It may be Summer, but Winter is still here! Thank you all, as always, for the fantastic support. Just look at how far we've all come. 60 chapters. What a JOURNEY. It's been my absolute pleasure to share it with you all. I hope you'll all continue to follow me, until this beast of a fic reaches its terminus. As always, enjoy the action.
Despite equal exhaustion among all, the terminal feeling of the gruesome combat inspired a second wind in all of them. All began to fight more aggressive, more desperate- to deal critical blows, and drop their opponents for good, to end this deadlock that had gone on long enough on Night 6 of Munich, Germany.
"THIS IS IT, MEN!" Heidern distinguished himself among the combatants around. "DEAL THE FINAL BLOW, AND CRUSH THIS ENEMY POCKET! DRIVE THEM FROM THE SQUARE!"
"ROGER THAT!" Ralf and Clark obeyed with a burning stronger than white phosphorous in their spirits.
Leona, though she didn't shout in acknowledgement, showed her committment with action instead of words. "Engaging targets."
She rushed forward in a blue blur, focused eyes capturing her first target: Ryofu. The spearman noticed her coming, and, with a swig of his wine pot, rushed towards her with rejuvenated blood, his polearm aimed at her chest...
Leona cut to the side, and Ryofu ran past her, missing. The spearman hit the brakes, and he turned with a wide horizontal slash. Leona ducked it, and Ryofu spun around with the momentum, twirling his spear above his head, and he came around with a low swipe. Leona jumped back, and the persistent Ryofu spun around a second time, bringing his spear down with a big overhand slash!
CLACK! The spear hit nothing but concrete, the tip just inches from Leona's foot. She drove the side of her foot into it, kicking his weapon off-balance, and she put a foot on it, using it to vault herself upwards... and she walked across his spear, before leaping into his face with a flying knee that toppled him.
Leona showed no mercy to the fallen. Grabbing him by his headpiece, she snatched him up to shaky feet, and threw him into the nearest wall, the spearman's back hitting it so hard, he dropped his weapon, helpless. Finally, Leona stepped in with the finishing strike; a war cry from her lungs, and she lunged and rammed her hand into his stomach, before tearing it away.
"Gaaagh...kkkk... ggghaaaah...!"
The sensation of wanting to hunch over and puke his guts out was bad enough... but Ryofu didn't know how bad he had it, until he heard a loud, sizzling sound... and he looked down, horrified eyes focused on his stomach.
"Sayonara." Leona swiped her hand. BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
She walked away, not bothering to look at the smoldering crater. All she needed to hear was his body hitting the floor, before she declared:
"12 targets remaining. Changing position."
The numbers were officially even. Ralf and Clark looked to turn the scales in THEIR favor, as they cornered Sokaku, preparing to put the dark-arts-monk on the inactive list.
"Clark, secure the stick!" Ralf commanded, cracking his knuckles. "Then just leave me alone with him, hehehehe..."
Clark's shades shimmered, as he flashed a grin. "Copy that, partner."
Sokaku, for what it was worth, showed no fear. Even as he was backed into a place he couldn't retreat... he held his ring staff high, and brought his hand to his face in prayer.
"I warn you both..." he threatened. "I am capable of conjuring demons beyond your wildest-OOOOOOOOOOOOF!"
A single punch to the gut, courtesy of Ralf's speeding haymaker, dropped Sokaku to his knees, and finally, his face. The monk groaned weakly as he tried to reach for his staff... but Clark slid his foot across, kicking it out of reach.
"Welp, that takes care of him."
The Ikari Warriors walked away, high-fiving each other.
...But they would have been wise to confirm the kill. Even as they walked away in triumph, Sokaku Mochizuki was clinging to coherence. His body felt like it was ran over by a bus, but he crawled across the asphalt, nearly tearing his fingers, pained groans as he willed himself to his staff. He reached out, with a weak hand...
"Y-you bastards... will pay for mocking me..."
His hand touched the staff, and he uttered a sinister prayer.
"Demons of Hell, I beckon you... send forth your most terrifying monster... show them the meaning of... true... fear.. urrrrrghkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk..."
With one last rattle, Sokaku fell unconscious.
With the numbers now 12 to 11, the heroes enjoyed the first lead of the fight. Determined to keep it that way, Adelheid carved a path of fury like no other. Tearing through every opponent, not even remembering their faces, as they mattered so little to him... there was only ONE among them, he was looking for.
...Finally, his eyes captured the target of his wrath.
"JYAZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" he roared with fire in his eyes.
The crow demon was caught in a pincer attack, by Mary, Ramon, Nakoruru, Iroha... but it was going the opposite as intended.
Ramon closed in with a stomping kick to the stomach, but Jyazu caught his leg and backhanded him in the face. He spun around, just in time to stop a takedown from Mary, sprawling her out and wearing her down with his weight... finally, he scooped her up by the armpits, fired a knee into her stomach, and threw her aside. Mary groaned loudly as she tumbled across the concrete, her wounds only doubling the discomfort.
Nakoruru flew at him with her blade, but her short range allowed Jyazu to easily sway his head and dodge it. The determined girl backhanded her weapon and tried to come back across... but Jyazu's right wrist easily stopped the blade. He then raised his left hand, talons shooting out, and he crashed into Nakoruru with a vicious slash. Her blade stopped it, but the force of the blow knocked her silly, and Jyazu kicked her aside to finish the job.
