TEKKEN: THE COLD AND THE WARM


ACT 15: Dreamer Deceiver

Inside a restaurant in the village of Ojén, Andalucia, Spain

This local restaurant in the Andalucian village of Ojén was already busy. Local villagers, as well as visitors from nearby cities, occupied every table, both inside and outside. Needless to say, it was a busy evening for the restaurant's employees, including the waiters and waitresses.

But it was the cooks who clearly did most of the hard work. With each passing second, they washed plates, cooked steaks and even cleaned the kitchen all the same time. But such things were important, seeing as it was important to have clean kitchen when making food for a living.

"Patatas Bravas para mesa 10!" one of the chefs in the kitchen called out while holding a plate.

This was a tapas dish consisting of crispy potato pieces dipped in salsa. It was almost like French fries.

"Lo conseguiré" a waiter suddenly took the dish.

This waiter was Miguel Caballero Rojo, who had recently been working as a waiter on this specific family-driven restaurant. In fact, the owner had even allowed him to live at the restaurant rent-free. But in return, Miguel would dedicate himself to working for the business.

Moving through the crowded main hall, Miguel managed to reach to the table where the customer sat.

"Patatas Bravas?" Miguel nonchalantly asked any of the middle-aged men sitting by it.

"Ese soy yo!" the one with the moustache called out. Miguel then put the dish right before him. "Muchas gracias, camarero" he thanked him.

Despite not liking being called that, Miguel reluctantly held back his anger. "De nada" he sarcastically responded, and he was about to move on. But someone just grabbed him by his hand.

"Espere! Camarero!" it was a baldheaded man sitting close to him. "Una cerveza más para todos nosotros por favor" he then requested of him.

Sighing, Miguel loosened his hand from the demanding customer's grip.

"Si. Un momento" he replied before taking his leave.

As Miguel was leaving the table, he noticed the group of men laughing as they continued talking. He suspected that they were already under the heavy influence of alcohol. Regardless, he proceeded towards the bar at the other end of the hall.

"Is getting them drunk all part of the restaurant policy?" he wondered, yet brushed all doubt aside. "Whatever. Not my problem. More beer means more money for Eduardo" he then concluded.

He approached the bar, where the bartender stood taking care of the drinks. He noticed Miguel standing there and smiled.

"Ah, Miguel. What can I do for you?" the bartender asked, surprisingly being friendly towards the usually angry man.

Miguel pointed his thumb backwards. "Those burros at table 10 are asking for more beer. They want a refill" he answered.

"Te entiendo" the bartender remarked and walked over to the drafts "Did they ask for which type they would like?" he then quizzed him.

The tall man rolled his eyes in return. "Just give them Victoria Malaga. They chug down whatever liquid they come across, so it really doesn't matter" Miguel told them.

And so, the bartender started tapping the mugs with beer. When they were full, Miguel was about to carry the board. But then a waitress suddenly approached him.

"Here. Let me do this for you, Miguel. You go and check on the other tables to see if they need something" she was persistent and determined on serving the beer to that table.

Miguel, knowing better than to argue, shrugged his shoulders. "Haz lo que desees" he responded to the woman, who was already gushing by just listening to Miguel's voice.

Clearly, she was one of the waitresses who had been "smitten" by Miguel's handsome looks. But for the passionate Spaniard himself, the fact that she had done that disturbed him to an extent.

This made it more tempting to get away from her, so Miguel walked over to a nearby table to see a family who were already eating a famed dish in Spain: Gambas pil pil. These were prawns cooked into an oily and spicy sauce.

Sucking it up, Miguel tried his best to smile and appear professional.

"Las gambas son sabrosas?" he tried sounding cordial when speaking to this family.

"Si. Ellas estan deliciosas" the father answered with a bright smile.

This made Miguel raise his thumb at him. "Glad to know, señor" he responded.

"Perdon, caballero" the voice came from a girl, who appeared to be quite young.

The more Miguel looked into her eyes, the more she reminded him of someone dear to him. Someone who no longer walked on this world.

"Yo quiero una Coca-Cola por favor" the little girl told him.

Rather than sneer at her, Miguel handled her request rather well. He even found himself smiling weakly at this little girl. This was unusual, seeing as how very anti-social he usually was.

"Si. Un momento" he stammered and actually walked over to the bar and got a small bottle of Coke for the little girl.

When giving her the bottle, the young girl smiled brightly at Miguel, something which made even him feel unsure of how to respond.

"Gracias" she thanked him.

Although he was dazed out for a few seconds, Miguel eventually opened his mouth to respond. "De nada" he mustered enough courage to say.

With that said, Miguel immediately disappeared from the main hall. In fact, he found himself leaning against the narrow hallway which led to the bathroom. The muscular waiter rubbed his face with both hands. Why was he doing that?

"Coño! What the hell just happened? Why did I feel like such a wimp out there just now!?" there was so much confusion within him.

But in time, Miguel started to realize something. That little girl out there, reminded him of his late sister. Even though she was gone, Miguel never forgot the close relationship they had as siblings. From childhood, she was the only one in their family to view him with empathy, in stark contrast with his conservative family.

Ever since the terrible day, when his sister had died during her wedding day by a Tekken Force attack, Miguel had slowly started to show a softer side towards girls, as well as women. True, he had gotten aggressive with a lot of them in the past, but Miguel had sought to tone down his usual abrasiveness. He had learned a lot about during the recent King of Iron Fist Tournament, including how to not succumb to the temptation of rage.

"It's gonna be a long time for me to get over it. That's for sure" the Spaniard admitted.

"Oye! Miguel" the voice came from his left.

When Miguel looked to that direction, he spotted Eduardo, the restaurant's owner, standing there with his arms rested on his hips. From what Miguel could tell, he seemed pretty laidback, even smiling at him.

"What you did for that little niña…good job out there" he surprisingly complimented his effort.

That as a rarity for Miguel, seeing as Eduardo had always lambasted him for not being professional enough. Still, he appreciated his boss' praise.

"It was nothing. I was only doing my job. Times are hard, you know" Miguel tried to come up with an explanation.

