CHAPTER 19

-"STRIKING FOR THE BLACK ROSE'S LOVE! ANGELUS MEETS A FAMILIAR FACE!"-

RED CAT GANG'S NEW SECRET BASE:

Erick enters again to the Lab…he then sees Dr. Wily. The Doctor was kind of tired:

Erick gives him what MIGHT be his last reminder. "Dr. Wily…your time is up…for your sake, you had better finish extracting those jewels."

A dog-tired Dr. Wily replies, "I…I have…"

Erick brightens up. "Really?"

Dr. Wily pants, "I just finished it right now."

"Then let's see them."

Dr. Wily shows Erick three shining jewels:

Erick's pleased. "Excellent work, Wily…You see, you did finish it!"

Still panting from exhaustion, Dr. Wily says, "I did, didn't I?"

"You see that the little motivation actually worked on you."

"I understand now why you used that "motivation"…you had Akuma here to scare me, so that I could finish the job fast…right?"

"Right you are Doctor."

"But, that was only a little joke right? I mean, the killing part."

With a straight face, Erick says, "No."

Dr. Wily gasps. "You mean…if I didn't finish it…he would have actually…gulp…killed me?"

"Yes."

Dr. Wily shakes in pure fear on hearing this!

Erick reassures him, "But you DID finish it Doctor. So, take a little break while I study them okay…? Um, Doctor?"

Erick then turns around and sees Dr. Wily, who just fainted. He's lying on the floor, his body quivering and twitching like a plate of Jello.

The next day, at the Tendo House, Kima, Ling Ling and Lung Lung wake up and they walk until they reach the living room, where Ranma, Ran, Akane and their family are having breakfast. They see them:

Ranma cheerfully greets Kima. "Hey Kima, how are you?"

To Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung, Nodoka says, "Hello children, did you sleep well?"

Ling-Ling nods. "Um, yes we did, thanks."

"Yeah." Kima says.

Nodoka smiles. "That's good, are you hungry? Would you like to have breakfast with us?"

Ling-Ling shakes her head. "Yes, yes we do!"

Lung-Lung, just as hungry as her sister, says, "We haven't had a meal for two days!"

"Then, why don't you make yourselves comfortable and I'll serve you." Kasumi tells them.

"Thanks!" Kima and the Amazon twins happily reply.

Then Kasumi serves them, and they eat like if they hadn't eaten for a while:

Kasumi blinks. "Oh my! I see that you were indeed hungry."

Lung-Lung says while eating, "We…ha…ate it goo…!"

Nodoka gently chides, "Now now, it's very rude to talk while eating, young ladies. First finish eating, then you talk."

Ling-Ling apologizes for her sister. "What my sister means is, that its true, we we're very hungry."

"This is very good cooking Miss Tendo." Kima politely says.

Kasumi's pleased, "Why thank you Kima dear."

Soun looks up from reading the morning newspaper to ask, "So what are your plans, girls?"

Ling-Ling replies, "Well…we talk to Cologne and she agree that we live with them."

"Really?" Ranma asks.

Lung-Lung answers, "Yeah, and we also working at Cat Café."

"Well that's good for you…," Nodoka says, "You'll be working and helping your fellow friends."

Kima, curious, looks in Ran's direction. "I was wondering…who are you? You look so much like Ranma's cursed side."

Ling-Ling says, "She's right. we forgot about her."

Ranma, as if remembering something he forgot, says, "Oh, we forgot to introduce you to her didn't we…? Well, her name is Ran…"

Then, like before, they explain to Kima and the Chinese twins all about Ran, how they met her, until that day:

"That's unbelievable," Kima says after Ranma tells her Ran's story. "You say that you don't remember anything Ran?"

Ran shakes her head. "No, I don't remember anything of my past."

"You probably suffer from amnesia?"

"That's what I thought, but I don't know."

Ling-Ling comments, "You sure look so much like Ranma! You even have pig-tailed hair like him, that's so creepy!"

Akane giggles, "Yea, but you get used to it, with Ranma, everything could be weird!"

"Hey!" Ranma mock-objects.

In the destroyed Amazon Village, three persons are walking around in it. They are the Vampire Demitri, the sexy Succubus Morrigan, and the demon Samurai Bishamon (who is actually the cursed armor Hannya using Bishamon's identity). They see the wreckage:

Demitri coldly says, "My, it looks like someone paid a little visit to this place."

Morrigan says, "Boy, they sure did leave quite a mess. Look at this place! Everything is destroyed!"

Bishamon agrees. "True, and I don't sense any living beings…that means that they're all dead…wait a minute…"

"What is it Bishamon?" Demitri wanted to know.

"I sense someone there…" Bishamon points to a destroyed house. "…in that house."

"Really? Well, let's check it out." Morrigan says.

Then, they approach the house, they lift the burnt wood, and found trapped inside a middle-aged Amazon woman. But she was badly wounded, and in agony:

"Looks like a survivor." Bishamon observes.

Yes, but, it appears she doesn't have much time." Demitri says.

Morrigan suggests, "Why don't we ask her what happened here?"

Then, they interrogate the woman. The woman sees them. Weakly, she asks, "Who…who are you?"

Morrigan innocently says, "Just some strangers coming along…tell me dear, what happened here?"

The woman, with her remaining strength and life, tells them about the fight they had against the warriors of Shadowloo and Wily's bots. And how they stole the treasure, in the end, now very weak, she finishes "…and, they left us here to die, we couldn't beat them, they stole our most valuable treasure…"

"And what valuable treasure was it, woman?" Demitri questions her.

