Go for Broke

By RichieD.

(A/N: Hello, thought I was dead didn't you? Thought I had given up on this story, didn't ya? Well you be…almost right. Had a huge writer's block coupled with the crashing of my computer. So I kinda put this story out of my mind for a little while, least until my comp was fixed and my mind got back into the groove of writing (been drawing half the time trying to kick start a new comic). But anyway, I've been able to scrooge up some re-interest thanks to recently being on a fighting game binge. So let continue where we left off with Team Infamous about to face Team All Stars (a.k.a Sports Team a.k.a Team U.S.A). Disclaimer: King of Fighters not mine (except for the 99 and eventually 02/03 games), belongs to SNK Playmores' which are jerks for keeping us waiting on the next KOF game. I want more Tales of Ash, dammit! Ahem, professional curiosity, professional curiosity. Anyway on with the story.)

P.S: Forgive me if Brian's attacks seem a little vague or messed up, I couldn't find a descriptive move list for him. So he won't be used much here. Sorry to any fans of Brian Battler.

A piece of paper

Just a single piece of paper

Neatly folded and set inside another piece of paper

Only this outer paper had a unanimous red seal on the back with three large initials printed in red ink.

K.O.F

This particular letter sat in the middle on a coffee table

Of which three individuals sat around it in the middle of a living room.

Staring at it as if it was a foreign object.

Looked interesting but the onlookers were unsure of what to make of it.

It had been awhile since the three figures had come here and started complementing on that little pieces of paper. Sometimes, one of them starting to suggest something but stopped and resumed watching the paper, most of the times just staring at it or occasionally the other occupants in the room.

Finally what seemed like hours, one of them spoke to ask an all important question.


Earlier….

"The Sports team?"

"Wow, I haven't seen them since…"

"I thought they gave up when they got their asses whooped."

"Like the new looks."

"I thought they looked familiar."

"Alright long time no see."

C'MON LUCKY!"

"LET SEE THAT FAMOUS LEFT HOOK D-MAN!"

Like a rolling storm, many of South Town's residents started cheering for a long forgotten team. Eventually chanting their names in much greater numbers then that for Team Infamous. And the All Star, in response, appreciated it with pumps in the air and waves to the crowd.

"Kinda brings back memories, huh guys?" Said a lanky looking African American figure doled out in a yellow and purple jersey, with matching shorts and cap along with sneakers to complete the ensemble.

"Your not kidding Lucky, its been too long since we've had any appreciation." A bulky figure to his left answered with a wide grin while showing off his muscles, wearing a blue shirt that seem to be bulging underneath with a strap that held a overly large pad on his right shoulder along with the occasional blue jeans.

"Well can you blame them Brian, its been, what? Nine years since we were last seen in a fighting ring. You can't exactly make fans when they don't know your alive." This quip came from a the figure with blue jumpsuit with white and red strips going down in shoulders that was opened to reveal his impressive build. Below was the same thing only with shorts and boots. Unlike the others he simply gave a wave to the crowd a bit more unenthusiastically. "Still though it nice to hear it again. And if we play our cards right, we'll be hearing more of it in the big leagues."

"And I'll be one step closer to finding that wanna-be goth who attacked is." He though grimly

Indeed that was the main reason for the trio's prolonged hiatus. He could still remember it vividly, in an ally way with his teammates holding out the invitation to the '95 KOF and all three agreeing on trying their luck again that year. However that was until he appeared behind them in all his gloomy glory. He could feel the dark man gaze as he calmly ask the three to hand over their invitation, that they were weak, inferior, out of the tournament's league. Of course, the three refused and were ready to prove him wrong on those statements.

Unfourtanlely, that was the last thing he remembered before waking up in a nearby hospital with serious burn wounds and broken bones, Lucky and Brian not much better. It would take three years to recover before they would be up to the strength of fighting again. Around that point, KOF had gone underground and along with it the trio chance at the big time. Lucky didn't mind it as he was able to focus on basketball again, Brian handled his time roughing up punks in bars and dives, but Heavy. No, there was no rest until he could redeem himself from that disrespectful display. Training and training, pushing himself harder and pooling his resources to find their attacker, but Heavy was always one step behind him before he could confront the man. For the next few years, it went on like this. Train and search, search and train etc…

Then the Zero Cannon reduced South Town to rubble.

