TEKKEN: BLOOD FEUD
Chapter 21: Freeway of Fears
Inside the Tokaido Shinkansen, Tokyo, Japan
The network of speed trains that ran across Japan were the perfect transportation to use when traveling from one Japanese city to another. Right now, Miguel Caballero Rojo was entering the shinkansen, having just bought a ticket while standing in a long line. It bored the hell out of him, yet the aggressive Spaniard managed to compose his irritation. Once the speed train had arrived, Miguel stepped onboard.
Inside, he took his seat on the row with only two seats. It was at the end of the row, yet Miguel was fine with it. He sat down and began resting his chin on his hand. Many thoughts were swirling around his head, yet he had one that he couldn't let go off. It was about his personal objective.
While a part of him wanted to go back to Spain, his other and angry part still cried for vengeance against Jin Kazama, the man responsible for the death of his younger sister, as well as his future brother-in-law. While most media outlets had presumed him to be dead, Miguel wasn't falling for it. No, he knew how deceptive and misleading they could be towards the people.
"I don't care about what those stupid news anchors say. He's alive! And most likely in hiding!" Miguel sneered while thinking about Jin, recalling how he had almost succeeded in getting his hands on him not so long ago. "Bastardo! I'm not leaving this country until you're dead!" he then cursed.
As he was thinking about his personal vendetta against Jin, he could notice someone taking a seat next to him, although it was on the row with three seats next to him. When he looked to see who that person was, his eyes narrowed. It was Josie Rizal. She was facing the floor while holding a ticket in her hands. From the looks of it, she was unhappy.
Josie had a good reason to feel that way. She had found out that her former boss had decided to get rid of her by sending his men to assassinate her. She was of course not the only target. The other contestants were also receiving their assassination.
Still, Miguel felt no sympathy towards the former Tekken Force member. He still recalled back yesterday, when she would always try proclaiming her innocence in the Tekken Force's atrocious actions. The very thought of that filled Miguel with contempt towards the Philippine girl.
Josie realized that she was being watched, yet she knew whose eyes they belonged to. Still, she felt the need to speak, let alone look at the man. "How long are you planning on staring at me? Don't you know how rude that is?" she questioned him, her voice sounding miserable.
"Tch, don't act like you're a victim here. You deserve this for being a member of a group that has murdered innocents!" Miguel spat at her. "And speaking of which, how does it feel to know how your boss has stabbed you in the back?" he then asked her.
Irritated, Josie turned her face to him. "Look! I don't know what your deal is, but I don't wanna speak with you! So do me a favor and shut up!" she hit back, before huffing and looking towards the window to her side.
"Whatever you say, perra llorna" Miguel muttered towards her in return, deciding to simply watch the window at his side.
As soon as each of them began facing away from each other, the shinkansen started going and soon left the station in Tokyo. Given how incredible speed it was going, it would reach its next stop in no time. Almost every seat in the wagons were occupied, with only a few remaining vacant. Still, every passenger onboard would have their own reasons for hopping onboard the train.
As Josie kept staring out the window, she couldn't help but to look over her shoulder. True, she did feel sorry for the loss he had to endure, yet felt the treatment towards her was unfair. The Philippine girl slowly realized how she was only wasting time focusing on him, so she returned to look out the window.
Miguel, while not paying attention to Josie, did in fact look over his shoulder to see how she was doing. When he did that, the Spaniard snapped in confusion. Why was he doing that? Didn't he bear nothing but resentment towards Josie? Miguel quickly shifted focus to looking outside the window.
Perhaps it was best for them not to bother each other, given how they didn't have chemistry with each other. Miguel and Josie weren't the only ones sitting inside the shinkansen. Wang Jinrei and King were also doing that, the two fighters having decided to sit with each other. Since being put on the same team in the tournament, King had grown to respect and value Wang's wisdom. In return, Wang was amused and intrigued by how King had gone from almost killing Craig Marduk to becoming friends with him. It amazed the elderly man in how King had been able to overcome vengeance.
But now, they were talking about other subjects, including what they would do now that Heihachi had faked his death and cancelled the tournament.
"So you are heading for Kyoto next?" King asked the elderly man.
"Indeed. I have certain friends there that I would like to visit now that I am here in Japan. But first, I am thinking about taking a break from wandering through cities. Mount Hiei will be just enough to provide me with peace and relaxation. My old bones cannot take so much these days" Wang told him in return.
King nodded his head in understanding. "I see. Well, I think I will hop off in Osaka. I have to talk with certain friends of mine back in Mexico" the wrestler spoke of what he would do next.
Wang smiled through his long, white beard. "Ah, I almost forgot to ask you this. How does the orphanage fare? Hopefully, you are taking great of those poor, young souls" he asked him.
"To be honest with you, it has been really hard for me to keep it running, given all the global conflict that's been ongoing. Even worse, Mexico has become a battlefield between the Zaibatsu and the G Corp" King spoke up with honesty, unable to hide this from someone as pure-hearted as Wang Jinrei. "Still, I will not give up the orphanage. It is my predecessor's legacy and I intend on keeping it" he then said with determination building within him.
"Wise words, young one. Your willpower astounds even me. One would never expect a wrestler to have it" Wang noted.
King has to be amused when hearing this. "You must be one of the few people I know that can see who I am beneath his mask. I salute you, Wang Jinrei" the wrestler informed him.
The shinkansen kept going fast on its tracks, passing by towns, fields and mountains. This was perhaps among the fastest trains on Earth, and it would always reach its destination in no time.
Inside a Cadillac XTS Limousine, on a highway, Yamanishi, Japan
On a highway passing by the famous Fuji-san, a black Cadillac XTS Limousine carrying many former contestants of the tournament were sitting inside. For some reason, they all had the same destination: Kyoto. It was driven by Sebastian, the butler of the Rochefort family and a personal caretaker of Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort. She had offered her newfound "friends" to come ride with her in this limousine. As such, they would be having one heck of a road trip to Kyoto.
Inside the limo was two rows of seats, as well as a minibar and a small flatscreen. Lili sat on the corner, right behind the wall that separated the driver's room from the passengers. Luckily, the window between them was open, which enabled Lili to have a conversation with her butler as he was focused on the road. At the same time, Sebastian couldn't believe what the young girl had been through they parted ways in Shanghai.
