Shadowlaw Base, Tournament Arena
Pattaya, Thailand
For a battle decades in the making, there was dramatic confrontation. It had started immediately; no time to exchange words, let alone glances, no warm up stretches, no time for any form of tension to build in the air between the two fighters. Before the announcer could even finish his declaration that the match had begun, the two fighters were upon each other; one of them trained in the art of Shotokan karate, utilizing an amalgamation of his base style with what he'd picked up from years of battle against other warriors, and the other a man (if he could be called that anymore) with the man-made power of the Psycho Drive and the Shadow Technology coursing through his veins.
The destructive clash of natural chi and dark-charged electrons sent sickening waves throughout the battle arena, tearing through even the spectator benches. Supporters of both Shadowlaw and the Street Fighters halted their jeering at once, silenced by having to shield their eyes from the blinding sight.
Minutes into the fight – if it could be called that, since spectators were mostly blinded by the magnificent flashes of colliding opposite forces – a good portion of Pattaya's ambulances were dispatched to the temple. Those initially on stand-by, meant to aid the fallen fighter of the final battle, rushed to help the fallen spectators, the balance in their bodies thrown off by the energy emitted from the fight. One by one, the spectators dropped to the ground like flies while outside help came running in with stretchers and later on, in biohazard suits as well. But there was no poisonous gas, no toxic chemicals, and no deadly virus. Had proper teams been set up to analyze the air, they would have found little more than their malfunctioning equipment and seemingly healthy people fainting all around them.
From the comfort of Ryu's hotel suite, Chun Li had no shortage of options as to how she wanted to view the fight. Every major Thai news channel was broadcasting live, even some of the foreign ones. But she was sadly disappointed when the news cameras showed only glimpses of the Buddhist temple where the final battle was held, showing nothing but fuzzy static in between. She knocked the TV a few times with no change, and continued switching channels, realizing that the few stations not broadcasting the fight were perfectly fine. Was this some kind of sick Shadowlaw trick? What was going on …?
And suddenly the fuzz cut out, giving way to a clear picture of a black haired woman in a pressed red suit, bright scarlet lipstick accenting the quick movements of her mouth. Wind whipped at her hair and try as she might, there was no getting it under control. But she continued to report.
"… seems to be some kind of wide spreading epidemic. Doctors are reporting that the majority of patients are suffering from nausea, cold sweat and headaches, while others have lost consciousness completely."
Chun Li jumped to her feet. This whole time, she was under the impression Bison and Shadowlaw had hosted the tournament to gain precious street fighters for whatever illegal experiments they were planning. She had never imagined they'd use the opportunity to conduct a massive terrorist attack, yet it shouldn't be surprising her as much as it was now.
She seized the phone by the bedside table and prepared to dial Guile's number when she heard a knock on the door.
"Chun Li, it's Guile. Open up."
She dropped the phone and headed straight for the door, seeing the American Air Force pilot standing there, the doorframe barely containing his bulk.
"The Pattayan Buddhist Temple," Guile said, bypassing the greeting.
"There's something weird going on there, I heard on the news," Chun Li interrupted. "We need to ..."
"That's why I'm here," Guile said sternly.
"What?"
"To stop you from going down there."
"Shadowlaw is going through with some kind of terrorist plot as we speak and you're telling me I'm not allowed to go investigate?!"
"One thing, you've barely begun healing from your fight with Sagat. Secondly, there's nothing we can do. People are dropping left and right and the most we'd be capable of is joining them on the ground."
"But …"
"And thirdly, the likeliest cause of this is a side effect of the life force Ryu wields, and the Psycho Drive; two different kinds of energies, both deadly in their own right."
"How do you know this?"
"Your old master, Gen, told me about it. He said he tried calling you as soon as he heard, and to not let you do anything about it. But your phone was off and he contacted me instead."
"You really think that could be the case? Conflicting energies in the air?"
Guile shrugged. "I was never raised to believe this kind of thing, but it's an explanation. I have no idea what else it could be. Anyway, Master Gen is wise and I trust him. And he's told me to come here and make sure you stay put."
