Chapter Fifty

One day before Round Six…

Main Palace

Entering the dining quarters, Siegfried gently rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his fingers as the sound of chatter in the room reached his ears. After placing his hand down, he let out a small sigh before going to the food area to get his lunch.

It was only a half hour ago when Siegfried woke up, surprised by how late he had slept in. It only took him a half hour to get himself ready for the day once he was out of bed. He then left to get himself something to eat, not even bothering to fix the sheets on his bed.

The line to get the food was shorter than it normally was around this time, but the Keisei native didn't care too much. All he cared about was getting something to eat, feeling his stomach rumble a few times as he got closer to the food. Once he finally reached the table, he got himself a couple of slices of ham steaks and three bread rolls. Deciding to get a drink later, he then began to look for a table.

As he continued scanning for an empty table, Siegfried soon spotted Queen Sindel sitting a few rows back. Upon seeing her, he realized that it's been a while since he saw any of his Edenian friends. As a matter of fact, since the last time he saw Kitana, the three suddenly seemed to… disappear.

Hopefully everything is all well, he thought as he decided to approach Sindel.

Sindel had just placed her fork down on the tray, her food mostly eaten, when she happened to look up and saw Siegfried coming over to her. She frowned a bit, remembering what Kitana witnessed when she saw Siegfried transform into something unknown.

"Good afternoon, Sindel," Siegfried said as he reached the table.

Sindel stood up quickly, the tray in her hands. "Hello, Siegfried."

While she maneuvered herself around the chair, Siegfried could tell that she seemed to be in a bit of a rush. "Is everything all right?" he suddenly asked.

Sindel stopped herself after hearing his voice. Staying silent for a moment, she decided that it was better to do what needed to be down for the sake of hers, Jade's, and especially Kitana's safety. That's only if their speculation of him actually being evil was true. Of course, they couldn't confront him about that for obvious reasons.

To her, it was definitely a hard decision to make. To her, Siegfried seemed like a nice young man and it broke her heart at the very thought of pushing him back, especially away from her daughter.

The Queen of Edenia slowly back down then and looked straight into Siegfried's blue eyes. "Listen Siegfried," she said. "A… situation came up quite recently."

"What kind of situation?" Siegfried asked curiously.

Sindel looked down at her tray and sighed again. "I'm sorry… it's not my place to tell you what's going on. It's a pretty serious one, let's just say." She looked up at him again. "You're a very nice young man, Siegfried. You've made mine, Jade, and Kitana's stay in Outworld a nice one. This is quite a hefty situation and… I'm afraid that we have to cut contact from now on."

Siegfried's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting this sort of explanation. "Is… is there anything I could do to help?"

Sindel stood up with the tray in her hands. "No… there's nothing you can do… I'm sorry…" Without saying any more, she maneuvered herself around the table and took her leave.

The Keisei native let out a quiet, deep sigh once the older woman disappeared within the crowd. For the past few years, he had been traveling alone. However, only now was he realizing the disadvantages of loneliness… the sorrow that came with it and the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sure, he had his mother who was currently residing in his home world, but he wasn't ready to face her, not after all he's been through.

Maybe it's better this way, he thought.

Siegfried looked down at his plate, staring at the food that was laid out in front of him. After his previous thoughts, he suddenly realized that he had lost his appetite. With another sigh, Siegfried stood up and began leaving the palace, intending on talking a long walk in the forest.

Cave

Reaching for one of the curtains, the Thunder God Raiden slowly took one of the edges of the curtain and pulled it over a bit. Peering into the room, he saw Sub-Zero sitting on a chair while working hard on repairing Smoke, who was lying on the bed. The room they were in now was planned to be Smoke's room.

Smoke was the latest chosen one.

Raiden waited until Sub-Zero brought his hands away from the gray cyborg before speaking. "How is everything going, old friend?" he asked.

Sub-Zero turned to where Raiden was standing. He waved a hand, signaling him to come in. Raiden did so, closing the curtain behind him.

"I'm still working on the repairs," Sub-Zero replied. "Smoke took pretty good damage in our fight yesterday. I wish that didn't happen, but it was the only way to deactivate him."

