"ATTACK NOWWWW! ALPHA, BRAVO! GO GO GO GO GO!"

Heidern swung his hand to signal the attack; a squadron of Chizuru clones went sprinting towards Magaki, totaling five, followed by a second squad behind that one. With ten Chizurus rushing forward, Heidern allowed them a grace period... before the next phase of his plan started.

"CHARLIE, CHARLIE, CHARLIE! MOVE IT!"

"Wait, which one was I...?" Malin questioned.

"That's us! Cmon!" Bonne Jenet nudged her into action, as the two troublemakers fell in with the rest of their group and darted forward, following closely behind two lines of Chizurus. Xiangfei, Hinako, Shingo, and May Lee were also the unfortunates chosen to be at the front of the selection. Thankfully, the Yata Maiden added an additional two Chizurus in with every squad, to take some extra hits.

The long-range line was fast at work, launching projectile after projectile, bombarding Magaki with a heavy, relentless stream of fireballs and the like. Kula was on skates, circling and strafing him, Kukri was launching his own special brand of offense, in a thick, blinding screen of sand... even Mary had her handgun out, and was rapidly firing rounds into the pink menace's vicinity, demonstrating her hand speed by inserting a new clip as fast as she ejected one.

"KEEP HAMMERING HIM! KEEP HAMMERING HIM! DON'T LET HIM BREATHE!" Heidern shouted above the firefight, still launching his own projectiles along with them.

Despite being pelted with heavy fire, Magaki was able to sense the danger approaching... and take appropriate measures. Within seconds, a flurry of pink orbs began to fly out, in droves, to intercept the rushers as they tried to close in.

Already, Chizurus were starting to fall.

"Ahh!"

"Agghh!"

"Ahhhhh!"

Two, three, four... the first squad was cut down quickly, narrowing their attack force significantly. Only one squad of five Chizurus remained, at the front of the battle. The fireballs were starting to get to them now as well... the bright side to this, however, was that Heidern's plan was coming to fruition: the KOF fighters were already getting within striking distance of Magaki, without having taken a single hit.

Observing that Alpha had fallen, Heidern quickly decided it was time to play his next pieces. "DELTA, GO GO GO GO!"

Nakoruru brandished her sword and charged forward. "That's us!"

The second squad, consisting of Nakoruru, Diana, Foxy, Kasumi, and Lin brought up the rear behind Charlie. This was a huge bulk of the attack force, all rushing Magaki with speed and aggression and he still had the last squad in his pocket.

Up front, the second squad of Chizurus were nearing their end. Two had gone down... and the bullets were flying with more and more volume.

"AHHH!"

"Aghhh!"

Two more Chizurus were hit by the pink balls, and the final Chizuru rushed forward vainly, until she met the final fate.

With the Chizuru screen gone, all that was left were the fighters themselves.

"Watch it, those balls are coming for US now!" Xiangfei warned her teammates.

Alpha had gotten in extremely close, on the cusp of being able to actually throw hands with the pink menace, and Heidern's firing line was doing a great job keeping him pinned down. But the output of projectiles was still tremendous, and even now, they flew wild and unpredictable.

"Stay behind me!" the fake Chizuru appointed to their squad commanded. "I'll protect you best I- AUUGHH!"

A bullet teleported from the left and struck her dead on, vaporizing her. The other Chizuru met a similar fate, leaving only the five girls and Shingo to fend for themselves.

"BONNIE BABY!" Malin wailed. "IF WE SURVIVE THIS I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO ROMP ONE MORE T-"

Malin was the first to fall. A pink ball struck her in her minimal chest, sending her tumbling across the grassy field.

"MALIN! NOOO!" the pirate queen screeched.

Hinako was hit in the belly... but her formidable Sumo training allowed her to tank the hit, and, with a slap of her cheeks, she barreled forward... only to get hit by two more and finally go down.

May Lee was the next to get blasted. "THE HERO STRUCK DOWN PREMATURELY... shall rise again... in the later...act..."

Xiangfei was agile enough to dodge one, even another... but once the third fireball flew at her, and disappeared, she had no way of predicting where it would teleport from, and it rained down on top of her from above.

Jenet was getting closer than ever before. "I can almost... touch him...!"

Unfortunately, Shingo, who was running right alongside her, abruptly vanished the next time she turned her head to check, and he was a steaming pile yards behind her. Out of allies and desperate, Jenet kicked off her purple shoes, snatching them in mid air and wielding them as weapons.

"TASTE MY HIGH HEELS, BITCH!"

...The assault was ultimately in vain, as, once she was able to get close enough to swing, a vertical line of short-range explosions blew her away. Magaki remained untouched.

"Damn!" Heidern cursed. They were practically there that time... maybe it was time to send in the closers. Taking a deep breath, he made the drastic decision to send his last resort in. "ECHO, IT'S UP TO YOU! GO FOR THE KILL!"

The last and most hard-hitting squad: Benimaru, Gato, Tizoc, Shen Woo, Angel and Leona, were the final ones to begin their attack run, maintaining a gap between themselves and Delta, who were still trying to get close themselves. The worst case scenario was Delta falling... leaving it up to them to be the ones to get in and do the most damage. It was a very real possibility they would be the only ones left to face Magaki, hand to hand.

