Chapter Eleven

Not long after dinner was over and the registrations were made, Raiden, Rose, and the rest of Earth's chosen warriors departed from the dining quarters as a group. Many of the other warriors who will be heading to their assigned rooms within the palace. However, the Thunder God had other plans in mind…

"...A cave?" Cammy grumbled out as soon as they saw where they were staying.

Raiden sighed, having the feeling previously that everyone was going to react like that. "As much as you all would've enjoyed the luxuries of the palace, this is best for all of you since you are the chosen ones for this tournament. That way, Shao Kahn and his allies will not be able to easily detect any plans we will be discussing in the future."

It seemed to make sense for the chosen ones now. However, the fact that they will be staying in a cave wasn't exactly what most of the fighters had in mind.

"So," said Guile. "What will be provided for us in this… cave?"

"Well," Raiden replied. "Before you all met me, I had already prepared the cave for your arrival. The walls are lit with oil candles, which need to be changed every few days. Each of you will also have your own room, all covered by heavy velvet curtains for privacy. In the back of the cave is sort of what you would call a lounge room. I have also already prepared food and water supply and it should last us a few days."

"Good to know," said Yun. "But please tell me this cave has a plumbing system."

Raiden paused for a brief moment before answering. "Actually, your 'toilets' are out here."

"You're telling us that we have to go to the bathroom outside?" asked a not-so-happy Lita. "And I assume we'll be taking baths in lava?"

"Actually, there are hot springs about a half a mile from here in the forest. The palace also have indoor bath houses, but I recommend the ones in the forest since less people will be going there."

"Um, great," said Lei without much enthusiasm.

The whole time, Rose stood there and stared at Raiden. Although they had united to stop evil from emerging, she was getting the feeling that Raiden was starting to take over the show rather than the both of them working together to make this all work, especially when he didn't bother to ask for her input during the meeting. She planned on talking to him once things were settled in the cave.

Later, the warriors were either sleeping, training, or just hanging out. Wagner, Guile, and Sonya were walking along the shorelines of a small beach, grateful that it was clear water rolling over their feet rather than lava. They were only about a five minute walk from the cave, which was surrounded by many trees. Only a few of their new allies were training there, but other than that, the area seemed pretty quiet.

"This place is not so bad once you get used to it," mentioned Wagner.

"That's true," Sonya replied. "It could've been worse I suppose... we could've been staying in the caves of the Netherrealm instead."

"Too bad we're sleeping on military cots, but that's nothing new to us," said Guile.

There was a pause between the three of them before Sonya spoke up. "So, when will we be discussing plans?"

"As soon as we get the word from Raiden. Speaking of which, I should go back inside and review the files we received before our departure. I'll catch up with the two of you later."

With that, the Air Force Colonel began his walk back to the cave leaving Wagner and Sonya alone. It wasn't long after that Sonya began another conversation. "So, how long have you and Guile known each other?"

"Since I was fifteen," Wagner answered after a brief pause. "I was just a delinquent then and building up my own kind of 'record,' but I was lucky he came along. I wasn't sure where I was going with my life, but he showed me things that I had missed since the day I became an orphan. Pretty much, he's been like a father to me."

A faint frown appeared on the blonde woman's face. She was never an orphan herself, but she had seen these cases plenty of times during her years in Special Forces.

From there, Sonya decided to change the subject. "I'm assuming this is your first time in Outworld."

"Yeah. It's a pretty strange place, but I might as well get used to it since we'll be here for a while. It does give me time to think through my agendas."

"What kind of agendas?" Sonya asked curiously.

Wagner sighed quietly. He realized was going to be around this woman for a while and she would eventually learn of his current agenda whether through him or Guile. He motioned her to sit next to him on the white sand before proceeding.

"It's a pretty long story actually, but I'll try to make it short. For a decade, I had thought that my family was dead, murdered by Shadaloo's leader. It was only after a rescue mission this past winter, ironically on the ten year anniversary of my family's murder, that I discovered that my older sister, Lisa, was alive. However, she wasn't the Lisa I knew when I was a kid…she became a Shadaloo doll. I was too injured to rescue her then, but ever since I've been on a mission to save her, even if it cost me my life. Since then, I call my mission Operation: Lisa.

