LOCKE & MEMPHIS

"The idiocy you contain inside that warped mindset of yours could last me three lifetimes, do you know that?", Locke hissed at Memphis. Earlier, Urien had given the two assassins an ultimatum that neither could refuse... They were both to retrieve the money and the nine essences, and Meliza would to see another day. Both knew that such a feat would take a near-miracle to accomplish. Memphis hadn't said much, which was uncanny for him in moments of desperation, but deep-down even he felt somewhat sorry for bringing the woman into their endeavors.

"...Are you listening, Long? LONG!"

"OH! Yeah... What? You were talking to me?", Memphis asked, finally realizing that his partner indeed was talking to him.

"In a situation like this...", Locke began, "...there isn't going to be a winner. Neither you or I are going to get what we want out of this mission. That much, is for certain. And for the very first time in my life, I am nearly ready to concede defeat..."

The fact that Locke had just said that had gotten the millennium assassin's attention. "You? Concede defeat? Yeah, right..."

"Do you think I jest?", Locke exclaimed heatedly, stepping in front of Memphis Long. "...Like I said before, there will be no winners. It's a foregone conclusion that I should simply back out of this foolish pact that you made with Urien without my say-so. I could go back to the underworld and forget... Or at least try to, forget that I even associated myself with you and this whole 'Nine Essences' nonsense. Or maybe get out of this whole thing altogether.."

"Yeah, you *could* do *everything* you just said, Locke...", Memphis said nodding in agreement. "...But that would also mean you're chickening out, punk."

"What!?!"

"I didn't stutter..."

Standing face-to-face, both assassin glared at each other for a moment, practically begging the other to make some sort of move to instigate a scuffle. But Locke was the first to back down, realizing another fight would be more than pointless.

"You're not worth the effort, millennium assassin...", Locke muttered, turning his back to Memphis and began to walk away. However, the silver-maned mercenary would have none of that. Reaching out and grabbing Koh's shoulder, Memphis spun Locke around and tried to talk sense into him.

"Look, Koh...", Memphis said, exasperated, "...I *know* you aren't going to give it up this easily. Dammit, you're a master strategist and a damn good assassin- second to me, of course..."

"Get to the point, Long...", Locke warned. Memphis cringed. It wasn't his style to heap compliments on a rival assassin, especially one such as Locke, but in order to get *his* plan back on track, he'd need a confident Locke Koh by his side. 

"You've always been one step ahead of the game, right? It doesn't seem to matter if the odds are not in our favor. You would *still* come up on top. Hell, I say it's *still* worth taking a gamble. Chips might be stacked against us, true, but I'll be damned if that's not the way *I* like it."

"What are you insinuating?", Locke asked, although he knew way beforehand that Memphis wanted to cook up another plot. The emotionless look of Locke clashed with the winning millionaire smile of Memphis as the platinum-blond villain spoke.

"I'm trying to say that we, me and you, need to take one more shot at the big time. Elude Bison, get the millions back from Urien, and destroy anyone in our way...", Memphis said, clutching a powerful fist.

"So, Locke... Willing to gamble on this one? All bets are off..."

Locke stared hard at Memphis. The words that the cocky, flashy, debonair Memphis Long had spoken... They actually had some thought put into it. To a point, Memphis Long's words made sense to Locke. He thought hard about it. Locke knew he'd have to give it all or nothing whether Memphis was there or not if he wanted to save Meliza from the fate Gill and Urien had planned out for her. Could he do it....?

"Memphis... Get me a pen, paper, and blueprints for a schematic...", Locke informed his partner-in-crime who was now grinning ear-to-ear. "This is going to be the grand scheme to end all schemes..."

"All bets are off..."

Natalie sighed. She was getting quite bored, and it seemed that neither Jin nor Astaroth kept anything even remotely entertaining around. She looked around Jin's room for what was probably the fifth time before sitting on the bed.

"Not even a radio..." she mumbled. She sighed again, plopping herself back to lay on the somewhat messy bed. Her eyes idly drifted over to the nightstand to her left. One of the drawers was slightly ajar...

She leaned up a bit and raised one slender brow, her curiosity perked. "Well... not like there's anything else to do..." she thought.

She reached over and pulled the drawer open, just enough to see what was inside...

