Prologue to Story 1 - The Recruitment
Disclaimer – I don't own anything, don't sue me because all characters are owned by other SNK or Capcom.
Dramatis Personae
Saisyu Kusanagi - Kusanagi Clan Patriarch
'Blue' Mary Ryan - Ex-Officer
King - Muey Thai Warrior
Ken Masters - (so far) 2 time US Martial Arts Champion and heir to Masters Corp.
Shizuka Kusanagi - Wife of Saisyu Kusanagi, ex-archer/mercenary
Angel - ex-NESTS Assasin
Rose - Fortune Teller/half of M. Bison's soul
K' (Kay Dash) - Mercenary
Maxima - Mercenary
Kula Diamond - Mercenary
Diana - Mercenary
Eiji Kisaragi - Ninja for hire/Mercenary
Benimaru Nikaido - Narcissist, 'Shooting' Muey That Warrior
A little background reading before reading my fic would help quite a bit but is not essential. In Gamefaqs, there is a FAQ by Kailu Lantis in the King of Fighters 96 section that has given me quite an in depth look at the SNK universe. Also, there is a FAQ by Tiamat in the Street Fighter Alpha Section of the same site which is where I got the Street Fighter characterisation from (which seems like a very reliable source). Also, Yuki, Shizuka, Saisyu and Kyo's characters might seem strange, but I based tem off of the KoF: Kyo comics, which I felt gave me a huge insight to their characterisation. As for the Capcom crew – gave me no insight into their characterisation, so I am going off my instinct from playing their games and winning their endings.
This story is about some of the greatest fighters to have ever fought in the Millenium Battle that the Garcia Group co-hosted with the Masters Corporation. Some of them were highly trained warriors with regular jobs as law enforcers, soldiers, vigilantes, mercenaries or even terrorists. A new threat to the free world has appeared in the United States. The US forces (Guile etc.), the Ikari warriors, the Sparrows (the dudes from Metal Slug) and all the other UN backed forces are unable to deal with the situation. The Masters Corporation and the Kusanagi Clan, both frustrated by the incompetence of the UN, have resorted to creating an alliance, and have pooled their resources to assemble a team of warriors to deal with the problems that the US and the UN are unable to handle.
New Southtown - the Illusions Bar: Mark 2Mary Ryan was as blue as her name. She was wallowing in her sorrows at Illusions - King's new bar (the old one smashed with the destruction of old Southtown at Zero's hand). She was the only patron there, and usuallu this would be the normal attendance at the bar.
However, Mary had recently given King the recipe for her old partner Butch's favourite drink (her namesake), and the business at King's bar had exploded. Blue Mary the drink was all the rage, and King was even able to make a comfortable living (instead of just barely scraping), and she was even able to finally pay for her brother Jean's surgery.
King owed it all to Mary and her deceased partner Butch, and had promised Mary whatever she needed, especially free drinks. Not being an avid drinker, Mary only sparingly took her up on her generous offer when she was out with Terry.
In the past week however, Mary had frequented the bar every day. Even today – on a Wednesday morning when no one else was drinking, Mary was moping around.
With Jean in great health and absolutely no customers, King finally had the opportunity to find out what was bothering her old friend and one-time (so far) partner. "What's wrong Mary? Is that bum Terry treating you right?" enquired King.
"What? No King, I've had some employment issues. I've got to move out of Southtown soon and find a new job."
"Are you serious? Is this some sort of joke? Mary, you were the best damn cop this town has ever seen!" a shocked King said.
Mary sighed and told King what had recently transpired in her life, "I'm too good a cop it seems. The whole police force has connections with either Howard's companies or Yamazaki's gang. Some even had connections to NESTS and Shadaloo.
"A few weeks ago a man in a white gi challenged Ryuji Yamazaki to a duel. When Yamazaki lost, I took advantage and arrested him, and once I did that, his gang dissolved. Since NESTS, Shadaloo and Howard's underworld disappeared, Yamazaki was the last place the force had for their underground connections.
"Once I arrested Yamazaki, Hon Fu and myself were eighty-sixed. The force are using what connections they can to ensure my life is hell, like somehow destroying my bank accounts, and getting me evicted. I've lost everything but the clothes on my back and if I want to make a living, it can't be in Southtown."
King's heart went out to her friend in perhaps her darkest time. Mary would have to tell everyone else she was leaving, like her friends at the Kyorkugen gym. The hardest of all would be Terry. "Mary, you've always got a room and food here. You know that, right girl?"
Mary smiled at her friend's generosity, and truthfully she expected nothing less. Sure at times she was gruff with Mai, Yuri and Xianfei, especially when they expected King to pay for all the food, but King's heart was always in the right place.
