Kenny's head hurt from a combination of his injuries sustained in the car crash, the blaring sirens, and the bumpy ambulance ride. He was lying on a stretcher that had been latched to the floor of the ambulance with Wagner by his side. Wagner was mumbling apologies for the last few minutes since he'd come to and Kenny had long since tuned out of it. His head hurt, and he was sleepy. The trail of blood that had once flowed freely down his head was now dried and crusted against his skin. It hurt to make a face. His shirt was also stained with his own blood – enough for one to think he'd been stabbed instead of hurting his head.

"Forget about it," Guile said, waving off Wagner's apologies. "I understand."

"No you don't, Guile," Wagner continued, "it was like I couldn't control my own emotions, like something was forcing me to me angry, forcing me to use my strength. I didn't mean to …"

"I know you didn't," Guile replied, "now, can you please stop this? You're well aware that you're not responsible for what happened back there. If anything, you're a victim, just like we are." He turned his attention to Kenny, who lay before them drifting in and out of consciousness.

"What are you staring at?" Kenny asked sleepily. His eyes were closed but it was as if he could feel their gazes on him.

"I just want to thank you," Guile said, patting him on the knee. "If it wasn't for you, I probably would've died in the crash."

"You would've died in the explosion," Kenny corrected. "And you're welcome. It's the least I could do after you came here to make sure I was alive – even when you thought I was dead."

"You know, I …" Guile had tagged along with Chun Li to shut her up once and for all, to prove to her that Kenny was dead and to stop rambling all the bullshit about him still being alive. Revenge – that was Guile's true motive for registering for the Street Fighter tournaments. Since Charlie's passing in the last Alpha tournament, Guile had been aching to give Bison a taste of his own medicine, having taken his best friend from him. None of this had anything to do with Kenny, really. It was just convenient that he turned up alive, one more item to check off his list of priorities. But Guile wasn't going to tell him that now, not when he was in this state.

"Listen, can you just let me sleep for a bit?" Kenny asked. "My head's throbbing. I don't feel so good."

"You think it could be a concussion?" Wagner asked Guile.

"I don't know anything about head trauma," Guile admitted. "He should be fine though, after pulling me from the car when he was more hurt than I was."

"He might've exerted himself too much."

"It'll take more than a little bump to take Kenny down, right, buddy?" Guile asked, lightly tapping the youth on the shoulder. But there was no response, not even an irritated scowl on his tired face. "Hey, Kenny are you …"

"Damn, he's gone really pale, Guile," Wagner said, peering closer. The father and son looked at each other with concerned expressions.

"Check his breathing," Guile said, as Wagner put his hand to Kenny's lips.

"It's very shallow," he replied, "almost non-existent."

XXXXX

"Hey, where are you going?" Cranky asked. Cammy wasn't going back to her place – he knew downtown Osaka like the back of his hand and if there was somewhere she was trying to take him without saying anything, there was no way she was getting away with it.

"I'm sorry," she said sadly, "I know I said we'd head back to my place but … I'm feeling pretty uneasy about Ken and all."

"I know what you mean," Cranky replied. "He had an encounter with one of Shadowlaw's cronies. It's a miracle he even made it out alive."

"He's a martial arts champion," Cammy explained, "so it's really not that big of a miracle. I just don't feel good about the circumstances we're meeting under, after so many years."

She could feel Cranky suddenly get stone cold, as if the warmth that radiated off him suddenly ceased. Cammy was quick to say something before he got the wrong idea. "I just want to make sure he's okay. Even if he says he is, that's just Ken's personality. He's not one to display weakness in front of …"

"Do you still have feelings at him?" Cranky interrupted.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course not!" Cammy insisted. "But that doesn't mean I don't care about his well-being!"

"Alright," Cranky said, surrendering, "you win. Besides, I've got a few things to say to him too."

"He's taken care of Kenny financially for the past nine years," Cammy said. "It started with eight thousand dollars a month, and gradually went up as Kenny got older and Ken made more money with his family's business."

