Enter Pandemonium
Kazuya groaned and sat up, gripping the back of his head that was throbbing in pain. He had hit the hard ground most unceremoniously; at the moment of his death, he had suddenly found himself falling, falling, and falling even further into blackness, until he had finally landed on what felt like cold, slimy stone.
"So, it's 'Kazuya Mishima', is it?"
Kazuya looked up at the sound of the voice. In the dim light, he saw something that confused him for a moment—was that... himself? His eyes were on a horned, purple humanoid creature that was sitting cross-legged in midair, held aloft by slowly flapping wings. It was resting its cheek upon its right hand, head tilted as it gazed lazily down at Kazuya. It had a bored expression on its face.
"Who are you?" Kazuya demanded.
"I'm a demon," it replied.
"A demon...? So you are... Devil?"
"'Devil'? No, of course I am not The Prince of Darkness himself! Who are you trying to flatter?" Without waiting for a response, the demon continued briskly, "Now let's take a quick look at your sins, shall we?" The demon flicked its left hand to reveal a very long scroll of old, yellowed parchment. It pulled out a pair of spectacles, placed them carefully on its head and began to pore over the scroll. "Oooh... yes, yes... okay..." it mumbled to itself as it read.
Kazuya felt annoyed. "What are you looking at?"
The demon looked up from the parchment. "This is a list of everything you did in life that qualified you to get here. I can see from this list that you've been quite... naughty... not that that's a bad thing of course; we like that sort of thing here." It smirked at Kazuya and returned to reading the parchment. After a another moment it said, "Ah, 'Devil' must be what you called the lucky one who possessed you on Earth, is that it?"
"Er, yeah." Kazuya paused. "So you mean, the one possessing me wasn't the Devil? It was just some random demon like you?"
"Yes, it was just some random demon like me." The demon rolled its eyes. "A damn lucky one too, from I can tell. Apparently you made a deal with it and everything, after your father threw you off a cliff... it didn't even have to take you by force; how ideal! And then you returned the favor to your father... imagine that! Family members throwing each other into volcanoes... that is classic stuff, it really is... mmm, I like you a lot already..."
"Yeah, well, I would have died if I hadn't done what I did," said Kazuya, referring to making a deal with a demon.
"Of course, of course... that demon was smart to get you when it did, when you were so vulnerable... on the verge of death, yummy... ahh, I can't wait until my next turn to go back up... I think I might take a page from your demon's book, yes..."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, everyone here gets a chance once in a while to go back up and possess one of the living... arouse unsavory temptations ... corrupt the righteous... wreak havoc... little things like that. Helps to remind people that Satan and what humans call 'evil' aren't going anywhere... we are here for eternity, doing our humble part to maintain the greater balance of the universe." The demon gave a little bow, and then smirked again. "Not to mention giving a us a nice, well-deserved vacation."
Kazuya smirked back. "So if I'm here, then apparently I'm considered 'evil' then, huh."
"Of course," the demon nodded. "However, you could try to think of the greater forces as 'chaos' versus 'order', rather than 'evil' versus 'good'... sometimes, that view can help those who cannot immediately accept their fate come to terms with—"
"I'm not interested in your philosophizing," Kazuya interrupted coldly. "Tell me what's next; I doubt that I'm destined to sit here chatting with you for all of eternity."
"Very well." The demon flicked its right hand and rolled out another scroll. This one was much shorter than the old, yellowed parchment, and made of a clean white material that glowed with a pearly luminescence in the semidarkness.
"Oh, not another list," Kazuya sighed.
"We have to cross-check The Other Place's records with our own," the demon explained patiently. "We have to see how truly good and evil your life actions measure up to be, when compared side by side. Your case seems quite unambiguous though, so no need to worry." The demon smiled ominously, clearly enjoying itself. "And of course, we need to make sure that no... mistakes have been made. Why, just the other day I had a man come here who was bawling like a baby, insisting that there was no way he didn't make into Heaven! Of course, I get that sort of thing all the time, but a look over his records showed that he actually was telling the truth, and that he was supposed to be sent to The Other Place after all! Even if it was only barely so... anyway, that particular situation was such a mess to clean up, but still quite funny."
