Disclaimer: See chapter one

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Chap. 32

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The dojo as well as the surrounding forest was still since the departure of Bison and the capture of Cori and Shinji. However, the shadows bent and shifted until a single form suddenly appeared in the midst of the area.

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'What has happened?'

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Clad in his orange fighting uniform, Guy examined the now-deserted dojo. His head lifted up as he began to get a sense of the stale energy that still remained. But as soon as he did, his eyes widened.

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'This aura...No. It can't be...Psycho Power?!'

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Guy's body stiffened somewhat. The last time he had encountered this energy was in the presence of the mad Shadowloo dictator, M. Bison, several years ago. Guy had been trailing him in order to stop the crimes he had committed in Metro City. But before he could encounter him, a woman stood in his path, warning him off. Guy sensed her sadness and fought her in order to stop her, but she had managed to subdue him long enough for her to confront Bison himself and fight. When he arrived at the scene, she was knocked unconscious but it appeared that she had vanquished the evil. However, he sensed his aura was still present somehow. He decided to wait it out and see if he returned. If he did, then he would complete the job the woman had started.

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'Rose...Wait...'

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Guy soon felt another energy trace. It was faint, but he recognized it as well. 'Soul energy.' That meant that she had been here as well. Guy quickly moved some feet before he realized that the Soul energy seemed to be going in two directions. 'How can that be?' he wondered.

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"H...ere..."

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Guy blinked and turned to the far left, revealing a path of broken branches and strong energies. As he moved through, he realized that a fierce battle had obviously taken place here. The path ended in front of a thick tree and there, Guy half-gasped at what he found.

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"Rose!"

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The lavender-haired woman was laid back against the bark, seriously burned all over her body. Guy quickly moved to her and held her, trying to comfort her. But he had seen enough injuries to know that it is too serious.

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"Rose. What has happened?"

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Rose shivered slightly, "The evil one...has returned."

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"Yes. But how?"

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"It does not...matter. But he has taken Cori. He wants..."

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A sickly cough left her mouth and Guy held her upward. Rose took in a few breaths before continuing.

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"He wants her power. To merge it with his own. If he does, he will return in full and his darkness will consume the world once again."

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Guy listened to her in silence as she explained this. After a short while, he quietly asked, "Is this why you left all that time ago?"

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The sad eyes returned to her face, reminding Guy of the woman he met so many years ago, "I'm sorry. That was part of it. But the truth was that I was afraid. Afraid that you would be the one he tried to possess. I couldn't bear that."

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He stroked her hair softly, "As I would not have allowed you to fight this evil alone."

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"True. You would have fought it for me. Something else I couldn't do. And..."

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She became silent again, but Guy knew what she was talking about. Taking her hand into his...

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"Cori."

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"Yes."

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"Is she...?"

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"Yes she is. I tried to protect her and you, but I have failed." A tear trickled down her face as she looked up at Guy once again; her body beginning to fail as she knew the next words would be her last.

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"Please...save her." she whispered through closed eyes. "Save...our daughter."

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Her hand fell out of his and she became still. Guy bowed his head and held her close.

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"Goodbye...lovely Rose..."

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The dark chamber opened and the evil figure entered in. The lights brightened a bit, showing a giant test-tube. Greenish liquid bubbled within as he stepped up before in. The tank opened up from above and a smaller figure was lowered inside. Cori...

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"Soon..."

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Cori was strapped in a bunch of wires and breathing apparatuses, still unconscious. Her body was glowing in a steady light purple, despite the liquid. Bison simply looked at her, his grin slowly arising.

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'It will not last long. Soon, that barrier will fade away and your power will be mine.'

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Bison then turned away and dropped into his seat, which twisted around and moved before a monitor. The screen lit up, showing an image of one of the cells with. This cell was currently holding the young martial artist within.

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'Aw, I left him all alone.' Bison thought humorously. 'I guess I should give him some company.'

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The dark lord pressed a button in the seat and wheeled around. The door opened in the dark once again and a massive frame entered within.

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"I have a job for you, Balrog."

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'I hope he understands. '

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Guy walked back toward the dojo, with the dead body of Rose in his arms. Slowly, he laid her before the doors and then went inside. Re-emerging, he wrapped the body within a cloth he found inside, starting from her feet and ending around her face.

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'Rose. Your worries are now over.'

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Guy stood up over her, still looking down at her. At one time, she had been his love. But that was a long time ago. But still, she had given up a possible future with them in order to stop this menace. And now, he had to finish it.

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"Ughhhhhh!"

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Guy suddenly blinked as he heard the dull cry coming from the other end of the dojo. Moving to the other end, he found the cliff edge on the other side. Just then, a hand shot up from the other side. The Bushin ninja quickly reached his hand out and pulled the figure up, showing it to be Mel.

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"I got you."

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Guy pulled the young teen over onto the floor and away from the edge. Mel slumped on the floor, catching his breath.

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"Are you alright?"

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Mel didn't answer for awhile as he was still trying to breathe. When he finally did...

