Disclaimer: SNK owns King of Fighters and all the characters that appear. I own any original character appears. This in no way derogates from SNK's legal rights and obligations.
Chapter 4 - Assassin's End
Location: Warehouse by the Pier in London
It was a clear night, almost midnight, when Kai and Billy turned up to the warehouse by the pier, to see what this mysterious "friend" who was most likely not a friend, would come. The warehouse was on the outside was plain, with a window above the big roller door. Billy and Kai both surveyed the scene, looking around for anything that should not be there. As Kai looked at the roof of the warehouse next door, he spied a flash of movement, quick but not missed.
"Watch out, there's someone here," Kai said, as they continued to walk towards the warehouse. He kept his eyes trained for movements on the rooves of the warehouses as Billy kept a lookout on the ground level. Billy pulled him down, as a shot rang into the ground above their heads. They split up and sought the cover of the building,
"Assassin, right?" Billy asked when they were inside.
"Yeah, and a good one at that, but I think she'll show herself soon," Kai said. "I'm going to keep her attention, you sneak behind her and take her out, okay?"
"Yeah, I'll give her a beating that she won't forget." Billy replied.
"Let's go," Kai said, as they split up to look for the assassin.
Sneaking outside, Kai opened the door carefully, a shot pinged into the ground right near him, he closed the door and opened it again after a while, this time no shot pinged, picking up a loose pebble he threw it out and another shot, this time it hit the pebble square on. What to do he thought, send a Chaos Shot at the assassin, or go another way?
Kai decided to just delay as much as possible, picking up another few pebbles he opened the door again, this time there was no shot for a long while, he stuck his head outside, the assassin had moved, that was until she dropped down on him intent on slashing him with her knife. He blocked a fatal blow, but it opened up a slash on his left arm and his blood ran red, dripping onto the ground.
"You're dead," he said, as he launched a Chaosfire shot at the enemy, who jumped away, backflipping neatly.
"You want to come down here, or should I come up?" Kai taunted. Suddenly, a blue laser came down from the sky blasting towards Kai.
Meanwhile, Billy had snuck around the other side of the warehouse and had begun climbing onto the roof of the nearby building to find the assassin, when he was set upon by a few thugs, with baseball bats and knives. Taking out his staff and snapping it into position, he smiled, as he moved swiftly, knocking out one with a blow to the head, splitting the staff sending one end snaking round to hit another, whipping the staff over his head, sending the next thug flying with jab of one end. Then a blue laser shot out of the sky, confirming what he had suspected, she had been hired to finish the job, for some reason, now they had decided to finish what they had started. He promptly knocked out the other thugs and jumped onto the next rooftop towards the assassin, Lien Neville, who he had a score to settle with.
Kai noticed the blue laser coming down at him and then his features began to melt away, as his body rearranged itself into the features of Mai Shuranui, jumping off one of the walls avoiding the laser blast by copying her ninja skills, then pushing off the other wall to reach the roof where the assassin was. Mai's features then melted away and were replaced by Kai's once more, as he dusted himself off. (A/N: And the clothes change as well) "Neat trick there, wasn't it," he said, as he saw the female assassin's shocked face, which quickly recovered, "But now you've seen it...you really should have come down." He launched into an attack, his signature flurry of palms and fists, lightning quick, forcing her to block desperately in order to keep up. Kai was grinning the whole time, as he upped his speed, landing blows now, as he summoned chaosfire to his hands, "Can't you feel the fire eating away at you, missy," he taunted again, as he sent his fist straight into her chest. He jumped over a kick aimed at his ankles, "tut-tut, that's too easy to dodge," he stated as he launched into a graceful flip using her shoulder to land behind her and begin his attack again, keeping her on the back foot, blocking his flurry of attacks.
