This is it, the last chapter of this story. I would like to thank all my readers and reviewers for sticking with me. I know it is really short, but don't worry, I'm already working on a sequel!

Chapter 8: Final Farewells?

There was silence as Rebecca Salvatore bowed to her opponent and stepped out of the ring, voluntarily conceding the victory. Rebecca nodded to Tess, who merely stood impassively in the centre of the ring, silently thankful that she did not have to fight Rebecca. Don Salvatore was in furious discussions with some of his cronies, glaring at Rebecca all the while. All the while Tess waited without changing stance and Jerikor stood leaning in the corner, his customary grin plastered across his face. Eventually, Don Salvatore allowed Rebecca's withdrawal, and then announced that the final would be taking place tonight, after dinner. With some disgruntled mutters, the crowd; made up of assorted crime bosses and other criminal scum, broke up and slowly filled out of the hall. Jerikor emerged from his dark corner, a smirk still on his face.

"Well I didn't expect that," he said as he approached Tess.

She nodded, "I have no idea why she would just give in like that. Am I that scary?"

"No, not that I noticed," Jerikor reassured her, "Come on, let's go and kill some time till tonight." With that, he turned and led her out of the hall. Tess threw a look over her shoulder, and saw Don Salvatore's face twisted with anger and hate as he glared at Jerikor's back.

As they left the hall, Tess asked Jerikor, "What exactly did you do, to make Salvatore hate you so much?"

"Hmm, actually as far as I know, nothing. I have been a servant of the Iscariots for about 200 or so years, so I do not believe I met him on a mission."

"Hang on, Anderson said that he had tried to kill you before you joined the Iscariots"

"Ah yes, I went on a holiday without telling anyone, they were rather annoyed at me, for taking time off, that and the Head Priest was a complete idiot. He could barely tell his foot from his hand, this was about 20 or so years before Enrico became the Head of Iscariot, and despite his irrational hatred of all non-humans and puritanical zeal, he's not actually too bad a priest."

"Until he betrayed you," Tess pointed out.

"Well, yes, I suppose, but everyone makes mistakes in their lives. And I expect Enrico will realise his mistake in due time."

"That still doesn't explain the hatred that Salvatore holds for you."

Jerikor shrugged nonchalantly, "That really doesn't bother me. I gave up long ago trying to understand humans, they can hate people with all their hearts without ever talking to the person they hate."

Tess was still slightly worried, but then decided that if her Sifu wasn't worried about neither would she. With that, they headed off to find something to eat, and waste some time.

Several hours later, Tess was back in the ring, facing of against a smug looking American girl. Sally Beth Roe. She was tall, but not particularly well muscled or conditioned. She was wearing a chequered shirt and jeans, slung around her waist was a belt, holding a pair of revolvers. Smith and Western .45 Tess judged by the length. So that was how she had gotten so far into this tournament, she was using pistols. Tess shrugged, she didn't care, she could shift for a few seconds to dodge the bullets and then it would all be over. Salvatore finished his introductions and raised a single white handkerchief

"When this hits the ground, the match will start!" he said, and dropped the handkerchief. The two females watched each other like hawks, waiting for the other to move first. Sally's fingers twitched before drawing her pistol in a quick smooth action and levelling it at Tess, who was already moving towards Sally at full speed, her arms raised in front of her. Sally smirked before pulling the trigger, sending a bullet speeding towards Tess. Tess dove to the left, and the bullet ricochets of the ground. Sally looked shocked. "I never miss!" she screamed before firing again and again, leaving her with a single bullet. Tess had dodged every single bullet. There was dead silence as Tess slowly walked towards the petrified Sally. Sally snapped out of her trance in an instance and fired her last bullet, impacting with Tess' arms. Her smirk was cut short as she saw the hole in Tess' glove and the bullet clattered to the ground. Her eyes widening, she drew her other pistol, but Tess was already moving. With a rapid roundhouse kick, she knocked the pistol out of Sally's hand and then with a side kick, smashed the American off her feet. Sally had fear in her eyes as Tess walked slowly towards the grounded fighter, apparently not even breathing hard. Tess stooped and picked up the fallen pistol, and threw it at Sally, a wide psychotic smirk on her face.

"And you wanted to win this competition? You're pathetic. Not even worthy of being my foe. Pick up the pistol and fight!" Tess said evilly.

"You...you...monster!" Sally screamed, raising her pistol and emptying the chambers at Tess. Tess swatted the bullets out of the air using her metal-plated gloves. Sally kept on pulling the trigger, and didn't realize the sound of the hammer hitting an empty chamber. Tess nonchalantly picked up the grounded fighter with a single hand, and threw her out of the ring.

