The Angel Within

by Aevora Myonsarys

After Tekken 6, Azazel is defeated. Although many thought it would lead to the defeat of all the evil in this world, it didn't. That means the search for peace continues. As many unsolved mysteries resurface and new problems come into the scene, it will all culminate in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 7. [Featuring ALL Tekken characters]

8. A Clockwork Orange

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The Angel Within

Chapter 8: A Clockwork Orange

[Day 11]

Wednesday, 09:13 UTC (11:13 in local time)
Cairo, Egypt

Zafina has been walking for about ten minutes now, and has finally spotted the light beige buildings of her village. It is situated in a remote area of Cairo, far away from the actual urban space. She took a taxi on the airport and the driver stopped the car when there was no further highway for it to follow. From there, she had to go on foot.

She's wearing the same black shirt, white pants and blue accessories since the first plane flight she got to come home.

A part of her mind is full of worry, thanks to her recent vision, but the other half is filled with ease as she gets closer and closer to her home place. This is where she belongs, and no matter how far she goes, her heart will always bring her back here.

As she gets closer, she frowns slightly to see the main sandy lane completely empty. At this time of day, the kids are usually playing in the middle of the path and the adults are in the front of their homes.

Instead of the vivid community, the place feels like a ghost town, and she senses something is wrong, although she can't pinpoint what it is. She keeps on walking, slowly, eyeing every corner she can to look for at least a single life sign.

She reaches her house after a few minutes. As she gets inside, she leaves her things on her bedroom without much care and leaves the building to continue investigating. Her walking rhythm is now faster, although she doesn't have any specific direction. She keeps stepping on the sandy ground rapidly, almost running, crossing the many lanes hoping to spot someone, as she keeps spinning to look around, starting to get worried and desperate.

She doesn't know how much time has passed, but it was a rather considerable one before she is able to see a crowd of people on their knees. She instantly recognizes the guru's house.

Suddenly, the door opens, and Jasmine, Zafina's friend, is reveled. Jasmine's dark blue long dress and silver jewelry contrasts with the pale brown landscape of their surroundings. Jasmine keeps staring at Zafina with a wide-eyed expression, but it's clear the woman's effort to remain stern. As she does so, the crowd turns to what Jasmine is staring, which is Zafina herself, although they all keep kneeled.

Zafina's face is simply confusion, since she doesn't know what's going on. While that, the people's faces show the same expression, one that mixes desperation and hope.

"Thanks to the heavens you're back." Jasmine says with a half-breathed voice.

"What happened?" Zafina asks worriedly. Since Jasmine is the village's healer, it would be fair, to say the least, to think the Guru might be ill, just as Zafina is thinking right now.

Jasmine simply steps away from the door, unblocking the passage. Getting the cue, Zafina crosses the crowd and steps in. She follows Jasmine until they stop at a bedroom – the Guru's bedroom.

The Guru is laying on the bed, with covers over him, and has a very unhealthy look. He seems tired, but not because of lack of sleep, but rather because of some sort of illness.

Zafina's hope is replaced by desperation. Wide-eyed and frowning, she keeps eyeing both the Guru and Jasmine, in hopes that one of them responds to the following question. "What happened?" She repeats her earlier sentence.

"Shortly after you went to México, he fell ill." Jasmine gives a short explanation. "I'm going to leave you both alone. He needs to talk to you." She says. "Please call me when you're finished – I'll be in the living room."

She exits the room instantly after saying her words, leaving behind a Zafina in state of shock. She stays like that for about a minute or so, until she snaps out of it and takes a seat on a chair beside the bed.

She grabs his left hand, and as she does so, he speaks. "I'm afraid my time has come."

"No!" Zafina says, tears starting to fall. "You can't leave us."

"Unfortunately, my pupil, as I've taught you, somethings simply can't be changed." He says, his tone as deep and mature as always, although his voice is a bit faint.

"There must be a way." She says rapidly, trying to find some solution, as if it was going to make him not die.

He smiles faintly at her hope of tables turning. "I'm afraid there isn't." He says. "As I've taught you on one of your first lessons, everything in the life experience is chosen by each one of us – even fate. But in order to evolve our spirits, there are certain events that are chosen before we come to flesh, and left unknown to us when our spirits are incorporated into this world." He explains. "You see, now that I'm passing away, I realize this is the moment I must've chosen to go."

Zafina nods in understanding, but keeps herself silent, letting her emotions ride her tears away as she hangs her head down.

"I need you to listen to me very carefully." He says, and Zafina looks up. "You are very bright, my pupil, and I'm sure you know that the prophecy did not happen."

Although he has only made a pause, Zafina speaks before he opens his mouth again. "That thought would never leave my mind."

"The two stars did not clash." He says matter-of-factly, and she nods quickly. She keeps eyeing him, desperately needing answers. "That's not because the prophecy was wrong, but rather because a piece of it was interpreted wrongly."

Zafina raises both her eyebrows in surprise, and waits for him to continue. "It never mentioned two evil stars. It never mentioned a number – only the plural." He says. "A new star may be rising somewhere in this world." He continues. "And it might be the missing key."

Silence installs itself in the room for a few seconds, before Zafina talks. "May I have your guidance? For one last time perhaps?"

"What for?"

"I've had a vision, Guru."

"I see." He acknowledges why she's mentioning the vision. It has something to do with the other star. "As always, I only hope I can be helpful."

She smiles faintly at him, but her face goes serious as she recalls the scenes that crossed her mind in a previous night.

"The first moment showed the two evil stars of my last premonitions – shining in purple and in black, situated far away from each other." She says. "However, differently from the last time, what happened next was the birth of another star. That third star was white, but there was some purple and green fog surrounding it. As it arose, the sun did the same, and the darkness of the night sky started to go away as both the purple and the black stars reached out for the green one."

The Guru nods in acknowledgement, but keeps himself silent since he knows she hasn't finished. She silently sighs once before continuing. "Both stars were very slow, but the purple one was faster and managed to touch the white star. And as it did so, it was tossed away and the white star simply disappeared."

She looks to her Guru looking for reassurance, and he makes a slight move of the head as to show her to keep on talking. "The Sun stopped rising, but night didn't fall again – it was like the sky had been frozen in the spot. Then, the purple and black stars were wandering lost again, until a fourth star was born. It was both red and white, and it attracted the purple and the black stars, and also the third star of before, which reappeared." She makes a brief pause. "Then the vision ended, leaving my mind in a blank." She then exhales, relieved to put it out.

The Guru silently stares to an unspecific spot of the room, away from Zafina's gaze, and falls into a deep state of thought. By this time, Zafina has already given up trying to hide her desperation, and it is all over her face.

"So it didn't show you what happened afterwards." He says, half-asking but also half-concluding. His gaze is still away.

"No, it didn't." She says. "There's no way to know what happens after they clash, that is, if they even clash."

"We are both very aware of who the purple and black stars represent." He says, and then looks to Zafina.

She nods. "I just can't understand the other two stars."

"Whoever they are, they are good, and there is no doubt about it." He says, completely certain. "Even though evilness has come upon them, their pure essence was never lost in any extent."

"But what about the other colors?"

"It is hard to say specifically, but presuming that they represent evilness wouldn't be far from accurate." He turns his gaze to the random spot he had been staring before.

Zafina frowns heavily. "Nothing is making any sense." She says as she shakes her head confusedly.

The Guru frees his hand from her grip and puts it on her shoulder as he turns to her again and speaks. "Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty. The path to understanding is sinuous and full of obstacles, but if the explorer is really willing to go through, the destination will be enlightening."

Zafina looks down, but when the Guru starts coughing, she looks up again with an even more worried expression on her face. He lets go of her shoulder and puts his hand on his mouth, to cover his coughs.

"Zafina." His voice is raspier and fainter now. "Please call Jasmine."

Zafina gets up quickly and opens the bedroom door. She eyes Jasmine from her spot, and the healer instantly gets up from the couch and goes to Zafina's direction.

Both are now inside the bedroom, and Zafina goes back to her chair by the Guru's left as Jasmine kneels by the man's right. Both women hold each of his hands and wear a worried expression.

"Jasmine. I'm afraid time is knocking on my door." He says, and Jasmine controls a sob. "You're are going to be the witness of my indication of Zafina as the new guru."

Zafina gasps shocked, and Jasmine turns to her with a surprised expression. "Zafina." The Guru says, eyeing her too. "You are to follow the lineage of guardians. Your duties will be taking care of the people, leading them to knowledge and peace, and guarding the tombs, the heritage of our people."

"You can't leave us." Zafina says controlling the urge to cry. "Besides, I'm not capable of becoming the new guardian."

The Guru chuckles lightly, only to cough a couple times more, before he speaks again. "I was younger than you when I assumed the post." He says. "And far less powerful, I might add." He smiles faintly to her. "You've been already taking care of one of the tombs, and you've been doing just fine. I'm sure you'll be a great guardian."

"Nobody will ever replace you." Zafina says, and this time she can't control her sobs. It makes Jasmine breakdown and she starts sobbing too.

The only sound in the room now is their crying as the Guru passes away silently, and in peace.

---

[Day 11]

Wednesday, 12:00 UTC (09:00 in local time)
Island of Trindade and Martim Vaz, State of Espírito Santo, Brasil

Julia and Bruce successfully reached the small town, and from there, contacted G Corporation. Bruce called G Corporation's headquarters only to find Lee in command. He sent them a plane and transported them to a very secret and improvised facility of G Corporation, where they've been since yesterday, receiving treatment for their wounds and proper nutrition after experiencing poor condition of alimentation for days on the jungle.

Thanks to G Corporation's assistance in Brasil's war, the Brazilian Navy guaranteed them a space for operations in the Island of Trindade and Martim Vaz, situated in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, 1,200 kilometers east of the country, where they've built a modest facility for genetic studies and health assistance.

The mysterious woman has also been brought, and had been resting ever since their arrival, although she has now just waken up and is having breakfast from a food tray recently brought by a doctor. Julia and Bruce are currently watching her through a window that doesn't allow her to see them.

"What do we do with her?" Julia asks.

"Nothing, I guess. Kazuya gave no orders to what to do with her." Bruce answers.

"And Lee also hasn't given any orders." Julia completes his sentence, and Bruce nods in agreement.

Silence falls upon them again as they watch the mysterious woman intently. The woman is sitting on a bed in a health care room, and is eating rather disinterested, even though considering everything she's been through. It's like her mind is far away from here, Julia notes mentally.

"Should we talk to her?" Julia breaks the silence. Bruce simply shrugs in response, and although he is just as curious, he decides he has had enough of this and leaves the room with an annoyed face. "I guess it shouldn't do harm." Julia talks to herself after a sigh, shrugging too.

Julia leaves the small watching room, takes a few steps in the corridor and enters the woman's room. Closing the door behind her, Julia gets a nearby chair and pulls it to sit beside the bed, by the woman's left. After taking her seat, Julia speaks. "How are you feeling?"

The woman finishes chewing, and then swallows, before answering. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Could you please tell me, um, well, what was going on with you?"

"It is no longer important." The woman says matter-of-factly.

Julia frowns rather pissed off. "Who are you?"

"That's also unimportant. All you need to know is that I'm thankful for your help and that I mean no harm." The woman says calmly, and then resumes her eating.

"That's not what it looked like." Julia says, raising a petulant eyebrow.

The woman doesn't answer. Julia sighs, and gives up asking as she comes to the conclusion that the other will most definitely not answer anything. Analyzing the woman's white hospital clothes, her eyes lock with the pendant, which wasn't removed for safety reasons. Julia frowns again, this time because of confusion, as she percepts something different in the necklace. There is some sort of writing in it, and the jewels have turned from red to blue.

"Excuse me, but may I take a look?" Julia asks pointing to the collar.

Coincidentally, the woman finishes her meal as Julia makes the question, and she puts the tray on a table by her right. She then turns to Julia and leans slightly so the other can look at it. Julia grabs it to pull it closer, but only finds that the text is written in a language unknown to her.

"Do you know what is written in here?" Julia asks in hopes that the woman knows. Julia lets go of the pendant, and the woman grabs it. Only with a glimpse of it, the woman knows that she can't understand the message, so she drops it and simply makes a 'no' with her head.

Julia sighs. "I'll let you rest for now. But I need to investigate about the pendant, whether you like it or not." The woman simply nods in both agreement and understanding, so Julia stands and leaves.

What a mysterious woman.

---

[Day 11]

Wednesday, 21:59 UTC (22:59 in local time)
Barcelona, Spain

Gradually, the delicate flower is starting to live again, progressively drying itself up from the rain of disappointment that had plagued its own forest. The vividness of its own jungle is beginning to resurge, as the torment has already stopped, and the darkish clouds are the only remains of it.

Gradually, Josie is starting to live normally again, progressively letting go of the bitter sentiments that had haunted her mind. Her vividness is starting to return, as the pain has vanished, and resentment and remembrance are the only remains of it.

Very well aware that her grandmother didn't raise her to live based on sorrow, she is now living again full steam ahead. Every now and then, mainly before or during her sleep, her mind would be dominated by flows of thoughts or dreams of the sad events of the past. Besides those moments, however, Josie is now more determined than ever before. She took a vow that she is going to honor her grandmother, and she's not one to change her mind about such important things.

Wearing her work uniform, a pale purple T-shirt with black simplistic pants and a white apron, she's serving the customers more efficiently than ever before. As she moves rapidly, yet somehow graciously, from one side to another, she takes their orders, which range from simple bottles of beers to sophisticated drinks. As this is a middle-class bar, the goers have all kinds of tastes when it comes to alcohol. Popular beer, fine wine, everything.

