Chapter Thirty

Near The Cave

Sitting on the sand with his legs crossed, Dan Hibiki gazed out at the clear waters of Outworld. Although he had plenty of time to do so previously, this was the first time that he was getting to know his surroundings. The sea before him was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. A few times, he was able to spot some fish swimming beneath the surface.

Dan sighed to himself quietly. Aside from the scenery, his stay in Outworld hasn't really been a good one. For one thing, he had lost the privilege to move on to round three like the majority of those staying with him in this cave. His loss in round two was a humiliating one. He was too confident in himself that he nearly forgot that the more serious fighters would easily be able to take him down. He acted like a total goofball only to get his behind kicked so easily.

Originally, he came to this tournament because he found the invitation on the floor. He felt that by showing off his Saikyo fighting style, he would became one of the greatest fighters in the universe.

He was a fool after all, after hearing it from other people for so long. It was no wonder he didn't receive an invitation of his own… he truly wasn't worthy of this tournament, even despite winning the first round.

Also, he felt as though he was ignored by his supposed 'peers' of the cave. This was especially from Mika, Sakura, and Asuka, who he had considered friends to him. However, once in a while, Sakura would say hello to him and talk to him for a bit, but he believed that she was just being nice.

Dan wished that he could just leave Outworld right now, but like every loser here, he was stuck here until the entire tournament was over.

As Dan continued to look out at the sea, he heard footsteps not too far from behind him. Curiosity got the best of him and he turned his head to see who was coming. Only a few feet away was one of the people staying in the cave with him. Dan recognized him as the shaman Nightwolf. Dan had expected him to be going about his own business, but then the pink-clad fighter realized that he was looking right at him.

"Hi there," Dan said politely.

"Good afternoon," replied Nightwolf. The shaman originally came to this area to meditate when he noticed Dan sitting here by himself. He felt his energy and knew that he was in very deep thought and it made Nightwolf curious. Besides, aside from the first fishing day when he told his reasons for being here, he has been keeping mostly to himself since coming to Outworld. Perhaps it was time to get to know at least one person around here.

Nightwolf sat next to Dan, sitting himself in a similar fashion. "You seem to be in deep thought, my friend," Nightwolf said.

Dan sighed as he turned his head back towards the sea. "I'm not so sure about myself anymore," he answered. "I always thought that my Saikyo style was the best, at least to me. I wonder now if everyone is right about it… that it really does suck. I wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place…"

"Do not think that of yourself," Nightwolf highly suggested. "You do not believe that you were meant to be here, but the truth is that you are. Raiden and Rose would not have chosen for you to be here if you weren't meant to be here. You have a pure heart and soul and are one of their chosen ones."

A small smirk came over Dan's face, feeling a bit better after hearing Nightwolf's words. Even though many thought of him as a joke, even though he lost the tournament, he was still one of the chosen ones. There really was a reason for him to be here.

Before Dan could give a thanks, Nightwolf spoke again. "Perhaps during our time here, I can help you train your mind. The future of this tournament is unpredictable and anything can happen. If you are willing to be patient during your training, you will become a better fighter."

Dan nodded, accepting Nightwolf's offer. "I'd be honored."

"Now," Nightwolf continued as he straightened his back. "Let's begin by meditating."

Straightening his own back, Dan placed his hands on both knees and closed his eyes. Already, he was grateful for Nightwolf's offer to train his mind. If he was going to be a better fighter, this was what he was going to need.

Courtyard

A match was about to begin between Heihachi Mishima and Yoshimitsu in the Courtyard under the watchful eye of the sorcerer Shang Tsung. In the ring, Heihachi had his arms folded, ready for battle. Much to Yoshimitsu's dismay, Heihachi didn't have a weapon on him. To make the competition even, Yoshimitsu placed his sword back in it's scabbard.

"Hmph," Heihachi said as Yoshimitsu put his sword away. "Why do you need that in the first place?"

Yoshimitsu doesn't answer him. Instead, he got himself into a fighting stance.

"Begin!" Shang Tsung called out.

Neither fighter wasted any time and ran towards each other. Immediately, they both got on offense and defense as they threw various punches and kicks at each other. This lasted for sometime and the competition seemed quite even.

