Long time no see, everyone! I know it's been well over a year since I updated this, but last year was very hectic for me. It was a shame because most of this chapter was written, but I just haven't had the time or the will to write. Last year was crazy, and this year...phew! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this time. Now that I'm at home, I will try to write and update more. Thank you for all your reviews and for your patience!:)

Here's Chapter 33...one year and a half later! Please R&R

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters; they are all property of Namco.

The warmth and stickiness of the blood dripping from his claws completely drove him wild, like an indescribable ecstasy that only he had the privilege of experiencing in his true form. The weakness of his human flesh had naively fallen prey to the temptations of carnal pleasures, discovering heaven within the depths of a woman, but this was a true release that no mortal man would ever discover.

Ripping through weaklings with the ease of shredding wet rice paper, agonizing screams and gurgling death rattles, and being doused with the warm, fresh blood of his tortured victims sent him into a mad frenzy. Destroying the tethers to his humanity was the key to setting himself free, and now he understood his true purpose.

"Power is everything," he spoke in his inhuman, demonic voice before a bone chilling, mad cackle burst forth from him.

He writhed in his sleep as his mind was completely plagued with horrid visions of gore and carnage. He had a front row seat to a macabre show filled with eviscerated, disemboweled, and decapitated corpses. Slathered in blood and covered in gore, he only prayed that she wasn't one of the demon's prey. The demon got some sort of perverse pleasure in projecting these horrific images into his dreams as a way to entice him with his power. He wasn't so far gone yet to the point where he'd be lured by visions of death and destruction, but he was afraid that a moment of desperation would cause him to break. These reoccurring visions were either a premonition or a warning for what would come or a possible outcome of what would happen if his plans went awry.

'It's only a matter of time before you give in to me…' the demon's voice echoed through his thoughts, sending a cold shiver over his body. A cooling sensation continued to persist over him until he finally began awakening. His heavy lids began flickering open slowly until they slowly focused on the image before him. The old ceiling fan slowly sliced the air above him, and he remembered that he wasn't in a familiar environment. The sweltering heat was a dead give away that he was outside of his normal comfort zone since his quarters back at the Zaibatsu were always adequately heated or cooled to his specifications. He recalled that the AC at the small hotel was out of order and he had to make do without it through the night.

Jin took a few steady, deep breaths before forcing his tired body to sit up slowly in bed. A cool towel slipped from his forehead and he caught it in his hand and just stared at it blankly. It was then that he noticed that his body was damp and slick with sweat, possibly due to his unsettling nightmare, or maybe from the damned stagnant, warm air in the room. He turned his attention towards the door in slight alarm as he heard footsteps from hall approaching closer; however, he was put at ease when the familiar face of his bodyguard entered the room.

The blonde was dressed in a form fitting, navy blue tactical bodysuit with her hair tied back in her classic ponytail. She appeared to be prepared for the mission ahead of her for the day. In her hand she held a small bowl filled with ice water.

He trained his eyes on her as he silently observed her. He wondered if she had gotten any sleep last night since they parted ways after she escorted him to his room. She strangely declined his offer to share his quarters and gave him a hasty excuse about helping the soldiers with securing the perimeter and surveilling the halls for suspicious activity. Despite her expert skills of putting up a decent front, he could see right through her flimsy excuse. For reasons beyond his understanding, she held this baffling complex about avoiding any form of suggestive contact with him when they weren't in private. She held the dignified air of a consummate professional around him in public, as if she loathed the thought of being seen as otherwise in the eyes of others. At this point, he didn't care what others thought or how their relationship was perceived, but he respected her modesty and need for some degree of privacy. Hopefully, her decision hadn't caused her to miss out on a well needed restful night.

Nina approached his bedside and sat the bowl down on the end table. She cast her eyes over him with a hint of concern to monitor his condition before she casually grabbed the cloth from his hand and doused it in the bowl of water. After she wrung it out, she returned it to his forehead. He said nothing as he vacantly gawked up at her with a bit of confusion. "You were burning up last night," she informed him calmly. "You should lay back down for a while."

How would she have known that? To his knowledge, she spent the entire night on guard duty. "Where did you sleep?" he asked, curiously.

"I returned later in the evening, but you were dead asleep by then," she responded. "I woke up when I noticed how disturbed you seemed during your…nightmare." She overhead the sounds of him grunting and writhing in discomfort and attempted to awaken him, but to no avail, so she tried to help soothe him by keeping his feverish body cool. The signs were clear as day that something was wrong, and foolishly, he was hiding the truth from her as some form of protection.

Again, more guilt settled within him. Even during his sleep he was causing her stress; he was a burden. She repeated the process of soaking the cloth in cold water before gently dabbing it over his forehead. The cold compress comfortably cooled his burning skin, which relieved him, but part of his feverish slumber was the result of the failing air conditioning in the room. After a few more moments of reveling in her tender care, he slowly lifted his hand and softly gripped her wrist to cease her actions. She simply stared at him in question, and he remained silent for a moment before locking eyes with her. "Don't worry yourself over me," he attempted to assure her. "I'm used to this happening."

