Discovery
Kazuki, with the help of his Devil Gene powers, managed to escape from Heihachi, only to be captured once again, this time by MIST. The leader of MIST, Victor Donovan, has a history with DOATEC, having use to work for Helena Douglas's father, Fame Douglas. After having Fame assassinated, Donovan became the main driving force of DOATEC, capturing many warriors to create the ultimate fighter, something he continues to do to this day through his own company MIST.
Donovan also has a history with the Mugen Tenshin Clan, having kidnapped Kasumi and Hayate years ago and used Kasumi's DNA to create clones. He now wishes to use Kazuki for the same thing since his mother was such a success. As a result, Kasumi, Hayate, and Ayane would sometimes work together with Helena as allies in order to take down Donovan.
Now, after searching for Donovan themselves for some time, they've come to Helena's tritower for help again, this time with Hayabusa, Lars, Irene, and Jin.
"Please, tell me where Donovan is?" asked Kasumi. "He has kidnapped my son."
Helena slowly turns toward her allies and says "Our surveillance has shown that MIST's airplane was heading to an island somewhere in the South Pacific yesterday. It is probably where your son is currently being held."
"Even if we do manage to find him, what if it's too late?" said Hayate. "Kazuki has been there for a long time now."
"It has been years since you have destroyed his lab, so I do not know how far his project has come. All I know is that he is still searching for the right fighter to complete it. Considering he has yet to make an attack on us, it is safe to assume that he has not found the right person…until now."
"He's such a scum!" said Ayane. "Someone has to make him pay for this."
Jin thinks deeply about something, trying decide what to say. He looks down for a moment and says "I'm not sure if you know about this, but…Kazuki has this thing called the Devil Gene," said Jin. "Anyone who has it can transform in to a devil. My father and I have it as well. Now it has passed on Kazuki. Do you know if Donovan is able to clone that?"
"I'm afraid I cannot give you a definite answer to that, Jin," said Helena. "However, Donovan has managed to do many things with his technology, it is certainly not impossible."
"Just in case he does, we have to stop him fast," said Lars. "We can't risk having the world full of Devil Gene users."
"Exactly!" said Hayabusa. "Something like that could possibly bring about something as dangerous as Azazel or even Bankotsubo."
"This world would just be in another chaotic state again," said Irene. "Or worse."
"Then I suggest you hurry," said Helena. She then looks at Kasumi and says "Kasumi, protect your son, just as I am protecting mine."
Kasumi looks around to see Bruno and asks "Where is Bruno anyway?"
"He's in another one of his street fights again. I have told that boy numerous times how dangerous it is to be by himself. He never listens."
"Your son Bruno is a fighter as well?" said Lars.
Helena then pulls up photos of Bruno Douglas on her screen during many of his earlier fights.
"He competed in Savate in the amateurs. He was seen as a prodigy, destined for greatness. At 17, he turned pro, winning all of his fights. But then, just two years into his pro career, someone tried to take his life. It was the work of a professional. Bruno was not harmed but since then, we've agreed that his career would be put on hold until we find out who was behind it. But Bruno keeps going out there on his own, even though it's too dangerous for him. I'm worried that something will happen to him if he keeps leaving like this."
Kasumi begins to think about how she felt about Kazuki being away from her home village. "I understand how you feel, Helena. I didn't want Kazuki to be away from his home either."
Jin also begins to think back on his own childhood, growing up under his mother Jun. "I would say some things to him but I just can't show myself to people like that. I was the one who ordered an attack on his mother after all."
"Then if you don't mind, Helena, I'd like to have a little talk with Bruno once all of this is done," said Lars. "Maybe he'd be better off listening to somebody who saved his mother from the attack instead."
Helena smiles, almost as if she was hoping to hear this all along.
"Yes….and I must apologize, Helena," said Jin. "I thought it would help put an end to the Devil Gene but I was wrong. I am deeply sorry about that."
"Is that so?" said Helena. "You know, the Mishima Zaibatsu has been enemies with DOATEC for years. It would be huge news for people to see DOATEC helping a Mishima for the first time."
"None of that really matters to me. DOATEC has never been my real enemy. I have my own battles against Kazuya and Heihachi."
