Seven Deadly SINs

by Major Mario

Prequel to Juri's Jaguar. Juri Han becomes the new leader of S.I.N., and with it comes unlimited power. When her world comes crumbling down with an important revelation, she decides to do what she should have done a long time ago: finish her revenge.

6. Day 5

Day 5 – Sunday: Clashing Venom, Unlocked Emotions

---

Word got out quickly yesterday night, and by morning, every member of S.I.N. had heard of Juri's destructive rampage. People had seen the destruction of the Feng Shui Engine room after Juri limped out and retreated to her quarters. Cameras were destroyed, and Juri's victims could not retell the event in their irreversible state. The members did not witness the slaughter with their own eyes, but that didn't stop them from speculating the cause of the incident.

Rumors spread about the leader, making her out to be more cruel, psychotic, and insane than she normally was. She was definitely cruel and a tad psychotic, but not insane. An insane woman would not have possibly survived to the age of 25 in S.I.N., nor would she have succeeded in taking over the organization. Despite that she didn't view herself as insane, Juri worked to make members perceive the rumors as facts instead of fiction.

She spoke harshly of Satoya when she met with the project heads, knowing that they always relayed information down to the men and women under them. To make them think twice about trying to take her life, she explained in detail what happened in the FSE room, taking care to exaggerate many things. In her version, she had always hated Satoya and had waited for the perfect opportunity to strike him down. The fact that the eye acted on her thoughts and used her body to massacre every scientist in the room was left out, as it would be much more terrifying if Juri killed them in cold retaliation and tortured Satoya before brutally killing him.

That was what Juri was aiming for: terror. Odds were that if one small group wanted her dead, there would be others waiting for their chance. Intimidation works wonders where diplomacy fails, and, with Juri in command, any wrong move could be met with a swift demise. She needed to be feared, she needed to strike fear into the hearts of men to prevent them from trying anything again. Some would call her paranoid, and they would be somewhat right.

Paranoia: a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. According to popular belief, a person can be driven to the point of paranoia from a traumatic event, rendering him or her to a state of hostility and distrust towards any he or she regards as a threat. But to Juri, the woman who went through a bizarre assassination attempt, she wasn't being irrational or delusional. She was just being careful.

And being careful brought her to stand over a frightened young scientist as she slowly twisted his hand despite his screams of protest.

"Ma'am! Please!" he cried, trying to bring sense back into his leader's mind. "I didn't do anything!"

This scientist was part of Satoya's team and would be taking his position soon. If it were calmer times, he would have been honored to receive Satoya's position after his resignation or peaceful demise, but it was not calmer times. Knowing that he gained his status after his leader callously murdered him, the young scientist was frightened when she approached him, grinning maliciously when she informed him of his new status.

Juri slowly broke his hand, reveling in the tiny pops the bones made when they got out of place and his pained screams.

"That's right, you didn't do anything." She pressed on his back with her uncovered foot as the scientists in the room looked on. "I'm preventing you from doing anything. This is for your own good, by the way."

"My own go-"

She pressed in harder, crushing him between the tiles of the lab room and her foot.

"Shhh… Yes, for your own good. We wouldn't want you running around, thinking up ways to kill me now, do we? That would be hazardous to your health!" Looking to the scientists in the room, she continued. "Am I right?"

The scientists stared at her. When her expression changed from smug to a look of contempt, they quickly nodded. The hazmat suits and their black visors couldn't hide their fear and discomfort. Juri looked back to the new Med-tech head, calmly rubbing his broken hand.

"One of the perks of being a doctor is that you know how to take care of yourself and others. Just put your hand in a cast and get back to work."

When she looked back at the scientists, she found they were all staring at the foot on the project head. Part of her wanted to smile, as she figured they did not want to feel the power from a blow, but another part made her want to scowl. She presumed that anyone who stared at her feet had a foot fetish, which, in her opinion, was completely stupid.

'My eyes are up here, as are my breasts.' Juri removed her foot from the writhing body and sneered. "All of you get back to work! Make sure your project head gives me a full report on the damage in the Feng Shui Engine room by the evening or I'll start picking out names at random!"

Most of the men and women gulped and turned around to get back to their workstations. Some of them moved up to the new head and helped him to his feet, allowing him to cast a wounded look at Juri's back, where the spider-like design of her breastplate was prominent. The web of her influence was strong and could ensnare any member who was careless enough. She offered them no leniency, thinking that if she did, they would turn against her just like Satoya had.

A younger scientist waited near the exit of the lab with a folder, stuffed full with documents. He slowly extended his arm to present the folder to his leader, trying as hard as he could to quell the nervous shaking of his hand. Juri reached forward with her right hand, covered in her purple, fingerless fighting glove, and grabbed the folder. Quickly the scientist released the folder and suppressed a gasp at the sight of her purple fingernails, which still held the blood of Satoya underneath.

She was wearing the same exact outfit as she was yesterday, only with her fighting gloves and spiked bracelets attached. The sprinkler systems washed the blood away last night, so she figured it was fine to wear her outfit again. Just to cover up any bloodstains, and to be extra intimidating, Juri picked up her black leather trenchcoat from Wednesday and added it to her appearance.

The scientist shifted to the side to allow his leader passage. After a few tiks and taks from the keypad, the nearby door opened, letting Juri leave the room. Once she got out, her calm expression changed to an exasperated one. März was waiting outside with a rather large stack of folders that demanded the leader's attention.

'People die and labs are ruined, yet the show goes on…'

Sighing, Juri deposited her folder on the stack in März's arms. She walked forward and mused ways to solve her problems, finding that the longer she thought about working on the documents, the more infuriated she got. She now knew how Seth felt, but for the life of her, she had no clue how he did it. Perhaps he delegated his tasks to the project heads when they were open to help. Juri couldn't trust most of the staff now, so it was up to her to get her work done.

She moved down the halls of the med-tech level with her doll trailing, reaching the elevator. Too stressed out to take the extra mile, Juri waited for the elevator to reach her floor. With all the work she has stacked for her, her personal quarters would serve as her workstation for the day. If she worked in her study, people would find her and ask her stupid questions, or so she thought. The guards could keep people away easily; it was just the location of the study that bothered her. Not enough security aboveground.

With a ding from a nearby control panel, the elevator reached her floor and opened its doors. März moved lethargically inside with Juri, who tried not to look at the stack of work in her hands again. The floor was chosen and the doors closed on the women, prompting the transporter to descend into the depths of the facility.

'Here you go Ma'am, these are some documents we could have taken care of but we choose not to. Hope you enjoy,' Juri thought sarcastically. 'Oh, and if you don't get this done when we need it done, we'll pester you about it until you get it done. We don't care if you'll beat us up about it, we'll still bother you.'

A leader was supposed to lead his/her people and tell them what to do. The people loved/feared their leader and tried to do whatever it took to please them. Right now, the roles seemed reversed. Juri had hardly any time for herself, being constantly bombarded with work that needed to be completed. It was as if the leader was the one being lead; the workers told her what to do.

"Oh who would ever want to be queen…" Juri muttered.

After a minute in the elevator, the Korean started to become impatient. Before her foot started to tap, the carriage stopped and opened up into the sleeping quarters level. The corridors were empty, save for the guards.

'Perfect,' she thought, glad that there would be no scientists roaming around to bother her.

She moved to her quarters and, ignoring her guards again, punched in her custom passcode. Seth's code was too much of a hassle to remember, so she created her own to replace his. The door slid into the ceiling, granting entry for the two women. Juri went inside with her doll and lead her over to the consoles, instructing her to leave the folders on a nearby desk. Once that was done, März clicked her heels together and stood at attention in front of Juri.

"Hmm?" Juri looked at her when she sat down at the desk, draping her trenchcoat over the chair. "That's all there is right now. Go do… whatever it is that you do when I'm not looking. But go do it over by the door."

März saluted her master and turned on her heel. She jogged up the steps to stand guard near the door. Her eyes briefly became unfocused as her head slowly drifted to one side. The dolls didn't do anything in their free time; they just stood around in a dazed state. This didn't mean they were to be taken lightly. Even though they looked like they were in a drunken stupor, if an enemy came along, a doll would snap back to attention and deal with the threat quickly.

Juri spread the contents of one folder across her desk and took a pen in hand. Before she actually did get to work, she turned her attention to a small transistor radio. With Satoya's death, most of his possessions were up for grabs. Being the one who killed him, Juri was the first to grab what she wanted. The radio, although old, interested her. Music wasn't allowed that much in the facility, as it was always a work environment.