Mary fought for justice however, and she was adamant about finding a new job somewhere else. Besides, Blue Mary would never depend on the generosity of her friend for the rest of her life. Plus, she knew that if King were known for helping her, the scum in the Southtown police department would destroy King just as they destroyed her.
Still, not wanting to hurt King's feelings just yet, she accepted, saying, "thanks, but I want to go out for a walk for a while."
When she was walking along the new footpaths of the rebuilt city, Mary's thoughts started to turn towards where she could get a new job in law enforcement. She did not want to do anything military like, so the US forces were out. That also discounted the Ikari warriors and the Sparrows (Which after the demise of Ling at Kof 2000, was pretty much merged into the Ikari group and was under the command of Heidern).
She remembered that she had become good friends with a young woman named Chun-Li who worked for Interpol at the Millenium Battle. Interpol sounded perfect for her but Mary was unsure about a move all the way to England.
As Mary was aimlessly walking, a black limousine drove up and followed alongside her. A passenger window rolled down and a familiar looking blonde haired, strikingly handsome man poked his head out.
"Hey there lovely lady," the charming gentleman said, "I think a man like me could really be in the need for someone of your 'talents'." Mary was flabbergasted, and she replied by screeching, "What the hell? I'm not a whore you sick bastard!"
"Oh, no, no, no! I'm sorry, you misunderstand Ms. Ryan. I'm Ken Masters, and I have a job that will mightily interest you."
Mexico City
In the streets of Mexico City, a travelling fortuneteller was going through her tarot cards. Unlike your average fraud that used techniques like cold readings, this lady actually had the limited ability of divination. Like M. Bison and the Psycho Soldiers, this lady possessed psychokinetic powers.
Unlike her peers, this lady had refined use of her powers, and knew the harm that reckless use of it would entail. M. Bison had been apprehended after his defeat by a certain travelling warrior. The fortuneteller also had encountered this young man at one point. Bison alone had been the master of pure psychic power, and his insanity threatened to cause great disturbances in time and space due to his unrestrained use of power.
Athena Asamiya possessed greater power than Bison but her pure heart enabled her to control such incredible power without threatening her own health. The fortune teller sensed the existence of someone with far greater psychic power than those two combined, someone who's insanity and depravity could spell the end of mankind. But for now, she could do nothing but read her cards.
Her divinations had led her to believe that someone would come today to change the rest of her life. Despite this knowledge, she acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. She had travelled throughout all of South America and had finally stopped in Mexico because she believed that the person looking for her would find her here.
As she settled onto a dark back alley, she set up her table and set down her cards. Her other divinations had brought up the card of flames and the archer. She was going to investigate the identity of the person she was to meet.
However, as she reached for her deck of cards, she stopped, her handing hovering over the deck. Before even touching them, she knew that some of the cards were missing. Suddenly, the missing cards appeared before her – the flame and the archer.
The hand holding the cards moved aside, revealing the face of a beautiful young woman. She was Japanese, as evident by her jet-black hair and the kimono she was wearing. 'This woman stole my cards from me somehow, followed me for god knows how long, and appears in front of me without ever making a sound. I didn't even detect her with my powers!' thought the startled fortuneteller.
"These cards suit me very well, I think," spoke the mysterious woman as she handed the cards back. The woman helped the fortune-teller pack up her things and then guided her out of the dark alley.
"You have the power to know that I was looking for you, don't you? I'm Shizuka Kusanagi, the mother of Kyo Kusanagi. You must be the fortune teller names Rose?" Rose nodded in agreement, "What would you ask of me Mrs. Kusanagi?" Shizuka smiled and led her to an open space.
Out in the open, Rose realised that Shizuka wasn't a young woman, but was already in middle age. Her features seemed young and she was definitely energetic, but she with a very close look, a person would notice that she was actually in her early to mid fifties.
Most of all, Shizuka walked with an air of battle experience. 'Saisyu Kusanagi would choose no one else but a warrior to be the matriarch of the Kusanagi Clan,' thought Rose. Being Kyo Kusanagi's mother meant she couldn't possibly be young anyway. 'She hides her age well,' thought Rose.
Shizuka touched the air in front of her and suddenly, an airship materialised out of thin air. "Cloaking device," Shizuka explained, "hop on board, I want to take you to the Master's Corp.'s headquarters. There's going to be a meeting there that will definitely interest you."
Chicago - The Red Inn Hotel
K' lit up his cigarette and settled down onto the couch in his apartment in downtown Chicago. Maxima plopped down next to him with a sigh. K' had taken his shirt off and Kula was administering first aid on K''s ribcage, which had been slightly bruised during this morning's debacle. Diana was in front of the three of them, pacing back and forth angrily.
"This bounty hunting idea of yours is absolute bullshit woman," snarled K' at Diana. "We accomplished the mission, handed in the mob leaders to the heat, and the damn pigs refuse to pay us."
