Hey ho. Finally, the end is in sight. Personally, I'm thinking 'Thank god'. Not because I didn't enjoy writing it. It's just that I've got other projects to do, and it'll give me more time to do them not having to think about this, as fun as it was. Anyway, here it gets quite gory in my opinion. I was in a bad mood during the writing phase, due to coursework. Also, I cut corners. So, hey ho, expect the finale to be the writing equivalent of boredom. The song is because it sums up the last few moments well, I think. So, yeah. Please don't read and review, though I expect you will anyway...

---

I can't remember anything.

Can't tell if this is true or a dream.

Deep down inside I feel to scream.

This terrible silence stops me.

Now that the war is through with me.

I'm waking up, I can not see.

That there is not much left in me.

Nothing is real but pain now.

One – Metallica

---

Chapter 16 - True Loyalty

01:42

Benni's POV

I waited outside my hotel room. I didn't want to disturb Xiaoyu. I didn't want to upset her. She had been through a lot. I couldn't pressure her with getting away from Japan. Now after all I had put her through. The tournament, the lies, knocking her out... however, I decided, it had to be done. I opened the door, to see the room was completely empty...

... and the window was shattered.

Fritz's POV

Heihachi and Kazuya wondered through the forest to the centre of the Zaibatsu. I waited there to ambush Kazuya. After what he did to Liz, he had to suffer. Not just the fight, but the death of her parents. I waited longer and longer, but before I could attack, a small hand I instantaneously recognised touched my shoulder.

"What?" I hissed to Xiaoyu.

"Where's Jin?" She asked angrily.

"Pipe down." I said, pulling out my Waltker PP9 and aiming for Kazuya. Xiaoyu persisted with her questions.

"Where is he?" She asked. I clasped my hand over her mouth.

"I tell you when I'm not busy." I hissed, and turned back to my target, but he, along with his father, had disappeared. I snarled. I grabbed the hilt of my pistol and smacked Xiaoyu with it. She went out like a light. "That should keep you busy." With that, I guessed where Kazuya had gone to and walked off to the Honmaru...

About five minutes later

Benni's POV

Takeshi, Bill and I looked through the forest. She had run off trying to find Jin three hours ago and still she hadn't returned. Takeshi seemed very passionate about finding her. He looked like a wreck, and I knew why. I knew why because I felt the same way. I just didn't make it so blatant. Bill was here for seemingly no reason. I guess it was ironic that the one who doesn't seem to care was the one to find her. This doesn't make me lucky in any way, shape or form. Her motionless body felt out of place amongst the wildlife of the forest. It seemed like her life had drained away. I squatted beside her. Takeshi grabbed her head.

"Xiao!" He shook her. I sighed.

"She's not going to get up for a few minutes." I said. "And I know who did it."

"Who?" Takeshi asked me desperately.

"Fritz, though I think it's for the best." I stood up. "Because he's going to get himself killed unless I can stop him." With that, I ran off, knowing that if Fritz died, Liz would never be happy again.

And I would have failed my parents.

Fritz's POV

The fog surrounded the building like a shroud. I ran through it and into the Honmaru. My progress was interrupted by Heihachi, who skirted across the floor and smashed into my legs, sending my face smashing onto the floor. Kazuya laughed.

"What's the matter? Didn't your precious science give you all the answers about my power?" Kazuya said, and then he noticed me. I looked to his eyes, and was surprised to find them glowing red. However, I wasn't to be put off my goal. "You again?" He asked me. "What do you want?"

"I want to see you squirm." I said, raising my Berretta and firing three shots. Two to the chest and one to the head. The most common way to deal with a person, and by far the most effective. However, some horrible turn of events, the bullets didn't even make contact with Kazuya. The eyes shone, and the bullets thudded on the floor. I dropped my Berretta. Even I knew when I was outmatched... or, considering the fact I was stupid enough to throw a rock that was in my pocket at him, I wasn't. It bounced harmlessly off his head. He picked it up and threw it back. It was a rock the size of my fist, but the return throw felt like a bullet. I fell to the floor. I looked up to the set of feet I landed before. Benni bent down. I expected something nice, or comforting, or even friendly.