Finally, Iroha came charging in, swinging left and right constantly, but finding little success, as Jyazu parried the blades with his own golden talons. Finally, Jyazu took a step forward with a whirlwind of a counter, backing Iroha up immensely... and he surprised her with his wrist gun, firing two projectiles into her chest that dropped her.
Nakoruru and Ramon recovered the fastest and tried to go at him. Nakoruru swung; he dodged, and she straightened her sword and tried to thrust... this proved a mistake, as her blade went between his talons and got stuck. Jyazu kicked her in the stomach, felling her, and he turned his full attention to Ramon...
"EAT SHIT AND DIE, BIRD BRAIN!" Ramon insulted as he came charging in, his arm cocked back with a lariat in wait...
...But instead of giving, Ramon RECIEVED a devastating super to the face.
BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM! Jyazu's lightning leg flew with a volley of kicks like a machine gun, pounding Ramon with an onslaught that could only end with the luchador falling to the ground, helpless.
One last offensive rally came: in the form of Mary, Nakoruru, and Iroha all rushing him at once.
"Worthless fools. Burn in Hell."
Jyazu fell to a meditative stance, his hands pressed against his face, as he uttered a macabre incantation... and his eyes flashed red.
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Columns of fire spouted all around him, exploding with intense heat, and all bodies in the area were blown back by the fiery combustion.
"AHH!"
"Aghhh!"
"Aaaaaah...!"
Their efforts towards Jyazu ended in failure, as all four of them took the explosive super and were knocked out of the running. Adelheid arrived, just in time to see Mary land at his feet.
"Mary!" he dipped down to scoop her up, checking her pulse. She was alive... but her weak groans and slow movements indicated she had finally given her all.
"Unghh... I need the biggest f***ing vacation. A REAL vacation." Mary rasped.
Adelheid had seen enough. He scooped her up, gently taking her to a secluded place... and his eyes fixated back on the object of his ire.
"I've had just about enough of you." Adelheid made his intentions clear, approaching with his fists clenched.
Jyazu's eyes glowed brighter. "Then let's end this once and for all. Face your judgement!"
No more words needed be said. Their final encounter commenced, as Jyazu raced across the square, his blade dragging against asphalt... and he swung it upwards, sending a purple projectile sailing at Adelheid. The blonde man dodged it without losing speed, and their bodies collided in a violent impact, as Adelheid slammed a roundhouse into his shoulder. The force knocked Jyazu back, and he rebounded with a spinning slash, which missed, and he tried to come forward with a finishing thrust... Adelheid sidestepped it, and swung around with a back kick that nailed him in the arm, at the exact moment Jyazu tried to swing and fire his wrist gun. Jyazu stumbled off balance, and Adelheid's next kick struck him in the back of the head.
Jyazu somersaulted forward in desperation, landing into a sloppy roll. He sprang back up... but Adelheid was already on him. Jyazu tried to raise his claw, but Adelheid kicked his arm away, and pumped a thrust kick into his stomach. His second kick went higher, cracking Jyazu in the face, and Adelheid spun around with a perfect spiral, bringing his foot across Jyazu a second time, with a ferocious kick that sent the crow demon to his hands and knees.
Jyazu tried a spinning clip of Adel's ankles, persistently slashing and spinning, but a series of backflips took Adel to safety. Jyazu, angry and desperate, took advantage of their new distance and fired his wrist gun... but Adel's Dark Barrier easily protected himself.
Jyazu's movements got sloppier and sloppier... while Adel's only sharpened. They met in the middle again; Jyazu thrust at his face, and Adelheid weaved it. A followup slash came, and Adelheid's foot flew swiftly, kicking his arm off- track, stumbling him, and Adel twisted around with a back kick to the ribs, before twisting back the other way with a leaping back kick to the face.
Jyazu took it square, and he nearly went off his feet. Only his long talons stopped his fall, and he tried to slingshot forward on drunken legs... his vain slashes had no chance of hitting Adelheid, each one missing its mark by a wide margin. Finally, Adelheid had enough; the next slash came, and he smashed into Jyazu's ribs with a counter kick that locked him in place.
Jyazu's defenses fell... Adelheid poured it on him, bringing a crescent kick across his jaw, following up with a left kick to the solar plexus, and, finally... the damning slash of the fight.
SLASSHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Adel's leg flew swift and true with his G Cross, his silver chi tearing through Jyazu with one clean stroke. Adelheid returned to the ground, his feet landing... and at that same moment, Jyazu went to his knees.
"A...agh...ghhh..."
Adel didn't stop. He scowled with a burning fury, as his eyes glowed bright silver. He SHOT forward.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He glided into Jyazu, seizing his neck in a clothesline, and he jettisoned the crow demon forward into the nearest wall.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! A gargantuan slam enveloped Jyazu in a pillar of pure silver light... the faint outline of a skull seen within.
Adel didn't let go. He spun him around, and went across the square again! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
And finally... a third time, as Adelheid carried him to the center of the square with his momentum, went sky high... and he brought Jyazu headfirst into the Earth with the last slam. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The smoke cleared... a limp Jyazu lay at his feet, as the victor stood tall, panting, his hand raised post-vengeance, fingers brimming with silver... and his eyes continued to glow with that same pure aura.