A person approaches the bar counter and takes a seat, staring at Josie on the other side of the black desk. He is an enormous man, of tanned skin and black messy hair, with a bit of beard, and he is wearing a worn orange button shirt and black leather pants.

When Josie turns, she spots that man, and they exchange one-second blank stares in acknowledgement of each other, before she walks to his direction.

"Good night." She says, in a tone a bit more serious than the casual and sympathetic one she usually uses with other clients. "May I take your order?"

After a second or so, Miguel shifts his vision to the many beverages behind her. It takes just as quick for him to look her in the eyes again and, stoically, speak. "I want a beer. Any brand is good."

"In a minute." She says, and quickly goes a few steps away from him to get the bottle. When she's back, Miguel hasn't changed his position. She serves him silently, filling his glass.

She was about to turn and leave, but Miguel spoke up. "So, you work here now?" He asks. "I've never seen you here before."

"Sí." She answers. "I got the job not long ago."

"I guess we'll be seeing each other quite often, then." He says, and then sips some beer.

With a bit more casual atmosphere in between them, Josie allows herself to smile. "I guess so." As someone calls her from another part of the counter, she says "Excuse me." and then goes to the direction of the client.

Miguel keeps eyeing her silently as he drinks his cool beer.

---

[Day 11]

Wednesday, 23:10 UTC (18:10 in local time)
Miami, Florida, United States of America

Steve and Katarina are on their date, in lack of a better word, at Red Lobster. They've chosen a table by the window, yet also in a corner, and from there they can watch everybody else – either the people inside or outside.

Both of them are here with second intentions, although those are not the same.

They've already made their order. In fact, they're already eating. During the night, they have talked about many random topics, including the one of now.

"So, you're really a boxer?" Katarina asks.

"Yes." Steve answers.

"We should spar together, or something like that." She says. "It'd be nice."

"Yes, we-"

"Are you kidding me?!" A scream coming from another table interrupts Steve, and both he and Katarina turn to see what's going on, just like everybody else in the restaurant.

In a table relatively far away, in the center of the place, a young man of black skin is standing beside his chair, looking to a waiter. The man has a brown black power, and his clothes are very colorful and quite old-fashioned. It's like he was taken out of Jackson 5.

"You guys made me wait for 45 minutes only to serve me the wrong dish?!" He says angrily. "I want my money back now!"

The waiter is visibly scared because of the outburst, but tries to respond as calmly as possible. "Alright, sir. Please follow me to the cash desk so we can resolve the situation."

Both indeed go there and the rest of the people start resuming their conversations, including Steve and Katarina.

"What a dummy." Steve says.

"A what?" Katarina asks almost laughing, because it sounded quite weird.

"A 'dummy'. Don't you know what it is?"

"I've never heard that in my life."

"It's like, he's an idiot."

"Oh," she says in realization "that I know." Then she makes a question. "Is that something from Britain?"

Then Steve gets why she asked. "Yes, I guess you could say so."

Katarina sighs. "He sort of rained on the parade here."

"Wanna ask for the bill?"

"Unless if you wanna stay here longer."

"It's just fine."

When Katarina finally manages to call a waiter, he gives them their bill but says it needs to be paid on the cash desk. Steve and Katarina, then, get up and go there, where they find the 'dummy'.

"Thanks for spoiling everybody else's fun, lunatic." Katarina says under her breath.

"I didn't do anything." He answers. "They did. If they think they can treat Tiger Jackson like a fool, they're wrong."

"Acting like that just proves that they indeed should treat you like a fool." Steve says.

"Just shut the hell up, really." He says annoyed as he turns back to the cashier and finally gets his money back.

"Scared of me?" He doesn't stop.

Tiger turns to them and stares at them through his sunglasses. Why someone would wear those at night is beyond Katarina's knowledge, until she remembers that she has done that quite a few times. He's wearing white boots, grey pants with rainbow suspenders over an orange long-sleeved button shirt.

"Who do you think you are?" He says in a tone of half-curiosity and half-threatening.

"The real question is who you think you are, acting like that." Steve continues, now talking in a bit more threatening tone too.

Tiger stares at the two for another second. She wears a white jacket that has a peacock print in the tips, which covers her whole torso, combined with slacks of white and blue stripes, and white high-heels, while he wears a red button shirt with light beige pants.

"Can you guys cut that off already? Leave it alone." Katarina interrupts.

Tiger now stares at her, although this time for a bit less time. "You were the one who started it. Who do you think you are to say otherwise now?"

She narrows her eyes before simply punching him in the nose. Steve leaves some money on the counter quickly as Tiger holds his bleeding nose.

"You insolent bitch." He says.

Before Tiger is able to throw a hit of his own, Steve interrupts again, putting a hand on the man's chest to hold him back. "Hey, disco-dummy, wanna a few rounds? Let's go outside then."

Tiger narrows his eyes towards Steve for a second before he exits the place, followed by both Katarina and Steve a few meters behind.

"Remember about that sparring talk?" Steve asks. "Perhaps this might be funnier." He smirks.

She smirks back. "Some fun might be good." She says. "Besides, he deserves it."

The three are already in the parking lot.

"What's the name of the two pigs?" Tiger asks mockingly. "I deserve, at least, to know the name of the little puppies."

"I'm Katarina, psycho."

"You're the one who's got a pet name, yet we're the animals?" Steve mocks him back. "I don't get it."

"You're think you're such a smart ass, huh?" Tiger says. "Do you have a name or not?"

"It's Steve, moron."

"Can you stop blabbering already?" Katarina interrupts. "Let's see if you can fight as much as you talk." She says as she puts her right hand on her hip.

Tiger gets on his fighting stance, and both Steve and Katarina are surprised to see he's a capoeira fighter. Steve then proceeds to get on his own stance, shaking his fists in front of him.

Katarina is the first to attack. She slaps Tiger twice in the face with the back of her left hand before doing a crazy spin in the air and giving him a high kick of her left leg. It brings him down hard.

He rolls backwards but quickly comes back closer to his opponents and performs a move called Gancho Chibata on Katarina, which is a left leg kick followed by a hard roundhouse kick of the right leg. It sends her spinning in the air.

Steve gets advantage of the window and punches him with the left, the right and then the left. Tiger attempts to make a simple roundhouse kick, but Steve crouches and does a Skyscraper, which is pretty much a raising punch.

Katarina is already on her feet as Tiger starts flying, and she performs two kicks on him before he hits the ground. He quickly rolls backwards, and all of them starting circling each other.

Tiger makes a Slippery Kick on both of them, taking the duo off their feet, and proceeds to make a Front Stinger, which are two kicks while spinning crouched. Katarina rises first only to be hit by Tiger's Handslaps Mirage, hitting her face with his left palm only to disorientate her before a raising roundhouse kick.

As Katarina falls, Steve gets up and attempts to make a combo of punches, but Tiger sidesteps and makes the Shin Cutter Combo, hitting Steve's face with both palms and finishing with a hard spinning kick.

Steve is already on the ground when Katarina comes to attack Tiger. She performs a series of five kicks on him, to which he responds with an elbow uppercut that takes off her balance long enough for him to make another attack. He makes the Relógio, which consists of crouching and making a spinning kick, bringing her to the ground.

Steve is already on his feet, although Tiger was oblivious to it. The boxer makes his Gatling Gun, punching Tiger's stomach for about nine times, sending Tiger flying backwards with the tenth hit.

Both Katarina and Steve wait for Tiger to get up. When he does so, both try to attack him, but meet his right leg in a continuous spinning while he leans in the other leg – a move called Barbed Wire. It sends the duo flying.

Steve is the first to get up, only to meet both of Tiger's hands in a Double Arm Stinger that brings him to the ground again. That's when Katarina gets up, only to meet the fast and complex Meia-Lua de Compasso. The move consists firstly of a cartwheel, hitting the opponent with the two feet, followed by two roundhouse kicks of both legs executed while relying in the opposite leg to crouch.

When Katarina flies away, Steve gets up, only to meet Tiger's fury. That lasts for a bit until a bunch of security men of Red Lobster come to separate the fight. Four men hold Tiger, preventing him of attacking any longer, while another six divide themselves between Katarina and Steve, to stop them from getting up.

That's when the three fighters realize that quite a crowd is surrounding them. Most of the restaurant clients, plus some people who were probably just passing by, are circling them, besides a bunch of employees.

"Eat that, suckers!" Tiger screams to Katarina and Steve.

"You'll pay for this!" Katarina shouts back.

Katarina and Steve are released in the left entrance while Tiger is released in the opposite one. The duo is pushed hard towards the street, and the security men lock the garage entrance behind them. Putting their hands on their knees, they catch a breath before Katarina speaks up. "He's definitely gonna pay for this."

Steve laughs. "I think he's been pretty beaten up already." He proceeds to stand in a normal position.

She laughs a bit too. "I guess so." Katarina admits. "But he's still gonna pay." She then stands normally as well.

"Why so revengeful?" Steve jokes.

"Why not?" She says in a similar tone.

"There are better things to be."

"Like what?" She asks teasingly.

Steve smirks. "Maybe I should answer that question of yours in a more… appropriate place."

…

Katarina has been driving for a couple hours now, and has arrived in West Palm Beach, a few kilometers away from Miami. She parks her dark green-colored American Muscle car in a large, dark and empty back alley. Her simple high-heeled steps feel like stomps in the stoned floor, thanks to the place's muteness in the middle of the night.

She stops a few steps away from her car and takes a pair of white gloves out of her back pockets and puts them on. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, she unbuttons her white coat, exposing her characteristic black leather bra and her tattooed belly. From an inner pocket of her vest, she takes out a pair of sunglasses and also puts them on. She smirks to herself. So much better.

Walking closer to the car again, she opens its back door and pulls an unconscious Steve, making him fall hard on the ground. Closing the door, she drags him through the pavement and enters a very dusty building through a very old and ugly looking door. One would think the place is abandoned, and it really is, but Katarina knows someone's waiting for her inside.

She finds herself in the middle of what used to be a dining café of black and white checkered floor. She leaves Steve on the ground and leans her back on a wall, not caring at all about the dirtiness of the place. She starts murmuring a song that has been stuck on her head for a while, as if the situation is trivial and part of a daily routine.

A couple minutes pass and she hears steps. She looks up and sees a man white like a ghost, wearing pale brown military clothes. He has pitch-black hair tied up in a short and single ponytail. His face shows slight delight, which is not usual, but it still is who she has come to meet.

"Good singing." He says, in a rare moment in which he actually speaks.

"Dragunov." She says simply.

He doesn't say a word, as expected, and crouches to analyze the unconscious body of Steve. After a minute, he gets up and his gaze meets her face again. He nods once, then turns his back to her and walks away. Katarina keeps herself on the same spot and goes back her low singing.

All she had done with Steve was a mere act. Besides her name and nationality, everything she told him was fake. She's been in Miami exactly looking for him. Of course she had her fun too, but her primary goal since the very beginning was to bring him to Sergei Dragunov, who's representing the Russian nation.

When Katarina told Steve that her job as a waitress was a long story, she was actually lying – it is very simple. She's a mercenary who does short term missions for sleazy governments and organizations. That night, she was only doing what had to be done for her to get closer to her target: Steve Fox himself.

Katarina's abilities are very diverse, and as a mercenary, she not only can act as an assassin, but also as a kidnapper, soldier, spy, burglar, and others. She is a skilled fighter, and has special expertise with knives – one should be careful with her.

Dragunov comes back, his piercing white eyes contrasting with the darkness of the surroundings. She throws a black bag to her direction, and she crouches and opens it. It is full of wads of cash.

"Mother Russia is always so generous." She smirks as she closes the bag again. "Might I ask you what you're going to do with him?" She asks out of plain curiosity.

"Classified." Dragunov answers.

"You're quite talkative today." Katarina smirks. "Well, I guess we're done here, then." Her back leaves the wall, and she gets the bag from the floor, taking a few steps forward. "Nice doing business with you." She whispers in Dragunov's ear and then leaves. Putting it in the trunk of her car, she gets in the driver's seat and speeds up.

Dragunov merely raises his right eyebrow slightly for a second, before his unreadable expression comes back to its usual place. He puts Steve on his right shoulder and exits the building through a rear door, different from the one Katarina used.

Since the Zaibatsu started 'curing' the war it caused, Russia withdrew with its forces on Mexico. There was no point in being there anymore.

But the Russian nation is no fool, and their newly conquered proximity to the Mishima Empire made things a lot easier for spying. And thanks to that, they found out Steve Fox has some connection to the Devil Gene, although its nature is unknown to them.

It's been a while that they've been trying to reach someone with the gene and capture that person, aiming to study it and create a biochemical weapon. That actually has been Dragunov's primary mission since The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 – and now, he has finally succeeded, or at least that's what he thinks so.

Putting Steve's body under black sheets on the trunk of a black pickup truck, and then gets on the driver's seat, turns on the engine and takes off, aiming the city's port, where a secret Russian military ship will be waiting to take him and the body to Cuba, from where they'll get a plane back to Russia.

---

[Day 12]

Thursday, 01:44 UTC (10:44 in local time)
Osaka, Japan

"[…] this is all I have to ask you, Mr. Nobuo. Thank you very much." Asuka overhears a male voice say. Asuka has just woken up and was walking through the corridor, aiming the kitchen, but stopped at the sound coming from the living room.

"It is a misfortune that we are only able to meet in situations like this." Asuka's father says.

"Indeed." The gentle male voice speaks again. "May we talk to Ms. Kazama?"

