Chapter 14: Mankind's Darkest Hour

Silence...

Nothing, but pure silence, with the shadows lurking around every crevice. Both Kazuya and Jun, who had tried their hardest to prevent Shadaloo from reaching the "other side", but failed, laid unconscious in the hall, that was like a connection to the gate, that supposedly lead to the core of the Hachijo Temple. Having failed their mission, even in their sleep, the guilt weighed down on them heavily.

And as they slowly regained their consciousness, with Jun having been the first to do so, they had to admit defeat, with the Mishima only doing so, reluctantly. While his love was treating his wounds, he growled to himself, feeling quite the humiliation from his loss, which began to seep out.

"Bison, you filthy rat...! Next time when we meet, I will personally arrange an "honourable" funeral for you!"

"Kazuya. Enough. He is gone now. No point in further dragging this out. It's already problematic that we failed in our task of stopping him."

"I know, I know... but still, it's really irritating me. I could have won. Ever the cheater. And here I thought, as a side note, I was the master of faking death, but nope. He just had to steal my medal."

He had to clench his teeth together, as Jun cleansed his open cuts with some alcohol.

"But wait, didn't he mention something about a being called "Dusk"? Did he actually mean the power itself, that lies beyond the door?"

However, Jun has grown pretty tired of this place already, so she wasn't really listening. Not only was the brewing heat inside this cavern, killing her, but she was already at it at forming a Plan B in her head and it involved abandoning this place to return back to Hong Kong, just to inform Chun Li (because of her close ties to Cammy's military unit, which already has been on Bison's heel for so long) about this and get the support going of tracking Bison down, who was now in possession of a fraction of the Hachijo's power source.

"Look, no matter what it is, I don't care anymore. Can't you see? We lost. And Bison has gained hold of the power, we were looking for in here. Who cares about what its called now? We have to go back to Hong Kong and warn Chun Li. If we do this, she and Cammy will handle it from here on out."

The middle aged Karate champion looks at his love with an unimpressed look, feeling as if she is just pissing her pants out of fear right now.

"Then what? In case you forgot, this whole temple here, is still remaining part of my family's ancestry. And if it weren't enough, the Hachijos themselves, seemed to have quite the dirty blood on their fingers, most likely even the innocent kind. There is still so much stuff, that we don't understand and it slowly starts to make the impression, as if a conspiracy had been formed against the Mishimas for a very specific purpose, that we still have to figure out."

Jun sighed in desperation, as he was being stubborn again and she is insisting on wanting to stick to her own plans. But since she can't leave Kazuya alone here and he is deadset on getting in, regardless of whether she approved or not... what other choice did she have?

"Look, Jun. This is important. Not only for the sake of everyone, but also for myself. I want to see this... "thing" with my own eyes. It involves also me wanting to see, what kind of people my other kin were involved with, that made them lose sight over their previous goal in life. The answer may be awaiting us in there. We have to go."

At last, Jun gave in and decides to stick with her lover's plan, as she refuses to let him go off, completely on his own. But she also remembered something important: It's still Kazuya's family. And they may already know the details about the Mishimas, but with some certain facts coming to light, it began to shed a more supportive light on the theory, that they might have been merely puppets in a rigged game of trickery. And also, family comes first, of course he'd like to know more about the Hachijos, who wouldn't want to know more about the other half of a family, that you know the least above all? If she was in his position, she might have remained stubborn herself.

"Well, then I can pretty much save up all the effort of convincing you otherwise. It's your family we're dealing with, after all... and understandably, you would like to know more about them and what they previously stood for. You have my sincere sympathy."

"Thanks, but, save that up for later. We still got work left to do."

"Of course."

"And... I think it's best, if you let me treat your wounds next, before we go. We may never know, what kind of nasty shocker awaits us in there."

"Go right ahead. I can take the pain."

And thus, the Mishima went on right ahead to treat his girl's injuries next. With the remaining bandages used up, both got up and continued onward, towards the gate. And like before, the door was locked with two symbols, one satanic and one divine. The procedure was exactly the same as before. Both used their powers in unison and like at the entrance, the torch lights up and the pentagram starts glowing red... with the gate lowering down, opening up to them. But what they got the see, was completely uncalled for. Pure blackness, with a red light, shining in the far distance, almost like a star in the night sky.

"It's do or die, I suppose. Let's rather not lose sight of this red star, or whatever this is."

Both nodded and entered through the gate...

We went from unbearable heat... to now unbearable coolness. Both began shivering, as a cool wind slapped right past them. It didn't help, how this tunnel was so dark, if it weren't for the star, you wouldn't even be able to see your hand before your face, with how dark it was.

"This doesn't make any sense. We are inside of a volcano. How is it so ice cold in here? I should have taken a coat with me, damn it..."

"In case you forgot, the last eruption of this fiery mountain dates back to the 18th century and it hasn't blown up since then. And aside from that, the temple here was built, according to the book, not too long after the blazing explosion. They must have constructed it all in a way, that allowed the heat to escape around it, to not turn this place into some kind of boiling pot."

"The sudden shift in temperature though remains jarring..."

