Chapter Seventy-Two
Near The Battle
In the distance, Guile and Li Mei were able to see the main palace in their view. Sounds of clashing swords and battle cries reached their ears… they knew that they weren't very far from the chaos.
Throughout their walk to this area, the two were mostly quiet, having nothing to say in a situation like this. Eventually though, Li Mei spoke. "I really hope they made it out of there okay."
Guile looked at the young woman, knowing that she was talking about Kenshi, Ermac, and Alex. "I hope so too," he replied.
Once again, the two were silent as they got closer to the battle. Then, a thought came to the Colonel. "Aren't you from here?" he asked.
Li Mei nodded a little as a frown came over her face. "Yes, I am, but I want to get out of here. I want to leave Outworld and start my life anew."
Guile looked up at the blood red sky. "I don't blame you."
Soon, they were able to see the countless fights from within the forest they were walking through. Once they reached the edge, they stopped walking and briefly looked on at the onslaught.
"Do you want to fight, or do you want to get out of here?" Guile asked her.
Before Li Mei could answer, a female voice suddenly called out Guile's name. The two turned to the voice and saw both Chun Li and Lei running up to them. Both were covered in dirt from fighting, some parts of their clothes were torn, and Chun Li's top had drops of blood on it that weren't hers.
"Thank goodness you two are okay," Chun Li said in relief.
"What happened to the yellow beam in the sky?" Guile asked, noting that the beam was suddenly missing.
"We don't know," replied Lei. "But there's a rumor going around that there's only one portal left and it's believed that it will lead us back to Earth."
"And that's despite everyone fighting for their lives?" asked Guile curiously.
"We heard a couple of people screaming it out," answered Chun Li. A small frown came over her lips. "But there's that chance that they're on the verge of insanity after all that had taken place here today…"
"In this case," cut in Lei. "I highly suggest we get ourselves out of here before the portal closes."
"You guys go ahead and bring Li Mei with you," Guile suggested.
"You're coming with us!" Li Mei exclaimed. "This may be your only chance to get yourself out of here."
"I know what you're thinking," Chun Li said. "You want to find Wagner and Cammy before you leave. I know they would want you to get out of here, mainly for Jane and Amy's sake."
Guile frowned a bit as he thought about the two people Chun Li named out… his wife and daughter respectively. In a way, Chun Li was right. Although he would rather fight his way through the battle and find Wagner and Cammy, he realized that they would indeed encourage him to leave this place for his wife and daughter's sake.
Soon, Guile nodded. "All right… let's go…"
From there, the four of them began making their way towards the portals.
Not Too Far…
After pushing her opponent back, Ashrah quickly shot out a white projectile. To her dismay, however, her opponent managed to jump over it before being hit…
Kira landed on her feet safely before looking back up at Ashrah, who stood in her fighting stance, ready for more. The two have only been fighting for a short one, merely over the fact that they were on opposing sides.
After a brief stare down, Kira straightened herself back up. Then quickly, she jumped forward before curling herself into a ball before shooting herself towards Ashrah like a cannon ball. Luckily, Ashrah was able to move out of the way before she was hit, letting Kira pass her completely.
After landing, Kira placed one arm out and shot out a pink projectile at Ashrah. However, Ashrah jumped over the projectile before executing a flying kick to Kira's face. Kira also moved out of the way before she was hit.
Now close to each other, the two women began exchanging hand to hand moves at one another. It wasn't long before Kira managed to get the upper hand, punching Ashrah a couple of times in the face. Then, the red-haired woman jumped up and grabbed Ashrah's head with her legs before flipping forward, taking Ashrah with her. Then, she let her go, letting the white-clad woman fly a few feet before crashing into the ground.
While Ashrah was still on the ground, Kira stood over her and lifted a leg above her. Before she could stomp her foot down, Ashrah managed to roll out of the way before standing herself up.
Kira attempted a kick her in the stomach, but Ashrah blocked it before executing a palm strike to Kira's face. After the hit, she followed with two more palm strikes before kicking forward, her foot landing in Kira's stomach, causing the red-haired woman to stumble back before keeling over in pain.
"You bitch!" Kira yelled out.
As she screamed this, Ashrah managed to get a foot close to her before spinning herself while four white rings surrounded her. The invisible energy around her was enough to knock Kira back a few feet and soon she stopped.