"You did what!?" Sebastian was startled in what his young mistress was telling him. "You almost got drowned on your trip across the South China Sea, and nearly killed by the Tekken Force in the hotel you were staying at!? Oh mon Dieu!" he exclaimed frantically, although the butler still kept his focus on the road.
Lili giggled in hearing this. "Relax, Sebastian. I told you that I would make it alive until we met again, didn't I? And as always, I kept my promise" she told him as if it was not that big of a deal.
Sebastian groaned slightly. "Ça suffit, Madame Lili. I just cannot stand hearing more of these harsh trips of yours. How are you going to explain this do your dear father when he finds out?" the butler asked her.
"What do you think? I'll stick with what we agreed upon. I was just on a cruise trip on the South China Sea. That's more than enough to ease his concerns" Lili replied quickly. "But this is no time for regrets, Sebastian! Keep driving until we reach Kyoto. Then we will figure out what to do next. Compris?" the blonde-haired girl commanded him, taking joy in ordering Sebastian.
The butler sighed, yet willingly obeyed Lili's wishes. "Comme vous le commandez, madame" Sebastian responded in French, his hands never leaving the steering wheel.
Lili soon turned her attention towards the people that were sitting on each side in the limo. On the left sat Ling Xiaoyu, Steve Fox, Ganryu and Julia Chang. On the opposite side sat Hwoarang, Asuka Kazama, Michelle Chang and Robert "Bob" Richards. They were all trying to converse with each other, most of them starting out as positive.
Steve was talking to Hwoarang, given that they were occasional rivals both in and outside the tournament. The Taekwondo fighter had told him, Xiaoyu, Asuka and the others about what he experienced before entering the tournament.
"So, that's how you got that eyepatch, eh? Figures. I thought it was a new style of yours or something" the British boxer remarked while commenting Hwoarang's new look, especially his eyepatch.
"A new style of mine? No way in hell!" the Korean man snapped, recalling to how he had gotten it, let alone injure his right eye. "I was THIS close to beating Jin until those damn mercenaries hired by the G Corp had to show up! And given how they wanted him so badly, they threw a grenade at me, which I narrowly managed to avoid!" Hwoarang lamented with not only losing his right eye, but his opponent too.
Xiaoyu were stunned when she had heard his story. "But are you being serious, Hwoarang? Did Jin really transform himself into that…...form of his?" he wanted to know whether he had actually fought Jin in his Devil form.
Hwoarang stared at her bewildered in return. "Duh! Of course, he did! As I just said, I found him randomly walking into a bazaar in Saudi Arabia and before I knew it, he suddenly went all berserk and started causing havoc. But luckily I was there to catch his attention" he told the Chinese girl.
"I'm amazed by how you managed to last against him. That monster could've easily ended your life, you know" Asuka remarked in hearing Hwoarang's explanation.
"What did you just call him!?" Xiaoyu snapped at the brunette, furious in hearing Asuka's comment. "Don't you ever refer to Jin as a monster! I won't stand for it!" she added to her verbal assault upon Asuka.
The Japanese girl narrowed her eyes at Xiaoyu in return. "If he's not a monster, then what is he then? You must seriously be delusional to think of him as a human being!" Asuka hit back at her.
None of the other passengers understood the growing animosity brewing between the two girls. They kept glaring at each other in a staring contest. But Lilli, on the hand, was having amusement in observing it.
"Ah, now I see what drives the two of you up against each other. It's all about Jin Kazama…." Lili said, yet the blonde-haired girl soon found herself frown in mentioning that name. "But then again, I also happen to loath that man, given what he did to Rochefort Enterprises and my father's oil fields" she muttered.
Hwoarang whistled in amazement. "Whoa, Jin really has done a lot to piss off everyone. Can't say I'm not surprised" the auburn-haired man remarked.
"But there is still something good in him! Come on, Hwoarang! You should already know that better than any of us!" Xiaoyu snapped, yet she was soon calmed when Steve tried to restrain her from going at either Hwoarang or Asuka.
"Easy there, love. This isn't the right place to be fighting. Don't forget that we're on the highway driving in full speed" Steve encouraged the Chinese girl, yet she still couldn't let go of her anger.
"My, aren't you the smart type of man?" Lili musingly wondered, watching as Steve tried to prevent things from escalating between his friends.
Asuka was doing her best to control her urge to punch Xiaoyu, given how condescending she was behaving towards her right now. "You touch me and I'll give you a knucklesandwich in return!" she warned Xiaoyu.
At the same time as this kafuffle was taking place, Ganryu was now sitting face to face with the woman he once loved: Michelle Chang. Being in this position felt kind of awkward for the Yokozuna. He had promised himself to forget about her, yet here she was sitting and staring at him confused. She probably didn't fully recognize him. Ganryu tried his best to compose himself.
"I beg your pardon, sir. But do I know you?" Michelle politely asked him. "For some reason, you look awfully familiar to someone I knew years ago" she added to her curiosity.
The middle-aged man felt so embarrassed, yet he knew the need to answer. "Um…...I d-don't know what you're t-talking about…." Ganryu mumbled between his words.
Julia only watched this with confusion. "What's with that guy? He really is a weirdo" she noted while observing the talk between Ganryu and her adoptive mother.
Bob also paid attention to this, yet he was more interested in Ganryu's profession. As such, he tried to talk with him. "So you're a Sumo wrestler? Cool! Truth be told, I've always wanted to meet one" the chubby man expressed his interest. "I've heard that you're a Yokozuna. Is that correct?" Bob then asked him.
This led Ganryu to shift focus to Bob, surprised to know someone like him know about the ranks within Sumo wrestling. As such, his nervousness was washed away. "Indeed I am. And let me tell you, in the history of Sumo, only a few handful people achieves the rank of Yokozuna. That title is earned through solid efforts and repeated wins" he replied to Bob.
The blonde-haired man smiled. "Amazing. We should spar sometimes, you and I" Bob told Ganryu, who in turn was amused.
"I would be happy to. Assuming that you know how to fight, that is" Ganryu responded.
Bob smirked. "Trust me, this body of mine may not look like it, but it's the ultimate definition of perfection" he boasted, although those in the care were unsure of how to make of his statement. It was even ironic, given how Bob's weight was heavier than that of Ganryu's. Both men were taking a lot of space on the seats, yet it didn't affect the others.
