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Culmination	By : Croik Category: +G through L > Guilty Gear Views: 2646 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Guilty Gear, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Guilty
Gear, its characters and settings are property of Sammy Studios, and are being
used in this fanfiction without permission.
This fic is rated R for violence and sexual content, and it contains
yaoi material.

Culmination
Chapter
10

Ky
awoke early the next morning when the dull hum of Mayship�s engines
changed their tone. He blinked his eyes
open, and carefully stretched; his back had returned to being sore after the
blow he�d received the night before, and now his head was throbbing as well. He rubbed at it lightly as he twisted onto
his side. There was bump from where he�d
struck the hanger, but he�d had worse.

His
eyes wandered to the porthole, wondering at the time, and when he followed the
pale morning sunlight he found himself watching Testament. The Gear was just pulling a black silk shirt
over his broad shoulders. It seemed to
fit him better than the one he had seen him in before. Ky smiled slightly,
oddly comforted by his presence there after the night before. �Are we landing?�

Testament
glanced over his shoulder, looking a little embarrassed as he quickly did up
the buttons of his shirt. �Yes. We�re somewhere west of Rome�I�m not sure
where, but everyone seems excited about it.
I�m supposed to tell you to �dress appropriately�.�

Ky
frowned slightly, but when he started to shift again his feet bumped against
something soft at the foot of his bed. A
quick investigation showed it was a pair of khaki pants, a white button-down
shirt, fresh underwear, and a pair of strapped sandals. Resting atop the neat pile was a note in
adorable cursive that read: �I bought these for you in Rome, too. I hope they fit.�

�Did
Bridget do this?� Ky asked, drawing his fingertips
over the soft fabric of the shirt. He
was suddenly very eager to get himself in normal clothes again, and he quickly
slipped his arms into the sleeves.

�Yes,�
Testament replied as he finished dressing.
�He�s pretty good at matching sizes, too.� He ran a hand down the front of his
shirt. �It fits a lot better than Johnny�s
did.�

�I�m
sure.� Ky
smiled as he buttoned his own shirt, a tiny sigh of relief falling from his
lips. Though he hadn�t minded the
leather all that much while they were in Rome, he was beginning to realize how
much he had missed cotton, and his uniform.
�I�ll have to thank Bridget when I see him. And�apologize, for last night.�

Testament
nodded faintly, combing his hair briefly with his fingers before heading for
the door. �I�ll let you finish getting
dressed.�

�Thank
you.� Once he had left Ky set upon changing the rest of his clothing. Already he felt more like himself, and even
if his hair was still the same brown his reflection pleased him. Though he wasn�t usually one to care about
his appearance it kept him from thinking back on touchier subjects.

Eventually,
his curiosity at where they were landing overrode his memories, anyway. The ship touched down just as he was heading
for the door, and he had to steady himself a moment against the bed frame as he
was jostled. Once they�d halted he
quickly followed the sound of chattering voices to the ship�s starboard
hull. By the time he reached them the
crew had piled outside; he could hear the girl�s excited cheering, louder than
he thought such a small crew could generate, mixed with Johnny�s deep
laughter. Frowning, Ky
investigated.

The
ship had landed on a small airstrip of thick grass, outside what appeared to be
a small, sleepy town. It was still quite
early in the morning�there was still fog clinging to the earth, misting the
view of low, distant mountains and sparse greenery. The smell of salt water was heavy in the air
as Ky stepped outside the ship, clinging to his
nostrils and making his back tingle. He
only had a few moments to take it in; the officer�s attention was swiftly drawn
to the commotion in the grass in front of him.

There
were, as far as Ky could estimate, a good thirty or so
girls swarming about just outside the ship.
Some were familiar to him as members of the crew, but most of them were
not�young girls no more than eight or nine, several more than twice that age;
even a few boys dotted the crowd as they mixed together, laughing and passing
greetings. As Ky
watched in unmoving bewilderment one of the groups churned, girls giggling as
Johnny pushed to his feet with several of them clinging to his arms and
back. Only one girl, however�a young
red-head that could not have been older than five or six�had the privilege of
riding on his shoulders, and she squealed in delight.

