Exodus of The Mind And Soul

by spongecake 2

Asuka Kazama is not one to associate with his kind, but Morris Wellington, a drunk idiot with an fierce libido and brilliant fighting skills, offers to help her defeat Jin at the new King of Iron Fist, only to have his dark past come knocking on his door.

17. Finale Part 2 Doomed until the End

Finale Part 2 – Doomed until the end

Disclaimer: How much does it hurt when you masturbate with chilli powder on your fingers?

Author's Note – Once again a big chapter. In fact the word count is OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAND! Get a picnic.

Look up from your mud pits, peasants, and gaze in wonder as I come down in my shimmering chariot from the heavens to give my opinions on this chapter!

It's hard to say where I stand on Morris Wellington as a character. I'll always have a soft spot for him, seeing as he was one of the first characters I created and the first to ever be published, internet or otherwise, but at the same time I'm not quite sure why. If I met him on the street, I'd probably think he was a prick, but I'd also enjoy my time with him, but not more so than writing for him.

Even when writer's block has been irritating me, this story, and Morris, has been a blast to write, and yet I don't ever want to look back on it, or write a sequel, and even cameoing Morris in my other stories would make me feel slightly dumb… other people cameoing him; that's different. I'm a cheap marketing whore and need constant attention and ego-stroking. Yes, I am shameless. Though it's not as bad as my giggly hysteria that crawls over me whenever I'm writing Johnny Showdown.

He wasn't even in the original Exodus, but I really like writing for Johnny to a frankly upsetting degree. I'm not much like Morris, in fact his appearance is purposely a direct constant to mine besides the Y chromosome (he's short, blonde and thin while I'm a tall brown-haired fat bastard), and as much as I enjoy writing for him, Johnny feels worryingly more familiar. He looks a bit more like me, for a start, and we have quite similar dress codes (Hawaiian shirts, impractical boots, jeans and recently I bought a totally awesome trench coat) and he feels like a vent. I'm quite meek and mild, so to have such a bastard to write for is hugely exhilarating.

Both of them are very important to me, and this will be the last thing to have either of them in, hence the somewhat downbeat feel of this finale. Less jokes and more of a big screaming "THIS IS THE END" feel to it. But whatever, it's my story. If you don't like it, eat it.

The epilogue will be out when it's out, so until then, have a lovely Christmas and peace out, homies.

---

"Well," Came a voice in Morris's head, though Jun's lips were moving. "- this has been a most amusing duel of wills, but now it grows somewhat tiresome." Then Jun pushed Morris with such force he actually flew through the air, before slamming back down to the floor. Jun stood up rather casually, and Unknown appeared once again, circling her slightly. The two bowed in respect. "Good day to you, Wellington." With that, Jun turned around towards Devil…

"Wait, what?" Asuka shouted. "You're stopping?"

"Did I not make that clear enough?" Unknown replied. "Jun holds these matters in high regard, but really, the deal we have made is my only concern."

"What was this deal?" Morris asked suspiciously. Unknown laughed.

"You know exactly what the deal was." She explained, seeming a lot more genteel than Jun did. "I help Jun destroy the Devil Gene forever, and she becomes my temporary host."

"Bullshit." Morris replied. "What do you get out of that? No, I know there's something else, so spill." Unknown smiled slightly.

"You are a perceptive man, Wellington. Far more than Jun gives credit for." Unknown turned back to Morris. "As far as Jun is concerned, once I leave her body after the Devil Gene is destroyed, it's all over. The deal is everything to her. Alas, if only she saw the bigger picture." Unknown's tone suddenly became a lot more menacing, less joyful and more angry. "Do you know how long it's taken for me to get her to this point?"

"Pardon?" Morris asked.

"This point of madness!" Unknown snarled. "She wouldn't dare consider anyone her enemy… that's part of why she fell in love with Kazuya, but you! She hates you with every bit of her soul. I made her hate you! I made her into this! And it has taken me oh so long! Twenty one years! Since the moment Spike shot Kazuya, I was born, born out of her burning hatred, out of her rage and despair." The more it spoke, the more animated it became. "Of course, I was weak back then." Eyes widening. "Almost pathetic." Volume rising. "So I bode my time." Talking faster. "Do you seriously think she would've ever considered this idea at all if I didn't influence her somewhat beforehand?"

"You're all that pent-up hatred she felt." Asuka said. "Everything she ever despised, she poured into you." Unknown smiled a toothy grin through Jun's lips, through the wolf's drooling maw.

"The greatest thing was that she didn't even realise it was happening. Everything that went wrong, every failure, every punishment, she placed into me, feeding me without seeing me. When you stopped her from saving Kazuya, Morris. When Johnny, a very good friend of hers, abruptly left her in her time of need. When Jin allowed the Devil within him to control him. Everything and anything! Something she would forgive from anyone and attempt to show them the way, I made them boil her blood! It wasn't easy, mind you. Distorting the truth, manipulating voices and sights, sometimes not showing her anything and outright lying… it was not easy to maintain such an alien rage within her, but now all that work has paid off."

"And what now?" Morris asked. "Now are you going to try and take the Devil Gene for your own gains?" Unknown laughed.

"I'm not a being without perspective. No, the Devil Gene is a rather minute detail factoring everything. I shall indeed destroy it as our deal dictates. It simply set everything into motion; it is of no use to me. Emotion. That's the key to my stride to power. It was easy to cloud Jun's vision when she could not reconcile with her failures. Now, imagine what I could do with a world leader? Or several? I could cause a war that would make the Mishima Zaibatsu's conquest seem petty. I could annihilate all of human existence besides those I favour. Or they will simply collapse." With this, Unknown gave a shrug. "It matters not. I am in no danger. Chaos is my real goal."

"And you think that we're going to let you?" Morris asked. Unknown rolled its eyes, before suddenly slamming its open palm into Morris, curling its fingers around him.

"Let him go!" Asuka shouted, summoning a fireball and slamming it into Unknown's face. Unknown shrugged the attack away, before grabbing a hold on Asuka.

"It's not a matter of whether or not you let me." Unknown said. "You simply don't have a choice." The harsh grip caused Morris to groan in agony. Asuka lost all her breath, but then thought of something. She closed her eyes and desperately hoped for a distraction. On command, a flock of birds began to caw, and Asuka felt their presence get closer, and closer, bending to her will, before suddenly flying into the arena, pitter-pattering against Unknown's head. The great wolf snarled slightly, but kept its grip.

"Nice plan, Asuka, send birds to hit the wolf the size of a house!" Morris shouted. "You couldn't get a lion, or a bear, or something more…" He didn't finish his sentence, for he was abruptly dropped. Unknown gripped its head, as did Jun, among whom the birds were crowding. Asuka smiled quite smugly to Morris, who huffed indignantly. "A lion would still be useful."

