Seventeen years later...


Relations between Earthrealm and Outworld had been steadily improving over the past few years once the kamidogu was returned to Kotal Kahn and all main Earthrealm forces were cleared of the charges pressed against them, but tensions continued to remain as third party groups like Shadaloo and the Black Dragon continued to make attempts to disrupt the delicate peace, either in efforts to grab power or out of a genuine desire to see their realms superiority over another. Raiden and Kotal Kahn worked alongside many valiant and noble warriors who sought to keep the peace between the realms from deteriorating, but even they recognized violence was largely inevitable.

To that end, an arrangement was made.

In the grand tradition of their forefathers, a tournament. A chance for the greatest martial artists, warriors and beasts from Earth and realms beyond to challenge one another in the purity of one-on-one combat. A single stipulation was imposed by the ruling council, upon whom sat both Kotal Kahn and Lord Raiden. No fatalities. This would be no blood sport. A chance to test and witness the fighters of another's world to gauge their power, and equally a chance to win glory and fame. Money as well, they had quite the prizes for those interested in more material gains. But no death. Any such attempts lead to immediate disqualification. The tradition itself was fine indeed, but they would not adopt the old rules for death in the arena.

They had named it the Tournament of Champions.

And this is where we find her.


The Tournament of Champions was being held in Earthrealm, on a remote island in the Phillipines. No one knew exactly where, and the vessel that brought them here was imbued with the power of the Elder Gods to mask their voyage. After almost a week of travel, it had finally arrived, and the fighters were disembarking from the ship. Warriors of every shape and size descended the gangplank onto the docks, cybernetic ninja, rogue mutants, soldiers, policemen, martial artists, movie stars and many others besides.

Amongst them, a young girl no older than seventeen, wearing a pair of neon pink sunglasses to shield her eyes from the bright sun and wearing a dark green top and a pair of white workout pants. Dark hair, stiff from lack of moisture, exploded around her head in a mane of short spikes. She was unusually pale, and her skin had an odd sheen to it, but apart from that she didn't look different from most of the other humans coming to participate in the tournament.

Looks, however, could be deceiving.

As she stepped onto the docks and gazed up at the island fortress where they would be competing, she felt a thrill run down her spine. Adjusting the pack slung over her shoulder, she tugged down her sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright yellow eyes with oval, almost slit-like pupils.

"Alright... time for some fun," she purred, practically giddy with excitement.


Matches began the very next day. Lots were chosen at random so none could call foul on an unfair match-up. It was a cool, crisp day, the sun was hidden behind a thin layer of clouds but there was a comfortable breeze on the air.

Several opening matches went by, none of them of particular note. The minimal audience in attendance may have been enthralled by intensity of the fights, but to true leaders and warriors they were paltry affairs for the most part, unworthy of their time and attention. High up in their elite seating, Kotal Kahn slumped in his chair, watching but uninterested in the fights, leaving announcements to his herald and overall rather bored.

Until...

"Next match... Vega vs Zatera Han!"

Spectators glanced amongst themselves, unsure if they'd heard that last name correctly. Han? As in Juri? Members of S.I.N. in the audience looked to Seth for confirmation, who himself looked flummoxed. No one had heard from Juri Han since her last mission, all of them had assumed she'd been dead the last two decades or so. Was this simply a coincidence in names? Or a relative? A cousin? A niece?

Stepping into the arena, the audience got a better look at both fighters. But it seemed virtually nobody was paying the slightest bit of attention to Vega once this Zatera stepped into the ring. Having exchanged her top and pants for a skintight suit of slinky green leather, she naturally drew every eye. It looked exceptionally tight, showcasing every inch of her slender body, highlighting the curve of her hips and the swell of her bosom. She may not have been busty or voluptuous like some fighters, but she definitely held a great appeal in her outfit. A chain of dark bronze encircled her slender waist like a belt. Darker green leather shoulder pads, gauntlets, fingerless gloves and toeless boots completed the ensemble. It bore more than a passing resemblance to the outfit that kunoichi of Edenia were known to wear, like Kitana or Jade. She wore no mask to accompany it, instead her pretty face was fully on display, yellow eyes and pale lips complimented by her dark, spiky hair.

Then she smiled, and there could be no doubt left in their minds. There could be no mistaking that evil little grin. This wasn't just any relative of Juri Han. This was her daughter.

Up in the elite seating, the aged Seth growled, clenching his hand into a fist. If this girl was Juri's daughter, that meant she had survived her last mission. But never reported in. She'd gone AWOL from SIN. Unacceptable. Oh, he had questions for this girl. But first and foremost, he wanted to know if she could fight.

Further up the elite seating, where the Emperor was, a shinobi dropped down by his side.

"The name is confirmed sir, it is the same as the thief who stole the kamidogu. She can be dealt with following her elimination from the tournament if you so desire. Or captured and brought in for questioning."

Kotal Kahn waved away the ninja, curious to see what this girl could do. He leaned forward in his throne, elbows resting on his knees as his hands interlaced and provided a rest for his chin. His gaze was intense as he studied the child of both servant and enemy. For there was also no doubt in his mind exactly who the father was.

Curious.

"Let's see what she can do first," he said.


"Round one... fight!"

Her opponent was Vega. Not the original, this was his protégé, who had inherited his fighting style and distinctive mask, but bore a shade of red as his hair color, not blonde. And unlike the original Vega, wore a pristine white business suit and tie. As if fully convinced he was impossible to touch.

Zatera intended to dissuade him of that notion.

The half-saurian girl was instantly in motion, throwing herself forward bodily and into the air, swinging a kick to knock Vega's head clean off his block. He countered with a raised arm, knocking her kick off, then lashing out with the triple bladed covering on his wrist, lashing out at her with his sharp claws. Zatera deftly ducked and dodged, rolling backwards onto her hands then back flipping onto her feet a safe distance away.

