A Future Ally
Part 9
I awoke back in my hotel room, with Steve and Lei looking over me. I sat up.
What happened? Am I dead or alive?
"What the hell happened to me?" I asked.
"You... passed out. We found you in the lobby, and had to make sure you were OK." Steve spoke.
"We found your hotel room number, and here we are." Lei added.
"That makes sense." I quipped. I remembered something. Running up to my laptop computer, I found that I was still patched into the Mishima Zaibatsu's database.
"What are you doing?" Steve asked, concerned.
"Something I should have done a long time ago, Steve. I'm going to make sure that what happened with you, your mother and your aunt can NEVER be reattempted in the future. Never!" I turned to face the two men. Steve's eyes widened slightly as he realised what I was talking about.
"You mean... you're going to destroy the cryostasis project and the monstrosity that created me?" I nodded. Lei stood forward and spoke to me, trying to reason with me.
"If you do that, then the Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation will fall! There will be no more King of Iron Fist Tournaments... after this next one."
"There's a 6th!?" I asked with incredulity. Lei nodded.
"I don't care. I don't give a toss about the Mishima Zaibatsu, and I don't give a crap about G Corporation! They butchered millions of lives, used Steve's mother and aunt as guinea pigs in their sick experiment to prolong life, and as for Steve himself... well, look at the scar on his arm!" I shrieked. Steve spoke up:
"He's right, Lei. This has to be done." Lei realised that Steve and I were both right. He nodded. I looked at both men.
"I gave her my word."
"To stop this madness?!" Steve asked me.
"That is what I promised. Now, if you intend to stop me, then by all means, go ahead. Otherwise, stand back." I spoke sternly but calmly.
I approached the laptop computer, and typed into a command-line interface a series of commands and instructions. The interface was in DOS, so it was easy for me to understand. I typed for about 5 minutes, until a command prompt appeared. This is what it said:
INSTALL OBLIVION VIRUS? (y/n)
NB: The oblivion virus kills electricity and renders any electrical and radioactive equipment useless.
I pressed Y on the keyboard. A percentage counter appeared, and it eventually reached 100 %. A message appeared on the screen:
OBLIVION VIRUS ACTIVATED. MISHIMA CRYOLAB INFECTED. G CORPORATION STOCK CRASHING. MAIN SERVERS CORRUPTED. INFECTION SUCCESSFUL.
I logged out of the database before the oblivion virus hit my computer. When I turned around, Steve and Lei were gone. I decided to pack up my luggage, and go out for a walk. I was certain I could have seen a pair of flying figures in the sky, one hunched and with spectacles, the other in a samurai outfit and with a green light sabre of sorts. The samurai was using his right wrist as a helicopter blade. I just smiled, knowing my work was done. Going down to several floors below me, I spotted a figure in a purple strapless bikini top with purple pants and sunglasses laying by the hotel's pool: Nina. I approached her cautiously, taking a seat next to her as I had done two months earlier. It was all coming together now:
Full circle.
Nina looked at me, not even lifting her sunglasses. Her face was expressionless, and her voice was monotonous.
"Hi, Sweevo."
"Hi, Nina. I destroyed the cryosleep project. It's over." She looked away, and nodded.
"Good."
"I suppose you know that there's a 6th tournament coming soon?" I asked. Nina turned to me and smiled a neutral smile.
"Of course. We'll be there, too." I laid my head back and tried to calm down, having been through this kind of routine twice already.
For the first time throughout this whole episode, Nina took her hairband down, letting her blonde hair fall. With anybody else, she'd have just scowled impatiently and callously, especially at Anna. But with me, she was more human. I was beginning to wonder whether there was a romantic attraction between myself and her. I didn't want to mess up what I already had with her, as she and I were already close friends. Nina got up and looked at me, taking her sunglasses off, and throwing them into her beach bag, which I thought was a little ununsual for someone of her dispositon, but chose to say nothing.
"Sweevo, look after my things."
"Why? Where are you going?" She smiled warmly.
"I'm going for a swim, silly! Unless you want to come, too." I shook my head.
"No, thanks. I have a fear of water. Besides, I can't swim too well. I'd rather be caught running through the hotel naked than indulge in any kind of wet, ogling fun." I smirked. Nina looked at me, then burst out laughing.
"A simple 'no' would have sufficed." She walked up to the diving board - which was about 100 feet high...
... 100 FEET!?!?
I looked at her, as she bounced, and arched her back, executing a perfect head-first dive into the water. Right in the 100-foot-deep end! She was under the water for a full 7:15 (7 minutes and 15 seconds - I know what you're thinking, but, really, I timed it). She surfaced at the 1-foot-shallow end, and climbed out, flicking her hair back. I had to admit that she looked a damn sight more attractive wet than dry, but I had to keep it to myself or she'd probably cane me for that remark.
