Chapter Twenty-Three
Outdoor Arena
A match was taken place as Lei Wulong watched. He sighed to himself, wondering when his turn was going to be up.
I'm quite surprised that my match ended up being delayed for a day, he thought.
Lei was supposed to have his match yesterday in the Indoor Arena, but because of long matches and overbooking (according the note he received this morning), some matches, including his own, had to be cut for the next day. The note given to him this morning apologized and relocated him to the Outdoor Arena instead of the originally-assigned Indoor Arena.
At least it's a nice day… I think, Lei thought as he looked up at the purple sky, which seemed darker than normal.
Soon, the current match ended as a result of a knock out. The knocked out fighter was dragged out of the ring as the winner raised his arm in victory before returning to the audience. Lei lost sight of the fighter afterward.
The Shadow Priest stood up. "The next tournament shall begin." It paused before announcing the first of the two fighters. "Lei Wulong!"
Lei sighed of relief as he stepped into the ring. It's about time! he thought. I just hope I don't fight another guy like my last opponent. He shuddered a little as he thought about the large, devil-like opponent. Too bad Chun Li isn't here at the moment.
Chun Li had a match today as well, so she wasn't able to be here to cheer her Interpol partner on and Lei couldn't be at her match, obviously for the same reason, to cheer her on either. They would have to wait until tonight to see how the other did in their match.
The Shadow Priest announced his opponent. "Jade!"
Lei immediately spotted his opponent then, who seemed to walk into the ring with grace, showing confidence in her green eyes. Lei noted the staff and boomerang Jade had strapped behind her back. Jade herself saw that Lei didn't possess a weapon and decided that she didn't have any need for her staff… for now at least.
Once Jade stood a few feet away, Lei placed a fist on the palm of his other hand in front of him. He then followed with bowing his head, showing his sign of respect. Jade acknowledged the gesture by repeating the same. They then looked up at the same time and got into their positions.
"Begin!" The match was now on it's way.
"Yah!" Jade cried out as she jumped forward, a foot aimed at her opponent. Lei saw it coming and stepped aside, letting Jade pass him. He then attempted a punch, but to his surprise, without turning her back, Jade blocked the move. She then turned herself around, still blocking the punch, and attempted to jab Lei with an open palm. Lei barely blocked and smacked Jade's block with his other hand, then attempted to follow with his own elbow with the same arm. However, Jade was able to block once again.
They continued back and forth like this for a bit more. As they did, Lei could already feel a bead of sweat on the side of his head. 'She's fast,' he thought.
Jade felt a bead of sweat on her forehead as well. 'He's quite quick,' she thought as well. 'This may turn out to be worth the one-day wait.'
After another minute, Lei quickly pulled back, then performed a double round house kick. Jade pulled herself back from the two kicks, but as she attempted to straighten herself again, Lei took the opportunity to land a blow with his fist to her abdomen. The force of the blow pushed Jade back a few feet, skidding on the ground before coming to a halt.
Jade quickly pushed herself back up with her feet as Lei ran towards her. Without thinking, Jade raised her leg up and used her inner chi to push herself forward. Green shadows trailed behind her as a result.
Lei noticed the fast move too late. Before he was able to react, the kick connected at his collarbone. The force also pushed him back, only he ended up rolling before stopping, just a few feet from the edge of the ring.
"Damn," the super cop muttered, quickly shaking his head from being temporary stunned. He slowly got himself up back to his feet.
By then, Jade had her boomerang out. She pulled her arm back before throwing it towards Lei. She had purposely placed the trail slightly off course. It was just a way for her to give him a little scare.
However, Lei wasn't aware of the flying weapon and ended up stepping right into it's path. He had just began to face Jade when the boomerang ended up smacking him in the forehead. Lei flew back a foot, before landing on his back. By then, he was already unconscious.
The boomerang turned itself around and headed back to Jade, who caught it in her hand. "Winner: Jade!" the Shadow Priest called out then.
Jade closed her eyes in disappointment. Damn, she thought. Sorry Lei… I ended this match sooner than I was hoping.
The green ninja sighed to herself again before leaving the ring and the area.
Courtyard
Cassandra and Li Mei stared at each other while standing in the middle of the ring. The two were surprised when they were called up by Shang Tsung himself to face each other in a match, though they only knew each other just for living in the same cave. Cassandra held her sword and shield in her hands. Noting the weapons, Li Mei had taken out her Kunlun Dao sword in preparation for a weapon-to-weapon combat.
"Good luck," Cassandra said to her opponent as she positioned herself in her stance.
Li Mei positioned herself as well. "Same to you, Cassandra."
