Guilty Gear, its characters and settings are property of Sammy Studios, and are being used in this fanfiction without permission.  This fic is rated NC-17 for violence and sexual content, and it contains yaoi material. 

 

 

 

Culmination

Chapter 8

 

 

Though Ky had not expected so sudden an attack, his reflexes were more than enough to catch the stranger’s blade against his own.  There was strength behind that swing, a kind he hadn’t faced in some time, and he quickly twisted his wrist to divert the momentum away from him.  But his opponent was fast—he spun, bringing his sword about in another smooth arch.  He and Ky traded several blows before both broke away, gauging each other.

 

“You’re good,” the dark-eyed man compliment through a thin growl.  He adjusted the grip on his sword and charged once more.  Ky was again able to defend despite the unfamiliar weapon he brandished, and in a flurry of passing steel he caught an opening.  Planting his foot he brought the blade around, landing a direct hit to an outstretched forearm.

 

The force should have been enough to sheer the limb from its body, and yet as soon as the sword connected Ky felt a tremor run up his arm, like the resonance of metal striking more metal.  For a moment he thought he had missed, or that the stranger had been able to bring his sword about fast enough to deflect him, but when he looked he clearly saw the blade of his katana drawing blood from the intact arm.

 

Ky fell back to Testament’s side, his eyes sharp.  “You’re not human.”

 

“Maybe I should say the same about you,” the man retorted, giving his arm a shake.  The thin incision quickly sealed and left not even a scar behind.  “One of Testament’s summons?  He’s getting better.”

 

Ky snorted lightly, though he was fairly certain he was being complimented.  “Perhaps.”

 

“Be careful,” Testament warned at his side.  He still looked uneasy; there was no doubt this pair shared some history, and though Ky was eager to question him this was clearly not the time for it.  “This isn’t the greatest of his strength—he uses magic.”

 

“Magic?”  Ky’s fingers tightened bloodlessly around the handle of his katana as a heated shudder passed through his already tense body.  “You’re a Gear.”

 

The stranger’s expression hardened angrily.  “How dare you.”  He lifted his unoccupied hand, within his palm growing a pale, brilliant light.  Ky’s heart skipped faintly when he recognized the heat coming off it, making his back burn and throb.  He lifted his sword but he had no defense against magic without Thunderseal, and he tensed in preparation of a dodge.

 

He wasn’t fast enough.  The magic was screaming towards him before he had a chance to get any leverage beneath him, and he was preparing to take the blow when Testament appeared suddenly in front of him.  Something leapt from his voice—a spell of some sort that Ky didn’t recognize—blazing a seal of magic into the air before them.  Their enemy’s attack was swiftly absorbed in the spinning, iridescent patterns of light.

 

“You are better,” the man begrudgingly admitted as both their magics faded.  He fell back a step, lowering his sword as well.  “This isn’t the time to settle our score.”

 

“Wait!” Ky said swiftly, stepping in front of Testament once more.  “You are behind the robots, aren’t you?  Tell us what you’re after!  Who are you?”

 

Black eyes regarded him silently, and when he spoke his voice was cold.  “I am the new Order.”

 

Ky ground his teeth together, and before Testament could halt him he charged forward again, raising his sword in a lateral strike.  Had it been Thunderseal in his tight grip he was certain he could have incinerated the man where he stood, but he overestimated the length of his blade—the stranger caught him easily on his own sword, and again his free hand formed a swift ball of magic.  It was smaller than the first, not even enough to singe Ky’s clothing, but the impact of the heated spell against his chest sent Ky reeling.  It gave his opponent just enough time to leap back, the simple jump taking him nearly a dozen meters in the air to land on the side of a toppled building.

 

Ky, who had been saved from being thrown to the ground by Testament’s strong hand against his shoulder, cursed as he stared up at their fleeing target.  “Wait!”

