A/N: Finally an update, I've been busy with other things that I've haven't had the time to write. But recently things have started to settle and I've managed to finished this chapter, which is longer than what I had first thought but there was just so much that I wanted to put in. Anyway, this chapter just pushed the fic past the 100,000+ word mark and there's still a little while to go. Thanks to those that had continued to read and adding this to their favourites and alerts during my absence, I really do appreciate the support. There will be a sequel to this fic, so I'll be planning that very soon. Ok, enough from me and I'll get started on the next chapter and hopefully that should be up before Christmas. As always, enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken or anything related to it, they are the property of Namco.
Chapter Twenty-One: Questions and Answers
May 12th 2008
Location: Gargoyle Tower- Interrogation Room #1
Time: 2015hrs
The young male was thrashing around, trying in vain to break the restraints that bound him to the metal chair. Since he had been dragged out of that place, Hwoarang was brought straight to the metal room that he was confined in, small and dark with only a single light-bulb illuminating the room, not giving off much light. But the darkness was the least of his problems along with his movements under the constant surveillance of the soldiers, he was used to it from when he was a soldier himself.
No one had told him what was going on, but that was because no one else knew of what Jin's plans were for the Korean except for two people, and he was well acquainted with them. Hwoarang knew since that day in Dublin that Jin would send Nina and the Tekken Force after him and eventually capture him. He didn't expect to slip from their grasp the first time, he just didn't want to get caught up in the crossfire between the Tekken Force and the G-Corporation military, and he escaped by using the stolen motorbike. Not that he cared at first that he stole the bike, but he eventually lost control and the bike crashed into a small lake in the countryside and it was at that point that Hwoarang realised that he didn't make such a smart move in stealing something that belonged to one of the world's most deadly assassins.
With no money, Hwoarang travelled throughout Europe, hitching rides with whoever would stop, stealing food from shops and houses as a means to survive as well as clothing and sometime vehicles until they ran out of fuel. Thankfully he still had his passport and was able to get through borderline checkpoints without a problem. It was only within the past month that he was able to return to Japan under the radar and without raising the alarm since he was wanted and found out that the tournament was over and Nina had been declared the winner by default.
"Hey! How long am I going to be here?" Hwoarang screamed at the guards by the door, trying to break the restraints on his wrists. "You can't do this!"
The door opened from the outside and quickly upon seeing the person that entered, Hwoarang's eyes flashed with anger.
"Damn you Kazama."
Jin looked emotionless, making his way to the chair opposite his rival. He slowly sat down and looked at the young man with a bored expression.
"I see that my bodyguard found you in the process while undertaking another task," Jin stated. "It was…unexpected, but now that's one less worry on my mind. But there's one thing that I'm curious about…"
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.
"What were you doing with Anna Williams? Apparently you had some information about our operations that you could provide her."
The other man snorted, obviously not willing to cooperate. Jin knew that it was going to be a hard bargain to get anything from his copper-headed rival, he was one of the most stubborn people that he knew other than Heihachi. The way that those muscled arms were crossed over his chest and the bored expression on his face, it was clear that Hwoarang wasn't going to break that easily.
"I haven't done anything wrong, I was doing this for the money since I don't have any source of income anymore because of what happened that night."
Jin raised an eyebrow. He had no idea that his rival was in the same building that night, blended in amongst that drunken, rowdy crowd.
Night of the bar brawl…
A powerful side kick sent a drunken man flying through the air, hurling through the crowd and eventually found rest on the wall. Hwoarang dropped his foot back down onto the ground and had next to no time to react as a large fist was sent his way. But as quick as he was, he was able to duck underneath, narrowly missing the potential of deadly blow and swept the attacker's legs out from underneath.
Standing back up, the Korean scanned around in hopes to source out the cause of the sudden riot. Apparently Jin Kazama, who Hwoarang was surprised to see in a place like this, punched Paul Phoenix into another person and then it flared up from that, spreading like wildfire through the entire building. Now, everyone seemed to be fighting against each other.
Looking over to the door near the bar, he spotted Paul and two other men exiting. The blond one stopped and turned back in, signalling to two others. Hwoarang could see the recognisable figure of Nina Williams heading towards the door, closely followed by a very familiar face in a long black coat.
Hwoarang's eyes narrowed.
"Kazama…" he mentioned the name through gritted teeth, spitting it out like it was a curse word.
He hadn't seem him in person since that day during the tournament, when Jin transformed and left Hwoarang in a bad state. Since then, the young Korean swore revenge. Soon, his thoughts were broken by someone from the entrance screaming out, followed by the sound of sirens wailing.
"Everyone here is under arrest!" the police officer stood there, a metal baton was in his hand. "Drop down to your knees or we will use force upon you!"
