Author's Notes: The ongoing battle between Yoshimitsu and Voldo continues, but here it shall end. Got into the mind of one of these characters a little bit... which, given both these kooks, was a really bad idea. I'll probably get over it soon, and the hissing has already died down a bit. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the battle to come. Oh, as with the last chapter, I had some fun in actually getting them to the arena rather than it just being a natural place. Cheers!

Disclaimer: Ya know, I'd talk about how if I owned the rights to these things that I wouldn't be writing here, but knowing me I just might.

Voldo vs. Yoshimitsu

Voldo had once again left the Money Pit in order to serve his master's wish of acquiring Soul Edge. This time, he would not return until he had retrieved the legendary blade. As such, he was following the trail of people he was certain knew something of it.

After traveling halfway around the world to an island in the east, Voldo neared the blade he had once mistaken for Soul Edge. He could smell its evil aura. He could sense its very presence. Because of this, it did not matter how discreetly hidden the entrance to the thieves' den in the snowy mountain was. The servant would not be denied in the service of his master.

Cries of agony and torment soon echoed throughout the cavernous domain as Voldo tore his way through the many thieves in search of the evil sword. When he found its wielder, he would force them to tell him what he wanted to know.

As he entered the back room where the energy was strongest, Voldo found himself surrounded by dozens of thieves, much like the ones he had seen thus far. He was ready to tear them all apart as they closed in on him when a voice rang out to stop them. But with the voice, Voldo sensed the blade approaching. This was the man he sought.

The somewhat high-pitched voice continued as its owner pushed through the crowd. "Halt men! Stand back! I shall face this creature myself, for I have faced a far greater evil than this." Most of the warriors moved to the wall, leaving only the intruder and their leader in the center of the room.

The leader of the Manjitou, Yoshimitsu, wore a colorful suit of greens and purples. His right sleeve was cut short, much like the arm it would have covered. In its place was a wooden mechanism that quite effectively replaced the functions of the missing appendage. Covering his face was a white mask that rose from his head in five orange points. The eyes beneath that mask burned with a great hatred for the one standing before him.

Voldo wore a purple body suit over the middle section of his torso as well as his extremities. Little else covered his pale frame and the only armor to be found was on his shoulders. Purple straps circled around his head, covering his eyes and going across his mouth before connecting at the top of his hairless scalp. Despite being somewhat gagged, he managed to let out loud hisses and growls at the warrior he had sought.

Yoshimitsu turned to address his men standing at the edges of the room. "I have seen this villain before and I know what he seeks." Returning his gaze to the intruder who continued to hiss madly at his presence, he resumed his speech. "You see, this creature seeks my blade…" he said, pointing the weapon in question at him. The sword pulsed with energy and his voice grew much darker as he continued. "… And I shall gladly see him receive it." Voldo gave one more angered hiss before charging at the warrior.

Slashing his katars in every direction, Voldo gave his opponent little chance to mount an offensive. The powerful katana was forced to go between the two weapons as they came in rapid succession in order to prevent them from making contact with the masked warrior. However, it soon became readily apparent that the one blade was not able to keep up with the two.

The ninjutsu-styled samurai finally felt the brunt of his enemy's attacks when both katars were used to trap his blade against the ground and the servant balanced on his weapons in a handstand while he gave a vicious kick. Yoshimitsu lost his grip on the sword that shared his name and fell to his back on the cold stone. Half raising himself up, he watched as the creature dropped the katana and advanced on him.

While Voldo made his way to the leader of the Manjitou, one of the many thieves kept a close eye on where his feet tread. When the pale warrior had reached the exact center of the room, he pulled a lever and a number of gears kicked into action. A sectioned panel opened up beneath the servant's feet and he fell into the black abyss of the chute with a great hiss.

Yoshimitsu rose to his feet and retrieved his weapon before moving to the still open panel and staring into the darkness. One of his followers approached from the wall. "Sir, the tunnel leads to the center of Mount Fuji, where the earth itself boils. There is no way for that thing to survive down there."

Turning to his student, Yoshimitsu stared at him coldly through his mask. "You have more faith than I." Looking back to the tunnel, he waited a moment before speaking again. "Prepare one of the exits to the volcanic cavern."

Many of the warriors began to mumble in confusion while the nearest member was forced to question the order. "Sir?"

The masked leader did not look up at them as he spoke. "Much of our number have died today because of this creature and it is stronger than you realize. I shall be certain it is dead when I have wiped its blood clean from my blade." And, without waiting for his words to sink in, Yoshimitsu dropped himself into the dark tunnel.

Meanwhile, Voldo had managed to slow his descent by stretching himself out and pressing his katars and feet against the outside edges of the chute. He eventually came to a stop just short of its end where the volcanic heat began to rise and push the hot air against his back. With an annoyed growl, he tried to position himself so that he might make his way back up to the man who could definitely tell him something about Soul Edge. Before he could get too far, however, a sound came from above and that man came to him.

Yoshimitsu's feet drove into the pale servant's chest and the both of them fell to the lava pit below. They landed hard on a massive stone fragment of the wall that had fallen into the molten rock some time ago.

The two now rose to their feet… alone and with nothing to get in the way of their final bout. Voldo smashed his katars together and hissed while the masked warrior twisted the blade in his hand and said, "Thou shalt breathe thy last!" Once again, the warriors charged each other and let their weapons clash.

Metal clangs echoed through the cavern as the battle raged with neither side able to gain an advantage. Yoshimitsu's long sword allowed him to keep his distance while Voldo's strange style ensured that his motions could not be predicted.

