Chun Li's Christmas Carol
Chapter Four: The Final Guardian
By The Headcrook and Ted Hsu

Chun Li was falling.

Soon, she landed hard on her side.

"Ow..." Chun Li winced. "That hurt."

She got to her feet. After looking around for a moment, she saw that she was somewhere in Japan.

She wasn't inside her apartment, like the last time. Instead, she saw that she was outside a run-down, abandoned castle, somewhere in the Japanese countryside. The castle itself was the location of a battle long ago, the massive structure nothing more than a shadow of its former glory.

And she had that gut feeling that she was not alone.

Her intuition proved right as she turned her head upward. There, standing on the roof, was the final guardian. From her position, Chun Li saw that the figure was dressed entirely in white.

The figure then began to walk towards, Chun Li...that is, it appeared he was walking down an invisible stairway, white sakura petals heralding his arrival.

Chun Li felt the power radiating from the man. It made Bison's Psycho Power look like a campfire compared to the man's aura.

After a moment, the man was on solid ground. He was clearly taller than Chun Li, decked out in a all-white Victorian-style suit, complete with matching gloves. Piercing blue eyes sized the Chinese woman up as one gloved hand ran through his short blond hair.

"Three o'clock on the dot," the Man in White said smoothly, looking at his pocket watch before placing it back in its pocket. "I like punctuality in a woman."

Chun Li took a step back. "Who...who are you?" she asked nervously. This night was a wild ride and she didn't think it was over yet.

The Man in White smirked. Unlike Ken's own smirk, his was purely...evil. "I think you know the answer to that question, Inspector Xiang," he replied.

Chun Li swallowed. "You're...you're the guardian of what is to be, right?"

The Man in White nodded. "Excellent detective work, Miss Xiang." He inclined his head. "You may call me Fortinbras. I am here to show you your future, as well as your fate."

Chun Li swallowed again, clearly scared of this man. 'This man could even make Bison have a shudder or two,' she thought.

Fortinbras caught the look on her face. "You fear me? Good. Don't expect any favors or mercy from me. For I have none of either to give."

Chun Li sighed. "Fine. Let's go. My night could not get any more worse than it already has."

In a flash of purple light, Chun Li found herself inside a mansion. She recognized it as the Masters Estate in San Francisco, having visited there with Ryu.

Walking around the grounds, she found the backyard. From what Ryu had told her, Ken's Japanese mother was homesick when she married Ken's American father, so he had the garden built to appease her.

Chun Li saw that the backyard had a sole occupant. She recognized him as Ryu. The Japanese martial artist was dressed in a wool sweater and a pair of cargo pants. He was looking at the carp swim in the koi pond, lost in thought.

"Ryu?"

Ryu turned to the sound of the voice. A slender, attractive European woman with dark hair tied into a bun with several bangs framing her face, approached him. She was wearing a simple turtleneck sweater and slacks.

Chun Li's jaw dropped as she recognized the woman immediately.

"I've been looking all over for you," Juli said, arms folded, her voice husky with her light accent. Juli was German by birth, but had spent her childhood in all over Europe. "You know I haven't gotten the layout of this place down yet."

Ryu smiled sheepishly. "Gomen. I just needed some time alone to think."

Meanwhile, Chun Li watched this scene with shock. "Ryu hooked up with Juli? The ex-Shadowlaw Dolls commander?! What the hell is going on here?!" she demanded.

Fortinbras simply replied, "Sit back and enjoy the show. Just remember that you are responsible for this."

Juli knew what Ryu meant. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "It can't be helped, Juli. I did love her once, you know. And now she's gone. For good," he said as he bowed his head.

"But now you have me," Juli said. "You know," she trailed off as she ran one finger across his jawline and tilted his head up, "I never got a chance to say thank you. For giving my heart to me," she said as she kissed him on the nose. "And for giving us a chance to love each other."

Ryu smiled as he pulled the woman closer. "You're very welcome, darling."

"Did you tell Ken how we met?"

"You mean how we met inside a hospital in Seoul after I got injured by that Spanish nutjob? Yeah, I told him. He was very surprised to find out that we were dating, as were the others."

