Mature opened with a death-intending swing, forcing Yashiro to sway hard left, hearing the ferocious talons slice through the metal of the locker behind him, leaving deep marks. She swung again; he caught her at the wrist, using his superior strength to throw her across the room with one hand... but his advantage was short-lived, as Vice finally closed distance with a shoulder ram, plowing his large body against the locker, adding a huge dent to go along with the marks.
Vice attempted to seize him by the neck... but a timely intervention from Shermie negated it, stumbling her only slightly with a flying kick, but giving Yashiro the opening he needed to swing his thick, baseball bat-like leg into her stomach and stun her on the spot, opening her up for a clean left hook to the cheek that caused her to join Mature on the other side of the room.
"Shermie, get back!" Yashiro yelled, more concerned for her well-being than anything else.
"I'm not an invalid, you know~" Shermie grinned. "I can still help."
Mature grunted with annoyance, swinging her hands through open air and launching her crescent blue projectile, which finally blasted that unfortunate door off the hinges upon Yashiro and Shermie dodging it. This distraction allowed Vice to to fly in across the room, her hand extended in an attempt to slam Yashiro to the ground; this failed, as he once again caught the wrist and use the momentum to whip her around, the back of her head colliding with another locker door. Still holding her in his hand, he was versatile enough to shift his attention and meet Mature with a thrusting lance of a side kick to the body, halting her advance and knocking her back to square one.
Mature crashed into a locker and collapsed on her hands and knees. She grunted furiously, slashing the closest door out of pure anger. She looked up and to her right... Yamazaki was just standing there, one hand in his pocket, the other raised... and he appeared to be using his thumbnail to clean residue out of his fingernails.
"Are you just going to sit there?!"
Yamazaki looked down, his nose curling sarcastically. "Hey, I am NOT 'just sitting here'... I'm standing here."
"Useless." Mature grunted as she leaped to her feet, and charged back into the fray. The battle continued, as the duo who often felt overlooked, clashed with the duo who once stood tall and strong, and were now attempting to hold their tattered ranks together...
BACK ON THE FIELD...
"Attention all units. Attention all units. You're ordered to steer clear of the main field. Focus all effort on civilian evac. I repeat, stay away from the pink guy. Let the freaks handle him. Out."
"Form up!"
Heidern and Chizuru at the helm, they made a diligent effort to gather everybody together, to make an organized stand against the undead pink and gray terror wreaking havoc in the football stadium, to the orchestra of thousands of screams and orders being shouted. Even now, his aura of destruction swirled around him, in the form of concentrated pink spheres, which he launched with reckless abandon. There were holes and craters in the grass, the bleachers, the walls... if left unchecked, he could very well bring the entire building down.
KOF's finest had to stop them.
"Is this everybody?" Chizuru asked, her voice showing slight disbelief. She'd forgotten for a minute, what a rough week this had been... many fighters were hospitalized, some off on their own personal vendettas, and some had already gone home. Their numbers weren't as proud as they once were, at the beginning of the week. As it stood now, they had little more than 30 standing, and that was including some that were helping with evac or were ineffective on the frontlines with their wounds.
"I'M HERE!"
A loud voice boomed over the chaos, followed by rapid footsteps. Heidern turned to meet the source: the large, golden boots of Krauser tore a path through the dirt, as he hurried to their position.
"Krauser. Nice of you to join us." Heidern greeted.
"I tried to get here as fast as I could." Krauser panted. "I was at the Castle, getting things in order as the week ends... what is that thing?!"
"No time to explain, Grape Ape." Benimaru cut in. "All you need to know is, we gotta squash this guy before he does some SERIOUS damage!"
That was a simple request for Krauser to grant. With a smile, he nodded. "I'll do what I can."
"Alright then." Heidern nodded. "Let's get this done, fast. Kula, can you block him off from the civvies?"
"I'm on it." Kula obliged. Her eyes turned deep crimson, glowing, until the whites could no longer be seen... a blue aura surrounded her as her ice powers manifested, and she slammed her hands into the ground, sending out streams of concentrated energy that shot forward, before curving around in an arc, taking a route around the pink menace...in a matter of seconds, the aura solidified into a grand, monumental wall of ice, forming a boundary between them and Magaki, and on the other side, the civilians, law enforcement, and Athena, Yuki, and Ai, who were using their forcefields to provide protection.
"Good job, Kula!" Diana and Foxy praised her in unison, along with pats on her shoulder.
Magaki, for his lack of human coherence, seemed to recognize that he was now isolated, as his body began to skulk forwards, towards THEM... a hiss rattled from his lungs, as those inhuman eyes focused on one pillar-haired blonde in particular...
"Ohh snap Beni! I think he's giving you the stink eye!" Joe Higashi laughed.
