The Colour Purple Chapter 149: The Berserker Phenomenon, a king of fighters fanfic

The Colour Purple... The King of Fighters '95

This (chapter) fanfiction was originally written circa: [XX.96] (Thank you)

"Which Character are you?"

Note to self: Legacy chapter numbering (32- - -), does not match.

ORIGINALLY CHAPTER 43 - The Berserker Phenomenon.

"Come here." The middle aged man waved his hand upwards, coaxing the small child towards him. A tall, well built Caucasian invited a small girl towards him while he waited, seated in front of a small table. In that cold, dark place.

The girl apprehensively took steady cautious steps.

"Let's play a game." He offered.

A bit fearful, a bit terse, she did her best to feign a blank expression even as she bit down on her lip, and step by step carefully walked around the table towards the man.

"Wait." He said, with palm open to stop her. "No, over there." The man pointed across the table at the singular seat at the other side. "Do you know how to play chess, girl?"

…

January 1, 1963, Tuesday, New England, New Hong Kong.

Osamu Tezuka's Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy), Japan's first serialized animated series based on the popular manga, debuts on Japanese television station Fuji TV.

If 19 years ago, if I told you back then that one day we would sit together in a quiet grassy lawn on new years day… If I told you that the world, mayhaps by attrition, or by apathy would know peace. Without a care in the world, a horrible world where oblivious children would forget what we went through… despite… in the agony in knowing… how much we had lost, and how much we had suffered…together…

…would this PEACE in the world be in vain, if the world FORGOT us?

If I told you that we, one day, would sit together, without a damn care in the world - I wonder, what would you say?

"Did you say something?" Heidern grumbled. "Knight?"

The British Royal Knight chuckled to himself and coughed a bit to clear his throat. "Nothing Heidern, nothing…" Knight said softly. "I am so happy you've come to visit me."

Heidern (32 years old), a bit perplexed shuffled his shoulders and looked outwards to the afternoon sun. Looking past the wide spanning grassy hill behind his house, the Knight (32 years old) leaned back and just snickered to himself at his own private joke.

A familiar sight, replayed over and over in their minds, two boys sat on wooden chairs, looking outwards to the horizon, except this time – it seemed that they, if only by mere tenacity, had outlasted the cruel clutches of time; and now as a reward was a lazy boredom on a Tuesday afternoon wondering to themselves, what was once a luxury, even debauchery, was a question of how to pass the lazy time.

[I often wondered why older men found enjoyment in sitting down and doing nothing.]

Knight leaned back on his wooden chair and took a deep and purposeful breath through his nose and exhaled out his mouth slowly.

The screaming had finally stopped, the loud wails of pain captured in death in each of their comrades' faces. …and all that was left were two boys, each, in wooden chairs who sat in a small circular clearing, surrounded by a forest of death.

A British teenager, and in like fashion, a dedicated German boy sat next to each other.

No one will remember, what WE went through, will they, Wilhelm?

The BEAST – part 9.

"Hello boys." A woman's voice broke the silence.

"Hello," Heidern was quick to reply turning from his seat. Immediately he looked downwards and smiled. "You're pregnant? Congratulations."

"Yes, yes I am." Heidern's wife beamed a bright glow with a tray in her hands.

"Congratulations missus." Heidern said.

"Thank you Mr. Heidern," she replied respectfully.

"Here, let me get that. Thank you dear." Knight took the tray of two cups of piping hot tea and a pot from his wife and placed it carefully on the table in front of them. "We… we just made it just the way you like it." Knight said as he did. "SIX lumps of sugar was it…?"

"5 lumps dear." She cut in.

"Yes, 5 lumps." Knight was quick to interject, turning confidently to Heidern. "Which is…"

"Heidern's cup is that one." She said pointing with her right hand while rubbing her large tummy with her left.

"Thank you very much, madam, you don't need to do this, take care of your baby." Heidern nodded and smiled.

"It is no problem, Mr. Heidern. Heidern…" She placed both hands lovingly on Heidern's wrist. "Please come visit us when we have our child." She said with the utmost warmth.

"Yes!" Knight cut in proudly. "Yes! You have to see my son when he arrives.

The Asian woman closed her eyes and smiled apprehensively. With both hands on her large belly she bowed slightly. One day, singular points from yesterday and to tomorrow would intersect – and we wondered why we were still here.

…

"Congratulations Heidern," Knight said, breaking the silence, a concrete that flowed slowly through their veins the longer they stayed still. "I hear you're getting married in the spring?"

"Thank you, Knight."

"Though, isn't Sandra a bit YOUNG for you?" Knight jeered, "Don't you want to give it a bit of time?"

"Hagh!" Heidern laughed out loud tersely beyond his control.

