"Kenny … you must return home. You do not belong here yet …" Kenny couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. It seemed to come from all around him, consuming him in its warmth. It was neither male nor female, but the feeling of security that it provided for him was a feeling that he hadn't gotten since his parents left him, wherever it was that they went. He turned his head, trying to find a face to match the voice with.

                "Tell me why I'm here," he said softly, unable to comprehend the physical possibilities of his surroundings. His naked body was shrouded in a blanket of white and gray mist that seemed to cloud and dissipate all at once around him, enhancing the dream like feel he was experiencing. But Kenny's mind was fully awake, taking note of everything that was happening.

               "You're not supposed to be here," the voice replied, more urgently this time. "This isn't your fate. There is a whole life ahead of you. Can't you feel it?" Kenny couldn't understand what this strange voice was talking about. He remembered feeling himself leave his own body behind. Now he felt truly free, like there was nothing to anchor him to the physical world. He was free to drift about as he pleased, or to experience the other side - the side of death. He wasn't sure if he wanted to sacrifice this newfound freedom for his torturous life again.

                "But I don't want to go back …" Kenny said weakly. But how was he supposed to put his reasons in logical words? He didn't want to suffer anymore, despite Ryu and the others being there for, they didn't replace Mom and Dad, and they were in heaven now. He wanted to be with them.

                "Your body," the mysterious voice said, "is coming back to life. And it is beyond your control."

                "But …" he began to protest, but realized maybe life wasn't so bad. After all, he managed to live on the streets with Cranky for awhile. He could just continue living that way … or maybe one of the street fighters would be nice enough to take care of him. Kenny didn't know for sure, but he did regret not getting to know his new friends better. Funny how he never thought about it before, and that realization was what made him curb his tendency to protest.

                However, before he could say anything more, Kenny felt something clutch his heart - literally. He began to feel sick, as if he was moving at a great speed all of a sudden. The mist around him began to fade, only to be replaced by a shrouding darkness. He closed his eyes, praying for the feeling to pass, but instead it got worse. It was like he was traveling in a giant hand, propelling him at great speeds through the air, and he didn't like one bit of it. He could still hear the voice speaking to him though, no matter now much it was beginning to fade.

                "Your body is returning to life …"

                                                                                *              *              *

                "It's a miracle," Sagat gasped.

                "What is, sir?" asked a beautiful brunette, clad in a figure hugging black bodysuit. She had her long straight hair tied into a bun at the back of her head, which was partially hidden beneath the hat that covered just the very top of her head and her forehead.

                "I knew there was something going on with this boy's body," Sagat said, rubbing his chin in deep thought, ignoring the girl's questions. "He's … resurrecting."

                "I don't understand."

                "Of course you wouldn't, Juli," the Muay Thai master spat cruelly. "You're a Shadowlaw doll. You're not programmed to understand things like this." He shook his head. Although it was true that the dolls were people, at least, before cybernation, he still felt like he was talking to a robot. They were a successful blend of human flesh enhanced with advanced technology and so were the Shadow soldiers, only the latter were far more superior. Juli was classified as a "doll" along with her team mates Cammy and Juni. But the flaw in the "doll" system was that each of the members were trained in the exact same form of fighting, specially created by Shadowlaw to match perfectly to their technology, so it could effectively enhance their performance. In other words, there was a certain body type required in order for someone to be cybernated in a Shadowlaw doll. Cammy, Juli and Juni were similar in size and weight. The difference with the Shadow technology was that as an enhanced version of the current Shadowlaw technology, it was able to adapt to individuals, instead of the other way around. That's how it was able to turn three different people, Chun Li, the speedy Interpol agent, Charlie, a bulky military pilot, and Kenny, a featherweight child far from puberty, into different but equally deadly warriors.

                The new ability this technology was performing at the moment was raising Kenny from the dead. Sagat was now situated in one of the labs in the outskirts of the Shadowlaw compound, equally hidden behind thick shrubbery and trees, just as the main complex was. If he was lucky, the U.S. military wouldn't find it, but that was a risk he was willing to take, especially when there was a chance they could get the original Shadow soldier back to life and functioning again.

