Disclaimer: See previous chapters
AN: Again, sorry for the long waiting. The computers here crashed for a good week, just when I had finished this chapter. Go figure. Time to pick up where we left off.
Chap. 42
"PSYCHO CRUSHER!"
The flaring form of Bison exploded in a whirl of energy and swarmed at the youths like a raging tornado. The boys were unable to avoid it as it crashed into them full force.
"Guaaahhhh!"
The two were hurled aside as Bison's attack dissipated and he settled on the floor. The brilliant glow that was around him before had faded away completely. Nevertheless, Bison grinned as he saw the destruction and carnage he had created. His attack had destroyed the chamber and fires were lit up all over the place. But he didn't care. With Shinji and Mel out of the way, there was nothing that could stop him from taking his prize. He turned to the far end and saw Cori on the floor next to Guy, who had been knocked aside from the Psycho Crusher's backlash. However, he saw Guy begin to stir and soon he was rising up from the floor.
"Bushin. You may as well step aside. You don't stand a chance against me."
Guy grimaced inwardly. That fall had dislocated his shoulder and it hung limp at his side. In addition, he was still suffering from the injuries inflicted on him by Ibuki. In simple words, he was pretty messed up. But despite this, he held his stand between Bison and Cori.
"As long as I breathe, you will not harm my daughter."
At this, Bison laughed. "Your daughter? Ahahahaha! So you are the one Rose chosen. How perfect. She has fallen and so will you and then lastly her. A family reunion in death. Hahaha!"
Guy frowned and lifted his single arm in ninja stance, with two fingers pointed up. Bison grinned broadly at the display and waved his hand to beckon him. Guy narrowed his eye and then rushed at Bison. He swooped in close and then suddenly rushed past Bison. Bison turned around as Guy shifted directions, coming at Bison with a high-angle kick. Bison waved his arm and deflected the blow and Guy ducked low and shot his elbow up. Bison slapped the attacking blow, shot his arm forward and around Guy and then whirled around in a toss. However, Bison didn't release him and rather locked his arm around the injured arm. Guy cried in pain as Bison yanked hard on it.
"GYAHHHHHHH!"
Bison continued to apply pressure, laughing each time the ninja gave a shout of pain. Guy's eyes rolled back in agony and in a act of pure desperation, he flipped back and snapped his leg upward, aiming for Bison's face. However, the dark lord caught the leg and lifted Guy up over his head.
"It's over."
Bison then released guy and in one swift move, he stepped back and shot his foot right into Guy's abdomen while he was still above him. Guy didn't even make a sound as the blow knocked all the air out of him and left him in a gasp. Bison then lowered his leg sharply, causing Guy to be hurled off and onto the ground. Guy was motionless and as consciousness began to flee from him, a single regret flickered in his mind.
'Cori…Rose…I'm…sorry…'
Sean cautiously made his way through the complex in search for his two comrades. Due to the chaos within the structure, it wasn't too difficult for him to reenter. He did have to take down one or two patrol guards to do it, but it could have been a lot worse. Right now, he had to find Kairi and Sakura. The last time he saw them, they were literally tearing each other apart. Sean just hoped that they didn't kill each other, although judging from their fighting, that was a possibility. He recognized the Satsui No Hado in Sakura, but he didn't know what dark power possessed Kairi.
'Please be alive.'
