Part 4

“Yikes ! There goes my t-shirt.” Thought Dragon, as Noembelu’s twin hatches hacked his t-shirt rather violently. He stepped back and spun to the side to avoid the incoming spear from the other assassin, Santamu.

He continued avoiding, evading, or blocking - whenever it’s not too dangerous for him to block the barrage of attacks from the two assassins. Noembelu’s fast and cruel attacks were more dangerous, but Santamu’s strong and long ranged attack was not much less dangerous than her partner. The combination of both assassins’ attacks kept him busy and was rather hardly tried to counter attack.

He ducked under Santamu’s spear swing, and was pressed to teleport away from Noembelu’s twin hatches. He materialised behind Santamu and sent in a punch, elbow to the side, and sweep kick. Santamu fell, but she swung her spear in full circle, and nearly caught Dragon’s leg had he not jumped back.

Noembelu’s twin hatches were not far. As he landed, she swung both hatches in x-cross slash. Dragon sidestepped and the blade passed safely just a few millimetres from him. Noembelu continued with full circle slashes, but Dragon blocked her arms. He then rammed his shoulder to her side, pushing Noembelu away.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Cammy being juggled viciously by Juli. Then, he felt an attack coming, Santamu’s spear was thrust toward his chest, but he managed to stop the thrust by catching the flat sides of the blade with his palms, just a few inches from his chest. Still holding the spear on the blade part, he swung the spear up and down to blocked Noembelu’s hatches, and kicked her away a couple of steps before diverting the spear to the side as Santamu pushed her spear hard.

He released the spear’s blade part, spun so that his front paralleled to the spear’s wooden part, and caught it with both hands. He channelled his chi to his hands and lifted the assassin with her spear. Caught surprise, Santamu didn’t have time to react before Dragon start spinning around and around in full circle with her on the butt end of the spear. She refused to let the spear go, which made her partner unable to attack because the spinning was so fast. Instead of ramming her to the floor, Dragon threw her away toward the unaware Juli who was about to apprehend Cammy. The two assassins collided and were thrown to the wall. Juli was dazed, but Santamu was down for count.

Dragon felt something coming toward him. He raised his left hand to block and felt an intense pain. It was one of Noembelu’s hatches that bit his arm. He gritted his teeth to suppress the pain as Noembelu retrieved her hatch by pulling the string attached to it. Blood flowed slowly from his wound, so he ripped what left of his t-shirt and bound the wound with it.

Noembelu charged toward her opponent and Dragon released Hi Hadokyu (Fire Wave Ball) toward her. As expected, Noembelu leapt to avoid the projectile. She sent a hatch toward Dragon, which was deflected with amazingly accurate timed kick. She was surprised with the counter, but she suppressed the attack and launched the other hatch.

Dragon stepped to the side and the hatch passed harmlessly. He launched a high kick as soon as Noembelu - still in mid-air - was in range. The kick caught her leg and she was flipped about two hundred degrees and fell on her left shoulder. Luckily for her, the fall was not too high, so that she did not break her shoulder. The fall, however, did stun her so that Dragon was able to kick off one of her hatch. He kicked the hatch hard enough to break the string and out of reach.

Noembelu was up again, and swung her hatch sideways. It almost caught Dragon’s abdomen as he leaned back. Just before she managed to sent another slash, he stepped in so quick like an arrow and close enough that she won’t be able to use the hatch effectively. He grabbed the arm that held the hatch and gave a push with his shoulder on her chest.

She lost her balance with the push and was unable to defend herself from the incoming heel of the palm on the chin, and an elbow jammed to her abdomen. Dragon released his hold, crouched down, and…

“Hyaa !!”

Using his lighting fast kick technique Moeru Futago-geri (Blazing Twin Kick). He kicked Noembelu on both of her shoulder. Two sickening crack sounds were heard, indicating the broken shoulders. She screamed in pain and let go of her hatch.

Soft at heart toward women and not wanting her to suffer the pain so much, he hit her back of the neck and sent her to blackness.

(In that place that no one likes...)

The two raven-haired warriors stalked carefully in the near-darkness, soundless and almost undetectable to the human eye. Both had been trained extensively in stealth and had avoided all the creatures that wandered these halls thus far. With one of them on each side of the hallway, both made their way along as quickly as possible, looking into the windows of the various holding chambers for Iwa and Kumori. Astaroth knew where ShockWave was, had he not been moved yet, and unfortunately, it was at the end of the corridor. Teleporting there would both drain his energy further and possibly alert someone of their presence with it's energy spike, so the only option was to do this the old fashioned way.

