Musical Selection for the Chapter

Uncharted 3 - The Rub Al Khali

Onimusha 3 Demon Siege - Raining In Hell

Tekken 6 - West District Chinatown (Calm Beginning)

Ca$his - Pressers

Chapter 12 – Another Kidnapping

April 18th, 2014, Great Sand Sea, Sahara Desert, Egypt…

All alone within the vast sand dunes of the great Sahara Desert, Zafina trained diligently with the mythical Ashrune blade. There was untapped potential with this blade. Zafina prepared her body for the repetition and physical prowess to handle its weight. Over the course of the month, Zafina felt more relaxed as she slashed various rocks and sand dunes. Every other night she would sharpen the blade with her tools brought from her home, keeping its effectiveness at a high level. She usually slept in her jeep at night, and before sunset, Zafina always hunted for various animals to gain nourishment.

The one problem Zafina could never solve was untapping the magical energy within the Ashrune. It was there, but whatever spells Zafina used to unlock its power, proved all but useless. On this day, Zafina would receive a revelation that could help her unlock whatever power the Ashrune possessed. This apparition appeared in Zafina's mind as the ex-guardian of her village, Tarik. The illusion of Tairk called upon Zafina to open her eyes and hear him.

Tarik: "Zafina…Zafina."

Zafina (Getting up from meditation.): "Who's there?"

Tarik: "You have summoned me. It would seem that you have many questions about this sword you have taken away from a foreign land."

Zafiina: "Forgive me for stealing this sacred weapon which is not mine, but it is for a greater cause, that much is true. An old yet, new threat is faced upon our world once again. All I ask from my ancestors is that you will show me what I can do by unlocking the power of this blade."

Tarik: "Very well, this blade appears to have magic that is similar to our own, but judging by its craft I cannot say which person forged it."

Zafina: "Then why is it that I have been unable to unlock its true powers?"

Tarik: "Perhaps the wielder does not want anyone to break the seal that keeps it stable. You have two choices in this manner. Either you travel to the Temple of Amun and enter the shrine of Satiah. There you may be able to unlock its power with the blessing of the King and Queen there. Or leave the sword alone, because it may control you before you can control it."

Zafina (looks at the Ashrune): "I will find a way to make the Ashrune respect its wielder."

Tarik: "Since your mind is made up, I have no more to tell you. You have my blessing child."

The illusion faded away into the campfire where it completely disappeared. Zafina still took heed to what her ancestor was telling her, but she felt that doing nothing was far worse than not trying to unlock the Ashrune's real power.

Kuchinoerabu-jima, Okinawa, Japan…

Raven and Kunimitsu finished their day's work of creating charms. Now it was time to head back for camp and meet with the nurse, Cathy, who remained with their child. The nurse was also responsible for bringing food and water, so the ninjas wouldn't have to hunt for anything.

Kunimitsu: "So how many more of these things do we have to make? I mean aren't we ready yet?"

Raven: "The mission will begin in 2 days. I'm anxious myself because Stella's forces have now begun taking over much of Eastern Europe, and the United Nations are having fits about not stopping the ongoing crisis. It's important that these charms are given full power for all of the troops so we can ensure victory. Just one more day at this."

Kunimitsu: "Yeah. But you know being together like this reminded me of the times we fought all around the world for the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Those were some crazy days. I loved it!"

Raven: "That was a tense year as well."

Kunimitsu: "I know, but I shared it with you and I'm happy for that."

Raven (Interrupts.): "Hold it. Something's not right."

Kunimitsu: "What's the matter?"

Raven: "The baby!"

The ninja dashes towards the campground within the woods. By the time he arrived he noticed the nurse, Cathy, severely beaten to death. She was no longer alive.

Raven (kneels to Cathy): "Cathy! Cathy!" (unresponsive): "Shit!"

Kunimitsu runs to the campground only to see Raven upset while kneeling over Cathy's bloody body.

Kunimitsu: "What in the world? Where's Karasu?"

Raven: "Gone! Again!"

Kunimitsu (crying): "What? Nooooo!"

Raven: "There has to be a clue somewhere? Focus Kunimitsu! Please help me!"

Kunimitsu (Looks at Raven): "Okay! Okay!"

