CHAPTER 9: RECUPERATION
Note: Sorry about updating so late and with only two segments. I was away and handling other things... However, I think the one before and after this one will make up for this one's length. Think about this as a bridge chapter or something like that. Also, I might go back and add a bit more a little later, but for now, enjoy this little bit right here.
Tokyo, Japan 3:01 P.M.
"Uuuuuuuuuugh..."
"Ok, the medicine seems to be working fine. Take things easy, Sakura... Don't strain yourself..."
As Sakura's eyes opened at first, she couldn't make anything out. Her eyes were only able to make out a haze of colors. To add to that, her body felt as if she was hit by an exploding torpedo. Through the pain all throughout her body, she groaned as she blinked, her vision now catching that of an individual looming over her. It was a young woman, wearing casual clothes and her mid-length black hair was accompanied by a very familiar dark skin tan. After a few seconds, Sakura's mind was able to identify her.
"K... Kao... ru..."
The young woman by her nodded slowly.
"Yes, Sakura. It's me. Lucky for you I was in the area and with Karin when we caught the ki signals from the battle you were in. I don't know what that was all about... and I sure don't want to stress you, but... just who the hell was that man, anyway?"
"T... that man..."
Then, against Kaoru's concerns, Sakura sat up, wincing as she got to a comfortable position. The pain from her stomach reminded her of the events that occurred just before she blacked out. Her thoughts kept her from realizing that she lay in a rather comfortable and decorated bed, way too good to be her own.
"He... he just came out of nowhere..." she muttered, just barely loud enough for her "sister" to pick it up, "and... and made such... easy work of us... He was barely trying... and I gave him some of my best attacks..."
Kaoru's face remained expressionless as she looked at her "sister". She could very well sense the trouble in Sakura's eyes and heart, and she hated to have to bring her to this, but for her own sake, she needed to know. The man's eerie red eyes burned in her mind, and she wasn't going to be comfortable unless she knew who she was dealing with.
"Sakura..." she said calmly, "Who was he...? I need to know..."
Sakura's brown eyes lifted from the sheets that covered half of her body to Kaoru's face. As her words came out, she choked on them. Although Kaoru asked her to try to calm down, she knew that the Cherry Blossom just couldn't help it...
"He... he wa... is the Master of Fists... Ten years ago... D... Darrell and I... fought him... and we thought we finished him off... He's the fighter... Ryu and Ken warned me about... but after that fight that night... we thought he was dead... but he came back..."
By this time, hot tears began to trickle down her cheeks and she once again lowered her head, her eyes closed tight...
"...and he did this...! Darrell was... trying his hardest, too... and he tried to take him on one-on-one... I shouldn't have let him do that... I should've been with him at the start, but I wasn't... I waited too long... and... he's probably gone by now...!"
After a few sobs, Sakura finally broke down, her cries totally uncontrolled. Little to her notice, Kaoru sat on the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her backside while her other free hand gently wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Now, now, Sakura... Don't think that way... It's not true. You don't need to worry. I gave Darrell the same medicine I gave you. He's resting in another room, so there's no need for those tears. You need to just be glad that you're all right."
Very slowly, Sakura began to reclaim her senses, sniffing loudly as Kaoru brought her close in a hug.
"Everything's going to be ok, Sakura... There's no way I'm going to let that happen to either of you if I'm around."
"Thank... you..."
As the traveler kept comforting Sakura, she ran a thought through her mind.
Speaking of which, if Sakura's up, that means that...
"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
However, she never finished it. Both women gasped at the sound of a sudden yell, half of pain and half of total rage in the distance. Kaoru could pick up every emotion in it as it crossed her ears, and she was certain who it came from.
"That was..." Sakura began.
"So much for resting..." Kaoru said to herself. She then looked over to Sakura and continued, "You stay here in bed and try to relax. I'll see what's the matter. That medicine won't work as well unless you're keeping your body stress to a minimum, so you just do that, ok?"
