An Encore Presentation
Guilty Gear versus SNK
Written by: Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO

Author's note: Guilty Gear is copyrighted by Sammy Studios whereas SNK holds the right over all fighting games under the company label. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge.

Chapter 4
Lightning Argent versus Dragon of Thunder

Lightning. Said to be the most difficult element to rule, let alone approach, it requires the heart of a snow and the nerve of steel for a person to be in control of the element. Unlike elements like fire, wind and ground, lighting is so unpredictable one can only rely on luck to guess when and where it will strike.

Yet some people are granted with the ability to control the electrifying element. Some are natural-born gift while others are obtained through years of understanding and trainings, often with trial-and-error method. Many of the so-called masters of lightning, however, fell victim to their own power. Corruption began to overtake, as they began to appreciate the true potential of the element, subsequently disregarding their purpose of learning such power.

Thus the quote "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

How true is that, when the world is about to witness the clash of two examples of modern masters of lightning?

"HEY SISSY!"

Chipp did the same thing again. Interrupting the storytelling process, he bonked the narrator on the head with his tanuki, teleported away from the table, teleported away from the table. "FIND ME!" he shouted and teleported out of the restaurant.

"Yo, Baiken!" Lone Wolf called and waved to the swordswoman with one arm. "I say, where is Anji? He's usually hanging around with you, isn't he?"

Baiken snorted and finished off her drink. "That Anji? Hah, he must be gone to prove that Osea does exist," she said and called out a waitress. "Hey! One more sake!"

"One more sake, coming up!" Nakoruru replied.

Lone Wolf watched at the ninja girl and smiled. "She's cute in that uniform. Say, Jam, she's really suited with this work, isn't she?"

"Why, yes she is. In fact," Jam said and laughed. "She says she wants to work here until she gets enough money for her and Rimururu."

"Ah, I see." Then he turned his attention to Ky, and noticed he was preaching of the teaching of God to the people. "Yo, Ky! What's up?"

Ky paused his preach and turned to Lone Wolf. "Mister Lone Wolf! What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Lone Wolf replied. "But I was wondering whether you're seeking for worthy challenge or not. I can see that your hand is trembling to shoot a Sacred Edge at people."

Ky snapped and pointed Thunderseal at Lone Wolf's head. "You! Why do you want to be of bother? I'm teaching the people how to love and be loved by God! I am not intending to seek for challenge!"

"God? I don't want to have anything with it!" Sol suddenly shouted.

"Shut up, Sol! I wasn't talking to you!" demanded the knight.

Lone Wolf laughed and put down the orange juice. "Relax, Ky. If fight is what you want, then fight will come at you." He paused. He looked around. "But looks like that will have for another time."

"What do you mean, Lone Wolf?" Jam asked.

"Because Ky is the only fighter who knows the secret of lightning," the author answered. "And Benimaru doesn't qualify as one."

Ky lowered the Thunderseal and approached the table. "So the point is?"

"The point is--"

Lone Wolf muted. A glimpse of person was caught by his eyes. The kind of person he was exactly talking of.

"Oh, there he is."

Saying so, Lone Wolf pointed to the newcomer. Jam and Ky looked at the direction. The person was walking toward the bar, greeted by the working waitress, and took a seat not far from Baiken and the nearby Chipp. He wasn't paying attention to the one-armed swordswoman or the American ninja on crack.

Ky inspected the newcomer from a distance. Blonde hair, just like him. White/black clothing, almost like him. But what caught his attention was the emblem of a maple leaf stitched on the back of the outfit, along with a katana clipped on his belt.

"Who is that?"

x-x-x-x-x

In the six months following the event which the Sealing Rite set into motion, Kaede, finally gaining full control of his Awakened Force, could not help but to feel alone. Having been separated from Yuki and Moriya, the Avatar of Seiryuu the Heavenly Dragon now travelled across the land in search of answer he had searched for after witnessing the fall of Kouryu. He could not help but feel guilty for a reason that could probably only be understood by the previous Avatar.

Yet despite all odds that were stacked up against him, the man of Autumn set up for a journey. Neither for his destiny as an Avatar, nor his getaway from his past. He began his journey as a man.

A person.

A swordsman.

A warrior.

Ultimately, as himself.

