A/N: Been playing Halo: ODST. Good game, but not what I expected. I thought it was gonna be like Modern Warefare, but instead I play as Master Chief-lite. Still a good game. I am officially on my last semester in college and not a clue what to do after. But I’ll figure something out. In the mean time, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: DMC owned by Capcom. DOA and NG owned by Team Ninja and Tecmo.

Dead or Alive 4: The Devil Factor

Chapter 30: The Dragon and the Devil

DOATEC Tower

France

Thursday-12:38 p.m

“This is command to air squad Zeus, just what the hell are you doing?”

“Uh?...Could you be more specific, command?”

“The rockets, smartass! Why the hell did you fire the rockets? Who gave you permission to use live ordinance in a civilian zone?”

“That would be Professor Donovan…sir.”

“For Christ’s…why the hell am I given a military command if my orders can be superseded by the fucking suits?!”

“Orders, sir?”

“Maintain the perimeter. B division has arrived and is ready to enter the tower. They’ll secure the inside and see what the blazes is going on in there. In the meantime, be ready to give air support if needed, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir. Understood, sir.”

“Very good. Command out.”

-----

Christie crawled on the floor commando style. The sickness and pain had left her body and she was back to her full strength. She had to pee like a race horse but it was better than being knocked out or dead. She kept low due to the smoke caused by the fire. The hallway and several adjacent rooms were torn to shreds by the blast. When she looked up at where the ceiling once was, she could see a deep wound in the building going who knew how many stories up. Whatever hit had to have come from the top of the tower.

She could not see Kokoro or Ryu. The lights had gone out, leaving the flickered illumination of the fires as the cracked and popped. The sprinkler system had gone off, dousing everything with water, smothering some of the flames. The fire alarms rang with a pitch that the assassin could feel in her eyes.

While she crawled she wondered if perhaps Helena’s sister and the ninja had perished. Ryu’s death would have been an ironic blessing. Kokoro’s death would…well she did not care to be honest. The girl was an inconvenience anyway.

Christie’s destination was the stairs. With the Ryu fight cancelled due to flaming destruction, the snowy-haired Britain decided that it was best to take her leave and regroup with Bayman and Leon, see what the bloody hell was going on.

A cough caught her ears, a light cough, feminine. It had to be Kokoro. The cough was weak but close. The thought of ignoring the Japanese girl was Christie’s first impulse. However, as she considered it, if Kokoro was alive, Ryu was most assuredly still on the prowl. The super ninja killed without hesitation, but he spared innocents, a flaw she could easily exploit.

The snowy-haired woman pushed herself up to peak around. She dared not speak otherwise she might give away her position. She spotted Kokoro slumped on a wall a good ten feet from her.

Christie crawled over slowly, sweeping the area for her enemy.

Kokoro’s clothes were ripped, her face had splotches of soot, and her body had scrapes and cuts. Christie checked the Japanese teen’s vitals. Strong pulse and her breathing sounded fine. A minimal amount of blood and the wounds were superficial to minor at best. She was just knocked out.

“C’mon, honey.” Christie placed Kokoro’s arm around her shoulder. “You’re my ticket out of here.”

She stood, supporting Kokoro’s weight. The teen’s legs were shaky, but she seemed to be able to offer some support for herself.

“Ch…Chris…tie.” Kokoro said weakly in English. “Wha…”

“Shhhh. It’s alright, honey.” Christie whispered in her ear. “I got you. Let’s get you back to your big sister.”

The British woman took a single step. A kunai punctured the floor in front of her.

Ryu stepped out of the shadows. Christie cursed. The light of the flames showed the damage of the ninja’s suit. A gash ran from Ryu’s right shoulder to his abdomen. Unfortunately the cut did not penetrate the suit. On his right bicep, a cut was smudged with blood and traveled down to his gauntlet that absorbed the liquid. The metal decorative plate on his forehead had a chunk missing from the left side. A tuft of chocolate brown hair poked out of his hood. But the thing that grabbed Christie’s attention was his sword that he held in his hand. It looked like he had moved beyond hand-to-hand combat.

“You,” Ryu pointed his sword, “are not leaving now.”

“I’m afraid the dates over, darling.” Christie had to clench her muscles. She did not know what was worse, facing an obviously pissed off Ryu or feeling like she would most likely wet herself in front of him. “And its past this girl’s bedtime. She gets fussy if she doesn’t get her beauty sleep, so we’ll just take our leave.”

Ryu approached. “She is free to leave. But you are too dangerous to let go.”

Christie sighed. “You do realize that I had nothing to do with whatever fell on us?”

“Release her.”

“I’m afraid I can’t.” Christie moved Kokoro in front of her. “I’m her nanny for today.”

“Chris…tie.” Kokoro muttered. Her eyes fluttered as she swung between awake and asleep. “I don’…feel so…so good.”