In fact, she was so occupied with blocking Kai's flurry that she did not notice until it was too late, Billy's staff heading straight for her head, a crowning blow. Kai stood there and smirked as the staff came crashing onto her head, knocking her out. "Good one," he said, congratulating Billy on a perfectly executed plan.
"Yeah, though I would have liked to rough her up a bit more," Billy replied, "the thugs didn't really put up much of a fight."
"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of chance to do that," Kai said, picking the now knocked out assassin up.
"What are you doing," Billy asked.
"Well, she knows something, we're going to interrogate her," Kai replied, stressing the last part and punctuating it with a wink, "by the time we're done with her, we'll know everything there is to know. And then I think I'm going to dispose of her." Kai adjusted his clothes which had creased while he was fighting, as they walked out of the pier, driving to another place.
Location - London - Kaia Mellion's terrace house
Kai and Billy arrived at an ubiquitous looking terrace-house, one that had belonged to Kai, but now belonged to his sister, Kaia, having passed the laundromat on the way. He opened the door, "she's out tonight, so we should be free, and anyway, if she comes home, she would approve, she'd probably take over, she's much more efficient at it," Kai said, as he sat the still unconscious and now trussed up Lien on a chair.
Inside was well, a lot of high-tech gadgets and devices, Billy looked around at the stuff, the room was tiled like a medical facility, but the couch and other things had been cleared away from this spare room. Now there was only Lien, trussed up in a chair, still out, a rack of gadgets, Kai and Billy. Kai reached for a taser on the rack and handed it to Billy, "would you like to do the honours?" he asked, handing Billy the taser, indicating that he should zap Lien.
"Of course," Billy grinned, holding the taser up to Lien's back he pressed the discharge trigger, sending a bolt of electricity up Lien's spine, causing her to contort and stiffen, and then relax.
"Oh well, that didn't wake her up did it now, but wasn't it fun?" Kai asked, as he sauntered around slowly to face Lien. His hand whipped out quickly, "crack" right across her face, leaving a red imprint in the cheek. Still she did not wake up.
"whoops, you must have gone too hard on her back at the warehouse," Kai said, laughing, "pass down that knife please, from the table."
He received the knife from Billy, who was watching this for the sheer kicks he was getting out of watching her suffer. Kai went around the back and yanked her hear, chopping it, hacking it off with the knife,
"Don't you think she looks much better now," he said, as the gold blonde hair fell to the ground. Both of them were laughing now, "just get on with it," Billy said, impatient because he was worried about his sister.
"Alright, Kai said, as he took another instrument from the table, this one a curved blade, as he went and put smelling salts under her nose, causing her to jerk up, awake. He could see the panic in her eyes so he smiled, "nice to see you up now, Miss Neville, you are here, at her majesty's pleasure," using the phrase that Kaia used when she interrogated people.
He could see her struggle against the rope, "don't struggle, it's unbecoming for a lady," Kai said, sighing. "All we want is information on who put you up to this?" He saw her struggle a bit more. Billy now walked into her view, "remember me, last time you tried to kill me, I think I should return the favour, now tell me who sent you. And where is my sister?"
Billy saw that she didn't answer, so Kai went to the cupboard and brought out a syringe and a little bottle of liquid, filled the syringe and pricked it into her arm, pushing the liquid into her bloodstream.
"Now why don't you tell us who sent you? And where is Lilly?" Kai asked, calmly, waiting for the drug to take its effects. He brought out the implement with the curved blade, "it would really hurt me to have to resort to sterner measures."
No answer, so Kai asked Billy to zap her with the taser, which he did, sending electricity through her body, not enough to knock her out, but enough to make sure she felt the pain. Kai lit one fingertip with chaosfire, as he put it to the implement, heating the curved blade until it was red. He moved closer to her, holding the blade near her cheek, "now would you tell me everything," no answer again, so he pushed the blade into her cheek causing blood to come out which fizzled as the wound cauterized because of the heat. The scream could not be heard past the sound proofed walls.