Juli chuckled. "I know. It's not everyday that a former Shadowlaw Doll becomes romantically involved with a former target."

Ryu kissed her on the forehead. "I love my little Doll very much. And Ken will like you too...as long as you behave."

Juli pouted. "But I've been a good girl. You know that I've been working as a teacher ever since I left Shadowlaw. I haven't gone back to my old job, despite Juni calling me asking to."

"Come on," Ryu said, pulling Juli to his side. "I'll bet Ken's waiting for us inside." He then kissed her cheek, and she relented.

The pair then walked back into the house. Chun Li watched the entire scene in disbelief. Ryu had hooked up with Juli, the former Doll of Shadowlaw?

Chun Li slumped to her knees. "Ryu...I thought he would wait for me...I wasn't ready to settle down...he wanted...he wanted to marry me...what have I done?" she whispered as she watched the man that she loved being taken from her by that German floozy.

She then felt a hand grip on her shoulder. In a flash, she saw how Ryu had hooked up with Juli.

It was in a Seoul hospital that Ryu was getting patched up.

He'd gotten out of a fight club with his hide not quite all intact. He'd taken a few cuts from Vega's claw, but with his last power move, Ryu had flattened the arrogant Spaniard with a Shoryuken that had shattered Vega's mask. Ryu was sure he'd given the Spanish Ninja a few bruises too, but at least Vega hadn't gotten up.

The brunette woman who was caring for Ryu had a few syringes and prepared sutures. They weren't really deep cuts, but that meant that Ryu was better off out of the ring for a while.

"You took on one of Shadowlaw's nastiest without much care, from what you told me," she told him. "What made you think you were Superman?"

Ryu sighed. "I lost my girlfriend. She chose work over me on the day I was to pop the question. In frustration I called her the next day and thought it best that if she didn't care about the man who thought he loved her for the third Christmas in a row, then maybe we shouldn't try for a Fourth."

The brunette's eyes went wide. "So you were going in with a major mad on and woe be anyone who got in your way."

Ryu blinked as he turned to look at the woman stitching up his wounds. "Wait a second...you look familiar...how did you know I fought Vega?"

Ryu looked at her closely. Her face showed that she was European, her hair was up in a bun, with two strands flanking her face. Almost like...

"The way the wounds are placed are a dead giveaway. I can recognize his handiwork anywhere. Let me finish up your stitches, and then we can get you signed out first," she said. "Then maybe we can go somewhere out of the eyes of others." She'd caught the glimpse of recognition he'd gotten, but she couldn't chance him blurting out right now.

About fifteen minutes (the stitches) and two hours (the doctor's examination) more in the hospital, Ryu was given a discharge and prescriptions for both antibiotics and pain medications. (As Ryu could vouch, the wounds from Vega's claw could hurt and get infected pretty quickly.)

The woman (who Ryu found out had the name of Julia) later invited him to a nearby noodle shop once her shift was over. It would be about two hours, and fortunately, that would be enough time to get the prescriptions she'd given him filled.

It was at the shop meal that Ryu found out why she looked familiar.

"You're Juli, one of the Twin Dolls," Ryu said as it clicked. "You used to work with Juni."

"Key words are 'used to', Ryu," she said. "After Bison was killed in Thailand, I knew that line of work wasn't comfortable for me anymore. I came from a medical background when I was growing up, so I wanted to give life or help others keep their life, not take it." Juli looked a little sad. "I found that I'd done a lot of wrong in my life, and I wanted to do some right before it was too late."

"We've all had moments when we wanted to do the right thing. When we gave many chances to folks, hoping they'd show us right." Ryu touched her hand, and smiled before his own face fell, "This once I couldn't take any more, and I had hoped she'd change. I'd loved her for a long time, but her job always took precedence. This last time was the final straw. I'd gotten to where I knew that there was more to life than fighting for a living, and I wanted to share my life with her." Ryu sighed. "I was ready to give it all up and start over with her too. I can't fight forever, and I didn't want to have 'He died with his gloves on' on my tombstone."

"She must have been special," Juli mused, "to get you to that way."

