Just outside the palace gates, the spectators of the event could be heard cheering. Waiting for the fight to begin. Shang Tsung called for the participants to enter the courtyard. Suijin would wait behind a gilded gate as Miguel stood waiting for his opponent.
Suddenly, Shang Tsung announces, "Congratulations Miguel, you are one of the last five Earthrealm participants. And since I no longer have any more Outworld combatants at my disposal, you will finally be challenging me. What a great honor, no? Very few make it this far. Last time, there were only two." he says as he mockingly makes a smile.
"Perdon? Por qué … I'm to challenge you? Imposible !" The Spaniard stood as he stared over to Suijin. She was just as shocked as he was. Although admittingly, he was the weakest out of the rest of the surviving combatants. This thought made Suijin feel even more guilty.
"Let us begin shall we?" The black-hearted demon would snicker as he took a stance. In return, Miguel looked over to Suijin one last time.
"Mi amor, it was an honor to have known you. I only ask that you do not forget me… my beautiful water lily." He then took a bow and made his stance.
"Enough impertinent nonsense," Shang Tsung sneered, annoyed.
Miguel's mind ran. His eyes jumped from side to side, in a panic. He did not know how to fight this sorcerer. He did not care to watch the fights until he witnessed more and more of the Earthrealm combatants dwindle into the original group chosen by the gods themselves. That's when he knew. He figured he was going to die as Yaotl and Abdalla have before him, but not by the very person who seemed to be the most powerful of them all.
He could feel it. He had no hope left within him. He stood in such disbelief that he thought about his life from beginning to his now end. Thinking of the choices he's made. How he regrets in a way to ever accept being a combatant in Mortal Kombat. What would he be doing now if he refused?
"Are you certain you would like to continue? I assure you, no harm shall come to Suijin if you should choose to forfeit."
Miguel knew he could not run. For how or where would he run to? The only choice he sees now lays before him. That's when he realizes something.
"No… I may have only been a thief before I was chosen to be here. But now... I have seen many things that make me realize, that I am not only fighting for myself. You see, these monsters that I've only believed existed in fairytales and nightmares, have come into my reality. I have seen people die at the hands, claws of these monstrosities. I now realize that even if I refused to be a part of this- 'Mortal Kombat'; these monsters would eventually invade my whole world. Death would be my fate no matter what I chose. But, at least this way, I know that I'll go down in history as one of the greatest combatants to try and stop this invasion of my world from happening." Miguel says as he slowly begins to gain some courage from his newfound revelation, glaring at the dark entity before him.
"How noble you…" Shang Tsung says before slowly chuckling. "Make no mistake. Your comrades, also, will die." The sorcerer hissed with a grin. Miguel then finally took his stance.
The sly demon let Miguel strike first. Miguel is fast, but Shang Tsung is faster, for he blocked every strike Miguel thrust at him without so much as a step. Miguel then took a moment to think as he kept striking as to not give the sorcerer a chance to retaliate. He then remembered the many tricks that made him a thief, to begin with. He began those many tricks in order to distract the sorcerer, but it was as if Shang Tsung knew beforehand what he was up to. This surprised and discouraged the bandit.
That is when the vile sorcerer took the opportunity to swiftly jab Miguel at the back of his neck. Miguel then fell to his knees. His face became horror-stricken. He kneeled there as if paralyzed because of the demon's strike. "You did well," the snake chuckles again. "I see why Lady Suijin is so taken with you…" he says before he laughs. Standing behind Miguel, the sorcerer begins to raise his hand.
"NO!" Suijin screams but the crowd drown out the sound. She then begs and pleads for the elder gods to do anything to help while she tries to run to Miguel, but Fujin holds her back.
Exhausted and alone, Miguel seeks out Suijin within the darkness that begins to narrow his vision. He can see her being held back by Fujin and struggling against his grip. She sheds tears as she stares back at Miguel as if pleading for his forgiveness. Seeing this, this somehow comforts him. Although weakened, he is able to smile at her, dazedly before reacting to the pain of his soul being sucked out of him, screaming until there was no soul left to pull from his body.
"No~! Let me go~!" Raiden and Liu felt her pain and would turn away to greave. After a moment, she gave up her struggle. Fujin then let her go. She then collapsed in hopelessness. Next, as the crowd began to vacate the area, Miguel's body is picked up and carried away from the arena. Suijin remained still. Fujin felt he could do nothing, so he stared at her, sympathizing.
Shang Tsung watched as Miguel's body was carried away. "Toss him into the pit, he will make a good meal for the Oni that reside there," he says before turning his attention to the distraught water goddess and smiling.
Suddenly, Nightwolf unsuccessfully rushes to strike at Shang Tsung. He, with his arms folded behind him, effortlessly dodges this attack he somehow knew was coming. As time slows to a crawl, Shang Tsung slowly turns his head slightly and looks over to Nightwolf, smirking. Abruptly, Heros charges into Shang Tsung from behind, making the sorcerer fly forwards and rolling on the ground. The snake did not anticipate such a clever tactic. He rebounded and leered at the duo.