“I know. Hush now.” Christie’s lips touched Kokoro’s ear. “We’ll be out of here soon. Just a little problem I have to deal with. No worries.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised.” Ryu said coldly. “You always were the coward.”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones,” Christie sang, “but you’re just a pussy.”

Ryu tightened his hold on his sword but stood his ground. Christie began creeping by him, making sure that Kokoro was between them. The icy glare of the modern day super ninja barely even registered in Christie’s mind. Let him glare all he wished, she had the upper hand. Of course she kept close tabs on Ryu’s movements. One overlooked detail could result in an upper hand lost.

Ryu kept watching. His body did not move but his head did. She cautiously reached for the trench knife hidden in one of her back pockets, a KA-BAR. Unlike her switchblades, KA-BAR’s were designed specifically for fighting.

Ryu must have noticed her movement and snapped his sword to attention.

Suddenly, something emerged from the pile of broken floor, wall, and ceiling pieces. A man emerged, shoving scraps of plaster and marble out of the way.

“Son of a bitch!” The man spat in English. “Story of my life, shit starts gettin’ good than some motherfucker blows the place to hell!” He kicked away some of the pile so he could step out.

Christie’s smile almost split her face. Reinforcements had arrived.

“Oh, Dante, sweetie.” Christie purred. “Could you give me a hand? Lil’ Ryu here is being quiet rude.”

The demon hunter stepped into the light. His coat’s left arm was shredded and his clothes were just as bad as Ryu’s little ninja getup. Dante, on the other hand, had not a mark on him. Well, some streaks of soot and blood, but she saw no wounds of any sort. Not even a bruise.

“Hey, babe, I’m a little busy at the moment…” Dante trailed off when he saw Ryu. “Oh, great, another ninja. What? Are you guys having a convention around here or somethin’?”

“Dante.” Ryu kept his sword on Christie. “What are you doing here?”

“Now I remember, your friends with the one in white, right?” Dante dusted his arms. “I’m working for Helena, who Christie is also working for; I found the jailbait ninja twin’s mother; yes, she’s fine; no, I haven’t gotten around to sendin’ her back and gettin’ my pay, which I doubt will ever come; and no, I ain’t gonna walk away.” Dante said in a string that almost sounded like an auctioneer. “There, yer up to speed. Now I don’t have to play the boring twenty questions game with you too.”

“I see.” Was Ryu’s only reply.

Christie knew what was going to happen next. The only question was when. Her current beau and the ninja were in a stare off. Dante casually ripped his sword from another pile of rubble and walked closer. Ryu turned fully to the approaching demon.

Good. Ryu recognized Dante as the more immediate threat, which meant an easier time to slip away. She did not move just yet, least she redraw attention to herself. Let the boys rough house for a bit while mommy takes the little sister to bed.

The tension barely began to build when it happened. The fight was a rapid exchange of blurs. No hesitation like in the movies, just attack and counterattack.

Ryu made the first move. He grabbed something on his arm and threw it. The thing unfolded into some sort of large shuriken. Dante, still walking forward in a brisk manner, batted away the weapon with his sword. He used only one hand for the sword as another brought up his silver pistol. He fired a shot. The bullet ripped through Ryu’s head. Christie suddenly saw another Ryu flying at Dante with his sword at the ready. The bullet-through-the-head Ryu must have been one of his bloody after-image tricks.

Dante brought up his blade. The katana and the straight sword sang as they collided. Ryu ricocheted off like an empty beer can off a windshield. The ninja flew back and landed on the wall with his feet. He pushed off the wall and became a cyclone of spinning blades. Dante swung his sword upwards. The blades locked together as Ryu sailed over the red wearing devil hunter and landed behind him. Dante twisted around, the swords still interlocked. Ryu ripped his sword free and brought it around again, aiming for Dante’s chest. Instead, the sword clanged off Dante’s sword again. The force of the blow made Ryu step back.

Dante’s boot caught Ryu in the chest. The flying ninja rammed into a wall, breaking a hole as he made a radical entry into another room. Dante jumped in after him.

Christie saw her chance and ran with Kokoro in tow. She passed the elevators. They were no doubt shut down by the emergency fire systems. She kicked open the door to the stairs and ran, hoping her bladder would hold for a bit longer.

-----

The room was dark when Dante jumped in with no sight of the ninja. Dante slowed his pace and slung his sword on his shoulder.

“Hello?” Dante looked around. “Pest control here. Someone see a ninja? ‘Bout yay high.” Dante put a flat hand next to him about shoulder height. “Wears alotta black. Just got his ass handed to him?”

His eyes picked up something he could barely see. He brought up Ivory and fired, knocking a kunai out of the air.

“Oh, c’mon ninja-dude, that trick’s been done to-”

More kunais came, too many to shot and too fast for him to react. He barely felt them when they cut into his clothes and skin. Half a dozen ninja-kife things were pinned to his torso.

