Note: Allow me to say, I'M SORRY. I recently switched computers, and as I was looking through my old computer yesterday, I saw my old chapters and immediately felt the urge to write. I will complete this story, and with summer here, the future looks bright. Please stick around, hopefully I'll finish this in a timely manner. Thanks for all your support. Feel free to leave a review to let me know how you feel about the story.

"So…do you mind if I ask you a question?" Ling asked tentatively.

"Shoot," Asuka replied, waving a welcoming hand.

Asuka was escorting Ling down a hallway. The corridor reflected the design of the laboratory they had just left. Fluorescent lighting always made Ling nervous for some reason. She noticed that Asuka seemed to have lightened up, considering the heated confrontation they just had ten minutes ago.

"How old are you?" Ling quickly asked.

"Sixteen…why?"

"Ahhh! I was outsmarted by a kid!" Ling hit her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Whaaaat! I'm not a kid! Don't underestimate me!" Asuka retorted.

"I was just kidding…I'm only seventeen." Ling punched Asuka lightly in the shoulder.

"Oh…hehe…no hard feelings, though, right?" Asuka awkwardly asked. Suddenly, the footsteps of their shoes hitting the tile rang through her ears as she turned a faint red.

"'Course not. I already like you. Steve was right when he said you were a young ball of fire. Sometimes, I feel like that description could apply to me," Ling flashed a smile.

"Hehe...I could see that in you. Well…anyway we are here," Asuka pointed at the door.

"All right then, thanks!" Ling quickly opened the door and slipped inside. Asuka stood outside until the little green "Vacant" placard switched to the familiar, red "Occupied" sign.

That girl… Asuka smiled inwardly. She turned around and walked back toward the others in the lab.


"I have a question," Julia raised her hand slightly. She noticed a red band around her wrist from the extended amount of time in handcuffs. She quickly put her hand down and rubbed her left wrist with her right hand. "You know all this bad stuff about the Zaibatsu. Why don't you guys just go to the nearest reporter who will listen for two seconds and kill them that way?"

"We've thought about that. That was probably the stupidest idea any of us has ever come up with," Steve chortled.

Damn…that guy is really condescending Julia averted her eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Lei shot a dirty look at Steve. "Steve, sometimes you're really annoying. Anyway, to answer your question, we haven't gone public with this because, first of all, who would believe us? I'm an old, worn out cop. They assigned me to investigate the Zaibatsu because everybody thinks that the Zaibatsu's record is as clean as a whistle. When I approached the proper authorities about what I found out about them by myself, I became the laughing stock of the department. Nobody would take Steve seriously; looks like he could be a hitman on "The Sopranos". And Asuka's just a kid. And don't get me started with Yoshimitsu…" Lei folded his arms and smirked. "Plus, we want to get out of this with our lives. If we did go public, more than likely, a hit would be put out on all of our heads. And that, my friend, would be a sucky way to die."

"Also, the Zaibatsu has got their claws in every person in a position of power internationally. Nobody's got the guts to face this giant," Steve added.

"And I want to kick that Feng Wei's ass myself." Asuka familiar voice rang as she reentered the lab.

"Feng Wei? Was that the guy who almost killed your dad?" Julia turned around to face the approaching Asuka.

"Yeah. Steve, Lei, and Yoshi have given me all the information they have on him. He doesn't seem too tough," Asuka said coolly as she began to crack her knuckles.

"I wouldn't bet money on that fight…" Steve whispered into the part of Yoshimitsu's helmet that should house his left ear.

Asuka's left eye twitched as she overheard Steve. She quickly grabbed a random object from a nearby table. "Hey, Steve?" her voice rang throughout the lab.

"Eh?" Steve turn around to face Asuka. Suddenly, a dark mass hurtled through the air and struck him square on the forehead.

"SHIT!" Steve screamed in pain, clutching his forehead with both of his hands. "Ah…damn…what the hell!" Steve heard the small clank as the object fell to the floor.

"That's what you get, asshole!" Asuka's voice rang throughout the room. Laughter exploded from Lei, Yoshimitsu, and their two guests present.

Steve laid his eyes upon the ground, searching for the object. It had rolled about half a meter to his left. A lone Duracell AA battery continued its slow path to the opposite wall.

"Dammit, Asuka! Get serious!" Steve yelled. As he lifted his head, Asuka exploded in laughter and pointed a finger at his forehead. A red blotch had emerged dead center on his forehead.

