Chapter Thirty-Nine

Early Evening, Unknown Area

Standing in front of the main doors that lead to the sleeping quarters, Adon was beginning to grow impatient. The complete silence and the fact that no one else was around the area was giving him more time to think.

Exactly how long have I been working for the Emperor of Outworld? the Thailand native thought to himself. I could've had my revenge by now!

Indeed his thirst for revenge was still as thriving as the day he declared it. Every once in a blue moon would Adon see Havik, the man who left permanent scars on Adon's face from their match during the second round of the tournament. Each and every time, Adon wanted to attack him from there, but to his dismay he kept his ground. It was either because they were at a meeting or when one or the other was forced to be kept busy by another matter.

This is ridiculous! Adon screamed out in his mind. I should attack him the next time I see him!

Besides, he began to wonder why in the world was he guarding the hallway to the sleeping quarters of all places.

Obviously, these idiots are not aware of my true potential. When I do defeat Havik, they'll know why I'm called The Muay Thai God!

About another half hour passed before Adon was able to hear footsteps not too far from him. A part of him hoped that another guard was coming to take his place. However, once he heard that there were more than one set of footsteps, he grunted a bit in disappointment.

Soon, Adon was able to see who was coming, three people to be exact… and he immediately recognized one of them.

Havik, he thought bitterly. And there he is with his red-head whore and some idiot who looks like he came out of Star Wars.

As the three approached the doors to the sleeping quarters, Kira began to undo her pigtails, letting her red hair fall and end just above her shoulders. "So that's where we'll have our next meeting?"

"Yes," said Kabal. "We'll see you tonight."

Kira nodded as she walked passed Adon and entered the hallway to the sleeping quarters.

Havik found himself laughing a bit once the doors closed. "If she moved to Chaosrealm for good, she'd definitely fit in."

It was then that Havik noticed the guard by the doors and instantly recognized him. It was Adon, the imbecile who wanted revenge against him all because he left just a few dotted scars on his face.

Heh, it's like I amputated one of his limbs, Havik thought. …although that does sound like fun right about now!

The Cleric of Chaos decided to just screw around with his head for right now. Adon had already noticed him staring at him and so he stared back at him bitterly. Despite having no skin over his mouth, Havik seemed to smile. He then began to walk away with his back to him. Kabal began to follow.

Coward, Adon thought.

It was then that a loud snap! was heard and Adon almost became startled as he saw that Havik had twisted his own neck halfway around to face him. He then raised a hand and waved at him a couple of times before snapping his neck back to it's normal position.

Anger rushed in suddenly and Adon found himself clenching his fist. How dare he mocks me! he screamed out in his mind again. He wanted to attack him right now… however, he somehow couldn't find himself to move forward.

Main Palace

Room two fifty eight on the second floor was quiet with the exception of the running water coming from the bathroom, indicating that someone was taking a shower.

Sitting on the bed covered by a gold sheet, Viper sat still, her face completely blank without any indications of emotion. She stared straight ahead with both of her hands resting on her lap and her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. Her master Vega had gone in the bathroom to shower and ordered her to wait on the bed until he came out.

Normally in her state, Viper thought of nothing except for any orders that she was given. However, Vega was known to take very long showers in order to keep himself in perfection. The longer he was away, the less hold he had on her…and slowly, she was beginning to free herself from his control. However, Vega was always on alert and he made sure that she was completely under his control.

Soon, flashbacks began to come back to Viper… flashbacks that were long forgotten;

Unknown Time

Young women between the ages of sixteen and twenty stood next to one another, their left arms raised in a salute as they stood in their spots. All of them were dressed in skin tight uniforms, a two piece attire with both pieces in the same very dark blue color. The exception was that the top contained black stripes. All wore black boots ending below their knees and contain small high heels. They also wore thick red gauntlets over their arms and hands and each one bared a small cap on their heads that matched their outfits.

As they did, a large man in a red uniform came into the room, the brim of his hat hiding most of his face. He walked past each girl and didn't acknowledge anything aside from a brief stare.

Once he passed the last girl, an old man with balding gray hair, sunglasses, and a white lab coat stepped forward. "Master Bison," he spoke. "These ladies are ready for duty."

"Good," Bison said with a small sneer. "In the meantime, I have chosen my four elite shoulders. These four girls, the oldest four, were handpicked based upon their skills. They will have more of a chance to succeed where the other dolls may fail."

He then spoke to the dolls themselves. "You are much more worthy than you'll ever know. You are all to take orders without question."

