all that noteworthy.”

“Hardly, I heard that you were there when Ky Kiske final ended the Crusades by killing the Herald of Destruction.” Ragna’s moment of silence told Isabelle all she needed to know. “What… was it like?”

“…If the Crusades were hell on earth, then that battlefield was the Ninth Circle. There were only 5 survivors from that fight. Ky Kiske, the former leader of the Holy Order Kliff Undersn, Vernon Groubitz who I’ve heard is running for Congress, myself, and… some other asshole.”

“You didn’t like that last guy?”

“He’s my best friend. So no.” Ragna’s smirk at the statement was pretty confusing to Isabelle. “That fight was brutal, rumors can’t begin to describe what we went through though Ky… he still held his ground and managed to deal the deathblow to that monster. A rallying cry in the face of an all but certain death.”

“…That was word for word what Vernon had said in his interview,” Isabelle said, admittedly a little disappointed at the lack of new perspective.

“Sorry, not much of a storyteller,” he explained. Trying to chance the subject, he forced his darker demeanor down for the moment. “So what’s on plate now that you’re here? You get that commission that you needed?”

“Plus a little bonus that I took on the sly,” she told him with a wink.

“So you stole it.”

“Eh, my boss was a total bitch that wouldn’t stop bad-mouthing me no matter how much I brought in for us. She had it coming and then some,” she said non-clamantly. Admittedly… Ragna was starting to like this chick’s attitude. “I’ve got an apartment in the residential district that I paid for ahead of time, so I’m heading there to scope of my new place and rest for an hour. Then it’s off to my next job as waitress for a diner in town.”

“You’re back to work already?”

“Girl’s gotta eat and I need to put my best foot forward on this one. An old friend recommended me for the job before she left. Think she was going to that new organized kingdom being built… what was it called?”

“Illyria, and that project’s barely off the ground. It’s a risky investment,” Ragna informed.

“You know your stuff,” Isabelle complimented. “What about you? Something about that tournament?”

“Yeah, that’s the whole reason I came here so I need to make sure it was worth the trip.”

“So you’re fighting for the promise of your wish being granted too. What would you wish for?” Kinda a personal question for someone she’d just met.

“Don’t have one in mind, but I’m not buying into it in the first place,” the Reaper explained with a smirk. “All of those bounties in one place and I’ll be there to collect them all. You saw the kind of people that are in this thing; it’d be idiotic not to join in.” ‘That’s part of it anyways.’

“So you’re a man of business yourself,” Isabelle complimented. “If you’re looking for the tournament, your best bet is probably there.” She pointed to a rather iconic building off in the distance.

“Yeah, I was thinking that too. It just makes sense here,” he agreed as he looked off in this distance. He then noticed that Isabelle was writing something down on a piece of paper, an address. “What’s that?”

“Oh, just the location of that diner I told you about. If you’re hungry, once you’re done then pop on by. You can get your stomach filled and I can get some positive feedback from a customer on my first day. It’s a win-win.”

‘She calls it a win-win, but I somehow feel like I’m getting used.’ “I don’t know how long this thing is going to run, but maybe afterwards,” he hollowly promised.

“Come on! Try to make a commitment, for your good friend Isabelle at least?”

“I just met you.”

“And I happen to be a good judge of character.”

“Heh. Keep telling yourself that.”

“Well I’d tell you good luck and remind you not to die, but knowing who you are and seeing you knock someone out with an airline peanut I think you’ve already got this in the bag.”

“Oh, so I not worth worrying over?”

“It’s like worrying about a tank when it’s up against an ant colony, if some your opponents weren’t those perverts from earlier I might feel sorry for them.”

“Accurate.” Ragna gave a long stretch as he gazed off at his location in mind. “If I do end up going out of my way afterwards, that had better be some damn good service.”

The base of the Space Needle

Unsurprisingly, Seattle’s most iconic landmark had been completely destroyed during the Crusades. What now stood where old Space Needle had was quiet clearly under construction. The base holding the saucer like top up seemed to missing several necessary support features and the whole thing looked like it could come crumbling down at any moment. There was plenty of construction machinery and scaffolding surrounding the building to show that it was still a work in progress, but none of them were active. Instead two hooded figures stood at the base with clipboards and other material to enter all of the tournament’s participants. Many of said participants were just as thug-like as the ones Ragna had dealt with on his trip here.

‘Not getting a read on the guys in those hoods. Doesn’t appear that they’re with the local governments, PWAB, or… anyone really. What’s their stake in this?’ He considered his options. ‘If I try forcing answers out of them then there’s no telling what’s really going to happen and it could be harder to move around. For now, I should just play nice.’ It was then that he noticed a group of law enforcement officers standing just across the street. ‘…And get paid for my troubles at least,’ he smirked as he headed over to them. “They won’t let you inside?”

“Not as a group like this, and with most of our forces trying to track down the surviving criminals from the first round we have our forces stretched thin,” one of the officers admitted. “You look like a bounty hunter wanting to strike a deal.”

“Mercenary, but I’m open to that too,” Ragna insisted. “Everyone up there, I’ll knock them out of the tournament and bring them in for the arrest.”

“Everyone? That’s some bravado,” another officer muttered dismissively. “But since they’re all here anyways, anyone you can turn over to us will earn you a good half of their bounty and-”

“I’m not going under eighty percent,” Ragna interrupted harshly. “And I get to skip the processing fee. That way you all can act like you brought them in and take the credit for yourselves. Right now, that’s probably worth even more than solid cash to you.”

“Sixt-” one was about to argue, but Ragna’s glare quickly shut them up. “Fine, but then we have another condition to apply. Even if the bounty was offered dead or alive, we can’t offer you anything if you kill them. They’re taking custody of the bodies, so there goes any proof you could take.”

“They’re… what?” Ragna repeated as he thought that over. ‘Bodies… No, they’d just need the blood. That settles it then.’ “Fine. You’ll get your people.”

Signing up wasn’t anything to noteworthy though Ragna couldn’t help but feel on edge with all of these hooded figures. He could tell that each and every single one of them was proficient in magic to a degree that could’ve put some of the old Holy Order members to shame. The terms and conditions of the tournament weren’t anything special, though they did indeed say that they held the right to hold custody of any corpses after the tournament… what they wanted with them or who signed off on this didn’t sit well with the Reaper.

The actually fighting would take place at the top of the incomplete Space Needle. There was no roof or guardrails and any fall would almost certainly be lethal… and judging from some of the impact marks there had been more than a few people that had met their end in such a way. Much like Ragna expected, there were plenty of thugs there from his flight in who were all glaring at him after he’d cost them at least 40 World Dollars from his threat. Right now though, he couldn’t be bothered as he had his own worries.

“Come on, pick up asshole,” he swore as he held a red call sigil and tried to contact the person on the other end. “I know said that this was just for emergencies, but for the love of…” Another minute and he gave up. Part of him wondered why he had tried in the first place. “…Like there’s any chance Sol wouldn’t be involved.”

“Registration has ended and we all seem to be eager to get started,” one of the hooded figures announced. There didn’t seem to be a single pair of eyes from the thugs that weren’t glaring at Ragna; apparently someone had started an allegiance to get rid of the big fish. “Let’s not stand on ceremony for the second round. You may start immediately.”

Battle cries echoed around Ragna as the masses charged him with their weapons drawn and bloodlust in their eyes. They surrounded Ragna from every angle and… oh, for god’s sake. It was over not ten seconds later.

‘Not a single death, none of them thrown off the building… and no shits given,’ Ragna thought to himself, a little cockily as he headed over to the figures in charge of the whole thing. “Can I bring the officers up here to take out the trash? I think it’ll save us all some time.”

“…Very well, but I’m afraid you’re not done yet. Surviving the battle royal does not guarantee a place in the second round and even your victory over all of those other participants didn’t earn you the needed points,” they explained. “The only way through now is to win against the victor from the first round, who fortunately is also in need of the same points.”

“Always something,” he muttered. “Then who’s my next opponent?”

“He should be arriving soon,” they answered as the elevator doors swung open. “Ah, there they are. We’ll let the law enforcement do their work and then you two can have at it.”

‘Huh,’ Ragna thought as the figure approached him. They were garbed in the same robes of the holy order with the cross a bright orange while the base was a dark grey. They had a long, blond hair that looked like a lion’s mane and steely blue eyes. Their outfit helped to establish their burly build and their scratched plate read PRIDE. Obviously, they were heading over to him.

“…Pleased to meet you, Grim Reaper,” he said. Ragna could tell from his tone that he was confident, but somehow there was something… sincere there.

“You’re Leo Whitefang, during the Crusades you served in Australia as the Holy Lion of the Order.”

“So you’ve heard of me. I’m actually rather pleased to hear that you care,” Leo told him with a proud smile. “Although… I’d hate to do this to a fellow member, but I’d like to ask you to step down willingly.” Ragna didn’t answer. “It’s not out anything petty like wanting the wish for my own selfish desires, I can assure you. But, there’s something else going on here. Something that needs a keen eye like mine to investigate it.”

“Then we’re on the same page,” Ragna answered. “I know full well that there’s something else going on here and that this promise of a wish is just there to coax these idiots here.”

“Then you understand why I’m asking you?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to back out. If anything, this will solve who should be looking into this from the tournament itself,” he answered curtly.

“Well… I suppose I can’t argue with that logic,” Leo admitted, though he looked a little disappointed that it was coming to blows.

“But afterwards, let’s compare our information. Admittedly I don’t have much, but we should put our heads together and see what we can come up with. No hard feelings that way.”

“HAH! You say that as if you expect an easy victory!” Leo chuckled. “But very well, let’s have a good clean fight!”

‘If memory serves this guy could hold his own against Ky. I should tread this fight carefully; even if that isn’t the case I don’t need to put a fellow soldier in the hospital.’

The Crusades

“That should be the last of them,” Julia said as she roughly yanked her spear out of a dragon type Gear’s skull and adjusted her glasses. “Doesn’t look like we had any casualties today either. Fourth fight in a row now. And we even got evacuated the townspeople to safety early on so they weren’t in the way. Things are starting to look up.”

“Be careful, it’s the instant something starts looking good that things start to take a turn for the worse,” Ragna warned as he swung the Aramasa to rid itself of all of the blood.

“You can’t just let me have this one?” Julia demanded.

“We’ve been partners for a month at this point; I would’ve thought you’d know me well enough by now,” he answered curtly before glancing off down the alley and noticing Sol approached with his giant cement slab of a sword over his shoulder. “Go find Kliff and give him the report, I’ll catch up in a second.” Before she could answer, he traveled down the alley and came face to face with the scowling outcast of the Holy Order. Both men stood motionless and silent for a full minute, before both speaking a once.

“98.”

A pause.

“So that’s two wins for you, two for me… and now our tenth tie,” the Reaper muttered.

“It should be my win; you had Julia helping you,” Sol insisted.

“Helping? I didn’t include her kills in my score. If anything, my number’s even more impressive because she gave me less to kill.”

“You had a head start.”

“Only because someone kept insisting that they look for cigs in the town after it was abandoned, that’s on you. Besides, you had a big open area to do your work; I had to do my part to make sure the people of this town had somewhere to come back to.”

“And judging from the corpses I saw on my way here, most of my kills were bigger as a result,” Sol argued back with a glare before disappointedly shaking his head. “Why did we even start this damn contest in the first place?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Apparently Julia hadn’t gone back to give Kliff her report. “Funny, I wasn’t expecting a second rivalry in the Holy Order after Ky’s.”

“Ky ain’t my rival. He’s just some little shit that doesn’t know how back out of matters that don’t concern him. Much like someone else I can see right now,” Sol told her off with a glare.

“You don’t scare me anymore Sol, I have Ragna to protect me from your annoyed half-threats now,” Julia declared proudly.

“Oi, I’m not your shield,” the Reaper denied. “And Sol doesn’t want to go through another fight either… Unless you wanted to have a tie-breaker for… what’s this contest for again?”

“I just said I don’t know. One day we start keeping score and haven’t stopped since. Wonder if Kliff started this crap to try and motivate us.”

‘…It almost looks like it worked, but Sol would never admit that,’ Ragna considered, but stayed silent. It didn’t sound like Sol was too eager to get into another fight at the moment, and considering Ragna had other matters to attend to he wanted to keep it that way.

“I wasn’t talking about you and Ky anyway; there’s someone else in our order that was his rival for a bit. He’s in Australia now; he left before either of you joined the Order. He wanted to be called The Holy Lion of the Order, but we just called him Leo… though I guess he did earn that name for himself down under.”

“Like I give a shit,” Sol dismissed rudely, only to get kicked in the shins by Ragna. “Asshole.”

“Yeah, you’re my best friend too,” Ragna dismissed with his own dark hint of comedy. “But they were rivals? I find it hard to believe that Ky’d get upset by anyone other than Sol here.”

“Ky wasn’t too annoyed by it; Leo just wanted to prove himself and a rivalry with our best prodigy was the best way to do that. He actually ended up becoming an amazing warrior from their spars which landed him a commanding role at his new post. When he left for Australia the two of them were actually on fair terms.”

“How tough was he compared to Ky anyways?”

“Pretty strong; before you and Sol came along I don’t think anyone would have been able to push him that hard. Ky never lost against him, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t a couple of close calls. At some point he might actually be able to beat him.”

“Hmph,” Sol seemed to grunt.

“What? Were you actually listening?” the Reaper smirked.

“You wouldn’t let me ignore her,” the Gear Hunter muttered back. “You two head back and check in with Kliff. I’m gonna to do another sweep in case you missed anything. It counts as my win if I find anything.”

“…Translation; you’re using this as an excuse because you still need to scavenge around for cigarettes,” Julia countered. Even if it was to keep an eye on her and help Julia so she no longer suffered for the war trauma… Sol was beginning to hate that Ragna had made her confident enough to backtalk him. Waiting until Sol walked off in his usual huff, Julia turned to Ragna. “One-fifty by the way.”

“Okay, you got a third of that and I’m being generous letting you claim that much.”

“I WON’T!” they heard Sol shout back over his shoulder.

Present Day

‘Wonder who had the bigger ego between Sol and I? Not that it matters now,’ Ragna considered, snapping himself out of one of his calmer war memories as Leo got on the other side of the ring. Ragna also noticed that there were several other members of whatever organization was in charge of this tournament; far more than had been their earlier. ‘…They might try to kill one of us if we let our guards down. Guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on them as I fight off this guy.’

“Keep your mind focused on us,” Leo warned as he took out two small cross topped handles and placed them so that the crosses were at the top of his hands. Ragna simply slouched with his hands on his hips, not going for his sword just yet. “The only real threat to you is right here!”

“…You may begin when ready,” one of the hooded hosts aid calmly, not bothering to argue against the assertion of threats.

(Cue Stolz)

The top section of each of the crosses then extended to give each of the artifacts more of a longsword look. With his twin sword style set, Leo unleashed a distant x-shaped slash with both blades that created a small metal projectile that flew straight for the Reaper. Ragna simply blocked the attack with his forearm and Leo took that chance to rush forward with a scissors slash, but Ragna was faster and rushed forward to interrupt the attack with a straight punch to his opponent’s face. Leo took the full force of the attack, but recovered quicker than Ragna had expected. Leo swung harshly with an overhead attack and Ragna finally drew his sword to clash with the blade though he did immediately set his blade back on his belt afterwards.

Spinning into a powerful overhead kick that lifted him off the ground, Ragna struck heavily against Leo’s guard. His following kick wasn’t enough to break Leo’s guard either, but he did lurch enough so the Reaper was able to land safely. Bringing his sword down upon Leo’s crossed guard in a brutal helm splitter sent the Lion sliding back and they needed to did their swords into the metal to halt their forced movement. Once they had come to that stop however, Leo charged his magic and unleash another x-shaped slash. This one was much larger and the metal even appeared much thicker. Ragna took the effort to slash through it with his sword, but it gave Leo the cover he needed to vanish… or at least it would have if Ragna hadn’t immediately noticed the shadow over him. For the great height he’d gained in his jump, Leo dove down sword first at Ragna and swung his swords like a propeller blade. Ragna blocked the attack with the blunt side of his sword, but still felt the amazing force behind them as it cratered the metal he was standing on. Out of the quarter of his eye, Ragna noticed that none of the organizers appeared the slightest bit shaken from the attack, proving that they weren’t normal civilians.

Turning his immediate focus back to Leo, Ragna deflected his opponent’s longsword thrust and let the metal spark against his sword to let his opponent in close. Throwing out the best gut punch he could with his free hand, Leo defended against the guard before rushing past Ragna and trying for a wide slash at his back which Ragna avoided. This left Leo’s own back fully exposed to his opponent, something which Ragna raised an eyebrow at since this seemed a particularly sloppy weakness in Leo’s style. Was he trying to bait an attack out of the tournament moderators?

Apparently not, because Leo’s managed to quickly create another x-shaped projectile in front of Ragna which he needed to much more hastily guard against with his forearm block. Leo then went into a wicked overhead slash which Ragna backstepped to avoid entirely before going at him with the Aramasa. His blow stuck a strange shield that Leo created on his back that stopped his attack completely. Leo then swung in a wicked arc with both of his swords and though the Reaper blocked it, it still sent him high into the air. Leo then unleashed he own upwards slash to chase after Ragna which the Reaper clashed with in a downwards swing, sending Leo to the ground but only putting the Reaper further up. Taking the chance given his sudden change in position, Ragna dove down with his sword at an angle that clashed with Leo’s swords and forced the fellow Holy Order warrior to endure the fierce onslaught before retaliating with another wide slash which Ragna once again backstepped.

‘This guy actually is pretty decent,’ Ragna conceded. ‘And I get the feeling things are just getting started here so I’ll have to…’ “Huh?”

(End theme)

Leo had dropped his fighter’s stance and now stood at ease as his longswords retracted. One stern look at Ragna told him everything he needed to know; the moderators seemed a little too thirsty for blood to being spilt. Any further and they might actually make a move.

“I have faith that my friend over there can bring the Order all the prestige it needs in this new selection tournament, meanwhile my schedule won’t allow for the commitment of this enjoyable little distraction.” Ragna had to guess that Leo was guarding his pride at least a little here. “Therefor… I concede this match and wish him well in the fights ahead.”

“And… good luck with your thing.” A speech writer Ragna was not.

“If… that’s the decided outcome,” the moderator decided, unable to keep from showing their disappointment. “Contestant Ragna will be participating in the next round of the tournament. The transportation will be leaving at noon tomorrow from the western docks to take you to your next match. Failure to arrive at the appointed time will result in immediate expulsion from the tournament. Until then, the day’s yours to do with as you see fit.”

‘Not turning that chance down, but first I need my info.’

After the Match -Space Needle’s Base-

“Quite a swing you have there,” Leo commended as he tried to a stiff crick out of his shoulder. “I haven’t had a spar like that since the Crusades and I don’t say that lightly. You’re every bit as good as I heard from Kliff.”

“Kliff? He told you about me?” the Reaper demanded.

“Of course, the old man loves to brag about his students to anyone that will listen to him. I’ve heard more than a few stories of you from him. Wasn’t he the one that told you about me?”

“No, that was my partner.” ‘Well I guess that explains where my reputation came from. Dammit Kliff, I didn’t want to be put in the spotlight. Does he talk about Sol too or did he keep his mouth shut about him?’ “So I said earlier that we should compare information of this damn tournament. What can you tell me?”

“Everything that I’ve found so far is only at the surface level, but I’ll share what I know. I have a few contacts in the governments that have either re-formed after the Crusades or managed to endure them, but none of them have any information in the arrangement of this tournament or what organization is responsible. What I do know is that there’s very little effort being put into solving said lack of information, if any. I can’t help but wonder if someone’s keeping them from investigating.”

“That could be a possibility; might even help their nationality get chosen if they play along and keep quiet. But I’ve done mercenary work for someone in Zepp and the story’s actually a bit different there,” Ragna informed, leaving Leo to raising an eyebrow. Zepp was a barely recognized floating nation in the sky that relied on old forbidden technology instead of magic. It was currently headed by a large group of power hungry and corrupt nobility that kept the lower classes as little more than slaves… sometimes much worse than that. “I can’t get into why I was working there or what I was doing for professional reasons, but I can tell you that they hosted one round of the tournament there and booked it. Supposedly they were going to try for three rounds at least at that location, but when my contact started investigating they took the hint and left before anything substantial got uncovered.”

