Episode 5 – Unwanted Vacation – (Back to Barcelona and the haunting past!)
On the last exciting episode of Street Fighter II – Deep Core Crisis: Uncertain of what her stalker had in store for her Chun-Li took matters into her own hands and pursued Vega into a nightclub where she had waited for some signs of her manic admirer, and when Vega took the bait he was surprised by Chun-Li's swift and accurate kicks which forced Vega to make a run for it. In the hot pursuit Chun-Li got cut off by none other than Decapre the swift assassin doll from former Shadowlaw.
-- Interpol Headquarters, New York 8.26 AM –
"This is just great…" Barrac looked down while throwing a report on his desk; Chun-Li who wore her usual office dress entered his office and was greeted by her chief.
"Tell me…" Chun-Li rolled with her eyes, almost certain of what was to come.
"Why didn't you call reinforcements after your apartment was broken into last night?" Barrac took a seat and waited patiently for an answer.
"Sir, it was imperative that my actions did not draw too much suspicion since I am very familiar with our subject's cunningness I did not want to jeopardize the stake out." Chun-Li looked at Barrack to find a hint of belief in his eyes, but to no avail.
"What stake out? Ms. Li I am disappointed with your lack of professionalism, you risked your life last night!" Barrac subdued his voice and cleared his throat.
"The subject you were referring to has…" Chun-li's features led up; as if she knew that she was right.
"… reappeared and spotted by a dock worker in Canada, his description of the worker fits the profile of Vega Fabio La Cerda, yet I am most skeptical of this. Chun-Li interrupted him.
"But sir, it makes perfect sense for him to flee out of the states; he might already be on the other side of the globe by now!" Chun-Li stated her case and stood right not wanting to insult her superior.
"We got intelligence this morning from our base in Barcelona that Vega has come forth and openly to the public announcing his comeback in bull fighting, and since our investigators have virtually nothing on him that could be used in court we are forced to stand by and wait until we get more Intel on his whereabouts in Spain, I for one do not want to see this man roam freely, he needs to be put in jail, but this is most conflicting with what we have on the recent murders in town, this morning another high ranked prostitute has been found dead, Vega could not have been in Canada and New York the same time the killing took place. This brings us to this assassin you mention in your report, if this assassin is Decapre then we will need to reopen our Shadowlaw investigation."
"I knew it! I felt that something wasn't right." Chun-Li looked relieved, but she wasn't fully prepared for what Barrac had to say to her next.
"I am sending you to a prolonged vacation in Spain." Her eyes widened when she heard this.
"No but's Ms. Li I have arranged your flight, you are leaving today, although I won't be sending you to Barcelona that would be too dangerous until we gather more intel on Vega's activities, I want you to stay in Madrid and write a psychological report on Vega. Since you have gotten top ranks in our psychological evaluation tests I only see it fit for you to dig deeper into Vega's past. After the grueling incident in Barcelona the same time your father was killed, Vega was treated in the Madrid Royal Sanitarium; oddly enough his treatment was cut short when he fled from the facility 6 years ago, you must consult his psychologist Dr. Raul Julia Salgado." Chun-Li looked down for a moment and nodded knowing Barrac's true intensions.
"I understand you don't want me near Vega." She said softly and was about to leave his office.
"Revenge is not the solution, we will get him in time, for now you need to gather a full psychological report on him, have a nice trip Ms. Li." And with that Chun-Li left his office and walked to her desk where she started gathering important documents and stuffing them into her bag. Her coworker approached her and had a smile on her face.
"Why such a sad face Chun?" Chun-Li looked surprised for a moment but put on her false facade.
"I'm not sad." She replied with a fake smile.
"Where are you going?"
"To Madrid I need to write a full scale psychological report." Her coworker smiled to this.
"Enjoy yourself; you've gotten a prolonged vacation." Chun-Li seemed not to see it that way. She got to her apartment and packed her suitcase, and locked the doors to her apartment before heading down and catching a cab to driver her to the airport. As she entered she made her way to the reception leaning towards the counter and stealing some attention from people passing by, especially men who seemed interested in Chun-Li, when she received her preordered tickets she proceeded to the escalators which took her to where she needed to go to catch her flight, seemingly not paying attention Chun-Li walked past a worker who cleaned the floor, while turning her back on the worker Chun-Li was unable to see that she was looked upon, in the eye of the beholder data was sent far away from where they were received.
