Dreams of a Goddess
Author's Notes: A new soundtrack has been added to the website; due to space constraints, I had to take down some of the others, so e-mail me if you still want them. "The Last Hurrah" is Marin's battle theme. No, this isn't the final chapter, but now that the story is definitely winding down ... I feel both relieved and saddened at the same time. Anyways, have fun reading this (absurdly long) chapter.
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Darkness. Darkness everywhere. Tangible, true darkness, so real that it seemed to breathe and pulsate with life. It stretched infinite distances in any direction - did direction even have meaning? - unbroken, untainted, stilled. No light shone in this vast emptiness where space and time themselves ceased to have purpose or existence. Only a small, still sound broke the deathlike silence and tranquility of the vast emptiness. It was a heartbeat.
Who am I?
Alone, at peace - have I ever felt so relaxed and calm before? - the lone figure drifted contently out of space and time. Her memory lay clean and confused before her and she idly picked through the events of her past life. What had happened before she had arrived here? She remembered a smiling face bearing a kind and gentle expression, belonging to someone she knew well. That was her ... mother, the word required a moment to remember. And if that was her mother, then her mother's counterpart - a father, was it? - she instantly conjured an image of a man with a strong, intense, and not unkind gaze. She could not see his face very well, nor that of her mother, but instead from each one she remembered a distinct emotion: strength in her father, resilience in her mother. Events from her life scrolled by and she casually picked through them. Happiness here, joy there, sorrow, pain, friendship, betrayal, confusion, anger, love. Images of undefined shapes moving in beautiful dances. A great black emptiness like the one in which she drifted, changing her view of existence. And she was ...
That brought her up short. She had no idea who she was. She heard a heartbeat and knew for certain that it was hers, so she existed. She had a concept of self, so she was human. Yet this was all academic knowledge that she knew but did not experience. Strive as she might, she could not remember anything that might contribute to her sense of identity. Confusion and the first traces of panic had begun to set in when she first heard another voice, calling to her.
"Awaken, Kirina."
Kirina. Yes, that was her name, Kirina Houshi. All that she knew and remembered returned in a rush as the darkness fell away, to be replaced by ... by what, she didn't know. But now she had recovered her identity and as she stood she felt a small weight in her hand - INRI, an old and trusted friend. Then she took a good look at her surroundings and nearly gasped aloud. Wherever she happened to be, it shone with a ethereal, beautiful sheen that seemed to emanate from the objects themselves. Kirina stood on a broad sheet of crystal that seemed to stretch an infinite distance in every direction, a thousand hues and colors reflecting off its faceted surface with soft light. It looked translucent enough and Kirina could see stars on a pitch-black background through the thin sheet. Only that they shone far nearer to her than any star that could be observed on earth; half a hundred stars and comets blazed through the heavens at any given time, emitting soft, aurora-like lights as they passed. The scene was truly one to dwell upon, but then Kirina caught sight of something that made her forget the breathtaking beauty of wherever it was that she stood.
Suspended perhaps about half a meter off the thin crystal sheets where Kirina stood, a flat pane of the same crystal material hung vertically suspended in the air. It stretched high and broad but not very wide - in effect a one-inch thick window that floated in the air. And tightly sealed within that crystal sheet ... "Uncle Ken?" Kirina whispered in disbelief. She ran around to the front of the glittering cage, where Ken's features could be more easily seen through the translucent crystal. Somehow all of his body had been squeezed within a single-inch thick prison, but from the front he looked no different than usual. "Uncle Ken?!" Kirina shouted. "Hold up, I'll get you out of there!"
Ken Masters looked up and saw Kirina; in an instant he pressed himself against the flat crystal face and banged on it. He shouted at Kirina, but though his mouth formed the words Kirina could hear nothing. She also found lipreading too difficult through the faceted faces of the crystal, and she could only wave her arms to signal him to retreat. Ken did so, backing off to the rear of his cell - not much distance - and Kirina swung INRI at the crystal prison. The blade cleaved through the air with a lovely hum and struck the crystal pane true, but a blow that would otherwise have sliced cleanly through stone failed to make so much as a dent in the prismatic crystal. Frustrated, Kirina swung again and once more INRI's blade rang on the crystal. The sheer force of the attack numbed Kirina's arms and still nothing had been accomplished.
"You cannot free him," a voice interrupted.
