A ten-year old Jin walked around the familiar forest. "What I would give to live here again…" Jin thought aloud, trying to find a response within the trees. Nothing responded, except the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.
Jin approached a nearby fallen log and sat on it. He looked at his hands, wondering what to do next. He heard a noise behind him. Probably a squirrel he thought. When he turned towards the noise, his jaw dropped to see the entire forest behind him burnt down. The barren wasteland that had suddenly appeared made him feel nauseous. The dark sky betrayed the sense of tranquility and peace this place once had. He quickly turned around again, and he saw the entire forest around him burned down. Jin fell off of the log in shock, not realizing that he was inching his way towards the edge of his seat. As he fell to the ground, he thought he heard a whisper.
The smooth voice said, "This is your destiny."
He landed on the ruined ground with a thud! He tried to get up and gain his bearings, but he realized he couldn't. Try as he might, his body would not leave the ground. "What the hell is happening!" he screamed, his voice unheard in the empty wasteland. He could only look upward, and a blood-red moon set in the black sky. No stars were littered throughout the sky. When Jin was around this age, his mother liked to bring him outside and show him constellations she knew while sharing watermelon slices. Looking at the emptiness of this unfamiliar sky made him uneasy and tense. He blinked his eyes, pushing away the sweat that threatened to sting them.
When Jin opened his eyes, he saw the familiar blue sky and the various canopies of copious foliage. This isn't where I grew up… However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar tree. This…this is our forest. The one right next to school. Where all this craziness began. He looked over at his right hand, and realized that he was 18-years old again. Haphazardly, he tried lifting his arm. As soon as he raised it a centimeter, he scrambled up from the ground, not wanting to be stuck like he was a few seconds ago.
Was that just a few seconds ago? Eight years just passed…
"Jin? Is that you?" an out of breath, yet familiar, voice was approaching him from his left. A young, Chinese girl was running towards him. Her two pigtails bobbed back and forth as she ran. Jin would have found that comical in any other situation. He also noticed that she was wearing a familiar school uniform. For the first time, he noticed that he was also wearing his Mishima High School uniform.
"Where did you come from?" Ling panted; it sounded like she had been running for several kilometers. Jin felt relieved to see her face. She was probably his closest friend, and that was saying a lot. She was the one person who was able to break through his reclusive shell. He truly thought that he changed him.
"I don't know…I just kind of…woke up here," Jin responded, still confused himself. "Where were you?" Jin reflected the question to her.
Ling opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted by another yell. "Hey guys!" another voice from Ling's left reached their ears.
Julia, their new friend, approached them, waving her left hand as she jogged over to the clearing. "Hey guys," she smiled. Jin thought of her as the type of girl who was happiest when surrounded by nature. He thought that she was certainly a character; a character like no other person he had met.
"What's happening, guys?" Julia asked with a cheery tone.
"Eh…nothing much," Jin grinned slyly, trying to mask his shaken nerves from the previous experience. "What have you been up to?"
"Nothing really," Julia looked away, "I had this weird dream about this forest…." She walked to a nearby tree and touched a green leaf.
Jin's stomach leapt into his throat. Could she have…the same dream? He began sweating nervously again. "Hey Julia," he began slowly, "did your dream happen…"
Apparently, Ling wasn't paying attention to their conversation, and she quickly interrupted Jin's thought. "Wow…this place is niiiiice…" she mused, "although, this place does look pretty familiar. Do you guys know where we are, exactly?"
Julia turned her attention to her new friend, "Yeah, I don't recognize this place either. Do you know where we are, Jin?" Both girls faced him, wondering if he had any input to their predicament.
"Remember? This is where…" Jin stopped, amazed at what he saw at the edge of the clearing. "Is that? …No way…" he stammered. He pointed past the two girls with wide eyes of shock.
"What?" Ling asked worriedly. At the moment of Jin's mention, Julia became suddenly aware of a strange presence behind her. Ling and Julia turned their heads at the same moment.
"Oh crap…" Ling stammered.
"What the hell…" Julia began a thought, but her mind reeling.
"How did you get here?" Jin questioned, still wondering if he was real.
Hwoarang looked just as, if not more, shocked than the three of his peers. "How in the hell…holy shit…seriously…what the fuck!" the hot-blooded Korean muttered. He was looking down at the ground, shaking his head.
