“First of all, before we take any action, we need to know who we’re dealing with,” Locke began, methodically glancing over his work. “Who’s involved…Where they are…”

Memphis perched on the backrest of a chair, his feet braced on the seat, the bottle in hand. He held up fingers of one hand. “Bison. Urien. Those two…whoever the hell they are. You know who I’m talking about, right?”

“If you’re referring to Astaroth and Jin Kushina, yes,” Locke sighed. Sometimes he wondered how Memphis got so far in his profession. But apparently, he saw no need to remember the two generals’ names. Something flickered in his eyes as a thought came to mind.

“So Plan B involves convincing one of them to join us?” Memphis cocked an eyebrow.

“Seems to be an unattainable goal, does it not?” Locke said flatly.

“No kidding,” Memphis grinned. He frowned slightly, watching Locke add changes to his blueprints. Then he began in a hesitant, unlike-Memphis voice, “I called the hospital…Meliza’s not checked in. Guess she made it out okay...”

Locke continued his work, his face a mask void of emotion. “Regardless, Urien and his men will still be watching her. Besides…there’s more to this than those four…”

Memphis narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“I believe that Astaroth and Kushina are working for some…thing far too powerful for both of us to handle,” Locke elaborated. It would be one of the rare occasions when he didn’t think an opponent could be defeated…

The millennium assassin stared at him for a few minutes. “Okay…And…what are we going to do about it…?”

Locke laced his fingers together, propping his elbows on the table, his eyes focusing on a point in the distance. “Based on the information I received from Urien during our employment with him, a being called Naar has every intention of taking over this planet.” He paused, glancing at his partner. “You didn’t read the information he provided?”

Memphis shrugged. “I didn’t know there was anything to read.”

Locke grimaced slightly. Typical, he thought. He proceeded to tell Memphis everything he knew about Naar and his minions.

Memphis’ eyes had grown wider and wider as Locke explained everything. “Great. Just great. Not only have we been hunted down by crazy assassins, fought with obsessed women, owe a sh**load of money, have our former bosses out for our heads, but we have to deal with some god.” He wasn’t religious by nature, but he had seen some weird things on the island. Could things get any worse? “Where do you have all this stuff on this Naar, anyway? I didn’t get a faq on Urien’s enemies…” Memphis suddenly commented.

Locke knew that Memphis would ask that question. Keeping his expression neutral, he declared, “The information is on a laptop. I had hoped that the person I gave it to would use it to their advantage.”

Memphis shook his head. “You gotta be kidding me. You gave that away? Who the hell has that anyway?” He was tempted to throw the bottle of Zinfandel across the room.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Locke said coolly. “I have not heard from them in a while, so I’m going to assume that they gave the information to the right people.”

“Well, unless there’s an agency that can easily destroy bad gods, I don’t think that’s a possibility,” Memphis retorted. Damn Locke. Every time he had a fleeting thought that a partnership with the gambler would work, something happened to make him realize what an idiotic idea it was. He paused. That wasn’t like Locke Koh to give valuable information to someone. It had to be somebody who really COULD do something with the information. Someone Koh…geez…actually…trusted? That was definitely the shortest list ever written by man…

“As long as we stay one step ahead…” Locke said quietly, interrupting his thoughts.

“We can do this, yeah, yeah…” Memphis smirked, forcing himself to concentrate, even though every bone in his body wanted to kick some a**. With the whole Naar issue, they might have to adjust the plans as they went along. “So run this by me again…”

It was about ten minutes after they arrived in the hiding place, an abandoned cabin in the middle of the wood. The two-story cabin had three rooms, on the first level, one was the living room, the other was the kitchen, and the last one was a bedroom. The bedroom was small; about two times three meters square and had a cupboard on the corner of the room, a small window on the east side of the room. ShockWave had his brother rested in the bedroom. He laid S.Dragon/Zorkaan on the floor, leaned to the north side of the wall.

“You’re alright ?” asked ShockWave as he stood up. He had to pretend that he didn’t know about the truth of his brother condition… at least until the time was right.

S.Dragon/Zorkaan nodded. “I’m fine, thanks, and if you don’t mind, I want to be alone for a while.”

ShockWave nodded. “I’ll be just out there. Call if you need anything.”

“Not ring a bell ?” asked S.Dragon jokingly, just to lessen ShockWave’s suspicion.

ShockWave forced a grin, but his fists clenched. “Don’t push it, bro.” Then he went out to the living room. On the living room were Iwa, Kumori and Astaroth. They were resting after quite a long trek in the wood. ShockWave sat down on the floor beside Iwa.

“How’s your brother ?” asked Kumori.

“He’s fine, just need a bit rest. Zorkaan’s attack was quite strong, but he’ll survive.” Answered ShockWave reassuringly.

“So what do we do now ?” asked Kumori.

“I reckon we should meet up with the others as soon as possible.” Said Iwa. “What do you think, ShockWave ?” she turned to see ShockWave that seemed preoccupied with his thought. “ShockWave ?” called Iwa.

ShockWave lifted his head. “What ? Oh. Yeah, we should meet up with the others. After rest a bit.”

Iwa, Kumori, and Astaroth nodded. At that time, Kumori’s stomach screaming to be filled. Her face turned red in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

ShockWave grinned. “’S okay, we haven’t eaten for hours. ‘Guess we better find something to eat.”

“Well, if we want to eat, we have to hunt for something. We haven’t got anything to eat at the moment.” Said Iwa.

“Yes, we have to, but we also need to protect my brother, he’s in weak condition now.” Said ShockWave.

“No problem.” Said Kumori. “You stay here and protect Shadow. We’ll go hunting.” Then looking at Astaroth. “Separately.”

Iwa nodded. “I’ll go with Kumori, and you stay with your brother.” She got up along with Kumori. She looked at Astaroth and gestured toward the door. “Shall we ?”

Astaroth frowned. He shrugged and stood up and followed Iwa and Kumori outside.

“Be careful.” Said ShockWave.

“You as well.” Said Iwa.

This had not been part of the plan.

Astaroth was standing on the edge of a cliff, staring out at the horizon and the twilight sky that separated night and day. Cold blue eyes darkened slightly. He had thought he'd made it clear. He had thought she might have had a chance, that it might have worked. Apparently, he had been wrong.

She was not supposed to be delivered into the hands of her enemy. IT was supposed to be delayed, by first taking her somewhere safer on this planet until a better plan could be devised and put into action. Regardless of the consequences, he had thought they would at least save her. He had thought...