Luckily he, Lucky (ed-no pun intended) and Brian were away from the city around that point and met up in the Cit-Burbs one year later.

So now here they were, fighting in this little show of a tournament just for old time sake and possibly a chance to get back in the game.

On the other side of the ring, the other trio of fighters was checking out the competition as they reveled in their comeback.

"Hmm, so these are the last folks we have to beat huh? Don't look like much of a problem to me." Case said with a grin.

Shorty frowned at him "Thats what Demo, Axel, and Iggy thought, and that's how your gonna end up if you don't lose the cockiness."

"Cockiness?" Case said with an eyebrow raised "Methinks someone needs to hit the dictionary more then the bullies, girl. Your English is slipping."

A sharp pain shot through Case's shoulder as Shorty gave it a rough nudge "What was that partner?"

Rich just shook his head watching the display "And I thought me and Case were bad together. Seeing you two bicker makes us look like the Honeymooners."

Blank stares from both his teammates

"Uh, you know…old TV show…. main inspiration for the Flintstones…um…never mind. Focus on the fight." Rich sighed adding in with a muttered "No one watches the oldies anymore."

The announcer then called for both team leaders to come to the middle and pick their fight order. Just as Shorty was about to announce her decision, someone came running into the ring.

"STOP! STOP THE FIGHT! I JUST GOT NEWS FROM THE OFFICIALS." A young man yelled as he ran up to the announcer causing a few surprised looks from both the audience and the fighters.

Both the suited pair whispered back and forth, the announcer jerking back at something said in the conversation. The young man nodded then gave the guy a slip of paper before retuning back in the crowd. Leaving the announcer to check then double checking the paper, a small grin appearing on his face while doing so. "All right then." He said before raising his voice to the crowd.

"Sorry for the wait, ladies and gentlemen but we just received some news that am sure your going to love. Throughout this whole event, we've been using the elimination process to determine the winner. We'll now, according to our officials, the final match will not use this system. Instead rather a new style dubbed the Mulit-Shift!"

"Multi-Shift?" Both teams questioned at once while some in the audience were thinking the same thing.

"Yes, this new system begins as normal with the selection of the team order. However, and this the good part, instead of a fighter stepping in after one of their teammates are KO'd. The teammates can now CALL IN THEIR PARTNERS ANYTIME DURING THE FIGHT TO TAKE OVER!"

Most of the crowd that had got it was now starting to mutter in an excited tone but Rich made sure to confirm for those still in the dark "Wait, wait. You mean this is now a… tag team match?"

"YATZEE!" the announcer yelled with too much enthusiasm needed for Rich's taste, though the crowd joined in helping him.

"The usual rules apply, once one team members are KO's, the next team member in the order takes over from him/her. Once all three team members are knocked out, they are out of the tournament. And those that are left standing will be the champions of the 1st Annual Cit-Burb Tournament! So will both leaders please select your order."

Shorty cast a nervous glance at her teammates who only shrugged in respond after this sudden news. For once during that night she was starting to feel very unsure of herself. Nevertheless she picked the team order with her going first, Case in second and Rich bringing up the rear. After which she quickly turn to her teammates "Quick huddle." She blurted pushing the two into their corner of the ring before they could react.

"Oooookay, I know we've been practicing for this tournament for weeks. But with these new rules in place…am pretty sure were screwed." Shorty said very quickly.

"What do ya mean, it just tag teaming." said Case "Whats to know? If anything it makes this contest a lot easier, that is if somebody doesn't leave me hanging."

Rich noticed the glare the shorter member of the three was giving him "Oh please boy. I may not like you, but am not going to be the cause of our lost. YOU can do that on your own."

Shorty shook her head, "This is what worries me. Our moves may have gotten better, but our teamwork is still the gutter. C'mon guys, we've come this far, if theirs ever a moment you rivalry needs to take the backseat its now."

"Hey be cool girl." Rich chuckled "Like you said, are we or are we not in the finals? You think we wanna mess up after all this?"

"Yeah, I can always use Mr. Magician over here for a punch bag anytime." Case added though he failed to notice Rich's grip on his umbrella tighten "But for right now its time to go to work. Thing is…are you ready?"

