Title: At Freedom's Expense
Series: Guilty Gear
Rating: 13+
Canon notes:  Take place some time after the events in GGXX.

Chapter 3: Past the Point of Reality



Looking over the screen of information, Bruce Aymond looked up to make
sure no one disturbed him in his office. His office was a small and
cramped affair, but he couldn't complain since there was no one to look
at what he was doing directly... unless one of the directors secretly
entered without making a sound. However, he was grateful that he was
facing the door instead of his back.

There was very little privacy for those that dared choose this line of
work. After all, the Post War Management Bureau never left room for
chance. There were agreements of complete and unquestioned disclosure
about those who wanted to join and since most didn't have anything to
lose when they joined up, they agreed. However, what they never
considered was the consequence of leaving. He had heard stories of those
fed up with all the secrecy and lack of privacy threatening to go to the
International Police or even the heads of State. And they always ended
up gone. No trace. No trail. Nothing.

Bruce couldn't help but frown as to how efficiently the Executors
Committee kept its employees in line and kept the organization's
existence secret. Machiavelli would have been proud.

Typing in a few more keys on his keyboard, he was ready to move to
another program when he paused, still as a statue. There were footsteps
outside his office walking casually near. It was probably either one of
his co-workers or one of the management. He quickly deleted all the keys
he'd been typing up to then and returned to the present job at hand. The
footsteps continued past his door and down the hall.

He would have openly sighed, but there were more important things to
take care of.

With a flurry to keystrokes, he then activated a program he had been
provided with by his 'previous employer'. With a push of the 'enter'
key, the 'Opacus' program was initiated and all intrusion by electronic
means would see him continue doing his work. Now, he had to work fast,
since it worked as though it were a wind-up toy. The program would
eventually fade back into dormancy, returning their surveillance of him
in the open.

Thankfully, his resume had long since been lost and with no records to
show where he come from, all the extensive searches the Management did,
provided the results they wanted. An expendable drone that none would
miss should something unfortunate happen.

Changing the perspective of the monitor, he then brought up the most
recent report concerning a noticeable thorn in the side of the
organization: Ky Kiske. Thankfully, there was nothing new and had yet to
be a transmit from the listening device planted in his house. In fact,
it was past due when the transmitter would make its report. Just barely.
That could only mean one thing. Either the transmitter was nonfunctional
or he had found it.

With a small sigh of relief, he found no one had accessed the file that
held the last known transmission. Turning the volume down low on his
unit, he played the sound file with his ear pressed to the small speaker
on the desk. His eyes soon widened at the realization of whom he was
listening to. There was no mistake. Sol Badguy and the assumed dead
Commander Gear. With another quick set of keystrokes, the sound file was
deleted and replaced with a composite of various silence from Ky's
house. The Management would never be the wiser and Dizzy would be safe
from the eyes of the Committee for now. Sensing Opacus was ready to
close, he convincingly falsified another report to make Kiske less
suspicious than usual. Still, there would be a heavy price to pay if the
Committee ever found out. But he knew this was worth it... in fact, he
felt at times like he was born for this role. Being the first chink in
the nearly impenetrable armor of the PWAB.

It was beyond imperative that Dizzy be kept safe. It wasn't just for him
or his 'previous employers'. But perhaps mankind's chance for freedom
from the Bureau.

She was the hope of the world, after all.

---

Dressed in a simple white cotton button down shirt, black slacks, and a
pair of shoes that seemed a size too large for her, Dizzy, going by her
alias, Luveria Moroumetz, entered the police station.

She and Ky had talked for the past few days about what she could do when
she came in to ask for a position. He had informed her that this branch
of the International Police needed more recorders.

It was a given considering much of the International Police's respect
had waned severely with the dissolution of the Holy Order and the
reinstitution of the United Nations Security Council.

Because of which, extra personnel was always welcomed into any branch.
Dizzy would be no expection to this, provided she kept her Gear side
hidden. After all, help was help.

It was slightly uncomfortable to keep her wings and tail retracted for
that long, but knowing the alternative, she figured slight discomfort
wasn't so bad.