Salvatore was gasping in surprise and was about to open his mouth, before a knife flashed out of nowhere and slit his throat. He crumpled to the ground, revealing Rebecca standing behind him, holding a bloodied knife. Jerikor let a low whistle, still leaning in his corner.

"From now on, I am leader here," she said in a ringing voice, sweeping her eyes over the paralysed crowd, "Any arguments?" And then all hell broke lose.

Shadows crashed through the windows, holding automatic weapons and opened fire on the crowd. Slaughtering many before they could even draw their own weapons. A few of the men approached Tess, swords gleaming in their hands.

"There is the first target. Kill her!" one of the shadows said, before the others charged Tess.

"Who are you guys?" Tess asked, as she dodged and weaved between the swords.

"We are God's wrath!" screamed one of them.

"Iscariots!" spat Tess before punching the nearest one in the head, shattering his skull. "Well come on, dogs!" She launched her own series of punches that left her alone, in a circle of corpses. "Jerikor?"

"Right here, Tess" Jerikor said from behind her.

"What's going on?" Tess asked, as they were forced to duck under rock as automatic fire racked their position.

"It seems Rebecca betrayed us to the Iscariots. They are apparently rather annoyed with us," he said calmly, looking at the carnage of the dead gangsters. "I can understand her tactic. She's going to kill all the other crime lords, so that she is the only one who survived, and therefore the only one with any power."

"Why?"

"Because she wants power." He said simply, before pressing a pair of pistols into her hands. Both were Glock 18s with silencers. "We need to get out of here, while chaos is still reigning"

She nodded, and followed Jerikor out of the hall, unleashing a salvo of bullets from her guns to cover their escape. Although she wasn't particularly good with guns, she still managed to hit several of the Iscariot soldiers, and send the rest ducking for cover. They reached the door, which was locked. Jerikor snorted derisively, and tore the door off it's hinges and hurled it at the Iscariots.

"Come on, let's go, before the Regenerators get here," Jerikor said, leading Tess from the room.

"They're here? The Regenerators?" Tess said, panicking slightly.

"Don't worry. I'm blocking our presence, so they have to look for us manually."

"Which exit are we going to use?"

Jerikor furrowed his brow in thought, as they rushed past the remnants of the gangsters, who were fighting a losing battle against the better-equipped Iscariot soldiers. "I think in the western wing, there was an outlet for the air-ducts. That's our best bet, if we reach it, we can exit the building well outside the defensive perimeter that they've set up."

With that the two disappeared down a side corridor and stealthily avoided the Iscariot patrols. There were a few minor run-ins, but the soldiers were quickly silenced before they could radio for help. Tess was beginning to enjoy using her guns, and she had quickly learnt the intricacies of the two Glocks. She was almost looking forward to using them against the helpless soldiers. Jerikor halted suddenly, and Tess, lost in her dream world, bumped into his back.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"Regenerators," he hissed. Tess peeked out from behind Jerikor, and saw them waiting. There were three of them, and Tess didn't recognise any of them. They were armed with an assortment of swords; mostly two-handed were alert and ready. The headless corpses of a few gangsters were already piled nearby, showing that the regenerators knew how to handle their weapons.

"What do we do?"

"If they have this exit covered, then the other exits will be guarded as well. We need to get past these three and exit the building as fast as possible. I have an idea." He said, ducking back around the corner, and he begun rummaging around his pockets. He pulled out a piece of paper, and scribbled on it. "When we get out of here, we will need to part ways"

"What?" Tess said, not believing her ears. "No, you can't be serious."

"I am. They are looking for me, and only me. You're a small fish in their eyes," he handed her the piece of paper, "When you get out, head towards Tokyo, Japan. There are a couple of people I know, who owe me a few favours. Find a bar called 'Palace of the Emperor' and give this to the barman. After that, you'll be looked after, and I'll try and get to you." As he was talking, his purple eyes began glowing with light, and an aura was surrounding him.

"Je...Jerikor, what are you going to do?" Tess asked haltingly.

He smiled sadly and strode around the corner before Tess could do anything.

"Ha! Petty mortals!" He boomed, "Turn and see death incarnate approach thee!" The three regenerators turned towards Jerikor and launched themselves at him. Jerikor raised his arms, and beams of glowing light appeared from his fists, as he blocked the first attack and savagely decapitated the first regenerator in a single stroke. Tess, still paralysed with shock didn't move. "MOVE!" Jerikor yelled, as a sword entered his stomach, blood poured from the wound, but Jerikor quickly cut of the arms of the offending Regenerator and drew the sword out of his stomach. But more were coming.

