Revolutionary Étude

Disclaimer: I do not own Whip, Adelheid, Rose, Ralf, Clark, Heidern, Ash, Duo Lon, Shen, the King of Fighters, Sky Noah, Vienna, the random pub and park in Vienna, or anything else that might be copyrighted already. SNK/Playmore owns all King of Fighters characters and the game franchise.

Rating: M to be safe; there is a scene of graphic violence in a later chapter, and a couple of past descriptions of violent acts. Some language dropped around. No adult situations, a bit of kissing and perhaps ONE thing you could take as implied if you squint at it in the dark.

Time Line Notes: Story takes place between XI and XII; assuming Adelheid's ending was true in XI, and assuming Ash, Duo Lon, and Shen battled him at the end of 2003.

I want to thank Master Jin Sonata for beta-reading this monster.

Sky Noah

The Sky Noah was a rather amazing place, Whip thought to herself as she walked through it's corridors. It was docked for maintenance currently in Austria, rather close to it's capital city, Vienna. A giant flying fortress-that's what is was-a fully furnished, powered and livable flying fortress-ought to be kept in good repair, after all. Lately, her and her partners, Ralf and Clark, had been visiting the place-mainly because their commander, Heidern had been meeting more often with it's owner, Adelheid Bernstein. The two men had first met before the last tournament; the commander had taken an interest in the young man after seeing him fight the year before, though it was one thing he never discussed with any of them. Whip, being the youngest and newest member of the group, was not always in on the three higher-ranking men's actions but she followed Heidern's orders to the letter when he gave them-well, all three of them did. There was certainly going to be another tournament soon; whether or not she would be ordered to go along as well was anyone's guess. It was even rumored among their group that Heidern himself was going to enter again-something he hadn't done for a few years-but she wasn't sure how true it was. You never knew with him, as he basically told you what he wanted you to know.

She actually did like her partners; Ralf and Clark were like big brothers to her. Sure, they could be pains in the asses at times, occasionally a bit perverted and liked to drink one to many sometimes; but they were good, loyal men nonetheless, great fighters and soldiers who both accepted her when she joined them. Heidern was a bit more guarded; Ralf and Clark were fairly good at reading him, due to their decade of knowing one another, but even they admitted at times they didn't know what was going on in his head; and this was one of those situations. They had an idea, however-Heidern had some of his own tie-ins with the Bernstein family.

The Bernsteins were well known among any who had taken part in the King of Fighters tournaments of old-Rugal Bernstein was the host. But he was an evil, brutal man-dipping the warriors he defeated in molten metal to make statues of them to put on display. Whether they were alive or dead when he did so, not many liked to think about. Rugal was an arms dealer and drug trafficker that Heidern had tried to bring down Rugal had kidnapped his wife and child to lure him in. Heidern had lost his eye and all of his men in the resulting battle, and worst of all, his wife and child were killed. Kyo Kusanagi, however, later defeated Rugal. Rugal was said to have had a bit of the Orochi power in him, which finally led to his ultimate downfall. Perhaps it was understandable that Heidern had taken a great interest in his son, Adelheid, a little over a year ago-though it could have been longer.

Adelheid and Rose Bernstein both lived on the Sky Noah, and Adelheid nearly defeated all three of Ash Crimson, Duo Lon and Shen Woo in a battle about a year and a half ago in its main living room; Ash managed to finally best him. He fought the three of them at once-Ash was nearly knocked out; Duo Lon and Shen were taken out of the fight. Adelheid had let them go, accepting his defeat despite his sister's protests. He was apparently a rather honorable, decent fellow. Heidern and Adelheid now started to meet as regularly as Heidern's rather busy schedule of commanding armies and figuring out plots allowed-Ralf, Clark, and Whip had gotten to somewhat better know the two Bernstein kids as well in this time-well, Rose, not so much. Adelheid had entered, and won, the last tournament by himself-fighting three people at once was something he looked forward to, apparently. When he trained, he allowed several of the Sky Noah's more trained servants to attack him at a time, Ralf and Clark had witnessed. They denied it, but the young man had apparently beaten both of them in a training match. Ralf claimed the two of them were tired from the night before, and it shouldn't have counted, Whip remembered with a smirk.

