Description: A glimpse through the mists of time to a moment where a tyrant fell and a hero rose, both locked within the deadly game played by a creature born of unimaginable nightmare. It is the KOF 2001 Finale as it might have been.
The year is 2001. The year the King of Fighters tournament would be forever changed. Having taken over the operation of the event after a narrow victory against Wolfgang Krauser, this year's sponsor was none other than Rugal Bernstein. A man who had come out of relative obscurity as far as most of the world was concerned. The public knew nothing of his empire built by effectively controlling the drug and weapons black markets. All they knew was that he was some rich baron who had decided to invest a lot of money in taking over the KOF tournaments henceforth.
Few knew that the entire point of the event, as far as Rugal was concerned, was to find himself a worthy challenge. Believing that no one person could make it worth his while, he had instituted the team tournament rules, changing the nature of King of Fighters forever. One team in particular was outclassing all others by a significant enough margine that Rugal was confident they would be the ones to make it to the end to face him.
But their strength had yet to be truly tested either. Deciding to up the ante, Bernstein faced and defeated Saishu Kusanagi in secret and had him brought back to the Black Noah. Subjected to brutal mind control courtesy of Vice, he would be a willing pawn in the tyrant's ploy to bring out Kyo's true potential through anger.
And now it's happened. Kyo, Goro, and Benimaru were brought to the Black Noah, escorted by none other than Mature. Acting as merely a hospitable host, Bernstein had welcomed them aboard and brought them to a large room within the control tower of the massive carrier. He showed them the bronze statues of prior conquests and assured them that there fate would be the same. And with that, the battle had begun.
Benimaru and Goro both fell at the hands of Saishu's might, but the older man was so injured by then that it was trivial for Kyo to take his father down, leaving the young prodigy fighter to face Rugal Bernstein by himself. And now the moment has come to decide the fate of the brave trio.
Standing opposite Kyo in the large bridge of the Black Noah is Rugal Bernstein himself, clothed in the red-orange suit that he had on from the moment they arrived, he chuckles darkly, his hand folding and unfolding the end of a thin black scarf that hangs open around his neck. He had sat by as the trio dealt with Saishu, eyes narrowed with dark intent. But now he stands, a surge of supernatural power flowing within him.
"Now do you feel it, boy? Do you feel the anger coursing within you? How did it feel to see your father used as my pawn? The venerable Saishu Kusanagi reduced to nothing but a tool? Surely the rage flows within you... let it out... let its power consume you! Show me your true power!!" roars the man as he holds his arms out at his sides as if inviting Kyo to demonstrate just how hot the Kusanagi flames can burn...
COMBATSYS: Rugal has started a fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rugal focuses on his next action.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
With most of Japan's more well-known fighters such as Ryu not participating in the event, and powerhouses such as the Hungry Wolves and Kyokugen Dojo fighting for another nations, most analysts did not expect Team Japan to advance very far in this King of Fighters tournament. Especially with relative unknowns comprising two thirds of the squad. Team Japan quickly proved these pundits wrong with a string of impressive wins that eventually led to them being extended a "generous invitation" to meet the mysterious benefactor of the tournament itself.
That man stands before Kyo Kusanagi now, positively drunk with power. A dark aura surrounds Bernstein, a frightening, dangerous emanation that can be nothing other than pure evil in concentrated form. Rugal's position, by the throne-like control centre of the Black Noah, forces Kyo to look upwards at his opponent, with an expression that only lends credence to Bernstein's taunts. The young fighter's face is a mask of anger, but also of steely determination. His visage stands in sharp contrast to the cocky smirks and cheeky grins he flashed during his earlier bouts, as he demolished his competition.
"RUGAL!! NO MATTER WHAT, I WON'T LET YOU LIVE!"
