*Devil Released*
AN: Sorry for the long time between uploads. A lot has changed in my personal life which means even less time for hobbies. However, I'm determined to at least post the rest of this story, no matter what. Enjoy!
Lei-Fang awoke from her unconscious state with a start. She had let her guard down around Jin and it had cost her severely. She scowled as she tried to gather her bearings and study her surroundings. Jin had her locked away in what appeared to be a jail cell. She sighed in exasperation; apparently this was his way of keeping her safe.
Lei-Fang sat sullenly in her cell. What had she done wrong? For a short moment, it seemed like she was getting through to him. He genuinely seemed ready to change his ways and come back to her. He had finally let his guard down and for that brief moment, he was the man that she had fallen in love with again.
"It was probably all just a trap. I wish I could blame his Devil Gene on this one, but now I'm completely unsure," she muttered as she stared out into the dimly lit hall.
She couldn't help but wonder what he meant about things not being as they seem. He spoke ominously about some type of event that may happen soon, but, as usual, Jin remained very tight-lipped about the specific details. What could possibly be a bigger threat than Kazuya and G Corporation, the projected saviors of the nations that Jin conquered?
Just then, she noticed a faint shadow across the wall. She immediately scrambled to her feet and peered through the bars, trying to get a closer look. The person paused, seemingly unsure of their whereabouts, before moving again, this time heading her way.
Unsure of whether or not the person was friend or foe, Lei-Fang weighed her options. It's not as if she wouldn't be able to handle herself if things went astray and most importantly, she refused to stay locked in this prison.
Taking a chance, Lei-Fang decided to call out to the stranger, "Hey, hey! Come over here!"
The form paused upon hearing her voice. For a while, there was only silence before a distinctly male voice called back to her, "Who are you?"
Lei-Fang excitedly realized that this man might not be a Mishima Zaibatsu employee and immediately beckoned him closer, "My name is Lei-Fang. Please, could you help me get out of here?"
Once again, there was no answer, but Lei-Fang could faintly make out the light footsteps of the man as he cautiously approached the cell. Despite having a slight Japanese look to him, the man had curiously spiky dirty blonde hair. He wore a dark blue button down top with a large collar and white design, white pants, brown shoes, and red gloves. He seemed familiar, yet different all at the same time. Lei-Fang couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew that there was something particularly special about this man; however, now was not the time to contemplate such things as he was her only way out of this predicament.
The man seemed to hesitate as he came closer to the holding cell, not really sure whether or not to trust her. Although it wasn't necessarily her fault for being put in this situation, Lei-Fang did understand that it did seem like she was some type of threat if she had to be locked away.
"Please help me. I don't mean you any harm. I just want to get out of here," she implored him, trying her best to convince him that she didn't do anything wrong, "I've been wrongly imprisoned. Please, I need to get out."
"Stand back," he returned as she backed away from the door. His fist sparkled with a blue lightning that arced across his fingertips. He pulled it back and thrust it into the door which flew back into the wall, barely missing Lei-Fang.
"Thank-you, so much!" Lei-Fang ran up to the strange man and hugged him briefly, "For a moment I thought it was going to be all over for me!"
The man gave a simple nod, "No problem. We should get out of here though. The name is Lars Alexandersson, by the way."
The two formed an unlikely alliance, born out of necessity more than ideology. Lars was the leader of a rebel Tekken Force squadron that intended to put a stop to Jin's evil ways by any means necessary. Lei-Fang, on the other hand, hoped that she could reason with her husband and somehow convince him to change his ways. However, after losing his former partner, Alisa, to Jin's creative genius, Lars was desperate for any kind of help he could get. Lei-Fang's sudden appearance at the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters was more than just a godsend to him. But, there was one small caveat.
"So, let me get this straight", Lei-Fang began, "You want me to work with you to take down my husband? He's not in the right state of mind at this moment. I'm certain about that; all we have to do is prove to him the error of his ways and he'll come around."
Lars sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. He knew that he needed her help, but he didn't expect to find that she had a significant connection with the corrupt young leader. "I'm sorry that Jin has hurt you, but the effects of his actions are felt all over the world. People have lost their lives because of him," Lars said, choosing his words carefully enough to make her understand, "I know that you don't want any harm to come his way, but there really is no other option. It's either we stop him now or the world will be destroyed, it's your call."
Lei-Fang only stared at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his statement. After some thought she finally spoke, "I promise that I will help you stop Jin from terrorizing the world, but only if you promise not to kill him."
"Okay, I promise," Lars said to her, knowing deep down that things may not turn out exactly as she would like them to, "In the meantime, let's get out of here. There are still some loose ends that need tidying up."
The time that Lars and Lei-Fang have spent driving around in his SUV almost seemed therapeutic to the two of them. Despite having lost Alisa to Jin's cunning, Lei-Fang had proven to be just as useful due to her closeness with Jin, even if her relationship with him caused her to be just a bit of a liability. Lei-Fang, on the other hand, found an easy camaraderie with Lars. She felt unusually comfortable and she found it easy to open up to him. As a result, Lars felt compelled to be honest with her as well, considering that she was now a part of his family.
