**Disclaimer**: Tekken is owned by Namco and not me. I just manipulate the characters for entertainment purposes.
Crossfire
Chapter 14 - Inimical Salvation
Once again, chains bound the Korean to a chair, only this time the case was different. It was much different. They were in a lab and the American woman was strapped to a vertical metal slab, facing her boyfriend. Of course a small sharp stick was clutched in Hwoarang's hand, hidden from sight, yet ready to do its job. In his other hand, he held a single key that Eryx slipped to him earlier that day. The only problem was, he wondered if he would get the chance to use his escape tools.
Heihachi stood between them, considering them both in turn. He eventually came to face the girl, a thirst for corruption in his sneer. It was obvious what the old man had decided to do. Though the Korean was almost relieved that he wasn't chosen to be humiliated once again, thinking he had been through more then his share of embarrassments, but he knew he couldn't let it happen to Julia. No self-respecting man would allow something like that.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Do you want to take her place?"
Hwoarang didn't answer, looking away in a false act of fear, not wanting to look suspiciously eager. Once the old man ran his hand down Julia's body, stopping on a hip, Hwoarang spoke up again, "Hey grand pappy! Why you bothering with her? She's small and inexperienced. Oh, I get it. I'm too much for you. You're old Viagra pushing ass couldn't handle me a second time without a team of medics nearby."
Julia gasped, and stared at the Korean in shock. "Second time?" She glared at Heihachi and started struggling, making failed attempts at yanking herself out of the straps. "What did you do to my boyfriend? As if he wasn't damaged enough by his parents, you had to go and do whatever the hell you did?" She barred her teeth, kicking furiously. "He's probably going to need therapy now you Jackass! I'll Kill You!! Argh!"
Heihachi quirked a brow at the girl. "Would you like to see what I did to him? He seems to want me to repeat the scene for you."
"No! I won't just kill you!" She shrieked, "I'll rip those hideous eyes out of their sockets and make you eat them! Look at me like that again, and your eyes won't be the only useless things I'll make you eat!"
Impressed. Hwoarang couldn't help but grin, despite the seriousness of the scene. The grin didn't stay long. As the old Mishima approached him, he stared up, defiantly holding the man's gaze. The moment of judgement was on its way, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was ready. It would have been no problem if Julia wasn't there, or if he wasn't chained up, but with both factors present, he had to be very careful. Luckily he had learned stealth when he was in the military, though he never had to pull off something like that.
Soon, a knife was used to remove his shirt, for removing it by normal means would require unchaining. So the T-shirt that was given to the Korean by one of the guards was left hanging off his shoulders, his scarred chest fully exposed. He flinched as cold fingers brushed against a fresh cut that had been self-inflicted that morning when Julia was still asleep. The fingers moved on slowly, savouring the feel of the young body.
Hwoarang tried to lock eyes with Julia, wanting her to focus on his eyes instead of what was happening to him, but she couldn't be reached, lashing out desperately trying to free herself. His own focus was distracted as a cold blade slid down the centre of his torso. He watched it stop at his blood-stained pants, and cringed, struggling to keep himself from lashing out before it was a little safer.
"Sometime this century, gramps. I've seen glaciers fuck faster then you." The Korean taunted, getting very impatient with the old man.
Heihachi smiled, "I don't want the girl to miss anything."
Eryx watched as a large black winged creature flew over top, landing on the roof. Secretly he hoped that he had been the only one to see it, but he was out of luck. A couple of the guards ran into the building, ordering the security inside to alert Heihachi about the guest. The creature swooped down from the roof, and flew right past him, snatching a security officer off the ground, and flying back up. Outside the estate quickly became chaotic with preparations that they had all been trained for, yet most were too panicked to follow through correctly. Many men ran screaming inside, while other started shooting aimlessly into the air.
Eryx simply stood there, watching the roof, willing the bullets to miss their unseen target. He recognised the creature, for he had been there that day when Jin Kazama had grown wings and crashed through the wall, using his grandfather to cut the path. That day, Eryx had barely made it out of that place alive, having been the first one the demon attacked, but strangely, he was almost glad to see the guy.
