Chapter 9: Uncertainty

Disclaimer (Who cares about the story? THIS is what you're all reading for!): 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.

Somewhere in the Sahara desert, 20 miles south of the Atlas Mountains...

A scarab beetle scurries along the sands, slowly making its way over one of the many large dunes. In the near distance an oasis with many tropical trees and plants contrasts perfectly to the miles of burning sand around it. The beetle scurries along without wondering about these desert features, its goal for today is to get over this dune and start to burrow a new home for itself; snakes had taken over its last home.

It paused as a sound interrupted the usually quiet desert, like the sound of a sandstorm.

A helicopter appeared over a nearby dune, flying low enough to the ground to cause a large amount of sand to shift.

The beetle tried to hold onto something, but finding nothing it gave in and blew away (Landing on the head of a snake and slightly concussing it.)

The helicopter flew even lower to the ground as it slowly began to hover in mid-air. A bulky figure fell out of the open doors and landed face first in the sand below. It lay still.

"Sir, when should we return to pick you up?" A muffled voice shouted over the din. A hand raised and waved slightly, causing the chopper pilot to shrug and veer the helicopter back the way it came.

The figures hand dropped with a muffled grunt of exasperation.

Ralf reminded himself never to jump 20 feet off a helicopter again, even onto sand, as he picked himself up and dusted himself off.

Most people would wonder 'what the hell is he doing here?' but most people didn't know about Jazek 'Monster, raving, Looney-tunes' Aneirin, Jaz for short. He was a strange little man, he was originally from Samoa, but when his parents died at a young age a distant relative brought him to Africa, where he changed his name to Jazek Aneirin after finding religion. It doesn't sound that strange until you meet him. He lives in solitude, completely and utterly away from society. He's a seer of enormous power, claiming that god gives him visions of things mortal men shouldn't know of, he was never wrong. Which is why Ralf, who had once saved the old mans life on his first, and only, trip back to society (Because he missed the taste of beans) when a group of muggers attacked him and Ralf happened to be in the city on a mission.

Ralf made his way steadily towards the oasis. He stepped through the trees, making sure that he wasn't going to stand on anything lethal, and made his way around the waters edge to a cleverly concealed hut. It was built directly under a large palm tree, which had bent over to an almost right angle over the years of sandstorms and growth. The hut was made of wood mainly, covered over with palm leaves and held together by old looking ropes. It hadn't changed since the last time Ralf had been here.

"How long has it been?" Ralf muttered to himself as he stared at the hut reflectively. It had been many years, the last time he had been here Leona wasn't on the team, in fact it had been when Heidern still had two eyes and he hadn't even adopted Leona yet! Ralf had been a lot younger, still a rather green soldier. But he was forgetting the time later when he had brought Heidern and Clark along to meet the old man. Heidern and Clark had been rather spooked out by the old mans ability to practically read their minds. When they had entered, the old man, before anyone else could say a word and without even turning away from repairing his peace pipe, had said "Hello there, Ralf. Looking a little more muscled than I remember. This must be your friend Clark and your Commander Heidern. Pleased to meet you!"

Ralf entered through the shanty door, crouching because the whole building was made for someone who was 4 foot 5 inches and even smaller when he hunched his back. He felt slightly worried that he would find bleached bones that had once been the old man, but his fears were soon answered.

"Long time no see, Ralf!" A shrill voice chirped as he entered. He looked up from his stoop, banging his head on a wooden roof beam, and saw the old man smiling up at him from a cross-legged position. He was sitting in the exact centre of the hut on a grass mat, his skinny frame only slightly worse for wear than Ralf remembered, despite age trying its best.

"Hello, Jaz." He said in as friendly a voice as he could muster under the circumstances. Jazek never wore much clothing, only a loin cloth, although most of his body was covered in tattoo's from his youth, needless to say it made situations slightly worse.

"How's your young lady friend, Leona wasn't it, poor deer being ill and all." Jazek said, pouring something that looked like milk into a coconut shell. He offered it to Ralf, who took it gingerly.

"How did you know-" Ralf began. The old man smiled what would have been a toothy grin, if he had any teeth left. "I mean, that's why I'm here." Ralf finished lamely.

