Dazed and aching with pain, Chun-Li slowly became aware of being lifted up off the ground and hoisted over what felt like a shoulder. And she thought she was fairly certain of who's shoulder it was.
She blearily opened her eyes to find herself staring down at the spider-shaped straps across Juri's back, who was carrying her across the deserted highway. The sun had finally peeked out enough to tint the sky with a mild rosy hue, or perhaps that was the still receding aura of the Feng Shui Engine.
"Put me down," demanded Chun-Li, feeling a trickle of blood slide out of her mouth.
Juri chuckled.
"Put me down!" repeated Chun-Li more forcefully. Her head was spinning, her mouth hurt and her whole body felt numb from the impact.
"If you insist dear," said Juri with a sigh, and she dropped Chun-Li unceremoniously to the ground and proceeded to drag her by the arms instead towards the smoldering wreckage.
The car was unrecognizable. The smell of burnt metal and rubber was sickening. Tires were strewn across the landscape, doors twisted beyond recognition. Chun-Li cried out as the shattered glass and gravel littering the roadway cut into her arms and legs.
Chun-Li now realized what Juri had been doing when she had glimpsed her squirming and twisting in the backseat, and she inwardly cursed herself for not taking more precaution. She should have known a fighter of Juri's flexibility would have been able to work her cuffed hands underneath her legs from behind so as to get her arms in front of her.
Juri tossed Chun-Li against the shattered dashboard, which lay sideways on the ground against a broken seat. The bent steering wheel jutted out and was one of the few pieces still visibly intact. Weakened and dizzy, Chun-Li tried to aim a kick at Juri from her position on the ground, only to have Juri casually step aside and respond with a kick of her own to Chun-Li's jaw, sending her reeling back.
"That's payback," said Juri, wagging a finger at Chun-Li and pointing to her own bruised jaw, the broken handcuffs dangling from her wrists. "Now, if you play nicely, I will too," she added patronizingly. Her hair had come completely undone and was now a wild mess of black from which three pink rings haphazardly hung in the tangles that had been her horns. The effect might have been comical under different circumstances, but now it almost made her look almost more threatening.
Juri took an item off her shoulder, and Chun-Li realized it was her rucksack. She tried to rise again, only to have Juri thrust a foot into her chest, keeping her immobilized against the dashboard.
Balancing on one leg while the other kept Chun-Li incapacitated, Juri proceeded to rifle through the bag. "My god, you're a walking arsenal," said Juri, as she pulled out Chun-Li's passport, along with a taser, a knife, and handgun. Chun-Li's froze, but Juri simply looked the weapon over and tossed onto the ground in disinterest.
"Oh sweetheart, you should know that's not my style," said Juri calmly at seeing Chun-Li's expression. "Well now, this is more like it." She pulled out a new pair of handcuffs and grinned, twirling them on a long finger. Chun-Li tried to lunge away, but Juri threw herself on top of Chun-li, who had the wind knocked out of her while Juri proceeded to grab her by the wrists and lock them through the mangled steering wheel so that Chun-Li was immobilized sitting on the ground with her arms locked above her.
Juri then sat herself on top of Chun-Li's legs, her weight preventing Chun-Li from moving them, and continued ferreting around in the sack.
"Ah! Here we go!" she said with a cry of triumph, withdrawing her pink spiked gauntlets from the bag. She then turned to look at Chun-Li, a broad grin across her face as reached behind her head and yanked from her mess of hair, Chun-Li's hair ribbon. Chun-Li let out an involuntary cry of dismay. The knot was still intact, holding a few strands of Juri's hair with it, but the ribbon was unrecognizable, charred and torn beyond repair.
"Did you really think a little piece of ribbon could stop me?" she sneered, twirling the smoldering piece of tattered white silk around her finger and cradling her gauntlets in the other. "The Engine is located in my eye, but it powers my whole body, something that doesn't require sight to do. I could have broken free whenever I wanted." She smirked at Chun-Li and raised a wrist to her mouth, drawing her tongue along a thin red slice where handcuffs had cut into her.
Chun-Li flushed with anger as she realized the reality of Juri's words in disbelief. Juri had been playing with her the entire time, goading her on to just the right level so Chun-Li would come after her. It hadn't even been necessary for Juri to free her hands from underneath her legs. Juri had simply wanted to play, and she'd won her game.
Infuriated, Chun-Li launched herself forward in an attempt to head-butt Juri, but the handcuffs and Juri sitting on her legs prevented her from getting close enough. She snarled and spit on Juri's halter top, her saliva dark pink with blood. Juri appeared not care. "We're playing nicely, dear," she said, squeezing Chun-Li's cheeks and shaking her head from side to side patronizingly.
She let go and surveyed the mangled ribbon around her finger. "Well sorry about that Chunny," said Juri with a pout, still observing the mutilated ribbon. "I guess I broke it. I'll just have to borrow this one instead."
