Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken

A/N: As promised, this one will probably be shorter than the preceding chapters although I'm not making any promises. Essentially this is just going to be one large fight with some explanation in the middle. I hope you enjoy, and I hope I can do the fight justice. Let's get it on.

The King of the Iron Fist Tournament 6: When Souls and Hearts Clash

Prophecy Realized: Battle of Tri-fold Malice

All of Ground Zero Isle was violently shaking, almost as if it were trembling in dreaded anticipation of something. Despite the chaos surrounding them, however, Jin and Kazuya stood solemnly, unwaveringly although the surprise was evident on their faces as they searched for the cause of the tremor. Then, not far from where the two fighters were standing, a massive fissure cracked the earth and seemed to end the quake as the island gradually slowed to a stop. Kazuya and Jin stared at the split in utter confusion and disbelief as a single, monstrous claw reached up from beneath the ground, and then another followed by a head and finally the whole body. Standing in front of them was a gargantuan creature that could only be described as a grossly-warped, grotesque representation of an Anubis; the large, demonic monstrosity had glowing red eyes, a long tail covered in alligator-like spikes made of ice, a sharp beak of a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, numerous huge barbs of crystalline frost sprouting from its wrists, golden, metallic bonds around its ankles and neck, and a number of crystals embedded in its skin going up its back and onto its head.

With an extremely deep and menacing voice, the demon threatened, "Evil stars, sons of the Devil, I am Azazel, the true ruler of this world and the bringer of your death. Prepare for annihilation and assimilation."

As both have always done when verbally threatened, Jin and Kazuya just calmly folded their arms across their chests in indifference, when, in truth, they were actually sizing up their new 'challenger'. Neither had any idea as to what this thing was, how and why it was in front of them, or even how it could be taken down, but one thing was for certain: their quarrel had to wait; they had to dispose of this fiend first before they could settle their own dispute, and both men knew that.

"Son," Kazuya said, subtlety asking Jin if he had the same idea as Kazuya.

"Father," Jin replied, solidifying the unspoken plan between them.

All of a sudden, red lightning bolts gathered around both Jin and Kazuya as they began to transform. A pair of black, angelic wings sprouted from Jin's back and two purple, leathery, bat-like wings sprouted from Kazuya's. Horns grew and stretch out of their heads, and their fingernails changed into jagged, talon-like claws. Kazuya's skin turned a cruel shade of purple, his lower half became covered in the same color fur, and his feet changed to match his hands. Jin's canine teeth grew sharp, and chains appeared and wrapped around his waist and forearms. Now, both in their destructive states, Jin and Kazuya exchanged one more glance of intent, unfurled their wings, and flew straight at Azazel.

--

Legend of the Wicked Clash

Zafina's sudden shift and enigmatic words quickly caused Asuka and Xiaoyu to panic and worry.

"What do you mean … it's starting," Asuka hesitantly asked.

Xiaoyu, clearly frightened by it all, then added, "Yeah, what is starting?"

Zafina labouringly replied in a decidedly terrified tone, "The prophecy is coming fruition. The struggle between the two Evil Stars and the Unleashed Wraith is taking place as we speak."

Confused by this, Asuka then questioned, "What prophecy? What is the prophecy?"

Anxious about the growing seriousness of the situation, Xiaoyu urged, "What does it say? Please tell us."



Zafina wasn't sure about revealing the tale; she wasn't sure if these two girls could really understand. And even if they did know what the three of them were heading full speed into, would they even be able to stop it? Would they even keep going? Ultimately, after seeing the looks on her two impromptu partners' faces and sensing the current state of the situation however, she knew she had no other choice.

Zafina took a deep breath, and, as she closed her eyes, recalled the whole retelling, "It has been prophesized: when the two evil stars meet, the combined malevolence will break the seal on the Crystal Demon, Azazel, and attract the monster to them. It has been said that the two evil stars will unite with Azazel not in partnership … but in death. An epic conflict between all three entities will then ensue, and, in the end, two will lose their lives. As the defeated lie dead on the ground, the one that remains will absorb their power into their own. However, the power will destroy the last entity's mind, and, with no one strong enough to stop it, the final wicked one will destroy all of mankind."

"What," Xiaoyu responded to this revelation of epic proportions, "We're supposed to stop that! But, how?"