"I'm going to have a talk with him..." thought Astaroth, in reference to a raven-haired comrade of his. One he thought would surely protect her, especially in light of recent events. Then he sighed. He figured he knew Jin as well as anyone could. He knew he could trust him, but he also knew that when an already cold soul is tainted and corrupted as much as either of theirs had been, the damage overtook loyalty to one's own desires.

Astaroth suddenly felt disgusted with himself. He had been a fool. A fool to try and persuade who he considered his only friend to go against better judgement to save someone he hardly even knew.

"Although... it seemed for a while, she was important to him as well..." he pondered, piercing blue eyes dimming some. That ordeal was odd indeed. He had seen them kissing in the woods, though the image was a bit blurred, considering the state he was in at that time. Still, no matter what Jin could say, or even what Natalie would say if he chose to bring it up, it takes two to kiss. And it didn't seem as though one was forcing the other.

He smiled slightly, a faint hint of it reaching his eyes for once. He had never seen Jin react in any emotional way to anyone before, no matter how any woman tried to advance. Somehow, that had changed with Natalie. And knowing his shy, introverted sister, she likely had not been the one to initiate the kiss.

So, what on earth went wrong?

The smile faded completely and dimness overtook the shimmer in his irises. Jin was going to talk. And this time, it was not negotiable.

In a flicker of dark energy, he disappeared.

As soon as he saw Adon fell, Bison understood why he failed time after time when he tried to execute his plan. He and his minions had never worked as a team. These fighters on the opposing team knew how to work together, thus able to take down even a much stronger opponent than them individually. Bison knew, individually, none of the fighters present able to take him down, but he alone would never be able to take them down. Each fighter that worked for him have pretty much the same level in skill and power with each fighter in the opposing team, but to take the opposing team down – as much as Bison hated to admit – he and his minions needed to work together as a team.

As the fight continued, he began to calculate how it best to take down the opposing team effectively and efficiently. Among the opposing team, fighters that he considered being threats to him were Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, and Guy. Ryu and Ken because they had took him down once, and Chun Li and Guy for their renowned skills and powers.

Then, he considered other fighters, Cammy was not supposed to be a threat, he knew what she capable of, and although she was the most gifted among his dolls, she was still not much of a problem.

Crimson, Guy’s student, he had seen him fight before, and although a strong fighter that in some ways match his teacher, he should be still a couple of levels below Guy.

The last was Ryu Dragon. This fighter was still much of a mystery to him. He had watched his fight with Balrog twice and won both time quite easily and his fight as Chun Li’s partner in the tournament. From the outer look, he looked like Ryu’s clone – and not to mention his name. His techniques were pretty much like the Shotokan fighter himself, but there was something that he couldn’t put his finger on that intrigue him.

His calculation ended just as Birdie was blasted down by Crimson with his super projectile technique. With two of his fighters down that left him three of his minions left – Vega, Sodom, and Rolento – to help him out. The opposing team fighters were still look pretty fresh like the morning daisies. Then, a plan clicked on his mind; with only three of his minions left, this plan was pretty much the only thing left to do. As Ryu’s fist came about a few centimeters before his nose, and Chun Li’s high kick came from his back, he teleported and materialized behind Chun Li. He quickly grabbed Chun Li by her neck and threw her to Ryu who reflexively caught her. As Ryu set her to the side, Bison was already gone.

Darkness...

A frigid darkness was what she awoke to. She opened her eyes, and though she could see nothing, they widened. This place... this place radiated with evil. It was nearly suffocating, and she could only thank God that it was Him who must've kept her from being swallowed by it.

Where was she? This was unlike any place she had ever been, unlike any presence she ever sensed. She knew she had to figure out what to do soon, but she'd need light for that. Not that she couldn't fix that, but a foreboding dread came over her at the though of what she might see.

"God help me... I know I'm going to need it..." she whispered, gathering a small amount of energy to bring her gift of fire to life, just enough for light. She inhaled deeply as she saw the cold stone floors and walls of the large, musty room illuminated. In the dark corners and hidden places of the room, she saw movement, small and hopefully harmless creatures moving about. None of this disturbed her, however, until her eyes settled on something near the movement...

Bones. Something... resembling a human skeleton, it seemed. The position looked agonizing in itself, arms, legs and neck twisted about in impossible ways, adding to the gory thoughts and possibilities of how this creature may have died. Natalie felt nauseous. So that's part of what she felt... this place reeked of death and suffering. How did she get here?

Then she remembered.

Jin. He must've brought her here, to this cold resemblance of hell. Now, she knew his feelings for her were non-existent. And she imagined her brother had a part in this as well. This was too cruel for an enemy, let alone a friend or loved one. Resentment built up inside her and she slammed one fist into the stone floor she sat on.

Oddly enough, the pain reminded her of something. This... level of hell, was part of Naar's world. The world her brother and Jin had grown up in, fought in, killed in and -- to a degree -- died in. She cursed softly under her breath, resentment fading and guilt replacing it. Certainly, they had not deserved this either. Yet if only a few minutes in a place so filled with death and agony appalled her, she could only fathom what years of living in it did. She leaned her back against the icy wall and closed her eyes, hugging her knees to her chest.

"God... I don't know what to do anymore... I feel so lost, so useless here... no matter where I am."

Her whisper was soft, and the shimmer of a single teardrop even softer, but neither went unnoticed to the ears listening or the golden-brown eyes, albeit partially concealed, watching from the single, small barred window at the far end of the room...

In the wood near the abandoned cabin were two girls hunting. The first was Iwa the adopted daughter of two great warriors, Ryu and Chun Li. The other was Kumori, the magic user and the best friend of Iwa. The two girls were now arguing over a rabbit in Kumori’s hand. The argument was simple, Iwa wanted to take the rabbit as one in menu, but Kumori didn’t, due to the excessive cuteness of the rabbit.

“Look Kumori, we’ve been hunting for twenty minutes and this is the only animal that showed up aside from worms and insects. I say we take it and roast it, I’m starving !” said Iwa hotly due to the excessive hunger that started to get her in her head.

“B-but Iwa ! Look at her, she’s so cute, how can you kill such a cute creature and eat her ?” said Kumori equally hotly. She patted the frightened rabbit in the cradle of her hands. “There, there, don’t be afraid. No one’s gonna eat you.”

