The nurses exchanged glances. What the heck's going on, they were thinking. Finally, after a long silence, one of the surgeons spoke up.
"Miss Nickel, we advise you to lay down. You'll put a strain on your chest."
Evelyn shook her head stubbornly.
"Miss Nickel," the doctor repeated. "You must lay down."
"No!" cried Evelyn. "I'm fine. I'm in good enough condition to continue my fight, thank you very much. I just had…a cramp."
"But you passed out!" a nurse argued. "You are no where near in mint condition."
"But – "
"If she wants to go, you should let her go."
Immediately, everyone wheeled around to look at Mikaela, the girl who had just spoken. Her expression was eager, yet blank.
The head surgeon silently opened his mouth and closed it a few times, as if his brain was debating with itself what to say. Finally he sighed and gave in. "Very well," he said regretfully. "You may leave, Miss Nickel, but I daresay whether you'll be fit for a fight. It'll be a bit risky – " He broke off when Evelyn gave him a sharp, angry look. The doctor gestured for the two of them to leave.
Once outside the surgery, Evelyn and Mikaela silently began to ascend the stairs. The closer they got to the top, the more louder and distinct the noisy jabber from the crowd became. Suddenly, Mikaela stopped her climb and leaned against the rail. Evy followed this example and halted abruptly.
"So," Mike began slowly. "What do we know?"
Evy knew exactly what the other girl was talking about. The pain...and memory. But why wasn't it happening now?
"I recognised you in my dream," Evelyn recalled softly. "I think the pain must have stopped when we realised…something."
"Yes, but what about before that?"
Mike was right, Evy thought. The incident in the hall, at the gym…when they were looking at eachother, why didn't the sudden wave of memories flood them? Maybe something relevant happened during the time that they were apart…
"The needle!" Mikaela cried suddenly. Evy took a step back.
"What needle?"
"I think the connection must have something to do with what happened from the time we met in the gym, to the time when you…collapsed."
"And…?"
"Well, something did happen. I was knocked out unconscious, and when I woke up I found a needle at my side, and a matching puncture in my skin to go with it. The syringe was labelled with my name."
There was silence. Both girls looked down at their feet, until Mikaela broke the silence.
"What happened to you in that time period?" she asked, still gazing at the ground.
Evelyn looked up. "Nothing much. I slept a bit, then I played in the local playground – I still love them, y'know – and then…I came here."
More silence. The girls continued to do nothing but think about their situation. Then Evy suddenly remembered something.
"Hey – Mike…"
"Mmm?"
"I…remember something important." The two of them lifted their heads and gazed at eachother. "…I think it might help."
"Really?" Mikaela queried, the tone of her voice rising to that of a surprised one.
"Yes. When I first felt the pain of connection, I saw…something. I don't know what it was, but I was pretty sure I had seen it before. It was…this sickly green colour. Its skin was sort of…slimy looking. It wore a helmet, and…" Evy strained her brain for more detail, but it was all a blur. "That's all I can remember." She concluded.
Mike's mouth was wide open, as were her eyes. She stood gaping at her friend for a while. Finally she spoke, her words barely audible.
"O…ra…but…how…?"
"Excuse me?" Evy inquired.
"He's here!" Mike cried. "I can't believe Heihachi let him in so early! What if he kills someone? He's REALLY gone too far, that old fat bastard, when I get my hands on him, I'll…RAH!" Mikaela made a viscous strangling motion with her hands. She then calmed down and sighed. "I know that – " she began, only to be cut off by the PA.
"Ladies and gentleman, may I have your attention," the male voice boomed. The girls stopped and listened. "If Evelyn Sandra Nickel does not report immediately to Master Mishima's office, she will we be directly withdrawn from the Iron Fist tournament. Thank you."
"Um…" Evelyn mumbled.
"Let's RUN!" Mike seized Evy's wrist and ran, dragging the poor girl behind her like a helpless dog.
"Mike!" Evy yelled. "Where's – the – office?"
"Over here!" Mikaela pointed towards a sign directing them towards their destination. They turned a sharp left and skidded before the door marked "DIRECTOR'S OFFICE". Puffing and panting, Evelyn straightened her hair and smoothed the creases on her top before gulping a great big breath of air and disappearing inside Heihachi's office…leaving Mike on her own. She carefully pressed her ear against the cold, blurred window of the door to listen for snippets of conversation.
"So, do you think you're fit to compete in the round?" asked a deep male voice.
"Definitely." A higher, female voice confirmed.
"Well…what exactly happened out there?"
"Uh…nerves."
"Nerves?"
"Yes. I was a bit nervous because I had this…stomach cramp, and I guess I just fainted."
