Chapter Fifty-Three
The Next Day, Mid-Afternoon
Shao Kahn's Fortress
At the front entrance of the fortress, two guards stood in front of the doors. It was only the two of them in the area since everyone else who was serving the Emperor were either inside the fortress or down at the tournament grounds.
"I'm glad for once that it's quiet around here," the first guard said. "I was getting sick of all the constant noise around here."
"Yes," the second guard agreed. "But don't you think it's a little… too quiet?"
The first guard laughed with amusement. "Nah… this is Outworld for crying out loud! I'm not surprised that it's quiet like this. Besides, it's only the middle of the afternoon."
The second guard shrugged. "Yeah… I guess you're right."
Silence fell between the two for a minute before the first guard spoke again. "Say, when do you get off?"
"In about two hours," the second guard replied.
"Three hours here. If you wait for an hour, some of the fellows and I are going down to the lodge near the wastelands for a drink if you like to come with us."
The second guard nodded. "That sounds gr-"
He was then disrupted by a rustling noise which sounded similar to someone running. The two guards quickly raised their kwan dos, expecting an enemy to attack. However, after a few more moments, all was silent once again.
"What the hell was that?" the second guard asked.
The first guard sighed as he got himself out of his attack position. "Who the hell knows. For all we know, it could've been a rat running nearby."
"Yeah, you're probably-"
Suddenly, a slice! was heard right next to the second guard. He turned his head towards the first guard. To his horror, the first guard was cut in half right through the torso with his legs falling forward and the rest of him falling over the stoned railing and to the ground below them.
"Who's there?!" the second guard demanded aloud as he raised his kwan do in front of him. Even when he tried to act brave, that didn't hide the fact that his entire body was trembling in fear.
Unknown to him, a figure in invisible form walked behind him. Raising his sword, he swiftly chopped off the second guard's head off without making a sound. That was with the exception of the slicing noise and the sound of the guard's head rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. Once both guards were dead, the figure got himself out his invisible form, revealing Yoshimitsu.
"That takes care of that," he said to himself. "Now to begin the mission." Quietly, he went to the door and opened it, placing himself in invisible form once again before entering.
Unknown to Yoshmitsu, however, another guard was returning from the tournament grounds when he witnessed the deaths of the two guards and Yoshimitsu getting out of his invisibility briefly. After Yoshmitsu entered the fortress, the guard began running to one of the back entrances to warn one of Shao Kahn's generals of the invader.
Courtyard
Moments ago, Shang Tsung had called for the only match of the day to begin… the match between Sektor and Ivy Valentine. Neither one of them had made a move as of yet, but the two did circle each other as they waited for the other to make the first move.
Both fighters had their swords drawn out. Ivy held her coiled blade with the tip at knee level while Sektor held his double red pulse blades, one in each hand.
Sektor decided to make the first move after nearly half a minute of him and Ivy circling each other. He covered the distance between them and lashed out his blades at her. Ivy quickly blocked the attacks with her own sword and soon the two were exchanging various sword moves. The sounds of their weapons clashing was heard around the Courtyard.
Eventually, Sektor lifted up a hand and his four fingers seemed to go inward to form what looked like pistols. Ivy knew what was coming and managed to quickly kick his hand away just as Sektor shot small missiles from his fingers. The missiles ended up hitting the ground and exploding upon collision.
Ivy jumped forward after the explosion and the two engaged in combat once again. She was able to block Sektor's attacks even when he swung both blades in fast speed at one point. It wasn't long before Ivy managed to knock one of Sektor's blades of his hand. The weapon ended up rolling out of the ring.
With Sektor slightly distracted from losing his blade, Ivy quickly uncoiled her sword before lashing it out at Sektor, who was caught by surprise from the sword's new form.
Sektor quickly performed a few backward flips so that he had room in between him and Ivy. His chest opened up and three small missiles quickly shot out at once. Using her sword, Ivy threw two of the missiles off course, sending them exploding on the ground. She was then forced to dodge out of the way from the third missile and it flew out a few feet out of the ring before exploding in the air.
Ivy quickly stood up after moving. "Extend!" she cried out as her sword quickly extended itself out towards Sektor. She swung the sword upward before bringing it downward again, both maneuvers managing to hit Sektor. However, she attempted a side swing, but it ended up missing as Sektor managed to duck under the attack.