The application process wasn't as harrowing as she feared. As per Ky's
predictions, her background check went off without a hitch and every
thing seemed to be going well. But, as with all jobs, there was the
interview to handle, and she had been prepared for the most of it. She
was sat in a normal room in the station, like any other, the door
slightly ajar to see out of, but she dared not look out, anything
considered odd was a death sentence to her. It was going well... until
the examiner brought up a question which she didn't really prepare for.

"Ms. Moroumetz, if you don't mind me asking, the Crusades have been over
for nearly a decade. Kind of odd looking for a job now when most people
were doing that after the war."

Dizzy caught herself before a gasp could escape her mouth. Too many
frightening possibilities were coming to mind if she said the wrong
thing. Her cover could be lost before it could even be established. She
was almost ready to panic when Undine's words the night before came to
mind, and Undine repeating them silently in her head to ease her from
showing physical distress, and would mean failure for the job, and to
Dizzy's conclusion, being caught, found, and killed. Gathering her
courage, she answered calmly.

"Well, I wanted to stay and help my parents and friends because they did
a lot for me. In plus, I was a little young ten years ago."

To her relief, the examiner smiled softly. "I'm not surprised. Justice
really did a number on us and we all needed more time than what we got
to rebuild. But hey, we're not without trying."

There was no further incident during the interview as the examiner put
her through a few mundane procedures dealing with processing of records,
citations, cases, and so on. With her advanced mind, she was able to
pass easily, however, Ky had warned her not to perform perfectly,
otherwise it would rouse suspicion.

So, passing off perfectly as a human, Dizzy felt a small sense of
accomplishment settling into a new life. However, the enthusiasm slowly
vanished when she analyzed it more thoroughly and knew it was a life in
hiding.

When she was with the pirates, it was an open life with no one looking
over your shoulder. This was one to be lived in fear and eternal,
unwavering vigilance.

After the interview, she was taken to the archives, to officialize her
job. From the archives room, she took a glance to the offices across the
hallway and saw Ky speaking with two other officers. Though she was
supposed to be protected by this man, her spirits sunk even lower. A
part of her hoped things would improve...

...then she remembered Porvoo-3 and shook her head. No. Things would
only remain quiet and then she'd have to run in the night once more
before it all came to a head.

---

With a conversation with two other officers complete, Ky dismissed the
men and allowed himself a little time to return to the domestic dispute
case he started an hour ago. Looking up, he noticed Dizzy being shown
the procedures of the job by Anna. She was a fast learner, and it would
work to her advantage easily. Yet, it could just as easily work against her.

During their time of preparation, he had surreptitiously used a few word
games which would have easily confused those who were not paying
attention. She was able to see through his ruse perfectly, though she
probably said nothing to indicate her unhappiness at being tried when
she had doing nothing to receive such treatment.

Ky wanted to believe that things could work out for her now, but it was
just too far fetched for even himself to believe. Despite doing
everything he could to make sure everything would run smoothly, he still
had doubts about this whole compromise.

Why, Sol? He mused to himself, taking an occasional glance towards Dizzy
across the hall. Why me? You know as well as I do that I would sooner
turn her in than protect her from my own superiors. A frown creased his
face as he struggled to understand the hated bounty hunter's motives. As
soon as he got some time off to himself, he would hunt down Sol once
more and demand an explanation. Outclassed or not, Ky would not be denied.

"Mr. Kiske! Call for you on line three," cried the secretary from the front.

"Just a moment," he replied, reaching for his phone unit. If he was
right, then it was one of his contacts in Zepp giving him some much
needed news on the Robo-Ky's that had been hunting him.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Kiske."

He blinked at the sound of a woman's voice on the other end. It was no
one he recognized. "Who is this?"

"An old friend, if you must know."

Looking around, he made sure no one was watching him as he lowered his
voice into the phone. "I apologize, but I don't recall the voice in the
least."

The voice on the other end seemed slightly perturbed, but not offended.
"Come on, Ky. It hasn't been that long. Besides, I got a message from
Sol you'd probably like to hear."

Ky's suspicions grew. Sol was never one to beat around the bush. In
fact, whenever Sol wanted to get in touch with someone, he always did it
face to face. He never had anyone give messages for him.

