A/N: I apologize for the late update... I've been caught in a lot of things lately and didn't have time to update. Plus writer's block got the better of me. Anyway, enough of my petty excuses you won't care about! This chapter is slightly longer than the previous ones, and is slightly more cryptic to the storyline.
And also, please review if you like it! It shows me that you do enjoy my writing and convinces me to continue! I would like to say a big thank you to the anonymous reviewer who gave me plenty of support! ;D *salutes you in a Jin like manner* Anyway, enough of my waffle! Enjoy ~
Chapter 3: Mistrust
November 25th, 3:43pm. The dark haired woman was lounging in an office, the ceiling fan now motionless, tiny snowflakes compensating for the lack of movement, smearing the glass wall. Sitting upright opposite this woman was an eccentric looking girl, wearing peculiar clothing and a gentle smile. The elevator doors opened to reveal two men, bringing a smile on both of the women's faces.
"You both took your time." Emma joked, leaning back on the black, leather sofa.
Lars heaved a sigh. "I apologize. The sudden snowfall affected our travel arrangements."
"Would the snow affect the tournament as well?" Emma raised an eyebrow at Lars' excuse, whilst he sat down next to Alisa, whilst Jin sat beside Emma.
Jin smirked. "It shouldn't. The tournament is mainly held indoors."
"Good." Emma smiled, "So, what's the plan?" She asked Lars.
Since November 16th, the four of them were busy preparing the Tournament, with many fighters willing to enter. Whilst Jin had sorted out the entire Tekken Tournament, Lars had devised a plan to unmask Kazuya's plot, with Emma and Alisa assisting them wherever possible. The four were all working co-operatively; despite the fact they only met each other five days before, and were well on the way to start the King of Iron Fist Tournament. November 25th was Lars' deadline to sort out their strategy.
"I had based the line of attack around the rounds of the Tournament." Lars began to explain, spreading the sheet of paper out onto the coffee table in front of them, "We start today. We will all have to find out who is or was associated with G Corporation, and if they are possibly entering the Tournament. That gave us three days, excluding today, to retrieve the information. Fortunately, stage 1 of the plan was successful. According to my research, there are at least four people who are associated with G Corporation who entered last year, so there would be one person for each of us."
"Is that including Anna and Lili?" Emma gritted her teeth at those names.
Lars looked quite shocked. "I've already included Ms. Williams, but Lili… do you mean Emilie de Rochefort?" Emma nodded, scowling. She could never forgive Lili for deceiving her.
"She was a friend of my exchange student years ago back in Europe. We became friends… but since the incident I started to distrust her." Emma remembered when she first set foot in Monaco. It was the perfect place to live, the sun always beating down, making every corner of the city glimmer. Lili used to take her out all over Monaco, treating her like her best friend, seeming to be a great person to be with, to trust. Unfortunately, Emma's trust seemed to be very limited lately.
"She is in league with G Corporation? I thought that Rochefort Enterprises were in partnership with Mishima Zaibatsu?" Lars pondered, recalling his research.
"We split the partnership. Rochefort Enterprises fell on the brink of bankruptcy soon after, I assume she went crying to G Corporation." Jin rolled his eyes. "They all fall into his trap one by one…"
Lars grinned. "We have plenty of people on our side who are entering the Tournament also, and some of them are working within the Mishima Zaibatsu, conveniently."
Alisa peeped inquisitively and found a list of competitors who were filed under the list 'Allies'. She began to read each name out, along with their profession. "Nina Williams: assassin. Eduardo Gordo: Tekken Force Operative. Christina Monteiro: associate of Eduardo Gordo. Lee Chaolan: owner of Violet Systems. Geppetto Bosconovitch: Doctor, inventor, and the man who had created Alisa… Oh." Alisa paused, mildly curious. "Why has the page been ripped here?"
Lars held his breath, swiftly grabbing the sheet of paper off her. "It was the only sheet of paper remaining, so I used it to list our allies."
Emma laughed, reading Lars' expression as he gazed into Alisa's eyes, in slight embarrassment. Jin looked at Emma, his eyes wary, his lips curled into a smirk. They were both thinking exactly the same thing.
