A/N: Would like to give a big thanks to all those who reviewed and lent their support so far - it was great to see your views with such a big gamble as the last chapter! I hope you enjoy the developments in this one... There's only a few more chaps left guys, but they promise to be pretty explosive ones! Stay tuned, read, review and enjoy!

-Ludi

-oOo-

: XV : Two Sides of the Same Coin

Kazuya was not seen for several days, until at last the last day of the tournament had begun. From her place just outside the arena Jun noted many absent faces. Nina she had not seen for a week or so, nor Anna. The now relatively reassuring presence of Lee was no longer there, and there were rumors abounding that Kazuya put him into intensive care, for reasons unknown yet that Jun knew perfectly well herself. And ironically, it was Kazuya who she must face now. He was there in the ring now, facing her, dark, brooding. There was a hush from the stalls as she too stepped into the ring, her mind full of fear and fate, her body oddly quivering in anticipation. The dark eyes of her opponent, so cold and haunting, rested upon her face, looked on her as though without recognition. She knew then that he was not Kazuya. He was the Devil.

"At last the moment I have been waiting for," his mouth spoke, twisted into an insidious smile, nevertheless his voice not his own. "Finally this game draws to its conclusion." He changed to an offensive stance, beckoning her with a flick of the hand. "Come, let us see how it ends."

She too set her stance, and as the fight was about to begin she felt that strange flowing liquidity seep into her, as if from body to soul. For a moment she stood, immobile, the rhythm of bliss pounding in her heart. Then she could feel it, the love she held for the man before her, slowly amplifying within her to almost unbearable heights, tingling from her hands to her bunched up fingers. Her mind, the Angel's, bent out towards him like a flower to the sun. She could feel her soul buckling under the terrible force of it.

"I will free you," she murmured through the crescendo, "…Kazuya."

And then, the fight began.

Jun fought, her arms and legs throwing out the moves before she could even think of executing them. It was the thing inside her that was orchestrating the power in her limbs, not truly her.

They exchanged blows for what seemed like an age, oblivious to one another's pain as well as their own. In fact, it seemed as if they were so perfectly matched that no leeway was gained by either of them; still they battled on, fiercely, without quarter, until at last they fell back exhausted, their limbs nevertheless still aching to fight on. Jun caught her breath raggedly, yet despite her weariness her voice broke through serene, calm.

"It doesn't have to end like this, Kazuya," she said. He stared at her, his eyes hard, flashing like rubies in the dimming light, the eyes of the creature that had stolen him away so long ago.

"Save your breath, woman," it seethed from his mouth."What has begun has begun and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You betrayed him, left me the chance to seep in once more. You cannot help him now."

"I can," she answered softly. "His heart his open to me, it always will be. The Angel has allowed me to reach him. Kazuya, I beg of you, let me in!"

For a moment the fire in his eyes died as if he had let her words sink in, and then, with a cry that resounded with violent hatred he rushed forwards, his arm set to strike her. Jun stood ready, something within her telling her to stay. Her mind was half reeling with fear at the threat of his fists, but as he neared her suddenly halted and his arm flashed forward, his fingers clamping round her neck, dragging her from her feet. Still, by some unearthly design, she remained calm.

"Stop!" he cried in his own voice. "Don't look at me like that! Don't you understand it will make me kill you, I won't be able to stop myself!"

Her hands moved to clasp over his own, warm, comforting.

"I can't stop, don't you see? I can't, Kazuya. They chose me. They chose me for you." She counted slowly to herself, one, two, three… Her hands grasped his tighter. "I won't stop," she breathed.

The pain swam across his face, a pain that was clouded almost immediately by hate and terror.

"Stop!" His arm raised higher, leaving the ground even further from her feet, as though to keep her at arm's length from him, like that night on the uppermost floor. Jun felt the tense power of the muscles in his hands as he grasped her throat, her own tendons working furiously in her neck to resist his vice-like grip.

"Kazuya, let me help you," she insisted desperately, the words almost squeezed out of her. "You've got to stop this. You've got to fight it."

