GILL'S REVENGE
A fanfic by neomage
(DISCLAIMER: Street Fighter and all characters therein are trademarks of Nintendo and Capcom.)
CHAPTER 1
MT. FUJIYAMA, JAPAN
Hidden away in Mount Fujiyama, Ryu was training at the old dojo. It had been nearly seven years since he'd last been here, to pay his respects to his deceased Master Gouken and to train. As he always did, Ryu came here only when he needed solace from the rest of the world. The only reason he didn't come more often was because, along with good memories, this place also held many bad ones that continued to haunt him.
At this very moment, Ryu was training the strength of his chi energy. Already he had mastered the physical art of Ansatsuken Karate; now, he was making an attempt to hone and harness his chi to its fullest power. He was sitting cross-legged in front of the ancient dragon statue that had always been part of the decoration for Master Gouken's training grounds. Clad only in his gi pants, Ryu's eyes were closed as he concentrated on nothing but the serenity of his surroundings.
As he did, he could feel his chi swelling up from inside him and enveloping his entire being bit by bit. If he'd opened his eyes, he would have noticed that his entire body was covered in a blue aura. Then, very slowly, he cupped his palms together and concentrated some of his energy into them. Flipping up onto his feet, he concentrated more energy into his hands. As the pure blue energy of his chi crackled in his hands, he suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was on the dragon statue before him.
"HADOKEN!"
He positioned his arms outward and opened out his hands, releasing the energy into a giant ball of chi. The ball slammed into the statue, exploding with the impact. Ryu wasn't fazed by this, but remained in his stance, watching as the Hadoken blast did its work. Presently the energy dissipated - but the results were slightly disappointing. Only the upper body of the statue had been destroyed.
Ryu sank down, wearied from the effort. I have spent many months here at the old dojo, training my energy, he though to himself, but always it never seems to reach its limit. Something is missing - but what? What could it be that I could possibly lack?
These questions were fixed in his mind as though they'd been branded there with a hot iron. Ryu thought back to all those years ago, when both he and Ken Masters had trained here with Gouken. Then came the very first Street Fighter tournament, which he had won, but only narrowly. Ever since then, Ryu had won every tournament he'd ever entered, defeating many powerful opponents in the process. Sagat, the host of the first tournament; M. Bison, the leader of the diabolical organization Shadowloo and the host of the various Alpha tournaments and the second Street Fighter tournament; and most recently the man known as Gill, the leader of an evil secret society and the host of the third tournament. Along the way, Ryu had met and made many rivals out of the different fighters from all across the globe. Among those were some of the best friends he could have ever made, including Chun Li, William Guile, and of course, Ken himself.
All of them had some purpose in their lives, Ryu mused to himself. Could that be it? Is that the reason I cannot reach my fullest potential yet?
For as long as he could remember, all Ryu had ever dedicated himself to was becoming the perfect warrior. Of course, everyone who saw his fighting skills said that he was the best; but he knew better. He knew that he was not a true master of his art, and he was constantly trying to uncover the secret to becoming one. But what bothered him the most were three questions Master Gouken had always told the boys to remember:
"What is the meaning of victory? What is the meaning of the fight? What is the purpose of the warrior's fist?"
How can I find this out? Ryu kept wondering to himself. Who can I go to, to ask these questions and receive straight answers? When will these nagging thoughts finally be relieved?
Sighing, Ryu got up and reached for his gi jacket, lying on a rock nearby. I need to go to the one person who could help me with this problem, he mused to himself as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and started to walk out of the dojo. I need to see that person as soon as possible...
LONDON, ENGLAND
"You wished to see me, sir?"
The man behind the desk tipped the ash from his cigar into the tray before him. "That is correct, Agent White. MI-6 has another mission for you."
Cammy sighed and shifted her body weight from one leg to the other. I hope this mission will be a better one than that rat's-assed mission you boys sent me on last time, she thought to herself. Aloud she asked, "What shall I do this time, sir?"
The MI-6 leader reached into a drawer, pulled out a file jacket and handed it to Cammy. "This mission will be a very dangerous one, Agent White. So, before I ask you to accept it, I'm going to give you all the details."
Cammy flipped through the file jacket, noting several pictures of two men, one of whom looked like a blue and red - for lack of a better word - FREAK. "Those two men there," explained the leader, "go by the names 'Gill' and 'Urien.' Those may be aliases, but that isn't important. What's important is that according to the latest reports we've had from our agents in the field, Gill - the colorful bloke you see there - is the leader of a very dangerous criminal syndicate, the name of which is still unknown to us, and Urien is his younger brother and alleged second-in-command."
"That I wouldn't doubt, sir," said Cammy, studying the pictures of the two men. "So, then, what is my mission?"
The leader pulled two photographs out of his drawer and handed them to her. "A few days ago," he said, "three of our agents reported that these two men joined forces with Gill's organization. One of them you probably know already - Vega, the Shadowloo assassin."
Cammy froze. She studied the photographs, and her blood turned to ice water. Indeed, the man in one of the photos was her most hated enemy - Vega, one of the famed "Four Lords of Shadowloo," and their most dangerous assassin. More than ten years of bitter memory rushed back into Cammy's mind, like a flood, in an instant.
She remembered how, back then, she had been sent by MI-6 to bring down Shadowloo's empire in Thailand. Having been suffering from amnesia, Cammy had been seeking Shadowloo's leader, M. Bison, as she felt that he knew things about her past that he could tell her. But to be told that she was once a Shadowloo operative and his former lover, and then to be nearly killed by Vega in the ensuing fight...
Cammy shook her head, bringing herself back to the present. "Yes, sir, I remember him," she affirmed. "But who's the other man?"