The Amazon gasps, with her last breath, "…the –"Phoenix Scroll."-

Morrigan blinks, "Phoenix Scroll…what's that?"

"It was one of the secrets that we Amazon Warriors kept for many years…one of the secrets of the Phoenix…"

Bishamon demands, "Tell us…what secret was it…? Answer!"

But, they didn't get the answer, for the woman died:

Demitri, without an ounce of compassion in his voice, says, "Hmph…it appeared that this mortal just died."

Morrigan thoughtfully says, "I was wondering… what secret could she be talking about?"

"I do not know Morrigan…but we'll find out, and when we do, we'll find this Phoenix Stone and it will belong to us…" Or to ME to be exact!, he secretly thinks.

Around the same time…in the village of the lost Phoenix People, now destroyed, Donovan, along with Anita, enters the burned village, looking at the scene. "My god…look at this place, what could have happened here?"

Anita quietly speaks, "It appeared that it was under attack."

"I see, and it looks like there wasn't any survivors left."

"Wait…" Anita closes her eyes. "I sense a life, coming from…there."

Anita points toward some old, buildings…when they go there, they see a young female Phoenix Warrior beneath the rocks. Donovan picks the rocks and helps the girl, but he sees that the girl is mortally wounded and does not have much time to live:

The warrior opens her eyes weakly. "Who…who in god's name are you?"

Donovan introduces himself and Anita. "My name is Donovan, and this little girl is my companion Anita…tell me, what happened in this village?"

"It was…horrible…we…were attack, by some strangers."

"Strangers! What were their appearances?"

"They were two persons and three weird robots…one of them was dressed like a General, the other one…like a boxer…" She grunts in pain. "Ugn…"

Donovan tries to comfort the dying girl, "There there, take it easy…so what happened next?"

"…they came here…and asked us to give them the most…sacred treasure of our people…when we refused…they attacked us…and killed many of our people and burned our village…"

Then, though weak, she grabs Donovan's arm, a desperate look in her eyes. She pleads, "Please…you must retrieve our treasure…the golden sword of the Phoenix…if not, great disasters will be unleashed…please!"

Donovan tells her, "Very well, I'll try, but tell me…why will it unleash great disasters? What's so important about it miss? Miss…miss?"

Donovan sees that the Phoenix girl has died.

"She's dead, Donovan." Anita says.

Donovan bows his head sadly. "So it seems…poor girl…"

After that, Donovan buries the girl and says a prayer for her. After that, he leaves the village:

He tells Anita, "I have a feeling that this mission will be harder then I thought…I think I'll call the others."

Meanwhile, in the New Red Cat Secret Base…Erick was in the dark chamber of the Cat Ghost King, with Dr. Wily, Bass, Bubbleman, his love Delia and Onekomaru:

The Cat Statue says, "Okay Erick, now we have the jewels meow…so what's next?"

Erick tells his master, "Easy…now comes the next part…to try to unlock these riddles."

"Riddles! You mean those weird letters and pictures?" Dr. Wily asks.

Erick answers him, " Exactly…and I will do it."

"Hey, why don't I do it! I will use my computers to do it and…"

"Doc, no offense, but I don't think you could do it…these riddles are written in an very ancient language…your computers will be useless…I, on the other hand, know a lot of forgotten languages, so I will do it okay?"

"You think you can do it meow?" the Cat Statue asks his chief advisor.

Erick, mock-hurt, says, "Hey, I'm hurt…you forget Catty that I have a lot of knowledge about this."

"Very well then…see that you do it."

"And I'll do it…come Delia."

"Right behind you Erick-san." Delia says.

Then Erick and Delia leave the chamber…

Dr. Wily says to the Cat Statue privately, "She always hangs around him. You think that she likes him?"

The Cat Statue responds, "Don't know. If so, it's none of our business meow."

Outside, Delia asked Erick for his next plan. "I see that thinks are going smooth, right Erick-san?"

"They sure are De-Chan."

"What about those riddles, are you gonna try to solve them?"

"Not right now…," Erick tells her. "After all, I already know what they say. I only told them that for me to buy some time."

Delia raises her eyebrow. "Oh! How come?"

"I have to check on the competition."

Delia blinks. "Competition…?" Then, she realizes, "Oh I get it…those Darkstalkers right?"

"Right as always De-chan."

In Shadowloo's Secret Fortress, M. Bison enters the lab, where Tron Bonne is talking with some of M. Bison's scientists. "Tron Bonne, how's everything?"

"Just peachy!" Tron tells her new boss. "Take a look at the prototype robot I finished."

"Well then, let's take a look shall we?"

"Yes Sir!" Tron salutes.

Then Tron Bonne takes Bison to the lab, and turn on the lights. He sees a large robot, with heavy artillery and rocket packs. Bison is impressed.

Tron Bonne waits for her boss approval. "Well…what do you think sir, do you like it?"

Bison smiles. "I'm very impressed Miss. Bonne, you've done excellent work here."

Tron's pleased. "Why thank you, sir."

Then M. Bison turned to one of his scientists:

He smirks, pointing at Tron's new mecha. "You see…THIS is the kind of machine that I required! You ought to learn from her; she is indeed very bright."

The scientist just lowers his head from shame:

M. Bison declares, "From now on, Tron Bonne will be in charge here. You will obey her in everything she tells you to do." Now serious, he says, "Is that clear?"

The scientist shamefully replies, "Yes sir."

