The Bird of Darkness

by DeNice

With the dawning of another Shadowloo movement, fighters from all over race to get to the bottom of strange events that plauge the world. Little do they know how deep the rabbit hole really goes. CH.15 up: Another night is fully alive...

8. Changes and Decisions

CHAPTER 8: CHANGES AND DESICIONS

Location Unknown: 8:21 A.M.

"Yes... This is good... Very good indeed..."

Monitors surrounded the otherwise empty room, their lights the only illuminations in the room. Outside of the monitors, the only piece of furniture that rested in the room was a desk accompanied with a chair. A woman sat at the said desk, her focus on a specific TV, larger than the other, resting in front and to the right of her desk. Her brown eyes were pleased at the carnage that had just played to her, while the rest of her body sat back and relaxed in the large red chair.

"If only they were dead... This... pleasure in seeing their pain... Very amusing trait of his..."

After a few more moments, a sudden, distant knock ran through the air.

"Leo... Come in..."

On cue, the door to the large room opened and in stepped a young man, wearing a Shadowloo uniform. He had a bit of a strong body build to accompany his black hair. In his hand rested a stack of papers.

"Miss Raven," Leo began, "I have some assorted information that you'd be pleased to hear."

Raven did not reply automatically. During the quiet pause, Leo stayed still. He took to notice that despite the fact that there were over 100 monitors in the room altogether, there was absolutely no sound at all from any of them.

"Leo... Come forth... Have a seat."

The man took heed and noticed the empty chair in front of Raven. The moment he sat down, Raven spoke again.

"Before you start... look at this..."

Leo turned his attention to the destruction that lay throughout Tokyo on the larger TV. The view kept switching from a highway where a truck overturned at a turn, scorched in flames, while fire fighters began to put it out, to the wreckage at a high school.

"This is the fruits of Shadowloo's labor," Raven said proudly. "You can thank our researchers for this display of power right now, Leo. The modifications on Akuma were a complete success. Not only is his stronger, faster, and deadlier, but also retains most of that ruthlessness he had before. He passed this test with flying colors. The beautiful part about all of this is that he has no recollection of being captured at all. He's not aware that just a little bit of my Seishin'ijousha Hadou runs in his veins... I hope those fools realize just what they're messing with..."

"Yes, Miss Raven," Leo acknowledged.

"While I am pleased at the results... I can't help but feel a little disappointed as well. A part of me says that Akuma should have killed those brats right there when he had the chance. They've been a thorn in Shadowloo's paw for over a decade now. Even more so because they destroyed him once... They should die for their insolence... However... their survival... gives me an idea..."

A sinister smile crossed Raven's petite face.

"Now that Akuma has exposed Darrell and Sakura for just how weak they really are... I think that it's suitable that we feed off that, don't you think? Leo... I shall come up with a plan... Ah, this is going to be sweet..."

A pause as Raven made eye contact with her subordinate for the first time.

"Oh... sorry," she suddenly said. "You had something for me?"

Leo blinked, then gripped the files in his hands.

"Bring them forth."

"Yes. Well, here's the story in a nutshell. Overall Shadowloo is now on the move. We have troops in Hong Kong about to go into phase 1 to overthrow the underground lords that are located there. From Shanghai, our new version of the Psycho Drug that we have been experimenting with for years has been slowed down in distribution—"

"And why, may I ask, is that?" Raven hastily interrupted, her voice showing a very small, yet noticeable hint of distaste upon hearing that news.

"Our reports from Shanghai show that our main outlet was taken out by the police force. The attention was grabbed due to one of our operatives being hounded out by the likes of Shui Mei-Ling and Xiao Fen..."

"Did we at least get any info on them this time? Solid info?"

"This time, yes, we did. The girls' analysis has been taken and stored into Shadowloo's database along with the latest data from Sakura Kasugano, Darrell Markis, and Hinata Wakaba."

"Excellent... I already am developing plans for those... three... As for Mei-Ling and Fen, I want Wei Fu on their case ASAP. He should be an excellent match for girls of that skill level... He should give them a good introduction to the world of... 'street fighting'..."

"Will do, Miss."

"Anything else?"

"Yes. Miss Raven, Cammy White is being held in the capture vicinity. Very soon we will begin work to complete the project that was started all so long ago..."

"Very well. The Doll Project should've finished by now but we ran into... difficulties... It'll be a good day for me to find out where Cammy malfunctioned at and to fix it."

"Also, in the revival project, Kairi was released in Siberia, however, he is moving swiftly. Our tracker indicates that he is heading back towards Japan. The same goes for the other individual that you had interest in. He was also released in a different location from where Akuma unexpectedly escaped from... Also, we've recovered the bodies of Geese Howard and Rugal Bernstein. They are going through the same procedures as Akuma and Kairi went through."

"And our fighters search?"

"Very well. A good 36 percent of the fighters on the hit list have been captured and waiting to be used for the... newer projects we have in store. At our current rate, it should take about three to six months for them to be fully operational and awaiting hosts."

"And once they are ready... then the world will finally be mine... He, he, he..."

Instantly, Raven stopped, her eyes, once brown, briefly flashed red before slowly returning to normal... She sat up in her chair...

"Leo... I have come to my plan concerning Mrs. Kasugano's and Mr. Markis's fate. Any word from the Hashimotos?"

"...not as of yet, however, Saya, Vexx, and Kai's communicators are heading towards the Japan base as we speak."

"Excellent. When they arrive, I want you to personally go and retrieve Saya for me. I have a very, very special assignment for her... Find her and bring her to me as soon as they check in."

Leo nodded. "Yes, ma'am..."

"You are dismissed. Make haste."

Leo paid his respects to his superior and left the dark room. The moment he left, Rave took a look at the files on her desk...

Yes... This'll work... You'd like to see that suffering... of those two young ones... don't you... Oh? What's that? You want to pay someone a visit? Well then... That can be arranged...

In a blink, Raven's body vanished from the chair, reappearing in another place. This new room had a silver color to it, and it resembled a very clean version of a prison, holding various people in the cells. Some were just inside like normal prisoners, and others were in special cells for their containment, hidden behind a special type of transparent steel. Raven put her hands in her uniform pockets and slowly walked forward through the corridor, not giving even the slightest glances at the captives and toned out their yells. Her pace never hastened or slowed, as she kept her eyes on one specific cell farther into the room.

Yes... That's the one...

It didn't take long for Raven to reach this particular cell, in which she stopped once she got there. Her brown eyes rested on a woman with braided yellow hair, wearing a special Shadowloo uniform that showed off the scars on her legs and arms. The woman herself was unconscious, her body slumped against a side of the cell. Raven stared at this woman for a few moments, then made it her business to teleport inside without using a code to unlock the door to the cell.

"Miss Cammy White..." Raven's voice filled the soundproof room, "You're not fooling anyone with such a mediocre survival skill, especially me. Open your eyes and face me."

A few moments passed and the woman finally slowly opened her blue eyes. She let out a low groan as she did so, her eyesight blurred slightly as she began to observe her surroundings. After blinking a few times, Cammy focused her attention on her own self... and gasped.

Th... these... these clothes...! I... I remember these...! They're...!

Cammy's memory instantly went back to places she wished she could strip from her memory altogether. The blue, one piece uniform... the brown boots... the specially designed combat cloves... and as she ran a frantic hand to her golden yellow hair... the small cap that rested on her head... Without thinking, Cammy jolted off the floor, grasping the blue cap from her head and looked down at her own body from this view.

No...! NOOOO! her mind screamed. HOW?

"Oh, please... Don't act so surprised... You act as if you never worn such a skimpy outfit before. Here... Delta Red... What? Is it a fetish thing that you have working for you?"

Cammy blinked and then rose her head swiftly to look at the person in front of her. With such dialogue, she expected to see Bison once again in the flesh in front of her eyes, dealing out that same sick smile he always had on his face. However... this person was different... yet familiar... Her voice... was the main thing that Cammy caught familiar to her memory. Upon looking at her, she recognized her face... and the red uniform...

"You..." Cammy said in a low tone.

"Ah, so you seem to recognize me, don't you? That's good. At least I don't have to repeat my introduction to you."

"Why... why am I here? Where am I and why am I back in this wretched clothing? What's going on here!"

Raven shook her head and gave a "tsk, tsk". "A shame... So being a housewife has really dulled your senses, hasn't it, Ms. White? Oh, and having kids? Tsk, tsk, Cammy. Tsk, tsk..."

Cammy's expression soon turned ugly. "...I swear if you did anything to my two little kids, I'll—"

"You'll what?" Raven snapped, crossing her arms while being humored by Cammy's threat. "Just what does your body and mind want to do once you find out this little bit of information? Huh? I wonder what you'd do when I tell you that you're kids are probably swimming with the fishes right now? I wonder what you'd try to do once you find out that they tried to prevent me from getting my hands on you again, and that I left them a prize for trying such a thing...? I really do wonder..."

By the time Raven was done, Cammy was steaming hot in anger. Her blue eyes hardened, showing off the look of a reawakened soldier that just woke from hibernation...

Yes, that's it, Cammy... Those eyes... I miss those eyes...

