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 (Last Blade, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, you name it). Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the exclusive rights to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not copycat everything inside this story without his knowledge.
Please see:Sheo Darren, who happens to be Lone Wolf NEO's fellow author, owns the exclusive rights over The World Within and Without, Miss SEED Destiny Beauty Pageant and The Wedding Night II. Ace Combat Zero, Ace Combat X and Ace Combat 5 are copyrighted by NAMCO. Kamichu! (Teenage Goddess) is owned by Besame Mucho. Featured song is "High Touch" by Sakamoto Maaya.
Chapter 7
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
(a.k.a. A Coffee-Pasta is Fine, Too)
This event takes place between 10:00 Hours and 11:00 Hours, on November 26, 2XXX.
Anji leisurely laughed. He was taking a stroll around Miami, all while dancing around in traditional Japanese style. He cared less of people who were looking at him in both amusement and disgust; men, particularly, questioned his choice of clothing, while women gushed in excitement and went "WANNA MORE!" at the sight of half-naked Anji (some fainted, while others drooled). He cared less of the fact that several PWAB agents were sent to follow him whenever he went.
Wait a minute. What is he doing in one of the South East Coast's major metropolis?
Well, readers, please note that Anji and his family had visited their fellow, President Chipp Zanuff and First Wife Chii Zanuff. You may still remember all events that took place in TWAAW's Chobits Arc. You know, the reunion?
x-x
"We have visitors today, Chipp."
"Really? Wow, that's great! Could you show them in, dear?"
Obediently, Chii went to the door and opened it. "Please come in," she told the guests.
"Ohayou" began the man.
"Urusai," snapped the woman.
The thing that could be said about the Mito couple was that they complemented each other very well. 'Man of the house' Anji was an easygoing politician who cared for looks and show, but was more than meets the eye – and now First Representative of the reconstituted Japanese people. His wife was his complete opposite. Though Baiken had mellowed with wedlock, pregnancy and motherhood, it did not mean she was now weak. It merely meant that she understood and enjoyed the softer things in life, like being a mother to her kids. The swordswoman still packed a wallop, though, especially when riled. It was just that it took more to rile her nowadays.
Put it this way: Anji was a friendly little yapping puppy dog. Baiken would be an old, quiet bulldog who feels too lazy to rip your head off– for now. Opposites do not always repel, after all. Look at Sol Badguy and Kagura: Grumpy old paedophilic prototype Gear and genki kid with the power of Justice (and no, we do not mean Kim Kap Hwan). Can you see the vast gulf dividing them? But, more importantly, can you feel the great power of love that unites such an impossible pairing?
x-x
Oh, did the narrator forget to mention that their reunion was wrecked by the interference of PWAB and its female operatives? No, he didn't mean Section 2; that would be too much for Sheo and Lone Wolf. After all, they could care less of whoever worked for PWAB so long as it didn't involve the cute girls of Gunslinger Girl. (Note to both authors: Henrietta may be cute, but Claes is hot!)
Excalibur killed the host with laser-- ZOMG I-BEAM LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!11111oneeleven.
"Recharge the Excalibur!"
Cipher destroyed Excalibur with FAEB spam.
"Galm 1 has destroyed Excalibur!" Cipher's team-mates from Crow Team and AWACS Eagle Eye cheered, even as Cipher flew over the falling tower of death in his F-15S/MTD TVC Eagle. Pixy (at this time, Galm 2) grinned at his buddy's accomplishment.
(A substitution is made, and the person sits next to the charred remain of the host. He shivers at the unpredictable power GG vs. SNK mayhem and tries to calm himself).
Well, let's have another flashback, shall we?
x-x
Suddenly, Chipp felt his hackles rising on end. He felt an approaching danger, a very dark and imminent danger! It was akin to Spider-Sense, this early warning system of his. Being unimaginative with names, Chipp called it 'Ninja-Sense'. (If he had thought about if further, he might have picked 'Genome Sense', after those disposable flunkies in the Metal Gear Solid games with the fifteen second attention and memory spans.)
