"Did you just call him 'Jinpachi'?" Lee asked, not quite entirely sure what he just heard. "How the heck are we supposed to deal with him!?"
Upon arriving in the infamous Honmaru area, Kazuya, Lee, and Jun were immediately taken to the Ground Zero that had acted as the final stage for the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 that was held by Jinpachi Mishima. Using her knowledge of the land to her advantage, Nagalya lured the trio to the area so that she could dispose of them with her latest minion: the Phantom Wisp.
What made this Wisp different from the others, however, was that it could take the form of any person and assume all of their powers and memories: the aura of Jinpachi Mishima still lingered like a noxious fume, and this gave the Phantom enough material to become a deadly clone. With Nagalya watching gleefully, the Phantom waited patiently for his victims to try and attack him.
"There is no 'we,' Chaolan," Kazuya said coldly as he stepped forward and assumed his fighting stance. "I shall be the one to deal with this pretender. If you interfere, I will make sure you will regret it."
"Kazuya, please don't do anything foolhardy," Jun interjected, gently placing a hand of Kazuya's shoulder. "If Nagalya went through all of this trouble just to lure us out here to fight this Wisp, then there is a high probability that it is special. We should try attacking him together, and gauge his strength that way."
"Your concern is noted, but ignored," Kazuya replied, turning his shoulder away from Jun and assumed a fighting stance. "Jinpachi was the sponsor of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5: I was denied the chance to face him thanks to Heihachi's interference, and now I have been granted a second opportunity. Do not interfere, or there will be consequences."
"I understand how you feel, Kazuya, but if this Wisp truly has copied all of his powers, and if what I read about him is true…" Jun said before pausing and thinking about the repercussions of fighting such a creature alone would bring about. After regaining her composure, Jun finished her sentence, "…then it's possible that he might be too much, even for you."
"Do not underestimate me, Jun: I know what I am doing," Kazuya growled, annoyed at Jun's ignorance of his strength. "Besides, was it not you who wanted to face your father alone when he threatened to kill those close to you? I hate hypocrisy…"
"Are you morons done chatting about who wants to die first?" Nagalya shouted out with impatience. "Hurry up before I get even more bored than I already am!"
The Cold-blooded Prince's glare narrowed as the Phantom stepped forward and unfolded his arms to prepare for combat. Slowly lifting his finger and pointing it at his opponent, the Phantom allowed himself a smirk before clenching his fist and charging towards Kazuya. "Prepare yourself, pretender," Kazuya said with his trademark smirk while Jun and Lee backed away. "I shall be your escort to Hell!"
Attacking first, Kazuya shot out his fist in an attempt to strike the Phantom in his bearded face. However, the Phantom suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue flame, leaving Kazuya to hit nothing but air. He wouldn't have to look far, however, as he felt a pair of thick arms wrap around him in a monstrous embrace and lift him high into the air with a twenty-foot vertical leap. When the two combatants came back down, Kazuya's back was driven into the Phantom's knee for a devastating jumping backbreaker.
Not quite done with what would have been his grandson had he been the person he was imitating, the Phantom pushed down on Kazuya's chest and tried to break him over his knee like a wishbone. However, the Cold-Blooded Prince's leg shot up and struck the monster in the head with a quick kick that forced the Phantom to relinquish him hold on him. It would seem that the pretender isn't all show, Kazuya thought while he backed away and rubbed his back. I should probably be careful.
Being careful, however, would not be enough to take the behemoth down, as Kazuya soon learned when he dodged a straight punch to counter with one of his own. Even though the attack sent the Phantom flying back a few meters, he recovered quickly and grabbed Kazuya by the leg when the gray-haired Mishima attempted a Flying Slash kick. The Phantom reared back with Kazuya's leg in his grip and threw him into the ground like an angry child tossing a toy.
"Hmph! Nothing but brute force," Kazuya said with a scoff as he flipped back onto his feet and resumed his fighting stance. "If you are truly who are imitating, then you will have to do a lot better than that to defeat me!" Ducking under an upwards palm thrust that would have cracked his jaw, Kazuya rose back up and launched the Phantom several feet into the air with a crackling Electric Wind Godfist, which was immediately followed with a standing roundhouse that sent the Wisp spiraling away.
Using agility and grace that belied his bulky physique, the Phantom landed on his hands and flipped back to his feet just in time to jump away from Kazuya's leaping Thunder Godfist, and then slingshotted himself back into his original position to send Kazuya sprawling with a powerful elbow thrust.
