Considering only one person voted for the polls, I took that as a hint and decided to removed it, never to be seen again. I'm not mad or anything like that, just think it's pointless to leave it there to collect dust.
"I-I can't believe my eyes, people. An unknown assailant invaded the ring, tasered Higashi and is now holding us all hostage. So...to anyone watching right now, please call the police, the army, SWAT, I don't fucking care, all the law enforcers you can think of, just please hurry!"
There wasn't an inch of the stadium that wasn't thrown into a frenzy thanks to Lyzer's arrival. The vast majority of the public was on the verge of tears, the other fighters felt powerless due to not wanting to test the veracity of her threat and up on the VIP area, Jian couldn't sweet talk his way out this time. Some of the investors already pulled out of this shitshow and are holding him responsible.
"Thanks. Thanks a whole lot, Misty. I'm losing millions because of your unresolved grudges." Sima shouted.
"My dear Jian, please compose yourself. This really isn't that big of a tragedy-"
"Oh, don't give that "my dear" bullshit. You two stay here and fix this, I've got a company and its hundreds of employees to salvage." Jian slammed the door behind him, dropping the literal hot potato on the other hosts.
"Look, maybe one of our snipers can get her before she emits the signal. We can still-" Iwao tried to propose, only to be interrupted.
"No no, I've seen the ways in which she developed her electromancy back at NESTS and I assure you that's too much of a risk. Everything inside me wants to scream for saying this, but Nikaido has to solve this problem for us."
Back in the ring, the tension was reaching lethal amounts, as red lightnings were circling around her in a menacing way. Desperate for a reason, Beni took courage and demanded some answers.
"What the hell do you mean with "creation"? I've never seen you before in my life."
"Really? You can't even make two plus two with all those KOF years on your back? I truly am irrelevant." Lyzer somberly mused. "Does the word NESTS sound familiar?" After hearing that word again, things became much clearer for the japanese.
"I wish it didn't, but I had my fair share of encounters with them."
"Now you're getting it. How do you think I can control thunders as well as you do? Your buddy Kusanagi has experienced something much similar…almost ten thousand times over, actually."
"So you're another of those experimented kids? I don't find it very fair that you waltz in here and start threatening people when it's NESTS's fault."
"YOU DON'T GET TO WHINE ABOUT WHAT'S FAIR AND WHAT ISN'T!" Lyzer shot off a lightning blast at Beni's feet, getting visibly more and more unstable. "How should I feel then? I was ripped from my home, forgot everything about me, injected with those goddamn powers and for what? So that I live as an inferior you until the day I die? FUCK THAT! NESTS is gone, the monsters who stole my life are all gone...you and Misty are the only ones left!"
"And you expect me to just roll over and die for something that was completely out of my control? Yeah, here's what actually going to happen. I calm you down and then you get sent to prison for acting like a terrorist."
"Don't you fucking dare to moralize at me! You caused this...you must take responsibility for this…fake shell you've trapped in, for making me so hollow…hollow...hollow, hollow, hollow, hollow, hollow, empty, so fucking empty, there's nothing beneath and you must feel the same...YOU MUST TAKE IT ALL BACK!"
UNOFFICIAL MATCH #2: BENIMARU NIKAIDO VS LYZER SPINEL
Without any warning, Lyzer zapped forward with a front kick, leaving a red trail behind her and barely scratching Beni's pectorals. At the same speed, she went uncomfortably close to him, trying for a high combo. The first two jabs was parried decently enough, but the cross that followed nailed his temple and made him stagger, open for Lyzer's variant of Benimaru's most famous move. Her Noble Eclair was the result of the gruelling training she endured at NESTS, giving Spinel a sense of visceral satisfaction as she launched it right into his face. The red light burned into his eyes, as well as his precious skin, sending him rolling him onto the white floor from both the impact and the searing pain.
Using his quick-thinking to the fullest, the japanese withdrew in itself and springed both his legs Lyzer's way just as she was approaching. He didn't actually hit her, but the suddenness took her by surprise and left Beni with plenty of time to retreat towards safety. Unfazed, she protracted all ten fingers forward and started shooting lightning bolts at Nikaido, one bolt per second. The first got him on his left hip, the pain being as intense as one might expect; Having no intention of receiving some others, the playboy covered his fists with chi, mixing it up with dodging and hitting her electric shots mid-air, nullifying them. As she tried to aim lower, Nikaido followed suit, like he was the main target at a shooting range. But constantly standing there merely to receive another potshot was incredibly risky, opting to find a way around her bombardment.