Yoshimitsu then pulled back and he quickly took out his sword, holding it with his artificial right hand. He quickly placed the sword above his head and, with his wrist, spun it in quick circles like a helicopter. He was able to fly himself a few feet up and, with both feet, kicked Heihachi in the face. The whole process was quick so it caught the old man by surprise and it made him stumble back a few feet.

As Yoshimitsu was getting himself back on the ground, Heihachi quickly charged some energy in his hands and the moment Yoshimitsu was on his feet, Heihachi performed a powerful jab, red energy surrounding his arm. The force of the punch sent Yoshimitsu flying back and landed a few feet from the edge of the ring. The move caught him by surprise as well and he had to take a moment to recover.

Soon he was back on his feet. Heihachi then ran to him and landed a few punches and kicks, though his opponent was able to block some of the moves. It brought them to the edge of the ring and Yoshimitsu knew that he had to do something quickly.

Yoshimitsu blocked an incoming punch. Then, in a puff of smoke, he disappeared in front of Heihachi's eyes. He then reappeared behind him and was about to punch him. However, to his surprise, Heihachi had quickly turned around and blocked the incoming punch. It was the first time anyone was able to track Yoshimitsu down that quickly after teleporting.

"Impressive," Yoshimitsu admitted.

"Same to you," Heihachi said. "And I rarely admit that to anyone."

With that, Heihachi performed a few kicks. He then quickly maneuvered himself around Yoshimitsu and, with a powerful roundhouse kick, sent Yoshimitsu flying right out of the ring, knocking into some of the viewers in the process.

After a moment, Shang Tsung stood up. "Winner: Heihachi Mishima!"

As Yoshimitsu recovered, Heihachi looked down at him. "You're a worthy challenge… but come back when you are really ready to fight." And with that, Heihachi left the ring and out of the courtyard.

Main Palace

Princess Kitana was walking around the palace grounds, looking around at the beautiful scenery. Fighters of different kinds trained themselves on the grounds as they prepared themselves for their upcoming matches. Kitana herself had just finished training, having her own match in three days.

Nothing came to her mind as she continued looking at the scenery before her. It was amazing... to think that such a beautiful place like this was part of a world where she left behind her darkest memories. The horrible thing was that she couldn't think of any good memories from before Shao Kahn took over her world of Edenia, mainly because she had been too young to remember.

Kitana continued her walk when she came to a clearing. No one was there, except for a figure training himself with a very large sword. Kitana stood there for a moment as she realized that the figure training himself was none other than Siegfried. His long blonde hair swayed lightly with the wind as he continued swinging his sword, mainly from side to side.

The Princess sat on a bench nearby as she continued watching him with amazement. She has seen people train hard before, but never has she seen someone train with so much more dedication and it was indeed worth watching.

Soon, however, Siegfried straightened himself out before placing his sword back in the large scabbard behind his back. It wasn't until he turned around that he noticed Kitana sitting on the bench and knew that she had been watching him. He decided to go greet her and went over to her.

Kitana was surprised that he came up to her and had to struggle a bit just to get herself to talk. "You train yourself very well," she complimented. "I am very impressed."

"Thank you," Siegfried answered. "Your mother tells me that you made it to round three of the tournament. Congratulations."

Kitana felt her cheeks burn a bit, but she hoped that they didn't actually turn red. "Well, um, thank you. So when is your next match for this round?"

"I won yesterday," Siegfried replied.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

The two then fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say next. It wasn't a very long silence though as Kitana came up with an idea, especially considering that she doesn't spend enough time with him.

"Say," she began as she stood on her feet. "Do you want to go for a walk for a little bit? We won't go too far from the palace."

Upon being asked that, Siegfried looked down at his right hand briefly. Kitana tried not to raise an eyebrow. Ever since she met him, he had a thing with looking at his right hand, but she couldn't understand why…and it wasn't something she was going to ask, at least not right now.

Siegfried looked at Kitana afterwards. "Sure, we can go for a walk. However, we can't be long. I have… other matters to take care of."

Kitana smiled. "That's fine."

With that, the two of them began heading towards the forest before them.

Forest Area, Closer To the Cave Area

"Ah, this is much better," said Lita Luwanda as she stretched her arms out. "Nothing like hanging out with all girls and getting away from all the testosterone."

