Go for Broke: The Dragon Spirit Fight
By RichieD.
(A/N: Sorry for cutting off there in the last chapter, but I didn't want to go for too long on one part. So I decided to split it up into two chapters, this one to really get the ball rolling. And to think, it only took me twelve months to get this part, A NEW WORLD RECORD! As usual disclaimers: KOFbelongs toSNK, the only 2-D fighter in town. Save for Capcom but their too lazy to get off their asses and make a decent fighting game now, seriously Fighting Evolution was crap! (My own opinion ;)). Though I heard good things from the upcoming bad boy known as Guilty Gear, just work on those graphics Sammy and you'll go places kid. But enough critiques, I can do that on ("Shameless plug:" where I also write reviews, penname MrSkip). On with the story!)
Rich couldn't help but think of a charging bull as he stared down his opposition bearing down on him that had to be at the speed of 90 miles per hour.
"ROLLING SOUL DRIVER!"
Oh yeah, then there was attack that was coming along with it.
"DRAGON'S EYE!"
His umbrella flew open as quick as he could get it flinging out an expanding circle of magic toward Heavy D, who surprisingly made no effort to dodge it. But actually PUNCHED his attack forward into it! Both energies collided, struggling against each other for their owners. Heavy bringing all the strength he could into his R.S.D. Rich pumping as much power into the circle as possible increasing its width and length, a virtual deadlock that neither one was going to back down from.
Then something just occurred to Rich.
"What a sec, doesn't the Dragon's Eye get weaker the further it goes?"
"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Heavy D yelled as the circle started to give way, scratch that, it had already disintegrated and the powered fist was coming unstopped.
With a cry, Rich brought up the end of the umbrella in a futile attempt to block. Unbelievably enough, he turned it wrong but in a way to knock the fist away from his face, though Rich's shoulder sounded sirens in his head as it was in the path of the fist's new course.
Ignoring the pain and seeing an opening in Heavy's recovery, Rich mustered up the rest of his strength to perform an upward strike which, thankfully for his sake, connected causing Heavy to jump back. With his resources nearly depleted, Rich wasn't going to stick around.
"SHORTY!"
Hearing the call, Heavy instinctively threw up his arms; just in time to block an oncoming jump kick from the tagged partner. He retaliated with an uppercut hoping to nail her while she was coming down from the air. But Shorty pushed herself away from him landing in a well-timed handstand. She then flung herself back at him feet first and legs open. This unexpected maneuver caught Heavy off guard, allowing the girl to fully land on his shoulders. Then brought a hammer of an attack down on him in the form of a head butt.
The crowd looked on in awe as she repeated it three more times with Heavy desperately trying to throw her off before he blacked out from a concussion. E.G (from third chapter) couldn't help but gap at the sight, of course being a friend of Shorty all these years she wasn't surprised. Still E.G. had to tell herself aloud "One of these day, am going to have to ask how she does that."
"Lots of milk?" Tala suggested beside her.
E.G. shook her head. "Naw, that "strong bone" stuff is just hogwash to get you to buy dairy products. I've tested it myself and there been no change since I was five years old. I just drink for the taste nowadays. You wouldn't believe how happy I was when they invented strawberry milk"
Er…back in the ring
After trying to yank her off did nothing, Heavy reached behind him, grabbed onto her legs and started to spin. Soon picking up speed causing Shorty to hang onto his balding head. However the sweat from trying to break through Rich's Dragon Eye was still lingering on his skin and made it difficult to hold on to. Eventually the speed of the spin was too much and Shorty slipped off, Her body flying wildly and helplessly against the wind.
With the weight of the girl off him, Heavy let go of her legs and let the momentum do the rest, flinging her roughly to the mat. Still Shorty wasn't down for long and hopped right back up and into stance though she noticed that Heavy was still trying to clear the daze from her head butts.
"Ouch, girl's forehead packs like a shotgun. Am definitely going have to be careful around this one. Don't want to make the same mistake Brian made."
Heavy thought to himself as the dizziness finally passes and he got into a boxing stance. Seeing that his opponent was equally ready, Heavy came at her with a haymaker.
Shorty easily ducked it, and then brought up a guard to her right. Blocking a helicopter swing at her from Heavy's other arm. She then kick out behind her, nailing him in the back. Heavy shrugged off the attack and quickly turned and punch the ground "SOUL FLOWER!"
The explosion that resulted from it knocked Shorty off her feet but a quick flip brought her around. Heavy, however, was already coming at her with a hurricane of jabs and punches. Unlike Case though, Shorty was quick to counter matching Heavy move for move. Each opposition blocking, punching and connecting with all the fury they had in them.
