Bubble Gum Fury

 

Disclaimer: Well, this is it, so let's do it right. The characters

depicted in this story all belong to their respective creators and

trademarks and I am only using them to tell a story without any

profit. I think that covers it.

 

In an age of scientific wonders, the human body is still the world's

most dangerous machine. TM

 

< >: Thoughts

 

Chapter 8

Final Fury

 

Geese Howard nodded as the technicians made the final adjustments

to the dimensional projector. He had waited a long time for this day

and the crime lord was not going to let anyone stop him now. The

KB-1000's were ready to carry out their programmed directives, along

with the army of Boomers that would follow them. And as an added

measure, Geese had decided to bring in some reinforcements to

ensure that no one would be able to interfere with his plans. After

hearing news of the Knight Sabers reappearance, plus some sightings

of other people with strange powers, Geese had called in a few

people to deal with these newcomers.

 

The dimensional gateway opened up and a minute later, several

figures emerged from the glowing portal.

 

----------

 

Sylia Stingray's penthouse apartment...

 

"Well, this is it people. Nene and Mackie have just received word

that Geese is planning on making his move tomorrow at noon." Sylia

said as she addressed her Knight Sabers and the group from Terry's

world.

 

"Hmpf! Sounds just like Geese." Terry growled.

 

Andy nodded as well. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of when that

bastard murdered our father!"

 

"So what's the plan?" Priss asked as she nudged closer to Terry on

the sofa they were seated on. Sitting nearby, Mai smiled a bit as she

noted that the tough girl of the Knight Sabers was taking her advice.

Over the past few days, Terry and Priss had become inseparable as

the Lone Wolf had continued training her in hand-to-hand combat.

The bouncy ninja girl, her husband and Joe Higashi were glad to see

that Terry was actually smiling in earnest for a change and they

hoped that the relationship would blossom even further after this

entire ordeal was over.

 

Sylia then gestured to an image which showed the group a schematic

of Geese's main base of operations, the Genom arsenal and research

facilities. "According to what Nene and Mackie have told me from

their hacking into Genom's database, Geese plans to use those new-

type Boomers and several dozen others to attack various military

installations around the globe, using that dimensional transporter of

his. While the main armed forces of the world are distracted, he

intends to commandeer a satellite tracking station in Japan and use

the OMS chip to take control of all of the world's Boomers, as well

as the orbiting particle cannon satellites. At noon, the satellites will

be in the ideal orbital positions for the OMS chip to take full effect.

The governments of the world will find themselves fighting not only

Genom's Boomers, but their own Boomers and those satellites as

well. And considering how much power we're talking about, it doesn't

take a genius to realize what will be the end results. And remember,

Geese is absolutely ruthless and he wouldn't care how many

innocents are slaughtered in the ensuing conflict. Our only option...

is a direct assault on Genom. We have to stop him from transporting

those KB-1000 Boomers. Fortunately, most of the employees will

not be present tomorrow, since it is a Sunday, so we won't have to

worry too much about civilian casualties. We must also stop him

from using that OMS chip and taking control of all the world's

Boomers and those particle cannons. With that kind of firepower, he

could force both our world and yours to their knees."

 

"Which means, that we would have to fight our way through Genom's

defenses and whatever army Geese has waiting for us." Linna said.

 

"We're talking about a whole lot of Boomers." Nene said.

 

"Hey, no sweat!" Joe said with confidence. "If the Boomers we fought

before are all that Genom has to throw at us, then this should be a

piece of cake!" He then gave Linna a wink. "After we're finished with

the Boomer bashing, how's about you and me have a bit of a bash

later?"

 

Linna smiled a little bit at the very forward Joe. Here was one guy

who knew how to have fun. Kyo already had a girlfriend, Kim was

married and she couldn't get near Ryo because of King.

 

"Don't be so sure about that Joe." Terry warned as he held Priss a bit

tighter. "The Boomers that Geese has at his disposal are far more

powerful than the ones you fought when you got here. It took almost

everything I had to defeat the Krauser Boomer prototype, and Geese

has several advanced models. He's also got access to some high-grade

weaponry as well as access to all his resources and men on OUR

world."

 

Kyo concurred with Terry. "He is speaking the truth. It would be best

not to underestimate your opponent."

 

Sylia nodded in agreement. "A very good assessment of the situation,

Terry. The Boomers that all of you fought were general military

models, such as the BU-55Cs and the Doberman Space Boomers."

The monitor then flashed the schematics of both types before

showing them pictures of several other models. "Genom has also

developed BU-99X Super-Boomers, BU-33Cs, Hyper-Boomers and

enough military hardware than most third and second-world

countries. The main building is also staffed with trained security

personnel and God only knows what else."

 

"Whoa." Joe breathed out.

 

"It looks like it's going to be a drag-out fight to the finish." Ryo

commented.

 

"But it's a fight that we have to win if any of us want to get back

home." Terry said. "The only way we can get back to our Earth is to

use Geese's dimensional gateway."

 

When Terry said these words, Priss suddenly stiffened a bit. She had

been so happy being with Terry, that she never even considered the

possibility that he might leave her to return to his world. She knew

that Geese must be stopped, but that might mean that she would have

to sacrifice her chance at true happiness. She wasn't certain that she

was willing to give him up, if it came down to the choice of saving

the world or her second chance at love. She had given up all other

chances she had with Leon, pinning her hopes and dreams on the

man sitting beside her. However, this was something that needed to

be done. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the

possibility of losing Terry, though she knew that her heart would

break if he was to disappear from her life. She mentally told herself

that it would all work out in the end, though that tiny bit of doubt

remained within her.

 

"We will win!" Kim said with firm resolve.

 

Nene nodded as she added to the discussion. "The new Hardsuits

have enough firepower to take on those Krauser Boomers and with

our new friends helping us, we can't lose! Say, why don't I contact the

ADP and..."

 

"No!" Sylia interjected. "I won't have any innocent people put in

danger. The AD Police wouldn't stand a chance against the hundreds

of Boomers at Genom, let alone one of those KB-1000s. This is

strictly Knight Saber business!" She then turned to her guests. "I can't

force you all to join us in this venture and..."

 

Andy quickly cut in. "Genom may be your enemy, but Geese is ours.

You don't have to ask us to help you fight him. Like Terry said, his

device is our only means of getting back home and besides, Terry and

I have a big score to settle with that bastard... once and for all!"

 

Ryo also raised his hand. "Geese was also responsible for causing

grief to my family as well. One of his right-hand men, Mr. Big, had

kidnapped Yuri and forced our father to commit several crimes. We

would be honored to fight alongside you."

 

"You bet!" Yuri affirmed.

 

"Count me in!" Robert added.

 

Kim raised a fist and shook it. "I would be honored to fight with you

as well! The evil of Geese Howard must be crushed!"

 

"You don't think I'm going to let you guys hog all the glory, do you?

I'm in!" Joe said.

 

King and Kyo also voted to join in the fight, making it unanimous.

 

Sylia took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well, it's all agreed. In

the past, the Knight Sabers have been the counterbalance to Genom's

activities, and we've always tried not to totally destroy it, because of

the many legitimate businesses it had and all the innocent employees

who worked there. However, with Quincy gone, and Geese planning

to use the OMS chip, we have no choice. Genom must fall. All of the

final preparations will be completed by tonight, so we must all get

some rest for tomorrow. We must be ready to strike at dawn."

 

----------

 

Gees smiled as he addressed the people he had transported from his

world.

 

"I have brought you here for some very important business."

 

"Sure thing, boss." Mr. Big said as he brandished his two battle

clubs.

 

"What's it all about?" Raiden said as he cracked his knuckles. The

huge wrestler towered over all those present and was standing beside

Billy Kane.

 

Geese gestured to a monitor which began depicting images of the

Bogard Brothers, Joe Higashi, Mai Shiranui-Bogard, the Sakazaki

siblings and Robert Garcia. "These recordings were taken a few days

ago when several Boomers went on a rampage. Anyone look

familiar?"

 

Billy nodded as his eyes narrowed at the images of Andy and Terry.

"So Terry Bogard survived after the Genom Tower was destroyed.

Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi are with him now?"

 

"That's right Billy. I thought that might get your interest."

 

"It does indeed, sir. I have a score to settle with that little brother of

his." Billy still retained bad memories of his last fight with the silver-

haired Bogard.

 

"Just leave that Joe Higashi to me." Raiden said. "I've got my own

score to settle with him."

 

Mr. Big smiled as he saw Ryo, Yuri and Robert. He eagerly

brandished his two batons together. "Ah yes, the Sakazaki family and

Robert Garcia. Leave them to me. I can't wait to see Takuma's face

when I send him the head of his son. His daughter will also make a

lovely... pet."

 

Beside him, another figure stood with a very cold look in his eyes.

He was a darkly handsome man with red hair and wore a jacket with a

crescent moon symbol on the back. He glanced at the images and

gave a disdainful snort. "Hmpf! I am not interested in your vendettas

against the Bogards or the Sakazakis. Why did you bring me here? I

have no time to bother with these... gnats."

 

Geese smirked as he then showed Iori Yagami another image. "I have

done a lot of background research on you, Iori Yagami. I know all

about your blood feud with the Kusanagi clan. I believe that this

WILL interest you."

 

Iori's eyes widened as he saw the image of the reason for his very

existence. "Kyo Kusanagi? He is here?!"

 

"I THOUGHT that might get your attention." The crime boss said

with a smug grin. "Are you interested now?"

 

"I will CRUSH HIM!" Iori declared as his eyes glowed a blood-red

and his battle aura began to rise. "Where is he?"

 

Geese held up a hand and replied. "Have a little patience, Iori

Yagami. You will not have to go look for him. HE shall come to

you." The King of Southtown walked back toward the monitor and

turned to face his allies. "I did not expect more of Bogard's friends

and allies to be transported to this world, though I suspect it was

accidental, due to the dimensional gateway's instability at the time.

However, this will not change my plans. I rule Southtown, but I've

often thought... why limit myself to one town? With the resources of

Genom at my disposal, I now can expand my ambitions to a global

scale. Two gobal scales in fact. By tomorrow, I shall be the master of

TWO worlds!"

