Tainted Blood
Disclaimer: I do not own Shermie or any other KOF characters. Those are the property of SNK Playmore. Mega Man X, Zero and Dr. Cain are owned by Capcom. Dr. Boskonovitch is owned by Namco.
Preview:
This story tells about Shermie's survival of the KOF '97 ordeal, and her subsequent quest to rid herself of the Orochi curse forever. Includes many sci-fi elements, funny encounters and a new romance for Shermie. This story is a crossover, but since Shermie is the main character/heroine, I have decided to place this story in the KOF section. Reviews and feedback are appreciated. Enjoy!
Prologue: The conclusion of the King of Fighters '97 tournament- October 23, 1997.
It was the end of one of the most hard-fought martial arts tournaments in history. Nine teams of three fighters had entered, and now only one was left. As expected, it was the same team that won this year that had won for the previous three years. There was a great celebration as the announcer handed the trophies to Kyo Kusanagi, Goro Daimon, and Benimaru Nikaido. Another successful tournament was complete, the fans and fighters could hardly wait until next year's contest. Suddenly, the atmosphere began to change. The festive environment turned to one of fear and anxiety. The sky grew dark, and three mysterious beings appeared.
Shermie had been waiting for this moment. However, at the same time, she felt apprehensive. Up until a few days ago, she had been nothing more than a spunky young French girl, who had her whole life ahead of her. She was a member of a successful music band known as CYS, along with her boyfriend Yashiro Nanakase and a teenage boy named Chris. She had fans all over the world. She enjoyed everyday carefree, nothing seemed to bother her. However, a few days ago, at the start of the tournament, a mysterious force had awakened inside her. "The time has almost come," she whispered to her friend and lover, Yashiro Nanakase, "soon his will shall be done!"
"We just need to gather the strength from these last remaining fighters, and then our mission will be complete!" Yashiro said.
Even though everything in her being cried out for her to accomplish this mission, there was still a small part of her, deep down, that simply wanted to continue living a normal life. She enjoyed traveling with the band, especially Yashiro, enjoyed the fame and recognition, and enjoyed the company of her friends, just like any other normal girl.
Kyo, Benimaru and Daimon watched as the three mysterious beings approached them.
YASHIRO: An interesting performance for a sideshow!
KYO: Who are you?
YASHIRO: Does Orochi ring a bell?
KYO: You're Orochi?
YASHIRO: Surprised? It is to be expected.
You see, Shermie, along with Yashiro and their adolescent partner Chris, were not just any ordinary friends and band partners. They were possessed by the spirits of the Heavenly Kings of Orochi. Their mission in the tournament was simple: Collect enough strength and energy from the powerful fighters in the tournament, and use that energy to re-awaken the ancient deity known only as Orochi.
Orochi is a name that strikes fear into the hearts of almost anyone who knows of the legend. He is a deity that has designs on destroying the human race, because he feels that they are immoral and are doing great harm to mother Earth. His presence was last felt over 1800 years ago, when the ancestors of the modern day fighters Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Chizuru Kagura defeated him and sealed him away. For 18 centuries Orochi had been away from the Earth, preventing him from causing harm and wreaking havoc on any and all humans. But now, his Heavenly Kings were just moments away from letting him loose again.
Suddenly, a voice called out from the crowd.
CHIZURU: Benimaru, Daimon, you need to stay back. The only way we can seal the Orochi is to perform the act as it was done 1800 years ago, by the descendants of the three sacred clans. Kyo, somehow we need to re-awaken Yagami.
Iori Yagami had briefly succumbed to the Orochi curse known as "The Riot of Blood," where all reason and logic are taken away from a person's mind, and only the desire to cause death and destruction remain. Yagami was beaten into unconsciousness by Kyo, Daimon and Benimaru a few moments earlier.
KYO: I'll try to get him up. Be sure to get the Yata mirror ready!
Slowly, Iori began to sit up.
IORI: Is the fight over?
KYO: No, we still have one more thing to do.
IORI: Let's do it!
The members of the three sacred clans battled the Orochi Heavenly Kings, and after a long and intense battle, where lives were nearly lost, the Kings were defeated. However, the fight was not over.
YASHIRO: It doesn't matter that you beat us! We were still able to gather your energy. Now Shermie, you know what we need to do.
SHERMIE: Yes, the time has come to sacrifice ourselves for our lord, Orochi, and re-awaken him in the body of our young friend.
YASHIRO: It pains me to have to do this, my love, but I will join you soon.
SHERMIE: You... promise?
(Shermie closes her eyes, and then feels a sudden, sharp pain in her side. Almost instantly, everything went black and she lost consciousness.)
Chapter I: Humanity is safe, for now.
After she lost consciousness, Shermie seemed to enter into a kind of limbo, she couldn't tell if she was alive, dead, or simply hallucinating. Shermie began to see things, she thought she must have died, because everything seemed completely strange to her.
The first thing she noticed in this state of mind was a huge flash of light, followed by the words, "for 10, 100 years, you have a chance." She did not know what to make of all that. A little later on, she saw a helicopter land near the site where she fought the three sacred clans. Two men appeared to get out of the helicopter. One man was tall, handsome looking, with white hair and wearing a dark blue outfit. The other man was slightly older, with dark brown hair, and a somewhat goofy looking mustache. His outfit was something Shermie had never seen before. The two men were approaching the fallen Kusanagi boy, who must have suffered some trauma from that bright light. She thought she heard the men speaking.
ZERO: Come on, we've gotta move! Now is the perfect opportunity. If we don't get Kusanagi back to HQ and start the cloning process soon, Igniz is gonna be pissed! You know how he gets when he's angry!
KRIZALID: Coming, sir!
Krizalid surveys all of the fallen bodies that lay around the place where the Orochi battle was fought. He looked over and saw Shermie, and began to approach her lifeless body. Shermie tried to move, but she could not, she had no strength to move any part of her body. She seriously thought she was dead.
KRIZALID (looking at Shermie): What a shame! So beautiful.
ZERO: Never mind them, you idiot! They're dead! They are of no use to us. We only want Kusanagi. Get over here and give me a hand! This guy's heavier than he looks!
KRIZALID: Yes, boss. (still looking at Shermie)
ZERO: Ha! She's not that beautiful anyway! You know that because of my killer mustache I'm the sexiest thing on God's green Earth.
Krizalid curses his boss under his breath, and then goes to help him load Kusanagi onto the helicopter. Shermie tries to say something, but she cannot move her mouth. Her whole body seems to have shut down, and only her mind is left. Then the same sharp pain she felt when Yashiro dealt his blow came back again, this time more painful than before. Shermie could not take it anymore. She blacked out.