Gozu and Mezu, locked in battle, ceased their offense and turned, horrified. "M-MASTER JYAZUUUU!"
Jyazu, barely clinging to a thread of consciousness, tried to lift a single brave hand... but his strength left him, and that arm fell flat.
"A...gh...I... never thought... you could be this good... son of... Rugal..."
Adelheid's eyes returned to normal... but his same fury held, as he knelt down and snatched the crow demon with a single hand.
"You don't come after me, or my sister, EVER AGAIN." Adel commanded, shaking the fallen enemy's eyes back to coherence. "And that goes for your sideshow freaks over there too. AM I CLEAR?!"
Jyazu, with dim red eyes, rasped. "O-okay, okay... y-your debt is... cancelled. Please... spare me. You won't see us again..."
"He's full of it, brother!" Rose interjected, demonstrating far less mercy as usual. "Do him! Break his neck!"
Adelheid's teeth clenched, and, for a moment, the grip on Jyazu tightened. He couldn't see beyond the crow mask, but he could FEEL the fear on the other side... that had to be enough, didn't it? If he were his father, he would run Jyazu through without a second thought. Rose would probably do the same.
It wasn't him. He was Adelheid Bernstein. He didn't have anybody to live up to, no expectations to uphold. He chose to use this power as he saw fit... and even now, there was no malice in his heart.
His grip loosened; Jyazu collapsed back on the ground, and the overhead shadow of Adelheid gave one last command.
"Get out of here now."
Gozu and Mezu helped Jyazu up, and for a moment, the two minions eyed Adelheid with retaliatory eyes... but Jyazu quickly intervened with self-preserving common sense.
"What are you waiting for, you fools?! Let's go!"
"B-but master..." Gozu argued. "An eye for an eye!"
"Screw that! That crap means nothing if you die trying to achieve it! We're gone."
POOF! With a puff of smoke, Jyazu returned to crow form, and took to the skies as fast as his wings would allow. Gozu and Mezu turned and ran, not looking back but once.
"Good riddance." Lien expressed the opposite of sympathy for her fellow assassin, only happy to see more competition weeded out.
"Damn. That kid is just too good..." Shion observed from his vantage point, displeased with the most recent outcome.
Botan, who was also watching, offered advice. "There's only one way we're going to win this battle... you've got to lure Adelheid away, and hope they can get the sister. You'll get your one-on-one rematch."
Shion took a second to take in the words... before a coy smile appeared, and he twirled his spear excitedly. "Just be prepared to be the bait."
Botan's expression changed fast, not ready for that. "Wh-what?!"
The smile widened. "You're the one he hates, remember? For screwing with his precious sister. As soon as he lays eyes on you, he'll be a dog after a free steak."
Botan scowled. "You bastard! You just want to see me get hurt!"
Shion rolled his eyes. "I need you alive... for now. Are you with me or not?"
Botan didn't answer immediately. Her eyes stayed fixated on him, expression unhappy... until eventually, a disappointed sigh breathed out. "Fine. Let's go."
Rather than select his next target, Adelheid's immediate thoughts were on the well-being of those caught in Jyazu's last attack. But before he had a chance to get away, his sister quickly began berating him.
"You're too soft, brother!" she fussed, her hands on her hips. "You should have killed him. He would do the same to you! You just gave him a chance to come back in the future!"
Adelheid raised a silencing hand. "I don't want to hear it, Rose."
"But you can't just let-" she started.
"I said I don't want to hear it!" Adelheid's voice gained significant firmness.
Rose took a step back... her face recoiled, like she was wounded, and Adel breathed an annoyed sigh. He approached, placing a gentle hand on her.
"Rose... the cycle of violence won't continue with me." his voice softened. "It's my choice. If he ever comes back and threatens you, he'll get what's coming to him. But I believe what I believe, and I'm standing by it. I'm not my father, or anyone else. I'm ME... and I don't fight with hatred or revenge in my fists."
Rose frowned. With a frustrated grunt, she twirled her dress and turned away. "I bet if that puppetmaster ever came back, you'd feel different!"
Hein thankfully came in with the save, to de-escalate the situation. "Miss Rose, we must go now... I will escort you to safety."
Adelheid wondered if she was right... but he realized time was short for a crisis of conscience, and turned his focus back to where his allies had gotten hit. He ran over there, to get a look at them... his face twisted, as it wasn't a pretty sight.
Ramon was still down, seemingly unconscious. His black trunks were scorched, one half in tatters, the other nearly to his thigh. His shirt has holes, and a huge crater where his torso could be seen.
Iroha was also reeling from the impact of the fire blast... and she had much less clothing in the first place. She coughed violently as she had her arms around her chest, trying her best to keep the upper half of her outfit intact, as many fibers of it lay in smoldering pieces. Her shoes and stockings were also eviscerated, leaving her bare from toes to thigh.
Nakoruru was mostly unharmed, as she took the least of the attack. She was knelt down, tending to both of them.