“Oh, ow, ya got me.” Dante said flatly. “If all it took was little sharp things to kill me, I’d been dead long-”

Dante trailed off when he noticed the sparks and smoke coming from the small white parcels tied to the blades.

“Ah, shi-”

The kunais went off like firecrackers packed with C4, throwing Dante to the ground.

“Ok, I’m getting’ sick of you ninjas and your little explody toys.” Dante groaned and rolled on his back.

Ryu appeared over him and plunged his sword into Dante’s stomach. The demon hunter could feel the mind shattering sting of the blade scrapping his spine. The pain, however, did not stop him from lashing out with a right hook that made the ninja stumble back. Unlike the ninja in white, this one kept his sword.

Dante sprang up and followed his attack with a left straight. He finished the combo with a rising kick. Ryu flew back like a tossed rag doll and smashed through the glass windows. Just as gravity took hold of Ryu, a chain suddenly sprouted from the ninja like a cobra and wrapped itself around Dante’s arm.

The sudden weight jerked Dante forward, but he quickly corrected himself. He flexed his arm and leaned back.

“Sorry, buddy.” Dante pulled out Ivory. “No free rides.”

The bullet broke a link and the chain still connected to Ryu snaked out the window. Dante ripped off the chain attached to him and tossed it aside. He marched to the busted window, stopped at the edge, and peaked out. Thousands of yellow and white lights globed together on the streets below along with flashing blues and reds. Three spotlights dazedly scanned the tower’s glass surface. The sound of a helicopter was the only thing louder than the howling winds at, what Dante estimated to be, nearly forty stories up.

Dante looked up and saw large helicopters orbiting the tower like vultures circling a carcass. One helicopter suddenly rose to Dante’s altitude and flashed its light on him. Dante instinctively blocked the light to his face with his hand. Before the light blinded him, Dante saw the DOATEC corporate logo painted on the chopper’s side.

“Hey,” Dante yelled and waved with his other hand, “what’s goin’ on?”

The helicopter continued to assault Dante’s eyes with its light.

“Nice ride.” Dante smirked. “What’s the mileage like?”

Something jumped from the chopper’s tail, something dark and coming right at him.

Ryu sped past Dante like a sparrow, slicing into the devil hunter with his blade, and came to a stop halfway down the destroyed hallway. Dante had to admit, hiding on a helicopter was pretty sneaky. The pilots must not have realized that a killer ninja had hitched a ride.

Dante took a shaky step back. Blood had splattered behind him during Ryu’s aerial attack. The katana suddenly erupted from Dante’s chest. Ryu ripped the blade out and slashed twice at Dante’s back, causing him to stumble toward the busted out window.

By the time the third strike came, Dante had already ducked under the swing and swept his leg to take out the ninja’s footing. Ryu began falling on his side, but his body never hit the ground as Dante had used the rotation to hop to his feet and punted Ryu away.

Ryu tumbled in the air and slammed into a wall, shattering olive colored plaster. Hardly knocked for a loop, the super ninja was back in a defensive stance just as Dante closed the gap between them and struck. Rebellion carved deep gashes in the wall behind Ryu, but could not touch the warrior of the shadows. Ryu’s katana and Dante’s sword sometimes collided during the exchange, sending out a fireworks display of sparks as sacred steel met unholy metal.

The whirlwind of death delivering blows came to an end when Dante used one of his many specialty moves, a volley of rapid fire stabs he had dubbed the Million Stab. Ryu, unable to counter every life-ending pierce, rolled away.

Dante turned to face Ryu. The ninja was in an odd pose, he held something glowing in his hand. Dante realized that the glowing object was a ball of fire and weird Japanese letters or words or whatever they were swirled about the ninja in the same color and intensity as the fiery orb. Ryu thrust his hands forward, unleashing the attack.

During his time as a demon hunter, Dante had seen his fair share of fire attacks. Most of the time, the fire attacks had the same intensity as a three gallon gas can. Other times, they were essentially demon versions of military bombs capable of leveling city blocks. When Ryu’s attack struck, Dante estimated it as something like an anti-tank mortar round. It was a long story on how he came to know how one of those felt like.

Dante had brought Rebellion up as a shield, but the blast knocked him back like a wayward wrecking ball.

Ryu darted after him, bounding after the half-demon in seemingly impossible long leaps. Dante met the ninja’s approach with a demonically charged Rebellion. Dark crimson energy crackled and engulfed the large slab of metal. Dante held the sword like a bat and swung when Ryu was in range. The ninja tried to block the attack with his sword.

A concussive force exploded from the collision point of the two blades, like a sonic boom from a low flying jet. Ryu was a mere blur of black, racing backwards like a bullet from a gun.

“And it’s outta the park.” Dante grinned.

-----

“This is command to B division, do you copy?”

“This is Commander Borrel of B division, command, we copy.”

“Commander, are your men in position?”

