Neo Geo Chronicles is back again, this time with a FIERY VENGEANCE that would make even the most seasoned revenge-ist tremble.
Remember when I said that Kyo and K' would meet up this chapter? That'll have to wait.
In this chapter, we take a trip to Second Southtown over in the US to join Kain R. Heinlein, his loyal henchman Abel "Grant" Cameron, and also their monthly-kidnappee Hotaru Futaba in reminiscing about Kain's various failed schemes to take over the city. Think of it this way: Kain's like Dr. Robotnik from the Sonic series: Brilliant, ambitious, and incompetent.
Finally, a new naming structure will start now. Basically, every chapter from here on out will have a theme and an act attached to it, and a standard title as well. For instance, the last two chapters were "Alien Vs. Orochi Act 1: The Beginning" and "Purple Flame Diner Act 1: Now with more Bernstien!"
This chapter's called: Second Southtown Stories Act 1: Professor Heinlein, PhD
---THE SAME DAY AS THE LAST CHAPTER, DESPITE IT TAKING LIKE OVER TWO MONTHS FOR THIS CHAPTER TO COME OUT---
Japan's own Southtown is a haven for food and fighters, and the site of many a King of Fighters tournament. What people don't know is that the tournament started out in the US(1), in what is now called Second Southtown, Washington(2). Among the diverse population of Second Southtown (or 2nd South, as the residents call it), there is a serial killer, a seventy-year-old pharmacist, the original owner of the Pao Pao Café(3), Kim Kaphwan's two teenage sons, and even a Kyokugen-ryuu master. However, the master of 2nd South's seedy underbelly of fighting is Kain R. Heinlein. The younger brother of Marie Heinlein, Geese Howard's dead wife, he was the mastermind behind the King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem(4) tournament held in 2nd South. Like many criminal heads, Kain's an accomplished fighter. So is his personal bodyguard, Abel Cameron, AKA Grant. And so was their (ahem) guest, a fifteen-year-old girl named Hotaru Futaba.
Maybe I should explain how Hotaru got there. Incidentally, the Heinlein Syndicate, Kain's own criminal organization, attempts the kidnapping of a local girl once a month. Basically, they pick a name out of a hat and then lure whoever they chose out of their home, abduct her, and then take her to one of the Heinlein Syndicate's various bases across the city. They just so happened to pick Hotaru, but they didn't count on Hotaru's pet sable(5) Itokatsu to follow them. Actually, Kain's a relatively generous guy, so Itokatsu was allowed to stay with Hotaru. Why? I don't know. Probably because Kain thinks sables are cute.
Anyway, Kain and Grant were busy telling their captive how she was "chosen". (it became sort of a tradition in cases like this.) The captive in question had her hands bound behind her back, and her feet were shackled together. "So you see, Ms. Futaba, it was pure luck that you were allowed to join us this month.", Kain told Hotaru, to which she replied "You mean, it was pure luck that you kidnapped me, right?"
"Well, when you put it that way…"
Hotaru then realized where she saw that face before, not to mention that awesome light-blue-and-black outfit "Hey, you're Kain R. Heinlein, aren't you?" to which the Heinlein Syndicate leader responded, "Yes, that has already been established, Ms. Futaba."
"I've heard of you from Rock. He said you're not that bad of a guy."
Kain realized who he was talking to. Hotaru Futaba, incidentally, was Rock's best friend, and she was actually planning to move to Southtown to be with him more often. He said, "It's very flattering to hear something like that from one of my nephew's friends. And you know I can't have you leaving Second Southtown just yet."
"How'd you know I was going to move?"
Grant, being the one who actually kidnapped her, said, "There was a You-Hawl(6) truck outside your house. The only way you could have something like that is if you were planning to move somewhere." Kain added, "Seriously? You were planning to use You-Hawl? You could've used Hurtz, POGS, or maybe have the Kim(7) boys take you, and it would've been a lot less hassle, not to mention it won't cost as much." Only Kain can switch from formal sayings in one sentence, to speaking casually in another. The irony of it was that Kain himself used You-Hawl to move supplies from place to place. He was beginning to regret it. And when Kain R. Heinlein regrets doing something, you'll regret suggesting it to him. "and also, you can't cross the pacific with You-Hawl, unless you were going to Hawaii, in which case it'll cost you around $1,200 extra." Grant continued.
"I'll keep that in mind."