Kyo charges up the stairs to Rugal's throne, one gloved hand whipping out to his side, crimson flame trailing off of it's knuckles to create a fiery trail behind the young fighter. "LET'S GO!" He cries out as he balls the hand into a fist, then brings it up close to his ear, preparing a straightforward flaming punch to Rugal's ugly mug.
COMBATSYS: Kyo has joined the fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rugal
COMBATSYS: Rugal endures Kyo's Aragami.
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Kyo 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Rugal
The man standing at the throne looks none too scared as Kyo rushes toward him. The expression on his face suggests that he relishes this brazen attack, that one human eye fixated on Kyo's visage with an almost crazed glee. He demanded the boy show him what he could do, and now he is going to just stand there and let him.
The flame encased fist blasts into Bernstein, turning his head to the side and singing his neck length blond hair. These flames burn real, subjecting him to a pain from attacks unlike that which most fighters can deliver. But pain is for the weak to worry about, not a man who may as well be a GOD at this point!
Kyo packs enough force to stagger him slightly, but his back foot slams down, getting a sure footing rather than being driven away. With a guttural growl, the man lunges forward, using the power of his body to drive his thick arm toward Kyo's chest with crushing force. "RAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Rugal's God Press.
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Kyo 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Rugal
Kyo socks Rugal right in the chin. The impact is immensely satisfying, but all measure of that quickly dissapears when Bernstein's back foot slams down on the cold metal floor of the Black Noah's bridge, stopping himself from being repelled by Kyo's assault. "Tch!" Kyo mouths in alarm as the leader of 'R' comes right back, reaching for his chest with some obviously bad intentions.
The reflexes of this young boy may surprise even a fighter of Rugal's caliber and experience: The boy deftly pushes aside the madman's arm with one hand while ducking himself down into Rugal's blind spot. It happens quickly enough that the son of Saishu Kusanagi even has time to spout off a quip.
"Useless people should not even be born."
By the time Rugal whips himself around to face Kyo again, he'll be greeted by the heel of the boy's school uniform's boot courtesy of a spinning roundhouse kick.
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Kyo's Medium Kick.
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Kyo 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rugal
"Now that's something we can agree on," grins the suited crimelord as his arm flies past Kyo, his hand, fingers splayed open in a grasping motion, just barely brushing against the boy's jacket but not managing to get a grip on anything in the end.
"Unfortunately, only time can tell who is worthy..." He turns, his orange sleeve-covered arm coming up to block the kick with a meaty thud, muscles flexing and distributing the force of the strike as to diminish the actual potential for injury. "...and who is nothing more than the dregs of humanity's potential."
The arm pushes back on his foot to give Bernstein room to maneuver... allowing his OTHER arm to swing in swiftly, attempting to find an opening to slam into the younger fighter's kidney.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rugal's Medium Punch.
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Kyo 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Rugal
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"I don't know about my potential or any of that other crap!" Kyo exclaims, with an incredulous tone to his voice, right as his kick only manages to graze Rugal's arm. Bernstein is quick to come off of his block and turn defense into offense. Quicker than anyone Kyo's yet faced in his life, though in these intense first few moments of this battle Kusanagi himself doesn't yet realize this. The battle turns into a close-quarters slugfest, both fighters trading blows and waiting to see which one won't be able to put their defense up in time.
For his part, Kyo manages to shoot his arm down to the side of his body, protecting his kidney from Rugal's strike. "All I know is-" Kyo continues jawing, though this time while simultaneously reaching for one of Rugal's suit lapels. "The minute you decided to screw with my family, you sealed your fate-" He attempts to get a strong grip on the leader of R, at which point he'll try to turn and flip his opponent over his shoulder, Judo-style.
Daimon taught him this one.
COMBATSYS: Rugal fails to interrupt Issetsu Seoi Nage from Kyo with Genocide Cutter.
- Power fail! -
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Rugal
Kyo says, "-RUGAL!!"