Sonya couldn't help but laugh. "It's not that bad is it?"

"Not really," replied Chun Li. "But I've been around men for way too long."

"You said it," said Cammy.

"It's all right," replied Alex.

The other four girls looked at Alex oddly. Alex noticed the looks and forced a smile, despite the little pain on her left cheek from yesterday's incident. "I was, eh, kidding!"

"Don't you force me to make you do push ups," Sonya laughed.

Alex almost wanted to jokingly retort at those words, but she ended up stopping herself on the off chance that Sonya will actually make her do push-ups after all.

"Hey Alex," spoke up Lita. "If I recall, you had your match this morning. How was it?"

Alex sighed to herself as the flashback in her mind ended. "Well, I did win, so I actually made it to round four… at the cost of having my foot licked by some weird pervert. I kept both my feet in hot water for two hours after that."

Chun Li cringed upon hearing that. "I was watching that match! I was surprised he managed to get your boot off, plus your sock… that looked like it would take a while to get off."

"Let's not think about it anymore," suggested Sonya.

"Tell me about it," Alex agreed.

The five of them continued walking through the forest when Lita suddenly said, "You know what I'm in the mood for? I'm in the mood for sake."

"I wouldn't advise it," suggested Cammy.

"And why not?"

"Well… you remember what happened with me and Wagner?"

"What happened?" asked a curious Sonya.

Cammy sighed. "Well, it happened four years ago when we were both still underage, but it happened like this…"

Cammy was doing some paperwork in the kitchen when Wagner came home. Not too far behind him were a couple of friends and each one had a either a bottle or a pack of alcohol.

"Scott!" Cammy called out. "What is this?"

"I call it fun," Wagner replied. "You should join us, Cam!"

"You know that Guile will kill us if he ever saw us with all that!"

"He's not going to be home until tomorrow morning," Wagner said. "He'll never know about this. And again… you should join us!"

Cammy huffed with a bit of frustration. She then saw that Wagner had sake in his hand, and it looked as though it was straight from Japan. Where he got it from, she didn't want to know.

"Well," Cammy said. "I do want to try that sake you have in your hand…"

Three hours later…

"WOO HOO!" Cammy screamed out as she danced on top of the dinner table, holding the mostly empty bottle up in the air. Nearby, Wagner was having a drinking contest with one of his friends.

"Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!" they called out. Wagner managed to finish his drink first. He slammed his cup down on the table, then raised his arm up in the air in victory.

"I freakin' rule!" Wagner called out as everyone cheered for him.

"It's HOT! Look at me!" Cammy cried out. Wagner had looked up and saw that his surrogate sister had just taken her shirt and bra off, leaving her completely topless.

Wagner suddenly felt sober as he jumped from his seat. "Cammy, NO!" he called out.

"WOO HOO!" Cammy cried out again as she swung her bra in a circle above her head. She also began swinging her hips to the beat of the loud music in a similar fashion.

"Not good! Not good!" Wagner said as he tried to get to Cammy.

One of his friends noticed Wagner. "Dude, your sister's hot!"

"Shut up before I slug you!" Wagner growled.

That was when the music suddenly stopped. Everyone at the party looked around wondering what happened. That's when Wagner noticed Guile and his wife Jane and young daughter Amy standing by the stereo, not looking too happy. Jane was covering Amy's eyes with her hand so that the young girl didn't see what was going on around them.

Cammy, still standing on the table, looked over at the Guiles… it was at that moment that she suddenly felt sober…

After Cammy told her story, Sonya, Chun Li, and Alex couldn't help but laugh. "That was a good one!" cried out Sonya.

Cammy sighed. "Yeah, but not the aftermath. Wagner and I were grounded for two weeks and we had to clean the military cafeteria with only a sponge and a bucket of water."

"That's a bummer," said Alex.

Sonya looked at her and grinned. "Let's not forget the prank we pulled on you."

"Yeah yeah," Alex grumbled as the other girls laughed as they remembered the prank Sonya and Wagner pulled on her.

It was then that a serious look came over Chun Li and she forced the other four to hush. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked a confused Lita. A few seconds passed before any of them heard footsteps not too far from them.

"Someone's coming," said a wide-eyed Cammy.