She sighed softly as she tugged her wrist from his grip before placing her hand on her hip. She stood over him and continued to skim her eyes over him in discontent at his alarming behavior. Normally, when she wanted information from someone, she had an assortment of shiny, metal tools to help her influence her person of interest to talk; however, their partnership was supposedly built on trust, so she shouldn't have to resort to such sadistic practices. Now, she was becoming extremely wary of believing him. Her cold yet concerned eyes continued to focus on him, but he dodged her gaze by purposely glancing over to the clock on the nightstand. With a low, disgruntled sigh, she gave up her fight to find out what was troubling her boss and decided to focus on her current task at hand.

Jin's eyes were drawn to her again as she walked over to a nearby chair and picked up a black duffel bag. He was certain that it was filled with various forms of weaponry and supplies to prepare her for the day ahead. "You're going back to the base already?"

"I'm already behind," she answered curtly as she stopped at the door before leaving the room. "I'll report to you when I arrive."

Beyond her small scowl, he could still see the worry settling within her blue eyes. Words failed him at the moment, so more grueling silence persisted between them. Once he saw that her impatience with him was once again urging her to leave, he finally spoke. "I'm sorry…" he muttered, just audibly enough for her to hear. She paused again and slowly glanced at him over her shoulder with a blank face.

Strangely, she kept hearing those two words echoing in her head, replaying repeatedly as she tried to dissect their true meaning each time. Such a simple phrase could have a multitude of meanings, especially coming from his lips. He said nothing beyond that, which added more mystery to the true purpose of his words. As much as she would've loved to probe his brain until he cracked, she had no further time to waste.

She sighed. "I have to go," she said flatly. "Goodbye, Jin." Although he probably couldn't sense it, it somewhat pained her that he was closing himself off from her, but she did her best to brush it off as insignificant. Besides, she technically wasn't hired to care for him, perhaps it'd be wise for her to remember that.

Once the door closed behind her with a slight slam, he exhaled deeply and raked his fingers through his damp dark hair as he held his head low in frustration and regret. He was used to pushing people away, and he normally felt nothing in doing so, but something felt different this time. He let his wall down for her, and she did the same for him, so the sting of guilt felt more prevalent. They were two impatient souls that somehow found a way to understand each other, and now all that progress would go to waste because of his fears and paranoia.

The horrific visions flashed through his mind again; the gore nearly made him queasy. The hallucinations were so vivid that he could nearly smell and taste the blood. He wanted to vomit at the thought, but the darkness in him felt anticipation; it disgusted him. 'I have no choice but to isolate myself,' he lamented in silence. 'I'm slowly losing my grip on my sanity…I can't put her at risk again.'

The situation at the base hadn't improved much since the previous night, but at least several helicopters had arrived to airlift the injured men to receive adequate and full medical attention at nearby hospitals. The dead, however, were still waiting to be transported back home overseas, waiting to be retrieved by their heartbroken and grieving loved ones. The pain and guilt sliced a little deeper as the war continued to progress; it was the pain she hid so well in the eyes of others that resulted in her being seen as a monster. It was the price she had to pay for following her training diligently by the book. Emotions compromised missions; it was something she was taught by her father and any other handler she'd worked with in the past. Now wasn't the time for sentimental reflection or ill- timed regrets, it was time to focus on moving forward to be sure that failure wasn't an option in the future.

After she arrived, two soldiers met her at the gates to assist her with her bag and escorted her to the security tower whilst quickly briefing her about the current state of their predicament. Since G Corp was now playing dirtier than they had been in the past, it was going to be difficult predicting their next move, but hopefully she'd be able to help intercept their next attack.

Once they arrived to a tall, cylindrical structure erecting about seven stories in height, she dismissed the two soldiers and opted to carry own her bag while boarding the large lift to the top floor. The lift finally came to a halt with a tremble, it was a rickety ride, but it beat taking the stairs. She walked towards the door and opened it to the surveillance room. As she entered the doorway, she was surprised to see Eddy already seated near the control panel. He turned around in the small swivel chair and gave her a small nod of recognition.

"You should be resting," she stated firmly. Her eyes were immediately drawn to his bandaged arm as she stepped into the room and dropped her duffel onto the floor near the wall.

From her scrutinizing gaze, he couldn't tell if she was concerned about his well being or upset that he would get in her way. Knowing her, it was probably a combination of both. "If you were in my position, would a simple bullet wound stop you?" He was no assassin, but he wasn't a stranger to perilous situations due to his rocky past, but even so, his experiences probably paled in comparison to what she survived in her past.