"I'd thought she was, once," Ryu said sadly, "but her job turned out to be number one in her life, not me. After a night of realizing I was a fool for thinking she was the one, I broke up with her. I'd had my life hurt bad when my grandfather was murdered, then when Bison had murdered her father, but I thought after Bison died, we might have a chance.

"But a man can only take so much and a heart hurt one time too many. I guess that's why I went and fought that Spanish bastard. I was mad as Hell and I didn't care who was on the other end." Ryu sighed and hung his head. "Suicidal, I know."

"No," Juli said as she put a hand on his chin. "You were in pain. Like I had when I lost my parents. I was a child genius, then my parents were murdered. Bison found me, and I was recruited into Shadowlaw. I had lost everything, and was in extreme pain as well. I didn't care that I hurt or killed others, just as long as I felt I belonged. Then you killed Bison and I wasn't sure I'd done more harm than good." Juli looked him in the eye. "It was then I realized I was in charge of my destiny. Wanting to atone, I became a doctor, to heal and give life to others."

"So I guess we both have our issues," Ryu said.

"But I know we don't have to face them alone. There may be issues we face that deal with us alone, but we don't have to be alone when we do," Juli replied.

"No, we don't," Ryu said. "But can you leave here?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I think we might be what the doctor ordered for our own ills," he said as he turned her to face him. "And you are so beautiful, too."

"Do you say that on all first dates?" Juli raised an eyebrow.

"Only on those where I learn I should give life and love a second chance," Ryu said.

"In that case," she replied, "Do you have a number where I can reach you? Or are you still traveling around the world?"

"I'm done with my world tour," Ryu replied. "I've made plans to open the dojo. I can give you my number and address."

Juli nodded and reached inside her purse, coming up with a notepad and a inkpen. Ryu scribbled down his information and handed it to Juli.

Sure enough, several weeks later, Ryu received a phone call from Juli. Apparently, she had accepted a job offer from Waseda University, teaching medical science, and had asked Ryu if he could show her around the city. Ryu accepted. That was where things had taken off from there.

A few dinners, a movie or two, even German kareoke as the two were in front of a screen with microphones.

'I didn't know Ryu could put his heart into a foreign song,' Chun Li thought as she saw Ryu pull out his inner rocker.

"Danke schoen, Ryu," Juli said, kissing his cheek. "This song meant a lot to me, and it meant a lot that you were willing to sing with me."

"It also meant a lot that you willing to teach it to a man who might not be able to carry notes in a bucket," Ryu said. "Everyone used to say 'keep it in the shower' if they thought I'd sing." He then turned her face to face him, and gave her a deep kiss.

Chun Li was green with envy as she watched Ryu and Juli grow closer.

As her attention was focused on Ryu and Juli, Fortinbras' form shifted, then changed. Unlike the Guardians of the Past and Present, the Guardian of the Future took on a more different and some would say, ruthless approach. That approach was to look into the soul of the person and discover not only their worst fear, but the one thing they despised the most.

And in Chun Li's case, she had three.

She feared losing her father's approval. She feared losing Ryu to another woman. And most of all, she feared Bison, whom she had killed in the last tournament.

The Man in White was a master in psychological warfare and it was about to show.

Soon, the shape-shiting was completed. Unfortunately, Fortinbras was anything but. The tanned skin, black karate gi and the red eyes showed that it was Ryu on a Dark Hadou trip.

"Jealous, aren't we?" Fortinbras spoke...in Ryu's voice.

Chun Li spun around, and found herself face-to-face with Ryu, or rather, the Dark Hadou-possessed incarnation of the Japanese martial artist.

"There's more," 'Evil Ryu' rasped, the voice making Chun Li flinch. "Your pain is just beginning, Chun Li. Soon, you will suffer as I have suffered."

'Evil Ryu' lashed out, striking Chun Li in a shiatsu point, making the Chinese martial artist do an impression of a statue, rendering her helpless as 'Evil Ryu' unleashed the next series of events on the young woman.

Several days had passed since Ryu had severed his ties with Chun Li.

Ken had found out from Ryu once he was back in Japan about the break-up. Almost immediately, Ken had notified both Guile and Cammy, asking that they check in on the distraught Chun Li.