"I'll go check it out," Sonya suggested. "You four stay here." With that, she pulled out a gun from a hidden pocket in her jacket before slowly making her way over to where the footsteps were heard. The other four stood where they were silently. Alex pulled out her own gun just in case.

Sonya slowly approached where she was hearing the footsteps, keeping her loaded gun in front of her. She went about thirty yards from where she was previously when she realized that she could no longer hear the footsteps. Sonya stopped in her place and looked around. She could just see the girls behind the many trees she just walked by.

Maybe it was our imagination… she thought.

Suddenly, she heard a loud whoosh, but before she could react, her own gun was suddenly knocked out of her own hands, catching her by surprise. Her gun flew about twenty feet before landing on the ground, along with another weapon. Sonya took a closer look at the weapon and saw that it was a long knife.

Sonya quickly turned around towards the direction where the knife came from. Immediately, she noticed a male figure dressed in all black, with the exception of his bleach blond hair, about ten feet away from her. He stood completely straight with his arms crossed in front of his chest as he looked over at Sonya under his dark sunglasses.

"So you want to fight?" Sonya mumbled. She quickly put her hands out and four pink ring-like projectiles came shooting out of her hands. Her foe looked a bit surprised, but he managed to jump over them quickly, then made his way towards her. Once he got to her, he performed a few high kicks, which Sonya blocked before she found an opening. She attempted a few jabs to the torso, but the mysterious man blocked her from succeeding.

Looks like it's going to be one hell of a fight, Sonya thought.

Cave Area

Sitting by the unlit campfire, Ken Masters looked at a wallet-sized photo in his hand. In the photo was a recent picture of himself along with his wife Eliza and son Mel. He sighed to himself as he remembered Eliza being weary for him when he was leaving for the tournament.

I hope she's doing all right without me, he thought sighing.

For one thing, Ken had lost The Blood Tournament entirely yesterday. He was knocked out by his opponent and woke up later in his room with a big headache. He rested for the rest of that day and today he decided to relax a bit longer while everyone else either attended or watched the tournament.

If he could, for Eliza and Mel, he would head home right this minute. However, like everyone else, he was stuck here until the very end of it. He wondered how much longer that was going to take. Besides, he promised Eliza that he would go on a cruise once he got home. That he was looking forward to the most.

Ken was in such deep thought that he didn't realize that someone had come up from behind him, noticing the picture he held in his hand. "That's a nice family you have," a young woman's voice said.

Ken blinked a couple of times, a bit surprised by the voice. He then turned his head and looked up to recognize Cassandra. A warm smile appeared on her face as he continued to gaze at the picture.

"Thank you," Ken replied. "It's my wife and son."

"That's what I thought," Cassandra said as she sat down next to him. "I have a big family back at home… my parents, of course, my older sister Sophitia and my brother Lucius. Sophitia is married and they have two kids."

"That does sound like a big family," Ken said. "Are any of them fighters like you?"

"My siblings and I… we're all fighters. My brother is still learning and my sister is one of the best. Actually, she was invited to this tournament, but she was too weary from all of her travels. So, she gave the invitation to me. I'm surprised that I made it this far."

Ken sighed. "Well, even though I lost, I'm grateful for making it as far as I did… at a cost of a headache."

Cassandra couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm not sure whether or not I want to be knocked out if I was to lose."

They fell silent then. As he placed the picture back in his pocket, Ken thought about Ibuki. He knew that Cassandra was part of the small group of girls that Ibuki was part of. A question came over him.

"So," Ken said in a more serious but sincere tone. "How are you and the girls? I mean, after what happened to Ibuki…"

Cassandra's smile faded and she let out a small sigh. "We're still in shock. Actually, we haven't really talked much about her death, we try to talk about the good times. Even though I only knew her for a short while, I felt like I've known her for a long time and it hit hard once I found out she… well, you know. Through it all, we're trying our best to move on, for her sake."

Ken nodded in agreement. "I'm sure she would've wanted that. And always know… she's in a better place now."

Cassandra smirked, taking comfort in Ken's words. "You're right."

Forest Area, Closer To The Palace

Kitana and Siegfried continued their walk through the forest. Since the beginning of their walk, they only talked about the tournament, mainly of their own matches and some of the other matches they've seen.

