Chapter Ten
Each ship from all the realms reached the rendezvous point where they would be transported through a portal to Outworld. Passengers who have never been to the realm looked on nervously as they were surrounded by a swirl of dark purple energy appearing in the sky. Some of the energy were shaped like human skulls, which would float around before dispersing.
Soon, a bright purple light hit them and when it disappeared, they found themselves in Outworld, sailing on the surprisingly clear water and along with hundreds of other ships from countless realms. Just a few miles ahead was what looked liked a large island waiting for them. The land was purple with some green from the forests there, the flat land being surrounded by high mountains in the distance. The sky above was a light purple, almost close to blue, with the sun shining above.
Outworld may look pretty, but many of the fighters knew that there was more behind it than it looked. Waiting on that land was The Blood Tournament. Beyond it was Outworld's Emperor Shao Kahn and many evil things that could occur there.
It was another half hour before the ships reached a group small boats waiting to sail the fighters to the land. They got off the ships by roped ladders and filled up the small ships before sailing closer to their destination. Another half hour passed before they finally reached the land.
Raiden got off the boat and placed his feet on the white sand, as did others. He walked a few feet onto the land before he began to look around for the woman he was to meet up with, the soul psychic Rose. Luckily, it didn't take that long because he soon spotted a woman with wild purple hair. He walked up to her then.
"Greetings Rose," he stated.
Rose turned around to face the Thunder God. She stood there for a moment without a word before proceeding. "Hello. How may I help you?"
"I'm the God of Thunder, Lord Raiden. I'm sure you've heard about me, have you?"
"I have," Rose replied. "Then you would know the real story of Chishio No Me."
"Which is why I've come to you. The Elder Gods have suggested to me that I'd meet with you, the wielder of the power of soul. With the possible peril that will come out of this tournament, we can combine our strength to combat our adversaries. Will you join me?"
"Of course," Rose answered without hesitating. "With our alliance, we have a better chance to beat this." At that moment, their groups gathered by them. Rose smirked a little. "Seems that we do have the same idea."
Raiden nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Now, it seems that we'll be heading to the dining quarters for dinner before we head to our settlements. I have a suggested place, away from those who could join Shao Kahn."
"That's good to know," Rose agreed. "In that case, let us head out."
The large group began walking. At that moment, Ryu and Ken noticed each other from their own groups.
"There you are!" called out Ken as he walked up to his long-time friend. They tapped their fists together, their traditional greeting, as they walked along with the two groups.
"What brings you here old friend?" Ryu asked with a rare smirk.
"The competition of course," Ken replied. "And I'm sure you are here to be the best?"
Ryu nodded. "Of course."
"Well, this is a new place we'll be fighting in, along with the best in not only Earth, but all the realms," Ken continued. "It's going to be one hell of a competition."
"And I look forward to it," Ryu said.
Nearby, Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana followed Jade down the pathway marked with red and gold sashimono flags, which would lead them to the dining quarters. Sindel looked around the area, having it been years since she was last in this realm.
Kitana looked at her mother then, noticing the worried expression on her face. "Mother, are you all right?"
Sindel shook the thoughts out of her head upon hearing her daughter's voice and looked at her with her colorless eyes. "I'll be fine dear. It's just that I've almost forgotten what this place was like."
"It'll be all right my Queen," replied Jade. "At least we are here for good reasons."
The Queen nodded in agreement, but she still had the worried expression on her face.
Meanwhile from near where the fighters of Keisei were, Cassandra looked around the area that was called Outworld. As much as she wanted to do this for her sister, the young fighter realized, during their entry into the realm, that she wasn't so sure about this tournament. She had thought that they would be someplace on a small island in Keisei, or possibly Earth, but never this realm.
I hope I can get through this, Cassandra thought.
Nearby, Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi got off the boat and onto land. All three looked up at the high mountains before them. Mountains existed in Keisei, of course, but the height had been beyond their imaginations.
"Interesting realm," said Maxi.
"Yeah," replied Xianghua, half daydreaming as she admired the view.
Kilik looked straight ahead then and scanned the area. Although there were a few strange characters who lived in Keisei, there were even more of them, obviously from different realms. They were different colors, shapes, and forms, some with multiple joints or body parts, some with countless horns, things that Kilik never would've thought of beyond his imagination.
"Shall we continue forward?" asked Maxi as he too noticed the strange characters.
Xianghua and Kilik nodded slowly and the trio began their walk.
Seong Mi-na was on one of the last boats that landed in Outworld. Not much thought came to her mind, but she realized that wherever she was, it was something completely new to her.
What was surprising, however, were the ships that were here when they went through the portal. Mi-na realized that something was going on. She looked at the armored-clad man next to him.
"Excuse me," she said. "Where are we?"
The man only looked at her, then turned around, ignoring her completely. Mi-na sighed to herself. Some help I just got.
She stayed silent until the boat landed. Mi-na grabbed her belongings before getting off and following the people around her. She was only half paying attention because then she bumped into someone. Mi-na knew that the person was only standing.
