Chapter Forty

Cave

The sun was just barely coming up from behind the tall mountains the next morning when Kenshi woke up. Unknown to him, he was the first in the cave to wake up that morning.

Sitting up, the first thing that came to his mind, as every morning, was going out to do some training just as he always did since coming to Outworld. Besides, he won round four of the tournament and wanted to prepare himself for the next round.

As he thought about the tournament, it suddenly clicked in his mind… he had not sensed Alex around since she made her leave around lunch time after their match. She had said that she was going to take a walk for a while and Kenshi had expected her to return around dinner time.

When that passed, he had approached Sonya, Wagner, Chun Li, and Lei to see if they knew where she was. Sonya had believed that Alex was with Cammy and Lita doing investigations at the main palace since she had told the two to ask her to go with them when they saw her. Kenshi felt somewhat assured and immediately went to bed afterwards, believing that she would return a little later and hit the hay herself.

…He had to make sure.

Taking his crimson colored blindfold which was on top of one of his bags, he placed it around his eyes and tied it in a double knot behind his head. He then got himself out of bed and stood up. Wearing only a pair of loose black sweatpants leaving him barefoot and shirtless, he stepped out of his room.

Alex's room was a few rooms down going towards the exit of the cave and across the hall (if you could call it a hall). When he reached her room, he expected her to be sleeping in her bed.

"Alex?" he said only loud enough for her to hear. He slightly put a hand out in order to sense if she really was there. However, to his dismay, she wasn't.

To make sure his senses weren't playing tricks on him, Kenshi walked into the room more and felt the bed with his hands. The bed was empty, the only things there were the sheets, a single pillow, and an unfolded blanket.

Afterward, Kenshi immediately figured that something had happened to Alex. Knowing her for over a year since joining Special Forces, he knew that she wasn't the type who would run off for a long period of time and not tell anyone. Besides, if someone had told him now that she may have got up already to get breakfast, he wouldn't buy it… she never woke up this early before as far as he knew unless they were on a mission.

Being gone for some time now, anything could've happened. He only hoped that she wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere deep in the forest.

Either way, he felt that he should go out and find her.

Kenshi left Alex's room and went back in his own. He got himself dressed in his full black outfit which consisted of some red trims on his arms and his knees, a white sash that went around his torso and over his right shoulder decorated with a red trim, yellow kanji and a picture of a red dragon. He also wore a pair of black boots and finger cut gloves with a crimson kanji on the back of each hand.

Once he was fully dressed, he got his sword, which was in it's scabbard, and got it placed in it's usual spot behind his back. With his sword, he was better able to sense his surroundings, especially if he ended up venturing to places he hasn't been to before.

When Kenshi was ready, he quietly left the cave without notifying anyone.

Later That Morning, Forest

"This is going to be fun," said Maki. "I'm glad that we're going to break from our normal routine. I wanted to do something new anyway."

Yun looked at her a little oddly. "I think I'd rather go to the main palace for breakfast."

"Quit being a baby," replied his sister Yin. "Hunting fruits for breakfast is not as bad as you think. Besides, this is what we girls do every week for berries."

The three of them, along with Yang, Xianghua, and Maxi, walking through the forest's trail in hopes of finding some fruit to eat, all carrying empty baskets. All of this was Yin's idea and she invited both her brothers and Maki to come along with her. They had bumped into Xianghua on the way out of the cave and she and Maxi were getting ready to head out for breakfast at the main palace. Yin was able to convince Xianghua to go with them and it took Xianghua some time to convince Maxi to go as well, though it took a bit longer with him.

"Are we looking for berries again?" asked Maxi, who wasn't very enthusiastic about the whole thing to begin with. "Because if I remember correctly, you girls pretty much picked every berry there was to find here."

"Perhaps," replied Yin. "But hey, you never know, we could've missed one somewhere."

"You better be right," said Yun. "Because I'm starving and we could've been at the main palace eating right about now."

"You know brother, you didn't have to come along."

"You're the one pulling on my ear and forcing me to go!"

"Now now children, let's not argue," said Maki.

"Hey, look at that!" called out Xianghua as she pointed slightly upward with her index finger.

Everyone looked at where she was pointing at and saw a tree filled with what looked like green apples, but larger.

"Those are huge!" cried out Maki. "I hope they're good."

"I'm sure they are," said Xianghua.

Yin sighed to herself as she looked up at them. "Too bad I'm too short to reach them…" she then looked all three boys. "Well you guys are taller… so do you mind getting them down for us?"

"No way I'm climbing that!" cried Yun. "Especially after we were told about those trees with faces that actually move!"

"…Yun you're such a baby."

