Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Fighter's tournment ❯ AFTCh3 ( Chapter 3 )

Scene: Saotome Manor

Rock Howard had just offered to take Billy's place over an injury in the tournament, Ranma nodded his head, "I would be honored, Rock." Ranma was dead serious when he said that. Noticing the angry expressions on the faces of everyone there. "I think NESTS just made a huge mistake."

Almost everyone there was puzzled at Ranma's statement. 'What mistake could he mean?' was going through their minds.

Billy chuckled and nodded his head. "That's right mates. We all knew we had to stop NESTS but now it's personal. They were after my sister and now they're going to do their best to kick their asses."

Billy paused and chuckled even more when everyone agreed with him.

"Right Billy. I don't mind if someone comes after me but going after someone to get to me. Well, that was the last straw." Ranma spoke up again.

Looking at the mercenary commander Ranma asked. "Heidern, seeing how they came after Lily once for information about me I need to ask a favor." Heidern nodded. "Could a few of your soldiers look after Sara?" Ranma asked. "Of course, Ranma." Heidern agreed.

"Thanks." Ranma thanked Heidern. Ranma turned to face the young warrior "And Rock, thank you." "Any time, Ranma."

Chapter 3

Scene: N.E.S.Ts Headquarters

It was a good thing Igniz wasn't consuming any food or else he would have needed someone to perform the Heimlich maneuver. 'The boy just caught K9999's most powerful attack as if he were catching a football!!' He turned to Diana looking for some sort of explanation. Perhaps she saw something that helped the boy gain his abnormal strength at the last second. "I've seen what happened with my own two eyes while video taping this. This is no illusion, sir. The boy is a powerful warrior."

Igniz just collapsed in his chair, trying to accept that fact. But first things first. "Get K9999 to the infirmary. I need some time to think." She saluted before walking with K9999 who was dragging his mutated broken arm to the infirmary. 'This changes many things. His power would be the final addition to making me the ultimate God but getting them is another matter. Especially since it has been proven that his power rivals my current levels.'

Zero, who was behind him, remained silent. With his master this startled over an extraordinary new development, he would need time to make additional back up plans.

+++++++++++++++

Her name is Kula Diamond, also known as the Anti-K'. Her purpose? To eliminate the NESTS traitor along with Maxima. She had an opportunity during the King of Fighters 2000 tournament however things went out of control. First off, K' and Maxima had spoken about some of the darker aspects of NESTS and had installed a bit of doubt into whether she was doing the right thing or not. Even after she attacked them, they didn't take it too personally and they parted on somewhat good terms. Then there was the Zero Cannon fiasco in which after destroying the weapon, her robotic friend Candy sacrificed herself to save Kula.

For now, she would have to remain with NESTS and find out what's really going on. But she was going to need help. Foxy and Diana didn't mind assisting her as long as they were extremely discreet. They had their own worries about the direction NESTS was heading into. Both Foxy and Diana had helped her in establishing communications with K' and Maxima along with a girl named Whip, who apparently had her own links to NESTS but could not remember them. But even with everybody working together, they were still in the dark about Igniz's agenda.

"Kula? Master Igniz has summoned us," stated Foxy. She nodded once before proceeding to the bridge of the ship. When she got there, she saw a video of a handsome boy catching K9999's mutated arm. Then it showed him snapping the mutated arm and K9999 shouting "SWEET MOTHER OF OROCHI!!! THAT REALLY HURT!!!" The video ended at that point. "Who is that boy?" asked Kula. "Diana overheard one of the fighters calling out to the boy. The girl ninja, Mai Shiranui, called him Ranma," stated Zero.

"Ranma..." Kula noticed the boy's eyes having a friendly and warm twinkle to them. 'They're beautiful.' For the first time since NESTS had completed her, Kula Diamond felt abnormally warm inside.

Igniz frowned. "Where is Angel? As part of the team, she needs to be here to discuss strategy on how to confront this warrior during the King of Fighters tournament."

+++++++++++++++

Scene: Saotome Manor

"Angel? Angel, come in." They were all startled by the message, especially Angel. She could have sworn that she turned off her radio. "Angel? This is Zero. Report back to headquarters now." 'Uh oh. This is bad.' Heidern put two and two together when he heard the name Zero. "You're a NESTS spy!!" Clark blinked as he heard the new voice. "Wait. That doesn't sound like Zero." He had a clear memory on Zero shouting, "Fool!!" and "Weakling!!" when he performed his Cutter Arts moves.

