Osaka, Japan
Kenny had never felt darkness before the way he had now, not even when the Shadow Technology was within his body. It was so thick, so suffocating, it was almost as if he could reach out and touch it with his fingertips. It sucked the air from his lungs, immobilized him, and threw off his sense of balance. Kenny struggled to hold onto his consciousness, knowing that Cranky lay sleeping outside on the patio, completely unaware of the events transpiring, completely vulnerable to a surprise attack from the demon who called itself Akuma.
He stumbled to the sliding glass door leading to the patio, struggling to breathe while Akuma's words echoed in his head.
"Ryu wa doko iru?" (Where is Ryu?). He spoke in Japanese, a Kenny's mother tongue, though it had been years since he used his skills to the fullest. Yet he had retained enough to understand completely what Akuma asked of him. But the task at hand wasn't responding to the demon's questions. Kenny's priority was getting to Cranky, to wake him and bring the danger to his attention.
Kenny reached the glass door and struggled to get it open. But he felt an invisible force grab the back collar of his shirt, pull him back, and slam his head into glass – once, twice, and the third time was the hardest. His head rebounded with such force that his body fell backwards, onto the littered coffee table. The table, unable to support his weight and its impact, had its legs snap out from under it, sending the furnishing to the carpeted floor with a resounding crash.
His head was spinning, the darkness obscured his vision, and an unbelievable pain throbbed in his head.
"Tsutaerou!" (Tell me!) Akuma's voice repeated. Kenny felt something pick him up and he hovered like a rag doll in the air for a second, and suddenly felt his body sailing into the wall plaster. He made contact with his upper back, producing a gaping hole – a sore sight for any visitor if the room hadn't been so dark. He fell onto the futon this time, upturning the seat, letting it collapse on his beaten body.
Kenny stole a quick glance to the door and saw Cranky, finally awake, banging frantically on the glass surface. Why wasn't he able to get in? Kenny hadn't locked it behind him. He suddenly remembered the most recent attack in the hospital, where some kind of invisible force kept the door knob from turning, imprisoning him and Ryu in the recovery ward at least temporarily until the demon had left. It was probably the same force at work here. Who was this Akuma, anyway? What kind of supernatural forces did he have under his command? Would the Shadow Technology be of any use against it? Not that it mattered, anyway. Kenny no longer had it inside of him and for the first time in his life, he wished he did.
"Who are you?" Kenny asked weakly. "Why are you after Ryu? What does any of this have to do with me?"
"Anta no ki wo kanjiteta," (I sensed your aura), Akuma explained. "There is a dark, residual energy leaving your body. And I foolishly mistook you for being Ryu. But now I can see you are anything but. The Satsui no Hadou does not reside in your body."
"It never has!" Kenny continued. "You've wasted your time coming here!"
"Not quite …" A humanoid form materialized in front of Kenny, who still lay pinned under the overturned futon. The form bent down and grabbed Kenny by the throat, and held it up to face his own. "You are the boy who was with Ryu earlier. I have a score to settle with him, and he has run off on me. I don't take kindly to cowardice. And that's why you will tell me where he is."
"Kenny!" Cranky cried frantically from outside. He started pounding mercilessly on the glass door, blow after blow. The glass shook, but did not break. Kenny hardly noticed, feeling the air supply to his longs being slowly extinguished by Akuma's tight grip on his throat.
"You will tell me," Akuma threatened, "if you don't wish to die. Remember boy, this battle does not have to involve you."
Kenny tried to speak, but only a suffocated gasp escaped from his lips. Suddenly, they heard a thundering crash and when Akuma turned to look, spotted Cranky falling into the room, the glass having been shattered into little cubes. A chair from Kenny's bistro set tumbled in and came to rest against the opposite wall, denting it.
XXXXX
Pattaya, Thailand
"Bison," Ryu hissed hatefully at the sight of the evil Shadowlaw dictator floating, somehow, half a foot off the ground. Powerful arms were crossed over his chest. The small, black rim of his beret hid his lifeless eyes in a jet black shadow with the fading sunlight. The wind shipped dust and dead leaves around him, forming what looked like a vortex that he stood in the center of. Ryu could feel, more than see the lightly purple-tinged aura emanating from his body.
"I must say I'm a little disappointed in you, warrior," Bison said. "I wasn't expecting you to have such a hard time defeating a mere tool like Sagat. Or perhaps you were motivated by desperation and rage – like the little doll lying at our feet." He nodded his head at Chun Li, lying beaten and unconscious just a few feet away. "Don't tell me I've been wasting my time pursuing a hot-headed street fighter. Seems like your name has surpassed your capabilities."
"Perhaps, then, you'd like a demonstration," Ryu shot back, his calm voice tinted with a suppressed hostility.
"I would," Bison replied, to Ryu's surprise. I want you to show me your true strength." He shook his head. "Because … this just can't be all you have to offer, especially after all my efforts to bring your potential out of you."