"I see," Raiden said. "Well, I came to tell you that a majority of our chosen ones are either napping or outing. So now, it'll be easier for you to concentrate. And yes, Rose went on an outing as well, so you won't hear us arguing anytime soon."

"Heh," Sub-Zero said a bit amused. "Well thank you, Raiden."

"Anytime," Raiden nodded.

Before Raiden left the room, Sub-Zero looked at him with a bit of seriousness. "Raiden… there's something I have to know."

"Go on," Raiden encouraged.

"…Have you always known that my brother became a wraith after his soul descended into the Netherrealm."

Raiden frowned a bit, remembering Sub-Zero informing him of his older brother's fate last night. "I'm afraid that I wasn't aware of his fate," the Thunder God replied a bit grimly. "As the protector of Earthrealm, I only know what goes on in that particular realm. Only the Elder Gods know what goes on in all the realms."

"I understand," Sub-Zero said. "But another thing… when you worked with him all those years ago, did you think he would he would suffer this sort of fate?"

"To be honest," Raiden began to say. "I knew that his soul would descend into the Netherrealm. He wasn't able to atone for his sins from his mission to retrieve the Amulet before death consumed him. The only thing I was aware of was that he had gone to that realm. Whatever went on afterward was beyond my control.

"For now, I advise that you concentrate on getting Smoke repaired and our mission. Once all of this is over, I will happy to help you with any assistance you need."

Sub-Zero nodded. "Thank you, Raiden."

"Any time my friend," Raiden answered. "I'll take my leave now, but I will be in the cave all day if you need anything." With that, Raiden left the room.

Immediately afterward, Sub-Zero continued with Smoke's repairs. As he did this, thoughts came to him as he remembered the day he and Smoke attempted to escape the old Lin Kuei when they decided to turn their members into cyborgs. Sub-Zero and Smoke had both tried to escape their clan years ago. The ice ninja could never forget the moment a couple of members caught up to them and managed to capture Smoke. Sub-Zero had stopped for a moment, but Smoke encouraged him to make his escape while he could… and that's exactly what he did.

Even now, Sub-Zero regretted his decision. He had wished that he would have fought off Smoke's captures. Then perhaps he would've had a chance then. Perhaps today, he would've been human.

Now, despite being a cyborg for the remainder of his life, Smoke was free… free from the old Lin Kuei, and now free from Noob Saibot.

As Sub-Zero continued repairing Smoke, he realized that he couldn't wait until the tournament was over. When it was over, it'll be his time to take care of both Noob and Sektor.

Later That Evening, Cave Grounds

Walking out of the cave, Julia quickly found herself buttoning the buttons of her denim jacket as a big gust of cold wind hit her. Her double braids swayed behind her almost immediately.

"Wow," she muttered to herself. "It's colder than usual tonight." Julia then sighed a bit as she tried to imagine the Arizona heat, a way to at least mentally keep her warm. "To think that summer is just starting up back on Earth."

Julia had originally gone outside to clean off her hands that were dirty from collecting wood with some of the girls earlier, having just returned only a few moments. She was about to take a step forward when she noticed a white color from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to get a better view and smirked a little as she noticed Ryu appearing from behind the trees, walking towards the cave entrance. The Arizona native waited until the Ansatsuken fighter approached the entrance.

"Hey Ryu," Julia said to him. "Coming back from training?"

Ryu nodded to her. "You could say that. Mostly I've been mediating for a while."

"I see," Julia replied. She the noticed the fact that there were no sleeves on Ryu's white karate gi. "Hey, aren't you cold in that?"

"Not really," Ryu said knowing what she meant. "I've traveled in much worse temperatures than this."

Julia smirked a little. "Lucky you. I'm not really a big fan of cold weather." She laughed a little before proceeding. "Probably because I don't own a lot of long-sleeved shirts."

Ryu smirked with amusement. "Say, have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Actually, I already have," Julia answered. "I had an early dinner a couple of hours ago with some of the girls."

"Oh good," Ryu said. "Because I already ate earlier too."