Still, that didn't seem to change the expression on Eduardo's face. He still seemed impressed with him. "Lo que digas" he replied in a laidback manner. "Now get your ass back. We still got thousands of mouths to serve and feed" Eduardo then encouraged him.

Miguel was about to follow his boss, only for something to shake the entire restaurant. It was an explosion, yet it was loud enough to make such commotion inside the hall.

All the waiters and customers cried as they fell down to the floor, dropping whatever they held onto, whether it was glasses, knives or forks. Even some of the lights had shut off.

Eduardo, who had also fell on his behind quickly got back up on his feet. He was furious with whatever had happened.

"Que demonios!? What just happened!?" he practically roared at his fellow employees.

"No idea! Don't blame it on us!" one of the waitresses called out.

On the other hand, Miguel seemed to have a strong clue on what it was. And the very thought of it made him very uncomfortable.

"No…..please don't tell me it's happening!" he immediately got up to the second floor of the restaurant.

Eduardo and the others took notice of him and did the same thing. They walked out to the balcony, where nobody was sitting. But what they did spot shocked them.

Although the sun was still going down, there was still enough light to see what was far below in the sea. Because right before the city of Marbella, an armada of G Corporation ships were currently docked in the water. Not only were they targeting the city itself. With their long-ranged missiles, they could hit any other nearby town or villages along the coastline, as well as those living places high above the coast. That included Ojén.

"Mierda….it really is true…that Mishima-bastardo really has declared war upon everyone" Miguel stammered.

And just when things couldn't have gotten more terrifying, five jet fighters were seen flying high in the air. They flew at an incredible speed, yet none of them seemed to be targeting Ojén. In fact, they flew above it and proceeded towards the Andalusian inland.

Even so, the waiters and the waitresses screamed in terror, each of them getting inside the restaurant. Eduardo was quick to guide them.

"Get inside! Hurry! Before more of those flyers come back!" the restaurant owner was desperate, yet he saw Miguel still standing in the balcony. "Miguel! Qué estás haciendo!? No es seguro aquí!" Eduardo was furious with his hotheaded employees.

Surprisingly, Miguel seemed all nonchalant about this danger. "Y que?" he replied as if it didn't bother him.

Eduardo got only more agitated by the minute. "We have to get out of Ojén! Find someplace safe!" he pointed out.

This made Miguel furious, so he even turned around and looked directly into his boss' eyes.

"There is no someplace safe! Don't you realize!? All of España will be consumed by war, not just Andalucía!" his anger was on full display.

Despite hearing those words, Eduardo remained unfazed. He even turned around to get inside.

"Miguel! Estás despedido! Get out of this place before…." Eduardo couldn't continue with his words, due to something happening.

To the Spaniards' shock, a missile had just hit close to the village. It had landed at a football track just above the village. A large pillar of flames and smoke arose as a result.

Understandably, this caused a huge panic amongst the villagers of Ojén. Miguel could clearly see that from his current standpoint. In every building, people were screaming while scrambling to gather enough belongings before evacuating. In addition to that, the streets were filled with men, women and children running up north to higher ground, where the local Wildlife Park was.

Miguel, realizing that Ojén was no longer safe, decided to make a run for it as well. He got into the restaurant and ran down to the first floor. When he entered the tiny bedroom where he'd been sleeping in for the last few weeks, Miguel started packing up whatever stuff he could find.

"Great! And just when I'd hoped things would've turned out better! So stupid of me!" Miguel lamented, quickly gathering the few things he had.

Exiting the backdoor of the restaurant, Miguel proceeded to run upwards in these tiny streets. There were still some villagers there as well, yet Miguel paid no heed to them. His survival was most important of all.

"Mierda! I don't know where the hell I'll be going now! But I know for sure that every place in Spain will be getting attacked by the G Corp!" the Spaniard cursed as he ran up to another level of the street.

But what he saw stunned him. It was a white Toyota Pixi minitruck parked there with several people sitting in the trunk. Vehicles like that were common in villages such as Ojén, seeing as they drove through the narrow streets.

Realizing what a quick escape this was, Miguel rushed over to the minitruck, startling the other people as he climbed up to take his seat.

"Perdóname, amigos. But mind if I ride with you for a little while?" he asked them with a slight smirk.

None of the men seemed to take his words seriously, seeing as they were too distraught to even take his joke. Still, it didn't take long before the minitruck sped up, eventually driving out of Ojén. It drove was more jet fighters flew above the village. Fortunately, none of them dropped any bombs. They were obviously headed towards the larger inland cities such as Cordoba and Granada.

Miguel had no plans going to either of those cities. He already knew where he might be safe from any G Corp soldiers attacking him. As he and the other men on the minitruck could hear the sounds of bombs from behind, Miguel realized that it was perhaps time to disappear for a while.


On top of a restaurant called Mirabelle, Rome, Italy

This expensive restaurant in the Italian capital was a place where visitors would often sit by a rooftop garden. From there, they were given a wonderful view of Rome itself, including the imposing St. Peter's Basilica.

As waiters and waitresses ran back and forth to help the customers with their needs, Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort and her trusty butler Sebastian at by a table with two chairs. They were enjoying their meal as the sun was going down.

Lili was having what appeared to be caponata, which was vegetables blended in a sauce, with some bread on the sides. On the other hand, Sebastian was eating brodetto, which had ray, redfish, prawns and mullet swim in a pool of sauce. There was no question that the food here was quite good, which explained the heavy prices.

"What a day! Asking for direction sure takes a toll on you" Lili said before taking her spoon with vegetables in her mouth. "Still, this dinner helps ease off the stress" she then exclaimed.

Sebastian smiled as he looked at his young ward say those words.

"Je suis d'accord avec toi, Madame Lili" he responded, the smile beneath his moustache never disappearing.

With that said, Lili looked to her left, watching the St. Peter's Basilica towering appearance in Rome's cityscape. She noticed the sun as it slowly went down.

"The only "leads" we got was that this Duomo di Sirio was located somewhere behind the Basilica. But there's no giant cathedral standing behind it!" Lili was getting a little frustrated over this.

Sebastian noticed the expression on the young girl's face and grew worried.