On the other side of the Estate, most of the guards had left to where the action was taking place, leaving only four guys behind to defend their stations. Silently Lee and Kazuya – Zekkai having handed control over for fear of the red eyes being spotted at a bad time – snuck up behind two of the men, and snapped their necks. The other two were quickly silenced with identical kicks to the throat. The adoptive brothers were free to continue inside.
The hallways were deserted, but they could hear shouts from other floors, and coming from open windows. It was like a prison riot, only without the alarms going off. Lee lead the way, since Kazuya was not familiar with the route in the dark, having not been allowed in the basement.
Once they found their way to the underground laboratories, Zekkai wordlessly alerted Kazuya to a crowd of people heading their way. Lee, seeing his adoptive brother's face, grabbed Kazuya and pulled him into a dark room. Not much later, footsteps pounded by, and as Kazuya peeked out, he spotted Heihachi being ushered down the corridor by a flock of his men, blood gushing from his ear as he shouted orders in Japanese.
Kazuya couldn't help but smile, positive that his Hwoa-kun was responsible. It was a moment of pride that lasted only until Lee pulled him back out to the brightly lit corridor. They ran, both looking into random doors as they went. Eventually they came to a locked door and looked through the tiny bars that may have supposed to be a window.
At first all that could be seen was Julia's tear streaked face. It looked like she was pleading with someone in between desperate sobs. She was strapped to a slab, blood dripping down from her arms and legs from useless struggles. When they moved a little farther to the side, they were able to see Hwoarang, covered in blood, his shirt torn, and his pants in a heap on the floor. His exposed body was covered in bruises that extended to his face, but the most troubling part of the picture was that he was unconscious.
Eryx came up behind them, and pushed them aside, startling both men into fighting stance. Once they realized that he wasn't about to scream for his boss, or try to play hero and attack them, they relaxed, though continued to watch him intently, not entirely sure what to think. Maybe it was a new guy, following orders to keep an eye on the two prisoners, but as he unlocked the door and stepped aside, it was obvious he knew they weren't supposed to be there.
"You better work quickly. There are men heading up to the roof to put an end to your decoy. They've got sedatives specially engineered for a person with the devil gene, and I'm afraid Hwoarang and the girl are in need of some medical attention."
In subconscious obedience, Zekkai was in control in a matter of milliseconds. It sprinted into the room and to its young lover. Lee realized that the girl would be his responsibility to release. He quickly found his knife and went to work slicing off the straps. Unfortunately they were made out of a material composed of metal fibres, so it would take forever to saw off just one of them. Not wanting to bother the demon with his dilemma, Lee began rummaging through drawers for either instructions on how to undo the straps, or a sharper tool to cut them with.
Zekkai stood, staring at the boy, at a loss of what to do. It didn't want to disturb its lover, well aware of the great need the boy had for sleep. Should it just take him up in its arms and carry him out? No, not with him in that condition. The boy at least needed some clothes. It turned around to find Julia, who had grown quiet since they came in, watching it. So Zekkai decided to ask, "What happened?"
"Heihachi happened," Julia growled, but her anger was not directed at the demon. She cringed and continued, "That old bastard undressed Hwoarang, and started … kissing him. Then out of nowhere, Hwoarang's hand shot out and stabbed Heihachi in the ear with a stick that I had no idea he had! A second later Heihachi leaped on him and started pounding him until he passed out… Is he still alive?"
"Yes. He's breathing steadily." Zekkai looked back to the redhead just in time to see the dark Korean eyes flutter open.
Hwoarang smiled weakly upon seeing his demon. He swallowed despite the difficulty of it, and coughed. "Well now that's a sight for sore eyes." He noticed Lee searching through the drawers and decided to give a little help, "Hey pansy, that blue panel on the wall slides open. Behind it is a bunch of switches. The orange switch will un-strap her."
As Lee freed the girl using his new knowledge, he glanced at the redhead with a weary gaze, "I see you've been down here before."
"Take her outside," Zekkai ordered, "Wave Jin down, and get somewhere safe. We'll be right behind you."
Lee sighed and obeyed without argument. He helped Julia off the slab and once he remembered her wounds, proceeded to snatching some gauze off a table, and helping the girl out the door while he applied the gauze to her wounds.