"H-hey, shut up man!" Beni retorted. "I still have PTSD from playing dodgeball with this orb-flinging motherf..."
"Knock it off!" Saisyu scolded them. A moment later, one of Mai's fans connected with Joe's head.
Heidern stepped forward, hand stroking his jawline. "We need to come up with a gameplan... we have the numbers, but we can't be reckl-"
"What's there to plan?" Angel arrogantly pushed past people, approaching the front. "All we gotta do is kill the puto, so let me go kill him. I'll do it right now!"
"Angel, just chill ou- ANGEL!"
Diana tried to talk some sense into her former enemy, but the luchadora ignored her and bum rushed forward, tearing down the field, directly towards their fearsome enemy...
Magaki recognized a threat headed towards him, and threw immediate countermeasures; he swung his hand, producing a pink orb that went forward only an inch... and vanished. Suddenly, from Angel's position, a rift opened up, and the pink orb rained down on her!
"Ha!" Angel's blurring speed let her phase-shift and dodge it, and she kept running.
More orbs came... one... three... five... every one of them disappearing and suddenly reappearing at Angel's route. They came from all directions, until eventually... she was overwhelmed.
"Sh-shit! AHHH!"
An orb flew from the left and pelted her in the stomach, halting her momentum, before another orb came from behind and hit her in the back... finally, an orb rained down directly overhead, exploding the ground at her feet and sending her into a wild backwards tumble. The proud luchadora's attack run failed gloriously.
Gato had seen enough. The second to ignore better judgement, the Kenpo fighter rushed forward with a blazing blue aura around him. Some of the others started to join in: Joe, Shen Woo, King of Dinosaurs... in a matter of seconds, Angel's example was being unwisely followed, and order had been quickly disrupted.
"HURRICANE UPPER!" Joe unleashed his mighty tornado, as it ripped across the ground towards Magaki... but the shambling corpse had retained much of his old power, including his ability to teleport in a pink flash. He did just that, disappearing and reappearing just in time for the tornado to whizz past him.
"Kachosen!"
"Hishouken!"
"Venom Strike!"
The ones from afar tried to launch projectiles... but they flew forward in vain, as the swarm of pink spheres orbiting Magaki's body intercepted them and vaporized them, sacrificing the orbs in the process... but he produced more to replace them in a flash.
Some of these surrounding orbs flew out, in offense; they again teleported, reappearing at unpredictable angles, and snuffed out the ones charging forward. Joe was the first to go down, an orb appearing from behind and hitting him in the back. "Aggh!"
King of Dinosaurs took an orb to the stomach, but tried to keep pressing forward... another orb flew in and struck him in the chest, felling him finally. "Guurgh!"
Gato and Shen Woo got pelted with the remains, as a volley of orbs flew out and pounded them next, blowing Gato backwards.
"GATO ONII-SAMAAAA!" Hotaru cried.
Shen Woo took one to the stomach... but he kept moving forward. "That all you got bitc-HUUUGRRGhhhh..." he took another one... another one... finally, he was just limping forward, towards Magaki... and by the time he got there, he tried to throw a punch, and Magaki easily backhanded him across the field, his body skidding right back to square one.
The foolhardy ones who made the forward assault all regathered themselves, humbled and humiliated, as they struggled back over to the friendly side, back to a very critical Heidern who eyed them scoldingly.
"NOW will you listen to me?" he lashed. "We can't go rushing in foolishly against this guy!"
Angel was the quickest to recover, already back on her feet, the only thing truly wounded her pride, as she scratched her head and glared at Heidern awkwardly. "...Alright then, damn."
Gato, to his credit, was equally embarrassed thus he said nothing, just sat there, sulking, as a worried Hotaru circled around, brushing dirt off him. Joe and Tizoc were the slowest to get back up, followed by Shen, who had definitely taken the worst hits, but his natural constitution was enough to bring him back to his feet.
Magaki had thankfully turned his attention away from them at the moment... but his next immediate focus was the only other obstacle in his path, that being the giant ice wall behind him. Summoning another flock of orbs to surround him, he commenced to lobbing projectiles into the icy foundation, quickly blowing holes in it and threatening to bring it crumbling down.
"We can't let him take down that wall!" Krauser urged. "Alright Heidern, what do we do?"
"Listen up!' Heidern took command. "Those pink balls orbiting him are acting as a barrier, for both defending long range attacks, and attacking anything that comes close. That makes a frontal assault very difficult, but we don't have any other way."
"Then we just hit him with everything we've got!" King pitched.
Heidern nodded. "That's the idea. Alright, long range attackers, I want a skirmish line established right there, five meters from where I'm standing. Anyone who can shoot. Melee attackers, take the front and spread out! I want intervals between bodies! MOVE!"