"Very very funny…" Steve rubbed his forehead, trying to erase the mark with his fingers without result.

"Compelling entertainment…" Ling's sarcastic voice sounded as if she was a mile away.

"So you're done with your date with the toilet? Took you long enough…" Steve tried to shift as much attention off him as possible. It worked; color emerged on Ling's fair cheeks.

"Guys…seriously…can we get started? Please? Time is money, money is time, and I'm flat broke," Lei attempted to convey the gravity of the situation with the serious tone in his voice.

"Why does everybody steal my lines? Does an original thought ever enter your minds?" Steve smiled.

"Everybody, please be quiet. It's time to talk," Yoshimitsu's translator permeated throughout their minds.

"O.K., here we are," Lei beckoned to the group as he approached the closest table, with a white scroll under his armpit. With an efficient swoop of his right arm, he cleared half of the table and placed the scroll on the table, unrolling it fully. The other side of the scroll was blue, with a seemingly random smattering of fine, white lines. Pencil marks were found throughout the scroll, noting places of interest.

"Blueprints…is this the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters?" Julia asked as she held down one end of the scroll.

Lei placed a random camera on the bottom left corner of the blueprints to prevent it from rolling up again. "Yup. This is only the first twenty floors, though. I have a couple more blueprints in my room." Lei excused himself again and walked out of the laboratory.

"Wow…how did you manage to get these?" Ling was amazed at the detail.

"Nyeeeeh…don't worry about that right now, darling, " Steve winked.

Just as Ling was about to say something, she looked at Jin from across the table. His serious face was unreadable. What are you thinking? This must be hard for him…

"Well, I suppose I can explain this now. We have it on good information that the Mishima Zaibatsu has a secret laboratory where they do these experiments Steve discussed earlier. Our recent…for the lack of a better term, research…has lead us to believe that it is somewhere in this very Zaibatsu building." Yoshimitsu explained, jabbing the blueprints with his left index finger.

I don't think I'll ever get used to that…man's…speech Ling sighed

"Wait...Steve, you don't know where…umm…those things…happened to you?" Julia tentatively asked. She knew she was treading sensitive waters.

Steve shook his head, "Their initial experiments…their experiments on me…are still a little hazy. What I told you guys earlier was pieced together from my fragmented memory and the intel Yoshi and Lei have gathered."

"Somebody say my name?" Lei approached the table with two more sets of blueprints under one arm.

"Nah…it was nothing," Asuka chirped in.

"Well…okay, can you guys make some room for these?" Lei requested politely.

Steve eyed all of the remaining debris on the table. "Lemme just pull up another table…that would take less time I think," he chuckled as he strolled to the next table.

Lei unrolled the extra two sets of blueprints; three sets of blueprints next to each other across two tables. They were all intricately designed and very professional looking. As Ling pored her eyes over these important documents, she realized that she understood nothing about blueprints. What does this little line mean? How about this squiggly? Ling scratched her chin in confusion.

Lei cleared his throat. "All right, newcomers. I'll explain everything. Feel free to interrupt for questions. Do you have any right now?" Lei's eyes searched Julia, Ling and Jin for any response.

"No? All right, well, here we go. We need proof that conclusively incriminates the Mishima Zaibatsu for their unethical experiments. As of right now, we can only assume that this conclusive proof lies in two places: either in Heihachi Mishima's office or their main laboratory. Assuming that their main laboratory is somewhere hidden in the Zaibatsu's headquarters, we have two chances to get this proof in one fell swoop. And if…and this is a big "if"…we can get experimental proof and prove that Heihachi Mishima green-lighted these experiments, then for sure this company is going down, and Mishima is going to take a nice vacation in a high-security federal prison. You following so far?" Lei took a sudden and uncharacteristic pause during his spiel.

"No, please go on," Julia urged. Ling simply shook her head, while Jin did not respond at all.

"OK, I'll move on. So this means that in our infiltration effort, we need to split into three groups. One group will try to get into Mishima's office and get what we need, and get out undetected. The second group will try to locate this laboratory, if it exists –"

"And it does exist, and I know whole-heartedly it does," Asuka interjected.

Lei grinned at the young girl, "Yes…but we can only hope I suppose. Anyway, yeah, the second group has to find the laboratory, infiltrate it, get the evidence we need, and get out safely."

"Sounds complicated…" Julia interrupted.

"Yes, and there is danger in this mission. A fair amount of danger, indeed. And I can't speak for everyone here, but I think that it is worth it." Lei said with a firm voice.