Grab him? Rugal Bernstein? Oh, he does not think so. He does not think so /at all/. As Kyo reaches out to take a hold of him, the tournament sponsor swings his leg out, intent on teaching the boy a lesson about messing with a man's suit. "Genocide-" he growls, sharp, lancing chi trailing behind his foot, promising a piercing, crushing attack the moment it impacts - An impact that never comes. The youthful fighter is precise in his own timing, his skill honed by an investment of literally generations of power and fueled by a rage that Bernstein so foolishly put in him.
His foot never reaches its mark as Kyo flips him over to the ground in a powerful slam, sending him tumbling from off the throne his pedestal sat upon, crashing to the ground with a resounding thud. "Grah!" the man spits, getting back up to his feet again, his arm coming up to wipe against the side of his head, coming away with smear of blood. "Enough with pretense," he snaps, bringing his hands together at his neck as he literally shreads open his once neatly pressed, expensive white shirt. Both shirt and suit coat are shrugged to the floor, discarded as a heap at his feet, as he rids himself of the constraining clothing.
A tightly fighting, green muscle shirt covers his torso now, leaving his powerful, thick arms exposed. The man's fists clench tightly, a strange black taint in the air around him - the presence of another, a power he should have never touched in the first place. "Is that so. Come then, boy, and see if you have what it takes to end me. But know that you battle more than just a man. You battle a GOD!!" His arms extend out to his sides as he roars, allowing the Orochi influence within him to pour throughout his body.
Kyo tosses Rugal to the unyielding metal floor of the Black Noah's bridge, a cold expression on his face the whole time. "Hmpf. People as weak as you shouldn't try to sound all tough at the beginning of fights! Next time you ask someone to show you their true power, make sure you're able to handle it, you wuss!"
Kyo actually does the unthinkable and turns his back to Rugal Bernstein. It may be the first time any fighter, has done something like this to Rugal, EVER. At least any fighter who didn't want to be dipped into a vat of molten bronze. What's more the younger Kusanagi just keeps talking as he starts walking back down the stairs, toward his friends: He holds his hands out, palms up, and shrugs his shoulders in a 'what can you do?' gesture. "I'm taking back what I said earlier... you're not worth killi-"
Kyo pauses in mid-step as Rugal undergoes a drastic increase in power. Fighters can't sense chi, can't just look at another person and determine how much power that person can tap into... but this is different. It's almost like Rugal's very aura is increasing the air pressure, pushing down on him, trying to suffocate him. Kyo turns back around, looking up at the hulking Rugal with his trademark smirk pushing up one side of his mouth. He's interested in this fight again.
"...God? Don't make me laugh." The young boy extend a fist half-way towards Rugal, "Alright then... Let's see what's stronger. The pathetic power of a so-called 'God'-" He opens the fist to reveal a small flame there, which quickly grows until the tendrils of flame lick over his entire hand and forearm, "-OR MY SCORCHING-HOT FLAME!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo takes no action.
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Rugal
As Kyo turns to walk away, Bernstein is busy getting more comfortable, the suspenders that were over his shoulders when he was dressed up now swinging loosely at the sides of his legs. His hands, covered by tightly fitting, fingerless leather gloves, clench tightly as Kyo turns to face him again.
Yes, that's right... Rugal feels the power surging through him now. Power he had gone to great lengths to obtain. The price was his right eye, a sacrifice demanded by the lancing claw of Orochi's Herald. But it was worth it. Goenitz had sworn on the day he called upon these powers he would surely die. Well, then, Rugal decides in the midst of a surge induced frenzy of strength. Let's test that promise...
"Your flames... are powerful, but their truth strength has yet to be fully tested. Now we shall see!!" He pushes off from the floor, leaning forward into incredibly fast assault, hands out at his sides, fingers spread open. Similar to the charge from before, but this time with more control and less blind, careless crushing force, in an attempt to hook Kyo at the chest and drive him into the wall behind him. His friends will have to wait for now.
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Rugal's Medium Throw.
