"See the pain, hear the cries, seeds of hate sowed by lies, darkest times hold your ground, as the tyrants scream it out "World War Now"..." - Kreator
If Nina was her mother's photocopy, except for Richard's blue eyes, her much-hated sister Anna was just the opposite. Her piercing blue eyes, like Heather's, were staring at her from head to toe, a gaze full of hundreds of different but all negative emotions: hatred, contempt, resentment... She didn't blink as she pointed her gun at her, her hand was so tight in the butt of the gun that it bleached her knuckles. She was unarmed, she had nothing on her, except for the little switchblade she used to rip the dummy open. If her sister had shot her point-blank, there was nothing she could do to defend herself, just pray her reflexes were faster than a bullet. However, Nina knew how to take time and what painful buttons to touch to distract her from her goals.
"You'll never learn not to meddle in things that don't concern you, huh, Anna? How many stupid dresses and purses must Kazuya have promised you to make you so determined?".
The brunette looked up, clearly annoyed by her sister's statement, but didn't move an inch.
"Ah! Kazuya... He's a powerful man, but he can't buy me...".
"Oh really? Seriously? Then why are you standing on my way again? Why don't you sit back and let the grown-ups solve the problems?"
The last sentence was a very well-weighted jab. It was a good one. Richard often dismissed Anna with the expression "they are adult things, stand aside", whenever she expressed a desire to join him and her sister during their training. There was no point in pointing out that Nina wasn't either, because she was punctually answered by "she is very mature and knows what to do". More mature. Better. Smarter. More athletic. More everything. No, she wouldn't give her the upper hand again this time around she he had her tricks up her sleeve.
"And you'd be the grown-up uh? The mature one? Very mature indeed quote dad's answers to destabilize me. But let me refresh your memory..." a sadistic grin dipped on her scarlet lips. " Didn't dad also say that family is everything and that nobody can be left behind? Because it seems to me that in this you don't excel particularly..."
This time it was Nina's turn to falter. How dare she insinuate something like that, she, who didn't know anything about what she had been through the last few months? It was obvious by now that she had been kept under observation probably from the moment she set foot in Japan, yet she had to deny it. If Anna had understood how much she really cared about her sons, she would have had too much blackmail and they would have risked too much.
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry I told you to go to hell, after you've been manipulating me for months on end while I've been suffering from amnesia, amnesia caused by you and YOUR friends after putting me in that damn freezer for almost 20 years! I'm so sorry I stopped you every time you tried to stop me, or even worse, kill me... Nothing personal, just to be clear, you've always been incapable of leaving people alone and not dying of envy..."
Anna's grin grew even wider.
"Nice try, big sister. But you know what I'm talking about..."
"You're wrong, I know perfectly well that your ego so disproportionate..."
"I know you didn't come here alone. I know where you hid them. And, what you don't know, but I do, I know they aren't there anymore..."
Nina felt the blood freeze in her veins. What the hell was she saying? What did it mean they weren't there anymore? The silence that followed on her part was all too eloquent.
"Did you really think you could keep Steve out of the picture? So strong, so brave so... Damn willing to sacrifice himself as a champion of justice and be a mama's boy... And how will poor Steve feel now, after his beloved mommy lied to him and ran away who knows where, leaving him alone with, oh my God, I never thought I would say this, but, his little brother? Gosh, I can't believe how hard have you hit your head to give birth to another child?"
"You... You're out of your damn mind..." she replied, looking away, unable to respond more decisively.
"Oh, stop the charade, sister. You really think you can lie to me? That puppet in your apartment may have tricked the Tekken Force that declared you dead, but not me. You know, I confess they were able to trick me at first, but in my heart, I knew you were still alive out there somewhere minding your own business, and really, I was okay with that. On the other hand with you finally away and out of the game I could finally live my life quietly... But you decided to crawl out of the hole you were hiding in, for what? To save that little boy you "protected" and who, from what I can see, even got you pregnant? Really Nina? What were you thinking? What do you think you're getting? Because, I swear to God, for you there will be no "happily ever after" for you" she growled, firing a shot right next to her sister's feet.
Nina jumped backwards, but fell because due to the half-destroyed asphalt. She was in trouble. Anna knew everything and for the first time in her life she wasn't sure she could get rid of her. She had never frightened her, she knew that she would never have the courage to end it, but this time something told her that the risk that could have gone differently was terribly concrete. There was something different about her sister: hatred, bitterness and resentment towards her had always been a constant, but this time there was something else. Anna was inexplicably wounded by her return, and it was as if she was fighting an internal battle against herself, but Nina couldn't understand the reason. Why did she purposely point the gun and shoot near her and not to her? What was stopping her?