"Lars, please continue with the plan." Jin raised an eyebrow at Lars.
Lars nodded, composing himself, referring back to his plan, "Jin will then arrange for us to battle each of these people during the Tournament. We will work our way up the tournament, whilst we fit the puzzle pieces together, tracking down any of G Corporation's associates, with the Tekken Force and some of Falcon Corporation's forces, if that is ok with you, Miss Knight."
"That's fine Lars; I was planning on sending enforcements to assist us regardless."
"When we had figured out what Kazuya really wants, then we will sort him out. Kazuya will most likely be undefeated, and will get near to the top of the leader boards."
"Would this not potentially put the Mishima Zaibatsu at risk of G Corporation?" Alisa pointed out the flaw in Lars' plan, her finger lacing over her lip in mild worry. Jin mumbled in agreement.
"Kazuya will most likely enter the tournament with Emma as the target, not the Mishima Zaibatsu itself." Lars reassured. "The Zaibatsu isn't at risk. Right now, we need to focus on the reasons, which we can only find through his colleagues. As this would be the strongest lead, I've asked Ms. Nina Williams to assist us in the search. Her sister is the one of the closest to Kazuya."
Emma's eyes stared blankly at Lars, from her memories of November 15th. "Anna."
Lars nodded. "Apparently, Nina is already on Anna's high heels, so she agreed almost immediately. Meanwhile, we need to start the Tournament to shroud any suspicion."
Lars swiftly slipped out his smart phone, his thumbs lightly jabbing at the screen, until he slightly smiled with satisfaction, handing the phone over to Alisa cautiously.
"Now, I need you to look after this when I am driving, Alisa. That device has plenty of information inside which could potentially destroy us in a non-literal sense." Lars warned her calmly, whilst Alisa nodded in mild confusion. "Just keep it safe Alisa, its all I ask."
Alisa smiled. "Affirmative, Lars."
November 25th, 4:12pm. Lars had offered to escort the four, asking Alisa to sit in the passenger seat next to him, so he can access the navigation on his phone easily. After Jin and Emma voluntarily sat at the back of the car, they set off, allowing the Mishima Zaibatsu building to slowly fade away into the distance. Emma glanced around the interiors of the car, and watched Lars and Alisa, smiling a little to herself. Alisa was gripping onto Lars' phone relatively tightly, hands in her lap, her lips pursed until they were almost white. Lars' eyes seemed to pay full attention onto the road; however Emma noticed that every so often his eyes would drift towards Alisa's direction, before very vaguely smiling to himself, after his sight directed to the highway once more. She couldn't help but compare her relationship between herself and Jin. They were both executives of major companies, which were undergoing a partnership, but Emma wondered back to November 15th again. Jin had saved her, yet he didn't even know that she led Falcon Corporation… could there have been another reason as to why he rescued her? Did he save her by his own choice? No, it can't be, Emma shook the thought out off her head, her sight drifting in Jin's direction. Jin was gazing out of the window, raindrops streaking diagonally across the frosty glass. Emma knew that sitting next to Jin would create an awkward atmosphere, so she decided that a conversation would dissolve the silence.
"So…" Emma attempted to think of a topic to talk about, very slightly facing Jin, "what is the Iron Fist Tournament like?" Jin's attention was caught by Emma's question, somewhat dazed from his own thoughts, until his mind answered for him.
"It depends." Jin absent-mindedly muttered in response, stumbling over a more suitable answer to her question. "What fighting style do you use?"
Emma looked down at her palms, black lace brushing against her skin, almost eager to demonstrate rather than explain. "Falcon Wing Combat. We developed it specifically for our military forces. Although I made a few alterations to suit myself."
"I see." Jin nodded in approval. His gaze briefly locked with Emma's, before glancing away again. "Sounds better than my fighting style." Jin chuckled silently to himself. "Traditional Karate." He mumbled as Emma broke into a smile with him.