The three possible stooges continued on down the hallway (I forgot to mention, they were walking down a hallway) to one of Kain's invention rooms. You see, Kain is a genius. His intellect has yet to be matched by anyone. The problem with Kain's smartiness, though, is that he often squanders his genius on inventions to take over the world. Most of these inventions failed, however, and Kain R. Heinlein is usually referred to as 'Second South's Geese' if Geese himself was referred to as 'the M. Bison(8) of Southtown'. "Well, here we are.", Kain said to his two companions (of which one didn't actually want to be there). Hotaru, the one who didn't want to be here, was impressed by the utter normalcy of this room compared to Kain's HQ. "Wow. This looks so… ordinary.", she commented, to which Kain responded, "You probably don't know this, but I get distracted by lavishly decorated objects and all sorts of stuff you'd normally find in a manor of some sort, so I built this room to be practical. I am a genius, you know."
"Wait, what's that over there?"
Hotaru tried to point to a certain object, but as I said before, her hands were tied behind her back, so she just turned her head to the general direction of a strange little robot. This 8-inch-tall stainless-steel likeness of a toy robot had a white karate gi and a red headband on, and it just so happened to be equipped with Authentic Ki Fireball Action(9) "Oh, that's Robot the SFC Awards Robot(10). I was honored with that prize by the Southtown Fighting Circuit(11) a few months back, when I had a little girl named Marietta(12) as my guest."
"You're still in the Southtown Fighting Circuit?"
"Indeed."
Grant then started to reminisce about a plan of Kain's… "Hey Kain, remember that time when we tried to take over the city using one of your weird contraptions?", he started, to which Kain asked, "Which one?"
"The one with that giant bird"
Kain remembered that one, saying "ah yes, I remember. The Giant Claw(13), I called it." Hotaru remembered it too, but decided not to say anything. Kain's too much of a benefactor to be involved with first-the-city-then-the-world plans. And besides, that's Geese's schtick. "What about that one where we unleashed a whole bunch of rats in every restaurant in the city?"(14), Grant asked with emphasis on the phrase 'what about that one where we unleashed a whole bunch of rats in every restaurant in the city'. Hotaru took this time to say this question: "Wait, that was you?" Meanwhile, Kain repeated a mantra. "Never let Grant design plans to take over the city."
(15)
The King of Footnotes '94
1) Fatal Fury was set in Southtown, and Southtown at the time was located in the US.
2) Too many times have I seen a Californian ST, or a New Yorkian ST, so Second Southtown(2a) is located in Washington.
2a) As already stated, Second Southtown was the setting of Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Although, at the time the game was made, the Zero Cannon from KOF 2000 hadn't fired at Original Southtown yet. At this point, it had, and Southtown was moved to Japan, and Second South is in the US.
3) The original owner of the Pao Pao Café is Richard Meyer, host and referee for some very interesting barfights.
4) This is the tournament in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. I bet you didn't know it was a KOF tournament.
5) A Sable's like a squirrel, except waaaay cuter.
6) SEE WHAT I DID THAR?
7) In Korea (as well as some parts of Japan and China), last names are written first. For instance: Kim Jae Hoon and Kim Dong Hwan.
8) …What? You didn't expect the whole thing with Shadaloo/Shadowlaw and their dictatorial boss Bison/Vega to go unnoticed in the SNK Universe, right? Especially after that whole World Martial Arts Tournament(8a)-party-crashing that he and Geese did, right?
8a) The Story is this: Garcia Group(8b) and the Masters Foundation, after years of rivalry, joined forces to create the World Martial Arts Tournament (also known as the first Capcom Vs. SNK). Then Bison showed up and royally screwed everything.
8b) Garcia Group is the financial clique that Robert Garcia, Kyokugen-ryuu practitioner, is the heir of.
9) Also known as: "Realistic Haoh Sho Koh Ken Action!" and "Actual Hadoukens!"
10) In memoriam: Robot the EGM Awards Robot. 1990-2008. May you play many games of the year in heaven.
11) This was the sponsor of the King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem tournament. Because crime bosses like Kain and Geese need a sponsorship to avoid suspicions.
12) I met a girl named Marietta once. She was pretty
13) After the movie monster called The Giant Claw. It's as big as a battleship!
14) You know, like in that Disney movie Ratatouille. I refuse to refer to it as a Disney/Pixar movie, because Pixar's imagination died when they were bought out.
15) Kain only had two plans to try to take over the city. One of them was conceived by Grant. Grant isn't the longest combo in Killer Instinct.
COMING UP: Art of Fail Act 1 – Flight of Fail
The Art of Fighting gang (plus King and, inexplicably, Kasumi Todoh) goes to New York to catch up with Robert's company and get the Kyokugen Dojo's rent out of the way. Little do they know there's a stowaway on their plane. Is it Eiji Kisaragi attempting assassination? Probably not. Is it Ryuhaku Todoh? Not a chance. Is it Kim Kaphwan, trying to catch a plane to Korea but somehow got the wrong plane? No, and he's from Fatal Fury 2.