“And who is this contact in Zepp that managed to send the tournament organizers running?”

“Again I can’t tell you… but you’ll hear about them soon enough. As long as we get international news, there’s no way any news outlet will be able to ignore what comes next.” Somehow, Ragna actually looked a little proud with that. “Anyways, what I heard was that he received a bit of resistance on their investigation from his higher ups. I’m not sure if that’s specific to Zepp and the rest of the world is just busy with reconstruction, but it’s worth considering that whoever’s behind the tournament may have moles planted in the world governments.”

“I think it’s fair to assume, but they’d need funding and other resources in order to host this blood sport. I’ll have to pull a few strings to get the documentation I need, but once I get those I’ll be able to do a little digging and find out if any money is actually missing from their accounts. But with that done, the only question is what they’re doing with the bodies. Unfortunately, there were a few fatalities from my contest, not my own work I hope you understand.”

“I believe you, but at least I know that they’re taking them for a reason,” Ragna summarized. “As for why, best case scenario they’re taking the bodies to try and summon some demon like total idiots. Baring that they could be trying to perform some kind of human experimentation. And then there’s the worst case scenario…”

“Worst case?” Leo repeated.

“Yeah, but I know it can’t be that,” Ragna lied. ‘It’s the only thing worth the effort of staging something on this scale. And since I never found that other scythe wielding freak, the blood makes sense. If word about this gets out though, their subtlety of the tournament is gone and they might try something else that’s even more drastic… Guess for now I gotta play along.’ “I’ll be your man on this inside so we can deal with an easy clean up, just let me and Ky do our work so we can keep the focus off you.”

“Right, you and the bambino,” Leo muttered. “…It wounded my pride a touch, but I’m in contact with him as well. The three of us will keep each other appraised as well as we’re able to.”

“Sounds good,” Ragna said as he started making his way off. “I gotta get going, I got a date.”

“…With destiny?” the fellow Holy Order member questioned, finishing with the most likely saying.

“No, her name’s Isabelle.”

“Oh… well if you’re in such a good mood can I make one final request?” Leo asked as he took some paper out of his jacket pockets. “I was hoping I could coax you into making a donation for the Illyria Project.”

“A donation? You guys really think you can get that project off the ground with just goodwill?” the Reaper questioned harshly as turned back. Leo didn’t appear disheartened in the slightest, in fact now he looked as focused as ever.

“Goodwill is something that’s in short supply these days, but maybe a cause to rally behind will help with that. And I suppose it’s less of donation and more of an investment. Once the project finally gets off the ground, donators can be guaranteed citizenship and a comfortable life in the kingdom. I happen to the poster boy of spearheading the initiative.”

‘Must be trying to get into one of the higher positions then,’ Ragna considered. ‘Then again, having an analytical war hero like him as their leader might not be the worst thing in the world. Especially when you compare them to the NOL. And if this really can give people some hope…’ “Fine, put me down for Two-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand.”

“A quarter of a million?” Leo asked, allowing himself to actually be taken aback. “Are you… I… Where did you even get that money!?”

“My contract job in Zepp paid well and even in the right currency. That’s not a problem is it?”

“With that kind of a donation you might be able make a case to become mayor of a city once the kingdom forms.” Ragna didn’t exactly care for that idea. “But… to think you have that much goodwill to spare after all.” Leo gave a kind smile. “Great fighter or not, your actions do the name of the old Order proud.”

“I just… felt like making something for once.”

Later

“Welcome to the Emerald Diner!’ a brunette waitress with a long ponytail greeted Ragna as he stepped into the establishment. “Party of one? Want a seat at the bar or are you looking for a booth seat all to yourself?”

“Guess I’ll take one of the booth seats,” Ragna guessed since he didn’t see Isabelle behind the counter… or anywhere else for that matter.

“Okay, but since things our slow could we ask a favor? We got a new girl in today and we needed to make sure that she can work well with customers.” Ah, seems that Ragna was in the right plays after all. “She’s on her break, but she’ll be done soon enough if you don’t mind waiting while things are slow.”

“Not a problem, but can I have a cup of black coffee while I wait?” At her nod he took his seat and began his wait as he tried to consider things moving forward for the tournament. He didn’t end up having that long of a wait as Isabelle come out dressed in the white and red waitress uniform. She smiled as she handed him a menu. “How’s the new place?”

“Small, still need to buy food, but it’s clean and well maintained at least,” she told him. “I didn’t have to wait long for you to show yourself. How’d your thing go?”

“Quick and painless… for me at least, can’t really speak for those other guys. Anyways, it turns out that I’m gonna have to leave town tomorrow if I’m going to make it to the next round,” he explained. “…Got a nice paycheck though from all of those bounties I brought in.”

“So you’re looking to spend some of it and have a good time, but you have next to no idea how and you’re looking for my help to show you how?” Isabelle guessed with a smirk.

“Nah, I already know how,” the Reaper countered. Suddenly to Isabelle, it was as if his standoffish aura seemed to fade completely as he gave a small smile. “But I wouldn’t mind having someone to share a fun night with. We can both head out, do some drinking, and see where things go from there.”

“…Oh… that’s pretty forward,” she admitted, her confident smirk fading into a rather neutral demeanor.

“Is it that surprising? Pretty sure I’ve been fairly forward since I met you,” the Reaper reminded. “So?”

“…Did you want to order now or should I give you some time and come back?” Her tone was fairly dull and she seemed all business at the moment.

“I’ll take the Ruben. For a side I’ll do the chef salad with vinaigrette dressing,” he answered back simply as he handed her back the menu. If Ragna was disappointed, he didn’t show it.

She nodded and headed to the backroom without another word. Ragna only waited while the diner radio played the news to report on rebuilding efforts around the world. Not a whole lot different from the ordinary (though a post-apocalypse was hardly normal, even considering the world he came from). He wasn’t stuck listening to it for long because as soon as the station’s music started playing Isabelle came back out with his order.

“Thanks; looks good,” he complimented, only for Isabelle to get close to his ear. “Yeah?”

“I won’t get off until 8, so after you eat I need you to go look for a good bar in town. I don’t know where any are and I want some time after work to freshen up. Meet me back here at 9 and I’m all yours.”

“…You got a deal. Looking forward to seeing you then, Isabelle,” he emphasized her name with a slight growl that got a giggle out of his date.

“Don’t be getting too eager just yet; I’m not that easy of a girl to catch… but I’m well worth the effort.”

“I’ll know; all that best are,” Ragna responded with flirty undertones as he got started on his food. ‘At least I won’t be bored until noon tomorrow.’

Chapter Text

Duel X: Lives in the Dark

‘Guess I should’ve figured,’ Isabell thought as her eyes slowly opened, taking in the ceiling of her new acquired studio apartment, lying naked in bed as her blanket was the only thing that was giving her any cover. She didn’t have to struggle to remember the finer details of what had happened…most of them.

She’d heard stories from her girlfriends of these one-night stand hookups; many of them included trying to remember the events through the following morning’s hangover and one of them never managed to figure that much out. Via comparison she had no hangover to speak of (though the alcohol still weighed on her stomach) and the only events of the night that were blurry happened immediately after she’d started to drink too much. She vaguely remembered someone making moves on her, but a glare from her date had shut that down immediately. She expected him to guide her drunkenly back to her room and then… proceed, but instead they had immediately cast a spell that had sobered her up in an instant. She had to wonder if he was just letting her down gently.

Then again, he hadn’t hesitated at all when she invited him back to her room.

Passionate kissing, a rustling of clothes that were then discarded, a quick contraception spell cast by said date (normally both parties would each use their own, but eh), and what had followed left her where she was now; naked in bed and thoroughly satisfied… she'd at least wished he’d stuck around a little longer.

“Damn, what time is it?” Isabelle said, only to herself.

“8:15; almost done with breakfast.”

And at Ragna’s voice, she became suddenly aware of the smell of bacon. Finally turning her gaze from her ceiling to the small kitchen of her studio apartment, her eyes landed on the Grim Reaper from last night. He was already fully dressed and was also wearing a white apron (no idea where he’d gotten that) as he used a frying pan to prepare some bacon along with his own personally made omelets. There was also a pot of coffee brewing for later.

“Morning,” she said with a sigh. “Last night was… I mean, WOW.”

“Had a pretty good time with it myself,” Ragna answered, though he kept his eyes focused on his cooking.

“You better have with how hard you were going,” Isabelle sighed. “I just hope I can recover enough to make it into work.”

“You will; made sure of it.”

“Ha. So you’re saying if I didn’t have work to worry about, you’d have put me out of commission for a week?” she asked him slyly.

“Try a month.”

Isabelle was about to laugh at Ragna’s bravado… before realizing that his tone was just as serious as before and he still hadn’t taken his eyes off his work. “You… you’re serious?” she asked before her head plopped back on the pillow, just imagining it. “Damn… fuck me.”

“Already did plenty of that last night.” Now Ragna was just being snarky.

“…What if I wanted to be taken out for a year?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“How good’s your healing factor?”

“Healing what?”

“Then it would kill you,” he answered seriously before shutting off the stovetop, plating up, and bringing both meals over to Isabelle’s beside. “Here’s yours,” Ragna said as he handed her one of the plates while taking a seat on the side of the bed with his own.

“Thanks, I- Wait, where’d you get the food? I didn’t have a chance to get groceries before we went out last night,” she asked.

“Eh, been up for a couple of hours so I did a shopping run for you. Shouldn’t have to make another trip for another week or so. Place didn’t have too much in terms of selection, ended up just getting the basics but at the very least you’ll be covered.”

“Oh… Okay.” She hadn’t expected her first ever fling to be so generous. Truth was she’d have had to stretch her savings a bit for food (even with the extra money she’d gotten last night thanks to Ragna’s actions on the plane). Taking a bite of the omelet, she found that it had bell peppers, onion, three different types of cheese, chicken and a whole other slew of flavors. “You never told me you cooked. And you never told me you were a master chef.”

“You never asked,” Ragna answered with a shrug. “Coffee’s coming, but you’ll have to give it a minute.”

“…I guess asking that you stick around is out of the question.” The stewardess turned waitress already knew the answer, but she needed to know for certain.

“I really can’t; I’ve got promises to keep and I can’t miss out on this tournament. Money to make and that kind of crap.” It wasn’t like he could let her in on the darker aspects he suspected were going on behind the scenes. “I won’t make any promises of making my way back here any time soon either; Mercenary work keeps me moving all over the place.”

“Right, you've already told me as much,” she sighed. Glancing off the corner of her room, she saw a TV that was ancient, probably one of the first magical things made since the electricity outage in the last century. It still worked; she’d tried it before they’d gone out last night and there had been several old VHS movies in her closet. “…You think you’ve got time for a movie before you take off?”

“Yeah, I think I can manage that,” Ragna promised before a beep sounded off in the kitchen. “That’ll be the coffee. Cream and sugar?”

“Just the former; I don’t like sweets; might be why a bitter guy like you stood a chance,” she teased.

“Heh, guilty as charged.”

Later -The Port-

“You were cutting it pretty close, getting here less than ten minutes before takeoff,” Leo scolded, though he was more exasperated than angry.

“But I wasn’t late,” Ragna retorted. “And you never told me that you were going to be waiting for me. So why are you here? Did something come up?”

“It’s actually a lack of action that’s telling here; the Post War Administration Bureau hasn’t made any public statements regarding the tournament; neither endorsing the tournament’s purposes nor condemning its barbarism. And I just confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that they know. For whatever reason, they seem more focused on the recent capture of some Johnny individual. Apparently he’s the leader of the Jellyfish Pirates.” Ragna had no comment. “I don’t understand it either.”

“So a lack of action on their side… something’s up.” He shook his head. “I’ll gather what info I can on the inside, but I’ll be radio silent for the most part. You’ll be fine on your own?”

“Please, any lion worth his mane can handle himself; you’re the one going into the proverbial den.”

“Well, I’m certainly rested enough for it,” Ragna answered without bravado.

“…Anything I should know about?”

“I don’t kiss and tell, so no… not that you really wanted to know in the first place.”

“Fair enough, just don’t do anything that would get you a lecture from…” Leo paused. “Actually, that was another discovery I had. Apparently Kliff’s in the tournament. I don’t know where he’s situated, but keep an eye out for him.”

“And make sure he’s all right. Remove him from the tournament if I can.”

“It would mean a lot to the rest of the Holy Order,” Leo answered.

“Right; I see him I’ll do just that.”

Aboard the Ship

“Better treatment than what I got from Vernon… not like I’m going to thank them though.”

Unlike yesterday’s trip, this airship was now plenty spacious with several decks for its travelers to walk through. The Reaper himself was off in one of the side areas, exposed to the outdoor air but pressurized thanks to an invisible barrier. He was leaning against the guardrail, resting as the ship brought them closer to the next round in Alaska. It was certainly more crowded than he’d figured it would’ve been, showing that they’d gathered challengers from several different rounds of the competition. Out here though, he could take the time to himself as he looked over the landscapes below him… most of it ruined after the century long war.

He didn’t bother hiding his small scowl as one of the side doors opened beside him. He then caught sight of a stewardess coming out with a prepared selection of alcoholic drinks on the tray she was holding. She was cute too; he could admit to that much readily as she offered the tray in front of him.

“I didn’t order anything.”

“You didn’t have to, sir; compliments from the organizers of the tournament.” Ragna gave a mild shrug as he took the bottle of brandy and gave it a long swig. “Pardon my asking, but you wouldn’t happen to be a bounty hunter, would you?”

“Mercenary. My work’s a little more varied than just hunting down criminals,” he explained. “But I’m still looking for work and I’ll take what I can get. Why? One of the assholes inside giving you trouble?”

“Not exactly, but we did have someone handing these out and asked that I do the same,” she said before bringing out a bounty poster. It was for a woman, one with an absurd amount of long hair and indeed had very sizable price on her head. A kill on site bounty too. “Apparently there’s high suspicion that this Millia Rage is part of this tournament and that she’s on this exact vessel. A few people inside are looking for her already, so if you wanted an easy payday I’d recommend starting your own search.”

“Seriously?” Ragna asked before giving a sudden groan. “This is the best that the Assassin’s Guild can do?”

“The A-?”

“Don’t even try to play dumb, you could barely play the part. And this is no bounty poster from any guild; anyone who can see past the numbers could tell in two seconds.” That seemed to shut the false stewardess up and force her to consider her next move. “Not to mention, I don’t like being stalked.”

Throwing the bottle with great force, the object was broken in midair as it neared the shadows that should’ve been too small to hide anyone. The sudden pool cue that emerged had shattered the glass as it got close, revealing a dark-skinned man with white hair covering his eyes. His hair also had a blue assassin’s guild symbol tattooed on it.

“…You’re good,” they said in a low voice. “How long?”

“You followed me out here two minutes after I got on board. I was just waiting for you to make your move.” He glanced down at the liquid. “You didn’t poison these for some reason.”

“What’s the point of that? Dead bodies can’t search anything. More importantly for a merc like you, the bounty is still valid and we’d pay in full.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with tournament coordinators, does it? Internal affair after the rest of your group had got itself caught,” Ragna guessed.

“You appear well informed of our history.”

“A certain acquaintance of mine has a weird taste in pastime stories,” the Reaper answered vaguely. “Get lost, I don’t feel like dealing with you creeps now anyways. And as you can tell, your girl isn’t here.”

“…Let’s go,” the mystery man eventually decided.

“Sir? Are you certain that’s wise? He’s seen your face.” The assassin disguised as a stewardess looked like she’d be going for the dagger Ragna noticed her hiding in her sleeve at an instant if provoked. “We should-”

“Fighting him now would only serve to frighten our target and draw attention to ourselves. Besides, this man’s been smarter than most by showing us clearly how little he truly cares. We’ll continue our search; pray you put on a better performance the next group you encounter.”

“She won’t have to. Plenty of idiots aboard this ship,” Ragna muttered. ‘Present company included.’

The two didn’t leave so much as ‘disappear’ and again, Ragna couldn’t give any less of a damn. There were a few contestants that passed through his section in the half hour that followed, almost certainly looking for an easy payday with the bounty. They’d soon moved onto the next section and eventually Ragna was left to himself.

“…Probably should be the last of them,” he sighed. “You can come out now.” Silence. “If I’d wanted to turn you in, I could’ve done so at any time; I just wanna talk.” Continued silence. “You want to catch hypothermia? That can’t be comfortable.”

From under the railing flipped the blonde Millia Rage with a scowl on her face aimed at the Reaper. She appeared cold, which was understandable given her hiding spot left her exposed to the elements. If Ragna still had his brandy he might’ve offered her a drink, but for now settle for a casting a small fire chant in his palm to serve as a makeshift campfire.

“Why didn’t you turn me in?” she demanded readily, not getting any closer to Ragna but enjoying the close proximity to the fire.

“Because the guy already pissed me off from all his stalking. And the less I get mixed up with Assassin Guild remnants, the better.” He shrugged. “Plenty of criminals are already here trying to take refuge from the law, guess it would only make sense that you’d try to do the same thing.”

“You act like you know me.”

“Only secondhand tellings from a certain dandy someone.” She knew who he was implying immediately. “If I were you, I’d get out of this tournament and take your chances. You’ve already got people in here looking for you.”

“The man you saw there isn’t even in the tournament and he certainly isn’t my main problem; it’s Zato-One, the former leader of the assassin’s guild.”

“Zato? I heard that piece of work was put in a dimensional prison,” Ragna considered.

“He was, meaning someone had to let him out,” she considered darkly. “No doubt he’s trying to kill me now.”

“And the asshole that just left with the novice?”

“I don’t know the woman personally, but that man likely wants me dead so he can end Zato’s obsession and reinstate him as the head of whatever remains of the Assassin’s guild.” She looked deep into Ragna’s eyes, trying to figure his next move. “Will that information suffice or are you going to raise the alarm anyways?”

“Like I said; I don’t want their money. All the same, you need out of the tournament. Not sure if you buy into that whole wish bullshit, but it’s not going to keep you safe.”

“What about you? Are you hoping to hire yourself out as my bodyguard? I don’t have much to pay you with.”

“You sound like more trouble than you’re worth anyways,” he sighed. “No, I’m not going to be working for you, officially anyways. But we’ve still got a lot of flight left and you’ll need to keep yourself hidden. The good thing about a Reaper like me is I cast long shadows which make perfect hiding spots for your kind. Once we land though, you’re on your own.”

“And all you want is that I leave the tournament?”

“Again, it’d just be better if you did. There’s more going on there than they’re letting on; I’m just trying to put an end to it before it starts.”

“…And all the bounties that you could collect on?”

“Eh, even saving the world has its fees,” he answered with a smirk before holding out his hand, a move that had Millia on the defensive, even while he held it out. “Call me Ragna, Ragna the Bloodedge. Might as well get on a first name basis.”

“…Millia Rage, though you already knew that,” she returned, though she didn’t shake his hand. “This… isn’t some bizarre attempt at flirting, is it?”

“Why, does it seem that way?” He sounded concerned when he asked. “Trying not to get in too deep with my trysts and become a manwhore.”

‘Such a strange one,’ she thought, but kept the observation to herself.

Later

Much like Ragna had wanted, nothing else of interest happened during the rest of their flight to the large port town formerly known as Anchorage. Millia had silently slipped away as soon as they’d landed and with no sign of the pool cue wielding assassin or his assistant, Ragna could only hope that they’d gone in the opposite direction of Millia. Not that it mattered too much… though he still couldn’t help but feel it strange that he’d been helping out more and more total strangers since the Crusades had ended. With no war to worry about, be it against the NOL or Gears, he could now settle into a life that left him more comfortable in doing so… or might’ve if this new threat hadn’t reared its ugly face.

‘Maybe I’m just taking that damn promise more seriously than I first thought,’ he also had to considered before looking around the other contestants he’d be dealing with.