"I've asked Rose and Sakura to watch his back," Ken had said. "I can even do a few things from Japan if worse comes to it." He'd heard from Rose how a few times, Ryu was on the verge of a breakdown. Fortunately, she and Sakura were there to help comfort Ryu. Ryu had tried to be the sensei, but sometimes after a session with Sakura, whatever had been bottled up inside him poured out like a firehose or flood.

The two commandos were inside Chun Li's apartment. Instead of the headstrong martial artist who once claimed to be 'The Strongest Woman on Earth,' they found instead a brokenhearted woman clutching a pillow as if it were a security blanket, her eyes red from crying, her face puffy.

Guile and Cammy exchanged worried glances. Never in their lives they had seen Chun Li in such a state. The Chinese woman had fallen down hard emotionally and wasn't sure if she'd get back up.

Guile's loyalties were split. He knew what kind of cold-hearted bastards the Interpol brass could be, but he also thought Chun Li had known the nature of the beast when she joined Interpol, so to speak.

Instead, the Interpol brass had turned her into a puppet on the one day Ryu needed her to be human, and when she broke his heart for the last time, that was it.

"I'm worried about you," Guile said to Chun Li.

"If only someone told me he wanted to propose," Chun Li said, on the verge of tears. "I'd have told the Captain to shove it!"

"And then 'Black Christmas' came to pass," Cammy said. "Ryu felt you gave him a stocking full of coal and he gave one back to you."

Guile shot Cammy a glance as if to say, 'You're not helping.'

"He doesn't want to see me," Chun Li whispered. "I called him many times, and he hangs up the phone. I send him letters, asking him for forgiveness, and returns them to me without opening them. What have I done to deserve this?!" she wailed.

Wisely, both Guile and Cammy decided to keep their mouths shut. Ryu had hurt Chun Li pretty bad when he dumped her, but no one really could blame him for what he did.

(Ken himself had told them Ryu had suffered worse, which was why Rose and Sakura were watching him now.)

If they said anything now, it would have made Chun Li feel worse.

Masters Estate, Valentine's Day.

Nearly two months had passed since what was now known among the martial arts hierarchy which were present at the Christmas Party as 'Black Christmas.' Nearly two months had passed since Ryu had severed his relationship with Chun Li.

Then again, no one could really blame Ryu for what he did. Nearly everyone had watched as Ryu left the Christmas party a broken man.

Both Cammy and Guile had been worried about Chun Li. Ever since Chun Li had gotten dumped by Ryu after he'd blown up like Hiroshima the Chinese woman had buried herself in her work, trying to find meaning in her life. (It seemed like that was the only thing left for her.)

Instead, she found herself crying at night as she found out she had thrown away the one man who tried to give her life meaning after Bison.

Now, sadly, it was Valentine's Day. This was a time Ryu tried to make special for Chun Li in the past, but now it only brought bad memories for Chun Li.

Somehow, Guile and Cammy had talked Chun Li into coming to the Valentine's Day party in San Francisco. Chun Li was already in town, attending a law-enforcement convention. When she found out from Cammy that Ryu was going to be there, Chun Li decided to attend, hoping that Ryu would take her back.

Cammy saw that Chun Li was going to chicken out once they entered the lobby, but Cammy grabbed the woman's shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "Pull yourself together, girl," Cammy told Chun Li. "It's time."

It was amazing, Ken thought. Not quite two months after what the others called 'Black Christmas,' - the incident in which Ryu had finally broken off his relationship with Chun Li - and Ryu had healed somewhat. Ken knew Chun Li had been hurting, though. Yet she'd made her choice, Ryu told Ken, so he had to make his. Even if it left him a emotional wreck in the process. Which, Rose and Sakura admitted privately, it had a few times.

The woman who Ryu had ended up with, however, had done wonders for him, Ken admitted. Ken was afraid Ryu would become a victim of the Dark Hadou after his grief, anger and depression welled up in him after Chun Li didn't think Ryu was worthy of spending time with. But she'd turned out to be the last one anyone had expected.