Kirina whipped around, her crucifix of a sword held in a ready fighting position. About three meters away, Marin watched both Ken and Kirina with a carefully neutral expression. She still sported the combat uniform that Kirina had seen her in earlier, but now Marin also had a very dangerous looking twin-bladed staff strapped on her back. It shone with rainbow hues like the crystal that they stood on, only the weapon itself was made of solid metal. Marin's ominous black wings had vanished. "You cannot free him," she repeated. "I alone have the authority to release him."
"So you did kidnap everyone," Kirina growled. "Let him go - let them all go - or I'll separate your head from its neck."
"Will you truly do so?" Marin asked. Another sheet of crystal materialized out of thin air behind her, much like the one that held Ken, only this one was empty. Marin waved a hand to indicate the vast emptiness all around them. "Watch your surroundings carefully, Kirina, before you attempt a rash undertaking. What do you see?"
Kirina pulled her eyes away from Marin after a long moment of hesitation, but when she did, she saw to her shock that the endless crystal plane was not as empty as she had first assumed it to be. Instead, spread out in a very wide circle of which she and Ken occupied only a single edge, similar crystal prisons hung suspended in the air at regular intervals and Kirina stared in a mixture of disbelief and horror. Even worse, many were faces that she recognized - M. Bison, Ibuki, Rose, Charlie, Darrell, Edgar, and even her own mother Juli had been locked away somewhat to her left. Jill, Guy, Lloyd, Karin, Sakura, Kyosuke, and Morrigan lay suspended in similar crystalline cages. And there were so many of them ... Kirina whipped her gaze back to Marin just in time to see the empty crystal sheet behind Marin spiderweb into a thousand cracks. A moment later it shattered and dissolved into bits of prismatic glass before vanishing altogether.
Marin turned around and began to walk away towards the center of the circle formed by her grisly gallery. "At last you have awakened, Kirina. Come, follow me. Your companions await you."
Kirina followed Marin, but at a distance and with INRI held ready for a strike. She cast one look backwards at Ken, who sat slumped in his crystalline prison watching helplessly as the scene in front of him unfolded. When Marin stopped, Kirina saw that the other seven fighters had already congregated near the center. The goddess nodded to the assembled fighters. "Are you prepared, mortals?"
"Just where are we, anyways?" Kirina demanded. "And what about our friends?!"
"We ... are in her soul, Kirina," Sagat stated. "None of us were awake when this happened, but she drew us out of our bodies and brought us here."
"Your friends are safe, but they must remain where they are," Marin added. "This is done to ensure their safety. I will release their power and you may draw from it for the battle." Marin made no movement, but each floating crystal glimmered and suddenly each warrior felt the various auras of the trapped fighters in the space around them. Samantha likened it to colors, whereas to Commando and Ryu they felt like auras; at any rate, each crystal projected a distinct energy towards the center. Experimentally, Ryu reached out and grasped a strand of what the trapped fighters had to offer him. He felt the clean, gentle energy of Chun-Li's tai chi, the strong, healthy vitality of Yang's kung fu, and the steady, sure aura of Rose's soul. But at the same time, he also became aware of Gen's poisonous Ansatsuken, Bison's malevolent Psycho Power, and Demitri's infernal Maximoff blood. The crystals glimmered as they shed light into the arena within Marin's soul.
"Begin when you are prepared," Marin ordered.
Ryu instinctively reached for the five nearest power threads, but he rejected what Bison had to offer and instead tapped into Rose's connection. As he did so, he felt her energy stream into him; through the angel Rynn he also drew directly on divine power and he combined these two with his own potent energy to form a fireball in his palms. Ryu focused hard and locked his gaze on Marin even as his friends closed around her. "Hadouken!"
Marin stepped to the side, but the Hadouken - normally white, now tinged with violet and crimson - homed in on Marin and struck her in the side. She had no time to check herself, however, for already her opponents closed in from four sides. Hiryu arrived first, launching a strike at her face more quickly than any human ever could. Marin parried the blow, counterattacked with a crouching strike, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Hiryu reacted almost instantly. He dropped down to the crystalline ground and, channeling energy from the imprisoned fighters, threw a massive blade of energy off the Cypher sword.