Seeing that the boys were being fully serious on the matter, Shorty's bravo returned in full force "Ready or not, someone kissing the ground in this." A slight smile spread across her mouth before she continued "Am just going to make damn sure its not me."

"Will both leaders please take their position. The match is about to begin." The announcer barked after seeing the one-minute preparation period was over.

"Be ready guys, am holding you to your word. You know what happens if you go back on it and how quick a healer I am." Shorty said sternly, pointing a finger at them like a schoolteacher as she headed toward the ring and thus ending their conversation.

Though as she headed toward the center, a comforting thought came over her "Did I pick a great pair of partners or what?"


"Heh heh, it going to be good to hear the snap of bones again." Brian said as he climbed his way into the ring, the winner of a rock, paper, scissor, contest on who goes first before Heavy gave the team order.

"Brian" Heavy said in a accusing tone "We came here to win not incapacitate, just knock em out. Nothing more."

Brian groaned, "Aw, you were always no fun Heavy, even after all these years. Can't just I break one little bone? Something that could only take about a week to heal, ya know? "

Heavy steely gaze gave the former football star his answer.

"Fine, we'll play it your way" Brian said with a roll of his eyes as he headed for the center, however the lingering grin under his face was a saying other wise.

Both Shorty and Brian took their positions, each sizing each other up along with the knowledge of watching their previous matches.

Of course the latter was quick to show his arrogance "I'll try not to wreak your perfect fame too much, doll."

Shorty responded with a snark all her own. " Dude, I quit trying to be perfect a long time again. So c'mon! LETS ROCK THE CASBAH!"

If Brian's grin got any wider from that statement, his mouth would've dropped off his face.

Seeing the two fired up, the announcer raised his hands "Lets get this party started, ROUND ONE AND ONLY, FIGHT!"

Brian couldn't explode from the ground fast enough as he ran at a full charge

Over in the All Stars corner, Heavy shook his head at his teammates starting tactic "Typical, always rushing in before he knows what he getting into. Man hasn't changed a bit."

Lucky chuckled at this "So true, but you seem to forget one thing about him…."

"YAAAAAAHHHH!" Brian yelled as he threw forward a strong punch toward his opponent's face, who at the moment had yet to move.

At least till the fist hit empty air

And was returned in kind by the female assailant from his left (the opposite of Brian's fist) with a sound heard "SMACK".

"First dibs on me." Shorty quipped but then noticed Brian was still managing to grin through his scrunched up façade.

"…His stubborn resistance to pain" Lucky finished with a smirk noting their opponent's surprised expression.

"Hehehe, if this is your best then theres a looooooong way to go before you put me down sister. You gonna have to do better then that!"

Shorty took the comment in with a blank face for a second before shrugging then simply saying "Okay"

With that she dropped, swinging her left leg in mid fall and struck Brian right in his gut before she hit the ground completely.

She then spun in a break dance maneuver, once again swinging her legs. Catching Brian off his feet and onto the mat himself. Finally she jumped to her feet then raised and brought her leg down in an ax kick toward Brian's direction. Luckily for him he recovered in time to roll out of the way and get to his feet.

Only to find himself back on the defensive as Shorty let loose with a flurry of punches, most of them hitting Brian's guard though a few managed to tag his face again. It was here Brian realized that her punches were actually starting to get stronger from her first effort. He was starting to regret goading her on.

Then again, he was no pushover either.

After what seemed like forever, Shorty managed to knock him back. Rearing up to hit Brian with an uppercut.

"ROCKET TACKLE!"

Only to find herself on the receiving end of an attack.

She managed to dodge to her side though the attack did clip her. As she recovered from the hit, Brian grabbed her from behind, jumped into the air, then threw her downward toward the mat. It looked to the audience as though he was going to slam right into her in a body.

At least till he yelled "BRIAN HAMMER!"

His fall quickly increasing in speed as if he were a comet, least till he made contact with his target and they both hit the mat. Almost bringing the ring down on itself.

Rich and Case winched at the sight of the move's impact, feverly hoping that their leader hadn't been knocked out so early in the fight.

Brian removed himself from Shorty's unmoving body. A chuckle escaping his lips as he moved to lift the girl up and check if she was still in the waking world…to which he would resolve by slamming her into the ground.

Halfway to her collar, Shorty's arms sprang to life and grabbed his own.

