"Maybe she's not here," Ellie guesses, standing on her toes to get a peek into the bay window of Zafina's town house, which is blocked by thick velvet curtain. "I don't even hear anything inside."

"She's here," Asuka says, beating on the door again. "Zafina!"

"You going to break the door down too?" Hwoarang asks cynically.

"If she doesn't answer, yes. Zafina, open up!"

The door creaks open and Zafina appears under the frame, but her attractive face hardens when she sees Asuka, a thin line appearing between her brows.

"How pleasant," Zafina says in a deep, snide voice. "What do you want?"

"We need your help," Asuka reciprocates the affection. Xiaoyu, Hwoarang and Ellie all exchange puzzled glances.

"With what?"

Hwoarang steps forward pulling his goggles down so they hang around his neck. "We need to locate someone."

"I can't help you," Zafina quickly decides, backing up to close the door.

Stepping forward, Xiaoyu catches the door in her hand. They didn't come up here for a dead end, and Xiaoyu's gut is telling her Zafina knows something. "Zafina, please… please."

"Ah, young Ling Xiaoyu," Zafina purrs, acknowledging Xiaoyu for the first time.

"Just five minutes," Xiaoyu pleads. Zafina looks at all of them, letting her critical gaze land on Asuka once again. Realizing this, Hwoarang nudges Asuka and flicks his head toward the street.

"No way!" Asuka protests, planting herself in position. "I'm not leaving."

Hwoarang gives her a hard warning look. "Asuka."

She sucks her teeth but doesn't object, matching Zafina's glare. "I'm going to grab something to eat from the shops across the street. Call me if you guys need me," she growls, stepping backward away from the front door. She turns and starts walking toward the street, muttering under her breath, "Unbelievable. You give them a clue and they send you away like a dog."

The three of them turn back to Zafina who swings open the door, a smile finally gracing her purple glossed lips. "Please, do come in."

"What's up with you and Asuka?" Hwoarang asks once he steps inside.

"I hate arrogance," Zafina says simply. "and she wears it so poorly."

The three of them say nothing, all knowing Asuka has her moments. Hwoarang, who has been to Zafina's a few times casually walks in, leaning against the back wall with his elbow on the fireplace, but Xiaoyu and Ellie stand in the doorway, tranced. They have never seen a place as equally elegant as it is whimsical. Ellie saunters to the bird cage, turning her head to the side to watch five birds share two small branches.

"What beautiful doves," Ellie cooes. "They must be crowded with only two branches to share."

"A bit crowded in this room as well, no?" Zafina says. Ellie stops to ponder Zafina's meaning but is interrupted when Zafina adds. "I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you before."

"Ellie," she says, tearing her eyes away from the birds. She holds out her hand, but instead of shaking it, Zafina turns it over, running her index finger along the inside of Ellie's palm.

"Eleanor Marie Tanden-," Zafina starts, but Ellie pulls her hand away and shelters it close to her chest.

"Just Ellie," she mutters, somewhat frightened.

"Ah," Zafina says, gently clasping her hands in front of her chest with a smile. "Very well then."She floats down onto the couch and rests her hands in her lap. "What can I help you with then?"

"We're looking for Jin," Hwoarang says.

"Of course you are, but why do you think I'd be able to help you?"

"We think Jin has been hiding out a couple blocks from here. We thought maybe he came by or-,"

"Well, he hasn't," Zafina says with a guarded laugh. "He knows my mission. The two evil stars must not meet," she recites.

"Evil stars?" Ellie asks.

"Yes, Jin Kazama and his father, Kazuya," Zafina explains. "When they meet, they ignite something powerful within each other, something evil. They can awaken things, terrible things and set them into motion."

"Azazel has already been awakened and defeated," Hwoarang says dryly.

Zafina seems to zone out, pondering something deep in her mind and says more to herself than anyone else, "I have come to find they are much more dangerous than awakening some monster."

"Meaning?" Ellie narrows her eyes.

"I believe the two of them, with their powers, could destroy the world."

Xiaoyu shakes her head. "Jin would never do that."

