Chapter 4: Agenda's
Disclaimer (A disclaimer a day keeps the doctor away.): I, Grey Rayne, do not own anything, whether it be items, characters, place names or anything within The King of Fighter's universe. I do own a few miscellaneous characters within this story, but they may be used freely by all.
King of Fighters is a trademark of SNK Playmore.
Billy Kane fidgeted uneasily. He was still moderately drunk, but the events that were unfolding around him would sober up anyone, even Chin Gentsai. The red eyes fixed on him were quite eerie, although they belonged to a polite-looking, if not very pale, young man. Another pair of less polite eyes were also boring a hole in the side of his head, although he ignored these and continued with his business.
"Come again?" Said Adelheid Bernstein politely, sitting back in a large armchair.
"You heard me, your old man's back. I saw him in the Illusion, plain as day." Billy Kane repeated. Adelheid's face didn't even flicker, he just stared at him without any visible emotion. Billy snorted indignantly and leaned on the desk between them. "Look, I was in the Illusion getting plastered and when I went to go home and sleep it off there was this guy. He was about six foot four, he had one eye, a dumb-ass caterpillar moustache and he was missing his arm below the elbow. There's not many people around that look like that. Plus he looked exactly like him!" He pointed towards the life-size statue across the large room. The plaque below it read 'Rugal Bernstein.' Billy realised that Adel was staring coldly at Billy's hand on the desk and he quickly pulled it away.
"Mr. Kane, you do realise that my father died some years ago in a tragic accident." Adel said grimly.
"The way I heard it, he blew up-" Billy began, but noticed Adel's frown deepen. "Yup, I know about that. But the way I see it, I wasn't pissed enough not to know one crime lord from another, and trust me, I know something about crime lord's. Actu- AHH!" Billy felt something brush his leg, and in his current uneasy mood he leapt about a foot into the air and landed a few feet away with his weapon drawn. His eyes met that of a panther, which stared back at him with the most intelligent look he had ever seen on an animal. He felt like he was being measured up by the feline; Friend or food? He became aware of the gentle sound of soft laughter.
"Gwan, come here." Said a female voice with slight sternness. He turned and saw the young woman who had been observing them from across the room. He was surprised as hell when the panther walked up to her and sat beside her smartly. The woman looked like she had just come from the Victorian era, a sharp contrast from Adelheid's more modern attire. Although he was staring at her, she hardly even paid him a sideways glance, so he tried to regain focus. Adelheid stood up slowly and walked around the desk. Billy's gaze was drawn to his left hand, a large bag with a familiar sign on the side of it. Adelheid handed it over to a suddenly calm Billy Kane.
"This information is... troubling, Mr. Kane. But I'm also grateful for it. My sister will show you the way out." He said, beckoning to the young woman with a quick move of his hand.
"Anytime!" Billy said, happily counting the green bills in the sack as he was led out by Rose, who practically dragged him by the arm. Once they were gone, Adelheid walked sullenly over to the large windows and stared out at Southtown. The Sky Noah, his own flying fortress, had landed not far from the city, once notorious for it's gang lords. Shifty business was still being conducted, that he knew, because he was also here for business. His eyes glazed as he contemplated this new turn out thoroughly. He became aware of a familiar rustle of cloth behind him, but didn't turn around.
Rose was slightly worried as Adel just stared out of the window. She stood beside him and hooked her arm in his, he didn't resist.
"What is it, dear brother?" She asked, staring up into his crimson eyes. He didn't shift his gaze but sighed deeply.
"Evidently you weren't listening to Mr. Kane." He said, in a tone which was more sarcastic than he felt. She huffed indignantly and a small smile formed on his face for an instant. "It's father, Rose..." He muttered, getting her complete attention. "Mr. Kane seems to believe he's alive, here, in Southtown."
Rose's arm dropped out of his in disbelief. He turned to her, not knowing exactly what her reaction would be, he prepared himself for anything. She stared down at the carpet for a while and then looked out at the city. Although in it's history it had been in the top ten most corrupt hell holes in world history, and it had been blown up and rebuilt, Southtown was still a spectacle at night. Street lamps and house lights twinkled, and the neon signs of various shops and bars blinked. Now her father was down there, and suddenly she wouldn't be anywhere else.
"Can we set up a search to find him?" she asked quietly. Adel nodded slightly.