"Well," Maxi began to say. "I have an idea. Eh, just give me ten minutes." Then he turned around and began heading in the direction they came from.

"You better not be leaving us behind or else I'll knock you one!" called out Xianghua.

"Like he said," suggested Yang. "Just give him ten minutes."

Yun nudged his brother with his elbow. "We better hope that no lions or tigers come out and eat us…or bears for that matter."

"Or Outworld warthogs and other unknown species," mentioned Yang.

"Oh my," said Yin sarcastically.

Silence fell between them group for a bit, unsure of how else to kill time. Eventually, the girls found themselves sitting on the ground as Yun and Yang began tossing sticks from the ground at random places out of sheer boredom.

After what seemed like forever, they finally heard footsteps coming towards them. They turned their heads to see Maxi arriving. In his hand was a long red and gold staff.

"I'm back," Maxi said. "And with a nice little tool too."

"Awesome," said Yang. "Now it'll be easier for us to get those down."

As the girls stood themselves up, Xianghua looked at the staff before narrowing her eyes at Maxi. "Hey, isn't that Kilik's staff?"

"I'm sure he can deal without it for just a half hour or less," said Maxi.

Using the staff, they were able to get the apples down much more easily, knocking them down and catching as many as they could in their baskets. This lasted for about a half hour before everyone felt that they got enough not just for themselves, but for a handful of other people back in the cave.

Soon enough, they all returned to the cave. Yin took a moment to collect all the baskets and counted how many apples they got.

"Wow, we got about a hundred and four here," she said. "Not everyone will get more than one, but it's good for now."

Yang quickly grabbed one apple in his hand, then took a bite out of it. He chewed the contents before swallowing. "Mm, sweeter than an apple back on Earth that's for sure."

"Hopefully they're not poisonous," said Yun as he took an apple in his hand.

"Let's go eat these in the back," Maki said. She and the girls picked up the basket and began heading to the back. Yang followed as well.

Yun only took a couple of feet when he saw Maxi and realized something…

"Didn't you bring Kilik's staff back?" he asked.

Maxi looked up for a moment as though he was trying to think. It didn't take more than a second for his eyes to widen in shock.

"Oh crap!" Maxi cried out a bit. "I must've left it back by that tree."

Yun patted him on the shoulder. "Not to worry. Let's go eat first before-"

"No, we have to look for it now!"

"Why the rush?"

"…Kilik has a match at noon today."

Yun looked at him with the same wide eyes. "Oh boy…"

Immediately, the two of them sprinted quickly out of the cave and back in the forest.

Outdoor Arena

"Chun Li!" the Shadow Priest called out.

Once her name was called, Chun Li adjusted her sneakers a bit. "Well, I'm off to another match," she said.

Lei nodded to her. "Well, all I can say is… break a leg… well not literally."

"Ha ha," Chun Li said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Well good luck anyway," Lei said.

"Thank you."

Then Chun-Li walked over the ropes and into the ring. She soon reached the middle and patted the double buns that were in the hair, just to make sure that they were still in place.

Well, I'm ready, she thought.

Soon, her opponent was announced. "Ivy Valentine!"

Not even a second after the announcement, an older woman with platinum colored hair entered the ring. In her hand was a short sword. Upon seeing it, Chun Li knew, whether she herself had a weapon or not, that Ivy was going to use the sword during their match.

Soon, Ivy stood a few feet from her and looked at her. "Well, aren't we cheeky? This will be fun."

Chun Li raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ivy's own outfit. "Yes, we are verycheeky."

Ivy eyed her, knowing why she said that. "Hmph, just shut up and fight."

"Begin!" the Shadow Priest called out.

Neither woman wasted any time as they ran right after each other and began their match. They mostly exchanged kicks and Chun Li also mainly dodging from Ivy's sword.

This lasted for some time before Ivy stepped back a bit. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" Then quickly, she whipped her sword in the air, causing it to uncoil. Upon seeing this, Chun Li's brown eyes widened a bit in surprise, obviously not expecting the sword to do that.

Ivy then lashed her sword out forward, the uncoiled blade now heading towards her opponent. Chun Li maneuvered herself enough so that she was able to avoid the attack. She then relaxed a bit once she saw that the weapon just barely missed her.

However, Ivy had other plans in her mind. She made the sword go past Chun Li and once that happened, she shifted her arm a bit, making the tip of her sword curl. The tip then managed to retract back and wrap itself once around Chun Li's left ankle.

Once Chun Li felt the weapon on her ankle it was too late. The Interpol detective suddenly found herself pulled forward a bit, flying a couple of feet in the air in the meantime before landing hard in the ground on her back. Ivy then released her hold on her and swung her sword back towards her, letting it wrap around her shoulders.