"But perhaps this headquarter is not a cathedral as we first thought it was" Sebastian said, causing his young ward to look at him. "Oui, this is a secret order we are speaking of here. And let's not forget about the rumors we heard" he then pointed out.

Lili raised an eyebrow. "About the allegations the Holy See has somehow kept the existence of the Archers of Sirius a secret from the rest of Italy? I find it hard to believe them, honestly" she replied. "Even so, I still believe that there is a link between the Pope and those exorcists" Lili then expressed her feelings.

Sebastian furrowed his grey brows as he listened. "He must have had a very good reason for doing so. We all know the Roman Catholic Church. When it comes to angels and demons, they are among the most ardent believers of such creatures" the butler explained.

"Vraiment? Honestly, for all our history with them, the Rochefort Family has never considered itself religious of any kind" the young girl remarked from what she knew.

"Je comprends, Madame Lili" Sebastian took a sip from his water before continuing. "May I remind you that I am only with you on this trip to assure your needs are met? Ridiculous as this trip sounds, I will see to your sister being returned home" he assured Lili.

Lili tried not to giggle, yet she couldn't help herself. "Once again, you're getting closer to becoming my surrogate father, Sebastian. I don't think you even realize it yourself" she joked.

The man sitting across her made a coughing sound, hinting to changing the subject. In fact, he even held up a newspaper and put it on the table for Lili to see. It was from "la Repubblica" the local newspaper covering events in the Rome, as well as other affairs.

"We should make haste with this search of yours quickly. Because the attack on Europe just got worse" Sebastian said as he pointed his finger on the main headline on the newspaper's front page. "While you were in that store looking for sweets, I took the liberty to buy this at a nearby kiosk" he revealed.

Lili's eyes widened at the headline. She even dropped her spoon.

BREAKING NEWS: G CORPORATION ATTACKS IBERIAN PENINSULA

"Mon Dieu….." she uttered out as she started reading the article written underneath the headline. "Portugal has already fallen…..while Spain is currently being attacked…." Lili continued.

Sebastian nodded his head in agreement. "Indeed. It appears that the G Corporation has launched an attack upon the western side of the Mediterranean. They are already doing that in the east. Which means….Italy….no, Monaco….could soon be next" the old man sounded rather grim when he said that.

Lili looked at her butler's concerned expression. She knew that there was some truth to his words. But even so, the rich girl refused to quit now. They had gone all this way to search for Eliza. To give up now…was something she couldn't afford to do.

"That changes nothing!" Lili said with a brave huff. "As I said before, we're not quitting our search for Eliza, no matter how dire the situation gets" she sounded quite determined to say that.

This made Sebastian chuckle, indicating to Lili that he's expected her response. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Bonne réponse, madame. That was just what I'd hoped to hear from you" he said, even clapping his hands for her.

Lili twitched, irritated at how her butler was teasing her a little. Still, she managed to shrug it off, eventually looking to her right. She spotted the basilica.

"Then you know where our search is next. After we've finished eating, we're off to the Vatican!" she declared before starting eating.

"Comme vous le désirez, Madame Lili" Sebastian told her, still smiling at witnessing the optimism inside that girl.


Inside a cave of worship, somewhere in Thailand

Everything sounded so blurry for the Muay Thai fighter named Fahkhumram. He was sleeping, yet he could feel the light upon his face. As if that wasn't enough, he heard so many voices calling to him.

The way he heard them almost sounded as if he was swimming in water. But it was nothing like that. In time Fahkhumram slowly began opening up his eyes.

While he saw a light, he also saw something else. It was a something so round that it almost covered the round light itself. In time, though, Fahkhumram could see that it belonged to a human being.

It was an elderly baldheaded man with a long beard staring down at him with a smile beneath it.

"S̄wạs̄dī txn chêā" he spoke gently in Thai.

This startled, Fahkhumram a little, and he even rose up a little. However, such movement made him feel pain immediately. He held onto his left shoulder.

"It is unwise to strain your body, young one. Your injuries have not recovered just yet" the elderly man then told him.

This made Fahkhumram realize something. He noticed that certain parts of his body were bandaged. And not only that, he realized that there was more than just the old man inside this cavern.

Behind him, he could see several other men, who appeared to be Buddhist monks. Much like elderly man himself, they wore orange garbs and sandals. They were also baldheaded. This confirmed how they were adherents of the Theravada-school, one of the three main branches of Buddhism itself, as well as the one mostly practiced in Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia.

From what Fahkhumram could tell, these monks were very curious about him. But could he blame them. They had probably never seen any human at his size. But this was also surprising, since most people had usually been fearful of Fahkhumram's enormous size. Quite frankly, curiosity was preferable to being abhorred.

Furthermore, this elderly man appeared to be the teacher of these monks. That was evident based upon his age.

"What happened? What is this place?" Fahkhumram began speaking.

The elderly monk smiled. "Why, this is our place of worship. We come here to pay our respects to Buddha's teachings. It is also here where we can practice our ways in peace and harmony" he answered.

That's when Fahkhumram realized where he was. He had arrived a remote location where not even the average Thai citizen knew about.

"I see…..» the tall man responded, still caught off-guard by this.

"Two of our youngest monks caught sight of you crouching your way into this hall. They came back to inform us about your presence. But by the time we arrived, you were already sound asleep" the teacher revealed. "So we treated your wounds and waited for you to wake up" he went on giving so many details.

Hearing such generosity was more than enough to make Fahkhumram feel ashamed of not being able to thank them earlier. He also felt guilty for not even asking these monks for shelter.

"Then I apologize…..for the inconvenience I brought upon you" he told all the monks inside.

The old teacher continued looking at him. Even now, his smile was never fading away.

"No need for that, youngster. Given your injuries, there was no way we could have thrown you out of here. You desperately needed treatment" he said, only for something to hit on him as he looked at the tattoos across Fahkhumram's body. "I must say, you look very familiar. Where did you come from?" the teacher asked him.

That caused Fahkhumram's eyes to widen. He still remembered how he had managed to escape from the Thai military base, as well as making a run for it through the wilderness. But then came the monsoon and he desperately sought a shelter, only to unknowingly run off a cliff. That caused him to fall right outside the entry to the caverns.

