_____ _// _____ ______ * Part 1 of 3 /_ / /_/ /____/ /| /__ __/ * By: adpax1105@yahoo.com // / / // //___ /|| // * Finished: January 7, 2003 / /__// /____/ //|| // * ________________________ / ___ / //___ //-|| // * * _____ _______ /| / / // /____/ // ||// ____ * ** \\ __//_| |_\\__ __ |\_/ / //________________________// * ** / \ BRrrr! / \__ \__/ _//____D_R_I_V_I_N_G________/ * *=| () |________| () |_\ "chain drive" \__/ \__/ __________________________________________________________________ "What did you say?!" K9999 yelled in rage. "Like I said," Angel sighed, "we're not in the roster for KoF 2003. Whoever's holding the tournament didn't want us involved." K9999 cried out in rage as he began destroying the contents of their hotel room, madly swinging his arm through whatever object was in reach. "HOW CAN THIS BE!? Me!? CUT!? I'm the greatest fighter that could ever be produced! How can they expect to hold a tournament for the king of fighters when he isn't even THERE!?" Splinters scattered across the floor at Angel's feet. She'd come to know that once K9999 ran out of inanimate objects to throw his frustrations on, he had no qualms with letting his anger out on living beings. To K9999, there was nothing to have misgivings about, since everything on this earth was inferior to him. While Angel shared that belief, she knew that the violence would eventually reach her, and so she quickly began attempting to console K9999, stating, "Relax! It's not worth our time anyways! We already know you can't be beaten!" "That's not enough! I want the whole world to know!" "You know," Angel muttered, "all those tournaments are held by power hungry egolomaniacs trying to achieve some sinister goal. They must feel threatened by you. That's why you weren't invited." "True," K9999 said, smiling slightly at the thought of it. "I can have whatever I want. It's too bad that inferior clone took care of Igniz before I had a chance to... I would've loved to see the expression on his face when he realized..." "Right. So just chill!" Angel silently let out a sigh of relief as the beast calmed down. Let's think of something fun to do!" "Hmm," K9999 whispered, an evil grin slowly spreading across his face. Angel stared at him eagerly, wondering what twisted scenario was playing out in his mind. "I have been wanting to get around to pounding that inferior excuse for a clone they call K'..." "Uhhh...," Angel started, a worried expression crossing her face once more. "Where is he, anyways?" "He's busy getting ready for this year's KoF..." "WHAT!? THAT GNAT MADE IT BUT I DIDN'T!? RARGH!!" K9999 began madly flinging furniture into the air, and then igniting it with his "Split!" move. Angel tried to frantically calm the maniac down as the room was reduced to a pile of splinters and ash. "THAT'S IT!" K9999 proclaimed. "I'm going to settle this NOW!" Somewhere in the streets of Second South, K', Maxima, Whip, and Kula are enjoying a stroll through the streets. "I want some candy," Kula muttered. "I want to grow out my sideburns until I have some muttonchops," Maxima replied. Whip glanced at the two questioningly, and then at K'. "What do you wanna'do, K'?" "I dunno'. I don't like anything. And hate everything. I just do as I please..." "Are you ever going to say something else? We're all getting tired of that worn out catch phrase..." "Give the Dash-man a break," Maxima smiled. "He's still cheesed about having to be in KoF again." K' grimaced. "Can you blame me? First, they try to give my that lame Kyo as a rival, then I actually get a good rival for 2000, but then they stick me with a damn cosplayer with more DM's than normal moves. The only thing convincing me to be in this damn tournament is knowing that they wouldn't let that loser in..." At that moment, a familiar, highly annoying laugh echoed across the street. Pedestrians moaned in agony as they were forced to endure its unspeakable irritability. "Ha, ha ha ha haa! Ha, ha ha ha haa! It's been a while K'!" The group that had been strolling through the streets froze in its tracks. K' let out a heavy sigh as he removed his sunglasses. Slowly, he turned his gaze towards the caped figure, standing on the roof of a nearby store. "Not nearly long enough. And that's K Dash, to you." "Oh?" K9999 smirked. "I would've thought K TRASH would be more fitting." K' remained motionless for a moment, before slowly muttering to Whip, "Please. Shut him up. I can't