Iwa sighed heavily. Her best friend could be so stubborn at times but she was still her best friend. “Alright, fine. You know what ? Let’s go hunt again.” Said Iwa finally.

Kumori grinned at her friend’s decision. “Great, let’s go !”

“But the next edible animal we find, cute or not, we’ll have it, alright ?”

“Fine, as long as it’s not this rabbit.” Said Kumori as she put the rabbit down on the ground. As soon as she released it, the rabbit quickly blazed into the nearby bushes and gone.

“How can you tell which is which ?” grumbled Iwa softly. Just after a few steps passed, they heard rustling sounds coming from their right. Iwa gave a signal to Kumori to stop and she did. “Did you hear that ?” she whispered.

Kumori only nodded. “Get ready.”

The two warriors stayed still waiting for anything that coming toward them. Iwa pulled out her sword from its scabbard and readied to strike. Seconds passed, the sound of the steps grew louder and nearer. As soon as the thing came out of the bushes, Iwa charged.

“Hyaa !” She brought down the sword as fast as she could.

And nearly chopped ShockWave’s head in two had he not reflexively blocked the incoming sword with his quarterstaff. For a few seconds, no one moved. Kumori with her left hand covering her mouth to muffle a scream, and her right hand pointing at ShockWave, Iwa in her striking stance, and ShockWave in blocking stance. Then…

ShockWave recovered first from the initial shock (no pun intended). “Iwa ! What do you think you’re doing ?!! You could’ve split my head in two !!” He yelled.

Iwa sheathed her sword. “S-s-s-s sorry… didn’t… know it was… you.” She stammered. Then she yelled back. “And what do you think you’re doing, skulking around like that ! You could’ve get killed, you know !”

Caught off guard, ShockWave could only grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to.”

Kumori came to near them. “ShockWave, what are you doing here ? Are you okay ?”

He nodded. “I’m alright. Lucky I blocked the sword in time.” Then turning to Iwa. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you guys.”

Calming down, she nodded. “’S okay, but next time, don’t do that. Hey, aren’t you supposed to stay in the cabin and guard your brother ?”

ShockWave’s expression turned serious. “Actually, there’s something about him that I need to talk with you two.”

Meliza sighed as she unlocked her room at Fighter’s Inn. The doctors had given her a clean bill of health, so she was able to leave the hospital a while back. She had just spent the day wandering around, unsure of what to do.

Carefully, she pulled out a portion of the wall, which concealed a safe. Twirling the combination lock, she yanked the safe open and pulled out the laptop inside. She carried it to the table, opened it, promptly booting the system up. Once the system was running, she accessed the files that contained sensitive information…what she had read had nearly terrified her. She had to do something about these files. Show them to Detective Chun Li, Guile, Natalie… someone who would be able to do something with it. But would they believe her when she said that she got the information from an assassin for hire? Who happened to have once been working for their sworn enemy? She wasn’t sure.

A soft whoosh sound quickly filled the room, and her head shot up, noticing that a note had slipped under her door. She walked over to it, opened the hotel’s stationary envelope to fold out a letter:

Meliza, you are constantly being monitored. Be careful. –A Friend

She studied the note before promptly folding it back up. Odd…

Casting a glance at the laptop, she slipped in a disk to make a copy of all the information contained in the laptop. She could always tell the authorities that her source chose to remain anonymous…

Ken; along with Crimson, was running toward Ryu and Chun Li who were fighting Bison. Just about halfway to reach their friends, Bison suddenly materialized in front of Ken. Out of reflex, both fighters skidded a bit and stopped while raising their hands to protect themselves. Bison launched a hook toward Ken who raised both hands to cover his face, mistakenly thinking that Bison would attack his head. The hook slammed on his gut and took the breath out of his lungs. Then, still maintaining the hook, Bison grabbed Ken’s gi and threw him to Crimson. Both fighters went down in a tangle.

When both fighters untangled themselves, Bison was already gone. Again.

She was cold. He could see her shivering. The thin material of the dark blue, sleeveless shirt could not offer her much heat, and to use her power for so long without stopping would drain her too much. He knew she was saving it for something, preparing herself. For him, maybe?

He figured she was upset at him, probably quite immensely. He sighed almost silently. It all mattered not. This was what was supposed to be done, and there was no escaping it, even if by some small chance a tiny part of himself wanted to. His face was set in an emotionless expression, his cold golden eyes matching as they again settled on her.

Did she deserve this? To live and die in the way they had? To be controlled like a puppet by the Dark God’s whim? No... Whether she deserved any of it or not, he knew she would not stand for it. Her will was too strong, too set already, and her faith would not be moved by anything. To not give into Naar would only leave her with one option: she would be killed, destroyed for being a threat to the cause, even if only a small one.

The tournament, the Essences, the mission, all of that seemed so distant and unimportant now. He was beginning to feel. Frustration, confusion, and what seemed to be a few traces of guilt –- he honestly couldn’t ever recall a time when he once felt such an emotion –- slowly trickle themselves into the recesses of his thoughts. He disliked this. Everything was so much easier before he met her. He could kill without feeling. He could obey orders strictly, never allowing his own personal sentiments to cloud his actions. But she had managed to change all of that. To some extent, at least, thanks in part initially to Astaroth.

How the hell did she do that? She wasn't that important to him. None of this was. The only thing that was important was doing what he did best, serving Naar. And he had done just that. The given task had been completed, and now neither Astaroth nor himself would be punished again for letting her get away. The Dark God was pleased...

Jin's gaze slipped downward as he remembered the words of his master...

Flashback...

[You have her, I presume?] Came the psychic-induced message. As well as inhibiting himself from assuming a state of corporeality at all times, unless otherwise, communicating via psychic means was common of the Dark God, even if the recipient held no similar abilities, instead forced to respond in the more conventional manner. For the Kushina warrior, this was his only option.

"Yes,” Jin answered, his voice neutral. “She was unconscious when I captured her, so I left her in one of the cells..."

[And Astaroth? Where is he?]

"He is helping Zorkaan, I believe. He did have a part in capturing the girl, though," came the equally neutral response. Silence was quick to follow afterward, but the effect would be short lived.

[Excellent. Keep her in the cell for a while, it should soften her resolve a bit before we get started.] More silence. [You have done your part well, Kushina. You and Astaroth. But... see to it that the both of you refrain from delaying such tasks in the near future.] The last line wasn’t a request, but more of a firm statement; Jin was quick to note.