 

"But Geese, why wait until tomorrow? Why not just start now?" Mr.

Big asked.

 

Geese gave his subordinate a snort of disgust. "That's the problem

with you. You're too impatient, which makes you prone to rash and

foolhardy decisions. That is what caused you to be defeated by the

Sakazaki family. At precisely noon tomorrow, the orbiting satellites

above us will be in the perfect position for the OMS chip to take

control of them at FULL capacity! Once that occurs, nothing will be

able to interfere with the chip's transmissions as I take control of

every Boomer on this planet, as well as the particle cannons. Once

this world is subjugated, I shall use the dimensional projector to

invade and conquer our own Earth as well! And... I find it very poetic

that the day I take control would be on the same day and time that I

destroyed Jeff Bogard!"

 

Geese went into a fit of maniacal laughter as the final preparations

were being made in Genom.

 

----------

 

Dr. Ravens Garage, a couple of hours before dawn...

 

Terry had awoken early and had decided to make his own

preparations for the coming battle. He then began going through his

daily katas to help clear his mind. It wasn't long before he sensed

another presence and glanced over his shoulder. He saw that Priss

was standing near the doorway to the training room and was dressed

in her Soft Suit.

 

"I guess I'm not the only one who couldn't sleep." Terry said as he

went into a relaxed pose.

 

Priss nodded as she walked up to him. "Sylia had told me and the

others to come in early to make the final adjustments to our

Hardsuits. They're fully-powered and armed and Mackie has the truck

all warmed up and stocked. I guess the Knight Sabers are as ready as

we'll ever be. It's kind of funny actually. I joined up with the Knight

Sabers to get revenge against those Boomers and to destroy Genom.

Sylia always said that we're not here to destroy it, but to keep it in

check. Now, I've gotten my wish and we have no choice BUT to wipe

it out. I've waited so long for this day, and now that it's here, I feel

so..."

 

"Empty? Let down? Unsatisfied?" Terry finished for her. When Priss

nodded, the Lone Wolf gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know how it

feels when you have the taste for revenge and you discover that you

start craving for more. Sooner or later, you end up being the main

course on someone else's feast. It's an endless cycle. When Geese

murdered my father, I felt an intense rage and wanted nothing more

than to make him pay for what he did. When he later killed Lily and

then had one of his cronies mortally wound Master Tung, I wanted to

rip out his heart and feed it to him! And I had the chance to kill him

when I defeated him. But I let him go, thinking that his humiliating

defeat was enough. If I had finished him off when I had the chance,

then he wouldn't be so dangerous now!"

 

"You couldn't have predicted that all this would have happened,

Terry. That was all in the past and can't be undone. Right now, we

have to deal with Geese in the present." Priss found herself surprised

at saying these words. Usually, she would have agreed with the

notion of killing Geese when the opportunity was there. Apparently,

being with Terry had toned down her bloodlust and she was now

thinking of things other than her anger and need for revenge.

 

Terry slowly nodded as he resumed his ready stance. "I guess you're

right. Shouldn't you be getting some rest? It's still going to be awhile

before we attack Genom, so why don't you go get some sleep?"

 

Priss shook her head as she stood in front of him and assumed a

ready stance. "I'm too tense to get back to sleep. Besides, I was kind

of wondering if you could give me some more pointers on my hand-

to-hand combat skills. Like you said, I can't always depend on my

armor. Please?"

 

Terry smiled at her as he nodded and tensed up. Priss also tensed up

as a silence came up between them. Both made eye contact with each

other, scarlet eyes meeting blue. It was then that they began throwing

punches and kicks, while blocking and evading attacks.

 

Priss had been training intensely with Terry ever since that fateful

night where she had finally admitted her true feelings toward him.

With her prior combat training with the Knight Sabers and the street-

fighting methods she had gained while growing up, she had proven to

be a mean combatant. She was nowhere near Terry's level, but she

picked up many of the basic and more advanced moves in his arsenal

with ease. Terry had even noticed that she was beginning to achieve

focus of her ki and a very slight, almost indiscernible battle aura had

begun to form.

 

To the untrained eye, there was nothing out of the ordinary, but to a

martial artist, it was unmistakable. Terry saw it for a moment as Priss

attempted a high-reverse spin kick, aimed for his head. However, he

easily dodged it, and Priss found herself overextended and off-

balance. She landed hard on her rear let off a groan of pain.

 

THUMP!

 

"OW!"

 

Terry immediately went to her side and knelt down.

 

"Are you all right, Priss?"

 

The girl winced before she nodded and slowly got to her feet, while

rubbing her sore posterior with a hand. "Yeah, I'm... okay. The only

thing I bruised besides my butt was my pride."

 

"What were you trying to do. Were you trying to copy my Crack Shot

kick?"

 

"Yeah, but I guess I need a little more work with it."

 

"That wasn't half-bad, but next time, you'd better judge the distance

between the reach of your foot and your target. You also need to time

it right and use it when your opponent least expects it. Here, let me

show you."

 

Terry then gave the Knight Saber step-by-step instructions on how to

perform his version of Priss' Leg Bomber attack. The explosive

charges and rocket thrusters in her armor's boots allowed her to kick

through Boomer alloys like tissue paper. However, without her

Hardsuit, she was unable to perform more than a basic spin kick.

 

As the training progressed, Priss began to feel that same warmth she

felt whenever Terry was near. Every time his hand brushed against

her, she experienced and electrifying tingle shoot through her and her

breathing rate increased a little for brief moments.

 

Priss gave off a slight sigh. This was love all right, but it was still too

new for her and would take some more time for her to get used to it.

Then she though about the possibility that Terry might leave for his

world after the business with Geese was done.

 

"Terry?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Terry... I was... wondering...?"

 

"Yes?"

 

Priss took a deep breath, opened her mouth... and closed it again. She

shook her head sadly and then took a ready stance once more.

"Nothing. It's nothing. Shall we get on with it?"

 

Terry was about to say something, but then decided to keep his peace

as he nodded and resumed the training.

 

----------

 

That morning...

 

It was about a few minutes before the Knight Sabers and the Terry's

group was ready to move out for their assault on Genom. As the

Knight Sabers and Mackie were making their final checks and the

other fighters were readying themselves, Terry stood alone off to one

side with his own thoughts.

 

<It's funny. Ever since I was transported to this world, I wanted

nothing more than to go back home. But... what's waiting for me

there? Andy and Mai are my only family, but Andy doesn't need me

to look after him. He's got Mai. What do I got? Just me... and the

open road. Joe has his own life, while Mai and Andy get to share

their lives together. And my life? What do I want in my life? Am I

really happy to go back to the way things were? Geese must be

stopped once and for all, but what happens after that? And... there's

Priss. What do I do about her? I don't know if I can leave her,

especially after what happened between us over the past few days. >

Terry continued to ponder, then came up with an idea, but shot it

down the moment he thought of it. <Hey! Maybe I can... No... I can't

ask her to come with me. She'd be a stranger in my world as I am in

hers. Besides, she's told me that she wants to start her singing career

again after Geese is defeated and I can't just ask her to abandon her

dreams, just for me. >

 

Terry sighed as he found himself unsure of his destiny.

 

----------

 

Priss was silent as she and the other Knight Sabers began suiting up

and making the last checks in their new Hardsuits. As Priss was

putting on the upper portions of her armor, Linna started a discussion

with her as she too put on her metal suit.

 

"Man! I can't believe that I didn't get Terry and you did! I practically

threw myself at him, and he chose you! You are one lucky girl!"

 

Nene giggled a bit as she joined in on the conversation. "Yeah! I

thought you weren't interested in him, but you managed to get that

hunk!"

 

Priss gave both of them a weak smile and said nothing as she was

still thinking about what she was going to do when this was all over.

 

"C'mon Priss! Give us some details! I can stand my losing him to you,

but the least you can do is to tell us what he's like!" Linna said. "Was

he gentle with you?"

 

This immediately caught Priss' attention as her cheeks became

flushed and she shook her head frantically. "NO! I mean... we

haven't... we've only... HEY! THAT'S NONE OF YOUR FREAKING BUSINESS!"

 

Nene and Linna both laughed a bit more at how flustered Priss

became, but were immediately silenced when Sylia approached them.

 

"All right girls, that's enough. It's time we focused on the mission!"

The girls immediately nodded their leader as they finished suiting up

and powering up their armored suits. In the driver's seat, Mackie gave

his sister the thumbs up as he started the engine.

 

At that moment, Terry and the rest of the fighters all piled into the

Knight Saber's Trailer, which was a huge rig that served as a mobile

base of operations for the armored vigilantes. There was no turning

back as the attacking force on Genom moved out.

 

In the driver's cab, Mackie then pressed a remote control device,

which activated both the Silky Wagon and the Sky Carrier in its

private airfield. Sylia had decided that this would be the Knight

Sabers final battle and they would need all the resources they had.

The VTOL carrier was soon flying overhead while the Silky Wagon

drove beside the huge rig. All three vehicles were loaded with all the

weapons and equipment that could be stored in each and the Knight

Sabers were ready to use them all up if necessary.

 

----------

 

An hour before noon, ten miles north of Genom in a large field

overlooking Mega-Tokyo...

 

The fighters and the Knight Sabers were gathered around a monitor

as Sylia outlined the battle plan.

 

 

"During our battles against Genom, the corporation had installed

various heavy, anti-aircraft and ground defense units around the outer

perimeter. We're going to have to blitz Genom on three sides, to

divide their forces and ensure that at least some of us will get through

to the main command center, which is located here." She indicated

the are where the dimensional projector, power generators and main

database computers were located. "This is also where they take

control of the satellite communication station in Mega-Tokyo as well

as use the power generators to transport those KB-Boomers. It is

imperative that that we get there before noon. Some of us will

approach in the Sky Carrier, while the rest will attack on the ground.

Don't worry about piloting it, as it's already been preprogrammed.

Our Motoroids are also at your disposal and are programmed to assist

all of you. Once we stop Geese from transporting those Boomers and

destroy them and the OMS system, then the rest should be just a

mop-up. Any questions?"

 

There was only silence as the others took in the plan without any

problems. They all signaled their assent as they boarded their

vehicles for the final assault.

