Wow! I haven't updated in forever! I guess I temporarily lost interest or something…. Anyways, sorry about the long wait, and here's the next chapter of bonds of love!

"I killed you all," Jin's voice carried over the desert air and Ling paused. NO! IT was only a dream…A stupid dream he had, right?

"Jin, it was only a dream. You could never kill us, you care too much." Ling voiced her opinion with certainty, trying to hide the opposition her mind put up. She could still remember times where Jin couldn't control his actions, and where he might of actually hurt them… Or worse. Still, she was determined to put all of this behind her, and after everything was said and done, she and Jin would have a magical life with a family and everything else she could ever want.

His hand squeezed hers tightly, almost to the point of discomfort, but she only squeezed back, reassuring him that he wouldn't hurt her.

"Come on slow-pokes," CC's harsh voice yelled to them. Ling hurriedly pulled Jin inside, ripping his gaze away from the pyramid. Somehow, this place gave her a sense of déjà vu, but she knew she'd never set foot in this place before so how…?

"Come on Jin, it's best if we do what she says." Ling unconsciously put a hand over her stomach, and she could still feel the pain from whenever CC pressed that button. Even the imaginary pain hurt.

She could feel Jin's concerned eyes on her, but she ignored it for the time being. There was nothing either of them could do right now except follow CC. They kept up with the others, and Ling took the time to examine the dusty tunnel they were walking through. The walls were yellow stone, and sand and dust were everywhere. Spider webs hung from the ceiling, and Ling almost let out a scream when a scorpion scuttled across the worn path in front of her.

Jin wrapped an arm around her and she leaned on him, scared sick. She knew the only two CC needed were Julia and Jin, and she knew CC could and probably wanted to kill her right now.

"I love you Jin," she whispered, afraid that this might be her last chance to say it.

"I love you too," he replied, a small smile on his face. Yes, maybe their love could pull them through.

"Julia, where do we head next?" CC asked, walking besides Heihachi. Julia glanced at the map. She suddenly pulled to a stop, looking at the wall.

"Give me the jade key," she commanded, and CC handed it over to her. Julia held the key up to indentation in the wall, and twisted it. Next she pushed the wall away as if it were some sort of door.

Julia looked into the room and her eyes widened. Rotting skeletons were scattered everywhere, but besides that the room was made of pure gold. Every part of the room glimmered and sparkled with heaps of gold and jewels, but that wasn't all. At the end of the room was a huge door and a small space for the last key. This was it. Soon, everything would be over.

"Julia, you truly are a marvelous daughter!" CC exclaimed, stepping inside the chamber. She held up the last key, silver and red, and walked over to the last room. "Heihachi, the treasure in here is yours. I have my sights set elsewhere." Heihachi grinned and Julia glared at him. He disappeared into the piles of treasure, rummaging and choosing what to take.

She could hear CC footsteps echoing across the ground as she walked, but something wasn't right. Why were all these skeletons here? Nobody could have been in here for centuries, so why were there so many dead bodies?

The doors opening echoed through the hall and Julia heard Ling let out a gasp. "Jin!" Ling screamed. Julia turned and saw Jin, eyes red, tattoos and wings marking his body. The transformation was quick this time, and there was nothing of the Jin she used to know in those fiery red eyes. He threw Jin to the side and headed towards Julia. Oh shit! Julia tried to run away, but she was held in place by some force field.

Jin was drawing closer and closer to her when he was suddenly tackled to the side. Hwoarang struggled to hold him down, and he looked at Julia. It was a look of forgiveness and a look of love. "Run!" He yelled. Julia sprinted towards the doorway, only to be blocked by a much too familiar figure.

"Bryan," she sneered at him. He reached the key and pulled it out of it's slot, pocketing it. The door of stone slammed closed behind them.

"You idiot!" Julia screamed, "you just condemned all of us to death!" Bryan smiled.

Suddenly, Hwoarang was flung next to her, scraped across the floor. She turned to look at Jin, his red eyes gleaming evilly, but suddenly she could hear the sound of another door being opened. CC had just unlocked the final door.