"Absolutely," Yoshimitsu agreed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Asuka chimed in.

Julia looked at the faces of her new comrades. Jeez…these guys are serious. What the hell have I gotten myself into? She quickly pushed the negative thought to the back of her mind.

Lei coughed in his hand. "Continuing on, the third group's primary task is to serve as a lookout for the other two active groups. Their secondary task, if it were to come to it, is to support the two active groups as their backup if anything…happened…to one of our own. Basically, they will have a more inactive role in this caper." He stopped, trying to formulate the next idea in his head. "But…there is one problem with our plan…"

"We have no idea how to get into the Mishima's office," Steve finished, pointing at the top-left most box on the third set of blueprints, "without getting caught. Security is tight, as any of us would expect."

"Umm…take that statement, multiply that by 100, and you only start to get the idea of the trouble with the lab. We don't even know where it is," Asuka continued.

Julia perked up. "We actually can help with your first problem." Everyone looked at her incredulously, even Ling and Jin.

"Uhh…we can?" Ling asked tentatively.

"Saturday…" Jin muttered under his breath. That Julia…she's a quick one. He smirked at Julia, and it finally seemed that he was actively paying attention to the round table conversation they were having.

"We're here to meet with Heihachi. He's going to give us a tour of the Zaibatsu. It's…for a school project," Julia finished pathetically. Might as well go with the alibi that worked with Heihachi she rationalized.

Steve eyed Jin, "Now I get it, the grandson needed a favor...for schoolwork, no less…and so Heihachi decides to pull out all the stops…"

"Will you guys be able to get into his office!" Asuka asked excitedly. She pounded her fists on the table, demanding an answer.

"Umm…I don't know…" Julia replied, silently asking either of her schoolmates for assistance with a desperate look in her eyes.

It was Ling who answered the call, "I suppose we can try…"

"You can't just 'try'. It is imperative that you DO." Yoshimitsu pushed on.

"Umm…I don't think that any of us can make any guarantees. I'm not sure if Heihachi would let anybody else, even his grandson, in his office alone for the amount of time it would take to find and retrieve this information," Ling sighed. They are laying it on a bit thick….I'm not sure if we are up to this.

As if Jin had read the doubt in Ling's mind, he replied curtly, "We'll do it."

Everybody turned their heads toward the young man, all surprised at his sudden entrance into the conversation. Ling stared at him, shocked. What the hell…what are you thinking, Jin?

"Heh…you say that as if you had a choice…" Steve chuckled with a hint of arrogance.

Jin's ears twitched in annoyance. "Since we have the 'in' that you guys need, that means that we are going to do this in our terms. That means that we don't answer to you guys, and we do what we see fit to get this data that you think exists."

Julia smiled at Jin. Good thinking Jin. We definitely have enough to worry about without these people breathing down our necks. Julia shuddered as she recalled their collective vision in the forest. That happened only several hours ago…it seems like this day started years ago.

Steve looked over at Lei for approval. There was a disapproving look on the cop's face, but he nodded slightly. Steve looked over at Yoshimitsu, and nodded again. Ling eyed them, puzzled. Apparantly, Mr. Cyborg Guy can choose which minds his voice enters. He is so creepy.

Lei broke their momentary silence, "I suppose that will work for us. But it is agreed that you will try to get that information for us, right?"

Jin replied coolly, "Of course. You can trust us three. I'm as curious as you guys about my grandfather's alleged activity, if not more so." He folded his arms, leaning on the table.

Asuka was a little taken aback by the boy's sudden "take-charge" attitude of the situation. He might definitely be troublesome later on… she worried. Still, she knew they would be just where they started at the beginning of the day -- stuck and helpless – without the help of these three.

Lei sighed, "Well…planning this is exhausting, but I suppose this is all what we signed up for. So…I suppose we have one group already formed by default. Jin, Julia, and Asuka will meet with Heihachi Mishima as per their appointment, trying to worm their way into his office to get the evidence. I would also like to suggest that Yoshimitsu and I look for the laboratory, while Ling and Steve are on call for either of us."

"Hey! Why am I not with Jin and Julia! Heihachi is expecting the three of us!" Ling exploded.

"From what I gather, Ling, Heihachi is expecting Jin and two friends, it doesn't matter if one of them is Asuka or you. And…uhh…never mind…" Lei finished pathetically, quickly averting his eyes away from Ling.

