Fatal Fury Fan Fiction ❯ Fatal Fury - The Vengeful Spirits ❯ Chapter Seventeen - Beginning of the End ( Chapter 18 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

 

 

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, the video games or the anime.

Chapter Seventeen: Beginning of the End

 

They were starting to lose track of the time. They had estimated it was probably very early morning when Geese Howard had called Terry Bogard's hotel room. Since then, Mai Shiranui and Mary Ryan had taken turns trying to catch some sleep (one woman would doze, while the other kept watch over Billy Kane and the lackey known as Karlson, who continued to keep watch over them), but with no windows in the conference room, it was hard to gauge how close they were to the deadline.

In addition to taking turns sleeping, the two women had looked for escape opportunities, but had been unsuccessful in finding any. There were always at least two guards in the room. Billy never left Karlson alone, and if he had to go somewhere else for some reason, he always waited until another guard came in to take his place. At one point, Mary had announced that she needed to go to the bathroom. Her captors had responded by loosening her bonds just enough for her to stand slightly, and then handing her an oversized plastic cup from a 7-11. So Mary had simply sat back down and said it was a false alarm. When Geese Howard entered the room an indeterminate number of hours later followed by a dark-haired man dressed in a suit, tie, and sunglasses, as well as two other guards, Mai and Mary were no longer sure just how much time had passed since Geese had read the mantra of the scrolls.

The former king of South Town stopped in front of their chairs, wearing a smirk of triumph in addition to his white tunic and crimson hakama. “Good news,” he said to the detective and the ninja girl. “It seems your boyfriends have arrived in time. Which means we must now prepare. Billy, go help our new guests feel at home.” Billy Kane, who was standing behind Mary's chair, stood there for a moment, then nodded silently and left the room. Geese turned to the brown-haired guard in fatigues. “Mr. Karlson, untie the detective. Mr. Hopper?”

Hopper nodded and moved over to the chair that Mai was tied in. He pulled his Beretta from its holster, and pressed it against Mai's scalp. “Make any sudden moves,” Hopper told Mary. “And she dies.”

Mary gritted her teeth as her bonds were loosened, and she rose slowly from her chair. “I won't try anything,” she said. “Unlike your boss, I value the lives of my friends over blind ambition.”

Geese Howard chuckled coldly. “There is nothing blind about my ambition, detective. Now, you and I will need to get ready to greet Terry Bogard.” He motioned to the two other men who had come into the room with them, and they took up positions on either side of Mary, grabbing her roughly by the arms. They started towards the door of the conference room and Hopper fell into step behind them, jamming the barrel of his gun into Mary's back.

Geese began to follow them, then paused halfway to the door and turned to face Mai. “But don't feel left out, my dear,” he said as he flashed the ninja girl a wicked grin. “After I make Terry watch as I rip his new girlfriend limb from limb, then I'll be back to give you a taste of my newfound power, as well. I wouldn't want Andy to miss out on that. In fact, I offer you a choice: you can either watch your lover-boy die before I kill you, or Andy can watch you die before I kill him. It's up to you. I'll be back later to hear your decision.”

Mai stared back at him defiantly, unflinching. “And if I choose not to decide?”

“Then, I might just have a change of heart and let some of my men have their way with you before I end you. In which case, you'll die second, because I would force Andy to watch that. Even if I have to break his arms and legs to stop him from moving.” Geese gave a cold laugh then, a laugh that shook Mai down to the center of her being. Her mouth was open wide in shock at what Geese had just proposed. Geese Howard saw the pain and horror etched on Mai's features and he savored it like a finely-aged wine.

“Stay focused, Mai!” The kunoichi heard Mary call to her from the hallway. “We're never helpless. Keep your eyes open for anything you might use to...”

A moment later, one of the guards silenced her with a rough slap. Geese started to leave the conference room, then paused in the doorway, turned towards Karlson. “Until I say otherwise, you're being paid to guard her at this time, nothing more. So stand there and do your job. If you do anything else to her without my direct orders, it will take you a very long time to die.” Geese then gave Mai a polite nod. “You'd better have your decision made by the time I get back.” With that, Geese, Hopper, and the other two men were gone, taking Mary with them. Karlson shut the door, locked it, and then stood off to the side, keeping an eye on Mai while trying not to look too closely at her.