"Yes, of course. I'm sure she'll be willing to help." Nobuo answers. "Just a second."

Asuka then hears the noise of her father's steps in the wooden floor, and silently waits for him in the corridor. When he comes, he stops abruptly in front of her – he wasn't expecting to see her here waiting.

"Who are they?" Asuka asks.

"They're from Interpol. They are investigating the woman who attacked our dojo." He answers. "Do you remember Mr. Lei Wulong? He's there too, a very nice man, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"Yes, I remember." She says after recalling the other time the Kazama Dojo was attacked. "Are you coming?" She says pointing to the living room.

"Oh, no darling, they want to hear your testimony."

"But I've already spoken to the police."

"I know, so did I, but they are conducting a separate investigation than that of federal police." He says. "Everything is going to be fine." Her father gives her a reassuring smile.

She didn't need to be reassured on anything, but she can't help but smile back to him. She nods once and enters the living room. As she takes a seat, in front of her there are two people – a man and a woman. The man is indeed Lei Wulong, wearing his black and long ponytail, and light pink shirt with white slacks and shoes.

Besides him, there is a woman Asuka doesn't know. She is clearly from the West, thanks to her facials features, which consist of thick lips, large nose and olive green eyes, and the outcome exhales self-assurance. She has dark caramel skin, and her hair is a very odd type of black power of dark brown color. She is wearing a black suit, with no shirt under it, although the coat covers all her torso. Her shoes seem to be leather boots, but are mostly covered by the pants of her formal garment.

"Ms. Kazama" Lei cracks a sympathetic smile and shakes her hand, talking is usual good mood voice.

"Please, call me by my first name only." Asuka says as she smiles back to him.

He releases her hand. "Sure. Please feel free to do the same and call me Lei only." He says. "This is Robyn. She is assisting me in this investigation."

"Nice to meet you." The woman says in the more casual way she can, but it is very clear that she's more of a serious person. Asuka shakes hands with her briefly and then turns to Lei.

They proceed to ask her a huge amount of questions, regarding not only the crime itself, but also how her day was like before she came home and faced the intruder. It was a normal day – she assisted her father in teaching the younger students of the dojo, and by early evening, they heard a weird noise coming from the yard. She then proceeded to describe her fight with the woman. Both Lei and Robyn make notes on their clipboards.

Also, they made questions about the formation/creation of the dojo. According to them, it was so they could investigate if there's any correlation between the Kazama Dojo and the other dojos the woman attacked, so they can found out if she was searching for something specific for theft, or else. Asuka told them how her father founded it after moving from Tokyo, aiming to teach the younger generations of the big Osaka city.

It takes almost an hour, but they finish it. "Thank you very much, Asuka." Lei says, his voice as sympathetic as always.

"Could you please call your father?" Robyn asks.

"Sure." Asuka answers and gets up. "Just a second."

Going down the corridor, looking in each door, she finds her father in the kitchen having a glass of water. She tells him that he's being needed in the living room, and he goes there as Asuka returns to her bedroom.

Before getting in, she overhears Robyn. "This is our number. Call us whenever it is necessary, and we'll be content to help."

"Thank you very much, Ms. Robyn." Asuka's father says, sounding glad. "Let me take you to the door."

Asuka closes her bedroom door completely and lays on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The questions took so long that she lost her appetite.

Now it's too late to grab a bite. I guess I'll have to wait for lunch.

---

[Day 12]

Thursday, 05:28 UTC (14:28 in local time)
Seoul, South Korea

Hwoarang has just left his bedroom after getting changed into his white training dobuk, as he is going to get back to his routine of training. Baek, although still not fully recovered, is already better and doesn't need such meticulous care anymore.

Before he closes the bedroom door, however, he remembers of something – actually, someone. He gets his cellphone, and then exits the room once and for all. Once he's downstairs, he calls a number.

The number is Ling Xiaoyu's. After he tried to call her some days ago and she didn't answer, he presumed it would be better if he waited a few days to try again. As it's already Thursday, she might be willing to talk now.

Rivalries aside, and also disregarding World War III, Hwoarang has found a new reason to hate Jin. Even though The Blood Talon doesn't really believe in love, that doesn't stop the others from doing so, and Xiaoyu, out of all people, most definitely doesn't deserve that. Jin is a jerk for pushing her aside for so long, and marrying Nina is the last streak. Even the Blood Talon can admit that.

Almost a full minute later, the phone is answered. "Hello, Hwoarang!" Xiaoyu says on the other side of the line, with her usual happy tone.

Hwoarang raises an eyebrow, then answers. "Hey there, Xiaoyu. How are you doing?"

"I'm great, thanks! And you?"

"Good too."

"Sorry I didn't call you back, I completely forgot!" She says, and it's genuine. "I was too lost on training. My grandpa can be tough sometimes." She chuckles lightly.

"Nah, it's fine. I should know how it is to have a tough master." Both laugh shortly. Hwoarang then decides it's better to start with the most important topic. "I'm calling to check up on you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," He begins, a bit of uncertainty on his tone "I think you know why." He says. "I'm just concerned, that's all. Are you sure you are okay?"

He can hear her sigh on the other side of the line. It's hard to determine whether it comes from sadness or anger. "Yeah, I guess so. Even I am surprised with how I've been dealing with it so far." Now, it's easy to say her sigh had been of sadness. "Staying for some time at home here in China has helped too." She adds. "I can't deny I've been affected, though. But it didn't really stop my world from spinning."

"Sincerely, even I can't believe he did that to you." Hwoarang says in voice of sympathy, as if he's on her side. "Even I can see how much of a jerk he is, beyond any feud I have with him."

"It's not like he had any obligation of doing so." Xiaoyu says, her disappointment even more evident. "We don't have a relationship."

"But still!" He says quite angrily. "That's not an excuse. That wasn't excuse for you, when you kept on trying to reach him all these years."

He has a point, Xiaoyu acknowledges mentally. That's a perspective she hadn't seen from – or perhaps had avoided unconsciously. She has already been told a few times in her life that she tends to take the blame for everything, even when she's the victim. "I see where you're driving at." She says. "But it's not like I can do something about it." She adds, now in a sad tone again.

"Yeah." Hwoarang says expressing frustration. "At least go easier on yourself." There's a brief pause. "All I know is that I'm going to kick his ass even harder next time I see him."

Xiaoyu can't hold back a chuckle. "Thanks, Hwoarang, really. It means a lot."

The right corner of his lips smile a bit. "If you need anything, call me. I'm on your side."

"Thank you very much." She says. "But let's drop this subject already." She says, already sounding happier. "What have you been up to?"

"Ah, not much." He says dismissively. "I spent some time in Spain, then came back to Korea."

"Spain? That's nice!" She says. "I spent some time in Europe too, but it was in Italy. I was with Miharu. Do you remember her?"

"Hmmm." It escapes his throat as he looks up in thought. "I don't think so."

"You defeated her in the Fourth Tournament."

Then it clicks. "Oh, yes! The one with dark auburn hair." He says. "How is it there in Italy?"

"Oh, it's beautiful, really!" She says. "They have a lot of historical places, in all of their cities, but at the same time they're so modern, and everything is so clean. I had a great time there."

"That's cool."

"But tell me of Spain! I heard it's great there too."

"Yeah, it is." He says. "I stayed in Barcelona. Very nice place. I didn't go to many touristic spots, though, but I can guarantee you the bars there are great."

They laugh. "Sorry, but I have to hang up now. Grandpa is scolding me again about training." She says.

They chuckle a bit. "Alright, then. Go to your training. I'm going to do the same, though." He answers.

"Thanks for calling, Hwoarang, really. That's very nice of you." She says. "Besides, it's always good to talk to friends."

"It's nothing, really. That's what friends are for anyway." He says in a sympathetic tone. "Goodbye."

"Bye!" She squeals before hanging up.

Hwoarang puts his cellphone in a nearby table. Xiaoyu is the least expected person to be friends with someone like Hwoarang, but he actually thinks she's nice. Her happiness is contagious to everyone.

Her obsession for Jin is something he'll never understand, but he respects it. Unlike that goddamn Kazama, Hwoarang acknowledges her efforts, because besides the crush she has on the guy, she has actually tried to help him.

Few are those in life who truly care about you.

Shaking his head to regain focus, Hwoarang heads for the dojo. Suddenly, however, the doorbell rings, so he turns and takes a different direction.

He opens the door to find a man and a woman. He recognizes the man, even though they have never formally met, but the woman is someone unknown to Hwoarang. The man has black long hair tied up in a ponytail, Asian black eyes, wearing pink and white policeman clothes. About the woman, everything about her is translated to the word 'strong' – her exotic features, fierce expression and imposing clothes. She's western, of green eyes, has both dark skin and hair, and is wearing black formal clothes.

"Mr. Hwoarang." The man says sympathetically.

They shake hands. "There's no need to call me Mr., really."

They release hands. "Alright then, no Mr."

"You're Mr. Wulong, right?" Hwoarang asks.

"I thought we had agreed not to say 'Mr.'". He chuckles lightly. "Yes, I am Lei Wulong. You can call me Lei only." He says. "We're here in the name of Interpol. We'd like to ask you and Mr. Baek a few questions about the recent incident on your dojo."

Hwoarang raises an unsatisfied eyebrow. "I have already talked to the police."

"I understand your position." Lei says. "But it was the local police. We're here representing Interpol's separate investigation." He explains. "Oh, how rude of me. This is Robyn. She's my partner."

Hwoarang turns to the woman. "Nice to meet you." She says, and they shake hands. Her grip is strong.

"Please, get in." Hwoarang says as he releases his hand from Robyn's. He leads them to a living room, and the duo take a seat. "I believe you'd like to talk to my Master first."

"Yes, we'd like, please." Lei says. "How has been his recovering?" There is genuine concern behind the politeness of the question.

"He's doing fine." Hwoarang says. "Unfortunately, it'll be a while 'til he's able to fight again."

"I see." Lei acknowledges.

"I'm gonna call him. Just a moment." Hwoarang says, and leaves for the second floor.

After a couple minutes, Hwoarang comes back to the first floor accompanying his Master, helping him to go down the stairs.

"Mr. Baek." Lei says as he and his partner stand to greet the man. "I'm Lei Wulong and this is Robyn." He says, turning his head towards the woman by his side, signaling to the one he's referring to. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but we're representing Interpol and we'd like to make you a few questions."

"It's not an inconvenience." He answers. "And you can call me Doo San only." He cracks a faint smile.

Lei smiles and nods as an answer. "I see. Please call me Lei only."

With that, everybody takes a seat, with Hwoarang helping his Master once again. Once everybody is settled, The Blood Talon exits the room and heads to the training dojo.

He stops on his tracks as he realizes something. His Master still hadn't told him who the attacker was. Hwoarang didn't press on the matter because he felt it would be disrespectful, but he still wanted to know. He still wanted revenge. He failed to do so in Japan, but only because he literally knew nothing about the person.

Keeping a safe distance from the door, yet still close enough to hear the conversation inside, he leans his back on the wall and listens carefully.

"Well, Mr. Doo San, could you please tell us the events of the day of the attack?" A female voice asks – Robyn.

"Yes." Hwoarang overhears his Master's answer. "It was a common Tuesday. I woke up early, had a small breakfast, and swept the house. Then I taught my Taekwondo classes as I normally do, and then the day was over." He says. "Around 10 p.m., I received a call from Hwoarang, telling me he was going to return to Seoul from Barcelona." Doo San continues. "He was spending sometime in Spain." He adds.

"The call was short, and after it, I went to bed. After some minutes, perhaps an hour, I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard a noise downstairs." He says. "Once I got to the dojo, someone opened the door of my office and turned on the room's lights. From behind, I wasn't able to recognize the person at first, but when I called the intruder and the person turned, I knew instantly who it was."

"Who?" Lei asks.

"Kunimitsu is her name. I remember her from the Second Tekken Tournament." Doo San answers. Hwoarang raises an eyebrow at the mention of such a weird name. But now, he knows who the person is.

"Are you sure?" Robyn asks.

"Such an exotic fox max is hard to forget." He says. "Just as the orange hair in ponytails." Hwoarang almost smirks – this was too easy. Now he knows exactly how the person looks like.

"I see." Lei says. "I remember her too. But could you please tell me how you met her?"

"I didn't. She was just another competitor." Doo San answers. "I recall watching her fight against the sword man, Yoshimitsu, from my hotel room's TV." He says. "That was a good fight. Both were very skilled, and I remember being impressed by their abilities." Doo San further adds.

"They were indeed very good." Lei says. "Yoshimitsu still is, I might add. He still competes."

"Yes, indeed." Doo San acknowledges too.

"Anyway, what happened afterwards?" Lei asks.

"Upon recognizing her, I said her name, and at the mention, she simply got into her fighting stance. With that, I followed suit, and we started to fight. It didn't last long, though. In an unexpected move, she literally blew fire on my face." He says, with a bit of irritation in his voice. "Don't even ask me how she did that, because I have no idea." He adds. "All I know is that it was too fast for me to avoid, so I started rolling on the ground to make it cease."

"Oddly enough, she waited for me to stand, only to cut me in the arm and in the face with a knife. I collapsed to the floor, and struggled to get up. When I was finally standing again, she was smirking at me. Angered, I started to walk toward her, only to few weaker each step. In the fourth step or so, I collapsed again." He says.

"She raised me from my hair and showed me the knife on her hand, to mean there was some sort of substance on it to make me drift into unconsciousness." He continues. "Last thing I saw was the rope on her hands, and then I fainted."

