Author's note: Thanks to all of you who took the time to review my story. I really appreciate all the suggestions. I hope you continue to read and review.

Chapter 4: Secrets Revealed

"Is she awake?"
"Suki, if you can hear us please give us a sign."
I moved my lips, but all I could manage was a whimper.
"We're going to take you into surgery. Just try to relax.
I felt myself being lifted and placed onto a cold, hard surface. Then I was moving. The movement stopped and I was lifted onto yet another cold, hard table. The next thing I remember is someone putting something over my face and telling me to breathe deeply,

The first thing I saw when I woke up was Ming's face.
"Suki! You're all right. You gave us quite a scare back at the cave."
"Wh-where am I?" I asked groggily. I tried to move my right arm, but it wouldn't budge.
"You're in the hospital just outside the Tekken area."
I pushed the button at the side of my bed. The mattress rose and I slowly and painfully sat up. I rested my head against my pillow for a moment and closed my eyes.
"How long...?" I asked, my eyes still closed.
"It's been almost 32 hours since we left the cave. Heihachi was able to get a correspondent working on how to get us all safely out of the forest. We ended up being air lifted out by helicopter.:
"But...where did you find a place to land?"
"Believe it or not, we weren't too far from the other end of the forest. The helicopters landed right on the edge."
"How is everyone?"
Ming hesitated. "Well, I talked to the doctor and he says you'll be out of here in a couple of days. I came out with a broken hand and Heihachi fractured his leg. Lee is...well he's..."
I opened my eyes. For the first time I saw that Ming's hand was heavily bandaged and a splint protruded out slightly at the palm. He leveled his worry-filled eyes with mine.
"Lee is in critical condition. His nose was nearly broken and almost every part of his face is bruised, cut, or swollen. He was badly wounded by a sword slice across his stomach."
"I must see him," I replied, struggling to get out of bed.
"No, Suki. Rest now. You can see Lee tomorrow."

I awoke the next day feeling refreshed. My mind was clearer and I was able to sit up almost painlessly. A nurse came in and brought me breakfast. A while later Heihachi hobbled into my room on crutches with his leg in a cast.
"Suki, it is good to see you fully awake this morning," Heihachi said, "Ming told me of his visit with you last night. He said you were recovering nicely, so I decided to visit."
Ming! Suddenly I remembered that today was the day I could see Lee.
"Heihachi, have you seen Lee yet?"
"No I was planning on going after my visit with you."
"Can I come with?"
"Of course."
Heihachi waited outside my room while I looked for something to change into. I found a white robe in the closet and a pair of slippers.
As Heihachi and I made our way to Lee's room in the intensive care unit he told me what he know about our little army in the midst of battle.
"...There I was, in the very center of the cave, when Yoshimizu himself dropped from the ceiling. We fought for hours it seemed, until he knocked me into a wall. I heard a crunch and realized that my leg was broken. I thought I was done for, but when I looked up my opponent was gone. Thankfully Yoshi, our Yoshi, was there to help me out of the cave. Then he went back in to help the others. I saw him carrying Lee out and wondered where you were. Yoshi assured me that you were fine, but something obviously happened between then and now that he didn't know about."
I briefly told him about my second encounter with Brian.
"He was a traitor? I should have known! Oh, Suki I'm so sorry..."
"It's alright, Heihachi. No one could have possibly known. Did all of the Samurai disappear from the cave or just Yoshimizu?"
"I don't know, but my correspondent has informed me that he will be sending out a crew to go back to the cave to look for survivors and gain more knowledge on the methods of the Samurai. I'll tell you if anything comes up."
When we got to the waiting room outside of Lee's ward Ming pulled me aside.
"Suki, can we go somewhere and talk?" he asked me with a pleading look in his eyes.
I told Heihachi to see Lee first and followed Ming to his room. He sat on the edge of his bed and I pulled up a chair. We sat in silence for a moment. I could tell what Ming was feeling just by looking at him.
"They say my brother may not live much longer," Ming said sadly.
I took Ming's good hand in mine and looked into his eyes.
"He'll live. Luigi's always been strong."
"How..."
"It's me."
"Violet?"
"Yes."
Mario studied me for a long time.
"So it wasn't just delirium. You really did rescue Luigi. The first thing he said when he was being loaded into the helicopter was something about rescue and you. Up until now I didn't know what he was talking about. And before you collapsed...you said my name, I mean my given name.
"I did?"
"Yes, you whispered it. I thought I had gone crazy."
"He knew all along, didn't he?"
"Maybe. If he did he never told anyone about it. And now..."
Ming buried his head in his hands. I sat next to him on the bed holding him with my good arm as he convulsed with sobs.
"Mario," I said letting go of him, "Look at me." He looked. "Luigi will live. I just know it. Now get some rest. You look as if you haven't slept in days."

