Chapter 21

"Relax, I know what I'm doing."

'Famous last words,' thought Julia, but she continued to follow Xiaoyu through the carpeted hallways.

Xiaoyu had burst through the side door separating their rooms earlier that night when she had heard Julia cry out. The pendant had lit up again, sensing the approach of Ogre who was strong enough and close enough to have entered her dreams. For a moment after being shook awake, Julia had almost decided to leave the tournament and Michelle behind. Her mother was gone and her tribe, so far away, was depending on her to return with the water jar. What was she doing putting all of their lives in jeopardy for one who had defied them? But then the words of Kokyanwuhti came back to her: "you are the only one that can save your people now. They are blinded, lost in the past mistakes when the devourer of souls had first arrived. It was their own fear that ate them, child. Ogre was just the manifestation of their fears."

Ogre fed on the fears and blood of the people. She couldn't back away or Ogre would only be that much stronger. Julia had to find Michelle and defeat Ogre, and the only way to do that was to get back the bowl and obsidian blade.

Julia stopped when Xiaoyu held up a hand and peered around the corner. Apparently satisfied, Xiaoyu gestured with her hand and slipped around the wall quickly. Julia mirrored her movements. This wasn't the way they had gotten to the trophy room earlier, but then they had been with Jin before and could take the most direct route. Having spent much more time around the Mishima compound, Xiaoyu seemed very much at ease even when breaking into it and Julia was grateful that Xiaoyu knew the way to Heihachi's trophy room and had paid attention to the placement of cameras and security measures along the way. It had taken nearly fifteen minutes to navigate the path from the dorms to Heihachi's trophy room - a trip that would had taken only five minutes when they had been invited and could walk normally and freely.

It was worth it though. Despite the fact that most of the security force would be at the last matches for crowd control, there was no point in drawing attention to her actions right now. Her absence in the temple was probably already noticed, but Heihachi had appearances that had to be upkept. The sooner she could reclaim the bowl and knife, the sooner she could begin preparations for the battle against Ogre.

"It's just up ahead," Xiaoyu whispered. She pointed to the room down the next flight of stairs. "Once we get through those you should recognize where we are. Now follow my lead, don't touch any of the steps."

Xiaoyu hopped up to sit on the bannister and slid down the makeshift ramp. Julia followed. The door opened into the larger room. Julia recognized the doorway guarded by two large vases, one with a dragon on one and a phoenix on the other as the trophy room. Xiaoyu was already at the door.

"Well, shall we find out what's behind door number one?" Xiaoyu pushed down on the handle and frowned. She tried again with little effect. "That's odd. I've never seen this door locked. Try the key Jin gave you."

"I'm pretty sure this is only for the case inside," she said, but placed the key in the keyhole. She heard a click from behind her. Shoving Xiaoyu to the side, Julia dove to the side as the door splintered from the shotgun blast. She grabbed the nearest vase, and flung it towards the guard before he had a time to reload.

Xiaoyu was back through the door they had come in by the time Julia had gotten to her feet. "Damn it, Xiao," she muttered as she got to her feet and dove shoulder first through the door as she heard the shotgun cocked.

"Over here." Xiaoyu gestured from the side. Julia prepared to slam the door closed, but Xiaoyu stopped her. "I've got an idea. Help me up."

Xiaoyu grabbed the top of the door and began pulling herself up. Julia pushed from below and soon Xiaoyu was squatting between the top of the door and the ceiling. "Push the door closed gently and get back," she whispered.

Julia did as Xiaoyu asked and waited. It didn't take long for the guard to kick open the door and when he did Xiaoyu fell atop of him. With one knee on each of his shoulders, Xiaoyu twisted her hips and fell sideways, wrenching the guard's neck sideways. Julia snatched the gun from his hands and as Xiaoyu landed and released her hold on the guard to roll away, Julia slammed the stock of the shotgun into the guard's head knocking him out.

"So much for the element of surprise. We should get out of here."

Julia shook her head. "Not without the bowl and knife. We'll never get another chance to get them." Stepping over the unconscious guard, Julia pulled out the case key from the entrance door and ducked through the hole in the door. She didn't even notice Xiaoyu climb through after her. The trophy room, at night, was a different place than in the daylight. It was as if the doorway had been a portal - the darkness clung to the corners like cobwebs holding time captive. Here was all of mankind's history for view, cultural icons taken from their rightful owners and locked away for Heihachi's bragging rights. Dark figures danced behind clear prison walls, their elongated necks and jutting chins pointed as though to get a better look of their visitors. Empty suits of armor stood at attention. And there, in the spotlights, bright and hard-edged, that cut perfect cones all the way to the floor was the bowl and knife.

She pressed her fingers against the glass. Julia could almost hear the face inside the laugh. "Free me," it called to her, "free me and take your mother's life in your hands."

"Umm ... Julia, we have flashing lights and sirens. If you're going to steal these things, do it quickly."

Julia unlocked the case and took hold of the eagle bowl and knife.

"I'm not stealing, Xiao. I'm just taking back what's mine." She thought of Michelle. 'Hold on, mother. I'm coming for you. I'm taking back what's mine.'

As she put the artifacts into her backpack, Xiaoyu began pushing her towards the office.

"Quickly," Xiaoyu whispered, "in here." Xiaoyu closed and locked the door behind them.

"You've just trapped us in here."

Xiaoyu winked. "Not so hasty, Jules. I do have a plan. C'mon. Check that side of the desk."

