Chapter Fourteen
Day two of round one of The Blood Tournament came. Warriors who were fighting today trained themselves, prepared for their matches, and hoped to win. But it would only be half of those whose wishes of winning today's match that would be granted.
People gathered around the courtyard, waiting for the first match to begin. They knew since two days ago that the first would start once the host of the tournament, whether it be Shang Tsung or a Shadow Priest, settled themselves on the throne and called out the first two fighters to face each other.
One of the people fighting today was Seong Mi-na. She stood amongst the watchers slightly leaning against her naginata, bored out of her mind. It was unfortunate, but due to a slight stomach virus (most likely from the fish served last night in the dining quarters), Hwang was unable to watch her battle. She felt disappointed, but at the same time, she didn't have to worry about getting a lecture if she did something wrong (whether she lost or not).
Mi-na sighed to herself as she daydreamed. She and Hwang shared a room in the palace and slept in separate beds (which she sure he was happy about considering her bad sleeping habits like rolling around a lot to get comfortable and drooling on her pillows in her sleep). Aside from that, it hasn't been a bad stay and they had enjoyed two days' worth of watching the tournament. And now she was up next today. Hwang, however, wasn't up until tomorrow.
Hopefully he doesn't throw up on his opponent tomorrow, Mi-na thought feeling a bit amused by the imagination.
It was then that Shang Tsung showed up, causing the watchers and fighters to fall silent. The sorcerer immediately sat down in his throne with two masked guards standing on either side of him.
Mi-na stared up at Shang Tsung. She had heard rumors about him in the palace, some positive, but it was mostly negative. She remembered the voices of two strangers who spoke about Shang Tsung;
"He is a man of great power. He is capable of great things."
"Don't believe such things. I heard that he secretly takes the souls of great warriors and tortures them for eternity, as long as he remains alive."
"I don't believe that. He has much honor and no one would do such a thing."
"Don't believe everything you hear."
Mi-na wasn't sure which side to believe. Sure, Shang Tsung seemed like someone with honor, but even those with honor could lack compassion. Mi-na decided to stay neutral on the subject until she heard the truth from someone who really knew who he was.
"Welcome to Day Three of Round One of The Blood Tournament!" the sorcerer announced. "The first match shall begin." He stayed silent for a moment until he announced the first of the two fighters of the first match. "Midnight!"
A man dressed in full black ninja suit jumped into the ring, a six-foot staff in hand. To Mi-na, he was nothing more than a generic ninja, standing only a few inches taller than herself. He scanned the audience with his dark brown eyes, wondering who his opponent would be.
Soon, Shang Tsung announced the next fighter. "Seong Mi-na!"
Mi-na was surprised to hear her named called out so soon. However, she was more prepared for the fight. She looked at Midnight and smirked. He'll be easy to take down.
The two looked at each other and Midnight bowed to her in respect. Mi-na followed with a bow as well to show her respect, never taking her eyes off of him.
"You may begin!" Shang Tsung called out. Mi-na and Midnight stared at each other for a moment before slowly getting into their stances. They had nearly the same stance with only their feet placed in different positions. They then placed their weapons in front of themselves. Ironically, their weapons crisscrossed into an X and were only less than an inch apart.
Soon, Midnight pulled back and attempted his first strike with his staff. Mi-na caught this in time and blocked the incoming attack. For a moment, Midnight was on offense, forcing Mi-na on her guard and backing up a bit.
Then, Midnight made a last strike, which once again hit Mi-na's weapon, and he began pushing forward, forcing the young woman to back up a bit. Soon, she began pushing back, hoping not to end up on the ground and letting her opponent have more control over the fight than he already had.
"You're a pretty one," Midnight whispered so that only Mi-na would hear. "But that doesn't mean that it'll earn you a win."
Mi-na laughed a little in amusement. "Yeah, but I'm sure you're still distracted by my beauty nevertheless."