 

“You’re still with the Jellyfish Pirates, aren’t you?” the stranger called down to them.  “If you really want to know what we’re after, ask their captain.”  He turned swiftly, disappearing behind the building before either could think to follow, a flutter of shadow at his heels.

 

Ky cursed again as he was released, already heading for the far wall where the man had disappeared.  “Come on—we can still catch him.  That bastard—”

 

“No.”  Testament stepped away from him, leaning his back against the nearest wall.  “He’s gone, Ky.  Leave him.”

 

“But that was him!” Ky shouted in frustration.  When he turned back to Testament to protest further he hesitated at the sight; the Gear had one arm slung loosely around his stomach as if ill, his usually gleaming red irises pale and vague.  Something in Ky twisted, as if it were an expression he recognized.  “You know him.”

 

Testament wouldn’t meet his gaze.  “Yes,” he admitted at last.  “I did.  He…should have been dead by now.”

 

“What does that mean?”  Ky advanced on him as the only one present on which to vent his anger.  Usually he would have displayed more restraint, but he was already weary and drawn taut with too many memories at his surface, the city too real in his eyes and ears.  Too aware that their quarry, the man responsible for betraying and hunting him, was slipping further away with each passing second.

 

“I’ll explain, but not here.”  Testament pushed away from the wall, shaking his head slightly.  “This may be more complicated than I thought, and…we need to talk with Johnny and Bridget, let them know we’re coming back.”  He turned and headed for the mouth of the alley as if there were nothing more left for discussion.

 

Ky scowled faintly at his back, but there was nothing more he could do.  With one last, frustrated gaze cast at the path their enemy had taken he fell into step behind Testament, allowing him to lead the way into the street once more.

 

*****

 

Johnny leaned against the bar, regarding his female company with a serious gaze.  He didn’t know Baiken particularly well, but her reputation proceeded her quite a bit, and he knew it best to listen to whatever she had to say; especially if she had chosen to do so outside the audience of her companion.  “So?  What is it?”

 

“I want to come with you,” Baiken said clearly and to the point.  There seemed to be no signs left of her earlier intoxication.  “You’re going after those things, aren’t you?  Whatever they are they’re hunting me, too, and I want in on taking them out.”

 

Johnny smiled grimly.  “I can relate to that.  What about him?”  He nodded his head back toward the table they’d left.

 

Baiken didn’t look, but her expression softened a little, and Johnny had the sudden feeling that he was seeing something particularly rare.  “He can’t come.  The truth is….”  She glanced away, trying to look annoyed with herself for being sentimental.  “…I’m taking him back to the Colony.  He hasn’t figured it out yet, but he will soon.  Whatever that fuck told him has had him brooding like that for days, and if he’s going to live on the outside he can’t be distracted like that.”

 

Johnny understood, so he didn’t think it necessary to tease her about her taking care of the man.  Maybe it was unfair to Anji, but she had a point.  This fight wasn’t for the uncertain, let alone the innocent.  “How can we contact you?”

 

“We’ll be staying in Rome for a while,” Baiken said, waving the bartender over so she could get from him a pen and a napkin.  Now that they weren’t talking about Anji her voice and face returned to their normal, infallible callousness.  “I don’t have a radio, but I can get one.  Give me your frequency.”

 

The question of whether or not he trusted Baiken passed through Johnny’s mind for barely a moment, and then he was nodding as he scrawled the numbers out across the dull paper.  “We’re going to be doing some investigating in Zepp,” he told her as he wrote.  “It’ll be overhead in three days, so on the fourth day give us a holler.  We should know something by then.”

 

“All right.”  Baiken glanced over the numbers only briefly before slipping the napkin stealthily into the front of her kimono.  “But leave that kid behind.  She’s worse than Anji.”

 

“He,” Johnny corrected around a smirk, “but I’ll keep that in mind.”  He gave Baiken’s shoulder a tap, earning him a glare, as he started back for the table.  “Come on, before they start to like each other.”