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Rugal
-He's faster! Kyo's eyes narrow slightly as Rugal goes for the throat again. He just barely manages to deke his body away, elluding the 'R' leader's grasp by mere centemeters. "Tch, don't think just because you've got that power you'll do any better!" The younger Kusanagi exclaims, aiming a side kick at the small of Bernstein's back as the enraged, Orochi-tainted fighter flies past him. "-If Orochi's involved, these flames of mine won't show any mercy!"
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Kyo's Light Kick.
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Rugal
His arm slams through the air but the Kusagani heir evades his grasp once again. Unlike their first exchange like this before, however, Rugal doesn't attempt to strike him back preemptively. Instead that arm of his comes up again, intersecting Kyo's foot, this time not so much as budging in reaction to the blow.
And now he returns the favor with his own kick, foot lancing out swiftly through the air at a sideways angle, intended to strike upward into Kyo's side beneath his shoulder, threatening to dislocate his arm if he gets a clean hit. "HAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rugal's Medium Kick.
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Rugal
Another exchange of blows goes blocked by both men. At the end of this fight their arms are going to be red with welts. Kyo shoves aside Rugal's big boot with his forearm, wincing a little in the process; that part of his body has taken a lot of punishment. Better there than any of places Rugal was actually aiming, however!
Kusanagi gets some distance now with some deft foot-over-foot backpedalling; he needs a little room for what he's going to try next. "Hmpf... I've gone easy on you! Like I said, since you've messed around with Orochi, I'm not going to hold anything back." A thin red glow outlines Kyo's body while he taunts Rugal, and it very quickly grows into a full-fledged, fiery aura, rippling waves of heat distorting the air around his body.
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Rugal
"Good..." Rugal's deep voice rattles in his throat, "Then you recognize this power and you know what it can do... You got your strikes in, boy. But against the Orochi power I control now, those attacks are simply nothing. Throw yourself at me all you wish, even the Kusagani flames cannot extinguish the strength of Rugal Bernstein combined with Orochi's might!!"
The man pounds his fist into the palm of his hand with such force that the air forced out between his fingers literally turns to visible vapor before vanishing. "I already felt the flames of your family when I struck down your fool of a father. Do you think you have already surpassed the mighty Saishu Kusanagi?"
The man extends his arms out to his sides once more, palms up, fingers splayed open. His back arching as he turns his face up toward the ceiling of the bridge room, Rugal begins to collect the dark god's power into him. It becomes visible now, no longer left to the unseen spectrums. A coiling, black aura that starts as a ring around his feet then begins to spiral up around the man. "oooooOOoOoooOOoOOOOORRGHAAAAA!"
His roar echos off the walls as his feet literally lift off the floor, causing him to hover in the air a couple of inches. And then it ends and he drops back down to the ground, leather soled shoes thunking against the metal plating, the black tainted aura blasting outward from him, passing harmlessly through both people and walls, but leaving a sense of something... forbidden in its wake.
COMBATSYS: Rugal gathers his will.
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Rugal
Almost subconciously, Kyo responds to the Rugal exerting the full force of Orochi's dark power, his own fiery aura flaring up around him, challenging the pitch-black waves that radiate from the mad leader of 'R'. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" The two energies are ancient forces from beyond recorded history, as well as being natural enemies: Sinewy tendrils of shadow slither around jagged pillars of crimson, being simultaneously cut to pieces by the flames.
The bridge of the Black Noah, though an impressive and formidable piece of engineering, was not built to withstand a conflict between such frightening and mysterious powers: The area around Kusanagi and Bernstein rumbles and shakes, various machinery and monitors begin to spark and go haywire, steam pipes rupture and spew their contents everywhere, bathing the entire place in a eerie fog.
Kyo just stares down Rugal while their aura duel for supremacy, watching for an opening. It is a painfully long time before he sees one, but when he does finally spot what he believe to be a weak spot, he goes right for the kill.
