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Title of Chapter: Black Dragon Turned Red
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!
Warning: Action sequences with some blood!

Enjoy!

I came across a path (that was of course covered in snow, but everything was covered in snow) and took it wearily. Shadows flickered here and there, as the gray sky cried more teary snowflakes. The weather reflected how I felt in a sense, as gray is a dull and bleak colour, and I was feeling that way. I didn't watch where I was going, nor did I really care. And in my foolishness, I failed to realize that a figure was lurking close by. It lunged and I was caught off guard, but I scrambled to my feet and drew out my ice staff.

A woman dressed in purple tights and a purple halter top was standing before me, with twin katanas in her hands. She held them defensively, a wild light in her eyes. "You're an ally of Kenshi!" she hissed, lurching forward. I smacked her with the staff, sending her flying. I held my weapon defensively and waited for her to make a move. Instead, she spoke, "My name is Tasia, and you will die!" I turned around and ran (yes, I know running is cowardly but I didn't feel like dying) but she sent her katana soaring through the air.

It got my right arm, so I dove into a heap of snow and deflected the next attack with my ice staff. Who was this Tasia chick, anyways? And who did she think she was, running around trying to kill Kenshi's allies? I got to my feet, a little unsteadily, watching as blood dripped across my arm. Angered, I jumped forward and our weapons connected – we sparred for a moment. I kicked her in the gut and she fell backwards, seemingly growling. I ran through my Mortal Kombat knowledge and tried to remember anything I learned about Tasia.

And then it hit me! She was part of the Black Dragon clan! I stepped out of the way of an attack, and hit her in the back with my staff. She fell to her knees, but she cut my knee. I kicked her in the side, blood trickling across my pants. She fell to the ground, but she rolled out of the way of my foot and slashed at me. I couldn't get my staff up quick enough, so she slit my hand. I yelped in pain, but I stomped my boot against her gut. She howled in pain, and we both continued to beat the crap out of each other.

I knew she was trying to kill me – I didn't want to kill people, but if I wanted to live and/or escape I had to subdue her – and the only way to do that was to kill her. I tossed my staff to the side and summoned my ice daggers. She dodged my first few attacks, and I managed to avoid hers. I kicked her in the temple and struggled to recover, but I managed to plunge one dagger into her thigh. She screamed in pain, so I plunged the other one into her stomach. She fell to the ground and I pulled both daggers out.

"End it now, fool!" she declared, spitting a bit of blood. I was very tempted to take her up on her offer, and I raised my dagger. I couldn't bring myself to plunge it down into her; I stood there with my boot on her stomach for the longest time. If I let her escape, she'd come back to kill me. If I killed her, it may haunt me for the rest of my life. "Hah! You are just as weak as your ally, Kenshi!" she spat, a smirk tugging at her lips. I narrowed my eyes and glared at her. "When you let me go, I will go and destroy Kenshi, the blind swordsman!"

I couldn't kill this woman. And it pained me, because I knew she would go after Kenshi. In my hesitation, she judo chopped me in the bend of my knee, causing me to fall to the ground – hard. I winced in pain as she stood over me, her foot on my stomach and her katanas in hand. "I should kill you now!" she announced. I glared up at her, feeling an overwhelming sense of anger and helplessness. "But I will not. Be warned, Kenshi will soon be in your place." She removed her foot from my gut and walked away.

I just lay there on the ground, feeling a little dejected. She had managed to defeat me just like that. I sat up, pain running dully through my body. I spotted the blood in the snow, and remembered that I was somewhat injured from the fight. Getting to my feet, I wondered where I was to go next.

Now was one of those times when I wished that Kenshi was with me. For example, in the five years when I was living in the little village, I found myself wishing that Kenshi was around to guide me. He knew this world much better than I did, and I often times got lost in the forest. It was strange how I fixed that fear – I'd imagine that Kenshi (and even sometimes Sub-Zero) was with me and that we weren't lost at all. It helped on certain occasions, but now was one of the many times that it didn't work.

I sighed and continued my walk, but as it got darker, I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere. I needed to find a place where I could sleep and attempt to wrap up my arm, hand, and knee. Stupid Tasia! How could I have been so blind? Hadoken accompanied me into the forest where we found a good place to camp and I started a fire. My black wolf dog rested his head on his paws and fell asleep soon afterward. What to do, what to do, what to do…

Next Day

I continued my journey through the forest's path. Today it was cloudy, as usual, and it was still snowing. Out here, in really never stopped snowing. When it did, half of it all melted and then it started snowing again. Not that I was complaining or anything, I mean I had always liked snow. But enough about snow! My wounds had healed up nicely, due to my freezing capabilities. But there was one thing that bothered me…

I was lonely.

Me, of all people. I was lonely without a human companion. At least Tasia was a living, breathing, talking human. Hadoken is a loyal and faithful companion, but he's just not the same. I sighed as I walked along the snowy path, my feet making light footprints in the snow. I wondered if Kenshi was OK with Sub-Zero – I was sure that he was. He could take care of himself, it wasn't like I was needed by anyone. Hadoken didn't even really need me, and neither did Sub-Zero.

As I mulled these thoughts over, something rustled in the trees. I glanced around and readied my ice staff, spinning it. Of course, none other than Frost leapt onto the path in front of me. She looked at me curiously. "How come you didn't chase after me in the palace yesterday?" she queried. I was a little surprised by her question.

"I felt bad for you. So I decided to find Kenshi instead," I responded. I was just pleased to be able to have some form of human contact at this point in time.

"You felt bad for me? Ugh, you are perfect!" Frost said in disgust. "This is why Sub-Zero holds you so high."