"Watch where you're going you-" the young woman began to say, but when she looked up, a familiar figure was looking at her, his arms folded and didn't look quite happy.
It was Hwang, Mi-na's childhood friend. At first, she was almost happy that he was here... at least she wouldn't be alone in a strange place. However, because of the fact that he had followed her here only because of his duty as a Coast Guard, anger filled her up just as quickly.
"Hwang!" she yelled out. "Why did you follow me here?"
"Do you know how much trouble we went through just to find you?" Hwang replied trying to keep his voice from going loud. "And now look what you did! You and I are trapped here and we're going to be here for quite a while!"
Despite their height differences, Mi-na practically went right up to his face. "Well it's not my fault you got yourself into this mess! If it makes you happy, I don't even know where we are!"
"We're in Outworld," Hwang replied. "And there will be a tournament going on here! There's no way we can leave until it's over, and who knows when that will be!"
Deep inside, excitement came upon the young woman. A tournament, eh? This may be interesting after all.
Despite that, Mi-na was still angry with Hwang. "I know that you have a duty, but for you to go out of your way to follow me here… do you realize how betrayed I feel? We've known each other since we were kids. You were the only boy who treated me for who I really am, not because of my gender. Maybe I was wrong about you after all."
Mi-na began to walk past Hwang, but he grabbed her arm then, stopping her in her tracks. "Please Mi-na," he said. "Don't be angry with me. And besides, since we both don't know anyone else here, we might as well stick together. So, we're going to have to put our current situation behind us until we get out of here."
As angry as she was, Mi-na realized that her childhood friend was right. She pulled her arm away from him and turned to face him. "Where do we go from here then?" she asked calmly.
Hwang looked around then. "I guess we follow everyone else."
Mi-na nodded and they began to follow.
All of the fighters soon arrived in a large palace-like place and into the large dining quarters on the first floor. Aside from the low cherry wood polished tables, the red floored cushioned chairs, and the green plants, everything around was in gold.
On the tables, only bread and glasses of water were being served for now. The fighters gathered around the tables and sat down low to the floor on the provided cushions. That's with the exception of Raiden, who did not want to be noticed right away. He left his group in Rose's attendance and hid behind the walls, looking through a small window far from the main entrance.
Chun Li sat down and looked around the area. "I wonder what kind of food they will be serving."
"Something I hope is eatable by sight alone," answered Lei. "Or already dead."
"You're telling me," said Wagner taking a bit of the roll he hand in his hand.
Guile sighed a bit and looked at Chun Li. "I'm glad we were able to meet up here."
"Same here," said Chun Li. "It's good to work with you again."
Across from them, Guy, Cody, and Maki ate their bread. As they did, Guy looked at Maki. "Why did you come?" he asked.
Maki sighed to herself. "Well, first off, I thought it was unfair that you left without saying goodbye, plus Cody showed up for the first time in ages and you didn't bother to mention him either. Second, I think I'm capable of fighting just as well as you two. Everyone else in the dojo I understand since half of them are novices, but I've been with the Bushin clan for years, I mean, since childhood for crying out loud!"
Cody sighed a bit. "She does make a good point, Guy."
Guy closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Maki again. "You just be careful. Who knows what this tournament is about."
Just then, drums began to play as servants began to serve the food. Those not used to it were in shock by the quality and quantity of the various different foods, especially the very large chickens, which were served to each table. Once everything was placed down, the fighters began digging in.
Those near Ryu looked at him in shock as he placed large quantity of food on his plate before he began to chow down. After a few bites, he looked up and noticed the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "What?" he asked. Then, everyone quickly resumed to their dinner.
Mika, who was sitting next to Ryu, looked over at him. She decided to try to start up a conversation then. "So, um, you got yourself a bit appetite there, that's cool."
Ryu finished chewing on his mashed potatoes before looked at the pro wrestler. "I travel a lot and I don't really get to eat all this good stuff. I consider it a blessing."
Mika chuckled a little. "I'm the same, especially since I wrestle."
Ryu nodded as he continued eating.
Sonya took a few bites from her carrots before turning to Alex, who was sitting next to her eating her own food. "Alex, I'm sorry about before back on the ship."
The younger agent looked at Sonya with surprise as she swallowed. "Why do you have to be sorry? It should be me, I violated orders."
"I know," the blonde Lieutenant said. "I guess I overreacted, even when Nightwolf vouched for you... not that I didn't believe you or anything. You're a good soldier, and I shouldn't have left you out of this mission."
Alex nodded. "Apology accepted."
"I'm just not sure what the General will think about you going missing, but whatever happens, I'll talk to him about it when we get back to Earth."
"I appreciate it, Captain."
The drums became louder then. Robed figures entered the dining quarters, all gliding rather than walking.
"Wait a second!" cried out Asuka. "One of them must've gave us the invitation!"
"I think they all did," replied Ryu.
Ken looked at him in horror. "You're telling me that one of them put the envelope in my mailbox?"