Suddenly, Hwoarang began hitting his head from both sides with his two fists. "Wake up…wake up…wake up…wake up…wake up…" he repeated, his voice escalating.
"Dude…we're just as confused as you are…" Ling tried to calm him down.
"You guys don't belong in my dreams! Especially not that motherfucker!" Hwoarang pointed at Jin. His adversary noticed that his finger was shaking. After closer inspection, Jin noticed a skin-colored bandage across Hwoarang's cheek. No doubt I did that…shit he regretted recalling their previous confrontation.
"Why in the hell are you guys still with him? Haven't we already established that he is a crazy motherfucker?" Hwoarang yelled from across the clearing.
"Shut up," Julia said simply. As soon as Julia finished, Jin saw a quick flash. Suddenly, they were standing in the barren forest. As soon as Jin blinked, they were back in the forest next to the school.
Just as Hwoarang was going to make an award-winning rebuttal, Jin quickly interjected, "Did any of you guys see that?" He found himself panting, his breath taken away from the intense experience.
"See what?" Ling asked him, becoming worried about her friend.
"That…dead forest…just now?" Jin breathed heavily.
"Uh…this forest isn't dead, Jin. What are you talking about?" Julia asked him.
Jin looked around at the faces in front of him. "You didn't see it?" he asked incredulously.
"See! He's crazy! Jin Kazama is motherfuckin' crazy!" Hwoarang yelled, victoriously.
"What are you doing?" Ling rushed to Jin. He was holding his head, apparently in random bouts of agony. "What's happening? Jin…are you O.K.?" she tried to catch him as he fell to the ground.
Jin began squirming on the ground. The barren wasteland and the natural forest kept flickering back and forth in his mind. No image stayed in his head for more than half a second. His clenched fists pounded against his head, in futile attempts to correct the problem. His consciousness began to fade in and out. The voices of Ling, Julia, and Hwoarang melded together and suddenly became increasingly distant with each abrupt change in scenery.
Suddenly, Jin found himself in a dark abyss. No forests, no dead lands, no friends. The darkness was unforgiving.
"Jn…Jin!...JIN!"
Who was that? Was that Ling? No…it sounded more like Julia. I think. I don't know. Jin closed his eyes. Where am I? Is any of this even real? He felt like he was falling; he couldn't feel anything underneath his feet.
"Open your eyes, Jin."
Jin did; and there was a white light. Jin had to shield his eyes to take it all in. The white light wrapped itself into a figure, the luminous figure of his mother.
"You're close. Remember, I will always be with you. Let me be your guide to a better tomorrow; you and your friends must help me in ensuring that a tomorrow exists." Jun's luminous figure spun around, growing fainter and fainter. As she receded back into the darkness, Jin finally understood her words.
"Remember, Jin, don't succumb to the darkness. Once you are tainted, it will take much more than human willpower to expunge the evil," her last words of advice rang through his mind.
"Thank you, mother," were the only words he could say before he was completely enveloped in the darkness. He felt at peace with himself this time. He realized that his mother gave that to him.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm and spun him around. Jin gasped in surprise as he was face-to-face with two eyes. The eyes pupils were white, but the rest of the eye was black. This inversion sent an unsettling chill down Jin's spine.
"What do you want!" Jin screamed at the thing.
"That's simple. I want to kill everything in sight. My thirst for blood has gone unquenched for so long. You only whet my appetite when you nearly killed that boy. I want more," it demanded.
"How did you know about…What are you!" Jin attempted to look away, but the monster's gaze locked him into place.
"That is also a simple question. I am you, and you are me." the monster laughed, "and I predict that my appetite will be satisfied very, very soon."
Jin woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He looked around the room. Where the hell am I? This bed isn't my bed…this room is much smaller than my room. After several more seconds, it all came back to him. Ling…Julia…Hwoarang…that was definitely the weirdest dream I ever had. Actually…I think that qualifies for the "nightmare"category. Jin looked over at the alarm clock next to the bed. 3:30 am…and I don't think I'll be getting any more sleep tonight…
After rubbing the sleep from his eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths, he pulled a shirt over his head and headed outside. The lights in the hallway were still on. He didn't know if his hosts liked to waste electricity or if somebody was actually working still.