 

As soon as Johnny approached Bridget snapped to his feet, looking bright and eager as usual.  It was, however, somewhat suspicious, and Johnny glanced between him and Anji with a thoughtful frown.  “Well, it was nice meeting you, Mito Anji,” he declared, shaking the man’s hand, “but we have to be going.  Take care of yourself.”

 

“You, too.”  Anji shared a look with Bridget, who giggled as they, too, shook hands.  “Look out for each other.”

 

“We will!” Bridget chirped, and with a grin he turned to start for the bar’s entrance.  Johnny shrugged, tipped his hat to the pair, and followed.

 

Once they were out on the street once more Johnny glanced at his companion with a curious eye.  “What was that all about?  You two talk about anything?”

 

“O~h, not really,” Bridget sang as he skipped along.  “But I think he has a crush on Ms. Baiken.”

 

Johnny laughed.  “One might almost consider that an accomplishment,” he said with a shake of his head.  Whether or not he believed that was all the two had discussed in his absence, he didn’t comment as they started back towards the ship.

 

*****

 

Ky was quiet as he and Testament followed the path they’d taken through the streets, his eyes downcast.  His earlier tension had left him, thankfully, but in its place was left dozens of swirling questions and half-formed theories.  Whoever that man had been, Testament knew him.  Whatever was going on, Johnny might know something.  Robots were involved, and judging by the magic he’d witnessed being used by their enemy, Ki was being employed as well.  It made sense with the number of Japanese people being abducted.  He was certain, however, that there was still one missing piece to the puzzle, something important that he hadn’t been able to catch yet.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Ky glanced up, startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Testament’s voice floating back to him.  “What?”

 

“For letting him get away.”  Testament didn’t look back, but he shook his head slightly, adjusting his hair over his shoulders.  “I know how important this is to you.”

 

Ky frowned, but he had already accepted Testament’s judgment in that regard.  “It’s fine,” he assured easily.  “You were probably right to stop me—neither of us seemed to be at our best, and it would be a problem if he had tried to lead us deeper into the city this late.  We’ll have another opportunity.”

 

Testament nodded, looking as if he were about to fall silent again, but it was then that Ky decided it might be best to try his thoughts against another.  He picked up his pace just enough to bring him to Testament’s side.  “He was using Ki, wasn’t he?  I recognized his magic—it was definitely the same as what he used on me in Genoa.”

 

“It seemed that way,” Testament replied somewhat hesitantly.  “From what I remember…he didn’t used to use Ki before.”

 

“But you said he used magic.”

 

“He did.”  Testament kept his gaze carefully forward as they continued, clearly having no intention of answering Ky’s inquires directly.  “I’ll explain everything I know later.”

 

Ky frowned at him, clearly dissatisfied with such a response, but a moment later he reminded himself of how Testament had looked a while ago, shaken and brooding.  He could definitely understand what it must be like for him to have old history dragged into the open once more, and so he let it go.  “What about…what he said?” he tried instead, unconsciously sliding a hand to his sword hilt.  “About the pirates.”

 

“I’m not sure.  It’s not strange to think they know more than they’re letting on.”

 

“I don’t like it.”  There were too many mysterious surrounding the Bureau already to have his own companions hiding information.  If they could in fact be called companions.

 

Testament shrugged slightly.  “Then you can ask them when we get back.”

 

They reached the airfield just after the last bit of sun disappeared behind a jagged horizon, a fresh chill borne on the wind raising goosebumps along Ky’s uncovered skin.  He spotted Johnny and Bridget waiting for them beside an old hanger, chatting idly among themselves.  He couldn’t catch any of the conversation, as both quieted as he and Testament approached.  Johnny waved a greeting.  “Hey there.  Glad to see you made it back in one piece.”

 

Ky’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t comment as he joined them.  “Did you find out anything?” he asked at once.