That was a question Zafina didn't know the answer to. That was the thing about fortunes, premonitions, and prophecies; they never really give a reason for the event or a way to stop it. This was no exception.

"I … I'm … I'm not sure," Zafina replied with discouragement.

Asuka, remembering what Zafina said before, then urged, "But you said we were the only hope left. There's got to be something we can do. Right?"

Zafina took a moment to think before unconfidently responding, "Well, following the prophecy word-for-word, I guess you would have to make sure both evil stars survive."

Xiaoyu then asked, "How are we supposed to do that?"

Zafina, suddenly recalling something from earlier, said with a glimmer of hope, "Well, when I fought one of them earlier, I sensed a strangely equal … benevolent power within his spirit, similar to yours (points at Asuka), but it's locked up thoroughly. What I meant when I said that you are the last hope of us is that, together, you two may be able to free the power within him. With your spiritual power (points at Asuka again) and your connection to … his heart (points at Xiaoyu), it should be possible. Hopefully, that should be strong enough to defeat his evil side and stop the prophecy from coming to pass."

Xiaoyu and Asuka almost couldn't believe what they were hearing. They, just the two of them, had to stop the apocalypse by using a power that neither knew had to use on an 'evil star'. It was all too strange and unbelievable. Still, even based on Zafina's reaction, it was important, too important to just disregard. Finally, the two young women looked at each other, silently agreeing on what they had to do.

"Okay, we'll try," Xiaoyu said.

Quickly, Zafina lashed out with extreme seriousness, "Trying isn't good enough. You must succeed!"

With no further incentive needed, Xiaoyu rapidly responded, "Alright … we'll do it."

--

Those Who Fight Fiercely

Devil Jin and Devil Kazuya flew backwards violently, their bodies tossed effortlessly aside by their incredibly- mighty enemy, before bouncing off the ground to a stop in sick and unnatural fashion. This was basically how the fight between them and Azazel had gone in the first moments of the rumble. It was evident right away that, whatever this monster was, it was a few cuts above anything Jin and Kazuya had fought before. Azazel physically thrashed them every time they charged, seemingly with no effort and even without moving; the mammoth monstrosity hadn't advanced or retreated a single inch the entire fight. While Jin and Kazuya had thus far been the aggressors, Azazel seemed to just be letting them come at him while he toyed with them (as much as pummeling could be considered toying). Jin and Kazuya knew they couldn't go on like this; it was almost literally as if they were running head-first into a brick wall over and over again, only this one hit back.



As they got to their feet, both already out of breath, Jin and Kazuya only had to look at each other to know what the other was thinking; they had work together more if they were to stand a chance. Both then took a deep breath, and flew at Azazel at the same time, with Jin quickly pulling in front. Once in range, they caught the behemoth off-guard when Jin flew straight over it, but Kazuya kept going, and both began attacking from the front and behind. This staggered Azazel, and the duo continued to combat him in tandem and with uncanny efficiency. Soon, after knocking Azazel far back enough, Jin and Kazuya flew at him again, ready to attack with a combined attack, but, before they could get very far, Azazel showed off a new ability. Just as they were getting close, he slammed his hand into the ground, and two pillars of rock shot up from the ground and smashed into Jin and Kazuya, successfully taking them by surprise and stopping them in their tracks. After the initial one, a wave of pillars followed, carrying and knocking both back near the nearby forest. As Jin and Kazuya tried to shake off their painful surprise and get to their feet, Azazel's tail rose in the air and shattered into thousands of scarab-shaped shards of ice. Then, every one of them flew into the air and right at Jin and Kazuya. This was definitely a good time to retreat. Both quickly scrambled to their feet, and frantically withdrew into the forest, the scarab shards barely missing them and sticking into the trees.

As his shards of ice unstuck themselves, flew back to reform his tail, Azazel let out a low, irritated growl at the prospect of going hunting for his adversaries, and began angrily shambling towards the dense woodland, the ground crumbling under his feet. Immediately after entering the forest, the monster was greeted by a long slope that looked like it went on for quite a distance, and Jin and Kazuya were nowhere in sight especially under the cover of the trees and darkened sky. Not wanting to carefully maneuver down the incline, Azazel took a few small steps backward, sprang forward into a full sprint, and leaped into the woods, trees breaking away against its body as if they were twigs. After the small trip following its mighty leap, Azazel landed on a horizontal edge about three-fourths of the way down the incline with a nowhere-near subtle THUMP that seemed to shake the whole island. Seeming to sense the two evil stars somewhere nearby but not able to see them, Azazel slowly began walking along the edge, scanning the surrounding area with its eyes.