After visiting the restroom, he returned to his room, only to find Julia, in new night clothes she had purchased earlier that day, sitting against the opposite end of the hallway.
"Hey," Jin began.
Julia lifted her head to see who it was. "Oh…hey," she muttered. She looked around the hallway, distracted.
"Why are you out so late?"
"Why are you?"
"Oh…I had to use the bathroom…" Jin lied.
"Ehh…I couldn't sleep." Julia took a slight pause. "I had the weirdest dream just right now…it gave me the creeps…" Julia looked into Jin's eyes for comfort.
Jin didn't need Julia to say any more, and judging by the look in his eyes, Julia felt like she didn't need to say any more.
"Burnt forests?" Julia asked.
"The forest by the school?" Jin continued.
"Hwoarang?" Julia shot back.
"My mother?" Jin gave a faint smile.
"Yup…sounds right." Julia took a deep breath.
"So…I'm guessing Ling had the same dream?" Jin looked at the door to the girls' room.
"Yeah…we talked about it briefly. She said that she would try to get more sleep. I don't think I can." Julia paused briefly. "What have we gotten ourselves into? Today is the big day…do you think we're ready?"
There was another silence between them.
"I guess we'll find out …what all of this is about…what all of this means…" Jin found solace with Julia.
Another seemingly interminable silence between them.
Suddenly, Jin chuckled to himself.
"What is it?" Julia looked over at him, half-smiling.
"Oh…it's just that…you, Ling, me, and probably Hwoarang had the same dream…maybe we are all 'motherfuckin' crazy'." Jin tried his best Hwoarang impression.
Julia laughed at the attempt. "I don't know how to make sense of all this…"
"Maybe we don't need to make sense of all of it. We just have to go with the proverbial flow. And be there for each other. You, me, and Ling."
Julia found Jin's undying gaze engaging. "Yup…just you, me, and Ling."
Jin glanced back at the door that separated them and Ling. "Yeah…you, me..." Jin leaned in, closing his eyes.
Julia was relieved that she wasn't the only one thinking these thoughts. She tilted her head and inched her way forward to meet him.
And finally, as they sat in the cold, hard hallway of a base of the renegade group of ragtags who would be leading them into the fray in several hours to bring down the most powerful pharmaceutical company in the world, they kissed.
"Dude…that is so awesome," Asuka celebrated.
She was admiring Yoshimitsu's latest piece of technology; his cloaking device.
"With this, I can explore the Zaibatsu without gathering hostile stares…" he explained.
"That's good…stealth is of the utmost importance," Asuka stated matter of factly.
Yoshimitsu deactivated the device; he was several feet away from where Asuka had last seen him.
"Geez…you're silent too! I didn't even realize you moved. You're really a new age ninja, she chuckled.
Jin walked into the main room. He was sporting his new blue and white sweatshirt and dark blue matching pants that he had bought the day before. He was relieved that he could get a change of clothes; in addition to his school uniform being nearly ruined, he felt that there was a certain sense of liberation as he trashed the old and accepted the new.
"What time is it?" he asked as Asuka tossed him a radio pack.
"9. Your meeting is at 10:30, so we're leaving as Steve comes back with his supplies," Asuka air-quoted the last word sarcastically.
"Ummm…OK," Jin responded apprehensively. "Julia and Ling should be out –"
Just as he finished his last sentence, the girls walked side-by-side into the room. Julia was wearing a white T-shirt under a jean jacket with matching pants, sporting her glasses to give her an "academic" look. Her brown boots made clank! sounds as she walked on the tile. Ling wore a sleeveless red shirt with black track pants, with her old black sneakers.
"Are you sure you can wear that in front of Heihachi Mishima?" Asuka looked Ling up and down.
"Meh…I don't know…this is what high schoolers wear, right?" Ling looked to Julia for help.
"Wait…don't you go to high school?" the suspicious Asuka asked.
"But we wear uniforms to school, and I don't pay attention to all that "what's in, what's out," crap…I'd wear a panda suit if I could," she laughed.
"A panda suit…sounds hot," Julia nudged the giggling Ling.
"All right, you guys ready?" Lei entered the room, followed by Steve. Steve was sporting a medium-sized brown messenger bag that nobody had seen before.
