Love & War 6: Replicants
Chapter 11: The Secrets of the Tiger
"I'm afraid your path ends here."
"Jago was abandoned as a baby at a secluded monastery in the Himalayas where he was trained by the monks of the Tiger. When he reached adulthood, a fellow warrior, under the influence of a evil force, tried to murder him. But Jago killed him in self-defense. To atone for this sin, he became a hermit, isolating himself in a mountain cave and turning his thoughts inward, meditating on his actions and the guilt he carried from the act. During this time, he was visited by the Tiger Spirit, and it called upon him to destroy Ultratech by entering the Killer Instinct tournament. Why such a thing would ask him to do so without understanding, he became confident in the spirit's wisdom. Unknown to him is that the same Tiger Spirit is indeed the corruption of Gargos. To seek out his destiny, he entered the tournament to find an opponent who is strong enough to purge this corruption in the crucible of combat."
The tournament has begun and Melody was given her first opponent.
"Melody, your first opponent is from Tibet, named Jago," Master Raven explains. "According to the UN resources, he is a monk who is constantly tortured by some evil spirit and is looking for someone strong enough to purge him of whatever corruption that dwells within him."
"We'll take you there to face him," said Tracer.
"Alright, let's do it."
Melody was sent to Tibet to find Jago. Eventually she found a tiger lair and a man meditating.
"This must be him."
"I know you're there."
"What?"
"Are you from Ultratech?"
"No, I..."
"Prepare yourself!"
Melody fights Jago. Jago possesses mostly Kung Fu techniques, but sometimes he uses untrained moves especially when wielding his katana or kora. He can channel the power of Tiger Spirit to charge his attacks with a golden light and unleash his powerful Endokuken (Think Ryu's Hadoken). Melody possesses CQC tactics combined with many different forms of martial arts, along with Edenian attributes. Jago is devastating up close, but Melody was able to show him her unique prowess of acrobatics, CQC-based takedowns and locks and even her incredible speed. It was enough to overwhelm him and defeated him.
"Such incredible power..."
"As I tried to tell you before, Jago, I am not Ultratech. My name is Melody Jones of the Homefront Warriors."
"You... the vanquisher of evil."
"I wouldn't go that far."
"Years ago, an ancient evil plagued this world. I do not know what evil it was, but the sky was red even at night."
"You refer to Shinnok?"
"You defeated him as the Tiger Spirit prophesied."
"Tiger Spirit?"
"It guides me..."
"Tell me more."
Jago explained to Melody of his abandonment as a baby and was raised by the monks of the Tiger. His Order serves the Tiger Spirit, which granted him great powers to battle Ultratech. It threatened his sanity however, but he was able to master it. The uncertainty as of his origins still trouble him. As he bid farewell to Melody, she returned to HW base.