Peering around, he pulled back when a patrol unit rushed past. The Brazilian sighed before looking over and continuing down the corridors. As he did, he felt a light vibration. It had been subtle at first, but now it was going on in rapid progression. 'What is that? An earthquake? That's about the last thing we need now.' Sean finally reached a familiar area and turned the corner, only to be faced with a demolished area littered with various fires around. Sean searched through wherever he could, coughing a bit due to the smoke. After a minute of looking…
'There!'At the far end of the area, lay Sakura and Kairi. Both of them seemed unconscious, with their bodies collapsed over each other. Fires were beginning to circle around and Sean quickly rushed over to the two bodies. They were pretty messed up and wounded, but Sean was relieved to know that they were both very much alive. His relief however was put on hold as the fires began to grow around him. And that shaking didn't seem to be stopping. If anything, it was grow stronger. He really had to get them out of here. Grabbing Kairi, he slung him over his shoulder, wincing from the injuries of his earlier fight. Forcing it aside, he next picked up Sakura in his arms. The fires raged around, but Sean managed to carry them out before he was completely surrounded. But now he was carrying two people and he wasn't exactly in top shape right now. If he got caught, it would be the end of them all.
'Now I just have to get out of here alive. No sweat.'
Not too far from the cage arena, Mikoto made her way through the halls slowly, with Chun Li beside her and holding on to her shoulder. Mikoto reached a turn and after looking around, helped her mother continue their way on out of here. Chun Li staggered on, painfully grasping the wound that was at her side. She said nothing about it, but Mikoto already knew. The wound from Vega's claw had gone in deep. It would only be some time before Chun Li passed out from loss of blood. They had to get out immediately. But how? Mikoto didn't even know how she got in. She was rushed in so fast when Skullomania and herself was captured that she didn't remember the path. Also, they were at an entirely new location on the base. The exit could be anywhere. But she couldn't give up. She looked down at her mother. 'Too much is at stake.'
"Hold it."
Chun Li gripped tightly on Mikoto's shoulder, indicating that they should stop. Looking up, Mikoto saw a lone shadow was just up ahead of them and coming closer. 'Oh, great. Company.' Mikoto moved near to the wall, leaving Chun Li something to lean on while Mikoto got ready to confront whomever it was that came. The shadow soon covered everything and Mikoto bent low, ready and waiting. The figure finally came around the side and Mikoto lashed her leg out.
"Whoa!"
Cammy immediately ducked down as Mikoto swung her leg out. Cammy rotated and set herself in fighting stance. She relaxed a bit at seeing that it was Mikoto, but kept her stance in case Mikoto had been changed.
"Mikoto… Is that you?"
Mikoto blinked at the question and held her stance. Luckily, Chun Li answered for her.
"Yeah, it's us."
Cammy turned to Chun Li, relaxing out of stance. "That's good to know. Are you two alright?"
Mikoto nodded, relaxing as well. "Yeah. But mom has been hurt. We've got to get out of here fast.
"It's not that bad." Chun Li moaned, pushing herself away from the wall in order to stand properly.
"Hey now." Cammy moved beside her to help her straighten up. "She's the doctor, so I'll take her word for it." Then with a smile… "Besides, you're too stubborn to admit it anyway."
Chun Li grunted. "Funny, Cam."
"In any case, we do have to get out of here." Cammy turned back from the area she had came from. "This place doesn't look like its going to last much longer."
"What about the prisoners?"
"Juni and Juli are taking care of that." Cammy answered. "At least I hope so."
The central control chamber was a total wreck. The soldier personnel were moving to seal some of the captives that had fallen out of the a few deactivated chambers in the central control room. Due to the smashed power regulator from Shadowgeist's attack, a few of the prisoners had broken out and were beginning to revive. A pair of the soldiers was shuffling a familiar face back into her pod.Nanase…
But as they began to seal the door, a dark figure descended behind them and quickly took them out with a single spinning aerial kick. The other nearby noticed, but the figure sprang quickly, cartwheeling forward and then over them. When they turned around to fight, that were met with quick power blows and hit the ground soon after.
'I better move fast before reinforcements arrive.'
Juli rushed back to the chamber where she had descended. The door was still partially open so Juli pulled it open and grabbed Nanase out of the pod. The young woman was beginning to rouse from the status effects and her eyes lid open partially.
"Where…?"
"There's no time to answer." Juli said quickly. "You must help me get the others out."
