*Devil Released*
AN: We're actually getting close to the end! A quick note about this chapter: a lot of it is word for word from Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign cut-scene between Jin and Lars. That was done intentionally because I really felt that scene was powerful. Of course since Lei-Fang is present, I do manage to include her in the conversation. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
The two walked into the temple not really knowing what to expect. Lars claimed that the source of all of this mayhem lived here, but Lei-Fang could not understand what he meant by that. He remained tight lipped about this Azazel that Zafina spoke of in conjunction with Jin and his search for power. Could this really by why Jin is acting the way that he is? Why would he need more power when he is desperately trying to rid himself of the Devil Gene? It all wasn't making any sense to her.
As Lars and Lei-Fang explored the temple ruins, they fell into a silence born mostly out of necessity than comfort. They had already encountered some precarious situations and were now on edge. They were virtually venturing deeper into the unknown, looking for a great source of power that, if left alone, could lead to the end of the world as they knew it. It was a desperate race against time; it was imperative that they reached Azazel's lair before Jin did, even if Lei-Fang still believed deep down that Jin would never try to harness such power for himself and only wanted to put a stop to it.
However, it soon became clear that she and Lars weren't the only ones searching for Azazel. When they encountered Kazuya along with several G Corporation soldiers, she thought that she finally understood.
"Well, it's quite a pleasure to see you, Lei-Fang." Kazuya said with a grin, "This reunion has been too long."
"I wish I could return the sentiment, Kazuya, but we're pretty busy here and we don't have time for your foolish games." Lei-Fang retorted.
"On the contrary, I think you do want to hear what I have to say," he continued, "Just beyond this room lies a being with immense power."
"Have you encountered it?" Lars asked curiously.
Kazuya smirked, "I don't have to see it to know it is there. I can feel it. Its power will soon be mine."
"I can't let you do that, brother" Lars said with a slight smile. He didn't intend to have a close relationship with his newly found brother, but he figured it would get under Kazuya's skin.
The older man frowned, his face twisting as if a sour taste had entered his mouth, "That old bastard will lie down with anything with legs. No matter. Get out of my way or face the consequences."
"Don't you ever learn?" Lei-Fang said with a sigh as she adopted her T'ai Chi Quan stance.
Lars soon followed suit, "If we have to get through you, first, then so be it."
Lei-Fang primarily fought the G Corp agents while Lars handled Kazuya. When she had disposed of them, she turned to Kazuya and shouted.
"You're outnumbered, Kazuya. Just give up now!"
He caught Lars's arm and managed to pin him to the ground. The rebel leader struggled against his half-brother's hold, but to no avail.
"You're no match for me, little girl. Go home and be a mother to that little bastard. You think that you're so self-righteous? That boy has Mishima blood running through his veins; fighting is in his blood. The thirst for power will need to be quenched one day," Kazuya proclaimed with a proud grin, "Instead of wasting your time here chasing after that idiot, Jin, go home and prepare Toshiro for the inevitable encounter he will have with us."
Lei-Fang gritted her teeth, "Don't you dare talk about my son, Kazuya. You know nothing!"
"I know that you and Jin were foolish to believe that you could destroy the Mishima bloodline," he remarked snidely, "Or did Toshiro make you two forget that idealistic goal?"
Lei-Fang stared angrily at Kazuya. He had no right to say such things. While it is true that she and Jin had been mostly unprepared for Toshiro's arrival, they have made the best of it all and have loved him unconditionally from the moment he was born. Jin struggled with it at first and had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he had contributed to the bloodline, but Lei-Fang convinced him that there could still be hope for their son. There could still be a chance that little Toshiro would not become corrupted by the Mishimas' lust for power.
She felt her blood boiling and before she knew it, she was running towards him, letting out a blood curling scream. Kazuya easily dodged her punch, but was struck by the following kick and as a result, let go of Lars who quickly sprang to his feet. With the two of them ready to fight, Kazuya had to be on his guard.