"That's good," Julia smiled. She then looked over towards the beach area which wasn't too far of a walk. "Well, I actually came outside because I need to wash my hands thanks to some firewood collecting. Do you want to go walking for a bit?"

Ryu looked up at the sky for a moment in order to get an idea of what time it was. Though the sun was now completely behind the mountains, it still left some light source in the purple sky.

"Sure," he finally answered. "Let's not take too long though."

"Agreed," Julia said. "Definitely don't want to catch a cold now."

"Heh, true," agreed Ryu.

Soon, the two of them began walking towards the beach area. As they did, they passed the lit campfire where Cammy and Lita were roasting marshmallows. For the moment, the two women watched the two walking down to the beach together.

When they were out of earshot, Lita turned to Cammy. "Ah, don't you love the romance around here?"

Cammy sighed with a bit of happiness as she thought about Jin. "Yeah… it is nice…"

Lita realized then who she was talking to. "Well of course you do! You have your bloke, Jin!"

Cammy removed the marshmallow from the campfire, using a stick from a tree. "Lita Luwanda, quit worrying about being single for the remainder of your life. I'm sure you'll find someone sooner than you think. Maybe not now, but soon."

Lita shrugged. "Well… maybe soon is better than now…considering that we're currently in another world. If I decided to find someone now, it'll probably end up in disaster. Knowing my luck, I'd end up with some six-eyed guy who's goolies have been replaced with a third leg!"

Cammy nearly snorted while laughing at Lita's last sentence. "And I'm sure that guy would think we're weird looking too."

"Maybe," Lita replied before taking a bit of her cooked marshmallow. When she shifted her eyes to her right, Lita happened to notice Jin appearing from behind the trees not too far from them. "Ah, look who's coming." Lita stood up then. "I think I'll go leave you two alone now. Perhaps I'll see if McCoy, Ginzu, and maybe Wolfman are interested in playing cards or something."

"All right," Cammy said. "I'll see you soon then,"

Lita smirked more as she playfully tipped her red beret like a top hat. "Cheerio," she said with a little laugh, clearly playing around, before taking her leave.

Moments later, Jin reached Cammy. Cammy noted the bead of sweat that had developed on his forehead. "Training?" she asked him.

"Yup, just got done," Jin replied as he sat down.

"You didn't go too far, did you?" Cammy asked him.

"Only for a minute," Jin replied. "Besides, I was training with Ryu the whole time."

"Ah… I'm glad to hear that Ryu is still training even after his loss yesterday."

"He's very dedicated to the fight," Jin mentioned. "As a matter of fact, hewas the one who offered to train with me so that I can better prepare for the next match."

"That's right!" Cammy called out, suddenly remembering something. "You and Kenshi are the only ones in the cave still in the tournament!" The young woman sighed a little then. "You two must be feeling the pressure."

"A little bit, at least for me," Jin said. "Kenshi seems pretty calm about it, at least it looks like it to me. We haven't really talked about it much."

"It'd be great if you both made it to the final round."

"Yeah, it would be nice. However, there is that chance that we could face each other beforehand."

"That better not happen," Cammy hoped. "We're all just hoping for the best, really. It'll be just as good if only one of you made it to the final round."

Jin managed to crack a small smile. "I think the pressure will really settle in then."

Upon seeing his smile, Cammy smiled as well as she brought herself closer to him. Seeing her do so, Jin wrapped a single arm around her and she rested her head on his broad shoulder.

"How was your day?" Jin asked her in a more quiet voice.

"Boring as nearly everyday is since I lost the tournament," Cammy answered as she looked down on the ground. "Lita, McCoy, and I spent the whole day patrolling the palace. Honestly, I'm beginning to believe that our mission isn't going anywhere. I don't think the people we're looking for are really there, and we've talked to so many people here that I think we've covered everyone."

"Just do the best you can, even if you only get one small lead in the end," Jin encouraged. He then slightly turned his head to her. "I'm going to go to the springs for a while."

"Going at night now?" Cammy asked as she noticed that the sky was now completely dark.

"No one goes there after dark as far as I know," Jin mentioned. "Besides, it's much more peaceful at night."

