Chapter 2: Intervention
As Cole stands on the boat, with New Marais out of sight, he gets a call from Zeke.
Cole: Yeah?
Zeke: You sure you shouldn't have brought Kuo or Nix with ya?
Cole: I wanted them to stay to keep an eye on the city.
Zeke: Well nothing new, except… hold, hold on a minute.
Back at New Marais, Zeke sees breaking news on his TV.
Anchorwoman: This just in, all contact with the scientists studying Pandora's Box has been lost. Experts have ruled out any interference, but the fate of those scientists is still unknown. To ensure safety until the event is taken care of, all access to Antarctica has been closed off. We'll have more on this story as it develops.
Zeke: Long story short, something's going on in Antarctica and now no one's allowed to go near it.
Cole: That's not going to stop me.
Zeke: I know it won't. Take care, brother.
Cole: You too, Zeke.
Zeke then turns and sees that C. Viper's arc restraints have begun to wear off.
Zeke: So… where you off to?
C. Viper: Where do you think?
Zeke: I figure SIN won't be happy to see you.
C. Viper: It's S.I.N.
Zeke: Whatever. Figure you ought to hang low?
C. Viper: Not a bad idea there… Zeke.
C. Viper leaps from the building and leaves.
Zeke: Well… later Crimson V.
Afterwards, Kuo and Nix appear before Zeke.
Nix: Who in the hell was that?
Zeke: Oh, her? Just someone looking for Cole.
Kuo: Where is he?
Zeke: What, you haven't tried calling him? He's headin' to Antarctica.
Kuo and Nix: What?
Zeke: If you two'll lend me your ears, I'll tell all about it…
That night, Cole wakes up after a small nap to see how much further he's gotten.
A couple of days pass as Cole lies on his boat asleep. In his dream, Cole sees himself standing before New Marais. He sees the Beast approaching.
Cole: I'm ready for you this time.
Suddenly, he sees Pandora flying nearby him. Cole tries to grab it, but it slips right through his fingers and flies towards the Beast.
Cole: No…
The Beast absorbs Pandora and is suddenly filled with energy. Its skin is jet black, its eyes and the cracks around its body go from orange to purple, and white symbols appear all over his body.
Cole: No, no, no!
Cole fires at it with lightning, but the Beast is unfazed and lifts him up. Cole struggles, but then turns and sees Zeke, Kuo, Nix, and the citizens. Then he turns to the Beast.
Cole: Do what you want with me, but just leave them alone.
The Beast drops Cole to the ground, but despite his plea, it then moves towards New Marais.
Cole: No. Please…
The Beast begins charging with power as the citizens scream.
Cole: Please, no!
The Beast then unleashes his attack, not only destroying New Marais, but far beyond it as well. In his eyes, Cole sees the destruction spreading across the globe. He sees Zeke, Nix, and Kuo, who still remain. Cole reaches out his arm to them, but his arm disintegrates entirely. Then Cole sees that his body slowly turning into dust and sinking into the ground. Cole struggles to no avail as eventually, his head slowly sinks as well. At its climax, Cole sees the three disintegrate entirely as his head finally sinks into the ground. Cole wakes up.
Cole: No!
Cole pants heavily, then finally gets a hold of himself. He had woken up in the middle of the night.
Cole [thoughts]: No way am I letting that thing get the box. Wait, how do I even know he wants the box? He just wants to destroy everything, so why should that even cross its mind? Never mind, let's see how far I've gotten.
Cole looks out into the distance, then at a map.
Cole [thoughts]: I must be past the islands by now.
Further away, a Shadaloo squadron approaches, with attack boats and gunships. Inside, the troops prepare themselves for battle. On a monitor, M. Bison appears.
M. Bison: Remember… where that agent failed, you shall not. You shall not because I do not tolerate failure. Take Cole MacGrath alive and bring him back to me. Now then… for Shadaloo!
The Shadaloo squadron salutes.
Shadaloo squadron: For Shadaloo!
Cole [thoughts]: Do I hear something?