"Morris, behind you!" Asuka shouted. Morris just dodged Devil's wild swing, and he was blasted back by a fireball sent by Asuka.

"No fair!" Morris shouted. "We can't take on two of you, this is such bullsh-ARGH!" Unknown's palm pounded onto Morris, throwing him into the railings. He didn't even have time to recover, before another one of Unknown's fists flew in.

"You bitch!" Asuka yelled, running over to Jun. Jun was busy controlling, or being controlled by, Unknown, and couldn't react to Asuka's mighty strike, an elbow to the chin, that sent her high into the air. The raven haired woman landed with a shudder, shaking from the impact as Asuka kept kicking to keep her down. Unknown snarled in anger.

"You impudent little brat, I'll crush you." It said, throwing a paw back at her. Asuka dodged the attack, but only just, and was forced away by constant attacks.

"Morris, I need a hand here!"

"I'm a little tied up myself, Asuka!" He shouted. "In case you didn't remember, THE DEVIL'S BEATING ME SENSELESS!" He wasn't wrong. He was currently being hurled around by Devil, who had him by the collar, before being thrown into the fencing. Morris looked up to the horned figure as he got closer. "Now, me punching you, it's all in the past, right? You wouldn't hit little old me when you've got that gigantic wolf that will kill you if we don't, so why we call a truce and carry this on later?"

"It is in the past…" Devil growled, grabbing Morris by the neck. . "- just like how you will be!" The claws wrapped around and lifted Morris with ease as Devil readied his other claws to stab him.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Came a voice. Devil chuckled slightly.

"Ling Xiaoyu? Oh here comes the cavalry!" He turned, still holding onto Morris, but Xiaoyu's strike was bold and angry, going straight for his side. His rib cage was rattled by the collision, and he wasn't ready for the two kicks that were planted straight into his face.

"I told you not to laugh at me!" She shouted. Morris coughed as he caught his breath.

"Thanks." He said. Xiaoyu looked to him for a moment.

"I thought being an adult was being tough and stoic…" Xiaoyu said. "I blew our feud out of proportion…"

"I'll fucking say."

"- and now I know." She said. "I've got to stand up for what's right, whoever's in my way or whoever's in danger. You taught me that…"

"Look, Xiaoyu, can we do this later, there's a fight going on…"

"- so no. Thank you." She said. Then Devil tackled her, pushing her to the floor and punching at her desperately.

"See, this is why we don't give lectures while we're fighting two supernatural beings, Xiaoyu." Morris explained, grabbing Devil by the stomach and pulling him up. Xiaoyu sent a foot into the hanging Devil and caused him to scream in anger. Morris threw him onto the floor, and Xiaoyu kicked up to Devil's face.

"You deal with Jun, I've got this." She told him. Morris nodded, and looked to Asuka and Unknown. The situation hadn't changed all that much. Asuka was still dodging slams, trying to get towards Jun. Morris decided to strike at Jun while Unknown was distracted. He launched himself to her, slamming his shoulder into her stomach with tremendous force. Jun, and by extension Unknown, was thrown back, and Asuka followed it up with a jumping kick, leaping over Morris's head. The two circled and swapped between each other, striking at Jun or Unknown, whoever was closest, while Xiaoyu kept Devil as far away from them as possible, hoping to give them enough time to defeat Unknown.

"You can't beat me. Nothing you can do will stop me. So why are you fighting?" Unknown asked, more annoyed than actually angry, as if this was only a minor inconvenience. Asuka jumped onto Morris's shoulders, and then onto Unknown's head, clamping up.

"Wanna bet?" She asked, before slamming her palms into Unknown's head, burning the flesh with white fire. Unknown suddenly started to scream in agony, wailing and flailing around unsteadily.

"Nice one, Asuka! You fucking own…" Morris began, but then he saw one of Unknown's undirected arms heading straight for him. He sighed. "This is going to hurt…" He braced himself for the shock, and the force hit him like a train. He flew away, breaking through the fencing and rolling into a small dugout by the side of the arena. Morris slammed heavily into the wall, pain rushing through his shoulder. He rolled onto his back, pressed his palms onto the floor and got ready to push himself up and rejoin.

"Don't move." Came a heavy, hurt voice. Morris recognised it but couldn't identify the owner. Then suddenly a rod of metal and wood slammed into his chest, causing him to choke. He felt as if the air had been forced out of his body. He tried to move.

"Look;" Morris began to speak. "- I've got more important things to do, so could you please…" Suddenly, the pole began to twist harshly, digging into Morris's chest with such a force and hatred, that Morris became sure that it was a talon of some beast. He felt it begin to tear through his skin, and push on through, not enough to cause death, but blinding Morris with agony.

"I'm sure you do." Said the voice. Morris turned his head to the right. He saw a horrifying image. A figure stood over him, supported by the makeshift crutch that was forcing its way into Morris's chest. It held a blank expression, almost simultaneously interested and bored of Morris's very existence. Parts of the face were a pale skin, but many other sections of the face had been burnt away, reddened and bloody. Much of the figure's hair was gone, with only a few remnants of the short black cut left. The tearful eyes held a distinct hatred, not tearful out of sorrow, but out of pain as a gentle breeze pricked his skin like hot knives. However, it was the hand that held the crutch that Morris recognised most. A bone, essentially, but with a pink and blue band on the wrist. Morris gulped. "Let's talk."

"How did you survive?" He asked. Johnny did not smile, but the malice rose.

"It's painful, but you get used to it in time." He said. "It's the irony that hurts. Your luck. The fact that I set you alight and you have no scars, no burns, nothing. As if it never happened. And I? I was the unlucky one, wasn't I, you little runt?"

"Shut up!" Morris shouted. "You bastard, I will KILL you!" His breathing tensed. He could hear nothing in the outside world. All there was in his reality now was the dugout, with his family's greatest enemy, his pink and blue banded demon, holding him down. "You killed Spike! You nearly killed me! You tried to have Asuka raped! You're a monster, and I'll KILL you! I'LL KILL YOU LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE!" Johnny didn't move, though his lips twitched slightly, becoming an expression blank irritancy. He almost seemed like a completely different person, no longer animated, simply going through the motions.

"Just face the music." He said, a tear of pain reluctantly welling in one of his eyes. "Morris Wellington; today you are going to die." He looked to the arena, unnoticed to the world. "Your little bitch Asuka will die, too." He said these words with a frankness that seemed to hurt Morris more than the crutch digging into him, and a barely contained roaring hatred rattled the cage that was Johnny's unchanging cruel monotone.

