Chapter Three: The Second Guardian
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Chun Li's eyes snapped open. She was back inside her apartment, in her bed. Without looking, Chun Li punched the snooze button and assumed a sitting position.
'That was a weird dream,' she thought.
Then she winced as she felt the back of her head throbbing from the pain. Rubbing the back of her head, she realized that maybe it was not a dream after all. 'I need some aspirin,' she thought darkly as she opened her nightstand drawer. Chun Li caught a glimpse at her alarm clock and immediately frowned.
The clock read 2:00 a.m.
"Stupid freaky alarm clock," Chun Li muttered to herself as she retrieved a bottle of aspirin from her nightstand drawer.
She got out of bed and exited the room. Upon entering the kitchen, she pulled out a glass from the cabinet and filled it with tap water. Before she could pop a couple of the painkillers into her mouth, she looked down and saw something.
It was a little girl. Chun Li could have guessed that she was five, maybe six years old. She was a sad little thing, with dark hair twisted into pigtails, dark eyes, and wearing a simple dress. In her hands, she clutched a doll. Chun Li noticed that the doll was missing its head.
Chun Li also noticed that her door was open. But her law enforcement training overrode her better judgment as she checked up on the girl. "Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling down in front of the girl, checking for any injuries.
The girl said nothing.
'She's traumatized,' Chun Li thought. 'Poor girl.'
Chun Li stood up. "Wait here. I'm calling for help." But as she reached for the cordless phone, the girl turned and ran out of the apartment. "Hey! Stop!" Chun Li shouted as she gave chase. "I want to help you! Wait!"
The girl was indeed fast. Chun Li saw her round the corner, and took off after her. When Chun Li made it to the corner, she saw the girl enter one of the apartments, closing the door behind her.
"Wait!" Chun Li shouted as she ran after the girl. Thankfully, the door was unlocked as she turned the knob and pushed the door open.
Upon entering the apartment, the door slammed shut behind her, causing her to jump. When she inspected the door, she saw that it wouldn't budge when she tried to open it, as if some kind of supernatural force was keeping it closed.
"Welcome, Inspector Xiang," a male voice boomed, its power making Chun Li flinch. "I've been expecting you."
Chun Li turned around. The room was empty before, but now, there was a man there. He was tall, possibly standing around Guile's height, with long brown hair tied into a thick braid. He was muscular, and it showed through his robes. The robes itself were something different seeing as his left arm and part of his chest was exposed. A thick set of prayer beads were slung over one shoulder.
The man was meditating in the lotus position. That itself would not have been strange, but Chun Li saw that he was floating several feet off the ground. Then again, both Bison and the Yoga master Dhalsim also performed the same feat of hovering in the air.
The man opened his eyes. One eye was dark brown while the other was more...sinister; a yellow iris with a cat-like pupil, showing that he was not completely human. The little girl was by his side.
The man looked at the little girl. "You have already met Anita. I am merely looking out for her until her emotions return. Like me, she is not...completely human. I found her inside an orphanage, where she was shunned by the others. As a result, she has lost her emotions. She speaks every once in a while, but most of the time, she remains silent."
The man then uncrossed his legs and placed them on solid ground. "I am Donovan Baine, the guardian of the present."
Chun Li narrowed her eyes. "You're not human."
"You are correct, Inspector," Donovan replied. "I am a dhampir – the offspring of a human mother and a vampire father. But who I am is not important, Inspector. The present – your present – is important. We must be on our way. Dhylec!"
A massive sword spun into view, settling into its stationary position, which was against Donovan's back. Chun Li looked at the blade. It was a double-edged weapon, with a crescent-shaped edge at the end. Chun Li could have swore that the blade was looking at her as if it were...alive.
As Anita took her place by Donovan's side, the door unlocked. Chun Li, in the meantime, was eyeing the massive blade with concern.
Donovan sensed her uneasiness. "Do not be afraid. Dhylec is under my control. He won't bite...unless I tell him to. Come."