"Get down!"
Everyone had also sensed it; everyone except Chii– but Chipp tackled his naïve wife and covered her with his own body, as an entire wall of the Oval office exploded inward.
"Everyone okay?" Anji asked after the dust had settled.
"Yeah," Baiken growled back. "In times like this, Fortress Block sure is useful."
"Aw! I got dust on my brand new kimono!" wailed Kenji. (And I bought it just yesterday!)
"Who gives a dumb (Censored) about your (Censored) kimono?" Ban snapped at his sister.
"My admirers do! And before you go on, nii-chan, I'll have you know that you've just brought the wrath of The Ultimate Bad-Ass upon you!"
"(Censored) him! And (Censored) you!"
"Ewww! Incest! Angel Sanctuary! Yuck!"
"Oh, for the love of Sheo Darren!" Baiken snapped. "Both of you! Shut up!"
As for Chipp: "Chii! Are you okay?"
"Haii, Chii is okay, thanks to Chipp."
Chipp sighed. "That's nice to know." Then he realized his current position placed him sprawled right over the prone Chii, a tad too close for decency but certainly very comfy. The ninja President blushed, even as Ban hooted at the scene and Kenji smacked her brother again.
All of that was forgotten as a very familiar voice resounded inside the wrecked Oval Office.
"Prepare to meet your doom, Chipp Zanuff. Your long-delayed demise has come at last."
"Eh?" Then he did a double-take. "Dark Chii!"
It was, indeed, the 'evil' half of the angelic Chobits: Dark Chii, the malevolent being who wished to destroy Chipp for reasons unknown save to herself. But she wasn't alone. Flanking her were three girls. The first was dressed in a sailor fuku and had cat ears sticking out of her pink hair. The second girl had long sky blue hair and rather blank-looking red eyes, and wore a cross of cybernetic exoskeleton armour and body-hugging swimsuit. The third girl –an obviously cybernetic housemaid with pink hair– looked suspiciously like a robot version of Hisui from Tsukihime.
One more thing: Dark Chii was radiating unbelievable energy, far more than when Chipp had last encountered her.
This is not good, the ninja thought.
"Who the hell are you?"
Dark Chii did not smile. She did not need to. She merely said: "We are the Post-War Administration Bureau's special Task Force Meka-Hanagumi, dispatched here to destroy the A Country's leadership in accordance to–
"–the next phase of your master's plan to take over the world, is that so?" finished Ban with a mocking overtone. "Che, but you villains never change your script's basic format now, do you?"
"There is a difference, boy. In addition to eliminating the President, we have been tasked to capture Japanese specimens for special experimentation on their ki-rich blood. We have scheduled our attack to coincide with your visit." Dark Chii might have been amused. "Your family's ki in general and yours in particular are very potent, almost as potent as that Japanese air pirate girl. Consider it a dubious honour that PWAB believes you are enough of a threat and a potential resource to merit trouble."
Ban glowered. "Don't call me boy, you bi–"
Kenji elbowed him. "Don't."
"–Fine: Female dog, it is!"
Baiken and Anji put themselves squarely in front of their kids. "Never thought we'd get into trouble on what is supposed to be a happy event," the latter began.
"Anji?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Shut up and just fight."
"Yes, dear."
Chii had also gotten up. "Chii won't let Dark Chii hurt Chipp. Chii will protect Chipp with her life."
"If you so wish." Her dark half was very sanguine about the matter. "Nuku-Nuku (All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku-Nuku); KOS-MOS (Xenosaga); Meka Hisui (Melty Blood)."
At once the three robot girls accompanying her stood at attention.
"HAII."
"Capture the Japanese specimens. Use any force necessary, but keep them alive and in one piece."