 

---------

 

Forty-five minutes before noon...

 

Geese nodded as he switched off his monitor after the

communications officer gave him the message that three unidentified

vehicles were heading straight toward the corporation on three fronts;

two from the ground and one from the air. He told his allies on the

intercom to take their positions and began deploying the defensive

units, which included dozens of BU-55Cs, Dobermans, and several

other models. The lasers and autocannons that were strategically

hidden in gun mounts around the outer and inner perimeter, were

activated and began tracking for targets. Multiple missile launchers

were also deployed and ready to launch their deadly payloads.

 

Geese was just too close to be stopped now. He still had a few trump

cards to play yet.

 

----------

 

As soon as the three vehicles came within a mile of their objective,

the skies became lit with explosions and light as laser beams, flak

and missiles raked the air. On the ground, the landscape became like

scorched Earth as Boomers and the Genom's auto defenses began

pouring out withering fire against the attackers.

 

High up in the air, the Sky Carrier went through a series of evasive

maneuvers to dodge the barrage of projectiles and energy bolts, all

the while firing back with its own weapons. Inside the craft, Nene,

Ryo, King and Kim readied themselves to disembark from the craft

when they were close enough. The ship shuddered as a couple of

missiles and a laser blast impacted against the hull, causing it to

begin losing altitude. Another hit by a trio of cannon shells and the

VTOL plane had no chance of staying in the air.

 

Nene winced as she realized that the carrier was doomed, but because

of the dire situation, it was considered expendable. She decided to

direct the ship toward Genom on a kamikaze dive toward one of

Genom's main buildings. However, they were not going to commit

suicide with the plane. She then motioned for the others toward the

emergency escape hatch along with the Motoroids as the ship

plummeted to the ground.

 

----------

 

Linna gasped as she drove the Silky Wagon with Joe, Robert, Yuri

and Kyo riding behind her. She saw the Sky Carrier falling toward

Genom, and feared that all those aboard would be killed in the crash.

However, when she saw an escape pod jettisoned itself from the rear

of the ship, she knew that the passengers and Nene must have gotten

out in time. The Sky Carrier went down like a blazing meteor and

slammed hard into one of Genom's research facilities. The building

toppled over as the plane smashed into it and exploded. With all of

the ordinance still aboard the ship, it made a spectacular fireball,

taking the entire building with it.

 

The large escape pod landed on the ground well within the inner

perimeter and opened up. King, Ryo, Kim and Nene exploded into

action, followed closely by the two Motoroids they had managed to

bring with them. The automatons began laying down covering fire as

the fighters and the Knight Saber advanced forward, only to be met

by a platoon of Boomers.

 

"VENOM STRIKE!"

 

"KOH KEN!"

 

HANGETSU ZAN!"

 

Nene was amazed to see unarmed people begin trashing Boomers like

toys, then remembered that she had her own ways of turning Boomers

into scrap. She activated her suit's electro-jammers and sonic

cannons. Several Boomers had their circuits fried and started

shooting each other.

 

----------

 

Terry, Priss, Mai, Andy, and Sylia braced themselves as Mackie

drove the Trailer at an increasing speed toward the north gate of

Genom. Despite the pounding that the truck was getting from the

auto defenses and the Boomers, the armored vehicle continued to

accelerate toward its objective. Just as the truck was about a few

hundred yards from the gate, Sylia ordered everyone to abandon the

truck. Mackie nodded as he put the vehicle on autopilot and

scrambled into the back. He then got into his powered battle suit and

set the two hydraulic boom arms to launch the two Motoroids in their

cycle modes. Priss immediately hopped on one of them, while Terry

mounted the other. Mai sat behind Priss and Andy sat behind his

brother. The two cycles were automatically launched from the Trailer,

just as Mackie and Sylia made their own escape via their suits' jet

thrusters.

 

The huge trailer continued on its suicide run and slammed into the

midst of the wave of Boomers that was sent out to defend the

perimeter. Their numbers were scattered as the rig smashed a few of

them into scrap by its sheer weight and size, then collided with a

storage facility, causing it to go up into a huge conflagration of

flames and twisted metal.

 

Terry gritted his teeth as the tires hit the ground with bone-jarring

impact, but he managed to drive the motorcycle a few hundred more

yards before he saw another wave of Boomers taking up a firing

position in his path.

 

"JUMP ANDY!"

 

The Bogard Brothers leapt off the speeding bike, just as the Boomers

opened fire. The poor cycle was turned into a flaming wreckage in

less than an instant as the siblings managed to roll to safety. They

quickly recovered and began rushing toward the main building with

their ki energies blazing.

 

 

"POWER WAVE!"

"HI SHO KEN!"

 

Meanwhile, Mai, Priss, Sylia and Mackie were pressing their own

attack as they had managed to retain their Motoroid. The cycle that

Priss had ridden had transformed into its exo-frame and attached

itself to Priss' Hardsuit after Mai had disembarked. The added

firepower that the merger had created was helping the Knight Saber

lay down a withering barrage of covering fire as her allies made their

way toward the main objective.

 

Mai Shiranui-Bogard appeared to be ill-dressed to be in heavy

combat, especially in her very revealing outfit, but those who knew of

her, knew that she was anything but helpless.

 

"RYU EN BU!"

 

Two Boomers were turned into flaming masses as her costume's tail

lit them up like torches. She then made several flips to evade several

laser blast, then charged forward in a flying elbow charge as she

suddenly glowed with a reddish gold light.

 

"CHO HISSATSU SHINOBIBACHI!"

 

One of Mai's strongest attacks, the Super Deadly Ninja Bees (Don't

ask me why they call it that), slammed into, and through several

Boomers, before causing a large explosion in their ranks. When Mai

found herself surrounded by Boomers after her attack, she realized

that she had charged in rashly. However, her husband was still

watching her back.

 

"CHO REPPA DAN!"

 

Andy blazed onto the scene with his Super Sonic Swirl attack and

cut a path through the Boomers. The husband and wife duo then

began taking down their opponents without mercy.

 

"Terry! You and the others go after Geese! We'll catch up later!"

 

"Are you sure, Andy?" Terry asked as his Burn Knuckle blasted

though another Boomer.

 

"Go!"

 

Terry nodded with Sylia and Priss as they hurried toward the main

building. Mackie decided to stay behind and give covering fire for

Mai and Andy.

 

----------

 

Linna and her passengers were fighting their way through the south

gate after disembarking from their now totaled vehicle. Like all the

other vehicles, the Silky Wagon had been shot to pieces and was

abandoned. Linna was using her monomolecular ribbons and electro-

harpoons to slice up whatever Boomer got too close to her. However,

her allies needed no such weapons as they went hand-to-hand with

their mechanized opponents.

 

"SLASH KICK!"

"HIEN RYU JIN KYAKU!"

 

"YURI CHO UPPER!"

 

"KOMA HON FURI!"

 

Boomers began to fall like matchsticks as the martial artists cut their

way through the killing machines.

 

----------

 

Twenty-five minutes to noon...

 

Geese shrugged as he began getting reports that the fighters were

battling their way through his defenses. He still had a few surprises

up his sleeve when they did enter the main complex. His base of

operations was the most heavily fortified area and was built like an

nuclear bunker. All he had to do was delay them long enough so that

the dimensional transporter could start sending his KB-1000s and

other Boomers to their positions. A few minutes later, at precisely

noon, the main computer would hack into the communications

satellite relay station and transmit the OMS signal to the particle

cannon satellites above. The timer was set and counting down. He

had disabled the failsafe and locked the computer, thereby ensuring

that the countdown would not be stopped.

 

Terry and his allies will not be able to reach him as his subordinates

and a couple of other surprises were waiting to kill them.

 

----------

 

Fifteen minutes to noon...

 

Terry, Priss and Sylia entered through the main hall and headed

down a corridor which was supposed to lead them to Geese, but were

then met with stiff opposition as a group of Boomers blocked their

path and opened up with their weapons. Terry found himself

separated from the Knight Sabers as a trapdoor suddenly opened

beneath him and made him drop out of sight.

 

"TERRY!" Priss shouted as she saw him disappear. However, she had

no time to go after him as more Boomers appeared and began

attacking her and Sylia, forcing them to fall back. Then, she managed

to aim her Motoroid's particle cannon at the ceiling and with one

well-placed shot, she brought the ceiling down on top of the

attacking Boomers.

 

"We have to find Terry!"

 

Sylia shook her head. "There's no time! We have to stop Geese first!"

 

"But..."

 

The rest of Priss' protest was cut off as another group of Boomers

appeared and began firing.

 

----------

 

Terry wondered what had just happened as he found himself in a

large darkened room. He then heard a noise and stood up in a ready

stance. That was when the lights came on and the Lone Wolf gasped

at what was standing in front of him.

 

It was Krauser... or rather one of the KB-1000s that Geese had

created. The Boomer looked almost like the one that Terry had to

fight to save Priss, but it seemed colder and more mechanical-

looking. It tensed up as its sensors began analyzing its opponent.

Then Terry heard a familiar voice that played from a hidden speaker.

 

"Well now. It seems that you have a very nasty habit of surviving,

Terry Bogard."

 

"GEESE!" Terry spat as he looked around for his sworn enemy.

 

"Don't bother looking for me, Bogard. I severely doubt that you shall

leave this room alive. The Boomer that you are now facing is an

upgraded model of the one that you destroyed. It has all of Krauser's

powers and abilities, but none of those weaknesses that my half-

brother had. It is more than a match for you, and so I bid you good-

bye Terry Bogard. What a pity that you won't live long enough to

witness my final triumph!"

 

The loudspeaker then became silent after Geese signed off with his

mocking laughter, leaving the Bogard to his fate as the KB-1000

attacked.

 

----------

 

Kyo was racing down another corridor after he had gotten separated

from Linna and the others during a pitched battle with some

Boomers. He had no idea of where he was going and wondered if he

should try to find his allies.

 

However, as he rounded a corner, his blood suddenly ran cold as he

felt a numbing chill in the air. Something... no, someone was nearby.

He looked ahead and saw someone in which he never expected to see

in this world.

 

Iori gave his eternal rival a smirk as he went into a battle stance.

"So... we meet again Kyo."