Folowing Heidern's guidance, they all gathered in their respective stations, forming a proper battle plan. The shooters all formed a straight line: Joe, Hotaru, Mai, Andy, Kensou, Terry, Krauser, Kula, Saisyu, King, and Heidern himself.
The close-range attackers took their position: Nakoruru, Benimaru, Xiangfei, May Lee, Hinako, Shingo, Shen Woo, Gato, Tizoc, Malin, B. Jenet, Kasumi, Angel, Leona, Lin, Diana and Foxy.
"Chizuru." Heidern called out to her... but the Yata maiden refused to move from her spot, instead backing up closer to the redhead sitting on the ground. She gave him a firm look.
"I'm not leaving his side."
Heidern nodded, understanding with no hard feelings. He turned back around. "Alright, we're gonna take him down in one move... on my mark, light him up and give our guys cover as they move in. Ready?!"
Everyone nodded. Heidern's eye narrowed to focus, as he shouted:
"NOW! SUPPRESSING FIREEEEEE!"
All at once, the fury of the KOF fighters were unleashed. Projectiles of all color, shape and size flew forward in a volley. Fireballs, fans, gusts of wind, power waves, even the sacred Kusanagi fire...
"KACHOSEN!"
"HISHOUKEN!"
"DOUBLE STRIKE!"
"BLITZ BALL!"
"CHO KYUU DAN!"
"POWER WAVE!"
"HURRICANE UPPER!"
They all hit Magaki at once, bathing him in a massive cloud of smoke, dust, debris, until his body couldn't even be seen.
Heidern continued to fling his own crescent projectiles as he screamed. "GO, GO, GO, GO! HIT HIM FAST AND HARD!"
"LETS KICK HIS ASS!" Malin charged with her knife.
"ROUND 2, BUG BOY!" Shen Woo threatened, rushing forward.
Bodies upon bodies descended into the line of fire, an angry stampede of professional fighters, stepping up, volunteering to plunge into the heart of the enemy to destroy a terrible threat, as it had been every year before.
They charged with great haste... but it wasn't long until, through the smoke, two neon bug eyes glowed violently, and pink flashes produced a volley of spherical projectiles, flying out like a one-sided game of dodgeball.
"He's firing!" Leona, at the front, yelled. "Evade!" She slashed through one fireball, sidestepped another... but a third one teleported above her head and nailed the ground at her feet, toppling her.
"Ahh!"
"Agghh!"
"Owweeee!"
The pink projectiles were dropping them one by one. Xiangfei went down, Hinako, Shingo... Kasumi managed to use her chi and cleave through one, but two more teleported above her head and behind her, felling her on the spot.
They kept coming. More and more and MORE... the balls flew wild, from all angles, like a food fight gone horribly wrong. It was impossible to evade them all. The field rattled with explosions and impacts, as bodies dropped like pigeons.
"Damn it... this isn't working!" Benimaru, one of the last ones still up, cursed.
"FALL BACK!" Heidern finally pulled the plug. "FALL BACK!"
"NO, I CAN MAKE IT!" Benimaru persisted, still running forward.
"DAMMIT NIKAIDO, WE NEED TO REGROUP!"
"Screw that!" Angel joined in. "I just need to get within a few feet of...!"
Nakoruru was the first to arrive, and she leaped at him with a deep swipe... but her body failed to reach him, as a series of short-range explosions detonated vertically, blowing her backwards. Tizoc came in hot, flying in with a dropkick... he hit naught but a pink blur, as Magaki short-range teleported to avoid it, causing the wrestler to hit the ground. Magaki's fireball went forward... but teleported suddenly, and flew BEHIND him, taking out the dinosaur without even having to look back. Shen Woo tried to fly in with a superman punch, but Magaki needed only extend his hand and let a pink fireball loose into his stomach to put an end to that.
Gato flew forward valiantly, but more short-range explosions knocked him away. Diana and Foxy soared in, rapiers extended, but the orb field was still too powerful... their blades never came close. Lin used his Sting of the Asp technique to try and trip Magaki up, but another teleport left Magaki free from harm, and Lin only had time to look up before a fireball rained down on him. He backflipped to dodge it... but he was already zeroed. Another fireball flew from the left and hit him, and a final fireball blasted him in the chest. Angel was the second to last one to try, and fail, to get close; Magaki simply had no openings.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Benimaru gave his most valiant battle cry; the last one standing, he rushed Magaki with everything he had, eyes blue, sizzling with electrical aura. He leaped high, foot extended, and spiraled towards his former foe...
...only for three fireballs to come in from three different angles, all smashing into him at once, with one gargantuan impact. His tremendous attack failed miserably, and he met the ground with a grisly impact.
