Author's Note: Hey!! I think this story is startin' to pick up some fans! Still, please review, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks again to skittles-xtreme, shadowsin, and chlovergoddess…you're reviews were really good, I love all you're stories, and cholovergoddess has written one of my fav Tekken stories ever. (Dear Mother) it's awesome! READ IT!!! Thanks again!!! And PLEAZEEE REVIEW!!!!!
Ling Xiaoyu walked out of the dance club's back entrance…something led her out here, but she wasn't sure what it was. Call it women's intuition or whatever…but she thought she heard someone scream. Heart thudding in her chest, she opened the door. Initially, she didn't want to go alone, but Hwoarang and Julia were busy dry humping on the dance floor, and wouldn't come outside with her, so she decided to investigate on her own.
Ling would have left anyway, she was never into clubs that much…and without Jin here, she didn't really want to dance with anyone else.
She had invited Jamie to come with them, but he politely declined, saying that he was tired, and that dancing wasn't really his "thing". Ling believed it, Jamie seemed to be a shy, quiet person…but still, there was something different about him…something that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but whatever it was…it was something exciting…there was defiantly more to Jamie Parker then he let on…secrets…and Ling had a feeling that at some point, she was going to learn them.
The alley was dark and cold, and even though Xiaoyu had brought a warm jacket, the terrible ghost stories that Hwoarang had told her and Julia made her shiver.
"What am I doing? This is insane! I shouldn't be out here; I should be back in my room! My safe, warm…" Ling trailed off when she noticed what seemed to be a…pile of debris lying in a corner. It was masked in shadows, but Ling thought that they might have been parts to a discarded store mannequin.
"It's probably nothing…but still…" Ling murmured.
As she debated whether or not to check out the pile of…something…several feet in front of her, she heard something that immediately made her choose to investigate. A low noise could be heard from the pile…a piteous moan of anguish and pain…it wasn't a mannequin at all! It was a person! Ling immediately ran towards the moaning…and when she got to the poor victim, it took every ounce of her self control not to scream. The person was Jamie!
"Oh my…Jamie?!" Xiaoyu gasped.
Could this be the handsome young man that she had conversed with just hours ago? The endearingly shy, sweet boy who reassured her that there were no "vampires" or terrible bogeymen out to get her? His once sun highlighted, blond hair was dyed a light pink with sticky blood. The blood made his hair thick, matted and clumpy. He coughed lightly, and blood bubbled from his mouth. In the blood were white, shiny, things. Ling suppressed the urge to gag when she realized that those were his teeth.
Jamie looked like a thrown rag doll, crumpled into a corner after a child had had a temper tantrum.
"Jamie? Oh God…who did this to you? What happened?" Ling questioned desperately, fighting back tears.
In her years fighting in the King of Iron Fist Tournament, Xiaoyu had seen some strange, awful things. Devils, ogres, genetically mutated super soldiers, a kick boxing kangaroo…but nothing could prepare her for this. She looked up and saw the humongous office building bearing down on her. It didn't take her long to figure out that Jamie had plummeted from it. But what was he doing up there in the first place?
Jamie moaned again, and Xiao realized that she had to take action…call an ambulance or do something! For whatever reason, Jamie had managed to survive his fall, and while there probably wasn't any hope for him anyway, maybe a hospital could help.
Okay…okay…think Ling THINK!!!! I'll go get Julia and Hwoa-NO! There's not enough time!
If faced with this sort of problem a short two years ago, Ling would have probably just knelt beside Jamie and cried…but that was two years ago…this was now! One of the things that Xiao prided herself on was the fact that she had dramatically changed from the shy, school girl who always relied on Jin and Panda. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket (Xiao was never into purses), and dialed the hospital. She quickly gave the street address, through racking sobs to a woman who seemed eerily calm about the whole situation.
"Hurry please!! It's an emergency and-" Xiao didn't finish when she noticed something happening to Jamie…something that was nothing short of miraculous.
