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 17: Traces
With trembling hands, Asuka held her thick coat tightly around her body to shield her from the freezing climate; however, it didn't help as much as she would have liked. They were in a helicopter, hovering over the the snow-covered mountains of the Himalayas. Jin had just finished explaining to her everything: from the true nature of their blood, to what had happened to their mother, Jun Kazama.
Now, they were gallivanting over Nepal, searching for her when only a few hours ago, they were in some heated conversation with the man whom they had found out to be their father, back in Osaka, Japan.
"Asuka? Daijobu ka?" Jin nudged her by the shoulder.
"Hai," Asuka nodded, the temperature making her head bob up and down vigorously. "It's just that...everything's happening so fast. I'm really confused. It just feels so unreal."
"I know," Jin agreed.
"Stop talking back there!" Kazuya ordered sharply, though he didn't turn to look at them. His eyes were traveling over the mountain peaks, searching for any sign of life.
"Sir, I already told you," the pilot spoke with a slight Nepalese accent. "These here are remote mountains. It's impossible to find a building, as you said. We'd be lucky if we can spot some sherpas from here."
"It's not a building but a snow-covered cave!" Kazuya fumed. "It's here someplace! I know it is!"
"Look!" Jin pointed in the distance, making everyone look. There was a plume of smoke rising from behind one of the mountains.
"Go there now," Kazuya commanded and the pilot immediately complied.
"Wait here," Kazuya held his palm up and trudged towards the smoldering entrance of a large cave. They had just arrived on the location but Kazuya was rather impulsive with his decisions.
"Sir, that's dangerous!" the pilot called out but Kazuya paid no heed.
"Don't worry. I'll tail him to make sure nothing happens," Jin followed in his father's trail.
"Me too!" Asuka declared, trying her best to traverse her way through the thick snow, leaving the pilot to mutter something about insurance.
Once they got to the cave, it was surprisingly warm. The siblings took off their hoods and gazed around the wreckage. The tunnel appeared to be the remnants of a hangar. There were still little flames over plane propellers and wings...or at least, that's what they looked like. The devastation was greater than they anticipated and the fumes were starting to irritate their lungs. Asuka started coughing out loud.
"I knew you two would be stubborn," Kazuya suddenly appeared behind a steel wall. He was wearing a gas mask and he had two in one hand, which he tossed to Jin and Asuka. "Put these on. The fumes inside are toxic."
Jin and Asuka looked at each other for a moment before putting the masks on. They hurried after their father, who was already making his way up the crumpled stairs.
"I forgot he once worked here," Jin muttered. "Come on, Asuka. We're losing him."
After several grueling minutes of dodging debris, live wires and fallen metal, they reached a podium, where Kazuya stood, motionless, his gaze fixed upward. When the siblings turned to look, they became just as stunned. There was a large hole on the roof, obviously caused by something that broke out from within the building. Snowflakes made their way down from the hole, the draft from it, freezing.
Without a word, Kazuya leapt down from a podium, which was a good distance away from the floor but he stood up, unhurt by the jump. Jin and Asuka thought it better to maneuver down the stairs.
"That was reckless!" Jin exclaimed, walking up to his father, who was hunched over some debris. Kazuya ignored him and continued examining something in his hand.
"What's that?" Asuka moved forward.
"She's gone," Kazuya lifted himself up and held a black feather for them to see. "It's hers. They're all over the lab."
That's when the Kazamas' brown eyes traveled over the scene but what they saw horrified them to the point of blanching. Bodies were strewn throughout the place, partially hidden by fallen equipment. Dr. Larne lay in an awkward position over a pile of computer monitors, his neck twisted in a gruesome way, his eyes still wide open.
"K-Kami..." Asuka squeaked and backed off, clinging on to her brother's sleeve in terror.
"Dammit!" Kazuya cursed while tapping the keys of the only computer left standing. "Everything's destroyed. Don't just stand there! Hayaku! We have to salvage whatever disks and hard drives we can."
The siblings snapped out from their initial shock and began searching through the wreckage, though they tried their best to avoid the bodies, even to the point of closing their eyes just to deny the image of their mother's rampage. Kazuya, already used to the sight of blood, continued plodding along calmly, kicking corpses away. But when he came upon two familiar faces, he stopped and knelt down.
"Father? What's wrong?" Jin approached cautiously.
"Dr. Vivian Vetra and Carlos Roesch," Kazuya introduced the lifeless forms before him with a short shake of his head. Then, he noticed something in the lady scientist's pocket. It was an envelope, addressed, strangely enough, to him. He took it out, and tore it open, revealing two CDs, still intact in the case.
Moving quickly, Kazuya ran up the stairs, with Jin and Asuka in hot pursuit. They reached a media room, where he popped the first CD in a still functional player. The screen fuzzed a bit before the image of Dr. Vetra finally became clear.
"Hello, Mr. Mishima," she started.
"I assume by the time you get this footage, I will have gone away or...I may have already died. You probably don't remember me, but...I'm Dr. Arnaude Larne's niece, Dr. Vivian Vetra. I was one of the scientists assigned to monitor Project Eve, which was, Ms. Jun Kazama.
"Project Eve has been in operation since we discovered the Angel Gene in her body, though it never ran smoothly with you around. That's why it was kept a secret to you and that was one of the reasons the corporation wants to eliminate you and your children, other than the fact that they consider you to be obsolete.
"Project Eve...is in reality, a military project. They wanted to produce a genetically modified human, with powers that push beyond the limits of science: the perfect soldier; a bio-weapon. They succeeded by incorporating the Devil Gene to Ms. Kazama's body, who is, as you know, the carrier of the whole Angel Gene. There's been dramatic changes and I admit, it was a genetic marvel. But my conscience wouldn't let me rest, knowing how much she has lost and how much you have lost. I'm not heartless like my uncle. I'm human and I intend to stay that way.
"I finally decided to push through with my own plans when my uncle subjected Ms. Kazama to even higher amounts of the mixed gene. It changed her in radical ways and I've told him she could become unstable. And she did...but he doesn't care. My uncle said she'll soon be obsolete herself and they're using her as a guinea pig. They've even taken samples of her DNA to clone her when they need to.
"You don't have to worry. I took all the samples and destroyed them. Also, Carlos and I have just finished reversing the brainwashing process on Ms. Kazama...or at least, we tried to. I won't know the results until she awakens but Uncle Arnaude took her before I could see it. They're down in the laboratory right now, preparing her to be showcased among potential sponsors.
"You may be asking what I gained from all of this. I guess it's because I wanted to take the guilt from my shoulders. Maybe now I can sleep well.
"The second CD contains all the information you'll ever need on Project Eve. It will definitely be of use but please be careful with it. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands...again.
"Thank you for listening...and I wish you and Ms. Kazama the best ."
The screen went blank. The silence was mirrored by the three people, whose brown eyes were still focused on the monitor.
"Sweet soul..." Jin mumbled, wondering what it was that stirred such a conscience in the late scientist. Had Kazuya been openly affectionate to Jun as she lay in her comatose state? Or had Dr. Vetra simply seen something in his actions that made her think, not as a scientist, but as a human being? More likely, she may have sympathized for Jun, as much as anyone could.
"What now?" Asuka asked, unable to express the turmoil in her emotions.
Kazuya took out the CD and turned to his children; his and Jun's children. He didn't give them an answer, but there was an all-knowing smirk pasted on his lips.
Chapter 18