"And…what?" Ling urged, gritting her teeth.

"Well…it's just that…you seem more…how should I say…delicate than Asuka…" Lei fumbled to find the right words to spare Ling's feelings.

Ling paused as she took in his words. Suddenly, without any previous indication, she lept on the table, in an attempt for the police officer's neck. The various electronic devices on the table fell to the ground as she swept around the table. Her ferocious eyes betrayed her intense anger. "You…mother fu…" she screamed just before she was peeled off from the table by Julia and Asuka. Ling's feet touched the ground, she struggled against the two girls who restrained her. She snarled at the man at the opposite side of the table. "Let go of me!" she screamed, her nostrils flaring.

Lei smoothed out the wrinkles in the blueprints that Ling had made. "I'm sorry Ling. You obviously proved me wrong, I suppose," he laughed.

Jin looked at Lei sideways. "Ling's coming with us. Asuka can be with Steve," he stated flatly.

"But.." Lei's voice trailed off. As soon as he saw the expression on Jin's face; the hard, resolute, matter-of-factly stoicism, Lei knew he could potentially be playing with fire. But this fire had the potential to ruin their entire plan.

"I suppose that'll work," Lei replied, "if that's O.K. with you, Asuka."

"Sure. I don't care where I am, as long as I can be helpful," Asuka strained as he held the still-resistant Ling back.

"Are the groups O.K. with you two?" Lei asked.

"I believe this is the best configuration," Yoshimitsu politely replied.

"Nyeh, whatever," Steve seemed distracted.

Ling finally straightened herself out. "All right, all right. I'm fine. I'm calm. You can let me go now," Ling muttered. The grasp on her arms finally loosened as she tried to compose herself. Her cheeks were flushed with red hot blood. She quickly looked down and straightened out her school skirt, trying to buy time until the color left her face. She silently thanked Jin for standing up for her in a more effective way.

Lei finally continued their long palaver, "All right, now that we have that settled to the best of our abilities, I'll go over our plan of entry. Since we know how Jin's group is getting into the office, we'll need to go over how Yoshimitsu and I find the lab, and where Asuka and Steve will be. First, I'll enter alone through this door…"


"Phew…that took way too long…" Julia stretched her arms as she, Jin, and Ling walked side by side.

They had gone over their plan of entry for the past four hours. Apparantly, Lei and Yoshimitsu would fan out, trying to find any information on the location of the laboratory by any means necessary. Asuka and Steve would take a more observant role, reporting any strange activity that may be characteristic of the Zaibatsu laboratory to Lei and Yoshimitsu. Once one of them found a promising lead, they would contact the other and then proceed together with the utmost care. Once they found the laboratory, Asuka and Steve would position themselves closer to the entrance, in preparation for any contingency. All seven of them would be in contact with radio communicators.

"This is the right way, right?" Jin asked, looking around the hallway they were walking through.

"Yeah…we take two lefts, and our rooms are the first two on the right. I guess it is you in one room and Ling and me in the other," Julia looked over at her new roommate. "Ling…what's wrong?"

"I don't trust that Lei character…" Ling flatly stated out of the blue.

"Bah! Come off it! He probably didn't mean it like that. Even if he did, you definitely showed him how to not judge a book by its cover. And everything worked out in the end, right?" Julia urged.

"I guess…" Ling said pathetically. That guy…he's still a little funny. A little too funny for my tastes…

"We're here," Jin voice pierced through Ling's mind, interrupting her thoughts.

Julia opened the closest gray door to the right, and there were two beds in the room. Two sets of new clothes were laid neatly on the foot of the bed. On the left bed were dark blue jeans with a red, sleeveless top. On the opposite bed was a long, red skirt with a light blue T-shirt.

"Wow…this room is slightly less depressing than a jail cell…" Julia quietly said as she tried to flip on the broken light switch.

"I guess men's clothes will be in your room…" Ling sighed, as she placed the red top against her body.

Suddenly, Asuka poked her head into the room. "Hopefully those fit you guys…although they probably won't…" Asuka offered, noticing the height difference between herself, Ling, and Julia. "We have a couple of days until Saturday, so you guys can shop around for some proper clothes tomorrow."

"Thanks, Asuka," Julia smiled.

"Yeah, thank you," Ling robotically repeated.

"No problem. Oh, and Jin, Steve left some spare clothes in the next room over," Asuka through the left wall.

"Thanks," Jin grinned, trying to be nice.

