Chapter Seventeen

Mishima Zaibatsu Headquarters

Through his computer inside his personal office, Jin Kazama oversaw the results of day one of the tournament's first set of matches. Although the day wasn't quite done, he was curious to see who was able to move on to round two. Some of the names, he noticed, were recognizable from his days as a chosen one.

"As expected..." he mumbled to himself. He wouldn't be surprised if all of the chosen ones were here for a noble, common cause. He also wouldn't be surprised if most of them were here to stop him.

Jin's thoughts were disrupted when a buzzing sound was heard on the intercom at his desk. He looked over at it before he pressed the 'on' button, which made the buzzing sound stop. "Hanasu."

"Sir, this is the General," someone spoke through it. "If I may, I'd like to speak to you in person."

"Is it urgent?" Jin asked in a bored manner.

"Not quite, sir, but it is something that I believe to be of importance. It concerns the tournament."

With a sigh, Jin made a decision. "Come in."

Within seconds, the doors that faced his desk opened and a lone Tekken Force soldier walked into the room. While the sun beamed through the large windows on Jin's right, the soldier's shadow casted along the left wall as he approached his boss. Jin once counted how long it took for someone to get from door to desk at the average walking pace - twenty-five seconds, he remembered.

Once he was few feet away, the soldier stopped in his tracks, gave Jin a quick salute, then proceeded to speak. "My soldiers overseeing the tournament on the island just reported that there were members of G-Corporation on the island, all tournament participants. You've never discussed what you've wanted us to do if they showed up here. How would you like us to proceed?"

Jin figured that would happen. Despite being the ones to post the bounty that was on his head, it didn't surprise him at all that they would fight to keep their own prize. It was just like him to do that.

He did wonder if Kazuya himself was a tournament participant. As he typed his 'father's' name on the computer, he responded to the Tekken Force General. "Leave them be... for now. However, I highly suggest that you and the others keep a close eye on them, even those who are only deemed susceptible. The important thing is this... do not let them, under any circumstances, breach the security we've set up on the island. If that happens... kill them on sight."

The General nodded in agreement. "Understood."

Jin pressed the enter button on his computer and waited for the results. "You're dismissed," he concluded. He didn't pay attention as the soldier saluted him once more before he turned on his heel to leave the office.

When the door to the office clicked closed, the computer came back with one result; NAME NOT IN REGISTRY.

"Hmm," Jin hummed. Either he's very confident in his minions, or he's biding his own time... He had a feeling that he knew the real answer, but considering how early this event was in thagt moment, he decided to put the thought in the back of his mind for the time being.

All he wondered at this point was why G-Corp was in the tournament to begin with. Was it over the two things he suspected? Winning back their own bounty or breaching security on the island? Or was it the idea of Kazuya's new partner in crime, Quan Chi?

And if Kazuya wasn't at this tournament, then where was he? Jin almost expected his father to show up as a participant, but chose not to for whatever reason. Whatever the case, how close was he to the island? Like the Mishima Zaibatsu, G-Corp also had multiple corporate locations around the world, Japan included. It was just a matter of which one Kazuya was hiding in right now.

Whatever the circumstances, Jin couldn't help but smirk over the thought of G-Corp's presence on the island. Whatever their goals were, their presence definitely had the potential to create even more chaos on the world through his war...

After all, creating chaos in this world was all part of the plan...

"I want to kill someone... right now!" Tira demanded to no one in particular.

After hearing this, Kabal couldn't help but roll his eyes underneath his mask. "Wasn't beating the tar out of someone in the tournament not enough to get your aggression out?"

"Mmm maybe," Tira grumbled. She rubbed the back of her head, which was still sore from her match earlier in the day. "Then again, Juri did most of the work..."

The mention of Juri perked up Havik a bit while he eased his own boredom by dislocating his fingers and putting the joints back together again. With most of day being over and no other assignments given, the three of them decided to hang out in one of the lounge rooms in the Mishima Zaibatsu's headquarters. It was nicely decorated with black leather seats and couches, a mini bar, a large fireplace big enough to fit an Outworld warthog - or an Earthrealm lion - and fancy paintings that decorated the stoned walls. Even the beige-colored wooden floor looked freshly polished. It was indeed one of the coziest rooms in the building.

Actually, it was too cozy for Havik's own taste. He debated whether or not to tear the place apart, put in green light bulbs in the overhead lights, and make it look like he was back in Chaosrealm again. If he was lucky, he could probably sneak in a couple of coffins that were stored in the basement to add more 'décor' to the room... maybe even fill one with a body.