"I did help to accomplish the rescue of another Shadaloo doll along with Cammy, Guile, and Chun Li not too long ago. All I know about her was that her name was Juni and the German government had her on their missing list for years. I helped return her there and, last I heard, she was training for the German military.

"Since the destruction of Shadaloo, all the dolls had been freed with the exception of one. It was rumored that this particular doll was taken by a former Shadaloo recruit and now they are in hiding. I believe Lisa's the one since there have been no reports of finding her."

Sonya sighed sadly. "I'm sorry to hear that Wagner. I really don't know what to say…"

"There's nothing to say," Wagner replied. "But there is something I should mention. When Guile and I first met you and Kenshi, you had mentioned that there were former Shadaloo recruits who could be at this tournament. I have a feeling that Lisa may be here with the one who took her. If anything, please look out for a young blonde woman who could be near a former Shadaloo recruit."

The Captain nodded. "I can do that."

Not too far from them, Mika, Asuka, Ibuki, and Sakura sat on the edge of the woods looking over at the clear water and white sand in front of them. The four of them had just finished sparring and decided to relax for a while.

Mika took off her boots and partially dug her feet into the sand. "Wow, if I had known that there was a beach near us, I would've brought my bikini."

"Me too," said Sakura. "Speaking of bringing something, I brought over my portable karaoke machine with me."

Asuka looked at the young school girl oddly. "So was that why your one bag was heavy?"

"Exactly."

"That'd be fun!" exclaimed Ibuki. "At least it's something more we can do while we're here."

That's when they noticed Maki walking along the shoreline. The female bushin ninja had a blank expression on her face as she looked out towards the large body of water, clearly unsure of what to do with herself since arriving here.

"Hi there!" called out Asuka. Maki blinked, shook out of her daze, and then looked over at the four girls, all of them with smiles on their faces.

"Um, hi," Maki replied feeling a bit surprised.

"Aren't you in the cave with us?" questioned Ibuki.

"Yes, I am."

"Cool," said Mika. "Since we're all going to be here for a while, why don't you join us."

A small smile appeared on Maki's face. "Sure," she said as she sat down with the small group. They all introduced themselves to one another. "Did you girls see Shang Tsung at dinner tonight?" the ninja suddenly asked. "Putting it lightly, he was quite hideous."

All four girls stuck their tongues out in disgust. "Ew, I so agree," answered Mika.

"Say," Ibuki said. "Rather than talking about not-so-good-looking guys, why don't we talk about some of the good-looking guys here."

"You know I have my eyes on Ryu!" cried out Sakura.

"He is pretty cute," said Mika half day-dreaming.

"Speaking of Ryu," Sakura said standing up. "I was watching him practice today and I learned a new move. Wanna see?"

"Sure," said Asuka.

With that, Sakura got into her fighting stance. She stood there for a brief moment before she quickly performed the move. She had jumped when she did, but when the school girl landed back, she ended up stumbling backwards. A male figure had been passing by behind her and the two ended up crashing into each other and stumbled into the sand. All the girls giggled until the figure stood up. They recognized him as Jin Kazama and with the exception of Asuka, all the girls' jaws dropped at the sight of him.

Sakura had the same look on her face when she met Jin's face. Jin put a hand out to help her up. Sakura took his hand and pulled herself up. "Sorry about that," she said blushing.

A small smirk appeared on Jin's face. "That's all right. Just be careful next time." And with that, Jin began heading back towards the cave. Sakura looked on until he was no longer in sight.

Asuka huffed a bit. "He's all right, but I'm pretty sure he's not that special. Besides Sakura, what happened to Ryu?"

Sakura slowly looked over at her friend. "Huh?"

In the cave, Rose realized that the chosen ones were off doing their own things. When she saw that Raiden was setting up the 'living room' of the cave, she decided that it was the best time to approach him. The psychic began making her way towards the thunder God as he placed a low table in the middle of the room.

"Good evening Rose," Raiden suddenly said. Rose was almost surprised that he knew that she was in the room. Then she remembered the fact that he was a God and mentally slapped herself.

"Good evening," the purple-haired woman replied. "Do you have a moment?"

A pause came between them before Raiden stood up. "Sure. What can I do for you?"

Rose sighed a little. "Well, I'm going to be honest with you. Now, I understand that secluding ourselves from outsiders was necessary, especially if we were near someone who was working with Shao Kahn. The thing is, could've we have picked something else other than a cave?"