He noticed Jin stopping at a door, peering in and soon motioning for Astaroth to come. Apparently, he had found them. Opening the door with a creak that caused Astaroth's jaw to tense and Jin to look around momentarily, they slowly walked in. The sight that greeted them was Iwa and Kumori lying unconscious, drying blood trailing from their noses, ears and some from their mouths. This was less than ideal, Astaroth thought as he and Jin each lifted and carried one of the women out of the cell, shutting the door carefully as it was before. Hopefully, ShockWave would at least be conscious and walking...

Astaroth briefly eyed Jin, who had Kumori laying over one shoulder, arms dangling as he held the back of the knees with one hand. "I do hope he didn't carry my sister like that..." Astaroth briefly thought as he carried Iwa in a more traditional, gentlemanly manner, despite it requiring both hands. Making their way to the end a bit more slowly now, they finally made it to the last cell. Astaroth peered in and exhaled very quietly in relief to see that ShockWave had yet to be taken anywhere. Jin, having a free hand already, opened the door slowly and carefully, hoping this one wouldn't creak so bad. Fortunately, their entry was quiet.

Quickly and carefully, Astaroth laid Iwa down while he removed the heavy chains from the still unconscious ShockWave, while Jin kept watch at the door. With ShockWave now free, Astaroth placed a hand on both him and Iwa as Jin left his spot at the door, closing it, both preparing to teleport. The only problem was, this was going to take more time and energy than either liked. Taking three people with them wasn't an easy task.

Suddenly, the door being knocked off its hinges broke their concentration. Several large, reptilian creatures stormed into the room, followed by an only slightly smaller skeletal creature with the skull-like head of a goat, donning a long, black robe and carrying a somewhat short staff. One of the reptilian creatures rasped in a voice almost unintelligible, "I told you I smelled other humans..." The last word was said as if it were a curse.

Jin silently cursed, narrowing his eyes and quickly placing Kumori on the ground. He glanced at Astaroth, who gave him a slightly frustrated look in return. Jin then eyed their opponents as Astaroth did the same.

"Ixiataaga..." Jin said quietly.

"And more than a few Fydakzhs..." Astaroth added and paused, "I believe a good Earth expression for this would be 'we're in deep sh*t'..." he said, keeping his voice in usual monotone.

"No kidding..." Jin muttered as the one dubbed Deathlord Ixiataaga spoke...

"You're trying to rescue the Essences, I presume? Then you really are traitors...” the deep, rough voice spoke. “Surrender now and perhaps your deaths may be swift and painless..."

"I would think that even you would know better than to ask that of us..." Jin said in a low tone with a hint of an attitude. Astaroth allowed himself the faintest smirk as both men took their respective stances.

"Arrogant, foolish human trash...” the elite warrior sneered. “Prepare to pay the ultimate price for opposing Naar!"

And, without any further warning, Ixiataaga and the Fydakzhs attacked...

(After a big big battle)

They stepped out of the secret base from the sewer pipe. Ryu still quite fresh from the fight, and running. He took down three, or two and a half of the dolls, since Juli could not fight much more after being rammed with thrown Santamu.

Ken and Chun Li, although not as fresh as Ryu, were still look better than the three others and held the rear of the group. Cammy - still unconscious from the injury in the fights with the killer dolls - was carried by Ryu on his back.

Dragon came out after Ryu while helping Guy who was injured on his leg. Both fighters looked worn down from the fight.

“Finally. I thought I’d never see the end of that sewer.” Said Ken as he stepped out.

“Don’t fret, Ken, it helped with our escape, you know.” Said Chun Li. She sniffed at her arm. “I’m gonna need the longest bath in my entire life when we get back.”

“Well, let’s get going then, our friends must be worried sick.” Said Guy.

And with that, they all walked, limped or were carried towards the direction they hoped their friends would be found in...

Jin exhaled sharply as the air was forced from his lungs, due to him hitting hard against the rough, stone wall. This was all courtesy of a single blow from Ixiataaga's fist. He growled just slightly and dodged a clawed swipe from a single Fydakzh, the creature’s claws digging into the stone where Jin's head had been a split-second before.