Ling stumbled up, looking at Julia. "What lies behind that door?" she asked. Julia looked at her, face paling for a second.

"Behind that door is a mirror that grants any wish imaginable." Both girls paled at the thought of a weapon like that under CC's greed. At the same time, they both lunged towards the closing door, but Julia was roughly grabbed by Bryan. Ling just managed to slip through before the door closed.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Bryan mocked, holding her close to him and whispering in her ear. "And now you must die, like mother like daughter I suppose." Hearing that comment sent Julia into action. She elbowed him in the ribs, breaking his hold on her and pulling away to face him.

"For killing my mother, I hate you more than anyone else, ever. Now it's time for you to pay." Full of revenge, she lunged at Bryan, catching him with a strong right, followed by a barrage of hits that sent him crashing into the floor. Slowly, he lifted himself up, smirking at her.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that to hurt me, little girl!" This was going to be a tough fight…

Ling followed CC and saw her right in front of the mirror. The room was large, but empty. There was a door leading somewhere on the other end. Just as she was about to make a wish that could possibly destroy the entire world, Ling tackled her, sending them crashing to the ground.

"You little bitch!" CC growled, pulling the controller from her pocket. Ling betted it out of her hand, sending it spiraling into the wall, breaking on contact. Finally! CC had no control over her. CC glared at her before pushing her to the ground and looking at the mirror.

"Oh great mirror, grant my-" Before she could finish, Ling tripped her. CC got up and pulled out a knife. "Looks like I'll have to get rid of the little pest before I make my wish." She laughed and lunged at Ling, knife first. Her moves were obvious and a bit slow, and Ling couldn't help but think of what Julia said about her mother being a pacifist.

"Looks like you can't do anything for yourself," Ling said before kicking CC in the stomach, knocking her unconscious and sending her crashing into the ground.

She walked up to the mirror and touched its reflective surface. It was full length, and she could see her reflection shining back at her. One wish and it could all be over. One wish and she could be safe. All it took were a couple of words. Ling opened her mouth, but suddenly a large, grotesque humanistic ogre landed behind her.

It looked like a regular human besides the fact that it was much larger and it was wearing some sort of mask.

It lunged at Ling and she jumped to the side, barely dodging the deadly creature. It walked towards her, stride confident and heavy. It stopped at CC and lifted her up.

"NO!" Ling screamed, halting the monster. It was going to kill her. CC might be evil… But Ling didn't want her hands to be stained with anyone's blood. He threw CC into the stone wall, and her body hit with a sickening crunch. CC had to be dead.

"You killed her…" Ling muttered. She collapsed in guilt, imaged of CC's body hitting the wall flashing before her eyes. The ogre grabbed her, lifting her into the air by her neck. She gripped his arms, trying to pry his arms away to no avail. The things grip was to strong. She kicked and scratched, desperately trying to free herself. In response, the monster's grip only tightened.

"Jin!" Ling screamed.

Hwoarang and Julia snapped up at Ling's desperate plea for help. With one last, powerful kick, Julia pounded Bryan into the ground. He didn't get up. They ran towards the stone door, trying to pry it open; however, it wouldn't budge.

"Ling!" Hwoarang cried out, punching his fists against the wall. Julia was screaming too, and they couldn't hear anything on the other side. Jin turned towards them, face filled with some sort of sadistic joy, and walked towards them. He touched the door with his hands and it sprang open as if it were waiting for his touch to open.

"What the heel?" Hwoarang managed to sputter before a purple glow surrounded Jin and he returned to normal.

"Ling!" he cried out. In front of him, Ling was being held up by some sort of creature. With out wasting anytime, Jin lunged at the creature and knocked it over, freeing Ling from her oppressor. Ling fell to the ground, gripping her throat as she coughed and sputtered, desperately trying to regain her breath.

Jin rushed to her side and picked her up, growling at the fingerprints that adorned her throat. "Ling," he said.