Unexpectedly, Shang Tsung then smirked before slowly standing up and dusting off his clothes. He pops his neck and takes his stance, not caring that this match had him outnumbered and at a disadvantage. Although, he would not call it a disadvantage after the match with Miguel. The two companions look at one another and nod to each other before staring back and charging at Shang Tsung at the same time. Then Shang Tsung was taken aback as a green aura began coming off of both Nightwolf and Heros. The diviner barely dodged their attack.
'I should join them!' Kung Lao thought; as it may be their advantage in winning the tournament. As soon as he takes a step, Raiden holds him back with his hand firmly placed on Lao's chest. Startled, Lao swiftly turns his head to look at the Elder god.
"I know what you are thinking but interfering now would mean Earthrealm's demise."
Kung Lao became confused.
Before even asking, Raiden continued, "Without so much as a word, it seems the sorcerer is sanctioning this fight. This has not happened before, but the rules are clear. Once a match has begun, it must not be interrupted. If a combatant breaks this or any other rule, the world the combatant belongs to will be disqualified, making the opposing world the victor."
Closing his agape mouth, Kung Lao grimaces while reluctantly taking a step back and helplessly watching the rest of the match unfold.
As if in unison, Nightwolf and Heros stop, turn and charge right back at the sorcerer. The warlock chooses to block against Heros, and steps over to do so. This leads Nightwolf to try and stop herself, turn, and summon out her axes to strike from behind. After being able to block Heros, the magus pivots away from Nightwolf's axes as she tries to slash him with them. The axes make cracks as they pierce the stone floor while Heros stumbles after Shang Tsung whirls himself out of the way, disorienting them both. Now searching for where the enchanter went, they shockingly see Miguel.
"¿Hombres? ¿Que esta haciendo... ?"
Taken by surprise, the two stand confounded by the sight of Miguel. Was all they saw earlier an illusion brought up by the thaumaturge to trick them into fighting one another? Not willing to let their guard down just yet, they occasionally look around to see if the sorcerer is anywhere to be seen.
"How can this be…?" Heros says to Miguel. Miguel shrugs.
" No sé. One moment I see Shang Tsung, and the next I see you two."
"Have his powers been waned by this trickery?" Nightwolf queries.
"Do not be fooled by his appearance! That is Shang Tsung!" Raiden booms, making Nightwolf and Heros turn their bodies partially toward the Elder god. Miguel then maliciously smirks before swiftly transforming into the appearance of Shang Tsung. The warlock then thrusts out his hands before him as they begin to fume off the souls within him. As he twists his clawing hands, Nightwolf and Heros straight away feel a tingling in their gut before Shang Tsung lifts his hands to the sky.
Like a shot, they float straight up before Shang Tsung slams his hands down toward the floor. Just as fast as they went up, they come falling to the ground. Their bodies are slammed hard enough to make indents to the stone floor. Shang Tsung then does it once more, and again, and again. Bloody and bruised, he finally has them floating in the air. Their bodies limp from the assault. Shang Tsung once again shows his devilish smile before clapping his hands together to bring the two colliding against one another.
Letting go of them so that they can collapse their nearly dead bodies to the floor, Shang Tsung places his hands behind him before casually walking toward them.
"Dammit!" Kung Lao curses loudly as he, Ame, and the gods could only look on.
Once Shang Tsung stops before them, he peers onto them as if he is judging a piece of artwork before wincing. He shakes his head disappointingly before bringing his hands back out only to suck out their souls. The gang looks away in discouragement as two more deaths become stricken for Earthrealm.
Two now remain.
The calm waves softly crash against the shore as it echoes in the night sky. The moon was high above the horizon. The stars sparkled brilliantly. A few cirrostratus's drifted past the moon. The view would normally relax Fujin. But tonight, Fujin could not help but feel the loss of those whom Raiden, Haniyasu… and Suijin had chosen. He felt a pang of guilt when it came to Miguel. Memories came flowing back at how Suijin favored the bandit who seemed to had stolen her heart while he, for the first time, experienced what he now knows was jealousy.
It's true, his heart still burned for her. But he had to remember that he had supposedly fallen for Ame. Thinking this, he felt inclined to ponder further. It was eons ago, but seeing Suijin for the first time, took his breath away. And he is of the wind, he thinks with a smile as he begins to reflect on his life. Their beginnings together were just like children. Despite their mature bodies; their minds knew little and had to be taught and trained by the Elders.
As it was once forbidden to reside or converse with the humans, Fujin could not help but become curious toward them. How the way they lived, the culture they made, the foods they'd conjure, it all fascinated him. He even daydreamed of being with a human and being madly in love with them. But that day never seemed to come, until Ame. He even wondered what took so long for him to be stricken by love's arrow. He lived for decades among the humans. He knew some were quite fascinated with him.