"I admit, I like that girl," Havik brought up about Juri. "She's got quite the taste for blood."

Kabal sighed. "It's not literal, Havik."

"Whatever," Havik replied. "All I know right now is that all this chaos from this war we've been witnessing is quite marvelous! It's inspired me to cook up a plan of our own once all the fun and games are over."

"What kind of plan?" Tira asked curiously.

"He doesn't have one..." Kabal reminded the girl.

Tira rolled her eyes. "...Oh... yeah..."

"For now at least," Havik admitted. "But when I go come up with an idea, it'll be about only the three of us. But simply put, the main thing is that the Black Dragon will definitely help Earthrealm create total anarchy through this war. That, right now, is what we plan to aim for."

Unexpectedly, they heard a new voice cut into the conversation, which nearly took the three by surprise since none of them ever heard the door to the room open. "Unless I decide to take back the Black Dragon first!"

Kabal instantly knew who that familiar voice belonged to... there was no mistaking that Australian accent. Quickly standing up from the couch, Kabal whirled around and, sure enough, was face to face with Kano, his old boss back in the old Black Dragon days. He was also someone Kabal never liked very much and was one of the reasons why he left the clan two years before the first Outworld invasion. Accompanying Kano was a blonde-haired man Kabal didn't recognize. But he found it strange that the man also possessed a breathing mask not too different from his own, only this one covered the lower half of his face.

"Long time no see, Kabal," Kano greeted the hooksword wielder. He spread his arms out as though he was ready to hug his old friend. "How ya been?"

"You..." Kabal growled as he pointed at the mercenary. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Kano nearly rolled his only eye at that. "You oughta know me better than that by now, mate. Besides, I was never dead. I was in San Quentin for a couple of years."

"Let me guess..." Kabal started almost sarcastically. "Jin let you out."

"Actually believe it or not, Kazama invited my friend Dark and I..." Kano briefly pointed at the blonde-haired man next to him. "...To his little war party. But if you really wanna know the whole story, the Universal War was what helped up escape prison."

"However you got out," Kabal began. "I know only one thing... I'm not about to let you take back the Black Dragon without a fight!"

Kano laughed darkly in response. "Yeah, we'll see about that. I'd like to see you try to stop me from taking back what's rightfully mine!"

Before Kabal reacted to that, another new voice cut in. "Instead of fighting, you'd be wise to join forces temporarily... especially considering the involvement of the Red Dragon in this conflict."

The five already in the room turned to see Sheeva as she approached the group. Also with her were Mileena, Baraka, and Reptile. Sheeva's red eyes glared at them, especially to Kabal and Kano. She didn't have to say what was on her mind... they were indeed being foolish at a time like this.

"This is starting to become quite a party, I say!" Havik called out to no one in particular. Next to him, Tira gazed at the group, her purple eyes filled with hope that some kind of carnage would take place soon enough. It would definitely be one way for her to satisfy her lust for murder... at least for the day.

"Huh..." Kano uttered after the Red Dragon were mentioned. "No one bothered to tell me that those scum were close by."

"They've allied with G-Corp along with Quan Chi and the new Outworld Forcessss," Reptile explained.

"Doesn't surprise me," Kano grumbled with a shake of his head. He walked over to the mini bar in the room and began to rummage through the bottles to see what's the best stuff in stock. "A while back, before I was sent to San Quentin, they had me imprisoned on one of their bases. Only reason I escaped was because some military force attacked it for whatever reason. Thought it was Sonya Blade and her precious Special Forces at first, but the insignias were different. Course, whoever they were, they likely didn't even know I was there since I took the opportunity to escape before they realized it. Don't think that group ever did find out. Still, Mavado and his men left some nasty scars on me during my 'stay.'"

Mileena shook her head. "Even after all these years, you still talk too much."

"Can't help it, love. I just got a lot of good stories to tell." By then, Kano found a bottle of Uerige Sticke and managed to unhinge the cap off with his teeth before he spat it across the room. "Why 'er you all here, anyway?" he said while he stared at the four from Outworld.

"We're rebelling against Quan Chi and his followers," Baraka explained. "They joined with the Mishima Zaibatsu's enemies, G-Corp. In case you haven't heard, Quan Chi took the Outworld throne after Shao Kahn's demise."

"Heh, I heard that rumor... guess it's true after all. Can't say I blame you. Quan Chi's even less trustworthy than I am."

"You can say that again," Kabal balked. "But despite how I feel about this, I'm willing to agree to a temporary alliance with you since we're both going to be working under Kazama for a while anyway. But don't think for a second that this will be your chance to take back the Black Dragon for yourself."