'I can't believe I'm going to do this. Putting my fate in the hands of a guy I only met a while ago! But he seems to be a good enough person.' Angel made up her mind. "I'll explain everything later but I need to take this call." The Ikari Warriors moved forward to contain her but Ranma placed an arm out. "I want to know what her story is. Let's just wait for a bit." Heidern decided to let Ranma have his way for now. She was Outnumbered and cornered anyway.

Angel gave a mental shout of triumph at the martial artist's predictability. 'Ranma, I could kiss you!!' She took out the radio from her jacket pocket. "Angel here." "What happened?" "I'm meeting with some of the fighters and assessing their combat skills. I'll get to a transport site as soon as I can." "Make it fast. He doesn't like to be kept waiting. Zero out." She shut off the radio. "Now, what's this all about?" asked Ranma.

"I guess I should start with my birth. I was born in Mexico and spent my childhood years in an orphanage. When I was seven, I found out that someone had adopted me."

"Who was it?" asked Leona. "He was a man with white hair and blue eyes. He called himself Zero." "Wait a second!! The Zero we saw had a moustache and had black hair!!" shouted Yuri. "If you recall, he said that he was a master of disguise and he disguised himself as Ling to run KOF 2000," stated Heidern. "The other face must be his real one."

"Over the next twelve years, he raised me and taught me some fighting moves. I eventually developed my own style. When I turned 16, I started working as an enforcer for NESTS, occasionally having to kill someone. I never did like to do it but sometimes I had to." "Was your mission to spy on Ranma?" asked King. "That was actually a stroke of luck. Zero's boss had issued orders to find out about this person. I just received the orders and was about to head out when I bumped into Ranma." "So there's someone higher up on the chain," murmured Chizuru.

Angel looked squarely at Ranma. "That's all I have to say. Where I go is now up to you."

'Strike Claw? What's your intuition telling you about her?' She is both a dangerous liability and a potentially useful asset. In the end, you're going to be the one making the call since you requested Heidern not to do anything yet. Remember, NESTS through Zero have influenced her perception of reality. Ranma thought for a moment before making his decision.

Everyone there was staring at the white-haired girl named Angel as she sat on the couch outnumbered and cornered. "Angel, assuming you told the truth I can understand why you work for NESTS." Ranma started to speak. Every fighter is wondering where Ranma is going with his line of thought. Ranma continued. "I just have a few questions." Ranma stopped speaking until Angel nodded.

"Zero's boss? Does he have a name?" Ranma asked. "We only know him as Igniz." "How powerful is he?" Ranma continued asking the questions. "This is only rumor through the organization." Angel took a deep breath. "The rumor is that he took on K-4-9 and took him down in less than 5 minutes." "So a fighter more powerful than the blue haired jerk we faced." Ranma said to himself. Everyone heard him though and paled. "Since NESTS is sponsoring the KOF this year who's on its team?"

"K-4-9, Kula Diamond, Foxy, and me."

"Your leader's goal for this tournament."

"I don't know." Everyone looked surprised. "All I know is that it has to do with the tournament and that's it. Igniz always keeps his goals to himself. I don't think Zero even knows what Igniz is up to."

"Thank you Angel." He said as he pat her shoulder, "you are free to go." Now everyone was surprised at this including Angel. Angel quickly left the house. "Now before everyone gets angry let me explain. I don't think any jail could hold her especially if they want to bust her out of there or worse take someone we care about prisoner for an exchange."

"Yes, I see your point." Chizuru said. "And considering what Angel didn't say helped us as well."

"Right, Chizuru." Heidern agreed with the priestess. "NESTS seems to be after the fighters again but for what?"

All the fighters there were worried for several reasons. The leader was so strong that he was able to take out K-4-9 in less than five minutes. Who knows what this Igniz was after? Then Ranma piped up, "let's not forget the bug I placed on her." Everyone looked at him, "bug?" "When I pat her shoulder." He said, "it's a little something I was given before my mission." He opened his hand and they saw a small transmitter in it.

"Brilliant move Ranma!" Said Heidren, "thank you sir." Said Ranma.

Scene: With Team Korea

The doorbell rang at the Kapwhan residence. Myun looked up from her cooking and wondered who could be at the door. "Dong Hwan! Can you see who it is?" The boy looked through a small window. "It's Uncle Jhun and Santa Claus!!" His brother, Jae Hoon, snorted. "You dummy! Santa Claus has a white beard, wears red and only comes out at Christmas!!"