"Don't get your hopes up, Rose." He muttered. "Mr. Kane might have been lying." Rose nodded lightly without taking her eyes away from the city. Adel turned and walked across the room. He picked up a mobile phone and dialled a number...
Kyo tried to ignore the phone. He just couldn't be bothered at the moment, not after the day he was having. His T.V had literally blown up not long ago in a torrent of purple flame, after he extinguished the small blaze he had found himself wondering 'do t.v's usually burn purple?' Now he was contemplating this, wondering if it was an omen. He had almost ruled this silly idea out as paranoia, and then the phone had began to ring. Something in his blood told him that he had to pick up the phone, and these feelings of his were usually right...
"Kusanagi residence." He said down the phone, half expecting a booming voice on the other end. He was surprised when he heard a feminine voice, he actually jumped slightly.
"Kyo Kusanagi? This is King!" The female voice said. Silence reared its ugly head for a while. "You know, King from the King of Fighters tournament!" She said peevishly. Remembrance dawned on Kyo.
"Oh, yeah! Bar hostess, Muay Thai Chick?" He said, scratching his chin. "What's up?" He said, failing to think of anything else to say.
"Well, I have a problem..." She muttered. "I have good news and bad news." Kyo waiting. "Vice is alive." She continued. Kyo frowned.
"What, the evil bitch that Iori killed? that's bad news..." He said, now realising that exploding t.v omens were something he should look out for in the future. "What's the good news?"
"Actually, that was the good news." King said in an apologetic tone. Kyo sighed heavily. "The bad news is... Rugal Bernstein's alive too..." Kyo's breathe caught and he coughed slightly.
"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but is this a joke or something?" He asked, clutching at a straw and hoping that it was a long one.
"What? Ring up Ryo, ask him for your phone number, ring you up and then tell you that Vice and Rugal are alive for a joke?" King said indignantly.
"Sorry, It's just a bit of a shock..." He paused a second. "Ryo Sakazaki has my phone number?"
"It was in the Yellow Pages." She replied.
"Who else knows about this?" He asked, sounding more professional.
"Just me, Sally, Elizabeth (My bar-helpers) Billy Kane and now you." King replied automatically. Kyo sighed again.
"You didn't tell Ryo?" He asked quizzically.
"I'd rather not involve him if I can help it." She said levelly.
"Don't see why, as I recall he's pretty tough..." He said scratching his head, he swapped ears as the phone started digging into his right ear. "...Ah, you and him are-" He said in a knowing tone.
"N-no! we're just friends!" She stuttered. Kyo grinned.
"Yup." He said, which could have meant anything. King grit her teeth.
"Yes, I do care about him!" she seethed. "And I know you've fought Iori, Rugal, Goenitz, Orochi and the three heavenly kings. But, Kyo, if you tell Ryo I told you this, so-help-me-god, you'll have to deal with an angry bar hostess, Muay Thai chick!" Kyo gulped, that certainly was a new one on him.
The knife man leapt about agilely, kicking off walls and laughing tauntingly. He felt like he was fighting amateurs. They just watched him as he leapt about. Until he landed on a low roof and leapt high above them, knife drawn back for the stab. They stared upwards in awe as he flew towards them, but something suddenly clicked in their minds. He spun around and brought his leg out in a kick, arcing upwards, a pale white light flashing close behind it in a moon-like crescent. The knife man's face turned from glee to stunned horror as the crescent kick came towards him.
"Oh, shi-" he managed before he was hit, he flew higher into the air, the sound of a sword resonated unnaturally in the night. Before he could land, he felt something wrap around his leg, like a whip. His upwards momentum suddenly stopped and his leg was nearly pulled out of the joint as he was dragged downwards. He slammed head-first into a metal bin and lay still.
"Cool!" she cried out happily. She threw her arm out experimentally a few times, trying to recreate the effect. For a moment, she felt like her arm had extended. "You saw that, right?" she asked excitedly. He was looking at his leg with a glum expression on his face, wondering silently about how he had done that kick. He did an experimental kick. He was surprised at his agility as his leg went into an almost vertical position before he felt any muscle strain, but there was no white crescent this time. "That kick was cool, too." She added quickly. He gave her a quick glare before walking over to the unconscious assailant.