"Not bad, am going to have to remember that one. By the way you really need to keep your lower region guarded"

She kicked both her legs forward, intending on nailing him in the gut. Only she went a little "further South" so to speak, made worse when the girl rolled backward still holding on and lifting him up into the air. Shorty then pulled back her legs and kicked Brian upward…in the same spot I might add.

The crowd couldn't help give a sympathetic "oohh" for that one.

But it wasn't over yet, Shorty got to her feet then crouched down "One…Two…Three…" she counted as she watch Brian descended back to Earth.

"THERE, ARROW MISSLIE!" Then sprung into the air, her arms to her side but her head pointed upward in an airborne head butt.

Both forms connected, only it was Brian who took the brunt of the damage once again sending him flying.

Shorty landed and copied her last position then jumped back at her opponent, intend on a repeat performance

"BRIAN'S DOUBLE HAMMER!"

Only to almost get caught in same attack that nearly took her out, only with twice the power. Shorty instantly threw up her guard as the attack hit her. It almost broke through but she managed to keep it up. Hitting the ground, however, was when the force started to take its toll on her body, forcing the girl to roll out of the way.

But Brian didn't let up with strong punches coming in from all directions. Shorty took each hit as they came managing to counter attack with her own. But her retaliation was more misses then hits made possible with the staggering in her fighting stance from her last attack.

"Ugh!" She cried out as Brian really walloped her with a left hook forcing her backwards, to which Brian saw the perfect opportunity for

"BUSTER TOMAHAWK"

However, Shorty wasn't in dreamland yet.

"PHOENIX SHOTGUN!"

Her own surge of energy blasted through his attack, knocking Brian to the ground.

"Time to test these new rules." She thought to herself as she used the precious time to pull herself out"Case, its your show buddy! TAKE OVER!"

Case was all too happy to oblige as he practically flew into the ring, running full steam toward the recovering football fighter.

"BRIAN, LOOK OUT!" Lucky called to his teammate but it was a second too late before he heard the warning.

"RUSH CRAVER!"

In a blink of an eye, Case whizzed past Brian, distorting his senses while Case adjusted his gloves then came back at Brian with a combo.

The crowd was going nuts around this point as, ever since his opening against Team Pre-Heroes, the move was becoming a crowd pleaser to the fullest extend.

At least until he was promptly thrown on his face as Brian managed to grab him and slam him into the mat before the last blow.

Followed by a DDT, a chokehold, Tiger Driver and finally a common pile drive.

Yet none seem to be have be having any truly devastating effects to gain the upper hand. In fact Case was bouncing back faster and enjoying himself with each blow that connected on him.

"C'mon, macho halfback," Case chided while ducking a swing "With all those muscles you got on you, you can't hit harder then that! My partner Rich fights better then you and he the weakest link to ever be on a team.". He then laughed like an idiot as Brian feeble attempts to hit him started to come up short due to Case's stature that gave him better speed. All the while with Brian growing more frustrated and this, as you might have guessed, was affecting his performance.

This didn't go unnoticed to his teammates "Ugh, idiot getting his can kicked." Heavy groaned, "I told him not to let insults get to him, I told him to fight with his head and fists. But does he listen? It's the freaken fight with the Girls team all over again!" Lucky gave a sympathetic nod "Well you know him, he was never one to take advice, beside the madder he gets. The harder his attacks become…"

"Only if he can hit him" Heavy interrupted watching as Brian missed another attack "Otherwise… gah! BRIAN TAG ME IN MAN! YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH, SAVE YOUR STRENGTH FOR LATER!"

But Brian wouldn't have it as he brought both fists down on Case to which the former blocked. "NO…I CAN…. FINISH…THIS PIPSQUEAK!" He said between heavy breaths, obviously his words betraying his real plight of his body beginning to tire out. "Just got to finish this in two moves."

Meanwhile his opponent pushed him back following it up with a connected jump kick. "Man, this is too easy. Shorty barely made a scratch on you and your limping around like a rag doll already. Pfft, and I was hoping for something worthwhile in the final match." Case scoffed while taking a little time out, then something clicked in his brain and he gave Brian a vicious glare "Oh by the way…" Case dashed forward, looking for a full on assault.

Brian smiled, as it was just what he as hoping for. Moving toward Case at equal speed, ready to meet him in the center of the ring.