Cole turns around and sees boats approaching him. He then sees the gun ships hovering above him. The Shadaloo troops emerge from inside the boat, all aiming their guns at him. Also, Shadaloo troops come down from the gunships, surrounding him.
Shadaloo troop #1: Hey Cole MacGrath, give yourself up and come with us.
Cole looks at one of the attack boats and sees the Shadaloo symbol.
Cole: What? Is that skull supposed to be threatening… or are you just saying how obviously evil you are?
Shadaloo troop #1: If you think you're so funny, we'll sink you. So what's it going to be?
Cole puts his hands over his head.
Cole: Alright. You got me.
Cole then creates an electric grenade and drops it.
Cole: Oops.
Cole jumps up into the air as the soldiers are blown away by the grenade. Cole lands and strikes down one of the dazed troopers into the water with his amp.
Shadaloo troop #1: Fire!
The attack boats start firing at the boat, which very quickly begins to tear apart. Cole sees this and jumps up to one of the gunships as the boat sinks. As he grabs onto the gunship, one of the Shadaloo troops inside see this and positions himself to fire at Cole. When he does this, Cole zaps him in the head, knocking him out instantly.
Shadaloo troop #1: Shake him off!
The gunship tries spinning as Cole eventually jumps off and lands onto one of the attack boats. Cole charges up with electricity as he makes his fall and as Shadaloo troops fire away, Cole's fall speeds up. He comes crashing down, sending all of the troops overboard.
Cole [thoughts]: I'd better be careful next time. I damn near sunk the boat.
Shadaloo troops on another boat fire away at Cole, who quickly ducks. Behind cover, he sees that the Shadaloo troops are firing tranquilizers.
Cole [thoughts]: Guys with guns that want to take me alive? That's a first.
Cole then turns and sees a gunship hovering far above him. Cole quickly fires away at it with lightning attacks, as the pilot struggles to control it. Eventually, the gunship starts to fall downward, towards the attack boat.
Cole [thoughts]: Crap, I did not think of that.
Cole runs across the boat as the gunship crashes into it and it begins sinking. The boat starts to tip as Cole runs to the edge of the boat, which is now facing upward.
Cole [thoughts]: No way I'm going to make this jump… unless…
Cole jumps and hovers as the boat finally sinks. As he nears the water, he quickly fires out a lightning tether, which reaches one of the other boats. He grabs on as it pulls him towards it and once he climbs aboard, he quickly uses a polarity shield to stop the tranquilizers from hitting him.
Back at the S.I.N. base, M. Bison looks upon the screen to see Cole taking down one of his attack boats.
M. Bison: What is the meaning of this?!
Shadaloo Troop #1: We'll have it under control…
M. Bison: This is entirely unacceptable! Need I remind you what will happen if you do not bring Cole MacGrath to me?
Shadaloo Troop #1: No Master Bison!
M. Bison: Now do as I ask!
Elsewhere, in a building far from there, a young man sits looking at a small laptop. He sees the battle going on between Shadaloo and Cole. He gets an incoming message and a soldier, wearing black and red body armor covering his entire body, appears on his screen.
?: Sir, shall we attack?
The man nods at the soldier
?: Understood.
Nearby, attack boats of a different group approach the battle. The troops inside, wearing identical armor, prepare for battle.
?: Alright, you know what to do.
As Cole strikes a few Shadaloo troops with his amp, he turns and sees the attack boats open fire on the Shadaloo attack boats.
Cole: Sweet.
The Shadaloo troops turn almost all attention away from Cole as they fire to fend off their new enemy.
Shadaloo Troop #1: Hurry up and turn these boats around!
Shadaloo Troop #2: But what about MacGrath?
Shadaloo Troop #1: I'm not going after them with these guys shooting at us! And grab those rounds; we don't need to take these guys alive!
Cole, undeterred, checks the boat he's currently on to see if any more Shadaloo troops remain. He then finds the control room and takes the wheel.
Cole: Let's get back to business.
Cole turns the boat and prepares to take off.
Cole: Everything's looking good. Wait…
Cole sees a boat speeding right towards him.
Cole: Oh crap…
The boat rams right into it, knocking Cole back against a wall.
