Please note, the reports of the destruction of Salt Lake City were greatly exaggerated. Still, the radiation from the nearby nuke strike forced evacuation of the city.
The KOF 1995 Finale
On New Years Eve in the Colosseum in Rome, the KOF 1995 takes place, broadcast pay per view. The floor of the Colosseum is temporarily overlaid to provide a surface.
The party team of Alexi, Kagero, and Roy makes it to the semi-finals and lose to the Iori team of Iori, Remy (yes the SFIII guy), and Yomishi. The party never makes it to Iori. Yomishi with his control of evil spirits, crushes the party after they defeat Remy.
Return to Thailand
Dan hears from a police friend in Thailand that the slavery ring has continued so the party heads from the King of Fighters tournament to Thailand where they find an arena in Bangkok. Sneaking into the basement, they discover Vance, the man who keeps Shadoloo paperwork flowing. He leads the party on a chase through the fighting pit of the arena where he teleports, leaving the party to face a deadly array of kick boxers, including Zod Randal, Riley Randal, and Cyclone Sirus.
The other party members headed down the wrong hallway and are chased into the arena with 20 or 30 thugs at their heels. The thugs skid to halt when they see the fight about to begin.
The fight pushes the party to the limit like never before. Sirus and Zod are a terrible force, and the fight ends with Zod and Roy nail to tooth. By a narrow margin and by drawing upon a sort of group will gained as a supernatural gift in a previous victory, Roy manages to defeat Zod and then nearly collapses. Easy prey to the horde of thugs watching the fray if it weren't for Kim Kaphwan bursting and sending them flying. (The Tae Kwon Do fighter for justice just happened to notice the party sneaking into the shadowy building from the street and decided to check it out).
And so, Shadoloo's Thailand slaving operation is ended.
Interception at France
The party discovers that money from the slaving operation is being sent to a man in France to finance something called Project Chimera. So, the party goes there and are assigned an Interpol mail boy (with dreams of being an agent) to assist them. The party manages to take out the man who would receive his money and take his place. However, the party unfortunately injures an undercover Interpol agent who had infiltrated that organization. And unfortunately, that man was Leona Heidern's boyfriend.
The courier is amazingly swift but the party manages to catch him in an alley. Now, the party takes note of the many references to Hong Kong
Also, Dan catches the performance of a new band, Shag Ri La (Chris, Yashiro, Shermie). Outside the bar, Dan encounters Goenitz who aims a wind drill at his heart and tells him, "Every species can smell its own extinction."
From New York to Japan
The characters rush to the aid of their werewolf ally Karren Donner when it was feared Shadoloo was after her hide again. Shadoloo has plans to vivisect her again and use her genetics to create monsters.
The party encounters a kitsune (Japanese fox shapeshifter) child at the site of a massacre of many kitsune. Kagero, the resident Ninja, continues with her tradition of forming bonds with female shapeshifters (hengeoyokai). Apparently, some force wants to start a bloody war in Japan by slaughtering shafeshifters. The party relocates Karen Donner to Japan despite threats that werewolves are not welcome in Japan. She hasn't been doing her best to fit in, such as leaving the Hino mansion and encountering thugs, kitsune, demon hunters, and oni. She has recently been apprehended by the authorities (with a firearm on her person).
Hong Kong
The party heads to Hong Kong in early February, using the various cards from the French Shadoloo agent's wallet, to check out Project Chimera. They first head to the Dragon's Den, the card of which has the initials R.Y. on the back. This bar is not a dive but is quite seedy. It is also owned by Ryuji Yamazaki who notices the party when it is pointed out they want to speak to the party. Remembering that he hates "those guys" because he almost drowned in lava, he and his Tong attack. The party beats him and his gang, stealing his knife and a picture from his wallet. Also, there's a business card from Geese Howard inside.
In the newspaper, their are reports of people having been killed over the last two nights, apparently ripped apart and mostly eaten by what must be a wild animal or animals.
The party meets with Ling Xao of the Thrashing Dragons. Not knowing about the party's actions, she tells them that Yamazaki was a small-time guy who carved out a piece of Hong Kong for himself. He's useful to hire for various purposes and does good work. She points out to them a suspicious lab that the Devil-Tigers are associated with in the industrial sector. The party also learns of a warehouse run by the Devil-Tigers but decide not to go against it after giving it a look (smartly not wanting any scenes from Hardboiled).
