Tekken 24
Disclaimer: Don't own "24" or "Tekken".
The following takes place between 8:00 am and 9:00 am.
Events occur in real time.
8:00:00- The treads of his shoes slapped the tile floor as Hwoarang ran to the stairwell the bot had just entered.
The school was made up of three floors: A basement, the main floor, and a second floor. Hwoarang was currently on the second floor, and he peered over the railing, expecting to see the bot running down the stairs.
The bot surprised him, spinning him around. It threw a punch, and Hwoarang countered, wrapping his arm around the bot's arm. But the bot then countered again, hauling off and punching Hwoarang in the chest with it's free arm. Hwoarang fell over, painfully rolling down a flight of concrete stairs. His head hit the floor hard at the bottom of the stairs.
He groaned, his head pounding, his heart racing, and his body aching. He looked up in time to see the bot head for the roof. It was hard to breathe as he grabbed a hold of a railing to help him up.
"Hwoarang, what's your location?" Le Carre said over the radio.
"Almost on the second floor, heading to the roof. The bot's heading that way." He said.
"We're heading that way now. We should have people up there within the next minute." Le Carre said.
"Great. Just what I needed: backup." Hwoarang said sarcastically to himself.
He was wavering about. It felt odd to be filled with adrenaline one minute, and then feel as if you could drop dead the next.
He collected his strength and dashed up the stairs as fast as he could. The door to the roof was coming up and he wondered if Le Carre's men would be there already. He pulled his gun out again and opened the door.
This is what Hwoarang meant by odd. Not more than thirty seconds ago, he felt like shit, now his adrenaline was pumping again. Yeah it was normal, but that quickly? He dismissed the thought, chalking it up to his lack of sleep.
Sixty feet away the bot was putting its arm into what looked like a vent that air from the school could exit or enter through. Hwoarang didn't know which, and he wasn't about to guess. He pulled out his gun and aimed when something suddenly tackled the bot. He quickly darted over to the vent. The bot was fighting somebody, rolling around on the hot white surface of the roof.
"Jesus." Hwoarang said.
He was staring at identical twins. It was Jin. Hwoarang didn't understand how he got up here so quickly.
Behind him, a door burst open on the other side of the roof. At least ten armed agents, dressed in tactical gear came rushing to his side.
Hwoarang couldn't fire, because the two were exchanging blows while they rolled around near the edge of the roof. An agent came up with an assault rifle and aimed. Hwoarang protested, putting his arm in front of the agent's sight.
"What the hell are you doing?" the agent asked.
"Which one were you aiming for?" he asked.
The agent lowered his gun, knowing fully well what he meant.
Jin had straddled the bot and was attempting to jump off so Hwoarang could take care of it, but the bot obviously had other plans. The bot had grabbed Jin by the collar and threw him over the edge.
"Jin!" Hwoarang yelled as the bot stood up.
"Open fire!" Hwoarang screamed.
All the agents, including Hwoarang unleashed a fury of hell on the bot, who took most of the shots before falling over the edge as well. When it went, Hwoarang frantically ran to the edge of the roof to see where Jin was.
He was lying on the ground, face down, with a puddle of blood around his head.
8:07:09 – Lee had a plan. The stadium was going to happen, and it was going to down flawlessly. But he also had other things in mind.
See, Lee was a man who held many secrets. That was definitely true today. There was something that he was hiding from everyone. His enemies didn't know and neither did his friends. With this secret, he could destroy plenty. In fact, it was more devastating than the bots. It was this secret that scared him more than anything.
Lee knew that Kazuya was watching him, and as time would move on, he figured that he would just become more and more suspicious. That was one reason why he was doing what he was doing right now.
The bot in front of him was a replica of Baek Doo San. Lee stood in the back of a cargo van with the bot, the back doors open. At this point and time, he was updating the bot's protocol system. Originally, he planned on using this bot at the stadium, but now, something had come up. This bot was ready for something completely different. That was why he was updating the system. Specifically: the objectives database.
Kazuya walked up to the open doors, watching Lee work on the bot.
"What are you doing?" Kazuya asked.
"Programming the bot, so when your job is finished, it will take over." Lee said.
"I don't like machines doing my job for me." Kazuya said.
"Your 'job' is to take this thing to the location I told you, and to turn it on. It'll know what to do next." Lee said.
Lee finished the work on the bot. He then jumped out of the back of the van and shut the doors.
"And what will it do? Attack the ATU?" Kazuya asked.
"Yes, the primordial cure for the itch." Lee said.
8:10:56 – The UN's ATU had set up a triage center behind the school. It was away from the main view of the street, and anyone who was looking for it would consider it something else other than what it really was.
Hwoarang, Le Carre, Dr. Terry Branch, and a number of other medical staff were running towards the center, each holding onto the stretcher that carried Jin Kazama.
Jin's face was completely covered in blood. It turned out that he had hit the concrete sidewalk headfirst. Hwoarang knew he still had the devil gene, and he knew that he would be fine. But given the situation, they wanted to take care of him. Hwoarang didn't argue with them, in fact, he didn't even say anything.
It didn't take them more than a minute to get him inside the center. Branch had told Hwoarang and Le Carre to stay outside while they take care of him. Hwoarang stood there, catching his breath. Le Carre noticed a look of helplessness on his face. It was obvious that he wanted to help Jin, but right now, there was not much he could do.
Hwoarang turned around, noticed a refrigerator along the other side of the massive tent. He walked over to it. Le Carre watched him scramble through it, probably looking for something to drink.
He found a bottle of water, and immediately opened it and started chugging it down. When he finished it, he threw it in the trash can next to the fridge. He then went back outside.
Le Carre was worried about him. It wasn't anything along the lines of what Wallace was worried about the night before, but more along the lines of if he could keep taking this much punishment. Hwoarang was only twenty-two, but not even youth and being in shape would allow for somebody to take this much in such a short time.