"No!" shouted Chun-Li, as Juri yanked the second ribbon out of Chun-Li's hair. "Give it back!" Juri had already destroyed one of her precious hair ribbons, she was not about to let her violate the second. Juri ignored her and slowly rubbed the silk fabric against her cheek.
She looked straight at Chun-Li, and for the first time Chun-Li fully appreciated the difference between Juri's two eyes. The Feng Shui Engine was a vibrant, unnatural pink. It was glassy, shiny, and overbright, whereas Juri's right eye was a lighter shade of fuchsia, and without the glossy mechanical sheen. Chun-Li wondered if her right eye was naturally that shade, or if the Feng Shui Engine's aura tinted it thus. She saw with a chill, that she could see herself reflected in Juri's right eye, but not in the Feng Shui Engine.
"It's a terrible thing to lose your eyesight," Juri said in an oddly offhand voice as she looked at the ribbon. "Even half of it. Sure, S.I.N. can shove whatever fancy technology they want into my face, but you never forget that you have only one, real eye."
Juri was not smiling anymore. She was glaring into Chun-Li's face with a pained look of anger and…was it jealousy?
"Let's see how you like it," snarled Juri, and she grabbed Chun-Li by the hair again.
"Stop it!" shrieked Chun-Li, as she struggled to twist her head away, but Juri thrust the hair ribbon over her eyes and yanked it tight in the back of her head. Chun-Li gasped as she felt the knot catch her hair.
Chun-Li rotated her head desperately, outraged as her vision was obscured by white. But in the midst of her indignation, she thought she now understood why Juri had seemed so particularly distraught upon regaining consciousness, before she had comprehended her situation. Juri's eyesight was so precious to her and she valued it so much; being blindfolded and unable to see at all must have been incredibly disturbing, maybe even traumatic.
Chun-Li shook her head. Now was not the time to analyze Juri's psyche, or lack thereof. She had to get free of these handcuffs. She figured her best bet would be to break them with brute strength, but without the convenient abilities of the Feng Shui Engine, it would prove a bit harder for her than it had been for Juri. She began pulling on the handcuffs in an attempt to break or bend the chain connecting the bracelets, feeling them grate against the steering wheel.
A rummaging noise informed her that Juri had resumed going through her bag. Chun-Li heard the continual thunks of more objects been tossed onto the ground. Chun-Li tried to knock Juri off of her, but Juri simply moved herself further onto Chun-Li's lap and casually locked her legs around Chun-Li's waist.
"Ah! Here we are!" said Juri finally. Chun-Li did not know what exactly Juri had found, but an odd little -click-click- of buttons told her that it was the keypad of her phone.
"Do you know everyone?" demanded Juri in a voice of mock irritation as she was no doubt skimming through Chun-Li's many contacts. "I ought to text a load of people and run up your phone bill," she giggled. It wasn't when until the clicking stopped that Chun-Li realized in horror and complete bewilderment that Juri was actually calling someone.
"What are you doing?" yelled Chun-Li. Juri ignored her.
"Hello, Chun-Li?" suddenly came the deep voice of William Guile, slightly distorted through the phone. "You were supposed to be at the airport 20 minutes ago. What's going on?"
"Oi," said Juri. "Get your Yankee-ass down here. Chunny needs your help. I blew up the car. We're on route—"
There was a pause, in which Juri mumbled in annoyance, "Where the hell are the road signs?"
"Who is this?" demanded Guile. "Juri? Is that you? What the hell have you done with Chun-Li?"
"Guile!" shouted Chun-Li. "We're still on Route 26! Just five minutes from the exit to the airfield! Juri – hrmm!"
Juri had placed her hand quite forcefully over Chun-Li's mouth. Chun-Li felt the blood from her lips smear across her cheeks with revulsion. "Yeah, what she said," muttered Juri casually. "Look for the wrecked car and the big hole in the road. Laters."
Guile's shouts were cut short with the little beep of the phone's END button.
As Chun-Li digested the bizarre act of Juri turning herself in to Guile, she realized the clicking of the phone at resumed.
"Now, if you don't mind officer," said Juri, still keeping her hand firmly over Chun-li's mouth despite her efforts to twist away. "I have one more call to make."
Chun-Li continued tugging on the handcuffs. She was sure she could feel the chains beginning to bend. She heard the click and beep of phone buttons, and then silence.
"Who is this?" Chun-Li heard a male voice she did not recognize demand suddenly.
"Hey, I'm in America. South Carolina," said Juri in a commanding voice. "I'll be at the Columbia airport in twenty minutes. Get me on a plane."
"Juri, is that you?" the man on the other end of the phone demanded. "What's going on? Why did you fail to report two hours ago and not board your scheduled flight from Columbia in the first place?"
"I got held up. Jeez, cut me some slack, will you?"
"We're not your servants Juri. I can't fall to your whims to come retrieve you from your mistakes -"
"Cut the crap," said Juri, sounding thoroughly irritated. "I'm not asking you to come get me. Just get me on a plane."
"You expect me to meet your demands after you have failed to—"
"Twenty minutes Seth," cut in Juri. "And if there's not a clear ride through customs and a ticket out of here waiting for me, I'll be hijacking a plane instead."