Something had to give through the chaos and Shorty decided it might as well be on her part. Remembering a trick Rich pulled earlier, Shorty slide a foot under Heavy that went unnoticed to the boxer then tripped up one of his legs causing him to stumble backwards. Allowing the girl to bring a vicious left hook to his face.
Unfortunely, Heavy's fists were still going and caught her in the chest. The two broke off to catch their breaths, both sweating profusely now and the toll on their body was starting to catch up. Yet both couldn't help but smile through the pain and the cheers that the crowd was giving to them.
"So…" Heavy begin taking a gulp of breath before continuing "…You a boxer too, huh?"
Shorty shook her head "No, just adaptable at different fighting styles. Am more comfortable with martial arts but I like to test myself."
Heavy frowned upon hearing that "You've been holding back? Could've fooled me, though I have to say am not much into fighters who do that. Makes the fights meaningless to me."
Shorty quirked an eyebrow at that "You want me to come at you full force then?"
"Do I have to say please?" Heavy grinned
"Nah, your sweet face just asking to punched says it all. Shall we?"
"Ladies first."
"PHEONIX SHOTGUN!"
The attack exploded in the spot Heavy stood but he was well out of range and reappeared right in front of Shorty thanks to his teleport move.
"WhaAHHHH!" She cried as Heavy once again bullseyed his fist in her chest following it with a uppercut. When he tried to go for a third shot, she grabbed him and barreled her arm right into his stomach pushing him backwards. To which Shorty put her hands on the ground again and thrust her feet forward, this time in a heel kick.
Heavy was thrown backwards but then tasted the ground as Shorty hit him with a spin kick, knocking him flat. Still concise, Heavy rolled and came back with a R.S.D that was met with a block and a dodge with a strike to his head. Heavy crashed into the corner of the ring and tried to turn but Shorty was already on him. Alternating between hitting his face and his body with at least six blow before focusing on hitting hid body with rapid-fire punches. Heavy's body rattling the whole ring with each connect. Running low on strength, Shorty finished the combo by grabbing the ropes of the ring, jumping then launching herself off him with all the power she could muster.
Shorty landed near the center of the ring breathing hard from such an assault. But the effects more then made it worth it as Heavy slumped to the ground, one arm holding on to the ropes. A sight that brought a grin to Shorty's face "Well what do ya think?" Heavy gritted his teeth as he pull himself to his feet but smiled when he lifted his head toward the girl "Well can't I say don't deserve it, I took your bluff and you showed me your hand. Nice moves girl, now come on finish the job."
"Mmmmm, nah. I've wasted too much strength on you for the next coming and my partner needs a little tough love, if you catch my drift."
"Your sure it not punishment for him knocking out your teammate earlier?" Heavy quipped
"…I never said that." Shorty shrugged "Beside I faced that football lunk and you so might as well make it a even three.'
"You're a strange one, girl. But I like ya. Go ahead and bring magic boy in here. I'll get you back in here once am done with him anyway, so this isn't over."
"Heh, good luck. RICH!"
And with that, Shorty returned to her corner as Rich jumped into the ring, looking a bit better then before. "Round two bro, let's rock!"
Despite the aches in his body, Heavy got to his stance for what could be his last fight for the day "Gonna have to make this quick, Lucky still recovering so I need to buy as much time as I can."
Heavy rushed forward then increased his speed by using his teleport move, but upon reaching Rich he had found the he had hit nothing but cloud dust thanks to another Illusion Draw. But Heavy, like Rich, had seen the attack before and turned, smacking Rich to the mat before he could get his umbrella ready. Heavy then followed it with a Soul Flower but the impact was lessened however by the icicle blast Rich cast upward. The magic user then reared back his legs and kick Heavy in his already sore stomach, giving him enough space needed to get to his feet.
"GALE ROAR!"
At such a close range, the attack was more powerful then ever. Heavy didn't stand any chance of a defense as he was blown away, of course, with his tired body what good would it do?
"Talk…about…anti-climatic. For all my boasting…I couldn't even…last a couple of mintues. What a way…to end…."
SMASHA vertical slash, figurely and literally, cut him off as Heavy D made his was to the ground for the last time of the day.
"So all on me huh? Wouldn't be the first time." Lucky said as he jumped into the ring. It was two to one and the odds definitely weren't in his favor.
Then again he wasn't called Lucky just for it being a cute nickname.
"Your friend saved you last time but now that hes out of the way, lets pick up where we left OFF!" Rich said as he sent a power spike toward him. The basketball fighter simply jumped the spike then used his Lucky Vision to get behind Rich, tagging him in the back then kicking in his stomach as he tried to turn around. Not to mention giving him an uppercut and a knee to the chest for good measure.
