The Belly of the Beast

"Let me go!" Lina shouted as she tried to break free from her restrains that held her in the metal chair, which did nothing.

Bison snickered as he looked at her with a kind of sadistic pleasure.

"You are quite spirited. Invading your mind will be very entertaining."
"What the hell are you talking about? When my brother gets here, he's going to make you wish you were dead!" She shouted with venom.

Her threats only made Bison grin even wider.

"That is what I am going to find out."
"What?" Lina said, confused.

Bison's eyes flickered with Psycho Power before Lina screamed in agony as his power entered her mind, tearing into her memories.

"I can tell that you are fighting my mind probe, but no mind is outside of my grasp."

Lina was filled with even more agony.

"Keith! Terry!"

X

K' and K9999 radiated intensely powerful fire auras that distorted the air around them.

"Rraaaa!" K9999 started by slashing out his arm which became a deadly spear.

K' saw the strike and shifted to the side almost like he didn't even move.

K9999 retracted the blade, but K' grabbed it and used it to carry him right into the clone.

"Narrow Spike!"
K' tripped K9999 and used his Minute Spike to hammer his foot across his face, sending him straight into the far wall.

K9999 grinned as his arm returned to normal.

"K', I expected more from you. That attack was as puny as a slap."

K' just looked at him with that emotionless stare.

"What makes you think I even tried?"

K9999 fumed as he charged and his arm became a sword and began to swing wildly.

K' avoided the first slash like nothing, ducked the second with no problem.

K9999 just kept swinging, but K' just kept dancing from every slice.

He leaped on and off the high railings, but K9999 followed and sliced through the bars without slowing.

The metal walls offered no resistance from his blade which tore into the steel like an aluminum can.

K' shifted like he was floating off the ground, but K9999 wasn't stopping and he was really getting annoyed.

"Trigger…"

K' flashed his hand out, sending a flame that circled back to form a trigger, hitting K9999 right in the face.

"Shell."

He caught the flame with his foot and nailed K9999 right in the chin, sending him straight up.

K's fist blazed with more fire as he leaped into the air.

"Crow Bites!"

K9999 shouted in pain as K's uppercut struck him right in his spine.

K' landed and K9999 fell hard, smoking.

"I'm not the winner of the KOF for nothing." K' said as he walked away.

"Hehehehehe."
K' turned to see K9999 slowly get back to his feet, revealing a sinister grin.

"This fight is far from over. I will kill you!"

K9999 grabbed his head with both hands and screamed as his fire erupted around him.

K' remembered this, he was going all out.

K9999's continued to scream as his hair turned white and his fire aura became so enormous that the ceiling, over 50 feet high, was melting from the extreme heat.

Soon the fire settled, but the fury was still there as K9999 smirked savagely at his rival.

"I know that people are given a choice to be either buried or cremated when they die."

K9999 snickered.

"But you don't get a choice."

X

Alba, Soiree, and Duke were really clashing in an all-out brawl.

Alba fired several Luminescent Lashes, but Duke blocked them all and retaliated with his Sledgehammer, which Alba rolled away from as it blasted another hole.

Soiree used his Capoeira to get in close and leaped high into the air with a Piledriver Dynanisch, striking Duke in the head and bringing how down to one knee.

"Is this all the great Duke can dish out?" The younger Meira said as he planted several rapid kicks in the tyrant's stomach.

In an instant, Duke looked at him with a grin.

Soiree gasped, seeing that he fell right into his trap.

"Ground Zero!"

The explosive ki engulfed Soiree, knocking him high into the air.
"Soiree!" Alba ran and caught his little brother before he hit the floor.

"Hey, bro." Soiree said, a little burned, but alive.

"You two will never learn that I am the true lord of Southtown." Duke said, standing at the center of twisted and charred metal.

Alba let Soiree go and the two were ready to fight again.

"Things have changed, Duke. This time you won't live through this fight." Alba declared.

Duke chuckled as he rubbed his scar.

"You forget, I am immortal."

"We'll see about that!" The two shouted and charged.

