Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken
A/N: Hiya. Thank you for stopping by, and thanks for reading. We just finished the first side-story, and we're going on the next. Now, as you probably read, we'll see what has happened with Lei Wulong. It's a pretty good chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. And here … we … go:
The King of Iron Fist Tournament 7: A Final Tragedy for the Finest Future
Lei Wulong: Breaking Character
All of his searching had led to this; Lei was closing in on a potential suspect in an underground bunker underneath a construction site. The Super Police detective stalked through the darkness, his gun at the ready. Eventually, he came to a huge steel door. He stood close to the wall next to the door, and proceeded to bang on the door to get the attention of those inside. The sound traveled for miles and miles into the darkness.
"Hong Kong, open up!" Lei shouted the command, and continued when there was no answer, "Hong Kong Police; this is detective Wulong, open up now!"
A not-so-subtle entrance was needed for his not-so-subtle warning. Seeing the door was unlocked, Lei quickly slid the door open, and jumped in, pointing his gun around ready for any kind of surprise attack. No attack came, but that didn't make what he saw next any less shocking. Upon the wall, ceiling, and even the floor were thousands upon thousands of years upon years of articles, pictures, and files. Several televisions were on tables scattered around the room playing different news reports and interviews on loops… And the subject of every last one of them … was Lei!
Lei whispered in shock into his shoulder-mounted radio, "Dispatch, this Lei Wulong … requesting back-up…"
A female officer's voice came over the radio, "Copy that, Detective…"
Suddenly, a brief sign of life caught Lei's attention. A shuffle of movement out of his periphery caused Lei to spin his body in its direction and pointing his gun that way as well. Sitting in the adjacent room, a male figure was facing a TV, his back turned to the Super Police detective.
Lei commanded, "Sir, don't make any sudden movements; just slowly put your hands on your head and turn around…" Again, there was no response, which caused Lei to repeat himself again with more force, "This is the Hong Kong Police! Put your hands on your head right now!"
No response came yet again, and Lei couldn't help becoming suspicious especially after noticing that the man was eerily still. Very cautiously, the detective entered the dark room, the only light in the room coming from the television. Playing on the TV was a single line from an interview of Lei playing over and over; it was him saying "I believe those responsible should be held accountable".
Up closer, it was clear that the man was actually slumped in the chair. Lei slowly turned the chair to see … his former partner. His clothes were brutally stained and tattered… His exposed chest was heavily bruised and scarred with many tiny gashes… His face was beaten and bloodied to a pulp… Lei immediately seized with shock, and checked his vitals … but it was too late; he was already dead.
It was then that Lei noticed a sheet of paper stuck to his former partner's chest; he picked up and began reading it. It seemed to be a passage of poetry or part of a song?
We are dirt,
We are alone,
You know we're far from sober!
We are fake,
We are afraid,
You know it's far from over.
We are dirt,
We are alone,
You know we're far from sober!
Look closer,
Are you like me?
Are you ugly?
Are you ugly?!
Understandably disturbed by the piece of brutal verse, Lei, out of mere curiosity, turned it over … and it was a head shot of him, drawing all over his face to make it look like a skull! Right under it was a message 'Play the recording'. As implied, Lei saw that a tape recorder was strapped to his partner's hand. The Super Police detective took in his hand, spying the message 'For Lei' carved into its side, and played it.
The voice of Lei's former partner began to play with labor and panic, "Lei… This is all your fault… I am in great physical pain and on the brink of death… I am … not sorry for … taking your girlfriend away all those years ago." The pace quickened as the obviously scared and threatened man continued, "No. It's not true! Lei, don't listen… Please help me!"
BANG! The obvious sound of a gunshot rang out in the recording, immediately followed by his partner screaming bloody murder.
After a few moments, the partner continued in an even more labored and terrified tone, "You are responsible for every ounce of pain I'm in… If you're… If you're… If you're hearing this … I'm already dead… My blood is on your hands…"
BANG! Another gunshot rang out on the recording… but the chilling part was the icy-cold gun barrel pressed against the back of Lei's head as the shot could be heard.
"Empty your hands, and raise them up." The offender said with a voice that sounded like it would belong to a snake.
Lei replied as he dropped his gun and the recorder, "Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter…" the assailant answered, "I'm just the man with no name."
Lei continued his questioning, "My partner… What did you do to him?"
No Name casually explained as if he were describing a recipe, "Oh, him? Some physical punishment… some psychological torture… a little mutilation… a little bloodletting… You know, a little of this, a little of that…"
Lei quickly felt his anger rising, and prepared to strike.
No Name continued, feigning praise, "You would've been proud of him… he lasted the whole month it took you to find me … even with that 1-shot penalty you heard on the tape for ad-libbing. Now, if you'd been just a little faster…"
In a single flash, Lei spun around and wrenched No Name's arm away. The mysterious man immediately blasted Lei with a punch right to the bridge of the nose and another to the gut. Lei crumbled to his knees under the unexpected power, but, as he went down, noticed a metallic glint on No Name's hand. A better look reveled the truth behind the force… he was wearing a pair of brass knuckles the whole time. Getting a better look at his adversary, The Super Police Detective looked up to see No Name was a hooded man wearing a detailed rubber mask of a grotesque human skull.
