G-Corp Headquarters: Millenium Tower Penthouse
Two individuals stood in a room devoid of light save for the city streets, their outfits reflecting distinct personalities. Bruce Irvin wore a pale green shirt, pants, bulletproof vest, combat boots, and knee pads. Beside him was Anna Williams, clad in her signature red Chinese dress that clung to her ageless figure. Each viewed the surveillance feed with piqued interest as Raven began texting an unknown contact on his phone - only the letter V signifying any semblance of a name or codename.
"Oh, this is getting good," Anna remarked mischievously. "An entanglement between two birds."
Bruce rolled his eyes. "Anna..."
"Think about it. Each goes on a mission before one thing leads to another. Suddenly, I'm in his bed. After all, he'll be much easier to kill with a broken heart."
"Considering how their relationship would look beyond dating, I highly doubt that chick wouldn't want a good reason to wipe that look off your face, Anna. Your plan has disaster written all over it."
The brunette sighed and gave her ally a blatant look of annoyance. "Ugh, Bruce. Live a little. Nothing is more exhilarating than meddling with a relationship."
Bruce shook his head. "A better idea would be to wait for their mystery friend to show and ambush them with several JACKs and soldiers."
"No..."
That singular word halted all conversation.
Both assassin and mercenary stopped their bickering and turned to the double-door entry as their boss barged in. G-Corporation's ruthless CEO, Kazuya Mishima, strode inside his office with a familiar sneer, his dim glowing eye noticeable amid the shadows. His dark trenchcoat flowed with each step as he passed his two associates and sat at the long desk. Kazuya swiveled in place to face Tokyo's cityscape as a scenic backdrop.
"Welcome back, boss," Anna greeted first.
"Spare me the pretenses. We will not conduct a move until this unknown is revealed. Not a moment sooner," Kazuya spoke ominously, his eyebrows sinking into a thoughtful glare in the mirror's reflection for Bruce and Anna to see. "We wait."
"Why? We have the perfect opportunity to-"
"Don't test my patience, Williams. This is nothing more than a mere assessment."
Anna huffed. "Fine."
Mishima Zaibatsu Headquarters: Main Observation Room
Not far from G-Corp's Millenium Tower stood its rival in the Mishima Zaibatsu, encased in countless glass towers with state-of-the-art technology in different facets. They drew most of the world's ire due to Jin Kazama starting the current war engulfing the globe and have retained its stained reputation even with Heihachi back at the helm. The aforementioned Zaibatsu leader and his associate were inside the main observation room as they watched the scene unfold.
Nina placed a hand on her hip before facing Heihachi. "Crash their small rendezvous?"
The old man grinned. "The timing is perfect, dear Nina."
She pulled back the slide of her Fort 12 pistol until a cli-click was heard. "I'll be sure to give them my deepest threats."
"No."
She paused.
"Don't set foot near the attack. You are only free to observe," Heihachi continued. "Never put all your cards on the table despite our obvious advantage. Wait and see what this third person is capable of, as it's imperative to keep more than capable company should something go awry. They know well by now that a normal citizen is a soul on borrowed time."
Nina crossed her arms. "Understood. I'll prepare a squadron to board the stealth carrier."
He nodded as she left while staring at the camera footage, his voice a low mutter. "Make your move, Kazuya..."
New Moon Bar: Kobe, Japan
"You'll think he'll show before the bar closes this time?" Master Raven questioned.
Raven chuckled. "It's been a few years since we last saw him. I highly doubt Paris is good enough to miss out on his two best agents."
"In the city of love, wine, and women? I highly doubt he won't at least cut it close."
"Cut him some slack. Silver hair and a suit are very eye-catching."
"Black suits and dark ties command the room, Raven."
His eyes rolled. "You sure about that? Could be your hair."
"Maybe, but Victor is flashy. Even for a man of his caliber."
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
A small but noticeable 'ahem' sounded behind them, but Raven and Master Raven already knew who it was from the sound of their shoes. Victor stood tall and proud as always - his armored briefcase in one hand.
"You're not wrong, Tatyana."
She smirked with a knowing expression. "Glad you finally admitted it."
The older man laughed. "Glad to see you both again. Looking better off since the last time we met."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "It's only been a few years."
"A few too long," Victor added. "Shall we?"
The three laughed, sitting at the bar together as they recounted old memories. Tatyana kept it simple with a glass of whiskey, Victor had a glass of wine, and Raven settled with beer.
"I still don't get it," Raven began, "I knew you two sparred a lot even after lights out. But I still find it hard to believe you got that chin scar of yours from Victor."
The Frenchman held his hands up in mock surrender. "I swear that was completely by accident."
Raven crossed his arms. "I still don't believe it."
"Look, it was my idea. I didn't even notice I was bleeding until three rounds later," Tatyana explained. "Adrenaline kicked in, and we were having too much fun."
"More like kissing up."