This gave Cammy an idea. A wide grin came over her lips as she looked up into his dark eyes. "May I join you?"

Jin's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "You really want to go?"

Cammy shifted her head so that it was aligned with his. "For one thing, from what you mentioned, I'm sure we'll be completely alone. And second, remember the cave rules... no one is to venture off alone outside the cave grounds. And third…" she grinned more. "It's where we first met."

Jin smirked as he remembered his first encounter with Cammy when they first came to Outworld. She had accidentally walked into the men's hot springs and got a view of him in all of his glory.

"Well… if you insist," he finally said.

"Good," Cammy said. She briefly kissed him before standing herself up. "I'll go get the towels."

"I'll… wait here then," Jin replied with a shrug. With that, Cammy went inside to get the towels for their trip to the springs.

Shao Kahn's Fortress

In the level above the dungeons, Shao Kahn was being lead to one of the chambers by Baraka and Reptile. The Emperor has been aware of a couple of… preparations that were taking placed during the passed couple of days. Now those preparations were ready for his viewing.

"Everything is ready, Emperor," said Baraka as the three of them reached the door of one of the chambers.

Nothing more was said as Reptile opened the door before walking in with Baraka following afterwards. Shao Kahn went into the chamber a moment later with Baraka closing the door behind him.

The only light in the room was of a blue color and it wasn't coming from any oil candles. Instead, the light came from auras that surrounded two individuals, both of them in a deep slumber as their bodies floated just a foot about a stoned table. Shao Kahn shifted his eyes to the right, seeing the demon Akuma sleeping and unmoving. He then looked to the left where the ninja spectre Scorpion was, being in the same state as Akuma. Also in the room were a handful of Shadow Priests who were scattered around the room as they floated where they were silently.

"With the spells on them," began Baraka. "They cannot escape our grasps. These Shadow Priests will continue to keep them in their sleeping state until you need use of them."

"And with them being captured," said Reptile. "They have been officially eliminated from the tournament. They will have no chance of winning now, just like you wanted."

"Good," Shao Kahn spoke. He turned his head to Reptile. "But keep in mind… they weren't just captured because they had the best chance of winning."

"You have other plans for them?" Baraka asked curiously.

Shao Kahn turned his head back to the sleeping demon and spectre. "Yes… as a matter of fact, they have much more use to me. However, their use will not occur until after the tournament."

"Will you be brainwassssshing them?" asked Reptile.

Shao Kahn eyed the two Generals. "Must you ask so many questions?!" he called out in a harsh tone that was enough to keep their mouths shut. However, he answered the question anyway. "No, it's actually not necessary. Why brainwash these two when I can have their power for myself? With the medallion, it's possible to obtain their power. Perfectly necessary for our plans."

"Indeed," agreed Baraka.

"Now," Shao Kahn continued. "I want you two to keep guard of the chamber door for a while. No one is to pass these doors except me!"

"Yessss massster," said Reptile. Soon after, the Emperor turned around and left his chamber as his long blood red cape swayed behind him.

Forest, Near The Main Palace

Sitting in the forest cross-legged, Yoshimitsu looked on in front of him as his eyes laid view on the scenery in front of him. Though mostly dark, with the exception of some light from the moon, he was able to clearly see the shadows that shaped out the many trees that surrounded him. Through the green leaves, he was able to see the night sky above.

Ever since he was attacked by a mysterious person during the third round of the tournament, Yoshimitsu kept a very low key, keeping himself out of sight from anyone on the tournament grounds. During the day, he stayed in his room in the palace with the doors locked and the curtains completely closed over the glass doors that lead to the small balcony. At night when the sun was completely set, he would make himself invisible, unseen by anyone, and made his way over here where he remained until just before sunrise.

Here, he would mediate and train himself intensively. Since that evening during the third round of the tournament, no one has attacked him since. Once in a while, he would feel a presence nearby, but once he went out to check it out, nothing was there. More than likely it was just a few passerby's, but he wasn't going to rule out spies just yet.

So that he didn't draw attention to himself, Yoshimitsu decided to avoid the tournament completely, since he lost anyway. He decided to keep low until Round Seven. By then, he would know who the four finalists of the tournament will be, who he will warn about the medallion's power, the very artifact that almost consumed him years ago.