"Yes sir!" all the girls cried out in unison.

It was then that Viper found herself shaking a bit. Her once emotionless face now hinted confusion. The young woman looked down at her hands as her body continued to shake a bit. She then looked around the room slowly as though she wasn't sure where she was. Then she spoke…

"Mom… Dad…" she uttered. Viper looked around the room more as though trying to figure out what was going on. She looked at her hands again and this time, she uttered a name.

"…Scott?"

Throughout the whole time, she hadn't noticed that the running water in the bathroom had long shut off. She hadn't noticed the door opening either and she hadn't noticed the towering figure now standing over her.

Suddenly, Viper suddenly felt herself being grabbed by the shoulders and forcefully pulled up. She let out a small cry as though surprised before a set of lips claimed her own. Viper looked on wide-eyed still trying to figure out what was going on. She even struggled a bit, but after a minute, she began to relax and all she remembered, or tried to remember, were now long forgotten.

Once he was sure, Vega released Viper and let her sit back on the bed. Once again, the blank expression was on her face.

"That's better," Vega said. "But that was too close. I need to take better care of you, don't I my dear?"

Viper said nothing. It was then that Vega realized something… she had uttered a name… Scott. Vega himself was fully aware that her real full name was Lisa Ann Wagner. It was definitely no coincidence on exactly who Scott was.

"So," Vega said. "You're related to Scott Wagner aren't you? Isn't that just sweet? To think that we almost captured him months ago but he managed to escape." He looked out the window that was across room. "Hmph, makes me wonder if he's actually here."

He stood himself up then and placed a hand under Viper's chin, slowly forcing her to bend her neck back a bit so that she was looking up at him.

"If I discover that Mr. Wagner is here in the tournament," Vega said to her. "We'll make arrangements to… get rid of him."

"Yes master…" Viper muttered.

Another Part of the Main Palace

Sitting on the balcony, Kitana, Jade and Sindel looked on at the scenery before them. The sun was beginning to set down behind the mountains and darkness was setting in for the night.

A small frown appeared on Sindel's face as she took a sip of red wine from her glass. "I don't think any of this is coincidence," she said to her daughter and friend. "First, Kitana was attacked by Mileena and the tarkatan hordes and now Jade was nearly attacked by Reptile."

"To think that we thought they were both dead at some point," replied Kitana.

"To think that we worked with them too, once upon a time," mentioned Jade.

Sindel shook her head a bit. "I'm just glad that we came to your rescue on time," she said to Jade. She then turned her head to Kitana. "And I'm glad that Siegfried was there at the right time."

"I know mother," Kitana replied. "But, um, I'm sure that either way, I would've managed fine."

The Queen of Edenia sighed. "Obviously, they work for Shao Kahn and are after us for some reason, most likely to capture us. I fear that if something isn't done, then one of us may get hurt, or worse…"

"Perhaps I can investigate," offered Jade.

"That won't be necessary right now," said Kitana. "Let's wait until one more of his minions come after us. That way, we can easily get answers as to why they're doing this now and if this was the only reason I received the invitation to this tournament."

"That may be best," agreed Sindel. "We can't just run into things blindly. Shao Kahn has since relocated so we don't even know where he is right now. Wait until we find some sort of clue. All we do now is wait."

The three fell silent then and continued looking on at the scenery before them.

Unknown Area

In a chamber, Sektor walked into one of the quiet rooms. He looked around the place, which was now the new hideout ever since Sub-Zero and Matrik attacked their last place of hiding. Noob Saibot had picked this place almost immediately after since it was farther from the tournament grounds and they had the most likely chance of not being found so easily.

When Sektor entered the room, he saw Noob sitting on a small throne, one of the items that were abandoned in this chamber. Noob looked on as his elbows were placed on the arm rest, one hand dangling off the rest and the other under his chin. His right ankle also rested on his left knee.

"So," Sektor said. "Are you going to sit there and do nothing?"

"Of course not, you imbecile!" Noob called out as he straightened himself out in his chair. "Even a wraith would like some time alone with his thoughts. Besides, with the length of this tournament there is plenty of time to make plans, which is why I'm sitting here."

"You do remember that our last plan failed," Sektor reminded him. "This would not have happened if Matrik hadn't followed you and Smoke! And now we have bigger problems. Not only do I have Matrik on my tail and Ashrah on your tail, but now Sub-Zero is involved! It was definitely the last thing we needed."

