Ultratech Corporation:  MediLab
 

“Dear Miss Orchid,
I regret to inform you that the young woman you brought in, who you named ‘Maya,’ died this morning at 9:54 AM due to circulatory complications.  Please come to the hospital as soon as possible.
-Dr.  Wong”

        Jago read the email over and over, but it still said the same thing every time.  By now, Glacius had joined Jago in looking over Orchid’s shoulder, who still hadn’t moved.  Although the trio hadn’t turned their heads, they could hear Kim Wu crying.  They didn’t even want to begin to guess what state of mind Tusk was in.  They continued to stare into the computer screen, to avoid facing Kim and Tusk for as long as possible.  Eventually, the sound of footsteps was heard, and then the double doors slid open, and closed.  Finally, Orchid moved.
        She turned away towards the computer screen and faced the door, as if to say something to the departed Kim and Tusk.  Orchid began playing with the Ultratech medical tool she was holding, which was intended for Maya.
“9:54 AM.  That was at least two hours before TJ’s fight.  At that exact moment, I think I was meditating.  Ever since the night before last, I knew that I wanted to go down to the hospital to help Maya.  But no.  I put it off.  ‘I had time’ I said.  Yeah, lots of time.”
        Jago started to move towards Orchid, but then he stopped himself.  “Look, you can’t blame yourself.  There was no way you could have known - ”
        “But I did know.  I knew ever since we came back from the past that Maya’s condition was critical.  I should have taken Ultratech medical equipment to her as soon as I set foot inside Ultratech.  But I was too wrapped up in other, now unimportant things.  How selfish of me...”
        “Orchid please-”
        “It’s all my fault!”  Consumed with rage, Orchid violently threw the Ultratech device into the wall, where it shattered into many pieces and scattered throughout the room.  Jago and Glacius were stunned.  Orchid bowed her head and quickly left the room.
        Jago sat down in the chair for the medical terminal.  He cleared the screen of the tragic message, and then rested his head on the computer keyboard.
        Glacius continued to look at the spot where Orchid used to be standing.  “Jago, do you know what that was all about?”
        Jago sighed.  He kept his head on the keyboard.  “A few nights ago, Orchid told me about what happened to our parents.  Basically, Fulgore 2 was trying to wipe me out of existence, so he went back into time to kill my parents before I was born.  But he screwed up on the time frame, and he went back to when I was a baby and Orchid was a little girl.  Sadly, grown-up Orchid just happened to stumble onto Fulgore 2’s plan in progress, and ended up watching him slaughter our parents.
        “Oh Jago, I’m so sorry...”  Glacius started.
        “That’s not the worst of it.”  Jago continued.  “Orchid blames herself for not stopping Fulgore 2, even though she was overwhelmed at the time by returning memories.  She also thinks that she missed an opportunity to have ended this whole thing there and then.  She believes that she is personally responsible for any deaths that happen here in Killer Instinct.  I had thought that she took the death of that new ninja fighter a little hard.  I was worried about what was going to happen to her after TJ’s death, but now add to that Maya...”
        “Oh my.”  It was the only thing Glacius could say.
        “I’m worried about her mental health.  She’s probably not very...stable...right now.  She’s liable to do something we’ll all regret later.  I’d better go find her.”  Jago quickly left his chair and started for the door.
        “Wait,” Glacius called, “I’ll be in the Control Room later, y’know, if you need me for anything.”  Jago nodded, and left the room.
        Now Glacius took the seat.  He stared into the blank computer monitor.  “I was worried about the physical health of those two, but they’ve got far larger problems.  How could either one possibly be effective against Fulgore-X, or Gargos?”
 

Ultratech Corporation: East Wing Hallway
 

        Fulgore-X casually strolled down the hallway.  He didn’t really have anywhere to go, but he found that he actually enjoyed walking.  It helped him to think, focus on one thing, instead of two or three at a time.  As he walked, he suddenly heard footsteps down the hall ahead of him.  They weren’t normal footsteps; they were sharp, definitive.  These steps seemed to project a message with every thud, and it wasn’t a happy one.  Fulgore-X figured that the owner of these steps was probably feeling hostile, and might want a confrontation with him as soon as the owner reached him.  Having just cleaned his claws, Fulgore-X didn’t want to kill anyone right now, and with his curiosity peaking, so he initiated his invisibility cloak and pressed himself against the wall.  As the footsteps neared, their owner was revealed to be Orchid.  She stormed past where Fulgore-X hid himself, and down the hall a few yards, eventually turning right into a door, which Fulgore-X knew to be Sheridan’s Office.  At first, Fulgore-X began to continue down the hall.  However, having remembered that Gargos was currently in the office, and Orchid’s furious demeanor as she passed by, Fulgore-X found his curiosity growing even more.
 