"What's in the bag? You're supplies?" Asuka air-quoted again.
"Don't worry about it, little one," Steve brushed her off.
"Why? Don't you think we should know?" Asuka pressed on.
"They're just things for today," his tone suggested that he didn't want to be questioned about it further.
"He probably has his makeup and hair products in that man-purse of his…" a disgruntled Asuka whispered to Yoshimitsu.
Lei turned his attention to the three kids, repeating his question, "So…you guys ready?" he winked. Ling was still creeped out by the cop.
"I guess…ready as I'll ever be," Jin replied off-handedly.
"I'm a little nervous," Julia chimed in.
"Don't be…it should be easy. Heihachi won't suspect a thing," Lei grinned.
"All right, everybody, we don't have any time to lose. Load up the Yoshi's car, we're moving out," Steve cried loudly.
As Steve led the way outside, Jin, Julia, and Ling walked side by side. They each gave each other a silent nod. Jin saw nervousness in Ling's eyes. While Julia had a hint of the same nervousness, he could also see determination in Julia's.
Here we go…
Steve opened the trapdoor on the ceiling, back into the abandoned building. The same black, nondescript car that they had been kidnapped in three days ago was out on the street, waiting for its seven passengers.
Jin let out a chuckle after seeing the car.
"What's so funny?" Ling looked over at Jin, holding her stomach. She felt as if butterflies would burst of out of her any minute.
"Oh…it's nothing. We…all of us…have come so far in the past three days…most people don't experience this," Jin pondered.
"I don't think anybody experienced this…" Julia muttered.
"I think you're right about that," Ling let out a short, seemingly fake laugh.
Jin was about to respond, but kept his mouth shut.
This is it, we're about to jump off the cliff. Hopefully, we'll spread our wings and fly.
"Thanks for waiting. Mr. Mishima should be out soon, he had to make an extremely important conference call last minute." The secretary in the super-short skirt outside Heihachi Mishima's office explained to the three.
"That's fine. We don't want to disturb his work," Julia explained to the woman.
How ironic…that's exactly what we are here to do…
"He should be out any second now…" she smiled at the three as she walked back to her desk.
"We've been here for three hours, my back is starting to ache," Ling complained, rubbing the small of her back.
"Yeah…these chairs aren't that comfortable…" Julia nodded.
Jin ignored his friends, and kept his attention to his earpiece for any disturbance.
"This is sooooo boring!" Asuka exclaimed. "And I'm kind of hungry."
Asuka and Steve had been sitting on the bench in the main lobby of the Mishima Zaibatsu for the past three hours, without anything to do except people-watch.
Steve shook his head, "We can't leave yet. And this isn't a game, take it seriously!"
Asuka yawned. "You know…when I signed up for this, I did think that this would be more exciting. And that I would get to avenge my father. But this…this is definitely now what I expected…I feel useless."
Steve looked at his comrade sternly. "Asuka, our role in this is as important as anybody else's."
Asuka glared at Steve. "Dude…that sounds like an after school special, 'You're unique, Asuka…just like everybody else!" She let out a loud sigh, looking around for something to do.
Finally, she found something of interest. "Steve, what's in the bag?" she inquired.
"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," Steve patted her head, patronizing her.
"Do you happen to have a Game Boy in there?" she reached for the strap.
"I wish…" Steve moved the bag out of her reach. He rested the back of his head on the wall. "Just wait…hopefully, we won't have to be called" was all that he could think of to reassure Asuka.
She tapped the earpiece in her left ear. "Somebody say something…please!" she sighed.
"Lei…I think I got something…"
"Where are you?"
"East side of the building, enter take the elevator down, walk past the lounge room. When you reach the end of the hall, there's another elevator that requires a keycard. People with white lab coats have been entering and exiting the elevator, and it seems to only go down. I managed to lift one, and I'll meet you outside."
"All right, I'm making my way right now."
"Be careful. There are people littered throughout. Don't arouse suspicion."
"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be there in a sec."
"Jin! Is that you? You've grown so much!" Heihachi Mishima finally left his office. The office Jin thought.
"Hey…grandpa…" Jin let out pathetically. That word…
Heihachi rushed up to his grandson and awkwardly hugged him. Jin couldn't wait for the hug to end.
"And…would you like to introduce me to your friends?" Heihachi's deep voice bellowed.