"My life is not about you, Anna, not before, not now, nor ever! Why do you stand in my way when you know I'm going on a suicide mission? What chance can I have against Kazuya, huh, tell me? Do you really think I can stop him?"
"Because YOU'RE A BLOODY IDIOT, NINA!" she yelled, suddenly out of her mind. "BECAUSE A MOTHER SHOULD NEVER ABANDON HER SONS, FOR NOTHING IN THIS GODDAMN WORLD!"
How? Did she understand well?
"You... You... You could have... You should have stayed out of this. Instead you came back... You're so fucking selfish that you don't realize how much life has given you, so blind and proud, the great, cold and ruthless Nina Williams, who doesn't know what love is, but who has two children! And instead of protecting them, what do you do? You bring them into the middle of the war. For what, uh? Is it possible that you are so rotten inside that you ignore everything and everyone and only pursue your purposes?"
"ENOUGH NOW!" the blonde yelled, getting up.
A fierce look disfigured her face, as she advanced slowly with measured steps toward her sister, ignoring the fact that she was armed and uttering calm words, but full of poison.
"You know nothing, Anna. Yet you speak. You lecture me, you criticize me, you yell at me, you call me selfish, you don't know A SHIT about things. And you get in my way again. So be it! But never again allow yourself to fill your mouth with words about MY SONS."
The gaze they exchanged was filled with tension, unspoken phrases, irresolvable conflicts. But one thing was certain: that day they would put the word "end" to their personal war. Unexpectedly, without taking her eyes off, Anna threw the gun away in the rubble of a building and put herself in a fighting position. Nina did the same, without blinking.
"Let's settle this once and for all..." said the brunette.
"Yes... This time for real..."
He was there, waiting for him with folded arms and a sneering grin on his face. The grin and the look of those who knew they had the victory in hand. He had been waiting for this moment for years, his body trembled with impatience to put its hands back on what was rightfully his. Then he would take the rest of the world and make it his own, throwing it into terror and destruction. The big purple bat wings enveloped his mighty body, while a grin of challenge and mockery disfigured his monstrous face, while he watched from above his son, finally out of the closet. Jin still had human features, the tattoo on his arm had almost completely disappeared, which meant that the Devil's Gene was still dormant in him. Despite this, his expression was different, he no longer seemed as broken as the last time he saw him. Surely he had something in mind, but Kazuya didn't worry about it: it would have been extremely simple.
"Foolish of you to present yourself like this. Without a shred of strength, without any residual power."
Jin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in front of that effrontery.
"I don't need dark, evil powers to take you out!" he replied.
Kazuya burst into a chuckle that made the blood freeze.
"And how are you going to do that, huh?" he mocked. " You're weak, stupid, pathetic... I'll tear you to pieces in less than a minute."
The boy said nothing. He couldn't respond, only face the consequences of his actions, accept his fate and face it head-on. He had unleashed that war primarily for the sole purpose of challenging Azazel, to destroy the origin of their curse, but apparently it wasn't enough. However he would have fought anyway, he was tired of hiding in the hope that some miracle would happen, he wasn't a coward. If his end was imminent, then he wouldn't have shirked his duty to try to stop his father. Facing him with his eyes, aware that he was facing a burning defeat, he put himself in an attacking position. Kazuya laughed again, landing in front of him a few meters away.
"All right, come on.."
"Dear Steve: There are no words to describe my gratitude to you, nor the huge affection I never thought I would feel for you. You are a strong boy with a wonderful soul and you will be a perfect big brother for my little Keiichi. Even though you're the son and I'm the mother, you taught me so many things in so little time, things I never imagined I'd learn... I hope I've made you proud... And I'm so, so proud of the man you've become. Please forgive me, but I can't let anything bad happen to you, I'll do everything I can to protect you. Goodbye my sons, I love you and I always will. With love, Nina"
The words of that note, written with that thin and neat handwriting continued to roar in his head, while driving a stolen car at a crazy speed, without even knowing if the direction taken was right. He had a dark omen and prayed with all his heart to remember the streets in that gigantic labyrinth that was the city of Tokyo, especially when the signs were black with soot and the landmarks razed to the ground. Why did his mother put him out of gamaes like that? They both lied to each other for good, and yet he was still angry. Because even he would never let Nina risk her life, he couldn't lose her, not without fighting. She was a warrior, and as her son, so was he. Whatever unfortunate fate awaited them, they would stay together. Together until the end...