Raiden stared at her then. "I understand your concern, but unfortunately, this was the only option we had. I had taken the time to set up the rooms before meeting with the mortals."

"So there was no way we could've got a secluded area with the palace area?"

"It's too risky. I am aware that not everyone is going to agree with staying there, but what they must understand is that we must give up a few things in order to accomplish what must be done."

"I'm still not into the idea," Rose replied.

At that point, Raiden began to feel a bit frustrated. A small amount of lightning appeared in his pale eyes, but it didn't seem to emotionally affect Rose. "I assume you did not do your homework on Outworld."

"Of course I did. I'm psychic remember?"

"Yeah and I'm a God." Then Raiden chuckled. "Oh wait, I already am."

A bit of anger filled Rose right there. "Is this all a joke to you?"

"Of course not! Excuse me if I have a sense of humor! As the mortals say, it's a coping mechanism!"

"You and I are both the leaders of the group! The least you can do is try to act like an adult!"

"Since when did I start acting like a child?"

That's when Yun entered the room. "Excuse me guys-"

"GET OUT!" the thunder God and the psychic cried out at once. The volume of their voice nearly scared the life out of Yun and he ran straight back to his room.

Yin had just reached his room seeing the fear on her brother's face. "Yun, what did you do this time?"

"Nothing!" cried Yun. "I was only trying to ask Raiden and Rose if they had change for a dollar!"

Yin cocked an eyebrow. "What do you need change for?"

"Well, I figured that they had vending machines in the palace-"

"THERE ARE NO VENDING MACHINES IN OUTWORLD!" Raiden cried out from where he was, scaring Yun again.

"This is going to be an interesting tournament I bet," Yun sighed tipping his blue and yellow cap over his face.

Outside of the cave, Xianghua, Kilik, and Maxi decided to take a walk around the area to get a glimpse of the area they will be staying at for a while. They had not checked into their rooms in the palace yet so they were still carrying their bags along the way.

Xianghua looked up into the sky. "You know, once you get used to it, it's not so bad. It's a pretty unique place with the purple sky, the purple ground, the white sand, and the trees-"

"Well, I can understand the sky and ground," replied Maxi. "But you do realize that Keisei also has green trees and white sand."

"Of course I do!" the young woman exclaimed.

"But it makes me wonder," Maxi continued. "Is this planet in the same galaxy as Keisei, or are we in a totally different galaxy that we never knew of?"

"I guess we could ask an Outworld native, if we ever meet one," said Kilik.

"Hey, look over there," Maxi suddenly said.

Kilik and Xianghua looked at where Maxi was pointing. They saw a group of people ahead of them. Some were meditating, some were sparring, and others were relaxing.

"Well this is interesting," said Xianghua. "I would've more expected two or three people here, but not more than ten."

"Maybe it's something special," Maxi mentioned. "Let's ask one of them." He began to walk forward before his friends could say anything else. With that, they followed him.

The older of the trio immediately noticed a young woman sitting under one of the trees reading a novel. He walked up to her then. "What are you reading there?"

The young woman looked up at him through her red-rimmed glasses. "It's just a book with a large collection of poetry. Do you like poetry?"

Maxi sighed a bit. "To be honest, not really... not that I don't appreciate the art form or anything, but it's just not for me. Anyway, my name is Maxi." He put his hand out then for a handshake.

"Julia Chang," the woman replied shaking his hand.

Suddenly, Xianghua jumped forward and put her hand out. As she did, she ended up bumping into Maxi making him fall sideways. "Hi there, I'm Xianghua. My friend wasn't trying to hit on you, was he?" With that, she shifted her eyes and gave a quick glare at Maxi, who was obviously very confused by his female friend's sudden reaction.

Julia only laughed at what Xianghua said as they shook hands. "It's all right, he was being a gentleman." She then looked up at Kilik then. "Hi there."

Kilik smirked and introduced himself then, shaking her hand. "Actually, we noticed the group behind you and we were curious to know what was going on."

"Ah, I see." Julia stood up then. "Well, to be honest, it's kind of a secret, but let's just say we've all been chosen for this mission."

"A mission eh?" Maxi said interested. "What kind of mission?"

"Maxi!" exclaimed Xianghua. "She said it was a secret!"

