Meliza felt herself slip to a state of consciousness. She felt weak, dizzy…

Something was moving underneath her. Rather…she was lying on something that moved. She forced her eyes open, her lashes fluttering as she struggled to focus on a point in her line of vision. The sky was cast with gray and orange. Was it sunrise? She wasn’t sure how long she had been out. What happened?

She remembered going with Lilly, Yang, and Victoria on the search for Kay, Zero1, and Crimson. Locke had captured them. Locke…

Meliza moved her head several inches, seeing the driver of the vehicle from her position. The dark hair with blond streaks was all too familiar. Beside her, Kay Lee was very still, his breathing pattern indicated he had been knocked out as well. Then there was that exotic-looking woman who also lay unconscious. Women’s intuition told her that Locke was heading for trouble…

******************

“Any luck?” the Bushin ninja asked.

Cody, Yun, and Shockwave met up with Guy after they had split up to search for the missing others.

“Nothing,” Yun confirmed.

“No one’s seen anything?” Cody pressed.

Shockwave shrugged. “I asked around. People haven’t seen any of them for days…”

“Now what?” Yun asked.

Guy frowned. “All we can do is wait. Let’s go back to Fighter’s Inn and wait for the others.”

******************

“Now where?” Chun Li turned her head slightly to look at Ayame, who sat quietly in the backseat.

“Just another few miles. Kay is close. I can feel him…” the young woman responded.

“Will this take long?” Miko spoke up.

“Depends how much damage control we have to do,” Chun Li responded.

“A great experience awaits us!” Volpe exclaimed. “Why not embrace the opportunity and enjoy it?”

Ayame shielded her eyes as the sun rose high in the air. She hoped they would get there in time…

*****************

“Any idea where we’re going?” Ken spoke up. “Or if we’re getting close?”

“We’ll be meeting Chun Li and the others soon. Thanks to someone, she’ll come here with reinforcements,” Ryu responded.

The wind whipped through his dark hair as Ken drove the vehicle at a high speed.

“Hope your ears are ready for her tongue-lashing,” Iwa replied.

Kumori giggled at Ryu’s frown.

“Facing the wrath of a woman is never pleasant, Ryu,” Ken warned.

“I get the feeling you’ve done it several times,” Ryu commented wryly.

“What makes you say that?” Ken asked, wide-eyed.

*****************

“Surrender. You’ll only make yourself suffer more if you continue on,” Vega warned. Then the Spaniard smirked. “But then again…I am enjoying this immensely…”

Victoria brought her fists up. No sign of Kay, Crimson, Zero1, or Meliza. Yang and Lilly had gone off to face Balrog. She and Vega were still continuing their fight.

Vega suddenly jumped into the air to land on a branch. Using it as a spring, he hurled himself towards her, his fist extended. Victoria jumped to the side in the nick of time, causing Vega to tumble forward.

“Impressive reflexes…” Vega murmured.

*******************

Lilly looked at Yang’s still form before turning her attention to Balrog. She was determined to finish this.

Balrog rushed forward, his fist prepared to strike. Lilly executed her Creeping Sonic Wave attack. Unable to stop his momentum, Balrog received the attack square in the chest. He fell backwards slightly.

The boxer was big in size and strength, so her best bet was to play defensively and counter his moves. Clearly, this would be no easy task. He towered over her nearly a foot.

*******************

Zero1 scowled fiercely. It had been quite a while since he woke up and quite a while since Crimson didn’t wake up. How long did it take a guy to wake up, anyway?

Zero1 shifted his weight and moved Crimson to his other shoulder. The man wasn’t getting any lighter. He trudged through the foliage and watched as Vega had been slammed against a tree by Victoria. The Spaniard crumpled to the ground in defeat.

“Not bad,” Zero1 commented. “Not bad at all…”

Victoria turned to him. “You’re all right!” she pointed at the unconscious fighter. “What about him?”

Zero1 shrugged. “He’ll wake up. Sooner or later. Koh put something strong in our systems…”

As if on cue, Crimson groaned and stirred slightly. Victoria hurried over and helped Zero1 with Crimson’s weight.

“Let’s go find Lilly and Yang…” Victoria stated.

The three slowly moved.