With Round Six beginning tomorrow, it wouldn't be long before that happened.

As he continued with his thoughts, Yoshimitsu suddenly felt yet another presence nearby, located just to his right.

Three of them, he thought as he stood himself up.

Slowly, he shifted to his left and brought himself behind a tree where he turned himself invisible. Immediately afterward, he jumped up to the first thick branch on the tree and stood on it with both feet.

"Where did he go?!" he suddenly heard not too far. A sound of a few footsteps were heard running over towards where Yoshitmistu was sitting previously. Three individuals came into view soon enough. Yoshimitsu noted that all three men were wearing the same dark armor that the last guy was wearing when he attacked him.

Seems that they came here for the same reason, he thought.

Yoshimitsu waited until all three men's back were turned to him, which didn't take long. Quietly with his katana in hand, he jumped down from the tree and landed behind them before getting out of his invisible mode. None of the three men realized what was going on until one of their heads was chopped clean off from their body.

The other two men were stunned by what happened for just a moment before turning around to face the man they were originally after. Raising their swords up, the two ran towards him to attack. However, Yoshimitsu was much more prepared than they were as he fought the both of them with ease. It only took him a few seconds to pierce his sword through the second man's neck, his head rolling away afterward.

Following that, Yoshimitsu took his sword and stabbed the third man in the shoulder in between the armor he wore. He then pushed him forward as the tip of the katana exited from behind before being pushed into a tree, pinning the third man.

The man screamed in pain for a moment before looking up, seeing the rage on the being he was supposed to attack.

"Who sends you to kill me?!" Yoshimitsu demanded. The man didn't answer right away, causing Yoshimitsu to push the sword in deeper. "WHO SENT YOU?!"

The man cried out in pain again through clenched teeth. "He… his name is Quan Chi… but… he gets his information from… someone else… who discovered you…" Unknown to Yoshimitsu, the man had pulled out a knife from his pouch.

"I won't hesitate to kill you if you don't tell me everything," Yoshmitsu growled.

The man suddenly smiled. "…That won't be necessary." He lifted up the knife and, to Yoshimitsu's surprise, cut his throat deeply.

As the man's throat made a gurgling noise before his body went limp. Knowing that he was dead at that point, Yoshimitsu pulled his katana out of him, his body falling to the ground like a rag doll.

Quan Chi is your name, Yoshimitsu thought as he placed his bloody katana back in it's scabbard. He's heard the name before throughout the beginning of the tournament, but that was about it.

Soon enough, however, he would investigate and find out exactly who Quan Chi is.

Cave

Just a few more notches and we'll be set, Sub-Zero thought as he connected two wires together in Smoke's mechanical chest cavity.

Hours have passed since the ice ninja began working on repairing his friend Smoke from damages he received yesterday when he, Ashrah, and Matrik rescued him. Only twice he took a break, once to get something to eat (as Raiden encouraged it), and the other to rest his hands.

After a couple of more adjustments, Sub-Zero closed the compartment to Smoke's chest, feeling that he was ready to be activated. He pressed a few buttons on Smoke's arm panel and all the lights came up. It was another moment before a moan escaped from the gray cyborg.

Sub-Zero backed up, giving room for his friend who seemed to look around the room for a moment before sitting himself up on the bed.

"Welcome back, old friend," Sub-Zero finally said after what seemed like a long silence.

Slowly, Smoke turned his head to Sub-Zero as he tried to recollected his thoughts. "Sub-Zero," Smoke finally said in a robotic tone. "Are… we still in Outworld?"

Sub-Zero nodded. "Yeah. What's the last thing you can remember?"

Smoke fell silent as he slowly moved his head around as though he was trying to figure out where he was. "It's coming back to me…" he slowly replied. "…Now I remember. Raiden had summoned me after you reprogrammed me to fight Shao Kahn…"

A frown came over the ice ninja's face. Obviously between the time he was shut down until yesterday, a part of Smoke's memory was deleted from his system. His most recent memory now was the time during the invasion of Earthrealm by Shao Kahn and his forces years ago.