He followed Hwoarang outside, who was sitting on a bench. Behind the school was a park, which was made exclusive to the school. The public could still roam around in the park, but a section of it was off limits, which was made available only to students of the school.
Hwoarang was rubbing his face and brushing his hands through his pure red hair. Le Carre sat down next to him.
"You should probably go. Get some sleep." Le Carre said.
"No, I can't. Not now." Hwoarang said.
"Look at yourself. Last night was tough enough: getting shot, getting your ass handed to you, escaping a sinking car, surviving numerous gunfights, and dying. That's only to name a few." Le Carre said.
Hwoarang looked forward, away from Le Carre. He was obviously ignoring him.
"I've been up for nearly a day. I'm used to this sort of thing happening. I used to work for British Intelligence. You on the other hand, have been up for nearly two days, and I know damn well that you aren't used to it. You're not carrying yourself right, and I bet you're probably going to start seeing things, if you haven't already." He said.
Hwoarang was staring at something in the distance. He squinted his eyes, almost as if he was trying to focus on it.
"What is it?" Le Carre asked.
"Is that a penguin?" Hwoarang asked.
Hwoarang immediately started laughing. Le Carre wasn't amused.
"Look, my point is: If continue you push yourself, you'll only slow us down." Le Carre said.
"I'm driven. He's the reason I'm here. The reason I lost a year of my life. He's the goddamn reason I can't sleep at night. I don't care if I am tired, I'll keep moving until this is done." Hwoarang said.
"Don't make this personal. It clouds your judgment, and it could get you killed." Le Carre said.
"I've already died once today. That made it personal." Hwoarang said.
"Hey..." Branch said.
Terry Branch came up behind them, the two men turning to look at him. Le Carre was thankful for the interruption. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with Hwoarang. Mainly because he wasn't the type of person to argue, but also because he knew how Hwoarang acted when he was hotheaded.
"How's Jin?" Le Carre asked.
Branch sighed. He never liked doing this.
"He's dead." He said.
That got Hwoarang's attention. He turned around and got up, looking at Branch as if he was just insulted.
"How? That's just not possible." Hwoarang said.
"It is. He's got no pulse, no heart beat." Branch said.
"He's got the devil gene. That should have kept him alive." Le Carre said.
"He doesn't have the gene. I don't know when he got rid of it, but it's not in his bloodstream." Branch said.
"Are you sure?" Hwoarang asked.
"When he came in, he was bleeding all over the place. When he flat lined, I found it odd. So, I took a sample of blood and put it under the scope. Blood that's infected with the gene has these neon green colored particles in with the blood cells. Those weren't present in his blood. I checked another sample to make sure. He doesn't have the devil gene." Branch said.
Hwoarang plopped back down on the bench. He was sick of the bad news. It was becoming too much. He wished he had somebody to talk to, somebody to grab onto, and somebody to share his pain.
"What about injecting him with the virus?" Hwoarang suggested.
"I doubt that would do anything. He's been dead five minutes." Branch said.
"I agree. Hwoarang, you were injected with it before you died, not after. He's dead." Le Carre said.
"Can we just try it, please?" Hwoarang said, frustrated.
Le Carre nodded at Branch, who ran off to the tent. Hwoarang followed and Le Carre took up the rear.
Upon entering the tent, Hwoarang saw Jin lying on the stretcher. His face was covered in blood, which was drying to his skin. The jacket and shirt he was once wearing was gone.
Le Carre came up behind him, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to make this as ugly as it already was.
Branch came up with a syringe that had the yellowish colored virus in it. He looked for a good vein, and then injected the syringe.
"I'm putting it straight into his bloodstream. I'm kind of new to bringing somebody back from the dead, so if this works and he goes zombie on us, I'll need you." Branch said.
He injected the virus and removed the needle. Then he backed off, acting as if he could get a better look at it if he wasn't so close.
Hwoarang at this point had been emotionless. He was upset, tired, and a little depressed. Saying anything to him right now wouldn't help.
The body violently jerked on the table. It stopped as quickly as it started. Everyone watched the body with wonder, amazement, and curiosity.
Before the virus was seen as a curse; something that one had to live with forever. But in this case, it was a miracle. It was something nobody had ever seen: a person who had died twice coming back to life. Just seeing something like this was a first for Terry Branch, and he wasn't sure what to think of it.
Jin sat straight up, and his body began shaking. It stopped after a moment, his eyes staring forward. A look of horror played across his face. It was almost as if he'd seen something he wished he hadn't.
"Jin?" Hwoarang asked.
He didn't respond. Jin was breathing as if he'd run a marathon. It was obvious something was wrong. Then he started moaning in pain. Branch came over a put a hand on his shoulder to support him. After a moment, Jin looked ok. His breathing had calmed.
But everyone knows that just when the pain suddenly stops, it comes back ten fold. And that's exactly what happened. A sudden loud ringing came into Jin's mind. He immediately began screaming and grabbed his head.
8:24:37 – The cargo truck drove through the north gate of the Tokyo Dome. There were four gates, each for the four main directions: North, South, West, East. The truck slowly drove towards the back of the dome.
There was only one loading dock, but it was big enough to take in shipments from nearly twenty different trucks.
Lee was in the back of this particular truck. The idea was to stay in the back and appear to show up at the loading dock. Steve would open the bay door, and they were in.
But things never end the way they were originally planned. Or at least that what Lee thought. Inside the back of the truck were ten men, the four remaining bots, Ling, and of course, himself.
The truck came to a stop, and Lee was standing at the door, just waiting for it to be opened.
Ling didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that she was coming along for the ride. But she didn't expect Steve to be opening the door to the truck. When she saw his face, she was stunned. Now this was a nightmare.
Steve had opened the door to the truck and walked back inside. Lee followed him inside. Ling was still in the truck, and she watched Steve and Lee talk for a brief moment. Steve walked off, and Lee came walking her way.