She flicked a switch on the machine and was greeted with the annoying sound of static. She turned a knob and watched as a small bit of plastic slid over a few numbers behind a tiny piece of glass. Hardly any radio stations were nearby, but there was one close by that played popular American oldies. The station was found after a minute of searching and immediately the room was filled with the sounds of an old jazz tune.

Hours passed by like molasses in wintertime. It wasn't that the work wasn't challenging, it was just that there was too much of it. Juri stopped working at times and decided to complete her sketch from yesterday and color it in. She set her ink pen down and marveled at the light blue color of her character's dress and the bright yellow floral design in it. This was the first time she had drawn her 'rival', Chun-Li, and it had turned out beautifully. Of course, Juri exaggerated the breasts, but other than that, the sketch was perfectly accurate.

The nearby consoles beeped and lit up, preventing Juri from delving into perverted thoughts. A screen flashed, showing her camera footage of the outside of her quarters. Annoyed, yet thankful for the distraction, she got up from her chair and approached the console. The two guards from outside were on the screen, along with Vega. The guards had pressed a button to covertly alert the occupant inside that there was a suspicious person at the door.

Judging by the guards' stance and the fact that their fingers twitched near their holsters, they did not enjoy Vega's presence. Juri, on the other hand, was thrilled that a handsome distraction such as he presented himself. She wanted to have fun, and beating up defenseless scientists just wouldn't supply her with enough euphoria. Fighting Vega was not on her mind, and neither was it on his mind. She typed in a command to open the door from her console.

Vega smirked when he saw his entrance was granted. The guards grumbled and backed away to stand in their positions, knowing well that if they went against what Juri wanted, heads would roll. Once Vega stepped inside, the door flew down from the ceiling and into its original position, hissing as the pistons locked into place. He brushed a strand of brown hair from his face and repositioned it behind his ear with a sigh, disgusted that his face was always compliant with his beauty while his hair, golden brown marvelous, seemed to have a rebellious mind of its own.

"Yoohoo, pretty boy…" Juri cooed, her voice filling the room. "Down here."

Juri grinned when Vega came into view at the top of the steps. His attire was not comprised of his usual purple and gold trousers and brown loafers, but of neatly pressed black slacks and a white ruffled shirt. It wasn't exactly stylish, but all that mattered to Juri was that he was really wearing a shirt. Chuckling softly, she thought:

'Ooh, I'm going to enjoy unwrapping my present.'

She beckoned for him to come down.

"Your men do not seem to like me very much, my dear," he said in a snooty tone as he descended the small flight of stairs.

"Meh, they're just jealous."

"My thoughts exactly."

Lecherous looks were exchanged between the two. Leaning back over a console, Juri couldn't help but stare at his crotch. Vega noticed this and chuckled, as he was staring at the first sign of beauty: her face.

"It's not polite to keep pushing me away."

"Pushing you away? Sure I had work to do yesterday, but that didn't have to prevent you from dropping in uninvited. Hell, I would have loved it if you did that."

"Well," he started, taking a step forward to stand close to her, "I'm here now. Are you glad for this interruption?"

"More than ever," Juri said, standing up straight. "I've heard nothing but good things about you from Viper yesterday."

"Oh? Like what?"

"You've got an interesting fighting style based off of ninjutsu, mixed in with a bit of your Spanish bullfighting. The assassination techniques you put into practice serve you well in the field, leaving little to no room for errors. Everything you did on Friday was done quickly and efficiently. In all honesty, all of your abilities are to be marveled at, just like your beauty. However," she said with a sultry smile, "your stamina is what impresses me the most."

"Stamina?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Apparently it took you thirty minutes to assassinate one target. I heard it was a woman too. I hope that's true."

"Give or take a minute and it would be." He blinked twice and tilted his head, giving a smug smile. "Would you like to see just what I'm capable of?"

"Provided you don't poison me during your attempt at proving yourself." She stepped forward and traced circles on his chest, looking up at his face. "I need a good time, Vega, and you're going to give me one."

Vega reached up and took her hand from his chest, inspecting it. The purple gloves were off for this session, allowing him to rub the back of her hand with his thumb. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

"Whatever you desire, my dear."

He relinquished his hold on her hand and got comfortably close enough to breathe in Juri's scent. Her hands grabbed his waist and stayed there as he lifted his hands to cup her delicate, beautifully framed face. She looked up, and, with a flash of lust in her eyes, leaned forward to brush her nose against his. Vega chuckled at the contact and enveloped her lips with his own.

Blood rushed up to fill Juri's cheeks as her eyes rolled up, overcome by the feeling. The kiss bombarded her senses in a way that it was almost intoxicating. But it wasn't all to the credit of Vega, it was Juri's longing and lust that amplified the feeling. It had been so long since she had felt the sensational touch of a man or woman that was not during a fight. With half closed eyes, she deepened the kiss, going as far as to slide her tongue forward to touch Vega's lips.

Granting permission, Vega smirked inwardly when her tongue met his. Juri's hands crawled up inside his shirt to feel the smooth texture of his well-toned muscles and the sudden transition to his purple snake tattoo. She explored both his upper body and his mouth as his hands trailed down her body. Soon, Vega broke the kiss and started his assault on her neck. The Korean threw her head back and moaned, her own hands gripping the material of his shirt.

That needed to come off. Now.

Vega allowed her to remove his top and watched as she carelessly discarded it behind him. What a sight it was to see his uncovered chest. Juri had seen it many times in the course of three days, but nothing could compare to touching it intimately, to be so close and to want it so badly. A hand rested on her thigh when she leaned back over a console. Oh how she wanted that hand to drift a little closer.

She placed her hands on his bottom, raising an eyebrow at the good feeling of it. An idea came to mind just as Vega started to direct his kisses from her neck down to her shoulders. She grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and switched positions, making it so that he was leaning back over the consoles while she would be leaning into him. Control was something Juri desired, and damned would she be if she would allow Vega to do everything for her.

Tracing Vega's snake tattoo with one hand and passionately holding the back of his head with the other, Juri kissed him deeply again. She was excited by his movements and abilities, which wasn't easily done. Things were going great, and they would only continue to get better. But things were going slow, which annoyed her. Breaking the kiss, Juri leaned away from the Spaniard. She could feel his eyes on her chest, and she knew what he wanted.

"It's not fair, isn't it?"

"What isn't?"

"Your top is off, but mine is still on…" Grinning, she spoke in a lecherous tone: "Let's level the playing field, shall we?"

Vega grinned himself and watched as her hands went to her back. Her movements were painfully slow and rhythmic as she slowly rocked side to side while her hands felt for the black straps of her breastplate. Giggling, Juri grabbed a strap and started to undo it, all the while ogling Vega's chest and crotch.

Just as the strap started to come loose did her eye catch sight of something on the console he was leaning on. She froze as she stared at a screen, which was equipped for recording footage from surveillance cameras. On the screen was a live image of the facility's hangar, and within it was one solitary figure on a cellphone. Long, braided red hair and a black suit gave the figure away as Crimson Viper.

No one else was in the camera's field of view except for that woman. Juri wouldn't worry about seeing Viper talking on a cellphone, but this time was different. Normally, she answered and called from a chrome-colored phone, which was monitored- as were all cellphones in the facility- by a team of security guards. Juri swore she saw a yellow phone in her hands before she disappeared from sight behind a steel support column.

She narrowed her eyes at the screen and dropped her hands from her straps. The timing of this event couldn't be worse. Just as she was about to have a good time did someone ruin it, even if they didn't directly interrupt. Common sense wanted to tell her that this was nothing to worry about, but its voice was soft and tiny, easily drowned out by the screaming of paranoia. Something was up, and Juri was going to find out what.

"Is something the matter?"

Looking back at Vega, she frowned. He stared at her quizzically with a hint of annoyance.

"I have to go," she growled, tightening her straps and moving away from Vega. "Something's come up."

He looked to the screen, then back to Juri. His expression of confusion changed to disgusted disappointment.

"And you are certain you cannot get to this problem at another time?"

"Business before pleasure…" she said with a sneer. "Don't give me that look. I wanted this just as much as you did, but somebody insists on screwing with me."

Cursing under his breath, Vega stood up straight and grabbed his shirt.

"Shall I dispose of this pest for you?"

"No, this is one I gotta do by myself." Ignoring her gloves on the nearby desk, Juri jogged up the set of steps and stood near the door. "Let's settle for tomorrow, Vega. Find me here at this time, regardless of whether or not I'm working, and we'll get back to where we left off."