Lastly... Mary was perhaps the most banged up of all. One pant leg looked like Swiss cheese, the other had been scorched all the way to the knee. Her red crop top had multiple burn holes, and the bottom portion had been singed off by several inches... though Mary wasn't in the modest mind right now, so she cared nothing about the moderate exposure. Her face was blackened with soot and debris.
What was most surprising, was the fact that she had taken the biggest brunt of the blast... yet of all four of them, only SHE was on her feet, marching back to the forefront.
"My god, Mary!" Adelheid cried her name as he sprinted over to her, just in time to support her, as her footing began to wane. She stumbled, landing against him... but she quickly pushed him away and kept going.
"Mary, are you crazy?" Adelheid urged, grabbing her arm. "Just stay down! You're done! Listen to me... you're done-"
"I'M NOT DONE!" Mary swung around with angry strength, yelling loud enough to back him up. She approached, grabbing him by his top, and pulled him close enough that her words had maximum impact.
"NOBODY ELSE IS DYING. You hear me? NOBODY."
Adelheid saw an unnatural determination in her eyes... something bred of a conflict earlier in the week. That could be the only explanation for how far she was willing to push herself, in this moment. Despite her having people she cared about waiting for her... she was going to die protecting him. His sister. All of them.
Adelheid's last response to her was a solemn nod. As she limped back towards the opposition, he made it his personal mission to see her alive until the end of this.
With multiple allies down, the Ikari Warriors had become the main force of the battle. All four of them stood firm, the foundation of their army, as had been in countless engagements in their lifetimes.
"Watch it Clark, on your left! No, your LEFT! Dumbass!"
Clark took a hefty smack from Joker's cartoony hand, but he ducked the next blow and brought Joker down with a double-leg takedown. A few punches to the clown, and he rolled off of him, proceeding to the next target.
"LEONA! What's the current numbers!" Heidern shouted, parrying a slash from Sinclair's sword with his hand.
Leona crossed her hands, defending from the chained shuriken of Basara. "Ngh! Eight targets remaining!"
"Who's down? Gimme a head count!"
Basara retracted his shuriken, then threw it again; Leona somersaulted over it, charged towards him, and nailed him with two slices from her lethal fingers. He went down.
"Iroha, Ramon, Silber, wounded in action. Hyena, missing in action. Mary, heavily wounded, but still in commission." Leona reported. "Current forces standing at 10."
Heidern grimaced. "We have the numbers advantage, but our guys are getting banged up... this battle is closer than I hoped. RALF! CLARK! LEONA! We gotta relieve the front! Buy our guys some time to recover!"
"ROGER THAT!"
Ralf and Clark high-fived each other, then prepared to charge forward... but their confidence was halted by an ominous rumbling at their feet.
"What the...?!"
They froze, and wisely so, as a few more steps forward would have caught them inside the emergence of a blood-red pentagram, carved into the concrete somehow spontaneously. The unholy circle began to glow... bright... almost blinding!
"What the hell..." Ralf questioned.
...What happened next was something that could only be described as out of this world. From the pentagram, a rift to some strange, unknown world opened... from the ground, emerged a demonic, red figure, that seemed to go on and on... it was with each revealing second that this mysterious presence grew more grotesque in appearance, as the light of the pentagram began to fail to conceal his monstrous entirety.
They quickly noticed he was not of this world. Fat, protruding belly, supported on hunching hind legs with disgusting toenails, and a single arm perched, primate in nature. The other arm looked incapable of support, as it was naught but a stump of mangled flesh, with a sharp bone sticking out of it.
His ribs were visible, outside of his torso, and his spine protruded from his back. A wild mess of hair barely completed his mostly-bald head. Inhuman, crazed eyes, a big gaping mouth... and the drool leaking down his chin suggested his appetite was whetted.
"Uhhh... Ralf?"
"Yeah?"
"Contact front."
"No f***ing shit, Clark."
"WHO WOKE ME UP!" his demonic voice cried out. "I'M HUNGRY! FOOD FOOD FOOOOOOD!"
"Oh no..." Nakoruru seemed to recognize it. "It's Kusaregedo!"
"Wha...what the hell is this thing?!" Ralf and Clark cried in unison.
The giant red demon was idle, licking the exposed bone on his arm, though his eyes seemed to be scanning the square warily... perhaps for delicious treats.
Leona, calm as ever, casually approched them. "A yōkai, a demon who feasts on human flesh. Why he's in our world, I cannot say. I don't believe in such things."
"Well, here he is, standing right in front of us!" Ralf whined.
"So it seems."
At last, the demon's eyes fell upon the three Ikari Warriors at his feet. His lips began to drool more as he exclaimed:
"Ooooooooooooooh, now there's some tasty morsels! You two are nice and thick... and she's gonna be dessert!"
Heidern wasn't the least bit fazed by mythology coming to life. "TAKE IT OUT!"
Ralf shot his partner a look. "Well bud, I would say we've fought bigger and uglier, but I'd be lying."
With that note, the two Ikaris charged at Kusaregedo. Ralf tackled his left leg, quickly realizing that he'd have better luck pulling a tree out of the ground. Determined, Ralf started raining short punches into his thigh meat. "Hnf! Hnf! Hnf! Hnf! Hnf!"
...But Kusaregedo laughed it off. "Ha ha! HAHAHA! THAT TICKLES! The food's playing with ME!"