"Why?" He murmured. "She's not a part of this." Johnny's blank face mutated into a scowl. He, without warning, released the crutch, and then slammed it back down. Morris wailed in agony, hearing a bone crack and feeling the blood escape his body as the weapon hit him again and again, punching without stopping or caring. He coughed up some blood, and finally the salvo stopped. Johnny smiled as he watched Morris's shirt darken.

"On the floor being smashed up by a cripple." He stated, now becoming more emotional, smiling more, his voice allowing the sadistic glee and the cavernous depravity and the nightmarish revulsion to flow in like raindrops off stone into a river, as if a dead man had begun to regain a hideous life. "It's good to be reminded of your place in the world." Morris began to shed tears in pain, and Johnny laughed brutishly. It was forced, and resulted in a great hacking cough. He waited to calm down, which took a good ten seconds. "I'm afraid, Morris, that she made herself a part of this. She involved herself, and now she has to die." He sneered at Morris, as if looking at dirt on his sole. "A little personal vendetta. No harm in getting emotionally involved to a job so long as you're sure you'll succeed." Morris spat up some more blood.

"That's all everyone in the world is to you!" He gurgled. "A fatted calf! A job waiting to happen. Well, you better make sure this job goes well, because I'm going to tear you apaAARRGGHH!" The crutch turned more, slowly and deliberately. He felt as if he was going to faint. He glimpsed at Johnny, who was beginning to look much more like the man who had very nearly killed him three nights ago. He was clearly enjoying this more than he should.

"Everybody I kill does this. They try to talk their way out." Johnny said, unchanged. Morris gulped. Johnny's slow, cruel voice chilled him. "They threaten me, or they insult me, or they try to bribe me. But always talking. Blah blah blah, just biding time, hoping that something would come to save them." Johnny kept the crutch firmly on Morris's chest as he leant on it. Morris groaned under the pain. "It's the beggars I love the most. It's their eyes. The…"

"Are you just going to talk to me or do you have something to do?" Morris regretted the snide comment immediately, feeling the crutch twist in harder. Johnny smiled.

"It's hard to say when you've never seen it before. It's the fact that… they know that they'll die, but they're too scared to be at peace; it's actually quite beautiful. The way they sparkle with tears, the widening irises, the fluttering of eyelashes as if they are trying to bat out all that is bad in the world; it's quite glorious."

"Fuck off!" Morris actually knew that look. It was on the face of the woman he had killed, and he didn't need reminding. Johnny chuckled.

"Insult me all you want, I know you're a beggar." He said, leaning in to Morris's disgusted face. "Not for your own life, though… interesting."

"What do you mean by…?" Morris paused. He looked to Johnny's face, the toothy grin curling as the seconds past. Tears welled in both their eyes, though Johnny's were simply pained reactions to the wind. Morris's heart filled with more dread than ever before, though he had already been told what was to be. "No, leave her out of this." Johnny's smirk was answer enough, but Johnny wanted to be crueller.

"Say it. Beg. Beg for her."

"Please… don't kill Asuka." Johnny clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"I knew it!" The smile was horrifically pleasant. "You're obsessed with that little bitch of yours!" Morris nearly got up as Johnny was distracted, but Johnny stopped him with his foot, causing Morris to wince in pain. "You're even ready to waste your final seconds pleading for me not to do something that I'm very clearly going to do!"

"SHUT UP!" Morris screamed, opening his eyes, before suddenly wishing he hadn't. Johnny's grin told his story, it seemed. It was that grin he wore as he watched Spike die, in the video whenever he slammed Asuka's head down another time, as he beat her for much of the rest of that day, as he tortured Xiaoyu, as he butchered Morris in the warehouse. It was almost as he was getting some torrid, almost sexual thrill from simply the act of causing pain. He seemed to breathe in Morris's awe, as if a chef smelling the finest dish he ever cooked. As the conversation had gone on, he had gone back to his old ways, but now Morris was almost sure the reddened burns and black flesh had been replaced with skin the image of Johnny was so thick in his mind.

"Keep begging." Johnny asked Morris, his grin unbearably happy. "It makes me happier." He blinked slowly, wincing in pain as his left foot seemed to flare up on cue. He seemed to crush it on the floor, as if telling it to shut up and accept the role it was meant to play. He looked to Morris, who was staring at his weaker leg, and chuckled. "Don't think observing my weaknesses will do you a lick of good."

"What makes you think it won't?" In response, Johnny very slowly, very surely, placed his hand in his hoodie front pocket, and pulled out a familiar syringe. The clear liquid inside glowed from the light that shone into the dugout.

"I have an inclination." He drawled simply and callously, hissing nastily under his breath. He shrugged his shoulders once more, wearing a mask of happy indifference, as if he were simply a barber cutting Morris's short hair before suddenly slamming the syringe into Morris's chest, and pressed down onto the plunger, forcing the relaxant into Morris's heart. All of it was drained quickly, painlessly and efficiently, and he pulled the syringe out with speed. "You'll die in five minutes."

Morris had only felt real fear twice in his life. Once was ten years ago, when he had just murdered somebody. He was scared of what he would do. Scared of who could find out, and what they would do as a punishment. Then there was the time he realised that Asuka was gone, just five days ago. Neither topped this moment though, when the words announcing that his fate was inevitable escaped Johnny's dry, dying lips. Morris had never been worried by death. He was too proud to consider the idea that he could be killed. He had ran from all his problems out of a desperation to not solve them. He felt he could escape from every situation, and treat it as if he already had. This was different. It was no longer 'I could die' or 'I'm very close to dying' or even 'I think that milk was rotten' but now, it was simple. He was going to die. For a second time. A more certain time. He looked to his chest. No evidence. No pain. Nothing. But he somehow knew. He had five minutes to live and counting. He looked to Johnny, who smiled politely back.

"Morris, we only live once." He said. "You, however, will get the privilege of dying twice." He stood up and walked towards the light. "Your little bitch Asuka? Only once." He felt for his hoodie pocket, looking for a gun as Morris's teeth ground into each other. Johnny pulled a black snub from the pouch, a small triangle that he wrapped his hand around.

"She's not my bitch." Morris spat. "She's not anyone's anything."

"She is somebody's something." Johnny said, becoming more animated and joyful now. "She is my victim. I have killed exactly three hundred and twenty six people, and she's the only one I'll probably remember the name of come ten years or so." His eyes rolled to observe Morris, smiling with a joy that seemed to say that he was at complete peace, a sweet smile of a dying man, knowing that his purpose that been carried out. Morris was sickened. "Morris, when the bullet bashed through her skin and her flesh and her bone, tell me how much she means to you." Knowing exactly what words to say to really prick at Morris's psyche, he pointed his pistol out to the light. "Say goodbye to the little bitch, Morris. You've got one chance." He aimed carefully, but Morris didn't even have to consider what to do for a second. He was a creature of indecision, but now he was surer about this than any other thing he had ever felt in his life.