"No!" Once again his face was becoming contorted into something frightening and ugly. "You betrayed me, you were my only hope, yet you betrayed me! Now I have nothing! It is the Devil that fills my soul!"

"No Kazuya, I won't desert you now," she forced the words out, tears filling her eyes, her vision finally fading into stars and blackness. "I won't leave you, Kazuya. I need you too. I never knew until now. We need each other."

He looked up, and for a second their eyes met, mirroring each other's faces in the darkness of their pupils. The tears fell from her eyes to his cheeks, and somewhere in the confusion of his heart he knew those tears were for him. No one had cried for him since his mother's death, not even himself.

As the realization struck him he felt a shudder, a jolt pass through him, the cold being of hate slide out of his body like water. With a primitive cry of pain, release and self-loathing he let Jun go where she crumpled onto the floor, almost unconscious. Falling to his knees, he clasped his head between trembling hands, seeing now the truth. Jun had not betrayed him – he had betrayed himself from the first.

"Kazuya." It was her voice, hopeful, yet strangled, as even in her pain she sought to reach him. "Kazuya…"

He could not look at her. He simply could not. The space inside of him was cold, filling him with dread, horror, regret. He stood slowly, wobbling, his feet scuffing in the grit. All of a sudden he understood himself, and it horrified him to know that he had lost himself in this deep and enveloping chasm for so long. He had to do something, anything, to stop it. He gazed round at the watching audience as if seeing them for the first time, those eyes that watched on the spectacle in silent and disbelieving amazement. On an impulse he opened his mouth, threw out his eloquent yet haunted voice into the stalls and beyond.

"This tournament is over, all of you! This is finished!" he cried wildly, hoarsely. "I hereby renounce my title as King of the Iron Fist!" He paused, seeing the stunned incomprehension on the faces of the spectators. The swirling vehemence still within him, he rasped again: "Don't you get it! You are free, all of you! Don't you hear me! I'm setting you free!"

He finished, turned and walked out of the ring, calmly, as sedately as his exhausted muscles would let him, not looking back once at Jun. For a moment, a deathly, incredulous silence filled the arena.

And then the madness set in.

From his place in the stalls watching the bout, Lei had received the latest happenings with an initial sense of shock. As soon as Kazuya had left the ring, an immediate and frantic rush began for any exit anyone could find. He sat for a moment, his policeman's brain working a break-neck speed. If there was ever a time for him to act, it was now. in the stampede for freedom, sense could be made from the chaos.

"Did you hear that!" Michelle, who'd been sitting next to him, was shaking his arm urgently. "Kazuya Mishima's resigned as Head of the Mishima Conglomerate! We're free to save my mother!"

"This is bad. Real bad," Lei murmured half to himself.

"Why?" Michelle questioned in surprise.

"It's simple – too simple," Lei replied in alarm. "With Kazuya gone, Heihachi and his henchmen will be free to take over! This is going to be the site of a major coup-d'etat! It won't be safe to stay here! We have to get out as soon as possible!"

"But my mother…!" Michelle began, fear creeping into her face.

"Yes, I know. We have to act quickly." He stood up. "Right now everyone's in confusion. We can take advantage of the situation and act before Heihachi does." He took a look round the stalls only to see that Heihachi's face had already disappeared, along with several of Kazuya's former cronies. "And that means we'll have to act fast," he added quietly.

"But how do we know where to find her?"

Lei considered it a moment, and suddenly remembered the wealth of information Wang had given Jun not long before.

"We've got to go to Jun's room."

They both ran through the adverse tide of bodies towards the main bulding, past the people who were running away from the confines of Kazuya's psychological prison. At last they reached Jun's room, and after receiving to answer to their knockings, Lei was forced to break down the door. Looking about frantically, he noticed the familiar sheaf of papers laid out neatly on Jun's bedside table. Grabbing them all, he left the room briskly, all the while leafing through the sheets in his hands. After several moments, he looked up grimly and stuffed the papers into his pocket.

"Let's go," he said, "I know exactly where she is.

