Tekken: Kings and Queens
Stage 20
The third day came and went in an instant. Day four of the tournament arrived.
Before the day officially began, Lars went over the plans once more with his team. Infiltration of the highest levels wasn't going to be easy, especially with the two day mandate they had given themselves. Minutes ticked by, all possible scenarios they could come up with were collectively heard, all contingencies for the worst were being accounted for. Everyone within the Swede's former unit was so caught up in their strategies that none of them noticed the presence of an intruder quietly breaking into their hideout.
"So glad of you to finally join us."
None of them, save for Lars, that is.
The other members of the Specials were startled out of their wits as Raven casually strode in.
"What have you got so far?" the ninja asked all business-like.
"More progress, thanks to the information you gave us," Lars replied. "It still won't be easy, but at least with these keycards we 'liberated' from a few employees along with your added assistance, we have a working plan for tonight."
"Hmm," Raven nodded gruffly and, making his way over to the circle of former soldiers and old comrades, put his hand over the blueprints of the compound and scrutinized its contents. The agent then went over the rest of the items collected and studied out the plans laid out. "You certain this will work?"
"We don't have much of a choice," the Swede answered. "The tournament's end is fast approaching, and my instincts tell me our window of opportunity is shrinking. Tonight is as good an opportunity as any."
Raven adjusted his shades on the bridge of his nose.
"My men will also be on standby, ready to assist," the ninja said. "They will be the ones to draw out their security and take the heat off our backs. We will rendezvous at the Southwest corridor on the second level as we had agreed on."
"We shall infiltrate, deal with their security seals, and move in accordingly," Lars finished. "Alpha 2, you have our equipment?"
"Prepped and waiting, sir," Alpha 2 answered affirmatively.
"Then it is settled," Lars clasped his hands.
"See you in a few hours," Raven replied in his typical stoic expression. And in a blink of an eye, the ninja vanished.
As Lars and his ragtag team began to finalize the details before wrapping up, listening and observing the meeting well away even from the Swede's sharp senses, a petite, delicate young woman leaned anxiously against the wall hugging sadly to herself.
Playing with her long, pink tresses, the woman had thoughts of walking up to the men and even turned and took a step towards them. Reaching out with her hand stretched forward, she stopped in her tracks. Clasping her hands close to her chest, she sighed to herself, thinking better of approaching them unannounced, she leaned her back against the wall once more and quietly slumped on the ground.
The diminutive woman stared at her hands on her lap. She smiled to herself, her childlike expression one of eternal childlike purity and innocence, yet her emerald green eyes were filled with melancholy and dejection. She was supposed to be his ally, his partner, his friend… his family. They have been through a lot over these past few years. And yet she felt left out.
And though he had explained to him his reasons, all she could think to herself was… why didn't he want her help?
Why?
Why…
Sometime during the afternoon, Kyuuto wanted to have a drink.
Badly.
He should be happy. After all, Hanako had been returned in time for the tournament, the master's plans went on without a hitch, and even with suspicions of Soleil's activities and the disappearances of many fighters around the globe, there was little or nothing anyone could do about it. Very soon, with the completion of Hanako and ultimately the Gaia Project, the master would be heralded as a hero, Soleil would become more profitable than the company had ever know, and Kyuuto himself would ride that wave of success towards richer pastures.
The businessman, however, felt nervous. He had been tempted to drink on several occasions, and each time, either something comes up to stop him from drinking, or if he did manage to bring the glass to his lips, he simply blanched at the taste of alcohol. Kyuuto never did like the taste of alcohol, much less something 'exotic' like whiskey.
Kyuuto stared at the glass intently, watching the large cubes of ice float within the golden orange liquid.
He really wanted to have a drink…
Really badly…
A knock on the door brought the businessman back to reality.
"Come!" he said in the most authoritative voice he could muster. The moment the door opened, his demeanor changed from authoritative to meek. "How… how did you manage your way here?" he stuttered.
"Let us not worry about the little details, hm?" Anna winked, and sauntered to the businessman's desk.
Flustered, the businessman cleared his throat in a failed attempt to calm himself. "Wh-what are you d-doing here?"
"Checking out the scenery," a second voice answered. Kyuuto's nervousness shot up as Bruce followed right behind the Irish woman. The kick boxer whistled, admiring the coziness of the office. "This place is bigger than my own living room."
"Anything is bigger than your own living room," Anna quipped.
"Beeeeeeeeeh!" Bruce made a funny face towards the brunette. Anna stuck her tongue out playfully.
"P-please," Kyuuto begged quietly. "What do you want from me?"