After staying silent for a moment, Sub-Zero told me the whole story, from the aftermath of the Earth invasion to the events that took place only twenty-four hours ago. Though Smoke obvious couldn't express himself much, Sub-Zero could tell in a way that his friend was surprised by all the years that had passed.

"Seems like a blink of an eye," Smoke sighed.

"Yes," Sub-Zero answered. "I'm not sure where Noob had found you, but I suspect that it was somewhere here, perhaps maybe a year or two ago, I'm not sure."

"What happens now?"

"Well," the ice ninja began. "Right now, there's a tournament underway consisting of the best fighters in the universe. The prize is a medallion that's supposed to be the most powerful artifact in existence. My job, along with others here in the cave, is to make sure that the medallion falls into the right hands."

Smoke nodded. "And what of me?"

Sub-Zero smirked. "You are now one of the chosen ones. There's not much to do at the moment with the tournament underway, but I believe Raiden will come up with something if our original plan doesn't work out."

"I will need some rest for a couple of days, but I will be honored to help," Smoke said. "I hope that this will a way to redeem myself for whatever sins I've committed while under Noob's control. And when I get the chance, I'll seek revenge against Noob."

Sub-Zero fell silent. The fact that Noob is his long-deceased brother was the only portion of the story he omitted from Smoke, at least for now…

Beach Area

The normally windy breezes of Outworld seemed to finally calm down as Julia and Ryu strolled along the beach area near the cave. During their walk, the two made sure to stay in view of the lit campfire. That way, they wouldn't end up finding themselves wandering off the campground, even if they were together.

"Seems that the winds have finally calmed down," Ryu said as he looked up into the dark sky.

"Yeah," Julia agreed as she looked up at the sky as well. A smirk came over her face then. "You know… I just had a thought."

"And what's that?" Ryu asked curiously.

Julia stopped walking and looked at Ryu, who also stopped walking as soon as she did. "I remember when we all first came here. To us, this was a new place to explore with new things to discover. However, with the long amount of time we've been here, I'm… kind of getting bored."

"Ken expressed the same thing at dinner tonight," Ryu replied.

Julia laughed a little. "I don't blame him. There's only so much we can do here. I've read all my books that I brought with me and I could only train for so long." She shrugged a little. "It's funny… I didn't think about any of this until I lost the tournament. I guess once you lose your match, there's really nothing else for me here."

Ryu sighed a little. "I guess I'll be experiencing the same feeling within the next couple of days."

"Well look on the bright side," Julia said with a warm smile. "At least you made it as far as you did."

"Yeah, that's true," Ryu said with a small sigh.

Upon hearing him sigh, Julia's smile seemed to fade then and she soon found herself looking out at the clear water in front of her. Ryu turned his head to her upon realizing that she had grown silent and soon noticed the rare-small frown on her face.

"Is everything all right?" he asked her.

Julia shook her head a little upon hearing his voice. "I was thinking about my mother. I've taken your advice to wait for the writer of the letter that was sent to me to show up. Nothing has progressed, unfortunately. A part of me is beginning to wonder if this is even true… if it was nothing more than a prank."

"Don't think that," Ryu assured her. "The only thing I can think of is that the person is waiting for the right moment… maybe perhaps waiting until after the tournament to talk to you."

Julia nodded a bit as she began to feel a little more hope again. She looked up at Ryu after a moment. "Thank you. I don't know how else to say it but… you've been a good friend since day one, putting up with me and everything."

"It's no problem, as Ken would say," Ryu said with a smirk.

Julia laughed a little at Ryu's last comment. As she did, she slowly found herself gazing into his dark eyes. She couldn't understand why at that moment, but to her, it began with a single thought. However, the thought soon became real as she leaned herself forward and slowly left a brief kiss on Ryu's lips before pulling away. Julia looked at him afterwards and saw that his eyes widened a bit more and his jaw had partially dropped in surprised.

