Epilogue: Life Goes On

Author's Notes: Sorry that the final chapter sounds like such a rush job. The website has been updated yet again, this time with the tier list used for this fiction. (Waits for a storm of e-mails complaining that "my character should be above Akuma in the tiers!") On a more positive note, the Bloopers chapter has also been uploaded. Enjoy yourselves, you rascals and your sky-high expectations.

Osaka, Japan
Four hours have passed

"What a mess," Captain Commando grumbled to himself as he idly picked through Ernest McGrath's notes in the lobby of the hotel. Part of his mind wondered how he could ever possibly explain this incident to his superiors in the Federation. Practically the entire world had witnessed the first part of the battle against Marin, and that posed another dilemma: how do you explain to the world at large that you had to fight a goddess? No doubt Samantha McGrath also faced the same problem; while the IDC held a reputation for being quite open-minded, Commando still did not envy Samantha the task of composing a formal report.

A shadow fell over Commando. "What's wrong, captain?" Ryu asked.

"Just wondering how to explain this tournament. I suppose I could start by being totally honest." Commando indicated McGrath's papers with a nod. "These will help, hopefully, if I add them to the report. I've already checked the bulletins at the Federation network, and I'm being reassigned to another mission in a distant star system. The life of the Galactic Police is always hectic." Commando sighed heavily. "I'm heading off to pack up. Ryu, if you see Ruby or Hiryu, please tell them that it was fun and that I enjoyed having them on the Neo Commando Squad."

"Will do," Ryu answered as Commando strode away. "Oh, and Commando! Did you ever learn anything about McGrath's supposed last letter?" Even after the battle with Marin, McGrath's spirit had not emerged and he was the sole tournament contestant who remained missing. Regina had searched all through Marin's soul but in vain, for the doctor was simply gone. His wife had been crushed by the news and the Phantoms stunned; Regina herself wept for the lost warrior. With the others - Rose, Bison, Guy, Charlie, and others whom Marin resurrected - there had at least been a chance to say one last goodbye before Regina brought them out of the world that Marin constructed.

"Ask him," Commando answered before he vanished from the room. Ryu spun around and nearly ran into Dadallent, but the other man launched an arm with lightning speed and caught him. Dadallent steadied Ryu for a moment. Then he pointed to Samantha and Ryu, indicating that they should follow him. All three wordlessly left the hotel lobby and halted in one of the empty rooms.

"His letter. I have it." Dadallent turned his unseeing gaze on Ryu and Samantha McGrath. "Ernest left his message with me before ... before he went to fight. It was to be delivered at the proper time. This is not that time ... but you will not listen to me, of course. Still, if I give this to you before its time, what will you do for me?" When Samantha hesitated, Dadallent leaned forward and whispered a few sentences into her ear. When he had finished, Samantha remained silent for a considerable length of time before she asked Ryu to leave them. The world warrior stood up and walked out without a word.

"You ask much of me," Samantha stated. "Yet I accept your proposal."

"It is a trivial matter compared to what you have asked for." So saying, the shrouded warrior reached into his uniform and produced a crisp envelope, which he wordlessly handed to Samantha. Although he had not been present for their battle against Marin, Dadallent had greeted them when Regina returned them to the tangible world. Earlier Commando had asked him about it, but Dadallent simply met the query with a threatening silence and the captain had dared not press the matter any further.

Samantha neatly opened the seal. Then she unfolded the single piece of notebook paper left inside and slowly began to read, Dadallent politely turning away and pretending to study some object which he really had no interest in. The script was in McGrath's neat, precise hand, written carefully on blue ink. It ran on both sides of the sheet. Tears began to appear anew in Samantha's eyes as she read the letter very slowly. Was it her imagination, or could she actually hear her husband's voice through the graceful lines on the paper?

My dearest Samantha, if you are reading this letter, then I am no longer amongst the living. These words do not come easily to me; never in my whole life have I written anything more difficult. I am sorry to have left you without a word and I wonder when I will see you again? I give my life freely, but my regret is that those who would have been our children have given their immortal souls.

I wonder when you will read this? Perhaps you will be an aged lady, looking back upon a lifetime of accomplishments. Perhaps the tournament has just finished, and you have overcome the greatest enemy our world has ever faced. Perhaps you have already married again, and are reading this letter with your husband and children. Perhaps you have also followed where I have gone. Come what may, know that I love you and will never love you any less than I do now. I wish I could see you.