The blonde shrugged slightly as she approached the panel. Eddy had his own agenda, and she wouldn't stand in his way. Once again, she reminded herself not to over step her boundaries to extend extra care beyond the scope of her assigned duties on paper. The men around her were just as equally stubborn as herself, so she would deal with them as she'd want to be dealt with, which meant staying out of their way and leaving them to their personal business.

She focused her attention to the small surveillance screens on the panel, all of which displayed footage from various sectors of the desert surrounding their base. The room also offered a view over the entire base through the thick paned windows, so they'd be able to see events in real time and digitally. So far, there was no activity detected. At least they were doing their due diligence to thoroughly scan the area to be on guard and prepared for anything to come. However, she somehow doubted that they'd utilize the same tactic twice, unless their enemies had such a low opinion of their defenses that they'd pull the same stunt just to undermine their intelligence.

"It's been quiet all morning, from dawn till now," he informed her. "It's unsettling and frustrating since those sons of bitches already know we're disadvantaged and pretty much ripe for the taking," he vented vehemently in anger.

Nina sunk down into the seat next to him and rested her elbow on the panel with her cheek resting on her fist. "Pessimism will get us nowhere," she pointed out calmly. "Just stay alert and focused on the mission, it's the only thing we can do at this point."

"You make it sound so easy…" he commented with an irritated huff. "I feel like I'm losing my damn mind."

"Aren't we all?" she said under her breath.

He looked over to her and noted her deeply pensive yet slightly stressed expression. All this time, he assumed that she had it much easier since she worked closely with Jin and was primarily charged with his protection and safety, but judging from her current demeanor, he could see he vastly underestimated her job. A moment of silence fell over them before he mustered up the courage to dig a little deeper. "Well, is it at least worth it…to you?" he asked with a serious expression.

She peered over to him with a bit of intrigue after he unexpectedly dropped that heavy question on her. She wasn't in the mood for any deep philosophical ponderings in the midst of what could possibly become a bloody battlefield. And if she were, she'd prefer to be in a much more comfortable environment with a little wine in her to calm any tension. However, she couldn't deny that his question did make her think. Was it worth it…to her? That question seemed to be quite popular and on the forefront of everyone's minds now that things were getting ugly. Money was always her motivation, but now it was much deeper than that after being heavily embroiled in the chaotic business of her employer. 'Jin…' her thoughts wondered over to the troubled man. Her eyes lowered as she exhaled slowly to prevent herself from worrying about him.

Eddy noted her gloomy expression and assumed it was a partial answer. She was normally great at hiding her distress, but she was much more transparent today. "It's Jin, isn't it?" he made a bold assumption. Nina shot him a sidelong glance, prompting him to clarify his question before she reacted negatively. "I mean, he seemed very irritable and agitated at the medical tent last night."

Nina returned her eyes to the surveillance monitors and scanned over them with another low sigh. "It's a complicated matter," she spoke calmly. "He doesn't want anyone to concern themselves with his personal business." Her eyes stayed fixated on the screens, as she intended on distracting herself from thinking about the raven haired man while simultaneously shutting herself out from the prying questions of her comrade.

As he assumed, she remained elusive and tactful in avoiding his questions, so he stopped pursuing it. Eddy let out a frustrated sigh as he folded his arms, still feeling the strong aching in his shoulder from his wound. "If this war doesn't kill me, I don't know how I'll salvage my soul after this," he muttered gravely while staring blankly at the monitors.

Nina discreetly shifted her eyes to the sullen man next to her. In a sense, she pitied him. If she could, she would've told him to take the next flight out from the base and hide away until this war finally reached its conclusion. Realistically, she would do no such thing, but a small part of her wished to free him from his fruitless bargain with Jin by telling him the truth. However, she couldn't betray Jin. "You can't outrun a shameful past," she spoke lowly. "Just pick up what's left of your life and move on." She'd been on the lam from her past and her turbulent thoughts for as long as she could remember, but she knew all too well that it was impossible to hide from the ugly truth, so she learned to cope with it to keep her sanity.

Eddy snorted quietly to himself as his listless eyes remained on the monitors. "Christie…she'll never forgive me…" he breathed out in a melancholic tone.

His agony was radiating so strongly that she began to feel suffocated in the security tower office. Everyone was in pain in their own unique way, and she had no where to go to escape the sea of misery around her; she was drowning. She only knew how to manage her own pain not Eddy's, Jin's, or the thousands of soldiers under their command. Her heart began to quicken, as the thought of this was increasing her anxiety. She rubbed at her temples softly and breathed deeply to compose herself. 'I have to keep it together…stop thinking so damn much,' she mentally instructed herself to keep herself hinged.

A sturdy knock arrived at the door before it opened shortly thereafter. She turned towards the door, almost relieved at the distraction to air out the tension in the room until she took note of their visitor.