Ryu had told Ken that she and Ryu both had their demons to face, but they didn't have to do it alone. So better to do it with each other.

Indeed, they proving to be even more loving that Ken and Eliza (to which Ken just laughed at first). She had him stronger than before, and if anything, better for it.

"Hey, buddy," Ken said as Ryu came in. He was wearing a bomber jacket, and a white turtleneck to go with his black slacks. Ryu also had a gorgeous brunette at his side, clad in a slinky black dress.

"Hey yourself," Ryu said. "This is a woman who saved me from wallowing in self-pity," he added as Cammy, Guile and Chun Li came in. "If it weren't for her, I'd be a lot worse off than I was in December." Ryu smiled. "She saved me from myself, and I love her for it."

Chun Li then screeched to a halt when she saw Ryu with another woman.

Cammy looked at her and recognized her immediately. "Bloody hell...it's Juli!"

Guile looked at the blonde Brit. "Who?"

"Juli, the former commander of the Shadowlaw Elite Squad - the Dolls," Cammy explained. "I heard she was doing some medical work somewhere in Asia, but I never thought that she would hook up with a guy she once chased after back in Shadowlaw."

Ryu, in the meantime, was conducting the introductions. "I'd like you to meet Dr. Julia Gilyard. Julia, Ken Masters."

"Please," Julia went, as she shook Ken's hand. "call me Juli."

Ken thought for a moment. "Why does that name sound familiar to me?" he asked himself.

Juli answered the question for him. "Because we met years ago back when I was a member of Shadowlaw."

Ken snapped his fingers. "I knew it!" He then turned to Ryu. "Out of all the people you hooked up with, you hooked up with her? And she did all that for you? Now all this I gotta hear!"

Chun Li, who had came to try and reconcile with Ryu, saw that it would have all been in vain. Before Cammy or Guile could stop her, she had ran out of the ballroom in tears. Ryu didn't even notice Chun Li's presence.

"Cammy, you'd better go after her," Guile went. Cammy nodded and ran after Chun Li.

So it was true. After Ryu dumped her, he'd hooked up with the former Shadowaw assassin-turned-doctor. If she'd known he'd do that with HER...Chun Li couldn't fight the tears as she ran into the ladies' room. And the worst part was, she'd given him the okay to do it.

Almost like what happened to Tara.

The real Chun Li watched this scene, frozen, helpless as 'Evil Ryu' began to taunt her. "You never really gotten over 'Black Christmas,' did you? You wanted me back, but it appears I have moved on. You are the last thing on my mind. I have Juli at my side now." He looked at Ryu and Juli talking to Ken and Eliza. "Look well, Inspector. I am happy now. I have done what no one thought I could do. I have gotten over you."

"You...lie," Chun Li managed to say through clenched teeth.

"Call it what you like," 'Evil Ryu' replied, "but you drove me away. You pushed me into the arms of the woman who once worked for your greatest enemy. And what happens to you, now that you finally see that I want nothing more to do with you?"

His red eyes flashed, blinding Chun Li.

Chun Li felt cold. When she opened her eyes, she found out why.

Looking around, she saw that she was inside the morgue located in the basement of Hong Kong General Hospital. She had been here plenty of times, given her occupation. Clean and pristine, with two metal slabs situated in the middle of the room. Three rows of lockers, used to store the bodies until they could be identified, lined one side of the wall.

One of the metal slabs had a body on it, concealed by a white sheet, the chest and torso area stained red with blood. Chun Li also saw that there was the medical examiner, a female in her mid forties, as well as two more people she immediately recognized.

William Guile and Cammy White.

Both were dressed in combat fatigues, and both looked like they've been through a war and lost. They both looked battered and bruised, Guile's arm was in a sling while Cammy's head was bandaged.

The examiner pulled the sheet back far enough so that the head and chest was exposed. However, she was blocking Chun Li's point of view. Guile and Cammy looked at the body, Guile's expression was somber while Cammy had tears running down her face.