"Agreed. But that shouldn't stop us. We are getting closer... don't back out now."

And with that in mind, both heroes made their forward. And even with Kazuya's encouraging talk, even he had to admit, that this ice cold air around them is truly unpleasant to the core. They have been walking for quite some time already and by that point, it just appeared to them, as if the light is not getting any closer. Already, the two grew to become the sceptics.

"One question. Is this supposed to happen?"

"What?"

"Have the books ever mentioned something about the power source being literally "unreachable"? I do want to know, how Bison pulled that off, by getting to feel it, let alone touch it... we have been walking for god knows how long and we aren't drawing any nearer... well?"

"Now that you mention it..."

A silence kicked in between the two. But then, it made click in the Mishima's head and he closed his eyes, stopping very abruptly in his tracks, with Jun bumping right into him, wondering what he was planning on doing. At this very second, Kazuya was making use of his extended senses as a Devil, sensing energy sources around him without even using his human eye sight. Then, without warning, he fired off his forehead beam right into the blackness... until it struck something, that caused it to light up in a purple light. A satanic symbol. And it absorbed his energy, illuminating a bit of the path ahead of them. More specifically, it highlighted all the spots, that were trap holes. But it wasn't enough.

"I got an idea. Jun, close your eyes and see, if your ascended senses can feel any angelic emblems nearby. Then fire at them with your beam."

"Right at it."

She followed his example and closed her eyes to rely on her more external senses to seek out for angel symbols... and sure enough, she did and she fired off a beam of her own, right at it, causing the emblem to light up in a golden shine, illuminating the tunnel from above with a light, comparable to that of the sun's. Now, the order made sense to them. Especially after taking a closer look into the trap holes. And the sight they were presented to, almost gave them a heart attack: It weren't just any trap holes. They were quite literally black holes. Once you fall, there is no return for you. You will be sucked in, right into the abyss, with no way back. And the angelic symbols simply granted them with a better sight, which could only mean: Above them is heaven and below them is hell. This realization made the two stare with widened eyes, especially Jun.

"This really is the tunnel, that separates the human world from this ungodly place... a place, where both heaven and hell clash together. That means, whatever lies ahead of us... must be the manifestation of mankind's deepest desires."

"So being in the acceptance of both light and darkness, means, whatever it is that we wish for... it all comes together right here, at this very moment. The war of the Mishimas has taken quite the toll on this world and its inhabitants... so I fear for the worst yet to come."

"Me too. To think, the books weren't speaking nonsense, after all."

Both became uneasy. And it was noticeable in Kazuya's tone.

"Let's go..."

With that said, both sped forward, avoiding the traps, repeatedly shooting at the symbols to keep the light up, until they reached a dead end.

But what awaited them at the end of this corridor, was nothing, anyone would have ever predicted to find. Not in their wildest dreams, would they ever get a sight as... threatening as that. Right before the alter of blood sacrifices, was standing a shadowy figure, who had the same body shape like the average human being. But it most definitely was not human, despite the appearance. Alarm clocks set off in both of the lovers' heads. Especially Kazuya's, since he realized something: This being before their very eyes, was the exact same shade, that he saw in his dreams, the one, that called out for his name, before the murders would take place shortly after.

"What...?! What are you?!"

"..."

"What is that thing, blocking our path?!"

"Jun! Stay back!"

"Huh?!"

"There is no doubt about it. This is the guy. This is the shadow, that invaded my dreams, right before the victims would find death at the hands of the Chinmoku No Shi."

"Really?!"

But then, their confusion got interrupted by an echoing, whispering voice, that silenced their rambling right on the spot. And the voice must be coming from that creature right before them.

"I have been waiting for you... Kazuya Mishima... just in time..."

The latter got immediately into his fighting stance, glaring at this unknown entity, making it clear, that he is not trusting it one bit.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name? Answer me!"

The shadow began to chuckle ever so softly and creepily...

"Hehehehehe... who I am? Come on now, don't act like you don't remember... and I expected a lot more from your mother... tsk, tsk, tsk... she never gets anything right, now does she...?"

As he was getting slightly closer, even Jun went on the defensive and steps back a bit with Kazuya following suit, which only served to make the Mishima even angrier, just to hide his inner fear of this thing, as it was already starting to freak him out.

"You know my mother?!"

"Yes, indeed I do... as a matter of fact, what you see before you... is all, that your mother SHOULD have become... but because she simply didn't understand the external capabilities of her power... she proved worthless, even for me... what, did you think the Hachijos would ever have use for a softie like her...? How pathetic... she was a good-for-nothing... that is what she was..."

"Kazuya. What is that thing talking about?"

"I don't know. But as it seems, my mother must have played a part in the conspiracy. Judging from what you told me, and looking at whoever this is supposed to be... something tells me, that this monster may owe us some answers, whether he likes it or not."

Both got ready for battle. Which only amused this unknown shadow.

"What...? You plan on challenging me, Dusk, the messenger of the Archangels, to a fight...?"

Both heroes froze up, once they caught wind of its name. This is the monster, that Bison was talking about. Many shivers were felt by the duo and even the Karate champion began to feel fear, which he had a tough time covering up this.

