In a quaint little Korean butcher shop, a small woman was busy preparing some cold cuts, with the help of her son. She had worked long and feverishly through the night, not out of any financial urgency, for her family had been quite well off, but rather because of a nagging feeling that had been welling up in the pit of her stomach. Something very bad had happened, and any minute now she was going to find out. It was times like this that she wished her husband were home more often, so she could have someone to turn to in her hours of need. It was then that the phone rang. Nervously, she set down the carving knife, washed her hands at the sink, then reached for the phone. "Hello," she said, answering the man on the other end. "Oh, it's you Chang. How're you enjoying..." Not saying a word, she listened to his story, her body going slack, her eyes wide and disbelieving. After several agonizing moments that felt to her like centuries, she found the strength to whisper a goodbye, hang up the phone, and then walked over to her only son. "What is it mother?" He asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist, for she was much smaller than he was, having finally found the strength to grieve openly. "They killed him," she cried. "Someone killed your father, my son. He fought them as best he could, and your Uncle Chang did his best to help him, but, but..." Again she wailed, and when she found her voice again, all she could say was: "They murdered him!" "Why?" he asked. "I don't know, Chang said that they took your father's gloves and ran, and that the one who killed him had a mask, a red scarf and a really stupid hat." Choi Chong Bounge, commonly known as C.C. Bounge, the son of the Tae Kwan Do hero Choi Bounge, stood tall, and glared off into the distance from behind his sunglasses. "Then I will find this oddly dressed man, and when I do find him, I will look him in the eye and I shall say, 'My name is C.C. Bounge. You killed my father. Prepare to die.' and then I will make him pay." The young man's mother shook her head. Her son had grown up as much of a hoodlum as his father. However, at least his father would be proud that his son was a good hoodlum. [---] Kyo ambled around the hills of garbage as he made his way out of the city dump. "Blackheart," he grumbled as he avoided a pool of glowing ooze, "when I get back those bodyguards you sent me are sooo fired." "That could prove difficult." Kyo whipped around, looking into an old, cracked mirror that displayed Blackheart instead of Kyo's reflection. In truth, it was just Kyo's reflection, but the fighter's infernal bond with Blackheart told him otherwise. "After all," the demon prince continued, "they work for me, not you." "Okay, fine, I can't fire them. Can you at least see that they don't suck?" "Well if someone wasn't so much the fool that he leaves the safety of their protection out of his own arrogance, Kusanagi..." "Hey, let's not forget who's keeping everyone off of this scheme of yours, I deserve some respect." "True, your idea to give everyone who could oppose me their own television program was, surprisingly adequate." "And another thing," Kyo said. "Why are you being so nice to me lately? I mean, why am I so important to your plan lately?" If Blackheart had a mouth, he'd be grinning then. "The truth is that when you signed the 'wealth and power' contract back at KOF '97 you agreed to become my lackey when I asked for you." Kyo nodded. The demon never failed to remind him of that part, and in turn, "But I get to keep my soul." "True," Blackheart continued, "but I have chosen you to host my Astral self, so that when the final ceremony is complete, you will be irrevocably transformed into my new earthly body, controlled by my mind, your soul trapped within for eternity as I merge the realms of Hell and Earth with my full might from both dimensions." Kyo stared blankly at the demon for a few moments, then burst out laughing. "No, seriously, big guy, what's your plan?" If Blackheart had a mouth, his jaw would be on the floor right now. "Just get us out of here you idiot," he said at last, satisfied once again at the fact that Kyo had no clue what dire fate awaited him and the world. "I'm just going to stop at city hall first," Kyo said, acting as his fell master's bootlick once more, "there's something I've been meaning to do there for some time." [---] Forgot About Jae Chapter 26: Spoiler Space Set Shining like gold upon the Sea of Chaos by Shelby Scott AKA Darkheart One Buried in the flow of time by Jim "Grahf316" Eperson. Pledged to darkness by David brothers and Mary-Melissa Wilzewski [---] Last time on Forgot About Jae: - Choi had the *other* dream - Patrick Elias kicked arse for the Lord - Angel got butt nekkid. I should warn you she's not in this chapter though. She's still nekkid though in case you're wondering. - Clay9999 is impersonating Kyo, much to Kyo's disgust. - Daniel J. D'Arby is Blackheart's bitch. - Vanilla Ice isn't gay! He's in love too, so he and Dio destroyed Park World. - Rock Howard Killed Choi! [---] The rising sun shone brightly down upon the face of Kim Kaphwan, his polished smile (the one where the light goes *ting* off his teeth) shining out for all to see, his posture heroic, reminding all that the best life was a life of justice where you'd eat your vegetables, say your prayers, and take your vitamins. Beside him now stood the diminutive figure of Choi Bounge, criminal turned hero, striking the pose of victory with his claws ready to shred evil to ribbons. "Thank you for doing this on such short notice," Father Elias said as he paid Rugal the fees for the new statue. "Just doing my job," replied the former demon god turned realtor and sculptor on the side. "Although when the big one goes," he motioned to Chang, who was crying a river at the loss of his friend, "he's going to cost extra. Bronze castings don't grow on trees." "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you and may the Lord watch over you." The two men then parted, Rugal to his truck, Elias to the gathered mourners. "I, I can't believe he's really gone," Chang said between sobs. "If anything it should have been me, what with all the heart attacks I've had." Chang stopped for a second as he thought back to the fight. "And it was because of this heart that I couldn't save him." "Chang," Jae said, patting his former mentor on the back, "you did everything you could. In fact if Park World hadn't been destroyed, you'd have saved Choi's life." "I'm sure Park World was my fault too!" Chang looked up at the statues, "I let everyone down. I'm just a big fat smelly loser." "You're not a loser," Said May Lee as she walked up to him, pulling along a dazed and confused Jhun Hoon. She was dressed normally, except for wearing a checkered tablecloth as a cape and a hemp rope for her belt. "Remember, you smacked the holy Hell out of the Art of Fighting team in KOF 2001 all by yourself, and they're one of the toughest teams around." "And Park world wasn't your fault. If what Garcias said is true," Jae said, "then it was Dio Brando and his lackey who did it." Chang stood up, his eyes burning with Just rage. "Then I'll destroy them myself! Choi will be avenged! Kim would have it no other way!" Chang then began to rant about what he was going to do to the faceless vampire Stand User. Jae sweatdropped at Chang's reversal of attitude, then turned to May Lee. "Nice to see you two could make it." She nodded as they hugged, then immediately stepping back from the murderous Gaze of Jealousy radiating from Jae's Nameless Everpresent Girlfriend. "It wasn't easy," she said, "Jhun went and got himself addicted to several psychotropic drugs in order to see the divine kingdom of Athena, so getting him past customs was a real bitch." Jae nodded, then got down to business. "Chang said Choi's killer was wearing your scarf." "Yes, that was mine. I gave it to them because it apparently belonged to them or was part of some scavenger hunt. They never said what, exactly." "Did you have any idea who they were?" "They gave their names, but since I had given it away, they only stayed long enough to get Skullomania's address and so I didn't get the chance to remember them." "I can help you with that," said a voice from the parking lot. The assembled mourners turned in that direction, and saw Kain Heinlein standing there with a bouquet of lilies in his hand, and behind him was his enforcer, Grant Cameron. "This is a private burial, sirs," Elias said, knowing both men to be sinners tainted by dark power. "Friends and family only." "Just paying my respects," Kain said. "And I can tell these people who killed their midget friend." [---] "Do any of you know who the Hell this G'vock guy is?" Rock Howard asked as his newly acquired talons gingerly held the list of the clothes he still needed. "Never heard of the guy," Sakura said. "Me neither," added Stone. "I couldn't even find word of him through my contacts." "Right then," Rock said with a nod, "we skip that guy's glasses then. I mean, it's not like Jae or Dong have powers granted by Elemental Spirits that are visible only through these glasses or by being a demon or Stand User." It was then that Ralf and Clark rolled past