After regaining herself, Kira stood herself up while Ashrah stood where she was as she waited for her opponent to be ready. Once she was, the two charged over to each other, ready to fight some more.
Just a few feet away, Sub-Zero and Noob continued with their own battle. For some time, the two had been fighting hand to hand until recently when Noob drew out a kriss sword… the sword that once belonged to Ashrah. In retaliation, Sub-Zero formed his Kori Blade and from there, the two found themselves fighting with their weapons.
For a while, the two mostly fought in order to try to get themselves on offense. At one point, Noob swung the kriss low at Sub-Zero's feet, but the ice ninja managed to jump over it before landing back on the ground. As Noob attempted another move, Sub-Zero did an overhead swing at Noob, who dodge the sword by stepping sideways. Then, Sub-Zero spun around with his sword out in front of him, only for Noob to block the blade with his own.
After blocking, Noob pulled back and placed a hand out. A shadow quickly shot out and launched itself at his younger brother. Sub-Zero wasn't able to get away in time and soon found himself launched in the air, going up a few feet before crashing back down to the dirt ground.
Noob got himself to where he was standing over Sub-Zero and attempted to swing the kriss down at him, but Sub-Zero rolled back before standing himself up. He then used his powers to freeze the sole of his feet before gliding forward, crouching down in the process.
The younger of the two brothers managed to knock Noob off his feet, sending him flying up. However, Noob was able to catch himself before hitting the ground and instead landed safely on both feet.
Noob quickly whirled around to face Sub-Zero again. With his sword out in front of him, the dark wraith spun the kriss wildly. As it did, dark energy emerged from it and hurled itself towards Sub-Zero.
The Lin Kuei Grandmaster tried to get out of the way of the energy, but some of it managed to hit him. As soon as it did touch him, he felt some energy leave him and he slowly fell to his knees.
Noob looked down at him. "You're a pathetic excuse for a fighter!"
Upon hearing that, Sub-Zero mustered up the energy to stand himself up. Then, he quickly shot his hand out and a ice projectile hurled itself forward before freezing the kriss, forcing Noob to drop the weapon. Once the iced weapon hit the ground, it shattered into countless pieces, the dark energy it once possessed immediately floating up away from the broken sword before disintegrating.
The wraith didn't seem phased by what just happened as he narrowed his glowing white eyes at his brother. "There seems to be more sins within you than I thought. To bad the kriss didn't have enough time to collect them."
Ignoring him, Sub-Zero went back after his older brother and the two proceeded with their fight…
Cathedral
All around, statues laid in countless pieces and nearly half of the stained glass windows have long since shattered, spreading themselves on the ground. Everything was still in the room… except for the battle between Devil Jin and Evil Ryu, which was taking place in the middle of the cathedral.
Evil Ryu jumped up in the air, placing both arms out diagonally downward towards his opponent before shooting out two dark purple projectiles. Quickly, Devil Jin jumped up out of the way of the projectiles, which exploded on the floor upon impact.
He flew upward until he was face to face with Evil Ryu. Devil Jin quickly pulled his right arm back before thrusting it forward, his punch sending a powerful wave. The punch managed to hit Evil Ryu square in the jaw, sending him flying back a few yards before smashing into the ground.
Evil Ryu rolled back and stood himself back up before Devil Jin landed directly in front of him. They briefly exchanged some punches before Evil Ryu executed an axe kick before following with a back kick, all in which his opponent blocked.
Devil Jin then charged some red energy in his hand and attempted another powerful punch at Evil Ryu, who ducked out of the way. From there, he tried a sweep kick, but Devil Jin jumped up before he was tripped.
Evil Ryu stood himself back up and the two fought a bit more before Devil Jin executed a jump kick, hitting Evil Ryu under the chin. As Evil Ryu was distracted, Devil Jin performed an uppercut, sending him up in the air. He then flew over to him, grabbed him by the neck, and somersaulted backwards before slamming Evil Ryu to the ground, leaving behind a dent.
After the impact, Evil Ryu slowly got himself back up, suddenly feeling a bit weak for the first time since the battle began. He watched as Devil Jin casually walked over to him, his silver eyes glowing and staring at him, and with a sadistic smirk over his lips.