When Sektor recovered, Ivy lifted her sword in the air before bringing it downward. Sektor saw this move coming and he managed to grab the tip of her weapon with his hand. Before Ivy could react, he managed to pull her towards him with Ivy nearly tripping in the process.
Ivy was now close enough to where Sektor could perform some hand to hand attacks. Quickly, he punched her in the face, following it up with an elbow to just below her collar bone, a move that nearly made lose her breath. He then finished with a palm slam to her face, sending her stumbling backwards a few feet.
Before Ivy could recover from the attack, Sektor quickly grabbed her arm and extended it out. He then took his elbow and attempted to smash her own elbow in. However, before he could hit the target, Ivy managed to perform a hard back kick to his stomach, forcing him to stumble back.
"Now you're dead," Ivy muttered before lashing her sword out yet again. She quickly extended her sword out and wrapped her sword around Sektor's neck. She then quickly lifted her sword up, sending him flying in the air before quickly pulling him down, sending him crashing into the ground.
After Ivy released him, Sektor attempted to get himself back up. As he did, Ivy brought her sword downward again, hitting him. She then brought her sword up and hit him again. This time, she ended up cutting a couple of his wires, making sparks ignite around his torso.
Sektor looked up at her. "You… bitch! You will be… eliminated!"
Ivy smirked. "Like I haven't heard that one before."
With that, the young woman quickly wrapped her sword around both of Sektor's ankles. A green energy covered her sword as she charged up some energy before she quickly lifted her sword up, sending Sektor flying in the air once again. Soon he came crashing down back to the ground, landing face down. More sparks covered him before smoke sizzled out and he didn't move again.
After a few moments, Shang Tsung stood up. "Winner: Ivy Valentine!"
Ivy lifted her sword so that the weapon was once again coiled. She sighed to herself a bit, somehow feeling a bit bored of the tournament at this point. Although her last six opponents have fought with all they had, it didn't seem enough for the Keisei native.
Perhaps my next opponent will be more challenging, she thought to herself before leaving.
Shao Kahn's Fortress
Guarding the entrance to Shao Kahn's throne room, Baraka and Mileena watched for anyone who came near the door whether it was an ally or foe. Mostly they stayed silent since they knew their Emperor was in the next room over.
Eventually though, Mileena spoke to Baraka in a low voice so that anyone that could be nearby wouldn't hear them. "So… do you think those two imbeciles down at the dungeons will survive?"
"Not likely," Baraka replied sternly. "I'm sure that they'll meet their demise by the end of the tournament." He then looked over at the black and pink-clad woman. "The two fools that escaped us during the fourth round of the tournament only got nothing more than mere luck. If it wasn't for the traitor Ermac, they would've been dead by now."
"That is if they haven't died from their wounds," Mileena reminded him.
"… Yes… as a matter of fact, no one has spotted either of them since their escape."
Mileena slowly walked over to her comrade as she stared at him with seductive eyes. "Well, two things could've happened to them… indeed they could've died from their wounds or…" She then gently placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it a little with her palm. "They could be in hiding."
"Maybe," Baraka said. "But remember the reporting… when Ogre attacked Ermac, he was with the one guy who is now missing. No one is sure what happened to the girl, but I get the hunch that she eventually met her demise."
"Perhaps," Mileena said as she began taking off her veil to reveal her tarkatan teeth.
Baraka stared at her as he noted the gesture. "Not here…" he said.
Mileena looked up at him seductively. "One little kiss won't hurt us. Besides… there's no one around."
Baraka briefly moved his head so that he could get a better look at the area around them. He then sniffed the air a bit to get a sense of any possible presence's blood, but he smelled nothing but the slight moisture in the cool air. Afterward, he looked back at Mileena.
"Fine… but not too long."
As they leaned in and began to open their mouths, Baraka suddenly heard a set of running footsteps that suddenly came. He quickly backed away, much to Mileena's slightly dismay as she had not heard the footsteps.
"What's the matter?" she asked as she placed her veil back over her mouth..
"Shh," Baraka hushed her. "Someone's coming."
A few moments passed before a guard turned a corner and ran over in their direction. "You two!" he called out. "I need to speak to the Emperor immediately!"
Baraka let out a small growl. "Shao Kahn doesn't just speak to anyone, especially not a mere guard! So don't you think that you can just wallow your way here unless youwere the one guarding the door."