Hwoarang stood there, watching as armoured officers stormed throughout the premises, forcing people to the ground. Soon enough, he found himself on the ground and in no time at all, his hands pulled beneath and the sound of handcuffs were heard, bounding his wrists together. His only thought at that point was that Kazama had something to do with this, adding more fuel to the already raging fire burning with anger within Hwoarang.
Present Day…
"Look, I didn't know that you would end up being caught in the middle of this," Jin told him, his tone steady and wavering no emotion. "But, you obviously have no idea about what you're getting yourself into, people around you are going to get hurt."
Hwoarang scoffed, eyes spitting acid and fire and the raven-haired man.
"That's a real funny thing, coming from you." The remark caught Jin's full attention. "You're actions have done nothing but hurt people. It's the troops that go about killing innocent people and for what?"
He felt his heart drop, it was the truth. True, Jin allowed his troops to kill if it was necessary, regardless if it meant the death of innocent people, but he was driven with the ambition to end the cursed bloodline. He wanted him and Kazuya to war in order to resurrect Azazel so that he could fight the beast and destroy them both in hopes to rid the world of the Devil Gene and bring salvation to those who had been victims of it.
His mother, who had fallen in love with a Devil and ended up giving into temptation...Hwoarang, who had been inflicted with injuries by Jin's sudden transformation and came close to death…And finally Nina, who absorbed Kazuya's last half of the Devil and now was just as cursed as Jin.
Jin then realised that it had to end soon or risk the Devil Gene hurting for people, even kill a person. Azazel's influence grew stronger everyday, continuously speaking to Jin, even to the point of chanting.
Heir of the cursed blood!
Come before me and face judgement.
The wrath of the Gods will be inflicted upon thee
And my time of destruction will be upon the world.
There will be no escape as this cursed world is succumbed by damnation
And every living thing will face demise.
Come forward Devil and release my spirit.
Location: Gargoyle Tower- Interrogation Room #2
Time: 2021hrs
Heir of the cursed blood!
Come before me and face judgement.
The wrath of the Gods will be inflicted upon thee
And my time of destruction will be upon the world.
There will be no escape as this cursed world is succumbed by damnation
And every living thing will face demise.
Come forward Devil and release my spirit.
Her hand hovered over the door handle, head echoed with that voice chanting to the point of her head was ready to explode. Since she had received the curse, Nina could hear Azazel just like Jin did and knew that he would have received the same chant as well. Looking down at her exposed right forearm, the mark stared back, sending a chill down her spine.
Was she going to become a danger? What would happen if she would suddenly transform and lose control? Those were the questions that lingered around like a bad taste and the Devil's influence grew stronger by each passing minute, she could feel it. Ever since she came back and started being around Jin's side, the soldiers had become more fearful of the assassin and did everything in their power to not to do anything that might anger her as they had heard of Jin's transformations.
'Snap out of it!' Nina screamed in her mind. 'You've managed to get this far, don't let it control you.'
Nina shook her head and turned the handle, pushing the door open and walked inside with caution. One of the guards already in the room closed the door behind her as she approached the metal table in the middle of the tiny, dim lit room and looked down upon the person occupying one of the two chairs in the room. Her eyes showed that she wasn't amused by this woman's antics, to sink so low just to get information about her boss and the organisation.
"Anna," Nina began, trying find the words to say to her younger sister. "You're pathetic, to sink that low just so that you would gain an advantage in this war…"
The brunette returned the glare and narrowed her eyes.
"Well excuse me for falling for that boy's charms," Anna sneered. "I guess I'm just powerless when it comes to handsome looking men. But if this 'incident' ever reached Kazuya, you know that he wouldn't approve."
Nina sighed and sat down in the chair opposite her sister, resting her forearms on the table and leaned forward.
"Why do it when you know that he wouldn't approve? If I was in your position I would have found some other way to get the information," she explained, almost in a hushed whisper. "So tell me…why were you trying to get information? What is Kazuya planning?"
"Like I'd tell you, my dear sister…" Anna's gaze slowly looked downwards to where Nina's arms were resting on the table. "If I were you, I would worry about myself then to get answers out of me because clearly you're wasting your time."
The blonde followed down the line that Anna was looking down and noticed that it was that the Devil mark branded onto her arm. Quickly removing it with an exasperated gasp, Nina's eyes widened slightly before turning into quick anger, Anna could sense her discomfort on the subject.
"My, my Nina, what would our father say if he found out that his pride and joy had a tattoo-like mark for all to see," Anna continued in her usual sneering tone that she used on Nina. "I know he wouldn't approve, that's for sure…"
"That's enough!" Nina roared, slamming her fists on the table, jumping up onto her feet in anger. "You've got some nerve for telling me what our father would or wouldn't approve of. He sure as hell wouldn't approve of what you've been doing, let alone a tiny mark on my arm."