"Your … efforts?"
"Julian's attack on Ken. The car crash with Guile that Wagner induced. Friends attempting destroy the lives of those they love, of people who mean everything to you." Bison smirked. From the mysterious life Ryu led, it was obvious to the world that he couldn't have many close friends, which meant the ones he did, he held onto closely. And to take that away would surely bring out the Satsui no Hadou coursing through the Shotokan warrior's veins, a power that Bison hoped to harness with Ryu's involvement in the Street Fighter tournaments.
Ryu's anger flared. "All of that was … was because of me?" he asked, devastated by the news. Shadowlaw seemed to have a knack for capitalizing on agony, emotional or physical, in any of their given missions. Before making any moves, they studied their victims well, and attacked their weaknesses at full force. And Ryu's weakness – his loved ones.
"No, not all of it," Bison sneered. "You may have priority in Shadowlaw's objectives, but you are by far not our only one. After all, we needed the Shadow Technology from Kenny's body in order to launch the Agent Initiative. And we know how you feel towards the maltreatment of innocents. Two birds with one stone."
"And all of this was so I could show you my potential? What would that mean to a power hungry dictator like you?"
"Power," Bison replied smartly. He studied Ryu's face for some kind of reaction and was annoyed when all that he saw was confusion. "Don't insult my intelligence. I know you know what I want from you."
"I've been fighting to control the Satsui no Hadou since the third tournament of the Alpha rounds," Ryu said. "You can forget about getting it from me. It's gone. Your efforts have been in vain, Bison."
"Your demon friend might disagree."
"Akuma? How do you know about …"
"The man might be more an enigma than human, but not even he can escape the eyes and ears of my organization. When keeping track of the Shadow Technology – Kenny's – movements, we were met with much interference of a much more potent source on the same energy level. I'm sure you understand the concept of people's life force, Ryu, otherwise you'd never be able to throw a single hadouken. You are aware – though life forces come in limitless variation, good and evil forces are always distinguishable from one another. The interference we met was of the same consistency as the Shadow Technology, though alien in source."
"It could've been anything else. Why would you have assumed Akuma?"
"Because there's nothing else outside of Shadowlaw more powerful than the Shadow Technology. We sense it in Akuma, and we also sense it in you, Ryu. Don't try to hide the facts from me. The power is very much alive in your body – and I want that power!"
"You won't take it," Ryu said, resting his weight on his back leg, putting himself at a defensive position.
"Oh, I don't intend to take it right now," Bison said smugly. "I may not be a street fighter like you, but I have a sense of honor. I will defeat you in the heat of battle, and then take the Satsui no Hadou power from your body. And I want you at your best performance. That won't happen until you rest. Besides, how do you hope to resist me now in the shape you're in?"
Ryu couldn't answer as he stared back defiantly at Bison. But the dictator was right. Ryu was too worn out from the fight with Sagat to perform properly in battle. And Bison wanted to take the Satsui no Hadou from him in the most humiliating way possible. Ryu invited the challenge, though he didn't verbalize it. He could tell Bison could see his answer through his eyes.
"I will see you over there," Bison said, pointing towards a temple in the distance, the shapes of its curved roofs and pinnacles interrupting the gentle curves of the distant hills, "at noon. That's when the final round is to take place. I'll be waiting."
Bison's body disappeared, or more accurately, seemed to fold in on itself and disappear from reality entirely, making Ryu wonder if the conversation he just had was shared by him and his imagination only. But Bison's words were too real, too sinister for Ryu to have thought them up completely on his own.
XXXXX
Shadowlaw Base
Pattaya, Thailand
Issei stood motionless watching the barrels of the semi-automatic weapons pointed directly at him, ready to shoot if he so much as moved a muscle. Hell, they were probably going to shoot him for defecting from the organization anyway. He looked at Genta, the fifteen year old street kid from Osaka who had trained directly under Issei, and immediately regretted what he had done to the youngster's mind. As much as Issei hated to admit it though he was well aware, he wasn't clear headed enough to have bore the responsibilities over Genta's mind as he did. In fact, as far as Issei knew, his mind had only just been cleared as of a few days ago from all of Shadowlaw's brainwashing he'd underwent all these years.
Genta smiled upon seeing the expression of hopelessness upon his former sensei's face. "Imagine how high I will climb in Shadowlaw's ranks if I were to personally deliver to Master Bison the head of my own teacher," he said, licking his lips just thinking about the rewards.
"An unlikely probability," Issei retorted, "though you are welcome to try."
"Don't interfere," Genta said to the other soldiers over his shoulder, without taking his eyes off Issei. "This is a fight I
would like to take on alone."
"But, sir - that might not be the best course of action against one of Shadowlaw's legendary …" The soldier's voice was cut off as he collapsed to the ground suddenly, dead.
Issei stepped back, appalled by what he'd just witnessed. "Look at how they fear me," Genta said, opening his arms wide. "Look at the respect they display! Just about as much as anyone has ever given to you."
