Quarterfinals I: Neo Commando Squad vs. Strike Force Phantom
Author's Notes: It's an update! Go me! Anyway, thanks to the insistence of everybody who's pressed for an update, here's a new chapter - finally. Before reading, let it be known that I really should not have to say this again, but please try to avoid story spoilers when reviewing. You're submitting reviews, after all, not story commentaries. Thanks.
Osaka, Japan
Four days have passed
Kyosuke adjusted his tie as the technicians prepared the cameras. It was stifling hot in the newsroom, as always, but the part he hated most about his job was the makeup. Makeup! In order to appear photogenic, he had to wearing makeup! For the thousandth time Kyosuke wondered why his female friends enjoyed it so much; as far as he was concerned, it was a necessary evil that had to be endured. Behind the camera, a technician flashed a thumbs up at Kyosuke and the student turned reporter pasted a bright, sappy smile onto his face. "Good morning everyone and welcome back to the World Collision tournament. I'm Kyosuke Kagami, reporting live from Osaka Stadium. Before we head over to my colleague on the field, let's have a recap of the latest events.
"In the first battle of the second match set, the Neo Commando Squad bulldozed Project Justice despite valiant resistance from the latter team." On the giant holoprojector, Commando and Ruby Heart countered Edgar and Kikoken's CleanSweep/Brilliance attack with their own Captain Shock/Pare-tonnare combo. "In the second battle of the match set, single entry Ernest McGrath was assassinated by the Master of the Fist, Akuma, but not before giving as good as he got. No footage is available of this battle and the opposing team, Strike Force Phantom, was automatically passed to the quarterfinals. In the third battle, excellent coordination amongst the members of the World Warrior team resulted in a surprisingly easy victory over the Lords of Shadowlaw." Again Ryu, Kirina, and Sagat blasted Bison into space with the Triple Obliterator. "In the final battle of the second match set, Dadallent quickly wore down the American Vigilantes in a repeat of his performance against the Police Investigators." Dadallent avoided Guile's powerful Somersault Strike and piledrove him back into the ground.
"In conclusion, the four entries advancing to the quarterfinals are the Neo Commando Squad, Strike Force Phantom, the World Warrior Team, and Dadallent. Today's match pits the first two, both teams well-qualified, against each other. Let's head over to the field to get the pre-battle commentary by my colleague Jin Saotome, who is currently on the Great Wall of China. Jin, how's the weather in China?"
The holoprojector refocused on a different locale. It was early morning in China; the wall lay wreathed in morning light, stretching in both directions as far as the eye could see. It was long but not particularly wide and made entirely of brick. There were a few clouds wandering overhead but not enough to justify an overcast description; sunlight reflecting off their undersides gave them a beautiful red and orange appearance. Also conspicuous by his absence was Jin himself. The camera panned around, giving the viewers a wonderful look at the great wall, when without warning Jin thrust himself straight into the camera lens and began yelling it down. "Two strong teams are fighting today! Can you the feel the tension, the excitement, the anticipation in the air?!"
Kyosuke slammed his hand down on the mute button. "Erm, anyway, there you have it from the roving correspondent, ladies and gentlemen. Before we go back, let's take a look at how the two teams stack up. On the Neo Commando side, you have three strong team members spread across the board. The squad's theme seems to be balance; three strong fighters, but none of them are so strong as to be able to overshadow the other two and thus cause an overdependence on one fighter. On the opposite side, Strike Force Phantom is also made of three skilled soldiers who have spent years training with each other, thus they know themselves better than any other team. While team captain Samantha is stronger than her teammates, again there is no overbalance of power. I'd say that this is a fairly even match. Let's head over to China and see the action live as it happens."
"Good morning, captain," Samantha greeted courteously as Captain Commando and Ruby Heart appeared on the battlefield.
"And to you, Samantha," Commando answered. What had happened to Samantha McGrath was no secret - one moment she'd been running down the corridor right after speaking with Regina, intent on intercepting Scott Wagner's kidnapper ... the next thing she knew, she was in bed and a whole day had gone by. Blake and Lloyd had found her in her room but nothing they tried could awaken her for a whole day; strangest of all, they told her that she had been hot on the trail of the kidnapper right before her signal was lost. Her Recon Cycle was on the edge of town and a brief inspection of its fuel cells showed that it had not been moved since it had wiped out. Blake, Lloyd, and Commando had all been healed earlier by Regina, but even the goddess could not be quite sure of what had happened to Samantha; all that Regina could tell was that a small part of Samantha's memory had been changed. Figuring out who had done it or what had been altered proved too difficult for Regina, and now Scott Wagner was also amongst the missing. Samantha felt helpless; they all did.
The air blurred again as Strider Hiryu appeared out of thin air; to Samantha's polite nod he gave no reply, instead standing coldly off to the side. Hiryu had become grim and distant ever since Chan vanished; in some ways, he reminded Samantha more and more of Dadallent, albeit without the ever-present threatening aura. His Falchion shone in his right hand and he studied the battlefield with keen eyes that saw everything while revealing nothing.
"He wants to win this fight, you know," Blake Wallis remarked, smoothly sliding up to stand next to his captain.
"As do I," Samantha answered softly.
"Strange, isn't it?" Blake continued. He kicked a pebble out of his way. "Come to think of it, everything we've been through ... all the relief missions to Africa and Asia, Operation Judgment, the War of Ascendancy ... at least, back then we knew exactly what we were up against. And when we were assigned to this operation, I thought it'd just be another routine mission. Instead here we are caught up in some divine chess game without really knowing the rules. Kinda makes you realize, doesn't it ...? Life really is too short to be wasted."
"Blake ... surprising to hear such sentiment from you," Samantha answered, turning to face her teammate.
"You sound a battle-weary veteran, Blake," Lloyd chuckled.
"Don't worry about me, I'm not getting soft," Blake retorted, perhaps a bit faster than was necessary. "Doc McGrath would burst a vein laughing if he could see us now. Let's form up." When his two teammates nodded in agreement, he, Lloyd, and Samantha exchanged the special Phantom handclasp. Blake and Lloyd strode off to the sides of the battleground where Jin had already worked himself into a frenzy. The two veterans both cast a glance at Jin before simultaneously shaking their heads at his antics.
"Strike Force Phantom, name your tactical leader," Jedah ordered.
"Here." Samantha raised a hand.
Jedah noted the entry and turned to the other team. "Neo Commando Squad, name your tactical leader," he ordered.
"That would be me." Captain Commando saluted smartly as Strider, Jedah, and Ruby Heart backed off. He pulled off his scarlet-tinted shades and wiped them off on his sleeve. "Whoever wins this match gets a chance to face Marin in the finals, Samantha. We're both on the same side and they're making us fight each other. One of us will advance, but ... the other won't. And what happens then in the semifinals?"
"Do you truly believe that the Chaos Prince is so strong as to be able to defeat the World Warriors?" Samantha asked.
Commando sighed. "I don't know. And it doesn't matter. Samantha, we're in the middle of a war here. Ryu and Sagat are true warriors - do you really think that they'll care anything about what happens so long as they can get a good fight? And the other contestant, Dadallent ... he knows the danger that we face better than anyone else, but he won't side with us. He doesn't care about what happens to us. No, whatever may happen here - regardless of whether you or I win this match - one of us must win the following one, or else everything that we've worked for - everything - could be lost! We have no real lead on Marin's motive, so let's not wait until it's too late to find out."
