In a world of darkness sanctioned by evil,
where the only light of hope is a group of unlikely heroes,
the legend's final chapter has begun...

- TOH SHIN DEN III: Walking Into Ruin -

a Battle Arena Toshinden 3 fanfiction by Athena Asamiya and Kasumi Todoh


CHAPTER FIVE: Confrontation



Translations:
daijoubu? - are you okay?
baka - idiot


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As the door shook, the sound of splintering wood could be heard. Almost as if it was being chopped down...? Eiji and the others jumped back a few feet, too startled to react right away. Eiji was the quickest one to shake himself out of it and yelled, "Everyone, push something against the door!"
The rest of the group was all too happy to oblige. Bookshelves, chairs, and a few other heavy objects were shoved up against the door to keep the intruders from getting in. When it was clear that their blockage wasn't going to work, they grabbed their weapons. Nagisa loaded bullets into the gun that hung at his side and flicked out his extremely large switchblade, Ellis whirled out her double Dirks, Sofia snatched her whip from her waist, Kayin unsheathed Excalibur, and Eiji unsheathed the Byakko no Tachi. The group took up their fighting stances and prepared for what would undoubtly come -- their first confrontation with the warriors of the Soshiki. However, Shizuku and David also heard the ruckus from the other room, and came running out to see the famed fighters, armed and ready, while their door was being broken down from the outside. Shizuku drew in her breath and growled something, reaching over and grabbing a thin stick-like pointed staff from a nearby corner, and took a common battle stance. David nodded at her, and revved his chainsaw a few times. The warriors waited, the only sound being heard was the sound of the door breaking down, slowly...
It collapsed.
From many, many slashes from quite a few different weapons. What was left of the chairs and obstacles was kicked aside like rubbish.
And silhouetted against the mid-afternoon light from outside, there stood Leon with his sword, Zola with her whip, Atahua with his blowdarts and tubes, and Rachael with her tonfas. In the lead was Vermilion, a sinister smile on his marked face. He regarded the fighters with icy contempt. "Fighters of the Toshindaibukai...it is a pleasure to see you again -- before your death."
"Death, nothing, Vermilion!!" yelled Eiji, raising his sword in front of his face. "Why are you back and what do you want from us now?"
Sofia smirked. "Did we not beat you badly enough the first time?"
One of Vermilion's eyebrows raised. "On the contrary. Now that the infernal adolescent Master and her cohort Uranus are out of the picture, the organization I worked for all along is free to do it's bidding. All thanks to you...but forgive me if I don't show your more gratitude than I should," He cocked his guns, both at the same time. "And our lord wishes us to destroy you all." Suddenly, Vermilion noticed David, wielding his chainsaw with menace. "Why, it's the boy. Did you honestly think you could run and hide from us for long?"
David glared at him, the look on his face surprisingly cold for such a young boy. Then, out of nowhere, he muttered in a growling tone, "You...you and your goddamn accomplices...you destroyed everything that I loved...you destroyed my family, my home, my life...and you almost destroyed me." His voice rose. "But you didn't! I lived and that was the worst punishment!! YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!!" In a blind rage and wielding his chainsaw with fury, David rushed at Vermilion, who just stood there, with an almost too calm smile on his face.
"No, David, don't!" Ellis screamed out.
"David-chan!" cried Shizuku in concern.
David raised his chainsaw, already flaming with ki, and prepared to strike down Vermilion, when Leon and Rachael jumped out from behind their commander and slashed David on both sides, then double-uppercutted him to the other side of the room. He was flung into the wall, and went down heavily. Shizuku gasped at their brutality, then ran over to him, saying, "David-chan, daijoubu?" However, he ignored her, and Shizuku glared up at the five invaders. "How dare you, monsters! Haven't you done enough -- tortured enough people?? Why can't you just leave him alone?"
This incited only a smirk from Vermilion. "Because he is our property. And he will bring our Overlord to Earth, to bring the destruction down upon everything."
"I will NEVER-"
"Shizuku."
Shizuku stared at David, who was trying to shake off his injuries. The youth got shakily to his knees, throwing an look of pure venom at the intruders. "I will get you...I WILL have my revenge...you cannot contain that evil for long...soon, everyone will know, and you will have nowhere to turn...Agon Teos is using you all, but you're all too blinded by the promise of power to see that..."
Vermilion mildly snickered, and turned to the other five fighters, Eiji, Kayin, Sofia, Ellis, and Nagisa. "Now that you're all allied, you just happen to be one of the greatest threats existing to our little plans. We're going to have to kill you all too, to make sure you don't get in our way."
"Oh yeah?" David growled from behind him. "What about the other two?"
"That's true..." Vermilion looked thoughtful. "Even we cannot manage to lay a hand on the great and legendary 'angels', so to speak. But someday, their guards will be down and we will destroy them both for good."
"Baka!" yelled Eiji. "There's no possible way you can defeat my niisan, and you know it!"
A sinister smile spread across his face. "But perhaps, if we targetted you, meddlesome freedom fighters that you are, they would come out of hiding. I have no doubt that they're nearby, and since they both take the most interest in you, I think it's only fitting to show them your deaths." He motioned to the four warriors standing behind him. "If you would..."