Angry enough with the story, Hwoarang walks away silently, with a scowl on his face, determined to release the feeling in the punching bags of the dojo. He knows, however, that the hate he's feeling for the attacker won't be ceased until he defeats the person.

Kunimitsu, uh? He thinks. I will find you. And I will bring you to justice.

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 00:33 UTC (09:33 in local time)
Chiba, Japan

Since Miharu regressed to Japan, she has been spending some time with her parents in Chiba, her hometown. Since the city is close to Tokyo, it's not inconvenient at all. Deep inside, even though she's been missing her parents since the day she entered the plane to Italy, she actually wanted to be alongside Xiaoyu, her best friend.

At least she is with Panda and with her grandfather, Miharu thinks. She knows that although Xiaoyu accepted the situation regarding Jin, she is still going to need people to support her tomorrow morning. Miharu is a friend of Jin's too – although not as close as Xiaoyu –, and she also doesn't understand the marriage. But like Xiaoyu said, as hopeless as it may sound, there's nothing that can be done about it. I should give her a call later, Miharu decides.

Right now, Miharu and her parents have just arrived in a Water Park so they can enjoy the sunny day. She walks carelessly, excitedly eyeing the place, choosing which pool she is going to swim first. Lots of multicolored toboggans of different sizes and formats, pools with waterfalls surrounded by plants, beach-like sections with wave pools, areas for water gun wars, and many more surround the little

Her reddish brown short hair is adorned with a lilac cap and white heart-shaped sunglasses, accompanied of bracelets on both of her wrists, with sky blue nails. Her clothes consist of a multicolor bikini top, blue denim shorts and pink low heels.

Her parents find a table to sit, which means green light for Miharu to explore the park. She keeps on wandering, mesmerized by her surroundings, until her eyes stop at the park's craziest set of toboggans.

She smirks to herself and makes a little dance. Here I come!

…

After tiring herself out on all the toboggans and swimming pools she was able to go, Miharu decided to rest on a sun lounger. Perhaps I can get a tan, she thinks.

She is not alone, however. During the day, she made a friend. Laying on the lounger by Miharu's right, is a girl who introduced herself as Chloe. Miharu can't help but feel there's something off about the girl, but she can't pinpoint what. They have talked for many good minutes now, perhaps an hour, but now they've gone silence for a moment, simply analyzing her surroundings or staring at the cloudless turquoise sky.

The girl has Asian-shaped eyes, but the irises are light green, thanks to a pair of lens, and she has a light blonde hair tied up in two ponytails that almost touch the ground. It's hard to determine whether the hair is dyed or a wig, but it is most likely not natural because the girl's eyebrows are darker – of light brown color.

As for clothes, Chloe is wearing a light pink and black bikini, with the bottom adorned also with a black ballerina skirt, and she has a white and light pink cat ears headband.

"Lucky." Miharu calls. Chloe said it is her nickname, and that she prefers being called by it. Miharu doesn't really understand, but respects it.

"Yes?" Lucky answers happily.

"From where did you get your nickname?" Miharu asks curiously.

"Oh, people would always say that I was lucky. With time, they started calling me Lucky." She explains. "I ended up embracing it."

"That's nice!" Miharu says.

"Do you have any nicknames?"

"Not really. Miharu is already a short name." She says matter-of-factly. Miharu doesn't see, but Lucky bites her lip in nervous fashion. "Where do you come from?" She changes the subject.

"Oh, I-I'm Japanese!" Lucky answers, laughing nervously.

This time, Miharu notices it, but chooses to ignore it and keep up with the conversation. "Of course, silly!" She jokes. "But from where? Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba… there are many cities, you know?!"

Lucky laughs, somewhat relieved, Miharu notes. "I come from Kitakyushu." She says.

Kitakyushu is a city in the northern part of the region of Kyushu. Kyushu is one of Japan's four main islands, and it is the most southwesterly of them. It is situated in the same prefecture of Fukuoka.

"That's nice! I have never been there." Miharu says.

"It's a big, big city." Lucky says. She then changes the focus of the conversation. "And you? Where do you come from?"

"Oh, I was born and raised here in Chiba." Miharu says fondly. "But I've been living in Tokyo in the last few years."

"Oh, cool!" Lucky says. "This is my first time in here." She says truthfully, her happiness slightly toned down.

"Really?" Miharu asks surprised. Chiba is close to the capital, so it's usually common for people to know the city. "I think I have never met someone who doesn't know Chiba!"

Lucky playfully raises her shoulders as an answer. Miharu continues the talking. "I could show you around! How long are you staying here?"

"Oh, no, no!" Lucky says, shaking her head to the sides, and moving her hands. "I think I expressed myself wrong! I'm not visiting, I have just moved to the city."

"Yay!" Miharu says excitedly. "Then we'll see each other very often!"

They high five each other in a celebrative manner.

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 10:42 UTC (07:42 in local time)
São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brasil

"Now, sign this." A lawyer says to Lee, who takes the paper and starts reading it.

There's a group of three lawyers surrounding Lee, who's sitting in the office desk of G Corporation CEO's room. While Kazuya was in the Amazon, Anna took charge, since she's the sub-CEO. Now that she's absent as well, Lee is in provisory charge, since he's a shareholder. Now, the lawyers are assisting him to take permanent control of the corporation. The three men are wearing different tones of grey suits, while Lee is wearing a pitch-black one.

Lee starts reading, like, the zillionth piece of paper he's been given. As always, just more usual business blabbering written in a font of small size.

Suddenly the sound of papers turning, the clicks of pen and the sound of leather wallets opening and closing is replaced by a loud and vigorous thud. The noise was shortly followed by flying objects of all sorts, besides parts of the actual wall. A hole has been formed on it, and a dark creature fluctuates on the other side, thanks to its large bat-like wings.

Lee promptly gets up and closes his fists. "Kazuya."

The devilish creature eyes him from head to toe, before releasing a "Hmph." and a smirk. Devil Kazuya flies inside rapidly, grabbing Lee by the neck. And if breaking one of the room's walls wasn't enough – he also breaks the window wall that was behind the desk. Lee hangs in the air startled, and then he suddenly meets a grey stone ground hardly, rolling many times until coming to a stop with his back facing upwards.

Devil Kazuya lands emitting power and haughtiness, giving strong steps towards Lee, who's struggling to get up. Lee manages to support himself on his elbows, and analyzes his surroundings only to see nothing but another grey floors of similar fashion backgrounded by a plain turquoise color – they're in a rooftop.

The evil being kicks Lee as to turn him and make his back to the ground, then putting his right foot over the Silver-Haired Prince's chest. "Have you missed me, brother?" The voice is completely inhuman. The intonation on 'brother' is so full of disdain that Lee actually gets, somehow, hurt by it.

Lee, of course, doesn't answer, since it had obviously been a rhetorical question. Devil Kazuya proceeds his talking. "How naïve of you to think that I would simply distance myself from G Corporation so easily."

"I have never been naïve. Only fast." Lee says breathing hardly.

"It seems you've not been fast enough." He smirks.

In an unexpected move, Lee pulls Devil Kazuya's right leg, bringing him to the ground, and Lee takes some good steps backwards after getting up. As Devil Kazuya brings himself to a standing position, Lee ignores his fuming expression to analyze the surroundings one more time – this time paying attention on the details, trying not only to get used to the limits of the rooftop (since a fight is most likely going to take place), but also to find an exit.

When Devil Kazuya gets into his fighting stance, Lee turns back his attention to the devilish creature, also getting in his battling pose. Both eye and circle each other slowly, a rhythm broken by Devil Kazuya who has clearly grown tired of it. He brings his left fist with abnormal strength to Lee's stomach, then rising him with an uppercut of the opposite hand and finishing the move by shooting a ray of laser on him before he's able to fall.

Lee forces himself to roll backwards and give the opponent no chance to take advantage of him the ground. However, the laser has quite affected him – it is a sensation that mixes inner electrocution with outside burn. He decides to start circling the opponent again as to gain time to recover from the shock, but this time keeps himself even more attentive as to avoid being hit like that again.

However, thanks to said shock, Devil Kazuya is able to charge at him again, performing a simple combo of three kicks – two simple hits with each hand, followed by a spinning third.

Now, it is Lee's turn to grow tired of this. Before Devil Kazuya can attack him again but with something stronger, Lee makes a simple left right combo with his fists followed by a roundhouse kick named Revolution Zwei, sending the opponent spinning.

It doesn't send Devil Kazuya too far away, as it doesn't affect him much as well. He quickly gets up as if nothing has happened, and makes a two-punch two-kick combo sending Lee a bit backwards.

Lee gets up in a crouching position instead of a standing one, and does his Shin Slicer, taking Devil Kazuya off balance. The evil creature stands only to make a two-hit combo with his right hand, firstly using his fingers bones to punch Lee's left half of the face, then bringing the back of his fist to hit the other of Lee's cheeks.

Lee returns the attack with a Silver Slash, releasing a scream as he performs it by jumping towards the other with his left foot in the air. Devil Kazuya quickly rolls forward and makes the Demon Scissors, consisting pretty much of throwing yourself towards the opponent while flipping. He hits Lee with his feet and both fall to the ground. Since Devil Kazuya is the attacker, he gets up first, although Lee follows suit not too long after.

They circle each other for about five seconds when Lee takes offensive and does his Acid Storm – five high kicks with his left leg followed by a roundhouse kick of the opposite limb, sending the other spinning in the air. He instantly does his move Lee Sliding, which has literal meaning. Lee finds himself in the opposite side of where he was, close to a wall, and both fighters get up at the same time. Lee, however, takes the lead of the battle again and makes a Blazing Kick, hitting Devil Kazuya hard and sending him very high in the air.

Lee takes the opportunity and quickly turns to the wall behind him. He opens the door, and finds himself inside of a room of emergency stairs – something common in buildings, and it is usually only through those that one can reach the rooftop ('usually' because, well, as seen in here, Devil Kazuya can fly his way to the top). Instead of walking downstairs, Lee simply jumps each series of stairs, trying to reach ground level as fast as possible.

When he hears a noise coming from one of the floors, Lee has an idea. He decides to take a different turn in an attempt to distract Devil Kazuya. He opens the metal emergency door and finds a corridor, where three men in business suits are talking in a good mood.

Luckily, the elevator gets there at the same time Lee does, and the men get in. It doesn't take long to reach ground floor, and Lee walks rapidly through the entrance lobby. In a certain corner, he spots a hatstand. He quickly takes off his black short coat and grabs a brown long one. After the exchange, he takes a beige hat and puts it on his head as to cover not only his odd silver hair, but also his eyes. He closes the buttons and lifts the collar of the brown coat.

With his hand in the pockets and head hanging relatively low, he exits the building. His pace is the perfect equilibrium of speed and discretion. He camouflages himself in between the vast amount of people walking through the electric city of São Paulo. The noise of the vehicles stuck in the traffic jam and the stomps of the people serve to muffle the sound of Lee's loud breathing.

After about 5 minutes of walking, Lee goes downstairs in an underground metro station. The first thing he does is pick up a public telephone. Since he has no money with him, he makes a collect call. He dials Eddy's number, the closest ally, and after a few rings, the recorded voice saying 'collect call – to accept…' starts, which means someone picked it up.

"Hello?" A soft female voice answers. Although Lee has never met Christie in person, he presumes it is her, because it'd be the only logical conclusion.

"I'm in a public telephone, I can't talk much. Please just put him the phone." He says.

Silence follows for a moment before a male voice talks on the other side of the line. "I'm talking." This is a voice Lee recognizes – it is Eddy's.

"You-know-who has returned. The plans failed. Contact the rest of our allies. Be fast."

"Thanks for calling." Eddy hangs up, and so does Lee.

Since taking a plane is not going to be the safest choice, Lee's only remaining option is to take a bus. Taking off to Rio, not only to have Eddy's support but also to support him and his fellow allies, is what needs to be done right now. Besides, Violet Systems headquarters are situated there.

He gets a metro to the neighborhood in which the closest bus station is located. Excellent… he thinks frustrated.

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 11:17 UTC (08:17 in local time)
Island of Trindade and Martim Vaz, State of Espírito Santo, Brasil

The woman and Julia are currently on some sort of small office in the facility. They're both sitting beside a desk while Julia is typing on the computer. Julia is trying to find any information about the mysterious pendant and its recently appeared writings. Yesterday, they failed, and, so far, today also has been a failure.

The woman is silent all the time, and rarely makes interjections. Julia doesn't have much to say as well, but when someone says something, it is always her. Both were given a simple and plain white strap dress and flat shoes of the same color, the only clothes available for them in here. Although Julia hates the dress on her, it looks majestic on the woman – white really suits her. The only thing on their looks that differ are Julia's braid – which she managed to maintain tied somehow, even without a hair tie – and the ancient necklace on the woman's neck, because they still don't know if it is safe to take it off.

"Here, check this." Julia says, moving the monitor a bit so the woman beside her can see. "I think it's Nahuatl." After leaning to see the monitor, the woman turns to Julia as who hasn't understood.

"It's the ancient Aztec language." Julia says. "Let's try to translate that." She gently grabs the pendant on the woman's necklace, aiming to bring it closer so she can read. Julia types the sentence written on the edges of the circle collar, and finds the translation 'Holy key to the green God'.

Julia doesn't understand, but the woman seems to shiver. "This makes no sense." Julia says, although more to herself. Abruptly, the woman gets up, but Julia quickly grabs the woman's wrist.

The two are now standing and glaring defiantly at each other. "Does it make any sense to you?" Julia says in an accusing tone.