Jumping up and kicking the Fydakzh in the face with enough force to successfully knock it back, he landed and threw his body low, sensing the swipe of the Deathstaff whistle dangerously past his head as he avoided the would-be fatal strike. For a slightly tired person fighting two very strong Fydakzhs and one of Naar's most deadly warriors, he wasn't doing too badly.

Astaroth, on the other hand, had more than his fair share of trouble. With at least seven Fydakzhs all trying to attack him from close range, he was receiving as many blows as he was blocking. Not to mention, he had to keep the ugly, violent things away from his temporary charges, being the one nearest them. Finally, when he received a rather hard strike to the jaw, that would likely leave a nasty bruise, he'd had enough...

"I'm becoming a bit annoyed with you damn beasts..." he muttered as he summoned his Nodachi, quickly sinking the blade into the forearm of the Fydakzh nearest to him that was about to strike, causing the creature to shriek as the edge slid across its bone before being withdrawn. The Fydakzh's successful attacks became less and less frequent as Astaroth began fighting more viciously with weapon in hand, forcing them to back off some. Growling at him, they encircled him, each eager for a chance to strike. Astaroth fended off one attacking from the front, but just as he did two more attacked, one from the left side and the other from behind.

Astaroth gritted his teeth hard as he ran his sword quickly through the abdomen of the one coming from the left, only to feel razor sharp claws sink into his flesh and drag across his back, the warm, sticky sensation of blood suddenly soaking his shirt. Other than the one who screeched, holding his new injury, all the Fydakzhs made deep, guttural sounds that appeared to be cheering. Astaroth narrowed his eyes and took to being offensive, being unable to afford many more wounds like that...

Jin growled just slightly in effort as he raised his Murasame blade, cutting off the path of Ixiataaga's Deathstaff as it struck it, small shards of energy dispersing from the point of impact. Such a feat wouldn’t have been much of a problem to the Kushina warrior, if it weren't for the spiritual "weight" of the weapon. What would be a normally light weapon was pressing with extreme pressure against his sword, slowly pushing the tide towards Ixiataaga’s favor as the undead warrior pressed onward, a dark chuckle sounding from his non-existent throat.

"You'll lose this, Kushina... you were never good enough to best me..." the henchman remarked.

Jin's eyes flashed momentarily as he raised one foot and planted it solidly against the Deathlord's abdomen, pushing him back forcefully. As soon as Ixiataaga was away from him though, Jin found himself to be the target of two Fydakzhs' quick swipes. To be so slow on their feet, their upper body speed and strength more than made up for it.

He avoided a potentially deadly strike, but had no time to evade the second as it tore across his shoulder, ripping through the black trench coat and shirt beneath it. A painful burning sensation spread in streaks from the source, roaring down his arm, before being followed by the familiar feeling of blood. The attack had penetrated deeper than he’d expected, Jin cursed silently, as he clutched his wounded shoulder. The moment didn’t last long, however, as another attack forced him to duck, ripping the Murasame into a fatal stab through the unfortunate Fydazkh's torso, ripping it out one side and successfully killing the creature as a sickening gurgle bubbled in its throat.

Blood splattered over Jin as his body was suddenly covered in wisps of black fire, the waves of the heat rising off his body and hazing the air around him. If this wasn't enough, the look in his eyes was plenty to show Ixiataaga that he was no longer willing to play around. Apparently, Astaroth was getting fed up as much as him, as his own dark gray, and constantly darkening, aura of flames erupted on three attacking Fydakzhs, sending them reeling back a bit, just enough to give him more room to use his weapon...

(In the woods next to a cabin. SO it doesn't count as another cabin, ok?)

She knelt on the grass beneath the darkening gray-blue sky, gaze cast up and hands clasped before her. She had held this position many times before, but now it seemed increasingly important.

She exhaled quietly, saying an almost silent prayer: a plea, and a question. She was left behind for her own safety, while others were in danger, much worse than even they knew. At least Natalie knew this time could still serve a purpose, perhaps a very important one. Closing her eyes, she continued…

“Will this be where it ends? You’ve brought me so far… Was this where I’m supposed to be?”

A silent answer came to her and her face tilted down. This was the place. This was the time. Everything would happen soon, everything. Her eyes opened slowly, showing sadness, relief, concern and curiosity… and pain.

