Description: Following the nailbiting defense of Seoul, Kim and May Lee hole up in the Kaphwan family house. A place once bustling with life, now struck quiet and cold by the raging war. The pair prepare to rest, recover, and discuss how Chun-Li might be brought back to the side of justice. Though neither of them have any concrete idea as to what has happened... they can take some small relief in the fact that South Korea remains free, and this one small victory means that they may yet be able to repel the Dictator of Shadaloo. After all... Evil cannot triumph over Good. A universal truth which they will write on the world stage!
In the wake of Shadaloo's assault, and the battle which had almost seen Seoul's brave defenders perish, the hospitals have been packed to the brim. There had been a lot of casualties, but there is one bed which has been curtained off for some modicum of privacy in the mad surroundings.
May Lee had given it her all. She's been giving it her all for weeks, and it shows. She's beaten up badly, gunshot wounds, broken ribs, explosive and concussive injuries... she is far from the only fighter to have been injured in the defence of Korea, but maybe as a mark of respect, the doctors have done everything they can to keep her comfortable.
She looks almost peaceful. It is so *rare* that she sits still, not laughing, not joking, not running around. If it wasn't for the cut on her forehead, and how pale she is, she could almost be sleeping.
But JUSTICE never sleeps, not for long.
When she awakens, it is with a sudden start which jerks her back into consciousness. Her eyes snap open, and she flinches at the harsh flourescent lighting. ... But the bed is soft, and the cloth is white. Somehow, instinctively, she feels that this is not a dangerous place. She has not been captured; she is not tied down.
"Kim?!... Chun-Li?!!"
Not a hospital from the looks of it. Familiarity would start to creep into May Lee's mind once she was able to calm down. She had been to the place several times in fact. It would be Kim's house which woul lead to good news, right? No way she could have ended up here unless Kim was still standing.
It is rather quiet which is rare for such a household given the likes of Chang and Choi are usually around along with frequent visits from Jhun and Chae Lim. Maybe it is just late at night and everyone is asleep. "I'm here." comes the voice of the household's head. There is the sound of footfalls softly on the ground and soon Kim rounds the corner.
He is bandaged up and moving a bit gingerly from the injuries he is nursing from the battle. He offers a faint smile and he moves to take a seat in the room and carefully settles in it. "I am glad to see you were finally awake." he says and that smile becomes bigger. "We pushed them back for now. Everyone is okay too." Perhaps all beat up, but at least he was able to get into contact with everyone to find out they are alive. As for Chun-Li? Well no one comes when she calls that name.
May starts to calm down as she realizes where she is. She relaxes into the sheets, and tries to push the darker thoughts out of her head. It is easier, genuinely, with Kim there. The quiet house is quiet just because everyone else is... out, or it is late. Chun-Li doesn't come running... but, well. Things, would work out.
She smiles, brightly, at the words. Everyone is okay!
"We won?!" There's no disbelief in her voice... she'd always had faith that Kim would come out on top, but she does sound incredibly relieved. She tries to sit up, but flinches as her body protests the gentle motion. "... She kicks almost as hard as you do!" There's a note of laughter in her voice at the little joke.
To see her in good spirits helps Kim cheer up a bit more himself. He is just still tired from all the fighting that had to be done and it hasn't been easy to sleep often due to worrying about the safety of everyone else. Even so he is in no real shape to be of much help right now. Hopefully he will be healed up enough in case Shadaloo makes another push to invade. Hopefully the defeat will at least make them take some time to plan.
"Just rest some more. No enemy forces are nearby. From what I understand the last bits are still on retreat for now." he tells her and he sits up a bit more in his seat. Truth be told he should be laying in bed as well as beat up as he looks, but the man is too stubborn sometimes. He laughs faintly along with the small joke made and he gives a nod. "She would have been a very good Tae Kwon Do fighter if she decided to go down that path."
That smile fades a bit. "I wasn't able to get through to her. She got away and retreated with the rest." he tells the younger fighter and he closes his eyes for a moment. "I don't know what Vega did or how easy it will be to undo. We might need to find help in getting her back to normal." There are people to go to, but they all might be caught up in various battles as well. All he knows is next time he might not be so lucky when fighting her. She won't take that loss lightly.
The pain in May Lee's eyes at the confirmation that Chun-Li isn't coming back, is worse than the physical pain she'd felt when she tried to move. That pain is fleeting; it would pass through her and be gone, she is sure. If Chun-Li is beyond reach... if she has *really* decided to turn against them and become evil...
"I can't believe it." She sinks back into the bed, "I don't... I don't understand what's happened to her. Do you remember, a little while ago, there were rumors about those evil items?"
In her mind's eye, May is trying to square the circle. EVERYTHING about Chun-Li had been different, though. Had Vega somehow poured his evil into her wardrobe?!
"Do you think... she could really have been evil all along?"
It is the thought that had struck her dumb on the battlefield. The woman she'd met had seemed so, bright. Cheerful, if aged and laboring hard with the problems of the world on her shoulders. She'd thought she'd found a kindred spirit, is it possible that this has been something in the making for years? Could Chun-Li's whole career have been some nefarious Shadaloo plot? It, hardly seems possible, but the dark, soulless eyes...