He
spotted Bridget among them a moment later; the boy had a crew-member on each
arm, in the process of being introduced around.
Despite how enthusiastic Bridget had always been, Ky
had never seen him quite so excited and happy.
He was debating what to do himself when he realized Testament and Dizzy
were standing beside him. �What is this
place?�

�It�s
their home,� Dizzy replied with a fond smile as she watched the playful
antics. �I�m sure Johnny can explain it
better, but they brought me here when I first joined the crew. They�re all the orphans Johnny�s picked up
during his travels.�

�Orphans�?� Ky looked again,
feeling something like guilt crawling into the pit of his stomach. He knew immediately that Dizzy was telling
the truth; the girls crowded around Johnny were watching him with awe and
affection, and as he made their way through them he greeted them with the
same. This was a reunion of family, and Ky almost wanted to glance away from something so
intimate. More than that, he was
painfully reminded of his accusations the night before, and how ridiculous they
now seemed.

�They
look�pretty happy. For
orphans.�

Ky
glanced up at Testament�s remark, frowning thoughtfully. The Gear had an odd look on his face; it
seemed to be a mix of wonder and almost trepidation, his eyes sliding from each
child as if expecting something special to occur that he didn�t want to
miss. It was almost charming to think
that, after everything Ky had witnessed on the ship,
Testament was still shy around children.
He had to admit, however, that he shared some of that subtle
uncertainty. If these girls were
companions to pirates, there was no knowing how they might react to a police
officer, let alone a Gear like Testament.

�Tes!� The youngest of Testament�s
assigned hair-brushers came rushing toward them suddenly, her eyes bright with
excitement as she all but pounced on the Gear�s arm. He stared down at her blankly. �Come on�I want you to meet everyone.�

Testament
blinked, as if not quite understanding, and when she tugged him at first he
didn�t move. It wasn�t until Dizzy giggled, urging him on, that he allowed the girl to lead him
a step. He glanced back, and Ky couldn�t help but chuckle at his helpless face.

�Go
on,� he urged.

Testament
frowned at him, clearly dubious, but there was a certain light behind his eyes Ky hadn�t seen before.
At last he nodded to the little girl and followed her into the fray of
youths.

Ky
sighed quietly, watching as Testament was shown off to some of the younger
girls. He could see a few of the
elders�especially the boys�eyeing the Gear with concern, but over all they
seemed to be receiving him well. Most of
that was probably the doing of his youthful and eager companion.

�Aren�t
you going, too?� Dizzy questioned at his side.

Ky
shook his head. �Not yet. If this is their special reunion�I don�t have
any right to interrupt.� His eyes
slipped to Johnny, and he pursed his lips.
�Besides, Johnny and I�well�.�

�It�s
all right,� Dizzy quickly assured. �He
understands.�

Ky
nodded vaguely, taking a moment to better get his bearings and take in the
scenery. He didn�t recognize any of the
architecture here, nor the small, lazy town bordering the airstrip they had
landed upon. A few of the townspeople,
however, had gathered nearby to wave and call greetings of their own. It felt like a welcoming of heroes, almost,
and Ky smiled faintly with nostalgia. He remembered a time when his own Holy Order
had once been celebrated with such praise.

The
officer�s eyes were drawn again to Johnny when he noticed him speaking to a longhaired
stranger. It was a man, shorter than him
but seemingly of the same age, dressed in long baggy pants and loose-fitting,
robe-like top, both of the same pale blue.
His thick black hair had been secured in a somewhat sloppy braid that
trailed down his back; it reminded Ky of the work that
had been done on Testament�s hair. It
wasn�t until Johnny nodded back at Ky, and the
stranger turned to look, that he realized the man was Asian. His face was somewhat long but there was no
mistaking the tone of his skin, the almond shape of his dark eyes.

The
stranger approached with a kind smile, and before Ky
could begin to wonder who he might be Dizzy stepped past him. �Youn�it�s good to see you,� she declared
warmly, and the man spread his arms to welcome her in a firm embrace.