"Is he alive?" She asked. She glanced over his shoulder and noticed that he wasn't checking his pulse, he was going through the mans pockets. "Hey, what are you-" He suddenly threw a large bundle of cash over his shoulder, which she caught easily. Then he checked the mans pulse.
"He's alive." he announced without enthusiasm. He turned to her and she gave him a quizzical look, he noticed she was holding the money cupped in her hands as if it was a slimy creature. "It's probably stolen money, yes. But we need it more than him." He said, grinning lightly. She quickly counted it.
"There's about 200 here!"
"Good thing we were mugged by a well-off thief, wasn't it?" he said sarcastically. They walked away, hoping to find a clothes shop that was open at this time of night.
About a minute after they had turned the corner, the man's left eye opened very slightly and peered about himself. He didn't move for a short while and then, when he was sure the coast was clear, he stood up, with slight difficulty, and rubbed some life back into his neck.
"Ouch." He muttered. He reached into his coat and unzipped a cleverly hidden secret pocket, pulling out a mobile phone. He pressed a button and then pressed it to his ear.
"This is Carrik. They have the item." He said simply.
"Good, report back at once." A voice on the other end replied.
"I'd like to know how the boss gets this info!" he snorted.
"The boss has his ways, it's best not to question them, if you value you're life that is." The phone was suddenly hung-up and Carrik stored it away with an annoyed air. He stared in the direction the two had taken.
K' heard the struggle, he also heard the sound of men shouting and crying out in pain. He then drifted into unconsciousness.
He awoke with a start, feeling giddy. He reached up to the back of his head and noticed the dry blood had turned his bone-white hair into a dark, crimson mass. He had been struck from behind by someone skilled in stealth. Luckily his assailant had been kind enough not to cut his throat whilst he was out cold. He leapt up, remembering the struggle he had heard, and ran into the next room of his apartment. The sitting room furniture was strewn everywhere. K' glared firstly at the smashed wide-screen t.v, feeling annoyed at the attackers. He felt better knowing that two of the attackers were lying dead in front of him, one of them would have to be identified by his teeth, the amount of cuts all over him even made K' slightly shocked. The other was in a better condition, although equally dead. Usually people who were laying face down weren't staring upwards at the ceiling; his head had been twisted 180 degrees. The most important thing K' noticed though, was that there was no Muchiko...
He checked everywhere for her in vain. Then he checked the bodies for anything that might lead him to her. On both bodies he found a simple tattoo on their right arms; A black circle with a K in the middle. Where they Kyo clones? they didn't look like it. And why would they knock him out and take Whip if they were? It just didn't seem to add up.
"A mystery. Humph." He muttered under his breathe. A deep well of anger built up suddenly inside him, but then died down as Whip's face appeared in his mind. "Sister, I'll get you back."
K' grabbed a random pair of sunglasses and glanced quickly in the mirror, his hair was matted with dark crimson. He quickly soaked it and then took the two bodies and carelessly threw them out of the window, hardly hearing the sound of dustbins clattering around far below as he raced towards the door. Somehow, someway, he would find her.
Whip gritted her teeth as she was nudged sharply between the shoulder blades. Her hands were tied roughly behind her back and her face stung. Two large double doors opened in front of her and she was nudged again. She trotted through them, giving a quick death glare over her shoulder to the person who had captured her. The room she entered was very large and seemed to only have a few lights in it. There were infinite amounts of shadows all around her and she could see figures staring at her in the gloom. The huge doors shut behind her with a bang, making the room even darker as the outside lights were blocked out. She was being led towards a throne she could barely see. She could make out several people standing around it, though. One of them was grinning a golden toothed grin as he inspected her closely. She gave him a blank stare in return. Another man on the other side was quite tall and had an arrogant posture about him. His arms were crossed and he was giving her the blankest look she had ever seen, his icy-blue eyes glittering as if they were indeed frozen-over. She couldn't see much else about him though, he seemed to be purposely hiding in the darkness. The figure on the throne was barely a suggestion of an outline. Whip was brought to a jerking halt 10 feet away from the throne as the man behind her suddenly grabbed her wrist. Silence reined for a short while, as the figure in the throne apparently leaned forward in his/her chair and inspected her. The cold-eyed man turned his gaze to the person on the throne.
"Is this her?" He asked in a soft, but cold voice. The figure on the throne nodded.
"We sent three of you, Bane, what happened to the others?" The gold toothed man asked gruffly in a deep Irish accent.