 

"Iori! What are you doing here? How...?"

 

"It does not matter how I got here. What DOES matter is that I can

take care of some unfinished business!"

 

Kyo shook his head as he took a ready stance. "I don't have time for

this! There's a madman who plans to destroy this world and ours if he

isn't stopped and..."

 

"I care nothing about Geese Howard's plans." Iori said as he cut Kyo

off again. "What happens to our world or this one makes little

difference to me. I told you before since we last met, that you shall

die at my hands, Kusanagi! After I have finished with you, I shall

welcome death's cold kiss!"

 

"But..."

 

"Enough talk!" Iori snapped as his battle aura blazed. "ONI YAKI!"

 

Iori's Dark Thrust technique blazed toward his rival in a purple mass

of flames and Kyo had no choice but to counter it with his own.

 

"ONI YAKI!"

 

----------

 

"Huh? Where did you come from?" Joe exclaimed as he hopped back

to narrowly miss a massive fist.

 

Raiden gave a short laugh as he charged at the Thai kickboxer "I still

owe you one for that last time we met, runt!"

 

----------

 

"Yuri! Look out!" Robert cried out as he saw a figure dash toward

Ryo's sister from behind.

 

Yuri barely managed to dodge the strike from Mr. Big's clubs and

scrambled back to get more fighting room.

 

"YOU!" Yuri hissed as she remembered how Geese's subordinate had

kidnapped and tortured her, as well as forcing her father to commit

crimes.

 

"Hello again, Yuri! How nice to see you again. I have many plans for

you, my pretty."

 

"Robert immediately got in front of Yuri and glared at the criminal

with intense hatred> "Over my dead body!"

 

Mr. Big shrugged as he powered up his ki. "If you insist!" He then

shot a wave of energy through his clubs at Yuri's sweetheart.

 

----------

 

"What? You again?!" Andy gasped as he narrowly missed being

impaled on Billy Kane's staff. Mai was busy fighting off a couple of

Boomers to one side, leaving Andy alone to face off against Geese's

subordinate Billy Kane.

 

"That's right, mate. I told you before that I was going to pay you back

and today's the perfect time to do it! DIE!"

 

----------

 

"Ryo... there's something that I've been meaning to ask you." King

said as she kicked off the head of another Boomer.

 

"Oh? What's that?" Ryo asked as he used his Tiger Flame Punch to

slam a Boomer to the pavement.

 

"Well... " King found herself blushing a bit as she tried to think of

the right way to say it. She released another Venom Strike attack to

knock down another of her opponents. "I was wondering... if you'd....

like... to... go on a... date?"

 

This caught Ryo by surprise and he almost got hit by another

Boomer. "You're asking me to go out with you? Now?"

 

"Uh... yeah."

 

----------

 

Priss winced as several autocannon rounds hit her Motoroid in the

chest, causing it and her to fall backward. More enemy fire pounded

at the machine's outer casing as the Boomers continued their

relentless assault. Off to one side, Sylia was trying to draw as much

of the barrage away from her comrade, but Priss was still taking hits.

For every Boomer that Sylia managed to down, three more would

appear to take its place. There seemed to be no end to them.

 

Inside her Hardsuit, Priss decided to abandon her damaged Motoroid

and activated the release mechanisms. The outer shell blew itself

apart.The Knight Saber rolled to one side, came back up and began

firing the plasma cannons and rail guns of her armor. Without her

Motoroid, Priss was no longer weighed down and was able to

maneuver better.

 

Sylia then signaled to her comrade to make a flanking action to the

right while she took the left. The Boomers were concentrated in a

group in front of them and they soon had them in a perfect crossfire.

In less than a minute, a dozen Boomers were destroyed. Wasting no

time, they pressed onward.

 

----------

 

"ZAN EI KEN!" Andy shouted out as he charged toward Billy with

his elbow extended. However, the English fighter anticipated his

opponent's attack and used his cane to vault into the air to evade

Bogard. He then came down toward Andy in his Soaring Crackdown

Cane attack.

 

However, Terry's younger brother was also proficient in aerial

combat; more so than his older sibling. As soon as he saw Billy

coming down.

 

"SHO RYU DAN!"

 

The silver-haired fighter rose up into the air with his flaming

uppercut maneuver and caught Billy in the face, knocking him back

down. He then pressed the attack by throwing several high and low

punch combinations and blazed forward again.

 

"ZAN EI KEN!"

 

However, Billy had learned from his previous battle with Andy and

was using a different staff than what he had before. This weapon was

sectioned into three, telescoping pieces and he could focus his ki into

the sections to counter ki projectiles and stop charging attacks. Just

as Andy began his charge, Billy thrust his staff forward, aiming

directly at his adversary's solar plexus.

 

"CLUB CRUNCHER!"

 

Andy's breath was forced out of him as the end of the pole slammed

into him and drove him backward. He found himself couching up

some blood as he fell to his knees in pain.

 

"ANDY!" Mai cried out as she saw her husband go down. However,

since she was still dealing with several Boomers, she was unable to

come to his aid in time.

 

Billy smirked as he saw that he had an excellent opportunity to finish

off his hated foe once and for all. He focused all of his ki into his

staff while spinning it like a propeller. The staff then began glowing

with light and then burst into flames as Billy charged at the fallen

street fighter.

 

"This is the end, mate! Eat my FIRE WHIRLWIND SPIN!"

 

However, Billy had made a fatal error of thinking that Andy was

helpless. In actuality, Andy had been pretending to be badly hurt,

when in actuality he was just waiting for Billy to commit himself to a

move. His mouth turned up into a smile as his head snapped up and

he raised his palms.

 

"HI SHO KEN!"

 

The ki blast caught Billy full in the face as he cried out and staggered

backward while clutching at his face with one hand. That was when

Andy made a handspring toward him with feet first.

 

"KUU HA DAN!"

 

Andy's feet plowed into Billy's chest, making him lose his grip on his

pole and sent him hurtling back. Then there was an agonizing scream

and a sickening crunch as he smashed into a pile of rubble.

 

Andy landed on his feet and went into a stance, but saw that it was

no longer necessary. A few meters from where he was standing was

the body of the late Billy Kane. When he had hit that pile of rubble,

his body had been speared by a jutting piece of pipe. The former

subordinate of Geese Howard had died when he was impaled. The

thug was now slumped over and blood was flowing down from the

holes in his chest and back.

 

Andy took a deep cleansing breath and then found himself being

squeezed in a tight embrace. Apparently, Mai had just finished

polishing off those remaining Boomers.

 

"Andy! Darling are you all right?" Mai asked as she squeezed her

mate tightly, straining his iron ribs.

 

Andy gasped out and nodded as he tried to loosen his wife's grip on

him. "I'm... okay, Mai. I'm... okay. Can you loosen up a bit?"

 

Mai relented and released Andy so that he could start breathing

normally again, then looked over to where Billy was. "Is he...?"

 

Andy nodded again as he rubbed his sore ribs, then gestured with his

head toward the Genom building. "Come on Mai. We still have to

help Terry and the others!"

 

The female ninja nodded as she and her husband ran toward the front

entrance.

 

----------

 

WHUMP!

 

Joe winced in pain as he was body-slammed to the ground by Raiden.

The oversized wrestler was enjoying the way he was pounding the

little runt into goo. With his great size and bulk, Raiden was quite

capable of withstanding enormous amounts of damage and still keep

on dishing it out.

 

He then grabbed the kickboxer by the neck and held him aloft while

squeezing. Joe began to gasp as he felt cartilage begin to pop and his

air being cut off. He gripped the arm that held him and tried to pry

those massive fingers from his throat. His legs began kicking at

Raiden's chest, trying to get him to release him, but the huge man

ignored the hits and increased his grip.

 

Joe had only a few seconds left to react, and out of desperation, he

resorted to one of the oldest, and dirtiest tricks in street-fighting. He

bit down on Raiden's hand. With Joe's sharpened canines, he made

quite an impression.

 

Raiden howled out in pain as his hand opened by reflex. Joe dropped

to the pavement and began coughing as his breath returned to him.

Knowing that he had just less than a split-second to attack, he leapt

up which ki blazing as he extended on leg with the knee bent.

 

"TIGER KICK!"

 

The knee slammed into Raiden's chin and bent him backward. At the

same time, Joe made a backflip, landed a few meters away from him,

then charged forward with one leg extended.

 

"SLASH KICK!"

 

The ki focused in that foot slammed hard into Raiden's midsection

and drove him back a few more yards. Then Joe decided not to waste

any more time with this jerk and called forth his strongest technique.

 

The Thai kickboxer focused all of his power into one massive attack,

just as Raiden recovered from the Slash Kick and charged at Joe.

 

"Now you're dead, runt!"

 

"Don't think so! SCREW UPPER!"

 

Joe threw a fist into the air and released a towering, orange-red

tornado at his foe. Raiden was too large to evade such a technique

and caught the full force of the attack. He was thrown high into the

air and sent flying several dozen meters away. The massive wrestler

came down and crashed into the pavement like a meteor. He made a

sizable dent in the ground and became still.

 

Joe slumped down to his knees after executing such a draining

attack. He looked over to where Raiden had landed and saw that his

head was at a very odd angle. He waited for a minute for his foe to

get up, but saw that Raiden was not moving. Forcing himself to his

feet, Higashi slowly approached his fallen adversary and when he got

close enough, leaned forward to get a good look. He then realized

why Raiden wasn't moving. The man had broken his neck when he

landed.

 

Joe swallowed hard. This had been the first time he had killed

someone and though it was in self-defense, it still left him trembling.

Fighting back the urge to throw up, Joe turned around to go help his

friends.

 

----------

 

"Iori! This is pointless!" Kyo said as he dodged a vicious slash attack

from his foe. "If Geese is not stopped now, this world and ours will

be destroyed!"

 

Iori snorted as he continued to press the attack. "And as I told you

before, that does NOT concern me! Since the day of my birth, it had

been my destiny to destroy the Kusanagi clan! To cause your death is

the very reason why I exist!"

 

"And as I told you before, you have no one but your ancestors to

blame for that!" Kyo retorted as he blocked a few punches and evaded

the rest. "The Yagami clan was the one that broke the pact and made

a deal with the Orochi! Your clan betrayed mine!"