The examiner sighed. "Never thought she would meet such an untimely end, and on the day before Christmas Eve, of all dates," she said as she pulled the sheet back further. Chun Li saw that the body was also dressed in the same fatigues that Guile and Cammy wore, the body apparently having just arrived. "She has several gunshot wounds to the torso. The round to the eye was fatal."

Cammy nodded. "She saw the gunman. I...I tried to get my firearm raised, but she knew...she knew that I would never get a round off in time..." She then broke down in tears, crying.

"She jumped into the line of fire, hoping that her body armor would stop the bullet," Guile explained, trying to keep his voice from cracking and his own tears from flowing. "The bastard had armor-piercing bullets in his pistol. They both traded gunfire. She was hit several times." He gestured to the sobbing Brit in his arms. "Cammy snapped and unloaded her gun into the bastard. That's when she saw the second gunman. She didn't have a chance. The other guy shot her through the eye, and she fell like a leaf." He sighed. "This whole raid was a god-damn ##++%@% mess. Ten agents dead, including her."

Chun Li watched this exchange with a growing sense of dread creeping in her gut.

The examiner managed to remove the jacket. "Armor-piercing bullets?" She looked down at the chest wounds. "The armor only slowed down the rounds. There's no exit wound with the round through the eye. Death was instant. She didn't suffer, at least. Does she have any family?"

"No," Guile replied. "Her father was killed years earlier. She alienated herself from my brother-in-law and his friend, who was also her ex-boyfriend, not to mention several other people we knew." He looked at the examiner. "She did suffer, though. She never told anyone, but she suffered greatly this past year."

"She still spoke with her martial arts master," Cammy said once she calmed down. "He owns the Genhanten Restaurant. I'll notify him. He will claim the body."

The examiner nodded as she pulled the sheet back over the corpse. "If you two please come with me. We'll get those wounds properly dressed."

Once the morgue was deserted, Chun Li kept her eyes on the covered body, her throat dry.

From behind her, Fortinbras appeared. Chun Li felt his presence and turned around, facing the Man in White. He said nothing. Instead, he pointed to the covered body on the slab with one gloved hand.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Chun Li turned around and walked towards the slab, her steps getting heavier as she walked, Chun Li made her way towards the body. In one quick movement, she pulled the sheet off, tossing it to the floor.

Almost immediately, Chun Li went pale.

She was looking at her own corpse.

Hair cut short and undone, the skin gray, pale as death. Chun Li saw that her dead self was dressed in a tanktop - which was covered in her own blood - and combat fatigues, the same brand that Guile would wear. She also took notice of several holes in her chest, still seeping blood. What horrified her was the fact that she only had one eye, which was staring lifelessly at the ceiling. The round had blown her other eye out, the wound still bleeding coagulated blood.

Chun Li stumbled back in shock, tripping over her own two feet, causing her to fall to the floor. Feeling sick to her stomach, she vomited all over the floor.

"No...no...this can't be happening! This isn't real!" Chun Li screamed.

"It is real."

"Daddy?" Chun Li turned around.

Sure enough, instead of facing the guardian of the future, she was instead facing her foster father, Dourai Xiang. Fortinbras has changed forms again. Her adopted father was dressed in the same clothes he wore on the night of his death - a buttoned down shirt, slacks and shoes.

"I was happy that you decided to pursue a career in law enforcement," 'Dourai' began, "but look at you. You became a puppet, a means to an end." He pointed to her dead body on the medical slab. "This is the end result of your glorious career. I wanted you to be happy. But I was wrong."

"I...I was happy," she managed to reply.

"You never recovered from that incident on Christmas," 'Dourai' accused. "You never got over the fact that Ryu had a life without you in the picture! You practically threw the love of your life away in exchange for your job! You managed to alienate friends and family, pushing them away too!"

He pointed to the dead body. "What you see on that slab is the end result of your actions! You...died. The worst thing about it is that because of your cold exterior, no one else will give a damn."

As 'Dourai' tore into Chun Li with his verbal assault, he noticed something that Chun Li didn't. Had Chun Li been paying attention, she would have noticed that her body had sat up, and hopped down from the slab.

'Dourai' sure had hell noticed and stepped to the side. "Eyes front, Inspector," he said, pointing behind her.