Julia began rummaging through the papers on the desk. "And what exactly am I looking for?"

"That," Xiaoyu said, pointing to a large, red, circular button embedded in the desk. "Press it."

Julia pushed the button. Xiaoyu disappeared from behind the desk. "Xiao!" Julia made it around the desk to see the two tiles behind the desk reset themselves and cover a trapdoor. That was her big plan? She should have known. Hopefully it didn't lead to a pit of spikes.

Julia stepped back from the trapdoor. There must be a better way out than free-falling into nothing. The sound of wood splintering drew her attention briefly back to the door. It sounded like security had gotten through the rest of the trophy room door. She'd have to hurry. The windows unlatched easily and since the security system was already tripped she didn't need to worry about setting anything off. There was very little ledge before a sheer drop of about three stories - nothing to break the fall either. However, to the right there was another balcony and window, and further on was a drain pipe.

After checking the hinges of the window, Julia grabbed onto the top of the right window pane and swung out. As the window neared the wall, she pushed off sideways and grabbed onto the balcony ledge and pulled herself up and over. A simple kick broke one of the glass sections in the door, which Julia used to reach in and unlatch the door before grabbing hold of the drainpipe.

The pipe was gritty beneath her fingers which would provide additional friction as long as the dirt stayed on the pipe and didn't crumble as she applied sidewards pressure on it as climbed. She was grateful she had worn her fingerless leather gloves to protect her palms. The pipe itself didn't provide any additional foot or hand holds and she would have to squeeze hard to keep from slipping. If she could get herself high enough so that the balcony sunshade would block her pursuers' view of her, she could slide down when they left to get to the other room.

Voices rumbled in the office. Julia forced herself to breathe. Many people would have tensed up and held their breath, exactly the opposite of what they should do. Her muscles would need the steady flow of oxygen. A person's breath always sounded louder in their own head, the involuntary movements always magnified in their mind. It was the adrenaline that made their senses sharper, their minds more aware of its own position and its environment. All she needed was to keep still.

A dull ache began replacing the blood in her arms and legs. Julia relaxed her grip slightly instead of tightening it. Now was not the time to overcompensate and tire herself out, although she wouldn't be able to hold on for too much longer. Hadn't they seen the window yet?

There. Footsteps tapped out a mad rhythm and flashlights danced across the ground below and along the wall below Julia. "The door," one of the voices yelled. "Next room, next room. Go!" The lights disappeared and the footsteps faded.

Now. Julia loosened her grip and slid down the drain pipe. She stepped to the side and flattened her body against the wall directly below the balcony. Keeping to the shadows, Julia slid along the wall towards the bushes. Once she got to them, her dark olive green shirt and tanned leather jacket would provide enough camouflage to hide her from their initial wild search. She crouched down as the flashlights swept across the ground once more.

"Damn it, she's gone. You. Keep searching the rooms, sweep the parameter. Find her."

The lights retreated back into the room. Julia almost allowed herself to smile. That went as smooth as possible given the circumstances. Of course, Xiaoyu had not thought her plan completely through. They had both escaped in their own way, but reuniting ... that was a completely different question. Ogre. That is what would bind them. If she found Ogre, she would find Jin. And as she'd seen before, Xiaoyu would find Jin no matter where he was. However, there was one thing left to do before she found Jin. Julia set out across the garden.

* * *

The fall only took a few seconds, but the trip was made in complete darkness. Only the wind on her face and the whistle of air across her ears gave her a hint of how fast she was traveling. Xiaoyu let out a whoop of delight. This was definitely something that could be put to good use in her park. The world exploded into a deep midnight blue and coldness. Light refracted off something in the distance that continually shifted in and out of focus. Xiaoyu kicked her feet and surfaced.

She was in an underground cavern. Light from the end of a tunnel was all that allowed her to see. With no other obvious exit, Xiaoyu began swimming towards the light. As she moved further down the tunnel, she could feel the current pulling her along faster. The tunnel narrowed, and the light began flashing in thin stripes as Xiaoyu slipped through the water beneath it until it disappeared completely, and Xiaoyu was alone with the water. Her body bounced off the sides of the tunnel, jarring her teeth, as it twisted and turned, the water sloshing violently from side to side.

"Whoa!" Xiaoyu laid flat on her back as the ceiling sloped down sharply. The tunnel narrowed again and the speed increased. Up ahead the blackness turned to gray and then a monochromatic blue as Xiaoyu was cannoned from the pipe to a pool of water.

Sputtering, Xiaoyu pulled herself onto the sand and pushed herself up. A familiar face lumbered into view to nuzzle her cheek. "Panda! How'd you know to find me here?"

Panda pointed with her head to the surrounding area.

"Oh, so that's it." Xiaoyu stood in Panda's enclosure. Off to the right and up the hill was Heihachi's office. This was where Xiaoyu introduced Julia to Panda. Panda nudged her again. "I'm up. I'm up."

Xiaoyu shivered as the wind ran its sharp, cold fingernails over her wet skin. She did what she could to squeegee the water from her skin with the edge of her hand and wring out the looser parts of her clothes, but it felt like the cold wetness had already soaked into her bones. Panda padded closer on all fours.

"Thanks, Panda." Xiaoyu climbed on Panda's back and wrapped her arms along the side of Panda's thick neck. Panda's body heat and fur brought a little comfort to Xiaoyu. "Come on. Let's go find Jin." Xiaoyu snuggled tighter to her guardian. It was going to be a long night, and it was just beginning.