"Somehow, I doubt that Sol Badguy would give a message to anyone."

"You don't know him that well," the woman said before adding
mischievously, "unless there's something you're not telling us about you
and him."

Ky's frown grew. A few of the office workers at the station had gotten a
good laugh out of his obsession with defeating Sol, and construed it to
make it appear they were lovers. Of course, whenever Ky was present
about it or heard from someone who was, his mere presence and authority
put those words to silence. Ky simply loathed Sol at best, and outright
hated him at the worst.

However, she did have a point. Try as he may, he had never truly figured
out the thought patterns of the man he hated most. So he had no choice
but to concede the point.

Hildegard continued casually. "Don't worry about it too much. Not even
we can figure the guy out and we know him better than you do, but enough
of that."

Ky wanted to argue that, but realized that any thing he could have said
would only make things worse. Silently, he listened.

"This is what he told me to tell you, and I quote, 'Hey, kid. I got
something for ya. There's a boat with some treasure in it. Just a
few old stories. It's not much good for me, but I figured you'd go dizzy
over it.'. Got any idea what it means?"

Ky's eyes widened when he realized that either this Hildegard knew he
was harboring Dizzy or it really was from Sol. And the boat... the
Jellyfish Pirates craft? Perhaps the 'old stories' were the information
as to why Johnny Sfondi and his crew were dead.

Faking a sigh of frustration, he answered, "I haven't the slightest idea
what it means."

"I see... oh well, whatever the case may be, Ky, take care. And don't
worry, you aren't alone."

He was about to ask what Hildegard meant when she hung up before he
could form the words. It seemed that everyone knew what was going on
except him... and that jarred him greatly. Why the idea of not tracing
the line or pursuing the contact didn't spring to instant mind wasn't
out of stupidity, but rather that if he did, there was reason to know,
and his reason couldn't be overlooked, so he let the call slide, for now.

---

Hanging up the phone, 'Hildegard' allowed herself a small smile. It was
quite amusing playing with the hero of the Crusades. She leaned back into
her chair and wondered when would be the next time she would get a chance
to be a part of the offense against the Bureau.

She was a woman of twenty-five years and of moderate size and therefore,
didn't stand out too much. Which suited her just fine. Though her rich
and thick red hair, perpetually hanging from a pony tail at the back of
her head, was sort of an eye sore, people just shrugged it off.

Words could not convey just how much she loved her job. Even risking the
ire of the P.W.A.B. was overshadowed by the potential reward. Perhaps it
would create a world where her children would not have to worry about
someone watching over their shoulder.

"Did he get the message?" a man's voice with a distinct Romanian accent
asked from a chair across from her chair. Slayer was quite a man in her
eyes. Hopelessly devoted to his wife and though seemingly bored with the
petty struggles of mere mortals like herself, she knew were his
conscience lay. It was for that, she would be grateful.

"Yes, he did. I know he understood it too. Let's just hope he doesn't
ruin it before Sol gets the 'old stories' to him. You know how fussy he
can get."

The vampire smiled calmly and blew a small ring of smoke from the pipe
in his mouth. "That I do. But he should never be underestimated. Justice
did that and she paid for it dearly."

"That I believe," 'Hildegard' said. "But it was Sol that killed her."

Slayer remained resolute. "Be that as it may, I believe the Guardian of
the Day would have been more than capable of ending Justice's life."

'Hildegard's' eye cocked in surprise. "You think that highly of him?"

Slayer stood up and gave her a cryptic grin before heading out. "I do
more than think. I know."

She got the idea and let the matter go. "If I may ask, sir. Why are you
even bothering helping us in the first place?"

Melding into the shadows, the ancient vampire answered calmly, "Because,
I feel the Shadow Hearts is worthy to fulfill the same role the
Assassin's Guild did when I first established it."

She bowed her head in respect. "I am honored to hear that."

"Though, I bite my tongue in saying it, because you'd be no better off
than the Guild now if you let it go to your heads."

"And the Guild is�?"

"A living corpse."

---

Ky, writing idly in the report in front of him, noticed Dizzy scurrying
this way and that with files in her arms. It appeared she was getting
used to this, which was good. If luck was on their side, then she would
be able to keep her identity secret.