“Affirmative, command, I have my entire division ready to enter and subdue. The C division commander’s giving me a lot of grief, but he’s keeping his men back. I figure that I let him keep the outside secure while my boys roll in, smash heads, and save the day.”

“There are VIPs inside that don’t need their heads smashed, commander. Did you get the list?”

“Affirmative, command. Three names, Helena, Kokoro, and Miyako. Photographs of the three have been passed out to my men.”

“Very good, commander. All other staff has been evacuated and accounted for. You will now commence operation. Authorization code: Alpha-Tango-Bravo-1-1-7. You are authorized to use lethal force to neutralize the enemy, I repeat, lethal force has been approved.”

“A big affirmative on that, command. Commencing operation.”

-----

Trish turned her head when the sound of boots on marble caught her ears, a lot of boots.

“Everyone, run for the stairs, now!” Trish barked.

“What?!” Tina fumed. “Who do ya think ya are giv’ out orders like that? We’re enemies, ya skanky biker bitch!”

“Tina!” Bass scolded. “Watch yer language, lil’ missy. That ain’t how a lady oughta talk!”

“Trish,” Lei-Fang asked. “What’s wrong?”

Trish suddenly fell to her knees; a flower vase behind her shattered. Tina and Lei-Fang shrieked. The sound of gunfire filled the room to almost deafening levels. Bass grabbed Tina and threw the both of them behind a decorative pillar partly molded into the wall. Trish threw Lei-Fang at the Armstrongs and drew her own guns firing at men in combat gear that had taken defensive positions along the walls and behind furniture.

The pillar began to chip away from the bullets and furniture in the lobby was shredded. Trish picked off three soldiers, but more were pouring in, pulling out the wounded and taking their place. Trish rolled into another pillar, pulling off a few more shots.

“Bass!” Trish called out and pointed to a maintenance door next to the elevators. “Grab the girls and get the hell outta here! Get to Helena!”

Bass nodded, slung Tina over his shoulder, scooped up Lei-Fang under his arm, and ran. Trish popped out and gave the retreating Texan some covering fire.

When Bass was almost at the door, two soldiers kicked it down and swung their weapons at him. The wrestling superstar did not know what to do. Fighting meant getting shot, stopping meant getting shot, and running away meant getting shot. Nothing came to him that didn’t end with his daughter, the Chinese girl, and him dying on the cold floor.

One of the men was shot through head, the bullet breaking through the helmet with ease. Bass snapped a look at Trish who was holding a smoking pistol with a nervous smirk. A chunk of plaster from the pillar exploded by her face and she whipped her guns around to return fire.

The other man, also shocked at his teammate’s death, turned to Bass. Bass brought up his large motorcycle boot and planted it in the man’s face, shattering the ballistic facemask.

“Outta th’ way, pipsqeak!” Bass crowed as he bolted into the door.

“Good, they’re gone.” Trish thumbed the ejection switch on her pistols, dropping the spent clips and reloaded in mere seconds. “Now I can really cut lose.”

Trish, cloaked in a golden veil of crackling power, jumped out from her hiding place and unleashed a barrage of demonically charged bullets.

-----

Bass pounded up the stairs. Decades of hard-core wrestling and Dead or Alive fighting had kept the man in impeccable shape. Some often confused his bulky physique with fat from old age but, according to his doctors, only 3% of his body weight was fat. What Bass had was over three hundred pounds of pure muscle at his command and all of it was used to get the two girls and him out of harms way. Neither fatigue nor pain even trickled into his mind.

“Daddy.” Tina called. “Stop.”

“Not now.” Bass snapped.

“Daddy!” Tina screamed and kicked her legs. “Stop carryin’ me like a piece o’ luggage!”

“We hafta keep movin’.” Bass growled. “I ain’t gonna have my lil’ girl git shot t’ pieces here, no sir! When we’d get t’ th’ pearly gates, yer momma would sen’ me straight t’ hell, God rest her soul.”

“Hey!” Lei-Fang moaned from under Bass’s arm. “Lemme down.”

“No way!” Bass puffed. “Not till we get t’ th’ French lady.”

“Daddy, stop, they ain’t followin’ us.” Tina said. “And I think Lei-Fang’s gonna be sick.”

Bass slowed, finally feeling the adrenaline high leave. He let the two girls escape his grasp. Tina helped Lei-Fang to a corner, patting and rubbing her back. The Chinese girl spat, coughed, and gagged, but did not vomit.

“They shot at us.” Tina trembled slightly. “Jesus, Daddy, they shot at us.”

Bass had a pained smile. “Ain’t like in yer big action films, huh?” He regretted saying it. Maybe it was just the black humor setting in.

Tina glared and turned back to Lei-Fang. “Hey, you gonna be ok?”

“I’m…” Lei-Fang coughed. “I don’t know.”

Bass caught his breath. These girls had no doubt taken on martial artists, thugs with knives, riff raff on the street, but he doubted they ever faced a trained soldier with a gun; a major difference. They were tough girls though. He knew that they would not let their fears get the better of them again.