Outside the building, Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi peered cautiously in through the front doors at the seemingly deserted lobby. They did not see anyone behind the front desk, and the bank of monitors behind the desk all appeared to be switched off.

“So... do we knock first?” Joe asked after they had spent a few minutes scanning the lobby from the outside. Terry said nothing, and simply slammed his fist against one of the glass doors in a Burn Knuckle attack. The glass shattered completely, and Terry stepped through the now empty frame into the lobby of Geese Tower. Andy and Joe followed without a word.

They had barely taken three steps across the white and black tiled floor when suddenly, a dozen of Geese's men seemed to appear out of nowhere directly in front of them, fists raised and ready for action. Both Andy and Joe assumed their fighting stances, but before they could do anything else, Terry leaped into the center of the crowd of thugs, and slammed his gloved fist against the ground. A Power Geyser much larger than any Andy or Joe had seen him make before shot up from the floor and hurled the men in all directions. When the blast had died down, only two or three were still conscious, and Terry quickly knocked them out with swift kicks to the head.

After a moment, Andy and Joe cautiously lowered their fists, and then shot one another a concerned look. “Terry,” Andy told his brother. “We still don't know what else is up there. You should probably pace yourself.”

“Right,” Joe agreed. “Especially if Geese has figured out how to read the scrolls.”

Terry seemed not to have heard them, instead his gaze moved towards the desk. “Let's check the directory,” he said. “See if we can find out what floor they might be on.”

“We've already checked it,” said a familiar voice. Jin Chonrei, who had apparently been sitting behind the desk, suddenly rose into view. “The offices on the forty-second floor are listed as being renovated. You will probably find your friends there.” The dark-haired teen stepped out from behind the desk and was joined a moment later by Jin Chonshu.

“Have you come to help us?” Terry asked them.

“Yes and no,” said Chonrei. “We have something that we must handle ourselves.” With that, he and his brother ran off towards the elevators with a sudden burst of that unnatural speed of theirs.

Terry watched them go, then he turned to his brother and friend. “The elevators might be booby-trapped. So I guess we should take the stairs. Come on!” He then started off in the direction that the Jin brothers had gone in.

Andy broke into a run after Terry, while Joe stood there for another moment and rolled his eyes. “Walking up forty-two floors?” He remarked out loud. “If the lives of Terry and Andy's women weren't depending on us, I'd have stayed in bed this morning.” Then he sprinted after the Bogard brothers.

“Aren't you gonna try something?”

From his spot by the door, Karlson reluctantly moved his gaze to the chair that Mai Shiranui was tied to. She was regarding him with a look that seemed almost coy, the exact opposite of the glare that she'd given him when he'd last tried to touch her.

“I was lying earlier, you know,” Mai said to him as she cocked her head slightly, batted her long eyelashes. “I actually liked being frisked by you. I just didn't want to admit that while my friend was in the room with me. So, I'm surprised you haven't tried something yet.”

Karlson moved his gaze away from the tempting kunoichi, and gritted his teeth. “I... can't,” he said. “What if Mr. Howard finds out?”

“Why would he find out?” Mai asked. “We're alone. Are there any security cameras in here?”

“Um... no,” the guard replied.

God, he is gullible! Mai thought triumphantly. He just told me exactly what I needed to know. While she regretted what she was about to do, she did not feel like just waiting around for someone to come rescue her, not while everyone else was probably busy fighting. She had an opportunity to get free before Geese came back, and forced her to make that sadistic choice, and she was going to take it. I'm sure Andy will understand what I'm about to do.

“Well, then...” Mai told the guard. “As long we're quick, Geese will never know. And I won't tell if you won't.” She batted her lashes again, flashed the guard a sly smile. “C'mere,” she half-breathed, lowering her voice.

Karlson still stood by the door, though Mai could tell by the bulge in his crotch that he was extremely conflicted. Mai started to rock from side to side in her chair as best as her bonds would allow. Karlson took a step towards her, about to tell her to stop, and then her movements caused one of her breasts to pop out of her gi. Karlson halted in his tracks, his eyes going wide.

“You keep hesitating,” Mai said in her most innocent tone, “And you'll miss your chance. Come here.”

Slowly, the guard started towards the chair again. “That's a good boy,” Mai purred. Finally, he reached the chair, crouched down in front of the kunoichi, and moved his hand towards her ample chest.

“Wait,” Mai said when his hand was halfway there. “Untie one of my hands first.”