"You all have your individual assignments. I expect them done within the hour. When finished, report in." Lee said to his men.
The ten men walked off to do their thing and Lee stood over Ling, who was still sitting on the floor of the truck.
"You're not as bad as I thought you were." Ling said.
"Well, I would hope so." He said.
"You're worse. How could you bring Steve into this? He has no clue what he's into." Ling said.
"And what? You think you do? Ok. Go ahead, tell me why we're here." He said.
She didn't respond.
"Thought so." He said.
"Why are you doing this? You never were like this. I thought you used to be one of us." Ling said.
"I used to fight for the Zaibatsu. There just happens to be bigger fish to fry now. Now if you don't mind getting up, we have to go inside." He said.
He pulled Ling up by the arm and forced her inside the loading dock.
8:31:11 – Jin Kazama was a person who had a major inferiority complex. He hated who he was, and the devil inside of him reminded him of that. The only sign of good will in his heart was his mother. She was the outsider when it came to the Mishima bloodline, and she was the only one who to him to hang on.
The noise inside his head was starting to go away, but he was having a problem with light. He was in the backseat of an SUV. Up front, he could make out Hwoarang in the passenger's seat, Le Carre in the driver's seat. God, his head was killing him.
He didn't know why he was still alive. He remembered all of it: The fight, the fall, and even the impact. Anything after that was a blur though. He didn't remember any white light or fire or anything. All he knew was that he had died, and now once again, he was breathing again.
"How are you feeling?" Hwoarang asked.
"I just came back from the dead, how the hell do think I feel?" Jin said, lying face down across the backseat.
"Just asking." Hwoarang said.
"Speaking of asking, I don't recall asking you to bring me back." Jin said.
"I don't recall you having a death wish." Hwoarang said.
"Look. I never wanted to have that goddamn gene, and I didn't even know that it had left me. Then I died, and right now, I couldn't think of anything better." Jin said.
"You look. I actually happened to love my life before a year ago. I died about six hours ago, and that goddamned gene saved my life. I'm thankful for that. So maybe instead of looking at life as a curse, you should change your perception." Hwoarang said.
"Thanks, Dr. Phil. I'll keep that in mind." Jin said.
Hwoarang smirked at the comment.
8:35:28 – It's always interesting to see Kazuya when he's all business. His determination and focus is always top notch. His battles were always something to see. If he was the underdog, he would come back and surprise most people. Like a lot of the other fighters in the King of Iron Fist tournaments, he hated to lose.
The van he was driving was currently parked on the street, about two blocks away from the ATU. He hoped in the back, the sun glared through his sunglasses as he moved into the back.
The bot stood in the back. It had been activated, but Kazuya just needed to release it. The switch for the bot was actually a series of passwords that had to be spoken. The bot would first recognize the voice, and if the voice signature was allowed, it accepts the passwords.
"Kazuya Mishima. Blue. Investigation. Account. College." He said.
Kazuya didn't know anything about this type of stuff. In fact, he was so clueless that Lee had to write down the directions on paper. He figured that the bot was would then move and take over. It did, and it pushed him out of the way. Not knowing if the bot would break the doors down or not, he quickly moved to the back doors. He opened them and jumped out, and the bot followed him.
The bot then crossed the street and made its way towards the ATU. Kazuya got back inside the van and closed the doors. He got back up front, and sat there. If everything went according to plan, the chaos would soon erupt.
8:39:54 – Hwoarang yawned as they walked through the front foyer of the ATU. He was tired. Le Carre may have been right earlier.
Le Carre had gone on ahead so he could check up with Adam on any leads they had. Hwoarang was staying back with Jin, helping him inside. They hadn't spoken to each other since Jin's smartass comment.
While they may be rivals, there was a certain bond that the two of them now had. They both knew what it was like to be brought back to life, and they both now had the gene inside them.
In the silence of the SUV, Jin figured out how he must have lost the gene. When Nina had been chasing him through the burning house earlier in the morning, a shot grazed his shoulder. It must have been something that would have done something pretty bad. He guessed that the dart must have released a little bit of whatever liquid she was trying to fill him with. If just that little bit got rid of the gene, he wondered what the whole thing would have done.
Finally making it indoors, Hwoarang continued to walk slowly in front of Jin. The ATU was starting to feel a little like a home away from home. Every time he went out into the field, he eventually kept coming back here. He saw Le Carre talking to Adam over by the staircase that led to the second level.
The ATU had two levels. The first was where everything happened. It was clearly the busiest section in the building. Plus, it was right off the front doors. Just beyond that was a two sided staircase that led up to the second level. Up there was the conference room and what used to be Wallace's office. That was where Le Carre would be running things out of.
He moved over to Le Carre who turned to face him.
"Hwoarang, I'm going to have Adam take Jin down to the medical center to get checked out for a while." Le Carre said.
Adam went around him and quietly talked to Jin as they both walked off.
"What about me?" he asked.
"Well, I was going to let you see your father if you want. Then I was going to let you get some sleep." Le Carre said.
"What, here?" Hwoarang said.
"We have a room where there's a bed. It's nothing that Martha Stewart would like but it's good enough." Le Carre said.
"Thanks. I think I'll try to sleep first. But, is he in custody or what?" he asked.
"No. He's mainly be protected until this whole thing with Lee is over with. And I would like you to do the same if you don't mind." Le Carre said.
"You sure you don't need help?" Hwoarang said.
Le Carre chuckled.
"We're fine. It's a little haphazard and Lee might be one step ahead of us, but we'll get him. You've worked your ass off. If it wasn't for you we probably would be as far as we are." Le Carre said.
The two walked down a hallway, away from all the chaos in the front. They passed by a mechanic, which Hwoarang found odd. He ignored it though, seeing as Le Carre didn't say anything.
The hallway was littered with different rooms, most of which he didn't know what they were for. Le Carre stopped at one specific door, swiped a card key through the reader above the door handle, and opened the door.
