Challenge of the Kombat Chapter 10: Admitting Emotions from the Other Side, a Mortal Kombat + Yu-Gi-Oh Crossover fanfic

Zypher: Welcome all to my newest chapter and I'm happy that you all reviewed the last one. Thanks a bunch and I grant you with the next chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. Enjoy everyone.

Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 9

After making sure the Sonya was ok for now, they all left out to the training grounds and started training with one another to prepare themselves for the next battle. Raiden watched as they trained with each other alongside Keara. She looked up to the Thunder God. "Raiden, I have a feeling that the newly recruited Dark Warriors are up to something. Do you think the same?" she asked.

"Yes and I know exactly of what they want. Each has taken interest in one of our newly gained Earth Warriors but they know they can't do much since they are of opposing sides. One to put the world into darkness and the other to save it. They are having conflicting emotions because of this situation and I know that each hopes to have what they wish without problems but they can only do so much. At the most, they are doing what they can to prove themselves that they are not totally evil and wish to be with them even if they are on different sides. You can tell this easily based on the past battles so far." Raiden explained and she thought about it.

She remembered the battle with Dartz and Malik and how he seemed to be weakened easily when Malik was knocked off the side of the Falling Cliffs. 'If he's right, the many battles that Malik had with Marik before the tournament starts meant something and the only thing I can guess is that Marik has some interest in Malik.' she thought, eyes widening in realization.

"You're right, Raiden. I remember that before the tournament even started, there was a reason Marik and Toben kept coming here. Because they were interested in Malik and Topaz, that's why they only battled with them and no one else." she said to him and he nodded.

"But if all that's true, then how are we going to let them get together? Shao Khan would never allow it and those that are still loyal to him will kill them or the ones that are causing their defiance."

"That decision is based all on them. If they want this or not. Their decision can also be the fate of the world as well. You can help them but you can only do so much." Raiden said before leaving her alone to her thoughts.

'Well, if I can help them then I will. I want them to be happy and if that means that bringing them together with the ones that wish to be with them then so be it.' she thought, looking up as Yugi called to her and she joined in with them to train.

/How is the tournament going so far?/ Shao Khan asked. "So far, we had a few losses but with Marik, he was able to win against Sonya." Sheeva said. /Hmm, this will pose a problem. There hasn't been any changes with our Warriors has there?/ he asked. "No but Motaro said that he has seen some of them looking forlorn about something but when he asked, they just dismiss it and leave." she said.

/I can't tolerate such behavior. Sheeva, I want you two to start keeping an eye on our new fighters and if they are to leave out somewhere without anyone noticing, follow them and if there's something that interest them and may cause them to defy us, destroy it immediately./ Shao Khan said and she nodded. /Now, go and make arrangements for the next battle. I think Seto will deserve the next battle./ he said and she nodded once more as she bowed and left the Dimensional Gate.

It was a few hours later after Sheeva left and the Dark Warriors gathered up in the sitting room. Yami and Aqua were sitting on a high ledge made of shadows just for the reason of avoiding Anzu who was awake now and trying to convince them, without letting the others know, that Yugi was a bother and shouldn't have to worry about him. Yami thought that she was lucky that everyone was in here or else he would've killed her by now because of her insults to the younger fighter of the earth.

"Does anyone know of the next match yet?" Mai asked.

"No, if we knew, do you think we would be sitting here?" Seto drawled and that earned him a glare from her. "Well, we should past the time by training or something. Those Earth Warriors can tend to be a pain and one of us may get killed if we're not prepared. We don't want that now, do we?" Siegfried muttered. "Unlike some of us, we're perfectly fine with the strength we have. You never know if we just have some hidden secrets." Crimson answered with a smirk.

"He does have a point. But anyways, Crimson," Marik called and the sphinx warrior looked to him. "Have you seen Bakura lately? I haven't seen him walking around except for when we eat but then he just leaves when he's done. What's up with that?" he asked. "He's working on something important and he doesn't want anyone interrupting him so I won't bother going to his room or he just may tear you limb from limb." Crimson replied.