The red demon lifted his foot, Ralf still attached... and he shook it up and down, up and down, before finally flinging Ralf aside. As Ralf hit the ground, Kusaregedo attempted to lift that foot and bring it down on him, but a timely roll granted Ralf escape.
Clark also tried his best. He leaped atop the monster's back and tried to seize some kind of choke... but Kusaregedo proved too meaty, and he spun around wildly, eventually bucking Clark off. The blonde man hit the ground... and next thing he knew, he was punted across the square by Kusaregedo's giant foot.
"I'm gonna tenderize those thick muscles a bit! Make the meat easier to go down!" Kusaregedo announced his cannibalistic intentions, as he lifted the sharpened bone of his arm stump, weaponized for killing humans...
Ralf helped Clark to his feet, the two leaning on each other... their faces widened with fear when they saw the giant shadow over them, and the jagged tip of that bone coming down, to skewer them.
Thus, they made a strategic play.
"LEONA! REQUESTING BACKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"
Thankfully for them, their blue-haired badass had seen enough shenanigans. "Engaging the yōkai."
At the precise moment Kusaregedo brought his arm down on Ralf and Clark, Leona shoved them aside and raised her hand, stopping the blade-like bone with an uncanny power in her arms. Her face intensified, as her hair began to slightly tease a shade of violet...
Kusaregedo was baffled. How could this... puny, tasty-looking human, stop his attack?!
Leona's eyes emblazoned with fury, as she shoved his bone arm aside, stumbling him, and she lunged at his leg.
SLASH!
A cry of pain, as Kusaregedo wobbled and started to go down. She combat rolled to the other leg...
SLASH!
His legs gave out, and Kusaregedo whimpered as he had only his hand and his bone arm to support him. Finally, Leona went airborne... her hair flickered red for a moment, as she unleashed her mightiest attack.
"HRRRAHHHHHHHHH!"
SLASH SLASH! She carved a giant, blazing V into his person, and disengaged, returning to her feet. And finally, with a swipe of her hand... he exploded.
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! An intense burst of chi detonated like a nuclear bomb, blasting Kusaregedo in the face, and sending him into a collossal fall, that ended with him crashing on his side.
"Oooooooooooerrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... all I wanted was something to eat... you meanie..."
"Target eliminated." Leona calmly announced, turning and walking away from the fallen demon. Along the way, Ralf and Clark held out their hands, in anticipation of a passing high five... and Leona obliged.
From a distance, Lien watched the strange action conclude with a shake of her head. "I keep underestimating the weirdness of this night..."
"Hey! Nutella Stroganoff! We're not done yet!" a voice challenged from the distance.
Lien recognized it, and breathed an annoyed sigh as she turned and faced her adversary: the redheaded boxer. "Are you really going to push this, just for Seth? He's not worth it, you know."
Vanessa rotated her arm, airing out her limbs. "Nah, I just think you're a bitch. A few black eyes would really bring out that yellow."
Lien was unimpressed. "Your funeral."
The two closed in, and Vanessa let her fists fly, popping her in the eye with a left jab, to set up her brutal right to the stomach. Lien hunched, and Vanessa blasted her chin with a short upper, setting up her left hand, which she unleashed across Lien's cheek with full power.
Lien stumbled, just barely catching herself on her hands, and she sprang up in time to block the next fist with her gauntlet. Lien pressed forward with a spinning chop, which was blocked, but backed Vanessa into kicking range, and Lien started pumping out side kicks. The first one aimed at the body, the next aimed at the head... Vanessa's arms were there to take them, and Lien tried to spin around with a backfist, but Vanessa caught her arm and fired short-range punches into her ribcage. One, two, three... but she kept her footing unprotected, and Lien drove a boot into her calf, knocking her off-balance. Lien drove a knee into her stomach, folding her inwards, and Vanessa retreated in pain... finally, Lien fired a side kick upwards, that appeared to miss its mark, but at the apex of the kick, Lien bent her calf and veered her foot at a right angle, catching Vanessa square in the nose.
It took a few moments for Vanessa to air out the pain... but a few shakes of her head, and she was raring to go. She cocked her fist back, and rushed Lien...
...Lien did the same. Her gauntlet glowed with green energy as she drew her arm back, and met Vanessa in the middle...
...Their fists collided, and a powerful blowback sent Vanessa flying in the opposite direction.
As the boxer hit the ground, Lien stayed standing, triumphant, flexing her gloved hand. "Hm... did you break your hand? Looks like Hubs will be cooking dinner for a while."
"SHUT YOUR BITCH MOUTH!" Vanessa let her anger get the best of her, and she rushed Lien once again.
...The blonde smirked. "Too easy."
Lien's gauntlet glowed green once more, filling her fist with immeasurable power... she raised it above her head, looked towards the ground... and she drove her fist downwards into the concrete, sending a seismic wave outwards. Vanessa barely saw the visible effects of the "Ground Pound"... but she felt it all too real, as her feet suddenly left her and she found herself jettisoned in the air. TOWARDS her opponent.
Lien timed the exact arrival of Vanessa's body flying at her, drew her fist back, and decked her in mid-air, square in the face. Vanessa's body somersaulted, before crashing to the ground...unmoving.