There was still a decent number that had made it through the last round. Aside from his own in Seattle, other previous venues had been situated in the Hawaiian Islands and even the Aztec ruins. No one here that he recognized, and out of the hardened mercs, bounty hunters, and criminals there was only one person that stood out to him as being trouble in this round.

A woman with dirty hair, so dirty in fact he suspected that it might be pink instead of the faded brown he was seeing. She was dressed in a tattered white kimono with sandals. She carried a katana at her side, the sheath would remain affixed to her left side since she couldn’t carry it in her right arm… reason being she didn’t have a right arm… or a left eye for that matter. Her damaged body aside, she was fully set on Ragna like she had some personal intent on killing him.

‘Funny. Haven’t had to deal with that kind of look for a while… then again, those looks didn’t last long either before some idiot wanted to try and go for my bounty,’ he recounted. Though they didn’t seem as skilled as the woman before him, he then started to notice that he was going to facing off against some of the former members of the Holy Order. No one that he’d directly served with, but members all the same…

…He’d make a point to make sure they weren’t among the casualties today.

‘Still, that woman over there looks like the only one that could give me trouble and she’s GOING to be gunning for me…’ Taking his chance, Ragna headed over to her. She only seemed to tense further as he approached, an action which was soon shared by the surrounding participants. “Save it for the tournament, I just want a word.”

“I’ve got nothing to say to you, bastard!” she shouted, her hand staying locked against her katana’s grip.

“Bastard? I’ve never met you before now, where do you come off calling me that?”

“What makes you think you deserve anything less! I know who you serve! Your coat tells me everything that I-!”

“Hold up, that’s what this is about?” Ragna insisted before glancing around at the gazes that were focused on him. “It’s not like-”

“What makes you think I’d ever care what it’s like!” she shouted. “The only reason I don’t cut you where you stand is because I need you for answers, answers on your master!”

“Not my master; I’m not even working with them.” ‘Not consciously anyways.’ It didn’t look like this woman was going to ever believe him, but he still wanted to make the effort. “Look, you and I are the best fighters here and I don’t want any of the Holy Order members dying. You let me do my thing on the rest of the crowd until we fight and you’ll get your answers afterwards.”

“Why the hell would I ever trust you?” she hissed, her unscared eye glaring at him in pure hatred (though completely misdirected).

“You don’t have anything to lose either way; you win and I’ll be at your mercy. I win and there’s at least a chance that I’m telling you the truth.” Glancing around, Ragna got just a bit closer so he could whisper. “There’s not much I know about That Man, but I’ll tell you everything I can. Nothing will be off the table.”

“…Tch, don’t worry. You’ll feel like talking plenty when I have my sword at your throat,” she promised as she stormed off just to get some distance from the Reaper before the time came to run him through. “Try not to die out there… Grim Reaper, Ragna the Bloodedge.”

‘She’s done her work if she even knows my name.’ Ragan was almost impressed… almost. “Don’t get caught before you get your answers… Baiken.” She didn’t seem to react. Anyone knew that she had a sizable capture bounty on her head since they needed her returned to the Japanese colonies. If anything, that might’ve just put more attention on her when the fighting really started. ‘Still… her target’s…’

Flashback -The Crusades-

“Come and get it!” Ragna called after giving the stew pot one final stir.

The Grim Reaper hadn’t even been put on cooking duty that night, but since it was one of the select few things in any world that could properly relax him, he’d actually taken the chance to volunteer for the last week. There wasn’t a large variety of ingredients to work with and their amounts and quality left a lot to be desired, but Ragna loved a good challenge when he cooked and this was far from the first time he’d be working with such restrictions. Everyone in the Holy Order certainly appreciated the Reaper cooking if the already forming line was any indication.

“Looks like you’ve got another incoming hit on your hands,” his partner Julia said to him she brought her bowl forward and served herself with a ladle. “Might want to be careful though; you keep this up and Kliff might have to take you off the front lines and make you our full-time chef.”

“Please, you say that like we can afford to keep any manpower off of the battlefield,” Ragna reminded. “Least of all the guy with the most confirmed kills.”

“I thought you and Sol-”

“He doesn’t count his kills unless he feels like challenging my number,” the Reaper reminded as several of the other member of the order started serving themselves. While Kliff was waiting in line (politely declining the other knights’ offers to let their commander cut ahead) Ky was taking the chance to practice further with the Thunder Seal sword. “He hasn’t been doing it much lately, gotta wonder why.”

“Not our problem,” one of the Holy Knights mentioned. “Can’t imagine what the hell that guy’s going to do once this damn Crusades over, probably going to go insane without a battle to fight in.”

“Maybe because you guys are calling him the God of War for some damn reason?” Ragna bit back.

“His name had to come from somewhere; just like how you eventually got the title of Grim Reaper.”

‘Yeah, but unlike him I was actually TRYING for it.’

“Still, it doesn’t hurt to have a plan for when the fighting has finally ended,” said Vernon, a new acquaintance of Ragna’s. “You ever think of going into the restaurant business? You’d probably make a killing out there.”

“You just want me to cater for your events after your political career gets started,” Ragna accused.

“Again, you’d make a killing. And a ringing endorsement.” At least he wasn’t denying it.

“I’d agree with Vernon; having the proper future to fight for can make all of the difference in the moment,” Kliff noted. “Of course, such thoughts are rarer even as we seem to be making headway in the war. The only consistent plan for most is hunting down That Man.”

“What man?”

“The Gear Maker; the individual responsible for the creation of Justice, the start of the Crusades, and a man who can only be described as the Devil himself.” Either he’d taken too keen of an interest in the subject, or Ky had decided to join them for dinner after his training. “Though he would have had to been alive a hundred years ago at the start of the Crusades, many suspect that he’s still alive and out there somewhere… though there’s no proof as of late.”

‘If the guy’s responsible for all of this, they might be hated even more than I was,’ Ragna considered. “So why the name That Man? You’d think that Gear Maker would make more sense out of the two.”

“And that’s what most of humanity called him for the longest time, but then Sol showed up out of nowhere and joined up,” Julia explained. “He was pretty insistent on the name, but eventually it caught on with the rest of us and soon everyone started calling them that. In a weird way, it even makes sense. Gear Maker only narrows their crimes down to making the gears while That Man leaves it ambiguous to what they could really be behind... and it’s probably more than we’ll ever know.”

“I guess when you put it that way it makes a bit of sense at least,” Ragna acknowledged as he thought it over. “Still, doesn’t that technically mean that Justice is more of a symptom than a disease? What the hell would we do if That Man just got bored one day and decided to make a second one?”

The terrified stillness at the camp told Ragna everything. As of yet the Reaper had yet to personally see the Command Gear itself, but he’d heard plenty of horror stories. Even Ky and Kliff, the only two who could even think of standing before Justice, seemed to pale a touch at just the idea.

“J-Just some dumb ramblings; they’re probably one in a million anyways. If they could make a second Justice, they’d no doubt have already mass produced the damn thing.” Truthfully, he was talking out of his ass to some degree, but he had to try and salvage the situation. Ladling up a bowl of his own stew, he started walking off. “Brilliant wording there, genius.”

He wasn’t eating in solitude because of what he’d just said, but he’d have to do this at some point that night and doing his errand now would give him more time to let his words (hopefully) defuse. He was heading further out of camp now than usual and he didn’t care much for the idea. Sol wasn’t even training at the moment or doing anything else to take advantage of their roomy solitude. He was just sitting against a massive slab of concrete with the Junkyard Dog impaled in the ground beside him. He didn’t even bother turning to scowl at Ragna.

“Still no smokes?”

“You know I haven’t been able to restock in a month now.”

“Ah, no wonder you’re grumpy,” Ragna said with a shrug before offering him the bowl. “Maybe now you’ll be able to taste the flavors at least.”

“Never asked you to bring me dinner,” the gear hunter grumbled.

“Never has you turning it down either, just take the damn bowl.” Now Sol was glaring, but he at least took the bowl and even had a small bite instead of stubbornly waiting until Ragna had left. “So?”

“Not bad.” It was a version of a compliment, even if it wasn’t a very elaborate one.

“Pain in the ass,” Ragna grumbled, though he still didn’t leave his former partner. “Everyone back at camp was talking about That Man.” Just about anyone would’ve missed it, but Ragna’s reflexes allowed him to the brief flash of anger from Sol. “...Anything you want to say on that?”

“Why would I?” Sol asked silently.

“...You’re even more mysterious than I am man and that’s saying a lot. I look at you and... I dunno, I can’t help but worry that there’s something else going on with you; something big.”

“Congrats, you’ve just proven you have the same IQ as anyone else in the order. Keep this up and I might even consider you triple digits.”

“You know what I’m trying to say.” Sol only rolled his eyes. “Gear head.”

“...How long?”

“Recent. You’ve done a hell of a job to mask your magic and soul, but after refining my more magical perceptions for so long I can tell when even the faintest amount of Gear energy is leaking through. I also know that’s not what you’re worried about hiding.”

“Fine then; you’re right and wrong. It’s not the big thing I’m worried about hiding, but if Ky ever gets wind of it...” His voice trailed off. “You’ve seen the real him.”

“I have.” Ragna’s own short answer. “So?”

“...Worry about Justice for right now, we have enough problems without dragging that up.”

“Then I’ll have to stick around until I get my answers out of you then; spiting people by staying alive is something I can actually do pretty damn well,” Ragna cockily told him. “Guess I should be heading back to camp before all my own damn cooking is gone. Make sure you drop your dishes off in the mess tent, don’t be lazy and toss ‘em away or burn it.”

“Hey.” It didn’t sound like Sol was dismissive anymore or about to offer the Reaper a retort; this sounded like he was about to be serious. Ragna did his part and stayed behind to hear him out. “When I say worry about Justice... I mean it.”

“...Right. And I also know exactly what you mean by that.” It wasn’t like he’d been trying to keep it a secret from Sol. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if other members of the Holy Order knew by this point.

“...There’s a Gear Factory nearby, one that they’re trying to keep hidden. Might be getting ready for a sneak attack.”

“Right. I was going to bring it everyone’s attention tomorrow morning after I stood guard; the unit’s been through much to try and tackle it without some proper rest.”

“They don’t need to know about it,” Sol instructed. “Meet me back here after dark; we’re handling this thing ourselves.”

“I’ll be back then.”

Present Day

Ragna gave a lengthy sigh as he stared down the last member of this round; Baiken, just like he’d planned. While none of them were members of the Holy Order, this round hadn’t been without casualties. He knew that if things went too well for him then they’d try to kick him out of the tournament, and it would be that much harder to get any solid leads. What he was able to control was who they’d take; real pieces of work who were already on death’s row and caused immeasurable suffering with their actions... just like he’d been at one point.

‘There’s no point thinking about that lifetime now,’ he told himself. The tournament proctors had put the match on a brief pause to collect the bodies and through the entire intermission, Baiken hadn’t ceased her glaring at him. ‘If that’s what she’s giving me, I gotta wonder how she’d be looking at her actual target... probably the same way I’d be if I’d ever actually found Terumi… Dammit, what’d I just say?’

“That will suffice,” the official said once their work was finally done. Now that that ring was clear, Baiken was slowly approaching the Reaper and trying to gauge his next move.

“...Thanks.” Ragna knew the words of appreciation wouldn’t mean anything to his opponent, but he still needed to say them.

“Don’t think for an instant that I did it for you or that I expect you to follow through; I just needed everyone out of my way before I got my sword to your throat.”

“I know, but even still they’re alive thanks to what you did,” Ragna said as he unslung his sword from behind his back. “Let’s make this quick.”

Baiken has already unsheathed her own blade, so when he got into stance indicating that he was preparing to finish this duel in one slash, she responded in kind. Thanks to his earlier fight with Leo, Ragna knew that if they got too engaged in the fight that the overseers would try to make it so at least one more final fatality took place. This meant finishing his fight quickly and unlike last time he could barely count on seeing Baiken surrender. The air was still all around them as both waited for the other to show even the slightest bit of give in their swords.

Then... it was already over. The briefest of flashes later and both fighters were on opposing sides, a small cut going down from Ragna’s forehead to the bridge of his nose that as already healing itself... and Baiken, kneeling on one knee as her katana clattered to the ground between them. No physical damage on her, but very obviously defeated.

“...You have two hours until your next flight takes off. Same vehicle that you arrived on at the same airfield. All the rounds from here will be against single fighters, so be prepared to face down the best the tournament has to offer.” The official was clearly displeased at the display, but they had no choice but to let Ragna through. “As for the woman-”

“You said I can take my bounty back, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Ragna said as he grabbed Baiken’s sword before taking his own and placing it at the woman’s neck. ‘Please play along.’ He could only plead with his eyes and hope that she picked up on it. She had to, there was no way she’d have accepted defeat without swearing otherwise. “I’ll be back in time... first there’s a reward to be gotten.”

Later –Ruined Building-

He figured that returning her sword should’ve at least been enough to keep her from glaring at him constantly... before realizing that at this point he was only being naïvely hopeful. She hadn’t done anything other than glare at him after he’d brought her to this secluded section to talk, but he knew she wouldn’t let him get out of answering her questions... better to get it over with.

“I want to start by getting any misconceptions out of the way first, devil’s in the details and all.” More silence and glaring. “Right, so you said that you can tell that I’ve got That Man’s energy in my coat. You’re not wrong about that, but what exactly do you think I am?”

“Obviously one of their servants, or at the very least you're associated with them,” she answered to break her silence. “Tell me where he is.”

“I have no idea where he is or how the hell to find him; I’ve only met him twice.” He knew she thought he was lying, but there was nothing he could do to dissuade her except to keep talking. “The first time was immediately after I joined the Holy Order. There’s no one else there that saw him, so you’ll only have me for answers. Back then, I didn’t even have any idea who I was talking to.”

“How could you not?” she scowled.

“Because I didn’t even know about That Man at that point. For the moment I was just trying not to die in the hellhole that was the Crusades.” It was truth enough. “Back then, I could already tell that he was interested in me. And that he needed me for something; one of two monsters that this world needs. Those were his exact words. Apparently the other is supposed to be this thing called the Guilty Gear. I don’t know what exactly it’s supposed to be, but I have a feeling it wasn’t Justice.”

“Like that monster could ever feel guilty over anything.” Ragna only nodded slowly in agreement. “And your Soul Eater based powers explain the monster comment… Don’t think that I’m trusting what you have to say, for now I’m just hearing you out.”

“Right. Anyways, I didn’t see him again until after the Crusades had ended and by then it was clear as day who I was dealing with. Meeting him that time, I got this coat as some sort of reward for playing my part. Something which I told to screw off about, but he seemed insistent that I take it.”

“And you did? Even if I don’t trust you, that even more idiotic than I expected from you.”

“Pretty damn rude for someone asking for answers.”

“Pretty damn ballsy for someone who doesn’t want to be stabbed.”

“Damn madwoman… It was exactly like the coat I thought I thought I lost before I joined the Holy Order. It was something of a memento for me. In fact, I think he might’ve just repaired the original that I thought I lost. He wasn’t alone when I saw them then either, they were accompanied by as strange man in a green cloak and a metal mask. They didn’t say anything while we talked. I didn’t get a name either.”

“Metal mask... and a green cloak,” Baiken repeated, committing it to memory. “Anything else you want to say before I start asking questions?”

“Again, I have no idea where they are.”

“Fine, be that way.” At least she wasn’t going for her sword. “First off, this tournament-”

“Isn’t put on by That Man,” Ragna interrupted.

“Then you know what’s really going on?” A reserved nod. “Answers. Now.”

“...Fine, but you can’t tell anyone else,” he told her with a solid glare. She didn’t cease her own scowl, but didn’t say otherwise. “...They’re trying to revive Justice.”

“What!?” she screamed; her eye filled with actual terror before turning to a dark rage. “Are they suicidal!?”

“One of the top people behind this hunt is likely Testament; someone who I’ve personally fought in the Crusades and someone that they haven’t caught yet. Bastard can use Blood Magic; that’s what the tournament is for and why they want the casualties afterwards.” Baiken seemed to be stunned to silence as she thought over that revelation. “And that’s why I’m in the tournament.”

“And you’re not stopping it!? You can’t be serious!”

“If word of this got out then there would be panic, panic that they’d likely use to revive Justice anyways.” Ragna was doing everything he could to keep her calm. “So you’re trusting me now?”

“You’re hardly able to make that sort of shit up!” she shouted at him. “So now what, you’re trying to follow the leads to the source!?”

“Yeah, that’s about right.”

“And you’re telling me because...?”

“I promised you answers, didn’t I?”

“Be serious!”

“You... I know that sort of look in your eye; the whole look of wanting revenge.” He shook his head. “Call us kindred spirits. Of course for me, my chance of revenge is gone.”

“So you gave up.” Biting as always.

“Sure, let’s call it that.” Strangely, she didn’t demand him to elaborate.

“There’s one last thing that I need to ask. Do you know the God of War?”

“Personally served with him in the Crusades, but again I have no idea where he is.” Ragna then created a small red magic call sigil in front of him, but there was no reaction. “We made this secret frequency to stay in touch, but it hasn’t gone off a single time since we split up after the fighting ended. And he wouldn’t have left any traces to show where he is now, he’s too good for that.”

“And you know-?”

“That he’s a Gear. But I had bigger things to worry about and we couldn’t have taken out Justice back then without him or those powers.”

“I’m still going after him once I’m done with you.”

“Do whatever the hell you want, you’re his problem then... or he’s yours. Either way I’m out of it,” Ragna sighed. “So now what?”

“I hardly trust you after all of that; and that was a really shitty decision you gave me by telling me about the tournament’s true goal but saying that I couldn’t stop it... I can’t let you go.”

“I mean... I can bring you with me, but you’re not going to like how we’re going to have to do to make that happen.”

“Just tell me already. If you can get me past the tournament staff, then that’s all I’ll need.”

“Better; I can make it so that Bounty Hunters won’t be going after you either. You got any paper by chance?” As it turned out, Baiken did carry a couple of sheets on her, either for practicing her blade work or occasionally creating paper cranes. Casting a spell, Ragna caused the paper to suddenly be full of writing and contain a false wax seal on the bottom. It wouldn’t get them past any government buildings, but like the false bounty paper from early that day it would fool the average onlooker. “There we go, remember that you asked for this.”

“Ask for what dammit?” Baiken swore as she roughly snatched the paper back from his grasp. “Wait, this form… IS THIS A GOD DAMN MARRIAGE LICENSE!? BASTARD! IS THIS JUST A GAME TO YOU!?”

“Hey easy,” Ragna said as he raised his arms defensively while Baiken went for her katana. “Right now this is the only thing that will keep you out of the colonies to continue your search and it might just be able to get you past the Tournament security if we play it right. There’s been a rumor going around that some old Holy Order member found love with a Japanese woman and that he used his prestige from the war to get her out of the colony on special leave. Right now, that’s our best bet.”

Baiken growl was pretty intense, and it was clear to Ragna that her mind was raging as she had to decide if she was going to cut him down right now or not. “And once the tournament’s over?”

“Soon as you want to, you can rip that thing up. But now you’ll no longer need to keep hiding out when you use this thing, meaning you can get some supplies, take a shower, the works.” Baiken didn’t sheath her katana, in fact now she was putting the point right at his throat.

“Let me make this clear; the minute you try anything funny, I’ll cut off more than just your arm or eye,” she promised, somehow keeping her statement both hauntingly vague and explicitly clear.

“You don’t gotta worry; already had all the fun I needed last night.” Baiken rolled his eye and he couldn’t help, but smirk. “Now dear…”

“Piss off!”

“Charming. How are we going to get you past the guards that already saw us fighting?”

“…Lucky for us, I’m able to come up with a plan.”

Chapter Text

Duel XI: Scarred Warriors

“Plus ones aren’t allowed in this tournament,” the guard standing at the transport’s entrance scolded both the silver haired Reaper and the pink haired Samurai in front of them.

Thanks to Ragna’s apparent good nature, Baiken had finally managed to clean herself off and even repair her clothes to a much less ragged look. Ragna had commented that he barely recognized her after the shower… something she promptly threatened to cut his throat over. He’d brushed the comment aside as he offered her the meal he’d quickly prepared, and she’d made it clear that she didn’t trust him and fully intended to throw out whatever had been prepared by him.