Kaoru barely caught the nod from Sakura before she hopped off the bed and crossed her arms. Then, just like that, she closed her eyes and channeled her ki, disappearing from Sakura's sight to reappear in another room very similar to the one she just left... only this time, the bed was in disarray, its sheets now trailing towards the floor... eventually leading to the firefly known as Darrell. Currently, he was on his hands and knees facing the wall, Kaoru only able to see his back as he gave the floor below him a solid punch in anger. At first she could only look on as she watched her "brother's" body shake as he cursed...
"Dammit, Akuma! How long are you going to haunt me like this! How long until you're finally satisfied with me? Do you WANT me dead, and you won't rest until that happens, at any cost! Damn...!"
Another fist collided into the wall this time... and this time, Darrell's head hung as the fist slumped down to the ground, his eyes closed from enduring the immense pain that shot through his body.
"And I couldn't finish it... Even with the Onhaisui he treated it as if it was just a paper burn... Ten fucking years... and he gets more powerful in death than I have been training all those years..."
Darrell...
Kaoru never saw either of her "siblings" act like this before. It was utterly depressing to see them on the edge like this...
"Bastard..."
Darrell's voice was very low now... almost menacingly... and Kaoru could notice a very familiar... essence building within him... and that's when she was sure she needed to step in now... or else...
"Darrell, stop this..."
At the sound of her voice, Darrell blinked, frozen in place as he could hear footsteps behind him. He groaned a bit as turned around to face Kaoru, who he had no idea was in the room at all until now. However, his eyes weren't really saying that he was pleased to see her. In fact, Kaoru could plainly see the intentions within him... The darkness that she was so familiar with was all so potent in him...
REVENGE...
"Darrell, you've got to calm down... You can't let him get to you like this... or else you'll end up even worse... It's just not worth it..."
"Kaoru..."
Kaoru made her way towards him, not stopping until she was kneeling in front of him so that she could make direct eye contact.
"Just take it easy. The medicine I gave you won't work unless you're in a calm state. If you let your anger go, then you won't heal up completely. I understand what you're going through... but take it easy... It's over now... You don't need to worry about Akuma any longer."
Darrell gave a confused look. "You...?"
"I only took a glance at him... Batsu told me that he said he was through with you and Sakura... We don't know why he said that... but considering now, we'd best be glad that you were left alive."
Kaoru then took a pause, recalling those same eyes from that demon locked on her... and then the reactions that Yui was having around him...
Yet, I think he's just starting with me...
"Personally... I'm glad that you're up right now."
By the time she finished, Darrell fully calmed down. He fully closed his eyes and sighed heavily, then opened his eyes, staring Kaoru right back in her eyes... making Kaoru blink. This new look in his eyes... It was so... different...
"Darrell...?"
He said nothing, but instead he quickly wrapped his arms around his "little sister" and pulled her close to give her a warm hug. Surprised, Kaoru let out a startled gasp as she could feel her slightly tanned cheeks start to turn red in embarrassment.
"Kaoru," he whispered, "You know... I've known you for 6 years. Sakura and I let you into our home and made you family... and yet, after all the crap we've went through... and even though I called you my little sister, I never ever hugged you. I said 'good luck', 'take care', and stuff like that... but I never said 'I love you.'"
"Uuuh..."
As Darrell closed his eyes and held Kaoru tight, Kaoru was too stunned to speak. As she absorbed the words, she was just... speechless. The more she tried to make sense of all that was happening, to more her cheeks burned.
"It wasn't until now, that I realized that I could've gotten killed... and I still don't quite realize how easily I forget how precious you and Sakura are to me. Sakura was knocked out... and I foolishly tried to take a swing at him... It was the same thing I was trying to prevent her from doing for me. And I probably would be in a hospital or worse if it weren't for you... Thank you..."
"Darrell... Really, you... don't have to say all that..."
"Of course I do," he assured, pulling away to see her face. As he got a good look, he smiled gently.
"Heh... This is probably the first time I've seen you blush, too..."
Kaoru immediately made a face. "Darrell, please!" she belted out, trying her best to toughen up, but her embarrassment was just too much. "You're taking me all out of character here!"
Darrell let out a laugh. "You have got to stop acting like that around family. There's no need for you to put on the 'big, bad, Kaoru" routine. You should know that."
"Yeah, well... I... I have a reputation to maintain..."
