June 16, 1999

"...and although no one would have believed it all these months ago, I found that these two would make a marvelous couple, and that's something which stayed with me and which I'm pretty gratified to see come through today. I offer my sincerest congratulations to the newly weds here present, and I wish them happiness - Lord knows they earned it!"

There was a round of applause from the tables about the reception room, heartfelt and full of energy, as Alex Strongarm seated his massive, elegantly-dressed six and a half frame onto his seat, after giving a smile to the people around and a far less formal, jovial 'thumbs up' sign to the groom, who answered with a wink and a grateful smile. Cammy, the bride, was herself favored with a teasing smirk, and she'd nearly blushed at the slight innuendos being conveyed. Everything was going so fine, so perfectly well.

Just like the wedding had been.

Used to wear military uniforms, SCD attack suits and a variety of things suited for combat, she'd felt almost foolish, wearing the admitedly beautiful but intricate white wedding dress. Not only that, but she'd also had to fight down a very mundane but personal terror. A wife. She was about to become a wife today. It had taken Ibuki, her chosen maid of honor, a good while to calm her down. But she'd been ready by the time the ceremony had begun, and had been led down the carpet to the altar by an aged but vibrant James Storm, the old man having decided to act as a substitute for Cammy White's unknown father.

At the altar she'd met Jeremy, her soon-to-be husband, being encouraged softly by his best man, Nathan McIntyre. The nervousness she'd seen on his beloved face was so identical to the one she felt that she'd nearly laughed out loud, as the irony of it set in. Here were two powerful fighters, people who'd been through torture, death, terror. Two people who'd fought in street fights and huge battles without losing their cool, facing Shadolaw soldiers and even the great Circle Lord Kale without a blink. And here they were now, scared of being wed. Incredible.

But it had gone well, and as the ceremony advanced, the nervousness subsided, and they'd spoken their wedding vows with heartfelt words. The wedding had been Catholic because of Jeremy's religion. She hadn't minded, for she knew not from what religion she took - one of the many things her time in Shadowlaw had rendered hazy. She remembered she'd however almost sobbed when Jeremy had said 'I do', and she'd had to cough softly before saying the same. But when the priest had said this sentence 'I now pronounce you husband and wife' something had lifted from her, a weight she'd never knew was present until then. It had taken her a few minutes to understand it, but it finally came.

She belonged.

She was no longer alone - would never be alone again. She was now part of Jeremy's family, and by that to all the good people who were his friends. She had realized that she had very little in the way of friends which hadn't been Jeremy's to begin with. But now she was in, no longer outside this private circle. And it felt wonderful.

She looked rather excitedly at the ones seated at the honor table. There was Rose, magnificiently yet simply dressed, talking and clearly enjoying the positive mind frames all around the room. She was talking to two old men as she would with old friends. One was the aged James Storm, but that didn't surprise her. But the other, slightly younger gentleman, well-dressed and more stoic than the old Storm, was something else. After all, who would have expected the great Shinobi Lord Geki to take the time to go to their wedding? Still, he seemed to be enjoying seeing his 'old friend' Storm again and had a clearly cordial relationship with Rose.

There was Ibuki at Jer's other side, her Shinobi training temporarily cast to the wind as she let the excitement of the day revert her to the young, lively woman she was inside. There were Alex and claudia, the two blonds looking at each other with faces that more than hinted at another wedding sooner than most people thought. There also sat Nathan and his girlfriend Area, a fighter Jeremy and she had heard of vaguely on the streets, and, not only sweet, but seemingly cracking the bitter shell the scarred young man had erected around himself for so long. There also sat Chunli, one of the few people she'd actually PERSONALLY made friends with without Jeremy having a previous hand in it all. And yes, even Captain William Guile had made it.

There were only a few shdows to this perfect portrait.