“I don’t get it.” Lei-Fang stood and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I can get why they’d shot at me and Trish, but why did they try to kill you two? Aren’t you on the same side?”

“I’m afraid we’re in th’ dark on this one too, suger.” Tina said.

“I have a feelin’ that them gunmen ain’t on our side at all.” Bass murmured. “Didn’t ya listen t’ Helena earlier? She’s th’ president o’ DOATEC in name only. There’re all sort’s o’ backstabbers wantin’ a bigger piece o’ th’ pie and they’ll tear through their own mamas t’ git it, I’ll tell you what. Greedy sumbitches.”

Tina looked back at her father, but did not say anything. She patted Lei-Fang on the back. “Feelin’ better. darlin’?”

The sounds of gunfire came from bellow. It was muffled and almost soft, like someone tipped over a crate full of bowling balls on carpet.

“Yeah…better.” Lei-Fang said in a not-too-confident tone.

“Good.” Tina said somberly. “Ready, daddy?”

“Yep.” Bass exhaled. “Let’s keep movin’.”

Bass knew that there was no easy way out of this. The girls knew too. But, what else could they do? Bass lead the way with the girls’ right behind him.

-----

The cold splash, a welcomed feeling, brought back her senses to a hundred percent. The lights, the sounds, her touch, everything was brighter, crisper, focused. She smirked at her reflection in the mirror. A knockout gas bomb, how pedestrian; Hell would freeze over before such a tick would be her undoing.

Christie yanked a white, sterile towel from the rack and rung her hands dry. She had found an executive washroom a floor up from the battle between Dante and Ryu. With a pressing bladder, she was almost willing to find a dark corner, but thankfully she decided to search a bit longer and her reward came in the form of a restroom designed in a Rome-era Greek bathhouse. A water fountain with toga-wearing women eternally pouring water from the giant wine jugs they carried on their shoulders bubbled near the back of the restroom in a small shallow pool.

The restroom was a disgusting display of power, the DOATEC high echelons were pigs happily rolling in their own filth. But, as much as she hated to admit it, it made her feel like royalty using the lou in such a highty-tighty facility.

She tossed the towel aside, grabbed a clean one, and soaked it in warm water. Kokoro sat against the wall, still dazed and confused. Christie knelt beside her and dabbed at the splotches on the girl’s face. She had to make her employer’s sister look somewhat presentable; otherwise Helena might throw one of her temper tantrums.

Kokoro moaned, her eyes fluttered, and turned her head away.

“Now, now, dearie.” Christie cooed. “Be a good girl and hold still while Auntie Christie gets you cleaned up.”

Kokoro groaned, still unable to open her eyes. “Where…where are…” She winced. “My head…it hurts.” She spoke in Japanese.

“Believe me sweetie, after what you just went through; having only a headache would be a blessing.” Christie gentle turned Kokoro’s face to her. “By the way, where’s your mother?”

“At…at our…room.” Kokoro shuttered. “I…I left…she didn’t…didn’t…want me to leave…but…” She shook her head. “Mother…I have to go back…have to see…”

“Easy there.” Christie wiped away the last of the grit. “We’ll get you to your mommy soon enough, but you have to rest now.”

Kokoro groaned again. The dampness on her brow made a few strands of her hair stick to her face. Christie gently pushed the hair aside.

The Japanese daughter of the late Douglass was quiet lovely, just like his French offspring. Lean and fit, healthy dark hair, youthful skin, and of course, a good sized bust. Christie’s hand traveled down, her fingers tracing the girl’s collarbone through the Chinese-style dress, the same one she wore during the fourth tournament. The little puff ball things attached to her sleeves were cute, but useless.

Not bad, but maybe another time. She already had her hands full with Dante and adding another to the mix at this point would not bode well. Like Eliot, Kokoro would prove troublesome and very difficult to train. Plus, deducing from Kokoro’s lifestyle, she did not have any ‘experience’. She did not mind fulfilling the role of teacher, a part she had performed a few times before, but, as she stated earlier, she had a prior commitment with a certain red wearing demon.

Besides, she was on the clock; business before pleasure as they say.

“Christie…what are you…doing?” Kokoro mumbled with a tinge of anger.

The British assassin blinked and realized that her hand was currently cupping a very intimate part of Kokoro’s body.

“Oh. Sorry, love. Just checking your heartbeat.” Christie laid the syrupy voice on thick.

Her bottom suddenly vibrated and played an electrical tune. She retrieved her cell phone and saw her caller idea flash ‘Ice Bitch’.

“Yes, Lady Helena?” Christie said in a fluttery tone. “How may I serve you?”

“Cut the act, Christie.” Helena coldly responded. “Where are you? I can’t contact Bayman, is he with you?”

“Negative on that. I’m on the 84th floor, executive washroom.” Christie replied in her strictly business voice. “I had a run in with Ryu Hayabusa and split from the Bayman and Leon.”