Victor rolled his eyes. "Come on, Raven. It's all good fun."
"Nope. We all know you like to spar when it comes to favorites. I know my place."
"I don't have favorites. I'll injure you both the same in a spar any day."
"Sounds like the wine is starting to talk there, Vic."
Several blocks away:
Unbeknown to the group, Nina pressed a finger to the communication device in her right ear. "Squadron Seven, prepare for deployment."
"Understood."
The assassin went back to looking through the scope of her high-powered sniper rifle. The crossed lines of her scope landed on Victor's wine glass. "Time to send a message."
She pulled the trigger.
Pew!
Crash!
Victor jumped back as the glass exploded in his hand.
Click!
"Turn around slowly and put your hands in the air! Now!
The bar crowd went deathly quiet.
Master Raven huffed at the muzzle pressed against the side of her head. She stood from her seat and did as directed, her hands upward before casting Raven a signal through eye contact. They skimmed over the situation before them - heavily armed Tekken Force personnel aiming their automatic firearms at the trio. Raven's jaw clenched as his high-tech shades counted how many soldiers were accounted for.
42 TEKKEN FORCE SOLDIERS
10 TEKKEN FORCE ASSASSINS
Victor picked up his briefcase and placed it on the table.
Thud.
"You too, old man!" one soldier demanded.
Victor only smirked and unclasped the latches on each end of the briefcase before opening it where his sword and sheath were stored. He turned in his seat and stood, not needing to glance at his two best agents to read their thoughts.
"What are you waiting for!?" Nina growled. "Eliminate them!"
Before anyone blinked, Victor's hand found his gun.
Pow!
A quick roll forward propelled Victor forward as bullets rang out into the bar, his two subordinates splitting in different directions. He slid before aiming at one soldier's head.
Pow!
He pulled off a one-handed backspring the next instant before firing another shot at the soldier behind Master Raven.
Pow!
Slipping his gun back into its holster and pulling out his dual karambit knives, Victor gripped each with a challenging grin.
"Hah!"
He landed a kick on a soldier before spinning away from the fist of an assassin. Victor weaved back from a kick, his foot sliding around to duck under a fist before countering with a roundhouse that caved in the soldier's nose. Master Raven swiftly slit a soldier's throat.
Smack!
Another soldier was sent flying just as he sliced the throats of two others.
Pow!
Victor's backflipped towards a soldier, his toe catching his chin and sending him airborne. Master Raven gripped the hilt of Victor's blade, her motion cleaving the soldier in half.
Shing!
Poof!
Once gravity pulled her back down, Master Raven pulled off a no-hands cartwheel to narrowly dodge a bullet, her brown eyes holding a new deadly glow - the promise of blood. She blocked a punch with the blade. She was stepping forward, landing the hilt on a soldier's skull, sliding under Victor's high kick that allowed Master Raven to slash a soldier behind him.
Thud.
Shing!
"Uh!"
Master Raven threw herself back just as an RPG missile shot off from the crowd of soldiers. She watched it sail over her while suspended in the air, rolling around to swipe a soldier's leg before glancing at her boyfriend.
"Raven!"
She tossed Victor's blade in his direction. In a fluid motion, Raven phased through a soldier and landed a 'Crusader' in his chest while catching the blade before sprinting to the other side of the bar.
Boom!
Glass shards and bullets flew, the explosion propelling Raven forward with narrowed eyes narrowed behind his shades. The only sounds were the distant hum of neon signs and the soft shuffle of footsteps. Suddenly, a group of soldiers converged on his position. With swift but silent movements, Raven darted forward in a blur of black to close the gap between him and the first soldier. His movements were a dance of precision and grace, a deadly waltz that left no room for error. The soldier attempted a clumsy swing, but Raven effortlessly evaded with a fluid sidestep that left the enemy off balance.
Clashing steel echoed as Raven unsheathed Victor's gleaming blade that cut through the darkness. He evaded a series of strikes with calculated finesse, each movement a testament to his honed skill. Though trained, the soldiers struggled to keep up with Raven's lightning-quick attacks. His ninjutsu techniques were on full display - swift teleportation allowed him to appear behind an unsuspecting soldier before delivering a powerful kick that sent him sprawling. Raven used minimal effort despite their numerical advantage, as his adversaries found out after being outmatched by his flawless skill and fluidity, matched only by his lethal precision. He dispatched the last Tekken Force soldier with a final, sweeping strike, incapacitating their scores.
The trio stood back to back amid the smoke, bodies, and blood. Victor loosened his grip on his karambit knives, Master Raven sheathed her superior's blade, and Raven stood ready.
"Was grabbing my weapon necessary?" Victor joked.
Master Raven grinned. "I didn't think we'd be ambushed."
"At least you two have a weapon," Raven grumbled.
Victor laughed. "Alright, let's finish this off."
Master Raven and Raven executed the nine Kuji-In hands signs in unison.