Cole: Damn it! And I thought I was on the home stretch…
Through the broken window, Cole sees troops exiting it wearing green armor and helmets.
Cole [thoughts]: [groans] How many more groups do I have to run into today?
Cole hides behind the door as two of the troops enter the control room.
Soldier: The area's clear. Now where is this guy?
Cole: Heads up!
The soldier turns around and sees Cole sliding right underneath him. Cole then slams him into the air with his amp and slams him back down to the ground. The other troop quickly fires as Cole rolls and then throws an electric grenade at the soldier. The soldier looks at the grenade, which has stuck to his armor, and then back at Cole.
Cole: Have fun with that.
Cole runs out of the control room as the electric grenade goes off. He sees more of the troops waiting outside for him. He fires off an alpha blast, knocking the troops in front of him away and then fires off his bolts in the mist of the confusion, taking them out. As the battle rages on inside the boat, a woman with blonde hair in a purple catsuit steps onto the Shadaloo boat. Cole, having taken care of the troops on the boat, is stopped in his tracks by the woman.
?: You're not going anywhere… Mr. MacGrath.
Cole: Call me Cole. And who might you be?
?: I'm Nina… and I suggest you come with us.
Cole: This is the second time tonight I've been told to come with someone… and frankly, I don't think I'll be making an exception with you, Nina.
Nina: Well that's a shame Cole, because I'm taking you in either way.
Cole: Well I'm afraid that's just not happening.
Nina: Alright then. I'll just break as many bones as I need to so you don't get away.
Cole fires off his bolts at Nina, who quickly ducks under them and strikes him in the ribs, then throws him down to the ground.
Cole [thoughts]: Damn… this girl sure knows where to hit me. That hurt like a…
Nina then places her foot on Cole's chest, threatening to put pressure on it, as Cole grabs a hold of it.
Nina: I'm sure you'd hate to see your rib cage broken. You wouldn't want me to, would you?
Cole: Big mistake.
Cole sends electricity through his body to Nina, shocking her and forcing her foot off of him. In the daze, Cole quickly swings his amp, only for Nina to duck once again. She then grabs his arm and chops his shoulder, forcing him to drop his amp. She quickly kicks it away as Cole then zaps her with a bolt, pushing her back.
Cole [thoughts]: Note to self: she ducks.
Disarmed of his weapon, Cole tries to go for it, but Nina stands in his way once again. This time, she charges at Cole, who tries to dodge her attacks, but without much success.
Cole [thoughts]: As much as I hate to say this, but this chick knows her stuff… and I don't…
Cole blocks one of her punches and goes for one of his own, but she blocks it with her arm, then kicks him in the groin.
Cole [thoughts]: Had to hit me there, didn't you?
Cole falls to his knees, with Nina now assured of her close-combat superiority.
Nina: How did you survive without even having any combat training?
Cole: What can I say? I learned from experience in the field.
Nina: Please. I've been at this for years. Compared to me, you're still in diapers.
Cole: I guess this means I'm stumped…
Cole then absorbs electricity through the boat. Nina charges at Cole, but he unleashes a shockwave, knocking Nina back.
Cole: Well… at least I was.
Now revitalized, Cole is ready to continue his battle with Nina.
On the other side of the battle, the Shadaloo troops, still fending off the other side, turn and see Cole MacGrath and Nina facing off.
Shadaloo Troop #1: We're not letting him get away.
Shadaloo Troop #2: How are we going to do that? We're getting hammered!
More attack boats from Nina's side come into the battle and begin firing upon the ships attacking Shadaloo.
Shadaloo Troop #2: Great… now we have another side to fight off!
Shadaloo Troop #1: Don't you see? They're not firing at us! They're firing at those boats!
The boats on Nina's side quickly overwhelm the other boats.
Shadaloo Troop #1: Now as I was saying, we're not letting him get away.
Shadaloo Troop #2: You want me to fire on our ship?
Shadaloo Troop #1: None of our men are left on that boat, so might as well let her sink.
The Shadaloo boats begin to turn towards the boat Cole and Nina are on and prepare to fire.