"Now, now boys. You two can burn off that extra energy sparring with your father later." Myun opened the door and was startled to see Jhun with a broken leg. "Good evening, Myun. May I speak to Kim?" asked Jhun. She gave a smile. "Of course. He's in the backyard training with May Lee and Choi...er, I mean Chang. Oh my, this is confusing."

"No kidding," muttered 'Chang'. Both men were lead through the house to see 'Choi' fall down splat. 'Chang' winced. If they do find a way to switch back, he was going to be in a world of hurt. But then again, his buddy wouldn't like what 'Chang' did to his body either.

May Lee had a look of concern. "Chang! Are you alright?" Kim crossed his arms. "Don't worry, Jinju. If he can survive my training for the past...wow, time sure does fly. As I was saying, if he can survive my training, then a fall like that won't phase him." "Man!! I'm never going to get used to jumping this high and far!!" muttered 'Choi'.

"You'll have to be ready soon. The next tournament isn't too far away and we must be ready to serve Justice's might against NESTS!! Now, try again Chang!" "Yes, Master Kim," grumbled the small man. Kim then noticed his rival. "Jhun? Is there something bothering you?" He then noticed the broken leg. "Oh, dear. This puts us in a bit of a bind. What happened?"

"A training accident. I made a stupid mistake during sparring and well, he ended up landing on this leg." "So now we require a fourth member? Perhaps I can seek out the warrior who was able to serve justice to Ryuji Yamazaki," murmured Kim. May Lee then got in front of the older man. "Master Kim!! I would like to have a chance to participate in the upcoming tournament!!"

"I'm not sure, Jinju. You have shown remarkable progress and have good spirit but this tournament may be our only opportunity to stop NESTS once and for all. We can't afford any mistakes." May Lee didn't give up. "I know I have the capabilities to help deliver Justice to the agents of NESTS!! Master, the odds of finding that other fighter are slim. You need a fourth team member now. Besides, isn't Chae already teamed up with him?"

"I've seen her fight. She can back up her claim of having the capability to stop NESTS," commented 'Choi' as he performed a few more slashes with his claws. Kim gave it some thought before making a decision. "Very well, Jinju. Consider this tournament an assessment to how far along you are to becoming a heroine."

"Thank you, Master!! I won't let you down!!" Kim smiled at her reaction. She has a lot of spirit.

Scene: The Fatal Fury team

Three men and one woman were sitting at a table in a bar talking. One of the men was Terry 'Lone Wolf' Bogard, one of the strongest fighters in the KOF tournaments. Another was his brother Andy Bogard. The third man was Joe Higashi, a Muei Thai kick boxer.

The woman was Mary Ryan. She was an investigator who had hooked up with Terry a few years earlier. On the table were the invites for the KOF 2001 tournament.

Everyone was surprised to see who the sponsor was. The NESTS organization.

"So what do you think Terry?" Andy asked his brother.

"Yeah, it was a big surprise that a supposedly secret organization is being so public about this." Terry thoughtfully said. He looked at his friends. "I don't know about you guys but I'm in."

"Ya said it, man." Joe added. "The first we ever heard of NESTS is in the 2000 KOF and now they want to sponsor it. I'm in."

Andy nodded in agreement with Joe. Both of them wanted to bring NESTS down.

"Something's not right about this." The lone female at their table spoke up for the first time. "I'm also in besides I want to meet the new guy who beat Yamazaki in no time flat."

Terry smiled. He could fully agree with Mary's wish to meet the unknown fighter who beat Yamazaki but for another reason. He wanted to challenge this new guy. He still had hope that Andy would get past the hatred and anger for Geese Howard. His revenge ended when he defeated Geese so long ago after the 2nd KOF tournament. Terry just wanted to challenge his limits and other fighters to go farther than ever before.

Scene: With Geese

Geese Howard smirked as he made his next phone call. 'First Big, then we'll see if the other guy's available.' He dialed a quick set of numbers and after he was done, he sat back in his leather chair and spun a bit to look out the giant window that was behind his desk as he looked out at South Town. 'Good. Those construction companies are rebuilding the damage done by Zero.'

"Hello?"

"Big. So good to hear from you again. I do hope that your training is being kept up."

"Can it Geese. Get to the point."

The blonde man chuckled at Mr. Big's discomfort. The bald man was an exceptional fighter in his own right, but he did spend about as much time pimping as he did training.

"Well Big, I have a proposition for you."

"What is it? I'm busy right now."

