Author's Note: I was serious when I said I would update this more often :3 Thanks for your unwavering support guys (or those of you who are still here...!).

A newspaper hits me in the face.

After a disgruntled 'was that really necessary?' emitting from my throat, I grab the thing and actually look at it. It takes me several moments to register what the text on the front page says. It takes me several more moments to register that my face is on the page as well. Hissing at the insignia displayed on the top right hand of the page, I look up to Lei, who is as worried as hell, "Fuck."

"'Fuck' is probably an understatement," he murmurs, chuckling a little thereafter to keep the place as alive and happy as possible. He looks at me and the two girls before snatching the newspaper from my hands, reading aloud, "'We see one Hwoarang gaping as his accomplice is shot in the head and falls to the ground. The bystanders are like owls, looking on with wide eyes, but are wise enough to not come forth and speak or act. The strength of the Empire is still well known. Perhaps this old Iron Fist Participant has not yet learnt his lesson. If any you find any information on the Korean, or know his whereabouts, please contact a representative of the Empire,'" he then leans back in his squeaky chair and throws the newspaper down on the ground, "Seems like you are now officially unable to leave this house unless you wanna get killed or have us found."

"Wonderful."

He shrugs nonchalantly and offers a sympathetic smile before turning to face you, noting at how your face is a little more vibrant and a little more happy, and how you've constantly been staring at me on and off. I admit I love the attention, "Say, have you got any ideas on what we can do now? I think we should try another sneak attack, but on one of the smaller bases instead of the Zaibatsu, seeing as the Zaibatsu is enormous and pretty well guarded since… you know."

You pause for a few moments and tap your chin, thinking. After a few more moments, you cast a quick glance at me – one which I return – before looking back directly at our leader, speaking softly and choosing your words carefully, "While I do think that is a viable course of action, I'm not sure it's the best one. There's no way we can attack the Zaibatsu again, you're right – but I don't really know what we could do from here. We went to recruit more members, and we lost one, thus taking our number down to four. We cannot afford to lose anymore people – we all know this. Perhaps the best thing we can do is sit and wait for the hype to go by before we propose a new course of action."

There's a huff and a fist slamming into the wall beside Lei. Asuka pushes herself off of the wall she was leaning on and starts pacing back and forth, glaring at the ground beneath her feet as she munches on a Meji Almond chocolate bar that she managed to find in the rations bag. With her mouth full, she looks at us and speaks, ignoring the few crumbs that splutter forth, "I can't just sit here and do nothing! That defies the entire point of me joining this damn thing, and of my Dad and Lei making this Resistance! We've got to be able to plan something."

"Well unless you can think of something better than 'run out and do a dance and get ourselves killed', Asuka, we'd love to hear it," I chime, bored.

She grins at me and then points at me, "You, good sir, would most likely be shocked to believe that I actually have thought of something!" She finishes the rest of her chocolate, crunches the wrapper up and throws it in the bin nearby. She then spins in a small circle, addressing the three of us, "How about we buy or make a bunch of explosives, cover them in money and jewels and stuff, and then just march on in to one of the smaller headquarters – or the Zaibatsu itself if we can make it – run the hell out, and then kaboom!" She throws her arms up, "The place goes up in flames. Kinda like in the…" She frowns at the memory.

Lei snaps his fingers, "That's a bit nutty, but it could work. We could at least get the explosives together and throw them at one of the bases. I know where we could buy them too," he sits up, almost tripping over the chair in the process, before grabbing a small phonebook by the rations. He flips it open and scans down numerous names, before placing his thumb on one of them and grabbing his cellphone from his pocket, beginning to dial, wandering out of the room thereafter, "Hopefully they haven't closed down or been found or anything…"

There's a sudden bang, and we all look up to where the front door to the house is. There's then the sound of foot prints over and over again, and commands to find us and capture us – and then we're all backing up towards the secret exit. I swallow hard – how'd they find me? I'm the obvious link, I'm the one the Tyrant can identify best, and I mean, look at my freaking hair – but I haven't left this place since that fateful day all of those weeks ago. What is this shit?

They're suddenly downstairs with guns blazing, and there's a single, male voice growling down the corridors in synchronisation with his thumping footsteps. It's not Kazama, because his voice is too high for that, and his pronunciation of the words aren't as clear cut or perfect, "Come on out, boys and girls! The jig is up!"

Lei's eyes drift over us as we continue to walk away. He murmurs, "Don't… make… a sound."

We're pretty successful, and I'm inwardly cursing at how long the corridor back to the other exit is – and then I'm cursing out loud when the first bunch of soldiers pour down the stairs and form two lines towards us. It's like a cold sweep's come through, because we've all frozen up upon seeing them, just as they get into position – and a deeper, more emotionless 'take aim' is heard from above. The owner of the voice is now behind them – it's Kazama – and his arms are folded across his chest as his eyes scan over us all.

He's identifying us, one by one and with immaculate ease. He describes us, words falling off the end of his tongue, and there's a malevolent sneer on his bitter face aimed at each of us as he does so, "The super cop, born to fight for what is right, but never able to go that little bit further and make his dreams a reality. The bratty youth with an overbearing conviction, so uncertain in how her life is to pan out. The woman with an unwavering resolve, rattled in the face of the enemy, her former principles abandoned in the belief of blood. And the street rat, forced to fight for everything he has ever known.

"There was a time, long, long ago, that I knew all of your names, the full depths of your histories, your desires and your dreams… but I now only know your faces," he's glanced at me – I'm the exception. How could he forget his old rival? Before him, the soldiers take aim as he speaks once again, eyebrows lowering slightly as his voice takes on a serious rather than taunting tone, "Tell me your names."