She knew he was surprised by the statement with the way he widened his eyes. This gave Mi-na the moment she needed to take control of the match. She lifted up one foot and managed to kick Midnight's left shin. He let out a small yelp and pulled back a couple of feet to recover. Mi-na then brought up the back part of her naginata and, with all of her strength, hit Midnight on the side of the face, knocking him to the floor. After that move, Mi-na was able to hear a few "Oooh!" as though they themselves were in pain.
Mi-na then attempted to smack Midnight again with her weapon, but the ninja suddenly grabbed hold of it, much to her surprise. They struggled for a moment until Midnight pulled forward and managed to make Mi-na fly forward, forcing her to somersault as well before landing on her back.
As she recovered, Midnight quickly recovered and threw the naginata out of the ring, much to the Keisei native's dismay. Mi-na felt lucky at that moment because she knew a little bit of hand-to-hand combat, but she wondered how long it would take before Midnight would be in control of the match once again.
When Midnight began walking back towards her, Mi-na then noticed that his own staff was a bit further to the left and still in the ring. She took a mental note and hoped to be able to get to it before her opponent did.
Midnight jumped up with one foot out in front of him. Mi-na quickly rolled out of the way. Midnight saw this and managed to catch himself and land gracefully. Mi-na was able to get herself up then when she noticed her opponent now coming after her with both fists ready for action.
Mi-na dodged a few punches, but then Midnight managed to land one in the abdomen, forcing the air in her lungs out of her. She keeled over a bit, holding on to her stomach, and backed up for a second to recover. Midnight then lifted his foot up and kicked Mi-na in the face, forcing her body to snap upwards and she stumbled back a bit. Then, Midnight grabbed her from behind and performed a German Supplex.
Pain shot up and down Mi-na's body from the damage she took. Great, I won't make it through this round! she thought. It was then that she looked to the right and noticed Midnight's staff laying right next to her.
When Midnight was close, Mi-na quickly grabbed the staff and jabbed it forward into his leg. The leg wasn't punctured, but it was enough for Midnight to keel over in pain. Mi-na quickly got up and let Midnight recover from the blow.
Then, the ninja looked up at her, anger quickly filling in his eyes. Determination appeared in Mi-na's face and she got into a stance, ready for anything.
With a loud animal-like shriek, Midnight ran after her. Mi-na took a step back and suddenly felt the rope that separated the ring from the audience. A small smirk came over her as she developed a plan.
Less than a foot was soon in between them and Mi-na quickly stepped aside. Midnight was able to catch himself before he ran out of the ring. However, Mi-na noticed this and quickly kicked him in the back and sending him flying past the ropes.
"That's what you get for not paying attention," Mi-na stated with a smirk.
As her named was announced as the winner, Mi-na placed the staff back down on the ground as Midnight struggled to get up. With a bit of struggle herself due to the pain still in her, she stepped out of the ring, picked up the naginata she named Scarlet Thunder, and began her walk back to her room in the palace.
Indoor Arena
Guile thought he saw stars as an uppercut was delivered into his chin forcing him to stumble back. Damn it! he thought, mad that he didn't see the punch in time.
When the stars in his eyes finally disappeared, he looked over at his opponent, a female mutant who went by the name Muscana. The Colonel guess that she was a half human half lizard, having brown, scaly skin, a long tail that would flick back and forth, and arms and feet like a reptile. She stared at Guile with her maroon-colored eyes and her black, forked tongue would sometimes slither out of her mouth and roll before going back in.
Guile tried not to show disgust by her appearance, especially with her tongue. He admitted earlier that he wondered why fragile-like fighters would fight against brute fighters or why humans fought other creatures rather than call it even.
But now he understood… the fighters of each match were picked at random and it didn't matter who it was against. You had to do your best and hope to win. Besides, The Blood Tournament contained 'the best of the best' and you had to be up for anything.
When Guile first laid eyes on Muscana, he knew that the fight would be quite challenge, especially now since she revealed her fast speed in the ring. That was about two minutes ago when the match started. He was strong, but now this fight was going to prove which was best… strength or speed?
"You're an interesting opponent," Muscana spoke as though she was hissing. "I'm glad to be able to fight someone like you… knowing that I will indeed win."
Guile narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't get too confident, it might cost you."