"I concur, captain. Shall we proceed?" They shook hands before each assuming their respective fighting stances. The air on the Great Wall was cool and quiet, save for Jin and his ravings on the sidelines. Commando's gloved fingers slowly tightened into a fist as Samantha shifted her weight back onto one heel. Neither contestant spoke; rather, they locked eyes together as each one attempted to read the thoughts of the other.
Begin!
Commando had already moved before the flash of light faded away; in an instant, he had cleared the space between himself and Samantha with a powerful flying kick. Samantha responded with a long sidestep that took her out of the Captain Kick's vector and retaliated with a grounded Full-Moon Kick, sending her booted foot crashing right into Commando's stomach. Commando dropped to the ground with the force of a thrown brick. A striker assist from Ruby Heart prevented Samantha from following up on her advantage, but Lloyd appeared on her call and knocked Ruby Heart back out with a powerful staff swipe.
Commando rolled away as Samantha stood her ground. Both sides simultaneously called for striker assists and this time Lloyd ran straight into a column of water summoned by Ruby Heart; using his teammate's attack to cover his own, Commando fired a stream of flames at Samantha. She dodged but only narrowed down the distance to within kicking range before lashing out with a powerful strike aimed at Commando's chest. Commando blocked the attacked and pushed back; Samantha withdrew her leg and settled into a ready cat stance, on the lookout for another attack. Behind her back, she called Lloyd in with her fingers and a moment later Commando nearly ate the attack as Lloyd came hurtling downwards heelfirst. Commando rolled away and Samantha whiffed an overhead Full-Moon Slam.
"And right from the start the action is hot!" Kyosuke Kagami announced grandly. "Neither Commando nor Keychain are pulling any of their punches! Here comes Lloyd Cunningham with the assist - brilliantly countered by Ruby Heart! Blake Wallis is trying to get in an extra attack - no, wait, he's been knocked out of the arena by the Captain Collider. Strider's pulling his teleport assist ... and Samantha makes him pay for it! Minerva Kick right up his chin! Commando's really pulling out all the stops now, there he goes right for Samantha as she's recovering. Wow, eight hit aerial rave ending with Captain Fire! Jin, can I get your opinion on -"
"This battle is fast and furious!" Jin screamed, thrusting himself right into the camera lenses as he began shouting the crewperson down. "No let up! No mercy! This is what I'm talking about, full blown -!"
He fell silent as a grumbling Kyosuke slapped the mute button, though Jin's contorted face continued to dominate the holoprojector until the crews switched cameras, too. Jin's image blurred out to be replaced by one of Samantha gliding past Ruby Heart to kick Commando firmly in the stomach. A moment later, she cleanly lifted him off the ground and levered him around her body with that one leg, throwing him to the ground on the other side. Commando rolled away and prevented Samantha from chasing him, but he was clutching his sides with one hand when he rose. Lloyd jumped in for a staff swipe but Samantha did not attempt to close the distance. A frown on his face, Commando's eyes narrowed as he studied his opponent. He thought he saw an opening and dashed in with a punch; thus, the shock was considerable when Samantha kicked his arm aside with enough force to numb it. Commando hastily backstepped, which cost him somewhat in balance but saved him from a retaliatory kick.
He tried again three times and all three times Samantha skillfully parried his attacks before striking back, but she declined to chase him down when he retreated, only sending in Lloyd for the occasional follow up attack. Trying to place Samantha between himself and a wall, Commando circled warily to the right. A highly defensive style suited to her body ... she defends against the initial attack, then counterattacks as appropriate. And always intercepting me at her own extreme outer range while keeping me from getting too close to her ... but what if she couldn't do that? With sudden inspiration, Commando called in Ruby Heart for an assist and a later had pulled both of his hands into the air. "Captain ... Sword!"
As expected, Samantha braced for the attack as an enormous pillar of material electricity appeared above Commando's head. Commando grunted under the sheer strain of moving so heavy an object, but he pulled his arms forward as he took a single step and wrenched his arms down. The massive electric beam cracked ominously as it descended with the force of a falling star, slamming down heavily into Samantha and knocking thousands of rock fragments loose from the Great Wall. Samantha staggered under the attack but her guard did not break. Having spent himself, Commando pulled himself upright as Ruby Heart flung an anchor at Samantha. Still in block stun, Samantha had no chance to evade the attack and a moment later was securely wrapped up in chains.
Commando tagged out with his partner while Samantha struggled with the bindings. Lloyd's Sparrow Dagger hit only empty air; Ruby Heart, in the meanwhile, pulled out a small spellbook and began to chant. With a sudden and violent jerk uncharacteristic of her normally meticulous self, Samantha popped a link loose. Lloyd jumped in again and flung a dagger at Ruby Heart, but Strider also appeared and intercepted the attack halfway, knocking the dagger out of the air with his Cypher blade. Samantha loosened another link, but just as she began to pull the chains off Ruby Heart finished the spell and it went into effect.
Right before Samantha's disbelieving eyes, a genuine pirate ship materialized out of thin air straight on a ramming course for her. It was worn and frayed, a reflection of the ship that Ruby Heart had lost in McGrath's battle against Akuma, but its wickedly jagged prow featured an enormous, razor-sharp spearhead nearly as large as Samantha herself. There was no time to dodge or defend; the ship collided into Samantha and she screamed horribly as the blade cut straight through her body. Nor was that all; the gun ports on the ship popped open, revealing tiered banks of cannons. There was a flash of light, then smoke and a roar of thunder before everything vanished and Samantha was blasted cleanly off the prow of the ship, rolling backwards along the length of the Great Wall to collapse at her teammates' feet. Blake and Lloyd instantly bent over their fallen leader, faces creased with concern.
Samantha was still breathing, though she bled like a waterfall from more than two dozens wounds. Lloyd jumped in to take her place in the battle as Blake pulled her to the side; unfortunately, Lloyd came under assault immediately from Ruby Heart supported by Strider. Swearing at the abysmal change in fortune, Blake rushed forward to cover Lloyd and caught Ruby Heart solidly under the chin with his Wolf Rush. Perhaps he might have held back earlier, but infuriated by what had happened to his leader, Blake unleashed his fury and channeled all of his rage into that single attack. But he was appalled nonetheless when Ruby Heart's head snapped back like a flung rag doll's and she went off her feet. Lloyd needed no second opportunity; he broke into a flat run and intercepted Ruby Heart halfway down, breaking out into his rendition of the Mayhem Rampage. The attack finished with a powerful Scissor Kick that knocked Ruby Heart cleanly off the wall.
Gill caught Ruby Heart as she tumbled off the battleground while Strider stepped in. Having done his part, Blake returned to the sidelines to tend to Samantha, only that ... "Wha -! Where'd Samantha go?!" In the place where he and Lloyd had laid their fallen leader, there was only a large pool of rapidly drying blood.
"I am here, Blake."
Blake whirled around and stared; so did Lloyd and even Strider appeared faintly surprised. Samantha tilted her head to one side and directed a curious look at her teammate. Her velvet clothes were still bloodstained, but her skin was once more unbroken and when she strode up to stand by Blake she certainly did not move as though injured. As Samantha passed Blake, he saw the other person who had been hidden behind her. Regina smiled and explained, "She was about to bleed to death. If I had waited any longer, she would have."
