Ultratech Corporation:  Control Room
 

        Shadow stood uneasily in front of the main computer terminal.  Gargos sat in the main chair.
        “So...shouldn’t Fulgore-X be here by now?”  Shadow asked, his voice was a little shaky.
        Gargos grinned.  “Fulgore-X has...his own means of teleportation.  He’s probably already at the fight scene.”  Gargos’s smile dropped.  “Prepare for teleport.”
        “Where?”
        “San Francisco.  The Golden Gate Bridge.  How fortunate for you, you get to fight on a famous landmark bridge.”
        “Yeah...fortunate.”  Shadow said sarcastically.  “Just make sure that that teleporter thing doesn’t turn me into a paper cube or anything like that.”
        Gargos smiled again.  “Don’t worry, the Ultratech teleport is the fastest and probably safest form of transportation on this planet.  Initiating teleport.”
        Before Shadow could protest, he felt a strange feeling throughout his body, as the world seemed to be engulfed in a wave of blue energy.
 

San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge
 

        As the blue energy wave that consumed him faded and disappeared, Shadow found himself in a new environment.  He was outside, and there was a slight chill.  The sky was a brilliant reddish orange as it was nearing sunset in the west.  He looked around; he was now on the bridge.  Shadow was standing on some sort of walkway.  Cars moved in both directions to the left of him.  Beyond the cars, on the walkway on the other side of the bridge, a small group of people gathered to watch the fight.  They were cluttered around a group of Killer Instinct cameramen, who were here to provide the pay-per-view TV coverage.
        “He could have at least stopped the flow of traffic.”  Shadow mumbled.
        To the right of him, there was a thick, rounded, brick red beam, with a small wall under it.  This was the edge of the bridge.  Shadow could see the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz, as well as the city.  Behind him, Shadow could see where the bridge ended, or began, a small amount of highway, and a toll plaza.
        Shadow tightly gripped his staff.  “Okay, Gargos said that Fulgore-X is already here.  Now I just have to find him.”  He looked around carefully.  Through the oncoming cars, in between the crowd of onlookers, further down the bridge, and behind him.
        “Argh, where is he?”  Shadow continued to talk to himself, fearful of a surprise attack.  The nervous fighter glanced down the bridge again.  He could see the famous red twin spires of the Golden Gate Bridge.  His eyes quickly ran up the nearest one.
On top of the spire, Fulgore-X stood with his arms crossed.  His features were hard to make out against the setting sky, but one thing in particular stood out.  His eyes.  The triangular, red eyes glowed brightly.
        Shadow was frozen in place for a few moments.  He didn’t know what to do next.  Then, in a very sudden manner, Fulgore-X leaped down off the spire.  He plummeted down to the bridge, landing on his feet with an authoritative thud, only a few feet away from Shadow.  Fulgore-X turned his right shoulder to Shadow, bent his knees, extended his right arm towards Shadow and kept his left near his stomach.  A basic fighting stance.  Shadow gripped his staff tightly and bent his knees.
One of the Killer Instinct cameramen activated a speaker on his camera.  The speaker broadcast Gargos’s voice.
        “Ready Shadow!  Ready Fulgore-X!  Fight On!”
        Shadow decided not to wait for destruction to come to him.  He charged straight for Fulgore-X.  Shadow reared back and swung his staff at the cyborg.  Fulgore-X jumped over it easily.  As he landed, he threw a foot sweep at Shadow.  The ninja’s legs flew out from under him, but he threw his hands backwards and landed on them.  He used his momentum to back flip and land on his feet.  Fulgore-X now charged at Shadow with his right claw extended.  As Fulgore-X neared, Shadow jumped backwards.  Fulgore-X stopped himself abruptly and launched himself up in the air.  Extending his left foot forward, he buried a solid kick in the ninja’s stomach.  Shadow fell in a heap to the ground.  As Fulgore-X landed, he launched himself in the air again, flipping over once, and flying back down, with both feet aimed at the prone fighter in a stomp attempt.  The ninja opened his eyes and saw the airborne cyborg; he quickly rolled out of the way as the heavy metal boots crashed in the area of the bridge that he used to occupy.  Coming out of his roll, Shadow lunged forward with a roundhouse kick, catching Fulgore-X squarely in the chest, and sending the cyborg backwards, landing on his back.  Fulgore-X lifted his legs up, and then sent his feet violently back down to the ground, springing Fulgore-X’s body up.
        Fulgore-X gave Shadow a look of acknowledgment.  Shadow was a little surprised that he could hit Fulgore with such a good kick.  With high hopes, he charged at Fulgore-X again.  The cyborg didn’t move.  Shadow threw a flurry of kicks and punches, all of which were avoided of blocked.  Shadow tossed a right cross at Fulgore-X; the cyborg dodged it and grabbed the ninja’s arm.  He shot a quick set of short kicks with his left leg into the exposed side of Shadow.  Fulgore-X released the arm, then quickly spun around and nailed Shadow with a roundhouse kick in the chest.  Shadow stumbled backwards against the bridge railing.
        Shadow heard a strange metal sound, like a sword being unsheathed from its cover.  Recognizing what it meant, Shadow quickly leapt up to stand on top of the railing.  As he did, Fulgore-X’s right claw buried itself in the railing where the ninja had been.  Shadow took his staff and hit Fulgore-X in the neck with a few good sharp blows.  He then spun the staff around and swiped the cyborg across the head.  Fulgore-X stumbled backwards.  Shadow backed off, still atop the railing.  Fulgore-X straightened himself, and then jumped onto the railing.  Shadow continued to back off.
 