 

“You could say that,” Johnny replied.  Though he was trying to sound casual Ky could see the muscles along his jaw tightening a little, and his frown deepened.  “We met up with a few celebrities—Baiken and Mito Anjji.”

 

“I don’t suppose they knew anything?” Testament asked, folding his arms over his chest.

 

“Not really.  But between the four of us, we may have come up with something.  You two get any info?”

 

“You could say that,” Ky replied in kind, something chilling at the back of his stomach.  He was suddenly drawn all too keenly to all of Johnny’s movements, the tilt of his hat that prevented too much of his face from being seen, the light tone of his voice that contrasted how important this information was for them.  “We met the man from Genoa.”

 

“You met him?” Bridget echoed, straightening.  “You were supposed to tell us if there was trouble, you know.”

 

“It wasn’t serious,” Ky assured him.  “We tried to question him but he managed to escape.  But Testament…might have recognized him, so it could be a lead.”  He wasn’t sure why he added “might”, only that Testament already seemed so uncertain in talking about it—he didn’t want Johnny to jump on that information the same way he had.

 

Johnny nodded thoughtfully.  “Looks like coming to Rome was a good idea after all,” he declared, stepping away from the hanger wall.  “We can share notes back on the ship.  Is everyone ready?”

 

“Wait.”

 

Everyone turned to stare at Bridget, who hadn’t moved yet.  He had his arms crossed behind his back, a tiny grin threatening to spread across his lips.  “I got some information, too,” he said, almost teasingly.

 

“Oh?”  Looking quite amused, Johnny crossed his arms and waited to hear what he had to say.  “And what might that be?”

Bridget stood a little taller, his chin tilting up in a gesture of pride.  “I found out that Sol Badguy is here.”

 

When Bridget first said the name Ky was certain that he had heard incorrectly.  It didn’t seem like the same name, spoken so simply in such a light, innocent tone.  But when Johnny and Testament both sent sharp, startled gazes at the boy he gradually came to realize that Bridget was telling the truth.

 

“Sol Badguy,” Bridget repeated in response to their baffled stares, and this time the name sent a long, cold tremor down Ky’s spine.  “You know, that famous mercenary?  He was on his way here a while ago—kind of exciting, isn’t it?  I’ve never met him.”

 

“Hey,” Johnny started, “where did you—”  He broke off when he realized Ky had turned, striding purposefully back towards the city.  “Ky, where do you think you’re—”

 

Ky ignored him.  He saw only the dimmed outline of Rome’s skyline before him, dark and cruelly inviting.  He should have known better than this; finding Sol in a city like this would be impossible, especially at night when its most malicious residents took to the streets.  Those thoughts didn’t pass through the officer as he set his jaw and glared definitely back at the entrance to the labyrinth of stone.  All he knew, in that instant, was that on those twisted streets walked the answer to all his mind’s frenzied questions.

 

“Ky.”  A hand snapped around his elbow.  “What—”

 

Ky twisted, jerking swiftly out of Johnny’s hold and continuing without falter.  “I’m going to find him.”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the pirate snorted.  “Find him in Rome?  At night?  This is Sol Badguy, you know.”

 

“I know that!” Ky snapped, turning suddenly to face Johnny.  Behind him, Bridget and Testament were watching the scene with stunned confusion, and Ky quickly diverted his gaze from them.  Neither of them would understand the sudden anxiety twisting in his stomach.  “But I have to find him.”

 

“Ky,” Johnny tried again to reason with him.

 

“He’s here.”  Ky stood his ground, and though his eyes had taken a different shade their intensity had not diminished.  Something fierce was burning at the back of his skull, igniting all the frustrations he had been harboring and finally bringing them into form.  “We’re here, Baiken and Anji, the robots, the man from Genoa—if Sol’s here, too, he must know something.  He must be here for a reason.”  He spun again, intending to march off without further hindrance.  “And I’ll hear it.”

