Final Chapter of the Great Saga. Sylvie Paula Paula vs Chizuru Kagura? Who will win! What sort of craziness brought these two together?

Benimaru is the craziness. The poor soyboy just wanted to find his way into Kyo's pants, but instead spends his time trying to understand Miss InternetBrain. gg.

Please - all compliments directed to David Tai. Much appreciated.

"Nikaido… who is this girl, and what is she doing with my water dispenser?"

Chizuru Kagura wasn't certain what she expected to find when she stepped out of her office after her secretary had announced the arrival of Benimaru Nikaido and Sylvie Paula Paula.

What she did -not- expect to see was a girl dressed in a loud, garish dress with an ornamental eyeball motif. The outfit looked like it belonged in a circus, or perhaps on the runway. The girl had overturned the large water bottle, and was poking the surface of the liquid with what looked like the letter opener purloined from her secretary's desk.

So this is Sylvie Paula Paula. A failed experiment - and miserable failure to be sure… at least they managed to unlock her electronic powers. She has no friends save those things she wears, and apparently she hears voices in her head.

"That's Sylvie," Chizuru turned her bland smile upon Benimaru, who bowed. "Kagura-san. I wish I could say father bids you well, but I haven't spoken to him in a while." He proffered a box of dried fish roe, a supposed gift… She'd feed it to her koi pond.

Well, at least -this- one has some manners.

Taking the box and placing it on the secretary's desk, Chizuru took a moment to compose herself. Normally she'd never give little people like this the time of day, but this was a matter of chief importance. If the poor failed experiment knew what Chizuru thought she knew, then drastic measures had to be taken. Firstly, she would need to determine the girl's sources, then she would pull strings to have blood spilled.

She smiled sweetly and beckoned at the gaudily dressed girl, knowing this might be the last smile she would see.

"Miss-"

Sylvie, who was kneeling on carpet, looked up. Chizuru blinked and briefly hesitated as she noticed the girl's two eyes weren't looking in the same direction. She dropping her letter opener and chirped in an innocent, girlish voice.

"Hi, Maki!"

Chizuru's fake expression almost snapped right there.

… WHAT?!

"Or is it Chizuru? You do look alike," Sylvie commented, finger to her lips. She spoke as if she were merely rattling off common knowledge. Knowledge with no weight or meaning at all, when, in fact, a mere tenth of the things Sylvie was saying was enough to get her culled thrice over. Chizuru was becoming more and more antsy.

How could she - of all people - know these things? Where did my secrets spread?... who betrayed me this time… I'll drown them in the bay.

Sylvie's demeanor was bright and cheery. She likely didn't know she was providing the nails to not only her own coffin, but the coffins of anyone Chizuru thought was involved. The businesswoman already had some names in mind. Iori can handle the ones on the American East Coast. I can ask Heidern a favor for the three I need dead in Europe, an-

Sylvie interrupted her thoughts.

"I forget, is it the Hakkeshu or NESTS that you're fighting now?"

"... you told me it was Those From the Past," Benimaru frowned and grumbled from behind the overturned water jug. He crossed his arms over his stupid leopard printed crop-top, and puckered his lips like the spoiled brat he was.

Sylvie pirouetted around to address him.

"It gets confusing keeping everything straight," She nodded, tapping a finger to her temple. "I mean, Kukri wants to make -everyone- girls, since he likes them big. Though why he wants to make them giants, I don't know."

Benimaru's outward expression of utter dumbfoundedness mirrored Chizuru's thoughts. She continued to beam her bland smile whilst determining the most efficient way to erase them both. After all, if Benimaru had spent enough time listening to these dangerous secrets… well, how unfortunate. But this is why I have lawyers… Maybe I should just toss them in the trash compactor and let the janitors take them out. It's easy, fast, relatively clea-

"I don't even know who Kukri is!"

Benimaru continued whining. Sylvie continued to answer matter-o-factly. She accentuated her speech with strange hand gestures.

"He's my teammate in King of Fighters!"

"You haven't -even- entered a King of Fighters tournament yet!"

"Oh. It's not that time yet? Who's running King of Fighters now? Those From the Past? Antonov? Wait, is it Papa Goose now?"