"We'll relay the message to him," Mileena said to the guard. "What is it that you have to say to him?"
"Someone has infiltrated the fortress and killed the two guards at the front gate!"
Mileena shook her head a little. "Once again, these fools think that they can take us on."
Baraka pointed a finger at the guard. "You go down to the corridors and find this intruder! I'll relay the message to the Emperor!"
"Thank you," the guard said before running off. Once he turned the corner, Baraka looked over at Mileena briefly before turning around to open the door and enter Shao Kahn's throne room.
The Emperor heard the door open and he looked up from his throne. "Why are you off your post?" he demanded.
"A guard just informed me of an intruder!" Baraka called out in reply. "He was able to kill the two guards at the front gate and make his way in! The guards are already out searching for him."
"I see," Shao Kahn said. He briefly gave this a thought before an idea came to him. "Find the nearest guard and send him to Quan Chi. Have the guard tell him that he is ordered to hunt down the intruder."
"I'll tell him myself," Baraka said.
"Do not be stubborn," Shao Kahn replied. "And besides, you still have to stay at your post."
Baraka resisted the urge to growl at the Emperor. "Very well then," he said before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.
Shao Kahn slightly sighed to himself as he leaned back into his throne. "Once again, another fool enters the fortress…"
Main Palace, Early Evening…
Meditating while sitting on the floor, all was quiet in Heihachi's room… much to his likings. His eyes were shut closed and his hands were placed gently on his knees as he kept himself in full concentration.
For the majority of the time since he began his meditation, Heihachi thought of nothing… not even the fact that his grandson Jin was here somewhere in Outworld possessing the power the old man needed for the Mishima Zaibatsu.
At one point, he received a flashback of something he hadn't thought of in a long time…the day that he killed his son Kazuya Mishima. Heihachi didn't even notice the smirk that appeared over his lips as that thought came to his mind. Kazuya had threatened to destroy the Mishima Zaibatsu and all of it's experiments and the people involved with the corporation. Heihachi himself was able to render him unconscious, carrying him to the nearest volcano, and 'drop him off' as he always liked to call it.
It was the second time that Heihachi had dropped Kazuya in a volcano, the first time being nineteen years ago, and the third time that he had thrown him off any sort of cliff edge.
With Kazuya out of the way, Heihachi could continue with his operations.
So who exactly was running the Mishima Zaibatsu at the moment? That was an easy answer… Kuma, his pet bear. Most people would find it odd that Heihachi was having a bear running his company while he was away, but unknown to them, Kuma possessed the average intelligence of a human, with the exception of not being able to talk like one. Obviously, Kuma was the only living being in the world who Heihachi can trust, even if he was not human.
As Heihachi continued with meditating, he heard a rustling sound just outside of his room on the balcony. He quickly opened his eyes and turned his head over to the door. The double glass doors were closed, but the gold curtains were wide open. And for a moment, he thought he saw a shadow standing over there. However, upon see it, it was as though the shadow realized that it was caught. Quickly, it disappeared from view.
With one eyebrow raised, Heihachi stood himself up and walked over to the doors. Opening one door, he stepped outside, seeing nothing on the balcony. He walked out further until he reached the railing. He looked down from his third-floor room and only saw a few people down at the palace grounds going about their business. He then looked above him and saw nothing but the clear night sky and it's large moon above.
"Hrm," Heihachi grumbled as he realized he couldn't figure out where that shadow came from. He then decided to forget about it as he came to the conclusion that it may have been just his imagination.
Heihachi returned to his room, shutting the door behind him before locking it for good measure. Afterward, he closed the curtains over the door before turning around to head for bed for the night.
As soon as he took one step forward, a loud sound of shattering glass was heard just behind him. Heihachi never had the time to even react when someone behind him jumped on him and knocked him to the floor.
Immediately after crashing into the floor, Heihachi quickly turned over to knock the intruder off of him before getting himself up. Once he stood up and got into a fighting stance, he found three tarkatans with their blades out and surrounding him.
"Great, this again," he grumbled to himself.
Quickly, the tarkatans jumped forward to attack him. Heihachi grabbed the first tarkatan in the ankle as he attempted to kick him and turned one hundred and eighty degrees before letting it go. The tarkatan flew quickly to the door head first, crashing through it and hitting the opposite wall before being rendered unconscious.