"You mean pimping." Geese ignored the man's cry of protest. "Well, grab your truncheons and get ready."

"Ready? For what?"

"For the King of Fighters tournament this year."

"What? We're teaming up again?"

Geese chuckled. The tanned pants, white dress-shirt, tanned vest, red tie, blue long coat with white mink fur trim wearing crime boss sure was surprised. "What's the matter Big? Not keeping up with your training?"

After a bit of silence he spoke up. "Geese, I have been training, not as diligently as I could've been, but I can easily beat up most of the fighters in the tournament."

"Glad to hear it. Because you, me and Krauser are going to be teaming up again." Geese figured he should sweeten the deal a bit. "By the way... You've heard of the new guy in town right?"

"The one who beat Yamazaki? Yeah... Who in the tournament HASN'T heard of him?"

"Well, he seems to have an unusual ability to get the girls to come after him in droves."

".... Say what?"

"Oh yes, he's teaming with my son. In fact, most of the female participants in the King of Fighters Tournament are with him right now. Maybe he can teach you a thing or two about getting the ladies. Plus he'll be a good challenge."

There was silence on the other end and Geese thought for a moment that Big would decline until he spoke up again. "Very well, I'm in."

"Tournament's not for a couple of month's Big. I suggest you get to some serious training."

Geese heard Big snort and the blonde man chuckled and hung up. 'Just one more to call. I do wonder if he'll join up with me.'

********

The man smirked as he finally got that technique right. The man was standing in a wide-open room with pads on the wall and on the floor, in the corner was a punching bag. Standing up, the man was 1.97 metres tall with blonde hair, he had only one organic eye and one was cybernetic as a result of a run-in with the Hakkeshu of Wind Goentiz. He was wearing red pants, black boots and fingerless fighting gloves. He had removed his top, as he didn't need to have it on while training.

He stretched as he walked out of the room, intending to hit the showers and then get back to training. He smirked as he looked about the place that he had 'commandeered' from the previous owner. It was lavishly decorated, with classical pictures on the walls, which were covered in dark carpet.

'Heh, not a place that I would be at normally. But it's good cover. No one suspects anything.' He walked by the couch on his way to the showers to stop to pet his pet panther when the phone rang.

He frowned. 'What the heck? I know this number's not listed... So who would call me?' He shrugged and picked it up. 'Maybe some solicitation?' "Hello?"

"Ah, Rugal. So the information was correct."

Rugal's eyes widened as he recognized that voice. "GEESE?! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT I'M STILL ALIVE?!"

Geese chuckled on the other end. "Well, your hobby is resurrection after all. You've been dead, at least two times by now."

Rugal sighed. "Okay, you got me. What do you want? I was just training..."

"I figured you'd be training for either this year's tournament or next year's. Am I right?"

"I never got an invite this year actually."

"Well, how about teaming up with myself then?"

Rugal blinked and switched the phone from one ear to the next. "I'm surprised Geese. I never thought that you'd team up with me. Especially after I stole your techniques."

"Whatever. Listen. How would you like to teach these losers in charge of the King of Fighters tournament a lesson for not inviting you?"

"You mean NESTS?" Rugal blinked, he had never thought that Geese would ask for his help in forming a team. "Just a question... Why?"

Geese chuckled on the other end. "I have my reasons and I'm sure that you want to rip a few heads off at the tournament, like Kusanagi or Heidern?"

Rugal's eye narrowed. "Yes I do, why do you ask me to team up with you?"

"NESTS made a mistake and attacked one of my people for no reason. I want revenge. I've already got two other teammates. I just need one more."

Rugal chuckled, scratched his chin and thought about it. "Maybe."

"Oh, did I tell you that there's a new face on the scene?"

Rugal blinked. "Um, no you didn't. And I haven't heard about any rumors so... What is it?"

"Well, it seems that a new person has just showed up and basically ripped Yamazaki apart in less than ten seconds."

"Say what?" Rugal was a bit surprised. Yamazaki was a tough S.O.B. for him to go down so quickly... "What do you know about this new guy?"

"Very strong and tough. Not only beat Yamazaki, but also NESTS strongest operative. A worthy challenge. Don't you agree?"

"You're sounding like your brother. But you're right, this will be interesting. Especially since I've got a bunch of new tricks up my sleeve."

"What? You're Omega form?"

Rugal chuckled. "If it comes down to that Geese, you'll be QUITE surprised with what I can do with my newer Omega form."

"Newer Omega form?"

"You could call it a secondary Omega form. But trust me on this."