Seth witnessed this, and cried out her name. "VANESSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
He tried to run after her, to check her pulse... but the intervention of Lin prevented it, as the Hizoku assassin jumped in his way and repelled him with a straight chop to the throat. Seth blocked it, and another chop followed. He blocked that one, and finally, Lin backed him up with a spinning wheel kick that crashed into Seth's guard and sent him stumbling.
"God dammit Lin, get out of my way!" Seth ordered.
"Not until we're done here!" Lin fired back.
Seth was getting angry. He swung a deep hook; Lin parried his fist and fired two rapid cobra strikes into his chest, before the third strike busted his nose. Seth stumbled, and Lin shot forward with his fingers outstretched, again aimed for the throat... Seth caught his arm, spun around and planted an elbow in his face, allowing their close-proximity bodies to collapse to the ground, and Seth achieved a full mount, his forearm pressed against Lin's throat.
"Lin! Look at yourself!" Seth urged, between struggling grunts. "This... isn't... you!"
Lin was pinned underneath his weight... but the Hizoku assassin displayed his trickery, as he shoved his hand into the Earth... and his arm sprouted from the ground, striking Seth in the cheek and knocking the big man off of him.
They returned to their feet... Lin struck him across the temple with a crescent kick, spinning around and going low with a sweep kick that knocked Seth on his back. He tried to come down on Seth with a throat jab, but Seth rolled to the side and did a quick leg takedown, sweeping the rug out from under Lin with his feet.
Just like that, the big man had turned the tables once again, putting Lin in a rear headlock and attempting to talk some sense into him. "I know what Ron stands for! I know he deserves to go down! But you... don't you realize that by standing in our way here, you're supporting his goals?!"
Lin grunted under the pressure. "Urrg! Wh-what do you care? You don't care about me at all! Urrgh...what I've gone through! You just... g-go on living your perfect.. urrgh... fairy tale life with your friends and family, while I plunge my hands in the sewage!"
In a desperate attempt to get free, Lin free-fell backwards, planting Seth against the ground. The slender assassin was able to slip around, achieving top position... and he raised his fingers, coursing with a toxic purple chi... and he prepared to rain down the final strike.
...But he felt his hand waver, at the pivotal moment of impact. He froze.
Seth sensed it, and he knew he had an opening. He knew... Lin could be subjugated.
"Dammit Lin... look at yourself." Seth's voice became sincere. "You know this isn't you. You're on the wrong side here, man. I know you believe in what's right... that's why I trusted you to watch my back in 2000. That's why you helped bring down NESTS. You're a smart man, Lin; you gotta know what this battle's for, and what being on the wrong side means. Let go of that anger, and use your head!"
Seth's words appeared to have an impact, as Lin had completely halted his attack, and was now reduced to a still stare... his hand still raised, but not showing indication of moving forward. The moment seemed to last an eternity, before Lin breathed a long sigh... and he spoke.
"It's not fair. Why do you get to have everything, and I have nothing?"
Seth shook his head. "You don't have nothing, Lin. You think you're alone in this... but you're not. We're always here for you, to watch your back. Me, Ness, Ramon... any of us. You're an Agent too."
Lin frowned. "But you...!"
Seth sighed. "Dammit Lin, I'm sorry! Okay? I'm sorry... I shouldn't have turned my back on you. The truth is... I should never have quit the Ron assignment. That lack of closure is in me too. Especially after... "
He didn't finish that last thought. He instead reiterated his first. "Lin...you're not alone in anything. Not anymore. If you need anything from us, we're here... but you've got to quit this shit right now. The world is at stake. Now... get back to your senses, and help me up. You don't belong with these animals."
Lin's eyes closed. He took a deep breath... and his hand lowered. He slowly eased off of Seth, returning to his feet. He looked down... his eyes had changed completely.
Seth breathed a sigh of relief, as Lin's hand went down, to accept his-
"UNGHHHHHHHHHHhhh!"
...The hand never arrived. Seth's eyes popped when Lin's cheek smooshed against his jaw, and his body went flying, into a harsh tumble against the ground. He wasn't moving.
"LIN!"
Seth scrambled to his feet, locking eyes with the culprit of that sucker punch; a smirking Lien Neville.
"Ha. I knew between the two of us, he'd be the one to puss out. He's too damn soft... a disposition I don't share."
Seth had officially had enough of her. "You heartless bitch! You're gonna pay, both for that AND Vanessa!"
Lien chuckled. "Hahahaha... I haven't done a thing yet. I kept her alive, so you could both die in each other's arms."
Seth got into fighting stance. "My patience with you has OFFICIALLY run out!"
Back on the main front, the battle was nearing its end. Besides Lien, there were only six other assassins remaining: Joker, Earthquake, Basara, Jack (The Ripper), Sinclair, and Raiga. On the other end, all four of the Ikari Warriors were still standing. Adelheid was in the front. Nakoruru had gotten the wounded to a safe place, and was back alongside them. Seth was dealing with Lien, separated from their ranks, and Mary was on shaky legs. Finally... Hein was in the rear, as the personal guard of Rose.
Heidern, the now co-leader of this battle, issued orders to his men. "Ralf, Clark... you watch Mary's flank. Don't let her out there on her own."
"Roger." they obeyed.
