"THEY WHAT?" Urien roared.  

"It’s true boss. The five women are gone. The contact that was suppose to meet them…. was…. knock down by a speeding truck." The spy said nervously. Urien was fuming, he hates it when things does not go his way.  

"Vanessa! Get your people and the hunters, set an ambush for them on this island I want all of them back alive!" With these orders the woman left the room.  
   

------  
   

It didn’t take them long, they were soon sailing towards Twin Towers. ChunLi was standing at the boat’s bow. Somehow Iwa’s edginess and restlessness makes her feel that something is afoot. They are closer to their goals but something feels wrong, maybe Iwa’s lack of caffeine is getting to her as well.  

"Li Jie…I smell an ambush." Yuri said.  

"That would mean that the back part of the island won’t be heavily guarded. We need a diversion." ChunLi said as she turned around.  

"You need some weapons?" Iwa said walking back and forth.  
"Something for Eliza and Yuri." ChunLi had yet to complete her sentence and Iwa was already digging into that seemingly bottomless backpack of hers.  

"So this is where I left the light sabers my pal gave me." Iwa mumbled and continued searching. A little while later she handed a pair of night sticks to Eliza.  

"You do know how to use em do ya?" Iwa asked.  
"As if I don’t. Jane(Guile’s wife) taught me how to used these."  

She handed a staff to Yuri and took out Volume seven of Art of Shotoken, flipped through it for a while and stuffed it into her large vest pocket.  
   

"Can we go now?" Iwa asked strapping her sword to her back, she was getting impatient.  
"Go. We’ll meet you at the main gate." ChunLi said. As she watched Zannah and Iwa leapt of the boat towards the mainland. Eliza navigated the boat around towards the island.  

They knew there would be traps but Iwa found them and set them off deliberately, both finishes off whoever came forward to attack them. As they near the tower a large group surround them.  

"Lousy odds. Just the way I like em." Iwa said. With a yell the both of them went in to do battle. Both of the seem to enjoy the fight.  

"Get the heretic!" Vanessa yelled to her warriors. They all headed towards Zannah leaving Gill’s hunters to deal with Iwa.  
   

<  The blood lust is getting to her again. If this keeps on she would snap in no time. > Zannah thought, noting the crazed look on Iwa’s face.  

Zannah focus on her own battle. At this point in time, Iwa was slowly losing it, her thoughts are of the battle at hand. And then something in her mind snapped, with a roar she begins attacking with a ferocity unseen before. Even Zannah made sure she kept out of the way.  
   

----------  
   

ChunLi and group had made it on to the other side of the island. The trip was a smooth one, other than the usual patrol guards there weren’t anyone else so taking them down was a breeze. At the main gate there were only two bored guards.  

"Hi boys. Where’s everybody else?" ChunLi asked surprising the guards. They moved towards her only to be knocked unconscious by Yuri and Eliza who dropped down on them.  

"We go in now?" Eliza asked.  

"No we wait." ChunLi and gang faded into the forest.  

It took a while when Zannah appeared.  

"What took you so long?" Eliza asked  
"Where’s Iwa?" Yuri asked.  

"She went berserk again." Zannah said, thumbing behind her. Iwa appeared, there was a crazed look upon her face as she chased the wild fowl around. ChunLi dug into her vest pocket and took out a can of coffee.  

"Here Iwa. You want this?" She called out. Iwa ran over, snatched the can of coffee and gulped it down.  

"Oh? I’m back?" She said, slightly daze, seeing the wild fowl in her hand she just toss it aside.  
"Let’s go." ChunLi said.  
   

----  
   

It was quiet inside. The gates clang shut once they were inside.  

"There’s a large concentration of ‘qi’ below us." Yuri said. The gang headed downstairs quietly. The room they entered was a circular room. Ryu, Ken and Cole and strung high up in the centre of the room over a lava pit. No sign of Gouki anywhere. They resisted the urge to just rush in.  

<  Strung up like roast chicken in a hawker’s stall.  > Iwa thought.  
   