"You fucking idiot." He said. So much for that. He looked back up to the source of all his answers. Kazuya smiled.

"I wondered when you'd arrive. I'll finally deal with you, and I'll have what I need at last."

"Wait." Benni shouted. "Tell me what Genocell is!" He shouted. Kazuya scowled.

"How'd you..." Then he stopped. "Fine. I will tell you. Genocell is what your parents died for, what I search for, the only thing standing in my way. And you will give me it. And I will destroy it. "Twenty years ago, I was defeated by my father, and was thrown into the mouth of a volcano. Somehow, I survived, though I was weak. The G Corporation brought me back from the brink." He paused to note the reaction. "I wanted to defeat Heihachi desperately. I, along with the G Corporation, looked into my genome. A special genome. If I told you what it was, you wouldn't believe me, but it's irrelevant to what you want to know anyway." Kazuya stopped for a breath.

"Finish your words." Benni snarled. "They'll be your last."

"The point is that we needed some way to investigate the genome safely, for it was unstable. Your father made Genocell, a material that could suppress the genome for a small amount of time. We asked him for as much as we needed, and he supplied. However, soon it became apparent that we'd need to make some of our own. We asked your father were to find it, and he didn't tell us. It became perceptible that he wouldn't tell us, so, as you know, we killed him. The wreckage was scanned the next day. We found and recovered his files. It turned out the main ingredients were easy to obtain, but something was now impossible. Do you know what it was?" Kazuya asked mockingly.

"Get to the fucking point." Benni said, taking in the information. "You're taking longer to explain this than Alan Rickman takes to have a death scene."

"It was blood." Kazuya continued. "Special blood. Blood unseen before. The blood of him, and his children. However, he had been killed, as had his family... we made a substitute, but it wasn't as powerful, or as useful... and now we have that blood." Kazuya turned back to me. "You're lucky I didn't kill Alizee. I would have done in other circumstances, but we have a... personal need for vengeance." Kazuya turned fully on to attack. "Let me show you the imprudence of your want of retribution."

"Let's dance!" Benni shouted, and they ran to each other.

Takeshi's POV

I was still by Xiaoyu's side, disturbed by Benni's disappearance. However, I would not abandon Xiaoyu. I never would. I looked to the skies. Why would Fritz do something like this? What was his plan? What was he after? I looked to Xiaoyu. I saw her slowly open her eyes. She smiled.

"Hey." She said simply.

"Hey." I replied. Then she said something that I never expected.

"Are you Takeshi, Bill or Benni?" She asked. My eyes widened.

"How'd you..."

"Fritz... told me..." She said before I could finish. She pulled off my handkerchief. "Takeshi?" She guessed.

"Yeah." I nodded. "W's Bill and Benni, or S, has ran off to follow C." I looked back to Xiaoyu. "What happened?" I asked.

"I found out you weren't working for Henry Ford." She said.

"How?" I asked.

"Fritz tried to kill me in our match..." She said. A fire rushed to my face.

"Damn! He said he wouldn't. Though I won't let him try again! Or succeed!" I swore to her. Xiaoyu smiled weakly, then continued.

"Benni stopped him when he told him about Liz... and now something's happened to Jin, and I want to get the truth out of Fritz..." She said. Her determination made me sad, though I didn't show it. She mustn't know how I feel. I helped her onto her feet, and she, Bill and I went to the Honmaru to find Jin, the man who was going to break her heart, over and over again.

And I'd be left to brush up the pieces, hiding the shards of my own heart.

Fritz's POV

A shower of scarlet spilled upon the ground. I was amazed by Benni's speed, more so than Kazuya, whose blood flew high above him. Benni hadn't even drawn his blades until the microsecond he needed to. The crimson rain gave in to its love for ground, and fell. Kazuya looked to Benni in anger. My mouth dropped open in horror. So did Benni's. A great bleeding gash on his cheek, exposing the contents of the head for all to see. The muscle, the bone, the blood. Gore seeped out the great chasm wound. Benni was even more surprised to get hit back. He was sent through the air into the wooden door.

