Night had fallen again in Sapporo. As the city prepared itself for sleep, two bulky figures readied themselves for their nightly task. Their silhouettes dimly outlined by the moonlight, they set out to the hotel where the fighters were staying. On a rooftop, there was a clear view of the building and Bison scanned the structure while the giant of a man behind him looked this way and that.

"I don't like this," Balrog muttered uneasily. "Let's get out of here,I got a bad feeling."

"Shut up, you idiot," Bison growled. "It is precisely because of that bad feeling that we are here." He scanned the area intently again. "It's stronger than it was before. That bodes well for me."

Balrog glanced furtively around him. "So what exactly is it that we've been looking for these last coupla nights?"

"The missing piece that will render Shadowlaw unstoppable," was the enigmatic reply.

"Which is?"

Bison glared at him. "Imbecile! That is all that is required of you to know," he hissed impatiently. Balrog shrank back at his tone. A solitary figure standing on one of the hotel balconies was of particular interest to Bison. His red headband floated on the light evening wind. ''Yes, Ryu," he said with satisfaction, "set your rage free..." His attention then shifted to another room four floors up where he could see two people, a man and a woman backlit by the light. The corner of his mouth turned upwards in a smirk. "You could be quite useful as well. Balrog, come. We have some people to meet." The two slipped back into the darkness.

"It's beautiful out isn't it?" The moon was now waning and Chun Li twirled about in the cool night air. Guile shrugged blithely, but it did him good to see her up and about. She ran up to him and pulled at his arm. "Come on, you promised."

Guile pretended that he didn't know what she was talking about. "Promised what? I don't remember promising you anything."

Placing her hands on her hips, she scowled at him. "Liar, you promised to come karaoke with me."

"Uh, no I didn't," he countered weakly.

"Yes you did! Now come on. I want to hear you sing an N'Sync song."

Guile fought the urge to gag. You'd have to get me pretty goddamn drunk for me to sing anything, let alone that crap." She clapped her hands delightedly and giggled. It was odd how such a cute exterior concealed how deadly she could be when she was provoked. He looked up to see Ryu observing them from his balcony. "Why not ask your little friend? I mean, they created the stupid thing, didn't they?"

Chun Li looked up. She hadn't realized that Ryu had been watching them. Her face fell slightly. "He says he's not feeling well, but I get the feeling that he wants to be left alone."

It saddened him to see her so forlorn. Putting an arm around her shoulder, he said in a resigned tone, "Alright, I'll go, but no boy bands!" Her smile returned and she pulled him along. "Yeah, yeah I'm comin'!" The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back and seeing stars from having bumped his head on the ground. Looking up, he was affronted by the site of Balrog's leering face. "What the fuck-" Before he could even complete the sentence, Balrog began raining down body blows on Guile's abdomen.

As Guile desperately fought to shield his body, Chun Li was still confused as to what was going on. When it finally dawned on her that Guile was being attacked, she ran towards him.

"No! Stay back!" he shouted, still deflecting punches. "Chun Li, stay where you are!" She screamed as Balrog picked him up by his beater and threw him into a nearby bench, breaking the thing in half. Guile groaned and shook his head, trying to get his bearings as Balrog continued to advance on him. "Okay, asshole. If that's how you want to play." Nimbly jumping up from the broken bench, he planted the steel toe of his boot into Balrog's chin. There was an audible crunching sound as a trail of blood and teeth exited his open mouth.

Chun Li was torn between wanting to help Guile and not serving as a distraction. Then a voice behind her made her skin crawl.

"Good evening."

She turned and the sight of Bison's condescending smile sent her into a rage. Forgetting that she was still in the process of recovering, she screamed, "Kikouken!" and hurled a ball of energy at him. Snickering, he easily blocked it. In her weakened state, she was unable to channel much power. Running towards him, she jumped off the ground and attempted to land a flying kick. Bison threw his head back and laughed at her vain efforts. Reaching out his arm, he plucked her out of the air in midflight. Holding her upside down, he lifted her by her leg until her face was level with his. "I like a woman with spirit," he said with a sneer. Chun Li responded by spitting in his face. "So unladylike," he chided, wiping the spittle from his eye.