Donovan opened the door and gently ushered Chun Li through.
Instead of the apartment hallway, Chun Li found herself standing inside a posh hotel suite. The hotel wasn't that of the Masters International, of which Ken's family owns, but the room was impressive. Jacuzzi, queen-sized bed, and a bottle of champagne on ice.
Reclining on the bed was a Chinese woman. Chun Li guessed that she was probably out of her teens, if not in her early to mid twenties. Short dark hair framing a pretty little face. She was also dressed in sexy lingerie.
Chun Li looked around the room. "Why are we here?" she asked. "Who's that girl? I've never seen her before."
The next person was one she recognized all too well once he emerged from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a bathrobe.
Her boss, David Chow.
Chun Li's mind went into overdrive. She looked at the woman, and guessed that she was not Chow's wife, since she had met her at a Interpol gala months earlier.
'Integrity my ass,' Chun Li thought as she watched her boss pop the cork off of the champagne bottle and poured himself and the young lady a glass. 'Bastard's been cheating on his wife...wait a minute...I'm at the office working my ass off and he is sleeping around with another woman while I'm doing it?!'
"Are you sure that no one knows where you are?" the woman asked.
"Positive," Chow replied. "You worry too much, Lynn. My wife still thinks that I'm at the office working on a very important case."
"Which is why you got loyal subordinates to do your dirty work," Lynn replied, smirking as she took her glass and took a sip.
Chow scoffed. "They are a means to an end. Especially Dourai's daughter. They will do what I say...or face the consequences. Maybe I should fire Leung, just to keep the others in line. But I don't have to worry about Xiang. Come tomorrow, she will have the Triad case taken care of, and I can take the credit."
Chun Li, in the meantime, was fuming. 'That lousy, no-good, son-of-a...note to self: kick Chow's ass in the morning and call his wife.'
Donovan noticed that Chun Li was getting angry. "I think a change of scenery is in order," he said.
Chun Li blinked. Instead of being inside the suite listening to her boss's gloating, she found herself standing inside the ballroom of the Masters International Hotel Kowloon. From the look of things, this was the Christmas Party that was to take place the following day. Chun Li saw that everyone she knew were there, rekindling friendships and picking new rivalries.
Chun Li watched several couples mingle with one another. She recognized Ken and his fiancee, Eliza. As it turned out, Eliza and Guile's wife were sisters, with Julia being the eldest of the two. Guile had made his displeasure known about Ken becoming his future brother-in-law. But Eliza was happy with him, and Ken was the same with her, so Guile dropped the issue.
As Chun Li saw, everyone was having a good time.
Almost everyone.
Chun Li watched as Ken walked over to the open balcony. There was someone there, looking out over the harbor. Curious, Chun Li followed Ken out to the balcony.
"You all right, buddy?" Ken asked.
The man had his back turned to Chun Li. Imagine her shock when she found out that the well-dressed man was Ryu once he turned to face Ken. The look on the Japanese fighter's face was strained, rather than his usual stoic expression.
"No, Ken," Ryu replied flatly. "I'm not all right." He then proceeded to vent out his frustrations. "She's done this to me three years in a row, Masters. Even when I was traveling all over the world, I managed to make time for us. All I wanted was to spend Christmas with her. Instead, Chun Li would rather work. I could have been somewhere in the world, fighting. But instead, I wanted to spend time with her."
Ken was silent. Ryu had never been this angry. Even when Gouken was killed, Ryu was never this mad. His jaw then dropped when Ryu pulled a small item out of his pocket. Chun Li's expression mirrored that of Ken's once she saw what the item was.
Ryu looked at the small engagement ring in his hand. "I picked this up back in Tokyo. I was going to ask he to marry me," he said sadly. "But it appears she loves her job more than she loved me. Did she really cared for me at all? Or was it all a lie?" He sighed. "It really doesn't matter now. She's made her choice. So now, I must make mine."
Before Ken could stop him, Ryu cocked his arm back and threw the ring, where it disappeared into the waters below. Spinning on his heels, Ryu said, "Excuse me, Ken. I'll be in my room."