Helena calmly smiles and says "Don't worry. I have no interest in carrying on my father's rivalry either. I accept your apology.
"Let's go, everyone!" said Hayabusa. "Every second counts."
They all leave the DOATEC Tritower as Helena watches on.
Hidden within the room, however, was the Russian mercenary and bodyguard Bayman, who has been tracking Donovan for years.
"It seems that my information was more useful than I thought," said Bayman. "This should be enough to take down Donovan."
"I still wouldn't underestimate him," said Helena. "He always has plans to escape and continue his project. We can only see if this will be enough to stop him for good this time."
"This Devil Gene that they speak of seems to be very dangerous. I wonder if Donovan is aware of the risks that he's taking."
"Who knows? This may be the one project that could backfire on him. I just hope it's not too late before the others arrive. In the meantime, we should be preparing to announce the next tournament."
MIST
Later that night at MIST'S headquarters, the white-haired female assassin Christie talks to Donovan through a large monitor on a wall.
"The ninjas have more allies this time," she says. "I'm almost certain that one of them is Jin Kazama. He is Kazuki's father after all."
"Yes, Kazuki is the son of Jin Kazama and Kasumi, two of the greatest warriors in the world," said Donovan. "So, we have to make sure…that the samples are all safe."
"What?" said Christie. "The 'samples'? What about us?"
"We can't afford to lose this project. We're just one step closer to entering the next Phase and Kazuki just may be what we need to do it. He has a special gift. Do not waste it, Christie."
The monitor turns off.
Christie is angry. She hates how Donovan cares more about his project than his subordinates. She also feels that this encounter could be more dangerous than the previous ones.
"That bastard is going to get us all killed!" said Christie.
Soon after, the warriors in their two helicopters finally arrive at the island. Hayate, Kasumi, and Ayane drop off from Irene's helicopter while Jin and Lars drop off from Lee's.
They look around at the facility, knowing that it has to be MIST's place.
"This has to be the place," said Hayate. "It's just like where he found the old lab years ago. This is definitely Donovan's place."
As they approach the entrance door, they are attacked by a few MIST helicopters, who shoots at the warriors. They managed to avoid the gunshots until a bunch of soldiers drop down from one of them.
The five warriors manage to take on the soldiers without much trouble. Kasumi, Hayate, and Ayane all use their weapons to slash them down while Jin and Lars rely solely on their hand-to-hand combat skills.
Dropping down from one of the helicopters is Christie, the one who ordered the attack on the warriors. The ninjas are already familiar with Christie, having encountered her numerous times during their battles against Donovan.
"So, we meet again," said Christie. "Coming to look for your son, huh Kasumi?"
"My son…where is he?" said an angry Kasumi.
"Don't worry. He's still alive. He is Donovan's newest test subject after all."
"Then it's true!" said Lars. "Donovan must be using him to create clones."
Kasumi gets in her fighting stance while Jin steps forward. However, he gets halted by Hayate.
"There is something I want to know," said Hayate. "How did you know that Kazuki was Kasumi's son?"
Christie laughs and says "It was so easy."
Local Bar in New York City
Days earlier, before the previous King of Iron Fist tournament and a day after Kazuya's attack on the Mugen Tenshin Village, the news about the attack starts to spread, with some people not knowing why Kazuya would attack the village. This attack happened not long after the news about Kazuki broke out to the world.
At a local bar in New York City, Christie, Rig, and former pro-wrestler Bass Armstrong watches the news of the attack on television. They are very familiar with the Mugen Tenshin Clan, having competed in the Dead or Alive tournaments alongside Kasumi, Hayate, and Ayane. They have a good idea for why Kazuya have attacked the village.
"Whattdaya know; news breaks out about a Mishima being a ninja and now Kazuya starts attacking ninjas," said Bass. "I'll tell ya, that's one dysfunctional family."
"I say he's in for a real fight if he provokes a battle with the Mugen Tenshin Clan," said Christie. "This is not like fighting against the Mishima Zaibatsu."
"I admit, I'm a little interested in seeing how far this goes," says Rig. "That clan could probably end it all for both Kazuya and Heihachi."