                He had sent Juli to retrieve Kenny's body from the main complex when he detected the activation of the Shadow technology earlier from a backup computer in the surrounding lab buildings, when all three Shadow soldiers were supposedly wiped out. He originally used the labs as shelter, after figuring out that Bison had most likely escaped the complex, and thus, the clutches of the military leaving him behind to either perish or get arrested. The very concept left a distasteful flavor in his mouth, making him question his loyalty to Shadowlaw. Then again, if he didn't care about Shadowlaw, why bother sending someone in to retrieve Kenny? Was it because of his own selfish purposes? Or maybe … perhaps he too had some morality in him. Whatever the reason, he just felt like he couldn't let Kenny die when there was a chance that he could come back to life.

Sagat wasn't a pro with computers, but when there was an electronically displayed chart on the screen with Kenny's face behind it saying "SS-001 Kenneth Feng, ACTIVATED", it was hard to misinterpret the information. He was coming back to life. However so, Sagat didn't know, but he was going to find out.

                Kenny began coughing all of a sudden. The bloody wound in his chest was beginning to cover up with some metallic looking tissue. It was only a matter of seconds before his eyes opened violently, giving both him and Juli the scare of their lives. And just as quickly as it had come, the coughing fit subsided and Kenny returned to normal - as normal as someone in his situation could get.

                "Uncle Sagat?" was the first thing he said out of utter confusion.

                The title made Sagat's blood boil, but he was able to put his frustration aside for now. At least Kenny was back to normal. But would he work for Shadowlaw? Would he return to his old life? Sagat didn't know. And given that the Shadow technology was inside him and functioning again, if Kenny made a choice, there was noting Sagat could do to stop him.

                                                                                *              *              *

"No more ..." Ryu's arms were on fire - literally and figuratively. His skin was being singed by the chi blasts he produced, and the ones that Bison was firing at him while the muscles in his arms ached and burned from holding them up for so long. He fought his body's own reflexes to lower them, knowing that doing so would mean his undoing. How long more could Bison last? Ryu had almost drained his chi reserves. Bison fought with such integrity and endurance, it was inhuman. Ryu could feel himself weaken gradually, hoping he'd be able to hold out long enough for Guile and Cody to figure out something.
                "So this is the power of the Satsui no Hadou?" Bison taunted, as he continued blasting away at Ryu. "And to think I wanted to recruit you into Shadowlaw's ranks. You disappoint me, warrior." Another blast, smashing Ryu's defences, hurling his body through the air, hitting a wall over ten feet away. "Perhaps we could replace that useless Satsui no Hadou with the power of the Psycho Drive."
Ryu struggled to get up, despite the painful cries his body emanated. Bison was wrong - this wasn't the Satsui no Hadou. He'd sworn never to use it again, for those that he cared about, and for himself. Only the gods knew what would happen to him if he employed it.
                "You are a coward, Bison," Ryu said. He intended to sound degrading, almost disgusted. But the weakness in his body was reflective in his tone - he sounded like a wimp, but continued nonetheless.      

"You are fighting a mere man, a mortal. And yet you choose to use the power of the Psycho Drive." The Psycho drive - the same power that was used to assimilate young girls into Shadowlaw's Doll division, the power that the organization's scientific community upgraded to turn Kenny, Charlie and Chun Li into Shadow Soldiers was being used by Bison, rendering the dictator practically immortal.