Ultratech Corporation: Control Room
 

        Orchid rushed into the Control Room.  She looked around; no one was here.  On the main video monitor, the screen was split in half.  On the left side was a picture of Shadow, in a fighting stance, with the training arena in the background.  Shadow’s name was near the bottom of the screen, in silver.  On the right side was Fulgore-X, against a black background, with his right hand and claw extended towards the screen.  His name was also in silver near the bottom of the screen.  In center of the screen was a large “VS”.  Under that, “Fight Location: Golden Gate Bridge” was displayed.  On all of the other monitors, the fight was being played.  Orchid didn’t stop to look at it.
        She quickly programmed a set of rough coordinates into the main computer.  She pressed a red button and began teleporting.
 

San Francisco: Golden Gate Park
 

        Orchid now found herself in a park setting.  She was standing a few feet from what looked to be a bike trail.  Beyond that was a small, two-lane road.  There were trees all around her.  To her right, she could see the bay, the infamous prison, and the city of San Francisco.  She could also see the bridge, quite a distance away.
        “Damn!  My coordinates were a little off!”   Orchid cursed herself, and then began to run down the bike trail towards the bridge.
 

Golden Gate Bridge
 

        Shadow tried his best to dodge or block the flurry of attacks Fulgore-X threw at him, while trying to keep his balance on the railing.  Every now and then, Fulgore-X got a good kick or punch in.  Shadow saw the cyborg spin for a backhand punch.  In the slight pause between attacks, Shadow back flipped to escape from the flurry.  Fulgore-X charged at the ninja with his right claw at his waist.  Shadow almost jumped, but sensing the attack the cyborg was going to throw, he flattened himself on the railing.  Fulgore-X thrust his claw skywards and sliced the air.  Shadow thrust his feet into the cyborg’s stomach, and using his forward momentum, Shadow flipped Fulgore-X over him.  The cyborg landed on his back, still on the railing.  Fulgore-X got up, carefully.  As Shadow got up, he caught a glimpse of the other side of the bridge.  It was a long, long way down to the turbulent waters below.  Shadow didn’t feel so good.
        The sun was almost gone now.  The moon and stars were visible, and the sky was a dark blue.  Lights on the bridge had come on to illuminate the area.  The passing by cars also used their headlights.  Shadow felt dizzy from his glimpse of the water below.  He looked up at Fulgore-X, who was aiming his right claw at him.  Shadow had no idea as to what the cyborg was planning.  Then, a bolt of plasma energy shot from the claw.  Shadow was still dizzy, and now somewhat stunned, but he thrust his staff into the railing below and used it as a pole vault to launch himself up and over the bolt of plasma energy, which sped under him.  The ninja landed funny and slipped, and ended up lying on his stomach on the railing.  As Shadow tried to get up again, he slipped and fell off the bridge.  He barely managed to throw his arms upwards and drape them over the railing, keeping him from falling down to the bay below.  Fulgore-X started slowly walking towards Shadow.
 

Golden Gate Park
 

        Orchid continued sprinting towards the bridge, although it was just about night now.  She passed a set of Victorian homes.  Orchid wondered how close to the bridge she was.  She was exhausted and her legs were beginning to hurt, but she ignored the pain and kept going.
 