"We're not gonna win like this." Heidern relented. "EVERYONE FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"
The projectile-flingers kept Magaki at bay while the injured fighters, both in body and pride, all crawled, limped, and assisted each other back to the allied side of the field. Nobody was down for the count, thankfully... but everyone was wearing the pain, and a general sense of hopelessness was beginning to wash over them as a result.
"Urrghh... those damn things feel like bowling balls." Shen Woo complained, massaging his stomach.
"This is impossible." Mai complained. "He's got so many of those stupid balls that we can't nail him, and anyone who tries to get close is blown away!"
"Mai's right." King agreed. "W-we need more firepower. We need..."
"No, we've got the right idea." Heidern assured them. "We've got the pieces, we just have to use them properly. Everybody form up. Who can't fight? Raise your hand."
A small bit of hope was restored, as, thankfully, not one soul among them showed cowardice and dared raise their hand.
...Except Jenet, whose hand began to partially raise, until Malin elbowed her in the gut and dropped it.
BACK IN THE LOCKER ROOM...
The tide of the battle was slowly shifting... after a rocky start, Mature and Vice had managed to separate Yashiro and Shermie, causing much more lopsided encounters at both sides.
Mature howled viciously with each flesh-rending swipe, putting her whole body into each, as her fingers tried to reach home... but her telegraphed swings were too easy to dodge for Yashiro, and those blue claw streaks missed his head inches wide. She finally over-swung on a left, and Yashiro blasted her with a body hook, causing her to gasp out in pain and drop her arms completely. The next attacks came too easily, as he mixed it up with a body kick, before chopping her leg with a deep calf kick, finally punishing her high with a roundhouse... as she stood there, wobbling on her feet, he spun to gather momentum... and barraged her with a crisp combination, two shots to the body and a 1-2 clean across her cheek, sending her flying backwards into the same locker-crashing fate.
Vice and Shermie was going much different; with her powers sealed and her strength sapped, Shermie's kicks lacked the pop needed to threaten the redhead at all. She stepped in high with a pump kick, which slapped off Vice's palm. She mixed it with a low kick, attempting to trip Vice up, but the redhead's instincts were too fast, and her arm whizzed to catch the foot, leaving Shermie hopping on but one, and Vice's other arm swooshed to ankle pick her, bringing her to the ground on her back. Vice licked her lips with sadistic glee, as she spread Shermie's legs wide... and came down on her with her knee extended, crashing her full force atop the weakened Frenchwoman.
"Aghh..."
Shermie felt her wind being crushed out, but she scrambled desperately, and the two ended up on their feet. Shermie quickly shot in deep, seizing a body lock at the waist... but she lacked the strength to control her, and Vice easily pried her arms loose, punishing her with a sharp knee to the body.
Desperate to get a hit in, Shermie cocked her hand back, and tried to come across Vice's face with a cracking slap, but Vice's hand speed was too fast, and she caught the hand, whipping it around, forcefully spinning Shermie 180 and wrenching the arm behind her back. A vicious knee to the spine stiffened her, and Vice finally sent her on her way, flinging her forward until she stumbled facefirst into a locker, only partially stopping the collision with her hands.
Vice grinned maliciously, turning her attention from Shermie, and joining Mature against the other one... it was officially 2-on-1. As superior as his power was, Yashiro already felt himself losing ground, having to defend two onslaughts at once.
"We take him down together!"
"We watch him die together!"
"Yashiro...!" she witnessed from afar as he was flanked by the duo. Mature swung at him with both hands in succession, and he managed to catch her wrists, but Vice flew in with a shoulder charge before he could punish, knocking him backwards. As soon as his body recoiled off the locker, a blue crescent projectile soared into him, and he only just barely dodged it. Vice flew in with a kick that dented the door, Yashiro dodging at the last second and nailing her with a hook... but a timely swipe from Mature's claws raked across his shoulder, and Shermie saw from the wince on his face that it had affected him.
Despite her weakened state, she recovered fast, desperate to rejoin the battle...but she only made it a foot, before a large shadow blocked her view. She looked down: two shoes, connected to two black-clad legs... and all-black torso, one hand sheathed in the pocket, the other playfully flexing his fingers... and that shit-eating grin.
In the face of her misfortune, Shermie ironically smiled. "Ryuji sweetie... you wouldn't hit a girl, would you~?"
Yamazaki shrugged, with a tiny chuckle. "Well I would, but technically you're NOT a girl."
The pleasantries ended right there; Shermie's smile disappeared as she dug a kick into Yamazaki's calf. He barely reacted, but he sensed the next one coming higher, and dipped his shoulder to absorb it. Shermie's third came in the form of a spinning hook kick; Yamazaki shrugged as he caught her foot, leaving her hopping yet again... but this time, Shermie was ready, as she leaped up and hooked her free leg around his neck, turning it to her fortune with an unorthodox takedown. They both hit the ground, and Shermie regained freedom of her feet, taking advantage and quickly springing up. Yamazaki got up with less urgency, his movements lackadaisical, almost like he'd woken from a nap.