the trio, wrestling each other once again. "It's your turn to take out the trash, Clark!" "Fuck you! I did it last time!" "Okaaay," Rock said as he handed the list to Stone, "we skip the glasses until we find out who G'vock is, so that means Bonker's clown shoes are next." [---] J. P. Polnareff stood at the airport, awaiting his flight on SF2 Airlines, planning his trip to Sweden. he was dressed warmly with a red wool scarf and a similar toque stretched down over his hair, as SF2 flights got very cold. "This is perfect," he said to himself, "I get beautiful women, good food, and best of all, the toughest thing to come out of there was team New Faces, so there'll be nothing there to kill me!" J.P. took that moment to laugh like a madman at the fool-proof nature of his brilliant plan. That is until he heard a young man say: "You are an oddly dressed man with a red scarf and funny hat." J.P. turned to face a tall, lanky, wiry, handsome young man in Khaki trousers with black suspenders, a green muscle shirt, and really cool shades. But what really drew J.P.'s attention was that he wore razor-sharp clawed gloves on his hands. The youth pointed at Polnareff and said: "My name is C.C. Bounge. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Polnareff summoned up Silver Chariot, but in the time it took to do that, C.C. had moved with blinding speed to close the gap between them, and cut the unlucky Frenchman into thin slices. "Wait," C.C. said as he stood up from the bloodbath, "Father's killer was wearing a mask, and you weren't. My sincerest apologies." And So C.C. fled into South Town as J.P. respawned just in time to learn he missed his flight. [---] Mayor Rodriguez wrinkled his nose as he sat across from Kyo for this emergency meeting. They had sat together in his office for 5 minutes now, not saying a word. At last, the mayor spoke to this arrogant Geese Howard wannabe. "Did you take a bath in crap or something? You smell like something E. Honda ate." Both men simultaneously shouted "To E. Honda!" "No," Kyo said, "but I hear your budget's gone dry after the Giga Bowser incident and trying to rebuild the areas he crushed." "And if that rumour were true?" "I've got an idea on that, and I call it the Fire Tax." "Fire tax?" "Yeah. Tax everyone in this city who uses fire every time they toss a fireball or throw a flaming uppercut. That should get you the money you need right there." "And how much of a cut do you want, you little worm?" "Let's say 25%, in exchange for a donation of seven million dollars to the city treasury tomorrow?" Mayor Rodriguez glared at the arrogant young punk, who was in fact the true power behind the city, much as Geese had been those many years ago. But Kyo was right, they needed the money, so until some brave young Hero of Justice (TM) came along to drop Kyo off of the roof of Kusanagi Tower (formerly the Geese tower), he had to be at this brat's beck and call. "You have a deal. Now get out of my office." [---] Cable and Strider Hiryu, two thirds of the dreaded Scrub Corps, were walking back to their posts at the Temple of Athena after enjoying a hearty lunch at their favorite restaurant, Cheeseburgertime (Where the only condiment is cheese!). And because it was Hiryu's birthday, he got to take home a Cheeseburger-shaped Cheeseburgermeister crown. "Y0 D00D!" said Cable, "U r0XX0rrZ! 4|| was S\/\/337 L337." "..." Was Strider's reply. "\/\/33| FuXZZ0r 7|-|00$ 00$#@ L00$3rZZ!" "..." It was then that a certain someone ran up to Strider and said: "You wear a stupid hat, red scarf and mask. My name is C.C. Bounge. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Fortunately for Strider he was much faster than Polnareff, and thus was able to guard himself in time from the full brunt of C.C.'s speed slash attack. However, the force of the blow was enough to knock him unconscious. This in turn provoked Cable to fire randomly at C.C. with his plasma rifle. But the son of Choi had the sense to flee, and thus escaped the full wrath of an angry scrub. Cable himself was about to follow, but then he noticed that the Church of Athena, haven to the world's cheap fighters and scrubby tactics, was burning to the ground amidst pink flames courtesy of OOSHA. "D@/\/\17." [---] "Talk," Jae said. "If you had a hand in Uncle Choi's death you answer to me." Kain shook his head. "I had nothing to do with it. However, not only can I tell you who, but who helped him, and why." "So who was it?" asked NEG. "Why none other than Jae's old friend Rock Howard. He's got quite the grudge against him you know." Jae stepped back in honest surprise and disbelief