"Now why you so scared, man?" Bruce chuckled and strode next to the businessman while Anna gently hopped onto the desk. Wrapping an arm around the businessman, Bruce continued, "If it's about the dress code, I got my tie on." The kick boxer pointed to a striped tie haphazardly wrapped around his neck. Amidst the jeans, chains, steel toed boots, and purple muscle shirt, it was the only part of his attire that would constitute as formal.
"N-no, n-not that," Kyuuto stuttered.
"What is it then?" Anna purred seductively.
Kyuuto swallowed a lump in his throat. "I-it's… it's just…"
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees?" the brunette winked.
"It's just that you could draw too much attention…" his voice trailed off as he shirked back in his seat.
"Pffft, is that all?" Bruce chuckled. "And I thought it was because of her feet." The kick boxer scrunched his face, leaned closer to the businessman's ear, and made a gesture towards the brunette on the desk. "They stink, don't they?"
"Shut up," Anna threw a pencil at Bruce's head. "You are such an ***."
"And you're still hot, babe," Bruce replied, clicking his tongue and gestured at the woman with his index and middle fingers pointing at her.
"Really, what is it you want from me?" Kyuuto pleaded.
Anna and Bruce looked at each other, then faced the businessman with toothy grins on their faces. Kyuuto wanted to dig a hole and crawl in it.
"Not much, Mr. Ishida," Anna replied first.
"We just checking your crib," Bruce added.
"More importantly, Kazuya sent us to make sure you uphold your end of the bargain," Anna reminded Kyuuto.
"You got some nice digs." Bruce interjected, admiring the posh furnishings before his eyes zoomed in on one particular piece of furniture in the office. "But, yes, just checking to see if you remembered our agreement."
"Which is to help us hold off the security a bit and open up access for some of our friends to enter the labs," Anna finished. "After that, you will be rewarded quite nicely as per our deal."
"Actually, she's the one here to do all the rewarding, if you catch my drift," Bruce interjected. "Me, I'm gonna enjoy this here sofa," he immediately dashed away from the nervous businessman and jumped into the large, leather sofa leaning against the wall. His body sank into the comfortable cushions as he let out a satisfied, "Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh…"
"You are such a dumb ***," Anna gaped at Bruce, then looked at the glass on front of the businessman. "You gonna drink this?"
Kyuuto sighed and shook his head. Anna smiled delightfully and helped herself to the whiskey.
Later on in the day, Takeda watched with mild interest as Minamoto gathered the rest of their equipment.
"Are you going to help me or not?" the kunoichi snarled.
"No, no, you're doing a fine job by yourself," Takeda waved his hand, his eyes studying the curves of his partner's elegant figure. "Yes… a very fine job…"
The ninja's thoughts were interrupted by a pillow to the face.
"Lecherous… indignant… ugh!" Minamoto grunted angrily to the ceiling.
"Alright, alright," the blue haired man shook his head indignantly and walked over to assist her. "So, you all settled on the plan?" he asked, packing the weapons in their respected cases.
"So long as Mr. Mishima upholds his end of the bargain, and you don't bring that grotesque weapon, yes I am satisfied," the red haired kunoichi replied.
"I've got Kazuya taken care of… and you're still not over that incident?" he looked at her quizzically.
"So long as you continue to hide it in the closet, I most certainly am not."
Takeda was taken aback. "Uh… what closet?" he asked innocently.
The red haired kunoichi pulled her partner by the ear and, amidst his yelping, dragged him towards the closet. Slamming the closet door open, she quickly kicked aside various clothes and suitcases before pulling out a massive case with the words 'Grand Poobah' labeled on the surface. Takeda relented at the evidence.
"Look, I wasn't gonna use it for the mission," he said, rubbing his aching ear. "I was… you know, gonna use the thing afterwards."
Minamoto gave the blue haired ninja a disbelieving glance.
"I swear it!" Takeda waved his hands.
The red haired woman hefted the case in her hand and walked towards the door.
"No, no, no, no, no," Takeda trailed behind the kunoichi and pleaded. "Don't toss it away! I have yet to try it out."
"No," Minamoto said flatly.
"Please?"
Minamoto glared at the man wordlessly.
"I'll wear the black dress…" Takeda offered. The blue haired ninja received a slap in the face for his efforts.
A couple of hours later, Jin Kazama finally woke up. Though he felt sore, his body had indeed recovered from the thrashing he received.
"Congratulations on winning your match," was the first thing Jin heard when he came to.