And now he searched for a reason to fight.

Fight for his existence.

And fight he would.

x-x-x-x-x

Ky approached the newcomer. He took a seat next to him and ordered an iced tea. He didn't notice him, and Ky took the chance; he took a closer look upon the swordsman. The shiny blue eyes the man possessed were almost exactly like him, but they were burning in a passion he could not apprehend with.

And he wanted to know.

"Um, excuse me?"

Almost in an instant the newcomer gave out his reply. A nasty reply, that is.

"What the!"

Ky leaped away, barely getting hit by the sword withdrawn in lightning-fast speed. He landed near Jam and watched as the newcomer finished his drink, left the bar and walked towards him. The Holy Knight immediately opened his stance. The man's response was to do the same. Ky was not impressed by the outcome, but so did him.

Lone Wolf coughed. Jam wowed. Sol shook his head. Nakoruru cooed. Rimururu went "AAA"!. The rest of the customers watched at the two fighters.

"Uh-oh," Lone Wolf uttered. "Looks like they're up to no good."

"State out your name," finally Ky broke the silence.

"Kaede," the blonde man replied. "And you are?"

"Ky Kiske," the knight pronounced himself. "Officer of the IPF, and knight of the Holy Orders."

The man grinned. "A knight? Then what do you want from me?"

"In the name of God and Sacred Orders of Holy Knight, I challenge you into a duel."

Silence. The man named Kaede stared at the IPF officer for a dead, long time. Then he laughed. "So? The point is?"

"There's no point!" Lone Wolf suddenly shouted. "Ky just wants to have a duel, but nobody here bothers to listen to him! And I think you should consider accepting his challenge!"

Kaede laughed again. He ran a hand through his golden-yellow hair and swirled it around. "Oh, okay. That sounds good. A fight with a stranger I don't even think to know with," he spoke.

Jam made a disapproval cough and called out the two swordsmen. "I don't mind if you want to fight now, but please do so outside my restaurant." Saying so, she summoned a Breath of Morning's Calm and whirled her high-heel shoe in rapid motion. "Do it NOW."

Ky gulped at the threat and walked to an open place not far from the restaurant; Kaede followed him, while glancing behind. He saw Jam and gave the Chinese girl a friendly wink; she squealed in excitement and went to kick the unsuspecting Chipp out of the restaurant with her charged up Ryuujin.

"Jesus! What the hell!" he screamed and crashed next to the drunken Baiken. The one-eyed swordswoman stared at the messed up ninja, shrugged and went to drink sake. Johnny tried to hit on him. She was pissed off.

"DIE."

Baiken Instant Killed Johnny with a custom-made katana.

"DESTROYED!" the announcer declared.

"Like a friend of mine always says," Lone Wolf uttered. "A wink of a true badass is a killer weapon for a woman." He paused. He coughed and corrected his collar. "Or so it is."

"True," Sol answered.

"True," Iori added.

"True indeed," the author said.

The trio were silent. Then they laughed, shouted "WHAT'S UP?" and made a high-five.

x-x

The two swordsmen took their place at the middle of the plaza. Ky began the duel with the ceremony a holy knight would do: he crouched on his knee, took out a rosary, and kissed it; he put it back inside the clothing, stood up and pointed to Kaede.

"Let me teach you the way of the lightning."

Kaede burst out into laughter. "Teach me? The way of the lightning? You! I don't need any teaching of such! I already am the master of lightning!" Saying so, he let out a short burst of energy from his body. Ky was knocked off the ground when the shockwave hit him, but managed to land back. The Holy Knight stared at him in disbelief; Kaede just laughed and opened a battle stance.

Ky was not amused. "Then prove it."

Kaede grinned. He leaped into the air, aimed his katana at Ky and fired a lightning bolt at the opponent. He repeated the attack, and leapt higher above the ground. Ky counterattacked with an angled Stun Edge Charge Attack. The projectiles hit, but the latter's third hit missed Kaede completely.

"Shinmei Renjinzan!" Morning Star Fillet Flash!

Kaede pounced at the still unprepared Ky. The Knight was forced to block the attack, but was sent into the air when the Fillet Flash's second slash hit his torso. Nevertheless he could still think of the next move.

"GREED SEVER!"