Golden Gate Bridge
 

        Fulgore-X stood over Shadow.  The ninja was certain that the cyborg would pluck his arms off the bridge and let him drop to certain death below.  Instead, Fulgore-X reached down and grabbed Shadow’s left arm.  He lifted the hanging fighter off the railing and, in a swift movement, flung him back on the bridge.  Shadow fell sharply on the roadway, in the path of an oncoming car.  The car stopped and swerved out of the way, into the opposite lane of traffic.  The cars in the other lanes also stopped and skidded across the bridge.  Ahead on the bridge, cars were stopping before they got to the chaos.  Behind, at the toll plaza, the toll collectors could see what was going on, and dropped their barriers, preventing any cars from going on the bridge.  As the last set of cars that had passed the toll plaza came on and left from the bridge, Shadow saw that the bit of roadway between the start of the bridge and the toll plaza was clear.  He started running towards that clear area.  Fulgore-X shot up into the air, flying forwards in pursuit of Shadow.  As Shadow got to the clear area, Fulgore-X jerked his head forward; from his eyes came a laser blast.  Shadow lunged forward and landed on his right side as the eye laser hit the roadway and exploded.  The motorists in the toll plaza, as well as the attendants saw the blast and explosion, and as soon as they did, they vacated their cars and booths, and ran from the area.
        Fulgore-X came back down to the ground, where Shadow was still lying.  He crawled forward a few feet, and then picked himself up.  Shadow was dead tired.  He was short of breath, and hurting all over.  He felt that he had a few bruised or cracked ribs, and a few potential arm or leg injuries.  Fulgore-X probably had some battle damage, but for the most part, he was most likely good to go.  Shadow concentrated on the cyborg.  He couldn’t play his game.  He had to attack and wear the cyborg down.  It was possible.  All he needed was a ten count.  One little ten count, and the fight would be over.
        Then again, maybe he should surrender.  Shadow shrugged off the thought.  Orchid and the others needed help, and he had to help them.  He couldn’t afford to surrender and let Fulgore-X advance through the tournament with very little damage to show for it.
        Deciding that he needed to gain the upper hand, Shadow charged at Fulgore-X.  He threw a vicious flurry of kicks and punches at Fulgore-X, which for the most part, were blocked.  Shadow risked a roundhouse kick aimed for the cyborg’s head.  Fulgore-X ducked, and foot swept the ninja.  Shadow fell on his back.  Fulgore-X leaped in the air, flipped, and came down at another attempt for a stomp.  Shadow rolled forward this time and Fulgore-X landed behind him.  Fulgore-X started to turn his head towards Shadow, but Shadow flipped over Fulgore-X to face him.  In the few moments of the cyborg’s confusion, Shadow threw a series of jabs at Fulgore-X’s head, all connected.  The ninja started a windmill kick that got the cyborg another four times.  Shadow picked his staff off the ground and thrust the butt into Fulgore-X’s neck.  He fell backwards.  Shadow felt confidence surging up in his stomach.  He backed off and waited for the Fulgore-X to get up.
 

Golden Gate Park
 

        Orchid felt that she was getting nearer to the bridge.  Although hidden by hills and trees, she was coming up upon a cemented park, lookout point, and what looked to be a gift shop.  Orchid’s fatigue was growing, but she ignored it as she pushed forward.
 

Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza
 

        Fulgore-X stood up uneasily.  As he did, Shadow took a running start, and then threw himself up into the air.  He flew towards Fulgore-X with his right foot extended.  Fulgore-X looked up at the last second, and then sidestepped the jump kick.  As Shadow flew by, Fulgore-X thrust his right hand out to catch the ninja by the neck.  He cocked his arm backwards, and then threw it forwards, easily flinging him away.  Shadow flew backwards, eventually crashing into one of the tollbooths.  Fulgore-X slowly made his way over to his position.
        Shadow crawled out of the demolished tollbooth, and coughed up some blood.  Now he was really hurting.  Surrender looked better than ever.  But, he bravely stood again, picked his staff up out of the wrecked booth, and started towards Fulgore-X.
        “This is insane.”  Fulgore-X thought.  “He’s going to fight himself to death.”  Just then, a prompt came up in his eyes;

_FINISHING MOVE: SNAP KICK.  ACCESS FIGHT DATABASE 32

        Shadow staggered forward.  “Can’t give up, no way, I just can’t.”  He closed his eyes and tightly gripped his staff in front up him.
        “I won’t give up!”   He yelled as he charged at Fulgore-X again.  Before he got to him, Fulgore-X teleported away, and reappeared behind Shadow.  He lifted his left leg up as far as he could, and tilted his body backwards.  The cyborg’s left knee was up near his head, his heel was lined up with his right leg and pointing towards the ninja.  He was positioning himself for the snap kick.
        Shadow looked around.  The cyborg wasn’t in sight.  Only one place where he could be.  Behind him.  Shadow spun around quickly.  As he did, Fulgore-X shot his left leg out at the ninja, head level.  The kick had tremendous forwards momentum, with a slight curve to the left.  Fulgore-X’s heel buried itself in Shadow’s temple on the right side of his head, with deadly speed.  Shadow was flipped inside out as he crashed down to the ground.  The ninja lay still on the ground, motionless, except for the in and out movement of his chest as he breathed.  Fulgore-X put his right fist on his left shoulder, then dropped it sharply to his side.  The signal to start the ten count.  The cameramen were a safe distance behind the fighters.  The same cameraman, who started the fight, adjusted his speaker.  From it, Gargos’s voice boomed the ten count.
        “Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three…”
 

Golden Gate Park
 

        Orchid raced past the lookout points.  She was beginning to feel sick as she was pushing herself too hard.  The toll plaza was in sight though.  She could barely see the cars, which had all been stopped.  She could feel that something was wrong.  Orchid estimated that it would take her about two or three minutes to get to the plaza.
 

Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza
 

        “Three...two...one...zero!  Fulgore-X is the winner!”
        Fulgore-X stood over the knocked out fighter.  Behind him, the cameramen were teleported away.  Fulgore-X was about to do the same.  Then, his private communications channel opened.  It was Gargos.
        “Congratulations Fulgore-X on your victory.”  Gargos said over the channel.
        “What did I tell you about using this channel!”   Fulgore-X was visibly agitated.
        “Never mind that Fulgore-X.  I have a request to ask of you.  I want you to kill Shadow.”
        “What?  No!”
        “Why not?”
        “He fought a good honorable fight, and he’s been defeated with dignity.  He was a tough opponent.  His death is not necessary, and I will not do it.”
        “Your predecessors would do it.  Are you not a Fulgore?”
        “I’m not my predecessors.”
        “I was afraid you might respond like this.  Very well then.  If you will check your uplink with the Ultratech Earth Satellites, you will note that the ES Nova Scotia, ES Mystique, and the ES Eclipse have linked their laser systems together, and the combined three are currently in a triangle attack formation over New York City.  You will also note that I have full control over the satellites, as your interface has been bypassed.  You may also notice that the satellites are ready to fire by my command.”
Fulgore-X opened a computer panel on his left arm.  After a few seconds of button pressing, he discovered that was Gargos was saying was true.  Meanwhile, Shadow was beginning to awaken.
        “If you do not kill Shadow, I will initiate the fire sequence.  In their current formation, firing the satellites will devastate the city.  Millions will die.”
        “You’re insane!”
        “And lovin’ it!”
        Fulgore-X began trying to disable the bypass.  “Why do you want Shadow dead?”
        “I have my reasons.  But do you really expect me to tell you?  You don’t take orders from me, why should I from you?  Besides, I know you’re just stalling for time, before you can disable the bypass.  You probably can, but it’ll take time, at least a few minutes.  That’s why I’m giving you thirty seconds to kill Shadow.  If he’s not dead by then, then New York will be.”
        “But -”
        “Twenty nine, Fulgore-X...twenty eight...twenty seven...”
        Fulgore-X growled.  He looked over at Shadow, who was now beginning to get up.
 

Golden Gate Park
 

        Orchid was pushing herself past any physical limits she might have had.  But it didn’t matter now.  She was almost at the toll plaza.  Something was happening up there.  She could see smoke rising from somewhere behind the plaza.  Orchid had to get there; she was too close to stop now...
 

Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza
 

        “Eighteen...seventeen...sixteen...”  Gargos continued to count.
        “If I kill Shadow, you had better disarm those satellites, or I’m coming after you myself.”  Fulgore-X said.
        “I’ll do better than that Fulgy.  If you do kill him, I’ll turn over control of the satellites to you.  You can disarm them yourself it you like.  Twelve...eleven...ten...better hurry, Fulgore-X...”
        Fulgore took one last look at the ninja.  He was now standing, very uneasily.  Fulgore-X shut his eyes.  He retracted his normal claw and unsheathed his backup claw, which had smoother edges and resembled a harpoon.  It was the type of claw the first Fulgore cyborg used.
        “Seven...six...five...”
        Fulgore-X glided over to the beaten Shadow.  He put his left hand on Shadow’s right shoulder.  He opened his eyes and looked right at Shadow.  Shadow’s eyes grew large.
        Fulgore-X pulled his right claw back, and then he thrust it through Shadow’s stomach.  Fulgore-X couldn’t stand to look him in his face as the impaled ninja was held two to three feet off the ground.
        “This isn’t as pointless as it seems.”  Fulgore-X said.
        “I know...I...overheard...”  Shadow said weakly.
        There was a sound deafening the silence, like metal scraping against metal, as Shadow fell to the ground.  Fulgore-X had sheathed his claw.
        “Gargos!”   The cyborg shouted.
        “Hmm.”  Gargos responded over Fulgore-X’s communication channel.  Then the channel closed.
        Fulgore-X glanced down at his arm panel.  Control of the three deadly satellites poised over New York was being returned to him.  The cyborg canceled the fire sequence, returned the satellites to their standard orbit, and placed them in stand-by mode.
        Fulgore-X looked down at the ninja, as his life flowed freely from his stomach, staining the gravel red.  The whole situation made him the cyborg.  As he heard footsteps rapidly approaching, he teleported as far away from the whole affair as he could.
Orchid, who was about to pass out from exhaustion, dashed in between the rows of cars that had stopped at the toll plaza.  As she cleared the plaza, she could barely make out in the dim glow of a streetlight the shadowy figure of a man.  She finally stopped running, and slowly approached the scene, hoping she wouldn’t find what she knew was there.
        Shadow was curled up in a fetal position.  His back was turned to Orchid, but since he lay uphill, his trail of blood flowed down past him.  The thick red river slowly trickled down, only a few yards away from Orchid’s feet.  She ran right through it to the fallen ninja.  She kneeled down, straightened Shadow out, and propped him up against her knees.
        “Oh God, where did he get you, where?”  Orchid was nearly frantic.
        “It....really doesn’t matter...he got me good.”  Shadow said, with a half smile.
        “Don’t worry, I’ll get you to a hospital, you’ll be okay, then I’ll personally decapitate that cybernetic bastard and give you his head for Christmas.”
        “Please...you don’t...understand...no...”  Shadow coughed up a mouthful of blood.
        “Shh....it’ll be all right.”  Orchid turned to the crowd of motorists, who were just now emerging from their hiding places.
        “What are you all doing?  Can’t you see a man is down!  Somebody call an ambulance!”
 