Recognizing the voice, the first move he attempted was to swing his fist at the direction of the source. Unfortunately for Jin, and fortunately for said source, he couldn't lift his arm to perform such a move as his wrists were bound to the bed. For a brief moment, he struggled with the binds angrily to no avail.
Thus, Jin switched to his next (and only) move available…
"What are you talking about?" Jin grimaced.
"Should I speak a little slower for you?" Kazuya quipped. "I said… con-gra-tu-la-tions… on… win-ning… your… match."
The reigning King of Iron Fist champion looked at his father confused.
"You have no idea what happened, don't you?" Kazuya asked matter-of-fact. "I was occupied at the time courtesy of the old man so I never had the chance to watch your match," the former G-Corporation CEO shuddered at the memory, "but I caught first glimpse of the end result. Impressive to say the least."
"What… what's going on – "
"How about I let you figure that one out on your own?" Kazuya grinned maliciously. "I don't want to ruin the surprise."
"What happened!" Jin struggled in his restraints once more. "What happened to Eddy – " That was when he noticed the blood stains on his hands. Blood that clearly wasn't his own…
"Your brain hasn't been dulled after all," Kazuya observed. "Good. It makes discussing our plans much easier."
"Plans?"
"Do not make me hit you, boy."
The former Mishima Zaibatsu CEO felt the life drain from him as he slumped his head back onto the pillow. "I'm not in the mood," Jin muttered.
The former G-Corporation CEO looked down at his son and folded his arms. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Kazuya countered.
Around the same time, the android named 'Black Jack' fought another round in the tournament.
In about the next 7.45 seconds, Jack would claim yet another victory in the tournament. While it certainly felt more satisfying than the first match, it wasn't quite enough of a fight for the droid to display his raw power as he clenched his gargantuan fist and unleashed a devastating blow to his opponent. Even without using his full strength, his significantly smaller (and weaker) opponent found himself smacked against the wall. A couple of milliseconds later, said opponent unceremoniously fell face first to the ground.
Predictable.
"The winner!"
Down went his opponent, and once more his strength proved to be unsurpassed. At least that's what Jack told himself over and over as he ambled his way out of the ring. It was the only comforting thought he took away from this farce of a match.
Speaking of farce…
"Jack," a voice called out to him.
At the sound of his name, the android turned towards the source, and had to refrain himself from reaching out and squeezing the life out of the scientist standing before him. He did not, of course, though he was that close to doing it…
"Congratulations on your victory," Kalina said. "Before you leave, I have an assignment for you. A rather simple one for someone of your… expertise."
The android was almost surprised to find how much easier it was to even walk up to the front desk of the hospital, never mind be granted permission to visit Jane. Given the ultimatums he had received and the heavy security posted, Jack almost found it rather unusual to see such measures being lax.
No matter, Jack found himself sitting next to Jane, a little healthier than before, he observed, yet still comatose. The physicians weren't sure what was wrong with her, though the android himself didn't believe it. As far as he was concerned, they were under orders to simply keep her stabilized to ensure the android's cooperation, though the doctors insisted that he condition was simply day-to-day.
Jack had regretted many decisions he made in his programmed 'life'. The android was more than certain he would have many more regrets should he remain functional for years to come. At the moment, however, he could not possibly find anything more regrettable than the decision to bring Jane to Soleil and put himself under their mercy.
…except for allowing the woman to get injured in the first place. Processing those memories, Jack's guilt grew exponentially.
Just as it was in the beginning, the android weighed his options. He hated all of them.
The android sulked to himself. Turning towards the sleeping Jane, he gingerly placed his massive hand on her head and brushed her blonde locks tenderly. The metal giant allowed himself to smile, finding her company, even unconscious, to be therapeutic… though he would much rather she be awake.
Then again, given that he signed what was the equivalent of a soul to the company of wolves in sheep's clothing, the droid couldn't help but wonder what Jane would think of him now. Would she be able to forgive him, given that he helped to contribute to the mass genocide around the world? Or would she hate him… fear him and never look at him again? He was a war machine, he was built for combat… but even Jack had his limits.
The android checked the time on his internal clock.
Two hours, three minutes, twenty seven seconds left…
Jack really hated his options.
The android gently nudged the woman's face with his large index finger and stood up. Walking towards the door, Jack could only hope that when Jane finally wakes up from her deep sleep, she would never have to see him again…
Evening approached, and Lars' team of former Tekken Force Specials waited patiently near the entrance to make their move.
"How much longer do we wait?" Alpha 2 asked.
"According to my watch, twelve more minutes," Lars answered assuredly. "I wouldn't worry so much. Raven will be on time."