"His name is Rolento Shugerg," said the leader. "He's the leader of a dangerous gang known as 'Mad Gear' that was creating quite a stir in Metro City, U.S.A., some years back. Mad Gear's got some extremely heavy artillery - almost a small army in itself. Joining forces with Gill could make Rolento a highly dangerous criminal to deal with."
"So...my mission is to find and stop their operations, and bring the men to justice," said Cammy.
"That's right," said the leader. He fingered his cigar thoughtfully. "Of course," he added, "you don't have to take this mission if you don't want to. After all, it's a highly dangerous one, as I said before; it could even be suicidal, by logical terms. We know that Gill's syndicate is dangerous enough on its own, more so than Shadowloo ever was; and with the combined power of Rolento's army and Vega's assassin skills, this could become a powerful machine you'd be up against. I've only brought this to you because you're the best agent in your group. And, besides...the orders I'm giving you now are direct orders from the Prime Minister himself. For him, it's a matter of national security, but knowing what you'll be up against, it could be even more than that."
Cammy took a deep breath, looking at the photographs again. Her heart beat with fury at the sight of Vega's face. This would be a perfect opportunity to pay him back for almost killing her all those years ago. She still had the scars from that fateful battle, and while time had healed the physical wounds, the memory remained deep inside her.
"I accept, sir."
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A.
William Guile sat back impatiently in the seat of his '95 Jeep, driving home from work. He wanted, more than anything right now, to be near his family again. Ever since ten years ago, he always made sure that he had time for them, even with a schedule as busy as his. He only hoped that Jane, his wife, wasn't going to be making meatloaf again.
As he drove along, Guile thought back to the last ten or so years since he'd entered a ring to fight. Back then, he'd been in the Army, making a name for himself as an American hero. Along with his fellow soldiers, he'd gone here and there in the heat of battle, bringing glory to their country with every victory.
Then came the dreaded mission. Guile and his best friend, Charlie Nash, were both sent to Thailand to bring down the criminal empire Shadowloo and its leader, Bison. After a long while, they finally managed to find Bison's base, but in the end it exploded, taking Charlie with it. What made Guile hurt so much was that Charlie forced him to leave, so that he could ensure that Bison got swept in the blast, as well. But, as it turned out, Bison had survived, after all, making Charlie's death a total waste.
Enraged, Guile had then set out on a mission to find Bison and make him pay for Charlie's life. Entering the Street Fighter tournament had proved to be a big break for Guile, as he quickly made new allies in the fight against Shadowloo, and even took down one of their top henchmen, Balrog, in the contest. Eventually, though, Guile had had to stand on the sidelines and watch while the defending Street Fighter champion, Ryu, took down Bison himself.
To be frank, Guile had felt quite jealous at first at the fact that it was not he, but a total stranger, who defeated Bison. Guile had no complaints after that, though; as long as Bison was finished, then witnessing his enemy's defeat turned out to be the best sort of revenge Guile could ever have gotten. And then to be reunited right then and there with his wife and daughter - that was something he would forever treasure. Even though the Army court-martialed him later for going AWOL on them, that didn't matter. He'd found a job as a P.E. instructor at the local high school, and because of his reputation he quickly gained popularity.
Guile sighed. He could only imagine what would happen that evening as soon as he got home. He'd stopped at the boutique and purchased a lovely corsage for Jane, with the intention of taking her out to the movies later that evening. Amy, his now 22-year-old daughter, was home from college for the summer, and he could imagine the two women in the kitchen at this moment, making something for dinner. By the time he got home, dinner would probably be right there on the table waiting for him, and he would probably eat it and complement it, although Amy really wasn't much of a good cook. Then, while she went out with friends as she often did now, Guile and Jane could take some time and be alone together.
Guile pulled up in the driveway, smiling as he took up the bouquet of lilies and roses. Jane always did like roses, he knew. And he also knew that this was how it was going to be from now on; he had given up street fighting long ago, deeming himself too old now for that sort of stuff. He pushed the key into the lock, opened the door and walked in, hoping to smell something (as long as it wasn't meatloaf) cooking, and to hear the glad voices of Jane and Amy welcoming him home.
Then he stopped and stared in disbelief.
Inside, the house was trashed. Furniture was broken, chairs were overturned, paper and the carpets were completely ripped up, and in the kitchen nearby glass was on the floor, the doors to the cupboards broken off and everything inside thrown out and onto the ground. The bouquet slipped from Guile's hand, and his jaw dropped as he surveyed the scene. Suddenly snapping back to his senses, he rushed inside, calling the girls' names. Inside his and Jane's bedroom, the bed was completely ripped up, and on the floor was Jane's purse, the contents scattered all over. As he saw this, Guile realized - this had not been a robbery attempt; this was a message. A message meant for him.
Guile felt a boil of anger rising from his gut to his chest. He growled like an animal, and as the rage consumed him, he suddenly started lashing out at everything in sight - furniture, the walls, anything he could hit. As he punched and kicked, Guile could feel his chi energy rising - that force he thought had been dormant for so long since the tournament. It came up in a rush, and he channeled it into his fists and feet, adding more damage to everything. Finally, he welled up as much energy as he could summon into both his palms, forming his trademark Sonic Boom, then unleashing the energy when it became too painful to hold in anymore. The blast slammed into the wall, completely shattering the blocks holding it in place and sending pieces of rubble flying outward.
Guile sank down on one knee, but he was far from being exhausted or through. The rage was slowly disappearing, being replaced by a cold, disgusted resolve. Whoever had destroyed his home and kidnapped his family would pay a very high price for it. They will pay, he swore to himself. They will pay!