When she peered in, she saw a notebook. Other than a few pens, it was almost the only object in the drawer. She picked it up and flipped it open. The pages fell open automatically to the middle of the book, to the last page written on. She glanced over it, her curious facade changing slightly to show some surprise...

"Poetry? He writes poetry?" she asked to no one in particular. Feeling a small smile creeping to her lips, Natalie’s eyes tentatively crawled over the written words...

So afraid to lose,
Not willing to choose
Between two worlds of light and darkness.

So for a while he stays
In his middle shade of grey,
Content to play in-between.

Both sides call, one asks a fall,
The other surrender.
Only one can he choose,
Cause one can't stay grey forever...

Neither cold nor hot,
Too bad he's not
What she desires that he be.

Does she wish he wouldn't stay
In his middle shade of grey?
Too content to stay in-between...

If only his soul would lighten...

Both sides call, darkness asks a fall
While she asks only surrender.
Light will bring life, and darkness gives death.
So should he choose her?
'Cause he can't stay grey forever...

...Natalie suppressed an awed gasp as she reached the end of the short, written piece. She could hardly believe that the Jin whom she saw as almost always stoic and very unemotional, well, with a slight exception, had written something so deep and... moving. Her eyes softened and her smile grew slightly. So there was a deeper side to Jin, after all...

"Are you always this... inquisitive?"

Eyes widening slightly in obvious surprise and shock, Natalie instinctively spun around to the voice’s origin, knowing full well whom it belonged to with an almost sinking dread. As she suspected, there stood Jin Kushina, his eyes focused on Natalie - or rather, what she held in her hand - with a stoical facade. She couldn’t tell whether he was angry or not - his face showing no hints and his eyes perfectly shadowed within his bangs - but considering the type of image Jin conveyed of himself, Natalie assumed that he pretty much was. Still, whether he truly was or not, she still felt she owed it to herself to at least tell him her views on the poem, even if, by right, reading it wasn’t her business.

"Your poem... it's beautiful. What do you call it, if I may ask?"

"It... doesn’t have a name," Jin answered quietly, his eyes showing a tad element of surprise and intrigue at her interest in his activity. He paused for a frozen second. "Not yet, at least."

Natalie smiled more, showing a mix of understanding as well as some relief, seeing that he didn't seem at all angry at her, though his expression showed very little of anything. Still, she felt the need to explain herself, "Umm... I'm sorry if I seemed like I was prying by reading that... just that I woke up and you guys were gone... and I kinda stumbled over it..."

"Do not worry about it," came the response, cutting off Natalie's words. "In fact..." he stopped there, as if willing to say more, but finding himself in some sort of internal battle as to whether he should or not.

"In fact...?" Natalie goaded, interrupting his thoughts.

"Nothing." The response came with such a stern tone that Natalie couldn’t help but frown a bit, eyes staring up at him as he glanced down at the poem she still held, watching as she put it back on the nightstand. Unwilling to let the silence between them continue, Natalie attempted to press the situation.

"You can tell me, you know. I mean, you weren’t this quiet when you kissed..." The moment the words came out of her mouth, Natalie instantly regretted it, a small blush immediately tinting her cheeks at the memory as she glanced downward. Slowly, she looked up to see his reaction...

What she saw instead was the back of Jin’s head, with the latter frowning as he struggled to refrain from blushing, and failing, silently cursing himself at such weakness of mind and behaviour. Sighing, he found himself admitting that it was an experience he didn’t really hate, one of few things in his life, yet at the same time one that he wouldn’t want repeated, if she would even want to for that matter. Sighing for a second time, Jin Kushina soon found himself completely unsure on how to react, his mind continuing to race with unfamiliar emotions as he tried to make sense of his feelings.

'It was a mistake, it had to be,' he thought. 'I’m sure that she feels the same way. I will let it be.’

"Jin?"

The silent warrior blinked as he returned to reality, Natalie’s voice serving as a firm reminder of her presence. Turning around to meet her concerned gaze, Jin’s eyes narrowed, knowing that he should address the situation.

“About that...” he began. And, in that moment, Jin found that he could not continue, as though an unseen force would not let him speak. His mind raced on, screaming out words that Jin tried to make vocal, but could not, instead staring almost helplessly at his feet.