Kano took a quick swig of his beer before he said, "Yeah... you and I both know better."

That only caused Kabal to grumble under his breath in annoyance.

"The only thing we'll be doing right now is keep an eye on things," Noob Saibot addressed to his Brotherhood of Shadow followers. "Any worthy reports will be reported back to Quan Chi."

"We'll do," one shadow member responded.

The clan leader then looked at the two women who stood in front – Kia and Jataaka. "I want you two to spy on the island for any new developments and report back to me. Especially if you happen to find that brother of mine."

"Yes, master," answered Kia.

"As you wish," Jataaka replied.

Noob Saibot said no more and that was the clan's cue to make their departure from the empty room they met in. Only Noob Saibot remained, and he was about to teleport away when he felt a presence behind his back. He narrowed his glowing pale eyes... he knew it was a bad idea to meet in a room that had windows.

Even worse... he recognized the presence before he even bothered to turn to see who it was.

"I heard the Tekunin allied with the Zaibatsu recently," Noob Saibot stated aloud. "I didn't think their leader would participate in this folly."

"Clearly your alertness is still intact," the voice of Sektor spoke as he walked forward to stand next to his former ally. "Even better than in your human days if I say so myself."

Noob Saibot folded his arms in front of his chest. At this point, neither one of them bothered to turn their heads to acknowledge the other. "I figured the Universal War wouldn't kill you. Where have you been?"

"Biding my time," Sektor replied as he also folded his arms in front of his chest. "Seems like you're doing well for yourself. To think at one point that you relied so much on nano-technology so you can create an army of demon cyborgs. Which reminds me..." Now Sektor turned his head to glare at the wraith. "Your little pet told me an interesting secret of yours two years ago... something about reprogramming me after our cyborg-demon project was complete."

"And you believed Smoke after Sub-Zero freed him from my grasp?" Noob Saibot asked in annoyance. Sure, that was exactly what the wraith planned to do, but he was not about to admit the truth to the red cyborg, especially since he no longer had any interest in reprogramming him anymore. He had his own powerful army under his command these days. If he really wanted Sektor to work under him, they would've found themselves in combat right now instead of talking.

"You and I both know from our Lin Kuei days that Smoke has... grudge problems," the wraith continued. "I enslaved him when I found him in Outworld. It's only natural that he would pit us against each other."

"Maybe," Sektor said, unsure whether to believe the demon or not at this point as Noob Saibot's statement did make sense.

Suddenly, Noob Saibot let out a low, dark laugh as a thought came to him. This only irritated Sektor. "What's so funny?"

"With the both of us working under the Mishima Zaibatsu right now... I wonder if Kazama realizes that he has a very powerful weapon under his command... when the two of us work together."

It took Sektor a moment to realize what the demon was talking about. "The fusion power..."

Noob Saibot nodded. The two of them had found a way, using Tekunin tech, to fuse together into one powerful being in which they commanded at anytime. "Perhaps it might not be such a bad idea to take advantage of it... when the right time comes. We only tested it out a couple of times in Outworld and proved how powerful we are. It may be... beneficial later down the road."

"Perhaps," Sektor agreed. "Speaking of the Mishima Zaibatsu... the Tekunin are only working with them for our own gain. Why are you and the Brotherhood here?"

Noob Saibot chose that time to turn his head to face the red cyborg. "Biding our time..."

Monte Carlo, Monaco

The match had just started and Juni quickly found herself on defense. She did all she could to duck and dodge away from the multiple punches and kicks that came from her male opponent – a military soldier named E.G. The shaved-headed man - who wore dark-green, all-camo long sleeved shirt and pants, black combat boots, a black scarf tied over the lower half of his face, and a red beret - was much taller and muscular than Juni was. However, the most prominent feature on him was the utility belt-suspender combo made of steel, painted black, and contained spikes. Juni could only wonder if the belt served a practical purpose, but she imagined that she would find out soon enough.

The day was bright and clear around them, and the smell of the sea was heavy in the air. The roof on top of a six-story building overlooked the city of Monte Carlo was reserved for the current match between Juni and Juli and their opponents, E.G. and Rinka. Rinka was dressed the same as E.G. was, only she wore a black beret and her navy blue hair was tied back into a single ponytail. She also didn't wear a utility belt like her teammate was. She and Juli were waiting on opposite sides of the roof while their respective partners volunteered to fight first. As with all matches, a pair of drones monitored the event.