"HAII!"
x-x
"Oh, for the love of Henrietta and Chise, (at the same time the two said persons sneezed) just continue with the fucking story!" a drunken Sol screamed and destroyed a dozen or so wine barrels with Tyrant Rave Beta. The host's substitute nervously nodded to the demand and continued; how did Sol get involved in this randomness, do not ask. "I don't want to have anything with it!"
Kagura happily tackle-hugged him.
Anyway, since all the fusses had ended (thankfully, the family is safe and sound; miraculously, KOS-MOS even applied for a place in President's Secret Service), Anji decided it's time to consider staying in a place after travelling around the world for so long. He could ask Chipp to arrange his application for nationality for him, Baiken and his two children.
Besides, he should escape winter and spend time basking under the sun of Florida. Yup, sun-basking is good for your skin. It gives you vitamin D for free, but make sure you bring sun lotion along.
He heartily laughed. "Well, surely I miss the Colony once the application is complete," he uttered and started fanning his face. "I'm too sexy for my love; too sexy for my love; too sexy for my love, love's going to leave me!" and the song went on as he walked down the road that led to the Key West.
"Ah-hah!"
Inexplicably, the theme of Superman (the very old, classic Superman animated series) echoed in the air. Anji and bystanders heard the music and looked around for its source. The source was unseen but the music became louder to the point someone got pissed off and banged his head on the light post.
Then someone shouted: "it's a bird!"
Then somebody else screamed: "no! It's a plane!"
Then a bystander pointed to a location and added: "no! It's…"
Anji looked at the direction the finger was pointed. He blinked many times in surprise. "Joe Higashi?"
The owner of the name deviously laughed. "I have returned!" In an instant, confetti was tossed over his head while fan girls squealed over his manliness. Apparently he survived the hell created by Sheo Darren in "A Wedding Night Series 2" (or is it 'The Wedding Night'? Lone Wolf NEO can't remember), endured vigorous trainings with tigers and crocodiles in the jungle of South-East Asia, fought countless fighters and champions in South Town, and is now back for more mayhem.
"I, Joe Higashi, am the most handsome, the strongest, the most popular and the best Muay Thai fighter in the world!" Joe declared and lifted his championship belt to emphasize his words. At the same times, more confetti was flung skyward and more fan girls squealed over him. "How proud I am to be a popular icon! AH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!!!!"
"And I thought I was the first person to have fan girls drooling over my bare-chested image," Anji retorted. Apparently, Mister Mito, you're not the only person with that kind of sentiment. Fortunately you're the only fighter we know to be too sexy for his shirt.
Or is it? (insert lame-sounding dramatic sound effect here)
Joe saw Anji standing among the bystanders. He laughed and pointed to Anji. "You! I remember you! You were the one who defeated me with that ride-the-dragon overkill!"
(Recycled flashback starts here)
"CROSS GIGANTES!"
The HSDM (Hidden Super Desperation Move) ravaged the whole boulevard. People were thrown off their feet and flew inside two tornadoes created by Joe's Screw Upper. Anji effortlessly endured the tornadoes with his Stopping Fans, all while yawning in boredom. Joe did not notice it, as he was too focused on 'destroying' his opponent with his almighty finisher move.
Nakoruru and Rimururu screamed in dismay when they were blown away by the tornadoes. Johnny dramatically, and stylishly, jumped in and snatched the ninja twin in his arms. He took the girls away to safety. "You are safe now," he said.
"Arigatou, ojiisan!" Nakoruru and Rimururu thanked. "Thank you, uncle!"
Johnny twitched. "It's oniisan, not ojiisan," he reminded the girls.
"But ojiisan is fine, too!" the girls insisted, causing Johnny to surrender.
The HSDM dissipated. Joe was appalled: it failed to harm Anji! Not even a single scratch was seen on his body! "This cannot be! My Screw Upper is supposed to defeat you in one hit! RAH! ONE MORE TIME! CROSS GIGANTES!"