Natalie looked at him, a bit confused. She could have sworn she’d seen a somewhat guilty, odd expression flash across Jin’s face. Or maybe she was just seeing things. Either way, she could practically feel his tension, and knew he must be having a hard time saying what he felt. She couldn’t help but feel concerned, reaching out one hand towards his in an attempt to help him draw out whatever it was that he had trouble saying.

Jin’s eyes snapped open suddenly as he felt something touch his hand, his body flinching in reaction as he reflexively pulled his hand back sharply. “Do not touch me,” he stated icily, as if on natural instinct, his eyes flaring a hellish black as he stared directly at Natalie with such coldness that she visibly stepped back, her body shaking slightly with a hint of fear and shock. As if snapping out of a trance, Jin blinked slightly in an act of bewilderment, his eyes now lacking any form of empathy at his former action as his face slowly drew back up its emotionless mien. His eyes met Natalie’s, and then he spoke.

“Natalie, I... us... the kiss...” Jin paused, feeling the similar - albeit odd - sensation of paralysis that had once infected his tongue take over again, pushing against his intended words. Like a part of himself didn’t want to... hurt her? Was that it? Would she be hurt by his words, hurt that he saw it all as a mistake? And why did the prospect even bother him? He had no problem in the past in dealing with women, namely because he had always made his intentions clear from the beginning, shunning away any advances with hardly an effort. So what was it that made this one different? What was it about her that now made him hesitate to say what he saw as the truth about that incident?

“Yes...?” Natalie inquired, with a sense of excitement and dread both tugging at her, wondering desperately what he'd say. He looked a bit nervous, with hesitation and a slight edge of regret in his voice. Or at least, that’s how it seemed. She hoped he wasn't going to say what she thought he might... though she herself was still very confused on the matter.

“...It wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t mean for it to happen. It was all a mistake.” The words had come out too hurried, too rushed, but Jin regarded the fact with an inward act of sedation, feeling a small sense of relief at getting the words out. And yet, he could not help but detect a fleeting, unsettling feeling flicker through his form at the same time.

Natalie's eyes widened a bit. In a way, it didn't shock her, and in a way, it did. Despite her trying vaguely to hide it, a bit of hurt shown in her eyes. Why did it hurt? What was the problem? She was used to being disappointed. But still, it did hurt, and she wondered why he suddenly saw the kiss as something bad. After all, he had kissed her, not the other way around! A very small amount of anger built up from the thought, did he make a habit of kissing girls and hurting them like this?

Then the more logical, rational part of Natalie’s mind struck, tearing through her recently erected cloud of anger. She knew enough of Jin to know that he wasn't like that... she could even tell that he'd had little to no experience with this sort of thing in the past. That, and he had trouble saying that it was a mistake. Then it could only be one thing, she thought. She must have done something, or said something to scare him off and make him think he'd gotten himself into a bad situation. She must have made him regret it...

Her eyes looked down sadly as she bit her bottom lip a bit, mental images of the scenario beginning to formulate themselves into her mind. "I guess I should have stopped him, he really must have not known or meant what he was doing... I don't see why he did it in the first place... Guess I messed up big time..." She never thought herself to be very attractive, and never really did anything to make herself look or feel better. She really didn't think much of it at all. Still thinking all these things and wondering what possessed him to kiss her anyway, she spoke softly and slowly, "I'm... sorry... I..."

“That’s not all,” Jin interrupted, causing Natalie to stare at him with a slightly puzzled look. What else was there to say, she questioned to herself silently as she glanced up, hoping to find the answer somewhere within his gaze. It wouldn’t take long for realisation to make its influential presence, however, and Natalie reacted to it in the way it expected, taking a slow, wary step backward. Jin’s face remained neutral as he stared impassively at Natalie. “There is no choice...”

Natalie eyes narrowed, a tiny surge of anger building up inside her as she reflexively pulled up a loose, defensive stance. Looking up at the Kushina warrior, she was met with a sharp pair of eyes, showing nothing but a cold, clear purpose. Regardless of what he, she, or they had done, she still had a destiny to fulfil...

“I won’t go with you.” There was a steel edge to her voice, which Jin could only blink at, his mind set and his feelings placed back in check. Natalie tensed her body, expecting an attack.

Then Jin disappeared.