Shang Tsung noted that the two females were officially prepared for their match together. "Begin!" he called out.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, the two girls charged towards each other, then swung their swords at the same time, resulting in the two weapons clashing with one another. They then pulled back and Li Mei attempted to jab her sword forward, while Cassandra blocked with her shield. The blonde girl then tried to swing her sword sideways, but Li Mei managed to block.
Cassandra noted the determined look on Li Mei's face, something she was seeing for the first time since they met. I guess she can be serious when she wants to be, she thought. Besides, she's pretty good at this sword fight.
The two continued their sword fight, their weapons crashing against one another. That was until Li Mei pulled back a couple of feet. Cassandra was a bit confused by this and moved forward… which was what Li Mei wanted.
Li Mei pulled her leg as far back as she could before swinging it forward, doing a backward somersault in the air in the process. Cassandra, though caught by surprise, pulled back and the kick barely missed her. Li Mei landed back on her feet afterwards and ran forward, swinging her sword in the process. Cassandra blocked once again with her shield.
Once again, they proceeded with their sword fight, each one going back and forth with their weapons. At one point, Cassandra attempted a kick, but Li Mei saw the kick coming and dodged out of the way. From there, the sword fight continued once again.
That lasted for another minute. Small beads of sweat began to slide down Cassandra's forehead and she was beginning to feel tired from the sword fight. As fun as this is, she thought. I think it's time to end it.
However, it seemed that Li Mei had the same idea as she pulled herself back once again. She put a hand out and, immediately, a lavender energyball surrounded in sparkles and shot out towards Cassandra.
The Keisei native saw the projectile coming and attempted to block it with her shield. However, the force of the projectile was enough to knock Cassandra back and landed with a thud! on the ground.
"Getting all fancy now, aren't we?" Cassandra muttered as she looked up at Li Mei. The blonde then got on her feet. "I have a nice trick up my sleeve as well."
Cassandra quickly raised her sword in the air and managed to summon a bolt of lightning in the air, which landed on the tip of her sword. Electricity surrounded the sword then an once she was ready, Cassandra lashed her sword forward, the lightning bolt released and zapped towards Li Mei. Because of the speed of the lightning, Li Mei wasn't able to react fast enough before being hit. The force sent her flying back before landing on the ground.
The young brunette felt a bit stunned from the move and once she recovered, she slowly got back on her feet. She noticed the smirk on Cassandra's face and felt angry then.
"Come and get me!" Li Mei called out. "If you think you can-"
"Winner: Cassandra!" Shang Tsung suddenly called out.
Li Mei stared at the sorcerer in confusion. That was until she noticed the small distance between her and the ring. The Outworld native didn't realize that Cassandra had knocked her completely out of the ring until now. Feeling embarrassed, Li Mei ran out of the area.
Feeling satisfied then, Cassandra began to walk out of the way. As she did, a random male in the audience whistled at her, catching her attention. "Hey baby, I love the 'shot' I got when you did that lightning move." The men surrounding him laughed after the statement.
Cassandra had always admitted to herself that she sometimes would forget the fact that the lightning move produced a heavy wind and since she wore a skirt in battle…
Anger came to her quickly. "You pervert!" she yelled out. She then took her shield and bashed the stranger over the head, knocking him out cold. Cassandra then looked over at the other men. "Anyone else want a 'shot?'" The guys stayed silent then. "I thought so." The blonde girl then headed back towards her friends.
"Way to show that jerk!" Asuka said with a smile. "I hate cocky guys like him."
"We all do," replied Mika. "But you sure showed him, Cassandra."
Cassandra couldn't help but smile. "Thanks."
Three more matches passed. Once they did, Shang Tsung stood up to announce the fighter for the next match. "Ibuki!" he called out.
"All right!" cried out an excited Maki. She then looked at her friend. "Good luck."
Ibuki smiled under her cloth mask as she began to step into the ring. "Thanks you guys." She then got into the ring and headed to the middle.
Once Ibuki reached there, Shang Tsung called out the next opponent. "Julia Chang!"
Ibuki was surprised to hear the same of someone who was staying in the cave with her. Looks like Cassandra and Li Mei won't be the only ones, she thought.
Julia stepped into the ring then. The Arizona native wore her hair in two low braids which reached down to her waist. She also wore a green mid-drift tank top under a brown vest of the same length, a jean skirt, white socks, and brown cowboy boots. She also had a purple and blue headband around her head, which consisted of two black and white feathers behind her.
The two girls stared at each other before Julia spoke. "Good luck," she said.
Ibuki nodded. "Same to you." They then got in their fighting stances.