“What?” Karlson sputtered. “No!” He shook his head. “I should have known this was just a...”

“It's no trick,” Mai said quickly. “You know I don't have any weapons. You frisked me yourself, remember? Which I loved, by the way. I just want to make this more enjoyable for you.” Karlson still looked confused, so Mai explained. “Do you think ninja girls are only taught how to fight? We're trained in other arts of a more personal nature, too.” She leaned forward, whispered hotly into the guard's ear. “Very well trained.”

She saw a shudder run through his body, then. Oh, I've got him, she thought. Right where I want him. “Come on,” she whispered. “Just give me the use of one hand. I promise it will be worth it.”

Karlson nodded weakly, and quickly untied the bonds strapping Mai's left arm to the chair. Once it was free, Mai reached out, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pulled the brown-haired man closer. As Mai's lips homed in on his, she started to move her hand slowly, slowly down his torso towards the waistline of his pants.

The second their mouths met, Mai bit down hard, sinking her teeth into her captor's lower lip. She kept her teeth clamped together, ignoring his screams of pain as she quickly reached into her gi. Moving like lightning, she opened her mouth to release her hold on his lip and then whipped her hand out, her fan slamming upwards into his jaw.

Karlson staggered backwards, dazed, blood dripping from his mouth. Before he could recover, Mai quickly used her fan to cut through the rest of her bonds, and then she was on her feet. A few well-placed kicks, followed by a Ryu En Bou, and then her captor was on the floor. Mai quickly grabbed the ropes that had bound Mary, which still sat on the detective's old chair, and used them to hog-tie Karlson.

She then took a moment to fix her gi, and also to wipe her mouth off on her wrist guard. By that time, her captor had recovered enough to stare up at Mai in shock. “But... but... I frisked you,” he managed to say with a slight lisp due to his wounded lip.

“Well, you didn't do a very good job, did you?” Mai told him. “This outfit has more hiding places than most people realize.” She stepped over the guard, and then turned suddenly to face him. “Oh, and for the record, creep, you're an idiot if you think I'd ever willingly do anything with you. You're nowhere near as cute as Andy. Not even in the same league.” Mai swung her fan down hard on the guard's head, knocking him unconscious. She then made her way over to the door, opened it, and after peering cautiously out in both directions, she ran off down the hall to try and find Andy and the others.

By the time that Terry, Andy and Joe had gotten to the forty-second floor, they had faced several of Geese's thugs on the stairwell. Or, more accurately, Terry had faced them. Each time they were ambushed, the elder Bogard would throw himself into the fray like a man possessed, knocking out their attackers before Andy or Joe could get in a single hit.

Now they were searching the floor that they suspected Mai and Mary might be on, and so far, the search was fruitless. Namely because Terry continued to launch himself into every fight without any strategy, and both Joe and Andy could see that it was getting them nowhere.

After knocking out yet another of Geese's thugs, Terry stood there for a moment, breathing hard. Then he started down the corridor again at that same reckless pace. This time, however, both Terry's brother and his friend sprinted ahead and planted themselves firmly in front of Terry. Terry tried to muscle past them, but Andy and Joe reached out, each planted a firm hand on one of Terry's shoulders.

“Look, Terry,” Andy calmly told him. “I know you're concerned about the girls. We all are. And we're gonna save them. But our current strategy is getting us nowhere.”

“Right,” Joe said with a nod. “You can't keep knocking out every guy we come across. We need to keep one of them conscious so we can question him.”

Terry took a deep breath, and a moment later, both Andy and Joe could feel him relax in their grip. They took their hands away, and instead of running past them, Terry just stood there, catching his breath. “You're right,” he said as he doffed his cap, wiped the sweat from his brow. “I'm sorry, guys. I know I haven't been acting like myself.”

Joe shrugged. “It's okay. Neither one of us can honestly say we know what you've been through.”

“Andy!” They then heard a familiar voice shout from the far end of the hallway. Their heads turned as one, and they saw Mai Shiranui racing towards them.

“Mai!” Andy shouted back, the look on his face a mixture of relief, and also confusion. A moment later, the kunoichi was on him, hugging him tightly. Andy put his own arms around her waist, hugging her back. “How did you...”

“I can take care of myself, remember?” Mai said with a smirk. “And after I got out, I just followed the trail of unconscious men.”