But this was not the only thing he needed to tell them. He needed to be open with them who he really was. But could he trust them? After all, they had let him stay in the cavern while treating his wounds. Therefore, he owed them at least and explanation.

Letting out a deep sigh, Fahkhumram decided to just come clean. He was confident that these monks would never betray him, let alone inform the Thai military about his current whereabout.

"Very well. Then I will tell you my story. From my past to this very day" he was ready to share his own life experience with them.

Fahkhumram's story was long, yet the monks didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, they only grew more curious the longer it went. After sharing with them every detail of his past, all the younger monks quickly ran up to the Muay Thai fighter. Their eyes were filled with so much admiration of him.

"Fahkhumram! I really can't believe it! The greatest Muay Thai fighter is sitting here with us!" one of the boys called out, desperate to climb upon him.

"Please, show us your moves! Like the time you defeated that opponent in Phuket!" another boy was desperate.

Fahkhumram didn't know how to respond to this. He didn't possess enough courage to get these children off him. They were young and he secretly carried a soft spot for such, given that he was a father himself.

The old teacher used his staff to pinch the kids away, with several of the other monks assisting him.

"That is enough! Give the poor man some space! He is still recovering from his wounds!" the teacher rebuked his youngest students.

While childishly protesting at first, the teacher's stern demeanor was more than enough for them to follow his words. They got off Fahkhumram eventually.

This enabled the teacher and the other monks to converse with the Muay Thai fighter, who was now sitting up while leaning against the rocky wall.

"Your story has filled us with so many revelations, Fahkhumram. To think that our country's greatest fighter has been reduced to such injustice and inhuman treatment…..I am at loss for words…" one of the monks couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"That's the Royal Thai Army for you. Curse the king and his incompetent ministers. They have allowed corruption to run rampant without any boundries!" another monk expressed his open hostility to the Thai government.

"You shouldn't say something like that! Any ill word of the king and you will be….." a monk tried to half-heartedly make him stop speaking.

But the outspoken monk was having none of it. "Damn the king! It's because of him that the military has been given free reign to do as they please!" he retorted back.

This earned him a glare from the old teacher. The reason he did that was because of him not tolerating any cusswords in this place. The outspoken monk lowered his head in slight shame.

"Khǎaw-thôot. C̄hạn ca mị̀ thả mạn xīk" he apologized to his master.

With that taken care off, the old man looked at Fahkhumram, his eyes only hinting to sympathy. But at the same time, there was also pity inside them. The Muay Thai fighter wondered whether there was a special reason for him in doing that.

"Fahkhumram, even as I look at you now, I can tell that there is something that is fighting within you. I can only assume that it is your desperation to escape your days in captivity" the old man informed him.

This made Fahkhumram look at his handpalms. For a minute, he believed that he saw blood on them. Yet for a second, it wasn't. He thought he was seeing hallucinations.

"Every day…I spent hours battling humans and beasts alike. I fought them. Defeated them. And went as far…as to kill them" Fahkhumram's hands were shivering uncontrollably. There were even tears from his eyes falling away from them. "As such…..I became nothing but a killing machine. One that would only fight under orders…" the tall man started sobbing.

To see a fearful fighter like Fahkhumram cry didn't result in his young admirers mock or ridicule him. In fact, they felt relieved. Relieved to know that someone so dangerous-looking such as Fahkhumram possessed a great level of humanity. He was not a weapon, but a living human being.

"I just want to go back to my family…" the Muay Thai fighter said with his tears. "But I cannot do that knowing the wrongdoings I have done!" he broke out in tears.

To soothe his pain, the old teacher gently put a hand on his injured shoulder. This made the tall man look at him. For some reason, the way this elderly monk smiled at him was familiar. Yet Fahkhumram couldn't quite understand where it came from. The years spent in captivity had shattered a lot of precious memory.

"Never despair, young one. You are not the only man in this world to have made mistakes. Everyone has, including me" the teacher admitted, even briefly looking down at the stony floor for a second before returning his gaze upon Fahkhumram. "But such is the nature of humans. We learn from them, as they help us make us better" he then went on.

Fahkhumram could not believe it. For some reason, this man reminded him of his former Muay Thai teacher. Yet he was not a fighter. Perhaps there was more to this man than he appeared to be.

"I hate to ask much of you. But I would like to stay with you…until my wounds have healed…" he requested of them.

The old teacher nodded. "Of course. You are welcome here. But I must ask, where will you go once your wounds have healed? Is it to find your family?" he asked him.

When being asked that, Fahkhumram lowered his head. "I don't know. But I don't even know where to begin searching for them" he lamented.

"Then let us help you face your past demons. If you wish to be reunited with your wife and daughter, you must be willing to accept the man you were in the past…and the man you are now" the old teacher told him.

Realizing the truth in his words, Fahkhumram was more than keen on learning more from these monks. Hopefully, they would aid him in coming to terms with his past wrongdoings, as well as begin a path of atonement.


At Bangkok Port, Bangkok, Thailand

This harbor in the Thai capital was usually busy. Located by the Chao Phraya River, it was frequently visited by ships and boats, both domestic and foreign ones. In other words, the harbor was a place filled with both business and activity. The many containers stacked upon each other in many rows and the dockworkers running back and forth only proved that fact right.

But amidst the working scenes, a secret exchange was taking place between two parts. A group of fighters consisting of Armor King, Sergei Dragunov, Feng Wei, Bryan Fury and Kunimitsu had been "hired" by the Kometa-leadership to capture a powerful weapon for them. This "weapon" was the infamous Muay Thai fighter called Fahkhumram, who had been held captive at a Thai military base outside Bangkok.

As of now, the group of fighters itself were standing in the middle between rows of containers. There was not a single dockworker in sight, seeing as this was further away from them. They stood by what appeared to be a large capsule, which had been carried to this place thanks to Armor King and Feng.

"Where are those fools? We have been waiting for them nearly an hour now" Feng wondered while growing slightly impatient.

"They specifically requested this location in the port for the exchange, so they shouldn't be far away" Kunimitsu responded.

Bryan snorted. "Tch, ain't nothing good coming out from this" he lamented, only for his frown to change into a devious grin. "Although…...I do look forward to what comes after" he admitted.