"Your beauty is becoming quite the curse, Hwoarang." Zekkai walked over to a sink, and found a bowl to fill with water and a rag to dip in it. It went back to its young lover and began cleaning the blood off The Korean flesh. "I've found myself wishing that I would finally grow tired of this drama you've brought into my life, but I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to grow tired of you. Even in such a horrible state as this, you're still the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on."
Hwoarang shrugged, "It's not hard to explain that. I'm covered in blood, and, well, let's face it, red's my colour."
Zekkai smiled and kissed the Korean lightly, avoiding the blood for fear that most of it originally came from its host's father. It rinsed the rag in the bowl, watching as the water swirled to a cloudy shade of red. "Indeed… Tell me, why is it you came here even with the knowledge of the impossibility of facing Heihachi?"
"To humiliate myself. To get fucked by the last of the Mishimas. I don't know." Hwoarang laughed bitterly and shook his head in bewilderment, "I had thought through my whole plan and decided that it was incredibly stupid, then the next thing I know, I'm scaling the gate, and walking to the building out in the open like a complete Jackass. I'm sorry, Zekkai. If I'd have realized what kind of danger I would be putting you in, I like to think that I wouldn't have done it." He paused, and looked over at the door, "Now what's this about Jin being here. You two didn't honestly work together, did you?"
In a moment of resentful remembrance, the demon nodded, still trying to clean off the boy. "He suggested it, and really, I hadn't much of a choice. If I took that moment to claim my other half, I'd have been dooming you in the process. Now I suppose we should get out of here before Heihachi decides to return. I don't imagine that friend of yours can do anything to hold him off."
"Friend? What frie… Is that who let you in here? Danas?"
"If Danas is a young Foreign boy, then yes."
Hwoarang closed his eyes and leaned back, a smirk forming on his lips. "So he did end up helping me after all. And you thought my pretty face was a curse. Ha! This shit I'm always getting myself into can be blamed on my ego, but don't let me catch you dissing my prettiness again… Is prettiness a word?"
Zekkai grinned, amused. "I love it when you threaten me."
"Shut up. Seriously, man. Is it a word?"
The sun was finally up, and the doctors were finally finished operating on the Mishima's ear. The old man stood in the centre of the dojo, waiting for the one he had called on. Soon enough, the desired man stepped through the sliding doors, and bowed his head, well aware that he was found out. Heihachi must have went through the tapes of last night and found him helping the infamous demons.
Heihachi crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his formerly highest ranked officer. He should have known better than to put a 26-year-old so high up, but he had never suspected a Danas would betray him. The Danas family had been aiding him for generations, and for the first time, one rebelled.
"Why aren't you apologizing?"
Eryx glanced up briefly, "Because I have no regrets."
"Well then why don't I give you some?" Heihachi growled, walking across the room and sliding the door shut. He glared at the young man with debauch eyes as he ordered quietly, "Remove your filthy deceitful garments. Now, Danas. You do not want to keep me waiting."
The young Greek man swallowed hard, frightened, yet standing firm, as he pulled a gun out of a holster at his side. He pulled the hammer back, put it to his head, and took a deep breath, not allowing the tears of fear to escape his eyes. No. When he was going, it would be with dignity, and finally standing up to the old creep was freeing in its own. "My only regret will be dieing in a uniform that represents you. I'd shoot you instead, but I'm afraid that I might find out that you really are human, and that would be the scariest thing in the world. I will die thinking that you are not of human flesh nor animal. You are evil in its purest form, and therefore, I will die happy."
"You haven't the guts."
"I have. If it wasn't for that Korean, I'd be fucked right now. Shaming my family, shaming myself, and shaming the fuck out of human kind! I saw what you did to him… I saw the way he struggled, the way he wouldn't back down like so many others do on a regular basis. At first I thought he was foolish, but then… He survived. Not only did he survive, but he was able to come out of that knowing that he didn't surrender. He got to keep his soul, but what the fuck do I have? You stole my soul long ago, and I won't let you take any more! He sees things differently then others, and that rare perspective of his is infectious. Everything looks different, but I know it's still the same. Now I see that it doesn't have to be." He smiled faintly as he blew Heihachi a kiss, "See you in hell."
He pulled the trigger.