A/N: Hey everybody! Thee Slushee back yet again with another chapter of Phoenix Talon. Well, clearly stated that replies to reviews r no longer allowd in chapters which does totally suck for the peoples who aren't signed in.Theres acool as new feature bout replying directly to the peoples with logins is a really awesome as thing and I guess that means that my author's note will no longer be longer than the actual chapter! Since it got made after I posted my last chappie, I cant exactly reply directly to the users and since its no allowed, I'll say thanks to for reviewing! U guys are the best! Sorry that I've been absolutely ages in updating n stuff, even tho my exams r over. 2 of my buds were...rich enuf (lol) to get me FFX AND X-2 for my bday party! Ive been playing that like crazy and there was sum sorta bug on my comp so that delayed things. Sorry bout that ya'll!
Don't own the Tekken series and I never will.
Chapter 23: Mother versus Son
Xiaoyu lay on her couch, pigging out on some potato chips and watching random programmes on TV. Right now, it was reruns of Friends. At that time, there was a knock on the door. Xiaoyu lazily drooped her feet from the couch onto the floor and dragged herself towards the door. Xiaoyu pulled open the door to find Miharu and Julia supporting an injured Christie. Xiaoyu stood up straight from her slouched posture and a look of surprise was displayed on her face.
"Oh my god, Christie!" Xiaoyu gasped. Julia and Miharu helped Christie in and laid her down on the couch.
"He was just too strong." Christie said quietly in her raspy voice.
"Kazuya was just too strong and surprisingly lightning fast. It's a wonder how Steve beat him." Julia said to Xiaoyu.
"See, it was a good thing you stayed home. If you were there, he would've gone insane on you when he had beaten Christie." Miharu also said to Xiaoyu.
"Is Christie going to be ok? Would she need to go to the hospital?" Xiaoyu asked with worry evident in her voice.
"It's ok Xiao. I'm sure that it's not that serious. I'm gonna need sum bandages though." Christie said, looking up at Xiaoyu with her black eye and swollen face. Xiaoyu nodded and started searching frantically for something that remotely resembled bandages. She rushed to the bathroom and opened her medicine cabinet. She grabbed some antiseptic and small roll of bandages. She slammed the small cabinet door shut and the mirror on the front cracked a little. Xiaoyu rushed backed into the living room and handed the antiseptic and bandages to Julia; she didn't exactly know how to dress wounds without putting the victim through excruciating pain.
11:55 am. Steve was at the secret garden by the cherub fountain punching an invisible opponent and dodging invisible blows. Miharu, Xiaoyu, Julia and Christie walked towards Steve.
"You ready for your big fight?" Julia asked. Steve ceased his little fight preparation and greeted the group with a confident smirk.
"Of course I'm ready! But there's something about my opponent that seems very familiar to me…" Steve said, trailing off after he said the last words.
"Well, now that you mention it, I reckon you and Nina do look similar in some way. Do you think you're her brother or something?" Xiaoyu asked. Steve shook his head.
"Nah, I don't think we're related but…there is something familiar about that name; I just can't put my finger on it." Steve said.
"Don't worry about that too much. Just concentrate on winning this fight!" Miharu said enthusiastically. Steve's gaze fell upon Christie and his head immediately veered back.
"Woah. That Mishima bloke's done quite a bit of damage. Now I'm starting to wonder how on earth I beat him in the first place." Christie had most of her wounds bandaged. She was bruised and some parts on her arms and legs were red and looked like they were going to burst but she was able to walk.
"Definitely. Well, I tried my best and I shouldn't be ashamed. He's a strong and fast fighter and I did make it pretty far in this tournament." Christie said, a weak smile on her face.
"Yeah, he knocked me out of two tournaments on the same round! He's a really tough guy." Xiaoyu said, giggling after her statement. The sound of heels colliding against the pavement was heard and that was the signal that Steve's opponent was here.
"We'll be cheering for you Steve." Julia said and signalled to the group to get out of the battle area. Christie, Miharu and Xiaoyu nodded and quickly waved at Steve before following Julia to higher ground. Steve turned around to face Nina Williams and he immediately gasped.
"Hey! I know you." Steve exclaimed and pointed a finger at Nina.
"Lei showed me my bio and you're my…wait, that can't be right! Your barely older than me!" Steve said, confused. Nina chuckled a little.
"Hasn't anyone told you that it's rude to point?" Nina said in a menacing tone. Steve put his hand by his side but he was more confused than ever.
"You can't be…you're far too young!" Steve continued.
"Deny it all you want but we both know it's true." Nina said. Steve shook his head in disbelief.
"No, this can't be right. It makes no sense!" Steve said, trying to pile his enormous truth into his head. While all this was playing out in front of the girls, Xiaoyu and the others had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"Nina Williams versus Steve Fox!" The tournament official shouted through the megaphone.
"No more time to make sense of it, it's time to fight." Nina said and go into her fighting stance. Steve, still confused, got into his fighting stance.