XXXXX
Beyond
the Tournament Grounds
Pattaya, Thailand
If it wasn't for the Shadowlaw uniform Genta donned, or the civilian rags that Kenny wore, the boys would have been nearly indistinguishable from each other as they locked in vicious combat. The stirred air that swooshed around the two of them was stronger than the mild breeze that blew gently through the area, whipping at the long grass stalks around their feet.
Genta fought with speed and military precision, but he was lacking in sufficient strength to do any major damage to his opponent with just a few blows. Kenny, on the other hand, retaliated with fury and nothing else. His form was weak, his footing all over the place, this limbs thrashing like some kind of wild animal. And Genta lacked the mental training to pick apart Kenny's random kicks and punches and successfully predict his next move.
Kenny leapt, pushing his body off the ground with his legs, went airborne, and collided with Genta, his full weight behind a shoulder check. Both teens hit the grass and the fight turned into a wrestling match. Genta was no longer cool and calculating. He was throwing everything he could at Kenny, who was absorbing the hits like a sponge. But he was hurting, not from the injuries received from this fight or even any previous bouts, but for what Cranky had done for him.
"It's not my fault!" Kenny bellowed, sinking his fist into Genta's face. "You killed Cranky!"
Genta flipped Kenny off him, and pinned him to the ground, wrapping his hands tightly around his throat. "That's right, you traitor! And I'm about to squeeze the life out of your useless body too!"
Kenny pried Genta's hands away, grunting with effort, and pushed him away with his feet, earning him enough time to get up. Genta rolled backwards and stood to meet Kenny, who wasted no time in assaulting him again with a fresh wave of elbow strikes and punches.
Standing just a few feet away, Scott Wagner bounced up and down on his heels wanting in on the fight as well. It was painful for him to stand there and watch while Kenny and Genta beat the stuffing out of each other. As much as he liked seeing the Shadowlaw youth hurt, it wasn't worth watching Kenny fight when he was driven by sorrow.
But when Wagner tried to interrupt the battle, he was met with Julian's back, standing directly in his path.
"Don't," Julian said sternly.
"Are you crazy, Marquez?" Wagner had to control himself from bellowing at the faux-Catholic priest. "We have to finish this and get to the tournament arena!"
"Kenny's been a victim of Shadowlaw for long enough," Julian explained calmly. "As their reign is about to end, Kenny needs his own closure too. And this is it." Julian motioned to the teens still going at it as if Julian, Wagner, Aaron, Katarina, Juli, Ken Masters and the members of Delta Red weren't standing around them.
"If he needs help," Julian coninued, "we're here to help him. But Kenny seems to be doing ok on his own."
"I'll never understand you men and your twisted logic," Katarina said, holding her skirt in one hand, marching off towards the battling teens.
"Katarina, don't!" Aaron cried, reaching his hand out after her but she promptly ignored him.
Kenny was astride Genta's body, aiming more punches at his head and receiving no retaliation. "He's defeated Genta," Katarina called back. "And Kenny's still going at it. The fight's over."
She approached Kenny and wrapped her arms underneath his armpits, pulling him away gently from the Genta's unconscious body. "You want to kill me too, huh?" Kenny bellowed in victory. "Come and get me, bitch!" and delivered a swift kick to his ribs while Katarina dragged him away. "Let me go!" he cried. "I want to kill him! Let go!"
"It's finished," Katarina said softly into his ear. "You defeated him. There's nothing more you can do."
"I haven't ripped his head from his shoulders!"
"That's enough," Aaron said sternly.
"DON'T you fucking tell me what to do!" Kenny screamed, jabbing an accusing finger at Aaron. "I wish you people would stop acting like you know me! None of you were there for me for the past decade and suddenly you can just waltz in here and take control of my life! Well, I'm not taking it anymore …"
Kenny was silenced by a quick backhand that Aaron delivered to his temple, flooring the youth alongside Genta in an instant. Wagner and Julian looked at Aaron, both of them wide-eyed, not sure which was more surprising; Kenny's verbal tirade or how Aaron ended it.