Another Cross Gigantes was unleashed. This time, Kuradoberi Restaurant and several buildings received the toll. Jam cried in dismay at the sight of her restaurant levelled to ground zero, while more people were blown away by the human-made tornadoes. Even cows found themselves sucked into the twin wind funnels and mooed helplessly as they were lifted hundreds of feet above ground.
Yet, like the last time, Anji was unaffected.
"Done already?" Anji asked and charged up in Instant Kill. "Well, I guess I should finish this." So saying, a bright white orb enveloped him and he teleported from the ground. Milliseconds later he reappeared; riding a dragon made of wind and charged toward Joe.
"NOOOO!!!!"
"ZETSU!"
The IK hit.
"DESTROYED!!!
(Recycled flashback ends here)
"Oh, okay, then," Anji uttered and corrected his eyeglasses. "So sorry, but I'm not in the mood for a rematch. At least for today."
Joe stomped his feet. "I DEMAND THE REMATCH TO BE HELD TODAY! D:"
Anji stared at the adversary of his and saw a weird-looking emoticon popping above Joe's head, all while Joe turned chibi and screamed at him in dismay. The cool-headed man sighed and corrected his eyeglasses for the second time. "You know, the last time you interfered into our affair with your two fellows, it didn't end right," he reminded, pointing to the fact when the combination of Geese and Misaki OWNED the trio of Joe, Leopold and Jin (or was it Joe, Haohmaru and Jin? Lone Wolf NEO didn't seem to remember).
Joe snapped. "To hell with that! I alone am now enough to defeat you! I won't need assistance from anyone!" So saying, he charged at Anji, aiming his Golden Tiger Kick at his face. Anji immediately deployed his Stopping Fans and blocked the attack (at the same time, bystanders took cover). Joe screamed a very loud battle cry and began barraging Anji with Blast Bash. "I SO HATE YOU FOR NOT INVITING ME TO YOUR WEDDING DAY, MITO ANJI! FOR THAT, I SHALL HUMMILIATE YOU!"
"Eh?"
"TAKE THIS!" Joe ended the punch barrage with an Exploding Finish. It was sufficient enough to knock the surprised Anji hundreds of feet across the area, but not enough to do some damage. Joe didn't waste time; he learned that "in battle, you should speak less and act more; credits to Sheo Darren for the advice", so he charged at Anji in another Golden Tiger Kick.
"FUUJIN!"
The counterattack took Joe by surprise. The Japanese-born self-proclaimed Muay Thai fighter took a mouthful of dust and wind when Fuujin hit and sent him crashing on a passing-by garbage truck. Anji watched at the event, and could not control his oppressed laugh when Joe walked out of the wrecks, body covered in all sorts of organic and inorganic leftovers and wastes.
"RAH! My body is now dirty! I am no longer clean!" Joe cried out in blasphemy and charged at Anji, notwithstanding the dirt on his body and broom hair. "DIE, MITO ANJI!"
Anji grinned and made a defensive pose. "Well, then, shall we dansu?"
(yes, the intonation of the word dansu is intentional. Please refer to a Japanese movie with the same name, which happens to be Stellar Loussier's favourite movie.)
In Gundam SEED Destiny, Stellar sneezed. "Sai-san, Stellar thinks somebody is talking about Stellar…" she mumbled and rubbed her itchy nose.
x-x-x-x-x
"Lone Wolf-san, I don't mind if you have to redo the fight scene," Hibiki said while staring at her fiancé in a mixture of cuteness and anger. "But… what's with the coffee-pasta thing? Is that somekind of pun?"
"LOLOMGBBQFEARMYL33T!" the Author declared and rolled on the floor.
"Lone Wolf-san, now you're talking like a 4channer…" Hibiki mumbled. "Wait a minute. This part had appeared in Miss SEED Destiny Beauty Pageant." She glowered at Lone Wolf NEO, oblivious of what was happening as he continued rolling. "Lone Wolf-san, mou…!"