 

"Enough!" Iori shouted as he slashed at his rival with another

slashing technique, his hands burning with purple flames. "You have

no idea of the pain I feel whenever I use the power! The pain will

only stop when every last member of your clan is gone from this

plane of existence and I will make certain that the Kusanagi line ends

here and now!"

 

Ryo frowned as he saw that there was no way of reasoning with him

with words. It seemed that he would have to BEAT some sense into

him. It was at that moment that Iori leapt toward him.

 

"YAMI BARI!"

 

Kyo countered Iori's attack with his own.

 

"YAMI BARI!"

 

Scarlet and purple flames clashed with one another as both fighters

tried to overpower his opponent. However, both found themselves

thrown back as the two attacks canceled each other out. Before they

could make another attack against each other, one of the side walls

suddenly exploded and separated the two combatants. Kyo found

himself under attack by some Boomers and as he fought them off, he

heard Iori's voice form behind the huge mound of debris that

separated them.

 

"Next time Kyo Kusanagi, we shall have our final battle! And I will

dance on your corpse!"

 

Kyo then heard several more explosions off into the distance, then

heard no more from his foe as he turned his attention back to his

attackers.

 

----------

 

Seven minutes to noon...

 

Robert and Yuri were getting nowhere against their arch-enemy Mr.

Big, as he had also called in more Boomers against them to soften

them up. They had spent the last five minutes beating back wave after

wave of the killing machines. There seemed to be no end to them and

they were beginning to tire. It wouldn't be long before they would be

overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Even with Linna lending them

support, they were in a bad situation.

 

Mr. Big chuckled as the Boomers began pushing them back. It

wouldn't be long now. He was looking forward to putting Yuri back

on her leash again as well as whoever was in that green armor. He

was going to enjoy breaking her in.

 

Robert delivered another one of his crushing blows to a Boomer and

turned to Linna and Yuri. "This is taking too long and we have to get

going now!"

 

"Gotcha!" Ryo's sister cried out as she began focusing her ki. "I'll get

the ones on the left!"

 

"I'll take the ones on the right!"

 

"I'll get the ones in the middle!" Linna replied as she prepared to use

the newest weapon in her armor's arsenal.

 

The three took up their positions as the Boomers prepared to make a

final charge.

 

Both Robert and Yuri pulled back their arms while cupping their

hands, then threw them forward, releasing huge blasts of ki.

 

"HAOH SHO KOH KEN!"

 

At the same time, Linna launched four power lines, each tipped with

a special, barbed spear point. The tips then exploded into several

dozen smaller points and lines each. When those micro-spears

imbedded themselves into the Boomers, Linna channeled massive

amounts of energy into them, thereby shorting out four dozen

Boomers at once. The Supreme Roar attacks of Yuri and Robert

reduced the remaining machines to slag.

 

Mr. Big was shocked to see his forces obliterated in less than a few

seconds and decided that this was the time to retreat. However, just

as he was about to retreat, his path was suddenly blocked by an angry

Robert Garcia.

 

"I still haven't paid you back for what you did to Yuri and her father!"

 

Mr. Big let off a yell as he charged forward with his batons.

However, Robert was not going to let this scumbag go unpunished.

He easily evaded the clubs and then let loose with a barrage of

devastating kicks and punches.

 

"RYUKO RANBU!"

 

Mr. Big was slammed backward by the unrelenting assault and

bounced once on the ground before rolled to a stop. He gasped out

and was then unconscious.

 

Robert nodded with satisfaction and gestured to Linna and Yuri to

follow him into the complex.

 

----------

 

Kim Kaphwan ran through the complex at a frantic pace. Like several

others, he too got separated from his group when the fighting started

and was making his own way through Geese's stronghold. He had

encountered several dozen Boomers along the way and had been

fighting nonstop. As he continued deeper into the complex, he began

to get the distinct feeling that he was getting close.

 

Just as Kim rounded a corner, he immediately halted in his tracks as

he saw someone standing in his way. She was woman that appeared

to be in her late twenties and was wearing a white silk blouse, red

skirt, high-heeled pumps and had short blonde hair. She smiled

seductively at the Tae Kwon Do champion and gestured with her

finger to come closer.

 

"Who are you?" Kim demanded then shrugged. "No, it does not

matter who you are. Stand aside! I have no quarrel with you. You

should get out of here before those Boomers attack and..."

 

The woman then gave off a bloodthirsty cry and charged at him with

inhuman speed. She swung and arm at his chest and Kim felt a nasty

burning sensation and heard the sound of cloth being ripped as he

backpedaled. He made a short hop back and looked down at his chest

to see a huge rip in his gi top and red slash mark. He looked back at

his attacker who now held up a hand with very long fingernails that

were razor sharp. The woman held up the other hand and her nails

instantly extended to resemble miniature swords.

 

"Boomer." Kim gritted as he mentally chided himself for letting his

guard down. This Boomer was one of the special BU-33Cs that Sylia

had outlined in her briefing. There were used primarily as spies,

assassins and bodyguards.

 

Kim was confident that he could handle one of these type of Boomer,

but the odds suddenly changed when two hidden panels opened up

from the side walls, and a couple of identical Boomers to the first

one appeared behind him. They too extended their nails and

positioned themselves for an attack. The fighter frowned as he saw

himself in a difficult situation. The hall was narrow and offered very

limited space to maneuver. Kim's fighting style needed a lot of

fighting room. Furthermore, he felt a slight numbing feeling that was

starting to make him dizzy and assumed that the first BU-33's nails

must have been drugged or poisoned. He needed to finish them off

and fast.

 

The two Boomers behind him leapt at him with their nails extended

toward his head, and Kim had to wait until the last instant, before

ducking them. He pivoted on one foot and swung his other leg up in a

spin kick, knocking into the side of one Boomer and slamming her

into the other. As the two BU-33s crashed to the ground, he charged

forward and leapt at them, just as they were getting back up.

 

"HISHO KYAKU!"

 

Both Boomers received a series of rapid-fire kicks to the heads and

despite being having an outer skin of anti-laser and ballistic-resistant

coating, their heads exploded. Their bodies slumped to the ground as

the first Boomer backed off after witnessing its two counterparts lose

their heads.

 

Kim wasted no time as he made a flip toward the last Boomer while

doing the splits.

 

"HAN GATSU ZAN!"

 

The Crescent Moon Slice was on target and the last BU-33 was

reduced to a pile of junk. There was a minor explosion as it was

destroyed, but Kim was too dizzy to notice it was the drugs in his

body was starting to take effect. Fortunately, he had not received a

lethal dose, and would eventually recover as he staggered onward

toward his goal.

 

----------

 

Four minutes to noon...

 

Terry was breathing hard as the KB-1000 forced him back. Geese had

not been kidding when he said that this model had all the powers of

the original and was a lot tougher. A quick glance at his watch told

him that he was running out of time and had to beat this thing

quickly. However, the Boomer was essentially tireless, and even a

martial artist with phenomenal endurance would eventually wear

down.

 

Terry ducked as the KB-1000 sent another barrage of Blitz Balls at

him. These projectiles exploded all around as the walls and ceiling

trembled from their impacts. Terry noted that the ceiling wouldn't be

able to take much more abuse and a sizeable section was ready to

fall. This gave Terry a desperate idea as he charged at the copy of one

of his greatest opponents.

 

The KB-1000 chose at that moment to power up for a Kaiser Wave.

Just as it was about release the blast, Terry suddenly inverted himself.

 

"RISING TACKLE!"

 

The extended foot glowed with a blue light as Terry rocketed upward

upside-down with his body spinning like a drill. The kick connected

with the KB-1000's chin and knocked its head back. Terry continued

to rise upward until his foot hit the weakened section of ceiling. He

then used the ceiling to push himself away from the Boomer, just as

it started to fall down. The Lone Wolf barely managed to land clear

as the huge mass fell down on top of the Boomer with a thunderous

crash. Terry rolled to safety and got back to his feet. He saw that the

pile of rubble that covered his foe was beginning to shift and he had

perhaps a few seconds before the Boomer would emerge. He charged

forward and leapt high, just as the Boomer's head emerged.

 

"POWER DUNK!"

 

The energized fist came down on the Boomer's noggin like a pile

driver, smashing through the cranium. Apparently, the newer models

didn't have quite as hard a head as the original Krauser.

 

With its head and logic circuits completely decapitated, the Boomer

was no more of a threat, and Terry paused for a moment to catch his

breath. However, when the room began to tremble again, he knew that

he had to get to safety and fast. He frantically looked around for a

way out and spotted a large ventilation grate. With one kick, he broke

it open and crawled into the shaft, just as the rest of the room

collapsed in on itself. He didn't know where he was going but he then

came to another grating which coincidentally led to an elevator shaft.

As soon as he kicked out the grating, he looked down and realized

that he had found a direct route to where Geese was. Sylia had said

that he would be in an underground bunker on the lowest level and

this path would lead him straight to him!

 

----------

 

Three minutes to doomsday...

 

Geese smiled as he watched his army of Boomers line up and waited

to be transported to their destination. The dimensional transporter

was powering up to send his killing machines out for their mission of

destruction with his KB-100s leading the way. In exactly one minute

before the OMS chip was activated, the Boomers would be

transported to key locations around the globe.

 

----------

 

Sylia and Priss had just finished off the last of the Boomers guarding

the elevators and stairways when they realized that they wouldn't get

to Geese in time. They soon joined by Nene, Linna, Joe, Kim,

Robert, Yuri and all the others as they came from different

directions.

 

"Nene! Geese is going to transport those Boomers in about ninety

seconds!" Sylia said.

 

"We won't be able to get to him in time!" Linna stated.

 

All seemed lost until Nene came up with an idea. "We may not

HAVE to get to him to stop him from transporting and using the

OMS!" She immediately went over to one of the elevator control

panels and ripped out the cover. She then extended computer jacks

from her suit and began hacking into the systems that connected it

with the computer mainframe. "I couldn't get into the system before

since it was too heavily shielded from the outside, but now I think I

can throw a monkey wrench into Geese's works!"

 

"Hurry up Nene! He's going to start transporting in thirty seconds!"

