Chapter Twenty-Six

Indoor Arena

"YAHOO!" Dan Hibiki cried. His name had just been called out by the Shadow Priest hosting the tournament, being the first of two fighters in a match. He had waited patiently since he won his fight in round one. He jumped into the ring, performed a couple of forward rolls towards the middle of the ring, and then stood himself up. He grinned and showed off a thumb's up with his right hand. Not much reaction was heard, except for a couple of claps coming from the back.

Then, his opponent's name was called out. "Tanya!"

Dan was surprised upon hearing a girl's name. He never expected to fight a girl at all in this tournament. No matter, he was going to come out of this a winner. Once he spotted the tanned woman coming into the ring, he smiled.

What a cutie! he thought in his head.

Tanya noticed the goofy grin on Dan's face and felt her nose twitch a couple of times. How did someone like him get into the second round? she thought.

She soon stood a few feet from him. The grin vanished from Dan's face and was replaced with a small smirk. Tanya got into a fighting stance and moved her feet a little. Dan placed his hands behind his back and paced back and forth a little.

"Begin!" the Shadow Priest called out.

Dan raised his arms up then. "Let's do this shall we?"

Tanya only stared at him, her fists raised as the two began circling each other. Dan slowly brought himself closer to Tanya. However, at one point, he nearly tripped over his own feet, but then he managed to catch himself before falling completely flat on his face.

Tanya simply rolled her eyes at this. This fight is going to be too easy.

Oopsie, he thought as he laughed in his mind. He then began to approach, being more careful with his footing this time before he started throwing punches at her. Much to his dismay, Tanya was able to dodge and block all of his punches.

After a while longer, Dan looked at her. "Come on, are you going to try to hit me?"

At that moment, Tanya saw a chance to strike. Feeling that he wasn't a serious fighter, Tanya showed a sadistic grin and, using two fingers, quickly poked him in the eyes as though she was a cat scratching him.

"OWE!" Dan cried out as he backed away, covering his eyes. He took a moment to recover. "Why did you do that?"

Soon Dan was able to adjust his eyes. Tanya stood there with her hands on her hips, her grin still on her face. He smiled as well. "Ah, are you trying to flirt with me?" He then ran back towards her and threw more punches combining them with kicks. Once again, Tanya was able to dodge and block his moves. And once again, when the right time came, she poked him in the eyes again in the same way she did before.

"OWE!" Dan cried out, once again covering his eyes and backing away. The audience began to laugh a little.

This started to get to Dan a bit. He was sick of being a joke to everyone. Ignoring the pain, he managed to open his brown eyes and look at Tanya. "Okay, eat this!"

The pink-clad fighter threw his hands forward and a small blue ball of energy came out. "GADOUKEN!"

However, the projectile only went a feet towards Tanya before popping into nothing like a bubble. Dan sighed to himself. "I really have to work on that more," he mumbled.

Tanya smirked as she raised her hand. "Too bad," she said before throwing her hand forward. A large fireball shot out of her hand and quickly headed towards Dan.

"OYAJI!" Dan cried out before being hit and sent a few feet from her. The moment he landed, Dan lost consciousness.

After a few more seconds, the Shadow Priest stood up. "Winner: Tanya!"

The audience clapped, but more slowly and unsure than normal. Tanya looked down at Dan as she pushed back her black hair over her shoulder. "That match was such a joke..." she said before leaving the ring.

The Cave

Wearing a silky lavender dress, Rose looked into her crystal ball in the lounge area, probably what was the quietest place in the area, especially considering that most of the fighters were out either attending or watching the tournament.

Tomorrow is the last day of round two, Rose thought. And if I'm correct, Guy is the only one fighting tomorrow from this cave.

A small shiver went up her spine as she thought about this morning. Guy had went up to her about an issue with his fight that just came up…

"Rose I need to talk to you," the Bushin Ninja said as he approached the psychic in the lounge area while she was preparing breakfast.

Rose looked over at Guy, who displayed a serious look on his face. In his left hand was a blue index card. She turned the rest of her body around. "Is something wrong?"

Guy walked over to her and handed over the card. "I'm not sure but… at the moment, it's more like a suspicion." Rose took the card and read it over.

Guy-

Your match tomorrow in the Courtyard at 8am has been moved to another location. We cannot disclose the location in this card. However, we advise that you'd be at the main palace grounds at 7am tomorrow by the water fountain. Someone will meet you there and take you to the location.

PS- Come alone, no exceptions.

Rose looked up at Guy after reading. "This does seem strange. I don't think such a thing has happened yet in the tournament. Are you going to go along with this?"

"I feel that I have no other choice," Guy replied. "I will meditate on this in a little while. Something tells me that this match is going to be quite different."