He waited until the winged demon was just a few feet away. Once that happened, he mustered up some energy to teleport right behind him before executing his own uppercut, sending Devil Jin airborne before crashing back down.
The two found themselves just two yards away from each other at this point. Slowly, Devil Jin got back on his feet and the two stared down at each other. They slowly began to realize that this could possibly be a never-ending battle as they were both strong enough to take each other on.
However, the two were determined to emerge the victor, thirsting for the other's power.
Slowly, at the same time, they began to charge energies in their hands…
Outside Shao Kahn's Fortress
For some time, the ninja spectre Scorpion fought his long-time nemesis, the sorcerer Quan Chi. They battled hand to hand, both of them on either offense and defense.
This wasn't the first time they battled… as a matter of fact, the both of them have lost count of how many times they've fought ever since the day Scorpion found out that it was Quan Chi who was responsible for the murder of his family and clan. Whether or not this would be their last battle after this was questionable until the end.
Quan Chi shot out a skull projectile towards Scorpion, who moved sideways before being hit, sending it flying away into the distance before hitting into a tree. In retaliation, Scorpion slowly raised his arms up. Knowing what he was about to do, Quan Chi somersaulted back before a burst of flames appeared from the floor where he was originally standing.
How predictable, the sorcerer thought.
Scorpion hurled himself towards Quan Chi and the two continued exchanging maneuvers before Quan Chi jumped on Scorpion's knees. With his hands placed together, Quan Chi backhanded Scorpion a few times before kicking him in the face, sending him back to the grass.
Quickly, Scorpion rolled himself back before standing up. He waited until Quan Chi was close enough before backhanding him hard in the chest. Quan Chi found himself coughing for air after the impact and before he could recover, Scorpion kicked forward, hitting him in the stomach.
Quan Chi staggered back after the kick. He took a moment to catch his breath, but eventually found Scorpion's spear lodge itself into his shoulder.
"Get over here!" Scorpion yelled as he pulled Quan Chi towards him. In the process, the sorcerer lost his footing and found him being dragged across the dirt. When he was close enough, Scorpion attempted to stomp on him, but the sorcerer rolled out of the way and the spectre ended up stomping the ground instead.
Slowly, Quan Chi got himself back up on his feet before Scorpion reached him. The spectre tried kicking him, but Quan Chi moved away before executing three palm strikes, all able to hit Scorpion in the face. He then performed a kick to Scorpion's chest, forcing the spectre to stagger back. While Scorpion was distracted, Quan Chi slid forward, his back near the ground before kicking upward, hitting Scorpion and sending him airborne before landing back down with a thud.
Quan Chi quickly got himself back up. "I've had enough, spectre!" he yelled out as he raised his hands in front of him. "I have other matters to attend to… but don't you worry. I'm sure there will be plenty of times for us to fight yet again. For now, however… I think you should return to the Netherrealm."
As Scorpion got back on his feet, a white glow began to surround him. Briefly he looked at his hands before realizing that he would be returned to the Netherrealm momentarily… just like the way he did the last time he and Quan-Chi fought in Outworld.
"Big mistake, sorcerer!" Scorpion yelled before hurling himself towards Quan Chi.
It was just like last time… Quan Chi sending him to the Netherealm with Scorpion taking him down with him… and that was exactly what happened yet again.
With a flash of white light, the two disappeared to the forbidden realm with Quan Chi's screams echoing around for a moment before dispersing…
Battleground
"Seems I'm close to the portals," Julia said to herself.
The young woman looked up at the hill before her. It was lucky for her that she was able to pinpoint the exactly location of the portals before the yellow beam, which was previously in the sky, suddenly disappeared.
Julia heard different rumors in the aftermath… some say that everyone was trapped in Outworld… others say that only one portal remained, but no one was sure where the portal lead to.
A part of her wanted to go up the hill and escape… but another part of her wanted to stay and find Ryu. She knew that he would have wanted her to leave this realm, but at the same time, Julia knew that she would felt nothing but guilt if something happened to him.
"Spirits… please help me…" she whispered.
That's when Julia heard someone fighting nearby. She turned her head in time to see her friend Ken Masters taking down a guard. The young woman sighed with relief, seeing that he was okay despite having some drops of blood trickling down the side of his head.
After taking down the guard, Ken turned his head and noticed Julia a few feet away. "Oh good, you're okay!" he called out as he ran over to her.