There was no mistaking the fire in her eyes. She was angry, more so than Vega was. This was a great chance to have a good time, and Viper ruined it. Sighing, Vega nodded and put his shirt back on. Normally he would push when a situation didn't go in his favor, but, he decided to be lenient with Juri, just this time. Not bothering to take her doll along with her, Juri opened her door and ran out.

---

"Are you sure," said a man with a grizzled voice from the yellow phone.

Viper sighed and nodded, knowing that the man couldn't see. A small device was situated over the voice receiver, disguising her voice as someone else's, specifically, someone with a deep throat. A jamming device was attached to her phone as well, rendering her phone untraceable for the man and unnoticeable to the guards in the facility. Clearing her throat, she frowned and leaned against a steel support column.

"It sounds like you doubt me."

"Frankly, I can't even trust you."

"Well the feeling is mutual, meathead. Completely off topic," she started with a smirk, "did you make a full recovery after that incident at Sosna's research labs?"

She did not receive a response, knowing that she made her point. Looking up, she examined the small security cameras around the hangar, including one directly above her. Even though many of them were pointing at her, she had no need to worry. The cameras were recently programmed to replay footage of an empty hangar repeatedly. Guards would expect nothing, as people never went to the hangar unless maintenance was to be performed on the aircraft or an operation was starting. It was the perfect area to perform her task.

There was one camera that Viper couldn't hack into, one at the far end of the hangar. That camera recorded footage and sent it back to a console in Juri's quarters. If she was in her quarters, she would notice the crimson-haired assassin sneaking around. Thankfully, Vega served as a fantastic distraction, even though he knew nothing of what Viper was planning. He was all too eager to get Juri alone, which would distract her long enough for the call to be completed.

"Fine," muttered the man, "I trust you."

"Good, because damned if I'd repeat this information again."

"What should I tell the other two?"

"Tell the girls that they'll never get their revenge on Bison, and Seth and all of his clones were destroyed."

"They're not going to like that."

"They'll deal with it, as will you." She heard the man grumble. "Now, on to the most pressing concern…"

"Juri…"

"Precisely. She's had a rough time settling in as the new leader, but she's adapting well. I've got more information about her current reign and her decisions in a flash drive; look for one under your pillow someday. She'll be heading out in three days to find that karateman, Ryu. You haven't forgotten about the BLECE project, right?"

"I remember. She's planning on kidnapping Ryu to use his hidden Satsui No Hado power for her own gain, isn't she? Another woman from S.I.N., Crimson Viper was her name, tried that and almost succeeded."

Viper's expression changed from a smirk to a frown at the mention of her name. She wasn't proud of what she had done, but she never was proud of anything she ever did for S.I.N. An assassin like her was hired for such a job, and, to get results quickly, Viper had to discard mercy and compassion for the mission. The death of the pigtailed Delta Red agent wasn't necessary, but if it would persuade Ryu to unleash his true power, then so be it.

'Thankfully the girl lived…' she thought to herself. "That's right, but if Juri is tackling Ryu, she'll succeed where Viper failed. She always manages to get what she wants. It would be wise that you-"

A soft beeping came from a pocket in her black jacket, cutting Viper's attention away from the phone. She hastily tore into the pocket and pulled out a small pocket television, programmed to survey the hallway to the hangar. A small red light flashed repeatedly on the device, alerting her that someone was coming down the hallway. No mistake, the flash of purple and white trousers belonged to the leader of S.I.N.

"I uh… ran into a little problem," she told the man on the phone. "I'll find another way to contact you; expect something tomorrow."

Cursing under her breath, Viper tucked her phone away without bothering to hear the man's concerned response.

'Time for plan B…'

She put her device away and pulled out a different, smaller one. The size of a children's kaleidoscope, the black device's purpose was to create a holographic image of the user; useful for deceiving enemies. It could emit voices too, either recorded or transmitted through a microphone. She attached it to the steel support column she was leaning on and activated the tiny machine.

The device beeped once and enveloped the crimson-haired project head in a ray of blue light. It copied her image and mimicked her movements, thanks to a small receptor chip hidden in another pocket of her suit. She raised her hand and watched as the image in front of her did the same, only mirrored. She didn't smile, as she had seen this a hundred times before. Putting a pause on her doppelganger, Viper looked up to the steel rafters of the hangar.

With the touch of a small button, her black high-heels hissed. Viper crouched low for a moment before leaping into the air, her jump assisted by the sudden activation of the tiny propulsion jets in her heels. Trailing the steel support column, her jets took her up to the rafters and deposited her on a beam directly above the still image of her doppelganger.

Quickly yet carefully she walked the length of the beam, reaching into her pockets for a small microphone. She attached the tiny machine to her ear as she hopped to a perpendicular beam, working to get above the door out of the hangar. Plan B, if plan A was interrupted, was to distract and neutralize anyone who interfered with her call. Knowing well that Juri was about to reach the hangar, Viper revised her plan to allow an assassination to be made. She perched above the entrance in the shadows, tapping a button to make her deceiving device resume its mimicry of the crimson-haired agent just as the sound of doors opening filled the room.

---

Juri quickly scanned her eye on the nearby retinal scanner, opening the doors into the hangar. She ran inside and stopped a few feet in, clenching her fists and glaring at the battlesuit-wearing woman. Viper was leaning against a steel support column, head down and eyes focused on her chrome phone. Her fingers worked the keys like an expert, showing Juri that she was texting someone.

"What are you doing in here, Viper?" Juri shouted, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward.

No answer was given for a few seconds, testing the Korean's patience. Why she didn't run up and slam a leg into her was the credit of a lingering piece of doubt in the back of her mind. If Viper wanted to explain herself, she would. She looked up from her phone and raised an eyebrow.

"Why, just texting a few of my men to check up on my work," she replied in a nonchalant fashion.

"Bullshit, where's the yellow phone?"

"What yellow phone?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Viper," she hissed, baring her teeth.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Viper replied, pushing away from the column to stand up. "Save for my daughter's phone, all I have is this chrome one."

Juri went forward and slammed her foot down on the concrete floor, creating a few cracks as well as a resounding thud. She noticed Viper looking down at her action and yelled.

"Don't lie to me! Who did you call!"

"Call?" Viper placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Juri, looking amused. "Juri, I didn't call anyone. You're being paranoid again."

She slicked her hair back and yawned, clearly not frightened by Juri's display. Juri, angered by her lax demeanor, slowly made her way to Viper with malicious intent. If she dared to lie to her, then she had no choice but to beat the truth out of her. The fact that she worked with Viper for years and knew her enough to be considered a friend would not take any hostility from the soon-to-come interrogation.

Suddenly, the project head flickered like a candle in the wind. Her expression softening to show bewilderment, Juri stopped and stared. The woman in front of her seemed frozen in place. She was about to open her mouth when a faint hissing sound was heard from above. Gasping, Juri dived forward just as the real Viper came crashing down where she once stood, her heels alight with orange flame.

Rolling over to her side, the leader narrowly managed to dodge the assassin's heel again. She leaped to her feet and swung her leg at the woman, forcing her to back away. Viper grunted and raised her fists, agitated that her killing blow missed its mark. If only she was a little quicker in her execution would Juri be on the floor with a flaming heel embedded in her bloody skull.

"Et tu, Viper?" Juri angrily spat out, getting back to her feet.

She slowly backpedaled to the steel support column and quickly searched it, finding the device Viper used to trick her. The contraption broke easily in her hands. She threw the pieces to the floor as Viper tossed a microphone over her shoulder, smirking.

"You know, I didn't expect you to notice me up here. I thought Vega would've had you bent over a table at this time."

Sparks came from her black leather gloves, arcing out a few inches in every direction. Her feet were in a good position to deliver her away from any retaliation attacks, and to attack at the drop of a hat. The covert weapons that she wielded were capable of quickly incapacitating targets, making her a force to be reckoned with. To Juri, she would have to be extra cautious around her. She waved her arms to the hangar doors, scowling.

"You hit me enough, and my dolls will come running."

Viper shook her head and sighed.

"Well then, I'll just have to kill you quickly."

"It doesn't really matter though," Juri continued, ignoring Viper's comment. "You'll be completely at my mercy before they get here."

"Is that a threat?" Viper retorted, tapping her shades.

"That's not a threat," she hissed, "that's a promise."

Juri leaped into the air, twisting her body around. She lurched forward and came rocketing down upon Viper with her leg out for an attack. Viper raised her arms and blocked the strike, although managing to get pushed back a few feet. From her midair position, Juri lashed out with a few more kicks, all easily blocked before she touched down on the concrete flooring.