November 25th, 4:47pm. The soft pattering of rain was soon silenced as raindrops froze into snowflakes, after the pale grey clouds had filled the dark skies. The four of them had finally arrived at their destination: the King of Iron Fist Tournament Arena. Lars smoothly swung the car door open, batting away large specks of snow, causing them to smear down the window, before he waltzed around to open the passenger door for Alisa, holding his hand out to her. Smiling softly, Alisa's hand made contact with his, as Lars helped her clamber out from the warmth of his vehicle, whilst Emma gracefully opened her door simultaneously as Jin opened his, the pair climbing out in unison, the snowflakes almost welcoming the four of them.
"This is it." Jin introduced quietly, as Emma stared at the building. The King of Iron Fist Tournament Arena seemed to be as large as a football stadium, the name glowing in red neon lights above the glass doors, snowflakes immediately disintegrating the moment they touched the building. Lars swiftly faced Jin, his expression in question.
"Have you got them?" Lars almost reminded Jin, who pulled out four, small envelopes in reply. He handed Lars two envelopes, and one for Emma. Lars passed one of these to Alisa, swapping it for his phone, thanking her in the process, whilst Emma twiddled the envelope in her hand, observing every detail. The envelope was a silvery white, and was as almost as big as her hand, with her name in a curly, sliver font on the cover, and the words 'King of Iron Fist Tournament' in silver block letters on the reverse.
Emma faced Jin, fiddling with the flap of the envelope. "Can I open it?"
Jin nodded in agreement. "It's the 'invitation' to the Tournament. Everyone who is competing should receive one." Jin glanced at the name written on his card: 'Jin Kazama'. Wincing slightly, Jin slid the envelope back into his pocket, after he revealed a sheet of slivery paper from its contents. Emma noticed that each of their names was printed on their envelopes, with 'Lars Alexandersson' and 'Alisa Bosconovitch' on Lars' and Alisa's. Curious, Emma lifted the flap, unsheathing a sheet of paper almost replica to Jin's, with inky black typing. It read: "The Mishima Zaibatsu invites you to participate in the upcoming event, 'The King of Iron Fist Tournament', on the 25th November, 2015. Prior to a shortlist, you have been chosen alongside other renowned fighters in the battle to test your skills, prove yourself and ultimately have a chance to seize control of the Mishima Zaibatsu itself.' Underneath the writing was a dark logo, identical to the one on the flags outside the Mishima Zaibatsu, and a picture of herself.
"How did you manage to get my passport photo?" Emma eyes narrowed at the picture. Lars grinned.
"That's classified Miss Knight. However, I can say the Tekken Force were behind it." Lars gave her a quick wink. It was obvious to them all that Lars was the one responsible. However, to add to the blatancy, Emma pulled out her purse from her coat pocket, to find that her passport photo was indeed missing.
"Well, it was good I had it or I wouldn't be able to have entered." Emma rolled her eyes.
"Even if you didn't, we would still manage to retrieve it. Although, that would be a much more difficult process than simply looking in your purse." Lars shrugged, taking out the silver sheet of paper out in unison to Alisa.
"Has everyone got theirs?" Emma asked to no one in particular, regarding the invitations themselves, however Jin answered her, as he was the only one to know this information.
"Yes, they should do. I took further time to ensure that everyone who needs to participate in the Tournament for our plan to work had got theirs early. To make the plan more concealed, we invited more fighters who have nothing to do with the plan a day later."
Lars chuckled to himself, lost in thought. After a moment, he waltzed up to the two guards who were stood mindlessly by the entrance, and held up his invitation at shoulder height, whilst gesturing the others to follow suit. One of the guards surveyed the invitations, before glancing at their faces, nodding in approval, signalling the other guard to let the four past. The four marched into the stadium, through the foyer, and down a long, shadowy corridor, towards a blinding light. The four of them squinted their eyes as soon as they set foot into the arena. The arena was immense, stretching as far as they could see, filled with bright red stadium seating, white floodlights illuminating the centre stage, which was as large as at least five full size tennis courts, printed with the Mishima Zaibatsu logo. After Jin had given his consent, the four climbed on to the stage, spotlights beaming in every direction onto them. Upon closer inspection, Emma noticed that the logo was surrounded by a ring of four repeating words: "King of Tekken Tournament".
