There was soon time for a quick break before Cherry and Atticus would have their first fights.
"Cherry, I feel like we're being watched." Atticus said to his best friend.
"It's probably Raiden," Cherry replied. "He is a god after all."
"Well, I hope we get our first fights." Atticus said.
Scorpion soon put his hand behind their shoulders which made them flinch at first. "You two might just be ready for Kombat Training with the others..." he then said. "You also get to choose your first opponent."
"I choose Johnny Cage." Atticus smirked due to his first meeting with the man.
"I had a feeling you would choose him." Scorpion said.
Atticus nodded.
"How about you?" Scorpion asked.
"You mean I actually have to fight one of you guys?!" Cherry yelped.
"If you're going to be that squeamish, you'll never make it up against Mileena or Shang Tsung." Scorpion warned her coldly.
"Okay, okay, I'll choose." Cherry said.
Scorpion soon went with Atticus to make him fight up against Johnny Cage.
A fan was soon thrown toward Cherry and she instinctively ducked down from it and came toward it. "Kitana..." She then muttered once she realized what just happened.
"If you won't choose someone to fight, then I choose to fight you." Kitana narrowed her visible eyes toward the perky goth.
"Um, o-okay." Cherry said.
Kitana soon came toward Cherry.
"This is kinda sudden..." Cherry smiled nervously to the female ninja. "Any chance you'll go easy on a beginner?"
"Not a for a second." Kitana glared.
"Any chance I can have time to prepare?" Cherry asked only to be grabbed and thrown into a fighting ring. "Okay, maybe later!"
Kitana soon glared as she took her fan and fanned herself, looking fierce and sharp just like in the games, but this time, Cherry actually had to fight for her own life and not just in a video game. She then remembered her training with Luna. Kitana came toward Cherry and soon threw her fan.
Cherry yelped and soon ducked down to avoid the slicing from the fan before it could cut her. "Whew!" She sighed in relief. "That was close."
Kitana soon stood over Cherry and grabbed her by her throat and soon tossed her against the wall. Cherry groaned as that hurt and she stood up weakly with a glare before she wiped her mouth and saw blood drip down from her lip.
"Oh, that does it!" Cherry glared.
Kitana soon came toward Cherry to toss her around and beat her up again, but this time, Cherry was ready. Kitana jumped into the air to give Cherry a flying punch. Cherry narrowed her eyes and grabbed the woman's hand to fling her backward and threw her against the wall, and where she was successful. Kitana soon quickly jumped back up and soon made Cherry levitate in the air with her fun.
Cherry grunted and struggled to get down, but wasn't able to. Kitana then grabbed her fan and was about to swipe at Cherry with her fan to cut her again. Cherry soon focused and kicked at Kitana's face before she could get cut. Kitana shrieked from the kick before falling back. Cherry grabbed Kitana's fan and put it in her pocket before tackling the ninja woman to get back at her.
"You're more of a challenge than I thought." Kitana said.
"Thanks." Cherry smirked.
Kitana smirked back and soon teleported away.
Cherry looked around before she realized what just happened. "Aw, man, not the Pixie Dust Teleport!" She soon closed her eyes to try and hear Kitana.
Kitana soon came right behind Cherry with a sharp dagger. Cherry soon opened her eyes just in time. She then turned around and kicked the dagger out of Kitana's hand and grabbed it before jumping in front of her with a victorious laugh. Kitana then reached for her fan only for Cherry to show that she had it all along.
"Looking for this?" Cherry smirked.
"Give me that back, you little twerp!" Kitana demanded.
Cherry jumped up and soon kicked Kitana down which made her hit her head, but she soon blacked out and passed out, though not dying and a spotlight shined down on her since she had won the combat.
"Whoa." Cherry smiled.
Kitana looked dead for a minute. Cherry cringed nervously before she took the woman's hand and soon breathed in relief as she could feel a pulse.
"Well done on your first try, Cherry!" Luna congratulated.
"I kinda had no choice." Cherry smiled nervously.
"Some of us don't get a choice." Luna said.
Johnny Cage soon fell over with a lot of blood loss.
"OH, MY GOD!" Cherry yelped.
"Don't worry, no one dies here," Luna told Cherry. "He'll be fine by the next match."
"Say what?" Cherry deadpanned as this realm seemed quite different from her own. "So, you mean, no one actually dies here?" She then asked.
"No, he'll be knocked out for a while, but he won't be dead," Luna replied. "Raiden takes care of those who lose a fight."
"You mean I've been worried over nothing?!" Cherry asked.
"Well, you should be careful," Luna advised. "Though, if you die, just think of it as falling asleep with your heart beating slower or your lungs powering down, a lot like death, but not as permanent."
"Thanks for the advice," Cherry said. "And I think I know who Johnny Cage just fought."
Atticus cupped his mouth as he looked quite horrified.
"Uh, Atticus?" Cherry asked him.
"I just murdered someone..." Atticus muttered. "I know I'm strong, but... Oh, man, how can I live with myself?!"
"No one dies here, Atticus," Cherry told him. "He'll be fine once Raiden sees him."
"Seriously?!" Atticus asked out shock.
"Yeah, I was just told that..." Cherry replied a bit dryly as she wished she had known that earlier. "Remind me to kill a certain warlock for not telling me that and scaring the wits out of me for no reason."
"I'll remind you." Atticus said.
"Fascinating work, Atticus." Scorpion told his student.
"I just didn't think it'd be that extreme." Atticus replied since Johnny Cage lay dead on the ground.
"Don't worry," Scorpion said. "He's not dead."
"I know, I just don't like the idea of killing someone, good or evil." Atticus replied.
Someone soon appears.
"Augh!" Cherry and Atticus screamed out of surprise.
"Hey, you got scared." Cherry smirked to her best friend.
"He startled me." Atticus said.
Cherry snickered innocently. Raiden soon picked up Johnny Cage and began to leave without a word to heal the man.
"Well, he seems to be a man of few words." Atticus said.
"Raiden's always mysterious like that." Cherry nodded.
"He really is." Luna added.
"We got a long way to go," Scorpion told Cherry and Atticus. "I hope you both aren't too eager about finishing too quickly."
"Oh, um, no, sir..." Cherry nervously told him.
"Not by a long shot." Atticus added.
The training intensified with each day and Cherry and Atticus were even give their own Mortal Kombat uniforms for fighting the others with as for practice for upcoming adventures which would become more physically demanding.