At one point the warrior's blades became locked together in a power struggle before the colorful samurai tossed the katars to the side, causing the servant to turn around from the momentum. When Yoshimitsu pulled back his sword in preparation to strike Voldo fell back, planting his weapons into the stone and putting him in an awkward position.

He didn't remain in that position for long, as he once again balanced on his blades in a hand stand before violently smashing his knees into his opponent's shoulders and forcing him to fall face first on the ground. Pressing most of his weight on the back of the man's neck with one knee, Voldo pushed himself forward with his free leg and dragged his enemy with him as a loud crack sounded out. Rising to his feet, the servant backed away and tried to assess the damage he'd caused.

Much to the pale warrior's surprise, Yoshimitsu moaned and began to push himself up. When he had regained his full stature, it was revealed that a long, ragged line had formed in his mask. Feeling it with his living hand, he let out a shout. "Foul Villain!" Readying his blade, he stood prepared to defend against the strange warrior.

Voldo was incensed that this man dared to continue standing and defy his master's will. With an angry hiss, he began to thrust his weapons at the samurai.

Yoshimitsu quickly swung his sword upwards to deflect the katars. He then began to hammer down with the hilt. His opponent tried to protect himself, but the blunt force soon became too much and the dual blades were pushed back far enough to slice through some of the straps surrounding his head.

Voldo made a small retreat while he was still able, but as he did so the severed strands began to fall away… including those covering his eyes. For a brief moment his eyes were revealed. They seemed to be nothing more than empty pools of darkness that had ceased to function from lack of use. Despite their seeming state of disrepair, it seemed that he could still see something out of them as he quickly raised his arms to cover them, hissing madly and seeming to be in pain from the surge of light.

Making his way over with intent to finish him off, Yoshimitsu tightly gripped his katana and raised it above his head, ready to send it crashing down. "Heaven's judgment is swift and merciless."

Before Voldo could receive his final judgment, however, his eyes finally closed and he regained a proper sense of his surroundings. Stepping to the side to avoid the incoming blade, he began to smash his weapons into the ground in an attempt to take out the samurai's feet.

Utilizing some quick footwork, Yoshimitsu moved further and further back to avoid the swiftly approaching swipes of his opponent. He was successful until the servant changed its tactic, thrashing one katar up to repel the samurai's sword. With the other katar he connected a powerful backhand on the now exposed ribs.

Yoshimitsu fell back, tumbling and rolling along the stone after the heavy blow. Straightening out his limbs, he was able to stop himself before he could reach the edge or the lava beyond. Rising to his feet, he quickly stepped away from the rim and once again charged his enemy.

The fury of the masked warrior caused his strikes to come at an incredible speed. The servant was only barely able to keep up and defend himself. Even so, he was losing ground and having no opportunity to put his opponent on the defensive.

When the sword came at him in a powerful horizontal swing, Voldo again fell back to a position of balancing between his feet and katars in order to dodge the blow. He intended to bring his feet up for a surprise kick, but his enemy was not as baffled by his stance this time and did not give him the chance. Leaping up into the air, Yoshimitsu flipped over and brought his feet down on the servant's raised torso, pushing it down and flattening him against the stone.

Voldo gave a pained hiss as the samurai backed off of him. At this point it did not matter if he killed the man he had originally tracked as a lead to Soul Edge, for if he were to fall in battle now then his master would never receive his great treasure. With this thought in mind, Voldo set all the pain he felt aside and rolled forward to deliver a hard kick with both his feet. He would not be denied.

Yoshimitsu managed to stay on his feet after the attack, but again came dangerously close to toppling over the edge, this time in a narrow corner of the fragment. After stabilizing his footing, the masked warrior turned back to see his opponent slowly advancing on him. Deciding on a plan of action, he waited until the servant was close enough before dropping to a low stance and sweeping out his feet.

The pale warrior hit the ground hard with his hands dangling over the edge and the katars dipping into the magma. The metal blades quickly absorbed the heat and Voldo, out of instinct, released his hold on them.

His mind immediately began to rage at this action. 'No! Those katars were a part of the master's collection! He will scold me if I lose them!' With no more thought then that, his hands dove after the lost weapons and instantly melted away.

Watching as his enemy recoiled in pain yet again, Yoshimitsu now approached and set his sword against the servant's neck. Voldo slowly turned around and fell to his knees, holding his burnt stumps before him. The masked warrior pulled back his blade slightly and lowered it. "Your master is long since dead," he said before driving the steel of his weapon into his enemy's chest. "And now, thou shalt join him in hell."

With those words and a final gasp, Voldo was kicked off the katana and sent sprawling back into the lava pit.

Yoshimitsu wiped the sides of his blade against his sleeve before making his way out of the volcanic cavern through a doorway his men had opened for him. He quickly drew up plans for a great acquisition. Now that this old enemy had been vanquished, the Money Pit would be easy plunder and would support the Manjitou's operations for many years to come.

Author's Notes: Well, victim number 2 has punched his ticket. Both of these guys had some strange styles, but since I'd already used most of Yoshimitsu's crazier moveset elswhere I decided to have him play the straight man to Voldo's insanity. Both of these characters are among my favorites, and having either of them die is a sad thing for me, but one of them had to go. Voldo dies here because the insanity that works to his advantage most of the time was the best thing to thematically destroy him. Hopefully he'll find some degree of peace in the next life.

And speaking of next, our fourth chapter will have old schoolmates test their abilities to decide if one person's quest is over... or if the other's has just begun.