He sighed and went back to his work.  It was more than jarring to know
that he was practically living two lives now. One was supposed to be the
Ky Kiske everyone knew. The hero of the Crusades. The Slayer of Justice
in some circles.  And the other was now hiding a Gear from the publc.

The last name irritated him about as much as any of Sol's taunts. He was
only a part of Justice's sealing. There had been many brave men and
women that gave their lives to complete the incantation and put away the
nightmarish Gear into the prison dimension.

And even then, it would only be made pointless by Testament's meddling a
few years later. The world had enough of war. Perhaps... was that was
Sol was referring to when he had questioned him about 'That Man'? That
it should be left to die and left alone? That strategy didn't work for
Justice, why should Ky approach it to 'That Man'?

If that was so, then Ky knew that it had to be found. The truth needed
to be known, regardless of how unpleasant it could be. Otherwise, there
would be future generations repeating the mistakes of the past and with
more dire consequences. To think that Justice was waging a war that
dragged on for a century and was always a hair's width away from victory
(and defeat) by the time he took command.

He looked to the setting sun and realized that time had passed sooner
than he noticed.

"Miguel," he asked to one of the office workers across from him, "what
time is it?"

The aforementioned was closing up his workspace and gathering his
jacket. "I'm taking a guess, Officer Kiske, but I think it's time to go
home, for me anyway. The night shift should be coming in any minute now."

He looked over to the recorder's offices and figured Dizzy must have
already left. Though he was supposed to be her guardian, he felt a bit
guilty for not noticing her departure. By definition, he was supposed to
be watching over her. Not to mention that Dizzy leaving was suspicious
to him, if not anyone else. She might leave because it was right in the
co-worker's eyes, but to him, he saw trouble.

"If that's the case, I think I'll head out too."

Miguel cocked an eyebrow and a humored grin at him, "Well, that's a
first. You've always been here after hours. Is Mr. All-Work-And-No-Play
finally letting himself loose? Is there a girl involved? And I'm not
talking about that China girl you broke up with."

Ky, on the other hand, was not amused by Miguel's intrusive behavior. "I
�am- your higher up in this chain of command, but I'll pretend you said
none of that. Now, if you'll excuse me." The Thunderseal sheathed in his
scabbard, he walked out of the office faster than he would have liked.
And he walked uncomfortably fast until he was sure he was out of range
of Miguel's constant questions.

Opening the door to his house, Ky stepped in, closed the door, and
locked it with a grateful breath. It had been a long day and he was glad
that it was over for once.

Placing his jacket on the rack, he walked into the living room to see
Dizzy, sitting on the floor, against the wall with her face in her
hands. At first, he didn't care, she was a Gear, deal with it, and now
that he was home, he didn't have to put up with it. But a mournful look
up as she saw him enter, and a few minutes later, after going to the
kitchen and doing a few normal after-work activities, his conscious
winning out and going to her side, being the saint he was.

"Dizzy, are you alright?"

Looking up, he could see the exhaustion in her eyes. It wasn't physical,
but whatever it was, it had taken much from her. He could tell she
wanted to shake her head, but held it back.

"Mr. Kiske..." she began in a whisper, "I... I'm not sure I can get used
to this."

Ky wanted to tell her otherwise, tell her she had to. He knew she could
adapt and would most likely overcome, but his own doubts swallowed up
the optimism he had earlier that day. However, it would be cruel of him
to be apathetic to her situation, even if she was a Gear.

Taking a seat on a chair, he looked into her eyes and replied as
tactfully as he could, "You will and so will I."

Not expecting the latter half of the answer she asked, "You?"

He nodded. "If you're discovered, you may be captured by the Bureau and
I will most likely be imprisoned for harboring a Commander Gear." He
secretly knew he didn't need that second to last word, as harboring a
Gear at all, the fear of humanity, would draw enough bad looks, calls of
backstabbing, consorting with the enemy, and the question of how it
could still be alive. It was a mess if she was found, and he had to deal
with it, and the consequences.

