The posters showed a picture of a magnificent woman holding a rose against her cheek. Her blonde hair was tied back, leaving only her bangs to frame her delicate face. Her aquamarine eyes were half-closed, and her lips, the same color as the rose, were slightly parted. Lettering at the bottom read:
Helena Douglas performs Carmina Burana.
Paris Opera House, December 16th.
Curtain at 8:00 p.m.
Leon stared at the poster in disbelief. Helena Douglas! He'd met her in the Dead or Alive tournament. He'd known she was famous, and he'd noticed that she was beautiful, but this… This was different. Zack, noticing Leon's awe, elbowed him and smirked.
"Hey… Ol' Leon's got hisself a lady, huh? Here I was thinkin' you was gay, or somethin'." Leon decided to ignore Zack's remark, and focused instead on the phone number at the bottom of the poster.
"I just like the opera," was the mercenary's muttered reply. Zack rolled his eyes.
"Uh huh. And I just watch women's wrestling for the commercials."
"I sure hope so. I don't wrestle any more, y'know." Tina came up behind Zack and wrapped her arms around him, smiling mischievously.
"So, Leon, you gonna reunite with an old friend?" Leon shrugged nonchalantly.
"Maybe." Zack broke free of Tina's grasp and hovered over Leon's shoulder.
"Ya know, Leon, there is no 'maybe.' There's only 'yes' or 'no.' So says Master Yoda. Ain't you seen Star Wars?" Tina sighed and slapped Zack on the back of the head.
"You idiot! It's 'there is no try. Only do, or do not.' What in the hell's wrong with you?" Leon nodded.
"That is a good philosophy." Tina smiled and winked. She hadn't played matchmaker in forever.
The mischievous glint in her eye didn't waver as she inquired innocently, "So you'll do it?" Leon's eyes narrowed.
"I never said that." Tina laughed.
"Oh honey! You never said it out loud! But don' worry sugar, I know exactly what you mean!" She pointed to a sign reading
Pierre's Formal Wear For Men and winked again.
"Now let's get you suited up!"
Helena smoothed her hair and smiled graciously.
"The dress is wonderful, merci. And the jewels are lovely as well." Her agent, an intelligent woman named Angeline, replied with an enthusiastic grin.
"I knew you'd like it." Helena glanced down again to examine the gown she was wearing for that evening's performance. It was made of gorgeous red satin, with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a simple neckline. It clung delicately to her curves, while flowing long and loose around her legs. The look was completed with a pair of elbow-length gloves, the same shade of red as the dress, and a $1.2 million dollar diamond and ruby choker. Angeline left Helena by the mirror to discuss security arrangements with a local detective. Even though they were across the room, Helena could still make out bits and pieces of the conversation.
"… anniversary… Fame Douglas… murder… sure it's safe?"
"… nothing to worry about… top-notch… guards everywhere… it'd take an army…" Helena smiled bitterly.
Let them come, she thought.
Anyone who tries to kill me is in for a surprise.
Helena bowed, bending gracefully at the waist, as a round of applause greeted the rising of the curtain. Leon hidden a few rows back, couldn't help but admire her beauty. She was like one of the Roman goddesses of old, Juno or Venus. Yes, he decided.
Venus. It was then that Helena began to sing.
Helena was world famous for a reason. She had a lovely soprano voice with an impressive range, and her voice tone and pitch were always flawless. Her dynamics and facial expressions could leave an audience in rapture or in tears, depending upon the nature of the song. Helena allowed herself to become absorbed, enveloped by sound. She floated somewhere in some heaven where music was everywhere, as the sound continued to pour out of her. It was a trance, one so total and complete that only the arrival of unexpected guests could pull her from it.
Helena snapped out of her daze as several women in the audience screamed, and a dozen masked assassins leaped onto the stage.
