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A/N: Hello and welcome to my first attempt at a Tekken AU. I'm starting at the end of the second tournament as that is where it will diverge from canon. My intention is to write a light-hearted story with some dramatic moments and to pay homage to the awesome female characters that are often overshadowed by men.

Just as a tiny warning, the light-hearted part begins after the prologue.

This story is completely unrelated to my other WIP, "The Hardest Truth."

-Prologue-

Jun Kazama walked down the wide hallway decorated with portraits of baseball legends, Olympic athletes and King of Iron Fist Tournament fighters, but she did not spare them a glance. Her focus was on the door at the end of the hallway, the men's locker room. The corridor was empty, as all spectators, reporters and media personnel were in the stands or in the arena eager for the next fight to begin. The echo of her footsteps on the gray, tile floor was uncomfortably loud in her ears; her breathing, even her heartbeat seemed louder than normal.

Jun felt her chest tighten as she neared the door.

She saw it open suddenly and Lee Chaolan emerged from it dressed quite differently than she was accustomed to seeing him, in jeans, a black leather vest, and a pair of black boots instead of an expensive suit. He shook his head slightly then slammed the door behind him. He wore an angry expression which suddenly changed to a friendly smile the moment he saw her.

"Miss Kazama," he bowed slightly to Jun, his silver hair swaying gracefully, "here to wish Kazuya good luck?" He asked as he adjusted his black fighting gloves.

Jun attempted a smile but couldn't manage it and nodded instead. "...I-I am."

There was a short, awkward silence as he looked at her almost expectantly, then he shook his head and laughed lightly. "He's in one of his moods, I'm afraid. So you should think twice before going in."

Jun smiled nervously as she saw the same expectant expression on his face.

Lee bowed once more. "I'll see you after."

At that moment she realized that he was on his way to the arena to fight his father. "Oh, um, good luck." The words felt clumsy on her tongue, she wished she could have a drink of water.

"Thank you." He gave her a forced smile before turning toward the exit.

Jun inhaled deeply and steadied her nerves, she wiped her clammy hands on her white, denim shorts and forced herself to open the locker room door.

The place was unnecessarily large, more gray tile as well as dark, polished wood and steel made up the cavernous room. There were television sets mounted on every corner, and wooden benches along the floors in front of the lockers.

She spotted Kazuya at the far end of the room with his back to the door. Wearing white gi pants and red foot guards, he was dressed for his fight, ready to face the victor of the penultimate fight of the King of Iron Fist Tournament II.

Jun had a sick feeling in her stomach when she realized he was whispering angrily to himself. She was certain that he was arguing with Devil, the demon that had possessed him since he was a small boy.

It ends today, child.

Jun heard Angel's comforting voice in her head, she was accustomed to hearing it in her dreams, but as she stood awake she found it somewhat unnerving.

Your love and influence have weakened the creature's hold on Kazuya. He will soon be free, now do as I instructed.

Jun's eyes widened as she felt the divine being touch her forehead. She felt a surge of power flowing through her, a feeling akin to icy water and electricity combined, it made her stomach churn and heightened her every sense.

Kazuya's muscular body visibly tensed. He turned slowly toward Jun, red irises stared into her brown eyes. They were burning with such hate that she involuntarily took a step backward.

"Do not falter, child." She was startled to see Angel standing next to her in all her glory. Blonde, clad in white and radiating a beauty that was clearly not human, but her most stunning feature was undoubtedly the majestic, silvery-white wings folded neatly behind her.

"I told him that you would betray us," Kazuya spat in a voice that was thicker and raspier than usual. Jun knew it was not his own, the creature was controlling him.

"I'm not betraying him, I'm helping him," Jun said resolutely.

It was not Kazuya, she told herself, it was Devil using Kazuya's body. He looked directly at Angel but didn't move, Jun could feel that he was afraid, but the fear was nothing compared to the anger, the hate that threatened to envelop them, to suffocate them. He remained immobile as his eyes narrowed.

The door suddenly opened and Lee entered the locker room again. He stopped mid-stride as he took in the scene before him, his expression was blank as he looked slowly from Angel to Jun and finally to the red-eyed Kazuya.

That was when Kazuya attacked.

He sprinted toward Angel and rammed into her with his shoulder sending her stumbling backward. "No games," Angel spoke through clenched teeth in a voice that was frightening in its own right. A ray of light, a laser almost, emerged from the blue jewel adorning her forehead and hit Kazuya square in the chest, in the middle of the large scar that his father had given him when he was only a child.