Lei-Fang rushed into a flurry of punches and kicks which she finished with a low, split kick to Kazuya's shin, knocking him off balance. Lars took this moment to jump over Lei-Fang, performing a spinning kick straight to Kazuya's chest, effectively knocking him into a pillar. Before he could regain his composure, Lars delivered a final set of punches which resulted in the pillar breaking and falling on top of Kazuya.
It took a moment for the two to realize that the G Corporation leader would not be getting up and the two finally relaxed somewhat.
"Thanks for having my back, Lei-Fang," Lars said, giving her a pat on the shoulder, "There's not much time. Let's get this over with."
"Right," she nodded and followed him towards the door leading to Azazel's lair.
Once the pair entered, they were greeted by a cavernous room with an eerie, otherworldly glow of blues and purples. There were strange hieroglyphic markings on the walls and torches of blue flames all around the room. There was also a large altar in the center of the room. Just as Lars was going to investigate it, Lei-Fang called out, "Um… it seems we have some company here, Lars."
He turned just in time to notice gargoyle like creatures approaching them. He didn't even hear these things approach; it almost seemed like they appeared from thin air.
Not one for interruptions, Lars wanted to dispose of these guys quickly in order to find Azazel and complete the mission at hand.
"You know what to do," he said with gritted teeth.
Lei-Fang nodded, already taking up an offensive stance.
Lars was the first to attack the creatures, throwing out a lightning filled punch followed by a spinning kick. Following his lead, Lei-Fang used her most powerful attacks to repel the gang of gargoyles that surrounded them.
The two seemed to fair well until a mighty roar erupted from the altar and out crawled a gigantic, demon which resembled an Egyptian bird god. The creature stood proudly, even commanding respect from the lowly gargoyles, which now ignored Lars and Lei-Fang in favor of revering what could be considered their master.
"I am Azazel, the god of destruction. Who dares to enter my inner sanctum?"
"Your worst nightmare," Lars responded cockily
The beast scoffed, looking down at Lars and Lei-Fang.
"Foolish humans. Many have ventured into this layer in hopes of gaining immeasurable powers, but none have ever succeeded. What makes you any different?"
Lars answered, "We're not here for any kind of power. We're here to defeat you once and for all."
A thunderous laugh shook the inner sanctum as Azazel looked on, almost amusedly at the two, "Mere mortals have no power over me. Prepare for your demise, humans!"
He stepped forward, clearly towering over Lars and Lei-Fang. She stole a glance at Lars, hoping that he was sure about what he was about to do, but the look of steely determination on his face was all the answer she needed.
"I'll handle him," Lars muttered, turning slightly to Lei-Fang, "Just keep those other guys off my back."
"Got it," she confirmed as she once again fell into her fighting stance alongside Lars.
The battle for the sake of humanity was about to begin.
The fight itself was arduous, but somehow, Lars managed to persevere. Just when things began to look bleak, he seemingly unleashed a massive amount of power, blue lightning bolts crackled around his fists, supercharging his attacks. Azazel laid $e old temple intact. Now that he was dead, there was nothing keeping it together and will soon collapse around them.
"We have to get out of here!" Lars exclaimed, waving his hand frantically for Lei-Fang to follow him.
Fortunately the two made it out just in time before the foundation of the door crumbled around them, effectively blocking the entrance back into the inner sanctum, which, ironically, would now be considered Azazel's tomb, his final resting place.
"Come on, we have to keep going!" Lars yelled out to her.
After watching Lars take on the monster, Azazel, Lei-Fang was definitely convinced that this man was of the Mishima lineage. His incredible strength and almost flawless execution of attacks confirmed this fact for her. However, he was nothing like them. He was compassionate and understanding; she sincerely hoped that his unique disposition would stay that way and not become clouded by evil like Jin's had.