"Go on in. Have a good sleep." Le Carre said.
"I'll try." He said.
"If you need anything, there's a phone inside. Just dial the number 487. That'll put you through to me." Le Carre said.
"Yeah." He said, shutting the door on his way in.
Hwoarang took a deep breath and turned on the lights. The room had a queen- sized bed in it. The sheets and comforter were all white. They went the cheapest route possible. The bed was the only thing in the room besides the small bathroom off to the side. The bathroom only had a toilet and a sink inside. He sat down on the edge of the bed.
What the hell was he doing? There was nothing wrong with what he was currently doing, but somehow it just felt strange. He was being pulled from the investigation, and for some reason, he almost didn't care. He would get his chance at Lee eventually, when he was in custody. But what if he escapes custody and the virus is released?
Hwoarang continued to sit on the edge of the bed, deep in thought.
8:46:18 – Baek Doo San was trying to stay busy inside the small holding room. He'd been here since last night. The bomb on his neck was successfully removed well over four hours ago.
The agents had brought him magazines, books, even a TV. But that wasn't helping. He wasn't worried about himself, he knew Hwoarang was out there somewhere, he just didn't know where.
The TV was on, the news playing softly in the background. Baek was drinking a bottle of water, waiting for an agent to bring him his breakfast. It was sad to know that the best they could do was McDonald's. Right now he was busy waiting for it to arrive.
The news was talking about the various events going on today in Tokyo. There were a few early morning accidents on the freeways. The news made mention of something happening at a school where somebody committed suicide. Then they mentioned the triple-header happening at the Tokyo Dome. The weatherman came on and spoke of a good chance of rain sometime today. He made a cheesy joke about the game getting rained out.
Baek's attention was drawn from the TV when he heard somebody swiping a card at the door. He stood up, thinking that the food was finally here. Instead, the bot came in.
He didn't know what to think. In fact, Baek blanked out when he stared at the bot, which was made to look like him. The bot shut the door.
"What the hell?" Baek said.
The bot then pulled out a silenced Walther PPK and shot Baek twice in the chest. He fell back into the chair and onto the floor. The momentum was enough to knock the TV off of its stand. It crashed loudly to the floor. The bot went over to Baek and shot him in the head to make sure. It then dropped the gun and quickly left the room.
8:50:44 – Hwoarang heard the noise from down the hall. He was still sitting on the edge of the bed thinking when it happened.
He opened the door and entered the hall, hoping to investigate. Another agent came down the hall on the opposite end.
"Did you hear that?" Hwoarang asked.
"Yeah, I was just coming to check it out. Who are you?" the agent asked.
"I'm Hwoarang. I'm working in the field with Le Carre." He said.
The agent nodded and moved to a door about four down from where Hwoarang was staying.
"Who's in here?" he asked.
"Baek Doo San. He was involved with your case." The agent said.
Hwoarang didn't think it was important to tell him that he was Baek's son. The agent swiped his card and opened the door.
Inside, Baek was lying on the floor. He was dead. The amount of blood proved it. The agent ran inside to check on Baek. Hwoarang ran off, he knew something was going on. He figured it had something to do with Lee. Running off towards the main floor, he knew he had to find Le Carre.
8:53:31 – The Tokyo Dome was an indoor stadium, which was a good thing. If the virus was released, it would stay inside, infecting the most people.
There were two Owner's boxes at opposite sides of the stadium. These were mainly used for special VIP's that would come in wanted to see the game privately. Lee was using one of these boxes as his base. It overlooked the entire stadium and it kept him hidden from everyone else.
Lee had access to a computer that was tapped into the stadium's security system. Ling was in the room with him, and some of his men were moving about, trying to finish their tasks.
He moved over to the laptop, which was sitting on a generic folding table that one would probably find anywhere.
The radio to his side clicked, and Steve came on.
"The main gates are now open. People are already driving in. Are we set on your end?" Steve asked.
"Yes. We are. Teams A and B, place the bots in their positions." Lee said.
Lee looked at the monitor. He watched as the four gates opened and the cars started to pour in.
"Here we go." He quietly muttered.
8:55:24 – Hwoarang was running all over the place. He ran onto the main floor and up the stairs. He looked inside Le Carre's office, thinking he was there. He wasn't.
"Damn." He whispered.
He went to the staircase, which also acted as a balcony that stood over the main floor. Hwoarang started looking for Le Carre and eventually found him talking with Adam at one of the terminals. He whistled loud, which got everyone's attention. He waved at Le Carre, who started to move his way. He met him at the edge of the staircase.
"What?" Le Carre asked.
"Baek's dead." He said.
"Dead?" Le Carre questioned.
"He was shot. Lee's got to be behind this." Hwoarang said.
"We don't know that. He could have had a number of people after him..." Le Carre said.
"We were the only ones who could stop Lee at this point. He's going to try to do anything he can to stop us." Hwoarang said.
"And if it was Lee, why would he just kill Baek? He wasn't a major player in this." Le Carre said.
Hwoarang didn't say anything, but he knew Le Carre was right. He looked around, trying to think of a reason when something caught his eye. A maintenance man had walked onto the floor. He was tall, well built, and looked familiar. The man turned around and Hwoarang recognized him. It was the bot, which looked like his father.
"Gavin?" Hwoarang said.
"What?"
"He sent a bot into the building." He said.
"How do you know this?" Le Carre said.
"That man in the blue jumpsuit. It looks like my father, but he's dead." Hwoarang said.
Le Carre looked at the man, who was now looking at them. He had a hunch about what was going on, and he decided to act on it.
"Bomb!" He screamed.
The bot then immediately exploded. The blast was big enough to blow everyone off their feet. Hwoarang slammed back into the railing and onto the floor. Le Carre landed a couple feet away, unconscious. When the blast ended, smoke filled the room, and debris littered the floor.
8:59:57... 8:59:58... 8:59:59... 9:00:00...