I got off the bed as Mario lied down. I covered him with a blanket and squeezed his good hand gently as encouragement.
"I'm going to visit your brother now. Get some sleep. If you feel up to it you can come to my room after lunch."
I slipped out of Mario's room and closed the door then made my way back to the waiting room. I practically collapsed into a chair. I didn't know what to expect of Luigi after seeing his brother's grief. I sat back in the chair with my eyes closed until Heihachi returned from Luigi's room.
"Suki, are you alright?"
"Yes, yes just a little tired I guess," I said, opening my eyes.
"You can go and see Lee now, if you're up to it," Heihachi said with a weary look. "I can wait here for you if you need me."
"No, that's ok. You look like you could use some rest," I replied as I slowly stood up and made my way to Luigi's room.
When I got there the door was ajar and Luigi was lying in a white, sterile hospital bed with his eyes closed. His once handsome face was covered with bruises and swollen and he had difficulty breathing. There was an IV and a heart monitor near his bed. I figured he was sleeping so I started to leave.
"Wait...don't go..."
"Luigi?" I said and sat on a chair near his bed. I took his hand in mine. "It's me, Violet."
"Violet..." He relaxed a little.
"Yes, I'm here," was all I could think to say.
I had known Luigi for practically my whole life. We had even tried being a couple once. We loved each other deeply, but in the end we had to separate. I still cared for him though. Seeing him injured and possibly dying broke my heart. All I could think was that this should not have been happening to him or anyone else.
As I was struggling with my thoughts Luigi opened his eyes. The once dazzling sapphire color had grown duller, but his eyes still held their intensity. Luigi's gaze came to rest on my cast.
"Your arm..." He said, a look of deep concern in his eyes.
Whatever had been holding back my tears for the past hours collapsed. Here was a man suffering the worst fate out of all of us and he was worried about my minor injury.
"Oh Luigi," I sobbed. "This never should have happened to you. I would give anything to have been captured instead of you, just so you could remain unharmed."
"Don't say that," Luigi replied, his grip on my hand tightening ever so slightly.
"I'm sorry. It's just that...well it shouldn't be like this."
"I know"
We stayed silent for a while after that, the only sounds in the room being the heart monitor and Luigi's labored breathing. I thought he had gone back to sleep until he spoke.
"Tell me everything."
I spent the next couple of hours describing everything that had happened to me since the day I came. After I told him it was as if a weight had been removed from my shoulders.
"...And now we're all here recovering. I-"
I started to conclude, but before I could finish the sentence I realized Luigi had fallen asleep.
I carefully released his hand from mine and stood up to leave. Then, almost as an afterthought, I moved aside some of his hair and brushed my lips lightly against his forehead. Luigi stirred but didn't open his eyes.
I made my way back to my room still exhausted but at the same time instilled with a strange sense of hope. True, Luigi was still injured in intensive care and we were all worried about him. I believed he was improving, though. He did manage to talk to me and even wanted to hear about what had happened to me since I got to the Tekken facility. That had to be something.
I got to my room, opened the door, and went over to my bed, thinking that a quick nap would restore my senses and ready me for whatever was to come next.

I awoke just as the sun was sinking behind the cliffs and realized that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I was about to ring for a nurse when I heard a knock at the door.
"Come in," I said sleepily.
A tall, blonde nurse shuffled in with a tray of food.
"I wasn't sure if you were awake," she said, "when I knocked for lunch there was no answer."
"That's alright..." I glanced at her nametag and the words got caught in my throat. The small, gold plate read "Nurse Peach."