Chapter 8: Juri's Dream
Juri balled her fists after she pushed herself from the floor. Her body was trembling, barely able to contain her fury. Why the hell was Bison here? How could he have survived?
"You're not real, you piece of shit! You died in that base years ago!"
Bison laughed in response, the sound reverberating through the empty hallway.
"Did I? If I am dead, then how am I here?"
Juri shook her head in disbelief. Her breathing became rapid.
"No. No. You died. Ryu killed you! They said your body exploded! There was nothing left except your damn hat!"
Bison stepped forward and folded his arms across his chest before giving her a wide grin.
"My body was destroyed, yes. But as you must be aware, it can be remade. Physical destruction has no meaning for someone such as me."
She started to pace back and forth across the hallway in front of him, her right hand rubbing her forehead. Something wasn't right about all of this. She had to think this through. Bison remained where he was. His grin broadened to the point where his gums were showing.
She realized that what he was saying was possible. He was missing when Juri had joined Seth at S.I.N., shortly before the 3rd World Warrior Tournament six years ago. Bison had shown up unexpectedly late in the contest to confront Juri. She barely evaded his initial attack that came out of nowhere. They fought inconclusively before he disappeared as suddenly as he had arrived.
Bison chuckled.
"Ah, so you do understand. Before I destroyed Seth, I wanted to test you. You had grown quite strong. But you were...are still, nothing compared to me. Yes, I am reading your mind and it is fascinating. It is quite easy to do here. My spirit remains very much alive, even after all this time. You know how I am in your mind, so you now will ask me why."
Juri stopped pacing and stared down Bison with narrowed eyes. That's precisely what she was going to ask.
"I know what you stole several days ago," he continued. "It is of no consequence. Keep the bauble. It is my gift to you. I am here both to test you and convey this message. You will serve me eventually. Bring your new friend. She, too, will be welcome."
Tears blurred Juri's eyes as she fought to maintain composure.
"You better believe that I'm coming after you. And when I do, I'm going to tear you and your entire organization a new asshole! I'll have my revenge for what you did to my parents and me. But enough talking, let's fight now!"
Juri crouched and attempted to activate her Feng Shui engine. Nothing happened. She stood back up, frowning deeply. Something was terribly wrong.
"What the hell?!"
Bison chuckled again.
"Is there a problem?"
Juri tensed, her muscles tightly coiled as she prepared to spring at her sworn enemy. Bionic eye or no, she was going to take him out now! Before Juri launched herself at Bison, however, she heard a voice behind her.
"Juri, why didn't you save us?"
She spun around, all thoughts of attacking Bison immediately forgotten. Juri gasped and her heart skipped a beat. A soft moan escaped her lips before her hand clasped tightly against her mouth. She involuntarily took a step backward and stared at two figures with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Then her eyes began to water. She fought in vain to keep them in check.
'Not this,' she thought, shaking her head frantically. 'Please, not this...'
Both of Juri's parents had a telltale gunshot wound in their foreheads, but no signs of bleeding. Both of their ankles were tied together, although their arms were free. Juri noted that both their arms had been bound when they were executed. Why weren't they now?
Juri's father repeated his question.
"Why didn't you do anything to save us? All you needed to do was walk through that door and fight. Why did you resist entering?"
Juri couldn't stop the stream of tears from running down her cheeks. She fought the impulse to reach out and touch her father's face.
"I...it isn't real, is it? I couldn't save you. It...it already happened. There was nothing I could do. This isn't real!"
Juri's mother stepped forward.
"You did nothing to stop them! You stood by while they shot us! You had a chance to fight! Why didn't you?"
Juri's mind raced through the events of that horrible day. She had been held tightly by the pair of guards who had escorted her to the execution chamber. Her feeble attempts to break free were easily stopped. The guards and her chains were simply too strong. She had stood paralyzed with terror as her parents were executed in front of her. Both of her parents had cried out in horror before they were shot. Juri screamed and sobbed for a long time afterward as she was dragged back to her cell. She didn't understand at the time why Shadaloo spared her.