"What have you done to yourself, Genta?" Issei asked.
"A test of your sister's loyalty," he replied. "I played the role of one of your foolishly loyal subordinates, those of Unit 111. I asked her to hook me up to the Psycho Drive, so that I could wield the same kind of power Master Bison does. And you know what? She did, thinking I would use the Psycho Drive to help her. That proved her betrayal to Shadowlaw. She had no idea that it was Master Bison himself who cooked up the plan. And he got one more soldier out of it. Of course, had my act been for real, I'd be dead."
"What have you done with my sister, my men?" Issei's voice trembled as he spoke, realizing with horror that Genta now wielded the Psycho Power.
"Nothing," Genta replied. "We couldn't kill Katarina right away. We had to get you to come back too! But your 'men', well, Bison had them all killed. There was no grand show, nothing. One minute they were walking along, the next, they were lying in a pool of their own blood. Don't worry, sensei. The bullet ripped a hole through their heads so fast, there's no way they could have suffered. I was the only one smart enough to denounce my loyalty to you the moment news leaked of your betrayal. How could you do this to the people who have taken care of you since you were a child?"
"That's what they want you to think, Genta," Issei insisted. "But that's far from the case. They're just using you, like they did to me."
"Oh just shut up with your righteous lies," Genta said, slapping his forehead in dismay. Quick as lightning, he pulled out a pair of Japanese sai from his boots, holding the weapons blade down. Issei recognized the style of fighting – with the blades aligning with one's forearm, a simple elbow strike would be lethal, as opposed to them pointing straight up, which would make it easier for the weapon to be hit out of the wielder's grasp. Issei took a step back, realizing his training must've been good. Either that, or Genta was a good student. In either case, Issei knew he was going to get into a fight, that could likely lead to one of their deaths – his, probably, if the guards weren't going to listen to Genta's orders.
Genta leapt forward, closing the distance between him and his former master with a single bound. Issei, in turn, took a step back to further widen the gap, narrowly avoid a hook – which would have connected with his jaw, though the blades sliced through his dark suit with ease. The fabric fell open from the tear on his left pectoral, revealing a white undershirt.
"Your heart," Genta hissed, "white marks the spot."
Issei ripped the covering off his face, allowing Genta to see his expression. The youth was quite a bit smaller compared to him in size and build. Where Issei was tall, heavily built and had the stamina of a cheetah, Genta was a head shorter, leaner, and possibly faster. And Issei hoped this difference and his cool, emotionless expression, his readiness to kill at any given moment, would scare the boy off. He didn't want to have to do it, but if he had no choice, Genta would by a corpse at his feet in a few minutes – maybe even sooner.
"Don't forget, Sensei," Genta said, though now he used the respectful term with such sarcasm that it sounded like an insult, "I lived my life on Osaka's streets by killing people without batting an eye. Don't think you're any different than everyone else. Traitors are worse than innocents in my eyes."
Genta spun around for a heavy back fist, but Issei swatted his hand away like it was hardly more than a buzzing fly. Genta spun in the opposite direction, feigning another punch. When Issei ducked low to avoid it, the youth raised his leg instead, smashing his knee in to his master's face, then followed through by extending his leg into a full kick, hitting Issei a second time. The ex-admiral reeled back, paying no attention to the trail of blood now slowly making its way down the side of his face.
"I've give you a chance to get out of here," Issei said, "a chance to save yourself. Instead you do this. Is this really what you choose for yourself, Genta?"
The youth looked at him with narrowed eyes, mouth pressed thin. Issei could almost swear he saw the youth's lower lip trembling – either with fear, or sadness, he couldn't tell. Issei continued.
"Consider your answer. If you choose to go against me, I won't hold back."
After a few seconds of silence, Genta replied. "I don't ally myself with those who betray me."
XXXXX
Osaka, Japan
Cranky charged at Akuma, cutting his feet on the glass shards as he ran, his face twisted with rage. He came down on the demon with double-fisted overhead blow. Akuma, in defense, raised an arm to block the move effortlessly. Cranky went wide eyed with shock, and ate a counterattack in the form of an uppercut to his jaw. Cranky's body was lifted into the air with the powerful force, throwing him into the television cabinet. He covered his head as the electronic device came crashing down on him, taking with it a pile of carelessly stacked CDs and video cassettes. Cranky rolled back onto his feet as if the collision had done nothing to bruise him, picked up the TV without missing a beat, and hurled it across the room at Akuma. The demon didn't exactly dodge the flying projectile, not did he block it. Instead, his body seemed to fizzle out – if only for a split second, to allow the TV to fly through him, and rematerialize as soon as it had passed.
Having Akuma's attention taken off him, Kenny took a few seconds to allow the air to reflow back into his lungs, and gathered the energy to kick the futon off him. He stood up to face Akuma's back, who had busied himself with Cranky. The brothers made brief eye contact while Kenny gave a firm nod and dashed off to his bedroom while Akuma hadn't been paying attention.