Quickly returning to his feet, Kazuya's eyes widened in surprise as the Phantom's fist suddenly flew right into his face, and that was immediately followed by a second face punch that knocked Kazuya's away like a punching bag flying off of its hinges. So far these seem to be pretty basic attacks, Kazuya mumbled while he licked the blood dripping from his nose and landed on his feet. Perhaps I was worrying too much: it seems that the most he has in common with Grandpa is his appearance.
Breaking Kazuya's train of thought, the Phantom grabbed onto the Cold-Blooded Prince's torso and attempted to lift him off the ground, but Kazuya resisted and broke away from the hold and reversed it. With his hand around the Phantom's massive throat, Kazuya rammed his head into his opponent's head and sent him crashing into the ground with a Stonehead grapple. "You are pathetic," Kazuya growled as he lifted his foot and prepared to bring it down on the monster's stomach. "You assume the form of my grandfather, yet you bring none of his prowess to the battlefield! You should thankful that I am about to end your existence!"
Just as he was about to bring his foot down, however, Kazuya was suddenly stunned when the Phantom shot out his palm in the Mishima-ryu practitioner's direction. Even though the palm did not hit him, it sent out a shockwave that caused Kazuya's to back away slowly as if he was under a spell. What is this? I can barely move, Kazuya thought as he struggled to regain control of himself. What did he do to me?
The effects of the shockwaves still lingered even as the Phantom stood back up and let loose a sinister laugh that echoed through the air. Grabbing onto Kazuya's prone body, the Phantom lifted him off the ground and took to the air with the Cold-Blooded Prince upside-down in his arms. After a mid-air spin, the two of them landed hard on the charred earth with Kazuya's dropped on his head while the Phantom landed in a sitting position.
Kazuya groaned as he gripped his head in pain and struggled to get back to his feet in the wake of such an attack. Maybe I should not have underestimated him, Kazuya throught through a throbbing pain that had just developed in his head. I have no idea what he did that caused me to back off my assault, but whatever it was had enough power to stun me long enough for one of his holds!
Fighting off the dizziness to avoid another attempted grapple, Kazuya's leg shot upwards to hit the Phantom in the chin with a snapping kick that was immediately followed by a quick jab and an impaling knee that hit the Phantom right in the tooth of the mouth situated where his stomach would be. The Phantom gripped the mouth and knelt down slightly, enough for Kazuya to send him flying with a Thunder Godfist.
The Phantom landed on his feet and looked up to see Kazuya running after him, but he rose back up to send Kazuya flying away with a Thunder Godfist of his own: a devastating leaping uppercut whose impact was heard even from where Lee, Jun, and Nagalya were standing. "Oooh, that has to hurt," Nagalya said with sadistic glee as she watched Kazuya crash into the ground while the Phantom ran after him. "What's the matter, Kazuya? I thought you were going to end his existence."
As soon as Kazuya stood back up, he was immediately taken down with a leaping pounce that nearly knocked the wind out of him. With the Cold-Blooded Prince pinned underneath the massive form of the Phantom, the Wisp lifted his fist and brought it down on Kazuya's bloodied face five times. After that fifth punch, the Phantom stood up and lifted Kazuya off the ground by his head.
Not in the mood for anything fancy, Kazuya spit a wad of bloody saliva into the monster's eye, causing him to let go of him and cover his face. Seeing his opportunity, Kazuya used all of his impressive strength to thrust his fist into the monster's chest. The attack would have split open the chest of anyone else, but the monster only took a few steps back and lowered one his clawed hands to massage the stricken area before firing off another invisible wave of paralysis at Kazuya.
Charging his ki with black electricity surrounding his body, the Phantom launched Kazuya high into the air with a sudden Electric Wind Godfist. With his foe airborne, the Phantom continued the assault with a high upwards punch, followed by a second punch before both hands came together to send Kazuya flying away with twin battering ram-like blows.
First he used the Thunder Godfist, and then an Electric Wind Godfist, Kazuya thought bitterly before coughing up blood in the wake of the Phantom's knee lift as soon as he stood back up. It's worse than I originally thought: he truly is Grandpa's clone. I did not prepare for a battle this intense, and I'm losing because of it!