Terry put a hand on Mai's shoulder. “I'm glad you escaped, Mai,” he said. “But... do you know where Mary is?”

Mai shook her head. “Sorry, but no. We were being held in the same room, then right before I got free, Geese came, and moved her somewhere else. He didn't say where they were going. But I do know that he has used the Jin Scrolls. The spirits of the Long generals are a part of him now.” Mai then turned her gaze back to Andy. “Andy, you were right about Geese. He's pure evil. We've faced some bad people before, but... he's more sadistic than even Laocorn's henchmen. We have to stop him.”

“You mean I have to stop him,” Terry Bogard said, his blue eyes suddenly hard like two chips of reinforced steel. “I'm the one he wants. Ever since my fight with him three years ago, I've always been the one that he wants. This is my fight, and I won't let anyone else I care about risk their lives over it. I've lost too much already. Andy, you, Mai, and Joe should get out of here, and get clear of the tower. I'll finish this.”

“Of course you will,” Andy told his brother. “But not without me. Remember what Master Xiang said the other day about the true strength of the wolf. Tonight, you need your pack with you. Besides, you know I'd never let you do this alone. Jeff Bogard was my father, too.”

Joe stepped over to the Bogards, placed one arm around each of them. “You guys are like my brothers,” he told him. “And family doesn't abandon one another, not in their darkest hour. We stand together. Whatever the outcome, I'm with you until the end.”

“I'm with you too,” Mai joined in, stepping over so that she was across from Joe. Like Joe, she also put an arm around both Terry and Andy, completing the circle. “I made my choice a long time ago, when I gave my heart to Andy: any enemy of his, or his brother, is an enemy of mine. Now and always.”

Terry moved his gaze over all three of them, seeing the love and camaraderie shining in their eyes. They had clearly made their decision, and Terry wasn't going to try and stop them anymore. After a moment, Joe told him: “Looks like you're stuck with us, Terry.”

Terry Bogard flashed them all a grin. “And I wouldn't want it any other way. Let's end this!” With that, the four of them broke their circle and started up the corridor with a new sense of resolve.

The next group of men they encountered several minutes later went down fairly easily, and this time they managed to subdue one of them without knocking the man out. He told Terry and the others that Geese had taken Mary up to the conservatory on the fiftieth floor, which was not accessible by stair, but by express elevator only, and that required a keycard.

They figured that Geese would probably have left that with one of his lieutenants, and so they began searching the offices as they found them. Most of them were empty, and occasionally they'd run into another group of Geese's men, but otherwise they weren't having much luck. It was about twenty minutes later, as they were rounding a corner, that they came across a familiar figure in sunglasses emerging from one of the offices. He froze like a deer in the headlights when he saw the four comrades.

“Wait, aren't you the guy who tasered me?” Mai asked him as she menacingly raised her fan.

Andy turned to her, one brow raised. “He did what to you?”

Ripper raised both of his hands, palms facing towards them. “Nothing personal,” he told them. “I'm just a professional doing a job. That's it.”

Andy growled and lunged forward at Ripper. “Andy, wait!” Mai shouted a split second after Andy had started, but it was too late. The younger Bogard was committed to his attack. His Zan-Ei-Ken slammed Ripper in the chest, and the dark-haired man flew backwards and sprawled to the ground. He did not get up again.

Andy lowered his elbow, and turned to his girlfriend, confused. “Why did you try to stop me, Mai?”

“Because I wanted to do that,” Mai explained. Then she shrugged. “Ah, well, you are still cute when you get protective.”

A quick search of Ripper revealed that he did not have a keycard. As the four of them were standing around, wondering what they should do next, they heard a familiar voice behind them: “So, you escaped, eh, love? I should'a known Karlson would ignore the boss, and do something stupid. Back in the ould days, the grunts knew how to follow orders.”

Terry, Andy, Joe and Mai turned quickly in the direction of the voice, and assumed their fighting stances. Billy Kane stood there with his staff out, but this time, he had it at his side instead of having it raised. There was a lanyard around his neck which had a plastic card clipped to it. Billy tapped at the card. “I'm sure you've figured out that you ain't gettin' to the boss without this.”

“So, what now, Billy?” Terry asked him. “You don't seem to have any goons to help you this time. Are you really gonna take on all four of us?”

“A few years ago, I might've,” Billy said grimly. He tugged at the keycard, pulling it loose from the lanyard, and tossed it to Terry, who grabbed it out of midair. “But not today.”