"Thanks again, Regina," Blake said, dipping his head. "It seems like you're always pulling us out of - son of a jumping jukebox, Lloyd!" Blake rushed past Samantha and Regina back into the battle, where Strider was mercilessly beating down Lloyd's guard with repeated Cypher slashes. Regina watched him go with a concerned look before smiling to herself and then walking off to deal with Ruby Heart. As Strider prepared another slash, Blake charged and lowered his head. Strider flung his Cypher blade and Lloyd deflected it upwards, both weapons ringing as their metallic surfaces glanced off each other. Having knocked both himself and his opponent off balance, Lloyd stepped back just a little and allowed Blake to rush through the opening. Blake seized Strider around the waist, dropped backwards, and in the next moment introduced Strider to the brick wall facefirst.
Wiping a trickle of blood away from his chin, Strider snarled and gave a two-fingered salute. His Options materialized out of thin air around him, four of them orbiting his body. Lloyd flung a Sparrow Dagger at Strider but it shattered harmlessly off one of the ninja's Options. A moment later Strider vanished into the air and Lloyd instinctively rolled forward, dodging Strider's next attack as the ninja reappeared above him. But Strider caught up in an instant and then began laying into Lloyd; Blake, appearing to assist again, was knocked out of his attack by the Options. "Unbelievable!" Jin screamed ecstatically. "Thirty-five hit combo!"
As the Options dispersed, Captain Commando jumped into the battle and rammed his fist into the ground, producing an enormous pillar of electricity that sent Lloyd flying. The British man landed hard against a wall and slowly staggered to his feet, but Strider was already upon him. One overhead slash appeared as Lloyd frantically blocked; to his shock and disbelief, the Cypher blade landed heavily on his staff and his weapon broke under the attack with a loud ring. Lloyd ducked under the next slash and hastily switched out with Blake.
Without a single pause in motion, Strider ran forward and twisted his body into a spiral, flinging the Cypher blade in front of himself. Blake knocked the weapon downwards by the flat of its blade, then threw a retaliatory hook punch at Strider as he took a step forward. The ninja blocked the attack with one hand but that wasn't quite enough to stop it from smashing into his temples. Snarling, Strider backed up only to see Blake follow, hugging him quite closely with a storm of close-range elbow and knee strikes. It was only after Captain Commando appeared with a Collider assist that Strider was able to secure any breathing room; even so, once the Collider had vanished Blake rushed Strider with a cry of "Game over!"
Teeth gritted, Strider teleported away and landed behind the charging Phantom. Unfortunately, Lloyd had also appeared and Strider gasped more from shock than pain when a pair of Sparrow Daggers shattered off his back. Shrapnel shot through his cloth uniform and Strider instantly began to feel himself bleed. Farther ahead, Commando sent Blake sailing through the air with a Captain Kick. Willing himself to ignore the pain that had begun to throb through his body, Strider met Blake in midair and began to lay into him with a barrage of attacks. Strider struck at his opponent's torso multiple times before finally finishing with his air-dash Excalibur, sending Blake rolling back to the ground. The Phantom landed heavily before bouncing back to his feet, while Strider himself fell into a crouch and shot a baleful glare at the overexcited Jin Saotome before returning his attention to Blake.
Blake charged forward again with a wild swing, but Strider kept him at a distance with controlled thrusts of the Cypher blade. When Blake tried a fancy dodge-roll, Strider simply leapt up and let Commando enter with another deadly Captain Collider. This attack sent Blake reeling, an opening that Strider quickly jumped in to exploit. Blake took the first hit of Strider's attack but blocked the second; a moment later, he tried to turn the tables on the ninja by throwing a vicious spinning kick. Strider blocked the attack, which was exactly what Blake wanted. Using his opponent to stop his movement, Blake skidded to a halt and rushed Strider at point-blank range, intending to tackle him.
And Strider, as it turned out, would have none of that. He ducked and swung his Cypher blade upwards, though his muscles strained with the effort. Caught by the flat of the sword, Blake flew into the air, hard, and Strider leapt after him with his grappling hook in his left hand. The ninja caught up with the Phantom and swung the hook down, snaring Blake under the chin; a moment later, both of them were falling back to the ground. Strider forced his arm down as Blake wrestled with the grappling hook. Just before impact, Blake suddenly unleashed a punch at point-blank range and caught Strider completely by surprise. Strider fell away from Blake but the Phantom crashed heavily into the wall regardless and yelped in pain.
Strider landed more softly, rolling away to dissipate the worst of the impact. He recovered instantly and was upon Blake in a flash, signaling Commando for an assist as well as calling in a mechanical tiger. Strider rushed through the opening that his assists had created, Lloyd's vicious overhead strike whiffing completely on Strider. Left without much of a chance to defend, Blake lay exposed to Strider's powerful combination attacks. "Nine hit ground chain!" Jin Saotome screamed as he danced on the edge of the battlefield.
"Somebody needs to put a leash on that fellow," Captain Commando growled out of the corner of his mouth to Samantha as he cast a jaundiced eye at Jin. Farther to the side, Regina and a recently-healed Ruby Heart sat down together on the stones for a heart-to-heart talk.
Blake staggered upright, wiping away blood from the corner of his mouth. Farther back Lloyd was frantically signaling for Blake to switch with him, but the younger Phantom stubbornly ignored his teammate's signs and instead opted to circle around Strider again. Shaking his head in exasperation - why would Blake simply refuse to fall? - Strider lifted his blade again and ran his fingers down its length. A warning shout from Lloyd caused Blake to refocus on Strider and drop into a defensive stance, but as the first mighty slash of Strider's enormous Masamune attack slid by it sheared cleanly through Blake's crossed arms. The young Phantom's guard broke apart and Strider's next two attacks smashed through Blake, leaving him a bleeding and broken wreckage on the ground, staggering on one arm and both legs.
Strider crossed his arms and brought the Cypher blade level with his face in an odd sort of salute, the blade pointing straight upwards. He broke into a short dash aimed directly at Blake, moving his Cypher blade to the side at the last moment -
And when he did so, Blake retaliated with impossible speed, forcing himself off the ground in the nick of time to intercept Strider's dash. Blake caught Strider by the shoulders and instantly overprioritized the other man. Faster than the eye could track, Blake's fist crashed into Strider with the force of a runaway train and the ninja crumpled to his knees, but the attack had only begun. The Bandit Wolf Slayer's multiple attacks rang out in quick succession like the staccato fire of a machine gun as Blake beat Strider down with his desperate last attack, a powerful energy that he did not entirely understand surging through his veins. There was a sickening crack as Strider's jaw gave way under the last attack and he was sent flying backwards under the weight of the Wolf Slayer's power.
Blake paused only to watch Strider flop to the ground like a beaten rag before he himself collapsed. "And Blake Wallis's Bandit Wolf Slayer results in a double K.O.!" Kyosuke proclaimed. "Ladies and gentlemen, this exciting match is truly coming down to the final blow, with Captain Commando squaring off against Lloyd Cunningham! This is the first team match when the battle comes down to a one-on-one between the last team members! Amazingly enough, it seems like Ruby Heart and Samantha McGrath have both completely recovered while they were off the cameras! Let's go back to the field, shall we?"
Lloyd circled around Commando and flung a dagger which Commando avoided by rolling to the side. It was obvious upon first glance that Commando was much fresher than his Phantom counterpart, and Commando tried to press his advantage by steadily narrowing down the distance between himself and Lloyd. The British man tried to keep him at a distance, but without his staff the best he could attempt were long-range kicks and the occasional dagger. Commando fired off a stream of flames from his glove and Lloyd wrapped himself in his great overcoat, allowing the fire to flow harmlessly off his body. During the delay, however, Commando took the opportunity to roll along the length of the wall and finally close the remaining distance between himself and Lloyd. They traded a dozen blows before Commando landed a stomp on Lloyd's leg, then instantly rammed his glove into the ground and caused a titanic surge of electricity to geyser upwards.