The stream struck Marin on her lower leg and reflected off back at Hiryu; while it caused him no real damage, he did lose his balance for a moment. Marin simultaneously blocked a strike from Commando and a high kick from Samantha; as she wheeled around to deliver her own kick, Commando rolled out of the way and Sagat launched a volley of Tiger Cannons through the area he had just cleared. Smiling, Marin lifted her left arm and deflected them off harmlessly, angling the last one to the side where it blasted Ruby Heart out of spellcasting stance. Marin then ducked a chest-level slash from Hiryu and her fist burst into fire as she crouched for a deadly reprisal. All silently she seemed to glide forward; Marin struck Hiryu in the stomach, hard, as she spun viciously and repeated the attack.
"Ken's Shoryureppa," Ryu breathed. Only Marin executed the technique more beautifully than he had ever seen Ken do it, gracefully righting herself in midair as Hiryu's scorched body tumbled away. Samantha launched a Minerva Kick at the airborne Marin, but the goddess neatly parried it on the way down, landed, and rolled out of the way as Sagat dropped down with a powerful knee strike. Before the Emperor of Muay Thai could recover, Marin rushed him and broke out into a storm of close-range attacks that ended with a powerful Somersault-style kick. Ryu's eyes narrowed as he ran over to support Sagat. And that was the Mayhem Rampage. How does she know all of our techniques?
She never stood still; Marin moved constantly with the fluidity and natural grace of a stream of water. She slipped under a powerful punch from Jin; Samantha managed to land a long-range kick on Marin, but the attack lacked any real power and the goddess easily absorbed it. A moment later, Marin caught Jin around the shoulders with one arm and floored him, driving a fist down into his stomach, hard. Kirina swung INRI at Marin from behind, but the goddess simply jumped up and easily vaulted over the attack to land directly behind her assailant. Kirina spun around and channeled a few nearby sources of energy, but Marin struck her with a side-handed blow to the stomach and it combusted within her. Kirina tumbled backwards to land at Ryu's feet; the motion forced Ryu to abort a powerful Hadouken and he pulled his daughter up.
"She's too powerful," Kirina rasped. "We can't take her."
"Maybe if we work together," Ryu suggested, though he too held on to little hope. Part of his mind simply could not believe that anyone, even a goddess, could be that powerful. As Ryu circled to position himself behind Marin, she caught Jin with a move reminiscent of Bison's Scissor Leg throw and tossed him into the air before nailing him with a modified version of Guy's Skyward Barrage. Even more disconcerting, she was not even breathing hard when he landed. Jin's broken body slumped at her feet, all the fight knocked out of him in that brutal attack.
Ryu cupped his palms together as he drew on the energy around him, feeling for whatever his friends offered. Beside him, Kirina did likewise and Captain Commando projected an enormous beam of energy above his head, ready to bring it smashing downwards. Marin knelt, completely ignoring the impending storm, and Samantha McGrath hastily ducked away. When Samantha cleared a space, Ryu and Kirina simultaneously unleashed their attacks - "Shinkuu Hadouken! Ready, set, destroy!" and Commando brought the Captain Sword downwards with punishing force. Marin laid a hand over Jin's heart and a golden glow began to seep out of his armor, illuminating his features sharply. Ryu sucked in his breath; he'd projected his attack to hit only Marin, but if the afterblast of it hit Jin ...
Marin forestalled him, enveloping Jin with the same crystalline armor that bound Ryu's friends. Ryu and Kirina's souped-up Hadoukens both reflected harmlessly off its polished surface and the Captain Sword, when it came down, did not so much as scratch the crystal. Marin ignored the energies that peppered her, instead thrusting Jin's cage safely out of the range of the attack before shattering it entirely. Jin jumped up as the golden glow around him faded, as did Hiryu when a similar aura melted away. Still smiling in a gentle way, Marin beckoned for them to continue.
Ryu focused, again channeling the energy necessary to fire off a Hadouken, only this time he prepared his Denjin version. The tactic had worked against Dadallent, and while Marin was certainly more powerful than the Chaos Prince - she had, after all, walked right through a triplet of the warriors' strongest attacks - Ryu still wanted to try something different. But he abruptly stopped in horror as he realized what energies Kirina had begun to channel. "No, Kirina! You mustn't use their energies!"