Disclaimer: Don't own "24" or "Tekken".
The following takes place between 8:00 am and 9:00 am.
Events occur in real time.
8:00:00- The treads of his shoes slapped the tile floor as Hwoarang ran to the stairwell the bot had just entered.
The school was made up of three floors: A basement, the main floor, and a second floor. Hwoarang was currently on the second floor, and he peered over the railing, expecting to see the bot running down the stairs.
The bot surprised him, spinning him around. It threw a punch, and Hwoarang countered, wrapping his arm around the bot's arm. But the bot then countered again, hauling off and punching Hwoarang in the chest with it's free arm. Hwoarang fell over, painfully rolling down a flight of concrete stairs. His head hit the floor hard at the bottom of the stairs.
He groaned, his head pounding, his heart racing, and his body aching. He looked up in time to see the bot head for the roof. It was hard to breathe as he grabbed a hold of a railing to help him up.
"Hwoarang, what's your location?" Le Carre said over the radio.
"Almost on the second floor, heading to the roof. The bot's heading that way." He said.
"We're heading that way now. We should have people up there within the next minute." Le Carre said.
"Great. Just what I needed: backup." Hwoarang said sarcastically to himself.
He was wavering about. It felt odd to be filled with adrenaline one minute, and then feel as if you could drop dead the next.
He collected his strength and dashed up the stairs as fast as he could. The door to the roof was coming up and he wondered if Le Carre's men would be there already. He pulled his gun out again and opened the door.
This is what Hwoarang meant by odd. Not more than thirty seconds ago, he felt like shit, now his adrenaline was pumping again. Yeah it was normal, but that quickly? He dismissed the thought, chalking it up to his lack of sleep.
Sixty feet away the bot was putting its arm into what looked like a vent that air from the school could exit or enter through. Hwoarang didn't know which, and he wasn't about to guess. He pulled out his gun and aimed when something suddenly tackled the bot. He quickly darted over to the vent. The bot was fighting somebody, rolling around on the hot white surface of the roof.
"Jesus." Hwoarang said.
He was staring at identical twins. It was Jin. Hwoarang didn't understand how he got up here so quickly.
Behind him, a door burst open on the other side of the roof. At least ten armed agents, dressed in tactical gear came rushing to his side.
Hwoarang couldn't fire, because the two were exchanging blows while they rolled around near the edge of the roof. An agent came up with an assault rifle and aimed. Hwoarang protested, putting his arm in front of the agent's sight.
"What the hell are you doing?" the agent asked.
"Which one were you aiming for?" he asked.
The agent lowered his gun, knowing fully well what he meant.
Jin had straddled the bot and was attempting to jump off so Hwoarang could take care of it, but the bot obviously had other plans. The bot had grabbed Jin by the collar and threw him over the edge.
"Jin!" Hwoarang yelled as the bot stood up.
"Open fire!" Hwoarang screamed.
All the agents, including Hwoarang unleashed a fury of hell on the bot, who took most of the shots before falling over the edge as well. When it went, Hwoarang frantically ran to the edge of the roof to see where Jin was.
He was lying on the ground, face down, with a puddle of blood around his head.
8:07:09 – Lee had a plan. The stadium was going to happen, and it was going to down flawlessly. But he also had other things in mind.
See, Lee was a man who held many secrets. That was definitely true today. There was something that he was hiding from everyone. His enemies didn't know and neither did his friends. With this secret, he could destroy plenty. In fact, it was more devastating than the bots. It was this secret that scared him more than anything.
Lee knew that Kazuya was watching him, and as time would move on, he figured that he would just become more and more suspicious. That was one reason why he was doing what he was doing right now.
The bot in front of him was a replica of Baek Doo San. Lee stood in the back of a cargo van with the bot, the back doors open. At this point and time, he was updating the bot's protocol system. Originally, he planned on using this bot at the stadium, but now, something had come up. This bot was ready for something completely different. That was why he was updating the system. Specifically: the objectives database.
Kazuya walked up to the open doors, watching Lee work on the bot.
"What are you doing?" Kazuya asked.
"Programming the bot, so when your job is finished, it will take over." Lee said.
"I don't like machines doing my job for me." Kazuya said.
"Your 'job' is to take this thing to the location I told you, and to turn it on. It'll know what to do next." Lee said.
Lee finished the work on the bot. He then jumped out of the back of the van and shut the doors.
"And what will it do? Attack the ATU?" Kazuya asked.
"Yes, the primordial cure for the itch." Lee said.
8:10:56 – The UN's ATU had set up a triage center behind the school. It was away from the main view of the street, and anyone who was looking for it would consider it something else other than what it really was.
Hwoarang, Le Carre, Dr. Terry Branch, and a number of other medical staff were running towards the center, each holding onto the stretcher that carried Jin Kazama.
Jin's face was completely covered in blood. It turned out that he had hit the concrete sidewalk headfirst. Hwoarang knew he still had the devil gene, and he knew that he would be fine. But given the situation, they wanted to take care of him. Hwoarang didn't argue with them, in fact, he didn't even say anything.
It didn't take them more than a minute to get him inside the center. Branch had told Hwoarang and Le Carre to stay outside while they take care of him. Hwoarang stood there, catching his breath. Le Carre noticed a look of helplessness on his face. It was obvious that he wanted to help Jin, but right now, there was not much he could do.
Hwoarang turned around, noticed a refrigerator along the other side of the massive tent. He walked over to it. Le Carre watched him scramble through it, probably looking for something to drink.
He found a bottle of water, and immediately opened it and started chugging it down. When he finished it, he threw it in the trash can next to the fridge. He then went back outside.
Le Carre was worried about him. It wasn't anything along the lines of what Wallace was worried about the night before, but more along the lines of if he could keep taking this much punishment. Hwoarang was only twenty-two, but not even youth and being in shape would allow for somebody to take this much in such a short time.