The overhead attack collided with the Fillet Flash's third hit. The collision that followed caused the two swordsmen to be knocked away; Kaede landed almost effortlessly on the ground whereas Ky was forced to make a somersault to avoid a lamp post standing on his way. The latter immediately ran toward Kaede and knocked him high into the air with a Vapour Thrust.

"TAKE THIS!"

Ky executed a second Vapour Thrust and sent Kaede even higher. He descended to the ground, looked up at him and clenched his fist; he brought the taut knuckle into a circular movement, pointed out a finger and shouted a battle cry.

"SACRED EDGE!"

Five swords of light were released from the fist and flew toward Kaede in high speed. The swordsman, not noticing the overdrive projectile, was hit; the swords of light electrocuted him, jolting every inch of his vein and bone and knocked him out.

x-x

"So who do you think will win?" Potemkin asked as the duel between the lightning masters went on.

"I'd put my money on Ky," Johnny said while correcting bandages wrapped around his face. "He's tough. And he means business."

"That Kaede guy looks much cooler than Mr. Kiske," Jam uttered and giggled. "Maybe I should hire him to work here.

"Kaede-kun! Fight-o!" both Nakoruru and Rimururu cheered.

x-x

Kaede crashed on the ground. Ky watched the opponent, and taunted Kaede. "Throw away your evil feelings," he uttered, "and don't make me angry."

The man of Autumn was heard laughing. "Evil? I haven't heard the word evil for a long time." Staggering, he stood back on his feet, plunging his katana into the ground to keep him in balance. "Have you heard of the story of the Four Gods?"

"The Four Gods," Ky replied. "Seiryuu the Dragon, Suzaku the Phoenix, Byakko the Tiger, Genbu the Serpent. Four deities who guarded North, South, East and West. I've heard a lot of it from master Kliff. So why are you asking me of that?"

Kaede grinned. "Then are you ready to witness the power of the leader of the Four Gods?"

"What?"

Kaede braced himself. His sword glowed in bright blue. He aimed at the ground.

"Kasshin Kouryu." Lively Bad Dragon Rising.

He struck the ground in front of him.

With the roar of a heavenly dragon, five gigantic bolts of lightning struck upon the earth.

"OH MY GOD!"

Ky braced himself.

The lightning bolts hit.

x-x-x-x-x

"By the way," Lone Wolf NEO spoke as the group was having tea at the teahouse. "Should I invite our friends from the Tsukihime and FATE league? I was thinking of having a karaoke party --just for all of us."

"As long as you promise me not to hang out with other girls on that night." When Lone Wolf NEO stared at Hibiki strangely due to the last suggestion, she blushed. "Well, it's because you always look for chance to hang around with other girls. You are not Johnny, remember?"

Iori, who also heard the suggestion, laughed. "I know why you said that. I know. You just want to spend the night with your boyfriend, but I suggest you to keep that for another day. Besides, I fear that broom-head might want to hit on you during the party."

"But I have Lone Wolf-san to look after me, mou!" She paused, and then yelped. "Hey, wait a minute! BOYFRIEND?"

"Gotcha!" Iori 'banged' her. The rest of the group laughed, whilst the embarrass-struck Hibiki tried to swat Iori with her paper fan.

"What about the fellowship of the Bad Moon?" Hikki asked, referring to the EFZ league Mai was in. The swordswoman frowned, and Hikki quickly found out why. "Sorry, I didn't know you…"

"No, it's… nothing."

Hikki sighed. "Whatever, I guess I'll just go and ask Misaki to come along."

"But the Fellowship of the Bad Moon?" Rock asked.

"Yes, the Fellowship of the Bad Moon," Hikki answered.

"Then why not The Two Feathers? Or the Return of Misuzu?" and here Rock mimicked the "GAO!" cry the gold-haired girl usually did. "Hey, what about The Lord of the Zero? That sounds cool."

Hotaru bonked him. "Honey, this is not the Lord of the Ring parody! Bad Rock!"

"Yeah, bad Rock," Justine exclaimed and pointed to Rock's face. "No cookie for you tonight."