There was a click and the phone went silent. Chun-Li's mind was swimming in confusion, as she simultaneously wondered why Juri had turned herself in to Guile, how she expected to get to the airport, and above all, this crucial connection to Seth, identified leader of S.I.N. But her mess of thoughts was abruptly halted, as Juri suddenly began crowing with laughter.
"What a loser!" she howled, to Chun-Li's bewilderment. "He doesn't suspect anything!"
"What are you planning?" demanded Chun-Li, still straining against the handcuffs.
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," purred Juri, patting Chun-Li playfully on the head. "But I'll leave it up to you as to whether or not you delete that troublesome number I just called off your phone."
There was a pause, leaving Chun-Li stunned as to why Juri had just intentionally left her information. And why wasn't she fleeing? Guile was certainly on his way and would be here within minutes.
Suddenly she felt Juri's hand against her cheek. She tried to twist away, but Juri persisted , her hands cupping either side of Chun-Li's face, who could only guess that had she been able to see, she would have been looking straight into Juri's eyes.
A sharp stinging caused Chun-Li to give an involuntary cry of pain. Juri had run her thumb across Chun-Li's split lip.
"Look Chun-Li," Juri said in a voice that took Chun-Li completely by surprise. It did not drawl in her usual harshness or tease with any amount of playfulness. "I wish more than anyone that our circumstances were different. That we weren't stuck in our roles. You can believe me or not, I don't care. But I'm not going to jail. I'd get bored. Sure, I could break out, but it would be a waste of my time. It's nothing personal. You've got your job, I've got mine. But believe me when I say I wish it didn't have to work that way."
"You will be brought to justice," said Chun-Li, still trying to rid herself of Juri's grasp. "Maybe not today, maybe not even by me, but you can't keep running forever. You will be stopped."
Chun-Li thought she could sense Juri smiling.
"Well then I'll just have to hope it's by you," said Juri. "But if you ever get tired of being the 'good cop,' I'll be waiting."
There was a sudden roar of a car engine fast approaching. Chun-Li jerked her head in the direction of the noise, praying it was Guile.
"Oh, that's my cue dear!" said Juri, as Chun-Li felt Juri's hands drop suddenly from her face and her body jump up from off her numb legs. "Sorry we don't have more time! Now if you'll excuse me, I have an organization to take over."
Chun-Li heard the vehicle screeching to a halt and a door flung open; heavy combat boots pounding the pavement.
"Guile!" yelled Chun-Li, now desperately tugging against the weakening chain of the handcuffs. If she could just get free, she could help Guile.
"HAN! ON YOUR KNEES!" shouted Guile's voice, and Chun-Li pictured him holding a gun. She distinctly heard Juri yawn exaggeratedly.
"That's no way to talk to a lady," said Juri in a voice of mock anger and indignation. Chun-Li could practically see her wagging a patronizing finger.
There was a BANG of gunfire that made Chun-Li yelp with alarm, accompanied by a brilliant flash of violet light that she could see even through her hair ribbon.
"I'm over here," came Juri's voice, from a distance distinctly further away than Chun-Li had heard it before. The chain was starting to give; she was so close. But then there was a nauseating crunch and a grunt of pain, and Chun-Li heard Guile fall to the ground.
"Too easy!" cried Juri, and Chun-Li heard her break into a run, in accordance with the sound of Guile struggling back to his feet. There was the sound of car door slamming. Chun-Li understood Juri's objective; her intent had not been to fight Guile seriously, merely to procure herself means to escape.
"Thanks for the ride loser!" she shouted, the ignition roaring to life.
"We will get you Juri!" shouted Chun-Li. "You can't keep running forever!"
Juri's laugh was audible even over the car's engine.
"As long as you're the one chasing me Chun-Li!"
With a final tug and a gasp of pain as the metal bit into her wrists, Chun-Li broke free of the handcuffs and shot to her feet, ripping her hair ribbon off of her face as she did. She was too late. Juri thrust the engine into gear, and the car rocketed down the highway, leaving Guile and Chun-Li coughing in residue of exhaust fumes, Juri's laughter still audible as she sped away.
Hope you all enjoyed. I plan on writing more of this sort of thing in the future.
My biggest question going into the fic was "How do you stop the Feng Shui Engine?" My answer: "You don't." It's a good thing I didn't really have to in this scenario. I mean, you can try and keep Juri restrained, but when she can blow up an entire theme park with her eye good luck keeping her that way. I don't know how you could keep her from using her eye, nor do we really know the limits of the Engine in canon. I don't think Juri would have to see to activate it, just channel her ki. (If you want to subdue Juri bring a tranquilizer gun and something better than handcuffs, Chunners.) I dunno…flame me if you have a seriously problem with me taking liberties.
My question now is...where are the rest of the Chun-LixJuri fics? Really? Please don't make me end up their sole writer in this section.
Oh well. Hope you all enjoyed. Reviews, (both positive and negative) are very much appreciated.