But the warning came too late and Kirina fired off a storm of violet-tainted Hadou blasts at Marin, each one laced with Bison's unholy Psycho Power and Demitri's infernal vampiric aura. Shocked, Ryu could only stare in horror at his daughter's eyes. They were so wild, so feral ... he himself had once, just once, looked like that when ... Ryu glanced right to see Sagat swoop behind Kirina and lock her into a hold. Kirina thrashed wildly in the Muay Thai Emperor's iron grip; further ahead, Marin continued to evade attacks from the other five fighters.
Breathing heavily, Kirina shook her head clear and whispered in a frightened voice, "Daddy ... what was that?"
"Listen, Kirina," Ryu answered, staring hard into his daughter's eyes, "you must never, ever be so desperate for victory that you will do anything just to win. No matter what the cause, no matter what victory means. Even if the alternative is death. Promise me!"
"I ... I don't know ..." she whispered. Her voice sounded small and confused.
"Stop!" Marin cried. To emphasize her words, her body seemed to explode with energy and the five fighters who had clustered around her flew backwards like so many rag dolls scattered by a whirlwind. Samantha skidded to a halt on the smooth crystal near Sagat; she picked herself up, but anyone could have seen that she looked weary, fatigued, and terribly beaten. Slowly and with much dignity, Marin stepped over the crystal plane to where Ryu and Kirina watched her with wary eyes. "Your father understands, Kirina," Marin said softly. "Listen to him and heed his words! What benefit is victory should you lose your soul to gain it?"
"Goddess ..." Kirina muttered.
Marin opened her arms and indicated her exposed heart. "Show me all your power."
"Hmph. Here goes." Captain Commando adjusted his combat gloves as they began to crackle with electricity; Ryu, Kirina, and Sagat focused on drawing power; Ruby Heart recited a spell; and the other three each allowed their own power to be drawn by the attackers. Kirina, Ryu, and Sagat arranged themselves into firing position for the Fatal Obliterator; when the attack came, it was a single, concentrated blast that could have punched right through a mountain without slowing. The sun-bright sphere of energy rushed off towards Marin, crackling with energy. And as before, the goddess simply lifted her arm and easily caught the sphere on her palm, calmly absorbing its energies into herself.
Marin shook her head, regret clear in her voice. "Are you not capable of more?" No answer came; Ryu and his fellow warriors were simply too exhausted to answer, Samantha had dropped to her knees, and even Hiryu and Jin looked terribly fatigued. Kirina's breath came in shallow gasps. Marin half-closed her eyes and concentrated; a golden aura enveloped each warrior and bathed him or her in a warm, gentle light. To Samantha and Ruby Heart, it was like soaking in a hot bath after a hard day's campaigning; to Commando and Jin, the light felt soothing and fresh, almost like a caress. Vitality flooded into each warrior as wounds healed and even spiritual scars mended. Marin nodded her approval. "I wish to see all that you can accomplish. Therefore ... I shall release some of my power for your use. Brace yourselves," she warned.
Having just seen exactly what Marin was capable of doing, Ryu was in no mood to ignore the warning. Still, when Marin began to glow, he was nearly overwhelmed by the sudden influx of power that seemed to emerge around him like a powerful, all-engulfing river. Ryu thought he would drown and his spirit thrashed wildly, but Rynn caught onto him and held him securely. When the initial shock of the change in circumstance had passed, Ryu took a deep breath and steadied himself. He could also feel the support and serenity that Rynn emanated, calming him somewhat. Nearby, the other warriors staggered similarly before regaining their bearings. Ryu reached out for a touch of Marin's power and was nearly overwhelmed again when he touched it. Compared to Marin's ability, even the combined essence of the warriors imprisoned in her soul might as well be a firefly trying to compete with the sun. This ... this is nothing short of incredible. Limitless power ... power to flatten mountains, to boil oceans, to tear the Earth itself apart on one's whim ... Marin and Regina can wield it?
"Show me what you can accomplish with the power of a goddess," Marin invited. "Fear neither for me nor yourselves for no harm shall befall us."
Kirina launched an experimental Hadouken off a hand; it was only a small fireball, but the instant it came out she and everyone else realized that the innocuous-looking flare held all the power of the Fatal Obliterator that they had just exhausted themselves using. An ordinary fireball, Kirina mused. And it's already far more powerful than anything I could generate on my own, even with dad and Uncle Sagat to support me. This is fun! Grinning like a cat that had just swallowed a mouse, Kirina pulled her arms back for a proper firing stance. "Ready ... set ... destroy!" She thrust her arms forward and a hailstorm of fireballs ripped out of her palms, each one containing the power of a small nuclear weapon. They exploded upon contact with Marin.
