Author's notes: This story is mostly based on Tekken 4 and the currently (2004) released information on Tekken 5 and its characters. Though some infos were taken from Tekken Official, some situations, events and characters are all fanmade. This is also the sequel to my previous fanfic, Tekken 5: The Kazama-Mishima Connections. Rated G
Disclaimer: Kazuya Mishima, Jun Kazama, Jin Kazama, Asuka Kazama, Ling Xiaoyu, and all Tekken characters referred in this fanfic are the property of NAMCO. This is only a fan fiction from the imagination of an obsessed fan. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter 10: Sympathy
"Vivian..."
"Vivian..."
"Hey! Vivian"
"Huh? What? Oh, Carlos. It's you" Vivian Vetra ground the sleep away from her eyes and looked up at the handsome, tanned face of an orderly. Carlos Roesch smiled and handed her a paper bag.
"You didn't eat lunch and dinner...again" he said with a note of playful chastisement in his voice. "Here. I made you a couple of sandwiches. Can't let that pretty face go all sallow and pale with hunger."
"Thanks, but I'm already pale and sallow as it is" Vivian smiled, taking the bag.
"No, you're not" Carlos insisted and sat beside her to watch her eat. "But I noticed you've been rather fatigued this last few weeks. What's wrong"
"Carlos..."
"Vivian. You know you can tell me anything."
"I know, I know" Vivian took a bite of the sandwich. "You see...it's my uncle again..."
"Ah, good 'ole Dr. Frankenstein" Carlos quipped. "Still obsessed with the project, eh"
"She's not a project" Vivian protested. "I don't care what you think or if you're still angry with her for killing your father. She's a human being...and, she's a mother. She has a family to get back to"
"I'm not really angry with her, you know" Carlos took on a more serious tone. "I'm angry with this whole goddamn corporation. Believe it or not, Vivian...I do share your sentiments. They should have just left her alone. It wasn't her fault. She was unstable and it's all because of them."
Vivian quietly munched away on her sandwich. Carlos looked at her with interest.
"You look really pretty without your glasses..." he noticed.
"Huh" Vivian blushed and immediately took out her specs to put them back on. Carlos laughed.
"You're so shy" he smiled and stood up.
"Is...is that a bad thing" Vivian asked worriedly.
"No" Carlos shook his head. "You're the first gorgeous babe I know who isn't fussing over herself or looking at the mirror all the time. Plus, you're smart. That's rare. And that's why I like you."
Vivian had to look away to hide her beet-red face.
"So...you think you could slip me into your schedule, oh say...Saturday night" he beamed another handsome smile her way.
"I don't think so."
"Oh" Carlos's shoulders slumped with obvious disappointment. "Maybe some other time then. Visit me on my shifts when you're free, okay" he walked towards the door.
"Carlos"
"Yes"
"Friday..." Vivian put on a shaky smile. "I'm free on Friday."
"Great" Carlos almost jumped. "We'll just go and explore a bit more of Nepal. I haven't been out for ages! It's always work, work, work! If my father were alive, I probably wouldn't be able to ask you. He's too much of a workaholic and wants me to be like him to! Can you believe it! I can't even pass as a scientist! I'm just a dumb orderly. But don't worry. Once we go down town, I'll take you to some great tourists spots and"
Vivian laughed.
"What" Carlos half-laughed himself.
"You're excitement is just contagious" Vivian shrugged. Carlos laughed again.
"I'll pick you up bright and early" Carlos held Vivian's hand into his. "You don't know how happy you've made me."
"J-Just go, will you" Vivian stammered. "My uncle is going to throw a fit when he sees you with me."
"Okay" Carlos hurried out the door, his excitement still trailing behind him. Vivian smiled one last time before pushing her specs further up the bridge of her nose and taking on the look of a professional geneticist.
Gathering some data she had been forced to work on by her uncle, Dr. Vetra stomped towards the robotics lab of the facility. She walked up to another lady scientist, who was busily working on a robotic arm.
"Jane? Did my uncle come back yet"
"No" Jane replied without looking at her. "But I heard a plane come in. Go check the hangar or something. I'm busy."
"Nice talking with you" Dr. Vetra whispered sarcastically and made her way to the hangar. However, she needn't go there. In the main laboratory, she spotted Jun Kazama, lying calmly on the metal table while Dr. Larne injected a syringe in her arm.
"There. That should do it" he pulled the needle out and began taping some wires to Jun's head and arms. "Just relax, Kazama. Once we enhance your powers, there won't be anything they can do to stop us."
"Uncle Arnaude! What are you doing" Dr. Vetra hurried down the stairs.
"Ah, Vivian. You're just in time" Dr. Larne motioned for her to come closer.
"For what"
"To witness a dramatic change in Ms. Kazama, of course" Dr. Larne announced. "We have gathered enough data to know how to truly harness the power of the Devil and Angel gene combined: the mixed gene. We subjected Ms. Kazama's body to higher concentrations of the gene and it shall, theoretically, make her even more powerful. You should've seen her wings."
"But why" Dr. Vetra asked, her eyes, wide. "Why go through all this trouble to make her even more powerful? She's already powerful as it is"
"Her son, Jin Kazama, has potential" Dr. Larne's smile faded and he took on a dark look. "Too much potential. Maybe it's because he got his mixed gene since birth. Jun Kazama, on the other hand, is our first genetically modified specimen. Since we haven't had a chance to experiment on her and Kazuya's offspring, I can't make comparisons but Jin Kazama's prowess is disturbing."
"And the other one? The other source of the mixed gene" Dr. Vetra pursed her lips in annoyance.
"What about it"
"Don't you think that child might become a threat to your precious experiment, too"
"I don't like that tone of voice, Vivian" Dr. Larne cautioned sternly. "Still, that child is yet to go under the 'rebirth' stage, so to speak. Jin Kazama, as far as we know, changed at the age of nineteen. Either that or it's because he came close to death. We can't be sure if the ages are significant but if they are, that child will still take two years to bloom. If it's a near death situation that would instigate the transformation, I won't wait for that to happen. We'll eliminate them all with the help of Jun Kazama."
"Eliminate all the originals" Dr. Vetra gasped. "But...that's scientifically unsound"
"The originals are all obsolete" Dr. Larne countered, a sinister smile on his face. "Even Ms. Kazama here will soon be as obsolete as the other three. We've gathered enough DNA from her to make future clones for further experiments."
"So, that's it, huh" Dr. Vetra's eyes widened at the realization, before she narrowed them into slits. "No wonder you're just carelessly subjecting her body to even more experiments! She's just a guinea pig"
"As she has always been" Dr. Larne finished. "She's luckier than the others, though. Her powers are great and they will become greater."
"What if she becomes even more unstable? That could cause problems"
"My dear, sweet niece, didn't you just find the answer minutes ago" Dr. Larne smiled. "We're deliberately causing problems: making mistakes to see how far we could go and how much we could do. Like you said, she's our guinea pig.
"Now" Dr. Larne slapped his hands together. "I have a meeting with our sponsor. I must tell him the exciting news."
Dr. Vivian Vetra watched her uncle leave. She shook her head regretfully and turned her attention to Jun, who was lying silently on the metal table, her eyes fixed forward. Strange markings started to appear on her skin, though they were still quite faint at that point.
Hesitantly, Vivian held Jun's limp hand in hers, a gesture that went acknowledged.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Kazama" she whispered. "I can't begin to understand the pain you must have felt. But...it'll be over soon. I'll make sure of that..."
Chapter 11