Disclaimer: I don't own the King of Fighters…

A/N: Greetings; thank you for stopping by, and I hope you like what you read. Well, we're continuing on with more team endings as two more teams get to their final destinations for the year. Let me warn you; the last one was much more light-hearted, but this one isn't pretty. Please know that there is some violence in this one. And here … we … go:

The King of Fighters XV

Psycho Soldiers and Agents

Their yearly run in the King of Fighters over, the collectively youngest team in competition, the Psycho Soldiers, was headed home; Athena, Kensou, Momoko, and Bao were in China heading down a mountain road toward their home and training grounds. Suddenly, the clear, blue sky darkened; the wind picked up and shifted dramatically; and all of them sensed a great, sinister presence coming right for them. A moment later, their visitor appeared in front of them … in layers.

First, a bare skeleton rose up from the ground. Next, the bones were covered in skin and hair as the eyes materializes. Finally, the clothes finished the disturbing appearance. It was a tall man in black and red Chinese robes, and a mask covering his face from the nose down. The man looked with pitch black eyes, and the top of his head was crowned with long black hair in a long ponytail. His skin shocked with a pale gray shade, and, though his body was well built, his hands and face were oddly gaunt. This living wraith was their 'supporter' from the last tournament, the former Flying Brigand leader, Ron.

Gripped with fear, Athena stammered, "It's … you again."

Kensou, remembering their prior encounter with this specter, bravely said, "Why are you here? What do you want from us?"

Ron, his raspy baritone vibrating the very air, formally continued, "I commend you on your progress. You've fostered the power very well, Sie Kensou, and you've indeed grown strong. It's quite impressive indeed."

Suspicious of the offering, Kensou replied, "Thanks, but you didn't answer my question… Why are you here?"

Ron said in a matter-of-fact way, "I'm here to give you my offer once again. Your powers are great now… but I promise you, with my wisdom and expertise, you can increase your strength tenfold."

Summoning up some courage, Athena retorted, "They already said no. Why would he change his mind now?"

"I know what he said last time." Ron persisted, "But, that's the thing about me: when something peaks my interest, I just can't let it go. So, how about it, boys? Will you come with me and realize your limitless potential?"

Kensou only had to take one quick look at Athena before giving his answer, "Sorry to play the same song twice, but it's still no go."

"That's unfortunate… for you…" Ron said ominously, "You see, I would like to see the Dragon Spirit more matured, but the level you've raised it to on your own is more than satisfactory. So … if you set on denying me, then I can definitely make do with extracting the Dragon right now…"

All four psionic teens felt Ron's power reveal itself, unfurling outward from him like the wings of a bat. His menace and wickedness was now emanating from him, and painfully chilled these young four like a biting cold against the skin. Ron raised his arms and reached forward like a reaper trying to wrench away life itself, taking a fighting position. Instinctively, Athena and Kensou moved the younger two behind them and for good reason since Bao and Momoko were frightened stiff and could only stare in terror. The Young Rising Dragon and the Psychic-Powered Idol, tentatively and anxious to no end, took their fighting stances…

"Arriba!"

"Hold it right there, scum!"

"We gotcha now!"

Three declarations rained down from the sky as the cavalry arrived by way of a passing helicopter. The agents team of Seth, Vanessa, and Ramon landed in front of Ron between him and the Psycho Soldiers…

Unfazed, Ron commented, "So, you've continued to meddle in affairs that are of no concern to you… Will mice ever learn to not tempt the serpent?"

Seth threatened, "Talk all you want. We finally tracked you down, and now … you're coming with us!"

"Hmph. If you insist…" Ron replied, "I'll satisfy my urge to exsanguinate you all. It shouldn't be that time-consuming."

"Better guess again!" Vanessa proclaimed as she rushed forward."

Not wasting time, the agents went into full-on attack mode, proceeding in practiced patterns. Vanessa attacked with her rapid punches. Ramon besieged Ron additionally with his flying offense. Seth stood as the last line of attack, carefully striking when Ron was cornered. And all they could … was hit air. The former Flying Brigand leader calmly and easily evades all their assaults; he simply shifted to the side, leaned backward out of the way, and used minimal body movements. He didn't even move his hands to defend himself; he didn't need to.

As the Agents team stopped to regroup, Ron said, "Now then, if you prey are done flailing away fruitlessly for your lives… I believe it's time for me to reap my harvest."

Now, Ron would actually participate in the fray. He nonchalantly booted the charging Vanessa aside, and one-handedly caught and tossed an airborne Ramon in the other direction. Kensou, seeing the tide shift, urgently took the chance and fired a 'Mega Bullet Attack' at their collective adversary. In response, Ron fired a projectile that greatly resembled a bare white skull with black smoke spewing from the orifices. The skull 'ate' Kensou's attack, the eye sockets beginning to glow red from absorbing the energy.

"Nightmare Catcher…" Ron said softly.

Seth pushed Kensou out of the way, and took the attack head-on, getting knocked back on his back … but that wasn't the only effect. The agents' superior started to sit up but suddenly froze. He went pale, his eyes growing wide, and his body started to tremble. With his attack, Ron had propelled Seth in to a state of terror: the sight of his family being killed played out in his eyes; the sounds of their terrified screams filled his ears. Seth was trapped in a waking nightmare of his worst fear… Taking advantage of the distraction over Seth's incapacitation, Ron translocated to Kensou and Bao, grabbed the two by their throats, and with them firmly in their grasp, started to pull their souls from their bodies…

"Phoenix Arrow…!" Athena shouted as she dove down at the back-turned Ron.