Chizuru's smile must have faltered because Benimaru suddenly turned his attention from the amalgamation of hair and eyeballs, to her. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I… I don't know Sylvie… uh… " He looked up sheepishly at Chizuru and gestured vaguely at Sylvie. "So I've brought her here like you asked, Ms. Kagura. Can I go now…?"

"No."

He seemed about to protest, but stopped as he caught her icy gaze. He squirmed uncomfortably. She prodded his brain to ensure her commands were obeyed.

"Wait in the hall… and leave my secretary alone. She's a lesbian, so your charms are wasted on her."

"Oh… oh, okay." Benimaru shrugged as he exited to the secretary's office. Chizuru proceeded to her office with the insane girl in tow.

"And now, I have a few questions to ask you." Chizuru began.

She planted her elbows on her large desk and folded her hands, pressing both thumbs against her lips. Across from her, in the guest seat, a mess of hair and eyeballs looked at everything in the room at once. She had unscrewed the lightbulb from Chizuru's desk-lamp and was shaking it beside her ear, before sticking it in her mouth, where it lit up. Chizuru had no idea what she was doing and it was disconcerting, but the CEO of Kagura Pharmaceuticals was a master of keeping composure.

"I loved you in Rumble in the Bronx, Francoise!" Sylvie clapped her hands together, letting the bulb fall from her tongue, onto the floor, where it shattered. She pulled a heavy looking book and inkpad from… hold on, where did she get-

"Do you mind if I have a fingerprint for my collection?"

Chizuru didn't even have time to hide the confusion in her voice.

"Wh-what? Excus-…"

Before she knew it, her index finger had been slathered in black ink, and then pressed into Sylvie's book. Chizuru watched it happen with a grimace… well no matter, she never participated in crimes directly and the government required her fingerprints upon IPO, so there was no actual harm in it. Still...

Chizuru hated to admit it, but she was beginning to lose her temper. The two things in the world she hated most was: 'people wasting her time' and 'losing, losing control especially'. Right now, she felt like she had no control of this conversation whatsoever, and it was grating on her.

Keep it in, Kagura… Don't lose your temper here. You can deal with this calmly…

Sylvie nodded sagely at her book, put it away, and was about to head out the door when Chizuru slammed her fist into the desk in front of her. How dare this girl treat her so flippantly! Just come in here and take what she wanted? No. She was here so Chizuru Kagura knew who she needed to erase to keep her dealings secret. This was a matter of utmost importance that had to be dealt with as soon as humanly possible. Should she fail, the consequences were dire.

So Chizuru lost her composure. She shouted.

"Stay right there!"

No questions. No niceties. Just see what she knows…

"Just look at the pretty mural on the wall, isn't it nice…?" Chizuru snarled, gesturing violently towards the - obviously blank - wall.

"Ooo, it -is- nice. Look at the pretty spirals, it's like a snake eating its own tail…"

And in…

This is the mind of Sylvie Paula Paula?

It had a million strings leading everywhere. A thousand trains of independent thought which seemed to pull from entirely unique sources. Was she… connected to the internet? How could this be?

Normal people have a single flow of thought… Well Yagami had more, because of Riot and Orochi but… but not nearly so many. Who is this person?! The crazy thing is, she doesn't have multiple personalities, she has multiple… memories?!

Her memory was entirely disjointed. A normal brain tied memories together, either by association, or by chronology - but not with Sylvie. This mind was entirely chaos. Chizuru felt herself going cross-eyed just looking at it. There was no way she could find what she needed.

THIS IS A MESS! How does her mind work! I've never seen anything like this… Does she remember the way everyone else does? No, does she even process knowledge the way we do?! The 'voice' in her head… it's -her-, it's getting the information from somewhere, but what and how…?! What did NESTS do to her?!

Chizuru resisting the urge to do some -cleaning-, lest she be unable to find her way out, and instead turning her attention to … exactly what Sylvie knew of 'Chizuru Kagura'.

What she came up with were many, many, many different variations of herself.

Maki…? No, they're all me, but different.

None of the memories really connected to each other; they appeared as if accessed randomly, fired up by a stray thought here or there.

This 'Francoise' is -not- me!

Maki's dead!

When did Shingo ever replace me in the King of Fighters?

WHO IS BOTAN?!

Was I ever -that- innocent?