…Which lasted about five seconds after she got a proper smell of his cooking before devouring it so fast and thoroughly there wasn’t a speck of food left in the blink of an eye. Out of obligation, he’d given her half of the food that he’d tried to save for himself and she’d eaten that just as quickly. Not a word of thanks either… he was starting to wonder just what he was doing here. And if sneaking her through was really worth keeping his promises.

“Wherever my husband goes, I go,” the samurai told the official harshly. Well, she could use the term as far as an act anyways.

“Husband? Don’t be daft. I just saw both of you fighting to the death a moment ago.” Apparently this one had been an official during the fighting as well. “How could you have gotten married since then and… more to the point; why?”

‘Asking the real questions here.’

“It’s because he beat me that we got married,” Baiken boasted. “What? You think I’m going to get stuck with any limp dick fighter swinging their shortsword around? No, I’m only interested in the strong ones and this one’s the strongest I found.” She got up right in the official's face. “How about it? You interested in taking him on and winning my hand?”

“N-Not really…” In spite of his coverings concealing his face, it was crystal clear to Ragna that the enigma’s gaze was going further south than it should.

“Hey hey, her eye’s further up,” he scolded, playing the part of a protective husband before bringing the papers out. “Former Holy Order member. This means that she’s got clearance.”

“That might be true for the rest of the world-” It was a rumor at best, making it all the clearer to Ragna that this guy wasn’t directly involved in any government. “-But that doesn’t mean anything when it comes to the tournament. One participant per round goes through.”

“And she won’t be fighting; I’ll be representing both of us for the collective grand prize wish,” Ragna insisted.

“Plus, I need to be on the lookout if this guy bites it and I need to find a replacement husband,” Baiken said bluntly. “Long as I play by your rules, I think I can go where I damn well please.” Her hand slowly when for her katana. “Or… do we have to fight you for that right?”

‘I thought you said you had a plan…’ Ragna had to bitterly accept that this was Baiken’s plan.

“You touch me and you’ll be kicked out of the…” The official paused as a magic sigil appeared next to them. A communication one, heavily encrypted. “One second.” He turned and walked a short distance to answer it. Despite Ragna’s exceptional hearing he could only hear his side of the conversation, the initiator of the call must have been using telepathy. “Sir? …Are you certain? But what’s one…? Are you sure you even want him here? He’s the Grim… N-N-No sir, th-that won’t be necessary.” Letting the communication end, he didn’t even have the chance to speak as Baiken brushed past him, clearly knowing that call had allowed them through under threat. Ragna didn’t have any pity to the stuttering staff member as he followed his false wife.

The Transport’s Guest Room

“Tch, this is all the accommodation they could give us after the first round? We should’ve walked,” Baiken complained as she opened the small mini-fridge. “Dammit! They couldn’t even get us decent sake! Just this cheap bear that’s probably flat!”

“You’re looking to get drunk on this flight?” Ragna asked. ‘Pretty sure you still don’t trust me.’

“Drunk or not, I could still cleave you in half,” she threatened as if she could read his thoughts. Putting the cheap beer back, she turned back to Ragna for answers, only to see that he was stealthily casting a spell. Immediately suspicious and going for her sword, she was unable to stop him before he finished the casting. “BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?”

“Something to make sure we can talk to each other without our hosts spying on us,” Ragna said neutrally as he eased back into his seat. “It’s obvious they’re keeping an eye on us in here; this room’s probably more bugged than a cheap motel.” He spoke from experience; he’d even gotten a quick paycheck for turning some of those perverts in. “What I just cast will let us talk to each other without worrying of them listening in.”

“Let’s say I believed you.” Sure he liked a woman that could stick to her guns, but this was becoming ridiculous. “Won’t they find it off that we’re talking with each other but they’re not hearing us?”

“They can still hear us just fine, just not what we’re saying. It’s something a lot more believable than your sub-par acting.”

“What was that asshole!?”

“I love you more than life itself; my dedication to you is as great as this blade is sharp! Look at it as proof!” the image of Baiken shouted on the monitor.

“Well obviously darling, I had to marry both the strongest and most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,’ Ragna answered cooly.

“…How are they saying all of this lovie-dovy crap while she’s scowling that?’ the official from outside the ship pondered as he continued to spy on the two. “This married couple is completely insane.”

“What I’m saying is that he wasn’t fooled for a second; the call he just got was with Testament, no doubt about it,” Ragna answered as he crossed his arms. “That monster wants me to stay in this tournament if they can manage it… might be making a play so that I get killed before I get to close to the truth. Or they want me to be there when Justice gets revived for… some reason.”

“It sounds like you have an idea of what that reason is and you’re keeping it a secret,” Baiken accused.

“Not much to get into honestly; just that they’re a petty piece of shit and that if this going to become personal, I’m not going keep playing nice for much longer,” he assured as he crossed his arms. “…Why are you after Justice and That Man anyways?”

After seeing how much I can’t trust you, you really think I’ll answer you that?” she answered with a roll of her good eye. “You’re impossible.”

“I’ve been called a lot, far from the harshest thing, even from you,” Ragna muttered before slumping in his seat and trying to get comfortable. “Stay on guard for the rest of the trip, but don’t do anything drastic. This’ll all be for nothing if you get me eliminated for no good reason.”

“How long do we have to talk until the enchantment wears off?”

“…You’d want to keep talking?” He wasn’t teasing her about it, he was too shocked that she’d ever want to. “Five minutes to be safe, didn’t cast it for very long. And if I try it again, they could pick up that something’s weird.”

“Then I’ll keep it brief; I know who your next opponent is.”

“…You mean when you took an accidental trip to the lady’s room on our way in?”

“I didn’t actually take a piss, so don’t lecture me about those cameras,” she crudely swore. “I did get into the head office, but I couldn’t look around much before they forced me out. All I really caught sight of was your name and what I assume is your opponent’s. Apparently, you’ll be facing off against Kliff.”

“…You’re sure?”

“That’s all I could see if I didn’t want to start a ruckus; be grateful I willing to share that much with you.”

“You wouldn’t want my thanks in the first place. You’re just doing this so I don’t get eliminated before you can get close enough to Justice when they get revived or That Man if he shows up.”

“Wow, look who’s getting smart,” she scoffed. Ragna only rolled his eyes as the two sat in silence. “…Is it Kliff Undersn? The old Holy Order leader?”

“More than likely. I heard from a fellow order member that Kliff was in this tournament; he probably doesn’t trust what they’re saying about a wish either and is here to investigate it,” he explained. “Honestly though, I’m actually a little relieved that I’m running into him. Now I can kick him out of the tournament so I won’t have to worry about him getting in over his head.”

“Is it some kind of respect for him, or are you just worried about an old man?” Baiken asked.

“More of the first,” Ragna answered simply. “Either way, I owe it to the rest of the old Holy Order to make sure he’s alive by the end of this.” She didn’t give him a vocal answer, though she did walk over and take the seat next to him, clearly the closest they had yet been. “Hmm?”

“I refuse to stand the entire trip. Get cuddly with me and I’ll kill you,” she threatened.

“…Just stay on your side,” he retorted with an obvious eyeroll. ‘Kliff, huh?’

-The Crusades-

“I’m sorry, a Captain?” Ragna could scarcely believe what he was being offered.

“Is the rank not high enough for your liking?” Kliff asked calmly, sitting behind the small slab of concrete he’d managed to construct as a small table as he enjoyed a warm cup of tea. “I suppose I could even go as far to offer you the position of Vice-Commander, but you may face some opposition from other high ranked officers in the Holy Order.”

“Not remotely what I meant! Right now, I’m the big opposition to the idea!” Ragna exclaimed. In contrast to his animated response, Kliff merely sipped his warm tea. “Fine, I’ll bite; why are you offering this to me all of sudden?”

“I feel that you should be recognized for your efforts; ever sense you’ve joined we’ve managed to score victory after victory in these Crusades. I’ve heard the entire Order speaking anxiously that we’ll be on Justice’s doorstep by the year’s end and after that we’ll finally have our chance at a peaceful future.” He gestured for Ragna to sit for a lengthy conversation, so (with some grumbling) the Reaper obliged and knelt on the other side of the slab. “And it’s not just your impressive number of enemy kills, we also have had a record low of casualties since you’ve joined. It used to be rare that we’d even go a few days without losing someone, but now we can manage a week at a time without having to so much as move a wounded member to the recovery zone.”

“That’s just me doing the job; and I’m not the only one responsible for that crap; Sol and Julia have both done their fair share as well,” he reminded with a scowl. “This isn’t just some title to reward me; what’s really going on?”

“…You don’t think I’m just an old man giving a worthy fighter the respect they deserve?”

“Not without an endgame in mind. What did Ky have to say when you told him?”

“He held… certain reservations, but he still agreed. Even before I told him what I’m about to tell you now.” Ragna held his breath. “I’m handing Ky a difficult role here; Head-Commander of the Order is not a fate that I would dare to push on anyone, but I have to face facts that he’ll be a much more competent leader than I ever would. The fact that worries me is that this Crusade is going to end with him… one way or another. To that end, I need him to be sure that he has a strong set of companions in his corner. You don’t need to be working him constantly, I’m just requesting that you work with the rest of the Order.”

“And I already am… more than Sol anyways.” He shrugged as he admitted that last part, before realizing that was the point. “You’re seeing if I can get him to play ball.”

“You, him, and Julia would be worth more than an entire platoon of Holy Order members. We’re so close to the end, but if we falter it’ll all be for naught. Either this final offensive will succeed… or the rest of humanity will have no other defenses as they’re hunted down at Justice’s command. We can’t afford to proceed with Sol being so… standoffish.”

“He’s an asshole,” Ragna put simply, leaving Kliff to cough. “Fine, but I don’t like the idea of having this authority. Being a Captain is… Well…”

“You won’t have to worry about that other matter,” the retiring commander promised, leading Ragna to pause. “Like I said, it’s only in name for the betterment of the brotherhood… and this is happening quite a while after the fact.”

:…Guess you’ve got me there,” he accepted. “All that’s left to do now is to make Sol see reason… don’t be surprised if we get an earthquake or two between now and dinner.”

“Whatever it takes, so long as it’s done.” He sighed. “So things are fair between us, would you like to hear my greatest secret?”

“…If you’re willing to tell me,” Ragna answered evenly, knowing that Kliff had to trust him a great deal to even admit to having a secret like this.

“There’s someone in this blasted war that I’m trying to save. Someone on the other side.” Ragna didn’t say anything as the head officer practically admitted to treason… like he was going to do anything about it. Kliff shook his head. “But that’s not for you to worry about; I’ll have my chance soon enough, I’ll see to it.”

“Then I’ll make sure you get there then,” the Reaper promised as he walked off. ‘How the hell am I supposed to coax Sol to go along with this?’

Later

“Fine.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Sol answered as he leaned against the rubble wall and puffed on a cig. Ragna had even put on his arm’s recorded version of Sheer Heart Attack to sooth him over, but even with the Gear Hunter’s favored Queen melodies in the background he’d agreed far too quickly. “It’s just you and Julia, right?”

“Yeah, that’s… that’s all Kliff wanted,” Ragna answered, still taken aback by Sol’s willingness. “I’m not expecting you to really follow any of my orders… or my lead.”

“I’ll do enough to where we can get by looking like an actual team,” Sol promised. “Probably more or less the same as we’re already doing, just more official.”

“…You’re starting to scare me, man.”

“Damn pain in the ass. If you gotta know… Ky’s getting close.”

“He’s always had his suspicions about you, but you think he’s starting to make some headway?”

“I know for certain he is. The way he looks at me lately… it’s like he’s looking at any other Gear right before he takes them apart, piece by piece.” Sol actually gave a shudder. “Long as I ‘work’ for you, he’ll be too focused managing the rest of the Order to worry. Aside from flat out leaving, this is my best move right now.”

“What’s keeping you here?” Ragna felt the need to ask, pushing things a little since Sol was already fairly giving in his answers.

“…There’s something the Holy Order’s holding onto that might just be the key to beating Justice, but I gotta bide my time until they let me near it. Until then, I just gotta make sure there’s still an Order to get it from.” Lacking specifics, but still a serious enough answer. “So… Captain then?”

“Don’t; makes me feel like a pirate,” the Reaper groaned.

“With the rules you’re breaking, might as well be one,” Sol scoffed with an actual grin. “But it’s not like Kliff could afford to Court Marshal you even if he found out. How do you think I’ve gotten away with all of my shit until now?”

“…He just let on that he knows,” Ragna admitted.

“Well, there you go then.”

“Does he know about you?”

“Yeah… and enough to stay quiet about it.” Sol got a loud crick out of his neck before he rose to a stand. “Patrol time?”

“Grab Julia; I’m on mess duty tonight,” Ragna ordered.

“Fat chance.”

“That’s my first order and you’re already like this? Give her a chance at least,” he tried again. Much sterner. Even at just the competitive scowling, their auras were starting to clash. Maybe there’d be some earthquakes like he’d warned.

“…Tell her to meet me a click south in five minutes. She’s late or falls behind, I’m kicking her ass back to you,” he threatened before brushing past the Reaper.

‘Kliff owes me for this… he owes me big time.’

Present Day

That certainly wasn’t what he was thinking now as he stared down his elderly commanding officer. Even Baiken had taken notice of her false husband’s less than confident attitude when she shouldn’t have cared either way. She could tell it wasn’t fighting ability; even if Kliff had decades of experience behind him and power enough to defend his position as a leader of the Holy Order, Ragna would still be the obvious stronger of the two.

“Is that pity I see in your eyes?” Kliff demanded gruffly. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“You’re… dying,” Ragna realized.

“Old age gets the best of all of us eventually,” he dismissed.

“You still shouldn’t be out here fighting,” Ragna tried again. “Especially not in your state.”

“No… I shouldn’t be.” Good, he at least had sense enough to do that. “But if you were in my position, would you just stand on the sidelines and watch? I think not.” Kliff then grabbed his massive Dragonslayer out of the ground. Even with the years that had passed, Ragna could barely see him shaking under its weight. “You had to leave so abruptly last time anyways. This will give me a good chance to see just how far you’ve come… and if can entrust you to bring my greatest mistake to its end. Prove to me that you can accomplish that much, and I’ll exit this stage willingly.”

“…Right,” Ragna promised with a nod before his expression darkened. “I’m sorry.”

(Cue Pride and Glory II)

“SAVE YOUR APOLOGIES! THIS IS A FIELD OF BATTLE!”

‘Old man’s got some stones to him,’ Baiken considered before looking to the titanic corpse of the Megadeath Gear in the distance. ‘He’d have to in order to take something like that down.’

With Ragna still showing lingering signs of hesitation, Kliff took the first offensive step and used his massive Dragonslayer to vault him into the air. While his massive slash from above was as straightforward as any attack could be, the sheer size of Kliff’s blade and the mastery it was wielded with would have left Ragna no chances to avoid it. Ragna’s own slash was just as straightforward and the clash between the two massive blades was enough to set off a massive tremor in the area. All of the tournament proctors struggled to stay standing under the force and many fell to the ground. Only Baiken managed to remain standing barely, having to shift her weight as the fight continued.

Kliff’s following upward slash was blocked by Ragna, but even still the titanic sword managed to launch him high into the air. Kliff chased after the former captain and the two exchanged a series of blows before either of them returned to the ground. It was clear that Kliff was still providing a strong offensive, but Ragna seemed more focused on defending himself than pressing any advantage. The old commander took notice of this and gathered power into his hand before unleashing a short blast from his palm. Once again Ragna guarded the attack, but even he had to lurch a touch under its force.

‘Wait, that’s not magic,’ Baiken internally realized after seeing the move. While there was certainly something ethereal about the move and it used many of the similar properties, it didn’t have the same signature that was commonly found in this world’s arcane arts. Add the fact that Kliff’s arm somehow looked stronger and younger when it was channeling and unleashing it and she already figured out what it was really based on. ‘Chi... But how is he able to use it? That’s an art more commonly found in the eastern countries.’

The Samurai’s revelations aside, Kliff was growing tired of Ragna’s continued passive fighting style… though he had to admit he was still a touch impressed. Back when the two had first met those years ago in the Holy War, Ragna had made it abundantly clear that he wouldn’t worry the details of his defenses so long as his offense could win him fights quickly. Now he was moving carefully, letting his opponent dictate the rhythm of the match before he made his own move. A much stricter calmness to him.  This was a problem for Kliff though; even with his Chi helping to maintain him, he couldn’t continue this fight for long.

Thrusting his blade forward and twisting, he advanced with a corkscrew attack lunge forward. Ragna retaliated with a powerful sword strike to the blade that sent his commanding officer flying back before rushing after him as he chose now as his moment to push the advantage. Darkness closing around his fist, Ragna lunging punch struck the flat of Kliff’s blade and forced the old man to stumble. He then followed the technique with its usual wave of darkness, but did not empower the move with his usual Soul Eater element. The goal was to knock Kliff out of the tournament, not to kill him. Unfortunately that was currently a fine line to walk with his current condition as even this weakened attack from Ragna did more damage than he was expecting as it crashed into his commanding officer… though it didn’t compare to the damage he’d just dealt to his pride.

“STILL TOO HESITANT!”

Using gravity to his advantage with a giant overhead slash, the old man managed to send Ragna all the way back and left him nearly on the other side of the arena. Kliff then let his Chi flow throughout his entire body as the years of his life literally faded away in real time. His beard shrank away and his body became taller, his longer messy hair and excited face had a total wild energy to it. Now when he thrust his palm out there was enough energy and control behind the blast that it actually resembled a golden dragon. Again Ragna had to bring out his Soul Eater ability as he cleaved through the attack, but unlike the other times he’d seen Kliff perform the technique he hadn’t degraded from the form and was even charging in after it without reverting.

Surrounded in the golden aura of his Chi, Kliff put his younger form to work as he cleaved at Ragna with the Dragonslayer sword in a single hand, the earthquakes only growing in intensity as his opponent fought to defend himself against his attacks. He had to fight hard with his chi to maintain this kind of pressure, but this new combat high he was finally allowing himself to feel in his prime could never be put into words. Unleashing another blast of Chi, Ragna instead dodged this one and the technique tore another massive chunk out of the corpse of the Gear behind him. Kliff then unleashed a flurry of blow like the blade in his hands was weightless and Ragna was forced to guard against every single one of them as their battle ground became further damaged.

“WHAT’S WRONG!?” the crazed version of Kliff demanded. “YOU’RE NOT EVEN FIGHTING BACK!”

“I don’t need to,” he answered calmly. “I just wanted to let you fight in your prime one final time.”

When Kliff went for his next overhead slash, Ragna didn’t bother to dodge the attack or even block it with his own blade. This time, he shot his hand out and actually managed to catch the massive weapon without struggle. Completely aghast, Kliff tried to push the blade through the Reaper’s grip with no avail as it didn’t even shake. He couldn’t keep this pressure for long, as his Chi finally gave out and he reverted. Back to minute elderly man drenched in his own sweat and gasping to breathe.

(End theme)

Struggle as he might, Kliff couldn’t pull his sword’s massive blade out of Ragna grasp as the Aramasa’s point was slowly positioned to his neck. Both warriors stared at each other’s eyes as they relived the lengthy history between them.

“Again… I’m sorry,” Ragna told him hollowly.

“…See this through to the end. I feel that then you might just earn forgiveness from us both.”

“…Fine.”

A flash of steel then followed, but it was nowhere near the two. Baiken, having left the match in the middle of the struggle, had finished cleaving apart the rifle and body of a nearby sniper. Even though he appeared as any other merc, it was clear this man was with the planning staff and was looking to secure a kill while the warriors were distracted. As both halves fell to the ground, Baiken held her blade’s handle in her mouth before she quickly wiped the blood from it using a spare cloth. She didn’t sheath it just yet though, as she could easily tell she was still surrounded.

“You want a chance at him, you’ll have to go through me first,” she threatened to the Tournament proctors that were acting more like assassins. “He won the game fair and square; play by your own damn rules.” She couldn’t help but smirk as they left, barely a shift in the air to anyone else but clear as day to her. ‘He’d better be grateful for this one.’

