Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 47

-"Hello?"-

-"Hey Jane."-

The voice on the other side of the phone brightened. -"Eliza! Hi! How are you?"-

Unfortunately, Eliza's voice was less cheerful. -"I'm okay."-

-"Uh, oh."- the voice returned. -"I know that voice. What is it?"-

Eliza tried to hide her despair, even though it was already too late. -"What? Couldn't I have call just to say hello?"-

-"You could have. You didn't. So how about you get to the point already."-

Eliza became silent, not entirely sure how to start this conversation. When she made this call, she just thought that she needed someone to talk to, given the events of a couple of days ago. But now she realized that she hadn't thought beyond just making the call. She wanted to start casually, but that wasn't happening, seeing as how her elder sister caught on to her distress.

-"This has something to do with Ken, doesn't it?"-

One of the reasons why she had called her sister. Like her, she both knew and was married to an immortal, and for a much longer time. For this reason, Eliza is able to ask her for advice in such situations. It wasn't a common occurrence, but it happened enough times for it to be familiar to the two. So it was with a sigh that Eliza answered.

-"Yeah."-

The sigh was returned on the other end and Eliza thought she heard her sister resting back into whatever she may have been sitting in. This would obviously be a long conversation.

-"Okay. What happened?"-

"Concentrate."

A young Ryu stood in stance in the middle of the forest glade. His eyes were closed and his body still, save for his breathing. From the dojo behind him, the image of his master was shadowed within, his voice echoing out to the youth

"Mind and body as one. Achieve tranquility through movement. Integrate spirit and flesh. Channel the powers. Focus the mind. Cleanse the soul. Release that which is negative. Separate darkness and light. Concentrate."

For the next minute, Ryu was still as he was before. Then a burst of wind whipped around him and his eyes snapped open. His knees bent slightly and in a rush of motion, his fist shot up, taking his entire body straight into the sky. He soon descended, his body spiraling around until he touched the ground. Once he did, he returned to his previous stance, becoming motionless once again.

The voice of his sensei returned. "Excellent. Your form of the Shoryuken has improved. But a time will come Ryu, when you will have to go beyond your strength. When that time comes, fight with your soul."

Fight with your soul...

Ryu's eyes snapped open, returning him back to the present. He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the dojo. The immortal took a breath, realizing that he fell pretty deep into meditation. That wasn't something that happened before. More so, the memory he had, using the same words that Rose said to him, the words that had been plaguing his thoughts ever since he heard them. But, Gouken had said those very words as well. But he didn't remember that until now.

So into his thoughts was he that Ryu didn't notice at first the second figure seated the same way just beside him. When Ryu finally realized that there was someone there, he turned to look and was half-surprised by whom.

"Dan?"

"Shh..." the man hushed, a grin forming on his face. "Not while I'm meditating..."

Ryu narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Dan opened his eyes and gave a half-grin. "Haven't we had this conversation before? You, immortal. Me, Watcher." He then reach up to his shoulder and cracked his neck. "Besides, this is the easiest you've been on me in months. The second I learned that you were returning to Japan, I knew you'd come here."

"Hm."

"I've got to say. You were in pretty deep there." Dan continued. "What's on your mind?

"I'm...not sure. A question about myself that I don't understand."

"Oh?"

But the Japanese immortal said no more and merely stared outside with a blank expression on his face. Dan sighed and simply went back to meditating on his own, unaware of the thoughts or rather single thought, on his companions mind.

'What does it mean...to fight with my soul?'

-"Wow. You really said all that?"-

-"Yeah. I didn't mean to... I mean, it wasn't what I wanted to say. But it just felt..."- Pausing to stop herself from jabbering on further, Eliza spoke softly. -"I don't know."-

There a moment of silence over the phone before Jane spoke back. -"It sounds like you were scared."-

-"Maybe..."- Eliza replied solemnly. -"But looking back, it doesn't make sense. I mean, it's not like Ken really did anything wrong. It's just..."-

-"You weren't used to him telling Mel what to do without you around."- Another pause came up and Eliza could just feel the point about to be made. And then it came...

-"You're not used to Ken being his father."-

-"He is his father!"- Eliza reacted immediately.

-"Only because he's married to you."- Jane returned calmly. -"It's easy to see him as your husband. It may even be easy to see that he loves Mel and Mel loves him. But this is something you just haven't gotten used to yet. Or at the very least, it caught you off guard."-

Silence reigned over the phone line once again, with Eliza taking in the words of her sister. Was that really true? And as a result of this, had she gone overprotective for no reason other than that? Eliza continued silent as the thoughts mulled around in her mind when Jane broke through.

-"Look at it this way. It probably isn't easy for him either. Being who he is, he can't claim to have children of his own. This is the best...he can hope for."-

Despite her own distress, Eliza didn't miss the sad note in Jane's voice, reminding her again as to why she called her. She had hoped this conversation wouldn't bring up any bad memories or feelings in her sister, but it looks like it couldn't have been helped.

-"I know... I just hope I haven't ruined things for him."-

The depression vanished from Jane's voice and it returned in cheerfulness. -"Ken's a tough guy. I'm sure he'll understand. But I think you should be talking to him about this. That's the only real way things will be resolved."-

-"You're right."- Eliza felt a small smile of relief come on her face. -"It's just needed someone to talk to about this."-

-"I know, and I understand."- Although unseen, the smile was returned, -"You know you can call me anytime."-

-"Thanks. How about I call you later, just to say hello?"-

-"Sure thing. Tell me how things turn out."-

Although tense and awkward at points, Eliza didn't regret making this phone call in the least. Her elder sister always seemed to know what to say to her in such situations. Oftentimes, she wished that she could return the favor to her.