"Heidern?"

"I don't want to hear that," Heidern sneered, uncharacteristically, "Not from a man who married, literally, the first nurse he laid eyes on after the war… my FRIEND." Heidern punctuated with a scoff tone.

"Hugh." Beaten and defeated immediately Knight only chuckled to himself. "You're right."

Two boys sat on their wooden chairs, in front of those silvery heavenly gates – when the world around them had already turned into a foggy white haze.

A hard and resounding CLACK. The United States Army Force bombers flew through the air, dropped their payload and enveloped the entire world in white silence.

Before all the German teenaged boy could see was white, a plain white blinding light that turned his bloody brown shirt into nothingness.

…

"How is the 'Company' Heidern?" Knight asked.

"A Private Military Company. PMC." Heidern replied. "It's a profitable business, but very stressful."

"We have to escape from this… my friend." Knight said wistfully, looking out to the horizon. "If you don't break away from this cycle of war… more people have to die."

Heidern sucked in air through his nose with measured breath, breathing out and while mimicking his friend's outward gaze, said, "If [I] don't do it, then who will…?"

…and all those children.

Where will they go?

"That is true."

These children, without guidance… They will either DIE, or they will survive, and if they are so unfortunate to do so, they will only wander aimlessly until they destroy the politics of the world, plunge the Earth into chaos, as we continue to live, watching, too old, and too decrepit to do anything.

Powerless… like we were, back then. Just like we did, when we destroyed everything.

"DO you remember the promise I made to you, my friend?" Knight said out loud. "To end all war?"

"Yes I do." Heidern swiftly called back. "…and that is why I do what I do. Even…"

Even if you disagree, Knight. Because. If I do not do it, someone else will do it.

Is it for virtue, or is it because of guilt? Only you can ANSWER that.

It is because of THAT, that is why I continue to THRUST children to agony.

Just like you.

Just like you, and me.

Silently, and wordlessly, two thoughts spanned the battlefield just like his wife said once upon a time. When two boys had a perfect understanding that they saw eye to eye even when the afternoon was absolutely voiceless in between them.

"Invite me to your wedding, Heidern."

"Certainly I will."

"I wonder… do boys like you and me, after all we've done to EACH OTHER – and to the history of the world, how we shifted the arc of destiny...? Even after all we've done, do we have a right to a normal life?" Heidern asked.

"Yes, yes I think we do Heidern…"

…

WE ARE MONSTERS.

April 22, 1987… something… HORRIBLE happened.

IF salvation cannot give me peace, then it must follow – when all choices are taken away from him – there is only one recourse a man can take. When GOD was deaf to his wishes, even as his child offered EVERYTHING to him. Every thing.

IT manifests itself DIFFERENTLY, for DIFFERENT PEOPLE… the smell was slight, and it was faint enough – pungent rosemary, held close to your nose, enveloped by the rancid stench of urine. A DISTINCT sensation, the only thing that kept you lucid was the slight whaff of sour roses out in the distance. It was the smell when IT overcame you.

"Hhhgggeeghhhh…." Heidern wheezed in a weak pitiful whimper as he crumpled onto the ground, the saliva oozing down the sides of his mouth. Agh. So that was it. Even if I prayed hard, so very hard, I can't turn back time anymore, can I? Even as he pushed his face into the ground, the sides of Heidern's mouth curled up sucking in the filth and grime of the ground as lunacy overcame his face.

A white paintbrush slashed over Heidern's face, and in its wake, tens of hundreds of jagged chainsaw teeth gleamed with glints of saliva connecting their tips. Heidern pushed his face deep into the ground slithering in the mixture of blood, spit and phlegm within the carpet. Like a HORRENDOUS BEAST that gave birth to itself. On his visage was a clown faced demon looking outwards into the world.

…

1963. New Years Day. Tuesday.

Knight leaned forward, hand outstretched but he stopped mid way.

"A."

"A?"

"I forgot which teacup is yours, Heidern…" Knight chuckled.

People like us. Cannot exist in the real world.

…

Heidern's voice wheezed into a hoarse pitiful silence. Both trembling fists curling to squeeze all the light from existence, because of ALL the PAIN, ALL the SUFFERING, and ALL the THINGS. A hundred, thousand, million teeth reflected light of unknown origin in that dark place.

…

WAS THIS FENCE PLACED HERE… DEAR MISTER CHESTERTON… TO KEEP US AWAY? A SIMPLE MINDED MAN, A FOOL WOULD AGREE. OR… OR WAS THIS FENCE PLACED HERE – INSTEAD, IN ORDER TO IMPRISON A BEAST FROM MANKIND?

SO MUST WISE MEN TAKE HEED, BEFORE THEY REMOVE THIS FENCE.