San Francisco Presidio Hospital
 

        Orchid paced like a caged tiger in front of a set of double doors.  Shadow had been rushed in for what seemed like an eternity ago.  It was at least the longest three minutes of Orchid’s life.  The ominous double doors had no windows, and a security guard standing by them kept Orchid from entering.  Orchid could have easily tossed the security guard aside, but there are some times when containment is the better part of valor.
        Drones of endless minutes passed by.  The entire hospital wing was dead silent, giving Orchid a chance to get frightfully lost in her own thoughts.  She wasn’t cruel, but she kept hoping that someone down the hall would have a heart attack.  At least the screaming would block her own thoughts.
        After an infinite number of separate lifetimes, equal to ten minutes to anyone other than Orchid, the doctor came out.  He was no longer wearing the facemask he put on when he went in.  His uniform was covered in blood.  He walked slowly and kept his head down, avoiding direct eye contact with Orchid.  Orchid had seen this enough times to know what it meant.
        “No.”  Orchid muttered weakly.
        “I’m so...very...sorry.”  The doctor said weakly.  “I wish there was something we could’ve done for him, but there wasn’t.  To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen anything like this before.  We were trying to access the extent of the trauma, and we discovered that his kidney was just...gone.  Without a trace.  If that wasn’t enough, all of his other internal organs started disappearing too, as if some invisible force was eating them.  They just...disintegrated.  My God, there’s nothing left in there but a husk of a body.”  The doctor cleared his throat.  “I’m going to turn control of the body over to you...I’m not filing any papers or doing an autopsy.  There’s nothing to examine.  I just want to pretend that this night never, ever happened.”
        Sensing that the young woman didn’t hear a word of what he said since “I’m sorry,” the doctor turned around and went back through the double doors.  Orchid stared at the doors for a full five minutes.  Not moving, not even blinking.  She then staggered backwards and collapsed against the wall behind her, crying.
 

Ultratech Corporation: Sheridan’s Office
 

        “I told you he’d do it.”  Cinder said triumphantly to Gargos.
        “What made you think that?  He almost didn’t.”  Gargos replied.
        “That was a front.  Remember, he’s still a Fulgore.  Deep down, he probably enjoyed it.”
        “Yeah, but -” Gargos was cut off as the door to the office slid open, and Fulgore-X walked in.
        Cinder was sitting in Gargos’s chair, as Gargos was sitting atop the desk.  Upon Fulgore-X’s arrival, Cinder left his chair, but Gargos didn’t move.  Fulgore-X took the shortest path to Gargos.  Stopping a little over a foot away from Gargos, he neither said nor did anything.  Gargos put up a tremendous front of not being concerned, while Cinder’s tension was high enough for all three of them.
        Fulgore-X slowly raised his right fist to Gargos.  Cinder thought that, at any moment, Fulgore-X would fire a plasma storm shot right though Gargos’s eyes.  However, Fulgore-X did nothing.  Gargos continued to stare at him.
        Suddenly, Fulgore-X’s bloody claw shot out through his right forearm.  The claw quickly extended to its normal length, the point stopping less than half of a centimeter from Gargos’s forehead.  Cinder leaped backwards; Gargos didn’t flinch.
        There was the sound of metal tumblers collapsing inside Fulgore-X’s arm.  There was a final, particularly loud click, as the claw tipped downward and fell into Gargos’s lap.
        Fulgore-X’s eyes narrowed.  “His blood...is on your hands now.”  The cyborg turned and walked sharply out of the door.
 

(Hours Later- New York: The Rooftop of An Unknown Skyscraper
 

        Jago carefully opened the door to the roof access.  His legs felt like they would give out, as this was at least the seventh skyscraper he had climbed by stairway tonight.  He had stopped counting two hours ago.
        Jago searched the dark rooftop for some sign, any sign, that this roof was different than all the others.  The slightest figure that was out of place, or the smallest movement.  Finally, in the left corner, he found it.
        Jago could barely make out movement, in the corner.  It looked as if something dark was blowing in the wind.  Taking a few steps forward, carefully squinting with each step, he made out the shadow of a person, with long, black, flowing hair, wearing a black leather trench coat that flapped in the wind.  It was Orchid.
        He carefully approached his sister.  “Um...Orchid?  I thought you should know...we teleported over the body of that ninja to Ultratech.  We’re keeping him in the morgue in the MediLab until we can hold a service or something...providing we all live...”  Jago trailed off as he finished the sentence.  Orchid was silent.
        “Uh...the fight alarm has gone off twice since you came back from California...it wasn’t for either of us.  Tusk fought Riptor and lost.  Glacius and Sabrewulf were paired; they were still fighting when I left to look for you.  It’s probably over by now.”
        Orchid still said nothing.
        “I just want you to know that we’re all sad about what happened to that poor fighter, but you really shouldn’t blame yourself, if you are.  It was completely out of your control.”
        Orchid remained without words, or even movement.
        “Look, um, Glacius, Kim, TJ, Tusk if he’s feeling better, and I are going to be meeting later on tonight to try to discuss and plan some things.  You should probably be there.  Until then, I’m going to go back to our quarters.  I’ll be there for awhile...if you need anything...y’know...”
        Orchid hadn’t moved or uttered word.
        “Yeah.”  Jago finally gave up, turned around, went through the roof access and headed back down the long flight of stairs.)
 