"She killed 'em. Didn't ya, bint?" The man behind her replied. He then grabbed the ropes on her wrists and shook her, laughing nastily. She growled angrily and tried to pull free, but to no avail.
"Enough!" a voice boomed. Whip started on hearing the voice, it sounded familiar. The man behind her stopped shaking her and stood to attention lazily. The figure on the throne stood up and walked towards her slowly. She could hear the soft creak of leather with each movement and she instantly wished K' was here. Then as the figure came close enough to be visible, she realised why she had been reminded of K'. Dark eyes stared at her over a high collar, concealing most of his face below the nose. His usual dark purple coat was covered over by another, even longer coat with white trimmings. Whip stared in disbelief. His white hair, claw-like gloved hands, his stance and mannerisms were exactly the same as she remembered.
"Krizalid!" she cried out in astonishment. He stared at her for some time, his eyes drawn to her left cheek, which was badly bruised. He then turned his gaze upon the man who had captured her; Bane.
"Bane, I instructed you to bring her to me unharmed." He said in a calm voice which Whip recognised, it was the voice he used just before he exploded. Bane didn't seem to realise this though.
"Sorry boss, must of forgot." He said in a careless manner. There was a flash of movement, which made Whip spin around. Krizalid had Bane by the throat and was lifting him physically off the ground with his left arm. Krizalid brought the mans ear closer to Krizalid's mouth and spoke quietly so that only Bane could hear. Whip caught the words though.
"I expect my orders to be followed precisely." Krizalid hissed. The man choked in his grasp, his eyes wide. "Unharmed means unharmed, Bane. You disobeyed me, you pathetic lackey! Let this be a lesson, and an example!" A strange sound echoed through the hall. Whip saw a skewer coming out of the mans back, covered in blood. The man gurgled for a second but then went limp in Krizalid's grasp. Krizalid threw the body down viciously, it bounced sickeningly off the ground and tumbled to a stop, a pool of blood slowly forming beneath it. Krizalid turned to some of the horrified figures in the darkness and pointed at them with his other claw-like glove.
"You, clean that shit up." He demanded nastily as the skewer protruding from his wrist disappeared into his sleeve. The horrified onlookers hurriedly complied, fearing the same gruesome fate. Krizalid leisurely wiped the blood off his hands with a cloth and then turned again to Whip. It was terrifying, the look in his eyes, which had moments earlier been that of practically feral rage, turned just as suddenly into genuine concern as he looked at her bruised cheek. Whip flinched as he brought his hand up, gently touching the bruised area. She quickly took a step back away from him and his hand paused in mid-air for a moment before dropping back down to his side.
"Don't be frightened, Sister-"
"Muchiko." She corrected harshly. "I'm not your sister." Krizalid nodded his head slightly.
"Yes, I remember." He conceded. He then took her arm, before she could pull away, and gently led her out of the great hall. She didn't resist much, she suddenly had a feeling that she was in no immediate danger.
Carrik and the cold-eyed man stared with wonder as Krizalid led the hostage away.
"What the hell is that all about?" Carrik snorted. The cold eyed man didn't reply for a while, but just stared after them as they disappeared behind the door.
"Apparently our boss isn't completely inhuman after all." He said, matter-of-factly.
"He killed Bane. There goes our best stealth agent..." Carrik muttered, as the body was dragged away. Carrik spat and then pulled an old cigar out of the recess' of his coat and stuffed it between his teeth.
"Konrad, find out what you can about this girl." He ordered. The cold eyed man gave him a sharp glare.
"Who put you in charge, street rat?" he said more icily than usual. Carrik didn't lose his temper, but only took a long drag of his cigar.
"She could compromise our operation. We need to know what her link is to the boss." He reasoned. Konrad considered this for a while.
"Ask him." He said, a malevolent grin curling one side of his mouth. Carrik blew smoke in his general direction.
"I'd rather not be impaled." He said, throwing his cigar down at Konrads feet. "I have a mission." He walked away. Konrad just stood there for a while, but then he gestured lightly with his hand. A shape, attractively female, appeared out of the shadows behind him and stood at his side.
"Alla, get someone to find out everything on record about this... Muchiko." He said without looking at her. The female ninja nodded. "And follow Carrik. He has an agenda of his own, I want to find out what it is." The female ninja leapt away. Konrad sighed and stared at the throne.
