Mikaela pressed a hand on Hwoarang's forehead, concentrating hard. She focused her energy carefully, precisely. Then she drew some out to pass on to Hwoarang. When she had finished she sat on the floor, puffing and panting.
Hwoarang groaned once again and sat up.
"Hello?" he called. "Is someone there? Ouch!" he lay back down, overcome by the pain of his wounds. Mike stood up and grabbed a few bandages from a shelf. Then she began wrapping them around Hwoarang's head. When she did, he asked her questions.
"What happened to me?" When Mikaela remained silent, he tried to think back to before. He remembered seeing Mike pounce on him…that was it.
"Did you do this to me?" he inquired, pushing further into the truth. There was a pause.
"No." Mikaela said. Then she thought a little. "I would never have done such a thing. It was something inside me that forced me to beat you to a bloody pulp. Luckily my energy was drained before I could kill you."
Hwoarang noticed that she said these words without looking at him. "I know, when you get those anger impulses…"
"No, you don't know." Mike insisted. "It was different."
Again, Hwoarang tried to think back as far as he could, but it was all a blur. Then he remembered something.
"Yes…" he mumbled, only loud enough for Mikaela to hear. "You looked a bit different too."
Mike paused and slowly turned to look at the other man. "Really?"
"Your eyes were all red, and you had this funny mark on your forehead. And…there were these things sticking out of your back."
Mikaela remained frozen. She remembered the burning sensation on her forehead, and the holes in her back…she reached up to feel them again. Hwoarang saw what she was doing and sat up to inspect them.
"That's just where those weird things were." He reached around to touch her back, and at that moment Christie came bursting through the doors.
"I couldn't find anyone, Mikaela! I'm sorry!" Christie announced, and then she spotted Hwoarang with his hand on Mikaela's back. He withdrew it quickly. "What's going on?!"
"Hwoarang has his strength back and was trying to punch me!" Mikaela lied very quickly.
Christie looked at Hwoarang. "Oh, glad to see you're a bit better now, Hwoarang." She smiled and walked closer to him. "Oh my, what did she do to you?"
"It wasn't me!" Mikaela protested. "I mean…don't tell anyone that I beat him up bad."
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Christie, don't be angry!"
"After what you did to an innocent person?"
Hwoarang scoffed. Christie narrowed her eyes. Their argument continued like this for about 5 more minutes, until Hwoarang fell asleep again. The girls fell silent.
"I'm – " Christie began.
"Shh…" Mikaela whispered. "Someone's coming."
"We shouldn't leave him here," Christie said, nodding her head towards Hwoarang.
"Let's take him up to our room."
"Since when did you volunteer to help Hwoarang?"
Mikaela didn't answer that question. "I'll grab the top, you grab his legs."
Christie gripped his feet tightly and held them under her armpits. Mikaela grabbed Hwoarang by his armpits. Slowly they lifted him off the bed. He did not wake.
They carried him slowly and carefully to the door. When they reached it, Christie reached out a hand to open it. After checking that the coast was clear, the two of them made their way upstairs, slowly. Once there, Christie turned to Mikaela with a pessimistic opinion.
"I don't think we'll make it, Mikaela."
They paused. "Yes, we will." Mikaela courageously insisted. And so they continued at their snail pace, slowly taking one step at a time.
"Hey, Mikaela!"
"What?"
"There's a double bass case in that broom closet…" she nodded towards a nearby closet, its door ajar, revealing the huge case. "Do you reckon we could fit Hwoarang in that? Then we could catch a taxi ride back to our room."
"It's worth a try." The girls gently dropped him onto the ground. Once they had done so they rushed over to the closet and dragged out the double bass case.
***********************************************************************************
Evelyn waited patiently, her legs crossed gracefully. Heihachi should be back any minute now, she told herself. She glanced up at the clock. 1 o'clock. She sighed and leant back in her chair. Heihachi had been gone for half an hour already. Evy cursed when she took a second glance at the clock.
That was when she decided to do something naughty. She eyed one of the cabinets. Evelyn reached out and yanked the handle, opening the drawer. It was empty. She groaned and continued with the next. It too was empty. This continued until there was only one drawer left. There has to be something inside here, she thought. Eagerly she grabbed the knob and pulled it – it was locked.
"Damn!" Evy hissed. She searched frantically for a key. Under the desks, under the chair, on the floor…it was there. It sparkled its silver glimmer menacingly at her. Come and get me! It seemed to say.
She slide her hand underneath the units, only to find that her fingertips merely brushed the polished surface of the keys. She pushed herself forward a bit more – at last, her fingers closed onto the shiny object.
Evy dragged her hand out from underneath and inserted the key into its hole, but stopped. What if Heihachi returned and found me here? She asked herself. Evy heard footsteps – she wasn't sure if they were real or an element of her mind. Her heart was beating loudly, but she pushed these thoughts away and opened the drawer.