It was only afterwards that Juri realized they had other plans for her. It was the beginning of a different kind of hell.
Their still trussed bodies had been unceremoniously dumped along the side of a road shortly afterwards, recovered several days later by law enforcement.
Juri broke into a cold sweat.
"I tried! The chains, the guards...they were too strong! I couldn't...I couldn't..."
She sank to her knees and her head bowed. It didn't matter. Her parents were dead and there was nothing she could do to change it. Her father spoke again.
"You have disgraced the Han family name. How long must we wait for our honor to be satisfied? You learned nothing from us. You do not care for anything or anyone. You respect nothing. How are you any different from him?"
Her father raised his arm slowly and pointed at Bison. The Shadaloo leader had not intervened during this exchange. He only stood there, arms crossed and grinning.
"Ah, how touching. I have relished journeying through your mind. I suspected but never knew how much of a walking contradiction you are. Such a forceful outside persona, but truly, you are simply a scared little wretch. You were forced to fend for yourself, unnoticed until Seth gave you that eye. You scurried in the shadows living off scattered crumbs of power. Without that piece of technology, you are nothing. You are worthless."
He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and smiled.
"Yes, the despair that I feel surging into you at this moment is most satisfying."
Juri raised her head and looked at her parents sadly and bowed.
"I'm sorry. I'm...so sorry. I will have vengeance for what he did to you."
Her demeanor changed when she stood up and turned to face Bison. She could hear her teeth grinding against each other as she fixed him with an icy stare.
"Go fuck yourself."
Bison smiled, though his eyes coldly returned the gaze.
"One way or another, you will serve me, Juri. It is inevitable."
Before Juri could respond, something yanked her backwards. The hall began to elongate and she could hear Bison's surprised howl as he disappeared from view. A flash of white light blinded her. Juri couldn't see anything for several seconds and it felt like she was weightless.
When the light disappeared, Juri found herself in another hallway at the base. She could hear alarms going off in the distance. The corridor was empty, but she could hear angry shouts from people not too far away. Juri somehow knew that they were searching for her.
She glanced back and forth before heading away from her pursuers. Juri understood that she had to go in this direction. It would lead her to freedom. She knew it because this was the route that enabled her to escape Shadaloo's clutches almost three months after her parents were killed.
In the weeks following her parent's deaths, Juri was subjected to numerous reprogramming techniques in order to forget her past self. Drugs, hypnosis, sleep deprivation, heavy infusions of Psycho Power and even torture were used in an effort to turn Juri into one of Bison's mindless assassins. Her martial arts skills were deemed useful to them. All of this was done in isolation and she had contact with only a few Shadaloo 'doctors'.
Juri had known that eventually, she had to succumb to the pressure and sought an opportunity to escape. She started to play along with her captors and was rewarded with increased freedoms inside the base. She finally saw her chance to break free during a training session, killing several guards and racing through the open entrance way. Through a mix of her photographic memory and blind luck, Juri had made enough correct choices where she finally made it to the front entrance of the complex.
As Juri currently raced through the passages, she never encountered any of her pursuers, though she could clearly hear them growing closer.
Until now. Rounding a corner, she almost ran into...herself. Juri's eyes widened and she had to skid to a stop to avoid plowing into her doppelganger.
The other 'Juri' sported the trademark horn-like hair bangs jutting outwards to either side from the top of her head. She wore a purple, black and pink latex collared catsuit. The outfit was intimately familiar to Juri since she had worn it numerous times in the last couple of years. The only difference was that the skintight pants ended at the ankles. This 'Juri' opted to wear brown sock leggings and black Mary Jane heeled shoes. The irises of her eyes were ruby red in color.
After recovering from her shock, Juri sized the other up, still panting from running through the corridors.
"I look way better in that suit than you do. I like the eyes though."
'Juri' ignored the jab.
"Fancy meeting you here. Come on, I know a shortcut."
Juri furrowed her brows. Was this a trap? Who was this double? Why was 'she' even here? Juri could hear her pursuers getting closer.
"What do you mean a shortcut? The exit is down that way," she said, pointing past 'Juri' down the hallway. "I gotta get moving. Either get out of my way or I'm going through you!"