Jin and Kazuya stood amongst the trees, perfectly still and silent, their wings down in an attempt to blend into the dark surroundings. Both shook along with the ground as Azazel landed not far from them, a sight they couldn't help but notice, causing them to stand extra still and stay extra quiet as the demon began slowly moving toward them. In truth, they had already set up a trap for their monstrous foe, so it was in their plan for it to come to them, but it didn't stop them from breaking out in a cold sweat when it came heavily lumbering in their direction. At one point, Azazel came TOO close to discovering Jin when it stuck its head close to him in its search; Azazel was so dangerously close to Jin that Jin felt its sulfur-smelling, frigid cold breath on the back of his neck. After a brief scan, Azazel pulled itself back onto the trail, and continued on, but suddenly stopped as if feeling something; consequently, it had moved into perfect position. Not wasting time, Jin and Kazuya sprung their trap, swinging the large tree trunks that had been holding in their arms and hiding behind. Azazel didn't notice until it was too late and was sadistically slammed by the trees on the back and the front of its throat. As Azazel crumbled to the ground, choking and holding its neck, Jin and Kazuya lifted the severed trees once more and slammed them down across the monster's back, pinning it to the ground. With Azazel temporally immobilized and in pain, Kazuya and Jin both flew a way up the hill, and, as they hovered amongst the trees, swept their lasers in an arc, cutting a large amount of trees and sending them uncontrollably rumbling down the slope. As planned, the forest avalanche slammed into Azazel, and continued barreling down the hill under it came to a rough stop all the way at the bottom, seemingly crushing the monster.

Thinking they had triumphed, Kazuya mockingly asked as if Azazel were right there, "Now, what were you saying about … what was it, our annihilation?"

Jin added by sarcastically saying, "Some true ruler of the world."

Out of nowhere, much to Jin and Kazuya's immense surprise, the entire pile of trees amassed at the bottom of the hill began to slowly shuffle, but came to rest again after a moment. Suddenly, from beneath the pile, a vast array of lasers ripped through trees, and with an obviously irate roar, Azazel emerged from underneath his makeshift burial, scarred but very much alive and now thoroughly pissed. Completely stunned from shock, Jin and Kazuya just froze in place when Azazel looked up and saw them hovering in the place where they were. The demon then reared back and, after a mighty leap towards them, curled into a ball, forming a sort of razor wheel with its body. Unable to move in time, Kazuya and Jin were completely catapulted backwards all the way back to the top of the hill when Azazel rammed right into them, and hit the ground hard as they landed in the area they had started in. On their last legs now, both slowly got up and attempted to fly away, but they didn't notice what was coming. Just as they were taking off, like something out a horror movie, Azazel suddenly came bounding up from the forest, much higher than they were flying, and, as the gigantic fiend rapidly descended, neither of them saw it coming.

CRASH!! Azazel landed right on their backs, viciously slamming them both to the grounds and creating craters underneath them that outlined their bodies. Slowly, the monster stepped off of them, and seemed to watch with perverse enjoyment as they desperately struggled to move. Kazuya almost couldn't breathe; he knew a fair amount of his ribs and almost his chest had collapsed around his heart. Jin had a gash from beyond his hair line to about halfway down his forehead; in no time at all, as he lifted himself up weakly, blood rapidly began falling down his face in tiny rivers until he could barely see and his entire face was colored a disgusting shade of crimson. As if they weren't in enough trouble already, now Jin and Kazuya were really endangered now, and the sight of them in pain only seemed to fuel Azazel's drive. With no remote sign of remorse, compassion, or good nature, The Crystal Demon began to viciously and sadistically beat its two borderline-victims, hitting them repeatedly with heavy shots and slamming them into the ground. The whole time it was doing this, its beak-like mouth was twisted repulsively into some vague semblance of a smile as if it were a child playing with toys. After a while, Azazel stopped its current fit of monkey-stomping Jin and Kazuya as if it was trying to pound them down into paper, and raised them high into the air by their throats. Both noticed the vaguely inquisitive look on its face like it was wondering what it could do to them next, and realized that they couldn't stand any more punishment; they had to do something quick … but what?