Soon enough, a kick to her side forced Juni to stumble to her right, which left some space between her and E.G. He was about to close in again, but Juni swiftly moved before he reached her. After crouching down, she attempted a sweep kick, but E.G. jumped over it. But as he came back down, Juni outstretched her leg and her heel landed under his chin, which snapped his head back and sent him back a bit before he landed on his side.

From there, Juni flipped back onto her feet just as E.G. got back up. Immediately, Juni jumped forward and performed a flying kick, but her opponent was able to see the move in time and jumped away before he got hit. With a growl, Juni turned after landing and attempted a back-handed punch, but E.G. promptly blocked it before he tried to knee her in the stomach. Juni used her free hand to push his leg away from her before she tried to deliver a punch, which he blocked.

They went back and forth like this for a moment before E.G. managed to shove her arms back before he landed a double punch hard enough to send her flying away. Juni yelled out as she flew back until she hit her back against the low wall... thankfully there to protect her from falling off the building's roof.

"Juni!" Juli yelled not too far from her. She ran over to where her partner fell. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Juni managed to say in between ragged breaths. She then raised a hand up. "Though I'd... appreciate it... if you tagged... yourself in."

"Of course," Juli agreed before she raised her own hand. With that, Juni tapped Juli's palm before the latter straightened herself up before she faced E.G. Then she began to run towards him.

Juli didn't miss how E.G. reached for his utility belt and tugged his fingers on a pair of hidden strings, one on either side of his hips. Then when Juli was halfway within reach, he quickly pulled on the strings, which unleashed the spikes from the suspenders portion of his gear. The small blades flew towards his opponent, who's brown eyes widened at the sight.

"Whoa!" Juli yelled out in surprise. It took a brief moment for her to collect her thoughts and think of a way to evade the move before the spikes hit her. She chose then to jump over them. After flipping herself into a somersault in mid-air, the spikes end up whizzing by before they fell and scattered around the rooftop.

Upon falling back down, Juli attempted to perform an axe kick, but E.G. pulled back. Once she landed on the rooftop again, Juli immediately closed the space between them and attempted to deliver some blows with her fists. However to her frustration, E.G. was able to block them with ease, at least for a few more moments.

Juli was finally able to break through his defense by pushing one arm away after he blocked one of her punches. She connected a hand strike on his sternum and followed with another with her other hand. The force knocked him back a foot. Juli then followed by pivoting on one leg before she struck him with a backward diagonal kick underneath his chin, which snapped his head back.

Before E.G. got his footing back, Juli covered the distance between them and crouched low. After placing both hands on the ground, Juli swiftly got herself into a handstand before she pushed herself off and spun with both feet together. Going upward, her feet caught E.G. in the chest and sent him upward along with her. Along the way, she hit him numerous times.

After flipping back, Juli landed safely on both feet. Ten feet from her, E.G. landed hard on his side. She expected her opponent to get back up soon after. Eventually though, a drone that monitored the event hoovered over him to check on his status. Juli simply waited and thought that maybe he was just stunned for the moment.

"Knockout detected," the drone soon announced. That surprised Juli, but nevertheless... one down, one to go.

"My turn!" E.G.'s opponent, Rinka, yelled out as she began to run towards Juli.

"Juli!" Juni called out from the sideline. "Tag me in! I'm all right now!"

"We'll see about that!" Rinka shouted while she ran towards Juli. Her right hand suddenly glowed green and Rinka threw her arm forward in a down-up motion. Mid-way through, she unleashed a glowing, plasma-like projectile and directed towards her opponent. Luckily, Juli had time to get out of the way before the plasma hit her and it instead flew over the rooftop before it dissipated in mid-air.

From there, Juli flipped back a couple of times until she was close to where Juni stood. Nearly at the same time, they both reached out their hands to each other before their palms touched, which signaled that Juli was tagging Juni in.

"Good luck," Juli said to her partner.

With that, Juni took two steps forward when she noticed Rinka about to throw another projectile at her. Juni then decided to try out a new trick thanks to the gadget she was wearing around her left wrist, one provided by MI-6. After quickly pressing a button on the gadget, it gave Juni's opponent the illusion that she teleported away when in actuality, she simple ran off in full speed. Juni was able to get herself behind Rinka, who stood in confusion after her opponent 'disappeared.' Now 'reappearing' behind her, Juni took the opportunity to perform a flip kick, and her foot managed hit Rinka's back and it pushed her forward and away.