Kazuya's eyes went wide as Angel moved her hands in pulling motion. Jun could feel the force, the raw power radiating from the divine being who continued to pull at what seem to be nothing, but Jun could see the exertion on her face. Her brow was furrowed and her lips tight, every muscle in her lithe body seemed to be working.

Kazuya tried to walk backward but it was as if Angel were holding him in place, he struggled futilely for a few seconds until Angel let out a roar and gave one final pull.

Jun's mouth opened slightly and her eyes widened as a purple light emerged from Kazuya's body.

Kazuya's eyes were instantly their normal shade of brown but they had a vacant look. He stood motionless as the light began to transform into a purple-skinned creature with leathery wings and black horns, he bared his white fangs and narrowed his red eyes as he launched at Angel.

"Do it now, child!" She commanded.

"Lee!" Jun called to the silver-haired man, he blinked and looked at her as Devil unleashed a vicious uppercut that missed Angel's chin by less than a millimeter. "Come to me!"

Lee wasted no time and did as he was told, Jun took his hand and guided him toward the immobile Kazuya. Once she was standing with the two men Jun inhaled deeply and closed her eyes ignoring the brutal fight that was taking place mere feet from where they stood.

Jun instantly felt a calm around her heart, she felt energy swell within her, it filled her being and slowly spread from her. She imagined a soap bubble, transparent and colorful at the same time, she imagined the thin film surrounding her and the two brothers, shielding them from the fight between the two supernatural beings.

"What's happening?" Lee asked softly as Angel grabbed Devil by the neck and brought her knee up to his ribs, Devil had clearly felt it, but he managed to push his attacker away and dealt a fierce spin kick that hit Angel in the shoulder and sent her staggering backward. "I feel like I'm trapped in plastic wrap."

"It's to protect us from-" At that moment a third, red eye opened on Devil's forehead and a red laser shot forth, hitting Jun in the neck, fortunately, the shield that she had cast prevented it from doing any damage.

It had obviously been a mistake driven by rage, by the hate that Devil felt toward Jun. It turned her stomach into knots, but she knew that staying calm was paramount, it was the only way to maintain the shield.

Angel took advantage of Devil's lapse in judgment and flew toward him executing a roundhouse kick to his head. Devil lost his balance and nearly fell over but recovered just in time to block a second roundhouse then grabbing Angel by her ankle spun her quickly and sent her crashing against the lockers.

Angel growled as she stood up paying no mind to the broken wood and warped metal behind her. With inhuman speed she launched at Devil, her teeth bared as she executed a combination of kicks and punches that drove the demon into the wall breaking a television set and several more lockers in the process.

Angel hopped backward and shot her laser straight into Devil's third eye, the creature slumped to the floor immobile. She touched her fingers to the jewel on her forehead and to Jun's utter amazement an arched, stone doorway opened in front of her. It was simply an arch, she could she the locker room through it, but Angel walked up to Devil, grabbed him by his ankles and hurtled him through it where he disappeared.

"You did well, child," Angel said approvingly, "you should have enough power left to heal his mind. I thank you for your help." She turned toward the doorway.

"Wait!" Jun called to her, Angel raised an eyebrow in what Jun could have sworn was impatience. "...I-I um, what happens now?"

"What happens now is no longer my concern, my mission was to save Kazuya's soul and I have, I have no more business in this world." Angel stepped into the doorway and disappeared with it.

"What?" Lee shook his head and muttered to himself. "That did not happen. It did not happen."

Jun closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she pictured the shield sliding off their bodies and gathering itself into a ball of light in her hands. With her eyes still closed she turned toward Kazuya and rested her hands on his temples letting what remained of the energy that Angel had given her flow into him. When she was sure nothing remained she opened her eyes and looked at him.

Nothing had changed.

Kazuya remained vacant and immobile. Jun decided to give his mind and body some time to adjust or do whatever they needed to do. Lee began pacing and muttering to himself. Jun stood in the same spot for a few minutes staring at Kazuya, looking for any change but she found none.

"Kazuya, look at me." Jun's own pleading voice sounded strange to her, higher than usual, strained. "Look at me."

The young woman took her lover's hand and was met with the rough leather of his red, fighting glove, wanting real contact she moved her other hand to his face and slowly caressed his cheek, then ran her fingers through his jet-black hair. She felt panic as she looked into his eyes and saw no change. He had been standing in the same position for minutes doing nothing, his eyes wide open while seeing nothing.

"That cannot have happened." She heard Lee's say for what she could have sworn was the tenth time. "It can't be real."