The first was that Necro, their newest ally and friend, had been unwilling to come. Not unable - he had been invited first things first - but he'd refused politely, only congratulating them. He was a freak, he said to them, and he didn't want people looking at him like he was one. That was impossible, so he couldn't come. They had tried to talk him out of it, but he had been adamant on it. They had to leave it at that. So sad. She knew he wanted to come. It wasn't his fault he looked the way he did.

That was the lesser shadow.

The greater one was the fact that Mattew and Samantha Storm, Jeremy's aunt and uncle and adoptive parents, weren't present to see the one they had raised get married. To Cammy, who hadn't had the chance to even KNOW any kind of parentage, it had come as a shock that her fiancé would refuse to have them there. But he'd glared as soon as she'd even tried to talk him into reconsidering. The hurt from these people, the mental wound he had received from their rather foolish - if somewhat understandable - betrayal, would take time to heal.

"I can't have people I don't trust at my wedding, love." he'd said simply. And that, as they said, was that. So James Storm had been invited, bringing along cute, bouncy little Mary-Ann with him, but the aunt and the uncle hadn't come. A very sorrowful little drama, but nothing could be completely perfect, heh?

"Penny for your thoughts, sweetness." came a soft, gentle voice. She turned to find Jeremy looking at her intently, smiling. She answered with a slight smile of her own. How hard it had long been to smile, how still hard it was sometimes. But not with him, never with him.

"Oh, just thinking." she said, chasing off the sad thoughts which were plaguing her. Now was not the time for that. "Part of me can't hardly believe it - two years ago I was just a doll. And now...I feel so...happpy!"

He smiled at that, taking her hand in his, giving it a slight squeeze. His fingers gently brushed her wedding ring, the ring of which he had the twin, and which bound them together for the rest of their lives.

Suddenly there was the sound of a spoon hitting a glass, and she turned to see Chunli hitting what was actually a cup with abandon, while giving her a teasing and encouraging smile. Others soon took up arms to help her, and thet whole room was soon ringing, and filled with happy mutterings and a few gentle hoots. Cammy blushed slightly, and stood up to give the kiss that the tradition demanded - not that she had any problems with that! Next to her, Jeremy did the same with a self-conscious chuckle. They turned to each other.

He smiled at her, and as he bent down to kiss her, he whispered what he had said too many times to count already, but which he could always reapeat and never tire her.

"I love you." he said.

And as she kissed him back to the acclamations of those in the reception hall, she believed it now more than ever.

Forget the little shadows...

Today she was the happiest woman in the world.

Three days later...

The mansion was truly magnificient - even more than the one where she had lived for as long as she could remember. Surrounded by a magnificient light grove of pines and oaks, with a large, perfectly cut lawn and many fountains of the purest marble, the mansion was a marvel of architecture which could please any eye, no matter how blasé these eyes seemed to be. A great sight by any means.

And yet, it seemed cold and forebodding.

At least that was what Dessara thought as she trotted alongside her Uncle Everick. The tall, silent man, who always was entirely garbed in black, was also a constant in her life. Always, it seemed, he had been there for her - stern yet gentle underneath. He had more compassion than most of the people she knew, she could tell, although she could really know how, and questions on the subject were always answered with 'now is not the time for you to know that.

Everick didn't even knock, muttering to her about not wasting time with this. She couldn't understand it all, but it seemed to her that people went in degrees. Bison was on top of everyone, and could enter anywere without asking permission. Everick could enter everywhere EXCEPT where Bison was, which meant he was just a bit below. She understood that her position was just below Everick's but from what Everrick had told her, she'd one day be as high as he, if not higher, although never as high as Bison. Grown-ups were very complicated people.

They passed through the hall, full of paintings and statues, and many great arched doors, until they entered a very large room, as large as a house, with a wooden floor instead of one made of marble. It was filled with equipement that she'd learn were for exercising, although she couldn't tell their uses. One wall had many gigantic windows, which let pass the afternoon sun into the room.

"So, you've brought her." said a soft voice.