-- Shadowlaw Base, Barcelona 15.54 PM –
A wide screen showed footage of Chun-Li's departure. Not far from a control panel nearby a manic deep grin could be heard. A muscular man wearing a distinguishable red uniform and a skull printed on the front of his cap revealed himself; he took a seat on his throne and observed the footage using a remote control to zoom in on Chun-Li's beautiful face.
"Excellent, with the addition of our surveillance cyborgs no Interpol agent will hide from our scouting eyes." A wide port opened behind him and black man who seemed to wear boxing glows entered.
"Master Bison da plane's ready."A smile appeared on the leader's face.
"Balrog do you remember this beautiful flower?"
"That's dat sniffin' Interpol bitch!" Balrog displayed aggression.
"Hah, easy now everything is proceeding as planned, somehow I doubt that Ms. Li will be having a nice stay in Spain for the meantime you will keep a close eye on her I don't want that brat ruining my plans again, but somehow I hope she will get together with her lost love Vega Ahahah! This might just be what is needed for Vega to get a second chance to complete his unfinished work." Bison stood up and straightened his cape before walking past Balrog towards a glowing hallway which seemed to lead to a hangar.
"But what about me?" Bison stopped and looked over his shoulder in the direction a dark voice was coming from, scanning it with his lifeless white eyes.
"Ah, Sagat! I merely didn't want to waste your talents, you will play a big part in this I promise you that. Now escort me to the hangar I want you to tag along with me we might expect uninvited guests this time around." Sagat appeared out of a dark mist and smiled provocatively to Balrog repeating amused: "Then I won't waste my talents." To which Balrog only snorted.
-- Madrid Airport, 17.14 PM --
Chun-Li arrived to Madrid and picked up her suitcase by the reception, and when customs asked her what her business was, she told them that her trip was pleasure oriented, yet when she had to explain her handgun she flashed her Interpol badge to ease her transition. Outside the airport plenty of city cabs were lined up, as soon as Chun-Li strode out she was greeted by several drivers all offering her a ride, to which she only smiled warmly and continued her fast pace to reach the other end of the street where it was less crowded, she took a deep breath and checked that she had everything with her before catching the attention of cab, tired and unwilling to speak the custom language Chun-Li simply handed a note to the driver which showed the address to her hotel.
"Ninguna señora de problema!" The driver stepped on the gas and they were off. Chun-Li looked out of the window observing the cultural architecture and lively surrounds of Madrid, Chun-Li's expression was ambiguous, had this been a true vacation she would have certainly enjoyed it even more.
"El luchador de toro legendario ha devuelto a su ciudad natal Barcelona para hacer una magnífica reaparición!" Chun-Li listened carefully to the radio news to which she smiled cunningly, knowing that Vega's return to Barcelona and the bull fighting scene was a public sensation. Upon her arrival to her suite, she placed her suitcase near the front door and kicked off her black high heeled shoes before letting herself land on the soft bed, discomfort displayed itself in her expression, the shoes she had worn had ached her feet, she got up and unbraided her beautiful long hair and looked around for a phone, the suite she was staying at was nothing less than exceptional first class, Interpol had made sure she wouldn't regret her stay. She picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Hablar de doctor Raul Julia Salgado, puedo ayudarle?" Chun-Li bid her lower lip while waiting for her turn.
"Codename Vega." Silence was evident on the other end of the line.
"Ah Ms. Li Have you had a pleasant trip?" Chun-Li seemed overwhelmed by courtesy of his tone; this brought a smile on her lips.
"Yes, it was great I was hoping we could meet up."
"The Sanitarium is open 24/7 as a doctor I advise you to rest after your flight and seek me out whenever you see it fit Ms. Li."
"That is very sweet of you. I will be there 21.30 PM."
"I look forward to our cooperation." Chun-Li hung up and went into the bathroom to wash herself, the addition of a Jacuzzi tub brought joy to her; a bubble bath was indeed an intriguing thought.