His breathing was rapid. Jun turned to look at him and for the first time since she'd met him, she saw that he was struggling to maintain his composure.

"It happened, Lee," Jun said as calmly as she could. "You saw it, I saw it, it was real." She tried to pull Kazuya toward the bench but he didn't move an inch.

Jun was sympathetic to how Lee was feeling, he had witnessed an angel extract a demon from his brother's body. He was taking it better than most would have.

"Help me move him to the bench." Jun's voice was firm, more even. As she looked pointedly at Lee he seemed to calm himself somewhat and she saw him take his brother's right arm, between them both, they were able to walk him to a bench.

"Sit down," Jun said softly, to her surprise Kazuya did as he was asked and she felt cautiously optimistic. Lee was standing with his eyes closed, slowly breathing in and out. "I'm sorry, you weren't supposed to be here," she said sincerely.

"I...I forgot something." Lee's voice was calm. He quickly surveyed the damage and she saw his eyes light up as he fixed his gaze on one of the untouched lockers. He quickly strode to it and opened it hastily, he extracted a silver necklace that he fastened around his neck. "It was a gift from Anna." He touched it lightly before making his way toward his brother.

"Your fight," Jun said as she looked at the nearest television set, the volume was off but it was tuned to a channel that was showing a live broadcast of the tournament. She could see Heihachi Mishima standing in the middle of the arena wearing the same black gi that he had in all his fights and sporting the same ridiculous hair and mustache. He had an angry look on his face as he folded his muscular arms across his broad chest.

"It's starting in a couple of minutes." Lee's voice was calm and confident once more.

"Will you be all right after everything-"

Lee laughed lightly. "Growing up around those two you learn how to bury everything and focus on the matter at hand...for the time being at least."

Jun nodded before turning to Kazuya. "Can you hear me?" Her voice was soft as she took his hand again. "I don't know what to do."

"I'll call a medic on my way out." Lee offered.

"No." They both gasped as they heard Kazuya's deep voice. "No medics."

"Kazuya," Jun felt a wave of relief wash over her, "are you in pain?"

There was no answer, but his eyes were now closed, she took it as a good sign.

Lee ran a hand through his hair, "I have to go, if I'm late I'll be disqualified, I'll come back as soon as it's done."

Jun nodded. "Go, I'll take care of him."

Lee sighed and looked at Kazuya before walking briskly toward the exit.

Jun closed her eyes and when she heard him walk out the door she laid her head on Kazuya's shoulder enjoying the closeness and feeling grateful that he was alive and seemed to be recovering. Minutes must have passed because when she opened her eyes and looked at the screen she saw that the fight in the arena was already in progress.

She watched as father and son exchanged blows, but to her dismay, she saw that it was not going in Lee's favor. She looked at Kazuya and saw that there was no change, his eyes were closed and his breathing was even but he had not moved. She turned to the television in time to see Heihachi execute a brutal kick to his son's head. Lee fell face-down seemingly unconscious or maybe just in too much pain to move. Heihachi didn't care, he continued to kick him even though it was obvious that he wasn't getting up. Jun closed her eyes as she felt her stomach churn.

What now? Kazuya was the only one left to fight, everyone else had already been disqualified but he was obviously in no condition to face off against anyone.

"Did it happen? Is this real?" Kazuya's voice startled Jun, she turned to him wide-eyed.

"It happened." She said softly.

"Is he...gone?" There was a hint of sadness in his voice, he was referring to Devil, she was sure.

"Yes, he's gone."

He stood up slowly. "I feel strange."

"Don't get up too fast."

"I didn't." He said through clenched teeth.

"Are you in pain?"

He shook his head. "I feel fine."

"You said you feel strange."

Kazuya sighed impatiently. "If you'd had a demon pulled out of your body you would too."

He sounded almost back to his usual self, but there was something different in his tone.

"What can I do?" She wanted to hold him to at least take his hand but she didn't know how he would react.

"...You did enough." His tone was flat and she saw his body shift slightly away from her.

"Are you angry with me?" She felt like a little girl asking that question and suddenly realized how self-serving it was.

Kazuya hesitated a moment. "...I don't know...I could be."

"I'm-"

"I don't want to talk about anything right now." She knew he was right, she needed to give him time. "Did Lee see everything?" Kazuya asked after a short silence. "I thought I heard him."

"He did…"

"Where did he go?"

Jun didn't want to tell him knowing the issue that it would bring up but she didn't have a choice. "...He went to face your father in the arena."