"Tekken…" Emma pondered aloud, the word making Jin smile.
"Tekken is Japanese for 'Iron Fist'." Jin explained whilst squinting at her, his hazel eyes dazzling in the light.
Emma nodded to herself. "I see now."
Lars held his hand to his pocket, the sound of harsh vibrating resonating some of the stage. He swiftly pulled out his phone, observing the caller ID. The name flickering on the screen made Lars' eyes widen slightly, rapidly tapping a button and pressing the phone to his ear lightly. For a few minutes, Lars listened to the person on the other end of the phone, nodding at various points of the conversation, whilst Alisa stared at him with her usual naïve curiosity.
"Ok. What time are you coming here?" Lars asked the phone, his deep voice somewhat dry. "…All right then. Thank you for letting me know."
The Swedish man hung up the phone, the moist in his eyes compensating for the lack of moisture in his throat. He looked at Alisa, his eyes locking with hers, his lips quivered for a milli-second before he composed himself. Alisa tucked a loose strand of her pale pink hair behind her ear, her mouth curled into a mild frown.
"Is everything all right, Lars?" Alisa mumbled, stepping closer towards him. Lars opened his mouth to speak, causing Alisa to stop in her tracks, half a metre away from him.
"I'm fine." Lars firmly reassured, before shaking his head and smiling warmly at her. "Thank you for asking, Alisa." He put both of his large hands onto her petite shoulders, gazing at her from a slight distance. "Thank you for asking." He repeated in a more sincere manner, while Jin and Emma watched them in concern.
"What's happened?" Jin asked Lars, his fists tightened.
Lars shook his head. "Nothing. He called."
"What were the results?" Jin's statement made the two ladies oblivious to the conversation the men were exchanging. Lars merely shook his head again, his eyes growing moister as the conversation carried on. "I'm sorry." Jin felt sympathetic for the Swede, his head lowering for him, his fringes flopping over his eyes.
"No, no, don't be. He says it's unlikely to happen. He will fix it…I'm sure." Lars swallowed the lump in his throat, flicking his dark blonde hair to one side again.
"He's coming here now?"
"In a few minutes." Lars nodded, sliding his phone back into his pocket, which he was gripping tightly during their conversation. Lars faced Alisa once more, before asking, "Alisa, could you assist me in making the final preparations for the tournament?" Alisa agreed with a skip, following him off of the stage, "I need to talk to you for a while." He whispered in her ear, before they exited the main arena. Jin and Emma faced each other for a second, both of them mildly worried for Lars.
"Is Lars all right, Jin? What happened?" Emma muttered, wary that Lars could hear her, but Jin shook his head.
"It's nothing you need to worry about too much." Jin answered calmly, whilst readjusting his red leather gloves. "I think we need to warm up for the tournament, don't you? I'll be right back." Jin leaped off stage, before facing Emma again, "I need to change into something more suitable for combat." He chuckled lightly, pinching his suit, before leaving the arena.
She nodded, glancing around the stadium. The heat of the spotlight scorched her coat, roasting her from the outside, to the point where she had to take off her coat and throw it off stage. Her dress which was partially hidden underneath the coat was now revealed, the intricate yet discrete patterning somewhat visible in the glow of the lights. She sat herself down near the edge of the stage, leaning against the iron barrier which lined the border of the platform like area, heaving a sigh. A few minutes later, Jin returned, changed into a completely different attire. His suit trousers were swapped for loose, black trousers, tied with a black and gold belt, with flame like patterns looking as if they were burning from the rim of the legs. He was still wearing his long, red combat gloves, now with matching footpads, to protect his feet. However, the most significant part of his outfit was that he didn't wear a top, bearing quite a muscular body and a small, pure black tattoo on the top of his left arm. The tattoo looked almost ominous, and didn't seem to be the colour of a ordinary tattoo. She put the thoughts of the tattoo aside, and focused on what Jin was actually saying to her.
"So are you ready?" Jin smiled, raising an eyebrow, now on stage about a couple of metres away from her.
