"Are you sure this is the place, Ken?" asked Chun-Li ruefully as she looked out of the chopper. Despite her ear mufflers the howling of the winds still managed to pierce her ears uncomfortably. That, combined with the endless drifts of snow and the sub-zero degree temperatures did not compose a cheery picture. Even Pierre, Ken's stocky Alaskan pilot was shivering as he fought the controls against the raging turbulent winds. Ken gave a cursory glance at the map and nodded.

"Relax, Chun. Besides, if you think about it, this is exactly the place Ryu Hoshi would go for vacations." Ken snapped the final lock of his skis into position. "You ready?"

Chun-Li nodded.

"Okay, Pierre! Land this thing!" Ken yelled at the pilot and was answered by a muffled shout. The chopper eased downwards slightly as the snow danced even more from the air blasts from the rotor blades. Securing his goggles, Ken hopped from the vehicle and hit the snow with a soft 'thud'. With practised ease Ken started to slide downwards, Chun-Li following close behind.

"Last one to see Ryu gets pasted by a snowball!!" Ken yelled gleefully as he zigzagged down the mountain.

"Subject Ryu Hoshi within range of sight. Over and out."

"Operation Strikeout commence now. Remember, Lord Bison wants this subject alive."

Ryu sat Yoga style beneath the lush evergreen pines. His ears registered the signs that he was not alone; scuffled footsteps, muffled clicks, heavy breathing and whispering. Slowly and purposely he clambered to his feet and started walking west, towards an open clearing of snow and observed the horizon. A few minutes two black dots appeared, and the faint buzz of petrol engines reached his ears. As they drew nearer, Ryu could see two men on snowmobiles, firearms slung over their shoulder. One of the men raised his gun...

Ryu's fist closed in front of his face just as a gunshot rang out. On releasing his grasp, a smoking bullet dropped into the snow. The second man unslung his gun as well. Ryu dived just as a line of bullets bit into the snow where his left foot was seconds ago. Then a droning noise distracted him. Looking behind, Ryu counted three gliders converging on his location.

Ryu grinned as he bent down to pack a snowball...

"So, what's your story?" asked Victoria, yawning. "It's getting boring."

Zero1 fixed his companion with a cold stare for a second, then returned his attention to the highway. "I'm a murderer. Plain and simple." Victoria rolled her eyes.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Yes."

Victoria prodded Zero1 with the haft of her dagger teasingly. "Oh come on! You're no fun. Besides, even if you're a murderer, there MUST be some reason why you killed them, right?"

"You are prepared to listen to a story which will make you think I'm crazy as well as a murderer?"

Victoria shrugged. "It's better than going to sleep again."

The men glanced uncomfortably at their surroundings. Snow-covered pines grew in sparse clumps around them, and that was all they could see. The taller one raised a radio to his lips.

"Subject Ryu Hoshi disappeared. Should we look for them or what?" The radio crackled with static for while before someone replied.
"Spread out. Look for him." The man growled as he clipped the radio back to his pocket. The group of gliders split into different directions as the two men revved up their snowmobiles, trying in vain to look for any footprints which might indicate the location of their quarry.

"You go straight on.. I'll scout around the trees," grunted the shorter of the two. His companion nodded in agreement, just before he dropped to the ground, his face pale with shock. The short man blinked in disbelief. "A... snowball??" he muttered just as a rocketing fist clipped him between his shoulderblades, sending him flying against the trunk of a tree which promptly deposited the snow on its branches on the man, burying him underneath a small heap of ice and slush. Sputtering, the man clawed his way out of the heap, only to discover a man wearing a white travel-stained gi, despite the freezing temperatures. He scrambled for his gun, but the man snatched his collar, pulling him to face him. He pointed to the snowmobile.

"How does one operate this machine?" he asked.

"F*** you, sonofab*tch," spat the short man. The man in the white gi frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"F*** YOU!!" the man screamed at him in anger. Shrugging, Ryu slammed his head forcefully on the dashboard of the snowmobile, knocking him out. He furrowed his brow as he climbed atop the vehicle, eying the numerous switches and controls. Absent-mindedly he flicked the key stuck in the hole marked "Ignition"...

"WOAAAHHH!!!!" Ryu yelled as the engine roared to life and instantly sped forwards with the suddenness of a bullet fired from a gun, nearly throwing Ryu off-balance. As Ryu disappeared, the tall man dragged himself to his feet, dishevelled and disturbed at the scene of his friend lying unconscious next to his snowmobile with a bloodied forehead. He whipped out his radio.