“It won’t happen again.”

[Good.] Naar seemed satisfied enough. [You may leave.]

And with that, the Kushina warrior disappeared.

… End flashback

Jin again looked at Natalie, his facade as stoic as always, with only the slight exception of his eyes. Did she deserve this?

Jin had almost answered his own question when a figure suddenly appeared beside him. Jin didn't have to look to know who it was as they quickly slid the wooden cover down to close the window.

"I suppose she's in there?" Astaroth questioned, his voice in usual monotone.

"Yes," he said, turning to face Astaroth. What Jin saw surprised him in a way, and in another way, it didn't. Astaroth's gaze was set on him in a disturbing way, his eyes narrowed and the irises darkening slowly. Even more unusual was the near-frown he wore.

"I thought I could trust you to save her..." Astaroth said, his monotone fading and his voice acquiring a faint amount of anger.

"I did,” Jin replied, feelings still placed in check. “It's pointless to keep running. If we did, they’d simply kill all three of us."

"That gives you no right to simply hand her to the one who wants to destroy her," Astaroth stated, his tone becoming subtly more angry. Jin said nothing to respond at first, then he slowly spoke.

"Where do your loyalties lie, Astaroth?"

Astaroth stared at him for a moment, but answered nonetheless. "I'm not sure. But apparently, not in the same place as you. I cannot lie to myself and say I simply do not care what happens to her."

"I'm not ly-"

Before the sentence could be finished, a hand clutched the collar of Jin's shirt and roughly yanked him forward a foot or so. Jin's eyes visibly widened a bit as he stared into the coldest, most judging eyes he had ever seen. He made no effort to fight or look away, as Astaroth spoke, his tone dark, quiet and dangerous, "Don't you dare tell me that when you kissed my sister, it meant nothing."

A pair of golden-brown eyes narrowed as they began to glow faintly with some form of increasing irritation, only to cease as Jin regained control of his emotions once again. As if just realizing what he was doing, Astaroth’s grip on Jin broke, with the latter sighing and turning his back to Jin. "Do you know what they'll do to her? Can you really stand by and allow her to become like us?"

"Could you kill her to stop it?"

Astaroth turned to face him, an almost lost look vaguely having presence in his eyes, "I'm not sure. Could you?"

Jin looked thoughtful for a moment, but never answered. Astaroth shook his head slightly and opened the window again, looking in at his sister. To his surprise, even in the dim light, she was looking straight back, her eyes speaking feelings of betrayal and confusion, and knowledge at the same time. It surprised both men when she spoke.

"I know you're there. You both might as well stop hiding," she stated. Her voice wasn't nearly as soft as usual.

"Alright," said Astaroth as he unlocked and opened the door, stepping in. Somewhat to his surprise, Jin followed silently.

Natalie kept a steady gaze on them, looking completely void of even a hint of happiness. "All I can ask is... why?"

"Natalie, I-" Astaroth began before Jin cut him off.

"He is not responsible. Your brother in no way had a part in bringing you here. I did it alone." Jin stated, again void of emotion. Natalie looked at him, then her brother before looking down and sighing.

Her head hung slightly and she was silent. Astaroth didn't know what to say, and Jin would say nothing more. Finally, she broke the thick silence without looking up, her voice soft once again, "You're forgiven, Jin..."

Both men blinked in surprise, staring at her. But Jin was surprised even more than Astaroth, "What?"

"I said you're forgiven, I hold nothing against either of you. You can go now. You won't have to watch over me much longer so don't worry."

The slight hint of hidden meaning in her last words bothered Astaroth quite a bit. He looked over at Jin to see if he had picked it up as well. It was hard to tell, although it appeared as if Jin looked somewhat confused.

Natalie looked up at them, "I won't give in you know. So do me a favor, when they kill me, take my body back home. That's all." Her expression was even, soft and accepting of any fate she had. Both Jin and her brother stared at her for a long moment, completely silent.

Astaroth slowly spoke, his tone sounding subtly defeated, "I understand." With that, he began to walk away.

Jin lingered, staring at her a moment longer. How could she be so forgiving? So accepting, so willing to die for something and blame no one, even the one who was truly at fault? She could at least accuse him of betraying her, something he perhaps did, but all she did was sit there and look at him, waiting for destiny to claim her. Looking at her, he blinked slowly, sensing a strange form of respect and admiration towards her ebbing through him.

She was still shivering, he noticed after resolving to walk away. Within one smooth motion, the Kushina warrior brandished his prized weapon, the Murasame radiating a faint, silver-white glow. Natalie eyed him curiously as a silver-white fiery aura began to rise off her form, fading soon after, but not before leaving behind its effects.

“An assimilation spell,” Jin spoke flatly, clearly reading the inquisitive look Natalie wore. “It should keep you warm.” And, signified by a brief flash of dark energy, Jin was gone.

A near-awed expression slowly grew onto Natalie’s features as the spell quickly went into effect, effectively raising her body temperature to a point where the coldness around her became nothing more than a past event. Natalie allowed herself to smile slightly. Maybe there was some hope for him after all...

The baton slammed on the ground, as Cammy stepped backward from Rolento’s attack. The baton swung upward, but Cammy had already stepped to the side. She backhanded Rolento on his right cheek, sending him stumbling a few steps to the side. Not wasting any time, Cammy followed the attack with a roundhouse kick to the side, but surprisingly, Rolento was quick enough to recover and instead of avoiding the incoming kick, he slammed his baton against Cammy’s kick with an extraordinary strength.

“Aagh !” Cammy screamed in pain as she withdrew her leg. She would like to have time to recover, probably a minute would do, but Rolento would have none of that. He spun and kicked high, but missed Cammy’s head as she ducked under the kick and rolled backward. As she finished the rolling, still in crouching stance, she jumped up and forward toward Rolento. Then, with both legs, she caught Rolento’s shoulder. A half second later, Rolento was flipped and landed painfully on his back.

She quickly locked his right hand in a wrestling lock with her legs, held his fist (Author: which I don’t know the name, and can someone please tell me ?) and tried to break his hand. The two fighters strained as hard as their strength permit. Then, suddenly, a grenade rolled near Cammy’s left shoulder. Without thinking, she released his hand and rolled backward a couple of times. But the grenade was a dud. Cursing silently for her stupidity, she rose to her fighting stance. As Rolento rose up, their eyes met, and Cammy was surprised to see that eyes that were looked soulless, as if he was a machine. Then the recognition came to her. Brainwash.