Eddy stood slowly to greet the man. "Lars? I didn't expect to see you here-," he said in surprise. He halted his words when he noticed the deadlock stare that ensued between the two blondes. There was so much going on that he had nearly forgotten about that intense argument between them the night prior. It was an uncomfortable and awkward situation, but he somehow hoped to diffuse the tension. "How's everything looking around the perimeter outside?" he directly asked to Lars while stepping forward slightly, between the two.

With his view blocked of the assassin, he refocused his attention to Eddy. "The perimeter is secure with soldiers ready and waiting for their orders," he reported. "I heard that you were observing in the security tower and came to check to see if you needed any assistance, but…I guess that's been taken care of." The Swedish captain paused again as his eyes slightly shifted towards the blonde sitting at the security station.

"Everything here is fine, so far," Eddy responded, sounding a little less despondent than before. "We're just keeping a close eye on surveillance cameras."

Nina rolled her eyes slightly at the men's conversation, a reaction that always occurred when she was highly annoyed or unamused. Lars seemed to have a new trick up his sleeve. Since he couldn't get to her, she could see him slowly weaseling his way into gaining Eddy's trust. Soon enough, he'll be putting the squeeze on him for the information that he failed to access from her. He wasn't fooling her with his faux concern for his new bosom buddy at work; Eddy was vulnerable in his current mental state, thus his brain would be easier to pick.

"I'll return with any new updates on reports I receive from my men on patrol beyond the base," Lars announced with a quick salute.

"There's no need for that," Nina chimed in to break up the friendly chit chat between the two. "Focus your attention on leading your squad since they're at risk while initiating their reconnaissance mission beyond the gates." Her tone was commanding and stern, which immediately chilled the air.

Eddy remained silent as the tension began thickening again. He wanted to prevent whatever was brewing between them from boiling over, but he also wanted to avoid getting himself too entangled in their conflict. They were all allies, and he didn't want to burn any bridges between either of them.

"Eddy, I have everything under control here," she directed towards him. "Take a quick break, I'll call on you if anything comes up." The Brazilian man shot her a look of uncertainty before she gave him a small nod to reconfirm her orders to him. Wordlessly, he quickly egressed from the room, hoping the pair would be civil to each other in his absence.

After the door closed behind him, there was a lengthy period of absolute silence between the military captain and the assassin. He could have quietly left behind Eddy, but his decision to remain only further proved how contumacious and insubordinate he had become over time. He was working under a hidden agenda now, which would be grounds punishable by death if she were to decide his fate. The assassin only observed the man from her seat with silent disdain. She could sense that her unrelenting glare was making him uncomfortable by the way he shifted his eyes and weight a little as they continued to stare each other down.

The blond man crossed his arms and refused to be beaten into submission by the cold, heartless eyes of the woman before him. "I see you're still holding up well despite everything you and Jin have caused so far," he glared down at her, boldly taking a step forward despite knowing the consequences of pushing her buttons.

"You sound like a melodramatic, broken record, Alexandersson," she taunted with a snide smirk. "At this point, you're signing your own death certificate."

"You're threatening me?" his attention piqued highly at her dangerous words. "This isn't the way to resolve anything, but I guess violence is the only way you know."

Nina ignored his belittling words and continued. "You couldn't leave well enough alone," she said cryptically before rising from her seat. She noticed a him almost take a step back as she did this, but his pride, once again, wouldn't allow him to back down. Even as she reached behind her back to draw her 9mm handgun, he remained unwavering. She cocked her gun as she stood before him threateningly.

Despite her threats, he remained fearless before her. Even if his fate was uncertain as the sadistic woman stood armed before him, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of displaying cowardice. "What are you doing?" he asked, masking his agitation.

"I'm preparing myself," she replied flatly.

"For what?"

"You."

He blinked in confusion for a moment. "You're going to shoot me? Why?"

"I have my reasons."

"You won't shoot me."

The blonde woman raised a brow in amusement. "Oh, really?" she challenged.

"Yes, really," he replied with a straight face. "You're ruthless, but you're not stupid."

Her smirk rose. She knew how to play this mental game better than he did. Understanding human psychology was a vital part of her background training, so his futile attempts of using reverse psychology on her would only result in him receiving a bullet directly in his frontal lobe. "You don't know me well enough to be so confident in that assumption, Alexandersson," she warned lightly. "I've informed Jin about your suspicious actions, so I'm sure he'd understand if I were forced to dispose of you." It was then that she noticed his demeanor shift, as she had effectively put a breach in his courageous front.

Lars glared intensely into the woman's cold, steely blue eyes as she touted her gun before him. Despite his heart rate gradually picking up speed over the duration of the conversation, he still remained calm. "I've done nothing to warrant your suspicion," he claimed, defensively.

