Chapter Ten: Epilogue
Black.
She was surrounded by nothing but black.
Charlotte lay on her back as she slowly regained consciousness. When she finally did, she looked around. There was nothing around her. No buildings, no people, no ground, no sky. Just complete blackness. Charlotte couldn't even feel the ground she was laying on. Almost like she was floating.
Charlotte groaned as she stood to her feet, still not being able to feel the ground despite being able to walk on air.
Suddenly, Charlotte remembered what had happened. She was fighting Bison, and he had broken her ankle in an Ultimate Psycho Crusher. Surprisingly, Charlotte didn't feel any pain in her ankle. She realized that Bison must've killed her after she blacked out. She looked around, hoping to find someone who could explain everything to her.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Charlotte asked as she looked around. "Am I...Dead?"
"Not quite." A gentle voice replied.
Charlotte quickly spun around to stare at the owner of the voice. She found herself staring at two people, a man and a woman, walking out of the darkness. The man was dressed in a military outfit, minus hat. He had neatly combed, dark hair. The woman was dressed in a white sweater with a blue dress. Her long, brown hair went past her shoulders, and her blue eyes seemed to shine. Instantly, Charlotte eyes started to water.
"Mom! Dad!" Charlotte cried as she rushed towards her parents. Rolento and Denise gladly took her into their arms as the reunited family shed several tears, the majority of them coming from Charlotte.
"It's been such a long time, Charlotte." Denise said gently. "You've grown so much."
After several minutes, Charlotte pulled away from her parents. "Why am I here? Shouldn't I be dead?"
"You're not dead, dear." Rolento stated. "But you're very close. Bison gave you quite a beating, and he would've killed you for sure had that man not come to your rescue."
"Man?" Charlotte asked. "Who saved me?"
"You'll find out soon enough." Rolento said with a smile.
Charlotte slowly looked at her feet. "Dad? Are you and mom...Ashamed of me?"
Charlotte parents looked shocked to hear that. "What makes you think we'd be ashamed of you, Charlotte?" Denise asked.
"I couldn't defeat Bison." Charlotte said. "I was almost killed."
"Charlotte, you don't know how proud your mother and I are." Rolento said, grasping his daughter's shoulders. "You helped save seven of the world's best fighters from Shadaloo and helped Balrog turn his back on Bison."
Denise pulled Charlotte in for another hug. "Your father's right. We couldn't be more proud of you."
"Thanks, mom." Charlotte said, returning the hug. Charlotte treasured this moment, as it was the first time she ever embraced her mother.
"Sadly," Rolento said, getting Charlotte attention. "Since you're not dead, I'm afraid you can't come back with us."
Charlotte's eyes watered up again, realizing that she couldn't spend eternity with her parents. "Why not?" She squeaked.
"It's not your time yet, dear." Denise explained. "Currently, you're laying on a hospital bed, near death. Your friends are all there, all praying that you'll survive."
"You need to go back. Your friends need you." Rolento stated, clearly disappointed with the fact that he couldn't have his daughter with him yet.
Both Rolento and Denise embraced their daughter one last time. "Just remember that your mother and I both love you dearly." Rolento said.
"I promise, father." Charlotte whispered, two streams of tears running down her face.
After she had released her daughter, Denise looked at Charlotte. "Charlotte, I want you to do me a favor when you get back."
"Sure, mom. What is it?" Charlotte asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I want you to find my cousins and tell them that I loved them both very much. If you tell them that you're my daughter, they'll be overjoyed that they at least have one living relative." Denise explained.
"Sure. What are their names?"
"Billy and Lilly Kane." Denise said with a smile.
Before Charlotte had time to do anything else, everything went white.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Charlotte groaned as she rocked her head back and forth. She slowly opened her eyes, and found herself staring at a white ceiling.
"She's alive!" A Jamaican voice cried.
The voice caused Charlotte's eyes to spring open in surprise. Immediately, she sat up, using her hands to prop herself up on what she was laying on, which turned out to be a bed. She looked around. Like her mother aid, she was in a hospital room. Surrounding her bed were Dee Jay, Cody, Skullomania and Balrog. Charlotte quickly noticed that she was dressed in a white hospital gown and her right foot was wrapped in a cast, hanging from the ceiling by a sling. Before Charlotte knew it, two strong arms were thrown around her.
"Charlotte you scared us all half to death!" Cody stated as he held Charlotte in a death hug. Balrog joined in, throwing his arms around the already breathless teen. "Cody's right! We're all so glad to see you alright!" Skullomania also threw his arms around Charlotte, putting even more strain on her lungs.