"Now that's settled, Tron Bonne and I must visit the Red Cat Gang…Tron, let's go."

"Sure," Tron happily says.

They go toward the Airship; when they arrive, M. Bison sees that his ship is very different. In awe, he says, "My ship…what happened to it?"

Tron Bonne tells him, "Oh, I just made a little change to it…as you can see, I added some upgrades to the ship and more equipment to it."

The ship is bigger, has more thrusters, and is loaded with secret weapons. When they enter the control room of the ship, Bison sees more computers. "Tron Bonne, you've truly made a great work…Erick wasn't kidding when he said you were good with machines!"

Tron blushes. "Why thank you, sir."

M. Bison gives the order to his pilots, "Take us to Japan right now!"

"Yes Sir!" the pilots respond.

Then they start the airship; M. Bison can feel the smooth roar of the engines. Then, they head for Japan.

NERIMA WARD OF TOKYO:

Leaving from Furinkan High School, Ranma, Ran and Akane are on their way home:

Ranma says, excited, "Man, I can't wait for vacation"

Akane nods. "Me too Ranma, we could really use a break."

"So what are you gonna do with your vacation guys?" Ran asks them.

"Geez…we really don't know…but, we'll think about when the time comes, right Akane?"

"You bet."

"Well guys, I'm gonna go to the store to pick up some things. I'll see you later okay?"

Akane says, "Okay Ranma, take care. Don't be late."

Then, they go their separate ways. Ranma goes to the store to buy some magazines. When he exits the store he begins walking, when suddenly, his danger senses explode. Turning around he sees some batons coming his way. Ranma moves away and scans the area. Then he sees Kodachi.

Ranma's annoyed. "Hey Kodachi, what's the big idea, tossing those Batons at me? You could hurt me with those you know!"

Kodachi snarls, "That was the point Ranma!"

Ranma blinks. "Ranma!? Oh, I see that you're no longer calling me your Darling."

Kodachi angrily says, "Shut up…you don't deserve to be called that…not after what you did to me."

Ranma's confused. "Did to you…? What did I do?"

Kodachi's mad now. "DID TO ME…? YOU LIED TO ME! YOU HURT MY FEELINGS YOU EVIL MAN!"

"Hurt your feelings…how?"

"YOU WERE THAT HARLOT AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME, YOU USED ME, YOU USED MY HEART AND MY LOVE FOR YOUR LUSTFUL WAYS!"

Ranma objects, "Hey, wait a minute…that's a lie! I never lied to you Kodachi! I tried to tell you, but like your brother, you're just too stubborn, and you never let me tell you anything!"

"LIES! YOU LIE, AND FOR THAT, YOU'LL DIEEE!"

Kodachi charges against Ranma with her Ribbon. She begins to attack him. Ranma's dodging them all. "Kodachi, stop this right now, I don't want to hurt you!"

"SHUT UP, RANMA…PREPARED TO DIEEE FOR YOUR CRIMES!"

Ranma, annoyed, mutters to himself, "Man, guess that Ryoga's stupid phrase is quite catching with everybody…" Then to Kodachi, he says, "Alright Kodachi, guess I'll have to stop you…this is gonna hurt me even more than you, so forgive me."

Then Ranma evades her attacks and runs toward her, then, inches away from her, he taps one of the Pressure Points on her legs. Then Kodachi falls to the floor:

Ranma calmly says, "Now Kodachi, let's talk about it."

A defeated Kodachi cries, "Damn you Ranma…sniff!"

"Please Kodachi, I just want to clear up some things here, so if you'll let me…"

"HOW DARE YOU HURT THAT SWEET LADY RANMA…!" a boy's voice yells.

Ranma blinks, looking everywhere. "Huh!?"

Then, from outta nowhere, R appears and attacks Ranma. Ranma evades his incoming blow. "What! Carl…what are you doing here?"

"YOU MORON! IT'S R, AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO INSULT KODACHI!"

"Hey, what's it to you?"

"I can't stand when a jerk insults such a beautiful girl, and you have insulted this girl!"

Kodachi's confused; the boy she met a while ago, is defending her. Even though she didn't need it, this touches her:

Kodachi thinks: I don't believe it, this R is defending me. No one has ever done that for me before!

R smirks, thinking: Ha! If I rescue her, she'll fall in love with me, then I can ask her for her secrets, and she'll give them to me!

Then R and Ranma beginto fight. Kodachi watches as they fought and is pleased with R's actions…

R smirks. "So, you have trained harder then usual Ranma."

Ranma notices, "You too, I can tell."

"Well…allow me to show you a move that I just developed…hope you're ready for it?"

"Bring it on!"

"Okay then!"

Then R begins to concentrate and he begins to shine with a reddish-purple battle aura…then he yells…-"ACTIVE RED PEARL!"-… unleashing a fireball at Ranma at full speed. It hits Ranma dead center and sends him crashing into a tree…

Ranma's hurt, thinking: Woaa…that was some fireball…kinda like Ryoga's Shi-Shi Houkodan…but a little faster!

R wants to know, "So what do you think of that move Ranma?"

Ranma's getting up as he says, "That was one cool move R, I'll give you that…ugn…okay, now its my turn!"

Kodachi thinks: WOW…that R sure is strong…maybe I can use him to get rid of that cursed Ranma… She's blushing now. But, I can't deny that he's cute!