"Not yet…" she whispered. "A man with your…pride can only withstand so much before crumbling under the pressure of this war." She surmised as she never broke eye contact from him. "Now, you're a fallen hero turned into a common lackey for a new leader you don't respect and perhaps…despise."

Lars remained silent with anger brewing in his eyes as the assassin penetrated him with her cold gaze while trying her best to take a stab at his character.

"You're a self-proclaimed hero, but you also love the attention and respect you're given from your peers," she continued. "It eats you alive knowing that you, the virtuous hero, are powerless in a situation beyond your control, especially when you're forced to carry out heinous orders with your men. All of this goes against your very nature."

The blond man grew irritated as she spoke mockingly about him and the entirety of his involvement is this war. "Are you finished?" His lips tightened and his angry glare intensified.

Nina only continued to casually aim her gun at him. She was now ready to get straight to her point. "If you were bold enough to attempt to corral me onto your side, I'm certain you've done the same with others," she ascertained, with a more serious tone now as her gaze turned deadly. "Tell me their names."

His blue eyes widened for a moment as she finally revealed the end goal of the game she was playing with him. He wasn't nervous before, but he was beginning to feel a bit of pressure now. Was this her intention all along? She wanted to get him alone before interrogating him, which would likely lead to her executing him. Whatever her plan was, he refused to go out without a fight. Lars remained calm and deeply contemplated his next course of action to hopefully avoid the assassin's wrath.

She studied his body language with even more scrutiny now. His uneasiness was more apparent now, which provided her with more proof that her assumptions and suspicions were correct. Without reasonable doubt, she knew she could carry this investigation further. "Don't get yourself worked up or prematurely killed," she warned calmly as she predicted that he expected her to do something rash. As he correctly assessed earlier, she wasn't stupid. "Besides, you'll just be deemed guilty until proven innocent."

He sneered slightly at her words. What would she do? Put him on trial for being reluctant to kill innocent people under the regime of a mad tyrant? There was no justice in such a thing. The assassin continued to stand before him with her steel partner grasped firmly in her hand. The coldness in her eyes denoted that she most likely had no reservations to splatter his brains across the wall at any given moment, but even a killer like her had to have some passion behind her practice, motivation behind her madness. He exhaled slowly to ease his tense nerves. "Even if we're at opposite ends of the spectrum in our ideals, I admire your dedication to your duties," Lars confessed.

She kept a straight face. " Well, it is my job," she recited monotonously.

He nodded slightly at her response. "Yes, I see," he started. He stared directly into her icy eyes for a moment before continuing. In a lowered and somewhat genuine tone of voice, he said, "If you truly care for him, then you'd save him by convincing him to end this war before he gets himself killed." He was tired of sounding like a broken record, but perhaps a different approach to sway her would yield better results. He was stark surprised when he saw her cold mask melt just a little from his words. Perhaps she wasn't completely heartless as she was perceived to be, and perhaps he had finally appealed to the last slither of humanity left within her.

She unconsciously blinked in surprise at his words before she reset her face to its default expression. A thin brow raised before she carelessly shrugged off his comment, refusing to fall prey to his feeble attempts at playing mind games with her. She could see it as clear as day; he was guilty. No amount of cunning wordplay or mind tricks would convince her otherwise. She calmly aimed her pistol at him and watched as his muscles seemed to tense. "I guess I'll just be stupid now and explain things later," she spoke with resolve. She firmly pressed down onto the trigger until an abrupt transmission through her earpiece nearly startled her.

"Hey, just a heads up, Nina…Jin is here," Eddy informed her. "He's on his way up to see you."

The blonde's brow creased in confusion at the information. She touched her finger to her earpiece to respond. "You couldn't inform me a little sooner?" she responded, barely masking her irritation. Her eyes never left the man before her as she still trapped him in her gaze, still dead set on shooting him.

"It's not like I could stop him, and he doesn't seem to be in the best mood either," he revealed as an added warning. "Good luck."

Lars continued to glare at her as she now seemed crippled by her indecisiveness. After her conversation ended, she kept her gun pointed at him, but he could see her relax her grip on the trigger. His heart thumped with relief. He was relieved that things didn't escalate between them once again, as it would've most likely ended up with one of them gravely injured or even dead. Despite being at odds, he didn't wish for them to clash violently on the chess board over being the best pawn in Jin's diabolical game.

In the background, the sound of the lift ascending could be heard, which prompted her to finally lower her gun in silence and return it to its holster. Perhaps fate had different plans for Mr. Alexandersson because once she pointed her gun at someone with a clear intention to kill, she never hesitated to pull the trigger. The hero would live to see another day, for now.

Moments later, the door swung open and both occupants watched their visitor ingress in a notably disheveled state. This immediately alarmed her as she took in Jin's appearance. He was covered in a sheen of sweat with his dark hair clinging to any place that touched his face. His attire wasn't neatly affixed to his body with the usual attention and care; his shirt was mis-buttoned and bunched beneath his leather trench coat as if he dressed himself in pitch darkness. The most concerning thing was that he still appeared to be as unwell as she had left him in the morning.