"I'll make you pay for even touching one hair with those stinking hands of yours!"

And with that the ex-Shadoloo doll shot off the wall and rushed towards Raven as fast as she could. Once she got close she reered back and threw a hard punch towards her face... only to find out that Raven merely moved to the side to dodge it. Cammy quickly pulled in reverse, dropping down a bit towards the floor...

"CANNON DRILL!"

...and threw her body forward, legs first and in a spiral as if she was a human drill. Her attack came swiftly, but even so, Raven merely jumped above Cammy effortlessly. Cammy stopped her attack and looked behind her, eyeing her abductor with utter fury. Raven, however, merely landed while bringing a hand towards her mouth... then blew a kiss.

"Try a little harder, why don't you, darling...?"

Cammy could feel a vein pop in her forehead after hearing that taunt. How dare this woman treat her like some toy! She wasn't going to have it. Cammy picked herself off the ground and pulled a 180, streaking towards Raven with enhanced speed. This time, Cammy attacked with very quick punches and uppercuts, her pace quicker than lightning. However, she knew that somehow, her attacks weren't landing. She could see Raven in front of her, but even so every time she attacked, Raven's image would just move out of the way. Growing frustrated, Cammy finally ducked down to try a low attack. Raven merely lifted a leg to let the kick miss...

"CANNON SPIKE!"

...only this was a bluff. Cammy shot off the ground with a strong rising kick to Raven's chin, flipping off and to safety once contact was made. As she landed, Cammy looked up... and was a bit thrown off that Raven wasn't on the ground, but instead her noticed that Raven's head jerked upwards from the force of the attack, staying that way. A few moments passed and Cammy stood her ground, waiting for Raven to move...

"Mmmm..."

Then, Raven brought a hand to her chin, rubbing it a bit while bringing her head down to its normal state. Her brown eyes didn't seem aggravated, but more like pleased... for some odd reason...

"Good, Cammy... Very good... It seems as if your time off hasn't made you a waste of space, after all..."

Cammy lowered her gaze a bit, observing this strange woman that stood in front of her.

"So Bison went on and made some stronger dolls..." she said out loud. "I thought he was done with the doll project after that last episode he had with them..."

It was then that Raven's eyes lit up... and it took Cammy off guard. In a blink of an eye, Raven's body disappeared... making Cammy gasp and grow wide eyed.

"Oh, but that is where you're wrong, Ms. White..." a familiar voice whispered to her behind her ear. Cammy's jaw dropped and her heart jumped to her throat, her eyes staring straight ahead as she could feel Raven's presence behind her. Raven held Cammy by her waist with one arm, pulling her close to her own body while the other held a finger just under the ex-doll's chin, her brown eyes very calm yet disturbing as they looked at Cammy. "You're wrong on quite a few notes..."

Cammy gave out a hushed "How?" over her sudden heavy breathing as her eyes veered backwards to just barely see Raven's face in her sights.

"Well, let me refresh you... You see... I'm not a doll... I'm the person that you were cloned from... just in another body..."

Cammy instantly sputtered and her heart pounded ten-fold. "B... B... Bi... son...?"

"In the flesh... but please... call me Raven... If you would like to look at it this way... Bison is dead... I'm his reincarnation... As you'll soon see, Shadowloo has started anew. New personnel... New leader... New targets... but the same ambition... Sounds exciting... doesn't it, Cammy?"

At this moment Raven paused, her finger that previously rested below Cammy's chin now driving down her neck to circle around her collarbone area. Cammy herself couldn't move at all. All this news hit her hard, rendering her paralyzed.

"Brings back old memories... doesn't it?" Raven kept going, her voice still very calm. "You going off to your latest assignment... Oh... what was that assignment again...? Oh... how about an assassination... Yes... that's what you seemed to specialize in... Just as good as your hand to hand skills... I can see it all so clear in my mind... You're targets are the underground lords of Hong Kong... You're already set for your mission... You're ammunition is packed to full capacity... you're weapons are set up as well. You're stalking your targets with lethal precision... They don't suspect a thing... They just go on about their business... You sit on your perch... a horde of Shadowloo soldiers right behind you backing you up... You aim your sights on the main kingpin of the Lords... He's right in your crossbars..."

By this time, Raven's finger now lifted off and aimed forward in front of Cammy for her to see. In a few moments, the tip of Raven's finger began to glow with a small purple ball of energy...

"And then you pull the trigger... and then... bang..."

As soon as the word "bang" came out, the ball of energy shot forward at lightning speed and exploded against the wall. Once it cleared out, the entire wall, despite the ball's size, was smoked in black.

"Mission accomplished... and Shadowloo is one step closer to world domination..." Raven finished, "and you'll be able to be part of its success..."

"No..." Cammy whispered. "No... You... you don't control me anymore, Raven... I won't do it... I'll stop you..."

"Ah... once again... you're wrong... Once we wipe your memories from your mind... you'll be perfect for doing the jobs I give you. You'll be the first 'perfect doll'... and certainly not the last... Face it... Times might seem different... and looks might be deceiving... but you and I are tied together. No matter where you are... No matter what you do... you can't escape your destiny."

"NO!" Cammy yelled out defiantly, "I won't be made into your pawn anymore!"

With that she began to fight her way out from Raven's clutches, giving her an elbow to her ribs to slip through. After getting some distance between her and Bison's new form, Cammy assumed her fighting stance. Raven merely looked at her with interest...

"I'd rather die than to go back to the way I was before! I've did so much without you... and I have a family now! You're a thing of the past! So is this syndicate! Your plans won't work! I'll make sure of it!"

Raven's expression quickly changed to interest to a hint of devil-may-care. "Oh, are you so confident about that? Well, I'd so like to see you try that, Ms. White..."

Cammy no longer held any words for Raven. Once again Cammy sprinted towards her abductor, this time getting ready to give her all into beating her opponent into submission. However, as she did so, Raven only put a hand on her chin, smirking as Cammy came closer. Cammy shouted out as she dove forward, paused in midair... and drove herself downwards sharply, her leg down for a kick. She thought she connected... but instead she was shocked to find that the image vanished the moment she made contact.

"What?"

"Heheheh..."

Instantly Cammy spun around to the direction of the chuckling and there was Raven, holding out a hand towards her. From her palm, out came a small orb of energy, creeping slowly towards her...

"What... what the...?" Cammy whispered. "What's...?" Then her eyes widened.

I REMEMBER THAT MOVE!

However, Cammy couldn't move fast enough... Raven's eyes flashed red... and she clenched her hand. Instantly, the entire room was engulfed by Psychotic Surge energy with a boom, and with the sheer smallness of the room, there was absolutely no room to dodge. By the time the view cleared, Cammy's body lie on the wall, ironically where it was before Raven came, her eyes closed and her uniform scarred. Raven then crossed her arms while staring at Cammy for a while, then chuckled.

"Don't worry, Cammy, you'll feel better when you wake up. You'll be just fine... and ready just in time to head over to Hong Kong for your first mission..."

And then Raven let out a laugh, so evil in tone that it could've chilled blood, and then warped out of the room, leaving Cammy unconscious on the floor...

Hong Kong: 8:32 A.M.

BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZZ! BI—

As of now, waking up was something Yun didn't want to do. With a groan, his eyes still closed, his arm flew from the bed and hit the off button to his alarm clock, making it stop its infernal racket. That same arm then slumped down to the side of the bed he slept on and his head lazily looked up, exposing his face from his pillow.

Nnnn... What's... today...?

Yun barely opened his eyes, but he did just enough to look over to the wall to his left to face a calendar. Several dates were already X'ed out so Yun just looked at the date net to the most recent X and then closed his eyes again.

Perfect... It's Friday...

As if it meant nothing, the oldest Lee Dragon prepared to head back on to sleep... except a certain other Dragon didn't quite see things that way.

"Yun Lee! Come on out! I know you're awake! I heard the alarm shut off just now!"

As if that weren't enough, Yun's bedroom door flew open with a bang, making Yun jump up and out of bed in a jolt. As he turned to see who disturbed his rest, something fell over his head, blinding his vision.

"You're always last to use the bathroom, Yun. Well, hurry up! Yang and I already took our turns and it's rude to keep customers waiting! Get a move on!"

Yun merely grabbed the item off his head, which revealed itself as a towel and stared at his little sister, Yin, who already had most of her clothes on. The only article missing was her shirt, leaving her bra the only thing on her upper body. Her actual shirt rested in her hand.

"Must you do that every morning...?" Yun asked lazily. Yin just took one quick gaze at her older brother, who merely had on a tank top and a pair of boxers, and shook her head in pity as she walked away from the door.

"Maybe I wouldn't have to do it if you'd wake up on time, not 20 minutes after your alarm clock goes off."

Yun shook his head clear to wake up fully, then made his way out of his room and down the hallway in the opposite direction that Yin went, and slipped into the bathroom. As Yin heard the door close she gave a quiet "Tsk, tsk" under her breath before slipping on her black kung fu shirt and descended the stairs to the lower level of their house.

