"Don't waste my time insignificant fool!" Man Sei hollered slamming Kay Unleashed downward toward the mud-satiated earth. Kay knew the fall would hurt… slightly. Providing you had to land at all. Tucking his head and pausing, he prepared for the exact moment he would retaliate.

"Your going to have a hard time insulting me after I rip out your tongue," Kay spat, then howled for no other reason than dramatic effect, loosing a blast of pure blue light into the others face. After a split second past, Kay held Man Sei's arm pulling his head down and kneed Man Sei in his eye temple causing disorientation amongst Wai Lim's arch enemy. Stepping back briefly provided more than enough time for Kay, he crouch down low and
 

"Charge UP!!!" Kay dashed forward in an Instant Step landing multiple combination attacks to all vital point all from eyes to groin.
The dark fighter leveled a blade bursting with energy towards Kay. "DIE!" he suggested, lashing out.
"I have one of those to, baka." In a abrupt motion a massive blade of light winked into existence, parrying the stroke.

"If you want me dead your going to need to DO A WHOLE LOT BETTER THAN THAT!"
Man Sei, psychotic in every shape way and form, grinned sadistically. "As you wish." His fist lashed out, impacting soundly against Kay's temple, knocking him off balance.

"EN METSU!!" Man Sei yelped blowing up in a explosion rivaling that of a small tactical nuke, taking Kay with him in a dazzling (and painful) display of pyrotechnics. Kay's wild eyes searched the forming dust clouds, drooling blood from one side of his mouth. Then out of nowhere the callous hands of Man Sei wrapped around his vulnerable neck.

Closing his eyes, Kay waited for an energy attack… and waited… and waited… "Damn your slower than my dead grandma!" Kay yelled preparing for an uppercut. "Lesson one, boy, never close your eyes against your enemy," Man Sei muttered in his ear. "Wha?" Unleashed Kay sanely spoke… Kay could sense his calming nerves.

"Rain of Death!!!" Man Sei, who had been building energy the entire time, blasted the fatal energy attacks directly into Kay's stomach knocking the wind from him and knocking him to kingdom come. Kay's last visions blurred by him. He hoped a tree would stop his artificial flight; a mountain decided to make use to this situation.

On a curiously familiar battleground
 
 

"You're ready?" Guile asked his partner and bestfriend. Charlie slowly removed his glasses then carefully placed them in a pocket inside of his vest,
"Let's get this over with." In an ironic turn of events, the battlefield that had been chosen for his fight was the island’s small airstrip. The island seemed almost like a resort town than a battlefield but…

‘But remember Charlie, this is just a cover… Everyone on this island is either working for Bison or working toward their own agenda.’ The small town had almost created the perfect front, but that also helped fuel suspicions. ‘If Military Intelligence was right, Bison himself is gonna be here and…’
"Hello luv!" a feminine voice with a rich British accent called out.

"Huh? Cammy?" Charlie said as he turned his head toward the direction of the voice. Standing a short distance away in her traditional fighting attire stood Cammy. Unfortunately, the minute Charlie managed to see her, a stupidly ridiculous big grin on his face as he stared at the British agent.

"C'mon, gotta keep your mind on the fight for now!" Cammy smirked as she noticed the look on his face then winked at Charlie. This didn’t help the US Air Force pilot though.

"I…er… uh…are…. Y-y-you my op-opponent?" Charlie managed to stutter out. Even before he finished his sentence he had mentally slapped himself. Great pick up line Charlie… might as well act like Ryu… Ryu, he’s gonna be at this tournament too, I believe. If that’s so…

"Charlie!"
"Oh! Sorry… I was just thinking." Charlie tried to regain his composure.

"Anyway, I’m just here to judge… THAT’S your opponent."
Cammy relied as she gestured toward a rather large looking man. She couldn't help, but sigh. She knew him for how long?

Too long, that's the answer. First, the rumors of his death being Guile's driving vengeance… like Chun-Li's father's death being her reasons for revenge. Then once the truth comes out, he's as alive as she was. At first she wasn't allowed to speak with him much, she didn't care of the lack of communication either. She had Bison and to her that's all that mattered. Then slowly her mind shifted… especially after he'd abuse her in what-ever ways he seemed interesting at the moment.
 