The young woman suddenly found her cheeks turning red, wondering if she had just made a mistake just now. "Um…" she began to say. "I, eh, think we should head back…"

She began walking back towards the cave, but had only taken two steps when she suddenly tripped over her own feet out of nervousness. Seeing her fall at that moment, Ryu reached over with both arms out and he managed to catch her. After being caught, Julia turned herself around so that she was facing him.

"You all right?" Ryu said with a smirk.

Julia laughed a little, her nervousness ceasing. "Yeah… I am now. Remind me not to rush like that again."

From there, Ryu got the message of what Julia was thinking… she believed that with her kissing him just moments ago that she may have ruined their friendship. Ryu thought through this for a split moment before leaning down towards her to return the kiss, easing her fears. Ryu himself couldn't understand why he felt the need to kiss her, but it was an easy answer… he had feelings for her that he kept denying. Now that they were kissing however, he couldn't deny those feelings any longer.

Their kiss only lasted a minute, but to them it felt like an eternity. The kiss was still for a moment, but soon their lips moved in a slow rhythm as Julia wrapped her arms around Ryu's waist.

Soon, however, Ryu slowly pulled away from the kiss and the two gazed into each other's eyes. Both were a brown color with his being a dark shade and hers being a lighter shade.

Julia found herself smirking after a few seconds. "We should go back inside."

A breeze hit them at that point and Ryu nodded. "I couldn't agree more."

While holding hands, the two began walking back towards the cave.

Hot Springs

After a bit of a walk, Jin and Cammy finally reached the outdoor hot springs, heading over to the men's area together. As they hoped, no one was there. Aside from the small light coming from the moon, the area was dark.

The two got themselves in bathing suits and towels (undressing in separate areas) before going over to where the water was. Even in the dark, the two were able to see the steam that rose from the water.

"It feels so different at night," Cammy said as she slowly got herself in the water. After sitting down completely and placing her towel on the walkway, Jin followed, placing his towel next to Cammy's and sat next to her.

"It is different," Jin agreed. "But that's what I like about it. Considering how long we've been here now, it's a nice change from the old routine."

"Hmm… how long have we been here now?" Cammy asked.

"Let's see…we came here on a Saturday…" Jin began counting in his head before replying. "Heh… thirty-three days."

Cammy's eyes widened in surprise. "That long?! Sure doesn't feel like it… actually, it feels longer."

Jin smirked a little. "I think the time went by moderately for me."

The blonde woman eyed him. "That's only because you're still in the tournament. Time must go faster that way it seems."

"Perhaps," Jin replied.

Cammy brought herself a bit closer to Jin then. The young man looked at her as she placed an arm on his shoulder.

"So I'm wondering," she said. "If you win this tournament… what do you plan to do with that medallion?"

Jin stayed silent for a moment. He looked up at the sky to make it look as though he was trying to think. The truth was… he already knew what he wanted to do with the artifact. He wanted to be rid of his devil gene once and for all. However, it was something that he didn't want Cammy to know…

"I'm not sure," he lied. "Perhaps I'll know once I have it in my hands."

With a finger, Cammy slowly made an imaginary circle on his arm as she gazed up at him with her eyes. "Well… whatever they are, I hope they are good things."

Jin soon found himself gazing at Cammy as well. He lifted up a hand that was originally under water and brushed her cheek with his fingers. He began to find himself admiring her beauty. Her round face was, aside from the scar on her cheek, flawless, her complexion a light peach. More than anything, he admired her deep blue eyes which seemed to gleam under the moonlight.

"I'm sure they will be good things," he found himself whispering.

Cammy noted the affection Jin was giving her and she smiled as his finger brushed her face gently. Closing her eyes, she leaned her face into his hand as he slowly leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

Despite the affection, a thought came to Cammy, one she had to take to Jin about. "I wonder… what will happen to us once we return to Earth…?"

Jin kissed her forehead again before shifting his head to look at her. By then, Cammy had opened her eyes.

"We'll worry about that when the time comes," he said as he wrapped his free arm around her slim figure. "Right now, let's enjoy what we have."

With that, Jin leaned in again and the two found themselves sharing a soft kiss. For a moment, the kiss went into a slow rhythm. Soon, they found their kiss deepening as they let themselves get lost in the passion. During that moment, Cammy brought herself closer to Jin, placing her hands on his broad chest. Jin had both of his arms around her as he began to slowly rub his hands up and down her back.