Only that, when the smoke cleared, Marin hadn't moved an inch. Kirina grimaced and mouthed to Ryu, "Figures that she'd still be invincible. I wonder how much it takes to bring her down?" From the side, Sagat ripped out a volley of Tiger Cannons and Marin neatly dodged them, retaliating a moment later with a greatly enhanced Sonic Hurricane. The bitter energy blades sheared into Sagat and he collapsed, but what would normally have been fatal seemed to simply stun him. With that, the action exploded again.
Ryu, Strider, and the others circled in slowly for close range attacks, all the while striking at Marin with the occasional fireball. Yet for all the power that the warriors could now place behind their attacks, still Marin casually batted them away or simply took the attack with nothing to show for it. Ryu, Jin, and Samantha finally arrived at a position where hand-to-hand combat became possible, but again Marin held all three of them at bay. They traded a hundred blows, then Marin sidestepped out of Ryu and Samantha's immediate range to send Jin flying with a powerful Cannon Spike. The blow caught Jin squarely in the jaw and his body traced a graceful arc through the air before it landed heavily upon the crystal.
Marin returned her attention to the fight at hand, but as she did so Ruby Heart extended a hand and focused healing energy into Jin. The signature gold aura enveloped him and he rose to his feet, ready to resume the battle. Marin saw this as she ducked a high kick from Samantha and she smiled. Ryu and Sagat, both of them connected to Marin as a source of power, felt a faint trace of approval emanate from her and through the spiritual lines that connected them. Sagat jumped into the fight with a powerful Tiger Crush as Ryu, Samantha, and Strider each contributed an attack; somehow, Marin managed to counter all four attacks at once and her opponents could only admire her defense. The pace of the fight sped up, and still Marin kept all her opponents at bay with inhuman skill.
Presently Marin knocked Ryu out of the fight, then Samantha, then Sagat, but each time another fighter would enter from the sides as the other warriors healed their injured comrade. And each time this happened, Marin would smile and nod in approval. Gradually Ryu and Sagat, then Kirina, dropped out; as Marin dropped to the ground and spun with a vicious hook kick that nearly caught Hiryu, the ninja Strider suddenly warped away and reappeared some fifty feet distant. In a split second, a phantom ship emerged out of thin air and rammed into Marin from behind, its ghostly prow mounted with a wickedly sharpened blade. Marin grimaced as she reached down and snapped the blade that had impaled her cleanly through her stomach; but even as she disengaged herself, another cry of "Obliterate!" sounded in the starry sky and the massive blast that marked the Fatal Obliterator streaked at Marin.
She crossed both arms in front of her face and caught the blast, but a few seconds passed before the attack subsided. Marin shook her head clear before she looked at the World Warriors again. She fired back a fireball angled downwards and the World Warriors scattered, but not quite swiftly enough to avoid the massive explosive radius of the ensuing blast. Still, they were no more than fazed by the attack and Marin's smile grew slightly as they ran back to challenge her again. When Marin ducked to avoid a powerful slash from Hiryu's Falchion, Ryu seized his chance and also crouched, but with his fist pulled back. "Shin -!"
Ryu's arm shot upwards with the speed of a bullet, crashing heavily into Marin's stomach even as his other arm also rose. This attack landed squarely in her jaw and Ryu felt the bones underneath her skin tremble; had it been a human opponent, the Shin Shoryuken surely would have shattered the bones altogether. As it was, Ryu twisted around to add extra power to his third and final attack. This he also aimed at Marin's jaw and he unleashed it with as much raw power as he could hold. "Shoryuken -!"
"Spiritus Furtum Celesti ..." Marin whispered. Somehow she managed to recover halfway through the attack, right as Ryu's fist blazed upwards for the final strike. She caught his wrist and turned the attack to the side where it deflected away harmlessly as a pair of brilliant blue wings - like the finest sapphires - materialized out of her back. Before Ryu could understand what had happened, Marin stepped in closer and pressed herself against him. Right before the incredulous eyes of the other warriors, she seemed to melt into his body, her own dissolving into Ryu's like a liquid. Commando reached out and tried to seize Marin; as his fingers brushed against her skin, just before she vanished entirely, a powerful force seemed to erupt from underneath and repel him. The transformation completed and Marin disappeared entirely.
