Shujinko knew his task at hand. He had let Onaga loose. He had been fooled and released the Dragon King from his imprisonment. The powerful Kamidogu, which keep the One Being separated into the Realms, found their way into the Dragon King's hands thanks to him. Guilt from his mistake ate away at his soul, and had done so since the deed had been done. He approached the palace of Onaga, and warily drew his Dan Tien Dao, his blade which ended with a cleaver-esque tip. Only fools or warriors with death wishes would come anywhere near the Dragon King's Palace unarmed, especially with the Tarkatans as his guards. The Tarkata were foul beings, mutant beasts with sharp dagger-like teeth and retractable blades protruding from their forearms.
As if the thought of these beasts triggered the event, just as Shujinko unsheathed his blade, three Tarkatan guards diverted their attention to him. One of them opened his mouth to roar, a violent war cry common among their race, and call the attention of the other guards. Seeing the potentional threat of more Tarkata, Shujinko flung his blade with all his might, sending it spinning towards the open-mouthed monster. It continued to spin like a pinwheel until it lodged itself deep into its face, separating it into two halves. One of the remaining guards began to run towards the palace while the other stood its ground. The cold blades slowly crept out of its arm, peeling back its flesh and leaving smears of blood on its silver surface. Shujinko dove at the monster, his hands in front of his head and his body straight, like a human torpedo. His palms smashed against the Tarkatan's chest, sending him reeling back against one of the stone walls. With his foe stunned, Shujinko retrieved his sword, ripping it from the fallen guard's face, ignoring the squelch of rended flesh and broken skull. He ran the second monster through, inserting the blade into its stomach then lodging it upwards. Ribs were broken and organs were flayed, and the beast vomited up a last spurt of blood before its eyes closed. Shujinko firmly placed his boot against its chest and yanked his blade free once more. He considered wiping the blood of the foul ogres off on something, but time was of the essence. The fate of all of realms had much greater importance than the cleanliness of his sword. He proceeded on towards the palace.
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Hotaru stood at the side of the Dragon King's throne and was present when a frantic Tarkatan Guard burst into the palace. He stumbled and took a knee before Onaga's throne, and attempted to explain some sort of crisis while trying to catch his breath. "Master Onaga! An intruder has arrived and is trying to break into the palace"
Onaga's face remained stoic and solemn as he rose from his throne. "Then what are you doing here?" Shock and a greater fear set into the guard's eyes. He slowly tried to creep back as his eyes grew and pupils shrunk with terror. "Letting him simply walk in?" Furious, Onaga wrapped one of his massive claw-hands around the creature's head and lifted him off the ground. He pitched his arm back and lobbed the failure to his side and did not bother to look when its body was impaled on the spikes surrounding his chamber. "Hotaru, make sure that this intruder is promptly executed."
Hotaru nodded. "In the name of Onaga and Seido, I humbly do your bidding." Hotaru ran out of the palace, and Onaga reclaimed his seat. Although he knew Hotaru would make quick work of this stranger, doubt was beginning to appear in his mind. What if one DID defeat him?
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Shujinko turned only to be pummeled by armored feet. He fell to the ground, his chest ached, and he looked up at his attacker. The man stood before him, almost like a knight from medeval tales with plated armor tainted black. His face was unprotected, his tied back hair was white. Two flags were tied to his back and his eyes glimmered like the light of a firefly. He had met this man before, in his quest to obtain the Kamidogu. Apparantly, Hotaru still was not very happy to see him. He took no time in prowling towards Shujinko, and as he went to grab for him, Shujinko gave him a swift boot to the face. He slammed his hands against the ground and backflipped up, kicking Hotaru in the jaw twice more before softly landing on his feet. Now, with Hotaru on the ground, Shujinko became the prowler. Before he could get too close, a ball of lava shot from the warrior's hands and flew past the side of Shujinko's head. He was lucky to be far away enough from the heat that only a few hairs were singed, but he leapt to the side of Hotaru, fearing the next projectile might be a bit more accurate. Hotaru was up again, but soon returned to the ground after a quick sweep from Shujinko.
"Your chaotic behavior must be put to an end. Onaga cannot be stopped and Order will be universal!" Shujinko took his Mantis stance, mentally pitying the poor warrior. Anyone gullible enough to accept a promise from the Dragon King deserved some kind of pity. Shujinko himself hoped that he would feel the same pity if he slayed Onaga. He drew his Dao once again, desiring this fight with the Seido guard to be much quicker. His blade was equally met by Hotaru's own naginata, a staff tipped with a razor-sharp blade. The blades clashed and clanged for what seemed to be an eternity. Shujinko realized that there was only one open target on his armored foe: His head. Keeping this in mind, Shujinko blocked a swipe from Hotaru and swung both of their blades downwards, not stopping until Hotaru's hit the floor. He quickly shot his arm back up again, and Hotaru's head joined the naginata on the ground.
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More intruders had arrived, and Onaga was simply frustrated. Many warriors had come, primarily from Earthrealm. The ones who caught his attention most were two ninjas. The first was none other than Sub-Zero, Lin Kuei Grandmaster who dared arrive wearing Onaga's own armor. Second was a ninja clad in yellow. He did not know the man's name, but he seemed very intent on taking Onaga's head. He was remotely shocked to see Shujinko, his own little puppet, run into his palace, bearing his own sword and Hotaru's weapon. Onaga felt no remorse for the Seidan warrior, but he did regret not having that one extra soldier. Shujinko furiously ran through each kombatant and smashed one of the precious Kamidogu. Onaga felt as if his ribcage had tightened against his heart and he gasped for breath. This mortal knew the source of his power! He dashed towards Shujinko, only to fall to a knee as another Kamidogu was destroyed.
"SCORPION!" Onaga looked up at the scream and saw the yellow ninja running towards him. He had leapt at him with outstretched arms reaching for Onaga's chest. He had little time to maneuver and felt utmost pain when the ninja ripped through his torso, traveling through bone and muscle alike, tearing any and everything vital. He came out through his back, soaked in the blood of the Dragon King. His massive scaled body fell to the ground of his own palace, and he bled out on its majestic floor. He suddenly wished that he had acknowledged his previous doubts before his last bit of life was sucked away. The battle had been won by Earthrealm, and the One Being would remain in his eternal bonds. Once the remaining Tarkata were slayed, the warriors finally had a moment of peace, their former allies were free from the Dragon King's hypnotism. Shujinko wished he could stay and celebrate, but he had to visit Raiden the Thunder God and tell him of his victory.