Michelle's head soon came to a realization in her head. This could be seen based upon her gasping. She immediately faced Ganryu while pointing a finger at him. "Hold the phone! Now I remember you! You're that Sumo wrestler who was once a bodyguard for Kazuya Mishima!" she exclaimed.
Ganryu snapped once he heard what came out of the Native American woman's mouth. All eyes turned upon him, stunned by what they heard. The Japanese man was sweating intensively all over his stout body.
"What did you say? You mean this bumbling doofus worked for Kazuya once?" Xiaoyu was in disbelief in what she was hearing. "But then again, that would explain why he was with those guys wo chased Jin" she then realized, remembering how Ganryu had been "recruited" by his former associates to hunt down Jin.
"You're not joking, right? Who is he, mom? And how did you meet him?" Julia asked her adoptive mother.
Michelle looked at Ganryu, the Sumo wrestler shivering in embarrassment. Slowly, she began recalling the memories they shared. "It was during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. Kazuya was at that time the leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu as well as the host of the tournament. But at that time, he sought out an amulet that me and the tribe possessed. Kazuya sent him to retrieve it" the brunette explained how she met him.
"B-but that h-happened so many years a-ago! A lot h-has changed since we met. I'm no longer a b-bad guy" Ganryu tried to reassure Michelle that he was not the same man as he once was.
She stared at him for one moment, before giggling at him in amusement. "I can tell that based upon your response. I always knew you would change your ways. To be fair, you weren't as mean as the other bodyguards of Kazuya" Michelle told him.
Hearing this caused Ganryu to freeze. Did Michelle just complement him? Was she saying that Ganryu wasn't as mean as Bruce and Anna were? He could tell by the one of her voice that she meant it.
"Oh…...you think so?" he asked her in surprise.
"Why of course! And I still haven't thanked you for not choosing to pursue me. You let me keep the sacred amulet. For that, I have to thank you" Michelle expressed her gratitude.
Although a part of him was delighted to hear her say that to him, Ganryu realized that Michelle was completely ignorant of the fact that the reason he had let her keep the amulet, was due to him loving her. It slightly broke his heart to hear how she still saw it that way. But then again, Ganryu had opened a business in order to forget about her, although he was quickly drawn to Julia due to her close resemblance to Michelle, despite them not being related by blood.
"So that's how you know this guy?" Julia asked her adoptive mother.
"Yeah. Although we were both contestants in the first tournament, we got to know each other better during the second one. But those were years ago. So many things have changed since I fought in the tournaments" Michelle answered, still unable to fathom the changes occurring throughout the world. "But now, the entire world is in war. A war between men who are no different from one another. However, there must be some people who are willing to oppose each side and bring peace back" she then spoke up.
Julia nodded her head in agreement. "Exactly! Which is why we'll head to Violet Systems and see what Lee Chaolan is doing. He may be able to help us" she told him.
Hwoarang snorted in hearing this. "I could care less about some flamboyant jackass helping us! What I DO care is that he knows something or two about Jin and his whereabouts! I'm gonna make him talk, one way or another!" the Taekwondo fighter signaled his willingness to search for and fight Jin.
"The feeling's mutual" Asuka spoke up, yet she was facing the Korean man with a stern glance. "But know this. I've got a bone to pick with him! Therefore, he's mine to catch!" she told him, only for Hwoarang to stare at her with an irritated look.
"Tch, only in your dreams, girly! I've fought him before and know his every move, so you might as well sit back and leave that job to me!" Hwoarang rebuked the Japanese girl, who was fuming with irritation.
"None of you are gonna fight him!" both Asuka and Hwoarang glared at Xiaoyu, given that she was the one to say that to them. The girl with pigtails was not looking away. "Know that I'll be the one to stop Jin, as well as saving him. So both of you can forget ever getting near him!" she added firmly.
Asuka couldn't help but to feel angered over Xiaoyu constantly butting into her vendetta against Jin. "Why can't you just mind your own damn business!? There's no way I'm gonna let you have him!" she told her aggressively, yet Xiaoyu didn't back down.
Steve couldn't believe in hearing all this. "I don't get it. Why are these guys so fixated upon that smug wanker Jin Kazama!? I mean…what's so important about him that I can't grasp?!" the British man was starting to become annoyed with hearing Jin's name being brought up in casual discussions.
Lili, realizing that this argument could escalate, decided to step in. "Alright. Calm down, everyone. There is no need to get all hissy with each other. After all, you're sitting in one of my limousines. Surely you can respect my rules for taking you along for the ride, can you?" she told them, yet all of a sudden turned her attention to the minibar, as well as the flatscreen. "How about I offer you some refreshments from the minibar? You can take whatever you want. It's all free" she told them, hoping that it would ease tensions.
Bob smiled in seeing this. "You really mean it? Sounds great! I could use a drink. I'll just take a soda or something. Say, does this minibar have snacks?" he asked, always willing to get enthusiastic when it came to eating.
"Of course. But they are mostly in the form of chocolate bars and potato chips. But I assume that's enough for you" she politely replied.
"Sure. This isn't a fancy restaurant. Snacks will be more than enough for me" Bob told her in return.
"Just don't eat up everything, Bob. We also want some snacks" Julia teasingly told him, causing the others, minus Ganryu, to laugh.
Bob sighed in annoyance in hearing this. "Ha, ha, really funny, guys" Bob knew what this joke was aimed at. But he tried to brush it off as nothing but a childish gesture.
Lili reached for the remote to the flatscreen, switching it on. She was certain that there would be something interesting to watch, among them the news. The young girl was certain that the news of Heihachi's supposed death would send the entire world into a tailspin.
Once the screen was on, it showed them a news channel. But everyone looked at it and saw that the it was breaking news. The screen was showing a spokesperson for the Mishima Zaibatsu, announcing something drastic.
"Greetings, citizens of the world. We understand that a recent announcement has sent this world into uproar. That is why we of the Mishima Zaibatsu are here to verify that the reports about Heihachi Mishima being dead were all false. Our leader is still alive and breathing. But we regret to inform you that our database was recently hacked by the G Corporation. As such, we have suffered a cyberattack from them, which also resulted in the tournament being called off. But our database is slowly begging to recover and we are taking extreme measures to protect it. All that we can say is that our foes were trying to distort you with this false deceleration about our leader being dead. Therefore, we implore you to proceed as if everything is normal and pretend these little mishaps didn't occur. Heihachi Mishima himself will announce his next move since recovering from these defamations. Until then, a fond a farewell"
"I can't believe it! The Zaibatsu managed to fool the entire world. And now they are blaming the G Corp for it" Michelle was in disbelief in what she was seeing.