Kyo's plants his back foot, and when he dashes off of it, it sends up a plume of bloodline flame that completely slags the bank of computers behind him. He doesn't have any taunts for Rugal this time, he intends to let his fists deliver the insults for now: He launches into a more elaborate, more powerful version of the attack he used to start this fight. The deceptively powerful spinning punch segues right into a series of devastating flaming punches. "KURAE!!"
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Kyo's Dokugami.
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Kyo 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Rugal
"HAHAHAHA!" It sounds like Rugal, but his voice is different, almost as if there is another voice deep within that struggles for dominance now, another presence not his own. His fists glow with a sickly green, miasmic fluid dripping to the floor at his feet, melting the bent metal it comes in contact with, sending even more distoring, foul smoke and steam into the air. The room is thick with power now, the air literally crackling with energy that could suffocate lessor men.
"At last! My triumph over death is complete! A new age will be ushered in!" roars Rugal as he continues to arch his back, his body nearly overwhelmed by the power that courses through it. But he can control it... he knows he can... and with this power...
Both of his arms come up this time, obstructing Kyo's assault, but his feet don't even slide an inch. The youth is against a new power now - one the world has not had to face for a thousand years. And it seems his strike was not enough to bring down the monster's guard.
"I am... the OMEGA!" A crackling field appears around the beast of a man, blindingly bright, like lightning frozen in time, forming a sphere that would be deadly to penetrate. His outstretched arms appear to be the focal points as he grins back at Kyo with malevolent confidence.
"And you will be the first to taste of my power in FULL!" His arms swing forward then, forming a funnel in front of him through which that entire sphere of bright chi is driven, converted to a beam of effulgent energy, sending it toward the young man with the power to deatomize most mortals. "NOW DIE!!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo endures Rugal's Barrier Crash.
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Kyo 1/---====/=======|=======\====---\1 Rugal
Kyo puts much of his considerable strength into his assault on Rugal, bursts of flame exploding all over Rugal's body. Most fighters would be completely overwhelmed by a series of attacks of this calibur, and indeed they have, throughout the course of the tournament. In his current state, however, Rugal just stands there, punch after punch, each blow failing to even budge the Orochi-posessed man an inch. Even the thundering last punch of Kyo's Dokugami technique isn't able to put a dent in Bernstein.
When it's over, Kyo skids backwards, practically repelled by the madman's aura. "What th-" He glances down at his fist, knuckle worn down and raw; like he just got done going a few around against a titanium wall.
Then, the young boy, struggling to become The King of Fighters, becomes completely obscured by Rugal's energy beam. This illicits stunned gasps and cries from his father and friends watching the fights below, as it almost appears that the brash young heir to the Kusanagi has been vaporized where he stands. Relief comes only a second later: An arm emerges from the beam, then dives back in. Kyo has apparently decided that wading through the beam is the best course of action.
When Rugal nexts sees Kyo, the boy's arm, followed by his face, emerges from the stream of demonic energy. The arm bolts right for Rugal's neck.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but... you talk too much!"
COMBATSYS: Rugal endures Kyo's Koto Moon Positive.
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Kyo 1/-======/=======|=======\=======\1 Rugal
The boy absolutely was not supposed to make it through that attack, but as his arm comes up out of the bright beam of energy it becomes clear that not only has he survived it, but he is pushing back against it... and succeeding. "Too weak... too weak..." Rugal's voice has changed even more. It's distant, detached, his mouth barely moving yet the strength behind the voice enough to rattle anything loose in the room. "This mortal's husk is insufficient for MEEEE!" The voice grows louder, more powerful, as Kyo pushes his way through the attack and grabs the roaring fiend's neck.
The explosion of bright, painful flame causes Bernstein... or what's left of him... to stagger backward, hands coming up to clutch at his face. "It BURNS! Make it stop!!" The room begins to tremble, the panels falling down from the roof to clank against the floor, desks and counters rattling, sliding across surfaces, before tipping over and collapsing.
