Chapter 14: Marking Plans
The heroes have gone separate ways. They are now aware of Taven's existence as well as the visions his father shared with him. And that Shao Kahn and Daegon have both returned from the dead and have teamed up, much to their shock. For now, they must make separate plans of their own. Takeda and Jacqui, being aware that Darrius and Dariou are from Orderrealm, plan to capture them to keep them from intervening with King Jerrod attempting to negotiate with them. They, alongside Vera and Satoshi, make plans to invade their hideout. This is one plan they cannot afford to fail once.
"So these two new guys aren't really Black Dragon. That's actually surprising. I don't even feel a trench of pity on them being spied on." Jacqui stated.
"Same here. But these guys can still be dangerous. Vera and Satoshi had some trouble fighting them on their own. They're better trained and better prepared. We need as many fighters as we can get if we're gonna get those guys." Takeda said.
"If we can capture them, hopefully that will stop anyone from trying to get Orderrealm's Kamidogu. I hope Jerrod knows what he is doing. Last thing we would want is for them to ally with Shao Kahn and the Red Dragon." Jacqui said.
"Like Sindel said, they aren't too keen with Edenia because of their opinions on laws and politicians. Hopefully we will have bigger chances if Jerrod mentions that they have Earthrealm and Outworld as its ally." Takeda assures his wife.
"Say. I wonder where are Vera and Satoshi anyway? We're gonna need their help taking them and taking them alive." Jacqui asked.
Meanwhile, Vera and Satoshi are training elsewhere, somewhere outside the village and in the woods. Satoshi seems to be gaining the upper hand against Vera, but she manages to knock him down with a kick to the forehead and suddenly disappears within the trees. Satoshi recovers quickly and sees that she is nowhere to be found. The young one closes his eyes and listens for the wind and the trees. Vera quietly steps out of the leaves slowly and looks down from above, ready to strike. Satoshi opens his eyes and grabs Vera by her wrists and throws her to the ground, disarming her of her staff. He pins her to the ground with his nunchuck at her throat. Vera looks at him out of surprise.
"Whoa! Holy shit! You startled me!" Vera said as her eyes widened with a smile on her face.
"How was that? Did I do good this time, I hope?" Satoshi asked.
"Good? That was more than good. You managed to trade blows with me for so long and used your instincts. That is what I call amazing." Vera smiles.
"Please. You embarrass me." Satoshi said, blushing.
"Oh, I'm only just getting started. Besides, it's fun to train with you. Knew you'd get stronger sooner or later. Hanzo Hasashi taught you well. Soon, you'll be like him." Vera compliments him while also blushing.
"Thanks. And you'll be like your parents one day. Glad you became chujin. You're still the same since we first met." Satoshi said.
"You on the other hand have changed. You've grown to being more braver in your abilities to stand and fight. But you're still a growing person." Vera joked, making Satoshi chuckle quietly. They look into each other's eyes as they stare at each other. They both can't help but blush at each other whenever they get close to each other. As they look closer to each other, Takeda and Jacqui watch from afar, both smiling at the two young ones.
"They remind you of anything, sweetheart?" Takeda asked while smiling at her.
"Of me and you from both Eras? Hell yes. Like when we decided to do a poolside with drinks instead of a walk after we kicked ass." Jacqui reminds him.
"And the whole marriage and Shirai-Cross Bonding adventure and kicking more Red Dragon ass? That is definitely a hell yes." Takeda said, making his wife giggle before she suddenly pulls him in closer to her.
"And that is why it rolls in the home. Takahashi and Briggs homes." Jacqui caresses his face and leans in and kisses him. Takeda smiles as he kisses back. "I love you, Takeda. I always will." Jacqui whispered.
"I love you too, Jacqui." Takeda smiles and they hug. After a tender moment, they pull away and they go to Satoshi and Vera, feeling glad about how far they have gotten in their training and how close they are to each other. Satoshi and Vera see this and pull away from each other out of embarrassment, which only makes the masters smile.
"Master and Mistress Takahashi? How can we help you both on this day?" Satoshi asked.
"We're gonna need your help. With a very important mission, in hopes that we can save Earthrealm." Takeda answers him. Satoshi and Vera look at each other out of confusion. They think it may have something to do with the Kamidogu situation.