Mrs. Chang had been at first amazed then relieved to see her daughter enter the prison that was her dingy room, and though her arms ached to hold her daughter once more, there was little time to embrace her in the light of recent happenings.

"We have to go!" Michelle warned her urgently after they'd first thrown their arms about one another. "The whole place has gone insane! We must hurry!"

"Wait." Mrs. Chang stopped her daughter quickly. She moved to a nearby desk, opened the drawer, and removed a large, bejeweled pendant from it. "It's important we don't forget this."

"The pendant!" Lei interrupted. "The God of Fighting is real?"

Mrs. Chang looked up at him sharply.

"How did you know? Are you one of them?"

"Mom," Michelle interjected, "Lei's a friend, we can trust him. We have no time to talk. Let's go!"

They were about to leave when someone entered the room – a huge someone, someone big enough to block their way. It was the towering form of Bruce Irvin, whose arrogant face gazed down upon the three in turn, pausing in contempt only when he reached Lei.

"Well, well, Lei Wulong. It's been a long time, my friend." He grinned, his teeth white against his dark skin.

"It's been too long," Lei seethed. "And I owe you payback."

"Yes," Bruce agreed with a smirk. "This little showdown has been long overdue."

Michelle put an arm out to Lei's, her expression urgent as she pleaded with him.

"Lei, we've got to go. Forget about Bruce. I…I need you with me, Lei. Come with me. Come with us."

"No." Lei shook his head, his eyes never leaving Bruce's face. "You two go on ahead. I'll catch you up later. This is my fight."

"No, it's not, it's just petty revenge and it won't solve anything."

"Michelle." He turned to her calmly, gazing down into her timorous brown eyes. "What I'm doing now is for you. Please understand. I won't rest until I see this through."

"I don't understand." She stared at him in confusion, her hands clutching his arm. "How is this for me?"

"I care about you," he confessed with an effort. At the words her eyes unexpectedly softened, then hardened once more.

"If you cared about me, you'd come with me," she replied stubbornly.

"No, I wouldn't. Michelle, I'll explain all this to you later. Right now you've got to go." He saw the hesitation on her face. "Please," he added softly. She gazed at him, pain and hope on her face, then made for the door with her mother, her pleading eyes not leaving his until she finally disappeared round the door. Once they were gone, Lei turned back to the other, his mouth a straight, hard line.

"Well," Bruce began, a sneer on his face, "isn't this touching. And I thought you were going to remain faithful to the memory of poor Miss Wu Meiling."

"I will always remain faithful to her memory," Lei returned quietly. "But it's time I released her to the place she belongs – the past." He paused, and Bruce's leer was once of disdain. "And this," Lei continued, "this isn't revenge anymore. This is about me putting you where you belong – behind bars!"

So saying he lunged forwards with a sharp battle cry, bearing down on the Thai-boxer with one balled fist. But Bruce met the blow with tremendous force, parrying the attack with a series of punches that connected rapidly, splintering against Lei's left cheek. The Chinaman was left to sprawl back against the adjacent wall, blood trickling deliberately from the corner of his swollen mouth.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Bruce grinned savagely, and his leg flashed forwards to strike again. Lei however ducked the lightning quick reflexes, and Bruce's leg crashed into the wall, spraying cement and rubble across the room. Lei caught his opponent's foot between his own and twisted hard, bringing the larger man down. Bruce's heavy weight thudded to the floor and Lei followed him, his fists twitching to connect. But Bruce, seeing the pattern of Lei's attack, grasped a hold of Lei and threw him over his head. Both leapt to their feet and wheeled round to face one another, their stances mirrored. And then, for the first time Lei noticed the sliver of gunmetal flash in Bruce's hand – a pistol. For a second he reeled with the shock, and Bruce chuckled wikedly, relishing the bemusement on his enemy's face.

"So long, Lei."

"You wouldn't!" Lei gasped for breath.

"I would," Bruce seethed. "And the good thing is, every time you feel the pain of it, you'll remember me."