Ultratech Corporation: Sheridan’s Office
 

        Gargos stared at the bloody claw sitting in his lap.
        “Well, that was disappointing.”  He said.
        “How so?”  Cinder asked.  “Fulgore-X killed Shadow, that was what you wanted, right?”
        “Yes and no.  I wanted to confirm something I caught later on.  Unfortunately, I did.”
        “What are you talking about?”  Cinder was confused.
        “Hold on.”  Gargos used two fingers to pick the claw up off his lap, and tossed it aside.  He got up and went over to the wall on the right side of the door.
        “And these were my good pants, too.  Oh well.  Now, a change of wardrobe is in order.  If my memory serves me right, Sheridan’s got something he was concocting in a closet hidden behind this wall.”
        Gargos carefully slid his hand over the wall next to the door.  Finding what he was looking for, he pressed down on the wall.  The wall slid from the door into the side of the room, revealing a hidden closet.
        “Bingo!  Ah, now what do we have here?”
        Cinder got up and walked over to Gargos.  “What did you find?”
        Gargos pulled a jumpsuit out of the closet.  It was mostly gray.  The top of the jumpsuit was red, going down on both the front and back about two to three inches from the neck.  The shoulders and the sides of the arms were also red, as well as the cuffs of the long sleeves.  There was a black belt tied around the waist.  Inside the closet, was a pair of accompanying red boots.  On the left side of the chest, just under where the red stopped, was the Killer Instinct logo, the insignia being held by a powerful magnet system.  It was metallic and shone a brilliant luster.
        Gargos held the jumpsuit.  “It’s a Killer Instinct uniform.  If I remember correctly, it was to be implemented in KI9.  It was made to satisfy the demands of the KI viewers and fighters.  Many fighters complained that some of the other fighters used parts of their clothing to strangle or choke.  And the parents of younger viewers complained that sometimes, the fighter’s clothes would get ripped, and more would be revealed than should be.  Although, I can’t see how they can let their kids watch graphic displays of brutal violence and then be highly offended when a little glimpse of sex grazes the screen.  Anyway, these babies were made to satisfy those complaints.  It’s made of a damn-near indestructible composite, found on board Glacius’s spaceship.  It can’t be ripped, it’s fire retardant- ”
        Cinder cut Gargos off.  “Fire retardant?  Let’s see about that.”
        Sensing what Cinder wanted to do, Gargos tossed the jumpsuit in the air.  Cinder turned himself into a fireball and shot himself at the jumpsuit.  The fireball consumed the jumpsuit and slammed against the wall.  It slid down, forming a puddle on the floor.  As Cinder emerged from the puddle, he was wearing the jumpsuit.
        “Amazing!  I haven’t burned this thing to ashes by now!”
        “And it looks good too.”  Gargos added.
        Cinder continued to admire his new jumpsuit.  “Wow...first time I’ve been able to wear clothes since this...accident.  I forgot how good it feels.”
        Gargos studied the outfit.  “I like it.  Kinda like a uniform, for the troops to proudly wear into battle.  And look, here’s an Ultratech one too.”  Gargos pulled out another jumpsuit.  This one was white with black.  Instead of the Killer Instinct insignia, it had the Ultratech one.  “Tell you what.  Distribute all of these Ultratech jumpsuits to the employees, and all the KI ones to the fighters, at least the ones that are still breathing.”
        “That reminds me, what were you saying about Fulgore-X?”  Cinder asked.
        “Oh yes, I forgot.  Come, come.”  Gargos motioned for Cinder to follow him as he walked back to his desk.  He pressed a button on the desk, and the wall behind the desk slid up to reveal a video monitor.  “I had two reasons for having Fulgore-X kill Shadow.  The first was purely tactical.  It’s a fact that the last two tournaments that Orchid has been involved in have ended in chaos.  I don’t expect her to suddenly play by the rules now.  I know she’s going to rebel when the time is right.  By having Fulgore-X kill Shadow, I’m diverting that rebellion in his direction.”
        “Huh?”  Cinder asked.  “I don’t understand.”
        Gargos shook his head.  “You don’t need to worry yourself about it.  It was my problem.  And now, it’s Fulgore-X’s.  But anyway, I had a second reason for having Shadow killed.  Here, I’m going to replay a part of the fight.  Watch Fulgore-X’s eyes very closely.”
        Gargos cued a part of the fight.
        “Ah, this is the part where Shadow repeatedly bashed Fulgore-X upside the head with his staff, a personal favorite.”  Cinder said.
        “Watch carefully.”  Gargos reiterated.
        Cinder stared carefully into the monitor.  Finally, he saw what Gargos was trying to show him.  “Aha!  Was that it?”  he asked.
        “Yes, you saw it too, huh?  Fulgore-X’s eyes went completely blank for about less than a second.  That means his system probably temporarily conked out.  And remember what you said about two sets of directives...”
        “Ah...you think that the second set has surfaced?”
        “I’m sure of it.  I wanted Fulgore-X to kill Shadow to confirm that it had.  Even though he did kill Shadow, he did so with extreme reluctance.  If Fulgore-X had only the reprogrammed two directives, just like Fulgore 2 had, he would have killed the ninja, then activated the satellite firing sequence, just for the hell of it.  I’m positive that Fulgore-X is running on four conflicting directives now.”
        “Shoot.”  Cinder said.  “Are you sure we shouldn’t take him out of the tournament?  What are we going to do now?”
        “No, we’re not taking him out of the tournament.  Go on to the Control Room, and I shall meet you there.”
        Cinder gave Gargos a funny look before leaving.
        “So, Fulgore-X’s program has changed now.”  Gargos thought to himself.  “The conflicting directives, along with the way his brain has been designed, makes Fulgore-X a completely independent cyborg now.  That probably makes him more dangerous.  But I’m not complaining.  I’ve always loved a challenge.”
 