"Commencing assault." Leona declared, shooting forward.

"It's up to us!" Benimaru charged.

"I'll show no mercy!" Gato joined in.

"This guy's gotta go." Angel agreed.

"I wonder if my fists will smash right through Zombie Boy." Shen growled.

"I WILL PREDATE UPON HIS PUTRESCENT CARCASS AND DEVOUR THE CORRUPTED FLESH!" the King of Dinosaurs heel'd it up one last time.

In this desperate hour, good guys and bad guys alike, the brave and cowardly, all rushed towards a maniacal pink fireball-flinging menace, with shared courage among them all. A doomsday event could be such a bonding experience.


BACK IN THE LOCKER ROOM...

It was the same thing he had felt, all those years ago... his life ripped from him. His dignity, his pride... his precious possessions.

He remembered only having to feel that sting for a split second. He got lucky...because he joined them immediately after. But now, he was still here, and he still drew breath, and every second that ticked by was the rawness eating away at him... a fresh, open wound, tormenting...

He was all alone. The plan, their world... a failure.

Even now, his hands continued to rest on that very spot, where her body vanished, his fingers curled, as if holding what used to lie there with some semblance of existence. But she was gone... they were both gone...

Now it was his turn. He was ready to join them. But he was still here... he still had a choice in how he wanted to go. As that thought buzzed in his mind, his blood began to stir to a preheat... and get hotter...

"Awwww poor Yashiro."

"All alone. Probably wishing for death."

"He's not used to being alive this long without them."

"Maybe if he begs us, we'll make it quick~"

He felt himself getting angrier. He wanted nothing more than to rise back up, and silence their serpent tongues right then... but he wasn't quite there yet. The agony of defeat, the grief of loneliness, weighed him down.. kept him on the floor, on all fours.

Shermie... Chris...

He heard the clacking of footsteps, and a shadow overtake him... he didn't need to look up to know who that large shade belonged to. He shut his eyes, to spare himself the shame... the humiliation of being one-upped by him...

"But hey, look at the bright side..." Yamazaki chuckled. "It's not the first time you've watched your friends die. That kinda cushions the blow, dunnit?"

Yashiro felt his nerves boil to lava; anger shocked his limbs into action and before he realized what he was doing, he had Yamazaki pinned against the wall, both hands around his neck, squeezing... and every second he spent there, the more right it felt. The more he wanted this. For all three of them. Thus, when a scream bellowed from his lungs, he surrendered to it, and let it fuel him.

"DIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..!"

Yamazaki took this the same way he took most manners of abuse: a strange, unsettling grin, that seemed to only widen the longer his own air was choked from his lungs. His head shuddered forward, a sign that he was fighting against the grip, oddly, even now, neglecting use of his hands. He pushed back, inch by inch.. until he finally broke free with a dastardly knee to the groin.

"Gurrrgh...!" Yashiro grunted in pain as he recoiled, hunching over, leaving his face wide open for a short headbutt, that sent him on his back heels.

He shook his head free of the daze, just enough to regain his fury... enough to see Yamazaki coming at him, swinging the knife. He weaved the first two swipes, and Yamazaki switched it up with a piercing thrust... Yashiro caught the wrist easily and slung his arm downwards, dropping Yamazaki to a knee, offering his face for Yashiro's own knee to blast him in the face, backwards into the nearest lockers.

He turned his attention to Mature and Vice. Those BITCHES.

He needed no words to voice his intent; only violent screams were his communication as he turned his wrath on the other two, who rushed to give him their best...

Mature tried to dig into him with outstretched fingers, but Yashiro caught the wrist and SHARPLY twisted the arm, enough to elicit a cracking sound and a pained yelp behind it. While controlling her, he threw a stomping kick to repel Vice, landing in her chest and punting her backwards uncontrollably, to meet a crashing fate against a wall.

His furious golden eyes shifted back to the woman in his grasp. Lifting her restrained arm, exposing her midsection, he howled with rage as his fist flew into her stomach... again... again... AGAIN... when she was practically draped over his arm, gasping for breath, he lifted her with ease, above his head, and threw her like a shot put, hard enough to dent the lockers upon impact.

Yamazaki recovered to his feet, wearing a red waterfall from top lip to chin. He spit, before taking only one step forward, hesitant to rush back in. Rather, he stood there, flexing the hand wielding the knife, and he watched... and waited...

Vice plowed into Yashiro, trying to force her strength on him... but she only backed him up a couple steps before he overpowered her, lifting her with underhooks and slamming her into the locker behind him. But he didn't stop there... a fist found her stomach, then her face, before a knee crashed into her midsection to double the pain. Mature ran at him and attempted a swipe; he backfisted her before she could get close, but this gave Vice enough of an opening to break his grip and fire a knee back. He stumbled backwards, and she pressed forward with a closed fist, only to strike Yashiro's forearm. She tried to follow up... he caught the arm and spun them around, reversing their positions, and a straight left the face sent her into an uncomfortable backwards retreat...

...Right where Yamazaki was standing.

Immediately, he sprung, catching Vice by the hair and snatching hard. She yelped as she found herself in Yamazaki's grip, and the black-clad thug rushed forward, holding her in front of him as a glorified shield.