"Not willingly," Zafina agrees, "but he's been under mind control before. He needs to find a way to extract the gene for good."

"Which is why he would come to you," Hwoarang suggests.

"Then you'd be wrong, because he hasn't," Zafina finalizes, a slight edge in her voice. Hwoarang looks at Xiaoyu, and in one glance, Xiaoyu can tell he thinks Zafina is hiding something. Turning back to Zafina, he cocks an curious eyebrow.

"Is Miguel here?"

Zafina tips her head back. "In the room. Why? Do you want to question him too?"

"We just want your help," Ellie replies.

"What about your magic?" Xiaoyu wonders. She doesn't know much of anything about Zafina's magic, but she has heard that Zafina is capable of great things.

Zafina's eyes flick to Xiaoyu. "What about it?"

"Do you have some sort of location spell that could help us find him?"

Zafina raises her eyebrows, amused, "I am not a witch."

"But you do make potions?" Ellie inquires, thoroughly intrigued.

"Yes."

"And you read palms?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a black cat, or maybe tarot cards?"

Hwoarang clears his throat, "El, let's stay on task."

"What about my palm?" Xiaoyu walks over and sits on the couch next to her. "Could it give you some clues as to where he might be?"

Zafina watches Xiaoyu, slightly shifting away as Xiaoyu settles on the cushion, and in that moment, Xiaoyu also gets the feeling that Zafina is hiding something. Zafina shrugs her shoulders, appearing nonchalant. "I suppose so, if your past and future has Jin written in it."

Past, for sure, but she can only hope Jin is there in her future. She couldn't imagine a world where he isn't. Xiaoyu holds out her hand and Hwoarang straightens, pulling away from the fire place. "Ling, you sure?"

"Relax, would you?" Zafina snaps. "Why don't you and Miguel go the bar like you always do."

"Not a chance."

"No, of course not." She turns to look at Xiaoyu, her voice turning low and sultry again. "I don't bite, dear. It will only requires your energy."

Ellie's tone is both curious and careful. "Energy?"

Xiaoyu nods. "Just do it."

"Good." Zafina guides Xiaoyu's hand into her lap, enveloping Xiaoyu's in hers. She begins to chant something under her breath in a language Xiaoyu can't make out. Immediately, Xiaoyu feels her fingers start to tingle, a warmth spreading into her palm and up her forearm. It is a strange sensation, both uncomfortable and addicting. With closed eyes, Zafina quickly repeats the unknown words over and over until the birds start to flutter about and the wind chimes begin to clank together. Xiaoyu watches Zafina, nervously, wondering if she should pull her hand back.

"What's happening?" Ellie whispers.

"It's okay," Hwoarang reassures them.

The birds flitter gently, circling inside the cage. Xiaoyu blinks, her eyelids strangely becoming heavy. Her arms, her entire body is weak, as if she has just swam across an ocean and everything feels like it is being sucked away, like a vacuum, into Zafina's hands. Is Zafina supposed to drain this much? What if it kills her? Xiaoyu wants to ask, but the effort it would take to form the words exhausts her just thinking about it.

Her arms go limp first and then her legs, her head bobbing back and forth as she fights to keep her eyes open. She can wait to find Jin, right now, she wants to sleep. She needs to sleep. When her last bit of energy drains, Xiaoyu can feel herself tipping over. Slowly she seems to be falling, afraid she may knock her head on the coffe table but too tired to catch herself. Hwoarang suddenly appears, kneeling and ready to catch her. She falls in his arms and Zafina's grip releases.

"Xiaoyu? Xiao? Is she okay?" Ellie asks frantically. She steps forward, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "What'd you see?"

Zafina doesn't respond, frozen in place as if she was still reading Xiaoyu. Finally, she opens her eyes, glossed and threatened with tears. What did she see? Ellie notes that Zafina's hands are trembling as Hwoarang pushes his arms under Xiaoyu's legs and back to gather her lifeless body.

"She'll be fine," he says, then to Zafina, "Well?"

Zafina looks up at him, her voice uncharacteristically small and fragile. "All you guys have gone through… such grief… May I see them?"

"See what?"