Sunlight was already pouring down from the windows in the living room where Yin found herself at, giving it a golden color. As she passed the glass table, couches, and TV system and into a small hallway, she could steadily hear the sounds of a newscast from the room in front of her. It wasn't long until she was stepping into the kitchen area of their residence. The small TC on the table was on, displaying the news for the morning. Sitting in front of it was Yang, who wasn't really paying it much attention as he read a book where he sat.

"Is he up yet?" he asked, not looking up from the book.

"Yes, brother," Yin kindly responded. "Well... At least when I got him up. I don't know if he went back to sleep in the shower."

When Yang didn't respond, Yin made it her business to go to the refrigerator near the corner of the room and pull out a container of orange juice. She then looked over, putting the juice down on the sink counter and reaching up to open an overhead cabinet and grabbed a glass to drink from. As she started to pour her quick fix, something caught her attention on the TV...

"...with 21 days left until his suspension lifts, he should be ready to lift his team from its 7 game slump... Huh? What's this? ... Pardon the interruption, but we just got some breaking news from overseas. We take you to Ms. Ameri Cudo whose now in Tokyo, Japan with this most disturbing story."

Yin turned her attention to the kitchen TV fully, her eyes catching the female reporter as she stood in front of what appeared to be a school...

"Thanks. Here I am at just one scene of what could very well be the most vicious Psycho attack up to date. Here I am, standing in front of Tokyo, Japan's Tamagawa Minami high school, normally a very safe place for kids to learn, but just recently, that wasn't the case. Just a little less than half an hour ago, this high school was the setting for what students who spectator the assault could best put as a massacre. Sightings report that a man wearing a solid black karate gi and 'hair that resembled wildfire' appeared out of nowhere and attacked one of the teachers at this school. It just so happens that this teacher wasn't a normal teacher, but really also the winner of the Street Fighter 4 tournament that was held 4 years ago in this same city, 26-year-old Sakura Kasugano."

At that moment, a very shocked Yin paid no attention to her drink, not only becoming close to over flowing it but also nearly dropping the glass on the tile floor. Yang also looked up from his book and gave the broadcast his undivided attention.

"As news crews, including ours, got from the wreckage of an overturned truck on a local highway 5 miles away to this spot to the school, we managed to catch a glimpse of Sakura, along with her husband and financial leader of Metrosphere, Darrell Markis being carried out from the school with the help of others, including Interpol agent Chun-Li Xiang of Shanghai and owner of the Kanzuki Zaibatsu, Karin Kanzuki. Although when we tried to get any word from the group we got no response, we could cleanly make out that both Sakura and Darrell sustained injuries worth concern about. Luckily there were no other casualties in this altercation, but I hope that the world realizes that someone should get to the bottom of things around here. From Tokyo, Japan, this is Ameri Cudo. Now, back to the guys at the station."

As the screen switched to the news station once again, the younger Dragon slowly got over her shock and put her juice down on the counter.

"Wow... I hope they're ok..."

"You shouldn't worry, Yin," Yang replied. "That just reminded me of how she looked when she fought Kairi. She's a strong woman. Darrell, too. I've seen enough of them to know it'll take more to take them out."

"Yes... I guess so..."

Yang merely returned to his book while Yin began to sit down next to him. As she did so, sipping her glass of juice, a "meow" ran through the air. Yang put down his book and looked to the floor, catching the sight of a small white cat near his chair, looking up into his eyes. The middle Dragon smiled as he got out of his chair and kneeled down, letting the cat lap at his left hand.

"I think Yin's hungry," he announced to no one in particular. His sister looked over from the corner of her eye to see Yang go off to another cabinet, eventually finding some food for the cat.

Ironic that he named the cat after me... she thought.

By the time Yang finished pouring his pet's morning food, a sudden rush from the steps caught both his and his sister's attention. A half second later, Yun, now fully dressed minus his baseball cap, practically jumped down from the upper level to the floor below. As he bent down, he grabbed his skateboard, which rested on the floor next to the wall of the living room, all in one swift motion.

"Alright, guys," he called while coming into the kitchen, grabbing his blue baseball cap from the rack on the wall, "you ready for business? Let's move out!"

Yin smirked while Yang rose from the ground.

"You sure didn't act so ecstatic when I saw you in your room," she joked. She then gulped down the rest of her orange juice and threw the glass into the dish washer. As she turned around, she gave the cat a quick pet across its fur, then joined her brothers in the living room. Yun was already at the door, looking at Yang as he outfitted his body with his favorite rollerblades, his sneakers tied around his shoulder. Yin, in turn, went to the other side of her oldest brother and to her keepsake, a new-model sports bike that her aunt in Shanghai gave her for her 19th birthday.

"Back to the daily grind!" she announced, rolling the bike past Yun and out the open door to meet the busy Hong Kong city streets. As Yin made her way down the small flight of stairs to the sidewalk, she once against gazed at the huge Chinese signs above her head and the utter abundance of life in the street. Since she moves in with her older twin brothers 4 years ago, she grew accustomed to the change from the slightly less hectic lifestyle she had while living in Shanghai. She initially came here to find some way to pay for her aunt's medical needs whom she left in a bad state of sickness. At first she thought that the only way to pay for her needs was to win the Street Fighter 4 tournament, but once Yun and Yang inherited their restaurant from their grandmother, as well as ownership of the village the man she only knew as "Gill" used to own, and finally the... underworld connections that her brothers taught her about, she was quickly able to send the money needed to get her aunt well. It had only been two weeks since she called and talked to her aunt over the phone, but she always missed seeing her face.

"Hooo!"

"Yaah!"

Yin was brought out of her daydream by two yells from above her head. She raised her sights to see her brothers fly over her and into the streets, Yun on his skateboard and Yang on his rollerblades. A joyous smile crossed Yin's face, then pushed her bike out to the asphalt and hopped on, joining her brothers as they sped down towards the heart of the city.

The Triple Dragons moves through the populated streets like lightning, almost like water flowing through cracks in cement. They made no stops for traffic lights, either avoiding traffic or literally tricking and grinding off of obstacles in their way. As they moved closer towards the center of Hong Kong, the three siblings took advantage of the hills that made up the landscape. Rest assured, only the most skilled extreme sports athletes in the world could keep up with them.

The trio, Yun leading the way with Yin and Yang bringing up the rear, finally turned down a small side street, the buildings which surrounded them literally cutting off sunlight in a majority of the alley.

Not much farther now... the leader reminded himself. A sharp turn down an alley... another into a slightly bigger street... and Yun caught sight of an intersection walkway. It was here that Yun stopped himself just as he came to the intersection, his siblings following suit. In front of their way was a street, but not for cars. Here was where pedestrians crowded the walkway, using it to either come to or form the center of the city. Under his cap, Yun's eyes looked a bit upward over the street, seeing a metal overpass leading from where they stood to the other side of the street and finally to a building with the words "Triple Dragon Restaurant" written both in English and in Chinese neon letters on its side.

"Hmm..." Yun mumbled, "It looks like we already have customers."

Sure enough he was right. At the upper entrance stood quite a few people waiting for the store to open and business to commence. Yin calmly stepped off her bike while Yun dropped off his skateboard, kicking it up into his arm. Yang merely stayed back as the others went up the ramp, taking off his skates to put his sneakers on. As the two other siblings got to the overpass, the customers patiently waiting at the door looked their way.

"Good morning," Yin greeted, her bring the first ahead of Yun, "Nice to see you so early in the day. Must be hungry, aren't you?"

"Well... you could say that. Yeah," one of the people responded.

"I don't know any other reason I should be here," his companion added.

"Then just sit back," Yun said, moving to the door to open the restaurant, "once we get the tools flowing we'll be ready to stuff your guts!"

The other 8 or so people remained their cool, talking to one another in a friendly conversation as Yun began to unlock the place. With a simple turn of the key Yun held in his pocket to reverse the locks, the Triple Dragons were once again in business.

"Step right on in, people," Yun instructed. "Looks like you guys got the best seats in the house today."

As people took their seats, Yin passed her brother, putting her bike to the side and grabbing her apron off a nearby rack. By this time, Yun was on her way to the kitchen area to prepare himself for the day, but he paused.

"Yin?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Just what the heck is taking Yang so long?"

Yin blinked. "I'm... not sure..."

"Do me a favor and see what he's up to."

"Ok."

Yin then put her apron back on the rack and went back outside, out to search for her brother.

"Yang?" she called. "Brother! Come on! We're starting to serve! Where are you...?"

As she turned towards the overpass she froze. Yang was most certainly there I front of her, but not without visitors... There were roughly 5 people in uniforms... Police uniforms... and the sight made her heart drop.

"Oh, no..." she whispered. "Don't tell me..."

"You're Yang Lee, are you not?" the lead officer asked strongly. Yang didn't' reply, but instead put his skates down on the ground and put his hands on his sides.

"What are you doing here...?" he asked, his voice very calm yet very cautious.

"We have evidence that shows you and your family has engaged in underworld gang activity over the past 7 years. We'd like to ask you a few questions... if that's alright with you."

"Before you do... tell me. Who are you in behalf of? And who sent you here?"

A pause as the main officer gave Yang a 'get real' look, then...

"We're here on the behalf of the National Police... The Republic of Hong Kong. Surely you jest... You haven't heard of us before?"