She held her arm out, flashing the cursed mark toward her sister.
"You can thank your boss for this curse," Nina continued. "Now, I'm just like him and Jin. Cursed by the Devil and the only way for me to gain salvation is by death or by killing that goddamned beast Azazel, so don't think that…"
Oh shit…what did she just say?
Mouth wide open, Nina was shocked when she just unwillingly revealed the reason why Jin started the war. The secret was out in the open and Anna sat there with a smug, satisfied grin on her face. Mission complete.
"Well, well, well," Anna began. "I think I've got what I need, you've really messed up this time, Nina."
The older sibling mentally slapped herself. There was no taking it back now.
'Well done Nina,' her conscience mocked. 'Thanks to you, Anna has all she needs to fuck up everything for you. Well fucking done, imagine what Jin would say to you now.'
Indeed, Nina has fucked up big time and if Anna managed to escape, it would only be a matter of time before Kazuya would find out and then it would be a race against time for Jin to reach Azazel before his father. She hated being in this situation, always had whenever Anna was involved.
"But you still have to get out of here first if Kazuya has any chance of finding out anything…"
Anna cut her off when she started laughing, causing Nina to become confused and raise a quizzical eyebrow. Why was Anna laughing?
"What's so funny? Why are you laughing?"
Anna ceased her laughing and gazed at her sister.
"Look down at my right heel."
Nina walked around, still wondering what Anna was on about and then knelt down. She looked at the ankle, a flashing beacon with a speaker implanted inside the heel of the shoe. The blonde assassin's eyes widened and then looked up at her sister.
Shit. That minx had set the whole thing up.
"You fucking bitch, you set the whole thing up."
Anna chuckled.
"Yes, I wanted to get captured. That boy was nothing more than a pawn to me, he was in the whole thing too since he offered his services to us."
Nina set her jaw. How could she fall for a trap? Why couldn't she detect it?
"So now, G-Corp forces are on their way here in 3…2…1…"
Whole building shook violently, sounded by an explosion. The enemy was right outside using by the sounds of it the full arsenal of their military power. They weren't prepared for a full-scaled war to occur right at the base of their operations and now Nina realised that they were stuck between a rock and a hard place and that there was no escape.
Before she knew it, the last sight that she saw was the red clad heel of Anna connecting with her jaw and then darkness.
Meanwhile, in Interrogation Room #1…
"What was that?" Jin wondered as the room shook. He looked over his shoulder as the door opened. "What's the status, commander?"
The soldier saluted quickly and stood at ease.
"Sir, G-Corp troops are attacking the south side of the building," the commander spoke. "We've already taken heavy damage from the missiles and now they're deploying JACKS, which have already entered the ground floor."
Jin narrowed his eyes and pulled out his phone. Hopefully Nina had heard about this and was trying to get the situation under control. He quickly dialled her number and held the object to his ear and soon he was through to the other side.
"Nina, there's been a…"
"Sir, Miss Williams has been knocked unconscious and the guards occupying the room have been shot dead."
Jin felt his jaw drop slightly, a sudden burst of anger rushed through his body as he heard about the situation. How in the world did this happen? It was obvious that something went terribly wrong during the interview as he knew for a fact that Nina wouldn't allow herself to be put into that position. What if Anna had…?
"Shit," he cursed. "Ok, I'm coming over there."
"Yes boss, I'll stay with her until you get here."
Jin pocketed his phone and looked over at the commander.
"Come with me to the other interrogation room," he ordered and glanced over to the guards. "You two make sure nobody gets in here without my permission. The other prisoner is on the loose will try and come here."
Without saying another word, Jin and the commander ran out of the room and Hwoarang sat there to only watch the door close behind them. The plan was working perfectly, he was certain that he had picked the right side after all. Once he was certain that Jin and the commander were well out earshot, his attention turned to the guards by the door.
"Hey guards, how about you loosen these restraints for me?" he requested. "My wrists are starting to hurt."
Location: Interrogation Room #2
Time: 2026hrs
The door flung open and the sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the room. Eventually after a short while the dust had cleared and Jin was able to open his eyes and scan around the room. He knew that something wasn't right the moment that he stepped inside, the marbled floor was slippery and there was an all too familiar stench as it reached his senses. It was nauseating, enough to make the most toughened fighter or soldier to come close to faint, and Jin didn't have to look down at his feet to realise that the guards were lying in the combined pool of their blood.
It was obvious that this was the work of Anna, a skilled assassin just like her older sister and was able to use her skills to escape. Eventually his thoughts soon turned to the woman that was unconscious on the ground, being tended to by a soldier that must have heard the confrontation. There didn't appear to be any major visible damage, only a small red mark from what appeared to be from a heel that must have struck her in the jaw.