No…I can't think like that, Kazuya grit his teeth in frustration and let loose a flurry of blows on the Phantom: a high kick, a chest punch, a low kick, and a left hook that sent the Phantom spiraling away. If I think like that, this will have all been for nothing. I will have died here, and that plagiarist Nagalya will have run my name through the mud! Standing over the imposter's body, Kazuya charged his fist and prepared to deliver a killing blow. I must save face!
Unfortunately, Kazuya was forced to let go of his fist in the wake of his midsection being impaled by four clawed fingers. The Cold-blooded Prince drooled blood as the Phantom stood back up and let Kazuya stand there, stunned by the sudden piercing. After letting out another maniacal laugh, the Phantom lifted his foot and pushed Kazuya off of his hand and onto the ground.
My Devil Gene is keeping me from bleeding to death, but I'm going to need time to heal this wound, Kazuya thought as he tried to get back onto his feet, only to fall onto one hand while his other gripped his stomach. Unfortunately, I do not think the pretender is going to wait. Looking up to see the monster's belly mouth burn furiously, Kazuya smiled grimly. I wonder…was this going to be the end result if I had fought Grandpa in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5?
As Kazuya waited for fiery destruction to embrace him, he was saved from such a fate by Lee running up to the monster and ramming his shoulder into him to ruin the Phantom's aim and cause the massive fireball that erupted from his stomach to go off-course and fly by Kazuya's left side harmlessly. What is he doing? I thought I told him to stay out of it!
The silver-haired playboy would pay for his foolishness quickly, however, as the Phantom grabbed Lee by the throat and bombarded him with black electricity while his fiery blue aura burned ever brighter. Lee screamed in agony as energy pure and untamed crackled across his body, threatening to fry him like an insect in a bug zapper.
Just when it seemed that death had come to claim Lee, Jun jumped up from behind and grabbed onto to pull him downwards, driving her knees into his back in the process. While this may have forced him drop Lee, it did not do Jun as favors as the Phantom quickly recovered and used another paralyzing shockwave to stun the former detective and render her immobile.
Idiots, Kazuya growled as he stood back up and ran towards "Jinpachi" with his hand raised despite the severe bleeding in his midsection. I cannot tell which is more moronic: their disregard for my orders, or the fact that I am trying to save them from the consequences of doing so!
With the monster's stomach burning furiously, Kazuya did have time for anything fancy: he simply tackled the paralyzed Jun to the ground so that the both of them were flat on their stomachs. The massive fireball that burst from the stomach-mouth flew above their heads and barely missed them, and Kazuya let out a sigh of relief before turning Jun around and scolding her. "What madness possessed you to interfere!? I gave you a very specific order: are you intending to betray me!?"
"Of…course not, Kazuya," Jun whispered as the paralysis wore off. "I was simply fulfilling my personal vow to save you from disaster. You were in peril, so I convinced Lee to interfere."
"Be that as it may, I told you not to get involved," Kazuya growled before looking up to see the Phantom slowly walk towards them, as if he had all the time in the world. "How would you have liked it if I interfered with your battle with your father Ryoku? Would you not be annoyed?"
"But you did interfere," Jun replied with a smile as she looked up to follow Kazuya's gaze. "You stepped in when my father resorted to trickery to try and gain the upper hand. I was not annoyed nor angered by this…in fact, I was happy that you did."
"Grrr…point taken, I suppose," Kazuya reluctantly agreed before standing back up and helping Jun to return to her feet. With the wound in his mid-section almost completely closed now, the gray-haired Mishima raised his fists and resumed his fighting stance while Jun took a few steps back and assumed her own stance. "Very well: interfere if you must, but don't blame me if you get killed."
Before either of them could attack, however, the Phantom suddenly stopped in his tracks and let out a pained howl as if he had been struck by something. The Phantom gripped his head in pain and continued to roar in agony while Kazuya and Jun stood confused. When the roaring refused to subside, Kazuya and Jun took the opportunity to leap at the Phantom with simultaneous running jump kicks. The combined attacks knocked the Phantom down to the ground, still gripping his head in pain.
"Something is wrong with him, Kazuya," Jun said while they watched the Phantom writhe. "He had us at his mercy, and yet he hesitated due to this head trauma he seems to be experiencing. Do you think this is going to work to our advantage?"
"I do not know what is going on, either," Kazuya answered while he folded his arms and smiled. "However, I cannot say that I am not enjoying watching him squirm…"
"K-Kazuya…"
Upon hearing the creature speak, Kazuya's eyes widened as the Phantom slowly stood back up and continued to speak. "Kazuya…my beloved grandson. Why are you here?"