"Begin!" Shang Tsung called out.
Neither girl hesitated as they jumped towards each other. Ibuki lifted up her leg for a kick as Julia jabbed her fist forward. The two moves ended up blocking one another. They both pulled back then and Julia attempted a swinging upward kick. Ibuki bent back and let Julia's foot swing pass her before pulling back forward. She then attempted a few punches, which Julia block.
More punches and kicks were exchanged between them for another minute. Finally, Ibuki managed to find a good opening and landed a kick on Julia. Julia stumbled back a bit, but then retaliated by throwing some punches and elbow jabs. A few times they connected, hitting Ibuki's face and upper arms. One shot of pain forced Ibuki to pull back to re-cooperate. As she did, Ibuki reached to one of her pockets and grabbed the hilt of her knife.
As Julia began running towards her, Ibuki quickly threw a knife, making it go off course as a way to distract her. She just hoped that Julia didn't step into it's path.
Luckily, Julia saw it coming and, though it was already off course, she stepped quickly to the side to avoid the knife. The knife flew passed her and stabbed into the ground.
Ibuki took an opportunity then to grab a hold of Julia. The young ninja then jumped in the air, curled herself into the ball, then finally pushed Julia back to the ground with her feet. Julia cried out as she landed hard on the ground. Ibuki herself did a backward somersault before landing on her feet.
As Julia slowly got herself back up to continue the fight, Ibuki stood in her fighting stance, giving her a chance to get herself back up. The female ninja always felt that it was unfair for someone to continue a fight while their opponent was on the ground, never able to have the chance to get up.
Soon, Julia was back on her feet, still in a bit of pain, but still willing to fight. Ibuki decided to make her move then. She ran forward, then pulled a few punches and kicks, some of them connecting.
At one point, one of Ibuki's punches was blocked by Julia's forearm. She then pushed the fist sideways and managed to get herself behind Ibuki. Julia then wrapped both arms around Ibuki's waist, lifted her up, and performed a German Supplex. The blow to the back of Ibuki's head caused her to lose consciousness. Julia let her go as the rest of her body slid to the ground.
"Winner: Julia Chang!" Shang Tsung announced.
The audience clapped as Julia managed to get on one knee. She felt bad for knocking Ibuki out, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel happy. She clasped her hands together then and bowed her head.
"Thank you, spirits," she muttered under her breath.
Indoor Arena
Chun Li quickly sidestepped as Seong Mi-na delivered a high kick, which was aimmed at her face. The Interpol detective felt a light wind hit her face as Mi-na's foot passed her. As she pulled herself back, Mi-na attempted to deliver another kick, but Chun Li quickly-but-barely blocked it.
That was too close for comfort, Chun Li thought.
The two of them only had their match for less than two minutes amongst the onlookers around the ring, including Chun Li's ally Guile, who also had a match today. So far, it had been an intense match between the two women, so no one could make a guess of who was going to win.
When the match was announced, Mi-na, knowing that Chun Li didn't have a weapon on her (aside from a handgun as Chun Li mentioned, but it obviously wasn't allowed in the tournament), decided not to use her own weapon. Hwang, who was watching, suggested that it was more fair against someone who didn't have her own weapon. Although she resented it, it was the right idea after all.
However, Mi-na would get Hwang for this if she lost the match.
Mi-na, only able to rely on her limited hand-to-hand combat training, continued delivering various punches and kicks, taking the chance of being on offense. Chun Li, who was forced on defense and was looking for an opening, was able to block most of the moves. Though she was hit a couple of times, the Interpol detective still managed to keep her composure.
After some time, Chun Li was finally able to find an opening after dodging from another one of Mi-na's kicks. She bent herself down a bit and then performed an uppercut. Mi-na didn't see the uppercut in time and was knocked back a couple of feet, though she remained her footing.
As Chun Li straightened herself up again, Mi-na ran forward towards her. When she was close enough, she jumped up a couple of feet and quickly kicked up with one leg and repeated with the other a second later before landing back on the ground. The first kick had missed. However, the second one managed to connect, hitting Chun Li's cheek. Chun Li was forced to pull back as pain hit her.
Unfortunately, Chun Li didn't have time to recover though. When she looked up, Mi-na was already in her face, ready to deliver more combat moves. Chun Li quickly got on her guard and defended herself once again as Mi-na performed more punches and kicks.
"Got you now!" Mi-na told her.
Chun Li managed to pull herself back. "Don't jump to conclusions just yet."