"We should get back to the plane," Ken advised grimly.
"Not without him!" Juli said. They turned to see her leaning over Cranky.
"We're not leaving Cranky," Ken said. He turned to Katarina. "How's he doing?"
She shrugged. "He's alive, if that's what you're wondering. The most he'll suffer is a mild concussion. Genta isn't nearly strong enough to produce a lethal energy projectile with the Psycho Drive."
"Figure you folks need a lift?" Ken asked Wolfman, who was tending to the injured members of his team.
The rag tag group headed back towards Ken's parked jet, engines still running. With Ken leading the way, Wagner had Cranky slumped over his shoulder while Julian had Kenny hoisted in the same manner. Juli trudged silently behind Wagner, keeping an eye on Cranky, searching for some kind of movement in his face. A few steps behind them, Aaron and Katarina helped to shoulder the injured Delta Red members. The group had happily left the unconscious bleeding Genta on the ground where he lay. Whether or not Shadowlaw came by to pick him up was none of their concern. Aaron was the only one to look over his shoulder and the teen lying there. Ten years of putting all his knowledge into the boy and this was what was to become of his efforts.
"Chin up, Julian," Wagner said to the faux-Catholic priest.
Julian blinked, having been snapped out of his thoughts unexpectedly. "What do you mean?"
"You're a bad liar."
"I'm not lying," Julian said, almost defensively. "I haven't even said anything."
"Like leaving your son in Vega's capable hands isn't something to be unfazed by."
A relieved smile washed over Julian's features. "Glad you noticed."
"With all the drama flying around, it's hard to keep track of everything," Wagner admitted. "Each and every person here has their own personal issues with Shadowlaw. My sister is about to face Bison – or she already has, I don't know. All I know is she has more than just her life to lose in this battle. Aaron and Katarina have just left the organization that's taken care of them so well for the last decade, and all in good faith. And no doubt, Shadowlaw will not waste any resources in tracking them down and killing them. Ken's worried like hell about Cammy and Cranky … he's got both her and Kenny to worry about. And Kenny, who's just discovered long lost siblings he never knew he had, all while trying to escape Shadowlaw's clutches. You and Dorian, as crucial as your problems with him are, it's easy to forget about other people's problems except your own."
"Is there any reason you're telling me this, Wagner?" Julian asked in a tone Wagner couldn't tell if it meant that he was insulted, or merely curious.
"Just thought you'd like to know…" Wagner replied quietly.
"I know," Julian said, swallowing a lump in his throat that looked a lot like he was trying to push down his sorrow with that simple act. "We'll get Dorian back. We won't let Vega do anything to him."
"That makes more sense to me than any of that religious bullshit you've spat out over the years," Wagner said, cracking a smile.
XXXXX
Tournament Arena
Pattaya, Thailand
"Shinkuu, Hadouken!" Ryu cried, thrusting his palms forward, a bright blue ball of energy erupting from them shooting straight at Bison. The Shadowlaw Dictator swatted the projectile away as if it were little more than a bothersome fly and continued making his way towards the Shotokan warrior. With the distance between the two fighters closed, Bison delivered a head butt to the unsuspecting Ryu, who had expected his fireball to deal at least some damage. Ryu's forehead felt like it had exploded into a million pieces, stars clouding his vision and fought to regain balance.
Bison pressed on, smashing downwards onto Ryu's skull with an overhead strike, fists clenched, shrouded in purple flames, powered by the Psycho Drive. Ryu's body was being thrown about by Bison's power, like a rag doll. His firm stance was reduced to rubber under all the pummeling. By the time Bison had completed his combination attack and eased off for a moment, it looked like Ryu was having issues standing up.
"Don't hold back," Bison said, "don't rob me of the fight I've been looking forward to for years. The Satsui no Hadou; show it to me, Ryu."
"I've overcome it, Bison. The Satsui no Hadou is history."
"Oh? Then how do you expect to win this tournament?" Bison mocked. "You are not a fool, Ryu. You are in this for the fight."
