Tekken: Devil's Defeat

1. Doubts

A tall dark shadow emerges. Its eyes glow bright red. Demonic wings spread out wide.

"Jin!" A frightened voice calls out.

"Stop it!"

"No!"

The entity reaches out, a pair of sharp pointed claws shining ominously. The hand engulfs everything in complete darkness.

Another voice speaks.

"Xiao... I knew it would be you."

***

Ling Xiaoyu's eyes snapped open, ending her nightmare. A thin layer of sweat coated her skin which was noticeably more pale than usual. Her raven-black hair that was rarely loose stuck to her neck. Jolting up, she scanned the room. After recognizing that it was her dorm, a pleasant wave of relief washed over her as she evened out her breathing.

Suddenly finding herself parched, Xiaoyu carefully slipped out of the covers and tiptoed past the sleeping panda on the floor and made her way to the mini-fridge. She guzzled down a water bottle before looking at the digital clock on the wall.

2:55 am.

Xiaoyu huffed a sigh and went back into her bedroom. Panda was still asleep, her purring snores filled the room. Tenderly, Xiaoyu stroked the top of Panda's head before climbing back into her bed. Gazing out of her window, Xiaoyu thought to herself.

It's been two weeks now. I've had the same dream every single night. What could it possibly mean?

The cellphone on the nightstand suddenly started to ring. It was Alisa.

"Hey, Alisa. What's up?" Xiaoyu answered quietly, not wanting to wake up Panda who was beginning to stir.

"Xiaoyu, I have great news!" Alisa practically squeaked from the other end. "Father is travelling here to Japan to see me!"

"Really? That's great! I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Xiaoyu. I would appreciate it very much if you came to the airport with me tomorrow."

Xiaoyu remained quiet for a second to make up her mind. "Sure, I don't see why not." Tomorrow was a Sunday, meaning no school.

"Yay! I can hardly wait! See you tomorrow! Goodnight!" Alisa exclaimed and abruptly ended the call before Xiaoyu had a chance to respond. She let out a small chuckle before turning the device off and putting it back on the stand. Hearing Alisa be so happy had lifted Xiaoyu's spirits a bit.

But, that soon evaporated when flashbacks of her nightmare immediately began filling her head. She clamped her eyes shut and tried hard to force it out. But the harder she tried, the more vivid the images became of the dark winged figure. She could tell that it was Jin in his Devil Gene form. She could never forget it.

Ever since the Kyoto Castle incident, Xiaoyu had dreams about Jin. They used to come once in a blue moon but recently, they escalated to every night. It was to the point were the poor girl was starting to fear sleep. And her daytime life was slowly starting to suffer.

"I know that one day, you will come to defeat me and I'll be waiting."

Those words constantly echoed in Xiaoyu's mind within the last year. She could still recall that day as if it was only yesterday.

"Why me, Jin?" Xiaoyu absentmindedly asked. Why does he want it to be me? It makes no sense. There's no way it could be me...

Suddenly, a rustling sound caused Xiaoyu to turn her head towards the window, which was open a fraction wider than a few seconds ago. She frowned. A couple of leaves from the nearest dangling tree flew in the wind. Walking towards the window, she peeked out and looked around the concrete parking lot and around the surrounding area. There was nothing to be seen.

Xiaoyu sighed again, blaming her sleep-deprived brain for making her paranoid. She then closed the window shut and slid the curtains down.

***

A large SUV came to a halt in front of a massive, neon-purple building.

Violet Systems.

A burly man came out of the truck and went into the building. As he walked through the hallway, he spotted a familiar man.

Silver hair, purple coat, and a sly smirk. Lee Chaolan.

"Excellent! You finally decided to show up!" Lee spoke dramatically.

The other man scoffed at Lee's catchphrase and steered the conversation. "How is he holding up?"

The two men began to walk side by side.

"He's still out cold, but his vitals are normal and functioning," Lee replied, fixing his gloves.

"I hate to say it but that's good to hear."

"Heh. I figured you'd say something like that."

Soon, they were standing in front of a glass wall. Behind it was a young man laying on a bed, unconscious. Jin Kazama.

"I know the answer is quite obvious but I would just like to ask: Why bother keeping him alive after all he's done?" Lee asked, hooking his finger in front of his chin.

"He's the one who started this war. He's the one who's going to have to end it," the man replied.

"I see, I see. And if that happens, what then?"

"A lot of people want to kill him, including me. But whoever does is decided by fate."

"Is that so? Who do you think it will be?"

"I'm not sure. Though, I'm certain that it will be someone who deserves to the most."

"Oh really? How do you know that?"

"If I know anything about him, Jin won't let just anybody kill him. Though he wishes for the end of his bloodline, he wants to be killed by a worthy opponent. The best example I can think of is Azazel."

"But his battle with that beast failed. You're saying there's someone or something more powerful than that?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But nothing beats the power of will."

"Interesting. I find it hard to think of someone with a will stronger than yours... Lars."

Lars's lips tugged into a smirk and he turned to Lee. "I'm just another fish in the sea. Probability narrows when there's so many to choose from."