“You've never backed down from a fight, regardless of the odds,” said Andy, who continued to eye him warily. “Why now?”

“Because I'm tired,” Billy explained. “This job used to be a lot more fun. The boss ran a criminal empire, I helped him enforce it. Extortion, drugs, gambling, prostitution, crooked cops. Basic stuff. I liked doing it. Then his chest got scarred, and now it's all this fantasy crap about ghosts, goblins, magic scrolls, elaborate revenge plots. It just ain't simple anymore. And anyway, he pays me to guard him. I'm sure yer lady has told you that he's used the scrolls. Now that he's invincible, he don't really need me to guard him anymore.”

“So, why not come with us?” Joe asked him. “Then you'd really make up for what you did three years ago.”

“Because this ould Brit has done enough backstabbin' fer one day,” Billy said. “And I've watched him get more and more powerful even before he used the scrolls. The four of you are no match for him now. One more ain't gonna make a difference.” With that, he nodded, shouldered his staff, and turned back in the direction he'd come from.

“Where are you going?” Mai called after him.

Billy paused, turned his head slightly back over his shoulder. “If I live to see tomorrow, I'll probably take a holiday. It's been a while since I saw London.” He then turned his head forward again and kept walking.

“Are we sure he's not setting us up?” Joe asked the others after Billy was out of sight.

“Even if he is, we have no choice,” said Terry. “The fiftieth floor is where we'll find Geese and Mary, so that's where we're going.” He turned and stepped over Ripper's unconscious body, and the others quickly followed. “Now, let's go find that express elevator.”

The four of them met no more opponents on the way to the elevator. It was almost as if once word had spread that they'd gotten the keycard, any men remaining in the tower were trying to either hide, or escape from the storm that was to come.

The elevator itself was back where the main elevators were, except instead of having a panel next to it with up and down buttons, there was only a slot for the keycard, resting below a bright red button. Terry Bogard cast a glance at Andy, Mai, and Joe, who all nodded silently. Terry slipped the card into the slot and pressed the button. A moment later, there was a cheerful pinging sound as the door opened.

They knew that Geese wanted this fight to happen, so they doubted that he'd rigged this elevator. They stepped onto it, and Terry pressed the button for the fiftieth floor. No one spoke as they watched the large red number on the display tick up slowly, one digit at a time. Instead, they spent the ride gathering as much chi as they could. They had already seen the enhanced powers of Chonrei and Chonshu. Since Geese had used the scrolls, they had some idea of what they were in for.

Finally, after what felt like an endless minute, the door opened. They emerged into a wide area with several neat garden arrangements placed in orderly fashion in several sconces all across a ceramic tiled floor that looked like it was supposed to mimic a cobblestone path. The ceiling overhead was high, domed, and composed of an intricate steel framework surrounding many large panes of glass.

The four comrades glanced around apprehensively, then started forward, their hands raised in defensive stances. They had gone several paces from the elevator when they heard a familiar voice: “So nice of you to finally join us.”

They turned, and saw Geese Howard standing in front of what looked like a small fountain, with Mary Ryan in front of him. His left arm was draped across her neck in a tight hold. Mary's gloved hands were gripping Geese's forearm, but she couldn't seem to budge him.

“Mary!” Terry shouted, taking a step forward.

“Not another step!” Geese warned him, moving his other hand so that his palm rested only inches from Mary's head. A faint glow of chi emanated from it.

“Relax, Terry!” He heard Mary call to him. “It's best to keep a cool head in these situations.”

“Indeed,” said Geese. “You wouldn't want to see her die without having a chance to say your farewells first, would you?”

Terry stopped walking, lowered his arms. He looked over his shoulder at the other three and gave a nod. They lowered their arms, as well.

“I'm well aware of how sneaky ninja can be, my dear,” Geese called over to Mai. “You may want to refrain from that.”

Mai nodded, and without a word, she dropped the fan she was still holding. “The other ones, too,” the former crime lord growled at her. Mai clenched her teeth, then pulled three more fans out of her gi and tossed them to the ground as well.

“Better,” Geese told her. “Now then, shall we begin?” The hand against Mary's head began to glow faintly again.

“I'm the one you want, Geese!” Terry called to him, as he raised his hands above his head. “Let Mary walk out of here, and you can have me. I'll surrender myself to you willingly. Torture me, kill me, whatever you want to do, I won't resist.”