Sheridan’s Office
 

        “I won’t have any part in this anymore!”  Orchid, in a rage, slammed her fists down on Sheridan’s desk.
        Gargos sat in Sheridan’s plush office chair.  It was turned around to face the exposed video monitor on the back wall.  On the monitor were some technical specifications that looked to be beyond even Albert Einstein’s comprehension.  Upon Orchid’s statement, Gargos spun around slowly to face Orchid.  He was smiling.
        “Do I take it that there’s a problem?”
        “A problem.”  Orchid sounded insulted.  “A problem?  A problem?!  Two people have died today, that’s the problem!  That makes three total!”
        “Three?  I don’t recall there being three......”
        “Maya died this morning!”
        “Oh really?  Hmm, how sad, I’m thoroughly devastated.”  Gargos said, feigning sarcasm.
        “Three people have died because of this tournament, three innocents, who wanted nothing more than to live, but you took that from them!”
        Gargos’s smile faded.  “Look, Orchid, this is a great battle.  Intense rivalries and egos clashing, all a part of a war over the greatest of all prizes...this world.  Of course blood will be shed!  A lot more will probably die before this all ends!  Deal with it.”
        “I will not!  This all ends now, before anyone else gets hurt.”
        “And what are you planning?  To challenge me now?  Hmph, although I’d love to fight you right about now, I won’t.  I will not fight anyone other than the winner of Killer Instinct, who has yet to be determined.  So if you really want a piece of me, you should go back to the gym and prepare for your next match...”
        “No, I’m not planning to fight you.  In fact, I’m not planning to fight anyone else.  I’m quitting this tournament.”
        Gargos smiled again.  “Fine, go ahead; I won’t miss you.”
        “Furthermore, my friends will be quitting with me.  Add to that the two who’ve died, and that’s enough for the tournament to be called on account of lack of participants.  I know the rulebook.  Your little scheme is over!”  Now, Orchid smiled.
        Gargos laughed.  “Fine, go ahead, be my guest!”
        Orchid turned around triumphantly, and started for the door.
        “Oh, but one little, itty, bitty, detail...”  Gargos called.
        Orchid stopped and turned around.  “What the hell do you want?”
        “I only want, to tell you, that I, Gargos of course, have been declared champion of Killer Instinct.  Of course, if the tournament is called, that will just have to stand, now wouldn’t it?  You and your pals quit now, and you’ll just be doing me a favor.  I’ll be champion of the world, without fighting even one battle.  So please, quit.”
Orchid looked as if she wanted to stare a hole through Gargos.  For a few moments, she continued to stare, as if she really could fire off lasers from her eyes and fry Gargos with them.  After a little while, she let out a fierce growl, turned on her heel, and quickly left the room.
        Gargos laughed insanely.  As the double doors began to slide closed behind Orchid’s departure, they quickly slid open again, as if another presence was opening the door, although it appeared that no one was there.  After the doors fully opened, they slid shut, to completion this time.
        Gargos spun his chair back around to face the video monitor.  He was still smiling.
        “Fulgore-X.”  He said, with a hint of humor in his voice.  The thought having passed, Gargos went back to studying his technical specifications.
 

Control Room
 

        Glacius mindlessly played with his computer terminal.  He sat at the main terminal, but he had the display coming from one of the video monitors off to the side.  He had began to study some Earth history relating to hand to hand combat.  On the screen, a headline was displayed that read-

“Fighting Continues in Mid-East: US Pressured To Help”