"I want to see the kind of man you've become…son." As soon as Nina said the last word, the group gasped in unison.
"Is she Steve's…?" Miharu turned to look at the others.
"It's got to be true…but I'm not sure how." Julia answered.
"Ready? FIGHT!" Nina rushed at Steve and performed a four-slap combo. Steve blocked all her slaps and was going in for a powerful right hook when Nina lunged forward and threw her arms out in front of her. Steve got flung back due to the power of the blow. Steve recovered quickly and ducked Nina's high kick. He followed up by unleashing a powerful right uppercut, a move he liked to call "Fox Hunter". While Nina was still in the air, he executed the standard one-two combo and finished it off by punching his right fist down and his left fist up immediately after (A/N: Hmm….that's the move…uh…wots-it…Sonic Fang! That's right. That move I just described is Sonic Fang). Nina wasn't fazed. She jumped in the air and performed three completely different aerial kicks and they were swift and powerful. Steve was knocked against the cherub fountain and a large chunk of it got broken off, sending cold water pouring on Steve. He stood up and shook the water out of his hair and got back into his fighting stance. Steve jumped in the air and as Nina was expecting an aerial kick, she was standing her ground preparing to counter it. When Steve passed the ideal height for lashing out at her, Nina let her guard down a little bit, wondering what he was doing. Steve's foot came stomping down on Nina's foot (A/N: Honestly, how cud that even b called a move? It's standing on someone's foot! My bro does that to me all the time and it's really annoying.) Nina cried out in pain but before she could recover, Steve performed a right hook that was head height and she toppled to the ground. Steve bent low and executed a quick jab on his downed opponent. Nina got up, a fire of determination burning in her eyes. Nina lunged forward with one fist and it collided with Steve's stomach. The initial blow was meagre and didn't affect Steve that much but there was something she did that made the blow more powerful after contact and it sent Steve skidding across the ground, clutching his stomach.
"Come on Steve, you can do this! Don't give up now!" Came the cheers from his friends that were on higher ground. Steve attempted to get to his feet but Nina shoved her heeled shoe into his stomach. The initial pain from the strange blow that Nina dealt him was now intensified as the heel drove itself deeper into Steve's stomach. He cried out in pain.
"Tisk tisk tisk." Nina said in mock disappointment, shaking her head as she stood over Steve's body.
"I've got to say that I'm disappointed in you. I thought that my son of all people would present a little of a challenge." As Nina said this, she was driving the heel deeper and deeper. The pain was now unbearable for Steve. Steve clenched his fist and blindly threw it at Nina's leg, hoping to cease the pain. Nina's foot was knocked off Steve's stomach and he took in a deep breath, trying his best to subside the pain. Steve got to his feet and rubbed the place where Nina's heel was. He winced at the pain but now at least he could ignore it. He got back into his rhythmic fighting stance, a smirk planted on his face.
"Well, well, well. I've underestimated you." Nina said, sliding back into her fighting stance. This time, it was relentless between the two fighters. They were both experiencing pain inflicted by the other but neither was willing to give up. After quite a while, both fighters started to tire themselves out. Steve knew he had to finish this fight soon or else he would be too tired to continue. Steve pulled his fist back and fired it at Nina. Nina was preparing to counter the move but her timing was a split second too slow and the blow had connected. It had left Nina temporarily stunned while Steve started to power up for his finishing blow; Hellfire. A red aura circulated his fist and he extended his fist. As Nina snapped out of her stunned state, she was once again met with Steve's fist. The powerful blow flung her back and she lay on the ground, too tired to continue.
"Steve Fox is the winner!" The tournament official shouted through the megaphone. Steve fell on his back and lay there, catching his breath for a few seconds. Xiaoyu, Miharu, Julia and Christie jumped down to the arena and walked up to Steve, kneeling down beside him.
"That was one helluva match. You did really well." Miharu congratulated.
"Thanks, it was nothing." Steve said in between breaths.
"Nothing? I'll say that was a really adrenaline-rushing fight. You had my heart pumping twice as fast and I wasn't even fighting!" Xiaoyu said.
"Is it true that Nina Williams is your mother?" Julia asked. Steve sat up and nodded.
"Detective Lei showed me a bio about my birth and history and things. Turns out that I was just a bloody experiment for the Mishima Zaibatsu!" Steve said through clenched teeth.
"We're sorry to hear that." Christie said sympathetically. Steve shook his head.
"Nah, that's all ancient history now. What's done is done. I've just gotta ask Nina a few more questions." Steve turned his head around to where he presumed Nina's body to be but it was no longer there. Steve stood up and looked around the area. Nina was gone.
"Dammit!" Steve cursed and kicked at the ground.
A/N: Hmmm…..yes……the last bit of the fight scene was rushed, I know…..I just didn't wanna go into detail about an extremely long fight which probably will take pages and pages to write out and as ya'll know, my chapters r always short. Once again, super sorry for the long as wait! I'll have I believe updated as soon as possible as well. Hope u enjoyed coz I liked that chapter. REVIEW!