-I had honestly forgotten to bring Frost in to this story. But in this chapter I am making it all about her and the Lin Kuei.
Having gotten over their grief, the Lin Kuei clan decided to act on their plans regarding the tournament. Sub-Zero had gotten a lot of responses about the tournament, which was to commence today. Kuai Liang, Bi-Han, Sareena and the cyber-ninjas were preparing their new Temple for the upcoming event. It felt extremely quiet and out of place without Smoke and Cyrax, but the silence was somehow deafening to the surviving members of the clan.
A lot of men and only one woman had decided to partake in this tournament. The men were tall and muscular whilst the woman was short and slender. The Cryomancer brothers were rather surprised to see that a woman would be in the clan, but Sareena felt at peace. She hoped that the girl would win and be able to make her feel at ease with another girl being in the clan with her. It felt rather uncomfortable being in this place, full of boys and no girls. Boys that had not seen breasts in a long time. But thankfully, those boys were cyborgs, so they didn't feel those kinds of urges. However, it still felt rather uncomfortable.
Sub-Zero invited all of the contestants into the Temple and took them into the room where the tournament would take place. They anxiously sat in the chairs that littered the two rings. The room was massive and had a lot of fighting equipment in it, such as boxing gloves, shin pads, Thai pads, skipping ropes, and punching bags. The room was plain in it's colour and the floor was tile.
Grandmaster Tundra sat on his Throne, which was set in front of the ring and made of ice. He could not have the tournament wait any longer; it had to commence now. With that in mind, the young Cryomancer stood up and spoke.
"Greetings, everyone!" He began, "I am Grandmaster Tundra of the Lin Kuei clan of assassins. To my right is my brother, Sub-Zero, and to my left is Sareena. We will all be the judges of this tournament today.
"Some of you are here of your own volition...others were brought here by chance. If you defeat all of your opponents, you will be recruited into the Lin Kuei. We will be testing you on your skill and fighting ability to see whether or not you are worthy of being in the clan. Now, I want each of you to tell me your name, so that we can set up the battle plan."
A tall, muscular brunette male stood up and spoke. He had a faint Spanish accent and had tanned skin. To Sareena, this male looked rather attractive. But she was with Tundra, and did not like the idea of infidelity, so she brushed her thoughts aside. Why did I suddenly think of that?
"My name is Ramon," the man said before sitting back down with a bow.
The man next to him stood up. He was from New Zealand and had the traditional accent. He had a lean figure and dirty blonde hair, with bright blue eyes to match. "My name is Roger," he said before sitting down.
An oriental looking man stood up after Roger had sat down, and introduced himself. His name was Markus. He had long black hair and a muscular body, and spoke perfect English.
Before long, everybody had introduced themselves. There was a man named Scott, another named Michael, one named James, two twins, Alex and Ryan, and one named Allan. There was one girl – the only girl – who's name was Himiko. She looked relatively familiar to both Sub-Zero and Tundra, as she had ice blue eyes and short, spikey hair that looked like it was melting. Himiko was short and slender, but looked like an exceptional fighter to the two brothers. But to Sareena, Himiko looked as though she had darker intentions for being in this tournament. The demoness couldn't explain it – there was something off about the girl. Himiko had a peculiar voice, and an evil-looking smile. Though the brothers clearly didn't see it, Sareena did. The demoness suddenly did not want the girl to win the tournament anymore.
Sub-Zero and Tundra had organised a battle plan. Ramon and Rodger would face off, and in the meantime, Michael would fight Scott. Markus would fight James, whilst Alex would fight Allan and Ryan would fight Himiko. It was perfect, how the brothers had set this out for the first round. For the second round, it would be randomly organised based on the victors and losers.
The Grandmaster stood up again, "The rules of the tournament are as follows: You may not use finishers at the end of the fight. You may use weapons and powers, as long as they are not used constantly or fatally. You can use submissions, but must release the warrior when they tap out. Other than that, fight as though your life is on the line, and good luck. Are we all clear with what the rules are?"
Everybody replied with a 'yes.' With that response, the three Lin Kuei began the tournament immediately. "Kombatants, the first matches will now begin! Fighting first will be Ramon, versus Roger, and Michael versus Scott!"
Said fighters stepped into the ring with their opponent. Ramon was strong but did not look very fearsome. He looked like a nice person who always showed mercy to his victims. Michael looked vaguely familiar to the hosts. His eyes were ice blue and his clothes were mostly blue and black. There was not much about this man that could be immediately known by looking at him.
Roger looked like a brute. A true brute that never minded tearing out someone's head and spine, regardless of whether or not they had a family or friends that they would go home to every night, or a workplace they were to go to almost every day. Roger was indeed an assassin from a disbanded clan that nobody knew much about, and during his time in that clan, his masters taught him to have no mercy for the opponent. Their motto was 'kill or be killed,' and that was what Roger did. His assassin ways stayed with him even after the death of the clan itself. The New Zealander would surely show no mercy for his opponent.