Cole and Nina stand, both waiting for someone to make their move.
Cole: Come on, beautiful. I've all charged up and ready to go.
Nina: Well, Mr. MacGrath, I figured you would've wanted to show me more.
Cole: Ladies first.
Nina: Well aren't you the gentleman.
The Shadaloo boats fire upon their boat, nearly knocking both off balance.
Cole: Later.
Cole fires an alpha blast at Nina, knocking her off the boat. Before Cole can revel in his victory, the boat is breaking apart at such a rate that water reaches his knees and the electricity surges into the water, hurting him.
Cole [in pain]: Damn… Damn it!
The boat continues breaking apart as Cole starts to sink.
Cole [thoughts]: Didn't even think of this. If I drown out here…
Nina sees this and quickly grabs onto a ladder near her boat to get away from the electricity in the water. On the Shadaloo ship, the troops realize their error.
Shadaloo Troop #2: Crap! I didn't think water would hurt him!
Shadaloo Troop #1: What the hell are you waiting for? Fish him out already!
Shadaloo Troop #2: We'll get electrocuted for sure!
Shadaloo Troop #1: Get him out of there! Now!
The troops quickly move to try to find a means of catching him. Cole, with the water now reaching his waist, is in great pain. A piece of the deck eventually breaks off and Cole falls into the water, his back submerging first. He quickly tries grabbing onto the piece of the deck and puts his arms over it.
Cole [thoughts]: This can't be the end… not like this. I just… have to… keep…
Cole manages to climb up to part of it, but the electricity continues to cause him great pain. Suddenly, a small speedboat appears nearby Cole, with figures in the darkness.
?: Quickly! Grab him!
One of the figures grabs onto Cole by the arm, but is shocked by the electricity.
?: Cammy!
Cammy: I'm… I'm fine!
Cammy, despite being shocked throughout, quickly pulls Cole into the boat.
Cammy: Floor it!
The other figure hits the accelerator and the boat takes off. The Shadaloo troops watch as they get away.
Shadaloo Troop #1: Just great!
Shadaloo Troop #2: What do we do now?
Shadaloo Troop #1: All we can do now is beg Master Bison for mercy.
Nina, now atop her boat, watches as the boat leaves.
Nina: I'll see you again, kiddo.
Back on the speedboat, Cammy sits by Cole, recovering from her shocks.
?: You okay?
Cammy: Fine.
?: Those were a lot of volts going into your body. We should get you some help when you get back.
Cammy: The day I'm held at the mercy of electricity is the day I hang up my beret.
?: How is he doing?
Cammy: I don't know how much damage all that electrocution did to him, but he's still alive. Just out cold.
?: Good thing we got here when we did. Otherwise it might've been too late for him.
Cammy: Either that or Shadaloo would've gotten their hands on him.
?: That or G Corporation.
Back at the S.I.N. base, M. Bison looks over at his troops.
M. Bison: I do not care what the excuse is. You failed miserably!
Shadaloo Troop #1: I told you, when he hit the water, you couldn't even go near him without being shocked to death.
M. Bison: Then explain to me how my former doll managed to lift him into her boat and escape!
Shadaloo Troop #1: We would've lost men trying to get him!
M. Bison: And that is where you made your greatest error. You valued your own lives over the objective. That goes against everything that I have trained you to do. And for your traitorous actions, you and your men will pay the ultimate price! And for believing yourself greater to me, I will personally ensure that it is a fate worse than death!
Shadaloo Troop #1: No! No, please!
M. Bison turns off the monitor and sits at his computer, only to immediately receive a message. A man hidden in the shadows appears.
M. Bison: What is it that you want?
?: I was the one that sent your men the support.
M. Bison: And you chose not to intervene why?
?: I had faith that your men would capture then while we provided covering fire. It seems that we both did.
M. Bison: Why do you contact me now?
?: Because I offer you my hand in friendship. I offer you the aid of my forces. Imagine what we could do together.
M. Bison: Who are you?
?: Who am I? Let's just say that…
His right eye glows red.
?: I'm a great friend to have.