"She's going to be fine," the soldier told him and stood up. "There's nothing serious, she's just going to have some soreness in the jaw for the next while and…"
"Ugh…mmm…"
Both men looked down at the ground at Nina. Slowly her eyes flicked open, a throbbing pain in her jaw as she tried to sit upright. Automatically, Jin rushed to her side and knelt down, helping her to sit and placed her back up against the table leg. Nina looked around the room, seeing the bloodstains across the room from where she was and to the two dead bodies on the ground laying in that crimson pool.
Anna sure made quick work of escaping from there.
'Mental note to self…never…EVER allow Anna to trick me like that again.'
"What happened here?" Jin asked and helped her up onto her feet.
Nina pulled her arm out of his grasp and leaned up against the edge of the table.
"Anna confessed everything to me," she answered softly, with a hint of disappointment in her voice as she looked down at the ground. "But…that was after I made the mistake…"
She looked up at him then.
"I accidentally let it slip about the plan during a heated argument with her and then she told me that all of this was a set up just to get information," she continued, voice no longer holding its usual composure. "I'm sorry Jin, but she wouldn't stop about the Devil mark on my arm."
Jin looked away from her, his jaw set. So Hwoarang was just a decoy so Anna could face Nina personally to gain information? Of course it was a set up, Kazuya wouldn't be stupid enough to allow his forces to raid the Zaibatsu without intention, there had to be a reason, a plan and he had succeeded. That meant if Anna was able to escape then…
"Sir, the other prisoner has escaped," the commander said, breaking the silence. "It seemed that the 'guards' that we left him with were a couple of enemy soldiers undercover."
The raven-haired man sighed heavily and looked at the commander.
"Forget about them," he told him. "They would be long gone by now. Focus our attention on eliminating the enemy and protect the building." He looked to Nina. "Come on, we'll head up to the perch and discuss what we're going to do next."
Location: Mishima Zaibatsu- Central Tower
Time: 2045hrs
It was easy for them to sneak into the underground, since the army was occupied with the G-Corp hostiles. However, Lars was curious as to why Kazuya would send his forces to the centre of all of the Mishima Zaibatsu's operations. It was odd, why risk losing manpower? Was it just to get to Jin, or was there another plan under the agenda? Well whatever it was, it had nothing to do with him as there was another task that had to be done and Jin Kazama was going to answer to him.
He and Alisa soon walked up to a glass platform, which appeared to be some sort of elevator that ran up the entire length of the tower. Of this time of service, Lars had only been up onto the top floor once when conversing with Jin on matters concerning the campaign in Russia. He knew what would be waiting for them up there and turned to Alisa.
"He should be up there," he told her. "We shouldn't encounter any more of those robots just like the one we encountered earlier."
The pink-haired android nodded.
"Right. I cannot pick up any forces from either side within the radius of our current location," Alisa explained. "But I can sense two powerful beings up on the top floor of this building."
The two of them walked onto the platform, which then automatically started its ascent. Of course one of the beings that Alisa sensed would have to be Jin, but who was the other one? Could it be Kazuya? Lars had that familiar funny feeling that something wasn't right, and usually his feelings turn out to be true.
Location: Gargoyle's Perch
Time: 2051hrs
His legs were crossed, eyes glued to the woman that stood before him. Neither of them knew what else they could do, now that Kazuya was going to know everything it was only a matter of time before he would reach Azazel before Jin did. But why should he be worried? Kazuya no longer has the power of the Devil Gene, therefore he couldn't possibly truly kill Azazel, unless…
"Do you remember Azazel mentioning anything about an orb?" Nina asked.
Jin removed his cheek that had been resting on his hand and looked on with curiosity. He shook his head.
"It had said once, not too long ago…" Nina continued, folding her arms over her chest. "That anyone that defeats him, has access to an orb that is stored in its chest. An orb of great power to those that do not have the power of the Devil. However…those who have the power of the Devil, will lose that power once they come in contact with it."
It clicked then. If Kazuya truly had lost his part of the Devil, then it was only more fitting that he claimed this power from an entity that was just as powerful and forever eliminating any chance of ridding the world of the Devil Gene and if he managed to kill Jin in battle…then the world will fall to the Devil's mercy. Kazuya will become invincible.
They were running out of time. Jin knew that he had to get to Egypt and into Azazel's chamber before Kazuya.
"Alright, we'll go to Azazel and put an end to this," Jin explained carefully. "If this is what Kazuya is after, then we need to hurry or otherwise it'll be too late."
Nina nodded.
"Right, I'll inform the air squad to prepare the plane and the chopper for when we arrive."