Duke grinned as a dark aura flared around him.

"Ground Zero!"

X

The entire ship shook violently, almost making the two fall to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Ken shouted.

"Must be the fighting. Come on. I can sense that we're close." Ryu said as he and Ken ran into another large metal room.

"Ryu, I don't like the looks of this." Ken said as they slowed their pace, waiting for what was to come.

They didn't have to wait long as a small door opened and a tall figure walked from it.

The two weren't sure, but they knew it wasn't good as they got into fighting stances.

Then the two were surprised to see who it was.

"Sagat?" Said Ryu.

Indeed it was the Muay Tai master, but he was different.

Aside from the incredible increase in power, his entire body was disfigured with numerous scars and stitches including a very large one on his skull.

"Ryu, this time I will be victorious." Sagat said as his good eye shined just like the Cyborgs.

"Sagat, what have you done to yourself?" Ryu asked in awe.

"I knew that I could never excel you in power since our last battle. So, I decided to make some modifications to insure my chances in defeating you."

"I can't believe you let Bison do this to you? No self-respecting warrior would stoop so low as to receive help from that psycho." Ken said distastefully.

"If the ends justify the means." Sagat replied as his aura surrounded him.

"Tiger Shot!"

The two barely saw the blast coming and managed to counter with their own, but it took just that to cancel it out.

Sagat grinned as he looked at his hands.

"This enhanced body is incredible. I can feel the awesome power I now possess."

Ryu charged and leaped with a flying kick.

Sagat swung out his left arm, deflecting the attack and punching Ryu in the stomach with his right.

Ryu groaned as he was knocked back, but recovered quickly to land next to Ken.

"Man what a punch." Ryu said as he rubbed where he was hit.

"Things are a bit different this time. Not only are my abilities far beyond my expectations, but I have data about your fighting style so I know every move you make before you even make them." Sagat said before he charged.

Ken and Ryu leaped back as Sagat's long leg swung out to sweep them.

"Hadouken!" Both shouted and fired while still in the air.

Sagat flipped backwards just as the blast hit, missing him.

"Tiger Knee!"

Sagat shot from the smoke and nailed Ken right in the chest, then swung around and hit Ryu with a spin kick.

The two hit the ground, Sagat landing right after.

Sagat stood like a statue, waiting for them to stand up.

The two did quickly, but were aware that this wasn't an ordinary fight.

"This doesn't look good for us. He's a lot tougher now." Ken said as he wiped some sweat from his brow.

"Maybe so, but that doesn't determine the outcome of this fight."

Ken chuckled a little.

"It's been a while since we've fought together, eh Ryu?"
"Feels like yesterday." Ryu replied with his own smile.

"Then let's show this guy what it means to go against us."

Ryu nodded and they snapped into fighting stances.

Sagat snickered as he waited for them.

"I've waited for this moment for a long time. Show me what you've got!"

Ryu and Ken responded by charging into battle.

X

K' found it far more difficult now to ward off K9999's attacks.

In this form, K9999 was faster, stronger, and far more aggressive in his fighting.

He was like a wild animal.

K' fought hard, but he had to really move to avoid getting cut to pieces are burned to death.

K9999 seemed to be enjoying the fight despite the pain coursing through him every time he wielding his fire at its fullest, but it didn't matter now. His desire was only to kill K'.

"Die!"

K9999 gathered his flames into his hand and fired a giant fireball at K'.

K' used his Blackout move to avoid the blast that slammed into the far wall, burning into the metal, leaving a large scorched mark from it.

K' appeared behind K9999.

"Trigger Shot!"

K' fired his trigger and kicked it, sending a fast ball of fire at the clone's back.

K9999 turned and deflected the attack.

"You'll have to do better than that."

"Then how about this. Heat Drive!"

K9999 didn't even see K' until he was right in his face.

K' slammed his fist into K9999's stomach, sending a powerful burst of fire that engulfed him and knocked him away like nothing.

K9999 may have gotten stronger, but underestimating K's strength wasn't a smart idea.

But all it did was get him angrier.