"It was," Noob agreed as he stood up from the chair. "I will admit, however, that Sub-Zero has gotten stronger since the last time I saw him."

"That was when-" Sektor began to say.

"Do not concern yourself with them right now," Noob cut in. "And besides, I've come up with a plan. There's a… machine that I want you to build for me starting tomorrow."

Sektor stared at the wraith. "You want another machine to create more cyborgs?"

Noob shook his head. "Even better. This machine will benefit the both of us. We'll be able to take down our enemies much more easily, especially ones like Sub-Zero. Come…we'll discuss this with Smoke as well."

"Very well," Sektor said.

Then, the both of them walked out of the chamber.

Dungeons

After being knocked out for a few hours, Alex finally woke up. She fluttered her eyes for a bit, trying to adjust them. Even with them opened, it still felt as though they were closed.

"Huh…" she muttered. She looked around the room and realized that it was nearly dark. She saw the very small window nearby and saw that it was now dark outside.

How long have I been here? she asked herself.

It was then that she realized that she wasn't lying down… rather she was right side up. Alex also noticed that her arms were above her head. She tried to pull them down, but somehow couldn't. She looked up and, to her surprise, saw that her wrists were bounded by a rope that was hanging off the ceiling.

"Wha-" she tried to say, but upon moving her head quickly, she suddenly felt dizzy. She forced herself to stay still as the room seemed to spin, making her shut her eyes.

Soon, the dizziness stopped and Alex opened her eyes again. It was at that moment that she heard a low growl, making her heart stop. She frantically shifted her eyes around, trying to see if anyone was in the room with her.

After a minute, a figured stepped into the light that came through the window. The moment Alex saw his face, she immediately realized that this was the monster Berserk who had chased her down in the forest a while before. Somehow, and she couldn't find herself to remember at the moment, he had managed to catch her.

Berserk walked over to her until he was less than a foot away from her. Alex felt her breath becoming short and shaky as fear once again came over her. It was such a fear that she hadn't notice her own tears falling down her face.

Berserk brought up a thumb to Alex's face and he began to rub her cheek with it. Even with this gentle touch, Alex's lips began to quiver a bit and some whimpers began to escape her throat.

He then stepped back a bit. Alex then saw the black rope-like object in his hand and she suddenly realized exactly what was going to happen to her.

Throughout the dungeon, screams of terror and pain could be heard. It even reached the cell in which Paul Phoenix stayed at. He sat on the ground, laying his back against the wall as he once again heard the sounds of torture.

It looks as though they found someone… Paul thought. And it had to be a woman…

For once in Paul's life, he wished, instead of the woman, that he was the one on the receiving end of Berserk's madness at this very minute…

Cave Grounds, Near The Beach

With his eyes closed, Dan Hibiki got himself to meditate, sitting cross-legged against a tree. Sitting just next to him against another tree was his mentor Nightwolf.

For a while now, Nightwolf was helping the pink-clad man become a better fighter mentally. They mostly meditated, but sometimes Nightwolf would tell a story as Dan concentrated. The stories told of a journey and Dan always felt as though he went on these journeys in his mind.

Dan had been grateful for all of this. He admitted that he wasn't exactly the easiest person to be taught a lesson, but for the first time, he was able to have someone help him without losing their sanity. Nightwolf perhaps consisted of all the patience in the world, something that was rare to find in anyone these days.

As he continued meditating, Nightwolf spoke. "Let's end the session for the day. Tomorrow night, we'll go in the forest and I will tell you the story of how my forefathers gained the wisdom that was passed down for generations."

"That's sounds good," said Dan as he opened his eyes. He then looked out at the water that was a few yards ahead of them.

Nightwolf looked at his student. "You seemed bother by something, my friend."

Dan sighed a bit. "Not really. I guess it's that I feel that I haven't reached the level I want to reach yet."

"You should not worry about how far you want yourself to go," Nightwolf answered. "What matters is that how far your journey takes you and the experiences you get from it. With patience and guidance, you will reach your achievements."

"You're right," Dan said. "But still, I haven't really accomplished much-"

"You're twenty-eight years old," Nightwolf cut in. "There are people who don't accomplish any goals until they are elders. With time, you will reach your accomplishments."

Dan found himself smiling. "Maybe… ha! And if I do, maybe then I'll be strong enough to take on an eight foot man with four arms!"

Nightwolf laughed a bit. "That may be, but you'll know when the time comes."

Then they both got up and began heading back to the cave for the night.