Sylia urged.

 

----------

 

The crime boss of Southtown let off an evil, maniacal laugh as the

dimensional gateway opened up and the first wave of Boomers began

entering it. His move toward conquest was now complete. More than

a hundred Boomers with the KB-1000s leading the way would soon

be raining death and destruction all over the globe, distracting all the

major governments. And once the OMS chip began sending out its

signal, ALL the Boomers in the world would be at his command, as

well as the orbiting particle cannons. Geese would become the master

of this world and his own!

 

It was just after the last of his invasion force had entered the

dimensional gate that the main computer began giving out warning

alarms. Geese's technicians began investigating the problems and the

head technician gasped when one of them came up to him with a

report. The computers began to spark and smoke as something began

tampering with their circuits and programs. The place where the

OMS chip was installed then blew itself out.

 

"What is it? What's going on?" Geese demanded.

 

The head technician gulped as he replied. "Sir! Something has just

taken control of the OMS and causing it to overload! And that's not

all. The main navigational system has been corrupted by some kind of

computer virus and the transporter had just received new coordinates

to send those Boomers to..."

 

"Where? Where were they sent to?" Geese demanded.

 

The technician gulped as he replied in a very nervous voice. "Out in

space sir. Specifically, near the orbit of the sun."

 

"WHAT?!"

 

----------

 

Sure enough, a dimensional rift opened up a few thousand miles from

the blazing surface of the sun. The Boomers found themselves

floating in deep space and were inevitably caught in the star's massive

gravity. One by one, the Boomers were burned up like matchsticks in

a furnace. Even the mighty KB-1000s could not withstand the intense

heat as they too went up in flames, along with Geese's dreams of

world domination.

 

----------

 

"You did it Nene! You saved the world!" Linna cried out after Nene

had told them of the fate of those Boomers and the OMS chip.

 

The others began cheering when they heard the news and even Priss

had to admit that the weakest member of the Knight Sabers had done

one hell of a job.

 

"Good work, Miss Cyber-Punk."

 

However, their joy was to be short-lived as the floor began to rumble.

Apparently, Geese had kept a couple of his KB-1000s in reserve and

now they were carrying out their preprogrammed orders to destroy

any and all intruders. The machines emerged from out of secret

compartments in the floor and began attacking their Knight Sabers

and their allies.

 

----------

 

Down in his bunker, Geese shouted out in outrage at being so close

to seeing his plans come to fruition, only to have tripped over the

finish line. He turned on the frightened technicians and powered up

his ki, preparing to kill the lot of them for their failure. However, that

was when he heard a shout from behind the reinforced doors to the

bunker.

 

"BURN KNUCKLE!"

 

The massive doors caved in like wet newspaper and when the dust

cleared, Geese saw the one person in which he despised the most in

this world and his own.

 

"Terry Bogard!"

 

The technicians took this opportunity to run for their lives as Geese

and Terry faced each other off in what would be their final battle.

 

----------

 

Meanwhile, a few floors above the bunker, the KB-1000s were

fighters from Terry's world. All of them were tired from battling their

old foes and the other Boomers and the Knight Sabers were running

low on ammunition and power. Several of the fighters were already

down and just barely alive. Kim had succumbed to exhaustion and

the drugs that his body was still fighting off. Joe had sustained a few

cracked ribs. Yuri received a sprained foot while Robert had received

a concussion. Mackie was trapped inside his armor which had

exhausted all of its remaining power reserves. That only left Ryo,

King, Kyo, Andy, Mai and the Knight Sabers to deal with the

Krauser copies

 

Unfortunately, they too were exhausted and were taking hits, while

their Boomer opponents were shrugging off their attacks as if they

were nothing.

 

King and Ryo launched their ki attacks at one of the Boomers, while

Kyo, Andy and Mai assisted the Knight Sabers with the other.

However, the Boomers merely swatted away the projectiles and began

firing massive volleys of Blitz Balls at them, forcing them back

toward a section of wall. It was then that they powered up to release a

massive, double Kaiser Wave.

 

Sylia and the other Knight Sabers placed themselves in front of the

others in a split-second before the massive wave of destructive energy

was released. The new Hardsuits they were wearing were designed to

withstand several of the Prototype Krauser Boomer's Kaiser Waves,

but these models had far greater power. The Knight Sabers took the

brunt of the blast and barely survived inside their armor, but enough

of the double Kaiser Wave got through and knocked the remaining

fighters off their feet. When the energy dissipated, all the fighters

were now sprawled on the ground and unconscious. The Knight

Sabers were also helpless as their power reserves were diminished to

almost nothing and their suits had sustained massive damage. The

Boomers then moved in for the kill.

 

----------

 

Geese and Terry faced each other off in the now empty bunker and

locked eyes with one another. One could feel the tension in the air as

the two adversaries assessed each other and waited for the other to

make the first move.

 

Geese nodded to his hated, yet worthy adversary. "Hmmm, I should

have known that you would be the one to have gotten so far, Terry.

Perhaps it is better that I kill you with my own hands!"

 

"Geese..." Terry growled as he took a stance. "You have a lot to

answer for! You murdered my father! As I said the last time, I will

never forgive you for that! Master Tung died because of you! And I

haven't forgotten when you killed Lily!"

 

Geese smiled as he recalled the young serving girl that Terry had

become fond of, who later betrayed the King of Southtown. He

enjoyed the anguish he had caused to Terry when he killed her. "Ah

yes, the little bitch! I certainly enjoyed sending her to Hell and seeing

the look on your face when she died in your arms. I must say, that

besides seeing Jeff Bogard die, that was one of the high points of my

life. Now, don't worry, you will be joining her very soon. And so will

your brother, his wife and all your friends. I will see to that!"

 

"NO! THIS ENDS NOW, GEESE!"

 

The Lone Wolf let off a shout and charged.

 

----------

 

Priss got a sickening feeling of deja vu as her armor would not

respond to her commands and felt like a full body metal strait jacket.

The KB-1000s were approaching them as they lay helplessly on the

ground. She knew that her Hardsuit was now worthless and had to be

discarded. She triggered the charges on her armor, which caused it to

explode from her. It was time to put Terry's training to the test.

 

As soon as she was free, she immediately rolled to one side, just as

one of the Boomers raised a hand and fired off a Blitz Ball. The

second Boomer stood back as its computers deemed that it was

unnecessary to waste power as its counterpart would finish off the

intruders. The explosion destroyed whatever was left of Priss' armor

as she dove for cover. In less than an instant, the Boomer was upon

her as she desperately got to her feet and tried a triple-punch combo

to its face. However, her fists winced in pain as they his the hard

alloys. The Boomer casually swatted her like an annoying fly, making

her go sprawling onto the devastated floor. Before she could react,

the Boomer moved with blinding speed and grasped her by the throat.

It then held her aloft and began to squeeze.

 

"Priss!" The other Knight Sabers cried out as they saw their comrade

begin to choke and they were helpless to do anything about it. The

charges that would have freed them from their suits were damaged

and needed to be triggered manually from the outside.

 

At that moment, Andy and Mai were regaining consciousness and

saw that Priss was about to die at the hands of one of the Boomers.

They tried to get up, but their battered and bruised bodies made them

too slow to react. This looked like the end.

 

Priss fought hard from blacking out, then out of the corner of her

vision, she saw a small crack in the Boomer's arm, near the shoulder

joint, which probably was made during the earlier battle. Out of sheer

desperation, she kicked out at the crack with both feet while she

grabbed the Boomer's wrist with her hands. The crack caved in and

jostled a motor relay, which caused the Boomer's hand to open

reflexively. Priss dropped to the ground and then focused all of her

energy into one single move. For one brief instant her eyes glowed

red as she hopped up and swung herself into a vertical spin kick.

 

"CRACK SHOT!"

 

The extended foot glowed brightly with a blue light as it slammed

hard against the Boomer's head. The head exploded and sent the

Boomer reeling back, causing it to crash against the other KB-1000.

Both machines staggered back toward an open elevator shaft as Priss

scrambled away. She bumped against Mackie's Powersuit and saw

that his autocannon still had a few rounds left into it. She hefted the

weapon over her shoulder and fired off the remaining shots at her

enemies while they were still off balance. This caused them to tumble

down the elevator shaft.

 

After throwing away her weapon, Priss quickly reached over and

removed one of the S-Mine charges that Mackie's suit kept in a secret

compartment. She then ran over to the elevator shaft, set the timer

and threw it down the shaft, just as the Boomers hit the bottom.

 

The damaged KB-1000 landed hard on top of its counterpart and

struggled to get up when the S-Mine landed on top of its severed

neck and exploded. The energies within the Boomer was released

through the chain reaction, taking the other Boomer with it.

 

The force of the explosions threw Priss back, but she managed to roll

with the impact, thanks to Terry's training of controlled falls. Then,

all was silent as Priss took the moment to gather herself.

 

"That... was great." Andy gasped.

 

Mai nodded in full agreement. "I don't think Terry could have done

better."

 

Priss could only smile as she crawled over to her comrades to free

them from their suits.

 

----------

 

"REPPU KEN!"

 

"POWER WAVE!"

 

The ki attacks canceled each other out as both fighters exchanged

deadly blows and kicks. Geese had been training for more than two

years since his last battle with Terry and had grown much stronger

since that time. Then again, after battling Krauser and the God of

War, the Lone Wolf had also increased substantially in both power

and skill.

 

"BURN KNUCKLE!"

 

Geese ducked beneath the blow as he had done before, then delivered

an open palm strike toward Terry's chest. However, Terry had learned

from his previous mistakes and twisted to avoid it, ending up into a

vertical spin kick.

 

"CRACK SHOT!"

 

This move caught Geese in the head as he was knocked to one side.

However, he deftly rolled to one side and sent another ki blast at his

adversary.

 

"DOUBLE REPPU KEN!"

 

The amplified ki wave paused for a moment before rocketing toward

Terry. Terry immediately countered by slamming his fist to the floor.

 

"POWER WAVE... TIMES TWO!"

 

The waves once again canceled each other out, but Terry was closer

to the blast than Geese was. This caused him to be knocked back and

that was when Geese took the advantage. He delivered a brutal kick

to Terry's side, then slammed a fist into his chest.

