Chapter 4

14 years ago

Deceit walked through the Red Forest in Netherworld, dragging a sword behind him. The forest was large, and full of several different types of trees, all of which had red leaves or pine needles. He walked several miles before stopping abruptly. He wasn't alone.

“Who's there?” he asked.

Akuma suddenly jumped out from the trees, swinging a pair of giant cutlasses. He attacked Deceit mercilessly, keeping him on the defensive. He eventually sliced one of Deceit's wrists, causing him to drop his sword. Akuma merged his swords together into the form of a giant ax, and prepared to behead Deceit, but before he could, Death appeared out of nowhere and impaled him on the end of his scythe's blade. Akuma fell to the ground, coughing up blood. He raised one of his fists and slammed it into the ground. A giant glowing circle filled with glowing satanic symbols appeared on the ground beneath him.

“Satanic Seal 12, Transit!” he exclaimed. In a flash of red light, he vanished.

“Aw, he ran away,” Deceit said, disappointed.

“You didn't seem to be very serious back there,” Death said.

“I didn't feel like using my true form,” Deceit said. “Transformations feel weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Death said.

“So what brings you around here?” Deceit asked.

“I've come to give you this,” Death said, handing Deceit a piece of paper.

“What's this?” Deceit asked.

“Directions,” Death said. “They'll come in handy if you choose to aid the kids later.”

“I see,” Deceit said. “I can't guarantee I'll choose their side, but I'll keep these just in case. So what are you gonna do, now? Your daughters seven and a half, isn't she?”

“Correct,” Death said.

“Which means you don't have much time left,” Deceit said. “How do you plan on spending it?”

“I have some things I need to take care of before I accept my fate,” Death said.

“You plan on visiting them at all?” Deceit asked.

“It's better that I don't,” Death said. “She deserves a normal life.”

“A normal life without a father?” Deceit asked.

“I'm no father figure,” Death said.

“I guess that's true,” Deceit said. “But she'll have to learn who she is at some point.””And I'm not the one she needs to learn it from,” Death said.

Present day

Johnathan stopped inside a diner to get something to eat. He had been driving all day, and was still a good twelve hours away from Pittsburgh. He ordered some food and began eating. He had to stop and close his eyes after a few bites. He was getting a headache. He then realized something wasn't right. He opened his eyes and saw that the restaurant was empty and the lights were off. It had been brightly lit and crowded a few moments ago. He got up and looked around. Strangely, there was now a large air hockey table where a group of diner tables used to be.

“Care for a game?” said a voice from behind him.

John spun around, startled. A man was now sitting in a previously empty chair, holding a puck in one hand and smoking a cigar in the other. He was dressed in a black business suit with a gray tie, and had shoulder length black hair. He black eyes were visible, even in the blackness of the diner.

“Who are you?” John asked.

“Name's Deceit,” the man said.

“Where did everybody go?” John asked.

“Oh, they're fine,” Deceit said. “So, how about that game?”

“Why?” John asked.

“I'm bored, and think it'd be a good way to test you out,” Deceit said. “So, shall we?”

“Fine,” John said.

Deceit handed him an air hockey mallet and stood at one end of the table. John stood across from him.

“Rules are simple,” Deceit said. “First one to get a goal wins.”

“Just one?” John asked.

“One's all it'll take,” Deceit said.Deceit served, and the puck spun toward John. The world slowed, and John saw exactly how to hit the puck so that it would ricochetted in a way that Deceit wouldn't be able to stop it. He smacked the puck, but to his surprise, Deceit sent it back at him effortlessly. John blocked and sent it back at Deceit, who blocked as well. They continued sending the puck back and forth, back and forth.

“Don't get cocky,” Deceit said. “You're not the only one who possesses Lightning Thought.”

“Lightning Thought?” John asked, blocking another of Deceit's strikes.

“The ability to think at incredible speeds,” Deceit explained. “Allowing you to analyze every aspect of your surroundings, and piece together the perfect strategy. When two people with the gift clash, the battle can go on for years if it's allowed to.”

