[Hey hey hey! Another beginning to something, but this time I might actually finish it! Amazing! Anyway, this is one of those fics people only read if they know KoF, and then they only enjoy it after they know who the characters are... Well, read it anyway. I've tried to make it such that you don't need to know any KoF to enjoy it. Please? RIght...]
Vanessa Keaton closed her eyes. The man above her wouldn't stop. She hoped he would stop, but he wouldn't. He kept forcing his way^E crushing her small form. She had given up hope when she thought he would leave eventually^E when she let him have what he wanted.
But he didn't. So she would have to get rid of him.
As she began to struggle, the man smiled, and worked even harder on the figure below him. Apparently, he was enjoying her pain. He wanted to see her try to escape and fail.
And fail she did. No matter how much she tried, she wasn't strong enough to pry the man off of her. She was too small, too weak. But she couldn't give up. He was going to keep^E to keep hurting her. She couldn't let him.
But she couldn't stop him either. The futility fueled her rage greater than his actions. Her body was one thing. But her pride? He was destroying that. He was showing her to be weak. And he grunted with even greater enthusiasm as she screamed and thrashed, as a tear rolled down her face.
He liked it even more when she began to bleed from the mouth. It meant he was hurting her.
He began to get concerned when she vomited about a pint of blood onto his face.
And he ran in terror when she bit his nose off.
And ate it.
"Did you hear about that?" James Keaton asked his wife.
"What?"
He held up the newspaper, displaying a photo of a bodybag, "Suspected rapist. They found him in the woods^E"
Vanessa tasted a sweet tinge of blood.
"Well, most of him."
A King of Fighters Side Story
Daniella Cserei stood above a pair of bodies. One belonged to her mother. The other was that of her father. They were dead. Killed by some people she didn't even know the names of. Some people who hated her for who her parents were.
People who called her 'kind' scum.
But they looked the same as her. They dressed the same as her. How was she different? How were her parents different? And why did they deserve to die?
Daniella began to walk away from the tattered building she had lived in all her life. A few men with guns had ended everything she knew. She would never let it happen again. She would never be weak again. She would punish them. All of them.
A man with a gun walked up to her, his breath reeking of alcohol and hate. He spoke in a language she didn't understand. When she looked at him blankly, he sneered, cocking his pistol.
He was going to shoot her. Because she spoke a different language. He would kill. Such a stupid beast, this man. She began to hate him. She hated him more then he could ever possibly hate her. And she knew, as he backed up, that he had killed her parents.
She doubled over, the fury proving too much for her. She tasted blood, and the rest was lost.
She woke up in a truck heading for Switzerland.
"Who did this?" Another man asked, looking at the five carcasses splayed across the broken landscape.
"A little girl."
He almost laughed.
Hell's Promise
Volume One: The story of two girls
Chapter One
Part One
January 12th - February 15th, 1981; Toronto, Canada
"Vanessa."
Vanessa looked up from her homework to see her mother standing over her, expression blank. "Yes?"
Her mother sat down on the bed next to her, putting her arm around the ten-year-old girl. "I need to talk to you."
Suddenly, the door to her room closed as her mother clenched her fist. Vanessa felt a wave of something familiar, something terrifying, something beautiful. She felt the blood.
"How^E how did you do that?"
Her mother blinked once. When her eyes opened again, they were different. The pupils had become slits in her blood-red irises, and the skin around them was pulled tight. For a moment, her mother made a gurgling sound, then blinked again and returned herself to normal.
"Vanessa," Her mother began, "I know it was you."
"^E"
"You killed that man."
Vanessa dropped her pencil and began to collapse. "I^E he hurt me^E"
Her mother put an arm around her, holding her close. "I know. I know he did. I'm not blaming you."
Vanessa managed to nod her head between sobs, soaking her mother's blouse.
"That's it^E lean on me^E cry on your mama," Her mother said softly, beginning to cry herself, "It's okay^E"
"Are you alright?"