"Have you seen Ryu at all?" Julia asked with concern.
A frown came over Ken's face. "I haven't. I was hoping I would too, but with so many people here, it's hard to spot anyone unless you really get a good look." He then looked up at the hill in front of them. "What have you been hearing about the portals?"
"Too much to the point where it's difficult to make a guess as to which rumor is true," Julia replied. She glanced at Ken seriously. "Either way, I'm not leaving here until I find Ryu. Ken… I'm going to need your help."
For a moment, Ken didn't answer Julia as he thought about what to do next. He was quite sure that if Ryu was with them right now, he would have encouraged Ken to get out of here and try to unite with his family.
At the same time, Ken thought about all the times Ryu had helped him since they days training with their master in Japan. Ryu had always said, I bet one day, you'll have to help me out.
Seems like now's the time… Ken thought.
"Okay," Ken said to Julia. "We'll go find Ryu, but under one condition… if anything major goes down that may threaten our lives, we're out of here. I don't want to leave Ryu behind either. Besides… he would have wanted us to leave."
Julia slowly nodded. "Let's not hesitate any longer then."
They soon began their search for Ryu.
Shang Tsung's Palace
For a while, Ermac fought the sorcerer Shang Tsung, hand to hand all throughout. Near them, Kenshi lied on the floor as he tried to regain himself after a while of fighting with the sorcerer. Opposite of them, Alex laid face down unconscious after she had briefly distracted Shang Tsung before he had the chance to take Kenshi's soul for himself.
After fighting for some time, the two pulled back and waited for the other to continue. In the meantime, Shang Tsung smirked at him. "You know…if I really wanted to, I could just take every soul within you in a snap, but I'm actually enjoying this match of ours at the moment."
"Just to remind you," Ermac began to say. "It was your arrogance and overconfidence that caused you your defeat in the Mortal Kombat tournament all those years ago… so don't believe the results of this fight will be any different. You should consider yourself lucky up to this point. Any normal servant of Shao Kahn would've had their heads displayed on a pipe for all to see."
Shang Tsung shrugged his words off. "And just to remind you… if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be existing right now. Shao Kahn may have been the one who created you, but it was Iwho provided the souls that made your existence possible. I can take that away anytime I want."
"Enough!" Ermac yelled. "If you want to take our souls so much, then fight us!"
"With pleasure!" the sorcerer cried out before launching himself towards the enigma.
Ermac stood where he was and quickly blocked Shang Tsung's incoming punch. He stayed on defense for a while before he was able to land a kick to his chin, causing the sorcerer a short cry as he staggered back.
Given the chance then, Ermac used his telekinesis, surrounding himself with a green aura, to flying himself up, his feet just above Shang Tsung's head. Then, he let himself fall diagonally with his left foot out, hitting the sorcerer in the face with enough force to rear him back a few feet.
After recovering from the blow, Shang Tsung growled. "You'll pay for that!"
Quickly, he shape shifted into a tarkatan, extending his blades out from his arms before hurling himself back towards his opponent. Wildly, he lashed the blades at Ermac, who was forced to evade multiple times, only being left with a few cuts on his torso.
Eventually, Ermac took his glowing hands out and telekinetically grabbed Shang Tsung before hurling him across the room before releasing him. Upon landing on the ground, the sorcerer morphed back into his original form.
The sorcerer got himself back up despite some pain coursing through his body and turned his attention back to Ermac. His hands became surrounded in flames and he threw them forward, sending out two fireballs which eventually formed into a ring, intending on colliding together with Ermac in between them. However, the enigma managed to duck underneath the fireballs before they crashed into each other.
As Ermac was distracted, this gave Shang Tsung the opportunity to shoot out six skull fireballs in a row, using both of his hands. Ermac barely evaded from the first three, but the final three hurled themselves into his chest, the force knocking him back a few feet.
Shang Tsung grinned, realizing that he was close to being in complete control of their fight. "Perhaps this is a good time to defeat you once and for all."
Ermac slowly sat himself up as he tried to recover from the recent blows. "Even if you take us down and take all of our souls, there will be others who will come after you!"