That angered Muscana a bit and with a loud hiss, she jumped in quick speed towards the older man. Guile attempted to dodge out the way, but Muscana managed to grab him and they rolled back a couple of feet before stopping. When they did, Muscana was on top of Guile, a sadistic grin on her face revealing a row of sharp white teeth.
"It's been a while since I fought a human," Muscana hissed as her tongue rolled again. "I'm going to enjoy crushing you." With that, she slightly licked the side of Guile's face, which made him quickly shove her off of him. She rolled over to the side and the Colonel immediately stood up.
"Enough games!" Guile demanded. "Let's get this match over with!"
Muscana hissed a little. "Fine, if that is your wish!" She then darted after the soldier in her speed. This time, Guile was prepared for her attacks. The moment she was close enough, Guile dodged out of the way. Muscana managed to catch herself before falling out of the ring. She turned back around and darted after him again.
The mutant then threw various punches and kicks, most of which Guile blocked. A couple of times he was kicked in the stomach or punched in the face, but he did his best to regain his composure.
But then a kick to the shin was all Muscana need to make the Colonel fall to the floor in pain. She lifted her foot up to stomp on him, but he rolled his body a few feet to the side to avoid the attack. He then rolled himself back up to his feet, still holding on to his leg in which the pain was beginning to decrease.
Muscana let out a hiss. "I'll finish this!" she announced. She then jumped in the air and flew towards Guile. A small smirk appeared on the older man's face at that moment.
The Air Force Colonel jumped up off his good leg once Muscana was in the right spot in the air. He then extended his good leg out and performed a backwards somersault, hitting Muscana under the chin in the process. "Somersault shell!" he called out.
Muscana would've let a scream out had it not been for her jaw to slam up on the top row of her teeth. While Guile landed on the ground with ease, Muscana landed hard on her side, losing consciousness in the process. When she didn't get up for a while, the Shadow Priest stood up.
"Winner: Guile!"
"YEAH!" Guile heard Wagner cry out nearby as the audience began to clap for him. The Colonel turned around and saw his team, Interpol, and Delta Red clapping for him. This felt good for Guile, not getting an ovation this good in any tournament. In reply, he smirked, brought his right hand up (with only his index and middle finger extended) and saluted to them.
Once Guile returned into the audience and everything was settled down, the Shadow Priest spoke. "The next match shall begin." He paused for a moment before announcing the first fighter. "Dan Hibiki!"
"YAHOO!" Dan cried out as he attempted to jump over the ropes. When he did, he ended up getting his foot caught and he fell forward. In the process, he brought the remaining ropes that made a circle fall forward like a domino effect but in two different directions.
This caused everyone in the arena to laugh at Dan's clumsiness. However, this didn't seem to affect the Saikyo fighter as he rolled himself a few feet into the ring, stood himself up, and flexed his left arm.
"Not even that rope is going to take me down!" Dan cried out again. "OYAJI!"
It was another minute before everyone was able to compose themselves from their chuckles. This finally gave the Shadow Priest the chance to announce Dan's opponent. "Brent Archer!"
Immediately, a young man walked into the ring. He was a mix of African American and Hispanic with a black cap worn backwards, an orange t-shirt, black baggy sweats, and basketball sneakers.
Brent laughed once he faced Dan in the middle of the ring and laughed. "This is gonna be easier than I thought. I'm gonna make it to round two after all. What male person dresses in pink any ways?"
"Don't be too cocky Brent," Dan replied while wagging a finger. "And besides, who wears Halloween colors in the summertime?"
Brent brought his hands up to his chest and cracked his knuckles. "Let's go, Pinky."
"Begin!" the Shadow Priest called out. However, Brent had already began running towards Dan, ready to take him down.
However, Dan was prepared for his attacks. Brent began throwing punches and kicks at him, but Dan managed to block them. Dan attempted to kick the side of his opponent, but Brent managed to grab a hold of his leg.
"Uh oh," Dan muttered just before he was brought up in the air. Brent let go then and the Saikyo fighter landed hard on his back. Before he could attempt to recover, Brent brought his foot up and began stomping on Dan rapidly.