Thinking back on it now, they were probably in love with him. But he didn't feel the same no matter how much he would have wanted to. It was as if he already made up his mind not to fall in love with a human regardless of his dreams. But why? As he tried to inquire more about this, the more he saw a void within his vision. It started to frustrate him all the more as he kept pressing on the thought. But then his mind changed to all the good times at the Sky temple.
Weary of the meetings they would have convening with the Elder gods, he would recall the fun memories he spent with Raiden, Hani, and especially Suijin. Slowly, his thoughts casually focus on Suijin. These thoughts steadily start making Fujjin feel what he had recently felt before. Visioning all the times with Suijin was making his heart swell. Once again, he was appearing to become breathless.
All of a sudden, Fujin hears a loud splash, interrupting his meditation and making his eyes open and widen by the sound. It was Suijin in her humanly water-shaped form before appearing as her demi-god self. It seems she was still doing her heavenly duties as a water goddess in spite of all that has happened. That is until she lowers her head, wraps her arms around her, and starts ambling toward the palace. Apparently, she did not notice his presence, so he got up and called to her.
"Suijin?"
Hearing her name come from his lips made her jump and gasp. Then she shriveled back into embracing herself. She dared not to look back.
"Listen… Suijin, about Miguel-"
"Please, Fujin. Don't... I know how you felt about him."
"Be that as it may, I feel compelled to express my grief for your loss."
That's when Suijin turned angrily and was about to growl at him for his audacity. Then she saw the genuine kindness in his eyes, something she hadn't seen for quite some time. It made the words halt within her throat. His face made hers eventually soften before turning away back into her misery.
"I'm sorry," Fujin says.
"Don't be… It was my fault for picking him just because-"
"I know, Sui. Look at me." he places his hand on his chest, "I also picked Ame without even thinking of the consequences either." After saying such, Suijin then looks at him confused but still dispirited.
"Then go to her…"
"What?"
"Be with her Fujin. spend the last moments she may have…" Suijin bit her lip to distract herself as her tears were on the edge of falling.
"But-"
"Go! Or you'll regret it as I do…!" Sadly, as she yelled at him, her tears swiftly streamed down her cheeks despite leering at him as if trying to scold him. But the next thing she saw was Fujin immediately embracing her. He placed one hand on the small of her back and the other to the back of her head. He lightly leaned the side of his head onto the hairline of her forehead and closed his eyes. She struggled against him at first.
"What are you doing…?" she asked, "...Let me go…!" she demanded. Fujin did not reply. He simply kept holding her. She didn't struggle against him much more after that. It was then the wind blew gently past them. Making them somewhat feel relaxed as the wind gently breezed their hair to and fro. Fujin slowly releases them from the embrace and stares at her starlit eyes as she does the same to him. Impulsively, Suijin rushes in for a kiss.
This almost surprises Fujin, but that isn't what he focuses on. As she kisses him, his heart erupts inflame, his breath is shortened, and tingling sensations crawl on his back. He's felt this before, at the carnival in Italy and with Ame.
'Is… Is this how all kisses feel?' he thought to himself as he started kissing her back. But that was when Suijin harshly pushed him away from her and leered at him again.
"Go~!" she roars at him. Instead, he tries to reach for her, suddenly confused. But before he can reach her, she disperses herself into vapor. At first, he stands there dumbfounded before deciding to silently shake it off as he looks toward the palace where Ame resides.
As Suijin reappears herself back into demi-god form from within the palace, she could hear a cold and devilish chuckling.
She slightly turns her head in his direction. She glares at him as she says with malice, "What do you want sorcerer?"
"I have only come to remind you of our arrangement. I trust you have not forgotten."
She then turns her whole body toward him, still scowling, "...I haven't."
"Good… good." He then places his fingertips together, "I wager you know exactly what I want."
Suijin's face becomes that of hatred and disgust while scanning him from head to toe as to inquire his motives, "No, no idea…"
The vile snake started to slowly laugh within his throat, showing one of his famous smiles of mal intent. "Ame."
"What of her?"
The thoughts of that kiss would not leave his mind. Enough that it made him incoherent to the noise of him trample through the hallway before arriving at Ame's door. He turned swiftly towards it, but stopped and stared at it.
"Then go to her…" Suijin's words rang in his head. Yet he hesitated, right at the door no less. He bowed his head as he thought. For some reason, he was feeling guilty. But he contradicted it with 'she left first'. She was letting him know it was okay, but… the feeling remained. Then he perks his head up and encourages himself to go through that door and do the very thing Suijin asked him to do. Spend whatever time Ame had left before she possibly meets her end. He prepares himself with a deep sigh before finally knocking on the shōji.
*In case anyone is curious as to these words used*
¿Hombres? ¿Que esta haciendo...? = Guys? What are you doing?
No sé = I don't know
shōji = Japanese sliding outer partition door