"So then... you are Dusk?!"

However, being fully charged for combat himself, the shadow now began hovering above the ground...

"Ha ha ha... why did I expect anything more than that...? You Mishimas are daring... your reputation proceeds you and your family... but you know something...?"

Suddenly, we get a disturbing zoom on this monster's now freaky, shit-eating grin, with time and space freezing up.

"...seeking me out, was your gravest mistake!"

And before anyone could guess, both Kazuya and Jun found themselves, no longer in the corridor, but somewhere else. This location seemed like a floorless step, with the horizon being painted all red, white and black mixed together. It looked like a fever dream.

Then, we see the shadowy Dusk descending down from above, right before them, maintaining that wide smirk of his.

"Prepare to feel the wrath of my ancient kinsmen. Since Kazumi failed the task miserably, even with my undying assistance, I think it's about time to do away with you eyesores. Starting with you!"

He pointed at Kazuya, before ascending and starting to curl up in a ball in mid-air, before darting back like a shooting star, far into the deep horizon to become one with the gaping, white hole in the far distance. And what came out of it, was an oversized shadow, this time, undoubtedly shaped like a baby, only ten times as large. And it landed right in front of the two adults, with them looking quite weirded out of their mind, since they expected anything, but that. However, they quickly came to realize something: This was meant to be symbolic. Both could feel, that even with this dark force having almost limitless potential, it still hasn't reached full power yet. Now, it was on. And the Karate champion was making the announcement, accompanied by him cracking his knuckles and neck, all at the same time.

"Fine then. Since you don't seem to be making the impression of you wanting to cooperate with us, I got an even better idea. Why not just beat the answers out of you then?"

"For once, I am all on your side with this. Now I am fully convinced of your innocence. As such, expect even better stronger support from me."

Even with their lives, most likely, being at risk, he had to grin at her, while also delivering some bad news to her.

"Tsk, not like you have a choice, either way. I mean, we are trapped here. And it's blatantly obvious, that he wants something from us. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have gone through all the trouble of sending us here."

"...True. Which only raises the scale of the stakes."

Then, we see the two heroes, standing back to back, getting into their fighting stance. Dusk simply laughed at the prospect. He may not be a full power, but even in his hatched form, he is still far from a pushover.

"Let's see what I can do about this. We may need to nip this nuisance in the bud."

Both sped forward, going separately in circles around him, trying to break this monster's defence from any direction. Punches and kicks fell in galore, but each strike got blocked, with the infant-shaped creature using hovering crystals to counter their hits, whenever they were supposed to land on his body and it got to a point, where he changed strategy and crossed his arms, only to spread them back wide open, just to create a powerful explosive wave, just to shake the two fighters off of his tail.

And to continue testing and observing the waters, both heroes got at it again to go for a frontal assault, only this time around, they would exchange directions counter clockwise. They threw themselves at this beast, hitting it with the best shots they got, but much like before, Dusk remained on the defensive. He did not take any risks, so he laughed and went like:

"What? Get a little more creative now! This isn't any fun!"

Before again, like before, using a faint, but still strong enough explosive wave to knock the two back. They recovered fairly quickly though, as they decided to go for Plan B.

"OK. Frontal attacks on the ground, bad idea. But is it a good idea... to do it airborne?"

He gave Jun a sign and thus both grew out their wings to fly up in the air and start attacking from above Dusk's head. And this time, they actually managed to catch him off guard, since the crystals weren't quick enough to react to this ambush and it resulted in the malicious entity getting delivered quite the painful combo, being knocked forward to trip and fall flat on his face. A small victory, but it was still counting as one, and thus, it only gave the two the opportunity to attack again, while he is down and out. They shot their forehead beams right into his backside, but as expected, the monster quickly turned and let the crystals do the job of defending him, with the lasers causing an explosion on impact with the shield of crystals.

But they weren't running out of options yet and thus, it came down to them firing their beams again and again, as they wanted to test, whether the crystals were destructable or not. And because Dusk didn't make any signs of going on the offensive anytime soon, why wouldn't they try it out?

"OK, Plan C. Let's focus on these accursed crystals. Let's get rid of them. Because he is relying on them way too much, it could only mean, that he is indeed still weak to fight properly."

"Agreed. We cannot take any chances. Let's go!"

And as such, it was decided. Both flew straight down at Dusk, starting an array of combos with their fists and feet, hitting the rock solid crystals as hard as possible, just to get them to crack. But it didn't seem to show any effect, no matter how hard they tried. And like always, Dusk played it safe and refrained from attacking them, beginning to erupt in a hearty laughter at their desperate attempts of managing a breakthrough of his defensive line of crystals.

"Please, what are you buffoons doing? Can't you see? These crystals aren't your typical kind. They are made out of raw, negative emotions, they cannot be wrecked by anything physical! Now off with you!"

This time, they were spared from the explosive wave and got time to retreat and devise a new plan. Both lovers looked at one another, reading each other's minds to not raise any suspicion of their new plan, as they were processing Dusk's words.

"What was that again? "Raw, negative energy"? Is he saying, that these crystals are made from negative, human emotions?"