'Juri' threw up her hands and turned away.
"I know the way out. We take the next door to the right and we'll be free. I'll explain once we're outta here. Come on!"
Juri gave her twin a cockeyed look.
"Man, this is one strange dream. Must be those damn pain pills."
Juri couldn't understand why she trusted this doppelganger but instinctively followed the other to the door. When they reached it, the double muttered a curse and turned her head to look past Juri.
"Damn, we're too late."
An enlarged form of Bison's head and face appeared in the hallway. All other sounds of pursuit had gone silent. He looked pissed.
"I was not finished with you!"
'Juri' turned to the other with a determined look.
"We'll have to fight him here, otherwise, he'll just follow us to the next place."
Juri wanted to ask what that next destination was but steeled herself for the coming battle. Both readied themselves in their battle stance and waited for Bison to make the next move. His face shrank while his body morphed under it. It only took a few seconds for him to change over to his regular body. He stood before them, arms crossed and still emitting a purple glow. Once again, a broad grin of recognition spread across his face as he focused his attention on 'Juri'.
"This is an unexpected bonus. It has been a long time since we last met."
The double regarded Bison for a few seconds before she replied.
"It was another time and place."
She turned to Juri.
"Are you ready?"
Juri hesitated. For some reason, her 'eye' was still inoperable.
"I...my eye isn't working. I need it."
"You don't need it, just trust in yourself."
'Why the hell am I acting so timid? I never back away from a fight!'
Bison laughed as he advanced on the pair. He was reading Juri's mind again.
"It is who you truly are. Weak. Scared. Pathetic."
'Juri' shook her head and glanced over to her twin.
"Don't listen to him. He's trying to distract you. Stay focused!"
'Juri' attacked Bison first with a flying kick that he barely blocked. Juri snapped free of her doubt and charged him. She ducked low and swept his legs, toppling Bison to the ground momentarily. He quickly recovered, but Juri was on the attack. She had been teetering between rage and despondency throughout this dream, but now her anger took over completely.
"Leave me alone!" Juri screamed as she recklessly assaulted Bison with a random series of swift punches and kicks. There was no pattern to her attacks and while Bison did block some, he couldn't mount a defense against them all. Juri's rage fueled her aggression as she launched herself relentlessly at her sworn enemy. She was in pure offensive mode, ignoring Bison's counterattacks in a single-minded effort to inflict as much damage as possible.
Bison finally charged up his Psycho Power and palmed Juri's head before discharging a blast into her face. She cried out as he tossed her backwards. 'Juri', who had hung back since her initial attack, now moved forward to protect the other from Bison's followup.
"Good, the cub has teeth," he murmured. "I was getting...concerned that you had lost your edge."
Juri was slow to get up from the energy attack. She wagged her head in an effort to shake off the pain from the blast. As Juri stood up, she saw her double swing her left arm back in an arc. A flame released from the hand and struck Bison in the chest. 'Juri' then grabbed his chin and popped him in the face with a jab. The attack sent him stumbling backwards, but he didn't fall. He stood there, once again crossing his arms, watching both of the women. He frowned for a moment before giving a satisfied smile.
Juri stood there, chest heaving from her exertions. Her face felt like it was on fire from the energy blast. She stared at her shaking hands. Bison chuckled, glancing first at the doppelganger before addressing Juri.
"Very well. You have gained a powerful ally. I will grant your desire and leave. I have other matters to attend to. I look forward to the time when we meet again, Juri. Enjoy your new...toy. It will be a most interesting match between us when you have it installed."
Bison faded from view, leaving both women standing in an empty hallway. The alarms continued to go off in the distance.
Juri swayed a little before stumbling backwards. The adrenaline rush was wearing off and her whole body was trembling, bruised and aching from Bison's attacks. She suddenly felt worn out. 'Juri' moved over to keep the other upright, helping the injured street fighter to a nearby door. After making sure Juri wasn't going to collapse, she punched a code off to the side and the door slid open. It was pitch black on the other side.