John didn't intend to let it go on for that long. If he couldn't outsmart Deceit, he would have to overpower him. As the puck flew at him yet again, he put all his strength into his block. A blast of sound, loud as thunder, echoed through the diner as his mallet hit the puck. It was sent flying at high speed, knocking Deceit's mallet out of his hand when he tried to block. The puck ricocheted off the sides of the field, flying back at John. He smacked it again, sending it straight into Deceit's goal. A couple seconds later, the sound of Deceit's mallet hitting the ground could be heard.

“Congratulations,” Deceit said, giving a soft clap. “You've done pretty well.”

A circle containing a glowing pentagram appeared on the table, and red lightning filled the air.

“Oh shit,” Deceit said. “Run.”

A man emerged from the glowing circle, dressed in crimson clothing, and wearing a blind fold. He carried a massive falchion, and wore a fanged smile.

“W-who are you?” John asked, frightened.

“I'm Akuma,” the man said. “And I'm gonna kill you.”

Akuma swung his sword, which John barely dodged. He jumped behind the counters and ran into the kitchen, looking for something to fight with. Akuma raised a fist into the air, and slammed it into the ground, summoning another circle of satanic symbols.

“Satanic Seal 4, Cataclysm!” he exclaimed.

Red lightning filled the air, and the floors and walls cracked. The entire establishment came crumbling down, and John was barely able to escape in time. He ran to his car, and opened the trunk, pulling the sword out. He turned around to see Akuma standing there, sword raised. John parried Akuma's strike with all his strength.

“Hey Deceit!” Akuma yelled over his shoulder. “That's your old sword, right?”

“Used to be,” Deceit said. “It's his now.”

It suddenly hit John where he had heard Deceit's voice before. It was him who had given him this sword. It was him who quoted that line about storms answering his battle cry. Akuma raised his sword for another strike, but as he did so, John shouted as loud as he could, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground between them. Akuma dodged it and jumped back several yards. He raised a hand in front of himself, and a satanic circle appeared in midair.

“Satanic Seal 9, Third Summoning!” he said.

A great serpent burst forth from the seal, with thousands of hedgehog-like quills sprouting from its back. John raised his sword, and a lightning bolt struck the blade. He could feel the power of the lightning flow through his body, empowering him. The serpent struck, and he parried its fangs. Akuma appeared behind him, with his falchion raised. John turned and blocked the attack, just as the snaked prepared another attack. Deceit stepped in, grabbing onto the snakes tail and throwing it effortlessly to the side.

“Oh, Akuma, you shouldn't have!” he said, jokingly, standing face to face with the serpent. “How did you know I wanted one of these!?”

Deceit began fighting the serpent, while John continued to battle Akuma. Akuma charged his satanic energy through his blade and attacked. John put all of his power into his blade as their swords clashed. The sound of thunder filled the air, and Akuma was sent flying backwards. He got to his feet and punched the air, summoning another seal.

“Satanic Seal 1, Fireball!” he shouted.

A massive ball of fire shot from the seal. John shot a bolt of lightning from the tip of his sword. The blasts collided, and John was knocked over by the resulting explosion. His left arm and leg and been injured in the blast. Akuma was suddenly standing over him. His blindfold had fallen off, revealing red eyes with glowing pentagrams visible in his pupils.

“It's over!” he exclaimed, raising his sword. John closed his eyes, expecting the worst. He were the clang of metal against metal. He opened his eyes to see a man with long, golden hair standing over him, blocking Akuma's sword with a blade of his own. The man was wearing plated armor, which was entirely silver, save for his right gauntlet, which was a deep crimson.

“Well, this is an interesting turn of events,” Deceit said, standing over the corpse of the serpent.

“Dragon Slayer Jack,” Akuma hissed. “I thought I killed you.”

Jack grinned broadly beneath his awesome mustache.

“You thought wrong,” he said.