“And miss the opportunity to deprive you of everyone and everything you love?” Geese gave a cold laugh. “I don't think so. Which is why I'm going to start with your lady friend, here.”

Terry almost took a step forward again. “No!” He shouted. “Please!”

“It's okay, Terry!” He heard Mary call to him. “This is one of those situations where you should just... throw it in. You understand me?”

For a moment Terry's mouth hung open as he stared at her. Then he saw the detective close one of her green eyes in a wink. He nodded, and his shoulders visibly sagged. “You're right, Mary,” he said. “I'm sorry.”

Andy, Mai, and Joe stared numbly at him. “Terry...” Joe started to say.

“Save it,” said Terry. “There's nothing we can do.”

“Oh, Terry,” Mary said with a hint of sadness to her voice, and Geese felt her finally go limp in his arm. He smiled triumphantly as he relaxed his grip slightly, thinking he'd won...

Before Geese realized what was happening, Mary positioned her left foot behind his own, and kicked forward, knocking him slightly off balance. She then reached back over her head, grabbed him, and threw him bodily over her shoulders, in the direction of Terry Bogard. “Now, Terry!” She yelled as she tossed him.

Terry jumped forward and then slammed his right fist against the ground. Geese, still flying towards Terry, was caught directly in Terry's Power Geyser attack. Without giving him a chance to recover, Terry followed by slamming his left fist against the ground, then his right again, creating two more Geysers in rapid succession. The waves of energy slammed into Geese over and over, tossing him up and down like a rag doll. Finally, the energy dissipated, and as Geese came back down towards the ground, Terry delivered a spinning kick that caught the crime lord right in his breastbone, sending him flying backwards. Geese struck the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as several of the tiles on the floor beneath him were pulverized.

Mary quickly ran to Terry's side, and assumed her fighting stance. “You know, for a second there, I thought you weren't gonna catch my meaning,” she said to him.

Terry ignored the urge to hug her, knowing that Mary would not appreciate that at the moment, so instead he smirked at her. “You were the one who said I'd have made a good detective. You okay?”

Mary nodded. “I'm okay. He beat me a little before you got here, but I've felt worse in practice matches.”

Mai, Andy and Joe were soon alongside the two of them, and assumed their own fighting stances. “I hope you can live with yourself after this, Mary,” Mai told her jokingly.

“Technically, I wasn't rescued, Princess,” Mary fired back.

“Ladies, I think we have more pressing concerns than girl talk,” said Joe. Ahead of them, the cloud of dust was beginning to settle. They saw Geese Howard standing in the middle of it, looking completely unfazed by Terry's attack. He ripped off his white tunic and flung it aside, and they all saw that the scar on his chest was glowing, the same ethereal blue that filled the whites of his eyes.

“My turn,” he said to the group of fighters. The attack came more suddenly than they realized. They had expected his speed to be enhanced, but his movements were faster than even those of the Jin brothers. One minute, he was fifty feet away. The next, he was in front of them, moving as if he were sliding across the ground without really walking.

He swung upwards with both fists, his double Reppu Ken knocking both Terry and Mary backwards. Then, faster than the eye could blink, he swung downwards with his fists, generating another double Reppu Ken that slammed into Andy from the side, flinging him across the observatory. Joe attempted a roundhouse kick, but Geese vanished in a blur and suddenly appeared behind Joe. His own kick caught Joe in the back, knocking him into Mai and sending the both of them sprawling to the ground.

“As you can see,” Geese said as he laughed over them, the scar on his chest glowing even more brightly. “My abilities are far beyond yours now. Beyond those of any mere mortal. After I've destroyed you, and reclaimed what is rightfully mine in South Town, I'll set my sights on a position more worthy of my new status as a god. I have always wanted to tour the White House. Of course, I would let the president stay in power, but only as my puppet. And after that, who knows? Today, South Town, tomorrow, the world!”

The five comrades had regained their feet at this point. “Howard,” Mary Ryan said to him. “I think I speak for all of us when I say: FUCK YOU!” She jumped into the air and launched herself at Geese feet first, but Geese grabbed her leg with one hand, and nonchalantly threw her towards the side of the glass dome that surrounded them. Mai sprinted towards one of the trees that were growing throughout the conservatory, jumped up into its foliage, and used it as a launching point to leap up and grab Mary before she would have struck the glass.