Kazuya grimaced.
"Oh yes, this fancy parchment those angels use is just sickening, isn't it? Just trying to rub their shiny goodness in our faces, I suppose." Evidently the demon had misunderstood the reason for Kazuya's disgusted face. It began reading the newly conjured scroll. "Oh, dear me..."
"What's wrong now?"
"Ah, a single blemish on an otherwise perfect resume! And what a serious one it is, tsk tsk!" The demon waved a reprimanding finger at Kazuya.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh Kazuya, you hated your own father, your own son, your own brothers... and you treated just about everyone in your life with such thorough hatred, all in the name of exacting revenge and furthering your own power—and we certainly applaud you for all that—but there is one person whom you apparently have always loved! And what a shame it is... a certain 'Jun Kazama' woman, I see..."
"What?" Kazuya snarled. "Her? She died ages ago!"
With another flick of its hand, the demon conjured another pearly white scroll and began reading over it. "Hmm, yes, and she has been in Heaven ever since." The demon shook its head in disappointment. "Ah Kazuya, how strange it is! Not only did you love her, but she seems to have been just as good as you were evil! She was sickeningly righteous and good, I see... and apparently she loved you too... tried to save you from yourself and your 'Devil', even... hmm... how could someone as evil as you possibly be attracted to someone like her...? I just can't understand it..."
Kazuya was furious. "And what does she have to do with my fate here? Answer me!"
The demon sighed. "Well, before you can move on to Hell once and for all, you're going to have to face some sort of retribution for that particular bit of goodness in your life."
"Let me get this straight—I'm going to be punished for the feelings I had for that woman?"
"That's right." The demon then lazily gestured to a set of heavy wrought iron double doors nearby. "You'll have to go through there to find out what's next."
"Fine." Kazuya immediately moved toward the doors, but the demon suddenly flew in front of him, blocking his path.
"I did very much enjoy talking to you, Kazuya," the demon said, suddenly sounding a bit sentimental.
"Get out of my way," Kazuya growled.
"I really would like to get to know you a bit better... of course I do find your life accomplishments very impressive for the most part... and you are ravishingly handsome, you know?" The demon smiled seductively, its eyes roving all over Kazuya's body. "You can stay here a bit and play with me... there's no rush..."
"You? I don't even know whether you're male or female!"
"I'll be whatever you want me to be, Kazuya..." the demon leered.
Kazuya shoved the demon aside, pushed through the heavy doors, and stormed through without a backwards glance.
"Well, it was worth a shot." The jilted demon sighed, settling back into its usual spot in the air.
Kazuya walked through an unlit tunnel, eventually finding himself in a large, round chamber. Looking around, he saw that there were raised stands encircling the room, giving it the appearance of a small dungeon-like stadium. Dozens of lit torches were casting unfriendly shadows throughout. As far as Kazuya could see, the place was empty.
"Hello?" Due to the high ceiling and complete stone interior, his voice echoed throughout. "Hello?"
At this, another demon suddenly appeared in midair, hovering right in front of the startled Kazuya.
"Jesus...!"
"Watch your language," it spat, in a voice more deep and menacing than the previous demon's.
Kazuya sighed. "And who are you?"
The demon's mouth slowly stretched into a cold smile. "You know me... very well," looking deep into Kazuya's eyes.
Kazuya let out a small gasp, as he suddenly recognized the face that looked so eerily like his own. "You...!"
"Yes, it is me, 'Devil'," the demon said with a relish. It lowered itself to the ground to stand face-to-face with Kazuya. "I have been given the honor of inaugurating you into your new eternal home."
"How lovely," Kazuya sneered.
"Isn't it," Devil replied, with another evil smile. "Now, I trust that the other talkative one explained to you why you here?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now, knowing you as well as I do, I figured the best way to punish you would be through humiliation and defeat."