"What's going on here?" Commando demanded.
"I have taken his body for my own," Ryu replied, but his aura had changed significantly and nearly everyone instantly realized that it was Marin who spoke through Ryu's voice. "Will you do battle with me now? Defend yourselves!" Marin dashed forward; Sagat blocked the first strike but the second one landed on his stomach and knocked him backwards, skidding out of control on the silk-smooth pane of crystal that stretched as far as the eye could see. Marin spun around and launched herself into a powerful Whirlwind Kick that Samantha ducked underneath. Had it been Ryu who used the attack, Samantha might have escaped, but Marin somehow checked her momentum midway through the attack and instead came down with a much more powerful rendition of Darrell's Shakunetsu Ittou. The flaming sword seared right through Samantha and the Phantom captain screamed horribly.
"This is bad," Commando muttered. Marin turned to face him and vaulted up in a graceful jump, but Commando stuffed a potential overhead attack by ramming his fist into the ground. A massive pillar of electricity blasted upwards and Marin ramped off it before landing lightly on the ground, rolling to the side as Ruby Heart tossed an anchor at her.
"No, you mustn't," Kirina cried. Then, screaming at Marin, "Why?!"
Tight-lipped, Commando replied tersely with "I don't want to do this, Kirina, but if it can't be helped ... damn you, Marin! Don't force me to destroy Ryu to get to you! Take me instead! Take me!"
"Captain!" Samantha exclaimed.
"I'm gonna punch you to hell on kidnapping charges!" Jin roared at Marin.
Silently Marin stepped up to Commando, looking him over up and down as though she were truly seeing him for the first time. As the others waited in hushed anticipation, Commando stiffened but held still. Marin finally stepped forward one step and said, "Then you would sacrifice yourself for the sake of redeeming a friend ... a noble gesture, captain. Very well, I accept your offer." She held out a hand, palm up, and Commando took it without hesitation. Once more the beautiful blue wings appeared and Marin materialized again, stepping out of Ryu's body as she merged with Commando. Ryu staggered and landed heavily on the ground, gasping for breath. Commando also staggered; as the transformation neared completion, he suddenly fixed his gaze on the other warriors and in a strained but clear voice ordered, "Kill me! Now!"
"Son of a -" Sagat swore. "I can't do that!"
Commando reached up to tear out his own throat, but as his arm moved Marin completed the migration and the motion became stiff and jerky before it died off altogether. Marin turned to face the other warriors. "His will is strong," she said softly. "What will you do to free him? Will you destroy him to strike at me?"
"Why are you making us do this?" Ruby Heart asked warily.
"I wish to see your resolve," Marin answered. Apparently she decided against speaking any further; instead, she raised her fist and struck the ground, hard. A massive shockwave exploded out of her gloves and blasted outwards in every direction, blowing through each of the warriors with devastating force. Hiryu collapsed as the hot energies seemed to tear through his body, perhaps even his spirit, like a desert wind scything through summer grass. None of the others fared any better. Each warrior attempted a hasty self-healing, but it was a decidedly sorry and ragged-looking band that warily reassembled itself in a circle around Marin.
"Looks like we have no choice," Sagat rasped. "Kill or be killed."
"There has to be another way," Ruby insisted.
"I can't see it," Ryu answered wearily. "Sagat, Kirina ... let's do the Obliterator one last time." Slowly Ryu set himself into the firing stance, placing his arms to the sides of his daughter's. Sagat stepped in and completed the arrangement. A moment later, Ruby Heart, Hiryu, and Jin also gathered around and placed their hands on the shoulders of the World Warriors. Each one lent his or her strength to the attack and once more the brilliant sphere that marked the Fatal Obliterator began to form. In it the warriors drew freely from Marin's own power and it pulsed brightly, a deadly attack that could easily wipe a continent off the Earth map. "Samantha?"
"I will have nothing to do this," Samantha answered firmly. "I will not be party to an attack upon the captain."
"Upon Commando? We're striking at Marin here, even if we have to get past Commando to do it," Ryu replied. "Samantha, if we don't do this, Marin will destroy all of us. She has the power to do it and she's already captured our friends. You have to help!"
"It would be sin to kill an innocent that we might strike at the goddess," Samantha replied.