Elsewhere

A beaten giant of a man gave a pained groan as he sank to one knee. The cuts he was covered in were shallow and would obviously heal, but it was clear that his opponent was keeping it this way on purpose; it wouldn’t take much to sink their blade in a little further for the fatal blow. Aside from those minor injuries, he was also covered in both severe bruising and charred skin from the unarmed blows and Fire magic he’d been hit by (occasionally both at once).  Back in Zepp, he was considered the strongest man there; so strong that they’d considered him both a monster and a freak. Yet this man had blocked his blows with ease and had barely faltered under them. His bored disposition hadn’t changed during the entire fight and the single solid strike he had managed to land left him more annoyed than anything.

“All show and no go.” Again, their words might’ve been mocking if they weren’t so uninterested. “You’re done.”

“No… I can’t be…” Potemkin struggled to even get out as he panted heavily, trying to regain his tremendous strength. The slave collar he’d been forcefully outfitted with seemed heavier than ever now. “I won’t be...”

He could barely see the headbanded warrior move before feeling their bone shattering strike. Had the clear victor of the match been aiming for the chest he’d have obliterated Potemkin’s ribcage, but instead the blow landed squarely on the slave collar and left it to shatter. This destroyed not only the tracking and observational devices, but the multitude of explosives inside as well. If that attack hadn’t caused that damage perfectly the collar would’ve exploded killing them both, but instead the pieces just fell uselessly to the ground.

“Now use that freedom you just got and get lost,” Sol ordered before getting a massive crack out of his neck. ‘Just a few more rounds… just a few more and I’ll be right where they want me.’

Back with Ragna

“So what happens to you now?” Ragna asked Kliff after the elderly fighter had fixed himself a pot of tea. Baiken had also returned and was similarly enjoying a cup of the brew… more specifically she’d taken Ragna’s, but he wasn’t in the mood to challenge it. “You said you’d get off the stage and there’s your… condition to worry about.”

“I’ve still got some life left in me; I’m not nearly as frail as you’re thinking,” Kliff answered with a subdued chuckle. “After all of this time of solitude though… perhaps it’s time I’ve started making the rounds and visit some of the old Holy Order… or their families for those that didn’t make it through the war. I owe them that much; in fact, I should have done this sooner.”

“Most of us were just trying to get an early start on our new lives now that the world was finally at peace and the Gears were going dormant,” Ragna reminded.

“Something it seems you’ve managed to do quite well… If your wife is any clear indication.” Ragna had to worry that the elderly man’s snide remark would’ve brought Baiken’s katana out her sheath, but she was managing to react only with any annoyed wince. “It’s good to hear that you’ve finally settled down though; all those stories I’ve heard about you and all of those women you were bedding after the war for pleasure… You have quite the extraordinary vice.”

“What vice? I just happen to be sex positive,” Ragna defended with a grunt. “Or is this just some longwinded way of saying you wish I’d ditch the contraception and contributed to the next generation instead?”

“…If they were your children, I’m not quite sure I’d welcome such progeny.”

“Says you. I might make a damn good father.”

“…Doubted.” Even with her lips behind her cup, Ragna could tell Baiken was smirking at her own insult.

“If that’s what your partner is saying, clearly you have room for improvement.” Ragna had to fight hard to hold his tongue. “Shouldn’t you both be going soon?”

“Engine troubles with the ride; we’re stranded here a while longer,” he informed. “…What say I scrounge around for food and make us some stew? For old times’ sake.”

“Hah! That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a long while!” Kliff agreed. “I hope your skill hasn’t dulled since you’ve left your duty!”

“If anything it’s grown; she can’t deny liking it,” he bragged, jabbing a thumb at Baiken before walking off. He noticed that she wasn’t following after him now, leaving him well enough alone to stay back with Kliff.

…He had to hope the old man wouldn’t tell her too much.

“Now then… why are you really traveling with Ragna?” Kliff had waited until he was sure the Reaper was out of earshot.

“Because as of right now, he’s my best shot of getting close to That Man,” she responded testily. Gauging Kliff’s reaction, Ragna had already told him of the encounters with the creator of the Gears, so she wasn’t revealing anything new. “You really trust him after knowing who he’s manage to get the attention of?”

“I could hardly turn him away even knowing that; too much was at stake for the Holy Order. Next to Ky, Ragna was the most important member of the Order.”

“Might want to include Sol Badguy. The God of War,” Baiken remembered with a forming scowl.

“Yes, I know of Sol’s secret too… not that it seems I can say or do anything to change your mind on him either.”

“Not a chance; if I find him before That Man, then so be it,” she promised. “What I find weird is that even amongst the members of the Holy Order I’ve interrogated, I’ve heard more about him than I ever heard of the Grim Reaper. Took a lot to figure out that he and the growingly infamous mercenary Ragna the Bloodedge were the same person.”

“And that’s not by chance; until recently even the rumored Grim Reaper of the Order itself was seldom known. Most of who knew him were a select few who served alongside him… I still have no idea how those rumors got out, least of all that he was there at the final battle with Justice.”

“Where Sol Badguy managed to destroy it and end the century long war; I’m aware.” Baiken’s comment stunning Kliff into silence was telling her all she needed to know. “Ky Kiske may have been an impressive commander if the rumors are to be believed and he might have the Thunderseal, but that wouldn’t make him nearly strong enough. You couldn’t fight that thing as a human…you’d have to be nothing short of a pure monster.”

“…I suppose monster would be best description of the power that ended Justice,” Kliff answered.

“And you’re keeping that a secret so Kiske can take all of the credit and be poster boy that’ll give humanity hope after the Crusade,” Baiken figured. “Pretty ironic how such a Holy order would attempt something that deceitful, even if it’s for humanity’s benefit. But I guess you needed a hero and it wasn’t like Sol Badguy would be willing.

‘Being sworn to secrecy by these oaths,’ Kliff internally contemplated. “With how difficult it was to destroy Justice, it would be a crime if we did anything less than our utmost to provide a stable future for the whole of humanity.”

“Stable’s not the word I’d use; some of this tournament’s been especially bloody,” Baiken noted. “Heard a rumor that in the last round of the mass fights, Baldhead ended up killing so many people that he became even further deranged before fleeing the scene in pure madness. Now no one knows where that serial killer is.”

“Just retain what hope you’ve left to use; we’re still making great strides,” Kliff promised. “And if you’d continue to keep an eye on Ragna, that’d do much to put this old heart at ease.”

“Sorry, but I’m not his babysitter and I’m even less interested in becoming an actual wife,” Baiken strictly denied. ‘And once I’ve finally dealt with Sol Badguy and That Man… there’s no telling if I won’t have to personally make sure he never becomes a problem.’

Chapter Text

Duel XII: Time’s Cruelty

“All of this flying around and we’re just getting into one fight at a time?” Baiken complained as she and Ragna walked through the streets of old England. “Massive waste of time.”

“Not for them; they’re doing this to keep any outsiders away from the competition. They’re being careful that there aren’t any threats to their big plan… even if they’re only keeping me here because their boss wants to try and get a rematch.”

“You mean Testament? You never told me why he has it out for you so badly,” Baiken recounted.

“Does it matter?”

“No, but your hesitation says you’re hiding something,” she accused him.

“I have been more than giving with what I’ve been telling you, if anything it’s you that’s been holding out between…” He stopped as he caught sight of a newspaper in a nearby waste bin. It was already a few days old judging by the condition and the date.  Though the main topic was on the Holy Selection Tournament, Ragna was staring at one of the bolded subjects that read Major activity rumored from Zepp. Unknown cause. “…We need to find a paper stand.”

“Shouldn’t we get to your match?”

“We’ve got an hour; this won’t take that long,” Ragna insisted as he began walking at a much brisker pace down the roads. It didn’t take long for them to find their stand and it wasn’t that far from the match arena. The owner was an elderly man sitting at a table beside the stand, smoking on a cigar while holding a thermos of tea as he read the daily paper. “Need a copy of today’s paper.”

“Won’t be ready for the next while,” the old man insisted as he kept reading over the one in his hands. “Got this one early from a friend of mine in printing. Only took it because he wouldn’t shut up about this whole tournament nonsense otherwise. Now that there’s a round supposed to be hosted nearby, it’s all anyone ever talks about.” Finally looking up from his paper, his eyes narrowed at Ragna and Baiken. “You both a part of it?”

“I am, but that’s not what I’m looking for. Need to hear about the Zepp story,” Ragna insisted as he took several World Dollar bills out of his pocket. “That should be good for a few dozen papers, but I need to know what they’re saying now.”

“Man’s on a mission,” the owner said with a toothy smile as he took the money whilst handing Ragna the paper. “Page 11. Do me a favor and keep the info to yourself until the afternoon. I still need people to buy these things.”

“Not to worry, not some damn gossip,” Ragna insisted as he started reading over the info quickly. Baiken annoyingly had to peek around his shoulder to read anything and all she could get a glimpse of was suggestions of some potential governmental changes. “…So it finally happened.”

“You’ve got some major interests in what’s happening in the sky city?” the old man questioned as Ragna returned his paper.

“Just making sure an old client got what they paid for,” Ragna answered ominously before walking off, not bothering to explain a thing to Baiken just yet.

“If you’re still here in the afternoon, head for the lower pub of 7^th Street. Mention me to the severs and they’ll get you a meal at half off, just don’t ask for a drink discount,” the man said as he happily counted out his money. Ragna made note of that, but he needed to get through the Tournament first and… even before that he now had a call to make.

Later -Dark Alleyway-

“We’re going to be cutting your tournament run pretty close,” Baiken gruffly reminded as Ragna readied an enchantment. While she wasn’t as vocal in her threat, she still tensed at the casting as she readied herself in case Ragna had finally decided to turn against her. He didn’t and Baiken could barely make out the arcane circle around them. “A two-way sound blocker?”

“Conversation here should only be for my ears, but you’re likely to turn that blade against me if I don’t at least have you around to listen,” he explained. “You get one chance; keep quiet or I’ll do it for you.”

“Tch! Just try it, asshole.” Not impressed by her harsh language (plenty used to it and worse coming out of his own mouth) Ragna ignored her. He didn’t bring up a magic sigil to make a call, instead electing to bring a pen out of his pocket. “The hell is th-?”

SNAP!

With a brief snap of his fingers, Ragna’s pink hair companion was completely silenced. Not that she hadn’t tried to finish her sentence, but now no sound could escape from her mouth. The Reaper gave a deadpanned ‘I told you’ look as Baiken tried to mouth off to him with no results.

“Huh… maybe it’s easier to keep you like this.”

Silence wasn’t a factor with the gesture Baiken was making at him.

Smirking and living it up while he could, Ragna proceeded to click the pen several times in a row. Differing rhythm soon made it clear to Baiken that he was using morse code and at the end she discovered he’d been spelling out Rebellion. The pen then shook in his hand a few times before it started humming with electricity.

“You told me you’d broken your hidden communication device on your last assignment,” came a voice through the pen. It was scratchy, like you’d expect from a radio.

“Wasn’t lying. It broke, but I learned enough about forbidden tech in Zepp to repair it,” Ragna said clearly into the disguised communication device. “Saw from the paper that shit was going down over there, just thought I’d offer my congratulations.”

“You’re lucky you called me at a good time; if I’d been in a press conference, or a meeting, or…” the voice only sighed tiredly. “No… I don’t think I need to keep your involvement a secret any longer. You’ve more than played your part in a free and prosperous country.”

“Hey, I was just doing the groundwork and you made sure I was well paid for it. This was your big moment, Gabriel,” Ragna offered genuinely. Baiken vaguely remembered hearing the name back when some passing idiot had mentioned Zepp. Weren’t they a military leader of some renown? “Up until now I’ve kept Potemkin in the dark, just like you asked. He didn’t have any idea what the assignments were for… but he’s deserved to be put in the loop for a while now.”

“He’ll know soon; I’m on transport out of Zepp as we speak to give him the news myself,” Gabriel assured him.

“The way you say that, it sounds like he wasn’t in Zepp when your coup started,” Ragna noted.

“He wasn’t; he was participating in this so-called Holy Order Selection tournament. The upper class, rather Zepp’s former upper class, had insisted on sending him into the tournament in order to secure their wish. With almost all of their attention focused on either seeing Potemkin win or the infighting that resulted on what their winning wish would be, I had the perfect distraction to enact my plan. Potemkin may not have been here, but he more than played his role as the perfect distraction. There was hardly any bloodshed as the old government was overthrown. Soon we’ll finally have our proper democracy.”

“And you’ll be at the top as its first President.”

“Should the people vote me to that office, then yes.”

“After overthrowing the old guard and finally giving them the chance to cast their first vote, who else would they trust?” Ragna asked rhetorically. “Glad to hear everything went even better than what we planned for, but get Potemkin out of the tournament and fast. You’re probably smart enough to know that the promise of a wish is bullshit.”

“Yes, unlike my former superiors I could see that this was a blatant scheme, though I only have suspicions on what they’re hoping to accomplish.” Ragna decided to keep the info to himself for now. “As for Potemkin, you needn’t worry. He’s already been eliminated from the tournament.”

‘Potemkin got knocked out? There’s not a lot of people that could be anywhere close to capable of doing that,’ Ragna considered.

Author’s Note: Ignoring any Missing Link Tier Lists at least.

“Any idea who beat him?”

“An enigma of a man, but from the reports I can tell you he was dressed in red and carried a sword that looked like a lighter. A powerful flame magic user.”

“Sol…” Ragna grunted. At least now he had confirmation that his old partner was involved in the tournament. If anything, that took some of the pressure off him. “When you see Potemkin, tell him not to take the loss too hard. His opponent and I used to fight to draws all the time back in the Crusades and he even got the nickname The God of War. Big guy didn’t stand a chance.”

“You know he doesn’t take well to any form of pity; he’ll only insist on being better.” Ragna knew that much was true. “For now, focus on solving this false tournament mystery, I can’t expect the answers are anything good. When you’re done though… you may wish to consider visiting Zepp.”

“More work for me? Probably not the guy you’d want setting up a government,” Ragna informed honestly.

“There’s still more than enough of the messier business to be done… and if I’m elected, I may be persuaded to grant you citizenship,” Gabriel offered. “I wouldn’t speak of such possibilities lightly.”

“Right, I’ll get back to you after I save the world,” Ragna answered back humorlessly before the transmission cut. “So Zepp’s finally had a change in leadership. Took them long enough.” Feeling a strong shove to his shoulder, he realized that Baiken hadn’t been able to dispel his mute effect and was waiting for him to do it. “It’ll wear off eventually, just give it a bit.” Her continued scowl left him feeling a little cocky as he continued to enjoy the silence, so he decided to indulge her questions preemptively. “Everything you heard there basically speaks for itself; I’ve been secretly doing jobs for Gabriel in Zepp so he could overthrow the old hierarchy and end the two-tiered class system. Not that I’m saying I’m some sort of hero; got paid really damn well for what I did.”

She still gave him a moody, muted huff but she didn’t draw her blade. He was taking his wins where he could.

…Turns out, he’d need them.

Later -The Arena-

“Seems a little ridiculous that they’re doing this in front of a train station. We’re getting quite the crowd to watch us without any real barriers to keep them safe during the fight,” Ragna noted as he glanced around their setting. “Think it’s on purpose? Collecting sacrifices from bystanders when the competitors grow thin.”

Baiken gave him a reserved nod in agreement. Truth was that Ragna hadn’t cast the Mute to last this long so it had certainly worn off by now. Baiken just hadn’t tried using her voice… and like hell he was going to ruin a good thing while it lasted.

‘Heard them say that my opponent’s flight got delayed and they had to make a stop where I fought Kliff. If I’d known we were so close, then why the hell didn’t they keep me there and get another fight in?’ Not only were the tournament organizers corrupt, but they were sloppy as well. Headache inducing to Ragna for sure and that was if he didn’t already have Baiken to worry about. ‘…Gotta wonder why the hell I’m putting up with her for this long; she’s made it clear as day that she’s not going to drop her quest for revenge.’ The Reaper shook his head. ‘Sure as hell not for any kind of pleasure.’

“The next match is about to begin!” the cloaked organizer declared through a spell that amplified their voice. “Competitors Ragna the Bloodedge and Axl Low will face off in single elimination match! Fatal blows will be considered victory! …Though I ensure that our audience will be perfectly safe.”

‘Asshole’s lying through his teeth.’ Ragna muttered before giving Baiken a glance. She didn’t nod, but he knew that she’d picked up on his request to keep them in check. A conversation able to be said without words… he’d only managed that a few times. “Let’s get this over with. Where is this guy?”

“COMIN’ THROUGH! SORRY!” came an accented shout from the crowd. Baiken saw some of the bystanders shuffle out of the way as the second participant came barreling in. A young main with long blond hair, dress in a denim vest and shorts to match, and wrapping the top of his head in a red bandana. She caught sight of the two sickles in his pocket and rightly assumed he was a kusarigama user. “Got the hours wrong and thought I had the time for a pint before my match! Couldn’t even get a proper meal.”

Baiken rolled her good eye at the sight of him. How the hell was someone like this able to make it to the top 16 of the entire tournament? Even disregarding his unusual arrival, something about him could only be comparable to a fish out of water. Like he didn’t belong here and he clearly knew it. She turned to Ragna, fully expecting him to share in her view, but the Reaper looked frozen with shock.

‘The hell’s his problem?’ she thought, still not knowing she was able to vocalize her question.

“Uh bruv?” Axl said to Ragna, somehow carrying himself even more awkwardly now. “I got something on my face? You’ve been giving me a ten-meter stare since I got-”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” Baiken had never seen the Reaper show a rage like this as he stared down Axl, the blond taking a fearful step back for safety. Not bad for an intimidating aura (not that she would ever admit that to him). “After giving me that cryptic warning and vanishing… you show up here!?”

“N-No idea what you’re on about! I swear!” Axl tried fruitlessly. The tournament proctors were at least happy that Ragna looked like he was going to kill his opponent this time. “I’ve never seen you before! And with that sorta scowl I don’t think I’d be able to forget!”

“Don’t give me that bullshit! Last time you acted like you knew me and now you’re playing dumb!” Ragna demanded as he got his massive blade out. Axl seemed to stiffen as he saw the massive weapon he was set to be fighting against and fearfully went for his twin sickles. “Fine, I’ll beat the answers outta you if I have to!”

“I keep tellin’ ya! There’s nothing to beat outta me!”

“BULLSHIT!”

“Whenever you’re ready,” the fight proctor offered sadistically. Instead of watching the fight, Baiken had already decided she’d be keeping her eye on him, but now she had to wonder if Ragna wasn’t going to try and do the job for him.

‘This piece of work is here of all places?’ Ragna thought, thinking back to their first meeting before charging forward.

The Crusades

“Dammit, third night in a row of guard duty,” the Reaper grumbled to himself. “Guess I should just be happy it hasn’t started raining yet.”

Truthfully, the Reaper shouldn’t have been out here in the first place, nor should he have done this yesterday either. That latter one was a result of Sol being exceptionally moody (from his continued cigarette withdrawal Ragna guessed) and he’d had to step up and watch the camp while his partner wandered off into the nearby ruins of an old town. Today he was mostly volunteering in spite of his complaining. In a freak casting accident while practicing, the original lookout had been moved to the medical tent for the time being. Ky had said that he’d take over the duty since it happened under his watch, but Ragna had insisted that he already had too much to worry about.

Complaining about guard duty was fairly new to him as well. Usually he loved to spend the night to himself away from the rest of the Holy Order. Recently he’d even abided by Kliff’s wishes to involve himself in the group more and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying himself somewhat, but a break away to himself gave him time to gather his thoughts or work on his magic channeling. Lately though…

‘I’m barely an hour in,’ Ragna thought, judging the passage of time by the full moon’s position. Even if he didn’t have his well above average senses thanks to his training and the Azure Grimoire, the moonlight allowed him to see almost as well as in the day. ‘Least I don’t have to do this until morning, I’ll be able to get back before… Eh?’