Some time passed before Jin broke the kiss. For a second, Cammy felt a bit disappointed, but soon felt Jin's warm lips leaving a trail of kisses on her neck... Cammy leaned her head to the side a bit to give him room. His kisses and touch began to send chills up her spine, even in a place as warm as the hot springs.

Speaking of the hot springs, it suddenly felt much warmer to Cammy than before. She wasn't sure whether it was the springs itself, or the heat of the passion she and Jin were in at the moment.

Soon, Jin pulled away from her neck and looked over at her. Cammy gazed at him as well and once again, the two shared another passionate kiss. This one lasted much longer than the last one, this time with their tongues dancing together in their mouths.

After the long kiss ended, Cammy began to ache for Jin more. Jin knew this too as he noted the lustful look in her eyes. In reply, he slowly lifted Cammy up and out of the springs, causing her to let out a short squeal in surprise before chuckling. Her laugh made Jin smile… she indeed had a nice laugh.

After placing Cammy down, Jin reached over for his towel and spread it out completely on the walkway. From there, he and Cammy laid themselves on the towel before resuming to their passion.

That night, the two of them consummated. And strangely enough, Jin didn't think about his bloodline at any point during that time...

Forest, Far From The Tournament Grounds

Having been distracted since departing from the main palace earlier, Siegfried was a bit caught by surprise when he realized how late it got upon looking up at the dark sky. During his time in the forest, he had walked the majority of the time and also trained in preparation for the sixth round of the tournament, which began tomorrow.

Siegfried knew that he was far from the tournament grounds as he didn't exactly recognize the area he was in. At this point, the young man had kept his mind clear from any thoughts. However, now deciding to return to the main palace for the night, thoughts of his encounter with Sindel at lunch came back to him.

The Queen of Edenia had mentioned that there a situation at hand and because of it they had to cut contact with him. How urgent was this situation exactly and why was it that they had to cut contact with him?

If Siegfried knew what exactly the situation was, he wouldn't hesitate to assist the three women. The only thing he can think of was that it was a matter they wanted to take care of and that to cut contact with him, they were only protecting him.

Either they were extremely independent or extremely stubborn.

Whatever it is, I hope it'll be taken care of, Siegfried thought with a sigh.

As he continued walking, he began to pass what looked like a camp site. It was recognizable to Siegfried as he had passed it earlier. Beforehand, the area was completely deserted, but now a few tarkatans stood around the camp talking amongst themselves. Not interested, Siegfried continued walking.

However, the small group of tarkatans noticed him. One of them spoke. "Heh, look at that human! Thinking their better than everyone!-"

They group continued to mock him, but Siegfried ignored them as he continued walking, not even listening to what they had to say. He wasn't sure how many minutes passed before a blue projectile hit the back of his head, causing him to fly forward and landing on the ground face first.

Upon landing, his right hand began to shake…

Quickly, the tarkatans surrounded him, their blades out of their forearms and ready to strike. "You worm! Listen when I talk to you!" one of them yelled out.

Another spoke. "Forget it. This one is weak."

"He's only good for meat," another mentioned.

By then, Siegfried had blacked out, but not because he lost unconsciousness.

Siegfried's body was suddenly engulfed by a dark aura. The tarkatans slowly backed away, a bit surprised by this, but none the less watched. The dark aura lifted itself up, taking the body with it.

"What the-" one tarkatan tried to say.

Suddenly, a large sword quickly emerged from the aura and before any of them could react, all the tarkatans were quickly killed with one swift strike, their lifeless bodies flown back a few feet before landing on the ground. A moment passed before green mists emerged from their body and floated towards the dark aura.

When the mist reached the energy, the dark aura disintegrated. A completely different being, wearing blue armor and possessing demon-like eyes from underneath the helmet stood where the aura had been, and the green mists were sucked into the being's right arm, which was raised in the air.

If this being was currently in Keisei, many would know him as the feared being known as Nightmare. And in his left hand was one of Keisei's most searched artifacts…

Soul Edge.