"Impossible," Kazuya whispered before raising his voice in defiance. "You are trying to trick me, aren't you Wisp!? If you think you are going to fool me simply by assuming Grandpa's voice, then you are gravely mistaken!" Charging the Phantom with his fist raised, Kazuya roared while his body crackled with blue electricity. When he tried to take off the monster's head with a punch, however, the Phantom did nothing to stop him, taking the full impact of the attack that had him crumpling down like a collapsing building.
"Kazuya," the monster repeated as he struggled for air. "I see that you have grown into a strong fighter indeed." With that statement, the Cold-Blooded Prince stopped his assault and allowed the Phantom to get back up and smile grimly. "I thought that I had met my end, but it would seem that someone has decided to bring me back to this damnable Honmaru."
What is the world is happening? It's as if this pretender has become who he is trying to be, Kazuya thought as he lowered his fists and stared at the monster curiously. Either he is trying to trick me, or he has lost control of himself. Ironically, this was one of the fears I had when I created the Doppelganger: it would be possible that it would literally become the person it mimicked had it absorbed enough of their victim's memories.
"Excuse me," Jun interjected while Kazuya continued to remain silent. "Are you…Jinpachi Mishima?"
"Yes," the monster nodded his head and lifted his mutated arm towards the former detective. "But…who are you?"
"My name is Jun Kazama," she said with a solemn voice. "I am the mother of your great-grandchildren."
"I see," Jinpachi said with a smile before suddenly moaning in pain and placing on hand on the side of his bald head. "I am happy to hear that my Kazuya found happiness, after all: I am so proud of you, my grandson."
"Are you truly my grandfather?" Kazuya said after a moment of silence. "Not two minutes ago you tried to kill me with not a word coming out of your mouth save for a mocking laughter. How do I know that this is not a trick?"
Before "Jinpachi" could answer, he once again started to roar in agony and grip his head in pain. "Kazuya…you must kill me," the Phantom shouted before assuming his fighting stance yet again. "I do not know what sort of trickery brought me back here, but there is a great evil within me that has to be extinguished! Kill me quickly, and send me back to the afterlife where I should have gone years ago!"
"I see: you are asking me to put you out of your misery," Kazuya said quietly while he lowered his head. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, the Cold-Blooded Prince nodded his head and tightened his fingerless red gloves. "Very well, Grandpa: I shall see you again sometime."
Letting out a menacing roar, Kazuya dashed towards the Phantom with quick steps before punching him right in the sternum with a left cross that was immediately followed with a right straight that knocked the bigger creature down. Running after the Phantom with murderous intent, Kazuya trampled his grandfather's clone underfoot and turned around to watch him stand back up again.
Continuing his assault, Kazuya grabbed onto the Phantom's massive wrist and then lifted his foot to kick him in the face with a slapping motion, and then brought his leg other way to hit him again in a "backslap" and send the pretender crashing into the ground with his twin "Bitch Kicks." Once that was finished, Kazuya reared back and once again sent the Phantom to the ground with a successful Flying Slash kick.
I see what he's doing now: he's keeping the Wisp consciousness from taking over, so I can land in all the hits I need to defeat him. Kazuya thought while he knocked the Phantom into the air with a vertical elbow strike: his innovated Demon Cutter. I almost feel like I am being robbed of a true victory, but I will not stand by and let Grandpa's wish be squandered. Continuing the assault in midair, Kazuya punched the prone body with a quick right, and then concluded the assault with a bouncing fist, a high kick, and a powerful straight that sent the Phantom flying face-first into the ground.
However, the monster started to laugh again, alerting Kazuya that he was beginning to regain control of himself. Looks like it's time to end this, he mumbled as his entire body crackled with power while he lowered his body and built rotational velocity. Like a human top, Kazuya made his way towards the Phantom as his stomach-mouth was preparing to fire off another lethal blast of flame. Using all of his mighty strength, Kazuya sent the Phantom flying backwards with a Lightning Screw Godfist, just a microsecond before the Wisp's blast erupted from his stomach and shot into the air.
Letting out deep, and tired breaths, Kazuya slowly walked towards the Phantom's fallen body and knelt down beside him. For the few seconds that followed, he said nothing as Jun walked up beside him and asked one pressing question, "Is it over, Kazuya? Have you honored his wish?"