Running left while covering his wounded hip, Beni thought that only by going the long way, he could be able to reach her concussion-free. Lyzer, in response, punched the ground directly in front of her, creating a long current of electricity that cut Beni's strategy short. The shock was felt throughout his slender figure, forcing him to kneel to somewhat bear the pain. Spinel didn't stop and was ready to make his pain even worse, but her eagerness betrayed her, since Beni threw a rapid Raijinken to her abdomen, so piercing she bit off her lower lip without meaning to. The japanese tried to follow with a roundhouse, only to move some air, with Lyzer knowing he would try and capitalize on a paralyzed opponent. One of the few positive aspects of NESTS's training regimen. A huge mistake on his part too, as his body still wasn't recovered enough to perform that move without the feeling of a million pins punishing him after. Still, using all this chi so early in the fight? She's clearly isn't attacking with a solid strategy in mind and just mindlessly throwing energy his way without accounting for the inevitable toll later.
"Goddammit, Beni is already worn-out from his previous fight. This isn't fucking fair!" Kyo reluctantly noted.
"As true as it may be, Benimaru has been in KOF for so long that he devised a counter-strategy for every occasion. Have faith in him, Kyo." Chizuru answered, trying to be encouraging.
Nikaido needed to wait until his body was fully functional again, but of course Lyzer wasn't gonna give him the luxury. She went for a high knee that while it missed, it was by a millimetre and sent Beni into the ground regardless, since his legs haven't recovered yet. Spinel stepped forward with one Noble Eclair after another, with the playboy crawling back like a worm to avoid them. Nevertheless, he tried to annoy her with some quick low kicks, anything to buy time until the remaining singe disappeared entirely. The effort was rattling her up alright, trying to crash his legs with electrified stomps. There was always that chink to cling onto for Benimaru, this absurd waste of chi that prevented her fighting style to be as effective as it should be, but that would require a clear mind not blinded by irrational hatred. Finally, his sensibilities returned and his unfortunate position spelled the perfect move for making a comeback happen. As she slammed what had to be the fourteenth Eclair in a row, Nikaido made sure this chance wouldn't go to waste.
"SHINKUU KATETE KOMA!" Spinning his entire body in an incredibly unorthodox manner similar to breakdancing, Spinel was caught in the middle and her shins were getting shred up by the speed with which Nikaido was moving. After a good five seconds unable to raise her defenses, Beni returned to his feet mid-motion and delivered a perfect kick to her stomach, making her tumble for a good while before stopping. Seeing her cough heavily after such a hit, the japanese had regained the faint hope that this mess could be ended peacefully.
"You better stop now. Tired as I am, I'm still running circles around you and you're burning your energies way too fast."
"Shut it! You don't deserve another breath!"
Pretty much the answer he expected. Lyzer sprung back up in a red bolt of fury, still aiming high in spite of proven failure of such a tactic. Yet, perhaps due to Beni's futile attempts at pacifying her, her punches were getting more precise, making it difficult for him to parry them all. A right hook ended up hitting its mark, making Nikaido recoil in pain and defenseless against another haymaker directed at his head. Backing up in a hurry, he covered the distance with a Raijinken, which the redhead obviously steered clear off. The light produced worked in his favor, as he went for a side kick which crushed her glasses as well as her cheekbones. When she realized it, that was the moment where enough was enough, cranking up her electric chi higher and higher before launching herself in animalistic rage at Nikaido, raising his hands to avoid getting his precious visage clawed off or worse.
The palms of their hands clenched together as Lyzer channelled all of her resentment into the highest voltage she could reach, creating a surreal thunderstorm that somewhat darkened the sunny sky above them. Beni was pushing back with everything he had left, unwilling to give her another inch. He threw a headbutt to dizzy her up, and while it landed, he only managed to piss her off even more, returning the favor with a headbutt of her own. Both starting to feel their fingers about to break, left with no choice but to detach, less they wanted to live with a couple of stumps for the rest of their lives.
No matter how hard her fingers hurt, Lyzer was just raining down on him, not caring one bit about finesse or something equally pointless. Both could tell that in her obsessive desire to make him pay, her body wouldn't have held together much longer, it was just a matter of taking him down with her. As frustrated tears poured on her, her punches were getting unforgivably sloppy, with the last right fist whiffing entirely. Seizing the moment, Beni threw an uppercut that made spin at 360°, only for her to respond with another frontal fist, making fall hard on his back. The redhead then continued her assault on an even more advantageous position, akin to a wolf mercilessly tearing apart its prey. Nikaido responded with some elbows, alternating between them and whatever wild strikes were coming his way, screaming bloody murder all the way. With the fatigue of both fights seriously starting to creep in, Beni almost wondered why she went to such lengths to have a fight with him instead of-wait, maybe this could be what he needed to turn the tide. Waiting for the moment where both of her arms were raised, Beni catched them and refused to release them, as something crucially important now crossed his mind.
"I was...wondering something."
"WHAT!?"
"Why didn't you send that signal my way to kill me in an instant?"
