Some characters are based on KOF: Maximum Impact just to let you know. I would like to thank info helped out a lot on some of the characters' backgrounds.

Anything I write aside from Keith and Lina I disclaim, unless some of Keith's moves have already been used, that I'm not sure about, but if I did, eh, I disclaim, life goes on.

So it Begins

The giant stood over the fallen man who was struggling the get up from the beating he had just received.

"Give it up boy. You stand no chance against me." The giant snickered as he rubbed the long scar across his neck as the crowd roared with the thrill of the fight.

The man finally got to his feet, but his legs looked ready to collapse from under him.

Blood poured from various wounds on his body as his red shirt and black pants were in shreds. Despite his crippling look, his pair of red tinted shades were still on his face.

"No, I'll beat you. I'll avenge Fate's death." Alba declared as he raised his fists to fight as a dark red aura began to form around his body.

Duke snickered as he too prepared to fight.

"Don't think that petty speech will change the outcome of this fight. Southtown is mine!"

Duke swung hard to finish off Alba, but the boy ducked, allowing Duke's fist to go right through the arena wall, making himself open.

"Never! Conquering Lightning Flash!"

Alba struck Duke point blank in the chest.

Duke was unable to block or counter the attack which consumed him in a powerful blast of electricity, swallowing the entire arena in light.

Duke's rage ignited.

With a roar of fury, his ki exploded around him, incinerating the snowy ground to ashes.

After Duke's outburst, he stood upon a pillar that was surrounded by a very deep and very wide crater which still smoked from the intense heat.

"Damn that boy. That one mistake cost me everything. I shouldn't have played with him for so long."

The man known as the Infernal Executioner growled as he rubbed his scar that stretched across his neck.

After that fight with Alba Meira, he lost everything he had gained.

His power in Southtown was gone. The other competitors annihilated Mephistopheles as soon as they heard of his defeat and he had nothing left.

Months had passed and he seemed to move from place to place at random. His memory of that fight and his desire for vengeance were the only things that were on his mind.

He had now entered a canyon that was covered in nothing but white snow for miles around.

He jumped across the crater from his pillar with little effort.

"I'll regain my power on Southtown!"

He swung out his fist to the side, crushing the solid stone next to him.

"Even if I have to raze the entire city to the ground!"

The tyrant stopped his ranting when he heard someone clapping.

He looked around to find who was making the sound, but the canyon walls make the sound echo and very hard to pin down.

"My, you sure have a temper, don't you." Said a sinister voice, laced with an inhuman cruelty.

"Who are you? Show yourself." Duke demanded.

"If you insist." Said the voice.

The person stepped out from behind a large rock, revealing himself to be none other that General Bison.

"Now where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is General M. Bison. Leader of Shadowlaw."

Duke snorted, clearly not impressed, or simply didn't care.

"So."

Bison simply grinned as he walked towards the giant.

"By that remark, you don't know who I am. Don't worry, we are only beginning to become recognized as the world's largest organized crime syndicate. You might have heard of many assassinations on government officials within the last few years."

Duke thought about it for a moment.

"If so, why are you here? Do you want to fight?" Duke rubbed his long scar as a terrible grin formed on his face.

"On the contrary, I came to personally invite you join our ranks. With your power, you could be a great use to me." Bison offered.

"Sorry, but I don't take orders from nobody."

"Don't be so hasty, Don Duke."

Duke looked at him curiously, he knew that he didn't give Bison his name, but how did he know.

Bison grin only got bigger.

"Don't look so surprised. I know much more than that. I also know that you recently lost to a young man named Alba Meira in a contest in Southtown. The boy was also like a son to the former leader by the name of Fate whom sent an assassin to kill you, but failed and you sent the same assassin to kill him."

Duke shrugged his shoulders.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Only if you want to be. I can sense that you have a dark heart and your vengeance for that boy. Join me and I can guarantee that you will have it."
Duke thought about it some more as he rubbed his scar.

"Hmm, you make a good point. I'd like to give that boy some payback."

Bison chuckled callously.

"Done."

X

(LA)

A man sat alone on an outside restaurant table, drinking a cup of coffee. He appeared to be waiting for someone.

"Hey Terry!" shouted a cheery female voice.

"Huh?" Terry Bogard, also known as Hungry Wolf, turned to see a familiar pair, to which he smiled.

"Hey Mai. How's it going?" The man with long blonde hair asked as Mai and her boyfriend, Andy Bogard, also Terry's younger brother, reached him.