        Glacius couldn’t concentrate on any of the words though.  He tapped the Return button over and over, not even realizing that he was doing it.  After a few minutes of button tapping, the double doors slid open and Orchid stormed in.
        “Orchid - ” Glacius started, but was cut off.
        “Glacius, I need your help.”
        Glacius was dumbfounded.  “...Err, sure, I guess, about what?”
        “I want to teleport somewhere, but I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.  Is there any way to reconfigure the teleporter to bring me back when I feel like it, not at a specified time?”
        “Hmm…well, you can be brought back at any time...if there were another person operating the console from here.  Maybe if there were some way to give you a remote control...yes!”  Feeling inspired, Glacius spun around to the computer console and began working rapidly.  He transferred the display to the main monitor, which began to display technical specs that were far beyond Orchid’s comprehension.  Orchid, while waiting for Glacius to finish, paced the room, as if with each step she could leave all of her problems behind her.
        Finally, Glacius called out to her.  “Hey, I’ve got it.  I’ve got a way.  Give me your Killer Instinct insignia pin.”
        Orchid put her hand on the pin.  It was fastened to her KI jumpsuit by a strong magnet that was attracted to the material in the fabric.  The magnitude of the magnet was so great that the jumpsuit would rip first before the pin came off.  Considering that these jumpsuits were nigh indestructible, the pin was not likely to come off on it’s own.  There were three small buttons behind the large, red KI letters of the pin.  The outer buttons caused the magnet to demagnetize, removing the pin.  The center button activated the button, which would fasten the pin to the jumpsuit.
        Orchid removed the pin and gave it to Glacius.  He held up his right hand and morphed it into a thin cutting tool.  Carefully, he removed the outer casing of the pin.  Morphing his hand again, he turned it into a precision tool, and once again went to work.
        Orchid returned to pacing up and down the room while Glacius labored.  When pacing became boring, Orchid started examining all of the computer consoles, as if looking for some profound answer.  Before she found it, Glacius called to her again.
        “Hey, come look at this!”  Glacius was beaming, apparently proud of his accomplishment.  “Here, take your pin.  Now, it will fasten and unfasten in the same manner as before, but now it’s connected to the Ultratech teleporter.  After you’ve teleported to a location, press the button on the left to return back here.  Also, if you program a location into the computer, press the button on the right to teleport there, no matter where you are!  I’ve programmed the remote sensor in your pin to send its commands to the nearest Ultratech satellite, which will then beam the command here.  Essentially, you’ve got an instant teleporter!  Just use the subdirectory in the teleporter that I’ve programmed for you.  Here, go ahead.”
        Glacius slid aside to let Orchid work the computer.  After fastening the pin above her left breast, she approached the console, programmed in her location, and closed the subdirectory.
        “So all I do is press the button on the right?”  Orchid asked.
        Glacius nodded.  Orchid was about to press the button, but then she stopped herself.
        “Glacius...look...if Jago should come looking for me, please don’t tell him that I’ve been here, or where I’ve gone.  You know, he gets really concerned about me - ”
        “And he’s right to do so.”  Glacius interjected.  “Honestly, I’m worried about you too.  I think you’re under more self-inflicted stress than you can handle.”
        “Look, I can take care of myself.  I’ve done so for quite some time now.  And if I should get injured or killed, then that’s just what happens.  Jago’s kind of overprotective of me.  I guess I’m his only family he has now, when before he had nobody...”
        Orchid cut herself off before she got too deep into her personal life.  “Well, just promise me that you won’t tell Jago…”
        “Urgh...”  Glacius moaned.
        “Please...”  Orchid whined, giving Glacius a sad, puppy face.
        “Fine, okay, I won’t tell him.”
        Orchid smiled, and patted him on the shoulder.  “Thank you.”  She took a few steps back from Glacius.  “I’ll be back soon.”  She pressed the right button on her pin, and then a blue pillar of light emanated from her center, split into two, and spread outwards, engulfing her, until Orchid had been consumed.  When the light did its work, it shrank into nothingness, teleporting Orchid to some location, where Glacius did not care.
        Glacius sat back down in his chair.  He put his news article back up on the video monitor to the side, but now, it was even harder to concentrate on it.
        Ten minutes passed.  Glacius had read three news articles, but hadn’t retained one single word of them.  As he was about to bring up his fourth, Jago entered the room.  He appeared to be exhausted, as if he had been roaming all over Ultratech.
“Hey Glacius.  By any chance have you seen Orchid since she left the MediLab?”  Jago said.
Glacius sighed.  “I wish I could say that I did...”
 