Eventually, Kitana grew tired of talking about the tournament. Even though the two had known each other since the tournament began, she still felt as though she didn't really know Siegfried all that well. She then remembered that he was from the world of Keisei, a realm she had never been to before. She then decided to bring that up…

"So," Kitana began to ask. "What is your home of Keisei like?"

Siegfried looked at the Princess upon hearing the question. A small smirk appeared on his face. "It's a very beautiful place. I've heard that it is very similar to Earthrealm."

"That's very interesting.," Kitana replied.

"But I've also heard that my world itself is much smaller than Earth, and everything is more fresh and our way of life is much different. The mountains, blue sky, and grass are about the same, but the mountains are much higher, but not as high as the ones from here. I'm from what we call the Holy Roman Empire, one of the richest countries in Keisei."

"It definitely sounds lovely," Kitana said. "It almost sounds like my world of Edenia."

"I'm sure it's a nice place," Siegfried replied.

It was at that moment that Siegfried's right hand began to shake once again. He looked down at it and he clenched his own teeth in frustration behind his closed lips.

Kitana had noticed this. "Are you all right?" she asked. "If you don't feel well, we can rest…"

Siegfried quickly looked up at her, a worried look appearing on his face. This scared Kitana almost right away. It was definitely something serious. She went to go touch his hand, but he pulled back almost immediately, startling her even more.

"I, I'm sorry Kitana," Siegfried said in a shaky voice. "Whatever you do, please don't follow me!" With that, he quickly ran off deeper into the forest.

"Siegfried wait!" Kitana called out. She reached her hand out to him, but even before she did so, she knew that it was no use. Worry and confusion consumed her and she watched Siegfried disappear behind the thick trees that were now separating them.

Why does it have to be like this… she thought.

Dungeons, Unknown Area

"You are released from your duty for the night," said Vega as he looked at a black hooded man.

The hooded man, a torturer amongst this dungeons, nodded. "Thank you," he said before leaving.

Vega looked around the area, which was unusually quiet at the moment. That was mainly because there weren't many victims in this dungeon at the moment. The only ones there were those being held by chains until their fate was decided.

"That was a boring job," Vega said out loud. "I cannot believe that Shao Kahn gave me a duty to just let someone off for the night." He then turned to Viper, who stood behind him. "Let's have a bit of fun, shall we dear."

Viper said nothing as she stared into space. Either way, once Vega started walking, she followed, just like she always had (unless he sent her on a mission of course). Vega didn't walk long before he noticed a prisoner hanging in the back by chains. Vega decided to have a bit of fun. Taking out a key, he unlocked the prison doors and walked in.

Vega almost didn't recognize their prisoner… not without his long blonde hair being gelled up. The blonde locks now hung over the prisoner's face and ended just past his shoulders. Upon hearing the doors open, the prisoner looked up, his glassy blue eyes squinted from the sudden light that entered the room.

"Ah, Paul Phoenix isn't is?" Vega said. "I see that your wounds from your match has since fully healed… well, it's too bad that I can't say the same for the scars from your whipping."

Paul said nothing as he kept his eye on Vega as much as he could, feeling very weary from all the torture he received during the past week that he's been in here. As a matter of fact, he was one of the strongest prisoners and most people would've died from extreme exhaustion within four days. Paul wasn't sure if he could consider himself lucky right now.

Vega looked at Paul in disgust. "What a scum, and an ugly one at that! But it's no matter. You may have lasted seven days in this hellhole, but you'll die eventually."

Paul eyed him. "If you want me to die so badly… then how about you kill me, you wuss."

Upon hearing that, Vega lashed out his hand and brought his three claws right at Paul's neck. "Trust me… just for calling me a wuss, I would gladly kill you right now. However, it is not my place to do so… yet. The master has personally requested that you be kept alive for now. He wants to see what more you can withstand. And if you do live long enough, we have a nice friend named Berserk who would love to play with you."

Meanwhile, unknown to Vega, Viper was looking down at both of her hands, which she brought up closer to shoulder level, and was constantly blinking… it was as though Vega's hold on her was getting weaker and Viper was trying to break free from it.