"Welcome ladies. I have being expecting you." Urien appeared holding Mel with one arm around the boy’s neck. While Gill is behind them at the control panel for the lava pit.  

"MEL!" Eliza yelled.  
"Hi Mom." The boy called back trying to sound brave.  

<<  Mel If you can hear us, I hope you remember Chapter 3 of Inner Circle handbook, first thing first. Yuri?   >>  Iwa sent as she gathered her ‘qi’  

"First give me the book, ChunLi and the kid. Don’t even try any stupid." Urien said, while Gill started lower the three men into lava pit.  

<<  I remember! I’m ready!  >>  Mel answered, closing his eyes in concentration.  
   

"Stop delaying if you want them alive."  

<<  Ready when you are! On Three…. >> Yuri said, her ‘qi’ fully charged awaiting release.  

"THREE!" The two yelled at the same time  

"SHINKU HADOKEN!!!!"  
"HAOH SHOKOKEN!!!!" The two release  
   

Eliza watched in horror as the two powerful blast of ‘qi’ flew ferociously towards her son! This wasn’t part of the plan?! Had these two gone mad as to put the life of her baby at stake!! She knew she would not be able to stop these two.  

For Mel the feeling was like walking against the wind. The ‘qi’ blasts went through him harmlessly as it came into contact with the light blue aura that surrounds him. Mel was not afraid he has the utmost confidence in what his father had taught him.  
   

Behind him Urien was in pain as the force of the two ‘qi’ blast tears through him, as determine as he was to hold on to the boy who is his trump card. But the force and the burning sensation of it was too much even for one like him. The force threw him backwards slamming into Gill. The impact of the landing and remnants of the blast damage the control panel. The three were only about half a meter away from the lava.  
   

Mel ran towards Eliza as soon as he realised that he was free. Eliza was crying when she hugged her baby.  

"Too close for comfort. How could you still be so calm Ryu? Hey! Have you ladies forgotten about us?!" Ken yelled.  

"Would somebody stop gawking and get us down. This ain’t too comfy you know." Cole yelled. Before anybody made a move Gouki made his entrance.  
   

"Where is the book little zasshu (half breed)? " Gouki asked. Iwa reached her vest pocket and took out the rolled up book. Pointing at the book, on it cover the words written on it were: " Art of Shotoken Volume 7."  

Scribble beneath the title was Iwa’s squiggly handwriting: " A.K.A: The Advance Satsui no Hado user manual version 2.0."  

"Prove it that this is the book."  

Iwa flipped the book quickly, Images of moves, passages of description.  

"Give it to me NOW!" Clearly excited about seeing the mysterious book rumored to be lost forever due to the action one of the early masters of Shotoken  
   

"Hey old Goondu(fool). You really want this don’t ya?" A small blue flame ignited from her finger, Gouki sensed that something was wrong.  

"AH HA HA HA! HA HA HA! HEH HEH HEH!" Iwa laughed madly as she burns the book. When the book is but a flaming pile of ashes upon her palm and crushed it with her fist.  

"Now the only person who remembers the contents of this page is me. Heh heh heh. Ai pah mai(wanna fight)?" Clearly she was not afraid of him.  

"Now you face me without the aid of that creature you little zasshu (half breed). This time you will die. RYU! Watch as your beloved Kurayami no Hanayome and your Child of the Psycho Power and Satsui no Hado die before you." Gouki warpped towards ChunLi and Iwa.  
   

"SHUN GOKU SATSU!!!" Pummeling the two within the bright light that blinded the rest.  

"KIKOUSHO!!!" Both master and disciple yelled blasting away Gouki with the large ‘qi’ shield as soon as Gouki’s attacks stop.  

Nobody noticed the two brothers quietly leaving through a secret portal. They would let Gouki do the dirty work here and pick up the spoils of the battle later. Why should they get their hands dirty?  