A tear escapes, and she dabs it with the knuckle of her finger. "Her scars."

Ellie looks between them. "Scars?"

"No," Hwoarang answers firmly, clutching Xiaoyu closer to him. "That's enough. Do you have information for us or not."

"I can't."

"We are trying to help him!" Ellie argues. "If you know where he is, anything, tell us!"

"I gave him my word. I am bound to secrecy!"

"Fuck your word!" Hwoarang spits, rising to his feet with Xiaoyu cradled in his arms. Her arms hang loosely, her head tucked in to Hwoarang's chest. He growls, "You can't even begin to understand what we've been through."

"What's going on here?" Miguel says, pushing aside the beaded curtains to enter the living room. His tall and burly stature seems to overcrowd the room, sucking out all the air, only allowing the tension to remain. He looks to Zafina, who now has tears streaming down her cheeks, then to Hwoarang.

"Hwoarang?" he inquires again, which sounds more like a warning.

"We were just leaving, sorry. This was a waste of time," Hwoarang replies. He nods to Ellie, who follows him outside.

Asuka, who had been waiting on the curb, stands. "What the hell happened to Xiao?"

"Wait a second," Zafina cries, coming to the door beside Miguel. Hwoarang and Ellie stop and face her.

She dabs her cheek with the back of her hand. Miguel stands behind her, a large warning presence.

"I want to help you all but… just… know that you guys are looking in the right place." Her eyes deflect to the ground. "but, that's all I can tell you."

Hwoarang nods, and they leave to go back to the estate.

Xiaoyu's eyes flutter open with a terrible ache behind them.

How long was she out?

She quickly recognizes she's at Jin's estate, in the room he had given her in case she needed a place to stay away from Wang's. The room is painted a soft orange, with dancing pandas bordering just under the crown molding and a huge floor length mirror covering one of the side walls. The last thing she remembers is Zafina grabbing her hand and the warming sensation that pulsed through her arm. Xiaoyu rolls on her side, still cloaked with exhaustion and sees Ellie through the mirror sitting next to the window. It's night. There is no telling how long she's been out. She can only hope a few hours.

"El?" Xiaoyu whispers to Ellie who has fallen asleep in the crevasse of a panda bean bag chair.

Ellie stirs awake and blinks repeatedly. "Hmm? Oh-Xiao, you're up?"

She stands with a long stretch and comes around to sit on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy," she says honestly, and by the looks of it, Ellie could use a few more hours too. Her brown hair is messily tangled on one side of her head. Bags are lightly forming under her yes, yet without her glasses, Ellie's eyes are a striking green, almost glowing in the shadows of her room.

Ellie holds in a laugh. "Yeah, I bet. You almost went splat into the coffee table, and then this guy came out. He was scary looking."

"Like he could snap your neck with two fingers?" Xiaoyu smiles.

"He can probably do it with one," Ellie admits.

Xiaoyu shifts in bed to awaken her legs a bit. "Miguel. Zafina's boyfriend. He's friends with Hwoarang… sort of. They understand each other, or something like that. There wasn't any trouble was there?"

A voice came from the doorway.

"Apparently, there were tears and Hwoarang had to carry you out, but of course I missed all of it," Asuka said, leaning into the frame. "Feel better?"

"Still tired," Xiaoyu admitted, sitting up. "What time is it?"

Asuka came to sit on the other side of her. "Nine. We thought you were going to slip into a coma or something."

Xiaoyu presses her hand to her head. "It feels like it." She looks between both of them. "So, what'd Zafina say?"

"Not much," Asuka says.

"And Hwoarang was not happy about it," Ellie added. "Which reminds me, I should go tell him you're awake."

Asuka nods. "Go ahead, I'll fill her in."

Ellie pats her hand on top of Xiaoyu's and then exits the room. Xiaoyu looks at Asuka. "You make it to your exam?"

"Yup. Came back here when I was finished."

Xiaoyu gave a small smile. "How'd you do?"

"Good. Luckily for you, I'll have all the answers for you next semester."

"If I go."

Asuka narrows her eyes and puts her hands on her hips. "What do you mean 'if'?"