However, while Lei-Fang could easily accept that Heihachi is Lars' father, Lars just couldn't fathom that someone who seemed as selfish, callous, and calculating as Jin would willingly have a wife and child. Throughout his tenure as one of the top Tekken Force officers, Lars worked closely with Jin to coordinate their strategies and methods for attack. Jin had maintained a strictly professional relationship with the rebel leader and therefore had never spoken about his family life.
"How did you and Jin meet?" Lars asked.
"We met through my sister, Ling Xiaoyu. Heihachi had decided to become her sponsor in Japan and he allowed her to live in the Mishima mansion. Jin had already been there for the past four years due to his mother's death. Anyway, I was in between tournaments, myself, and I wanted to pay Xiaoyu a visit while she was participating in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3."
Lei-Fang smiled at the memories, back when everything was so carefree and normal. She, herself, was a budding star in the fighting tournament world and was ecstatic when she found out that her sister, Xiaoyu, would be following in her footsteps. Little did the Chinese girls know that what seemed like a simple martial arts tournament would mark the beginning of their struggle with the Mishima clan.
"Jin was always really quiet, even with Xiaoyu, but I felt like I pulled him out of his shell a bit. Just as we were beginning to get closer, Heihachi betrayed him and he took off for Australia for 2 years. He came back a completely different person and I was really afraid that I had lost him for good. Surprisingly, he responded well to me. I think I was the only person that he allowed in."
"And your sister?" Lars asked.
Lei-Fang sighed, "He cared for her as well, but in a different way, of course. At that point, I knew all of his inner secrets and demons, his immense hatred for the Mishimas, the growing evil inside of him. Jin didn't want to corrupt Xiaoyu with that knowledge; she already felt responsible enough for him as is. She always believed in Jin's inherent goodness, as did I."
She was careful at this point, not wanting to spill too many of Jin's personal business concerning the Devil Gene and its connection to his lineage. Considering that Lars had not grown around the Mishima clan, Lei-Fang was unsure just how much he truly knew about his bloodline or whether or not he had been tainted by the corruption within it. So far, he seemed different than Jin, Kazuya, and Heihachi, but she was convinced that she couldn't let her guard down around these Mishima men, especially after the stunt that Jin pulled.
Lars nodded his head, although he couldn't quite agree with Lei-Fang's assessment, but she wouldn't make that known. Instead, to change the topic he asked, "When did you two get married?"
"Before the 4th tournament. Things weren't as complicated as they are now. Jin wanted revenge on Heihachi and Kazuya for all the evil that they have done; he wanted them dead. He went through a tough time, a time of self-hatred; it was a painful thing to witness, but I managed to help him through it. I taught him that he could be the maker of his own destiny. He didn't have to allow the evil that had consumed his father and grandfather to affect him. He could fight it. He didn't have to kill and become like the Mishimas. Honestly, he believed in me for a while. It was during this time period that we married one another."
Lei-Fang smiled as the memories of their wedding day floated into her mind's eye. The two went to a shrine to offer up prayers to their ancestors, asking for their blessings towards their union. Afterwards, they headed to register their marriage in the city registry. Finally, the newlywed couple joined Xiaoyu, for a celebratory dinner filled with joy and laughter. It was the happiest that they both had seen Jin in a long time. It was blissful.
Lars remained quiet, sensing that Lei-Fang had more to say. In all honesty, he would rather her speak about her past since it avoided the issue of his own story.
"Everything went well for several days after that. Jin fought in the tournament when scheduled and succeeded. Then, one day, he was informed that he had a match scheduled with his father, Kazuya. Jin never made it to the fight and was disqualified," she swallowed thickly as the frightening memory that something serious had happened to her husband creeped back into her thoughts, "I later found out that he had been ambushed by Tekken Force soldiers sent by Heihachi and brought to Hon Maru and held captive. Heihachi had intended to lure Kazuya into a trap."
"These Mishimas sound like bad news to me," Lars muttered, secretly thankful that his own mother had the sense to keep him away, though he now questioned the circumstances of his conception, starting to believe that his mother's vague answers as to the whereabouts of his father and their past relationship were all in an effort to hide something more sinister.
"Trust me, they are," Lei-Fang said with a sigh, "They're not people you want to be caught up with at all."
With that, she rested her head against her seat and closed her eyes. Forcing her mind to remember the past only served to make the reality more real and the pain that much harder to bear.
"So... you and Jin have a son?" Lars asked to break the silence.
Lei-Fang nodded, smiling sadly, "His name's Toshiro and he's just over a year old. I guess I hoped that by having Toshiro, Jin would have some hope for his future. I thought that maybe I could show him that he's different than his father and grandfather."
"I hope you weren't trying to trap him..." Lars said, glancing at Lei-Fang skeptically. She didn't strike him as that type of woman, but one could never be so sure. It didn't make any sense to him that Jin would willingly want a child, considering that he was such a tormented soul to begin with.