Yashiro, distracted, threw a spinning back kick to Mature's stomach and sent her away... he only had time to turn around, before the redhead crashed into him, temporarily jarring him...

...the next thing he felt was a bladed weapon sink into his ribs, and he immediately knew who was to blame.

"NNNNghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...?!"

Yamazaki didn't let up. Vice still against the victim, he muscled forward, pushing the two back into the nearest flat surface he could find... when at last their bodies hit solid wall, he ripped the knife from Yashiro's abdomen, and PLUNGED it, as hard as he could, into the man's side.

"NNNNGAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He let go of the knife, leaving it there, planted into Yashiro, effectively pinning him against the surface he lie. Mature and Vice did the rest, seizing the opportunity to throw themselves against him with their full power. The three of them combined were enough to quell the raging animal, who, even now, flailed and struggled furiously against them.

"Hold him down!" The hatred oozed from Mature's words as the three of them struggled, but managed to contain the raging, flailing defiance of Yashiro, who spat venomous words in their faces.


"Stay behind the Chizurus!" Diana commanded the others. She and Foxy, the fastest of the five, were glued right on their tails, ready to jettison forward as soon as their screen was gone.

"We're so close... just a little more!" Nakoruru persevered.

The projectiles were flying like crazy. The two Chizurus protecting them dodged the best they could... but it was only a matter of time before they would go down.

"These won't stop me! Hiyaaaaah!' Kasumi swung her hands and her chi manifested, cleaving any fireball that dared approach. Her reflexed were incredibly keen, able to intercept them even as they appeared in front of her.

The five of them had gotten as close as anyone had yet. This was it! But with closer proximity came a bigger threat; the field of fire became so heavy, it was impossible to avoid.

"AAH!" the first Chizuru was felled.

"GAAGH!" the second one was dropped right after.

Diana and Foxy quickly switched gameplans. "GO NOW!"

The butterfly and wasp shot forward with superspeed, their rapiers drawn back with killing intent. In a split second, they closed distance on Magaki and delivered the first hits: Foxy's blade cut deep across his shoulder, Diana's penetrating his right pectoral. Unfortunately, her blade got stuck... in an attempt to pull it free, Magaki blasted her point blank with a series of detonations.

"DIANA!" Foxy halted her momentum and tried to double back... but she was already zeroed, and a volley of projectiles soared in her direction. She juked and weaved best she could, but one struck the ground at her feet, sending her out of control.

"D-damn! Urrrrfhhh!"

Foxy didn't expect to suddenly have a hand around her neck... but as soon as a pink portal spawned in front of her, a lone arm emerged from it, seizing her, and she was slammed facefirst in the dirt, the impact that much harder with her forward progress.

"We're almost there! Just hold him off for a few more seconds...!" Leona urged.

"Nakoruru-chan, I've got you covered! GO NOW!"

Kasumi stood her ground, taking a kendo stance... Nakoruru kept going forward, as the next balls started flying in her direction. Kasumi, with samurai reflexes and concentration, swung her hands and slashed each and every fireball that dared come towards Nakoruru.

"Keep going, Kasumi-chan! Keep it up! I'm so close...!"

The heroes were practically feet away from finally being able to get their hands on the dreaded foe. Heidern quickly shifted in turn. "CEASE FIRE! THEY'RE TOO CLOSE!"

Kasumi took a deep breath; her eyes opened with newfound aggression, and she took a huge lunge forward. "Let's see how he likes this! HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She swung with enough force to cleave a tree in half... unleashing her mightiest attack, her Chou Kasane Ate.

Magaki was coherent enough to sense the danger; noticing several columns of razor-sharp, slashing chi coming towards him, he was forced to break guard and short-range teleport to avoid it... that's when Nakoruru finally connected.

"HAAAAH!" she leaped with her slash, the short blade cutting diagonal across his chest... but off target. She missed the heart.

"N-no... gaaah!"

Magaki swung with an overhead strike, and she quickly rolled to the left, swiping once again, opening a gash across his thigh. Again, he was unfazed... and Nakoruru's window quickly closed.

"Gaaghkkk...?!" The next thing she saw was a lone hand emerge from a pink portal, seizing her by the neck... and her body suddenly flew several yards from the ground. She appropriately screamed, fearing an inevitable plummet back to Earth...but the timely intervention of Mamahaha saved her from this fate, the majestic bird's talons hooking her shirt and carrying her to safety.

Kasumi's luck ran out too; the overexertion on her super move left her wide open to get blasted in the chest, leaving Lin as the lone member of his squad left. The Hizoku assassin was smart enough to know he couldn't handle Magaki one-on-one... thus he made the most logical play he could. He got in close, with intent to attack; Magaki took the bait and swung at him, and Lin went airborne, somersaulting over his head. Like an expertly-tossed lasso, Lin's Chinese braid whipped out, coiling around Magaki's neck, and he landed on his feet, using his raw strength to subdue the undead creature.

"G-go... now...!" Lin strained, even now his feet starting to slide against his will as Magaki overpowered him. He was able to keep the stalemate for only five more seconds, before a hand emerged from a pink portal and seized his ankle, jerking him off his feet and faceplanting him. With his footing lost, Magaki was able to throw him aside with ease.