Yang didn't reply so the officer continued.

"Our sources indicate that you, sir, are... 'leaders' of this town. Just what happened to the local police force around here?"

"Well... yes, in a way," he responded, purposely leaving the last one unanswered first, "Technically my brother ran the police out of the village ages ago..."

"On what grounds?"

Yang took a slight pause to look at the officers through the brown hair that fell over his face...

"Because, sir, the police of the old age was not doing their job in protecting the lower class here. Let a crime happen in a little cairo shop. No action done. However, let the littlest problem happen in the most prestigious class. Consequences and repercussions would happen at an alarming rate. They didn't serve 'justice' so we dismembered that organization."

"Yang Lee, do you realize that such actions fall under the category of assault against officers of the law? Such a severe action could put you in jail for a long while, not to mention your underground reputation..."

"So what exactly are you getting at?"

"To make a long story short, you, in along with your brother and sister standing over there, are under arrest for the numerous charged chained against your name."

No way! You've gotta be kidding! Yin's mind screamed. Me! Jail!

"Sorry to say this..."

"Huh?" Yin gasped, her eyes right on her brother. Hidden from her sight, Yang wore a small smirk...

"...but by the way I see it, you hold no authority to take such... 'arrests'..."

"What's that?" one of the other officers asked.

The smirk on Yang's face grew to a sly smile...

"Nice try, whoever you are, but I'm not as stupid as I appear to be. Once of us in this group needed to know the legal system to avoid getting into such conflicts with the law... I don't know how you know about our little secret... but its obvious, you sure didn't come from this... 'National Police'... because such a thing doesn't even exist."

"Are you saying that we are imposters?"

"No... I'm saying... you're interrupting my time from serving these people with crap like this. If I were you, I'd take off those fake badges... turn around, and leave before I escort you out."

A scowl appeared on the lead officer's face. "Rest assured... what you think you're about to do will have some serious repercussions..."

"Enough of this..."

In a second, Yang blurred out of sight, startling the five officers on guard. In yet another second later, a yell from behind sounded through the air... and a body fell face first to the steel floor. The person... one of the 'supporting' officers...

"Quick! Apprehend that little inse—"

"Hai, hai, HAI!"

The leader was next, catching all three hits from Yang's Tourozan in the back. By now the other three officers locked onto Yang's body, preparing to jump him from behind...

"HIYA!"

...but he'd have nothing of it, instantly spinning around and slashing at his attackers with one giant overhead Tourozan, throwing them all back a few feet and to the ground.

"Now beat it!" Yang ordered. "I've had enough of you guys making me waste my time and energy—"

"You will not get away!"

"Looks like some people don't know when to stay down..."

Yang prepared to turn around to finish off the leader, who got off the ground in a rage and ran blindly at him... however, he didn't even get 3 feet within Yang's radius before...

"HAIIIII!"

...getting nailed from behind by a massive arm swipe in the back, producing an energy wave as his body flew into the air. With another mighty shout the second swipe shot from above, planting the man into the ground for good. Yang paused for a bit, then turned around, seeing his sister in her attack stance.

"Thanks, Yin."

"Sure thing, brother."

"Ok, guys. Just what in the heck is going on out here?"

Yang and Yin turned their focus to Yun, who came out of the restaurant, already in his cookwear. Yang then glanced back at the three guys that he laid out with his Ribassui Tourozan...

"Brother, these men... posed as imposters of the police to try to... 'arrest' us."

"Arrest...?" Yun repeated, he himself walking toward the waste his brother and sister laid haste to. "I thought I rid the village of the police a long time ago."

"You did," Yang replied. "I don't know what these guys were trying to accomplish, but this is something we should look into immediately."

"Yeah, definitely," Yin added on. "I smell a rat, here."

Yun gave his brother a firm look. "Fine, then. Yin?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Do me another favor. How fast can you serve 8 people?"

"Uh... 10... 15 minutes... Depends on the order."

"Alright. Let's handle business here, then... we head to the place..."

Yin and Yang nodded, then turned around and went into the shop, leaving the wounded men on the overpass. However... hidden to their eyes, a sudden beep rung off in the leader's clothing. Groaning a bit, he pushed his body off the ground... then tapped something in his shirt...

"Did you do as you were told?" a female voice rang through a hidden communicator.

"Yes... all went according to plan, Raven..."

"Excellent... Prepare phase two... Those saps don't realize that they're leading us right where we want to be..."

Shinjuku, Japan 10:35 A.M.

Flashback – Last Night

"Asobi wa owari da! Nake, Sakebe, Soshite, SHINE! BAKA ME! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! (Playtime is over! Cry, Scream, Then, DIE! YOU FOOL! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!)"

BOOM...

A sickening explosion rumbled through the air and a purple blaze shot into the night sky, propelling a man back several feet before collapsing to the ground. This man wore short brown hair and wore a black jacket open to expose a white tee-shirt. The jacket itself held a circle on the back to represent the sun... and it was truly fitting considering who wore it.

"Stand up, Kyo! I'm not through with you yet!"

Indeed. The man on the ground was none other than Kyo Kusanagi, but despite being the powerful heir of the Kusanagi flames, he wasn't fairing as well as he would against this person. No. The other man knew him too well to be fooled by his tactics. Almost... too well. He knew him more, probably to the point that he knew more about Kyo than Kyo knew about himself. This man was red-headed, a small black jacket covering over a longer white shirt and also sported red pants held together by the ankles by a belt and black shoes. One glance at him and there was no mistake as to who it was...

Iori Yagami...

"Yagami!" Kyo yelled at his rival, standing up while clenching his fists, "Don't get too confident! I'm just getting warmed up!"

"You can talk as much as you want," Iori belted back, "But it won't matter in the end. Tonight is your final night alive!"

"Bring it on!"

Kyo threw himself off the ground and clenched his fists one more time, throwing blows at a guarding Yagami.

"Mada na! (Useless!)" the red-haired fighter shouted, breaking his guard and ducking behind Kyo... but he was ready. Kyo threw his shoulder back, knocking his rival back, then as he spun around he hopped forward, his fist catching aflame...

"Ora!"

Kyo's restrained uppercut, the 427 Shiki: Hikigane, was blocked... but things were far from done yet.

"Hyah!"

Quickly following that, the brown-haired fighter followed with twin kicks while jumping forward. Iori still blocked this attack, the 75 Shiki...

"Kurae! (Eat this!)"

Once again, Kyo followed up with an attack. This one was a lunging flame cross, the 115 Shiki: Douki Gami...

"Yah!"

..then a backhand, the 401 Shiki: Tsumi Yoki. Kyo stopped here, letting Iori put some distance between them by hopping backwards and farther into the dark alley in which their latest duel was being held at.

"Ukero... (Alright, you...)"

Kyo now started his next attack, ducking down, his left fist held under his chest, charging up a big attack... Iori stood ready to defend... but suddenly, he blinked...

"KONO BURO! (TAKE THIS BLOW!)"

As quickly as Kyo rushed forward to deliver the first hard hitting punch to his Hyaku Hachi Juu Ni Shiki, Iori broke his guard once again and knocked him back again with a strong headbutt. Kyo stumbled back and instantly went on the defensive... but dropped it once he realized that Iori ceased attacking him...

"What's the matter, Yagami? Your body fried?"

Iori's focus lay off his rival. He now stood up straight and alert, his head facing the west and towards the air...

"Hmm..."

"Well?" Kyo demanded. Iori then gave Kyo a look...

"This'll have to wait until another time, Kusanagi..."

Another time...? Just what is Iori up to?

"Consider this postponed. I suddenly seem to have some business to attend to..."

"Nani! Wait just a second, Yagami!"

However, Kyo was too late...

"I'm not through with you, yet, Kusanagi. Not by a long shot, but for now, consider yourself lucky that I left you alive tonight!"

By that time, Iori rushed off, much to Kyo's shock, down a side alley and disappeared. Kyo was tempted to follow him but stopped, keeping his sights on the alley that Iori just departed from... He then gave a 'hmph' and brushed himself off while heading back towards the main street, where his motorcycle awaited him.

Man... What a weird night this turned out to be...

End Flashback

Yagami... Wonder what that hothead is up to... Well, I guess it doesn't matter to me now...

It was the next morning and Kyo found himself riding the streets of Shinjuku after a good nights sleep at a hotel. As of now, Kyo's agenda was clear all until the day the fighting circuit started in the distant future, so it gave him the time to write to his girlfriend, Yuki, and travel around. Today rose a question Kyo regularly asked himself every morning...

What to do today...?

After a few seconds, Kyo remembered and heaved a sigh.

That's right...

Just his luck, too. He was right in the area, too. At the nearest intersection, Kyo turned down the street where signs for stores hung overhead. As he went down the hill, he could clearly see business being conducted in the open markets. However, his attention was on the bottom of the hill. As he got closer he could start to make it out. It was an outside restaurant, but he wasn't here to eat...

Kyo swung the motorcycle to the front of the restaurant and turned it off. The moment he did...

"Master Kyo!"

sigh Right... Meet up with Shingo...