Armor King shook his head. "Save your bloodlust for later, cyborg. You are not the only ones who have other plans here" the luchador pointed out, yet Bryan was already blanking him out.

Dragunov looked at the tall capsule, wanting to make sure it was hard enough to withstand anything. On the inside, he was somewhat amused, seeing as how he and the other fighters had planned on doing something with regards to this exchange.

In just a short minute, the group of fighters looked ahead to spot a group coming towards them. While they were being flanked by several bodyguards, there was no mistaking that the four people they guarded were the Kometa-executives. First it was Enrique Ortega, Bryce Adams and Shin Kamiya. And finally in the middle was the infamous leader herself: Lana Lai.

The moment she spotted the fighters with the tall capsule, Lana smirked. She had opted for something different to wear rather than her traditional Chinese dress. It was a purplish stealth suit with the chest-area darkened with dark purplish color. Her right glove of the suit had long purplish claws.

"Well, well. Looks like they kept their end of the bargain" Lana noted smugly as she and her followers approached them.

Enrique only scoffed at her words. "Whatever. Just make this exchange quick so we can head back to the ship. This stinky-ass harbor nauseates me" the swordsman whined, yet none of his cohorts took notice of him.

With that said, the Kometa-leadership approached the group of fighters. Each side stood silent, facing each other with very eyes. Apart from the background noises of the harbor, there was nothing else said between then.

The silence was broken once Lana spoke up.

"Well met, Bryan Fury, Sergei Dragunov, Feng Wei, Armor King and Kunimitsu. We have been expecting you" Lana said, her different-colored eyes never leaving sight of the fighters.

Feng still had his arms crossed, not having any confidence in this woman by just looking at her.

"You took your time. We were beginning to suspect that you had abandoned our deal" the Kenpo fighter bluntly said.

This made Lana giggle, hinting to how amused she was at Feng's choice of words.

"Come now, sir. There is no way I would do something so cowardly. Especially towards a fellow Chinese" Lana assured him, yet Feng didn't so much as smirk at her. He remained stone-faced. This convinced Lana to change the subject. "I believe you don't know who each of us are. Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Lana Lai, head of Kometa" she held her clawed glove close to herself.

"Me llamo Enrique Ortega" the Cuban man introduced himself. But he suddenly got a look at Armor King, which caused an idea to pop into his head. "Hombre. Eres un gatito grande" he proceeded to ridicule Armor King, specifically his jaguar mask.

The luchador growled, even clenching his fists tightly. A part of him wanted to snap that man like a twig. Yet the usually aggressive man showed some restraint.

"Cuida tu lengua, patán" Armor King responded back in Spanish.

Even so, Enrique didn't seem intimidated. This enabled Bryce to introduce himself.

"You guys seem like a gnarly gang. Can't say I've heard much about each of ya" the Australian gunman noted, grinning cockily as he pointed his thumb at himself. "The name's Bryce Adams. Surely you know about my reputation, right? The one who committed all those nasty crimes in the outback of Australia?" he tried making an impression of himself.

Bryan was not impressed with Bryce's killing streak. "So? What else have you done?" he asked in such a dismissive manner. "If shooting cops is all you have accomplished, then I'm not amused one bit" the cyborg continued ridiculing the gunman.

Bryce didn't appreciate Bryan's words, so he did a hand sign that hinted to masturbation.

"Rack off, wanka!" he hit back at Bryan.

Shin sighed, finding himself irritated by the conduct of his "cohorts". Hoping to ease tensions a little, he decided to tell these fighters who he was.

"And my name is Shin Kamiya. That's all you need to know" Shin said it bluntly, looking away as if he didn't pay attention to them at all.

With that said, Lana believed that the time for the exchange was now. She looked at the large capsule standing by the fighters.

"Alright then. I think it's time to begin the exchange" she said while pointing her finger at the capsule. "That legendary Muay Thai fighter is inside that capsule, correct?" she asked them.

Dragunov nodded her head, even encouraging Feng and Armor King to put the capsule down so that it was in the middle between the groups.

Lana smirked. "Excellent. You have done well. I was right to reach out to each of you" she commended them.

The Kometa-leadership then proceeded towards the capsule, with the group of fighters taking several steps backwards. They did that to prove Lana and her associates that they were keeping their word.

"Crikey! Look at how tall it is!" Bryce exclaimed as he observed the capsule. "Is that Fahkhumram-guy really THAT big?" he then asked.

Enrique smirked. "Sure. I hear his size is about over 200 meters. It had something to do with a lightning strike or whatever…" he pretty much answered Bryce's question.

But even as the executives were gloating about their "prize", the group of fighters did not feel as enthusiastic.

"Hey! What happened to our deal!?" Bryan interrupted them, crossing his arms as he glared at the scheming group. "We brought you that freakish man just as you wanted us to do! You did promise us compensation" the cyborg then pointed out.

"I must agree with what he says" Kunimitsu stepped forward. "Back at the Chureito Pagoda, you promised that Kometa would aid us with whatever we desired. Isn't it time that you showed us your repayment?" the kunoichi questioned them.

For some reason, Lana turned around, her lips showing nothing but a devious smile. Something in her eyes also hinted to the sinisterness living inside this woman.

"You are correct. I did indeed promise you that. And Kometa will be more than happy to assist you….." Lana said, only to show the group a sadistic grin with her teeth. "…by arranging your sooner-than-expected deaths!" she revealed while Bryce snapped his fingers.

Before the group off fighters knew it, there were soldiers standing on containers on each side, aiming their weapons at them. As if that wasn't enough, Kometa's infamous "Rippers" started surrounding the group. These were dead human empowered by cybernetics, as well as possessing all sorts of weapons, from sawblades to flamethrowers.

The fighters, realizing how they were surrounded, got into their fighting positions.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Feng demanded as he glared at the group of executives.

A chuckle so twisted came out of Lana's lips. Judging from the expression on her face, the Chinese woman had zero regrets for what she was about to do.

"Sorry. But now that you fools know so much about Kometa, there's no way that we can let you walk away from it. All information about us, including our identities, must remain exclusive" Lana responded.