The second tarkatan jumped forward and attempted to lash his blades, but Heihachi managed to dodge the maneuvers, save the on that nearly cut his shoulder. When he got the chance, Heihachi head butted the tarktan right on his forehead, sending him flying towards the wall before crashing into it.
The third tarkatan had managed to get himself behind Heihachi during the second fight. He launched himself and managed to tacking Heihachi to the floor. After that, Heihachi threw him over him sending him flying out to the balcony area outside. Heihachi rolled forward and stood himself up before launching himself after the tarkatan.
The tarkatan tried to maneuver himself out of the way but it was too late as Heihachi grabbed a hold of him. The two of them stumbled back before they found themselves going over the railing.
Before they knew it, they were beginning their descent to the ground three stories below!
Shao Kahn's Fortress
Still in invisible mode, Yoshimitsu quietly sneaked his way around the fortress. At this point, he had made it to the fourth level of the fortress and only a few guards came through, unknowingly passing the intruder they were hunting for.
Eventually, Yoshimitsu made his way into a hallway, which seemed to look a bit fancier than the rest of the fortress with luscious green plants placed in various areas, carefully crafted gargoyle statues, a long red rug with gold designs, and dark wooded doors mounted between the dark green wall.
Perhaps this is the Emperor's quarters, Yoshimitsu guessed.
The lone warrior walked himself down the hallway, passing by a few doors in the process. That was until he noticed that one of the doors was slightly ajar. Curiosity got the best of him as he made his way towards the door. He peeked through the crack, but was barely able to seeing anything but a desk which rested against the wall. And on the desk was something he never expected to see…
A yellow-tinted scroll.
Is it what I think it is? he asked himself. He looked around the area he was in briefly before pushing the door back and walking himself into the room.
Yoshmitsu walked a few feet from the desk before taking the paper in his hand and unrolled it. He didn't even have to read the black-inked kanji to know exactly what the scroll was for.
The scroll told of Chishio No Me's power.
I didn't think I would see this again of all things, he thought in his mind again.
"I had the feeling you would come here sooner or later," a voice suddenly said from behind.
Yoshmitsu quickly whirled around, cursing himself for not being more careful, and faced the person who just spoke to him. Standing a few feet away was a pale-faced man who looked at him even when in invisible form. Obviously the scroll, which was not invisible, gave his location away.
Normally, Yoshmitsu would attack the man, However, what the stranger had just said pretty much confirmed that he knew who he was.
Perhaps he had information about the medallion.
"Who are you?" Yoshmitsu asked.
"Who I am is not important," the stranger replied. "What matters more is why you are here?"
Yoshmitsu got himself out of his invisible mode, having no more use for it for now. "You should know the answer by now… since you've admitted that you had expected me here… sooner or later…"
"So you are the one called Yoshmitsu," the man continued. "I guess since I know you, it wouldn't be right if I didn't introduce myself… the name is Quan Chi."
Upon hearing that name, Yoshimitsu grabbed the hilt of his sword and got himself into a fighting stance. "You're the one sending those guards to kill me!"
"Yes and for good reason," Quan Chi answered. "You are the last known wielder of Chishio No Me-"
"So you know about the medallion?"
"More than you can imagine. As a matter of fact… you're not the only surviving former wielder. I assume you have heard about the spy who reports to me."
Yoshimitsu stared at the sorcerer, realizing that he was beginning to answer another one of his unasked questions. The former medallion wielder kept silent as he waited for what the sorcerer had to say.
"Fifty years before you came about the medallion," Quan Chi began. "Another had it in his possession… the Fighting God Ogre."
Yoshimitsu knew the name all too well, having heard all the myths and legends when he was living in Earthrealm. So it was quite a surprise for him to not only learn that he wasn't the only surviving former wielder, but the other was that of Ogre.
"You see," Quan Chi continued. "Since Ogre possessed the medallion, he gained the ability to have psychic connections to all past and present wielders, dead or alive. This was how I was able to discover who you were and what the medallion has nearly done to your form. Even we're not sure why the medallion has tried to possess you and that's what we're trying to find out."
"I'm curious to know," Yoshimitsu began to ask. "Does your Emperor know of this?"