Instantly a younger male of about 21 or so came up to Kyo, wearing some casual clothing and a traditional white headband along with his brown hair. Where as Sakura Kasugano was to Ryu, Shingo Yabuki was to Kyo... but to a much more... extreme respect...

"I'm glad you showed up," Shingo chimed. "I was beginning to think that you'd forget about me."

As much as I'd like to at this moment...

"Nah... I guess I can't do that," Kyo finished his mental note verbally, only Shingo never caught the full meaning since the first part wasn't spoken out loud. "Well then, now that I'm here, the usual? I mean, seriously... for some odd reason I haven't seen you for a few months now... What? You got into a fight and wound up in the hospital?"

Shingo's eyes began to light up. "No. Actually I've—"

"Well, look who it is..."

Shingo frowned as he turned to see who'd cut him off. The man walking up to the two was a bit of the famous King of Fighters Japan Team. He was blond, his hair standing on end, wearing a rather suggestive attire which showed off his stomach.

"Benimaru..." Kyo said out loud.

"Kyo. Long time no see. Still wandering around? DO you ever visit Yuki at all, or does writing love letters suit it just enough for you?"

"Since when did someone like you care about what I do with my relationship?" Kyo asked flatly. Benimaru merely smirked.

"I think I do have a right to see how my 'teammate' is doing. I mean, come on. You're never around and on one from KOF gets to see you as often as they like..."

Benimaru then paused... then added, "not like that's much to begin with."

"Alright, Benimaru..." Kyo muttered, his voice in a threatening tone.

"I'm just kidding, Kyo. Relax. So, what makes you come out here?"

"Guys...?"

"Well..." Kyo then glanced at Shingo, then back to Benimaru while jerking a thumb at his 'student'.

"Ok. Back to babysitting, huh?"

"Babysitting?" Shingo repeated. "I resent that!"

"Well, technically, Shingo here says that he's got something to show me, so I might as well kill some time and see it."

Shingo then took a deep breath to get his courage up while Kyo and Benimaru looked at him, then spoke. "Guys, as you probably known already I've been gone for quiet a few months now since the last KOF ended. I'm proud to announce that I've been hard at work training and that I've—"

"Hold on..." Kyo cut in. "The last time you should me your newest 'technique', you messed it up, fell, and had a concussion for two days."

"It's not like that anymore!" Shingo reassured. "Here! I'll show you."

Shingo then took a few steps backward and brought a hand up to his face, outstretched for both Kyo and Benimaru to see. He then held the pose and concentrated, his body tensing up and starting to build up some ki energy.

Kyo gave a 'hmph' and crossed his arms. He knew that Shingo was still a rookie at ki manipulation, so this little showing wasn't much of a surprise... However, after a few seconds, the little bit of energy Shingo summoned literally exploded and with that a short, bright ember appeared in his palm...

"What the...?" Benimaru gasped, his eyes widening with the sight.

"You're jerking my chain..." Kyo muttered. Even he didn't see this coming. "Since when did you learn this?"

Shingo smiled big, eyeing his master as he spoke. "A few days after the last KOF... make that 2 years ago, I met Mr. Saisyu Kusanagi, who offered me a chance to train under him. At first I declined since I still am under you, Master Kyo, but after all this N.E.S.T.S. stuff, I tracked him down and took him up on his offer."

And that would be my father for you... Kyo thought.

"After a few months of really, really hard work, here I am! What do you think? Aren't you impressed?"

"Well, I'm... astonished..." Benimaru said. "I mean... I didn't expect you to get this far just like that... I mean... geez..."

Shingo then looked at Kyo and asked, "How do you like the new me, eh? I'm one step closer to my goal to be just as good as you!"

Kyo's expression was more or less unchanged. "Ok, so you learned how to control flames. Fine... but how about using that in a fight, eh?"

Shingo snuffed his flames and asked, "What do you mean...?"

Kyo snickered... a special snicker... and Shingo sweatdropped.

Oh, boy... I know that look...

"J... just wait a second!" he cried, trying to back away, but Kyo was too fast for that. The Kusanagi heir grabbed Shingo by his jacket and pushed him back, making him stumble back into an empty table. Shingo, distorted, threw himself off it and put some distance between him and Kyo, finding himself on the city street.

Geez! Why so rough...?

Shingo readied himself as he eyes Kyo jumping over a table to face him in the sudden battle.

"Try this!" he yelled while rushing close and bringing his leg up for an overhead strike. Shingo blocked that, but missed Kyo's buffer to his next move.

"Body ga amai! (Your body is weak!)"

Kyo connected with his burning cross, the 114 Shiki: Aragami, then the follow up uppercut, the 128 Shiki: Kono Kizu, then finished with a roundhouse kick, 125 Shiki: Nanase. Shingo was sent spiraling to the ground... and even then, he wasn't safe.

"Gara aki da ze! (You're wide open!)"

Kyo quickly lunged forward over with another 114 Shiki: Aragami, but afterwards came with an overhead elbow driving itself into the younger's guy, then a follow up punch to end it. Groaning, Shingo rolled to the side, holding his stomach. As Kyo continued the 'schooling' on Shingo, Benimaru stood at the side, shaking his head.

He might have grown a little, but he still has a long way to go to reach half of Kyo's level...

"Oriya!"

"Ok, ok! I give!"

"You know better than that, Shingo! I sure didn't teach you how to be a quitter! Take this beating like a real fighter should!"

Shingo was burnt out for sure. Kyo's constant attacks were something he could never keep up with... but maybe... he could try...

"Now to finish it!"

Kyo ducked in close to give a strong body block, but out of nowhere Shingo used a hand to parry...

"Not yet! Yah! Shingo-kan!"

Surprisingly skillfully, Shingo took the opportunity to follow with a cross, fueled by flames, then he lifted off the ground in a solid motion, hitting with his shoulder. Kyo fell back but recovered, his eyes showing a bit of amusement in this turn of events. Just as Shingo landed from his "Shingo Dragon Slayer", Kyo opted to give him a dose of real flames with his Kotosuki You. Turned out to not be a good decision...

"Shingo Kiiiiiick!"

The younger fighter instantly shot forward and drove his master into the dirt with an overhead kick. From the sides Benimaru showed intense interest...

"You've gotta be kidding me... Two attacks dead on the money... Did that few months of training really...?"

Shingo threw a punch just as Kyo stood up, but despite the momentum shift, Kyo blocked it. Kyo immediately retaliated by throwing his body shoulder first forward to knock Shingo down, but the younger wisely hopped backwards. From here, Shingo could see Kyo wipe his glove across his mouth...

That look... Shingo thought. Is that...?

"Not bad... You actually hit me this time. Nice job."

After hearing that from Kyo, Shingo smiled.

Finally! I pleased Master Kyo! It's been a while since he gave me that look!

Kyo brushed off a bit of his jacket off with his hand.

"I think that's enough for now..."

"Tch. About time. I was wondering when you'd be done playing with that kid."

It was then that both Kyo and Shingo heard the sound of approaching footsteps from the street. On first glance, Kyo easily identified him. This individual was sporting black leather clothes all along his body, along with black and red gloves on his hands. His skin complexion was rather dark and his hair was a silver color. His eyes had a ver intimidating tone to it, one that gave off the feedback of a loner who definitely didn't care much whatever Kyo was doing before he arrived...

"Well, this is a surprise..." the Kusanagi heir welcomed. "My—"

"Shut up, Kyo," the silver-haired man hissed. "I know what you're about to say and I don't want to hear it, so just stuff it. I don't want to be here as it is, so don't make things harder on the both of us by making me beat the crap out of you. I won't hesitate to do it."

Kyo's face twisted a bit as he directed his full attention to this very familiar person. "That attitude's just like you..."

The silver-hair just spat on the ground. "Whatever..."

"Alright, K'. Just what brings you around here, anyway? Knowing you, it's gotta be good."

K', whose hands never removed themselves from his pant pockets, looked to the side to gather himself, then made solid eye contact with Kyo.

"Look, I'd thought I'd ever say this in my life, but here. Kyo Kusanagi, I'm... I'm going to..."

It was pretty clear that K' didn't want to say what he was about to say. His face made it clear he detested the very thought of it. He eventually closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. As Shingo blinked, confused about the whole thing, Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"Kyo," K' immediately belted out, "I need your help with something..."

Kyo's expression changed dramatically upon hearing that. As if enough surprises didn't hit him already, this was just crazy. First Iori bails out on a fight with him, which that alone was totally out of character for someone like him, then Shingo reveals himself to use flames, now K' asking for help... HIS help...

"This has got to be a joke..."

"Look, all because I'm asking you doesn't mean I want to. I'd take care of things by myself, but... things would be easier if I had a little insurance."

"What about your running buddies? Maxima and your—"

"Yeah, yeah... Like I said, I don't necessarily need your help. I'm just asking you because I feel like it. SO are you in or what?"

"I don't even know what you want me for."

K' took a long pause before replying, "I ran into some punks the other night who thought it was cute to pick a fight with me. I showed them up and now I'm going to finish it off."

Kyo merely stared at K'.

"That's it?"

K', in turn, gave Kyo an intimidating look. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

Man, K' makes one terrible liar... but whatever. I'll take what he says for now... and find out what's really under his skin later.