This provided Viper a wondrous opportunity to attack, but, she didn't capitalize on the opportunity. She needed a good, strong hit to stagger her target, not a quick jab to the ribs. She would persevere with the fight, awaiting a better opportunity. Sweeps from Juri's legs were dodged by hopping over them, and aggressive roundhouses were ducked. Viper slowly backed away from Juri, taunting her by yawning and readjusting her gloves.

Angered by the display of cockiness, Juri dashed forward. Pivoting her heel as she ran, she lifted her leg up behind her with her ki energy following, starting up her pinwheel kick. Viper blocked the first leg and her other leg with minimal effort, finding that Juri was flailing about in hopes that the strength of her legs would knock her around. Just as Viper lowered her arms did she see the two legs she blocked come by again, seemingly defying the laws of gravity and physics.

The first returning leg broke Viper's block, kicking her arms up and away from her body. Smashing into her jaw was the second leg, imbued with Juri's damaging ki energy. The effect of the attack was a load of pain, as well as Viper's shades almost being knocked off. She didn't let her target know that the attack fazed her, instead focusing on returning her yellow shades to her face.

Grunting, Viper delivered a punch forward, sending a weak amount of electricity to run across her knuckles. Unbeknownst to Juri as she dodged to get behind her, that attack from Viper was in reality, a feint. She quickly turned around, unclenching her fist to knock Juri's backhand away. Off balance, the Korean's eyes widened as Viper's fist slammed into her stomach.

This wasn't accompanied by a severe shocking, which Viper normally used on targets that needed to be incapacitated. Instead, a strong physical shock shot through Juri's body as if something phased through her. She felt like a sledgehammer smashed into her body, knocking the wind out of her and keeling her over. Unlike a sledgehammer, which crumpled any poor sap unlucky enough to get hit by it, Viper's supercharged fist sent Juri reeling backwards through the air.

The clock began ticking for Viper, as with the hit she knew the dolls would come running. Working fast, she pursued Juri's body and attempted to stab her heel into her ribs. Juri quickly recovered from the pain and dodged the stomp attack, kicking Viper's legs out from under her. Growling, she got to her feet and put some room between her and Viper before she could get back up to attack again.

"Let me guess," Juri began, tapping her chin, "one of the Shadaloo scientists ponied up all his cash just to survive and promised more if you brought him my head, right?"

"Nope," Viper replied simply, throwing a sidewinder strike at her head.

Juri ducked the attack and countered with a hard kick, which was blocked. She wouldn't admit that Viper caught her off guard, that she had an advantage over her. Her pride wouldn't allow her to realize that and persuaded her to keep fighting, not just out of anger but for her life. She knew that Viper was just a woman, and without that suit to make her a threat, she was as weak as any scientist she crushed under her heel.

"Then what are you doing?"

Crimson Viper smirked and tapped her heels on the concrete.

"My job."

Her job in S.I.N. was to be the head of the battlesuit project and to take care of blights that needed to be solved with assassinations and blackmails. She had done this for at least four years, never failing or even earning herself a scolding from one of the higher-ups. If her job included betraying Juri, then something was wrong.

"You're working for someone else, aren't you?" Juri yelled, pointing at Viper.

"Just like persistence, paranoia pays off for you," Viper muttered, rushing forward.

She leaped over Juri and tapped her heels with her fingers, prompting a short hiss to erupt from them. Flipping in midair at the top of her arc, she brought her heels in only to send them out and away from each other, spewing flames from the devices hidden inside. Juri, taken aback by the attack, raised her arms to protect her face. She grunted in pain as the flames licked her arms.

Landing behind Juri, Viper turned and jabbed her elbow into her back, knocking her down.

"Nothing in this world lasts forever, Juri," she said in a calm voice. "Everything eventually decays and breaks down. S.I.N. is suffering with you in charge, and with you out of the picture, it'll break down completely. This time, I'll finally expose this organization for good." She approached Juri and raised her fists, cackling with electricity. "…I owe him that much…"

"This time?" Juri repeated, painfully rolling to her side. "...Are you saying you were working against us the whole time?"

"Well, look who just caught up!"

Viper slammed her charged fist into Juri's side, sending shocks through her body. It arced through her, making her convulse from the pain. When Viper tried to slam another charged fist into her, Juri rolled over to avoid the attack and got to her knees, panting and holding her side. Her expression turned to weariness and unparalleled anger, directed towards the backstabbing rat.

"Oh now you've done it," she yelled, getting back to her feet. "No more playing around, on to the real thing!"

Juri growled and slammed a foot into the floor, activating her Feng Shui Engine. Her vision slowly changed to show the world in an orange hue and to create a reticule in the middle of it all. Small letters formed at the corners of her vision, informing her of the status of the eye, power management levels, power of highlighted entities, and vitals. Energy poured into Juri's body, free to flow around in her veins to strengthen her.

This display of power was expected by Viper. Of course Juri would use her eye, as it made things much easier and much more interesting for her. Combating her would be difficult, but as long as Viper kept her distance and looked for openings, the eye would just be a minor inconvenience and would be quickly destroyed along with its user. What she didn't account for was Juri's unpredictable nature. And her speed.

In a move that shocked her enemy, Juri closed the distance and got dangerously close to Viper. Flinching, she threw her fist forward in an attempt to stop her attack, which Juri dodged, ending up behind her. An attack to the stomach was what she was aiming for, but now that she was behind the traitor, she settled for a fierce knee to her back, staggering Viper forward.

"I'm going to watch you suffer!"

Juri was just getting started. She moved to get back in front of Viper, finding a huge window of opportunity. The agent could only watch as her target planted her fist under her jaw, sending pain through her body and bright lights into her vision. Kicks were what Juri was known for, as she rarely punched. Yet, this was a fight, and in a fight, anything goes. Stunned from the blow, Viper grunted and leaned back, falling to the floor.

Not wasting any time, Juri lifted her leg up high and brought it down on Viper's chest. She heard something crush beneath her heel and grinned, thinking she had cracked a rib. In fact, she had cracked Viper's pocket computer, which monitored the battlesuit's power and managed its weapons. Either way, it was fortunate for Juri as long as she heard something break and someone scream.

She looked down at Viper in sadistic delight, seeing that she was powerless. Her hand reached for her throat as she stood over her, eager for the kill. She wanted to see the helplessness in her eyes, to see the life slowly drain from them. Sadly for her, she heard the hissing sound that came from Viper's heels.

With a pained smirk, Viper activated the propulsion jets in her heels, shooting her away from Juri and across the floor. She used her hands to push against the floor as she flew, lifting her up. Narrowly avoiding Juri's hands as she jumped up to catch her, Viper retreated to the main area of the hangar. The damage to her suit needed to be evaluated, but not in the middle of the fight. She touched down on top of an aircraft, specifically, a sinister black cargo plane that was over four stories tall.

Her heels clinked against the metal of the plane's body. If things went well, Viper would have attempted to pilot the aircraft away from the facility in her escape. Things weren't going well at that time, and she knew that by the time she managed to kill Juri, soldiers would rush in. The dolls wouldn't be a concern, as they were bound to Juri's ki signature. If she died, the dolls would fall in unconsciousness. A small jet would get her out.

Sparks came from Viper's pocket computer, bringing her attention to it. She looked into her jacket and found the machine, finding that the sparks came from a small crack on one of the corners. A few wires were bent out of place, ones that ran energy to her shock gloves. She could not send shockwaves through the ground or inflict much damage on Juri until she fixed her management system.

Just as she reached her hands inside to correct her problem, she was kicked forward onto the black metal surface of the cargo plane.

"Business before pleasure," she heard Juri say mockingly behind her.

Grunting, Viper scrambled to her feet, dodging a curbstomp as she did so. She turned and swung her leg out to connect with Juri's head, gasping when it was blocked by a leg of her own. The two women stood in their position, legs connected and glaring. After a few seconds, both women withdrew their attacks and began to exchange blows, neither of them getting the upper hand on the other.

While she didn't get hit during a minute of fighting atop the plane, Juri and the power of her Feng Shui Engine managed to push Viper to one of the wings. She slowly backpedaled away from the Korean while deflecting her blows and blocking her kicks. Noticing that she was still on top of a plane, Viper turned her head to look behind herself. Wincing at the height, she returned her gaze to Juri, who, taking the brief distraction as a blessing, rammed her foot into Viper's stomach.

"Scared of heights, you backstabbing snake?" Juri hissed.