"I'm not perfect!" I said hotly. This was very offensive to me – especially coming from Frost. I was not beautiful, I was not amazing, I was not funny, and I was not perfect. I was "boring" and very "intense" and that's what people thought of me. The reason it was offensive was because Frost was beautiful, amazing in her own way, and she was slightly amusing, to me, anyways. "Back off, Frost!" I added, brandishing my water sword. Frost snorted and turned her back.

I waited for a moment, before she turned and attacked me with ice daggers. Some ally; I knew I couldn't trust her. This was some freaking one-woman ambush. I managed to fend her off, but I wasn't about to fight anyone else. I had fought Tasia and that was good enough for me. I avoided her attacks, kneed her in the gut and ran like hell.

Adrenaline kept me going; loyalty kept Hadoken going. We pounded through the snow, not daring to look back. I didn't want to look back, in case Frost had followed. Pretty soon, I was losing most of my stamina, so I slowed down, eventually slowing to a walk. We exited the forest and came upon a small village. In a way, it resembled mine, but it was slightly different.

"Hadoken, go hunt," I instructed. The black wolf dog sniffed the air and then ran off, back into the foliage. I looked out, trying to get a grip on my bearings. I found nothing peculiar about this village, so I proceeded to enter it. After exploring for a little while, I determined that it would be a nice place to stay until I could figure out my plan for revenge on Mavado.

I heard yelling coming from a small little hut, and upon entering I saw a blonde woman throwing fire balls at a ninja garbed in yellow. I immediately backtracked and found a deserted hut where I would be able to stay for the rest of the day and the rest of the night.

The rest of my day was spent rationing what Hadoken brought back. He brought back two deer and a bird, and to stop him from eating it all at one time, I hid some of it away. I didn't understand how or why this wolf was tame, but whatever the reason was, I was sticking to it. I didn't really exit the hut much, as I was still feeling ashamed and dejected.

That night, I lay down on the wooden floor (yes, these huts had wooden floors, believe it or not) and tried to relax. Hadoken curled up next to me, snuffing once before falling into a deep, wolfish sleep. His fur was warm and soon enough it had lulled me to sleep. I didn't remember whatever dream I had, which disappointed me slightly.

I awoke to the sound of footsteps, but I kept my eyes closed. I heard two voices; they both sounded familiar. Hadoken growled next to me, barking at both of the intruders. I opened my eyes and sat up, brandishing my ice staff. I knocked both figures out of the hut and walked out, resting my staff on my shoulder. In the pale moonlight of the night, I could see that it was Kenshi and Sub-Zero.

"Kenshi? Subs?" I asked in surprise. Sub-Zero did not approve of the name I had given him, apparently. It was obvious by the ice ball that came flying in my direction a few seconds later. Kenshi looked at me curiously, as I hit my staff against the ground three times. Hadoken trotted out and sat next to me, his black fur blending in well with the shadows of the night.

"What happened to you?" Kenshi questioned, approaching me. Hadoken growled but I called him down, letting Kenshi do what he may, whatever that was. He reached for my hand, holding it for a moment. This was a prime example of Kenshi's other means of sight. Sometimes, I wondered what it was like to be in Kenshi's position. "Were you in a fight or something?" he finally asked, letting go of my hand. He touched my arm; his fingertips lingered for a moment. "Luci?"

"With Tasia," I responded vaguely.

"Of the Black Dragon clan?" Subs questioned, walking up to join Kenshi and me.

"Yes, why do you ask?" I replied curiously, sensing something in his tone of voice.

"She isn't a part of the Black Dragon clan anymore," Kenshi replied. "I defeated her in battle, so Kano abandoned her. Last we heard, she joined up with Mavado. Did you kill her?" Kenshi's brow was furrowed, and I must've looked shocked. I gritted my teeth together, remembering the fact that I had not defeated her. She had gotten away – but at least Kenshi was here now, this way I could warn him. "Luci?"

"She told me she would come after you and kill you," I explained, raising an eyebrow. "That would explain why she tried to kill me, just for being one of your allies…. Sorry about the hand, by the way. I was trying to get you to let Hadoken go… Anyway, keep an eye out for Tasia." I folded my arms across my chest, looking down at the snowy ground.

"It's fine," Kenshi replied, referring the dagger-in-the-hand from earlier. He pulled out that very same ice dagger and opened my hand. Kenshi put the hilt against my palm, and then closed my fingers around it. "You may need it. Or you may want to keep it. You have decent aim, you know." I nodded and sheathed it. "And I'll keep an eye out for Tasia."

Suddenly we heard a scream come from one of the villagers. I looked past Kenshi and squinted, as Sub-Zero came to stand next to me and Kenshi turned around. At first, we couldn't see anything, but soon we saw smoke and flames licking the starlit sky. And then it hit me, so I yelled, "Mavado! It's Mavado!" Kenshi looked thoughtful for a moment, and then he nodded his agreement. Sub-Zero looked out in front of him, his blue eyes narrowing slightly.

Right on cue, Mavado appeared out of the smoke and fire. Kenshi and I both tensed, as Sub-Zero prepared for a fight. I unsheathed the ice dagger and held my ice staff defensively. Hadoken snarled, his fur prickling at the thought of a fight. Bloodlust was the only thing that could be felt in the air at that moment, as Kenshi, Sub-Zero and I glared at Mavado.

"Ready to fight?" Mavado asked tauntingly. He brandished his weapon as the smoke and flames rose higher, and engulfed more.

I would not let this village be destroyed like my village was destroyed.

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