Vendetta Ch. 3 - Reflections in a Dark Mirror
By Dare

Pai Lung Kwoon (White Dragon Training Hall)
Later that night

Whack

Wham

Whmmph

In the main hall of the kwoon, Chun Li rhythmically slammed foot, fist, and limb into a 100-pound heavy bag. The training hall's classes were over for the day, and that was why she was here. She needed a quiet place to think, to reflect, to ponder the turn of events in her life and she could think of no better place.......

The White Dragon Kwoon was perhaps the biggest Chinese martial arts training school in all of Beijing, built like an ancient temple, but with a few modern amenities. There were several rooms and mats for classes and sparring, training equipment both contemporary and traditional, as well as weapons lining the walls. During the day, the place was alive with students and teachers.

But now, the sun was just setting , and the place was silent and still, almost deathly so, and she wondered if coming here was such a good idea after all. There were so many painful memories.

Her father was one of the men who'd taught at this place when it first opened twenty five years ago, along with a select few. She'd watched him teach classes, even after a hard day's work of being a police officer. He had taught his students with the same attitude he had regarded her, with understanding and firm discipline.

Chun Li's mother had died at an early point in her life, when she was perhaps two. Her father raised her as best he could, relying only occasionally on the rest of her extended family. Between being a policeman and a kung fu teacher, he'd been a good father. Supportive, nurturing in his own way, and strong.

Then one day, her father didn't come home.

Tears suddenly stung her eyes, but she kept hitting the bag.

The Chief of Police came to the house later to say that her father had disappeared, while working undercover on a sting operation involving a small- time terrorist group called Shadowlaw. She was only fourteen at the time.

For awhile, she didn't know what to do. No one knew what had happened to her father, and no one could assume he was dead. She stayed with her father's teacher, a man she came to regard as a second father, Master Gen, for the next year until she was old enough to enroll in a wu shu academy in Hunan. During that time, she honed her skills both mentally and physically, choosing to major in criminology and investigation. Right away after graduation, she had enlisted in Interpol, for the simple fact that she would have the resources necessary to search for her father.

Although she was a trainee, her enthusiasm and passion were enough to convince the higher ups to allow her to follow their research on Shadowlaw, which had grown steadily in power under the hand of Bison, who she knew had had something to do with her father's disappearance.

She eventually tracked him down across the hemisphere to Brazil. Along the way, she'd encountered many other individuals who were also on his tail. Among them the soldier, Nash, and a mysterious woman named Rose.

Soon, Chun Li had found Bison, and confronted him. The results were not as she had hoped, as he revealed the truth about her father's fate. That moment had been a catalyst, a point of no return for her.

Wham

She hit the bag harder. Zheng had called the hatred she bore towards Bison a vendetta. She supposed that's what it was, really. It was as though the young girl known as Chun Li had died that day in Brazil, and The Inspector was all that was left. Single minded and as focused as a lioness stalking her prey.

Wham

And that had served her well over the past few years. She had become a full operative, rising in the ranks, all for the sake of tracking him down. But so far, no luck. Until now.

Wham

But even so, the higher-ups wanted to bring in outside influences. That angered her.

"You will find him most reliable." Zheng had said. The thought made her almost laugh. "Reliable" meant "capable of handling you if you get out of hand."

She had read the file on this Major Guile to find out the details of his friend's death were valid. So what? How dare they try to take what she had worked so hard for away from her? Bison was supposed to be hers, blast it all, hers. Hers to hunt down, to challenge, to destroy. To make pay for all he'd taken from her; her father, and her honor.

WHAM

Four years. Four very long years of her life. That's how long she had spent on Bison's trail. Every arms shipment he ran, every government official he had assassinated, every shady dealing he had been a part of, she knew about. She could guess his every move, his every tactic. But who cared, now? WHAM!

So what if she had devoted four years of her young life to tracking a despot? So what if her friends were getting married and starting families? So what if she couldn't remember the last time she had felt alive?

WHAM!

And what had it all gotten her, so far? A successful career? Hah! The "career" was simply a tool, to help her carry out her mission. A thing that served her purpose and nothing but. Like many of the people she had encountered in her work.

