Of Love, Honour and Revenge Ch. 26
By Matt Lawson

Ryu stood in his white gi, wondering where the h*ll he was.

He was standing near the middle of a large circular room, thirty feet wide, maybe about fifty feet high. A brown ring circled the area a couple of feet away from the wall, which was lined with Aztec markings marked on a gold surface. Ryu guessed correctly that the markings represented death. Light shone only through the single hole in the ceiling.

"Impressive, is it not?"

Ryu turned sharply to face Akuma, who had walked in unnoticed. Akuma closed the door behind him and continued, strolling around the floor, his hands behind his back.

"To the Aztecs, this was the room of the dead. It was said that the shamans who worked behind these walls could contact the spirits of the dead here. I went one better."

"You……..resurrected Bison, here?"

"Of course, how else could he still be alive? I am a devil, my power is absolute."

Suddenly, smoke began to fill in through small ventilation shafts. Ryu's legs were almost covered by a waist-high level of fog.

"I've been waiting for this moment ever since I killed your Sensei, Ryu. You have a power deep inside you that I would like to have."

Ryu was confused. "Why? You already have Satsui No Hado? Why would you want another form of the same thing."

"One evil being, in this world, one devil, can still be destroyed by the righteous man. Your power almost rivals that of mine. You would be the only one who could challenge me and have at least a small chance of defeating me. But two evil beings, that cannot be stopped. How could you fight me if you hold the same evil ideals as I have?"

Ryu began to understood what Akuma was getting at. "Evil begets evil. Fighting you in an evil form would only make you stronger."

"Exactly."

A flash of lightning from the outside boomed through the hole in the ceiling.

"You wouldn't be able to kill me. My power would be absolute."

"Not if I killed you first." Ryu formed a stance and stared into Akuma's eyes. Akuma just stood still, his left side facing Ryu.

"The only way you will be able to kill me would be to use the Shun Goku Satsu on me. And if you did, there would still be an evil being in this world, with no-one left to stop him. I would have achieved my goal no matter what would happen."

"Never. I would succumb to the evil that devoured you in the first place."

"Then I have won already."

Ryu didn't listen. The anger and determination for revenge grew within him like a roaring fire. He charged and came into the attack. He launched several punches towards Akuma's head, but Akuma easily dodged them, leaning back and forth to avoid the blows, his hands still behind his back. He grabbed Ryu's last punch with his right hand, and smiled.

"You're not trying, Ryu. Try harder."

So saying, Akuma punished Ryu by raising his leg and kicking him in the ribs. Ryu flew back and skidded across the floor. Akuma then formed his own stance, one of defiance. Ryu pushed himself back up to his feet and moved into a forward leaning stance.

Akuma attacked this time, leaping in the air and launching three fireballs towards Ryu, who dived out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by one of them. He then prepared to launch his own fireball towards Akuma, but then noticed that he was gone.

"Looking for me?"

Akuma appeared behind Ryu and side-kicked his spine, causing Ryu to fall forward with a cry of pain onto his front.

"This is pathetic. You're not even trying. Don't you want to get revenge for your beloved Sensei by killing me?"

"I want to do more than that. I want to tear you apart!"

"Good. At least you're accepting the evil energy inside you. No good man would say such a thing."

"SHUT UP!"

Ryu pushed himself upward, landing on his feet, and launched a flying kick towards Akuma's face. Akuma spun round as if he was performing a solitary waltz, then spin-kicked Ryu in the side as he was about to land. Ryu was hammered into the wall, where he fell down in pain.

"What's the point of doing this if you're not going to be a decent fight for me. Now attack, properly this time."

Ryu picked himself up, using the wall for support, then took two steps towards Akuma. He then drew his hands back and flung another Hadoken at him. Akuma leaped over the fireball as it crashed harmlessly into the opposite end, and was about to launch an aerial fireball towards Ryu when his chin collided with Ryu's fist.

"SHORYUKEN!" Ryu cried as Akuma was flung back. Suddenly, Akuma flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet. Ryu landed directly in front of him.

"Better! Better." Akuma chuckled as he said the second 'better'. "You actually caused some pain. I applaud you."

"You'll find I have a lot more tricks than that, Akuma."

Ryu jumped a short distance into the air, just so as he was in leg-range of Akuma's head, charging up his chi into his leg.

"SHINKUUU…….TATSU-MAKI-SUNPUU-KYAKU!"

Ryu spun in a perfect circle with his leg outstretched, spinning almost as fast as the speed of sound. However, all his feet connected with was air. When it finished, Ryu landed, wondering how he missed.

"Oh, Ryu."

Ryu looked back and turned round before Akuma, who teleported behind Ryu earlier, launched his own attack.

"SHIPUU JINRAI KYAKU!"

Akuma's feet spun several times, engulfed in purple electricity. Ryu's face burned at every kick, leaving several small burn marks on the side of his face. At the last kick, he was slammed into the air, his body spinning around until he landed painfully onto his side. Akuma landed and stood defiantly over Ryu.

"Some surprise."

However, Ryu could not be defeated so easily. He kicked upwards into Akuma's stomach, then turned on his hand so that he was facing Akuma.

"SHIN SHORYUKEN!"

He elbowed Akuma in the face, uppercutted Akuma in the chest, then followed with another uppercut into the chest. He continued to rise into the air with the last uppercut, sending Akuma into the air with him as he channeled all his chi energy into the attack.

Akuma landed into the fog. Ryu landed on his feet, weary of the temporary loss of energy. He then looked up and found the Akuma didn't get up. He walked over to where Akuma landed and threw his hand to grab Akuma's beads.

