Chapter Fifty-Seven

Later That Evening

Cave

In his room, Ken Masters let out a long sigh as he stared at the deck of cards that were in his hands. "So… do you want to play Poker again?"

In the room with him, Lei, Wagner, and Yun all sighed at once. "We've played that more than once already," replied Yun. "Um… slapjack?"

"We've played that a lot already," mentioned Wagner. "Um… Go Fish?"

"I'm really sick of Go Fish," said Lei. "Bullshit?"

"Done many of those too," Ken muttered.

Lei leaned back. "Let's face it… we've played every card game known to man… except Uno… but we don't have any Uno cards."

"Wouldn't hurt to try," said Yun.

"Nah, I'm not a fan anyway," mentioned Ken. "Honestly, I would've brought more to do if I've known we were going to be in Outworld for this long… or be a Chosen One for that matter."

Lei stretched himself out as he got on his feet. "Well since we're not playing anymore cards, I'm going to see what Chun Li is up to."

"All right," said Ken.

"I'm getting hungry," mentioned Yun. "I think I'll go to the palace and have dinner."

"And I think I'll go outside for some fresh air," replied Wagner.

"Have fun then," Ken said as the three guys began leaving the room. Unknown to him, Cassandra happened to witness the three guys emerging from their rooms, seeing the bored look on their faces. Once they were out of the room, she decided to take a quick peek in the room and saw Ken stretch himself out while still sitting on the floor.

"Can't wait to leave Outworld?" she asked him.

Ken blinked a couple of times before looking up at Cassandra. "It's not just about getting out of here really," he began saying as she sat down in front of him. "Life in Outworld is starting to get quite boring. Indeed I'm about ready to go back to Earth and I look forward to seeing my family again."

"So am I," Cassandra answered. "Well… if it makes you happy, I'm bored myself."

Ken smirked. "Do you want to play cards?"

A perplexed look came over Cassandra's face. "Never played cards before."

That's when Ken remembered… she wasn't from Earth. "All right then." He raised his cards so that she had a better look. "This is a deck of playing cards. All decks contain fifty-two cards, half of them black and half of them red. They go from numbers 2 to 10 and also contain Jacks, Queens, and Kings along with Aces and two cards contains The Joker. If you split the card into four quarters, you will notice that each split contains four different suits, that being the pictures on the card."

Ken picked up a random card and pointed at the picture on the card. "This symbol, as you know, is a heart. We also have Diamonds, spades which look like upside down hearts with a stem, and Clubs which looks like a three-leaf clover. There are actually various different ways to play with cards. I think we should play War, it's a great game for beginners."

He the began shuffling the cards. "Basically, we put a single card down and whoever has the highest number gets both cards. The order of lowest to highest would be Ace, two through ten, Jack, Queen, King, and The Joker. Whoever has the highest amount of cards at the end wins."

"Sounds easy enough," Cassandra said.

At that moment, Paul Phoenix happened to peak his head from around the curtain, having heard Ken teach Cassandra how to play War. "Playing cards? Can I join?"

Ken shrugged. "Why the heck not?"

"Sweet," Paul said as he entered the room. "I was beginning to get bored around here."

"Tell me about it," Ken agreed.

"You can say that again," Cassandra seconded.

From there, the three began their evening of card games.

Cave Grounds

Emerging from the cave entrance, Sub-Zero scanned the area for a moment. It didn't take him long before he was able to spot Ashrah, who was scouting the area not too far from the entrance. The ice ninja began to approach her. When he was a few feet away, Ashrah noticed his approach.

"Has it already been six hours?" she asked him.

"It has," Sub-Zero replied. "I assume your guard duty went fast for you?"

"Sort of," Ashrah said as she looked around the area briefly. "I'll admit… even with the lack of activities tonight, I still feel good about our new duty to guard the cave grounds." She then sighed a bit upon thinking of the events that occurred with Noob and Sektor twenty-four hours ago. "I still feel awful about not being there. I had been at the hot springs when they came-"

"Don't worry about it," Sub-Zero assured her. "As Raiden had said, it was a surprise attack and none of us had suspected it. They simply came after us, not the other chosen ones."