No doubt about it, a full on collision was imminent and it was about to get interesting.

"RAAAGGGH!" Case yelled as he jumped forward into a flip intend on coming around with an overhead kick.

Shame he never made it all the way.

"HYPER TACKLE"

The next thing the audience knew Brian was on the other end of the ring, and Case was just coming down from a brief visit with the heavens. Judging by how hard he hit the mat, they seemed pissed.

But like earlier in the fight, Case seem to get up from it unscathed albeit a little slower though usual, and he begin to get back into his stance. However a bright light caught his attention. Looking up at Brian he noticed that his opponent was glowing and a wicked smiled was aim at his direction. "What the fudge?"

"Let see if you can stand up from this, short stack! SDM ATTACK: AMERICAN SUPERNOV…"

SMACK!

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream that was intended for Case as the Super Desperation Attack hit him was now coming out of the mouth of Brian Battler. Who was at the moment very wide eye and in tons of pains thanks to no small part of Case landing his foot on the back of Brian's neck in a more successful launch of his last attack while Brian was charging (whew, say THAT three times fast.).

"As I was saying before you interrupted me, NO ONE CALLS ME PIPSQUEAK!"

And with that Case finished it with a downward punch then an uppercut that put Brian to bed.


Seeing that Brian wasn't getting up, the announcer raised his hand to signify it "DOWN!" and the stagehands rushed in to get him out of the way as quickly as possible.

"Figures." The remaining two All-Stars muttered together before Heavy yelled, "Time to really show how it's done!" and he took his turn with no delay. "Be ready for it, Lucky!"


"And the second victim arr-WHAM-rrrgggghhhhh!" Heavy didn't waste no time laying into Case with fast lefts and rights that he was known for, never giving the boy an inch for counterattacking. Unfortunately for Case that was just the beginning.

"ROLLING SOUL DRIVER!" In yet another "in the blink of an eye" moment, Heavy slid forward with his fist gathering energy all the while and stuck him with a straight punch, knocking Case back into the ropes and ricocheting him right into "BLAST UPPER!"

Good thing for the melee fighter he managed to drop under the attack mainly banging his head on Heavy's elbow. However the pain that inflicted from the blows weren't going away as quickly as Brians'. Needless to say, he was in trouble.

Of course him being Case "Try this, Wraith of Concrete!" punching the floor and unleashing a turret of the ground at his opponent.

Heavy shielded the best he could against the onslaught, getting lost in the dust as more of it kicked up around him.

Case stood his ground, cautiously waiting to see what his opponent would pull next. When nothing seemed to happen within the minute, he started to move forward slowly.

"CYCLONE BREAK!" Streaks of blue shot out from the cloud and drived themselves right into Case's form before depositing him on the ground in a heap of a mess.

Lucky gave a smirk at Heavy for the successful switch. They really weren't expecting a dust cloud for cover, opting to hit Case during the thrones in one of his combos. But hey whatever works in your favor, and Lucky was about to take full advantage of it.

"OooOOooh, dammit!" Case groaned pretty much sore all over now "Why didn't I see that coming? It's the oldest trick in the book. Heck, I use every now and then. So I should know it in and out by now!" But his train of thought was interrupted as his new foe approached him with some very swift combos.

Case duck under a few, block two, then dash forward to avoid the rest, hoping to get a quick shot at Lucky's backside.

POW

Sadly Lucky was much quicker on the draw which he proved by smacking Case in his face sending him to the mat.

"Now for the finish, DEATH DUNK" A ball of energy formed out of the palm of Lucky's hand and was soon launch toward the downed fighter, alot to quick for his liking I might add.

Pretty much out of it now, Case did the only thing he knew he was going to hate himself for in the morning.

"RICH, GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE!"

"GALE ROAR!"

A blast of wind knocked the energy fueled basketball off course and into the already abused mat beside Case. Rich followed the attack soon afterward, his umbrella already drawn and at the ready. "Was wondering when your arrogance was going to go into relapse." Rich joked. It was a bad timing on Rich's part, he knew, but it was too tempting to pass up as he rarely saw Case in the position of asking for help.

Case didn't even bother to glare at him as he limped toward his team's corner "Don't wanna hear it Rich! Just take care of this chump!"