 

Terry bit down on the pain as he felt a few ribs cracking, but wasn't

about to give up now. He crouched down flipped up as Geese

charged.

 

"RISING TACKLE!"

 

This caught Geese off guard as he was knocked back by Terry's fist as

he spun upwards with arms extended. He then made a neat flip and

landed on his feet a few meters away as Geese shook his head to clear

it. Terry decided to use the move that defeated him before. He took a

stance and focused his energy. Pinpricks of light appeared and

absorbed into his body.

 

Geese however, smirked as he had developed a move to counter

Terry's Super Hurricane Kick. He got into his own stance ad focused

his own power.

 

"FINAL ATTACK... HADO SEPPU KYAKU!"

 

The huge tornado that Terry whipped up enveloped him and was then

launched at Geese. The King of Southtown smirked as he suddenly

glowed with green light, then struck the floor with both hands.

 

"RAGING STORM!"

 

A large cage of energy suddenly sprang up, just as the tornado hit

Geese, causing both attacks to explode in one massive burst. Geese

was unharmed but Terry was thrown back and slammed into a

console. The Lone Wolf was in a state of disbelief as he staggered to

his feet.

 

"W-W-What was that?"

 

Geese gave off a short laugh as he replied smugly. "Did you really

think that you could defeat me with the same move twice? I have

grown far more powerful since we last met and now, the final

technique of the Hakkyoku Saiken is as nothing to me. Prepare to

die!" Geese raised his hand to deliver a massive ki wave at the

weakened Terry. Using the Super Hurricane Kick, plus all the battles

and injuries he had endured to get to the bunker had weakened Terry

to the point of total collapse.

 

"I have waited for this moment for a long time, Terry Bogard. Say

hello to your father for me... In HELL! DOUBLE REPPU KEN!"

 

Terry's braced himself and focused all his remaining energy as the

wave sped toward him. <Father... Master Tung... Lily... Sulia....

please... give me strength. >

 

The wave then enveloped him and blew away the console and wall

behind him.

 

Geese smiled in triumph as the wave hit. "It is done."

 

However, that was when he heard a voice and saw something

charging at him from within the energy. The wave suddenly dispersed

as Terry sped toward him with a glowing fist and eyes.

 

"BUSTER... WOLF!"

 

Geese was struck hard in the chest as Terry's fist plowed into it,

causing his ribs to shatter as a huge blast of energy shot out from his

opponent's fist and burned deep into his chest. The crime lord was

sent hurtling back into the main computer console and slumped

backward over the controls. However, despite being hit by such a

devastating attack, the King of Southtown still survived it and

managed to raise his head to the Lone Wolf.

 

"H-H-How?! (gasp)... How... could you (gasp)... have survived my....

technique?"

 

The Lone wolf was unsteady on his feet but his expression still

remained defiant as he responded. "It's simple Geese. It's the same

reason why my father was chosen over you to learn the secrets of the

Hakkyoku Saiken. The Hakkyoku Saiken is based on the principles

of nature and we learn to cooperate with it. You only want to control

it. You draw your strength from hate, anger and fear. I draw my

strength from my friends, my family, and the ones I love. It's over

Geese. It's all... OVER!"

 

Geese coughed up some more blood as he felt his life slipping away.

"For me... yes, it is over. However... I won't go to Hell... alone! If I...

cannot defeat you... (cough), then I shall... take you and everyone else

with me!" With his final act, Geese reached into his belt, pulled out a

small device and pressed the button. He then slumped down onto the

ground and died.

 

The computer console behind him lit up and began showing a

countdown readout set for ten minutes. It was at that moment that the

Knight Sabers, and Mackie, without their armor, and the rest of the

fighters came to the bunker.

 

"Terry!" Andy called out as he was the first into the large control

room. He then saw Geese dead at Terry's feet. "Is he...?"

 

"He's dead, but that's not important right now." Terry pointed up to

the screen as the countdown continued.

 

Nene gasped as she ran to the console and began typing in

commands. She gasped again when she got the readout. from another

monitor.

 

"Uh oh! This is bad! This is really, really bad!"

 

"What is it?" Sylia asked.

 

"According to this readout, Geese had managed to take control of one

of the particle cannon satellites before I overloaded the OMS! The

satellite is now powering up to fire directly at Genom! The blast will

vaporize the entire complex and most of Mega-Tokyo! And that will

also detonate the fusion reactors that power the city. That could take

out the entire island of Japan!"

 

----------

 

Sure enough, high above the Earth, the satellite was moving into

position as its targeting computers were locking onto its target.

 

----------

 

"Can't you stop it?" Priss asked.

 

"With my suit, yes, but the system is locked and there's no time to

find the override code manually!"

 

"What are we going to do?" Linna asked with panic in her voice.

"Millions of people are going to die!"

 

Terry thought for a moment, then looked over to where the

dimensional projector was still standing. "Nene, can you operate the

dimensional gateway?"

 

The technological Knight Saber looked over to where the projector

was and nodded. "Yeah, I can do it! Hopefully, there will be enough

power to do the job!"

 

"What are you planning?" Mai asked.

 

Nene ran over to where the device was and looked it over as she

explained. "I'm thinking of using the dimensional projector to

transport that satellite out of orbit to a place where it can't do any

harm!"

 

"Hey! I get it!'" Joe exclaimed. "Just like you did with those Boomers!

Maybe you can move that satellite to the sun or something!"

 

"Right! It will only take me a minute to..." Nene's expression turned

to shock and horror as she saw the power level readouts. "Oh... no!"

 

"What's wrong ?" Terry asked.

 

"The... power relays... were fried when I took control of the projector

to transport those Boomers. There's only enough power to transport

up to a dozen people... nowhere near enough to move something as

large as that satellite. And once that power is gone... the projector

will never work again."

 

"So... you're saying... that this will be our one and only chance of

getting home?" Ryo asked.

 

"That's about the size of it." Nene replied. "I can call up the

dimensional coordinates to your world and send you all back, but we

must hurry."

 

"But what about that satellite and all those innocent people?" Mai

protested.

 

Sylia sighed as she was faced with a hard decision. "You were all

brought here by accident and had gotten involved in our problems.

You HAVE to go home. This is your only chance."

 

"But..." King began.

 

"I'm sorry, but it has to be this way."

 

"NO! There has to be another way!" Andy protested.

 

Sylia shook her head again. "There is no other way. If we can save a

few innocent people, then that would be enough. After this is all

over, the threat of Genom to the world will be no more. Trading a few

million people, for several billion doesn't sound like a good deal to

us either, but it's the only deal we have." She then turned to Nene.

"Nene, call up the coordinates to their world and open the gateway."

 

Nene nodded as she worked the controls. Soon the dimensional gate

opened and waited for the fighters to enter it.

 

"No! There has to be..." Andy protest was cut off as he felt a hand on

his shoulder. He looked over and saw Terry giving him a small smile.

 

"Andy... have the others go through the portal."

 

"What? But we can't just leave them to die!"

 

"They won't die... not if I can help it."

 

"What?!"

 

"I have... an idea, how to save us all."

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"Trust me Andy."

 

"What?!"

 

"I can't tell you... but please, trust me on this one. I have only one

shot at this. It's a slim chance, but it's better than the alternative."

 

"But..."

 

"PLEASE ANDY... trust me."

 

Andy looked at his brother for one long stretch of silence before

finally nodding and signaled to his fellow martial artists. "All of

you... go through the portal now!"

 

The others gave the Bogard Brothers a strange look, then saw that

there really was no other choice. One by one, they entered the gate

and were instantly transported back to their world. Kim was the first,

followed by Ryo, King, Robert, Yuri and then Kyo. The gateway

started to flicker after Kyo entered it, which made the rest of them

worry.

 

"The portal is becoming unstable! You'd better hurry through it now!"

 

Andy nodded to his wife as she helped Joe limp toward the portal.

"Don't worry about me Mai. Terry and I will be along in a minute."

 

Mai nodded as she quickly kissed him. "You'd better be back you big

lug!"

 

Joe nodded. "Yeah! We're the Lonely Wolves and we stick together!"

 

Both Terry and Andy nodded as they watched the two of them enter

the portal. Then Terry took his brother aside and spoke to him in a

quiet whisper.

 

"You'd better get going Andy. You don't want to keep Mai waiting."

 

"Huh? What are you talking about? I thought after all this time, you'd

be glad to be going back home!"

 

"Andy... I'm already home."

 

"What?! What are talking about? What are you saying?"

 

"I'm not going back with you. My place is here. Besides... for my plan

to work... I have to remain here."

 

"What?! What are talking about? Why do you want to stay here? You

don't belong here! If you stay, then that means Mai, Joe and I will

never see you again! You'll be all alone here!"

 

"Andy... it hurts me too that I'll never see you, Mai, Joe or all our

other friends, but you're wrong on one thing. I'm not going to be

alone here." He then glanced at Priss.

 

Andy saw the look in Terry's eyes and recognized it for what it was.

"Terry? Do you mean that you and... Priss?"

 

Terry nodded while smiling. "After everything that I've been through,

I've finally found a place that I can call... home and someone to help

share my life."

 

"But..."

 

"I've thought long and hard over this and weighed my options. What

do I have waiting for me back home? A long and lonely life of

training and always on the road. When you and Mai got married, I

felt really jealous of you and I thought I'd never have the kind of

happiness that you two share every day. Now, I have that chance and

I'm going to go for it!"

 

"But Terry..."

 

"No, I've made up my mind and I hope that as my brother, you will

respect my decision."

 

"Terry..." Andy wanted to protest further, but saw in his brother's

eyes of his resolve. In a way, the silver-haired fighter was glad that

his brother was finally finding the long awaited happiness that he had

been repeatedly denied. Though it would be sad to say goodbye,

knowing that Terry would be content was enough. "If... that's what

you truly want Terry, then who am I to stand in you way?"

 

"Thanks Andy. Say goodbye to Joe and Mai for me, okay?"

 

"I will. And when Mai and me have our first baby, we're going to

name it Terry."

 

"I'm... honored."

 

"I won't forget you Terry."

 

"I won't forget about any of you I... goodbye."