Then quickly, Chun Li sat up and shot both of her hands out. "Kikoken!" she cried out as a light blue projectile shot out of her hands. The projectile flew towards Ivy, but the older woman quickly ducked right under it and managed to avoid being hit. As she did, she once again lashed out a sword and it managed to wrap itself around Chun Li's wrist just as she got herself back on her feet.

Damn, not again! Chun Li growled in her mind.

Before Chun Li could move, Ivy quickly pulled her opponent forward. The move gave Chun Li a chance to quickly lift a leg up and when she was close enough, she rapidly kicked her, mainly in the face and below her neck. The speed of the kick was fast enough to cause a blur and it lasted for a few seconds before Chun Li made one final kick to the abdomen forcing Ivy to fly back a few feet, though she still kept her balance.

"You fool," Ivy said to her.

Chun Li ignored Ivy as she ran over to her and once again the two women exchanged kicks and a couple of punches from Chun Li, which was a much short time than previously. Ivy soon found an opening, she lifted up a leg and quickly did a forward split, bringing her sword down with her. Chun- Li backed away quickly just as the sword was filled with flames. Yet somehow, Chun Li felt an invisible force hit her, forcing her to rear back once again.

After the move, Ivy rolled forward before getting back on her feet. "Was that a little too hot for you?" she mocked.

Chun Li narrowed her eyes at Ivy. "No, but I'm sure this will be for you."

Quickly, Chun Li ran over to Ivy and when she was close enough, she jumped up and began performing a set of kicks. She kicked with one leg, then followed with her other leg repeatedly bring herself and Ivy in the air.

"Kikoshou!" she cried out during the move. Soon Ivy began falling back to the ground and Chun Li let herself fall back as well and she landed safely on her feet as Ivy landed on her side.

"Ugh," Ivy mumbled as she began sitting herself back up. It took her a moment to get herself back on her feet while Chun Li waited for her. Because her short cropped hair covered most of her face while looking down, Chun Li didn't notice the small side smirk that appeared on Ivy's face.

"Now you asked for it," Ivy muttered under her breath.

Once again, she lashed out her sword. This time, however, all eight pieces of her sword disconnected from the string they were attached to. All glowed in a light blue aura before shooting quickly towards Chun Li.

Chun Li was taken by complete surprise. With very little time to move out of the way, she was forced to rear back a bit and shield her face with both of her arms. Though she slightly felt all eight pieces go pass her, they didn't leave a single scratch on her. Before any of the pieces went out of the ring, they turned themselves around and once again flew passed Chun Li and back to Ivy. Ivy lifted the hilt of her sword and all eight pieces came back together.

Once she heard the pieces come back together, Chun Li peaked over her arms and knew that all was clear. She slowly moved her arms, then looked down at herself. It appeared that the sword pieces did not leave any sort of damage on her.

Then what was the point of that? she thought.

Suddenly, she felt the yellow ribbons in her hair fall out and her long dark hair quickly fell passed her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. Chun Li felt her hair for a moment, a bit confused by what just happened. Then she began to feel the shoulder straps of her short tank top begin to slip off.

Now she understood what just happened.

"Oh no!" she cried out while trying to hold on to her top. She then began to feel her tight blue pants slipping off and with one hand tried to keep that up as well. At this point, she could hear some giggling from the viewers watching the match along with some whistling from the men.

Ivy let out a laugh as Chun Li struggled to keep her clothes on. "Who's the cheeky one now?" she asked.

Chun Li narrowed her eyes at her. She realized that if she was going to win this match, then she can't do it standing there trying to cover her modesty. She straightened herself and put her arms down letting her shirt and pants fall to the ground. She was at least grateful that her bra and underwear (along with her spiked bracelets and sneakers) were still intact so it wasn't completely humiliating.

Quickly, Chun Li ran back towards Ivy and for a minute, the two of them exchanged rapid punches and kicks. Some of the viewers were still whistling at Chun Li, but she managed to completely ignored them.

Then with a swift kick, Ivy was able to knock Chun Li down to the floor. She lashed out her sword and once again uncoiled them, spinning it in the air a few times. "Now let's have some more fun," Ivy said.

Chun Li clenched her teeth in frustration. Quickly she lifted her body with her hands and performed a double leg sweep kick in which Ivy jumped over. After doing a full circle, Chun Li did a backward roll and got herself back on her feet. Once she did, Ivy covered the distance between them and the two exchanged more kicks for a couple of seconds.

As they fought, Ivy once again snapped her sword forward and once again was able to get the tip wrapped around Chun Li's ankle… rather, she was able to get bothankles wrapped. With a smirk on her face, Ivy quickly lifted her sword up, then pushed forward, sending Chun Li in the air once again with a small yelp. After pushing forward, Ivy released Chun Li and the younger woman was sent right out of the ring as a result.