“Please, protect them. Father, forgive me for any wrong I’ve done against those here with me, and for being bitter in any way. All in all, the time I’ve been here has been… worth while. I have lived, loved, and been happier than I have in a while here… but I’m not sure I have done all I was supposed to. I hope I have. Please God, whatever happens this night, don’t let my life be meaningless. No matter what it takes…”

She took a deep breath, her vision misting slightly, “Help David, Jin and the others save the Essences, and let me do all I can… In Jesus’ name…” she whispered. Then, looking up to the heavens again, her eyes pleaded for something silently, for a certain fate. Exhaling after a long moment, she bowed her head again, “Amen…”

Suddenly, a familiar chill ran from her head and spread through the areas of her shoulders and chest. Her eyes snapped open and her head immediately turned toward the west, where in the sky not too far from her location, an unnatural formation of black clouds was coming together, indigo streaks of lightning swirling about in them. Her eyes darkened with sad discernment, “It’s happening…”

Finally having killed four Fydakzhs and injured most of the remaining ones, and succeeding in keeping Ixiataaga at bay, Astaroth and Jin stood back to back, each in their respective stances with swords in hand. The enraged Fydakzhs and a rather angry Deathlord encircled them and the Essences slumped at their feet. Both raven-haired warriors were injured and bleeding here and there, but both were secretly gathering the necessary energy and concentration for a quick teleport.

What they hadn’t counted on, however, was the intervention of another powerful source.

Suddenly, eyes widening at the sudden mental and physical pain, both nearly dropped their weapons and fought to keep from hitting the ground. The voice that burned into their minds was unmistakable...

"You DARE betray me and expect to live?! Bastard humans!! Learn the price for defying one such as I...”

The pain suddenly exploded, and Astaroth couldn't hold back a scream as he dropped his Nodachi, holding his head as blood began to drip from his nose and fill his ears, the psychic pressure becoming too strong. Jin allowed himself a loud growl in place of a scream as his knees buckled, blood pooling in his ears and hindering his breathing as well.

"Naar..." Astaroth managed to choke out. The Fydakzhs soon laughed in excitement; they knew exactly what was happening...

Astaroth sank to his knees finally, placing a hand on both Iwa and ShockWave. "Jin..." he whispered as the pain increased to an extent that he could no longer breathe. Jin knew what he meant, and holding his prized weapon tightly still, placed a hand on Kumori. He might have screamed at the doubled pain if he could inhale the air necessary to do so. Concentrating perhaps their last bit of power as their opponents suddenly advanced, Jin and Astaroth disappeared, taking the three Essences with them a second before the evil creatures reached them...

Ryu stopped, causing the others to do so as well since he was in the lead. The look on his face was shocked, and strangely apprehensive as he slowly turned to his right, staring blankly into the thick woods, as if trying to see past the dense forest to something on the other side...

"Ryu? What is it??" Chun-li asked, puzzled by his look and suddenly having a bad feeling something just went terribly wrong.

"Can you feel that...?" he asked, in almost a hushed tone. Everyone looked around. Slowly, one by one, they began to aquire the same looks as they could sense an immense, powerful evil, one that dwarfed even Bison...

"What the hell is that???" Ken asked. RD gulped, which was the only sound heard as no one answered.

Finally, his look becoming serious and determined, Ryu again spoke, "I'm not sure... but we have to find the source and stop it before it grows even more..."

Reluctantly, the others nodded, those who were conscious at least. Wordlessly, they began walking towards the source of the evil, unknowing that it was the forming Shadow Gate...

Natalie made her way across the grassy field, having just emerged from the sparse forest. A chilling wind violently whipped at her long, barely damp hair as she stopped before the sight in front of her. She looked up at the dark gray sky: the swirling mass of clouds and energy would be beautiful, if not for the evil it would bring...

As the purplish-blue lightning reflected in her clear blue eyes, she felt a sudden, brief rise of energy just behind her. She spun around, her long hair flowing with the motion and caught once again by the wind. She gasped slightly and her eyes widened at the sight on the ground before her...

Iwa, Kumori and ShockWave all lay unconscious on the ground, and kneeling, seemingly ready to collapse next to them, were her brother and Jin. Both were gasping for air, as if they had been suffocating, and were partially covered in blood, much of which was their own, judging from the long cuts on various places of each of their bodies. She recovered from her shock and rushed over to them, kneeling between them and quickly looking over each of them. Astaroth's eyes focused on her and he seemed as if he had something to say, before his eyes suddenly widened at what he saw behind her.