"Which leads me to the question that's be lingering in my mind since last night," Ashrah began to say. "We know that the two had the intention of taking Smoke back. And you had mentioned that when they attacked you, they obviously had the intention of killing you as well."

Sub-Zero sighed a little. To him, it wasn't just the fact that their foes were out to get Smoke… but also the fact that it so happened to be that Noob was his brother…and perhaps he wanted to kill him to prove that he was the better of the two.

"Perhaps it's because I was the one who reprogrammed Smoke," he half lied, only leaving the brother detail out.

"Perhaps," Ashrah agreed. "Ready for guard duty?"

"Guess so," Sub-Zero said. From there, he began scouting the cave grounds as Ashrah returned to the cave to rest for the night.

Main Palace

Arriving at the main palace, Yun mainly came here for dinner. The last thing he had to eat was a small snack from this afternoon. It was nearly eight o'clock in the evening and he found himself starving. Despite the cave grounds rules of not leaving the premises without something with you, Yun went on by himself. Besides, he was in a pretty safe area anyway.

It wasn't the only reason he came to dinner around this time. He was also in hopes of finding Anna Williams, the woman he had been crushing on ever since he faced her during the second round of the tournament. The both of them had met up four times since after that day, spending nights that Yun was sure to never forget.

Besides… he wanted to see Anna at least one more time before he departed to his home world in five days.

For a half hour, he went to the dining quarters to have dinner. Since it was a bit late in the evening, rarely anyone was there, which was good for him. To him, he would be able to eat peacefully… and it would be easier for him to spot Anna if she happened to come to the dining quarters.

After finishing his meal, Yun put the dirty dishes away before making his way out of the dining quarters. Guess tonight's not the night, he thought.

Just before he was to exit the main palace, he saw a red color from the corner of his eye. Yun turned his head to get a better too and, to his luck, there was Anna walking towards the stairs. Yun decided to go over to her before he lost sight of her.

"Anna!" he called out to her.

Anna turned around to the voice after hearing her name being called. A few yards away, she spotted Yun coming over to her.

Ah, him again, she thought to herself as she smiled at him. "I haven't seen you in quite some time," she said once he was close enough.

Yun shrugged in reply. "Well… I've kind of been busy."

Anna stared at him with her blue eyes seductively. "I see… busy doing what?"

Yun couldn't help but to smirk. "Just some stuff. Nothing special."

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

The smirk on Yun's face became wider. "Actually I'm not. Do you want to get dessert or something?"

"Actually," Anna began to answer. "I'm kind of expecting company… in the morning. So rather than get dessert, let's go upstairs to my room. I think that's a much better idea."

"Plus it saves us time," Yun added.

Anna chuckled a little. "Yes, it does indeed." She then took his head. "Let's head up."

Unsure of what else to say, Yun began heading up the stairs with Anna.

Forest

Training just between the forest and the cave grounds, Jin Kazama was preparing himself for tomorrow's match. He first warmed up by performing some katas, keeping his mind and body focused. Afterward, he pretended to have an opponent in front of him and began practicing his fighting moves.

Unlike the other six matches he had, Jin was now fully aware of what he was up against. The man he was to face tomorrow in the Courtyard was named Siegfried. The young man was told that he was a very good fighter who had even took down a man three times his size during one of the earlier matches in the tournament. Jin knew that Siegfried was definitely going be a good challenge and he would do everything to prepare for tomorrow.

After his talk with Cammy earlier, the two of them went to the match between Ivy and Sheeva in order to see which one of the two was going to make it to the final round. Jin had thought that Sheeva would emerge the victor, but it would seem that Ivy was able to overcome her obstacle, earning her place in round eight.

Seems that I have two challenges ahead of me, he thought. …That is, of course, if I make it to the final round.

Jin continued training, trying to keep his mind clear of any other thoughts. Unknown to him, Sakura was passing through the area when she noticed Jin nearby. For a moment, she watched him as he trained himself. That was until he opened his eyes and noticed her a few yards away.

Sakura smiled once she realized that he saw her. "Preparing for tomorrow?" she called out.

Jin straightened his body. "Yeah," he replied. "What are you doing out this late?"

Sakura chuckled a little. "It's not that late! It's only nine o'clock in the evening."

"Oh yeah," Jin sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been training most of the evening that I've lost track of time."