"Look out!" Lei-Fang turned just in time to be pushed away from a tumbling pillar. Lars extended his hand and quickly pulled her up, "You have to keep your mind on the here and now. Worry about getting out of here alive before you think about saving him."
She nodded, knowing that he spoke the truth. The two came across several G Corporation soldiers as they were escaping the crumbling temple, but they both made quick work of the troops and continued on their way. There seemed to be no sign of Kazuya; the two could only assume that he escaped relatively unharmed. Soon, they reached the end of the temple and ran on, successfully exited, leaving the newly formed ruins behind them.
Lei-Fang barely got a chance to catch her breath when she saw Lars approaching two figures, one male and one female. She shielded her eyes from the bright sun and followed behind him. As she got closer she made out the figures to be Jin and Alisa, the robot girl that had been travelling with Lars until Jin had turned her against him. The girl looked mostly harmless with cotton candy colored hair and emerald green eyes. Lei-Fang was surprised to find herself more afraid of Jin. His face was devoid of any real emotion; he stood so firm and powerful, yet there seemed to be an aura of calm over him. As Lars and Lei-Fang got closer to the two, Jin slightly turned to acknowledge their presence. His eyes lingered over Lei-Fang for a little, but then soon drifted back to Lars.
"Lei-Fang, stay back and let me handle this," Lars said as he adopted his fighting stance.
Knowing what could possibly come of this, she ran in front of him, shielding him from harming her husband.
"I know that Jin has done terrible things, but he's still my husband and I love him. I can't allow you to hurt him," she said sternly to the rebel leader, "There's nothing left for him to do. The temple is no more. Just leave him alone!"
Lars clenched his fists tighter and dug his foot in front of him, readying himself to launch an attack, "I won't tell you again, move now, or suffer the consequences along with him."
Lei-Fang stared defiantly back at him; her mind was made up and she would protect Jin, even if it brought about her eventual downfall.
Just then, Jin spoke up unexpectedly, "You should do what he says; I won't have any qualms with disposing of the both of you."
Shocked, Lei-Fang slowly turned to face him and was stunned to see him adopting the Mishima fighting stance.
"Jin…" she whispered, "What happened to you?"
"My eyes have been opened to the truth," he simply replied, "I will only say this one more time. Move aside or face the consequences."
She stood there with her arms out, her mouth set to a scowl, challenging him to make his move.
When he realized that Lei-Fang wasn't moving anywhere, he turned to Alisa and stated, "Enter attack mode."
"Understood. Entering attack mode. Targets acquired: Lars Alexandersson and Lei-Fang Kazama." The pink haired robot's friendly green eyes suddenly changed into a shocking crimson red as she began to charge towards Lei-Fang.
Before Lei-Fang could make a move, she was pushed back by Alisa, allowing for Lars and Jin to commence their battle.
Lars and Jin were meeting each other blow for blow, their fists glowing with blue and red lightning respectively. Beginning to get frustrated, Jin performed his Power Stance just as Lars was about to strike him and effectively pushed him back due to the static charge. His fists were bathed in a red light and that same grin appeared across his lips as he slowly approached Lars.
"Don't underestimate me. You have yet to feel my full power."
With those words, Jin launched into a combo of attacks that seemed to flow effortlessly into one another. Lars tried to block the relentless onslaught, but it soon reached the point that he could no longer block and Jin was able to land a clear punch across his face and a swift kick to the chest. Lars did not even have a moment to regain his breath as Jin continued his barrage of attacks.
Meanwhile, Lei-Fang had her hands full with Alisa. The pink haired girl moved swiftly, charging Lei-Fang with her best attacks. The T'ai Chi Quan genius managed to hold her own and was even able to counter some moves with powerful attacks of her own, but it just seemed like she couldn't find Alisa's weak spot. Lei-Fang managed to hit Alisa with two successive spin kicks and just as she was about to go for the third, Alisa side stepped and delivered a bunch of kicks of her own, hitting Lei-Fang square in the chest.
