Chapter Sixty-Nine
Shang Tsung's Palace
"It's about time you woke up," a demonic-like voice said out loud.
It was the first thing she heard as Alex fluttered her eyes open. At first, she thought that she was dreaming, but as she slowly opened her eyes, she began to realize that wasn't the case.
Who just spoke? she asked herself.
Soon her eyes were completely open. For a moment, Alex expected herself to be lying on a bed. Instead, she was sitting upright against the wall. Feeling confused, she looked around for a bed and soon realized that her arms were chained up over her head.
"What the-" she ended up uttering as she tried to struggle out of the chains. However, it didn't take her too long to realize that trying to get herself free was useless.
Damn it, she thought. I've been kidnapped again?!
That's when Alex heard footsteps coming towards her. She looked over in front of her and her heart seemed to stop upon viewing the sorcerer Shang Tsung.
Now she remembered how she got here to begin with.
"Where's Li Mei?" Alex asked.
A small chuckle escaped Shang Tsung's throat. "How amusing… she asked about you as well. Just like you, she is resting comfortably in another room."
Then slowly, he lifted up his right arm. Alex noted something glowing a bit from the corner of her eye and she shifted them to get a better look. She felt puzzled upon seeing what looked like a black collar with a green gem on it.
Shang Tsung noticed her eying the object and he grinned. "Isn't it such a lovely artifact? I do hope that's what you're thinking because this is my gift to you. You see… there's a good reason why you and Li Mei are here."
Alex stayed silent as she awaited to learn more of his plan.
"…To join my harem."
Alex felt her nose twitch with disgust. "Drop dead, you sick bastard!"
"That's what they all say," Shang Tsung replied. "But I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter."
Shang Tsung then lifted up a hand to brush her face with his fingers. Alex quickly moved her head away, but this only caused him to be annoyed. He then grabbed both sides of her jaw and turned it so that she was facing him.
Immediately, she spat in his face. He gave her a blank expression as he slowly wiped the spit from his cheek. Then, using the same hand, he quickly backhanded her across the face with enough force to make her head snap sideways. Her eyes widened and she let out a pained cry after receiving what was probably the hardest slap she ever felt in her life. She was sure that her cheek was going to develop a bruise later.
"I'm afraid that once the collar is on your neck," Shang Tsung said more loudly. "You shall belong to me… forever."
Just before he could say anything else, the door to the room was forced open. The sorcerer quickly turned his head, feeling even more annoyed, especially once seeing that it was two guards who came in.
"What do you want?!" the sorcerer exclaimed. "I'm busy right now!"
"Sir!" one guard began to say. "The woman in purple that you captured today… she's escaped!"
Rage took over the sorcerer as his eyes glowed green upon realizing what happened to Li Mei. "She WHAT?!"
Before the guards were able to answer, both of them were suddenly surrounded by auras… one in green and the other in blue. Both unable to move, they could only scream as they were slightly raised from the ground before being smashed together with enough force to knock them out cold. After the impact, the auras vanished and the bodies crashed onto the floor.
Seconds later, two figures came in, both of them holding out their weapons. Shang Tsung felt a bit surprised at first as he recognized Ermac and Kenshi, who he never expected to see.
Shang Tsung stared at Ermac, who he hasn't seen since he betrayed the Emperor. "I see that you're not dead after all… traitor!"
Kenshi cut in by stepping forward, the tip of his sword pointing at his long-time enemy. "Release her, sorcerer!" he demanded.
Shang Tsung turned his head to the blind swordsman as a smirk came over his face. Despite the blindfold over his eyes, the sorcerer realized how determined he was to see through his mission, so to speak.
I see now,he thought as he realized the possible connection between the swordsman and the sorcerer's prisoner.
"It's so good to seeyou after such a long time Kenshi," he said. "Too bad you can't say the same. I mean, after all, when I took your ancestors' souls over a decade ago, I never expected you to lose your sight that day."
Alex's eyes widened in surprise as she began to finally understand why Kenshi wanted to get access Outworld… it was to get to Shang Tsung for what he did to him all those years ago. Now she also understood better as to why Kenshi kept asking her to keep herself from the sorcerer's view.
Kenshi's grip on his sword tightened a bit. "Enough. It ends here."