A single stack of paper was there. It looked like some research. Evelyn curiously picked it up and began reading the front page.
"Devil Gene…" she mumbled, reading out the heading. Now she really heard footsteps, so she hastily locked the drawer, hid the key, shoved the papers inside her jacket and sat gracefully in her chair. The door opened and Heihachi stood there.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he apologised. "Your fight will start in half an hour."
"Thank you." Evy smiled. "Must I proceed to the arena immediately, or can I do some things beforehand? You know, when the tension is a bit much you want to distract yourself for a while…"
"You may make your way to the arena when you are called."
"Okay, I'll do that," Evelyn stood up, brushed off her skirt and headed to the door. "Thanks." She said before the door slammed behind her.
Evy began walking towards the exit. She pulled out her mobile phone and dialled Mikaela's cellphone.
***********************************************************************************
"He needs more bandages," Mikaela suggested.
"What?" Christie snapped. "He already looks like a mummy."
"So what?" Mikaela rolled out another bandage and wrapped it around Hwoarang's face. True, he did look like a mummy, but it was better than bleeding to death. "I'll just have to call the Zaibatsu to tell him that he can't compete…"
There was a muffled "What?" from underneath Hwoarang's bandages.
"Shut up, you can't compete, look at you!" Mike hissed.
"Oh, let him speak…" Christie began unwrapping his bandages.
"Fine, but I'm withdrawing him – " As soon as she picked up her phone it began ringing. She answered it. "Hello?"
"Hi, it's me," said the voice on the other line.
"Evy? What's up?"
"I've got some important information to show you. Come over here quick!"
"Why can't you come here? I've got a situation on my hands."
"But Heihachi only gave me half an hour before my match!"
Mikaela sighed. "Alright, I'll come over."
"Thanks."
"Okay, seeya." Just as she hung up, Christie screamed. "What?!"
Christie pointed at Hwoarang. Mike found it hard to suppress a yell herself. His face was completely healed, just as it was before. Hwoarang glanced from one to the other, a look of confusion on his face.
"What's going on?" He asked stupidly. "Hey…I feel a bit better…"
"That's 'cos you're healed," Mikaela explained, adding emphasis on the last word. She gave him a little hand-mirror. Hwoarang examined his face.
"What the hell?" He exclaimed.
"I don't know what happened!" Christie said.
"Alright guys, I've got to go now, Evy needs me," Mike pulled on her coat. "You two can deal with these problems."
"Why can't you stay?" Hwoarang asked. Christie looked at him. He shut his mouth.
"I'll be back later." And with that, she left through the door. When she was gone, Christie turned to Hwoarang.
"Okay, what's going on?"
***********************************************************************************
Mikaela read through the files with her eyes wide open. Her mind was in complete shock.
"What's wrong?" Evy asked. "What did you read?"
"I have the devil gene," Mikaela stated simply and placed the paper on the floor.
"Devil Gene?"
"It's sort of…a part of the devil. A part of its genes." It was pretty hard for someone who bore the gene to explain the dangers of it to another person.
"So what does it do?" Evelyn's voice had a tone of curiosity.
"Whenever the person feels anger or rage, they half-transform into the devil himself. I have all the symptoms."
"How do you know? You look just like a normal person to me."
"No. I've already transformed once. I attacked a person viscously. When they awoke they told me what I looked like."
"And the dangers are…"
"Well, the devil gene is very powerful. When it takes over the body, it creates a temporary super human being. Immortal, destructive, you name it. It's a key to the total destruction of the world.
"Human genes and devil genes cannot co-exist," Mikaela continued, remembering what she had just read. "Eventually it takes over the body if nothing is done to control it. And…that's all I know. I don't even know everything about me. I still need a lot of questions answered. And then there's the problem with Ogre…"
"Who is this guy, Ogre?"
"He killed lots of people, including…" tears came into her eyes. "…My parents. He attacked our house at night. I was lucky to escape. Anyway, Ogre is a very dangerous being. I've heard Heihachi's trying to extract Ogre's blood, so that he can drink it and have his powers. Oh, he's a greedy man, Heihachi…"
"I guess I should tread carefully around him," Evelyn said. "I think I underestimated the old man."
"Oh no, you shouldn't do that. He's bringing Ogre into the tournament as a fighter. That would mean that if he kills someone, it would only look like an accident. And apparently he's doing this to lure in fighters, especially one person. I never heard whom, though, but he must have done something bad to him. So…I've sent myself here to warn the Tekken fighters of the danger they're putting themselves in."
"Is that all you know?" Evy asked.
Mikaela nodded. "Yes. I wish I could tell you more, though."
The two girls smiled and hugged eachother.
"Evelyn Nickel, please report to the arena, your match is about to start," The PA announced.