Rich came back with a parallel swing that was ducked though the punch from his free hand connected. Rich then shoulder charge him to put some distance between then before opening his umbrella and let loose a Dragon's Eye hoping to use the close range at his advantage once more. Lucky had other ideas as he flipped back well out of the attack's range, letting it phase itself out. Upon landing however, Lucky found his legs were restrained by an invisible force looking down confirmed it, his opponent's ghost assistants were back.
"Now hold still!" Rich smirked as he rushed forward ready to deliver the hurricane of all slashes. But by now Lucky had already figured out a way pass his trick once again using his Lucky Vision to get out of the grasp.
The smirk on Rich's face never change, this was exactly what he wanted and Lucky had played right into it as Rich turned to proceed with the attack.
Only to find that Lucky wasn't there.
"Nice try dude."
"That voice, it's coming from…"
"But it my turn!"
"…ABOVE ME!"
"HELL DUNK!"An ax kick came screaming at a wide-eyed Rich, who exacuted his planned attack to meet him head on. But he was a millisecond too late; the attack hit home, grounding Rich into the mat and sending him on his way to dreamland.
As cliché as it sounds, Rich's luck had ran out.
While the stagehands carted Rich off to the medical tent, Shorty appeared right behind them. Her gaze aimed straight at Lucky along with a grin to go along with it.
Lucky responded in the same way adding to it by turning his cap forward and tipping it showing, curiosity to his opponent.
Impressed by this, Shorty did something she never thought she would do since elementary school. She spread her arms, grabbed the sides of her overalls, and…curtsied?
Most of the crowd who knew Shorty well were quite astonished, many with their mouths on the floor. The bounty hunter that bullies all feared, the girl that anybody would be nuts to mess with, the toughest known rumbler in all of Cit-Burbs was actually, ACTUALLY showing some refinement and class.
Hey, who knew?
But enough about that, this was a fight after all.
"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let say we end this with a bang." Shorty said returning to her usual self and getting into stance.
Lucky did likewise "My thought exactly! DEATH SHOOT!"
The basket/fireball sailed straight for the girl, but oddly ended up inches short of reaching her. Looking up, she noticed that the air suddenly became empty.
"Oh no you don't!" Shorty flipped forward, whipping her legs into a spin kick that nailed Lucky just as he coming out of his teleport move to the side of her. Knocking him to the floor while she landed. Lucky jumped to his feet before Shorty had a chance to hit him while he was on the ground, letting his right hand fly in the process, catching Shorty in the face. She made him pay for it though with a hook to his backside.
The two separated themselves but there was no idle chat afterward, just no desire for cheap shoots. Once both had repositioned themselves, the two charged at each other brining out every thing in their close combat arsenal. Faces, stomachs, legs, and any other body part became the others' punching bag in the most brutal display ever in the tournament. And the crowd, they loved every minute of it, cheering for every blow and smack that sounded. They were getting the viewer's worth and Shorty and Lucky weren't disappointing anyone that night.
Their bodies however disagreed and all the hits from their previous encounters as well as anything recent had reach their limited. No matter how much will the two were forcing, their bodies was dimming like a light bulb. Somebody was going to burn out soon if this went on any longer.
"TRAIN WREAK!" Shorty yelled as she increased the speed on her already overtaxed form, breaking threw Lucky offense and pushing him back. Lucky jumped back from it after a first couple hits, diving forward with a Cyclone Break. To far involved in her own move, Shorty couldn't guard against it and was hit point blank and thrown to the ground. She begin to get up but heard Lucky call for his Death Dunk, rolling backward as a more accurate ball almost struck her. Then another ball came, and another, and another. Lucky was pretty much becoming a living machine gun now.
Shorty continued rolling to avoid the onslaught and was able to get to her feet but it didn't make it any easier to avoid the attacks. Or get in close for that matter and with the girl running out of steam, it was becoming a major problem. That wasn't to say Lucky was in mint condition himself, if anything his continued Death Shoot was nothing more then a desperate tactic to buy some time to come up with something. And at the moment it seem to be working,
Until a Phoenix Shotgun tore through the Death Shots, nearly taking Lucky's head off if he hadn't leaned to the side and flipped toward the ground. Only to be met with a jump kick from Shorty. Lucky responded with a Hell Dunk, but only the knee part caught her and she moved out of the way of the ax kick, once again trying to blast him with a Phoenix Shotgun. The attack missed it mark yet again though it did manage to trip him up, allowing Shorty to get another bead on him with the attack.