"Uh!"
"Seya!"
Clones shot forward as Master Raven hooked her arm around Victor's as he ducked a soldier's kick. The master kunoichi swung around his body several times. Raven phased through each to dodge a soldier's downward fist.
"Uh!"
Master Raven grunted, bouncing off Victor's back and landing a high kick to a soldier's head. She flipped over Victor as he went down to the floor, swiping a soldier's feet from under him. Raven's clone jumped in, pushing another soldier forward. Master Raven spun and sliced the soldier's before pushing the tip into another's eye and tossing the blade in Raven's direction again. Victor ducked it and aimed at the three that bolted for the kunoichi.
Pow!
Pow!
Pow!
Victor's light eyes caught sight of another assassin running in his direction. He beckoned him to come closer and passed Master Raven one of his karambit blades. Raven ran forward, blade in hand.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Just as the assassin aimed his fist for Victor, he threw himself back into a kip-up. The world seemed to slow down as Master Raven and Raven sliced through his neck in a clean swipe in both directions.
"Hah!"
Landing on his feet, Victor swiped the short sword from the assassin's body. He blocked two punches, connected with two quick jabs to a soldier's chin, and finished with an uppercut that sent several through the window.
Crash!
His quick eyes caught the sight of a heavily armed soldier with a minigun.
"Ahead!" Victor yelled.
Master Raven followed his lead and ran after him. Raven weaved through three men, his heel connecting to the back of another soldier's head. Twisting his body, he threw the sword in the kunoichi's direction.
Clap!
She ran for the heavily armed soldier. Victor rolled back as she flew over him, curling into a ball and aiming her feet at him at the last minute.
Thud!
He blocked with his minigun.
Thud!
Bouncing from it, she threw the blade like a spear.
Squelch!
The katana shot through his head. Victor sprinted forward, Raven and Master Raven following closely behind. They jumped over his blade as he sliced through seven soldiers in one swipe. Raven picked up the minigun.
"Retreat!" A soldier that looked like the leader commanded.
Bullets flew as all but five Tekken Force soldiers were left alive. Victor narrowed his eyes, throwing the short sword at one soldier running back for a nearby armored Hummer.
Shing!
His dead body lay in front of what used to be the bar's front door - now destroyed from the rain of bullets.
Raven dropped the emptied minigun. "I hate guns."
Master Raven chuckled, passing Victor back his sword's sheath.
Raven gave the older man back his blade. "Almost like old times, Vic."
"Almost," Victory agreed, "Nice to know you two can handle yourselves."
The woman raised an eyebrow, a blinking device on a dead soldier catching her eye. Walking over, she knelt beside it and disconnected the communication device from his helmet to place it in her ear.
"Consider yourselves lucky."
Master Raven knew that voice too well. "Nina Williams. Babysitting Heihachi's brainless army again."
"This was only a warning."
The kunoichi easily located Nina as she hid in a cherry blossom tree - a perfect spot for an unsuspecting assassination.
"A disappointing one at that."
"It won't be next time."
"If you bother to show yourself, coward."
"Don't get cocky."
"Don't have to be. Besides, I've seen better hiding spots."
Before listening to Nina's angry retort, Master Raven crushed the device in her hand.
Victor and Raven joined the kunoichi outside, the older man sighing. "And now another bar is ruined. It will be such a hassle to explain this to the local police."
"We don't have time. They knew our location, so we can't stay here," Raven interjected.
"Which means they've been watching us," Master Raven concluded. "We need to leave."
"Lead the way, Tatyana," Victor remarked.
45 minutes later:
Heihachi growled, "How hard is it to kill two ninjas!? Idiots! All of you!"
His fist landed at one of the four Tekken Force soldiers standing at attention. The body flew toward the nearest wall, and the metal dented where its body landed before crashing to the floor. A quick check saw the soldier had died upon impact... from Heihachi's punch.
He then angrily pointed at Victor's visual. "And who the hell is he!?"
"Goes by the name Victor Chevalier," Nina began from her tablet. "The information on him is public - a French soldier who left the Navy and now works for the UN. Codename: Phantom Raven. It seems he's closer to our little ninjas than we thought."
Heihach's glare was feared worldwide as it honed in on the footage of the trio disappearing from their hidden camera's view and immersing into the crowd of people and Japanese police.
"Huh, old man can fight," Bruce remarked. "You would've gotten your ass handed to you if you jumped in Anna."
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Shut it, Bruce. What's our move, boss?"
Kazuya rubbed a hand over his chin. "Hmmm."
His red eye dimmed while staring at the screens, formulating a plan after this one fell apart before anyone could comprehend. He would need something more intricate due to the arrival of this newcomer, who appeared deadlier than his two understudies. And there was little doubt Heihachi would plot another attack in conjunction with theirs.
Once again, a sinister smirk appeared on Kazuya's face. "All in due time."