"I'm not worried," Alpha 2 replied. "Just… concerned about our 'friends', nothing more."
"And your 'concern' has been noted, just like the last twenty three times," the Swede said.
"You actually keep count of those things?"
"Sorry, couldn't help it," Lars shrugged.
Alpha 2 scoffed at his leader.
"Not that I don't understand your feelings," Lars admitted. "After all, we are taking a huge gamble in this. But if there's one thing I've learned about these agent types, they're rather punctual. More or less."
Meanwhile, a small entourage of black armored vehicles gathered at another location outside Soleil's tower. Sitting in the passenger side of the lead vehicle, Raven quietly studied the plans for the last time, committing the blueprints to memory.
"Time?"
"Ten minutes, thirty four seconds," the driver confirmed.
"Plenty of time," Raven nodded. "Once we arrive at our location, I'm handing command over to you while I bring the infiltration unit with me."
"Understood," the driver replied.
As the vehicles rounded a corner, a faint black 'blur' caught the ninja's attention.
"Did you see that?" Raven asked in a low monotone.
"See what?"
The ninja furrowed his brow and glanced out at the tinted windows. Never one to doubt his senses, Raven scanned the streets intently, leaving no proverbial stone unturned.
"What is it?" the driver asked.
That was when something crashed onto the roof of the car.
"What the hell!" the driver hollered. Spinning the wheel frantically, the driver was able to keep the vehicle steady in spite of the suddenness, albeit just barely as the car nearly toppled off the road before coming to a complete stop.
"Phew… Raven, you alright?" the driver asked.
The ninja didn't utter a word as he reached for his blades behind his back. Puzzled, the driver turned to the direction Raven was looking. That was the last thing he saw as the bulletproof windshield shattered and a hand plucked him out of the vehicle.
"Time?" Lars asked.
"Three minutes, twelve seconds," Alpha 2 answered.
Breathing heavily, Raven swiped at the intruder with his blades. A quick slash with his left, followed by a second slash with the right, both attacks evaded by the robed man with an unnatural sway of the head. Gritting his teeth, the ninja stepped forward, spun on his heel, and delivered a kick aimed squarely at the enemy's head.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team behind him was in chaos as four other robed men hovered towards the vehicles and proceeded to pick off each agent one by one.
"All units, head to the rendezvous point, now!" the ninja barked over his earpiece as he barely managed to avoid a punch to the face. "I will hold them off and meet you – "
Raven was interrupted as yet another robed man descended from the night sky and landed behind the ninja. Keen senses allowed the agent to step to the side just enough to avoid receiving the full blow of a hard chop aimed for the side of his neck. Instead, the attack hit him on the right shoulder, causing the ninja to drop one of his blades and momentarily falter in his steps.
"What are you waiting for!" the ninja yelled.
The answer to his question, as he fought back the robed men, came in the form of several gunshots from a member of his team… or rather an apparent mole in his team dressed in the uniform of his unit riddled the cars of his entourage with bullets, managing to kill or seriously wound some of the agents in his rampage. Letting out a throaty growl under his breath, Raven blocked one of the robed men with his right forearm, and with his free hand, quickly performed a succession of signs and postures of his kuji-in. Irradiant power channeled through his body, and in a flash, the ninja disappeared from his spot. Immediately, Raven reappeared in front of the gunman, blade aimed for the neck.
"Hah!"
With one motion of his arm, the ninja managed to decapitate the gunman with his blade. To his shock, the body remained standing while the head hit the ground with a hollow 'thunk'…
…as though it was made of wood.
"Great…" he muttered derisively, kicking the lunging headless body away before it got a chance to attack him.
Snapping his head to the side, another of his agents leapt to the air to attack the ninja. Instinctively, Raven stepped away from the 'agent' and watched him slam his fist through concrete. With a grunt, Raven, spinning his body clockwise, landed a succession of kicks with the right followed by the left, then connected with a flurry of hard strikes with his fists before slamming the 'agent' back to the ground with his heel.
The 'agent' shattered under the force of the kick… literally. The body was torn in two as splinters and wood chips flew from impact. That was when a third 'agent' attacked.
And a fourth.
And a fifth.
Eventually, the robed men also joined in the battle, pushing the ninja on the defensive.
"How can this mission get any worse?"
The answer to that question initially came in the form of a pair of blows to the midsection, followed by a strike to the head. A roundhouse kick completed the combination, sending the ninja spinning to the ground. Dazed from the sudden attack, the ninja shook the cobwebs in his head and jumped back to his feet, snapping his attention towards his newest attacker: an elderly man, one whose wizened face had seen and experienced life as few had ever imagined, stepped calmly towards Raven with prayer beads in his hand.