Scott was a kick-boxer, and excelled in the art of Muay Thai. Whilst he had a slim body, Scott had a rather muscular chest, toned and defined. He looked rather threatening, but his legs were his biggest threat. As a kick-boxer, one's main use in fight was their legs. The legs of a kick-boxer would be their victory.
"Begin!" The Grandmaster shouted.
And they did. Roger charged at Ramon and attacked with a myriad of punches, which the Hispanic male either dodged or blocked. Ramon countered with a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of Roger's head and followed up with a small melee combo and a leg takedown. The New Zealander regained his footing and attacked Ramon with a powerful right cross to his cheek, and whilst his opponent was down, Roger sat on Ramon's body and belted him with a series of punches to the face.
At first, the three hosts didn't think anything of what Roger was doing until the New Zealander continued his myriad of punches. This was enough. Kuai Liang was about to interject until Ramon's hands snaked upwards and jammed the assassin's arm upward, snapping it. The Puerto Rican male used this to his advantage, and violently wrapped his hands around Roger's neck and slammed his head against the ground. He stopped after three slams and brutally kicked the assassin away.
Meanwhile, Michael was having the upper hand against Scott. The kick-boxer was unable to connect a kick against his opponent, as Michael was too quick for him. The man either blocked, dodged or countered the attack with a brutal uppercut or a melee combo followed up with another uppercut, a trip or a throw.
Michael used his Cryomancy to create a kori sword. Sub-Zero, Tundra and Himiko were rather surprised that there were more Cryomancers alive than they thought. The race had died out long ago for unknown reasons, but had managed to plant several seeds before meeting their end.
The young Cryomancer slashed at Scott three times before following up with a slide attack. The kick-boxer swiftly regained his footing and followed up with a brutal roundhouse kick to the side of the Cryomancer's face. Michael flew into the ropes of the ring and almost literally bounced back, and Scott used this opportunity to attack with a powerful uppercut.
Michael regained his footing and froze Scott in place. The projectile travelled so fast that the kick-boxer didn't have time to block or dodge it, and so it froze him solid. Using this to his advantage, Michael leapt into the air and performed a dive-kick, hitting his opponent in the head. He swiftly created an iceball and smashed it against Scott's head before performing a German Suplex. With that, Michael had won the round, and stepped down from the ring and sat with the other fighters.
Meanwhile, the fight between Ramon and Rodger raged on. The New Zealand assassin had pulled out his nunchaku, and the Puerto Rican man, as well as everyone else in the room, knew that the fight was purely just getting started. In response Ramon pulled out his kodachi swords. The knives were almost the exact same as Skarlet's, except these were not as long and didn't look as vicious.
Rodger charged at Ramon, furiously twirling his weapon at his opponent, hoping to get a hit. A hit to the head. But Ramon could see that his opponent didn't have any skill at all with his weapon, as the Puerto Rican simply slashed at the weapon with ease and followed up with a brutal kick to the face.
With all the assault done to his face and head, Rodger felt nauseous and had double vision. He knew that he could compete no longer, so he stayed on the floor. Oh well, the New Zealand man thought, I would rather have lost to him than someone else. This man was pretty fucking good.
Michael and Ramon stepped out of the ring, and Rodger and Scott were taken to the infirmary to be treated for their injuries. The two fighters were injured pretty badly from their fights.
Tundra and Sub-Zero could now go on with the next two fights. They were mildly impressed with the performance of all four fighters, especially Michael's. Though he showed unflinched brutality to his opponent, Michael was rather skilled with his Cryomancer abilities. And if Sub-Zero and Tundra wanted to have a student, they wanted it to be like Michael. They could tell that Michael would be rather easy to train, and that he was quite a nice guy. Crossing off Rodger and Scott's names from the battle plan, and writing down 'defeated' next to it, they decided to continue with the tournament.
"Kombatants! The next match will now begin," Kuai Liang said. "Markus versus James, and Alex versus Allan." Upon having their names called, the four warriors stepped into the ring with their opponent. Their hearts were thumping furiously with nervousness and excitement.
Markus had a resemblance to the once-human Sektor. Both of them had long black hair and oriental features, and deep voices that almost sounded identical. Sub-Zero and Tundra felt uneasy, but remembered that Sektor was dead, courtesy of Cyrax. So what did they have to worry about?
James was a tall, muscular man. But he looked far too muscular. The two brothers figured that he must have been a body builder, as no ordinary person looked like how James did. It disgusted the brothers as to how the man looked. Both Kuai Liang and Bi-Han had muscular bodies, but they did not look as muscular as James'. Sareena didn't find James' body attractive at all; she found it disgusting.
Alex and Allan were also oriental looking and very skinny. But the two Cryomancer brothers knew that people that often looked skinny had exceptional powers. This was the case with Sonya Blade, Kitana, Jade, Skarlet, Sareena, and many other women that both Sub-Zero and Tundra knew.