As for what Whip herself thought of the Bernstein kids-she didn't like Rose very much. She didn't see her that often-'princess' that she was she didn't like to sully herself with 'lesser' people. She was the younger of the two, and while she wasn't a fighter except for a bit of fencing on the side, she seemed to inherit all of her father's bad qualities-spoiled, manipulative, power-hungry and greedy. She seemed on the surface to genuinely love her older brother sometimes-but other times she seemed to be using him for prestige and power, having a big brother who would fight-and sometimes even kill-on her command. Truth be told, lately Rose had been acting even stranger; locking herself in her room on the Sky Noah and playing her piano, according to Adelheid. It had started after the last tournament. Whip had recalled in the last tournaments Rose would never, ever leave his side-it was almost creepy, when she thought about it. She had the feeling Rose somehow was jealous of her the way she stared daggers through her when they first met-though she had no clue why she would be-Rose also thought Heidern too full of himself-like she should talk, Whip mused-and Ralf and Clark uncivilized oafs despite their generally friendly, laid-back attitudes.

Adelheid, on the other hand, turned out to indeed be a decent young man-it seemed he inherited his father's strength and fighting spirit with not so many of his bad qualities-that they could see. Frighteningly skilled and strong, there seemed to be not many that could stand against him. She had seen him fight in the preliminary bouts of the last King of Fighters tournament-the qualifications. He fought his way through multiple groups of multiple fighters and didn't look very much worse for the wear afterward. He wasn't unbeatable, as was proven by Ash Crimson, but even that was not a one-sided battle; it was three on one and went down to the wire. Heidern, Ralf, Clark, and Whip all knew how to fight in their own styles, but Whip thought watching Adel was very impressive. He had a sort of fighting brilliance about him; his style, according to Heidern, was much like his father's, but he had molded parts of that into his own-already at his young age, and then even a lot of it on his own, as Rugal had been dead for close to a decade. His blows were swift and furious; his whole body was a weapon that fought in perfect sync. His legs were probably the most dangerous of his natural weapons; he used them to deliver razor-fast and powerful kicks to his opponents, and they usually couldn't take many of them-they were strong enough to render someone unconscious very quickly. If he didn't hold back they could splinter bone, or even worse, crush a skull; this was grimly proven when he was forced to fight for his life before. She didn't witness any of his supposed lethal battles, but Heidern had mentioned an incident (how he knew about it, she didn't know) where someone-the Bernsteins still had enemies who were out for blood-made an attempt on his life and that of his sister. She did recall a bit of the 2003 tournament where she had seen a bit of another fight when Rose had began playing the piano for him (she still wondered why she brought a piano to the tournament), a rather discordant song that seemingly drove him into a rage. She didn't fully remember the shape of the men afterward; but there was a lot of blood. He has some darkness in him. But he can keep it controlled it seems.

But unlike his father, he did not relish outright hurting people, and usually fought with force as force was given. Heaven help the person, however, who threatened his life-the darker side to him could come out if under such duress, as had happened before. In the tournament, it seemed the music had done something to him. Maybe it was something more. He was a good sport overall though, and respected any opponents who fought him fairly with everything they had, unlike his sister, who thinks the 'ugly losers' should deserve to die at the end of her brother's assaults. Even Whip could tell her attitude was beginning to disgust Adelheid. He did have an air of smugness about him, when he fought-he knew he was good and that he didn't lose that often. He just knew how to take loss; and used it to better himself. But his arrogance-if you could call it that-was inoffensive compared to that of his sister. He simply knew just how strong he was and wasn't afraid to tell-or show-people who wanted to challenge him. He had treated the rest of the team-Ralf, Clark, and Whip-with courtesy when they were invited onto the Noah as he and Heidern went off to talk; servants had brought them about anything they wanted, and they were kept comfortable. Ralf and Clark, she recalled, didn't hesitate to begin drinking him out of house and home. Adelheid didn't even mind seeing the empty bottles when they came back out of the private meeting room; he actually cracked a smile.

But why is Heidern so interested, and why is he keeping it such a secret? Whip wondered to herself sometimes. He trusted the three of them with very secret missions; but this wasn't even a mission. Ralf had assured her not to worry; Heidern had a reason for everything he did, and it would become clear-if he wanted it to. It wasn't as much as it bothered her as simply made her curious. The three had chalked it up to Heidern's tragic past with the elder Bernstein.

Whip had made it up to the Sky Noah's deck-she debated staying under, since it was well-air conditioned against the July heat, but she decided to go outside, even though they were grounded. She wanted some fresh air.

Adelheid was there, leaning against the rail, looking off into the city; they were docked on the outskirts. He wore his usual outfit; his loose trousers made for ease of fighting; his heavy boots ringed with metal, and the suspenders, which he seemed to adopt as part of his style, which were hanging off of his shoulders. He was sans his shirt or gloves, however, as the heat was quite great. He had a glass of something in his hand-it appeared to be wine, but she couldn't tell from afar. She debated going back in for a moment to leave him to his thoughts-he was a rather private man-but he turned and saw her. He tilted his head to the side, and after a moment waved at her and motioned her over. She walked to meet him.