Vanessa nodded, wiping her tears on her sleeve.
"No, you're not," Her mother answered, "But that's okay. You've been through Hell."
Vanessa gained enough coherency to ask a question. "How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That^E" Vanessa stammered, feeling a pit form in her stomach, "That I killed him?"
Her mother ran her hand across her own face, trembling as she spoke. "Our blood^E our cursed blood."
Vanessa could only sit and watch as her mother began to shake all over.
"You can still taste the blood, can't you? Your blood," Her mother wiped a red stain from the corner of her mouth, "His blood^E"
Vanessa felt a burning in her veins as she remembered the crimson life flowing over her lips. "Y^E yes."
Her mother shed a tear before asking, "How did it feel?"
"Good."
"When you killed him^E when you had the power^E it was good, wasn't it?"
Vanessa nodded, frightened at how good the memory of his death was.
"You want to kill again."
Eyes full of tears, Vanessa barely mouthed, "Why?"
Her mother pulled her close and stroked her brown hair. "It's my fault. I brought you into this cursed life."
For her part, Vanessa sobbed a little bit more quietly.
"It's our blood, Vanessa. The blood of the Dragon. My mother had it. I have it. And you^E" She looked at her daughter, eyes red with tears, "You have it.
"I was hoping so much that you wouldn't. I thought that with three generations^E I could control mine. Hold it back. Grandma taught me how to fight it, how to make it serve me."
"Can^E" Vanessa asked, looking at her mother hopelessly, "Can you teach me? So I won't^E do that again?"
"I don't know. Your blood is so much stronger than mine. I don't think you can fight it, Vanessa. I don't think I can help you^E"
"But^E but what do I do?" She asked, the last word barely audible, "It hurts so much. I don't^E Help me, Mama^E"
"It's alright, your mother's here^E Shhhh^E Your grandmother can help you. She can help," Her mother comforted, hoping it was true.
Vanessa fell asleep, crying. As she would every night.
James Keaton awoke as his wife slunk into bed beside him.
"I heard crying," he stated plainly.
She looked down, thinking.
"Rose," He said more forcefully, "What's wrong? Why was Vanessa crying?"
Rose looked at him, eyes full of water and sorrow. "That man^E the rapist^E"
James' face blanched. "No."
"He^E"
"No!"
He got to Vanessa^E"
"NO!" James shouted, slamming his hands into the bed, "NO! Not my little Vanessa! I^E I^E no^E"
Rose held onto her husband, trying to keep him from hyperventilating.
"How^E why^E why^E No. This is^E no. I can't^E"
"Calm down^E please^E" she pleaded, holding his hands, "She fell asleep already. Don't wake her."
"But^E what can we do?"
Rose looked down.
"We have to get a therapist, Rose," James declared, "We have to have someone help her."
"I know," Rose whispered.
"Is she mean?" Vanessa asked, standing with her mother outside of the therapist's office.
"No, Dr. Conrad will be very nice to you. Now, come, it's time for our appointment."
Vanessa sat in a swing, slowly hocking back and forth. She didn't feel like playing with the other kids much anymore. She had other things on her mind. She had to go to the therapist twice a week, but she wasn't allowed to tell how she^E how she killed the man. It had only been a couple of weeks, and so far she hadn't had to lie about it.
But she didn't want to. Lying was wrong.
"Girls have cooties!" A boy shouted, chasing down a pigtailed girl and tackling her.
Vanessa watched with more interest as she tried to strike back, but was easily stopped. They exchanged some more comments, and she began to struggle. The boy quickly pushed her onto the ground and began seeing how close to her face he could drool before sucking it back up.
He held her arms.
She fought.
She was helpless.
Vanessa tasted iron and leapt off the swing, heading for the boy at full speed. Before he even noticed her, she smashed into him with her shoulder, sending him flying. Another boy nearby ran to his friend, who had landed several feet away.
Vanessa kept running.