"Oh, who's going to know, Kaoru," Darrell joked, holding Kaoru by her warm cheeks as they sat in front of one another on the floor. "It's not like I'm going to blab to everyone in the circuit that you're like this in private. You need to lighten up some."
"Oh, and I guess you're the prime example of light?" Kaoru replied lightly. "Just a few seconds ago you were about to go and search the earth for that guy for revenge. Sure, he's... dangerous, but you know that once you're angry like that you're destined to really burn up."
Darrell then gave Kaoru a pouting look. "Oh, so you want to go there, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm taking it there," Kaoru replied smugly.
"Fine then... Then I guess I need to take it HERE then!"
In a jolt Darrell caught Kaoru by surprise by pushing her forward, not hard but just enough to make her fall on her back on the floor. Before she knew what was going on, Kaoru's arms were pinned on each side of her head, making her look at Darrell as he loomed over her with a gleam in his eyes...
"H-hey!" she yelped as she tried to get free, "Wha... what are you doing?"
Darrell only laughed, one of his hands letting go to begin to move towards the bottom of Kaoru's shirt...
And Kaoru merely froze, because she didn't have a clue what was happening at all. In the back of her mind she began to expect the worst... As the shirt went upwards, she began to plan a way to maybe punch him full force in the face, and that desire grew even more potent as Darrell began to lower his hand to her stomach... and...
"HAHAHA! S-stooooop! Y-HEHE! You're-you're ki—EE—killing me!"
"Yeah, you like that, huh?" Darrell asked, wearing a devilish smile as he tickled his "sister", who was immediately dying of laughter.
"N... Y-HAHA! Get off!" she half yelled, half giggled, trying to turn around so she could bare it. By now her eyes were closed hard and she was shedding tears from all her laughing.
"Say 'I give' and I'll stop!"
"D... Darrell! HAHA!"
"Say it, 'little sis'!"
"NEVER!"
"Ok! You asked for it!"
Darrell then brought his head down to Kaoru's stomach, placed his mouth directly onto her belly button and did something he hadn't did since he was with his little brother back in New Jersey 14 years ago...
PHHHHHHHHHHHTTTT!
"AAAHHH! STOP! I—AHAHA!"
"Say it! Say it or I'll blow again!"
"NOOOOOOOO! HEEHEE!
BBBBBBFFFFFFFFFFFFTTT!
"OK, OK! I give! I give!" she finally pleaded on exhausted lungs. "Just stop!"
"Hehe... Ok..."
The firefly finally rose off his "sister" but not before wiping her clean with his sleeve and putting her shirt back in place. Kaoru stayed on her back a while, wiping the tears from her eyes with her fingers. Afterwards she took a few deep breaths to calm down a bit, then sat up, giving Darrell a playful slap on his cheek in the process.
"Why did you do that?" she asked, still giggling and with a smile on her face.
"To see you smile is all," Darrell replied honestly. "It makes me feel better when you smile. Plus, I haven't done that in ages. I see my stepfather's tricks still work. Sure didn't know you were ticklish."
"Neither did I... I guess I learn a little bit about myself every day..."
Darrell nodded, then spread his arms wide.
"Come here... Give your 'bro' a hug."
After a good, loving embrace between the 'siblings', Darrell looked towards the door just to see someone turn away from the window. He then smirked.
"Looks like someone was taking notes..." he said quietly to himself.
"What's that?" Kaoru asked.
"Oh, nothing. Come on. Let's go cheer Sakura up. If I know her, she's not doing so well right."
The traveler nodded. "I know. I just came from there... Let's go do that."
Meanwhile, the Cherry Blossom was doing just what the doctor ordered, lying on her back and taking the time to see her surroundings clearly.
I remember this room... Looks like I'm in one of Karin's guest rooms... I wonder what she's up to...
After a bit of silence, Sakura sighed and sat up in the bed. She was still in pain but it seemed Kaoru's medicine was working. Not only was the pain going away but she could feel her strength returning. She smirked to herself and began to rise up and out of her bed.
Sorry, Kaoru, but you know I just can't stand lying down. I need to get active...
As she touched down on the carpet, she noticed that her sneakers were on the opposite wall along with her light jacket, leaving her in her socks, pants, and undershirt.