"The fool knows nothing," Quan Chi replied. "Most people find me foolish that I just went up and gave away the medallion to him. However… what they don't know was that before I came here, I met with Ogre while traveling through the wastelands of Outworld. He told me of it's power and the days when he once had the medallion for himself. He had told me of you and how it nearly possessed you. As a matter of fact, the medallion had managed to successfully possess a few now-dead wielders. What became of them is unknown and that's what we are trying to find out. The best part was the plan to give it to the Emperor and act as though it was a gift to him. Originally, I was going to offer my limitless powers to him, but this was a better idea. The truth of the matter is that it was given to him so that he will eventually be succumbed by it's power… with that… my chance to rule Outworld."
"A smart plan, but only for your foolish deeds," Yoshimitsu said. "You made the mistake of revealing the truth to me."
Quan Chi let out a maniacal laugh before replying. "No… I had a good reason to tell you… it's because I don't plan to let you leave here alive."
Quickly, Quan Chi took out his double broadswords from his scabbards. With that, Yoshimitsu jumped forward, performing a forward somersault before swinging his katana downward at his enemy. Quan Chi quickly took his swords and managed to block the attack.
From there, the two exchanged various sword attacks on one another. As they attempted to overpower the other, the clanging sounds of their swords left echoes all around the room and just outside of it. With each sword clash, small blue sparks ignited.
Unfortunately for either of them, the fight only lasted a short time as guards came running into the room, most likely to protect the sorcerer. However, this only angered Quan Chi as the guards surrounded him protectively and attempted to attack Yoshimitsu himself.
"You fools!" Quan Chi yelled out in anger. "I've told you before that I would take care of this myself!"
"But we were ordered to-" one guard attempted to say. However, his head was chopped off by Quan Chi's sword before he could finish what he was stating.
The other guards looked at the sorcerer in shock briefly before someone cried out, "Traitor!" before they all jumped in to attack him.
Idiots, Quan Chi thought rolling his eyes before he attacked them as well in order to defend themselves. His fight with the guards didn't last long as he slaughtered them one by one, feeling a bit of satisfaction once they were all dead.
"Calling me a traitor," he said with a bit of amusement. Then he remembered about Yoshimitsu and he quickly looked around the room… only to find that he was now gone. Obviously, he took the opportunity to make his escape after killing the guards who had gone after him.
"DAMN IT!" Quan Chi yelled out in frustration. Before he really felt his anger, he happened to look down on the floor and saw that the scroll was still in the room lying on the floor unraveled. The sorcerer smirked to himself.
Either Yoshimitsu had forgotten about it, or the relic wasn't as important to him as the medallion was…
Main Palace, Top Floor
Reaching the door to his new room, Vega looked around the hall to check to see if anyone was around. That wasn't the case, so he took that moment to unlock the door and enter his room.
After closing the door behind him, he reminded himself to lock the door. It had been six days since he managed to bring the young woman Xianghua into his own room. Since then, he had kept himself low-key around the tournament grounds and had even asked for a room change so that Xianghua's friends wouldn't find him so easily again.
Besides, the room suffered a few minor damages including a broken door.
After locking the door to his new room, Vega looked up and noticed the mirror that hug on the wall of the door. He lifted up a hand and took off the white porcelain mask from his face before admiring himself through the mirror. He briefly checked to see if he had any scratches on his face and was satisfied to know that there were none.
"As beautiful as ever," a female voice said from behind him. Vega smirked as he recognized the voice who told him exactly what he was thinking. He turned around to find Anna Williams lying on her side in the king-size bed. The Spanish matador smirked even more upon seeing that she was wearing a red silk robe that left her legs bare and the v-neck leaving a view of her cleavage.
"I see the Emperor gave you the rest of the night off," Vega said.
Anna smirked as she nodded. "There wasn't much else to do. Everything's prepared for tomorrow, considering that it marks the last day of Round Six. One of our own, Ivy, managed to make it to the next round."
"That's good," Vega replied as he approached the nightstand. He placed his mask on the top of the nightstand before maneuvering himself to sit near the foot of the bed. In reply, Anna sat herself up in order to get herself closer to him.
"So how was your day?" Anna asked.
"Boring as normal," Vega replied with a small sigh. "I'm nothing more than a bodyguard to the Emperor."
"Too bad you don't go to the dungeons like I do when I'm asked to," Anna said. "Especially when the one person you hate so much is down there."
Vega looked over at her. "Your sister I assume."