"A copy-and-paste is fine, too!" a certain 4channer shouted.
x-x-x-x-x
"HURRICANE UPPER! EXPLODING FIST BARRAGE! SCREW UPPER! EXPLODING TIGER KICK! GREAT SERPENT CUTTER! What the hell? I wasn't supposed to use that attack!"
"FUUJIN! SHITSU! ON! SHIN: NISHIKI! RIDE THE LIGHTNING! Wait; I didn't own that move."
The two fighters were equal to each other. While they sported different fighting styles (Joe Higashi being a Muay Thai fighter, while Mito Anji practices dance/fan-based martial art) both of them are naturally elemental users, and with the ability to blend their techniques with the elements of wind they are truly worthy opponent to take on.
The attack combos they used cancelled each other, and knocked them far away from each other. Anji effortlessly somersaulted in midair and landed on the road feet first. Joe was not so lucky; he ate another mouthful of dirt as he crashed on the road. He grumbled in dismay and rubbed his hurt nose. "Too hell with that!" Joe fired a Hurricane Upper and ran behind it. Anji blocked it, and found himself facing the over-hyped Muay Thai fighter. "TAKE THIS! EXPLOSIVE HURRICANE TIGER HEEL!"
"O RLY?"
Anji spun on his foot. He flipped both fans in his hands and created an auto-guard barrier that blocked the overdrive while counterattacked Joe at the same time. Joe became furious and made another Explosive Hurricane Tiger Heel. This time…
"Eat this!"
The overdrive collided with Anji's auto-guard move. Instantly Anji changed posture and unleashed his overdrive. "KACHOUFUUGETSU!" Anji hit Joe four times in a row, each with strength increased by the factor of five, and staggered him, preventing him from regaining his correct posture. It was as if he was dancing rather than over-driving, as Anji elegantly whacked Joe on the face with his Stopping Fans.
Inexplicably the movement of Anji's overdrive created a tornado not less impressive than Joe's Screw Upper. It detached itself from its host and whirled aimlessly along the road. It headed towards the crowd who were congregating to watch the duel and sent most of them away save for a woman.
Anji saw it. "Ojouchan! Watch out!"
The woman did not hear Anji's warning, nor the fact that she saw the tornado coming. The wind vortex approached her, closer, inch by inch--
"SHIMATTA!"
--and flipped the woman's skirt upward.
"IYAA!"
Joe nosebled. "Is that striped underwear I see?" he roared.
Anji nosebled. "Kami-sama… is this heaven?" he asked, his eyes rolled up to the blue yonder.
Male bystanders nosebled. Female spectators blushed and covered their male companions' eyes. They were watching something grown-up viewers would not mind seeing (in fact, they're enjoying it!) but not appropriate for youngsters.
For those who don't get it, this is the classic example of "wind deity goes naughty and heartily flips a girl or a woman's skirt", also known as "fan service." Rejoice!
Fan boys appeared. They cheered at the "fan service" and shouted "THANK YOU, KAMI-SAMA! YOU ROCK!" Fan girls appeared and kicked them into Atlantic Ocean. Fan boys reappeared and counter-kicked them toward the Gulf of Mexico. Fan girls re-emerged, and began the series of 'kick-and-punch-and-tackle-and-throw-like-hell duel'. Well, what's next? Fan Combat Advance?
For some mysterious reason, Gleipnir popped out of thin air courtesy of its optical stealth technology and sent the quarrelling fans to the deepest of oblivion with its Shockwave Cannon. Then four black-painted F-14D of Razgriz Squadron fired torrents of Phoenix-branded XLAA at the super flying fortress, knocked its stealth modulator and damaged its engines. The leading plane, Razgris 016, dropped an FAEB onto Gleipnir, knocked its avionics and sent the super weapon crashing into Bermuda Triangle.
Yes, those are the ghosts of Razgriz, so don't start asking.
"Isn't that stuff getting too old?" Anji demanded and wiped off traces of blood with his sleeve.