Steve's eyes narrowed at the screen. "Well, I'm not surprised that they would resort to such methods. This announcement only reveals how sneaky that old bastard Heihachi really is" he expressed his utter distaste of the old man.
Xiaoyu, however, didn't open her mouth to speak. Rather, she was shocked in the kind of person Heihachi had become. True, when she was enrolled at Mishima High, Xiaoyu had considered herself as his number one fan, given how rich and powerful Heihachi was. It was, after all, he who built the school, as well as being its headmaster. But on another note, the secret reason for admiring Heihachi was in order to get closer with Jin, who was his grandson. But in recent years, especially after learning more about the Mishimas, Xiaoyu's former admiration of Heihachi had turned into that of disappointment.
"Either way, it's too late for Heihachi to reopen the tournament. Not to mention that he tried to kill us!" Hwoarang stated with a scowl. "Therefore, I'm not heading back to participate in whatever schemes he's playing. And to think I busted my ass and almost survived a shipwreck to come here" he them muttered to himself angrily.
Some of the others were surprised in hearing this. "Really, you actually did that?" Julia asked him in slight amazement.
"Not just him. Me too" Lili pointed out, and everyone remembered her conversation with her butler.
"Alright. Let's get back to what's at stake here. It's obvious Heihachi is doing this in order to defeat his enemies at the G Corp. But by how?" Bob wondered about the subject.
"I also wonder" Ganryu admitted, he too being confused by all these announcements.
As the fighters kept wondering about how these events would unfold. The screen suddenly began showing a new shock announcement. This caught everyone's attention. This time, it was showing Kazuya Mishima, in his Devil form. Unbeknownst to them, it was from the Kazuya's fight with Revenant on the Millennium Tower. Then again, Revenant was nowhere to be seen on the screen, given that it was the Mishima who was the focus.
"We have currently received this shocking announcement! It appears that the man who currently leads the G Corporation is none other than Kazuya Mishima, Heihachi's son. This man, who currently has an arrest warrant hanging over him by the ICC, has been spotted fighting at the G Corp's Millennium Tower in this demonic form. The true face of the conglomerate has now been revealed! What will be the next phase of this chaotic war?"
Once again, the gang was caught by surprise. First, it was Heihachi faking his death, then it was the Zaibatsu accusing the G Corp of fabricating those reports and now it was Kazuya floating while in this horrific form of his.
"Bloody hell…" Steve cursed in what he was seeing.
"Just what the heck's going on here!?" Asuka demanded, feeling slightly uneasy.
"Kazuya Mishima…you really are demonic…." Ganryu spoke up, he too recalling the kind of man his former employer was.
"That must be the power of his Devil Gene…in full display for the entire world to see" Julia noted, the brunette shocked by Kazuya's appearance.
Michelle also felt the same way. "Kazuya….and to think I considered him handsome once!" she thought. "Since his true form has been revealed, the entire world will start disavowing Kazuya and the G Corp as this war's supposed heroes. That's probably what Heihachi wanted" she then told the others.
"The only question is how he plans on defeating Kazuya" Lili spoke up. "Somehow, I have a feeling that this could get uglier" she then admitted to her friends.
This was the sentiment they all shared. But what would happen next to them? So far, they couldn't find the answer yet.
Inside a large vehicle, near Chuo Expressway, Nagano, Japan
Inside an incredibly huge vehicle that appeared to be parked in the forest at the foot of the mountain called Shiroyama. It was near some Japanese fields and farms, as well as very close to the freeway. However, there were someone sitting inside this vehicle. It was Bryan Fury and Sergei Dragunov. These two men had decided to become allies with the Italian exorcist named Claudio Serafino along with some other fighters. This so-called group they had formed was called L'ordine.
Since the declaration, each member had been told by Claudio that they would need to capture several persons of interest that were inside a black Cadillac XTS Limousine. In order to do so, Bryan had managed to "steal" one of these big machines and was now waiting for the signal.
"Tch…...talk about a big bore! When is the action getting started!?" Bryan was getting impatient, yet he looked to his left and saw Dragunov watching what appeared to be a tablet computer. He had been itching for something to happen.
On its screen, Dragunov was staring at a GPS, although he was specifically eyeing the nearby highway. He sat there, calm as if nothing else was bothering him. Then again, Bryan appreciated the fact that Dragunov was a silent type of guy, who never made a noise. That and the fact that both men shared an interest in military equipment only strengthened their partnership. But Bryan was not sure about how the Russian soldier truly felt about him, yet he didn't seem to care either.
But both men's attention was directed towards the tablet computer, as it was currently beeping. This was due to the fact that their "targets" were currently driving on the highway. It was also not far from their standpoint.
In seeing this, Bryan let out a laugh and proceeded to start the engine of the vehicle. "Finally! It's about time they showed up! Now's our chance to rain hell upon them. Do you mind passing on this to the others?" the cyborg exclaimed while asking Dragunov to let their "comrades" know of their move.
In response, Dragunov simply glared at Bryan coldly. This was probably the first time he had ever done that to him, yet Bryan could tell what he was saying, despite not even opening his mouth. The cyborg groaned in irritation.
"Fine! I'll do it myself!" Bryan rudely replied and reached for what appeared to be a walkie-talkie hanging by the control panel. Somehow, it looked awfully similar to the ones used by police officers in their cruisers. But in this case, Bryan was now using the walkie-talkie to communicate with his cohorts. "Boys. Bryan and the Rusky here. The targets are on the highway now. Be prepared to join in on the chase when I say so" he then told them.
Dragunov glared at Bryan dispassionately, given that he had just used an ethnic slur towards him. Still, the Russian soldier easily controlled his emotions, preferring to see their objectives being completed rather than throwing a fit of anger.