There is something you should know, Samantha. The investigation has brought me close to the source of the mystery. As a soldier, I should simply follow orders and continue as I was. But I am a man and would not be one if I left my friends to perish simply for the sake of obeying orders. So I leave my last thoughts to you. I will fight for friendship demands no less of me. I will free my friends, or else die trying.

Samantha - and Blake and Lloyd, too - I see a hope for the future in you. You are strong and fearless, capable of the exacting leadership that will be demanded of you in the years to come. And you are not alone. Perhaps your guardian is reading this letter with you? If so, hello Kain! For my sake, please watch Samantha carefully for me. She will need your aid in the years to come when her latent power has fully awakened.

We haven't known each other for a long time, but I love you nonetheless, Samantha. Now that I must leave you, the pain is more than I can bear and I am afraid, so very much afraid of this separation. It's difficult to find words that can describe how I feel. I pray that I will have the strength to endure to the end. I can no longer walk with you, but God is with you still. Have faith in Him and He will be your shield. I'm leaving this letter with a good friend of mine; he will give it to you when the time is right.

Until we meet again, au revoir.

Samantha wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Ernest ... why did you leave and never say how you truly felt? Why did you go? ... Where is the justice in this world?!" she shrieked, and she collapsed to the floor. After an awkward minute or so during which Dadallent stared down pitilessly at her, she abruptly pulled herself together and said, "I apologize, Dadallent. For me, the grief is still fresh. And Ernest has given me more questions than answers. Why did you go, Ernest ...? Knowing this would happen ... could I do the same? Yet an agreement must be honored." Still sniffling, Samantha stood up and laid a hand on Dadallent's heart.

After that day, the Chaos Prince was never again seen, while legends began to spring up of an IDC soldier, a woman, with godlike fighting abilities.

Alex found Haggar and Zangief arm-wrestling outside the hotel lobby. "I should've figured you two would be at it again. Mr. Haggar, Mr. Zangief, now that this tournament has finished, what are you two planning to do?"

Haggar apparently decided to concede the match to his Russian counterpart. "A vacation sounds like a good idea to me, Alex. I'm heading back to Metro City - don't tell Cody that I said this, but I'm getting too old for this sort of competition. You, 'Gief?"

"I continue to wrestle for the glory of Mother Russia!" Zangief proclaimed loudly. "It would be honor to have American comrade join me in Siberia!" Zangief clapped a hand on Alex's back and neatly crippled his American "comrade." The blow staggered him, but Alex accepted it as a friendly tap and nodded gravely.

"Leaving so soon, Ryu?" Ken Masters asked.

"The fight never ends, Ken," Ryu replied. "My daughter and I are returning to Red Sparrow castle for the time being. I'm glad that you participated in this tournament, even if we never got to fight. And ... my thanks to you, Sagat. It was fun."

"Agreed," Sagat answered graciously.

"We have to do this more often," Kirina added.

"Shouldn't you give that back to Regina?" Ryu asked, nodding at INRI, which was still strapped across Kirina's back.

"She said that I could keep it as long as I needed it," Kirina responded. "Regina's been horribly busy, so I haven't had the chance to say goodbye to her."

"Long farewells were never necessary. Ryu, I'll be in Thailand if you ever decide to come for the rematch," Sagat called as Ryu and Kirina both hailed a taxicab.

"And I'll be in Beverly Hills with Sean. World Collision: The Movie is going to be a blockbuster seller, you can count on that!" Ken waved merrily as Ryu and Kirina bundled into the cab. "And don't worry about Kenneth, either! I'm still looking after the little rascal. Take care, Ryu and 'Rina!"

"Farewell!" Ryu called as the cab sped off.

"What's troubling you, Maki?" Mitsukake asked, plopping down next to the blonde-haired girl.

Maki sighed. "Now that Guy's gone for good ... I'm the new grandmaster of the Bushin style. And yet there's still so much left for me to learn. I'm wondering if I'm really ready for the responsibility; it sure feels like an awfully heavy burden. And now that Cody's being deported to stand trial in the United States ... yeah, life does throw you a bunch of curveballs, doesn't it?" Maki glanced at Mitsu. "What about you? I mean, what are you planning to do now that the tournament's over?"

"Me?" Mitsukake pursed his lips. "I think I'm heading back to my art studio. Combat isn't something for me. At the same time, I've learned a lot from the tournament. I don't think I've ever realized just how big the world is." He fell silent, but his eyes focused on Blake Wallis, Yun Lee, and Scott Wagner in the distance as they sneaked behind Jin Saotome with a pail of ice. The three youths upended the pail over Jin's head and fled; after his initial surprise wore off, Jin pounded after them like a tank through the outdoor gym. The three rascals split up and Jin tore off in Scott's direction, whereupon Blake collapsed to the ground laughing until his sides ached. Maki and Mitsu both chuckled. "They have the right idea, you know," Mitsukake remarked. "Sometimes you just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy life no matter what's going on."