That wasn't the whole truth. The UN Security Council had passed a law
some years back that anyone harboring a Gear for any reason were
executed with no trial. There had been smaller militias attempting to
'train' Gears to do their bidding with the loss of Justice and they were
all dealt with swiftly and harshly. Ky himself had encountered a few
such groups in the past and felt the law unjust, but said nothing. He
also could sympathize, considering his own background in fighting Gears,
that the world was fearful of any Gear what so ever. The thought of
maybe it could turn its back and become like Justice was too great to
use their benefits.

The sad look on Dizzy's face deepened and she curled up against the
corner, letting her forearms rest on her knees. Her tail, now free from
the clothes, curled around her feet as though she were trying to keep
herself warm. It instinctively slithered tighter, no thought given by
Dizzy to its actions, like one didn't need to think to breathe.

She whispered to herself, though it was audible to his ears. "It's like
Porvoo-3 all over again."

"Porvoo-3?"

She looked up and nodded. "It was the town in Finland where I grew up.
My dad told me it was a big city at one time, but when I lived there, it
was a small hamlet."

The pieces slowly fit together in Ky's mind. Though he felt he was
intruding, he had to ask.

"What happened?"

Dizzy sighed, not wishing to relive the memory, but knew he deserved to
hear the story.

-

Dizzy was only one year old, but already she had the appearance of a
child of six. Her dark blue hair was already growing like a weed and no
matter how often her mother cut it, it would only grow back just as
fast. She often giggled innocently at her mothers light frustration and
feeling no other recourse, taught her how to tie the two ribbons in her
hair.

One morning, she was sitting atop the shoulders of her father as they
walked through the slowly vanishing mist of the woods by the small house
they lived in. It was a sight she never got bored of. It was as almost
if Heaven had moved to the forest and they were free to visit anytime
they wished.

Her father was a large man. Easily six and a half feet tall with a
physique that belied his age. Being in the Holy Order had left him
strong and even in retirement, he was still one of the stronger men in
any armed force. He refused to be sedate and kept going and with a baby
girl to take care of, he found himself moving more than a retired man would.

The heavy beard around his face tickled Dizzy's skin whenever she hugged
him or kissed him on the cheek. Despite it growing in a light silvery
tint, there was a still a bit of light brown around the top.

Dizzy instinctively adjusted her balance with every large step her
father took to avoid the larger roots and giggled whenever he
purposefully jumped to avoid a non-threatening rock. However, the
usually joyful walk was slightly marred by something that had been
gnawing at her for a while.

"Daddy..." Dizzy asked solemnly.

"Yes, dear?" Iliya asked, noting the tone in his daughter's voice.

"When I go into town... the others look at me strange. Did I do something?"

Without stopping, he answered casually. "No. They've never seen you much
and they think they're seeing someone different."

Despite her father's good intentions, she couldn't help but feel there
was something more. "Am I different?"

Again, the confidence in her father's gentle tone didn't waver. "Yes,
but then again, everyone's different. And I think it's better that way.
It'd be awfully boring if we were all the same."

Satisfied with the answer, Dizzy wrapped her small hands around her
father's head and kissed the top. Her daddy was her best friend and she
hoped he would never leave.

-

"By that time, nothing had happened, but I had a feeling it wouldn't
last. Another year later..."

-

Dizzy looked in wonder at the several boys and girls playing a simple
game where one was 'it' and everyone did everything in their power to
avoid contact. Should anyone be touched, they would be 'it' and would
have to place the label on someone else by the same method. What caught
her attention most was how much they were moving, the laughter, and all
the joy they were having.

They were all roughly her own age, she was only two and they ten to
twelve. She looked enough like them to pass as one of their own and felt
the need to join them in their game.

"Hey, can I play too?"

One of the smaller boys, Olaf, replied, "Sure! But you get it be 'it'!"

With a gleeful sprint, she flew into the game and found the other
children to be faster than she anticipated. For a minute, she laughed
and chased one of the other girls, touched her on the shoulder,
squealed, "You're it!" and dashed the other way.

The girl shouted in shock and then started advancing on Dizzy as fast as
her eleven year old legs could carry her. However, Dizzy was still
faster and soon the girl had to find someone else to tag.