"If you think it's in my nature to compromise my beliefs in the name of victory, then I am will never be victorious and you would be the fool." Ryu punctuated with retort with a hurricane kick, spinning his body gracefully in the air while hit foot pummeled Bison, for this was the last thing the dictator had expected.
"You will not utilize the Satsui no Hadou?" Bison asked. "Then I will force it out of you! Psycho Crusher!"
Ryu fell to the ground, and not a second later, Bison's body sailed over his like a torpedo encased hot purple flame. The tips of Ryu's hair smoked from the heat of the flames. The kind on his face burnt slightly and hurt to the touch.
Bison recovered from the move and continued taunting Ryu. "Come on, warrior. You've never failed to disappoint me before. Why start now? You know you want to harness that dark energy and bring an end to my empire. Think of all the suffering I've put you and your friends through. When our own Killer Bee lured Ken into our trap when he was just a mere teenager." Bison launched into a scissor kick at Ryu, who parried the move and Bison bounced away from the failed strike before Ryu could retaliate.
"Remember when we murdered Charlie Nash in cold blood, took Chun Li's father from her at such a young age."
Ryu threw another fireball at Bison who swatted it away again. "Robbed Marquez of his grandson and absorbed his father's gang into our own ranks, murdered the Wagner family in front of their youngest brat when they were just children, ripped apart the Feng family and gained the trust of the twins, used Kenny as a tool. And all the while we killed, we continued pursuing you."
Ryu struck again; this time, feinting with a mid-level strike. He brought his leg higher, however and sent it crashing down upon Bison. But Bison had somehow anticipated the move, or the Shadow Technology in his body sped up his reaction time to inhuman levels, and he grabbed Ryu's ankle, kicked out his supporting leg, floor the Shotokan warrior. Bison raised his foot and prepared for a stomp down onto Ryu's solar plexus but before he could finish the move, his body froze.
Ryu felt the grip on his ankle ease and Bison suddenly toppled over, his pupil-less eyes never closing. Bison's falling form gave way to an even more worrisome sight. Standing there in thick, dark skin, flaming red hair, dressed in an almost black karate gi was the demon himself, mumbling.
"Satsui no hadou wo miserareta kattara ..." If you want to see be shown the Satsui no Hadou ...
XXXXX
Masters Jet
Ken said the flight would last only a few minutes, but it had already been an eternity when Julian caught himself looking absent-mindedly out the window of Ken's private jet. He had his feet propped up on a low oak coffee table, reclined on a leather sofa Julian could have afforded if he had back all the money he'd spent on drugs. Everyone else was scattered throughout the cabin of the plane. Given the number of people on board, it was hard to believe that everyone managed to respect each other's privacy, but somehow, Julian had found himself alone, at least in his thoughts if not for Wagner sitting beside him twiddling his thumbs or Juli, who lay down with her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling as though in some trance.
Julian had been seconds away from his son - a son who had no idea who his father was. The knowledge that he'd just missed Dorian by a hair tore at Julian's heart to the point where it physically hurt to think about it. Yet it was all he could think about; what he would have said to Dorian, how he would've approached him. Julian formed conversations in his head about how he would like his first meeting with his son to turn out. And at the end of every time the conversation ended, he remembered that it was merely what could've happened. Not what actually did. Then the painful cycle would continue again.
A soft shuffling coming from the aisle snapped Julian back to reality.
"Father."
The title shook Julian for a second, for he thought he'd seen Dorian standing in the aisle and he'd nearly jumped from his seat. But he blinked and when his vision refocused, saw that it was only Kenny.
"We've been over this," Julian said, "I'm not really a priest ..."
"There's nobody else," Kenny replied softly, his gaze cast downward.
"I ..." Julian began to argue but decided against it. "It's good to see you're doing well after what happened."
"After that fucktard Issei knocked me out? Yeah, I'd say."