Kazuya's eyes widened. "The tournament...I…" He looked toward the corner at the screen, the channel was showing recaps of the fight. "I knew he would fail." There was no mockery or anger in his voice, only a sadness that she had never heard before.

"He fought well," Jun assured him.

"That doesn't matter," Kazuya slowly shook his head, "his skill is no match for Heihachi's hate or his desire to regain the Zaibatsu."

She shook her head. That God-forsaken company. Jun felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw the hardened look on his face as he adjusted his red gloves.

"You can't fight him!" Her voice was louder than she expected and judging by the look he gave her it was not appreciated. "Not now." She finished softly.

Kazuya scoffed. "Then when?"

"I don't know…Postpone it," she suggested, hoping against hope that he would accept, "it's still your tournament, you can do whatever you want, you can call it off if you really have to."

"Call it off?" He sounded offended, almost angry. "And look like a coward in front of the entire world?"

"Not call it off, I'm sorry I said that, just postpone it until tomorrow, get some rest-"

He shook his head. "You don't think I can win without- you don't hink I can win by myself."

"It isn't that at all, I just think you should give yourself time to recover from...from what you just went through. Wait until tomorrow, please."

"If I do that he will have everyone in the media, everyone on the board of directors against me and-"

Jun raised her arms in frustration. "Since when do you care what the media or anyone else thinks?"

"I don't know!" He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. "...I don't know, but it's what you wanted, isn't it?" His tone was accusatory, but Jun realized that it was justified, it was what she had wanted.

"I'm sorry."

Kazuya sighed impatiently. "Don't say that. I can't talk to you about this. You weren't raised by Heihachi, you will never understand." He sat on the bench. "Did Lee look like he was in a well enough condition to talk?"

Jun looked away. "I don't know...I closed my eyes."

"Yet another reason why I can't talk to you about it." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need you to do something for me, go see if Lee is well enough to talk, if he's not let me know when he will be."

Jun looked at him feeling as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off her shoulders. If he wanted to talk to Lee maybe it meant that they could come up with a plan together, Lee was always the voice of reason, maybe he could convince Kazuya to postpone the fight. She looked up at the clock above the door, there was more than half an hour left before the final fight was set to start. Once she was in the medical room she could bring a medic back and hopefully between her and Lee they could convince Kazuya to be examined.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Will you just hurry?" He was as impatient as usual, that part was obviously his own personality showing.

Jun ran out the door and into the hallway. She took one of the smaller corridors to the right not quite remembering where the medical room was, she was thankful when she saw the sign pointing her in the correct direction. It was at the end of the hall, adjacent to the X-ray room. The door was open and she could hear a woman's soothing voice that she immediately recognized as belonging to Anna Williams.

As Jun was about to enter the room a medic stepped out.

"How is he?" She needed to see him but didn't want to overstep her boundaries if he and Anna were having a private moment.

"He has a mild concussion, dislocated shoulder, fractured ribs and...I forget what else." The man shrugged indifferently. "He'll live," he said before checking his watch and walking toward the X-ray room.

Jun peeked in just to make doubly sure that she wasn't interrupting. Lee was lying on his back on top of the stretcher with his right hand over his eyes. He was only wearing his jeans and boots. Anna stood next to him lightly running her fingers through his hair. Jun noted the worried expression she wore, it was not something she had seen in Anna before.

Everything was so different...surreal.

"I hope I'm not interrupting…" Jun said softly.

Lee removed his hand from his face, bruises were forming already, he had a cut on his cheekbone and she could see blood in his hair and on his pants. He looked at her with such a sad expression that Jun felt a knot in her throat as she looked into his eyes.

"I couldn't do it," Lee said in a bitter tone as he closed his eyes. "He won, he has control of everything again. With Kazuya in his current state-"

"What happened to him?" Anna asked harshly. "Lee says that he had some sort of medical episode, why are you here?" She gave Jun an accusatory look. "Why aren't you with him?"

Jun decided to ignore Anna's questions and quickly walked up to Lee's bedside. "He's not in control yet, Kazuya seems to be back to normal, if we-"

"What was it then?" Anna interrupted. "A nervous breakdown, anxiety attack?"

Jun turned toward Anna. "I don't know." Her voice had risen louder than she had intended, she gave Anna an apologetic look before she continued. "I'm going to take a medic back with me so he can examine him."

Anna scoffed. "He'll never agree to it."

"He's different now, you can't know what he's going to do?"

"Different now?" Anna shook her head. "As opposed to how he was an hour ago?"