"My thoughts, exactly." Cranky shook his head in disbelief, understanding the truth in that statement. "I should've been there," he said. "The little fucker's been growing up all this time and I've been oblivious to it."

"It's not your fault for not knowing. We all thought Kenny was dead."

"He was six the last time I saw him."

"He's not a child anymore," Cammy said. "I had a nice chat with him back at the house. He seems like a pretty intelligent teenager – with a smart mouth to match."

Cranky laughed. "I taught him to be like that, and I was pretty damn proud until I realized he could probably out-talk me." Cranky shook his head in amazement. "If it wasn't for Ken …"

Cammy put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know. You must be very grateful to him. Just keep your gratitude to yourself for now. Don't wear it out on me before you can express it to the man who really deserves it."

XXXXX

Kenny, Guile and Wagner were evacuated from the ambulance with remarkable speed, efficiency and delicacy, given the state of the three of them. Nurses and doctors dashed out from the sliding emergency doors and each one dashed to a patient as if they had been assigned who to tend to before they even arrived. Guile was helped into a wheelchair, despite his protests.

"I'm not crippled," he insisted. "I've just got a few scrapes and bruises …"

"We're still obligated to make sure you have no injuries that you're unaware of," a doctor explained. "Now please sir, we're going to need your co-operation. Guile scowled as he folded his arms across his chest like a child as a nurse wheeled him away to the emergency ward.

Just ahead of Guile, a small army of four nurses, along with the help of the paramedics, unloaded Kenny from the stretcher onto a portable bed. They were half jogging down the corridors, one of them talking his pulse, another one taping an IV down onto his right hand. The sense of urgency with him was a lot higher than it had been with Guile.

"We're looking at trauma to the head," the nurse leading the way explained to a doctor who had just caught up to them. "Possible concussion."

"Brain damage?" the doctor asked.

"We're not sure at this point."

"What else? His whole frontal torso is covered in blood."

"No open wounds on his chest. The blood is suspected to have come from his nose. Judging from the extent of the bleeding, it's more than just one busted vein in his nose. The whole thing could be broken."

Guile watched intently at nurses and the doctor talking intensely. He strained to listen to what they were saying but among the noise of the other patients and the wind against his ears from people scrambling to get out of the way, it was hard to make out anything sensible. But their facial expressions and body language deeply disturbed Guile.

"I don't like this," he said to Wagner who was walking beside him at a steady pace. "When the doctors look worried, that's never a good sign."

"They're probably only worried because they just don't know anything about his condition yet," Wagner explained rationally, not wanting to give the situation more attention than in deserved. "You were there. You saw how he fought. He even pulled you out from the car. He can't be in that bad of shape."

"Maybe he is and the injuries and the fight are taking a toll on him. We're not trained in the medical field – we don't know what's wrong with him even though he seems fine. If Kenny really was fine, the doctors wouldn't look so worried."

"He'll be fine," Wagner reassured. "We're in a hospital! This is the best place to be when you're injured!"

The hospital was poorly designed in the sense that it was quite a commute from the ambulance entrance to the emergency ward. Kenny and his team of nurses were far enough ahead that their forms were mere blurry shapes in a sea of white, sterile walls and uniforms. Something caught Wagner's eye – people dressed in a colour palette that stood out – a young woman with blonde hair and pigtails dressed in civilian clothing and red combat gloves, standing beside a young man with red hair, a black T-shirt and blue jeans. Wagner only needed a quick glimpse to recognize who they were.

"Cammy?" he asked. She responded to her name, whirling around to see who it was that had called her. Upon laying her eyes on Wagner, an elated smile crossed her delicate features.

"Wagner!" she cried in excitement. She caught sight of Guile being wheeled away and reached out to the man, but his aid was too quick for her. "What in the world happened?" she asked Wagner in confusion.

"It's a long story," he replied. He looked at Cranky, standing by her side looking equally confused as Cammy did. Wagner tipped his head at him and continued, this time talking to both of them. "But I think it would be in your best interest to follow us, and I'll tell you along the way."