The single shot rang out, resonating in Lei's ears, and he could feel nothing but the echo of it, isolated in time, cruel, poignant. Then he fell, the pain suddenly ringing in his left leg. With a look of disbelief and surprise he stared down at the bloody limb, the thick, warm, crimson liquid oozing slowly from the shattered bone of his knee. The moment frozen in his mind, Lei stared up at Bruce, his eyes wide with incredulity.

"And so the hunt continues," Bruce stated darkly, letting his hand fall.

"You won't get away with this," Lei spoke, his voice thick with pain.

"Yes, I will. Because wherever you are, I'll be one step ahead."

And so saying, he turned and left without once looking back, while Lei's vision swam and faded into nothingness.

Jun had lain in the middle of the ring, half-conscious, as the push for the exits had commenced. Slowly, the strange being flowed out of her, and she was left spluttering for breath on the ground. She shivered as she remembered the cold hate in Kazuya's dark eyes as he had looked up at her, looking still so vulnerable in the middle of his wrath. Kazuya. Jun pushed herself off the ground, staring about her in sudden anxiety. Where was he? He had left the ring. She had to find him. She couldn't let him slip away.

She had run into the building, her heart and feet pounding, her mind secretly shouting for Kazuya in a way she could not explain. He was not in his office, nor in his conference room. And then she thought – the uppermost floor! She raced to the nearest elevator, still having the presence of mind to remember the gadget Nina had given her before. She paced the small floor of the lift in frustration, until at last the elevator stopped and with the toll of the bell, the doors slid slowly open.

Into the darkened room Jun stepped and the first thing she realized was that Kazuya was not there. But, she knew, there was something else. She stopped, heard it, turned. In the mirror before her, stood the familiar shade of the woman in white, her face unsmiling yet welcoming and tender.

"He's gone," said the mysterious woman, and though Jun saw the mouth of the woman open, it was as though the voice was strangely divorced from the body.

"Kazuya's gone?" she repeated. "Where?"

"Away from here," the woman answered. "It is better this way."

"But it's still not over!" Jun protested desperately, "I have to protect Kazuya! The Devil can still reach him! I can't let that happen!"

The woman shook her head slowly, a small smile on her face as though amused as Jun's naivete.

"Jun," she finally spoke, "you must be careful. You are my vessel, but I cannot make your decisions for you. Even if you save Kazuya, there is now still danger."

"How? I don't understand!"

"When dark meets light, when good meets evil… the natural course of things can be destroyed forever…" She paused, her strange riddle trailing off into silence before she began again. "He's gone to his summer residence in Kamakura. If you must meet him, then that is where you shall find him… Goodbye, Jun. Take care of yourself. Take care of Kazuya. But most of all…be careful."

And then, the woman faded into darkness.

-oOo-

In the midst of the anarchy, Heihachi had stepped forwards and gathered to his side those who had remained faithful to the Mishima's cause. With silent stealth he had slowly re-taken control of the Mishima empire and restored order to the building. Anyone still loyal to Kazuya was eliminated. The second Tekken Tournament had come to an abrupt and violent end.

"Perhaps Kazuya is not so weak as I had thought," Heihachi mused to himself as he paced his new office. "He is fighting the Devil inside him. Yet he has run away. What could that mean?"

Much to the old man's dissatisfaction Kazuya had disappeared, and so too, unfortunately, had the Kazama girl. While they were both still missing from under Heihachi's watchful eye they were a potential threat, and Heihachi could not analyze the reason behind his son's seemingly irrational behavior, and the possibility that he and the Kazama girl could join forces against him had played upon his mind considerably. At all costs he must find them and destory them.

"I want a search put out," Heihachi ordered his council – all gathered at the table apart from Lee and Anna. "I want Kazuya and the Kazama found and brought to me! They must not be allowed to escape!"

Meanwhile he paced the floors, his mind burning with hate for his son. The Devil he had planted so cruelly into his own flesh and blood was becoming a danger to his own personal safety. The Devil had turned against him. The Devil must be destroyed.

-oOo-

Next: Jun and Kazuya finally face one another outside the tournament...