"You talk such bullshit!"

Despite his withering strength, he pushed forwards, smashing into Johnny with horrific force. The gun flew away as the two became basked in the light of the stadium once more. The fight had progressed little, with Asuka concentrating on Unknown and Xiaoyu distracting Devil, keeping Unknown from taking his power. Asuka had a spare moment, and looked to Morris, who had dropped onto his belly, his broken rib suddenly flaring in distress. "What's been keeping you?" She asked, rushing over to pick him up. "Come on, we have a fight to win."

"Run." He said simply. She looked to him sharply.

"What?" She asked. Morris looked into her eyes, and they pierced her with crushing dread.

"JUST RUN! BEFORE…" Suddenly, he watched as a brown and grey bar flipped over her head and around her neck. She was suddenly pulled into the chest of Johnny Showdown, himself struggling to stand. Morris shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, that." Asuka choked slightly, and pushed back into Johnny, who pulled her back with him, keeping his crutch around her neck. Morris tried to stand, but blood escaped his chest and belly. He looked, ripping at his shirt to observe. He was right in his assumption, one of his ribs had snapped painfully, blood spilling out of the wound. He tugged at his own shirt, ripping away the material from the diaphragm down, and wrapped it as a makeshift bandage. He wearily stood up to run to Johnny, but was suddenly crushed under a large black paw. He looked to Unknown, who had time to recover.

"You fuel me with your hatred." It said. "It'll be strange killing you, but it must ha-ARGH!" It suddenly screamed. Morris had pushed the middle and ring finger apart, hurting the wolf and allowing him to run with tears of pain in his eyes to Johnny, whose own face remained blank. Morris punched at his face, and forced him back. Asuka dropped forward slightly, coughing, falling slowly to her knees, then to her hands, then the floor. This was an issue of balance, however, and she rose quickly to see that her attacker was being clawed at frantically at by Morris, whose eyes burned with anger. Suddenly, he stopped. It seemed the attacker only brushed his chest with a light punch, but Morris fell back with scarlet breath escaping his shocked mouth.

"Who the hell was…" She looked to her attacker, who was fumbling on the metal desperately, trying to regain his stature, but laughing at the same time, laughing at the futility of Morris's actions, before suddenly coughing, each hack seeming to cause a great deal of pain.

"You've got four minutes, Wellington! Don't waste them trying to stop me!" The happy splutter shocked her, her mouth dropping, her stomach coiling in both hatred and terror. She knew it too well.

"YOU!" She shouted, suddenly glowing more ferociously than before. She launched towards him. Johnny found his gun, pointing it to the leaping figure.

"Regenerate from this, you little bitch." He said calmly, crushing the trigger in his hand. However, Xiaoyu had been thrown towards him by Devil and knocked his aim down, missing Asuka. He swung his crutch angrily, knocking Asuka away. Xiaoyu looked to Johnny, and recognised the face. The area he had kicked over and over those many few nights ago flared in pain, remembering his boot pressing down. "YOU MADE ME MISS!" He howled, shooting at her feet as she dropped to the floor. She fumbled backwards, firstly on her bottom pushing her legs out frantically, before standing and backing away, a frozen terror on her face as he suddenly scrambled to attack her, flipping instantly from disgusting joy to an even worse anger. Her fear conquered all other sense. She felt helpless against Johnny as he batted her on the shoulder, causing her to fall. Morris suddenly grabbed Johnny on the shoulders, pulling back and bashing his head onto Johnny's withered neck in desperation, allowing Xiaoyu to back to a safe distance. Johnny had begun to drool, and saliva dripped all over the floor.

"Four minutes I intend to use well!" Morris shouted, but he was batted away by Johnny's strong right arm, who had cruelly slammed a harsh slap onto his broken rib and caused more blood to stain the jacket, and he staggered back, weakness from a withering heartbeat causing him to wince slowly.

"I'M NOT WASTING MY TIME ON YOU!" Johnny turned to Asuka as she launched a desperate attack, but he punched her in the stomach. As she staggered back in pain, he plucked his crutch into his hands, a double grip batting into her head. She fell to the floor, and he smashed her twice again with the same motion. Morris grabbed him from the back, but Johnny didn't stop. He was a frenzied ape now, drooling, slobbering, salivating, his constant growling a thunder, his eyes becoming bloodshot. Asuka rolled away, preparing a fireball.

"Remember this?" She said, blasting at Johnny. Johnny suddenly snapped out of Morris's grip, slipping to the floor easily as the flame slammed straight into Morris. It was a trained move, and he knew to do it as the fireball rocketed Morris back like a ragdoll.

"WATCH YOUR FUCKING AIM, BITCH!" Morris shouted angrily, before stumbling towards Johnny, attempting a run. The answer was a wheel of death as Johnny spun on his good leg, snapping the crutch into Morris, a tremendous clap sending blood splattering along the metal grating. Morris stumbled backwards, and dropped to his knees, feeling his head ache as the lack of oxygen began to hit. He swerved uncomfortably, before readying another charge. He was stopped by a paw, however, as it slammed straight into him, the knuckle of the middle finger ramming his temple and stunning him. He looked to see that Jun had regained control, and that the wolf had shrunk. So Johnny was right. The wolf is fuelled by hatred. And Jun liked Johnny so the wolf has less influence, right? To answer his question, she stepped towards him as he slowly crawled over to Asuka, snarling like an animal.

"Johnny?" She asked, as if she was once again Jun Kazama. He turned to her quickly. "Johnny Sho…"

BANG

The shot was incredibly sloppy, a quick turn as Johnny heard the beginnings of his name, and whirled around, striking Unknown with hot lead. It wouldn't kill, barely hinder, but he didn't take much note, only hoping to shut Unknown up.

"Don't ever say my name in public." He seethed, his eyes becoming nearly red, his drooling becoming a never ending torrent. He placed the smoking pistol in-between his teeth, turning to crawl over to Asuka, hoping to regain stance on his crutch. Unknown touched the wound, noticing the blood that poured out of her stomach as she dropped onto her knees. Asuka scowled at Johnny's crawling form.

"YOU FUCKING MANIAC! I'LL BEAT YOU INTO…" She suddenly got a hard smack from his crutch.