He followed Hwoarang outside, who was sitting on a bench. Behind the school was a park, which was made exclusive to the school. The public could still roam around in the park, but a section of it was off limits, which was made available only to students of the school.
Hwoarang was rubbing his face and brushing his hands through his pure red hair. Le Carre sat down next to him.
"You should probably go. Get some sleep." Le Carre said.
"No, I can't. Not now." Hwoarang said.
"Look at yourself. Last night was tough enough: getting shot, getting your ass handed to you, escaping a sinking car, surviving numerous gunfights, and dying. That's only to name a few." Le Carre said.
Hwoarang looked forward, away from Le Carre. He was obviously ignoring him.
"I've been up for nearly a day. I'm used to this sort of thing happening. I used to work for British Intelligence. You on the other hand, have been up for nearly two days, and I know damn well that you aren't used to it. You're not carrying yourself right, and I bet you're probably going to start seeing things, if you haven't already." He said.
Hwoarang was staring at something in the distance. He squinted his eyes, almost as if he was trying to focus on it.
"What is it?" Le Carre asked.
"Is that a penguin?" Hwoarang asked.
Hwoarang immediately started laughing. Le Carre wasn't amused.
"Look, my point is: If continue you push yourself, you'll only slow us down." Le Carre said.
"I'm driven. He's the reason I'm here. The reason I lost a year of my life. He's the goddamn reason I can't sleep at night. I don't care if I am tired, I'll keep moving until this is done." Hwoarang said.
"Don't make this personal. It clouds your judgment, and it could get you killed." Le Carre said.
"I've already died once today. That made it personal." Hwoarang said.
"Hey..." Branch said.
Terry Branch came up behind them, the two men turning to look at him. Le Carre was thankful for the interruption. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with Hwoarang. Mainly because he wasn't the type of person to argue, but also because he knew how Hwoarang acted when he was hotheaded.
"How's Jin?" Le Carre asked.
Branch sighed. He never liked doing this.
"He's dead." He said.
That got Hwoarang's attention. He turned around and got up, looking at Branch as if he was just insulted.
"How? That's just not possible." Hwoarang said.
"It is. He's got no pulse, no heart beat." Branch said.
"He's got the devil gene. That should have kept him alive." Le Carre said.
"He doesn't have the gene. I don't know when he got rid of it, but it's not in his bloodstream." Branch said.
"Are you sure?" Hwoarang asked.
"When he came in, he was bleeding all over the place. When he flat lined, I found it odd. So, I took a sample of blood and put it under the scope. Blood that's infected with the gene has these neon green colored particles in with the blood cells. Those weren't present in his blood. I checked another sample to make sure. He doesn't have the devil gene." Branch said.
Hwoarang plopped back down on the bench. He was sick of the bad news. It was becoming too much. He wished he had somebody to talk to, somebody to grab onto, and somebody to share his pain.
"What about injecting him with the virus?" Hwoarang suggested.
"I doubt that would do anything. He's been dead five minutes." Branch said.
"I agree. Hwoarang, you were injected with it before you died, not after. He's dead." Le Carre said.
"Can we just try it, please?" Hwoarang said, frustrated.
Le Carre nodded at Branch, who ran off to the tent. Hwoarang followed and Le Carre took up the rear.
Upon entering the tent, Hwoarang saw Jin lying on the stretcher. His face was covered in blood, which was drying to his skin. The jacket and shirt he was once wearing was gone.
Le Carre came up behind him, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to make this as ugly as it already was.
Branch came up with a syringe that had the yellowish colored virus in it. He looked for a good vein, and then injected the syringe.
"I'm putting it straight into his bloodstream. I'm kind of new to bringing somebody back from the dead, so if this works and he goes zombie on us, I'll need you." Branch said.
He injected the virus and removed the needle. Then he backed off, acting as if he could get a better look at it if he wasn't so close.
Hwoarang at this point had been emotionless. He was upset, tired, and a little depressed. Saying anything to him right now wouldn't help.
The body violently jerked on the table. It stopped as quickly as it started. Everyone watched the body with wonder, amazement, and curiosity.
Before the virus was seen as a curse; something that one had to live with forever. But in this case, it was a miracle. It was something nobody had ever seen: a person who had died twice coming back to life. Just seeing something like this was a first for Terry Branch, and he wasn't sure what to think of it.
Jin sat straight up, and his body began shaking. It stopped after a moment, his eyes staring forward. A look of horror played across his face. It was almost as if he'd seen something he wished he hadn't.
"Jin?" Hwoarang asked.
He didn't respond. Jin was breathing as if he'd run a marathon. It was obvious something was wrong. Then he started moaning in pain. Branch came over a put a hand on his shoulder to support him. After a moment, Jin looked ok. His breathing had calmed.
But everyone knows that just when the pain suddenly stops, it comes back ten fold. And that's exactly what happened. A sudden loud ringing came into Jin's mind. He immediately began screaming and grabbed his head.
8:24:37 – The cargo truck drove through the north gate of the Tokyo Dome. There were four gates, each for the four main directions: North, South, West, East. The truck slowly drove towards the back of the dome.
There was only one loading dock, but it was big enough to take in shipments from nearly twenty different trucks.
Lee was in the back of this particular truck. The idea was to stay in the back and appear to show up at the loading dock. Steve would open the bay door, and they were in.
But things never end the way they were originally planned. Or at least that what Lee thought. Inside the back of the truck were ten men, the four remaining bots, Ling, and of course, himself.
The truck came to a stop, and Lee was standing at the door, just waiting for it to be opened.
Ling didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that she was coming along for the ride. But she didn't expect Steve to be opening the door to the truck. When she saw his face, she was stunned. Now this was a nightmare.
Steve had opened the door to the truck and walked back inside. Lee followed him inside. Ling was still in the truck, and she watched Steve and Lee talk for a brief moment. Steve walked off, and Lee came walking her way.