 

He had expected Johnny’s protests to continue, but wasn’t prepared for the hand that tightened, vice-like, around his wrist, nearly spinning him about as he was drawn back.  “Don’t be a fool,” Johnny hissed, meeting Ky glare for glare over the top of his sunglasses.  “That man and his robots are still in there—if you go back alone, as you are, how will you fight them off?  You still haven’t—”

 

“I don’t care,” Ky interrupted him yet again, drawing a scowl from the man.  “You don’t understand—I have to find him.”

 

“Well, you’re not.”  Johnny gave him a sharp tug, and Ky stumbled a moment over his feet as he began to get dragged back towards the ship.  “I’m not letting you run off just so you can get yourself killed.”

 

Glowering in annoyance Ky planted his feet, throwing his weight back so that Johnny was halted—nearly toppled—by the sudden shift in force.  “Let me go,” he demanded icily, and when he wasn’t released instantly his voice rose.  “Let me go!”

 

“Ky, please,” Bridget pleaded, shifting from foot to foot in distress.  “I’m sorry—let’s forget it, okay?  Let’s go back to the ship.”

 

“No!  None of you understand!”  Ky was finally able to rip his arm free, and he took several steps back, out of Johnny’s range.  If the pirate tried to capture him again he was fully prepared to use all his force.  Johnny must have recognized as much, as he stayed still, his expression almost eerily calm.  “I have to,” Ky repeated, his fists trembling at his sides until they ached.  “He knows something, and I must know what it is.  I won’t leave until I do.”

 

Ky’s eyes danced to Testament, expecting some kind of admonishment from him, as well, but the Gear remained still.  His eyes were wide and distantly surprised, but there was also something softer in them.  Something like…understanding, and that justification only heightened Ky’s determination.  He returned his firm glare to Johnny.  “I’m going.”

 

“You’re a damn fool,” Johnny retorted.  He took a step forward, and it was as if his entire manner had changed.  Though Ky could no longer see his eyes behind the dark glasses there was a threat in the stern, downward curl of his lips, each methodical step.  “And you’re not going.  I won’t allow anyone to endanger my crew.”

 

Ky retreated a step, his hand drifting to the hilt of his katana.  “I’m going.”

 

Johnny was advancing on him in earnest now but Ky didn’t back off a second time.  “That bastard and his fucked up robots could be on their way here right now,” the pirate all but snarled.  “Every one of us here are their targets.  And if we wait for you to take your little field trip who knows how many he’ll be able to gather!”  Johnny snatched the collar of Ky’s vest, drawing him forward.  “You are not going to endanger this ship!”

 

“I’m going!” Ky retorted strongly.  He was all but shaking now from too much emotion, and he pried ineffectively at Johnny’s thick fingers.  “Damnit, I have to see Sol!”

 

“You damn fool, you’ll just—”

 

“I have to know if he’s betrayed me again!”

 

Johnny was so startled by the other’s force that he let go, and Ky shoved him away before he could regain his senses.  The officer fell back, his eyes wide and pained.  He shook his head fiercely against the words he had spoken.  “I…I have to know,” he panted, turning away from too many questioning stares.  “Sol warned me to stay away from the Bureau, the robots—he knew something was going to happen.  If he knew and didn’t tell me….”  He trembled, too infected by his own injustice to allow for Johnny’s rationale.  “If he knew our entire Order was in danger of being wiped out and he said nothing….”

 

It was too much.  Ky wheeled about to face the city once more, standing taller than he would have thought he had the strength for.  “I’m going.”

 

“If you go,” Johnny said evenly, “this ship will leave without you.”

 

“Johnny—” Bridget started to protest.

 

Ky shook his head.  “Fine,” he retorted.  “Go.  Maybe I was wrong to trust you all, anyway.”

 

Bridget bit his lip, shivering a little as he tried to think of something more he could say, but Testament’s hand fell heavily upon his shoulder.  He jumped a little and fell silent as both waited in anxious silence for the scene to play through.