"Lloyd!" Samantha cried.
The British man collapsed against the edge of the wall, but only for a moment before he stirred and picked himself up again. He was wary and on guard now, watchful for sudden movements on Commando's part. Commando, for his part, pressed the attack closer to where Samantha was watching. Lloyd tried to fight more defensively but he was obviously outmatched, nearly spent of his weapons and lacking his combat staff. When Commando threw a spinning kick that hugged the floor, Lloyd attempted his last resort, pulling out his grapple hook and launching it upwards where it snagged a nearby battlement atop a watchtower. He dodged Commando's sweep and in an instant was flying up. Commando reflexively lashed back with a punch as he arose, but of course Lloyd was beyond him at this point. The Phantom righted himself, flipped in midair, and descended downwards as quickly as he could. Lloyd aimed straight for the back of Commando's exposed neck, intending to knock Commando out with the sheer trauma of his blow.
"Captain Collider!"
And the veteran Phantom crumpled to the ground, all the fight beaten out of him. Breathing heavily, Commando stared for a long, tense moment at the foot of the tower where Lloyd had crashed into the brick. Then he slowly dusted himself off with much dignity as he rose to face Samantha. "You Phantoms fought very well. McGrath would have been proud."
"I concede the victory to you, captain," Samantha answered graciously.
Osaka, Japan
Two days have passed
"Get some sleep, Regina," Sagat advised from his formidable seven-foot and counting height.
"I'll be fine, Sagat, at least for another two hours," Regina answered. "But thank you for your concern." The Muay Thai fighter nodded acquiescence and left the lounge, his heavy footsteps causing the ground to vibrate somewhat as he stalked off towards his own room. Samantha had returned to the IDC headquarters located in the Philippines; Lloyd, for his part, had been in a transmission to IDC headquarters when his side of the conversation abruptly broke off. That left Blake as the sole remaining member of the Phantoms and he had exhausted himself staying awake and alert for as long as possible. After Lloyd's disappearance, Regina had volunteered to watch over Blake. There was speculation between Commando and Sagat that Regina did not sleep at all; she certainly seemed to be constantly active.
Blake lay sprawled irreligiously and snoring softly on the couch, having fallen asleep with a book over his face from sheer fatigue. Regina was seated on the edge of the couch and she gently stroked Blake's hair, humming a soothing song. It was late at night and everyone else had already gone to bed, in Ruby Heart's case some three hours earlier. The hotel was deserted save for the late night security guards and the occasional janitor. Regina, who knew every person by name, greeted them silently as they came and went.
One hour passed, then two, as Regina continued to softly sing her restorative song. Any of the normal BEAT patrols might have found the duty dull, but Regina was a goddess, after all. Just as she began to blink and yawn, a familiar and powerful aura neared and Regina half-turned to address the new arrival. "Yes?"
"What is your decision?" Dadallent asked, sliding around the couch to face Regina.
"Decision?" Regina echoed. "I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Do you side with this world, or with your sister goddess?" Dadallent repeated in a low voice, as though explaining an abstract concept to a child. He paused and glanced down at Blake before turning his face to Regina; in spite of the ever-present blindfold, there was always the unnerving sensation that Dadallent saw far more than he should have. To Regina, whose spiritual senses were far more sensitive than her physical ones, Dadallent exuded a threatening aura that fell just short of being outright hostility. It disconcerted her in a way that no human should have been able to. Directly in between them, Blake snored obliviously.
"Actually, Marin and I are half-sisters," Regina answered, dodging Dadallent's question. "We were born of the same mother but sired by different fathers. Still, I'm closer to her than many blood sisters can claim to be. Besides being sisters, we also stand in the relationship of inseparable friends." Regina smiled as she said this last part. She again turned and gently resumed stroking Blake's hair. Dadallent folded his arms wordlessly across his chest while Regina avoided his "gaze." An awkward silence ensued that lasted for some time.
Regina finally yawned again and glanced at the clock in the lounge. "Four in the morning ... Dadallent, would you please watch Blake for me? I'll be back in a hour after I rest."
"Very well, goddess." Dadallent offered Regina his hand and pulled her to her feet; she thanked him and slipped from the room, shaking her head clear as she did so. Dadallent dispassionately glanced down at his ward and withdrew to the far side of the room, observing Blake from a distance as the Phantom snored without a care in the world. He pulled out his sword and began to polish the blade against his scarf, laying the sheath to one side as he did so. The only audible sound was that of the grandfather clock in the back of the room.
Fifty minutes marched by.
Blake stirred, stretched expansively, and landed hard on the carpet after overextending his limbs. "Ow! Oh, man, my aching back ... that's the last time I sleep on a soft surface. What time is it ... five in the morning, blast it ... rise and shine, the early bird gets the worm." Still grumbling good-naturedly to himself, Blake stood up, stretched, and yawned loudly. It was only upon turning around that he caught sight of Dadallent. "Wha -? Don't scare me like that, man! How long have you been here?"
"I am watching you in the goddess' place," Dadallent replied shortly. "She should return at any moment."
"And how long ago did Regina -" Blake was about to question the Chaos Prince further, but at this point he was abruptly interrupted. Something must have triggered a warning in his mind as Blake lunged off the sofa and dove forward, but he was already too late. From above, a brilliant light materialized out of nowhere and beamed down squarely upon him, catching him in midjump. In an instant Blake was pinned in midair and left unable to move as the light swiftly expanded to about his own width. Golden beams shone downwards, illuminating every dust mote in brilliant hues. Before the Phantom's disbelieving eyes, a scroll of paper seemed to materialize upon the ground and unroll itself, revealing an entirely blank parchment. Blake struggled to move without any result; he was still disoriented, everything was occurring so swiftly. "Dadallent! Help!"
The Chaos Prince regarded the struggling Phantom impassively, arms folded across his chest. Dadallent moved not an inch as Blake freed an arm and, with a mighty effort, squirmed forward reaching to him. He came within easy arm's distance for Dadallent, but the shrouded warrior stood as he was. Underneath Blake, the scroll had begun to exert a suction force. He screamed aloud as the light began to inexorably drag him downwards. "Help me, damn you! Dadallent!" Blake's voice echoed back to him in a strange way and he realized to his horror that there was also an invisible sound shield, designed to prevent his voice from reaching anyone else.
"I was asked only to watch you," Dadallent stated coldly. "Fend for yourself."
"You bastard," Blake snarled, "I hope you rot in hell for thi -" The rest of the sentence was lost as he was forcefully pulled right into the paper parchment. Blake's body vanished in an instant as he was pulled into the scroll, trapped in a sheet of flatness. Had any observer been present, he would have seen blood-colored runes materialize on the surface of the scroll and lock the Phantom securely behind themselves. Behind the bloody runes, a two-dimensional image of Blake hammered helplessly at the paper before it abruptly rolled up. Gold thread appeared out of nowhere and bound the scroll tightly, rolling up thrice along the length of the paper to form three separate seals. Then it rose through the air, carried in the column of light, until it vanished at the apex of the glowing curtain.