The fighters quickly focused on the four henchmen, who lept out in front of Vermilion and took battle stances.
Kayin's gaze rested on Zola. "You -- it was YOU who attacked me!"
Zola laughed coldly. "Indeed it was! I am Zola, warrior equivalent of the one named Sofia!!"
"Oh, so you think you can be MY equivalent, darling? I beg to speak differently!!" Stiletto heels clicking, Sofia raced towards Zola, who in turn shouted, "Golden Ballerina!" and spun through the air in an aerial move completely identical to Sofia's Aurora Revolution. This move knocked Sofia to the floor. As Ellis rushed over to help her up, Eiji, meanwhile, had his sights set on another warrior. "Leon...so you ARE with the Organization now, like it said!"
"Yes, and I have been given the power to finally destroy you, Eiji Shinjo!" Leon shot back, gripping his sword tightly. "I've been studying all your moves and finally have learned to copy them. Like this!" He quickly gathered his ki, and from his sword he shot a large fireball, one that looked exactly like Eiji's Rekkuzan. Eiji, however, dodged it, and it left a giant black scorch mark on the wall behind him. Eiji snarled and held up his sword to match his old rival's. "And you actually think you can beat me now, baka? That's a mistake you're gonna live to regret!"
Ellis broke away from Sofia, who managed to get up on her own and was squaring off with Zola again, and paced towards Atahua. "I know you. You're Atahua, aren't you?"
Atahua let out one of his annoyingly high-pitched laughs and answered back, "Quite correct. I am also your equal, Ellis, daughter of Gaia! Soon, he will be dead also!"
"What did you say?" Ellis charged at Atahua angrily, but was knocked back by Atahua's perfect rendition of her Lollipop. She fell hard to the ground, and gasped, "This isn't right...how can they mimic our moves so perfectly...?"
Rachael, meanwhile, was busy scanning the group, then shrugged. "Hm. I see Tracy isn't here. All the better for her sake, I suppose."
The fighters stopped their quarrels with their alternates, and managed to regroup with Nagisa, Shizuku and the wounded David, staring at the redheaded woman in surprise. Nagisa was the first to speak, pointing his switchblade at her. "So, you're must be Rachael. Tracy's countertype?"
"More than just that. And, since you're her new partner, when you do see Tracy again, give her this message for me: I'm coming after her, and I will kill her and have revenge for all that she's done."
"...So why don't you say it to my face, sister dear?"
"SISTER?!" All of the warriors turned to see Tracy standing in the doorway behind them. She was gripping her tonfas so tightly her knuckles were turning white, and looked rather upset. Rachael, however, appeared to be very calm and surprised that no one had known. "Yes. Fraternal twin sister, actually. I'm not surprised that you didn't tell them, Trae. You never gave a damn about me anyway."
Disregarding the last comment, Tracy looked away from her sister's dark glare and explained to her friends, "We were separated when we were children. My mother died giving birth to us, and my father gave Rachael up for adoption but kept me. I never knew I had a sister until my father told me on his deathbed. And I never knew why he had given her up either."
"That's how YOU claim it. The truth is our parents kicked me out because they didn't want me anymore. They wanted you. And I've had to succumb to THIS because of it!" Rachael's voice rose to an angry pitch. "You were always the favorite, ever since we were born. You were loved more than I was because I had nobody!!"
"Rachael, that's not true!" Tracy took a concerned step towards her sister.
Holding up one of her double-tonfas menacingly, Rachael snapped back, "Don't give me any of that bullshit, Tracy. I had to grow up alone, without anyone, and it's all your fault! I'm never going to forgive you! I hate you and I'll hate you forever for what you did!!"
"Rachael!!" Tracy cried out, and started towards her.
"Don't you dare come near me!" And before Tracy could react, Rachael shouted "Atomic Blow!" and struck Tracy with her own version of Tracy's Cardiac Arrest. Tracy was knocked to the floor and looked like someone had slapped her across the face, but it had nothing to do with the hit she just took.
"What a touching reunion," Vermilion finally remarked sarcastically. "Now, we'll just be taking David and be on our way. Come here, boy." He took a step toward David. Shizuku, Nagisa and Kayin - the only ones who didn't have their hands full with someone else - moved forward and stepped in front of David, their weapons drawn and poised.
"Well, four-eyes," Kayin began (Vermilion bristled quite noticeably), "if you wanna take this kid, you're gonna have to go through us first."
"Very well," Vermilion replied. "If you want to do things the hard way." With that, he called to his cohorts, who each disengaged in whatever battle of wits or brawn that they were occupied in and stood behind their superior. Waves of crackling dark energy began eminating from all five of them, merging together in one ominous black cloud of power. The fighters stared at them for a couple of minutes before Eiji finally caught on to what they were doing.
A ki merge...like what we did once! "Everybody out!" he hollered. "NOW!!"
For once, not even David argued with him. They all tore out of the house like wildfire through the back door, and kept running. Just as they all lept to dive to the ground, there was a huge explosion, and everyone went flying as the house was blown apart behind them.

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