"I've learned a lot from this experience, what about you?" Kikoken asked Edgar as together they packed bags into the back of a taxicab.

"I think I've learned a bit, too." Edgar stared upwards at the sky without really seeing it. "How do I express it in words ...? I've started to think: maybe justice isn't the only right in this world. I believe in law, sure, but there's such a thing as taking it too far. Having fighting skill is important, but even more important is having a proper cause. Something good to believe in, I mean. Pity I didn't realize it until now." His eyes narrowed as he spied Vega entering a limousine further ahead. "Though I wouldn't mind bringing a few lowlifes such as Mr. Vega over there to justice. You, Kiko?"

Kikoken shrugged. "Regina said that she was recalling my power and Chan's. Not that I really mind considering how little I use it. You know, I think I'll train with you for a while. Ninjutsu sounds like it would be a lot of fun."

"You and your ideas of fun," Edgar sighed.

"You haven't changed a bit, Guile," Chun-Li giggled.

"You've changed quite a lot, Chun!" Guile responded. "How are your teammates holding up?"

"They're fine," Chun-Li answered. "Mason's already over the Pacific by now. He's going to have a lot of explaining to do to his superiors in the FBI. Jill ... well, Jill is Jill. Still determined to bring Umbrella Corporation down, and I heard that she's going to affiliate herself with the IDC. Sorry about Charlie," she added softly.

"Eh, don't be. 'Course, I wish he could've stayed, but I got over his death a long time ago. And it's kinda satisfying to know that Bison isn't with us either." Bison had begged Regina not to send him back and the goddess herself had been torn, but in the end she had been forced to return him to the terror of hell. Though Chun-Li herself had never been too religious, seeing Bison screaming for his life and the tears streaming down Regina's face had been almost enough to convert her on the spot. That wasn't to say that the former Lord of Shadowlaw didn't deserve it - everyone knew he did - yet at the same time she couldn't help feeling just a trace of remorse for him. "How's Scott?"

In response, Guile pointed in a direction behind Chun-Li and she turned to look. Scott Wagner nearly collided into her just then, veering off only at the last moment. The airman ducked behind Guile. "Help! Jin's trying to kill me!"

"Oh, you're gonna get it now, little boy!" Jin roared as he stalked towards Wagner.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to my daughter," Juli mused to herself. "But as long as she's fine, then I'm happy. Cammy, Juni, it's high time we left too."

"Yeah, my boss didn't exactly approve of all the time I took off for this tournament," Juni stated.

"You have it easy," Cammy retorted. "I have to file a report for Delta Red. At least I won't be alone - Sir Lloyd is transferring over to Delta Red as a firearms instructor. He said that this was his last mission before he retired from the strike force. Come on, we have a flight to catch."

"Hey, before we do that," Juli interrupted, "does anyone want to put a hit on Vega?"

Juni frowned. Cammy pondered the thought for a moment before she shook her head. "You know, it's a tempting idea, Juli. Can't have our skills deteriorate, after all. But I still owe him for that time he pulled me out of Sir Bison's Thailand base. If you want to do it, go ahead. I need to get back to England."

"Oy, what's all this talk about?" Balrog interrupted. "Hey, ladies."

"Mr. Balrog," Cammy greeted icily. "Sorry to take leave of you so quickly, but we really must be going if we are to catch our flight."

They bundled into the taxicab and left Balrog scratching his head in confusion. "Dang it, why do I never get the pretty girls? Or paid, for that matter? Bison still owes me lots of back money."

"It's high time we left, too. Don't want to be around when the reporters start talking," Yang Lee noted. "Brother, where are you?"

"Coming, coming!" Yun cried. "Hurry, run for your lives before Jin gets here! He's on a rampage, a rampage I say!"

Karin Kanzuki crossed her arms testily. "Okay, Yun, spill it. What'd you do this time?"

"It was Blake's idea," Yun offered lamely.

"And you actually listened to him?" Yin demanded. "Sometimes I'm ashamed to admit that I'm related to you at all. Anyways, Karin lent us a family jet to get back to China. Though I vote that we let you swim across the sea instead." Karin and Ibuki nodded in agreement. "Village business still needs to be taken care of. Goodness alone knows how much we'll have to deal with after more than a month's absence."