"Eh?" Emma was dazed. She snapped back into reality, realising that she was staring at him, and crammed all of her thoughts into a theoretical box in her mind. "I'm sorry, I was thinking." She held her hand against her head.
Jin crossed his arms over, aware of the fact that she did stare at him, raising his eyebrow further. "I said we should train for the tournament, and I mentioned that you need to demonstrate your combat style to me." He continued to mumble something else to himself, but Emma didn't manage to hear.
Emma shook the moment out of her head. "Yes, of course." She leaped up, dusting her dress, before swinging to one side, raising her clenched palms up and spreading her feet out into her battle stance. "As soon as I see blood, I'll stop, ok?"
Jin smirked. "And why should you stop?" He was used to fighting; he didn't see a reason as to why she was being easy on him.
Emma hesitated slightly. "I don't want you seriously injured before the tournament!" She confidently stated, laughing out the comment, before continuing in a softer tone, "I don't want to hurt you."
"Oh." Jin blinked for a second. "All right. I understand. Same for you." Jin flexed his wrists, his lips parted, posed in his battle stance. "As soon as I see blood, I'll stop."
Emma smirked in a Jin like manner. "Whenever you are ready, Mr Kazama."
There was a moment where both Jin and Emma were fully focused on one another, waiting on whoever would make the first move. Jin chuckled, after Emma decided to attack first, pelting towards him, swinging her fist near his unguarded stomach. Her knuckles made a snapping sound as soon as she made contact with him, reminding herself of the fact that she forgot to crack her knuckles, causing herself to laugh. She quickly cracked her knuckles whilst she swung her leg around in a roundhouse, causing Jin to flip over, however he landed perfectly, charging at her, thrusting his fist in a similar fashion to Emma, except she quickly slipped to one side to avoid him, watching him stumble forward slightly, kicking him with a straightened leg right in the centre of his back, hurling him even further forward. Emma rocketed towards him shoulder first, barging him to one side, resulting in Jin colliding with the railings back first, wincing. He arched his back, checking if he had broken his spine, before collapsing on the floor in what Emma thought was as exhaustion.
"You don't have to go easy on me, you know." Emma grinned, holding her hand out to him in slight arrogance, to help him up. Jin took her hand firmly, slowly rising up until they were centimetres apart, before he swung his arm around and tossed her over, so she performed a back flip, and landing harshly back first onto the stage floor.
"Who said I was going easy on you?" Jin chuckled silently, watching Emma cringe as she began to rise up once more, sticking his hand out for her, the two now swapped roles. Emma grabbed his hand, leaping up, smiling at him sweetly, before seizing grip on his broad shoulders, and swinging herself downwards fluently, through his legs and out the other side, landing boldly whilst Jin somersaulted in the one spot, landing awkwardly face first.
"And that was my signature throw." Emma put one hand on her hip, looking over her shoulder at the shattered Jin. "I call it the 'Flight of Retaliation.' I named it that for a reason."
Jin smiled through his pain, now on his back facing her, almost getting up again. "Nice."
The sound of footsteps directed Emma and Jin's attention towards the doors. Waltzing into the room was a man, dressed in white suit trousers, a white waistcoat and a dark purple shirt underneath, with dark grey aviator glasses to complete the sophisticated look. His long, straight hair fell just above his jaw, and was a silver colour, looking almost metallic in the spotlights. He grinned almost maliciously when he saw the pair of them.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your little… moment." The man sniggered as he approached the stage. Jin casually, yet quickly rose up, folding his arms over to greet the man, who now helped himself to the platform.
"This is Mr. Chaolan, head of Violet Systems." Jin introduced carelessly, before continuing in a mutter so only Emma could hear, "He's on our side, just to let you know."
Mr Chaolan grinned. "Of course, you can call me Lee. Who may I have the pleasure of meeting?" Lee removed his glasses, sliding one of the arms into the collar of his shirt, so the glasses remained suspended from his chest.
"Emma. Emma Knight." She nodded, as Lee bowed to her almost courteously. "I'm the executive of Falcon Corporation."
"Falcon Corporation?" Lee stroked his chin thoughtfully, after rising once more. "Ah, the military force in Europe? Impressive." Lee nodded approvingly, a haughty smile on his face. "Violet Systems is more on the technological side of the industry scale. I was the man who created the Combot series of robots." Lee smugly grinned.