"Does this have anything to do with the Kamidogu problem we are currently facing?" Satoshi asked.
"Sort of. But there is something else involved. Remember when you two fought those two assholes when we attacked the Black Dragon? Well we got details on them both." Jacqui said as they returned to their home to discover what they are currently piecing together. "Those two men you faced are known as Darriou and Darrius. They're both Seidans from Orderrealm."
"Seidans? Like the ones that Fujin and the Monks mentioned? If they are from Orderrealm, why are they with the Black Dragon out of all people?" Vera asked.
"We still don't know why the Black Dragon. They are the lowest kinds of scum that has ever existed in Earthrealm. Perhaps they are trying to maintain a low profile to make it less obvious." Hanzo said, listening to them.
"But the mystery remains is why would they want to destroy their own home of Orderrealm to rebuild it to how they like it. It does not make sense." Takeda said.
"Any soul can be corrupted, no matter the realm. Some can be cleansed, but others can be too far gone and irredeemable. Such as Black Dragon, Red Dragon and Shao Kahn." Hanzo corrects him.
"Because if they went with the Red Dragon instead, that would have given the clan away. It makes sense that both of the bad clans wanted us to be aware of their return. Courtesy of their own egos." Takeda said.
"Yes. And now they forged an alliance with Shao Kahn. I feel that it will not last forever." Hanzo said.
"But do we know where those two douchebags have gone? Surely we may have a plan." Vera said. "Gotta say it was a pretty dumb move on their part to split up."
"True. But they couldn't have traveled alone. They gotta have some back up with them." Satoshi said.
"They have plenty of men to back them up. Alex told me. But I have a feeling that these are also Seidans. The two brothers must have persuaded at least some of them to join their side to liberate Orderrealm. That shouldn't be surprising." Takeda said. "It will be more than a riot."
"It could even spread across Earthrealm, Outworld and Edenia for all we know. They could end up making their move within a few hours or so or less." Vera points out.
"You make a good point, young Vera. Which is why Darriou and Darrius must not be allowed to escape. We need all the information we need. Their motives, reasons for allying with the enemies we have now, and what they will do beyond that." Hanzo said.
"Which is why I came up with a plan. Thankfully, Alex sent me a picture of their hideout, and what it looks like on the inside. We can use that to our advantage." Takeda said.
"Good. So what do you suggest we do, sweetheart?" Jacqui asks her husband.
"Given what we learned about Seidans, they live almost as long as Edenians. No doubt that they are better trained and more prepared. Capturing them both is a top priority. Their hideout is a big house turned into a place for training, but a lot of men. But we have plenty of warriors of our own. From what Alex gathered from the data, there are several watchpoints. We need to take them out before we can proceed." Takeda tells everyone.
"Then that's when we can get the others' attention. To draw them away to head inside where Darrius and Dairou are. They won't be easy to take down. They're tough as hell and can take more than several hits." Satoshi reminds them.
"Exactly. Which is why we will be attacking them together. No one separates. Once we capture them, me and Vera can use our telepathy on them to find out more, but only if we have to." Takeda said.
"I can assemble my team. We need all that we can get. It's best to warn them about Darrius and Dairou and that we cannot let either one escape. It's the only way to keep them from interfering with King Jerrod." Vera said.
"But we don't know if he will even be successful with his negotiations. Hopefully we will be lucky enough." Jacqui said.
"From my experience, luck does not exist. But you do have the right to feel concerned. I have studied these two realms alongside Liang. But for now, we must focus on one thing at a time. And that is capturing the brothers." Hanzo tells Jacqui.
"Then that settles it then." Takeda said. "Vera. As chujin, go round up your teams. You too, Satoshi. We are preparing to leave soon. Don't forget. We need them alive." He reminds them and bends their heads before them as they leave.
"I hope this plan of yours will work, Takeda." Jacqui said, feeling worried.
"It will. We are always one step ahead of them. You can say the same for everyone else. We can do this. This time, Vera and Satoshi won't be alone. Have faith in them." Takeda tells his wife.