"I mean… if we don't find Jin-."

"Ah-Ah-Ah-," Asuka raises her hands to stop her. "You already missed fall semester because of Jin. Last I remember you said something about being college buddies, or are you going to leave me hanging?"

Xiaoyu opens her mouth to argue back but decides not to. She doesn't have the energy. "Zafina?"

"Oh yeah, just brush me off. Anyway, what I'm told is… Zafina knows where Jin is-,"

Xiaoyu nearly jumps from the sheets. "Where?"

"BUT, she can't tell us where he is?"

"What?" Xiaoyu doesn't get it. "Why?"

Asuka waves a careless hand through the air. "I don't know. Something to do with that voodoo, creepy, witch, black magic, seance stuff of hers. She is bound to secrecy,"Asuka announces absurdly deep, clearly mocking Zafina.

"Asuka, give it a rest, would you? What else did she say?"

"Fine," she sighs. "I'll stop. She did tell Hwoarang you guys have been looking in the right neighborhood."

"I knew it," Xiaoyu exclaims, a smile spreading across her face. She pulls the sheets back to get up from bed, but Asuka gently grabs her arm.

"Hold on, Xiao," she says, suddenly growing serious. "You're not going out now, are you? You need to be careful"

Xiaoyu pauses, a confused look swimming across her porcelain face. "Wait, did I mishear you, or did you just say we are this close," she pinches her index finger and thumb together, "to finding Jin?"

"I know, but… don't forget you're only 19, and a girl, and pretty, and creepy guys lurk the night."

"I get it, but…" Though her body is exhausted, she knows she can't just sit around when she has the chance to find Jin once and for all. "I'm not staying here."

Ellie leaves Xiaoyu and Asuka in the room and starts down the hall to find Hwoarang. She's glad Xiaoyu is awake. No telling how long she was going to be out. The sound of her bare feet pat against the tiles of the large empty estate, enough moonlight streaming in from the windows to see clearly. Even the bodyguard staff has been cut to a quarter, patrolling around the property grounds. With Jin gone, so is the threat. Ellie takes the carpet trimmed stairs by two toward Hwoarang' room.

The door is cracked with the flashing light of the tv streaming onto the red carpet before her feet.

"Hwoarang?" she calls from the doorway, pressing her hand against the frame. With her other hand she pushes the door open to a plain, neat room. The flat screen flashes sport highlights across the black framed bed and untouched sheets. Hwoarang's motorcycle helmet sits on one of the end tables next to his keys and goggles.

"Hwoarang?" she calls again, stepping further into the room. A figure moves behind the sheer curtains on the balcony and Ellie moves quickly to flick on the lightswitch.

Hwoarang slides open the balcony door, sending the curtains flying around him as he steps inside. "El? Is that you?"

She presses her hand over her heart, closing her eyes briefly. "Goodness, Hwoarang you scared me. I thought…" Her voice leaves her when the curtains stop fluttering around him. He is shirtless, carrying a clean white t-shirt in his hands. He shakes his hair from his face, the auburn tips wet from a shower.

"Sorry, I just stepped outside for a second."

She lowers her eyes just as he slips his t-shirt on overhead, but not before catching a glimpse of his tan, lean muscles. She remembers to exhale, laughing it off, "Shirtless in October, you really must be trying to get sick."

Hwoarang chuckles. "The cold doesn't affect me that much. In the army, we were stationed in Russia for three months. That was cold. Even the winters here aren't that bad."

"I wouldn't know," Ellie admits. "I've never left."

Hwoarang meets her eyes. "Never? You should get out more. I'm surprised Jin hasn't dragged you to the pacific islands on a business trip. We should get him to change that," he says, biting the inside of his cheek.

Hwoarang usually goes with Jin on those wonders what it would be like in the pacific islands with the two of them, then she pushes the thought from her mind. "Xiaoyu's awake. She's still seems a bit groggy, but she'll be okay."

Hwoarang grabs the remote to turn off the tv. "It'll wear off by morning. Zafina's read my palm before. It's a... strange experience."