Nina silently stared at him in confusion and worry as he stood at the entrance of the security room. His eyes immediately focused on her as he entered the room, but another presence distracted him, and his eyes darkened into a deathly glare as he looked over to the Swedish captain. His lip slowly curved into a deep frown as he angrily glared daggers at the man. His hand curled into a tight fist at his side as Lars stared back at him casually with slight confusion.

"Jin?" Nina spoke to him calmly to capture his attention. Seeing his body language alarmed her, in fact, everything about his unannounced appearance was unsettling.

Her voice distracted him from his unexplained sudden surge of anger and he glanced over to her for a brief moment before returning his eyes back to the man. "Leave."

Lars shot a quick sidelong glance over to the blonde assassin, hoping to silently reaffirm his earlier words to her, but she did not acknowledge him, as her attention was solely on Jin now.

Jin's voice was as stern, threatening, and completely cold as his eyes as he uttered that simple command to him. Nina remained silent after his strong voice still loomed over the small security office. It was uncomfortable watching Lars walk past Jin with just barely enough room to leave the room without bumping shoulders.

After the man left, Jin pushed the door close with a slam behind him. Once again, he stared at the blonde woman with deep focus. "I need to talk to you."

Nina was undoubtedly nervous. His behavior was abnormal, and she wondered if he was on the brink of having another episode. She hoped that wasn't the case since she was already exhausted from dealing with the men in the room prior to his sudden appearance. Nina slowly crossed her arms and looked him over with scrutiny. "What's the matter, Jin?" she asked cautiously and calmly to avoid riling him up. Of course she had more biting words for him, but she held her tongue.

He could see that she was still upset with him, but he only had himself to blame. He walked towards her only to stumble forward slightly; he felt fatigued and lightheaded suddenly. Immediately she took a few steps forward to grab onto his shoulders to keep him steady.

"Jin! Holy shit!" she exclaimed as she held onto him. She walked him to the chair near the control panel and forced him to sit down. Once she had him seated, she stepped back to observe him closely. He was so sweaty, and she couldn't help but to feel that his decision to wear that large leather coat in the desert was largely to blame. With this in mind, she began stripping his coat away from his shoulders, ignoring his weak protests to stop her. She threw the coat to the side once she removed it and gazed at him in concern and bafflement. "Why did you come here? You're not well."

Jin looked up at her and took a few deep breaths to focus his thoughts. She was right, he was unwell, but that didn't matter now. After he was left alone in the hotel room, he tried his best to fall back asleep and hopefully rest to recover, but it was impossible. The room was quiet, but his thoughts were thunderous. His condition felt like it was progressively getting worse, and he wanted so desperately to distance himself away from everyone and everything in case he lost control, even if it just meant trudging through the desert alone, but somehow he found his way to her instead. He wanted to berate himself for putting her at risk, but something unexplainable overcame him that forced him to seek her out. The look of disappointment on her face before she left haunted him, and he wanted to fix things before…

"Nina…I need to tell you something," he spoke in a low voice. She looked at him in apprehension upon hearing those words.

"I think it can wait," she responded dismissively. "I'm taking you to the infirmary tent." Something about his eyes made her uneasy. She didn't understand what prompted him to come all this way to see her in person instead of just calling her from the comfort of his room.

"No!" he protested with more vigor. "Listen to me!" he demanded as he reached out to her and quickly grasped her wrist.

She tensed within his clutches as she felt more nervous about his condition. They locked eyes, and a long silence passed between them. His eyes were listless, but she tried to not get herself overly worried and did her best to remain calm. Nina drew in a deep breath and exhaled in the same manner before slowly lowering herself into the seat across from him. Her eyes briefly skimmed over the monitors before returning her attention to her employer. Now that he was here, she was distracted from her original task, but obviously a more important one unexpectedly appeared before her. "Tell me what's happening, please." She pleaded with him in a gentle, slightly concerned tone.

Despite her calm demeanor, he could feel her pulse thumping heavily within his palm; he continued to hold her as she waited for him to speak. "I don't…want to hurt you…" he started in a slightly labored voice. "But…I don't want…to push you away," he revealed cryptically.

The blonde remained calm as she tried to decipher his words. She tried to fit together the pieces of the puzzle he had given her so far to see the bigger picture. It was still distorted, but she wanted to understand to see what she could do to help him. "I can't help you unless you truly tell me what's going on with you," she surmised. Getting information from him lately was becoming exceedingly difficult to the point where she felt like throwing in the towel. However, she'd grown accustomed to dealing with him, even during his most difficult times, so she would exercise this level of patience only for him.