"Then I suppose we'll have to do this without you. Don't get me wrong, I hope that we won't kill Commando. But, if we must, then ..." Ryu shook his head and gritted his teeth. "Why did it have to come to this? Brace ... let's do it." The sphere brightened to the intensity of a localized star. "Obliterate!"
The brilliant sphere of the Fatal Obliterator blazed off from its launch point - and Marin seemed to step out of Commando, her body forming rapidly as she struggled to free herself. She pulled loose and Commando sank wearily to his knees, far too drained to fight effectively. Marin pulled her hands up in front of herself right as the Obliterator struck, struggling with it for a moment before she overcame its power and knocked it away. When Ryu began to charge himself up for another attack, Marin cried "Stop!" and instantly the power that she had unsealed vanished. Ryu's energies died down as the all-pervading power seemed to evaporate.
"Wha ...?" Ryu asked, puzzled.
"I have seen enough," Marin replied. She knelt down and offered Commando her hand; when he took it, the healing glow enveloped him and Marin pulled him to his feet. Then she stepped towards the center of the crystal arena where the other warriors had gathered for their last attack. As she did so, her fighting spirit faded somewhat and the healing aura surrounded each fighter. Marin continued, "Some would sacrifice their friends to rid the world of a danger such as I; others would not. This test has concluded and I have once more sealed my powers away. Ryu, did you truly believe that I would actually have you destroy Commando?" Her eyes seemed to bore into his soul, but they were not without a touch of pity and compassion. She folded her arms together.
"Forgive me, captain," Ryu said slowly. "I was prepared ... in case Marin wanted to take it all the way ... I was prepared to sacrifice you."
"Nothing could make me happier," Commando answered gravely.
"It is not my intention to destroy anyone present. I hosted this tournament because I wish for your assistance in a task I have taken upon myself." When expressions and murmurings of surprise came from all directions, Marin explained, "This tournament was a test to gauge your will. I provided you with power, but you alone must have the will to use it. Such is a gift that the Almighty alone may grant. Here is what I propose: I wish to change this world. Mortal lives are transient, bitter, filled with strife. I can change this; I can bring Heaven to Earth. Together we can end suffering! Is this not a noble cause? Will you ... will you assist me in building a paradise upon this earth?" As Marin spoke, every soul present felt the fiery passion in her words and understood that this was truly a vision in which she believed with all her heart. She might have said more, but suddenly they all felt a powerful aura converge on the crystal arena. Samantha tensed, as did her companions. A shape gradually formed out of the air and the warriors sank into fighting stances; when it had fully materialized, however, they all relaxed.
"Welcome, dear sister," Marin called.
"Marin!" Regina fairly flew across the crystalline ground and embraced her sister tightly. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you again! I just woke up and I came as fast as I could to the dome, but ... Marin, what are you doing here?"
"I hosted this tournament to discover helpers," Marin replied. "I wish to establish Heaven upon Earth. To end suffering, to create a paradise here, and to this end I have brought these eight here, as a final test of their will. They show most admirable qualities, do they not?"
"So that's why ... it makes sense now," Regina mused. "But why did you have to kidnap everyone without a word?"
"I wished to see how they would fight for their friends," Marin explained. "They also formed part of my test - you know well, Regina, that the source of power from which a person draws energy speaks much about him. I am well pleased with what I have seen today. Regina, do you not agree with me that this world is prepared for a transition to paradise? What say you, mortals?"
At first, no one said a word. Perhaps they were all too surprised to respond; certainly it took a few seconds to process the thought of what exactly Marin had just offered to them. Ryu finally answered after a long and expectant silence. "End suffering ... world peace ... paradise, utopia ... I have to admit, it's very tempting. At the same time, I say no. If you want help, Marin, ask elsewhere; I for one have no intention of doing this."
"Why not?" Marin asked, and she seemed to be genuinely taken aback.
"Look." Ryu stepped forward and held out his arm; Marin bent over slightly to look down on it. "See these scars? This one," he pointed to a long gash on his upper arm, "happened during training, when Master Gouken hit me with a Shoryuken. This one," and he indicated a smaller scar on the inside of his arm, "I earned in my first tournament, when Sagat kicked me. And this," Ryu pulled open his uniform slightly, "occurred many years ago. The mark has faded somewhat, but I still remember very clearly. It happened when Bison defeated me and imbued me with his Psycho Power." Ryu adjusted his headband as he pulled his uniform back together again and Marin looked up at his eyes. "My point is this: without suffering, we could not grow as humans. Surely a goddess who has spent so much time with humans understands?"