"No.... how??" he whispered as he saw a ShadowGate was about to come into existence. Jin opened his eyes and lifted his gaze to see what his friend was talking about, his own eyes widening just slightly.

Natalie sighed. "I don't know... it's been forming for 20 minutes now... are they okay?" she asked, bending further to examine Kumori, then Iwa, her brow furrowing at the dried blood and bruises she found.

"ShockWave... will be fine... But they... Naar got to them..." Astaroth said in a hoarse whisper, fighting waves of nausea left over from the intense psychic assault.

"I don't have the energy to heal them all. Natalie thought with worry. How will they fight if I can't?"

A somewhat familiar voice broke her thoughts. "Iwa? Kumori?"

Natalie turned her head to see Ryu, carrying an unconscious Cammy, Chun, Ken, RD, and a visibly injured Guy emerging slowly from the forest opposite where she came in. Looking them over from the distance between them, Natalie felt her heart sink more; there was no way they could fight Naar or even his army with their most powerful warriors injured or out cold...

It would take a miracle.

As Ryu, Chun-Li and the other worried warriors rushed over to their fallen friends, with Astaroth and Jin slowly moving away to give them room and avoid attention for now, Natalie knew what she had to do. She stood while the others were distracted with questions and hesitant answers about what had happened and what was happening now. Walking toward the centre of the field, she stopped at a safe distance from them, staring up at the troubled sky, "I've asked for many things before... but nothing has ever been this important..."

"Who the hell are you anyway?” Chun-Li demanded, her eyes blazing with evident mistrust.

"Listen... we saved your precious Essences... you'd best worry of what is coming..." Astaroth replied, forcing his voice not to sound so weak.

Turning to face the debating, injured group, she dropped to her knees and clasped her hands, eyes closed. Unnoticed by the entire group, she began to pray quietly, yet fervently...

Several moments passed before Ryu Dragon noticed her kneeling in the field. He blinked slowly as he realized what she was doing.

"Hey... guys..."

His first effort was ignored completely as Ryu tried to calm Chun-Li as they and the others tried to revive Iwa, Kumori and ShockWave while she continued accusing Astaroth and Jin. RD tapped Ken's shoulder. "Hey..."

Ken quirked a brow and looked at him. "Hm?"

RD pointed. "Look..."

Natalie's furrowed brow was covered in sweat, her body barely rocking slowly, back and forth as her eyes shut tighter, her lips uttering words unintelligible at a frantic, yet deliberate pace...

Ken's look of confusion stuck as he motioned to the others. "Hey! Guys... what's she doing?"

Finally, everyone else looked on, Chun now ceasing her accusations. "Natalie? I... I didn't even notice her..."

"Is... she praying? Here? Now?" Ken asked, blinking. No one really answered as they all gazed onward, witnessing a faint breeze swirling around her, blowing her hair softly and then more wildly as the power of the winds slowly grew. Small orbs of blue fire and energy in various sizes began to slowly rise from her and the ground, dancing around in an erratic, yet remarkable display.

Astaroth stared at the intensity with which she pleaded: for what, he didn't know. Had he looked, he'd have noticed Jin staring as well, although his expression hid more of the strange awe he, too, felt. All kept watching as the energy increased and began to swirl with the wind to surround her.

She was now visibly shaking, her expression looking as if it pained her to concentrate so much. Her hands were clasped so tightly that her knuckles had paled to white. Her speech was now more audible, but none could understand the language in which she spoke, perhaps not even her. A heavy, powerful, yet not at all evil power hung heavily in the air, radiating from where she was, and for the moment drowning out the evil presence from before.

Suddenly her head whipped back, tilting her face to the sky as the force of the wind intensified and the bright blue, yet ever-paling energy covered her body and gathered it's majority at her back. For a moment, no one could see what it was doing...

She then bent forward, as if the power were far too much yet she could not stop. Every watching eye widened as a pair of glowing, white angel-like wings emerged from her back, clearly formed from the power as they spread themselves out fully. In a near blinding flash, the power that fuelled her manifested itself in one of its most powerful mortal forms...