"I do have faith in them. Satoshi is still young and can be a bit reckless. Same with Vera. Not to mention that he can be self-doubtful. We trained him not to do so." Jacqui said. She has every right to be concerned about the two. Not only are they noticing that Satoshi is falling in love with her own daughter, she is afraid of something else. Takeda can sense it, and didn't even have to read her mind.
"I understand. You're afraid. I remember. About losing family. Don't forget we all shared the same pain. Hasashi. Cassie and Alex. Jin. Everyone. But feeling afraid will only make it worse. I let go of the pain. You must do the same, otherwise we're dead." Takeda advised.
Jacqui couldn't help but feel that he is right, given that it took him a long time to let go of his mother's death. Same with Jacqui when her mother passed away in an accident. She grabs his hand and holds it firmly. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired of history repeating itself over and over."
"I know. But if something does happen to them or anyone else we know and love, they better be prepared to answer to us, no matter what or how they do." Takeda said as he squeezes her hand to comfort her. Jacqui feels better by showing a smirk and pecking a kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks. I guess it's time to kick ass and find answers, huh?" Jacqui asked, looking at him.
"Always." Takeda smirked back as they head out. They head down to the village to meet with Vera and Satoshi, who have both rounded up their teams to fight Darrius and Dairou's men. They are prepared to meet these mysterious people and find out more about them and what brings them to Earthrealm.
On the outskirts of the region that belongs to the Shirai Ryu, Darrius and Dairou hide out in what seems to be a big house. It looks like it used to belong to a family and it's two stories high. Now it's been turned into a training facility. It does not even look fortified at best. But it also looks like they do not plan on doing so, as they plan on leaving for Orderrealm. Darrius and Dairou or no more than ready to take them on, whatever their motives are. Darrius and Dairou contact their true master Daegon.
"Everything is proceeding as I have planned. My brother is now awake and is recovering from his slumber. And we have the Kamidogu dagger of the Netherrealm." Daegon tells them.
"My lord. Taven is at his most vulnerable. Perhaps it may be best to kill him while you have your chance and take Edenia's dagger as well." Dairou suggested.
"Tempting. But no. I want him at his full strength by the time our plan is nearing its completion. Besides, my spy has told me about my father's visions. That me and him will meet each other face to face in Edenia. It will only be a matter of time." Daegon said.
"We shall leave for Orderrealm soon just as you asked. The sooner the better. That way they will pay for what they have done to me. To my family." Dairou swears to it. He seems more determined and more angry than he did before.
"Soon, my friend. But you must hurry. I have heard word that King Jerrod of Edenia will be making his way to the realm to try to form a truce with them. He cannot be allowed to reach them. If he must die, then so beat it." Daegon ordered both of them.
"By the order of darkness and death and the might of our lord, we will not fail you." Darrius and Dairou both said at the same time. Daegon briefly smirks before he signs out, leaving the two brothers alone.
"It is almost time, brother. Time to exact our vengeance on the council and their pathetic leader Hotaru. He will watch as we march through his doors and show what justice is with our own men, Red Dragon and Shao Kahn at our side." Dariou said.
"Indeed. Hotaru claims us to be traitors to our own living cause. But I promise you, Darrius. That you will get your chance at the fatal blow. Then we will bring Orderrealm to its knees. With shared command, law will be rewritten to our liking." Darrius said with a hand on his shoulder. They both evilly smirk at each other.
The Shirai Ryu have forged their plan. Now it's their turn to fight and capture these two new enemies they came across before. Their plan is to capture, not kill. Takeda and Jacqui can only hope that their plan succeeds, otherwise, Jerrod's plan will also fail and he could possibly die as a result. With Vera and Satoshi at their side, this only makes things slightly easy for them.
Luckily for them, they know exactly where they are hiding, thanks to Alex. Just as Takeda pointed out, they know what to do to pull the plan off just right. They are near the Outskirts of the hideout and out of sight from anyone. "We're here. Just how I drew it out." Takeda whispered.
"We got four corners, eight watchers, two at each corner. Gotta take them out first." Jacqui reminds him.