"You'll have to try harder to beat me!" Kazuya mocked Benni, who slowly rose from the wood ruin. He smiled.

"There's a Batman villain who looks a lot like you." He replied, every word lashed with venom. Kazuya tried to scowl, but with his mouth in the state it was, he could only manage a frown and a stupid flop of an angry face.

"Let's see you laugh now!" He shouted. The flurry of fists struck themselves in Benni's direction. I wanted to watch more, but a dangerous hand clamped onto my shoulder.

"You..." Jin hissed with hatred. "Your ape won't save you now." Fear clogged my throat. I couldn't breathe. Something told me that I wouldn't last this night. I needed a miracle. I didn't get it. Jin plucked me up and threw me across the floor. Right under Kazuya's foot. Kazuya had been going to kick Benni, and I tripped him up. He collapsed onto me. His reaction to look at me up close scared the shit out of me. The familiar wet feeling in my pants told me this in a more literal sense.

"Oh sweet Nelly!" I screamed in disgust. I forced him off me, to notice the glint of Benni's knife plunge itself into my shoulder, where Kazuya had been. I screamed. "I'M SO BAD AT THIS!" I rolled away, screaming in pain. Benni didn't even look bothered. He was after Kazuya. Nothing would deter him. So Jin was my responsibility. Ignoring the agony, I slowly drew my Waltker PP7. It could do nothing now. It was bent out of shape. I threw it at Jin. It slowed him down. I looked through my pockets for anything to throw. I found the last thing I expected. A Polaroid. Thinking quickly, I slashed Jin's shin, the paper cut showing itself. Jin hissed in pain, and clutched the leg. It gave me time. I rolled out of the way, only to have somebody stand on me. It was Heihachi.

"Time to give up your power, boy." He said, taking up his stance. His leg and my pelvis met, and his foot was on the upper hand. He waited for Jin to attack, making the pain more unbearable for me. Only when he took his foot away did I feel some form of relief. I sighed in relief. Then looked to the Polaroid.

It was Liz. And me. Naked. In a loving embrace. Smiling. When was the last time I had done that? Dark surrounded us, so we must've been drunk at the time. Red writing surrounded it. In my handwriting.

Marry me, you sarcy bitch.

Ok, I definitely was drunk. It was quite obvious. I had spelt 'saucy' with an R, and the writing wasn't in ink, but in sweet and sour sauce. But however, despite the grammar errors and the smell of Chinese takeaways, something hit home for me.

None of this really mattered in my life.

I had always thought the Zaibatsu dominated my life. I thought it clung onto me, and love was something to come after as the reward. But no. On missions, all I could think of was the next time I'd see Liz, and now everything had fallen apart.

Because of my stupidity. Everything's now my fault. Nothing can be done now. Other than to fight my way out. And then...

I'll marry Liz. I'll buy a house. I'll have kids. She will be with me all the way, I know. This horrible chapter will pass into mere memory, and we'll live a happy life, a peaceful life, suffer a peaceful death and permanently live together in the stars. It has to happen now. I must make it TRUE!

I looked up to the Hon Maru. plenty had changed. I must've been thinking for a lot longer than I had thought. Jin was no longer there, and Heihachi was on the floor, unconscious. I looked around. No light was on. I stood up. The moonlight shone through a hole in the roof. I looked to it.

"What the fuck?" I asked myself. Then I shook myself sober. No matter. I looked for Benni. Didn't take long. I could see nothing past a circle of light, but the flying knife flying through the air landing at my feet was very obvious, as was the rest of Benni. He looked a mess. A whole rib had penetrated his flesh, poking out like a diamond in a sea of treacle. I looked above him. Kazuya looked even was. The cut on his face was miniscule to those on his chest. His sweat was tainted with the gore, creating the illusion of him bleeding all over. He raised his fist. I ran myself into him. Kazuya bowled over. He thumped onto the ground. The fight had weakened him. I turned to Benni.

"We have to go!" I said. Benni shook his head.