As soon as Cody, Balrog and Skullomania had released her, Charlotte looked at her friends. "Is Bison dead?" She asked.
"That he is, mon." Dee Jay sighed. He paused. "Although none of us are sure who did it."
"He's right." Cody stated. "Bison had a sword wound in his back when we found him."
"We're lucky we found you when we did." Balrog said. "The doctor said that if you lost any more blood, you wouldn't have made it." The others nodded in agreement to verify Balrog's statement.
Charlotte slowly leaned back to lay on her bed. She looked at her foot. "How long will I have that on?" She asked.
"I'm not sure." Skullomania said. "About eight weeks at least."
Charlotte rested her head on her pillow and sighed. "Guys, you're probably not gonna believe this, but I just encountered my parents."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
(FOUR MONTHS LATER)
Charlotte cheerfully walked down a sidewalk on a sunny afternoon, towards her home. In her left hand, she held four letters, each one from a member of the team she led four moths ago.
At first, she was going to wait until she got home to open her letters, but her excitement quickly got the better of her. Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she opened Skullomania's letter. Charlotte wanted to make sure she opened Dee Jay's last.
Skullomania wrote that he was still chasing Shadow Geist, who had survived the Shadaloo raid, around the world, but wherever he went, he said that he always thought of Charlotte. He also said that he met several other people just like him, and he had told every one of them about her. He went on to say that he sent her a picture of the one person who wanted to meet her. Charlotte looked into the envelope and pulled out a small photograph. It was a photograph of Skullomania standing beside a red and blue spandex clad superhero with the shape of a spider on his chest. Both were giving a thumb's up.
Charlotte scratched her head. That strange 'spider-man' looked awfully familiar. She shrugged and opened Cody's letter.
Cody wrote that he went back to Metro City and, after thorough investigation, finally found his lover, Jessica Haggar. He wrote that both of them were currently dating, but he was ready to ask Jessica to marry him. Cody went on to write that he was starting a hard rock band with three guys named J, Sid and Axel. Charlotte chuckled as she opened Balrog's letter.
Balrog wrote that he had gotten back into the pro boxing tournament, and had won over many fans with his newfound good sportsmanship. Even when losing a fight, Balrog said that he always kept his cool. Charlotte found a newspaper article inside the envelope, which showed a picture of Balrog lifting the championship belt above his head, tears of joy flowing from his eyes. Lying on the mat, barely conscious, was the prone figure of another black boxer.
Charlotte quickly opened Dee Jay's letter. After her adventure, Charlotte realized that she missed Dee Jay more than any of the others. Maybe that was because he risked his neck to save her from Birdie and Vega.
Dee Jay wrote that he had returned to his touring, performing in front of thousands of fans every time. He then wrote that wherever he went, he always remembered her. What touched Charlotte most of all was the fact that Dee Jay said that he wrote a song dedicated to her, and said that whenever he sang it in concert.
When Charlotte put down the letters, she realized that she had arrived at her home. As she walked towards the front door, Charlotte remembered the promise she made to her mother. Whenever she had the time, she'd travel back to Southtown and try to locate the Kane siblings to tell them that they were related to her.
Charlotte grasped hold of the doorknob and sighed happily. Personally, she couldn't wait until she went on that adventure. But right now, she was pleased with the peacefulness of home.
Charlotte opened the door and walked in, only to trip over something three feet into the house. The teenager let out a quick shout as she fell face first into the carpet. She quickly looked at the gray lump of fuzz she had tripped over.
"CURTIS!!!!"
Meanwhile, standing on the corner of Charlotte's street, a man watched Charlotte as she closed the front door. He was tall, had slick, black hair and had a bushy black mustache. Unknown to anyone, he had followed Charlotte and everyone else as they left the Brazil airport.
Also unknown to anyone else, after a quick change on clothes, he was the one who saved Charlotte and killed Bison.
The man sighed as he looked into the sky. "Rolento, old comrade. Denise, my friend. I promise that I'll protect Charlotte from any danger that might come to her."
Looking back at Charlotte's house one more time, Sodom Shogun shoved both hands into his pockets, turned around and walked down the sidewalk, away from Charlotte's house.
END
Author's note: Holy crud! That took such a long time for me to finish! Now, I know that no one has ever, EVER seen Sodom without his helmet, but you kinda get a clue to what he looks like in Street Fighter Alpha 3. In one of his victory quotes, Sodom says 'Don't thank me. In fact, don't touch my mustache!'. That kinda gave me a visual considering the fact that he not actually Japanese. And a personal thanks to Jami and Kikoken. You two were the only ones to review every single chapter! Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Anyway, please read and review!