Shermie tried to run past him... but his large body merely sidestepped, blocking her easily with a mocking grin. She tried to look around him, but his imposing frame made it difficult to ascertain Yashiro's status.
With a snarl, she swung hard with an open right hand, slapping Yamazaki across the cheek. His head went sideways, but returned facing front, and she attempted another, only for him to tilt his chin back and avoid this one. She pressed the attack with a front kick, aimed between his legs... this one, he finally countered on, and his own foot flew up to meet hers in unison, aimed for her pelvis. Their legs crossed... and Shermie lost the exchange, as Yamazaki's powerful foot sent her off her feet, flying backwards hard enough to cave the nearby locker inwards.
"Urgh...urrghh..."
He slowly, unhurriedly strutted towards her downed position, hand still in his pocket... his lack of urgency allowed her to back to her hands and knees, and Shermie desperately shot at his feet for a single-leg... it looked more like an overly friendly dog, as Yamazaki just stood there, unfazed by her middling strength. He yawned, backing up a few feet while she clung desperately to his leg, to give her a crumb of reassurance... then he finally bent down and grabbed her by the ponytail, giving a sharp yank.
"AHHHH!"
Controlling her by her hair, he dragged her against her will, towards the closest door... finally, rearing her head back, his eyes grew wide with violent glee as he SLAMMED her facefirst into the metal, leaving a face-shaped dent. There was no need to hold on after that; he let go, watching her crumple to the floor.
He stood there a bit, taking in a moment of cruel enjoyment watching her crawl around, dazed, attempting desperately to get her bearings... she turned around and around, looking 360 degrees... perhaps looking for Yashiro. This thought made him grin wider.
At last, Yamazaki's right hand emerged from its pocket, carrying a wooden handle, connected to shimmering steel...he tossed the knife into his left hand, knelt down, and, with that same arm, hooked around her neck and scooped her up. He held her up with just one arm, the same arm containing the knife, which was now partially against her throat.
"NOT ANOTHER MOVE, YASHIRO!" his usually joker-like voice now booming with authority in the small room. "Or I'll cancel Shermie's visa on Earth right here and now!"
Yashiro froze instantly.
"Sh-sherm...!
His cease of aggression was quickly capitalized upon, in the most brutal way; Mature wasted no time slashing through his side with her claws, tearing through the illusion of flesh like tissue paper.
"Auuuuuuug...hhhkkkk...?!"
Yashiro cried out in pain, but was quickly silenced by the fingers clasping his neck, driving the back of his head against the metal behind him. The next attacks were wild, sloppy, and not without prejudice, as a series of knees from both ladies assaulted Yashiro's head and body, until he had nothing left but to shrimp up and collapse to the ground. The knees turned to feet, as they spent what must have been a solid minute kicking and stomping his downed body, no protection offered except his arms cradling his face.
Finally satisfied with their handiwork, Vice knelt down and seized his neck with both arms, not deep enough to choke him out... but enough to make him uncomfortable, and control him. She hoisted him to his knees, where his eyes could see forward... see Shermie, trapped in a similar situation, a blade pressed to her neck, just as Mature's talons were against his heart.
"Yes!' Mature cried.
"Victory!" Vice seconded.
Yashiro struggled against the grip only briefly... before he succumbed to the reality of the situation. They had lost. They were officially at the mercy of their lessers... the "outcasts".
"...This plan is suicide."
Bonne Jenet was appropriately the first to express her lack of eagerness, having just discussed the next play for them to take down Magaki.
"Yeeeah I might be with B on this one." Malin agreed this time. "We're gonna run headlong to our deaths! Now look, I JUST got laid this week for the first time, I've still got a long and healthy life ahead of me-"
"Shut up, runt." King silenced her.
"...eat my ass..." Malin muttered, incredibly low volume.
Heidern wasn't hearing any complaints. "This is the only way! I understand the risks involved, and I know it's not fair of me to ask this from you... but it's our duty as fighters to step up and combat the threats that normal people aren't sufficient to handle. We're the only ones that can do it. It's the gift and the curse we were born with."
"But I wanna live long enough to grow up and have a nice career and... binge one of those anime series that goes on for like, 1000 episodes!" Shingo whined.
"Listen," Heidern started. "If any of you wants to back out, I won't blame you. But just know that every one who quits increases our chances of losing, and that's as good as dooming the world. Now, if we all stay together and watch each others' backs... we can beat this guy. We can save the world, like we do every damn year! Objections?"