Bakura was sitting in his room like Crimson told all the others, running his fingers through the hair of the soul clone of Ryou that he was able to conjure up. He groaned lightly and the clone looked up to him.

"What's wrong, Master Bakura?" he asked. Bakura looked down to him. "I just can't get my thoughts off the true form that I want." he replied.

"But...don't I please you enough until you get that chance, master?"

"You do, don't get me wrong, but I am starting to become impatient with waiting for that time. I want him now but the last thing I want to do is scare him off and then I lose him for good." he said before growling lightly, letting go of the clone's hair and placed his hand over his face. The clone Ryou frowned and moved up to him, gently kissing his neck.

"I am here to make you feel better, master. That's what you created me for. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it for you." he said. Bakura looked to him and sighed before smirking lightly.

"I know you will, my little clone." he murmured and brought him down for a kiss. 'At least until I have my true angel with me, you will just have to do but I won't complain about it.'

Sheeva soon came back, just around the same time Bakura came out his room and downstairs, and told them what they decided on for the next match. "Alright, we have decided that in the next match, it will be Seto against Ryou." she said. After hearing the next match, Bakura growled and looked over to Seto.

'Seems we need to have a short talk before that match.' he thought as he stood. Seto stood as well and was about to leave but Bakura grabbed onto his arm and led him away. "What are you up to?" Seto questioned coldly.

"I need to speak with you." Was all Bakura said as they entered into a dark hallway. "Alright, now normally I won't care about anyone you go up against but since you're going up against Ryou, I need to set some ground rules." he said.

"And why would you care about some low down warrior of the earth?" Seto questioned and Bakura grabbed his collar, pulling him down. "Because, I like him and he will be mine soon enough but I won't tolerate it if something happens to him where he's severely injured or dead. I know you have been watching that blond haired kid that Mai wants as well and if I go against him, he will see no mercy from me if you hurt or kill Ryou. Got that?" Bakura hissed. Being intimidated enough by his threat to Jou, he nodded.

"Just to make things easier, take a dive and let him win today's match or else." he continued, eyes narrowing. Seto growled but nodded and Bakura let him go. "Good we could settle things easily." he spoke, smirking, before leaving him. Seto snarled at his threat before leaving out to follow Motaro to the stage.

When Raiden told them of the match-up, it affected Jou pretty badly. 'Seto was with the Dark Warriors' side all along? If he was, how come he wasn't at the meeting when we saw the Dark Warriors? And to think, I thought that he was nice. I could've trusted him but now I can't and I will make him pay if he hurts Ryou.'Jou thought.

"Don't get hurt out there, Ryou."

"I won't. I've been training enough to, hopefully, stay alive but I may take minor wounds."

"Well, just don't get hurt too much out there. We don't know how powerful that Seto guy really is." Topaz added and he nodded before he followed Raiden out. Yugi looked over to Jou and saw the sad gleam in his eyes.

"Jou, is something wrong?" Yugi asked. He looked up and shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong, Yugi. Don't worry about it." Jou replied with a small smile. Keara saw the look as well and felt that it may deal with the reveal of Seto's affiliation.

They met up at the portal and Seto glared at Ryou who was confused by the look. 'We didn't even get into battle and he already hates me. Maybe even more than the Earth Warriors.' he thought.

"The chosen stage will be the Dragonfly." Raiden announced. They nodded and they walked into the portal. Once they were on the stage, they pulled out their weapons and jumped into battle when the signal was given.

The Dark Warriors watched the battle, some speaking quietly with one another about Seto's movements. Bakura smirked as he stood in the shadows, watching the battle. 'At least he listened. I know he wishes for nothing to happen to that boy and he already has a problem with Mai going after his target. But now that I think about it, how will he explain this?' Bakura saw the soul clone walk down the stairs silently and over to his side and he wrapped an arm around him once he was close. The clone looked to the shadow mirror that was showing the battle.