We're all silent for several moments, until he gets fed up and screams at us, "Tell me your names!"

In a smooth, swift movement, Lei's withdrawn his hidden handgun and fired it in retaliation, successfully killing one of the soldiers up ahead. You've done the same, only a few milliseconds behind, killing the soldier beside the fallen one. There are a few clicks – they're ready to fire – but Jin commands them not to shoot, because our names are so important to him. Every name is a conquest, and he now thrives off of them. He needs them to feel accomplished. He needs them to feel like he is still terrorising the world, that these people – us, in our nameless glory – still crack under the weight of his horror.

In a world that is his, we are his toys. His only pleasure.

He tilts his head to the side when he realises that we don't speak. He does nothing as we charge at the soldiers, who shoot on their own. Most shots miss, some hit us in awkward places. I know one's lodged into the metal part of my shoe. We're shooting, we're all just shooting and kicking and punching the soldiers, who do little to fight back aside from shoot and shoot and shoot. As my head turns, I see the form of Asuka, in her light blue glory, absolutely rip the shit out of the men.

She spins in a small circle, the back of her hand slamming into the neck of a soldier, and at the same time she pulls the trigger and shoots the soldier behind him in the head. There's then a low, left kick to the soldier just beside him, and another shot or two sent deep into the line. The men fall like bricks to her might. To her strength. To her determination. Because my God, she's furious.

This hurts her more than us. Sure, we've lost people, we've seen loved ones be tortured and die, we've seen the world be torn apart by this one, young man… but on top of all of that, she's seen the Resistance crumble, and she's been there since the start. This is her inheritance, and its dying faster than she – than any of us – can save it. And the one who is on top of the world, the one who is unravelling it all, is her own blood. Her cousin. Someone she should've been laughing and smiling with at the memories in their childhood, one that they did not have together.

Blood against blood.

The curse of the Mishimas has long diluted into the Kazama clan. It unravels like an old tapestry, here and now.

Lei's murmuring something to you, telling you to creep towards the door so you can get out, and he shoots a look at me to do the same. He knows there's no way we can win here – and then his face contorts into a fearful one, as all of us watch a bullet whiz through the air and rip through Lei's pink, blood-stained shirt and parts the skin and muscle, lodging itself deep into his stomach. There's a gurgled noise, and then he drops his handgun, both trembling hands whisking to his stomach, pressing against the wound as he begins to stagger away.

My eyes widen a little, but they watch as he turns and heads straight for the door. You've put away your weapon and are running towards him, aiming to help him out; and then his arm is around your shoulders, and you carry him around the corner and towards the nearby door, one that is cloaked so well that should Kazama find his way there, he'll not locate it. My mouth forms a hard, firm line, and the sides droop downward.

There's a ferocious growl up ahead, and my attention's drawn back to Asuka and the fight. She's torn through the soldiers to try and get to Kazama, but the guards that are closer towards him will not have it. She's tackled to the ground as I take steps forwards, intending to help her escape – and I'm shooting at the guys that have got her down. I won't lose another. I won't!

Her eyes drift towards me as she takes punch after punch to the face, and then there's a snap to her arm as blood oozes out of her nostrils. She smiles a little, mouthing 'leave', even as she throws off the soldier pinning her down, shooting the one next to him at the same time, watching him fall to a heap on the ground. There's water in my eyes as I slink away, down the corridor but not without seeing her still.

And then in a few instances, Jin whips out his own handgun and shoots Asuka.

He doesn't get her head, surprisingly, but rather her throat. There's a piercing scream – but it fades so quickly, and it's almost as though it's voiceless. He's shot a vocal chord or something – I'm not all that good with that type of anatomy, but he's shot something that affects how she speaks – and there's blood cascading down her throat, like a river of flowing, aimless blood. She staggers backwards until she finds support in a wall, sliding down it and leaning against it. Her right hand's pressed up against her throat, and her left hand's holding the handgun as she struggles to breathe.

Yet through all that, her eyes narrow as he chuckles. Mustering the last of her strength and taking in several gasps of air, Asuka slowly pushes herself back up to her feet, gun still in her hand, and aims at her kin, screaming with whatever voice she has left, despite the blood that's clogging her throat and making it nigh impossible, "I will fight for one last breath!"

Face still as blank as ever, he shoots the hand that was holding the gun. She falls back, looking to the ceiling as Jin approaches through his soldiers. A foot on her stomach, he studies her face. He studies the way her hair parts and grasps the ground. He studies the way she looks up at him with complete and utter fear – and that is just what he wants. That's just what he needs.

"God, let her go…" I'm trembling because I can't watch this again – and there are thousands upon thousands of knives stabbing at my aching heart as I turn away and run for my fucking life.

He shoots, the sound resonating through the cavernous hallways. She fades, her soul ripping through the ceiling to escape to the clouds high above.

"You should've learnt by now…" Jin hisses lowly, his voice echoing through every room – and then he slams his fist against something as he screams out louder, the tone and strength of the sound piercing my armour and ripping deep into my heart, even as I run the hell away, "I'll burn this whole world down!"

Soon enough, you and Lei are in my line of sight, opening the door slowly. Lei's slumping, and you're crying, wiping away tears as you haul him through the open gap. I'm behind him now, throwing his other arm around my shoulders and helping him through the door. All of his weight's been allocated to me as you slam the door shut behind us, and we begin to run far, far away into the coming night on the ground, above where Asuka Kazama was reborn into eternal life.

"Heaven hear me, we can make it out alive…" you sob.

Your cries hurt me more than leaving her; and even then, I live to fight and die another day.