Ranma then proceeds to attack R with his abilities…R was trying to dodge them, then, thanks to one little distraction from R, Ranma is able to unleash his…-

"KATCHU-TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!!" Ranma yells and hits R with 567 punches. But that doesn't stop R. Now R unleashes another Active Red Pearl to Ranma. But Ranma counters it with his Mouko Takabisha. Both attacks collide against each other and explode into a big blast. Unfortunately the blast range hits some walls where Kodachi was standing in front of. The walls came down and large pieces were going to hit Kodachi:

Kodachi's wide-eyed at the sight. "OH NO!" she cries.

Kodachi closes her eyes, waiting for the impact, the wall crushing down. When Kodachi opens her eyes she sees that someone was carrying her, she thought it was Ranma. But to Kodachi's surprise, it wasn't Ranma…but R.

"Oh my."

"Are you alright Kodachi?" R asks, concern in his voice.

Kodachi's blushing even more, her cheeks a bright red, "Um…yes…thank you."

"Good, now let's take you someplace to rest."

Ranma sees this and it's intriguing to him, but it disappeared. When R lands he puts Kodachi down:

Ranma walks up to him. "Hey Carl…thanks for saving Kodachi."

R snorts, "Feh! It was the duty of any gentleman to save a girl from danger…but you wouldn't know anything about that!"

Ranma's steamed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Listen…we'll fight tomorrow, until then, train harder, cause I'll do the same."

Ranma accepts R's challenge. "You got it."

R turns to Kodachi and says, "And to you my Lady…"

R takes Kodachi's hand and kisses it. "…a kiss for a beautiful one such as yourself."

Kodachi in awe of her new savior, her hero, her new knight in shining armor. Blushing furiously, she manages to say, "Why…thank you…"

R smiles. "The pleasure is all mine…well… I must be going, till we meet again Kodachi…you too Ranma."

Then R jumps away and disappears in a storm of white rose petals:

Ranma watches him go. "That guy sure knows how to make an exit…" To Kodachi, he says, "Well, I gotta go also. Take care Kodachi, hope we can talk without you tyrying to kill me…see you!"

Ranma then walks away. Kodachi doesn't even notice he's gone, lost in her world. Then, she has that same look of love and passionate longing in her eyes for R that she once had when Ranma first saved her some time ago.

Kodachi remarks, "R…such a cool guy, and brave…" With hearts in her eyes, she finally says, "Oh…I think I'm in love!"

Kodachi then giggles then she jumps to the rooftops, laughing her trademark laughter all the while.

"O-HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!"

In another part of China, Demitri, Morrigan and Bishamon were looking for any clues that would lead them to the Phoenix Stone, but with no such luck…

Demitri, frustrated, growls, "Argh…! We have being walking for some time and we still haven't found any clues that may help us to find this damn Phoenix Stone!"

"Patience Demitri, we have to keep looking, so don't get too desperate." Morrigan says.

Bishamon nods in agreement with her. "Morrigan is right Demitri…we will find this stone."

Demitri grudgingly admits, "Perhaps you're right…but, this is getting annoying."

They keep walking; they were in a forest in the night, the howling of wolves can be heard …when suddenly:

A man's voice says, "Well, well, it appears that we have some competition!"

This takes Demitri and the rest by surprise. They look everywhere to see who said that:

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Demitri demands.

Morrigan's looking around, itching for a battle. "Where did it come from…stop hiding!"

Bishomon draws his sword. "Reveal yourself, if you're not afraid!"

"Very well then…" Then the person appeared from the shadows of a tree. The gang see the person…it was none other than Erick in his black armor:

"Who are you?" Demitri wanted to know.

Erick chuckles, "My, my…who do we have here…if it isn't the Vampire Dimitri Maximoff."

Demitri's confused "Huh! How did you know?…I don't know you!"

"But I know who YOU really are."

Demitri's in no mood for this. "Enough with that! Just who are you?"

Erick sarcastically replies, "Well, since you asked me nicely, I'll tell you…My name is High Priest Erick Genryusai,…" He bows in grand fashion to the group. "Nice to meet you."

Morrigan asks, "Okay, so what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you three the same question…but, I think I already know that answer."

"Oh really?" the succubus says sarcastically, crossing her arms over her ample bosom. Looking him over, up and down, she sizes him up. Obviously he's the classic tall, dark, mysterious, and handsome type; she rates him as a nine, maybe nine-and-a-half.

Erick's not fazed by Morrigan's subtle attempts at enticing him. He has serious business to discuss. "Yep…bet you all 50 bucks that you're looking for the Phoenix Stone! Am I right?"

Morrigan wasn't expecting this. She may have to reconsider her opinion of this delicious-looking mortal. She gasps, "How…how did you know that?"

"Pure luck, I guess."

Demitri demands, "If you know that…then that means YOU know where it is!"

Erick innocently says, "Maybe, maybe not."

"Listen here…if you value your pitiful life mortal, you'll tell me where it is!"

"Oh!?"

Demitri spells it out for his soon-to-be-victim. "So here are your options…tell me where it is and maybe I'll let you live…if not, I'll skin you alive and eat your soul!"

Erick smirks. "I think I'll choose option three…" Then, imitating the voice of Bart Simpson, he says, "…Eat my shorts!"

Demitri is VERY angry. "WHAT?…OKAY, HAVE IT YOUR WAY!…YOU'RE DEAD!"

Demitri then unleashes his Chaos Flare, a fireball in the shape of a bat, on Erick. Erick just stands there, waiting for the impact:

Morrigan actually feels sorry for Erick. "Geez…that mortal is gonna be fried by that!"