"What? Absolutely not!" she exclaimed resolutely, shooting him an incredulous look, "Jin and I both wanted Toshiro. We love him very much. He's all I have right now."
Lars nodded thoughtfully, absorbing her words. Heihachi hadn't been a part of his life at all and he was perfectly fine with it. Meeting the man did not prove to be an earth shattering experience and he felt that he could have perfectly lived his life without having ever met him. Toshiro was still young, so he reasoned that he wouldn't remember his own father very much anyway when the time came for Jin to be eliminated. Knowing now that Jin had a son, changed Lars's perspective on the mission, but he knew, inevitably, what had to be done.
It still perplexed him that Jin, knowing that he has a young son and a wife waiting for him, would even attempt to do such horrible atrocities to the world. How could someone be so selfish? Was the drive for power that strong within the Mishima clan? Lars gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, jerking it in the direction of the turn, causing Lei-Fang to lose her balance a bit. He muttered a quick apology to her before regaining his focus and easing up on the wheel.
They soon arrived at their destination, a small village of people who seemed perturbed by the unexpected guests. Lars and Lei-Fang were greeted with snide looks, distrustful glances, and repressed hostility, but they knew that they would have to bear this intense scrutiny in order to meet with the astrologist.
Following the instructions from his cell phone, Lars led the pair to a small home close to the outskirts of the town. A woman stood by the front entrance, with her arms crossed, eyeing the two up and down.
"I've been waiting for you two," the woman had a slight Middle Eastern accent, "Please excuse my people's reactions, but you must understand that they are weary of outsiders, especially after the Mishima Zaibatsu raided our village."
The woman's eyes settled on Lei-Fang's at this point and she could have sworn that there was a slight look of disdain in them. Before Lei-Fang could question the mysterious woman, she spoke again.
"My name is Zafina. I have been following the movements of the Mishima clan for some time now and I believe that their actions will cause the destruction of our world. They must be stopped by any means possible. Those two 'evil stars' must never meet to assure the continuance of this world."
Lars stepped forward, "I completely agree with you and we're here for the same purpose. What can you tell us about this prophecy? How can we stop it?"
Zafina's eyes drifted from Lars' back to Lei-Fang's.
"Come inside."
She led Lars and Lei-Fang into a candle lit room. She sat down on a cushion and gestured for the two to follow suit.
"Have you heard of a creature called Azazel?"
Lars nodded his head, "Yes. I'm guessing that Azazel is related to the Mishimas somehow."
"Precisely," Zafina answered coolly, "Azazel is known as the rectifier. He is the ultimate personification of evil that is fabled to be awakened by the meeting of two evil stars. My studies have shown that these stars represent Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama. With all the chaos in this world, I'm afraid that it is now too late and Azazel's awakening is inevitable."
Lars gritted his teeth, realizing that he has just committed himself to a battle of astronomical proportions.
"And how can we defeat this beast?"
The woman smiled, but it was not one of amusement, "Azazel is powerful and will not easily be beaten. He possesses something known as the Devil Gene. I believe you're very familiar with its effects."
Her eyes shifted to Lei-Fang's when she spoke that last line. Suddenly feeling her face grow hot from Zafina's intense scrutiny, Lei-Fang turned away, eager to be done with this judgmental woman.
"I will direct you to the location of the being, Azazel. Once you destroy him, Jin Kazama will not be able to harness the being's powers for evil."
"How are you so sure that he wants the being's powers for evil purposes? You don't know anything about Jin!" Lei-Fang interjected, becoming frustrated at the woman's sideways glances.
"And do you know his heart as well? If so, you should look within yourself and question your own motives," the astrologist snapped at her, "Forget your own selfish reasons when the world is at stake."
"How is it selfish to believe in the inherent goodness in a person? I know Jin better than the both of you and I've seen the goodness in him. Wouldn't you agree that everyone has the capacity for good? What if Jin is going to destroy this monster?"
"Mrs. Kazama, correct?" Zafina spoke calmly and evenly, "Do not allow your heart to cloud your judgment. You do not know the things that I have seen and I am warning you that this situation is much bigger than you could ever imagine. My task is to prevent the two evil stars from meeting and I intend to do it by any means necessary. If you choose to stand between me and my objective then you will have to answer to me."
The Chinese woman was about to deliver a hasty retort when Lars placed a hand on Lei's shoulder and squeezed it, "Please, Lei-Fang, calm down for a moment. We'll still find a way to save him."
He knew deep down that he had only said it to placate her. If it really came down to it, he would take Jin out himself. There's no place in the world for any more megalomaniacs; Heihachi and Kazuya are bad enough as is.
Zafina gave him a knowing nod and continued, "I will provide you a map which will contain the directions you will need to find Azazel's temple. His lair is deep within the temple. I have faith in you, Lars Alexandersson. Once you find and defeat him, hopefully the threat will be neutralized."
The rebel army leader took the scroll from the woman and thanked her graciously.
"We won't leave until the job is done. Thank you for your help."
Zafina simply nodded and turned away from the two, leaving them to see themselves out.