[The fence that separated MAN from GOD.]

Chapter 149: The Berserker Phenomenon

RUGAL! Bringing himself back to life, Heidern swung both arms wide and hurled them both into the sides of Rugal's skull with a deathly vise grip. With the same tremendous force of a sledgehammer, Heidern grabbed his enemy's head and slammed the top of his forehead directly into Rugal's face with his entire might – with the same viciousness – the same rage and rancor – that a grown man would send a piledriver into an ANT. A sudden flash turned the world into black and white; and an x-ray picture displayed the front of Rugal's face fractured and cracked.

Rugal stumbled backwards instinctively, putting both hands over his face in a panic, with a feverish desperation as if his hands were the only thing that kept his fractured face from splintering into 10 pieces and falling into the ground. "HHRrrgGHH! Heiiidd…"

He could not retreat, every second he regressed into it, into succumbing to the desire to retract into fetal position – if he did he knew he would die, so he… Rugal gazed outwards through the space in between his forearms at his enemy only to see Heidern, now a dark shadow hunch forward with his right claw perched upwards to the sky.

Perhaps in this split second, Rugal momentarily understood, though he would soon forget, how DIFFERENT this experience was, from that agony he felt a decade ago. When Rugal lost everything, and back then when the MONSTER took everyone he held dear.

A singular red orb, his eye, stared back at Rugal. From the abyss he dared to challenge.

…

"Papa?" Clara whimpered.

…

As much as you want to deny it, throwing aside their humanity, THEY created the most fearsome being; And YOU, Rugal, took down that last fence.

The Deutsches Jungvolk in der Hitler Jurgend.

The monster swung both arms across and over each other with such fearless zeal its arms dislocated from its shoulders – wrapping both appendages over its torso. Now a BOOM echoed in that small room.

Rugal crossed his arms over his face.

A singular candle in a glass jar over it, peculiar as it was, was not supposed to exist. AN open flame should not be able to exist in a vacuum, yet here it was lit, and evenso the flame had begun to blare wildly inside that prison like a wild animal raging to be free.

Two silver streaks of silver light, a horizontal beam ran through Rugal's crossed arms, through his body before disappearing into the cold black behind him. Then. A spark and a silent explosion. A large invisible broadsword cleaved the world behind Rugal, splitting the large heavy tables behind the blond haired man and sending them up into the air echoing with a sonic boom.

Forearms in an X shape, Rugal tensed his biceps in, twisting and curling inwards into fetal position, desperately trying to prevent his body from instantaneously SPLITTING into a hundred pieces. The evil man grit his teeth and tensed his diaphragm. Yet it was all futile when he coughed out a viscous sludge from his mouth.

With both arms splayed wide from the sudden forceful impact now, Rugal could not help but stumble and stagger slightly backwards when he felt a heavy boot touch his belly.

The FLAME in that glass jar wailed and roared, its fiery claws digging deep into the invisible walls that wanted to snuff it out, it wanted to devour everything around it.

THE BEAST stood over Rugal's body now – as if walking on water, Heidern's arms streamed horizontally behind him, as if weightless, IT stood effortlessly on Rugal's chest, and with clear understanding as to which one of them was an ANT and which one was the SUPERIOR BEING.

…

"Heidd…" Rugal threw both arms vertically in defense.

Rugal's hands were up, and he was sure he was the quicker, but, Heidern's talons had already dug themselves deep into the sides of his temples, leaving Rugal's forearms floating in place jus a second too late. Like an 'evil doll' Heidern's blank face was staring straight at Rugal. The empty cavity where Heidern's right eye once was, now oozed a red sludge all over Rugal's cheeks as the monster pulled his lover close to him, while crouched over Rugal's torso, Rugal whose body, still upright, had not yet realized a BEAST squatted with its entire weight on his standing body.

…

WAIT.

…

WAIT. This was not how it was supposed to…

The story had suddenly changed in an instant, the arc of destiny had shifted from where it once was almost 22 years ago.

Heidern slammed his forehead into Rugal's nose. Once. Twice. Another. Again. And AGAIN!

"Augh!?" Rugal, all conscious thought robbed from him stammered and stuttered, he was no longer able to think clearly and all he could do was desperately reach out and try to grab Heidern by his armpits in a futile plea to somehow keep himself lucid just for a little bit longer even as a monster continued to pummel him savagely, at point blank range, all the while perching itself on Rugal.

Contorting its disjointed human body to its limits, Heidern in turn used his feet to strangle Rugal by the neck, all the while, Rugal was trying to stand upright. Heidern brought his fists down like cold steel blocks down on Rugal's right eye. Rugal crossed his arm to protect his skull, but by that time, Heidern had already shifted.

