Pheonix Wings Ch. 6 - Of Fated Encounters
By Elaine

With a grunt, Akuma fell to the ground. A fraction of a second later, he sprung to his feet to avoid the multiple slashings of the wolf-oni. Amazing. He quickly dodged a fist and slammed his knee into the wolf-oni's side. The wolf-oni recovered in barely no time, responding with multiple hits to his chest. D*mn, she was strong. But no one could be stronger than Akuma. No one... he blocked a blow to his chest and released a ball of qi in the wolf-oni's face, blasting her a few feet away.

The wolf-oni stood up unsteadily and grinned. "Good...just as good as my master said you would be," She charged at him again, healthy and still so strong.

He barely ducked the kick, one that could have taken a normal man's head off. Spinning around, he fired a hadoken into her back, and watched the qi burn heal almost instantaneously. D*mn, he was caught unawares by another roundhouse. It threw him a good ten yards away. He shuddered and tried to regain his breath.

It was a strange feeling, the epiphany. And it struck Akuma harder than any previous blows had in the past. He realized that while he was slowly being worn down, she wasn't. While his body, even with it's essence of immortality was tiring, hers was still as new. And oh, the raw power that issued from her being...He winced in pain as one of her claws dug into his side. With a mighty grunt, he ripped it out. How he hurt, and she still glowed with health. But no...he desperately thought to himself, there was nothing stronger than the Dark Shotokan. Nothing...He found an opening and kicked her away, sending her sprawling.

"You will not beat Akuma," He grunted, charging up for his final move, the move that would definitely destroy her. "No one can beat Akuma," He tensed his legs, waiting for the oni to stand back up. "And no one ever will..."

He threw back his head and roared, flinging himself at her. And time stood still...

"SATSUI NO HADO!" The ultimate technique. The breaker of men. The embodiment of total and complete pain. In split seconds, his fists pounded into her fifteen vital areas.

The final move. The unmaking. The tearing of the fragile fabric of existence. He cried out in a sick joy as it tore through her chest...

Oh, and the blast of pain as he felt his own self disintegrate. This wasn't supposed to happen, his mind screamed as his body became engulfed with flames. But it happened, and he fell back, clutched by the unyielding fires. How they burned, not only his skin, but his inner soul...He fell to the ground, charred and barely breathing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the wolf-oni get up, hole in her chest slowly reforming.

The wolf-oni transformed back to her human form and slowly walked up to his dying body. "My master told me you were strong," She sat down next to him. "My master is never wrong... You have now born the brunt of but a faction of his powers," She stroked his head, and her touch was cool as ice. "Now tell me, are we worthy of your consideration?" She gently touched his lips, and the burning left them.

"I can not leave the Dark Shotokan," he grimaced, it was slightly easier to breath now, he wondered what she had done to him.

"And you will not," she soothed. "All I, all my master asks is that you do not serve it, that you serve the Darkest One of All," She brushed her hands through his hair. "This demon has not served you well, Gouki. You have no more use of it. You have learned all you can and now it is time to move on,"

Oh, how Akuma wanted to reach up and grab her throat, to take her down in that fragile form of hers. But he was barely alive, and he could still feel that enormous power flowing through him...Akuma closed his eyes as his body released an involuntary shudder. Slowly, swallowing his pride, he turned toward her. "I have found you worthy,"

"Good," she smiled, so beautiful in it's coldness. "As my master has found you," She placed her hand over his heart, and he gasped as the cold invaded him, reforming his muscles. And he was whole again, and she was just the beautiful woman he had just met...

"Take my hand," She commanded, and he did. "You were baptized in the fire of my master, and you have come back," She reached up and kissed his forehead. The coldness of that kiss... "I call you, the new King of Ashes,"

*~*~

Guy...guy...

The beautiful voice beckoned to him in his dreams. And the light flowed in from the depths of that voice.

"I am here," he whispered, overcome with awe. The voice filled him so.

Are you ready, young master? Are you ready for your quest?