"Whatever, just be there. The tournament's in a couple of months."

"Right." Rugal then hung up. 'A chance to get back at those who've continuously get in my way? I'm taking this challenge. And I'll show NESTS just why there are some in the world that you just don't betray.' "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Scene: Team Japan

"Class dismissed!!" The students all bowed towards Goro Daimon before heading out of his dojo. As he wiped the sweat off of his face, he found himself slightly tired of the same old routine that he adopted since he started his family after the 1998 King of Fighters tournament.

Not that he minded though. He loved his wife and his child dearly. And teaching his Judo techniques to a group of new students had its rewards but the excitement of fighting to save the world could not be matched.

The sound of the door opening snapped him out of his thoughts. "Daimon! It's been a while."

A broad grin was on Daimon's face as he recognized the voice. "Benimaru! Good to see you again!" He paused when he noticed someone else resembling Kyo Kusanagi. "And if I remember, you must be Shingo. You must have worked hard in order to make it as far as you did in the 97 and 98 tournaments as a single entry. All that work must have paid off if Benimaru asked you to join the team."

Shingo gave a sheepish grin. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without Master Kyo's training and Benimaru's guidance."

"Speaking of Kyo, how has he been doing?" asked Daimon.

Benimaru scratched his head. "That's a pretty interesting story. Mind if we can just sit down somewhere?"

After the trio had been seated, Benimaru Nikaido spoke again. "In the 98 tournament, did you notice something odd about Kyo?"

"He seemed a bit off but other than that, nothing," answered Daimon.

Benimaru frowned. "I never did figure it out. When I tried to get some answers from him, he simply disappeared. When the 99 tournament came around with a whole new team system, I found out there were two Kyos who entered as single entrys."

"Say what?!?"

Shingo continued the story. "We eventually found out that an organization called NESTS had kidnapped Master Kyo right after the Orochi battle to perform cloning experiments on him. They were prepared to strike everywhere at that time with Kyo clones all over the world!"

"So I wasn't hallucinating when I saw those Kyos walking down the street," muttered Daimon.

"Things got hairy but Master Kyo came in time to help us out against Krizalid. He also helped out in the 2000 tournament when Zero tried to use the Zero Cannon to create a new world."

"Zero Cannon? That weapon destroyed one of the cities, didn't it?"

"Yes. We didn't find out anything else about NESTS but that may change soon with KOF 2001." Benimaru tossed out an invitation card.

Daimon examined the card and was startled to see who the sponsor was. "What?"

Benimaru spoke again. "K' and Maxima are nowhere to be found. I don't know where to contact Lin and from Seth's last message, he's already teaming up with Vanessa, Ramon and Iori Yagami. I need two more people before registering Team Japan for KOF 2001. So, you in?"

"Is that a rhetorical question? Besides, it'll be good to keep myself in practice and I can help take out NESTS as well."

Benimaru smiled. "Great! Now all we need is a fourth team member."

"But what about Master Kyo?" asked Shingo.

"Unless he pops up somewhere, we'll have to keep looking. Otherwise, we won't be able to register in time. Maybe I can look up that other kid."

Daimon raised an eyebrow. "Other kid, Benimaru?"

"Last night, there was a bit of a scuffle. People didn't see anything but they heard noises. When they came by, they saw a beaten up Ryuji Yamazaki. It was a good thing nobody came near him because he simply burst up and shouted something about ripping that boy apart before stomping off."

"Actually, Yamazaki had said something about placing the kid in something worse than his Guillotine move. I don't know. The rumors haven't been that reliable."

The trio looked to see who their new visitor was. Shingo's eyes moistened. "Master Kyo!!!"

Kyo placed his hands in his pockets. "I was planning on just visiting Daimon but I guess this works as well!"

"You have impeccable timing. We were just talking about Team Japan's return to KOF 2001," said Benimaru with a smirk.

Kyo gave a smirk of his own. "Really? Looks like I'll have to count myself in, seeing how I was the original leader of Team Japan."

While Benimaru snorted, Shingo had recognized that his dream had come true. He would get to fight alongside his master as part of the legendary Team Japan in the upcoming KOF tournament! What more could he ask for?

Kyo had made himself a tiny agenda for the tournament. Number one priority was to deal with NESTS. Iori Yagami came at number two. Then he added a number three to find that kid who easily defeated Yamazaki. A fighter of his caliber would most likely want to test himself against the best of the best at KOF. Kyo smiled to himself. Things were looking up for a change.

End for now