Looking back, Kazuya nodded in agreement, as Azazel came to mind. That monstrosity was locked out from the outside world and the only reason, why it managed to break free, was because of the previous, global conflict between the Mishima Zaibatsu and G-Corporation. As a direct result of their actions, it began taking shape, as the collective consciousness of mankind's darkest desires. And that was Azazel.

"Could be the case... after all, Azazel had been formed through the exact same basis, reminiscing of my war with Jin in the 6th tournament..."

"It's only a theory, I don't expect this plan to really work out... but what if there is a way to neutralize these things, without even relying on close combat?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's only rational that you can't fight violence with even more violence. So I say, we should just change our approach to this fight altogether. Let us rip down his defence, by openly showing positive emotions."

"Showing positive emotions? And how do we do that?"

"Watch me."

Jun retracts her wings, with a really gentle and loving smile forming on her lips, with her spreading her arms too, almost as if she wants to hug someone. That was slightly unsettling to watch, remembering their situation, but if Kazuya was to define "positive", that gesture most definitely had well-meaning intentions, even with the enemy in sight. However, what then left Jun's mouth, began to weird him out and he wasn't the only one... Dusk looked just as confused as he.

"Hey now, aren't you such a good boy? Come over here and join us. We won't hurt you. You can trust us."

"Jun, are you nuts? There is no way this is going to-"

Just in that moment, Dusk began groaning in agony, clutching his head, before his body colour turned from dark purple to milky white, with black pupils. And the sounds that this thing made... it no longer sounded like Dusk. More like, a real baby, who was cheerfully squealing... only ten times as large. This huge infant then started slowly approaching the couple, with Jun looking even happier than before. Kazuya, on the other hand... what needed to be said? He was freaked out. Seeing such a monster suddenly becoming submissive and obedient, with the monster also having the appearance of an oversized child, no less... he was legitimately speechless.

"Not in my wildest dreams, would I ever have had the "honours" of seeing something as creepy as this..."

Thinking that, was exactly what caused the baby suddenly to turn all black again with Dusk being in the lead, once more. He shook his head, growling to himself.

"Ugh! What did you do?!"

"Kazuya!"

He quickly got snapped back into reality, hearing Jun's scolding voice, yelling at him.

"Wha- what now?! Don't tell me it can read minds too!"

"I can do the same and what you thought right there, please, keep it down for the time being. Join me in trying to tame this thing already."

"Fine, I'll do it! Not like I have a choice!"

"Oh, don't you- ahhhh!"

Kazuya retracted his own wings, this time, joining his love into pampering this thing with loving words. It felt awfully foreign to him to be making compliments to something, that resembled a real infant. And at the same time, it did not feel so... terrible. What'd explain this shift in tone, is how the Mishima never had the opportunity to hold Jin in his arms, when he was still a baby. Then, with the comforting words, came feelings of guilt over him.

"Come on, little fella. We have all the time in the world, if you want, we have time to spare to even play with you a little. So what do you say? Feel like joining us?"

"It's OK, my dear. We don't bite. We just want to hold you close."

The longer they made use of that tactic, the closer the baby got and soon, both stayed true to their word and like mommy and daddy, they went right in to hug the child. ...despite the awkwardness. But because of its size, they only could wrap their arms around its own two huge ones and luckily for them, there was no malice and the crystals didn't show up to push them back again.

Both knew all too well, this baby wasn't real and it was Dusk, only looking like that, because he hasn't attained his full strength yet and still... both of their hearts sank. Especially Jun's, as this gave her a Déjà-vu of some sort. She had to remember, how she was the only one, raising Jin to become the strong youngster he was today. The fact alone, that her lover never had a chance to watch his own flesh and blood grow up... it broke her heart and yet, this was still counting as "positive" emotion, as very deep-rooted love came to show itself through her gestures in that very moment. She was now telepathically communicating with Kazuya, gazing over to him with a really saddened look, which got her the response she expected: A slightly melancholic looking Kazuya.

"It's strange... this is our enemy, the hazard that we have to put a stop to and yet, why is this thing still tormenting me, even without doing anything...?"

"Could it be, that you are very upset about me not having been there, when Jin was just hitting his "golden primetime"?"

"I can't deny it. You really missed out on something, love... you have no idea, how happy it'd be make me to be reunited with our pride and joy again."

He cringed slightly at the word "our", but in the end, he made a promise to her and he was not someone to go back on his word. So he nodded his head in approval.

"I am not so sure for myself... but for what are second chances there, right...?"

"Yes..."

Both remained like that for a little while, but as always, it wasn't to last for long, as totally out of nowhere, the monster baby began shrieking in animalistic rage. But it didn't sound like a baby's cry anymore, it sounded like that of an enraged dragon, meaning Dusk was behind the wheel again. Kazuya and Jun retreated back, with Dusk charging straight at them, with rage flaring up in his pupils.

"You are going to pay for this insolence with your lives!"

"Jun, now!"

"You got it!"