The woman's expression is unreadable – she is simply stern, making a face as to show she's going to stand for her ground if she needs to.

Sighing in frustration, Julia lets go of the woman's arm and then sits on her chair again. She closes the browser windows of the computer as the woman leaves the room. Before Julia is able to ask her where she's going, she sees through the small glass of the door that the woman headed to a nearby bathroom.

Turning to face the ceiling, the phrase 'Holy key to the green God' keeps echoing on her head as flashes of all situations involving the pendant cross her mind.

Suddenly, she steps on something, and looks down to see some sort of rustic pendant.

Frowning slightly, she crouches to analyze it. When she grabs it, a rush of memories goes through her mind. But not any memories. Memories of her mother.
-
Julia is inside her apartment, precisely in her bedroom, packing her things. She is folding her few clothes in a sloppy manner and putting them inside her black suitcase on the top of her bed as her gaze is locked in the recently found ancient pendant. It is placed on the nightstand, where the yellow illumination of the vintage lampshade makes the red gemstones and the golden of the necklace glitter in a dreamy way. Looking how the light shines in the pendant makes Julia enter in some sort of trance, leading her into a reverie that puts her heart at ease.
-
"It had been passed through many generations of our tribe. It was said that it could lead to a great treasure, although nobody knew what it was. Some even speculated that it had immeasurable power." She says. "To me it seemed to be an ordinary pendant, really."

"How did it look like?"

"It was very beautiful, I can't lie, but that was it." Barbara says. "It was a golden circle with some red gems in it, a bigger one in the center." Just like the one I've found, Julia thinks. So maybe my assumption was right.

"The Mishima Zaibatsu looked after it in some point, right?" Julia asks.

"Yes, they did." Barbara answers in a sad tone.

[…]

"Do you know what happened to the pendant after that?" Julia asks.

"After Michelle came back, she tossed the pendant into the water of a lake." Julia frowns at hearing this. That's why I found it in the river, she thinks. It must've come from the flow.
-
She knew it was risky to bring the pendant with her, but it was riskier to leave it alone on G Corporation's headquarters.
-
Julia is fallen a bit far away from both now. She is facing the waterfall, and notices that her backpack has fallen, and is now completely opened over a rock by her right, a couple of steps away. What has made her notice it was her pendant, actually. It's like it is… pulsing. That's the only way it could be described. And that's what made Julia turn her head. She crawls to its direction and grabs it. Putting it on her neck, but hiding it under her shirt, she stands and discreetly walks towards the fight, semi-crouched.

[…]

When Unknown's head touches Julia's knees, the pendant starts pulsing even stronger. Sensing it, she takes it out of her neck, since it was practically hurting her, the object beating almost like a heart on her right hand. As she brings it closer to Unknown, it manages to pulse even harder, repeatedly and unstoppably. Julia frowns and does the unthinkable – she puts the necklace on the woman.

When she does so, some sort of shock pulse is emitted by the collar, sending Julia backwards and, at the same time, raising Unknown to her knees. The woman releases a cry as white luminous balls leaves her through her mouth and revolve around her, each of them portraying different and not understandable images. Julia and Bruce watch in astonishment. The woman then releases a stuttered half-gasp half-cry noise, then a haunting growl of agony as her eyes lose their glow, quickly followed by a close of eyelids, and she falls hard on the river, facing the waterfall as her right ear touches the ground, her black tattoo disappearing.

Gradually, the water washes the bronze mud of her body and the white color of her hair away. When she is completely nude, a very torn and dirty short once beige dress appears on the woman's body, accompanied by some grimy white bandages on her legs.
-
Analyzing the woman's white hospital clothes, her eyes lock with the pendant, which wasn't removed for safety reasons. Julia frowns again, this time because of confusion, as she percepts something different in the necklace. There is some sort of writing in it, and the jewels have turned from red to blue.
--
Julia types the sentence written on the edges of the circle collar, and finds the translation 'Holy key to the green God'.

Julia doesn't understand, but the woman seems to shiver.

It clicks her. She widens her eyes and gasps. The realization feels so heavy that her head starts aching badly. It must be it – what else could it be?

Her just started train of thought is cut by a loud telephone rinds that scares her to death. She releases an involuntary scream and then her shaking hand reaches the phone. "Hello?" She says exhaling, still recovering from the shock.

"He has returned. You need to run and hide. Now." A male voice speaks.

"What?" She asks in astonishment.

"Go to the airport and call me when you're there."

After the first moment of surprise, she recognizes the voice and understands the speech. No further explanation is needed. She knows what that means. Kazuya has returned and is most definitely going to spoil the plans. "What about the treasure?"

"Take it with you. It could be our card against him." He says.

"Okay. Thank you." She hangs up.

Putting the telephone back on its place, she pushes the CPU on the ground with all her strength. When it hits the ground, she opens the side metal cover of it and tramps on the circuits. It's the best way to guarantee nobody will find out about what she had been searching for.

The loud noise is followed by the sound of the door opening, as the woman comes back with a confused expression. Before she's able to ask anything, Julia speaks first. "We need to leave. We're no longer safe."

The woman nods promptly as her face instantly turns to an expression of understanding, and she follows Julia as the latter goes through the corridor. On the way, Julia gets her backpack in a room where, luckily, Bruce is taking a nap. They run until they're outside, in the beach, and only stop when they arrive at the small airport, which is a part of G Corporation's installations on the island.

Julia quickly asks for an employee of the airport to take them back to the coast – she claims those were Lee's direct and secret orders to them. Since Julia herself is a very top-notch employee of the corporation, the man believes her and promptly leads them into a small plane, and they take off shortly afterwards.

What follows are long mute minutes of internal tension on Julia's mind. Her life is at stake. She sighs nervously. She knew of the possible consequences, but of course she'd rather be safe. Anyway, at least she knows she's been trying to do the right thing.

Before she's able to think about the pendant, however, silence is broken by her companion. "You remind me so much of your mother." The woman says suddenly, and takes Julia completely aback.

"What?" Julia asks as she turns to face the other, frowning in completely surprise. The woman, who's sitting by the window on the other side, simply smiles. Julia proceeds to make another question. "Who are you?"

"It is better left unknown." She says, not answering Julia's question, with a small hint of pleading on her tone, as if she was asking for the other to believe her. "Please, trust me."

Julia's frown is still there, but this time because of confusion. After pondering, she makes the oddest choice possible and decides to let it go – perhaps for now only. She softens her expression and nods to the woman, and then both turn to their respective windows.

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 12:01 UTC (09:01 in local time)
São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brasil

Devil Kazuya turned into his human form again before going running on the stairs, trying to find Lee. He went all the way until the ground floor. There, he found himself in some sort of lobby, and after inspecting the place with a clinical eye for about one minute, he spotted Lee's jacket on a hatstand. Kazuya cursed on his mind as the headed to the exit. Lee can't run forever, anyway. I shall make him pay later.

Getting a cab, he ordered the driver to take him to G Corporation. He could have gone flying, but considering the enormous amount of people in the streets (the usual norm in São Paulo), he decided against it. He didn't want to get unnecessary attention. He had only used his Devil form previously in the sky only, and not on the ground, which contributed to keep him unnoticed.

…

After half an hour, Kazuya is now back to the CEO's office of G Corporation. The place is in ruins, and it's probably not even safe to be here. Nonetheless, he finds out that, somehow, the phone wasn't broken in the process, so he dials the secretary to order a reconstruction of the place.

Instead of asking a servant, he takes all the remaining papers himself and puts them on a trash can. He sends a brief third-eye laser from his forehead and all the paper starts burning. He watches it intently and when the flame gets too independent, he gets a fire extinguisher from the corridor and sprays it over the fire.

He keeps gazing at the ashes and the smoke. They all thought I was out of the game… but I'm holding all the cards now.
(TK4's opening reference!)

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 13:40 UTC (10:40 in local time)
Vitória, State of Espírito Santo, Brasil

It takes three hours for Julia and the woman to arrive at Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo. When they get out of the plane, Julia turns to the man. "This flight has never happened." Julia says in a sinister tone. "Don't return to the Island. Just go away."

The man nods in agreement quite scared, his eyes widened. Julia makes a sign with the head for the woman, who follows her as they run towards the main building of the airport, leaving the pilot behind. Vitória's airport is quite small, actually, since it isn't an international one.

Both women are not audacious when it comes to their personalities. However, when a situation needs drastic measures, they're the kind of people who are the first ones to take action and do whatever it takes to make things right. They may not be fond of daring, but that doesn't mean they're not brave.

"Help me find a public telephone." Julia says in low volume to the woman.

After a brief silent moment, the woman speaks up. "There." She instantly takes the lead and Julia follows by her side.

Julia dials Eddy's number – he was the person who called her earlier. After a few seconds, a male voice speaks on the other side of the line. "Hello?"

"Hello?" Eddy's voice answers the other side.

"We're in the airport."

"Good." He speaks. "There's a plane of mine on the runway. It's a cargo one, but I actually sent it for you. It is grey and has a name you can't miss written on it." He explains, with 'a name you can't miss' meaning that it is the name of Eddy's company, Julia deducts. It's not safe to say such things in a public phone, so they can't mention any decisive names during the call, including their own. It's something all of the allies have been doing so far.

"I believe you'll need to get there hidden." He continues. "But the crew of the plane will let you in."

"Thank you."

Both sides of the line hang up, and Julia turns to the woman. "Follow me. Be discreet, yet fast."

As always, the woman only nods in agreement, and does as she's been told. They start walking through the front part of the airport until they reach a part of the parking lot that has a vehicle entrance to the runway. Watching from afar, they see that there are two cops responsible for authorization – one is inside a cabin, and the other is outside checking the driver's documents. Whenever the one who's outside makes a hand sign, the one inside the cabin presses a button to open the passage.

"Any ideas?" Julia asks. The woman answers with a negative shake of the head.

They silently watch the line of cars that want to get in. After a minute, Julia sighs. "This is getting us nowhere." She starts walking away from there, and the woman follows.

When they reach the other part of the parking lot, not too far away from where they were, the woman speaks up. "Here." Julia stops and looks to her, then to where she is showing with the hand. There is a building of the airport of relatively low height, and two cars parked in front of it.

Julia doesn't understand it and turns back to the woman. "What?"

"I think it is possible to climb." The woman's eyes don't leave the building.

Julia turns back to it, and analyzes it, taking the woman's point in consideration. It is indeed possible to climb it, although quite hard. "Let's do it, then."

Both climb up the back of one of the cars. "You go first." Julia says.

The woman doesn't even nod this time – she simply takes the lead, putting her right foot on the support Julia has made with the hands. With the help of Julia's impulse, she's able to reach the small roof that covers the building's entrance only. She then pulls Julia, and both proceed to help each other again to reach the actual rooftop.

They walk carefully through it, while crouched, and Julia eyes the other side to try to find the cargo plane which Eddy described. She spots it, parked a few meters to the right, but also spots a guard along the way.

"Why the police is always there when you want to commit a crime, but never around when someone else commits a crime against you?" Julia says annoyed.

"We'll have to deal with the guards." The woman says suddenly.

"What? Attacking them? It'll only be worse." Julia says.

"No, of course not. Distracting them."

"How?"

The woman turns her gaze to nowhere in particular as she thinks of a way out of the problem. "If we could contact the people who are waiting for us, maybe they could help." She says after some seconds, already facing Julia again.

Julia frowns slightly. Perhaps, it could work. "But how can we do that?"

The woman shrugs slightly as an answer. They turn to their gaze to the grey plane. Julia then takes a look on the surroundings, and has an idea. "Let's keep jump through those rooftops. Maybe if we're closer, they could see us."

The woman nods, and they help each other again through the ceilings of the buildings on their right until they stop in the rooftop of a building in the exact front of the plane. There are two men waiting on the outside of the rear door of the plane. Julia shakes her arms in the air for about a minute, but they don't see it.

"Damn it." Julia says frustrated.

"Isn't there some sort of noise we can do that only they will understand?" The woman asks.

"Without the guards hearing it as well? I don't think so."

The woman looks around, trying to think of a solution. And she finds one. "Help!" She screams.

"What?!" Julia says in a whisper.

"Help!" The woman continues screaming. "Over here, in the boarding gate! My arm is trapped!"

The guards hear it and start running towards the direction of the boarding gate, which is a bit far by the left. The woman turns to Julia and smiles.

Julia smiles back. "Let's go."

They jump and hold on a light grey post, sliding to the ground, then run towards the cargo plane. They reach the men by running, before they're able to go check on the fake gate incident too. "Eddy sent the plane for us." Julia says as they stop in front of them.

No further explanation is needed – after all, only the ones who need to be rescued would know of such thing. "Come in." One of them say, and the ladies follow him inside.

The other man goes up the stairs besides the aircraft door, and gets into the flight deck – he's the pilot. There, he presses a button to close the cargo door. Julia and the woman are already inside, and they're lead to a big wooden box attached to the wall, where they'll need to get in to hide. As they do so, the box is closed. There are some few small holes for air and illumination, but that's all.

"Where are we going?" The woman asks.

"You're asking only now?" Julia chuckles. "If I were taking you to some trap, you wouldn't even know."

The woman answers to the joke with a happy smile. Julia indeed resembles Michelle a lot. Julia then answers the woman's question. "We're going to Rio de Janeiro. The flight should take an hour."

"Thank you." The woman says, clearly expressing gratitude on her voice.

Julia smiles to her. "There's no need to thank me."

