a/n Whoops…forgot to stick the disclaimer thingy in the last chapter so I guess I'll stick it in with this one….

Disclaimer: …as much as I'd love to…

I do not own Namco or Tekken or any of the Tekken characters

(oh and the lyrics of the song in the last chap. belong to Fall Out Boy…)

. so don't sue me!

It's set after Tekken 6 by the way…I'm taking the liberty to make up a "Tekken 6" ending…you'll see… J

Verity is mine though…so… you can't steal her!

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A New Friend and A Long Trip

"I can't believe how long that flight was! " Verity exclaimed as both she and Julia exited the plane.

"Of course it was, silly. Did you expect to be here in two hours?" Julia teased as Verity's face twisted in annoyance.

"Damn. I can't feel my legs…or my butt. Is that possible?"

"That's your own fault…you had a chance to at least stand up while we were flying." Julia said while laughing hysterically.

"Shut up," Verity retorted while sticking her tongue out at Julia.

Laughing the girls made their way to the baggage claim area, and waited as the long black conveyor belt pulled along everyone's baggage like a snake twisting through a field. However it seemed to be doing only that: pulling through everyone else's baggage. There was absolutely no sign of their bags anywhere.

"Um…Jules? Where are our bags?" Verity asked as they saw every other passenger pick up their suitcases and duffle bags and then make their way towards the exit.

"They should be coming along now…I think."

"If the stupid airport left our bags in Phoenix, I'm gonna be so pissed they are going to wish they were living under a rock!" Verity threatened as she saw a new wave of people from another flight making their way toward the claiming area.

Twenty minutes later, as Verity was about to go yell herself hoarse to some unfortunate airport employee, Julia saw their bags and pointed in the direction of the conveyor belt.

"Oh Verity…no need to go take someone's hearing out. Let's just get our bags and leave for the hotel. We are in dire need of restive beauty sleep," Julia said with a small laugh.

"Oh. My. God. How many bags did you think were necessary Julia?" said a shocked Verity, as she saw all three of Julia's bags. "How are you going to get all of those to the hotel…hell…how are you going to get all those into the jungle?"

"Well…we're gonna be here for two months Verity. I'm not going to be washing my clothes by hand every other day…are you? I'm going to need a bit of help to move it all though," Julia said with a defeated sigh.

"Of course you are. You're strong but not that strong. Unless…are you Supergirl in disguise or something?" the dark-haired girl said in a contriving tone, " Wait, no that's not possible. If you were you would have flown yourself here…literally. No need for poor airport assistance."

"Where on Earth do you come up with all of those ridiculous theories? Do you do nothing else at night but come up with random comedic thoughts?" Julia said while laughing.

Frowning Verity responded, "No. Do you do nothing else but laugh all the time? I know I graduated high school as the 'class clown' but not everything I say is funny."

"Actually, most of what you say is hilarious. You have one hell of a way with words Ver. You were right about my being Supergirl…I would have left you in the dust hours ago if I was," Julia joked.

"Hey!….. Maybe you should have been class clown"

With some difficulty, the girls were able to pack their things into the back of a taxi, and made their way to the hotel they were going to spend the night in. Unlike the previous night, they fell asleep the moment they hit the bed. Damn…air travel I was shockingly exhausting!

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"So we're supposed to meet someone in the lobby on the first floor right?" asked Verity as she brushed her wet hair the following morning.

"Yeah," Julia answered as she pulled her long hair into one long plait, " His name is Brock Stryker. He's one of the archaeologists who supervise the dig. We'll be under his tutelage for the majority of our stay here."

"Do you know if he's some stuck up jerk? I'd hate to have listen to a guy like that…our Ancient Civilizations professor was bad enough…I need a break already!" Verity insinuated as Julia shot her a shocked look.

"Immediately jumping to conclusions, Ver? Don't try to make him look like an evil monster already…we don't even know him. Although…if we make him seem really evil, reality will seem so much kinder," Julia said thoughtfully.

"Yeah you're right!" Verity cried out enthusiastically.

"I was joking, Ver. Let's just go meet him and we'll draw our assumptions later." Julia said exasperatingly.

Half an hour later Julia and Verity made their way to the main lobby on the first floor. Since they saw no one that fit Brock's description: tall, dark-haired, with dark blue eyes dressed in khaki colored clothing, they decided to sit and wait.

"Would you ladies happen to be named Julia Chang and Verity Hartley?" said a deep voice suddenly.

Both girls looked up to see a man in his early thirties who fitted Brock Stryker's description exactly. Surprised, they stood up quickly and introduced themselves.

"Yes, I'm Julia Chang."

"And I'm Verity Hartley."

"Brock Stryker I presume?" Julia said after they shook hands.

"You would presume correctly," said Brock with a smile, "Nice to finally meet you ladies."