The party checks it out and breaks in. They speak to a scientist in a lab from which something scary obviously escaped, ripping through concrete. Apparently, a creature created from many different sources escaped still unfinished. The scientist is trying to discover what it's mostly behavior will be based on its partial development. He sights funding problems as the reason for the disaster. He gives the party his guess as to where the monster will head next on the third night of its escape. The party recognizes one DNA source as The Scourge, Shadoloo's creation, the other sample is labeled UNKNOWN.
And so, the party splits up and wanders the streets carrying plenty of raw meat on them, hoping to attract the beast. And they do. They monster is relatively fast with claws that could easily disembowel with one slice; however, with Repeating Fireballs, Spinning Piledrivers, an AK-47 lent out from the Thrashing Dragons, and a LAW rocket launched mysteriously from a rooftop it goes down. Leaping from the rooftop is a little cute blonde girl with a picnic basket and a red hood. She collects her money from her suddenly appearing manager, smokes a cigar, and speeds off. The party just blinks dumbly.
The Return of Chi Lin and Lung Tsao
The party returns to Tiger Labs to put an end to its monster-making.
The lab is being dismantled. One truckload of stuff has been removed, one truck is being loaded, and another is waiting. The triad members are led by Lung Tsao who is protected by his two Wu Shu bodyguards, Lau Lo and Ming Fei. Chi Lin leaps from the rooftop, his .44 blazing with deadly accuracy. Guards meant to go up against the monster come out with proton cannons but they fare poorly against Chi Lin's .44 Desert Eagle.
This time, the battle against the bodyguards goes well, and the party puts tracers on them to find Lung Tsao.
Kagero and Bara, who read Chinese go over the documents stolen from Tiger Labs over the next night and day. The lab was doing work for Shadoloo, enhancing monsters. Apparently, the Syndicate still holds sway with the Devil-Tigers, but the project had approval from Mature which may mean that Mature has usurped Rugal's role as a major Syndicate leader. Also, there is a letter from Dr. Kharnov Von Krippler of the Hammer Empire to Dr. Vergenheim of Shadoloo, discussing theories of genetics.
Nightmares and Exploding Guys
There is growing distrust between Daniel and the rest of the party, due to his relationship with the vampire Rebecca Maxwell. Dan's dreams start becoming twisted, combining fears of the Orochi, Sarah, and of the dark forces at work in his life. That very night, a mental case pays a visit to Dan, afraid that the canadian might try to take away his mannequin head (which is possessed and is his friend). Also that night, Yamazaki pays Roy a visit and recovers a personal photo that was stolen when the party attacked him at his club, the Dragon's Den.
Also in Hong Kong, the party comes face to face with the new battle drug Rage when tracking down and shutting down a child prostitution ring in Hong Kong. A big guy explodes when Kagero does a Chi Breaker punch on him during a major fight at a two-story restaurant. Then, the party heads to a smaller building to take out the trash. Fortunately, Chun Li and Fei Long help out when Sagat shows up.
In the words of the other Storyteller, this is what our group has been up to:
Scorched by the Burning Wheel
1. Chaos in Cairo
Kagero, Roy, and Dan get a hot tip that the second half of the title deed which is pivotal in a blackmail scheme of a navy seal is in the possession of Omar Al-Jabbar, an enigmatic Egyptian Merchant. A meeting is set up with Aziz Fekesh, Omar’s right-hand man when they were ambushed by a horde of ninja, who make off with the document and vanish. The ninjas belong to a clan of supernatural assassins called the Burning Shadows, who execute the will of a cabal called the Burning wheel. The trail leads to Hong Kong, where our heroes trace the movements to the offices of Amalgamated Exports LTD, where the president, an Englishman named Valmonte, berated the ninjas for failing. Little did anybody know that Fekesh pulled the ol’ switcheroo and the Burning Shadows got a fake document.