Just as the realization came to her, a color of red materialized in front of her. Caught surprise, she didn’t have time to block the incoming punch to her face. The punch was followed with a hook on her gut, knocking the breath out of her lung. A blow hit her head so hard that her skull nearly cracked. She went down with the blow. A kick hit her ribs and turned her facing upward. As the blackness came to envelop her, she only saw one of her attackers, Rolento.

Unaware of the presence of two familiar figures above listening intently to their conversation, ShockWave explained to the girls about Shadow Dragon’s situation. The two figures above were Astaroth who stood silently and listening intently to the conversation on a tree branch eight feet above, and also unaware of the presence of the other figure six feet above him. The other figure that was hovering in the air was the demigod TS, whose interest in this conflict was still a mystery.

About three minutes later, Astaroth moved silently and undetected by the three warriors below. He moved from branch to branch rather than using teleport that might alert his presence from the amount of the energy used to the other three warriors.

His movements however did not escape the attention of the demigod. Watching Astaroth movements, TS thought to follow, but did not want to miss ShockWave and the two girls’ conversation. But he did not want to miss whatever Astaroth intended to do, nor the big fight that was happening now. “Hmmm… decisions, decisions…” Then, an idea came up. With two flicks of his fingers, a pair of winged-video-cameras came up. He ordered one to follow Astaroth and the other to stay with ShockWave, while he transported himself to where the big fight was on.

Guy ducked under Vega’s vicious claw and launched three consecutive punches to his right cheek, left chest, and left abdomen. The punch to the face missed, but the other two hit squarely on their targets. Vega was pushed back a few steps, but he was quick to recover. Seeing Guy coming at him again, he swiped the claw diagonally from bottom right to upper left, forcing Guy to halt his attack and skipped backward. Vega then leapt and kicked at Guy’s head. Guy quickly and swiftly evaded the kick. The kick missed his head by an inch, but he couldn’t evade Vega’s extended left hand that came down and hit him on the face.

Then, Vega caught his hair with his and readied his claw. The deadly claw came, but Guy managed to block Vega’s right wrist, deflecting the claw away. Vega pulled Guy’s head down while raising his right knee to greet Guy’s head, but again, Guy managed to block the incoming attack with his palms.

The Bushin ninja channeled his ki to his fist and rammed it to Vega’s gut forcing the Spanish assassin to let him go. Then he jumped and kicked Vega away. While kicked away, Vega managed to get in a swipe on Guy’s left hand with his claw.

The claw drew a bit of Guy blood, and Vega licked it passionately. “Taste good, Guy. I’d like some more.” He grinned maniacally.

Guy’s expression did not change although he felt a bit sick of the assassin’s disturbing behaviour. He stood as still as a rock. Then it began. He moved forward so fast that Vega could not follow his movement. A punch home in on Vega’s face, stunning him, then followed with a series of punches and kicks launched to all over Vega. Just as the super technique, Bushin Gorai Kyaku, about to finish Vega, Bison materialized and caught Guy’s finishing crescent kick right on his ankle. Caught off guard, Guy was slammed to the ground on his back. Still in shock and his leg held, Guy was unable to avoid the incoming stomp on his stomach.

“Oooff !!” groaned Guy as Bison’s stomp knocked the wind out of him. As he doubled over from the pain, Bison flipped him into the air, right into Vega’s hold. Vega then flipped him upside down and slammed Guy to the ground, head first. As Vega stood near the fallen Bushin ninja, he posed his claw ready to gut Guy, but Bison stopped him.

“No time for your games Vega, we still have the others to take care of. Go and join Rolento and hold Ryu, Ken, Chun Li and Crimson for a while. Make sure you don’t get knock down.” Commanded Bison.

Vega hesitated for a moment but knew what he had to do. “The fun can wait… for a while.” He thought.

Memphis remained silent as Locke picked up his cell phone. The first part of Plan A was about to go into action.

Locke frowned as he held the phone to his ear, waiting for a response. When he heard an answer, he said curtly, “Tell your employer that I’ll make arrangements to transfer the money out of our accounts, back into his, in several daily installments.” He hung up, tossing his cell phone onto the desk at the library.

“What’d he say?” Memphis finally asked.

“ ‘Okay’,” Locke echoed dryly.

Memphis grinned. “You really think you can pull this off?”

Locke’s fingers flew over the keyboard, not answering. As much as he enjoyed the privacy and convenience of his own personal computer, he decided it might be best if he used someone else’s technology for his hacking purposes. He had arranged it so that several million dollars from his and Memphis’ accounts would be transferred over back to where they had come from. But only for a certain time. From Urien’s end, it would look like the money was being transferred over. However, within a few days, the money would be transferred back to Memphis and Locke’s foreign bank accounts, undetected. They didn’t have very long to defeat their enemies. Might as well go for it all.

“Have you gentlemen any questions?” a library assistant walked up, an inquisitive tone in her voice.

“No,” Locke said in a slightly dismissive manner.

“Very well…” she moved away.

Memphis followed her with his eyes. She was an attractive woman, and it had been a while since he’d last been with one. “You scare women off too easily, you know that?”

Locke flashed him an irritated glance. “If you are so bored, find a way to entertain yourself.”

“I think I will…” Memphis stood from his chair to wander off.

Locke shook his head before making sure that his work had been done correctly. He hit ‘Enter’. Locke snatched his phone from the desk and began to exit the library.

Once outside, he deposited several coins into a pay phone. Urien might be monitoring him if he made this phone call on his cellular...

To Sodom a.k.a. Katana, his opponent was very confusing. His appearance and fighting stance betrayed the fighting techniques that he used, or at least partially, which made him more confusing than ever. It was like fighting two people with two totally different fighting styles. At times, his opponent moved lightning fast, direct, and strong, just like the fighting style that was indicated by his fighting attire, karate. But at times, his moves were smooth and ‘tangly’, like fighting against soft mattress or rubber. Combined the confusing fighting styles with special moves that pretty much close any opening, it was not a wonder that Sodom was on the losing side of the fight. Only his jittes and his armors that gave him an edge against his opponent, Ryu Dragon.