"Vengeance is all I have now." He said, standing again.

"What about Liz?" I asked. "Xiaoyu? Me?"

"Want for revenge is all I crave now." Benni replied. "It's a drug for me. As soon as he dies, I'll simply wilt away, and I'll rejoin with my parents." Then I realised what he was saying.

"You're not..." I mouthed. "No, no, you can't!" I shouted. Blood pumped to my ears. "This is just being selfish! YOU CAN'T COMMIT SUICIDE AFTER ALL THIS! AFTER ALL WE'VE DONE FOR YOU! HOW WILL LIZ SURVIVE?!"

"She has you!" Benni shouted. The sternness in his voice stopped me. A silence, followed by Kazuya standing up.

"And I have you too, Julius..." He said, smiling. He raised his fist. Then he stopped. He looked up. So did Benni and I. Together the three of us looked to a small helicopter, making its noisy across the night sky. A small projectile is fired, and lands itself in the Hon Maru. We look to it.

The timer goes to zero.

And the inferno takes all feeling from me, leaving cold in its wake.

Takeshi's POV

We only got to a clearing in the forest, to see the Honmaru engulf itself in flames. Shrapnel flew from the wreckage in the guise of burning stars, rushing to the sky. We could only look on. Xiaoyu's lips mouthed silently and my eyes widened. Bill looked on emotionlessly, as if nothing were happening. I could only watch on as the burning flames lit up the sky. Xiaoyu leaned on my shoulders and cried. Little did I know, but I was crying too. For her loss. I knew she had loved Jin, and I loved her. She must never know, I decided. For the sake of her feelings, and her mind, she must never know. I didn't even notice the helicopter until it had landed behind us. I looked. It was Yoshimitsu.

"You three! Get on!" He shouted. I decided to trust him, and helped the weeping Xiaoyu on. Bill didn't even move.

"Leave him." I said. "He'll be fine." I turned to him. "Goodbye!" I shouted. No reaction came from his blank face. He simply dropped to the floor and fell asleep.

The Next Day

The Honmaru Wreckage Site

06:23

Mr Drive's POV

I walked across the charred, grey pit that was once Honmaru. I looked around for Fritz, or Kazuya, or indeed anyone. I cocked back my SV-98.

"Come on, Fritz. Be nice." I said calmly, awaiting some form of movement. A small rustle. I turned to the source and aimed. Just a rat. I smiled, and fired. The effect of the blood flinging itself over the atmosphere was amusing to watch. I then noticed what the rat was carrying. It was a diamond. Small. Shining purple. I picked it up. A small sting hit my finger. I had foolishly cut myself. I looked to the cut. Or, at least I would if there was one. It had vanished. I was confused. I held the diamond. I deliberately cut myself across the hand. A line of blood was created. I expected that, and it hurt badly. But then the line sank itself back. The wound had healed perfectly. Then karma kicked me in the balls, when a voice sounded behind me.

"I see you are interested in my product." A soft, reluctant voice spoke. I whirled around. And stepped back. The first thing that struck me about the man was his size. This guy could challenge a lamppost in terms of height. It was as if somebody had trained a hippo to pass as a human. And then I saw the hair. There's enough there to fill a rug. And he looked stupidly old. I decided to spare no manners.

"Shouldn't you be in a home?" I asked. The man chuckled.

"I find your humour amusing." He said. "However, that can wait. I can see your sins, and they are plentiful... and disgusting." I guessed whoever he was, he was off his head. I pointed my SV-98 and fired. Two to the chest, one to the head. The perfect killing. However, the man stood still. He didn't even look hurt. In fact, he looked... remorseful.

"Bullets." He pulled out one of the shells. "I wish this could hurt me still." He threw it away. I wondered what I had let myself into. "Now, I need your co-operation."

"With what?" I asked. The man sighed.

"Something inside me is eating its way out. I need help. Somebody has to kill me." He said. "One with a fist of steel. The greatest fighter on Earth. And I need to find him."

"How're you supposed to do that?" I asked the old bugger.

"Another King of Iron Fist." He said simply. I was taken aback.

