A Strange Creature in the Mishima Zaibatsu

"A strange creature, you say?" Jin Kazama asked curiously, fascinated by what kind of beast was roaming the Mishima Zaibatsu Headquarters. Every now and then, an odd-looking lab rat would manage to escape, but judging from the way everyone seemed so obsessed with the hallway-dweller, this was all but a rat. Nina nodded. "I was a sceptic myself until I noticed something out of place moving around in the shadows. It seems to be lurking, but it doesn't want to be seen." "Is it dangerous?" "I'm not sure. So far it has only gotten hold of a single Tekken Force member, but I've been unable to interrogate the guy since he's still knocked out cold. Either he was really lucky to survive, or the thing isn't out to kill anyone." Nina explained, "I've tried to follow the creature around as soon as I saw it, but it doesn't seem very interested in me. So far, it's only gone after men." "Hmm?" "I've noticed its only after male members for some odd reason, leaving any females unharmed, pretending they don't even exist." Jin got up from his chair, a most intrigued -although concerned- look visible in his golden brown eyes. His mind was contemplating on why a potentially dangerous creature would refuse to kill, if it indeed saw people as prey. And why did it bother about the gender of its prey to begin with? "Nina, please raise the guard level until we've got more intel on that 'thing'. We can't allow it to escape nor interfere. I need to find out what it is, and whether or not we can use it to undermine G Corp." "Got it." And with that, Nina Williams walked off, leaving Jin alone in his office. He paced around a bit, unable to get the creature out of his head. This was the third time today that someone had come by his office to report the presence, shrouded in mystery. No one -except for maybe that knocked out Tekken Force member- had been able to catch the slightest glimpse of the creature; it sure was elusive. Jin sighed deeply and left his office, planning to go for a walk outside in the nearby woods. Nothing as relaxing and stress-relieving as being surrounded by nature. He kind of hoped that the Tekken Force would've succeeded in capturing it when he'd be back. It didn't take long for Jin to notice what the creature was doing to the place; some of the lights were flickering and the walls had sustained a substantial amount of damage. A deep grunt of annoyance left Jin's mouth. He was pretty sure the flickering lights made it look worse than it really was, but it was certain that the wall repairs were gonna cost him. Great. Strangely enough, the place was too quiet. Where had the guards gone...? "Gah!" Suddenly, Jin had fallen flat on his face with a loud thud, finding himself apparently testing the comfort level of the floor. "What the-" he mumbled as he looked back to see what had made him slip. A look of pure disgust came up his features when he saw a trail of mysterious slime coating his right ankle. His shoe had fallen off and was stuck in a small pool of the sticky substance. Jin frowned, pulling his leg back carefully whilst examining the slime. It was transparent, thick and gross, despite it having an oddly sweet smell. "Nina never said anything about this... uegh, gross." Jin tried to carefully lift his shoe out of the gooey mess. Having experience as a mechanical engineer, he usually didn't mind getting his hands a little dirty. But this was different. This was a substance he had never seen before. What if it was poisonous? A sudden bang in the air vents above startled Jin, causing him to look up. His vision moved across the ceiling, but he was unable to pinpoint the exact source of the sound. He could hear his own breath and he disliked everything about that. Jin's calm demeanor was faltering. Whatever this thing was, it was uncanny. "Show yourself." he commanded in a clear voice, attempting to keep control over the situation. Now was not the time to freak out. He was answered with another bang inside the air vents, this one closer.Another one, closer yet. Jin gritted his teeth as he took hold of a mobile device in his pocket. If the creature was too dangerous, he could immediately call for support. Channeling a current of red lightning through his arms, Jin exhaled, stood up and prepared for the worst. His shoe would have to wait; safety came first. He jerked his head around immediately upon hearing a metal plate fall onto the floor. His eyes were fixed to the new hole in the vents while he gathered his courage. Seconds of anticipation went by, but nothing happened. The hallway had fallen silent once more. Jin lowered his fists after a while, slowly, steadily. He knew better than to trust this situation and kept staring at the vents while trying to free his shoe from the gooey puddle. He refused to let his guard down. Little did he know that there was an opening in the vents right above his head... A droplet of slime falling on Jin's head was the last thing that warned him, alas too late.