"Can you come?" Evy asked eagerly.
"I don't think I can," Mikaela said. "I need to take care of some business…you should go down there, you know. Good Luck." And with that, she turned away. Evelyn did as she was told and went down to the arena.
Mikaela walked towards Heihachi's office, where she and Hwoarang fought earlier on. All this happened in one day…the process is quickening…What process? The process of the devil gene taking over her body?
She reached the door and knocked. No answer. Mike simply opened the door and found Heihachi sitting there.
"Ah, Mikaela," he greeted, smiling menacingly. "So glad to see you again. Always a pleasure to speak to a young and eager fighter."
Mikaela narrowed her eyes. "Enough of this, Heihachi," she commanded.
"Coffee?" The evil man offered, gesturing towards a cup.
"I need questions answering." Mikaela repeated.
Heihachi sighed. "Ah, you're right," he said, standing up. "But let's go to a little spot of mine, shall we?"
Mike felt uneasy…this could be a trap…but she accepted anyway. She followed him around the building, ascended many stairs until she found herself standing on the roof with Heihachi. As soon as they got there, he whipped out his gun and pointed it directly at Mikaela.
"Can't you see a trap when it's right in front of you, you silly girl?" He smirked. "Of course, the most I could expect from a helpless teenager…" he started to circle around her slowly. She did not move. She only followed him with her narrowed eyes.
"I swear, I will shoot. I don't need you. After all I am in charge of this whole Zaibatsu. If I make up a story about your death, I'm sure everyone will believe it."
"But I won't die," Mike insisted.
"Oh yes you will! What hope do you think you have, a trained man with a gun against a dwarfed, unarmed 17-year-old?"
"I'm not dwarfed," Mikaela snapped. She felt anger flare inside of her. No. I must suppress my anger.
"Yes, but you're not a giant, either," Heihachi chuckled at his lame joke. "So, you wanted questions answering, did you? Well, I'll answer your questions, but I'll have to shoot you afterwards."
"Go ahead," Mike said in a carefree way. "See what happens."
Heihachi laughed again. "Tough one, aren't you?"
"My questions, Heihachi."
"I'm ready."
"Why did you inject me with the Devil Gene?"
"Oh, just an experiment…you have a lot of rage, Mikaela Everest. Just what I needed for someone to control…"
"Control?"
"Yes. You are only young, Mikaela…but the process was too quick for me. I underestimated your strength." He said the last sentence regretfully.
"Am I the only one with the gene?"
"Oh, no. My son, Kazuya, has the gene."
"I thought the gene was hereditary? Wouldn't you have it?"
"No, the devil gene was never a natural part of life. A long time ago the being corpse of the devil was found. G Corporation took the gene out of the devil before dissolving the rest in acid. You see, they were afraid of the devil's powers. A voice spoke to the discoverers of the corpse, telling them everything. They were frightened like rabbits." Heihachi chuckled. "I sent spies into G Corp and stole the gene samples.
"Kazuya thought that he had all of the devil gene to himself. When he raided the Zaibatsu he took as much as he could. But there was still one half left."
"I see…" Mikaela thought for a while. "And where is Ogre now?"
"Oh, he is here. If your friend Evy makes it to the final stage she will die. I daresay you'd want to withdraw her. But why spoil her dreams? She'll hate you forever."
"No! She'll understand, she's my friend!" Mikaela could not let anyone die. Heihachi stopped circling and faced Mikaela.
"There is one more person who has the devil gene, you see. He is the one I am intending to kill with Ogre. And then, once I defeat Ogre, I will have the devil gene and Ogre's blood!"
"If you're so keen on getting the gene, why did you waste it on me?"
"I didn't inject you, Mikaela. G Corporation spies did. They thought that if you had the gene, you would die and the gene would disappear. They stole the samples back from me. They, too, underestimated you. I was thinking of controlling you…"
"You won't!"
"Then I'll have to kill you. It's a good thing that the devil gene doesn't give immortality." He shot a bullet. It missed Mikaela by a millimetre. She ran as fast as she could to the stairs. Heihachi followed her. They ran through the corridors, past technicians, Heihachi frantically shooting everywhere. Mike's heart beat faster and harder than ever. She couldn't die…not now…
Mikaela screamed, but did not stop running. A bullet had hit her shoulder, and blood was trickling down her arm. She dived into Heihachi's office and stopped running. Heihachi walked through the door, his gun pointed at her. He placed his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot –
Mikaela yelled and flung her leg at Heihachi's arm. He cried and dropped his gun. She kicked it away and readied herself in fighting stance.
"You want a fight, eh?" Heihachi grinned and swung one of his wrinkled fists at the girl. She ducked and whacked his stomach with a swift front kick. He groaned and clenched his stomach. However, Heihachi wasn't that easy. He elbowed her in the nose. Mikaela gasped as it started to bleed.