Nonsense. All of this…

Forcibly bringing herself back from the morass that was Sylvie Paula Paula's mind, Chizuru brought a hand to her chest, trying to regain her composure. She was in her office. She was Chizuru Yata… no, Chizuru Kagura. She was a Sacred Treasure. Her sister was dead.

"You… get out, now!"

She had no composure.

"... can I have the jar of candy, Yohko?" Sylvie asked.

Grabbing the jar from her desk, Chizuru shoved it into her hands and hustled Sylvie out the door before she lost whatever remaining sense she had.

"How'd it go in there, Sylvie?" Benimaru asked, as he looked up from where he'd been comparing fingernail polish with the secretary.

"Good! She gave me this jar of candy! Bzzzt! A bit of honey and I've got the buzz!" Sylvie responded, practically skipping on her way out. "I'm going to Xanadu!"

"Oh… ok."

Waving a not-so-fond farewell, Benimaru let lose a puff of relief.

At least he was done with -that-.

And he'd be careful, a lot more careful, next time.

Chizuru's office door opened. The woman stalked out. She cast a cruel stare over the room's occupants and curled her lip in contempt. Her demeanor was cold as ice. She marched up to Benimaru and grabbed him by the front of his tiny, skin tight, leopard print leotard. She stared him dead in the eye.

"Where is she?"

"S-she left," Benimaru sat bolt upright. Chizuru wasn't strong enough to lift him by the shirt - but she was intimidating nevertheless. He had always wondered what sort of person could boss Kyo Kusanagi around (since it was a privilege he himself craved dearly), and was now face to face with her. He honestly couldn't pin it down, but she certainly wasn't a mere 'compassionate lady'.

Benimaru averted his eyes from her piercing, icy stare. The answer seemed to wrench from his tongue.

"Said s-she's heading to Xanadu."

Chizuru let him go and narrowed her eyes. The look for utter rage flashed across her face.

"Xanadu's a fictional place, you idiot! Go get her! Get her or I'll make your life miserable!"

...

He was Benimaru Nikaido.

Benimaru, the wealthy. Benimaru, the beautiful. He was the top of the world. The cream of the crop. Everyone wanted him, everyone else wanted to be him (except Kyo Kusanagi, apparently - but that was in the works). Someone like him would never take orders. He would never tolerate being yelled. To be treated like some poor employee… nonsense!

But… but today he was going to make an exception.

Because he had the impression that if he dug this hole any deeper, Chizuru Kagura would bury him in it.

Seirah frowned as her phone beeped. She was waiting for the concert to resume. Rock's band had finished the first half of their performance, and there were holding a short intermission. Seirah muttered to herself as she checked her phone. She disliked working during her 'off-time'. She noticed the incoming call was from Sylvie Paula Paula, and her frown got deeper. Whip sighed, took a deep breath, and answered.

"Yes? Where did you go?"

[Oh, I just saw Kagura! The one that's alive.]

"Chizuru? What… why?"

[To make sure she wasn't tied into the chemfets! I don't think she has any idea what the chemfets do! So they're probably not connected to Orochi. She's only got eyes for Chris!]

"I see." I have -no- idea what you're talking about. "What're you doing now?"

[Playing Days of Memories: Xanadu!]

"... carry on."

After hanging up, Whip slumped her shoulders, before sighing, running a hand through her hair. She noticed that the curtains on stage had closed, and decided she wanted to take a break to watch some dumb action. Perhaps… Maybe he needs a break too?

Hesitantly, Seirah dialed Rock.

[Hello?]

"Hi. Can we go see a movie?" Seirah asked, half-expecting to be turned down by the sheer audacity of the statement. Bail mid-concert? Would he?

[Sure.]

Seirah almost snickered in relief, feeling a load lift off of her shoulders… Wait. This was free time for her… but certainly not for Rock Howard. He was working, and still had half a concert to get through.

"What about your lunatic boss?"

[I'll tell him you kidnapped me.]

"That works."

[What kind of movie do you want to see?]

"Anything that's not a conspiracy. See you outside."

[See you.]

Yag gonna ballistic again. poor bastard.

Rock is Chill 100. Whip is adorable asf.

Benny is no better off than when he started. justice for soyboi amirite?

Sylvie lowkey freaks me out. I have no idea how she operates. Like hella.

I love her.

kk Nano out.