�Dizzy,
I�m glad to see you well.�

�You, too. How is everyone?�

The
man chuckled. �As
lively as ever.� He pulled back
slightly so he could see Ky, and he nodded a more
formal greeting. �And you must be Sir
Kiske.�

Ky
was a little surprised at first; he had thought maybe his dyed hair would keep
him from being recognized right away, but then realized that Johnny probably
had warned them ahead of time of their coming.
�Yes, that�s right,� he greeted, offering his hand. �Ky Kiske.�

�Ahn
Youn,� the man introduced himself as Dizzy stepped back, shaking Ky�s hand. �I was a
little surprised to hear you were coming, but you are welcome here.�

�I
appreciate that.� Ky
glanced at Johnny, but the man was moving away towards the back of the ship,
surrounded by his crew and the other children�Bridget and Testament among
them. �So, Johnny told you about me,
then.�

�Yes. I�m very sorry to hear what you�ve been
through.� Youn�s voice was deep and
smooth, almost parental-sounding with its rich, mature tone. It reminded Ky
suddenly of his old schoolmaster as a boy and relaxed him almost
instantly. �I hope you don�t mind, but I
also told the children. They reacted to
the news fairly well, but perhaps you�d best ride with me on the way to the
House.�

Ky
frowned slightly as he tried to puzzle out the meaning of those words. �Oh.
Yes, of course. If you think it best.�

�Thank
you.� Youn turned to Dizzy with a
smile. �Why don�t you go help them for a
bit while I speak to Sir Kiske?�

�Yes,
of course.� Dizzy nodded to them both
before slipping away to join the others.

Ky
watched her, his mind beginning to spin with more questions. Though it warmed him somehow hearing himself
addressed as �sir� once more, there seemed to be something reserved behind
Youn�s pleasant tone. He didn�t
understand until he caught the glance of one of the elder boys watching
him. There was something sharp, almost
fearful in his eyes, and when Ky glanced about he
caught several of the other children sneaking similar glances at him. They all turned quickly away once he�d
spotted them. It was puzzling, and
sobering, to think that these youths for some reason feared him; were uncertain
of a police officer when a pair of Gears walked easily among them�.

Youn
must have noticed his stare, for a gentle hand came down on his shoulder,
drawing his attention back. �Please
don�t be upset by it,� he said softly.
�You must understand, we are all the
accomplices of the Jellyfish Pirates.
When they heard a police officer was coming�the head of the police�they
were afraid it might be to make arrests.�

�These
are all�.� Ky
frowned at the group as Mayship�s belly was opened, allowing for them to
begin unloading the piles of supplies.
�You�re all pirates?�

Youn
chuckled. �In a manner
of speaking. Come walk with me,
Sir Kiske. There is a lot to explain.�

*****

Bridget
couldn�t stop grinning as he scampered into Mayship�s cargo hold,
several of the crewmembers on his heels as well as a few of the boys. There were kids everywhere�some his age, some
older, some younger�and he hadn�t been around this many at once in a long
time. At least, not so many that would
greet him with such enthusiasm and acceptance.
All he�d needed to say was that he was a new member of the Jellyfish
Pirates and already another two dozen friends had been added to his growing
list. All around there was laughter, and
relief, and excitement, and he was part of those at the center. It left him so happy that if there hadn�t
been work for him to do, he might have rolled across the grass giggling like an idiot.

For
now, however, he and a young blonde named Zinnia were hefting a large crate
between them, carrying it down the few short steps to begin a pile outside of
the plane.

�They�ll
bring the trucks around in a second,� Zinnia explained, huffing, as they set
the box down and went for a second.
�Then we take them down to the House.
It�ll be your first time, right?
It�s really great.�

�Really?� Thoroughly excited, Bridget
raced him back into the ship, where Testament was amazing the younger children
with his strength by carrying two of the crates by himself. Bridget giggled, and when he noticed Zinnia
eyeing the Gear with some concern he thumped him on the back. �Don�t make that face. Testament�s great�he�s a good Gear now.�

�If you say so.� They selected a second crate,
half dragging it towards the slowly growing pile as everyone bustled in and
out. It wasn�t until they were on their
way to their forth that Zinnia asked, �Was that really Ky Kiske back there?�

�Hm? Oh, yeah.� Bridget smiled shyly. �He�s something, isn�t
he?�

�He
looked kinda shrimpy.�

Bridget
stuck his tongue out at the boy. �What
do you know? He�s even tougher than
Johnny.�

Though
he expected Zinnia to retort with something akin to �is not,� one of Bridget�s
favorite verbal exercises, a look of apprehension spread over the boy�s face,
and a few faces bearing the same turned toward them. �Don�t worry!� Bridget quickly assured as he
bent down for another box. �He�s here�on
vacation. He�s not gonna arrest
anyone. He�s�uh�a good cop.�

Zinnia
didn�t look convinced as he helped Bridget lift. �If you say so.�

Bridget
pouted, but there didn�t seem to be any way to convince them just yet, and he
didn�t want to alienate all his new friends.
He did, though, feel bad for Ky, having to wake
up to this mistrust after everything that had occurred the night before. Vowing to make it up to the officer later he
devoted himself to his work with great zeal, determined to give everyone the
best impression of him as possible.