...those precious seconds proved to be all the difference.

"Got you now... HEY PUTO! VETE A LA CHINGADA!"

With so many distractions, Magaki was no match for Angel's intercepting speed, and she whizzed in, burying a pump kick into his stomach, Magaki was stunned long enough that Angel was able to seize his arm, and she swung him around to gather momentum... before letting him go, like she was slinging him into ropes. But there was nothing to stop his stumble, as his legs carried him forward

...Directly into the waiting fist of Shen Woo, who cocked back with his right hand and unleashed the haymaker to end all others.

"KEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH MOTHER F***ERRRRRRRRRRR!"

The raw, unrelenting, unprecedented power of Shen Woo's fist collided with Magaki's decrepit face like a speeding semi... his arm was able to follow through perfectly on the motion, with no stoppage, as Magaki's jaw not only turned sideways, but DISLOCATED from its natural position, leaving him with an even less-human appearance, as his lower mouth was now 90 degrees inside his cheek.

Magaki was clearly rattled; he had halted his offense altogether, and appeared to be struggling to stay standing. That gave Gato all the opening he needed to fly in with a kick to the stomach... and his blazing blue chi manifested, as he went vertical with his foot and launched Magaki into the sky with his devastating anti-air super. Magaki floated in the air with impressive hang time... long enough for the King of Dinosaurs to meet him in the skies and grab him, flip him upside down... and the wrestler brought him back to Earth his own way, with a piledriver that left a crater upon impact.

"YES! YES!" Heidern cheered on. "DON'T LET UP! FINISH HIM!"

"HE'S ON THE ROPES!" Krauser celebrated.

Magaki emerged from the crater, wobbly, his face mangled, Diana's blade still lodged in his pectoral... he looked nearly on his last legs. It was only going to get more painful from here, as Benimaru and Leona, the last two attackers, rushed in to close the deal.

"HERE'S A BLAST FROM THE PAST, YOU ZOMBIFIED CREEP!" Benimaru bellowed as he leaped at Magaki and vaulted over his head, emerging behind him. He sank an arm under each armpit, pinning him there... and his eyes glowed a malevolent blue, as supercharged electrical chi coursed through his veins, turning him into a living conduit!

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

He fried Magaki where they stood, serving the dual purpose of not only incapacitating him and causing tremendous pain...

...But keeping him pinned there, for Leona to deal the final shot.

"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Leona howled with a battle cry as she drew her hand back, the fingers outstreched, and soared into Magaki like a missile, ramming her hands through his chest.

Benimaru was wise to back away, as was Leona, as the charred, disfigured, now hairless Magaki was standing there... a fuse sparking in his chest, waiting for Leona to deliver the command...

...And with a swing of her hand, she did. "Sayonara."

BWOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

An explosion like C4 went off in Magaki's chest... and when the smoke cleared, the damage was apparent. The undead creature, who exuded immortality, now stood before them with a beach ball-sized, smoldering crater in his stomach, yet another accessory to add to the ongoing collection of injuries he'd sustained.

On the other side of the field, they were all cheers.

"YES!" Terry whooped.

"THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!" Andy threw an arm around his brother.

"BAD GUYS LOSE AGAIN!" Mai struck a flamboyant pose.

Heidern was more skeptical, however. "CUT OUT THE HEART! HURRY!"

Leona looked over at him and nodded, before turning her attention back to the feeble-legged enemy. "Benimaru, secure him. I'm going to end his life."

Benimaru nodded, pinning the creature's arms. "If you can call it a life. Do it."

With his aggression ceased, everyone was finally given a breather, to recuperate and help the wounded. Everyone was no worse for wear... though many were massaging pained areas where they were struck by the rampant pink balls. The attackers, failed and successful alike, all gathered around, to see Leona strike the killing blow and end this terror once and for all...

Leona's face hardened, as she drew her hand back...

...And everything went pink.

"Wh-what the...?!" Shen Woo questioned.

Magaki's eyes glowed neon blue, as a blinding pink aura began to swirl around him, more streams coursing through his decayed body... a sickening grin spread on his face, as he raised his arms... looping one over the other, in an unorthodox pose...

...Benimaru went cold inside. His mouth widened, as his lungs desperately formulated the only life-preserving words he had time to muster.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWWWWWWWWWWWW-"

A dazzling pink light bathed the field, engulfing everybody nearby.


"Okay, so he might be a little bitter about it." Yamazaki deadpanned.

"R-YYUUUJI...YAMAZAKI...!" Yashiro's voice growled monstrously. "I SWEAR TO GOD IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO... I'LL SEE YOU DEAD...! ALL OF... YOU...!"

Yamazaki, unfazed in the face of death threats, leaned in close, his smile only widening. "Well see, here's the messed up irony in that... the last thing you did as a living, breathing person, if I recall, was off your precious friends and then yourself, as sacrifices to bring back The Big Guy. YOU did that to them. So really, technically speaking... YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN I AM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"B-BASTARD! I'LL K- oouufffff...!"

Vice rammed a fist into his esophagus to silence him. "Shut your mouth. You don't even deserve the courtesy of last words."

"Not unless they're pathetic blubbers and begs." Mature seconded. "Not that they'll do any good."