At this point, Lars and Lei-Fang were both tangled up with Jin and Alisa respectively. Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, several Tekken Force soldiers appeared and ran to Jin's aid, immediately setting their sights on Lars and Lei-Fang.
The two had their hands completely full with Jin, Alisa, and the Tekken Force; neither side would relent. Just when it was beginning to look particularly bad for Lars and Lei-Fang, they were taken aback when a man seemingly dropped from the sky and landed in the midst of the battle, a dust of wind blowing everyone back. When the dust cleared, the man was standing in a fighting stance with a look of determination etched across his face.
"That's some nice timing you have, Raven. We could use your help!" Lars shouted out to the man with a smile.
Raven regarded Lars and Lei-Fang with a slight nod before turning his sights to Jin, "This is the end of the line, Jin. Just surrender quietly and no one will get hurt."
Jin scoffed, a sardonic grin spreading across his lips. "If only that were true. The end is coming, that is correct, but you are not the cause for it."
Ignoring his cryptic language, Raven charged after Jin with successive punches and kicks characteristic of his ninjutsu style. Jin seemed to evade them, but he didn't expect Lars' roundhouse kick to the chest that followed. Jin stumbled back and was taken off guard by a sudden barrage of attacks from Lars.
Seeing her charge under attack, Alisa's sights shifted from Lei-Fang to the two men that were beginning to pummel the young leader. Taking advantage of this slight lapse in her judgment, Lei-Fang delivered a powerful blow to the girl, shoving her palms into her chest.
"Your battle is with me," Lei-Fang said, adopting a defensive stance.
Alisa acknowledged the Chinese girl while bearing her chainsaws which were built into her arms.
"Here I come!"
Alisa charged at Lei-Fang, her boosters propelling her faster than normal.
Lei-Fang just barely dodged the pink-haired girl's advances. Alisa reacted quickly and delivered a spin kick to Lei-Fang's temple which caused her to stumble back a few feet. Before she knew what hit her, Alisa performed a low sweep which caused Lei to land flat on her butt. Always quick on her feet, she rolled away before Alisa could attack.
Realizing Alisa's strategy, Lei-Fang waited for Alisa to charge at her again. When she did, Lei-Fang was ready for her. She caught the robo-girl and flipped her over her shoulder and landed a solid punch in the girl's chest once she was down on the ground, effectively stunning the robot. Before Lei-Fang could continue her assault, Alisa had rolled onto her feet and was preparing for another attack.
This time Lei-Fang side-stepped her and grabbed her from the side. She thrust her elbow up into Alisa's chin, smashing it with the sheer force of the blow, before raising a fist to her face. As a result, Alisa's head spun rapidly, not only disorienting the robot, but creating a much needed opening for Lei-Fang. The Chinese girl jumped up, performing a spin kick which propelled Alisa into the stone wall, causing some of it to tumble over her.
With Alisa defeated, she turned her attentions to the Tekken Force soldiers that were engaging Raven and Lars, giving Jin some much needed breathing room. Lei-Fang jumped into action, performing a jump kick to the side of one's head, causing him to stagger back in shock. Another attempted to attack her from behind, but she quickly thrusted her elbow in his rib cage, a sickening crack confirming that she hit her target.
Meanwhile, Raven quickly disposed of the group of soldiers that were surrounding him and looked towards Lars to see him manhandling a soldier. Jin had seemingly disappeared from the fray, taking this opportunity to recuperate from his intense battle. Raven clenched his teeth in frustration, realizing that if he is given the time to heal, he'll be stronger than before.
"Keep your eyes peeled for Jin!" Raven roared over the sounds of battle, "You have to keep on him! Don't let him out of your sights!"
Both Lars and Lei-Fang looked up from their respective fights, nodding in confirmation. The three took down the remaining Tekken Force operatives and were beginning to look for Jin when he suddenly reappeared, his fists glowing red.
"Guys, look out!" Lei-Fang shouted and pointed towards where her husband stood.