"I suppose you want more of this, don't you?" Kai asked, as Billy smashed his fist into her nose, breaking it causing it to bleed profusely. Kai applied the flat of the hot knife, causing cauterisation of the wounds. "The next time, I'll stab somewhere where it will really hurt." He could see the look of worry and fear pass through her eyes, they were slowly breaking her, "now if you tell us everything, I think I could stop this," Kai said, in total control of the situation.
No answer, the taser was applied again, causing her body to jerk again, and then relax again, after the shock had passed through, "it doesn't have to be this way, you know," Kai said, as he pressed the hot instrument into her chest this time, searing a long scar across her right breast. Another scream, again absorbed by the walls.
"really you should tell us everything you know, I really don't want to hurt you anymore," Kai stated, keeping his face straight. He took another instrument from the table, this time a straight surgical knife, "this one will hurt even more, if need be."
"Now tell us what you know," Billy said, "before he has to hurt you some more." Kai saw signs of the woman begin to crack under the pressure, perhaps because the drugs were now taking full effect, her eyes glazing over.
"What is you name?" Kai asked, as a test question, "I'll spare you some pain if you answer," his voice said suggesting that this would be true.
"Lien," the woman replied, confirming what they already knew. Time for another test question, this time Billy asked, "did you try to kill me a while back,"
"Yes, but Rock Howard saved me," she said, droning. Kai kept his face straight as that factoid came out, that one he hadn't known.
"Now, who paid you to kill us," Kai asked.
"Duke, I work for him trying to infiltrate ADDES until this job came up, payment was going to be made in person at Manchester at Old Trafford, at 3am tomorrow night, the body was to be disposed of, all other communications were by phone and he disguised his voice just in case anyone was listening in."
They had struck the right information; they were going to catch whoever sent that assassin at Old Trafford, Manchester. "Thank you," Kai said, "you've been most helpful,"
"Don't worry, when my sister gets back, she'll do what she has to do to get the body disposed of," Kai said, "they have Cleaners, she can get rid of any trace of DNA, blood or anything, and anyway, she's allowed to do this sort of stuff by the Government, she's probably already filed a dossier on her with the info that I'll give her from this interrogation."
Billy left the room through a second door, to clean up all the blood splatters and other dirt, leaving Kai alone in the room with Lien. Relief played through her eyes, Kai laughed, "don't be so relieved, well actually do, because this is going to be over soon." His hands began to glow with chaosfire, but this time a bright white flame as his hands began enclosed around her head, stabbing through her head, a large hole on one side a small hole with one finger on the other, mimicking a magnum wound from close range. The end of an interrogation would of international criminals like this would usually end with a bullet to the head. Kai went out by the second door, cleaned up and then rejoined Billy in the living room, both of them in medical overalls, as their clothes went through the wash process.
"Don't worry, as soon as the clothes are done, we can do what it takes to get her back." They discussed what they had learnt, some very interesting facts, especially that they had taken the contract off Rock, after he seemed to be not loyal to Geese. So it did confirm their suspicions, someone wanted to hurt everyone who had been associated with Geese Howard. Kai typed out a message on his PDA and sent it off encrypted to his sister, explaining everything.
"Last time, you promised me that you would tell me a little of your history," Billy said, as they waited. "and you dodged the question, this time, you have to answer."
"Alright, but some of this is going to be pretty whacked out," Kai replied as he began, "The chaosfire, that's the green stuff, is actually a gift I've had since birth, my father and mother were both experts in martial arts, living in seclusion almost, after they had retired, when they raised me and my sister, but my father was my teacher, my mother taught my sister. MY father's style was one of chaos, and attack, being unpredictable, spinning wildly in and out of attack range, disrupting strategy," he took a breathe as he continued,
"My sister, fights a totally different style that my mother taught her. It was all pretty funny though, mother and father never fought, but we fought a few times, like kids always did, I usually did lose though, her way was methodical, just content to let me play around, until she saw an opening an executed a ruthless riposte."