Lucky slid forward in his direction from the impact but stood upright once more, trying to suck in as much breath as he could. Looking toward his opponent, he could tell she was in similar shape but the glare in her eyes spoke volumes through that tired expression.
It was then both decided it was time to end it once and for all.
Shorty moved her arms together as if she was preparing for another Phoenix Shotgun but at the part where she threw her attack forward. She clasped her hands together and suddenly her expression became strained as if she was struggling with something. After a minute of this, Shorty returned back to her stance, her expression now that of very fierce determination.
At that seeing that display, Lucky couldn't help but be a little nervous of what was waiting for him when he attacked, but that didn't mean he was any less prepared. Soon running toward Shorty in a slide that was easily flipped over followed by a Death Dunk. But Shorty barreled his way through it and stuck Lucky in the gut. The hardest he was ever hit that night, almost blacking out from the pain. Lucky forced himself awake just in time to block a kick though that too shot a great amount of pressure into his body. Being no fool, he jumped back to avoid another strike and gather his thoughts.
"What's happening! Girl striking like she built of bricks. She wasn't pulling anything like this a second ago…up until she did that weird movement with her hands. Ugh, if I don't end this now I'll be joining my friends on the concrete. No choice, time to pull out my trump card."
Against better judgment, Lucky rushed head on toward the girl, no form or sign that he was going to attack. Though Shorty could care less if he did as she swung full force with all the hooks and jabs that she could deliver. Seeing this Lucky called on one more Lucky Vision that was left in him and managed to get around the attack. But Shorty instantly met him and prepare to delivered the mother of all punches.
Lucky didn't give her the chance, nailing her with two quick jabs to disrupt her attack. However they didn't seem to have any effect on her at all other then pushing her back. But Lucky didn't take heed to this and perform jump kick, able to nail her with it. But rather then jump off, he forced his other leg forward onto her shoulder and then jumped off her in the air. Seeing this, Shorty jumped after him.
"NOW OR NEVER!" Lucky cried as he turned toward the following girl, raising his hand and forming the biggest ball as quickly as he could.
"SDM: HELL BOUND!"
And shot the ball toward her
Only to miss…
…then noticed the wild, triumphant look in Shorty's eyes
"You've shown me yours, now let me show you mine!"
It was then that Lucky's ball was inches from hitting the ground.
"SDM: END-"The ball made contact
"-GAME!"
Shorty's body suddenly glowed blood red as she went into a fetal position in the air while at the same time the Hell Bound attack was taking effect as the ground suddenly begin rumbling.
Then EXPLODED as energy balls the size of asteroids shot upward toward Shorty's direction that, at the moment, had just unfurled herself and unleashed a wide range of energy in every which way.
The two attacks connected followed by an explosive bright light that cover the whole area and could be seen from the distance of 100 miles. So much so that it would take weeks for satellite intelligence to determine what the cause of it was.
"AHHH! SHORTY!" E.G. and Tala shouted as they, along with everybody else, shielded their eyes the best they could from the light and wind. Some trying to get a peek in to see who won from such devastating attacks, but the high wind pushing into their retinas denied them this.
Eventually the wind and light died down, leaving a smoking and very damaged ring before the audience.
"Whew, whoa, well folks when we said we'd finish this with a bang, we were not kidding." The announcer said as he dusted himself off from being thrown to the ground thanks to the wind "I hope most of you are still with us as the winner shall be revealed once this smoke clears.
Indeed no sooner then he said that, the smoke started to parted.
To reveal two unmoving, batten, and bruised forms that laid on the ground.
"Whoa, can you believe it? Seems the connecting attacks had too much of an impact on both fighters. Now neither seem to be getting up, to which I shall begin the countdown. If neither side gets up, it's an automatic tie! 10…9…8…"
The crowd soon begin screaming for their favored fighter to get up, chanting their names, or just making general noise, anything to get their side on their feet as the announcer continued counting.
Through it all, Shorty heard them, desperately wanting to respond to their wishes. But her body was too tired to reply back while spaces of her mind soon following it, shutting off one by one with each second. So needless to say there was no way she was pulling out of this one.
She did have time for one final thought, however.
"Endgame…needs…more…work. Should've lit up…the…whole…city…with that…one."
And with that, Shorty let the darkness take her.
Shorty awoke to find herself in a makeshift bed in the medical tent, head woozy, pains all over, and bruises bandaged up (In other words the usual when she got into a scrap). And to find her now awake partners as well as her friends standing or sitting around the tent, talking to other participants of the tournament or just watching the complementary TV that was brought in for the occasion. Outside, the area around the ring was nearly empty save for a few stragglers who were just hanging around or cleaning up if it was their job.
