Thanks to everyone so far!

Title of Chapter: Justice Is a Lesson Learned the Hard Way
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!
Warning: Of course, some blood, mild violence, and some sadness at the end.

Mavado brandished his hook swords as the fire burned brighter and higher. I wondered why he was alone, but my I was soon proven wrong, as Hsu Hao and Daegon appeared next to him. I glared at them, giving Kenshi a sideways glance. He had his ancestral sword ready, and Sub-Zero had the kori blade in hand. It seemed like an eternity as we stood there; flames burned brightly, casting eerie shadows, and Mavado's eyes held a malicious spark, giving way to his intentions.

I don't know how it started; I can't remember. It just happened and the blood began to spatter. I was fighting Hsu Hao, which was rather hard. He slashed at me with his sun-moon blades, but I dodged. I spun and shoved my staff into his shoulder. He skidded backwards a few feet and jumped forward, slashing at me once more. This time it hit, but it was only my arm. The wound immediately started to freeze over, so I just smirked. Hao looked at me incredulously before jumping up.

He spun and kicked me back, and I landed hard. Next thing I knew, the sun-moon blade was coming towards me. I blocked with my staff; Hao bent down and our faces were inches apart, so close that I could see the green tint of his puke green skin. I brought up my knee, fast and hard, hitting him square in the chin. He flipped over from the impact, and I scrambled to my feet. I spun my staff and waited for him to do something, but he didn't. He did the same as I did, except he held his blades up defensively.

I lurched forward, but he started to move out of the way. I held out my hand, shooting out an icy blast. It froze his left side, and I landed on the ground. Scrambling up before the heat of the fire could melt the ice; I ran towards him and summoned my ice daggers at the same time. I plunged my dagger into his right shoulder, and then the other dagger into his stomach. He glared at me as blood trickled over my hands. I smirked lightly and ripped out both daggers, as he grunted in pain.

My booted foot shattered the ice as I fired a quick kick to his left side. He immediately lunged at me with the sun-moon blades. The first one connected with my left shoulder and the second with my thigh. I cried out in pain, but I took my dagger and stabbed him just above his collar bone. He in turn dug the blade deeper into my shoulder. I shoved my other dagger into the top of his shoulder. We pretty much bled all over each other, but my wounds were starting to freeze over and heal, unlike his. The only thing stopping me from healing was the simple fact that the blades were still jammed into the wounds.

I let go of my daggers and with my good leg, I kicked him backwards. He fell to the ground and pulled out the daggers, as I yanked out the blades that were lodged in my thigh and left shoulder. My pants were stained red from all of the blood. Hsu Hao and I lunged at each other, both throwing a few good punches. We were both getting tired and we were both sorely injured; there was only so much my freezing abilities could heal. I pulled out my water sword as he held up his bloodied blade again.

We sparred for a moment, pushing each other back and forth. Hao kicked me backwards and I fell to the ground, and my blade flew out of my hand; next thing I saw was the sun-moon blade that plunged into the ground next to my head. I looked on in horror as he approached me, a sadistic smirk on his lips. He held up his other sun-moon blade, and a flash back hit me square in the face.

Flashback

As soon as he pulled it out, Luci looked up, suddenly delivering a kick to his temple. He stumbled backwards, but he shook his head to clear his mind. Sub-Zero still had both daggers in hand. He jumped forward but missed, as she ducked away from him. He tossed one at her like a shuriken, but she avoided it. There was blood dripping down her back and the wound was taking longer to freeze over than the first wound. She summoned another staff, lurching. forward. She jumped up and started towards him. Just as she was coming down to earth, he grabbed his kori blade and thrust it forward.

It snapped the staff in half and caught her in the stomach. Luci froze in her spot and gripped the kori blade with all her might. He was holding the blade in the air so she wasn't even touching the ground, causing even more pain. However, the wound began to freeze over, with the blade still intact. Regret flickered in his eyes for a moment and he let the blade fall.

End of Flashback

It reminded me of that fight; that day; that time in my life. It occurred five years prior to this day, and now, I was about to meet my maker. "No!" I yelled, the anger flaring up. I also remembered how I felt after that fight. I had lost, and I had felt like I had disgraced my master; my very own teacher; the Grandmaster of my very own clan, the Lin Kuei… And now, that I was so close to death, I felt the same way. I felt that if I died like this, I would be disgraced. "No!" I shouted again, kicking Hao in the chest.

He was taken aback by my sudden flare of anger and determination. I got my feet and summoned two new ice daggers, and then I lurched forward, plunging one into Hsu Hao's chest. I held the second at his throat, and before I could hesitate, I moved it down to his chest and stabbed him in his chest, yet again. I wasn't one for killing, as I've said before, but he was trying to kill me. He clasped his hands over the blade and staggered backwards, blood running across his green skin.

Hsu Hao fell to the ground, and died a few moments after that. I pulled out my ice daggers and felt the tidal wave of guilt wash over me. I looked away and searched the smoking village for Kenshi or Sub-Zero. At this moment, all traces of my fury towards my former master were gone; we were comrades, fighting for the same goal. We were fighting to stop Mavado from taking any more innocent lives.