"You want him," Cranky said, while Akuma hissed back in retaliation, "then you're gonna have to kill me first."
"That can be arranged." Akuma headed for Cranky, devilish eyes glowing red, sadistic, fang-baring grin spreading across his face.
"Come and get me you ugly mother," Cranky taunted, raising his fists, waiting for Akuma to close the distance between them.
"Shun Goku Satsu!" Akuma suddenly warped with great speed towards Cranky, taking him by surprise and grabbed onto his collar. Before the demon could deliver his first lethal blow, he froze and released his would-be victim, clutching unsuccessfully at the area between his shoulder blades.
Cranky snapped out of his daze to see Kenny standing at the opposite end of the room, arms by his side, feet just a little more than shoulder width apart, breathing heavily. Blood was running down the youth's forehead as he gasped for air. Then he spotted the kitchen knives, each held between his fingers. As Akuma turned around, roaring in agony, Cranky saw a knife handle sticking out from his back.
"And there's more where that came from, bitch!" Kenny shouted, and hurled another blade.
"Holy shit, Kenny, wait!" Cranky held his hands out to stop his adoptive brother but was too late. The blade had been thrown. Akuma had dodged, and so did Cranky, but not far enough for the knife to avoid slicing the side of his arm. Cranky clutched at the wound and hissed through tightly clenched teeth, feeling the blood seep through.
Kenny had a look of horror on his face for what he'd done, which gave Akuma the opening he needed to attack the youth. Kenny was ready to meet the demon head on, but before a single punch could be thrown, Akuma had warped around behind him, seized Kenny's arms, and pushed him forward with a kick, landing him face first on the floor. As soon as Kenny was down, Akuma delivered a devastating stomp to his lower back.
"AAGGGHH!" the youth cried, tears streaming down his face.
"You are wounded here, aren't you?" Akuma said, digging his heel downwards with more pressure. "You've put yourself in his predicament. This could've been avoided if you-"
Cranky threw himself at Akuma, wrapped his arms around the demon's waist, using his weight advantage to take both men down to the floor. The two of them grappled for a moment, but it was brief, as Akuma jabbed the ball of his foot into Cranky's abdomen and threw the scrambling amateur fighter off him. Cranky hit the ground and rolled out of it, lessening the impact somewhat, but was still hurt by it. He'd need at least a few seconds to recuperate.
By then, Kenny had rolled to his feet, and drew out a pair of handguns, one in each hand. A single kitchen knife hadn't managed to take out the demon. If it wasn't clear Akuma wasn't human, it was now. But hopefully, he retained some form of his mortality, and a couple of bullets just might be able to do the trick. Akuma came in fast, and came down low. Kenny jumped, rebounded off the demon's shoulders, and somersaulted, pulling the triggers as he went. Deafening gun shots echoed throughout the building. Cranky dashed for cover, having learned a thing or two about Kenny's aim from his knife throwing.
The youth landed on his feet, though a little unstably from the agony that radiated from his lower back. He wasn't sure if his kidneys would ever be the same again. One of the shots had hit Akuma squarely in the shoulder, causing it to spurt dark blood, but the other passed right through him as he caught onto what was happening.
"I can't fire in a row," Kenny told himself. "I've got to shoot sporadically, so he can't predict when the next shot will come. Make it so he won't know when to avoid it."
"Use the Shadow Tech shit, Kenny!" Cranky ordered, as he pounced on Akuma and held the demon in a headlock.
"I can't!" Kenny protested. "It's gone!"
Akuma reached behind him and fired a purple hued projectile into Cranky's face, point blank. The force threw him off the demon's body, again into the wall and onto his knees. "No!" Cranky pressed, blood spewing from his lips, his eye swelling shut, his red hair in a tangled mess on his head. "It's still there – just dying!"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kenny cried as he was narrowly missed by Akuma's fist, plunging into the wall. As the demon pulled it out from the hole in the wall he just made, Kenny tumbled to the side, fired a bullet into Akuma's back, and took a leap backwards to avoid any immediate counter attack.
Cranky seized a lampshade, swinging it around his shoulders and over his head like it was a staff, knocking Akuma in the chest and face with a few well placed shots. Akuma was only stunned, but nowhere out of the fight. Meanwhile, the struggle was starting to take a toll on the brothers, who gradually found it harder and harder to keep going. The only thing driving the both of them was to protect themselves and each other against Akuma, and hopefully not have to disclose Ryu's whereabouts.
"How do you think you were able to pull Guile from the car crash?" Cranky asked. "He's 6'2" and built like a fucking tank! You're a 5'5" 125 pound runt!"
"Hey - "
"It's still in you, Kenny. Use it!" Akuma had yanked his fist from the wall, picked up Cranky, forcing him to drop the lampshade and threw him back onto the ground at his feet. He stepped on Cranky's chest, using it as a launch pad, and jumped for Kenny, who tumbled away in sheer panic. There was no time to figure out to use whatever was left of the Shadow Technology inside him and fight Akuma simultaneously.