"Great, this city is so busy yet easygoing at the same time, unlike New York." The bouncy woman said as she clung to Andy's arm.

"Hey where's Joe?" Terry asked as he looked around them, but didn't see their kickboxing friend with them.

"He had another tournament in Japan and couldn't make it. He's a sucker for the limelight." Andy said.

"So where's Rock?"

Terry moved his cap with his hand to make it more comfortable.

"He's trying to hone his skills like I did through a journey of self-discovery."

"He admires you, Terry. He's almost like a little brother to you when I'm not around."

Terry just shrugged as they sat down at the table.

"So what took you so long?"

"We would have gotten here sooner, but Mai wanted me to show her the city and she almost freaked out when she experienced her first earthquake." Andy said.

"Did not! Why do you have to be so mean?" Mai pouted before her eyes shined brightly in adoration at the man.

"But I forgive you."

Andy moaned. Even though they were dating, she almost never left his side.

Terry smiled at their closeness, then briefly fell into his depression of when he lost his two loves, Lily and Sulia.

"Big Bro, are you ok?" Andy asked, bringing the man out of his daze.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you guys enjoy some coffee with me?"
"Sure, but why are we here?" Andy asked.

Terry was about to explain when they heard a scream nearby.

X

(LA)

"Yeah, I've just got through with some business in LA. I should be in Seattle some time tomorrow." Ken Masters said on the phone as he sped down the busy streets in his convertible Porsche, the long beach on his right that glistened like moving glass.

He slowed down as the light went from yellow to red.

"Uh huh…. Uh huh. Don't worry, I'll be home in no time."

Ken noticed some very cute girls passing by, they waved at him with smiles.

He waved at them, but then showed them his wedding band, which made them disappointed and they continued on down the sidewalk.

"I'm starting to get a bad signal. I'll call you later… I love you too. Bye." He cut off the phone.

He heard a scream and he saw a woman being attacked across the street.

"God damn punks!" He shifted gears and punched the gas, swerving around traffic as the tires squealed and smoked.

X

"Aaahhhh! Let go!" The woman screamed as she clung to her purse as three men grabbed her and another yanked on the purse.

"Give us the purse lady! We just want your money!" One of the men said as he tried to pry her fingers loose, which got him a kick in the groin.

"Hey! Leave the girl alone!"

"Huh?" The men and woman stopped their struggle to see Terry, Andy, and Mai charging right at them.

"Damn! Let's get out of here!" Yelled a thug.

"No way! I'll take these guys out!" Another pulled out a 9mm pistol and pointed it at the three.

"Eat lead!" And he fired.

The three split up, dodging the bullets as they whizzed by.

"Burning Knuckle!" Terry shouted and punched, his fist blazing in blue ki.

"What the..!" Was all he got before Terry knocked out his teeth with his attack, sending the man sprawling on the ground in a heap.

The others tried to fight, but Andy grabbed the girl and spin kicked her assailants effortlessly as Mai knocked the last one out with her fan.

"Four men against one little girl. How pathetic is that?" Mai said as she spread the fan and did a little laugh in victory.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Terry asked.

The girl was a little shaken, but physically unharmed.

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied.

Two of the men managed to get to their feet and make a break for it.

"Hey get back here!" Terry shouted and gave chase.

The men thought they had gotten away, when suddenly a red Porsche drove into an alley, blocking their path.

"What the hell?" One of them said.

"You should know better than to pick on helpless women. I guess I should teach you some manners." Said the man as he jumped out of his car.

"Get out of our way!" One swung at the man, but he dodged effortlessly and knocked him out with a swift chop to the back of the neck, the man unconscious before he hit the ground.

The other guy became frighten, then he brandished a switch blade.

"I'll cut your throat!" He said and slashed at the man.

The man caught the blade with two fingers and disarmed the punk with a flick of his wrist, sending the knife spinning into the air.

The man made sport with the punk with a few body blows and a backhand to the nose, busting it wide open before the man collapsed.

The knife fell to the ground, bounced a few times, then slid into a gutter.

Terry and the others reached the man who took care of the men.

"Hey, thanks for the help." Terry said.

"Don't mention it. I always like to help out a pretty lady in distress, but you got there before I did so I took out the trash for you." He said with a grin.

"Thanks again. My name's Terry Bogard." He said as they shook hands.

"Andy Bogard."

"Mai Shiranui."
"Ken Masters. It was nice meeting all of you. Hopefully we'll meet again someday." He said as he ran to his car, started it, shifted into reverse, and peeled out as he backed into the highway and was gone with the engine roaring as he disappeared in the distance.