Tears streamed endlessly and violently. Cammy, a beautiful waterfall in despair, ran. She didn't know why she resorted to such acts of stupidity. She couldn't run away from him… he would only harm her more. She didn't care. She had to get away from him. She couldn't stand him being so inhumane. No human could harm another as he did.
"He's bloody psychotic!!" She sniffled through hyperventilating breaths.

As a denizen of a uninhabited area by a river stream, Cammy cried her deep blue eyes until they turned as red as blood. Bison needed her so badly yet he treated her like she was nothing but an insignificant. The echoing tears lured a wandering (and lost) air force pilot toward the sounds of insurmountable pain. Why does such a beautiful damsel posses so much distress?

He thought. Probably b/c of a guy He quickly assumed, Why not, women blame us for everything anyway. With a cocky smile, she quietly approached the weeping beauty. Crunch! his foot accidentally snapped a branch in two. Cammy, shocked and surprised, leaped up and faced the stranger expecting "B-Bison, m-my apologies! Please don't-!!"

A dramatic silence filled the air.
"Oh," she muttered wiping her tears as if she held a Ph.D. in hiding emotions.
"Why are you crying? Did you lose a match?" Charlie asked.
"None of your business, leave foolish American!" She turned and walked down the stream away from the obvious male from USA. Secretly following again, Charlie's presence didn't effect Cammy again until crunch. Cammy whirled around,

"What's wrong? Are you deaf?! Can't you hear me?! Do I have to bloody speak your English for you to comprehend?! Dammit you Americans put your nose into everything! Get away you bastard!" Charlie, now biting his lip, attempted to hid his laughter but couldn’t. A smile stretched out upon his face from ear to ear and his glasses glimmered.
"What?! What are you laughing about?! Do I amuse you?!"

Charlie knew it's useless to fight a losing battle. He merely kept his smile and bowed respectfully to the British beauty,

"I would continue, but I know my presence would bother you in the delicate state your in." Cammy sighed as Charlie turned around almost at leave.
"Your presence does bother me, but I'm not delicate!"
"Yes you are!" Charlie shot back.
"Am not!" Cammy clenched her fists and glared at Charlie, her long braids bounced once her entire body tensed up in defense.
"That's it!" Cammy yelped. A split second later she sprang forward at Charlie's gut w/ a spinning knuckle strike. Charlie quickly dodged, catching her hand,
"You shouldn’t fight when your this overcome with emotion." He held her hand and gently kissed it. He picked up his glasses which fell off, dusted them with his military jacket, placed them carefully over the brim of his nose and turned walking off.
 
 

Charlie sized up his opponent. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and green pants and gloves. American it looked like. From his build, it looked like he was a pretty strong fighter.

"Charlie, this is Alex your opponent." Cammy said as she motioned toward the man. Alex simply nodded then shifted into a fighting stance.

"I guess you’re a man of few words… okay… let’s go!" and with that, Charlie to shifted into a fighting stance. Alex responded with a slip shod stance that left him wide open. Whatever works for him, Charlie thought. He inhaled deeply knowing his mind must be cleared to fight at his fullest potential. He couldn't lose fights and lose his purpose for not being on the island. It would give away his position and put him, Guile plus that nut case Investigator in danger.

Alex rushed towards Charlie and begin attacking aggressively. Charlie managed to block his jabs but was caught of guard by an elbow swipe and stumbled backwards. Pressing his advantage, Alex rushed forward and brought his knee up to Charlie’s chest. The blow connected cleanly with an audible ‘Crack!’ and sent Charlie down hard.

Cammy winced as she heard the crack and continued to watch the fight, silently cheering Charlie on. Her fists clenched as if she were to jump in and protect Charlie from the over grown mountain of steroids. Her lip was carefully pinched by both teeth and her blue eyes never left the fight. She's a dedicated judge Guile observed both fighters and the judge.

Charlie countered with a sweep and was on his feet again. Alex rushed forward again but this time Charlie was ready. Bringing both of his arms back, Charlie prepared to strike.