Control Room
 

        Gargos walked triumphantly into the Control Room, wearing his new Ultratech jumpsuit.  He was grinning as he approached Cinder.
        “You sure are happy.”  Cinder scoffed.  “Can we hurry up and do whatever it is you wanted to do?  It's getting late and I wanna go to sleep.”
        “Ah, you tire too easily.  Very well.  I shall not keep you waiting.”
        Gargos took a seat at the chair of the main computer terminal.
        “Cinder......do you have Ultratech High Priority Access Codes?” He asked.
        “Nope.”
        Gargos replied only with a “hmph,” then continued working.  After a while, he began talking to himself.  “What's a good ES to use?  Nova Scotia?  Defiant?  Nah, too close to New York.  Enterprise?  Too obvious.  What about the California?  Or the Illinois?  No, I don't think so.......Eclipse?  Luna?  Hmm...”
        “What is he doing...?” Cinder muttered to himself.
        “Aha!  I've got it!  The Intrepid!  Yes, that's quite a good idea.”
        Gargos began typing in some commands.  Soon, the screen displayed a map of the Earth in outer space, with the Ultratech Earth Satellites represented by red dots scattered all across the world.  One of the red dots that was hovering over Europe began moving slowly towards North America.  Under the Earth, the screen displayed -

        Cinder finally lost all patience.  “Gargos, what the hell are you doing?”
        Gargos relaxed in his chair.  “All I'm doing is taking out an insurance policy on the tournament.  You see, back in KI7, a true winner was never determined because Orchid and her meddling pals decided to abandon the rules of the tournament and promote chaos.  Back in the present, well, it would be your past I suppose, the same thing happened, and I had to face not one, but two fighters at the same time.  Fighters faced opponents they should not have.  We just can’t have that here.”
        As Gargos finished his sentence, the ES Intrepid reached a position just over New York.  Gargos turned back to the computer terminal.  He began to access menus-

ULTRATECH CORPORATION
PLEASE CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS-
-RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
-BIOTECHNOLOGY
-GENETIC ENGINEERING
-COMPUTER SCIENCE
-INDUSTRIAL COMPONENTS
-CLASSIFIED
----------------------------------------------
CLASSIFIED
PLEASE ENTER SECURITY PASSWORD
*************
----------------------------------------------
PASSWORD VERIFIED
CLASSIFIED
PLEASE CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS-
-THE “FULGORE PROJECT”
-GENETIC BIOENGINEERING
-PROJECT “OFF SWITCH”
-ULTRATECH PLASMA WEAPONS
----------------------------------------------
ULTRATECH PLASMA WEAPONS
RESTRICTED AREA-PLEASE ENTER ADDITIONAL PASSWORD
----------------------------------------------

        Cinder felt his impatience returning.  “You were saying...”
        “Oh yes.  Well, I know how my opponents think.  They’re probably going to play along with the tournament until it’s time for the final match.  At that time, they’ll cause chaos and disorder just like the last two times.  So I’m planning on creating a little...diversion...to keep all those not involved in the championship a little occupied.  Hey Cinder, give me seven numbers, between one and five hundred...”
        “Huh?  Oh, uh...why?”
        “I’ll explain in a minute, just give me the numbers please.”
        “Ok, uh, how about seven.......and maybe twenty seven...two hundred forty three...four hundred nineteen...one hundred fourteen...seven hundred fourteen...and...thirty five.”
        “Thank you Cinder.”