Dropping the now-unconscious boys to the ground, Ron disintegrated upon Athena's impact before regenerating a short distance away and firing a 'Nightmare Catcher' at her. Momoko, thinking only to aid her mentor, acted out of instinct, calling on more energy than she usually had, and managed to teleport the skull-shaped attack away…

"Finally, entering the fray, little one…" Ron said as he turned to the still-terrified Momoko, "Consider it your final mistake. I think I'll make you the first phantom."

The living wraith dashed forward even as Momoko was almost literally petrified. Using her 'Puncher Vision' to get there in time, Vanessa reached Momoko at the next to the last second and threw her out of harm's way…

"Visceral Freedom…" Ron stated as he struck.

Again, an agent had saved one of the Psycho Soldiers; this attack, however, had much more gruesome results. Vanessa was thrown back by the two-handed strike as her upper body was riddled with deep gashes as if she was slashed by a sword. It didn't take long for her white shirt to match the red of her hair and lips, quickly becoming blood soaked. Her eyes, from the moment of the attack, became eerily blank as the crimson liquid streamed from her mouth…

Ramon screamed hysterically, "Vanessa!"

Immediately, Athena came to the rescue, teleporting to Vanessa's side. She instantly began healing the wounds even though the grisly and violent sight caused her to weep, her tears distraught and unrestrained. Meanwhile, Ramon raged and attacked Ron with the fury of a wild, rabid animal. With her tears blurring her vision, Athena managed to pull all of the blood back into Vanessa's body and mend the wounds. The damage, however, was done; the shock and trauma of the event remained for both of them.

Eventually, Ron blocked Ramon's attack, and pushed Ramon's arms away from his chest, squaring the luchador up for what was coming next. Unleashing what he called a 'Ghost Hammer', Ron delivered a lightning-fast series of punches to Ramon's chest that beat right over his lungs like a drum roll on a snare drum. He continued to assail the luchador even as he slowly collapses backward to the ground, only stopping once Ramon was flat on his back. With Ramon now incapacitated, Ron turned to see Athena still helping the wounded Vanessa…

The former Flying Brigand leader said ominously, "So, you are the last one standing, are you? Only you can stand between me and what I want? You seem intelligent, little girl. I wonder if you…"

That was when Ron saw a bright light coming from behind him. He quickly turned and saw a welcome sight for him. Both Bao and Kensou were awake and covered in a blue energy that domed around them and reduced their visibility to mere dark silhouettes. Both were now thoroughly manifesting the 'Dragon Spirit', pulled to the surface by Ron's attempted extraction. Ron turned back to the sight of the powered-up Kensou now between him and Athena in the blink of an eye.

Knowing immediately, Ron fervently reacted as he started toward Kensou, "Yes! That's it! Come… Come to me, Dragon Spirit… Come to your mast…"

Mid-sentence, Ron was blindsided, hit with the force of a runaway train by a large beam of pink energy … Momoko's Esper! She'd used Ron's preoccupation with Bao and Kensou as an opportunity to charge up the attack and again save Athena. Bao quickly flew after Ron with a 'Psycho Ball Crush', the energy of the Dragon Spirit morphing around his body into the shape of a circular saw blade, and tore into the ghastly adversary. Following through, Kensou fired another 'Mega Bullet Attack', but this one was much bigger and shaped like a dragon's head. The attack exploded upon impact as the dragon's head 'swallowed' Ron and threw him into the air with the blast. Ron eventually slammed into the ground with a vicious THUD!

As he struggled up to his feet, Ron forced out, "Impress … Impressive… It seems you're … farther along than I thought … than I planned for. But I'm satisfied for now. Continue to nurture the Dragon Spirit, boys … because I will be back for it."

With that, Ron disintegrated and thus teleported away. The Dragon Spirit soon receded with the danger now thwarted, and both Bao and Kensou promptly passed out again. Momoko meanwhile quickly rushed to her mentor's side…

Momoko worriedly asked, "Athena-sama… are you alright?"

Athena, still thoroughly shaken up and now guilt-stricken, managed to reply, "I'm fine, Momoko-chan … but I'm proud of you though. You were great and so brave… That's more than I can say."

His head finally clearing, Seth took out his radio and called, "HQ… Come in, HQ… Please lock-in on my position and deploy a retrieval aircraft with medical personnel immediately…"

A responded agent answered back over the radio, "Your request is granted, Commander Seth. A rescue vehicle is being prepared. How many are injured?"

Seth lifted his head and surveyed the damage. Kensou and Bao were still out cold, near motionless. Momoko and Athena were still visibly scared, both trembling and Athena engaged in silent tears. Ramon clutched his still screaming chest as he desperately and slowly crawled toward Vanessa. The female agent, the one in the most dire straits, was still in physical shock, being stabilized only by Athena's healing. Blood still dripped from her lips, and her eyes were still half-closed and locked in a vacant stare…

"All…" Seth admitted with pained regret, "All of us…"

End Chapter

A/N: Okay, there you have it. I know the content in this one was pretty rough, but I'm afraid the next one won't offer much relief. Next time, one particular character gets his beliefs tested … in a most distressing fashion. Well, thank you for reading, I hope you liked it, and I hope you come back to read more. Please R&R, and as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.