"I think I lost a pint of blood…" Joe uttered and shook his head. "RAH! Whatever! I must win this battle so I can regain my pride as the world's strongest fighter!" So saying, Joe embraced himself, crouched, tightened his arms and screamed the ultimate battle cry. "PREPARE TO BE HISTORY, MITO ANJI!"
Anji recognized the pose. "O SHI-"
"CROSS GIGANTES!"
Instantly two tornadoes struck upon Anji. Cross Gigantes struck again, with more ferocity and prowess than it did the last time. Anji had to execute Fortress Defence to prevent himself from ripped apart by the HSDM. Joe maniacally laughed and summoned two more Cross Gigantes; the tornadoes combined, merged, assimilated and fused into one super-tornado. In an instant people standing to watch the duel ran away for safety; some even took cover under the bridges. Others were not so lucky when they got sucked by the super-tornado and flung them hundreds of feet into air. Cars, planes, ships, coral reefs, even cows were sucked into the gigantic wind vortex and tossed hundreds of miles from their original location.
Come to think about it, why are cows always portrayed as helpless victim every time a tornado strikes?
"Come on, Anji! You must think! Think!" A fighter he might be, Anji was also a thinker and an alleged tactician. His views on battlefield was equal to that of any armed force's generals, except he didn't look for the opportunity to strike but to make peace with his opponents. He is among a few fighters who would resort to brute force only --ONLY-- when the situation was beyond critical, being the person who always favour diplomacy over violence.
Yet this time, there would be no space for diplomacy. Diplomacy is something that would not be tolerated if the enemy is persistent in winning the war whatever the cost it may be. Diplomacy is something those blinded by rage and vengeance would fail to realize.
To quote Jean-Pierre Richard from Kiss of the Dragon: "diplomacy is dead."
"If this is the case, then let's fight fire with fire!"
Anji crouched, covered his body with Stopping Fans and shouted "TENJINASHI!" He jumped out of Cross Gigantes and hurled hundreds of feet into the air. He dived back to the bridge and landed hard; the impact was so immense it shook the bridges that connected Key West with each other and to the mainland.
"Damn it! I thought I could finish him off!" Joe yelled and made another Cross Gigantes. The HDSM ravaged an entire section of Key West bridge and sent people standing on it flying into the Atlantic. In reflex, Anji summoned a gigantic fan in front of him and set it in ultra-fast revolution.
"ISSEN OUGI: SAI!"
Both overdrives hit, and unleashed a storm so strong it ripped the entire bridges (save for one Anji and Joe were standing on) and ravaged the whole Key West. The Stopping Fans spun in the speed that was close to 1600 kilometres per hour, about the same speed as the fastest storm to be recorded on planet Saturn.
It ended. All that was left from the collision course was the bridge Anji and Joe were standing. The rest of the structures were annihilated, and people helplessly swam toward Key West's chain of islands. The magnitude of destruction was so great it could have cost the administration of President Zanuff billions to rebuilt the bridge.
Anji looked around. "Ah, crap," he grumbled and tapped his head with his tessen. "I better go home and pretend nothing happened before Chipp goes nuts."
Joe looked around him as well. "What the hell?! How am I supposed to get home?" he demanded.
Anji looked at his adversary. He coughed and corrected his eyeglasses, which mysteriously turned opaque. "I believe, Higashi-san, it's time to finish this for the second time." So saying Anji disappeared and reappeared in mid-air, riding a dragon made of wind and storm. It came toward Joe in speed so blinding the Muay Thai fighter had no time to react.
"NO WAI!"
"ZETSU!"
The Instant Kill hit.
"DESTROYED!"
x-x-x-x-x
Back at Kuradoberi Restaurant, guest artist Hitotsubashi Yurie and her fellow friends were entertaining customers with their mini concert. Dressed in Shinto priestess outfit, Yurie displayed the side none of her colleagues in her home town had expected to see. Behind the cute, always-bashful, childish face lays hidden the he artistic, entertainer side of her.
"Koibito ni furaretemo, ashita wa yattekuru; kimi ga itemo inakutemo, ashita wa yattekuru!