Julia laughed a little. "Well, if you like, why don't you follow me and I can introduce you to our leaders. They may decide to recruit you if possible."

"Sure," said Kilik. Maxi and Xianghua nodded with agreement. With that, the three followed Julia into the cave.

"Raiden! Rose!" Julia called out. "Where are you guys?"

That's when the four of them could hear two people arguing not too far. They ran over to the back of the cave and saw Raiden and Rose arguing to the point where no one could make out what they were saying.

Kilik could've sworn he felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead. "Are those the leaders?"

Julia sighed. "Yeah…"

Meanwhile, Alex decided to take a walk around a rocky area after completing some paper work Sonya threw at her after their settlement in the cave. After some walking, she decided to sit on one of the large boulders on the ground and sat down.

The young agent didn't mind the fact that they were staying in the cave. It was something she has done before, including sleeping on military cots in complete darkness. But the fact that her only garments were the ones on her back, she wasn't exactly thrilled about it. Other than her gun, extra bullets, and her car keys, she had nothing else with her. Luckily, Sonya offered her shirts and Rose would take the time to find other garments for her in the meantime.

It wasn't her fault though. She was only out to protect her comrades. They would have know they were followed eventually, she thought. Silly of me to think otherwise, I suppose...

She was signed up as a late challenger, but she was ready to go. Aside from military martial arts, Alex also knew kajukenbo, a style made for street fighting, and something she was glad that she learned on the side.

As she continued her thoughts, the agent suddenly felt a presence nearby. She turned herself around, but no one was there. Alex always trusted her instinct and decided to investigate. She got herself up and slowly walked around scanning the area.

Suddenly, as Alex passed a big tree, a young woman wearing purple suddenly jumped in front of her. "Hello!" she called out.

Surprised by the sudden greeting, Alex let out a small yelp and fell back. After that, she looked up and saw a woman a few years younger than her smile down at her. "Uh, sorry to scare you," she said.

"Um, hi here," the agent managed to reply as she got herself up.

"You don't look like you're from around here. I'm Li Mei."

Alex was almost hesitant, but then decided to answer. "I'm Alex. I'm from Earthrealm."

"Earthrealm? I've heard of it before, wow I'm glad I ran into you then, what are you doing here?"

It took a moment for Alex to catch up with what Li Mei was saying considering her run-on sentences. She also caught the fact that the young woman seemed nervous for some reason, so she talked as calmly as possible. "I'm here to attend the upcoming Blood Tournament."

"Oh yes, I heard about that, I wonder if there's a way I can join up. You see, even though I live here in Outworld, I hate Shao Kahn and his Outworld Forces, his minions enslaved my village and I'm out to save my people from enslavement."

Alex felt a bit of sorrow then and she began to realize why the Outworld native seemed nervous... after all, somehow, she had managed to escape her enslaved village. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's all right, I know everything will be all right, I just have to keep a positive attitude, that's what my grandfather keeps telling me."

"If you still want to join up in the tournament, I can see if I can help you with that," Alex suggested.

Li Mei quickly nodded, her green eyes widening a bit. "That sounds good, then I can keep my promise to my people, I really do hope I can help them, it's really been a long few weeks and-"

With the run-on sentences, Alex gave up on listening to Li Mei but still let her continue talking. Instead, she let Li Mei follow her while staying quiet.

Nearby the cave, Ryu and Ken had just finished their sparring session and were just standing around drinking their own bottle of water. "So, wasn't that travel freaky or what?" asked Ken. "Especially when we went through that supposed portal?"

"Yeah, it was," replied Ryu. "But for some strange reason, I was kind of expecting that."

"I do wonder," Ken continued. "Did it happen where every single ship from every realm suddenly went through that portal at the same time?"

Ryu shrugged a little. "It seemed like it, but I guess only those from Outworld know the truth."

"Yeah, this is a strange place."

With that, the Japanese warrior decided to change the subject. "How did Eliza take it?"

Ken sighed. "Well, it was obvious that she wasn't too happy about it. I promised her that this would be the last time I would attend a tournament for a while, then we would go on our cruise afterwards."

Ryu cocked an eyebrow. "Were you serious about not going to any more tournaments after this one for a while?"

"I don't know," Ken shrugged. "However, I do know that there will eventually be a day when I retire from fighting. Then again, I'm only thirty years old. I don't really see retirement coming up just yet."