No Name cryptically said as he dropped the brass knuckles and put the gun away, "Now, the fun part… the chase…"
The masked villain slowly backed away before sprinting out of the bunker with Lei grabbing his gun and sprinting after him. The two ran through the darkness, the detective mostly using the sound to follow. Eventually, the chase led upward into the construction site, coming up to the highest level with a solid floor. Lei twisted and darted through exposed steel gliders when … the sound of running steps stopped.
Lei cautiously proceeded with his gun raised, and listened intently for any give away of his enemy. Then, he heard the shuffle of movement at the very last minute. The Super Police detective turned and aimed just as No Name emerged from the shadows, his gun aimed as well. The two stood off each other as both weapons were aimed at each other's heads."
"Y'know, you're pretty fast, Detective." No Name complimented casually.
Lee asserted, "Drop your weapon!"
No Name replied rather succinctly, "No… Shoot me… Kill me…"
It was safe to say Lei wasn't expecting that; the audacious rebuttal actually made the detective back up slightly. In all his years, he'd never actually had a suspect say that to him. In all honesty, he really thought that only happened in movies.
No Name, breaking the silence, continued, "Well, if you won't, then…"
The masked adversary suddenly pulled the trigger, and blasted Lei in the face … with a stream of water! The Super Police detective actually had to pause for a moment to figure out just what happened. As he wiped his face clean, No Name started laughing, and tossed the gun into the darkness as he walked away slightly.
More than a little frustrated at this point, Lei asserted, "Freeze! Or I'll shoot!"
"Oh, I doubt that…" No Name quickly retorted before explaining, "Because you want answers… and because that's just what I want you to do. Go ahead; ask me anything."
Pensive at first, Lei inquired slowly, "Tell me … why. Why did you kill my partner?"
"To get to you of course…" No Name plainly answered, "Just to make sure you found me found me as quickly as possible."
Lei asked further, "Then … why did you kill … her?"
No Name casually explained, "To get your attention; make it personal. After all, even after what she did to you … you never did stop loving her."
Lei reacted with subdued shock, "How … How do you know that?!"
"Apparently, it was obvious; everyone on the squad could tell…" No Name further expounded, "You'd be surprised what people will tell a man in a police uniform, even if those people are policemen, even if they've never seen the man before…"
Now shaking from a myriad of emotions, Lei inquired, "And … my daughter?!"
No Name replied in a half-inquisitive, half-threatening manner, "That little girl?!I actually didn't know she was yours… If I had known though, she would've ended up just like her mother…"
BANG!!! Without a delay, Lei railed off a shot a split-second later… No Name lurched forward from the gunshot to his knee, and then stumbled backward before collapsing as he held his injured leg. Incredibly, No Name didn't scream or even register any pain.
The masked foe continued in his relaxed manner, "Nice shot, Detective. But the femoral artery you needed to hit is just a little higher on my leg…"
"I did it, so you won't run away!" Lei explained as he approached quickly, his gun pointed right at No Name's mask, before demanding further, "Now, why… Why are you doing this to me?!?!"
"To prove a point." No Name revealed plainly and callously, "I wanted to prove the old adage … 'No Man is an Island'… That no policeman is super… That even the great Lei Wulong is human!"
Astounded, Lei could only gather, "That's … what this is about? That's why you killed the people closest to me?!"
"Kind of makes you mad, doesn't it?" No Name quickly replied, "Well, you know what I deserve… You have the gun; it's pointed in the right place… Just one trigger pull is all it takes … to make sure justice is served."
At that moment, a fellow police officer shouted over Lei's radio, "Detective Wulong! We're at your location! We're heading for you right now!"
"You better hurry; they're coming," No Name observed excessively.
Several police officers bolted in to the site. Meanwhile Lei was shaking as he continued to point his gun at his proclaimed enemy. He wanted very badly to pull that trigger… This man was callous, vile, and uncaring; he killed almost everyone that Lei cared about, not to mention robbed Lei's daughter of her mother. But the Super Police Detective knew what that meant. Lei was understandably a twisted and conflicted knot of emotion.
Seeing the struggle on Lei's face, No Name prodded him further, "If you just end this now, I promise… When I break out of prison, I won't kill you daughter. You know, at school … at the park … while you both sleep at night…"
That threat only made Lei shake even more. Soon, the pressure started to wear on him … and he felt his finger starting to slip…
…
…
BANG!!
The back-up officers could hear the shot all the way from where they were, and it impressed upon them they needed to move faster. Quickly, they came upon the scene… Lei was standing over the prone masked man, the detective's hands down by his sides, the gun in one of them still smoking. Without even acknowledging the officer's presence, Lei turned and walked away slightly, his head down to not show his eyes. As one could tell, this was not a very good-looking situation; that's when they ran up to No Name and saw what really happened. The masked man was still alive, but with a smoking bullet hole in the floor not far from his head.