Sekai no owari ni, tatazumu boukensha ga hitori...
Kaze ni atatte! Hoshi ni negatte! Hito wo suki ni natte! Itsumo soko ni ai ga aru kagiri..."
Whoever invited her for the mini concert must have run out of idea for the restaurant's entertainment. Sheesh, at least it's original to me.
"Well, who cares!" Gojyo uttered and smacked the commentator's back hard. "As long as we get to have fun, this is good enough!"
The pissed-off Sanzo said nothing and sipped his cigarette. His feet, though, were tapping to the bouncy song.
"Nete tabete yume wo mite, watashi wa ikiteiku; kimi ga itemo inakutemo; watashi ha ikiteiku!
Sekai de ichiban, hakanaku takumashii STORY...
Naite waratte! nanika sagashite! tami ni uso wo tsuite! Dakedo soko ni ai ga aru kagiri..."
"So, this is Lone Wolf's version of Heaven's Cabaret Club, eh?" Heine Westenfluss asked. "It's kind of cool."
Hakkai turned to him. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" he asked the Gundam SEED Destiny character.
"I am, and yet I didn't get much attention as my friend Athrun did," Heine sighed. "Life is cruel."
"Hateshinaku tsudzuku, oroka de utsukushii STORY!
Naite waratte! Uta wo utatte! Tama ni iya ni natte! Akikan kette;
Kaze ni atatte! Hoshi ni negatte! Hito wo suki ni natte!
Itsumo soko ni ai ga aru kagiri!
Aru kagiri..."
The customers applauded the teenage goddess and made a standing ovation. "You rock, Yurie-sama!" they cheered.
Yurie blushed. "Haii!" she replied with a smile.Then she lifted her hand and pointed to the ceiling. "Saa, minna, hajimaru yo!" she shouted.
Outside the restaurant, a young girl is standing in front of the door. She looked at the mini concert, sighed and walked away. Covered in brownish red trench coat that almost swept the ground, and with brownish red hair neatly tied with purple ribbons, she silently walked down the street of Shanghai and headed to the railway station. The pole she held in her hands, along with a briefcase, was wrapped in white cloth, and the way she walked suggested she might be an accomplished sword-master.
She halted. She looked at the restaurant, her emerald eyes gloomy. She frowned and closed her eyes. "Papa and mama are not here…"
x-x-x-x-x
Anji returned to the bridge. He approached the crippled Joe and saluted him. "Well," Anji said to himself and threw his sight to the evening sky, "I think I should go home. Baiken and the children might be worried." He climbed onto the wind dragon and pointed north. "Come! Our family awaits us! To infinity, AND BEYOND!"
They flew up to the sky, left Key West and rode the jet stream as they headed to Washington, D.C. Inexplicably they found themselves outnumbered by:
You guessed it.
Fighting planes of all variants: American jets that start their designation with F- and followed with various two-digit numbers; Russian fighters with acronyms of their respective companies and two --sometimes three-- digits, French war planes that always end their name and numbers with a capital letter; Swedish fighter planes that start with either J-, JA- or JAS- and ends with either 35, 37 or 39; X-Wing, Y-Wing, TIE Fighter and many of those alphabet-designated planes in Star Wars.
For readers' information, in that particular episode of The Wedding Night II, Anji encountered the planes while attempting to rescue Baiken from the alien kidnappers. This time, in GG versus SNK Encore, Anji met them while heading for home.
"Can't touch this!" Anji pointed forward, and the wind dragon roared as it dived toward the ground. Anji laughed, all while he navigated his buddy over terrains and through caves in low radar visibility like how Pops would guide Blaze and his fellow in Mission 20: Final Option; occasionally, Anji would shout "stop! Anji Time!", an obvious homage to a certain MC popular during the 90's. The fighters flew over the out-of-nowhere topography, frantically trying to look and shoot the flying Japanese. They didn't succeed, and in frustration, they headed home.
