Two figures stood in the middle of an eerie candle-lit temple. One of them was dressed in a red military uniform and cap. A black cape adorned his shoulders. The other was hidden from sight, even from his companion.

The first grunted, slightly irritated by the intense incense aroma that filled the room.

"I grow impatient, Bison. Countless times have the essences escaped your grasp. I will tolerate failure no longer!"

The mad dictator narrowed his eyes with a simple "hmph". Having such a huge lust for power had not made the military boss a fool. Even Bison knew it was best to keep his mouth shut when dealing with a powerful and menacing foe, and Naar was indeed a powerful and menacing foe.

To satisfy his own needs and interests, M. Bison had allied his forces with those of the dark god. Both were after the legendary Nine Essences. Naar saw them as threat, being his only desire to take absolute control of the plane of Dazarian. M. Bison wanted them for his own sick, power-hungry needs.

Bison sneered under the shadowy confinement that his cap cast upon his face. He would use the so called god to obtain the essences and then be rid of him; probably banish him back to his conquered plane: Aon.

What the military dictator did not realize is that Naar was planning the very same thing.

Naar's powerful voice boomed again, much to M. Bison's annoyance.

To eliminate the essences you must vanquish the root of the problems. Those simple-minded mortals are protected by a deitie known as TS…destroy the godling and the incarnates shall fall at your feet."

"Yes, my Lord…"

"Deitie?", Bison thought. "Yet another subject for my Psycho Drive…"

He grinned maniacally and exited the dark dwelling.
 

(Back to the present…)

"Agent Locke Koh sighted with target."

The emotionless voice of Juni whispered firmly into a radio. The mindless Shadaloo soldier stood not far away from the Fighter's Casino.

"Initiating surveillance mode. Awaiting further commands."

Juni gazed through dark bangs at Meliza, who entered the casino, oblivious of her companion's true intentions.

The soft breeze smoothly caressed his face. He shuddered slightly, not because of the cool wind, but because of the thousand and one emotions rushing into him.

Hatred, lost, fear, regret…fear. Yes, Wai Lim was scared. All those years of both physical and mental training, had just proven worthless. He feels as if he is not yet ready to face this moment. He had tried to run away to prevent the inevitable, but the Fates always have their way of surprising us. Not ready, he is still not ready…

Wai Lim shuddered again, and this time it did not go unnoticed by his rival, who sneered in return.

Man Sei.

The dark warrior stood merely feet away from Night. His blood burned with hatred. How he had longed for this moment. He had waited long, too long. Now it was time.

"Yes", he thought. "I will enjoy breaking every bone of your body Wai Lim. Your corpse will join the one of that weakling of a woman."

Mere seconds passed and yet they seemed like hours. Wai Lim's thoughts trailed back to his beloved Phoenix Bearer.

"Crista…" He sighed her name; the breeze stole it away from him without mercy.

Night clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Why should I run away from this? I might as well die, if I have nothing left in this world…"
 

"Thou were impressive lass!"

Aaron Tristan Volpe twirled on one foot, his eyes reflecting the joy that had been lost not so long ago. Standing not far away from him was Kumori, gently patting her face with a towel.

Volpe stopped abruptly and yet gracefully, bowed showing a tad too much courtesy, whipped out a flower out of who knows where and handed it to the young woman.

"Alas, milady. Remarkable match indeed"

Kumori grinned.
"I had been itching for a good sparring match.

She punched the Inspector playfully and giggled.

"Thanks Volpe."
"Tis' my pleasure lass!"

The pink-clad fighter raised his eyes as well as a very manly and very mighty fist toward the not so clear sky.

"Ye gods above! Such is their envy! For they too would have moved mountains and crossed oceans only to have spent half of the glorious moments this unworthy soul has spent with thee, my sweet lady."
"It's god to see you're feeling better, Aaron-kun"

"I, milady, but enough standing about! Tis' most procuring that we meet with lady Iwa in the Fighter's Inn. Thou must not be late for thy own birthday gathering."
"Oh my gosh! That's right!"

The trench coat wearing lady jumped up with glee, grabbed her friend by the arm and pulled him towards the Fighter's Inn, both skipped merrily all the way there.
 

A small yellow butterfly danced gracefully through the gentle wind. Not far away, Lilly sat, contemplating the curious little insect. She played a few notes on her flute. The melody filled the air with that same sweet grace with which the butterfly hovered over the colorful flowers.

She kept playing; lost in her own trance, hiding from the pain the world was capable of inflicting. Her music was freedom. It liberated her from many troubles. It gave her the hope that had been lost over the passing of time.

Beautiful were the sounds that came forth from her precious instrument. It did not, however, go unnoticed by Lilly, that dark clouds were again covering the sky.

The butterfly gracefully landed on the edge of Lilly's flute. A smile spread over the girl's flawless features.

"Hello there little one."

The little creature tilted its head to the side, as if trying to return the greeting. Lilly's brown eyes twinkled with curiosity toward the small insect.