The large vehicle that Bryan and Dragunov was sitting int was actually a monster truck! It was a yellow 2001 Ford F650 Monster Truck, with four gigantic wheels and carburetors under an air scoop. In other words, this was a machine built to tear down not just trees and bushes, but even buildings, especially those old shacks. However, their target was only the black Cadillac limousine…nothing else. Apparently, Dragunov had planted a tracking device underneath the limo before it had arrived to pick Lili and the others. That is why they had been waiting for them in the woods.
Tearing down trees on the way up and down hills, nothing stopped the monster truck from reaching its destination. The loud motoring sounds could be heard by some Japanese farmers, yet they quickly ran away as fast as they could. It didn't take long before the monster truck drove upon the fields, leaving nothing but destruction upon its drive. And now, it was heading towards the highway.
Back on the Chuo Expressway, Sebastian was driving calmly while watching the long road ahead of him. So far, the traffic seemed perfectly normal. Driving at the maximum speed which was permitted on Japanese freeways, the butler was confident that he and his passengers would reach Kyoto in no time. Right now, they were driving by the Buddhist temple called Jokyuji. But Sebastian was in for a shock when something unexpected emerged right out of the forest to his left.
Out from the blue, a yellow monster truck appeared, jumping in the air as it soon landed on the other driving lane. The vehicles driving on the opposite direction all stopped in seeing the monster truck heading towards them.
Seeing this shocked Sebastian, something which forced him to pull on the breaks quickly. "SACRÉ BLEU!" the butler exclaimed out in fear as he tried to steer the limo, almost losing his grip on the steering wheel.
However, Sebastian's actions had rattled his passengers, and they almost fell off their seats. However, it wasn't serious, given how everyone wore seatbelts, except for Ganryu and Bob, given how stout they were. Still, none were injured.
"Sebastian! What in the world is going on!?" Lili demanded, looking through the window into the driver's room. When she saw what was happening, her eyes widened. "Oh…...mon…...Dieu…..." she then said in French.
Her guests didn't understand what she was referring to, yet they soon looked out their windows and saw the same thing as Lili and her butler did, given that the limo was driving at a slow speed. It was unbelievable.
"Holy shit! Where the hell did that monster truck come from!?" Hwoarang exclaimed loudly while observing it on the opposite driving lane.
"No idea! But a more important question is what's it doing here on a highway!" Bob spoke up his mind.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Julia admitted, the brunette feeling uncomfortable in seeing such a giant vehicle.
As those inside the limousine were confused to why such a giant vehicle had suddenly appeared out of the blue, they managed to drive by it and got a view of who was sitting inside. The immediately recognized their faces.
"I don't believe it! That pale man with the black hair and scar across his mouth! It's Sergei Dragunov, a member of Spetsnaz!" Lili exclaimed, recalling how she had fought the Russian in the first phase of the tournament, let alone seen him at her birthday party in the Rochefort Mansion.
"And that partner of his is Bryan Fury. But what are they doing inside a monster truck!?" Xiaoyu wondered, recalling to how Bryan had been after Jin once.
"You could say that. Come to think of it, we didn't get a glimpse of either them nor their teammates when we got evacuated from the hotel in Tokyo. Is this the reason why we didn't get to see them, perhaps?" Michelle remarked, thus reminding everyone of the fact that none of these men were seen among the evacuated contestants.
But as the limo kept going on the road, the monster truck soon set its course towards them, even driving over to the same lane they were in. Along the way, it crushed some cars that drove towards its gigantic wheels. Seeing this brought fear into Sebastian, who was seeing this in the mirror.
"Hold up…those guys…...they're…" Asuka uttered out words as she and the others looked at the back window.
"THEY'RE AFTER US!" Ganryu screamed in terror and he was soon joined by the others.
Indeed, Bryan stepped on the gas, causing the monster truck to go towards them in full speed. But Sebastian did the same thing with the gas pedal in the limo. And thus, began the chase on the Chuo Expressway. It was a horrifying experience for those in the limo. Right now, they were striving to survive.
"THOSE CRAZY BASTARDS! THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL US!" Michelle cried out.
"BUT FOR WHAT REASON!?" Steve wondered aloud, himself feeling terrified of this situation.
"SCREW THE REASON! JUST GET US THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" Hwoarang screamed while telling Sebastian to speed up.
But the butler was already on it, trying to steer past cars that only ended up being crushed beneath the monster truck. At this rate, it was a deadly cat and mouse chase.
In the monster truck, Bryan sat and grinned sadistically as he drove over cars and everything else that came between him and the limo. On the other hand, Dragunov only sat and watched the carnage nonchalantly. Neither of these men showed remorse for what happened with innocent civilians.
"YEEEEHAAAAAAAAW! NOW'S THE TIME FOR THE RACE DEATHMATCH!" Bryan exclaimed loudly, his crazed eyes never leaving sight of the limo.
Despite the monster truck being taller than the limo, it wasn't necessarily slow. As such, Bryan kept pulling the gas, savoring for the moment he would get to crush his targets beneath. As the cyborg kept driving, Dragunov looked at the GPS and suddenly noticed something. He then looked out the window to see what lied before them.
At the end of the highway lied a mountain. This was the one called Amikakeyama. But there were two tunnels lying at its foot. Therefore, the Chuo Expressway didn't stop there. It continued through the tunnels, also known as the Amikake Tunnel. While Dragunov noticed it first, Bryan was too focused on getting trying to smash his targets that he almost forgot to look forward.
"What!? Ah, you gotta be kidding me!" Bryan spat as he was forced to break, given that the monster truck was simply too large to enter the tunnel. But the limo was small enough, as such, they got in there safely. After stopping the vehicle, Bryan scowled in watching his victims flee. "Screw these tunnels! I almost had those punks!" he exclaimed in anger.
Still, Dragunov was not scared of seeing the cyborg's outburst. He even pointed his finger to his right. Surprisingly, Bryan did look at that direction, yet he was simply pissed off at the moment. However, he understood what Dragunov was suggesting to him.
"What a pain in the ass. Fine! We'll drive around that damn mountain and see if we can get back on the highway!" Bryan replied and steered the wheel so that it drove off the highway and landed on the way to Chisato. When it began nearing the town, the monster truck actually drove on the river! While driving, Bryan reached for the walkie-talkie. "Alright, guys! They're currently in the tunnel underneath Amikakeyama. That means you'll have to try and chase them!" the cyborg communicated with them, although he was not being enthusiastic about this.