Las Vegas:  Caesars Palace
 

        Orchid opened the door to the broom closet from the inside.  She wanted her teleportation location to be discreet, but a broom closet wasn’t quite what she had in mind.
        As she left the closet, realizing that she was about to enter a location where she would easily be recognized, she buttoned her black leather trench coat to conceal her Killer Instinct jumpsuit.  Gained in exchange for a small kiss, Orchid was able to gain a San Francisco Giants baseball cap from a man passing by in the hallway.  She pulled it down on her head, the bill of the cap loosely covering her eyes, and she headed out for the main floor.
        The floor to Caesars Palace was a very busy scene.  Thousands of hopeful future millionaires scrambled to and fro, from the dollar slots, to the roulette table, passing by the blackjack table, and eventually, back to the slots again.  The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke permeated the nasal passages of everyone within the walls, whether or not they were aware of it.  The cigarette smoke formed a thin fog just above everyone’s heads.  There was a low murmur of voices seeping in between the people and the smoke.
        Orchid cut her way through the traffic jam of humanity.  With her head pointed down towards the floor, she sailed almost effortlessly through the crowd until she got to her destination - the sports bar.
        Orchid found the exact seat she wanted but she also found a large man sitting in it.  All that was necessary was for Orchid to slightly lift her hat and give the man a healthy dosage of the female evil eye to get him to move.  Feeling somewhat satisfied over her exertion of power, Orchid took her acquired seat.
        To her left sat a man.  He was about six feet tall, (as far as one could guess about a sitting man), wearing a red coat and black baseball cap.  His head was bowed and he held a glass that seemingly contained the remnants of a Sprite.
        At first, no one said anything.  The man continued to hold his empty cup, while the bartender, spotting a beautiful woman at his bar, was quick to offer her a drink.  She sharply said “Diet Coke” and left it at that.  Quickly identifying the woman’s bad humor, the bartender decided that there was dirt that needed to be cleaned - at the other side of the bar.
        Eventually, the man reached into his coat and pulled out a small action figure.  He set it down on its feet in front of Orchid.
        “What’s this?”  Orchid asked.
        “What, you don’t recognize yourself?”  The man replied.
        “Huh?”  Orchid raised an eyebrow.
        “It’s the Orchid Killer Instinct action figure.  Go ahead, take a look.”
        Orchid picked up the action figure.  It had long black hair and large blue eyes, resting on a triangular face.  It’s body curves and contours were extremely exaggerated.  It was wearing tight green spandex and it held two miniature tonfa sticks in each hand.
        Orchid set the figure down.  “It doesn’t look a thing like me.”
        “Well, now, they screwed up on the eyes, but basically, it’s you.  Well, maybe with an unrealistic accent here or there, but hey, these things are made by men for young boys.”
        Orchid’s Diet Coke arrived, quite hastily.  She took a small sip, then said, “Why would anyone want to make an action figure out of me anyway?”
        The man set his empty glass down.  “Don’t you know?  Killer Instinct’s the big cash cow now.  Action figures are only the start of it.  Oh, there’s Killer Instinct t-shirts, coats, hats.  Killer Instinct lunch boxes and backpacks, comic books, coffee mugs, posters.  There’s even a Killer Instinct video game in the works by Nintendo.”
        The man ordered another Sprite, then spoke again.  “Nobody really understands.  Nobody knows about what really goes on in KI, behind the hallowed halls of Ultratech.  Then again, how could they, with little children making a plastic Jago and Fulgore take place in a mock fight, while the older children pick up a controller and control a video image of you and Eyedol and make them fight with moves that could never be done.  All the while the so called adults come to a place like this, and bet hard earned dollars on the real thing.  How could they understand?”
        Orchid assumed that it was a theoretical question, so she didn’t answer.  She stared for a few minutes into her glass, watching bubbles rise from the bottom, fight their way up through an immense forest of ice cubes.  Finally reaching the top, they enjoyed a few precious moments of victory before they popped into nothingness.
        Coming back to the real world, Orchid put her hand on the man’s shoulder.  “Look, Thunder, I came here tonight because I really need your help.”
        Chief Thunder looked up.  He had deep, brown eyes, with thick eyebrows.  He had a square chin with a slight five ‘o clock shadow.  “Oh?  So, what’s new, aside from a second Fulgore cyborg and some freaks we kicked around the last time.”
        “Third, actually.  But it’s a long story, I’ll tell it to you later.  Look, things are bad, really bad.  Worse than you’d think.  Do you remember that ninja who fought Fulgore-X?”
        “Yeah,” Chief Thunder said, “he was good.  He gave Fulgy a real run for his money.  He could prove valuable.”
        “He’s dead.  Killed just minutes after the cameras left.”
        “Oh.  I’m very sorry to hear that.”
        “That’s not the end of it.  Remember TJ?”
        “What about TJ?”  Chief Thunder snapped to attention.
        “He...he’s...”  Orchid sighed, drew a breath, and then tried again.  “TJ’s dead.  He sacrificed himself to...to save us all.”
        “What?”  Chief Thunder was taken aback.  “He can’t be dead, he can’t be!  No...”
        “I know.  I’m sorry, I know TJ was a friend to you when you really needed one back in KI7......”
        “He can’t be dead.  He just…he…damn.  Damn it all!”