"Ah," Sakura said. She then stared at him with a bit of seriousness. "Say… how do you feel about this whole thing?"

"What do you mean?" Jin asked not understanding the question.

"Well," Sakura began to say. "You have a match tomorrow that will determine whether or not you make it to the final round of the tournament. Plus, you're the only one out of all of us chosen ones, so…"

"It does sound overwhelming," Jin answered. "But I try not to dwell on it. I just have to train and focus on the fight itself and everything will hopefully work out fine."

"I see," Sakura said.

Then an idea came to Jin. "What are you up to right now?"

Sakura shrugged. "I was thinking about going to bed, but I don't feel so tired."

"I see," Jin said. "Do you want to spar?"

A big smile came over Sakura's face. "Sure! I'm always open for a sparring match." She then got into a fighting stance. "Plus it'll be good for tomorrow's match."

"I bet it will," Jin said as he got into his once stance.

Soon the two of them spent some time sparring.

Beach Area

The sun had long set behind the mountains of Outworld, which was replaced by the bright moon above in the dark blue sky. The light of the moon glittered against the water.

There, Wagner was on his feet, throwing small rocks at the water. Throwing them sideways, the rocks would reach the water and bounce off a few times before finally sinking underneath the surface.

The beach was mostly quiet with Wagner being the only occupant, which was something he didn't mind at the moment. With the number of occupants at the cave, it was hard to get some time by himself, let alone any quiet time.

He wasn't sure how long he had been there by the time Sonya showed up. She had the same idea of coming to the beach to have some time by herself, not knowing that someone would be there. In a way, however, she was glad that it was Wagner who was there.

"Hey there," she called out.

Sonya's voice caught Wagner's attention and he turned to look at her. "Hey. What brings you here?"

The blonde woman shrugged a little. "Nothing really. Just thought I'd get some fresh air."

"I had the same idea when I came out here," Wagner mentioned. As he spoke, he noticed the slightly frustrated look on Sonya's face. "Hey, is something the matter?" he asked with concern.

Sonya sighed a little. "At this point, I pretty much just want to go back to Earth." She then looked at him seriously. "It's weird… today, I told Delta Red to stand down from their duty at the palace this afternoon… and not long after, we discovered that the Black Dragon really were here. We only found one member, but it turns out that they have been disbanded recently. I tried catching her, but she ended up escaping."

"Hey," Wagner began to say. "Don't worry about it right now. I'm sure that you'll end up finding her again, perhaps maybe even before you leave."

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Sonya said.

Wagner sighed a little. "Well at least we found something, even if we don't have the right evidence."

Sonya shrugged a little. "Well… that's true."

In her last statement, Wagner was able to hear the frustration in her voice. He couldn't help but give out a warm smile. "Do you need a hug?" he asked her.

"Well…" Sonya began to say. "I actually… need more than a hug right about now."

"Bummer," Wagner replied. "A hug is always-"

Suddenly, Sonya quickly placed her hands on either side of Wagner's cheek. Just as fast then, she quickly leaned her head in and roughly kissed him, which was easy for her considering that they were nearly the same height. For a moment, Wagner's eyes were wide open, extremely surprised by Sonya's sudden advance.

So, he thought to himself. I assume she's THAT frustrated!

Wagner began to realize how she was feeling though. For one thing, their assignments, with the exception of some discoveries about the medallion, have been nothing more than dead ends, including his search for his sister. There was also hardly anything to do in their large amount of spare time. And then there was their friends, who already either had a significant other or had recently paired up with another in the cave.

Indeed the whole deal was… well… frustrating.

Soon, Wagner closed his eyes and returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around Sonya's waist. For a moment, the two were able to stay on their feet while exchange rough kisses, their heavy breathing being heard around the area. Eventually, however, the two of them ended up falling on their sides into the sand.

From there, one thing lead to another and soon they were doing more than they had intended to.

Outdoor Hot Springs

Emerging from the women's hot springs, Julia looked around the area that surrounded her. With the exception of some unknown noises in the far distance, all was mostly quiet.

When Julia came out, she had hoped to see Ryu here waiting for her. However, there was no one there and she sighed to herself once she realized this.

Either I came out of the springs too soon or Ryu is taking his sweet time, she thought.