Maybe I'll stretch a little...
To start off, Sakura outstretched both her arms and clenched her fists. She opened her hands and again, first the left then the right to build some feeling on them. Next was her torso, in which she twisted her hips to loosen that area, too. She worked at it for 30 seconds, then shot her hips forward to lengthen the exercise. Sakura held it for 5 counts, then bent down fully, stretching her back while touching the floor with both hands.
As she counted to ten in her mind, she then got to her knees and sat down fully on the floor.
Now the legs...
Sakura spread her legs wide at a 90 degree angle and then leaned her upper body forward, pressing her entire body towards the ground, her hands holding down her ankles. After a count of 15, she then brought her right leg backwards as far behind her as it could go. She then turned her torso the other way and stretched for another 15 seconds before reversing sides.
After all her stretching she sprung up to her feet, the lazy feeling in her body now gone.
Ok... Enough with the warm-ups. Time to really let loose.
Sakura didn't waste any time. Immediately she pictured a big, shapeless target in her mind, then got into a ready stance. She began with a sharp jab right in front of her, hitting air and her imaginary target. She repeated this again slowly at first, just to get started, then immediately sped up. Her fist moved like a blue as it tagged her target with ease.
"Yah!"
She then went on with a few hard kicks that would have taken someone head clean off its shoulders. By this time, Sakura was in full game, dodging around as if her target was a sparring partner and throwing her own attacks to counter. She got so wrapped into it that she could really feel as if she was really fighting someone. A shapeless opponent in her mind... that suddenly stopped attacking... and jump away from Sakura...
"Nani?" Sakura gasped slowing to a stop to blink. The black shadow that she pictured in her mind was actually in front of her for real and began to take shape of its own. After a few seconds, Sakura could only look forward. Of course this was weird... but at the same time, she knew what this meant. She could feel the surroundings darken a bit and the image started to form clothes, eyes, and a headband. Once everything was finished, Sakura found herself staring at a mirror image of herself, only her image had darker skin and a red iris...
"Well, well," Sakura started, "It's been a while, twin sis."
"Well, duh," the darker Sakura, known as Sakura Satsu, jeered while rolling her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, being dormant for 4 years makes me really have to rely on other means to get attention... Well, never mind about that."
"So why are you... up?"
Sakura Satsu twisted her mouth and crossed her arms. "Because you're lucky enough to be breathing, let alone up. Akuma's energy... It was so powerful I thought I was going to have to take over... Then you got knocked unconscious and I couldn't do anything after that..."
The lighter Sakura frowned. "Yeah, I know. It felt as if I was fighting a real demon from hell. I don't think Akuma was holding back at all."
"Well, that's why I needed to talk," Sakura Satsu said, frowning herself, "When you fought Akuma, I sensed something... odd..."
"Odd?" Sakura replied, confused.
"Yes, odd. Didn't Akuma seem different to you? Outside of the crazy power he unleashed?"
Sakura paused as she thought back and rewind everything in her head. She did it once... twice... then thrice. However, upon the third time she just shook her head.
"Well, here's what I noticed," the dark Sakura continued. "When he spoke, his choice of words were... more... Well, from what I remember, Akuma never sounded so... confident... Cool... A bit talkative during the fight... He just didn't quite sound like Akuma at certain times."
This caused Sakura to rub the back of her head. "I never picked that up... I barely took notice of it."
"I'm not done. This next one shocked me. Even though Akuma has gotten so powerful under all our noses, I picked out something different. You guys couldn't sense it, but I could, since I'm pure Satsu no Hadou. Whenever Akuma powered up a strong attack, I noticed that his energy wasn't pure, like hidden underneath his original power was something else."
"Steroids, maybe...?" the lighter Sakura half-heartedly joked. However, she knew that this was no joking manner.
"I guess you could say that," Sakura Satsu answered. "Last thing, twin sis, and this is most obvious. Akuma let you live. Had that been 10 years ago, you Darrell, and the others would've been dead. That part just baffles me."
Sakura took a pause and then her eyes widened. "Sis, you're right! That is unlike Akuma. I've heard rumors that Akuma practically murdered all that he fought and won against. I don't see how we were so different... no matter how weak he said we were..."