The old man turned around on the spot, with surprising agility for his age, and fumbled in a nearby basket full of odd items. Ralf glanced over the old mans shoulder and saw a stuffed black bird in the basket, a necklace made of teeth, a mummified doll of the voodoo variety. Jazek fumbled under these and pulled out...

"A pocket watch!" Ralf said, flabbergasted. The old man gave him a blank stare as he placed the watch delicately in front of him. It was very old and the glass was smashed, the hands had stopped at 1 and 3.

"Mock not The Stopped Watch of Power and Stability!" The old man warned with a serious expression. Ralf composed himself as the old man closed his eyes and concentrated. Ralf stood for a while, waiting for something to happen. He expected the old man's eyes to fly open theatrically. He knelt down after a while and looked at the watch laid out on the ground. Nothing stirred for quite some time. Ralf started to feel impatient. He was about to ask what the old man was doing, and shake him if he'd fallen asleep, when something happened. Ralf became aware of the small room darkening. He might have imagined it, but it was as if a cloud had passed over the sun; this being the Sahara desert in the dry season it was slightly suspicious. Then he became aware of a noise at the edge of perception, he looked down again at the watch. It had begun to move, the big hand going around at a surprisingly fast pace. The room darkened further and the old man's head drooped forward. Ralf was about to move forward and check if he was all right when the old man's head came back up again. It was different, younger in years but still the old mans face, somehow. The usual expression of maddened joviality was replaced by a sterner look; lines the old man didn't posses had formed to make a scowl of concentration.

"Speak now mortal." The voice came, but it was deeper and tinged with a new accent that Ralf found unfamiliar. The dark eyes, now in deeper sockets and shadowed from view, looked down at the watch. "When the watch of stability once again strikes 1 and 3, no more knowledge shall I pass too thee." It said cryptically.

"I have a question: What the hell is going on?" Ralf asked with a slightly shaky voice. He had heard about possessions, he and Clark had watched a few programs for laughs about them. But this was creeping him out completely.

"I am Kaemon. All knowledge shall pass from me. Ask what you came to ask and leave." The possessed old man said. Ralf's mouth dropped open.

"Uh... I asked the old man, Jazek that is, about why my friend, Leona, is suddenly having Riot of Blood type fits." Ralf asked with a slightly nervous air.

"The blood boils but is still, it has awakened not, but her link causes grief." The being uttered in a strong voice, as if talking to a child who needs discipline. Ralf tried to work out what had just been said, but failed.

"Eh?" Ralf asked hoarsely.

"The blood of the Orochi is linked together. A powerful force or gathering of energy will be felt by all those touched." The being uttered. Ralf worked this out slightly easier.

"So Iori was also affected by this?"

"The mortal Orochi Iori was affected in a different way. The Orochi flame burned the land but affected him little."

Ralf got to his feet.

"Who's behind this gathering of power?" He demanded. The being stared straight ahead, as if not even seeing him.

"The Orochi known as the Heavenly King Goenitz." It said monotonously. Ralf became aware of the room darkening slightly more, but this was because of the cloud of anxiety he suddenly felt settle over him.

"I have to go." He said, turning around and moving towards the door.

"Your time is not up." The being called after him. Ralf turned.

"I don't care. Tell the old man I said thanks." He then turned and crouched out of the doorway.

The being, left alone in the small room, slowly moved its hand over the ticking watch.

"As you wish..." There was a flash and the darkness disappeared. The old man blinked at the empty room for a short while, wondering where Ralf had gone off to.

"Kids these days." He muttered. His eyes moved downwards to the watch. The hands were on 1 and 3...

Ralf half-ran half-lurched up a dune, his leg had cramped up. He tripped on nothing, which happens sometimes against all laws of physics, and landed flat on his face again. He rolled over and sat up, taking his radio out of his belt. He pressed a few buttons on it.

"Charlie, get that helicopter here, right now!" He roared into the radio.

"S-sir!" Said a slightly worried voice on the other end.

"And bring the long-range radio equipment, I need to send a message to Heidern ASAP!"

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"Yeah, the shit's just hit the fan."

Rose whined piteously. They had been walking around for quite a few hours without any further trace of there father. Her legs were hurting and she was beginning to feel hungry, which always made her irritable.