Rinka turned around by the time Juni was back on her feet. The two women covered the space between then and began to throw various punches and kicks at each other in hopes of dominating the other. Eventually, it was Rinka who was able to land a hand chop to Juni's collarbone. The force of it made Juni take a couple of steps back. However, that gave enough room for Juni to jump up and forward just as Rinka darted in her direction. After getting onto Rinka's shoulder, Juni grabbed hold of her neck with both legs before she flipped back. Mid-way through the flip, she let Rinka go and the blue-haired woman was sent flying across the rooftop until she landed with a thud just inches from the rooftop's edge.

Back on her feet, Juni stood in a defensive position and waited until Rinka was ready again. The blue-haired woman took a little time to do so and once she was up again, she gave Juni a look of disdain.

"If I didn't know better," Rinka called out bitterly. "I'd say you were trying to kill me."

That statement made Juni frowned as it only served to remind her of her and Juli's past. "Maybe if this was five years ago, that would've been the case. But not anymore. Rules or no rules, and unless my own life is threatened, never again will I take a life of another."

Juni didn't miss how Rinka regarded her with confusion as though she was trying to comprehend her words. However, that didn't last long before Rinka let out a yell and unleashed two green plasma-like projectiles towards Juni, one from each hand and following the other. Juni was able to dive away from the first, but the second was able to smash into her side, which sent her hurling away before she landed hard on her back, the wind knocked out of her.

Rinka attempted to take this opportunity and ran towards where Juni fell. However, she was just five feet away when Juni was finally up again and waited. Rinka attempted a right hook with a yell, but Juni backed away from the hit, which left Rinka wide open.

Juni took the chance and from there, she landed a few kicks to Rinka's mid-section before one last high kick hit under Rinka's chin. The kick sent Rinka up into the air before she fell back down onto the rooftop they fought on.

When Rinka landed on her right side moments later, a loud crunch! was heard. Juni had a feeling over what just happened and couldn't help but both feel bad and wince out of sympathy for her opponent.

"Argh! Dammit!" Rinka screamed as she clutched her right arm with her good hand. She grazed her hand over her arm before glaring at Juni with malice. "You bitch, you broke my arm!"

Juni wasn't sure what to say to that, but it wasn't like Rinka was going to give her the chance anyway. The blue-haired woman yelled through clenched teeth, "Fuck it! Not with my partner out cold and me with an injury. You hear me?! I concede!"

"Concede announced," a drone nearby spoke up. "Juli and Juni win the match!"

After that announcement, Juli began to walk towards where Rinka fell. "Juni, makes sure E.G.'s injuries aren't critical. I'll check on Rinka and join you in a minute."

After hearing that, Rinka growled at them as she clutched her shoulder with her good arm. "I don't need your help!" she seethed.

Juli shook her head as she kneeled down next to her. "First of all, it's going to take about five to ten minutes before those drones transport us back to the island. Even five minutes seems like forever for someone who's in a lot of pain like you are right now. In the meantime, I'm a nurse-in-training and I can help you until then..."

With a frown, Rinka seemed to think about what Juli said to her. Finally, she sighed almost in defeat. "Fine... I guess I should be grateful for your offer, even though the whole 'nurse-in-training' part doesn't exactly comfort me..."

"Well if it helps, my father was a doctor so I've had plenty of learning experience," Juli mentioned with a little smile just as she started to examine Rinka's arm. "Now then... at least no bone is poking out of your skin..."

From there, Juli checked over for injuries while she and the others waited for transport back to the island...

Mishima Island Forest

While the tournament took place, Zafina decided to head back to the area where she and the chosen ones had their first two group meetings. Considering how it was the Mishima Zaibatsu who owned this island, there were some concerns about potential security breaches, mainly in the form of subtle spy equipment the corporation may have unleashed. The last thing the group needed was for the Zaibatsu to be suspicious of them.

In the island's forest, it was easy to spot any of that... all they had to look for was anything that seemed out of place. While she walked through the picnic area, Zafina didn't see anything amiss in her viewpoint, though she believed it may be a good idea to get a second set of eyes to see if she missed anything, perhaps maybe from one of the three cyborgs from their group... or all three for that matter. After that, the only other thing to worry about were spy drones.

They probably have better places to send their drones anyway aside from being the eyes of the tournament, Zafina concluded. Still, she decided to explore a little more and headed uphill towards the highest peak on the island, which wasn't too far from the meeting point.