"So I left home at eighteen to find my way in the world, and I ended up working in the music industry, started managing some bands, a couple were successful, some not. But I was good at it. That's really all there is to it." But he did leave out the other part of his training, the one which allowed him to melt his features and morph. He was going to pretend to be Lien tomorrow night and hopefully lure out the real enemy.
The light over the door indicated that Billy's clothes were done, "you better go and get your clothes, we'll talk about this again later, after you come back out."
Billy went inside and retrieved his blue jacket, red and white bandana, t-shirt, blue jeans and underclothes and staff and belt along with his boots, as he dumped the medical overalls into the bin to be incinerated, he came back out through the door.
"So, continue," Billy said, as he sat back down, as they waited for Kai's clothes to finish being decontaminated.
"Well, there was one other thing my father taught me, that's going to help us tomorrow. I think I should just demonstrate," Kai said, as his features and body began to morph, changing into a picture perfect copy of Lien, he changed back, quickly, "so the guy won't know the difference until it is too late." He saw Billy's shocked face, "don't use it often, and I don't let anyone else know but you and my sis."
The light again lit up, as Kai went in to retrieve his black t-shirt, black jeans and red windbreaker and underclothes and his shoes. He came back out changed, having incinerated the medical overalls they had worn.
Kai yawned, "I'm tired, I'm sure sis won't mind us bumming over here tonight, unless you want to go home." Kai flicked a knob, having just remembered to keep the interrogation chamber cold to prevent decay, while the room could keep out noise it could not prevent smell from escaping.
Billy was tired as well, so they both fell asleep, one on each couch in the living room.
Author's Notes
1. Once again thank you to the reviewers. Special thanks to LegendarySuperNamek for his great suggestions. But you'll see why I couldn't use one of them
2. If you think that this is too graphic, please send me a PM here, or post in the review that it is and I will up the rating to M
3. I suppose that you should have worked out Kai Mellion is a play on the word chameleon. So somewhere in the past he has met and touched Mai. The power is however of limited use, (probably only one move). But yes, this does introduce even more unpredictability to his fighting.
4. Revised list of teams:
Ash team - Ash, Ron, Elisabeth
HMK team - Rock, Billy, Kai
Sacred Treasures/Kyo Iori team - Kyo, Iori, Shingo
K' team - K', Kula, Maxima
Fatal Fury - Terry, Andy, Joe
Korea Team - Kim, Choi, Chang
Alba team (anti-Ash team) - Alba, Luise, Chae Lim or Mignon Beart
Kyokugen team - Ryo, Robert, Yuri
ADDES team - Soiree (brainwashed), Nagase, Duke (he's going to be brain controlled and have implants in his body I think)
Neo Psycho Soldiers - Duo Lon, Sie Kensou, Athena
Ikari Warriors - Leona, Ralf, Clark
Women's (wives to be) team - King, Mai, Mary
Anti- Kyokugen - Malin, Kasumi, Eiji
Outlaw - Ryuji, Lin, Gato
Benimaru team - Benimaru, Oswald, Seth
MOTW team - B Jenet, Hotaru, Tizoc
5. I'm also going to have round robins like the World Cup Soccer (probably four groups of four)...like this I think
Group A - Ash team, Ikari Warriors, Benimaru Team, Korea Team
GroupB - ADDES team, Kyokugen, Anti-Kyokugen, K' team
Group C -Outlaw team, MOTW, Anti-Ash team, Neo Psycho Soldiers
GroupD - HMK team, Fatal Fury Team, Women's team, Kyo/Iori team
Again, comments would be most appreciated.
6. I was almost tempted to have a Ryo, Terry, Andy team versus a King, Mary, Mai team. LOL...maybe I'll do that in another story, or someone else write it.
7. And yes, next chapter Kaia will make her first appearance. And some wacky things will ensue.