When the last flicker of divine light had died away, Dadallent silently stalked out of the room.
Author's Notes: It's an update! Go me! Anyway, thanks to the insistence of everybody who's pressed for an update, here's a new chapter - finally. Before reading, let it be known that I really should not have to say this again, but please try to avoid story spoilers when reviewing. You're submitting reviews, after all, not story commentaries. Thanks.
Osaka, Japan
Four days have passed
Kyosuke adjusted his tie as the technicians prepared the cameras. It was stifling hot in the newsroom, as always, but the part he hated most about his job was the makeup. Makeup! In order to appear photogenic, he had to wearing makeup! For the thousandth time Kyosuke wondered why his female friends enjoyed it so much; as far as he was concerned, it was a necessary evil that had to be endured. Behind the camera, a technician flashed a thumbs up at Kyosuke and the student turned reporter pasted a bright, sappy smile onto his face. "Good morning everyone and welcome back to the World Collision tournament. I'm Kyosuke Kagami, reporting live from Osaka Stadium. Before we head over to my colleague on the field, let's have a recap of the latest events.
"In the first battle of the second match set, the Neo Commando Squad bulldozed Project Justice despite valiant resistance from the latter team." On the giant holoprojector, Commando and Ruby Heart countered Edgar and Kikoken's CleanSweep/Brilliance attack with their own Captain Shock/Pare-tonnare combo. "In the second battle of the match set, single entry Ernest McGrath was assassinated by the Master of the Fist, Akuma, but not before giving as good as he got. No footage is available of this battle and the opposing team, Strike Force Phantom, was automatically passed to the quarterfinals. In the third battle, excellent coordination amongst the members of the World Warrior team resulted in a surprisingly easy victory over the Lords of Shadowlaw." Again Ryu, Kirina, and Sagat blasted Bison into space with the Triple Obliterator. "In the final battle of the second match set, Dadallent quickly wore down the American Vigilantes in a repeat of his performance against the Police Investigators." Dadallent avoided Guile's powerful Somersault Strike and piledrove him back into the ground.
"In conclusion, the four entries advancing to the quarterfinals are the Neo Commando Squad, Strike Force Phantom, the World Warrior Team, and Dadallent. Today's match pits the first two, both teams well-qualified, against each other. Let's head over to the field to get the pre-battle commentary by my colleague Jin Saotome, who is currently on the Great Wall of China. Jin, how's the weather in China?"
The holoprojector refocused on a different locale. It was early morning in China; the wall lay wreathed in morning light, stretching in both directions as far as the eye could see. It was long but not particularly wide and made entirely of brick. There were a few clouds wandering overhead but not enough to justify an overcast description; sunlight reflecting off their undersides gave them a beautiful red and orange appearance. Also conspicuous by his absence was Jin himself. The camera panned around, giving the viewers a wonderful look at the great wall, when without warning Jin thrust himself straight into the camera lens and began yelling it down. "Two strong teams are fighting today! Can you the feel the tension, the excitement, the anticipation in the air?!"
Kyosuke slammed his hand down on the mute button. "Erm, anyway, there you have it from the roving correspondent, ladies and gentlemen. Before we go back, let's take a look at how the two teams stack up. On the Neo Commando side, you have three strong team members spread across the board. The squad's theme seems to be balance; three strong fighters, but none of them are so strong as to be able to overshadow the other two and thus cause an overdependence on one fighter. On the opposite side, Strike Force Phantom is also made of three skilled soldiers who have spent years training with each other, thus they know themselves better than any other team. While team captain Samantha is stronger than her teammates, again there is no overbalance of power. I'd say that this is a fairly even match. Let's head over to China and see the action live as it happens."
"Good morning, captain," Samantha greeted courteously as Captain Commando and Ruby Heart appeared on the battlefield.
"And to you, Samantha," Commando answered. What had happened to Samantha McGrath was no secret - one moment she'd been running down the corridor right after speaking with Regina, intent on intercepting Scott Wagner's kidnapper ... the next thing she knew, she was in bed and a whole day had gone by. Blake and Lloyd had found her in her room but nothing they tried could awaken her for a whole day; strangest of all, they told her that she had been hot on the trail of the kidnapper right before her signal was lost. Her Recon Cycle was on the edge of town and a brief inspection of its fuel cells showed that it had not been moved since it had wiped out. Blake, Lloyd, and Commando had all been healed earlier by Regina, but even the goddess could not be quite sure of what had happened to Samantha; all that Regina could tell was that a small part of Samantha's memory had been changed. Figuring out who had done it or what had been altered proved too difficult for Regina, and now Scott Wagner was also amongst the missing. Samantha felt helpless; they all did.
The air blurred again as Strider Hiryu appeared out of thin air; to Samantha's polite nod he gave no reply, instead standing coldly off to the side. Hiryu had become grim and distant ever since Chan vanished; in some ways, he reminded Samantha more and more of Dadallent, albeit without the ever-present threatening aura. His Falchion shone in his right hand and he studied the battlefield with keen eyes that saw everything while revealing nothing.
"He wants to win this fight, you know," Blake Wallis remarked, smoothly sliding up to stand next to his captain.
"As do I," Samantha answered softly.
"Strange, isn't it?" Blake continued. He kicked a pebble out of his way. "Come to think of it, everything we've been through ... all the relief missions to Africa and Asia, Operation Judgment, the War of Ascendancy ... at least, back then we knew exactly what we were up against. And when we were assigned to this operation, I thought it'd just be another routine mission. Instead here we are caught up in some divine chess game without really knowing the rules. Kinda makes you realize, doesn't it ...? Life really is too short to be wasted."
"Blake ... surprising to hear such sentiment from you," Samantha answered, turning to face her teammate.
"You sound a battle-weary veteran, Blake," Lloyd chuckled.
"Don't worry about me, I'm not getting soft," Blake retorted, perhaps a bit faster than was necessary. "Doc McGrath would burst a vein laughing if he could see us now. Let's form up." When his two teammates nodded in agreement, he, Lloyd, and Samantha exchanged the special Phantom handclasp. Blake and Lloyd strode off to the sides of the battleground where Jin had already worked himself into a frenzy. The two veterans both cast a glance at Jin before simultaneously shaking their heads at his antics.
"Strike Force Phantom, name your tactical leader," Jedah ordered.
"Here." Samantha raised a hand.
Jedah noted the entry and turned to the other team. "Neo Commando Squad, name your tactical leader," he ordered.
"That would be me." Captain Commando saluted smartly as Strider, Jedah, and Ruby Heart backed off. He pulled off his scarlet-tinted shades and wiped them off on his sleeve. "Whoever wins this match gets a chance to face Marin in the finals, Samantha. We're both on the same side and they're making us fight each other. One of us will advance, but ... the other won't. And what happens then in the semifinals?"
"Do you truly believe that the Chaos Prince is so strong as to be able to defeat the World Warriors?" Samantha asked.
Commando sighed. "I don't know. And it doesn't matter. Samantha, we're in the middle of a war here. Ryu and Sagat are true warriors - do you really think that they'll care anything about what happens so long as they can get a good fight? And the other contestant, Dadallent ... he knows the danger that we face better than anyone else, but he won't side with us. He doesn't care about what happens to us. No, whatever may happen here - regardless of whether you or I win this match - one of us must win the following one, or else everything that we've worked for - everything - could be lost! We have no real lead on Marin's motive, so let's not wait until it's too late to find out."