Blinking in surprise, Natalie let her guard drop slightly, scanning around the area frantically. She could still feel a tiny, lingering essence of his ki around the room, indicating that Jin was still around, but it seemed to have the effect of being completely around her. To Natalie’s heightened awareness, it was as if there were multiple Jins hidden all around the room, a revelation that slowly began to perturb her deeply. Perhaps that was why he was gracious - or confident, depending on how one saw it - enough to warn her in advance, she noted. ‘Because, either way, he knew what the outcome would be...’

Then she felt two fingers press themselves against her neck, and soon everything around her became lost within a sea of darkness...

After hearing what his subordinates used for their excuse regarding not retrieving the Nine Essences, he made up his mind right then and there to give teach these fools a lesson, his Grand Masters included. He had never seen such incompetence before, and he realized that if he were to send his Grand Masters out again to retrieve the Essences once more, the same scenario would play itself out again. And again. And again... Eyes glowing blue with fury, M.Bison bid his Grand Masters out of his conference room inside Shadaloo HQ. Floating toward his seat in the very middle of the room, Shadaloo's ruler sat down and began to ponder his next move. He had always been one step ahead of the game, especially when it came to power, but with so many enemies and not enough loyalty (he silently vowed to himself to make Locke and Memphis pay dearly for not retrieving the Nine Essences and in turn, basically stealing a hefty up-front undisclosed amount of money from him in the process), Bison was fairly enraged at his current place in the broad scheme of things. So, he did something he hadn't done in awhile...

'What is it I should do?', Bison thought to himself. He had four nuisances to rid himself of... One, Locke & Memphis. Two, those meddlesome brothers Gill & Urien. Three, the entire empire of Naar as a whole. Four, that girl Iwa and her friend Kumori. Three of the four problems could easily be taken care of right now. The Naar situation would perhaps call for more 'desperate' measures, Bison realized. With a grim smile, he lifted his hulking frame from his chair. Chuckling softly to himself, Bison was simply amused by his newfound idea.

'Kill them... kill them all...'

"So that's what Zorkaan is up to... Trying to steal *my* body?", thought Shadow Dragon as he looked down upon his own body as the fighters surrounding, well, him continued to talk amongst themselves.

Hey, wait a minute... Did I see his- er, my lips move?

"What's going on?", Victoria asked Shadow Dragon from inside her own mind. Shadow Dragon dismissed her, intently focused on what his body might do next. Any physical reaction from Zorkaan inside Shadow Dragon's body would mean serious trouble for each of the fighters surrounding him. And knowing Zorkaan, he'd be primed and ready for a fight if that oppurtunity would arise... And quickly, things turned from bad to worse for Shadow Dragon.

"...Ohhhhh... Man.... W-where am I? Magnamund...?", a hoarse voice croaked weakly. All three conscious fighters gasped (Astaroth only slightly) as they watched 'Shadow Dragon' come back to the world. The real Shadow Dragon, inside Victoria Enid's body, watched with burning intensity as he watched Zorkaan try to get up on one knee, then sink back to the ground, pretending to be in discomfort.

"That damn phony...", SD cursed. "...I hope at least my brother will realize that that's not me..."

"So you weren't lying? Someone has taken control of your body?", Victoria asked.

"It's pretty obvious now, isn't it...?", Shadow Dragon replied flatly. He continued to watch this scene unfold, hoping if worse came to worse he wouldn't have to use Victoria's body against his own, although in another aspect that would've been more than welcome...

"You know... I can read your thoughts from inside my body, buddy.", Victoria informed SD.

Whoops...

"Brother... Are you okay?", ShockWave asked. 'Shadow Dragon' smiled weakly, Zorkaan smiling evilly.

"I'll be alright in time. I'm a little banged up, though...", he replied. ShockWave eyed his twin with slight suspicion. His brother's aura was slightly off-balance, but that could be because of the injuries he sustained. Iwa, beside Kumori, smiled knowing that 'SD' was alright.

"You were out for quite awhile, y'know... Thought we lost you there...", she replied. 'Shadow Dragon' nodded.

"I almost thought I was gone for a moment too, but thankfully you guys helped to awaken me...", he said in earnest. Astaroth hadn't said much for awhile, but Zorkaan knew why. But, just to make sure he was believeable, he pointed a finger in Astaroth's direction.