"Sonic boom!" was all Alex was barely able to hear before he was slammed backwards by a blast of chi which was soon followed by another yell then a second projectile and then a third. Unseen either fighter, a small smile formed on Cammy’s face. Alex was barely able to ward off the third sonic boom with chop that collided with a flash.

"Not bad." Alex muttered to himself before ducking a fourth sonic boom and quickly managed to close the gap between him and his opponent.

Charlie didn’t have a chance to evade as Alex brought his right arm up into the air then came down with a fierce punch to his head. Charlie bowed over due to the force of the punch and Alex took advantage of this.

"You can’t escape!" Alex screamed out as he lifted Charlie into the air and threw him down with savage force in a power bomb.

Before Charlie had time to recognize the pain from the impact, Alex’s hands were around his throat in a brutal strangle hold. With his sheer strength, Alex lifted Charlie to his feet, keeping a firm grip on his throat.

Charlie then brought his knee up into Alex’s gut, repeated the process again, and again until Alex had let go of his throat. In a quick movement, Charlie grabbed Alex then slammed him down in a fierce suplex.

Stuttering backwards, Charlie held his throat and coughed. A few more moments and he was sure he would have passed out. His break was short-lived as his opponent was already back on his feet and in his fighting stance.

"Air stampede…" Alex managed in a low voice then leapt up rather high into the air. In less than a heartbeat, he was heading straight down at Charlie with his boots aimed at his head.

Charlie eyes went wide for a moment at the sight of the large fighter heading straight down at him but in the blink of an eye, Charlie to was airborne in a flip, his right leg extended. This effectively countered Alex’s attack as it caught him in midair and sent him crashing into the ground below.

"Whew hew! You kick his bloody arse!!" This time Cammy cheered loudly as Charlie landed with a surprised look on his face. He glanced over towards his ‘spectator’ and was surprised that it was Cammy. Unfortunately Alex was already back on his feet and took advantage of Charlie’s distraction.

Charlie didn’t know what hit him as Alex nailed him with a flash chop. Before Charlie could regain his bearings, Alex lifted him up then slammed him down in a painful backdrop quickly followed by a second one. Cammy gasped wishing her emotions didn't control her in these situations. She's been controlled by many people in her life and unfortunately she had never had complete control over herself.

"You can’t escape!" was the dreaded words Charlie heard as he was lifted over Alex’s head for another power bomb when suddenly Alex jumped rather high in the air carrying Charlie with him. ‘Not this again!’ was the only thing on Charlie’s mind when he suddenly he had an idea.

"Bet I can!" and with that, Charlie kicked himself off of Alex’s shoulder’s and flipped once in the air before yelling out "Somersault justice!" As he yelled, he performed the most powerful version of his somersault shell.

Alex was caught completely by surprise by this and the kick connected cleanly with his chin in midair. Both fighters slammed into the ground and neither moved.

"Bloody hell…" Cammy whispered to herself then sighed, it looked like it was gonna be a draw. "Double knockou-…"

"Wait!"

"Huh?" Cammy looked toward the fallen fighters, to her surprise, Charlie was trying to stand weakly. She smiled to herself then spoke in a loud voice

"Winner by knockout, Charlie!" then rushed over to help him stand.
"Your a blood mess, dear."
"Thanks for your commentary, crazy Brit. ," Charlie responded. Charlie glanced around with his good eye finding out Guile was off being The Good Airman and getting the non-painful end of this mission. In other words, he was reporting the present situation to the General.
"Want me to take you back to your place? I have some free time," Cammy suggested.
"Free time? Don't you have to report the winning?"
"-At the end of the day," Cammy responded.
 

Charlie smiled,
"Actually, I could go for a nice shot of Jack Daniels." Cammy nodded,
"-If your throat isn't bruised and beaten like the rest of ya."
She winked when Charlie looked back at her.
"It looks like my partner left me, I could sure use the company," he spoke biting his dry lip. Cammy stopped her walking, paused and glanced back at the stupid American Bison will be angry…

"M-My treat…" he quickly added. Ah well, like I'm not going to get slapped for interfering earlier in the fight, "Luv, you got yourself a date," she beamed grinning. Charlie smiled slightly, leaning heavily on Cammy’s shoulder. He weakly reached inside of his vest and pulled out his glasses. The right lens was cracked severely and the left lens was rather loose. He sighed, "Ah well, I prefer a brief drink with a lovely lady any day."
 