"We need to leave. Just go through that doorway. I'll be right behind you. I want to make sure Bison doesn't try to sneak back in here. His word can't be trusted."
Juri stared into the darkness. She couldn't see anything in the room. She held her right arm out and reached in. Her hand and arm were swallowed in the void. Juri pulled her arm out and checked both sides of her hand. There didn't seem to be anything wrong despite her limb vanishing momentarily. Where would the dream take her next? Would she wake from it soon? 'Juri' interrupted her thoughts.
"I said go! It's just another memory, but more pleasant than the last two. I promise that it's not traumatic."
Juri turned to her twin. She was surprised to see concern on the other's face. 'Juri' seemed genuinely worried about her. It was strange to not only see someone else care about her, but also to view that expression on her own face. It looked almost alien. Perhaps she might have had that level of empathy if her life had remained normal.
'What could have been...but it didn't turn out that way, did it?'
Only silence answered her thoughts, other than the base's alarms. The sound was beginning to grate on Juri's nerves. She finally decided to take her chances and enter through the doorway, if only to get away from the annoying background commotion. She took a deep breath and tentatively stepped through and into the darkness.
The hallway disappeared. Juri now stood in the middle of a large sparring mat; a blue octagon surrounded by a sleeve of red. She was on a raised wooden platform with stairs and ramps descending to a wider floor area.
Raised seating for spectators surrounded it all but were currently unoccupied. The arena itself was completely silent. She turned around to see if there was a way to return, but the doorway had disappeared. Juri was alone in this place.
No matter. Despite the soreness from Bison's attack, Juri let out a delighted snort and started to giggle, spinning in place slowly to get a view of the entire arena. She practically skipped over to one of the ramps, descended it and took some time to wander around.
Juri had instantly recognized the place. It had been the scene of her greatest childhood accomplishment and one of the happiest moments of her life: a gold medal in the flyweight division of the taekwondo world championship! She was just 14 at the time; considered a child prodigy and a heavy favorite to win gold at the Summer Olympic games several years down the road. The world had been Juri's oyster in this moment. Anything she desired had been within reach.
Fate had decreed otherwise and her dreams soon turned into ashes. A year later, her parents were dead and Juri had barely escaped with her life, minus an eye. Physically marred and emotionally broken, Juri turned inwards. Her chance at a normal life had evaporated. That world was gone forever, her aspirations becoming as dust on the wind.
After Juri had finished roaming, she returned to the octagon. She sat down in the center, unsure of her next move. As she wondered where her twin had gone, 'Juri' suddenly appeared before her.
"The scenery is much improved, don't you think?"
A startled Juri scrambled to get up, but 'Juri' held out her hand to help. Juri took the hand, noting its strong grip. 'Juri' effortlessly pulled the other to her feet, making sure Juri had her balance before letting go.
"Bison is definitely gone, by the way. I needed to make sure he wasn't lurking around anywhere."
The mention of Bison brought forth an image in Juri's mind of her parents. Her eyes widened and her heart started to race. She had forgotten about them in the rush to escape the last memory! Things had happened so fast! Where did they go?
'Juri' took both of the other's hands once again and held them gently.
"They were never there. It was a combination of Bison's manipulation and your own fears. He's been looking for ways to return to the world since his defeat two years ago."
Juri frowned while trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to run down her cheeks again. Various emotions were battling to come to the fore as she processed what 'Juri' said.
She felt some relief that those 'people' weren't her parents, but instead a combination of survivor's guilt and Bison's machinations. For years afterwards, Juri considered ways in which she could have changed that horrible outcome, but nothing ever seemed possible. There was simply no way that she could have logically saved her parents. But it didn't stop her from feeling the remorse of escaping later on. If only she had figured out how to sooner...
She felt fear that her parents would have disapproved of the direction she had chosen in life. Juri could easily imagine their anger and disappointment. In order to fight monsters, she became a monster herself. It was something she scarcely admitted to herself, much less anyone else. But there was always a flicker of doubt in what she wound up becoming.