Inside the Amikake Tunnel, Sebastian breathed a sight of relief, knowing that he had succeeded in bringing everyone to safety. "Thank goodness. Those hooligans won't be chasing after us in this tunnel" the butler was pleased by the fact that he could now drive safely.
The passengers in the limo all felt the same way as Sebastian did. As such, they now took their time to relieve off their stress. It was the right thing to do, given that they had just felt a near-death experience.
"Goddamn! If it hadn't been for this tunnel, we would've gotten squashed like dough just now!" Hwoarang exclaimed out in frustration and stress at the same time.
"You don't say. And here I thought getting drowned by a rouge wave was enough" Lili spoke up, the rich girl reaching for what appeared to be a hand fan. She waved it a little so that it cooled her off. "Oh no. Now I'm getting all sweaty" she complained.
Asuka glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "That's what's concerning you the most? Grow up, Lili!" the brunette berated her rival.
"Yeah, grow up!" Xiaoyu surprisingly spoke up. But the Chinese girl snapped when she actually said that. As did Asuka.
The two girls looked at each other, not believing the fact that they agreed with each other on Lili's snobbish attitude. After staring at each other for a few seconds, both Xiaoyu and Asuka looked away, pretending that nothing happened.
The other fighters became confused. "Seriously. What's their deal?" Julia wondered while watching the girls not making eye contact towards one another.
"Search me" Bob spoke up, he too confused by seeing this.
"But look on the bright side, everyone. We're all still alive!" Ganryu spoke up with so much happiness in his voice. But at the same time, the Sumo wrestler was also getting a bit teary. "I almost thought I was gonna die by those monsters! And I did, what would've happened to my Chanko Paradise!? I could never bring myself to see it closing!" he was getting emotional when thinking about his restaurant.
Steve looked at him with slight interest. "So, you run a restaurant? Woah. For some reason, you remind me of a friend that used to run a restaurant chain in the past" the boxer told Ganryu.
Michelle seemed to know who Steve was referring to. "That friend of yours, he wouldn't happen to be Marshall Law, would he?" the Native American woman asked him with a smile, to which Steve responded with a nod. "I knew it had to be him. That brand of his was quite creative. Marshall China. But I heard his career wasn't a success. Poor guy" she spoke of the Chinese-American fighter.
Hearing this finally hit something in Julia's head. "I see. That's why he wasn't in the third tournament. Rather….it was his son" she recalled fighting Forrest Law during the third tournament.
In the driver's seat, Sebastian looked ahead and could see the end of the tunnel. From the looks of it, there was no monster truck in sight. Smiling, he slightly looked over his shoulders to face his passengers.
"Bonne nouvelle, mesdames et messieurs. We are almost at the exit and there is not a monster truck in sight. Therefore, it is safe to say that we have lost them" the butler replied as the limo just exited the tunnel.
Looking out the windows, all the fighters were relieved to find out that Bryan and Dragunov were not present. It filled them with only more relief.
"Ah, how delightful it feels to not have someone trying to kill you. It looks like we're safe from now on" Lili exclaimed while stretching out her arms.
"Can we really be sure? For all we know, those mean bastards could be trying to find a way around this mountain in order to pursue us" Ganryu was slightly getting paranoid.
Bob shook his head slightly. "Don't worry. They'll have to do more if they intend on catching us. Look ahead" the chubby man encouraged him to look through the font window.
Some of the other passengers did and they could spot what appeared to be another tunnel lying before them. But from the looks of it, it was longer, given that they would be driving underneath chains of mountains.
"The tunnel before us is the Enasan Tunnel. It will take us underneath Misakayama. Once we have driven through it, it won't be long before we reach Nakatsugawa" Sebastian informed his passengers.
"Yeah, but it's still a long way to Kyoto. But all we can do is being patient" Xiaoyu spoke up, her mind filled with so many thoughts that it left her in a different state. "I don't understand how you can keep all this to yourself, gramps. Why do you still treat me as if I'm a little girl!?" the Chinese girl wondered while thinking about her teacher: Wang Jinrei.
If Julia and Michelle were right, then Wang would undoubtedly be seeking out Lee Chaolan and his Violet Systems in Kyoto. There, she would discover the true reason for why he had left China and risked his health to come to Japan. Xiaoyu still didn't believe in his story about only coming over to visit some friends. She wasn't falling for that.
Inside a giant vehicle, in the thick forest near the Suwa Shrine, Gifu, Japan
Deep within the forests near the highway, someone was actually waiting inside a giant monster truck. The men inside were the masked luchador Armor King and the Chinese Kenpo master Feng Wei. Like Bryan and Dragunov, these two had also joined in on this alliance with Claudio Serafino called L'ordine. How they agreed to his terms, was not yet known.
Even so, they had the same goals as their cohorts: capturing the persons of interest inside a black Cadillac XTS Limousine. Their choice of vehicle was also a handful one. Armor King and Feng had snatched a red 2005 Dodge Ram Monster Truck. To be frank, it looked like a giant angry ram, waiting to gore its target. But as of now, its engines were off.
"There is no sign of our targets yet. But based upon what Bryan and Dragunov told us, they managed to make into the Amikake Tunnel. I assume that it will also take some time before they are out of the Enasan Tunnel as well" Feng spoke up as he was watching a GPS.
Armor King held his hands onto the steering wheel. "No matter. They will near this spot soon enough. Then, we will do what we can to force these people out of the limo. But we must be careful not to crush them" the wrestler informed his partner.
Feng faced his cohort with his dragon-like eyes. "You are the one driving, not me. As such, making sure they are alive falls upon you" he reminded the wrestler, who didn't seem to give much thought in return.
As the two fighters sat inside the monster truck in silence, Armor King couldn't help but to wonder about the reason he had agreed to doing this "job". He even wondered whether Claudio was being truthful when he said he would assist him with his issues.
"I will admit that forming this L'ordine is a bit ridiculous. But given the circumstances we find ourselves in, it would be nice if he would be honest in helping us in reaching our goals" the man wearing the black jaguar mask informed Feng.
"Yes. But our goals differ, I suppose. Regardless, I still share your sentiments about Claudio Serafino. He is no ordinary man. What he really is, I have yet to fully understand" Feng replied to his partner's thoughts.
As they kept engaging in this conversation, the GPS began beeping and it showed a small spot moving along the Chuo Expressway. Both fighters immediately realized that their targets were nearby and knew what to do.