Yashiro trembled with fury, tugging and straining against the strength of three. He was helpless, forced to watch, as Mature seductively slid a hand up his exposed abs, up his chest... and with one sharp flick, she sliced the bindings that kept his red top intact, freeing his bare chest. She licked her lips as she straightened her fingers and pinpointed the exact location... where his heart would reside, if he had one.

"Bingo." Mature spoke with a devious tone.

Yashiro knew his minute was coming... fast. He shut his eyes, struggling and flailing with any muscles he had left. Knowing he was powerless to break free, he looked to the ceiling and did the only thing he had left... pray.

"Please god... just let me kill them. Please... please..."

"God ain't gonna save you now, Yashy baby." Vice cackled.

"He doesn't have time for the failures." Mature joined in, her fingers trembling against his chest with pure excitement at the prospect of digging into his insides.

"Say hello to Chris and Shermie for us-"

"-IN HELL!"

Yamazaki looked at the two ladies... with a smug grin, he lifted his thumb and brought it across his throat, a signal the two ladies recognized... and relished in.

Mature's eyes grew wide with pure excitement, as she drew her hand back, her fingers poised to pierce.

Yashiro's eyes shut. This was it... failure. At the very least, he could see them agai-

WHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The Wind Seal carved into the ground began to glow a bright blue... and what could only be described as a tropical storm erupted in the locker room.


He remembered going dark for a second; an even deeper darkness than the usual. When his one eye opened, it felt like something out of a war flick: a piercing ringing in his ears, the world around him a haze, figures around him barely discernible through the dust...

He rubbed his eye. The picture became a lot clearer... and not pretty.

Still bodies littered the ground, surrounding the shaky, shambling figure that, even now, remained standing, skulking around with barely-dim eyes, his body shaking and shuddering with each motion. Everyone who had attacked him... now lay at his feet. Alive? Dead? The mystery horrified him. His base instincts kicked in, and he wanted to shout the name of the person most important to him.

"L...Le...Le..."

He shook his head and stood up the rest of the way. He looked at the assets he had left: even on his side, the long-range attackers were wearing the effects of the blast. Krauser was down to a knee, hands covering his face, like he had looked directly into the blinding flash and left himself incapacitated. Some of the others were rattled too; Hotaru Futaba was sitting on the ground, idle, a blank expression on her face. Maybe the blast had caught her eyes as well, or maybe she feared the worst for her newfound brother. Kensou didn't look any better; the shockwave had knocked him down, causing his full weight to press on his bad leg, the gnarly wounds from this week flaring up in the heat of the chaos.

The black-hooded man looked no worse for wear.

"F*** this, I'm out."

...But he faded away into a sandy puddle, at a time when his support couldn't have been more needed.

He looked behind him. Mary was still closely hovering over Adelheid, who still clung to his sister. Mary herself looked a little rattled. On the other side, Chizuru looked okay, but was more concerned with Iori's well-being than anything else.

Heidern scrambled over to the only ones still combat-capable: Saisyu, King, and Fatal Fury's finest... Mai and The Lone Wolves. They regrouped to his position, all of them realizing the lives at stake. None of them looked ready to surrender.

"WE STOP HIM HERE!" Heidern's voice sounded muffled to his own ears. "NO RETREAT!"

Mary looked on with fearful eyes, as the only ones still standing- her friends and lover - rushed forward to make the last stand against the unstoppable creature. Her nerves gnawed at her to join them... but she couldn't leave them here. Not in their condition. She had no love for Rose, but... Adelheid had watched her back, saved her life more than once.

But at this point, she was starting to doubt she could make any difference right now.

"CHO REPPA DAN!"

"CHO HISATSU SHINOBOBACHI!"

"SLASH KICK!"

A flurry of pink balls flew out to counter them: Joe was hit and went down, but Andy and Mai's super moves powered through them and stayed en route to the enemy... unfortunately, his short-range teleporting left him safe from harm, and their whiffs were punished by point-blank explosions that knocked them aside.

"PHANTOM STRIKE!" King unleashed an onslaught of Venom Strikes, covering the way for Terry to move in. The Wild Wolf ran as fast as his legs could take him, knowing he had a limited window... Magaki's own pink balls flew out to snuff out the Venom Strikes as they came, one by one by one...

"CRACK SHOT!" Terry made his move, somersaulting forward into a devastating kick... but a portal spawned, and out came a hand, grasping his ankle in mid-flight, slamming him hard. The back of his head connected with the ground, knocking him out.

"TERRY!" Mary cried out. She was officially in panic mode.

King flew at him with her most valiant effort... but Mary didn't even need to look to hear the flash of pink energy, and the thud of the Frenchwoman's body.

Heidern and Saisyu were the only ones remaining. She knew they didn't have long. SHE didn't have long.

"Adelheid." She turned around, desperation in her voice. "Adel! ADEL! You've got to get Rose and get out of here!"

Heidern flew at him with Storm Bringer... Magaki teleported, and Heidern's whiff was punished with a brutal backhand to the side of the face. His felling of Heidern was short-lived, however; a ball of flame exploded in his chest, knocking him back a step or two. Saisyu Kusanagi came at him, with his final blazing vengeance.