He continued to look at her with an intense gaze while remaining silent. She sighed impatiently and gently tugged her wrist from his grasp. She could almost see the cogs turning in his head as if he were carefully crafting his response to her; this meant he had something dire to say to her, but it would take him several moments before he actually had the gall to do so. While she waited, she reached out towards his shirt and began undoing the mis-buttoned buttons and redoing them properly. She didn't want his unkempt appearance to cause alarm amongst others, especially in a time where they needed a strong, levelheaded leader to look towards in such turbulent times.

He took note of her actions; they were reminiscent of the night in his office before they attended the opera together. The memory calmed him a bit and he lifted his hands to clasp hers just as she finished buttoning the last button on his shirt. She tensed again by his sudden action, reminding him that the unexpected intimate contact was forbidden outside of what she considered private spaces. He didn't care. He pressed her hands against his chest so that she could feel the erratic beating of his heart beneath his ribs. She didn't attempt to pull away from him as she became more mystified by his strange behavior.

"This is something…" he uttered seriously in a low voice.

Nina discreetly inhaled sharply at his abrupt admission. She could feel him squeeze her hands tighter within his. "Jin…please," she breathed out in slight embarrassment. "Now isn't the time for this." She was once again ensnared by his intense, unrelenting gaze. Her heart thumped nervously more than ever now.

His thoughts were jumbled and roaring loud in his head, fighting for dominance to reach the forefront of his mind. Something strange was stirring within him. There was no doubt that being in this land, so near to the beast that haunted his thoughts and nightmares was causing this reaction. He could also feel the demon within him aching to break free due to the powerful aura he could sense all around them. Everyone else, even Nina, seemed completely oblivious to the immense energy radiating from the ancient ruins. He was hanging on to his sanity by a thread. There was so little time left. "I have to tell you something...," he repeated again in a low voice as he held her hands firmly to his chest.

"You have a fever," she stated the obvious . "This heat definitely isn't helping." At this point, she was desperate to do or say anything to deflect from their current predicament. He was grasping onto her for dear life and, to her discomfort, their close proximity definitely didn't fall in line with professional behavior guidelines in the workplace.

"I…I wish I had more time…" he spoke in a low, slightly strained voice. Even through his fatigue and confusion, he kept his eyes focused on hers to command her undivided attention. Her attempts to distract his attention or change the topic wouldn't thwart him from doing what he set out to do.

She had never seen him this disoriented and loopy before, even when she witnessed him slightly inebriated. "More time for what?" she questioned.

"More time…with you," he confessed.

Her blue eyes fluttered in surprise. She parted her lips slightly to think of anything to say. Her mind went blank at the moment, and all she could hear was the throbbing sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

"I didn't…plan for things to turn out like this… my fate…" his voice trailed off as he paused to center his chaotic thoughts. 'You're pathetic…' the demon's voice mockingly intruded in on his thoughts. Jin inhaled and exhaled deeply. 'Focus…I need to focus,' he thought as he closed his eyes for a moment.

He seemed to lose his train of thought, and she began to wonder if he was indeed struggling with his other half; it certainly appeared as such. She gently pulled her hand from his grasp and rested it against his cheek. His eyes opened again, revealing his almond gaze to her. She exhaled nervously as she just silently observed him.

Her blue eyes held a certain warmness in them that quickly calmed him. Once his thoughts became more centered again, he became transfixed on her eyes and worked up the courage to say something that had been floating around his thoughts as his days inevitably became more numbered.

"Nina...I l-…" his words were cut short when the blonde quickly pressed the tips of her gloved fingers against his lips. He was confused and frustrated by her actions.

Her instincts kicked in and she reflexively silenced him in a slightly panicked reaction. Truthfully, she didn't know what he intended to tell her, but part of her was frightened for some reason. She leaned in closer to his face with her fingers still placed over his mouth. "Be careful, Jin..." she whispered softly as a light warning. Despite her nerves, she kept her cool façade as she pierced her eyes into his. She could see his eyes narrow, undoubtedly in annoyance of her actions. Once the erratic beating of her heart steadied a little, she slowly removed her hand away from his mouth and returned it to his cheek.

He couldn't understand her actions; his time was running short, yet she refused to listen to him. Then again, his thoughts were disordered and confusing, and he realized he couldn't remember what he wanted to say to her at the moment first, and he almost said something that he probably shouldn't have said to her in his hazy, disoriented state. It was a sudden impulse that overcame him in desperation; there was so much he wanted to say to her at the moment that everything attempted to erupt out at once. Her eyes peered deeply into his, attempting in futility to unlock the deep mystery hiding beneath them. He probably looked like a madman from her perspective, and in truth, he felt like he was indeed going mad. He said nothing as he lifted his hand to her face to cup her cheek; she was less tense now than she was before.