It didn’t matter if there are two against him, what matters is that as long as he kills the both them. The moves of the younger move in compliments to the witch, whereas ChunLi’s graceful attacks are more in terms of speed and sudden powerful attacks. The little zasshu’s attacks does not have as much grace but makes up for it in ferocious powerful moves and sudden burst speedy combos. The fighting style of the disciple so different from that of the master, but yet both favored kicks over punches.  
   

He knew that if he blocked ChunLi’s attack he would be open to Iwa’s stronger attacks that would sure take time to recover from. He must think of a way to counter them.  

<  But how?  > he wondered.  

<  The Defense in the witch seems perfect and hone, not a single flaw to be made use of…. Ah but the little one’s defense is flawed.   > Gouki thought as he made ChunLi his main target, he noticed that Iwa’s defense has flaws that left the most vital ‘qi’ points open to attack.  

He was tempted to focus his attacks on Iwa but he knew those apparent flaws were meant to trick him into doing so.  

What seems even stranger to him was that the little one seems to always ‘eat’ the brunt of his more powerful attacks against the witch. He knew there had to be a reason and he suddenly realized why.  
   

<  If she wants to ‘eat’ then let her ‘eat’!   > he thought.  

He suddenly turn around and caught Iwa in unprepared  

"MESSATU GOU SHORYU!!!"  

"Arrrggghhhh!!!" The nine hit combo sent her flying across the room, slamming into the wall, seeing that the little zasshu wasn’t moving he turned his attention back to the witch. He was holding her down by her neck.  

"What is about you? That makes you so irresistible to the lad(Ryu) that he won’t accept the true darkness, Kurayami no Hanayome? Is it the power or the rush? Maybe I should try you for myself to find out, you little darashinai onna(slut)!" He leered.  

ChunLi tried to retaliate with punches to his vital ‘qi’ points.  
   

"No use, darashinai onna. For that does not affect me any more. Struggle on my little mesu-inu(bitch). For that will make our union more interesting. What would the seed of our union be like? Would it be more powerful than the little demon(Iwa) you have with the lad(Ryu). And would you be able survive this union with me that other mortal women would have died from? If the rest of you come even a step closer she dies here and now! MWAAA HA HA HA!" Enjoying his victory he has no need to hurry, as the fools would not even try to risk the witch’s life with foolish heroic acts.  
   

All this time ChunLi was thinking fast, she knew ordinary attacks won’t stop Gouki, she noticed that Iwa had shakily got up from the other side, her mind was moving fast, there was one combo where she had tried with Ryu but not Iwa. The result of it was better than expected. There was no time to lose she hope her disciple knows what she’s thinking.  

"KIKOSHO!!" ChunLi blasted him in the face, the impact sent him flying towards Iwa.  

"HAZAN TENSHO KYAKU!!!" Iwa yelled before Gouki could land. The rising stampede of kicks sent him upwards now back towards ChunLi.  

The last combo required pure concentration, one wrong move or the wrong timing could cause major injuries to all three of them. The vein in Iwa’s forehead started to throb madly as she tries the combo that she never even had the time to master.  
   

"DOUBLE DEMONS!!!!" They yelled together gathering the dark ‘qi’ they rushed towards Gouki as he lands.  

Darkness was what Gouki saw as he was stampeded, his mind attack by a flood of thoughts.  

<  Never had I expect that a woman and a mere child would defeat me! The Raging Demon! A warrior of lower ‘qi’ level would have died from this beautiful deadly attack. How could they have learned a move that was from the mysterious volume 7, when in the clan’s history no one has even understand the essence of the move before the book went missing. Where are those two idiot brothers? I will not die here like this. I will have the book somehow. I will have a disciple somehow. I will kill them somehow. I will destroy….  >  
   

The darkness faded Gouki slumped on the ground, battered and bruised, he began coughing blood. He had not expected that the lad had made the mesu-inu so strong  

"YES!!!" ChunLi jumped in joy at the victory. Iwa wiped the sweat from her forehead.  

<  Damn headache is acting up again!  > she thought.  