She landed on top of him and grabbed his neck, letting out am unholy scream as she squeezed as tight as she could.
The one boy tried to stop her, but was rewarded by having his hand bitten. No other child dared to stop her.
"HURT ME!" She screamed, froth forming at the corners of her mouth, "NOOO! HURT ME!"
"Vanessa!"
The sudden shout of her name gave her a moment's pause. During this moment, a janitor pried her off of the boy as her teacher watched in fear. Vanessa trembled violently for a moment before passing out.
Rose watched the boy sitting in the hospital bed, struggling for life. He was lucky, no, Vanessa was lucky that the janitor had seen her. And that her teacher had distracted her.
"I'm sorry," Vanessa pleaded, watching the machine move to the same time as the boy's chest, "What did I do to him?"
Rose answered, without looking at her daughter, "You broke his arm in two places. And a rib. And you nearly crushed his throat."
Vanessa began to cry.
"He's in a coma."
"What does that mean?"
Her mother paused momentarily before continuing. "It means he's asleep^E and might not wake up. You almost killed him."
Vanessa fell to the floor. "I wanted to."
"And you always will^E" Her mother said only to herself.
"Vanessa," Dr. Sara Conrad asked of the young girl before her, "How did you get away?"
Vanessa could feel her mother's words in her skull. The order that she must never tell what she did. That it must be a secret. But it was a lie. She couldn't lie. And maybe^E maybe Dr. Conrad could help her.
"I^E I started to fight him."
Sara nodded. "And then what?"
"I couldn't do anything^E and he was hurting me more."
"What did he do then?"
Vanessa began to cry as she thought of how powerless she was. "He kept going^E he was laughing^E and I was so weak^E so I fought him."
"How did that go?"
"I^E I started to taste blood in my mouth."
Sara looked up. "He hit you in the face?"
"No^E it was coming from inside."
"You^E" Dr. Conrad struggled to understand, "You coughed up blood?"
"Yes^E and then I puked it all over him."
"Omygod^E."
"And^E" Vanessa continued, oblivious to Dr. Conrad staring at her stomach, "And then I bit his nose."
"You^E"
"Off. And I ate it."
Dr. Conrad leaned over and lifted Vanessa's shirt up, looking for bruises. "He^E did he hit you in the sto^E did you say off?"
"I bit his nose off."
Sara calmed a bit, then spoke softly, "I think your imagination's running away with you, Vanessa. It's normal for the story to be all strange in your head."
"No, I mean it! I ate his nose!"
"Ate?"
Vanessa nodded. "Don't you believe me?!?"
"No, Vanessa, I don't."
"But I KILLED HIM!" Vanessa screamed, leaping to her feet, "I KILLED HIM!"
Dr. Conrad backed up a step, but remained calm. "How could you kill him? He was a grown man. Maybe you WANTED to kill him^E"
"NO!" Vanessa shouted, easily flinging the couch she was sitting on across the room, "I KILLED HIM! I Pulled his arm off! I^E I tore his guts out! I saw his face when he died!"
Dr. Conrad was unable to say anything as she hid behind her desk to avoid Vanessa, who was easily breaking furniture and walls.
"And^E" Vanessa said, falling to her knees. "I liked it."
Sara stood up, eyeing the trickle of blood coming from the corner of Vanessa's cheek.
"I wanted to kill Freddy, too."
"Who^E who's Freddy?"
Vanessa looked up. "He was holdin' a girl^E I choked him. He's in the hospital now."
"Oh God^E" Sara stammered, "That boy^E you did that?"
"Yes. It was^E"
"What was it?" Sara asked.
"It was fun," Vanessa said with a giggle.
Vanessa turned up to face Dr. Conrad, who immediately froze. Her eyes were full of^E of something the therapist had only seen in the psychotic. They were full of bloodlust.