"Brother, I'm tired." She whined as she plodded along behind the silent figure.

"Just one more place and then we'll go back to the 'Noah." He said calmly without turning to her.

She sighed heavily and plodded on.

Adel pushed open a door to a rather posh looking establishment. The noise inside dropped for a moment as the newcomers were examined by the patrons. Rose felt awkward as she realised that she was drawing most of the attention, mostly from the male patrons, but a few female drinkers were discussing her unusual attire in hushed voices. She followed closely behind Adel as he pushed through the crowds to the bar and fumbled in one of his pockets. A barmaid grinned at him, although slight apprehension was visible in her expression.

"If you want a drink, you're going to have to show me some ID." She said to Adel, which resulted in some of the close-by patrons chuckling. Adel didn't even respond to the comment, but pulled a small picture out of his pocket and held it up in front of her face.

"Have you seen this man?" He asked politely. The woman stared at the picture for some time. Adel was good at reading expressions, and the woman's expression suggested that she had seen him but was hesitant to give away his whereabouts. Adel's expression grew colder by the second.

"Where?" He asked quietly. The woman hesitated even more. "Tell me!" Adel suddenly said, his voice louder than he had intended. The noise in the bar subsided and all the attention was riveted on him. Rose looked about nervously and then realised that the attention of some of the patrons was turning elsewhere. She turned to follow their eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She forgot the ache of her legs and began to run across the room. The world seemed to slow down as she leapt, sailing in the air with her arms outstretched and a huge grin on her face. The face of Rugal turned from impassive to a comical mask of horror as the strange girl flew towards him.

"Daddy!" She cried out, completely ignoring the other people that stood around him.

Rugal hit the ground with a thud as the girl latched onto him. To his further horror, she began to sob as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Daddy, I missed you so much!" She sobbed piteously as Rugal looked up into the faces of people around him, silently pleading for help. Kyo was laughing, Vice looked bewildered and K' had an expression of sympathy; Kula did that to him sometimes; minus the sobbing.

Kyo stopped laughing as he looked up and across the room into a red, humourless glare. Adel silently walked across the room and stood between Rugal+Rose and Kyo, glaring fiercely at the King of Fighters legend. Adel turned and looked down at his sister and father. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't detect what. Rugal looked back at him without any hint of recognition. Adel turned his gaze away to a woman he thought he recognised.

"Miss Vice." He said. "I see you have also returned to us."

Vice blinked a few times before asking.

"Who are you, anyway?"

'Ah...' Thought Adel, his premonition that she wouldn't recognise him either being proven correct.

"I am Adelheid Bernstein, and this is my overly emotional sister, Rose." He announced. His eyes flicked between Kyo and Rugal. He leaned down and took Rose gently by the shoulder, pulling her off Rugal, who sighed with relief. Rose gave Adel a glare, silently demanding that he explains. Adel leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Rose, father seems to be suffering amnesia." He whispered, so that only she could hear. Rose looked at Rugal, who got up and brushed himself off. She noticed that he didn't seem to recognise her as their eyes met.

"Is it permanent?" She whisper-screamed to Adel. He didn't answer, but Rose could tell from his face that he didn't know.

The noise levels in the bar slowly came back. Patrons at La Illusion were used to drama happening there, it was another reason the place was so famous. Who needs to watch a drama on TV when you can see it live?

"I think we should go upstairs." K' commented.

The alarm went off beside the bed and a hand shot out from beneath the covers, punching it off the table.

"I'm up, I'm up." King said in a muffled voice as she yawned widely. She had gone back to bed for a few hours after they'd got back. She pushed the covers off her and rolled over lazily. She lay still for another 10 minutes before she heard a voice in the back of her head say 'get up!'

She rolled off the edge of the bed and landed with a thump.

She looked blearily at the alarm clock on the ground in front of her. Realisation hit her that it was quite dark in the room, to dark. Through her blurred vision she noted that the clock said that it was 9:00p.m.

Three hours until the meeting.