Almost immediately after, the Shadow Priest stood up. "Winner: Ivy Valentine."

Even before the announcement was made, Lei Wulong was already pushing people out of the way in order to get to the now defeated Chun Li. Thankfully for him, he wasn't too far from her and was able to get to her just as she began to sit up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her as she looked up at him.

Chun Li nodded to him as she slowly got herself up. "Yeah I'm fine," she said. "And that's besides losing one of my favorite outfits."

As she straightened herself out, Lei took off the brown jacket that he was wearing and placed it around Chun Li's shoulders. He got himself behind her and kept his hands on her shoulders.

"Let's out of here," Lei suggested. "This place is filled with one too many perverts."

"Tell me about it," Chun Li agreed as they began taking their leave. As they did, Chun Li looked back at the ring in hopes of giving Ivy one last pissed off glare, but the older woman was already long out of the ring.

Cave

While whistling an unknown tune, Raiden searched around the lounge area. He was in the mood for a soda and was having a bit of difficulty looking for a mug. The Thunder God ended up smirking a bit at the thought of exactly why he was having a bit of trouble.

With all those mugs Rose has been throwing at me with every argument, he thought. I'm surprised we haven't completely ran out of them yet.

Of course, Rose wasn't the only one to blame. The chosen ones in the cave also had a habit, along with other dishes, of taking them and not returning them. Of course, most of the time, if they do return them they were dirty.

Soon, Raiden found two mugs sitting next to each other. He picked them both up and looked in them. To his luck, both of them were squeaky clean.

He then went in the cooler close by and took out the first soda there, a can of Dr. Pepper. Obviously, one of the mortals had brought it over here to Outworld. He then opened the can, but just before he opened it, he looked at the other empty mug nearby and a thought came to him.

I'll admit, I have been giving Rose a hard time since we arrived here, Raiden thought. Perhaps this time I can at least be nice… it's the thought that counts, right?

He reached for the other mug before pouring the drink in it, emptying it halfway before pouring the rest of the contents in the other mug. He then left the empty can on the table before leaving the lounge with the two mugs, one in each hand.

Rose's room was right next to the lounge, the velvet curtains completely closed. Of course, Raiden knew that she was in there, especially since he heard some rustling inside. Taking the back of his occupied hand, he pulled the curtain aside and stepped in.

"Good morning Rose," Raiden said.

However, the moment he looked up, he realized that just walking in was a big mistake. Rose had been in the middle of getting dressed and now there she was standing there completely topless!

Raiden tried to back away quickly, but it was too late as Rose quickly turned herself around and saw Raiden in the room.

"OH MY GOD!" they both screamed out at the same time. Rose quickly covered herself with her arms and Raiden turned his head away.

"You pervert!" Rose cried out. Quickly, she picked up a (dirty) mug and threw it at Raiden.

In reaction, Raiden dropped both the mugs he was holding and ran right out of the room. All three mugs crashed into the floor and broke into countless pieces.

"Damn it woman!" Raiden called out. "The one time I try to be nice!"

"Well you failed!" Rose screamed out.

"That's the last time I do something nice for you!"

Then, Raiden happened to turn his head and noticed his only eyewitness. Cody Travers stood there with a confused look on his face, obviously unsure of how to react to the situation.

"Eh, sorry," Cody said. "I was coming back here to get a drink and…"

Raiden sighed a bit in order to calm his nerves. "Just… never speak of this or else I'll zap you to ashes." With that, he teleported out of there.

Cody sighed to himself afterward. "I'll... just pretend it never happened then." Then he walked into the lounge.

Meanwhile In Another Part of the Cave…

Slowly moving the curtain aside, Maxi peeked into Kilik's room. As he did, he kept his grip on the bamboo stick that he found in the lounge not too long ago.

"Kilik?" he said out loud.

Indeed Kilik was in the room. However, he didn't hear his friend call out his name. Instead, he was frantically looking for his staff, throwing everything out of the way carelessly making the room look as though El Nino just passed through.

"Damn it, where is it?" he muttered as he pushed aside some clothing.

Maxi shifted his eyes from side to side a couple of times before pulling the curtain aside more and stepped into the room. "Um, Kilik-"

"What?!" Kilik called out in frustration, straightening himself up and looking behind him. Once he saw Maxi, he relaxed a bit and sighed. "Oh, hey Maxi." He began moving his head from side to side, his eyes on the floor. "You didn't happen to see my staff around here, have you?"

Again, Maxi shifted his eyes a few times. "Eh… no, unfortunately I haven't. Um, did you lose it?"