"Hrrah! Hyaah! Haaah!"

Saisyu was holding his own, torching the projectiles that flew at him... but one struck his leg, and Mary knew he didn't have long. She turned back to Adel.

"Adel, I can't hold him off on my own! Please, you've got to go! Get Rose and...!"

"Urghh!" Saisyu vaporized a projectile... but his swing was wide, and another one struck him below the armpit, stunning him just long enough to take one directly to the chest, knocking him through the dirt to a skidding stop.

They were all down. Every last one of them. Magaki's eyes next fell on HER... Mary began hyperventilating.

"Adel... I can't... I can't hold him!" her hand trembled as she ejected an empty clip and tried to slip in a new one... her wobbling fingers so uncontrollable, she missed the entry point several times. She finally slid it in with a loud SNAP! followed by cocking, before she aimed, her finger approaching the trigger...

...But she was never granted the opportunity to fire, for as soon as Magaki had started walking towards her, a translucent Chizuru flew out of nowhere, tackling the pink beast, before vanishing.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Chizuru threatened the monster, back on her feet. She waved her hand, glowing; the power manifested once more, and more phantom Chizurus came out, sprinting to meet him.

Magaki brought down scores of them, vaporizing one Chizuru, after the next, after the next... his feet continuing to move forward, but no longer fixated on Mary... now on the Yata Maiden, who stood her ground and kept pumping them out. Two at a time, then three... but Magaki's powerful defenses were more than a match against the phantasmal clones, who needed but one hit to disappear.

Bullets flying from one end. Yata clones from another. Magaki didn't care. They were but mere annoyances to swat away, as he neared closer and closer to Chizuru.

Chizuru, realizing her plan wouldn't work, got into a fighting stance, prepared to fight hand to hand against the menace... her eyes closed, in a silent prayer...

...they opened again, as a pair of strong arms grabbed her, spinning her around, and her face buried into a distinctly large chest. The arms tightened around her, squeezing her, and she felt their bodies rotate.

Iori was now holding her, their positions switched, as he cradled Chizuru in his arms and presented his back to Magaki, prepared to shield her from any blows the pink creature dared let loose upon them. A single hand extended out, burning with a purple column of flame... a last defense against a monster that had felled everyone on the field.

"Iori..." Chizuru gasped out.

Magaki was closer... closer... Iori's face intensified with each step the creature took towards him, prepared to fight to protect her to his dying breath...

FLUTTER!

Magaki was stopped, by some black blur flying into his face. He took a single step back.

FLUTTER! FLUTTER!

"What the..." Mary questioned. She looked to the skies... she recognized that bird!

"It's that... damn crow...!"

FLUTTER! FLUTTER!

The pitch black bird circled around a few times, before slowly beginning its descent down to the battlefield... as soon as it touched down, it became a distorted shadow, molding into human form... the darkness faded, and revealed a familiar green gi, adorned with gold-plated armor. Piercing red eyes, hidden behind a golden Tengu mask...

"ADELHEID BERNSTEIN!" Jyazu's demonic voice echoed, as he turned to face Mary. "You are a dangerous man... far too dangerous! Your very existence threatens the prosperity of the Jaguar Clan!"

Those words quickly put Mary back on edge. She maintained her bead on Magaki, but was now tempted to turn her handgun on this intruder, the same one who had fought against them in the Square War...

"THEREFORE..." he continued. His body suddenly shifted directions, his loathsome gaze now focused on the pink creature. "In the interests of my clan, it's best to not have you as an enemy! Consider my debt paid!"

His brought his arms up, crossing his fists against the sides of his face. Gold talons shot from the left gauntlet... then the right. Getting into fighting stance, two more shadows descended from the skies, landing in perfect unison at Jyazu's sides. One red. One blue.

"GOZU! MEZU!" he commanded. "KILL!"

The scattered, battered remains of the KOF heroes found hope again, in the form of the most unlikely allies; the crow demon and his two flunkies rushed forward, talons glistening with killing intent, closing distance fast on Magaki and backing him up some steps. Gozu unleashed a flaming projectile from his claws, while Mezu summoned his icy chi, in the form of razor ice particles. Jyazu aimed his wrist guns and fired rapidly, the three of them suppressing the pink menace and putting him on the back foot!

Mary saw opportunity, and she jumped on it. Quickly turning, she got his attention. "Adel, now's your chance! Take Rose and... go?"

...but by the time she turned back around, the Bernstein was ALREADY on his feet. Albeit wobbly, as the wounds of a long week had taken their toll on him drastically. He struggled forward, on stumbling legs, only once extending his arm to Mary to use her as a crutch... but he kept going. He kept walking.

"A-Adel...?!"

Mary looked down at the ground, where an unconscious Rose still lay. She turned her attention to the girl, throwing her green jacket over her to keep her warm. Some part of her wanted to try and stop Adelheid, but the look in his eyes... menacing... something told her words would fall short.

Gozu leaped at Magaki with a deep slash: again, Magaki produced a vertical line of explosive bursts, knocking him away. Mezu ran at him directly, but went airborne, dodging a fireball and somersaulting over his head to attack him from behind... but an orb teleported to his right, and sent him flying.