Both women landed safely back on the ground. “Thanks, Mai,” Mary said.

“Think you can live with yourself now?” Mai asked her with a smirk.

“If Geese has his way, I won't need to for much longer,” Mary remarked, and then ran back towards the fight with Mai following close behind.

Andy, Joe and Terry tried to come at Geese from three sides to surround him. Moving with that same speed he'd displayed earlier, Geese slid across the floor through an opening between Joe and Andy. Andy spun on his heel, swinging his other leg out in a kick which Geese managed to duck. The younger Bogard then launched a flurry of attacks, all of which were swatted away by his opponent with no effort.

Joe came at Geese from behind, launching his own flurry of punches at the older man. Geese turned his body so that one fist was pointing in the direction of Joe, while his other was pointing at Andy. They tried to overwhelm him from two directions at once, but Geese was impassive, using his left arm to harmlessly deflect all of Joe's attacks, while his right arm deflected Andy's.

Geese was so busy with Joe and Andy, he was leaving his front and back exposed. Terry took that opportunity to hit Geese with his Crack Shot attack, spinning through the air with his heel slamming down against Geese's shoulder in a bright burst of chi energy. He tried to follow this up with an uppercut, but Geese grabbed his fist in mid-punch and then swung Terry to the side, slamming him into his brother.

Joe, who was still on his feet, did a flip backwards, and then after bracing his feet against the ground, swung his fist upward and launched a Hurricane Upper at Geese. The crime lord made no move to dodge the whirlwind that flew at him. It struck him head-on, but he seemed unfazed, standing in the middle of the cyclone that spun around him. He then clenched his fists, and emitted a burst of chi energy that dissipated the whirlwind.

Joe followed this up immediately by launching forward with a Slash Kick. Geese grabbed Joe's ankle before the kick could connect, then stood there, smiling coldly at the kickboxer while holding his leg in an iron grip. After a moment, he lunged with his other arm, slamming his palm into Joe's chest and sending him flying backwards.

Right after this, both Mai and Mary attempted to double team him, Mai with a flying kick from behind, while Mary came in low from the front. Geese pivoted his body so that Mai flew right past him and struck Mary instead, both women landing in a heap on the ground. He stood over them, intending to unleash a chi attack from his fists that would have peeled the flesh from their bones.

He was then hit from behind by Andy Bogard's Chou Reppa Dan attack. This jolted him slightly, which caused the energy from his fists to go wide, blowing a hole in the side of the glass dome. Andy then tried to land a punch to the back of Geese's head, but he turned with that same unnatural speed and grabbed Andy's fist. Andy latched his other hand onto Geese's right wrist, but found that he could not shake the crime lord's grip.

Geese smiled at Andy through clenched teeth and began to squeeze the younger man's fist. Despite his best efforts not to, Andy found himself crying out in pain.

“KA-CHOU-SEN!” Came a cry from behind Geese, as Mai Shiranui launched three fans in rapid succession, each one charged with chi fire. While still keeping his grip on Andy, Geese used his other hand to swat the fans out of midair, his punches reducing them to powder. The kunoichi followed this up with her Houou No Mai attack. As she came within striking range, however, Geese tossed Andy aside, then grabbed her leg, completely unfazed by the fire that surrounded her, and swung her over his head, slamming her against the floor. She lay there, momentarily dazed by the blow.

He was about to deliver a killing strike when Andy sprinted in, snatched Mai up in his arms and rolled out of harm's way with her, right before Geese's foot came down with enough force to cleave a huge crack in the ground.

“My hero,” Mai said softly to him after they came to a stop.

“I could say the same about you,” Andy said with a small laugh.

Geese was quick to close in on them, however, then Mary came at him from behind and slammed her foot into his lower back. He turned and swung at her, bringing his fist up in a Reppu Ken, but Mary managed to dodge it by dropping flat on her back. She then scissored one of her legs upward between Geese Howard's legs, slamming the toe of her boot into his crotch.

Geese did not cry out from the blow, but Mary noticed that his body seemed to shiver. His teeth clenched, and a single drop of sweat ran down his cheek. Seizing the moment, she quickly regained her feet with a handspring, and started to batter his face with flurry of punches, her fists glowing bright with chi energy. After she had struck several blows, however, Geese recovered, and then proceeded to grab each of her wrists in mid-swing.