"I concur, captain. Shall we proceed?" They shook hands before each assuming their respective fighting stances. The air on the Great Wall was cool and quiet, save for Jin and his ravings on the sidelines. Commando's gloved fingers slowly tightened into a fist as Samantha shifted her weight back onto one heel. Neither contestant spoke; rather, they locked eyes together as each one attempted to read the thoughts of the other.
Begin!
Commando had already moved before the flash of light faded away; in an instant, he had cleared the space between himself and Samantha with a powerful flying kick. Samantha responded with a long sidestep that took her out of the Captain Kick's vector and retaliated with a grounded Full-Moon Kick, sending her booted foot crashing right into Commando's stomach. Commando dropped to the ground with the force of a thrown brick. A striker assist from Ruby Heart prevented Samantha from following up on her advantage, but Lloyd appeared on her call and knocked Ruby Heart back out with a powerful staff swipe.
Commando rolled away as Samantha stood her ground. Both sides simultaneously called for striker assists and this time Lloyd ran straight into a column of water summoned by Ruby Heart; using his teammate's attack to cover his own, Commando fired a stream of flames at Samantha. She dodged but only narrowed down the distance to within kicking range before lashing out with a powerful strike aimed at Commando's chest. Commando blocked the attacked and pushed back; Samantha withdrew her leg and settled into a ready cat stance, on the lookout for another attack. Behind her back, she called Lloyd in with her fingers and a moment later Commando nearly ate the attack as Lloyd came hurtling downwards heelfirst. Commando rolled away and Samantha whiffed an overhead Full-Moon Slam.
"And right from the start the action is hot!" Kyosuke Kagami announced grandly. "Neither Commando nor Keychain are pulling any of their punches! Here comes Lloyd Cunningham with the assist - brilliantly countered by Ruby Heart! Blake Wallis is trying to get in an extra attack - no, wait, he's been knocked out of the arena by the Captain Collider. Strider's pulling his teleport assist ... and Samantha makes him pay for it! Minerva Kick right up his chin! Commando's really pulling out all the stops now, there he goes right for Samantha as she's recovering. Wow, eight hit aerial rave ending with Captain Fire! Jin, can I get your opinion on -"
"This battle is fast and furious!" Jin screamed, thrusting himself right into the camera lenses as he began shouting the crewperson down. "No let up! No mercy! This is what I'm talking about, full blown -!"
He fell silent as a grumbling Kyosuke slapped the mute button, though Jin's contorted face continued to dominate the holoprojector until the crews switched cameras, too. Jin's image blurred out to be replaced by one of Samantha gliding past Ruby Heart to kick Commando firmly in the stomach. A moment later, she cleanly lifted him off the ground and levered him around her body with that one leg, throwing him to the ground on the other side. Commando rolled away and prevented Samantha from chasing him, but he was clutching his sides with one hand when he rose. Lloyd jumped in for a staff swipe but Samantha did not attempt to close the distance. A frown on his face, Commando's eyes narrowed as he studied his opponent. He thought he saw an opening and dashed in with a punch; thus, the shock was considerable when Samantha kicked his arm aside with enough force to numb it. Commando hastily backstepped, which cost him somewhat in balance but saved him from a retaliatory kick.
He tried again three times and all three times Samantha skillfully parried his attacks before striking back, but she declined to chase him down when he retreated, only sending in Lloyd for the occasional follow up attack. Trying to place Samantha between himself and a wall, Commando circled warily to the right. A highly defensive style suited to her body ... she defends against the initial attack, then counterattacks as appropriate. And always intercepting me at her own extreme outer range while keeping me from getting too close to her ... but what if she couldn't do that? With sudden inspiration, Commando called in Ruby Heart for an assist and a later had pulled both of his hands into the air. "Captain ... Sword!"
As expected, Samantha braced for the attack as an enormous pillar of material electricity appeared above Commando's head. Commando grunted under the sheer strain of moving so heavy an object, but he pulled his arms forward as he took a single step and wrenched his arms down. The massive electric beam cracked ominously as it descended with the force of a falling star, slamming down heavily into Samantha and knocking thousands of rock fragments loose from the Great Wall. Samantha staggered under the attack but her guard did not break. Having spent himself, Commando pulled himself upright as Ruby Heart flung an anchor at Samantha. Still in block stun, Samantha had no chance to evade the attack and a moment later was securely wrapped up in chains.
Commando tagged out with his partner while Samantha struggled with the bindings. Lloyd's Sparrow Dagger hit only empty air; Ruby Heart, in the meanwhile, pulled out a small spellbook and began to chant. With a sudden and violent jerk uncharacteristic of her normally meticulous self, Samantha popped a link loose. Lloyd jumped in again and flung a dagger at Ruby Heart, but Strider also appeared and intercepted the attack halfway, knocking the dagger out of the air with his Cypher blade. Samantha loosened another link, but just as she began to pull the chains off Ruby Heart finished the spell and it went into effect.
Right before Samantha's disbelieving eyes, a genuine pirate ship materialized out of thin air straight on a ramming course for her. It was worn and frayed, a reflection of the ship that Ruby Heart had lost in McGrath's battle against Akuma, but its wickedly jagged prow featured an enormous, razor-sharp spearhead nearly as large as Samantha herself. There was no time to dodge or defend; the ship collided into Samantha and she screamed horribly as the blade cut straight through her body. Nor was that all; the gun ports on the ship popped open, revealing tiered banks of cannons. There was a flash of light, then smoke and a roar of thunder before everything vanished and Samantha was blasted cleanly off the prow of the ship, rolling backwards along the length of the Great Wall to collapse at her teammates' feet. Blake and Lloyd instantly bent over their fallen leader, faces creased with concern.
Samantha was still breathing, though she bled like a waterfall from more than two dozens wounds. Lloyd jumped in to take her place in the battle as Blake pulled her to the side; unfortunately, Lloyd came under assault immediately from Ruby Heart supported by Strider. Swearing at the abysmal change in fortune, Blake rushed forward to cover Lloyd and caught Ruby Heart solidly under the chin with his Wolf Rush. Perhaps he might have held back earlier, but infuriated by what had happened to his leader, Blake unleashed his fury and channeled all of his rage into that single attack. But he was appalled nonetheless when Ruby Heart's head snapped back like a flung rag doll's and she went off her feet. Lloyd needed no second opportunity; he broke into a flat run and intercepted Ruby Heart halfway down, breaking out into his rendition of the Mayhem Rampage. The attack finished with a powerful Scissor Kick that knocked Ruby Heart cleanly off the wall.
Gill caught Ruby Heart as she tumbled off the battleground while Strider stepped in. Having done his part, Blake returned to the sidelines to tend to Samantha, only that ... "Wha -! Where'd Samantha go?!" In the place where he and Lloyd had laid their fallen leader, there was only a large pool of rapidly drying blood.
"I am here, Blake."
Blake whirled around and stared; so did Lloyd and even Strider appeared faintly surprised. Samantha tilted her head to one side and directed a curious look at her teammate. Her velvet clothes were still bloodstained, but her skin was once more unbroken and when she strode up to stand by Blake she certainly did not move as though injured. As Samantha passed Blake, he saw the other person who had been hidden behind her. Regina smiled and explained, "She was about to bleed to death. If I had waited any longer, she would have."