-- Royal Sanitarium, outskirts of Madrid 21.28 PM --
Chun-Li entered the Sanitarium wearing her office dress only this time having shoes which seemed to be better suited for kicking and combat, her hair war braided into a long ponytail and when she looked around in the main lobby she was surprised to see that the Sanitarium was indeed a Mansion with artifacts and architecture from an older and more prestige time. At the reception she was showed to the doctor's office where she patiently sat in front of his desk and awaited his arrival. Looking around Chun-Li observed pictured scattered around the room of patients and the doctors, there were even group pictures of several generations of employees and patients, Chun-Li arose to take a closer look at these and found no picture where Vega was present. She heard the door close behind her and turned around abruptly as if frightened she might get caught, only to see that Dr. Raul Julia Salgado who held a map under his left hand and had a friendly smile on his face came closer to her and shook hands with her.
"These group pictures are all fond memories." He said casually and sat behind his desk to which Chun-Li took a seat as well.
"All fond memories?" She asked with a tender voice.
"Almost all, this Sanitarium has a superb reputation."
"In which way... If I may ask?" Chun-Li blushed slightly knowing that she was facing and elder gentleman.
"You may certainly ask. We succeed in curing most of our patients to a degree where they no longer pose a threat to their surroundings; we simply stabilize their nerves to suit the institutionalized mentality of our society." Chun-Li nodded in reply.
"Most of your patients do they come from a wealthy background?" She asked.
"All of them do." He replied.
"I presume Vega Fabio La Cerda wasn't a success story?" Chun-Li went right to the point.
"Heh, Ah yes Vega the member of the well statured and wealthy Catalonian family. I guess we might just as well start the report shall we?" The doctor smiled to Chun-Li reassuringly.
"Yes, I will just get my notebook out." Chun-Li took out her notebook and a pen ready to write anything important down that she could use.
"Vega Fabio La Cerda was brought here 8 years ago on August the fifth 1987. He was stationed here for 2 years before he fled our Sanitarium. When we first got acquainted with each other I was surprised to find that he was very sincere, telling me why he had become so desperate for beauty and why he was forced to do horrible things for a girl his heart belonged to." Chun-Li's eyes widened as she heard this.
"Did he mention the girl's name?" She asked eagerly.
"No, never did he mention her name nor speak of her outside our therapy sessions. Vega had a Split personality which may have been a cause by the abuse of his mother in his presence as a child; Vega suffered from a distinguishable moral conflict in which one part of his behavior was polite, caring and highly intellectual this side was indeed his mother's and the other part, perverted, sadistic, and manic which may have belonged to the abuser of his mother. Whenever Vega spoke of his childhood memories he would refer to them as dead memories which I analyzed to be a state of denial by his part. His intellectual skills had preceded any other patient I have ever had, but with this came a burden for the facility." He stopped for some air.
"Burden?" Chun-Li asked puzzled.
"Yes Vega's physique and looks made it difficult for the young nurses to work, and regrettably I found many of them sharing Vega's bed, to which I had no option than to dismiss them, many nurses lost their jobs and reputation because of this, yet Vega could not control this he needed a physical compensation for his love, in his mind he was believing that he was true to the person he loved but his other side that craved blood and body had to be satisfied. I will let you in on a little tour later on where I will show you some paintings Vega made to show his artistic values, as I said before Vega was too sophisticated for our facilities and he had broken out several times, but managed to come back again, this I couldn't explain, he was mocking me, sometimes laughing at my lack of control over his actions. He could not be prosecuted because every woman he had raped or cut was madly in love with him, he told me about his technique of raping tenderly to which I cringed... I admit I hated him... his manipulative ways were somewhat evil. I had written a 300 page long report of why he should be locked down for eternity, but to no avail. He disappeared a night where he had intercourse with several young nurses, he left them bleeding and in a form of ecstasy if I had found him that day I would have ordered him shot, but it was not meant to be." Chun-Li looked shocked after hearing the doctor's report.
"Let me show you some of his works and his former living quarters." Chun-Li followed the doctor.
"His vanity and endless pursuit for perfection and beauty is his ultimate downfall, as human beings we must acknowledge that we are not perfect, this is the only way our conflicting animalistic urges can be suppressed." Chun-Li nodded to the doctor's wise words. Vega's former living quarters were of royal standards and when the doctor showed her some of his paintings Chun-Li was taken by surprise seeing paintings of high quality, many of them had red motives such as roses or stains of red paint, some even showed a snake which resembled in color and shape to the one Vega had tattooed on his body.