"OWE!" Dan cried out, repeating each time he was hit. He then made an attempt to grab Brent's own leg and succeeded. He pulled forward and forced Brent on his back. Dan then got up and performed an ankle lock he learned from watching television.
"AH! DAMN IT!" Brent yelled out as the pain from his ankle shot through him. He struggled to get out of the lock for a moment. Then, he rolled on to his back and pulled his locked leg forward, bringing a surprised Dan along. The pink-clad fighter flew over his opponent and landed a few feet away. He shook his head from the minor pains and got up just in time to see Brent run after him again.
"Gadouken!" Dan cried out swinging his right arm in front of him. An energy the size of a basketball came out of his hand. The move shocked Brent and he had thought he was screwed… but the energy only made it halfway before it popped like a bubble.
Brent began laughing then. "You've gotta be kidding me? This fight is such a joke, it's not even all that-"
"Dankuu-kyaku!" Dan suddenly cried out. Brent looked in front of him, only to be met with Dan's feet right in his face. Once he was hit, he went flying back a few feet, having to lost consciousness during that time, and landed on his back. The arena was silent then, surprised by the result of the match.
"Winner: Dan Hibiki!" the Shadow Priest called out.
Dan gave out a thumb's up. "Remember everyone, think pink!"
"You still suck!" someone in the audience cried out.
At the Beach Arena
The tournament was currently underway between two fighters who looked like wrestlers. Ryu, having won his own match a few hours ago, decided to watch a few matches before retreating back to the cave.
Half the time when a fighter won, Ryu had the urge to jump right into the ring and challenge the opponent, as he normally would during his travels. However, the matches were already fixed up and any interference would result in a disqualification. So, all he could do was watch.
He had been concentrating on the fight when he felt a light punch on his left arm. Ryu turned his head in that direction and noticed Ken standing there with a grin on his face. Behind him was Julia who held a bag of crackers in her hand.
"Hey buddy, what's up?" Ken asked putting his fist out.
Ryu put his own fist out and the two tapped them together, their traditional greeting. "Not much, I won my match."
"Gee, what a surprise," Ken answered sarcastically. "I won my tournament too, so did Julia."
"Congratulations," said Ryu. "Seems that we're all going to be in round two."
"Indeed," spoke Julia. "I don't think anyone in the cave lost the tournament yet as far as I know."
"That's how good we are," Ken said. "I mean, we are the ch-"
"SSHHH!" Julia exclaimed with one finger over her lips. "Not here."
"Oops, that was close. Any who, I unfortunately can't say… I have, eh, things to do. I'll see you two later!"
Before Julia and Ryu could speak, Ken was already making his way out of the group of audience. When he did, a mischievous grin came over him. Ryu, it's about time that you got a girlfriend and Julia's the perfect candidate.
Back in the audience, Julia stood next to Ryu, not sure of what to say. It would seem that, to her relief, Ryu had forgotten yesterday's tea incident. She looked over at the Japanese warrior and found herself admiring the well crafted muscles on his arms. Ryu was wearing a white t-shirt which cling on to his torso, blue jeans, and sneakers. In addition, he also wore his red headband around his forehead.
Julia realized then that, since it was now her and Ryu, that she should start a conversation. She looked over at the match that was going on in front of them. "How's this match going?" she asked.
Ryu didn't answer immediately. He looked down at the young woman next to him, a bit surprised that she spoke to him… even after the tea incident. Ken once told him that girls were sensitive about embarrassing moments, but it seemed that Julia had gotten over the situation quite quickly.
"It's a bit slow, I've seen better," Ryu replied then.
"I'm sure it'll get more interesting in the later rounds," Julia mentioned. "That's when we'll see some truly great matches."
"That's true."
The two fell silent then. Julia fiddled around in her mind wondering how to keep the conversation going. That was when she heard a loud grumble next to her. She turned her head to Ryu, who then slightly looked down and patted his stomach.
He's obviously hungry, Julia thought. She lifted up the bag of crackers she originally had in case she went hungry herself.
"Crackers?" she offered.