Immediately, Raven and Lars went on the offensive, engaging Jin in a heated battle.
Before she joined in the fight, Lei-Fang paused momentarily, eyeing the fallen rubble where Alisa had landed, still expecting her to emerge. As the seconds passed and there was little movement, this became less and less likely and she began to relax. Remembering that she was once Lars' ally, she approached the pile of rocks and began to dig the robot girl out.
Alisa seemed to have taken a good amount of damage from the fight and the rocks and was functioning below her base energy level. Her eyes had switched back to green, indicating that she was once again friendly.
"I'm sorry, Lei-Fang," the pink haired girl said weakly, "I had no control over my actions."
"It's ok, Alisa, I understand. Just hang on, alright?" Lei-Fang returned, turning towards the battle with Lars, Raven, and Jin.
Raven and Lars were having better luck attacking Jin now that it was the two of them, but amazingly, Jin was still able to hold his own, a testament of his amazing fighting prowess.
"Alisa, I have to—", Lei-Fang began but was interrupted.
"No, please stay here," she responded, "I don't have much time. Please, tell Lars thank you… for everything, for being… my friend."
Alisa managed to smile somewhat. She reached an arm up weakly, hoping to clasp Lei-Fang's hand. The Chinese girl reached out to grab her, but was too late. The robot girl's arm fell limply to the ground followed by the voiced command, "Full system shutdown."
Another casualty in Jin's crusade against humanity.
Meanwhile, with Raven's help, Lars managed to defeat Jin who was struggling to get back on his feet after a powerful blow to the chest.
By this time, Lei-Fang had rejoined them and had notified Lars about Alisa. The blonde haired man did well to hide his concern for his pink haired travel companion, but Lei-Fang could tell just by looking in his eye that there was something more there. He glanced over in the direction where Alisa's body was lying before turning his attention to Jin, hardening his resolve to finish what he intended to do.
"Lars, can you handle the rest? There's some unfinished business that I need to attend to," Raven said to the rebel leader.
The Swede nodded, a smile forming across his lips, "Thanks for your help."
With a nod towards him and Lei-Fang, Raven jumped up in the air, disappearing in a blink of the eye.
"You've been defeated, Jin Kazama. It's over," Lars said to the fallen leader.
Lei-Fang rushed to his side, reaching down to help him back up to his feet. Surprisingly, he still had a lot of strength left in him and he managed to get up on his own with little help. She found it even more surprising that he allowed her to do it and did not shove her away.
"And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you," Jin murmured as he stood up, "How true…"
"What do you mean by that?" Lars started.
Jin replied, "It was that woman… That was when I knew what the voice ringing in my head really was."
"You mean Zafina?" Lei-Fang asked, remembering the strange woman that she and Lars had come across along their journey towards the temple. She could still feel that woman's eyes lingering on her own and she shivered at the thought.
"Yes," the Mishima Zaibatsu leader returned, "But her story didn't add up. Azazel had already awoken in spirit because of Kazuya and me."
Lars was struck with a sense of realization, "So you're saying that his return was unavoidable?"
"Kazuya and I were the key to that happening," Jin simply replied.
Lars scoffed, "He seemed powerful enough to me."
Despite Lars putting him down easily, the being still put up a great fight. Also for someone who calls himself the "rectifier," why would he need to thrive off of mortal energy?
"Jin, you're not making any sense!" Lei-Fang exclaimed, becoming exasperated at her husband's roundabout way of saying things, "If you're going to explain yourself, please do it already. I really want to understand what's going on."
He regarded her with a simple nod before continuing, "When Azazel spoke to me in my mind he said filling the world with negative energy would give him physical form. That was the only way."
Lars felt himself growing angry at this admission. How could anyone willingly follow such orders and for what purpose?
"So you started a freaking war just to make it so you could fight him?" Lars said, as he struggled to keep his voice from rising too much.