"You'll pay for that!"

K9999 shot his spear arm rapidly at K', who used his speed to avoid getting impaled.

"Hrrraaa!"

K9999 swung the blade wide, catching K' off guard, cutting through his leather and into his flesh.

K' rolled from the strike, clutching his wound that left a long red streak across the center of his chest.

K9999 didn't stop, but charged as his arm turned into a drill and he leaped into the air and dove like a bomber.

K' saw the attack and flipped backwards off the ground just before K9999's drill penetrated the steel floor.

"You're mine, K'!" K9999 struck again and again.

K' avoided some of the blows, but the pain greatly crippled him and he had to avoid getting shish kabobed by deflecting the drill with his arm, which shredded right through his leather and tore off some flesh.

K' tripped and fell on his back, leaving him wide open.

"You're death screams will be music to my ears!"

K9999's arm returned to normal as his fingers became sharp knives and he drove them towards K's exposed chest.

In the last second, K' caught his wrist with both hands.

K9999 pushed as hard as he could, but K' wouldn't let him come any closer.

K9999's left hand became covered in fire as he tried to burn K' to death.

K' saw this and kicked K9999 in the stomach, doubling the clone over.

"Damn you!" K9999 leaped into the air, still gathering fire into his hand to take K' out.

"You'll have to do more than that." K' shot out his chain, wrapping it around K9999's arm and with a great heave, brought the clone down hard.

K9999 was about to get up, but K' was right on top of him with his Chain Drive.

K's strikes were so fast, that K9999 couldn't even hope to block them.

K' then finished with his Heat Drive, throwing the clone into the wall.

K9999 was burned badly; his body slumped as if it was about to keel over.

Then his head snapped up to reveal his eyes bloodshot with rage.

"I've had enough!"

K9999's anger escalated as he became consumed in his own fires.

K' felt the increasing power within K9999 and began to back away.

"He's gone mad. If he keeps this up, this entire ship will be destroyed."

X

Alba and Soiree stood in a room of shrapnel.

Duke was more interested in relentlessly throwing his most powerful attacks than simply using his muscles, which made it hard to get near him to do any decent damage.

Even if they could, his Minefield made him lethal to be touched.

Duke was enjoying trashing the two.

"You can keep running all you want, but there's nothing you can do to win."

The brothers growled as they got ready to fight again.

Duke raised his foot and slammed it on the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked the two into the air.

The two flew backwards into the wall like toys, and then fell back to the ground.

Duke grinned as he calmly waited for them, taking his time in killing them.

"He's not taking any chances. He won't let us get close. There has to be a way to get through his guard." Alba said as he cracked his neck.

Soiree got up and took a step, then heard a screech.

He looked down and saw a large piece of sharp metal, one of the many pieces that had been torn by Duke's many attacks.

"Hey, Bro. I think I have an idea."

"What do you have?" Alba asked.

"Look." Soiree pointed at the ground, which was littered with all sizes of shrapnel and pieces of flooring that looked ready to give way.

"Ok." Alba said, unsure of his meaning.

"We can't get near him, but maybe we can improvise. With our wind attacks, we can make a powerful blow that might give us the edge that we need."

Now Alba was getting it.

"So are you ready?" Soiree asked as he began to build his ki.

"As always." Alba replied.

Duke snickered, not able to hear what they were saying, but he didn't care.

"Any last words?" Duke said, getting ready to finish them off.

"Yeah, Big Wednesday!"

"Winds of Pain!"

Both swung their blows, sending twin bursts of wind that combined into a vortex of destruction that roared like a tornado.

The shrapnel got caught in the twister, even some of the flooring was giving way and being ripped from the ground, getting shot through the wind tunnel like bullets.

Duke's eyes went wide at the size of the attack and blocked it at the last second.

The wind kept pushing him back, sending hundreds of metal shards at him, cutting into his skin and some even hitting him head on before he couldn't fight back the strength of their combined attack and thrown into the far wall.

"Alright!" The two high-fived at their victory.

"What makes you think this fight is over?"