“And? What happened? Is he neutralized?”

“Not quiet. Our boy in red is currently showing the ninja the time of his life.”

“Dante? How is…he’s alive?”

“And kicking. Made quiet the dynamic entrance.” Christie ran her hand through Kokoro’s hair. “By the way, your little sister made a guest appearance during my show with Ryu.”

There was a brief silence at Helena’s end. “Kokoro? She was there? Where is she? Is she ok?” Christie smiled as Helena began to lose her composure. “I want to speak with her. I swear, if you hurt her…”

“Relax, Lady Helena, your sister is fine, just a little lightheaded.” Christie switched from sassy to serious. “But she said she left her mother in their room, you might want to check up on her.”

“What? No, she isn’t there.” Helena said, her voice thick with worry. “Damn it, where is she?”

“Might I suggest we regroup? I feel we’ve become too spread out at the moment.”

“Not yet. Recent events have made it abundantly clear that the ninjas are not are only concern presently.”

“Lemme guess, Donovan?”

“You know of anyone else?” Helena paused for a moment. “I’m getting another call, I’ll contact you later. Protect my sister with your life, is that understood?”

“Of course.” Christie said in her fluttery tone. “You know you can trust me.”

-----

“Hello?” Helena said after tapping the phone on her belt.

“It’s me,” replied the deep, somber, serious, and slightly ragged voice.

“Bayman?” Helena caught her breath. “Where are you? Are you ok?”

“Near the site of the explosion. Exact coordinates unknown.” Bayman sounded strangely calm besides his apparent labored breathing. “Some minor injuries on my part, nothing serious. The same for Leon. When we heard the chopper outside, we left the area. Since we didn’t hear from you about it, we decided better safe than sorry.”

“I…see.” Helena wondered if Bayman was clever or paranoid. Perhaps both. “The helicopter is not affiliated with me.”

“Donovan.” Bayman said. “I suspected he might make a move soon.” Helena heard Bayman growl. “I’m afraid Leon and I will be unavailable. Our current location is too close to the site and we’ll be exposed to the choppers if we head out, plus we have prisoners.”

Helena perked at what Bayman said. “Prisoners? You have Hayate?”

“No. We lost track of him after the explosion. But we do have Jann Lee and Hitomi. They’ll live, but there not going anywhere for a while.”

Helena heard scuffling in the background and someone yelling in English with a thick Italian accent. “Hold still, you stubborn bull ox. You’ll reopen your wounds.”

Another voice came, this one with a Chinese accent. “Fuck you, old man. You and that fuckin’ Russian were tryin’ to kill us, why the hell should we trust you?”

“Cause I’m the only one that’s keeping your goddamn guts from spilling out, ya dunce.”

“Jann Lee certainly sounds grateful.” Helena muttered.

“He’s just upset that our battle was cancelled. Fortunately he’s in no shape to put up a real fight. The German girl is out cold. We’ve also lost contact with Dante. I don’t think he made it.”

Helena smiled. “Oh, I have a feeling he pulled through. Stay where you are, I’ll have the situation resolved soon.”

-----

“Unbelievable.” Doku whispered. “They attack themselves?”

A dark cloud billowed from the tower. Helicopters buzzed around the tower’s gaping hole like flies around a festering wound.

“Humanity is always self-destructive.” Vergil said. “But this reeks of Donovan.”

“Are you sure, master? This seems far too reckless for a coward like him.”

“Perhaps, but if it helps him achieve his goals, then I wouldn’t put it past him.” Vergil frowned. “But no matter. There is something else going on right now.”

“Yes.” Doku clenched and unclenched his large hand. “I sense the energy inside. The darkness of a strong demon and a ninjitsu I have felt before. A battle rages on inside. Between your brother and the damned ninja of the dragon lineage.”

“Yes, Ryu. You’ve told me much about him.” Vergil said lethargically. “I have no interest in ninjas, though I suspect you will wish to take on this so-called super ninja.”

“If you will allow me, my master.” Doku bowed deeply at the waist. “He and I have unfinished business.”

“Do what you want, just ensure that your minions retrieve the jewel.”

“But of course.” Doku straightened back up.

“Good.” Vergil held out Yamato. “Then let us begin.”

-----

Hayate felt like his teeth were going to grind each other into dust. Resetting a broken limb always hurt like hell.

Blaming his injury on bad luck seemed rather juvenile, but he could not come up with a better explanation. Hayate sensed the attack moments before it occurred, just as the Russian and Italian soldiers did. Then something, he did not see what, had hit him above the elbow, breaking the Humerus. After escaping ground zero, he found a suitable place to recuperate, an employee’s office. A picture of his family stood on the desk, a dark-haired man with a square jaw with his hand on his wife and son’s shoulders. The wife, a short haired woman with crow’s feet, had some extra weight but her joyful smile was genuine. The boy, small and wiry, smiled widely, showing a large gap in his teeth.