ULTRATECH PLASMA MISSILE STOCK
PREPARE FOR LAUNCH-
*LAUNCH SEQUENCE TO BE INITIATED AND CONTROLLED BY ES INTREPID*..........
MISSILE #007
MISSILE #027
MISSILE #035
MISSILE #114
MISSILE #243
MISSILE #419
MISSILE #714
IS THIS CORRECT?
YES NO
----------------------------------------------
PREPARING MISSILES #007#027#035#114#243#419#714
PLEASE SELECT TARGET(S)

        “Ahem, Gargos…”  Cinder wanted to hear the rest of Gargos’s plan.
        Gargos bowed his head, and closed his eyes.  “You’re already familiar with Sheridan’s plan to conquer Earth, right?”
        “Yeah, that’s why Killer Instinct was made; a combat test for the soldiers he created.”
        “Yes.  But, as I’m sure you can imagine, Sheridan’s army wouldn’t be his only defense.  He also worked on creating weapons that were far superior to the current technology.  Right now, there’s an armory within this building, which is stocked with plasma laser guns, rifles, explosives, and other nice toys.  He also found a way to incorporate plasma technology into guided missiles.  He built five hundred missiles, each armed with a plasma warhead that makes a nuclear warhead look like a firecracker.  As you can probably tell by now, I’m preparing seven of those missiles to launch.  I will align the time of launch for when the championship fight should be taking place.  All those who aren’t in the fight will probably pile in here before they plan to interject themselves.  Soon, they’ll find the missile launch sequence, then all of their attention will be given to the missiles, leaving the championship fight pure, untouched.”
        A flat map of the Earth appeared onscreen.  Gargos tapped some keys, and soon afterwards, a red dot appeared in the center of each of the seven continents.  Besides each dot was a missile number, corresponding to one of the seven Gargos had on stand-by.
        “Hold on!” Cinder said.  “You’re going to launch one of those plasma missiles into the center of each continent?!  Are you mad?!  You’ll obliterate the world!”
        “I’m not destroying the world.  As I said, this is merely a diversion.  I have no doubts that Orchid or Jago or Glacius or whoever isn’t involved in the championship fight shall be successful in deactivating the missiles.”
        Gargos turned back to his computer terminal.

MISSILE LAUNCH SPECIAL PARAMETERS
-DESTROY ULTRATECH CONTROL ROOM MISSILE INTERFACE
-DEACTIVATE REMOTE TARGETING AFTER LAUNCH
-DEACTIVATE REMOTE PROPULSION CONTROL AFTER LAUNCH
-DEACTIVATE REMOTE DISARM COMMAND AFTER LAUNCH
-DEACTIVATE REMOTE SENSORY NAVIGATION AFTER LAUNCH
-SECURE ALL PREORDERED COMMANDS
-ACCEPT NO OVERRIDES
-PROTECT ES INTREPID USER MISSILE INTERFACE

        “I thought you said you wanted them to stop the launch?” Cinder asked.
        “I do.  But it can’t be easy!  What good would it do to go through all of this, only to have those evil wrenches disarm the missiles in five minutes, and turn their attention back to the fight?”
        Gargos pressed a few keys on Terminal One, next to the main terminal.  A computer printout began coming up.

        “Here is where I need you, Cinder.”  Gargos gave Cinder the computer printout.  “Congratulations.  These are your new access codes.  Please give them when prompted -”
        Gargos was cut off by the voice command of the computer.  It had a female voice.
        “SEVEN MISSILES PROGRAMMED FOR SEVEN DIFFERENT TARGETS, SPECIAL STIPULATIONS IN EFFECT.  PLEASE ENTER THE FIRST VOCAL COMMAND CODE.........”
        Gargos cleared his throat.  “Confirm Access Code Sheridan, Alpha One Delta Gamma Echo, four five six nine one nine two three eight point one oh one.”
        “SHERIDAN ACCESS CODE CONFIRMED.  PLEASE ENTER ADDITIONAL ACCESS CODE.”
        Cinder looked down uneasily at his paper.  Reluctantly, he said “Confirm Access Code Cinder, Alpha One Beta Epsilon Charlie, nine four five eight five four seven two six point oh one oh.”
        “CINDER ACCESS CODE CONFIRMED.  FINAL VERIFICATION.  ROBERT SHERIDAN, MISSILES ARE ONLINE AND READY TO LAUNCH.  ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO PROCEED?”
        “Verify, Robert Sheridan.  Proceed with missile launch.”  Gargos said.
        “FINAL VERIFICATION.  CINDER, MISSILES ARE ONLINE AND READY TO LAUNCH.  ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO PROCEED?”
        Cinder glanced at Gargos.  “Are you sure about this?”
        “I’m positive, now give the computer your approval.”
        Cinder sighed.  “Verify...Cinder.  Proceed with missile launch.”
        “MISSILE LAUNCH...ACTIVATED.”
        Gargos grinned.  “Excellent.”
        On the main screen, as well as all the other smaller screens, the missile countdown was displayed-

        “Now, one final detail........”  Gargos said.

        All the screens went blank, except for twenty-seven, to the left and near the back of the room.  Gargos wheeled his chair over to that monitor.  He pressed a few buttons, and the missile launch display disappeared under an Ultratech screen saver logo.
        Gargos left his chair and started to leave the Control Room.
        “Um, wait!” Cinder called out.  “Suppose, by some almighty intervention, that your plan doesn’t work, and the ‘evil wrenches’ don’t discover the missiles...what happens then?”
        Gargos, still smiling, shrugged, accompanied by a simple, lighthearted “hmph.”  He turned on his heel and walked cheerfully out of the door.
        Cinder, stunned, fell into the chair.  “Good God in Heaven...”  he said, looking at the blank main screen, “what have I done?”