Sodom and Ryu Dragon had fight for more than a minute, each fighters had received pretty much equally damaging blows. Sodom’s helmet and left shoulder armor were already cracked badly from Dragon’s solid side and axe kicks respectively. He also had received a couple of blows on his stomach, painful ones. Ryu Dragon had received a couple of stabs and scratches on his shoulder and a straight high kick on his chin that made him saw little stars for a few seconds. Both fighters were now stood still in their fighting stance, waiting for the other to make the first move.

On the edge of his line of vision, Dragon noticed that Cammy was taken away by a couple of Bison’s soldiers to the airship and Guy being bashed down by Bison. “Dammit, what’s going on ? How come they…” his thought was cut off by the incoming jitte. He arched back down doing a ground somersault. The jitte went pass above him harmlessly while his right foot caught Sodom quite painfully on his chin, knocking Sodom back a couple steps. “Yikes ! Can’t get careless now !” he thought as cold sweat came down from his brow.

Then Dragon charged forward. To his surprise, Sodom met him head on with his own charging. Arm met arm as the two fighters collided. Sodom spun his hold on his jittes so both jittes were held down in stabbing position. As Sodom spun his jittes, Dragon sent a straight left punch to Sodom’s face, but Sodom evaded the punch and raised both his hands and stabbed down at Dragon’s shoulders. With his right hand, Dragon caught Sodom’s left wrist and spun to the outside to evade the right jitte. Sodom changed his right hand course into a hook punch toward Dragon’s gut, but using Sodom’s left hand, Dragon blocked the hook.

Then smoothly, Dragon used his left palm to press down both of Sodom’s hands and gave a quick right backhand that caught Sodom’s on his face. Sodom’s helmet wobbled down a bit from the backhand covering his eyes from seeing Dragon’s right elbow slammed onto his abdomen. The elbow sent Sodom reeling backward a bit and doubled over. Seeing the opportunity, Dragon launched his Moeru Futago-geri (Twin Blazing Kick). The double roundhouse kicks effectively broke Sodom’s helmet revealing a Japanese man face.

The kick brought Sodom down on his knees. Ryu Dragon prepared to deliver the finishing attack, but when Sodom suddenly looked up to his eyes, he hesitated a bit. What Dragon saw reminded him of someone being mind-controlled or hypnotized. That hesitation however cost him a great deal as Bison materialized behind him and caught his neck. Dragon tried to pry off Bison’s finger that enclosed on his neck, but did not success. Bison lifted his prey off the ground and channeled his psycho power through Dragon’s body, practically electrocuted him. Ryu Dragon screamed in pain as the psycho power run through every fiber of his body. But in that moment, a power from within him reacted and began to counter the psycho power. The two powers fought and suddenly an explosion erupted. When the cloud of dirt and dust began to dissipate, there could be seen Bison was still standing looking at his opponent in amused expression, while Dragon was on his knees a few feet away.

Grunting painfully, Dragon tried to stand up, but his body refused to react as his mind ordered to. Then a hard blow slammed on the back of his neck. “Damn…” was the last thought as the unconsciousness claimed him.

Out of seven fighters that fought Bison and his minions, only four that remained standing. Their conditions, although not so fresh, but still able to fight. Of the six fighters on Bison’s team, four were still standing as well, though not far worse that Ryu and his friends, but with Bison that still pretty fresh although he had been helping three of his minions, this would be the fight for their life.

“This is really not good.” Said Ken as he saw the other three fighters were taken down and to the airship.

“I think we can still win the fight, Ken. Bison’s fighters were already more tired than we are, we only need to be careful against Bison.” Said Ryu.

“Easier said than done.” Replied Crimson.

Then, the fight broke. Bison against Ryu, Vega against Chun Li, Rolento against Ken, and Sodom against Crimson. And like Crimson said, it is easier to say than done against Bison and his minion. Although it seemed that the power was balanced, but with Bison doing every dirty trick on his book and probably on other people’s books as well, Ryu and his friends had very so much difficulties even in defending themselves let alone counter attacking.

Already the fight went for half a minute, and Ryu and his friends had received blows after blows from Bison or his minions. Avoiding showing any pattern in his tactic, Bison teleported randomly, sometimes helping his minions, sometimes going up against Ryu. It seemed that Bison and his minions were in easy fights, but Bison’s random teleporting tactic was not without flaws. Occasionally, his blows missed the target or when he materialized, he received a blow or two.

A minute and a half past, Ryu and his friends were hard pressed against Bison and his minions. Already their bodies were full of bruises or cuts or scratches. Bison and his minions, although did not fare much better, but still on the winning edge.

“Crimson.” Called Ryu to the Bushin student who stood close to him.

“Ryu ?” replied Crimson.

“You have to get away from here.” Said Ryu still eyeing the Bison and his minions standing in front of them. All of them, in silent and unofficially agreement, were stopping for a moment or two to catch their breaths.

“What ?! No way I’m leaving you guys to them !” said Crimson.

“Listen to me. We won’t win this way, you have to go and get reinforcements. Find the others and only then you can think of helping.” Hissed Ryu.

“B-but…” stammered Crimson. He realized the reality of their situation, but reluctant to leave his master and the other fighters to the hand of the mad warlord.

“Now Crimson, we will hold them as long as we can.” Commanded Ryu as he charged forward, and the battle began again. This time, Ryu pick Sodom as he was the one that looked the worst among Bison’s three minions. As the fight renewed, Crimson stood still for a moment, reluctant to go, but there was no other way, either he run and got the others or they would all be captured.

As Ken went down from the combination of Rolento and Bison’s assaults plus his own exhaustion, Crimson knew what he had to do. He turned away and began to run as fast as his feet and power allowed.

Seeing Crimson escaping, Bison commanded. “Vega, after the boy, and bring him back, alive !”

Vega, hearing the command, ducked and rolled under Chun Li’s side kick. He slashed her supporting leg, drawing blood. Chun Li cried in pain and almost fell down, she was about to attack Vega, but Vega already leapt away from her to after Crimson.

A straight punch to the face, plus a shovel hook to the abdomen, and a Shoryuken had brought Sodom down, hard. Ryu turned and threw a Hadoken toward Vega, but the Hadoken missed him by an inch. Then, two seconds later, the assassin had gone into the woods.

Now, two fighters left on each side. Bison and Rolento against Ryu and Chun Li, respectively. Then, the fight begun.  

“Run. Run. Run !” The only thought that was on Crimson mind as he raced through the woods to find help. Using his ninjutsu skills and speed and a head start in running, he had eluded Vega.