He came charging straight at them, but they were quick to be using their wings again to evade his bodycheck, flying up into the air, with him ending up falling flat on his face, again. And just when he was about to summon his crystals, instead of using them to defend himself, he decided to now go on the offensive. Even if it meant risking to lose against them, since he isn't fully buffed to maximum power yet. So there he goes, firing his crystals at them like projectiles and he summoned a good deal of them, firing them off like a machine gun barrage.

"You are not getting away! Get a load of this!"

He ends up catapulting more crystals at them, with the two heroes doing their best in dodging or countering them with their parries. Soon though, Kazuya struck one of the crystals with a well-timed backfist and the second it happened, it shattered to a million pieces upon impact. And he grinned in pride, knowing that Jun's plan actually worked. The latter, being quite pleasantly surprised herself.

"So the weirdness was in our favour, huh?"

"He actually got weaker... who would have thought?"

"You know what this means."

"Of course."

The dark entity was shocked to see his own weapon being so easily overpowered by them with just one really destructive blow. He had to admit, that he screwed up, but he refused to do so, with his pride getting in the way.

"This is simply impossible...! This was not supposed to happen...! Don't tell me, them dominating me with love is what gave them this strength to break my babies to smithereens...! Grrr, curses, curses, curses...!"

He charged up for one more barrage of crystal shots, that all began appearing out of the ground through small portals, refusing to accept his failure. To which both Kazuya and Jun responded, with them gathering up energy, as their backs connect and they entwine their hands together, preparing for a devastating team blow.

"Let's go, Jun! Let's gamble, shall we?!"

"Here it comes!"

"Big mistake!"

They were both ready, as they began to glow all black and white, with chaotic white and black sparks surrounding them, turning them into a twilight sphere. And just when the crystals got fired, they slowly gathered up momentum as they spinned in a circle, before catapulting downwards like a comet, with hellish purplish flames surrounding them, turning them even more into a falling star of doom. And they became so fast, the crystal became practically useless, as they just shattered, just by coming in small contact with this blazing sphere. With no defence at his disposal, as the final effort to shield himself from his attackers, he gathered up energy...

"No... I can't lose to trash like you...! Out of my way!"

...causing quite the strong explosive wave to be sent off, as his last resort of defence. The shockwave that came from the clash between the barrier and the two lovers with their combined forces... if they were to fight in the real world, they would have created a crater, so steep, it could be used to dig deeper into the earth to reach the scorching hot core of the planet. The struggle became real now, as both powers refused to give in, but in the end, with Dusk still not being strong enough, he could not hold up the explosive wave for long and soon, both of Jin's parents managed a demolishing breakthrough, smashing right into Dusk's lower body, rotating right into him, while also setting him ablaze. In the end, all three reached an invisible barrier and the two heroes finished their nemesis off, by punching him simultaneously, still with their backs connected. Once the deed was done, both gracefully landed back on the ground, feeling quite content with themselves and their efforts. Even more so, once they caught glimpse of the monster baby disintegrating into thick, black goo.

Jun went right in to wrap her arms around her lover's shoulders, kissing his cheek in glee, feeling glad, that they made it out of this without too many scratches. Even the Mishima could not hide from his satisfaction... albeit being disappointed too, since he still wanted to know a thing or two about his own family. But if he had to be honest to himself, he grew to understand, that maybe it's for the better, that they remain obscured. Just having seen, what kind of force they dealt and what it truly represented... it made him feel glad, that they were able to stop it in time, so that it won't ever fall into the wrong hands. They already failed once. So to make up for it, having been able to destroy the source of all their problems, could count as the compensation price for their hard work.

"We made it, didn't we? Deep down I knew, once we work together, nothing can stop us."

"You're right. Although... I still desire some answers from this abnormality. He owes us big time, especially me."

"I still have the articles, maybe there will we find more hints. After all, if it weren't for that one specific journalist, we both would have been wandering in total blackness. But now that the main culprit is dealt with, I honestly see no reason to be concerned, other than worrying more about Bison, since he still is in possession of a fraction of this beast's energy."

"I don't do it very often, but I find myself agreeing with you on that for a change. The only problem is though... how do we get out of here? We're in limbo. There is no door that I could see. And all my eyes register is a never ending fever dream. So how we are going to do it?"

Both then froze up, once they heard a bone-chilling voice, piercing through their eardrums.

"Oh, you are already taking your leave? Just when the fun was about to start?"

"What in the world-"

It was Dusk speaking... and just when anyone could take a guess, of what came next, the damage has already been done, as Kazuya turned his head, right in the direction of his Kazama partner, who found herself completely engulfed in the black goo. She tried fighting it, but it began spreading all over her body and made its way inside her system, through the still fresh and open wounds under the bandages and other small flesh injuries. Her screaming got also silenced by this monstrous goo, even entering through her mouth and it all results in Jun, basically drowning in this slime. Kazuya went in to catch her hand, but he missed her, by a hair. The Mishima had to watch helplessly, how his love disappeared within Dusk's own slime. Frustrated, he smashed his fist to the ground, getting down low and pressing his face against the ground, praying for her to forgive him, that he couldn't save her in time.

"No...! Jun...! I-I couldn't do it...!"