Cammy and Cranky complied, picking up the pace as they fought to keep up with Guile. Cranky remained behind but only for a second, dismissing the nurse at the help counter.

"But before I tell you folks anything," Wagner said, "you have to tell me what you're doing here."

"We're here to visit Ken," Cammy replied. "He came under attack and we believe it was because of Shadowlaw's goons – well, not really, more like a brainwashed Julian Marquez. We heard you were kidnapped along with him, so when we found out that Julian was sent straight for Ken Masters, we thought it would just be a matter of time before you followed up."

"It's good to see you're alright and not some brainwashed Shadowlaw tool," Cranky continued.

"That's the problem," Wagner explained, "I was. They sent me after Guile." Cammy's eyes went wide with shock.

"They did … what?"

Wagner shook his head. "I joke you not. They sent me after Guile – I attacked him while he was in the car. I just stepped out into traffic, right in front of him and …"

"Hold on," Cammy asked, raising her hand for him to pause, "you actually remember all this?"

"I was like a prisoner in my own mind. I could see the things I was doing, feel the emotions I was feeling, but it was like I had no control over myself. I was just a soul that could do and feel whatever I was being told. That's the best way I can describe it to you."

"Oh, Wagner! At least … at least you're alright."

"Maybe, but it's because of me that you saw Guile in that wheelchair, but he says he didn't hurt himself too much."

"Typical of him," Cammy said, rolling her eyes. "It sounds like he's alright."

"You didn't catch the guy on the stretcher who passed you just before we did, did you?" Wagner asked, speaking to Cranky this time.

"No," he replied. "But I caught them saying something about head trauma and a car crash …" Cranky stopped dead in the middle of his sentence, sensing something even worse lay beyond what he already understood of the situation.

"Dude, I hate to tell this to you," Wagner continued. "I'm really sorry but Guile wasn't the only occupant of that vehicle …" It didn't look like Wagner had to continue as Cranky seemed to understand, his face going pale, his mouth opening wide. Guile was on his way to meet Wolfman at the hotel, coming back from the house where they'd left Kenny. If there was anyone else that could have been in the car, Cranky's little brother could have been the only other person.

"What have you done?" Cranky whispered, the rage very apparent in his voice.

"It's not his fault," Cammy said, taking a hold of Cranky's wrist. "Please don't be angry with Wagner."

The turned to look at Cammy with hate in his eyes. His face was nearly as red as his hair. "H…how can you say that?" he almost yelled. Forcing his emotions aside, he combed his hair back with his fingers, simultaneously taking a deep breath. "No … you're right," he said. It was taking him considerable effort not to blow up at the news and Cammy had to admit, she was impressed. "Shadowlaw …" he spat the name out like it was poison. "Haven't they toyed around with people enough, already?"

"I can't count how many times I've said that to myself already."

"I'm really sorry," Wagner apologized again.

"I'm going to catch up to Kenny," Cranky said, ignoring the apology. He looked at Cammy with genuine concern in his eyes. He hated leaving her side but she understood.

"Go to him," she said, nodding. "Make sure he's alright."

XXXXX

"Well, fancy meeting you in here, Colonel." Ken Masters flashed Guile a smile while Eliza smacked him lightly on the shoulder. Ken didn't look as bad as Guile expected. He thought he would see the young millionaire unconscious on his bed with a heart rate monitor, wrapped from head to toe in bandages. Instead, the only bandaged area on Ken's body was his ribs and head. He left eye was swollen from taking a hit, but otherwise, he looked alright – except for a few cuts on his body, none of which looked deep.

"I heard about what happened to you," Guile said. "Mind telling me what happened?"

"Shadowlaw happened," Ken replied, "that's what. Now my turn to ask you."

"I got the same answer for you," Guile said. "Wagner."

"Julian." Ken nodded.

"That's just fucking unbelievable," Guile spat. "The first people the agents are sent after have to be the ones who are the dearest to them. Shadowlaw really goes the extra mile to make people's lives miserable."