                "Using the Psycho Drive?" Bison asked. "Fool, I AM the Psycho Drive. It's power is embedded in me just as the Satsui no Hadou is inside of you. But I now know which of the two is more superior."
                "The Satsui no Hadou is a destructive force," Ryu replied. "Too destructive to use even against you. To use it now would mean complete destruction - haven't you heard about what happened at the Osaka Dome?! If my friends weren't fighting alongside me somewhere in this complex, I would've released it upon you from the beginning of our battle!" Ryu wasn't sure if he really meant what he said, but at this point, he was tempted to give everything he had to destroy Bison's resources. In truth, he was unsure where he stood when it came to using the evil energy inside him for the greater good, or sealing it in him for his own personal safety. The only reason he kept it sealed now was for his comrades.
                "Then you are being foolish," Bison said. "You know it won't take much for me to take you now. Your energy would be a great addition to my organization."
A loud bang echoed throughout the room and a huge spray of scarlet blood exploded from Bison's shoulder. It had caught the dictator by surprise, yelping out in pain and grasping his shoulder. Instantly, Ryu could feel his energy decrease to next to nothing. His fighting spirit had been taken away from a single gunshot, for the time being at least.
                "Ryu! Are you okay?!" a familiar voice cried. Ryu turned around to face his best friend and rival, Ken Masters. Only this time, his usual round, childish face was slighty twisted, wincing at the pain in his ribs. One arm was wrapped around his ribs while in the other ...
                "A gun?!" Ryu asked in surprise. "That's very ... untraditional for you, Ken."
                Ken shrugged in response. "You can do it the hard way with your fancy Hadouken, break a few bones, get killed here and there, or you can use this." He held up the shaft of the rifle to Ryu's face. "Works like a charm."
                "Did you see Guile and Cody? Are they okay?!"
"We're alright," Cody said, coming inside from the hallway with Maki. Technically, Maki was supposed to be the one helping him walk, being his temporary tower of support, although due to her own injuries and broken arm from before, it was as if they were using each other for support. Ryu couldn't help but make a slight grin. "Damn girl almost broke my leg stampeding like a freakin water buffalo!"
"First of all," Maki retorted fiercely, "it was smokey in there and I couldn't see anything! I was gonna apologize for stepping on your leg but I don't know if I want to anymore!"
                "Well if you'd only -"
                "SECOND of all, I was 'stampeding' because I was actually worried about you! But now that I think about it, I have no idea why!"
                "Oh please, don't give me that -"
                "LASTLY, I am NOT a water buffalo! How dare you comment on my weight you ungrateful oaf. You call yourself a street fighter, but you sure as hell aren't a real man! If your back wasn't hurt right now ... no, if my arm wasn't broken I'd ..."
                "Whoa, okay people," Ken said putting his hands in front of him, "can we settle down a little and save the energy from this squabble for something a little more productive?" He pointed at Bison.  

                "Like him?!"
                "Ken's right," Guile said, appearing in the doorway beside Cody and Maki with Charlie at his side. "Your end is near, Bison."
                "Do you think a single bullet is sufficient to stop the power of the Psycho Drive?" the dictator asked through clenched teeth.
                "Would you like another?" Ken said, aiming the rifle at Bison's head.
                "Shoot him," Guile ordered.
                "With pleasure."
                "No, Ken!" Ryu interrupted. "You know this isn't the way of the warrior. This is murder!"
                "It's not murder if he deserves it," Ken replied, adjusting this thumb to pull the trigger.
                "How could you do this, after all the Gouken has taught us?" Ryu asked.
                "What the hell did Bison do to you, buddy?! Why are you defending him all of a sudden?"
                "I'm defending your own morals, your own humanity, Ken! How can you -"
                A surge of power came from Bison's direction, knocking the gun out of Ken's hand with an invisible force.
                "Watch out!" Maki shrieked. Ryu turned around just in time to see Bison mount a surprise attack, his body parallel with the ground and covered in a thick layer of purple fire.
                "PSYCHO CRUSHER!!" he declared, approaching with blinding speed.
                "Out of the way!!" Charlie ordered, pushing the two Shotokan warriors aside, taking aim with his rifle.
                "Charlie -" Guile whispered under his breath.
                Charlie closed his eyes, clenched his teeth and clenched the trigger.

                BANG!!!! BANG!!!! BANG!!!!