Rugal was left alone in a dressing room, an assortment of items had been placed on the table by his son. He felt slight pride in the fact that he had a son who was so polite and well-spoken. Whatever else he had been, at least he had been a good father. His daughter seemed more angry, and bitter with the world. He didn't know how to act like a father, no, he didn't remember how to act like a father. But apparently his first duty as a parent was to try and look 'spiffy,' as his son had said. He pulled off the cheap shirt and trousers he had been wearing and examined the attire laid out for him. He picked up the red jeans, custom made he could tell. They shone in the light. The dress shoes had hard soles and looked like they had cost more than a hundred dollars. He put the clothes back on the dressing table and moved to the more peculiar items. His son had given him instructions on how to use them, but he felt uneasy about it. A metallic arm, it looked sinister in nature, like it had been built for the sole purpose of making the owner more menacing. Moving along to a round metal device and picking it up giddily, he looked at the thing with a frown on his face.

"Well, you never know until you try..." He mumbled. He lifted the thing slowly, with reluctance, and pushed it into his empty eye socket. Nothing happened for a moment and he blinked. Then he felt the strangest sensation, as if something moved behind his eye socket, gripping onto the snapped tendons that lead to his brain. He held up his hand to his head as a shooting pain suddenly lashed out. But then it was gone. The world swam into focus. He held up his hand close to his cybernetic eye and he saw it illuminate with a red glow. He had more than perfect vision, he knew, it was like he could focus on anything and he could zoom in to it. He could probably see in the dark. A quick inspection in the mirror made his mouth drop open. It looked...demonic, in a way. He liked it, he had to admit.

The metal arm was picked up and pressed firmly onto the stump of his right arm, unafraid and itching to see what affects it would have, he pressed a button near its base. It tightened around the stump and he felt a low buzz as the arm came alive, using the natural electricity in his body and magnifying it. Strength, horrifying and pure, that's what it was. Strength, power and control, he liked these, but he couldn't let it go too far. Not like before his amnesia.

You can have strength, You can have power and control, but what would you do if you had everything?

It would be too much.

His thoughts were sullen as he pulled on the clothes and tucked his shirt in. Over this he put on a coat, which he had stared at for quite some time, intrigued. It was a ringmasters coat, red and black and matching his other garments.

He stopped out into the winding corridor of the monstrous flying fortress and looked out of the window at the darkening countryside.

There was a feeling in the back of his mind, like knowledge that you can't pin down. If he tried to concentrate hard enough he thought he could make out what this feeling was. Something was coming, getting closer and closer. He didn't know if this had anything to do with K's sister being kidnapped.

As he mussed on this, Vice quietly stood beside him and looked up at his glowing red eye. She then touched the new metal hand carefully. Rugal didn't feel it, but he realised that someone was beside him and turned, slightly quicker than he had intended. Vice jumped at his suddenness. Rugal stared at her as if he hadn't seen her before. Vice realised that he hadn't seen her with two eyes before, but felt slightly uncomfortable under his scrutinising, and frankly quite unnerving, red gaze. He relented and turned his attention back to the window.

"Couldn't sleep?" He ventured without turning.

"I have this feeling..."

"Like something's coming?"

"Yes, how did you-" Vice quavered.

"I've been having the same feeling..." He said quietly. Vice absently looked about the corridor to see if anyone was watching, or listening. She lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Not something. Someone. A presence, twisted with hate. When I asked Adel if he felt something similar he said no. But I feel so certain about it. Rose said it's probably something to do with my Rocky blood."

"Orochi..." He corrected, whispering also. "I was apparently imbued with some of it myself, but that's what originally killed me, according to my son." He still couldn't get around the fact that he was a dad, but it helped that his son was a very polite, well-to-do young man. It was slightly more painful because his daughter, quite frankly, wasn't very polite, but she was kind of stuck-up, which was classy in a way...

"Is this person coming for us, do you think?" Vice mumbled. Rugal didn't respond.

Vice put her hand in Rugal's metal hand, but he didn't seem to notice. Rugal was surprised when he realised that Vice was holding his hand, but even more so when she wrapped her other arm around his and rested her head against his shoulder. Then she shut her eyes.

They stood like that for some time, two people who only remembered knowing each other for less than 2 days. But in these two days there had only been one constant, one pinnacle of certainty in all the confusion...

Each other.