"What's *he* doing here? Astaroth is the enemy!", 'Shadow Dragon' exclaimed making an effort to get up and smite Astaroth, but ShockWave held him down.

'Don't worry... I'm doing this for a reason...', he told Astaroth through telepathy. Astaroth informed him that he understood the circumstances.

"No need for that, bro...", ShockWave told his brother, "...We're all fighting for the greater good."

Glaring at Astaroth momentarily, he added: "For now..."

Astaroth shrugged and looked on. Iwa continued her healing spell on Kumori as the two brothers continued to talk.

"Okay then, since he's on our side I'll let him go...", the phony Shadow Dragon replied clutching a fist for emphasis. "But in the meantime... Has Zorkaan been seen while I was in my comatose state?"

"It's funny, but no...", ShockWave said, rubbing his jaw. "It's almost a coincedence that he dropped out of sight when you were out like a light."

"He was probably putting together some scheme to take advantage of the situation...", Zorkaan responded in SD's voice, almost laughing to himself because it was the truth. "...With one of us down, even for a short period of time, the scales tipped in his favor, but now that I'm back, we've evened the odds."

"You can say that again...", ShockWave replied, punching a fist into his palm. "Hey... Shadow...?"

"Yeah?"

"Do something about your voice, man...", ShockWave said to his brother, who's eyes went wide.

"My voice...?", he asked, "What's wrong with it?"

"...Nothing at all, save for the fact that it sounds terrible. Cripes, I know this sounds bad, but you sorta sound like a teenage version of Zorkaan or something! Not very good to listen to, if you catch my drift..."

"OH! Alright then... I'll get some of those cough drops or something for that...", 'Shadow Dragon' replied calmly. Internally, Zorkaan was sweating bullets. He didn't like the idea of this very much at the time, but he knew that staying inside Shadow Dragon's body for as long as possible would definitely work out in his favor in the long run. Hell, if he could manage to keep the true SD out of sight and out of mind (not to mention, out of body), for at least three days, Zorkaan could attain the Kai's body as his own and still be able to function as his normal self inside his own body. This was the main reason why Zorkaan did this in the first place. To tip the scales in Naar's favor... All he had to do was keep a low profile. And make sure that the real Shadow Dragon would not find him out somehow...

"Dammit, I forgot about that..."

"What now?", an impatient Victoria Enid asked the real Shadow Dragon.

"It doesn't really concern you, but...", Shadow Dragon replied. Taking a deep breath, the rest of his words followed after. "...Zorkaan wants sole control of my body."

"...And?"

"Oh yeah, you want details... My mistake...", SD said, feigning an apologetic tone. "...If I stay out of my true body for more than three days, starting with tomorrow's sunrise, I won't be able to coagulate with it anymore. And in 48 hours, I won't even be able to talk to you anymore..."

"Layman's terms, please...", Victoria asked plainly.

"He's gonna steal my body.", Shadow Dragon replied just as plain.

"This Zorkaan guy can do that?"

"Yep. That's why he's the 'Soultaker'...", Shadow Dragon replied in a bitter tone. He wasn't pissed off at Vicky, nor at himself. Hell, even Zorkaan took a back seat. SD in fact, was genuinely pissed off at the circumstances regarding just how he was going to retrieve his true form. He couldn't get into a fight with himself, because in Victoria's body he would be endangering her and facing the wrath of ShockWave, Iwa and Astaroth. And even if he were to tell them the truth *and* had his twin brother ShockWave run a self-diagnostic on the doppelganger Shadow Dragon, the readings would more than likely come up negative due to Zorkaan masking his evil aura several times behind Shadow Dragon's unmistakable Kai essence.

"Damn...", Shadow Dragon whispered to himself. There was nothing he could do at the time, except for wait for Zorkaan to possibly slip up. Either that, or hope that ShockWave was indeed the smarter twin brother out of the two...

"Well, brother, I salute you...", Gill replied, stepping up from behind his younger sibling who was overlooking his older brother's palatial estate atop a balcony. "...You handled the Locke & Memphis situation with dignity and class. If you were me, you'd be head of the Brotherhood by now."

"But I'm not you, am I...", Urien muttered solemly, rolling his closed eyes. Gill nodded.

