Tawnya Blaze lay still on the street with her long dark hair sprawled across her face. Her body was twisted at an awkward angle, hiding the broken bloodied neck that had caused her death. Ryu would have liked to see whether her expression was peaceful, and whether her lids were closed, but he shook on his knees, his hands trembling. He felt empty, as if someone had ripped his heart out to save him from feeling. Ignoring Sakura’s gentle mumblings, he leaned forward on all fours, mustering the strength to crawl towards the body.
Gingerly tracing the scar on Tawnya’s arm with a finger, Ryu felt his breath catch. Its bumpy texture was the same as the thick lines around his own heart. His name was marked on her body, just as Akuma’s evil marked him. A judder of air escaped his mouth as he stifled a cry. Her skin was growing cold.
“No,” his mouth trembled, as he tried his best to control his emotions. “No, this is another illusion. It has to be.”
He bowed down, wrapping his arms around Tawnya’s body. Biting his lips, he closed his eyes against the image of Gouken, cold and dead, in his arms. His heartbeat quickened at the mere thought of someone else dying because of him. His pulse throbbed in his ears.
“Emotions,” Rose’s voice echoed, “weaken a fighter.”
His jaw knotted at the familiar words.
“And compassion,” she said, standing still with her hands clasped against her chest, “is a weak emotion.”
“You have conjured this...” Ryu gasped, fighting back the tears. “...this is fantasy...to make the Dark Hadou reignite in me.”
Rose’s gloved fist shone bright blue, making her smile gleam. Her eyes pierced at him with total satisfaction just as though she had been waiting for this moment. Looking at her, Ryu suddenly felt something alien from the Dark Hadou. A dark power emanated from her. It was the very same sensation he had once felt coming from Tawnya. He lowered his eyes, thinking of how the Dark Hadou had cost Tawnya her life. He grabbed his chest, tracing over the scar, feeling sick.
“Mystic Rose,” he said in almost a whisper. “You saved me from being swallowed by the Dark Hadou before. You were my last hope, stopping me from advancing for my own protection...you and Tawnya...” he stuttered, unable to look at the body behind him, “...I was expecting someone else.”
Rose stood tall. The yellow scarf spiraled around her like a protective shield. Her smile drooped, as she tried to read Ryu’s thoughts, but her expression showed a disturbance by another source.
“We were here before, Rose, but you were on my side.”
“You see your force of destruction,” she pointed elaborately at Tawnya’s dead body, the yellow scarf hanging off her arm. “Tawnya Blaze was just a mere pawn.”
“No, no, this is all wrong--” he tried to argue, but felt a harsh twinge in his chest.
The yellow scarf glowed blue as hit after hit of electricity screwed into him like a drill. Ryu stumbled back, dizzied. He blocked her high kick with his forearm, stepping sideways to evade her spinning punch. He felt short of breath. It was a struggle to remove all the negative energy that he was surrounded by, but he knew he had to fight it out of him.
“Fight against your emotion,” Rose said, her sharp eyes glinting. “Don’t let it slow you down.”
She laughed, moving so swiftly that four identical silhouettes materialized from her body. Ryu shook his head, trying to break out of this distorted vision, but no matter where he turned, identical pairs of eyes overwhelmed him.
He smashed his forearms together, blocking a spiral of kicks that attacked him from all sides. The color yellow blinded his sight as the scarf whipped around with her movements. He felt his world spin and tilt, almost placing him in a state of hallucination. Ryu growled, keeping his fist close to his face to evade the scarf, but its light touch caused his entire body to shake with electric shocks. He suddenly roared, his eyes wide with tears. She forced the pointed heel of her shoe into the open knife wound on his thigh.
He grabbed Rose’s leg and pulled her to the ground, but her body sprang right back up.
“Soul Spark!” she commanded, throwing three small fireballs from the tail of her scarf.
Ryu jumped into the air, his palm filled with the same blue energy.
“Hadou-ken,” he cried, aiming his own large fireball to make it consume the others.
“Reflect,” Rose yelled, thrusting the scarf over herself for protection. The fireball crashed against the satin, then bounced back to him. With widening eyes he rapidly rolled to the ground. Ryu launched a kick to Rose’s shin before springing onto the base of his toes to evade the attacking silhouettes. Retreating back, he let his guard drop upon seeing a gray figure looming like a shadow behind her.
“Rose...” he warned, but he was greeted by a haughty laugh.
Bringing her hands together, she formed two small energy balls that undulated through the scarf in a tranquil, undisturbed state.
“Our physical form is merely the outer expression of our true self,” Rose said matter-of-factly, playing with the energy balls that danced around her. “It is a matrix of universal energy.”