"Oh…sure. Well…these are my schoolmates, Ling Xiaoyu and Julia Chang," Jin's voice cracked. Jeez…my nerves are getting to me…
"Good morning…err…I mean afternoon, ladies. I'm sorry for the long wait," Heihachi flashed a smile.
"It's fine, Mr. Mishima, no worries," Julia furiously shook her head. "It's an honor to meet with you," she curtsied slightly. Oh my God…did I actually curtsy? I don't think I've ever curtsied…to anybody…
Ling shook his hand furiously. "Thank you for meeting with us, Mr. Mishima. I'm sure that our project is going to be the best at school!"
"Only the best for my grandson and his friends!" Heihachi laughed again. "By the way, young ones…where are your school supplies? Don't you want to be taking notes for the tour?" he questioned them as his eyes went back and forth between the three.
There was a slight pause before Jin attempted to cover for them, "Uhh…we lost our things in the fire alarm scare the first day we were here at the Mishima Hotel. Everything was so crazy that day." Jin looked over to his friends for approval. Ling gave a slight smile.
"Ahh I see. My office was swamped that day. I had to do so much damage control. All for some prankster who pulled the fire alarm." Heihachi shook his head.
Suddenly, Julia remembered what Steve told her in the car on the way over. "Excuse me, but where is the closest restroom? I don't want to interrupt the tour you'll give us," she asked shyly.
Heihachi beckoned his secretary over, "Tomoko, please show Ms. Chang over to the women's restroom."
Julia looked away in embarrassment. "Mr. Mishima, I think I would be more comfortable if you just called me 'Julia'," she turned slightly red.
"Of course, of course," Heihachi laughed again.
Tomoko and Julia left for the bathroom. Of all the things to notice in the office, Julia noticed that the secretary's high heels didn't match her outfit.
"Mr. Mishima is the best boss I've ever worked for," Tomoko raved. "I love the environment, and his demeanor. Plus, the obligatory holiday bonus isn't too shabby…" she chuckled.
Julia laughed along to please her. She kind of seems like a…well…never mind.
"Here we are, enjoy!" she smiled and laughed again.
"Thanks," Julia quickly escaped into the bathroom. She quickly checked to see if anybody other women were in the stalls. Confirming that she was alone in the restroom, she pressed the button on the radio pack in her pocket.
"Hey guys, we're about to start the tour. We'll be on the lookout for anything suspicious." She let go of the button.
After waiting for a second, Yoshimitsu's grumbles entered her ear.
"I think I've found a lead. Lei is on his way now. Just get into that office." Yoshimitsu's voice cut out.
"All right, guys. It looks like this show is on the road," Steve's voice suddenly interjected.
"I should get back now. Wish us luck," Julia finished, turning down the volume of the radio pack to the lowest setting. She placed the earphone into her jean pocket, and went outside to meet with the others.
"There you are, now we can start!" Heihachi's enthusiasm was unmaskable.
Julia felt relieved that Jin and Ling's earpieces were already out of sight. We don't need any stupid screw-ups now….
"All right, kids. Let's begin in the marketing division!" Heihachi's deep voice permeated throughout the room. He walked over to the nearest elevator and pushed the "Down" button. "Now, I'm sure that your high school business courses have taught you that you could have the greatest idea in the world, but if you don't have a good marketing plan, you won't get anything out of it…"
Jin stared at the oak door across the room. So close…yet so far…we need to get through to that office…
"Hey Lei." The invisible Yoshimitsu patted Lei on the shoulder lightly.
"How long can you keep your cloaking device on?"
"A couple more hours…why?"
"Just wondering about the time frame we have…that seems like plenty of time though." Lei whispered to avoid arousing suspicion.
Yoshimitsu slipped the keycard into Lei's hand. "After you."
Lei placed the card into the nearby slot. The panel made a quiet beep, and the silver doors in front of the cop and ninja slowly opened. Once inside, Lei pushed the only button in the elevator.
"I don't know where this leads…the button is unlabelled," Lei worried.
"All the better..." Yoshimitsu attempted to allay Lei's fears.
"Easy for you to say…you're invisible to the human eye," he mocked.
"Nothing should happen that we can't deal with." Yoshimitsu reasussured.