(impromptu tournament, meeting with Xiang Fei, another tournament, showdown with Lung Tsao at a Devil-Tiger base)
2. INDEED!!!!!
After an unholy encounter with Lung Tsao and the devil tigers, Roy intercepts a drug shipment of the new recreational drug, Rave, and Rage, a combat drug. It seems Overlord Rick is a little strapped for cash and is increasing the rate of drug export to bankroll his new schemes. Roy summons Bara, Alexi, and Kagero and to the case and they unearth the fact that Amalgamated Exports is handling the shipments of Rage and Rave to the U.K. They fight the fighters guarding the shipment and confront the Lee brothers, (Indeed). After succeeding in vanquishing the Rage-hyped fighters, our heroes battle into Valmont’s apartment and confront him, where it is learned that not only is he a member of the burning wheel Cabal but he works for Shadoloo too. They fight honorable and doggedly, but the heroes are defeated. Valmont says to Tohru “Please take out the trash.” And Bara, Kagero, and Roy awaken on a garbage scow that is 10 miles out to sea.
3. Meanwhile, at the blue lotus
Dan has a scheme. He is trying to get a 150-year old caitiff and a 7 tailed kitsune to work together to unravel the mysteries of the defiler. And in under 5 minutes he has spills both women biggest secrets, and a tense situation devolves into anarchy. Nina, the kitsune, summons a bastet to her side. Rebecca the caitiff summons Mr. Hate and the gentleman’s club pays the price. When the smoke clears Nina is out like a light, Rebecca is limping away and Dan is frantic. Dan fines Rebecca cowering in the alley before an enraged former member of the kings of rock, Hunter. Dan and Hunter fight and Hunter wins. Dan awakens later and there are no supernatural females to be seen.
4. The Double Cross
The party gets ahold of a photo of Rick’s underling, Valmonte, talking to Leopold R. Tanis, Overlord Rick’s arch-rival in the shadoloo hierarchy. Valmonte wants to keep the photo secret to keep his conspiracy under wraps. Our Heroes decide to confront Valmont, but fall into a trap not meant for them. Old foes resurface to thwart them, but are quickly defeated. This allows Overlord Rick’s personal hatchetman, Edge, and Frostbite, whom the trap was meant for, to bypass them all and plunder Valmont’s office.
5. Rage Across Japan
After pulling two of Lung Tso’s main support pillars out from under him by liberating the families of his henchmen, the party splits up. Roy and Dan go to Canada to place the liberated people in a safehouse, Bara ,Kagero, Alexi, and Sarah trek to Japan to address the concerns of their missing gaijin garou friend, because an unattended gaijin garou in a land ruled be beast courts is trouble waiting to happen. The trail leads to a warehouse where biochems are being shipped out. They party fights Too Cool, Boris “The Bear” Knockimov, and the deadly Scarlett Fever and are defeated, and left lying on the concrete floor.
6. Edge! You Idiot!
They awaken and follow the shipment north to a factory where they meet up with Karen Donner, a Black Fury. Inside the factory Overlord Rick is mass producing his drugs and his monsters, and defending the place is none other than Edge! A fight ensues and shortly Karen is tossed over the railing onto the conveyor belt below, landing on a case of loaded rage injectors. A loud, low roar shakes the building and the fight stops. Edge: "Let me guess, that was bad, wasn’t it?" Bara: "You could say that." Edge: "Right. Okay new plan. Here’s my impersonation of Brave Sir Robin." And our heros fight a tremendous battle with a 25 foot tall frenzying garou.
7. The Russian Angle
A week passes and without warning, the heroes are in the prison of a Siberian Spetsnaz base being interrogated by Leopold R. Tanis who wants some answers, but they escape before too much is revealed. They make a desperate deal with MI6 to extract them in exchange for a service. They journey across the depths of the Siberian tundra and escape.
8. A Diamond in the rough.
MI6’s favor is to shut down a rogue diamond mine in Angola. It is being run by a rebel who is backed by Shadowloo, They fight the rebel, and his Rick-Provided minions: Rachael Guycarlow, Rick’s prodigal champion, Brockenmeyer a killer cyborg, Cleopatra an Egyptian princess, and a beautiful scorpion woman. They shut down the operation and pocket a few diamonds to boot!
9. Showdown with Valmonte
This is waiting to happen. Will Bara, Kagero, Alexi, Dan, Roy, and anyone else who they can talk into standing with them be able to overcome the might of Valmonte, Tohru, Vinnie Finn, Ratso, and “Shades” Chow? The party is outnumbered because Tohru is big enough for 4 people.