Chapter 8: The End Of The World
The city of Southtown, the traditional home of the KOF final.
Usually, at this time of the day, people would be wandering the streets, just preparing for a hard day's work. Students would pack their bags, waving goodbye to their families, as they began to head to their schools.
However, today was different. Very different.
Today, all work literally ceased.
Entire families piled into Southtown's central stadium, jostling for seats. Others huddled around their television sets, eyes fixated on the screen. Tense bets were made, and literally thousands of dollars flowed into-and from bank accounts.
But why all this rush? Why would an entire city gather, with media coverage for half the world?
The answer was simple: They had come here to watch eight people beat the living crap out of one another.
***********
The DHS team stood in the stadium, shifting uncomfortably as they looked left and right. They had been called here, early in the morning before the fight, to receive a special briefing from the hosts of the KOF tournament.
On the other side of the building, K' and his team were going through basically the same thing. Both groups were extremely nervous, discomfited by the sure number of people out there. It was four hours before the proposed final, and already the seats were packed, row-to-row.
***********
Somewhere else…
In a dark, barely lit control room, a group of men were crouched over a screen of an entirely different sort. A massive, glowing map display dominated most of the room. It looked strangely like a crudely rendered two-dimensional map of the Southtown stadium, with eight dots of various colors speckled on it.
The generic techno-geek operator, a teenager with a pimply face and oily hair, had a pair of headphones over his ears, as he listened to a voice only himself could hear.
"The finals teams, Southtown central. Our target is K', and the leader of the other team. They're too far from the target area."
Commander Heidern groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose.
"Things aren't going as they planned. Incompetent idiots!"
His second-in-command, Ling, weathered the storm easily, as a small smile spread across his face.
"It's no big deal."
Heidern stalked towards him, single eye ablaze with fury.
"The hell you mean?"
"I mean…that I've forseen this."
Heidern shook his head. The man's enigmatic speech was beginning to frustrate him.
"What the f*ck are you babbling about?"
Ling turned towards one of the many soldiers scrambling around the crowded command centre, completely ignoring Heidern.
"Guide the teams to the lifts, will you? When you've done that, give the order to activate the generator."
The soldier saluted, scurrying away from the inevitable confrontation as fast as he could. Heidern's fury was always awesome to behold, though dangerous for the faint-hearted.
"Lift? Generator? NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS!!!!"
Ling didn't even bother to look in Heidern's direction, though his knuckles turned white.
"We're working on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know. When the generator's charged, and the Zero Cannon's powered up, my mission will be complete."
Something of his ominous tone began to sink in.
"Did you say…Zero Cannon? An orbital weapon…But what the hell for? The purpose of the tournament was to capture K' and Maxima, to wrest the location of NESTS's base from them. We don't want to blow them apart!"
An evil smile spread across Ling's face. There was a small click, and a small pistol leapt into his hand. He pointed the weapon at Heidern.
Before this, Heidern had always considered the Magnum a beautiful weapon, a miracle of power of design. Only now, being held up at the business end of end, did he realize how incredibly ugly it seemed.
"Officially, that was the goal."
"Officially? What foul plan is festering in your mind, you diseased megalomaniac?"
Very calmly, Ling turned toward Heidern for the first time.
"That's 'Mister' megalomaniac to you. Guards, take him away."
***********
Chan was beginning to get more than slightly irritated. A series of flashing arrows had indicated the way, leading his team towards some unidentified destination, deeper and deeper underground. He couldn't even hear the roar of the crowd anymore.
"Ryan. Did we go the wrong way?"
"Don't ask me. Andro's the one who told us to follow the lights."
"Hey! It just seemed like the right thing to do!"
Chan sighed, as the two began bickering again. He seriously considered shooting one, maybe both with the handgun. Then, he discarded the thought. It would probably be a waste of ammo.
Then, the lights began to go out. The arrows flickered slightly, and began dimming.
Chan swore.
"SHIT! Guys! The lights're going out!"
"Oh, good. We don't need to worry 'bout that, then."
Chan began to ram his head against the wall.
***********
INVASION INVASION INVASION...
Bright red letters lit up the main monitor. Ling slammed his fist on the desk.
"The images are gone!"