Takeda nods and then turns to Vera and Satoshi and they nod back, knowing what they have to do. Vera and Satoshi then turn to their respective teams and give them hand signals, like sign language. The teams respond with hand signals and head to the farther corners of the hideout while remaining in the trees and bushes. Some of them jump from tree to tree swiftly and not one Seidan noticed. Satoshi approaches the closest ones to him and grabs them with the kusarigama chain and pulls in him and thrusts the blade through one's heart and another in the forehead, killing him, only making a little blood spill. Vera then sneaks up on another, uses her escrima sticks and tases them, covers one's mouth and quickly snaps his neck and quickly drags him away and stabs the other in the back of the head. At the northwest corner, two members stab one guard in the knee and then through the stomach. Another clan member grabs the other guard by the mouth and slashes his stomach open, making plenty of blood and some innards. As for the northeast corner, one ninja quickly throws a shuriken through one guard's eyes, killing the guard and uses a small wrist blade and slits another's throat open, killing the last guard.
With all the guards cleared out, it was time for the Shirai Ryu to make their move. Vera and Satoshi return to Takeda and Jacqui as they await for the former's orders. Takeda draws his sword and points it towards the hideout, yelling to them that it's time to attack. Takeda, Jacqui, Vera and Satoshi were the first to charge out of the hill and start running down with dozens of Shirai Ryu members following closely behind them. The Seidans notice this and start attacking them. Though they are trained in hand to hand fighting and weaponry, they manage to put up a very good fight. Despite this, many Seidans are starting to get cut down and killed by the clans. Takeda uses his telepathy to freeze three people in place and swings his sword at their throats, killing them as their heads fall off. Jacqui jumps on one of them, wraps her legs around his neck, throws him down and shoots him dead in the head. Jacqui then turns to another fighter, kicks her in the chin and top of the head, sending her down before Jacqui stomps her in the head with her sharp heel, killing her. Jacqui then parries attacks from another, brings out a blade from her gauntlets, stabs the fighter in the stomach, heart and left eye, killing him as blood comes out of his mouth. Vera blocks sword and tonfa swings with her escrima sticks and thrusts it through one's throat and turning to another, jumps towards the female fighter, throws her on her back and snaps her neck. Satoshi knocks several out with his kusarigama and swings the blade part of the weapon at another's heart, killing him as Satoshi pulls his weapon back.
"All clan members! Buy us time! If anyone is alive we take them prisoner! Do not kill! Is that understood?!" Takeda tells everyone.
"Yes, grandmaster!" All the clan members shouted at once as they continued fighting. Takeda, his family as well as Satoshi head inside the building as they fight their way through more Seidan warriors. As they have just about reached the top, they come across none other than Darrius and Dairou. The two get into a fighting stance.
"Shirai Ryu scum. Figured it was only a matter of time before you reach us. We only hoping that you would show up too late." Darrius said.
"We know about your plan to liberate Orderrealm, Darrius. Why would you want to betray your own home? Where all of your people live?" Takeda asked.
"Betray them? They were the ones who betrayed us! They have no honor! They will die! And you die as they will!" Dairou angrily yells.
"So lost you are. Both of you. And I thought Shao Kahn and Daegon were the ones with severe anger issues. But you guys are just one of the worst." Jacqui roasts them. "Me and Vera will take the guy with the patch and beard." She said as she and her daughter separate from them to fight Darrius. Takeda and Satoshi fight Dairou.
"I guess this leaves us with the one with the crazy forehead tattoo." Satoshi said.
"You have no clue on what I have been through because of them, boy. They disgraced my honor, couldn't keep their word, and now they show their hypocrisy." Dairou stated.
"Whatever it is that you're planning, it won't work. We cannot allow you to interrupt King Jerrod." Takeda said.
"He too shall know the painful lesson of law and order. And so shall you, grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu." Dairou said before he fights them 2 on 1.
Dairou makes the first move by throwing a right punch and backhand strike, which Takeda and Satoshi avoid. Takeda parries the last attack and responds by punching his chest, chops his left shoulder and backhand strikes him in the face. He then sends a strong chop strike to the chest, then elbow strikes his jaw followed by an uppercut, sending him to Satoshi. Satoshi draws him in with his chain and double kicks him in the forehead and knees him in the left rib cage. Dairou caresses his injury, but is met with a front flip kick to the head, partly cracking his skull and Satoshi back kicks him on the left side of the face twice and then swing kicks him in the spine, sending him backwards. Dairou gets back up, but Takeda throws him to Satoshi who punches him in the neck, making him drop some blood and kneed in the stomach.