"Tell me about it," Ken said, nodding in agreement. "Eliza was supposed to return to the States to take care of some financial business. Now since this happened, she's afraid to leave my side – like I'll die or something, if she's not here."

"I'm not leaving my man in the middle of a foreign country when he's hurt," she said, "especially in the middle of street fighter tournament that I never approved of you partaking in, and with an evil organization tracking your every move … I won't let you go through this alone!"

"Please, Japan is like a second home to me! I'll be fine."

"I'm not leaving you in this condition to go take care of money," Eliza said, stomping her foot on the ground. "I don't care if I had all the money in the world. But if anything ever happened to you …"

"Yeah, yeah," Ken said, waving her off, "let's not get emotional in front of the good Colonel, yeah, Eliza?"

"It's alright. Cammy and Wagner are pretty emotional themselves right now." Guile's adopted children stood at his bedside, perfect postures, staring straight ahead of them. The only hint of humanity they gave off was their facial expressions – they weren't completely blank. Guile was a military man and it was no surprised that he raised his children in such a manner. Cammy and Wagner seemed out of place, standing with squared shoulders at full attention in the middle of a hospital.

"What are you folks doing here?" Ken asked, tipping his chin at Cammy.

"I came with Cranky," she said, "to see you." Ken smiled that cocky smile of his again, the same one that Cammy had fallen with as a sixteen year old girl, but now resented as a twenty-four year old woman. Eliza frowned disapprovingly at Cammy's reasoning, but tried unsuccessfully to hide her envy.

"Oh, that redhead's here too?" Ken asked.

"I wouldn't talk," Cammy laughed.

"Hey," Ken interrupted, "strawberry blond, baby. There's a difference. Well, where is he?"

"He went off to see Kenny. The kid was involved in the same crash as Guile. But he came with me to … there's a few things he wants to talk to you about personally. I shouldn't be talking for him."

"Whatever floats your boat," Ken said, shrugging. "So is Kenny doing okay?"

Cammy, Wagner and Guile exchanged worried glances. "We don't know yet," Guile said, speaking for the three of them. "But we'll find out soon."

"I can't just sit around here waiting for an answer," Cammy announced, turning around, heading for the door. "I'm going to see how they're doing. Cranky looked pretty worried before he ran off."

XXXXX

"Master Bison, what are you doing?" Sagat nearly yelled as Bison manually severed the connection from Wagner to the Psycho Drive. "Wagner had Kenny in his grasp. He would have surely killed the boy if he were allowed to …"

"You display such little faith in my actions," Bison replied calmly, folding his hands onto his lap. He spun around in his swivel throne to face his right-hand man. "Think about it." Bison narrowed his eyes. "Would Wagner do us more good if he were to have killed Kenneth Feng in the middle of the road? The boy is useless. It doesn't mater to us whether he lives or dies. We want Ryu and the energy coursing through his veins. To achieve such phenomenal levels, we need him at an emotional peak – and killing Ken Masters and anyone else close to Ryu would achieve that. We want to hit the main street fighters, Sagat. And how would you suppose we do that?"

"Our agents would have to be in close proximity to the world warriors," Sagat said, rubbing his chin.

"Exactly," Bison grinned.

"Sir, that's …" Sagat was impressed with Bison's sniveling ways, despite the Muay Thai champion's disapproval. Nonetheless, his boss was good at what he did, and there was little doubt in Sagat's mind that he could've risen to such power by himself. "Surely you don't expect Wagner and Julian to get the job done by themselves."

"Of course not," Bison said. "They're merely serving as incentives for the street fighters to pursue me through the tournament. It will be a process of elimination, disqualifying those who are unworthy of facing me in battle."

"And we are to eliminate the rodents for you," Sagat said, running his orders through his head. "Vega, Balrog and I. But if you want to personally face Ryu in battle, how are you so sure he will make it through?"

"Ryu has been the champion of the tournament since it began fifteen years ago," Bison said, "from the first tournament you hosted through the trio of the Alpha tournaments. I have little doubt he will continue his legacy in the second official Street Fighter tournaments as well."