"They are here. And faster than expected" Feng remarked in what he was seeing on the small screen.
Armor King started the monster truck's engine, its motors making a noise so loud that it scared the nearby birds. "Finalmente! I was growing tired of sitting in this small space. Now, we can begin the operation. Agárrate fuerte!" the masked man told his partner to hold on tight in Spanish, before proceeding to stomp on the gas pedal.
The moment he did that, the red monster truck began moving quickly. Given its size and speed, it simply tore down anything that stood in the way, from trees to bushes. After all, that monster truck was built to destroy things. A such, they would do anything to reach the highway. But at the same time, they would follow the GPS, in order to reach the limo
As trees fell before the monster truck's wrath, they soon could see the highway in full display. And at the same time, they could spot the black Cadillac limo driving on it. Knowing just the way to surprise them, Armor King sped up. He was intending on making a jump from the forested hill and onto them.
"Now we them! Prepare yourselves!" Amor King bellowed as the red monster truck was now up in the air, heading towards the incoming limo.
Seeing a flying monster truck heading towards him completely caught Sebastian off-guard. Desperate to get away, he swung the steering wheel to the left, so that it ended up crashing the fence. The limo was out of control and it drove off the highway and fell down to towards a field of grass. But because of that, Sebastian had control of steering the vehicle, so it continued driving down along the hills of Kamida. It actually drove off an edge, thus falling onto another sets of hills, expect for the fact that it began rolling. Rolling down some fields, the limo stopped when it crashed into some nearby trees.
It was devastating. The limo was now standing upside down, with its windows shattered and many bulks on its doors. And to add insults to the injuries, smoke was coming out of the luxury vehicle.
However, the passengers began exiting the limo one by one, albeit slowly. They felt so much injures across their heads, given that they had likely banged heads with each other. Hwoarang was holding onto his eyepatch, as his only had had not been injured.
"Damnit! I almost lost my only eye!" Hwoarang cursed while coughing.
Julia and Michelle were crawling out of the vehicle, each of them coughing while holding onto their heads. "Julia! Are you alright!?" Michelle asked, her motherly instincts taking hold of her once again.
The brunette weakly nodded her head in agreement in return. "I'm fine…..just a little…." Julia winced in pain and held onto her head.
Michelle quickly came to her side. "You didn't receive any cuts, did you!?" she asked worryingly.
Sebastian, who was the oldest, started coughing. Even so, he stubbornly crawled down to see if his young mistress was alright.
"Merde! I cannot believe all this….." Sebastian's glasses were broken, yet he didn't give a rat's behind about it. "Madame Lili! Are you alright!? Réponds-moi!" he called out to her in French as he was crawling.
Lili grabbed the hands of Sebastian, and he immediately began pulling her out. From what he could tell, she didn't suffer any critical injuries, much to the butler's relief.
"Dieu merci! You are still alive and breathing! I cannot imagine what your dear father would have felt if I had to tell him the grim news" Sebastian told Lili while holding onto her shoulders.
Lili shrugged off his hands and looked to see Asuka and Xiaoyu crawling out of the limo. Once they were gone, it was Ganryu and Bob's turns. But they were too round to crawl out of the windows. There had to be some way to get them out.
"You guys stay back! We'll try to pull off these doors!" Lili told them and she looked at her butler. "Sebastian, help me and the others in getting off these doors! Those two are too big to fit through the windows!" she commanded him, to which he responded without hesitation.
Steve began helping pulling out one of these doors, with Xiaoyu and Asuka soon joining him. "SHIT! THESE DOORS WON'T GO OFF!" he cursed, as Steve was feeling pain in his hands.
"JUST TRY HARDER!" Asuka urged him.
In the end, they succeeded in getting the doors off. Bob and Ganryu managed to crawl out, the two men catching their breaths while being bruised all over their fat bodies.
The group moved away from the wreckage and took sat on the ground to recover their strengths.
"Damnit! Just what the hell happened!? First we get chased by a yellow monster truck! And now, we almost got ourselves crushed by a red monster truck trying hop on us!" Bob expressed his fears and outraged, coughing as he was talking so loudly.
"Save your words. There's no need to waste them with rage" Ganryu encouraged him.
Xiaoyu had managed to calm herself, the Chinese girl already feeling slightly traumatized at the moment. "I honestly thought we were gonna die just now…yet we're still alive…" she tried her best to hold back her tears.
"Thank God we are…I just can't understand how this can happen to us all of a sudden!" Hwoarang uttered out angrily.
Feeling somewhat guilty for causing such distress to them, Sebastian couldn't help but to lower his head in shame. Lili and the others glanced at him confused. "I apologize for my foolish choice of getting us away. It almost cost your lives. For that, I am humbly sorry" the butler told them, feeling slightly ashamed.
"Don't say that! It's not your fault!" Michelle interjected his apology. "If you hadn't taken that risk…we probably wouldn't be alive right now" the Native American woman pointed out to him.
Lili nodded her head weakly in agreement. "She's right. There's no need to shoulder this burden by yourself, Sebastian! None of us are faulting you…...even me. So please…let us help you through this pain" she told him.
Sebastian was stunned to hear this coming from Lili. In fact, he had never seen this side of his young mistress before. But then again, the butler wasn't necessarily surprised. Despite being a rich girl, Lili didn't fit into the category of those being most snobbish of them all. Indeed, she could show compassion at times.
"Well...at this rate, I don't know whether we should continue towards Kyoto or go to the nearest hospital. In my opinion, the latter may be the best solution" Steve spoke up, still feeling the pain within him.
Julia stroke her brown hair. "Good idea. But where is the nearest hospital?" she asked before looking at Ganryu and Asuka. "Do you guys know of any nearby town?" she asked them.
"Heck if I know. I'm from Osaka. But that's a LONG walk from here" Asuka replied.
"There is still a long way to Nakatsugawa. But its even longer to Kyoto. We haven't even reached Nagoya yet" Ganryu joined in on the conversation.
"FUCK! IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE CURRENTLY STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!" Hwoarang threw a fit of rage. "GODDAMNIT! IF ONLY I HAD MY MOTORCYCLE!" he continued with his rant.
"Just give it up, Howarang! You won't get anywhere by throwing a tantrum!" Xiaoyu berated the Korean man, yet he was not listening to her.