"This FOOL IS TOO WEAK TO SERVE AS MY BODY!!" Rugal convulses, arms hugging against his body, his one human eye beginning to glow a bright white as energy literally coils around him.
"No..." comes a softer voice. Deep, human, mortal, afraid. "No... I will show you... I will control you... Orochi will serve me... I will destroy anyone who threatens my power! My CHANCE TO UNDO THE PAST! I will HAVE MY REVENGE!" Rugal's hands clamp against the sides of his head as he begins to stumble forward, blood leaking out from beneath his fingers due to the pressure of his vice-like fingers.
"Do not fight me..." comes that detatched voice again. "Succumb to me and be my vessel... but first... kill Kusanagi... KILL KUSANAGI!!" When Rugal lunges forward this time, it is with the force of the demon inside of him, controling his every swing, his every kick. Attack after attack, brutal blow after brutal blow, each strike with the force that would shatter most mortals into a fine paste. The assault is relentless against Kyo as he faces the attack of not Rugal Bernstein... but rather a very furious... god indeed. But the damage it does to the mortal man attacking him is equally severe, his limbs being driven with more force than even Rugal's strength can withstand, his body being literally pulverized internally with the damage inflicted by the Orochi's power breaking loose throughout him.
"RAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo fails to interrupt Omega Destruction from Rugal with Orochinagi'.
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Rugal
Kyo manages to force himself through Rugal's torrential energy assault and manages to gain a handhold, enough to lift the much larger man up off his feet, then send him flying backwards with a massive outpouring of bloodline flame, easily the equal of the beam technique Bernstein just used. His school uniform jacket has been basically blown away by this point, no more than tatters hanging off his shoulders.
Rugal's reaction to Kusanagi's attack is even more frightening than the attack he just used. It is all Kyo can do to just stand there with a look of awe as he sees two beings, one just a man, one not of this mortal coil, struggle for the control of one corporeal entity. It doesn't help that it appears like Rugal's flesh is practically melting off of his body while he claws at himself. "What... the... hell..." Kyo mouths to himself. Whatever is happening to Rugal, well, it can't be good. Kyo, starting to realize this, begins to raise one arm up over his head, preparing some kind of ultimate technique to put the leader of 'R' down while he still can... or maybe it should be to put him out of his misery. This realization comes too late.
Having just trudged through hell seconds ago, Kyo is in no condition to mount any sort of effective defense against a crazed, Orochi-possessed fighter. The Omega Destruction lays into Kyo, each blow sending his body whipping about. Eventually he is tossed into the air and lands on the staircase, whereupon he takes a nasty tumble down the remaining stairs, landing in a leap at the bottom. Benimaru and Daimon rush to his side, and although Kyo waves them off, he is far from OK. He gets up shakily, looking up the stairs at Rugal with one thought in his mind: 'I don't think I've ever been hit that hard.'
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Rugal with Omega Destruction.
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Rugal
The assualt stops eventually, slowing gradually. The mortal's frame starting to break down over the course of the attack meant to erase this generation's Kusanagi menace... If he can kill Kyo, then nothing will stop his true awakening. The bloodline will be broken and his return will be... unstoppable. But Rugal Bernstein's body can't keep it up. The forces within him are tearing him apart, his body driven to do things it was never meant to even try while the only facet of control he has left is in his mind. It is with a final forceful swing that he blasts Kyo away, out of range of any further attacks.
It provides only a momentary distraction as he slowly lumbers toward the fallen boy, "Yesss...." comes the hungry voice now, a hiss of a trapped monstrosity about to assure its future awakening will go off without a hitch as the only viable threat will be no more.
But the direction Kyo was knocked in takes the staggering Rugal past a terminal and with the last will left within him, the man trapped within smashes his hand through a glass case and rips out a small metal object with a single red button on it. The failsafe device. All he needs to is press his thumb against it and the entire ship and all of its occupants will be sent to the depths of the sea in a nuclear detonation the likes of which the world had never seen.