"But sir, I have trained long and hard for our match," Sagat said. "What if I were to defeat him in battle?"

"Then he would be deemed unworthy of the true power of the Psycho Drive," Bison explained. "But I'm not too worried about that happening."

"I … I don't understand," Sagat said, feeling a little attacked. "Are you saying you doubt I will be able to defeat Ryu?"

"You are a warrior who fights for vengeance," Bison said. "If it's rage that drives you, you will fail. And before your deluded quest for honor, you had an ego. Similarly, one who is too confident in himself will also fail."

"Permission to be dismissed," Sagat snapped, suddenly worried that if he'd stayed in Bison's presence any longer, he would snap and perhaps even attack his boss. That was something he didn't even want to risk, given the consequences he would receive being under the command of Shadowlaw.

"Permission granted," Bison said, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

XXXXX

Cammy found Cranky a few rooms down the hallway sitting motionless by Kenny's bedside. He had his back turned to her, too involved in whatever was running through his head to even notice her presence standing in the doorway. His shoulders were hunched over, his face buried in his hands. It was truly the most pathetic she had ever seen him, along the same level as she'd found him back in the hotel cafeteria earlier that evening. This was the second emotional downfall for Cranky in a matter of hours. He was sitting so still with his face in his hands that it was hard to tell he was even breathing.

Kenny was sleeping – or unconscious, she couldn't tell. His eyes were closed while the heart monitor beside him recorded his heartbeat with a steady rhythm of electronic beeps. The side of his face was stained with blood, though most of the dried crust had been removed. There was a large red spot on the side of his head seeping through the bandage. An IV had been inserted into his right hand, connected to a saline pack handing on a rack beside the heart rate monitor.

Cammy had taken a few seconds to absorb the scene and once she grew tired of it, she decided to get Cranky's attention. She knocked quietly on the door frame.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

Cranky looked over his shoulder to face her. But his eyes didn't make contact with hers. They looked sadly at her feet. It was a spitting image of how he'd appeared after Juli left him. The red eyes, the tear streaked face, the disheveled hair – Cammy's heart ached for him. How much stress could a guy go through in one day?

"I … I should've been there," he said weakly in a hoarse voice. He was a mess. She knew he had a problem showing his vulnerable, emotional side, but he was too worn out to even have the energy to hide it now. Cammy pulled up a chair beside him.

"There's no way you could have known …" she said softly.

"I'm a horrible friend … a worse brother …"

"No, no you're not." What else could Cammy have said? She wished there was something she could do besides sit here and listen.

"I left him in the care of Ken Masters while I got fucking drunk and screwed every girl that crossed my path. After being reunited after so long, I let this to happen to him. I should've been there for him, Cammy. Not just today, but for the past nine fucking years!" His hands were shaking and it took considerable effort for him to even swallow the saliva in his dry throat. "I wasn't there … all this time, all this goddamned time and what the HELL have I been doing!"

Cammy heard this before in their car ride over here – but it only occurred to her now that it was bothering him much more than she thought it was. She opened her arms to give him a hug but he fell into her like a collapsing house of cards. "It's okay," she said soothingly. "Kenny's important to you, I know. He's your brother, whether or not you're blood related. Nothing's going to change that. Kenny still respects you. He looks up to you and I get the feeling he always will, regardless of what you do."

"Oh God, no way in hell I deserve that kind of admiration, Cammy … And there's no way in hell I deserve you. I can't stay loyal to a girl, I can't even take care of my own brother and yet, the two most important people to me stick by my side …"

"Shh," she whispered, running her hand down the back of his head.

"I don't want to lose him to my mistakes," Cranky sobbed. "I almost lost you."

"You won't lose anyone," Cammy said. "Kenny will be alright."

"The fucker better be okay. If he makes it through this, Cammy, I will never do anything to lose either of you ever again. Do you hear me? Never …"

"Never," she repeated, verbally binding him to his promise.

"So help me, God…"