"He's right, you know," Ruby chipped in. "If we had everything provided for us, don't you realize that humans would simply become indulgent, self-serving, and lazy? We'd take paradise for granted. It's not something that we had to earn. Don't you agree?"
"You may be correct," Marin answered. "Yet look beyond yourselves. Does it not trouble you when you suffer? Does it not trouble you when you see others in tears?"
Samantha reached out and placed an arm on Marin's shoulder. "You are blessed with a compassionate heart, goddess. Yet it would doubtlessly be for the best to leave us as we are."
"Will no one here assist me?" Marin asked gently. She sighed when all present shook their heads and her lips curled into a wry smile. "So be it, I shall not transgress upon your freedom to choose. My task shall no doubt be made more difficult without your assistance, yet I shall carry this burden - alone, if needs be. Those whom I have taken shall be freed." Marin made no movement, but all around them the crystal cages shattered with the sound of breaking glass as the crystal shards melted away into nothingness. The other contestants, freed at last, quickly converged in the center. "Go in peace with my blessing. Regina, will you assist me?"
The younger goddess slowly shook her head. "I can't do that, dear sister. You have a kind heart, but you can only show them the path, you can't actually walk it for them. Isn't that what you would say to me? Doing this would be a disservice to them. Marin, if you really want to go ahead with your plans, I can't stop you. But ... I will certainly try my best."
"Then you would oppose me for the sake of your friends?" Marin asked softly.
"Aren't you the one who taught me to cherish life? Don't you realize that what you want to do would strip life of all meaning? May the Almighty forgive me, but I can't let you do this! You remember the time we disguised ourselves as servingwomen in Dacia? Remember when we piloted fighter ships together in the Virago and Tivoli star systems? Remember when we taught magic at Saint Alba's praxeum? Remember the great wars that we fought in, across entire galaxies? Remember your mortal son on Dacia? Would you deny these humans the chance to experience a life no less colorful?"
"Do you believe that I have aught else save their best interests in mind?" Marin countered.
"No, I don't," Regina answered. "But what is best for them and what we believe is best are totally different. Can't I talk you out of this?"
"We have spoken of this matter upon countless occasions," Marin noted. "Perhaps you will understand, dear sister, when I have completed my task."
"I don't intend to let that happen," Regina replied. "Please, reconsider! Marin, if you try, then upon my honor as a goddess I swear that I will stand in your way until you give up this madness! So don't make me do it! Please!"
"I shall never abandon my ideals, sister," Marin said quietly. "Seal me away."
"What?"
"Seal my soul away," Marin repeated. "I cannot bear the thought that you and I must need struggle. As I did to Eldrin so long ago, seal my soul away, sister."
"Don't make me do this, Marin!" Regina cried.
"You always did possess a soft heart," Marin replied fondly as she brushed tears off Regina's glistening face. Marin embraced Regina again. "It is your best quality, sister - you care deeply for humans and allow your love to dictate your actions. In many ways, I am envious of your passion. Hold this in your care, Regina." Marin unwound a small pendant from her neck and pressed it into Regina's hands. "Now," Marin continued as her voice hardened somewhat, "seal my soul, Regina, ere I repent of this rash course of thought." She pulled herself away from her sister and waited.
Still sniffling, Regina nodded slowly and extended both hands towards Marin. A soft green glow formed off of them as a crystalline structure, much like the ones that had held the tournament contestants, began to gather around Marin's feet. Only this one looked far more complicated and shone brightly with many colors reflecting off its surfaces. It slowly climbed up Marin's body as Regina concentrated on her task. Right as it crept up to the older goddess' face, Marin looked at Regina one last time and a silent glance of understanding passed between them. Then Marin smiled again and closed her eyes, quite content, as Regina finished locking away her sister in the crystal. Regina wiped away the tears that streamed down her face as she bound Marin's pendant around her own neck.
"Shall we be off?" Commando asked.
"The dead go to the afterlife, the living stay in this world," Regina answered. She glanced backwards at the crystal pillar where Marin slept. "Now's the time to say goodbye - temporarily, at least. I'm sure we'll all meet again in another place, at another time. Let's celebrate when we do."