The ninjas begin to investigate the area. Raven using his sunglasses as infrared scanners, detected the footsteps of what appeared to be pawprints. The prints kept going all the way into the beach from where they disappear. Also Kunimitsu found a hair sample, from the camp not too far from where Cathy fought against the intruder. Once Kunimitsu and Raven reunited just outside the camp, Raven decided to take the matter into his own hand.

Raven: "This is a good clue. Maybe the intruder had a pet and it killed Cathy. My hovercraft can analyze the DNA which can lead me to the source."

Kunimitsu: "Let me come with you Raven! I should have watched Karasu myself. Why did I listen to Lars?"

Raven: "Stop beating yourself up! None of this is our fault you hear me? I'm going after the intruder, no matter what it takes. Karasu will reunite with us again. That's a promise!"

Kunimitsu: "Alright. If it's you I will wait! Please bring him back to me!"

Raven: "Understood."

Raven calls for his hovercraft as he leaps into the forest canopy. Once Raven hopped into his ride, he wasted no time placing the hairpiece into the capsule for analysis. Turning on the jets, he speeds his way off Okinawa. Alisa carefully carried Jun Kazama in her arms as she notices Raven's jet flying away to her left. She wondered what the big urgency was for. Either way, Alisa spotted Kunimitsu from the beach, so she carefully slows down to let Jun back on the ground before she did.

Alisa: "Kunimitsu! I have good news!" (Gets closer only to see the fox ninja lower her head). "Hey! Why the long face?"

Kunimitsu (draws out her weapon.): "I'm not in the mood for your enthusiasm you bucket of bolts!"

Alisa: "Whaaaaa!?What did I do?"

Kunimitsu: "Nothing! Me and Raven return to camp only find our nurse dead and our son missing again!

Alisa: "Oh no!"

Kunimitsu: "Raven is going after the kidnapper, he told me to stay here. I'm so upset right now!"

Alisa: "I'm sorry Kunimitsu."

Kunimitsu: "Don't be! Wait a minute? Who is that from a distance behind you?"

Alisa: "Yea, I wanted you to meet Jun!"

Kunimitsu: "Jun Kazama? Really?"

Alisa: "Yeah, come on!"

Kunimitsu wasn't sure if Jun Kazama had survived the Mishmia Estate raid which happened almost 2 years prior. However, Jun did escape the raid thanks to her son. The two were reacquainted by Alisa.

Jun: "You must be Kunimitsu. I see you haven't changed much. It's been how many years?"

Kunimitsu: "Over 20. So how does it feel to come back from the dead?"

Jun: "It's a strange experience, but it's far too long for an explanation."

Kunimitsu: "So I assume you are here because you possess the ability to create charms. Am I right?"

Jun: "Yes. I've heard about this new threat that is terrorizing many innocent lives. So I agree to help aid you in building stronger charms."

Kunimitsu: "Let's not waste time then. We have 2 more days. I'm going to keep calm like Raven told me too. Please bear with me Jun ok?"

Jun: "Say no more."

Kunimitsu: "Alisa, go back to Lars and tell him what happened here, understand? And take Cathy with you."

Alisa: "You got it!" (Flies away into the woods.)

Kunimitsu: "Glad she's gone. So annoying at times. Anyway, we gotta clean up the camp as soon as Alisa gets the dead body. Then I will show how I make my charms."

Jun: "I see."

Meanwhile, at an abandoned temple in China…

Zukumimefu's subordinate, whose codename is Nue, traveled in his hovercraft deep into China. His body was transformed into that of the legendary Japanese folklore chimera, also called Nue. Nue possessed all the strengths of three animals, the gorilla, the tiger, and the cobra snake. It was Nue who kidnapped Karasu. His last order was to rendezvous with Zukumimefu in India, but his body needed to rest so he found an old abandoned temple which was said to be haunted. However, stuff like that did not scare him. The baby in Nue's hairy arms never stopped crying. To make him shut up, Nue finally gave him a rice ball to munch on. Then he locked the boy up in a small cage so he wouldn't crawl away. Overlooking the foggy valley, the transfigured ninja laid down in the middle of a corridor preparing to sleep, but not for long.

Notes: Making things a little more interesting here. Please stay tuned to witness Raven battle with Nue. Also will Zafina solve the mystery behind the Ashrune. And to make of the triangle affair going on with Stella, Yoshimitsu, and Zuku.