Jamie drifted in and out of consciousness…he knew that he was dying…and the majority of himself wanted to give in…the pain was immense, like nothing he had never felt before. If it weren't for his Nephilim powers, then he would have most assuredly died…but he wasn't even sure if they could pull him out of the numbing, freezing cold talons of death.
When Jamie would open his eyes the sky was lit with millions of stars. Orange ones, green ones, and blue ones…they made Jamie always pull back, even as he teetered on the precipice of death. When he closed his eyes, he heard a woman speak to him in the back of his mind.
Jamie, you must stay awake! They need you!
The voice was strong, demanding, yet soft, and motherly. At one point, Jamie felt sure that he saw an angel standing over him. She wore a simple white dress…the woman had kind, gentle eyes, and a soft, comforting smile on her face. A light radiated from her, and she knelt down, and cradled Jamie's shattered body in her arms. Jamie looked into her eyes, as she pressed her hand over his forehead.
Suddenly, he felt some kind of rush return to him…he felt as if he was on a roller coaster, and was about to take the first, deep plunge. He felt strength returning to him slowly…but surely.
They need you, Child of Angels…You were brought here to finish what I could not…if you leave this reality now, then the world will surely fall into the demon's hand…
The woman soon left, and Jamie felt himself healing…before he blacked out again, he heard a cry in the night…it sounded far away, but it pulled him back from the icy shores of death like a life preserver.
"Jamie? Oh God…who did this to you? What happened?"
It was Ling! To exhausted and hurt to care that Ling was seeing him rapidly heal, Jamie focused on what the…angel or whatever had told him. Ten minutes later Jamie's felt his spine mend itself completely, along with his arms, legs, and face (he even grew new teeth). By the time he felt strong enough to walk again, he walked with a slight limp…and his pesky ribs still felt cracked. However, his hair was still pink, and gross.
His body was covered in bruises that a good night sleep would probably cure. Ling watched bewildered, as Jamie got up, and looked around frightfully. He had no idea how long he had been out, and it took far too long to heal…and now Xiaoyu was involved! Kazuya was still probably around, and knowing him, he would probably want to finish the job here.
"Jamie…oh my god it's a miracle-" Ling started, tears streaming down her face.
"Let's go!" Jamie grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the alley.
They needed to get to a crowded place where millions could see if Kazuya decoded to finish what he started…more importantly, he needed to get Ling out of there as soon as possible!
"Jamie what's going on?" Ling shouted angrily.
Jamie wasn't expecting the wrist lock that she pulled, and soon, Jamie was flipped to the ground.
"Ling! We don't have time for this! We need to get out of here!" Jamie shouted.
"Not until you explain what the hell's going on! What are we running from! And how is it that you were about to die twenty minutes ago, and now you're walking with a limp?!"
Jamie wanted to get going, but he couldn't leave Xiaoyu alone…and he knew that if he didn't explain himself to her, it would only make her mistrust him, and that mistrust would eventually, get herself killed. He sighed, obviously defeated.
"Alright…I'll tell you everything…but please, let's go into a restaurant or something…it's…it's not safe out here." Jamie said, straining to find the right words.
Ling agreed, and the two walked into the nearby coffee shop…both eager to get out of the cold…and whatever dangers awaited.
December in Tokyo was never fun.
Cars drove through the slush, their wheel sounds like the surf. Jamie limped into the shop, with Ling supporting him. Tired, beaten, thirsty, cold, and weary to the bone, Jamie managed to walk up to the counter to order some drinks. The shop was decorated like a place on the Left Bank in Paris, complete with cozy nooks, and paintings done to resemble famous Parisian landmarks such as the Champs-des-Elyssier, and Eiffle Tower. Jamie felt in his denim jacket to see if he had any yen. He amazingly did. Eight dollars worth.
Wow this is my lucky day! Plummet several stories, and still keep the change in my pocket.