Her fighting instincts kicked into high gear as one assassin unsheathed a katana and lunged at her, screaming, "Die!" The opera star nimbly sidestepped, then grabbed her attacker by the back of the neck, using their own momentum to send them sprawling across the floor. She used her own inertia to carry her into the next assassin, landing quick but heavy blows on their back as she whirled past. Helena gasped as a blade grazed her thigh, tearing the dress and leaving a gash in her leg. The blonde's eyes narrowed as the man who'd cut her aimed a solid kick at her stomach. She caught his ankle and pulled him closer, then grabbed the other ankle and twisted, letting him spin in the air for a moment before crashing into the floor. An elbow was jammed into Helena's kidney, sending her stumbling forward, as another assassin grabbed her by the throat. Helena gasped for air as her windpipe was crushed, while the figure holding her laughed in a decidedly feminine manner, then rested a katana against the singer's throat.
"I've been waiting to do this…" The grip on her throat was broken and Helena was thrown back as a man from the audience body slammed the girl holding her. Helena rubbed her throat, then looked wonderingly up at her savior. He was tall and broad of shoulder, with white hair that had been neatly groomed and piercing blue eyes. His skin was a dark tan, and he wore a crisp, black tuxedo. But it was the gaudy watch on his wrist that gave his identity away.
"Monsieur Leon?!" The mercenary smirked down at Helena and offered his hand to help her up.
"It's a good thing I came to see your show, yes?" Helena nodded wordlessly and gripped his hand, climbing to her feet. Leon nodded curtly, then turned so that they were back to back.
"There are eight left. I take five, you may have the remaining three." Helena, feeling her second wind, smirked.
"I shall take as many as I like, thank you." Leon cracked his knuckles, looking very much like his old self.
"Not if I get them first." One of the assassins took his challenge and charged. Leon caught the outstretched fist and let the fool continue past him, then twisted his arm behind his back and yanked upward. When the man's wrist touched the back of his head, Leon reached down and grabbed his leg, then stepped on it, taking a moment to appreciate the crunching of bones before dropping his wailing victim. Behind him, Helena had just swung an opponent past her then delivered a kick to the back of his knee, making his leg crumple underneath him and dumping him on the floor. Leon's next victory was also pathetically easy, as he caught a kick at his midsection and folded it back towards the body of its owner, until it was bent at a very odd angle. Leon dusted his hands off, then backhanded an attacker that had tried to creep up behind him. The masked figure slammed into the brick wall at the back of the stage, then didn't move.
"Hyaa!" Leon's eyes widened as a flying kick landed square in the center of his back. He fell forward, then collapsed to the floor as a second kick smashed him in the back of the head. He groaned and rolled over, only to see the girl who'd nearly sliced Helena's throat standing over him. A kunai knife was clutched in her hand, and she was panting heavily.
"Nobody… hits me… and gets away… with it…" Leon smirked weakly, and the girl growled in response, before kicking him in the stomach… HARD. The vaulted ceiling of the opera house, so far above, began spinning as the girl knelt down, with one knee on Leon's chest, and pressed the knife against his jugular.
"Our mission was to eliminate Helena… I never thought I'd find TWO of the traitor's friends in the same place, though…" Leon's head spun as he watched Helena stumble backwards, clutching a long gash on her abdomen. Two more assassins grabbed her and forced her to her knees, then grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. As the battered singer groaned in pain, Rolande's words echoed in his head.
"The man Rolande loved… is the strongest man… in the world..."
No, Leon thought.
Not again. As the girl on top of him raised her knife, Leon suddenly pushed off the floor with one arm, using all his strength to roll over and pin the girl underneath him. A hard punch to her nose assured Leon that she wouldn't bother him again. As the mercenary turned around, he saw that one of the people holding Helena had drawn a gun and was pressing it against her temple.
"Take one more step and I blow this whore's brains out!" Leon stared down the assassin, his expression totally blank.
"You will not kill her. You have nowhere to run. Without a hostage, you cannot leave." The masked figure laughed with a deep voice, which identified him as male.
"Leave? I don not plan on leaving. I plan on finding out where the runaway kunoichi is hiding, sending the information to the clan leader, and dying an honorable death. Of course," he added, prodding Helena with the gun, "this one will be dying with me." Leon frowned.
"Runaway kunoichi?" He nodded as he figured it out.
"You mean Kasumi, of the Mugen Tenshin clan, no?"
"That is correct," the ninja replied.