"Alright, fine. You got a deal."

K' gave Kyo one more look before turning away and taking a hand out of his right pocket, eventually handing Kyo a sheet of paper, folded up.

"You just make sure you get at the spot at 8:00 P.M. tomorrow night. If you're late..."

K' left the threat right there and took a few steps forward away from Kyo before his body suddenly shaded out and disappeared from sight. Kyo, in turn, simply looked at the paper that K' dropped in the area where he disappeared at.

"What was that about?" Benumaru asked while making his way to Kyo.

"I'm not sure my own self... Want to come along?"

"Well, if you're going, I don't see why not... I wonder what's up with him, anyways..."

By that time Shingo walked forward and picked up the note for his eeys to see. On the front side was a map, a certain spot circled around the area of industrial territory near a major highway towards the south. On the back was some rather detailed directions, as if the map wasn't enough direction.

"Well, then," Kyo said. "Looks like my business here's over with. I'll see you guys later."

"Wait," Shingo called out, turning around to give Kyo K's note. "Don't forget this."

Kyo gave Shingo a quick smirk while simultaneously taking the noting and putting it in his jacket.

"Thanks. Oh, and by the way, if you feel like tagging along, Shingo... just hitch a ride with Benimaru. I'm pretty sure he'll take you."

As Shingo's face lightened up in excitement, Benimaru face-faulted.

"What makes you so sure I'll—"

"Trust me, Benimaru. I know you. Besides, after the last KOF, I'm pretty sure he'd be of some assistance. It couldn't really hurt... much..."

Kyo then added a mental note.

I think... Man, I can't believe I'm actually saying this... Meh. At least Shingo could get some exercise out of this...

"Thanks, Master Kyo!" Shingo jeered with a bright smile. "I promise you that you won't regret this!"

Yeah... I just hope that promise goes unbroken...

London, England 11:05 A.M.

"...and as you can see, the rebirth of Shadowloo has caused global damage at an alarming rate. Not only that, but quite a few of our operative have fallen under the 'Psycho Disease' that has been spreading like mad, not to mention that quite a number of world-renown fighters and important people have been reported missing ever since the first sightings of Shadowloo activity. We need someone, preferably a team, to investigate the few leads we have. Time is of the essence. So... do I have any volunteers?"

A relatively large meeting room housed a number of individuals sporting dark greet milita-esque uniforms. Despite the different sizes, shapes, genders, and ethnicities, not one operative rose their hand, stepped forward, or even made a sound to signify that they wanted to participate. The man who was in charge of the meeting grew a scowl on his face. In all his years, he never saw anything like this... This had to been the entire quadrant in this one room, and no one was going to even try to see what they could do? Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who thought so...

"What's wrong with you guys!" a fiery young man shouted, located near the middle of the room. "This is Delta Red! Have you forgotten our purpose? We're supposed to be up to challenges like this!"

"James, stand down," a calm voice said beside him.

"Calm down? In case you didn't notice, my best friend was shot and killed due to that damn drug! I'm not going to sit here and let those bastards get away with—"

"I said stand down, kid! We're not foolhardy here. You'll just wind up dead going off with absolutely no information on Shadowloo's intentions."

"Didn't you hear the man? We have leads! We just need to go and pick what we can get before those leads disappear, and if they do, then what? We really won't have any clue as to how we can take them down. Come on, Jeice! Rachel? Morris? You guys got to know what I'm talking about here!"

Behind this man, who was brown-haired, looked at the three people behind him. One was the person he was arguing with, who was a bit taller than he was and by the looks of him, definitely seemed to have more years of service under his belt than James did. The other two, one being a woman with blonde hair and around James's height, and the other being a man a bit shorter than the others with black hair, simply remained quiet, their expressions not wavering at all like the others in the room. James took a look at them all and grew disgusted.

"I don't believe you guys... Its times like this I wish Cammy White never retired from Delta Red. You guys went spineless on me."

Jeice remained calm, even though he knew that he could have just as well blew his top off right then and there. The main commander at the beginning at the hall heaved a sigh.

"Ok, I'm opening up the slots to someone who's got the courage to go find out what's going on. You have 48 hours. If no one steps up in that allotted tome, then mandatory signings will commence. You are dismissed."

Once the sentence finished, the room steadily cleared out. James merely looked around, his expression not changing at all, and shook his head before turning around and passing his comrades out the nearest exit. As daylight hit him for the first time in about 45 minutes, James sought out his post where his sector operated at. The Delta Red base was mainly like how any other militia base would look, where outside helicopters, planes, and the like awaited in the docking area. The weather was favorable, partly cloudy, but to him it didn't matter. He just couldn't get over what he just experienced.

Rookie or not, I have more heart than those guys back there. I should be going off and finding out how to get Shadowloo back for all this...

"James!"

The brown-haired man stopped a bit, letting Rachel catch up to him. Once she was close, James looked at her as she spoke.

"Listen, I know how you feel—"

"You don't know anything."

"Look, will you just shut that trap of yours and listen to me? I'm trying to help you out here."

James twisted his face and looked away, resuming his walking. Behind his back, Rachel cursed under her breath and picked up her pace.

"James..."

"If you wanted to help me, you should've put your hand up when we were in the room. What good is sitting around here if the info is out there?"

"It's because we don't have much of a feel to Shadowloo this time. This time their operations are more... precise. Before it was rather easy to get a feel of their intentions and their tactics, but now it just doesn't add up. We don't know what they have up their sleeve, and that's why we're biding our time until something really clear comes up."

James once again sighed, looking at the ground under him as they walked into a sort of a corridor leading farther into the base.

"So if that's the case, then why would he tell us that the leads that we got already need to be investigated if we're biding our time?"

Rachel remained quiet as they walked through the thin corridor, going pass an intersection of another corridor. This particular part of the base was where sectors would be stationed at, either to train, plan, or to rest. James was here for a little over 7 months, so he did know his way around, but still, someone like him wasn't exactly allowed in particular places, not that it caught his attention now... at least... until...

"You know... if Troy was alive, what would he do in such a time?"

Rachel closed her eyes to think it over, then answered, "I'm not sure. I'm not him. Rest assured if he was here, things would run better, but it's not like Delta Red hasn't been hit by this mysterious drug. I mean... I've been here 3 years and I've never seen anything like this... Troy wasn't the only one infected. People are afraid, and we're no different, really. We don't know what's causing it..."

"Yeah, well, neither do I," James responded. "I just feel we need to do something about this. I feel as if we're the only ones that can actually at least try to bring Shadowloo down..."

A few moments of silence as the two turned down another corridor, this one close to their station, and then James started again.

"You think Cammy's doing ok? I mean... I never met her... She was long gone by the time I came here, but I've heard the stories of her. How she used to work for Shadowloo before she came here... and how she was always ready for whatever was thrown at her..."

"Yeah, you're right. She was..." Rachel replied. "She was probably the best operative we had on the force. Nothing really seemed to phase her. All that mattered was the task at hand... It was like she was made just for that purpose..."

"She was?"

Both James and Rachel blinked. This voice was different from either one of theirs, as a matter of fact, it was a lot more youthful than even James's. The two spun around to eye the way in which they just came... only to find out that it was empty, just like they remembered. After a few seconds, James began to walk forward, eyeing the sides of the hallway.

"You... heard that, right, Rach?" he asked.

"Well, yeah... You don't think it was our imaginations?"

"Yeah, I doubt it. I heard it loud and clear. Someone's here."

After a few more steps, James came to a set of doors that they passed while talking. These led to another part of the base, but once he looked downwards, he blinked.

"What the heck...?"

On the ground on both sides of the door were two kids, both with golden blond hair and blue eyes, and if it weren't for the fact that they were different genders, it seemed as if they were twins...

"You see, Drake!" the girl spat. "I told you to keep your mouth shut!"

"Sorry! But I just heard mom's name called and—"

"Mom...?" James repeated. "You're telling me that you two are—"

"What are two young kids like you doing here?" Rachel interrupted, coming up from behind James to inspect herself what was going on. "And a bigger question; just how in the world did you get past security?"

The girl twin made a face before answering, "Well, we're caught... Might as well spill it..."

Flashback – Earlier today

"Drake... What are we going to do...? We tried the police... and I got this feeling that they can't help us..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't like this one bit. We need to do something..."

We were sitting on the steps of our front porch a day after our mother was taken away from us by this weird woman in red clothing. Just before she left, she attacked my brother, who tried to stop her from doing such a thing, but then she just punched him and blew him across our living room floor, making him collide into me in the process. I quickly came to and so did he, but at the moment I could barely think. For the first time in my life, I truly felt alone without my mother. Even if we were separated it was because maybe we were at a friend's house or something like that, but this was different. Our mother was stripped from us, and it really hurt. After a while, our next door neighbor found her way to our house and we told her everything. She was just as shocked as we were, and instantly we went to the local police to report it. At first they didn't believe us, but as we kept pleading our case, they, reluctantly, accepted our case. However, it's been a full day and we haven't gotten any word at all. They barely inspected the scene of the crime. So all we had to remember our mother by was the pictures in the house and... the box of flowers that was left on the floor. Right now I held the box in my lap, staring blankly into the sky above us. I couldn't stop thinking. Where was she? What's happening to you? I couldn't stand being like this... I gave the box in front of me one more look and saw the information on the side.