Caught up in the moment, unsure of exactly what he could Kenny seized up, and was barely able to escape Akuma's clutches while the demon pursued him like a feral beast. All he could do was put large pieces of furniture between himself and the threat, duck under high blows and leap over low ones, while his mind struggled to formulate some kind of plan.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when Akuma seized his shirt by the collar and slammed him into the wall, holding Kenny up there with a single arm, while the other formed a fist shrouded by a dark, purple aura. This was it. Kenny was about to die without ever using his abilities to their full potential. He had survived for seven years on Tokyo's streets, one in Angel Grove, California, two months in zombie infested Raccoon City, and three months on an isolated training facility off the south pacific run by a sadistic madman, only to meet his end at the fist of Akuma, Shotokan demon. Kenny squeezed his eyes shut, praying that the end would come quick and mercilessly, and waited … and waited … When he dared open his eyes, he realized that he'd been dropped and was now sitting on the floor. His gaze scanned the room, to see Cranky still lying on the ground, wheezing to catch his breath from fatigue, and the vicious stomp previously received from Akuma. And speaking of that crazy devil, where was he …?
His question was answered just as he was thinking it up, seeing Akuma struggling with two people – two initial strangers who Kenny could barely make out visually. But now that the darkness had somewhat receded when it swirled to materialized into Akuma's physical embodiment – red hair, dark skin, bulky build dressed in a black karate uniform with torn sleeves – Kenny could see a little better.
The man who held onto Akuma's left arm, holding it back, had dark hair and olive skin, dressed in a wife-beater with a sleek, toned build, seemed to look more appropriate in a Catholic priest's robe with a rosary draped around his fingers. His normally peaceful, God-fearing face was now strained and glistening with sweat, a single lock of black hair hanging down his forehead. The other was of similar size and build as Cranky, only blond-haired, square-jawed and clean cut. He wore the same expression as the first, both of them fighting to keep Akuma under control, who roared defiantly as he struggled to throw the both of them off him.
"Father Marquez!" Kenny cried, recognizing the gentle, friendly priest he had come to know and love from his occasional (very occasional) visits to the church. "Get out of here! It's not safe!"
"He ain't a priest, Kenny," the blonde man who was clearly Wagner explained through clenched teeth. "He can handle this freak. As for you, you hurry and get the hell out of here!"
Cranky struggled to his feet, stumbling towards Kenny. "The Shadow Technology," he repeated, "use it. It feeds off external sources of energy to power the body, right? Feed it with the demon's energy. Weaken him with it, but don't hold on to his energy. Who knows what it'll do to you."
"But …"
"Listen to Cranky, my son," Father Julian Marquez advised. Sure, it wasn't exactly him anymore, nor was it ever in his personality to talk like that in the first place. It had all been an act. But Kenny hadn't yet understood, and Julian was sure as hell not going to take the time now to explain it. The fake Catholic priest persona would have to continue just a little longer. "I've faced this mockery of God in the past. Cranky knows what he's talking about!"
Kenny shook his head, about to break under the pressure. "Can't we just beat him up!"
"We can't. You're the only one who can weaken him, Kenny! He's going to find Ryu in a matter of time, whether we tell him or not. At least we can earn Ryu some more time if you'd just do this. You're the only one!"
"But I …"
"You guys, watch out!" Father Julian Marquez cried, as Akuma ripped his arm from his grasp. He grabbed after it, but was met in the brow with an elbow. Having an arm freed, Akuma reached over Wagner's head and performed a shoulder throw, tossing the young airman into Cranky. Their bodies crashed into each other, flooring them both in an instant.
XXXXX
Shadowlaw Base
Pattaya, Thailand
Katarina woke up to see a familiar face looking worriedly down at her. She couldn't see properly, though she could feel her eyes wide open. It was probably just her vision adjusting to … wait a second, where were her glasses. But she didn't need those things to be able to tell who it was, and the expression they wore.
"Dorian," she said gently, stroking the side of his smooth face, "w … what happened."
"They're fighting outside," he boy whispered to her. His brows were creased with worry, his voice barely at conversation level. Katarina forced herself to sit up and fought off a wave of nausea. Dorian crawled into her arms and buried his face into her chest. She held him tightly, letting him feel her heartbeat, and rocked back and forth slowly. While she cradled him, feeling his small body tremble with fright, she whispered reassuring words, but looked over her shoulder towards the door.
