Ryu could see nothing but fire. Images of familiar faces, faces of his friends, flashed before his eyes, each one being consumed by the flames. First he saw Guy, master of the Bushin arts being reduced to a handicapped hospital patient in a wheelchair, all because Ryu couldn't control the Satsui no Hadou inside of himself. Then there was Ken, a victim of the Osaka Dome collapse, rendering him useless, also triggered by the Satsui no Hadou. And then at the airport, Chun Li had been kidnapped by mysterious robot-like women claiming to be agents of Shadowlaw. Ryu knew he could've stopped them, but at the time, he was worn out from the stress of everything going on; Kenny's kidnapping, Bison's Shadow technology … but that was still no excuse. Because of his excuses, Chun Li was now in the hands of Shadowlaw too. And most importantly, there was Kenny, the one who played a key role in the Bison's plan. With him on their side, the odds were stacked against the Street Fighters. If Akuma had never approached Ryu, if that demon didn't force the Satsui no Hadou into him …
But to Ryu's own surprise, his anger turned into glee. Indeed Akuma had put something wonderful into him. He could feel the anger inside of him fueling the Satsui no Hadou, telling him to come forth and exact his revenge on the world, the world that had hurt him so much, the world that tore his friends and his only family away from him.
Ryu looked over at Kenny, standing in front of him, fists raised and ready to fight. He could feel his lips curl into a devilish smile. The power surged through his body, more powerful than ever before. He could've controlled it, but at this point, he didn't want to. Whoever suffered its wrath deserved it. His skin was thick, dark and hard, like some kind of enhanced armor from the Satsui no Hadou. At this point he didn't even register that it was Kenny standing before him. The evil power didn't allow any positive emotions. Just hate, plain, pure hate.
"Messatsu Gou Shoryuu!!" Ryu cried, his voice suddenly developing a deep base. He rushed forward, fist first, smashing Kenny in the chest with it, and then his forearm, and finally his elbow for a three hit uppercut. Ryu repeated the motion once more for another three devastating hits, feeling the boy's body get painfully thrown around from the momentum of the hits. To finish off the devastating move, Ryu performed a powerful uppercut, pushing Kenny into the air with his fist as Ryu's body climbed higher up.
Kenny surprisingly recovered in mid air. As he fell, he aimed himself at Ryu. Just as Ryu landed, Kenny landed on top of him, using his momentum to swing around behind the Shotokan warrior and perform a powerful choke hold with one of his arms. Using the elbow on his free arm, Kenny smashed Ryu in the side of the repeatedly, hoping to knock him out. Under normal circumstances, Ryu would've been out on the first hit with Kenny's enhanced aiming. But Ryu's Satsui no Hadou empowered body was able to withstand the blows, as if they'd been dealt by a mere child …
Ryu swung his head back, crushing Kenny's nose into his face. The boy released his grip and dropped to the ground. Ryu turned around and prepared to deliver a karate chop to break Kenny's collarbone. Just before his palm made contact, Kenny's eyes lit up just like a robot and with inhuman reflexes, he kicked upward to Ryu's face with one leg, swung the other leg around and knocked Ryu again. Kenny continued spinning his body, using the momentum to launch his own body, and Ryu into the air. "Tensho Kyaku!!"
In midair, before Ryu could be sent crashing back to the ground, Kenny decided to magnify Ryu's suffering by kicking out his leg rapidly, connecting the hits like some kind of machine gun. "Hyakuretsu Kyaku!"
Ryu fell to the ground again, hardly able to catch himself successfully without hurting himself. These moves that Kenny displayed … they were similar to Chun Li's. How was it that the boy was able to learn them?
Kenny landed a few feet away from Ryu and wasted no time in continuing to attack him further. The boy swung his arm back, and threw it forward again, with wave after waves of little sonic boom energies. "Sonic Break!!" he cried. Ryu had no other option than to cross his arms across his face and torso to protect himself from the onslaught of energy balls.
Sagat, the Muay Thai champion watching the battle unfold from the sidelines smiled. "How about that, Ryu? Witness the miracle of the Shadow technology. Unique moves from one warrior to the other can be transferred through radio waves! Kenny, being an undeveloped warrior can 'download' his abilities from established fighters such as Shadow and Shadow Lady. Such practicality. Your pathetic Satsui no Hadou will never compare to this."