"Nice one, Asuka, taunt the crazy man with a superiority complex who you set fire to." Morris coughed, getting up. He began to run to attack Johnny, but felt a bullet sent into his shoulder, spinning him in the air and causing him to drop onto the floor. He looked up to Johnny, who was stood fully, putting his gun into his mouth so he had a hand free to punch with.

"Fwee aa gha halh menes." He stated through the pistol in his mouth, but Morris heard every word clearly. Three and a half minutes. Johnny turned to the approaching Asuka, who landed two phenomenally strong punches, sending Johnny scrambling back.

"YOU BASTARD!" She screamed, landing another punch. A fourth was sent, but snapped against the crutch of metal and wood, and she felt her left hand break under the force. She pulled it back, as Johnny suddenly slammed all his weight into her stomach with said crutch, pushing her up to the grated fence. He suddenly began punching her. No need to. It was actually impractical, but not Morris, not Xiaoyu, nobody in fact, seemed able to move. Johnny was slow, his punches infrequent, each one like an asteroid, causing Asuka to spit up tooth enamel and gore. Asuka pushed back the odd time, but Johnny wasn't stopping with the barrage. He pulled the crutch back finally, balancing on one leg, pushing the crutch with one hand against her bust, and he got the gun out of his jaw, pointing it to her head.

"You little bitch." He spat, before he suddenly dropped, firing his gun as it pasted between her legs, blasting through the fence and probably hitting somebody, he couldn't see as tears of pain rattled his senses when a hand pulled and squeezed at his weaker left leg.

"And you said that observing your weaknesses wouldn't help…" Morris didn't finish his sentence as the crutch's end pushed against his eye. He was forced off, before Johnny smacked his palm under Morris's nose, the fingers curled towards the eyes. They pressed onto Morris's eyelids, and as they suddenly curled into them, the palm also dragged up into the bottom of his nose, beginning to break it and cause it to bleed in harmony with Morris's eyes as he wailed in pain. Johnny did this for two seconds before being snapped off by a frantic Asuka. Johnny sneered as Morris's curled into a ball, screaming and holding his face in his hands, gore dripping through his fingers.

"You're one to talk, time bomb! Three minutes!" He pulled himself to his feet, backing into Asuka and forcing her into the grating, crushing her, kicking at the side of Morris's head as he did, who staggered on his hands and knees awkwardly. Johnny pulled himself forward as Asuka was bounced into the arena, sidestepping her and dropping her into Morris, his nose broken and bloody and his eyes with scratch marks around them. He re-readied his gun.

"Johnny!" Came a familiar voice. "Why are you…" Johnny rolled his eyes in frustration, and pointing his gun to Wang Jinrei on impulse and firing his last bullet, felling the old man instantly. Everyone's eyes matched Jinrei's shocked own as he staggered quickly back, the black bubble dripping down his stomach like the tears that were in his eyes, as he keeled over backwards. Johnny threw the now useless gun to the floor.

"WHY CAN'T ANYONE JUST ROLL OVER AND ACCEPT IT?" He shouted very suddenly. "WHY DON'T ANY OF YOU JUST DO AS I SAY AND DIE?"

"Johnny, what did you do…" Jun's voice stammered, blood still dripping from her stomach, as the wolf that was Unknown couldn't regain control of the situation. Even Devil, the reason Morris was here in the first place, was rooted to the spot in the glee of a spectator watching gore fly at a gladiatorial fight. He was enjoying this, and was content to watch the furious animal at the centre of attention bawl in blind rage.

"SHUT UP, WHORE!" Johnny turned to Unknown, and she complied, simply watching him as a deer would a hunter. Johnny turned back to Morris and Asuka, who began to stand up. Asuka scowled dangerously and looked ferocious. Morris matched the scowl, but looked in agony. He was bleeding heavily, from his nose, from his broken rib, from his shoulder. "Two and a half minutes." He reminded Morris, who clenched his fists weakly. "TWO AND A HALF MINUTES! CAN'T YOU JUST STAY DOWN AND SIMPLY WATCH FOR TWO AND A HALF MINUTES?"

"Fuck you, arsehole." Morris said, punching out to Johnny. Suddenly, he felt a flash of weakness, dropping to his knees once more, unable to make contact. "What the…" Then he remembered. He heard his last heartbeat. Now his brain was using up the last of its oxygen. Johnny's ferocious, uncontrolled kick stuttered some life into the pathetic heart, giving him maybe another thirty seconds to live. However, he didn't want thirty seconds more. He just wanted it to end right now. The pain, the agony, was unbearable. It was an unstoppable force that hit him with the force and frequency of a pneumatic drill that made him beg for the end. His eyes closed, too weak to stay open, his body too weak to move. Johnny stooped over him.

"GET UP!" He shouted, stomping at his stomach that was still bloody from the crutch in the dugout. "YOU CAN NEVER DIE! NO MATTER WHAT ANYBODY DOES, YOU JUST COME BACK, SO GET UP!" Morris coughed some blood up as Johnny began to furiously pummel the face with quick fists, just hoping for a response. "GET UP NOW!" Johnny screamed angrily, drooling constantly, letting the saliva drip onto Morris's face. He sneered when he got no reply. "You fuck-up."

"HE ISN'T A FUCK-UP!" Asuka screamed. Her fist burnt with white fire. "YOU ARE!" She pulled the fist back to attack, but Johnny's back fist smacked into her, dropping her to the floor, dispelling the flame. The audience was speechless as Asuka rolled onto her back slowly, desperate to fight back defiantly. Her hand prepared another fireball, but Johnny was quick and livid, holding his crutch in a two handed grip.

"So, has he ever kissed you?" He seethed angrily. The question confused Asuka enough to warrant a pause. "Like here?" He suddenly slammed the handle of his crutch down to her crotch. She screamed without noise, breath escaped her open mouth as pain rippled through her body, stunning her completely. "Or maybe here?" Johnny pressed his strong right foot onto her left breast, the same place as her burn mark. She felt as if the cigar was torturing her all over again as she whimpered. "Oh, I know where he kissed you…" Johnny said as he pushed his knees onto each of her spread out arms, causing them to ache. He flipped the crutch in his hands, still slobbering, still drooling; his face an angry mess, gory and creased with frenzied anger, his eyes bloodshot and his right eye reddening. "… here." He pushed the crutch into her neck. Asuka's breath had already been forced out by Johnny's previous strikes, and now she couldn't last for a minute, and the crutch came down with so much force she thought it might break. Her eyes winced in pain.

Remember, Mor…

Asuka felt hot dribble rain down on her, but then she felt a heavier liquid.

Remember, Morris.Mum and…

She opened her eyes with her last remaining strength to see Johnny's face, contorted in ugly rage, but she was startled by the fact that his right eye was actually bleeding. The left bloodshot, but the right was completely red, and blood rolled down his cheek and dripped onto her, one drop hitting her eye and causing a sting that commanded that she spasm.