There was a moment of anxious silence among them, the only sounds present the continuous explosions from Magaki's orb rampage on the field. Surprisingly... not a dissuaded peep among them.
Heidern smiled. "Alright then. Let's go over the plan one more time."
He first turned to the Yata Maiden, who was still at Iori's side. "Miss Kagura, I'll need your help here. How many clones can you make?"
Already, she was glowing with the power of her sacred relic. "As many as you need."
He smiled. "Good. Now the rest of you-"
"You're all f***ed."
An unfamiliar voice cut Heidern off, who expressed immediate displeasure. "Who the...?"
Out of nowhere, the ground in front of Heidern's feet spawned a pillar of sand, like a geyser... it stayed upright for a few seconds, before slowly dying down, and at it sank... the form up a human being took shape. Finally, the sand formed a complete figure, the remainder a puddle on the ground. Finally, the grainy texture dissolved completely, leaving a shadowy, black-clad figure... the same one from the Square.
Mary quickly recognized him. "Y-YOU'RE THAT SON OF A..." She her pistol out in a flash, aiming at his kneecaps.
"Hold your fire, Mary." Heidern put up a stopping hand. "What do you want?"
"I'm here to make sure you dumbasses don't f*** it up." Kukri responded, his voice dripping with snideness.
"Listen, JERK," Mary blurted. "If you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem. Now get lost!"
"I said I was here to help, you stupid bitch." Kukri's comeback was so intense, it made Mary literally do a double take and Terry nervously clutch his hat. "There's an abundance of perfect breasts here, and I can't afford to let them go to waste. So I suggest you shut up and be thankful I'm here."
"...I'm gonna shoot him. Heidern, PLEASEEEE let me shoot him..." Mary's handgun was literally wobbling with how badly she wanted to pop rounds into him.
"We need all the help we can get, Mary." Heidern disappointed her with his answer. He turned to Kukri. "You're a part of this, you don't back out. Understood?"
Kukri scoffed. "Let's just waste the f***er already."
Heidern rolled his eyes, tired of the nonsense. "Alright. Now if there's no more interruptions, let's go over this one more time. We'll provide suppressing fire, and that includes YOU," he pointed to Kukri, "To cover your attack run. Where went wrong the first time was trying to bum rush him with everyone at once... this time, we're gonna hit him multiple times. The first two, Alpha and Bravo, are a diversion to get you closer. When I give the signal, Charlie will start to move up, using the Chizurus as cover. Delta will move in behind Charlie, followed by Echo. We work our way up to him, until we can get in close and hit him hard."
"Sounds like a lot of us are gonna get blasted." Shingo scratched his head nervously.
Heidern nodded. "As long as some of you can get in close, that's what counts. We'll try to do what we can from afar. But if all else fails... we break the line and move in, for one last shot. Everybody clear?"
"...I'm about to die, aren't I?" Malin chuckled with morbid humor.
"Just try not to get hit in the head or chest. ESPECIALLY the chest." Joe laughed.
"OH F*** YOU!"
Out on the field, Kula continued a steady pace around Magaki, using her ice powers to try and strengthen the fortitude of the wall... but repeated attacks from Magaki were wearing it down faster than she could repair it. "GUYS! THE WALL'S NOT GONNA HOLD!"
"Then the time for talking is over!" Heidern boomed. "WE ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT AT THIS! EVERYBODY BRING YOUR A GAME!"
"YEEEAH let's smoke this guy!" Terry proclaimed, tightening his hat.
"For the honor of Kusanagi, I won't fail." Saisyu's hands lit up.
"It's my duty to dispel evil and restore the natural balance." Nakoruru's blade glistened.
"I will penetrate the heart of evil with my mighty, abolishing, dispelling foot of justice!" May Lee struck a heroic pose.
"Just make sure you're in front of me." Malin grunted. "I wanna live through this thing, so I can maybe go and find that prize money... I'm pretty sure there's nobody around to guard it at the moment."
Gato said nothing, just extended his fist, fingers out... and he curled them into a ball, complete with a cracking of knuckles.
"This monster dare rampages on MY home soil?!" Krauser boomed, flexing his muscles. "A folly I intend to punish swiftly and without mercy!"
Diana raised her rapier to the sky. "I fight to protect this world, and make it a safe place for Kula to grow up."
Foxy, in turn, lifted hers up, and the blades crossed. "She deserves to live a long, happy life. I'll gladly risk mine to keep her safe!"
Benimaru's entire body sizzled. "This is payback for the torment this bug-eyed freak gave me years ago."
Mary cocked her gun, strengthening her aim. "All I know is, there's been ENOUGH death and destruction this week. I'm going to see this through to the end... and then I'm gonna go home and take a long rest."
Lin raised his hand, which glowed with his poisonous aura. "For the friends I've wronged this week, I'll fight to make amends."