Ryu walked out of the ballroom, ignoring the calls of his friends and rivals. Chun Li ran after him, while Donovan and Anita followed closely behind. As fast as she was, Ryu had a head start, reaching the elevators before her. Chun Li had to skid to a halt in order to avoid crashing face-first into the sliding doors.
"I take it you want to follow Ryu?" Donovan asked, cradling Anita with one hand. When Chun Li nodded, Donovan snapped his fingers.
In a flash of light, Chun Li found herself inside Ryu's hotel room. Moments after her arrival, Ryu entered the room, looking very dejected. He leaned up against the door, unloosening his necktie and after pulling the silk cloth off of his neck, tossed it to the side.
Ryu slumped to the floor, his back up against the door. What Ryu did next made Chun Li feel even worse.
He was crying.
Ryu Hoshi, the World Warrior champion, was crying.
"Oh, Ryu," she whispered. "I didn't know...you wanted to marry me..."
Her chain of thought was interrupted when Anita hopped down from Donovan's arm and kicked Chun Li hard in the shin, causing the older woman to stagger slightly.
"OW!" Chun Li yelped. "That hurt!"
"Meanie," Anita said before jumping back into Donovan's arms.
"While crudely put," Donovan concurred, "my ward does have a point."
"I didn't know...how was I supposed to know that Ryu wanted to marry me?" Chun Li asked, turning from the crying man.
"You would have found out," Donovan replied, accusingly, "had you decided to come to the party instead of choosing to work on Christmas Day. Your decision had left Ryu brokenhearted. But in the end, you will feel much worse come the following day."
"I seriously doubt whatever can happen now will make me feel a lot worse," Chun Li remarked.
Donovan grunted. "Is that so?" he asked.
In a flash of light, Chun Li saw that she was inside the Interpol Offices in downtown Hong Kong. Looking at the calendar, she saw that it was December 26, the day after Christmas.
Chun Li looked around the office. There was a skeleton crew scattered throughout the area, since the majority of the employees were still home, enjoying the holidays.
And Chun Li saw that she was also one of the employees present.
The other Chun Li was inside her private office, her door closed, going over some paperwork, mumbling to herself.
Then her phone rang.
Without turning her eyes from the papers, Chun Li pressed the button activating the speaker phone. "Interpol. Inspector Xiang speaking."
"It's me."
Ryu's voice had caught Chun Li's attention in an instant. "Ryu? Is that you? Where are you? I called the hotel and they said you checked out."
"I'm at the airport," Ryu replied, the strain evident in his voice. "My flight leaves in twenty minutes. I'm going back to Japan. I will not be returning to Hong Kong."
Chun Li frowned, while the real one watched the scene unfold with a rising sense of dread in her gut. "Look, Ryu, if this is about me working on Christmas, it can't be helped. My boss wanted me on this case, in exchange for a three-week vacation come next month. I can come to Japan and visit you to make up for yesterday."
Ryu's response caught Chun Li off guard. "No."
Chun Li blinked. "No? What do you mean, 'no?' You don't want me to come to Japan? Fine. We can meet up elsewhere."
"No, Chun Li," Ryu replied. "I'm tired. Tired of your broken promises to me, Li. This is the third Christmas in a row where you chose your work over me. All I ever wanted was to spend the holidays with you."
"I wanted that too, but –"
"But what?" Ryu said, cutting her off. "Your job is more important than the man who loves you?"
Chun Li stiffened at that remark. "That's not fair, Ryu. You know how much being a detective means to me."
"And you know how much you mean to me," Ryu replied coldly. "Or rather, used to. I had some time to think things over and given the past events, in which you chose to work not only this Christmas, but the past two Christmases as well instead of spending it with me...now I don't think it's going to work out between us."
Chun Li didn't like where this was going. "Ryu...we've known each other since we were teenagers. We've been dating ever since the last tournament. You can't just give up on me, not after all we've been through."