Ryu looked over at the bag and took it in his hand. "Yes, arigatou."
"Dō itashimashite," Julia replied with a nod.
Ryu began munching on the crackers. "You're Japanese is good," he mentioned.
Julia shrugged. "I admit, I only know a little bit of it, just enough to get by if I ever visit Japan."
"I see."
They fell silent again and continued to watch the match in front of them.
Forest, Somewhere near the Main Palace
Noob Saibot sat silent on the ground as thoughts danced through his head. Normally he would be meditating, but that form requested that he was free of any thoughts. However, right now, that wasn't the case.
Originally, the wraith had come to Outworld to devise his plans of creating his own army of cyborgs, a plan he came up with ever since he found Smoke in a catacomb among this very realm. He had been the leader of the Brotherhood of Shadows ever since Quan-Chi's fall under unknown circumstances. Since then, he strived to rule the Netherrealm as he saw fit.
Outworld became sort of Noob's base of operations, especially considering that his lackey was limited in his stay in the Netherrealm. He knew the forms of the technology that made Smoke who he was now (originally, he was a human), but getting the equipment wasn't going to be as easy. He wasn't sure where to take it from this time, but he was confident that it will all come in due time.
Other thoughts came to him, like Ashrah. He was aware of her escape from the clan before becoming leader. She was suspected of treason after she questioned Quan-Chi about a mission she was assigned for. The sorcerer had sent his other female assassins to execute her. However, Ashrah escaped death, a mystery of how it happened, until she went after Noob in order to free herself from the realm.
Her kriss, the weapon that purified her, helped her escape from her death. She slewed countless demons purifying her more each time. Noob was the ultimate breakthrough. However, he was a wraith and couldn't be killed that easily.
She was foolish, Noob thought. He took the kriss out of his scabbard behind him and looked at it, black energy glowing around it. Before leaving for Outworld, he went to Earthrealm and slaughtered anyone who saw him. With that, he used a spell to collect their sins, making the kriss more of an evil sword.
While there, he had heard about the ships that were leaving for Outworld. Noob wasn't sure if there was a portal to Outworld on Earth and it was already a pain traveling back to the Netherrealm and getting to their portals. So, he took the opportunity to take the shortcut and got on a ship without anyone seeing him.
At least he thought no one saw him. During the daytime, while hiding, he noticed a young woman searching around and realized she was searching for him. Whatever the reason, he wasn't sure, though his guess was that she saw him sneak onto the ship. It didn't matter, because he was going to collect her sins later that night.
He was close too, holding the knife in his hand just behind her. Then, a Native American man interfered, shooting a glowing green arrow at him. The woman noticed him then, looking surprised. He escaped then, jumping into the waters, then managed to blend himself into the darkness. A failed attempt, but it didn't matter... he got his chance to collect the sins of other after that event.
It was then that his thoughts were interrupted as he heard heavy footsteps approaching from behind. As Noob expected, Smoke showed up.
"Good, you are here," Noob said. "I would like to discuss some plans I had thought of."
Smoke nodded and the two headed back into the palace. They had reached their floor when they noticed another cyborg, a red version of Smoke coming by. The three stopped then and the red cyborg stared at Smoke.
"Where have you been this whole time?" the newcomer asked the cyborg.
Noob realized who this was then. "Sektor?"
Sektor turned his head to the wraith. "And what business do you have with me, B-?"
Noob stared at the red cyborg. "Do not call me that. That is no longer my name. Beside, I had just thought of something."
"This better not be a waste of time," Sektor said.
Noob began to talk. "Your clan consists of cyborgs as well, captured ones too. I would assume that you have knowledge on cyborg creations."
Sektor nodded. "Straight from the old Lin Kuei clan. Speaking of the Lin Kuei, how long has it been since you were called-"
"Do not worry about that right now," Noob suggested. "Do you have anyone in your clan with you now?"
The thought of Matrik, the escaped cyborg and the first female of the clan, came to the Tekunin leader. "You could say that, but it's only one person."