She jumped as a man seemed to materialize next to them. He was tall, nearly as tall as her Uncle, and was big and impressive. He also had hair nearly as blond as her own, and she would have giggled at it if she hadn't known it was very inappropriate. The man's face was cold, but that was a taken - she'd never really met a face which wasn't, so why should it bother her.

Her Uncle nodded, his face as impassive as ever. "I have. How do you find her?" he asked, his deep voice commanding.

The blonde man crouched next to her, intent. Without warning, he grabbed and felt her arm, roughly, twisting it slightly this way and that. She yelped as he did, but fell silent when he gave her a glare. These eyes were dangerous, she knew. Very dangerous. So she bit her lips as the man felt her all over, coldly, like she was some doll whose quality he was examining. Why wasn't Everick stopping this? Why?

'Calm down, child.' her Uncle's voice said soothingly in her head. 'He just wants to know if he can teach you to be stronger.'

As usual, the comforting voice had its effect, and she calmed down. Soonafter, the blond man stood back up, his face almost smiling. She took that as a good sign, and inwardly - always inwardly, never to show weakness - sighed in relief.

"Excellent." said the blond man. "Yes, she has the necessary body to attain the level of agility that what I will teach her demands. Not surprising, really, for female bodies are usually naturally more agile than male's."

Everick seemed to ponder these words carefully, while she was standing there confused. Teach? Teach what? In the two years of her life, she had never been really thought anything. In fact, grown-ups had cattered to her every whims, and she'd soon learned that, except Bison and Everick, no one could say 'no' to her. So what was this teaching all about. Teaching meant the one who teaches is above. Did that mean that this blond man was above her? This was so confusing!

"When can you start giving her the basics?" her Uncle asked softly. "You mentionned 'the sooner, the better' once. Do you still intend to take her as your student at this early an age? She seems a little young to me, I must admit.

"Which is what makes it so excellent." the man explained excitedly. "She is at a time in her life where she may learn and get used to anything, and by that, amigo, I really mean anything. She will surprise you, and me, I've no doubt."

Everick paused, considering her, his black eyes piercing her with their cold clarity, until he finally nodded, slowly.

"Very well." he said softly. "You may begin as soon as you like, Vega."

The man she now knew was called Vega shrugged. "Now is a good time to start. I've nothing to do today, and I want to start teaching her the basics. Training her is, after all, what Master Bison asked me to do, and as others did."

"Others?"

"That is nothing important to you, amigo."

"For your sake, I hope not."

Dessara couldn't stand it anymore. The mystery, the building tension, the words and decrees she didn't understand. The grown-ups, never telling her a thing, acting as if she wasn't even there! It was too much. Her young, little face screwed up in as much righteous anger as a two-year old was able to put in.

"What are you gonna do with me, Uncle?" she asked, her shrill voice firm. Both men turned to her slowly, almost in surprise. As she'd thought, they'd forgotten she was there, more or less. Vega muttered somethoing about understanding why she would become Bison's heir, while crouching to her, his eyes intent.

"Do you want to be strong for Bison?" he asked plainly.

There was only one answer to that, had always been just one answer to that, for her at least. She nodded almost immediately. He smiled at her.

"Good." Then you and I have much to do. I will teach you to be strong. It will not be easy. You'll be tired, you'll be hurt, all that VERY often. You'll hate me, you'll hate yourself, but in the end, child, you WILL be strong. Do you want to learn child?"

She didn't understand why, but her answer seemed important right this moment. She reflected on it as best she could, only to see that, in the end, she couldn't be weak. Being weak would disappoint Bison and Everick, and she didn't want to do that to either. So, in the end, there really was only one answer. She looked at Vega with fixed, determined young blue eyes.

"I want to learn." she said.

Never after would she doubt she had made the right choice.

Two weeks later...