Heidern took a bold step forward, flanked by the collective gathering of KOF's warriors. "Then it looks like everyone knows the risks, and is ready. Then ON MY MARK... WE ATTACK! READY?!"
They all steeled themselves: friends, acquaintances, enemies, rivals, former teammates... on this day, these labels didn't matter. They were all one, tasked with the same duty... protect the world that belonged to ALL of them.
"HehehehHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well take a good look gents... don't need a GPS to tell ya you're on the intersection of Your Ass and Grass."
Mature sadistically traced her fingers across his exposed abdomen... imagining her fingers sinking into it, and pulling out his innards. "Such a shame... how the mighty "Kings" have fallen, fufufufufufu..."
"Suffice it to say, the "Kings" are dead, kukukukukuku...!" Vice cackled, as her arms tightened just enough around Yashiro's neck to elicit a response. "Arghkk!"
Yashiro tried to shut out their mocking words. He thought about every escape angle, every possible scenario... but it was no use. An emotional response would be the easiest path to destruction; as bad as he wanted to unleash his fury on the grinning psychopath, break free of the devious duo and crush their life from his fingers, he knew it would mean Shermie's end... for her, he restrained himself, tried his best to quell the rapidly increasing anxiety bubbling up inside him, as time drew nearer and nearer.
"Let's just do them!" Mature snarled.
"Right now!" Vice seconded, her grip tightening for emphasis.
"Cmon Mature, didn't you ever play with your food?" Yamazaki casually gesticulated with one hand, while the other maintained the knife against Shermie's throat. "I always find my mashed potatoes tastiest when they're not dead-ass cold... but juuust on the verge of losing warmth, about to make that transition." His grin grew wider and wider with each word.
"You despicable cowards!" Yashiro grunted, jerking against Vice's grip. "Why don't you fight me man to ma-ouuuuffff...!"
A knee to his lower stomach by Mature silenced him, sapping his strength and allowing Vice to regain control.
Yamazaki chuckled. "Yeeeeah see that's not the tune I'm looking for." He tightened the pressure of the knife on Shermie's neck... Yashiro's nerves shot up. "Can you change the station to something a little more... hopeless, pleading, desperate?"
He knew pointless bravado would get him nowhere; only allow him a shred of dignity by allowing a strong showing. It didn't matter... he had to hold on to what he had left. Thus, he bargained.
"Ryuji.. urgh... please..."
That cocked an eyebrow. "Eh? What's that P word?"
When Yashiro next opened his eyes, there was much less aggression... and more of the pleading Yamazaki desired. "You have me. I'm all that...matters...urgh. Shermie's powerless, she can't do anything to you guys. Just let her go. If you guys need to punish someone... punish me."
Shermie shook her head in disagreement; Yamazaki only pressed deeper on her neck, eliciting a squeak that made Yashiro's blood run hot.
"Well dear boy, the problem with that is, for the second-strongest of the Heavenly Kings you've got one glaring weakness." Yamazaki explained with a grin. "You're so pussy whipped that me doing anything to Shermie IS punishing you. But hey, if you got any other ideas... I'm open to hearing them."
"DAMN YOU- urrrhhhhhhh...!" Yashiro lashed out, but again was quickly reigned in by the duo. "Urrgh! Let me...urrgh! It's not too late to back out of this, Ryuji! This isn't your fight, it's between us and them! You're a fool to get involved!"
Yamazaki shrugged. "Well, Old Lady Hindsight... she'll leave you tied to the bedpost and steal your wallet."
"Urrgh! You're... urgh... not gonna win!" Yashiro wriggled furiously. "What do you hope to get out of this? You're not gonna come out of this the winner, no matter what you've deluded yourself into thinking!"
"...hehehehe... hehehehehehee..."
An ominous, controlled chuckle from Yamazaki deadened Yashiro's aggression, forcing him to be wary of his next words or actions, as the thug looked DANGEROUSLY close to...
"See, that's where you're wrong, Yashiro." Yamazaki spoke. "On all fronts. Because A: I DO get something out of this... I like watching you suffer. Man to man, I've never really cared for you much. The way you carry yourselves so high-minded, like you're God's chosen people... what a joke. See, you built yourself so high, that you made it too damn exciting for me to want to topple you back down."
He leaned in closer, his smile growing wider. "And B... I mean this quite literally, I'm not just just spouting cliche villainous lines, because this is LITERAL... I've already won. Don't you get it? I'VE ALREADY WON. The fact that I can go home, eat whatever I want, smoke, have a nice handy, and you're here, trying desperately to regain your rotting flesh and pursue the pipe dream of a second life... you're the loser here. And it couldn't be sweeter, to be honest, after the big game you all talked back in the day. You're not a King. You're make-believe. An illusion. A bad dream, that needs to go away."