 

Johnny snorted, tugging his sunglasses off at last.  “Damn fool,” he muttered.  “You don’t even know what you’re up against.”

 

Ky’s back straightened, and again his common sense failed him beneath the weight of too many recent memories.  His fists tightened.  Slowly, he turned to glare at the man over his shoulder.  “But you do.”

 

His tone was deadly, and even Johnny flinched a little as he stared back.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“You know something.”  Ky faced the pirate squarely, rallying his courage once more.  He wasn’t going to back down—not to anyone, for anything.  Not when the safety of his men, their very world and way of life, may depend on it.  “I’ve wondered about it for a while now, and that man in the alley only confirmed my suspicions.”

 

“Oh?  Is that so?”

 

“Stop it, both of you!” Bridget tried again to interfere, pleading.  But neither of them was listening to him now, and he could only watch helplessly.

 

“You just happened to be flying over Genoa when I was injured,” Ky began, gaining back a bit of his control.  His voice lost its manic edge, though within it there still burned the stern, justified malice of a soldier.  “It was enough of a coincidence that the robots were able to judge where I would land in that storm—that Testament would have chosen it as his shelter.  But the Jellyfish Pirates as well?”

 

“We were on our way to Rome,” Johnny began to defend himself, but Ky interrupted him and continued.

 

“You knew immediately what the Bureau was up to.   All that talk about replacing the Global Police, defaming me—there is still no evidence of that, but you never considered that you may be wrong.  You knew about Author Galleon, and how to make the robot work when there’s no way your adolescent crew could have subverted the security system of such a delicate machine.”  Ky’s eyes narrowed dangerously.  “And then you led us right to Rome, where our enemy was waiting for us.  He even knew I was with you.”

 

Johnny continued to stare at him blankly.  Whether or not he was accepting Ky’s accusations or found them too ridiculous to even be acknowledged, there was no telling by his face.  But there was anger focused in the taut muscles of his jaw and below his eyes, making his entire expression strained.  “Do you really believe all that?”

 

“And then there’s May,” Ky continued, stepping towards him.  “If I remember correctly, you’ve raised May since she was a child.  She’s Japanese—in all that time, you must have realized what she was capable of.”  Johnny’s eyebrow twitched, encouraging Ky on.  “The Bureau is after Japanese, after Ki, and you know why.  You’ve always known why.”

 

Something in Ky’s words must have reached him at last, as Johnny’s fingers began to curl stiffly in want of his sword.  The tension stretched, thick and tangible, between them, as if either might draw at any moment.  “Are you accusing me,” the pirate aked stiffly, “of betraying my crew?”

 

“I don’t know who you’re working for,” Ky admitted.  “But you know something.  There are only two people those robots were specified to kill—me and you.  Either it’s a decoy to make you look innocent or maybe you’re working for someone else, but either way it means you know something.  Something about May and the Japanese you haven’t told us.”

 

Johnny’s hand shot out, and again the men were dragged together, glaring each other down.  “You don’t know anything,” Johnny growled, though they could all clearly detect the sudden desperation in his tone.  “Not about the Gears, about the Japanese—anything!”

 

“Because you haven’t told me!” Ky retorted in kind, though his anger was focused—righteous, even.  Every gleam of the man’s eyes was vindicating, and he was caught up in the flow of accusations and wrath.  “You’ve been hiding it from the start!  You know exactly what they’re after and what will happen when they get it!  You’ve been manipulating your own crew all along!”

 

Johnny’s shoulders crept up, his face contorting in a look of rage such that Ky hadn’t thought him capable of.  “How dare you!” he shouted.  “I’ve been—”

 

“You’ve already betrayed me,” Ky continued thoughtlessly.  “Who’s next?  Testament?  May?”

 

“Shut up!”