Rose sat with her daughter on the train to Ottowa. It was a long journey, and she wouldn't get to see her daughter for a long time, but she had to do it. Vanessa wasn't safe at home. No one was. She had to learn how to control herself, and there was only one person Rose knew who could do that.
"How far are we from Grandma's, Mom?"
"Not too far, dear, not too far."
Part Two
August 8 - September 29, 1981, Zurich, Switzerland
Dani Cserei stood beside Maria Altmann, a well known woman. Maria had decided to take the girl under her wing when she saw her charming her way to free food almost a year ago. This now-twelve-year-old girl had much potential in her.
There was some sort of magnetism to her, a bizarre charm that kept men, and even women, captivated by her. Even at twelve, Dani had more sex appeal than most women ever got.
And that was what Maria had seen at first. A woman like that could become more than a simple whore. No, she could be a kept woman for someone important. She could be the mistress to any number of wealthy men in Switzerland. That was what Maria first intended to teach Dani to be.
And all Dani asked was if it could give her more power.
Maria told her yes.
But then, one day, Dani came across some men mugging one of her^E fellow students. These were three grown men, but that didn't stop Dani. After very kindly asking them to stop, two of them approached her to take up on this kindness. They soon got something.
After brutally beating the first two men, the last one decided to leave well enough alone. As it turned out, these men were new members of a gang of thugs causing trouble in the Howard Syndicate's territory.
The Howard Syndicate was one of Maria's benefactors. They were glad to have a few pests in their^E custody. Dani was thanked with money and a promise of a good spot as an operative if she kept on the way she was.
An operative. Her little Dani could be an operative. While one of the more dangerous positions, it was also one of the most profitable. And, much to Dani's delight, one of the most powerful.
So Maria, with the help of an operative called only Shadow, began to train her in those ways. She took to it immediately, and she grew to be very close with Shadow, seeing him as somewhat of a brother.
"Dani!" Shadow shouted, whipping a gun out and aiming it at her, "I could hear you coming a mile away! You'll get killed that way!"
Dani scowled. "DAMN! I can't do it! I just can't be that quiet!"
Shadow slid beside her and held her against his shoulder. "No, you will. Just not yet. You've done better than I've ever seen anyone your age do."
"Then why do I have to keep trying so hard?"
"Because it's a hard world," He explained, "And anything less than perfection will get you killed."
"Perfection^E" She whispered to herself.
Maria was sitting, reading a book one night when Dani appeared in front of her.
"Dani, what are you doing up? Go back to bed."
Dani coughed a little, and Maria heard the spackle of liquid hitting wood floor. "I^E I feel strange."
Maria got up quickly, seeing the puddles of red on the floor. "Oh my God!" Maria gasped, seeing the blood flowing from the corners of Dani's mouth, "What's wrong?"
"I want to do things sometimes^E" Dani said, clutching at herself with her hands, "And it keeps getting worse^E And then I started bleeding^E"
Maria was getting more confused. "What do you want to do?"
Dani's eyes widened a little and she began to moan a little as she rubbed her hands across herself. "I want to feel^E I want to feel^E in me^E" She sighed, rubbing herself in a way which caused even Maria to blush, "I want to be adult^E"
"Mature"
"Mature^E" She gasped happily, rubbing herself harder, "I want to have that power^E. But^E."
Maria looked up, enraptured by the girl.
"I want to hurt^E I want to give pain^E" Dani was breathing heavily now, gobs of blood splattering to the floor, "I want to kill^E kill^E I want to feel them in me, I want to feel them die in my hands I want to hurt to hurt to make them feel good and kill them I want to be POWERFUL!"
Maria began to back up slowly as the girl rapidly approached a conclusion, using the wall as support.
"I want!" She shouted, coughing up blood with every gasp of pleasure, "I want it! Pleasure! Pain! Kill! Love! Sex! Death! Mine! MINE! MINE! MINE!! YAAAAGGH!"
And with that final arching of her back, that final gout of crimson life, she fell to the floor, spent.