*****************

When he felt that he had driven an appropriate distance, Locke pulled over and stopped the car. He turned slightly to view the backseat where three of his captives all lay very still, breathing quietly.

Acinomia could be quite useful because of her incredible power. No doubt Bison had noticed her potential when she had killed the Essence of Death, Crista Smith. Kay Lee was a valuable asset as well. He was an Essence, after all. The assassin’s eyebrows drew together briefly. And as for Meliza…he wasn’t entirely too sure what possessed him to bring her along as well. But he knew that if he hadn’t, she probably would have spoiled his plans. The woman had a knack for throwing his plans off balance. She was probably like that in everything she got involved in…

Dismissing his wayward thoughts, Locke climbed out of the car and inspected the area. He had found a small cave where they could hide while he decided which plan to carry out. He could hide the car under brush. At some point, he’d have to go back to civilization. He’d need equipment to deal with his former employer…and maybe some food for his hostages. But for now, with so many people in the vicinity, it would be best to wait things out. Besides, he would have more time to prepare.

When he got back to the car, he was surprised to see that one of the doors had been opened. Cursing, he hurried over to find a lone person lying in the backseat, unconscious. Locke expelled a breath of impatience before tying Acinomia securely to the vehicle before searching for the missing Meliza and Kay. They couldn’t have gotten very far…

******************

“You doing okay?” Guile asked.

Natalie lay on the sofa, her eyes reflecting a deep pain and weariness. “I just need a while to get my strength back.”

“Mind telling me what’s going on?” Guile pressed.

Natalie glanced away. “I’m sorry…I wish I could explain it…I…I don’t understand it myself…”

“Take your time…” Deep down, he was worried. He had never seen such havoc. Her bathroom was a mess. And it wreaked of an unidentifiable…aura…of something…destructive…and dangerous.

******************

Balrog dashed forward, fists up, ready to strike. Lilly did her best to avoid his attacks. Victoria, Crimson, and Zero1 arrived at the scene to find an unconscious Yang lying on the ground.

Balrog punched at chest level, but Lilly sidestepped and struck with her palm to his midsection. It did little damage, for he was able to swing at her, causing her to fall backwards.

Lilly rose to her feet. She and Balrog circled each other. Suddenly, Lilly ran forward, jumping in the air. Balrog leapt as well to meet with her, but got struck multiple times with Yin chi that swirled around her.

She landed several feet away from Balrog.

“RAISHIN-MAHKEN!!” came a cry.

Victoria, Zero1, and a slightly awake Crimson watched as Yang dashed past Balrog, hitting a pressure point in the boxer. The boxer fell to the ground.

Yang panted for breath, smiling weakly as Lilly embraced him for a job well done.

Suddenly, the sound of two vehicles entered their ears. The five looked around. Relief spread over their faces as the drivers of the two vehicles greeted them with waves.

“You doing okay?” Chun Li asked.

“We’re alive,” Zero1 commented. “But…that assassin still has Kay Lee. He took Meliza, too…”

“Where’s Kay now?” Ken asked.

Victoria focused her thoughts, trying to find their missing comrade. “He's...he’s…not awake anymore.”

“Is he still…?” Ryu started, not knowing how to finish.

Ayame bit her lower lip.

“We’ll keep looking,” Chun Li stated firmly. “They couldn’t have gotten very far.” She cast a speculative glance at Ryu. “Do your best to take care of her this time…” she gestured to Iwa with her chin.

Ryu smiled sheepishly.

“We splitting up?” Ken asked.

Chun Li nodded, pointing. “You go that way. Take these three with you. I’ll take Lilly and Yang.”

*****************

Meliza closed her eyes, trying to calm her breathing. She had done the best she could in dragging Kay Lee by his upper torso into a hiding place. That exotic-looking woman in the back seat had laid her head close to him as possible. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think that woman was tied to Kay somehow.

The most important thing was to get away from…him. She’d like to think that she was getting away because he was capable of killing her. Intuitively, she knew that he wouldn’t do it. That alone…was a puzzle itself.

Suddenly, she let out a loud gasp as she felt herself being dragged to her feet. An arm wrapped in front of her neck and a strong hand gripped her wrists, pinning them to her lower back.

“You put up good effort, although it was useless…” a voice said quietly in her ear. Its tone revealed no emotion, yet it was chilling all the same.