"Thanks again, Regina," Blake said, dipping his head. "It seems like you're always pulling us out of - son of a jumping jukebox, Lloyd!" Blake rushed past Samantha and Regina back into the battle, where Strider was mercilessly beating down Lloyd's guard with repeated Cypher slashes. Regina watched him go with a concerned look before smiling to herself and then walking off to deal with Ruby Heart. As Strider prepared another slash, Blake charged and lowered his head. Strider flung his Cypher blade and Lloyd deflected it upwards, both weapons ringing as their metallic surfaces glanced off each other. Having knocked both himself and his opponent off balance, Lloyd stepped back just a little and allowed Blake to rush through the opening. Blake seized Strider around the waist, dropped backwards, and in the next moment introduced Strider to the brick wall facefirst.
Wiping a trickle of blood away from his chin, Strider snarled and gave a two-fingered salute. His Options materialized out of thin air around him, four of them orbiting his body. Lloyd flung a Sparrow Dagger at Strider but it shattered harmlessly off one of the ninja's Options. A moment later Strider vanished into the air and Lloyd instinctively rolled forward, dodging Strider's next attack as the ninja reappeared above him. But Strider caught up in an instant and then began laying into Lloyd; Blake, appearing to assist again, was knocked out of his attack by the Options. "Unbelievable!" Jin screamed ecstatically. "Thirty-five hit combo!"
As the Options dispersed, Captain Commando jumped into the battle and rammed his fist into the ground, producing an enormous pillar of electricity that sent Lloyd flying. The British man landed hard against a wall and slowly staggered to his feet, but Strider was already upon him. One overhead slash appeared as Lloyd frantically blocked; to his shock and disbelief, the Cypher blade landed heavily on his staff and his weapon broke under the attack with a loud ring. Lloyd ducked under the next slash and hastily switched out with Blake.
Without a single pause in motion, Strider ran forward and twisted his body into a spiral, flinging the Cypher blade in front of himself. Blake knocked the weapon downwards by the flat of its blade, then threw a retaliatory hook punch at Strider as he took a step forward. The ninja blocked the attack with one hand but that wasn't quite enough to stop it from smashing into his temples. Snarling, Strider backed up only to see Blake follow, hugging him quite closely with a storm of close-range elbow and knee strikes. It was only after Captain Commando appeared with a Collider assist that Strider was able to secure any breathing room; even so, once the Collider had vanished Blake rushed Strider with a cry of "Game over!"
Teeth gritted, Strider teleported away and landed behind the charging Phantom. Unfortunately, Lloyd had also appeared and Strider gasped more from shock than pain when a pair of Sparrow Daggers shattered off his back. Shrapnel shot through his cloth uniform and Strider instantly began to feel himself bleed. Farther ahead, Commando sent Blake sailing through the air with a Captain Kick. Willing himself to ignore the pain that had begun to throb through his body, Strider met Blake in midair and began to lay into him with a barrage of attacks. Strider struck at his opponent's torso multiple times before finally finishing with his air-dash Excalibur, sending Blake rolling back to the ground. The Phantom landed heavily before bouncing back to his feet, while Strider himself fell into a crouch and shot a baleful glare at the overexcited Jin Saotome before returning his attention to Blake.
Blake charged forward again with a wild swing, but Strider kept him at a distance with controlled thrusts of the Cypher blade. When Blake tried a fancy dodge-roll, Strider simply leapt up and let Commando enter with another deadly Captain Collider. This attack sent Blake reeling, an opening that Strider quickly jumped in to exploit. Blake took the first hit of Strider's attack but blocked the second; a moment later, he tried to turn the tables on the ninja by throwing a vicious spinning kick. Strider blocked the attack, which was exactly what Blake wanted. Using his opponent to stop his movement, Blake skidded to a halt and rushed Strider at point-blank range, intending to tackle him.
And Strider, as it turned out, would have none of that. He ducked and swung his Cypher blade upwards, though his muscles strained with the effort. Caught by the flat of the sword, Blake flew into the air, hard, and Strider leapt after him with his grappling hook in his left hand. The ninja caught up with the Phantom and swung the hook down, snaring Blake under the chin; a moment later, both of them were falling back to the ground. Strider forced his arm down as Blake wrestled with the grappling hook. Just before impact, Blake suddenly unleashed a punch at point-blank range and caught Strider completely by surprise. Strider fell away from Blake but the Phantom crashed heavily into the wall regardless and yelped in pain.
Strider landed more softly, rolling away to dissipate the worst of the impact. He recovered instantly and was upon Blake in a flash, signaling Commando for an assist as well as calling in a mechanical tiger. Strider rushed through the opening that his assists had created, Lloyd's vicious overhead strike whiffing completely on Strider. Left without much of a chance to defend, Blake lay exposed to Strider's powerful combination attacks. "Nine hit ground chain!" Jin Saotome screamed as he danced on the edge of the battlefield.
"Somebody needs to put a leash on that fellow," Captain Commando growled out of the corner of his mouth to Samantha as he cast a jaundiced eye at Jin. Farther to the side, Regina and a recently-healed Ruby Heart sat down together on the stones for a heart-to-heart talk.
Blake staggered upright, wiping away blood from the corner of his mouth. Farther back Lloyd was frantically signaling for Blake to switch with him, but the younger Phantom stubbornly ignored his teammate's signs and instead opted to circle around Strider again. Shaking his head in exasperation - why would Blake simply refuse to fall? - Strider lifted his blade again and ran his fingers down its length. A warning shout from Lloyd caused Blake to refocus on Strider and drop into a defensive stance, but as the first mighty slash of Strider's enormous Masamune attack slid by it sheared cleanly through Blake's crossed arms. The young Phantom's guard broke apart and Strider's next two attacks smashed through Blake, leaving him a bleeding and broken wreckage on the ground, staggering on one arm and both legs.
Strider crossed his arms and brought the Cypher blade level with his face in an odd sort of salute, the blade pointing straight upwards. He broke into a short dash aimed directly at Blake, moving his Cypher blade to the side at the last moment -
And when he did so, Blake retaliated with impossible speed, forcing himself off the ground in the nick of time to intercept Strider's dash. Blake caught Strider by the shoulders and instantly overprioritized the other man. Faster than the eye could track, Blake's fist crashed into Strider with the force of a runaway train and the ninja crumpled to his knees, but the attack had only begun. The Bandit Wolf Slayer's multiple attacks rang out in quick succession like the staccato fire of a machine gun as Blake beat Strider down with his desperate last attack, a powerful energy that he did not entirely understand surging through his veins. There was a sickening crack as Strider's jaw gave way under the last attack and he was sent flying backwards under the weight of the Wolf Slayer's power.
Blake paused only to watch Strider flop to the ground like a beaten rag before he himself collapsed. "And Blake Wallis's Bandit Wolf Slayer results in a double K.O.!" Kyosuke proclaimed. "Ladies and gentlemen, this exciting match is truly coming down to the final blow, with Captain Commando squaring off against Lloyd Cunningham! This is the first team match when the battle comes down to a one-on-one between the last team members! Amazingly enough, it seems like Ruby Heart and Samantha McGrath have both completely recovered while they were off the cameras! Let's go back to the field, shall we?"
Lloyd circled around Commando and flung a dagger which Commando avoided by rolling to the side. It was obvious upon first glance that Commando was much fresher than his Phantom counterpart, and Commando tried to press his advantage by steadily narrowing down the distance between himself and Lloyd. The British man tried to keep him at a distance, but without his staff the best he could attempt were long-range kicks and the occasional dagger. Commando fired off a stream of flames from his glove and Lloyd wrapped himself in his great overcoat, allowing the fire to flow harmlessly off his body. During the delay, however, Commando took the opportunity to roll along the length of the wall and finally close the remaining distance between himself and Lloyd. They traded a dozen blows before Commando landed a stomp on Lloyd's leg, then instantly rammed his glove into the ground and caused a titanic surge of electricity to geyser upwards.