Anna nodded. "To me… I think she should be tortured down there for another nineteen years… to make up for those 'lost' years."
"Explain this," Vega asked.
Anna positioned herself so that she was sitting on her knees next to Vega. "Nearly two decades ago, Nina failed an assassination assignment with the Mishima Zaibatsu Corporation. Because of this, they captured her and used her as a test subject for their 'cold sleep' project. Basically, she would be in suspended animation for a certain time. I volunteered for the project and asked to be awakened when the time came to awaken her. The nineteen years went by and Nina was soon awakened… unfortunately, she was affected with long term memory loss. Luckily, that didn't happen with me. For two years I've tried to reconcile, but I suspect she remembers all the bad things we had in our past. She had even blamed me for our father's death."
From there, Vega knew her matter was personal. He lifted up a hand and gently brushed her face with his fingers. "I have a better idea. How about instead of talking, let's just… enjoy the night."
Anna smiled. "Sounds like a plan."
From there, they let themselves enjoy the long night ahead.
Shao Kahn's Fortress
For some time, Yoshimitsu ran around the fortress, making his way downward. He was unsure of exactly where to go, but one thing was certain… he must find Chishio No Me. On his way, he fought the guards who found him, slaughtering them with his own sword within seconds before moving onward.
Eventually, he reached a dark gray door, taking notice of it right after killing the guard who had stood in front of it. The door didn't seem to match with any other door in the fortress, especially since it contained steel skulls serving as doorknobs. Either way, he became curious as to where it lead to. He reached for the knob, turned it, and opened the door before entering.
The area was mostly dark with only a couple of small candles on the walls that were being used as a source of light. The area itself was a hallway made out of dark gray stone all on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
As Yoshimitsu stood there, he heard a commotion in the distance from outside, realizing that more guards were coming. Quickly, Yoshimitsu shut the door behind him before he began to quickly make his way down the hallway. As he did, he noticed that the floor was slanted and he figured that it was leading him downward.
Soon, the floor slant ended and he briefly stopped to get a look at the new area he was in. Judging by the few steel doors in this particular hallway and the fact that each door contained a small window with steel bars, he realized that this was an underground dungeon. Not thinking much about it, he continued on his way, hoping for any sort of escape from this place.
However, the moment he turned a corner, he noticed the handful of guards standing a few yards away. So that he wasn't noticed, Yoshimitsu attempted to go back the other way. However, another set of guards had showed up… and noticed him.
"There he is!" one guard yelled out. Obviously, this made the other group of guards aware, turning around to see the intruder a few yards away. Yoshimitsu was now surrounded, having no other choice but to fight back.
He waited until the first two guards on either side of him reached him. With that, Yoshimitsu jumped up and performed an air split, kicking both guards hard in the face, forcing them to be knocked to the floor. Three other guards attempted to attack him and Yoshimitsu swiftly swung his sword in a full circle, chopping all three of their heads off. Two more guards jumped in with Yoshimitsu performing a sweep kick at one, also knocking him to the floor. The other Yoshimitsu managed to grab and throw over his shoulder with such a force that the guard crashed through a very large cell door that was locked.
It didn't take Yoshimitsu that much longer to take down the remaining guards, whether he rendered them unconscious or killed them. Once he did, he found himself being the only one still standing, his sword raised in front of him.
"Those guards must mean nothing to the Emperor considering how weak they are," Yoshimitsu said as he straightened himself out.
Before he could move another inch, he heard a heavy set of footsteps. Slowly, Yoshimitsu turned himself around and saw something he never expected to see…
The monster Berserk emerged passed the broken cell door, staring at Yoshimitsu with his pale eyes as he dragged the unconscious guard by his head. Even by the sight of the monster, Yoshimitsu never flinched.
After staring at the intruder for a moment, Berserk lifted up the unconscious guard up in the air with one hand. Then, he tossed the guard aside who tumbled down the hall like a rag doll for a few yards before coming to a stop.
What is he? Yoshimistu asked himself. With that, Berserk let out a loud roar that echoed all around the dungeon. He then looked at Yoshimitsu again before charging after him, his heavy feet pounding the shaking ground. In reply, Yoshimitsu lifted his sword in defense as he prepared to fight the monster.