Rich responded with a simple nod then faced Lucky, giving him a quick size up before rearing back his weapon for a quick magic blast.

As Rich did so, he felt the tip of umbrella suddenly hit something. At first a surprised expression came over his features as he begin to turn around, but recognition hit and he grimaced before fully looking behind him.

There laid out on the floor, with a hug goose egg bump on his head was Case. Spiral eyes dotting his face and his mouth hung wide open in a stupor.

Lucky…………..

Heavy D …………..

The audience that was in a frenzy watching the match a minute ago …………..

"Um………………………………………………………………………………………………………Oops." Rich muttered sheepishly

The announcer, who along with everyone was in shock at what just occurred. Snapped out of it and, looking toward the officials, raised his hand "DOWN!"

"WHAT!" Shorty and Rich yelled together. "You can't count that one against us. That was an accident; I-I thought he had gotten out of the way. I didn't even know he was still behind me!"

The announcer gave a shrug "Sorry, but that counts as a knock-out regardless of who did it. The fight will continue uninterrupted."

Flushed with a shade of red, Rich went back to focusing on the fight. Not just to get over his embarrassment, but also to avoid the death you-better-win glare he knew Shorty was giving him behind his back. "GALE ROAR"

Lucky easily dodged it and responded in kind with a flying kick that was parried and follow with an uppercut from Rich. Lucky recovered quickly and invited his fist into Rich's wide open gut. The air knocked out of him, Rich staggered back quickly throwing up his guard while Lucky continued his assault with blazing ferocity.

But Rich took advantage of his speed and manage to get his umbrella under his fee, tripping Lucky up. Leaving Rich free to nail him with a two hit slash followed by a quickly conjured up icicle blast.

Lucky fell back, not seriously hurt, but was starting to get annoyed by all the counters. "Better kick it up some, CYCLONE BREAK!" Once again flying toward his opponent with a now flashy, spinning version of his jump kick. He almost made it within three inches of his target when he was stopped abruptly and crashed onto the floor. Looking up Lucky notice that was his legs where now restraint by what looked liked "Ghosts!" He said in disbelief. "No way!"

As quickly as they came, the ghost disappeared just as fast and Lucky was about to see why. "SINKER…"

The floor suddenly lit up under the basketball fighter and just as the name indicated, Lucky started sinking into the ground, clawing helplessly at anything solid.

"…AND SHOT!" Rich shot a bolt of energy forward that formed into splashes of power spikes right toward his grounded opposition. Traveling all the way to the end of the ring, severing the ropes and threating to hit the crowd.

Seeing this, Rich quickly canceled the attack before it fully left the ring. "Whew, too close. Put too much power into it, Tessa warned me about that. Gotta watch that in future." He should have been watching Lucky who had manage to get out of the way thanks to a well-timed Lucky Vision.

"DEATH DUNK!" The attack hit Rich full force, dazing him for the moment. Ample time for Lucky to get in close and clobber him with a combo, but Rich didn't make it easy for him. As he was swinging his weapon wildly, getting a few cheap shots as well. Still Lucky was dealing the main damage.

"RICH, TAG ME IN! HE GOING IN FOR THE FINISH!" Shorty yelled.

She didn't have to warn him since the sorcery-ology successor had regained his bearings…just in time to see Lucky charging at him for the 2nd and final round of attacks.

"ILLUSION DRAW!"

Lucky saw the attack coming but was already moving to fast to slow down. Oddly he felt no pain as it hit him and notice his target had yet to move "Then what was the point in that?" He thought to himself as swung his fist forward, only for his opponent to suddenly burst into dust.

Heavy notice the trick "LUCKY, BEHIND YOU!"

Lucky didn't even have time to turn his head before pain shot through him as Rich slashed him from behind with his own teleport move.

The impact knocked Lucky forward and flying toward the mat. Not taking any chances Rich swung a power spike at his descending form.

"HEA-VY!" Lucky managed to blurt out as he and the attack were on the verge of connecting.

"YAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!"

The crowd gasped as they realized that the scream didn't come from Lucky. Rather from his partner that took the blow head on…and didn't seem fazed by it one bit.

Worse yet, was the menacing stare that he shot at Rich.

Rich groaned "So…close." before preparing for the much, much worse.

Then Heavy D came at him.