"Jerry's unconscious. Subject escaping westwards with snowmobile. Over and out," the man said with a hint of fear in his voice. Taking a deep breath and clutching his gun tightly, the man got on his own snowmobile, taking after Ryu who was by now at least several miles away...

Ryu, meanwhile, had managed to swing his center of gravity so that he was safely on the seat of the snowmobile instead of leaning backwards 170 degrees. A dark shadow fell upon him, which caused him to look upwards, only to see the ominous shape of a glider gaining on him. A split-second later, Ryu saw the man hefting a tube-shaped object on his shoulder.

*fwishhh...*

Ryu's eyes widened as he recognized the thing which was rapidly flying towards him as a rocket. Instantly he swerved aside sharply just as the rocket slammed into the snow-coated ground with a loud explosion, scattering snow in every direction and blinding Ryu. He uttered a soft curse in Chinese as he clawed the slush from his reddening eyes just in time to avoid slamming smack dab right into a pine. Once more the incessant rattle of gunfire echoed in his ears. Ryu looked behind to see the man which he had pasted with a snowball earlier emptying rounds of ammunition at him. Ryu glanced around him, just to see another pine looming up ahead.

"Hadouken!" Ryu cried, letting go of the controls temporarily after he had passed the pine to discharge a burst of ki at the base of the tree, which started creaking eerily as its structure weakened, and toppled over. The man who was following Ryu froze in terror as he crashed right into the trunk which was lying across his path, his snowmobile tossed into the air from sheer impact. Looking back, Ryu smiled grimly...

Ken paused as the sound of an explosion echoed across the mountain range. "What was that?"

Chun-Li's face was fixed in a mask of terror and anxiousness before she regained her senses. "Hurry, Ken," she cried as she pushed off, skiing towards the source of the sound. "Ryu's in trouble."

"'Ryu' and 'trouble' don't come together, Chun," Ken smiled. But all the same, he followed Chun-Li across the slope.

"The reason I murdered the four men was in self-defence," Zero1 spoke quietly. "My father used to work for the same software corporation that employed them.. until he discovered software was not all his company created and traded. I assume you know the multinational software company called Microsoft?"

Victoria blinked. "As in Microsoft Windows?"

Zero1 nodded. "Try avoiding any and all contact with it in future." He paused. "I use an iMac."

"Uh huh."

"Microsoft is reputedly owned by one of the world's richest men, Bill Gates," Zero1 continued. "But it was a clever scam. A front, to throw the world off. Technically, Bill Gates IS the official president of the corporation, but in reality, he has no power whatsover in Microsoft, nor does he possess any of the riches the press claim of him. The knowledge of that top secret piece of information is what cost my father his life..." Zero1 paused to draw a deep breath. "He.. he was murdered."

"I'm sorry..." Victoria murmured quietly.

"He managed to record this information in a CD before the day he was killed," Zero1 continued. "Now I am the one they seek to kill. The irony.."

"So... what's so special about the disk?" Victoria asked curiously.

Zero1 stared at Victoria. "I have told you all you need to know, and nothing which will get you killed."

"What a grouch.." sulked Victoria under her breath.

Ryu guided his snowmobile expertly around the trees and small boulders which littered the mountain slope. Getting the hang of the vehicle, he would probably have enjoyed it had not the three gliders hovering ominously above him attempt to sprinkle him with bullets. Around him, the snow exploded into the air from constant gunfire. Then, suddenly, a shot managed to hit the rear of his snowmobile.

Acting on instinct, Ryu leapt into the air and dived as far as possible from the machine. A few seconds later, more bullets pumped at the snowmobile, puncturing the fuel tank and blowing it up. The blast of air from the snowmobile threw Ryu several feet away, where he landed in an unceremonious heap. He kipupped with ease, and instantly cupped his arms before him. Tracking the trajectory of the gliders, Ryu chose his target...

"Shinkuu... HADOUKEN!"

Ryu's attack tore a ragged hole through one of the gliders, and its pilot screamed his last as he plummeted like a stone down the valley. Despite his victory, Ryu felt a knot of fear tighten in his stomach. The remaining two gliders began descending rapidly down towards him, and there were no trees nearby which he could conveniently hide. Turning, Ryu started to run, but his escape ended a moment later as one of the men put a bullet through his shin.

Stifling a cry of pain, Ryu forced himself to his feet and turned to face his assailants. Escaping now was not an option as was fighting, for the two men held two fully automatic machine guns in their hands.

"SHINRYUUKEN!!"