There was a blonde woman lying against the door, her weight keeping it open, allowing the dim lighting from outside to spill into the cell. Katarina recognized her as one of the janitorial workers who'd spent a lot of time down here. She was suspicious of this janitor, who she had seen passing by her cell and looking into it at her and Dorian on more than one occasion. It was also the same janitor who looked at her strangely the day Katarina had arrived in tow behind Bison – the only Shadowlaw servant to remove her gaze from the ground when she was supposed to be bowing with respect, and raised it into Katarina's own, though she pretended not to notice. If she had, the mere look would have caught Bison's attention too. And the janitor would've been killed on the spot. Whether or not this stupid, blonde, lowly worker knew of that fact or not didn't matter. But Katarina had earned her another chance and hoped she would learn quickly if she wanted to remain alive.
Outside, just beyond the open door, Katarina spotted shadows dancing in the dim light, and the sounds of voices. Though she couldn't make out what they were saying, one of them was clearly Aaron, her brother. His voice was a comfort to her, especially in a predicament like this. But she wanted to be sure it was him.
"Dorian," she whispered quietly into the boy's ear, "who opened the door for us?"
"Aaron's hear," he said, "just like you said he would be. He came to get us out of here!"
"And what happened to the woman?" Katarina continued, motioning to the unconscious woman holding the door open with her body.
"I don't know," Dorian replied honestly, "but I think she's Aaron's friend."
Katarina smiled, understanding that ever-resourceful Aaron Feng had managed to find accomplices outside Shadowlaw fighting for the same thing he was. That explained why she had showed such an interest with Katarina! She ex-Shadowlaw scientist had no idea who she was, but she had to be a friend if she'd allied herself with Aaron. "She looks like she could use some help," Katarina said, spotting the pool of blood forming around her body. She motioned for Dorian to release her. "I'm going to help that lady. You stay right here, and don't move, okay?" The boy nodded earnestly and stayed put. Katarina crawled over to the blonde woman silently, hoping not to get the attention of whoever it was fighting outside.
The blonde woman panicked as Katarina pressed a piece of fabric ripped from her knee length skirt on her wound. She then winced in pain, but Katarina held a finger to her lips, motioning for her to be quiet while she treated the wound.
"I'm not an enemy," she whispered, "I'm a friend. Who are you?"
"L…Luwanda," came the reply, "from Delta Red. I've been sent here to keep our force notified on your condition at the request of Aaron Feng, your brother."
"How was it that he was able to bring himself to your attention?" Katarina asked while she continued tying the bandage around Luwanda's waist. The patient was wincing in pain, but trying her hardest to keep it together so Katarina could do her job properly. She replied through clenched teeth.
"He approached Wolfman," she explained. "We have a member from our force working in tandem with some of the tournament's participants, the same participants whom Aaron approached. According to that member, Kenny is somehow linked to Aaron, which was why Wolfman agreed to help in the investigation – YOUR investigation."
"Kenny's our brother," Katarina said, a touch of regret in her voice. "We just found out about him, though under these circumstances, we've yet to sit down and have a chat with him."
"Small world … ouch could you not press so hard, please? It's fucking killing me."
"It has to hurt, otherwise you'll bleed to death."
"Fantastic," Luwanda said sarcastically.
"How did you get this stab wound?"
"That little shit Aaron's fighting right now got me while I had my back turned. I was too curious as to how you and your brother would react to each other, too curious to see if I identified you as the right person. I found out, alright, and its cost me about a pint of blood now."
"You took your eyes off your surroundings?"
"Shut up, it's not like I'm not kicking myself for it right now."
"There, you should be as good as new," Katarina said, stepping away from Luwanda, rising to her feet. But that was a mistake, as the Shadowlaw soldiers had spotted her. Aaron turned to notice his sister conscious, alive and well, albeit a little bruised.
"Kat!" he called, relief washing over his features.
"Aaron, watch out!" she cried, but her warning came too late. His pupil, who Katarina recognized as Genta, the crazy Osaka street boy taken in by Shadowlaw, performed a hook kick that connected with the back of his skull, sending her brother floor-ward at a bone-fracturing pace. He softened the impact by putting his hands out to cushion the fall, but Genta had punted him in the face, knocking the ex-Shadowlaw Admiral back up to his feet. Aarons face was coated with a sick mixture of dried and fresh blood, though his fury still shone through his gaze.
"Shoot her!" Genta ordered while tackling his former master.
The Shadowlaw guards raised their AK-47s and fired off continuous rounds in Katarina's direction. But she was already on her way by then, having ducked down low, and hurtling her body towards them, feet first. "Spiral Arrow!" she cried, traveling under the bullets that whizzed overhead. She collided with the shins of one soldier, throwing him off his feet. The other was about to counter attack when Katarina launched her body skyward with an upwards thrust kick. "Cannon Spike!" The guard's skull was crushed against the stone ceiling and he dropped to the floor, lifeless or unconscious, she couldn't tell, and didn't care.
The final guard attacked her with a knife, but that was a mistake on his part. Katarina wasn't an expert when it came to dodging bullets, but she had trained with a knife under her brother's instructions before. Plus, the thirteen units of Shadowlaw's Doll program were each trained in a specific weapon. Watching them train had taught her a thing or two about how to wield a blade, and how to avoid getting hit by one.