The picture mildly upset the wind ninja. Despite his stance that DOATEC represented the greatest evil in the world, it did not mean that the entire company was completely staffed with monsters. He knew that decent men worked for the corporation and sometimes circumstances made it difficult to avoid collateral damage. He had told himself that what he and his clan had done needed to be done. Still, the little reminders of humanity that popped up, such as the photo, made swallowing the bitter pill even harsher.

Hayate retrieved a capsule from his belt, popped it into his mouth, and swallowed it dry. The pill was a pain reliever with herbs from the village and put into pill form by a machine. A ninja did not always have to rely on old remedies and practices. He stood, using the desk for support.

He had lost track of Jann Lee and Hitomi, something that troubled him greatly. Things had literally blown up in his face, but as he told everyone before, the mission had to go on. He would find Helena first, than regroup.

Hitomi’s smiling face flashed through his mind. He quickly shoved it away. The mission must come first.

The German girl came into his mind again. This time she was in bed, naked, clinging to him like her life depended on it, biting her lip to stifle the scream as she drew closer to the moment. She felt hot, too hot, like she was going to burst. When the moment arrived, her body locked itself with his and trembled. She groaned deeply, unable to suppress her voice.

When it was over, her head plopped into her pillow. Her disheveled hair became a transparent curtain over her face as she labored for breath. She looked at him with dreamy eyes and said something to him in German in a tone barely above a whisper.

The bitter pill had just caught in his throat.

“I love you...Ein.”

“Shit.” Hayate slammed his fist into the desk. He willed the image away.

“She’s ok.” He told himself even though he knew that he did not know for sure. “She’s strong, she survived.”

Hayate leaned on the desk with both hands, collecting himself. Sentimentality had no bearing on the matter at hand. DOATEC had to be stopped, nothing else mattered. Nothing else. Nothing.

He tapped the desk, fretting over what mixed around in his thoughts. Continue on and prove his worth as a ninja or abandon it all to prove his worth as a man?

His body vibrated with rage. He hated questions without answers. To him, a question posed to him with no real answer meant defeat. And defeat meant lose. He swore he would never lose again.

However, an un-winnable situation was before him. His mind raced, but only two answers came to him. He ground his teeth, raised a fist, and slammed it on the table, sending a thick crack racing across the dark fake-oak plastic.

He dashed out of office, with purpose.

-----

“Ninja dude?” Dante sang. “Come out come out wherever you are.”

Dante waltzed about, sword on shoulder, languidly turning around every few seconds, searching for his missing opponent. His last attack may have sent Ryu flying, but it did not have the power to kill him.

“If you’re trying to bore me into quitting, I’ll just find someone else to bust up.” Dante said out loud. “Unless you’re the one callin’ it quits?”

Nothing came. Dante had to admit he was getting antsy, intermissions during fights were annoying. But if the ninja planned to lull him into a false sense of security for a surprise attack then Ryu had a surprise of his own coming.

A loud noise came from behind Dante. He whirled around with Ivory at the ready. A metal support beam had fallen out of a wall, breaking through the fancy decorations. Dante frowned. It looked like the entire area was unstable. He wondered if perhaps the building might collapse.

A realization dawned on Dante. It was a trap. He turned around and brought up Rebellion to deflect the blow. Ryu ricocheted off. Dante attempted to turn, but Ryu had already got a cut in from behind. Suddenly, Ryu was somehow all around him at once, slashing with ruthless efficiency.

The ninja struck with a boot to Dante’s face. The demon hunter spun in the air and flopped to the ground. With the momentum of the fall, Dante rolled to his feet only to be struck again with Ryu’s blade. Dante whirled around with Rebellion. Ryu leaped over the attack and lashed out with a leg aimed at his opponent’s jaw. Dante snatched the ninja by the ankle and whipped him around like a child playing with a sparkler.

Dante put the ninja through a wall and slammed him twice on the floor before he tossed him aside. Miraculously, the ninja still had a firm grip on his sword.

Ryu stood promptly and ducked under Dante’s follow up attack. The two exchanged sword parries that resulted in a fireworks display of sparks, illuminating the room in intense flickering lights. During the battle, Ryu ducked, weaved, and slid around the room, trying to bedazzle the demon and create an opening. Dante smirked, the ninja was good, but he had taken down more than his fair share of slippery antagonists.

Ryu snapped his katana. Dante swung, but his sword slid off the curved Japanese blade and created a hole in his defense. Ryu capitalized on the weakness and moved in…right into Dante’s fist. Ryu stumbled. He blinked rapidly to get this vision back. Rebellion smashed into Ryu’s side, knocking him a good ten feet away.

“You used…the flat edge of your sword.” Ryu said as he slowly regained his footing. “Are you taunting me?”

“Nah.” Dante stabbed Rebellion to the floor and leaned on his sword. “Just don’t feel like killin’ ya.”