"Yes," Jin's voice rang out slightly louder than he had intended, but it was enough to stop Lars from continuing and prevent Lei-Fang from chiming in. One look at her already proved that she was aching to add her opinion into the fray, but Jin would not have that right now. They both needed to listen.
Jin quietly continued, "I had no choice. I have the Devil Gene."
His gaze fell on Lei-Fang as those last few words left his lips; he knew that she understood his pain the most since she has had more experience with the effects of the Devil Gene. Unfortunately for him, her eyes were not reassuring, in fact they were not even condemning him. She, herself, had a clouded look over her as if the wind had been knocked out of her. He knew that hearing the full story may have slightly altered her previous opinion of him, but deep down, he had been hoping for her acceptance. Jin felt that he needed that from her more than ever.
"And you think that justifies all the things that you've done?" the rebel Tekken Force commander asked incredulously.
Instead of directly answering the question posed to him, Jin turned to Lars and replied, "Let me ask you a question. What have the governments, religions, and people of the world accomplished?"
"That's—"
Lars gritted his teeth in frustration; he knew exactly what Jin was doing and he did not want him to do it. He wanted Jin to take responsibility for his actions, to admit that what he did was wrong, not flip the script and place the blame on others.
Satisfied that he had Lars's attention, Jin continued, "Up until now, people have lived in fear of those with power, and were ruled by an iron fist. Who could possibly save such a twisted world?"
He waited patiently, looking from Lars to Lei-Fang for an answer. When each one of them turned their heads from his glance, he knew that they finally understood.
"I wanted the two of us to clash," he paused before finishing with, "And destroy each other. Then I could finally be free of this accursed blood in my veins and the world would be saved. But there could be only one chance."
Lei-Fang took notice to the softening of Jin's voice towards the end of his statement and she realized that coming to this conclusion had greatly pained him. She could already feel the hot tears threatening to spill down her cheeks at any moment. At this point, she saw herself back in Yakushima with him, fighting over the exact same thing. Lei-Fang wanted to tell him that he was wrong; there's still another way that he just hasn't found yet, but she knew that he wouldn't buy it. His mind was already made up: Jin was ready to martyr himself for the sake of humanity.
It was with this in mind that Lei-Fang reached out to gently touch his arm. Jin turned to face her, acknowledging her briefly, before Lars interrupted the couple.
"Bad news then. I already took him out," Lars informed the young leader. Regardless of Jin's intentions to kill himself along with Azazel, in the long run, the demon god proved to be a bigger threat than Jin currently was.
Remembering that Azazel was already defeated, Lei-Fang let out a sigh of relief as she realized that his plan would not happen. There was still a chance for Jin to find another way to deal with his troublesome Devil Gene.
Jin sighed, turning his attention from Lei-Fang and back to Lars, "You understand nothing."
Lars stared warily at Jin, unsure of what he meant by that statement. Jin paid him little mind and soon focused his gaze at the entrance of Azazel's temple. Lei-Fang, too, followed her husband's gaze as did Lars.
Within a few moments, the earth around them began to shake, taking Lars and Lei-Fang by surprise. She clutched onto Jin's arm a little tighter, but the young leader showed no signs of being perturbed by the sudden rumbling below them. He stood firmly, anticipating whatever it was that had caused the disturbance.
Suddenly, the ground in front of the temple's steps burst open as a golden Azazel climbed forth from the chasm, letting out a mighty roar.
He appeared to be more powerful than before, his evil essence radiating upwards from his colossal body. Lars and Lei-Fang eyed each other uneasily as the realization that they have failed their mission washed over them. Despite Jin's revelations, the two were comforted by the fact that Azazel was defeated; there would be no opportunity for the creature to terrorize humanity. But now, even with Jin's supposed assertion that he could defeat the being with his Devil Gene, the two remained doubtful. Azazel's power had more than doubled. Zafina's prophecy of the destruction of the earth will likely come to pass.