Shang Tsung's smirk widened. "I assume that you are issuing a challenge, am I correct? Well then… in that case, let's make a proposal. This will be a good old fashion duel." He then looked over at Alex. "If you win, she goes free. If I win however…"
"I accept," Kenshi replied without hesitation.
Shang Tsung nodded. "Good. Meet me in my throne room on the first floor. You have ten minutes." With that, the sorcerer teleported out of the room.
Immediately, Ermac went over to Alex and, using his telekinesis, broke the chains off. Alex began to fall forward as the chains dropped to the floor, but Kenshi, who followed, caught her.
Alex looked up at Kenshi. "The worse he did was slap me," she said to him. "I heard Li Mei escaped…"
"Guile's taking her back to the tournament grounds," Kenshi informed her.
"We're not sure if you're aware," said Ermac. "But Shao Kahn has unleashed an onslaught on the tournament participants. He plans to enslave everyone physically or by taking their souls. There's no solid plan amongst us and for now, the only way we'll be able to survive is to escape Outworld."
Kenshi sighed a little. "Sonya's dead…"
Alex gasped in horror as she placed a hand over her open mouth, not believing what she had just heard. Although she had only known her for a couple of years, Sonya had become not only just a good friend, but also a mentor to her. To hear that she was gone broke her heart.
She found herself trying to fight the tears that threatened to escape. However, she knew that like everyone else, mourning would have to wait until they were out of this situation.
"Alex," Kenshi continued after some silence. "Ermac knows of an escape not too far from here. It's a portal that will take you back to Earth. I want you to go with him and get out of here."
"What about our friends?" Alex asked with concern.
"There are a set of portals opened up for them at the tournament grounds," Ermac told her. "For us, it's too far, but we can take you to this one as it is much closer."
Alex nodded, not feeling too sure. Once again she looked up at Kenshi. Although she didn't want him to stay behind, she knew that this was something he had to do. This was a quest he had been chasing for so long, and now that Kenshi was merely one step away from finally completing his mission, it would be selfish of her to try to stop him now. Besides, someone had to end the sorcerer once and for all for all the pain an misery he caused.
She just hoped that this wouldn't be the last time that she would see him alive…
Alex took a deep breath before she spoke. "Go kick his ass. He deserves to be slaughtered like the scum he is for what he did to you and everyone he's come into contact with… especially the souls he's captured over the years."
Without saying anything, Kenshi leaned his head towards her and the two soon found themselves sharing a deep kiss. Alex kept her hands over his chest as one of Kenshi's arms, with the other still grasping onto the hilt of his sword, wrapped around her waist, at one point bringing her a bit closer to her.
Neither one of them were sure how much time passed before Kenshi broke the kiss. He then pulled away from her and Alex could only watch as he turned around and began leaving the room. Kenshi then turned his head towards Ermac as he began to pass him. Niether one of them said anything, though Ermac simply nodded at him at one point.
Alex found herself frowning a bit as Kenshi stepped out through the open door and disappeared around the corner…
Near The Main Palace
A low spin kick sent one guard to the ground. Afterward, Nina Williams straightened herself up and she watched as another guard came after her. Staying in her fighting stance, she waited until the guard was close enough for her to perform two punches to his face, knocking his helmet off his head in the process, before doing a hand chop on the front of his neck.
As the guard gasped for air, Nina jumped up and wrapped her legs around his neck. She then quickly twisted herself, breaking the guard's neck in the meantime, killing him instantly. Afterward, she jumped back down to the ground.
At that moment, a gunshot was heard and Nina quickly ducked, just in case it was coming her way. After a few seconds, she straightened herself back up and looked over in the direction where the gunshot was heard.
Just a few feet away stood her younger sister Anna. With her red dress swaying in the light wind, she held a gun that was pointing directly at her with it's barrel smoking.
Immediately, Nina pulled out her own gun and began shooting. Anna immediately dodged the bullets, all the while shooting her own gun at her older sister. The gun battle didn't last long before they both ran out of bullets.
Anna smirked. "Guess we'll have to settle this the old fashion way."
Without saying a word, Nina ran after her and soon the two engaged in combat. As they exchanged maneuvers, neither of them no longer cared about the battle around them…what mattered to them now was killing the other.
At one point, the two backed away each other as they realized how even they were. A smile came over Anna's face. "It's about time we finally settle our score once and for all."