"Anna," Lee spoke up, it seemed to take effort on his part, "please let Miss Kazama say what she needs to say."

"He wants to talk to you," Jun sighed. "He says he wants to fight as scheduled but I'm trying to convince him to postpone it until tomorrow. He doesn't want to but I'm hoping that if you talk to him-"

"Are you stupid, Jun Kazama?"

"Anna!" Lee looked disapprovingly at his girlfriend.

Jun gaped at her not knowing what to say. She suddenly noticed Anna's leopard print coat and leather pants, it was almost a mockery of everything Jun believed in, everything she stood for.

"How could you leave him alone?" Anna spun on her heel, her footsteps echoed loudly as she exited the room.

"I apologize on her behalf, Miss Kazama, she should not have spoken to you that way." Lee closed his eyes again.

"She's worried, I understand."

The sound of Anna's high heels on the tile floor could be heard quickly returning to the room, she was running. Jun was instantly filled with dread.

Anna stared daggers at Jun. "The fight started! Kazuya is out there fighting that piece of shit old man right now. If he isn't ready-"

Jun looked up at the clock. "But it's not set to start for another twenty-five minutes."

"It's his tournament, he told them to move it up and they did." Anna shook her head again. "You shouldn't have left him alone."

"Help me up," Lee said as he tried to push himself up on his right elbow, his left shoulder was bruised and was obviously causing him pain. "The least I can do is watch."

"You don't have to go," Anna said softly. "I'll go and watch, I'll make sure the old man doesn't pull any dirty tricks."

"I have to," he said resolutely. Anna cast down her eyes and nodded.

Anna and Jun slowly helped him off the stretcher and supported him as they walked out of the medical room and toward the exit. There were no security guards around, she was sure that they were outside watching the fight. The corridor seemed interminable, Jun felt claustrophobic, she wanted to run but couldn't leave Lee behind. Her heart drummed louder and louder as they reached the door that opened into the fighting arena.

She let go of Lee's arm and stepped forward to open the door. The deafening roar of the crowd viciously attacked her eardrums. The midday sun seemed too bright and her eyes had to adjust to see what was happening.

Kazuya and Heihachi were exchanging blows. She saw Kazuya's fist collide with his father's ribs and the older man stumbled backward but quickly retaliated with a kick that hit Kazuya square in the chest, he blocked a second kick and unleashed a vicious uppercut to his father's stomach it sent Heihachi reeling, but again, he didn't fall.

"That should have been a kick," Anna whispered.

Jun agreed with her, a kick would have been much more effective.

"This isn't like him," Lee said in a worried tone as they watched Heihachi unleash a barrage of kicks that Kazuya was barely able to block, "he's being sloppy…"

Kazuya tried to recover as he attempted a kick to the side of his opponent's head, he missed as Heihachi ducked and punched Kazuya hard in the ribs.

"We have to go," Anna said in a panicked tone.

"Not yet," Lee whispered.

Anna tried to reason with Lee. "He said he would kill you if he ever saw you in Japan again."

Lee's tone was pleading. "It's not over."

"It's over," Anna said before hurrying down the hallway.

Jun moved to support Lee but he leaned against the doorframe instead.

"I'm sorry," Jun said as she watched Kazuya unsuccessfully try to block his father's fist. "I shouldn't have left him alone." Heihachi spun quickly his elbow striking his son in the chest.

"You and I both know that you couldn't have stopped him," Lee said sadly.

She heard Anna returning. She had a T-shirt for Lee to wear and she was holding her purse.

"Put this on." She said as she helped him pull it over his head. "We have to go." She whispered.

Lee's voice was barely audible. "We can't leave him."

Anna sighed in defeat and nodded slowly.

Can't leave him… Lee's words finally sunk in and Jun felt as if her lungs had suddenly run out of air. Lee and Anna knew how it would end, the only way that it could end.

Her limbs were lead.

She watched the fight but her eyes were unfocused. She had to blink several times to make out the two figures in the center clearly.

She felt Lee take her hand in his. She wanted to close her fingers around it but she couldn't move, she couldn't even breathe. She watched as Heihachi dealt brutal blow after brutal blow and Kazuya could barely block, let alone retaliate. She felt her fingers grow numb as Lee's grip on her hand tightened.

They both knew what was coming.

There were no tears, she didn't scream. There was only the feeling of emptiness before it even happened. Her heart was no longer racing, its beat was slow, much slower than normal.

She watched as Heihachi put Kazuya in a headlock and twisted with all his might.

Jun didn't look away, she didn't close her eyes. She owed him at least that much.