Chapter 6: La Illusion
Disclaimer (You'll like this one, honest. Honest! No? Bah! Shoots you with a cannon.): 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.
Whip was led by Krizalid down a long corridor, in contrast to the large and sinister throne room it was much more humane, in a militaristic sort of way. They passed by living quarters and she caught a glimpse of several men being shouted at by a superior officer. She could see a medical procedure through a glass window as they passed an infirmary. There were toilets, gyms and kitchens here. She noticed that whenever they passed by people, they would stand in stiff salutes; word of how Krizalid punished disobedience had spread quickly. Whip had lots of questions to ask, but she didn't dare to speak. There was something different to Krizalid, something that only those who knew him could have detected. He seemed more thoughtful, more aloof and maybe even more troubled than before. She could see it in his strange red eyes when she glanced at him, like he was looking at the world from a deep pit within himself. They eventually arrived at their destination, the kitchen. Krizalid motioned wordlessly for the rooms occupants to leave, and the few chefs working in the kitchens at the time scurried out. He shut and bolted the heavy door behind them. Whip stared at Krizalid with mistrust in her eyes, but he didn't show any signs of noticing. He silently untied the binds on her hands and she massaged some life back into her wrists. He walked over to a table with several wooden chairs around it and pulled one out.
"Please, have a seat." He said quietly. She slowly obeyed, watching him closely. She wasn't afraid because of the fact that Krizalid was dangerous, but because of the fact that she didn't know what to expect out of this new Krizalid. She sat down and stared straight ahead, aware of the soft creak of leather and swish of fabric as he moved away. She heard the sound of a fridge being opened and turned towards him. A bag of frozen pea's appeared in front of her face and she flinched. Realisation dawned on her and she took it and placed it on her swollen cheek. Krizalid sat opposite her and stared at her. Deja Vu suddenly hit her, as he stared at her with a slightly pained expression, she felt her mind being drawn back into the past.
#Flashback#
She was there before the end, looking down at the struggling figure in the rubble; the mighty Krizalid. He was mortally wounded, she could tell, not even he could survive such internal damage.
"Sister, help me!" He cried out to her. Usually he would act brave in front of her, even when he was hurting inside but now that was forgotten. A part of his mind knew that he was finished, and that he had failed. 'If I don't tell him now, I'll never get another chance...'
"Don't call me that, I'm not your sister!" she replied, the anger from the months they had spent together, always being treated like a little sister, came flaring out. "You're not my brother. You, Krizalid, are a clone of my REAL brother, not Kyo Kusanagi. That's where your memories come from; your memories of me, they aren't real!"
#End flashback#
Then she had left him there, trapped under the rubble...
"Thanks for the memories." She heard Krizalid suddenly say out loud. "I was having trouble remembering what you whispered." He explained, seeing her pained expression.
"It wasn't all I said." She muttered. They both stared at the table in front of them. "Why did you bring me here?" She asked darkly. There was silence for a while before he answered.
"I missed you" he said simply. She looked up at him sharply.
"You could have just asked me to come, instead of sending your thugs to kidnap me!" She snapped. Krizalid held up his hands in a conciliatory manner.
"If I had come myself, I doubt K' would think too fondly of you coming with me. Besides, you may have declined yourself."
"Damn right I would!" She snapped, standing up. "I have a new life now, Krizalid. NESTS and everything about it is in the past for me, I just want to have a normal life with my brother. I'm sorry, Krizalid, but you're a part of my past too, and I don't want to be involved with you anymore." She turned around and walked towards the door, she put her hand on the bolt and slid it along-
"Don't you want to know what I'm doing here? what this whole operation is about?" She heard his calm voice behind her, a sharp contrast to her outburst. She turned to look at him, he hadn't moved from his seat at the table. Whip hesitated. She was curious about what he was doing, it was one of the things she had been wondering about earlier. She slid the bolt back on the door and slowly made her way back to the table.
"You have my attention." She said as she sat down again. Krizalid nodded and said nothing for a while, he stared at the table and sighed heavily.
"Like you, I want to start over." He eventually said. "But I can't because I have unfinished business, ties to my old life you might say." He stood up and walked over to a large freezer, on it was a sticker; a black K with a black circle around it, he ran his hand along it. "With this operation, I plan to sever those ties. In short, I wish to make up for all the mistakes I made in the past." He turned to her. "That's where you come in." He said, the suggestion of a grin could be seen behind the high collar of his coat.