When everyone could afford to stop shielding their eyes, they saw Natalie standing with her eyes closed, a near white aura surrounding her, new wings folded behind her body, and her hair and clothing ruffling gently in the calming winds. When she opened her eyes, she suddenly looked years wiser. Her blue eyes glowed with an intensity she'd never shown before, yet with a gentle nature even beyond what she'd always held. She looked angelic, yet still human, or perhaps like something different from both...

Jin's jaw slacked slightly as he gazed at the new show of power. Astaroth stared with the rest in complete shock as she smiled softly and glided , rather than walked, towards them. Yet somehow, he knew the power was not hers.

Natalie whispered a few words of thanks to the God she worshipped as she touched her cross pendant. Now, she had more than enough. She knew she could save her energy to fight the battle ahead, but she was not called for that reason. This... this was why she was here... for those that needed assistance when they could no longer rely on themselves or their own power.

She reached them, accepting their stares gracefully. "Relax... " she said with a soft chuckle.

Astaroth blinked a bit, even her voice sounded maturer. She first stood before him, smiling the most confident smile he'd ever seen from her. "It's all going to be fine now..." she said, smiling more as she slowly touched his face, light blue and white energy flickering off her hand and onto his cheek...

It felt like fire, hot but not painful, numbing and chilling at the same time. The feeling spread quickly from his face to cover his body and he shivered just slightly, closing his eyes briefly. Suddenly, all the pain from his injuries ceased, and he looked down to see that even the blood had disappeared.

Jin was to be next, and Astaroth watched, still fascinated, as Jin looked a bit apprehensive, at least to anyone who knew him. He drew back slightly at first as she reached for his face, but finally remained in place as she smiled gently and persisted as she stated, "It doesn't hurt..." with her slight chuckle. The strange look on Jin's face indicated to Astaroth that he had felt the same.

One by one, she touched and healed them all, kneeling and restoring the unconscious Essences last. Each of them slowly woke...

"What... what the hell? Where... who are you?!" ShockWave asked to the strange woman kneeling over him. Even Iwa, Kumori and Cammy looked a bit confused.

Natalie giggled at him. "Shocky... don't tell me you don't recognize me..."

He blinked, squinting a bit and then blinking again in realization. "Natalie...?"

She grinned a bit, nodding as the power began to slowly fade a bit. She felt wonderful, looking at all of them; she felt whole for the first time. Everyone stood to their feet, the Essences all looking warily at Astaroth and wondering why no one was attacking him and Jin. They looked even more confused when Natalie stepped forward and hugged her brother tightly, obviously catching him off-guard by the shocked look on his face.

"Natalie?" he asked very quietly, very uncertain of the reasons for her actions. He hadn't been hugged by her since before he was taken by Naar...

"David... This is it! Why I'm here... I was put here for this moment, to help all of you..." she said, looking up at him with the widest smile. Now, even with the fading wings and faintly glowing eyes, she reminded him so much of the sister he knew in the years before he was corrupted. Giggling again as he slowly lifted one arm and patted her back, unable to respond other wise, she kissed his cheek and let go of him. This left him in an even greater state of shock than before.

As everyone else talked among themselves in amazement or anticipation of the fight to come (as was the case with Ryu, as usual, no matter how grim it may be...), Natalie turned to Jin. For a moment, they just looked at each other, his expression even, yet he inwardly wondered what she was going to do, Natalie bearing the most genuine, happy smile he'd ever seen from her, with no trace of melancholy.

Just as suddenly as she had done to Astaroth, she wrapped her arms around Jin's neck, having to raise herself on tip-toe a little as she hugged him tightly. Jin's eyes widened as he balanced himself, letting his arms remain at his sides, unsure of what else he should do with them. He gulped, just slightly as she pulled back enough to look at him, still overjoyed and smiling. "Thank you..."

"For what...?" he asked.

Her smile softened at this. "For saving me and protecting me... I know you went far out of your way to do so... just to keep a promise. I never could have done this today if hadn’t been for you. You're a far better man than you think or let on, Jin... you really should let that show more often..."

He just looked at her for long seconds, unable to say anything. Finally, when she was grinning at her catching him off-guard like her brother, he said simply, "You're... welcome."