Kazuya raised an eyebrow. "Meaning...?"
"We are going to bring in your father—"
"My what..!"
"—and you are going to tell him how weak you are... you will admit that he is stronger than you in every way, and that you are sorry for not being a better son to him."
"NO!"
Devil cackled. "I thought you would enjoy that!"
Kazuya could barely speak for anger. "You—can't—make—me...!" he sputtered.
"Oh, did I mention that you'll be burning in fire while you do this? That is standard procedure around here, after all... it does tend to motivate the damned quite well, as you may imagine!"
Kazuya cursed.
"Let's bring everybody in now, shall we?" Devil snapped its fingers, and at the sound, Kazuya saw many more demons and other evil creatures of all kinds pour into the room, seating themselves in the stands. They were chattering amongst themselves animatedly, many of them also pointing down at Kazuya and watching him in interest. The atmosphere was now one of excited anticipation.
"So you think you can just make a spectacle of me, is that it?" Kazuya said, enraged.
"Oh, we don't think we can, we know we can!" Devil replied, laughing evilly once more. "Like those on Earth, we also crave mindless entertainment..."
Kazuya cursed again, and looked up, scanning the crowd. To his horror, he saw none other than his father Heihachi Mishima settling himself into one of the best seats in the stands. He looked no different than he had when he was still alive on Earth.
Heihachi looked down at his son, smiling and looking nothing short of delighted. "Welcome to Hell, boy!" he called, and threw back his head to roar in laughter.
"Oh, that piece of shi—" Kazuya immediately moved towards the stands, fully intending to climb up and beat the old man into a bloody pulp right then and there, but he suddenly found himself moving backwards, not of his own accord. "What the—!" His body flew to the center of the stadium grounds, slamming into a tall wooden stake that was now mounted in the ground. Chains appeared at his ankles and wrists, binding him tightly to the piece of wood. Kazuya struggled, but it was no use.
"Naughty, naughty!" Devil called down, waving his finger disapprovingly at Kazuya. He was now seated next to Heihachi. After a few minutes, when the stands had been completely filled, he stood and raised his arms high into the air, looking around at the crowd in order to capture their attention. Slowly, the crowd became duly silent, eyes fixed on Devil.
"Thank you all for coming out this fine hellish day!" Someone in the crowd whistled. "Minions, I would like to welcome you most sincerely to the inauguration of one extremely evil man—any resident of Hell should be most proud to have him join our ranks! Let us give Kazuya Mishima a very warm welcome!" The crowd broke out into applause, roaring and whistling their approval.
"Now," Devil continued, "I was lucky to have had the extreme pleasure of possessing Mr. Mishima during his life on Earth, and I can say with certainty that the extent of his evil, even while not under my influence, was nearly unmatched—however, as you can see..."—Devil waved its arm to the direction of the stake, where Kazuya was still struggling against the chains—"... he is to be punished for one major lapse of judgment." Devil paused for dramatic effect, and the crowd watched it breathlessly. "I am most saddened to say that during his life, Kazuya did fall in love with another human—and a very good human, at that, one who now resides in Heaven!" There were random cries of "Eww!" from the audience, along with some who made motions pretending to vomit.
"Yes, it is unpleasant to hear," Devil continued solemnly, "But all forms of moral purity, goodness, and such things equally revolting must be punished accordingly! Today, minions, you will watch as Kazuya Mishima burns his goodness away, while admitting humiliating defeat to his most hated father, Heihachi Mishima!" Devil now waved his arm to the old man who sat next to him. The crowd cheered, and Heihachi smiled and waved around to the crowd to acknowledge the approval.
"I won't do it!" Kazuya yelled from below. "Burn me all you like, as long as you want, I won't do it!" The crowd of demons laughed and jeered.
"Now, now, Kazuya, you had better stop struggling and save your energy for when the real fun begins!" Devil cried. "Now, let us count down to the fire! Join me!"
"... FIVE! … FOUR!" the crowd roared.