Juli placed Nanase near the wall where she could begin to regain her bearings. She then moved to the next chamber pod, working to pry it off. 'At least that's one down' she mused. However, there were a lot more than needed to be freed and very little time to do it in. Not only would reinforcements arrive, she had a dread feeling about the island. More that Bison's Psycho energy, she feared something would happen to the island itself. The constant rumblings that vibrated and cracked the walls were evidence of that. And to add insult to injury, small fires were igniting around parts of the room and were beginning to grow inward. And the only person that probably could have helped right now was in a grueling fight against a now Psycho intent Alex.
And losing…
'Man. This guy's like a bulldozer.'
Ken jumped back after dodging the knucklebomb from the massive hulk of a fighter. Alex had been on the aggressive end of this fight, hammering away at Ken with all sorts of power blows. Ken was forced to defend and very weakly by the way. His earlier bout with Shadowgeist had left him in a very vulnerable situation, fatigued and all. And the raging fires around them didn't help any. Ken could already tell that the place was unstable. Yet despite his injuries and everything that was at stake, a part of Ken was actually…enjoying this. It had been some time since he fought like this and it caused the warrior's spirit within him to relish the continued fight. 'I can see why Ryu enjoyed fighting this guy. Hopefully when this is over and done with, I can challenge him.' That brought his mind back to reality. 'If I survive this at all…'
Alex chose that moment to charge at Ken with a hard elbow. Ken raised his palm in a parry and half-succeeded, with the elbow grazing his cheek and knocking his head sideways. In return, Ken wheeled forward, shooting his knee into Alex's side. The massive warrior gave a grunt of pain, but grabbed hold of Ken's neck, whirled him over his head and slammed him onto the pavement. Ken gasped at the crashing blow and crumpled on the ground. Alex lifted his foot up and dropped it to stomp in what was left of Ken, but the warrior instincts kicked in and Ken pushed himself into a roll and forced himself to his feet.
"Flash!"Alex whirled at Ken with an energized backhand swipe. Ken parried again and this time succeeded. Holding Alex's arm briefly, Ken struck in with a straight fist, forcing the big man back. Not wanting him to return attack, Ken bent back slightly, a wind of ki whirling around him.
"Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku!"Ken launched forward, his leg whirling around and slapping Alex with a multitude of kicks. Alex was hammered in by the barrage of kicks, but it wasn't enough to subdue him. But Ken wasn't finished with him and bent low for his favorite technique.
"Shoryuken!"The rising dragon punch shot up into Alex, rippling through his stomach, chest and finally his chin. But Ken had strained himself so much that the last part of the blow had minimal impact, so Alex didn't fall away as was supposed to. Recovering, Alex locked on to Ken while he was descending and gathered in his own energy. Ken hit the ground just as Alex suddenly spun into the air himself. He didn't stay long. He landed right on Ken, his palm grabbing hold of his head and swiftly smashed his head into Ken's.
Repeatedly…
Ken didn't know what hit him, even after Alex was finished. With the warrior completely dazed and stunned, Alex flexed his muscles, readying for the coup' de grace.
And Ken's last ride…
"As long as I breathe, you will not harm my daughter."
Cori's eyes opened slowly when she heard those words. Her body took longer to respond as she slowly pressed herself to rise up. As she did, she could vaguely discern the sounds of the fighting, but the screams were more noticeable. When she finally did rise, she saw Bison hurling Guy away, throwing his body like a rag doll. Soon, Bison turned to her, the evil grin set on his face.
"Ah, you are awake. Did you enjoy your nap?"
Cori grimaced as she continued to try to get on her feet. Bison slowly approached her, grinning through the rising flames at his prey.
"I must admit. This was more trouble than I wanted, but well worth it to take your power and replenish mine."
Bison continued to approach and Cori staggered back helplessly. Her fight with Bison earlier had drained her significantly and she was in no condition to fight him. Guy was knocked out and Mel and Shinji were gone. She was alone.