"Indeed," replied Nina. "Because now I can finally kill you without anything holding me back."
Anna quickly jumped forward after Nina and the two began fighting again. This time, Anna was on offense as she threw three punches in a row, the first two in which Nina blocked. However, she managed to land the third punch on her face before kicking upward.
The kick connected, sending Nina flying upward a couple of feet. Nina managed to catch herself quickly by somersaulting backwards and land back on the floor with both feet.
Anna covered the distance between them again. This time, Nina managed to get a hit by punching her face. She the followed with a high spin kick, causing Anna to turn her back on her. Given the chance then, Nina pushed her hand forward, perform a palm strike that caused Anna to stumble forward a few feet.
In fast pace, Anna turned her attention back to Nina. They both ran over to each other again before Anna landed a kick at Nina's stomach, causing the blonde to keel over in pain. Then, Anna landed a punch to her face again, followed it with a spin kick, and ended it with a punch to her side.
Nina stumbled sideways before regaining herself. She got into a fighting stance as Anna caught up with her. When the brunette was close enough, Nina clenched her fist before executing an uppercut, sending Anna flying in the air before crashing into the floor.
Anna shook the pain off after landing. Just before she got up, she noticed a knife just a hand's reach away.
A gleam came over her blue eyes as an idea came to her…
Just near the sisters, Yun Lee just knocked a guard away from him when he noticed Anna and Nina fighting just a few yards away. His eyes widened a bit upon seeing Nina perform an uppercut to Anna.
Without thinking, Yun began running over. He knew Anna was a good person and the last thing he wanted to see was one of the chosen ones fighting her, especially by her sister.
Yun came up to Nina from behind, intending on knocking her away. However, unknown to him, Anna had just gotten back on her feet, the knife in her hand. Nina saw the knife in her sister's hand and jumped out of the way as she began aiming it over towards her. However, when Nina moved, this left Yun open and before he knew it, he felt the knife plunge into his shoulder.
Yun staggered slightly and he clenched his teeth at the pain. He then looked up at Anna, who had a surprise look on her face… at first. Once she realized what she had done, an annoyed look took place, leaving Yun confused at first.
"…You shouldn't have gotten in my way, little boy." Then, leaving the knife in his shoulder, she quickly kicked him away just before Nina tackled her to the ground.
Yun's siblings, Yang and Yin, had witnessed what just happened a couple of yards away and they both came to his aid. Yin helped her brother sit up, frowning a little not just over the fact that he just got hurt, but also over the fact that it was Anna who stabbed him. "Yun, you're okay…"
Yang briefly examined his wound. "You'll be fine, just don't take that knife out."
"Let's get him to the portal," Yin suggested.
Yang only nodded as he helped Yin with getting Yun back on his feet. As he was helped by Yang and Yin, Yun bent his head down a bit so that he was able to hide the grim look in his eyes with the visor of his hat.
She… used me… he thought. What we had was nothing more than a lie…
On The Other Side Of the Battle…
Cammy White mostly fought off enemies, using everything that she got. At one point, she performed her cannon spike, crouching low to the ground before pushing herself up foot first, knocking a guard up in the air.
Afterwards, the young blonde straightened herself out before briefly looking at her surroundings.Jin… where are you… she thought.
Unknown to her, a guard sneaked up behind her, his sword out ready to strike her down. However, her comrade Wolfman noticed this in time and her quickly punched the guard in the head, rendering him out cold.
Cammy heard the bone-crushing impact and quickly turned around and saw Wolfman. "Colonel!" she called out.
"Cammy!" he exclaimed. "Try to get out of here while you can!"
Before she was able to reply, the tarkatan Baraka jumped over at Wolfman. The older man saw the mutant in time and dodged out of the way before being hit by his blades.
After regaining himself, Wolfman went after Baraka, who stood in his place as he welcomed the onslaught. When Wolfman was close enough, Baraka swung his sword four times, only able to cut Wolfman's shirt a couple of times. Soon, Wolfman found an opening and performed two punch jabs. Baraka was able to block the first punch, but the second one hit his chest, causing him to rear back a couple of feet. Then, Wolfman lifted his foot and executed a low-side kick, causing Baraka to stagger again. As he did, he lifted up his arms and shot out a projectile, which Wolfman moved away from.