Sakura Satsu's eyes hardened. "Sis, I don't think I need to tell you this, but be careful. Things totally stink right now. Anything can happen. Also, remember that whatever happens to you happens to me since we merged. Keep that into consideration... get it? That gut punch really made me want to throw up."
Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I know. No problem. Don't worry about me. I won't let my guard down from here on out. You just be ready to take over when the time comes."
"It's a deal," the dark Sakura said with a smile. She then turned around and gave her original a wink while giving a form of a salute. "Talk to you later... oh, and sis?"
"Yes, sis?"
"Whenever you want to train... just let me know. I'm just dying for some action, you know..."
"Ok. I'll call you."
At the end of the sentence, Sakura's dark side faded out of view, leaving Sakura all alone again. As she regained focus on her room she sighed and sat on her bed.
I wonder just what the heck is going on...
"Sakura?"
The Cherry Blossom's head jerked up at the call of her name and she turned around... and her face brightened to se her husband standing at the doorway, along with Kaoru.
"Ah! Darrell! You're ok!"
"Yeah... How's that for luck?" he asked as Sakura hopped off her bed and made her way to him. The two shared a hug and kiss before Darrell finished, "I should be asking you if you're alright."
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Still alive and kicking."
"Great. Now that we're both up, let's try to find Karin and the others."
"Good idea, yes, but you don't need to look far for one of them..."
The last sentence came from behind Kaoru. As the three turned around, their eyes grabbed sight of Karin as she stood, back next to the wall in the hallway. Sakura closed her eyes, dropping her head a little, then made eye contact with her friend and rival.
"Karin, I sure owe you big this time..."
Instantly Karin waved it off. "It's ok, Sakura. You don't need to go all sorry on me. I'm just glad that you're up and well..."
However, much to the other three's displeasure, Karin's expression wasn't as cheerful as her words would be noting. "Unfortunately, guys, you aren't the only one with crazy problems..."
"Nani!" Sakura instantly blurted out. "What's wrong this time!"
"Well... I'll let you find out for yourself. Follow me."
As Karin pushed off the wall and began to walk down the hallway, Sakura, Kaoru, and Darrell looked at one another before they followed suit. After only a few steps, Karin stopped in front of a door very similar to that of the one that enclosed the rooms Sakura and Darrell rested in. However, when she opened it, they found out that this door led to the lobby towards the mansion's office. As they stepped inside, they only took a few steps before Sakura, Kaoru, and Darrell froze in shock, their eyes glued to the couches and seats in the lobby.
"HINATA! KYOSUKE!" Sakura instantly screamed on the top of her lungs, "What the heck happened to you two?"
In the lobby, accompanied with Batsu, Yui, Chun-Li, Ran, and a now conscious Ace, sat Hinata Wakaba and her husband, the orange-haired Taiyo High graduate named Kyosuke Kagami. In front of Hinata stood a small, 6-year-old kid. He was a brown-hair, just like his mother, and went by the name Tai. He, along with his parents, had their clothes battered, only Hinata and Kyosuke were in far worse shape. Tai himself had tears in his eyes, however, he wasn't crying...
Hinata and Kyosuke looked up to see Sakura and the others come over to see if they were ok. Once she was close, both Hinata and Sakura shared deep hug before Sakura said, "Please... Tell me you're ok..."
"Trust me, Sakura... I've seen much better days..." was her friend's response, her voice showing that she was definitely exhausted.
"What happened?" Darrell asked. Before anyone could reply, Karin stepped in to answer that herself.
"Well, while we were tending to you guys, I intentionally missed a call from the Zaibatsu so I can concentrate on warding off calls from the media. It turns out that in addition to that other guy, another dark ki appeared in Tokyo a few moments later..."
"And it didn't show up until he attacked..." Hinata mumbled. "Neither of us was ready at all... Before that, Kyosuke and I were arguing about me heading off with you guys. Kyosuke remembered my last adventure and didn't want to lose me. However, as we were talking, the windows all through the manor blew open... and... and I freaked once I found out who caused it..."
"Who?" Sakura asked, her voice once again going through shock. "Was it Akuma again?"