"Yes." he sneered, answering her unspoken fear. "You are all alone."
"Haa!"
Bison's eyes widened before he whirled around and raised his forearm to block the flying kick that had come from Shinji. The boy was worn and ragged from the earlier attack, but his eyes still blazed for the fight. At seeing this, Bison blinked within, remembering that same look from another warrior he faced before.
'Ryu!'On pure reflex, Bison swung his fist out, catching Shinji with a viscous backhanded fist. Shinji groaned and spun around in the air before landing with a thud. Bison grimaced. 'How did he survive that attack?' Bison wasn't holding back on the last Psycho Crusher; he had gone all out. Those two should have been burnt corpses. Perhaps the other one had taken the brunt of blow and shielded his friend. 'A noble sacrifice' he reasoned. 'Noble and utterly stupid.'
"Hey ugly!"
Bison turned again, this time to block Mel's incoming attack. Now this surprised Bison. 'How could they still be living!' Mel launched another attack, driving his fist in to his Bison's face. Bison parried the blow and shot his knee into Mel's gut. Mel staggered back and Bison raised his elbow to finish him when Shinji rushed at him with a low sweep. Bison lifted his leg to avoid it and he lashed out with a power blow. However, he was thoroughly surprised when Shinji managed to speedily duck aside. Before Bison could even register this in his mind, he found himself short on breath, for both Shinji and Mel and shot their fists straight into his gut at the same time. Bison's rage was dwarfed by the pain that rippled through his body from the combined blow of the two. He had never been stunned this badly before. It was as though his entire body froze up on him. And all from two children.
'No! I will not be defeated by mortal children!'In desperation, Bison hopped backward and then propelled his body forward in a slicing Scissors Kick. Shinji was caught in the double blow, but Mel had managed to use a high block to cover himself beforehand. Gritting his teeth, Mel forced himself to hold up the block and Bison's leg with it.
"Shinji!"
Shinji was still dazed by the attack, but Mel's call was enough to wake out of it somewhat and react to the opening Mel provided by spinning and catching Bison in a low sweep, tripping out his remaining leg. Bison hit the ground and Mel leaped high with a crashing fist. Bison rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet as the blow missed, but now Shinji was on him with a high angle kick. Bison block the attack, but staggered back.
'What?'Spinning around from his kick, Shinji went in low and aimed for Bison's gut. But Bision anticipated it and got to Shinji firs with a powerful side kick. Shinji was knocked off to the side, but unexpectedly rolled away further, allowing Mel to take over. Caught off-guard, Bison was hit with a clean blow to the ribs and staggered back further.
'I am not weaker than these…children!'In that fit of rage, Bison reached out and grabbed Mel by the throat with both hands. He was going to finish these pests off. Mel began to choke as he tried to pry his way out, but Bison had completely lost it and began to throttle the youth.
"Die, Die, DIE!"
But Bison was so into his desire to strangle Mel that he left himself open to Shinji, who had recovered and was now approaching him from the side. By the time Bison saw him, Shinji was already upon him.
"Shoryujinn!"Shinji's fist impacted with Bison's chin, releasing a surge of ki that rippled through Bison like lightning. Bison was so stunned that he dropped Mel without even knowing it. Mel landed on the floor, coughing and trying to regain his breath. Bison began to come around, but Mel beat him to it and came at him with an attack of his own.
"Shoryu-Kai!"Another uppercut impacted Bison, with this one knocking him into the air and followed up with a spinning roundhouse. Bison's body soared through the air and he just barely landed on his feet with his back to the flames. His body was wracked with pain and sporting the injuries inflicted upon him. As he arose, he was faced with a dim glow from afar.
"What!"
Shinji and Mel were standing together, their hands cupped off on opposite sides and gathering energy. Bison's eyes widened at the sight, remembering a similar image from long ago…
"HADOKEN!"