"Yatta! We outran them!" Anji cheered for himself; he was able to outrun the fighters without spending a drop of sweat. Happily he headed home, when…
BOOM!
Smokes came out of his wind dragon's tail. Anji lost control of the flying creature and looked behind him. He was not impressed, and before he knew it he was riddled with 7.7mm machine-gun bullets fired by the Fokker DR.1 (he was unhurt; the bullets were meant to bring him down, not killing him. Why? Do not ask. And do not want.)
"This is not what I wanted to happen…" he groaned as he crashed on the highway's elevated junctions.
(Flashback goes here)
"Ah! That woman needs saving!" So saying, Anji went into his 'superman' mood (from his second GGXX ending: "I must protect that woman!") and flew to Baiken's rescue upon his flying fan.
Out of nowhere and into his way came a swarm of MiGs, Sukhois, Yaks, LaGGs, Mirages, American fighters starting with the letter F and ending with lots of numbers, Star Wars space fighters with names using the letters of the alphabet and ending in -Wing, Veritech Fighters, Core Fighters, and one lone red Fokker 'Red Baron' triplane from World War I, all there to stop him. Anji easily shot down all of them–
"Hah! Can you say Marianas Turkey Shoot, anyone? Wait; the Americans won that one. Oh, well…"
–except for the Fokker, which somehow got behind him despite its inferiority in speed and agility, opened fire with its piffling machine guns and blotted Anji out of the sky.
"There is something wrong with this picture," the Japanese man commented as his Stopping Fan fell towards the ground.
(flashback ends here)
Apparently, our fellow Mito Anji possesses a serious weakness. Sure, he outruns jet fighters of all generations and even outwits Star War war planes. Hell, he would not have a problem taking on even Gleipnir and Hresvelgr (which he didn't since the author decides not to include the flying super weapons; Gleipnir was owned earlier by the ghosts of Razgriz). He's the flying man, for Pete's sake!
But a Fokker DR.1? Either Lone Wolf NEO is an avid fan of the vintage dog-fighter, or he wants something as ridiculous as the three-winged prop-driven plane to be Anji's Achilles Heel. But it is believed that, like Kira Yamato's SEED Mode which is super-effective against villains and bad people but was useless against cute girls (like what happened to him in this episode of Miss SEED Destiny Pageant when he became Meyrin Hawke's guinea pig), Anji's supreme flying skill is not so helpful against something old, classic and unique.
Like the triplane.
Flying in circle around the crossroads, the lone red fighter confirmed its kill and flew toward the horizon, disappearing beneath the winter sky of North Hemisphere.
"You know," Lone Wolf NEO uttered and looked at the scene above, "I should feature that Fokker in my next instalment. Like, people want to know what the heck it's doing in HOMB and TWN2. And besides…"
Hibiki looked at him. "Besides?"
"Besides, it's painted in your favourite colour, Hibiki-chan."
Hibiki blushed. Instead of saying anything to protest him, she clung onto him and held his arm very tightly. "Mou, Lone Wolf-san, you make me embarrassed with the -chan suffix…" bashfully she told him.
Arcueid and Caster cheered. Hibiki blushed brightly. Lone Wolf NEO screamed at them.
Anyway, this brings the end of today's episode. Remember, children: reduce, reuse and recycle. With these three principles, our world will become a healthy and better place.
(the host, despite his Western origin and appearance, respectfully bows in Japanese code of honour to the audience).
x-x
Shinn Asuka screamed bloody blasphemy a la berserk EVA 01. "RAAAH!!! First it's Freedom! Then it's Athrun! After that it's author Sheo Darren! Now Lone Wolf NEO is in, too??!!!" he cried and banged his head against the wall. "I hate you, Lone Wolf NEO! I hate you! I HATE YOU ALL!!!"
"Oniichan, you don't have to be so emo," Mayu sighed.
x-x
"Matsuri-chan…" mumbled a horrified Yurie, "I had this bad dream last night…"