"He's strong. He gave off a powerful aura." Andy said.

"Yeah, maybe we will meet again." Terry said.

X

(LA)

The girl had calmed down after the events of almost being robbed and then being saved by the three.

"I can't thank you enough for saving me. I am grateful for your kindness." The young woman said. She looked in her early twenties and had long bleached blonde hair and a nice figure despite her almost frail appearance.

"No problem. Are you hurt in anyway?" Terry asked.

The girl shook her head.

"No, they just wanted my purse that's all?" The she looked up at Terry with crystal blue eyes.

"You said that your name was Terry Bogard, is that correct?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"You're the one I've been looking for. One of the strongest street fighters in the world."

Terry seemed surprised, but calmed down.

"Are you in some sort of trouble?" He asked.

The woman shook her head.

"No, I just had to find you to tell you something. You see, I'm lost to put it simply. I was with my brother and somehow we got separated and I walked around trying to find him when I was attacked. I was just wondering is I could stay in your company until he finds me."

"So why do you need my help to find him?" Terry asked.

"He's a street fighter and came here on the tip that you might be here. He loves to test his skills against fellow fighters such as yourself."

Lina's eyes pleaded like a puppy's.

"Please, I beg of you."

Terry took off his cap to scratch his head.

"Well I don't really see any problem. What about you guys?" Terry asked.

Andy was about to object when Mai elbowed him in the side.

"Uh, no. No problem at all. Hehe." Andy said as he rubbed his side where she struck him.

"Oh thank you so much!" Lina said with delight as she leaped out of her chair and hugged Terry, then realized what she was doing and let go, her face red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"It's nothing." Terry got up as did the others.

"So what about this tournament?" Andy asked.

"It's some sort of underground fighting. It's supposed to have some really strong fighters in it." Terry explained.

"Really, now that sounds interesting." Andy said.

"Care to tag along?"

"Well we are here aren't we?" Mai said with a smile.

"Then let's go."

X

(Somewhere in LA)

A bar was incredibly noisy in one of the more dangerous parts of the city.

Suddenly, two guys were thrown out; one through a window and another through the front door.

Out came a man with a small duffel bag over his shoulder.

He had a very bored expression on his face.

The man was of above average build and about six feet tall. He wore dark blue jeans and a sleeveless white gi shirt, but the shirt was more like a vest and had a T-shirt underneath that was also dark blue and his hands were furnished with black fingerless gloves.

The man was dark-haired with wild locks like spikes and hazel eyes that shined from his silhouette.

"You have known not to take on a superior fighter. And you're too drunk to even make this fight worth my time." Said the stranger.

The two guys got to their feet to fight the man again.

"Aw fuck you man!" The two attacked, but the man slapped away their punches with his free hand like nothing before slipping between them and taking them both out with a spin kick, sending them both into the wall.

The man sighed.

"Where is she? I look away for just a second and she disappears. It's even harder to pick up her ki with so many people around."

The drunks were about to get up, but Keith gave them a glare so scary that made them not want to get up.

"Don't mess with Keith Riey, The Iridescent Shadow. The next time won't be so fortunate for you."

Keith fished out his pocket and revealed to them hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars.

"So I'll just take these instead."

He turned and walked away, making his way through the crowd that had formed from the spectacle.

XXX

To get things straight, Keith and Lina are my little addition to the numerous people that will be in this fic.

Lina is basically a helpless girl even though her brother is an exceptional fighter.

Keith's elusive style is similar to K' because I thought he was so cool to fight with.

Keith is not the main character, just an extra so-to-speak.

Also for those who have played Maximum Impact, some attacks are somewhat changed like Alba's Conquering Lightning Flash. That's what he says when he fires what is really called Hallowed Slug of the Heavenly Conqueror, which would take too long to say in a fight therefore redundant. You should get the picture by that example.

Here's a little info about Keith.

Name: Keith Riey, The Iridescent Shadow

Style: Self-made style of several martial arts

BirthdateNov. 12, 1980

Birthplace: Unknown, possibly in the U.S.

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 155 lbs

Likes: His younger Sister, Lina. Strong fighters.

Dislikes: Sore losers. Sensitive people. Fat people. (All show lack of discipline)

Techniques

Shooting Star

Celestial Shield

Astro Fury

Fade Away

Finishing Moves

Hyper Shooting Star

Cosmic Kick

Big Bang

Blazing Comet