"Hey guys!" called out a female voice nearby. Ryu and Ken turned around and noticed the familiar Interpol agent coming on to them.

"Hey Chun Li!" Ken called out smiling. "Ryu didn't mention you were here."

"Well, at least I know you're here. How is everything?" Chun Li asked.

"Pretty good. How about you?" the millionaire replied.

Chun Li shrugged. "Well, as you know, Shadaloo's pretty much history, aside from the few minions who got away."

"I heard about that," Ken answered. "Do you have any idea who took care of Bison?"

"We're not sure. Our files are really sketchy at the moment." Chun Li then looked at Ryu. "How are you doing Ryu?"

"Pretty decent, everything's still the same with me. I haven't seen you since the last Street Fighter tournament."

"Didn't seem that long ago," said Ken.

"I know," Chun Li agreed. "Unfortunately, the tournament was forfeited under unknown circumstances. I still wish I faced you Ryu so then we all could've confronted Bison."

Ken cleared his throat. "Honestly, if anyone could beat Ryu, it would be me."

"I could beat him just as well as you could," chuckled Chun Li.

Suddenly, they heard a scream and objects being thrown inside the cave. The three looked at each other before running into the cave. When they reached near the end, they met with Julia along with Xianghua, Kilik, and Maxi.

"What's going on?" asked Chun Li.

Her answer was give then when a coffee mug got thrown at them. All seven mortals ducked to avoid getting hit and the mug instead crashed on to the ground. They then looked up to watch the continuing 'argument' between their 'leaders.'

"And what is with that stupid hat anyways!" cried out Rose.

"It's called a rice harvester for your information!" Raiden yelled. "And why do you have a camel's toe?"

The seven mortals' jaws dropped in shock over that statement as Rose's face turned beet red, obviously very pissed by Raiden's joke. "YOU MAKE ME SO ANGRY! What was I thinking when I teamed up with YOU!"

Suddenly, Raiden let a bolt of lighting out not at Rose, but at the feet of their witnesses.

"RUN!" Maxi screamed out as the seven of them made a dash for it.

"You want to join me?" the Outworld Emperor asked. "Why so?"

Shao Kahn looked down at the female figure before him. He was already impressed by the fact that the platinum-haired woman was kneeling on the ground before him, her head bowed down.

Ivy Valentine had her plans made up in her mind. She already knew what she was going to say to the Emperor, but whatever was to come, she would realize whether she would be telling the truth or a lie to him then.

"I believe in your cause," she said. "You are a powerful Emperor, a great leader to look up to. I have confidence that whatever you plan in the aftermath of the tournament will prevail. If you let me, I pledge my services to you and promise to not fail you."

For a moment, Shao Kahn stared down at Ivy. Many times has he gotten people pledging their services to him. Ninety-nine percent of the time, they end up as their servants.

But he felt something different about this woman. He could sense her strong fighting spirit and the darkness that plagued inside of her. After some more mental analysis, he felt that she was indeed worthy of her services not as a servant, but as one of his main minions alongside fighters like Baraka and even Shang Tsung.

"Rise!" Shao Kahn commanded. Immediately, Ivy stood up. As she did, he noticed the sword behind her, one he had never seen before. "You are a swordswoman, are you not?"

"I am," Ivy replied. "My name is Ivy Valentine, the adopted descendent of the Valentine family of the Britannian Empire in the realm of Keisei."

"The adopted daughter of Earl Valentine?" the Emperor questioned with interested. "This is indeed interesting. However, I do have one test, a test to prove that you will be loyal to me."

With that, the Emperor snapped his fingers. A single servant immediately entered the small light and bowed to Shao Kahn.

Shao Kahn then nodded at Ivy. "Kill him quickly."

Horror suddenly came over the servant, but before he could react, Ivy had already taken her sword into her hand. She raised it above her before swinging it forward. The Emperor had expected her to easily decapitate the servant. Instead, the sword split into eight small pieces attached but a single one-inch thick string.

Shao Kahn was surprised to see it and became much more interested by what was going to happen next. Ivy quickly wrapped the sword around the servant's neck. She kicked him then, sending him on all fours. This gave Ivy the opportunity to place her foot on her victim's back, slightly digging her heel into it. She then pulled him back towards her with her sword, tightening the hold on him.