“You hold back? Because of how you…feel?” Ryu held his side.

“Yeah, they’re called emotions, robot. You know, happy, sad, angry? Any of those ring a bell?” Dante scratched his head. “Well, I’m sure you know about anger.”

“Those who rely solely on their emotions in a fight will only experience defeat whether they win or lose.”

“Yeah…” Dante said with a cocked eyebrow. “I have no clue what you just said right now. Man, you ninja guys, so uptight.”

“I take it your ‘emotions’ are what lead you to siding with Helena?”

“Kinda. I guess.” Dante rubbed his chin. “It’s a long story.”

“Is it?” Ryu stood tall and removed his hand from his ribs.

A full minute ticked by with the two staring at each other; Ryu, rigid and alert, and Dante, leaning lazily on his sword.

A kunai appeared in Ryu’s hand and Dante raised Ivory.

Blue flames suddenly sprung up, an inferno that engulfed several rooms and spread rapidly. The two warriors turned their attention to the sudden freak occurrence.

“Ryu.” A voice called, deep and inhuman.

A figure, large and bulky, stepped from the fire, the flames licked at its black armor that glowed with heat.

“Doku.” Ryu growled.

“Rejoice ninja of the dragon lineage, for today is the day that I will shed you of your mortal coil and bring about the end of your suffering.” The large samurai brought up a katana and removed it from its sheath. “Prepare yourself.” He tossed the wooden scabbard away.

“Who’s this clown?” Dante asked and unplugged Rebellion from the ground.

“A loose end I need to tie up.” Ryu replied. “My apologies, Dante, but I must ask that you wait while I deal with this abomination.”

“I take it the two of you aren’t old drinking buddies.” Dante slung Rebellion onto his shoulders.

“He is a scourge of great evil that I must expunge before he befouls this world any further.”

“Jeez. Could you be anymore melodramatic?”

“Don’t interfere.” Ryu said as he walked toward Doku. “This is a personal matter.”

“Whatever.” Dante smirked.

-----

“Commander, I’ve been trying to raise you for thirty minutes.” Helena said. After several unsuccessful attempts at using the DOATEC battle-comm., the French Beauty riffled through the DOATEC personnel files with her iPhone and discovered the name and file of C division’s commander. She had used the commander’s private cell phone. Her security advisor kept her informed, but he had difficulty deducing what was happening after the rocket attack. A second opinion was needed. “I need a situation report.”

“Ms. Douglass.” The commander hissed out. “I’m afraid I am not in a position to fill you in right now.”

“Someone just put a missile into my office, commander.” Helena coldly replied. “So tell me, or I’ll make your next job picking up my dog’s droppings.”

A growl came over the line before the commander spoke. “My unit’s been severely crippled and the comm-lines are currently down. B division has come to ‘relieve’ my forces, but right now they’re the ones running the show.” Each word from the commander dripped with venom, though Helena wondered if perhaps she was not the target of his rage.

“Then put me through to B division’s commander.” Helena said.

“Who do you think I’ve been trying to find?” The commander dropped the niceties. “Everyone from his unit has been giving me the run around like I’m some fucking recruit. I was in the French army for fifteen years, goddamn it! I deserve better respect than…”

Helena hung up and began going through DOATEC files to see who was in charge of B division and ways to get a hold of him. As she tapped on her device, she marched down the hall to another safe room, the primary unit. Inside were computers hooked directly into the corporate military network and into the towers internal monitoring and security systems. From there she would be able to effectively control the situation.

She stopped when she felt someone in her way. Two individuals blocked her path.

“You two.” Helena said in a whisper. “What are…?” Helena regained her wits and spoke firmer. “You’re here with your brother, aren’t you?”

“Simply put, yeah, we are.” Ayane had her arms crossed. “And we know what he wants.”

“Do you?” Helena slowly put her iPhone in a pocket. “Well I believe that your brother doesn’t really know what he wants, nor does he know what he’s getting himself into.”

“Then I guess we have a problem.” Ayane smirked. “I’m good at solving problems.”

“Please, surrender.” Kasumi said. “We do not wish to harm you.”

Helena whipped out her Glock and brought it up to fire. Something sliced into her hand and the Glock skidded along the floor with a bloody handle. The French woman cursed and grasped her bleeding hand.

“Try that again and I’ll take your trigger finger.” Ayane said, holding another kunai. “Let’s go, princess, your carriage awaits.”

The kunoichis suddenly moved. They did more than just move, but Helena could not clearly see what it was they did for their movements were far too quick. But what she did see was the flash of steel and two bodies hit the ground, bodies that were not that a few seconds ago.

Helena took notice of her surroundings. Ninjas had appeared, hanging on walls, creeping around corners, and peering from behind furniture and art work.

Ayane and Kasumi suddenly appeared next to her. Their backs were to her, forming a three woman ring.

“Looks like we all have a problem now.” Ayane muttered.