"You create robots?" Emma was knowledgeable of Japan's technological expertise, however robots didn't quite register.
"I repair robots as well. However that service is more for personal reasons." Lee seemed to be referring to a particular event that Emma was unaware of.
"I see." Emma could only reply as Lars and Alisa returned to the arena, with smiles on their faces. Lars' attention was caught by the urbane man in white and purple, his expression becoming serious once more.
"Lee, you've arrived." Lars greeted formally, bounding up onto the stage, followed by Alisa, who quickly boosted herself up onto the platform with her rockets around her ankles. "I need a quick word, if that is fine with you."
Lee's expression agreed, after asking, "About her condition?"
"Yes." Lars mumbled, almost out of character, wandering off stage, followed by Lee.
A coldness struck Emma's heart. Those words reminded her of the day that her cousin died...
The doctor slid through the doors, with a clipboard in hand. His eyes briefly flickered towards Emma, before shaking his head.
"Doctor, is it ok if I have a quick word?" Emma asked the solemn doctor before he could explain.
"About his condition?"
Emma bit her lip. She knew what was coming. "Yes… What's happened? What were the results?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Knight… He had already passed away before we received him."
The moment felt like an hour to her, the world almost frozen. "He's… gone?" Emma muttered, trying to shield her tears from spilling. The doctor could only nod.
"I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do."
She held her laced hands to her head, attempting to force the moment out of her mind, into non-existence. The fire of revenge reignited, causing her to lower her hands, her fists scrunching up, her eyes dark with hatred, her blood running cold. She felt eyes glare at her, burning her back. She turned around violently to find that Jin and Alisa were gaping at Emma in concern, their eyes wide with worry.
"Are you all right?" Alisa held her hand to her chest, the wiring in her brain showing signs of sympathy. Emma shook her head, smiling weakly.
"No, it's ok. I had a 'déjà vu' moment."
"Mhmm…" Alisa hummed, her mind processing her reaction. "Are you certain?"
"Positive."
Jin cleared his throat, facing Alisa. "Have you prepared everything for the tournament?"
"Affirmative. The first stage of the King of Iron Fist Tournament is due to commence in approximately two hours, forty seven minutes and twenty eight seconds." Alisa almost announced, her eyes blinking in sync with the seconds.
November 25th, 7:00pm. The King of Iron Fist Tournament, its reputation to bring fame and fortune to fighters around the world. However, each fighter had their own reason to fight. Some seek improvement for their skills; others test their strength, to prove themselves worthy. Others see fighting as a way to settle their differences, or to teach others the way of their art. Most of these fighters desire vengeance. They devour the temptation to bring revenge upon their enemies, their rivals, their family, whether it was due to a past event, what they had done recently, or what they are going to do in the future. Most of these fighters fight for themselves. A few of them fight for others. Lars and Alisa were one of the few.
Lars and Alisa were back stage in a command room, which was overseeing the arena through a glass window, making last minute adjustments to the tournament. They were both prepared for combat, with Lars clad in red and black bullet proof armour, with a split cape, whilst Alisa still wore her usual attire, but was posed for battle. Alisa was currently wearing a headset, communicating to various people to amend minor problems, whilst Lars was talking to Jin via his phone, confirming that the plan behind the tournament was going underway. Jin had called Nina Williams an hour before, who were an assassin and the sister of Anna Williams, to check if she had retrieved any information. Nina had reported that Anna was seen talking to Kazuya outside of the G Corporation building, with the word 'Corporation' popping up a few times in the conversation, however she wasn't sure that he was referring to his own corporation, or Falcon Corporation. Jin was now revising the evidence with Lars over the phone, whilst the Swede jotted notes down, trying to decipher all the evidence they had found so far. The results still didn't lead to an accurate explanation as to why Kazuya kidnapped Emma in the first place.