Rose began to get an uneasy feeling then. "I know it says to come alone, but I wish I could go with you in case anything happened."

Guy waved his hand to her. "I'll be fine. I'm sure it's not a big deal. If I do discover anything, I'll report back to you and Raiden. Besides, you told us that you were going to find new recruits to our cause. Continue with that, don't worry about me."

Rose shook her head. "At least let Raiden go with you."

Again, Guy waved a hand. "It's fine. I just wanted to inform you about this. Besides, something tells me that I'll get something out of this fight. If that's the case, then I should go alone, just in case it may cause an interference in my match."

Rose nodded as she unwillingly accepted Guy's wishes. After that, Guy began heading out of the lounge area, leaving the index card with her.

Rose sighed to herself after the thought. Guy was right… it was time to look for more recruits as Raiden requested if the group was going to be a better force. She straightened herself up in her chair and took a deep breath as she cleared her mind.

Her hand sized crystal ball began to glow a bit in a soft blue color. In her mind, Rose was able to see all the fighters gathered together in one large group. Her vision seemed to scan the area as though it was looking for the perfect recruit.

This seemed to last for eternity, at least that's how it felt for Rose. She kept her patience as her vision continued to scan. Finally, it stopped. Rose was only able to briefly look at the person. She immediately saw that it was a woman wearing mostly white and wore what looked like a gasa on her head. Before Rose was able to see her face, the vision vanished and the fortune teller opened her eyes, finding herself back in the cave.

That lady in white, Rose thought. I could sense her pure heart and soul… I must seek her out soon.

Her thoughts were then quickly interrupted when she suddenly felt a electric surge quickly go through her hands. Rose looked over at her crystal ball with wide eyes and saw that the object was filled with electricity. She quickly backed her hand away as she felt her purple hair beginning to stand on it's ends.

"What in the world…" she said. "The crystal ball never did that before."

That was when Raiden came in to the lounge. In his hands was a fork and plate and on the plate was what looked like a slice of blueberry pie.

"I swear," Raiden began to say. "That girl Yin makes the best blueberry pies in the world! I'm glad I recruited her to this group."

Then a thought came to Rose. Who else has the power of electricity around here?!

"YOU!" Rose yelled out, pointing a finger at Raiden. "You tried to kill me!"

Raiden looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what you did! There should be no other reason why my crystal ball had any traces of electricity unless it was tampered with! I nearly fried myself to death!"

Raiden raised and eyebrow then. "You're crazy! When I met you, I figured you were a little loopy, but not like this!" With that, he left the lounge leaving Rose even more pissed. To relieve her frustration, she grabbed a mug and threw it at the area where Raiden was standing a few seconds ago.

As a crash was heard, Raiden couldn't help but smirk to himself. The best thing about pulling little pranks is denying it.

Courtyard

Kilik and Maxi stood behind the ropes as their friend Xianghua headed towards the middle of the ring. They had waited all morning for her named to be called and the both of them sighed of relief once it happened. They both wished her good luck and she smiled at them before heading in.

"How are your cuts healing?" Kilik said.

Maxi patted his arm, one of four sets of cuts he got from his match with Vega yesterday. "They still sting a bit, but at least I'm not dead or anything. Hopefully, that crazy guy I fought doesn't go after me with those claws out of revenge or something."

"I'm sure it won't happen," Kilik assured.

Then, Shang Tsung, who was once again hosting the courtyard matches, announced Xianghua's opponent. "Ryu!"

Immediately, Kilik and Maxi sighed. "She's done for," said Maxi.

"Yup," Kilik agreed.

Xianghua stayed in her place as Ryu approached the middle of the ring and stopped once he did. Figuring that she didn't need her sword, Xianghua placed her weapon in her royal blue scabbard next to her waist.

Ryu bowed to her in respect and Xianghua followed. "Good luck and may the best win," Xianghua said. Ryu nodded with a small smirk, acknowledging her words. At the same time then, they got into their fighting stances.

"Begin!" Shang Tsung called out.

Xianghua waited for a moment, seeing if Ryu would make the first move. The two ended up circling each other for a bit before Xianghua decided to make the first strike, wanting to get the match moving. Immediately, Ryu defended himself by blocking her moves. He then attempted to fighting back and the two ended up switching between offense and defense. For a while, the two seemed a bit even, much to Kilik and Maxi's surprise. They had to give their friend credit though. Xianghua was a petite young woman who, at twenty years old, could hold her own in a fight quite well.

Some time came before Ryu began getting the upper hand in the fight. In between, Xianghua tried her best to fight back, but she was only getting blocked in return. The more Ryu fought, the more Xianghua came to the realization that her loss was inevitable. Ryu was indeed a very strong fighter, probably the strongest fighter she has ever faced in her entire life.