        “Yeah...I know.  We’re all still stunned.  That’s why I really need your help.  This is at least twenty times worse than what we were up against in KI7.  Gargos has all his bases covered, and where there isn’t Gargos, there’s Fulgore-X.”
        “Who’s Gargos?”
        “Like I said, long story.  Look Thunder, I don’t think we can win this one.  I really don’t.  I try to remain somewhat optimistic around Jago and Glacius, but I know that we’ve got a snowball’s chance of hell in winning.  I’m exhausted, Jago’s spent, Glacius has his own problems to worry about, and there are others who have their own mental and physical dilemmas.  Even if, by the miracle of all miracles, we somehow won, the price we’d be paying would be way too high.  It wouldn’t be a win at all.  Who knows who else’s blood’ll get shed before we even make it to the second round!  Please come back Thunder.  I need you.”
        It was something Thunder was thoroughly unaccustomed to; hearing humility from Orchid.  If anyone was a rock of emotion and civility, it was Orchid, and now the rock was breaking.  Thunder could see the fatigue in Orchid’s eyes.  He could hear her voice cracking under stress and the lack of proper rest.  She was truly at her wits end.
        Thunder rests his glass on the bar, while still holding on to it.  He sighed.  “Orchid, I’d love to help you, I really would.  But I’m no good to you.  I’ve got my own plate of grievances to eat from.”
        “Thunder, we’re all dealing with tragedies.  You think TJ’s death went lightly?  Or even Shadow’s?  I know it must be hard on you after finding out that your brother was killed by Eyedol in KI6 -”
        “You can’t possibly understand - ”
        “Oh yes I do.  I understand better than you know.  I know what it’s like to lose family.  If you ever have the time, I’ll tell you one hell of a sob story.  But right now, I need you.  You’re fresh, you’re rested, you’re - ”
        “Not in the tournament.”
        “That doesn’t matter.  The tournament is BS.  We’re only playing along because we have no other plan right now.  Sooner or later, it’s all going to come crashing down and we’ll need all the fists and feet we can get.  Even if you don’t want to fight, you know the computer systems better than I do, we could use you in the Control Room.  Please.”
It pained Thunder to hear such a proud woman reduced to begging.  He knew that what she said had to be true; nothing short of a potential global catastrophe could make Orchid say please more than once a day.  It pained Thunder even more to say what he had to say.
        “I’m sorry Orchid, but I can’t.  I can’t think, I can’t focus, and I can’t concentrate on anything.  Even though I’d really like to help, I’d probably end up sulking throughout the hallways.  Especially now, after hearing about TJ…”  Thunder choked up a bit, and turned away from Orchid.  “I’d be more of a hindrance than a help, and that sounds like the last thing you need right now.  I’m sorry.”
        Thunder trailed off, as he raised his glass and took a sip.  “I’m sorry, but I think I need some time alone right now.”
        Orchid bowed her head.  “Okay, fine then.  Thanks anyway.”  She inhaled a mighty breath, then got up and left the sports bar.  She was back on her way to the broom closet, when the thought occurred to her that, in a few minutes, she’d be back in Ultratech.  Back within the cold steel hallways.  Back within a five hundred meter proximity of Gargos, of Cinder, and of Fulgore-X.  She’d have to look Tusk in the face and see the hurt in his eyes over losing Maya.  She’d have to see the loss of the innocence of youth in Kim’s face.  She’d have to look at Glacius and see someone whose own world was in enough trouble because of Ultratech, but was sacrificing all of that in hopes of helping out with what seemed to be a lost cause.  Worse of all, she’d have to look at Jago, and see the scars of fight after fight, not given enough time to heal because as soon as one fight ended, he’d be asked to fight another.  She’d have to see the sadness and confusion of a man who just found out that his mortal enemy had slaughtered his parents, because she wasn’t good enough to prevent it.  She’d have to look into his face, and wonder if he’d be breathing at the same time tomorrow, or if they would have to store his lifeless corpse in the Ultratech Morgue within the MediLab where Shadow and TJ Combo are currently rotting.
        It was all too much for Orchid.  She managed to pull herself out of the crowd and find a seat at a bar that was part of a restaurant.  As she sank in her chair, Orchid slowly came to realize she didn’t want to go back.
        A few hours passed.  Maybe a few days.  Orchid couldn’t tell.  It really didn’t matter.  For all she knew, Gargos was fighting his championship match with Jago, probably stomping his face in the ground.  Maybe, in a mere matter or hours, Gargos would be roaming the cities, destroying everything in his path, as part of his quest to remake the world over in his image.  Orchid didn’t know.  Didn’t care.  Thankfully, the television at the bar was tuned into a football game.
        By now, Orchid had removed her hat and unbuttoned her coat.  Many restaurant patrons spotted the KI jumpsuit and realized just who it was at the bar.  As some of them approached her for an autograph, they could see the look on her face, the dim glow in her eyes, and, having received all the message they ever needed, quickly turned and left.
        One somebody didn’t quite get the message.  He sat down next to Orchid, in one of the seats that had been vacant since Orchid sat down.  He was around six and a half feet tall.  Any other features about him were very well hidden.  He wore a long, dark blue trench coat.  This coat had a very large hood on it, which was pulled over his head and nearly over his face, the edge of the hood stopping where his mouth should be.  The hood was so massive that it created a shadow over the man’s face, effectively hiding it from the world.  The coat extended down past the man’s shins, and where it stopped, a pair of wide leg black jeans could barely be seen.  The jeans were large and covered the man’s feet.  He was thoroughly hidden from head to toe.