"Me?" She asked quizzically. He nodded slightly and then walked back to his chair, he stood behind it and leaned against the back of it.
"Not only you, of course, but you could play a pivotal role." Whip stared at him for a long while, he stared back levelly.
"Do I have a choice?" She murmured. Krizalid stood up fully and threw out his hands to his sides.
"Of course you do!" He said, as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "I'm asking you to listen to my proposal. If you say yes to it, things will go along smoother for me. If you say no, you can go back to your brother and live out the rest of your life, I won't ever trouble you again."
Whip looked down at her knees.
"This is a lot to ask of me; will I help you or not..." She muttered.
"Do you need time to think it over?" He asked kindly. Whip looked up at him again.
"No, but I want to talk to K' first. I at least want him to know that I'm not in danger. If I decide that I don't want to help, then I can just walk away with him, deal?" Krizalid raised an eyebrow.
"He doesn't carry a mobile." Krizalid said, as if he was completely sure. "He doesn't like phones."
"Yes, how did you know? Have you been spying on us?"
"No, it's just that I don't like phones." He said bitterly. "Being a clone of someone and having some of their memories has its advantages."
Kyo walked through the early morning streets of Southtown. Kids bustled by him and a few recognised him from the King of Fighters tournament and hassled him for an autograph. He didn't feel that great, he was suffering Jet lag. If someone had told him that Southtown had it's own airport he would have laughed, but he had just been there and now he was trying to find the new La Illusion. He wished he had asked King where it was. He could have phoned her on his mobile, if he hadn't forgotten to bring it with him. Eventually, after half an hour of aimless wanderings, he sat down on a bench in Howard park (Named after Geese Howard for some reason.) and dropped his heavy luggage beside him, he made sure to keep one eye on it though, this was Southtown after all. He let his hand fall down limply to the bench beside him, and he instantly regretted it.
"Eww!" he groaned, looking at the chewing gum sticking to the palm of his hand. He waved his hand in a desperate attempt to get the gum off, to no avail. He used the back of the seat, which was quite clean, to get it off. He paused suddenly, something caught his eye and he looked up, he leaned over slightly and there, hiding behind a Burger King, was a large flier pointing down a sinister looking street. It read 'This way to La Illusion!' Kyo grinned and picked up his luggage. Leaping over the fence that surrounded the park and crossing the road, his pace quickened as his gaze fell fully on the large neon lights and the posh design of La Illusion. A small sign, obviously written by King herself, adorned the wall beside the main entrance, it read: NO VANDALISM on Pain of Pain.
Kyo pushed the door open and the sounds of merriment washed over him, several people were singing drunkenly a cloud of cigarette smoke hung in the air. A man cursed loudly as he lost a game of pool and slipped 10 dollars across to the winner. Two attractive young women attended the bar, serving drinks and chatting with the regulars. Kyo pushed his way to the bar and tried to gain one of their attention. He waved his hand at one of the women and she broke off a conversation and came towards him.
"How can I help you?" She asked. Kyo noticed a name tag saying Sally. She had a fixed grin on her face and was wiping a glass with a cloth apparently without realising it.
"I'm here to see King, the name's Kusanagi." He shouted over the din of merriment.
"I'll have to check if she's expecting you!" She shouted back. She motioned for the other bar hostess, who was drying her hands. Her eyes seemed to light up as she saw Kyo and her mouth opened and quavered slightly.
'Oh, no, a fan...' he thought gloomily, although he couldn't help a sly grin forming on his face. The woman, who had a name tag saying Elizabeth, whisper-screamed in the other woman's ear, without taking her sparkling eyes off Kyo. Sally broke off the conversation and came back over to Kyo.
"Come on around, King's expecting you!" she screamed. Kyo nodded and walked around the bar. He noticed the bar hostess' eyes following him, one with awe and the other with anticipation. He smiled in reply and went into a door to a back room.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! That was Kyo Kusanagi!" Elizabeth whisper-screamed excitedly to Sally after Kyo had disappeared through the door.
"Don't have a heart attack, Sally." Elizabeth said hoarsely.