Xianghua backed herself up a bit as she attempted to recover from the fight for a just a moment. However, it ended up being a big mistake. Quickly, Ryu gathered chi energy into his hands before shooting them forward, letting out a large blue round projectile.

"Hadouken!" he called out. Xianghua saw the projectile coming and tried to step out of the way. However, the projectile was too fast for her and before she knew it, she flew right out of the ring and crashed into the audience and landed on the ground outside of the ring.

Shang Tsung stood up. "Winner: Ryu!"

Immediately, Kilik and Maxi ran towards Xianghua, pushing people out of the way in the process. They soon reached her and bent down to her as she slowly sat herself up.

"Are you okay?" Kilik asked her as he and Maxi helped her up to her feet.

Xianghua felt the tears swell up in her eyes, but she was able to suppress them, refusing to show any weakness. "I, I'm fine."

Maxi turned his head to the ring, wondering if Ryu was still around. However, the man in the white karate gi was now nowhere to be seen.

"What a jerk," Maxi said. "Who defeats a girl and walks away without checking if she's okay?"

Kilik only half listened as he too noticed Ryu left the courtyard. Yes, it was indeed a rude thing, but even though Xianghua was one of his close friends, the Ling Sheng Su fighter had a feeling that Ryu had his reasons. He always seemed respectful to everyone in the cave and never saw him like that until now. And if anything, it can't be anything like just over a bad day either…

Forest Area Not Too Far From The Cave

Sitting crossed legged with his hands on his knees while leaning against a large tree, Guy kept his eyes closed as he meditated, breathing in deeply and exhaling out in a slow, rhythmic pace. Not a sound was heard all around him, which was exactly what he needed at this time.

Guy had done some meditations when he arrived here in Outworld, mostly preparing his body for the tournament. However, it hasn't been this serious since receiving the invitation to the tournament.

Tomorrow, the last day of round two of the tournament, was his match and one that felt different from all the rest. He was to meet with someone at the main palace grounds and that person would escort them to the location where he was supposed to fight. Whatever was to happen then, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had to prepare himself.

Rose was worried once she found out. She wanted either her or Raiden to come with him to this match somehow. However, Guy was willing to obey the note telling him to come alone. Not only did he feel that their presence may cause interference, but he also didn't want the two leaders to jeopardize their lives just for him. This was the type of thing he felt confident about handling on his own.

As he continued to meditate, a vision suddenly came to Guy. In his mind, a young woman with long black hair stood before him. She seemed to reach her hand out towards him. Then, she partially opened her mouth;

"Guy," she called out.

Quickly, Guy snapped out of his meditation and opened his eyes as a bead of sweat lingered from his brow. He let out short breaths, having been surprised by the vision, especially since he knew who he was.

"Rena…" he muttered.

It was his fiance and Maki's older sister, who he lost four years ago to leukemia. He couldn't remember the last time she appeared to him in his mind. For a long time, she has haunted him during his meditations as well as in his dreams after her passing. He thought that it was over after it all stopped almost a year ago. As much as he loved her, he didn't want this to happen, now right now, not the night before his match.

As he tried to figure out what just happen, he suddenly heard a twig crack not too far from him. The crunch was heavy enough to be from a human's foot. Guy immediately knew that someone was close and he slowly stood himself up, still standing next to the tree he was leaning on. He listened and soon was able to hear the footsteps. Slowly, he stepped to the side, ready for whoever was there.

Guy took another step and then he suddenly heard a whooshing noise, as though a weapon was flying after him. Not taking a chance, Guy quickly tucked himself and rolled over to the opposite side. As he did, a weapon plunged itself into the tree. Guy looked up at it and recognized the weapon… it was a jutte.

The Bushin ninja had no doubt about who his attacker was.

"I guess it was only a matter of time," he said as he shifted his eyes. Standing before him was the former Mad Gear gang member Sodom. In one hand, he held another jutte, which he then placed back on his belt.

Guy stared at him, expecting Sodom to fight him, just like he always did every time they met. However, he only went to the tree to retrieve his other jutte. This time, he kept it in his hand.

"What do you want?" the Bushin ninja asked.

Sodom finally looked at him then. "Watashi wa saishūtekini ima anata ni chōsen shitai to omoimasu!"

Being a Japanese speaker himself, Guy understood what he said. "This is not a good time to challenge me. It's going to have to wait until after the tournament. You'll get your wish then." With that, Guy walked away, though he still kept his eye on him.