WHAM!

People like Donny. How many people were going to get hurt, killed, as she tried to fulfill what she believed was her destiny? Yesterday, she'd nearly killed a man. A man who had made the mistake of working for Bison, true, but a human being. She'd swore that she would never take a life unless in self - defense. It was one of the basic values her father had taught her growing up. WHAM!

And now, those values she held so dear were slipping away into uncertainty, all from a moment of furious violence. Bison had taken away her father, her honor, and now, her self respect.

WHAM!

Her world was falling apart because of Bison.

WHAM!

BISON!!

WHAM!!

There was suddenly a loud tearing noise as her fist sunk into the bag. It tore open and sand spilled onto the wooden floor.

Chun Li retracted her fist and just stood there for a while, rubbing her hand long after the sand had brushed off.

"Impressive as always, young one."

She whirled. Someone had entered the hall without her noticing, and she subconsciously berated herself for it. She began to fall into her ready stance, until she recognized the newcomer.

It was an elderly Chinese man, average in height but with a build that carried the imprint of a youth of strength. He stood at the hall's entrance, hands clasped together and hidden in the sleeves of a gray masters' robe. His face was craggy and weathered, with stark white hair and a beard and bushy eyebrows to match. Piercing gray eyes studied her with a curious gaze.

Chun Li relaxed. "Master Gen." She stood at attention, and placed her right fist into her open left palm in front of her chest, the salute of greeting in kuoshu circles. "It is good to see you again, Honorable master."

Master Gen simply nodded, acknowledging the salute. "As it lightens my heart to see you again, Little Sparrow." he stated.

Chun Li smiled back and blushed slightly at the mention of her childhood nickname he had given her. "What brings you here, Master?"

Gen replied "Other than me being the owner of this place? Not much."

"Oh. Yes." Chun Li blushed brighter for having asked such a silly question.

Gen chuckled, something that, like many other things, he had done a lot more of in his youth. "Actually, tonight, I am here to teach a special lesson."

"Oh? To who?"

"My grandsons."

"Is that so?" Chun Li's face brightened. "Yun and Yang are here?"

"Yes, they are outside."

"I can't believe it, little Yun and Yang. It must be years."

"That it has. In fact, you will see that they are not so little anymore."

As if on cue, a shape came barreling through the door. A young man, perhaps fourteen and wearing a white T-shirt sped through on a skateboard, just barely missing both her and Master Gen. He proceeded to race into the main room, when a few moments later another boy, this time dressed in a red shirt, followed in hot pursuit on in-line skates. They seemed to be playing a game of tag.

"Hah! You'll never catch me!" taunted the boy in white.

"That remains to be seen." retorted the boy in red.

It was all Chun Li could do to dodge the two entities of speed racing through the hall. She saw Master Gen sigh in exasperation and stride slowly forward to the center of the room.

Suddenly, he dropped to one knee and swept his foot out in a wide arc. The boy on skates tripped over his outstretched leg, while the other boy suddenly found his skateboard to be nowhere near him, as Gen had also yanked it out from under him. Both youths went flying. The boy in the red shirt recovered from his stumble and landed on all fours in a somersault. However, the other boy landed heavily on his rear and proved it with a yelp of pain.

Master Gen sighed again, and walked over to where the two young men had landed and grabbed them both by the ear. He hoisted them to their feet.

"How many times have I told you boys," he scolded in a firm tone, "not in the house! You could have hurt someone with your foolishness."

"Aw, Grandpa," protested the boy in white. "we were only having some fun."

"Silence, Yun." said the boy in red, in a markedly more serious and accepting tone. "Grandfather is right, brother. We were careless. Our apologies, Grandfather. We didn't mean to-"

"Oh, there you go again, Yang!" Yun snorted. "'Yes, Grandfather!' 'I'm sorry, Grandfather!' Sheez, Gramps, why don't ya loosen the leash, huh?"

"At least I can admit when I've made a mistake, unlike some-"

"Enough, both of you." said Master Gen, letting go of them. "Don't forget your manners. There is an elder present." he gestured to Chun Li, who smiled and approached. "Show the proper respect."