Once she reached the peak, Zafina noted that the area was still surrounded by trees, but the flattened field at the actual peak was beautiful in itself. The growing grass matched the color of the forest and there were wildflowers in various colors in bloom scattered everywhere. And right in the middle of it all were a couple of stone steps that led up to the two pillar structure painted red and black. Zafina almost forgot what the structure was called at first, but it soon hit her – a torii. It was supposed to serve as a 'gate' to a Shinto shrine, though she didn't see one nearby.

Zafina couldn't help but be in awe at the sight. She was once again reminded of the beauty of the world and that there was more to it than just a desert.

Her admiration of nature suddenly halted, however, the second she noticed that someone was kneeling in meditation underneath the torii. Their back was turned to her and the only other thing she noticed was their short dark hair and their red-orange gi.

Not wanting to disturb them, Zafina attempted to step back with the intention of heading back to the hotel and report back to Liu Kang. As she took that one step, she hadn't realized that she was in the path of a twig. Upon stepping on it, the twig snapped in half and created a loud enough noise that she swore reached Egypt.

Zafina stood still, and it was a good thing too as the person underneath the torii suddenly stood up and whirled around to face her as though he expected to be attacked from behind. The young woman gave the man a curious look as she did not want him to see how startled she was by his sudden movement.

It took another moment for Zafina to finally say, "I'm sorry to disturb you. I'll take my leave."

As she spoke, the young woman noticed his face relax almost as though he recognized her. "It's all right, Zafina. I was just about done with my meditation anyway."

At first, Zafina was confused over how he knew her name, but soon mentally slapped herself. Of course... he was one of the chosen ones. How else would he know?

Zafina straightened herself up and briefly brushed some dust off the skirt she wore. "I assume you're one of the chosen ones if you know who I am. You'll have to forgive me for not knowing who you are right away even with my psychic abilities. With so many of us involved, I imagine only Liu Kang has the best mental log on who's who."

"I imagine so," the man responded. "My name is Guy."

Zafina nodded. "Nice to meet you, Guy." She then looked past his shoulder to gaze at the torii behind him. "I assume there's a Shinto shrine not too far from here."

"Not anymore," he explained as he turned to face the torii. "Just down the hill on the other side, there's a lot of debris and rubble. Judging by how much nature took over, I say it was destroyed some time ago, probably long before either one of us was born. I doubt the Zaibatsu will bother to restore it anytime soon. Either way, this area is most likely the most isolated spot on the island."

"Best place to meditate then," Zafina added.

Guy nodded in agreement before he turned his head to look at the young woman. "Is that how you found out about your bad omens? Through meditation?"

"Sometimes," Zafina confirmed. "Also through my astrology sessions back home. And sometimes through dreams. In my experience, the stronger the visions, the more likely they will happen."

That gave Guy a thought. "I wonder... within the last two years, have you ever had this vision; one that involved the blood red sky, the smell of death, and a field with scattered corpses?"

Zafina shook her head while she gave him a perplexed gaze. "No, I've never had that kind of vision before."

In reply, Guy's eyebrow furrowed. "Hmm... interesting."

"Why do you ask?" Zafina questioned.

"Let's just say it was a popular vision amongst the chosen ones since the Blood Tournament," Guy replied. "To this day, I'm not sure what it was about or what it means... though I haven't bothered to inquire about it either. The reason I find it interesting is because you, a psychic, never had this vision once in the last two years. It makes me wonder why."

"There can be many reasons for that," Zafina said. She then narrowed her dark eyes at him as she started to wonder why he said these words. "Though if your statement was meant to question the legitimacy of my abilities-"

"Far from it," Guy quickly said before she said any more. "I mean no offense and I believe the visions you shared with us. I'm only just confused by why some of us chosen ones, and our past leaders, received this vision and not others like you. From my understanding, the visions connected to the Universal War, which nearly spelled doom for all the worlds in existence. I imagine this type of omen would've reached someone with your abilities in a time like that."

"It may be due my lack of involvement and that the group's last leader had it under control, so there was no need for fate to involve me," Zafina offered. "Instead, perhaps this particular omen I see now was destined to reach me due to my connections to Azazel. Sometimes, fate doesn't give us a choice in which path we choose, especially when lives depend on it. The Universal War chose Dhalsim to be its hero likely due to his connection to the legend involving The Four. This conflict chose me... though whether we will succeed in the end is another matter."

Guy took a deep breath as he folded his arms in front of him before he turned his attention back to the torii. "You're right about one thing. Sometimes, fate doesn't give us a choice. At times, it doesn't even give you any control in the matter. These last few years proved that to me."

Zafina frowned at that. "I assume all this fighting as a chosen one is taking its toll on you?"