"How'd you know about that?" I asked it.

"I was there before the original." He explained. He muttered to himself: "My son's idea of loyalty is pathetic."

"What do you mean by that?!" I asked. "Tell me or I'll blow you to Kingdom Come!" I raised my gun. He grabbed it.

"I can't be killed by guns. Why use this?" He said, bending it and throwing it away like a broken toy. I looked to him in horror. "You're only loyal to yourself and what's good for you." He smiled. His right eyes glinted black. I realised he wasn't human. "Let's teach you true loyalty." With this, he plunged his hand into my chest. I felt the pain rip through me. As soon as he had punched, he pulled out again, heart in hand. He grabbed the diamond I was holding and replaced the heart. I felt nothing there. A hole. "That will keep you alive."

"What the hell have you done to me?" I snarled. The pain was consuming me. I felt nothing else. It was like a festering cancer. The man laughed.

"You can reclaim your heart after this business." He said. "You are to be my representative and my aid." He said, his voice coated with determination. "Do you know what loyalty is now?" He asked. I nodded. "Come." He said simply. I followed like a slave on a chain to do his evil plans.

---

Darkness imprisoning me.

All that I see.

Absolute horror.

I can not live.

I can not die.

Trapped in my body,

my holding cell.

One by Metallica

---

Yes, now how could we follow that up? With a crappy sequel of course! If American Pie has taught us anything, it's that shit sells, and the more retarded sequels, the better! Seriously, the only example I can think of when the sequels improve on the original is The Dark Knight, which is easily the best film of the year (though Bond gave it a good run for its money). The sequel to this story will probably be called 'A Volley of Bullets' which is a stupid name if the fighting is all hand to hand, but shut up, it sounds good. Also, my poll has finally showed its no good face on my profile, so have a look. So, anyway, thank you to the following people:

Razer Athane: Thanks so much for reviewing. T'was awesome. I would carry on praising you, but then I remember back to Chapter Whatever and know I'd just be repeating myself. Although, seriously, thanks a bundle. I know she'll be glad to see Mr Drive get his commupence (however you spell it). Apparently, she thinks he's quite evil in Chpater 12 or 11 or 13 or 67, and wants to throw a bent spoon at his head. I may include that in the sequel just for you. Thumbs up to you.

SeungSeiRan: Thanks for all the reviews. It made me happy to know she was upset about this nearing its end, and that's not because I love causing pain (well... only slightly) It meant that this story would be missed, which means a load. Oh, and thanks for the favourite story was-it-ma-thingy. Thumbs up to you.

Leonard: He doesn't exist. Ignore that.

Angelic Hellraiser: Yes. She hasn't reviewed many of this story yet, but oh well, she's got through the first chapter, so I'll mention her out of pure politeness, though I'm glad she likes it, and she's added me as a favourite author, so that was cool. Thumbs up to you.

FreakyArtist: Thanks for reviewing. However, I'm slightly worried about you. Here's why:

'i just love him (Fritz)...i've decided his my future hubby'

Yeah... Ok then... (cough, cough) weird... anyway, thanks. Thumbs up to you.

Raidenlover6: Shit, almost forgot to thanks to you. I'm really am glad that you reviewed. Thumbs up to you.

I know other people will review, especially after I become the most evil dictator known to mankind and force everyone to read it in-between digging in my mines looking for Nazi gold, so I'll simply edit this whenever somebody else reviews, and to those who have, thank you again (god, I sound like I'm at an award ceremony. Jesus Christ, soon I'll be thanking my local barber for giving me a Hitler- style haircut. Not really. Though apparently I do look a lot like him, so that's very worrying). Most of all, though, I'll have to say thank you, to myself. I've been brilliant to myself all the way through. I would not have made it without me. Thank you, me.

Oh, don't worry, me. It was nothing, really. And also, the people above made a much larger contribution... mainly monetary. Oh, you didn't know? As soon as you clicked on the name, I got a link to your bank accounts. I'm slowly extracted ALL OF YOUR POSSESSIONS! BUAH HA HA HA!!! (Runs away, and is never seen again...)