Immediately, the two youths snapped to and performed the same salute Chun Li had graced Master Gen with. She smiled widely as she studied the two youths.

They were twins, but as similar as they were, they were also different. They shared the same young, lean build and average height for their age, but their distinction was in their face. While their features were also similar, Yun had a look of the cocky, brash arrogance and self-assuredness that so often came with youth. On the other hand, Yang's countenance was one of calm and stable control, tinged with fragility and concession.

Even so, she really had to fight the urge to pinch their cheeks and tousle their hair.

"Yun and Yang." she grinned. "You've really grown up."

The two young boys seemed shy and reluctant to speak or answer, especially Yun, who seemed particularly unused to being addressed by an attractive older girl-when their grandfather prompted them.

"Boys." he said. "Surely you remember Chun Li."

Both boy's eyes widened.

"No way!" Yun exclaimed.

Even in his own surprise, Yang corrected his brother. "It's not so impossible, Yun. It has been several years since we last saw her, it is obvious that we have all changed in the interim. In fact-"

"Aw, cork it, Yang. Wow." Yun smiled goofily. "Chun Li. It's really cool to see ya."

"Yes, indeed a pleasure." Yang agreed. "I trust you are well, Older Sister?"

Chun Li blushed again, this time at the traditional address of an elder girl by a younger boy. It wasn't so far off from the truth, anyway. After she'd had to move in with Master Gen's family, she and the boys had spent a year together and had grown as close as siblings. She had missed them when she had left for the academy, and had found little opportunity to return for a visit. "I'm doing well, Yang." she smiled, slightly surprised at his serious tone. "You two look good, too."

"Yeah!" Yun grinned. "Grandpa's been teachin' us kung fu and we've been gettin' really buff!" He flexed a wiry but muscular arm.

Yang sighed as he leaned down to untie and remove his skates. "Also, our grandfather has been instilling in us the discipline and mental conditioning of the martial way. Though it works frequently as sort of a one-sided situation."

"Hey-!" Yun started.

Chun Li cut off the argument by saying "Well, you boys couldn't ask for a better teacher. You be sure to listen to him."

"Of course, Older Sister." Yang said. "Grandfather is very wise."

"Unfortunately, not very hip." Yun said under his breath. Yang booted him behind his leg. "Ow! I didn't mean any disrespect, Grandfather." he apologized to Gen sheepishly. "I just meant that some of the old ways are not as useful today."

"Well, there's something to be said for the old ways." Chun Li said. "The reason they're so old is that because they usually work. Besides," she grinned. "I see you've adopted the traditional pigtail. It looks very nice on you."

"Really?" Yun grinned and blushed. "Thanks."

Yang tugged on the long queue his brother had braided his black hair into. "Don't confuse my brother's choice of hairstyle as a laudable gesture. In truth, he has been watching too much of a certain animation show from Japan and wishes to emulate its main character, a boy who turns into a girl."

Chun Li blinked. "Really."

Yun reddened. "Well, the same thing could be said about you, Yang. Or should I say "Son Gohan"?" he countered, regarding his brother's spiky 'do.

"Don't insult Mr.Toriyama's magnum opus by comparing it to that excuse for a martial arts sitcom."

"Why you-"

"Boys, boys!" Gen interrupted. "That will be quite enough of that. Now go and wait for me at our usual area. Practice forms until I get there. And boys," he fixed a stern gaze on them. "No skating."

The twins' faces fell, if slightly.

"Yes, Grandfather." Yang said, saluting both him and Chun Li. "It was good to see you again, Older Sister."

Yun sulked, but still performed the salute.

"You too, boys." she smiled, returning the honor. The twin siblings then made their exit -Yun picking up his skateboard and Yang throwing his laced in-liners over his shoulder- and headed for one of the smaller training rooms down the hall.

Gen and Chun Li watched them go. "They're good kids." she said after a while.

"That they are." Master Gen agreed.

"Was I ever that young?" she asked wistfully.

"Well, of course." Gen harrumphed. "And not that long ago, either."

"I mean, was I ever that rambunctious?"

"Sadly, no."

"Eh?"

"Nothing. Come, Chun Li, I would speak with you."

"Yes, Master Gen."