"Leona... you know what to do. Go straight down the middle, and cut them in half. I trust you to be fine."
"As you should." Leona nodded.
Heidern looked over to Adelheid. "Should I stay back to look after your sister?"
Adel shook his head. "Hein's got it handled, sir. But thank you. Right now, we need to focus on dealing a crippling blow to-"
...His words got caught in his throat. He'd allowed his eyes to venture to the far corner of the square... and he saw something he'd have been better off his entire life not seeing.
That familiar dark hair, in a bowl-like style. Scantily clad, short shorts and a tanktop... with a weird furry thing around her neck. A look he had burnt into his memory, embedded into his soul.
His blood ran hot, like pitch in his veins. Suddenly, the battle in front of him felt like a distant memory... there was nobody else, and nothing around him. It was his least professional moment... and his sister was right.
She smirked at him, and that was all he needed to break his composure, and go sprinting after her.
"Adelheid!" Heidern reached out. "Where are you going? Don't break ranks!"
He didn't listen. He COULDN"T listen: the entire world was shut out in this moment, save for that smirking female in his sights.
"BROTHER!" Rose screeched. "DON'T GO! BROTHER! BROTHERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
"Where the hell is he...?!" Ralf questioned.
Clark followed up. "Great, and I thought the brother was supposed to be the sane one..."
From the distance, Botan watched him close in on her. With a cackle, she turned and ran. "Hahahahahahaha! Too easy! Too damn easy!"
"GET BACK HERE!" Adelheid roared with fury, as he felt his eyes flicker red, with a familiar aura...
The unpredictable nature and chaos of battle showed itself fully, as, in a moment where the heroes were on the cusp of victory... their strongest fighter took off, and left them with smaller numbers. Adelheid, smart and strong as he was, fell for the easiest bait in the book. Now, the heroes were down to but 8, to take on the villains' 7...
...What else could go wrong at this point?
Mary looked to her rear, and called out: "Rose, what's gotten into your brother?!"
Rose shrugged. "I-I don't know! He just... he up and left! I... I don't..."
Mary turned back around, and grimaced. "Damn! Of all the shitty timing..."
Heidern, despite the loss, had to keep morale high. "He must have had his reasons. We'll have to make do without him. Tighten up our formation! Don't let any of their flanks slip through!"
With Adelheid's absense, the assassins sensed weakness... they all pounced at once, rushing Heidern's forces.
"TAKE EM DOWN!" Heidern and crew were all-too eager to meet them in the middle.
Earthquake twirled his kusarigama and let the blunt end fly; it smashed only concrete at Leona's feet, as she leaped over it and lunged into his fat belly with a double slash. Earthquake yowled in pain... and was silenced with a spinning kick to the head. Leona continued past him, right into the waiting blade of Sinclair, who crossed swords with her, as steel met glove. Their bodies passed over each other, and Sinclair spun around with a back swing, which was parried by the edge of Leona's hand. Before Sinclair got a chance to pull away, Ralf slammed into her with a dropkick, knocking her away.
Jack The Ripper tried to pounce on Nakoruru, but Clark seized him in a mid-air bodylock and planted him on the ground. Nakoruru spun around, just in time to recieve Raiga's monstrous power, as he clashed into her blade with his carving knife, sending her flying. Of the assassins remaining, Raiga seemed to pose the most serious threat...
"HEIN! STAY CLOSE TO ROSE!' Heidern yelled, parrying the shuriken of Basara. "THIS IS GONNA BE TIGHT!"
Hein adjusted his glasses with an ominous shimmer. "I assure you, anyone who treads too close will meet a painful fate."
The battle seemed to be a stalemate, as Heidern's forces gave back as hard as they took, neither side willing to back down. Whatever hold was over the assassins, compelled them to fight on, even at the risk of their lives. At this point, the heroes knew what their objective was; to take them down to the last man. It was as clear as that. There was nothing else at this point that could have surprised them...
...Or so they thought.
"BLASTER!"
The furball on the feet they were currently in afforded them little visibility on the outside... so it could only be met with surprise, when they saw Joker go flying across the square, screaming, until his body hit the nearest wall, and the clown fell to the ground. He looked like he wasn't getting up again; whatever it was that hit him, must have been powerful...
"Who the hell took him out?!" Ralf shouted above the chaos.
All bodies stopped their actions, from a combination of sheer curiosity... and the sinking feeling that some bombastic presence had just made themselves known.
As soon as all eyes fell upon the newcomers... it was quickly apparent that it wasn't pleasant company. In fact, his presence, in all his car salesman-smiling, shiny head-glistening nastiness, was a PERSONAL offense to many of the people here, if not all of them.
"Heh heh... heh... heh heh heh heh! Gentlemen, gentlemen, GEN-TLE-MENNNN... why all the fighting? Let's make peace and love in the universe!"
Not a soul was happy to see him, and they all made it heard.
"Oh god." Mary groaned. "Not this asshole."
"An unwelcome guest, indeed..." Hein seconded.
"Gasp!" Nakoruru was more shocked than others. "That...that's the man from...!"
Mr. Big proudly brandished one stick, while he rested the other one of the back of his neck. He stood tall, proud, despite all the defeats he'd suffered, not one bit of falter in the way he carried himself... a confidence that would follow him to the afterlife.