But, to everyone's surprise, Erick raises his palm, catches the fireball with ONE hand (!), and crushes it, snuffing out the projectile. Demitri cannot believe it; neither could Morrigan or Bishamon:

Morrigan gasps in shock. "No way…how did he do that?"

Puzzled by this stranger's abilities, Bishamon can only reply, "I don't know."

Demitri's shocked. "Impossible! How could you stop my attack? What are you? Are you another Darkstalker?"

Erick tells the vampire, "Nope…just a High Priest…now, why don't we talk, okay?"

After what he's just seen, Demitri's thinking it might be a good idea to hear this fellow out. "Okay…I'm listening."

AT THE RED CATS' NEW SECRET BASE:

A huge Airship lands…It was M. Bison's 'new' and 'improved' Airship. As before…a squad of 20 Shadowloo soldiers form a two-line division. Balrog, Vega, Sagat, Rolento, Birdie, and Adon then step out. The last one was M. Bison, with Tron Bonne walking alongside him. Then they head for the chamber. Once they arrive, that see the Cat Statue, Dr Wily, Bubbleman and Bass. Along with some RED CAT Soldiers:

The Cat Statue welcomes his visiting allies. "Greetings M. Bison. Glad that you paid us a visit."

"Likewise," M. Bison says.

The Cat Statue senses the presence of a newcomer. His eyes spot Tron (Good grief, he's a STATUE! How can he see her!?). "And who is this young lady?"

When Dr. Wily sees Tron Bonne, however:

"TRON BONNE!"

Tron Bonne waves at the old man, "Hey, if it isn't Dr. Wily!"

The Cat Statue chats with Tron. "So Tron Bonne is your name is it?"

"That's right." Tron replies.

Dr. Wily's mad – he still wants to know, "WHAT IS 'SHE' DOING HERE?"

Bison sternly replies, "Tron Bonne here is my new enforcer of Shadowloo!"

Bass shares Dr. Wily's anger over this girl. "HER?…How come?…she's only a baby!"

"Well Bass…this "baby", as you call her, is a genius in building machines…War Machines, the kind that I like!"

Dr. Wily tries to object. "But still…!"

"ENOUGH…!!" M. Bison angrily says while summoning a fearsome aura of Psycho Power around himself, which does the twofold purpose of scaring the heebee-jeebees out of Wily and shutting him up quite nicely. "I didn't come here for you to scold anybody…I've come here to see if there's any news on the stone!"

Seeing that Wily's too scared out of his wits say anything right now, the Cat Statue tells Bison, "No, not yet meow…but Erick said that we are close to it."

Bison frowns. "I see…so where's Erick anyway?"

"He's working on trying to unlock some riddles that may help us find the Phoenix Stone."

Meanwhile, the three Nordic Goddesses Belldandy, Urd and Skull were in Tokyo walking through the crowds, trying to find any info on the mysterious energy, when:

Skuld whines, "I'm hungry!"

Urd scolds her, "Oh stop your whining Skuld!"

Belldandy says, "You know, I'm quite hungry myself."

Urd relents. "Well, since we're all hungry, why don't we go and grab a snack?"

"Hey, why don't we go to that restaurant"?

Belldandy points at a restaurant, and the three decide to head up there. This restaurant was none other than…-"THE MCD's REAL BOUT Martial Arts Bar & Grill"-…

Urd blinks. "Real Bout Martial Arts Bar & Grill? What kind of a restaurant is that?"

Skuld's like, "Don't know, but I don't care…as long as they serve food in there, they can call it whatever they want!

"Well let's go and eat." Belldandy says to her sisters.

Then they enter the restaurant, where they were received by the head waiter. He bows and says pleasantly, "Welcome to the Real Bout Martial Arts Bar & Grill, how many peoples?"

"Um, just three." Belldandy tells him.

"Very well then, follow me and I'll take you to your table"

"Thank you."

The Head Waiter took them to their table and hands them their menus:

Looking at the menu, Skuld says hungrily, "Yummy, look at all this dishes…so many, which one will I take?"

Urd says, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ordering these Buffalo Wings, they look good."

Belldandy says, "And I think I'll choose the grilled chicken…what will you choose Skuld?"

"Hmm…I don't know." Skuld looks over to the Head Waiter and asks, "What would you recommend?"

The Head Waiter replies, "Well Miss, I'd deeply recommend the House lo mein, which is one of the Owner's favorite dishes."

"Okay then, I'll choose that one."

"Excellent choices miss. Your orders will be served right away."

"Thank you!" the three girls reply in unison.

After the Head Waiter went for their orders, the girls were admiring the beautiful things the restaurant had. Among them is a unique sports car belonging to the owner that is on display, a fully-customized Honda NSX Type R, outfitted with a JGTC-inspired body kit from Taitec and a set of RAYS TE-37 wheels painted a flat black. The car has some serious go under the hood to go along with its showy looks – the engine's been overhauled and built to racing specifications by a shop out in Gunma Prefecture. The whole car's painted in the factory Championship White color, with a blue silhouette of an angel painted on the hood. Looking at it as a whole, the car somewhat resembles the "White Angel" from that old PlayStation game Ridge Racer Revolution. And rumor had it (and a major car magazine in Japan confirmed it!) that the owner had taken it out for a spin at the famous Tsukuba Circuit, where he'd clocked a 55-second lap on his first try during a time attack run.

Skuld in awe. "WOW, check it out! Look at that car, its awesome!"

Urd nods. "Yeah, it's a racing car!"

Belldandy remarks, "Oh my, what a lovely car."