Tess was moving before she had time to think, she darted across the hallway, and dived through the air vent. Rolling to absorb the impact, she quickly sprinted out of the duct, into the fresh air of outside.

Back inside, Jerikor was rapidly weakening, but still savagely effective. His psychotic smirk didn't leave his face, and he waded through the mass of priests trying to kill him, disembowelling and decapitating any who got in his way. Stunned by his ferocity, the Regenerators fell back. "Is there no one, who wants to fight me?" Jerikor roared.

"If ye looking for a fight, fallen, ye've found ye last!" a Scottish voice growled from behind him. Jerikor spun, but it was too late; Alexander's blades punctured Jerikor's heart. "This be your last minutes, fallen, spend them begging to God for forgiveness!" Alexander said.

Jerikor just smirked, and raised a remote, with a single button. "If I'm going to hell Alexander, I'll be damned if I'm going alone!" With a last psychotic grin, he pushed the button, and the world exploded into fire and flame.

Tess was flung to her feet, as the mansion exploded into a huge fireball. She spun, and saw the building collapse.

"NNOOOOOOO!" she screamed, sobbing hysterically. Then stood up, she was about to run into the flames, when strong hands held her back.

Rebecca stood behind her, holding her arms pinned to her side. "Don't go. No one could of survived that, not even your Sifu."

"I can't accept that, he can't die, he's not dead!"

"Listen to me. What's more important, you dying, or carrying out his last wishes?"

"You" Tess muttered, her sorrow replaced with rage, "you...you...you can talk, you betrayed us!"

"No I didn't, I wouldn't betray my own sister." Rebecca said sadly.

"You betrayed us, you betrayed..." Rebecca's words sunk through Tess' subconscious, and somewhere, she knew it was true. "But, I, but I was adapted."

"Yes you were, but you like me, never had a real family. We were test subjects for one of Salvatore's mad schemes. He wanted soldiers who were perfectly loyal, and had capabilities beyond human norms. So he hired or kidnapped the best genetic scientists in the world, and set them to work. We are the only two surviving members of the experiment. I feigned loyalty, to win Salvatore's trust, and hid you away as soon as possible, sending you to an orphanage in Rome. But then you were found by the Iscariots..." Rebecca trailed off.

"You...you're lying!" Tess screamed.

"I'm not, you know it's true"

"I can't accept that!"

A cold voice spoke from the shadows, "She is correct."

Tess spun towards the shadow, drawing her pistols. "Who's there?"

A man stepped forward from the shadows, cross and blades gleaming red in the glow from the massive fire behind them. A man Tess recognised. "Anrath!" she snarled

Anrath laughed manically, "You are nothing compared to the holy science of the Vatican. And I will end your pathetic existence today!" He launched himself at Tess.

Tess dropped her guns, knowing that they would be useless, and clenched her fists. To Tess' surprise three blades sprung from the back of the gloves and extended a foot away from her fists. Tess gasped as she heard her Sifu's voice in her head.

"You must escape Tess. You must escape to Japan. Don't worry about me. These are the last gifts that I can give you. Use them to keep yourself alive and remember me. Remember me."

Tess snapped back to the present, and felt hatred flow through her veins. These...these Iscariots had separated her from the only man she would ever love, and she wanted revenge. She would hunt down every single one of them, and kill them, show them the real meaning of fear and revenge her lover's soul. Her hatred gave her strength, and she sprung forward, a blur of movement, with a deadly purpose. Anrath had time to gasp before his body was torn asunder by Tess' claws. She cut through his body like a hot knife through butter, slicing his entire body into bloody strips of meat. Tess stood up, and looked at Rebecca with death in her eyes.

"If I ever see you again, I will kill you in the most painful way I can think of" Tess growled, before disappearing into the night.

Back at the burnt wreckage of the mansion, there was a slight stirring in the ashes. A hand burst through the burnt wood and stone, and begun to dig itself free...

Well that's it folks. The final chapter in the story. I would like to thank everyone who read through my drivel and stuck with me to the end. Look forward to Confessions of an Iscariot: Hunter the sequel to this series in the near future, but first I'm writing through a Love Hina fic. But never fear, I will return! Muhahahaha! Please send any suggestions, death threats, praises, curses and reviews, as they are well received and are all read!

I would especially like to thank cryearthstearsfalltou for helping me get through this, and encouraging me in the darkest hours, thanks! hugs

And of course to all those people who read this, and to all those who reviewed a heart felt thank you.

I'll be seeing you all around!

Below is a sneak peek of the sequel!