"Well…I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow…" Asuka faded away.

"See ya," the three all said in tandem as Asuka exited the room and walked down the hall.

Julia closed the door behind Asuka, ensuring privacy in the dark room. "So you guys are up to this?"

"We are here for a reason…and we need to know what Heihachi is doing with these experiments," Jin's deep voice resonated throughout the room.

"I really don't think we could back out now…" Ling added, "we're already in too deep."

"Hmm…" Julia scratched her chin.

"What's up?" Jin eyed her.

"I just thought of one problem…" she with a worried tone.

"What is it?" Ling found Julia's sudden attitude troubling.

"It is already 7:30…school let out three hours ago, and our parents must be getting suspicious." Julia slowly said.

"Oh crap! Grandpa is going to kill me! Where's the nearest phone?" Ling ran out of the room.

"Wait! Ling! We need to think of an excuse that will pardon us for the next three days!" Julia chased after her.


"Simple mission, correct?" the old man in the expensive-looking tuxedo said.

"It seems like a cakewalk," the middle-aged Japanese man standing in front of the desk replied smoothly. He himself was wearing a black tuxedo, with his red tie providing an aesthetically-pleasing contrast.

Suddenly, the large main door of the intricately decorated office burst open. "Daddy? What's this I hear about a new mission for our task force?" a girl's shrill voice permeated throughout the room. Her white, knee high boots made a distinctive clank sound as she took each step on the tile.

The Japanese man chuckled as the old man fumbled for words. "Oh? It's nothing, honey. I thought you were going to the gym to train?" he pathetically asked.

"I was, until I heard of this. Please, let me go! I have a fighter's spirit! And you always tell me that the fighter's spirit is needed to be a successor to the G-Corporation. Let me prove it to you pleeeeeeeeeease? You said yourself that it was a simple mission!" the girl pleaded as she made her way to her father, with her long, blonde, fair hair flowing behind her.

"Bah…you were listening in again…" the old man shook his head.

"Pleeeeeeease daddy! Pleeeeease! You said it was safe!" the girl pleaded in a baby voice as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I meant that it would be safe for our premier task force, not for a sixteen year old girl! And especially not my daughter, heir to the blood, sweat, and tears that I have worked for all my life!" the old man argued.

"Blood…sweat…tears? Eww…daddy. That's nasty…anyway, Kazuya will keep me safe! He's the leader of your premier task force! PLEEEEEEASE!" the blonde girl continued pleading in her shrill voice.

"This is my final answer, Lili. No! You will not go on this mission. You won't go on any mission…ever. You're too precious." the old man breathed out.

The girl named Lili's eyes flashed, and suddenly, she was holding her father's head in a submission hold, twisting his neck into a very unnatural position

"What did you say, father?" she asked playfully.

The old man gasped for air. "Ack…Li..li…let go…please," the old man heaved.

"What did you say?" she repeated, tightening her grip.

"Fine…go!" his voice strained.

"That sounds better," she joked, letting go of her father's head.

The old man rubbed his neck, gasping for air. He lifted his head just in time to see the Japanese man and his daughter walk out of the door of the office.

Outside of the office, a hyperactive Lili ran circles around the Japanese man.

"So what's the mission?" she repeatedly asked. "Is that the mission dossier?" she pointed at the black leather folder in the man's arm. He only grinned at her.

She quickly snatched it out of his arm and read through the mission overview. " 'Gather your team and retrieve Mishima Zaibatsu's research data on biocybernetic human development.' It sounds so stuffy and formal…"

Finally, something clicked in Lili's mind. "Mishima Zaibatsu…isn't your last name 'Mishima', Kazuya? Do you have any connection with them?"

The Japanese man named Kazuya smiled at her. "Some might say I do," he simply stated.

Lili expressed disgust as Kazuya faced her. "Your fake red eye creep me out, Kazuya…" she turned her attention back to the dossier. "So what's the first order of business?" Lili enthusiastically asked. "How can I help?" she added quickly.

"Well," Kazuya began, "I'll gather my team and discuss the mission logistics with them." He took the mission dossier back from Lili. "You can set up a jet to take us to Japan tomorrow."

"Oh awesome! We can take my private plane!" Lili ran off excitedly.

Kazuya watched as Lili ran away. It looks like we're going to be reunited, Father. That's good. We're due for another reunion. We need to work out our problems… Kazuya's evil grin covered his face as he cracked his knuckles. In due time…in due time.