Cave Grounds, Campfire

After taking a bath in the hot springs, Wagner reached the cave grounds after a bit of a walk. He noticed that the air became more colder than normal. For the first time since arriving in Outworld, he was forced to zip up the brown jacket he wore, the jacket that once belonged to his father.

Wagner, at one point, looked down at the jacket for a moment and lightly brushed the black sewn thread that was in scripted 'K. Wagner.' The K meant Kurt, which was also Wagner's middle name. Wagner smirked a bit, remembering the jokes of how his father was somehow named after Nightcrawler's real name, Kurt Wagner, of X-Men. However, his father was born before the character existed so it was purely a coincidence.

The Air Force Sergeant soon reached where the campfire was. The campfire was lit and he saw Sonya, Chun Li, and Lei sitting by it. Wagner decided to join with them then, wanting to get himself warm before hitting the hay for the night.

"Hey Wagner," greeted Chun Li as she noticed him.

"Hey, how is everyone?" Wagner asked.

A grin came over Sonya's face. "This is what's up," she said as he lifted up a bottle of Outworld liquor that was in her hand.

"Get that thing away from me!" Wagner called out. "When Guile told me what happened in this very spot when we first discovered that thing, I vowed to never drink again until we got back to Earthrealm."

"I couldn't agree more," said Lei who was with him that night.

"Good, all for me and Chun Li," said Sonya as she took a swig before passing it to Chun Li. "Now to tell you one of those little jokes just because I'm bored."

Wagner sat next to her then. "Okay, shoot."

Sonya cleared her throat then. "Okay so a man escapes from prison. He breaks into a house to look for money and guns and finds a young couple in bed. He orders the guy out of bed and ties him to a chair, while tying the girl to the bed he gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bathroom. While he's in there, the husband tells his wife:

'Listen, this guy's an escaped convict, look at his clothes! He probably spent lots of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don't resist, don't complain, do whatever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is probably very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us. Be strong, honey. I love you.'

To which his wife responds: 'He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me he was gay, thought you were cute, and asked me if we had any vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love you too!'"

The joke got some giggles from the three of them. "I've heard of that one," said Wagner.

"Okay Wagner," said Sonya. "Why don't you tell us a joke then."

Wagner grinned. "I got a few of those! Okay here's one; There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink for a half hour. Then, this big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down. The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, 'Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand to see a man cry.'

Then the man says, 'No, it's not that. This day is the worst of my life. First, I fall asleep, and I go late to my office. My boss, outrageous, fires me. When I leave the building, to my car, I found out it was stolen. The police said that they can do nothing. I get a cab to return home, and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away. I go home, and when I get there, I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and come to this bar. And just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison.'"

"Oh!" cried out Lei. "Sucks for the trucker guy. He should've known never to drink a stranger's drink because you never know what you're drinking."

"Tell me about it," replied Chun Li.

"That was nothing," said Sonya. "I heard that one too."

"So Chun Li," said Wagner. "Have any jokes for us?"

Chun-Li smiled a bit. "Well… not really, just a couple of dumb blonde jokes I know…"

"Shoot!" cried out Sonya as she snapped her fingers. "I love those, but I don't know, they might offend Wagner."

"Hey!" Wagner called out. "You're blonde too!"

"Hey Kenshi," Lei suddenly said.

The three of them looked at Lei for a second, seeing that he was looking up passed them. Then they turned to where he was looking and saw Kenshi standing a few feet from them.

"Care for a drink?" Sonya offered to him.

Kenshi shook his head a bit. "That's all right, thanks anyway. Actually, I was wondering… have any of you seen Alex? I haven't, well, sensed her around since our match this morning."

Sonya looked down, thinking for a moment before looking back up at the swordsman. "Well, I did tell Cammy and Lita that if they saw her that she should join up with them with their assignment at the main palace. I'm sure she's with them as we speak."

As Sonya spoke, Wagner looked up at him. Sure the guy was always frowning, but this time it, seemed to be more than usual. Even when he spoke, there was a hint of worry, even for what Wagner called a grumpy guy.

Perhaps he does care for us more than he's leading on, he thought.

"I haven't seen her around either," said Chun Li.

"Same here," replied Lei. "But then again, there are so many people even in this cave so it's easy to miss at least one person during the day. I'm sure she's with Cammy and Lita as Sonya said so there's nothing to worry about."

Kenshi slowly nodded. "I guess that's assuring enough. I think I'll go to bed for the night and hopefully, she'll be around here in the morning."