"Indeed," Shang Tsung replied. "But just like you, they will be defeated as well. As a matter of fact, when I'm done with you, I'll be focusing my attention back on-"
Before the sorcerer could finish his sentence, an invisible force suddenly hit him from behind as though he was just punched. The same feeling came again on his back as his stumbled about. Then, a kick-like feeling hit him in the stomach, sending him flying back before slamming into the ground.
Shang Tsung shook the pain before looking up at who just attacked him. Standing a few yards away was the swordsman he was fighting moments ago.
"Kenshi," he growled as he slowly stood himself up.
Despite the crimson blindfold over his eyes, Kenshi seemed to stare directly at Shang Tsung. "You may have taken me down easily last time," he said. "But it won't be that easy now."
"Bold words," Shang Tsung replied. "But they won't save you!"
Unknown to him, Ermac had managed to get himself back up. As Shang Tsung was distracted, the enigma ran over to him before launching a flying kick to his back, sending the sorcerer hurling forward.
When he was close enough, Kenshi landed a few punches to Shang Tsung's face before executing a somersault kick. Shang Tsung ended up staggering back from the force, only to meet up with Ermac once again. He ended up receiving a double punch to the cheek and jaw before he mustered up the strength to block an incoming palm strike.
Leaving Ermac open, Shang Tsung attempted a palm strike as well, but Ermac blocked that with his free hand as well. He then pushed Shang Tsung back before executing an axe kick, his foot landing on Shang Tsung and knocking him to the floor.
On the floor, Shang Tsung mustered up his energy again and shot out a fireball at Ermac, who quickly avoided the attack with ease. Suddenly, he was lifted up in the air from behind by Kenshi, feeling his throat tighten in the process. He was then turned around so that he found himself facing Kenshi, who showed no mercy towards him. The swordsman let the sorcerer struggle around his telekinetic hold for a moment before bringing him down and kicking him away, sending him flying back before landing face down on the ground.
During that time, Ermac managed to find Kenshi's sword and retrieved it for him. "Finish him!" he called out before tossing the sword to him. Kenshi heard him say this and when his weapon was close enough, he caught it by the hilt with ease.
Slowly, the swordsman walked over to the sorcerer, who was now struggling to get himself back up.
"This… isn't over… yet…" Shang Tsung said as he looked up at him with anger.
Kenshi wasn't phased by his words as he was now standing a couple of feet away from Shang Tsung. He kept silent and stayed still with no thoughts passing through his mind.
Kenshi soon took his weapon in both hands and raised it above him. Then, with a roar as though he was unleashing all the seething anger, hate, and despair that had built up with him since the day he went blind, he plunged his ancestral sword deeply through Shang Tsung's chest. In an instant, green souls began to emerge from his open wound in addition to his own blood. Shang Tsung's horrified screams were heard throughout the throne room as he felt nothing but sheer, agonizing pain.
Soon, the sorcerer's fell back as his life drained from his body. Moments later, his body disintegrated into ashes, only leaving behind his garments and the countless green souls that he captured over the years. Many of the souls flew in different directions, most likely going to places where they could finally rest.
At one point, Kenshi felt energy around him and realized that there was a group of souls flying around him. He realized who these souls were.
My ancestors, he thought. This was exactly what he fought for… after all these years, he finally had the chance to free his ancestors from Shang Tsung's grasps. He had finally redeemed himself.
Slowly, Kenshi lifted his sword above his head. Immediately after, the souls of his ancestors returned themselves into his sword, where they could finally rest.
Meanwhile, as he watched nearby, Ermac felt a sudden surge within his body. His body glowed green for a moment before it disintegrated. The enigma knew what just happened to him… the curse that Shang Tsung placed on him when he was created… the curse that permanently bounded him to Shao Kahn… was now broken.
From this point on, the enigma was completely free to choose his own destiny.
Once all the souls were gone, all was quiet in the room. After a while, Ermac turned his head to Kenshi. "It's finally over," he said. "He's no longer a nuisance to the realms."
Kenshi nodded. "And I was finally able to finish my quest... it was a long time coming."
"We thank you for your assistance," Ermac said. "Thanks to you, we are now free to choose our own destiny."
It was at that moment that they heard a female voice moan from nearby. Instantly, they both realized that it was Alex just waking up after being knocked out cold.
Ermac stood where he was as Kenshi walked over to Alex. When he reached her, he got down and kneeled in front of her as she slowly sat herself up.