Mikaela viscously punched him in the temple. He missed and kicked her side. She screamed and doubled over. Her eyes stung and her forehead started burning.
Suddenly she felt a pain…and ripping pain, coming from the inner depths of her heart. She yelled as she felt a puncturing feeling in her back. More stinging came from her arm. The pain ceased and Mikaela felt free…free as a bird, and strong as a brick wall.
Heihachi gasped and fell on his knees, fumbling for his gun. He found it, but the devil girl stepped on his hand with a loud crunching sound. He yelled and stood up.
"You thought you could defeat me!" The words were coming out of Mikaela's mouth, but it wasn't her voice. It was high and low, angry and sad.
Heihachi kicked, but Mikaela grabbed his foot and turned him over, on his back, knocked out cold. She felt a choking feeling and the pain came once again. She gagged an grasped her throat, falling on all fours. Her anger subsided and she felt calm again.
The sound of screaming from outside distracted her. She looked out the window and saw a sight she had dreaded.
Evy was fighting Ogre, but he was bashing her up terribly. Mike felt tears prick her eyes. I have to save her…
The PA! She opened the next door. A man was sitting at the microphone, surrounded by a few members of the Tekken Force.
"Mind if I take over?" She smirked. The Tekken Force turned around swiftly. The nearest one kicked her, but she dodged it and punched him clean in the face. The other 3 all jumped at her, kicked and punching. She slipped in between two of them, grabbed their heads and smashed them together. One more left. She kicked his face, and he fell backwards. Before her had a chance to stand back up, she stood on his face and dug her heel in.
The commentator got out of his chair and punched Mikaela's cheek. She groaned and rubbed her face, before seizing his head and throwing him across the room. Then she gracefully sat down on his chair and flicked on the microphone.
"Fighters, please stop your fight for a moment. Audience, may I please have your attention." Her heart started beating heavily again. She panted and looked out the window. A few audience members were still talking, but Evy and Ogre had discontinued their fight. "That means everyone." Everyone stopped.
"I am Mikaela Everest, a competitor in the tournament. Heihachi has told me to hold a meeting for all fighters in Heihachi's office immediately. Thank you."
There was the sound of yelling and footsteps. Mikaela sighed as she turned off the PA system.
"Finished?" Heihachi's voice came from behind her. Mikaela turned around to see him aiming his gun at her, but as soon as she was facing him he shot her about 10 times in the chest. She screamed and fell to the floor, motionless. Blood ran from underneath her, creating streams of crimson liquid. Heihachi chuckled. "No escaping from me now, eh?"
He turned to walk away, a smile on his face. However, he stopped when he heard a growling sound from behind him. Heihachi turned around. Mikaela was standing there, in her devil form, sporting 8 bullet holes. She growled and ran straight for Heihachi. He yelled and ran, ran as fast as he could. However, the devil girl picked him up and threw him across the hall. He skidding on his back for about 8 feet, colliding with the small crowd of Tekken Fighters. Christie and Hwoarang were among them, but Evy and Ogre were not.
Xiaoyu squealed when the unconscious Heihachi slid up against her foot.
"Which way's Heihachi's office?" Christie called.
"Over here!" Paul Phoenix waved to indicate his position.
The Tekken Fighters had the shock of their life when they saw Mikaela laying face-down on the floor with eight bullet holes in her chest.
"Is she alright?" Lei Wulong bent down to inspect her wounds.
A gagging noise came from Mikaela. Lei backed away as her chest shook when she coughed again. A little blood came from her mouth. The crowd backed away and someone closed the door. Chatter arose amongst the fighters.
Meanwhile, Mikaela was having trouble breathing. She sat up and the bullet holes closed, completely healed. She wiped the blood from her mouth on her sleeve and stood up, making for the door.
***********************************************************************************
Evy was on all fours, panting. Her body was bashed and broken, and she had less than an ounce of strength left. Ogre stood over her, not even breaking a sweat.
"Why do you do this?" she asked with all her effort. "Why do you kill people?"
Ogre remained silent, watching her with his red eyes.
"There must be some good in you…there has to be…"
The powerful being shook his head. Evy flinched and grabbed her chest. "There has to be a reason."
He lowered his head. "I…" he said, trying to speak. "I've been…betrayed…"
"Betrayed? By whom?"
"Me…"
"I don't understand…"
A bright light was coming from Ogre's chest. He yelled his inhumane yell as it split across his body, tearing him apart. Evy screamed as she was knocked back, unconscious, by the force of the blast of light.
Finally he exploded into millions of pieces. The remnants disintegrated into thin air, leaving without a trace, leaving Evy on her own. She stirred and slowly sat up.
"I did it…" she realised. "I won the King of Iron Fist tournament…"
The last thing she saw was someone running towards her, before she blacked out again.