"Do you know of her whereabouts?" Leon sneered.
"Even if I did, why would I tell a lowlife assassin such as you?" The ninja looked unfazed.
"Very well then. Since neither of you will be of any help…" Leon lunged forward, catching the ninja by surprise. He instinctively pointed the gun at the charging mercenary, and was about to pull the trigger, when there was a flash of blue and silver, and the ninja's hand, still holding the gun, flopped to the ground. Leon ignored the spray of blood that struck him and simply body slammed the man, sending him flying offstage. His companion released his grip on Helena and let her drop to the floor, only to have Leon grab him by the back of the neck and smash his knee into his face. Leon looked around and saw the other four assassins closing in. He smirked and crouched into his fighting stance.
"Come on…" The ninjas moved closer still, and Leon was about to swing, when yet another person entered the fray.
"Hyaaaaaaaaaa!!!" Zack, in a white tuxedo and with a neon green bowtie, stuck one of the ninjas with a flying kick, sending his target sailing into a second assassin. Tina, in a semi-modest, pink dress, grabbed one of the remaining ninjas from behind and threw them to the floor, then fell on top and drove her elbow into her victim's kidney. Leon grabbed the last one and smashed their heads together, smirking.
"And that is the last of them…"
"Unhh…" Leon whirled around to find the girl from before staggering to her feet.
"You just don't give up, do you?" The girl shook her head, as if to clear it, then looked around at the three fighters surrounding her.
"Uh oh!" Zack charged, raising his fist.
"You got that right!" Just as he reached her, the girl sidestepped and spun around, kicking Zack between the shoulder blades as she did so. The girl dusted her hands off and snickered.
"Heh. Idiot." Tina's face darkened.
"Hey now! Don't you be callin' him names!" The wrestler charged right into the enemy kunoichi's trap, as the mysterious girl crouched momentarily before back flipping, kicking Tina in the chin as she did so. The girl landed on Tina's back and ground her heels into the blonde's spine before hopping off. Leon's eyes narrowed. This style… he'd seen it before… The two stared each other down for a few seconds, before the girl suddenly darted past him. Leon instinctively reached out and managed to grab her mask, but the kunoichi pulled away. The mask came off, revealing short, lilac hair, red eyes narrowed in anger, and delicate facial features twisted into a sneer.
"You," Leon growled. Ayane glared at him, then folded her arms and smirked.
"Yeah, it's me. Nice to see you again, Leon." The mercenary clenched his fist.
"Why are you here? Why did you attack Helena?" Ayane raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you so upset? You didn't have to get involved, you know?" Leon ground his teeth.
"Answer my question!" Ayane smirked.
"Oh, getting mad, are we? Well, if you really wanna know… I came here to find out where Kasumi is, and to neutralize anyone that might be helping her."
"That's a lie!" A small, lithe figure, clad in blue and white, dropped from the rigging above the stage and landed in front of Leon.
"You knew I was somewhere in Paris! You were just using Helena as bait to draw me out!" Kasumi drew her blade and glared at Ayane.
"You knew that I wouldn't go anywhere near her unless I had to." Ayane raised her arms, smirking.
"And it worked. Hayate will be so pleased." Kasumi charged, moving faster than she ever had before. Ayane ducked a number of swipes, then tried to sweep Kasumi's legs out from under her. Kasumi leapt over the kick, then retaliated with one of her own. Ayane clutched her nose and stumbled back for a moment, then gritted her teeth and sprinted away.
"I'll take care of you some other time!" She stopped at the top of the stairs and pointed at Helena.
"Just remember, Miss Douglas: To be the friend of a runaway is to be the enemy of the entire Mugen Tenshin clan! You'll be joining your mother soon enough!" As her arch-nemesis disappeared, Kasumi sheathed her blade, then collapsed wearily to her knees. Leon walked closer, but Kasumi held her hand up.
"I'll be fine. Get Helena to a hospital." Leon nodded, then walked back to the stage and gently scooped up the wounded opera star. Helena's eyes focused on him for a moment, but she'd lost too much blood to stay conscious. The last thing she saw before her head fell back was Leon, his face splattered with blood, looking down at her.