Guile looked away from Balrog and saw Chun Li suspended from Bison's fist. "Chun LI!" He tried to run to her but was tackled down. "Why won't you fucking stay DOWN?!" he shouted. With a loud cry, he threw Balrog off his back and dove onto his stomach with his elbow. His opponent gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and lay helpless. Guile scrambled back onto his feet and ran to free Chun Li. Bison narrowed his eyes and grinned cruelly. Dropping her on the ground, he turned his attention fully to Guile. Seeing that she was free, Guile called to her without taking his eyes off Bison, "Chun, get out of here now!"

She shook her head. "I won't leave you!"

"I said get the hell out of here! Run!"

Unable to desert him, she simply watched, hating herself for not being strong enough to come to his aid.

"How cute – spring love," he said sardonically.

"Shut up, you overgrown megalomaniac." Guile put his fists up. "Why don't you show some guts and pick on someone your own size?"

"Happy to oblige." Drawing back, his hands began to glow an electric pink color and he drove his fist with surprising force into Guile's chest. His blow was so powerful, he actually went head over heels twice before hitting the ground.

"GUILE!"

Spitting a mouthful of blood onto the pavement, he stood up defiantly and readied himself to attack again. With a roar, he charged Bison and attempted to flip him over but Bison grabbed him and threw him to the side. Chun Li watched horrified as Bison continued to physically punish Guile. Had he not been weakened from his fight with Balrog, he could have been a match for Bison but taking on two powerful fighters one right after the other was proving too exhausting for him. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, Bison slammed his face into the ground with such force that the cement cracked. Confident that he was spent, Bison turned back to Chun Li. Guile struggled to stand, but he could only get to his knees. "Chun…" he said weakly. "Go! Don't let him hurt you."

She felt completely paralyzed, and even as Bison advanced on her, she remained rooted to the spot. Throwing her to the ground, he easily overpowered her. Covering her mouth with his hand, he whispered, "Such a lovely thing - so pure and full of life. I will thoroughly enjoy taking everything from you. Your father was only the beginning." Roughly, he hiked her skirt above her hips and spread her legs with his hand. "You might like it," he said indifferently. "And if not, either way it makes no difference to me." Chun Li's eyes widened in fear as he leaned over her, and all she could think of was ending her life as soon as possible after he had finished with her. She looked away, not wanting to see his face while he violated her. Please, let it be over soon, she prayed.

"SHINKU HADOUKEN!!"

There was a blast of light and Bison was thrown off Chun Li. "I see you do not disappoint, my friend," he said as he stood up. Running to Guile, Chun Li checked to see if he was still alive. "Hang on," she begged him. She looked up to see Ryu staring at Bison, but it no longer seemed like the same man. His face was livid with rage and the eyes that were normally so kind and filled with warmth now showed a complete absence of compassion. It had been replaced with a cold, merciless glow. Oblivious of her, he began to channel his rage between his hands, which glowed brighter and brighter. Bison nodded approvingly. "That's it. Bring me the monster that I need, show me the power of the Dark Hadou!" Ryu's eyes began to glow an unearthly red. He prepared to deliver the death blow when he heard Ken's voice.

"RYU! DON'T!" Not knowing if he was too late, Ken ran to his friend's side. "Ryu, look at me!" Ryu's eyes never strayed from his target. "BAGAYARO! Listen to me goddammit, this is what he wants, don't you see? He wants you to give in to the satsui no hadou so he can use it! You can't give in." The energy between Ryu's hands began to crackle. It would not be long before it inevitably discharged. "Ryu," Ken said softly. "Remember what Master Gouken said. One never fights to kill, and he was willing to die for that principle. You're stronger than this. Please!"

With a loud cry, Ryu hurled the energy borne of the Dark Hadou at Bison. "NO!" Chun Li cried.

The force of the blast could be seen as it had carved a path in the asphalt. When the smoke cleared, Bison was still in one piece and relatively unharmed, but the area immediately to the right of him was completely destroyed. "Fascinating," he remarked. "Balrog, come. We've had enough fun for tonight." The two men retreated into the shadows and were gone.

"Ryu! Are you okay?" Ken dropped to his friend's side. Ryu was breathing heavily on his knees.

"What is happening to me?" Ryu asked. Again he heard the voice from inside his head. "Good. It is only a matter of time now. There is no denying who you are, Ryu. It is your destiny. You cannot escape…" He clutched at the sides of his head trying to ignore the words. "Stop it, you monster! Shut up!"

"Ryu, what is it?"

Ryu clawed at Ken's arms. "I'm begging you, please! Make it stop!" he begged in a tortured voice. "Ken, help me!"

Unable to assuage his agony, Ken could do little more than sit with his friend as he endured his agony.