Chapter 5
Return to the Game


Irene convinced Ryu to accept the money. She reminded him that the CIA would use him whether or not he wanted it. Ryu worked out at the gym by his place. He still trained frequently, honing his skills and keeping his body in perfect condition. Irene was slightly bothered by this; he knew. She thought their problems were over. Nevertheless, Ryu continued to train, he knew that someday his skills would be needed. But now, he would be content to punch on a boxing bag. 
Even though that Ryu didn't like it, he always became engulfed in hate when he trained. He imagined that he was punching Ashtar, beating him to a pulp for almost killing Irene. Then he remembered that Ashtar's monsters killed Robert. Ryu stopped. The world was so different to him now. After fighting in so many battles, Ryu no longer was it was like to be at peace. How could he go on with his life if he kept remembering the ghosts of the past?
Ryu's opportunity came right through the gym's door. A man entered the gym and approached Ryu. He wore an all black outfit, some kind of pants, a long shirt, and sunglasses. He watched Ryu training a smiled. Ryu was just the man that he was looking for. He continued to watch Ryu, and he even watched Ryu when Ryu became aware of his presence. He decided to introduce himself.

"Ryu Hayabusa?" Ryu turned around and shook his hand. "I'm with the government. Your services are required again."
"Really? What branch of the government are you from, the CIA or the Army?"
The man shook his head. "Neither, I'm from... well, you've never heard of it."
"Uh-huh. Well, I'm sorry Mr..."
"You are to only know me as Vega del Sol. That is my contact name. But you may call me just Vega."
"Right, well Mr. Vega, I'm sorry, but I've had more that enough of my share of government agents. Good day."   
"I don't believe you understand me, Ryu. You don't have a choice here. Let me be direct: If you don't agree to help us, we'll kill both you and Irene."
"How do I know you're for real?"
"Allow me to demonstrate. Get into the boxing ring."

Ryu climbed in.

"Now, fight me."
"What!? You can't be serious. You are unarmed and I'm a master of Ninjutsu. I'd kill you in less than five seconds!"
"Precisely! Now, fight me."
"I won't fight you."
"Ah, then I'll fight you!"

Vega took a swing at Ryu, avoiding him on purpose. Ryu ducked and tried to sweep him. Vega did a back flip to dodge it, and kicked Ryu in the head as Ryu was retracting. Ryu flipped up, rushed Vega and tried to give a chop to the solar plexus. Vega blocked and he blocked Ryu's kick to his side. Vega quickly threw a fast elbow to the chin. Followed by another to the back, which knocked Ryu down. Vega did three more back flips, to clear himself of the hurt ninja.  

"I hope you that you can forgive me for those minor injuries; I really don't mean you any harm. But, as I said before, we need your help, and we're going to get it."

Ryu staggered up.

"Please come with me to my office. From there I will give your assignment and the information that you will need."
***

Vega's office was very plain. It was inside a skyscraper and had a great view of New York City.  Vega sat back in a recliner while Ryu preferred to stand. Vega pulled out a file from his desk and threw it to Ryu.

"The reason why we need you is because of a growing problem here in New York. Evidently, in the underground a new cult is growing. So far this cult has not tried to merge out of the underground, which is why it must be terminated now."
"But why is the cult a problem?"
"At first, we thought it was nothing, just another Doomsday fanatic group. However, just to be safe, we sent an operative to photograph them and their practices. Do you remember anything about The Tribesmen of Chaos?"
"Yes. They were followers of Ashtar when he tried to open the Gate of Darkness; they are from the World of Chaos."
"Correct! That is why the photographs are so disturbing. If you compare these new pictures with the ones that were taken in 1990, you'll find that the characteristics are shocking similar."
"How did you get photos from 1990!?"
"Come on Ryu, if we can videotape you and Irene in the shower, we can find you and Baron Spider outside of the city."
"So, the Tribesmen are back. But how did they get here? I closed the Gate of Darkness!"
"Actually, we were hoping that you'd know. But since that Ashtar brought some of them over before the Gate was open, there are a few possibilities. A) They were already here, B) there is something or someone opening small dimensional rifts, or the most unlikely of them all, C) Ashtar is alive and well. 
"I don't believe that!"
"Nor do I. Ashtar hasn't shown himself in over a year. And probably the first thing that he would do is to kill you, so let's throw that out."
Vega paused as he got up and stretched. 
"Anyway, the next picture is of the alter where you defeated Jaquio again. The picture after that is identical, except that it is much smaller."
"Where is this place?"
"We don't know. An operative sent us this picture and then disappeared, presumably dead."
"Who's the cult's leader?"
"A man (if you can call him a man) who refers to himself as Xaviev. We don't know his true origin or any of his vitals. What we do know is that he is powerful with the black arts. An operative managed to record this tape, watch this."

Vega played the tape. A man was standing by what appeared to be a throne. Ryu took him to be Xaviev. Two guards came in and threw a woman down by the steps to the throne. Xaviev stood up and spoke. 
"You are a traitor to us, and now you shall die!"

Xaviev held his hands up like a bear, and a green light encircled his hands. The green energy engulfed the woman, creating an aura around her body. Seconds later the green light retracted into Xaviev's hands. The woman was now just a skeleton.

"What the hell was that!?" Ryu said.
"Damned if I know. But that woman is definitely dead. The operative who made this tape later died from wounds that could not be identified. We're really up to our necks in shit."
"What is the cult's purpose?"
"As far as we can tell, they are searching for a being they call 'The Child of Darkness.' They believe that this being will take over the world at Black Moon."
"Is this 'Child' human?"
"Maybe. Truth is, we don't have much information. We only part of a parchment that looks like a prophecy."
"What does it say?"
"Other than the usual Black Moon garbage, we can make out 'and He will bring EARTH to CHAOS,' does that make sense to you?"

Ryu fell silent, unable to speak.

"You DO know, don't you?"
"Yes... normally, chaos to earth means destruction..."
"And?"
"But this is MUCH worse. The inversion means that instead of Chaos, a destructive force, being released on the Earth, the Earth will become Chaos."
"I don't understand."
"Earth will become Chaos. The World of Chaos."
"A merge between the two dimensions!?"
"It would seem."
"You've got to stop him." Vega tried to look professional. "Your mission..." 
"Let me guess, is to find the cult's HQ, kill Xaviev, and locate/identify/kill The Child of Darkness?"
"Perfect."
"I understand, when do I start?"
"We need to obtain more information before you enter the underground; maybe three days or a week, but that could change."
"And what do I do now?"
"Go home and rest. You'll need it."