"And now to the final portrait to which I need to ask the question what are you to him?" Chun-Li looked puzzled at the doctor not knowing what to say, but one look at the final portrait sealed her lips, she saw herself sleeping peacefully in a bed wearing her old yellow nightgown, she was slightly younger on the portrait, the picture brought back memories, she let go of her notebook and when it hit the floor she realized what she was seeing. It was taken from the night where Vega had sneaked into her room in Barcelona and had stolen a kiss from her 8 years ago, her dreams which reflected this experience were too obvious to forget, and those were his memories too.
"I advise you Ms. Li to be very careful in the future to evade Vega at all costs; he has fixated you as his personal angel." Chun-Li picked up her notebook and stuffed it in her bag.
"I will be careful..." Chun-Li was escorted out by Dr. Raul Julia Salgado, just before Chun-Li was about to enter a cab, the doctor opened the door for her with one last note.
"Ms. Li somehow I think that your interests for Vega are more than just platonic I fear that your fates are somehow tangled and that Vega has played a huge part in your life."
"Yes he has, but for the worse. I need to write this psychological report as soon as possible and leave country I mustn't fall deeper into this mess." She said and looked away seemingly in pain.
"I understand fully Ms. Li, please take care I wish you the best in the future and don't let anybody pull you down." And so Chun-Li drove back to her hotel where she laid down on her bed and started crying secretly, an old pain had resurfaced a pain that had haunted her dreams a pain that made her feel tremendous loss.
"Father..." Her hoarse voice echoed throughout the bedroom, she stood up when she heard the phone ringing, so she picked it up and to no surprise it was Barrac on the other line.
"So how did the meeting with Dr. Raul Julia Salgado go?" Dullness crept upon her face.
"Well, I guess it went alright." She said casually and rolled with her eyes.
"That's good news now enjoy yourself while writing that report Ms. Li I look forward in seeing you next week."
"Thank you sir." She hung up and cupped her face in her palms seemingly wrestling with inner wishes. She picked up the phone again and dialed a number.
"Dr. Raul Julia Salgado how can I help you?" Chun-Li froze for a moment while regaining her courage.
"It's me again..."
"Ms. Li are you alright?" Her heart began beating faster.
"Vega is the reason my father died, he pulled me into his seductive charms and made me forget all about my father who got killed by the corporation Vega later worked for... I want blood for blood I just wanted you to know that I am going to Barcelona to go after him... I..." Tears reappeared.
"I understand you completely and as strange as it sounds I endorse your actions, Vega must be stopped at all costs, but by all means be careful Ms. Li he is unpredictable."
"Believe me I know his character too well to be surprised anymore." And with that she hung up and dialed a different number. Meanwhile Dr. Raul Julia Salgado got a call.
"Has she been enticed?"
"Yes, am I speaking to Balrog?"
"Yes doc, our organization is most pleased that you have completed your orders, and as a token of our gratitude you have been awarded with a special gift."
"And that is?"
"C4, have a pleasant evening." An explosion could be heard from the other end of the line and a high pitched scream that ended as quickly as it started. Balrog dropped his cellphone and looked at M. Bison.
"Da doc has been fried." A manic grin escaped M. Bison.
"And what about Ms. Li?"
"She's hot on Vega's trail."
"Excellent, Ahahaha!" The manic laughter echoed throughout the chambers of Shadowlaw's secret facility.
"So I figured if you could redirect my stay to your hotel in Barcelona I know that this comes as a sudden change, but my business schedule has changed and I would appreciate it immensely."
"Of course Ms. Li no problem at all, our prizes are the same here as they are in Barcelona we will gladly book another suite for you in Barcelona."
"I am so pleased; thank you I will travel to Barcelona in a few hours."
"Yes, just remember to check in at the reception and you will be handed your keys to the suite." Chun-Li packed her belongings and took a drive to the railroad station and bought a ticket to Barcelona, she sat beside a window and looked out, everything passed by so quickly, her memories of her father rocked her into a brief sleep.