Julia decided that the best thing to do right now is go to the men's springs and wait for Ryu there. She followed the trail down to the main trail before entering the one that lead to the men's springs. She soon reached the main entrance and sat down. Afterward, Julia looked around the forest area. As she did, she suddenly realized how eerie it felt tonight, even with the bright moon giving out some light.

Well if anything happens at least I'm close enough to where Ryu can hear me scream bloody murder, Julia thought.

Julia wasn't sure how long she waited… perhaps five minutes, before she heard footsteps. She listened in to determine where it was coming from. Soon, however, she realized that it was coming from the trail and it seemed to be coming in this direction.

Looks like someone's coming, she thought.

Soon, Julia noticed the very tall shadow coming towards the springs. She raised an eyebrow trying to figure out who it was. Then, the shadow stopped just underneath the light of the moon. Julia got a better look at the man and saw that he was very muscular with a shaven head and a black eye patch which covered his right eye. On his torso was a long scar that was healed but still noticeable.

Julia couldn't figure out why, but she suddenly found herself frozen where she sat. She then tried to speak, but somehow she couldn't form any words.

What is wrong with me?! she thought.

However, the man ended up speaking. "Are you Julia Chang?"

Suddenly, Julia felt relaxed, though a little perplexed over the fact that this strange man knew her name. Nevertheless she got herself to stand on her feet.

"Um, yes, that's me," she replied.

"My name is Sagat," he introduced himself.

The name immediately rang a bell. This was the man Ryu fought all those years ago, the man who wanted to challenge him again. The scar alone should've been a dead giveaway, but Julia hadn't made the connection until he said his name.

Before she could speak, Sagat continued. "I was the one who sent you the letter concerning your mother."

Julia stared up at him as hope began to gleam in her eyes. This was the very reason why she came to Outworld in the first place. "So… you know what happened to my mother."

"Yes," Sagat answered. "First, before I explain everything, I'll get one thing to the point… unfortunately, your mother was killed over a year ago."

A grim look came over Julia's face and she felt as though she was just stabbed in the heart. Although she was prepared for such an answer as this, she was still feeling the sorrow and pain just like any other person who lost a loved one.

Despite her throat feeling tight, Julia managed to ask one question. "What happened?"

Sagat took a deep breath before proceeding. "She was captured by Shadaloo, an organization I used to be a part of, and brainwashed into an assassin. Michelle had arrived in Japan some two years ago. She was being driven by a limo that was owned by the Mishima Zaibatsu when Shadaloo elites captured her. As a matter of fact, she was mistaken for you. Because of your fighting abilities, you were intended to be captured and brainwashed into an assassin…"

Julia kept silent as Sagat continued. "Yes, we've captured the wrong person, but it turned out that Michelle was useful. She became an assassin… against her own will… and went on assignments to assassinate our enemies. Michelle was one of the best in Shadaloo and she never failed a mission… save for one… the one that killed her."

Sagat took another deep breath before proceeding. "She was fighting the person she was supposed to assassinate in Cambodia. The person, however, ended up knocking her off a cliff in self defense… the fall had killed her."

For a while, there was silence between the two as Julia tried to get all the information sorted in her mind. She felt a couple of tears fall down her face, but she quickly wiped them away with her hand.

"Tell me one thing," she managed to say. "…Who was the target that killed her?"

Sagat was silent as a grave, not answering the question right away. Julia wondered if the silence was telling her that he wasn't sure… or perhaps he was the one who killed her. Before she could speak, Sagat opened his mouth and a name came out…

"…Ryu."

Cave

"So," Rose began to say as she looked down at her hands which was placed on the table in front of her. "Did you ever believe that the medallion brought a curse?"

Raiden sighed a little as he paced himself around the lounge room. "The only thing that I was able to indicate that it would be considered an 'evil' artifact if it was handled by those with wicked deeds. It was the whole reason you and I got together with the chosen ones… to make sure that doesn't happen. Now that we know the truth, it's just as bad for even us to have the medallion."

"When do you want to inform the others?" Rose asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Raiden replied. "Mainly since they had a meeting about last night's incident this afternoon so we'll give meetings a rest for the remainder of the night." He then rubbed his chin a little as a thought came to him. "There is one thing that bothers me…"

"And what is that?" Rose asked curiously.