It was faint, but he could hear the clashing of metal off in the distance. Turning his head, he could also see the slight glow of flames. Judging by the power he could feel from even this distance, Ragna could obviously tell that it was Sol casting the magic and in combat form… but why?

‘Is he just practicing himself? Done it before, but I didn’t think he was in the mood,’ the Reaper considered. ‘There’s no way he could be in an actual fight for his life; nothing could have gotten past me with the barriers and alarms I’ve set up.’

To reinforce the suspicions he had in his mind, it didn’t feel like Sol was fighting all that seriously if it had been an actual fight. A few minutes of watching later the flames seemed to die down and the clashing of metal ceased… only to come up again, but this time with a new participant.

‘Now Kliff’s involved too,’ he considered as he listened to the sounds of fighting. This potential fight lasted for twice as long. No raising the alarm either and Kliff was quick to do so, knowing it was better to inconvenience them instead of risking lives. ‘This is getting bizarre. Is everyone just in a fighting mood tonight or… Someone’s coming.’

His hand moved to grab his sword hilt, but he didn’t draw the blade just yet. Instead, he watched as the figure approached and waited for their first move. Finally seeing the silhouette, Ragna could tell that whoever was approaching wasn’t wearing the standard Holy Order uniform.

‘Human though… a refugee?’ Ragna guessed before the man came to a stop in front of him. Instead of the denim attire that Axl had worn in the future, now he was wearing full jeans, a red and blue long-sleeved shirt, and a much smaller vest. Ragna had no idea of what to make of the guy as he stared at him with a deer-in-the-headlights expression.

“You lost?” Ragna eventually demanded.

“You could say that… Thought it was weird seeing Chief playing dress up, but seeing you do it almost uncanny. Guess this is the time you specified, but you never said you were in the Order,” Axl said (though still nameless to Ragna at this time).

“The time I specified? Chief? What the hell are you going on about?”

“Right. This is only time number one as far as… well, the regular way of seein’ it too I guess,” Axl said as he scratched the back of his head.

‘I’m… just as lost as whenever I was talking to Rachel. And that’s saying something.’ “So why are you causing all this ruckus? You could get killed out here.”

“Yeah, got the impression when I got here,” Axl sighed. “And it’s not like I want to start trouble with anyone, but… I don’t got much of a choice.” Ragna was then forced to draw his blade as Axl took out his Kusarigama. “Like right now; nothing against you, Ragna.”

“Wait, you know my name?” Ragna demanded.

“Lemme go clear this up before you try to take my head off,” Axl insisted. “I’m trying to trigger a sort of jump. Now in the past it’s been random, but I think getting into fights gets it to trigger more often than not. Chief and old man couldn’t get it to start, but maybe I’ll have some better luck with you.”

Before Ragna could ask for any further clarification (or stop this with his fruitless voice of reason) Axl swung at him from a distance with his chained sickle. The Reaper had enough training to know there wasn’t a shred of bloodlust behind the enigma’s attacks. That didn’t change that the attack hit his blade hard as he went to block, any lack of power on Axl’s side easily made up for by his skill with manipulating the weapon. Ragna grunted as he felt his first worthwhile attack in quite a while, outside of his occasional fights with Sol. Growling, he tried to close the distance with a lunging Hell’s Fang but Axl swiped for his legs and he was forced to leap over the attack.

If anything, Axl had coaxed him into the right position as he shot out a second sickle up above which clashed with Ragna’s sword. That wasn’t the only clash as Ragna was attacked three additional times, his sword barely blocking Axl’s strikes before he finally landed behind him. Taking his own turn with a ranged attack, Ragna sent out a Dead Spike projectile while Axl leaped over and gave him distance to close in.

Turns out Axl was just as good at fighting in the air as he sent another twin sickle attack that Ragna yet again deflected with his sword. Instead of going for another ranged attack, Axl did a full body dive down that Ragna defended against with a barrier. He could’ve countered with an actual sword attack, but as enigmatic as he was being he didn’t want to seriously hurt Axl. Going for a blunt sided sword swing, Ragna missed as Axl leapt up and around him before sending a sickle thrust to his back which Ragna side stepped.

When Axl landed, Ragna came in with another Hell’s Fang lunge before he could dodge the attack yet again. This time instead of dodging, Axl blocked the attack with his chain and stopped Ragna attack dead. Axl then tried to envelop the Reaper with his surprising large bandana, but he saw the counter coming and leapt back before Axl could follow through. The sickle user then followed through with a lower attack, which Ragna guarded against before his mystery opponent then started swinging the weapon around like a helicopter blade striking his guard several times in quick succession.

As Axl went for yet another low attack, Ragna leapt into the air with his Gauntlet Hades technique, but Axl quickly recalled his attack, turned his weapon into a quarterstaff, and clashed with Ragna’s overhead attack to leave him airborne. A perfect counter to the move Ragna was showing for the first time… only for Ragna to follow up the second attack of Gauntlet Hades and causing Axl to stumble as his own attack sent him further up into the air. Diving down from above, the Reaper thought that he’d finally left Axl wide open, only to quickly discover that his opponent had a technique ready for this.

“HERE WE GO! SICKLE STORM!” Axl swept around him with an enflamed sickle and coated himself in fire. As Ragna was blasted with the flames, Axl then blasted the sickle out in front of him and struck Ragna cleanly back. The Reaper had raised his magical defenses, but he still felt the intense heat as he got to his feet to continue the contest.

Though he had managed to overcome most of the attack, his uniform still had few unfortunate singes in it. Nothing he couldn’t repair obviously, but it spoke to the skill and preparedness of his opponent. Axl wasn’t making a move and had even dropped his battle stance to think things over. Without any bloodlust coming from his opponent (not that Axl had even a drop of it in the first place) Ragna dropped his own stance and put its sword back in its proper place.

“Even if you didn’t bring out that scary scythe of yours, that’s still usually that’s enough to trigger it,” Axl sighed. “This whole jumping thing seems to have a mind all its own and…” Axl then paled. “Ah man, showing you that just now was probably what got you to beat the crap out of me in the tournament.”

“You’re not about to start making sense, are you?” the Reaper groaned.

“Not a whole lot I can tell you, except for… OH RIGHT! Your message! Maybe that’s why I’m still here!”

“Message? From who?”

“From you! But you never really gave me much context, or even told me who it’s about.” Now Ragna was really confused. “Anyways, your message is-”

MUCH Later

“So… thanks for paying for my food,” a roughed-up Axl said as their orders arrived and were set before them. Ragna had made three orders of fish and chips and while Baiken didn’t offer any rebuttal (in fact she was still staying silent), he got the feeling she wasn’t entirely opposed to the deep-fried food. …Plus, he was going to take the newsstand owner’s discount while he could get it.

“If you’re really thankful, you can start by giving me the answers I want,” Ragna reminded as the three began their lunches.

“You’re more informed in all of this than I am,” Axl admitted. “Like when we were fighting back there, it looked like you knew all of my own moves before I did. I couldn’t get a scratch on you and you kicked my ass up the entire street. Even my new move with the flames I tried to hit you with at the end there? You spotted that perfectly and countered like you’d made it yourself.”

‘Right, but last time he had the advantage when we fought,’ Ragna considered. ‘Either he’s a good actor, or… I don’t know what.’ “You’ve got some skill at least. You needed it to make it this far.”

“Oh, uh… I kinda got a couple of pointers from this guy I met in the first round of this whole Tournament thing. We both got enough points to move on to separate rounds, so I got him to give me some fighting tips by uh… borrowing some booze from nearby.”

“You’re a thei-?”

“Dealmaker, I’m a dealmaker!” Clearly this Axl fellow needed to beg or steal just to stay alive. “Guy was real gruff when he taught me, kept calling me an idiot but I learned a lot from the guy.”

“Did he have a plated headband that said Rock You on it?” the Reaper inquired.

“See? That’s what I mean when I keep saying you seem to know more about this than I do,” Axl retorted through a mouthful of fries. “Of course he wasn’t the only one with pointers. On the way over here, I met an old man with an oversized blade. Kliff he said his name was. Odd fellow and he kept looking at me in this weird way, but he also insisted on teaching me a thing or two about fighting.”

“So you do remember them,” the Reaper accused. Baiken still had yet to comment, only scowling as she scarfed down her fries.

“Remember them from what? I’m still having a hard time understanding what you’re getting at,” Axl tried again before sighing at the circles they were going in. “Maybe part of that wish can be used to set the record straight.”

“You’re… in the tournament for an actual wish?” Clearly he didn’t know everything that was going on if he still believed that promise.

“I know it sounds insane, but it’s the one chance I’ve got. You’re probably not going to believe me, but… I’m not from around this time period. Up until a while ago I’d never even heard of a Gear, the Crusades… any of this.”

“Uh…? What?”

“I’ve traveled through time, bruv. I’m supposed to be in the Year 1998.”

“Almost 200 years ago?” Ragna asked. Baiken rolled her eye at how absurd of an excuse this guy was making, but Ragna wasn’t so dismissive. ‘I… had to travel through the Boundary to get here. Across entire dimensions even… So time might not be out of the question… and in that case…’ “So I haven’t given you the message yet?”

“No idea there was message you wanted to give. Or to who.”

“To me… Eight years ago.” Now Baiken was starting to think both of them were crazy.

“You’re saying I’m gonna have to jump again?” Axl asked, completely deflated. “Do I at least get to go back home first? Got a girl waiting for me there.”

“I… I don’t think you do,” Ragna told him sadly.

“Damn it all…” Axl groaned. “I mean… I don’t know how I did it the first time… but you didn’t finish me off in the fight and you got me lunch. So yeah, I can take a message I guess.”

‘This is getting absurd,’ Baiken silently seethed as Ragna spoke to Axl what he needed to be told.

“An’ that’s it? Kind of cryptic.” Ragna didn’t say anything… and his complexion was darkening. “If… if ya got anything to add, you might as well.”

“I…”

“Are you really listening to this bullshit?” the samurai finally spoke before realizing. “Wait! I’VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK THIS WHOLE TIME!?”

“That’s not important right now,” Ragna said to her testily before turning to the blond. “Listen Axl, you need to tell me that-”

…A bright flash of light… and Axl was completely gone. His few uneaten fries were the only proof that he’d been at the table at all. Baiken was fiercely scanning around the restaurant with a sharp glare, but Ragna already knew it was fruitless. Axl wasn’t there anymore, not in that time…

‘God… Goddammit,’ he groaned. ‘I had the chance and…’

Back to the Past

“So, he just… ran off?”  Ky demanded.

“No. There was a weird flash and then they were gone. Didn’t seem like any kind of flashbang, but they were gone without a trace,” Ragna muttered. Axl had been gone the second he’d given Ragna the supposed message, like all that was keeping him here was his duty to deliver those words directly to him. “Way too strong and skilled to be any common civilian or even your run-of-the-mill Gear Hunter, but they’re sure as shit not from the Order.”

“You fought?”

“He wanted one. No intention to kill, but it he moved like he knew some of my moves from before… acted like he knew me too.” It almost sounded like a weak excuse, but then Kliff approached the two looking just as troubled as Ragna. “You met him too?”

“The intruder? I did.”

“Seemed to know you?”

“Indeed.”

“Fought like this was your third or fourth time going at it?”

“Only the second time actually, but yes.” At least Ragna didn’t have to worry about Ky’s suspicions now. “And we weren’t the only ones. Sol met him too if his ire filled grunts are of any merit.”

“Not a Gear, not a civilian, but not a Holy Order member either. What are we supposed to do?” Ky wasn’t just asking himself, he wanted suggestions.

“Like I said, the guy vanished without a trace. I don’t think he’s even around anymore. And even if he is, I doubt we’ve got much to worry about,” Ragna noted.

“Dismissive as Ragna is, he does have a point here. We’re too close to Justice to allow any distraction to our troop’s moral. If he becomes I problem, then we’ll deal with him swiftly,” Kliff ordered… before realizing that it wasn’t his command to give. “If…”

“I see no issues here,” Ky answered, confident in the council he’d been given.

“Great; since my patrol is over, I’m going to bed,” the Reaper insisted. “Who’s covering for me afterwards again?”

“Sol is.” Ragna was more than a little deflated at Kliff’s news. Most of the time it was a heated argument with his partner just to get them out for his patrol when he had his smokes. “I’ll inform him.”

“I owe you one,” Ragna answered as he headed for the tented area of the Holy Order.

With the additional supplies their group had earned, they’d finally managed to set up a fully organized tent grounds instead of always relying on ruins or having to swap through the few tents they had. The only member who didn’t have a tent by now was Sol, but everyone knew he was too stubborn to ever become a part of the encampment if he didn’t have to. Ragna was still among the last to get a tent, but only because he thought it’d be going to waste for… different reasons.

Though his steps were silent, he couldn’t help but give a cautious glance around his surroundings before he opened the flap to his tent. Finding he was truly alone, he opened the flap and crouched down to get inside. There wasn’t enough room to stand, so he had to stay crouching as he removed his Holy Order uniform and hung it up for tomorrow’s work and later repair. He was still careful to move quietly and carefully as he moved around the cot.

“You’re late.”

The groggy words didn’t even give him pause as he continued removing his clothing… There weren’t supposed to be tent mates… Certainly not of the opposite sex…. Definitely not with what they’d done in there, with only the outgoing silence spell providing either of them with any cover from raising suspicions… Yet here Julia was, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she rested in a cot meant for one.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” Ragna had already put up the sound barrier blockers, he didn’t have much to worry about.

“Never really fell asleep... I think everyone else’s nerves of being so close to Justice are finally getting to me,” the red head admitted, a little disappointed in herself at just the thought. "Before you showed up though, most of us were worried that we’d even get this far. Ky and Kliff might be strong, but I think we’d all be screwed if we ever lost Sol and he always looked ready to desert at any moment. Then you came in and we actually started making steady progress.”

“It’s not like the rest of you haven’t done your own amount of ass kicking; it’s thanks to the Order as a whole that we ever managed to get this far, not just a few of us.” After Ragna finished hanging up his uniform leaving the Reaper only in his briefs, he then climbed into the cot with Julia who was similarly only dressed in undergarments, the two lovers embracing as they finally settled in for the night. Being meant for one, the arrangements were a tight fit but that had never bothered them before.

“So? What actually kept you out there?” Julia calmed asked. “You’re troubled about something, I can tell by your face.”

“…We’re still trying to make sense of it. We had this intruder along the parameter that seemed to know Sol, Kliff, and myself, but… I had no damn idea who the guy was. Pretty tricky in a fight too, but it was clear that the guy wasn’t a member of the Order. Gone now anyways.”

“…And?”

“And what?”

“And what else are you leaving out? Something’s bothering you.” Aside from his own otherworldly origins, Ragna knew there wasn’t a secret he could keep from his other half (though he had every intention to eventually tell her).

“Before the guy vanished… he said something that caught me off guard. Told me it was a message from myself, but I have no damn idea what he meant by that.” The Reaper shook his head. “He said Look after Julia.”

“…So he knew who I was too?”

“I dunno, didn’t seem like it.” Ragna sighed. “…Guess it doesn’t really matter; like hell I’m letting anything happen to you.”

“That goes both ways, buster; like I’m letting you get yourself killed before the Crusade’s done,” Julia reminded, snuggling closer. “We’ve already made a serious commitment, promising our lives to each other like that; I’m here to make sure you keep that promise.”

“Yeah, and I’ll stay by your side until the end,” Ragna said simply, giving her forehead a gentle kiss while trying to settle in for the night.

…He couldn’t sleep with his mind plagued with doubts. It would become poison that would soon cause him unimaginable grief.

Chapter Text

Duel XIII: Those Lies Within

“How many times do I have to tell you; I don’t need a damn babysitter,” Julia glowered at Ragna, her eyes sharply scowling behind her glass frames.

“That’s not what everyone else is saying, and only a few of them aren’t telling me that you need to get sent off the frontlines. It’s a miracle that Ky and Kliff still want to take a chance with you on the battlefield after how reckless you’ve been.” Ragna didn’t like this idea any more than Julia did, but couldn’t she at least make things a little easier for him? “And who’s the one that’s always saving your ass in the first place?”

“It’s hardly always; you’ve only saved me twice since… that happened.”

That referred to Testament’s attack that had resulted in the death of her squadron and more importantly her brother Matt, the only family she’d had. Even Tristan, who had only lost his arms to the fighting had eventually expired in the medical tent, lost in an agonizing curse left behind the enemy Reaper that had lasted for hours… Julia was dreading the impending responsibility of revealing his fate to their wife. Testament hadn’t revealed themselves since that first attack… which was the only reason why Julia still seemed to have any of her sanity left.

“Twice that you noticed,” Ragna corrected, bringing their conversation back to the present. “We’ve been in battle five times and I’ve had to cover your ass at least seven occasions. You’re leaving yourself too damn open on the battlefield and that’s usually a death sentence.”

“Usually, but I’m still ali…” Julia couldn’t even continue to argue back against Ragna. Even in the headspace she was still in, she could recognize that she wouldn’t have made it this far without him watching out for her. “…And everyone called you the reckless one.”

“Don’t worry; I’m not saying that you’ll be playing it safe when you’re out there with me; plenty of Gears out there to kill,” Ragna assured, but then smirked. “In fact, now I’m going to be so reckless that you’ll have no choice but to act like the sane one between us and watch my back.”

“Like you’ll have to worry about anyone watching your back. Even if you weren’t our own one-man army; you’ve already got Sol working with you so I might be the most protected one on the battlefield.”

“Actually it’s just going to be me; Sol refused outright to work with both of us,” Ragna admitted.

“…So he has a problem with me?” she asked nervously. Even if Sol was an official member of the Holy Order, tensions could still be high with him and he did little to ease anyone’s fears.

“Nah, I think the only one he ever seems to have a problem with is Ky and might be more one-sided on blondie’s part. Everyone else just pisses him of in general and I guess I do that the least of them.” He wasn’t wrong, but Julia still seemed hesitant. Sighing, Ragna decided to take a stab at being kinder since it was either this or force her off the battlefield. “Honestly I’d rather take you with me than him.”

“…You’d rather have me watching your back than the only one in the Order who’s as equally terrifying as you?”

“Well… you don’t seem scared of me,” Ragna reminded with a small smile. “And I kinda need this; Sol’s a good Gear Hunter, but he bums me the hell out. Did you know that the only time he comes even close to smiling is when I’m playing that damned stupid Queen record on my arm? Getting away from playing that so damn often already makes it worth it.”

“Guess this will have to work then,” Julia said, offering her hand. “Partners?”

“Partners,” Ragna agreed as he grabbed her hand and shook it.

A Week Later

“This is why I never see you at dinner with the rest of us,” Julia realized. Ragna had been sitting alone in the ruins of an old building with a small makeshift pot of stew cooking on a fireplace. He’d wanted to keep this private and he fought the urge to turn and glare at his partner. “And here I thought you were just as anti-social as Sol.”

“Who says I’m not? But really I’m just here ‘cause I can’t stand the food they serve,” he argued before chopping up a small carrot and throwing it into the pot.

“Where’d you find that?” Julia asked, but the answer came to her even through Ragna’s silence. “You’re stealing from our supplies?”

“Not stealing; food would be for me either way. And all I took would be for one person anyways so it’s not like I’m giving myself a bigger share.” Even with this explanation, she was still glaring daggers at him. “…Also I already got permission from Kliff. He was fine so long as I didn’t take too much.”

“Next time lead with that,” she ordered, before taking a seat next to him.

“…Like I said, there’s only enough for me in here. You’ll have to eat later with the rest of the Order,” Ragna denied.

“I didn’t even start to ask,” the spearwoman defended herself. It was then that she noticed a small series of pouches beside the pot. “What are those?”

“Couple of herbs I managed to come across, but they’re a really rare find. I have to using them sparingly but they make all the difference,” Ragna answered before he gave the pot another stir. “Another minute and I’ll be dining like a king.”

“Where’d you learn to do this? I know most people needed to learn to cook for themselves out of necessity, but you’re taking it an almost professional level.”

“You haven’t even tasted it.”

“And I can still tell, just like how I can tell you’re dodging the question.”