Remember, Morris. Mum and Dad died for…

"DIE!" Johnny suddenly wailed, gore spluttering out of the right, bleeding eye sporadically. Several blood vessels had burst in his eye out of stress and rage, unable to cope with the strain that Johnny forced into his body. "JUST DIE!"

Remember, Morris.Mum and Dad died for you. You bet…

"NOBODY DEFIES ME!" His slobber now began to become foam, as if he was a dog with rabies.

Remember, Morris.Mum and Dad died for you. You better make it worth…

"NOBODY!"

Remember, Morris. Mum and Dad died for you. You better make it worth it, or…

"YOU'LL DIE! MORRIS TOO!"

Remember, Morris. Mum and Dad died for you. You better make it worth it, or I'll kill you myself.

"SO WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ROLL OVER AND BEG LIKE DOGS!"

"Hey, world's most bad tempered kissogram, I've got an idea."

"BEG FOR LIFE! BEG FOR DEATH! JUST BEG! JUST FUCKING BEG!"

Asuka's legs began to stop shaking as her eyes started to lose their focus. Johnny's eye bled freely and the slobber flowed through his gritted teeth like a waterfall passing through the mountainside.

"WHY AREN'T YOU BEGGING?"

Asuka couldn't gain the strength to beg for life, or death. Her eyes refocused to see Johnny's face, no longer seeming to have any emotion or life, just a face of stone, with a red river running down the cheek and falling onto her face. He didn't show anger, but desperation. Asuka suddenly coughed.

"BEG AND DIE LIKE THE BITCH YOU ARE!"

His face became a blank, not even hatred showing on the face anymore. He shook and stared unendingly as Asuka's eyes began to close.

"Johnny, does this situation seem familiar to you?"

Asuka gasped as Johnny's grip momentarily let go. She used the chance to flip him off, throwing him away. He rolled quickly. Asuka didn't move, regaining her strength. She then turned her head to Morris, himself staggering painfully, still bleeding horrifically from rib and shoulder and nose, and then to Johnny, who was feeling for his crutch, his face once again curling into rage. He winced with his right eye, forcing tears of blood to flow out.

"You…" He said in a breath.

"You've lost, Johnny." Morris snarled. "I'm going to put everything right, so give up." Johnny looked to Morris blankly, before his lips began to curl.

"Heeeeeeh heh, heh! Heah ha haargh yuagh pluh pluh!" Johnny's right eye began to bleed more heavily and infrequently as he began to retch, a pathetic splutter of a dying engine. "You and whose army?" He finally said, his throat still groaning in pain. "Two minutes left to defeat me, a devil and a giant wolf made of hatred?" He sneered. "A smart person would use that time writing a will."

"I'm not smart." Morris said calmly, slipping into his fighting stance as Johnny stood up. "But I'm still crafty. And if that wolf's made of hatred, Jun can't attack you because she doesn't hate you. So what if I mentioned to that wolf that somebody hated you more than Jun hates me." Johnny plucked at his crutch, using it to support his rise to his feet.

"Who? You?" He said, sniggering. Then he stopped. He thought. His breathing calmed, then rose to tension again as Morris' usual smirk returned to its rightful resting place.

"Nope." He said simply. Johnny looked over to a corner that he unconsciously remembered. It was vacant. His eyes suddenly contained fear, the same fear that gripped him at the warehouse.

"SCHOOLGIRL!" He suddenly shouted, wheeling around to Unknown. The black gunk that had clung to her skin was gone, leaving a stunned, silent, tearful Jun Kazama. "SHIT!" Johnny shouted, scrambling for his crutch, which he only just noticed was no longer in his hands. Then his hand touched a foot. He pulled it away, black gunk sticking to him slightly. He then observed the foot, then the legs, then the body, and gulped. The figure was entirely black. No wolf. No need for that form. Unknown and Xiaoyu had quite literally become one, the black completely replacing her skin, with only yellow eyes visible at all. Her hands twisted on the crutch they held, snapping the metal and wood as if it were a candy cane. Johnny's right eye twitched in pain, still bleeding.

"Who needs armies?" Morris asked Johnny as Xiaoyu grabbed Johnny in one blackened hand, and raised him far above her head. "You've beaten her terribly." Johnny's legs dangled helplessly as he choked, the hand wrapping around his neck. "You didn't let up. And shooting her grandfather didn't do you any favours." His arms, however, curled. His fists clenched. He opened his right eye, the blood completely obscuring the iris, simply pouring down his cheek. "So, Johnny, are you scared now that it's all catching up to you?" Johnny began to snarl, like a cornered animal, which was exactly how he felt. No flight now. No running. Only death and Johnny refused to let him be the dead one at the end of this.

"BULL…" He wailed, punching Xiaoyu square in the face. His arm was longer, and Xiaoyu was forced to drop him. – SHIT!" He kicked his weaker leg out, forcing her back, before looking to Morris. "Do your worst, dead-man-walking." Morris sneered.

"Says you." He spat. "… cripple."

Johnny's right eye spattered blood out again as he snarled. The personal insult had sent Johnny over the edge. It didn't matter if Morris was already going to die; he just had to suffer for that. He leapt forward at Morris, but collapsed on the first step, sliding on his stomach for a short distance. He could only ask his weak leg so much, and finally it refused to move. Morris smiled gleefully.

"So, how's that fatted calf coming?" He asked. "It looks like you're not so superior after all." Johnny suddenly started to scream in rage, crawling his way over to Morris with incredibly speed. Morris didn't even realise what was going on as Johnny pulled at his legs, and sent him heel over head onto the floor. Morris gasped in pain, his broken rib crying with voiceless pain. Johnny clambered over Morris.

"I HATE YOU I HATE YOU AND I WANT YOU TO DIE!" Johnny bawled like a child, slamming his hand's into Morris's face repeatedly, sometimes punching, sometimes scratching but just hoping to cause pain.

"XIAOYU, WHERE ARE YOU?" Morris shouted in hope. Xiaoyu was helping Asuka to her feet. Unknown had actually receded at Asuka's touch, and Xiaoyu regained complete control. Asuka wheezed in agony.

"Asuka…" Xiaoyu started, also in pain. "- I can't keep control for very long… I'm going to get Unknown to focus on attacking Johnny. I'm going to… hold him down, and you've got a clear shot for me, Devil and Johnny…"

"What?" Asuka asked, barely capable of breathing, never mind processing information. Xiaoyu gestured to Jun.