Diana whirled to look directly at K', a dangerous look in her eyes, "I would refuse to pay you too if you steal a car, cause the most destructive car chase in this city's history, and send a bus full of school children straight to hospital."
"You want to make an omelette? Break some eggs first," was K''s snide reply.
"You know K', we really need to do a few simple jobs to pay some odds and ends," added Maxima, "we really can't depend on that lucky break we had finding Wolfgang Krauser beaten to a pulp by that warrior in that white gi. We would've had a lot of trouble bringing in someone like him by ourselves."
"Why did he have a bounty?" the inquisitive Kula innocently inquired, "in the NESTS databanks, he was considered an honourable warrior and not a person for us to persuade into joining."
"After his defeat by Terry Bogard, Krauser funded several illegal forays into genetic research," was Diana's response. "Breaking international law put a price directly onto his head, but he needed to be taken down secretly due to his status.
"Actually we were lucky we had to take Krauser down instead of that boy with the bandanna and the gi. It turns out that this boy was able to take down Shadaloo's leader, Geese Howard, Ryuji Yamazaki, Sagat the Muey Thai King, and even some of NESTS's most well known and honourable warrior." K' huffed, considering this fabled travelling warrior nothing but a fool and a weakling.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. K' pulled himself off the couch and went to check out who it was. When he opened the door, a tall, muscular black man with a business like expression on his face was standing there.
"Good afternoon," the man cordially said, "my name is Seth, and I am here as a representative of the Mas . . ." that was as far as he got before K' slammed the door in his face.
Maxima rolled his eyes while Kula leaped up and answered the door. Seth was still there and did not seem fazed by K''s behaviour. In truth, Seth believed that if he could convince Iori Yagami to join his team, then he could convince anyone of anything. "As I was saying, I am a representative of the Masters Corporation, and I would like to invite you to join a joint venture set up by the company I represent and the Kusanagi Clan."
K' narrowed his eyes at this, "I won't work for that son of a bitch Kusanagi or any of the inbred dogs in his family."
Diana ignored this and urged Seth to continue. "It will be like a mercenary position, which the four of you have had quite a lot of experience in, and what you're currently doing now? As you know, both Clan Kusanagi and the Masters Family are considered among the wealthiest people in the world.
"You will be working closely with representatives from the respective families and will be handsomely rewarded with far more meaningful missions that simple thug catching and mob fights."
"I'm definitely in," an enthusiastic Maxima stated.
"Kula and I will definitely join, our operations are too small scale in comparison to our work back in NESTS," said Diana, lending her and Kula's support.
All eyes turned to K' as he donned his sunglasses on, "why not?" he casually said, "it's getting boring destroying targets that don't even put up a decent fight."
New York City - Central Park
Angel was smiling very warmly as the bus stopped in front of the bench. As the passengers got off, they were all taking notice of her petite figure, her strikingly beautiful features and her raunchy clothes. Angel had gotten used to the attention by now and just waved at anyone who seemed interested in her, hoping someone would take enough notice and have the courage to get to know her.
As the last passenger left the bus, the driver asked Angel if she was going to board. Angel tilted her head, smiled and shook her head no. She was surprised that after this long, the driver had not figured out that she was not going to board the bus.
As the bus drove away, Angel started twiddling her thumbs in order to keep herself occupied while she waited for the return of K9999. A while ago, he had instructed her to wait for him here, and wait she did.
It had been quite a while now, but Angel had her orders, and she'd been following him everywhere since they abandoned NESTS together at the end of the 2001 tournament (even though he constantly told her to leave him alone).
After a while, a middle aged man appeared and sat down next to her. Angel guessed that he was a member of the Kusanagi Clan due to the numerous sun symbols on his green suit.
"Hello there young lady, I'm Saisyu Kusanagi," the man introduced himself quite warmly, despite the fact that Angel had joined in an organisation that had nearly defeated Saisyu's heir and made thousands of clones of him.
"You're an ex-NESTS agent aren't you?" inquired Saisyu. Angel smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "My sources say you were one of their agents, albeit a strange one. I've seen you fight young lady, and I must say that you're quite the fighter. You even stood your ground against Terry Bogard right?" Angel beamed; finally someone appreciated her.
"Tell me, what sort of things did you learn in NESTS?" asked Saisyu. Angel scratched her head and thought back to her training,
"Well, when I look at my profile back at NESTS it says 5th level explosives training, 6th level computer hacking abilities, 7th level technology training, 8th level weapons training, 7th level stealth training, 8th level mathematical calculation, 6th level fight training, 7th level tactical battle training, 5th level torture training . . ."
Angel went on for quite some time while Saisyu was shocked by the amount of training Angel had gone through in NESTS. She could not have been older than 20, perhaps 21. And she acted like she was 10. Angel finished off her lists by saying, "I can dance pretty well too."