"Is that the boy you want, master?" he asked, pointing to Ryou. "Yes and hopefully one day, he will be in my arms just like you." Bakura replied. The soul clone looked down sadly and Bakura looked to him. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What will happen to me once you get the boy? Will I be left alone while you spend your time with him?" The clone questioned.

"No, I will return you back to him. I created you from him and gave you an artificial mind. It may not be much but at least it gave you feelings and such. Once he's here in my arms, you will be returned back to him as part of his soul once more." Bakura answered.

He nodded and snuggled closer to him.

Ryou won the first match without much problem but felt that something was wrong. 'I know the Dark Warriors are more powerful than this. So what could be wrong with him?' he thought and got prepared for the next round. The wood groaned and creaked at the large wooden vehicle flew through the air still.

The wind blew past them as they watched each other before Seto made the first moved and ran towards him, slashing at him but he blocked it with his staff. He backed him up towards the edge of the circular platform.

Ryou's foot slipped and Seto backed off slightly, giving Ryou a chance to regain his balance. He charged up some magic and shot it towards Seto who flew back a bit from the force of the magic. He implanted one of his swords into the ground so he wouldn't go off the stage before looking towards Ryou.

Ryou ran towards him, staff ready but he pulled out his sword and blocked him. This continued on for a while before Seto knew it was time to end it and let him win for Jou's sake. When Ryou made another swing towards him, he made to block it but lowered his sword, letting the blow hit him.

Ryou watched him and watched to see if he was planning to get back up. But he didn't and the match went to him. He continued to watch him as Motaro came to pick him up. 'I felt it, he was holding his true strength back but for what reasons?' he wondered before walking through the portal as well and walked back with Raiden.

Later in the night, Bakura snuck out from the temple and left to heard to the Earth Warriors' temple. He silently slipped through, hiding in the shadows as he encountered Malik walking past, muttering to himself as he left. 'Wonder where he could be going at this time of night?' he thought to himself before he continued on his way towards Ryou's room.

Ryou was still awake, still thinking about the battle with Seto.'I don't know why I should be worrying about it but I need to find out why he was holding back. I know he had more strength than that but in his eyes, there was a longing. Like he let me win for the sake of another but who could it possibly be?' he thought. He heard someone opening his door and lied down, feigning sleep.

The person walked in quietly and sat down on his bed. Bakura smiled as he looked down to him. "I'm glad you at least stood up to Seto. I could easily see that he wanted to battle to his fullest but he didn't want to risk that boy's life in my hands." Bakura gave a tiny growl at the thought, a hand clenching at the comforter on the bed.

"I will not tolerate anyone defeating you until I battle you. I know you may wish to fight at your top strength and you will get that chance soon, when you battle against me, my little tenshi." Bakura whispered as he ran a hand through his hair before getting up and leaving once more.

When he was gone, Ryou sat up and sighed. 'So that's the reason, he threatened Seto with someone's life. I should've expected much but who could it have possibly been that would actually cause him to back down so much?' he thought before he went to sleep.

Malik waited in the forest, tapping his foot irritably. 'Where is he? I don't have all night to wait for him.'he thought before he herd the crunching of boots walking across the forest floor and turned to see Marik standing there with a smirk. "Alright, we're both here now what do you want with me? I'm still pissed that you sat there and almost beat Sonya within an inch of her life." Malik snarled.

"Well, you should count your lucky stars I didn't kill her. And I didn't do that to only impress Sheeva and Motaro." Marik spoke.

"Then why did you do it and why does it concern me?" Malik demanded.

"To show that I'm not going to be merciful for anyone that stands in my way to you. Only so many know of the reason why I keep coming to fight and torment you." he said as he walked towards him but Malik glared and he stood back but still kept the sly smirk.

"Then why? Why are you still messing with me?"

"Why? Because I like you. You're the only one that has proven to be a challenge and not only in fighting." Marik confessed and that stunned him into silence. 'I know he didn't just said that. He doesn't like me. He just trying to throw me into a false sense of security.' Malik thought.

"And whatever you're thinking, it isn't true. I meant every word and before this tournament is over, you will be with me and I'll take you willing or not." Marik quipped and with a short laugh, left him and headed back to his own temple.