Unseen by any of them, Ken Masters slowly picks up his suitcase and begins walking away from the battlefield. It had been a good fight, though Ken was sure Alex was gonna win. He smiled slightly, this tournament was going to be fun.
 

"Why are we here again?" Iwa querried, glancing towards her fast paced ally, Kumori. "We should be sparring to practice for our upcoming matches."
Kumori smiled.
"I owe him another visit, as it is my turn." The light reflected brilliantly off of her glasses, obscuring her eyes from view.
"Your turn? Him who?"

Kumori's intricate trenchcoat ceased its wild movement.
"We're here." The toes of her snakeskin boots touched down in lush greenery as she breathed deeply. Tall reeds of grass playfully danced in the wind admist a massive array of flowers and other assorted flora.
"Pretty out here."

Iwa brushed back some hair threatening to block her vision, despite the headband tightly woven around her fore-head.
"Here? You can't possibly mean that rickety shack in the distance." Indeed, directly past where she pointed was a small, beaten wood shack seeming on the verge of collapse.

"Yup. Aaron's there."
"Volpe? Figures. Why exactly are you seeing him, Kumori?."
"Beats me. They were out of Titanic at the video store." She adjusted her pack with a grin. "Lately I've been having these weird dreams.."

Iwa groaned. "Not that TS stuff again." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "The essences gather their own, and that's it. Nobody's working behind the scenes, girl."
Kumori turned towards her counterpart with a smirk.
"maybe.... but the last couple of times he visited we had fun, talking about whatever came to mind. At least when he's conscious."
"Couple of times?" Iwa's fine eyes narrowed.

"Evidently he's been sparring with just about everyone under the sun that's willing to keep it quiet." Kumori grasped the worn handle of the door in front of her softly.
"He showed up charred and bruised after having a friendly bout with Sakura, then collapsed on my hotel floor chuckling."
"Ouch."
"Yep." Kumori pushed her way past the door, revealing several wrappers of fast food, an overturned chair with three functioning legs, five bags of potato chips, and one snoring Investigator sprawled out in a most undignified manner.
"Wow," they murmured in unison. Snoring was a understatement. The man was somehow releasing at least four different types of snores at once, each with it's own unique tone and clarity. Iwa and Kumori weren't sure if they should shield their ears or applaud.

"Is he drunk?" Iwa scanned the nearby barren shelves.
Kumori shook her head slowly.
"No. He promised me he wouldn't drink after that night at the club not so long ago…" She adjusted her glasses and examined the unconscious Italian streetfighter.
"He just looks beaten up for the most part."
Iwa released a short bark of laughter. "That's normal for him."

Kumori chuckled and shook Volpe's shoulder firmly.
"Hey, sleeping whatever (Sleeping Beauty was an overstatement), I'm here."
Aaron's eyes snapped open only to snap shut again.

"GAH!" he exclaimed, shielding his eyes. "Oak and ash, perchance I knew to patch that roof. Hey Iwa, turn out the sun wouldest thou?." He attempted to sit up, failed miserably and collapsed with a dry chuckle.
"The master Gen certainly knows how incur bodily harm, methinks.
'Ello ladies."
"Hiya." Kumori chirped.
Volpe pointed to the corner directly across from him.
"Sadly, I am in poor shape to give a proper demonstration, but thy tickets and songs are over there. Enjoy."
"Songs?"

"Evidently miss Kumori-chan, Crista, and Victoria like to sing almost as much as I do." Volpe revealed a broad smile and several white teeth.
"I've been working on a ballad of sorts, music tends to empower the heart and lighten the soul. Or something like that." He sighed and chuckled, his eyes now closed.
"And the tickets, before ye ask, are to see Fei Long behind the scenes of his next movie. And Iwa, your gloves are due to arrive soon, methinks."