The restaurant owner, the MCD was watching his restaurant and waving to the customers when they leave the place…-" Goodbye, hope to see you soon"-…he says to some people when they were leaving. He sees that one of his waiters was carrying some dishes, among them, his favorite House Lo Mein. "Say, who is this meal for?"

The waiter tells him, "Oh! It's for those girls over in table 12."

Then the waiter points to the table where the girls are sitting. The MCD sees the girls. When he sees Belldandy, however, he gasps big-time! He's thinking: What! That girl! She looks like… He's shaking his head. No, it couldn't be her!

The waiter blinks, and asks his boss, "Um, something wrong, sir?"

This snaps the MCD out of his daze. "Wha…? No, it's nothing."

The waiter takes the order to the girls. The MCD's still puzzled with the girl he saw at the table, so he decides to investigate himself. Later, he approaches to the table where the girls were eating:. He waves at them. "Good afternoon ladies, I'm the owner of this restaurant. I just came to check if everything was in order."

"Yes, everything is okay." Skuld replies.

"Yeah." Urd says.

MCD continues making pleasant small talk. "So tell me, are the meals good?"

"You bet, they are good!"

Belldandy agrees. "Right, I like it here."

The MCD's pleased. "Well, I'm glad to hear it ma'am… So what are your names lovely ladies?"

"I'm Skuld."

"Urd's my name"

"And my name is Belldandy…nice to meet you, sir."

The MCD, after hearing this, is beyond shocked now. He thinks: NO! I don't believe it! Could it be her? Is it possible?

Belldandy and her sisters see the totally shocked look on their host's face.

Skuld wavies a hand in front of him. "Hello! Are you okay mister?"

The MCD snaps out of it. "Wha…oh yea, so sorry."

What happened to you anyway? You totally spaced out." Urd says curiously.

The MCD fake-laughs, "Nothing…nothing at all, I just had something on my mind, that's all…I must be going now ladies, I have to attend to a phone call."

Then he leaves and heads for his office. When he enters, closing the door behind him, certain that he is alone, he begin to think a lot:

After a while, the MCD finally whispers, "Can it be her? After all these years."

Now in Japan, Demitri, Morrigan and Bishamon are continuing their quest to find the Phoenix Stone. Demitri was still mad at his last conversation with Erick:

-(BEGIN FLASHBACK)-

Erick was talking to Demitri and the gang after the little fight they'd had:

"I just want to talk okay?"

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Fine…as I was saying, you're all looking for the Phoenix Stone, right?" All three nod yes. Erick breaks the bad news to them. "Well…the thing is…I'm afraid you can't have it."

Demitri yells. "WHAAAAAAAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Jeez, you have a hearing problem? I said that you guys can't have the Phoenix Stone."

Morrigan's angry. "And why not? What makes you think you can tell us that?"

Erick replies, mocking her, "There, there sweetie, don't get angry. You don't want to ruin that beautiful face now do you?"

"Grrrrr!"

Demitri goes on saying, "AND PRAY TELL WHY CAN'T WE HAVE THAT STONE? DO YOU REALIZE WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?"

Erick tells him, " I already know who am I talking to…besides being one stubborn Vampire…the reason you folks can't have it, is that WE need it."

"We?" Bishamon asks.

"Yes…the Red Cat Gang and Shadowloo."

"Red Cat Gang!" Morrigan asks, wondering who these guys are.

"Shadowloo!" Bishamon asks, wondering the same thing as Morrigan.

Demitri says angrily, "LISTEN HERE YOU MORTAL!…YOU THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA LET SOME PUNY MORTALS GET THAT STONE? I'LL CRUSH THEM AND TAKE IT BY FORCE!"

Erick chuckles. "Huhuhuhuuuu."

"WHATS SO FUNNY?"

Erick points at Demitri. "You."

"ME?"

"Yes…you think that the Red Cat Gang and Shadowloo are puny? If so, then you're more stubborn than I thought."

"AND WHY IS THAT? WHAT COULD THOSE MORTALS DO TO ME? I AM THE SUPREME VAMPIRE!"

Morrigan boasts proudly, "And I'm the supreme Succubus of Makai"

Bishamon draws his sword. "And I'm the great Warrior Bishamon!"

Erick's not impressed. "You're all idiots if you ask me."

All three yell angrily, "WHAT?"

"You heard me…you think that the Earth's mortals are as they were 2000 years ago? No! The mortals of today are LOADED with potential, why…there are people who are very skilled, strong and agile as a Darkstalker…or perhaps maybe more."

Demitri scolds, "I doubt that!"

"Demitri, Demitri, Demitri…" Erick says giving him the 'no-no' gesture. "You sure have a lot of ego…You think that you're invincible, that no one will hurt you…but…there was another Vampire by the name of Dracula, who thought just like you…he thought that no mortal could ever beat him, but, they did, some puny mortal beat him by the name of Simon Belmont."

Demitri's not interested in Erick's impromptu history lesson. "And what does THAT have to do with THIS?"

Erick flatly tells him, "That if you go up against us…you'll be destroyed."

Demitri laughs, "HAHAHAHA…AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THAT?"

"I'm just telling you this Demitri, as an old saying goes…-"Curiosity killed the cat"-

"What does that mean?" Morrigan asks him.

Erick, in his own 'nice' way, tells them all, "Easy, if you're not all careful…you won't make it alive…and, don't underestimate Shadowloo, or you three will be sorry."

"IS THAT SO?" a furious Demitri asks.

Erick smiles. "Yes…I must be going now…you three have been warned…see you later."