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"Some guy just tossed me off the side of a cliff and almost didn't make it. Then I had to climb back up. I am definitely not alright!"

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"Are you done?"

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Mel managed to get to his feet, "Yeah. But what happened? Where are Shinji and Cori?"

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"Taken, I'm afraid."

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Mel clenched his fist tight; his knuckles becoming white beneath his gloves, "We have to find them!"

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Guy placed a hand on the youth's shoulder, "And we will. Somehow...we will."

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'This looks good...enough...uhhh.'

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Ken stumbled across the corridor in...wherever the heck he was, looking for an empty room in which to recover in. Despite managing to subdue his captors and escaping, he was still weak from the punishment he received beforehand. His fatigue was far too great for him to even think of escape at this point. He would be caught quickly and imprisoned again. He had to hide first and recover. He managed to find a single room quarters and entered inside, hoping that the occupant wasn't there. Fortunately, the room was empty. Ken closed the door behind him and looked around. He knew he had to hide somewhere in case anyone came in. But the pain of his body was becoming too great and he stumbled, causing some items to clatter to the floor.

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'Oh...damn...'

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True enough, this caught the attention of two passing guards outside. One of them opened the door and saw the downed fighter on the floor before them. Without hesitation, the guard grabbed hold of Ken while telling his compatriot to alert their master. The second soldier moved away while the first began to latch cuffs on Ken. But he stopped when a low thud was heard outside. Looking out in the hall, he saw his partner on the floor, a dagger stabbed into his back. He took a step back, but no further as a swift figure leaped on his back from behind and snapped his neck. And the second body fell, the figure moved over the first body and dragged both bodies into the room and shutting the door. Ken managed to regain consciousness enough to see his savior. It was a konochi; A female ninja.

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"Who...?"

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She placed a hand on his head, "Shh. Just rest. Save your strength."

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Ken made no move to argue and slumped into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, the woman went to work in hiding both her victim and Ken in the air vents and away from view. Once down, she moved near the door and listen out for anyone who might be outside. Hearing nothing, she opened the door, but not before looking back.

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'Please recover quickly. I will need your help soon.'

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With that, Ibuki closed the door and disappeared.

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Sean circled Elena who was simply standing still in wait. Sean was still hesitant in fighting back, but now wasn't the time for hesitation. Not if he was to help her and himself and somehow get out of this place. 'I just need to weaken her enough.' Taking a chance, Sean suddenly lunged, causing her to instantly shift into her dancing/fighting stance. Sean stepped up with a knee, but she slapped it away in a parry and her foot snapped upward in a kick. Sean blocked and jumped back while Elena advanced, twirling around with a wide-arch roundhouse kick. Sean blocked it, recognizing the technique. 'She'll come with another and the last one will be a double hit.' True enough, Elena twirled into another kick in the same way as the first and Sean parried it. Elena was coming in with the third attack, much to Sean relief and when the third kick came, Sean had managed to step back and away.

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"Tornado!"

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Leaping up, Sean went into his variant of the whirlwind kick. But he had misjudged the range of Elena's fourth kick and the two kicks hit their opponents, causing Elena to be smacked back and Sean to be knocked out of the air. But Sean managed to roll enough to catch his footing. Elena stood up as well and cartwheeled into a rolling kick, getting Sean square in the chest.

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"Ooff!"

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But Sean had managed to grab her foot in the process and kicked out her other leg from underneath. Elena crashed onto the floor, but kicked back with the foot that Sean was holding. Sean fell back and rolled just as the African woman leapt high in the air and descended quickly with a rolling dive kick. Sean shook his off his daze and after seeing her, reacted with a Dragon Smash attack.

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"Ha!"

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The double fisted attack slammed into Elena in mid-air and caused her to fall backward on the ground. Sean landed a good foot away and saw Elena staggering to rise. She wasn't weak enough yet, but she was open. If he could hit her now, it might be enough.

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"Haaaaaaaa..."

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Sean positioned his arms and hands together, collecting the energy that he had spent years learning and mastering. The light flashed within and soon solidified as a ball of energy. The energy soon grew to a medium size and began to brighten a part of the room. The energy was now set, but not the wielder. Sean seemed to still be hesitant in unleashing the power. He was still unsure if this was enough power or not. If it wasn't enough, she wouldn't be affected too much and would continue to attack him. If it was too much, he could hurt her severely, perhaps even kill her.

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'I...I...I...can't...I can't risk it.'

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Sean's hands slumped down in defeat and the energy faded away completely. This gave Elena more than enough time to recover and refocus on Sean. Cartwheeling backward, she soon bounded in the air with a twirling back heel kick. Sean snapped up to attention and blocked the blow, but not without a price. A sharp crack could be heard on impact and Sean backed away in sheer pain.

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"Guuuuuaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!"

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His right arm limped down, marked in crimson. Sean held his arm in an attempt to move it, but the pain was far too great and despite it, he was still unable to move it. It didn't take a genius to know that his arm had been broken. And Elena seen that as well.

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"Target maimed. Proceeding to finish."