Author's Note: We're coming to the end of the first part of this story :P Not the "end" of the story, just the end of this arc, or this part of it. I've set the story into a few separate arcs that are all connected (i.e. I HAVE A DRAFT OUTLINE NOW! OMG! XD). But yeah. You'll see soon :P Again, thanks for your support guys, I really appreciate it.

X.

Hwoarang stands in the village square, alone. He stares straight ahead at where the carnage had been only hours ago, and the cold air bites at his skin, causing an involuntary chill to rupture throughout his body. He breathes in and out firmly, rubbing one of his arms in an attempt to warm himself further, and rests his head against the wall he is leaning against.

"Unknown is my Mother."

Jin's face was wracked with many types of pain, and the Korean understands why. After so, so long, he had found his Mother, alive and well, after the raid on his home in Okinawa… on the wrong side. She didn't stay in Japan, she came here, to Korea. He doesn't know her, but he's pretty sure that when she was still with Jin, she wasn't covered in purple sludge, nor did she have yellow eyes, nor did she have a mark on her arm; nor was she sending various enemies to fight him. That's the first thing that pained the Prince, one of many.

She is fighting against her son.

She is fighting for Korea's demise.

Or is the picture so much bigger than that? he muses. He twists Jin's katana around in his hand, hearing the blade screech slightly as it turns upon the stone. His other hand rests firmly in his pocket, occasionally drumming against his leg. The answer to this enigma of a woman, whether her name is Jun Kazama or Unknown, as she likes going by these days, could not be that simple to answer. There is just no way that it is so damn simple… He is sure that there's more.

The way that Jin described her made her seem like a goddess. Like how he imagined… a Mother would be. But Hwoarang doesn't know, and he never would. His Mother died bringing him into the world. He would look to other mothers in his youth, and not understand at all. Still, he knew a nice woman when he saw one – or in this case, listened to the tales of her life via her son. And she is fighting for bloodshed now?

He thinks for a moment. She has never directly stated that she was for the Japanese invasion. She has never sent her scarabs or her cobras or her wolves after them in the name of Heihachi Mishima. She sent the skeletal remains of Japanese soldiers, but perhaps that is a consequence of supernatural summoning powers? She clearly possesses paranormal talent, one would be a fool to not realise this.

Past encounters flood his head.

"Your quest will lead you to a greater evil than you anticipate. You think that the end of the line is Emperor Heihachi, but no, there are more beyond him, and they are far more sinister."

To a greater evil? More beyond Heihachi?

"He seeks something."

Heihachi is looking for something… but for what?

"I will see to it that you do not get past me or his other servants… That you will not reach the end of the line to meet death."

He stops for a moment. Other servants? That means that there's more than just Unknown, and each may have the same capabilities as she does… Hwoarang bites his lip, worried. Who else would there be? Who else do they have to go through to get to this… evil? To this evil that is greater than the foreign devils that currently tread his land? And if they do get past these servants, what is the great evil they will encounter that will kill them?

"…you will not be able to take him down, no matter how hard you try, and no matter how hard I hope."

The last part of the sentence has him stop again. He breathes out firmly and closes his eyes, remembering himself in that situation. He remembers feeling angry at her, after all she had sent out opponents. He remembers being tired and sore. He remembers that he was having difficulty breathing, for he had been previously choked by the woman, albeit by magical means. She did not care for him at all, and he's fine with that. But he remembers feeling suspicious. He remembers quirking an eyebrow at the last sentence.

The Blood Talon opens his eyes, and the images of his past wither away, Okay, so she's fighting for a third party.

What could this party be? She acts independently of Japan and Korea. She is not in it for the war, nor is she in it for the land. Her quest is different, it is completely different, and he doesn't know what it could be. She is trying to lead them away from a monster. If he and Jin continue down this pathway, defying her, then he's sure that they will come into contact with the beast… but is that what they want?

Is there a greater threat to Korea? To the world?

If there is, Unknown is trying to deter them. She is trying to deter Jin from the evil, by any means possible. A flood of scarabs and cobras, aimed only for the two of them travelling between cities. The army of skeleton soldiers, intended only for them – for her son – but as a consequence, Seongnam suffered again. What else would there be in the future, and for how long? Until Jin swore he would not continue on this journey? Until he has been so wounded that he can't?

She's trying to protect him.