"Oh yes..." And he was. He could feel his body being carried along. A simple twig in the current.

Then we are ready too. We are ready too.

He stopped. As if the twig had been washed on the shore. And he opened his eyes and could see. All around him was the lushness of newly planted trees. The stream that had carried him here was bubbling merrily in the background. Before him was a woman, a beautiful one. Something drew him to her, and he felt himself taking a step forward.

"Come closer, young master," It was the voice, and in a way, it wasn't. It had been tinged with mortality, making it more wispy. Still beautiful, just less fulfilling.

He walked closer and stood in front of her. She was wearing a copper colored dress which flowed down to her ankles and played along her legs. Her deep purple hair was decorated with an intricate web of bronze threads that extended like a visor to cover her eyes. But perhaps what was the most strange were the deep black wings that protruded from her back. Glossy, they were, and each feather was perfectly in place.

"Are you the voice?" he asked, noting how rough his tone sounded compared to hers.

The woman smiled and nodded. She sat down on the green grass and motioned for him to do so too. "I am a form of it, I suppose..."

"Who are you?"

"So many questions," She gently brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "I am the Raven, the foreseer of change..."

"What?"

She shook her head, motioning that she would speak no more of the subject. "I am here only to prepare you for your journey, Guy," She placed her hands on both sides of his head.

"Thrice be times when thy soul Shall face the wrath of the unknown Thrice be times when thy shall need fight the ones of hate alone

Thrice be times when thoust will need the help of ones under thee And the sky above shall open for thee In times that shall be counted three

Thrice be times that thou shalt meet The Seven of the fabled lore The raven, daughters and sons In threes and threes and one before-"

She looked up in alarm, dropping her hands from his head. "Oh no, they have moved quicker than I thought they would," She hurriedly stood up.

"What?" Guy murmured, confused

"I can not stay for long now Guy," She kissed his forehead. "In your times of most dire need, do not despair, for you shall be saved, whether by yourself or by others...only the Lord of Future knows..." She plucked three feathers from her wings. "When those times come, throw one into the air and our people shall hear your call," She pushed them into his hand.

"But...I don't understand,"

"Head for Nagoya, young master. Ask for the Akadela, they have your wards," She spread her wings and lifted her arms to the crystal blue sky.

"But what is all this about the Seven?" He cried.

"You will know soon enough, farewell!" And she flew off in a burst of wind, knocking him into the stream again.

Only now it was no longer the warm, gentle current he had come from. The waves pulled him under, dragging him to their depths. So dark they were now, like the wings of the raven, and they suffocated him...

He could feel himself drowning, as the cold, cold waters closing around his head, dampening his senses and wearing against his very being. He opened his eyes to perceive, but there was no light in the murky darkness. He needed air, his lungs were burning, but his legs and arms were like lead... unwilling to push him to the glorious world above. Down and down he went, the darkness engulfing him. ...and then, the burning in his lungs became too much. He released the precious air he had been holding...and his mind collapsed into infinity...

Guy sat up suddenly in his futon, panting. What-. He looked around, and realized he was still in his room. So it had been a dream, and only a dream. But how frightening a dream it had been. He reached an arm out to steady himself and found that there were objects clutched in his hand. He looked down, what could possibly be there?

Sitting in his palm, looking impossibly soft, were three feathers, glossy and black.

*~*~

"What is the meaning of this?" Huo snarled, glaring at the dark skinned man sitting at his throne.

"Hmmm?" Syrena got up from her resting place and walked over to the outraged boy-king. "Is something the matter, Huo?"

"Who is this man? And why is he sitting in my throne?"

"Ah yes, Huo. This is the 54rth rendition of the King of Ashes, your replacement,"

"What?" Huo spluttered indignantly.

"Your efforts have been found to be... unsatisfactory in the eyes of our master," Syrena replied. "He has called for one stronger, more skilled,"

"But why?"

"You have failed the master two times, Huo. It is to be expected that he is displeased with you,"

Huo growled at the unwelcome newcomer. How dare they..."You can't do this,"

"Why so ever not?"