Kumori gathered the goodies with barely contained glee.
"ARIGATO, VOLPE-KUN!"
"If you two don't mind, I'm due to lapse into unconsciousness any second." He waved at the two young women.

"Sorry to cut our talk short princess. Shoo. Have fun, yes?" And with that the man instantly lapsed into slumber, releasing even more horrific snoring than before, startling small birds and animals outside with uncanny ease.
"Ready?" Iwa stepped outside, walking through the battered doorway.
"What are you doing, girl?"
Kumori smiled as she removed her voluminous trenchcoat and laid atop the exhausted fighter.
"He might catch a cold." She laughed, then shrugged, eyes shinning. "Fei Long, here I come!"
 

"What the !!" Guile exclaimed gripping the phone till his knuckles turned a ghastly white and the pencil in his hand was now in an unmeasured two pieces.
"Tell that General of yours that we have the situation covered! We report in every other day as ordered! If the action were too intense we would have called reinforcements days ago!"

"S-Sir, I-I do not have the authority to tell a four star General what to do, I-I'm just a-"
"Who are the reinforcements?! We already have enough! We have me, Charlie, Detective Li, Mr. Hoshi and Mr. Masters… we have the best of the best here. Bison is worm food. Do you understand?"

"Um… she should be there now, sir," muttered the frightful messenger from the other end of the veiled line.
"She? Now?" Guile repeated now chewing on the blunt eraser, accidentally ripping it in three separate chunks .
"-Your should try gum, it tastes better." Guile spun around quickly hanging up the satellite phone with a disgusted look.

"Nice hair." He, then, paused raising an eyebrow at the sight infront of him. If his wife were here, she would have knocked him for staring too long. Then again, if she were here he wouldn't just be standing around absently awaiting a certain megalomaniacs next move.

"You are?" He finally spoke, his callous voice still prominent.
"Natalie, agent nick name Natalie," she answered. Guile couldn't help, but notice one feature standing out, She has more jewelry than a pawn shop.
"So your the agent from the FBI, eh? Let me tell you one thing about this. Military does the dirty work, all you do is stand there, stay alive, look pretty and take notes." Guile tossed a dismissive hand. "-That's it!!"

"You wish," she answered sternly showing just as much aggressive behavior. After all, she believed all egotistical bastards needed attitude adjusting.
Guile raised an eyebrow, "This is a military operation."

"Listen grunt, I can be really easy to get along with. If not, I can use my political importance to make you realize the government owns the military and I, as of now, am your superior, Colonel."
Guile wordlessly stood and frowned in thought, his massive frame towering over the young woman.
"Not likely." He lowered his gaze upon the petite, pale, and pretty federal agent.
"You don't have a fourth of my experience, or an eighth of my skill Nat-chan." Then he sighed and cracked a small semblance of a smile. He took Charlie's advice and refused to fight this losing battle. "But if you want to play in the big leagues I'm game."

Damn Charlie, he thought as he tossed Nadie a phone,
"Here Nat. The general channel is 3. If you get static or a radio station, try 14, 74, 38, or 1. Another blonde military agent should be around some where. You can call him-"

"I'll call him Charlie, Guile," she interrupted him smiling and adjusting the cell phone to the correct covert channel. "Where are Detective Li, Hoshi, and Masters?"
"Li, Masters and Hoshi are usually found together around Iwa and Kumori unless they are training for a fight upcoming. I'd also watch out for their self-declared flamboyant body guard that's making waves lately. Volpe."

"How cute… just like his pink shirt." Guile crossed his arms, This girl did her homework all right. Too bad only he, Li and Charlie knew their primary mission. Speaking of homework though…-

"How old are you, Nat-chan?"
Nat, finally equally angered, raises a frustrated eyebrow, "The name is Natalie or Nadie! And definitely not chan!"
"Answer my question, government white collar."
"None of your business, grunt," she answered quickly.

"Grunt? Lady, men and woman alike three times your age salute my station, and for good reason. I earned my respect. What about you?" His eyes softened slightly as he gripped his dog tags. "Your one of those brains aren't ya? You probably hacked into the FBI, they caught you, then they offered you a job instead of frying your ass, huh?"