*****

�We�re
just north of Alghero, on the island of Sardinia off Italy�s western coast,�
Youn began to explain as he and Ky made their way across the airfield to where
two very large, magic-powered flat-bed trucks had been parked. �If you�ve never heard of it, that�s good
news for us.� He chuckled lightly as he
climbed behind the driver�s seat of one of the trucks, Ky
taking his place beside him. �It�s not a
very large island, but we appointed a Duke just a few years ago, and we�re
quite satisfied with remaining unknown to the rest of the world.�

Ky
nodded thoughtfully. Honestly he had
never heard of Sardinia, though admittedly this region of Europe was often
overlooked by the United Nations unless there was some need for reconstruction
or aid. But there seemed to be no
evidence of Gear attacks here, none of the rubble and solemnity that blanketed
most of Italy itself. �So you�re not
recognized by the United Nations as a full country,� he surmised.

�No,
we�re not.� Youn started the truck up
and drove it around to the back of the plane where supplies were being busily
unloaded and arranged. �Before the
Crusades, Sardinia was almost always under the rule of some other country,
mostly Italy. During the wars it was
kind of forgotten�this is a simple place, and it isn�t able to produce anything
especially helpful to a war effort. When
Italy was more or less destroyed by the Gears, we were left on our own.� He smiled ironically. �My grandfather fled Korea during all the
attacks on Japan at the beginning of the war.
This place was small, out of the way�there was no reason for Gears to
come here. But even when they did reach
this region, we were lucky and were overlooked.
My family has lived here peacefully ever since.�

�You�ve
been living autonomously, then.� It
seemed strange, to think that a place like this, not only untouched by Gears
but beautiful, could go unseen for this long.
He wondered briefly if even his superiors knew of its existence. �That must be difficult, if you�re not
engaging in trade with foreign nations.�

�You�d
think that,� Youn said with a smile.
�But the truth is this island can pretty much support itself. Our population is low and mostly consists of
natives. We have fields for growing
wheat, plains for raising cattle, and plenty of coastlines for fishing. Though we do have to import a lot of fruit
and vegetables, we do so mostly through Rome, so as to not attract attention. That, and we
especially receive a lot of aid from the Jellyfish Pirates,� he added.

Despite
their youth, the children worked diligently in loading the trucks, and soon
enough the small caravan was rumbling slowly down a twisted dirt road toward
the ocean. The youths trotted alongside
the vehicles, laughing and joking to one another. Youn paused in his explanations so that Ky would be able to take in the view, to his appreciation;
he was startled by how beautiful the countryside was, considering this was an
island he�d never heard of. The area
they were in was at a low elevation, dotted with sparse forestry and a clear
view of the coast stretching west and south for miles. But to the north Ky
could just barely see the outlines of rounded mountains and sheer cliff sides,
and to the south an impressive harbor of tall-masted sailboats. As they neared the beach he was granted a
spectacular view of sparkling ocean, a rich blue-green in the early morning,
waves cresting gently against a shoreline of golden sand.

�I
didn�t know,� Ky said quietly, �that places like this
still existed.�

�It�s
beautiful, isn�t it?� Youn pointed out
his window for Ky to look. �There�s the House.�

The
House, as it seemed to be called, was nothing like Ky
had imagined�not for an orphanage, certainly.
The building was at least four stories tall, stretching down the
coastline in a subtle curve. There were
tiled roofs, wide pale arches, balconies with black lacquered bars, sun
umbrellas and gardens; everything was grand and welcoming, and when they pulled
into a bricked courtyard he finally understood why its exterior was so
lavish. �This is�a hotel?�

�Used
to be,� Youn corrected, leading them to the side of the large building to what
appeared to be a large storage house.
�When tourism dried up and the place went bankrupt, Johnny and I�kind of
helped ourselves.� He stopped the truck
and slipped out, Ky following. �Come on, I�ll give you a tour.�

There
were even more children waiting at the House for their arrival,
and as soon as the trucks had halted Johnny led them all in another effort to
move and arrange the incoming supplies. Ky by now was feeling somewhat guilty in that he wasn�t
aiding them, until he realized that most of the packages being unloaded with
such care were most likely stolen goods.
He wasn�t sure what to make of it as Youn led him around to a side door
to the House, taking him inside.