"Correct, my brethren. You, are not... But you still have a place in my ambitions, and that should suit you just fine...", the deity replied. Turning away from his younger brother, Gill walked off, his interest leading him somewhere else for the moment. Urien scowled, looking down upon the acres of grass, trees and statues that adorned Gill's residence.

"This all *should* be mine...", he muttered. "And it will be... In time..."

Crimson hadn't fought this hard and this long ever in his life. He had seen flashes of chi, Hadouken fireballs, flying kicks, and punches being traded in the corners of his eyes when he could actually get a chance to focus on something besides the fight he was in. Currently, he was in hand-to-hand combat with the hulking bouncer Birdie. Slow, but very powerful. The younger Bushin fighter had proof of that in the blows that he recieved from Birdie's fists or chains. His teacher, Guy was involved in a bout with Vega, and the other fighters... Ryu and Chun-Li were both fighting Bison, and Guy wanted a piece of the action as well, but the spanish ninja Vega would have none of that. Using his treasured claw, Vega was able to keep the Bushin ninja at bay. RD and Cammy were both battling Sodom and Rolento, respectively. Ken Masters, somehow, was able to knock out Adon quickly and effectively and was running to help Crimson even the score against Birdie.

"Need a hand, fella?", Ken asked jokingly, sending a kick into Birdie's back by way of hurricane kick, sending him staggering forward. Crimson's eyes widened, seeing an oppurtunity to cash in on Birdie's predicament. Charging up his chi as the red energy simmered and glowed around his fist, the young warrior thrust his right hand forward, opening his fist into a palm to let the energy burst forward.

"Bushinryuu.... HADOUKUZUSHII!"

Ken nodded approvingly as he watched Crimson's fireball send Birdie backwards onto his posterior. Pointing over to Bison where Ryu and Chun-Li were holding their own, Ken nodded once more, not needing to say what needed to be done. Crimson blinked once and then began to run towards the fight with Bison.

"Strength in numbers...", Crimson muttered.

After reading the blueprints and additional orders Locke so carefully mapped out, Memphis Long's mind didn't even want to comprehend what all the planning and plotting lead to, so the millennium assassin was just going to go with the flow, as they say.

"...But, are you sure that this is going to work?", Memphis inquired, taking a bottle of champagne and drinking it straight from the head. Locke nodded once, then cursed upon realization that Memphis drank half of *his* White Zinfadel.

"If it doesn't, then we'll move on to plan B."

"What's plan B?"

"You don't want to know...", Locke said under his breath. Memphis set the bottle down on the crystal coffee table.

"No, I *do* want to know, Koh...", Memphis informed his assassin rival. "...'Cuz if we get @#%$ up in another battle, I want it to be *you* that takes the blame this time..."

"Yeah, alright, whatever...", Locke said tiredly. "Here's plan B... You ready?"

"I guess so..."

"Alright, here goes...", Locke began. "...We start with two guns each, get a couple more weapons downn the line, convince at least one of our enemies to side with us, and destroy the rest of our enemies in the process."

"Not bad..."

"I figured you'd say that..."

I shouldn't have to do this...

It's wrong, I know that. But it's for the empire of Naar, so it must be right...

...Right?

Dammit, I've never had to think this hard about something before ever in my life...

Certainly a fine time for me to gain a conscience when I need to be at my most merciless...

I just hope that Zorkaan and Naar do not take my current situation as a symbol of weakness and I fall out of their favor. That, would be the last thing I need...

And somehow, I feel as if I *need* her as well...

...I shouldn't have to do this.

One lone figure watches the battles raging on the earth realm. It has been a long time since anyone- good or evil, has seen him, but he is more than ready to return to the world and make his presence known to all who stood against him. The other one? He let his guard down, and in turn, lost a battle before it had even begun. The unseen warrior this time, would hold no allegiances with anyone. He was more than confident in his abilities and was more than sure he could take down Bison, the Brotherhood, and Lord Naar himself. Chuckling as the wind picked up speed in the upper stratesphere, the unknown figure raised an arm to the sky as if reaching for the sun itself and proclaimed:

"It is time *I* return to the world. Not driven by petty jealousy will I be this time, no... This, is all about respect. They *will* respect me. Or they will die at my feet trying..."