She let the balls go, sharply thrusting the scarf outward. He sidestepped them, then dashed forward, using his strength to throw her over his shoulder. As she hit the ground, he was sure he saw the ethereal shadow again.
“The battle within,” he said, holding her down, “is the fight between heart and soul, good and evil. You know this better than anyone, Rose.” He held his hand out to her and she took it, lifting her to her feet.
“We are all beings of energy in a physical shell, and the most powerful energy is our thoughts,” she responded softly, listening to the sound of her own voice. “Mental energy can create our own heaven and hell.”
Rose stumbled back, suddenly dizzy from the fight. Lights flickered before her like dots that appeared and disappeared, all in the blink of an eye. With a gaping mouth, Rose looked around her, distracted by a buzzing sound that was irritating her ears. She held her head tightly for a second, unstable on her heels. A tarot card slipped from inside her arm, displaying a picture of a troll devil. The corners were frayed with smutty finger prints that could only belong to her.
“Sometimes,” Ryu said, keeping his distance, “the most important battle is the battle within...”
He dashed forward, catching her in his arms before she fell. He pressed his forefingers against her temple and felt a hint of electricity on contact.
“No,” she gasped, her body bent backwards against him.
“I see a shadow while you fight,” Ryu informed her, pushing his finger and thumb harder on her forehead. A small white glow escaped her. “You can’t seriously think these illusions will fool me.”
Rose pushed herself off him, her hair considerably more tussled than its usual perfect coiffure. Her head hurt, aching from the pressures of an evil presence in it. She couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but felt her mind burning with images of a strange scene she had visited before.
She looked around and found herself standing alone in a canyon. Her heart pulsed harshly knowing she was close to the source, an incredible aura that was tainted with dark power and malicious intent. Upon seeing a shadow-like figure entering her soul, she screamed a scream of death.
“ROSE!” Ryu yelled, jumping to her aid. She shrieked, grabbing her head in a stranglehold.
“I feel it too, Ryu,” she muttered in between harsh breaths. Her eyes were squeezed shut. “My mind...my head...it’s inside me.”
She clutched her chest, leaned forward, and groaned. A fog of white light escaped from her mouth.
“He’s been in me,” she struggled to say, “...all this time. The power, I feel...great evil.”
“Rose, what’s going on?”
“The Soul Power has been disturbed,” she responded in fear, with sweat rolling off her brow. “I felt the balance of the ki shift towards evil. I sought the source of the evil, but then that source consumed me.”
With glowing f
ingers, Rose touched the tip of her temple, screaming again to try to expel the evil energy out of her. She closed her eyes and saw heavy swirls again, forming the shape of the demon that was trapped inside of her. She staggered forward, balancing the fall with her right leg, then she looked at Tawnya.
“I have the gift of premonition, and have accepted the responsibility imposed by this gift. I’ve vowed to continue on the path to destroy evil, even if it means sacrificing myself, but now I have gone against my words and have sacrificed another.”
Ryu looked up with his eyes red. “You were controlling her?” he said unevenly.
“He used my Soul Power against me. He used me to control a weaker being.”
Ryu looked around him but saw nothing but darkness.
“Ryu,” Rose said, her voice unusually fearful. “Do not be tempted by the powers of the Dark Hadou. Keep free and be willing to use your natural strength with your mind and soul.”
“Mystic Rose?” Ryu gasped, recognizing her true voice.
A shadowy figure loomed behind her. It appeared smoky gray for a moment, then camouflaged into the dark backdrop that continued to confuse his senses.
“A life shrouded in darkness,” she said with the yellow scarf wilting at her side, “is spent searching for the light...”
“Foolish psychic,” an echoed voice exploded.
Rose fell to the ground. Her head burst with pain from the invasion of his harsh essence.
“Weak bodied, weak minded.”
Ryu drew his palms inches apart to rouse the Hadou-ken, and this time the fusion of sparks collided in a concoction of red and orange. His neck muscles strained and his biceps bulged with the fireball growing larger and larger in his hands.
“Agggh!” he screamed, releasing the mid-sized ball onto the gray shadow. “There you are.”
Akuma’s body appeared, smoky and intangible, the dark soul releasing itself completely from Rose’s body. The dreadful symbol of the kanji “ten” blazed on his back like fire as a reminder of his dreadful presence.
“I’m ready for you, Akuma,” Ryu said calmly, regaining a refined sense of clarity in his presence.
“If you insist on speaking,” Akuma began, his voice coarse and rugged, “...do so with your fists.”
*****
Chapter 36:
天
Street Fighter: Dream Never Ends Page 44