Then he disappears leaving an angry Vampire, Succubus and a cursed Samurai.

-(END FLASHBACK)-

Demitri's still mad, fuming. "I don't care what that stupid mortal says…no one will stand in my way in obtaining that stone…NO ONE!"

Morrigan asks, "I wonder though…could this Shadowloo be as strong as he told us?"

Demitri laughs at that notion. "Morrigan, you forget that WE are powerful beings…and they are just mere mortals! We have powers beyond those humans…besides, what could these mortals do to us? What 'abilities' could they possibly possess?"

Morrigan's reluctantly admits "Perhaps you're right Dimitri."

Demitri, ever confident (or just plain arrogant, take your pick!) sneers, "Of course I am…we will show this Red Cat Gang and Shadowloo what powers we have, and they'll kneel before us!"

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RED CATS' SECRET BASE:

Erick arrives in his own dark chamber. Delia receives him, smiling. "Welcome back Erick…so how did it go with those Darkstalkers?"

Erick replies, "As I predicted they would…they were stubborn. And that Demitri, HA! He had a lot of ego."

"Really!"

"O yeah, he told me that 'he' was invincible, that no mortal will beat him"

Delia chuckles, "Just like Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula…he also thought he would rule and that no one could stop him, but they did."

Erick makes a rather true observation, commenting, "I think that all who have power start to think that they're invincible…but, that only makes them weaker."

"Quite so," Delia nods, agreeing with him.

"So tell me De-chan, any news you got for me?"

"Not much…just that the Cat Statue and Dr. Wily are still waiting for the riddles."

"I see… well, let's tell them okay…before they get on our nerves."

"Okay."

Then they go the chamber where the Cat Statue dwells. It asks, "Erick, did you solve those riddles Meow?"

"Sure did." Erick tells him.

Dr. Wily, who can't take all this anticipation, urges him, "Well…what are you waiting for? Tell us!"

"What's the hurry? Besides Doc, you would not understand them anyway."

The Cat Statue says, "Just tell us Erick…what do they say meow?"

Erick replies, "Very well then, here it goes, listen carefully…-" To find that which cannot be seen, it will appear when that heart is free, only then, the Phoenix Stone lies waiting, look closer and you'll find it in…"-

When he finishes:

Dr. Wily's confused. "What did he say?"

"Didn't you hear him Doctor?" the Cat Statue harsly asks, not believing that Wily wasn't paying attention.

Erick plainly reminds Wily, "I told you that you wouldn't understand Doc."

"So now what Erick Meow?"

Erick tells the Cat Statue, "I guess that we'll have to solve this riddle."

Dr. Wily groans, complaining, "Again?…I don't like this! This is a waste of time!"

Erick resists the urge to smack the irritating old fool into deep space. He calmly (through clenched teeth!) threatens, "Wily… I suggest that you shut up…"

Dr. Wily's offended. "WHAT! You can't shut me off…! Only the Cat Statue can do that!"

The Cat Statue hisses, "MROWR! Wily, shut up!"

In one of the rooms of the secret castle of the Red Cats, Bubbleman is thinking about some stuff. Like all those times he's fought against Megaman and lost, all the punishment he or any other robot received for their failure, now Dr. Wily has joined with the Red Cat Gang. Then, Frostman enters and sees him. "Duh! Hey Bubbleman, whatcha doing?"

Bubbleman looks up, noticing the huge ice-bot. "Hey Frosty, nothing much, just thinking about some stuff, that's all."

"Duh! Like what?…you can tell Frostman."

"I'm getting quite bored with this job. I mean, ever since I can remember, we've being doing nothing but fighting and stealing, stealing and fighting, and we lose every time we go up against Megaman. It's getting quite annoying for me."

Frostman nods. "Yea, you're right…Frostman don't like that."

"I don't know, but I'm thinking about asking Dr. Wily for some vacation."

Frostman blinks. "Duh! Vacation! What is that?"

Bubbleman explains, "Well um…I've seen that in the human world where they work, they ask for 'vacation' to relax after a hard day's work…or so I've seen on the TV."

"Duh! You think that Master Wily will give you this 'vacation'?"

"I don't see why not…I mean, I read that the humans have these things called… 'RIGHTS'."

"Well…good luck Bubbleman."

"Thanks."

Arriving in Japan by ship are the Warrior Monk Donovan with Anita, the catwoman and famous showgirl Felicia, and the werewolf Jon Talbain. Once they were on land:

"We are here." Donovan tells his companions.

Felicia asks, "Would you mind telling us again why we're here, Donovan?"

"Anita felt a very strong energy flowing here in Japan."

"What kind of energy?" Jon wanted to know.

Anita tells them, "This energy is very powerful, and deep, it's something that must be dangerous."

Donovan adds, "Which is why we must investigate. If it is that powerful, we can't let it slide."

Jon doesn't need be told twice. "Okay, so let's find out!"

In the MCD's Restaurant, it was closing time. All the workers left for the night, except the MCD, he decides to stay behind. But unlike the usual routine, he sits in his office, thinking about the girl called Belldandy.

"Can it be really her? She looks very much like her. If so, can she still remember me?…it has been thousands of years. But…"

Then he takes out a medallion, it had the shape of a flower with little rubies. It was very unique.

"I must know if she is the one…"

Who is this girl that is so very important to the MCD?

Meanwhile, in the hotel where Guile and Chun-Li are staying, they were explaining to Charlie and Cammy about their report on the Hinata Inn:

Charlie asks his comrade, "Hey Guile, how did it go?"