Palace Grounds
It wasn't until after going over the railing that Heihachi realized what had just happened. A moment ago, he was fighting three tarkatans, obviously out to kill him, in his own room on the third floor of the main palace. He had managed to defeat two of them and now he was taking a fall outside with the last remaining tarkatan.
So that he didn't land on the ground without injury, Heihachi pushed the tarkatan away from him and did a couple of somersaults in the air before landing his feet on the ground. As he landed, he completed bent his knees, crouching low to the ground and placing his hands down on either side of him. A sharp stinging sensation went up and down his legs, but it didn't affect him as much as it would for an ordinary person.
As for the tarkatan… he landed in the same position a few feet away. After taking a moment to recover from the fall, they both stared at each other and, without any further hesitation, ran towards each other to continue their combat.
Not many people were anywhere near the fight. Those who happened to witness the ongoing fight got themselves as far away as possible. This was because either they didn't want to get themselves involved in the situation or out of fear of the tarkatan they rarely see around the tournament grounds.
At one point after a few hand-to-hand maneuvers, the tarkatan drew himself back briefly to take a moment to draw out his two blades, one in each arm. In reply, Heihachi rolled his eyes.
"Pfft, you think your puny weapons will make you better than me?" he asked him.
The tarkatan let out a short roar in rage before jumped after Heihachi. He lashed out his blades and swung them sideways. Heihachi managed to dodge out of the way before the blades cut him, rolling forward and under the tarkatan before standing himself up again.
Both fighters turned around and launched after each other again. The tarkatan endlessly swung his blades while Heihachi dodged from them while trying to find an opening to strike back. During that time, he received a couple of cuts on his arms, but they didn't affect him all that much.
Eventually, Heihachi managed to find his mark. He quickly lifted up a leg to knee the tarkatan in the stomach. He then followed it up with a few punches in the face, knocking some of the tarkatan's teeth out. During the last punch, Heihachi charged up some red energy in his fist before punching the tarkatan in the stomach, sending him flying a few feet back before landing on his side.
Heihachi stood where he was as the tarkatan struggled a bit to get himself back on his feet. Eventually, he was able to and he briefly spit blood out of his mouth before turning his attention to Heihachi.
Not about to give up, I see, the old man thought to himself.
Before the Tarkatan could move however, a long knife came flying from Heihachi's left, whizzing passed him by a couple of feet as it went into a diagonal direction. Before the man could figure out what was going on, the knife quickly plunged into the tarkatan's neck, the force sending him back to the ground on his back. Heihachi watched as the tarkatan's body shook a couple of times before becoming completely lifeless.
Heihachi quickly whirled around in the direction where the knife came from, expecting to at least see a glimpse of the attacker. However, from where he stood, he saw no one in that direction. He quickly looked around the rest of the area around him, but not a single soul was in sight and all was quiet.
The old man squinted his eyes in a bit of suspicion, but after a while relaxed. The knife had only passed him by a few feet. If the knife was intended for him, the attacker would've thrown the weapon much closer to him. The weapon also seemed to hit in the right place that lead to the tarkatan's demise.
Perhaps whoever threw the knife only intended to kill the tarkatan, Heihachi thought. Whatever that case may be is of no importance to me.
Suddenly feeling tired then, Heihachi began to make his way back into the palace, intending on returning to his room to rest for the night.
Shao Kahn's Fortress, Dungeons
Within the darkness of the dungeons, Yoshimitsu waited where he stood as the monster Berserk charged himself after him. Being such a large being, the area seemed to shake with each step that he took.
When Berserk was close enough, Yoshimitsu quickly launched himself up in the air before performing a somersault over the monster. Berserk stopped himself and managed to turn himself around just as Yoshimitsu landed on the ground with his feet. Yoshimitsu quickly faced Berserk just as he swung his fist at him, forcing him to duck underneath.
After ducking, Yoshimitsu quickly straightened himself up and performed a quick spin kick with one foot while keeping his other foot on the ground as leverage. He managed to successfully kick Berserk, but the attack left little affect on the monster.
This is more tough than I thought, Yoshimitsu said to himself.
Quickly, Berserk grabbed one of the long bars from one of the cells and ripped it right off without much struggle. He then attempted to swing it down at Yoshimitsu, who quickly blocked the maneuver with his sword. The strength of Berserk's attack forced Yoshimitsu to bend his knees down so that he kept his balance.