before looking angry again. "Rock did this? He hates me? Now I know you're lying, because Rock's been my best friend for years. Dong's the one he hates for getting made Hero of Justice (TM) back in school despite the fact that Rock and I got the better grades while he was stealing our women." "Oh no," Kain said with a chuckle, "he hates you quite vehemently now. Never said why though. However since I came to deliver information, would you like to hear the rest of my story?" "Go on," Elias said. "Young Rock is being assisted by his cousin, Stone Krauser, latest heir to the House of Stroheim, and Sakura Kasunago, the sinister and slutty Schoolgirl." "Choi told me 'bout her," Chang said, "if there was ever a Shoto since Akuma to go to the dark side it was her." "Might I finish without interruption?" Kain said with a grimace, and getting several sorries in response. "Thank you. Rock intends to destroy you Jae, and to do so he's seeking out the fragments of the Armour of Invincibility, the same armour that was once worn by the Gaudemus family line." Jae raised his hand before he spoke. "Wait, you mean that suit from the Fatal Fury movie was real? "Yes." "But what Chang said Rock was wearing didn't even look half as impressive as what was in the movie. If anything, he looked ridiculous!" "That's Hollywood for you. Image over accuracy. But nonetheless, they did get one thing right: The first pieces made him the strongest fighter on Earth. The final piece will make him a God." Kain paused to place his flowers at the base of Choi's statue. "You know Rock isn't normally this ruthless and brutal. " "I still don't believe Rock is capable of this, so that much is true." "In fact he was quite squeamish about killing anything other than undead. However, it's a side effect of the suit. In exchange for almost unlimited power, the wearer becomes the nastiest powergaming munchkin since Black Mage." "Well that doesn't sound too bad," Chang said, "we just need to get the suit off of him." "Oh yes, the suit also makes the wearer evil for good." "Evil cannot be forgiven!" the gathered team Korea shouted. Except for Jhun, who thought the sausages were about to eat the giant lobster. Jae paused, then asked Kain, "Wait, why have you been giving us this information?" Kain smirked. "Aside from showing that upstart who's boss? You got Dio out of my mansion. Consider this a returned favor." And with that, Kain and Grant turned and left the cemetery to return to their Limousine. Jae and company returned to the funeral service. [---] Garuda was not a happy camper. Of course, as a demonic bounty hunter from the pits of hell, Garuda was never happy. However, It could get really pissed off if It wanted to. And right now, Garuda was really pissed off. It was going to have another join The Hunt, one that relied on trickery and games to catch The Prey. But this was the will of The Master, and thus Garuda was in no position to argue when Daniel J. D'Arby stepped out of a portal from Hell to stand beside Garuda. "I say hello there my armoured compatriot," Daniel said with a cunning gleam in his eye. "Your boss Blackheart said we have the same goal, so I figured we could work together in finding these spirits he's so worried about." The grim visage of the Oni warrior did not turn to face Daniel, nor did Garuda speak. "Right, you knew that of course. Now, where'd you last see these spirits we're supposed to be looking for?" Silence. "So how'll we be getting around, good sir?" No response. "Nice weather we're having." Still no reaction. That miffed Daniel. He didn't trust anything that wouldn't react to his comments, so he decided to pull out the big guns. Daniel, forgetting for a moment exactly what he was talking to, got in Garuda's face and shouted. "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" This time, Garuda responded by punching the annoying gambler in the face. When Daniel regained consciousness, he found that Garuda had indeed found ready transporation, A custom Harley Davidson motorcycle, mounted by Garuda, with an attached sidecar, where Daniel now sat. The two rode like the wind, paying little heed to traffic laws as they cruised through the city. but as they were just cresting a hill, Garuda shot out his arm spike, and destroyed the link between sidecar and motorcycle. The Oni paused to take in the melody of the gambler's screams of abject terror, then watching to make sure the mortal would survive, and thus resume the search, and then having done that, Garuda rode off into the night. If anything, Garuda preferred to work alone. [---] Shang Tsung, Scorpion, Goro and