"Strange…why don't I believe you?" Lei wiped beads of sweat from his forehead.
"So boring!" Asuka continued her complaints.
Steve only shook his head in contempt. Growing impatient as well, he activated his radio pack. "Yoshi, Lei. It's been an hour since you met up at that elevator. Any new developments?"
No answer.
"Hello?" Steve began to worry.
Asuka reached into her pocket to reach the radio pack. "Yoshimitsu? Lei? Where are you guys?"
Silence.
Asuka and Steve turned to each other.
"Plan B," Steve simply stated.
"Plan B? Plan B? What's Plan B?" Asuka asked quickly, worried about her comrades.
"Yoshi and Lei won't answer their calls. We can only assume that something bad has happened. I'll go in search of them. You wait here in case the other three need you," Steve commanded.
Asuka was about to argue, but she understood Steve's expression; his eyes expressed the gravity of the situation.
"Fine. Go. I'll wait here," Asuka urged.
"I'm only going to use the radio when I need to, so you won't be able to contact me. It may arouse suspicion," Steve explained. "Dammit…the only thing I know about their location is that elevator Yoshi was talking about…" He began to gather his things.
Asuka looked at him as he prepared his way into what seemed like danger. "Good luck," she simply offered.
"Thanks. See you soon." Steve patted her head. After one last look, he walked away to the east side of the building.
Asuka's eyes followed Steve as he left her view.
Wow…it finally hit me. This is really happening.
"And basically…that is a really really condensed version of the Mishima Zaibatsu's history," Heihachi finished triumphantly.
"Wow…fascinating…" Ling sighed. In reality, she had been bored out of her mind. They took a tour of the marketing department, but that was all logistics crap wouldn't interest anybody who didn't major in business administration in college. Heihachi kept getting cell phone calls about "important business ventures" that he needed to attend to immediately. He made so many trips back to his office that they all just gathered in the conference room next to Heihachi's office, where he gave a "brief" history of the corporation, which happened to last an hour and fifteen minutes.
"Any questions," Heihachi invited.
"Uhh…I don't think so…no…" Julia's eyes wandered, her tone slightly patronizing.
"Well…hopefully all this information will be helpful to you in your project," Heihachi's smile blinded the three.
"It sure will. Thank you very much, grandpa" Jin tried to play the situation off as if Heihachi's extensive knowledge of the company was the meaning to life.
"If that's it…" Heihachi began, "would you ladies mind if me and my grandson talked about family business?" Julia noticed a creepy emphasis on the last two words.
Ling, seeing as how they hadn't taken a tour nor gotten into the office, deemed this mission a failure. "No, we don't mind. You guys should catch up." Ling and Julia sat up from their seats.
"Wonderful! Jin, let's go into my office. It is much more comfortable there." Heihachi got up.
Julia stared at Heihachi in shock. This is it! This is it! She looked over to Ling. She stared back at her, wide-eyed.
Jin attempted to hide his excitement. "Sure...where are you guys headed?" Jin asked the girls.
Julia fumbled for her words. "Umm…uhh…we'll…go back to the Hotel. We'll get started on the report," she stammered out.
"Excellent, ladies. You both have initiative. You would do well in the business world." Heihachi gave them approving looks.
They all made their way back outside into the common area around Heihachi's office.
"Well…ladies…it was a pleasure meeting you," Heihachi smiled at them one last time.
"The pleasure was all ours," Ling politely responded. Julia nodded in agreement.
"Here, Jin." Heihachi opened the large door to his office. As Heihachi walked in, Jin followed. He gave one last glance to his two friends. Ling looked on excitedly, while Julia mouthed, "Good luck."
Jin silently said, "Thanks," and closed the door behind him.
Julia and Ling slowly made their way to the elevator. Ling pushed the "Down" button, and the elevator began to whirr, indicating the cables were pulling the large metal box up the shaft. They looked at each other, each with a smile on their face, nonverbally communicating their sense of victory.
Tomoko's phone rang. She quickly picked it up and answered in a flirty voice, "Hello, Mishima Zaibatsu, this is Tomoko speaking,"
Ling looked around the room, hoping that Jin was all right in there. She fixated on Tomoko's phone call, trying to get the time to pass by quicker as the elevator made it's way up.