Kazuya was still yelling. "I won't! This is bullshit!"
"... THREE! … TWO!"
"Fuck this! Fuck you all!" Kazuya still continued to struggle uselessly against the chains.
"... ONE!"
"Light the fire!" roared Devil.
At this, a bright fire appeared at the base of the stake, right below Kazuya, who grit his teeth. The audience of demons cheered its loudest yet as the flames tickled Kazuya's feet, uncomfortably hot, already threatening to burn into his flesh.
"ARGH!" Kazuya yelled.
"Go! Go! Go!" the crowd chanted. The flames had grown, and were now searing the skin off of the bottom of Kazuya's feet.
"WAIT!" The wrought iron doors suddenly burst open. Everyone in the chamber looked around to see who had come in.
"STOP! STOP THE FIRE!"
"What is the meaning of this?" Devil raged, its eyes turning onto the intruder. Kazuya too turned his head, and was surprised to see the first demon he had spoken to hovering there, panting and waving one its old parchment scrolls.
"Stop the fire!" it repeated frantically. "Kazuya Mishima is not meant to be burned!"
To Kazuya's immense relief, the fire was extinguished. Many in the crowd gasped, and some booed.
"Explain yourself!" demanded Devil.
"A mistake has been made! Kazuya Mishima... he..." the demon paused, trying to catch its breath. The audience was silent, watching it carefully. "... he is... a carrier of the Devil Gene!" At this, the crowd gasped and broke out into hushed, frantic murmuring. "You—" the demon pointed at Devil accusingly. "You must have known this! You possessed him!"
Devil suddenly looked uncomfortably guilty. "I—"
"Let me out of these infernal chains!" Kazuya interrupted. "You heard that demon! Let me go!"
Devil looked reluctant, but snapped its fingers; the chains relinquished themselves, and the stake disappeared. Kazuya rubbed his wrists where the chains had held him, and grinned triumphantly.
"I know I should not have missed that important piece of information," the first demon said, "But you knew of it too, Devil! What were you thinking, trying to burn our royalty?"
"Royalty...?" Kazuya murmured.
"So I like to watch people burn!" Devil snapped angrily. "Give me a break! Can't a demon enjoy himself properly?"
"Well, he should not be here," said the first demon, now turning to Kazuya. "Lord Kazuya, you should have been sent to join the other Very Important Persons. No one possessing the Devil Gene is ever to be punished; that is a grave breaking of the laws of Hell." It gave a little bow. "My deepest apologies for this error."
"Quite accepted." Kazuya smirked, greatly enjoying being addressed in such a fashion.
Much of the unhappy audience had now left the stadium, after hearing these disappointing exchanges. Heihachi was still there, looking aghast. "Booo!" he called. "Burn him! Burn my fool of a son!"
"You had better watch yourself, old man," Kazuya jeered. "Apparently I now have more power here in this world than you do! You would do well to keep yourself in my good graces."
"Hmph! At least I have my ridiculous grandson's death to look forward to," Heihachi growled.
"Not so fast," the demon replied. "I have checked Jin Kazama's records, and though he too carries the Devil Gene, his fate is still... questionable. If he does not watch himself, he may just end up in The Other Place after all."
"...Hmph!"
Devil was silent, looking very sullen indeed.
"Come with me, Lord Kazuya," the first demon said, bowing to Kazuya again, and motioning towards the wrought iron doors. "If it would please my Lord, I will escort you to meet our great Satan."
"Sounds good," said Kazuya, smirking again. "Take me where I belong."
"I am at your service."
At this, Kazuya followed the demon of scrolls into the unlit tunnel, leaving a dejected Devil and a dumbfounded Heihachi in their wake.
comment and critique is appreciated :) i don't own Tekken and i am not profiting from this in any way. ~ w&r
2011.02.02 – per critique received from Salysha, i made some minor edits here and there to improve the flow, and to remove some wordiness. much thanks to both Salysha and xiaozuya for their reviews, and to anyone else who has read this :) ~ w&r