Black.
She was surrounded by nothing but black.
Charlotte lay on her back as she slowly regained consciousness. When she finally did, she looked around. There was nothing around her. No buildings, no people, no ground, no sky. Just complete blackness. Charlotte couldn't even feel the ground she was laying on. Almost like she was floating.
Charlotte groaned as she stood to her feet, still not being able to feel the ground despite being able to walk on air.
Suddenly, Charlotte remembered what had happened. She was fighting Bison, and he had broken her ankle in an Ultimate Psycho Crusher. Surprisingly, Charlotte didn't feel any pain in her ankle. She realized that Bison must've killed her after she blacked out. She looked around, hoping to find someone who could explain everything to her.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Charlotte asked as she looked around. "Am I...Dead?"
"Not quite." A gentle voice replied.
Charlotte quickly spun around to stare at the owner of the voice. She found herself staring at two people, a man and a woman, walking out of the darkness. The man was dressed in a military outfit, minus hat. He had neatly combed, dark hair. The woman was dressed in a white sweater with a blue dress. Her long, brown hair went past her shoulders, and her blue eyes seemed to shine. Instantly, Charlotte eyes started to water.
"Mom! Dad!" Charlotte cried as she rushed towards her parents. Rolento and Denise gladly took her into their arms as the reunited family shed several tears, the majority of them coming from Charlotte.
"It's been such a long time, Charlotte." Denise said gently. "You've grown so much."
After several minutes, Charlotte pulled away from her parents. "Why am I here? Shouldn't I be dead?"
"You're not dead, dear." Rolento stated. "But you're very close. Bison gave you quite a beating, and he would've killed you for sure had that man not come to your rescue."
"Man?" Charlotte asked. "Who saved me?"
"You'll find out soon enough." Rolento said with a smile.
Charlotte slowly looked at her feet. "Dad? Are you and mom...Ashamed of me?"
Charlotte parents looked shocked to hear that. "What makes you think we'd be ashamed of you, Charlotte?" Denise asked.
"I couldn't defeat Bison." Charlotte said. "I was almost killed."
"Charlotte, you don't know how proud your mother and I are." Rolento said, grasping his daughter's shoulders. "You helped save seven of the world's best fighters from Shadaloo and helped Balrog turn his back on Bison."
Denise pulled Charlotte in for another hug. "Your father's right. We couldn't be more proud of you."
"Thanks, mom." Charlotte said, returning the hug. Charlotte treasured this moment, as it was the first time she ever embraced her mother.
"Sadly," Rolento said, getting Charlotte attention. "Since you're not dead, I'm afraid you can't come back with us."
Charlotte's eyes watered up again, realizing that she couldn't spend eternity with her parents. "Why not?" She squeaked.
"It's not your time yet, dear." Denise explained. "Currently, you're laying on a hospital bed, near death. Your friends are all there, all praying that you'll survive."
"You need to go back. Your friends need you." Rolento stated, clearly disappointed with the fact that he couldn't have his daughter with him yet.
Both Rolento and Denise embraced their daughter one last time. "Just remember that your mother and I both love you dearly." Rolento said.
"I promise, father." Charlotte whispered, two streams of tears running down her face.
After she had released her daughter, Denise looked at Charlotte. "Charlotte, I want you to do me a favor when you get back."
"Sure, mom. What is it?" Charlotte asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I want you to find my cousins and tell them that I loved them both very much. If you tell them that you're my daughter, they'll be overjoyed that they at least have one living relative." Denise explained.
"Sure. What are their names?"
"Billy and Lilly Kane." Denise said with a smile.
Before Charlotte had time to do anything else, everything went white.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Charlotte groaned as she rocked her head back and forth. She slowly opened her eyes, and found herself staring at a white ceiling.
"She's alive!" A Jamaican voice cried.
The voice caused Charlotte's eyes to spring open in surprise. Immediately, she sat up, using her hands to prop herself up on what she was laying on, which turned out to be a bed. She looked around. Like her mother aid, she was in a hospital room. Surrounding her bed were Dee Jay, Cody, Skullomania and Balrog. Charlotte quickly noticed that she was dressed in a white hospital gown and her right foot was wrapped in a cast, hanging from the ceiling by a sling. Before Charlotte knew it, two strong arms were thrown around her.
"Charlotte you scared us all half to death!" Cody stated as he held Charlotte in a death hug. Balrog joined in, throwing his arms around the already breathless teen. "Cody's right! We're all so glad to see you alright!" Skullomania also threw his arms around Charlotte, putting even more strain on her lungs.