"Ummhmm…ummhmmm…O.K…I'll tell him right away," Tomoko cradled the phone on her shoulder. "Yes…all right. And this Hwoarang kid…you said he was Korean, right?"
Ling's stomach dropped. Hwoarang! What the fuck! She quickly looked over to Julia. She was looking over in the opposite direction, at a flock of people talking about the Zaibatsu's stock. She listened intently to the rest of Tomoko's conversation.
"So…he's being detained by security? O.K…yes. Thank you for calling. Mr. Mishima needs to be informed whenever somebody is taken for Class D security. O.K…thank you. Goodbye." Tomoko placed the phone gently in its cradle.
The elevator made a pleasant ding noise, and it opened, inviting the girls to enter. Julia went in, admiring the fancy elevator. "Wow…I can't believe we did it, Ling! We actually got in…well…Jin got in…but still, that counts!" she turned around to face Ling.
To her surprise, she was in the elevator alone.
Oh crap…I can't believe I just did that…
She jabbed at the "P.O." button, for "Penthouse Office." That Ling…why doesn't she pay attention to the damn elevator? Julia sighed.
Ling approached Tomoko apprehensively. "Uhh…Tomoko, right? Would you mind showing me the bathroom?" she asked feebly.
"Oh well…your friend visited it before…I'm sure she can…" Tomoko looked behind Ling for Julia. "Where did she go?"
"Oh…I let her down before me. I really have to go." Ling lied.
"All right, follow me," Tomoko stood up.
Tomoko led the way to the restroom. As soon as were directly in front of it, Ling quickly shoved Tomoko inside.
"Hey! What the hell is your probl—" Tomoko didn't get to finish her thought as Ling punched Tomoko in the face, leaving a white oval shape on her cheek. Then she struck the secretary's stomach, causing her to double over. Placing her neck in the pit of Ling's right elbow and placing her right foot behind Tomoko, Ling brought her to the floor of the bathroom, holding her neck against the ground.
"Now, Tomoko, you're going to tell me what "Class D security" means, right now," Ling snarled.
"Class D security? What are you talking about?" Tomoko yelled, but Ling quickly slapped her with her free hand.
"I heard you talking about it on the phone. What is "Class D security," and why is Hwoarang in it?" Ling's eyes were fierce.
"I don't know…I don't know!" Tomoko began to panic, her voice escalated.
Ling tightened the grip on the secretary's neck. "I don't have time for this. Tell me what it is!" Ling calmly stated.
Saliva began to ooze out of Tomoko's closed mouth. "Please…stop…I can't…breathe…" she managed.
Ling applied a bit more pressure.
Finally, Tomoko faltered. "Class D…torture…"
Ling's eyes widened with shock. Taking a second to compose herself, Ling moved her head next to Tomoko's ear and whispered. "I will kill you if you don't tell me where he is right now," she threatened in a low voice.
Tomoko's eyes filled with fear as tears streamed down her fair cheeks. "…basement…" she managed to eek out.
Ling finally released the vice grip on Tomoko's neck. The secretary clasped her hands around her neck, massaging her throat from Ling's hands as she squirmed around the floor. She took deep breaths, coughing violently after every exhalation. "You…bitch…" she muttered.
"Sorry, I didn't see any other way…" Ling's words betrayed the lack of composure in her mind. "But I have to do this," she said regrettably.
Ling approached Tomoko and, extending the middle and index finger on her left hand and the ring finger and index finger of her right, she twisted Tomoko and pressed in the delicate space surrounding the base of the neck. Tomoko instantly was knocked unconscious.
"Thanks, Grandpa. Your ancient pressure point crap really does work…" she thought aloud.
Ling dragged Tomoko into the bathroom's storage closet for cleaning supplies. Making room with one hand and supporting Tomoko with the other, she finally got her into a comfortable position and closed the closet door in respectable amount of time. She exited the bathroom, and quickly went over her game plan as she waited for the elevator.
Damn…the Zaibatsu is really into shady dealings…why would they do something as horrible as torture?...O.K…First I have to find Julia. Tell her Hwoarang is here. He's being tortured in the basement…Hwoarang is being tortured in the basement…what kind of stupid shit has gotten himself into now? Ling took a moment to gather her thoughts. One thing is for sure…this is definitely turning out to be more than we bargained for.