"What? Fix it! NOW!"
"Right away, sir!"
Ling began to feel a sense of dread, accepting, for the first time, that something could go wrong.
***********
NESTS Base:
Diana held the microphone closer to her mouth.
"All systems go. Kula, you may begin. Smash Zero's plans. Remember, not a single one on either team should make it out alive."
"Roger." The rest of the answer was lost in a hiss of static.
Foxy leaned back, tilting the chair precariously.
"So it begins. I can't help but worry about Kula, though. She doesn't seem…"
"Yes?"
"…happy."
"She's going to kill eight people. You think she can be happy?"
"No. It's a good thing Candy's there to supervise her."
***********
Soft, gentle snowflakes drifted down in a small corner of the passageway, quickly coalescing into the form of two people.
Andro was the first one to react. He lunged, yelling a warning as he did. Both blades sliced forward, into the still-forming cloud…
The blade struck air. Andro fell back, grasping his arm. His teeth chattered together, preventing him from even cursing out loud.
"ANDRO!"
The others quickly ran over, wondering what had happened to their teammate.
"…The…Cold…"
Andro twitched, revealing his arm, coated from shoulder to wrist in a layer of solid ice.
"What?"
Chan yanked the Mage Cannon from its holster, aiming at the cloud of swirling snow. There was a whoosh, and sudden fog filled the room. Hair and clothes flapped in an invisible wind. When it faded, two figures stood in the room. The first one was
some kind of machine, metallic from head to toe. The other…
"Kula?"
The word came out as a whisper.
Ogion and Andro blinked.
"Chan? You know this girl?"
Ryan nodded.
"Hey! That's the one we met!"
Kula showed no reaction whatsoever. Instead, she simply took a standard combat stance, gloved hand out, weight balanced on her feet like a dancer. Around her, her white hand began to writhe, and her eyes glowed bright red.
Next to her, Candy drew some strange weapon, whispering something to the girl. "They're calling us out, guys."
Ogion's voice was as flat and emotionless as ever.
"Chan, pass me a pill."
The boy, still stunned, readily complied. Andro and Ryan fanned out to either side, assuming attack stances.
Ryan nudged Chan.
"Snap out of it! We're in a combat situation here!"
"How do you know?"
As if to accentuate the point, Kula spoke, voice cold as death.
"By the authority of NESTS, I command you all to surrender. Failure to comply will result in your defeat, and subsequent deaths." A pause. "Did I do it right, Candy?"
The robot nodded. "Good, Kula. They should comply with our demands."
Chan didn't particularly know how to respond. The situation was far too weird.
"What the hell? What the hell are you doing HERE!?"
Kula shook her head.
"Sorry, Chan, but I can't tell you. Surrender to us, and follow. Or…My sisters told me to hit you people till you didn't get up again."
Chan quickly grasped the evolving situation. She was going to kill them. This sweet-faced innocent girl was going to kill them. Suddenly, everything began to fall into place. Privately, Chan cursed himself for being a fool, for even helping her nearly a month ago.
His smart mouth, honed by years of cutting commentary, took over.
"Everyone's been telling us to surrender, lady."
The word came out as a curse. Kula visibly stiffened, the blood draining from her face.
"If we didn't listen to them, why should we listen to you?"
It was merely bravado, and Chan knew it. He was still shaken, both from their sudden appearance, and the complex feelings bubbling up inside him.
Kula nodded, a mere inclination of her head. When she replied, she was calm and controlled, in perfect command of herself.
"So be it."
And the melee began.
***********
"Look at them."
The KOF manager strode back and forth, wiping sweat from his brow. He kept a cautious eye on the crowd, which was beginning to stir and mutter.
"What do I do? The fighters are lost somewhere inside the building!"
His co-host leaned back on his seat, idly paring his fingernails.
"Relax. There're still three hours to go. Calm down. The tournament host wanted to talk to the finals teams. Something about a special briefing."
"Huh. They're probably trying to get one to throw the match. But just look out the window, man! The crowd's getting ugly!"
"Let them. It'll only stir up the mood for later, when the fighting begins."
The man pulled his cap over his face, appearing to be asleep.
The manager sighed, casting one last look at the gathered crowd.
"I hope you're right."