"It's against the ancient text," Huo replied. "In order for the King of Ashes to be exempted from his duties, he either has to die from natural causes..."

"Or lose to a challenger," Syrena finished. "We just assumed that he would be able to beat you, Huo. After all..." she shrugged and smiled.

"He won't beat me," Huo scoffed. "I will not have my throne taken from me like this,"

"Then we fight," The newcomer stood up, his new gray black robes swirling around him. "If you wish it so,"

"Then we fight," Huo agreed, confidently. He would slaughter this pretender and drink his blood. Oh, if only he had known...

*~*~

"This is the place?" Chun Li asked, staring at the small hole in the mountain of rock.

"This is it," Gen replied. "I decided to take the back door. We are sort of late and I was afraid they'd already closed the front gate,"

"Are you sure we shouldn't check the front first? Or is it a doggy door?" She squatted until she was level with the top of the entrance. "What am I supposed to do, crawl?"

Gen laughed. "Chun Li, I keep forgetting, you are still young, you have not yet learned that appearances mean nothing,"

Chun Li pouted and crossed her arms. "So what's the idea? Are we gonna shrink or something?"

"No, we aren't," Gen replied. "But a good guess. We merely ask the door to grow for us,"

"Ask the door to grow for us," If only this had been the strangest thing she'd heard all day... "And how do we do that?"

Gen shook his head, still smiling. He motioned for her to move away from the hole. He stood in her place and gently rapped the wall with his knuckles. "The son and daughter of the waters command you to open,"

"Gen, you're talking to a mountain-" she cut herself off as the rock in front of her slowly swirled and melted away, parting to make an opening large enough for many to walk in comfortable "That was freaky..."

"Come on," Gen urged her in. "The son of the waters commands you to close," And the entrance was no more. "This way," he pointed down a narrow hallway. "There we should meet the rest of the Seven...I believe Rose and Yumiko have already informed them sufficiently,"

"Who's Yumiko?" Chun Li asked, walking by Gen. She still wasn't used to seeing him so young.

"The daughter of the fires," Gen replied, face strangely impassive.

"Really? Was she here in the last war?"

"Yes,"

"So you knew her back then?"

"My, you're inquisitive,"

"Answer the question!" Chun Li replied, a smile playing on her lips. If he didn't answer, it meant there was something more to this Yumiko than he was letting on...

"Respect your elders, girl,"

"You aren't older than me anymore, Gen,"

Gen sighed, rolling his eyes. D*mned precocious grandkids. "You'll meet her soon enough, alright? She'll introduce herself then,"

Chun Li hmmphed. She would have wondered longer about what her master was hiding from her, but he had stopped walking. She raised her eyes to behold the cavern of the pheonix. In a decorated pagoda near the center of the cave sat four figures in the shadow. One wearing a golden kimono stood up unsteadily.

"Gen," it was both a greeting and a query, as if the woman could not totally believe her eyes.

"Yumiko, Daughter of the Fires," Gen replied curtly, bowing.

The woman's figure seemed to droop slightly at the formal tone. "The seven are joined at last then?"

"They are," Rose smiled as she alighted in front of the two Chinese warriors. "And they are ready to be anointed,"

And a great rumbling was heard beneath the cave. Yumiko gently lead the other three of the pagoda, but Chun Li didn't notice. Her attention was entirely focused on the now glowing mosaic in front of her, the flames that were creeping up from the floor. Slowly and steadily, the flames crept into the center of the mosaic, converging into one translucent ball of light. And the light spread till it took the shape of a resting bird...

"The Daughter of the Sun,"

And the bird spread it's wings and they watched as each wonderful feather lost it's glow, only to have it replaced by the vibrancy of the purest reds and golds. The bird opened it's eyes, and the warriors were met with two opaque spheres of liquid gold. Their souls were opened... and in a song that seemed to stretch out from infinite spaces and back, the pheonix sang.

Welcome...