She woke up and looked out of the window seeing that the bright illuminating lights of Barcelona were like a guideline through the dark night. As she drove to her hotel she noticed stickers scattered all around the streets promoting Vega's grand return, and to Chun-Li surprised she found that the hotel she was going to stay at was the same hotel she stayed at 8 years ago, her thoughts drifted.
'The limo had parked outside of the hotel leaving Chun-Li, Ken, and Ryu to get out peacefully. She noticed the huge crowd of young girls lining up down the stairways to the hotel.
"Hey, Vega must be staying at the same hotel as we are?" Ryu commented.
"Not only that but his fans followed him all the way across town, he must have no privacy." Ken added.
"Well that's the price of fame I guess." Ryu concluded, as they kept walking Vega's hazel eyes spotted a familiar face.
"Beautiful girl, one moment please." Chun-Li froze for a moment sensing that she was spoken too; he walked graciously towards her stopping to make a polite bow.
"If I may I have a confession to make." Chun-Li's heart raced, her legs softened and anticipation rose.
"When I saw you my heart told me that somehow you and I were fated to be together."
"Oh my..." She said embarrassed, she remembered the jealous looks she got from the other girls.
"When next we lay eyes on one another you will understand, sweet dreams." And he was off.
"Man, I guess we're not important enough to speak to." Ryu humorously commented.
"But the one person he speaks to seems to be speechless." She remembered Ken's humorous remarks all too well.'
--Royal Hotel, Barcelona 10.16 AM --
Chun-Li opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times before getting up, she sat on the edge of her comfortable double bed and stretched out yawning and dragging one feet after the other to the bathroom to go through her morning routines. When she had finished and eaten breakfast she turned on the TV and watched the local news.
"Hoy nuestro luchador de toro más famoso va será dueling hoy en el mediodía en el Coliseo, los boletos pueden ser comprados vía el teléfono o en la recepción de Coliseo." Chun-Li looked surprised when she heard that the bullfights were taking place in such short notice, an hour was all that was left and she needed to get moving if she was to get any tickets to Vega's grand show.
-- Coliseum, Barcelona 11.46 AM –
"Perdón pero hemos vendido cada boleto." Chun-Li looked dissapointed when she heard this, she was about to turn around and leave for the exit but the woman at the reception asked her for her name.
"The supervisors have told me to give a free ticket to Chun-Li; it is for the royal stands." Chun-Li looked at her with disbelief and came closer to the counter.
"Who has authorized this?" She asked with a cold tone.
"It is the Toro's wishes that you take a seat at the royal stands." The woman had a kind smile and Chun-Li was baffled.
"Then I shouldn't disappoint the Toro." Chun-Li had a cunning expression.
Vega made a grand entrance and the crowd went berserk. Chun-Li had clenched her teeth in bitterness after seeing Vega; he had the exact same robes on as before. Vega looked around and spotted Chun-Li sitting right up front; he took his rose which he held in his mouth and gave it to her. Chun-Li looked at him with a provocative smile, and thought about the idea of how tempting it could be to flash her badge and take him down, but for the moment it would not be ideal. Chun-Li notices the jealous looks of other women, and smiled shaking her head at the same time. Vega fought the bull, and brought him down by spearing him constantly, as he drew his sword to finish the bull off, he looked at Chun-Li and smiled, he then dropped his sword and lifted his hand in the air, signaling his victory. Still the crowd on the other hand didn't seem to approve of this and urged him to finish what he had started, Vega walked over to where Chun-Li sat and said: "In your honor beautiful girl, I shall leave the bull it would be a shame to spill more blood in front of a lovely girl, like you." Chun-Li couldn't believe her own ears. As Vega was about to leave the arena battleground the crowd started to protest violently. In that moment Chun-Li lost sight of him and quickly ran to the nearest exit in hopes of catching him. As she opened the door to a back alley entrance she spotted him outside entering his limo, running as fast se she could, she panted while losing sight of the limo, she had missed him yet again.
A/N: In the next exciting episode of Street Fighter II – Deep Core Crisis; Chun-Li is depressed from her stay in Barcelona the city where her father died, and hopes to get a good night's sleep, but she is not alone when she is visited by a mysterious guest, how will Chun-Li react when confronted when she is in such a emotional state? Find out on the next episode: – Cold Steel And Hazel Eyes – (Late night visitation) – GONNA BURN SOME MUSCLE!
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