Chun Li spun around, and found herself face-to-face with her dead mirror image, the lifeless eye staring at the live ones with nothing but contempt. With lightning speed, the dead Chun Li's hand shot forward, the slender fingers clamping down on Chun Li's throat like a vise. With the strength of ten madmen, the dead Chun Li threw the live one across the room, the live Chun Li bouncing off the wall before falling to the ground.

The walking corpse was upon her. Chun Li felt the dead fingers around her throat as they lifted her in the air, pinning her against the wall.

"Do you see now?" the dead Chun Li hissed, blood dripping from her mouth. "DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO US?!"

Visions invaded Chun Li's mind as she struggled to free herself from the death grip. Visions of herself drowning her sorrows in her field work and praises from her bosses...distancing herself from her friends and family...and finally...the moment of her death. Chun Li had been killed in the line of duty, trying to save Cammy.

Dead Chun Li tossed the live one again, knocking over one of the medical slabs as 'Dourai' watched the scene with emotionless eyes before shifting back to Fortinbras.

Dead Chun Li was now stalking the live one. "You loved Interpol more than Ryu," she snarled, "and now you see it didn't love you back enough. Was this job worth more than the man you loved once? Was it worth dying for knowing you lost your mind, soul, heart and now life to Interpol? Was it worth having 'She gave her life for Interpol' PUT ON OUR ##++%@% TOMBSTONE?!?"

She unleashed a barrage of lighting-fast kicks, pummeling Chun Li before punting her across the morgue. "We were married to our job, now Death did us part from this life! We loved working and now we found it did NOT love us back! We were better off with Ryu and you damn well knew it!" She drove her elbow into the living woman's back, forcing her to the ground when she tried to get up.

Chun Li felt herself being picked up by the back of her neck and tossed once again. Only this time, instead of the hard tile floor, she landed on grass.

After getting her bearings, she realized one thing.

She was in Kowloon Cemetery.

Five people - four men and one woman - stood over an open grave. Chun Li recognized them as William Guile, Cammy White, Gen and his two charges, Yun and Yang Lee. Chun Li saw the somber expressions on their faces as they looked at the open grave. Chun Li saw that both Yun and Yang were crying.

As Chun Li noticed, there was no one from Interpol attending the funeral.

"Did you contact Ryu?" Cammy asked.

"I did," Guile replied. "He said he wasn't coming. Ken also said the same thing when I told him." He sighed. "Poor guy. Ryu really loved her, you know. But she loved her job even more. To tell you the truth, I don't really blame him for moving on. I thought that they would hook up in the end."

"What's done is done," Gen intoned. "The only thing we can do is move on with our lives."

Guile nodded. "She always felt had something to prove," he said. "I should have never asked for her help on this assignment. We're still alive...and she's not."

Cammy looked at the headstone. "Who paid for the headstone?" she asked.

"Fei did," Gen replied. "After what had happened last year between her and Ryu, Chun Li had drowned her sorrows in her work. She pushed everyone away in her grief, including me, alienating everyone she knew. Fei only did what he did because I asked him to."

Guile nodded again. "What happened that Valentine's Day...it was just too damn soon for her...or was it too late? We all thought she had picked up the pieces, given what had happened to her and Ryu."

"But then Chun Li saw Ryu with Juli and she freaked out. And any progress she'd made then was undone," Cammy said sadly. "She had nobody to blame but herself in the end, but we didn't know how badly she was suffering even then."

"Her spirit had deteriorated to the point where she got her work done as she tried to find meaning in it," Gen added. "She'd given her all to Interpol: heart, mind, and now life." He shook his head. "And she got a lot less in return for it."

"If only we'd gotten her to stop working," Cammy said. "When she had that breakdown on Valentine's Day I saw we were losing her. She lost her love when Ryu dumped her, but he couldn't take being second place to her work when he wanted to make her first place in his life."

"'Black Christmas' was the beginning of the end for Chun Li," Guile said. "We should have seen this coming. We had a chance to pull her from the brink. And now...she's gone."

Gen nodded slowly. "She was my finest student. She will be missed, if not by myself and several others."

After dropping several flowers into the open grave, the small party went their separate ways.