“I'd kill you this instant for that!” He snapped at Mary. “But you're lucky that I want Terry Bogard to see you die.” Mary did not respond, and instead gave him a small smirk of amusement. “You find this amusing?” Geese asked her.

“No,” said Mary. “I find it amusing that the great, immortal Geese Howard is still vulnerable to a nut shot. Some god you turned out to be.”

Geese ground his teeth together, his expression suddenly growing cold, and smacked Mary with the back of his hand. A moment later, he was struck from the side, causing him to drop Mary.

Terry Bogard plowed into his adversary, his Burn Knuckle striking Geese Howard on the side of the head. Geese slid back several feet, and then moved forward in a blur of speed. Right when Geese was top on him, Terry slammed the ground in another Power Geyser. When the energy dissipated, however, he did not see Geese anywhere in sight.

He then heard a thunk on the tiled floor as his elder opponent landed behind him. Before Terry could turn however, he was blasted by a Reppu Ken that sent him flying across the conservatory. Geese was about to pursue him, when he found himself being attacked from opposite sides by Andy and Mai, Andy with his Zan-Ei-Ken, Mai with her Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi, the two of them trying to pincer their elder opponent.

Terry Bogard sat in the grass for a moment, and blinked rapidly, trying to shake off Geese's last attack. His Reppu Kens were definitely hitting a lot harder now. As he was about to get up, Joe Higashi appeared and offered him a hand. Terry accepted it and was pulled to his feet.

“We need to coordinate a stronger attack,” Terry noted. “This random strategy doesn't seem to be doing much except draining our energy faster than his.”

“I agree,” The Muay Thai kickboxer said as he and Terry raced back towards the fray. “If all five of us surround him and hit him with a concentrated attack at the same time, maybe that will finally get through his defenses.”

“I could always try kicking him in the balls again,” Mary said as she fell into step alongside the other two. “But your idea sounds like it would hurt him more.”

They arrived back at the fight to find Mai on the ground rubbing her head, with Andy and Geese still going toe-to-toe a few yards away. Geese's hands were a blur as he swatted Andy's blows aside with little or no effort. He then delivered a kick to Andy's ribs that launched the younger Bogard into the air. As Andy was crashing back to the ground, Geese struck him again with a lunge punch that sent him flying several hundred feet.

“Mai! Andy! To us!” Terry shouted as he ran to help Andy to his feet, while Mary did the same for Mai. Soon the five fighters completely surrounded Geese Howard, who stood there with his arms open, as if he were daring them to make a move.

Terry raised one of his fists, the aura of chi glowing faintly around it, and cast a quick glance around at the others, indicating the glow. The others nodded in understanding, and began to gather their own energies.

The seconds ticked painfully by. Then, Terry cried out: “Now!” He crouched suddenly and slammed his fist against the ground, sending a sizable Power Wave streaking towards Geese. At the same time, Andy unleashed a Hishou-Ken at Geese, while Mai did her Ryu En Bou, whipping the flaming tails of her fighting outfit directly at the crime lord, while Joe swung his fist upward and launched a Screw Upper.

The chi energy slammed into Geese from all sides, and for a moment the five comrades had to shield their eyes from the intensity of the blast as it appeared to consume him. As soon as the glow started to fade, Mary rushed at Geese, jumping up when she got within a hairs breadth of him, her knee striking his breastbone as she went airborne. When her feet were level with his head, she pincered her ankles around his neck and did a three hundred and sixty degree flip, spinning Geese around along with her and ending the move by slamming him against the ground.

Mary rose to her feet, a little shaky, and took a few steps back. A moment later, Geese Howard rose up as well, appearing unfazed by the intensity of their attack. The five fighters stared incredulously at one another.

Have the Jin Scrolls really made him this powerful? Terry thought to himself. It can't be...

Geese laughed coldly as he leaped to his feet. “Well, I've led you on for long enough,” he said to them. “It's time to show you my real power.” He clenched both of his fists then, and a faint crackle began to emanate from both them and the ground at his feet.

“Take cover!” Terry Bogard shouted to the others, and they began to sprint away, trying to put distance between themselves and Geese Howard.

They did not even hear Geese give out the signature cry that heralded his Raging Storm technique. A second later, their senses were overwhelmed by a brilliant green light, a deafening roar in their ears... and a pain unlike anything they had ever imagined.

 

To be continued...