“Friggen’… Fine, I learned it from my old teacher. Same guy who taught me how to use a sword and Ars… I mean the guy that helped me with my arm.” Ragna knew he was probably leaving himself open to scrutiny with a mistake like that, but Julia didn’t comment on that.

“This master of yours… is he still around?” she asked gently.

“…No,” Ragna answered neutrally. ‘Technically the truth, but he was never around here in the first place.’ Giving the soup its final stir, he took a small spoonful and tested his creation. Right now it was the best he’d be able to do with so little, so he gave a small nod before taking another spoonful and offering it to his partner. “Want a taste?”

“…You know that counts as an indirect kiss, right?” she asked as she adjusted her glasses.

“Really? You’re gonna be this childish about this?” he asked with an eyebrow raised. “Whatever, more stew for-” Grabbing his hand before he could have it for himself, she quickly took the spoonful for herself. The Reaper couldn’t help but smirk slightly as she glared at him, which only grew into a large grin as the flavors set in and she realized what she was eating. “Good, huh?”

“Th… that’s probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” she answered in shock. Considering she’d lived her entire life in the Crusades it wasn’t the biggest compliment, but Ragna could tell she meant it with all of her heart. And his own heart didn’t have it in him to say no as she eyed the rest of the pot.

“…All yours, I’ll make my own later. Think of it the icing on the cake for kicking so much ass with me,” he told her, starting to rise so he could gather more ingredients. Julia stopped him though, grabbing his arm and keeping him from leaving. “What is it now?”

“…They’re all wrong about you.” She’d said it so seriously, without even looking at him.

“In what regard?” he asked as he retook his seat next to her.

“You’re… we don’t have a reason to fear you,” she told him.

“Aren’t people just afraid of me because of all my power? Like they are with Sol?”

“That’s what it used to be, but lately the Order has realized that too much of your power is an unknown. They’re wondering if it’s some kind of forbidden art or worse. Lately you’ve been so reclusive, that the only reason that they’re not looking at you the same way they do Sol is because I’m with you.” She hesitated. “…And since I’m always with you, they’ve already started asking questions.”

“Like what?”

“If we can trust you, if you’re really on side, just stuff like that. And I tell them that we can and you are,” she assured him.

“Do you mean it?” Honestly, Ragna wouldn’t be too offended if she said she couldn’t but Julia nodded without hesitation.

“I can trust my partner; so I’ll look out for him even when no one else thinks they can.” Considering Ragna had been sent here when he was the most wanted man in the world, this level of companionship was extremely foreign to him. “Though… I can think of a way that you’ll easily be able to earn everyone else’s trust.”

“Even Ky’s?”

“Okay, almost everyone else’s trust.” she granted. “You can start to cook for them.”

“…You’re just doing this so you’ll get more of my cooking on the regular,” Ragna accused.

“That’s not the only reason.” Ragna had a good suspicion of why she’d included the word only. “Think about it; cooking this good is already enough to put just about anyone in a much better mood and in the state we’re in things that make us happy is a damned small list. If you’re the favorite part of everyone’s day, there’s no way they could stay as worried about you as they are now.”

“I dunno; it’d be a lot of work.”

“Just do what you’re doing now on a larger scale. Kliff’s already letting you use the resources for your own cooking, so it’s not like you’d be responsible for finding ingredients.”

“What about spices? What we got here is barely enough for me.”

“Then we’ll start a garden of potted plants that we can bring with us on the convoy. We can grow more herbs, some vegetables; it can be a community effort.”

“We’re in the middle of a war; you really think you can convince everyone else to put that kind of work forward when every day’s a fight just to survive?”

“I don’t need to convince them; you do. Make one meal for them and they’ll all join in the effort,” she assured him before smirking. “Provided your cooking is good enough.”

“You’re trying to gaslight me into doing this? That’s low,” Ragna condemned.

“If you’re not good enough as a cook to try it, just say so.” Now she was taunting him. Part of Ragna was telling him to start trying some of Sol’s scare tactics… but the rest of his pride wouldn’t shut up.

“Fine; but you’re helping me find the rest of the ingredients before we try it out,” he insisted. Julia’s smile only grew as she nodded. ‘Ah, what the hell am I worried about. Good as I am at cooking, there’s no way they’d let it take off like that.’

A Month Later

“How is it that my tent was the only one destroyed in the Gears’ sneak attack? I mean I didn’t have anything inside it, but how’s my luck that damn bad?” Ragna swore as he paced around the front of the quarter master’s desk. Luckily there’d only been minor injuries that had resulted in the attack, but it shouldn’t have taken him this long to get another tent. “Well?”

“Sorry, but like I keep saying there’s nothing else back here,” Vernon insisted. “You could ask Sol to use his; don’t think I’ve seen him sleep in it once since the tents were issued.”

“Who’s do you think I’ve been using up until now? I never got a proper issued one,” Ragna grumbled. “How long’s it going to take to get me a new one?”

“Two visits from the convoy, since we’ll need that first one to even place the order. And even then we’d have to hope that they have the stock,” Vernon explained hesitantly. “Maybe try trading off with another Order member until you get a new one? At least s few people will be out on patrols, so you can use their tents.”

“That just means that every time someone comes back from patrol I’ll have to change tents to another one,” Ragna countered before sighing. “Bitching about it here isn’t going to do anything for me; just get that order in will ya?”

“Next chance I get. And you might as well ask around; I’m sure anyone would be happy to help our beloved chef,” Vernon continued to suggest.

“I dunno if I’m beloved; more like I’m more tolerated for my food,” Ragna dismissed.

Despite his standoffish stance, Julia’s plan had been perfect. That one meal was all it had taken to get the rest of the order on board with helping make sure he had everything he needed to cook. Proper ingredients, ways to preserve them, even Ky had readily agreed and was helping with taking care of the herbal plants. Not only were people thinking of him much more fondly, but the attitude and moral of the encampment had improved drastically.

…Aside from Sol, but Ragna wasn’t going to hold his breath.

“So, did you get your tent situation sorted?” he heard Julia ask as she came up beside him.

“Not even close. Whole damn war could be over before I sleep under a-” As if the world just decided he’d had it too good lately, there was a crack of lightning before it started raining… and Ragna could tell that this wasn’t one of those that would be over in a few minutes; they were in for a real storm that night. “…Forget it, I’m heading to the abandoned drug store. Last I checked there were only a couple of holes in the ceiling.”

“I’m pretty sure I saw Sol in there while I was out on patrol, so you’d have to ask if he’d share,” she warned. Ragna wasn’t in the mood to force Sol out (it’d be a dick move anyways), so he only let out a low groan. Julia seemed to glance around the immediate area to make sure no one else was nearby. “Why not just take my tent?”

“Because you’re coming back from patrol now. Where are you going to sleep?” Ragna rhetorically asked. Rhetorically because he hadn’t been expecting an answer, but… there was something in Julia’s silence. “Uh…”

“Wipe that look off your face. I’m not offering you that,” she said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Stay on your side and no funny business; otherwise you’re out in the rain.”

“Those tent are pretty damn small; not going to get much distance from me,” Ragna felt the need to elaborate.

“Then you better be careful.”

Under any other circumstance, Ragna would’ve turned her down… but it was really pouring now and his hair was starting to droop like a silver mop. Reluctantly, he nodded as Julia showed the way to her tent. Opening the flap (once she ensured again they’d be left alone) Ragna got a good look at the space situation and it was as bad as he’d feared. Even if Julia was perfectly organized, there just wouldn’t be much room for either of them. The only thing they could do to keep this from being intimate was sleep with their backs to each other.

“Last chance to back out,” the Reaper tried one final time. Julia didn’t hesitate as she got into the tent, moved what she could around, and patted the cleared space on her cot. With another crack of lightning in the distance, Ragna eventually conceded and took the space he’d been offered. “You’re fearless.”

“Oh no, I’m actually completely terrified,” Julia answered. Ragna stiffened. “I’m so worried that you’re going to fall head over heels for me and won’t ever be able to let go.”

“…Tch. Keep dreaming.”

The Present

‘…It has to be some kinda curse for me to dream about my past like that. I shouldn’t start doing that until I’m an old man.’

Pleasant as Ragna’s dreams had been, they couldn’t stay that way once he’d awoken and had to face the harsh truth of reality. Now they were just a grim reminder… made worse as he’d just screwed up the only chance he’d ever have to fix his past. If only he had…

‘It’s the damn cards you dealt yourself asshole…’ he reminded himself irately. Now he was really in it; his mind even considering for a fraction of a second that maybe there would be a wish for him at the end of all this as advertised. ‘I can’t get a do over… I don’t deserve one.’

“Do you usually wake up this pissed?” Baiken asked from beside him.

“…I get the feeling you do it way more than I do,” Ragna answered, not even attempting to be snarky with the one-eyed Samurai.

Returning his thoughts to the present, the two were sitting in their guest quarters aboard a transport ship; the same one that would be transporting him to the quarter finals. She was seated right next to him on the shared couch, but in spite of their closeness there was nothing resembling cuddling between the two.

“So who’s Julia?” Great; now Ragna was worried if he’d been talking in his sleep. “Back at the pub, you told that supposed time traveler to give the past you a message; Save Julia.”

“It was Look after Julia,” Ragna irately corrected. He should know it, considering those words had never left his head since the first time he’d heard them. “And I don’t want to talk about her.”

“Why? Is she working for That Man?” Clearly it was an accusation to make him mad enough to either confirm her suspicions or give her the actual answer. Ragna didn’t care enough to stop him from doing so.

“No, she was my… partner, back in the Crusades,” he struggled to say.

“I thought you said that was Sol Badguy,” Baiken reminded, likely poking holes in his story since she still didn’t trust him.

“It was supposed to be a team made up of the three of us, but Sol hated the idea of working with her. Guess it got on his nerves that she was one of the few people that learned to not be afraid of him. Usually Sol would be on one end of our designated battlefield while Julia and I took the other end, eventually meeting in the middle. Killed a lot of Gears that way.”

“I’ll bet you did.” For once Baiken didn’t sound as aggressive, likely because if there was one thing she approved of, it was eradicating those monsters. “But you haven’t talked about her before now; what happened to her?”

“…It was War. One bad mistake and that’s it; doesn’t matter how damn strong you think you are,” Ragna answered, the growl behind his words was mostly aimed at himself. “And I was the one responsible for getting her killed. If I hadn’t made that bad call…”

Baiken didn’t answer immediately, used enough to her own loss to let him have this moment… but just that moment. Judging him by his facial expression, slight differences in breathing, and even just the aura around him let Baiken read him like a book.

“She wasn’t just a partner to you; you loved her.”

“…Yeah… feel good being right about something?” the Reaper answered with a scowl and tone that made it clear that he wanted to end it.

“So you what; go around sleeping like a manwhore so you can forget about her?”

“That’s not what I- Why do you even care?” he vented harshly.

“I don’t, but clearly I’m at least in the ballpark if you’re getting so heated about this,” she answered.

Ragna about to justify himself; remind her that both sides had consented, that he’d been up front that they were only going to be one-night stands, that he’d always be there for his partners when he woke up… but in the end he didn’t say anything, only moodily crossing his arms. There was some truth in that; he’d been running this whole time. Either by burying himself in Mercenary work or finding a nightly companion when that wasn’t available. Just to have some chance of escaping his own failure.

“I got some info on your next fight, but it’s not much,” she said after a moment. “I can’t say who it is, but these organizers are more determined than usual hoping that you’ll kill your opponent.” No answer from the Reaper. “I’ll keep my eye out for them should they try anything. Just focus on winning and getting us closer to their actual plan.” Only a nod.

Even though it was probably better to sleep the rest of their flight, Ragna couldn’t trust his dreams after what he’d just gone through.

United States

Ragna didn’t have any damn idea where in the states they even were now. There had been an announcement, but all he knew was that now he’d found himself in a strange Japanese styled temple. Maybe part of the old city’s Asia themed town. Whatever it was, the tournament organizers seemed to have more than a little disdain for this place as they sneered at the features and unprofessionally knocked over whatever objects they passed by.

‘Probably want to blow his place to smithereens as soon as my match is over,’ Ragna thought, but he wasn’t in much of a position to deny what they wanted. He was in pretty hot water with the officials already and if he pushed his luck any further they’d threaten to kick him out of the tournament. It didn’t matter how much certain parties would want him to stay… there was still a line he had to tow and he needed to save crossing it for when it meant saving lives.

Speaking of his opponent, there were a few sounds coming from behind one of the closed doors indicating that they were just about here. Baiken had warned him that these proctors would have it out for him right from the start so she was taking her own precautions. Ragna wondered if she really had a good heart or if this was just another way of interfering with the tournament's true goals.

“Looks like your opponent’s finally arrived,” the lead proctor spat with bile. “Try to make sure someone actually dies this time.” They weren’t even hiding it at this point, probably both a mixture of their hatred for this individual along with Ragna’s own merciful treatment. “For the quarter finals, participant Ragna will be tasked with fighting…” They seethed as they exhaled through their nostrils. “Chipp Zan-”

The doors burst open (likely before the intended cue) and the individual know as Chipp stepped forward. He had spiky silver hair not unlike Ragna’s own and two red crimson eyes. He wore a black sleeveless vest, white pants, and black combat boots. His weapon was a curved arm length blade that extended out of a wristband.

…He was bleeding profusely and fell over after that one single step.

“Oh, sorry about that,’ came a woman’s taunting voice as a new individual stepped forward. She was scantily clad in a red leather skirt and blouse that exposed her midriff while showing off her cleavage, red boots, and a similarly made red witch’s hat as an accessory. Her raven black hair was cut short and she had heterochromia eyes just like Ragna did. Stepping forward, she had an air of owning the place. “Thought I’d play with they the guy for little bit and warm him up for the match. His little five minutes of heaven barely lasted five seconds.”

Ragna sent a quick side-eye to Baiken who returned with a subtle nod, watching to see if the proctors were going to take advantage of the chance they’d been given. With as rough of shape he was in, she wasn’t sure how long this guy was going to be able to hold on anyways… and the proctor certainly didn’t seem to mind.

“Our apologies, Miss…?”

“Call me I-No, handsome,” the intruder said, causing the proctor to shiver. If Ragna wasn’t so on guard, he’d have rolled his eyes as the guy was so easily won over. “And what do you have to be sorry about? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“I…” It took the man a second to recollect himself. “I’m afraid that this is a private event, ma’am. We can’t just have anyone participate in the tournament who wasn’t already registered.”

“Is that so? Well I might be a bit biased, but I think I’ve already earned my registration spot in this little contest. I just beat the crap out of the mess you see there, doesn’t that mean his place is mine in this little bloodbath?” In an odd way, she actually had a point to all of it. “And what’s even better? I won’t even try to hold anything back against this guy; he’s dead on the spot if he underestimates me.” She smirked. “And I’ll even give him plenty of reason to kill me now.”

“…Then we don’t have any objections,” the proctor said with a smile aimed at Ragna, clearly hoping that this would be the Reaper’s end. “I’ll give the signal for the fight to begin.”

(Cue Guilty Gear X2: Kage Matsuri)

‘Who the hell is she?” Ragna thought, getting a feeling from this woman that he’d never had before. This was made all the stranger as with a flick of her wrist, a teal guitar suddenly appeared in her hands. ‘…Is she going to fight with that?’

Indeed she was, as I-No took the first move before the proctor had even called for the fight’s start. Sliding low along the group at incredible speed, Ragna barely had enough time out to get his sword ready to block. He was struck with a bizarre type of sound magic that sprang up from the ground as a sharp point of energy. He was barely able to guard against the attack and quickly transitioned into a heavy swing from his sword. The guitar must’ve been magic of some kind because it managed to stay together against the heavy blow and I-No didn’t even stagger back under the force.

“HARDER~!” I-No insisted in a rather salacious tone.

“You’re really testing me with these damned innuendos!” Ragna irately shouted before sweeping I-No’s legs while in the blade… weapon lock. I-No had let herself be knocked off her feet though, landing on her guitar as it hovered in the air like a witch’s broom before rushing her out of the way of Ragna’s helmsplitter. “DEAD SPIKE!”

Ragna’s dark projectile chased after the witch (his first time in a while needing to use these techniques), but I-No merely flipped off of her guitar before crushing the Black Beast head and swinging again to match Ragna’s following lunge. The shockwave generated was enough to cause their proctors to stumble, but I-No wasn’t even getting started. A microphone stand appeared in front of her out of nowhere much like the guitar had, so she took a hand off the struggle and swung it underhandedly at Ragna who had to leap back to avoid it. Smiling sadistically, she then threw the object at him with great force and Ragna barely cleaved it in half. Even then, the two halves blew massive and clean holes in the wall behind him.

I-No’s hat then took its own action, opening in the front to show a mouth that blasted out a projectile attack in the shape of a green musical note. Silly as the attack might’ve looked, Ragna knew that he needed to avoid it with the sheer magic power it contained. His attempt to dash to the side was thwarted as I-No seemed to be able to cause the note to chase after him with decent precision. Taking the more straightforward approach, Ragna then coated his sword in dark flames before slashing to destroy the projectile and leave no energy remaining for an explosion.

‘This chick’s already giving him a lot more trouble than I thought,’ Baiken considered, carefully watching the fight. ‘I’ve never heard of this I-No person before, but her strength would have to be considered inhuman to give Ragna this much trouble. Is… she a Gear too? Or is she something else entirely?’

I-No then gave a more unusual approach, coming at Ragna from above by riding her guitar like a witch’s broom before trying to smash it overhead. Even though Ragna had blocked the initial strike with perfect timing, the magic sound shockwave that resulted from the impact was fierce and left several shallow cuts along his body. The proctors were only too eager to watch this as I-No delivered on her promise in this bloodsport. Unleashing a heavy uppercut with his free fist, Ragna succeeded in knocking into the air at supersonic speeds… but she expertly landed on the ceiling before flipping back down to ground level.

“Think you’ve got something on you there,” she taunted, using the fact that she’d gotten first blood to get to him. She had a small forming welt on her cheek from Ragna’s punch but clearly wasn’t bothered by it. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one covered in your fluids by the end of this?”

“Now you’re just being gross!” Ragna shouted before throwing out another Dead Spike. This time I-No countered it by sending out a quick bolt of sound magic with a guitar strum, but the projectile had only been cover for his real assault. “Hell’s Fang!”

“At least you’re making noise! I love a man that shouts his head off while he does his dirty work!” I-No exclaimed as she blocked Ragna’s strike with her guitar.

At this point if they’d been really married, Baiken might’ve taken offense to all the innuendos that were being used on her husband. She didn’t, moreso just finding them weird. Ragna was getting annoyed with them, but kept a calm enough head as I-No missed her guitar swing thanks to his duck. Right before bringing up the dark wave of his usual Hell’s Fang follow-up that hit her dead on and blasted her back. It didn’t hold its normal Soul Eater properties however, Ragna was more focused on the power of the attack. He wanted answers, not a dead body.

I-No once again had a perfect landing after Ragna’s attack, this time on the far wall. Kicking off the wall, she spun into an aerial dive attack that was strong enough to clash with Ragna’s sword. His was the stronger attack, however, and sent her up into the air off balance. He transformed his blade into its scythe form and leapt up to finish the fight, but I-No had somehow recovered when it shouldn’t have been possible.

With a massive blast of sound magic that came from both her guitar and hat, Ragna was struck with the full force and suffered massive damage. Slamming his back into the wall, Ragna quickly regathered himself as his weapon returned to sword mode. Briefly glancing at his arm, he weighed his options and decided that he’d power through without unleashing his last card.

At least if I-No hadn’t decided to end the fight there. By swinging her guitar over her shoulder like she was sheathing a sword.

(End fight)

“Guess that’s that then,” she said with a shrug. “Couldn’t find it in yourself to go all out?”

“…Look who’s talking,” Ragna accused. He got a smile out of that at least.

“In that case I forfeit this match. If we take this any further I’ll have to get tested.”

“What are you doing!? I thought you said that you were ready to have blood spilled!” the proctor shouted at I-NO. Apparently his infatuation with her could only be taken so far.