�I
first met Johnny when a plane he was on crashed here, almost ten years ago,�
Youn resumed his story telling. �He had
May with him, then, and they were the only ones that survived the crash. My family cared for them and sent them
off. A few months later he showed up
here again, this time with some orphans he�d found in the aftermath of a Gear
attack. We agreed to take care of
them. A while later he came back with
more.� Youn chuckled with the memory as
he led Ky though the lobby, which now seemed to have
been converted into a play and study area.
There were toys, books, and games strewn everywhere, a few TVs, even
workout equipment in the corners.
�Eventually there got to be so many we took over this abandoned
hotel. Everything seemed to work out
perfectly; the dining room and the kitchen were already connected so it was
easy to prepare large meals, and we converted the activities hall into one
large sleeping area.�

Youn
opened a large set of double doors, revealing a wide room with a wooden floor
and tall ceiling, white walls lined with arching windows and cabinet after
cabinet. Nearly the entire floor space
was covered in mattresses and strewn blankets�like on gigantic bed pieced
together. Ky
was admittedly baffled. �Doesn�t that
get uncomfortable?� he questioned.

�This
is mostly for the younger children,� Youn admitted. �There are plenty of rooms, but nearly all of
the children here were either orphaned or abandoned; the youngest of them don�t
like to be separated from everyone for very long, if at all, so it was easier
to keep them all together. The hotel
rooms are used by the older kids and some of the townspeople that volunteer
here as staff. Though many of the
children we�ve raised have moved on by now�living in the city, some of them
send money or toys back to us as they can afford.�

�I
see.� Ky let
his eyes drift over the scene a while, contemplating silently. He could see a few mounds among the piled blankets,
doubtlessly children who had not been able to wake themselves in time to see
Johnny�s arrival. A teenage girl was
watching over them with one such youngster clinging to her sleep shirt; the
child could not have been more than five years old. Ky�s heart ached a
moment in sympathy, but he soon realized that the young boy appeared
content. He was surrounded by peers,
cared for and adored by men like Johnny and Youn. In his work Ky had
seen many orphanages, but no other cared for with such diligence and effort,
such honest, selfless affection.

The
officer stepped outside the sleeping room once more, gathering Youn�s attention
to him. �Why are you telling me all
this?� he asked quietly. Bridget and
Testament were just as new to this place as he, and yet neither of them had
been pulled especially aside for a tour and explanation.

�Because
I want you to like this place,� Youn replied honestly, meeting Ky�s gaze. �We can�t
stay hidden here for long, and when the United Nations finally takes notice of
us it�s likely Sardinia will fall again under the control of another
country.� His voice lowered
slightly. �We�ve been trying to build up
our own government�a democracy, that will allow us to ask that we be accepted
as an independent nation. We�re even
trying to cut back on how much we depend on Johnny for his piracy. But we need time. If you were to report back to your superiors
about us, all the freedom and independence we�ve been struggling to achieve
could be lost. That�s why we desperately
need you to understand our situation.�

Ky
lowered his eyes as he considered these words.
He did not want to believe that the government he so lauded and believed
in could be such that it would take away a people�s freedom, but he was
beginning to realize that his old ways of thinking might no longer apply. He had been na�ve in the past, as was proof
in his even being in this situation. The
Gears he had once hated and slaughtered had saved his life. The pirates who he had once shunned and
hunted had supported and hidden him from his betrayers. The order he had once believed in was
conspiring against him and innocent people.
It was foolish to even trust in his judgment anymore. He had been wrong about everything.

But
Youn needed an answer, and with a quiet sigh he nodded. �I cannot lie outright to my superiors, but I
will keep your secret as long as I can,� he said. �And when the time comes, I will vouch for
you and your people. I don�t want to see
anything happen to this place.�

Youn
smiled only faintly, but with such gratitude as Ky
rarely saw in a man. �Thank you, Sir
Kiske.�

Youn
excused himself then under the explanation of checking on the progress of
breakfast. Ky
lingered a moment longer. He moved
through the hall to one of the balconies overlooking the beach�it had been a
long time since he�d had the chance to enjoy the ocean, its sheer size and
majesty�. And he bowed his head, hands
clasped in humble prayer for the first time in many days.
- 10
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Culmination