The servant tried to scream, but his oxygen was cut off at this point. Then, with a quickly jolt, Ivy managed to snap his neck, killing him instantly. She stood there for another moment before releasing her hold on him, letting his body fall like a rag doll. She then quickly threw her sword upward, returning her sword into one piece.

Shao Kahn smiled under his skull mask. "Very impressive. You are indeed worthy of joining me."

The scene flooded in Ivy's mind a little as she was given the tour of Shao Kahn's fortress. It was a very rare thing, but Shao Kahn himself was giving her the tour. It was only an hour ago that she pledged her services to him. Ivy knew it would take a while, at least until she got her hands on the medallion.

"This is the sleeping quarters," Shao Kahn said as they passed through a long hall. "We have an extra room for you just at the end of the hall. I am quite sure it will be to your likings."

Ivy nodded as she scanned the area. It was then that a yellow-clad woman walked out of her room, closing the door behind her. She turned and immediately saw Shao Kahn before her. In an instant, she got down on her knees and bowed to him.

"Rise Tanya," the Emperor commanded.

"Yes my Emperor," Tanya replied as she stood up.

"We have a new person joining us. This is Ivy."

Ivy and Tanya only glared at each other, a normal thing to happen around the lair. Tanya never took kindly to new people, especially if they were the same gender as she was. It was already bad enough that she had Mileena and Sheeva to deal with, but at least until now, she was the only 'normal' woman in the lair.

"I must return to continuing with our plans," Shao Kahn continued. "I will leave you two so you can take the time to be… acquainted." With that, the Emperor made his departure.

When he was out of sight, Tanya snorted. "So, suddenly, you think you're so special just because you're the new girl. None of us here take kindly to people like you, so don't expect much."

Suddenly, Tanya quickly found herself wrapped in Ivy's snake sword. The yellow-clad woman let out a yelp as she was pulled towards Ivy, an evil glare staring down at her. With her icy blue eyes, Ivy indeed looked deadly and it was the first time Tanya even felt tense by her presence.

"Every bitch who double crosses me ends up dead," Ivy whispered. "But since we are on the same side however, I'll let you be my lap dog until this is all over. Don't even think that I won't kill you if you object otherwise."

Throughout her long-life, being an Edenian native, Tanya always made the right choices, choices that would keep her alive. If she had to be at the mercy of another just to stay alive, she would. Tanya nodded then, letting Ivy know that she understood.

With that, Ivy let her go, dropping her to the ground. She smirked then. "Very good. I will meet with you in the morning." And with that, she left for her new quarters.

The night came. Everyone from the cave sat around a campfire that was lit to warm them up. The hall in the cave was too narrow for them to sit around so being outside was best for them. And with the previous heat between Raiden and Rose, Sub-Zero made an ice wall to separate the two.

Rose chose not to speak, since she actually agreed with what Raiden was going to announce that night.

"Mortals," he began. "First, I'd like to welcome four new mortals from Keisei and Outworld who will help us with our cause. They are Li Mei, Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi. Secondly, The Blood Tournament is ready to go. Eight rounds have been constructed, so there will be many eliminations. Each round will expand a few days until every fight has been constructed.

"In the morning, you will receive notices which I will be delivering to you. You will see them pinned on your curtains. They will state your name, the place of your fight, and the time. They will not, however, state the fighter you will be fighting against until the time of your match.

"There are four locations where the tournaments will be… the Outdoor Arena, the Indoor Arena, the Courtyard, and the Underground Lair.

"The rules are quite simple. Firearms are not allowed in the tournament and you cannot kill your opponents, even if you have a vendetta against them. There are only two ways to lose the match. You must either be knocked out by your opponent, or thrown out of the ring. If both of your feet are out of the ring as you fight, you are automatically disqualified and your opponent wins the match. In an event where both fighters are out of the ring, whoever was out first or the furthest out will receive the disqualification. In an event where a fighter doesn't show up at the fight, the other fighter will be able to move on to the next round, unless another no-show occurs from another match.

"I hope that this information has helped you with what you can expect in the tournament. Once the tournament is officially over, depending on the circumstances of the aftermath, we will automatically have the access to return to our own worlds. I wish you the best of luck in the tournament, and may the best win."

With that, the fire in front of the mortals shot up three feet into the air. Everyone quickly got the signal from the fire… whatever was to come, it was all about to begin from there…