"You wish, again," she smiled, "It's called being having superior intelligence, something that never graced your presence obviously."
Guile flexed absently.
"I see your defensive appearance must mean your uncomfortable in this situation. Poor kid… maybe you need your mommy to hug you and give you her credit card to go shopping."

"Look, macho man, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to rendez-vous with everyone else on the team to confirm my identification. You know what to do, just don't screw up."
"Uh-huh. What are you going do, Nat-chan?" He asked with no tone of sarcasm.

Nadie grimaced, then smiled purely as if she were waiting for the question all day,
"Say hello to the newest reporter of Channel 11 6 o'clock news." -And with that she left. Leaving she sighed and looked up toward the sky clutching her cross necklace, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

At infamous Fighters Inn c.a. same time
 
 

"Back in England, I hope," Charlie spoke after his second glass. Cammy rolled her eyes shrugging,
"Love, I'm a busy girl. My services are required internationally."
"-Ya know what I mean… away from psychotic killer guy."
"Oh," Cammy muttered before downing some cheap scotch provoking a squished-face appeal.

Charlie chuckled while admiring the braided blonde with a intoxicated gaze. Cammy couldn't help, but blush a slight shade of rosy pink while she looked beyond the gleaming glasses into his enthralling yet tipsy pupils. He returned the glance wondering if he'd remember if he got this drunk before for celebrating a fight. He never acted in such immature, irrational, abrupt behavior. -And neither did she… if, after all, he found out… She quickly erased the thought from her mind and concentrated on her drunken friend facing her smiling as if she were carefree and possessed no worries.
 

"Hey! Its been a while since that third Alpha Tournament, huh?" Cody grinned as he played around with the handcuffs on his wrist.
"Indeed." T. Hawk nodded solemnly, the hawk on his shoulder squawked in affirmative. Then he rubbed his chin in a motion of puzzlement.
"But why do you still wear that prison uniform and those handcuffs?"

"I dunno . . . but Jessica said she thinks I look good in them for some reason, especially with the handcuffs." Cody replied.
"What a curious thing." T. Hawk murmured as he leaned forward and rubbed his chin.
"I know." Cody dangled the handcuffs then put them back on.
The hawk flew off T. Hawk's shoulder as the two combatants readied in their fighting stances.
 

"Cody Vs. T. Hawk! FIGHT!" the announcer barked.

Cody's eyes gleaned as he rushed in for a volley of punches at T. Hawk's abdominal. T. Hawk merely grunted as he took the blows, allowing the pain to send adrenaline coursing through his veins when he suddenly took hold of Cody around his neck, leaping high into the air and spinning Cody about like a rag doll, he slammed the Final Fight fighter into the floor.

Cody could only look up towards the sky in daze however, wondering where that Mack Truck with the hawk figurine at its pommel came from. Cody staggered up, focusing his vision again he dashed at T. Hawk with the look of repeating his previous action and at the last moment, sent an uppercut which emitted a small tornado. T. Hawk grunted as the attack sent him spinning into the air.

T. Hawk growled as he suddenly flipped and landed firmly upon his feet. His hands at his sides, he slowly began to advance upon the smaller fighter. Cody, realizing he shouldn't attempt to get TOO close to T. Hawk, proceeded to pick up dirt and pieces of rock to throw at T. Hawk. The huge Native American blocked or parried the projectiles however.

T. Hawk suddenly leaped high into the air, and descended upon Cody at an angle. Cody dodged to the side, and he missed. The landing however, did distract T. Hawk enough when Cody spotted the knife that always seemed to appear whenever he fought. He rushed and grabbed it, juggling it in his hands for a moment as he grinned at T. Hawk.

T. Hawk's face, as usual, seemed like one which was chiseled out of a rock. The knife did not bother him much, as it was too blunt to instantly kill another, but would cause extra damage nonetheless. The two veteran Street Fighters looked one another steadily in the eyes as they advanced.

"HIYYAA!" Cody shouted as he dashed forward with a powerful side kick, sending T. Hawk back in his steps.