The assassin pulled out a communicator from the pocket of her black jacket to make the arrangements. Jin sat back and watched her, wondering how was the remainder of the Devil was going to be destroyed once he defeated Azazel. Sure his half would be gone, but what of the part that now currently was inside of the blonde woman before him, giving orders to the air staff to prepare the transport to Egypt. Perhaps that mysterious orb was the answer, but wouldn't it be destroyed if Azazel was gone? This was the part that he wasn't prepared for. The reason why it was safe for both him and Kazuya to have half of the curse was because they learned to control it, to use under their own discretion and without anything to trigger the transformation. But Nina…she could change at any given time and it was unpredictable as to what would happen.
Time was running out for them to figure out what to do with it.
After a minute or two, Nina pocketed the device and turned her attention to the man in the throne.
"Ok, it's done. We are due to leave in a few hours," she explained. "We'll arrive in Cairo and stay there for as long as we need to before setting off for the temple."
Jin nodded.
"Very well, call the commander and ask for a status report. Hopefully with those two out, we shouldn't encounter any hostile forces while we make our exit."
His bodyguard walked up the steps and stood next to him, on his right side at the sound of something moving, like an elevator. Sapphire eyes gazed cautiously, carefully as if she was trying to catch something in surprise. A moment later, her eyes widened slightly at the sight as the hole in the middle of the floor disappeared as the glass lift stopped and two figures appeared before them.
'How did they get past the conflict outside?' Nina thought. 'Even if they went underground, we tightened security so that they couldn't gain access again.'
Oh yes, Nina remembered her confrontation with Lars and Alisa just a few days ago.
Flashback…
May 9th 2008
Mishima Zaibatsu Central Subway
The assassin laid flat on her stomach, watching as Lars and that android fight off Tekken Force militia. She wasn't even meant to be there, but after getting orders from Jin to send soldiers to take care of them, she decided to accompany them and apprehend them herself. It was actually a coincidence that she had found them, lingering in the Zaibatsu's underground rail network while watching security footage as she was investigating an incident involving one of the NANCY-MI847J robots being destroyed by an unknown assailant.
It was there that she found them running away from the scene and Lars discussing to Alisa about an underground network that the Zaibatsu used to transport military weapons without being detected by the G-Corporation. And after a call to Jin and receiving orders to dispatch soldiers, it led them to this, fighting on the back of a moving train and almost certain death if anyone managed to fall off.
Nina had to admit, the two of them fought off the soldiers quite well. But fun time was over and it was time to put an end to this, once and for all. Deciding not to wait any longer, Nina got up onto her feet and jumped down from the ledge and landed with a soft click of her heels, causing Lars and Alisa to look over at her in surprise.
"I never thought they'd send you after us," Lars said to her evenly, well aware of Nina being Jin's own personal bodyguard.
Nina scoffed. Obviously Lars was mocking the strength of the soldiers, but in reality she didn't want to risk losing their best men and women just to take care of Lars. Besides, Jin never sent her as she was there on her own accord as it was her duty.
"Protecting Jin Kazama is my job, and I'm very good at it," she replied.
Lars nodded and got into his fighting stance.
"I'm sure you are. But that won't make me go easy on you."
Nina braced herself as he charged at her and threw a punch, but being a trained assassin she had quick reflexes like a cat and ducked. She swept his legs out, causing him to fall heavily onto his stomach, groaning in pain. The woman saw an opportunity and prepared to do a heel drop, but Lars saw it coming and rolled out of the way and quickly stumbled up onto his feet. With no time to react, Lars sidestepped as Nina kicked at him, narrowly missing his head and she turned around.
Chuckling, she knew that this wasn't going to be an easy fight. Lars was once one of Jin's top soldiers and was trained in a hybrid of military fighting styles and hand to hand combat. Quickly, Lars attempted to sweep Nina's legs out from underneath her, but she did a back flip to avoid the leg, gripping onto long, lightweight steel pipe that was behind her and landed back onto her feet. With the weapon in hand, she swung it like a katana at him and all Lars was able to do was to dodge the potentially fatal blows.
Lars was doing well to dodge them, but soon his luck ran out and suddenly he lost his balance…
"Shit!" He cursed and realised then that he was in a dangerous position as his head hung over the edge of the moving train and Nina was over him, pressing the pipe across his throat.
She applied pressure and soon Lars felt himself go lightheaded as the pipe reduced the amount of oxygen going into the brain. It was all going to be over if something wasn't done.
From nearby, he could see Alisa moving quickly from behind the assassin and then soon the pressure on his windpipe was soon released as Alisa threw a kick into Nina's side and threw her off the moving train. Lars watched as Nina hit the concrete wall and fell onto the ground, unmoving.
Present Day…
But because of the Devil, she was able to recover and returned to Jin and informed him that Lars had escaped. Now just a few days later, the two of them watched as Nina walked down those steps and stood before them.
"Why do you stop at nothing to protect Jin?" Lars asked her.