 

It happened too fast, and Ky was already too drawn into their verbal assaults to anticipate a real attack.  All at once he was spun about, his feet nearly leaving the earth as he was flung bodily into the hanger’s plated metal door.  He managed only a thin gasp of surprise as the impact stole his breath and sent bright lights flashing across his eyes.  Dimly he was aware that his skull had struck hardest, that the scrape of bare skin against metal had drawn blood along his lower back.  His body, already drawn tight with stress, gave out.  With little more than a whimper and despite the groping of his hands, Ky sank gradually to his knees on the dusty airfield.

 

*****

 

“Ky….”  Bridget glanced between the pair, but with the sound of flesh striking metal Johnny seemed to have been shocked back to his senses.  He was breathing hard now, a vaguely guilty expression marring his features, but he didn’t look about to move.  After a moment’s hesitation Bridget scampered to Ky’s side.  “Ky….”  He reached for Ky’s shoulder.  “Are you—”

 

“Leave him,” Johnny snorted overhead, and Bridget flinched, glancing up timidly.  The man’s face had hardened once more, though it was still distantly troubled.  He turned back toward Mayship.  “We’re leaving.  If Ky wants to go back into Rome, fine, but we won’t be coming back for him.”

 

“But John—”  Bridget shivered, looking between the pair with indecision: Johnny’s tall, turned back, Ky gasping weakly in the dust….  “But I….”

 

So far Testament had watched the scene in silence.  He was admittedly stunned by the entire affair; Ky’s almost crazed desperation, his accusations, and the wrath it had drawn from the characteristically calm and easy-going pirate.  Something had passed between them all, and though he wasn’t sure how to sort out his own confusion, at present his eyes were drawn to Ky’s slumped figure.  As Johnny passed he started forward, watching with some morbid fascination the tiny quakes of pain and bitterness sweeping through the fallen officer’s flesh.  “Bridget.”

 

Bridget stared up at him, revealing a young face just beginning to be marred with frightened tears.  Testament sighed.  “Go with Johnny,” he instructed softly.  Though he wasn’t sure what he was about to do, he knew he would lose his nerve with the boy there.  “Make sure he’s all right, and let Dizzy know what happened.  She’ll know what to do.  It’s all right—I’ll bring Ky.”

 

Bridget nodded quietly, scrubbing at his face as he pushed shakily to his feet.  “All right.”  He lifted a hand, and Testament offered his arm without thinking, allowing the boy to regain his balance before he trotted ahead to join his captain.

 

Once Bridget and Johnny had distanced themselves the Gear turned his attention back to his intended charge.  Ky had not yet moved, doubled over his knees and breathing hoarsely.  He wasn’t sure at first what action to take—it had been much easier in Genoa, when the man was unconscious and needed no comforting words.  But he had already chosen this duty for himself, and he knelt down carefully beside the man.  “Ky.  Can you stand?”

 

Ky flinched away from him, but his defiance didn’t last long.  “With help,” he replied with resignation.

 

Testament didn’t reply; he reached out, slipping his arm under and around Ky’s to help tug him to his feet.  Ky groaned quietly but was able to hold his own weight, and after a moment he retrieved his arm.  Neither of them, however, moved to step away from each other just yet, and Testament was faced with another decision.  He frowned slightly.  “Now’s your chance,” he said quietly.  “You can try to look for Sol in the city, or come back to the ship.”  Silently he prayed that Ky would choose the latter, as he wasn’t sure what he himself might do otherwise.

 

Ky turned his head, taking in the city’s outline once more.  His eyes were vague and his expression weary, and when nearly a full minute passed that way Testament realized he wasn’t going to receive an answer.  That was fine with him; if Ky needed him to make the right decision for him, that, at least, he could do.

 

“Come on.”  Testament gave Ky’s arm a gentle tug, guiding his focus away from Rome.  “There’s…something I want to show you.”

 

Ky didn’t reply for another long moment, but when Testament nudged him again he at last turned to follow.  They returned to the ship in silence, heads bowed as each considered the gravity of the evening’s events.

 

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