After recovering, Baraka ran over to Wolfman again and the two exchanged their own maneuvers again before Wolfman was able to get the upper hand. He punched Baraka in the face before crouching low for a sweep kick, which Baraka jumped over.
Wolfman straightened himself back up, but was only met with a punch to the face by Baraka. Then, as he staggered back, he suddenly found himself gasping as one of Baraka's blades pierced him through his stomach…
Nearby, Cammy had been fighting another guard before finally knocking him away from her. She turned her head to see how Wolfman was holding up… and gasped in horror upon seeing her comrade being stabbed by the leading tarkatan.
"KEITH!" Cammy cried out to him. Before she was able to think, Baraka then used his other blade and swiftly cut Wolfman's head off, sending it flying in the opposite direction from Cammy. Baraka then released his blade from his stomach. His body staggering sideways for a moment feet before falling back first into the ground.
"NOOO!" Cammy screamed as tears streamed down her face. Suddenly, she was kicked from behind, sending her flying forward before crashing into the floor. Using whatever strength she had, she turned over to see who had delivered the kick.
Standing over her was Viper. Cammy stared at her for a moment as she stood herself up, wondering why she seemed so familiar…
Viper stood there with no emotions in her eyes, her arms up and ready to fight. Cammy quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before getting in her own stance. "If it's a fight you want, then bring it on!"
"Engaging target!" Viper called out as she began running.
Cammy raised an eyebrow and didn't have time to figure out why that saying was so familiar before she was swiftly kicked in the face, forcing her to flying back a few feet…
Near Shao Kahn's Fortress
The demon Akuma jumped up just before two fireballs were able to hit him. He stared over at his opponent, the ninja spectre Scorpion, who stared up at him as well.
The fight between them had been going on for quite something. They were in clear view of Shao Kahn's fortress as they continued with their own combat. So far, both seemed quite even.
From the air, Akuma shot out his Hadoukenprojectile at Scorpion. However, the spectre was able to see this in time and rolled sideways out of the projectile's path. The projectile ended up exploding as it crashed against the ground, causing the grass and leaves it hit to shoot up in the air…at least those that didn't end up getting burnt to nothing.
Once again, as Scorpion shot out another two fireballs, Akuma shot out another Hadouken. One of the fireballs managed to collide with the blue projectile, but the other managed to knock Akuma back before he was able to land back on both feet. On the ground, Akuma rolled a few feet before coming to a stop. After a brief recovery, he got himself back up.
As Scorpion began to reach him, Akuma jumped up and executed a diagonal kick, hitting Scorpion in the face. The impact forced the spectre to fall back and he soon found himself rolling down a hill before coming to a stop.
Scorpion got back on his feet just as Akuma reached him. The two exchanged their own punches and kicks for a few minutes in abnormal speed. At one point, they both jumped in the air and fought airborne. Eventually, Scorpion kicked Akuma in the face as his foot was surrounded by flames. The force of the kick knocked Akuma back down to the lands of Outworld.
Akuma quickly pushed himself back up and just before Scorpion was able to get back to the ground, Akuma jumped up and performed an uppercut, his fist connecting under the spectre's chin. Scorpion was forced to flying back up in the air before he came crashing back down.
The demon began to approach the spectre, but then, Scorpion quickly sat up and shot out yet another fireball. It caught Akuma again, knocking him back a few feet. This gave Scorpion the chance to get back up.
Once Akuma was up as well, the two charged over to each other to continue their one on one battle…
Shang Tsung's Palace
Standing in the middle of the throne room, the sorcerer Shang Tsung looked at his surroundings. The room was mainly filled with gargoyle statues made out of stone and the room was lit with countless candles. In the back of his room was his golden throne, which had demon faces at the end of his two arm rests. In the middle of the room, where he stood, was a circled-like structure that seemed to serve as a fighting ring. The structure was designed with a black dragon pictured from it's side and with it's tongue out as though it was getting ready to breathe out fire.
For a while, the sorcerer waited here quietly. He knew that a couple of guards were outside the large room, guarding the room with their life.
Soon, footsteps began to echo around the room. Shang Tsung turned his head in the direction of the footsteps and soon saw the swordsman Kenshi.
It's about time you showed up, he thought.