Nina slowly narrowed her eyes slightly. She knew the answer, but it wasn't like that she was prepared to tell a man who was willing to betray his army just to form a rebellion against its leader.
"Because it's my job," Nina replied before finishing the answer in her mind. 'And because I love him, that's why.'
Lars watched as she got into her fighting stance, eyes now narrowed in that deadly gaze and he accepted that he had to fight her once more. But something quickly caught his eye…
'That mark…she's the other being that Alisa was referring to…' Lars thought. 'She's another one of those monsters, like Jin…the cursed Devil Gene of the Mishima's.'
"If getting through you is the only way to face Jin, so be it."
Nina ran at him at breakneck speed, kneeing him in the torso and the wind was knocked out of Lars. Even though he was slightly winded, the former officer grabbed her leg and flipped her onto her back and attempted to drop a punch down from above, aiming for her head. However, Nina caught his arm between her legs and repositioned herself on him as he rolled onto the ground, catching the man's left arm in an arm lock.
"Ahhh!" Lars screamed in pain as he felt his arm being pulled out of the socket as Nina applied even more pressure to the hold.
The assassin moved once again, this time to grab the other arm. Lars couldn't take much more of this and fell backwards, his heavy muscular frame pinned Nina underneath and then he rolled off. The smaller woman felt like she had been hit by a car as she got up onto all fours and had almost no time to react as Lars attempted to deliver a kick that was sure to knock her out, but she rolled backwards and climbed up onto her feet. She sent a couple of jabs his way followed by her infamous Blonde Bomb, sending Lars sliding backwards and eventually on the ground. His head hit the steps that Jin's throne, and the man himself, were at the top of.
He was going to make an attempt to confront Jin, but then felt himself being flipped over onto his back and saw Nina ready to finish it off. He closed his eyes and waited for the final blow, but that never came…
Opening one blue eye, and then both, a sense of relief filled him as Alisa knocked Nina to the ground and out cold. With a small smile, he got up and nodded to his partner before his expression turned serious and to the man he came to see. Jin was out of his throne and stood upright, his gaze set firmly on Lars and then over to Alisa. This man had proved himself as a worthy fighter, but was he strong enough to fight Jin himself and without the help of the android?
"Just what do you think you're doing to our world?" Lars demanded, anger evident in his voice.
Jin sighed and crossed his arms.
"I'm just returning everything back to the way it should be," Jin replied calmly.
The comment infuriated Lars even more. Was this guy serious? Did Jin have any idea as to what was happening to the world?
"Even if it means ending everything in the process?"
Kazama narrowed his eyes. He wasn't going to end everything, he was damn sure of that and he couldn't forget about what his mother said about doing thing inclined for the good of the world. If it meant to start a war to awaken a sleeping God and to destroy it along with himself in hopes to bring an end to the curse, then it was something that had to be done. That was his mission and he was damned to allow anyone to stop him, he just wanted to rid the world of the Devil Gene so that it wouldn't hurt anyone, anymore.
"That's of no concern to you."
The two men charged at each other and attempted to strike at each other, only to have their fists meet in the middle and sent them back, onto one knee and shocked that they met each other's blows. Nearby, Nina opened her eyes and witnessed Jin and Lars on one knee, gazing at each other and she got up. It was clear that despite his Devil powers, Jin and Lars were going to be evenly matched, but why? Was there something about Lars that was hidden to the eye? Whatever it was, it was a threat and had to be eliminated.
Getting up, she wandered over to her boss as he got up and looked at him while he kept his gaze on the ground.
"Jin, we better go. Kazuya would have found out by now."
With his jaw set, Jin wordlessly began to follow her out with clenched fists. He was sure that Nina would deal with Lars afterwards, but there was the matter of Azazel to be dealt with first.
"Yes, come to me heir of the cursed blood," Azazel spoke to him. "Face your fate, your impending death awaits."
"Wait!"
His voice reached them, causing them to cease movement. Jin never looked back at Lars at that moment and a deadly smirk formed on his lips. That android never attacked him while Lars was fighting Nina and there was a reason for it, because Alisa only received orders under one voice command and that person was…the truth was about to be revealed.
"Alisa. Disable safe mode," Jin ordered, slowly closing his eyes. "…and then reboot."
Something was wrong, why couldn't he figure it out? Lars had no idea as to what was going on until he heard robotic beeping from behind him. His eyes widened and slowly he looked back and saw the android's eyes had turned from those green ones that he grew fond of into red, something more deadly and…evil.
"Alisa, what's wrong?"
"Identifying voice print and bio-data," Alisa said, voice lost its usual cheerfulness. It appeared to Lars that Alisa had lost the part of her that made her almost human. "Identity confirmed as Jin Kazama. Rebooting main system in…10…"
'What has he done to her?' Lars thought, his eyes gazing at Jin's back. Anger flowed through his body and without a second thought he started to rush over towards Jin, but Alisa flew overhead, stopping in between and acted like a barrier between the two men.