Armor King growled at her words. "Perra! You will regret this!" the masked luchador raged, angry about this situation.

"Yeah! You're bunch of goddamned backstabbers!" Bryan spat out, pulling out his handgun.

Bryce was laughing about this, even standing beside Lana while holding his left arm around her. "Now this is getting much for fun. Come on, shelia. Let's send the Rippers at them. I can't wait to see the bloodshed" he encouraged his leader.

Lana shrugged off hold, proceeding to open the capsule. "All in due time, Brycie. But first, let us get a good look of the one man who will aid Kometa with furthering its…" Lana stopped once she froze.

All the other executives were speechless as well, seeing as they saw what was inside the capsule. What they expected to be a tall man was not in there. Instead, it was tall male mannequin, dressed like a scarecrow.

"Bloody hell…" Bryce stammered.

"That's not the Muay Thai fighter" Shin noted.

Anger took hold upon Lana, and she looked up to them in an enraged manner.

"What is the meaning of this!? Where is he!? Where the fuck are you keeping him!?" she demanded some answers.

Now, it was the group of fighters' turn to look smug in face of such deception. All of them, even the usually serious-minded Dragunov and Feng, wore smirks so obvious that they were enough to mock her.

"Unfortunately, Fahkhumram was too strong for us to handle. So we decided to find a replacement" Kunimitsu teased them.

"But hey, surely you can live with having that guy helping you, right? Think of it as a JACK-robot" Bryan joined in on mocking the Kometa-leadership.

This infuriated Lana, really. "BASTARDS! YOU DARE DECIEVE ME!?" she didn't hold back her rage.

"Foolish hypocrite. You should be careful not to run your mouth too much. Otherwise, leaking of precious information could happen" Feng threw a jibe back at her.

This made each of the Kometa-executives widen their eyes in astonishment. There was something about Feng's words that made them wary.

"What do you mean by that?" Shin asked them.

"Are you saying that…." Bryce was starting to get a picture.

Armor King nodded his head. "Yes. One of your followers were so kind enough as to leak intel to foreign agencies, including those from Russia" he answered before looking at the Russian soldier. "It is because of Dragunov's connections that we learned about your plan to backstab us" the luchador then revealed.

"Which made us come up with the plan of fooling you" Kunimitsu giggled as she said that.

Bryce chuckled, starting to the hand gesture which Bryce had done earlier towards the Kometa-group. Still, he specifically did that towards the Australian gunman.

"Just who's the wanker now, huh!? Well, it's certainly not me!" the cyborg threw the jibe at Bryce.

Lana was furious. To be ridiculed and fooled like this…was too much for her to bear. She didn't bother wasting time with more words and was ready to just be finished with these fighters.

"KILL THOSE…." Lana stopped speaking once she and the other executives could hear beeping noises coming from the figure in the capsule.

They all looked at Dragunov, the soldier wearing a devious smirk as he shown to be holding something behind his back.

"One more thing we forgot to mention" Kunimitsu called out to them. "We knew that giving you this fake captive would not be enough. So Dragunov took the initiative and…" she didn't need explaining more.

Without even hesitating, the group of Kometa-leaders scattered, running away as the capsule started beeping louder. For just a few seconds, it exploded, causing a commotion for the nearby soldiers. It all become clear as to why this was happening.

Dragunov had planted some explosives inside the mannequin. He had been waiting for Lana and her cohorts to open the capsule, before detonating it. All of this only brought distress to them.

As for Dragunov and his allies, they began using this confusion to their advantage. They each took their own covers, while at the same time disposing of any enemy soldier daring to come near them.

Bryan was being confronted by one of the Rippers, who had sawblades rather than hands. Despite seeing this, Bryan was grinning.

"Man, I bet those blades of yours are sharp enough" he expressed his amusement with him. "NOW COME AT ME AND GIVE ME A DECENT FIGHT!" his bloodlust was taking hold upon him.

The Ripper than charged at him with his sawblades, yet Bryan was too quick for his attacks. The cyborg proceeded to punch it into his chest, giving the Ripper a deadly blow.

Armor King was also fighting a Ripper, except that this one had a flamethrower. Still, that didn't deter the masked luchador. Roaring like the beast he was, Armor King punched so hard that the Ripper flew in the air.

He then proceeded to grab the Ripper's left foot and slammed it on the asphalt. And finally, Armor King broke its back by kneeing it. This completely rendered the Ripper immobile.

"These twisted things…..they are dead people having cybernetics as their driving force!" the luchador couldn't fathom such depravity. "Kometa really must fall…before they can continue desecrating the dead!" Armor King was determined to stop them.

Meanwhile, Kunimitsu was using the containers for cover, all while assassinating any soldier nearby. The masked woman snapped once she heard a voice to her right.

"I've got you now!" the soldier said as he fired his assault rifle, only for Kunimitsu to vanish from his sight. "Huh!? What the…" it was too late for him, seeing as he got stabbed repeatedly from behind by the kunoichi.

She was just too fast for him, especially with her trusty kudachi.

"This is getting ridiculous. We should get out of the harbor before more reinforcements arrive" Kunimitsu noted, throwing a kunai to her right due to a soldier having spotted her. She scoffed while looking up at one of the containers. "I best head up there to get a good look" she decided and used her skills to vanish from her spot.

Feng was having his hands full with several soldiers trapping him around the corner. But the minute they ran out of ammo, he charged towards them. In addition to taking them out physically, Feng also used the nearby crates and barrels to his advantage.

"Where did those executives go? Is Dragunov chasing them" the Kenpo fighter wondered as he prepared to take out anymore soldiers.

While this battle continued across the harbor, Lana and her cohorts were hiding behind a large container. They were bruised, yet didn't seem that much injured. Both Bryce and Shin were even firing their handguns, yet neither men could get a clear shot of any of those fighters.

"Those cheeky bastards! They've used that explosion to their advantage!" Bryce cursed as he heard the noise of the soldiers crying in agony. "Now more of our men are getting pulverized! And what about the Rippers!? They should be strong enough to take care of them! What gives!?" the gunman grew frustrated.