"Which reminds me," Ellie presses her fingers to her bottom lip. "Zafina mentioned the scars, and I've heard you talk about Xiaoyu's back before. I know it's why Jin left, but... I've just never been comfortable enough to ask what really happened. It never seems like the right time."

Hwoarang sits on the edge of the bed and rests his elbows on his knees. "If Xiaoyu didn't tell you, I really shouldn't.."

"I-I won't say anything." Ellie sits down next to Hwoarang. The question has been floating around in Ellie's mind since they left Zafina's. "I just want to know the whole story."

Hwoarang studies her for a moment, deciding whether or not she should know. Her eyes are a curious bright green and he's close enough to see the small flecks of amber around the iris. "No glasses."

"Don't change the subject," she says with a small smile. "Please, tell me."

"Okay," he sighs. "Jin had been experimenting with... releasing the demon. He thought that if he could tell it when to come out, he could control the intervals the demon stayed inside."

"I remember that. He'd try to change right before he'd go in public."

"Yeah. But this particular day, he and Xiaoyu were in the kitchen. He had just successfully changed that morning, but a call from Nina came in. I don't know what Nina said, Xiaoyu doesn't even know, but she said she had never seen him so angry before. He was changing, and Xiaoyu…"

Hwoarang rakes his hands through his hair, pausing before he continues, "tried to calm him down. We had agreed to never stay around when Jin turns, never, but she did."

Ellie takes a deep breath, her body trembling. "Ling doesn't exactly follow directions, especially when it comes to Jin. She couldn't even help him."

"She did help him though," Hwoarang admitted. "Ling slowed the change for a few a minutes. It was the most progress we've made with the demon in a long while. But she couldn't stop it, and when she realized that, she turned to run and Jin clawed her across the back. He would have killed her if she had tried to stay."

"Goodness. I don't get it. He changed just that morning."

Hwoarang nodded. "And it returned in a matter of hours. Just showed us that the demon is uncontrollable. Jin has no control."

A silence falls between them as they both think about the horror of the demon. It's unthinkable, and now Jin is doing it alone. "I wonder how she was able to slow the change down, even if it was just a few minutes."

"The connection they have, I'm guessing. I wasn't as successful," Hwoarang says with a chuckle. He raises his shirt to expose the thin faint scars on the side of his ribs. Carefully, Ellie touches them, brushing her fingers atop the elongated scars lines. His skin is warm and his breaths easy.

"How old are these?" she asks.

"A couple years. They don't hurt anymore." He meets her eyes and she retracts her hand, coolness returning to her fingertips and a warmness creeping into her cheeks. Hwoarang lowers his shirt. "He never forgives himself though. He never does. His guilt is a demon of its own."

"And so he left?"

Hwoarang nods. "That morning. Once he changed back and realized what he'd done, he couldn't stand to face her. Told her later through the phone that he'd left… I don't think they will ever be the same, even if we do find him." He claps his hands and blinks to rip himself from the memory, giving Ellie a wide yet wounded closed-mouth grin. "Now you know."

"Thankyou," Ellie rests her hand on his leg. "For telling me."

He sets his hand on top of hers. "Thank you for being there for us."

She can't help the corners of her mouth from turning into a smile, or the nervousness that has now snuck into her stomach. What is it about him that makes her insides feel like mush? She can barely take it, her heart going a thousand miles. She stands abruptly, slapping her hands on her thighs.

"Welp, I just wanted to tell you Xiao is awake and well," she says quickly and awkwardly enthused. "I think I'm going to go ahead and grab a shower. It's been a long day, and I've had my share of Jin-searching."

Hwoarang scoots back on the bed and leans on his pillows with one arm behind his head. "You sure you don't want to watch tv or something? It's still kind of early."

"Who me? Well, of course me. Who else is here? No, I'm okay. I'm not a night owl. I should just- I'm going to go."

He grabs the remote and starts flipping through the channels, no longer looking at her. "Okay, El. Night."

"Night." She nods, turning to make her exit.

Just outside of his room, Ellie leans her back against the wall and exhales, with her hand pressed against her heart. What is happening?