Without saying a word, Kenshi made his way over to the sorcerer. Upon entering the circled structure, he stopped just a few feet away. Shang Tsung stared at him and noted that Kenshi's head was facing his direction as though he was staring at him as well.
In silence, both of them drew out their respective swords from their scabbards. Afterward, the two began to slowly circle each other as they waited for the other to make the first move. Eventually, they both ended up running towards each other at the same time. Soon, their weapons collided, signaling the beginning of their dual.
For a while, the two fought back and forth as they tried to get themselves in the offense. At one point, Kenshi swung his sword upward, causing Shang Tsung to step back and only got a part of the shirt covering his shoulder cut. Then, as the swordsman swung his sword back down, the sorcerer quickly blocked the move with his weapon.
Again, the two continued clashing with their swords. At one point, Shang Tsung swung his sword from side to side, cutting some parts of Kenshi's shirt and part of his own sash which went over his right shoulder and over either side of his torso. Then, the sorcerer attempted to lash his sword at Kenshi's ankles, but the swordsman jumped over the weapon beforehand. From overhead, Kenshi swung his sword downwards, forcing the sorcerer to block yet again.
Pushing against their swords in order to get on the offense, Shang Tsung stared at him. "You're a fool if you think you're going to win this!"
"You're overconfidence will be your downfall," Kenshi growled, reminding the sorcerer how he was able to trick the swordsman the first time all those years ago.
Shang Tsung then smirked a bit as a sadistic thought came to him. "Don't be so sure now. I will say this however… when I win this, the first thing I will do is take your little whore for myself!"
In a quick reply, Kenshi kneed the sorcerer in the stomach, causing him to stagger back. Then, Kenshi used his telekinesis to push his sword forward, making it spin wildly, forcing the sorcerer to run away from it until he used his fireball projectile to knock it away from him. Kenshi used his powers then to return the sword in his own hands.
The two charged after each other again to continue their duel…
Near The Main Palace
While trying to reach the portals, Mika fought her way through the guards that were trying to take her down. Some of the guards were easy enough for her, but there were those that posed a bit of a challenge for her.
At one point after clearing house, she noticed Yang and Yin carrying Yun up on the hill that lead to the portals. After seeing the knife in Yun's shoulder, concern came over her and she ran towards him.
"Is he okay?" Mika asked as she reached them.
"He's okay," said Yin. "We just have to get him back to Earth."
"Is there anything I can do?" Mika asked even though she knew that there wasn't anything much she could do.
However, that proved to be the opposite as Yang looked over at her. "Actually, you can help Yin get him to the portal."
Yin looked at Yang in shock. "What?! You mean you're going to stay here?!"
"I have to!" Yang replied. "I haven't seen Maki since before this whole thing started and I want to make sure nothing happened."
"Are you sure?" Mika asked with concern.
"I insist," Yang answered. "At least I know Yun and Yin will be okay."
"You better get back home alive," Yin said to him.
Yang briefly looked at Yun. "You'll be okay."
Yun only nodded silently.
Yang and Mika switched places and he watched briefly as she helped Yin with carrying Yun up the hill. Soon, he turned back around, heading towards the battle…
Not Too Far
"This is quite fun!" Havik found himself saying.
For a while, the cleric of chaos slaughtered people like no tomorrow, swinging around his morning star weapon and killing people left and right. With doing this, he was making everyone in Chaosrealm proud.
After killing off a guard, he turned his head and noticed Sodom just a few feet away. Sodom noticed him as well and lifted his bloody juttes up, ready for battle.
"Anata ga shindeshimau! Ten'nō no meirei!(You will die! Emperor's order!)" Sodom exclaimed. With that, he charged after Havik.
"Give in to Chaos," Havik said just before engaging in combat with Sodom.
Only for a short time did the two fight with their weapons before they were knocked off their hands, forcing them to revert to hand to hand. Eventually, Havik managed to get on offense, quickly executing two palm strikes before following with two knee strikes… all which were blocked.
After blocking, Sodom rammed his elbow into Havik's face, knocking him back. Then, he jumped up and performed a roundhouse kick, forcing the cleric to falling sideways.
"What was that?" Havik asked him as he got back up. Quickly then, he bent his knees backwards, shooting out a blue projectile. The projectile managed to hit Sodom forcing him to stumble back.