"…I wonder if the Elder Gods knew of the truth. Their main job is to make sure that life exists and even they would've known about something such as this."

"Perhaps it might not be a big concern," Rose suggested. "It seems that the medallion would only leave a curse on just one person. If they are more concerned about the existence of life, then they would only interfere if the person holding the medallion uses it to wipe out the entire universe."

Raiden only nodded as he thought about what happened when he tried to warn the Elder Gods about the medallion being found by Quan Chi. They had told him not to interfere, but the Thunder God had defied their wishes. This was about the only tidbit he never told Rose at this point.

Quickly, Rose stood up as she suddenly felt a bit uneasy by the thoughts of the medallion. She then began pacing around the room just as Raiden was. "I just wished that I was able to find a way to know that the medallion was actually a dangerous artifact! After all, I am a psychic and ever since I came here, I've been having a blockage while trying to find out the important stuff."

"I know what you-" Raiden began to say.

Suddenly, Rose pointed her finger at Raiden with frustration. "What about you?!" she cried out. "What have you done to try to stop this?!"

Raiden was surprised by her out lash. "Before you start blaming me for anything, you need to think clearly and not start venting out at me for no reason! You know I've been doing all I can to help with our cause. After all, if it wasn't for me, only half of us would be here right now!"

"I can vent all I want!" Rose yelled. "You know fully well how frustrated I am about my psychic block!"

"You never even mentioned it!" Raiden replied. "But then again, you've been frustrated since day one!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you have! Whenever the chance came you, you blame me for everything that goes wrong!"

"And you make every immature joke in the book!" Rose reminded him.

"That's because you've asked for it!" Raiden yelled.

Rose quickly placed her hands on her hips. "Oh like that's an excuse!"

"And you have no excuse for taking out your frustration at me!"

From there, the two were yelling to the point where nothing could be understood. They screamed back and forth until they were practically blue in the face and out of breath. As they caught their breath, they stared at each other as though they were staring daggers.

…Suddenly, at the same time and without thinking about it, the Thunder God and the Soul Psychic quickly embraced and began to lip lock roughly. For a while, their heavy breathing was heard around the room, neither of them thinking clearly as they shared their fit of passion. After a while, quick thoughts came to their mind.

Maybe I have been a bit more… frustrated than I thought, Rose thought.

I knew she had been frustrated! Raiden thought a bit amused.

Eventually, Rose grabbed Raiden's shirt and began to drag him out of the lounge room. Raiden quickly broke the kiss for a moment.

"Where are we-" he began to say.

"My room," Rose said. "Now shut up!"

Whatever you say, Raiden thought with a smirk as the two got out of the lounge room and went straight into Rose's room… where they stayed for the remainder of the night.

Beach Area

"So… was it good for you?" Sonya asked with a small chuckle.

Wagner laughed a little. "Of course… and I'm not lying either."

"You better not," Sonya laughed. "You don't want to end up with a bloody nose do you?'"

"Definitely not."

As they talked, the two looked up at the dark sky as they lied back next to each other on the sands of the Outworld beach. Just a while ago, the two of them shared more than they expected and have since gotten themselves dressed. They felt more relaxed than they ever had in a while.

"I must say though," Wagner began to say. "We definitely needed it with our time here in Outworld."

"Oh yeah," Sonya agreed.

The two of them were silent for a moment as they continued to look up at the sky above. That was until Wagner began to chuckle uncontrollably. Sonya looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

Wagner chuckled a bit more before he was able to stop to reply. "Guile is so going to kill us."

Sonya laughed again. "Who says he has to know?"

"I know, but the thought of him finding out is just hilarious… the look on his face and everything."

They were quiet again, which lasted a shorter time. Sonya turned her head to Wagner as a big grin came over her face. "So… what do you want to do now?"

A grin also came over Wagner's face as he turned his head to Sonya. "…Go for another round?"

Sonya laughed a little. "Maybe… but actual, I think I'm about ready for bed."

"Oh phooey," Wagner said jokingly. "All right, let's head back in then."

From there, the two of them got themselves back on their feet before they began making their return back to the cave.