Chun Li looked at the headstone. It was a simple headstone made out of granite, bearing only her name and the years of birth and death, and the epitaph 'She gave her life for Interpol,' chiseled in both English and Chinese. The phrase held a double meaning. It was both a compliment and at the same time, an insult.

She slumped to her knees, wallowing in her own agony, tears flowing freely. "No...there's got to be a way to change this," she whispered. "There has to be a way out of this."

"So how does it feel, Inspector?" a cold voice said from the side. "Having pissed off your friends and family because you placed your job first? No one gave a damn when you died, and no one will miss you because of your actions. Because of what you have done, you have destroyed yourself. Your death will not be mourned. Not by Ryu, or anyone else."

Chun Li knew that voice from anywhere. Not really caring that she was in her bedclothes, she faced the one person she feared the most.

Chun Li thought she would never see him again. The red military uniform that concealed his powerful muscular frame, complete with the metal harnesses, wrist and leg guards, the latter concealing his spit-shined boots. The massive jaw and that insane grin. The red service dress cap with the bronze winged skull insignia. The black cape that was draped over his shoulders, blowing in the wind. Last, the soulless white eyes that stared down at the woman in contempt.

Chun Li was looking into the white eyes of the dread man in red himself, General Bison.

"Bison!" Chun Li screamed as she attacked, her pain forgotten.

'Bison' merely swatted Chun Li's attacks to the side. One glowing fist to the torso was more than enough to cause Chun Li to double over.

"You disappoint me, Inspector," 'Bison' sneered. "At least your father put up more of a challenge. You have gotten lax in your skills."

Chun Li rolled out of the way as 'Bison' slid across the ground, narrowly missing her by inches. Chun Li recovered, but as she threw a kick at 'Bison's' head, he vanished from sight.

"Damn it! Fight me, Bison!" Chun Li screamed. "I killed you once! I'll do it again!"

"You are in no position to make demands now!" his voice snarled. "Your blind devotion to your job has brought you to such an untimely end. What good is it to gain the empty praise of your circle if you lose those you love to do it? We are one and the same, Inspector. I rejected those weak emotions just as you rejected your friends and family!"

'Bison' then reappeared behind her. "It ends tonight, Inspector," he drawled. "As you once told me before you ended my life, 'tonight you sleep in Hell.'"

Chun Li spun around, preparing to knock 'Bison's' head off. Instead, 'Bison' simply raised one hand and fired off an intense ball of purple energy. The ball of Psycho Power, in the form of 'Bison's' signature move, the Psycho Shot, struck Chun Li square in the chest. The impact sent her flying towards the open grave.

Only at the last moment, Chun Li manage to grab onto the headstone, holding on for dear life.

Beneath her, the casket flipped open. Instead of a body, there was nothing but darkness. Worse yet, an unnatural force was pulling her towards the darkness. She tried to pull herself up, but the vacuum from inside the abyss was stronger. 'Bison' looked on, arms folded across his chest, laughing.

"NO!" Chun Li howled. "This can't be happening! It can't end this way!"

'Bison' then changed back to Fortinbras. "This is the end for you, Chun Li! You made the choice of placing your job before those you call your family!" He pointed to the abyss that awaited its next victim. "This is your fate! You are damned as was I!"

By this time, Chun Li's grip on the tombstone was getting weaker. But she held on as long as she could.

"I can't die like this! I don't want to die alone and forgotten! I don't want my friends and family to hate me! I'm not the person I once was! Anything to avoid the grave! I'll change! I swear on my father's honor I'll change!" Chun Li screamed.

"It's too late for you," Fortinbras deadpanned. "Your time is up."

"NO! I PROMISE TO DO BETTER!" Chun Li screamed, tears running down her face. "TARA, DO YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL CHANGE! I'LL REPENT! I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL CHANGE MY WAYS!"

Then she lost her grip and fell screaming into the abyss, her casket lid slamming shut, silencing her screams.

Fortinbras looked at the closed coffin. "Rest in peace," he said as he turned and walked away.

The game of "This Could Be Your Life" was over.

And Chun Li had lost.