"Jun's going to… realise what's happened… and…" Xiaoyu held onto Asuka for support as she dropped to the floor. "… send out energy… you have to focus… it towards us…"

"But won't you get hurt?" Xiaoyu didn't reply, and Asuka saw why as her skin started to blacken again. Asuka backed away as she began to snarl, her yellow gaze turning to the frantic yelps and barks and twisting forms of Morris and Johnny. Their fight was no longer a fight. Fights have a flow. Even the most brutal and pointless clashes have wills and grace, however little. This was simply a mess, the two not really caring whether one won or lost so long as they killed the other. Johnny couldn't stand up, but his energetic spasms were dangerous and horrible, slashing and kicking and punching at Morris, who despite being a superior fighter, Johnny never having learnt any martial art, staggered aimlessly, pain rattled his form and his body slowly being drained of life. He pulled Johnny up by the collar and punched him once. Johnny spat in Morris's face.

"ONE AND THIRTY, BASTARD!" He barked, slapping his open palm onto Morris's head, who dropped him and lurched back, groaning pathetically and dropping to the floor, his head rattling and reeling.

"How can this get any worse?" He moaned slowly, his eyes wincing. As they opened, he saw Xiaoyu standing over him, a completely black form, and Morris sighed. "Had to fucking happen…" He couldn't feel the pain as a foot slammed onto his stomach, his breath being thrown out of his body. Just another agonising complaint to add to the list. He rolled to the side, seeing Johnny's burnt red face coming closer at a dizzying pace.

"WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD YET?" Came a bawl from Johnny as he placed a bony black hand on Morris's face and curled in, his nails digging into his cheeks. Blood circled around the fingers, before he was suddenly pulled away. He looked to Xiaoyu, whose iron grip caused Johnny's hands to flare in pain, the black oil clutching at his burns. The arena fencing shook as he wailed in pain and anger. "GET OFF ME YOU CHILD!" His hand escaped one of the hands and clapped around Xiaoyu's face, but she didn't move, rather it was as if she didn't even know he had hit her.

"Johnny Showdown!" Came Asuka's voice. Johnny looked to her, and his right eye opened on impulse, a bloody glare being shot towards her.

"YOU!" He yelled, his voice so loud it echoed throughout the arena. "DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE I'VE FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU!"

"I beat you once, I'll beat you again!" She shouted back, and Johnny suddenly got a tremendous fear in the depths of his heart. He looked to Jun, who was glowing with a white aura as tears ran down her cheeks. He looked to Morris, who was on the floor laughing. He looked to Xiaoyu's hands, gripping on for dear life. He finally looked to Unknown, who had begun to try and split from Xiaoyu, realising the danger. Johnny shook with rage.

"… you pathetic shit…" A tear of blood dribbled down his chin. Xiaoyu's face fell forward as Unknown's blackness split away slightly, the silhouette of a wolf's head desperately and fearfully pulling away to no avail. Xiaoyu looked to Unknown.

"You've tried to hurt people…" She said with little breath in her body. "… people I like, hate, or don't know, but people… and you…" Her eyes suddenly snapped to Johnny as he writhed desperately, an angry glare frozen on his face. The two pierced each other with harsh stabbing eyes. "… you kicked and tortured me… you kidnapped Asuka… you… shot… my… grandpa…" Johnny sneered slightly.

"Well, maybe if you grew this brave beforehand, it wouldn't have happened!" Johnny spat in her face, and looked over to Asuka for a fleeting second. He saw white fire leap from Jun into the air, and he saw Asuka somehow focusing it towards them, and timed his attack perfectly. Just as Asuka's hands became white, he kneed Xiaoyu up into the air with one lucky hit, and pushed himself away, just avoiding the blast as it consumed Xiaoyu and Unknown and shrouded them in flame. He looked around, hoping that Asuka wouldn't turn to him. She couldn't though, fixed to the spot by the raw power running through the air from Jun to her and through her hands and will. He saw Devil nervously stepping back, about to flee, before the white flames engulfed him too as the line curved to him. He saw Kazuya stand up and leave, and decided it would be best to follow suit.

"Oh no you don't…" Morris's hand leapt to Johnny's leg, and Johnny burst into tears of pain, visibly shaking, before suddenly turning.

"YOU FUCKING…" Johnny cried, leaping to Morris and beginning to punch desperately. He saw Morris's protruding broken rib, and proceeded to slam it, causing Morris to wail. "ONE MINUTE! ONE MINUTE AND YOU JUST COULDN'T LET THE INEVITABLE HAPPEN!" Johnny knew that Morris was going to die regardless, and that it was a bad idea to stay, but he didn't care. He didn't even think about caring. He didn't even think about anything. He just wanted to cause pain, agonising pain for everyone and anyone he could get his hands on, and it was working. Morris was howling in anguish, begging for Johnny to stop. "YOU'VE RUINED ME! YOU… ARGH! EEURGH!" Johnny started to cough and retch and splutter, but still he kept on hitting Morris in the vain hope of just making his last moments as miserable as possible.

"Johnny…" Came a soft voice that trembled with some unknown emotion. Johnny turned, his fist outstretched, smacking Jun across the cheek. A droplet of blood escaped as she was flung away a few metres. Johnny spat at her.

"OH, YOU WANT SOME TOO, DO YOU?" He shouted, crawling over on his stomach. Jun looked to him, rage coiling her crown and burning in her eyes. The cut across the cheek healed, as did her bullet wound.

"You bastard!" She seethed. "Unknown hid you from me! Told me that Morris and Asuka killed you in cold blood! Now I see exactly what you are! And I can help you, but only if you get off him!" She couldn't finish the command, however, as Johnny's hands wrapped around her neck.

"ALWAYS THOSE WORDS FROM EVERY ONE OF YOUR WEAK PATHETIC KIND!" He screamed in her face. "ALWAYS 'I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU, I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU' LIKE MULING DONKEYS! IF YOU WERE HELPING ME YOU'D BE EITHER A KILLER OR DEAD! SO GO ON! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO HELP ME, JUN? WHAT NOW?"

"… nothing…" Came a wheeze from Morris. Johnny suddenly felt his hands wrap around his stomach. "… you're my responsibility…" Then, using up all his strength, he lifted Johnny off the floor, and staggered over the stream of white fire. Each step took five seconds and put Morris into tremendous amounts of pain, but stepped he did. His left forward, he felt like being sick from the pain. His right forward, he was about to faint. Left right left right laboriously staggering to his destination as if nothing else mattered other than getting Johnny into the white stream of fire. Johnny looked into the flames and began to scream.

"NO! NO NO NO NO!" He shouted in horror. He wiggled desperately to get out of Morris's grip. "LET ME GO! PLEASE! PLEASE! LET ME GO!"