<  Is this what they call pain? Is this what the call death?….Is this how those who died in my hand felt? Is this the final moment of truth? I will die a warrior’s death. Not choke to death by my own blood. >  
   
   

"You what? After all he did and you….?" Eliza screeched  

"Yeah well his time is not up yet. And to end it now would not be fair to Haru, Kage and Mel." Iwa said  

"What zit gotta do with me Iwa jie?" Mel look up at her.  

"You know when the time comes."  

"Yeah but then he’ll try to kill us straight away." Eliza continued, she just couldn’t understand why they couldn’t finish off Gouki now.  
   

"Okay lah okay lah. You win lah. At most I’ll let him heal in his own time. Then if he die that’s his own pasar(business) already. You happy now?" Iwa said, she has no intention of continuing this debate with Eliza.  

"Kill me and it over with, you little demon." Gouki growled  

"Those are strong words, old Goondu. I will not deny Haru that pleasure." Iwa said.  
   

"Hey! Could somebody get us now instead of gawking at him!" Ken yelled, slightly piss that they had being forgotten again.  

By the time the three men were down, there was no time for celebration as the lava started to overflow, the gang ran towards where they had come from. The tower began to shake as its structure weakens.  

The front gate of Tower B was covered with debris too heavy to be move.  
   

"Haoh Shokoken!" Yuri yelled as tries to blast through the debris, It was only clear out 1/5 of the debris and brought more down from the ceiling. They don’t have enough time to charge and destroy the debris in time to go through to Tower A.  

Iwa began charging but realized that she’s scraping the bottom of her ‘qi’ barrel now she look at ChunLi and Zannah as if seeking permission, both nodded.  

"Stand behind me, everybody"  

"Well you better make it quick! There won’t be much back to stand on soon!" Cole glanced behind nervously at the bubbling lava.  

Closing her eyes in concentration and ignoring the throbbing vein in her forehead, she went deep into her mind to locked door streaming with pure power. The door burst open and she felt pure power coursing through her very being.  

^SOUL EARTH ENERGY…IRE!^ she yelled in her mind, falling back on her primal powers to up her ‘qi’ level to the colourful Illusion Rainbow Energy, the level after the Basics 7 Colour ‘qi’. Colourful wispy strands of energy began to dance around the blue aura that covered her.  

"SHINKU HADO-KIKOSHO!!!" She yelled without even charging, letting the extra-energize fireball fly towards the debris. The blast went through the debris disintegrating every stone and destroying the foundation of Tower A, causing to collapse upon itself.  

The shield like structure of the Kikosho protected the gang from the falling debris. The throbbing of the vein in her forehead became more intense as the injuries she sustained during the fight started to get to her.  

<  Oww. He cracked my rib?  > She thought in a slightly amuse manner.  

When the dust clear, Iwa let the raw power return to chamber of power in her head.  

"I got you!" Yuri supported her  
"Guess you’re not 100% invincible huh." Iwa managed a weak grin as they headed out to the boat as quickly as possible.  
   

Once on board Yuri pushed Iwa into the cabin and sat outside the locked door, she smiled noticing the faint blue light coming from underneath the door.  

"Guys! She be okay in an hour or two!" Yuri said. The gang was relief.  

ChunLi turn around throwing herself into Ryu’s embrace, she finally let the tears she had being holding flow. Hugging him so tightly as if afraid that he might disappear like a dream. He missed her too, during that time he was worried for her as well. He felt proud that she had done so well. No words pass, as none were needed.  

"So Where do you plan to go? I’m calling for a seaplane to fly us back to San Francisco." Ken asked.  

"If you don’t mind we’ll follow you back to San Francisco." Cole said  

"You need a lift back to New York?"  

"We will go back to New York on our own time of course. Since we are not needed at the moment." Zannah said.  

"Yuri? Need to go back to SouthTown? I’ll send Iwa back to her country if need be." Ken asked.  

"Nah. It’s the school holidays back at her place. We’ll go down to Athens and take a tour before going home. I don’t think she want to miss the opportunity for great vacation photos. Thanks anyway. I'll go home. Eventually" Yuri winked.  

"You?"  

"We’ll walk." Chunli and Ryu said together.