"Leaving so soon?" Regina asked, walking up to the Triple Dragons. Gill hung slightly behind her like a protective shadow.

"I'd love to stay and chat," Yun answered, putting an arm around Regina's shoulder. Gill glowered at him with an expression that could have melted stone. From the look of it, he wanted to fry Yun to a crisp where the impertinent young man stood. "But business calls and - ouch! Yang, stop kicking me!"

"I see. I'll be sure to visit you sometime in China!" Regina, Karin, and Ibuki waved cheerfully as the dragons piled into a special Kanzuki limousine. "Hello, Sakura. Hello, Darrell."

"There you are!" Darrell exclaimed. "Regina, we've been looking everywhere for you."

"Is something wrong?" Regina asked, noting the expression on his face.

"My baby?" Sakura whispered.

Regina shook her head and closed her eyes. "When my sister took you, she also separated your child's soul from yours. Your child is in Heaven, Sakura."

Stunned, Sakura's eyes widened with shock and disbelief as she threw herself into Darrell's arms. Not for the first time, he didn't know what to say to her. After an uneasy moment during which only Sakura's loud sobs could be heard, Karin stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. Regina bowed her head and said, "I will pray for you, Sakura."

"The terms of the contract clearly stated that the winners would receive the title of 'World's Strongest,' a monetary prize of 300 million U.S. dollars, and divine power!" Ruby Heart shouted at Kyosuke Kagami. "What I want to know is why this pledge hasn't been fulfilled."

"How should I know?" Kyosuke retorted. "Don't shoot the reporter - I didn't organize this, after all, and Jedah has already gone back to Makai. And even if I could somehow handle the first two, what about the third part of the contract? Only Regina has the power to do that and she's already stated that she wouldn't! I'd love to help you, but I can't! I have entrance exams in a few days that I should've been cramming for, but instead I took the time out to do this stupid sideshow."

"Help me out here, Strider," Ruby called.

Hiryu said nothing, only vaulting over a rail fence to land softly outside the hotel grounds. He pressed his fingers to his lips, pulled down his scarf somewhat, and emitted a piercing whistle. On cue, his hang glider appeared and settled down next to him. Hiryu unbuckled his weapons and stowed them in the glider's storage bays. He would have left right then, only that the arrival of Chan Yoruyamatiha, racing breathlessly over the hotel grounds, preempted him. "Hiryu, wait!"

She skidded to a halt, breathing heavily. "You're just ... going to leave ... without even ... saying goodbye?! Take me with you!"

Hiryu put his arms around his girlfriend. "I can't, Chan. I'm returning to the Strider lair to continue training. Let's say farewell here and go our separate ways."

"What? Hiryu, I thought you loved me!" she shouted.

"And I do. This isn't an easy decision." Hiryu hugged Chan close and whispered, "Chan, I dedicate my life to the way of the sword. I no longer have any family or friends. I pray that you will one day understand. I want to be with you, but I cannot while a threat still remains."

"Still remains?" Chan asked, confused. "What do you mean? Regina sealed Marin away, didn't she?"

A distant look shone in Hiryu's eyes as he held onto Chan, gazing into the far horizon where the first stars had begun to shine. "Anything sealed is destined to one day return. When she does, we must be ready for her. It is not enough to seal evil away - the next time, we must destroy it." He looked back down into Chan's eyes where tears glimmered. "Farewell forever, Chan. I hope that you fall in love and forget all about me."

"I guess this is where we part," Donovan Baine noted. "I'm returning to Tibet to meditate. Until we meet again - I never thought I'd say this, but - stay safe, Lord Maximoff, Lady Aensland."

"And you, Donovan," Demitri answered gravely. The vampire and the Darkhunter shook hands, then Donovan walked off without another word. Demitri and Morrigan watched him go. "He was a worthy ally. Perhaps the human world is not as frail as I once believed."

"I've been trying to tell you that for such a dreadfully long time," Morrigan noted. On impulse, she hugged Demitri. "For the head of one of Makai's seven noble houses, sometimes you can be dreadfully dense."

Ever practical-minded, Demitri took Morrigan's hand and led her down a moonlit stretch of a path. "No doubt Lord Voshtal shall be most disappointed to learn that both Lord Dohma and myself are alive. I admit, the human world has been entertaining, but we belong in Makai. My queen, shall we return home?"

"Home," Morrigan mused. "You have to admit, it's a beautiful word."