Maria stared, trembling. Partially because of what had happened, and partially because of how it made her feel. There really was something about that girl.
"How often do you feel this way?" Shadow asked her, having been told of the events of the previous night.
"See that man over there?" Dani said, pointing to a man sitting on a bench, "I want to feel him in me."
"Really"
"Badly," Dani said, shuddering a little.
"But you're only twelve!"
Dani looked at him, licking a finger which was wet for a reason Shadow did not want to think about. "I'm very mature."
"I can see," He muttered.
They sat on the bench for a few minutes, looking at the scene around them. People went about their business, as though nothing were wrong with the world. But underneath that exterior was the real world. The one he and Dani belonged to. The one that really ruled this city. And then there was whatever world Dani was from.
"Anything else?" He asked her suddenly.
Dani pointed at a man eating a cookie and walking hurriedly. "I want to kill him."
"What?"
"I want to make him think he can have me, then pull his intestines out. I want to feel the life drain out of him as I laugh."
Shadow blinked. "Wow."
"And every day it gets harder for me to control it," she said, stretching like a cat, "It gets harder to keep from putting my hands in my pants^E or in him."
Shadow stood up and began to walk, with her following him. "I've heard things," He said, putting his hands in his pockets, "About certain people like you^E berserkers."
"Berserkers?"
"Yes. People who have this^E instinct. People who cough up blood. I'll try to find out how you can control it."
Dani looked at him lovingly. "Thank you!"
"But."
"But?"
"For the time being, you're going to have to find a way to control these^E rages."
She frowned a bit. "How?"
"The way I see it," He continued, "You have two options. You can kill people sometimes, and that's out."
She frowned, but began realizing what his other suggestion was.
"Or you can have sex^E" He said, feeling a bit weird at having suggested that a twelve-year-old have sex.
"I'll talk to Maria!" She said, beaming at the prospect. It was really quite scary.
As Shadow and Maria sat in the living room, sounds of a girl in the throes of ecstasy wafted through the vents. They tried to ignore it.
On the plus side, she would be a very good operative. Very good indeed. When he saw her next, Shadow would suggest her new name^E
Part Three
September 14 - 30, 1981, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Ryuji Yamazaki lifted weights with his left arm, strengthening it further. He sat alone in the gym at midnight, making himself more powerful. He liked being more powerful. It's why he joined the syndicates, and how he was able to get to where he was today. Life was finally good for him. Finally.
As he toweled off his long black hair and tall, muscular form unbefitting of a seventeen-year old, he put his left hand back into his pocket, where he kept it almost all of the time. He had a definite style, and he liked it that way. It let people know who he was, that he was somebody^E
"Hwang!" Ryuji shouted to his mentor, the man who may as well have been his father, "I have a bad feeling about this! Don't do it!"
Hwang turned back to him, eyes full of sincerity. "You worry too much. Learn to trust a little," He said, patting Ryuji on the cheek.
There was a big deal going down with another syndicate in a few days, and Hwang was to lead up their side of negotiations. Ryuji, however, thought it wise to bring extra men. He had a premonition, and those tended to be right^E
Ryuji sat above Hwang's corpse, eyes full of tears. That day, something inside of him died. His compassion, trust^E his humanity. People were useless. Money. Death. That was useful. He began to taste blood in his mouth^E
[Well, there you go. I really enjoyed writing it, and I'm already about a third of the way done with Chapter Two. Anyway, this just came from me wanting to give Vice and Mature a good backstory, and I think I'm on my way. Ad I included Yamazaki because he's important later on, and I like him as a character.
C&C Welcomed, as well as anything anybody has to say (just telling me you read it will make me write more twice as fast), just drop me a line at Big_Joe@n2.com . And if you want to see more of my stuff, go to http://DUNOTS.tripod.com .
-Forrest "DUNOTS" Walker]
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"If you think you're the only one who can turn into a car, think again!"
- Shiori, Adolescence of Utena
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