As if Orochi realizes what Bernstein hopes to do, the demon begins to enforce its will on Rugal even further, staying his thumb from completing the press of the button. "NOOOOO!!" shouts the nearly defeated tyrant as his other hand stretches forth, pressing against his chest. "NOOOOOOOO!!!" Fingers turned into claws tear into his body before slowly dragging from his shoulder down over his stomach, tearing deep gouges into his flesh, causing blood to immediately spill forth over his stomach, splattering to the floor at his feet.
And then it releases, with a massive intake of air like a vacuum in the room, the trace of Orochi in Bernstein's blood leaves the man, escaping out of him a swirling, black vapor so thick and moving so violently as to almost seem alive.
Released of the Orochi power with him, Rugal fumbles forward, dropping to his knees before collapsing to the floor. The detonator still in his hand as he holds his thumb out over it. "I failed... I failed..." A smirk of untold malice curls across his lips as his eye comes to rest on Kyo and his friends. They will be erased along with him. His failure will never be known as all of history will only record the cleansing detonation at sea that nullified the existence of everyone on this boat. "Heh. So long suckers..." he grunts, thumb hovering precariously close to that fatal red button.
COMBATSYS: Rugal takes no action.
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Rugal can no longer fight.
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|
By now, all hope of fighting Rugal in the conventional sense has faded. The priority now is survival. Kyo has no idea what exactly Bernstein plans to do, but he's seen enough movies to know what happens when there's a half-dead crazy guy ranting in front of a computer console with lots of big, red buttons. The boy half-successfully shakes off the effects of Omega Rugal's vicious beatdown, running over to his father with Benimaru and Daimon in tow.
"Come on old man! We've all got better things to do tonight than die!" He mutters, throwing his father's arm over his shoulder and helping him up off the ground. Kyo's free hand produces a blast of flame that strikes a hull panel already weakened by one of Omega Rugal's stray attacks, blowing a massive hole in the airship. There's their escape route.
Jumping into the sea from this height isn't a terrific plan, but it's the only one the younger Kusanagi can think of besides staying here and either getting mauled by Orochi or being vaporized by the self-destruct sequence. Fortunately for him all the damage to the command center of the Black Noah has sent the ship heading steadily downwards, making the leap from ship to sea survivable for trained fighters such as the likes of Team Japan. Still, Benimaru is horrified, and has to be (literally) kicked out of the ship.
Kyo is last to jump, after handing off the care of his father to Daimon. He puts one hand on the edge of the hole, preparing himself, but at the last moment turns to glance at Rugal. He's just in time to see a black mass of energy careen out of the leader of 'R's body, like some sort of evil spirit being released. He sees what looks like the shape of a skull, forming in the swirling eddys of power. That is Orochi. That's what he destined to fight.
He doesn't hear what Rugal says to him, but he definitely spots the glare, and the maliceful lips of the man moving. That's when Kyo cracks one last smirk, then jumps down into the sea.
COMBATSYS: Kyo has ended the fight here.
Strangely, the explosion never comes. The Black Noah lists partially down into the ocean, a metal titan drowning at sea as the heroes make their escape, but it doesn't quite sink. It is as if the ship and the man who created it struggle to linger on... cursing the world with their presence just a little while longer.
For many years, that would be the last the world would see of the mysterious man who made his presence known by flooding the world with invitations signed merely as '- R'.
What stayed the tyrant's hand? What happened on that bridge when Kyo and his friends lept for their lives? Those are questions that may go forever unanswered.
Or perhaps someday Rugal Bernstein and Kyo Kusanagi will face each other again, and the enigma of that final hour will at long last unfold.
Log created on 20:39:26 08/18/2007 by Rugal, and last modified on 03:14:06 08/19/2007.