Her arms, still around his neck, loosened as she was about to say something else, when suddenly, the energy from the sky surged and grew abruptly as a flat sphere opened, crackling with the dark power and revealing a void inside. Everyone's attentions were instantly drawn, all with slightly (or very) wide eyes. The second the ShadowGate opened, something jumped through.

And the second whoever it was did, Natalie was jerked with an invisible force backward. Jin instinctively reached for her as her arms slipped from his neck, but his fingers missed her by mere inches.

"Natalie!" Astaroth yelled as she was pulled almost instantly across the two hundred or so feet. Abruptly, she halted just before reaching the Gate, her eyes suddenly wide and her mouth open as if in a silent scream. She stared blankly ahead, and no one could do anything but stare as well in shock, unknowing of what was going on.

Then... the cruelty of the situation made itself known...

The sickening sound of metal sliding against flesh and bone in a very slow pace was heard. Natalie's eyes widened more and a choked sound escaped her throat. Jin and Astaroth were frozen, eyes fixated on her in alarm as blood began to seep through the front of her shirt...

"Oh my god..." Chun-Li whispered as the tip of a black broadsword began to tear through the front of her shirt, very slowly. Another choked word escaped Natalie as half the sword emerged from her abdomen, centered in the split of her ribcage, sending rivulets of crimson cascading down Natalie's clothing...

"NO!!" Astaroth nearly screamed, charging forward at seeing his sister's life about to end, followed quickly by Jin. Both were stopped only ten feet from her as some kind of psionic shield was formed. Beating against the forcefield, Astaroth yelled in desperation, "Natalie!"

An arm snaked around Natalie's throat from behind, followed by a face peering out from behind her head...

"No!! Dammit!!!" ShockWave cursed, seeing the face of his brother's body, still inhabited by Zorkaan. Various creatures enlisted in Naar's army began to emerge from the Gate...

"Miss me?" Zorkaan asked, grinning in a twisted manner at Jin and Astaroth as Natalie's eyes glazed slightly, dimming.

Jin eyes narrowed. "You bastard..." he hissed, his teeth bared as he continued to beat against the forcefield in frustration... and perhaps panic.

Zorkaan laughed. "Naar thought this would be fitting... the girl wasn't going to break anyway and she ruined all the nice wounds Ixiataaga and Master Naar gave you... and besides...” a short pause “this is more than perfect punishment for traitors, to see their reason for betrayal die before them..."

Both Jin and Astaroth beat harder, their powers erupting, despite it having no effect...

Zorkaan’s gaze shifted to Jin at this point. "Why do you fight so hard for this one, Kushina? I've never seen you this way before...” A cruel smile then came into existence. “Hmm... could it be that you love her? Amusing..." the twisted smile seemed to grow as he quickly twisted the sword, causing Natalie's face to twist slightly in pain, a scream catching in her throat, unable to be heard. Her eyes were terribly unfocused...

Jin and Astaroth ceased their actions immediately, hands still pressed against the shield. Jin’s eyes locked onto Natalie's face, whilst Astaroth stared on in horror, as were the rest of the group behind them. Natalie's eyes finally focused on Astaroth first and then onto Jin. As her world began to fade, she smiled, a genuine, relieved, soft smile that didn't quite cover the tears in her eyes...

Both men knew then, that the look in her eyes was goodbye...

"Of course... if you did love her, that's very unfortunate, seeing as how she's dying and all..." Zorkaan added before laughing and ripping the sword from her, a streak of red following it. As he laughed, he prepared to let her go... only he noticed her hands gripping his forearm. His laughter stopped when he felt a sudden rise in her power, a very notable rise...

"What're you...?" he barely had time to finish his sentence before the remains of the energy from before re-manifested in a bright surge of energy. He tried to shove her off of him in a panic, yet she held on ferociously, keeping her steady gaze on Jin and her brother...

"I'm sorry..." she mouthed silently as tears spilled over her cheeks and to the sad smile she still wore. The flames' color went from blue to pure white in a blinding, prolonged flash. Astaroth screamed his protest as they were momentarily blinded, with Zorkaan heard screaming behind the dissipating shield...

A circular wave of white energy spread from where Natalie and Zorkaan were with a deafening thunder. It hit Jin and Astaroth first, knocking them both to the ground. Astaroth gasped, it was the same feeling as when she healed him... only multiplied. And with the energy, her voice spoke in his mind...

"I'm sorry... I love you, brother..."