May blinked in surprise. "This is crazier than I ever thought."

x-x-x-x-x

Ky was knocked away. He managed to get control of himself and landed on his feet. He realized how he had committed terrible mistake by underestimating Kaede. He was not an ordinary master of lightning, for he was the Avatar of Seiryuu.

But Ky was not intimidated; he, too, possessed the title "master of lightning", and he was not going to give up to someone similar in term of power.

Time for counterattack.

He braced himself. He brought the Thunderseal in a position. He pounced forward. He screamed a battle cry.

"RIDE THE LIGHTNING!"

Bright force shield of electricity surrounded him and built up speed as Ky dashed across the square. (…)

Kaede was already prepared.

He brought his sword over his head, channelled immense amount of lightning force into its blade, and made it glowing with energy.

"Kasshin Seiryu." Morning Star Revival.

The energy blade struck. And crashed on the overdrive. Kaede kept the energy blade in position, even as Ky tried to bring Ride the Lightning to crush the energy blade. Both swordsmen were tensed up; veins popped out of their skin, electric currents surged over their bodies, their strength deteriorating.

Eventually the collision was too much. They were knocked far away from each other and crashed. Audience became as silent as a dead night, as they watched at the worn out fighters in concern. Some of them even spoke among one another in low voice, not wanting to let the fighters hear their ad lib.

"That was quite a surprise," Jam uttered. "I didn't know Mr. Kaede would look that strong."

"That's because he's the Avatar of Seiryuu," Lone Wolf told her. "Well, I don't know how he got the power of the lightning dragon in the first place, but he's surely one tough opponent."

"Well, to whom you're putting your bets?" Iori asked.

"I'd say Kaede win this battle," Lone Wolf said.

Sol snorted. "Hey, scout boy," he shouted at Ky aloud. "Give up trying. You weren't even working hard."

"Shut up, Sol!" Ky screamed as he finally got back on his feet. "Seiryuu or not, master of lightning or not, I don't even care of those anymore! I only want to win this fight!"

Sol shook his head and aided his disappointment with a thumb's down. "You're an eyesore, Ky."

"What! That's it! I'm finishing this off!"

Ky brought the Thunderseal close to his face. He lifted it slightly so that the oval-shaped part of the sword was aligned with his eyes. Everybody, including Kaede, watched at him and waited.

Now!

He swung the sword to his left. "Thunder!"

He brought the sword to his right. "Thunder!"

He swung the sword to the front. "Thunder!"

He lifted the sword to the open sky. "THUNDERCATS! OOOO!"

In an instant, Ky was glowing red. His Thunderseal was shining red as well, and the twos were soon enveloped with an intense aura that whirled around them. A cheesy, if not sound familiar, song was heard playing in the background.

Thundercats are on the move, Thundercats are loose! Feel the magic, hear the Roar, Thundercats are loose!


Thunder, thunder, thunder, Thundercats! Thunder, thunder, thunder, Thundercats! Thunder, thunder, thunder, Thundercats! Thunder, thunder, thunder, Thundercats! Thundercats!

x-x

"I say, Yuuki," Raven spoke as That Girl watched at the remake of the fight episode from onboard the death Star. "I didn't know Ky watched Thundercats as a pastime."

"I didn't even want to know," Yuuki growled and corrected her opaque eyeglasses. "So don't ask."

"In Soviet Russia, the Thundercats will own the capitalists!" a random man declared.

Yuuki and Raven watched at the random man. She growled in annoyance, took out a shotgun out of her sleeves and aimed at the random person.

"Hasta la vista, amateur."

Yuuki Darren killed the random man with a headshot from M870 Remington.

"DESTROYED!" shouted the announcer.

Yuuki blew smoke out of the shotgun's muzzle, Terminator-style. "Abayo." Weak.

"And so the randomness continues," Tessa commented.

"Shut up, Tessa," Yuuki demanded.

"Baaka," Ruri spoke.

x-x

Ky crossed his arm with Thunderseal. The red aura glowed brighter. Then his eyes sparkled; from lightning blue to scarlet red. He growled under his breath, as he endured the surging energy flowing inside his body. He slowly brought the sword away from his body, brought it into a horizontal position and screamed a final battle cry.

"INSTANT KILL!"

He thrust the Thunderseal forward.

"RISNG FORCE!"