"Obviously we've underestimated their fighting capabilities! I mean, they are martial artists from the King of Iron Fist Tournaments, so they DO have experience in combat!" Shin responded with a rebuke of Bryce's words.

"Shut it, Kamiya!" Bryce retorted back.

"Enough of this horseshit!" that angry voice came from Lana, the Chinese woman already feeling her pride being hurt. "We're not leaving this harbor! Not until I see those assholes mangled in corpses!" she was determined to see them die.

With that said, she turned to one of her bodyguards standing near them.

"You there! Have you made the call to the Amphitrite!?" she wanted to know from him.

The man bowed his head respectively. "Yes, ma'am. Reinforcements are on their way as we speak. But it will take 5 minutes before they arrive at the harbor" the bodyguard responded.

Lana scowled. "Then they better arrive on time! Otherwise, I will personally see to their execution!" she practically raged at the bodyguard, who remained surprisingly calm in face of it.

"Come on! What's the point of us even continuing this!?" Enrique asked her. "If this keeps up, the Thai military will take notice! And we would do well not to get them involved!" he tried making her see reason.

But it was no use. "To hell with the Thai military! There is no way that I will let some lowly fighters humiliate me and get away with it!" Lana's thirst for getting her hands on them was open for everyone to see.

Enrique knew that there was no use in reasoning with Lana. However, the Cuban man was starting to realize something. He wondered whether his cohorts had done the same thing.

"Damn you, Grant! I should've known you had also started to make your move!" he secretly cursed his British "colleague": Edgar Grant. "I was already having my things in motion, yet YOU had do be a polla and ruin my plan!" he continued.

That's right. It turned out Enrique was not the only one seeking to dethrone Lana. Edgar was that as well. But he had now given information about Lana's plans on whacking the group of fighters, which only caused them to come up with an idea of their own. Now he was sitting ducks at the harbor, all because of Edgar's leaking.

"I better think of something fast!" he was desperate, only to notice Lana standing there being too distraught. That, plus seeing Bryce and Shin being busy with watching over the battlefield.

Seeing as how Lana was already distracted, Enrique thought about something. Now he had the chance of getting rid of Lana. He could smell the throne of Kometa coming closer to him. As such, he unsheathed his sword. He would do it. He would stab Lana and then get rid of the others.

"Hey! Ortega!" he stopped moving as he watched Shin glare at him. "How about lending us a hand here!? These guys are hellbent on killing us all" the Japanese man said.

Enrique was seething with anger, yet did not as much as move towards Lana. He could see that she had finally regained her composure, due to the fact that the helicopters had arrived. That enraged him on the inside.

"Mierda! Just when I was close to killing that puta!" he cursed.

Lana was relieved to see the helicopters. "Finally!" she quickly turned her attention towards her bodyguard. "Tell them to send open fire at those fighters! And make sure that a getaway boat gets here!" she commanded him.

"Right away, ma'am!" the bodyguard responded.

With the helicopters arriving, more soldiers descended upon the harbor by climbing down with ropes. At the same time, there were turret guns in those helicopters.

Things looked more badly for the Bryan, Feng and Armor King, who had managed to regroup.

"Damn! They're using helicopters with turret guns now!" the cyborg cursed.

"More reinforcements are coming as well! It is clear that Lana Lai knows what our game is. That's why she's determined to kill us all" Feng noted grimly.

Armor King growled. "Not if we can put her out of her misery!" he declared, only to notice some noise coming from above.

Bryan and Feng did the same thing. They looked up and Kunimitsu standing there. Once she spotted them, the young woman jumped down to their level.

"I think I see Dragunov over there. He's been fighting off some soldiers for a while" Kunimitsu told them. "Yet for some reason, he hasn't taken cover from the helicopters. I wonder why" she went on.

"It matters not. There's no sense in standing here to hide from our foes. Let us regroup with him" Feng suggested.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement of it, so they moved over, using the containers to avoid getting spotted by the helicopters or the soldiers.

Once they got nearer his standpoint, the other fighters noticed the Russian soldier standing there while the helicopters were dropping off more soldiers. At the same time, it appeared that they hadn't even noticed Dragunov standing below them.

Despite this, Dragunov didn't seem distressed. His eyes kept looking up at the two vehicles.

"Oye! Dragunov" Armor King called out to him, yet he didn't seem responsive at all. "What are you doing!? It is two dangerous to stand out in the open!" the luchador continued.

This made Dragunov finally react, so he looked over his right shoulder to face the group of fighters. His eyes remained as aloof as always, yet there was something else to them.

His cohorts wondered why.

"Didn't you hear us, Rusky! He said that…" Bryan was about to take several steps, until his scanners took notice of something. He briefly looked down before noticing a beeping sound. "SHIT!" he cursed as he immediately ran away.

The other fighters did the same thing, then they realized that a landmine was about to go off. Somehow, it had been placed hidden among the asphalt, yet it took Bryan's scanners to locate them. Even so, the explosion was big and it forced Bryan, Kunimitsu, Feng and Armor King further away from Dragunov.

Once the dust was settled, each of them glared the Russian man. He was completely unfazed at what had just transpired. His reaction told them one thing, and it infuriated them to the fullest.

"What the hell did you just do….." Bryan uttered out, his rage on full display. "YOU PLANTED THAT LANDMINE FOR US, DIDN'T YOU!?" he roared while pulling his handgun out.

The moment he said that, a smirk crept on Dragunov's face. Apparently, the cyborg's assumption turned it out to be true. He had deliberately placed the landmine at that location for the other fighters. The only question was how.

Soon, Kunimitsu was beginning to see what Dragunov had in mind. The very thought of it angered her.

"You traitorous scum! Are you preventing us from going after Kometa because you want to join them? Or is it because….you plan on taking them out on your own!" Kunimitsu was beyond outraged.

Surprisingly, this unleashed a chuckle out of Dragunov's mouth. It was relatively unnoticeable, seeing as how his lips weren't moving at all as he did that.

Dragunov's actions angered everyone, especially Armor King. "Hijo de puta…..YOU DARE TURN BACK ON YOUR PROMISE TO ME!?" the masked man couldn't take it.