Dairou growls out of annoyance. He was not going to go down that easily. He grabs Satoshi's hand when he was going to chop him in the back, so Dairou palm strikes him in the chin followed by a punch to the left side of his face and round house kicks Satoshi in the chest, sending him backwards. Takeda runs towards him, but Dairou falls backwards, making the ground shake so hard, Takeda nearly trips, allowing Dairou to throw a series of two punches to the face, an uppercut to the chest, two kicks to the face and another kick to the chest, partly cracking Takeda's chest and sending him backwards. Satoshi grabs Dairou's wrist with his sickle and pulls him in for a kick to the right rib cage, cracking it, but Dairou responds by drawing his sword and swings at Satoshi. They switch between offense and defense as Satoshi swings the blade. He grabs the sword with his sickle, but Dairou smirks and pulls Satoshi in and knees him in the stomach. Before Dairou could do anything further, Takeda suddenly grabs his leg with his chain whip, allowing Satoshi to swing at him five times with his sickle part of the weapon, cracking his skull more, blood flying out of his mouth as Dairou falls onto his back and is knocked out cold.
"You mean the painful lesson that you just learned the hard way?" Satoshi mocks him as he turns to his grandmaster.
"Nice work, Satoshi. Are you hurt?" Takeda asked, not trying to sound too worried. Satoshi nods as he looks over to see Jacqui and Vera fighting Darrius. Satoshi is keeping his fingers crossed, hoping that Vera will come out alright.
"You should not have come here, Takahashi. The more you get within our sight, the more you upset the great Daegon. There will be no stopping him this time." Darrius said.
"Please. Me and Takeda killed his son. Pretty sure we can take him on too." Jacqui said.
"Daegon will not be pleased about you interrupting our progress." Darrius said as they continue fighting.
Jacqui punches Darrius in the stomach, left rib cage, throat and kicks him in the left knee. She then jumps behind him, elbows the back of the head, slams her gauntlets on his head and shoots energy at his lower spine, causing him pain as he is then met with an uppercut to the back by Jacqui. Vera comes in and swings her staff at his stomach followed by a sidekick to the stomach. Vera then punches him across the fact before she does a backflip kick to the left arm and shoulder, nearly breaking it in the process, and grabbing his head and throwing him down to the ground, but Vera picks him up with her staff and swings at his right knee, nearly breaking it and slamming the endpoint of it on his forehead and swinging it down on the top of the forehead, defeating Darrius.
"That sounds more like a problem for you, bitch." Vera points out. She turns and smirks at Satoshi for helping beat Dairou before she turns back to her mother.
"You okay there? Those were some nice moves that you pulled right there, Vera." Jacqui smiles at her daughter, pinching her cheek.
"Mom, you're embarrassing me." Vera said, hiding her blush. "And thanks. I can say the same for you."
"We got what we came for. Let's get them and anyone else out of here before someone else shows up." Takeda reminds everyone. Takeda and Jacqui order the clan members to tie up Darrius and Dairou up and take their weapons away so they don't try to escape before being blindfolded. Though they have succeeded in capturing their targets, they have lost many fine members of the Shirai Ryu. Blood spilled, ennards in some places, a few bodies twitching, on the verge of dying. Takeda closes his eyes for a moment, thinking of the many people they lost. But if there was one thing he learned, is to not grieve on the dead for so long. As Hanzo told him, blood will be spilled on both sides, no matter how experienced that person is. Takeda sighs silently as the four return to their home with valuable prisoners. But unknown to them, they are being watched by one survivor. A Seidan covered in blood, pretending to be dead.
"The master will not be pleased." The survivor whispered to himself as he quietly disappeared.
Note: I am so sorry for not uploading. My internet hates me most of the time and we're stuck with the provider. I hope you guys liked the action scenes with Dairou and Darrius. And if I am rushing the relationship with Satoshi and Vera, then I apologize. Also, I love using Takeda in MK1 so far. They even mentioned Cassie, Jacqui and Kung Jin in an mirror match intro. And Jacqui mentioned a few other times.