'Maybe one day, I will.'

-"I will. Bye."-

Isolated Area, Unknown

'Namasta...'

Seated still on a lone boulder high in the mountains, Dhalsim opened his eyes and breathed. It has been quite some time since he had left his village, even longer since leaving his home country. Long ago, he vowed to follow a path of enlightenment and peace, a path that through the Yoga arts, had allowed him to grow in wisdom and knowledge. But with that knowledge came power and with that responsibility.

This didn't make him egotistical. He knew that he was only one man and, immortal or not, he couldn't change the entire world. But he could at least protect and lean his knowledge to those who would seek it

But lately, a sinister presence was making its presence known. Through his mediations, he had become aware of the dark force, but paid it no heed aside from it being part of the balance between darkness and light. But now that force was growing rapidly, so much so his concentrations in his meditations were being disrupted. And through his awareness, he knew that force had a single source.

Immortal...

And not just any either. It had to be an immortal powerful enough to disrupt the balances and lean it toward darkness. Part of him couldn't believe that someone that destructive could exist and rise up so quickly. But the other half of him wasn't surprised by it. It was the time of the Gathering after all and at this time, the most powerful and cunning would arise.

But this...

It was so great a threat that Dhalsim felt compelled to set out and discover the source. He had no intention of facing the immortal in combat, but if he could identify the person, then he could pass that information on to another. Hopefully one who could restore the balance, even if for a little while.

Ryu...

It felt odd, that his name would come to mind. Though powerful, Ryu was a young immortal (at least in comparison to him). Yet there was purity within him that he had rarely seen in a person, even more so in an immortal. But there was also within him a great power as well. A power that could be used for either great benefit or great destruction.

Only time would tell...

Dispelling the thoughts of his friend, the Yoga master began to focus his thoughts. Through use of his spiritual energy combined with mental focus, Dhalsim could expand his consciousness and take in the environment around him. The stronger his focus, the greater the expansion. Most fighters can do this, allowing them to expand just enough to deal with threats that may come up unexpectedly or from behind. But Dhalsim had spent years dedicated to using this technique and as a result, could go far beyond a simple fight. His eyes closed, his mouth chanted soundlessly as he began to tap into the energies of the world around him.

...and into the darkness...

Stepping out in the backyard, Eliza made a somewhat stalled search for her immortal husband. After her talk with her sister over the phone, Eliza felt as though a great weight was lightening from her shoulders. Then she had heard that Ken had returned and that weight returned somewhat. She knew what she had to do. She had to talk to Ken about this.

It was just easier said than done...

Talking to an immortal was sometimes a difficult task. Past experiences affected a person's mannerisms and that was truer for immortals than anyone. It wasn't that they knew everything, but sometimes it seemed as though they did. Nevertheless, she left the bedroom and went downstairs to talk to him. As she headed toward the dojo in the backyard, an odd, yet comforting thought entered her mind. For what it was worth, this was something he wouldn't have too much experience with. They would both be new at this.

"But dad-sensei, why can't we do the training stuff?"

Eliza blinked as she came in close to the dwelling. She didn't expect to hear Mel's voice here. Moving quietly, Eliza moved off to the side and peeked in to see Ken and Mel within. Mel was pleading to his stepfather about something and although she had a clue as to what, she wanted to hear more.

"Let's just say something came up. Look, you can still do the other stuff I taught you." Ken replied, hoping to dissuade the boy.

But Mel was determined. "But I want to learn the fighting stuff."

Ken sighed, almost remorsefully. "I don't know if I'll be able to teach you that..."

"But why not?" the boy insisted. "You said that if mom got into trouble, it would help." Mel's voice quieted a bit. "I don't want mom to be in trouble."

Ken was silent to this response. It wasn't that he didn't know how to deal with children. Raising and training Sean gave his some experience in that. But that was a limited experience and Sean wasn't as young as Mel is now. Plus, he had his mother to consult with as well. She obviously didn't approve of her teaching Mel the basics of the martial arts, but there seemed to be a deeper issue here than just that.

"I don't want my son to become like you!"

Even now, he was confused by her statement. Or rather, confused that Eliza said it. He had thought that they had a good relationship, the best he's had for as long as he could remember, maybe even more. But this was also a new relationship for him as well. He has had girlfriends and wives sure, but never with a child in the mix.

Not a complete family...

Perhaps that was it. His past experiences wouldn't help him here. He just wished he knew what to do now. It seemed to be a choice between disappointing his son and meeting his wife's disapproval. And he knew well enough to know what he must do. Mel was Eliza's child before she was his wife. She has more say over him than he did. And he had to take her feelings into consideration over his own. That was what it meant to be married.

'Sorry Mel. But I guess it has to be this...'

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Ken blinked in surprise and turned to the dojo's entrance to see Eliza standing there. Her arms were folded, but she was smiling at him. It was good to see that on her face after so long, but confusion was still locked on his face as he wondered if he heard her correctly.

"Eliza...?"

"How is he going to protect me if his dad-sensei doesn't teach him the basics, right?"

"Yeah." Mel added with a grin.

Ken went still, stunned by what had just happened. But upon seeing the understanding look in her eyes, relaxed into a smile. They would still have to talk about whatever it was that happened to them, but it could wait until later. For now...

"Right."

AN: Sorry for the super long delay everybody. I wanted to finish up some other fanfics that I had been working on and it was better to focus on them since they were near completion. Now hopefully, I can do the same to this one.