She felt anger at the discovery that her nemesis still hovered in an area between life and death. It wasn't fair that he was able to cheat death so easily while her parents were still gone! It wasn't fair that despite everyone's efforts to stop Bison, there was a strong possibility that he would return once again. It wasn't fair-
Juri realized that her twin was squeezing her hands a little tighter. She looked up in shock, her thoughts broken by the pressure.
"You must focus on what you can change," 'Juri' insisted. "Evil cannot be destroyed, only contained. Your father did what he thought was right in fighting it. You want to honor his memory...their memories, but can't you see what you're doing is equally destructive?"
Juri's shock turned to anger and she tore her hands away. She also realized the pain that Bison had physically inflicted on her had disappeared when her hands were held.
"First of all, who and what the hell are you?! You're definitely not my conscience, so stop trying to impersonate me! Secondly, my father died precisely because he followed the rules. He went up against someone who didn't dot the i's and cross the t's. My mother also paid the price and I...whatever. You don't...can't fight them with rules and regulations. The law doesn't apply to monsters like that. Hell, half the time, they are the damn law."
'Juri' sighed and started to change shape. It only took a few seconds for the being to morph into a short and slender young woman. Her eyes conveyed an age that belied the rest of her youthful appearance. Long silver hair spilled down her back while a pair of large, circular golden pins adorned the sides towards the top of her head.
She wore a purplish-blue schoolgirl outfit that included a long sleeve top with white accents, gold buttons and a large white bow just below the collar. A matching, short-pleated skirt with white petticoat, gloves and brown tights completed the uniform. The only item that Juri recognized now was the black Mary Janes on her feet and the ruby red irises in her eyes.
"I see. So, in order to fight monsters, you became one in turn. Is that what you're saying? And if innocents get caught in the middle..."
Juri didn't answer. Instead, she crossed her arms and glared at the strange woman, who continued speaking.
"I'm not here to judge you, Juri. You're already doing that to yourself, even if you don't admit it. I'm here because I need something from you. I want you to look after Kara. I know you're close to making a decision regarding her. In fact, it seems like you've already made it, but are reluctant to act."
Juri frowned and looked away for a moment to avoid the strange woman's gaze. She growled her response.
"What does she have to do with anything? Why do you want me to babysit her? Why the hell is it so important? I have other things to worry about, you know. And I'm still waiting for a name."
"You may call me Ingrid. The world is about to go through a tremendous change, Juri. I know of your mission, but Bison isn't the only danger you face. Whether you like it or not, both of your destinies are now intertwined. You can help train her to fight and Kara can...teach you other things as well. The path you've set for yourself will eventually lead to your ruin. Don't roll your eyes, that's rude! She can't survive without your help and you will have no chance at salvation without her. You're both important in the events that will happen."
"Look, the only thing I'm interested in right now is getting my new eye installed. Then, I'm going after Bison and make sure he doesn't come back."
Ingrid held out her hand and produced a small ring box. Juri recognized it immediately and let out a squawk of outrage. Ingrid drew something on the lid of the box with her index finger before offering it over. Juri snatched the box from Ingrid's hand and examined the lid. There was a golden design that consisted of a pair of horns holding a sun motif between them.
"What's inside is a powerful device, I must admit. It will help you, but despite what you believe, it'll cause you much harm in the end. I would advise that you not let this eye consume you, but I can already see you won't listen. Despite how you want to appear to everyone on the outside, I know that you're capable of being honorable. If you allow yourself, you can rise higher than you realize. Take Kara along with you. You need each other to survive!"
Juri looked to the ground with her left hand on her hip. The other clutched the ring box.
"I'll consider it. And you're right, I don't believe a damn thing you said about the eye. It's the key to me taking that bastard out once and for all. So where do I go from here? Another trip down memory lane? And what the hell are you, some sort of angel?"
Ingrid shook her head, declining to answer directly.
"You're safe here. Bison is gone from your mind. When you're ready to wake up, you can go exit over there."
She pointed to an entrance that would have led down a hallway to the prep rooms. Instead of a corridor, there was another jet-black rectangular portal.
"I must go. I've done all I can here and I must attend to matters elsewhere. Remember what I said. Your world is about to change and you both play a part in how it will turn out."