"You all have your individual assignments. I expect them done within the hour. When finished, report in." Lee said to his men.
The ten men walked off to do their thing and Lee stood over Ling, who was still sitting on the floor of the truck.
"You're not as bad as I thought you were." Ling said.
"Well, I would hope so." He said.
"You're worse. How could you bring Steve into this? He has no clue what he's into." Ling said.
"And what? You think you do? Ok. Go ahead, tell me why we're here." He said.
She didn't respond.
"Thought so." He said.
"Why are you doing this? You never were like this. I thought you used to be one of us." Ling said.
"I used to fight for the Zaibatsu. There just happens to be bigger fish to fry now. Now if you don't mind getting up, we have to go inside." He said.
He pulled Ling up by the arm and forced her inside the loading dock.
8:31:11 – Jin Kazama was a person who had a major inferiority complex. He hated who he was, and the devil inside of him reminded him of that. The only sign of good will in his heart was his mother. She was the outsider when it came to the Mishima bloodline, and she was the only one who to him to hang on.
The noise inside his head was starting to go away, but he was having a problem with light. He was in the backseat of an SUV. Up front, he could make out Hwoarang in the passenger's seat, Le Carre in the driver's seat. God, his head was killing him.
He didn't know why he was still alive. He remembered all of it: The fight, the fall, and even the impact. Anything after that was a blur though. He didn't remember any white light or fire or anything. All he knew was that he had died, and now once again, he was breathing again.
"How are you feeling?" Hwoarang asked.
"I just came back from the dead, how the hell do think I feel?" Jin said, lying face down across the backseat.
"Just asking." Hwoarang said.
"Speaking of asking, I don't recall asking you to bring me back." Jin said.
"I don't recall you having a death wish." Hwoarang said.
"Look. I never wanted to have that goddamn gene, and I didn't even know that it had left me. Then I died, and right now, I couldn't think of anything better." Jin said.
"You look. I actually happened to love my life before a year ago. I died about six hours ago, and that goddamned gene saved my life. I'm thankful for that. So maybe instead of looking at life as a curse, you should change your perception." Hwoarang said.
"Thanks, Dr. Phil. I'll keep that in mind." Jin said.
Hwoarang smirked at the comment.
8:35:28 – It's always interesting to see Kazuya when he's all business. His determination and focus is always top notch. His battles were always something to see. If he was the underdog, he would come back and surprise most people. Like a lot of the other fighters in the King of Iron Fist tournaments, he hated to lose.
The van he was driving was currently parked on the street, about two blocks away from the ATU. He hoped in the back, the sun glared through his sunglasses as he moved into the back.
The bot stood in the back. It had been activated, but Kazuya just needed to release it. The switch for the bot was actually a series of passwords that had to be spoken. The bot would first recognize the voice, and if the voice signature was allowed, it accepts the passwords.
"Kazuya Mishima. Blue. Investigation. Account. College." He said.
Kazuya didn't know anything about this type of stuff. In fact, he was so clueless that Lee had to write down the directions on paper. He figured that the bot was would then move and take over. It did, and it pushed him out of the way. Not knowing if the bot would break the doors down or not, he quickly moved to the back doors. He opened them and jumped out, and the bot followed him.
The bot then crossed the street and made its way towards the ATU. Kazuya got back inside the van and closed the doors. He got back up front, and sat there. If everything went according to plan, the chaos would soon erupt.
8:39:54 – Hwoarang yawned as they walked through the front foyer of the ATU. He was tired. Le Carre may have been right earlier.
Le Carre had gone on ahead so he could check up with Adam on any leads they had. Hwoarang was staying back with Jin, helping him inside. They hadn't spoken to each other since Jin's smartass comment.
While they may be rivals, there was a certain bond that the two of them now had. They both knew what it was like to be brought back to life, and they both now had the gene inside them.
In the silence of the SUV, Jin figured out how he must have lost the gene. When Nina had been chasing him through the burning house earlier in the morning, a shot grazed his shoulder. It must have been something that would have done something pretty bad. He guessed that the dart must have released a little bit of whatever liquid she was trying to fill him with. If just that little bit got rid of the gene, he wondered what the whole thing would have done.
Finally making it indoors, Hwoarang continued to walk slowly in front of Jin. The ATU was starting to feel a little like a home away from home. Every time he went out into the field, he eventually kept coming back here. He saw Le Carre talking to Adam over by the staircase that led to the second level.
The ATU had two levels. The first was where everything happened. It was clearly the busiest section in the building. Plus, it was right off the front doors. Just beyond that was a two sided staircase that led up to the second level. Up there was the conference room and what used to be Wallace's office. That was where Le Carre would be running things out of.
He moved over to Le Carre who turned to face him.
"Hwoarang, I'm going to have Adam take Jin down to the medical center to get checked out for a while." Le Carre said.
Adam went around him and quietly talked to Jin as they both walked off.
"What about me?" he asked.
"Well, I was going to let you see your father if you want. Then I was going to let you get some sleep." Le Carre said.
"What, here?" Hwoarang said.
"We have a room where there's a bed. It's nothing that Martha Stewart would like but it's good enough." Le Carre said.
"Thanks. I think I'll try to sleep first. But, is he in custody or what?" he asked.
"No. He's mainly be protected until this whole thing with Lee is over with. And I would like you to do the same if you don't mind." Le Carre said.
"You sure you don't need help?" Hwoarang said.
Le Carre chuckled.
"We're fine. It's a little haphazard and Lee might be one step ahead of us, but we'll get him. You've worked your ass off. If it wasn't for you we probably would be as far as we are." Le Carre said.
The two walked down a hallway, away from all the chaos in the front. They passed by a mechanic, which Hwoarang found odd. He ignored it though, seeing as Le Carre didn't say anything.
The hallway was littered with different rooms, most of which he didn't know what they were for. Le Carre stopped at one specific door, swiped a card key through the reader above the door handle, and opened the door.