Before Kazuya could answer, the Phantom's hand suddenly sprang to life and wrapped around the Cold-Blooded Prince's throat. The Wisp laughed maniacally as his fiery eyes burned with rage and evil while it attempted to drain the life out of his "grandson" as a last-ditch effort. He's sapping my energy, Kazuya thought bitterly before raising his hand and plunging it into the Phantom's stomach-mouth. What a parasite! This is not Grandpa after all: it is a slimy, disgusting zombie that needs to be exterminated!
With unmatched fury, Kazuya let out a primal shout as he grabbed onto the tongue of the second mouth and ripped it out, eliciting a mess of blue smoke and a roar of agony from the Phantom. Tossing the massive tongue aside as it fizzled away, Kazuya's crackling fist pounded away at the monster's chest again and again. "Pretender…vermin," Kazuya roared while his fists finally cracked open the Phantom's chest cavity like an egg. "Do you see it: the deepest circle of hell that awaits you!?"
Reaching into the hole and grabbing what he believed to be his heart, Kazuya poured every ounce of his ki into the hand of he was using and electrocuted the heart like a human defibrillator. This caused the Phantom to spasm uncontrollably while blue smoke came out of his mouth, ears, and nose. After a good twenty seconds of this, Kazuya pulled the heart out and held it up for Jun to see: it was an ugly beating organ that was as big as her head. She wouldn't have to look at it long, however, as it disappeared in a puff of smoke while the Phantom's body turned to dust and blew away in the wind.
The buffeting winds and storm clouds that had built up prior to the Phantom's arrival died down almost immediately after the Phantom's demise, but Jun was still blown away by Kazuya's sudden savagery. She did not say anything: she just stared at Kazuya for a long time, wondering about what she could do to ease the rage he was in as he panted like a rabid animal.
Suddenly, Kazuya's head darted around and scanned the area like the rabid animal he was imitating. "Nagalya," the Cold-Blooded Prince roared as he stood back up and searched for the woman that had toyed with his emotions. "Come out of hiding and face me, harlot! Are you afraid of what I am going to do to you once I find you!?"
"Kazuya…she is gone," Jun said, hanging her head low. "I should have chased after her, but I was too distracted by your fight. She retreated as soon as Lee attacked the Phantom…"
After a few extra seconds of rabid panting, Kazuya took a deep breath and calmly dusted himself off while his mutated eye glowed its two colors of neon blue and bright red. "Disgusting coward: we shall deal with her next time," he muttered as he turned to his left to watch Lee slowly get back to his feet. "At least we know that if we all work together, we can defeat her. Without her Wisps, she is an above-average fighter at best."
Lee moaned as he walked over to Kazuya and Jun, his head still ringing from the near-electrocution he suffered earlier. "Hey everyone…how much did I miss?"
--
I think I lost them, Nagalya thought as she skid to a halt and caught her breath. As soon as she saw Lee and Jun interfere, she had a gut feeling that the mighty Phantom Wisp would fail just like the rest of his brethren, and made a hasty retreat as soon as her nemeses were distracted. This is getting really old, really fast: my master will not be pleased if this keeps up.
Furthermore, I got my butt kicked back there, she added with a frown forming across her face as she finally left the massive Ground Zero area and began walking towards the transit station in the neighboring town that would take her to Tokyo. I thought my martial art skills were better than that, but it seems that I have to train more.
As she was contemplating her failure, a small blue flame appeared in front of her. Identifying it as a Wisp, Nagalya brushed it away and continued walking. "Go away: I'm not the mood to play around right now. One of your brothers just got taken down and I'm not happy about it."
Instead of complying with its leader's request, the blue flame suddenly plunged itself into the eye ornament on Nagalya's choker, and she let out a painful scream as a result. What is it doing: it's like it's invading my body, she thought as she frantically focused her ki and tried to expel the foreign spirit. Are the Wisps fed up with my leadership? Are they backing out of their agreement to help my master roam free?
An instant later, however, the flame suddenly left the ornament and gave Nagalya reprieve. "W-what a rush," she said out loud as she looked up at the flame to see that it was a bit bigger now. Staring it silently for a few seconds, a thin smile formed on her beautiful face. "I think I know what you did, but you do you think my power is going to help you win?"
Hearing the formless Wisp's answer with her telepathy, Nagalya gently closed her hand around the Wisp and let it become warm in her hand before letting it go and allowing it to follow her. "Let's go, friend: we have only a short time before the end of their silly resistance, and the beginning of the age of our god!"