"Begin!"
Markus immediately lunged at James with a powerful uppercut. The giant was very strong, but slow as well. His physique and physical prowess was similar to that of a Shokan, minus the four arms and odd markings, among others. James was knocked to the ground by Markus, but regained his footing and stomped on the ground, creating a large shockwave that sent Markus toppling over. The oriental-looking man regained his footing and unsheathed his sword. On the sword was a large dragon. The weapon was pure silver and looked very dangerous and powerful.
Attacking his opponent with a flurry of slashes that sent the giant into midair, Markus used a carbon copy of him to attack James with punches and kicks. Sub-Zero and Tundra recognised this ability as something Kenshi was known for. But Markus and the blind swordsman were two very different people. For one, Markus wasn't blind, and Kenshi was. Kenshi's abilities were much more superior compared to Markus', though.
James got up and grabbed his opponent by the throat. Lifting Markus up, the giant punched him in the face several times and threw him to the ground. The oriental man winced in pain as he was struck. The giant continued his assault, following up with more shockwaves. Markus' body helplessly bounced on the ground.
Meanwhile, the fight between Alex and Allan raged on. Alex used his sorcery in the fight, whilst Allan relied on his staff. Both remembered to also throw some melee in here and there. Alex blasted fire at Allan, who dodged with a jump and attacked with an upward swipe of his weapon. The attack that Allan executed was a pole vault-esque move. The staff-wielding warrior followed up with an overhead slam and a melee combo, and added two brutal roundhouse kicks.
Alex, who was now rather frustrated, attacked with a barrage of fire-lace knives that he threw at Allan. The staff-wielding man clutched his chest and ripped out the knives from his chest with a gasp, and managed to block Alex's bicycle kick and retaliate with an uppercut.
Though he felt very weak, Markus decided to put up a fight. He really wanted to be a part of the clan, so he put all of his effort into this fight. The oriental man got up and attacked with another combo composed of sword slashes. Whilst James was still in midair, the oriental man followed up with a small melee combo and decided to finish this fight.
Throwing his sword at his airborne opponent, which impaled itself in the waist of the giant, Markus took out the sword and hit James in the head with the sword's hilt. Grabbing the sword, the oriental man slammed it inbetween the giant's legs. James fell to the ground, grabbing his manhood in pain. Whilst the blow hadn't earned him respect from the other fighters, what Markus had done didn't matter to the Cryomancer brothers. Tundra had instructed for them to fight like their lives were on the line, give or take a few rules, and not once did he say that low blows weren't allowed. Markus had won the fight, and he stepped out of the ring, whilst James was taken into the infirmary.
Eventually, Alex won the fight, despite having been overpowered by Allan at first. The sorcerer had won the fight with a brutal melee combo which he was surprised he was even able to connect, considering that he was beaten rather badly.
Now it was time for the last fight of round one to begin, between Ryan and Himiko. Both brothers highly anticipated this fight, as they knew Frost was a Cryomancer. They wanted to know how skilled she was in kombat; her weaknesses and her strengths.
"Now, for the last fight of round one, Ryan versus Himiko!" Tundra called. Both warriors stepped into the ring. Everybody awaited rude and sexist comments from Ryan, but they never came. It was clear that this warrior was rather respectful to women.
"Begin!"
Ryan took out his tomahawks and charged at Himiko. The Cryomancer did her slide attack, tripping her opponent over. She giggled and grabbed his leg, threw him into the air and attacked with a brutal roundhouse kick. Kuai Liang and Bi-Han were rather impressed, whilst Sareena's suspicions about Himiko grew.
Ryan regained his footing and attacked with a flurry of tomahawk slashes and followed up with an uppercut. The Cryomancer got up and froze Ryan solid with a beam of ice, and created an ice dagger. Grabbing Ryan, Himiko stabbed him in the shoulders with one her daggers, flipped over him and forcefully lodged the weapon out of his shoulder.
Ryan lifted Himiko up by the throat and stabbed her in the chest multiple times with his tomahawk before kicking her away. The Cryomancer violently snaked her arms around his neck and smashed his head against the floor of the ring brutally. When Kuai Liang was about to tell her to stop, Frost released after the fifth smash and kicked Ryan away.
From the head smashing, Ryan could no longer continue. Laying on the ground to show this, Himiko triumphantly stood up. Tundra announced. Kuai Liang and Bi-Han were impressed with her ability, and hoped that she would win. The brothers also hoped that Michael came second, at least. They would be happy to recruit him into the clan as well.
It would now be time for round two.
-I'm sorry if it seems like my fight scenes are all over the place. I hope I did a good job with them; I've never really been good at writing fight scenes.
-I will write the next chapter on one condition: that this fanfic gets 20+ reviews. Deal? If I don't get more reviews this fic is going to be abandoned.