Chuckling to himself, the warrior broke down to particles and disappeared in the skies, but not before adding:

They thought I was out of the game, but soon enough I'll hold all the cards...

(Sorry, I just had to use that one, lol)

Seeing as how Victoria hadn't heard from Shadow Dragon in quite some time, she timidly asked "Um... Can I have my body back?"

Shadow Dragon suddenly returned. "I'm trying to concentrate... What do you want?"

"Oh...nothing...", Enid replied cheerily before turning sour. "...Just my mind and my body back!"

"Look, I'll be done very soon, I promise...", Shadow Dragon assured Victoria. She wasn't going to let him off that easy, however.

"How will I know that you'll be done with whatever you're trying to do?", she asked. Shadow Dragon chuckled.

"Because I want out of this body myself. Your two other emotions keep on looking at me very strangely and I don't like the looks in their eyes. Secondly, I have this craving for strawberry ice cream... That's a bad thing."

Victoria was just about to ask why but Shadow Dragon continued on with whatever he was doing. Using some of her psychic abilities, Victoroa managed to decipher a little bit of what he was trying to accomplish. Had something to do with telepathy, she gathered.

'Well, whatever he's trying to do, he'd better do it soon...', Victoria thought.

'...My favorite show is going to be on in about thirty minutes...'

While ShockWave was more than glad that his brother had awakaned from his short unconscious spell, he was still worried about that conflicting energy burst that happened between Shadow Dragon and Kumori. If he was paranoid, ShockWave would've thought that his brother might've taken in some sort of evil entity while he was momentarily knocked out. And heck, it could even happen to Kumori, seeing as how Bison still has a telepathic link to her and Iwa...

'Well, this is nothing to dwell on right now...', ShockWave thought. '...Besides, if I want to find out, all I need to do is simply link with Shadow Dragon telepatically...'

Channeling one of his many Kai powers, ShockWave sent his brother a greeting. (Yo, bro! It's me, man... Can you hear me?)

Whoa.

The reply ShockWave's brother sent back to him came from somewhere else... MUCH farther away, in fact. Somewhere over the mountains and through the woods... Nah, not that far.

(It's about time you did that... Geez. You'd think we haven't talked in ages or something...), Shadow Dragon replied. ShockWave looked at his so-called 'brother' for one moment as the group continued their trek, the still-unconscious Kumori being carried by Astaroth.

(Hey...), ShockWave began asking, (...if you're not there, where in Hades are you?)

(Somewhere over the rainbow...), came the mocking reply of Shadow Dragon's voice. ShockWave continued to walk with the group, keeping a couple paces behind as he watched what he thought was his brother continue walking and talking cheerily with Iwa.

(Well then, who is that?), ShockWave asked. Shadow Dragon informed his brother who it was inhabiting his body.

(ZORKAAN!?! But...how?)

(Look, he took control a long time ago. Remember those 'conflicting energies' that clashed when Iwa and Kumori tried to heal me the first time?)

(Actually yeah, I remember that...), ShockWave thought, rubbing his jaw. Listening intently, ShockWave continued to listen to the explanation the real SD set in front of him.

(The conflicting energy was Zorkaan working his way into my system. He must've made it so that no other force or chi besides his could enter my body...)

(Damn...), ShockWave whispered to himself. (...What are we going to do, then?)

(Lucky enough for all of us, I've devised a plan. But there has to be certain circumstances for it to happen...)

(Well, how come I can't just *beat* him out of you?), ShockWave asked. Shadow Dragon scoffed at the notion of doing that.

(If you were to do that, everybody would more than likely think that *you* are being possessed and would beat you down, obviously.)

(Okay, so that plan's shot to hell...), ShockWave muttered. Shadow Dragon chuckled, but remained serious.

(Listen bro... What we're going to need to do is get Zorkaan alone inside my body. That way, we can fight him two on one. Either that, or make him slip up mentally. Ask him some questions that you know only *I* know about us.)

(Not bad at all, bro...), ShockWave replied. Then a thought that hadn't crossed his mind crossed his mind.

(Say... You never did say who's body *you're* in right now...)

(I didn't...?), Shadow Dragon responded. (...Well, let's just say I owe someone a *lot* of strawberry ice cream...)