"Likewise, Mr. Stryker," said a wide-eyed Verity sweetly. Damn…he's HOT! Look at him…a whole new meaning to the phrase "Tall, dark and handsome." He shouldn't be an archeologist…he should be some actor or model….damn! I sure won't mind having to listen to him.

Noticing Verity's sudden change in demeanor, Julia elbowed her in the ribs. Oh come on Verity, don't start crushing on guys yet. We just got here.

"Well, we'll have enough time to get well acquainted later. We have a ferry to catch. You should go get your things. I'll wait for you here," Brock said with a funny smile as he too had seen Verity's suddenly enthusiastic expression.

After gathering their things Julia and Verity returned to the lobby and then, with Brock, made their way in a van-taxi, to the La Paz docks. Brock had told them that they had a long trip ahead of them. First they would take a two-day "cruise" in the ferry down the Beni River to the city of Riberalta, where they would spend the night. After that they would take a smaller boat further down the river, about two hours down the river, where they would stop at a small fishing village and take a jeep to the site. All in all, about a two and a half day trip. To both Julia and Verity…it was going to be like hell: Two and a half days of doing nothing but waiting to finally make it to the dig.

Over the two, nearly three, day trip, the three archaeologists got to know each other quite well. Verity and Julia learned, much to Verity's dismay, that Brock was married, and that his wife worked at the dig as well. Brock learned that the twenty-one-year-olds were martial artists and loved to fight, yet were very easy to get along with. He also learned that they loved to hear the myths and legends of secluded cultures.

"So the two of you can kick butt, eh."

"Yup. And kick butt good," Verity said happily.

"But it's not like we go looking for fights. We don't do a whole lot right now. Mostly just sparring with each other." Julia added, so that it wouldn't seem like they were troublemakers.

"Either of you ever been in an actual fighting tournament? Like the ones on TV?" asked Brock, his curiosity stirred.

"No. Well at least I haven't. Julia's been in like three of them though!" said Verity with a hint of sadness for her own lack of credentials.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Four of the really big ones actually. The King of Iron Fist Tournaments 3,4, 5, and 6." Julia said while trying to not seem overly arrogant about it, "I didn't go as far as I wished I would in any of them."

"I heard of those. Only the best of the best made it into those. They were hosted in Japan weren't they?" Brock said shocked that at her age she had competed in bouts like those. He had no idea that Julia would have tournaments of that caliber under her belt.

"Yeah," responded Julia.

"I heard the last one ended abruptly though. No one really knows why. Do you know?" said Brock.

"Well…the reason the sixth tournament ended is still hazy. I sure don't know. There was no winner, no nothing. One day they announced that the tournament was going to be postponed indefinitely, the next thing you knew they announced that it was over. Just like that. We were sent home with no explanation. Everyone was pissed.

There were rumors though, before everyone left. Everyone said it had to do with Jin Kazama. Since he owned the Mishima Zaibatsu, he was the one who had the tournament launched in the first place therefore the only one with the authority to end it. He's disappeared since then. No one's heard from him. Some say that he was assassinated, other that he was finally captured by G Corp and still some say he'd had enough of the war with his father and simply up and left everything," Julia recounted.

"Sounds like a troubled guy," said Brock starkly. He'd heard of every horrible thing that the "war" between the Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corp had caused. "Maybe it's a good thing that he's not around. Not necessarily dead, but simply gone, you know?"

"Maybe," said Verity, "who knows? The 'war' between the two corporations has stopped, but I don't think it will stay like that for long. What do you think Jules?"

"Honestly, I don't know what to think. My family has never had a good impression of the Mishimas but I just think they've all been led horribly astray," stated Julia.

"Well it seems like everyone has their troubles. Some just have crappier ones than others," Brock said, which caused the girls to let out a few chuckles. "So you said you two like legends and myths right?"

"Oh! We love them - Julia's tribe's got a boatload of them! They're really intriguing!" exclaimed Verity.

"Well you should hear the ones of the tribe we're staying with. They're actually a bit scary. They tell them every few weeks. You two will be lucky, the next recounting is in a few days," stated Brock, then smiled as he saw their faces light up even more.

"That'll be amazing. What's the tribe called again?" asked Julia.

"Well…I just call them The Tribe. I can't pronounce their name," admitted Brock sheepishly, "In fact, no one else from the team can."

"What? You guys have been here for how long? and you can't say the name of the tribe?" said Verity shocked, "I thought you super-smart archaeologists could do anything."

Laughing Brock responded, "Well…It seems even we have our limitations."

After another hour of casual conversation, Brock finally announced their arrival.

"Well, ladies, here we are, your home away from home for the next two months. Welcome to: The Village. And no it is nothing like the movie."

Laughing again, Julia and Verity stepped out of the Jeep and took in the view of their new residence.