Cody didn't stop there as he leapt upon his fellow street fighter in a frenzy of slashing with his knife, causing T. Hawk to wince whenever the knife connected, dodging. T. Hawk suddenly grabbed Cody's forearm and twisted it, causing Cody to let out a cry of pain as he released the knife.

"Now it ends." T. Hawk growled as he glowed a powerful aura. Cody let out a shout as he felt himself rise into the air like the Mexican Typhoon . . . but the obvious power held behind this attack could only be summed up as . . ."RAGING TYPHOON!"

Cody grimaced as he pulled himself up from the floor, he grinned. "Not yet, big guy, not yet." Then he smirked. "There's still round two."

T. Hawk merely stood at the ready as Cody lifted himself from the ground. He unlatched his handcuffs and tossed them to the side. Making a few practice punches, he grinned. "The cuffs are off! Let's go!"

T. Hawk grunted as Cody's fist embedded itself deeply into his gut, adrenaline from the pain of the Raging Typhoon rushing through Cody, he quickly followed up with a short uppercut across the jaw. Cody's head jerked back when T. Hawk recovered with a shop across the face, which followed into a flying backhand across his chest.

Cody winced as he felt his face, the stinging sensation proved that he would need an icepack later on after this fight. Pain threatened to wear him out, adrenaline from the pain was threatening to decrease. Cody clenched his teeth and pounded his fists together, yelling. "This round's mine!" He pulled back his fist as T. Hawk began to reach forward to grab him, but Cody dodged away to connect solidly against the bigger man, followed by a series of other attacks.

"Very good, the second round goes to you." T. Hawk coughed, standing up slapping the dirt off his trousers.

Cody steadied his breath, the thrill of the fight was starting to get to him again. He loved fighting, and the thrill it always gave him when he gave it his all. This was what got him in prison in the first place though. Unsatisfied with merely bringing down the Mad Gear Gang, Cody had become a street brawler beating up on others violently, he would eventually be arrested and sent to prison. Still, he couldn't lose himself to those feelings again though . . . he had an important responsibility in his life. And that responsibility was in the form of a beautiful young woman by the name of Jessica.

T. Hawk charged again, entwining his fists as one over his head, bringing it down with deadly impact. Cody managed to skip away to the side, cursing himself for getting distracted and staring in wide-eyed astonishment at the large crater T. Hawk had formed in the ground with only his fists. The crowd cheered wildly at the sight of such strength.

The battle became one way, Cody moving with years of street smart and kickboxing from T. Hawk's powerful attacks, hoping the bigger man would tire himself out. Cody was fast, and T. Hawk was slow. But Cody was beginning to tire out himself as he quickly stepped in as T. Hawk made an opening in the form of raising his hands to the air. Cody jabbed several times with his left, and lunged forward with a uppercut from his right.

"Now this is the end." Cody growled as he lunged forward with a multi-hit kick, followed by a series of other kicks in the form of Dead-End Irony.

"Winner of two rounds out of three, Cody!" the referee declared.

"Hoo!" Cody breathed as he set his arms apart amid the cheering of the crowd. He held out a hand towards T. Hawk, helping him get up. "That was a good fight, T. Hawk, you almost wore me out."

"Indeed." T. Hawk smiled. "That's another victory for yourself, we'll fight another day." Then his tone became serious. "I've sensed something strange occurring upon this island, do you know anything about."

"Still not sure." Cody whispered. "Guy and some other people seem to be uneasy, feeling 'dark auras.' It keeps flickering on and off for some reason . . . and some of the fighters are missing."

"I'll help." T. Hawk whispered. "Bison has to be involved, and I still want a piece of him."
"You and millions." Cody grinned.
 

"You know what?" Charlie asked waving his empty shot glass about.
"What?" Cammy asked knocking her own shot glass with her long french manicure nails.
"It's official,"
"Oh?"
"Yep…" Charlie nodded in a non-sober nod.
"What's official?"
"You and me…"
"Huh?" Cammy asked nonplused.
"-Are definitely drunk off our asses…"
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Exactly…"

Slender fingers tapped the keyboard construct idly with a sigh.
"So these are the new fighters… pathetic." Vega brushed back a massive patch of long blond hair and stroked his claw idly.
The blurred form of a young woman in a tight bodysuit consolidated behind him.