But he had no time mourning, as things just took a turn for the worst. He saw a figure, slowly rise out of the black goo and it was no big surprise, that it was Jun herself. She looked the same, as if she had never entered the goo, with the exception that... she was no longer the Jun, he used to know. The warm aura she had, the one, that made him feel oh so at ease, was no more. And just when he was about to approach her, a wide and sadistic grin formed on her lips with her eyes lighting up in a red light, resulting in him getting the short end of the stick, by getting hit brutally in the stomach, with an elbow strike from her. It sent him flying, but he had enough time to recover, using his wings with precise execution. He immediately returns to his fighting stance, watching in horror, as his love helplessly succumbed even more to the darkness.

"Quite the pleasurable sight, am I right, Mishima?"

This voice... unbelievably, it all came out of Jun's mouth, only that this time, her voice has been twisted around to sound more like Dusk, rather than herself. It all became clear, that Dusk is now in possession of the one and only woman, that the Karate champion had ever truly loved with all of his heart. Refusing to succumb to his will and play by his dirty rules, Kazuya growled, with his rage reaching a whole new level, mixed in with feelings of loneliness, abandonment and hopelessness.

"Why you...?! What have you done to her, you bastard?!"

"Oh, all I simply did, was rob you of your last glimmer of hope. And just seeing your desperation, being basically plastered all over your face, oh, what delight! There is nothing better! And here comes the best part, that may allow me to sleep the best at night..."

She said, with a hand covering one half of her face, showing a psychopathic grin, as he delivering the disrupting truth.

"...your father had the exact same look on his face, when I took hold of your "precious" mother."

Kazuya was speechless. The bigger picture of Kazumi's true intentions, became even less blurry in his mind. He simply did not know how to put his outrage into words. But just for the fact, that this monster, just took control of his love and it doesn't seem to deny a connection between himself and the incident between his parents... it all came together. So all the wonderful memories he had with his mother, weren't an act on her behalf. The odds certainly were not in Dusk's favour.

"Say what...?! You are not implying, that... my mother had never asked for mine and Heihachi's death... and it was you, who manipulated her into doing such a thing...?!"

"Manipulation, such a terrible word... no, that is not a very suitable description, I believe, that would do better: She neither had the guts nor ever the intention of disposing either of you, so I had to go back on using... "unconventional methods". She was weak. An absolute disgrace to the Hachijo name. We all knew, she wasn't up to the task. So in the end, I was forced to step in one night and put an end to her nonsense."

It was time. Finally, Kazuya shall be getting all the answers, that he so very much desired, ever since they came to this temple. And with every bit of detail leaking out, his rage grew and grew with every passing second. It turned from a sinister hunch... to a mind-blowing reality, which he first considered unlikely.

"She resisted, and that very effectively, I will give her that. No matter what I tried, it was the same trick, every time. To prevent me from taking full control of her, she kept using a Ki lockdown on herself to fall asleep, just to disrupt the growing connection between my power and her inner nerve system. Of course, it also came with the risk of making herself vulnerable to illness, which happened quite often. Your father had grown quite concerned of her safety and had tried everything in his accessible might to find the best possible treatment to keep her safe and sound. It looked bad, it really seemed as if mine and her brother's mission to tarnish the name of the Mishimas, was destined to fail, seeing as how Kazumi just refused to give in... but..."

A chuckle escaped her lips, before it turned into a maniacal laughter, with the latter gazing at the Mishima with pride.

"...oh, how wrong you are. Not willing to accept defeat anytime soon, it all came down to this. And this plan, went without fail. Kazumi's brother, disguised himself as a doctor one night and came by to the Mishima Dojo, to aid in his little sister's "recovery". But it was yet another trap, orchestrated by the Hachijos. And here is a catch, we didn't even need to sneak in, we were welcomed with open arms, with no security holding anyone back. All thanks to the pact, that your foolish grandfather, Jinpachi, made with us, just in hopes of raising income and welfare to keep building up the Mishima Zaibatsu. And as naive as he was, he granted us access to all of his property, being sure of a solid and trustworthy partnership between us. What a senile, old fool! Hahaha! Because all it resulted in, was Kazumi being held captive for a few hours, while Heihachi and you weren't looking... and what her brother did, is what finally gave birth to the primal force... that is me. A part of me was already within her, but since it wasn't strong enough to show its full effects, he saw himself forced, having to inject more of her blood, that was mixed in with my DNA, to finally silence her resistance."

"Grrrr... so it IS true... isn't it...?! My family was just playing a part in your filthy conspiracy against ourselves...?!"

"Conspiracy? How preposterous! Who is talking about a conspiracy here? Her death was just the direct result of your family's blissful ignorance to the whole situation. Can you even recall of your father having told you the tale of how he saved your mother from the Hachijos, when he was still active in the military, during his youth? ...that was a fatal mistake. If only he had known, what he was dealing with. But yes, he only followed orders and even convinced himself to a follow a "code of honour"... her being rescued, was all part of the plan. And because she never knew, what we had in store for her, why we left her behind, nor of what exactly was living inside her... she wouldn't have been able to warn anyone, even if she was to figure us out. Isn't that easy? But what else did I expect? You Mishimas possess the IQ of a mere fish, swimming in a pond. So. very. predictable. And by the way, it was not us, who ruined your family's name... that was all your own doing, especially your father's. Heh... hehehehehe... just the mental image of all of you godly mistakes kneeling down, wanting to be relieved of your sins... that is the most effective way to get rid of scum of your caliber... simply letting you destroy yourselves! Hahahahahahaha!"