As Juri considered a suitable retort, Ingrid smiled, gave her a short curtsy and disappeared. The street fighter stared at the ring box. So this thing will be her ruin, eh? Well, it was a suitable exchange for destroying Bison.
Juri heard something in the distance and cocked her head to make it out. It sounded like an echo of Kara's voice, but she couldn't make out the details. She shrugged. It didn't seem important.
She stayed in the arena for little while longer, making another circuit of the mat, before descending the ramp towards the portal. This was a good memory for her, but it was from another lifetime. There was no point living in the past. She was a different person now.
And yet, Juri couldn't escape the idea that she had passed some sort of test. She still had no idea who or what exactly Ingrid was. Was the strange woman even real or just a hallucination? Would they meet again? She didn't know. Would she even remember any of this when she woke up?
"Yeah, definitely the result of the drugs I've been taking," Juri told herself. "Those pain pills can do all sorts of crazy shit."
She took one more look around the arena and the features began to blur and darken around her, the memory beginning to fade into the background. Yes, this recollection had been a good one.
The portal offered no resistance to Juri, not that it was expected. Upon stepping through, Juri felt like she was swimming upwards in an inky black pool. She soon observed a soft light above her and she 'swam' towards it. The light grew brighter and she could hear sharp noises beyond it. Then she was watching Kara putting away utensils and plates in the kitchen. The nurse turned momentarily in her direction and snorted softly.
"You're finally awake. Wow, you were really out for a while. Looks like you needed the rest."
Juri ignored her and fished for the ring box in her pocket. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled it out. What she had experienced was just a-
She gasped and let out a cry of alarm. Kara spun around and stared at street fighter, who sprang up in shock. Her legs failed and she fell in a heap in front of the chair. Kara raced over to help her stand.
"Oh my god, are you ok?!"
Juri didn't respond, instead gawking at the small box with wide eyes. She swallowed hard, licked her lips and tried to take a deep breath, her body trembling. On the lid was a golden design: a pair of horns with a sun set between them.
Authors note: It may surprise some people that Juri is a more nuanced character than is generally given credit for. Bear in mind that with the exception of the very end, this chapter is all happening in her mind. There are hints from other victory quotes (which are actually little bits of canonical conversations) from some of the more perceptive fighters hint at a much different Juri than she otherwise lets known. A few of the more obvious references (English dub...I'm really interested to know the direct Japanese translations, btw! Feel free to DM me on Twitter if you know of any!) are:
Blanka tells her in SFV: "You're like a injured animal. I feel bad for you."
G in SFV: "O, citizen of Earth, even when sorrow and pity till our hearts-no, precisely in such times, we are one!"
Falke in SFV: "So you too fell prey to to that madman's lust for power...I feel your pain."
Menat in SFV: "So, don't take this the wrong way, okay? But it seems to me that you're actually very lonely."
Zeku in SFV: "Suffering is pain. In pain, you will not find joy. Your sadness, profound."
I expanded on Juri's past in this chapter beyond what is given about her in Street Fighter: Juri OVA. Chun Li goes into a short description in one of the scenes concerning Juri, but it's limited to (English dub) she and her parents were kidnapped by Shadaloo, the parents were executed and she escaped several weeks later. I tried to envision what did happen to her in that facility in more detail with this chapter. In any case, it would have been horrific for her.
The scene with the taekwondo arena is another expansion of a Chun Li comment in Juri OVA, who called her "the top practitioner of taekwondo at the age of 15." I took that quote and expanded it to include the world championships (which does take place in reality every two years). The flyweight division is a real one in the WC and the next to lightest weight class for the women. It's 49 kg (roughly 108 pounds or less) and I picked that one due to Juri's weight in SSFIV and SFV. She's listed at 101 lbs in SSFIV and 126 for SFV. While Juri clearly looks like she put on some muscle between IV & V, I had a hard time believing that she was only 101 in IV. Her build and muscularity in IV seem like her weight should be higher, perhaps closer to 110. In any case, she would be smaller at age 14 when she won it and probably somewhat less than she would be in SSFIV.