        At first, Orchid barely noticed him.  The man sat down without word, which Orchid decided was acceptable.  The bartender, a woman this time, approached the new patron.  She began to ask him what he’d like to drink.  The man lifted his head, just enough so the hood would tilt back and his eyes would be visible to the woman.  She gasped in horror and quickly left the bar, walking backwards so that she would not take her eyes off the man.  Orchid, still off in her own world, wasn’t aware that the event took place.
        After some time passed, the man turned towards Orchid, and said, “You look like you’ve had a hard day.”  His voice was deep and booming, even though he spoke in a low, conversational tone.  Orchid couldn’t help but feel that she’d heard it somewhere before.
        “You could say that.”  Orchid said, looking up.  She still couldn’t see anything past the hood.  She tried to find evidence that a person existed behind the shadows and the clothes by looking at his hands; he was wearing black gloves, still nothing conclusive.
        Upon seeing her face (assuming he could see underneath the hood), the man’s head jerked back a little bit in surprise.
        “Hard day’s an understatement.  Hard life’s more like it.”  He said.
        “You could say that too.”  Orchid replied, sharply.  She hoped that her tone would be enough to discourage the man from any further attempts at communication.  It didn’t work.
        “Anything you want to talk about?”
        “What?”  Orchid asked, genuinely surprised.
        “Sometimes, it helps to get things off your chest.  Or, so I’ve heard, anyway.  I can’t do anything about your problems, but it might help if you vented a little.  You look like the kind of person who doesn’t tell her friends much, if she really has any.  So why not tell a complete stranger, if just to vent.  I’ll listen.”
        “Hey, who are you anyway?”  Orchid asked, annoyed.
        “Do you really care?”
        “No, I guess not.”
        “Well then, start talking or we can both sit here in silence.”
        “I like silence.”  Orchid took a sip from a drink that had been abandoned by its owner hours ago.  Orchid didn’t care, she just needed to take a drink of something to complete the action of her sentence.
        “Fine.”  The man said flatly.  “It’s not like it would have been the highlight of my day, anyway.”
        Suddenly, Orchid burst out.  “A lot of good people are dying because of me.  I had a chance to end something a long time ago, and I didn’t.  And now, people are dying because of it, and if we don’t succeed now, which looks like a real possibility, a lot, lot more people are doing to die.”
        “It?  It what?  And why is it your fault?”
        Orchid took a deep breath.  “Something - I’d rather not say what.  Just say it started over twenty years ago, when I watched the death of my parents.”
        “Hmm.  You must’ve been really young.”
        “I was and I wasn’t.  It’s complicated.  But I could have stopped it and I didn’t.  I couldn’t.  And now we’re all here.”
        “Who killed your parents?”
        “A horrible, horrible monster.  Incapable of feeling, he’s truly evil.  A cold machine if ever there was one.”
        “I see.  So it’s this person who’s causing all the trouble now?”
        “No.  He’s dead, I suppose.  But his spirit, his evil essence, lives on in, well, I guess the closest you could call it would be his offspring.”
        “And it’s his ‘offspring’ that’s causing this trouble?”
        “Yes and no.  Him and someone else, but if I could have been more effective, if I could have done my job, everyone would be alive and happy and none of this would be happening.”
        The man was silent for a while.  Motionless as well.  After a few moments passed, he said, “You must hold this ‘offspring’ responsible for your parents death, huh?”
        “Why shouldn’t I?  He’s just like his ‘dad’.  He would have done the same thing had it been him in that situation.”
        “Now, how do you know that?  How can you be certain of that?”
        The question rendered Orchid speechless.  Her assumption that Fulgore-X was just like Fulgore 2 had always gone unquestioned until now.  Even though the mere thought that Fulgore-X was somehow different from the other 2 cyborgs offended her greatly, it was a good question, one that Orchid couldn’t answer.  Other than Shadow’s death, she basically hadn’t seen Fulgore-X since then.  The other two were always lurking around some corner, trying to kill her or Jago especially.  Seeing that Orchid was having a loss for words, the man continued.
        “You know, this ‘offspring’ could be completely different from his predecessor.  Even though he may appear similar, he might have his own motive.  You know, he might not be out for your and everyone else’s blood, as you seem to believe.  You never know, he might even be...sorry...for what happened in the past.”
        After that, both Orchid and the man stumbled into silence.  Orchid didn’t quite know what to make of the man’s words.  Fulgore-X was just that, a Fulgore, a race of cyborgs that had more evil in their little fingers than Hitler and Stalin had, period.
The two sat side by side for a couple of minutes.  After some time, something happened in the football game that caused a great commotion in both the bar and the restaurant.  Orchid, almost as a reflex, turned to look.  Having her curiosity satisfied, Orchid turned back to the bar, to find something disturbing out of the corner of her eye.  Although it took less than one second for Orchid to glance at the television, as she turned to her side, she was amazed to find that the man was gone...
 