Hadoken ran to me and nipped at my boots. I nodded once and ran after my retreating black wolf dog. He led me through the streets of the village, until we came across a very battered and bruised Daegon and Sub-Zero. It looked like the latter was winning, and his blue eyes shifted to me for a moment. My dark blue eyes met his, and time seemed to stop for just that moment. It seemed like it moved in slow motion, as we both looked away. Then everything went back to regular speed and I could practically feel the blood pulsing through my veins. Sub-Zero dodged one of Daegon's attacks and whirled around, leaving an opening for me.

I jumped forward and shot an ice ball at the member of the Red Dragon clan, but he avoided it. Realizing that he was being outnumbered by two Cryomancers, he backed away, eyeing us both angrily. We ran towards him, but he took a few steps out of the way and disappeared into the shadows. I looked to my former mentor for advice, but he just shook his head. "Daegon will be defeated eventually," Sub-Zero responded, wisely. A thought crossed my mind: I could get revenge on him now.

But I left my returning hatred be, and together we searched the burning village for Kenshi.

Hadoken sniffed the smoky air and started down the path, so we followed him. As we ran I looked at each of the burning huts, remembering the day that Mavado had come to destroy my village. Those poor, innocent people, killed by Mavado because of Shang Tsung. I shook my head as we rounded a corner, only to find Kenshi fighting Mavado. Sub-Zero held me back; it was a bloody fight but Kenshi was winning. Hadoken sat obediently at my side as we looked on.

Kenshi needed to do this one on his own.

As the battle progressed, Sub-Zero and I took to making sure Daegon wasn't around. Kenshi had a tight hold on Mavado, and if he could defeat him now, retribution would his. Kenshi needed it more than I do, I'll admit. I walked past a burning hut, and checked inside. This one was empty as well, and I quickly doused the flames with a little bit of water. Suddenly I heard a scream, which sounded like a battle cry. I ran back to the scene of the fight, only to find Tasia standing behind Kenshi.

I pulled out my ice staff and spun it like it fan, throwing it at her. She turned around and it smacked her into an empty hut. I held out my hand as my staff returned to me. Mavado realized that he would probably be outnumbered, even with Tasia's help. He stepped back and then dodged one of Kenshi's attacks. He struck a final blow to the blind swordsman, but it wasn't a killing blow. With that, the member of the Red Dragon clan took off, followed by his wimpy little assistant, Tasia.

I still couldn't really believe that she had joined the Red Dragon, but oh well.

I shrugged to myself as I ran over to Kenshi. "Where is Hsu Hao?" he asked me immediately. I told him about the death of Hsu Hao, and he just nodded. "Let's clean up this mess first; we can get Hsu's body afterward." I nodded as another pang of guilt hit me. Together, Kenshi and I walked among the ruins. I doused flames here and there, looking at frightened people during the aftermath. A lot of the surviving villagers, no, all of the surviving villagers followed us as we worked.

The women cried as my blind companion discovered charred bodies. It was not a sight I wanted to see, so I stuck to my work of dousing all of the flames. I couldn't help but feel bad for them; I talked while I worked, telling the villagers of how my own village was destroyed, and that I would get Mavado not only for them, but for my village and Kenshi as well. He listened to my stories in a soft silence, keeping himself busy as not to go insane with anger. Even Kenshi had a boiling point.

How could these poor innocent people suffer like this? I shook my head and sighed shakily. This was a bitter winter night for all of us. I stopped dousing the flames for a moment and walked away. I came across Hsu Hao's body. He was heavy, but I managed, and I took him back to Kenshi. "I feel bad," I admitted. Kenshi touched my face to get a better idea of how I was feeling. He sighed and brushed my white hair out of my dark blue eyes.

"You shouldn't feel too guilty," he responded, going back to his work.

"But I do," I shot back, returning to my work.

"Why? Explain, please," Kenshi prompted.

"Well, I'm not one for killing people. Hsu Hao was a living being just like us," I replied.

"Ah, I see," he replied softly. I didn't exactly understand why his voice had gone soft and why it had taken on a melancholy tone. I walked over to him and gasped, cupping my hands over my mouth. The body Kenshi had found was of a child. "Mavado has destroyed too many innocent lives." I nodded and turned back around. This was hard for me; I wasn't weak or anything, but children were something completely different. "Keep a watchful eye on the rest of the children," Kenshi advised.

"I will," I replied. There was nothing more I could say. The parents of this child were probably in the crowd. Poor souls… "Kenshi," I whined. He looked up at me, eyebrows arching. "Why must people die? This child was innocent and now the poor thing is dead. He had a full life ahead of him. It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair," Kenshi responded.

"I know," I mumbled. "But… Why must the good die young?"

"Because, they are setting an example for the rest of us. They have died in the name of justice."

"How do you classify Mavado's actions as justice?" I snapped.

"I do not classify Mavado's actions as justice. This dead child has died so that we may be fueled. Fueled to bring justice to the dead people of this village, to the living people of this village, and it goes in the same direction for the people of your village," Kenshi explained. "Mavado's actions aren't even close to justice. But now that this child has died, we have a new outlook on life, and justice itself. In essence, Luci, this child died; he was a part of our common goal."

"Common goal? What would that be, Kenshi?" I asked, a silent tear sliding down my cheek.

"Our common goal is to bring justice to all those Mavado has killed and hurt," Kenshi responded, pressing his thumb against my cheek to wipe away my single tear. "So do not cry for him; he is in a better place. And we will defeat Mavado, to bring justice to all of these people." I liked taking my problems to Kenshi because he always knew what to say. I could really learn something from him…

Whaddaya think? Please review!