And in trying to protect her son, she dooms his kinsmen, and maybe even every other human being in existence. In trying to protect her son from this greater evil, she is essentially damning him to death. He would die without even having a chance to fight. She paves the way for this evil and tries to make her son submit, so that he is not tortured or killed… so he doesn't challenge whoever, or whatever, will rule this Earth. He doesn't know Jin like the back of his hand, but he's still pretty sure that if this thing did take over the world, he would be fighting against it.

And Jin knows this.

If he is to fight for what he believes in, if he is to fight to survive, and to help others… he must overcome such obstacles. He must overcome whatever Unknown throws his way, be it a wolf, or other servants of this beast, or even the woman herself. If Unknown placed herself between Jin and his goal… he would have to overcome her.

He'd have to kill her.

Hwoarang winces at the thought. He subconsciously tightens his grip around the katana's hilt.

Jin knows that someday soon, he will have to kill his Mother.

And that is the greatest pain of all.

When Jin wakes in the doctor's house, all alone, he sees Hwoarang ascending the stairs. His eyes lock with the man's for a moment, before he forcibly turns his head away, looking out the window hurriedly, hoping that he hasn't been noticed. He sees his armour and some of his clothes sitting in the far corner, the sun shining upon the crumbled metal.

"I know you're awake," Hwoarang states flatly.

Jin looks back, seeing the Korean with his katana. He watches as he strolls over to the corner and picks up his obi, the sheath for his katana, and places the weapon in it. He thereafter places it back on the floor, lying perfectly adjacent to the wall. He watches as his counterpart turns around, resting his back against the wall. He pushes his blue bandana up, the action causing his crimson, sleeveless shirt to ride up a little.

Silence holds them. Both wish to speak, but neither want to make the first move. How will they break the silence? Small talk? Or would they cut straight to the point? Would Jin repeat his words from yesterday, or would Hwoarang remind him? Would the Japanese man be able to talk back in either case? He is so shaken… He is so shaken.

"How're you feeling?" the Blood Talon asks, breaking the silence.

Jin looks out the window again, sighing, "It feels like I have been ripped apart… both in body and in mind."

A small, sympathetic smile arises on Hwoarang's face, but he knows it does nothing and that it means nothing. He pushes himself off of the wall and stands before the window, gazing out at Seongnam. It has changed since he was last here, and for the better. Strangely enough, some of the people here recognised him from when he was younger, though he did not recognise anybody here, because he has run away from this place and these memories for the past few years.

"If you were in my shoes…" the Prince begins, almost choking on his words, "what would you do, Hwoarang?"

"I'd do what I thought was best for everyone. I'm not as selfish as I make myself out to be. You know now it was only to defend myself."

"So, if you were in my shoes, and it was your Father as opposed to my Mother… Baek as opposed to Jun, you would do it?"

He hesitates, and it is noticeable. He's not sure himself.

Jin sits up entirely, leaning forward, ignoring the pain, too eager for an answer, "You would kill him?"

"Yes."

Kazama sighs and rests his head in his hands. He was hoping that he'd say no, "But he was your Father…"

The Korean strolls over to the Prince, hands in his pockets, and looks down at him sympathetically. He'd be in the same shoes if their positions had changed. He'd be devastated, and he'd be seeking emotional guidance, just like Jin is. Although his choice for guidance is strange, Hwoarang still wants to try and help out. He can't imagine the confusion, but he can imagine the pain.

Breathing out, he sits on the edge of the bed, hands now drumming along his knees. He looks to the man who is grieving for the future. After some silence, he carefully chooses his words, painting a reason, "I wouldn't kill Baek because I wanted to, nor because I had to… I'd kill him because he'd want me to. He'd want me to kill him, if it meant saving others. He'd want me to kill him, if it ended his suffering.

"I think your Mother would have the same thinking. I'm sure of it. But, no one knows her better than you do so, you can be the judge of that. But think about it… she's suffering. She said that she would stop you, no matter the cost, with every bone in her 'cursed' body. Remember that? She's fighting us because she wants to protect you. Not because she wants the Japanese to succeed in taking over Korea, there's so much more to it than that. There's so much more to this that we don't understand yet.

"And like she mentioned, she's cursed. Maybe she's fighting against us not only to protect you, but because she's being made to by this curse or whatever. Maybe she doesn't want to, maybe she wants to be freed. Will you not give that to her? Will you not end her suffering, and therefore save others? I know it's gonna be hard but… just… try to. That's all you can do. Just try. And although it's gonna hurt… I'm still here for you, okay? We're in this together, until the very end."

Jin turns his head away and looks out the window again, a frown on his face.