“Obviously I was lying to you right from the start. Amazingly, short d$*ks like you could be pulled along fir quite a while it seems,” she taunted, but still seemed disappointed.

‘Wait,’ Ragna considered. ‘Was her words actually bleeped out there?’

“And you kept your eyes on me for so long that your other prize already got away.” I-No continued. “Eyes on the prize and all.”

“What are you-? WHEN DID HE-!?” Chipp had disappeared. All that remained was a pool of blood where he’d been laying. “SEARCH FOR HIM! NOW!” Every single one of the proctors took off running, including the speaker. This left I-No alone with Ragna and Baiken. The Reaper had yet to reset his sword and refused to take his eyes off the enigmatic witch before him.

“I’d shape up if I were you; That Man is sure to be disappointed if he could see you now.” That is all it would take to set Baiken off as she grabbed her katana out and pointed it at I-No.

“WHERE IS HE!?”

I-No decided to ignore her… and make things worse.

“And I was expecting such a good show from you… where was all that passion you used to be known for? All that ceaseless rage barely being kept down? And that… darkness you’d never be able to return from? In short…” I-No smirked wickedly. “Why didn’t you fight me like you were about to kill Justice again?

‘So she does know!?’

“Kill… Justice? But that was Sol-” Baiken only let herself get distracted for a mere moment, but that was enough for I-No to suddenly disappear from sight. “GET BACK HERE YOU BITCH!” she roared as she began chasing after her.

“Baiken! Wait!” Ragna shouted as he followed after her. ‘Not again.’

Outside -Atop a nearby skyscraper-

“That was sooooo close to being fun,” I-NO sighed. “Thought I’d really gotten his engine going at the end there, but he just decided to crap out. He’s f$#ked enough lately that he can’t even use being impotent as an excuse.” A shift in reality behind her resulted in another sigh. “Am I in trouble now?”

“If you were, I’d have more fir you than just a warning,” a ghostly looking man in a metal mask and green cowl answered as he stepped out of a cloud of black feathers. “But he’s not happy with your decision to reveal yourself. Especially when we already have the impending resurrection to consider.”

“Come on; the guy’s responsible for ending the damn Crusades early compared to the last timeline. Can’t blame a girl with wanting to get up close and personal with a prize piece of meat like that. Plenty of other girls already have and they didn’t even know his real pedigree.”

“Will you ever stop being so damned crass?” the masked man asked rhetorically. “You’ve had your fun, now we’re both expected to remain off the stage until the next act begins.”

“Do I really have to?” I-No groaned.

“That woman traveling with him… if memory serves, you’ve once met a violent fate upon her blade.” I-No now regretted letting that little tidbit slip before. “She’s going to begin hunting you in this town. Even if you weren’t directly ordered to do so, I might be in your best interest to leave them be for now.”

“Fine, but I’ve got a question for you then. Despite how standoffish you’re being right now, you were a real peeping tom my entire fight.” The man slowly nodded. “Not that I’m complaining, love a good chance to show off my exhibitionist side. But I gotta ask, what did you think of him?”

“Mostly the same as you’ve already noted, albeit with far less innuendo.” The figure then gave an odd… shiver. It was throughout their entire body. “But there’s something about the specific power they wield… something about is intriguing to no end.”

“…You have a plan in mind for it?”

“More of a… a personal interest. For a private project. I shan’t be making an inquiries or studies now though; we have our orders.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” I-No sighed a third time as the duo disappeared from reality.

Meanwhile

“You let your opponent escape,” the tournament proctor noted with heavy disdain.

“I already beat him, didn’t I?” the winner of the fight retorted before placing a cigarette in his mouth. Lighting it with a small flame he crated at the end of his middle finger, he took a long drag. “Sounds more like your problem.”

“Zato-One had a noticeable bounty on their head, able to be taken in either alive or dead. You had no reason to stay your blade. Especially given your profession… Bounty Hunter.”

“Then why didn’t any of you take him? Someone that close to dying should’ve been easy pickings for all you freaks,” the combatant rudely answered before getting a harsh crick out of their neck. “Just get me to my next round; I’m in a hurry to end this whole thing.”

With the organizers hurrying off to either prepare the transportation or search for the match’s loser, the victor was given a rare moment alone. Glancing down to their gas-lighter themed sword, Sol Badguy only let out a long breath of disappointment.

‘This has to be enough for me alone. I need to be the one to take down Justice this time. We don’t need Ragna to go through that kind of hell again.’

Later

“LET ME GO YOU LYING JACKASS!” Baiken roared as Ragna held her back by the arm. She’d gotten only a couple of streets away from the Dojo before he’d managed to catch her.

“You’re wasting your time; that witch is gone,” the Reaper fruitlessly tried to reason as Baiken fought to get out of his grip. “And it’s better that she did; she’d kill you if you caught up to her now.”

“And you’d know! Damn dog of That Man!”

“For the last time, I’m not working with the Gear Maker!” Ragna insisted. “And I don’t have any idea who that woman is or how she knows me!”

“Bullshit! Why should I believe you!?” she yelled, stopping her struggle long enough to glare at Ragna with her good eye. “Was she telling the truth? About Justice?” Ragna slowly let her arm go, but the samurai didn’t run off, instead she forcefully locked eye contact with him. “Tell me!”

“…Yeah; I was the one that actually killed her,” Ragna finally answered.

“So the masses think that the former Commander Ky Kiske is the one that ended the Crusades, those a little more in know assume it’s Sol Badguy, and only the few that were really there or have outside intel know it was you,” she heatedly summarized. “Why the hell is there any need to keep that this tight a secret? You’re a hero for that.”

“…No… what happened that fight… I was only a monster,” Ragna summarized, unable to keep his eye contact with Baiken. ‘Dammit, I should’ve been able to handle this by now. It’s been years since it happened…’

“Oh, give me a goddamn break. You save humanity and all you can do is feel sorry for yourself.” Her words got Ragna to grit his teeth. “Don’t you know how many lives you saved? How many families you kept from getting torn apart? Whatever had to happen, it was worth it.”

“WORTH IT?” Out of nowhere, a pitch-black aura surrounded the Reaper, both of Ragna’s eyes glowed crimson, and his right arm became more beast-like with claws. “You don’t have a damn idea what you’re talking about! You think you can shout your mouth off like you know me!?”

In her shock, Baiken had actually lost her composure, but she’d quickly gotten in back and brought her katana blade out. She already knew she was outclassed, but if this new feral thing was going to kill her she’d at least make sure to put her blade through its throat.

“Stop thinking the whole damn world revolved around you and Julia! I’ve had to lose my family! My body! Just as much as you did! I had to struggle too! You don’t get special treatment!” Though her brow was covered in sweat, Baiken was managing what few could as she stared down Ragna. “Get yourself under damned control already. I’m still going after that woman. If I can’t get answers from her, I’ll be back for you.”

“…Better hope you can find her and she talks then,” Ragna growled, utterly bestially given his current wrath-driven state. Baiken didn’t have any other parting words, only giving him one last glare before she left. Taking a few deep breaths, he slowly started to calm himself as his aura faded. He hadn’t lost control like that since the inciting incident had happened. He weighed his options one final time, some small part of him still considering going after Baiken to try one final time… but in the end all he did was turn back to the dojo.

He didn’t make it far though, only about a block before he stopped beside a ruined building that melded well into the destroyed city. It would be impossible for any regular ears to hear, but not only did he have enhanced sense to notice the shallow breaths but he could tell that there was a soul inside the building. Only barely though, but due to more stealthy skills instead of weakness. However, it was clear that Chipp inside was in no condition to start moving again anytime soon.

“You there!” Fantastic, a group of the tournament organizers were headed his way. They had their weapons out, but it didn’t seem like they were about to attack him. Taking a good look at the armaments for the first time, magic enchantments aside they were fairly mobster-like and not that impressive. Unusual for organizers of a tournament of this scale. “Did you find him?”

“Who? The Ninja you lost?” Ragna asked boredly. “What’s important about them? They’re already out of the tournament so there’s no point in-”

“Keep your damn comments and questions to yourself; you’re already on thin ice with the organizers!” the crass one roughly demanded. “If you’ve seen him it’s in your best interest that you tell us where he is.”

“Oh yeah?” Ragna asked, before crossing his arms. Hearing the inside of the building, he could tell that Chipp still too weak to make a run for it, likely getting ready for what little fighting he was capable of. “He’s in here. Second floor.” The Ninja stiffened, the breathing stopped, and his heart began beating like a drum.

“…God dammit, he’s wasting our time,” the leader shouted. “Double back down the streets! He couldn’t have gotten far!” With the rest of the many running off to resume their hunting, the head one glowered at Ragna. “Screw with us one more time… and you’re out.”

“…Testament can’t afford to let me go; I’m a lot more important to him as a sacrifice than whatever brainless work you bring,” Ragna darkly reminded with a taunt. Using their leader’s name caused the proctor to literally choke on air, but they couldn’t offer more than a glare before leaving to join their comrades. Once he was sure they were gone, Ragna made a quick stop elsewhere before he entered the ruined building and headed up to the second floor.

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” the Ninja known as Chipp irately greeted as Ragna opened the door to his hiding room. Chipp was fairly well hidden in the shadows, but he still kept his blade ready in case Ragna decided to change his mind.

“I’ve got a talent for pissing them off, so I know they wouldn’t believe me,” he informed. “But, since I saved you, I want some info.”

“On that woman that took my place?” Chipp guessed while flinching.

“That’ll do for a start,” Ragna admitted before opened the small first-aid kit he’d stolen from the transport vehicle. “I can do the fix for you, but something tells me you don’t want me getting close.”

“Please, just slide it across the floor,” Chipp asked, though not rudely at least. He simply needed to retain a level of caution. Ragna obliged and Chipp slowly got to work. “Never got your name.”

“Ragna the Bloodedge.” His old title. Been a bit since he’d used it last. If Chipp recognized it, it didn’t show. “Now about that I-NO woman…”

“If you know her name, then you know more about her than I do,” Chipp admitted as he began readying rubbing alcohol. “I was about to step out into the ring and fight you before she blindsided me. Not just anyone can get behind me, especially when I was already fully attentive. I’d like to say I went down swinging to get these bruises, but I was out in one hit. The rest she must’ve just done for enjoyment.”

“Yeah, I got the impression she was a sadist while I fought her.” Ragna could tell Chipp wasn’t hiding anything, I-NO just seemed to be that mysterious. “Now for my other question; the organizers for this thing seem to have it out for you. What do you know about them?”

“I… have history with them that I’d rather not get into.”

“And that’s not a choice I’ll give; you owe me,” Ragna told the ninja with a sharp glare… before pulling it back. ‘Dammit, she’s rubbed off on me. I gotta be better than this at least.’ “You can just tell me what you-”

“No, you’re right. I don’t have much of a reason to hide it now anyways,” Chipp admitted solemnly, before flinching as he applied the rubbing alcohol to his wounds. “The truth was I used to work to with them before I tried to leave the organization. Mafioso don’t take desertion well at all.”

“The Mafia? I figured they were some form of a criminal element, but that confirms it.” Ragna thought over this new tidbit for a moment before he put his theory to the test. “Accurate to call them a shadow of their former selves?”

“More like a husk,” Chipp affirmed.

“And even a husk can take Gear Cells.” Glancing at Ragna, Chipp saw that he was indeed being serious. “It’s the only way Testament, the tournament’s organizer, would let them take this leadership role. They’re not full Gears and I’m not even sure they’ll ever get to that point. More… infected.” ‘And if they succeed in awakening Justice, they’ll be completely under her control along with every other Gear awakening.’

“So I wasn’t just imagining that something else was off about them this whole time,” Chipp realized. “They probably don’t know it themselves; likely they thought they were getting some new form of steroid that made them stronger. They wouldn’t have any qualms about that.”

“So they dealt in drugs?”

“And me with them. I’m… a recovering addict,” Chipp allowed before making the last of his wrapping.

“Mind if I ask why you’re in the tournament? You think there’s an actual wish at the end?”

“I’m not stupid; that’s just bait pure and simple. The problem is it’s so effective that most people can’t keep themselves from taking it; I’m here for revenge.”

“Against the proctors?”

“No, against the Assassin Guild,” Chipp corrected. “They were responsible for killing my old master. I heard that Millia Rage and Zato-One were part of this tournament. Not only could I get my revenge though them, but if I played my cards right I could track down the rest of the guild afterwards.”

“Guess you could’ve but I think Millia’s the wrong woman to be targeting. I met up with her shortly before I convinced her to leave the tournament. I think she’s even more disgusted with the Guild than you are.” Chipp didn’t answer that, likely still harboring some resentment for if they ever met. “Can’t comment on Zato though, but I do know that the Guild’s just about done anyways. They’re not looking much better than you old Mafia crew.”

“So you’re saying my revenge is pointless?” Clearly a little heated, but still a solid question.

“…I don’t think I can answer that for you,” the Reaper passively decided. “I’d change your hiding spot since they’re sure to come check here, but after that wait it out for a little longer; they’ll have to ship me out to my next round soon and even if all of the organizers don’t come with me it’ll at least thin their numbers for an easier getaway.”

“Got it, and… thanks,” Chipp accepted earnestly, slowly getting up and scanning the streets below for a new hideout.

Ragna soon made his way back to the transport with the Organization leader from before waiting for him. Clearly the search for Chipp had been an utter failure and they were directing their anger for it at him.

“Don’t blame me; I told you exactly where to find him and you didn’t listen.” Ragna allowed himself just a little pleasure in his taunt as the Mafioso only grew more irritated.

“…What about your woman?” the leader asked, obviously trying to start something. “Did she dump your ass when she saw you floundering that last fight?”

Ragna didn’t offer a verbal response to that, letting the proctors think they’d had him. He… he’d known that Baiken wasn’t going to be coming back, especially not after their falling out. Did some part of him wish that she had? Maybe he was worried that she’d actually find I-NO and-

‘Hypocrite…’

The Crusades -The Advent Night-

“I still can’t believe tomorrow the big day,” Julia sighed. “We’ll have three different sects of Order arriving tonight, and then we’re hitting their main base with everything we’ve got.”

“You’ve said this exact same thing every time we’ve gone to bed for the last week,” Ragna answered, holding onto his partner in several aspects. Despite their closeness and privacy, both had elected to keep their uniforms on. They needed to be ready if there was a surprise attack, especially with their forces so close to the Gear’s Fortress. “Did… wasn’t there any other attempts to go right for Justice?”

“Only a few people were ever brave enough to try it… and the only one that’s ever survived a direct encounter is Kliff. He honestly thinks that she’s toyed with him this whole time by letting him live on multiple occasions. Like this whole thing is a sadistic game.”

‘Wonder if that’s how Yuuki Terumi saw it,’ Ragna considered. Since he’d never found Terumi since the day he’d lost his arm, he really didn’t have any idea of who the bastard really was. In fact… lately he was even starting to forget their face, like he’d have to accept that any chance of revenge was gone. “Well like you said, the armies will get here, we’ll start the attack in the morning… and we’ll have to hope that’s enough.”

“…You’re lying, Ragna. And you’re terrible at it.” A moment of heavy silence. “…What are you really going to do?”

“That’s up to you,” Ragna answered honestly. “Either you can stay back this time and defend the camp with the back force or…”

“Or? Or what?” she demanded. Silence was again the answer. “You’re… going to make sure I’m not there to fight Justice. I don’t know how exactly, but you’ve got something in mind.”

“I’m… I’m terrified Julia. Ever since that damn stranger breached our perimeter, I haven’t been able to keep that damn warning out of my head. Look after Julia. Every time I look at you now… there it is.”

“…You’re not the only that’s scared Ragna; I think half the camp was vomiting today over the sheer stress of having to face down the Gear army. And however worried you are about me, I’m just as terrified for you. That you’ll do something stupid at the last minute and get yourself killed. Then where does that leave me?”

“Julia, don’t talk like that.”

“You’re not invincible; and we don’t need to do this alone,” she tried to assure him, holding the Reaper even tighter in her arms, like she was trying to pin him down along with comforting him. “And whatever happens, we need to do it together… as partners.”

“Right, partners.” Ragna hardly sounded convincing. “Any… any plans for after the Crusades? It’s getting close to that time”

“A house in the countryside.” Julia’s answer was immediate. “Finding land that hasn’t already been destroyed by the Gears would be difficult, but I’m sure we’d be able to settle somewhere.”

“We’d, eh? So in this dream scenario I’m fully onboard with everything?” Ragna snarkily asked.

“I don’t hear you coming up with any alternatives.”

“Fair. Go on then.”

“It doesn’t have to be a big house or a lot of land. Just enough for us. And guests if we ever have them and… maybe a few kids.”

“A few?”

“Two probably. I just don’t want to have an only child,” she decided, still carrying some of her late brother with her. “I’ll be painting and working with different kinds of art. We’ll have a huge garden for all of our food needs and that’ll even be how we handle the bills.”

“Probably going to be hard to pay for everything with just vegetables,” Ragna reminded, both staying a realist while at the same time indulging Julia’s fantasy. “Maybe I can open a small restaurant. You could be a waiter there when you’re not doing your art.”

“Yeah, maybe. Keep small, but the food’s so good that we still become famous the world over. You’re more than good enough for it,” Julia commended. “Then we let our kids take it over, or maybe it’ll stop with us. Either way we’ll support them and each other.”

“…Can’t wait.” Shifting his body around, Ragna pulled Julia in for an even more intimate embrace; gently holding the back of her head as he pulled her closer to his chest.

…She noticed the magic only an instant too late.

Ragna silently escaped their tent and the rest of the encampment, his sleeping enchantment was something he never had hoped to use before, but… it was a desperate time. If the worst happened, Julia would at least be able to awaken if the Gears came for an early attack. This would leave her as safe as she could be on the battlefield. Moving silently as a shadow, he made it to the outer edges of the encampment.

“Don’t bother relieving me of guard duty,” Sol told him as he approached, not bother to even turn around. “Get some rest for tomorrow; we’ll all need it.”

“I guess,” was Ragna’s non-committal answer.

Both of them were on a section of raised earth, overlooking the valley below that would be the next morning’s battlefield. Off in the distance was the massive stronghold that was the Gear’s base of operations. At the top that; the throne of Justice. Even this far away and this late he could see the collection of movements inside. Countless Gears were gathering and readying themselves for the titanic battle in the morning. They could’ve struck, but for whatever reason Justice was ordering them to stand by… and everyone knew the Command Gear was occupying her throne.

“I’m just getting a mental lay of the battlefield for tomorrow. Make things easier on me,” Sol explained.

“And Julia said I was bad at lying,” the Reaper denied with a shake of his head. “You’re trying to map the quickest route up that building to get to Justice. Once the fighting starts tomorrow, that’s the first place you’ll head.”

“…Yeah,” Sol reluctantly admitted. “I don’t think you could possibly talk me out of it though.”

“…It’s the opposite; we need to go now.” Even Sol’s own stoneface couldn’t stay strong after what Ragna had just suggested. “Once we get in there; how long before the alarm goes off?” Sol was still stunned at his earlier insistence. “Well?”

“…Can’t certain one way or another; I can’t tell what real defenses they’ll have unless we get right in the building. For all I know, some new Gear hivemind could come at us all once when they-”

“I’m not talking about the Gear’s alarm; I mean the Order’s.” Once again Ragna succeeded in blindsiding Sol.

“…Julia isn’t pregnant, is she?”

“No; I know for a fact she isn’t with the contraception spells we’ve been using.” Ragna denied. “Even still… she’s too important for me to lose. Even if she never forgives me for this, as long as she’s still alive….” Again, the stranger’s words of Look out for Julia played over and over again in his mind. “Especially when we have a good chance of ending this now.”

‘I was gonna risk it tomorrow, but I still can’t say for certain if this is going to take the Fireseal or not,’ Sol thought before glancing at Ragna’s right arm. ‘…Maybe he can actually make the difference and make it a surefire thing.’ “Then we have to move perfectly; it’s the only way we’ll anything resembling a chance.”

“But we can do it now?”

“We can do it now,” Sol affirmed.

“Then let’s go.”

And thus began the end to nearly a Hundred Years of war.