''Decide to brave the heat? It's much nicer down there.'' He smiled softly. If there was one thing it took getting used to, Whip thought, it was his eyes-they were the color of blood; even though he wasn't albino. Perhaps close; his hair was a light blond, and his skin was very fair, if not a bit pale.

''I was a little bored. Heidern had gone off somewhere, and I think Ralf and Clark are partying in the city. They like their days off.''

''I might have guessed.'' He chuckled. ''Decide to stay behind?''

''Yeah, I didn't really feel much like going out today and drinking in ninety degree heat. Let them suffer for it.'' She also laughed a bit. She had actually spoken to the elder Bernstein sibling many times; but it was mainly greetings, a few tidbits about the tournament and the inevitable upcoming one, and other casual small talk. ''Did I disturb you?''

He shook his head. ''I was just having a drink to wind down after training, wanted to enjoy some scenery. Looking forward to getting this thing off the ground again.'' He stretched and smiled a bit. ''It can take awhile, though. Regular maintenance to a flying castle tends to take awhile.''

Whip couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something bothering him today. He was usually a little on the more withdrawn side; perhaps a little bit shy, even (mainly when he came to her, she recalled), but today he seemed a bit more lost in his thoughts. She didn't feel like she really knew him well enough to press, however. It seemed like the only things he did were train, occasionally meet with his sister (whose visits got short and shorter, with Adelheid showing visibly a bit more either distress or anger after each one), go back and train to let out frustration, or occasionally disappear to his quarters, and sometimes meet with Heidern or other random, somewhat official looking people. Occasionally he would be seen in the Sky Noah's rather impressive library. Whip herself had been feeling a touch lonely lately; while Ralf and Clark were indeed like her big brothers that she went to hang out with sometimes, there were other times where they simply liked to go out and have 'Guy Time', and she wasn't too much a part of that.

Adelheid looked at her. ''You know, when you're here, the place is basically open to you guys. If you're hungry, tell someone. They'll get you something. If you want to take a nap and don't feel like going back to wherever you guys are staying here, there are spare rooms-just make yourself at home. I don't have too much in the way of entertainment, but a training facility, and the big-screen TV, and music, and naturally the library, but you're free to use them too. Just don't go barging into my sister's quarters. She's irritated enough as it is.'' He frowned a bit.

''Everything alright with you two?'' She didn't know why she blurted that out, but she did. ''Sorry. I'm not trying to pry.''

He sighed and pushed back some of his long bangs that had fallen into his face. ''It's ok. She's acting weird. Everyone's noticed it. She barely talks to me if only to yell at me about something or other that's not right, and the occasional servant who also somehow manages to piss her off. I have no idea what's she's doing, and frankly I'm starting to give up trying to find out what's wrong.'' He looked a bit sad. ''It all started after the last tournament. I win the tournament, win it for myself, and win it for her, and she's still pissed off-and it's because I snapped at her, I think. I grew tired of her insulting my opponents. They fought damned hard, you know? But I didn't think she'd hold a grudge for almost a year.''

''Couldn't you ever, you know...go your separate ways?''

''In theory, yes...we have plenty of money, we could split it and we'd both still have plenty. But...she's my little sister. I can't just abandon her.''

There was something, Whip thought. She realized with his mother's whereabouts unknown and his practically insane father dead, his sister, as much as a-to put it nicely-bitch that she could be, was his only family. He would apparently rather keep her around, despite her being verbally abusive and passively violent-sending him to do any dirty work she wanted- than lose his last bit of family.

''Ahh, well.'' he said, finishing the last bit of his wine. ''Guess there's no point in dwelling on it.'' He turned back toward her. Whip wasn't dressed in her usual coat; the heat had been too great. She had a tank top on; army green, and it complimented her well. She caught his eyes move up and down her quickly; when he noticed he looked away. She could have sworn she caught the slightest hint of red appear on his face, but she wasn't quite sure. ''Want to go inside?''

''Sure.'' She followed him in to the main living room; they sat on the large, rather fancy couch that was there. The Bernsteins had never lacked for money; as ill-gotten as it was, and the children had inherited it. So they lived damned well. There was some classical music playing on some surround-sound speakers in the room; but otherwise it was quiet. The two of them sat in silence for a while, leaning back. Adelheid's eyes were closed; she thought he might have been asleep, until he spoke.

''Are you hungry? Want anything to drink, perhaps?''

Whip thought for a moment. ''Maybe some wine. It looked kinda good. And i might need a few to be able to face the two maniacs whenever they get back.''