"You too feel lost? I don't blame you. It is said that a butterfly's life span is but a day only. Only one day to live your life to the fullest. Then it is over…"

Lilly lowered her eyes in thought. The butterfly flapped its wings gently as it danced on the sliver flute.

Lilly's thoughts lingered for a moment on Crista. The young woman will definitely be missed.

"My time will come too. Very soon I believe."

She looked up at the butterfly.

"You see? We are not that different at all."

Thunder crashed loudly in the distance.

"Hm? You feel it too, don't you little butterfly?"

Lilly looked up at the dark, angry sky. A few scattered raindrops frightened the butterfly and it flew away to find shelter from the upcoming storm.

Lilly, however, remained sited on the ground, eyes closed. She listened to the soft raindrops as they beat on the ground. Such a sad melody, she thought.

She brought the flute up to her lips.

"Lilly!"

A young man's voice interrupted her before she could start playing.

"What are you doing here? You'll catch a cold."

Yang held Lilly's hand and helped her to her feet. A look of concern crept into his eyes. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her inside.

Lilly looked back at the clashing lighting.

"Something is wrong, but what?"
 

Shockwave rested his body weight on his staff. He busily whistled a tune as he gazed at the storm forming in the mountains.

"Raining again. Interesting."

He looked over his shoulder at an old cabin, so old it was almost collapsing from it's own weight.

Shocky had been wandering around that place for the last couple of days. He had found the empty cabin and had made it his not so comfortable home. At least it sheltered him from the rain, among other things.

Upon hearing from stirring from inside, he glanced at the ancient structure again.

"Probably a rat."

A look of disgust sneaked into his face.

Shockwave shrugged boringly and entered the cabin.

"Eeew, I was right. Damned rodents."
"Who you callin' a rodent, you worthless piece of…"
"Actually, I called you a rat."
"Grrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

Justin "Debo" Davidson found himself rolling on the filthy cabin ground. Our hero, Shockwave, had tied his feet and arms behind his back. Debo had also been gagged until a few hours ago.

Our Shocky isn't THAT cruel ya know…

The frustrated Debo screamed again. Shockwave stuck a dirty piece of cloth into his mouth.

Oh…yes…he is that cruel…

Justin looked up at Shockwave with hatred filled eyes. The view was not pleasant at all from where he was lying. He had been locked in that cabin for who knows how long. He muffled a few insults and curses through his gag. Shockwave was obviously amused.

Shock kneeled beside our frustrated villain and pulled the cloth out of his mouth in a not so gentle manner.

"So, are you going to tell me where I can find Hibiki and my brother?"
"&*%$#@@@!%**&)*&&^%$@!!@$$&**^$#(*^$#!@"
"Ok, then…"

He pushed the cloth back into Justin's mouth and headed outside to enjoy the cool and refreshing rain.

Wai Lim and Man Sei both stood their ground, neither of them wanting to attack first. I'm pretty sure you all would like to know what these powerful warriors are thinking and why on earth they are holding back.

Obviously, Man Sei is mentally reviewing every possible way there is to make Wai Lim suffer, from any insulting words he can come up with to every single bone he can break. How violent. On the other hand, Night is mentally scanning any possible escape routes there might be from this little situation.

Now, as interesting it may be for us to explore in a more profound way these warriors every action, which right now consist of thinking and breathing, others might find this action quite boring.

"Boring!" TS exclaimed while sitting on a very, VERY high tree branch. Not like anyone could see him anyway. He had been sitting there for two long and torturing minutes. He was trying his hardest to suppress the urge to chant, "Fight, fight, fight!"

Another couple of seconds passed. The fighters blinked. The demigod yawned.

Just when he was about to curse every living god for giving him the most boring job ever, he felt something soft, cold and wet land on top of his head.

"Huh…?"

He looked up to see…

"Rain?!?"

The deity bit his tongue to keep himself from yelling out a few curses so inappropriate for our younger readers. He casually snapped his fingers, and with a lot of nifty special effects, an umbrella magically appeared in his hand. He opened the umbrella and silently prayed for the fight to begin.
 

Ayame reached for her bag of orange candy and devoured lots of pieces savagely. She slipped on a pair of khaki colored Capri pants while humming a happy tune. She grinned from ear to ear as she tried to decide which tee to try on next.

"Oh, the joy of shopping!", is the author's current thought, and Ayame pretty much agrees with her.

She gently laid two tees on the bed.

"Decisions, decisions…"

Ayame looked at the orange tee, then at the pink tee, her eyes wandered off to the orange tee, then to the pink tee…orange…pink…orange…pink…ORANGE!

"Orange candy!"

The young woman practically leapt towards the bag of candy. Smiling a very pretty smile, she decided to eat more of her beloved pastry and try on the tees later.

Her smile faded away though. She wasn't always this happy. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt completely content and satisfied with herself. She had lost everything. The evil ambitions of a god had torn her family away from her. Her world was in ruins, and the once peaceful inhabitants are now mere slaves.

She lost everything. Even herself.

Yes, she lost herself. She lost her freedom, her self-judgment, her right to think freely and for herself. Her life orbited around following orders, and she obeyed to insure her survival.