Not being able to carry the taunts any longer, he yelled out loud, trying his best to remain calm and collected, albeit still being very angry indeed.

"From where do you possess such knowledge?! What are you, anyways?!

"Shouldn't it be clear by now? And I thought you did all of your homework... well, let us keep it short, shall we? I am simply, what you could refer to as: The child, birthed through the Devil Gene. You may also refer to me as Kazumi's "second" son. The physical manifestation of all of mankind's darkest, selfish desires. The Hachijos created me. I am their eyes and ears. I watch over them and make sure, their will is being executed, even with their passing. It is my god-given duty, to make people of your kind suffer, before they might ever have a chance of turning into the monsters, we failed to stop from coming into being. It just brings unrestrained joy to my heart to see all of you Mishimas, wanting to destroy one another... making threats suffer like that, is the only way to go for all the future misery, that was to follow shortly after... it's not us, who are the bad guys here. It's you and your barbaric family! All the guilt lies on every last member of your kin, nobody else! You got no room to blame me or anyone from my bloodline, since you did most of the work for us!"

Suddenly, Kazuya snapped. He collapses down onto one knee, being totally frozen up in disbelief, as the rage inside him grew to inhumane levels. He lost everything, that he held so dear and close to his heart... he lost it all, to these wannabe deities, who believe, they possess the right to decide over who lives and who dies? He could not get over that, all that he read, was true and he saw with his own eyes, the effects of what happens, if you lose your humanity, just for the sake of self-righteousness, while also developing some form of Messiah complex. It also dawned down on him, now having seen reality, that his mother's love and affection for him, was never an act. That she had always loved him, no matter what and that she had never asked for all of this to escalate. And all the blame he put on his father for having ruined him, vastly disappeared, knowing the true culprit and it put its focus all on Dusk now. But it only added to his internal misery. Remembering it all and with all of these things being no more... he broke down, shedding tears of despair and agony.

"I can't believe this...! Mother... grandfather... Jun... whatever can I do, to make you all come back...?! What did I do... to deserve all this...?! Was this all the fate had in store for me...?! It cannot be...!"

He slowly got up, glaring at the Dusk-possessed Jun, before crossing his arms together...

"You believe yourself to be so untouchable, don't you?! I will make you rue the day you ever got to know my family! Haaa... raaaaaaaaaagh!"

He engulfs himself in a sphere of purple light, screaming out loud like an enraged animal, turning into that horrific devil monster, that you may refer to as Satan-Kazuya, with eyes popping open from his chest, three on both of his unholy-looking wings, on his tail and on his forehead. And in his fury, he flies straight at Dusk-Jun, punching the latter real hard in the face, before flying after her to grab her by the face, only to fly up high into the air, smashing her back down to the ground, before shooting one beam at her from his forehead.

But that wasn't enough. He grabs her by the ankle, only to then throw her high up into the air, following suit, anchoring right into her stomach with a hook-like punch, before headbutting her, to make her fall down, catching her by the ankle yet again, just to throw her higher, as if she were a playing doll, only to then fire tracking laser shots from all 8 eyes on his demonic body. They weren't fully charged and still, the explosion was massive, when these small laser shots came in contact with Dusk-Jun, all at once. And just when the dust cloud settled, he caught the possessed Jun by head, to shoot back down with her, smashing her face straight into the ground with full force.

Kazuya just continued with this really powerful combo, until he decides to go for the big shot, by going for MAX. power, ready to shoot the fully charged eye beams from all over his body, straight at the downed Jun from above. But before anyone misunderstands, he is not targeting his lover here. He wants to torture Dusk, just enough to corner him and make him retreat out of her, before he gets annihilated and this one attack, that the Mishima was preparing, was the big ultimatum.

"One last chance, Dusk! Leave her body now... unless you want to be sent to the underworld with her!"

"..."

"I am already fully charged! It's best you make your decision now, before you make things only worse for yourself!"

He hated himself for having said this, as he wanted to destroy Dusk so bad, but because of his lover being in his enemy's grip, he could not bring himself to really do this, so all he could, was scaring Dusk out of her...

...but in the moment of his own doubts, Dusk-Jun suddenly grinned and stood back up, as if the combo, that had just been delivered to her, was absolutely nothing and in a flash, suddenly, Kazuya felt an unbearable pain, ripping through his entire body, as his beam gets entirely interrupted by Dusk-Jun, before getting kicked downwards with zero effort, crashing straight down, with the possessed Kazama grinning widely.

"My turn."

She then teleports down to catch a falling Satan-Kazuya by the tail from behind, smashing him back and forth, before dragging him closer to herself, flatpalming him effortlessly in the stomach, before performing a backflip kick on him to make him crash flat on his backside. But the recovery was still fairly quickly, as Kazuya jumps back up to shoot a barrage of eye beams at the bad guy, who teleports back and forth, during his approach to reach the Mishima, before nailing him in the solar plexus with a frontal kick.