"That sounds like a good idea," Sonya said as she stood up. "I should do the same before I drink too much. Good night everyone."

"Good night," everyone said as she and Kenshi headed back to the cave.

When they were far enough, Wagner stood up. "You know what… I think I'm going to hit the hay too. Something tells me that tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"All right then," said Lei.

"Good night," said Chun Li.

Wagner waved to them before heading back to the cave.

Lei stretched himself a bit as he found himself taking the Outworld liquor in his hand. "Well Wagner may be right. With you having your match tomorrow, I think tomorrow is going to indeed be a long day."

Chun-Li stood herself up. "Maybe, but we'll see."

Once again, Lei stretched himself. "Now, let's go back in and-"

Little did Lei realize that the bottle slipped out of his hand and landed right in the campfire! The fire caused a loud explosion and it shot up upward and into the sky. Lei jumped forward in surprise as Chun Li let out a loud shriek in surprise.

Soon, the both of them found themselves on the ground and it took them another second to realize that Lei was right on top of Chun Li! For a moment, the two looked at each other in a bit of surprise, unsure of what to do next.

Then, Chun Li managed to smile. "Well, um… this is awkward."

Lei found himself smiling a bit too. "Yeah… I guess."

Soon, they heard running footsteps near them. Lei and Chun Li sat up just in time to see a small crowd gather near them including Raiden and Rose. Using psychic powers, Rose quickly put out the campfire.

Cody, standing not too far from them, couldn't help but grin. "So you two… where's the realfire?" He then followed with a wink.

"Don't make me throw a rock at you!" called out Chun Li.

"Watch it," Cody said. "I'm an expert at that!"

As they continued with their argument Raiden examined the now unlit campfire for a moment. Not too long after, he noticed the shard glass pieces in and around the rocks and he sighed to himself.

Another bottle of liquor wasted.

Unknown Area

A door opened on the other side of the room, catching Shao Kahn's attention. For a moment, he only saw a shadow, but once the door closed, he was able to recognize the person who entered the room.

"I have been wondering where you were," the Emperor said as Ivy Valentine entered his throne room.

Ivy walked down the red carpet that led to his throne in which he sat upon. Once she reached it, she looked at him. "Yes… I was checking on the dungeon and making assignments for the night. Everything is set."

"Very good," Shao Kahn replied. A pause lingered for a moment before he waved his hand over. "Come next to my throne."

Ivy did as she was told and approached his throne. She soon found herself just standing a foot away from where he sat. "Any assignments for tonight?" she asked.

"None at all. At least not for you. I've already given everyone their assignment for the night so it'll mostly be quiet around here."

"That's good to know," Ivy said. "At least I'll get my beauty rest."

Shao Kahn looked up at her. "You'll need it, especially since you have a match tomorrow. Which reminds me… you have been doing quite well throughout this whole tournament. I suspect that you'll make it quite far."

"I may," Ivy replied with a small smirk.

Then to her surprise, Shao Kahn slowly lifted up a hand and placed his fingers lightly under her chin, brushing it slightly. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and her lips slightly parted open. In this moment, she completely forgot about the main reason she was here… right now, she was enjoying the soft touch from the very man she was supposed to steal the medallion from.

"You're one of the stronger fighter here," Shao Kahn said to her. "You'll make it far."

Then he pulled his hand away and Ivy found herself opening her eyes. For some reason, she felt slightly disappointed the moment he pulled his hand away.

As she got herself to focus again, a thought came to her… one that lingered in her mind since she left the dungeon…

"I don't mean to question you, my lord," Ivy said looking straight into his eyes. "When I at the dungeon before, I saw the new prisoner… I'm curious to know why she was brought here."

Shao Kahn nodded a little. "Merely for Berserk's amusement. We weren't ready to put Paul in the same cell with him. I wanted him alive just for another couple of days. Until then, Berserk does need to be occupied."

"…I see," Ivy managed to say.

"Take your leave," Shao Kahn suggested. "You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Yes, Emperor," Ivy said. Soon she stepped down and began heading towards the exit. She opened the door, stepped out, then closed it.

The moment the door closed, Ivy was able to let a grim look befall on her face. That poor girl, she thought. All for that…there truly isn't a real reason for her to be here…just a toy for Berserk to play with…

Ivy sighed to herself and began walking down the hall. If she wasn't bound to her alliance with the Emperor, perhaps she would be the one to get her out of there. Unfortunately, there was nothing that she could do herself.

She just had to hope for a miracle.