"Go on in. Have a good sleep." Le Carre said.
"I'll try." He said.
"If you need anything, there's a phone inside. Just dial the number 487. That'll put you through to me." Le Carre said.
"Yeah." He said, shutting the door on his way in.
Hwoarang took a deep breath and turned on the lights. The room had a queen- sized bed in it. The sheets and comforter were all white. They went the cheapest route possible. The bed was the only thing in the room besides the small bathroom off to the side. The bathroom only had a toilet and a sink inside. He sat down on the edge of the bed.
What the hell was he doing? There was nothing wrong with what he was currently doing, but somehow it just felt strange. He was being pulled from the investigation, and for some reason, he almost didn't care. He would get his chance at Lee eventually, when he was in custody. But what if he escapes custody and the virus is released?
Hwoarang continued to sit on the edge of the bed, deep in thought.
8:46:18 – Baek Doo San was trying to stay busy inside the small holding room. He'd been here since last night. The bomb on his neck was successfully removed well over four hours ago.
The agents had brought him magazines, books, even a TV. But that wasn't helping. He wasn't worried about himself, he knew Hwoarang was out there somewhere, he just didn't know where.
The TV was on, the news playing softly in the background. Baek was drinking a bottle of water, waiting for an agent to bring him his breakfast. It was sad to know that the best they could do was McDonald's. Right now he was busy waiting for it to arrive.
The news was talking about the various events going on today in Tokyo. There were a few early morning accidents on the freeways. The news made mention of something happening at a school where somebody committed suicide. Then they mentioned the triple-header happening at the Tokyo Dome. The weatherman came on and spoke of a good chance of rain sometime today. He made a cheesy joke about the game getting rained out.
Baek's attention was drawn from the TV when he heard somebody swiping a card at the door. He stood up, thinking that the food was finally here. Instead, the bot came in.
He didn't know what to think. In fact, Baek blanked out when he stared at the bot, which was made to look like him. The bot shut the door.
"What the hell?" Baek said.
The bot then pulled out a silenced Walther PPK and shot Baek twice in the chest. He fell back into the chair and onto the floor. The momentum was enough to knock the TV off of its stand. It crashed loudly to the floor. The bot went over to Baek and shot him in the head to make sure. It then dropped the gun and quickly left the room.
8:50:44 – Hwoarang heard the noise from down the hall. He was still sitting on the edge of the bed thinking when it happened.
He opened the door and entered the hall, hoping to investigate. Another agent came down the hall on the opposite end.
"Did you hear that?" Hwoarang asked.
"Yeah, I was just coming to check it out. Who are you?" the agent asked.
"I'm Hwoarang. I'm working in the field with Le Carre." He said.
The agent nodded and moved to a door about four down from where Hwoarang was staying.
"Who's in here?" he asked.
"Baek Doo San. He was involved with your case." The agent said.
Hwoarang didn't think it was important to tell him that he was Baek's son. The agent swiped his card and opened the door.
Inside, Baek was lying on the floor. He was dead. The amount of blood proved it. The agent ran inside to check on Baek. Hwoarang ran off, he knew something was going on. He figured it had something to do with Lee. Running off towards the main floor, he knew he had to find Le Carre.
8:53:31 – The Tokyo Dome was an indoor stadium, which was a good thing. If the virus was released, it would stay inside, infecting the most people.
There were two Owner's boxes at opposite sides of the stadium. These were mainly used for special VIP's that would come in wanted to see the game privately. Lee was using one of these boxes as his base. It overlooked the entire stadium and it kept him hidden from everyone else.
Lee had access to a computer that was tapped into the stadium's security system. Ling was in the room with him, and some of his men were moving about, trying to finish their tasks.
He moved over to the laptop, which was sitting on a generic folding table that one would probably find anywhere.
The radio to his side clicked, and Steve came on.
"The main gates are now open. People are already driving in. Are we set on your end?" Steve asked.
"Yes. We are. Teams A and B, place the bots in their positions." Lee said.
Lee looked at the monitor. He watched as the four gates opened and the cars started to pour in.
"Here we go." He quietly muttered.
8:55:24 – Hwoarang was running all over the place. He ran onto the main floor and up the stairs. He looked inside Le Carre's office, thinking he was there. He wasn't.
"Damn." He whispered.
He went to the staircase, which also acted as a balcony that stood over the main floor. Hwoarang started looking for Le Carre and eventually found him talking with Adam at one of the terminals. He whistled loud, which got everyone's attention. He waved at Le Carre, who started to move his way. He met him at the edge of the staircase.
"What?" Le Carre asked.
"Baek's dead." He said.
"Dead?" Le Carre questioned.
"He was shot. Lee's got to be behind this." Hwoarang said.
"We don't know that. He could have had a number of people after him..." Le Carre said.
"We were the only ones who could stop Lee at this point. He's going to try to do anything he can to stop us." Hwoarang said.
"And if it was Lee, why would he just kill Baek? He wasn't a major player in this." Le Carre said.
Hwoarang didn't say anything, but he knew Le Carre was right. He looked around, trying to think of a reason when something caught his eye. A maintenance man had walked onto the floor. He was tall, well built, and looked familiar. The man turned around and Hwoarang recognized him. It was the bot, which looked like his father.
"Gavin?" Hwoarang said.
"What?"
"He sent a bot into the building." He said.
"How do you know this?" Le Carre said.
"That man in the blue jumpsuit. It looks like my father, but he's dead." Hwoarang said.
Le Carre looked at the man, who was now looking at them. He had a hunch about what was going on, and he decided to act on it.
"Bomb!" He screamed.
The bot then immediately exploded. The blast was big enough to blow everyone off their feet. Hwoarang slammed back into the railing and onto the floor. Le Carre landed a couple feet away, unconscious. When the blast ended, smoke filled the room, and debris littered the floor.
8:59:57... 8:59:58... 8:59:59... 9:00:00...