"Ryuji."
"You're talking too much again."
"We don't need to hear your monologue."
"I've been waiting a very long time for this moment."
"TOO long."
"So now..."
"If there's no more interruptions..."
"I'd like to get on with reaping the revenge-"
"-that I've so long sought."
"You're both going to die-"
"-looking into each other's faces, one last time."
"Just to see how hopeless it is."
"Tell Chris to dust off a seat for you two!"
"FUFUFUFUFUFUFU!"
"KUKUKUKUKUKUKUKUKU!"
Yashiro was officially in desperation mode. He wanted to unleash everything he had, break free and rush him... but the knife was so deep against her, he knew he had no chance. This was it. He had to...!
"Ryuji PLEASE... don't do it!" Yashiro called out. "You don't have to do-urrhhhkkkkkkkk...!"
Vice, to assert her dominance, tightened her arms around his neck and pulled back, locking him deep in the choke, enough to get his arms flailing in discomfort.
"Hey cmon now Vice, let him beg some more." Yamazaki chuckled.
"NO! No more begging and pleading!" Vice yelled. "Do it! NOW!"
"...As you wish."
"Gh...ghkkk...ghhkkk...!" the choke on Yashiro was so crushingly tight, he couldn't utter a word. He only flailed his outstretched arms, desperately, vainly...
Shermie, silent this entire time, opened her mouth, at last, for what could potentially be her final words. She reached up, gently clasping Yamazaki's wrist, loosening it just enough that she could speak...
...And she smiled. "Ryuji darling... you always said I was the prettiest~"
Yamazaki was, admittedly, rendered silent for a second, baffled at such strange words from a woman on her deathbed. But, as with all things in life, he rolled with it and produced the best comeback he could think of.
"Eh. You'd look better with eyeliner."
SHHHHHHLIIIIIIIICKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!
Yashiro's body went cold... his mouth dropped, eyes widened. His arms ceased their flailing and dropped to his sides.
He watched everything in slow motion, down to the slightest detail... the hand go across, his arm extend outwards, knife resting in post-swing. He saw her body go down, her auburn locks float upwards, and fall back down with the rest of her... saw her lips gasp out... and two weak words whisper:
"Find me."
Her body thudded. He reached out for her, one last time... before her body vanished, from feet, to ankles, to legs, to torso, neck... until the last strand of hair disappeared from sight.
Mature and Vice allowed him one cruel, pleasurable mercy, letting him go, allowing his body to flop to the ground, just barely able to sustain himself on all fours as he scrambled to where her body once lay.
"SHERMIE! SHERMIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
His fingers dug into the floor, desperately scraping for one small remnant of her. He finally just collapsed altogether, at Yamazaki's feet, his body trembling with sobs that could produce no tears.
"Shermie... Shermie... "SHERMIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
NEXT CHAPTER: The heroes strike another blow against Magaki, determined to put him down for good. Meanwhile, the Hakkeshu civil war seems to have come to an end... but are there more plays left to make? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!
And now, for a very important BONUS SCENE. Don't miss it.
BONUS SCENE
"Oh god, oh man, oh god it's bad out there..."
Liam Brantner, the humble janitor of Allianz Arena, had fallen in with the evacuation, and was now semi-safe outside of the chaos happening in the arena. But now that he was outside of the arena he was employed at, he couldn't help the feelings of duty nagging inside him, as cleaning up messes was conditioned into his DNA at this point. Thus, his mind was probably on the wrong thing at the moment, and not his self-preservation.
"God, I hope there's not a lot of blood to clean up... I wonder if I'll get overtime for this... or if I even WANT overtime. Hmph. Maybe I should just go hide on the Sky Noah. That's been the most fun part of my assignment this week, cleaning up inside their fancy fortress. Good food and drinks, air conditioning, peace and quiet... and that smoking hot maid they hired! Oh yes! I love subtly rolling my mop bucket behind to catch a view of that action. Shit, why am I even still here right now?"
The janitor's self-narrating was interrupted by a series of clacking feet getting closer...it didn't feel like the hustle and bustle around him, more like a specific group of people with a singular target in mind. Out of his peripheral, he saw a LOT of black, and was thus immediately scared to turn and face them... but he knew noncompliance would get him in trouble, thus he swallowed, and behaved as a compliant civilian would.
"How can I help you... officers...?"
He barely had time to get the words out before the black-clad legion stopped in front of him: a mixture of full armed riot responders, GSG9 specialists, and the local law enforcement.
The man at the head: an older, slightly out-of-shape man in a local uniform and trenchcoat, produced a handgun and aimed it directly at his face.
"I am Chief Commissioner Ansel Tirpitz, of the Munich Police Department... you will take me to the Sky Noah."