Ignoring the other officers, No Name sat up slightly and said in a deceptively mocking tone, "Well, I sure hope you don't regret your decision later … or now. But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less… Striving for 'justice' as always, Detective…"
Not responding to the mockery of his inaction, Lei just started to walk again, and left the scene behind as No Name was placed in handcuffs.
-------
A week later, Lei was in the park with his young daughter Lin. While the five-year-old cherub gleefully frolicked with other children in her general vicinity, the events of the past couple of months still weighed heavily on Lei. All the events left were questions and doubt, so even thought Lei was given an advance on his vacation, all that went through his mind was the hanging questions from the ordeal that was the most personal case he'd ever taken. Could he have saved them? Was he really the one responsible for the deaths of his former partner and his daughter's mother? Mostly, the question was… What happens now?
Lin, in that special way children seem to do, eventually noticed something what troubling Lei, and, as any concerned child would do, stopped playing and ran over to her father.
Lin inquired with concern as she sweetly took Lei's hand, "Daddy… Why are you so sad?"
Lei finally noticed Lin standing there, and stammered with surprise, "Oh, uh… it's, uh… It's nothing, sweetheart."
Not buying it, Lin sweetly persisted, "Please don't be sad… I don't like it when you're sad."
Lei smiled at his daughter's sentiment, and tried to comfort her, "It's alright, Lin; Daddy's fine… Now, go on and play."
Lei then kissed his daughter on the forehead, and gently lead her away. Not going very far, Lin looked back to Lei, who went right back in to his downtrodden appearance, and tried to think of some way to get him out of it. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as it hit her, an exuberant smile came to her face, and she quickly ran off to find a place. Lei, meanwhile, went back to thinking … when he soon heard children shouted and screaming as if excited about something. Intrigued by this, he looked up to see a group of children gathered around a large tree and looking up into it. Lei followed their sight to see just what had them so stimulated … only to see Lin standing on a high skinny branch!
Lin happily shouted, "Daddy! Daddy!!!"
Instantly gripped by fear, Lei jumped up to his feet, and ran over, scattering the crowd of children, as he shouted in a panic, "Lin! Lin!!! Get down from there!"
Excitedly, Lin continued, "Daddy! Watch this!"
The young Chinese girl began to stumble erratically, swaying this way and that. Lei, of course, was gripped by the fear of her falling, but he then looked closer and really saw … that she wasn't stumbling at all; she was actually imitating the 'Drunken Master Walk'! And she was doing it very well, considering she'd only seen it, wasn't trained, and was doing it on a thin branch!! From there, she transitioned into the other stances rather easily. One by one, she went into 'Tiger', 'Panther', 'Snake', 'Dragon', and all while moving back and forth on this scrawny branch. Incredibly, she even used the 'Crane' and 'Phoenix Illusion'; this five-year-old girl was actually balancing on one foot on this flimsy limb!! Needless to say, Lei stood slack-jawed at the display, amazed at how well his daughter imitated him.
Finally, as she stood up out of the stance, Lin happily shouted, "Did you see me, Daddy?!"
Still blown away, the only response Lei could give was a shocked nod of the head. All of a sudden, Lin inexplicably began teetering back and forth, losing her balance. After her skillful but taxing display, she just couldn't recover, and fell from the branch. Fortunately, using his quick reflexes, the Super Police officer sprung forward and caught his falling daughter.
Holding his daughter tightly in his arms, Lei entreated to his child, "Lin … Please don't ever scare me like that again."
Her eyes still aglow with joy and her genuine, innocent smile still present, Lin ecstatically raved to her father in rapid excitement, "I'm sorry… Did ya see me?! Was I good?! Did ya like it, Daddy?!"
Lei broke into a proud smile as he peered at his little girl, and replied, "You were great, sweetheart… Where did you learn all of that anyway?"
Lin explained in a blissful, matter-of-fact way, "From watching you… Mommy and I used to watch you on TV and read about you all the time. That's how you used to talk to us…"
"Your… mother told that?" Lei inquired at the revelation.
"Yes…" Lin replied, "Don't you remember, Daddy?"
Lei smiled as he said, "… Of course, I do… Now, up you go!"
Lei deftly lifted Lin above his head, and lovingly placed her astride his shoulders. With that, father and daughter began to leave together.
Lin curiously asked in finality, "Daddy … are you still sad?"
"No … not anymore." Lei happily replied, "Thank you for cheering me up, Lin."
Lin blissfully reveled in her father's praise, and said, "I just want you to be happy, Daddy."
Lei then said with a smile, "Well, I'll always be happy with you around, sweetheart…"
End Chapter
Next Time: "Oh, come on; I'm still your sister. I know how your mind works. I can find you anytime I want to."
A/N: Alright. With that, the second side-story is done. Next, we'll check in on the only pair of sisters in all of Tekken. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you come back to read more. Please R&R, and, as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.