The wind was knocked out of her with that strike, as was her balance. Stumbling back, her heel slipped over the edge of the wing. With her eyes wide open in shock, Viper watched in slow motion as Juri's hand came down, reaching for the remaining heel that had yet to disappear over the edge. Her devilish purple energy trailed down her arm and into her hand as she grabbed the heel. Viper, who had activated her jets to retreat again, watched as one of them crumbled in Juri's hand.

"Here, enjoy your flight!"

Time sped back up again, and soon, Viper found Juri and the wing of the plane leaving her. Her rapid, dangerous descent lifted her long braided hair up so she could see it at the top of her vision. Then, before she could even attempt to correct her wayward flight, she collided with the concrete floor, made worse by the malfunctioning jet boot. Pain shot through her body again, and she could hear over her screams the sickening crack of her collarbone breaking.

But she couldn't lie on ruined concrete, holding her injured right arm and crying. She needed to move. Using her other arm, Viper managed to push herself up and stagger away, wincing and mumbling curses under her breath. She heard the destruction of concrete flooring behind her and knew Juri was following, ready to unleash her energy on her. Ignoring the whirring noises of the Feng Shui Engine behind her, Viper retreated behind a steel support column, disappearing from Juri's line of sight.

After a quick search of herself, Viper deducted that she was not in the best shape to fight anymore. Her battlesuit had taken severe damage- as did her body-, and now the only weapon she could use were her shock gloves. Her knuckles sparked traces of electricity, giving her an idea. She tinkered with her pocket computer, diverting power from her destroyed shockwave emitters and malfunctioning jet boots to pour into her shocking system.

If she could hold onto Juri and shock her senseless, the effects would eventually stop her heart. The Delta Red agent got off easy; she suffered from a small shock to her chest. Juri would get no mercy from her, no sympathy when she cries out from the surge of electricity coursing through her body. This was Viper's last chance to end it all. Hearing the sounds of bare feet on concrete, Viper roared and ran out from behind the column.

Juri, taken by surprise, found her shoulders gripped by the Crimson Viper. Growling, she reached up to grab her attack but stopped when the shocks shot through her body. She gritted her teeth in pain and stood still, trying to resist the surge of electricity. It felt like someone was stabbing her repeatedly, leaving scars so deep that they burned when the slightest breeze graced them. Viper, despite the pain in her shoulder, gripped harder and pushed down on the Korean, forcing her to her knees.

There was no need to make a snappy statement to rub her skills in Juri's face. Viper only cared about putting an end to the murderess quickly, no matter what. Scowling, she increased the power of her shock gloves. The purple glow of the Feng Shui Engine was lost in the blue sparks of Juri's electrocution, raising Viper's spirits. She thought she saw a glimpse of her enemy's skeleton, but she shook her head.

That didn't mean anything to Viper. She removed her left hand from the shoulders and moved down to the chest, supplying it with waves upon waves of lethal shocks. Juri opened her mouth and screamed, squeezing her eyes shut from the pain. Electricity arced through her teeth, ravaging her insides and getting ever closer to stopping her heart. Viper scoffed at Juri's screams as she continued to increase the voltage, apathetic to her plight.

She didn't notice the grin that had formed on Juri's face, or the fact that the Feng Shui Engine began to steadily grow brighter.

"Arrgghhhh…. Heh… heheheh…"

Juri chuckled masochistically, enjoying the feeling of pain throughout her body. She wasn't a real masochist, but with the power of her eye, she seemed very much like one. The eye poured more energy than what was needed into her body when her vitals began to drop, making Juri much more deadly when she was in a bad spot. She was just an animal, and animals fought their hardest when cornered. Soon, her masochistic chuckles turned into laughter.

"Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Viper raised an eyebrow at the woman, shocked to see she was able to laugh in such a situation. "Oh m-man! Viper… I feel s-so good right now…"

Infuriated that she was still talking, Viper drew back her left hand and curled it into a fist. She shot it forward, hitting Juri in the side of the head. The copper taste of her own blood filled her mouth, serving to convince her to give up. What a shame it was for the agent that Juri enjoyed that too. When another punch came to her face, a hand came up to grab it.

Viper gasped and looked to the Feng Shui Engine, finding it blinding to look at. Purple ki energy swirled around the two women as Juri slowly got to her feet, grinning ear to ear. She released Viper's left hand from her grip and smacked her right one away, freeing herself from the shocks. Before Viper could attack again, Juri raised her knee into her stomach.

Not wasting the opportunity, Juri backed away and slammed her foot deep into Viper's ribs, amplifying the power with her ki energy. Changing her mind, she did not want to kill her opponent. Instead, she wanted to torture her. Robbed of having a good time with Vega, Juri decided to have as much fun as she possibly could with her new toy. She smirked as her energy blew out Viper's back in a punishing fashion.

"Did you think you were special?"

The effects of Juri's ki infused kick knocked Viper off of her legs and back to the steel support column. Her screams were silent, as the breath had been knocked out of her. She impacted hard upon the column, slowly sliding down to stand in a stunned, excruciating position with her head down and eyes clenched shut. When she looked up and opened her eyes, a leg flew forward and embedded itself in her chest.

Viper released a bloodcurdling scream, throwing her head back. Something broke inside, and it wasn't just her computer again. At least two of her ribs cracked, adding to her broken collarbone on her list of injuries. If she was able to fight then, she certainly wasn't able to now. She could feel Juri's leg leaving her as her hands reached for her gloves. Powerless to stop her, Viper could only watch as her gloves, still attached to the almost broken management computer by wires, were slowly removed.

Juri deactivated her Feng Shui Engine, sending Juri into a slightly tipsy state. She pressed up against Viper and panted, trying to regain the strength that wasn't granted by the tiny machine. It was like a drug, that eye. The user cries out for power and suffers the side effects of being edged off of it, but only temporarily. It was perhaps the only flaw in the machine, but, since Juri always made sure to kill or incapacitate her threats, it was overlooked. She looked up at Viper with a drunken grin.

"Still breathing? Good." She held Viper's gloves in one hand and snaked her other hand inside Viper's jacket, feeling around for pockets. "Where's the phone?"

"W-what phone…?" Viper growled, gritting her teeth.

Immediately she tasted blood, feeling Juri's fist leave her cheek.

"Don't. Play. Dumb." She felt around again and found a small pocket, taking a device out. Crushing the pocket television, she reached in a third time, fishing out a yellow phone. "Here we go… boy, you really souped up this phone Viper." Putting a hand into a glove, Juri frowned. "Why, Viper? Why did you try to kill me?"

"…If you want s-something done right, do it yourself…" She noticed Juri's expression turn from disappointment to anger and sneered. "That's right… The Interpol officer and her little Delta Red buddy couldn't take you d-down even with the info I gave them, and Satoya's assassination attempt failed."

Juri shouted with rage and grabbed onto Viper's shoulders, shocking her with her own weapon. Electricity tore through her feeble body, running rampant through her veins. Viper screamed again, clenching her fists so hard that her nails drew blood in the palms of her hands.

"You fucking rat!" she yelled, removing her shocking, gloved hand just to punch Viper again. "Do you know how much damage you've caused to this facility? How much bullshit you put me through? The time I've wasted fighting those three idiots?" Panting and shaking her head, she said in a softer, calmer voice: "Well… Chun-Li was a gift, and the only good thing you did for me was to bring her to my attention."

She looked to the yellow phone and turned it on, surprised to see it didn't require a password. The phone's devices were undamaged in the fight; quite a lucky occurrence. Scowling, Juri flashed the phone up in front of Viper's face, showing her that her list of contacts was empty, as well as her recent calls.

"Who did you call?"

When she didn't receive an answer, Juri put on Viper's other shock glove and poked the back of her neck, sending a painful jolt down her spine.

"Answer me! Who did you call?"

"What does it matter?"

Juri pocketed the yellow phone and tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at her like a parent would before they scolded their child. While a parent's scolding would normally be gentle and harsh at the same time, Juri's scolding consisted of a knee to the stomach and another set of shocks.

"One more time… Who did you call?" She held a sparking glove next to Viper's head like a knife held at one's throat. "Give me a name!"

"Arrghh!" Juri's other hand was still on her, sending waves of shocks deep into her body. "…G-Guile!"

"Guile who?"

"M-Major William Guile… of the United States Airforce…!"

Shocks stopped at the mention of his name.

"You're lying!" she yelled. "I killed him in the mountains!"

"Did you? If C-Cammy survived to get the… jump on you in Metro City, why wouldn't a man like him survive too?"

"Tch… fine then. One last question for you, Viper… just who do you work for?"