Kilik sighed. "Yes… and the worst part is that I have a match in a half an hour!"

Maxi looked at the bamboo stick he had in his hand. "Well, eh, I kind of have one little solution to your problem."

Kilik look at Maxi again, then saw what was in his hand. "A bamboo stick?" He walked over to him and took the stick in his hand, examining it afterward. "Eh, Maxi, could this hold out in a match?"

Maxi forced himself to let out a hearty laugh and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Relax buddy. As a matter of fact, I heard that Outworld bamboo is very, very strong. Should do just fine."

Kilik sighed again. "Well what other choice do I have? I have to get to my match. Who knows when they'll call me."

"That's true," Maxi said. "The Courtyard, right?"

"Right."

"All right, well I'm going to get a quick bite, then I'll meet you over there. See you." Then Maxi quickly left the room.

Once Maxi was out of the room, Kilik looked down at the bamboo stick. "He better be right about this… or else I'll knock his head with whatever is left of it."

Main Palace Grounds

After having lunch together, Maki, Asuka, and Sakura were walking through the palace grounds. Normally they would go with Mika and Cassandra as well, but the two had lunch earlier in the cave and were now out watching the tournament in the indoor arena.

"It's good for Mika to go out and watch the tournaments," said Maki. "Especially since she has her match tomorrow."

"Someone else should be doing the same," said Sakura as she looked at Asuka.

Asuka felt her friend's stare and sighed a bit. "Relax Sakura. Yes I have my match tomorrow, but I do plan on training tonight with Mika."

"Good girl," replied Maki as she patted Asuka's shoulder. "Which arena?"

"Outdoor arena, bright and early," Asuka replied. "And I believe Mika has her match in the Courtyard."

"Hooray," Sakura said sounding bummed out. "She'll be under the watchful eye of the tournament's host Mr. Shang Tsung."

"Heh, even I find him a little creepy," agreed Maki.

"I'm sure everyone does," said Asuka.

"Well," Sakura began, changing the subject. "I hope you and Mika make it to the next round."

"I hope so too," Asuka said nodding.

Then, Sakura found herself rubbing her chin with her hand and looking up towards the sky as a thought came to her. "Gee, I just thought of something."

"And what's that?" asked Maki.

"…What happened to Dan Hibiki? I mean, one minute he was hanging around us, the next minute-"

That's when they heard a male voice cry out from behind. "I've been practicing with my Saikyo style!"

All three girls sighed to themselves before turning around to see the man behind them. "Hi Dan," said Asuka.

"Hey girls," Dan said cheerfully. "Yes it has been a while since we hung out. Lately I've been training myself and I hope to be a better fighter once the tournament's over. Well, I got to go, I'm starving. Later!" Then he began making his way towards the palace.

All three girls stood there for a moment before Asuka spoke. "Is it me, or did he sound like he was replying to an email?"

Sakura shook her head a bit. "Well anyway… Dan's training himself again, huh?"

"I do give him credit for continuing to train himself even after his loss in the tournament," mentioned Maki.

Sakura and Asuka immediately glared at Maki in a bit of surprise. Maki felt their stares and sighed. "Come on, even guys like him deserve some praise."

"Yeah, you're right," Asuka said. "Well, let's head back."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "I bet Yang misses you."

Maki found herself smiling a bit as she heard her boyfriend's name. "Maybe."

Soon the three left the palace grounds and began heading back towards the cave.

Courtyard

While waiting for the next match to begin, Kilik looked down at the bamboo stick that he had in his hand. He only arrived at the Courtyard two hours ago and only now he was beginning to feel a bit less confident about having a bamboo stick in replacement of his more trusted Kali Yuga staff.

"Are you sure this is going to work Maxi?" he asked.

"Relax," Maxi assured him. "Like I said before, Outworld bamboo is supposed to be very strong."

Xianghua, who was with them as well, narrowed her eyes at Maxi. "Maxi… I can't believe you-"

Maxi quickly cut her off by covering her mouth with his hand. "Yes I know Xianghua," Maxi quickly said. "But you'll get over it."

"What's this all about?" Kilik asked them curiously.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Maxi assured him.

Kilik was about say something when Shang Tsung stood up from his throne and spoke out loud. "The next match shall begin!" He paused for a moment before announcing the first fighter. "Kilik!"

Maxi immediately patted him on the back. "Well, good luck buddy," he said.

Kilik sighed to himself before smirking a bit. "Thanks… but I think you'll need it if I lose this match." Then he stepped over the ropes and into the ring.

Maxi sighed to himself as well. He then felt a tap on his shoulder, making him turn his head and face Xianghua. Another sigh escaped his throat as he saw the not-so-happy look on Xianghua's face.