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 14:03 UTC (23:03 in local time)
Tokyo, Japan

Getting inside the Mishima Estate had been a children's play to Anna. All she had to do was dye her hair black like she used to do on her early 20s, put a purple lipstick on, and remove the high-heels. Even she had to admit it – she looked like another person. With the help of Rita, a nobody working as Jin's secretary, Anna was able to get inside easily. All the assassin had to do was paying some good amount of money.

Another major point that contributed to her infiltration was the mess the place is. Even though it's late, servants are walking from one side to another, carrying flowers, vases and all other imaginable kinds of decoration, while the workers who hold a bit higher position are crazily crossing the place in between people, checking everything, like the general factotum would do. Adding that to her discretion and her skills, it was simple to get in.

Saying that her name was Sara Croft, a mix of The Terminator's Sarah Connor and Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, she claimed to be an employee hired specifically for the wedding – and it worked. She's wearing black simple clothes that cover all her body. Why do they have to be so emo all the time? – that is something that she doesn't know.

So far, Anna has only 'procrastinated' her 'work' – whenever somebody would ask her to get something, she'd simply tell someone else to do it. She keeps walking around as to pretend she's busy, when in fact she's studying the installations around her.

Everything about this is just being the funniest thing Anna has ever experienced – she is in a constant mood of holding her laugh. To think that all this hype is about her sister's wedding and that Nina could only get married because of an arrangement, besides all the 'expensive' and 'soooo last season' decoration – it is all so amusing.

Unfortunately for her, Kazuya indeed spoiled her plans. Somehow, he came to know about Jin's marriage – not that it was a huge secret, though (pretty much the opposite). The thing is that now she can't stay for the ceremony. Besides that, he actually left her plans quite intact, and everything is going to be just as she planned. But she is a rule breaker, and she is obviously going to stay. She smirks to herself behind her black hair.

Tomorrow's gonna blast.

…

Jin presses a button on his high-tech telephone to unlock the door for Dr. Anthony, who has just knocked. The doctor enters accompanied by Robyn, and Jin makes a brief sign with the head as to tell them to take a seat. As always, Anthony is wearing all white clothes and Robyn is wearing all black clothes, and Jin has a dark olive green suit on.

"Jin." Robyn starts the talking. "I've come to talk about the situation regarding G Corporation. But for the first topic, however, Dr. Anthony's presence is necessary." She makes a brief pause. "As I said I would, I specially assisted Anthony in the genealogical study of Ms. Asuka Kazama."

She puts a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing. "Since the attacks on the dojos have been international, I've assisted Mr. Lei Wulong in Interpol's investigations and had the chance to talk to not only to her, but also her father." She takes a clipboard that was under her arm and puts it on the desk.

Jin briefly eyes the text as Robyn continues talking. "I've asked them about their backgrounds. Asuka didn't seem to know much, and Mr. Nobuo Kazama gave rather a simple explanation." She puts some notes on the desk, and the paper says that Mr. Nobuo Kazama founded the Kazama Dojo in Osaka after moving out of Tokyo, coincidentally around the time the second tournament finished.

"Because G Corporation used to be primarily a genetic company before Kazuya's leadership, I also made a research on the encrypted archives Lee sent via Violet Systems." She continues. "Looking through the company's historical, I found an interesting bond between G Corporation and the WWWC back in the day. WWWC formerly had a Genetic Department, but when it was shut down by the government, its ex-employees found G Corporation, to keep on working with fauna and flora in order to develop vaccines and remedies for species." Robyn makes a brief pause. "That's the reason that lead them into the volcano – they were looking for biochemical agents to do so, in the surrounding forest." She puts another document on the desk.

Jin passes his eyes through it, but the document simply contains detailed and technical information about the studies on the area – not what is in question right now. Robyn keeps talking. "They were given free access to the forest two days after the conclusion of the tournament." Robyn puts another piece of paper on the desk, and Jin reads it briefly just as he did with the other files. "On their second day there, they found Kazuya."

"When they found a few human body parts that managed to last in the volcano, they thought it could lead them to some solution for health endurance not only on animals, but perhaps on humanity in general, which would be quite a good thing, to say the least. They recovered said parts and brought them into the G Corp's main lab at the time." Robyn puts the top-secret legal documents regarding the body parts' transference to G Corporation's then headquarters in Fukuoka, Japan.

Jin reads this document with a bit more of depth, but still listens carefully to Robyn. "There, they indeed found a gene never registered on humans before, but they weren't able to replicate it on another life form. Instead, they decided to clone the whole DNA into a twin body, a process that took them a whole year." More papers are put on Jin's desk. "I think it's worth mentioning that WWWC was already defunct when they managed to make the body."

"With now a living being that possessed the gene working, even though still on cryogenic sleep, they were able to understand its nature, which came to be the Devil Gene." Robyn puts a file bigger than the others in front of Jin.

"What are you driving at?" Jin asks, who has already given up eyeing the files.

"I'm getting there." She answers. "Although it is chemically a gene, it functions mostly as a disease. Realizing its destructive nature, the scientists aimed to create a form to neutralize it and put it dormant or simply erase it completely, or perhaps control it." She makes a pause and sighs slightly. "After many frustrated tries, they decided to take a more drastic turn."

Robyn puts the next file on Jin's desk slowly, as she speaks carefully. "Considering what the Devil Gene is, and who Kazuya is, the ex-WWWC co-workers knew of only one person who would be willing to help them."

Jin allows himself to frown and opens the folder, only to see a picture of his mother. He turns his face to Robyn again, clenching his eyebrows even further. She continues talking. "Your mother already had spiritual knowledge of the matter, but when she learned it was genetic, she accepted to donate her egg in order to find a 'cure'."

Jin's widens his eyes in disbelief and eyes the file rapidly, rather desperately. Robyn, however, hasn't finished the story. "Via in vitro fertilization, a baby girl was born 8 months later."

Jin faces Robyn again, in complete astonishment. Robyn finishes it all by stating what, by now, is obvious. "The name of the kid is never mentioned, but it is most likely Asuka Kazama. The ages match."

With all that said, complete muteness falls upon the room. Jin hurriedly eyes all the files has been given, in a pure state of shock, although he restrains it as much as he can. For some reason, he feels like it must be a lie and somewhere in these files is going to confirm its untruthfulness.

Seeing that reaction coming from Jin, Robyn speaks one more time. "When I found the files, I asked Dr. Anthony to analyze the veracity of the studies."

Jin stops handling the files and gazes at Anthony intently. Embarrassed, Anthony adjusts his glasses before confirming Robyn's words. "The information is legitimate."

Jin closes his eyes and breathes deeply for a couple times. He opens his eyelids and organizes the papers over his desk with a face of someone who's clearly in profound thought. "And what else?" He asks, already calmer, as he finishes.

"What do you mean?" Robyn asks back.

"If that's so, why was she raised separately?"

"It is not said on the files." Robyn answers, repeating one of her previous statements. "Probably to ensure the girl's safety. The biggest proof of that would exactly be the lack of specification about the subject." She speculates. "If you actually stop to read the files, they only say that although they managed to erase her Devil Gene, they're not able to duplicate the effect on some sort of vaccine neither actually control it, so they abandoned that research."

Jin frowns. "They… managed to erase it?" He asks with a lower voice.

"Yes." She answers in a similar low volume.

'They actually were able to free someone from the curse' is the mutual thought on the room as the place goes dead silent. Nobody says a word as everything actually sinks in. After what feels like forever, Jin makes a question. "Who knows of this?"

"Only us." Robyn says. "The studies were both done and known only by the most superior division of G Corporation, which later sent Jack-5 robots to kill Kazuya after the fourth tournament. I think we all know too well what happened to them afterwards."

Of course. They were killed. And that's how he ascended to the leadership. "And Kazuya? Does he know?"

"It was done while he was still in cryogenic sleep." She answers. "I doubt it."

"Her hair color doesn't match." Jin acknowledges.

"Nothing genetic couldn't explain." Anthony intervenes. "I wasn't able to study Asuka Kazama's blood because there are no existent samples of your mother's blood to make the comparison, and getting your or Kazuya's blood would be too dangerous."

Jin nods in agreement, then sighs. "I don't even think I need to say this is goes under the cinis protocol, right?" The two others simply nod once in silent agreement. "And what about the Agency?" Jin asks. "The files are already on their database. They know it."

"No, they don't." Robyn says. "It is all encrypted – that's the way Lee found those files. The Agency is still the process of extricating them." She explains. "This was one of the most encrypted ones. When I found them myself, I erased them from there. These papers are the only copies." She explains. "This information is way too dangerous to be out there – even in the control of the Agency." She says. "Mainly for the girl, actually."

Jin nods in agreement. Anyone who has any confirmed relation with the Mishima is in potential danger. Jin might have done many evil things, but all of them had a reason behind – he is not one of senseless acts.

"Thank you." He says, his voice expressing deep gratitude, although his face is stern as always. Well, there's no time to waste. He sighs briefly before speaking again. "Well, what are the other topics we have to discuss?"

"Well, Dr. Anthony, this is all. Thank you for coming." Robyn says, turning her chair to him and nodding.

Jin also nods to the doctor, and the man gives one nod directed to both of them before leaving. When the door closes, Robyn speaks. "Well, as you know, Kazuya returned and is in charge of G Corporation again. Lee called Eddy, who then contacted me. Eddy said Lee sounded like he was in a hurry or great danger, and that the call came from a public telephone and lasted for not even one full minute." She states. "He hasn't called again ever since."

"What about Julia? Is she safe?"

"Eddy contacted Julia before contacting me. At our call, he told she'd be running away, together with the subject they found in the forest."

"Any information about it?"

"No. There was no time for her to contact us to speak about the matter." She says. "The only known thing is that the treasure was retrieved, and nothing else." After a second, Robyn speaks again. "Neither Julia nor Eddy have called since then."

After a brief second of soundless thinking, Jin talks again. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Lee was only able to take full control of G Corporation thanks to Anna's plans of influencing in the wedding. That means she's close, and we have to be very careful tomorrow." She says. "And let's not forget about Heihachi – he is most likely up to something. There are also the enemy nations to deal with."

"Yes, of course." He says. Since they're speaking of enemies, something Jin had made a mind note about is remembered. "Robyn, you said you dealt with the encrypted files. Do you know how those things work?"

"Yes. I'm not a Lee, but I'm good, I guess." The right corner of her lip smiles slightly, a rare show of emotion coming from her.

"There is something that I want to ask you, then. Cinis, of course." Robyn keeps herself silent and lets him continue. "Recently, I accessed a rather encrypted part of Mishima Zaibatsu's database, and found files of older Tekken tournaments. However, some of them are missing."

Robyn's eyebrows tremble quickly, frowning and then going back to place. "Missing?"

"Yes. Of the Second Tournament, to be more precise." He answers. "It's not hard to tell, since it is one of the matches." He says dismissively. "But I'm almost sure there are other things too."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I'm pretty sure you would have deleted, perhaps even has already deleted, 'unwanted' files, if you know what I mean." She says. "That's not my business, though." She adds, clarifying she means no offense.

"I wasn't surprised when I saw that too." Jin agrees with her. "However, those are files I really need to access. If they still exist, that is."

Robyn nods once. "I see. I'll do what I can."

Jin nods back. "Well, thank you. Let me know of any new information."

Robyn nods once more, gets up and leaves. Jin stands as well, grabbing all of the documents that have just been given to him and carries it all to his bedroom. He puts those on a black travel bag, which is in the floor of his closet, which contains his most personal belongings. He hides the white papers under some dark sweatshirts and closes the zipper.

I should take this out of here. With that in mind, he gets inside his closet, gets changed to motorcycle faux leather clothes and exits the room with the bag on his right hand.

As he arrives on the first floor, he starts overhearing a conversation, and he stops. It seems that Rita, his secretary, is on the phone.

"Yes, Ms. Williams, I understand." Rita says. "I have to hang up. Don't cause me trouble." With that, a sound indicating that she put the phone back on the desk is heard.

Raising an eyebrow, Jin turns to the direction he had come from, and goes further into the first floor's corridors. In a rather hidden spot, he takes a cellphone out of one of his pockets and calls Nina.

"Nina." He says. "Were you the one talking to Rita right now?"

"No." She answers. "I haven't talked to her not even once today."

Realization falls upon Jin. "Then she was talking to another Ms. Williams right now."

There is a brief pause – Nina is cursing Anna on her mind. "What do you want me to do?"

"Check all the cinis protocols I've established since she started working here, and make sure they are indeed cinis." He says. "Take her to somewhere… seclude."

"Alright." She says. "Anything else?"

"I'm going out right now, and it is also cinis. I need you to erase every register of it, and make it seem as I have never left the building firstly."

"Sure."

"This is all." He says before she's able to ask if there's something else he wants, and then he hangs up.

Jin goes back through the corridors, and crosses the main lobby where Rita's desk is, and he eyes the woman as he leaves. She has platinum blonde hair, and it is clear that it is dyed, because the roots are black. Her eyebrows are also black, and are very marked. She is caucasian, but tanned, and her nose is relatively large, just as her lips, although they're not as thick as Robyn's, for an example.

If stares could kill, Rita would have been dead already. Fear is clear in her expression. When the telephone rings, she seems to be, somehow, relieved to have a distraction from her boss' eyes. She shouldn't be.

Jin then leaves, heading to his personal garage.

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 14:34 UTC (23:34 in local time)
Kyoto, Japan

After walking for about half an hour through dark back alleys of Kyoto, a masked man reaches the outside of a building that has an emergency door with a staircase that goes downwards. When he finally reaches the end of it, he's facing a basement door. Before he's able to knock on the door, however, someone opens it on the other side.