The two looked to see Duke was still alive; his red coat was torn to shreds, exposing his dark skin and the many wounds on his body.

"You'll have to do more than just that little gust." Duke said as he pulled out the pieces of metal that stuck in his body.

"But unfortunately, I've grown bored of this. It's time for you to die."

X

"Tiger Uppercut!"

Ryu was caught full in the chest by Sagat's fist, the force of the blow knocking the breath out of him and sending him several stories high, slamming him into the ceiling.

"I'll show you how it's really done!"

Ken came right up to Sagat when he landed.

"Shinryuken!"

Ken's fist blazed with fire as he leaped, the fire transforming into the form of a great dragon as he struck Sagat.

The giant shouted in agony as the dragon surrounded him and Ken before erupting in volcanic fury.

"Now Ryu!" Ken shouted as Sagat was still suspended in the air.

Ryu pushed off the ceiling and rapidly spun with his Hurricane Kick.

Sagat was pounded repeatedly by Ryu's feet, throwing him to the ground and sliding into the wall.

"Shikku…!" Both chanted as great ki built into their hands.

Sagat recovered and saw their attack.

"Hadouken!"

Both thrust their hands and their attacks fused into an awesome beam of pure energy.

Sagat was on his feet and leaped into the air just as the blast struck, tearing down the wall and piercing right through the hull of the ship.

"Did we get him?" Ken asked.

He was answered by Sagat landing right in front of them.

"Not even close. Tiger Cannon!"

Sagat then released a giant ki wave, pulverizing the two with the blast.

After he finished his assault, he watched as the smoke cleared, but they were gone.

"What the hell!"

He turned around to get two feet right in the face.

X

K' was astonished by K9999's growing power, but he had no choice but to fight.

K9999 finally stopped his screaming as he glared at K' with demon-like eyes.

"Now you feel my power and you will fear me before I send you to hell!"

K' flexed the fingers of his right hand and then calmly raised it up and pulled off the red glove with his left hand and stuffed it into his jacket.

"I told you before that should we meet again that I would show you who the Beast of Fire is."
K's hand ignited and the fire began to spread down his arm.

"That red glove was the only thing keeping my powers under control. I have learned to control its destructive power, but the Kusanagi flame is something that we clones aren't supposed to master."

The fire suddenly spread like gasoline was poured on him.

"So now is comes down to which one can withstand the fire the longest. Are you ready?"

K9999 reacted with a battle cry and charged, which K' responded to by also charging.

The two clashed in the middle like two missiles, sending out a wave of fire that caused the entire room to buckle.

The two broke off and charged again in a flurry of punches and kicks, neither willing to give an inch to the other.

The power the two were throwing around was astounding, even the metal around them was set ablaze by their violent auras.

K9999 punched K' in the cheek, but K' retaliated with a kick straight in the face.

They chased one another around the large battlefield, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

"Take this!"

"Heat Drive!"

Both sent twin blasts of fire that collided and swirled like a twister that rose and set the ceiling on fire.

Because of this, fire was literally raining down on them.

K' had lost a lot of blood from K9999's earlier attack, which had weakened him.

He was fighting hard, but he was tiring fast and he fell to one knee.

K9999 saw that he was winning and pushed even more fire into his attack.

K' wasn't about to lose after what he did to Kula and put all of his remaining strength into his Heat Drive, stopping and pushing K9999's blast little by little.

The two were in a virtual stalemate.

Suddenly, K9999's shoulder exploded with fire, almost severing the arm.

K9999 screamed in agony as his blast shut off.

K' also stopped, seeing this turn of events.

K9999 continued to scream as more areas began to explode with fire.

K' put his glove back on, killing the fires around him.

"It seems that you fell victim to them first." He said as he put on his shades and watched him.

K9999 continued to scream as the fires finally consumed him.

"K'! K'!" Were his final words as he collapsed and was burned alive from the inside out.

The fire finally dies to reveal only a pile of black ash.

"Now our fight is over. Rest in peace." He said as he turned away and left the battlefield.

X

Alba charged and punched Duke right in the face.