For a while…

Vega came down so suddenly in front of him and swiped his claw. The claw would have ripped his face off had Crimson not rolled over. Crimson rolled past Vega and quickly jump up to his fighting stance. The two fighters’ breaths were ragged and were exhausted to the point that they almost collapsed. “Damn. Damn. Damn.” Thought Crimson. Then Vega charged. His claw was poised to attack and Crimson was ready to sidestepped his attack, but instead Vega sled down and tripped Crimson. Crimson nearly fell, but he managed to land on both of his hands and rolled over. Still in crouching position after rolling, Crimson spun his leg and tripped Vega. Caught surprise by the counter attack, Vega went down. He swiped with his claw, but Crimson jumped over and sent a kick to Vega’s face.

“Aaargh ! My face ! My face ! You ruined my beautiful face !” squealed Vega, which would have been a comical scene had the situation was different. He held his left cheek, which was where a mark of Crimson’s sneaker rested.

Crimson knew better than to make a quip in his exhausted condition, but he just could not resist. “Well, come here and let me fix that ugly face, you little cry baby.”

The quip angered Vega, which in turn burn up his energy. He moved so fast that Crimson could not see the incoming kick to his abdomen. As Crimson doubled up from the pain, Vega grabbed his hair and introduced his knee to the Bushin student’s face a couple of times.

Pain shot up in Crimson’s face and he felt a couple of teeth loosen. Out of reflex, he blocked the incoming knee, then sent a palm attack to Vega’s chin. The attack, although missed the target, had forced Vega to let Crimson go. Taking advantage of the situation, Crimson moved back a couple of steps and readied his fighting stance. But his vision was still blurred from the effect of Vega’s attack. He couldn’t see Vega coming and swiped his claw and made a mark on his chest. Crimson cried out in pain as he spun around from the effect of the blow. Not wasting time, Vega clawed again, this time to Crimson’s back.

Crimson fell to the ground painfully. He tried to get up, but Vega planted a foot on his cheek, keeping him down. “You punk !” said Vega. “It’s lucky for you that Bison wants you alive. But don’t worry, I’ll have fun with you and your worthless teacher before Bison does whatever he wants to do.”

“Guy…” was the last thought of Crimson as he slipped into the darkness.

Memphis grinned as he exited the library. The librarian had been flustered at his approach, but extremely flattered. It didn’t take her long to accept an invitation to go out with him.

Walking out of the double doors, he strolled down the corridor and spotted Locke on his right side with his back turned, hovering near the pay phone. The millennium assassin pressed against the wall, his ears straining to listen to the gambler’s conversation.

“I’m looking for a guest,” Locke spoke in a quiet voice. Memphis had to concentrate, slowing his breathing to hear. “I cannot pronounce her last name, but her first name is Meliza…”

Memphis frowned. Locke was calling Fighter’s Inn? Locke waited for several moments before hanging up. He blew out a breath before smoothing his hair back. Memphis leaned against the wall, out of view. Locke’s approach was very quiet; Memphis barely heard his footsteps.

Memphis sensed that Locke had come to a stop, just beyond his peripheral vision. Apparently, the gambler had noticed his presence.

“You know, I’m starting to think you’re almost human,” Memphis observed, tilting his head back. Who would have thought? Locke actually seemed to be concerned about someone else’s welfare.

“Oh really? And you base this on what?” Locke replied coolly.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Memphis smiled mischievously. “…Did she answer?”

Locke rolled his eyes. Trust Memphis to get on his nerves. Constantly. “We have a job to do…” He walked away.

Memphis shook his head. Then he remembered a particular detail that he should probably mention.

“Hey…Koh.”

“What is it?” Locke responded in an icy tone over his shoulder.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Memphis lectured. He hated being ignored.

Locke turned. After a moment, he replied, “Yes. She’s doing well. For now,” he added pointedly.

Memphis nodded. Apparently Locke had needed the reassurance that she was okay, even if he didn’t get to speak with her personally. Deep down, maybe Memphis needed that too. Now was a good time as any... “There’s something you need to know…” Memphis began. “There’s another reason why Urien is so interested in Meliza…he just…doesn’t know it yet...”

Locke arched his brows. “Oh?”

“She’s an Essence,” Memphis said quietly.

His rival/partner studied him carefully. “What did you say?”

“I said ‘She’s an Essence’,” Memphis repeated. “You know. Meliza. Essence. Those people we’ve been hired to bring in since we got here.”

He ignored his sarcasm. Inwardly, Locke couldn’t believe his luck. If that’s what one would call it. What were the odds? As if he hadn’t had enough problems on the island.

“All right,” Locke said slowly. “How do you know this?”

“I have my resources,” Memphis said with a smile.

Locke nodded once. “I see. Who else knows?”

“Her friends, probably,” Memphis shrugged. “But I don’t think Bison knows.”

Memphis saw that Locke’s confidence hadn’t faded, in spite of the news. Yup. He was getting that fleeting thought on why this was a good partnership.

“Talk about odds getting stacked higher and higher,” Memphis murmured.

Locke shrugged. “It still doesn’t change anything…If things go our way, neither of our former employers will have the Essences, Urien will never get his money back, and we can disappear without being followed…”

“Or if we’re lucky…” Memphis added, “…they’ll end up killing each other as they fight over the Essences…”

A ghost of a smile touched Locke’s lips. “That, too.” He was really hoping that’d happen…  

Darkness…

A total darkness…

He hardly could see his own hands in this place.

“Where am I ?” asked Crimson to himself as he scanned the area around him. But he couldn’t see anything beyond himself.

Suddenly, a light shaped like a person came in front of him.

“Who are you ?” asked Crimson. He felt a bit strange when he saw the light. He felt a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time, he felt safe.

The light did not reply or said anything.

“Who are you ? And where am I ?” asked Crimson again. “Please ! Can you hear me ?”

A voice came from nowhere answered him. “You are in your mind, fella.”

“What ? Who’s there ? Come on out !”

“Should I ? Nah, well, maybe later on, but not now.” Said the voice again.

“Who are you ? And where am I ?” asked Crimson.

“Well, like I told you, you’re in your mind. Remember the fight with that Edward-The Scissors-Hands wannabe ? Well, currently, you’re dying. And I think, in about five to ten more minutes, you might die. But hey, I’m no doctor, okay ? By the way, my name is TS.”

Though annoyed with this TS guy, Crimson was intrigued with what he said. “But I can’t die… well, not yet anyway. I still have to help Guy and the others, they are in danger now. Hey, can you help me ?”