"Owe… my head…" Alex grumbled as she slowly got on her own knees. She then felt a pair of hands touch her upper arms. She blinked a couple of times before looking up to see Kenshi in front of her.
That's when she slowly began to remember what was going on. "Wha… what happened?" she asked.
"What matters is that Shang Tsung is dead," Kenshi assured her.
Relief came over her, knowing that Shang Tsung would no longer hurt anyone or consume their souls again. In reply to this news, Alex leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders before resting her head next to his. Kenshi did the same with her as he wrapped his own arms around her waist.
Their embrace only lasted a short time before Ermac spoke up. "We should take you both to the portal as soon as possible," he suggested. "Anything could happen up to this point and we don't want to arrive there too late. The Earthrealm portal near here is only a ten minute walk."
After hearing this, Kenshi began standing himself up, helping Alex up along the way. "All right, let's go then."
The two of them began following Ermac out of the palace. A few minutes later, they reached a room and stopped upon the sight (and sound in Kenshi's case) before them…
On the ground were just a handful of women who were a part of Shang Tsung's harem. Every single one of them were sobbing uncontrollably and in front of each woman was a black collar with a green gem on it.
Alex frowned at the sight. "Upon his death, these women became free."
Ermac nodded before turning to them. "We'll stay behind to help them. The portal is located to the Northeast from here. You won't miss it."
"Thank you," Kenshi said before he and Alex began heading out of the palace.
Ermac looked at the women with sympathy. He knew that they would need help in getting their lives back in order, and with returning to their respective realms.
It would be the enigma's first task in order to atone for his atrocities…
Portals
After fighting their way through, Guile, Li Mei, Chun Li, and Lei finally reached the top of the hill where the portals were located. They were shocked by the site of shattered portals before them, save for the one at the very end on the left. Standing in front of it was Rose, who stood over a few unconscious guards and tarkatans who had tried to kill her and destroy the last remaining portal.
The four walked over to Rose, who managed to smile at them. "You're in luck. This is the realm to Earth."
Chun Li sighed with relief. "Good."
"Guile," Rose continued. "You don't need to worry about Wagner. He has already returned to Earth."
Guile sighed with relief upon hearing this.
"Along with his sister Lisa," Rose added.
The news shocked everyone and they were silent for a moment. "How did this happen?" Lei asked.
"There's no time to explain," Rose said. "But I'm confident that Wagner will explain everything once you reunite with him. Now go… this portal won't last very long."
Chun Li, Lei, and Li Mei began heading to the portal, but Guile stayed behind for another moment. "What about Cammy?" he asked.
Rose sighed. "She's still alive, but she won't leave until she finds Jin. I promise I'll get her home alive and in one piece."
An uneasy feeling came over the Colonel, but he trusted Rose's words. "Thank you."
"Where's Raiden?" Lei suddenly asked.
"Go now before it's too late!" Rose called out, quickly decided not to inform the others of what happened to him just yet.
With that, the four of them walked through the portal.
Cathedral Grounds
"How are we going to get out of here?" Asuka asked out loud, her voice a bit shaky.
Sakura shook her head a little. "I don't know… I really don't know."
The two ended up here as they tried to find a place to hide. A while ago, the two had tried to get to the portals as they were encouraged to leave. However, they heard numerous other fighters state that every single portal on the hill was destroyed and that they were all trapped here in Outworld.
Having nowhere else to go, Asuka and Sakura attempted to find a place to hide in order to survive. It was Sakura who spotted the Cathedral on top of a small hill and now the two young women were on their way there.
"Let's try to hang in there," Sakura suggested. "We'll hide out here and I'm sure that either Raiden or Rose will find us after this chaos is over."
"I hope so," Asuka replied. "I'm just really glad I'm with someone in this situation."
"Me too," Sakura agreed.
A sigh escaped Asuka's lips. "I just hope my father doesn't think I'm dead."
"Don't think that. Now come on, let's focus on getting to the building."
The two continued going up the hill for a little while longer. Soon enough, the two of them reached the front entrance. Sakura was just beginning to open the doors when she noticed Asuka had stopped just a couple of feet away.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I… just had this strange feeling," Asuka replied. "But I think it's just me…"
Sakura nodded. "I think so too… come on, let's go in together."