 

The Bogard Brothers shared one final embrace before Andy stepped

through the portal and was gone forever from Terry's life.

 

Terry nodded as he turned back to the Knight Sabers. "Nene, set the

coordinates to transport to outside of Mega-Tokyo. Make sure that

the location is well beyond the complex."

 

"Uh, shouldn't you be getting into the portal first?" Nene asked.

 

Terry shook his head. "No. For my plan to work, the coordinates

must be set for as far away from Genom as possible."

 

"But Terry..." Priss protested as she approached him.

 

Terry held up a hand. "Don't worry Priss. Everything will work out

all right. Now hurry! We only have a few minutes left before that

satellite fires!" He pointed to the countdown as it passed the

two-minute mark.

 

Sylia looked at Terry's determined expression, then told Nene to do

as he said. When the coordinates were set, the Lone Wolf took Priss

into his arms and gave her a very tender kiss.

 

Priss became weak in the knees as she felt an electrifying sensation

pass through her. The she looked back up at Terry as he took a

saddened look.

 

"Please forgive me, Priss." Terry whispered as he suddenly grabbed

her by the arm and judo tossed her into the portal.

 

"What the...?" Linna gasped as Terry suddenly charged forward and

gabbed her. He then tossed her into the portal, along with Mackie.

Before Nene and Sylia could protest, they too were bodily shoved

through the gateway. Then he waited as the countdown continued to

tick down to zero.

 

----------

 

T-minus twenty seconds...

 

Priss, Linna, Nene, Sylia and Mackie found themselves tumbling

onto the ground of the open field where they had planned their

strategy to attack Genom. They quickly ran toward the ridge the

overlooked the city and cast their gaze toward the ruins of Genom.

 

"What does he think he's doing? That particle beam cannon is going

to destroy us all any second!" Nene exclaimed.

 

"He's nuts!" Linna cried out.

 

Priss however, said nothing as she continued to gaze at the ruined

buildings of Genom.

 

"Terry..."

 

----------

 

Terry began focusing his energy and all of his remaining strength. He

was only going to get one shot at this and hoped that he could gather

enough power to do the job. If he failed, then it would be the end of

everything. In his mind, he began hearing the words of his old

mentor, Tung Fu Rue.

 

<Terry, you have already felt the power and serenity of Mother Earth.

Clear your mind and open yourself up to it. There you will find the

strength. >

 

Terry nodded as he was surrounded by a column of blue light. Tears

ran down his cheeks. Bright pinpricks of light floated about him like

fireflies as the Lone Wolf called upon the sprit of his loved ones, one

final time.

 

<Lily... Sulia... Master Tung... Father... for one last time, please...

give me strength...>

 

----------

 

T-minus 5 seconds....

 

Terry blazed with unimaginable power as he focused all his attention

on drawing strength from the Earth. The power he possessed when he

had defeated the God of War was as nothing compared to what he

had now. His body trembled as it threatened to explode, but Terry

managed to hold it all in.

 

T-minus 4 seconds...

 

The satellite extended its beam cannon and powered up to full charge

and then prepared to fire.

 

T-minus 3... 2... 1.. 0...

 

The satellite then fired its deadly payload. The beam of destruction

rained down on the helpless city thousands of miles below. It seemed

that is was the end.

 

That was when the Lone Wolf laced his hands together and slammed

the floor with his fists.

 

"MEGA... GEYSER!"

 

The ki blast exploded like miniature nuclear blast and then rocketed

upward in a huge column that shook the area for miles around, totally

leveling the entire Genom complex. The particle beam hit Terry's

ascending blast head-on and the two forces battled each other out for

supremacy. For one agonizingly long moment, they seemed to be

evenly matched. However, the satellite above began to experience

overload as its beam was being stopped from hitting its target. Small

explosions began occurring all over it, rocking it about. Then, it

could no longer hold together and was destroyed in one massive

explosion. The debris from the satellite's demise fell toward the Earth

and burned up in the atmosphere.

 

----------

 

On the ground, the Knight Sabers stared in awe after seeing the beam

stopped and repelled. The entire Genom complex had been totally

destroyed, yet the rest of Mega-Tokyo had been spared. It was all

over and the evil of the company that had created the Boomers was

no more.

 

"He... did it. He stopped the beam and destroyed the satellite!" Nene

gasped.

 

"I can't believe it." Linna said breathlessly.

 

"Incredible!" Sylia was more than impressed.

 

Priss was still silent as she looked at the huge crater that was all that

left of Genom. Only one thought was in her mind.

 

<Terry... is he all right? Did he survive? >

 

"TERRY!" Priss cried out as she began scrambling down the ridge,

followed by the other Knight Sabers and Mackie.

 

----------

 

It had taken some doing but the Knight Sabers managed to make their

way to where the mighty Genom corporation once stood. By luck,

they had come across Leon and his partner as the AD police were

heading toward the crater and doing crowd control. The officer

offered to give them a ride in his car and drove them to the sight. No

sooner had the car stopped at the edge of the crater, Priss scrambled

out of the car and broke through the police lines and looked around

for the man she loved.

 

"TERRY! TERRY! TERRY! WHERE ARE YOU?"

 

The other Knight Sabers followed their comrade as she began to

search among the rubble. However, there was no sign of the Lone

Wolf anywhere.

 

"Leon! What are they doing here? They shouldn't be running about

like that in the danger zone!"

 

The inspector shook his head and instructed his men to hold back.

"No, it's all right. Let them go." He saw the look in Priss' face and

knew that he had already lost her to another man.

 

----------

 

Priss got to the center of the crater and gasped at what she saw on the

ground. It was dirty and worn, but she recognized it as the metal plate

sparkled in the light of the setting sun. Terry cap... without its owner.

It seemed that he had perished along with Genom.

 

"No... No! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

 

With trembling hands she picked up the cap and clutched it to her

chest as she sank to her knees. Tears began to well up in her eyes as

she began to weep openly, not caring that she wasn't acting at all like

the tough girl that her friends knew her to be. However, her friends

stood back as Priss wept and mumbled to herself.

 

"Well... Terry.... I guess you and I are even now. I just lost two people

that I loved."

 

"Well I don't think so."

 

Priss' head snapped up when she heard the voice and saw a figure

silhouetted in the setting sun. She squinted and wiped the tears from

her eyes. They widened as she saw the muscular figure as his long

blonde hair wafted gently in the late afternoon breeze.

 

"Isn't that mine?" Terry said as he pointed to the cap.

 

Priss was up in a flash and tackled Terry to the ground while crying

harder than she ever had before.

 

"OW! OW! OW! Take it easy Priss! That kind of hurts and..."

 

"Let it hurt!" Priss said as she squeezed even tighter. Then she looked

up at his face and glared at him angrily. "You jerk! You jerk! How

could you have done that to me!"

 

"Well I..."

 

"And do you realize what you've done!" Priss snapped. "You can't go

home! You're trapped here forever!"

 

Terry smiled as he placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face to

his. "Yeah... what a shame." He then tenderly kissed Priss, in which

she returned with interest.

 

When they finally broke their kiss, Terry looked deep into her eyes

and said those three magic words. "I love you."

 

Priss felt like crying again as she smiled at him and replied. "I love

you too."

 

The two then continued to kiss as they lay in the center of the

devastated landscape.

 

----------

 

A few months later...

 

With Genom no longer in existence, there was a period of

reconstruction and relocation for many of the former employees of

that company. Fortunately, through her contacts, Sylia had been able

to set up various programs to help aid them as they began rebuilding.

As for the further development of Boomer technology, the reins were

given back to the people who created them in the first place, namely

the Stingray family. Sylia had become the new head of a company

that she had founded to expand on her late father's research. This

time, Boomers would help mankind and not hurt it. She was also

grooming Mackie to take over the company once he was old enough.

 

Linna later got romantically involved with Leon as she began opening

up a chain of aerobics and martial arts gyms. As for Nene, her skills

in electronics and computer programming landed her a position with

Sylia's new company and she was also getting closer to Mackie. It

was very possible that she too might take up the Stingray name some

day. Mr. Big was put into prison after committing a few crimes. With

none of Geese's resources available, he wasn't able to worm his way

around the law. As for Iori Yagami, he was never seen again on that

world, but there had been sightings of him back on his own Earth.

Whether or not these sightings are true will forever remain a mystery,

by Kyo Kusanagi continues to keep a constant vigil.

 

And as for the family and friends that Terry left behind?

 

----------

 

A year after they returned to their home world...

 

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Bogard. You have a healthy baby

son." The nurse said as she handed Mai their child.

 

"Oh Andy! He's beautiful!" Mai said as she cooed her son in her

hospital bed. Her husband leaned over her to gaze upon the newest

addition to the Bogard clan. Nearby, Joe smiled as he watched the

new parents fuss over the little bundle.

 

"Heh! He's a regular chip off the old Bogard Block! So what are you

going to name the little tyke?"

 

"His name... will be Terry Bogard... Jr." Andy said as Mai nodded.

 

----------

 

And what about Terry?

 

Final scene...

 

"So when are you guys going to be back?" Nene asked as Terry and

Priss prepared to ride off into the countryside on their motorcycles.

Terry was dressed in his usual attire as Priss was in her leather jacket

and pants. The only difference was that she has now sporting a red

cap with a metal plate like Terry's.

 

"Oh, in about a week or so. That's when I start my singing tour.

Terry's coming along with me as my 'personal' bodyguard." Priss said

as she gave her man a wink. On her left hand, a diamond solitaire

glistened in the sunlight.

 

Terry shrugged while smiling and returned her wink.

 

Sylia and Linna also smiled at the couple as they began revving their

engines. As they waved goodbye, Nene called after them as they rode

off into the sunset.

 

"Terry! Priss! When you decided on the date, be sure to send the

wedding invitations to us first!"

 

The couple both smiled as they waved goodbye to them. Priss took

off her cap and tossed it into the air.

 

"OKAY!"

 

The End

 

Author's notes

 

Whoa! That has got to be one of the LONGEST fight scenes and

chapters I have ever written! Well, in any case, Bubble Gum Fury

now draws to a close and I hope you have all enjoyed it. I certainly

enjoyed writing it. On to my other projects!