"Subjects Juni and Juli relaying orders from Master Bison." Her tone was just as lifeless as her eyes. "Commence with the initial plan with one variable."
"Subjects Iwa Hoshi, Victoria Enid and Shockwave are not expendable resources." Juli's bright orange hair was the only portion of her visible in the furthermost shadows.
"Preserve. Must be brought in alive. Iwa is to be reclaimed."
"And which ones may I play with, hmmm?" Vega purred.

"Fighters Lilly, Heagy, Smith, Crimson, Kumori and Volpe are considered targets of opportunity. Wai Lim is to be left alone for Man Sei."
Vega gazed at the elaborate snake tattoo across his chest. "And if any of the original's interfere?"
"Terminate."

Vega smiled.
"This one.." his lips pursed thoughtfully as he pointed to the ponytailed woman with red and purple streaks of hair on the monitor, "will be the first to die." He licked his lips as the screen flashed random images of the contestants.
"Dismissed, little dolls."
"Affirmative."

Vega broke into a fit of giggles as the apathetic woman departed.
"This is going to feel sooo nice." His free hand caressed the metallic mask to his side.
"It is fitting that these essences will die by Shadowloo's hand."
Only one as beautiful as I could understand this." The slits of his eyes regarded several young women with contempt.

"You will all moisten my blade with your beautiful blood.." Vega began to chuckle sadistically. "But first…."
Light flashed as the assassin twisted and brought his claw in a jagged arc within a fraction of an inch of the figure behind him. (Color) hair fluttered to the ground as brilliant eyes regarded him with contempt.
"What do you want, woman?" Vega spat.

Just then every monitor in the massive room sprang to life, depicting the less than pleased expression of M. Bison.
"I have just cut off every avenue of exit, fool." Bison's pupil-less eyes pulsed with an eerie light. "Explain yourself or die."
"-By the inflicting beauty of my blade," Vega added placing the polished cloth away.

"Now this is a rude welcoming. So this is how the most ruthless villain in the world treats guest. I'm disappointed already," the pale, blue eyed woman spoke. Her voice could chill the warmest fire pyre.
Vega, not impressed by a magniloquent tongue, viewed this young looking female with enthralling zeal, "-Can I cut her up too, Bison?"
Bison, crossing his arms from his covert place of existence smiled, "We'll find out right away if she is worthy of our time."

Vega smiled placing his mask upon his fair face and adjusted his, now, shining blade.
"You better watch out, you could poke someone's eye out with that," she smiled.
"That's the purpose for its' existence young lady," Vega smirked under his mask and leaped out blade aiming straight at her throat. He wanted to feel her blood soak the blade beautifully.
"Later…" Bison interrupted.

Vega, stopping mid-air, frowned discouraged, "You always tempt me like so…"
"I do agree with Bison. After all, if I wanted to kill your expendable self, I would have done so by now," the female retorted.
Vega slowly removed his mask, his enthralled zeal now non-existent.
"What use are you to us?" Bison bellowed, his tone now increased a decent decibels louder.
"I have a useful piece of information that I'd love to grace your presence with," She smiled innocently lifting up a plain bleached envelope.

"Vega, take it and read it aloud. If there is any fault in it, apprehend her."
Vega snatched the document, ripping the seal open with his claw. He unfolded the composition and quickly skimmed the passages. His mouth dropped open, "Bison, these are the secrets of the ancient Shinto practices."
The lady's face formed a smirk. Her eyebrows lowered slightly and her blue eyes intensified.
"This here, shows how to terminate the powers of the Phoenix bearers."
"Interesting…"Bison muttered.

Vega looked upon the mystery person, "You know of the ancient practice that still continues today?"
"-And I know the bearer is here… abusing the God's power. I thought it'd be useful that this information finds itself towards your use."
"What do you wish in return, young lady?" Bison spoke knowing this confidentially important letter comes with a heavy price.
"My name is Acinomia," then her smirk spread across her face to a smile. Then it turned venomous. "And as for what I want…"
Vega body ran with goosebumps and Bison felt a chill. Fascinating…