Hwoarang watched the sweet scene before turning towards Julia. They shared a smile before Hwoarang noticed the ogre getting up. He leapt towards it, using nutcracker before it could fully get up. Jin picked Ling up and carried her out of the way. The poor girl was miserable. Her body was still week from the rough treatment it encountered throughout the journey, and the attack hadn't made her any better.

"Jin! You take care of Ling! I'll kill this guy." Hwoarang shouted over to him.

"That door leads to the outside!" Julia told him, looking at the map. Jin carried Ling towards it, pushing it open when he got there.

"Julia, you go to," Hwoarang told her, dead serious. He couldn't bear to see her hurt or dead. He loved her too much for that. Instead of leaving, Julia took her stance beside Hwoarang.

"I'm not leaving you alone here. I'd rather die with you than leave without you, even if you are an overconfident bastard." Hwoarang had to smile at that. Julia and her way with words. Just as they were about to start fighting, a maniacal laugh escaped from the main treasure room. Heihachi emerged from the riches, bags filled with the finest gold and jewels at his feet.

"You kids are so foolish. Did you really think I'd just leave without a fight? This place will be your grave, and the ogre will come with me." Heihachi pulled out a gun and aimed it for Julia and Hwoarang. They froze, stuck between ogre and Heihachi, and unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, a bang rang out through the huge area, and all eyes turned towards Jin, holding a gun in his hand. On the other end of the room, Heihachi fell over, dead. The sound of the bullet echoed through the walls, and slowly the place started collapsing in on itself.

Ling grabbed the mirror and dragged it out with her, the others close behind her. Ogre chased after them, but when he reached the exit, some magical barrier seemed to hold him inside. The four fighters didn't wait to see what happened to him, they just ran like hell.

Finally, Ling collapsed into the hot desert sun. They were following their own footsteps back, and they were probably about half way back in the 30 minutes they had just spent running. Ling dropped the mirror onto the sand with a plop.

"What are we going to do with that?" Julia asked her, confused. Ling smiled.

"We have one wish. We can wish for anything in the world, anything at all!" She smiled cheerfully at her friends. This seemed to be the big reward at the end of the journey.

"Only one wish though." Hwoarang pointed out. "Who should make the wish?" All heads immediately turned towards Ling, who stare at them.

"Me. Why me? You guys did better than I did, and we all deserve a fair chance. Why don't we play rock paper scissor or something?" Julia shook her head and smiled at Ling.

"Out of all of us, you suffered the most. Having that control device implanted inside of you can't have been very pleasant, and out of all of us, you're the person who deserves to use the wish." Ling smiled at her friends and walked up to the mirror. She touched the glass with a small hand and looked at her reflection. What should she wish for? She could have anything in the world so what? Touching the mirror, she spoke to it.

"I wish for us to have a happy ending."

Epilogue

Five years had passed since that very day, and Ling and Jin are enjoying life in their Japanese residence. Ling smiled as she thought about all that happened. Julia and Hwoarang's marriage a few months after everything ended, and their move to Arizona for Julia's schooling. Education had always been very important to her, and nothing, not even Hwoarang, was going to change that.

Ling and Julia exchanged letters everyday through e-mail, and Ling had just gotten her bachelor's degree in immigration and emigration services. She had also just gotten her duel citizenship for China and Japan. Ling rubbed her huge belly, wondering about the life growing inside of it. She was six months along with Jin's child. They had gotten married about a year ago, right after Ling got out of college. Jin still attended Tokyo University, trying to get his masters, not that it was relevant whether they worked or not. After Heihachi's mysterious disappearance, Jin had inherited all of his wealth.

They had so much money, it could last three lifetimes. Jin and his father had finally made up, and now they came over to visit once a week. Ling kept in regular contact with her mother, and she had even gotten the beautiful locket back. Deep in thought, she opened it to see a picture of her and Jin from their marriage day.

Jin had his arms wrapped around her from behind, and they both were smiling radiantly. Beside them were Julia and Hwoarang, smiling just as happily. Everything was perfect, nothing could be better. Ling had all se could ever want, a kind husband, a caring family, great friends, and a future set out happily ever after. Ling couldn't of asked for a better life with the ones she loved.

The End