"I just had to open my mouth…" Raven murmured.
As always, Qiquiang's expression remained ever peaceful, soothing, and calm. With a smile and nod of his head, the marionettes surrounded both the ninja and the monk, forming a pseudo ring in the middle of the street. Then, with legs held rampart, and arms slightly raised, Qiquiang stepped into his fighting stance, and waited for his opponent to respond…
Two minutes since the scheduled time had passed…
"Punctual, you say?" Alpha 2 asked.
"More or less," Lars added with emphasis.
"Not bad," Raven muttered under his breath.
The ever tranquil Qiquiang replied with a succession of open palmed strikes, parrying the ninja's own punches and, balancing on his left leg, countering with a flurry of kicks with his right leg. Raven blocked the first four initial kicks with his arms, parried the fifth, and struck low with his single blade aimed for the midsection. The monk quickly responded by stepping back and raising his left leg in a single motion, deftly blocking the strike without the blade touching him. Bringing his arm back, the ninja began to throw a succession of hard strikes at the monk with blade and fist alike, each of them blocked by a pair of deceptively strong, nimble legs. Qiquiang then struck out with his right leg, which Raven managed to weave his head away from the limb and threw himself into a back flip, and landed on the ground crouching low. Waving his arms in a grandiose display, the monk flicked the sleeves of his robe, and stepped into a neutral position.
The marionettes, robed men and pseudo agents alike, remained still as statues as the two opponents took a momentary break in the fight to study the other. Raven rose to his feet, waving the blade in his hand before resuming his fighting stance.
"Not bad for an old man…"
Qiquiang beamed at the ninja and acknowledged with a bow of his head before raising his left palm, though still remained in his neutral pose.
"You're welcome," the ninja seethed.
Four minutes since the scheduled time had passed…
"No sign of our ninja friend," Alpha 2 said.
"Patience," Lars said. "He will come through."
Raven toppled backwards and fell hard to the ground, courtesy of a single clout of the monk's right hand to the chest, causing the ninja to drop his remaining sword.
Resting his palms on the concrete, the ninja tried to push himself back to a standing position, only to stumble back. Reaching to his chest with his right hand, Raven shuddered and choked like a wounded animal, his left hand the only thing keeping the ninja from keeling over.
"BLARGH!"
Blood sprayed from his gaping mouth as Raven began to feel the effects of the clout. Qiquiang smiled at the ninja, the ever peaceful expression becoming an annoyance to the agent on the ground. Like any fighter or agent with a sense of pride, Raven slowly wiped the blood off his lips and gradually rose to a standing position.
CRUNCH!
Like any other experienced fighter, Qiquiang immediately went on the offensive and used that moment of weakness to strike at the ninja. Raven was barely able to lift a finger as the monk's hook kick grazed his arm and connected to the side of the head. The monk wasn't finished, as he spun his body to deliver yet a second kick with his left leg, connecting to the opposite side of the ninja's head. Balancing on his left leg once again, Qiquiang threw another succession of kicks, low, mid, high, head, chest, midsection, the soles of his feet delivering one devastating blow after the other. At the apex of his combination, the monk took a short hop back and, twisting his body to the side, lifted both legs to the air, and sent the ninja spinning in the air with a butterfly kick.
"Guh!"
The marionettes in unison hovered out of the way as Raven tumbled in the air towards the wreckage of one of the black cars. The ninja hit the vehicle with such force that the chassis practically caved in. Time felt like an eternity as Raven remained motionless on his back, somewhat thankful for his tough hide… though it did little to nothing to ease the pain he felt. The small pieces of glass digging into his dark skin certainly did not help his cause.
"Ugh…" Raven moaned, lifting his forearm to his head.
Six minutes past the deadline…
****!
Rolling off the roof of the car, he struggled to regain a footing while the monk and the marionettes looked on. Mere meters away, an object caught the ninja's eye: a rocket launcher. Turning to the monk, then back at the marionettes, Raven wiped another drizzle of blood off his lips.
"Apologies," he groaned. "But I have an appointment to catch."
With that, the ninja leapt towards the precious weapon, grasped it in both arms, and rolled to a kneeling position. Spinning his body around, he pointed the rocket launcher at the monk, and without a second of hesitation, pulled the trigger…
Before Lars or Alpha 2 could continue their conversation, a loud explosion shook them back to their senses.
"Better late than never," the Swede remarked. "Alright men, move out!"