Armour King stood around the water cooler outside Kyo's office, discussing Kyo's recent change of heart. "Is it just me," Goro said, "or is that little prick actually paying attention to what we tell him now?" "He's less of a prick now too," Scorpion added. "Not once has he gone on about 'his fire'." "That's a releif," Armor King said, "if he kept that up, Blackheart or none, I'd have snapped his neck." "And you know what that means," Shang Tsung said, as the others agreed, "he's a fake." The four lieutenants rushed into Kyo's office, only to find the man who claimed to be Kyo gone, with only a note on his desk to explain. It read: "We have kidnapped President Kusanagi. Unless our demands are met, we will be forced to burn him alive. Real slow-like. Signed, The Firebrands." "Well," Scorpion said, "if they really did grab Kyo, you guys have to admit that was pretty ironic." The others nodded in agreement just before the real Kyo walked in the door. "Okay, you losers," Kyo said, "break time's over. Get back to doing your jobs, you cheap imitators of me. I've got a lot of money coming in soon and I intend to roll around in it without getting kidnapped." "Yes Kyo, it's good to have you back" Shang Tsung lied, "and as for your impostor, we figured him out and had him dealt with." "Oh yeah, the guy who sent me to the dump. Good job, you finally did something without screwing up. Now get Yuki and her clones in here. It's time for my sponge bath." [---] Jae and NEG walked back through the streets of Southtown to their apartment, having left at the conclusion of Choi's burial service. Now, they would mourn, and the day after they would seek out his killer. "I have to admit," NEG said, "it was good to see you stick up for Rock like that." "He's my best freind," Jae replied as the two of them drew closer together, "of course I'll stick up for him. I mean, we've known each other for years now. Okay, maybe not this past year, but you get the idea." "But what about this costume Kain was talking about?" "If Rock is doing this, then that costume's to blame for what's happened to him." Jae stopped and tilted his head. "Hey, did you hear something?" "No, what did it sound like?" Just then, they heard "My name is C.C Bounge. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" Sensing the Curbstomping of Evil, Jae raced around the corner to find C.C. Bounge smacking Galford senseless. "C.C.?" Jae asked in amazement. "Jae?" C.C. answered, as he let Galford go and approached his 'cousin'. "Searching for your father's killer?" "Yes. I am sorry I missed the burial, but as your father said, evil cannot be forgiven." Jae shook his head. "Yes, that's true, but that didn't entail beating up innocent bystanders while trying to find the evil." C.C. stepped back. "Don't expect me to ask for your help, Jae. I could use it, but goes against my code of the violent angsty bishonen." Jae nodded, he'd forgoteen how stubborn C.C. could be. "Then I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to attack the innocent." Before C.C. could respond, Jae kicked him in the head, knocking the avenging son to the ground. "So," Jae said as he helped to carry C.C. back to their place, "While I have no argument against your pursuit of justice, it is my duty to reform you of your hoodlum logic, and teach you to become a true Hero of Justice." As the duo turned trio walked away, the spirits of Kim Kaphwan and Choi Bounge faded into view. "Like Father, like Son," said Kim. "Jae truly is my son." "Be at peace my spirit is, for good it is that C.C. be put on the straight and narrow." "Just like old times, eh?" "Shut up." 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 And so ends another chapter of forgot about Jae, setting the stage for the battles to come. for those who didn't figure it out, C.C. is based off of Cool Choi. Special thanks goes to Gavok and Zemlya for plot ideas, because chapter 25 was a hard act to follow. Up next is Gavok, so stay tuned, and remember: SIGN UP FOR NEW HAVEN! 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 Norimaro, International Nerd of Mystery was cruising along in his Shaguar, looking to find the latest sexy babe to add to his legions of conquests. pulling to the curb, he got out, and hit upon the first woman he saw, a real sexy blonde bird in a black dress. "Do I make you horny baby? Do I do I make you randy?" The woman's gaze turned murderous as she reached into her habit, and in one fluid motion, drew, ignited and cleft Norimaro in twain with her Lightsabre. "Perversity will not be tolerated," shouted Sister Mary Matrix: Nun with a Lightsabre.