He thought sarcastically.
"Oh no…I'm paying!" Ling exclaimed, fishing for her wallet. "You've had a near death experience!"
"Look, every bone in my body was shattered on that concrete…don't make my manly pride suffer the same fate!" Jamie retorted as he paid the tired looking barista, who seemed way past caring what the two talked about. The two sat in a corner, and sipped their drinks.
"I'm not a big coffee drinker. Caffeine a nervous Nephilim makes." Jamie said, chuckling at his own joke as he drank his cocoa.
Ling laughed politely, but Jamie could tell that she didn't find it that funny.
"I'm sorry…that sounded way funnier when I thought about it." He apologized with a sheepish grin.
"It's not that Jamie, I need you to tell me about you…what happened back there? And who's after you?" Ling said, calmly, staring intently at the Nephilim.
Sighing, Jamie realized that he had to begin telling Ling about the Nephilim, and there never ending quest to stop the forces of darkness. And so, Jamie told his tale, of valiant warriors across history, of many different races, who gave their lives to stop the creatures of the shadows from ruling the world. Jamie told Ling about the demons that were out there: Werewolves, zombies, succubi, incubi, vampires, and assorted other monsters with names that were nearly impossible to pronounce.
To her credit, Xiao never flinched from hearing any of it. She never interrupted as Jamie spoke, she only listened with patient eyes and avid ears. Finally, an hour and a half later, Jamie explained what he was doing here, and how Kazuya, Devil, and Jin were related. Finally, she spoke, staring into her cup of cold coffee.
"I've been in two Tekken Tournaments…and each time…each time I always find something that questions my whole perspective on the world I live in. Now that I think about it, these tournaments have been literally overrun with eerie, supernatural events. Close to twenty years ago my uncle…Jin's mother, Julia's adopted mother, and Hwoarang's master, fought a horrible monster named Toshin. To defeat him…Jin's mother Jun, and Hwoarang's master Baek were killed. Years later, when I was introduced to the tournaments…Heihachi Mishima tried to raise a creature named Ogre…all I remember was this hulking, powerful god thing…it was practically unbeatable, but it got worse when it melded with Heihachi's essence it became this horrible…" Xiao paused, trying to find the right words.
"It was like someone took a whole bunch of zoo animals and put them in the blender huh?" Jamie asked.
"How did you know?"
"I had to read the diaries on the "Ogre incident" Patrick Horton gave his life to defeat that monster…these tournaments have gained quite a reputation. And we Nephilim aren't usually supposed to mess with them…basically it's a 'human vs. human' issue…but this Kazuya issue is…well, it's bad." Jamie finished.
"I knew of Jin and Kazuya's problems…I guess I should've been more proactive about finding a solution." Ling said, staring into her mug.
"Don't beat yourself up Ling, there was nothing you could've done. This is a Nephilim issue here! I mean, it maybe the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. But to me, it's all about one thing: Angels vs. Demons." Jamie said.
All was quiet for a moment…then Ling spoke up. "Jamie, I want to help…I need to help in anyway I can. I was sixteen during the third tournament…Patrick was sixteen too…he died…he died for me…while I was at an age where my biggest concerns were: 'Oh my God, how can I make Jin Kazama notice me?!' poor Patrick was probably thinking 'This could be my last day on earth.'"
Realizing that Ling was serious about helping Jamie decided that it was alright.
"Of course you can help. But you can't tell anyone what's going on. Basically, you can handle research mode, but let me do the dirty work…I can't risk putting you, or any other fighter in danger."
Ling agreed to Jamie's terms, and the two friends left the coffee shop…walking towards the Mishima Hotel, Jamie wondered what he was going to do. The tournament started tomorrow, and there were millions of places he couldn't be while participating. Still…he figured that he would have nights and breaks to figure battle plans. Right now, all Jamie was concerned about was getting back to the hotel, taking a shower, and maybe getting five hours of sleep…