As Mi-na stepped towards her again, Chun Li lifted up one leg. She managed to connect a few kicks in a row at Mi-na. Then, she sped things up. The speed of her kicks were so fast that it was hard to follow. Mi-na was able to follow the kicks and was hit about what felt like a thousand times. The final kick, however, pushed her back a few feet and forced her on the ground.
"Damn it!" Mi-na cried out as she clenched her teeth in pain. Despite the pain, she attempted to get up.
As she did, a blue aura surrounded Chun Li's hands. With every second that passed, the aura seemed to get bigger and bigger. Once she felt ready, Chun Li pushed both hands forward.
"Yah!" she cried out as a large blue of energy surrounded her and Mi-na. The force of the energy pushed Mi-na back and, between that and the pain from the previous move, it rendered her unconscious. Chun Li wasn't aware of that until the energy shrunk and the Shadow Priest hosting the Indoor Arena tournament stood up.
"Winner: Chun Li!" it announced.
Chun Li could've sworn she felt a small sweat drop on the side of her head then and she bit her lower lip. She noticed Hwang getting into the ring to help Mi-na out. Once he got her in his arms, he looked up at her.
"Eh," Chun Li managed to mutter. She placed one hand behind her back and waved a little. "Um…Duey bu chyi! Duey bu chyi!" She then got herself out of the ring and back towards Guile.
Guile couldn't help but smirk in amusement. "Why are you nervous suddenly? You did win the match."
Chun Li sighed. "I know… it's just that, well, I think I went overboard with the last move-"
"Don't worry about it," Guile cut in. "Mi-na will be fine."
Chun Li nodded then, unsure of how to reply to the comment.
A few more matches passed afterward. Once they passed, the Shadow Priest stood up and announced a name for the next match;
"Jin Kazama!" it announced.
Guile and Chun Li immediately recognized the name as one of the individuals staying with them in the cave. At that moment, Jin stepped into the ring, wearing only a pair of black pants with white flames and gold lining on the right pant and a pair of black geta shoes. He tightened the black finger-cut gloves as he headed to the middle of the ring.
"He's one of the quiet ones in the cave," mentioned Chun Li. "I believe that's why we don't see him very often."
It was then that Jin's opponent's name was announced.
"William Guile!"
Guile nodded a little. "Maybe I'll get a chance to know him a little more."
Chun Li chuckled a little as her ally stepped over the ropes. "Good luck," she said.
"Thanks," Guile replied as he began heading over to the middle of the ring.
The Air Force Colonel soon was face to face with Jin, the two just standing a few feet from each other. In respect, Jin placed his left fist on his right palm in front of him and bowed his head a little. Guile decided to follow and did the same. Afterward, Guile got into his fighting stance.
"Koi," Jin muttered under his breath before getting into his fighting stance.
"Begin!" the Shadow Priest called out.
Neither one of them waited another second and both ran after each other at the same time. They then delivered punches and kicks following with one blocking the other. It would seem that they both shared the same strength and were quite even with the normal hand-to-hand combat.
That was until Jin found an opening and delivered a punch to Guile's stomach. As Guile flew back from the powerful punch, Jin suddenly saw the small amount of red electricity that surrounded his hand. His eyes widened at the sight.
No, not now! he exclaimed in his mind.
Guile, who only noticed the distracted look on Jin's face, quickly recovered from the punch and was running towards him. When the Air Force Colonel was close enough, he jumped up high in the air and performed a backward somersault with one leg out, taking Jin with him.
"Somersault Shell!" Guile called out. Jin flew in the air with Guile before falling back and landing on his side. Guile himself landed safely on both feet.
Jin slowly got himself back up on his own feet. Guile gave him the chance to do so before running towards him. Jin was prepared and once again, the two exchanged more punches and kicks at each other, along with blocking one another.
This last for a brief moment until Guile jumped back a few feet. He then quickly pulled his arms back, with both of his hands glowing in a yellow aura.
"Sonic Boom!" he yelled out. He then swung his arms forward and a boomerang-shaped projectile shot out towards Jin. However, the younger man saw the energy coming and he immediately jumped up. As the projectile passed him, he did a forward somersault and once it completely passed him, he landed back on the ground.
Once he did, Jin ran towards Guile and quickly delivered a punch. The red electricity surrounded his hand once more. When the punch connected, Guile was pushed so far back that he ended up right out of the ring, knocking down a few onlookers in the process.
Once Guile stopped in his tracks, the Shadow Priest stood up. "Winner: Jin Kazama!"
Chun Li immediately ran over to her ally to see if he was all right. By the time she got there, Guile had just got on his feet and was brushing himself off. The female agent placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
Guile nodded. "I'm fine." He looked up then, looking over towards the ring. Chun Li noticed the grim look on his face and she knew that he was disappointed by his loss.