"Hmm…hold on a minute, I need to go tell the supervisors that you're competing…"
"Wait a – "
Suddenly, Mikaela felt strong hands grasp her arm and pull her back from the door. She struggled to free herself from the hold of the hands. She turned her head around a few degrees, and when she saw who it was they released their grasp.
"I see we haven't finished our earlier fight…" Mike whispered in his ear. Hwoarang shuddered from the feel of her warm breath.
"Yeah…" he responded slowly. They backed away from eachother, and readied themselves in fighting form. Mikaela noticed a small bandage on his nose. Although Hwoarang wasn't her favourite person, Mike felt guilty and sorry. Snap out of it! She thought to herself. He's meant to be your rival, remember? You must show no mercy! But she couldn't.
WHAM!
Mike fell over face down on the floor, her head throbbing from Hwoarang's kick. She gasped when she felt more pain when she tried to haul herself up. You've got to be stronger than that… She told herself as she wiped the blood from her temple. Ignoring the pain, she swiftly got to her feet and resumed fighting, throwing punches at Hwoarang face. Do I really want to fight?
***********************************************************************************
Oh gosh! Hwoarang thought. I didn't mean to hit her that hard! I hope she's not dead! He was relieved when Mikaela finally made her way back to her feet. She charged right at him, trying to punch him numerous times. Her opponent dodged them with swift speed, before catching her wrist and kicking her in the stomach. I'm really giving her a beating. He didn't know whether to feel victorious or sorry for the girl. His head buzzing, he brought up his courage and attempted another kick to her head – it missed. Mike swung a fist at Hwoarang, crunching into his chin. He fell backwards.
I have to keep fighting…
Mikaela turned to walk away, but her rival jumped to his feet and threw punches at her. She dodged them, but one of them caught her in the stomach, winding her. She doubled over. Clutching her stomach in pain, she stepped back a few paces with her head down.
She lowered her head even more, until it was completely hidden from view. Anger boiled up inside her, as her forehead burned. It burned as if it was on fire, and her arm did too. Her anger was nearly to the top now. All the burning anger…she reached her peak and suddenly pounced at Hwoarang, knocking him over unconscious on the cold stone floor. Her fists flew swiftly across his face, causing more blood to seep. After about twenty punches she had used up all her energy and fell over on top of Hwoarang.
The burning sensation had fled from her and she felt normal again. Her rage had all gone, though her back ached. She reached behind to massage it. It stung. When she withdrew her hands they were covered in blood.
Mikaela looked down at Hwoarang. His usually attractive face was smeared with blood, and his face was all out of shape. Tears came into her eyes. What have I done? She asked herself. Never in her right mind would she have done such a thing. Something inside Mike forced her to almost kill Hwoarang…something.
She wrapped her arms around his unconscious figure and lifted him up. Gee, he's heavy…with all her effort, she dragged him down the stairs back towards the surgery. When she reached her destination she knocked on the door viscously until someone let her in. It was Christie. When she saw the bloody, broken figure of the man Mikaela was carrying she gasped and clutched her chest.
"Oh my god!" she shrieked. "What happened?"
"Christie, keep it down!" Mike's voice was frantic.
"Don't worry, we're the only ones in here. The other guys left to go for a coffee break. So tell me, what happened?" Christie was still trying to overcome the shock.
"Look, just help me get him on a bed and we'll do the best we can."
Christie reached out her hands and grabbed the other end of Hwoarang's body. Carefully they lifted him onto a bed. Once they had finished they caught their breath back and wiped their hands on the sheets.
"Now are you going to tell me – " Christie started.
"No. Go up and get all the help you can."
Christie obeyed Mikaela's commands and hurried up the stairs. When she was gone Mike bent down over Hwoarang and spoke to his sleeping body gently.
"I – I'm sorry, Hwoarang…" her voice was crackling and tears began streaming down her face. "I hope you understand. I didn't…mean to. Really."
She reached for a damp cloth and began dabbing his face. Hwoarang started to stir. He groaned a little, but Mikaela hushed him. "You need all the energy you can get…" she mumbled before whispering her apologies again.
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Ooh, can't you just tell that something's going on between Mikaela and Hwoarang? *grins* Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! Don't worry, Hwoarang won't die. I have the power not to MAKE HIM! Hehe. I hope you don't think I'm bashing him (though Mikaela did! Lol, just kidding…), I love Hwoarang myself. So, what will happen with Mikaela and Hwoarang? What happened with Evy and Heihachi? Will Christie find help, and if she does, what will their reaction be? Will they believe Mike? AND WHAT ABOUT XIAOYU AND JULIA, WHO ARE JUST WAITING IN THE STANDS? Find out more in the next chapter! So, until next time, over and out!
---Lia
xxx