The two opened the double doors together and walked passed what looked like a lobby before reaching the main room. That was when they saw an unexpected sight before them. In the middle of the room was Devil Jin and Evil Ryu, both standing yards away from each other. Determination was written on their faces as they charged energies in their hands with Devil Jin's hands a red color and Evil Ryu's a purple color.
"What the…" Asuka uttered, her dark eyes widened.
However, it was Sakura who was in more shock. The two men in the room happened to be the two she admired most. Now here they were, pitting against each other in their darkest forms…and it seemed as though they were preparing themselves to kill the other.
"Jin! Ryu! Stop this!" Sakura yelled out before running towards them.
It was only when she was halfway over to them when Asuka realized what she was doing. "Sakura! What are you doing?!" she yelled before following her.
Just as Sakura reached the two, both Devil Jin and Evil Ryu shot out their projectiles. A bright light mixed with the two colors hit Asuka's eyes and the force of the energies was enough to knock her back into the lobby. She screamed in terror until she landed back on the ground with a loud thud.
Soon, the colors cleared out as Asuka slowly sat herself up. She blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her vision. Any particles that were close by the middle of the room before were now pushed away.
Asuka felt pain surge through her body from landing and she fought to shake it off as she slowly got herself back up. "Ugh… my head…" she mumbled.
She slowly walked back into the main room. Both Devil Jin and Evil Ryu were pushed back from the spots where they originally were by a few feet, both dazed from the large blast.
Asuka then looked in the middle of the room… and her heart froze upon seeing Sakura's unmoving body on the floor.
"Sakura!" she cried out as she ran to her friend before kneeling down. The young girl's eyes were closed and parts of her clothes were torn from the blade and dirt covered her in different places.
"Sakura! Wake up!" Asuka cried out as she shook Sakura. "Please wake up Sakura!"
She then realized that one of her hands was over Sakura's neck, her fingers near where her pulse should be. Asuka placed her fingers there, desperately seeking for a pulse.
To her dismay, there was none.
"No… NO! Sakura! Come back, damn it! Come back!" Asuka screamed as tears began to roll down her face.
Suddenly, a shadow cast over her and Sakura's body. Asuka looked up and screamed upon seeing Devil Jin's form standing over her. In panic, Asuka backed away from him while still on the ground.
"Please don't hurt me!" she cried out.
However, to her surprise, it was never his intention. As Asuka looked up at Devil Jin, she realized something… moments ago, his eyes were glowing a silver color. Now they were back to their normal brown color.
The horns, the wings, and the tattoos were still there… but it seems as though his good conscious emerged upon realizing what just happened.
Asuka watched as Jin kneeled himself down in front of Sakura. He stared down at her before gently taking her into his arms. Again, he stared at her as though he was trying to process in his mind what just happened… but it seemed that he was slowly coming to realize what he had done…
To Asuka's surprise, Jin leaned down and slowly kissed Sakura's forehead, letting it linger before slightly pulling away. He then brought her up in an embrace before burying his face into her neck, endless tears steaming down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably.
The sight broke Asuka's heart and she wound up burying her face into her hands, sobbing.
Unknown to either of them, Evil Ryu managed to stand himself up. Like Devil Jin, he still had the dark gi and the tanned skin… but his eyes were now a normal brown color rather than blood red. He watched the scene before him where he stood, his good conscious realizing what happened.
Moments later, Jin was beginning to feel his devil side trying to take over him again. He moved his head up with a small growl, which caught Asuka's attention as she lifted her head up as well. Her eyes widened as she watched what was happening.
Jin gritted his teeth as he fought against his curse. It's because of my bloodline… that Sakura's dead!
In desperation to keep his devil side in check, Jin snapped his head back and let out a loud, howling roar. The pitch was enough to shatter the remaining windows around them. In the process, he unleashed an invisible force which spread around the room. Asuka let out another scream as she found herself gliding across the room in high speed before crashing into a wall. Ryu flew back as well, only to be knocked out through one of the already-broken windows, eventually landing on the ground outside.
When the force ceased, all three of their worlds turned black.
All was calm after. However, it wouldn't last long as a pair of eyes snapped opened.
The pair of eyes didn't belong to either men or Asuka.
They belonged to Sakura… and her eyes were now a blood-red color…