The figures assembled themselves on a platform in front of the tables. Just then, a figure entered the room and walked over to the throne on the platform. He wore a similar robe as the floating figures, but it was black and he walked normally. When he was in front of his throne, the drums stopped making the room silent as everyone there awaited what he was about to say.
Next to Alex, she heard a grunt to her right. Turning her head, she didn't miss the fact that Kenshi's fists had clenched on top of the table. Gazing up at his face, she noticed his grim expression even with the crimson blindfold covering his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
Kenshi took a deep breath before answering, not bothering to turn his head to her. "It's nothing... don't worry about it."
Realizing that he didn't want to talk about it, Alex remained silent as she turned her head to the stranger who just entered the room.
"Greetings," the stranger called out once the beating drums ceased. "And welcome to The Blood Tournament here in Outworld. My name is Shang Tsung, and these are my Shadow Priests. I am the host of the tournament."
Many of those who knew the name glared at him. Those who were assigned after him made mental notes to themselves. Those with vengeance tried to control their rage. It also confirmed the rumor of him being the tournament's host after all.
Shang Tsung looked around the room before he continued. "I am honored that you all could be here. You are all great warriors and deserve to be here for this tournament. Each and every one of you are the best of the best. You've come from every realm that exist to compete. Many challenges await, but only one of you will be the champion of The Blood Tournament. With that, comes the prize."
The sorcerer went through the pocket of his robe before pulling out a golden object and held it up for everyone to see just as the red tear began within began to glow. Many gasps and whispers could be heard throughout the room. Shang Tsung smirked in delight by the reactions.
"Many of you may know this artifact," he continued. "But for those who don't know, this is called Chishio No Me, or The Bloody Eye. It is a medallion with all the power in the world. It has the ability to grant whatever you desire, no matter what it is. If you are the champion of this tournament… it will be all yours."
Everyone stared at the medallion, unsure of what to think. Many thoughts played in each fighter's mind, whether it was of greed, fear, vengeance, or the many things they could do with the power they could receive.
"The tournament begins in two days. Those without invitations or those who were given invitations by allies, go to the left. Those who were meant to be here, go to your right."
The fighters followed. Princess Kitana got herself up and as she did, she noticed a blond man in armor walking past her. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as she realized how handsome he was. The figure noticed her as well and briefly looked at her before continuing forward. Unknown to Kitana, Sindel was also looking at him, intrigued by his looks.
It was the first time that Kitana felt something, but by the time she realized it, the stranger disappeared within the crowd.
Deep Underground of Outworld later that night.
Sitting on a large throne in a darken room (despite the many lit candles along the walls), Shao Kahn looked at his minions, Shadow Priests, guards, servants, and army, who waited for him to speak. The Emperor stared at each of them through his skull mask.
"The time has come," the Emperor announced. "The fighters are here to compete in my tournament. You are all here to make sure our plans go smoothly. With that, I want to introduce you to two new allies of ours, ones who I believe will make great benefits to our cause."
Shao Kahn walked over to a large figure nearby. He was partially covered in black garments, some parts consisting of spikes. His skin was of a light brown with pale eyes, the lower part of his face covered with a mask. What was most disturbing was the face that his heart was outside his body and beating rhythmically, the noise being heard all around the room. The other large figure was a green figure, wearing gold garments and a matching helmet, his red eyes glowing from underneath.
"This are the golem Astaroth," the Emperor announced. "He will be used for any emergencies that come along."
"My lord," said Quan Chi. "You had mentioned that there were two of them. Where is the second one?"
Shao Kahn only let out a hardly-heard chuckle. Suddenly, a loud growl could be heard around the room, making everyone in the room nervous. The large door to the room opened where two servants pulled out a large wheeled cage. In the cage, a large zombie-like creature shook on the bars in a rage that no one in that room could ever imagine and he let out an ear-piercing roar. Tension rose in the room then.
"This is Berserk," the Emperor mentioned. "As you can tell, he will make a great addition to our army."
Shao Kahn walked over to the cage just as Berserk ripped the bars off and threw them across the room. Everyone got out of the way and backed away in fear. The monster jumped out of his cage and grabbed a hold of one of the servants who screamed for mercy. In an instant with no effort, he ripped the servant into two pieces, then threw him over where he had thrown the cage with blood spray practically everywhere.
Right after, Shao Kahn took out the medallion, and placed it in front of Berserk. The red tear glowed and at that moment, Berserk calmed down and stared at the Emperor.
"Very good," said Shao Kahn having complete control over the deranged monster. "You will serve me and only me. You will call me master."
"M, master…" Berserk muttered.
Shao Kahn then looked over at everyone else. "Berserk's pleasure is to torture until you are dead. If any of you defy me, you will be thrown in the same cage that he will be in."
Everyone kept even more silent then, scared out of their wits. Shao Khan took the delight in knowing that his was in full control of everything.
In the shadows unknown to anyone, Ivy Valentine watched the situation unfold. She mainly stared at the medallion the Emperor held in his hand.
So it's true, the swordswoman thought. The medallion has been found.
She would make her appearance known to the Emperor soon.