Ralf started to open his mouth... but his eyes shot to the immediate left of Big, and he saw Yamazaki standing there, a smug curving of his lip, casually flexing his fingers, and that set the soldiers off more than the bald man.
"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Ralf spat. "He's the one who jumped us!"
"They've all got major balls showing up here!" Clark seethed. "MAJOR. F***ING. BALLS."
And, as always, standing behind their foolhardy leader... was the motley crew of misguided miscreants that somehow flocked to his charisma: his old crew, Jack Turner, John Crawley, Mickey Rogers...
...And the new fish he had roped in, in the form of Hwa Jai, Raiden, Chang Koehan, and Choi Bounge. All of them, beaten-down, washed-up vagrants, looking for their moment in the limelight, no matter how dim, and they were willing to follow the syrupy rhetoric of Big to get there.
"ATTENTION, PEONS AND PLEBS!" the bald kingpin shouted. "MR. BIG HAS ARRIVED! STAND AND SALUTE!"
Nobody was buying. Not for a minute. His boisterous arrival was quickly met with resistance.
"Choke on your own stick!" Mary fired back.
"You're a moron to show your face here!" Ralf shouted. "All of you!"
"You've got a world of hurt coming!" Clark threatened. "For me, Ralf, Ramon, Vanessa... EVERYBODY you assaulted that day!"
Big took amusement in it, putting his stick to his forehead and cackling uncontrollably. "Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm, heeehehehehehe, ahahahahahaha! Really? REALLY? You guys are still holding onto shit from a day or so ago?! Ryuji, what do we call that?"
Yamazaki shrugged. "Well I don't know the technical term but... I'd say livin' in the very distant past. It's a fast-moving world. New shit always happenin'. No time to be rewatching DVRs from 48 hours ago."
Big extended his stick in the thug's direction. "Well-spoken, my articulate and award-winning-grinning friend! Do you think I could be standing here, poised and proud, if I kept on about all the miserable, mud-stomping L's I've taken this week, and in life in general? Of course not! I keep moving forward... with eyes on the prize."
"Big... you're so full of shit." Mary retorted. "Nobody cares about you. You're the biggest loser on the planet. Just go away and crawl in a dumpster."
Despite the hurtful words, Big just grinned wider. "Ha! Nobody has to like me... not when I WIN. And I plan on winning... right here... right now."
On that note, Big did a dramatic 180, and stood before his crew. "MEN! Our fortunes turn around right here! Beat down anyone who stands in your way, but your target is one person and one person only... THE HOSTESS! TAKE HER, AND WE'LL RANSOM HER TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!"
Rose gasped at that. "How uncouth! You nasty man!"
The bald kingpin spun around once more, pointing his stick forward. With a zealous yell from his lungs, he began his assault.
"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGE!"
Heidern let out a loud, annoyed grunt. "I don't have time for this crap! THE MISSION STAYS THE SAME! Protect the VIP at all costs... and as for Big's unit, take them down with EXTREME prejudice."
"I f***ing copy that!" Ralf grinned.
"Loud and clear." Clark's sunglasses shimmered. "Let's teach these boys what happens when they cross the Ikari Warriors."
Mary cracked her knuckles. "When my guys get jumped... that's when I get mad. Big better prepare that bald head of his for smooth entry!"
And thus, in the later hours of this decisive battle, a third group came and made themselves known... a faction that had its numerous downs, and slight ups. With nine members strong, and a weary and battered group of heroes and assassins alike... it seemed the opportunistic Mr. Big could at last clutch the victory that had eluded him so.
NEXT CHAPTER: The battle nears its climax, as Mr. Big makes his boldest play yet! With three groups squaring off at once, which faction will stand victorious at the end of this mess? The Heroes, The Assassins... or Mr. Big's Crew? Find out next time!
But first... a BONUS SCENE, to see where our hero Adelheid has gone.
BONUS SCENE
He oddly felt no fatigue, despite everything. Maybe it was the anger... is that what he called it? Was it not justice? Maybe his sister was right.
The nature and volition of violence, his morality against his sister's... Adel was tired of it all. He didn't have time for it, nor did he want to indulge it. All he truly wanted... was peace. The desire for normalcy was sought, to the point of frustration... to the point of wanting to hurt whoever was hindering it.
"BOTAN! GET BACK HERE!"
She rounded a corner. He followed. It was so simply, as was the case with many conflicts in humanity, to put all the blame, to redirect all the aggressive justifications, towards one supervillain to take down. He saw it in Botan. Like a shadow, she always lingered... reminding him that the dues had not been paid. That she had corrupted his sister, forced her to host a King of Fighters event that would have spelled the end of mankind... and yet she was here, mocking him.
It was too much. It was enough to undue all of the spiritual enlightenment he had achieved just earlier that day.
She rounded another corner. Adelheid lost her for a second, but he came around to regain the trail... out of nowhere, a purple blur plowed into him, not enough to knock him down, but to jar him.
"Ngh! HAAH!" Adelheid swung furiously at the figure, but he vanished soon after.
He panted... loud, guttural, pants... not of exhaustion, but of furious ambition. He didn't care how far she went; he would tear the city apart to find her, and finally right the wrong that had loomed over him for so long.
All in the name of peace, he told himself.