Cammy presses them for detals. "Did you get any leads to M.Bison?"

Guile shakes his head. "No."

"I'm afraid not." Chun-Li says, disappointed.

"What happened?"

They told the information they receive from the Hinata girls, at the end:

Charlie sighs, "Man, too bad that didn't give us any clues to M. Bison."

Cammy frowns. "Yea,h and we thought we had a shot at cracking him."

Guile says to Chun-Li, "I'm still confused on the Hinata girls, they were acting very weird."

Cammy perks up, hopeful for something, anything. "Oh! What is he talking about Chun-Li"?

Chun-Li giggles and whispering to Cammy, "THAT was funny."

Cammy blinks. "So what happened?"

"It's like this…"

Chun-Li then tells Cammy about what happened there:

-(BEGIN FLASHBACK)-

Guile and Chun-Li are having a drink and they are resting on the sofa at the house. Unaware to Guile, Haruna, Naru, Mitsune, Mutsune and Motoko were watching Guile with lustful eyes:

Haruna's thinking: Wow, he has a strong body, and big and…

Naru's thinking: …gorgeous, like a hunk and…

Mitsune's thinking: …hot, he has a body that I would like to sink my teeth in…

Motoko finishes the others thoughts: …he's like a body builder, and that hair, such a hunk!

Chun-Li remarks, "Guile, it's quite hot inside, why don't you take your jacket off?"

Guile nods "Yeah, you're right."

Then Guile proceeds to remove his Jacket. After that, he only had on his green T-shirt, and all his muscles were expose to the girls…the girls when they see him like this, they blush like hell!

Haruna, Naru, Mitsune, Mutsune, and Motoko are all thinking the SAME EXACT thing: WOW…WHAT A MAN, WHAT A BODY, WHAT A HUNK, I'M IN LOOOOVE!

Guile sees that the girls are blushing like mad. He blinks, then asks concernedly, "Um! Are you alright girls? Your faces are red!"

The girls, waking up from their reverie, laugh nervously, "Wha…nothing, nothing at all! Hahahahaaa!"

Guile, confused, sweatdrops. "Ooookay."

Of course, Chun-Li, being female, knew what was going on with those girls. Intrigued, she thinks: My, my…it appeared that the girls developed a crush on Guile. This is gonna be very interesting."

Then, entering the house, was Sentaro, who sees some guests:

Haruna greets him. "Hello, Sentaro."

Sentaro waves. "Hello Haruna, girls…" He spots Guile and Chun-Li. "Oh, I see that we have guests here…!" To Guile, he introduces himself, "Hello, my name is Sentaro,…" Then, to Chun-Li, he says, taking her hand, "And you, my pretty, can call me anything you want!"

Naru scolds, "Sentaro, stop being such a jerk!"

Sentaro was determined to impress Chun-Li with his charm, but for Sentaro:

Chun-Li chuckles, then turns him down COLD, "First grow up little boy; I don't go that way." Oooh…OUCH!

Sentaro's shocked. "Whaaa…!"

The girls just laugh, and continue to admire Guile – of course, HE doesn't know it! Then, they leave Hinata Inn. They wave goodbye to the girls:

"Thanks again for the ice tea, we appreciated a lot" Guile says.

"No problem whatsoever" Haruna tells him kindly.

"Yeah, it was our pleasure" Naru says.

Mitsune nods. "Yeah, yeah, our pleasure!"

"Well, we must go now Guile" Chun-Li tells her partner, not letting him in on what she knows.

Haruna, in a sweet voice, says, "Come again to Hinata Inn, Colonel Guile, we are always open for everyone (And especially YOU)!"

Naru, with a kawai face, says, "Yes, do come back again (Oh, please come back)!"

Mitsune nods. "Anytime you want to, you're always welcome (Stud-muffin)!"

Guile, not kwoning he's the been the center of attention, says – keeping things all professional and stuff, "Okay, maybe I will, but not right now. But thanks for that offer, I'll keep it in mind."

Then, Guile and Chun-Li leave. After that all the Hinata Girls –(except Shinobu, Kaolla and Sara)- sigh with looks of love on their faces:

Naru, sighs cutely, "Aaaaah! What a man!"

Mistune agrees. "Yeaaaa, and such a hunk!"

Haruna comments, "And the physique of a bodybuilder."

Motoko says, trying to keep a straight face, "And a great warrior, with a cute butt!"

All the girls giggle. Sentaro didn't like that:

Sentaro frowns. "Hmph…What does 'that guy' have that I don't, eh!"

Naru counters with, "Below or above the waist?"

Mitsune adds, "You mean the fact that he is a hunk master?"

Haruna continues in awe, "He's gorgeous, with a body of a bodybuilder!"

Motoko breaks her discipline, confessing, "And has a great ass, err… I mean, butt."

Sentaro sweatdrops. "Um…yeah."

Haruna swoons. "A lot."

-(END FLASHBACK)-

Chun-Li finishes, "And that's what happened."

Cammy finally asks, "And does he know?"

Chun-Li giggles, "No, Guile is such a naïve man."

Cammy giggles too, nodding. "You're right, same as Charlie."

Guile overhears them laughing like a couple of schoolgirls and asks, "Hey girls, what're you laughing about?"

Chun-Li and Cammy reply innocently, "Nothing!"

Charlie wraps up the impromptu briefing, "Okay, so we go to sleep, for tomorrow we must return home and inform our superiors of our report."

TO BE CONTINUED…