Hinata shook her head. "No... He... he goes way farther back..." Her focus turned to Batsu, Darrell, then Sakura, then her head hung low, her eyes closed.
"You guys... H... Hyo Imawano is back from the dead..."
An intense shock ran through all three ex-Rival Schoolers, more so in Batsu than anyone else.
"You've gotta be kidding...!" he yelled. "First that freak attacks my friends, now my crazy uncle comes back from the dead?"
Hinata only nodded slowly. "Before... we could even understand what was going on, Hyo did... something... and a huge wave of energy blew all throughout the manor. It was horrible... Everything inside was thrashed... Luckily little Tai was able to be in a place that went under little pressure... Same couldn't be said for us... We me the full force of the attack and passed out. When we came to... we were here..."
Batsu's eyes looked over to Kyosuke, who just looked back at him. They didn't share words, but Batsu's eyes spoke enough.
"Ugh...! I can't believe that this is happening...!"
Batsu then clenched his fists and added, "Don't worry, you two. I'll get to the bottom of things and set things right!"
"You're not the only one..."
Batsu looked next to him to see Darrell looking at his friends as well. His expression was just as intense, and the flames in his eyes started to flare just like they did during the Onhaisui.
"Shadowloo has to be responsible for this somehow... Something in my gut just screams that. What they're doing... is so inhumane... I can't let them get away with this!"
Darrell's hand then went aflame and instantly he snuffed it.
"I swear that Bison's going to fry for this!"
"Right!" Sakura quickly replied. "That freak has ruined my life for the last time! How can I get ahead in life if every few years he returns and makes things worse? It's getting on my last nerves!"
"I'm in, too," Hinata added. "He's gone too far this time around! My little boy could've been killed today! There's no way I'll forgive him for that!"
"Count me in, too," came Karin. "You guys can use all the help you can get. I'm sure the Zaibatsu can be of much use in tracking him down. Also, one more person on the team wouldn't hurt."
Kaoru and Yui looked at one another and nodded, then Kaoru said, "We're in, too. I have a feeling I might be on his hit list as well. If we stay together, we can watch each other's backs."
As all this was going on, Chun-Li and Ace looked on. Chun-Li herself couldn't help but smile. She never seen so much youth gather together to team up to stop something like Shadowloo..
"Ace..." she said quietly, "I think things are going to be much smoother from now on..."
Ace only nodded and together they watched as the Rival Schoolers huddled up to strategize on how to tackle Shadowloo.
Hong Kong: 11:13 A.M.
"So..." Yun whispered as his eyes glued onto the woman in front of him, "how do we go about this, eh...?"
"You start, we'll back up," Yang answered.
The tension in the room was thick. At one side of the room stood Shadoloo's newborn "doll", armed at her sides with numerous weapons, and it was clear that Cammy wasn't going to hesitate to use them. In the middle of the room were the Triple Dragons, Yun, Yang, and Yin, willing to defend their turf against its latest threat. Finally in the back were the rest, entire Viper gang, along with the lords of the Chinese underground, all watching and looking over one of their fallen. The sight was rather emotional to say the least... except for one...
"Let's go."
No sooner did the words flow from her lips, Cammy sped forward, her speed enhanced even more so than before. Unfortunately, no one in the room even seen her before, so Yun was caught completely by surprise as she easily got in his face within a blink. In another blink, Yun was knocked clean across the room by an elbow to the face. The 'audience' gasped as they found out that the leader of the Dragons was on the round, just a few centimeters from Haso's deceased grandfather...
"Yun," said Haso, "I might not like you as much as I should... but I'm telling you now. Don't you dare lose to her. She has to pay for was she did..."
Yun rubbed the area Cammy hit with his backhand and refocused his sights on Cammy, who simply stood right between Yin and Yang. However, Cammy's own focus was also on them and both of Yun's siblings knew better than to jump in like a fool without scouting her out...
"Yeah..." Yun replied while standing up, "Don't worry about a thing. We'll take her down."
As he stood fully, he quickly shot off the ground and into the air. Cammy's head jerked upward as she monitored Yun's movements...
Analyzing... He's doing a Regekishuu...
"Hoo!"
Yun, at the peak of his jump, came down swiftly with his foot down for a kick. Cammy merely moved backwards to evade. As soon as he landed he put a foot forward, ducked down a bit...