The two of them leaned their weapons against each other for a moment before Berserk pulled back and swung down the bar once again. Yoshimitsu quickly blocked the attack again and the two briefly exchanged moves, their weapons clashing and causing small sparks with each hit.
Eventually, Yoshimitsu managed to knock the bar out of Berserk's hand. While he was distracted momentarily, the smaller fighter took the opportunity to thrust his sword forward to stab the monster right through the chest.
Berserk let out a loud roar upon being stabbed and Yoshimitsu had expected for him to collapse immediately afterward. Instead, the monster pulled him back so that the sword was out of his chest. Then, he stood where he was as some of his blood gushed out of his chest.
Yoshimitsu looked at him with dismay, especially considering that he had managed to stab him right through the heart! "Impossible," he said aloud.
After he said that, Berserk immediately let out a loud roar before throwing his fists at him once again. Yoshimitsu quickly dodged out of the way from the attacks as he tried to figure why the monster didn't die when he should have.
It wasn't too long before he found the answer. He was able to see through the hole of the wound he made not too long ago. Just passed Berserk's ribcage was his heart and it took Yoshimitsu a couple of more looks to realize that the heart was not beating.
So…you are undead, he thought. Upon realizing this, Yoshimitsu knew that there was one way to kill someone who was already dead. If that plan didn't work, then he had no other choice but to make any sort of escape.
It was worth a try.
Berserk continued swinging his fists at his smaller opponent, who was able to quickly dodge underneath and around them. Soon, he swung with both fists at once, bringing them towards each other in front of him. This gave Yoshimitsu his opportunity.
Quickly, Yoshimitsu launched himself in the air, going slightly diagonal towards the monster. Once he was directly above Berserk's head, he thrust his sword downward, the weapon piercing through the monster's bald head and through his brain.
For a moment, Berserk stood still as he coughed up some blood from his mouth. Then, he fell forward, forcing Yoshimitsu to jump off of him and land behind him. After landing on the ground face down, Berserk's body shook violently a couple of times before becoming completely still.
Once he was still, Yoshimitsu walked up over to him. He waited for a moment to see if the monster would make any more movement, but there was none. However, he decided, for good measure, to take a moment to decapitate the monster. Because Berserk's neck was so thick, it took Yoshimitsu four slices to completely sever the head from it's body before it rolled a couple of feet away.
For a moment all was quiet and Yoshimitsu was pending on whether or not to make his escape out of the fortress or continue pursuing the medallion. However, a soft moan was heard not too far from him, breaking him from his thoughts. The moan was then heard again and it sounded as though it was coming from a weakened person. At first, he thought that it came from the unconscious guard a few yards away, but upon looking at him, he was still unmoving.
A prisoner perhaps? he thought.
Yoshimitsu then decided that it was best to see if there were any prisoners trapped within this dungeon. He began walking around the area, looking in every cell that he passed. Eventually, he came upon a cell where a man dressed in torn black clothes sat in the back corner. Quickly, Yoshimitsu used his sword to break the lock on the door before going in the cell.
The man in the cell looked up at Yoshimitsu, his eyes struggling to stay open. "Huh…" he slightly uttered.
Yoshimitsu bent down to him. "What happened to you?"
Before the man could speak, Yoshimitsu suddenly heard footsteps. They were far, but he had the feeling that they came from more guards searching for him.
The prisoner had heard the footsteps as well and spoke. "Leave me here… my partner…Nina… she's in… the cell across from me… she's in worse condition than me…"
Yoshimitsu ignored his request as he quickly picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. "I'm not leaving one of you behind. I'm taking you both with me. What's your name?"
"…Raven."
"I am Yoshimitsu."
Quickly, Yoshimitsu left Raven's cell and went to the one across from it. Using his sword, he cut the lock on the cell and opened the door after placing his sword in it's scabbard. There, he saw a young woman lying on her side most likely unconscious. Quickly, he picked her up and threw her over his free shoulder, hearing her moan a bit in the process.
For a while, Yoshimitsu ran around the dungeon in hopes of another exit out. Eventually, he found a set of stairs that took him up to a wood door. He kicked the door open and sighed with relief as he noticed the night sky and the countless trees nearby.
I'll have to come back for the medallion later, he thought. Right now, I need to take care of these two.
With that, the Manji Clan leader made his escape with Raven and Nina in tow and disappeared into the night.