Chun-Li might have broken May Lee's body, but far more painful was the damage she had done to the young girl's heart.
It is a possibility that Chun-Li this whole time could have really just been secretly working for Vega, but Kim really can't believe that. Yes that was certainly Chun-Li they fought in a physical sense. The attitude and everything else about her seemed as if it was a totally different person piloting her. "I don't think she was." he says after pondering that question for a bit. "I heard she was defeated in India. He had to have actually captured her and did something to her."
That is what he fully wants to believe at least. He can't throw out other possibilities, but deep down he wants what he says to be the truth. If it is that means there has to be a way to get Chun-Li back to her old self. "We will figure out what to do. I don't think either of us should be doing much for at least another day or two. We need to heal and while we do that we will figure out what to do with Chun-Li."
Easier said than done at this point. He doubts she would come back at least in an assault. Perhaps as an act of revenge for being beaten? Maybe they could trap her somehow if that is the case. The TKD master lightly rubs his chin as he thinks. "I should send out for help. Someone that knows her well. Maybe they can get through to her."
May Lee listens intently. Who knows what sort of evil Vega has at his command? She'd seen more than enough of Shadaloo's weapons of war to know that they have very impressive technology... if Chun-Li has been defeated, and captured, and brainwashed... well, the thought sends shivers down May Lee's spine, because it means that it could happen to anyone, but at least it means she isn't evil. She's just confused.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." The student says at last. "I was just... when I saw her, I thought I was ready for anything, but, I, wasn't ready for that."
She makes herself smile, again. It doesn't help to get morose about what could have happened. They need to look to the future! "We need to stop Vega somehow." She says, "He's the source of all of this. If we could bring him down, we could turn all of this around! We could MAKE him let Chun-Li go!"
She's getting excited again; a little breathless due to her injuries. "I hit him in Thailand." She continues, "He *can* be hurt!"
Which, honestly, it seems important to remember right now more than ever. Standing up to the would-be Dictator of the World had been terrifying, but it had been possible! If they could gather the others... Terry, Ken, Ryu ... maybe they could cut off the head of all of this!
Kim raises a hand and shakes his head. "You did very well. None of us could have expected that to happen." he comments and gives a bit of a grin. "You had me worried, but I trained you well so I knew you would manage to recover." At least he kept telling himself that. He was worried like a parent that entire battle and thankfully he was able to get Chun-Li's attention and keep it for the most part while May Lee could concentrate on the other enemies.
"He can be hurt and defeated! It will just be a tough task." he tells her as he lets out a soft chuckle. "Justice will prevail of course." he assures her and he sinks a bit more into his seat once again. "I never thought things would get so crazy. We might be in for other surprises, May Lee. We must do our best to not let them throw us off course." He gives a thumbs up and a bit of a smarmy grin, the usual funloving Kim showing though at least for a bit. "Evil doesn't stand a chance against us!"
May Lee smiles. There's something incredibly reassuring about Kim's good humor; something that will never change. The world may be turned upside down, but Kim is going to be Kim until the day the sun goes cold.
"I... wasn't sure if I'd be strong enough at first, Kim." The girl admits. This is the first time that they've really had to just, talk, in a long time. Things really have been crazy! "We aren't soldiers, you know, we're fighters... when I saw Nepal, what Vega's men had done there..."
She starts to smile, though. Which is a good thing, really! It means she's not falling into despair.
"But no matter how bad things get, I just remembered what you've taught me. Its easy to talk about evil, but Vega is showing the world what evil really *means*. We need to get better, so we can show them what Justice is all about, too!"
It is nice to see her in good spirits once more. Things have gotten so serious and someone her age shouldn't have to deal with it. She should be worrying about much more simple things and not about having to be involved in this war. Even so at least he is here to keep an eye on her. As long as he can still stand he will be around to make sure that all his friends will get through this war alive and also see victory. "And we will show them! We already showed Vega that we will not just roll over because he thinks he is so powerful!" Even if he is really powerful. He has heard what happened in India and Thailand and it wasn't pretty. Where will that madman show up next?
He gets to his feet with a bit of trouble and he straightens up as his back pops a few times. "Just get some more rest. I should do the same. We will take a full day off then we will see how well our bodies are healing and we will plan on what to do next. Hopefully the others will be in and out during that time so we can figure out how things look all over the country." With that being said he walks over and ruffles the young fighter's hair. "I will also see what I can do about Chun-Li." At least now he will be able to finally get a bit of rest without as many worries. Of course the soreness might keep him up, but at least that he can deal with.
May nods her head, and smiles even more when Kim ruffles her hair. She might be growing into her own as a fighter, but Kim's presence, his concern, is infinitely reassuring. He might be injured too, and the house might be disturbingly quiet, but she can't help but feel safe. Secure. A day, perhaps two, to just recover and relax, would really help a lot.
"Thanks, Kim." She says, at last. "Something tells me that they'll be coming back for Seoul before too long..." She lets that hang. That's the real trouble, isn't it? They need to prepare and try to plan for taking the fight back to Vega... but he's the one on the offensive, and if they aren't ready when Shadaloo comes back, there won't be a homeland to fight for!
Log created on 10:27:31 02/19/2012 by MayLee, and last modified on 12:11:06 02/19/2012.