Ultratech Corporation:  Orchid and Jago’s Quarters
 

        Jago laid somewhat comfortably on his back, on his bed.  Although the bed was soft, other matters of the mind couldn’t quite let Jago rest peacefully.
        It had been a week since TJ Combo and Maya died.  Orchid had stormed off, to where Jago will probably never know.  He made a quick search of Ultratech, with no success, and, with a great deal of disappointment, he came back to their quarters to go to bed.  Later, during the middle of the night, Jago was barely aware of the door opening, some small rustling, and finally someone crashing down into Orchid’s bed.  As confirmation, that morning, Jago found the bed unmade and Orchid’s trench coat thrown carelessly onto the floor.  Jago had not seen Orchid since then.
        Orchid hadn’t completely disappeared.  By asking around, Jago could always seem to find out where she had been the hour past.  But he never saw her or came in contact with her.  Whether she was avoiding him, or he was avoiding her, Jago did not know.  He did know that Ultratech was a very big place, and one could easily get lost within, if one so desired.  There was the West Wing of Ultratech, which was dedicated to genuine scientific research.  Jago could not recall having ever been there.
The television was on, but Jago was hardly aware of it.  On the TV was the 24-hour coverage of the fight, provided by Caesars Palace on most pay per view preview channels.  In order to clear his mind, Jago opted to turn up the TV to try to block any deep thoughts that would try to surface.  There was a man and a woman who did the broadcasting, in a news like environment.  They sat at a black, wrap around desk, with the Killer Instinct logo looming behind them.  The man started with his commentary-
        “‘Welcome back everyone.  Of course, you were just seeing highlights from the fight between Tusk and Riptor.  Now, let’s update you on how the tournament stands.’“
        Now it was the woman’s turn.  “‘Right now, there’s only one first round match left.  The three fighters remaining are Storm, Jago, and the fighter who’ll get the second chance, we don’t know who that is.’
        “‘There’s a great deal of speculation about whose going to get that free pass into the second round, many of the callers on our Caesars Palace radio network feel that it should be Jago because he was one of the two who was supposed to face Eyedol, the other being Fulgore of course.’
        “‘Yes, that was truly an awesome fight between Jago and Fulgore back in KI7, which ended in so much controversy, and then Orchid ended up fighting Eyedol, which is why we’re having KI8 now to clear things up.’
        “‘On the other hand, some feel that Storm, the new fighter, should get it because we’ve seen all the new fighters have no success thus far in proceeding in the tournament.’
        “‘Well, unfortunately, all we really can do is wait to see what happens.’
        ““That’s not all we can do!  Let’s update everyone on what’s happened so far on the tournament!  The very first fight was Fulgore-X versus Shadow...’
        “‘I felt that it was a good fight, many expected Fulgore-X to be the runaway winner, but Shadow gave him a good fight, it really was some major bad luck on Shadow’s part.’
        “‘Almost any other fighter, and I think he might have made it into the second round.  But you did get the feeling from minute one that Fulgore-X was going to win no matter what.  I tell you though, Shadow made a strong showing, and I believe that he should definitely try again next year.’
        “‘Our next fight was Tusk and Riptor...’
        “‘Yes, this is the fight you were all just watching.  Tusk came out fighting strong in the beginning, but you could tell that he was very distracted and he got very sloppy in the middle of the fight and lost to Riptor.’
        “‘Then, we have TJ Combo and Cinder.  This was a very interesting fight, a lot of agility on the part of both fighters.”
        “‘Yes it was.  A lot of people have called the end to this fight controversial because it did appear that TJ Combo was trying to get up and couldn’t, not because he physically could not, but many are entertaining the idea that something was holding him down.’
        “‘Either way, it was a win in the record books for Cinder.’
        “Yes, well, our next fight was Kim Wu and Spinal.’
        “‘Oh, this was a blockbuster fight, definitely the best of the tournament so far.  It went back and forth all throughout the match.’
        “‘Kim Wu looked defeated near the end of that fight, but then she really pulled something out of her gut and managed a victory.  That was a stunning fight.’
        “‘Indeed it was.  We can only hope that the second round fights live up to the standard set by that one.  From there we had last year’s winner Orchid, going up against the newcomer Jack.’
        “‘This was a curious match up, we all figured that Jack would be easy work for Orchid, but he really gave her a run for her money.’
        “‘Like Tusk, Orchid seemed to be distracted, but she got her act together in the end and won, but it was still much closer than it should have been.’
        ‘“Then there was Glacius and Sabrewulf.’
        “‘These two just unleashed on each other basically non stop, until somebody collapsed from fatigue, and that was eventually Sabrewulf, so Glacius moves on into the second round.’“
        ‘“And that’s where we stand.  Of course, as was stated earlier, we have yet to see Storm, Jago, and the second chance fighter, so we’ll see either Storm or Jago against the second chancer, and-’“
        The announcer was cut off by the fight alarm.  Jago heard it first, back when Glacius and Sabrewulf’s fight was being described.  It had only taken that long to get from Ultratech to Las Vegas.  Jago didn’t move as the alarm sounded, nor did he make an effort to see who was coming up on the video monitor to his right.
        “‘All right, we’ve been waiting for it and here it is, the final first round fight!  It’s coming out on our computer now...’
        “‘It looks like the second chance fighter will be...Sabrewulf...and he’ll take on...Storm.  So there you have it, Sabrewulf vs. Storm for the final second round position, and Jago gets the free trip into the second round.’
        “‘So we’re going to leave you now to join the fight, but we’ll be back after it ends for highlights, a complete first round recap, and we’ve got some analysts who’ll be dissecting some second round possibilities.
        “‘So now let’s head out to, where is it?  Oh, this’ll take place in China, along the Great Wall, so let’s take you there now to join Sabrewulf vs. Storm...’“
        Jago was neither glad nor disappointed that he got the free spot in the second round.  Instead, he turned over in his bed and went to sleep.
 