Jyazu was a bit more cunning in his approach, using his left hand to unleash a crescent projectile, while the right hand fired his wrist gun, hitting Magaki with a double dose of long range attacks. As he approached, Magaki tried to send a barrage of pink spheres his way... but a quick POOF! and Jyazu's crow form carried him into the sky, safe from harm.

POOF! He re-changed to human form in mid-air and summoned his icy chi, bringing stalactites raining down from above. Magaki was forced to break stance and teleport to avoid them, and he was unable to stop Jyazu's rapid descent, as the crow demon came down on him with a clean gash across his neck, partially slicing it open. It still wasn't enough to slow down the already-dead creature.

Magaki hissed angrily and drew his arm back, swinging hard; another POOF! and his arm hit nothing but smoke, as Jyazu once again frustrated him by changing into crow form and flying high above. Magaki turned his attention to the skies, and began shooting at the pesky bird...

...and that was all the opening Adelheid Bernstein would ever need.

Magaki never saw it coming; his eyes never had time to gaze upon the human body charging at him full speed, and the next thing he knew, a silver blur had plowed into him.

Mary gasped, amazed eyes capturing the brilliance of a silver comet ramming into Magaki, a vengeful cry ringing out into the devastated Stadium.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Adelheid's eyes were pure silver, no other color breaking through, his body awash in the aura of the same color, his hand embedded into Magaki's torso, as the momentum of his God Press carried Magaki clean across the field, like a drag racer out the starting gate. Nothing could stop his unrelenting speed and power... until the two bodies SMASHED into the wall of the Stadium, complete with a grandiose display of dust and debris flying.

Now in their own isolated area, far from innocents... Adelheid could unleash his fury.

"HAA! HAAH! HAA! HAAAH! HAAAAH!"

Kick. After kick. After kick. His pain be damned, Adelheid carried on, fueled by pure adrenaline, as he rained blow upon blow on the twitching, recoiling creature, whose offense had been effectively halted. His eyes were open, but he saw nothing but a silver outline... he knew not when to stop, and so he simply screamed... and continued... until that blotch in his vision would be extinguished.

After hitting him a seven-kick combination, then came the piece de resistance... a mighty bellow, and Adelheid's leg went airborne. cutting a fine swath with a trail of silver coursing through it. He even used his bad leg; it made no difference. It would kill just as effective.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

SLASHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

He descended back down to the ground, his feet touching lightly, but instantly feeling the stabbing, gnawing pain of his leg wound flare up. He could feel fresh blood leaking, but he ignored it. He didn't want to miss the sight in front of him...

...Magaki's upper torso remained upright for only a moment, as the kick was so clean, the cut so fine, it was as if nothing had happened. But two seconds later, the true result of the Grand Cross was revealed: the upper half of the torso, straight through the middle of the heart, slowly slipped off... finally hitting the ground, leaving nothing but the stomach, the waist, the legs, standing there, lifeless. The neon glow in the eyes of the detached body faded to a blank white.

Adel backflipped twice, performing the final, cleansing maneuver of his Final Salvation: silver energy coursing through his veins, he drew his hands back, screamed... and unleashed Kaiser Wave #1. It soared into the now re-dead corpse, blinding the area with the explosion.

He didn't stop there. He drew back... unleashed Kaiser Wave #2. And finally... a THIRD one, overkill in its most textbook definition.

When the smoke cleared... that piece of the Stadium wasn't even recognizable as a wall anymore. Nothing but a large, empty void remained, with tiny, granulated pieces of debris scattered about.

And on the floor... the remains of Magaki lay, in the form of a single, severed, smoldering arm. Everything else had been obliterated.

Everything left him. The world became a haze, as the adrenaline died down, and he felt the full weight, the full accumulation of week-long battles, fatigue, wounds... he had nothing left, but to collapse to the ground, his eyes looking at the beautiful sky above... he had done everything he could, to keep that sky looking clear. Everything... the body could do no more.

He only prayed that when his eyes opened again, they would see his sister, alive and well.


For the first time in several, several minutes... the Stadium knew peace. No explosions rang out. No crumbing of foundation. No panicked screams, or the frantic shouting of orders. The field had been successfully evacuated: not an innocent bystander or law enforcement official in site. On this final day of the tournament... the field was desolate, the walls crumbling all around them. Craters littered the stands. The bodies of the fighters lay all around, many unconscious, several writhing in pain, struggling to return to their feet, some leaning on others for support.

But it didn't matter. Magaki was dead. The threat had been vanquished, even when victory seemed impossible. That means they still had a chance. The world still had a chance.

"Adelheid! Adelheid!"

Mary scrambled to his position as quickly as possible, to the point where the final blow had been struck. Magaki's body was nowhere to be found, only an arm remaining. And on the ground... he lay. Eyes closed. Breathing peacefully.

She smiled weakly. "Adel...you never gave up on us. Thank you..."

"...Huh, what do you know. You assholes actually won."

Her face soured as soon as she heard the voice. Without hesitating, she whipped out her gun, turned around, and fired.

The bullet struck Kukri in the kneecap... but it was too late. He was already mid-sand transformation, and the bullet had no effect on him, as he faded to a vanishing pile.


"What a f***in' mess..."