The giant was rattled, but that didn't stop him from smirking.

"That can't be all you have?" He provoked.

Alba leaped into the air with a barrage of Luminescent Lashes, but the tyrant destroyed them easily.

"Hyyaaa!"

Soiree came from nowhere and plowed his feet into Duke's chest.

"Don't mess with me!"
Duke's black aura exploded with his Minefield, catching Soiree as he was blasted away and sent rolling.

"Soiree!" Alba ran up to his brother, who was getting up.

"Damn, I can't take much more of this!" Soiree said as he winced from his wounds.

Alba was furious at Duke for hurting his brother.

"Damn you! Conquering Lightning Flash!"

The massive blast of lightning shot at Duke, who blocked it, nullifying its full power.

When he lowered his arms, Alba was right in his face.

"Thundergod Unleashed!"

Duke was caught by surprised, not expecting Alba to use his attack as a cover.

Duke slammed into the wall and Alba continued the assault as he relentlessly punched and kicked Duke everywhere he could hit.

Duke recovered and used his Swivel Kick, kicking Alba into the air as he leaped, then spinning around and catching him in the air with another kick before he hit the ground.

Alba rolled, but that last blow was devastating enough to hurt him seriously.

Soiree ran over and got his brother up, but Alba was barely conscious.

"Alba! Alba! Can you hear me?" Soiree asked, shaking his brother.

"Looks like he's out of the fight. He lasted longer than the last time, but in the end. I am the only one standing." Duke chuckled evilly.

Soiree laid his brother back down, knowing that he was the only one left to stop Duke.

"When all is said and done. You'll be six feet in the ground."

"I doubt you have that kind of power."
"Extreme Leidenschaft!"

Duke was ready as the younger Meira brother charged.

Soiree gave everything he had into his attack, throwing kick after kick in rapid succession, but to his surprise, Duke was blocked every strike with a grin.

"You never stood a chance against me."

Duke's hand shot out and wrapped around Soiree's throat.

Soiree tried to pry the fingers loose, but Duke's hold was unbreakable.

"Don't worry, I'll be sending your brother after I'm through crushing the life out of you."

Duke's hold got tighter, shutting off Soiree's air.

Alba shook the cobwebs out of his head and regained full consciousness, then saw his brother being choked to death.

Duke grinned as he watched Soiree struggles get weaker and weaker, till his struggles ceased all together.

"Let his go!"

Duke looked to see Alba, on his feet.

"So you're back. No matter." Duke said as he dropped Soiree's body, which crumpled and didn't move.

Alba saw his brother's body not moving and his hatred exploded at Duke's calm look at his actions.

"You! You sick son of a bitch! Even if I die, I'll make sure that I take you with me!"

Duke chuckled at Alba's threat.

"You may have grown stronger, but not amount of training could ever overwhelm my power."

Alba didn't listen as he once again charged.

Duke was getting bored and fired his Sledgehammer, but the attack was parted like water by Alba's strength.

"No! Impossible!"

Alba's red aura grew around him as he rammed Duke with all of his might.

"Luminescent Slicer!"

Alba's ki blade came from his hands, but instead he grabbed it and wielded it like a sword as he unleashed a fast and deadly barrage of countless slashes all over Duke's body.

"Feel the Cry of Heaven!"

Alba finally rammed the blade through Duke's body, lifting him off the ground and impaling the wall, holding the giant off the ground.

"I saved that just for you. That was my Holy Sword of the Blessed One. May it send you straight to hell."

Duke gagged on his own blood as it flowed from his mouth before his head dropped and he stopped moving.

Alba immediately ran to Soiree's side and felt for a pulse, but didn't find one.

"Soiree, you're not leaving this world. Do you hear me!"

Alba charged electricity into his hands and placed them on Soiree's chest.

Soiree's body jolted from the charge.

Alba did it again, putting more electricity into his brother's body.

"Come on Soiree! Wake up!"

Alba put his full power into Soiree, his body spasming from the charge sent through him.

Finally, Soiree gasped air before he coughed and wheezed.