"Lloyd!" Samantha cried.
The British man collapsed against the edge of the wall, but only for a moment before he stirred and picked himself up again. He was wary and on guard now, watchful for sudden movements on Commando's part. Commando, for his part, pressed the attack closer to where Samantha was watching. Lloyd tried to fight more defensively but he was obviously outmatched, nearly spent of his weapons and lacking his combat staff. When Commando threw a spinning kick that hugged the floor, Lloyd attempted his last resort, pulling out his grapple hook and launching it upwards where it snagged a nearby battlement atop a watchtower. He dodged Commando's sweep and in an instant was flying up. Commando reflexively lashed back with a punch as he arose, but of course Lloyd was beyond him at this point. The Phantom righted himself, flipped in midair, and descended downwards as quickly as he could. Lloyd aimed straight for the back of Commando's exposed neck, intending to knock Commando out with the sheer trauma of his blow.
"Captain Collider!"
And the veteran Phantom crumpled to the ground, all the fight beaten out of him. Breathing heavily, Commando stared for a long, tense moment at the foot of the tower where Lloyd had crashed into the brick. Then he slowly dusted himself off with much dignity as he rose to face Samantha. "You Phantoms fought very well. McGrath would have been proud."
"I concede the victory to you, captain," Samantha answered graciously.
Osaka, Japan
Two days have passed
"Get some sleep, Regina," Sagat advised from his formidable seven-foot and counting height.
"I'll be fine, Sagat, at least for another two hours," Regina answered. "But thank you for your concern." The Muay Thai fighter nodded acquiescence and left the lounge, his heavy footsteps causing the ground to vibrate somewhat as he stalked off towards his own room. Samantha had returned to the IDC headquarters located in the Philippines; Lloyd, for his part, had been in a transmission to IDC headquarters when his side of the conversation abruptly broke off. That left Blake as the sole remaining member of the Phantoms and he had exhausted himself staying awake and alert for as long as possible. After Lloyd's disappearance, Regina had volunteered to watch over Blake. There was speculation between Commando and Sagat that Regina did not sleep at all; she certainly seemed to be constantly active.
Blake lay sprawled irreligiously and snoring softly on the couch, having fallen asleep with a book over his face from sheer fatigue. Regina was seated on the edge of the couch and she gently stroked Blake's hair, humming a soothing song. It was late at night and everyone else had already gone to bed, in Ruby Heart's case some three hours earlier. The hotel was deserted save for the late night security guards and the occasional janitor. Regina, who knew every person by name, greeted them silently as they came and went.
One hour passed, then two, as Regina continued to softly sing her restorative song. Any of the normal BEAT patrols might have found the duty dull, but Regina was a goddess, after all. Just as she began to blink and yawn, a familiar and powerful aura neared and Regina half-turned to address the new arrival. "Yes?"
"What is your decision?" Dadallent asked, sliding around the couch to face Regina.
"Decision?" Regina echoed. "I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Do you side with this world, or with your sister goddess?" Dadallent repeated in a low voice, as though explaining an abstract concept to a child. He paused and glanced down at Blake before turning his face to Regina; in spite of the ever-present blindfold, there was always the unnerving sensation that Dadallent saw far more than he should have. To Regina, whose spiritual senses were far more sensitive than her physical ones, Dadallent exuded a threatening aura that fell just short of being outright hostility. It disconcerted her in a way that no human should have been able to. Directly in between them, Blake snored obliviously.
"Actually, Marin and I are half-sisters," Regina answered, dodging Dadallent's question. "We were born of the same mother but sired by different fathers. Still, I'm closer to her than many blood sisters can claim to be. Besides being sisters, we also stand in the relationship of inseparable friends." Regina smiled as she said this last part. She again turned and gently resumed stroking Blake's hair. Dadallent folded his arms wordlessly across his chest while Regina avoided his "gaze." An awkward silence ensued that lasted for some time.
Regina finally yawned again and glanced at the clock in the lounge. "Four in the morning ... Dadallent, would you please watch Blake for me? I'll be back in a hour after I rest."
"Very well, goddess." Dadallent offered Regina his hand and pulled her to her feet; she thanked him and slipped from the room, shaking her head clear as she did so. Dadallent dispassionately glanced down at his ward and withdrew to the far side of the room, observing Blake from a distance as the Phantom snored without a care in the world. He pulled out his sword and began to polish the blade against his scarf, laying the sheath to one side as he did so. The only audible sound was that of the grandfather clock in the back of the room.
Fifty minutes marched by.
Blake stirred, stretched expansively, and landed hard on the carpet after overextending his limbs. "Ow! Oh, man, my aching back ... that's the last time I sleep on a soft surface. What time is it ... five in the morning, blast it ... rise and shine, the early bird gets the worm." Still grumbling good-naturedly to himself, Blake stood up, stretched, and yawned loudly. It was only upon turning around that he caught sight of Dadallent. "Wha -? Don't scare me like that, man! How long have you been here?"
"I am watching you in the goddess' place," Dadallent replied shortly. "She should return at any moment."
"And how long ago did Regina -" Blake was about to question the Chaos Prince further, but at this point he was abruptly interrupted. Something must have triggered a warning in his mind as Blake lunged off the sofa and dove forward, but he was already too late. From above, a brilliant light materialized out of nowhere and beamed down squarely upon him, catching him in midjump. In an instant Blake was pinned in midair and left unable to move as the light swiftly expanded to about his own width. Golden beams shone downwards, illuminating every dust mote in brilliant hues. Before the Phantom's disbelieving eyes, a scroll of paper seemed to materialize upon the ground and unroll itself, revealing an entirely blank parchment. Blake struggled to move without any result; he was still disoriented, everything was occurring so swiftly. "Dadallent! Help!"
The Chaos Prince regarded the struggling Phantom impassively, arms folded across his chest. Dadallent moved not an inch as Blake freed an arm and, with a mighty effort, squirmed forward reaching to him. He came within easy arm's distance for Dadallent, but the shrouded warrior stood as he was. Underneath Blake, the scroll had begun to exert a suction force. He screamed aloud as the light began to inexorably drag him downwards. "Help me, damn you! Dadallent!" Blake's voice echoed back to him in a strange way and he realized to his horror that there was also an invisible sound shield, designed to prevent his voice from reaching anyone else.
"I was asked only to watch you," Dadallent stated coldly. "Fend for yourself."
"You bastard," Blake snarled, "I hope you rot in hell for thi -" The rest of the sentence was lost as he was forcefully pulled right into the paper parchment. Blake's body vanished in an instant as he was pulled into the scroll, trapped in a sheet of flatness. Had any observer been present, he would have seen blood-colored runes materialize on the surface of the scroll and lock the Phantom securely behind themselves. Behind the bloody runes, a two-dimensional image of Blake hammered helplessly at the paper before it abruptly rolled up. Gold thread appeared out of nowhere and bound the scroll tightly, rolling up thrice along the length of the paper to form three separate seals. Then it rose through the air, carried in the column of light, until it vanished at the apex of the glowing curtain.
When the last flicker of divine light had died away, Dadallent silently stalked out of the room.