But when his hand touched the floor instead, he realised Akuma wasn't there.

Ryu looked around, standing in the dense fog, looking for his nemesis.

"Akuma!"

No answer.

"SHOW YOURSELF!"

Suddenly, a fireball stream erupted from the shadows and slammed into Ryu. It pushed him back into the wall. Ryu slammed against it, the dropped back down onto his bottom.

"I'm all around you, Ryu. You cannot beat me with just a single move."

Ryu staggered up to his feet, stumbled after a few steps and fell to his knees. A pool of blood welled up in his throat, and he coughed it out. It disappeared in the fog.

Ryu's vision blurred. He was beginning to feel desperate. He didn't want to die, but he knew that he would unless he won. And the only way he could win was….

No, I can't do it!

He lifted up his head and saw Akuma standing there, gloating at him.

"I'm here, Ryu. Do it now. Your troubles would be over."

Ryu couldn't help it. The anger of seeing his most hated enemy stand before him swelled up. The temptation was too great to resist.

Forgive me Sensei. I must do it to avenge you…..

Ryu stood up, and in a blur, he charged at Akuma.

"SHUN GOKU SATSU!"

Akuma closed his eyes, and smiled…..

The whole room went a bright white as Ryu performed Shotokan Karate's most devastating, and forbidden, attack. He attacked Akuma with a hammer punch to the crown of the head, above the ajne, where the three principal arteries of the subtle body come together. He then attacked with an upper punch between the eyebrows, to the brow. He then punched the base of Akuma's throat, stopping Akuma from breathing. A punch to the chest where the heart was located came next, followed by a kick in the solar plexus. A knee in the genitalia was followed. With a great speed, Ryu spun around Akuma and punched the base of Akuma's spine.

These were the seven Chakra, the seven most vital points to a human body. The Shun Goku Satsu directed its attacks at these seven areas, causing the most pain to the victim.

Ryu encircled Akuma so that he was facing forward and repeated the entire process again. Finally, after the punch to the spine was completed, Ryu faced Akuma again and launched a final, devastating attack to Akuma's heart.

The light dimmed till it had faded completely.

In the center of the room, Ryu and Akuma stood face to face. Ryu's fist was embedded deep into Akuma's chest, like the dream he had back in Singapore only a couple of weeks ago, only on opposite terms. Akuma looked, stunned. Then to Ryu's amazement, he smiled. Then he broke out into a chilling laughter. Finally, instead of collapsing to the floor, he vanished.

The laughter echoed inside the room. Ryu stood triumphant as the laughter seemed to die away.

Sensei, I have avenged you….

But the laughter didn't die out. It suddenly grew with intensity. Ryu's triumphant stand melted into shock.

"No……" Ryu said, overcome with fear. "…….He still lives!"

"HA HA HA HA HA HA! FOOL! THAT WAS MERELY AN ILLUSION!"

Ryu stepped back, stunned. Akuma's laughter continued.

"And you have used the Shun Goku Satsu, precisely as I had intended. You have succumbed to me. Now you are mine!"

Ryu realised that it was true. He had performed the forbidden art of the Shotokan, the Shun Goku Satsu.

Now he must pay the penalty.

The evil intent entered and embraced him.

Its warm, nauseating breath reached inside him and started to explore his being. A tidal wave of anger thrashed through him. Pure, mindless, undiluted fury, red winds that were patterned with the faces of demons. It channeled through his body and soul and passed through him, making his body jerk violently every time it passed through him.

In the sockets of his face, his brown eyes was covered by a sea of red, the colour of blood.

Finally, it pushed him against the wall. He was pinned against it by the red wind.

It made him feel powerful. He had been wronged. Terribly wronged. Wronged by someone or something he couldn't quite recall. But that didn't matter. What did matter was that he had been dreadfully betrayed by someone or something and that was why this foaming lather of anger was gushing about inside him. And it felt good. So good. This anger, this fury was a great gift.

Suddenly, he had something that he could believe in, something that couldn't be challenged. Something that was so powerful he could only begin to explore the very depths of it's power.

Then the evil intent passed over him and the red wind spiraled off into the distance, leaving Ryu sliding against the wall.

Ryu watched it go. All that remained was his hatred. His hatred of some formless adversary.

He looked down at himself. His gi was no longer white anymore, but black. As black as Akuma's.

He felt a burning sensation in his back. His hand reached behind it, and he could make out the burning kanji symbol of ten.

Heaven was etched into his back as if it was from a hot branding iron and passed through the gi in a perfect shape.

Akuma walked towards him, followed by Bison.

"Well, Bison. Didn't I say it would be better if we kept him alive, rather than dead."

Bison didn't answer. He just simply laughed, a howling laughter that put fear into the hearts of those who happened to walk past the chamber.

Evil Ryu simply stood in front of them, his eyes red with evil, and smiled….

Dan opened the small food slot on the cell door containing Chun Li. Sakura was still sleeping, but he thought it best to let her be. He peered in and looked at a beautiful, but obviously sad and lonely Chinese girl sitting against the wall with her head between her legs. How could he tell her the news?

He realised there was no way to keep it secret. She would find out anyway, as well as Sakura.

"Akuma won. Ryu had been taken over by the evil intent and has become someone else, like Akuma………I'm sorry."

He walked away, feeling guilty about why he had joined Shadowloo.

Inside the cell, Chun Li burst into tears, crying heavily at the loss of her loved one.

She had had some long nights by herself after her father died. Alone in the dark with nothing but your thoughts, time can draw out like a blade.

The thunder rumbled from outside.

It was the longest night of her life.