Ayame was not pleased with who she had become. Just recently, she was instructed to assassinate one of the fighters in the tournament. She didn't have a choice, she told herself repeatedly.

No. Nothing can justify her actions. A person's decision is either wrong or right, and she definitely made the wrong one. She was forced too, but she did not considered that an excuse.

People will do anything and everything to stay alive.

Ironically, the warrior she was sent to kill, John Heagy, was now resting in the very house she's in.

"I'll never fit in. They'll never accept me."

She quickly wiped a tear that had so gently slid down her rosy cheek. After putting the now empty candy bag away, Ayame lifted up the pink tee, and just as she was about to put it on…

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!"

The door flew open revealing a very astonished Kay Lee.

Ayame shrieked again, the intensity of this shriek causing Kay to quickly cover his ears. Oh, the pain.

She stopped screaming.

He took his hands away from his ears.

"Oh, hey Ayame. Didn't know you were here."

Ayame blinked a couple of times. Kay walked past her, completely ignoring her state of undress and collapsed on the bed.

**snore**

Ayame blushed an intense shade of red, as she hurriedly slid her tee on.

Kay peered at her with one eye from under the comfy and fluffy array of white sheets and pillows.

She blushed again.

"Say, you've been crying. Something wrong?"

Ayame shook her head no.

Kay shrugged. "We've known each other for a while now and I still have no idea who you are."

Sighing, Ayame sat on the edge of the bed.

"It's a long story."

"I have time to listen."

Ayame smiled sweetly and began her tale.

"I'm not from this world..."

Ryu watched as Bison descended to the ground. As in cue, the rain began beating on the earth harder, the thunder made its presence known with loud poundings on the heavens. The crowd gasped in fear at the arrival of the notorious crime lord. Add a little lighting and that whole evil dude entrance effect is complete.

"We meet again, Ryu."

With mocking laughter, Bison threw a punch at Ryu, who easily countered…and the blow would have landed, but M. Bison decided it was just a nifty time to teleport away.

"Bison!" Chun li ran through the crowd and into the battleground. Juli was not far away.
"Subject Omega 008 Beta located. Orders confirmed. System ready to attack."

Bison reappeared behind the wandering warrior, with a demonical grin.

"Heh, heh, heh. This is going to be interesting."
 

Victoria sat quietly on the windowsill, watching over the rainy day from her room. Such a depressing day, and every little raindrop that hit the ground made it even more depressing.

Rain, bringer of life, and yet it always finds ways to destroy all that Nature has created.

Victoria thought back of a certain hurricane that had hit her beloved country a couple of years ago.

She shuddered.

Nature's gifts can be the greatest gifts a man could ask for, but she was just as equally cruel when it came to taking those gifts away from us.

And this day was of no exception. Victoria realized the consequences such a day would bring.

"My hair will be ruined!"
She threw her arms up in exasperation. "This always happens! Every time I blow dry my hair it RAINS!"

Victoria was talking to herself, but she did have three other selves to listen.

>>Why don't you kill someone? It'll make you feel better.<< Rage shrugged.
"Um, no."
>>Why don't we all go outside and dance in the rain! It'll be soooooooo much fun!<< Victoria could almost picture Joy jumping up and down.

"Er, no. That's no good for my hair."
>>Why don't we just stay in bed…it's a depressing day anyway<< Sorrow sighed.
"No, no, no! You're not helping!"

Victoria then hurried to her vast closet and pulled out and umbrella and a raincoat.

"I have to get to the Fighter's Inn and my hair will NOT suffer because of it!"
>>Uh huh…<< Rage manicured her nails inside Vicky's mind.
 

(In the Fighter's Inn…)
 

Iwa placed the last candle on a birthday cake, which read "Happy Birthday Kumori". Now all she needed was the birthday girl and the guests. Iwa figured they were all late because of the rain.

Boringly, she scanned over the people in the Inn. Some of them were dead drunk, others were just hanging around and one was wearing pink.

Yes, just another boring day at the…

"Pink?!?"

Iwa walked over to the annoyingly dressed stranger. He smelled of alcohol. Iwa frowned. He lifted his face toward the young woman.

"Dan?"
"Ah! Helloooo, there…**hiccup**"
"I believe Shockwave was looking for you."
"Now why…**hiccup**…be that boy looking for the mighty Dan Hibiki.!!!???"
"Uhhh…"
"I be looking for him for days…**churgh**…scared that broomstick fella away and that's the thanks Shocky-boy gives me! **hiccup** When I find him I'll…**gah ugh urk***

Iwa watched in disgust as Dan passed out on the table, drooling being his favorite hobby at the moment.

The Innkeeper came by to clean the table.

"And that was just his second root beer…"
"Oy!" Iwa smacked her forehead and rushed back to scare away some drunken men from her precious cake.
 

Memphis Long adjusted his dark shades. He ran a hand through his dark hair and casually stepped down from the dock.

He immediately scanned the area, reviewed the information sent to him by Bison and began meditating on his current task.

"This will prove to be a most interesting and enlightening experience indeed."