Chapter 9: Kula (The fight continues)
Chan flung himself into an awkward roll, as ice fragments shattered on the wall behind him. He clutched his weapon like a lifeline, grimly clinging onto it.
"WORLD-EATER: BITE!!!"
A massive maw snapped at Kula, driving her back. The girl nimbly dodged the attack, blowing even more ice fragments at Chan.
Frantically, Chan brought the gun up again, attempting to fire.
***Click***
"Oh, shit…"
Razor-sharp shards of ice shredded his skin, lacerating his already-tender flesh.
Chan cursed through gritted teeth, shivering as the cold chilled his body.
He couldn't take much more of this. Kula was taking his apart, slowly but surely. Her ice powers were draining any scrap of warmth left in his body, making it hard to move, or even think.
To make matters even worse, the others were occupied by Candy, who was taking them on three-to-one. The cyborg was incredibly tough, and even worse, fast. From the sounds of battle coming somewhere behind him, Chan's friends were worse off than he was.
The boy tried to move, tried to reload his weapon. All he managed to do was to raise his hand weakly, like a man begging for salvation. Very slowly, Kula walked towards him, step by slow step. A sharp blade of ice glittered in her hand, as she raised it for the finishing blow.
To his surprise, he could see that there were tears in her eyes. Randomly, he noted that Kula was still wearing his jacket,
"I'm…I'm…Sorry, Chan." Kula snuffled slightly. With her free hand, she wiped away her tears. This seemed totally incongruous, in the wake of the rest of her ice-cold demeanor.
"I didn't want to do this…I'm sorry…"
Chan concentrated, drawing the corrupt power of World-eater to himself.
"As am I."
"Huh?"
"ANDRO! NOW!"
Kula spun like a dancer, attempting to ward off the attack she thought was coming. A shield of ice spread around her body, raised to block.
Except it never came. Andro was still battling Candy, several meters away. The real attack would come from behind.
Chan flicked his hand up, releasing an orb of force. Normally, he didn't do this, as it drained heavily on the reserves of both Stand and wielder. Usually, Chan would channel the force into his handgun, releasing it in the form of sizzling energy bolts.
But this wasn't a normal situation. He was exhausted, out of ammunition, and nearly cut to pieces. No, this damn well wasn't a normal situation.
The blast struck Kula on her back, blasting her backwards like a shot from a cannon. The air rippled in the wake of the force bolt, as the universe rushed in to fill the temporary hole.
The girl fell on her…Well, females never fall on their back, do they?
The ice knife clattered from her hand, melting as it hit the ground.
Chan wondered if the blast had been powerful enough. He had put almost everything he had left into the bolt, and was left a shaking, weak wreck as always. World-Eater had vanished, disrupted from the energy drained from in.
Not for the first time in his life, Chan was completely alone. Sure, his team was less than thirty feet away from him. But that might as well have been three hundred, for all it mattered.
Very slowly, Kula begin to stir, picking herself up from the ground. She moved with a pained gait that told of broken bones.
With a deadly calm, Chan began to load the Mage Cannon with a new kind of rounds. Rather than his usual self-made quartz bullets, he opened a small packet, and began to slid metal-jacketed round after metal-jacketed into each chamber. His body was weak, but his mind was clearer, far clearer than it had been for a long time.
What he was about to do had to be done. How he felt about it had utterly no bearing upon the current situation.
Kula, for her part, conscious mind completely submerged in combat routines, formed a long, thin blade of ice on her arm, as she prepared to deal the move known simply as "Claw Bytes". A dim red light began to flicker in her eyes.
*************
Ogion saw this all, of course.
He felt a faint sense of curiosity at the matter, wondering who would manage to kill the other. To his surprise, he was actually hoping that Chan would succeed. That was strange, as Ogion usually didn't care about anything.
He was busy using his abilities to slow Kula's cyborg down, bringing its speed down to a level where Andro and Ryan could actually battle it. The thing was so fast, that it took almost all his mental might to hold it.
That irritated him.
A massive chunk of rock took flight, battering at Candy, who was in the process of attempting to wrench Ryan's arm off. Candy saw the projectile coming, and promptly released Ryan, striking at the object.
Andro dove down from behind, cutting a nasty slash across the robot's armored back. He was met by a spinning backfist that snapped his head back, shattering his nose. The tough fighter shook his head to clear the cobwebs, then dove straight back into the fray. Both blades dug in, as he attempted to wrench the metal casing off. A metal hand slapped across his face, shaking but not dislodging him.