The person has greyish white hair, spiked in an unorganized fashion, circle glasses, big nose, teal blue button shirt covered by a white long-sleeved lab coat, with brownish grey pants and black shoes – the typical 'crazy scientist' look.

"Doctor B." The masked man says, bowing.

"Hello, Yoshimitsu, my friend." Doctor Bosconovitch greets him happily, shaking his hand.

When the Doctor opens the door more to reveal a light haired man, the later speaks up before Bosconovitch is able to make an introduction. "I'm sorry, but I really must be going." He bows in the direction of the doctor, then in the direction of the ninja, and disappears through the dark staircase, going upwards, everything in a quick fashion.

Not much more than a glimpse of such man, however, was needed for Yoshimitsu. He knows everybody who's at least a bit important – and the hurried man is one of those people. Lars Alexandersson had tried to make a coup d'état on the Mishima Zaibatsu – it seems he has taken an opposite turn. Yoshimitsu makes a mind note about it.

"Please, get in." Doctor B says sympathetically as he always does and gives them space to cross the door.

"Thank you." He says, and takes a few steps in.

"What gives me the pleasure of your visit?" Doctor B asks, making a sign with the hand to show them the chairs.

He doesn't take a seat. "I won't take long." He says. "Sorry for coming this late, but it's something important."

"What is it?"

"I would like to ask you a favor." Yoshimitsu answers.

"Favor? No, no way. As far as I'm able to help, I'll do it with no need of reward."

"Thank you, my friend." Yoshimitsu says.

"Well, tell me about it."

Yoshimitsu is not someone to beat around the bush, so he gets strictly to the point. "Do you still have the truth serum?"

Bosconovitch slightly raises the right eyebrow before speaking. "I do. Why do you need it, if I might ask?"

"I'm sure you remember Kunimitsu." Yoshimitsu says

"Oh, Kunimitsu!" Doctor B exclaims as he recalls the person. "It's been such a long time."

"Indeed, Doctor." Yoshimitsu acknowledges. "I need to talk to her."

"I see." Doctor B says in acknowledgement. No further explanation is needed. "Well, of course I can do it."

"Good. Thank you again, Doctor." Yoshimitsu bows. "If it's not an inconvenience, it would be better if the procedure is done at the Manji's headquarters. It isn't safe to take her out of there."

Doctor B knows too well what that means. She's a prisoner. "Oh no, it definitely isn't. I'll do everything I can to be helpful."

Yoshimitsu bows again. "I couldn't thank you enough." Bosconovitch smiles and bows back. "Well, Doctor, I do not wish to be a disturbance, so I'm leaving already." He says. "Is tomorrow night a good time for you?"

"Yes, it is." Doctor B answers, and politely opens the door for his guest to leave. "See you tomorrow, my friend."

Yoshimitsu nods and leaves, silently.

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 15:45 UTC (12:45 in local time)
Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

A mansion of white color and modern architecture is situated in the top of a small cliff, surrounded by depressions full of forests. From up there, it is possible to see the neighboring houses, although they're relatively far away. It is also possible to see, besides the green landscapes, the tropical environment of the beach, in the front of the mansion, just after the stone road.

A woman of raven-black short hair and porcelain face of delicate features is standing in the balcony of the mansion's second floor. She's embraced by her white robe and the sunlight only, as she gazes intently to the deep turquoise sky, closing her eyes deeply every now and then, inhaling and exhaling as she lets all the thoughts go away.

In between those, she senses something by her side. It is an entity she remembers feeling before. The pure aura indicates it is a good spirit. She slightly turns her head to the left. The entity is expressing itself in the form of a woman – an angel, to be more precise.

The spirit-woman has a very distinctive white skin, with darkish golden hair tied up in a bun, wearing white clothes that resemble ancient Greek fashion. The dress top and the knee-length pants are matched up with arm ornaments and a pair of sandals covering her calves, both of a color similar to her hair. Her head is adorned with a laurel wreath.

"Long time, no see." The woman says, smiling and bowing to the entity.

"It's been a long time indeed, Jun." The spirit answers, smiling and bowing back. "I suppose you know why I am here."

It isn't hard for Jun to presume the reason. "If I am present, so are you." Jun says.

The Angel smiles. "You've been always so wise."

"But there's something I still don't understand." Jun says. "Kazuya doesn't acknowledge me. I am still not a part of his life, as far as I am concerned. How are you supposed to be here, then?"

"I have never been a part of his 'good' side. I'm just its representation. Just as you are its key." The Angel says peacefully.

Jun keeps herself silent, and turns to the spot she had been staring before. With her eyes locked in the blue of the clear sky above, she then continues, after the silent moment. "Why do you wish to see me?"

"For the same reason I made myself present previously."

Jun's silence, this time, represents her acknowledgement. "How have you lasted all these years?" She asks, half-changing the subject.

"Through the descendants of my race." She says.

Instead of expressing her confusion with the raise of an eyebrow or a frown, Jun turns to the Angel, inclined to hear further explanation.

The Angel continues. "On this spiritual realm, I am an entity. On a higher one, I am a living being, though not exactly comparable to humans." She explains. "However, we have descendants in this realm too, though of small number."

"In here, we give them strength, whenever they or we might need to." She continues. "The lineage puts me too distant from them, but I was still able to find shelter on their essences."

"I see." With that said, Jun turns to gaze at the sky again.

"I knew you were alive, but I had to wait for you." Angel says. "I can no longer be on my own. Time has weakened me far too much." Jun nods once in understanding.

After a silent minute, Angel speaks again. "I'd like you to meet my closest descendant."

"Who?"

"In a proper time, you'll know." She answers. "He is the part of a small Clan that brings together the few descendants of my race." She explains. "As I said, our relation is distant, but it's still existent."

"What would be the reasons for such a meeting?" Jun asks. "I don't see why someone else should be involved. Too many people have already been affected by the evil."

"Don't you wish to cure the Devil Gene?" Angel answers with a question of her own.

"I do. I still want to fulfill the mission I gave to myself all those years ago – I will save Kazuya's soul. And now, also my son's." She says sadly. "But that is my duty. I can't let people be affected."

"They have already been, Jun." Angel says, also with a sad tone. "All these wars have tired humanity."

"I know." Jun says in a whisper, looking down.

Angel can't help but be affected by Jun's sadness. Even though technically superior, spiritually speaking, Angel is still affected by the energies around her. She knows too well it has never been Jun's fault – but she also knows too well that Jun is also aware of that. A part of human experience is to suffer because of things out of one's control. Jun simply can't help it, and Angel respects the human nature. With all that taken into consideration, Angel doesn't try to comfort Jun or anything of the kind.

"Listen." Angel says to call Jun's attention. "As he gave me shelter, he has far stronger psychic and spiritual skills than the others of his Clan." She says. "His help cannot be pushed away." After a brief pause, she adds something else. "It's been ages since the last time one of them hosted one of us." She explains. "Besides, their Clan is now focused on curing the Devil Gene, just as you. They have noble intentions, and will be of good assistance, I assure you."

"I understand." Jun says, looking up again.

"I must go now, Jun." Angel says, which makes Jun turn her head to face the spirit-woman once more. "I am pleased to see you after so long. We shall meet again, Chosen One." Angel continues, and smiles warmly.

Jun smiles back, and nods respectfully. As she turns to face the sky again, the aura besides her vanishes. Angel's presence is gone.

…

Inside the mansion, on the first floor, there is a man of chocolate skin and dark brown afro braids tied up in a ponytail that goes until a bit before the half of his back, wearing a tortilla brown button shirt that leaves his forearms bare, and white formal pants with dark brown shoes. He is sitting in one of the grey velvet couches of the main living room of the first floor, situated exactly in the center of the place. His surroundings consist of a blue carpeted floor, and many glass tables and fancy decorations. His head is hanging low, and his expression is a mix of worry and vagueness, as his mind wanders away in deep thought, while he waits.

One of his waits is over as a woman gets inside, coming from the front door. She is wearing a jacket with a random pattern showcasing green, yellow and dark blue – the colors of the Brazilian flag – with light blue denim shorts, and white sandals that cover her feet and go until the knee. Her cinnamon skin matches her auburn brown hair tied up in a simplistic ponytail, bringing her smooth yet provocative face features to evidence.

She is carrying some shopping bags of all colors, and she takes a seat in a couch in front of the man. "Ed." She calls his nickname. "I bought the clothes."

"Obrigado, Chris." He looks up and smiles faintly, but then goes back to his expression of before, with his head a bit down. He had asked Christie to buy some clothes for two guests. They have just arrived from a fast-paced trip, with no belongings, and have already been shown suites of their own, where they were served food and are most likely taking a shower by now. Eddy's other wait is for those people.

Seeing Eddy in such a state, Christie drops the bags on the floor and sits beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

He looks to her. Her face is full of concern. She's the type of person that has immense empathy, for anyone, everyone. After all the stupid things he has done, she still cares about him – it makes him feel guilty. But he pushes it aside to answer her. "They might be in danger. They can't stay here." He then gazes to the floor again.

Christie looks away, and seems to ponder. However, she suddenly frowns and turns to Eddy again. "Why can't they? And why are they here, firstly?"

Eddy turns to her one more time, and sighs deeply without saying a word. After a couple seconds, he speaks. "I just promised to help. That's all." He answers evasively, and turns to an unspecific spot again.

She straightens up her posture and let go of his shoulder. Both know very well it is much more complicated than that. Christie decides that, for now, it is useless to insist on the matter, so she stands. "I should take these upstairs." She mumbles, as she grabs the bags again. Eddy barely nods as she heads to the staircase.

Stepping on the blue carpeted floor, she comes to her first stop. She finds the door of the suite opened, and there is a lady standing in the balcony on the far other side, gazing towards the sky.

Christie knocks faintly on the open door beside her, and the woman turns at the sound. The tips of her raven-black hair float graciously with the move, and her smooth Asian eyes lock with Christie's. "I got you some clothes. I hope they fit." Christie says, and smiles sympathetically.

The woman walks towards her, and a smile comes to her face too. At the sight, 'serenity' is the word that flashes at Christie's mind. "Thank you." The woman says.

Christie gives her some of the bags. "Might I ask you what's your name?"

The woman looks up in thought. "I… would like to keep my anonymity, if it's not a problem."

"Sure." Christie says smiling, shrugging quickly in a dismissive manner, as to indicate she respects the woman's decision, whatever reason she has to want such a thing. "I'll leave you alone. Com licença."

They nod to each other briefly, and Christie goes to the suite where the other guest is staying. When she gets there, the door is closed. She knocks on it, and a short woman of brown hair answers it, opening it only a little as not to show her body, which is wrapped in a white towel.

"Here Julia, take these." Christie says and gives her the remaining bags. "I hope they fit."

"Thanks, Christie." She smiles and quickly closes the door to get dressed.

Christie goes downstairs once more and takes a seat beside Eddy again, who is in the same position of before. After a couple minutes, the mysterious woman shows up and takes a seat in front of them. She is wearing a full-body garment of white color, with black crow designs at the center of her bustier and on the left leg of the pants, with a brown belt on her waist and black sandals on her feet, besides a black scarf covering her shoulders and a white headband. Only now Christie spots a pendant on the woman's neck – she is sure she hasn't bought it. It most likely already belonged to her.

"So, you're the 'treasure' Kazuya had been looking for?" Eddy asks.

The woman's expression goes sad. "Yes, I guess you could say so." She says in low volume.

"Do you know why?"

"No, I don't." She lies.

"Why were you in the woods?"

"It's a very long story, and quite personal. If it's not a problem, I don't feel like talking about it."

Eddy reluctantly nods in understanding, because although he is suspicious, her sadness is genuine. Besides, it's nothing he couldn't ask to Julia later. Speaking of Julia, she then shows up, wearing a blue denim jumpsuit with brown sandals, with her hair tied up in her classical single braid. She takes a seat beside the mysterious woman.

"Well, you know it isn't safe for you to stay in Brasil." Eddy says.

"Yes, I do." Julia acknowledges.

"Christie." Eddy calls her name, and they're now looking to each other. "If it's not a problem, could you please leave us alone?" His tone showcases a bit of reluctance.

Christie stares at him for a couple silent seconds, and then leaves without giving him the right of an answer.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Japan is not an option." Julia speaks her thoughts aloud, distracted, without really acknowledging what just happened.

At the sound, Eddy shifts his focus back to the topic at hand. "Hong Kong, perhaps?" He asks, referring to Lei Wulong.

"Hm, I'm not sure if having the Interpol around would be a good thing." Julia says.

The mysterious woman slightly raises an eyebrow, but says nothing. It is not acknowledged by the other two as they continue their reasoning. "Miami is simply not in question." Eddy says, and Julia nods in acknowledgement. Steve is the ally living in Miami, but he is sharing a place with other Tekken fighters.

"What about Germany?" Julia asks.

Eddy makes a face that shows it indeed might be good option. "I guess so." He answers. "But I'm not sure if sending you both to the same place would be wise."

With that, both Eddy and Julia turn to the woman. On cue, she speaks. "Germany would do just fine."

"Alright." Eddy says. "But what about you, Julia?" Eddy asks.

"Even though Miami isn't an option, it might be a good stopping place before settling somewhere else." She says.

"Certo, then it's settled." Eddy says, "I'll give Leo and Steve a call." He stands and goes to his office.

The mysterious woman stands and goes to a nearby window, watching the sky in silence. After a couple minutes of silently staring to nowhere in particular, distracted by her own thoughts, Julia gets up the couch and goes after the woman.