Then, out of nothing but sheer desperation, Jin fired a laser from his blood-soaked forehead that hit Azazel right in the crystal on his head. The monster quickly let out an unexpected and decidedly pained roar, and nonchalantly tossed Kazuya and Jin backward before gripping its head in anguish.



As the two hovered to a stop despite their pain, Jin called out to his partner, "Kazuya! The crystals!"

But Kazuya had already seen what had been done; again, both evil stars had the same idea at the same time. As Jin ran his forearm across his face to get some vision back, Kazuya only nodded to him in affirmation with no words needing to be said. Instantly, Kazuya flew towards Azazel, prompting the behemoth to attack with a downward strike, and, after Kazuya blocked the attack and held its arm in place, Jin blasted a focused beam right into the large crystals lining its wrist. Azazel let loose a tremendous howl of torture as Jin kept the beam on, until, after noticing the crystals beginning to crack, Kazuya signaled him to stop, and, not wanting to argue, Jin followed. Acting without hesitation, Kazuya pulled Azazel's arm down further, and, with one mighty hook fist, smashed right through the crystals, reducing them to almost nothing. Azazel almost instantly flung up its damaged arm as the hand went limp, and followed that violent motion with a screech of torment so high-pitched it could barely be heard. Jin then flew toward the Crystal Demon, and Kazuya, knowing what his associate was aiming for, bombarded the crystals on Azazel's opposite wrist with a focused laser beam of his own. Then, before Azazel could even react, Jin came within distance, stopped while still maintaining some momentum, and, with one swift axe kick, destroyed the crystals, crushing them mercilessly. As its other hand went limp, Azazel let out another wail of pain, but this one was decidedly feebler; the fiend was getting weaker.

Jin and Kazuya had actually found their large foe's weakness, and just as expected, they exploited it to the fullest extent. With Azazel's hands now incapacitated, the Crystal Demon's offense suffered greatly although it could still move its arms, and, because its crystals are on its back, it stayed away from attacking with its tail. One by one, Kazuya and Jin destroyed the crystals up Azazel's back, further weakening it each time. Kazuya destroyed one with a downward elbow strike, breaking the crystal from the body; Jin destroyed the next with a roundhouse punch, sapping Azazel of its strength more; Kazuya destroyed the third with a flying side kick, racking the Crystal Demon with unbelievable suffering; Jin destroyed the one at the base of the neck, bringing the colossal fiend to its knees. Barely able to hold itself up at this point, Azazel was ripe for a finishing blow, and Kazuya and Jin were happy to oblige. Together, they shot focused laser beams at the one remain crystal on Azazel's forehead, but it took a lot longer to crack than the others; it was obvious a much stronger blow would be needed to finish off this one. The Crystal Demon was visibly injured to a massive degree; it was defenseless. Jin and Kazuya looked at each other once more, exchanging a silent conversation one last time, and both began flying towards Azazel, but, as they got in range, they both pulled up into the air until they were a good distance above their adversary. Red lightning bolts and sparks began to gather around their fists and them they as readied one more attack.

--

The motorboat had almost reached its destination; Ground Zero Isle was well within sight now. Suddenly, as Xiaoyu and Asuka looked on, two, glowing red dots appeared above the island. The two young women looked on in amazement and confusion as the red dots then rapidly descended. As the dots disappeared from sight onto 

the island, there was a brief moment of silence before THUMP! An immense column of red light shot up high into the heavens into the looming storm clouds above the isle as a large, dull rumble could be heard very clearly even from their distance, and right behind it was large shockwave that caused the water to violently ripple and even the boat to shake a little.

"WHAT in the world was THAT," Asuka exclaimed in the form of a question to a decidedly speechless Xiaoyu.

Expectedly, both Xiaoyu and Asuka turned back to Zafina for answers. An even more terrified look was on Zafina's face now; this wasn't good in any sense of the word.

Without even being prompted, Zafina exclaimed with horror and anxiety, "One … has fallen."

End Chapter

Next Time: "… You called me frightened earlier; well … I'll show you the true meaning of fear."

A/N: First and foremost, major thanks to all those who visited or visit my story on a regular basis; this story has actually garnered 1000+ hits. Thank you so much, you all; I greatly appreciated it to the fullest extent. Next, please forgive me for uploading late; I've been busy and it just seemed like things kept happening that prevented me from getting going, but I'm have an early start this week, so stay tuned. So, please R&R, and, as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.