Julian meant what had happened to Cranky, and more importantly, how Kenny had reacted by nearly killing Genta if Katarina had left him to his own devices. But he chose to let Kenny do the talking and agree with everything he said. "Yes, after you were knocked out." Julian nodded subtlely at Juli and Wagner, both whom got the hint and left, giving Kenny and Julian a little more privacy.
"I hate them both," Kenny said suddenly.
"What?" Julian said, shocked, unable to believe what he'd just heard. "Why?"
"No, Katarina and Issei, I meant."
"... Oh, alright then." Julian calmed down a little.
Kenny's brows furrowed in confusion. "You're not going to tell me that hating is a sin?"
"Of course its a sin," Julian replied. "Hating is the worst thing anyone can do to their own soul. To continue hating, not only is it the most painful thing to put yourself through, but it leads to disastrous results. But it's never easy to stop. I've experienced it myself. I'm going through it right now. The only thing we can use to fight hate is forgiveness. And forgiving may be alot harder than hating, but it allows us to live in peace at the end."
"I knew you'd say that."
"Then why did you want to talk to me?"
"Cause I hoped you'd say something else."
"Katarina and Issei have wronged you, and I understand that. But if you think about things from their situation, were they anymore victims than you were? They didn't know what they were doing. They also did what they knew - and that was how to survive."
"Yeah but by trying to kill me? By ressurecting Vega and the Shadow Technology, the very substance that made my childhood a living hell?"
"The twins followed orders in the hopes of reuniting with their family one day. Hope was what kept them going or they would've probably killed themselves long ago. Sure the hope that they'd be reuinited with their parents was false - they'd already died. But they didn't know that you existed, let alone the fact you were alive."
"Doesn't mean I should be cool with them trying to kill me.
"But when Shadowlaw had ordered them to kill you, their own flesh and blood, they turned them against their employers. They were merely following orders until they realized who you were. Your mere presence turned them from desperate survivors, Shadowlaw puppets, into guardians risking their very lives for you. If Shadowlaw finds them, they will be killed. And neither of them care, because they've been reunited with you. I hope you understand that, Kenny."
"But ... but they ..."
"You don't WANT to like them." Wagner interrupted, joining the two of them with a mug of hot coffee in one hand. He reclaimed his spot on the leather couch beside Julian. Kenny shifted uncomfortably in his spot across from them. Julian decided that the conversation was wandering more into Wagner's department when he decided to clam up and let him do the rest of the talking.
"How did you ..."
"Because you feel like you should. Like everything is telling you that they don't deserve the hatred you feel towards them." Wagner paused to let Kenny collect his thoughts.
"It's too much smothering," Kenny admitted finally. "I've gone from completely independant to having people throw themselves in front of Psycho Drive fireballs for me."
"You've got a rich past, and I see why it'd be so overwhelming to remember everything at once."
"It's hard enough knowing Cranky's watching my every move and it took him almost getting killed for my wellbeing for me to accept that. And right after some red-headed Irish American comes up to me and claims to be my brother, these two Shadowlaw twins who tried to kill me are saying 'No, no, WE are your true siblings.'" It's like some twisted soap opera. If this were some stupid novel, I'd never be caught dead reading it."
"It's a no-brainer, this problem is," Wagner said, setting his mug down on the coffee table. The comment earned him a harsh look from Julian but Wagner ignored it. "Cranky's been there for you more than Aaron and Katarina have. You grew up together Dr. Feng and Shao Mei died at the hands of Shadowlaw. They were the only family Cranky had which means you were the only family left after the house fire. The twins were never a part of all the street politics you and Cranky were a part of."
"Yeah, you're right," Kenny agreed. "So that doesn't mean I have to ..."
"...exclude them from your future," Wagner interrupted, taking the conversation in a completely different direction than where Kenny was headed. "The blood relation is a start. But it's only a start. Your relationship with the twins will have to be worked on."
"But I don't want to."
"Are you saying that because you hate them, or because you've suffered an overload of information in the past few weeks?"
"...I dunno."
Wagner rose from his seat and patted Kenny on the head. "And you won't until all that information settles. Let that happen first, however long it takes." Wagner grabbed his cup off the table and walked away towards the cockpit.