"…6…5…4…3…"
"Get out of the way!" Lars demanded to her through gritted teeth. Alisa finished counting, but continued to hover between the two men. "Alisa, what's wrong?"
He was caught off guard as his former ally charged, flew at him and followed up with a roundhouse. Stunned, Lars could only block and nothing else, he wasn't going to fight her even she did become the enemy. He didn't have enough time to react to the next attack and the second kick managed to get through, connecting with his torso and he slid back a few metres. Recovering quick enough to watch her fly above them all, Lars watched her.
"It's me, Lars!"
The dust kicked up travelled between Jin and Nina, causing Nina to wave her hand in front of her as the dust stun her eyes. Obviously Alisa attacked her because she couldn't recognise Nina as an ally in her safe mode. But now it was clear that they were on the same side, it was going to make her job of eliminating Lars later much easier.
'Well, I guess today has just got better,' she thought. 'First my dear sister played me for a fool, and now Alisa is under our control. Lars is helpless without her.'
She looked up overhead and saw the android hovering well above the ground.
"Standing by for next command."
Nina looked over at Jin, a dangerous smirk well planted on his face. Everything was going according to plan.
"Standing by for next command," Alisa repeated.
Lars looked down again, turning his attention again to the Devil on the other side of the room.
"What did you do to her?"
"Are you really that stupid?" Jin asked him, finally looking at him, turning to him fully. "She was created to serve me."
"What?"
The former officer was confused. Was he really working with the enemy the entire time? Then it had hit him, he still remembered what that old man said to him, about Alisa being a danger. At first he didn't want to believe it, no one could determine it until now. Why…why did this have to happen to him?
Jin's expression turned serious.
"She's been my eyes as you led her around," he continued. "I've known exactly what you've been doing."
"You've planned this from the beginning," Lars stated.
Jin had turned around, facing the throne.
"No," he answered and turned around once more. "I had nothing to do with the G-Corporation hitting the lab or you losing your memory."
That wasn't completely true as the G-Corporation hit the lab in retaliation to the underground attack at Millennium Tower and destroying the research lab. But he had no idea that Lars would take his rebellion group to that place, it came as a shock when he, Nina and Eddy went there to survey the damage themselves.
Alisa flew down and stood in front of Jin, facing Lars as if she was protecting him from harm.
"But those factors worked to my advantage," Jin continued.
The blond man stood up and looked at Alisa with fear, confused still at what's going on.
"Move!" He demanded more forcefully than earlier.
"Standing by for next command."
Lars couldn't believe it, he's lost her. Unlike losing his dear friend during fight against G-Corporation where he was able to carry on, the former officer felt lost and he didn't know what to do. It was as if…it was as if he had already lost.
"Alisa, eradicate him," Jin commanded and turned back around. "Lars. If you have it in you to defeat her, then you and I will be ready to talk."
With nothing left to say, Jin and Nina made their exit around the back of the throne, with Lars left with his former ally. With that problem being dealt with, it was time to go and put his plan into place, but there was another problem to figure out first.
Meanwhile, Lars was left only to watch the two of them leave and Alisa remained there, she appeared that he would fight him just to stop him from going after Jin. But the thing was, Lars didn't want to fight her even though now that she was clearly on the other side. Never had he felt so conflicted, in the time that they spent together he had befriended her almost to the point of…wait, what?
Was it possible for a human to love an android? Did he feel something that pushed the boundary of humans and machine?
But it seemed that Lars no longer had a choice. Fight Alisa and risk destroying her or die and allow Jin to continue his destruction. Regardless of his feelings, there was only one way to go…
"You're not leaving me with much choice here!" Lars said to her, getting into his fighting stance.
"Command from Jin Kazama confirmed," Alisa spoke robotically. "Eradicating Lars Alexandersson."
Blocking out all of his thoughts, Lars braced himself as Alisa flew at him and dove out of the way. She went past him, but quickly changed course and headed straight down on top of him, planting her knees firmly against his chest and pinned him to the ground. Despite her image, she was incredibly heavy due to all the inside mechanics and Lars felt his body breaking from underneath. He couldn't fight back, frozen and conflicted as his life was on the line.
He knew that he had to stop her, but he didn't want to badly damage her. Alisa pointed her hands at him and two chainsaw blades formed from her elbows, directed at his throat. This was a bad situation to be in, flat on his back and an inch away from instant death. But then, he felt something build up inside of him and then it happened. Making a quick move to grab the top of her arm, Lars stretched it upright and made a quick strike into Alisa's exposed side, making her fall off and he quickly climbed up onto his feet. The two of them faced each other and Alisa made an attempt to strike at him with one of the deadly, rotating blades in which Lars ducked, narrowly missed him as it almost took off one of the spikes of his hair.