The same mindlessly fun game continued for roughly ten more minutes,
none of them having a care in the world. Dizzy was about to tag the boy
that had invited her in when the voice of an adult stopped them all in
their tracks.

"OLAF!" screamed his mother from the distance.

The boy froze in terror, not knowing what he had done wrong. His
confusion escalated when his mother grabbed his arm, "What are you doing?!"

On the brink of tears, Olaf replied quickly, "I... I was just playing
tag... and..."

"And you were letting that... that... THING touch you?" the mother said
with an angry glare in Dizzy's direction.

Olaf's further protests and then his forceful departure seemed like a
distant echo as the mother's accusation reverberated in her memory in an
infinite loop. It seemed as thought someone had struck Dizzy on the
cheek and confirmed the suspicions she had recalled a year ago.

Despite the other childrens' confusion on the matter and their
insistence they she stay, Dizzy declined and ran home. She ran, hoping
they wouldn't see the tears gushing out of her eyes.

-

"I tried not to let it bother me, but it was then that I realized I
wasn't human. And not long after that, my wings and tail appeared. I was
scared to go out. Eventually, during the spring after my third birthday..."

-

Dizzy was reading one of the books in her father's small library. She
had already read through them all once, but she figured it wouldn't hurt
to read them again. Despite it not having a happy ending, she enjoyed
reading 'The Once and Future King'.

Dizzy liked the hero, Arthur, and would at times wished he was alive.
There seemed so much wrong in the world and he would have found a way to
make it right.

"Danger approaches!" Necro whispered from the back of her mind.

Putting the book down, she stepped out of the study to main room where
the window showed her a frightening sight.

There was a mob of people outside. A few torches lit the darkness and a
few carried pitchforks and what not. But that's not what scared her. She
could see the faces of some of them in the crowd. There was anger, rage,
and hatred that seemed to have a specific target in mind.

"Luveria, keep down," her father whispered quickly, taking the Earth
Seal from his study and stepping to the front door, his weapon hoisted
on his shoulder. She had asked about the large hammer/halberd her father
once wielded in the service of the Holy Order. Though he himself did not
know much about its origin, he did know that it was a weapon of great
power, meant for those that would defend humanity from the dreaded Justice.

Out of curiosity, she had tried to lift the weapon a while ago, but to her
shock, she had received a powerful jolt and was unconscious for nearly a day
for merely touching it. There was something powerful about the weapon
and she never desired to be near it again.

When interest of the Earth Seal waned, she wanted to hear the stories of
his days in battle, but he had always refrained, not wishing to relieve
the past. She had learned that was a time he would have rather forgotten.

Feeling her heart race, she crawled to her mother, who also stood out of
direct sight of the window. "Mom, what's going on? Why are they here?"
she asked, nearly overcome with fear.

Her mother, a brave woman that had seen many things worse than this,
frowned, "They're scared."

"Scared? Of what?"

Her mother, Velija, looked to her sadly, "They're scared of you, dear.
They don't know why, but this is the only way they can deal with it and
it makes them fools for it."

"What's the meaning of this!" Iliya screamed to the mob, outside.

"We know she's there, Moroumetz! Send her out!" one man in the mob
replied, accompanied by several shouts of agreement.

She saw her father frown. "What for? She's done nothing to warrant this."

A woman spoke up, this one Dizzy recognized as Olaf's mother, "That
doesn't matter. Don't you realize that she, no, it's a Gear!"

Iliya tilted his head, unconvinced, "Odd. Last time I saw her, she was
as human as the rest of us."

The first man screamed in incredulance, "What kind of human has wings
and tail?!"

Another roared, "That thing's a menace!"

Several more people also spoke up, "We gotta get rid of it or it'll kill
us!"

Iliya folded his arms, "I will not allow that. She's my daughter!"

The first man, along with a few others, scoffed, "Who's gonna stop us,
Moroumetz? You?"

The answer was quick and violent. Swinging the hammer head of the Earth
Seal into the ground, a very noticeable tremor shook the ground and the mob.

When the group had finally got it's footing again, they were about to
charge Iliya when they realized something different about him.