"OooOOooh, w-where-what…?"
E.G. turned her head at the sound "Hey, look who came back from the Land of Oz."
At this statement, everybody stopped what they were doing and crowed around her. "How you feeling girl?" Rich asked once he reach her side.
'Like a truck fell on top of me, was lifted off, and replaced by a building." Shorty groaned as she sat up
"Heh yeah, you were looking really beat up when they brought you in after the fight. But don't worry doctors said your boo bobs weren't serious and patched you right up." Tala said in her usual syrupyly sweet voice
Shorty eyes perked as it came back to her "Oh yeah the fight. Sorry guys I had to bring in a tie, I was hoping that my trump card would finish him, but I guess I overdid it."
"Er…well we didn't exactly tie" Case said a little slowly
"We didn't? Well I know we couldn't have won, I was out of it to stand up by…wait, wait a minute, theres no way, NO WAY that guy could have withstood that attack! It's impossible!"
The faces around the room however told her other wise. "Here I got this from the camera man after ward. Thought you might wanna see it." E.G held up a cassette and put it into the VCR beside the TV.
The video began from the part after Shorty's Endgame attack; both she and Lucky were motionless on the floor and the announcer started counting. He had reach six when Lucky sunddely stirred then slowly begin to move.
Shorty clutched the sheets of her bed as Lucky managed to get to one knee then stayed like that until the announcer got to two. Then he sprung upright, pumping his fist into the air as the count was finished thus claiming the victory for the All-Stars. Though he crashed back into the ground once it was over, down for good this time.
Silence filled the tent as the taped finished its run and Shorty sat there in stunned silence
Until finally she mutter two words that felt like the world had ended "Well…fudge."
After a bit more of a check up by the doctors, Shorty was given the OK to go and the group made their way back to their apartment building. Once again no words were said as they walked along the street. Granted though it wasn't complete loss since they came in second, awarded with a participation trophy and a couple of gift certificates to some electronic stores. Still they weren't in it for the materials, the fact that they were the best around the city was good enough for them.
But, thanks to a couple of outsiders and a last minute win, well you'd be down too if you almost were on the verge on being on top of the world only for someone to knock you off.
Anywho, after walking E.G. to her home and reaching their apartment building, the three made their way to their homes. Before she turned to her door, Shorty raised her head for the first time since walking home and turned to her partners. "Guys wait." Rich, Case and Tala turned their head towards her. "I-I know we lost in such a embarrassing manner when we were so close. But…well y'know am not good at this sappy stuff."
Rich smiled at her " Hey, forget it. We know and truth be told am not all that disappointed. Gave me a chance to test out my magic and my swordplay. And am sure dopey boy over there was glad to get out of the house and bust some heads."
Case narrowed his eyes "Whatever Captain Clumsy, we could've won if you hadn't hit me with that stick you call a sword."
"Its am umbrella you blind yutz, and if your slow poke of a butt had gotten out of the way in time. You wouldn't have gotten KO'd, besides the way that guy was using you like a punching bag. I doubt you would've survived a minute back in the ring with him, so methinks I did you a favor."
Case was fuming at this statement but sadly had to agree, it was his fault as much as Rich. He wouldn't admit it with him standing there but saving face was another matter and her quickly changed the subject "Anyway Shorty, don't let it get ya down. We made it to the finals, so that is a feat in itself. Your tough no matter what happens, and we don't need no tournament to tell us that. So hey it's cool, right?"
Shorty frowned at that speech for a minute until it turned into a giggle then an all out laugh, Case soon joined in then Tala since she loved laughing anyway and finally Rich just for the heck of it.
"Dude, that has got to be the worse sap crap you've ever came up with. But thanks guys I needed it and I won't let it get to me, alright time to hit the hay. God knows our bones need it. Later."
The three others gave their good nights and proceeded to their rooms. Both doors were inches from reaching their bolts…
"HOLY SH! GUYS! GUYS! COME QUICK!"
Rich and Case almost tore their doors off the hinges as they rush out and down the hall. By the time they reached Shorty, they found her leaning against the opposite wall of here apartment, a very stunned look on her face.
"Shorty! What wrong! What happen! Somebody attacked you!" Case spoke, very alerted at the moment
"Naw, something…better."
Rich and Case looked at each other as if she went crazy "Better?"
"Looked at…what I found on my door."
She pulled her arm out from her side and brought out what looked like…
…a letter with a red seal….
And the words K.O.F on it printed in real ink.
"Guys" Shorty said smirking like crazy "We've just been invited to the King of Fighters."