Saisyu shook his head at what this girl could do, and he thought back to the last King of Fighters Tournament. "By the way, I noticed that you're able to teleport somehow. Could you please tell me how?"
Angel opened her mouth and looked as if she was thinking but she simply responded by saying, "I don't really know." Saisyu looked at her, completely baffled by the girl's behaviour.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Angel simply shrugged. "Can you teleport through things?" Saisyu asked. Angel nodded. "Tell you what," Saisyu said, "show me how you teleport through things and I'll watch you OK?"
"OK," responded the silver haired young girl. In a flash, she appeared to look like static and was simply gone. Saisyu sensed her behind him, and saw that she had appeared on the other side of the street. She did her trademark cow pose and then went static again, reappearing back on her seat.
"Do you know how you do it now?" asked Saisyu, but again the girl shrugged no. Saisyu decided to leave it at that and decided to get down to business.
"What are you doing now NESTS is gone girl?" asked Saisyu.
"Nothin," the smiling Angel replied.
"Well, what are you doing now?"
"I'm waiting for K9999."
"And where is your friend then?"
"I dunno, I'm just waiting for him."
Saisyu shrugged, from Kyo's experience during the tournament, this K9999 was too unstable and insane to be of any use. But the entire audience and all the fighters in the tournament noticed that this girl, though violent, seemed to be very kind and easily led around. But she was strong.
Luckily enough, she was found alone, still Saisyu himself had come to pick her up. No one else could have handled the situation if K9999 decided to come. "Say, I was wondering if you would like to join our side now? We've got a job that someone like you can really get into."
Angel smiled and said, "Sure, I could spare a couple of days. I mean, K9999 hasn't showed up in 3 weeks so I think it'll be OK if I left here for a couple of days." Saisyu stared wide-eyed at the girl, 'She waited here for 3 weeks?'
Angel got off the bus seat and stretched her legs for the first time in quite a while, and when Saisyu got his senses back, she skipped along behind him as he gave her a lift to the Masters HQ.
New York City - Masters Corporation HQ
At the Masters Corporation's headquarters in New York was an assemblage of some of the most diverse mercenaries on the planet. There was K', Maxima, Kula, Diana, Blue Mary, Benimaru Nikaido, Angel, Rose and Eiji Kisaragi.
At first, Diana and Kula were very vocal at their displeasure at seeing Angel, who hung her head in shame. Kula and Diana would never forget that she and K9999 were responsible for Foxy's death. Ken Masters and Saisyu Kusanagi arrived and placated them. Begging them to tolerate Angel.
Benimaru attempted to flirt with Angel, Rose and Blue Mary. Soon enough however, Shizuka Kusanagi arrived and with the entire expected guest list having arrived, the meeting got underway.
"Firstly, this whole idea was Kyos, but knowing how that boy is, when he heard how much work this project entailed, he disappeared again," explained Saisyu. 'He's going to die when Yuki finds him and punishes him for leaving so soon after he returned,' thought Benimaru.
"What we plan is huge, and neither Masters Corp. or the Kusanagi Clan has the resources to put this together, hence this alliance," explained Ken, "each of you will be rewarded with steady work if you decide to stay on but we gathered you here now today because there is a mission we want you all to accomplish together right now.
"You will be joined by Shizuka Kusanagi as well, and perhaps if Kyo Kusanagi suddenly reappears, he will join too, but until then, it will be just us.
"Basically, we would like you all to become a task force in order to stop forces that might alter the welfare of the general public, but mostly, to protect the Masters and Kusanagi Groups."
Looking around at the diverse group of people gathered, seeing them as one group sounded ridiculous. They were well-trained and experienced warriors all however, and that was why they were chosen.
K' spoke up first and spat on the expensive marble floor. "Bullshit, that's what the US Forces and the Ikari people are for. Why gather us here to stop that shit? I gave up sticking my nose into this sort of thing when NESTS fell."
"Because," Ken explained, "our adversaries have reached a stalemate with the UN and the US. If Ikari and the US make a move then they could be brought down politically by the people we face. So it's up to people like us to save the day, because the US can't make a move, and even if they could, they might not have the power to do anything about it."
Revamped from the piss poor format job in my first fic in years. I worked on the title and gave both sides actual names instead of "Geese's crew" and "Ken and Kyo's crew." Hopefully interest will be piqued by my better (but not outstanding) format job. I added Dramatis Personae and am hoping to make the presentation consistent, but I have to get my home Internet working again for that. Oh well, until that happens I'll work on the actual story and update using the university computers. I'll reformat the other 4 chapters some time.
Next Chapter - What in the world would cause such a diverse group of warriors to HAVE to band together? And can they work together without slitting each other's throats?