Ryu heard everything Sagat said, but he could hardly respond. His body, even with the Satsui no Hadou, was growing weak. He felt himself get repeatedly battered by Kenny. And with the abilities of powerful warriors like Chun Li and Charlie on his side, Ryu was sure to lose this battle.
He didn't know what it was, but without warning, Ryu could feel his body absorb the blows painlessly. It was as if it had grown accustomed to pain … but it was different now. The pain seemed to fuel him, feeling the energy from the blows transfer into his own energy for his own use. Ryu spotted an opening in Kenny's attack, just after the boy recovered from the Sonic Break.
"Messatsu …" Ryu lifted a knee and glided inhumanly towards Kenny with lightning speed. Kenny's eyes widened in terror as Ryu seized him by the collar, and the entire world vanished in a flash of light.
* * *
Maki collapsed onto all fours on the cold ground, choking on the cloud of dust she kicked up. Her mind screamed for her legs to stand back up. No matter how hard she tried, the Bushin kunoichi couldn't stand. By now, her entire body was adorned with cuts, lacerations, and bruises, all caked with a fine layer of dirt and sweat.
Her adversary, the woman who used to be called Chun Li, stood just a few feet away, admiring the damage she had inflicted on Maki. Her lips curled into an evil grin as she spoke.
"Surrendered yet, kunoichi?" Shadow Lady asked, her voice taking on a gentle, but mocking tone.
"Haha!" Maki laughed out loud, despite her wounds. "No matter what happens to the body, the human spirit will always live on. And in it's presence, I humble myself. You, however, are no longer human. And I will never humble myself before you!"
Maki's fist tightened around the stick she'd used as a tonfa against Shadow Lady. To her surprise, it still remained in her grasp. It was ironic that Maki would be beaten and bruised all over but at least her weapon remained intact. She flung her arm forward, throwing the stick with all her remaining strength at Shadow Lady. The stick twirled in a blurry spiral, approaching her with deadly speed.
With all of her might, Maki prayed. As ridiculous as it seemed, a stick was all that was between her and death at that point. She no longer had any strength to fight, yet she'd hardly bruised Shadow Lady. The Shadow technology obviously did a good job of producing mechanically enhanced humans, but it took away their soul. That's why she was able to win. When you have no soul, you have no compassion, and when you have no compassion, you have no mercy.
The stick hit Shadow Lady squarely in the chest, but bounced off harmlessly with a metallic clang. Maki could literally feel her heart break into two, knowing that her only pathetic hope had failed her. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat. She could feel the sweat of fear oozing their way out of the pores on her face and the back of her neck. Shadow Lady approached slowly, her footsteps echoing deafeningly in the seemingly slower pace of time. She raised her arms above her head and Maki could see Shadow Lady's hands come together and shape shift into one giant metallic drill. Just as the drill was about to Maki contact with Maki's skull, just when she could feel the air around the drill being stirred by its power against her forehead, Maki closed her eyes.
Images of Maki's life flashed before her eyes. She recognized her younger self, a chubby little girl with bright blonde hair, chasing Rena around, her older, darker haired sister, the both of them giggling as the sun shone almost immaculately on their toddler bodies.
The next image, Maki was in high school during her younger teenage years. That was around the same time she began wearing her golden locks in a ponytail and waved around elegantly behind her, shrouding her head and shoulders like a giant cloak.
Next, around the same time, she remembered meeting Guy for the first time. She thought he was rather attractive with his well developed body, tanned skin and dark eyes. That is, until she learned he was dating Rena, her sister. But overtime, Guy introduced Maki to the Bushin arts, after recognizing her natural warrior like abilities like jumping off walls, her speed, and her willingness to put her body through the most painful exercises to develop herself. That was the most important factor; her love for the Bushin art.
The flashback didn't last very long. After all, Maki hadn't really lived that long of a life. The feeling broke her heart as she realized the inevitable was on it's way. She waited for a moment … and then waited another … but when a full 2 seconds had passed, she gathered enough courage to open her eyes and see if death really was looking her in the face.
Shadow Lady had stumbled backwards. It looked like she was in pain or something … Maki couldn't tell. The cybernetically enhanced soldier had one arm wrapped around her waist, the other pressed against her head. Little bolts of electricity sizzled around her dark form as she let out weak, pathetic cries of pain.