However, there seemed to be a bit of pride in the Colonel's eyes. "You know," Guile said. "I never really admit something like this, but… that kid has guts. I can see him going very far in the tournament."
Chun Li knew that he was talking about Jin. She looked over to the ring to see if she could get another look at the younger man. However, by the time she did, Jin was long gone…
Later That Night, Underground Lair
"Paul Phoenix!" Shang Tsung cried out, announcing the first match of the night.
"Yeah baby!" Paul cried out to no one in particular. He jumped over the ropes that separated the onlookers from the ring. He felt extremely pumped up as he approached the middle of the ring. "I'm number one! And I'm the best in the universe!" he exclaimed.
Shang Tsung smirked lightly. Let's see how confident you will be once you fight your opponent.
The sorcerer then announced the name of Paul's opponent. "Scorpion!"
Long story short; Scorpion became one of the two late entries to the Blood Tournament, mainly to seek revenge against the sorcerer Quan-Chi. Shang Tsung let the spectre in the tournament… however, he didn't exactly tell him that Quan-Chi had lost the tournament a couple of nights ago. Whatever was to happen, Shang Tsung would find a way to deal with him later…
Scorpion stepped into the ring and walked himself to the middle before stopping just a few feet from Paul. The Judo fighter looked at the spectre, unimpressed.
"Typical ninja… this will be easier than I thought," Paul mutter. He then lightly punched his fist into the palm of his hand just below his chin before cranking his neck twice from side to side. He then called out an "Osu!" before getting into his fighting stance. Once he did, Scorpion quietly got into his own stance.
Shang Tsung saw that they were ready. "Begin!" he called out.
The two fighters wasted no time as they quickly approached each other. Scorpion was quick to get on offense, forcing Paul to get himself on defense, much to his dismay. This continued for about a minute. During that time, Paul became frustrated as he tried to find a way to break away from his defensive position and get himself on the offense.
Now angered, a yellow aura surrounded Paul's right hand. He then took advantage of an opening and managed to punch Scorpion in the face. The ninja spectre stumbled a few feet back before glaring at Paul with his transparent eyes.
Suddenly, a small ball of fire appeared in front of Scorpion and, from what it seemed, he shrunk right to it's size before disappearing. Paul stared at the spot in confusion… until he felt a punch to the back of his head and fell forward. Paul quickly turned around and saw Scorpion just landing on his feet.
"Damn ninja tricks," Paul muttered. Ignoring the pain, he managed to get himself back on his feet, then began running back towards Scorpion.
When Paul was close enough, Scorpion quickly performed a back flip. Paul, however, saw it coming and immediately stepped back a couple of feet. He felt Scorpion's feet slightly brush against the top part of his red gi, but that was all.
As Paul recovered from the move, he suddenly saw a spear on a rope shooting towards him. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to get out of the way and was impaled just below the right collar bone. Drops of blood immediately came out from the new wound. Paul clenched his teeth in order to stop himself from screaming because of the sheering pain that suddenly hit him.
"GET OVER HERE!" Scorpion exclaimed as he pulled Paul towards him. Paul felt slightly dizzy then and wasn't able to defend himself from Scorpion's second attempt at his back flip. Paul fell backwards to the ground then.
As he tried to recover, Paul noticed that he was able to breathe fine, meaning that the spear didn't puncture his lung. However, he was still bleeding and he was starting to feel the coppery taste of his own blood in his mouth. That was definitely not a good sign.
"Never," Paul said as he attempted to get up. "I… won't be taken down… that easily. I'm number… one… always will…be."
However, it was a quick swift of a kick to the side of his head that finally knocked Paul out cold. He landed face down to the ground, ending the match between the two.
Shang Tsung stood up. He knew that Paul was wounded during the match. One of the rules of the tournament was that if a fighter died during the match, his or her opponent would automatically be disqualified. However, if the person was pulled out of the ring before his or her death, their opponent still wins the tournament.
The sorcerer was still able to sense Paul's vital signs. He turned to one of the guards. "Get him medical help immediately," he ordered.
Quickly, the guard, followed by a few others, picked the unconscious Paul up, and immediately got him out of the ring. He was then placed on a long wooden cart before being taken out of the lair.
Shang Tsung looked over at the viewers. "Since his opponent was still alive upon departure," he announced. "Scorpion still has the rights to move on to the next round!"
Everyone clapped unsurely at the announcement. As they did, a smirk came on the sorcerer's face once again as a thought came to him;
Paul Phoenix will be taken good care of…