The soldier trust the blade at her, aiming to gut her alive, but Katarina sidestepped and kicked up her heel, knocking the knife out of the soldiers hand, swiping it out of the air, blade down. She pointed the weapon at the soldier who reached clumsily for his firearm, instead finding his hand pinned to the wall with the knife through his open palm. The soldier gripped at his wrist with his free hand and screamed in agony, but wasn't able to pull the knife out. He could only stand and scream while Katarina looked at him with a sadistic smile across her face. She thought about killing him, but enjoyed the idea of leaving him there to suffer, and lead the rest of his life with one useless appendage. That would be more torture than death could ever bring.
She turned around to see Genta on top over her brother, trying to drive a knife down into his chest, where the dark material of his night suit had ripped, revealing his white undershirt and just a few inches under that, his beating heart. Genta had his knees on Aaron's stomach, his upper body bent over his arms holding the knife down, leaning his full weight upon it. Aaron, on the other hand, had no problems holding up Genta's weight and upper body strength combined, keeping the blade from his body with his arms. He was strong enough to lift Genta off his body and throw him skyward. Genta sailed like a rag doll towards Katarina, who took a side step and let the youth crash to the ground, the knife scuttling out of his reach. Before he could reclaim it, Katarina bend down and retrieved the weapon.
"Little boys shouldn't be playing with sharp objects," she said, as if speaking to a child, and she enjoyed the look of annoyance in his expression. Genta struggled to his feet but was unsuccessful, as he noticed the handgun sitting in Aaron's hand, pointed at his forehead.
Katarina looked at her brother's face, and immediately read his mixed emotions. He seemed to legitimately care about Genta's well-being, yet he knew he'd always preached to his young pupil to never show mercy to an enemy who could one day turn around and stab you in the back. There was no honor among bad guys. She looked at her brother intensely, wondering how much he'd changed in the last few days, after finding out about their past and about Kenny. Where they really one of the good guys now? Would Aaron show the mercy to an opponent that Issei never would have?
"Kill me!" Genta cried. "Isn't that what you always told me to do? I'm a threat to you! If you let me live, I'll come back and kill everything you hold dear! Kill me, you motherfucking son of a bitch! DO IT!" But the more the youth yelled, the more Aaron's expression softened, the more his hand trembled, threatening to drop the gun.
Aaron finally dropped his arm, but held his gaze. "I feel sorry for you," he said simply, "deciding to stay with a doomed organization. If you ever trusted me in your life, Genta, you know what I'm telling you is the truth, and I would never want this fate to befall you. But you're choosing this for yourself."
"You betrayed us," Genta spewed. "You treated me like I was your own son, and then you turn your back on this entire organization and stab us in the back. How the hell do you think we should feel? What else am I supposed to choose?" He youth was hysteric now, spittle flying as he yelled, his face red with hate.
"I know how you must feel," Aaron said, looking shamefully down at the ground. "And living your whole life with Shadowlaw, you find it hard to see them in a different light. But I'd never lie to you, not about something this important, Genta."
"I'll kill you, you bitch!" the youth continued yelling. "If you let me continue living my life now, I swear to God …"
"He's unstable," someone said behind Aaron, as he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. Aaron had spoke to his voice numerous times over the phone, but he'd never met Colonel Wolfman of Delta Red before. But right now, he didn't care to know what the good Colonel looked like, focusing instead on the hysteric youth throwing a tantrum right in front of him.
Katarina approached Aaron calmly, ignoring Genta. "Let him get it out," she said. "Whether or not he chooses to leave Shadowlaw, we don't have say in it. He knows the company's doomed. Let him do with that knowledge what he might. Hell, let him come after us." She looked at Genta, and at the Shadowlaw soldier still in utter agony, his hand pinned to the wall with a knife through his palm. "He knows the kind of force with we fight back with."
She headed back towards the cell, seeing Dorian staring back up at her with his clear blue eyes. "Is it safe to come out, yet?" he asked so sweetly, Katarina felt her heart break in her chest. She didn't know where the tears came from, but could only make educated stabs at it. Maybe it was the fact that this kid was so damned cute, with such a pure and innocent heart that he didn't deserve to be in a place like this. Or maybe it was that he'd been rescued from a fate that her and Aaron hadn't been lucky enough to, that it was because of them that this cycle had been broken.
She took Dorian by the hand. "I think so," she said. Standing a few feet down the hallway, Luwanda was leaning against a large man sitting somewhere between incredibly muscular and fat. His chubby face was round like a boy's, while a red beret capped his bald head.
"Nice to meet you, miss," he said blushing, as he shouldered Luwanda, "the name's McCoy, Delta Red Special Forces."
"Later, McCoy," Luwanda hissed before Katarina could introduce herself. "I'm in a little need of assistance right now!"