Iori looked on with pitiful eyes at the state of the Stadium: only some of them had managed back to their feet, such as Heidern, Krauser, Saisyu, the Wolves, Mai, King. Hotaru had rushed out to ground zero of Magaki's super attack to collect her brother, who had fallen prey to it. Kensou was being tended to by Bao, Momoko, and Chin. Jyazu was rounding up his two henchmen, Gozu and Mezu.

Most of the sufferers of the Cosmic Distortion were still down for the count, save for Kula, who only caught the shockwave, and Angel, who healed quicker than most. Mary wanted nothing more than to crash into Terry's arms... but she first devoted her attention to dragging Adelheid back to his sister's position.

Chizuru, who stood beside Iori, shook her head. "So much destruction... how awful. I only thank god nobody's dead."

"Tourney's f***ed." Iori grunted. "For a moment there, I forgot I was in the final two. Guess it doesn't matter now."

A momentary silence. They took in the tragedy around them, let it wash over them... a harsh reminder that the life they chose was a harsh, unforgiving one. The battles were their battles. The burdens... their burdens.

"Iori."

She called his name softly, turning to face him with a gaze half-stern, but with fatigue clearly showing through. "Back there. Why did you..."

Iori puffed air. "Better me than you, right?"

Her mouth parted, with disappointed shock. "N-no! No! Iori... don't ever say that!"

He looked down, and noticed her hand had instinctively gripped his. That same hand... stained with Rose's blood. He wanted to jerk it away immediately, but then he looked into her eyes... those ridiculous, pitiful, pretty, glistening eyes. He hated that look... it always broke him. Made him give in to her, when he wanted to stay stubborn.

TH-THUMP.

A jolt shot through him, so powerful that it froze his face.

Chizuru instantly noticed something amiss. "I-Iori?"

TH-THUMP. TH-THUMP.

A second jolt. Bile rose so powerfully to his throat, he let out a gargled gasp. "GUUURHHHKkkk...?!"

Now Chizuru was officially worried. He was giving visible cues something was VERY wrong. "Iori! What is it? Iori! Iori!"

An overwhelming force hit Iori's insides so hard, he couldn't remain standing. He collapsed to his knees, not even extending his hands in time to stop his fall. Something was tearing him up inside... something PAINFUL... he wanted to puke, but he was afraid he'd cough up something precious.

"G...GURRHG...M...MY VEINS... ARE ABOUT TO BURST...!" he wailed.

That's when Chizuru felt it too. "O... oh my... oh my god! I feel... s-something...!"

Their victory over Magaki was short-lived, and became a shadow.

WHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Their attention was turned to the other half of the building- the locker rooms - as what looked like a tornado spawned out of nowhere, ripping the roof off and crumbling the walls within.

"Wh-what?" Mai gasped.

"What is THAT!" Terry inquired.

"Damn, I can feel the draft up my trunks...!" Joe shivered.

Seconds passed, and they got no closer to their answer... only a few clues were momentarily presented, to aid them towards the solving of the mystery of this newfound threat.

Three clues, in fact. They came falling from the sky, landing on the grass, at everybody's feet.

"Agh!"

"Ugh!"

"Ooof!"

Everyone who could still walk gathered around the new presence, the strangers who had almost literally fell from heaven above. It took only seconds of observing their dark attire and sinister dispositions to deduce that it was Mature, Vice, and Yamazaki.

"Wh...where did they...?" Mary questioned.

Iori ran forward; Chizuru tried to grab his hand and stop him, but he pulled free and sprinted out there, to where his two cohorts had fallen. Cold sweat was on his face as he ran over there with great haste, extending both hands and forcefully snatching them back to their feet.

"What's going on here?" He growled. "Answer me!"

Mature and Vice looked rattled. Their faces wearing a shell shock rarely seen in their usually-strong showings. Their words came out, in an even bigger struggle.

"H...he... he... he's..."

"Coming..."

The most terrifying, unholy cue spawned his presence, as he commanded the skies above, drawing the gaze of everyone who could look... and look, their frightened eyes did.

"Oh no..." Heidern cursed.

"Oh... my god..." King whispered.

"That guy..." Kensou gasped.

Chin took a swing of his jug. "A powerful darkness has just tainted the air... even this wine's bitter on my tongue."

Chizuru needed no introduction to this malevolent, EVIL being, dressed in the most ironic of pious garb. His smug, self-righteous face grinning, as he floated gently down before them, his hands behind his back with propriety. His black boots touched down with utmost gentleness, as his blue cloak settled down around him, resting still below his knees. His black cloth pauldrons blew in the breeze for a few continued seconds, before they eventually sat idle on his person as well.

She needed no introduction, and definitely didn't want to extend an invitation. This was a being she'd have lived a long, healthy life knowing was gone. She felt her nightmares... days, weeks, months of sleepless nights, of taking pills to ease the trauma... blow back into her life with a wretched, foul air.

The only word she could utter from her lips was a vehement denial, a desperate bargaining... a hopeless prayer.

"No..."

NEXT CHAPTER: Magaki is dead, but our heroes STILL can't rest yet! A new presence has made himself known... a terror that blew a destructive wind and wreaked havoc in 1996. Will our heroes be able to defeat a threat that rivals Orochi himself? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!