Dakai...
...and thrusted both his arms out to his sides. Cammy parried... and countered with a hard side fist...
"CANNON DRILL!"
...and finished with her Cannon Drill. Cammy's special move caught Yun in the ribs, however, this time it was powered by a freaky bluish-purple blaze. The oldest dragon was once again blown back, this time into the wall... and bookcase where Haso stood next to and the force caused several of the books there to fall on top of him.
"Brother!" Yin yelled. "Are you ok?"
Yun only groaned as he sat on the carpet, trying to recuperate. Yin twisted her mouth, and quickly set her sights on Cammy.
"My turn, then..." she whispered. Yang was close enough to hear her and turned to hold her back, but she stepped forward...
"Ha!"
...and her body blurred out, using her Gen'ei Senkou to close in on the doll as fast as she could. However, it wasn't fast enough, for before she could appear, Cammy's head moved towards her side...
Movement... Gen'ei Senkou.
"I got you now!" the youngest dragon yelled as she formed right next to Cammy, attacking with an elbow of her own. Cammy's body stayed stationary, but her head moved forward to avoid the attack, then rolled backward avoid the following fist. As she did so, Yin kept up, ducking in...
"Hai!"
...and threw her right arm upwards, a streak of light forming from it. Yin's Shurraizan, however as parried by Cammy's arm the moment she stood back up, and the youngest dragon wound up paying for it with a strong kick to the ribs. Yin reeled backwards, nursing her side, and it left her open for a sledgehammer blow right across her cheek, sending her smack into the wall behind her. Before she could make heads or tails of what was happening, a hand clasped strongly against her neck and held her up so that she could look at Cammy wither she wanted to or not...
"It's going to have to take more than a weak sneak attack to catch me off guard, girl..."
"Let go of my sister!"
Cammy instantly did so, letting Yin slump to the floor while holding her neck, and barely got the chance to find out what she was looking at before a shoulder flew right into her stomach, making her double over so that Yun's Tetsuzanko could hit fully, this time her face. Cammy's body found itself colliding with the wall just above Yin, and from there she began to slide down to the floor, Yin having to scramble away to avoid getting used as a landing port. With that, the Triple Dragons regrouped, not letting their eyes off the Shadowloo doll for a second.
"Cammy! Is everything alright?"
"Yes, Raven..."Cammy responded, beginning to reclaim her senses and stand up. "Just a minor... error... I should've seen that attack coming."
"Hmm... Seems as if there's still some kinks to work out in the Project... No matter. You're still running well enough to show them not to mess with us. Forget about the Dragons. We'll save them for a later date. Return to the original plan and bail out ASAP. Accomplish it by any means of force... In fact... I suggest you go straight to the heat of the matter..."
"Roger that..."
"Hey! Don't tell me that little shot was all it needed," Yun called out. "If you're still able to stand up, let's get this on and over with!"
"Heh... Such a loudmouth punk..." Cammy retorted, standing up fully to face everyone in the room, a twisted smirk landing across her face. "Not a bad shot, I give you that... but it seems as if today's not quite the day to fully exterminate you. I've just received new orders..."
"Wait a second! That doesn't mean you're going to get away that easily! You're going to pay for what you've done here!"
"Oh, please... Shut your mouth for once..." Cammy now faced away from the rest of the area, waving off Yun in particular. "In due time you'll realize that I'm a lot stronger than you can ever be... but first priority is always first..."
And with that, Cammy's right hand raised into the air... and her fingers snapped.
"Its time..." she whispered into her communicator, and instantly, the windows seemed to literally explode, making the Dragons shield for cover. The moment the sound of glass stopped and the Lee Dragons could recall what was happening, several other people in universal black uniforms jumped in through the openings caused a few moments ago... each one armed with a firearm and now aiming right towards them...
"DUCK!" Yun yelled out, hitting the deck behind a nearby sofa, Yin and Yang following suit. The next few seconds were filled with nothing but straight horror as the air popped in the sound of guns firing at will, dust and yells flying all over the place. Yun kept his eyes shielded by his cap while Yin merely closed her eyes tight as well as her ears, but Yang just looked on, his face growing pale as he saw the Vipers and the Lords of the Chinese Underground get picked off one by one...