"I knew you were a beggar…" Morris whispered, before falling into the fire.

For Johnny, it was hell on Earth.

Pain was a substance, not a feeling, and it clawed in through Johnny's nostrils and his mouth. He screamed as his insides burnt, and he pushed both his legs on the ground, forcing the weak Morris to fall back too, before collapsing in a faint. Morris sighed slightly. He felt no pain from the fire, despite the fact that he could feel it on his skin. He didn't burn. He wondered why for a moment, as he lay on his back looking to the black sky and the stars dotted like fish in the ocean, until he saw Asuka tiredly stumble over to him, pulling at his chest with her hands, unable to lift him, before simply dropping onto him, and smiling that smile that Morris had very much fell in love with; small in size, large in passion and feeling.

"Morris, it's over…" She murmured, before pulling him into a hug.

Morris didn't quite know what to feel. He was a lost sailor somewhere between the shores that were fatigue and relief, but the sea was choppy and unending terror clamped his heart. Tears ran down both his and Asuka's cheeks, conjoining as they pressed together to kiss and falling away into the loud and chaotic air, tired breaths and shouts for ambulances and police filling the arena. Morris seethed as the rib was pressed and crushed by Asuka's body, but he returned the hug and the kiss desperately. He really did feel as if it was over.

It is over. For you.

Morris sighed in exhaustion as Asuka pulled away, getting to her knees and pulled herself to her legs, their lips reluctant to part but desperate for air. He got up with difficulty as Asuka explained the state of everyone around him without him fully listening; Jun? Shaken, crying but completely unwounded, probably thanks to Unknown leaving her body and her powers giving a flux to heal herself… Xiaoyu? Not much better. No burns as can be seen, though unconscious. Jin? Same. Jinrei? Amazingly, the bullet wasn't a lethal shot. Johnny's eyes must've already been messing up as the blood vessels began to burst. Another centimetre to the left and Jinrei would be dead for sure. Asuka kept up this barrage of information as Morris simply staggered to his feet, only caring about if she was ok. It was her that Johnny was after anyway.

"Did I make it worth it?" Morris asked finally, half unconscious himself. Asuka raised an eyebrow.

"Make what worth what?" She asked. Morris decided it was best not to explain it. He didn't want to die while telling her the painful story of his revelation.

"Doesn't matter now." He held Asuka's hands. "You know I love you, right?" Asuka just laughed. Traumatic experiences such as this affect people differently, and Asuka felt giddy and cheerful, glad that there was no reason to fight anymore. The fire had cooled her and made the pain on her throat go away. She caught the attention of Morris's slow eyes with a mischievous wink.

"Morris Wellington not making some smug statement after a fight?" She asked. "Bears don't shit in the woods anymore! No 'Damn right baby' or maybe a 'Told you so' or simply grabbing my tits?" Morris just smiled.

"Don't need to say, you know exactly how fucking amazing I am..." He swayed slightly. "- not quite, feeling it any, way… too, tired… I need to, lie down for a… for a bit." He said, before keeling over backwards. Asuka just kept smiling, though it became less mischievous and more contemplative, observing him with loving eyes.

"That was a quick transition from war to peace, wasn't it?" She said to herself quietly.

"ARRRRRGH!"

"Then again…" Asuka became a lot angrier as she turned to the source of the scream. Johnny was somehow still writhing, still conscious. His right eye was spilling blood and drool was pouring out of his mouth through gritted teeth. He couldn't even gather the strength to stand up or even get to his knees, his weak leg dragging on the floor, but still he crawled laboriously on his stomach nearer and nearer, hoping to kill her. Before, he terrified Asuka, but now she simply saw a weak and hopeless animal, a frenzied bear in a cage; pitiable, in fact. Asuka walked over calmly as Johnny, on the floor in pain, looked to her with unbridled hatred and unhinged fury.

"YOU BITCH!" He shouted as she finally stopped somewhere close to his head. He pushed with his hands closer to her. "YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU! YOU'RE THE DAUGHTER OF A THOUSAND FATHERS, ALL BASTARD CHILDREN LIKE YOU, AND I WILL MURDER YOU!" Asuka frowned.

"You're on the floor." She explained him calmly, though she barely held the anger that frothed in her blood at the sight of him. "You've just been beaten badly by two teenagers and a drunkard whose over ten years younger than you. What can you possibly do to hurt me?" Johnny's hand whipped for her face, but she easily blocked it. "You've lost."

"…" Johnny's right eye closed firmly, wincing as more blood dripped away. "… AAAAH!" He suddenly dropped onto his back, beginning to cry as the horrible truth hit him, and his ego very abruptly shrivelled away and began to die. He was used to winning, and now he knew how weak he really was, he couldn't cope, bawling and choking on his own tears like a child. Two men came up behind him; Lei Wulong, a famous police officer, and another man of same profession. They grabbed him easily by the arms and began to drag him away. He breathed through his nose with haste and tension, though he put up no fight. He seemed to have resigned to his defeat. Asuka kept up a glare to match his.

"Persistent little bastard, isn't he, Morris?" She asked. No reply. She turned her head slowly. "Morris?"

She crawled quickly over to his spread eagled form.

"Morris! Stop kidding around!"

She suddenly felt tremendous dread. "… Morris?" Her hand, trembling, scanned his neck. Nothing.

"… no, Morris, seriously, not funny anymore..." She pushed her hand against his chest. Nothing.

"PLEASE!"

Tears began to drop down her face.

"WAKE UP!"

"WAKE UP!"

"NOT AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, YOU CAN'T DIE NOW!"

"PLEASE, I…"

"I LOVE YOU, YOU CAN'T JUST DIE NOW!"

"THERE WAS THE TOURNAMENT, THE WAREHOUSE, THE HOSPITAL, AND WE'VE JUST WON THE FINAL FIGHT!"

She pulled him up and hugged his body, hoping for him to start moving.

"WE'VE JUMPED EVERY HURDLE TOGETHER!"

"IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!"

"NOT LIKE THIS!"

"DON'T DIE!"

"DON'T DIE!"

"That's right..." Came a small, weak voice. "- beg... BEG!"

He couldn't have… Asuka thought as her head turned. Johnny was on the floor again, being searched for weapons. Laying a small distance from him, a completely empty syringe. Oh god no, he did… Johnny's lips curled with glee. His ego gave one last splutter, a dying engine on its last trip. He couldn't win, true, but he could at least have the last laugh.

"Heh…" Johnny shook weakly. "Ha… ha ha…!" Despite two people holding him down, he flipped onto his back and laughter began to ring louder and louder in the stadium, before the coughing and retching began all over again.