Ky unleashed all the energy Thunderseal had sealed and thrust it forward in from of an energy arrow. The energy sword was roaring in the voice of a warrior maiden as it darted towards Kaede. The weary swordsman watched in shock as the pseudo-projectile was only a fraction of inch from his face.

"HAH!"

A loud clap of thunder was heard echoing across the land, followed by a shockwave that knocked people out of their feet. Electric sparks flew around the square, twitching like caterpillars being showered with hot water. Most of the fighters held on; Nakoruru and Rimururu were unfortunate to be flown away before Johnny came and saved their day.

"A-arigatou, ojiisan," both Rimururu and Nakoruru uttered as Johnny put them back on the ground. "You saved us."

Johnny grinned, despite his frustrated heart at the suffix 'ojiisan'. "Now, now, my lovely lady, what say you if I treat you for the rest of the day?" he said. His smile sparkled at the same time. The twin ninja sisters blushed.

"Did it hit?" Potemkin asked.

Lone Wolf inspected the area. He didn't see the two swordsmen. He suspected it was a draw, or Kaede had been hit by Rising Force and was sent away from the vicinity.

"I don't think so."

Saying so, Jam pointed to a direction. All the spectators watched at where Jam was pointing at. They could not believe it.

Ky, too, could not believe it.

Not only he could not believe it. He was horrified.

Rising Force had hit --and he sure the Instant Kill had caught its prey-- but Kaede was still standing! Rising Force had failed to finish the swordsman nor did it leave a scratch on his body. The only success it achieved was stripping Kaede off upper clothing.

"Impossible! Nobody else than Sol has survived Rising Force!" Ky exclaimed.

Kaede shrugged. He corrected his blonde hair, turned his attention to Ky and sighed. "That's it? That's all you have in your sleeves?"

He teleported. He reappeared right before the stunned Ky. The knight tried to make a move, but exhausted and spent out off his body strength, he was literally helpless. Helpless against the ferocity of Seiryuu.

"Nan te koto da!" How could this happen!

Kaede crouched. He glowered at Ky. His katana was shining in energy.

"This battle is over, Holy Knight."

He aimed the tip of his katana at Ky.

"Kasshin Souryu." Morning Star Lance.

A clap of thunder louder than that of Rising Force roared across the land. An immense shockwave stronger than that of Ky's Instant Kill exploded, swept the land with frightening force and knocked everybody away. This time, even the fighters were helpless against the powerful wave and was sent flying from Shanghai. Sol endured it, as did Lone Wolf who Nakoruru and Rimururu were holding on.

Then it ended. The thunderclap. The shockwave, the total destruction, everything came to a halt. Lone Wolf, Nakoruru, Rimururu and Sol watched at the aftermath of the duel and focused to the middle of the arena. They saw a faint shadow standing next to a fallen body, watching at it for a long time. The faint shadow was seen lifting his sword-holding hand to the air and shouted "the victor is me!"

"He won," Lone Wolf spoke. "The Avatar of Seiryuu had won the battle."

"I can't believe Ky wouldn't win this duel," Sol snorted. "And seriously, Lone Wolf, why do I think this battle is kind of… lame?"

Lone Wolf shrugged. "Don't ask me, Sol. Don't ask me."

x-x-x-x-x

"This ferry will arrive at the jetty in 10 minutes. For safety, please remain inside your cabin until the crews give instruction to leave. Please make sure no belongings are left behind while you're leaving the ferry, and please follow the procedure while heading to the arrival counter. Should you need any assistance during arrival, don't be hesitant to inform our ground crew. We are very proud to sail with you, and we'll be looking forward to our next voyage. This is your captain speaking, and Cherry Blossom Seafarer is pleased to say 'happy travelling."

The girl walked down the stairs. She halted when she stepped upon the concrete slab of the jetty and looked around her. "The city of Shanghai," she whispered. "I've finally arrived." She lifted her baggage, headed to the check-in counter and walked towards the gate leading to the open road.

She halted again. She took her time looking around the bustling city. She couldn't help but to wonder of the marvel of engineering and development she was seeing. She giggled to herself afterwards; there was no time to lose, she told herself.

She resumed her journey. The journey she had started from her hometown Kyoto. The journey in which she still didn't determine its destination.

"Father, please keep your eyes over me."