That...legitimately caught her off-guard. She hated him so much, yet this wasn't completely about a sadistic desire to hurt him. Her doubt would prove to be her downfall, however, as Beni grabbed her head unleashed the most spectacular Collider ever seen, with Spinel contorting and twitching uncontrollably. The audience was in a strange awe at the sight of it all, their eyes glued to the blue thunders shooting off to every direction.
Quiet enveloped the ring as Lyzer was vacantly staring at the blazing sun, having lost sensation on every inch of her body. Unable to respond in any way, Beni shoved her aside the way one does with a rolled-up piece of dirty paper, the only sign of life left in her was a pained gasp fizzling out of her throat.
WINNER: BENIMARU NIKAIDO
Completely devoid of energy, Beni collapsed by Lyzer's side, breathing heavily to catch as much oxygen as he could. It could make for an interesting contest to decide which of their faces was more battered. From a distance it seemed to be all over, but everyone was still tentative over making the first step into the ring. Who can say if the redhead can activate the long-distance signal even after being beaten to a pulp or not?
"There...are you satisfied now? The score is settled...now let this people go." Nikaido whispered with the little strength ha had left in his lungs. In response, Lyzer could only emit a choked, mirthless laughter.
"I can't move a muscle even if wanted to...not that it matters, nothing does now." With an obviously fake smile still printed on her face, Lyzer broke down crying. "Are you seriously this thick? Didn't you realize I was putting my entire life in this fight? To prove that I'm more than your fucking copy? And I still failed...they should just put a bullet between my eyes and be done with it."
"Oh, for the love of god, get over yourself!" Beni raised his voice and instantly regretted it, thanks to that twinge on his left hip still burning like crazy. "You know how many lives where ruined by NESTS? K' and his teammates went through the same exact thing, if not worse. And I'm not just talking of their experiments, brainwashing or whatever else. When that giant satellite blew up South Town, how many do you think lost their homes, their lives, their loved ones?"
"You think I don't know that?!"
"And yet, you act like the entire world revolves around your pain. So many here at KOF would have helped you, I would have helped you. But now, no one will ever do it, because they'll forever see you as that lunatic who hold the entire Dodger hostage and tried to kill me. So congratulations, you made your life even worse by your own hands."
"No...s-stop it."
The security team was slowly approaching the two with their batons and rifles well-pointed towards the menace. None of them felt like sharing Joe's fate.
"No, you need to hear this, Lyzer. No one should go through what you did, but the people here will never know nor care about your story. You think you've hit rock-bottom, but that means you can only go up from here. It's a complete fresh start, something many people would kill for. Promise me you'll make the most of it."
With the armoured personnel now practically on top of them, Lyzer could only let out one final, tired hiss.
"I don't think I have it in me..."
What Beni heard next was the sound of a baton slamming Lyzer hard on the back on her head, followed by the rapturous relief coming from the crowd, chanting the name of their savoir. Justifiably, the security wasn't gonna give the courtesy treatment after the shit she pulled. As the unconscious Spinel was dragged away, Kyo, Chizuru and Shingo ran up to the exhausted Beni, still worried sick of his conditions.
"Benimaru, are you okay? Please, speak to me!" Kusanagi shouted, almost in tears.
"Hey Kyo...sorry for stealing your spotlight in our team." He weakly chuckled, receiving the tightest hug ever given.
"Thank the heavens, you are safe and sound. Do not worry, the medical team will arrive soon for the both of you." Kagura assured.
"Good, but make sure they take Joe first. He has...gravest injuries than me."
The only thing missing would be a rain of confetti to celebrate as the two fighters were taken away to their well-deserved resting time. An unnecessary boulder was lifted from everyone's chest, with the feeling nothing could possibly ruin this up this uplifting moment.
"Fuck...I-I arrived, finally. Listen, some major shit is going-"
Iori looked at the scene, feeling like he stepped in at the worst possible time, proven by the bewildered looks of the other Treasures at the puffing Yagami.
"Yeah, I don't care what I missed. We need to go somewhere more private, like, right the fuck now."
Up in the commentator booth, Clemence received new instructions on how to proceed from here. Good thing too, since he had absolutely no idea on how to address the spectators at home after the clusterfuck that just occurred.
"Well...uh...Okay, if you say so. One, two, three...with an astounding performance, Benimaru has proved himself the hero of this first round without a shred of doubt. With our asses saved and ten years older in spirit, only one bracket and eight spots remain for the qualification to Round 2. See you in an hour, KOF universe, in the hope that no other bullshit ruins this fantastic competition...Can someone pass me some OJ, please?! I need vitamins, stat!"
NEXT TIME: Iori informs the other Treasures about his distressing encounter at Griffith Park, while Lyzer gets dragged far away from the glitz of New Horizon, sharing her new "bedroom" with the previous troublemaker of the tournament.