"Not so much the Blood Tournament, or even this current conflict. I'm prepared to bring justice for Earthrealm as per my lifelong mission to eradicate the evils of this world. The Universal War, well... that's a different story. I wasn't exactly a chosen one during that time. Not by choice either."

Zafina had an inkling of what Guy was implying, but she chose not to press the issue. It was clear to her that he was still trying to sort out his past, even with this tournament and while the Mishima Zaibatsu's war still raged.

She did decide to offer one thing to him. "I'm not sure what happened to you, but I understand this... a warrior should go into battle with a clear head. It'll be a long while before we confront the Mishima Zaibatsu and maybe Azazel himself if it's too late by then. Perhaps, whenever you're ready, I can help you sort whatever is on your mind with a tarot reading session."

"I appreciate the offer, but it won't be necessary," Guy said. He then chose that time to head back to downtown and began to walk towards where Zafina stood.

"I understand," she responded. "But the offer will stand during our stay here if you change your mind."

Guy said nothing as he walked past her and began to head downhill and back to civilization below. Zafina chose to remain behind to continue to admire her surroundings. At the same time, her conversation with Guy lingered in her mind. She managed to figure out right away that he carried a lot of negative energy on his shoulders like a bag of stones. She had a feeling that he ended up as one of the brainwashed fighters for Shao Kahn during the last war. At the same time, she realized that there was more going on with him.

Either way, at least until he was ready, Zafina put the thoughts out of her head. The last thing she needed to do what to continue to pry into someone's life when it wasn't her business in the first place.

Okayama Bar, Mishima Island

After scouting around through the island, Jax Briggs found that the Okayama Bar a few blocks away from the Mishima Hotel was perhaps one of the nosier bars on the island. There were also dark corners that served as a potential for those who wanted privacy. From what Jax noted, most patrons in those corners were ignored by everyone else.

It was the perfect place for him to meet up with Stryker after not hearing from him for over two weeks.

Before Stryker was sent undercover to investigate G-Corporation, Jax gave him a separate satellite phone for him to contact through. The satellite phone was the perfect way for Stryker to remain undetected while he was undercover. Jax contacted him earlier that morning and asked him to meet up at this bar to go over what they both learned so far.

However, Jax had a feeling that most of what Stryker already knew was stuff that Liu Kang informed him and the rest of the chosen ones from their group meeting two days ago. He would find out soon enough.

Nursing a bottle of draft beer, Jax had his back against the wall while he sat at a table within one of the dark corners of the bar. The fast-paced dance music that played was loud enough to somewhat shake the walls. As far as Jax knew, the only other business adjacent to this one was closed, so it was unlikely that the place was affected by the bar's noise.

There was something about his surroundings, however, that created a haze in his mind. Jax wasn't sure if it was because of the music, the crowd, or the fact that most of the lighting in the bar was a blood red color... but deep in the back of his mind, it somewhat reminded him of last year... those few memories he still had when he was brainwashed 'soldier' under Shao Kahn's bidding. Aside from memories of serving and killing, he remembered the inner battle within himself - fighting tooth and nail to gain some semblance of control back, to be who he was again - only for whatever power that gripped him to push him down over and over with each effort until he lost control of the fight.

The loss of control... that was the worst feeling of all...

"Hey," a voice suddenly said, cutting through his thoughts. Jax blinked as he remembered where he was and soon gazed up in time to see Stryker as the latter sat down across from him at the table. Stryker seemed to have noticed Jax's daze as he said, "You okay?"

After getting his mind back on track, Jax cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for the noise around us, but this was the only suitable place I'm confident G-Corp won't scope out."

"That's fine," Stryker said. "As far as I know, G-Corp doesn't really scope out bars too much. Maybe for experiments, but that would be it."

"What kind of experiments?" Jax asked.

"Nothing of note, just genetics and robotics," Stryker replied.

Jax decided to get to the point. "We... managed to learn some things about G-Corp within the last couple of days, stuff I'm sure you were planning to relay to me tonight."

"Give me the run-down," Stryker suggest. "I'll see if anything is missing."

From there, Jax listed what he and the other chosen ones already knew about G-Corp; how they knew that Kazuya Mishima was the current CEO, how them serving as 'saviors' was a ploy for Kazuya to get closer to Jin and destroy him, and the involvement of the Majin Seiryu Ki legend, aka Azazel, and what would happen if this war continued.

Stryker took a deep breath once Jax was finished. He reached his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Well, Briggs... you guys definitely got the gist of it, except for that Azazel stuff you mentioned. That's new to me. There are, however, just a few more missing stuff."