Sensing the presence behind her, the woman speaks. "Brasil is such a beautiful place. I should have come here earlier, and in better circumstances."

Julia smiles a bit. "I guess the same goes for me." They silently eye the sky and the garden outside for a silent moment, until Julia speaks up again. "Listen, I need to talk to you. About the pendant."

The other turns to her, and waits for her to continue. "You know what the pendant is for, don't you?" Julia asks. The woman doesn't answer. Julia sighs in disappointment. "You said you knew my mother. I suppose you had some sort of bond. Can't you confide in me?"

The woman smiles warmly. "Can we go outside?" She says.

Julia frowns, but nods, and they leave for the backyard. Short grass of a bright green color is present in between reddish brown stone pavements that form a track on the ground, in which people are supposed to step on. The women walk through those, and stop beside a dark blue swimming pool as they gaze to a small forest far away, out of the gates that limit the high land in which the mansion is situated in, and a depression on the terrain.

Suddenly, silence is broken. "Since the pendant belonged to your mother, you have the right to know." The woman says, and gets Julia by surprise. "But, as I said in the plane, it is better left unknown." That rather confuses Julia, and she remains silent, as the woman continues. "All I can tell you now is that it's better if I keep it."

"Does that mean it isn't safe to take it out?"

"I don't know." She lies.

But Julia doesn't know it's a lie. She then tries again to convince the woman to tell her more about it. "I already have an idea of what the pendant is for. I just wish you'd clarify it for me." Julia risks saying that, even though she's not sure about her thoughts.

"That means you already know more than enough." The woman says.

Even though so serene, the woman is starting to get on Julia's nerves. "It is about the Ogre, isn't it?!" She says, in a bit lower volume, although quite angrily.

The woman shivers, then breathes deeply. "I'm not trying to hide it from you. I'm trying to protect you from it." It's hard to determine whether 'it' means the information, the pendant itself or the Ogre.

"I don't want protection, mainly not from you." She says, trying to express some venom on her tone.

The woman seems to smile faintly. "But you still need it nonetheless." She says.

Julia frowns. She has had enough. Before she's able to say anything else, however, the woman speaks up again. "It's exactly because I have faith in you that I count on your understanding. Of course I'm going to tell you about the pendant, because as I said, it is your right as you are, technically, its current owner. However, doing that now is far too dangerous."

Julia's expression goes softer. The woman continues. "I'm cooperating with you and your allies because even though I wish nobody else would get involved, I acknowledge you all are far too involved by now." She makes a brief pause. "Do not see me as an enemy. I am on your side."

"You're not an enemy." Julia says. "The problem is that none of us know 'til what extent you're an ally." There's a pause. "As far as I'm concerned, you're just somebody we rescued from a forest."

"And I shall return the favor." The woman says, then turns to face Julia for the first time since they sat on the bench. "I am grateful for what you did. You rescued me from something far greater than only a forest." The woman smiles, and then starts eyeing the green around them again.

Julia is, in a certain way, mesmerized by the amount of peace the woman's smile can exhale, while the woman seems to be put in a reverie whether she is looking to nature.

Still, in a sense, confused, Julia stands and goes inside again, only to be suddenly called by a male voice. "Julia."

Eddy approaches, with a cellphone in his ear. He then puts his hand over the phone so the person on the other side of the line won't be able to listen to him. "I already called Leo. I arranged a plane for the woman with a business partner of mine. It should leave in an hour."

"Should we call a cab for her?"

"Yes, I guess it's safer." He acknowledges. "I'll call it." There's a very brief pause. "Also, I wasn't able to contact Steve."

Julia slightly frowns as she ponders for a short second. "Fine. I guess I can find another way. The focus now is relocating the woman."

With that said, Julia goes upstairs and put the new clothes on her backpack. She was about to go downstairs, but she stops as she sees the woman entering her room. Julia takes a couple steps further, aiming the woman's suite.

"Eddy already settled things for you to go to Germany." She says, standing by the suite's door. "The plane will leave in an hour. You'll leave in a cab."

The woman nods, and gives one of her serene smiles. "Thank you. I should be ready in a couple minutes."

Julia simply nods, and goes downstairs. There, she takes a seat on the same spot she had before, as she finds Eddy and Christie doing the exact same thing.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Eddy asks.

"Yes, I am." Julia says. "It won't be hard for me to hide in the US, as far as I stay away from Arizona." She shrugs dismissively. "Besides, someone needs to check up on Steve in case something happened to him." Eddy nods.

It definitely doesn't take long for the woman to show up, and with that, everybody stands automatically.

Eddy and Christie lead them to the front door, and then they cross the small front yard until they reach the gates. "Boa viagem." Christie says.

"Thanks." Julia says, and politely hugs Christie, then shakes hands with Eddy.

"Thank you. For everything." The woman says, bowing politely, while smiling as she always does, emanating such peace, something that only she can do. Both nod back, and smile in the usual Brazilian sympathy, as they watch the other two get inside the yellow vehicle, and it then speeds off their sight.

---

[Day 13]

Friday, 20:24 UTC (21:24 in local time)
Monte Carlo, Monaco

In the wealthiest neighborhood of Monte Carlo, one of Monaco's biggest mansions is located. It is widely known as the Rochefort Castle, named after the family name of the owners, who have built also an oil empire besides the house itself. Its magnificent architecture makes an imposing view.

One of the mansion's residents, heir of the Rochefort oil empire, Emilie, usually referred to as Lili only, is currently bathing on the place's dark blue indoor pool, located in the first underground level. It is rectangular, just as the beige room it is situated in. Large windows would be responsible for illuminating the room, if it wasn't for the fact that it is currently night time.

The yellowish white, light brown and pale beige colors of the floor and walls match the olive green and dark golden furniture and decorations of her surroundings, which consist of fancy divans, wooden corner tables with expensive table lamps, stone sculptures, vases with warm-colored flowers, and chandeliers.

Being rich has its advantages, and Lili knows very well how to enjoy them. However, as she feels she has enjoyed enough, she gets out of the pool and wraps her bikini body in a white robe, covering the black color of her swimwear.

For one of the rarest times in her life, she has dismissed Sebastian, her personal butler, for the night. For one of the rarest times in her life, she wants to be alone with her own thoughts. She can't help but think something much greater than simply a marriage is going to take place tomorrow at the Mishima Zaibatsu. And the worst part is that she is almost sure her father is going to be involved somehow.

Feeling a bit tired, she exits the room and starts crossing the many corridors of her home, aiming to get to her bedroom on the second floor. She just didn't expect to hear voices coming from not too far away. She stops dead on her tracks and hides behind a sculpture.

"What should we do to her, sir?" Lili doesn't know whose voice it is, besides the fact it belong to a male person. Judging from the accent, even though the person is speaking French, the man comes from another country, although it's hard to determine from which one.

"Nothing. Keep her captive. She still can be useful." Another male voice speaks, answering the question with a distinctive Monegasque accent. This time, however, the voice is very well-known to Lili – it belongs to her father, Albert.

"Sir, are you sure it isn't safer to relocate her to somewhere else?" A third male voice speaks, this one with an accent Lili is able to pinpoint, which is Quebecer.

"Just obey me." Lili's father says rudely.

With that, Lili is able to hear confident steps – her father's – each time louder, meaning he's getting closer to where she is. She straightens up her back against the wall, still behind the sculpture, to guarantee she's not going to be seen.

Once the sound of Albert's steps are gone as he goes upstairs, Lili is able to listen to another noise – heavy breathing and muffled gasps. Tiptoeing, she guides herself through a couple series of corridors, until she faces the source of the sound – two men, most likely the ones who were talking to her father, dragging the unconscious body of a woman. Lili widens her eyes and covers her mouth with the right hand in astonishment.

Keeping a safe distance, she keeps following them. After some short minutes, the men reach a dead-end corridor. Lili frowns, but it is quickly replaced by the raise of both eyebrows when she sees them pulling a lever hidden in a golden candle sconce.

The machinery makes the huge painting on the wall open as a door, and it reveals a relatively short-length corridor similar to all the other ones of the mansion, with a total of two doors in each sidewall.

It's now or never, Lili thinks as a determined expression falls upon her face. Clenching her eyebrows and closing her fists, she defiantly crosses the entrance before the men are able to lock it.

When they turned to close the door behind them, they found an angered Lili instead. "What does this mean?" She asks them furiously.

"Ms. Lili." One of them says nervously. He has shoulder-length straight brown hair, and wears a full-black security man suit.

The other, a bald man of similar clothes, starts speaking. "I'm sorry Ms. Lili, but you can't-"

"Don't you dare to tell me what I can or cannot do!" She exclaims, even angrier. "Do not make me repeat myself! I demand to know what does this mean!"

The men don't answer, and they sweat nervously as they are unsure of how to proceed. Not satisfied with that, Lili speaks again, in a threatening lower voice. "Get out of my sight."

"Ms. Lil-" The brown-haired tries to reason.

But Lili cuts him off. "Get out!" She screams, loud as before, walking a step forward.

The bald man points a gun at her. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lili, but you leave me no options." He says. Now that he has spoken a longer sentence, Lili is able to pinpoint he's the one from Quebec. "You're not supposed to be involved in this."

The other gets his gun and points it at her too. "Please, just make things easier." He sounds less confident than his colleague. He's the foreigner.

For some seconds, they stare at each other silently. The atmosphere is tense. Behind the security men, the woman starts to wake up. Lili notices that and speaks up again, as to prevent the men from realizing it.

"I'm already involved." She says defiantly, and takes another step further. "What do you think you're going to do? Shoot me?" She asks mockingly, and takes one more step. "Try me."

With that said, she gets on her fighting stance, just as the woman behind the men managed to stand fully. That makes it possible for Lili to have a full glimpse of her, and she has to control her expressions as not to show on her face that there's someone behind the men.

The woman is young, and has a 'lost puppy' face… of red round eyes. She definitely has the palest white skin Lili has ever seen, and the tone looks quite unhealthy, actually – like a living-ghost (if that even makes logical sense), or a vampire. In contrast, there is the darkest tone of black hair Lili has ever laid her eyes on, although they go redder in the two long tips hanging freely above her shoulders, while most of it is actually shorter than shoulder-length. She also has a weird pair of horns on her head, and a prominent tattoo on her on her clavicles.

Her black and red clothes could only be described as a gothic lolita garment, as it was some sort of Victorian-inspired leotard, tight in the chest but falling fluffily in the bottom. It exposes her pale legs, which in turn are covered by black lace stockings till half her thigs. Roses and thorns embrace her ankles, matching with her stilettos. She also has black sleeves on her arms, although they're not actually connected to her body garment – although they're not gloves either. Her whole outfit seems to be the reminiscent of another one, which could, perhaps, have gotten destroyed or ripped.

Lili's jaw drops when the woman starts attacking the man on their back and also on their front, literally using teleporting skills. Lili was also about to drop her arms from her fighting stance, but once she remembers the woman is not necessarily on her side, she straightens up again.

When the men are on the ground, still conscious but unable to get up, the woman stops and stares at Lili curiously, with her hands held up in an odd position. They stare at each for a couple seconds until the woman drops her arms and takes a step back, as to show she means no harm to Lili. The Monegasque follows suit.

"Who are you?" Lili asks, speaking in English since she doesn't know the woman's nationality.

"My name is Elizabeth Lahovary." The other answers, in a heavy-accented English, bowing in short fashion. From the surname, Lili guesses the woman is Romanian. "Although I'm usually referred to as Eliza only."

"Why are you here?"

"I was being held captive."

"I know that. But why?"

It takes a second before Eliza answers. "It is a story too long to be told in here." She says. Her tone doesn't show any reluctance about the topic, but rather preoccupation – she is in danger.

And Lili knows that. "But how can I help you if I don't know your background?" She asks in a tone of who's inclined to listen to whatever story Eliza has to tell. "I just met you. I don't if I can trust you."

Eliza looks to the ground, trying to resume the whole thing, and after a short moment, she faces Lili again and answers. "I have very special skills, and whoever was holding me captive, wanted to take advantage out of it, using my blood." She then makes a brief pause. "That's how far I know."

Lili knows Eliza is being truthful because she saw those abilities with her own two eyes – the teleporting. "I see." Lili acknowledges muttering, more to herself than to Eliza, as she thinks of how to proceed. Then it clicks her. "Follow me, will you?"

Eliza nods promptly. Lili turns and walks towards the door. Before passing through it, however, Lili turns her head only, to speak with Eliza one more time. "Be discreet. And be careful with those horns – don't break anything."

End of Chapter 8

---

Author's notes: BOOM! A 23k words bomb! WOW. That's a record.
The meaning behind the expression 'clockwork orange' fits this chapter like a glove. Life is complicated as a machine, yet filled with the vividness of emotions. (I don't think I need to say that I got the chapter's title from the movie, right? :P)

Featuring new characters: Angel, Eliza, and Lucky Chloe! (you thought I had forgotten of them? mwahaha)(I told you ALL Tekken characters would be in this, didn't I? :P)

I've given Eliza a full name (Elizabeth Lahovary). According to Doctor Google, 'Lahovary' is a Romanian aristocrat surname – I hope it is correct. Well, at least it sounds nice, I guess. :P

Before anybody talks about how this chapter is 'too long', it's simply because it would make no sense to split it in two, so I'm leaving it this way.

giovanna21d (s2), alwaysdoubted, Guest, Taxman, Octopus309, Saffrage34, Billiejoelfan, Mr green and Asphalt 2014 – Thanks for your last chapter's reviews! :)

Thank you for passing by!