World Heroes The Novel

Hello, everyone! Bet you didn't expect me to be back with a fanfiction about one of the most obscure fighting games ever, huh? Well... call it a wave of nostalgia on my part, but after replaying World Heroes and becoming fond of its colorful and quirky cast, I decided I might as well write my own personal novelization of the events. Yes, I'll admit I'll give the setting and the characters a somewhat more serious spin, but hopefully it will be not so pronounced, and it will still hold true to the series' spirit. I'm just adding a bit of romance and an hopefully more coherent storyline.

As for the characters, well... of course, they will all be represented, but as for the mains... I'll be concentrating on the trademark rivals, Hanzo Hattori and Fuuma Kotaro, on the beautiful and haughty Janne D'Arc, and on the perky judoka Ryoko Izumo. The others will be more secondary, but I'll try to have all of them play a part in this epic.

Disclaimer time! World Heroes and the names associated with it are property of ADK and SNK, and were developed for the glorious Neo Geo. This fanfiction has been written for simple entertainment purpose, and the author is not making any earnings from it.

With that said... enjoy the prologue!

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Prologue

"So... everything is ready then?" said the voice of a middle-aged man with shoulder-long, messy brown hair wearing a white labcoat over a white shirt with a red necktie, dark grey trousers and black shoes, as he paced with controlled nervousness in front of a huge, somewhat ominous-looking piece of machinery that filled a good half of the large, darkened room he and his colleagues were working in. The light from the monitors flashed briefly on his face and his frame, creating an effect like lightning that made him look mysterious. "It had better be, if we are to pull this off correctly. I do not think I need to remind you everything that is at stake here."

"Most certainly not, Dr. Brown." one of his aides answered, punching some coordinates into a keyboard in front of him, and double-checking to see if everything matched. "We are undertaking an endeavor the likes of which was never even attempted before... and at this point, it's a bit of a last-ditch gambit."

"It couldn't be helped." Dr. Brown answered, remaining calm despite the fact that he was feeling his knees buckle a bit. "Considering the danger we are facing, desperate times call for desperate measures. What of the subjects, by the way? Have they all been located?"

"Yes, Dr. Brown. Nine of them, all of them belonging to a different era... except two of them, that is. By an incredible twist of fate, our time machine deemed two people in the same timeline to be suitable for our purpose."

The head scientist smiled slightly in relief. "Well, as men of science, we need to set things up so that we can control events and reach a desired outcome. But that does not mean we should not appreciate good luck when we get it." he answered. "It's okay, then. Monitor those two closely, and make sure you don't lose track of them. We need all the help we can get in this."

"My question, Dr. Brown... is whether those people will agree to this." another aide asked, taking a worried look at the screen. "We are asking for something pretty... out of it, to use a popular term. We cannot expect them to believe us right off the bat, and some of them might even hinder our objective."

"In that case, we'll need to do our best to convince them." Dr. Brown answered with a small sigh. "Remember, this is a very dangerous game we are playing, one we cannot afford to lose. Those fighters will be our trump card, and likely the only ones who can stop what's happening. I hate to say this... but we cannot afford to play nice right now."

"What we are doing is tantamount to kidnapping..." one of the scientists answered tiredly. "Well... if that is what has to be done, let's do it then. All readings are within acceptavle parameters, Dr. Brown. The time machine is powered up... and only 300 seconds are left until it can be activated."

"Excellent." Dr. Brown answered, feeling a spike of scientific pride swelling up within his soul. After all, he and his team had been the first ones in human history to ever manage such a seemingly preposterous objective as time travel. "Then, get ready to start up the machine, and keep track of all targets. The deciding moment is at hand."

"Yes, Dr. Brown." several aides and scientists answered, busying themselves at the controls, and the huge machinery began glowing, bathing the large control room in an innatural light...

"This is it. With this experiment, we either win or lose it all." Dr. Brown thought to himself. "I almost cannot believe that the Earth's future is riding upon this... well, no use worrying about it now. The time has come. Nine people from all around space and time... will soon gather here!"

He took a deep breath and glanced at his wristwatch. "The battle of the world heroes... will begin now!"

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TO BE CONTINUED...