Chapter seven: New Ally

The quartet of Charlotte, Dee Jay, Skullomania and Cody left the Illusion Restaurant, but not before they made sure that the mob of insane schoolgirls was gone. All four fighters were downcast. They had searched a lot of Southtown, but still hadn't come across any leads on Shadaloo.

After the four fighters had walked a few blocks, Charlotte spoke up. "Where do we go now?" Charlotte asked as she shoved both hands in her pockets.

Cody looked at his watch. "It's almost dinnertime." He said. "We might as well go somewhere to eat."

Everyone was silent.

"Then why didn't we eat back at the Illusion?" Skullomania asked.

The four team members looked at each other, then shrugged off Skull's question. They walked to the nearest restaurant, which turned out to be a fast food place with several outdoor tables.

Several minutes later, the four friends had received their meals, and were eating at one of the outdoor tables.

"Charlotte, are there any other towns or cities in the area?" Cody asked as he took a bite of his chicken burger.

"There are a couple of towns, but no major cities." Charlotte replied as she bit three fries that she held in her fingers.

"We might as well go to one of these towns, mon." Dee Jay stated as he chomped down on his veggie burger.

"Yeah. It seems like we have no choice." Skullomania said. He lifted his mask up to his nose, shoved half an onion ring into his mouth, and put his mask back down.

The fighters finished their supper and left the restaurant. Charlotte sighed. "We might as well get to the bus stop." She said. "We aren't getting anywhere by just staying in Southtown."

Her three companions agreed as they all walked down the sidewalk.

Four blocks of walking later, Charlotte and the others were approaching the bus stop. Charlotte was a little upset that her plan of finding Shadaloo wasn't going too well, but she hoped that she'd have better luck somewhere else.

Charlotte was brought out of her thoughts when she saw the bus coming around a far off corner. As the bus came closer, Charlotte suddenly felt a very familiar chill run down her back. Almost...Like...

Suddenly, Charlotte felt a strong arm wrap around her waist from behind as three blades of steel pressed against her neck. Charlotte's eyes sprang open. Vega!

"Don't move, and little missy here won't get hurt." Vega threatened Dee Jay, Cody and Skullomania. "Come with me!"

Reluctantly, the three Street Fighters allowed themselves to be prod along by Vega, who had released Charlotte to prod her along as well. Soon, Vega had forced them up to an ally. Vega lightly pressed his claws against Cody's back.

"In there." Vega ordered.

Charlotte, Dee Jay, Skullomania and Cody walked into the ally, with Vega close behind. Charlotte looked in the ally and saw a middle-aged boxer leaning against the wall. Balrog Whistler.

"Okay. Against the wall. All four of you." Vega said, waving his claws in everyone's faces.

Although hesitant, the four fighters backed against the wall. Without looking back, Vega called to his companion.

"Balrog! Come'ere!"

Balrog walked away from the wall and stood beside Vega. "What?" He asked.

"We have a mission to fulfill." Vega reminded. "I'll even let you throw the first punch."

Charlotte was scared out of her wits. She couldn't understand why. She had never been scared about anything in the past. She only seemed scared when it concerned Shadaloo. But right now, she didn't care about that. She stared at Balrog, tears of fright running down her face.

Balrog stared back at Charlotte, his eyes looking like they were holding an apologizing glare. He was silent, looking like he was trying to decide what to do. He closed his eyes, not bearing to look at Charlotte's face. His companion was quickly losing patience.

"Don't just stand there, you idiot!" Vega shouted. "Punch someone!"

Balrog's eyes opened, then narrowed. "GIGATON BLOW!"

Charlotte closed her eyes, waiting for the boxer to punch her in the stomach or face. She waited. She didn't feel any pain. Charlotte opened her eyes, and saw Balrog plowing his fist into VEGA'S stomach.

Vega collapsed to the ground. Partly from pain, but also from disbelief. Balrog tuned from the fallen matador and looked towards the others. He ran towards the end of the ally, then turned back.

"Come on! Before he wakes up!" Balrog said.

The four fighters were hesitant, but decided to follow Balrog anyway.

"How can we trust him?" Charlotte asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Dee Jay countered. He didn't get a response.

Later, the quintet of Charlotte, Dee Jay, Cody, Skullomania and Balrog gathered on the Southtown bridge which overlooked a lake. Also on the bridge was a tall man with spiked, dark hair and a young woman with long, blonde hair holding hands as they looked over the bridge.

"I believe you owe us an explanation, Balrog." Cody said. "You frightened the living daylights out of Charlotte."

"I know. I know." Balrog said, sighing. "The boss sent Vega and I to kill Charlotte and anyone with her."

"What made you change your mind?" Skullomania asked.

"I realized that I didn't have a heart to kill a youth." Balrog replied.

"Wait a minute." Charlotte said. "You said 'boss'. Who's leading Shadaloo now that Bison's destroyed?"

"Shadow Geist."

"Shadow Geist?!" Skullomania cried. Everyone would bet that his eyes were wide open. "He's my super-powered villainous arch-rival!"

"There's just one thing I don't understand." Cody said.

"ONE thing?" Dee Jay asked, staring at Cody.

Cody ignored the comment. "Why did Shadaloo abduct Guy, Juni, Chun-Li and Guile?"

Balrog sighed. "It's part of Shadow Geist's plan." He replied. "To accomplish his plan, he needs the DNA of seven of the world's best fighters."

"Well, we know that four of them have already been captured." Charlotte said. "But who are the other three?"

"Ryu, Ken and Sagat." Balrog replied. "However, while Vega and I came here, Birdie and Garuda were sent to Thailand to capture Sagat. He's probably captured by now."

"Great." Charlotte said as she threw her hands up in frustration. "That means that Shadaloo only has Ryu and Ken to kidnap before they can finish their plan." She was silent for a few seconds. "Wait a minute. What's Shadow Geist's plan, anyway?"

Balrog was silent. "You're not gonna believe this, but Geist is planning to use the fighters' DNA do bring Bison back."

Everyone's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" They all cried in unison.

"If Bison comes back, it could spell disaster!" Charlotte cried.

"We have to find the Shadaloo base and stop them!" Skullomania stated.

Cody looked at Balrog. "Where's the Shadaloo base?"

"In Brazil." Balrog replied. "That's what made Guile and Chun-Li such easy targets."

"What about Sakura and Karin?" Dee Jay asked. "They're also in Brazil."

"Shadaloo's base is hidden." Balrog replied. "No offense, but I doubt that those two are smart enough to locate the base."

"I say that we stop Shadaloo before they nab Ryu and Ken!" Cody said.

"I'm not gonna argue with that." Skullomania replied.

"I'll go with you." Balrog stated. "I've had it with Shadaloo. I'll do whatever I can to help."

Charlotte looked at her friends. "What do you guys say?"

"He DID save our hides back there." Dee Jay said.

"I agree with rhythm-man." Cody added.

"Me too." Skullomania continued.

"Okay." Charlotte replied. She looked back at Balrog. "Very well. You may take us there, but if you double-cross us..."

"Don't worry." Balrog assured. "I wouldn't even think about that."

The five fighters rushed off, leaving the two lovers alone on the bridge.

Suddenly, a denim clad man with a red staff rushed towards the two figures, grabbed the woman, shoved her under his arm and ran off with her, while the male lover ran after them.

"Come ON, Kane!" The man complained. "Can't you let me go out with your sister at least ONCE?!"

To be continued...

Author's note: Sorry, but I just couldn't resist the urge to throw in one last joke. Please read and review!