"Alright! Break it up! Let's have a discussion on how to get to the bottom of this!" Michelle encouraged everyone to listen. "It appears that we'll have to find a way in order to get ourselves treated. No way we can continue towards Kyoto in this condition" she then suggested they find a hospital.
But in the minute Michelle was telling them this, they could hear the sound of loud motors coming towards them. As it got closer, the group of fighters stood their guard. From the hilltop, two large monster trucks emerged and landed not far from their location. Everyone in the group felt anxious and distressed by seeing them arrive.
"Son of a bitch!" Bob cursed out of frustration.
"Just what do these guys want with us!?" Asuka demanded while clenching her gloved fists.
At this rate, it was pointless for the group to run from their pursuers. They were piloting powerful mechanical monsters that could quickly catch up to them. However, the doors of the monster trucks opened and four people revealed themselves in front of the group. This enabled the group to see who were piloting the red monster truck.
"I don't believe it! It's you!" Michelle gasped in seeing Armor King being among those pursuers.
"I believe King told you that this one is a different Armor King, right?" Julia asked her mother, who immediately nodded her head at her in return. "Good. I'm sure you're still struggling to come to terms with the fact that…..you know" she began explaining.
"It's okay. King told me everything" Michelle assured her adoptive daughter.
Asuka's eyes widened with both shock and anger in seeing Feng Wei standing there. It filled her with nothing but open contempt. "YOU!" the Japanese girl snapped, pointing a finger at the Chinese Kenpo master. "You're that Chinese brute who hospitalized my dad and almost ruined his dojo's reputation! What the hell are you doing here!?" she demanded an answer out of him.
However, Feng only glanced at Asuka with nonchalant eyes, as if he didn't care about her emotions. "You again? You really are a nuisance" he coldly told her, much to the young girl's rage.
"You haven't answered my question! Just what are you…" Asuka was interrupted by the voice of Bryan.
"Shut your trap, loudmouth! Your voice is so annoying as hell that it hurts my ears!" the cyborg rudely told her. But he had to look at all the fighters that stood before him and his cohorts. "But then again, this is indeed an interesting bunch we've caught, isn't it, boys?" he remarked, a grin slowly creeping on his face.
"Hmph. They are nothing but a group of imbeciles. Hardly the fighters that intrigue me" Armor King replied to Bryan's statement.
Hwoarang, Steve and Bob couldn't stand being badmouthed with such level of disrespect. Therefore, they took several steps forward.
"You better take back what you just said, luchador-freak! Otherwise, I'll be more than happy to kick that mask off for ya!" the Korean man warned him.
Armor King glanced at him specifically. "Bite your tongue, or I will break your legs!" he responded ruthlessly, showing no remorse for the language he was using.
"Now spit it out, all of you! Who hired you to go after us!? The Mishima Zaibatsu!? The G Corp!? Tell us before I punch you till your toothless!" Steve wanted some answers, feeling more than willing to attack any of these fighters.
Bryan could understand what Steve's fighting style was, given that the British man was even doing its fighting stance. "You plan on beating us with Boxing? Tch, what a joke!" he said and did a mocking punch with his fists. "Why don't you try it on me? My Kickboxing will prove to you how I'm better!" he taunted Steve, who felt slightly enraged in hearing this.
"You haven't answered his question! Who do you work for!?" Bob spoke up.
"They are not working for me, my plumb friend" Bob and the others looked to see someone approach from behind the two monster trucks. It was two people. The first one was the exorcist from the Archers of Sirius: Claudio Serafino. The woman with him was the masked kunoichi named Kunimitsu. The slick-haired man appeared beside his cohorts. "We have come to a mutual understanding that if they can assist me with my goals, I can assist them with theirs. All of us are making a compromise" Claudio added to his explanation.
Xiaoyu's eyes widened. She remembered seeing that man once. It was when she and Jin tried to rescue Angel from captivity. He had intervened to stop Jin from doing that. But now, he was here in one of Japan's rural areas. The Chinese girl was confused at the moment.
But he was not the only one who was a recognizable face to someone. Michelle couldn't believe in seeing Kunimitsu standing there. Despite wearing a different mask, Michelle could tell that it was her.
"It's you…you're that thief who tried to steal my pendant during the first tournament….Kunimitsu" the Native American woman uttered out the woman's name.
In response, Kunimitsu smirked at her. "What a coincidence seeing you here, Michelle Chang. I heard that you somewhat failed to safeguard that pendant of yours from Heihachi Mishima" the redhead started to insult her by bringing up the past.
Hearing this made Michelle scowl. "You got some nerves saying that to the one who beat you in the tournament! If you wanna have a rematch with me, then I'll be more than happy to oblige!" she hit back, even standing in her fighting stance.
"Tempting, but no. In these times, you are the least of my concerns. Your tribe has nothing worthy of taking" Kunimitsu responded, much to the outrage of Michelle.
Claudio stepped before his cohorts. "Let us move over to more pressing matters. I understand that you may be curious to know my motives for pursuing you. You see, I am actually on a demon hunt, right now" the exorcist told them smugly.
Most of the group before him became confused. "A demon hunt? What are you babbling about?" Ganryu wondered aloud.
"Yeah, your reason doesn't make any sense" Lili joined in.
"There's no need to feign ignorance, signorina. I know what you are doing. All of you are trying to find someone important. What a coincidence, we are also doing that. I believe you know the name of that person…..Jin Kazama" Claudio cunningly told them.
The eyes to some of the fighters all widened in disbelief. For some reason, Claudio was looking for Jin as well. But what was his reasons for doing that? Xiaoyu, who already felt herself getting on the defensive, decided to find out more.
"What does that matter to you? We don't know where Jin even is, let alone where we will find him!" the Chinese girl stepped up her verbal assault.
Claudio fixed his eyes upon her, his smirk never leaving. "I already know that. Which is why I will use bait to lure him out of hiding" he then revealed to the group.
"Bait? What bait?" Steve questioned him warily.
In response, Claudio began pointing a finger at the group as a while. "Why, with persons of interest, that is. Ling Xiaoyu. Asuka Kazama. Hwoarang. Will each of you be so kind and to come with us? I assure you, we mean you no harm in any way" he then told the names of the persons he was interested in, much to the utter disbelief of those three fighters.
To be continued…