Ryan flung streamer after streamer of high-pressure water at his tormentor, managing as best as he could with one arm. The other was far too sore to be used anytime in the current encounter. He stayed a safe distance away, letting Andro handle the close-in fighting.
Ogion poured even more psychic energy into his binding. He had a nasty feeling that it wasn't working as well as it should.
Then, on the spur of the moment, the sentence came to him. He didn't know why he said it, but it seemed like a good idea.
"Ryan, help Chan," he ordered, sweat begin to stream down his face. His words came out in short, barked sentences.
"The girl is going to kill him. Or he'll kill her. Either way, it'll be bad. Stop them."
"Roger."
Ryan staggered off, already summoning up the powers of water to aid him.
Ogion refocused his attention. His part in that little drama was over, at least.
*************
Chan loaded the last shell in, closing his weapon for the last time.
Slowly, he swung the weapon upwards, bringing it in line with the white motif at the back of the jacket. The thing made a perfect target, though it was beginning to shift position, as Kula turned.
The boy carefully brought the weapon up into a perfect position, both hands wrapped around the ornate grip. There would only be time for one shot, and it had to be perfect.
It was a race, to see who would move faster. Kula had the advantage of being able to cover the distance in an incredibly short time. Chan was still struggling to remain on target.
*************
The monitor flashed bright red, painting the words "INVASION" on Ling's face. He
"Any luck?"
INVASION INVASION INVASION
"No. We can't get anything. For all intents and purposes, both teams are completely lost to us for the time being."
"Damn. Keep on working on it!"
A yell of success came up from another station.
"We have K's team back online! The cameras in their area work!"
"Good. Send them to elevator. Keep me informed on any further developments."
Ling headed off, drawing his portable communicator from a pocket.
"Master Zero? One team will be heading your way soon."
A hiss of static. Then, a single voice.
"Excellent."
*************
K' was getting pissed.
Five minutes ago, his entire team had been wandering through the utterly dark maze, completely lost.
Then, right underneath their feet, the floor had began to sink at an extreme speed, sending them all rapidly descending down into the darkness. The lights had flashed on, revealing the interior of a four-by-five meter elevator, or what used to be a slab of the floor.
How unoriginal.
The LAST year's tournament had also done the same thing, with even more style. This elevator was a piece of junk, making suspicious squeaking noises as it went.
Around him, his team remained silent, pretty much keeping their thoughts to themselves. There was a green glow from Maxima's corner, as the man scanned the area around him, looking for a way out.
Ramon shadowboxed, launching short, snapping attacks at the empty air. The Mexican was extremely tense, and was relieving his stress in the only way he could.
Vanessa adjusted her outfit, tightening her gloves as necessary. She leaned against the elevator wall, waiting.
Then, there was a clickWHIRcrunch, and the elevator lurched to a stop, throwing all concerned off-balance.
K' stared off into the featureless darkness, straining to see exactly what was coming. Nothing.
Then, in the distance, he heard the slow, steady sound of footsteps, one after another. With a flick of his wrist, he flung a fireball into the darkness, temporarily illuminating everything.
What he saw took his breath away.
The man was huge.
On the average, he was almost Maxima's height, with a fluidity of movement that rivaled even Vanessa's. Even worse, the clinking noises he made as he walked were the sounds of…blades.
A sick feeling of fear began to fill K' stomach.
Summoning up all his defiance, he yelled, "The hell are you?" into the distance.
A deep, gravelly voice, like that of a slamming coffin lid, replied, as its owner stepped into the firelight.
"I am…Zero."
Vanessa started visibly, stunned.
"Commander? Unbelievable! You're the...!!!"
Maxima grunted.
"Hmm…He looks just like the leader of last year's extermination squad. You know, Ling."
K' nodded. He remembered Ling all too well. But somehow, this Zero wasn't like him. The differences were subtle, but noticeable.
"You're not Ling. Where is he? We need to catch up on old times."
Zero chortled heartily, face twisting into an utterly spastic and cruel grin.
"A master of disguise, I am. I masqueraded as Ling, and then substituted a clone. Vanessa and Seth were duped by my little freak of genetics! Neutralizing all of you obstacles was the fastest way to realize my plan."
Totally unimpressed, the team stared at him.
"And that is?"
"It was my way to obtain... The Zero Cannon!"
Silence.
"What?"