Dizzy gasped in shock when she saw how drastically her father had
changed. His heavy breathing was noticeable in the still chilly air,
puffing out in noticeable steam clouds. And he was hunched over,
growling like an animal. Now she understood why he never wanted to speak
of his time in the Holy Order.

"If any of you..." Iliya snarled, "...bring harm to my daughter, I will
make you wish your mothers negated your births! And I'm sure this works
just as well on humans as it does on Gears!"

The mob, finally understanding with whom they were dealing with, quickly
dispersed. Standing by himself, Dizzy saw her father return to being the
man she knew. However, there was a visible sadness in his countenance as
he returned to the house.

Passing through the door, her mother walked up to her husband and
embraced him as best as she could. Dizzy didn't know what to think until
her father looked at her with shame in his eyes. Forgetting her own
dilemma, she hurried to her father's side and held him as tears induced
by past trauma returned.

-

"It was then I knew that I had to leave. My parents were going to be
hurt one way or another. So, the next night..."

-

Stepping as quietly as her feet would allow her, she moved to the back
door. All she had was the black dress with white collar on her back, and
a small backpack of supplies. Perhaps she could find a place where she
would be safe and her parents would be left in peace with her gone. She
didn't want to do this, but the choice was no longer available to her.

"Do you really think this is necessary?" her father asked from the
shadows. Though he hard a hard time facing her after the previous
night's events, he would not shirk his responsibilities as a parent.

She nodded. "Yes. I have to.  Otherwise they may do something to you and
mom just to get at me."

Her father frowned, "I was never fond of abuse. We can find a way to
get around this."

She sighed quietly, "I know... but if I'm not here, then that means
they'll leave you alone. I don't want you or mom getting hurt because of
me. I have to go."

Iliya remained still as he continued, "What makes you so certain things
will improve when you go?"

She looked to her father sadly, "I don't know... but what I do know is
that things won't get any better the longer I stay."

Her father knew the truth in her words, but didn't want to admit it.
"Where will you go? What will you do?"

She looked to the outside and replied, "There's a grove, to the far
north where I know nobody goes to. It's a long distance from here and
they won't be able to find it."

"Luveria..."

She sniffed and looked to her father. "I don't want to go... but.. I...!"

In resignation, her father opened his arms like he did when she looked
like a six year old. With tears in her eyes, she embraced her father
desperately and said between sobs, "I'll come back, dad! I promise!"

Her father kissed the top of her head and whispered gently, "Your mother
and I will be waiting, Luveria."

Wiping the tears away, she moved through the door, and into the night,
wanting to look back to the good man and woman that loved her despite
the fact she was a Gear, but couldn't. Her face was soaked with tears
before she even left the yard.

-

Like in the past, Dizzy wiped away the tears that had gathered in her
eyes. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she looked to see Ky was completely
fixed upon her story. Yet, he still wore no expression that Dizzy could
place a name to, simply listening without any sort of twinge of emotion
or compassion, just blankly listening.

"It's not the best way I could tell it, but it's what I remember," she
admitted sadly.

He stood up and walked into his study. As he walked through the door, Ky
stopped and said without turning to her, "For what it's worth, Dizzy...
I believe you."

She was surprised, as were her guardians that slowly crept into her mind.

'Perhaps he does not fear us as much as he used to,' Undine offered, 'he
may trust us yet.'

'I can still feel the suspicion in his voice, but he spoke the truth
when he said he believed us,' Necro added, 'so, you may be right,
Undine. However, I only have one issue with him.'

'And that is?' Undine asked presumptuously, the voices bouncing off of
the walls of Dizzy's head.

'He didn't ask how Dizzy could have been born by humans, a member of the
Holy Order no less.'

'We don't have those answers anyway, so it's best he not ask it.'

Whether her guardians were right or wrong remained to be seen. However,
the little encouragement he gave her was most likely enough for her to
believe that she could do this.

She would do her best.

End of Chapter 3

Oh yes, fanfic points for those that can guess Hildegard's identity.
There's a hint in the conversation with Slayer. You can spend your
points freely at the gift shop for useless toiletries. :p

Well, with that said, all things Guilty Gear belong to Daisuke
Ishiwatari, and his avatar, Sol Badguy.

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