Viper sneered at the woman, making it clear she wouldn't answer. Such disobedience did not go unpunished in S.I.N., and the leader was eager to dish out her just rewards. She could hear noises behind the hangar doors and wrote them off as her dolls trying to get in. They had equipment to bypass the locks, and would be at their master's side at any minute. Shocking Viper once again, Juri screamed in her face.

"Talk! Who do you work for?"

Despite the pain, Viper managed to let out a small chuckle.

"Heheh… d-do you expect me to just spill out everything b-because you demand it? Why don't you go back to hell where you came from… I'm not telling you a damned thing…"

"If you won't tell me," Juri started, clasping her hands together and smiling, "I'll find someone who will…" She spoke softly, yet maliciously. "You have a daughter, right?"

"What?" Viper gasped, widening her eyes.

"Lauren, was it? Maybe if I ask her nicely, I can find out just what her mommy does when she's away."

Mother's instinct kicked in, screaming at Viper to protect her daughter.

"You stay away from her! Laruen's only 6; she's innocent!"

"Haha! Do you really think she's innocent?" Shaking her head, Juri grinned. "You brought her into this mess when you joined this organization. I think I'll pay her a visit, take her to the park, buy some ice cream and just talk. Don't worry Viper… I'll be gentle."

She could see tears swelling in Viper's eyes and raised an eyebrow. Her threat to find Lauren pushed her mother off the edge, completely shattering her cool, collected demeanor. As for Juri, she couldn't care less if she threatened her daughter to get what she wanted. It wasn't that bad of a thing to do in her mind.

"Please… no more pain, no more threats," Viper sobbed, hanging her head. "…I work for the Central Intelligence Agency…"

"I knew it," Juri stated proudly. "I just wanted to make you say it."

"How can you be so heartless…?"

The response was soft and pitiful, taking Juri by surprise. This was Crimson Viper, a strong woman, now beaten and reduced to tears. Such a sighy and ironic question made Juri grin wider.

"Me? Heartless? This is coming from the woman who played a hand in the deaths of countless martial artists for BLECE data and kidnapped Masters' wife just to draw Ryu to Seth." She shook her head and sighed. "Oh, sorries! I bet that was necessary for your undercover CIA mission!"

Suddenly the hangar doors opened, revealing the S.I.N. dolls. März took her hands away from the door console and ran inside with her sisters, moving to surround her master and her attacker. Their hands hovered over their weapons or were clenched into fists, awaiting an order. Juri turned her head to look at them and frowned, disappointed that they didn't arrive soon to play with Viper.

"Looks like I was right." She turned back to look at her victim. "Now, where was I? Oh right…"

She grabbed Viper again, increasing the shock force in her new gloves. No matter how much she screamed against the torture, Juri would not let up. Her vision darkened continuously while her screams slowly faded, giving into the pain. After a minute, Viper was barely hanging onto consciousness. The electricity surging through her body suddenly stopped, giving her some rest. That was quickly cut short by a force colliding with her head, knocking her to the floor.

"Nighty night, Crimson Viper…" she managed to hear before the darkness overtook her.

---

With her recent betrayal and the knowledge that she worked for the CIA as an undercover agent, Viper was detained in a maximum security cell in the detention block. It wasn't that she was still dangerous in her severely injured state, but with the way things were, it was a case of 'better safe than sorry'. The cell was devoid of any objects or furniture, making it unbearably uncomfortable for the one inside it. Viper's clothes were removed during her unconsciousness to find every gadget she had, and to retrieve the battlesuit.

Viper's battlesuit was a mangled mess beyond hope of repair. The only weapons in that suit that still worked were her shock gloves, and they had ran out of power from overuse. Shaking her head in disappointment, Juri made the decision to destroy the suit and put the battlesuit project down, since the project head wouldn't be working for her anymore. The members of the project were reassigned to other projects, but not before suffering a threatening speech from Juri.

As for Juri, she had her work cut out for her. She decided to interrogate Viper tomorrow, saving her for herself and no one else. Questions ran through her mind as she sat in her study, looking at Viper's yellow shades in one hand and the untraceable yellow phone in the other.

'You were an assassin, Viper,' she thought, examining the shades. 'To any other assassin after me, I'm just a target… There was anger in your words, making the whole thing seem personal… what did I do to you to deserve that at the start?' Then you muttered about owing something to 'him'… must be the man you answer to.'

The beeping of the 9-paned computer screens behind her edged her out of her thoughts. Grumbling, Juri pocketed the yellow phone and stuck the yellow shades in her hairline as she turned to face the screens. It was a report on the BLECE project, which filled her with curiosity and contempt. She was glad that the men working on it were continuing to make progress after all that had happened during the week, but she was also disgusted that they had to bother her today.

A picture of a man in a white karate gi flashed on the screen along with a text document that explained more about him. Juri leaned forward in earnest interest when she saw it. A team of recruiters for S.I.N. had sent in this report about Ryu from Thailand, remarking that they had caught a glimpse of the man wandering the wilderness nearby. Whether it was really him or just another karateman, the recruiters were not exactly sure. It was progress towards retrieving data on the Satsui No Hado, nonetheless.

"Thailand?" Juri questioned. "Where the hell is that?"

She didn't receive an answer. Furrowing her brow, Juri questioned the screens again.

"Where is Thailand?"

The computer was supposed to answer questions and take vocal orders, increasing its efficiency and making the operator's job easier. Seth personally commissioned a team of technicians to create this computer to assist him. Why he didn't just use a keyboard was a mystery. Perhaps his fingers were too large to tap away at keys. After a few seconds of waiting, Juri came to the conclusion that the voice software only recognized Seth's voice.

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll use a globe like an old fart."

She turned around and walked to the old, antique globe that sat near her desk. Three mahogany legs lifted the sepiatoned sphere a good three and a half feet from the ground, allowing Juri to lean over it in her search for Ryu's supposed location. Something arose when she thought of Thailand. She had sworn that she had been there before, and that it was somewhere in Asia. Dusting the sphere with her hand, she went to work.

Turning the sphere slowly, Juri trailed her finger along the surface. She passed over America, where she knew a Shadaloo base was hidden in California. Whether or not every scientist was assassinated during Viper's mission, she knew that Shadaloo was finished. Moving along, her finger zipped past France, where she had her most recent run-in with Chun-Li after defeating a cocky Muay Thai kickboxer.

"Ms. China doll chased me off before I could get that spastic little creep's headband. I need that to complete my collection! Oh well," she said with a smirk, "there'll be other opportunities."

Soon, her finger rested on the continent of Asia. She passed through Russia and skipped over India to find a small country, labeled as Thailand. Curious, Juri leaned in closer to examine the land. She was right about the country being located in Asia, and the idea that she had visited it became stronger. If memory served, one of the first Shadaloo bases was hidden deep in the forests of Thailand.

"Damn," she cursed, tapping the globe, "this place is on the other side of the planet! By the time I get there, the karate guy would already be lost!"

Shaking her head, Juri pressed the palm of her hand on the country and pressed to the right, putting the globe in motion. She walked away from the tool to get back to her desk when she heard a dull bump behind her, halting her movements. Things never went bump in the night, not in the heavily guarded and secure facility. Turning on her heel, Juri raised herself into her fighting stance; one leg raised and prepared to strike at any attacker.

Nothing jumped out at her, and she couldn't sense someone hiding in the shadows of the bookcases. Lowering her stance, Juri scowled and stood still for a few seconds, focusing on hearing that sound again. She swore the sound came from her right, and focused her attention there. She passed the still spinning globe and peeked behind a bookcase, mumbling obscenities as she looked around. The bumping sound came from behind again, whisking her head away.

The globe was spinning much slower than it was earlier, piquing her interest. She approached it and watched carefully as countries came into view and quickly disappeared behind new ones, ready to appear again. Then, the sphere suddenly bounced up as if it had hit something, prompting the same bumping noise that Juri had heard twice already to fill the room. She reached out to stop the globe and gently lifted it out from its spot.

A small hole was carved into the bowl-shaped top of the globe stand. The globe must have hit the edges of the hole when it spun. Juri placed the sphere on the ground and looked into the hole, finding that she couldn't see what was inside due to the lack of light. She snapped her fingers, willing the bright purple light of her energy to come out and illuminate the insides of the hole. With the aid of her bright ki energy, she reached into the hole and grabbed onto a small object, pulling it out.

The object was light in her hands and had a cold metallic feel to it. Raising it up to her face, Juri saw that the object was in fact, a silver key. She looked at the blade of the key, noticing it had two flat prongs. Inscribed on the bow was an elegant engraving of a butterfly. The entire key was tiny, making it unfit for use on a door lock. Instead, it was fit for use on something smaller.