“I can’t help healing you, unfortunately.” Said TS. “But…”

“But… ?”

“But you might be able to do it yourself. You know that you are an Essence, right ? Well, see that light figure over there ? It is the Essence of Yang, which is in you, and you might be able to extract its power to help you.”

“But how do I do it ?” asked Crimson. “I mean, I know pretty much nothing about this Essence thingy.”

“Well, you know, the usual stuffs. Clear your mind, open your mind and heart and reach out to it. C’mon, you can do it.” Said the demigod.

Although still confused by the instruction, Crimson had no other choice if he wanted to save his friends. He tried to relax and clear his mind. He reached out to the light figure and touched it, but nothing happened. “Hey, are you sure about this ?”

“Hey, better than nothing, right ?” replied TS.

“Right.” Said Crimson. He then drew and let go a deep breath. “Right.” He said again. “Lets do it.” Again, he tried to relax and clear his mind. He recalled the Bushin teachings from Guy about meditating and clearing mind. He gradually became relax… and relax… and when the time came, he reached out toward the light figure. The light figure, surprisingly did the same thing and reached out to him. As their hands touched each other…

Crimson’s eyes opened up suddenly. He then grabbed Vega’s ankle and got up. Caught off guard. Vega was thrown to the ground. He rolled backward, surprised that Crimson was so quickly up and was emanating a very strange and strong aura. Vega looked at Crimson and was shock to see Crimson’s eyes. His pupils were white like Bison, but coming out from the edges of his eyes were a pair of smoke-like light blue energy. Looking at him had sent a chilling shiver in Vega’s spine. Not even looking at his lord angry could made him this afraid. What was more surprising was the wounds on Crimson’s body were already healed.

Vega slowly got up as if not wanting to make a sudden movement that might cause Crimson to notice him. He slowly got into his fighting stance, but his mind was full of doubts.

Crimson still stood straight in his stance, not in his fighting stance. He stood straight up, his face faced straight at Vega, but it was as if he did not notice the assassin or anything in front of him. His hands were on his side, a bit bent, but relax. Emanating from him were the aura of strength, power, and wilderness that rival the wild wolves.

Vega did not like feeling threatened, especially not the punk kid that was in front of him. The truth was he felt afraid and unsure, but pressing the feelings, he attacked. He launched a straight stab toward Crimson’s left shoulder.

Lighting fast, Crimson blocked the incoming attack on Vega’s wrist. The block was so hard that it cracked Vega’s wrist. Vega cried out in pain, but was soon muffled by a brutal punch from Crimson to his abdomen. As Vega doubled over from the pain and Crimson’s fist still on his abdomen, Crimson lifted him up and rammed him to a nearby tree, causing a big dent on the tree, nearly breaking it.

Over and over Crimson sent brutal punches to Vega’s face, chest, and abdomen, sometimes mixed with kicks which equally brutal. Suddenly when Crimson was about to send in a punch that would surely sent Vega’s soul to another plane, he arched back. He let out a wild howl toward the sky and when the howl died out, he bent forward, fell on his knees, and threw up. He heaved until the wild feeling was gone. Then he got up and looked at Vega’s critical form. He looked and looked, but his mind was so clouded that he did not know what to do or done. Then he walked away, unsteadily.  

In the woods not far from the battleground were two figures watching Bison loading up fallen fighters from his and the opposite side. They were Darius, the fighter that was reincarnated from Kay during the time when he was an Essence, and Acinomia, Darius lover from the past.

Their coincidence arrival in the battleground was a bit after Bison had defeated the six fighters. Bison was a bit lucky. During the fight where he had only Rolento to aid him against Ryu and Chun Li, Balrog, Juni, and Juli came from after completing their tasks. The arrival of his three minions had completely turned the favor for him. With Juni, Juli, and Rolento against Chun Li, and Bison and Balrog against Ryu, the two world-renowned fighters were quickly overwhelmed.

“What should we do ?” whispered Acinomia to his lover.

“I don’t know, right now we can only watch. Do you want to help them ?” asked Darius.

Acinomia looked to the ground and uncertain. “I don’t know. But I will go wherever you want to go.”

Darius nodded and waited.

CRASH !!!

ZOINK !!!

BOOM !!!

BAM !!!

“GIMME THAT !” yelled Dan as he chased Volpe down around the hiding place for… a pink jelly donut. The donut was the last one that they brought when they were escaping from Bison’s attack. The escaping team had separated during the escape. ShockWave went along with Iwa and Kumori to find Meliza and Ayame, Ryu Dragon’s friends had decided to try to contact the ASB for reinforcement, while the rest of them went with Guile.

Now we are seeing the slow motion of Dan and Volpe leapt for the donut that was still sailing in the air. The two fighters were trying to get the donut with their mouths. And as they came closer and closer to the donut that slowly falling… A hand plucked the donut in mid air as the two fighters’ jaws snapped shut in a painful ‘click’ and missed the donut by a millimeter. The hand belonged to the man with a unique hairstyle, Guile.

“What the hell are you guys doing ?!” asked Guile as he held the donut on his right hand. The two fighters that were fighting for the donut were lying painfully on the ground.

“Donut. Must have donut…” said Volpe in zombie tone of voice. If zombie ever talk…

“Gimme that donut !” yelled Dan as he got up and tried to tackle Guile, but the soldier just stepped to the side and the tackle missed him. And Dan fell on the ground. Again.

As Guile turned around to see if Dan was alright, Volpe came up and locked his hand around Guile’s neck. The other hand reached out to grab the donut. “Ah ha ! Got you ! Now for the tasty… Arrghh !” screamed the investigator as Guile easily flipped him over the shoulder and landed on top of Dan.

CRASH !!!

“Oww….” Dan and Volpe.

Guile shook his head disgustingly. “All this for a donut.” Then he stuffed the donut into his mouth and chewed happily. He walked away from the two fighters – who were crying on the ground, mourning the loss – to the table where his mobile phone rested waiting for the other fighters that were fighting Bison and his goons to call. “C’mon Chun Li. Where the heck are you guys ?”

Suddenly, the door of the cabin where they hiding was slammed open. The fighters in the cabin quickly jumped up into their fighting stances waiting for what/whoever would come. Then slowly and painfully, Crimson walked into the cabin.

“Crimson !” called Volpe as he rushed to his friend.