It seemed her rule book had been shredded and burned because he pushed more boundaries by the minute. Though they were alone, they didn't particularly have privacy given that anyone could intrude in on them at any moment. Before she could object to what he was going to do next, he forcefully thrust his lips upon hers. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she closed them as she allowed things to take their course. His kiss was charged with such passion and vigor that she was completely floored by his behavior. He was kissing her as if it were his last day on earth, and his actions teetered between romantic and slightly worrisome.

He couldn't find the right words to say to her at the moment, so he acted on impulse instead. He hungrily kissed her as he clasped her face between his hands until he could feel her pressing her hands into his chest to gently push away from him. Once she successfully pulled away him, she sucked air into her lungs desperately, as he left her breathless from his spontaneous gesture. The blonde looked at him in bemusement as they both shared a moment of silence to capture their breath and wits. From her expression, he knew that she was waiting for an explanation for his impetuous behavior, but the unstable state of his thoughts made it difficult for him to clearly express himself.

Nina pursed her lips lightly as she looked him over again with intense scrutiny. His actions completely boggled her thought process, and she still hadn't fully recovered from the shock of his slip of the tongue. She folded her arms with a small sigh. "I'm just going to assume that you're acting this way because the shit is going to hit the fan very soon, and somehow we're both screwed," she surmised, analyzing his weird behavior as a way to butter her up before delivering some very bad news.

In a way, she was correct in her assessment, but she just didn't realize how correct she was. Again, Jin was impressed by her keen intuition. Since she was aware of that much, he was finally ready to reveal to her the grand finale of his plans; it was time. He looked into her eyes as she gazed at him apprehensively with worry. The guilt rampaged heavily within his gut again. He nervously drew a deep, ragged breath as his heart rapidly picked up its pace. His chest felt like it was tightening and his vision blurred. Jin grit his teeth and groaned in pain.

'He's here…' the demon's voice reverberated in his head with a cackle.

"Jin, what's happening?" Nina perked up in worry and reached out to place her hand on his shoulder. A loud, blaring alarm sounded off, sweeping over the entire army base with a foreboding doom in its wake. Her eyes flew towards the control panels in a slight panic, and her eyes widened when she saw activity on the radar. She lifted her eyes to peer out the window; in the far distance, she could see troops closing in on the base as well. "Shit…" she muttered under her breath. Below, the deadly crackle of gunfire could be heard as they were being thrust into another violent face off with G Corp.

"He's set the final stage…it's all inevitable," Jin said resolutely as he could hear the chaos erupting below them, and he could feel an ominous aura nearby. 'Kazuya...' He slowly stood to his feet, despite his dizziness, and made his way towards the door.

"Jin!?" the blonde called out to him, clearly confused by his ever shifting behavior. "Where the hell are you going?" Did he not hear the prelude of a full scale war raging outside beyond the walls of the security tower? He paused at the door and slowly turned his head to look back at her.

"Promise me..." was all he said with a remorseful look in his eyes before he left the room, leaving the assassin in a baffled state.

Nina's lips fell slightly agape as he left. For a moment, she was unsure of what to do. Was she to remain bound by her duty to him, or listen to her…intuition? Yes, it was just her intuition, because there was nothing else driving her to disregard his orders by following after him to keep him safe. It was her job, after all.

With her mind made, she quickly rushed over to her duffel bag to equip herself with more weapons to prepare herself for the storm ahead. Whatever Jin was struggling with would only be exacerbated ten fold by him walking into the jaws of danger. 'I have to get Jin out of here before it's too late…' she thought anxiously as she ruffled around in her supply bag and procured a small black pouch. Nina sighed heavily. She was hoping she wouldn't need it, but she took it just in case. She quickly unzipped the front of her bodysuit to stash it on her before zipping up again. After she gathered what she considered to be a sufficient amount of weaponry to get the job done, she quickly tailed her employer, hoping to coerce him to follow her to safety.

So far, the infantry had charged in and gotten the party started by swarming the base as planned, but at least this time it appeared that their enemies were more prepared for their arrival. The G Corp soldiers and Tekken Force clashed on the desert base with war cries and gun fire booming and crackling from all directions. It was a symphony of destruction.

A lone military jeep just on the outskirts of the base pulled to a stop on a dune. Through his binoculars, he observed the mayhem with a satisfied grin. "That's right, boys, give em hell," he uttered with a low chuckle. "Looks like they're breaking the ice."

"No party is a blast until I arrive," the brunette vixen gloated.

"Well…how about we really get the party started then, princess?" He looked over to the brunette in the passenger seat with a wink.

"My pleasure," she said with a mischievous smirk as she stepped from the vehicle with her trusty bazooka hoisted onto her shoulder. She would be sure to make a grand entrance to capture everyone's attention, especially that of a pesky blonde on her list.

End of Chapter 33!

The next chapters will have more action in them, and I like writing action scenes. I'm shooting for 40 chapters, so I'll try to wrap everything up since this is such a long story.

Thanks for reading! Be safe and take care!