"A space-based weapon to use against NESTS. I held KoF to summon you muscleheads here... and fire the cannon, with all your help, of course. I owe it all to you, Vanessa."
Ramon, of all people, took this time to be brave.
"This is getting boring, amigo. Let's just skip to the part where we fight, okay?"
Zero's eyes flashed with anger.
"But…but…I'm not finished yet!"
K' went into classic street-fighting position, quickly followed by the other two.
"Ramon's right, f*cker. We're just gonna kick your ass. Now."
A four-on-very-large-one battle began.
*************
He wasn't going to make it.
Even as the weapon came up, Chan knew it wasn't going to work. He simply wasn't moving fast enough. In a blur of motion, Kula spun, running towards him in a full-out sprint.
Then, with the impact of a small bomb, the ground exploded, sending the girl hurtling away.
"RYAN!"
The odds had suddenly changed. Ryan stood on a nearby pile of rubble, water droplets swirling around him in a random dance. He had one arm raised, water swirling around the raised appendage.
Kula rolled back to her feet, turning to face the new opponent.
"Hey! That's breaking the KOF rules!"
The phrase was so funny that both chuckled.
"This isn't KOF. Not anymore. Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"Remember what I said 'bout crossing the blasts?"
"Yep. You told me not to cross them."
Kula, not liking where this was going, hurriedly began to create an inch-thick shield of ice.
"Cross the blasts."
"What? You told me it'll kill us!"
"…I lied."
"Remind me to hurt you later."
"OMEGA FLARE!"
"TSUNAMI!"
Both fired at the same time, sending a massive wave of red-and-blue energy crashing into shield. The attacks combined into a pseudo-fireball that would probably punch through a mountain. Incredibly, for several long moments, the ice held, sending power arching off it, melting the walls like wax.
It shattered.
*************
By now, the crowd was getting truly angry.
Projectiles were hurled at the announcer's booth, as angry fans decided to take matters into their own hands.
It was two hours before the fights actually started, and there wasn't a peep of any of the fighters. Normally, they would be grandstanding for the crowd, or making a small speech or something.
Instead, there was nothing but an ominous silence.
The manager began making plans for his hasty evacuation.
Somewhere in the distance, a geyser of power blasted upward, sending various assorted debris flying.
Obviously assuming that it was some kind of publicity stunt, people began to cheer, watching the fantastic swirling light show.
His ass safe for now, the manager headed back to his seat.
Only close observers would notice his lips moving in a silent prayer.
*************
Andro saw the blinding light, even as he struggled to subdue the cyborg.
Damn Ryan and Chan. They got super powers, while he was stuck with his blades, and several old ninjustu tricks.
Hopefully, they would be enough.
Candy broke out of his grasp, preparing to tear him apart. Many, many, many scratches and dents lined the thing's metal skin, but there was utterly no sign of internal damage. For what seemed like the thousandth time, he drew on his internal energy, summoning up the will to continue.
From the side, Ogion launched a burst of pyrokinetic flame, searing away even more of the metallic skin. Candy reached down, pulling a sizeable chunk of fallen ceiling from the ground.
Like a baseball player, she flung it, sending Ogion to the ground with a loud thud.
Andro winced.
Candy turned towards him, metal fists clenched in a fear-inspiring move.
"Prepare to surrender your pitiful flesh."
For his own part, Andro braced for the impact.
"Embrace oblivion. ARMY OF ONE!!!"
Suddenly, there were eight Andros, all kicking, punching and slashing away with their blades. Completely unimpressed, Candy launched a spinning kick, slamming all of them back together.
A single, sheepish-looking Andro was the only one left, one who was rapidly retreating.
"***WHIR*** Is that all you have?"
"No. I bet you can't do this."
And he ran away.
*************
Chan slumped, completely exhausted.
Unnoticed, the Mage Cannon slipped to the ground, metal frame smoking and sizzling. There was a grip-shaped burn mark on Chan's arm, but he barely noticed it.
Ryan wasn't much better. Blood dripped from his nose, and he let off the occasional wet cough. The water droplets were gone, evaporated by the force of the blast.
Lying in a crater about four meters wide lay Kula. She was strangely unscarred by the impact, though her outfit was scorched and singed.
Chan raised a questioning eyebrow at Ryan.
The boy shrugged, pointing to the fog that hung in the air.
"Ice shield. Stopped most of the impact, probably. I told you, water doesn't really mix well with energy."
"Well, it doesn't matter now. C'mon. Let's help the others."