"Come on, is that all you've got?" she asked, planting her hands on her hips. Her eyes seemed to light up with an inner emerald fire as a long serpents tongue slipped from her lips, flicking the air before slipping back inside of her mouth.

"Show a girl a good time, will ya?"

"If you insist, madame," he replied, swinging out his foot in a low sweep, trying to knock her off her feet. "Though it will be a terrible shame to destroy such a lovely dark flower as yourself."

She easily evaded his move and struck out with her own foot, kicking him right in his masked face. He hit the ground hard, rolling to his feet a moment later, clutching at his mask as he felt it crack under his fingers. It was otherwise undamaged, but his eyes were wide behind the slits as he watched her. She'd almost unmasked him. And like his mentor had taught him, once that happened, it could never be undone.

Zatera gave a playful smirk, well aware of how greatly he prized his face. She'd struck him on purpose to get him riled up.

"I'll tear you limb from limb!" he shouted, charging forward, claws slashing through the air wildly.

She countered with a kick and a backhand, grasping at her waist in one fluid motion and de-tatching her dark bronze belt. Unfurling it to its full length, she swung it in a figure eight arc, snapping it against the ground like a whip (which it was) and forcing Vega back, putting him on the defensive.

"Don't get all pouty, we're still playing," said Zatera, snapping the whip through the air with a flick of her wrist. Vega dodged, ducking underneath, then came in for a furious flurry of kicks.

The half-saurian fell back onto the defensive, blocking his kicks and ducking or dodging his razor sharp claws. Through it all, however, she never lost the wicked smirk on her face. She was toying with him, and he seemed to know it. It only raised his ire and encouraged him to throw more and more into his wild strikes, hoping to wipe the smug grin off her face.

Finally, however, he threw a blow too wild and reckless, leaving him badly off-guard as she shifted inside his guard and struck. A yellow-green aura engulfed her foot as she swung it at his chest, sending him tumbling to the ground. The force of the blow felt like he'd been struck by a car, and Vega groaned in disbelief, caressing his ribcage to massage away the pain.

"Like that?" she asked with a grin. "I got some natural ki-affinity somehow. Neat, huh? Seems like I have some knack for this stuff too."

Now it was Vega who was on the defensive, barely able to counter or block any blow Zatera threw at him with lightning fast kicks and solid, sharp jabs from her tiny fists. It was like being struck by a bulldozer, and he skidded to the very edge of the ring, barely managing to keep his balance. Knockout counted as a disqualification by tournament rules.

Abruptly, however, Zatera stopped and hopped backwards, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Vega paused, confused. She'd been winning. But Zatera evidently wasn't yet done with him.

"That's not all, boyo," she said with a grin. Her other eye lit up, equally bright. "Two-for-one deal."

Vega recoiled in stark terror as the aura of blazing energy around Zatera jumped to unprecedented levels, a lime-tinted aura of fire coalescing around her like an almost tangible force, doubling her power a second time.

Her next move finished the fight... but she held back just enough strength to avoid delivering a fatal blow. Tournament rules. Didn't matter though, she thought as her opponent came crashing back down to the ring from her sweeping kick. The fun wasn't in the kill, it was the thrill of the fight. The blood, the pain, the fear. And most of all the flush of victory.

Oh how she loved it.

The glow in Zatera's eyes as she glanced up at the arena stands, taking the time to recoil her chain-whip once again around her slender waist, and gave a wave to her audience.

And two in particular.


High up in the arena stands, admist the cheering crowds, two figures sat amdist them. The angle of the sun cast that particular section of the stadium into deep shadows. The one on the left was a tall, muscular sort, wearing a hooded brown robe with the cowl pulled low over his head, hiding his features in darkness. The other one, a much slimmer, shorter figure, was dressed in a trenchcoat and a wide-brimmed fedora which served a similar purpose.

Reptile lifted his head, his reptilian features faintly visible amidst the shadows of the cowl as he watched Zatera fight. "She's going to win," he remarked off-handedly.

A smiling Juri revealed herself under the fedora, an eyepatch covering her left eye, her right one shining brightly. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"None," he replied. "She fights with honor, ruthless determination, and great cunning."

"Gee, I wonder who she gets that from?" the purple-eyed assassin asked rhetorically.

The two of them leaned into each other, watching the rest of the tournament unfold. In particular, they saw Zatera Han claim victory after victory as she fought and won match after match. Her match with Vega was over, and after that she took down Cassandra Cage, though that was remarkably closer. Johnny Cage's and Sonya Blade's daughter was an even match. Zatera truly had to work for her victory, but she earned it, moving ever closer to the finals of the Tournament.

She fought with passion, she fought with ferocity, she fought for the thrill of victory.

And more importantly, she did them both proud.


Authors Notes:

Zatera is a wholly original creation of ours, decided upon at the last moment to join in the fun epilogue here. Technically this second Vega is as well, but we mostly cobbled him together to give her someone to fight who wouldn't upset fans of either the Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter franchises.

And so ends this cooperative story of ours. The first of many or maybe the last? Who knows? Both are plausible (but I'm seriously hoping for the first of the two, though, really.) We'd also like to say we hope you all enjoyed this story of ours and will continue to read and enjoy our future stories, both coop and solo.

Also also, check out this gorgeous piece of art Rassilon commissioned for the story. For the folks, who'd like a more visual representation of Zatera. Thanks goes to the artist as well. art/Commission-Zatera-559116057

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's all from us! For a time, at least! I'm Writer of Chaos.

And I'm Rassilon001 saying... good fight, good night!