Paul had noticed this and he looked over at her with curiosity. Vega immediately noticed that he was looking past him and quickly turned around. Indeed, his hold on her was getting weak once again.

Vega quickly took off his mask, revealing his pretty-boy face. He then grabbed Viper before he violently kissed her on the lips. Viper herself seemed to be in a state of shock for a moment before she relaxed.

For the first time since he could remember, Paul felt remorse. It was obvious that Viper was here against her own will, brainwashed by the sadistic Vega. Disgusting bastard, he thought. He couldn't do anything himself, but he hoped that someday, someway, that Viper would be free from all this.

Soon, Vega pulled back and once again, Viper was back to 'normal' her eyes as cold as ever. "Let's go my dear," Vega said. With that, the two of them left the cell and locked it behind them, leaving Paul in the dark once again.

Forest Area, Near Cave

Sonya and the mysterious male figure continued fighting. Both of them would switch between offense and defense as they tried to take control of the fight.

During the fight, unknown to either of them, Sonya's ID badge fell out of her pocket and on to the ground. Sonya sent a roundhouse kick, which the man blocked. He tried to follow it up with a punch, but Sonya blocked as well.

Damn he's good, Sonya thought. It makes me wonder when this fight will end.

As the two continued fighting, Cammy, Lita, Chun Li, and Alex showed up. Upon seeing them, the male figure pulled back from Sonya, but still kept himself in his fighting stance. Sonya stepped back a few feet as well towards the girls.

"About time you got here," Sonya said.

"Well you did tell us to stay back," replied Chun Li. "But we heard fighting and figured that you needed help."

During the conversation, the black-dressed man noticed Sonya's ID on the ground and picked it up. The girls noticed him doing so as he straightened himself back up. He then looked at it for a moment before looking back up.

"You're Agent Sonya Blade of Special Forces," he said.

Sonya raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and?"

Immediately, he went though his pockets and took out his own ID badge. He then brought it to Sonya, who cautiously took it in her hand. Upon seeing the badge, she realized that there was a misunderstanding.

"You're Raven from a… government intelligence agency," Sonya said. "I've heard of you, they say that you're one of the best."

"If I had known that you were with Special Forces, I wouldn't have attacked you," Raven replied. "I had thought that you were hunting me down."

Sonya chuckled a little. "I thought you were doing the same with me."

Raven nodded. "I've been on a mission to find out what's going on behind the tournament and mainly find out the motives of Shang Tsung. However, since my arrival here, I haven't been able to find out anything. My agency suggested that I of I came up with nothing, I should seek out member of Special Forces."

Sonya nodded. "You came to the right place. Although our main mission here is to track down former members of Shadaloo and former and current members of the Black Dragon, we can help you with your mission." She then pointed at her four allies. "This is Alex Walker, another Special Forces agent, Detective Chun Li of Hong Kong Interpol, and Agents Cammy White and Lita Luwanda of Delta Red."

Raven nodded to each of them. The other four girls nodded to him as well as Sonya continued. "We're currently staying at… another location. We have other allies with us. Perhaps we can set up a meeting at this location for tomorrow evening."

Raven nodded in agreement. "Make it at eight o'clock. I'll be there."

He then turned around and began walking away, his scarf and two talon-like ropes on his waist swaying slightly in the wind.

Other Side Of The Forest

Siegfried kept running at a fast pace as he continued to go deeper into the forest…trying to get as far away as he could from anyone, from anything… the palace, the innocent fighters…

Even Kitana…

He couldn't understand why this was happening to him. He knew that something was controlling him somehow, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He tried thinking back… trying to figure out the source, but it was to no avail.

Then suddenly, Siegfried stopped running. It wasn't just his right hand shaking anymore… now it was his whole body. Eventually, it forced him to fall to his knees. He then felt sheer pain running through his veins. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes tightly as his head tilted upward. He did all his could to suppress that sheer pain.

Eventually though, Siegfried was forced to let out a scream. As he did though, an invisible energy circled Siegfied. It stood for a moment before quickly expanding out, causing the trees and everything else in it's path to shake violently. It caused him to lose some energy of his own and it rendered him unconscious as he fell forward into the ground.

A minute passed before he opened his eyes again. However, they were no longer blue…

The whites of the eyes were now completely black and it's pupils a fiery red-orange…