Astaroth felt an unfamiliar burning sensation sting his eyes; all he had ever wanted to save had just been lost...

Jin was hit with the same feeling of the familiar power as the wave hit him, and was further shocked when he heard Natalie's voice speak to his thoughts.

"Thank you again... I'll miss you... regardless of what it really was, I did care about you, Jin..."

The wave kept spreading, hitting everyone in it's path and staggering them, leaving the heroes with whispered goodbyes and leaving Naar's invading horde momentarily writhing and recoiling in pain from the pure power.

In a corridor in Bison's secret base, Zuke suddenly stopped. His (color) eyes were wide as they turned to stare at Nis-Nis beside him, who held the same shocked look.

"Natalie..." he said quietly. Nishoku looked down, perplexed, "But... it wasn't her time, was it?"

"I think she just let it be her time..." Zuke whispered, eyes dimming slightly. Nis-Nis' eyes darkened as she stared at the floor, "She, at least, deserved more."

Looking back up with determination and an uncharacteristic seriousness, she began running down the hall again, "Come on, we have a job to do..."

Wordlessly, Zuke followed...

Guile's eyes widened slightly as Natalie's voice whispered in his mind, something about her being sorry for being mean and goodbye. He looked around the dimly lit room that had them each chained, hands and feet to the wall, wondering if he were hearing things.

Only Volpe held a look of shock, and seriousness... the very, VERY unusual expression showing he must've heard something similar. Everyone else just stared at them, some looking a bit uneasy. Guile swallowed, attempting to stop the tightening in his throat as he felt an undeniable sinking feeling that something bad had just happened...

Jin's eyes opened wide as the light disappeared, and he immediately sat up and looked at the spot where she was... only to find her gone completely. Shadow's Dragon's now unconscious, yet unharmed and thankfully uninhabited body lay several feet away... and all that was left in the spot on the ground where she had been was her cross pendant, lacking the cord...

Then, it hit him... she had hugged him. She was right there. He could've held onto her with only one arm and she'd be alive... but he never held her at all and she'd slipped out of his reach before he could realise the mistake...

Her final words continued to echo within his mind, an influx of emotions swirling through him. Zorkaan had been right, he realised. While it might not have been love, as far as he was concerned, a part of him couldn’t deny the fact she’d meant something to him. He looked briefly over at Astaroth, whose eyes were hidden by his bangs due to his head tilting down, his breathing irate and wisps of grey, strangely fading to a reddish tint, rising off his body. Staring back at the dark army before him, which was beginning to slowly recover from being stunned, Jin’s eyes began to glow fiercely, normally dormant emotions slowly rising inside himself. Rather than suppress it, as he usually would, the Kushina warrior chose to let it proceed, harnessing his own ki energies as they yearned to be unleashed.

And, as long as Jin and Astaroth had their way, unleashed they would definitely be...

Urien/Meliza/Ayame: same status as last chap, I'd like to have done something with them but was unable to.

Locke/Memphis: Awaiting contact from Bison to rescue Meliza and Ayame.

Crimson/Lilly/Volpe/Guile/Heagy/Dan/Miko... and anyone in there I forget: Currently being held captive, awaiting their fate at Bison's hands.

Bison/his dudes: Happy in their lil' base to have some Essence peeps in captivity and are about to initiate a plan to steal some more from Urien.

Nishoku/Shizukesa: Somewhere in Bison's base, attempting to rescue the Essences.

Naar/his army: His army is currently invading, only a few have made it through and Naar has yet to make any real move, (and could be stopped if the gate happend to close sometime, just thought I'd mention this Shadow Gate is one of the rare pop-up ones if you forget)

Shockwave/Iwa/Kumori/RD/Ryu/Ken/Guy/Chunli/Cammy and anyone else in there I missed: at the location of the ShadowGate, having just witnessed the death of Naar's first victim, and have a nasty horde of uglies coming their way...

Natalie: well... she's kinda dead so you don't have much to worry about there... -_-

Jin/Astaroth: Quite pissed at Natalie's death, they're at the Shadow Gate as well and are more than ready to kill some minions.

Zorkaan:??? Being an unhappy camper, he fled his host body and it'd prolly be a good idea for SD to take advantage of that.

Zero1/Acinomia/Darius and all others I'm missing: Um... I dunno where they are and I apologize for not including them, but about 30 chars is a lot to handle in one chap...