"So why did you not come to the Christmas party?" Ryu demanded. "Your job would have been there the following day. I wanted to spend time with you, and you threw it back in my face. You broke my heart, Chun Li."
"Ryu, I –"
"Did you know that I was going to ask you to marry me yesterday?" Ryu asked, killing Chun Li's next comment. "Of course you didn't, because you didn't even bother show up for the party. I even bought you a ring. Now it's at the bottom of the harbor. I've had it with your lies and broken promises, Chun Li. We're finished. I hope your job keeps you warm in bed at night, since you chose to make sure I sure as hell didn't. But that what's going to happen when you chose what kept you fed over the man who thought he loved you."
"Ryu, please," Chun Li pleaded. "Don't do this to me. I thought you loved me."
"Funny. I thought the same thing. But that was a lie. You made your choice, and it wasn't me. Goodbye, Inspector Xiang."
Click. The line went dead.
"Ryu? Ryu?! RYU?!" Chun Li shouted at the dead phone.
In a flash, Chun Li was out of her chair and out the office. In the meantime, the real Chun Li watched this scene in complete shock.
It took Chun Li twenty minutes to reach the airport. Flashing her Interpol badge had allowed her to pass the security checkpoints unmolested as she rushed to the terminal where Ryu's flight was scheduled to take off from.
But it was too late.
Ryu was nowhere to be seen.
And the plane was gone.
'Oh, God,' Chun Li thought as she sank to her knees. 'What have I done...what have I become? I didn't mean for this to happen...I thought he would wait for me...'
The tears fell as Chun Li began to sob uncontrollably. "Come back," she whimpered. "Come back...I'm sorry, Ryu..."
The real Chun Li watched this scene unfold with horror. Turning to Donovan, she demanded of the guardian, "Why the hell are you showing me all of this if I am already beyond redemption?! What is the point in all of this?!"
"To show that for every action, there is a consequence," Donovan replied smoothly. "In choosing your job over Ryu, you paid a very high price. You caused Ryu to fall out of love with you. There is no one to blame but yourself."
Another flash and Chun Li was back inside her apartment, watching her other self curled up in her bed, rocking herself, crying, still chanting, "Come back...come back..."
The real Chun Li turned from the sight. She exited the room. Donovan was already in the living room, along with Anita. Chun Li shook her head. "I know Ryu still loves me," she insisted. "He's just mad...needs some time to cool down. Things will be back to normal soon enough."
Donovan shook his head. "I don't think so. Everyone has their breaking point. And Ryu has reached his when you broke his heart. He will not return to you, no matter how much you beg, because as long as you work with Interpol, he thinks you will continue to break your promises."
"I swore an oath to protect the weak! I am an officer of the law! It's my job!" Chun Li defended.
"Yet, you see you are nothing to Chow," Donovan replied. "You saw that he doesn't give a damn about the other agents, you especially. He sees you only as a means to an end. You are nothing but a stepping stone to him. You have become the one thing that Dourai despised: a puppet."
Donovan's hand snapped upward, catching Chun Li's fist in a iron grip when she tried to punch him. "Did I strike a nerve, Inspector? I see the kitten still knows how to scratch. You have no one to blame but yourself."
"I'm not a puppet!" Chun Li shouted as she wrenched her hand away from Donovan. She pointed to her crying self back in her room. "I didn't want this! All I wanted was a successful career and someone who loves me! Was that so hard or asking for that much?!"
"Apparently, it was for Ryu," Donovan snidely replied. "You made the choice. You thought he would wait for you. He was willing to give up traveling the world for you. But you chose your job over love. I hope you're happy with yourself, Inspector."
Chun Li turned back towards the room, where she saw her mirror image cry herself to sleep. Then she turned back to Donovan."But isn't this...what you showed me..." she began, "Is it inevitable...or can it be changed?"
"That is up to you to decide, Inspector," Donovan's replied. "However, the night is waning and my time is up. It is time for Anita and myself to depart."
With a snap of his fingers, things went black for Chun Li.