Sodom stood there in anger, throwing down his weapon on the ground in frustration. He wanted nothing more than to kill the Bushin Ninja right then and there, all because he broke his undefeated streak in an underground tournament years ago back in Metro City. He'll let this go for now, but the next time they meet, even if they were in the middle of a big crowd, he'll attack without calling out his intentions. It wasn't worth it after all.

Later That Evening, Underground Lair

A kick to the stomach sent Sagat stumbling a few feet back. He quickly recovered from the blow before he looked up at his opponent, Ermac. The Muay Thai fighter had to admit… during the last three minutes of their fight, the enigma proved to be a very powerful fighter. Sagat had seen him around Shao Kahn's palace since he arrived. He believed that he was one of the recruits in the higher ranks of the developing army.

Ermac quickly placed a hand out and a green orb-like projectile shot out of it, leaving a trail of green mist behind. Sagat quickly dodged out of the way, bringing himself towards Ermac, and began their hand to hand combat once again. They continued their until Ermac floated himself just above Sagat's head. Before Sagat could grab him, Ermac dropped himself to the ground in a quick fashion, causing a brief earthquake in the lair. Sagat nearly lost his balance, but was able to regain himself once the earthquake ceased.

"Tiger!" Sagat called out as he shot his arms out forward. A projectile in a shape of half disc shot out at Ermac, who ducked from it just in time. Sagat then shot out another projectile, this time lower. This took Ermac by surprised and he was literally swept off his feet. He floated up quickly as a green aura surrounding him. He then got himself on his feet just as Sagat reached him.

Another minute went by during their combat. Both of them had been on both offense and defense, though Sagat began to get the upper hand in the offense side. Soon, the Muay Thai fighter had enough and decided to perform one of his more devastating moves.

"Tiger Genocide!" he called out. He managed to grab Ermac as he leaned one of his knees forward and smashed it hard into his stomach. He then followed it with multiple uppercuts sending both of them flying high into the air. Soon, Sagat landed on his two feet safely as Ermac landed on his side, losing consciousness in the process.

Sagat was then announced the winner. The Muay Thai fighter looked down at Ermac after. He was powerful, but not powerful enough to win.

"Not even an army can take me down," he said before departing. There was a meeting tonight for all the new recruits, including himself, and he had to prepare for it.

That Night, Unknown Area

Accompanied by a few guards, Shao Kahn entered a large room. A handful of people stood in their place, having waited for him for quite some time. These people were new recruits, waiting to be placed on their assignments under Shao Kahn's orders.

The Emperor looked at each of them. He mainly noticed seven of them mostly… Sagat, Vega, Viper, Anna, Havik, Kabal, and Kira. These seven he had the most interest in.

"Welcome!" he booming voice called out. This caught everyone's attention and all stayed quiet as they listened to the Outworld Emperor.

"You are all here because you have passed your training in order to be a member of the new developing forces. You have proven that you have good reasons to be here and I believe you will all be loyal to me." He then looked over at Sagat. "I am most impressed with you Sagat. Ermac is one of my best Generals and you were able to take him down."

Sagat nodded. "Thank you, Emperor."

Shao Kahn continued. "Now, from here I will assign you to your positions. Havik, Kabal, and Kira… you will be guarding the entrance to my main quarters. Sagat and Vega… based on your previous experience with Shadaloo, you will be my personal bodyguards during the evening when necessary. Anna, I want you to join with Ivy and Tanya. From there, you will receive further directions from Ivy. Viper, I want you to spy on those who may be a threat to our plan. The rest of you, follow the guards out the door and you will receive further directions."

Everyone nodded, accepting their assignments. Unknown to anyone, just near the exit, the door was partially ajar. There, Mileena took the opportunity to listen in on the meeting. She made sure to keep herself hidden in the dark so that no one saw her there.

However, one particular person didn't need to see that she was spying. This person only had to smell her blood. "What are you doing?"

Mileena turned her head quickly, surprised that anyone was even near her. Standing there was the tarkatan Baraka. He stared at her with no emotion with his eyes.

"It's nothing of importance," Mileena replied. "I was only curious about the new recruits. I'll be the first to admit that my father has bad taste, especially in the women he picked."

"You shouldn't be spying to begin with," Baraka reminded her. "You know the Emperor wouldn't be happy about that, especially when it comes to secrets." He then took her hand. "Then again, I shouldn't be speaking about secrets, considering the secret we share."

Baraka then brought Mileena's hand up, opened his mouth, and licked her hand. It was a tarkatan's way of expressing a kiss. Mileena sighed as she felt the warm saliva spreading on her hand. She took Baraka's other hand then.

"Someone may see us," Mileena mentioned. "…let's go somewhere more private. Something tells me things will be quiet tonight."

She didn't have to repeat herself twice. Still holding her now wet hand, Baraka let her away from the door and the two of them disappeared into the dark shadows.