Kyo walked along the corridor, a flight of stairs with a posh banister led to the second floor on his right and a slightly open door was on his left. He opened the door and peered into the dark room, only to find that it was empty. He shut the door and stomped up the stairs. As the din from the bar below grew dimmer he heard voices coming from the first open door on his right. He pushed the luxurious door fully open, praying that it wasn't a bedroom he was walking into, and stared intently into the room, his gaze fixing on the scene before him. His luggage clattered onto the wooden floor, causing the three people sitting and chatting amiably in the room in front of him to turn their heads and stare at him. King was there, sitting with one leg crossed over the other and clutching a wine glass between two fingers, her slightly blood-shot eyes stared at him with worry. Vice was sitting directly in front of her and she had to twist around completely to look at Kyo. Rugal stared straight at him, meeting his gaze. There was a confused look in his eyes as Kyos own eyes stared back with shock and unmistakable hatred.
"W-what the hell?" He quavered, pointing an accusing finger at Rugal. King stood up and positioned herself in between them, holding her arms out.
"Kyo wait, I can explain..." She said sternly.
"He's a mass-murderer! He had my father brainwashed and had him fight against me! He made statues out of his victims! Now he's in La Illusion, having a quiet drink of red wine and a chit-chat?" Kyo hissed angrily. His accusing finger turned to Vice and she glared back with a look of horror. "She was obsessed with blood! She was working for Orochi and Rugal! She was deranged! Now she's here having half a lager?" He continued. King stood stock still for a moment, a look of dread on her face, she quickly turned to look at Rugal and Vice. Rugal's face had suddenly become blank and he was staring at his knees. Vice stared at Kyo, looking for signs that he was mad and finding none. King stomped over to Kyo and took his arm, practically dragging him out of the room, shutting the door behind her and turned to Kyo with an angry air.
"Kyo Kusanagi, control yourself!" She whisper-screamed. "They don't remember any of that, damn it. I was wanting to break all of that to them over time, but now that plan's been ruined!"
"They don't remember...? Huh?" He asked confusedly, his mind trying to digest everything and failing in its current jet lagged state.
"They have amnesia!" She whisper screamed. Kyo and King stared at each other for a while. Kyo's expression slowly drained of all the rage.
"Amnesia..." He muttered, more to himself than to her.
"That's right." She said more calmly. Kyo nodded. King's expression turned into slight concern as she took in details about him. "Kyo, are you alright? You don't look so well..." She asked. Kyo smiled weakly.
"Jet lag." He mumbled. King nodded in understanding.
"You don't look all that well yourself." He said, noticing the bags under her eyes and the visible veins where the whites of her eyes should be.
"I didn't get much sleep last night, my guests turned up at 2:00 in the morning and haven't begun to get tired, being dead will do that to you I guess." She said thoughtfully. Kyo just nodded. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Man, today hasn't been very good so far, let's hope it gets better..." He muttered. King smiled weakly and opened the door. Kyo shuffled back into the room with an embarrassed look on his face. Rugal was still staring at his knees and Vice looked like she was in a world of her own.
"Nice going, Kusanagi." He heard a low voice saying from his right. He turned and stared into a dark corner. K' was leaning against the wall nonchalantly, his sunglasses had been tucked away in his shirt and he was staring at Kyo with an unmistakable hint of disdain in his blood red eyes. Kyo's accusing finger forgot its earlier blunder and pointed at K'.
"He's here too? Oh, god. The drama never ends!" Kyo cried out to the world in general.
"Bite me, Kusanagi." K' replied coolly. Kyo gritted his teeth.
"Is it true...?" He heard Rugal saying. He turned and saw that Rugal was staring at him. "I'm...a murderer?" He said quietly.
"Don't worry about it." Vice said softly, leaning forward and putting her hand on his in a comforting way. "At least you aren't deranged!" She said with a slight smile. Rugal looked up into her beautiful, honest face.
"Just insane." Kyo said conversationally. King gave him a death glare as Rugal fell back into his dark stupor. "I'll just stop talking now..." Kyo muttered. King nodded sharply in agreement.
"You suck, Kusanagi." K' laughed behind him mockingly. Kyo slapped his hand over his forehead. Today had been a bad day, but it seemed that it was going to be a very long one too.