It was a close call, but was able to recover quickly as he found an opening and a surge of electricity surrounded his clenched right fist and then without a moments hesitation, unleashed the punch straight into the android's centre. Alisa fell backwards to the centre of the room and onto the ground, obviously stunned from the sheer force of the strike. Lars slowly, but cautiously made his way over as Alisa tried to sit up. Despite the attack saving him, he couldn't help but to feel guilty for what he had done, but there was something inside of him that just ticked and drove him over the edge.
'The Mishima blood that's inside me,' he thought as he looked down at the android. 'I may not have the Devil Gene, but still the blood itself is tainted.'
Sighing, he held his hand out to her, offering to help. She reached out to him, as if she had snapped out of what was commanding her to harm him, causing Lars to smile a little. The touch of her hand was soft, almost human and her eyes…her eyes were green, soft and it was like he could reach in and feel her soul. But he seemed to have forgotten at that time that Alisa was an android, a machine and quickly her whole demeanour changed. The grip on his hand tightened, the soulful green gaze quickly turned into red eyes of hatred and destruction and suddenly with a quick pull, Lars was in mid-air and hurdling to the ground. He groaned in pain as soon as his back hit the ground and rolled up onto his feet, watched as Alisa came back at him with the blades and made a horizontal strike towards his throat.
Instinctively, Lars ducked his head side ways as the blade whirred closely past his ear and she moved back. The flower hairpiece from her hair fell and the man watched as it fell to the ground with a soft thud, the last piece of her innocence gone and all that remained was a machine out for his blood. Her feet hit the ground, crouching down as if she was to launch herself into the air.
"Disengaging," Alisa spoke, jumping up into the air. Within a split second, the rockets at her ankles charged up and then she shot up into the air and out of the roof of the tower.
Lars watched as Alisa made her way into the night sky, making his way to the railing that circled the darkened, Gothic room and leaned up against it. What just happened before? He was meant to be there to question Jin over the reason for the war, but then end up fighting his former companion. There were still so many questions about that night that he wanted answered.
How did Nina become a Devil? Why were the G-Corporation bringing a fight to the enemy's door? What were Jin's true intentions for starting the war? Whatever it was, he had to find Jin and defeat him if that meant getting him to talk.
But for now, he felt as if someone was watching him.
"You alone?" A deep voice asked from the darkness.
Lars looked up to the top of a ledge and saw the man that saved him and Alisa from that giant robot from a few days ago in the subway.
'Raven…'
Lars got up off the railing as the dark skinned, well muscled figure jumped down and landed on the ground below. This man was a mystery, a ninja-like person who single-handedly destroyed one of the Mishima Zaibatsu's elite military weapons with two blades and his various martial art skills. Lars couldn't comprehend it, no normal human could have done that.
The two men met in the middle of the room and stopped in front of each other.
"Yeah," Lars replied.
Raven gazed at Lars through his dark glasses with a curious look. His face was expressionless, appearing cool and calm.
"Where's the girl?" Raven questioned like a police officer interviewing a suspect. Again like his face, the voice was deep, cool, calm and collected.
This guy meant business.
"This is getting us nowhere," Raven continued, sounding almost abrupt despite Lars' anguish. "Jin must have headed to the desert. I'll go after him."
Lars looked to the ground, he didn't understand.
'The desert? What's out there?'
Well at least he knew where Jin was going and there was only one way to answer his question.
"What about you?" The dark skinned man asked him.
Lars looked around the room of Jin's empire and looked at the man in front of him.
"He and I have unfinished business," Lars replied.
"Then get moving," Raven told him immediately.
Wordlessly, Lars made his way toward the exit with Raven in tow. Jin Kazama had found something that caught his interest in the desert, perhaps this was going to be the answer that he had been searching for. He felt something soft under his boot as he almost reached the exit and stopped, turned around and his heart dropped. It was the flower that fell from Alisa before she took off. Raven walked past him as he knelt down to pick it up, grabbing it and gazed into its delicate beauty as he stood up, but his thoughts were interrupted as the ninja approached him.
"What's the hold up?"
Lars sighed quietly and looked down at the flower once again, ran two fingers over it and closed his eyes.
"Nothing," he replied and looked up. "Let's go."
He pocketed the flower and made his way out. There were two reasons now for facing Jin, to stop him and to exact revenge on turning Alisa against him, using her like a puppet just to protect himself as he made his escape alongside his bodyguard.
Jin Kazama was going to pay for what he had done.
A/N: Ok, another long one done and I expect that there will be a few more before conclusion of this fic. I'll get started on the next one and have that posted soon. Until next time :)