Getting an idea, Juri moved to her desk and opened a drawer filled with Seth's journals. She picked out a few she hadn't read yet and spread them apart, examining each lock.

"None of these locks are silver," she muttered, looking at the bronze locks on the sides of Seth's journals. She looked at the silver key again, staring intently at the butterfly on the bow. "Just where do you go?"

A thought came to her mind.

'The only silver lock I've seen… is in my room… attached to that leather-bound notebook thingy…'

She looked up at the BLECE report on the screens above her, then back to the silver key in her hand. As a leader, one has to put first things first. Files need to be finished, documents need to be examined, and reports need to be reviewed. For Juri, she had two choices: abandon her work for the moment and pursue her thought, or sit down and commit herself to completing her work.

The lure of the key was too enticing to pass up, and damned would Juri be if she actually wanted to work. She turned her back on the screens and jogged to the doors, whistling to her personal doll. With März ordered to follow, the spider exited the room.

Something was wrong about the whole key situation in Juri's mind. She had a sneaking suspicion that the key was hers, but she didn't recall having it in her possession. Seth loved to hide things from Juri, but it was always in the same form: speaking in Japanese before she understood the language. If he hid a tiny, fascinating-looking silver key from her, then there must be something he didn't want her to see.

Her feet flew through the corridors and hallways, down the stairs, and past every confused and frightened scientist she met. She kept the key hidden in her clenched fist, as to keep the personnel from seeing what she was so hot-footed about. Nobody needed to know what she was doing except for Juri and perhaps her brainwashed pack mule.

She made it to her quarters and punched in her code again, not so much as batting an eyelash at the two guards again. If she was in a bad mood, smacking them around would alleviate her sour attitude. Now, she was just in a curious mood, eager to find out what the key unlocked. She went inside and looked to her doll.

"Stay!" she ordered the woman, as if she was giving a command to a dog. März clicked her heels and stood at attention near the door, head held high. "Good girl."

With her doll set, Juri moved into the bedroom of her quarters and looked around. The big four-poster bed looked enticing to lie on, but she needed to find that locked notebook. Gregor's new glass tank would never hold the item, since it was an inane place to put such a thing. She didn't remember placing the item in Seth's personal safe and wine cooler, but she looked inside it anyway, just to grab a glass of red wine. She knew the wardrobe was the place to go.

Opening up the bottom drawer, Juri grabbed hold of a few articles of exotic clothing with the hand that didn't hold her glass and tossed them over her shoulder. She nudged the dead dictator's red military cap out of her way along with more miscellanea. Maracas, red sneakers, a feathery headband, blue boxing gloves… her search in the drawer became fruitless. Mumbling to herself with the key held between her teeth, she shut the drawer and stood up from her crouched position.

A small glint caught her eye as she took the key out from her mouth. She looked into the large mirror to her left and rolled her eyes, seeing past herself that the item she was looking for was on a mahogany end table, resting against her alarm clock as it had been the day before. Red wine slid down her throat before she deposited her half full glass on the table, using her new free hand to pick up the leather-bound notebook.

To anyone else who held the notebook, a strange feeling of dread and sorrow would grip them, tempting them to leave the object be. Juri didn't feel that at all, proving that her curiosity was dominant at the time. She held the key close to the lock of its element, taking a moment to compare. There was a butterfly engraved in the lock as well, further cementing the idea that the key was compatible with the lock.

Without hesitation, Juri stuck the blade of the key into the hole and turned the bow, hearing the tiny click of the lock having been released.

She grinned, expecting something beneficial hidden inside. In a strange way… it actually was beneficial to her. A scrap of white paper with a drawing of a familiar woman greeted her eyes when she opened the notebook. The person had on a traditional taekwando outfit like Juri's, but without the sinister touches. Her expression was not of the usual devilish pride, happiness, anger, or serenity that Juri was used to. Instead, the woman's drawn expression was one of deep melancholy. Grin wiped from her face, the leader saw that the signature at the bottom of the picture was her own.

"I drew this?" Juri asked, tilting her head. "I don't remember this at all…"

Her drawings never included her without the Feng Shui Engine or a look of pride, and yet, there was a picture of herself without both things. A bad feeling brewed in the pit of her stomach, urging her to look no further into the notebook. She ignored it and grabbed the drawing to put it on her nearby bed. Another drawing was beneath it, created in the same sad light as the other.

Juri saw herself speaking to a chrome giant with a yin-yang sphere embedded in his stomach. She knew the other person was Seth, but she wasn't sure if she had drawn herself tiny or him gigantic. The whole picture seemed to signify intimidation, but Juri never recalled being intimidated by Seth. His scolds were never harsh enough to rustle her or put fear into her heart, mostly because she had grown tired of his calm, emotionless façade.

Another picture was underneath that one, but it was different from the other two. This one had a date, showing that it was drawn at least five years ago. In the drawn Juri's hand was a smoking handgun, and on her face was an angry expression. She was pointing the handgun at someone nearby, but the picture was ripped in half, leaving the side with the Korean intact. All that Juri could make out about the other person was a foot with a few drops of blood near it.

"So… Seth stole this key to keep depressing pictures that I drew away from me?"

Not dwelling on the thought, Juri continued to look through the notebook, finding more of the same sad, angry drawings. Those drawings told something about her, but she could not understand the messages. She had never recalled using a firearm in her life. She couldn't remember the last time she felt intimidated. What was there to cry about?

She delved further into the notebook, eager to uncover something that could make heads or tails of her old forgotten drawings. Pictures that had been looked at were spread across the bed while new ones were pulled out, handled, and examined closely. The notebook was put aside, having taken everything out of it. She drank all of the wine from her glass and turned to walk back to the wine safe for a refill.

"This is getting creepy…" she muttered, tilting the bottle of red wine into her glass. She turned her head to her pet spider's enclosure and shrugged. "What do you think Gregor?"

The tarantula squeaked and moved away from the glass to retreat under a fake log. Sighing, Juri shook her head at her pet, knowing that although he looked fierce, he didn't act as intimidating as his kind usually were. She put the bottle of wine back into the safe and closed it for the evening, drawing the line at two glasses. When she walked back to the bed, her foot brushed against something on the floor.

Whatever it was, it was different from the many drawings on paper. Its material didn't feel ragged or rough like paper, but glossy, smooth, and well-kept. She looked down at her foot and saw a small piece of white material with a bit of writing on the back. Holding her glass of wine carefully close to her body, Juri crouched down near the object and looked over it.

There was a date written in purple ink, one that served to make Juri very anxious. Whatever the material was, it dated back ten years. She would have been fifteen at that time, as she was twenty-five now. She reached out to pick up the item and feel the material. The sense of dread was strongest at that point, and yet, Juri could not feel it. With a small gasp, she read out a name at the top right corner of the item.

"H-Han…"

She blinked and slowly flipped over the item.

It was a picture… a picture of an Asian man and woman in their early forties. The man wore a black business suit while the woman wore an elegant red dress. It was a portrait photo upon closer inspection, taken to show the couple at their best. They both wore merry expressions, but they were not directed towards the viewer. Two pairs of eyes, one blue and soft, the other hazel and gentle, looked down at a third person.

A young woman sat between the man and woman. Her short, raven-colored hair gleamed in the light of the room in the photo. She wore a practical yet beautiful purple dress and a sincere smile, one that held no ill meaning behind it. Bright violet eyes that were full of life seemed to stare directly at Juri, allowing her to see one important thing: her left eye was real, not a machine.

Then the world came crashing down upon Juri.

The man in the picture was her father. He was a lawyer who acted to stop Shadaloo and tried to make the world safer for his daughter. The woman was her mother, the gentlest, kindest person her daughter had ever known. The teenage girl was Juri herself, when she was still innocent and blissfully ignorant of the evil in the world. Her parents loved her with all their hearts, and continued to do so, even when they breathed their last dying breath.

"M-mom… Dad…"

Juri's hands began to shake as she suddenly began to recall their deaths, for she was there to witness them. Two Shadaloo soldiers kidnapped the entire family in the dead of night when they decided to walk back home, quickly incapacitating them. The soldiers transported them to a dilapidated and deserted building miles from their hometown as ordered to put distance between them and law enforcement, which by that time had just began their search for the Han family. With a safe spot to perform, the soldiers went to work.

As a lawyer working against Shadaloo, Juri's father was the prize of the day. Blackmail didn't work against him, bribes were ignored, and threats fell on deaf ears. He wasn't stubborn to push them away; he was strong and protective of his family, not taking anything that would influence his decisions regarding Shadaloo's activities. The two soldiers ended up breaking every bone in his body, slowly and painfully as to revel in his screams. Oh how Juri screamed when she came to, finding her father tortured before her very eyes.