"Did you really have to lie to him?" Xianghua asked him. "Lying will only get you into more trouble. Trust me, I know from experience."

"Yes," Maxi replied. "But we're talking about a staff, not the fate of the world."

Xianghua huffed in replied before turning her head towards the ring and folding her arms. "Well, I learned my lesson and I'm sure when it bites back at you, you'll learn as well."

"Sure sure," Maxi muttered.

Then, the name of Kilik's opponent was announced. "Jade!" Shang Tsung called out.

Kilik looked around the edge of the ring in search of his opponent. He then noticed the young woman clad in green coming into the ring. The beauty that Jade possessed was rare, at least to Kilik, her green eyes seem to match perfectly with her jet black hair and light brown skin.

It wasn't until Jade spoke that Kilik snapped out of his daze. "So, you'll be using that bamboo stick?" she asked him curiously.

Kilik shook his head a bit before looking down at the stick, then back up at Jade. "Um, yeah… uh, unfortunately I lost my real staff and couldn't find it in time for the tournament."

Jade took out her own staff and got herself in a fighting stance. "That's too bad. Well, good luck."

Kilik nodded as he raised the bamboo and got in his own fighting stance. "Same to you," he said.

Shang Tsung saw that both combatants were ready and called the match to begin. Immediately, Jade jumped after him and Kilik waited from where he stood and let her make the first move. Jade quickly brought down her staff and Kilik immediately blocked the attack with the bamboo stick.

Then, Jade quickly pulled her staff back and attempted another strike in which Kilik blocked once again. However, upon impact, a loud snap! was heard and Kilik suddenly found himself holding the bamboo stick as two pieces, one in each hand. Kilik's eyes immediately widened in surprise, not expecting that to happen at all.

"…Yeah, that's strong all right," Kilik said to himself sarcastically. Not knowing what else to do with the two sticks, he quickly threw them at Jade. Spinning her staff, Jade managed to knock the two sticks out of her path. Then she quickly set her own staff down on the ground before charging after Kilik. Once she reached him, two began fighting hand to hand.

The hand to hand fight lasted for a couple of minutes with neither one of them stopping. That was until Jade pulled herself back a bit to give herself a bit of room to breathe, at least Kilik thought. Then, Jade pulled out a razor rang that was connected to her belt before quickly throwing it at Kilik. Kilik saw the move coming and swiftly ducked under it. A smirk appeared on Jade's face afterward and Kilik knew that the razor rang was going to come back. He waited until the whistle from the weapon was closer and he ducked again just as it approached him. Then Jade caught it in her hand and placed it back in her belt.

Once she did, Kilik ran over to her and performed a double roundhouse kick in which Jade blocked. When she put her guard down to attempt to make her own move, Kilik performed a more powerful kick. The kick connected sending Jade flying back and into the ground.

Ignoring the pain in her stomach, Jade quickly rolled back and got herself back on her feet. Kilik began running towards her again, but long before he could reach her, Jade quickly spun herself, surrounding herself with a green mist. When the mist disappeared, she did as well, causing Kilik to stop running and suddenly left confused.

"What the-" he began to say, but then he suddenly felt a hard kick from behind and stumbled forward. He regained his balance before quickly turning around to face Jade. Quickly, Jade threw a punch in which Kilik blocked.

A few more punches were exchanged between them before Kilik saw an opening. He took the opportunity to perform two kicks, both which were blocked by Jade. Then, he quickly crouched down and attempted a sweep kick. However, Jade managed to jump over the sweep kick in time.

Once Kilik straightened himself up, Jade lifted a leg and slid forward as a green mist was left in her path. She successfully connected the move, causing Kilik to fly back. Because they were close to the edge, Kilik found himself flying passed the ropes and on to the ground outside the ring.

Shang Tsung stood up after he landed. "Winner: Jade!"

The audience clapped as Kilik sat himself up, sighing to himself. If only I had my staff, he thought.

Maxi and Xianghua managed to reach Kilik. When they did, Xianghua bent towards him. "Are you okay?" she asked him with concern.

Kilik looked at her and nodded. "I'm fine… besides being defeated of course, but I'll get over it." He then slowly got himself on his feet with Xianghua's help.

Once he was back up, Kilik saw Jade approach him, her staff in her hand again. She stood next to the rope that separated them. "You did very well," Jade said. "Perhaps when you find your staff, we can have our own rematch." With that, Jade walked over the ropes and took her leave out of the courtyard.

She was so trying to flirt with Kilik! Xianghua thought as she felt her nose suddenly twitching.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kilik who looked at Maxi. "You said Outworld bamboo was supposed to be very strong!"

Maxi raised both hands in a bit of surprise. "It's not my fault! One of the guys back at the cave said that to me when I found it."