Adel opened his eyes and smiled. He rose and went to the cabinet; he procured a fancy-looking bottle and two glasses. He filled them and brought them to the couch. ''It's pretty old. I think the wine is twice as old as I am.''

''Which is?''

''24.''

Whip sipped the wine. It was indeed very good. ''I don't go out all the time with them. The guys. They have their time, you know.''

''I don't go out much, period. Don't worry about it. I occasionally walk around the town, or on the outskirts, but that's about it.'' He smiled a bit. ''I have my other interests to keep me busy.''

''Which is...training?'' If he wasn't kicking his gigantic practice bag-sometimes knocking it off the chains-he was battling a bunch of guys running at him at once. Well, except when he's in the library.

''It's an art, to me. Fighting is an art, a way of living. I'm always adding to it, evolving it, like the way some might compose a song or paint something. It's a lot more than hitting a bag, for me.''

''Interesting way of looking at it.'' She sipped some more, and pushed some of her hair back behind her ears. ''I was impressed when i saw you fight in the preliminary at the last one.''

''Those guys weren't all that great-they needed a lot of work. They would have done much better in a more amateur tournament. But they tried hard at least; they had the guts to go into the big leagues... Rose wouldn't stop spitting insults at them. Myself, I found it rather callous.'' He looked at his wine and took a long drink himself. He changed the subject. ''What have you been doing with your time here? Vienna's a pretty decent place, you might actually like going to check it out.''

''Well, I mean, we went out a few times, but I guess I can't keep up with the crazies. We do a bit of, well, planning I guess you can say-with the team. We have a few duties to take care of-but otherwise, not too much.'' She chuckled a bit. ''I feel like we've been sort of taking over your home, with Heidern coming here whenever he's off. At the moment we're being stationed not too far away, staying in a hotel near the center, which I could swear he did on purpose. He has a reason for everything.''

''Well, I like him. I don't mind. And w...I don't mind the company, really. He's taught me a lot, when we're together. Our family doesn't have the greatest tag on it. You know.'' He drank off his glass and filled another. ''We'll be here for a while, I think. The maintenance won't be done for another month or so.'' He saw her getting a bit low and refilled her glass as well.

They sat quietly again for a while; the classical music still playing. A servant came in at one point to see if everything was all right; Adel had nodded and waved him away. Whip turned to him and asked suddenly, "You mention Vienna being a rather nice place...would you maybe...mind showing me around one day?'' Afterward, she blinked, looked at her wine and tugged a bit at her shirt. I'm a bit brave. I hardly know him, even though we've kind of known for a while. I've seen him fight a couple of times, train a couple of times, and freeloaded off of his flying fortress for over a week and a half, and now I'm asking him to be my tour guide.

Adel blinked for a moment and ruffled up his hair; some of it fell back into his face. ''S...sure. I can show you a few places-er, what do you want to see..? Clubs? Cafes? Stores? Anything?'' He drank a bit more.

''Anything is fine. I think we're meeting tomorrow; it's Monday...but maybe the weekend? You'll still be here, you said?''

''Yeah, we aren't moving for a while. Weekend sounds good. I can get my training in early.'' He laughed a bit.

''So, it's a date then?''

''A...date?'' He stumbled a little on his words. ''Well, I mean, if you, ahh, want it to be, I don't want to interfere with your job here or anything...''

''Job? With these guys?'' She had to laugh a bit, too. ''I do go along with quite a few of their duties, but sometimes, it's more them. I'm still sort of the newcomer, even after awhile. They're dear to me, regardless. But I think I'll be free for the weekend.''

''All right then. Like you said...a date.''

They drank on the couch for a while more; Whip finally decided to go back to her hotel room when the bottle was done. They were supplied with a very nice hotel indeed, on the government's dime. Adel stood to let her out.

''Thanks for the finely aged wine, there. Nothing like downing a vintage like it's cheap box wine, hmm?''

''I'll have a headache for my trouble, no doubt. It's punishment for defiling it like that.'' He smiled at her. ''So see you on the weekend, then.''

''Yeah.'' She turned to walk out. ''You know, i could come by this week, too. I won't be tied up all the time. I just won't have a lot.''

''That's fine. Just buzz in, like always.'' He paused. ''By the way...I just call you Whip?''

She thought for a moment, and turned around; looking at him. He was leaning against the door; his red eyes focused on her. ''Seirah.''

''Seirah? That's nice.''

''Don't tell everyone. Keep it between us and the other guys, ok? Not everyone knows it.''

''No problem.'' He bowed slightly. ''See you.''

He is polite, indeed. And damned if this wine didn't go a little bit to my head. Why didn't I notice before he was that easy on the eyes?