"Oh, man..." was all he could mutter, just before the yell from the lead woman echoed through the air.
"That's enough! Hold your fire!"
The bullets stopped flying, and steadily, the other two dragons slowly brought their eyes to see what Yang already saw... and Yin began to open her mouth to scream at the sight of the blood-filled wall as the entire room stood decimated by the hailstorm of gunfire, but Yun held her mouth closed with his hand.
"Taking an analysis..." Cammy said to herself, scanning the perimeter for any source of life, then... "All dead. Mission accomplished. Miss Raven, we're heading back to base."
In her ear, the leader of Shadowloo clouted, "Yes. Well done. Even when not operating at 100 efficiency, you get the work done with deadly precision... Now... Come back to me. I shall see personally where you need to be fixed at..."
"Affirmative..." she whispered, then said out loud. "We're out of here."
Then, the air began to pick up as the sound of helicopter blades blew through the air, and as the three Dragons peeped from behind the chair, they caught the sight of a black helicopter come into view from above, the wind caused from the blades whipping up the debris that was laying around in the room. The backup squad instantly stood down and jumped out of the window and into the open door that was waiting on them, leaving Cammy to begin to do the same. However, she stopped, merely turning to face the chopper, then looked back to see the Dragons staring back at her in disbelief...
"Now that that's out of the way... I think I'll be seeing you three VERY soon..." she said in a sadistic tone. "Trust me, there'll be no firearms next time... It'll just be me and the three of you, and when its all said and done, you'll be part of US. Ta ta for now, Dragons..."
"WAIT!" Yun yelled, now scrambling out from his hiding place and beginning to run towards the assassin, holding his cap as he ran, but before he could reach her, Cammy simply gave a mocking salute and jumped out the window and into the open port, which shut as soon as she was inside. And, as if it was nothing, the helicopter just picked up its speed and seemed to jet off, as if it was a jet plane...
"DAMMIT!" the eldest Dragon cursed, throwing his cap down into the ground and clenching his hands. "I can't believe they got away just like that!"
Yang didn't reply, instead just looking in the sky in which the helicopter flew off at, while Yin was too busy looking on in horror at the scene that was the entire population of the room minus them being on the floor, shot to death. Even Haso was lying on top of his grandfather facedown, blood on the back of his shirt...
"I... I think I'm going to be sick..." was all she muttered, just before she felt something come up... and, before Yun could even stop her, she leaned over and threw up, leaving him to just mutter a "Geez" under his breath, putting a hand on his face.
"Brother..." Yang began, his voice as calm as he could make it in this situation, "we've... got to get out of here..."
After a while to take some deep breaths, Yun sighed and bent down to pick up his hat, brush it off, and place it back onto his head. "Yeah, you're right... Even though... you know... things turned out like this... we can't just stand here and let these guys get away with this. We got to pay them back for threatening our turf like that... Yin!"
Yin, in response, coughed and gagged in response, trying to get herself back together. She lifted her head from the floor, shook it clean, and nodded, while not facing her brothers.
"I want you to do something..."
"What...?"
"I want you to go and get Hoimei and Shaomei... Tell them to pack up. They're coming with us. If they knew us that well... we can't afford to let them stay here. It's too dangerous. They might try to target them."
"S... sure..."
"Yang and I will head back to the restaurant and close up early... Meet us back at our house... We're going to try to leave today."
Once again Yin nodded, and stood up, abet a bit shaky, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"You know..." she muttered, "with the Lords dead... the underground's going to be like hell on earth... No order... Gangs are going to try to take over the city..."
"Not if this other place does it first," Yun responded. "That gives us more reason to find them and bring them down before they do that. Come on. Let's go."
The siblings nodded in response and began to walk out the room, but not before paying their respects to the ones lying dead in the room. Yin, in particular, gave Haso one last good look before she closed her eyes and let loose a tear for him, then ran out of the room... just missing his left arm twitch... and start to move... and with that, Haso lifted his head, just in time to see the door to the room close, and all he could do was stay where he was, unable to put words into sentences to express his shock and grief in the situation...