take much more of this." "Come on, Dash-man!" Maxima smiled. "You can't take that kind of talk lying down! Talk some trash back!" "......No." "Yeah!" Whip whispered. "Make fun of him being called K9! You know, like canine? I've always wanted to do that!" A groan escaped from K', who shook his head remorsefully. "What's the matter?!" K9999 cackled, oblivious to the conversation taking place among K's friends. "Afraid you can't win since you're not the main character anymore?! You got replaced by a fairy boy! That's how lame you are! Ha, ha ha ha haa!" "Look," K' spat, running out of patience. "I can kick your ass at anything, any time, any where. I'm just sick of fighting, sick of KoF, and sick of you, get it?! I'm not fighting you! Just leave me the hell alone! It's bad enough that I had to see and hear you once... God, why the hell did NESTS make anything as annoying and ugly as you anyways!? Was that supposed to be your element or something? I'm fire, Kula's ice, and you're ugly? Is that it? And what kind of queer makes a challenge while standing on the roof of a lingerie store!?" "Why you...!!" K9999 grolwed through his teeth. "I'm not leaving you alone until it's been established that I'm superior to you! GET IT!?" "And I'm not wasting my time fighting a fight I know I'll win!" "Shut the hell up and fight!" Suddenly, Angel walked out of the lingerie store, carrying several bags. "Geez, what's the deal with you two anyways? So, K9999 wants to challenge K'. But K' doesn't want to fight. So just have some other kind of challenge!" K9999 and K' turned their attention to Angel, both wearing rather perplexed expressions. "Some other kind...!?" "...Of challenge?" "Yeah!" Angel chimed. "K' said he could beat you at anything, any time, any where, right? But you're superior to him in every way! So just have some other kind of challenge! Fighting all the time's a bore anyways, you know? So compete some other way! Like a race or something!" All of the fighters stared at one another, none speaking. "Actually, I'm a pretty big racing fan myself," Maxima muttered. "Oh, I knew you were!" Whip laughed. "It's so obvious from your outfit! Actually, I've never seen K' try to SERIOUSLY ride his bike, so it might be kind of fun to watch!" K9999 scoffed. "You actually have a bike!? I must say, I'm a bit surprised... I didn't know little girls liked to ride bikes!" "Hey...," Angel whined. "And I didn't know," K' growled, "that they'd let a walking mass of noise pollution like you out on the streets..." "Okay, then!" Angel laughed. "I guess that means there aren't any objections! We'll have the race tomorrow at sunrise! Come on, K49! We outta' start tuning your bike up!" "H-Hey!" K' suddenly shouted. "I never agreed to anything! Why should I waste my time on some immature garbage like that?!" Angel sighed with exasperation. "Okay, here. How's this!? If you win, then K9999 will leave you alone forever. But if HE wins, then you have to admit he's superior to you, and give him all your team slots in future KoF tournaments. Sound fair?" K' hesitated. All of the fighters' eyes were focused on him. After a moment, he reached into his jacket pocket and removed his shades, slowly placing them over his eyes once more. "Hmph. To get that freak out of my face, I'll do it..." And with that, the stage was set for history in the making. For the first time ever, the world would now witness the wonder of: "The King of Racers!" The morning of the race, the air was thick with anxiety. The race course was newly constructed, like most everything in Second South. Despite the sudden announcement of the match, word spread quickly, and a large crowd was already waiting for the event to start. Whip and Maxima hastily performed last minute checks on K's bike. On the other side, Angel and K9999 were hastily doing the same with their own bike. "You look worried," Kula whispered to K'. "I was just thinking... My profile says I'm bad at sports. Isn't racing a sport? I wonder if I can really do this..." Kula stared at K' for a moment. Seeing him in doubt of himself was a rare sight. She hadn't realized just how worried he was. "You've always done as you've pleased, right?" "It's easier said than done." "Well then, for once, could you instead do as I pleased?" K' eyes slowly found Kula's, and the two stared at one another with understanding. Kula smiled. "Please, win." "...I'll win. No matter what." The fighters all raised their heads in surprise as another bike approached. It sped ferociously towards them before suddenly swerving to the side, breaking as it flung the desert sand into the sky. The rider of the stylish looking Honda was Rock Howard. "I heard there was going to be a bike race out here! I couldn't stand the thought of being left out." K' scoffed. "Hey. KID. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is a private-*" At that moment yet another biker arrived. This time, it was the legendary Kyo Kusanagi. K' and K9999 both winced upon recognition. Kyo slowly stepped off of his bike with an air of confidence. "I'm not too late for the show, am I?" "Hey!" K9999 screamed. "Snake-smokin' boy! This is just between me and Mr. Ganguro over there! This has nothing to do with you! So butt out!" "Nothing to do with me, eh?" Kyo smirked. "Since when has that stopped me? I'm gonna' be in every tournament until the end of time, whether there's a reason for me to be there or not." "Alright," K' snarled. "Everyone just shut-up. Let's get this damn thing started before anyone else shows... up..." K' trailed off as Ryo Sakazaki pulled up on a rusty, antique motorcycle. Yuri and Robert ran behind him, frantically calling to him. "Oniisan!" Yuri cried. "Please, stop! You're in no condition to ride a bike! Let alone that ancient wreck! You were using that same bike when you were trying to save me in the 80's!" "Nonsense!" Ryo shouted back. "How is that possible? I'm only in my 20's! Saving you in the 80's, indeed..." "For Christ's sake, Ryo," Robert began, "Even IF we ignore the holes in the timeline continuity of the KoF universe, you were never that good at driving! You only drove in straight lines! With your friggin' geta still on!" "I won't be turned back!" Ryo declared. "I must show that I truly possess the Art of Driving!" "To hell with this!" K' yelled. "Let's get going, already!" "Someone start this crazy thing!" Rock laughed. "Drivers!" Athena Asamiya shouted. "On your marks!" The five competitors were ready, eager with anticipation. The crowd dropped silent as the anticipation began to fill. Each racer's allies stood by, ready to serve as pit crew in case of an emergency. Whip and Maxima for K', Angel for K9999, Terry and Mary for Rock, Benimaru and Shingo for Kyo, and a special team hired by Robert to serve for Ryo. The drivers didn't bother to size one another up. They were only focused on their bikes at that moment. K' heard each beat of his heart, like a timer counting off the remaining seconds... Of all the competitors, K9999 was the calmest. He didn't expect to have any competition save from the clone and Kusanagi. And K' wasn't even near the level of familiarity and synchronization with his bike that K9999 had achieved. This wasn't a challenge... It was a massacre... "Get set!" It was back to the battlefield for Kyo Kusanagi. He'd always been competitive. Always been a little rebelious. And always loved his bike. Street racing had been one of his larger hobbies before KoF began getting in the way. He knew how things would go. He'd have a firm grasp of what his opponents were capable of before long. For now, the only important thing, however, was to catch the signal... Rock rapidly wiped the sweat from his brow. He was the only racer here that hadn't previously been in KoF. In many ways, this was his debut. His entire reputation in the competitive world was being forged at this moment. He tightened his fingers onto the bike, feeling it breathing under him. This bike was one of the few things in his life that Rock had any sense of value towards. He'd labored day after day, fine tuning it to his own personal sense of perfection, just like he'd been doing to himself as a fighter. This was the moment of truth... Ryo smiled nervously. It had been quite a while sense he'd raced. But what did that matter? It's not like there was any point behind any of this... He was just here to kick back and have some fun... But then why was he so worried? And what was he doing!? He needed to focus... Any second now, Athena would say... "GO!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- To be continued, of course! How will these fighters do on the race course? Will K9999, Rock Howard, and Kyo Kusanagi have the advantage due to their passion for driving? Will Kula's words give K' the courage he needs to win? Does Ryo even have a remote chance? Find out in Heat Driving, part 2!