As a matter of fact, he was keen on running towards the Russian man and beat him senseless. But something prevented him from doing so. He saw what Dragunov was holding in his right hand.

It appeared to be his detonator. The other fighters wondered what this meant.

"What? Has he planted more landmines around here!?" Feng wondered.

With their attentions fixated upon him, Dragunov started to wave his left had at them in a sarcastic manner. The Russian soldier proceeded to walk away from them, even going underneath the helicopters themselves.

He and the other fighters stood their guard, even as Dragunov pushed on the detonator. They expected something near them to explode, like the containers for example. But that wasn't the case.

While they did hear bombs go off, it was more shocking what it was that Dragunov had planted them on. Looking to their left, they awed at seeing a large container crane falling straight forward. The group backed away further, even as the falling container crane didn't fall upon them.

Still, it managed to destroy the two helicopters, as well as the soldiers they were dropping. In other words, Dragunov, with some great calculation, had managed to create quite the wreckage in the harbor. Yet at the same time, the wreckage itself had created a huge blockade for Dragunov's former allies.

Once the dust was settled, Bryan, Feng, Kunimitsu and Armor King took their time to process this through. They honestly couldn't believe what Dragunov had just done.

"That bastard…" Bryan growled. "HE'S DITCHING US! THAT SON OF A BITCH IS DITCHING US!" he yelled out.

"What is even more shocking….is how he was able predict where this crane would fall….." Feng noted from what he observed.

"Even so….." Armor King could not contain his anger. "I will chase after that bastardo and make sure his spine is…." Armor King stopped once he and the others could hear something coming from behind.

There appeared to be soldiers, but these were not of Kometa. They emblem on their uniforms only hinted to the fact that they were of the Thai military. The minute they spotted the gang of fighters, they quickly went for them.

"Soldiers of the Thai army!" Kunimitsu noted.

"Damn! All noise must have caught their attention!" Feng quickly headed to the left.

As such, the group dispersed, each fighter running into different directions. With Dragunov abandoning them, and the Kometa-leadership likely having gotten away, there was no point in them being in the harbor anymore. That's why they needed to get out as soon as possible.

But while they were doing that, Dragunov had taken cover, hiding inside one of the many containers. With his quick reflexes, he had avoided getting spotted by the Kometa-soldiers. The commotion with the container crane had helped him pull that off, so it was no surprise that he succeeded in doing this without getting spotted.

Right now, he looked down at a dead soldier's corpse which he had dragged inside the container.

It all came down boggling him. The other fighters would only get in his way of dismantling Kometa and its operations. This was after all a mission for his motherland. That's why Dragunov had decided to cut them off, leaving him to pursue his mission on his own.

But weren't his actions quite cynical? He had just betrayed his cohorts and thrown away his promise to help them with whatever things they needed. The more he thought about it, the more Dragunov started disregarding any concern or remorse.

This was nothing but a loose alliance of fighters, used by Komta to do their dirty work. In Dragunov's mind, there was no need to continue having them around. His loyalty was to the motherland, after all. On the other hand, his mission was too complicated for him to have those fighters tagging along.

With that thought through, Dragunov began putting on the uniform belonging to the dead soldier. It consisted of armor, as well as a helmet.

His next plan was simple. By wearing this uniform and walking towards the Kometa-leadership, Dragunov would not be suspected and would be taken to their ship. Once he got onboard, he would then start gathering more intel about Kometa, as well as figuring out a plan on eliminating Lana Lai.

Once his entire outfit was on place, Dragunov carefully got out of the container. He paid attention to his surroundings, wanting to make sure that the cost was clear. Slowly, he walked by the containers, trying not to look conspicuous.

"You there! Stop!" this voice made Dragunov cease his movements. He slowly turned around to see another soldier standing there with a weapon. "Didn't you hear the orders? We are to depart this harbor immediately! Follow me!" he then commanded him.

Knowing that playing along was the best thing he could, Dragunov did as the soldier requested and followed him. He soon took notice of more soldiers of Kometa walking with them. The disguise was working great so far. Hopefully, Kometa's leaders would not suspect anything.

In time, Dragunov and the other soldiers arrived at the other edge of the harbor, where several boats were now docked in the Chao Phraya River. The Russian man could tell what this meant. Kometa was now retreading, and they planned on getting back to their ship.

This pleased Dragunov to the fullest

"Damn those upstarts! They think they can humiliate me like this!?" the angry voice came from Lana. "Creating a wreckage that manages to take down two of our helicopters as well!? This is unheard!" she went on expressing her frustrations.

Although none could see it, Dragunov was smirking beneath his helmet. He was satisfied with how his bombings had managed to create a ruckus.

Lana continued engaging in this conversation with her subordinates. So far, things were not looking good between them.

"Look, I know that those wankers have made a mockery out of us all. But we can't stay at this harbor any longer. The Thai military have already started investigating. There's no point for us to waste time battling them" Bryce tried to make Lana see reason.

"The gringo's right. It's best for us to get back at the Amphitrite" Enrique spoke in favor of Bryce, despite the insult. "And let's not forget about what they said earlier, before we were about to whack them. They claimed that someone from Kometa informed them about our plans" the Cuba man went on.

This made Lana process this through, even closing her eyes. "Yes, you are correct. It appears that there are traitors in our midst. And they appear closer to us than we might even realize" the Chinese woman remarked, only to open her eyes. "Ortega. Kamiya. Stay here and make sure that every soldier is gathered onboard the boats! Brycie, you're with me!" she commanded her executives.

"With pleasure, love!" Bryce eagerly replied with a salute, much to the cringe of Enrique and Shin.

In time, most of the soldiers got onboard the boats below and drove on the river and through the city itself. Surprisingly, there was not a single blockade for the boats as they drove through.

It didn't take long before they got out of Bangkok and into the Gulf of Thailand. And further away from the city itself stood the Amphitrite, docked in the middle of the ocean like an imposing rock.

Sitting on one of these boats, Dragunov mused to himself. He had managed to get a free ticket to Kometa's base of operations. Even so, he knew that he would have to come up with a new way of gaining information while onboard the Amphitrite.

Needless to say, he would find a way to get rid of Kometa, no matter how hard it seemed.

To be continued…