Another muffled scream passed throught the doors, and Carl Elliot shivered and cringed in helpless fear. Not a fear for himself, no - at this point he couldn't care less what happened to him - but rather for his dear wife, Karen, who was in the midst of giving birth right at this moment. He would have been more than happy to be with her to live it through, but had been ousted.

Another scream. 'Oh, Karen,' he thought desperately 'Who could have imagined our dream to have a child might be so terrible at the end?'

It had started so well. Four years they'd been married, and finally they'd received the good news that his wife was pregnant, and they'd both been so happy. Karen had shouted for joy, her face raidiant, and he himself had been half-lost in a haze of blissful and joyous stupefaction. They had so much wanted to have a child together, and it was happening! What could possibly go wrong?

And for a long while, it hadn't, until that day in January where he'd found her, passed out, on the floor of the living room. Althought she'd seemed all right upon waking up, they'd had much problems with the pregnancy afterwards. She'd been sicj, become weak, as if her very life was being sucked by the one she was carrying. And when the time had come for the baby to finally be born, the pain had started. A searing pain that had nearly caused her to black out more than once, and which had stung his heart each time he heard her moaning in agony. The doctor had had to oust him because he was becoming frantic.

However, it was even worse, truly hell, to wait just outside, not knowing.

Suddenly the screaming stopped.

It was so sudden he nearly flipped. What had happened?!? Was Karen all right? Was the baby all right? What was happening in there?!?!? He resisted the need to tear down the door and enter for a long time, but his fear was winning out. Never had his Karen abandonned him when something was wrong in his life, he wasn't about to do that to her. He had just decided to come on in and checks things out, civility and orders be damned, when the door opened.

It was the doctor, looking more tired than hell, but looking quietly victorious, as if a great battle had just been fought and he'd been found the stronger. Althought the expression was a good sign, Carl refused to be comforted by impressions. He stepped close to the doctor, who saw the movement and turned to him wearily.

"Ah, mister Elliot." he said tiredly but with satisfaction. "Congratulations. Its a boy."

Although a part of him rejoiced at hearing the news, most of him wasn't feeling very concerned about the child. "Doctor, my wife, how is she?" he asked worriedly. At this the doctor's enthusiasm dimmed, but some still remained.

"It was the hardest birth I ever saw or ever heard of, mister Elliot. But your wife is a strong woman. She fell uncounscious from the strain, but there's nothing wrong with her. She's just drained. By tommorow, she should be fine."

It was as if a great weight had been lifeted from his shoulders. Both Karen and the baby were all right! All was fine. He almost sobbed in relief, and his emotions must have been very apparent, for the doctor tapped him on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Want to see your boy, mister Elliot?" he asked amicably

Carl nodded gratefully.

It was only a few moments before a beaming nurse brought him the tiny bundle. He took it in his arms hesitatingly, but gladly, looking down at the reddish little face that poked out of the cloth. Such a cute little face, he looked just like his mother. Donald. Yes, that was the name they had chosen for a boyy. Little Donald looked just like his mother. He stared at the babe, amazed that he had helped conceive it.

And then the baby opened his eyes wide for a moment.

The shock Carl felt nearly made him drop it, and he checked himself just in time. His heart pounding, he looked at the baby's face intently, almost maddeningly. The baby might have felt his stare, for it looked for a second, blinking.

Deep blue eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary. But, then why had he seen...?

A trick of the light, surely. He nearly laughed at himself for the childish fear he had felt. And he was appalled at himself that he'd nearly dropped the child - his own SON for God's sake - out of something so stupid. He needed a break. Fortunately nobody had seen it. So Carl Elliot chuckled in deep embarrassement, and finally managed to drive the terrible image that had almost caused a catastrophy.

But for many days, the back on his mind would replay what he had seen. That when his son had opened his eyes for the first time in his life. They hadn't been deep blue.

They had, as insane it seemed to him, to have been purple.

A blazing, dangerous purple, like unholy lights from the face of innocence.