Two Hours Later
Ultratech Corporation: Sheridan’s Office
 

        Cinder, Spinal, Sabrewulf, and Riptor stood in front of Sheridan’s desk.  Sabrewulf held his right arm, while blood dripped from his lips.  The other three looked well rested and alert.
        Gargos sat in the big chair.  With his back turned to them, he stared blankly into the wall, as the video monitor was concealed.  Suddenly, he turned swiftly around to face the set of Ultratech fighters.
        “Well, we’ve gotten through the first round of the tournament.  I’d like to congratulate you, Cinder and Riptor, on your first round victories.”
        “Thank you Gargos.”  They both said in unison.
        “Sabrewulf, I’m very disappointed that you lost to Glacius.  He’s a good fighter, but he can’t be Earth’s champion!  He isn’t even from here!  He’s got to be eliminated.  But we’ll deal with that later.  At least you were able to redeem yourself against that Storm fellow.  That’s at least acceptable.”
        “Thank you Gargos.”  Sabrewulf said, in a weak voice.
        “And you, Spinal.  I expected more from you.  How could you lose to Kim Wu?”
        “I don’t know, I - ” Spinal started, but was cut off.
        “You’re not supposed to answer that!  Anyways, all I ask is one simple task.  I just want you to weed out the weaklings, ensure that the person who wins KI is truly the best fighter out of the lot, not just someone who gets lucky.  And you lose to Kim Wu!  Do you expect me to believe that that child could possibly be Earth’s champion?!”
        “No Sir.”  Spinal said, not even sure he should be answering.
        “Not only that, you’ve gone and knocked yourself out of the tournament!  I only have three fighters in there now, along with the others, and that despicable Fulgore-X.  Maybe, if you’re lucky, I’ll find a use for you later on.  Now leave my sight.”
        Spinal turned around and began trudging out of the room.  The other three fighters all felt that maybe Gargos was a little too hard on Spinal.  They also felt that Kim Wu put up a much better fight than probably anyone else so far in the tournament.
Gargos stood.  His eyes narrowed as they followed Spinal out of the room.  It was a look that signaled a certain devious intent.
As Spinal got to the doorway, Gargos called out to him.  Spinal stopped and turned around.  Gargos said nothing, but he closed his eyes and clenched his fists.  Soon, he began to glow purple.  Cinder, Sabrewulf, Riptor, and Spinal especially, were all confused as to what Gargos was doing.
        Suddenly, Sheridan’s body fell into a heap, as Gargos appeared in his natural form, as a fine purple mist.  With a fierce cry, he threw his right arm forwards.  A massive red energy beam emanated from his fist, ripping through the room and finally making contact with Spinal, accompanied by a powerful explosion.  When the dust cleared, the doorway had nearly been destroyed, as the hallway outside was badly singed.  Where Spinal once stood, was now just a lifeless heap of bones.
        The trio of fighters were shocked as they gazed upon the smoldering pile of bones.  In synchronicity, they turned around to Gargos.  By then, he had repossessed Sheridan’s body, and was sitting in the chair.  His face was expressionless.
        “I resurrected him, and I’ll damn sure kill him again.  Let that serve as warning to those who would think about losing to Kim Wu or Glacius in the second round.  You’re all dismissed.  And Cinder, get somebody to fix that door, will you?