Kilik eyed him. "When I find my staff, I'm going to knock your head off with it!"

Then he began to take his leave, leaving Maxi to sigh once again. Xianghua placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be a quick death," she said jokingly.

"Ha ha," Maxi answered sarcastically.

Unknown to the three friends, Vega Fabio De Cerna happened to be watching the match from the other side of the ring. One of his assignments for the day was to find strong, able fighters who could have the potential to be part of Shao Kahn's (still) developing army, a job Vega didn't like very much but was willing to do it anyway in hopes of getting closer to the medallion.

This really better be worth it, he had thought to himself.

After the match between Kilik and Jade, Vega noticed Kilik's friends who helped him up after being knocked out of the ring. Immediately, he recognized Maxi, the man who defeated him during the second round of the tournament. A bit of rage began to fill within the former Shadaloo soldier. Under his closed lips, he clenched his teeth with only slight pressure.

How could an ugly moron like him win that match against me? he thought.

When Kilik left, Vega was able to get a better look at the petite woman who was with him. Upon seeing her face, Vega felt himself relax a bit and a small hint of a smirk appeared on his face. The young woman indeed had a lovely face, perfectly flawless. He even found himself adoring her dark eyes, which seemed wide and filled with innocence.

Obviously, Maxi was friends with this woman… or maybe she was a girlfriend? He wasn't sure, but it really didn't matter. To Vega, getting close to the young woman was the key to a perfect revenge for his loss in the tournament, his one chance of getting close to the medallion without allying himself with anyone.

Soon young lady, Vega thought to himself. I'll have my fun with you.

Cave

Cleaning the dirty dishes that was lying around the lounge room, Rose was still huffing over this morning's incident. Even when she tried to keep herself busy, she couldn't stop thinking about it. The more she saw the image of Raiden walking in on her while dressing in her mind, the angrier she became.

"That jerk," she mumbled under her breath. "Having nothing better to do than to peek into a lady's room while dressing. Nothing but a pervert that's for sure. How did he earn the status of God anyway? And couldn't I have been partnered up with some else? Like a monk? Monks are always nice people. They're very respectful and-"

"Rose?" a male voice suddenly said from behind.

"WHAT?!" Rose screamed out in anger as she quickly whirled around to look behind her. She had expected to see Raiden there. Instead, she saw Guile and Sonya standing by the curtain, both looking a bit startled by Rose's sudden outcry.

Rose sighed and managed to calm her nerves, feeling bad about what she just did. "I'm sorry dear, I thought you were-"

"Raiden?" Guile said laughing a bit. "Don't worry, I don't think he's here at the moment."

"Well good," Rose said. "So how have you two been?"

Sonya took a deep breath before replying. "Not so good. As a matter of fact, we both came here to give you an urgent report."

"Go on," Rose said as she nodded once.

All three sat down in chairs that surrounded a small table. Once they were settled, Sonya proceeded. "Alex hasn't been seen since yesterday afternoon, at least a little over twenty-four hours after she was defeated in the tournament by Kenshi. And speaking of Kenshi, no one has seen him since last night. Last night, I had believed that Alex was with Cammy and Lita patrolling the palace grounds during the evening. However, when I spoke to them this morning, they reported that she hadn't shown up and assumed we gave her the night off."

Guile continued for her. "Since Kenshi was looking for Alex yesterday evening as well, we assume that he went out to look for her. Why he didn't inform us, we're not sure. As for Alex, she had said, according to Kenshi, that she was going to go out for a walk. Obviously, she never returned."

A frown appeared on Rose's face. "This is indeed worrisome. I will inform Raiden about this the next time I see him. In the meantime, since it's still daylight, we're going to have to stay within the tournament grounds until nightfall. As much as I hate doing that, we cannot afford to be discovered by anyone associated with Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn for that matter. In the meantime, we'll keep our eye out for them. If neither show by the first hour of sunset, we'll make our move."

"Hopefully they're still alive…" Sonya sighed.

Then they heard the curtain being pulled aside. The three of them turned their heads and saw the entire Delta Red team; Cammy, Lita, Ginzu, McCoy, and Wolfman, walk in the room.

"You guys have a report, do you?" Guile asked.

Wolfman nodded to him and briefly looked at the notepad he held in his head. "Yes we do. Why we didn't get this report earlier is beyond me. Just in one day, today of course, there has been reports of fighters in the tournament, at least a hundred or more, going missing."

A shiver went up Sonya's spine upon hearing this. "How long have they been missing?" she asked.

"Some just yesterday," replied McCoy. "Some since the tournament began."

"And the worst part is," said Lita. "None of them have yet to return."

