Chapter 11
As Terry was led back to the fighting arena, he began collecting ki energy as he walked behind the thug. He was fighting mad and getting into fight mode. Still, his mind took note of this sudden refinement of his abilities. In that same small corner of his mind, Terry Bogard knew how this was possible. He finally had something, no, someone to fight for now. Knowing this, Terry Bogard prepared for what could quite possibly be his final fight.
The two warriors faced each other from across the arena. Terry spoke first: "Geese, why did you go to all this trouble? Until today, I couldn't have cared less if you survived our last battle or not. In defeating you, I avenged my father, my first teacher and I avenged her. Why?" Geese said: "Because I could, that's why. I hurt you just as you hurt me when you defeated me, and I wish to go on hurting you. Actually in a way, I have much to thank you for. After defeating me I played dead for a time and nursed myself back to health. Thanks to this wound on my chest, my power has only grown. In playing you off against my half-brother, Wolfgang Krauser, you eliminated the biggest threat I had left after I killed your father and Tung Fue Rue. That worthless slut Lily was just a bonus. Are you ready to die now?"
The battle was joined. Geese opened with: "Reppuken!" The violent wave technique similar to Terry's Power Wave came straight and true. Terry knelt to the ground: "Power Wave!" The two wave techniques collided and cancelled each other out with a back blast of warm air that caused both fighters to cover their faces momentarily.
Terry was the first to recover as he said: "Power Dunk!" Terry jumped in the air and came down with a mid air version of his burn knuckle that connected squarely with Geese's jaw. The technique knocked the older man down and away. He got up, wiped some blood from his mouth and said: "Excellent. Do you have more?" Terry answered the request: "Burn Knuckle!" This time though the older man caught the technique just shy of connecting and turned it into a high aikido throw that sent the younger man across the arena floor as Geese taunted: "Too easy."
On the attack this time, Geese flew in with a spinning heel kick that Terry barely absorbed with a block as Terry countered with: "Crack Shot!" The inverted kick at such close quarters, caught Geese on the top of his head, forcing him down on one knee for a second hit to his shoulder blade. By itself the two hits were enough to send the older man to the ground again as Terry jumped away to gain space. Geese stood up as Terry charged in. Thus starting a volley of punches and kicks between both fighters that left them both bloody in short order.
The exchange of blows continued until Terry faked an elbow smash, causing Geese to counter with a roundhouse right punch that missed as Terry knelt to the ground and yelled: "POWER GEYSER!" The technique erupted directly beneath Geese's feet and sent him flying up and away to land hard on the ground several feet away. Terry began to draw even more ki from the earth as he prepared his next attack. Geese stood slowly as he saw Terry's stance. Arms straight out from his body, feet shoulder width apart. Geese knew what was next and for a moment felt fear in the pit of his belly as he remembered what happened the last time he had been hit with Terry's ultimate attack.
"Terry called out: "Hakkyokuseiken . . . sen pu kyaku!" The tornado was even stronger than the first time Terry had used it on Geese. As the attack surrounded Geese he blocked what he could but felt himself weaken with each new hit this more powerful version of the final attack produced. Geese felt a split second interval in between two attacks and used his own final technique: "RAGING STORM!"
The cage of blue-white energy burst up from the ground around Geese and like a steel jaw trap stabbed into the Lone Wolf. Terry felt excruciating pain as the bars of the energy cage stabbed into him from all sides. Terry let out an ear-rending scream of pure agony as he flew back from the attack and landed hard chest-first.
Terry lay there a moment before putting his arms under him and pushing himself up to a kneeling position. Geese was in little better shape as he said: "You have fought well Bogard. After I kill you, I think I'll go after your friend Joe Higashi next. After him, I'll settle with your brother and his wife. Maybe even raise their child as my own, or maybe I'll just kill it in front of its parents before I kill them. I'm sure I can conjure something from my dark imagination, ha ha haaa haaaaa."
Terry felt something snap inside. Only once before had he felt that snap. After Sulia died in his arms, just before he destroyed the Goddamus thing. Terry stood and turned around as a sudden wellspring of ki energy erupted under his feet. Geese's eyes widened as he realized he, Geese Howard, the one time "King of South Town", had gone too far.
Terry ran in and shrugged of every attack Geese could throw as he hit the older man in a flurry of punches and kicks to the gut, and face over and over. Terry did a short hop away and right knife edge kicked in the side of one of Geese's knees, followed by a left round kick to the back of the same leg. Sending Geese to the ground on his injured knee, Terry did a low spinning heel kick to the back of Geese's head sending the older man to the ground.
Geese got to his feet, barely, as Terry stepped behind him, grasped either side of his head, hesitated a moment and then gave Geese Howard's head a sharp turn to the right, snapping his neck instantly. The sound of snapping bone rang out like a gunshot. Geese's lifeless body fell to the ground as Terry stood there, barely standing himself.
Terry stood there a moment longer as it dawned on him just what he had been forced to do. Intellectually, Terry knew he had little choice but to end the fight as he had. Geese would have kept coming and coming, hurting everyone that Terry loved. His friend Joe and probably Joe's girlfriend King. Andy, Mai, and even their child would have been in danger too. This hadn't been like the time he defeated Krauser. Krauser had chosen suicide to life after being defeated. Krauser had voluntarily stepped out of the hole in the wall. This time though, the death of his opponent had been an intentional act. Terry had had to end the threat that Geese Howard represented. Even after the justification, it didn't make it any easier.
Maki saw Ripper open her cell door and leave. She had heard Terry's scream but was crying too hard to hear the final result as she ran up the stairs. Running and running, two sometimes three steps at a time, Maki ran until finally she was outside the dungeon entrance. She looked over to the arena, afraid of what she might see but knowing she had to see it nonetheless.
Throwing open the shoji doors, she saw Terry standing there motionless and emotionless, looking at Geese Howard's body. Maki could clearly see that Geese Howard would never be a threat again. She ran to Terry saying: "Terry, oh my god Terry, you're alive. Thank god you're alive!"
Snapped back to the moment, Terry looked away from the body at his feet and saw his beautiful ninja running to him. Terry knew too that she was his ninja just as he was now her warrior. Jumping into his arms again, she held onto him with all her might and kissed him on the lips just as strongly. For a moment, the world ceased to exist for the two fighters.
Their kiss ended with the need for the two to breath. Together, they turned away from the grisly object behind them as Terry said: "I know what I have to fight for now Maki. I love you and I want you to be by my side for the rest of my life." Maki kissed him again, then said: "I love you too, Terry. I'll be there with you if you want." Terry said: "I do." Maki then said: "Let's go home Terry." Terry Bogard knew that he would never be "The Lone Wolf" again as he answered with: "Yes. Let's."