Before Sodom was able to regain himself, two hook-like weapons stabbed him from behind and emerged out through his chest. For a moment, Sodom stood there stunned, at least until the hookswords released him. With that, he fell forward as his life drained out of him…
Havik dusted himself off and looked over at the person holding the now-bloody weapons. "You got here at a good time, Kabal."
"Indeed," Kabal agreed.
A while ago, Kabal had been stabbed by Kira when she betrayed the Black Dragon by questioning their motives. Havik had brought him into a hiding spot in the wastelands and Kabal was able to recover from his wounds. This was the first time the both of them came out from their hiding places and appearing in the tournament grounds.
"After that fight," Havik began to say. "I'm starting to get bored of all this. If I fight anymore, it might become a bit more… orderly." He shuddered at the last word.
"Perhaps we should return to Chaosrealm," Kabal suggested.
A gleam seemed to come over Havik's eyes. "Great idea. Perhaps then, we'll be able to rebuild the Black Dragon… and with that, we'll create more chaos than ever before. The good news is that I know of a portal other than the one here that will lead us back to the realm."
"Then let's take our leave."
"We shall."
With that, the two began leaving the battleground.
Twenty Minutes Away, Cathedral Grounds
"Man am I glad to have gotten out of here!" a guard said as he caught his breath from running.
"Same here," his ally, a guard as well, agreed.
The two were finally able to find an area where they wouldn't be found. As they got away from the battle, they made sure to go the opposite direction from Shao Kahn's fortress.
A thought came to the first guard. "Why don't we try to get up to the portals?"
"Not a good idea unfortunately," the second guard answered. "I heard the Thunder God Raiden is up there protecting the portals. Most likely why they were activated in the first place."
"I didn't think those rumors were true…"
"All I know is that I'm glad to be out of there."
"You said it! This battle plan was nothing more than pointless. I mean, does the Emperor really think he can take over the realms again?"
The second guard shook his head. "Maybe with more souls, he'd be more powerful than he was last time."
While he was talking, the first guard happened to look up in the air just in time to see something in the sky. At first he thought it was an Outworld vulture… however, he realized that the wings were much too big. He continued to gawk as the creature flew towards the cathedral just up the small hill. It crashed through one of the glass skylights and some of it's black feathers flew up in the air slightly upon impact.
The second guard happened to hear the crash and quickly turned his head towards the cathedral. "What the hell was that?!" he asked feeling a little freaked out.
Before the first guard could answer, the two found themselves shrieking as they were both grabbed from behind by a single person. Just before they were able to fight back, the figure smashed their heads together, rendering them out cold and perhaps leaving behind a major concussion.
The figure soon dropped the two as a sadistic grin came over his face. His eyes glowed a blood red as his dark hair and crimson bandana swayed in the light wind. He wore a dark gray gi which was ripped at the arms and ankles and a black karate belt wrapped around his waist, and his body was surrounded by a purple aura.
Most would recognize him as Ryu… but in this case, he would rather be called Evil Ryu.
Briefly, he marveled over the fact of taking down the two guards so easily. Then, his grin faded as he turned his head over in the direction where the cathedral stood.
There's… a powerful energy from inside! he exclaimed in his mind.
Quickly, Evil Ryu teleported himself to the entrance of the church. He never hesitated as he walked through the open doors. After walking a few yards, he found himself in the main area.
The cathedral was mostly empty with the exception of a few statues, an altar, and the color-stained windows. Near the altar, Evil Ryu found the source of the energy… it was that of a demon who stood near the altar with his large, black feathered wings folded.
The demon seemed to have sensed Evil Ryu as well and he turned around, revealing more of himself. Heavy chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles and he wore black pants with a red flame on the right pant. On his bare torso were various tattoos with an additional one on his upper left arm. On his head peaking out from his jet black hair were a pair of horns and his eyes glowed in a silver-white color.
Most would recognize him as Jin Kazama. However, now, he was known as Devil Jin.
Evil Ryu and Devil Jin stared at each other for a moment as they tried to gain a sense of one another strong, dark energies. Soon, however, Devil Jin lifted a hand up, which seemed a bit deformed.
"Fear the wrath of God!" he called out.
Evil Ryu slowly got himself into a fighting stance. "I fear nothing."
A few more moments passed before they both launched themselves towards each other at the same time in abnormal speed, ready to take each other on in their one combat.