Rose shook her head with a bit of sadness. "Something is going on if that many fighters are missing and none of them have returned." She then looked up at the Delta Red team, Sonya, and Guile. "I want you guys to tell Raiden about all you've reported here this afternoon. I'll be needing some privacy if I am to try to discover what's going on."

"We understand," said Sonya. A thought came to her then. Whatever's going on, I hope Kenshi and Alex aren't involved in it…

Forest Area, Far From the Tournament Grounds

For hours since his departure early this morning, Kenshi continued to search for Alex's whereabouts. He wasn't sure exactly where to start at first, especially considering that he had left the cave without any sort of clue. He admitted to feeling a bit foolish for his decision, but he hoped that he didn't regret it later.

However, he did find his possible only clue a few hours ago. He had found a gun on the ground that felt similar to the one Alex used. From the faint smell of smoke and metal, he figured that the gun was definitely used not too long ago. He placed the gun under a ground of bushes just in case it was Alex's gun and continued with his search.

After what seemed like forever, Kenshi was able to feeling more of a breeze around him and guessed that he had stepped into a clearing. He stood where he was for a moment to get a good feeling of his surroundings. He didn't sense anyone around, but did sense a hint of an overwhelming dark feeling not too far from him. He also guessed that, by the feel of the sun, that the afternoon was very close to turning into evening.

Just before he took a step forward, the swordsman sensed something coming towards him from behind. After a split second, he realized that it was a weapon that was aiming right at him. Quickly, he turned around, lashing out his katana from behind him and placed it in front of him. Right in the neck of time, the weapon, one that seemed to be connected to a string, ended up wrapping itself twice around his sword.

Standing at the other end of the weapon, Ivy Valentine looked at Kenshi with a bit of surprise. She was returning to Shao Kahn's fortress after a long day on the tournament grounds when she noticed this stranger lurking around close to the fortress. She had lashed out her now-uncoiled sword in order to distract him. However, he had managed to block the attack with his own sword.

A smirk came over the woman's face. "Hmph, that's the first time someone caught my sword in a surprise attack."

Ignoring her, Kenshi pulled back his sword in order to pull Ivy towards him. However, Ivy saw the move in time and pulled her sword away, forcing it to coil back together into one piece. From there, the two engaged in a weapon fight. Their weapons clashed with one another, the sound of steel hitting steel being heard all around the area.

Both fighters noted how fast the other was and attempted to outsmart the other. However, even that didn't work as their opponent noted the maneuver and quickly went in for the block.

Neither one of them was sure how long the sword fight lasted for. It was until they were leaning their swords against each other that Ivy spoke. "What's your business?" she asked him.

"That's none of your concern," Kenshi replied bitterly through clenched teeth.

Ivy narrowed her eyes at the swordsman. "You're attitude won't get you anywhere, you know," she said.

Quickly, the two pulled back and for a moment, they exchanged more attacks from their swords. This time, it lasted for a shorter time before they leaned their swords against each other again.

"You really should state your business," Ivy suggested. "Because if you don't, I won't hesitate to kill you. Are you a spy?"

"Not even close," Kenshi replied, but only to get the woman off his back. "Whatever bid you are doing is something I'm not interested in. I'm only here because I'm looking for someone. She's... a friend of mine."

Ivy's eyes widened a bit and she quickly pulled back. For a moment, she kept her sword in front of her and Kenshi was in his own fighting stance, prepared for her attacks. Of all the words he said, it was the word 'she' that caught her attention.

Is he looking for that girl in the dungeons? she thought to herself. As she thought about this, she felt a bit of relief coming over her. Well… whether it's her he's looking for or not, this may be her only chance to get out of there alive…

Even though she was very loyal to Shao Kahn, Ivy was about to risk everything, including her own mission. She told herself before speaking that this was the only time she would ever make such a decision.

"Keep following this trail north. You'll end up at a fortress which isn't too far from here. This trail will lead to the back of the fortress. As of this time of day, there are no guards there. There's a hidden plank that's not guarded from the inside around this time as well. Lift the plank up and the stars there will bring go down to an underground lair. It'll lead you to the dungeons. You may find her there."

Silently, Kenshi let his guard down, but still kept his sword in his right hand. He was just beginning to turn around when Ivy realized something.

"Wait!" she called out. Kenshi stopped moving, his head turned away from her. "Be warned… her soul may never be the same after tonight."

Kenshi slightly nodded. "Thank you," he replied. He then began running in the direction in which Ivy told him to go. It was when he was running away that Ivy realized another thing.

"Hmph, he fought me with that blindfold over his eyes that entire time," she said aloud. A small smirk came over her face. "An impressive warrior indeed." Then Ivy disappeared amongst the trees.