During the conversation, a young man with blonde spikey hair and blue eyes walks into the bar. With his black sleeveless shirt, blue pants, black boots, and fingerless gloves, this is someone who clearly just been in a fight.
"Hey, Bruno!" said Bass. "A lil' later than usual, eh? Lemme guess; you just got done fightin', right?"
"Yes, I have to do something to stay active," said Bruno.
"So, who won?"
"Ha! Nice joke."
He then sits next Bass to watch news on TV about Kazuya's attack.
"The Mugen Tenshin Village was attacked?" said Bruno.
"Yeah!" said Bass. "You didn't hear? Kazuya and his G Corporation attacked that village last night."
"Then maybe it's true after all. There's no other reason for why he would attack that particular village."
This catches Christie and Rig's attention,
"You know Bruno, the Mugen Tenshin ninjas have also competed in the Dead or Alive tournaments," said Christie. "Did Helena ever tell you that?"
"Yes, and I also know that one of the ninjas, a woman named Kasumi, won the first tournament that was hosted by my grandfather," said Bruno.
"So just how much do you know about Mugen Tenshin Clan?" asked Rig.
"Only a little," said Bruno. "I just know that Kasumi sometimes come to my mother for help…and I didn't even know until yesterday that she has a son."
"What?" said Bass. "That girl's got a kid?"
"Yeah," said Bruno. "That ninja Kazuki that everyone is talking about? That's her son."
"Wow!" said Bass. "Never saw that coming! When I first saw her, she still looked like a kid herself. Shows how old I'm gettin'. Hey, speaking of kids, my daughter Tina wanted to go do movies and everything like that but I didn't like that idea so…"
While Bass talks to Bruno about his own history with his daughter, Christie and Rig glance at each other for a moment.
"Donovan is going to love this," said Christie.
"You got that right," said Rig.
Present Day
"Bruno! He had no idea!" said Hayate.
"It's true; he knew almost nothing about the Mugen Tenshin Clan but what little he did know was just what we needed," said Christie.
"You may have captured Kazuki but we will get him back!" said Kasumi as she gets in her fighting stance.
Kasumi quickly charges forward with an elbow hit but it gets blocked by Christie's forearm. Kasumi attempts a trip but Christie jumps back from it. She then follows with a kick but Christie dodges behind her and hits her in the back with fast snake-like strikes. While Kasumi stunned, Christie follows up with a kick that knocks her down. Christie tries to stomp but Kasumi rolls out of the way and runs towards Christie, only to teleport behind her and knock her down with an elbow strike. As Christie gets up, she kicks one of Kasumi's leg, grabs the other one, then lands a hard hit to Kasumi's body, knocking her down. As Kasumi gets up, Christie runs forward with a jumping kick but Kasumi avoids it by teleporting behind her once again and lands a jumping kick on Christie's back, knocking her down. After getting up, Kasumi and exchanges punches and kicks. During the exchange, Kasumi catches Christie's arm and lands an elbow to her stomach, knocking her away. Kasumi then leaps into the air to land a kick but Christie sees it coming and uses her hand to push herself into the air to land an upward flying kick to Kasumi's chin, knocking her down. As she gets up, Christie attempts to land a kick but Kasumi catches her leg and lands a spinning kick to Christie's face, returning the knockdown. Christie attempts to land another snake-style strike but Kasumi catches her arm and slams her to the ground. Out of anger, Christie charges forward, only get kicked in the face by summersault kick from Kasumi, knocking her out.
With Christie out, they take her ID card and use it to open MIST's door, which leads to a large facility.
"Let's hurry," said Kasumi.
Elsewhere in the headquarters of MIST, Donovan once again appears on a large monitor to talk to someone.
"They've finally arrived," said Donovan. "Are you ready to show them how much you've improved?"
"Yes. I'm very grateful for what you've done, Mr. Donovan. Now I'm ready to show everybody your work."
"Good. Don't let me down, Kazuki. The whole world needs people like you."
The monitor turns off and Kazuki, now wearing a dark red shirt, walks towards the area where the five warriors are. He calmly smiles as his eyes glow red. What could this mean?
To Be Continued.