As soon as Cody, Balrog and Skullomania had released her, Charlotte looked at her friends. "Is Bison dead?" She asked.
"That he is, mon." Dee Jay sighed. He paused. "Although none of us are sure who did it."
"He's right." Cody stated. "Bison had a sword wound in his back when we found him."
"We're lucky we found you when we did." Balrog said. "The doctor said that if you lost any more blood, you wouldn't have made it." The others nodded in agreement to verify Balrog's statement.
Charlotte slowly leaned back to lay on her bed. She looked at her foot. "How long will I have that on?" She asked.
"I'm not sure." Skullomania said. "About eight weeks at least."
Charlotte rested her head on her pillow and sighed. "Guys, you're probably not gonna believe this, but I just encountered my parents."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
(FOUR MONTHS LATER)
Charlotte cheerfully walked down a sidewalk on a sunny afternoon, towards her home. In her left hand, she held four letters, each one from a member of the team she led four moths ago.
At first, she was going to wait until she got home to open her letters, but her excitement quickly got the better of her. Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she opened Skullomania's letter. Charlotte wanted to make sure she opened Dee Jay's last.
Skullomania wrote that he was still chasing Shadow Geist, who had survived the Shadaloo raid, around the world, but wherever he went, he said that he always thought of Charlotte. He also said that he met several other people just like him, and he had told every one of them about her. He went on to say that he sent her a picture of the one person who wanted to meet her. Charlotte looked into the envelope and pulled out a small photograph. It was a photograph of Skullomania standing beside a red and blue spandex clad superhero with the shape of a spider on his chest. Both were giving a thumb's up.
Charlotte scratched her head. That strange 'spider-man' looked awfully familiar. She shrugged and opened Cody's letter.
Cody wrote that he went back to Metro City and, after thorough investigation, finally found his lover, Jessica Haggar. He wrote that both of them were currently dating, but he was ready to ask Jessica to marry him. Cody went on to write that he was starting a hard rock band with three guys named J, Sid and Axel. Charlotte chuckled as she opened Balrog's letter.
Balrog wrote that he had gotten back into the pro boxing tournament, and had won over many fans with his newfound good sportsmanship. Even when losing a fight, Balrog said that he always kept his cool. Charlotte found a newspaper article inside the envelope, which showed a picture of Balrog lifting the championship belt above his head, tears of joy flowing from his eyes. Lying on the mat, barely conscious, was the prone figure of another black boxer.
Charlotte quickly opened Dee Jay's letter. After her adventure, Charlotte realized that she missed Dee Jay more than any of the others. Maybe that was because he risked his neck to save her from Birdie and Vega.
Dee Jay wrote that he had returned to his touring, performing in front of thousands of fans every time. He then wrote that wherever he went, he always remembered her. What touched Charlotte most of all was the fact that Dee Jay said that he wrote a song dedicated to her, and said that whenever he sang it in concert.
When Charlotte put down the letters, she realized that she had arrived at her home. As she walked towards the front door, Charlotte remembered the promise she made to her mother. Whenever she had the time, she'd travel back to Southtown and try to locate the Kane siblings to tell them that they were related to her.
Charlotte grasped hold of the doorknob and sighed happily. Personally, she couldn't wait until she went on that adventure. But right now, she was pleased with the peacefulness of home.
Charlotte opened the door and walked in, only to trip over something three feet into the house. The teenager let out a quick shout as she fell face first into the carpet. She quickly looked at the gray lump of fuzz she had tripped over.
"CURTIS!!!!"
Meanwhile, standing on the corner of Charlotte's street, a man watched Charlotte as she closed the front door. He was tall, had slick, black hair and had a bushy black mustache. Unknown to anyone, he had followed Charlotte and everyone else as they left the Brazil airport.
Also unknown to anyone else, after a quick change on clothes, he was the one who saved Charlotte and killed Bison.
The man sighed as he looked into the sky. "Rolento, old comrade. Denise, my friend. I promise that I'll protect Charlotte from any danger that might come to her."
Looking back at Charlotte's house one more time, Sodom Shogun shoved both hands into his pockets, turned around and walked down the sidewalk, away from Charlotte's house.
END
Author's note: Holy crud! That took such a long time for me to finish! Now, I know that no one has ever, EVER seen Sodom without his helmet, but you kinda get a clue to what he looks like in Street Fighter Alpha 3. In one of his victory quotes, Sodom says 'Don't thank me. In fact, don't touch my mustache!'. That kinda gave me a visual considering the fact that he not actually Japanese. And a personal thanks to Jami and Kikoken. You two were the only ones to review every single chapter! Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Anyway, please read and review!