Outdoor Hot Springs

It… no… it can't be true! Julia cried out in her mind.

It was already bad enough to hear a confirmation of her mother's death…and it was already bad enough that a few months before, she was a brainwashed assassin of Shadaloo. Now she's hearing that the man who Michelle had targeted to kill over a year ago… the one responsible for knocking her off a cliff to her death… was none other than the one man she had grown to deeply care for since coming to Outworld… Ryu.

Sagat stood there, knowing the damage that he had done by telling Julia all of this. He had remembered seeing her with Ryu a few weeks ago and knew that telling her the news was going to be more complicated than it already will be… but he knew that he had to do it… she deserved to know the truth even if did hurt.

"I can only offer my condolences," Sagat said as Julia tried to control the tears in her eyes.

That was the moment when Ryu came out of the men's hot springs. At first, Ryu only noticed Julia and he began coming up to her. Julia was able to hear his footsteps behind him, but didn't bother to turn around.

"Hey Julia, ready to-" Ryu began to say. That's when he realized that there was another presence nearby. He turned his head and was quite surprised to see Sagat there. Quickly, he stepped forward. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Sagat folded his arms before replying. "Giving Julia the answers she has been looking for."

"…You mean-"

"Yes… I was the one who sent her the letter. She already knows about her mother's death in Cambodia over a year ago." Sagat's one eye narrowed a bit before he continued. "Let me ask you this Ryu… do you remember someone from Shadaloo attempting to kill you over a year ago… in Cambodia?"

Ryu tried thinking back. There had been a few times where some people attempted to kill him… even a couple of them that had taken place in Cambodia. However, although he had defended himself, he never actually killed any of his opponents.

He's accusing me of the death of Julia's mother? he thought. But why? Don't tell me this is his way of getting back at me from all those years ago-

That's when a thought came to him. Just a few hours ago, he remembered when he was telling the story to Julia of his and Sagat's battle all those years ago, he mentioned to her that he had blacked out at one point and when he came to Sagat was injured. With that in mind…it was possible that he could've been responsible for Michele's death.

"I can't recall any of it… if it even happened," Ryu said out loud.

"Do you have proof that Ryu had done this?" Julia suddenly asked with a shaky voice.

"There was a video of the incident and written evidence," Sagat replied. "But it has most likely been destroyed when the Shadaloo based was destroyed. If there ever comes a time where I come across the evidence again, I will bring it to you."

Sagat then turned his attention to Ryu while touching the scar on his own chest. "Come to think of it… you had mentioned to me in our last encounter that you couldn't remember leaving this scar on me. When you did at that tournament, your chi seemed to increase… it was as though you were a different person… I'm sorry, but even I can't seem to explain it… too much happened too fast at that moment."

Ryu kept silent as his mind began to race. There were times when he found himself fighting off his evil intent, something that came with his years of training in his fighting style.

Could it be that his evil intent had taken control when he blacked out during his fight with Sagat? And could it possibly be the reason why he couldn't recall killing anybody?

Sagat began heading towards the springs, knowing that his job was done. As he did, he spoke once more. "Soon Ryu… when we are back on Earth… we will have our rematch. And our rematch will be an honorable one and not out of desperation."

Once he was in the springs, Ryu and Julia only stood where they were. They knew the other was just a foot away, but neither of them could bare to look at the other as mixed feelings flowed through them.

For Julia, the entire situation only left her with more questions than answers. Is it even true what Sagat is saying? she thought. She couldn't decided whether to believe the Muay Thai fighter on his words alone. Julia needed evidence to show if Ryu truly was the one who…

What if it was the truth? she thought again.

Meanwhile, Ryu couldn't think clearly. He had always been the one to be completely focused on anything, but this was the first time in ages that he couldn't keep his mind in full focus. He was beginning to believe that he may have indeed been responsible for Michele's death, most likely while the evil intent took over him. All he could really say for sure was that he truly couldn't remember anything from the incident… if he had been responsible at all.

Ryu was about to say something, but before he did, Julia spoke up. "Let's just go back," she said, her voice cracking. She then began walking forward. Ryu looked up at her and watched her walk away for a moment, deciding to let her go a head a few feet before following her.

Unknown to Ryu, the tears that Julia was holding back for a while began to freely fall down her face…