Still being able to fight, Kazuya and Jun engage in a lengthy clash barrage of punches and kicks, before the possessed Kazama catches him by ankle, just to kick him in the stomach again to stun him, before preparing for a special move, as she gazed at her open palm in bile fascination.

"Oh, this is very intriguing. I didn't realize that Kazamas withheld such magnificent combat potential. Hitting vital Ki spots for total paralysis... well then, you shall have the honour of being my very first guinea pig. Prepare to die."

Stun move, by flatpalming the satanic monster, right in the chest, where his heart was, before pushing him further back, with a finger stab straight to the chest again. She closes her eyes, presses her hands together to focus and try analyzing Kazuya's body, trying to find all of the vital spots, hidden inside his body.

"I can see them... being the spawn of Satan that you are, your power is truly astounding... but unfortunately for you, the Kazamas possess a hidden power to suppress the demons, that try to come out, out of all of us and why would I not want to use this knowledge against you? You left yourself wide open... and this is where it ends, dear friend! It was fun, while it lasted! Sayonara."

As a final and desperate effort, Kazuya tries charging straight at her, but she was quick to react, by ducking lower and during the slow motion phase, she manages to hit all of his strongest vital spots, with two finger strikes, while sliding straight past below him. And then, as Dusk-Jun snaps her fingers, the Mishima screams out loud in agony, as blood sprayed out of all the spots, where he got struck, with him losing his Satan form and collapsing down, semi-unconscious.

Not being able to withstand the feeling of the pain, he began twitching, as Dusk-Jun slowly approaches him, before kneeling down to grin at the bleeding Karate champion in pride, who could only stare at her with anger and frustration being literally written in his gaze.

"What a shameful way to go out, don't you think? And here I was wondering, if this was really your best performance. Oh, excuse me, but I forgot, you still seem to remain in denial about your entire family situation, don't you? If that's so, then maybe, this might help you..."

She slowly climbs on top of him, before starting, totally out of nowhere, to choke the heavily weakened Mishima to death, by strangling him by the throat. Of course, not having the strength to fight back anymore, it all seems hopeless indeed and this time, for real.

"Haha! Humiliating you is just too much! Kazuya Mishima, the greatest martial arts champion, strangled to death, by his own wife! Imagine that being carved on your tombstone, hehe- agh!"

But suddenly, this monster froze up, as Jun returned back to normal for the fraction of a second with Kazuya gaining a moment to catch his breath. Jun had tried all this time, keeping this monster at bay, while it was inside her, but due to the fact, that she was already pretty worn out, even before their match and that her injuries were no longer bearable for her already weakened state, there is now only one option left for them.

"Jun...!"

"Kazuya... it's no use...! We got no other choice, if this monster cannot be beaten and sealed away by my angelic powers alone... then this may be our only chance to still come out of this as the winner... it's risky, but...!"

She shows her razor-sharp fangs, before biting her lover, straight in the throat, as if she was a vampire, wanting to suck his blood. Kazuya, most definitely, did not see that one coming and hurt like hell, however... in this case, she used her extended bite to spread Dusk's goo, like a virus, through Kazuya's body, too. The Mishima was quick to catch up to her plan and he became both pissed and upset at what she has done just now, gently cupping Jun's face with both of his hands.

"Jun, why- why did you do that...?! You should have let me get killed by him, you should have fled, when you still had the chance, damn it-"

Tears ran down her cheeks, as she tightly gripped her lover's wrists, not wanting him to let go of her, as she felt just as upset as he was right now.

"No way! No way... no way in hell, would I have let that happen...! I would have never left you to die here alone...! Never!"

Even Kazuya could no longer hide from his own tears, as they cried in unison, as Dusk even spread through the Mishima's body, slowly showing its effectiveness... with Jun slowly bending forward, cupping his rough face in her own petite hands, pressing her forehead against his.

"You suffered enough, Kazuya...! Remember the promise we made to one another...?"

He gasped, feeling very touched by her deep-rooted loyalty to him...

"Jun... why did you do that...? What will it do, if we let Dusk share two bodies at a time...?"

"That way, he will never reach 100%... since I am able to put him at bay with my powers, gifted by Angel, he won't ever be able reach you, as long as I draw breath... and even then, even with this knowledge, either way... I would have always stayed by your side... and remember, we will be saved, soon enough..."

"By who..."

She leans in closer.

"...by our pride and joy. Jin. I believe in him. Once the time comes, it shall be his turn to save us..."

"If you have so much faith in him... then so will I..."

Both engaged in one last kiss, with the Mishima tightly embracing his lover, before it gets interrupted by Dusk screaming in agony.

"What have you done?! What have you done?! Raaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

We then see the tip of the volcano of Mt. Fuji suddenly being detonated away, with magma spraying everywhere, raining down upon the world around the fiery mountain... and out of the black smoke cloud, we see two figures stepping out... it was Kazuya and Jun. And both had red-glowing eyes, before speaking in unison in Dusk's voice, as they spread their wings:

"...it is time."

THE END