Falling back slowly to sit on her bottom, Juri continued to stare at the photo, unaware that moisture was forming in her tear ducts. The gunshot that echoed through the room was deafening; it was a sound the young taekwondo fighter never heard before. She associated it with death when she saw the smoking gun and the blood that ran from her father's body. She wanted to scream, harder than before, but her mother beat her to it.

No evidence could be left. The woman was beaten ferociously for a full minute until one of the soldiers produced a knife. Tired of her screams, the man cut her throat, ripping the mother away from her daughter forever. Her parents murdered in front of her, Juri sobs shook her body as her tears streamed down her face. In the corner of her vision, she could see the two men approach her, and she could also see the bloody blade in one of their hands.

Her right eye began to twitch as she stared at her younger self's violet eyes. She was beaten in the same fashion as her mother and father, but she didn't know that the men were holding back, as they both wanted something from the young woman. One of them was perplexed by her violet eyes and poked and prodded at her left, destroying it in the process. The other touched Juri's chest and thighs, making it clear what he was about to do to her.

They had their way with her, then, when they were finished, they gathered up the bodies and discarded them in the cold, unforgiving winter snow. Juri struggled to move, but the pain in her body prevented her from doing so. Blood steamed down her left cheek from her ruined eye and down her thighs from her stolen innocence. She sobbed quietly; face down in the bloody snow amongst the bodies of her parents.

Eventually, she mustered the strength to get up and return home to receive medical attention after what seemed like hours of torturous limping. Law enforcement did all that they could for the abused girl, but they could not track down the two men who killed her parents. There was no mistaking anything; the event had forever scarred the young woman's mind.

Juri felt something travel down her cheek and brushed her hand against it, widening her eyes when it came back wet. She was crying, but she had not noticed it until now. She hadn't cried for years, not since the time she first joined the ranks of S.I.N. Another set of memories came forward, forcing her to remember the reason why she joined that evil organization in the first place.

Bitter and determined, Juri left her hometown at the age of nineteen to pursue Shadaloo. The deaths of her parents would not go unpunished, and damned would she be if she let the organization that orchestrated their deaths walk off scot free. She desired revenge and longed for blood to spill, all for the right cause: to prevent the traumatizing event she went through from happening to another family.

She traveled to Thailand, where a World Warrior's tournament was taking place. Shadaloo was using the tournament as a means to find and recruit able fighters into its ranks. Juri saw that as an opportunity to infiltrate the organization and destroy it, so she entered the tournament. Many fighters were eliminated as she steadily climbed the ranks. Beaten and bruised, yet still willing to fight, she faced her final opponent: the King of Muay Thai himself, Sagat. She lost, giving the giant a perfect victory.

Her pride broken, Juri tried to hold back the tears from having come so far only to lose when getting so close. The giant offered his hand to her, amazed that a woman got so far to face him. She refused his help, got up on her own, and without saying a word, slowly limped away from the arena floor. While she had thought she had lost her chance, her determination and strength impressed Sagat. She was approached after the battle by him and a representative of Shadaloo, who offered her employment.

To survive in a hostile organization, she needed to close her broken heart away from everyone. No one in that organization –save the giant lieutenant- would have cared about who she was or what she went through. She had to hold her head up high and do as the others did. Mercy, remorse, empathy, and more had to be stashed away. She needed to exact her revenge on the organization, and the emotions only held her back.

The cost was extreme. Juri was raised by her parents to do good and to fight for what was right. When she joined S.I.N., power presented itself. She worked for Seth and fulfilled all of his desires, even what she was tasked to do went against her parent's wishes. She killed for the wrong causes, fought for power, and committed many atrocities, all for S.I.N. The irony of that was blinding. If they were alive, just what would her parents think?

More tears began to flow down Juri's cheeks. She set her family picture down and held her head, gritting her teeth from a new pain that wrecked her body. Physically, she was extraordinarily strong, possibly surpassing the strongest woman in the world, Chun-Li. Emotionally, she was pathetically weak. Faced with emotions she had locked away and forgotten about, Juri uttered a sob as they ran rampant through her mind.

She felt an undeniable and immense pang of guilt for what she had done in her quest for power. People died by her hands and lives were ruined by her actions, all fueled by her sadistic desires. The Feng Shui Engine could not be blamed for her atrocities and crimes against the world, since she always had the choice to use it. It was only used for fighting, and since Juri was a fighter, her actions were always sick and twisted.

Sniveling, she drank what was left of her wine in her glass, looking back on one of her latest missions. Sent to Asia to kill a group of specially trained S.I.N. operatives, Juri ended up going further than what was planned. Drunk on a recent upgrade to her eye, her explosive energies destroyed the building her targets where in. Innocents were inside, some frantically searching for an exit while others were held hostage by her frightened targets.

When the dust settled, she could hear a small, heartbroken voice behind her. A young boy, not even at the age of five, was on his knees crying over the body of his mother, who may or may have not died in the energies of the Feng Shui Engine. Juri had ripped a mother away from her child, potentially traumatizing him. She had done the same thing that Shadaloo solider did to her mother, and the fact that she didn't notice nor care about it then made her guilt and shame worse now. She had become a murderer.

"M-murderer…"

The word felt so harsh coming from her lips. Tears continued to stream down her face as sobs wrecked her body. She knew that right now she looked pitiful, but she also knew no one would give her pity. She deserved pity ten years ago, as a parentless and abused teenager. Now, the only thing she deserved was pain.

Her thoughts drifted to the incident at Sosna's deserted research labs, where the Delta Red agent and the USAF soldier tried to stop her from making off with the Shadaloo dolls. She had taunted Cammy numerous times during the scuffle, telling her that she was just as worthless as the dolls she attacked. There was no sympathy for the brainwashed women in Juri's mind, and she used that absence to push one off a plane in a successful attempt to knock Cammy away. It was a callous thing she did, and it hurt her the more she thought about it.

She had suffered so much from that incident, but others had experienced similar incidents and came out fine. Chun-Li lost her father to a Shadaloo assassin and devoted her life to finding and arresting , living her life to the fullest all the while. But she didn't see her parents murdered before her very eyes. She didn't lose her left eye in the ordeal. She didn't have her innocence stolen.

Juri looked up and saw her reflection in the mirror through her tears. The woman that she saw seemed to sneer at her, mocking her struggle despite being in the same position as she was. Anger surfaced in her mind, compelling her to stand up. With a yell of rage, Juri threw her drinking glass at the mirror, shattering both things. Glass shards fell to the floor while the rest of the mirror cracked until it seemed to represent her tortured mind.

"Stop! J-just stop!" she shouted out against her emotions, holding her head.

The pain she was going through was too much for her. The realization of who she was stabbed at her, filling her with guilt, shame, and profound sadness which she had no clue how to deal with, having not felt those emotions for so long. Sobbing hard, she looked back at the broken mirror and the shards of glass.

She felt that the only way to suppress the emotional pain was to inflict physical pain, or to find some way to take her mind off it. Cutting herself would be a foolish act, as there was the possibility of death from overdoing it. Her eyes rested on the broken wine glass, then over to the safe with the wine. There were at least four more bottles of intoxicating red liquid.

Sniveling, she staggered over to them.

---

Rindokan Dojo, Present Day, Japan

The cherry blossom, ninja, and karate fighter were shocked by the Korean in front of them. She was trying as hard as she could to not to break down on the spot, but the tears rolling down her cheeks made it painfully difficult. Her hands covered her face as she leaned against the counter, overcome by her own story. The three girls didn't know what to do about the situation, as they had never seen Juri cry around them. Ibuki was on the brink herself while her stalwart friend Makoto looked away, sympathetic yet angry.

Sakura, with a sincere and sympathetic expression, reached forward over the counter to try to hold Juri's hand, knowing that contact could make almost everything better for a person.

"Juri… Hey, it's alright-"

Juri slapped her hand away and glared at her through her violet, watery eyes.

"Don't touch me," she hissed angrily. "You're just going to judge me for what I've done, just like everyone else has!"

Before Sakura could reply to calm her down, Juri pushed herself away from the counter and moved to the left, storming away from the girls. Her feet moved swiftly from the hardwood flooring of the kitchen to the soft carpet of the living room. As she reached out to open the sliding door to her room, she could hear one of the girls calling out her name in an attempt to stop her. She shook her head and ignored them, moving inside her room. Finally allowing a sob to escape her lips, Juri turned around to slide the door behind her.