Malik glared at him before heading back to his own. 'Some way, I'll make sure he's dealt with. I'm not going to let him have me. He won't even be able to come near me.' he thought as he continued to walk back to the temple.

The next day, a knock was heard on the large doors of the Dark Warriors' temple, echoing through the empty halls. Everyone was still asleep and Yami woke up to the incessant knocking. He called for a beast from the shadows and out came a large wolf with a small spiked shoulder plate on his left shoulder. White eyes looked to his master. "Go see who's at the door, Black Dog Beast Bow (1)." Yami muttered, burying his face back into his pillow. The beast nodded as he left.

He ran down the stairs and to the door, opening it with his mouth. He looked to the tall man that stood at the door. The man looked down to him and sneered. "Where are the fighters in this temple? I need to speak with them." The man demanded. He barked lightly before leading him inside and let him stay in the sitting area before heading back upstairs and to Yami and Aqua's shared room.

Yami turned his head on the pillow when he heard him walk back in. "Who was it?" he asked. /It was a man that wanted to see the fighters. Should I go and tell Sheeva and Motaro?/ The beast asked.

Yami groaned lightly before sitting up. "No, I'll tell them. Why don't you do me a favor and check up on Cynec at the Earth Warriors' temple. If you wish, you can stay there with him and Yugi for added protection. Make sure to leave your name somewhere where he can find it." Yami replied and he nodded before leaving through the shadows.

He sat up, yawning before getting up from bed and woke up Aqua. "Come on, we have someone to deal with downstairs." Yami said and he nodded as they left out to wake the others to meet with the man.

When everyone was awake and downstairs, Sheeva and Motaro stepped up. "Who are you and what do you want here?" Motaro asked. "I'm Keith and I wish to join your group of fighters."

"Ok then, you can but first you must tell us what special abilities you have?" Sheeva asked.

"As my final move, I summon a machine-based monsters to dispose of my opponent and when I want, I can become a large crocodile. I used a circular sword (2) as my weapon of choice." Keith explained. Sheeva nodded and then looked to Motaro.

"What do you think?" she asked. "He may probably be a good asset but he will have to prove his skills in battle. Today's match will prove whether he's good for the team or not." Motaro said.

"Fine with me. I'll show you that no measly Earth warrior will defeat me." Keith spoke. "Good, then you can choose your opponent yourself." Sheeva said and told one of them to bring up the list of Earth Warriors.

Aqua did so and Keith examined each one before pointing to Jou's name. "I'll take him on and I'll probably defeat him easily as well." Keith jeered with a laugh, unaware of Seto's eyes narrowing into cold slits.

'You won't kill him unless I kill you first. He may despise me now that he knows that I'm part of the Dark Warriors but I won't let Mai or anyone else get to him.' Seto thought before leaving the room.

Zypher: And that's all for this chapter. Made it nice and long but anyways, Keith's here and he's ready to kick butt. But of course, I never liked the prick so he'll probably get himself killed. Hoped you liked the chapter and will be waiting for the next one. See you all soon.

(1) - Black Dog Beast Bow was a monster I found while looking over some manga scans of Yu-gi-oh R. Look at pg. 16 of the Yu-gi-oh R special to get a pic of him.

(2) - The circular sword I'm was trying to explain was the one that Shigure from Yu Yu Hakusho used in the battle with Kurama in the Three Kings Tournament. I forgotten the name so there may be a problem visualizing it unless you see that episode or heard of it before.

Stages:

The Dragonfly

It's a massive wooden, flight-based mode of transportation that is known to be the fastest one in the Outworld next to an actual dragon or celestial teleportation. It's a plane-like model with two wings supporting it with a large dragon head at the front. There is two flaps that act as wings at the back of the Dragonfly as well.

In the center is the circular platform where the matches takes place and it's very windy atop of it so I will probably make characters seem unstable cause of the wind blowing on them as they fight on this stage. There is no stage fatality for this stage. There are also more than one in the Outworld and each has a set location.