"Like what?" Jax questioned.

Stryker leaned forward in his seat so that Jax could hear him better over the noise that surrounded him. "All those people they're shaking money for in underdeveloped areas? It's protection money. G-Corp is interested in their land for reasons such as the ecology in the area as well as potentially building another facility. I tried to dig for more information, but my direct 'supervisor' wasn't budging."

That made a lot of sense of Jax. "I see. Anything else? And who is your direct supervisor?"

"There's never once been a mention of this 'Azazel' you brought up in any meetings I've been in. I don't know if that's something Kazuya is interested in...

"My direct 'supervisor' is actually Kazuya's second-in-command, Bruce Irvin. From what I've managed to gather - he used to be really popular in the kickboxing circle about twenty years ago or so, at least until an incident that occurred in the ring that resulted in the death of his opponent. I don't know the details on that one, but some time after, there was a plane crash caused by mass confusion... that's all I got out of it. Two people died, and Bruce and an Interpol detective named Lei Wulong were the only survivors. I saw that Lei is still an active member of Interpol and participating in this tournament, so I was wondering if there's a way for you for get in contact with him so we can get more details on what happened on that plane. I was thinking it might give us more clues on Bruce's character."

Jax's eyebrows raised up at that. "That's more than possible... as a matter of fact, Lei's one of the chosen ones here on the island right now. We're having a small meeting tomorrow afternoon as a way to 'trade' information from the last three months. I'll bring up Bruce to Lei. I'm confident that he'll provide more information on what happened that day."

"Sounds good," Stryker agreed. "And if anything, Bruce is actually participating in this tournament." He was slightly hesitant at his next words, but forced himself to push forward. "His... tag team partner is a woman named Kira... who, eh... you might remember as the red-haired woman who was anted by the FBI for weapons possession and multiple murders... one of them, before Shao Kahn resurrected her, was Sonya's."

The name alone caused Jax's nostrils to flare in frustration. Kira had been quite elusive ever since the Blood Tournament, and he figured that she stayed in Outworld after what she did to his partner. He assumed that she returned to Earthrealm by way of Quan Chi and the Outworld Forces. Whatever the reason didn't matter. Justice would eventually be served one way or another, even if he wasn't the one to do it.

Stryker cut through Jax's thoughts as he continued. "There's only one thing about this whole thing I'm not understanding because no one's talking about. Why exactly is Kazuya willing to take down Jin and the Mishima Zaibatsu so much? Why all that interest? Why the bounty?"

Jax almost forgot about that detail. "We only know one thing for sure. He and Jin have been bitter enemies for quite some time. They've been wanting to kill each other for a long time. As a matter of fact... Jin is Kazuya's son."

Stryker let out a low whistle over that. "Well... that sort of explains Kazuya's interest in getting rid of Jin. Only thing is... why the rift to begin with?"

"Not sure what it is to be honest," Jax said. "But it's apparently 'justified' enough for the two of them to wage war with each other while taking the rest of Earthrealm down with them. The war may have been started by Jin, but Kazuya is clearly not helping things at this point despite his company's 'savior' status."

Stryker pinched the bridge of his nose again. "This is one hell of a complicated mission. And I thought the speeding bus incident was bad enough... or the Universal War for that matter."

"The only thing we can do at this point is to hang in there," Jax suggested. "Let's end this meeting now, and I'll call you when things develop, maybe in a week or two. The only other suggestion I'll make is this... if things suddenly go FUBAR, Stryker... abort the mission and get the hell out of there."

Stryker nodded. He then decided that now was the time to tell Jax one piece of news he tried to put off this whole time. "Understood. There's... one other very important thing to report, and it's something you're definitely not going to like to hear."

"And that is..."

"...Quan Chi and the Outworld Forces allied with Kazuya and G-Corp not too long ago."

Jax sucked in a breath. "Fuck! That's one news no one would want to hear. What's the reason for it? They didn't recognize you, did they?"

Stryker shook his head. "Thankfully no. As for the reason? No clue, and I'm trying to be careful about asking too many questions... but here's another kicker for you. Anyone not with Quan Chi sided with Jin and the Zaibatsu. Apparently they joined with him after the G-Corp alliance. We only knew that because I guess Quan Chi planted a spy on the Zaibatsu. Other than that, I have no other information at this time."

"Well shit, this is worse than I thought," Jax grumbled. "Just... remembered what I said... get out and abort the mission if things go to hell for you. Try to stay as long as you can, but don't stick around long enough to get yourself killed."

Stryker nodded. "Yes, sir."