"Come on, Aaron," Wolfman said, leading him away from Genta, who had collapsed onto the ground now, having lost the fight. He looked delirious with rage, curled up into a ball on the ground, wide eyes staring blankly ahead of him, muttering repeatedly, "I'll kill you, I'll fucking kill you, and everything you hold dear, I'll kill you, everything you hold dear …"
The words couldn't leave Aaron's mind as he walked away. Everything he held dear? Katarina was all he had right now, but she could easily defended himself against a teenager like Genta. So why was Aaron still feeling so uneasy? Something else dear to him? Who could he be forgetting?
XXXXX
Osaka, Japan
"Kenny!" Cranky yelled, gasping for air, "Are you listening to me?"
"S…sorry, Crank," the teen replied suddenly, "I just sorta zoned out. It's all the pressure, I think …"
"I said, do you remember how to use the Shadow Technology?"
"I thought you told me," the youth replied, equally tired, "that it was never up to me to employ it, that it'd always just come whenever it felt like it."
The conversation had to be quick. Wagner and Julian could only engage Akuma for so long. At present, they were both trading blows with the demon, each fighter taking one side of him. Kenny stared curiously at Father Marquez.
"Seems like everyone's a fighter nowadays," he said.
"There's a lot you don't know about Father Marquez," Cranky said, "now listen to me. I'm going to take Akuma on, and Marquez and Wagner are going to help me hold him back for you. All I need you to do is go up to him and do whatever the hell you can to take as much of that energy out of him as possible. Can you do that for us, Kenny?"
"I …I can try," he said, his voice trembling. "But I can't promise anything though."
"I know you can't," Cranky replied. "But as long as you'll try – that's what we've got everything riding on right now." Cranky took the lampshade he wielded moments ago and threw it like a spear towards Julian. Somehow, the faux-priest had anticipated it, and snatched it out of mid-air, pinning the demon's arm to the wall.
Akuma attempted retaliation by swinging his other arm at the back of Julian's head, but was stopped by Wagner's open hand. The young airman seized the demon by the wrist and twisted it painfully behind his back. Despite being held by two powerful men, Akuma somehow found the strength to resist, spinning around while Wagner and Julian still held on for dear life. It became obvious that they needed a third man to help restrain him for Kenny.
"I'm going," Cranky announced. "Prepare yourself, Kenny!"
He dashed up to Akuma and launched himself on the demon's back, putting him in a sleeper hold. Akuma's knees began to tremble as he continued struggling to hold on to his balance while the three men piled on top of him.
"Get him to hurry up," Julian urged, holding onto the lampshade with Akuma's arm curled around it. "I can only hold on for so long!"
"Do it, Kenny, come on!" Wagner urged, straining through clenched teeth.
Kenny took a split second to behold the sight before him. There was the demon, the embodiment of evil threatening Ryu's life, a creature that meant nothing but death and destruction to those who resisted it. Kenny's battle was with Shadowlaw, but if this creature was looking for Ryu to kill him, that his battle was with Akuma as well. Ryu was off in Thailand bringing an end to Shadowlaw, taking care of Kenny's problems, and could find no way to repay him. Now he could. He could take care of Ryu's problem.
Father Julian Marquez, a man who had guided Kenny regularly, though for a short period of time during his stay in Osaka thus far, was restraining the demon for him with the help of Wagner, the young airman son of Colonel William Guile who had helped spring him from Shadowlaw's cells. And clinging onto Akuma's back, holding his head in a sleeper hold was Cranky, Kenny's adoptive brother, the only real family the youth ever had who'd given so much of his concern and care so unselfishly to Kenny. If there was one thing he could do to repay these people, to help everyone that had helped him sofar in his life, this was it.
Something took control of Kenny at that moment, and he had no way of pinning it down. He could only explain it as what Ryu did to wake him up at the hospital – a chi transfer. Kenny suddenly felt fatigued, as if all the life of his body had been sucked from it, though he attributed it to whatever was left of the Shadow Technology dying inside him. As if he'd commanded it, a purple energy suddenly engulfed Akuma's body and began flowing away towards Kenny, into his fingertips which he realized only now that they were outstretched.
Intense pain radiated through his body from where the aura of the Satsui no Hadou met with his body as the weak Shadow Technology struggled to absorb it and failed. His vision was starting to fade, but he was able to make out Akuma sinking to his knees. Kenny felt the evil, alien energy coursing through his veins, trying to make a new home for itself inside his body, but he refused, casting it out as soon as he felt the last remnants of the Shadow Technology die. It was a strange feeling, like literally losing a part of oneself. It felt like a huge lump of matter within him was dying, something that wasn't supposed to be there finally leaving. Kenny's head began to spin, and he started to lose his balance.
"There," he heard Wagner say, though his voice sounded as if it were miles away, "now Akuma will never get to Ryu in Thailand."
"Wagner, NO!" he heard Julian and Cranky cry in protest!
That was the last thing Kenny heard before the darkness overtook him. He never even felt his body fall.