"What's happening … to me?" she asked herself. Maki couldn't answer, she was just as stumped. Shadow Lady suddenly collapsed to the ground in a smoking heap. Maki slowly stood up and approached her fallen opponent slowly and carefully, her guard raised to maximum. The form on the ground remained unmoving, save for the occasional electric jolt shooting through her arm, making her twitch inhumanly.
Maki tapped Shadow Lady with her foot, finding no electricity shooting through it. So was it safe to touch her? Taking no chances, the Bushin kunoichi used her foot again and flipped Shadow Lady onto her back, fully exposing her front. Her eyes were closed, appearing like she was peacefully asleep. Her skin was gradually losing it's dark tan, resorting back to the pale complexion of the Chinese Interpol agent, Chun Li.
Maki cleared her throat, looking around to make sure it was okay for her to speak. Her voice was more cracked and echoed with fear that she'd intended. "Chun Li?"
* * *
Time itself slowed to a crawl as Ryu watched in horror. The robot like expression on Kenny's face shattered to reveal a glint in his eye, a sign of human life. His brows slanted, wrinkles of pain forming on his forehead. Kenny dropped to his knees clasping his chest tightly, blood spilling through his little fingers.
Ryu's reaction was instant. He dashed for the falling boy, feeling his dead weight crash into his arms. What have I done? Tears began falling out of Kenny's eyes, although he himself wasn't crying. It was like a tap, running out without him even intending for them to.
"Ryu …" Kenny tried saying, but it only came out as a weak whisper.
Ryu bent down on one knee, cradling him, realizing that Kenny was about to die – and it was all his fault. "I'm sorry, Kenny. I …"
"The Shadow chip in my back … it's losing power. I can feel it. It's dying. It's … letting me go."
"It's dying along with you," Ryu replied, his voice deep with regret. "I'm the one who did this to you. I'm sorry … so … so sorry."
A weak smiled formed on Kenny's face. "Why are you crying, Ryu?" Ryu rubbed a hand across his face, surprised to see moisture on the back of his hand. He looked at Kenny, who seemed to be going into shock. He wasn't suffering anymore. He just lay there, waiting for the inevitable to come. It was as if he was willing to let life go – a six year old already embracing death. Ryu didn't know how to express his sadness and regret. Kenny was too young to understand.
"Thanks," Kenny said, his mouth getting dry.
"What?" Ryu asked, confused. "Why do you say that?"
"I'm thankful that you're here," he replied, "that you were there when my mom and dad weren't. I found out they're dead."
"I'm sure they're fine, wherever they are," Ryu said, unsure of what else he could say.
"I'm … going to join them, aren't I?"
"No, no you're not."
"I'm tired, Ryu. I feel like sleeping …" Kenny's eyes began to close slowly.
"Stay awake, Kenny. Keep talking." But he didn't listen as his eyes continued to close. Ryu hung his head low, trying to stop the surge of sorrow that threatened to engulf him. He had given into the Satsui no Hadou. He had murdered countless people and Kenny was his latest victim. Ryu cursed Akuma for giving the power to him. It empowered him, but at what cost? The lives of the people he cared about? No. They only died because Ryu wasn't able to keep the power under control. He swore right then and there that he would never succumb to the Satsui no Hadou again. No matter how much it ate him up inside, he couldn't let it get out of control. The cost was too high.
Kenny opened his eyes again, looking straight at Ryu. The glint of life was gone, replaced by a thick haze. "Ryu … look behind you." The Shotokan warrior turned around to look behind him, seeing nothing but the dark empty hangar. A few meters away, Cody and Guile continued their struggle with Shadow. Sagat was nowhere to be seen. Ryu had let his guard down when he realized what he'd done, giving his adversary time to slip away.
"I don't see anything, Kenny," Ryu said.
"I can see them, Ryu!" Kenny grasped Ryu's forearm in excitement. "I can see my mom and dad …" He smiled childishly. "I'm going to see them … It's been so long … thanks … Ryu …" As he spoke, his eyes closed slowly for the last time, his breathing getting shallower and shallower, but the smile on his face never faded. Kenny exhaled his final breath and released his grip on Ryu's forearm. He pressed his fingers to Kenny's neck. It felt warm, but there was no pulse. Kenneth Feng was dead.