Despite his best efforts, Rugal felt the back of his shoulders SLAM to the ground, now, the monster was over his diaphragm, and in rapid succession began to punch feverishly – left right, left right, right left… left… left right, in a rapid succession of fully automatic fire to send hard concrete fists into Rugal's helpless face that slowly begun to fade into a blurry haze as his eyeballs begun to roll upwards.

…

The Berserker Phenomenon.

Four knuckles mercilessly drove themselves into Rugal's right temple in slow motion – with such savagery, such anger – and rancor… it was plain to see that this THING that Rugal had made an enemy of…

Right left right, hard steel knuckles embedded themselves into Rugal's skull, fracturing them to be seen in a black and white x-ray vision. This THING was no longer bound by human laws of morality… this BEAST…

The rapid succession of punches pummeled Rugal's head into a disintegrated husk, yet its raging HUNGER could not be sated.

…

WAIT. This was not how the story went decades ago… how... how could this happen?

What changed? Did, I, change?

…

"Papa… help…"

Help me.

"RRRRRAAAUUUGHGHHH!" A hunger unable to be satisfied, a thirst unable to be quenched, Heidern began to HAMMER Rugal's face repeatedly with the bottom of his fists because it was unable to think clearly when all a hundred cylinders of its heart pumped so madly it's body could not help but simply WAIL both arms wildly to crush what was in front of it like an enraged child. Crush it. DESTROY IT…

..and the BEAST would not be satisfied…

Until.

Until nothing remained.

Just where, did I? This Rugal go wrong? Was I not the most superior being? No… I am… was I not devoted enough? Was I not?

Rugal's thoughts were immediately interrupted when Heidern held fast on the sides of Rugal's skull – it put it's boots on his collar and heaved with all its might, curling its body backwards to try to pull Rugal's head free from his neck.

Rugal was in a panic, and the consequence was his life. He immediately reached for Heidern's wrists, however the BEAST immediately pushed Rugal's head back into the ground with splayed fingers from his left hand over Rugal's face. Heidern's right hand pulled back, its index finger cocked – ready to impale itself into Rugal's waiting right eye that was framed in between its left index and middle finger.

…

I find it sad that children no longer play chess.

…

"It's a pity that children no longer play chess. It teaches so many life lessons that so many young adults lack nowadays, that, where previous generations likely took for granted."

"…"

"The first…" Rugal continued while shifting a chess piece forward. "Is the ability to think more than one step ahead… this is the fundamental genius of chess."

Simple people – sad to say, are victim to instant gratification… if you take my pawn, that is all you see in your blind zeal.

But you do not see, that in exchange for you taking my pawn, I take your knight. That is the concept of chess… the ability to SEE at least two steps ahead. If you take one of my men you have to see forward and predict if the enemy can take a piece of your own, either directly or transversely. The second lesson is, you soon realize that you cannot save all your pieces, and if you have to sacrifice any of them, it becomes a logical and unemotional exercise of cost versus benefit.

…so when you take my pawn, I take your knight. See that for every action think of what any subordinates can do and if any of them can take your advancing piece.

…

Everyone has to die eventually. That is the ONLY absolute constant truth.

"Heidern… I," He stammered as the monster pushed his head backwards into the ground behind him. "I, Rugal… will not…" Rugal pushed back and even with is strength was pushed down helplessly. "This Rugal…"

Ghhhhhhhh…

A soft groaning sound permeated the air. Just slightly, just for a moment, that it was enough to command Heidern take heed and hold his place momentarily. Heidern tilted his head up a moment, looking upwards from Rugal's face just moments from the final death blow.

Ggggghhhrrgghh…

The groaning sound, slightly echoing came from far away at first but bounced off the walls as it grew closer from that long hallway in front of Heidern, above the short flight of steps, past that platform and into the outward horizon – a metal lined hallway illuminated by a long array of cool white halogen lights.

Crash. One by one – starting from far away… one by one the halogen bulbs shattered as the monstrous pressure raged through that narrow metallic pathway. Crash, cash, kink CraSH! The sound of each bulb exploding – first from far away and with a steady pace came forward one by one, replacing the far away light with a darkness; one by one until each rung of the long winding ladder of light disappeared each and every step as an invisible force approached.

The hallway was finally a pitch black.

A man is defined by every soul he touches – as he, though sometimes mindlessly, continues to propel the revolution and rotation of the world. If such is the case, I sometimes wonder, just which way does the arc of destiny favour? When the line between good and evil seems too blurry in between.

Two gray orbs peeked through the dark void only to be swallowed whole as an eight foot high and seven foot wide specter of a human skull twice the allowed area pushed itself through the narrow metallic pass.