"For your many years of service to us. To: Cammy White. From: Delta Red."

At first I didn't quite understand what it meant. Mother never told us anything about this "Delta Red" and I never heard of it myself. Neither did my brother. But as I looked at the words again, I felt... strange... I couldn't explain it. I felt as if... in the back of my mind... I sort of had an idea as to what it could be. After a while to think it over, I looked at my brother, who was heavy in thought as to what we could possibly do about all this...

"Drake, come here..."

"What is it, Noel?"

"Look at this and tell me if you make any sense out of it."

"Noel, I already looked at the stupid box..."

"Oh, just shut up and read this."

My brother heaved a sigh and scooted over close to me so we were side. I pointed to the words that I was looking at before and together we read it. It wouldn't take a normal person more than 5 seconds to read that little bit right there, but for us it took more. As I read it, over and over again... something... weird happened. I blinked... and in a flash, I could... picture things... It happened really, really quick, but I picked most of it up. I could see a building... a really large one. I could see it as if it was an army base. Then I could see another thing, as if we were inside and in a room full of guns and stuff, items mom really kept us from and we saw in movies, only this felt so real... and other things... I blinked again and I could feel my pulse quicken as well as my breathing. Drake was doing the same thing...

"Whoa..." he whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. For a while we both said nothing. I just felt... weird... What just happened...? But at the same time... things started to make sense... out of thin air. I looked at the words "Delta Red" again, and then I could feel a rush...

"Drake... Come on."

"...I guess you feel it, too..."

"Yeah. We're going to see just what this 'Delta Red' is today. I... I think we can start there... and I know how to get there."

End Flashback

"And here we are," Noel ended, "For some reason, getting into this place was pretty easy. We... just followed our instincts and... we got this far..."

She then shot Drake a hot look...

"...and we could've gotten farther if a certain brother of mine kept his mouth shut..."

"Look, I told you what happened! I'm sorry! Yeesh. Don't be such a—"

"Hmmm... so... what are your names again?" James asked.

"Well, my name's Noel White and my idiot brother is named Drake White."

As Drake shot Noel a look to equal the one she was giving him, James looked at Rachel with interest.

"You don't think...?" he started to ask.

"Let's find out."

Rachel then cleared her throat to get the young ones' attention then said, "Are you, by any chance... related to Cammy White?"

"Yeah. She's our mother," Drake responded hastily.

I knew it... but still... this is... just... weird... What are we going to do with these kids?

"Have any ideas?" James whispered to Rachel. The woman twisted her mouth and thought it over in her head...

"Yes. This... 'vision' they had... It's interesting. I have an idea. See if you can find Morris and Jeice and tell them to meet me in the lab. I'll be there waiting for you. Go."

"Sure thing."

James then shot off, leaving Rachel with Cammy's offspring, who were staring at her from the floor still.

"Well, you two, since you're here, you can follow me. I can help you out, but first, I'd like you to do something first. It won't hurt. Ever heard of a CAT scan?"

Noel and Drake looked at one another and then back to Rachel. "Well, yeah..." they both responded at the same time.

"Splendid. Now, get up off the floor and follow me. What I have in mind is similar to that said scan... only it should tell us more about what's inside you two..."

5 minutes later...

"Whoa! Too cool!" Drake wowed. "I never saw so many gadgets before!"

"Well, make sure you don't touch. Some of this stuff's pretty dangerous."

After a while of walking through the inner workings of Delta Red, Rachel finally led Noel and Drake to an operations lab of sorts. Inside this chrome-colored room sat various decides and working tables towards the walls, but the main attractions rested towards the center of the room, where large machines sat that could hold people in it. Not to far from these devices sat control panels to monitor the process of the activity at hand. Rest assured, neither of the White twins had seen anything like this; it definitely beat out the labs in their school...

"Now, come with me..." Rachel instructed, and walked inside. The twins had no problems following her inside the room, Noel not keeping her eyes off the woman while Drake's eyes wondered all around as if he was a little kid in a toy store. After a few short steps, Rachel stopped in front of a contraption that really did resemble the type of CAT scan in which the person being scanned had to lie down in a conveyor belt or sorts and be led in. This particular model seemed to be able to hold up to five people in its pods...

"Noel? Drake?" Rachel called, I want you to lie down in a pod next to one another and just relax. I just want to take some scans of you for a quick second. Ok?"

Noel and Drake both nodded and then chose two belts at random to use. As they got situated, Rachel took her position in the control panel and began to activate the machine. On the little screen in front of her, she touched the icon that said "Initiate", which led to a "Are you sure" window. Rachel then looked up, saw that the twins were ready, and then pressed yes. As soon as she did, the machine as a whole began to whirl softly and warm up, then, after a few moments, the gears that moves the belts began to move, pulling Noel and Drake into the scan portion of the portal.

I wonder what this does... Noel asked herself as she began to close her eyes as she felt her whole body become encased by the scan portal. Outside, the Delta Red operative began to observe the readings from the two active portals...

Hmm... Nothing in interest, yet...

Quiet ensured through the room outside of the humming from the scanner. Rachel kept an eagle eye on the scanner for anything in particular that could be of use to her, but as time came on, nothing came up. After a few minutes, the quiet was broken once someone entered the door...

"Rachel! Just what in the world is going on here?"

Rachel turned her head to see James, but behind him stood Jeice and Morris, Jeice in particular who was most displeased about this turn of events... As they approached, Jeice spoke again.

"Are you crazy? I don't care if they are kids of Cammy White! Anyone under the age of 18 shouldn't be here at all. What are you thinking?"

"Jeice, look. I... just have this feeling that something is up with these two. Did James tell you the story the girl told you about?"

"Yeah, he did," Jeice replied with a scowl on his face, "and I don't buy it for a second."

"How can't you? Don't you know how hard it is to get here at all, let alone past our security? Cammy isn't with us anymore, so they couldn't have gotten here through personnel... Plus, those visions... It's worth a shot."

"Yeah, well, I hope you're satisfied with nothing, because that's what you're going to get from this scan."

"Just come here and see for yourself. I got a hunch." By this time Rachel turned her attention back to the monitor. "In the bottom of my heart... I just got this... huh? Guys! Come quick and look at this!"

James' head shot up at the call and with the rest of the sector, he made his way to the control panel. And right there, Rachel, Jeice, Morris, and James all looked at both Noel and Drake's readings...

"What the hell is that...?" Jeice asked. Morris, in turn, didn't respond verbally, but his eyes widened in shock at what he was seeing. On the radar, on the display that showed both twin's body builds in an infrared scan, an odd and very strong reading of dark energy sat in their bodies, literally covering all around them...

"It seems to be some sort... of... artificial energy..." Rachel analyzed "and if I'm right..."

She then pulled away from the group and made her way to a nearby file cabinet near the far wall of the room. She pulled out a drawer near her waist level and after a while of browsing around she pulled out a report file and carried it over to the scanner. Rachel then pulled out a sheet from the file and placed it next to the scanner's results...

"Hah! I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Look. Their energy seems to be part of the substances that was found in Troy after he was infected. That can mean..."

"...that our kids here... are either infected themselves..." James kept going, "or are immune to it to have it so long and to not have gone berserk like very one else."

"My guess is that they're not only just immune..." Rachel said, "but because of this... strong barrier of Psycho energy, Noel and Drake were able have those visions of Delta Red and managed to get through security just by instinct. It seems as if we have ourselves a secret weapon here..."

"So... you're saying..." Morris said cautiously in a bit of an American accent.

Rachel only nodded, then proceeded to press some buttons on the panel. In a few moments, the whirling died down and the conveyor belts worked in reverse, exposing the two kids to light. Once they were out fully, Drake was first to sit up, rubbing his eyes to get accustomed to the room's lights...

"So, how did we do?" he asked, his sister soon getting up herself. The 4 Delta Red operatives looked at the two White twins for a while, then Rachel cleared her throat.

"Noel? Drake? I'm about to ask you something that I have a hunch that you'll agree with no problems... You say that your mother was abducted, correct?"

Both siblings nodded.

"Well, then... how would you like to rescue her? What do you say... that you become operatives to Delta Red?"

On instinct both Noel and Drake blinked.

"Say what?" Drake gasped. "Really? You mean... be a part of this place?"

"Yeah..." Noel added. "Don't you need some sort of training and stuff to be like that?"

"Oh, trust me, you'll be able to undergo the procedures needed to be part of the force. If you're part of Delta Red, I guarantee that you'll find your mother. The scan revealed to us that you have the tools inside of you to be able to do it. All we have to do is harness it. You really remind me of Cammy when she first came here... Trust me on this, you two."

Noel and Drake both looked at one another and then pulled close to think it over. After a few whispers, both broke from one another and then looked back at Rachel.

"If it means that we can get out mother back from that woman..." Noel answered, "then you can count us in. What do we have to do first?"

Hong Kong 11:10 A.M.

"Here we are."