The 'others' were already actively seeking help. Andro ran past, screaming at the top of his voice. Right behind him came that robotic thing, mechanical fists opening and closing
Ryan blinked. This was the first time he had ever seen the psychopathic assassin truly afraid.
All prepared a last, devastating attack.
As it turned out, it wasn't necessary.
Candy calmly strode right past them, reaching down to scoop up Kula's body. A calm, crackly voice promptly emanated from the speakers.
"You have won. Kula and I will depart from this area. The tournament organizer awaits your group beneath. Be careful. The place is under surveillance."
With that, it began to fade away, shrinking to a two-dimensional image, then blowing away like a leaf in the wind…
"Hey, wait!"
But they were already gone.
*************
"System restored."
Ling turned, facing the large screen once more.
He didn't like what he saw.
The place on the monitor looked like that of a war zone. Everything breakable had been broken, and a large hole now adorned the ceiling, revealing blue sky above. That got Ling worried. Why?
They were about four stories underground.
"What was the cause?"
"System appears to have been hacked. Only the image bank is intact."
Inspection of said image revealed several shots of a striking, white-haired girl, clad in a tight red bodysuit, and a blue jacket.
"So…That's the Anti-K."
"Huh? I beg your pardon, sir?"
"Nothing…Just mumbling. Send them the way of the first."
*************
"Hey, look! The light's back on!"
"So?"
They were all tired, and injured. Nothing serious, of course, but some wounds would probably have a severe effect on their skills.
"Hmm. Looks like the robot was right about us being surveyed. Right, Chan? Right?"
"Leave him alone. He's still a little out of it."
"Hell yeah. There's only one thing I'll like to tell those bastards watching us…"
Andro gave the ceiling the finger.
Sure, it was immature, but he somehow felt much better.
*************
Ling's lips compressed into a thin line at the sight.
"Such vulgarity."
*************
Diana and Foxy stared tensely at the teleporter, watching as Kula's broken body shimmered into view. Candy held the girl with both hands, gently placing her on a nearby table.
Diana gasped.
"They did THIS to her? They actually did THIS to our little sister?"
Foxy snorted.
"I told you to send her after the other team, first. They, at least, would have compunctions against nearly crippling a girl."
Candy tilted its head, voice still the flat mechanical monotone.
"I beg to differ. The team did not really inflict any damage personally. Two of them combined forces, launching a ray with a magnitude I have never detected before. It is estimated to be a thousandth of the power of the Zero Cannon."
Foxy struck the hard metal console with her fist, inflicting a heavy dent.
"Damn! That's enough to take out a battalion. They're just kids, for christsakes. Ignorant kids who don't know squat about what they're involved in. How in hell did they manage to defeat our little sister? She's supposed to be the answer to K', the penultimate biological weapon."
Diana set about tending to Kula's numerous injuries, talking as she did.
"That's not really important. Zero will probably kill them, anyway. There's no way all that power came without a price."
She winced, as a particularly nasty puncture was revealed.
"You said that one of them, at least, cared for her. Looks like you guessed wrong."
Foxy ignored the comment, returning to her usual business-like manner.
"Candy, I need you to replay the combat logs. Load them into the main computer for later reference. It looks like there's no one to deal with the Zero Cannon, considering the state Kula's in."
"Acknowledged."
"Diana, finish patching Kula up, and prepare to roll. We'll have to go in by ourselves."
Diana nodded, already beginning to reach for the antiseptic and bandages.
*************
The boys made their way to the elevator, taking their time.
If someone wanted to herd them, they were just going to have to wait.
Each preoccupied with his own thoughts, no one spoke, as the lift began to descend, carrying them ever downwards into the lurid darkness.
Chan obsessively checked and re-checked his handgun, the only true equipment he possessed. Bryan sat in a meditation pose, drawing on the inner void for strength. The air around him shimmered slightly.
Andro honed his blades once more, the razor-edges gleaming even in the dim light. Ryan drew what moisture he could from the cool air, wrapping himself in a cloak of dancing water droplets.
After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator shuddered to a stop.
A grim smile on his face, Chan looked up at his friends.
"Ready?"
Three nods.
"Good. Let's go get meet the big guy."
Then, they leapt from the dubious safety of the lift, and began to run.
(Whew. The recent chapters haven't been that good, and I haven't upgraded recently. Still, I'm near the end of this epic storyline. As always, your reviews and feedback are always welcome.)