"So you're alive. I wouldn't have stopped until you've either woke up or were charred to nothing." Alba said humorously.

"Thanks a lot. So did you win?" He asked.

"What do you mean? Of course I…"

Alba turned and saw that Duke wasn't there anymore.

"Damn!"

X

Sagat didn't understand. He was way more powerful than he could have ever been, yet these two were giving him a run for his money.

"Shoryuken!" Ryu nailed him in the jaw and Ken came up from above with a flying kick.

"What's happening? I know your every move, yet you keep somehow getting through my defenses."

"That's because we fight with a clear conscience. You did once before." Ryu explained before he fired a Shikku Hadouken, which Sagat barely avoided.

"Is this some kind of trick?" Sagat charged and punched Ryu across the face, but Ken nailed him with his Shoryu Reppa, firing several Shoryukens one after the other.

Sagat nailed Ken with his Tiger Shot.

"What did you mean by clear conscience?" Sagat demanded.

"You once fought fairly, like a true warrior. Apparently losing to me drove you to the wrong side and turned you into this."

"I never lost to anyone! How was I supposed to act?" Sagat swung a barrage of punches and kicks, but his attacks were getting sloppy, which Ryu easily avoided.

"You may have grown stronger, but you are only half the man I faced years ago."

"You lie!" Sagat charged at Ryu, but Ken came in and swept his feet out from under him, making him fall at Ryu's feet.

"A true warrior wouldn't let their anger cloud their judgment. That's what happened to me when I almost got swallowed up by the Dark Hadou. Luckily I was able to turn away and because of it, I managed to defeat Akuma."

Sagat got to his feet and tried to swing at Ryu, but the battle was already over.

"Ken!"

Ken landed next to Ryu.

"Don't kill him. I respect him as a fellow warrior. He just needs to see past his pride and anger."

"Got it."

Both gathered ki into their hands just as Sagat's punch headed right for them.

"Hadouken!"

Both fired point blank, sending Sagat flying away and slamming into a wall, denting it before he collapsed, unconscious.

"Well that takes care of him." Ken said as the two shook hands.

Seconds later, Alba and Soiree entered, the K', then the rest of their forces had arrived.

"Well it looks likes everyone survived." Ken said with a grin, trying to ease the tension.

"Yeah, but Bison got Lina. For what reasons we're not sure about." Mai said.

"Just like him to use one of us as a shield." Ken growled as he slammed his fist into his palm.

"Now the only one left is, Bison." Ryu turned back to the opposite side of the room.

The group reached the end, only to see that it was sealed shut.

"Well it seems that all of you have successfully defeated my best men and my most powerful Cyborgs. But as you might have guessed, you have to face me."

"Can it Bison! We've beaten you before and we can do it again!" Ken shouted.

Bison exploded with laughter.

"The last time was because I didn't even use my Psycho Power and it took both you and your partner Ryu to do it. If you think you stand a chance now. You're in for a rude awakening."

A large door opened up to complete darkness.

"Enter if you dare."

The group entered and vanished just as the doors slammed shut.

X

Done. Well for the moment.

I kind of did this in a rush because I will be leaving soon and I'm having to do a bunch of things that are a waste of time that are keeping me from my writing and I want to get done and not have all of you wondering what happens for the next year or if I ever get back.

I also got my first flame, sort-of.

Personally, I thought I portrayed Kyo and Iori pretty well even though I've only played 2004, which is why I know nothing about their divine abilities from 2003.

Besides, I got about 20 other people to focus on and that's about half of my original cast before I made cuts.

Fighting games are fun, but lack depth because once the fighting is over and you beat the boss, what else can you do but start all over with a new person to fight with, which is why I seldom play them unless I'm bored. But Maximum Impact was pretty cool which is why I did this.

That's just my opinion. Everybody's got one.

Well I'll get started as fast as I can on the final chapter, but it will be tricky since only Bison is left and everyone is still alive, but he still has an ace up his sleeve.

Guess all you want. You might even get it right. But you won't know until I reveal it to you, haha.