The Lee Dragons were long done with their morning orders, but the real time consumer was getting to "The Spot", which was held in a pretty secluded stop in Hong Kong. It was here, hidden in the darker alleyways of Hong Kong, that the underlords of the city had neutral ground at, and probably the only place that was 'stable' in the whole city in that tense. Yun and Yang knew it firsthand how easily trusts are broken here and how hard it is to make them. Way before their town was 'given' to them, they were well known for their brawls in underground tournaments to protect what they worked for and to get things normal little boys couldn't get with their normal income. However, here, different business was at hand.

"Hopefully, we won't need to get 'physical' with anyone this time around," Yun added to his previous statement. As of now, all three siblings stood outside of a door in a small alleyway, which led inside a rather well decorated building. Yun, Yin, and Yang took off their extreme gear and put it in a spot hidden to anyone else next to the door; a 'closet' hidden in the confines of the wall. Once that was taken care of, Yun opened the door and went inside.

Once inside, Yun once again laid eyes in the orange and red interior within the hallway. Doors were planted on the side every so often and towards the walls hung exotic painting and tables to add the little extra flair to this place. As the Lee Dragons went forward, they kept their sights out for the place they needed to go... Here, every room had its own purpose. "The Spot" was just that organized...

No words were shared among the three as they came from out the relatively long hallway and towards an opening... Once outside, the Dragons found their way to a really large room, almost as if it was a lobby. A staircase was located in the middle to lead to the upper level. The windows here were large and had windowpanes the right size to accompany it.

"Well, well... Look who's here, guys."

The Lee's sights turned upwards to see a bunch of individuals on the upper overpass, most of them were outfitted in street clothes and had their sights set on them. The attire was universal, mostly green all around, and on any persons body Yang knew personally that there was an image of a Viper somewhere...

The Viper Gang... he said in his mind.

"Haso!" Yun called out, "Come on! You know better than to leave your gang unattended! Someone could just snatch them up!"

"Hmph. Looks like someone never loses their sense of humor..."

Yun's focus shifted to the staircase, where another young man started to descend it. This one was different than the others. For one his attire was much spiffier, wearing a business suit and such. Overall he was really well-kempt, all the way up to his sulked black hair. As he touched down to the lower level, Haso welcomed his "visitors."

"It's been a while..." he said, putting his hands in his pockets and giving all three siblings a cool look. "Tell me what brings you here."

"I want a talk with the lords." Yun ordered. "Recently we just had an altercation with some guys who were dressed as policemen to try to warrant arrests. I want to know if this happened to anyone else."

"Well, I can tell you right now that no such thing occurred to us... At least, in our territory," Haso said confidently.

"Anyone else complain about it?" Yun asked.

Haso looked over to the side for a moment and closed his eyes. "Not to my knowledge. Tell you what. I'll let you speak to my father and the other lords... if, of course, you can get past me."

Yun twisted his mouth. "Oh, come on... Not this again... You know darn well I can stomp you into the ground whenever I felt like it... Why are you stalling?"

"Who said I was stalling? I'm dead serious. It's the way things are done around here and you know it. Don't act like such a wuss, Yun. Then again, you don't necessarily have to fight if you don't want to. I'm looking at your sister right there... She looks like she's itching for some action right about now."

At the call of her name, Yin's head shot up and she blinked in surprise. "H-huh?" she sputtered, a bit confused. "I am?"

Haso smirked. "Either her or your brother. Doesn't matter."

"Don't bother," Yun said quickly. "I'll be more than enough to get this over with. No need getting my siblings involved."

"Now that's more like it," Haso said with a smile. With that he took a few steps forward so that he was just in front of Yun. Yun fixed the blue and yellow cap on his head and then walked forward himself to meet Haso. As they made eye contact, Haso stepped into a ready stance as Yun did the same. From here it was a stand off. The entire Viper gang kept their eyes on the two down below in quiet as Yang and Yin did the same. As Yang put his hands in his pockets and Yin took a seat on the ground to watch, Yun took his full attention to the young man in front of him.

"Ready?" he asked, his eyes hidden under his cap.

"I'm always ready."

"Set... Go!"

BANG

No sooner did the words come out, the air was stricken by a deafening sound that made everyone's heart pound three-fold. Haso and Yun's eyes widened in shock and they got out of their fighting stances.

"That was NOT what I think it was," Yun muttered.

"A gunshot..." Yang whispered to himself. Yin's eyes flew upwards to the hallway on the upper level.

"Brother! It came from up there!" she shouted out.

"Vipers!" Haso called out, "let's go find out what that was!"

Yun didn't need to say anything to either Yang or Yin; the three siblings followed Haso up the staircase where the Vipers waited for their leader to be fully upstairs before they followed suit. The entire group rushed down the hallway, which was shorter, yet wider than the one before, and it wasn't long until they reached the end of the hall, which had a big set of double doors. Together, Yun and Haso busted through the door... took a gave inside... and almost on sight Haso's jaw dropped.

"No... NO!"

This room was a meeting room, special to any other in the entire building. This was where the lords of Hong Kong met at on a regular basis to discuss even the most menial topics, however, it was quickly not the case today... At the center table, men of at least 40 and above in age were crowded at the end of the table closer to Yun and the others, and from this angle, Yun could clearly see a elderly man on the floor, his chair on the floor and his eyes wide. Where Yun's focus was at, however, was on the hole implanted crudely in his forehead... It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened...

"GRANDFATHER!" Haso screamed. Instantly he shot forward towards the group and knelt down next to his father. As Yun and Yin heard his sobs and pleas for assistance, Yang's eyes veered off to scan the room.

Hmm... No sign of an altercation... No smell of gunpowder... So who could've...

"Don't just stand there! Someone here tell me what the hell happened here!"

Despite the manner of such a tragic event, the elders didn't reply to Haso's demand. The young leader of the Vipers looked up to eye each and every person around him...

"Bastards... The whole lot of you... You were all in on this, weren't you! You knew my father owned the largest amount of the Hong Kong underground! I should've known it'd be a matter of time before you all joined up to do such a thing..."

By this time tears steamed heavily from Haso's eyes and he collapsed onto his father's corpse. One of the lords knelt down to put a hand on his back but Haso quickly swatted it away.

"Look... no such thing happened... Someone from the outside was responsible for this... It was a clean assassination... as if the bullet was just invisible and waiting to hit its target... We were conducting business... and then, bang..."

"Did the sound come from his head?" Yang asked, bringing attention to himself. "By the way and sound of it, I doubt it. Someone here is trying to make a statement..."

"We have our bodyguards outside investigating this. So far, nothing..."

"THE WINDOW! WATCH OUT!"

Yin's cry brought attention to one of the window panes at the height of the room. There stood... someone... with a gun aiming straight for...

Before the thought could complete, everyone else hit the deck, just as another BANG ran through their eardrums. The sound of a bullet ricocheting off the table then followed by a few more... then silence... Yun peered over to the side of the table in which he hid under and towards the window.

You'd think someone as cowardly as that would come and handle his business like a man...

"COWARD!" Haso yelled out, standing from the ground to look at the window where the sniper was situated at. "Come down here and let's see if you're so tough up close and personal!"

"Hmph... If that's the way you want it..."

Yun blinked at the new voice in the room. Not because it was above her, but rather at the tone of it... After a few moments of silence, the sniper showed his... or rather, herself for all to see in the window. Even before she jumped down from her perch to the floor below, Yang clearly made her out. She was wearing some sort of silver uniform, brown boots, red gloves that had some weird design towards their engineering, and blonde hair that was done in a very long ponytail...

"Who the heck are you?" Yun asked, standing up as well along with the rest of the people in the room. The woman was definitely not of Chinese ethnicity... In fact, she was very English, indeed... Everything about her screamed that... except her eyes, which were blue, yet extremely hardened...

Scanning the perimeter... Targets confirmed... One down... Seven to go... Likeliness of failure... 0.02 percent...

"Hmph..." she finally said verbally. "You could've made this easier on yourself if you just shut your mouths and let me pick you off like fish in a barrel. Now I have to get my hands dirty with scum like you..."

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Yun yelled out, catching the woman's attention. "Just who ARE you?"

The blond woman turned her head to Yun's direction, where Yang and Yin stood behind him...

Hmm... well... this is interesting... The famous Triple Dragons of Hong Kong... Yun... Yang... Yin... Analyzing fighting data... Threat rating... menial... This should be easy practice for me...

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you this before I finish you off along with the others in this room," the woman answered, putting up her fists to provoke a brawl. "Raven will be delighted that his first perfect doll was able to not only take out all the kingpins in the Hong Kong underground and capture the Lee Dragons, but made way for Shadowloo to take over this city... all by herself..."

"Take over the...?" Yin repeated. "Capture us? No way!"

"My sister's right!" Yun said while stepping up towards the woman, accepting her challenge. "No way are you getting all that we've worked so hard on, even if it was through underworld connections! You'll have to go through me and my brother and sister before you can do that!"

A smirk grew on the woman's face as all three Lee siblings approached her to get ready to defend themselves... then she whispered to herself, "Miss Raven. Cammy White, here. Ready to initiate combat mode."

"Affirmative," came a voice in a hidden communicator in her ear, "Show these weaklings just what they're dealing with..."