A loud creaking was heard, along with a sudden clashing of metal. The audience's attention shot up to the ceiling, to find that a colossal, quadruple sided plasma screen was being lowered into the stadium, with the screens flickering on, the words 'King of Iron Fist Tournament' in flames on the screen, which faded away into the Mishima Zaibatsu logo, with the phrase 'In association with the Mishima Zaibatsu' replacing it instead. The sound of a finger tapping on the microphone resonated the arena, vibrating the stadium, before a deep, male voice uttered in the microphone: "Welcome back, to the King of Iron Fist Tournament 7." The audience cheered, screamed and applauded, anticipating the fights. After the speakers erupted music, the sound of an electric guitar, bass guitar and drums pouring through and flooding the arena. The slideshow on the screen soon transformed again, into a stormy background, which produced lightning every so often, before several bars fell down the screen, with names of the competitors, along with a part of their pictures in each bar. Jin, Emma, Lars and Alisa were amongst them, however they were spread out in different places: Jin's was near the beginning, Emma's around the middle, and Lars and Alisa's close to the end. Some names made the audience smile, some made them curious, and some made them sneer.
Lars snapped his finger at Alisa, directing her to take off the headset, whilst half directing a woman to sort something out.
"Go to Jin and Emma. I'll meet you three in the conference hall." Lars rapidly ordered, rushing out of the room. Alisa saluted sweetly, galloping out of the command room, down the hall, and backstage, to find Jin and Emma, side by side, with Jin holding a microphone in his hand.
"Why do we have to announce the tournament? Isn't that the announcer's job?" Emma questioned Jin's tactic nervously. She didn't mind fighting in front of people; it was the fact that she was standing by Jin whilst he was announcing it that might raise some rumours.
"We have to make an appearance, to show that we are present and not involved in anything that will cause suspicion. We want to keep the plan as less obvious as possible." Jin explained briefly, whilst Emma deeply inhaled, before she noticed Alisa on the right of Jin.
"Lars had asked me to accompany both of you. He also gave me a message to pass to you." Alisa clarified her presence. "He said: 'I'll meet you three in the conference hall.'" Alisa pronounced the message in Lars' accent.
Jin nodded in confirmation. "The conference hall… ok."
A few minutes later, the three marched out from backstage, down a slanted bridge which ended on stage, with the crowd applauding Jin's presence. The three paused in the centre of the stage, glancing at each other shortly before Jin began to introduce the tournament. Through the command room, Lee overlooked the stadium alone, listening to Jin's speech.
"Maybe this is why your father is envious of you, Jin." Lee sniggered to himself; his attire changed from a white and purple suit, to deep, mauve combat trousers, and a tight, plum combat top.
"I don't think it would be just that, Lee." A voice echoed from behind Lee. Lars walked in beside him, hands folded over. "Everyone wants Jin dead for their own reasons. Most of the competitors have a grudge on Jin, one way or another."
"Lars. It has been a while since we last met." Lee smirked, crossing his arms in a similar fashion to Lars. "Of course, I didn't even know you were my half brother until you entered the last tournament, and visited me about her." Lee stressed emphasis on the word 'her'.
"Why does it have to happen to her, Lee?" Lars sighed, dropping his head. "Why Alisa?"
"She has time. I need her systems to be fully matured before I start repairing her again."
"So you are waiting for her to be on the brink of death before you start to do something about it?" Lars roared silently, his throat coarse.
"There's nothing I can do about it before then, Lars." Lee growled, flicking his silver hair to one side. "I know you have feelings for the robot and all, but there's just no way I can repair her. The only way I can save her before then is if I deactivate her, then I will have to reset everything before I can sort her out. That means resetting her memory as well. She won't remember anything about you. Do you want that to happen?" Lee questioned rhetorically, in a sarcastic manner. Lars shook his head, his eyes transfixed onto the stage, towards Alisa. "You will have to trust me. I repaired her before when you asked, and I'll repair her again. She just needs time. Trust me."
The purpose of King of Iron Fist Tournament, and the whole creation of it, wasn't about fighting. Trust was the issue in this Tournament. And every participant was aware of that. They entered because of mistrust, they continued because of mistrust, they met their end because of mistrust. Sometimes they trust the wrong people, and ignore the ones they should…