"I see," Noob continued. "If you and I unite, like old times, we may be able to dominate our realms with your technology and my power, especially once I get Chishio No Me in my hands. We can consider this a temporary alliance until we both reach our goals. That is all."
Sektor thought about this for a moment. He wasn't one to form alliances with anyone, even if he had known the person for years. At least he didn't have to be tied down to this alliance after he reached his goals.
"Agreed," Sektor finally said. "Starting tomorrow, we will discuss our plans."
"Good," Noob finally said before Sektor departed. Noob himself began walking forward with Smoke following.
Perhaps I can take over the Tekunin clan as well, the wraith thought sadistically.
Shang Tsung's Palace, Unknown Area
Quan-Chi looked up at the palace before him. It was well hidden within the mountains and the large trees that surrounded it. Anyone new to the realm would have had a hard time finding the place.
When he walked onto the porch, he noticed a few half-dressed women sitting around or doing activities in complete silence. Quan-Chi noticed that they all wore the same black choker with a large emerald jewel hanging off of them. He walked inside and saw more of these women in the same state.
The sorcerer realized then that these women were part of Shang Tsung's harem. They were captured women whose lovers or brothers were slain by the sorcerer and were mostly kept in secrecy, never leaving the palace.
The chokers on their necks were meant for two things. One was to keep them in Shang Tsung's control after his first woman escaped him. The second was to keep their youth as they were when they were captured. Some of the women were just as old as Shang Tsung was. And it was only him who could take the choker off.
Quan-Chi soon reached the throne room and saw Shang Tsung there with two women sitting on the arms of the throne serving him wine and an exquisite meal. Quan-Chi was almost jealous of Shang Tsung's 'success,' but it was only because Quan-Chi himself never had the chance indulge in such a thing in a long while, not since his days as leader of the Brotherhood of Shadow in the Netherrealm.
"Glad you made it, Quan-Chi," Shang Tsung said. He looked at all the women in the room. "LEAVE US!" he demanded. Immediately and literally in sync, the women got up from their places and left the room. When they were gone, Shang Tsung turned back to Quan-Chi, waiting for him to speak.
"You and I both know that even the ones who worship Shao Kahn want a hand in that medallion," Quan-Chi said. "I'm surprised you haven't made a break for it once he entrusted you with the artifact."
Shang Tsung smirked then. "Well, it's back with the Emperor right now. I use it more for my own pleasure and to control Berserk when the opportunity arises."
Quan-Chi almost felt a small shudder go up his spine remembering what happened when he first saw the undead monster, but then shook the thought from his head. "I believe I'm more worthy of that medallion. I'm the one who found it to begin with and actually let him take advantage."
"Which was moronic of you," Shang Tsung mentioned. "Any fool would've kept the artifact for themselves. I thought you were smarter than that, Quan-Chi."
"My reason was that it would give him the opportunity to grant him more power over the realms. This tournament never would've happened if it wasn't for me."
Shang Tsung shrugged a little. "That is true. However, when this is over, the artifact will belong to me."
Quan-Chi eyed the sorcerer. "Don't jump ahead of yourself. As a matter of fact, the reason I came to you was because I wanted to form an alliance. The both of us are sorcerers with great power. Imagine our powers combined? We can take Shao Kahn down ourselves and take the medallion for ourselves. We'll take over the realms and turn them into anything we see fit."
Shang Tsung thought of this for a moment. He had known Quan-Chi for quite sometime and even he knew that the sorcerer wasn't exactly trustworthy. Shang Tsung already knew that he was much smarter than Quan-Chi and already smelled a betrayal from miles ahead. However, the opportunity to combine powers in order to rule Outworld himself was one that couldn't be refused. He'll have to remember to watch Quan-Chi carefully during this time.
The sorcerer stood up and placed his hand out. Quan-Chi took his hand and they shook them. "Fine," Shang Tsung said. "But do not try anything funny."
"Same to you," Quan-Chi replied. "We will discuss plans tomorrow night." With that, the pale sorcerer walked out of the palace.
Once he was gone, Shang Tsung smirked. "Now to give attention to my ladies." He got up, took off his cape, set it down on the chair, and walked out of the throne room.